Summit Park, a Charlotte-based private investment firm, recapitalized Exacta Land Surveyors LLC, a Cleveland, Ohio-based provider of land surveys and field management services used to facilitate residential and commercial real estate transactions. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. The investment provides the resources to enable the company to optimize its operational processes, increase existing market penetration, expand geographically, and accelerate growth. Led by Timm Kalep, President and CEO, Exacta provides land surveys to a broad customer base of title insurance companies, mortgage lenders, attorneys, homebuilders, real estate brokers, and homeowners. Additionally, the company offers utility/municipal lien search services, elevation certificates, and estoppel reports. Exacta currently operates in six states, including Ohio, Illinois, Florida, Maryland, Virginia, and Texas, and provides vendor management services to allow customers to procure surveys outside of its current geographic footprint. Exacta has also developed software, SurveyStars, which is offered to surveying firms as software as a service. The transaction marks Summit Parks second investment its third fund, Summit Park III. Stellus Capital Management, LLC provided the debt financing for the transaction. FinSMEs 22/02/2019 Swedens government has unveiled controversial new regulations for gambling companies operating within the country. According to new rules, licensed gambling providers in Sweden can only offer bonuses, discounts or other financial incentives to players when they engage in one of their games for the first time. Therefore, all and any incentives except a welcome bonus will effectively become illegal. Aforementioned regulations are in Chapter 14, Section 9 of the Swedish Gambling Act (2018:1138). Until now, the Swedish government has been vague about the specifics of the regulation. What exactly would be a bonus was relatively unknown. The law remains somewhat vague about the details, which leads to speculation and a divided community. Political and media pressure mounting forced Swedish authorities to make an official announcement. The governments position is that in the eyes of the law all and anything except the actual winnings is a bonus. A silver lining? Theres an interesting moment with the new rule, as noted by Per Svensson from norskcasino.online website. It appears that the updated law doesnt see the existing player base of these gambling companies as exempt from this welcome bonus. The gambling commission regards the new regulation as a clean slate of sorts. This means that these players might still get a bonus in order to make up for the new limitations. It seems very likely that in order to mitigate the negative effects these rules might have on their businesses, gambling companies will find other ways and/or loopholes to reward loyal players. Keeping customers satisfied but wanting more is a basic tenant of the gambling business. This means the providers will have to find a way to adapt to new market conditions, which they likely will. The new regulations also mean higher security levels. Pay n Play casinos leading the charge will not share your personal details with third parties. With new regulations in place, a quick verification will ensure that player details are protected from abuse. The amount of spam will also decrease. Under the new law, the player base will not receive promos anymore. Customers who choose to do so will have to independently follow promotional pages in order to get this news. This will likely also increase customer satisfaction with gambling services since nobody really likes spam. New regulations effects on the market New five-year long licenses for commercial online gambling and betting will cost 400 000 Swedish Kronas each (link to the source). 700 000 is the stake to obtain both, which amounts to about 75 000 USD. Gambling monopolies are becoming increasingly unpopular around the World since theyve been proven time and time again to be a rather ineffective way of moderating the issue. Banning or monopolizing gambling encourages illegal dealings and lowers user safety. But perhaps most importantly, these decisions effectively divert money away from the country. To avoid legal ramifications, pretty much all of the gambling companies in these countries operate from outside the borders. This ensures that they will pay no taxes to the Swedish government. In this new regulatory reality, its interesting to see how the situation unfolds. Both internally and regionally this is an important decision for Sweden. Norway and Finland are still dedicated to upholding their gambling monopolies. Its unknown how gambling regulators in either of those countries will react if Swedens new system proves to be a financial and political success. Eyelevel.ai, a San Francisco, Calif. based conversational marketing platform provider for brands, secured $2m in seed funding. The round was led by Birchmere Venture with participation from Strawberry Creek Ventures, Inspiration Ventures and Berkeley SkyDeck. Eyelevel.ai provides a native conversational marketing platform and global publishing network comprising digital assistants and chatbots. The EyeLevel.ai platform brings together advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP), with proprietary data modeling machine learning and scoring, to ensure end users receive marketing messages and promotions in the context of a conversation. The startup, which emerged from the 2018 Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator winter cohort, serves more than 45 customers and has a publisher network of more than 1700 chat applications. The brands and businesses using the new platform are also delighted to uncover a new and more natural way to find and interact with new customers. FinSMEs 22/02/2019 Casavo, a Milan, Italy-based online platform for instant buying in real estate, closed an additional funding round of $7.9M in equity funding. The round was led by Project A Ventures, which joined existing investors Picus Capital, 360 Capital Partners, Kervis Asset Management, Boost Heroes (holding company led by Fabio Cannavale), Marco Pescarmona (founder and chairman of MutuiOnline Group), and Rancilio Cube. So far, Casavo raised more than $23.7M in both equity and debt funding. The company intends to use the funds to grow across Italy and Southern Europe and to add tech-features to the core product, with the goal to make the process more efficient and therefore increasing the speed of the transaction even more, and to develop further complementary services for customers to be provided in the near future. Founded in Milan in 2017 by Giorgio Tinacci, CEO, Casavo is a real estate startup which developed a tech-enabled platform that directly buys a property from the seller within 30 days. For sellers, the company eliminates the hassle and uncertainty of valuation, renovation, viewings and months of waiting until finally finding a buyer. Casavos automated valuation engine takes more than 70 variables into account and immediately provides potential sellers with the fair value of their property and a purchase offer. Upon acceptance of the offer, the company arranges a free inspection of the property and the seller receives the full cash payment within 30 days. The property is eventually renovated and sold to the next owner directly by Casavo. The company closed more than 50 real estate deals investing more than $12.4M and grew from two to 30 employees in little more than a year. More than 700 real estate agencies have joined their network in Milan and Rome. As of April, Casavo will expand their operations to Turin and Florence, targeting other Italian metropolitan areas and then extending the service internationally in Southern Europe. FinSMEs 22/02/2019 Tomas Ferreira accepted the challenge of being 4,000 km away from home and having an Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs experience. He has connected with the Eastern Marketing Insights team and has shared with us some thoughts from this experience. Why did you choose Romania to come with the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program? In my vision Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs is about face challenges- personal and professional ones. I had several offers from all Europe- all from countries close to Portugal. When Romania appeared I choosed it because of the different work and living context. To me growth is about challenging Myself and being 4000km away from home appeared has the perfect opportunity for that. But most important was the company that connected with me: Eastern Marketing Insights. Having the chance to work in a company of my study area: Marketing; it was the perfect match and an Oasis in the European Platform of Erasmus For Young Entrepreneurs. How did you find the Romanian reality of previous perceptions? The previous perceptions of Romania weren`t the best. It is the second biggest economy in East Europe, but not a very developed country. However, the country was a good surprised. Good transportations, accommodation, rich in culture and History emerges as the perfect place to this exchange experience. The people in Iasi are very open minded, speak English very well, have commitment with their companys and projects, are very polite and are always ready to help. How is the relationship with the Romanian host entrepreneur and how is the business training carried out? I have an excellent labour relation with the Host Entrepreneur. Since the first day they have been helping me integrate the company, showing me how they work and what I had to do. Alina Jijie and Irina Bicu received me very well and are always concerned with my well being in this new environment. They gave me loads of material and support documents to better execute my job. Receiving constant feedback and helping with my business idea. The company has a great management policy and a bright vision to the future. Working in this environment is something that makes me grow as a professional. What are the common elements that you find in Romania with your country? Portugal and Romania are very different countries with a similar entrepreneurial ecosystem. Being an entrepreneur is a worldwide phenomenon, with a common language- English , so I daily find lots of common elements in Romania that I see in Portugal. Being 4000 km can be a challenge, it`s a complety different context but Romania gives all the conditions to forget our home bound and daily accept new challenges. What knowledge do you want to leave at the end of the internship? Facing daily both personal and professional challenges makes me grow as a person and as a professional. This is the biggest knowledge that I imagine having. By being in the first year of Marketing Degree this working experience also gives me a better notion of what I have to invest my time outside of classes. More than this I plan to motivate Romanian Entrepreneurs to attend Erasmus For Young Entrepreneurs program. With two conferences scheduled I hope after this I talk with them in person in Portugal. Sterling, VA (20165) Today Mostly cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. Hot. High 92F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low 71F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Failte Irelands CEO Paul Kelly today met with tourism businesses in Kilkenny to discuss the opportunities to grow tourism across the county in the year ahead. Paul Kelly, along with the Head of Irelands Ancient East Jenny De Saulles, joined the Kilkenny businesses at the Pembroke Hotel where they discussed upcoming tourism developments as well as Failte Irelands business supports to help the industry as it prepares for Brexit. Top of the agenda was capital investment in key attractions, opportunities for further investment in hotels as well work to develop the areas night time economy. The group also spoke about the ways in which the Irelands Ancient East brand has helped tourism operators in Kilkenny to target key overseas markets and grow tourism and revenue across the county. Following his meeting in Kilkenny today, Failte Ireland CEO Paul Kelly said: With its rich culture and heritage as well as its many medieval sites and attractions, Kilkenny is an integral part of Irelands Ancient East. Kilkenny is lucky to have such a rich offering but what really makes it stand out in the international marketplace is the range of immersive visitor experiences available to the overseas tourist which they actively seek out and is a core focus of our Irelands Ancient East brand. Kilkenny welcomes around 315,000 overseas visitors a year, worth 55million to the local economy and at Failte Ireland we recognise the potential for growth here, which is why we have made significant investment into key attractions and experiences. It was great to meet with tourism businesses and operators in Kilkenny today to discuss the opportunity for further tourism growth, particularly around growing the night-time economy as well as investment in more hotel space. Through our range of business supports, Failte Ireland will continue to work closely with the tourism industry and partners here, with a focus not only on building top-class visitor experiences, but also on preparing for Brexit and targeting new visitor markets which have potential for growth. Over the past 10 years, Failte Ireland has made capital investments of over 8million in County Kilkenny, including major projects like the Medieval Mile and Rothe House. Last year the National Tourism Development Authority also announced funding of over 1million for the relocation of the Butler Gallery to Evans Home. Earlier this week Failte Ireland launched the first Irelands Ancient East tourism toolkit for craft businesses at Jerpoint Glass. This will equip craft businesses across Irelands Ancient East with the skills to maximise the potential of craft tourism to generate increased revenue and support local jobs. The Irelands Ancient East team is also currently working with the industry in Kilkenny to build a strong night-time offering for the city. This is one part of the teams wider work in the area to develop industry capability and grow tourism numbers to the county. Follow us on Twitter @Failte_Ireland Jump to top Your Holiday Shopping Magazine to Emporia and area businesses. Also visit ShopEmporiaKansas.com to shop Emporia businesses who are online. Start your online shopping here. VIEW NOW Washington, MO (63090) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening. Thunderstorms likely late. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. Localized flooding is possible.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening. Thunderstorms likely late. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. Localized flooding is possible. Norway seafood exports in January hit record US$997.6 million While Norway's seafood exports declined 4% (or by 7,700 tonnes) to 200,600 tonnes in January, value increased 13% (or by NOK992 million) to NOK8.6 billion (US$997.65 million), compared with the same month last year. "Seafood export values have never been higher during the month of January", said Asbjrn Warvik Rrtveit, director for market insight and access, Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC). As per the NSC, NOK5.7 billion ($661.04 million) of the total seafood export value in January came from salmon, (the most important species for Norwegian seafood exports), whose volume increased 2% (or by 1,800 tonnes) to 86,000 tonnes and value increased 14% (or by NOK700 million), compared with January last year. The average price for fresh whole salmon in January was NOK62.93 ($7.30) per kilogramme compared with NOK56.99 ($6.61) /kg in January 2018. Poland, France and the US were the largest markets for Norwegian salmon. In January, the US was the market that saw the strongest growth in value. Increased exports of fresh and frozen fillets have driven this growth. Strong growth in exports to Poland, Denmark, and the Netherlands, which to a large extent process salmon for consumption in other EU markets. Cod exports A total of 4,700 tonnes of fresh cod were exported, including skrei, in January, with a total export value of NOK227 million ($26.32 million). January saw a year-on-year reduction of 16% or 900 tonnes in volume, while the value of exports remained at the same level as last year. Denmark, Latvia and Sweden were the largest export markets for fresh cod in January. Prawns exported in January totalled 1,800 tonnes, valued at NOK 111 million ($12.88 million). This represents an increase of 175% or 1,200 tonnes in volume and an increase of 110% or NOK58 million in value compared with January last year. Iceland, Sweden and the UK were the largest export markets for prawns in January. Exports of king crab in January reached 239 tonnes, up 41% or by 70 tonnes, and their value amounted to NOK70 million ($8.12 million), up 44% or by NOK21 million. South Korea, the US and Spain were the largest recipients of king crab in January. Lakeland Dairies is "Brexit-ready", set to become Ireland's second biggest dairy-co-op Irish dairy co-op Lakeland Dairies has voiced confidence that it is Brexit-ready but expects much work to be done to maintain trade, Belfast Telegraph reported. The co-op has in place contingency plans that will support the continual export of more than 240 products to 80 predominantly non-EU countries, including China. With 1,500 suppliers, Lakeland Dairies is also set to become one of the biggest processors in the island of Ireland that includes both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. According the co-op's spokesman, Lakeland Dairies will "retain the capability and flexibility to sell and distribute directly" to all its customers including those around the world. The co-op has also "identified all the relevant tariff categories" that could affect exported products, he added. In addition, the co-op's export logistics team will be able to help meet "requirements for customs declarations and veterinary and phytosanitary standards" through the use of "advanced computerised supply chain management systems." These efforts are furthermore backed by "a range of export management agents" that Lakeland Dairies has engaged. "[The export logistics team] will require additional certification and documentation and this can be handled predominantly through existing automated processes albeit there will potentially be a considerable volume of extra work required," the spokesman said. In the meantime, the co-op is awaiting the outcome for its planned merger with LacPatrick Dairies, another dairy co-op in Ireland. Due to complete by March 13, the first stage of the investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority will determine if the merger is any way anti-competition. The merger, if approved, would make Lakeland Dairies the second biggest dairy processor on the island of Ireland with 1,500 farmers in Northern Ireland and 1,700 in the Republic of Ireland contributing to a milk pool of 1.8 billion litres. - Belfast Telegraph In what was, so far, the best baseball game of the week, the Jaguars pulled their 33rd win out of the fire and salvaged a gem of a start from their star pitcher. A group of San Diego politicians has banded together with one message: the sale of guns and ammunition has no place at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Assemblymember Todd Gloria (D-San Diego) who represents the 78th District, which includes the fairgrounds introduced Assembly Bill 893, which would prohibit the sale of guns and ammunition at the North County event space, at a press conference Feb. 22. Flanked by local government officials including 76th District Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath (D-Encinitas) and Del Mar Council members Dwight Worden, Terry Gaasterland and Sherryl Parks and advocate groups, Gloria said he considers gun violence the real emergency of the United States. He pointed to a recent shooting in Hillcrest, where a man entered a restaurant and fired about 20 bullets while customers and employees were inside. We need change, and that will not happen through thoughts and prayers, Gloria said. It will happen through action and legislation. That is what AB-893 represents. The Assemblymember took issue with such sales taking place on the state-owned property, where gun shows take place each year. Fundamentally, I believe it is wrong for the State of California to profit or to benefit from the sale of firearms and ammunition, he said. Without question, I acknowledge that gun ownership is a Constitutional right in the United States, and I know that there are plenty of responsible gun owners out there. However, the fact remains that widespread accessibility to these deadly weapons produces a public safety threat that we must address. Horvath, who co-authored the bill, added she believes that the actions on public land reflect the values of the entire state. She noted the City of Encinitas, where Horvath formerly served as a council member, supported the City of Del Mar in its March 2018 resolution to regulate firearms locally and remove guns from the fairgrounds. In September, the 22nd District Agricultural Board of Directors (fair board), which oversees the fairgrounds, voted to temporarily stop the gun shows until staff members develop a policy that could ban the sale and possession of firearms on the property. Crossroads of West holds its shows at more than a dozen large locations in four western states, all on public or city-owned property. It stages the two-day gun show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds five times annually. In January, Crossroads filed a lawsuit against the fair board for its decision. AB-893 is currently pending referral to the appropriate Assembly committees for review. Gloria said the bill could be on Governor Gavin Newsoms desk by the fall. If the bill is signed into law, gun sales would no longer be allowed on the fairgrounds beginning in 2021. Rose Ann Sharp, Del Mar resident and founder of the gun violence prevention advocacy group Never Again CA, said she was hopeful the bill would pass. We asked Todd Gloria to help protect our communities and he did, she said. He listened and he acted. This concise, clear legislation goes to the heart of the issue: the state does not belong in the business of promoting and profiting from the proliferation of firearms and ammunition sold on state-owned property. The state does belong in the business of making our communities safe. Swarthmore, PA (19081) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. High around 90F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. Low 72F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Neel Bhatt, a UW assistant professor of otolaryngology, specializes in treating patients with voice problems. Through his work, he began to realize people did not like the sound of their own voices. With the transition to school over Zoom, many students can relate to the discomfort of hearin Citizens read lantern riddles in an event held to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Hengyang, China's Hunan Province. (photo: Liu Xinrong/Guangming Picture) 2 1 [ Editor: zyq ] Members of the 2018 Officer Team for the Hispanic Student Society gather at the fall banquet. Hispanic Student Society is dedicated to three aspects of student life: academic, service and social. Lubbock, TX (79409) Today Thunderstorms...some strong, especially early. Low 62F. Winds ENE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Thunderstorms...some strong, especially early. Low 62F. Winds ENE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. For the most part, Jones has remained silent about Northam, a fellow Democrat whose Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook page had a photo of someone in blackface and someone in Ku Klux Klan robes. After first admitting he was in the photo, the governor now denies he was but has admitted to wearing black shoe polish on his face to impersonate Michael Jackson in 1984. The waters that surround us in Hampton Roads are a big and beloved part of not only our economy, but also our regional identity and, wow, do they contribute to our traffic headaches. Anyone who has lived here for any appreciable time understands the simple fact that you cant get from here to there without crossing a bridge, a tunnel, or both in the same structure. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) holds talks with Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Chyngyz Aidarbekov in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 21, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan) BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday held talks with Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Chyngyz Aidarbekov in Beijing, pledging to expand reciprocal cooperation. Wang said China and Kyrgyzstan enjoy sound mutual trust and political foundation, and no outside interference can affect the development of bilateral ties. He said China will work with Kyrgyzstan to implement the consensus reached by leaders of the two countries, promote the synergy of their development strategies, facilitate economic and trade cooperation and steadily push forward capacity cooperation, so as to lift bilateral relations to a new level. Wang expressed hope that they will continue to explore mutually beneficial cooperation by jointly building the Belt and Road. Aidarbekov said the Kyrgyz government firmly supports China's legitimate position on domestic issues including those related to Xinjiang, will firmly adhere to the one-China policy and spare no effort to safeguard their friendship. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] There is no desire on behalf of the university to hold onto any student's possessions one minute longer than is necessary, Hanchett said. We're working to set up a means of getting all of their stuff back to them as quickly as we can, but it has to be as safely as we can, and we have to be absolutely certain that it's not a risk. Chris Megerian covers the White House and President Trump from the Los Angeles Times' D.C. bureau. He previously wrote about the Russia investigation, the 2016 presidential campaign and the 2015 United Nations summit on global warming in Paris. While based in Sacramento, he reported on Gov. Jerry Brown, climate change policies, California politics and state finances. Before joining The Times in January 2012, he spent three years covering politics and law enforcement at the Star-Ledger in New Jersey. He grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Emory University in Atlanta. Because most job-related research is conducted online, the workforce council also launched the Hampton Roads Veterans Career Compass an online jobs portal targeting the military community, Avery said. Job postings are free and the portal is looking for more employers to get involved, he said. Job seekers can upload their military transcripts and build their resumes on the site. The Inner Mongolia autonomous region's Hulunbuir celebrates the Winter Nadam Festival with performances. [Photo by Xu Lin/China Daily] North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region reported GDP of 1.73 trillion yuan ($255 billion) in 2018, up 5.3 percent, authorities said Wednesday. According to the region's statistics bureau, last year, value added in the primary industry rose 3.2 percent to 175.4 billion yuan, and that in the secondary industry reached 680.7 billion yuan, up 5.1 percent. Value added in the tertiary industry grew 6 percent to 872.8 billion yuan. The tertiary industry was also the largest contributor to the region's GDP last year, accounting for over 50 percent of the total. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Please let us know what's going on! Go to form Elizabeth City, NC (27909) Today Sun and a few passing clouds. High 86F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Low near 70F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. As was the case last year, the bright spots in the data included increases in the percentage of 11th and 12th graders taking rigorous, high-level courses up from 67.6 percent in 2015-16 to 74.8 percent last year and also an increase in the percentage of students who met the benchmark on college readiness exams including the SAT and Advanced Placement tests up from 40.7 percent three years ago to 44.8 percent last year. A UN Security Council resolution on the Pulwama attack contained specific language proposed by India through its partner countries, including the naming of Jaish-e-Mohammed and calling for bringing the perpetrators of the crime to justice, official sources said on Friday. The UNSC, comprising 15 permanent and non-permanent members including China, on Thursday condemned in the "strongest terms" the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack perpetrated by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish, in a show of solidarity and support to India. India had mounted a diplomatic offensive to isolate Pakistan in the international community for its support to terror groups and cross-border terrorism. In the resolution, the UNSC also reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constituted one of the most serious threats to international peace and security and underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. The resolution was adopted unanimously by the UNSC, including China, and it contained specific language that India had proposed via partner countries, including on the naming of the Jaish and bringing perpetrators to justice, the sources said. The UNSC urged all states, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with India and all other relevant authorities to bring perpetrators of the Pulwama attack to justice. The UNSC resolution also reiterated that any acts of terrorism were criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed. More than 40 CRPF jawans were killed in a suicide attack by a Jaish suicide bomber in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country. She went to work in the HIV/AIDS unit at DPH in 1986. She left in 1994 to work at the Community Health Center in Meriden, then became deputy director for health in Hartford in 1995. She returned to DPH in 2002 as section chief in the Community, Family and Health Equity unit and stayed there until leaving for Washington in 2016. The Parliaments of Uganda and Serbia have this Friday Feb 22, 2019 signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish collaboration between the two legislatures. Speaker Rebecca Kadaga signed on behalf of the Parliament of Uganda and her counterpart, Her Excellency. Maja Gojkovic, signed on behalf of the Parliament of Serbia. The signing has taken place in Kampala. Stories Continues after ad Kadaga says the deal would help to open market for Uganda in the Europe. I welcomed the call from the Serbian Speaker for Uganda to take advantage of the free trade area in Serbia to reach other markets in the European Union. This is something we are going to take up very urgently with the Minister of Trade and the Chamber of Commerce, the speaker said in a post on her official Facebook page. Uganda is already exporting fruits to Serbia and will increase on the quantities and frequencies of exports. I commend the government of Serbia for making progress in developing the country, despite the turmoil it faced, she added. But there will also be a public perception of cover-up, Blumenthal said. Because if (Attorney General William Barr) believesI think he doesthat a sitting president cant be indicted and he brings no charges that Mueller says can be brought, and also if there are no public disclosures, the public will rightly feel that there is a cover up. EDWARDSVILLE Elaborate and meticulously crafted braids, cornrows, twists, locs and Bantu knots are just a few ways African women wore their hair in their native countries, according to Southern Illinois University Edwardsvilles Makesha Harris Lee, EdD, assistant director for Pre-Collegiate Programs. Harris Lee presented Black HAIRitage to SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School girls on Thursday, Feb. 14 at the East St. Louis Higher Education Campus. In Africa, people could tell a persons marital, economic, community and religious status based on their hairstyles, Harris told the group of CHS students. Hairstyles could also be used to determine if a woman had children or the geographic region in which the person lived. Harris Lee, who wrote #BlackHairMatters: Exploring the Relationship between Black Women Students and Their Hair in Higher Education in the United States for her dissertation, was accompanied by members of SIUEs MyCURLFRIENDS, an organization that provides information about and celebrates black hair. Black hair does not solely identify us, but is part of our identity, said Harris Lee. These are high school students who will go on to college and adulthood. They will run into decisions about their hair, and they will deal with their relationship to their hair. You do face stereotypes in the workforce and in corporate America. Whether an African American woman gets promoted, can be related to how she chooses to wear her hair, continued Harris Lee. The hair of those black women who move up the corporate ladder gets shorter and shorter, because they are trying to mirror the images of those around them. White males and black males wear their hair shorter. Harris Lee also provided U.S. history of African American women hairstyles, fads and concerns including the Tignon Laws that required black women to cover their hair, and the role of black hairstyles in the civil rights movement. I have run into attitudes that black womens natural hair is unprofessional in the workforce, said Jayla Howard, president and founder of MyCURLFRIENDS. Some people will say our natural hair is unprofessional or wild, but our hair is coarse. Black hair can make others feel uncomfortable, because its different. Howard, a junior majoring in exercise science, began MyCURLFRIENDS at SIUE in October 2017 because there were no natural hair organizations on campus. The students enjoyed the knowledge shared by the members of MyCURLFRIENDS and Dr. Makesha Harris Lee, said Pamela Saffore, CHS guidance counselor. A lot of the information shared was new to the students. They learned about the intricate history of African American hairstyles, and how the process our ancestors used to style their hair is similar to what we do today. Following her presentation, Harris Lee provided materials to make hair masks, which can also be used on the skin. One component of the Black HAIRitage event at the Charter High School is to expose the students to one example of healthier hair care practices, said Harris Lee. The products that are bought in the stores are so dangerous, it is important to teach young women and girls about alternative, healthier, and less expensive options for taking care of their hair without the toxic ingredients. MyCURLFRIENDS members led the demonstration of how to create their own all-natural hair products, and explained the benefits of each ingredient, continued Harris Lee. Students were encouraged to share their new knowledge with friends and family, so that they too will be exposed to healthier choices for haircare. WASHINGTON - White House press secretary Sarah Sanders expressed confidence Friday that a special counsel report would show no collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign and said President Donald Trump had no reason to collude because he was an "infinitely better" candidate. Sanders's comments come amid widespread speculation that special counsel Robert Mueller will soon submit his report to Attorney General William Barr detailing findings of an investigation into Russian election interference that began in May 2017. "We're seeing the same reports that you are that it's possible that this is coming to a conclusion," Sanders said during an appearance on Fox News's "Fox & Friends." "We feel good about the fact that what we've said all along for last two years will be clear: There was no collusion," Sanders said. "The idea that President Trump needed to collude with Russia in order to beat Hillary Clinton is frankly laughable. He was an infinitely better candidate with a better message, and he outworked her. That's why he won. It had nothing to do with Russia." While Trump prevailed over Clinton in the electoral college, Clinton received nearly 3 million more votes than Trump did nationwide. Trump also reiterated his eagerness to see the Mueller investigation come to a close, writing in a Friday morning tweet: "The Witch Hunt, so bad for our Country, must end!" Trump cited, as he has before, recent comments from Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., that his panel has not found direct evidence of coordination between Trump's campaign and Russia. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the panel's vice chairman, has said such a conclusion is premature given the committee has not concluded its work. Trump also used Twitter on Friday to distribute a cartoon showing an elderly version of CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer in the year 2038. "Update! We should see evidence of Russia-Trump collusion any day now," Blitzer is depicted saying. Speaking to reporters at the White House after her television appearance, Sanders said officials there are not focused on the Mueller report. "Right now, our focus is not on the Mueller report, but it's on doing our jobs," Sanders said. "It's on focusing on the things Americans care about." Those things, she said, include preparations for Trump's meeting next week in Vietnam with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which is part of a push for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. During her Fox News appearance, Sanders accused the media of setting unreasonably high expectations for the summit. "The only one setting high expectations is probably the media because they're looking for reasons to attack this president," Sanders said. "They hate the idea that he's done so well on something his predecessors couldn't do anything on. He's had great success here in the fact that they were even able to sit down at the table. The fact that he's able to do it again is in itself a big success." WASHINGTON - The women's rights protester who was arrested for exposing her chest outside the Virginia capitol was released from jail on Thursday after being initially held without bail. Judge Lawrence Cann allowed Michelle Renay Sutherland, 45, to be released without posting any bond after initially ordering her held indefinitely, the women's lawyer, David Baugh, said. Cann explained his initial decision to hold her without bail by saying the only information that he had in front of him at the time was that she had made an obscene display of her body - not that she was in Virginia as part of a protest, Baugh said. "As far as he knew she's a flasher," Baugh said. "He said, 'When I denied you bond you had no ties to Virginia and this is all I had in front of me.'" In a phone interview shortly after her release, Sutherland, 45, an artist and activist who goes by the name "Sister Leona," told The Washington Post that said she didn't know if she'd be held until her trial date, in mid-March. "I was sitting in jail with women who have murder charges, and here I am a protester," she said. "I was very surprised that I didn't get out that same day and the next day when the bond was removed I was like something strange is going on." She said she passed her time by talking to the 25 other women she was housed with - about what they were in for, how to play spades, and about the cause she had been protesting for, the Equal Rights Amendment, a constitutional add-on that aims to ensure equal rights for women. Sutherland said she led an informal hour-long class at the jail about the ERA, which is currently the subject of a political fight in Richmond, Virginia. Sutherland was arrested on Monday. She and Natalie White, an artist and vice president of the advocacy group Equal Means Equal, decided to portray Virginia's state seal, which shows Virtus - the genius of the Commonwealth and the female personification of virtue - standing over Tyranny, a man played by White. Virtus' left breast is exposed on the seal - and so was Sutherland's. Then police came. Sutherland was booked Monday on a charge of indecent exposure, a misdemeanor. But then Judge Cann sentenced her to be held in jail without bail, according to officials - an unusually strict measure given the low-level crime she was charged with. Her next court appearance is scheduled for March 21. Sutherland's detention on such a minor charge drew local media attention, amid a heated battle in Virginia over the Equal Rights Amendment. "Showing a breast as part of a satirical act of protest is not obscene," the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia tweeted this week. "The real obscenity at the Capitol is lawmakers standing in the way of constitutional equality against the will of the people." "This is ridiculous that she would get held without bond for doing an artistic reenactment for standing up for equal rights for women," White told The Washington Post. "This is obviously politically motivated. They're trying to send us a clear sign that they're trying to silence women in Virginia." In an email, Michael Herring, the Richmond commonwealth's attorney, said he believed it was unfortunate that Sutherland was held without bail. "We were not consulted on the issue of bond, but we also failed to speak up and recommend that she be released on recognizance," he said. Sutherland is still facing the misdemeanor charge. Baugh, her lawyer, said that though the state's statute stipulates that it's illegal to make an obscene display with your body, case law demonstrates that a conviction requires the display to have been made with a sexual intent. "To be convicted, there must be an obscene display and there must be some solicitous enticement along with the obscene display - something going in prurient interest," he said. "I have seen no evidence of allegation of that. It's my understanding she was out there demonstrating, not trying to get a date." The arrest happened Monday around 3:30 p.m., said Joseph Macenka, a spokesman for the Virginia Capitol Police. "Officers identified themselves, asked her several times to cover up her left breast," Macenka said. "Instead of doing that she arranged her clothing in such a manner so that both of her breasts were then exposed." Video published by the Richmond Times-Dispatch shows Sutherland in the moments surrounding the arrest. "I'm not sex; I'm actually dressed up as the woman who's on, like, literally the flag," she said. "This is what they do to women who are standing up for themselves." After she was handcuffed, someone put a jacket around her chest, the video appears to show. She was taken to the Richmond City Justice Center jail, where she was booked on a single count of indecent exposure, Macenka said. Kevin Martingayle, a lawyer in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and former president of the Virginia State Bar, told the Times-Dispatch that he believes Sutherland's action was political speech and therefore "entitled to the highest free speech protection known to law." "She should win, and the denial of bond seems to be totally inappropriate," he said. "I am very surprised to see that done in a case in which she'd be unlikely to get jail time even if convicted." Cann did not return a message left at the number listed for him in public records on Wednesday evening. The ERA, which would bar discrimination based on sex if ratified by three-quarters of the states, was introduced 95 years ago by suffragist Alice Paul. By 1982, 35 states had passed it, three shy of the total needed for ratification. The effort languished for years but has gained renewed prominence recently. Nevada and Illinois have since passed the amendment; Virginia would be the 38th and last state needed to ratify it, though there are discussions about whether time has expired on the amendment. It is not clear it will get to that point, however. On Thursday, Virginia's Republican-controlled House of Delegates killed Democrats' last-ditch efforts to pass the it in the waning days of the legislative session. Activists and organizations have focused their attention on the state, buying billboards along Interstate 95, taking out newspaper ads and mailing thousands of postcards. Kati Hornung, campaign coordinator of VAratifyERA, which is advocating the bill's passage, said Sutherland's arrest and detention were proof of the need for the ERA. "The system was designed by men, for men, and they seem intent on scaring women from political speech," she said in a statement. "In this situation we see a man exerting authority, who had no basis for that authority because Ms. Sutherland was not doing anything illegal. Further, the judge overstepped the boundaries of reasonableness, perhaps to make an example of Ms. Sutherland." - - - The Washington Post's Patricia Sullivan contributed to this report. Criminal prosecutors are looking over a recent Supreme Court decision on civil forfeiture to determine how it might impact both future and past cases of asset seizure. A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling handed down could have a major impact on seizure of property by police and the courts. Madison County States Attorney Tom Gibbons said he had just read the case, Timbs v. Indiana, and passed it on to other attorneys in his office. Jersey County States Attorney Ben Goetten had not had time to read it Wednesday. I think its consistent with the increasing scrutiny of asset forfeiture by the courts, Gibbons said. The court ruled in the case that the seizure of a $42,000 Land Rover was excessive. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion, which was joined by all the justices except Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, who wrote separate concurring opinions. The decision stems from the 2013 arrest of Tyson Timbs, of Marion, Indiana, who later pleaded guilty to dealing a controlled substance, heroin. At the time of the arrest, police seized a $42,000 Land Rover SUV he had recently bought with money from an insurance settlement. Police tried to seek civil forfeiture of the vehicle, claiming it has been used in the commission of the crime. One fairly unique factor is that the vehicle seized was bought with legal funds, according to Gibbons. You are actually taking something away that the person owns lawfully, Gibbons said. Courts have said that has a higher level of scrutiny to it. When a drug dealer uses drug money to buy a car, the drug dealer didnt have the right to that money in the first place, he added. The decision could have far-reaching impact on law enforcement agencies, which routinely seize vehicles and other property. In many cases, including locally, seized vehicles are routinely used by law enforcement agencies. The case drew interest from liberal groups concerned about police abuses and conservative organizations opposed to excessive regulation. Timbs was represented by the libertarian public interest law firm Institute for Justice. The decision is an important first step for curtailing the potential for abuse that we see in civil forfeiture nationwide, said Sam Gedge, a lawyer with the Institute for Justice. After pleading guilty, Timbs was sentenced to one year of home detention, five years probation and court-supervised addiction treatment, and fines totaling $1,203. Police also attempted to seize the Land Rover, but the state court denied the request, observing that Timbs had recently purchased the vehicle for $42,000, more than four times the maximum $10,000 monetary fine. The court determined the seizure would be grossly disproportionate to the gravity of Timbs offense, hence unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendments Excessive Fines Claus. The Eighth Amendment reads: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. The ruling was affirmed by an Indiana appellate court, but the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the opinion, in part because it said the excessive fines clause applies only to federal action and does not apply to the states. As part of the ruling, the clause was incorporated, or applied to states, through the 14th Amendment. Ginsburg wrote that the historical and logical case for incorporating the Excessive Fines Clause is overwhelming and deeply rooted in this nations history and tradition. Ginsburg also noted the excessive penalties invoked by the seizure. Exorbitant tolls undermine other constitutional liberties, Ginsburg wrote. Excessive fines can be used, for example, to retaliate against or chill the speech of political enemies.. I think its fairly sound reasoning on the courts part, Gibbons said. Its an interesting opinion. Were reviewing it, he said. I had not seen the case, so I went and read it. I sent it to the attorneys that handle those types of cases to make sure we remain in full compliance. He was unsure how or if it would be applied retroactively. If there are questions raised about past cases, well have to go back and look at the cases, he added, noting that the source of funds used to purchase the asset will be the deciding factor. The case was remanded, or sent back, to be reheard by the Indiana court system using the new ruling for guidance. In his concurrence, Thomas agreed with the decision, but made a different legal argument. He wrote that freedom from excessive fines was protected by the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States in the 14th Amendment. Some information provided by The Associated Press. Scott Cousins can be reached at scousins@thetelegraph.com. Update: Charged Friday with aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and unlawful possession of less than 5 grams of methamphetamine is Billy J. McCane, 31, of the 1200 block of Willis Street, Alton. Bail was set at $30,000. Previous story: ALTON Power to 656 Ameren customers in Alton was cut Thursday evening after a car fleeing a police stop plowed into a power pole at the intersection of Union and Liberty streets. The incident occurred just after 5 p.m. An Alton police officer radioed that a white male driving a maroon car was failing to yield, traveling on Union Street. Seconds later, lights flickered throughout the city, and went dark over a several-block radius around the Union-Liberty intersection, including most of the Middletown neighborhood. The suspect was quickly apprehended and later transported to a hospital with facial injuries. His identity wasnt immediately released. No officers were injured. The pole completely snapped, causing a transformer to apparently explode. The vehicle was totaled. There were no immediate indication why the driver attempted to flee. Ameren crews made quick work of the immediate problem, restoring power to all but five customers by around 6 p.m. The original estimated time was 7:15 p.m. Sections of Liberty and Union streets were expected to be closed through Thursday evening while Ameren crews cleaned up and restored necessary equipment at the intersection. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said Thursday that he plans to run for reelection in 2020 and remained unapologetic for repeatedly making offensive remarks, some of which have been widely rebuked as racist and recently led to him being stripped of his congressional committee assignments. The nine-term congressman has long weathered criticism for his inflammatory comments about race and immigration, but he appeared to take things a step too far in a Jan. 10 interview with the New York Times in which he was quoted questioning how terms such as "white nationalism" and "white supremacy" had become offensive. The 29-word quote sparked fierce public backlash as King was condemned by members of his own party - including fellow Iowa Republicans Sens. Charles E. Grassley and Joni Ernst - and faced numerous calls for resignation. Then, just days after the interview published, Republican leaders voted unanimously to remove King from his posts on the House Judiciary, Agriculture and Small Business committees. When asked during an interview released Thursday by Iowa Public Television if he was "sorry for anything" he has said, a defiant King defended himself, blaming the "dishonest" media for his problems. "I have nothing to apologize for," King said on the "Iowa Press" show. "Each thing starts out with some formerly credible organization that launches this and then we have this phenomenon that America is not ready for, and that's this cyber bullying that unleashes . . . creating a firestorm." He continued: "If you just hold these publications to what is true, there is no story whatsoever." In the days before the midterm elections, King came under fire for a variety of issues, ranging from reportedly meeting with members of a far-right Austrian party with historical Nazi ties to supporting a Toronto mayoral candidate considered to be a white nationalist. Aside from having his actions rebuked by high-ranking Republicans, King lost support from major companies such as Land O'Lakes and Intel. A week before the midterms, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report changed its rating for King's district from "likely Republican" to "lean Republican." He went on to barely keep his seat against a political newcomer, dropping from an 18-point lead to eking out a victory with just over three percentage points. Then in January, the Times published its interview with King, who reportedly made the following comment after insisting he wasn't a racist: "White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization - how did that language become offensive?" King said. "Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?" More for you News Rep. Steve King hopes prayer will bring back his House... After the interview came out, King issued a statement on Twitter refuting the suggestions that he was "a white nationalist or a white supremacist." In the statement, which did not dispute the reporting in the story, he described himself as "simply a Nationalist." On Thursday, however, King argued that he was misquoted by Times reporter Trip Gabriel, explaining that he had been talking about Western civilization and not white supremacy. He has made similar comments as recently as last week at a town hall in Iowa, the Sioux City Journal reported. To prove his point, King turned to LexisNexis, a research database with access to archived news reports and public records. After three weeks of research, King said "in all of history" LexisNexis showed he had never used "either one of those terms that identified as the odious ideologies." But he noted that he has said "Western civilization" 276 times. "If you want to score it on a matter of logic, it's Steve King: 276," he said. "New York Times: 0 and 0." In an emailed statement to The Washington Post Friday, the Times's politics editor Patrick Healy said King was not misquoted nor were his comments taken out of context. "Trip Gabriel typed detailed notes during the interview and we are absolutely confident that we quoted Mr. King accurately, fairly and in the proper context," Healy said. "I'd point out that for more than 24 hours after the article was published, Mr. King did not dispute he had made the comment." It's not the first time King has claimed he was misquoted after landing in hot water. Last year, he pushed back against a story from the Weekly Standard, which reported that he had referred to immigrants as "dirt." King demanded that the conservative magazine share the full audio of his remarks -- and they did, releasing a two-minute clip in which he could be heard making what appeared to be an incendiary joke. After the recording was made public, Sarah Stevens, King's chief of staff, continued to insist that the magazine had misrepresented the congressman's comments, The Post's Kristine Phillips reported. The quote in the Times was also not the first time a caustic statement has gotten King in trouble, as The Post's Cleve R. Wootson Jr. reported last month. At a 2016 congressional hearing, he said black people could afford abortions if they stopped buying iPhones, Rewire.News reported. A year later, he claimed "our civilization" can't be restored with "somebody else's babies." He once even displayed a small Confederate flag on his desk in his Washington office, which he said Thursday was "a symbol of freedom of speech" that was only there "for a few weeks to make a point." "I am descended from abolitionists," King said. "My great-great-grandfather, five times great, gave his life to put an end to slavery." Despite the controversies, King appeared optimistic as he discussed his plans for the upcoming year, which include working to get back his committee assignments, and his reelection bid. He already faces three primary challengers, one of whom is a sitting Iowa state senator, the Des Moines Register reported. During Thursday's interview, King had a strong message for his constituents. "Don't let the elitists in this country, the power brokers in this country, tell you who's going to represent you in the United States Congress," he said. Anything she creates in the conduct of state business would still be a public record, said Thomas Hennick, the public education officer for the state Freedom of Information Commission. It would be best practice if everybody who did municipal or state work had their own address with that municipality or the state. The more stuff thats captured by a state or municipal server, we would all be better off that way. EDWARDSVILLE Edwardsville Township delved into the topic of racial equality Wednesday at its February Lunch and Learn event, its 15th such forum, at the First Christian Church on Main Street across from the public safety building. Three speakers touched on the history, programs and services that surround this topic. Of them, James Arnold, with Madison County Community Development, fielded the most questions after he completed his presentation. Arnold is a program director who administers a number of grants funded via community development block grants (CDBGs), such as county demolition. He coordinates the HOME Investment Partnership Program, which he said is one way the county tackles affordable housing. Affordable housing is defined as housing for which the occupants are paying no more than 30 percent of his or her income for gross housing costs, including utilities. HOME is often operated with other housing programs. Its a type of United States federal assistance provided by HUD to states to provide decent and affordable housing for low- and very low-income Americans, he told the audience of approximately 30 people. He added that it is the largest federal block grant to states and local governments for that purpose and provides about $2 billion annually. He discussed the Civil Rights Act, passed in 1968 and Title VII of it, which is known today as the Fair Housing Act. That act made it illegal to discriminate in housing based on race, color, sex and national origin. HUD is charged with enforcing this and, his department also ensures compliances since its HUD-funded. April is National Fair Housing Month and we take a proclamation to the grants committee, where it is ready, identifying Madison County as a participant in fair housing, he said. He talked about how qualified buyers can buy a home and get up to $5,000 in down payment assistance. Last year, we were able to help about 115 home buyers purchase homes in Madison County, he said. Banks and lenders know us and love us. Applicants must have: a credit score of at least 620; a front-end/back-end ratio of 35:41 to avoid making new owners immediately house-poor and mandatory HUD Housing Counseling through Justine Petersen and Beyond Housing. Arnold discussed four rental development projects occurring in Madison County using 2018 funding. They use Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) from the Illinois Housing Development Authority. First will be the Community of Sunnybrook in Alton, 40 units of new construction along Washington Street, just east of downtown. Currently vacant, Sunnybrook will have 10 residential buildings with four units per building. Each unit will have its own clothes washer and dryer, dishwasher for tenants convenience. Near the propertys southern edge will be a clubhouse and managers office, plus computer and meeting rooms. Other site improvements will include a new concrete street, parking bays at each unit, a playground and play area and more. Sunnybrook will cost $13.3 million. Next up is Flax Meadows in Highland. Thirty-two new townhomes designed for families will be built on Flax Drive. Units will consist of four one-bedroom units, 12 two-bedroom units and 16 three-bedroom units. Included in the mix will be four accessible units, one sensory unit and 28 adaptable units. Nine of these units are committed to project-based vouchers. Flax Meadows will cost $10.2 million. Then there are the Edison Avenue Lofts in Granite City. Located at 2001 Edison Avenue in the former Granite City YMCA building, the project consists of converting the historic building to 37 affordable rental units with two commercial spaces plus a room for the community to use. Twenty-five of the units will be one-bedroom while the remainder will be two-bedrooms. Ten units (eight one-bedrooms and two two-bedrooms) will be project-based voucher units. The entire project will cost slightly more than $10 million, with HOME funds covering $600,000. Finally, he talked about Highland Villas, also in Highland. They will be located on Route 143 near its intersection with Valentine Lane. The project features new construction of eight, single-story buildings with six units each. An additional single-story community building will also be added. There will be a total of 48 units, with 43 one-bedroom and five two-bedroom apartments, all of which are restricted to those who are 55 and older. Thirteen of the units will use project-based housing vouchers for assistance. HOME will fund $400,000 of the project and the projects total cost is $9.3 million. The other speakers were Dr. Victoria Harrison, from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsvilles Department of Historical Studies and the townships Christine Doty, who substituted for Elisabeth Risch, from Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity, who was ill. Doty is the townships community outreach counselor. Harrison reviewed the Fair Housing Act amid a historical perspective concerning the Great Migration and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Doty read Rischs remarks on Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Councils (EHOC) service offerings. Risch is the assistant director of research and education at EHOC. Reach Charles Bolinger at (618) 656-4700, ext. 31 EDWARDSVILLE Early voting for the April 2 consolidated election started Thursday morning at the Madison County Clerks Office, and while the response was far from overwhelming it wasnt bad, according to Clerk Debra Ming-Mendoza. She said by about noon a total of 13 people had cast ballots, with one voter waiting at the gate when we opened. She traditionally likes to be the first one to vote, Ming-Mendoza said. She said 13 voters by noon on the first day is probably a historical number. Theres never as much interest as there is in consolidated as there are in the generals, especially presidential, she said. Its very sad, she added. These folks were voting on control and impact our lives on a daily basis. In the 2015 consolidated election, the last comparable contest, a total of 26,857 out of 174,803 registered voters, or 15.36 percent, cast ballots. Early voting in the County Clerks Office continues through March 15, then moves to numerous satellite branches from March 18 through April 2. There are a total of 276 individual candidates and about 500 separate ballot combinations. There are also more than a dozen write-in candidates. The election will cover municipal and school boards, as well as library, township and water districts. There are also three referendums on the ballot. She doesnt anticipate large numbers of voters coming out for the spring elections. I am being ambitious and hoping we have a 20-22 percent turnout, she said. That would be above historical numbers. Some specific races could see higher percentages. In Glen Carbon, a number of people are running as write-ins for the village board. When voting for a write-in candidate, Ming-Mendo0za said voters must be sure to shade in the oval next to write-in and then write the correct name. Election judges will be instructed to provide full lists of write-in candidates. For information, including sample ballots, visit madisoncountyvotes.org. SPRINGFIELD Illinois Catholic leaders said Thursday proposed legislation pending in the General Assembly greatly expanding reproductive rights in the state treads on their First Amendment right to freedom of religion. One of the measures, called the Reproductive Health Act, would repeal the Prairie States abortion law and replace it with language its Democratic sponsors call more up-to-date. Among other things, it would require private insurance companies to cover abortion procedures, repeal a ban on partial-birth abortions, and strike a requirement that only doctors perform the procedure. The other measure would repeal the Parental Notification of Abortion Act, which requires a minor to consult with her parent or guardian before terminating a pregnancy. Robert Gilligan, executive director of Catholic Conference of Illinois, said Thursday these measures are evidence the state is headed on the wrong path. The group represents Illinois six Catholic bishops. These bills taken together crowds us out. For people who have moral objections, they basically are saying we dont have any rights, Gilligan said. Thats whats going on, that people with First Amendment rights are being crowded out of protections under the law. By regulating private insurance companies to cover abortion procedures as they do birth control, for example, Gilligan said everyone who participates financially in that insurance plan is paying for such procedures with no ability to opt out. The measure would also remove a law allowing medical professionals to decline to participate in abortion procedures, which he added raises other moral questions. Its hard to come up with a word that really describes how bad this is, Gilligan said. I think its an assault on human dignity and it violates our concept of fairness. The first pair of legislation, which repeals the Abortion Act of 1974, is House Bill 2495 and Senate Bill 1942. The second pair of legislation, repealing the Parental Notification of Abortion Act, is House Bill 2467 and Senate Bill 1594. All four are sponsored by Democratic lawmakers. The initiatives mirror those presented in a report published by Gov. J.B. Pritzkers Equality, Equity, and Opportunities transition team. The governor has vowed to make Illinois the most progressive state in the nation for access to reproductive health care. ALTON A Korean War casualty from Alton whose remains were left unidentified and interred in The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, have now been identified thanks to recent DNA testing. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced Friday that Army Pfc. James C. Williams, 19, of Alton, Illinois, killed July 20, 1950, is now officially accounted for. Williams was a member of Medical Company, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, when he was killed in action near Taejon, South Korea, according to a press release issued Friday by the DPAA. Multiple eye witnesses stated that Williams was killed while trying to transport patients from the Taejon Air Strip. According to an article reporting his death in the Aug. 21, 1950, Alton Evening Telegraph says Williams, whose family lived on Leonard St. enlisted in August of 1947. The teenage soldiers death was nearly avoided. Just a few weeks from the completion of his enlistment, Williams was on his way home to Alton from his assignment in Japan when he was diverted to Korea due to the outbreak of war. I have been called back, he wrote in a letter to his parents just 10 days before his death. I guess you know where I am now. A soldiers return Fellow Soldiers returned Williams remains to the collection point, however the 34th Infantry Regiments Medical Company was ordered to withdraw, and during the hasty withdrawal, his remains and those of numerous service members were left behind. Despite multiple attempts to recover Williams remains, he was declared non-recoverable on Jan. 16, 1956. A set of remains, designated Unknown X-218 Taejon, was recovered from the vicinity of Taejon, along with the remains of three other individuals who were later identified as members of either the 34th Infantry Regiment or 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. Unknown X-218 Taejon could not be identified and was interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. On March 12, 2018, Unknown X-218 Taejon was disinterred from the Punchbowl and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis. To identify Williams remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis, dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Williams name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who are missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. Williams will be buried July 19, 2019, in West Hopkinsville, Kentucky. DPAA is grateful to Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this mission, the release stated. Today, 7,666 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously returned by North Korean officials or recovered from North Korea by American recovery teams. For family contact information, contact the Army Service Casualty office at (800) 892-2490. For additional information on the Defense Departments mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call 703-699-1420/1169. Digital producer Nathan Woodside contributed to this report How to Disappear: Notes on Invisibility in a Time of Transparency By Akiko Busch Penguin Press. 207 pp. $26 --- There are many ways of becoming invisible. Roger Caillois, the great surrealist researcher on play and on mimicry, wrote that civilizations have existed without ploughs, wheels or levers, but never without masks. Hiding behind something, concealing ourselves from others or from ourselves, is as fundamental to humans as play. Peekaboo. Akiko Busch's "How to Disappear: Notes on Invisibility in a Time of Transparency" begins with a discussion of the atavistic delights of disappearance, pleasures that in some ways have gotten harder to come by in our age of linked-in visibility. "In recent years," she writes, "we have been more preoccupied than ever by the question of how to stay in view." So much of our lives is now exposed, and we know it: Smart speakers listen to our every word, and our appliances can converse through the Internet and deploy web services to predict what we're likely to buy next. Thanks to GPS, today's teenagers are monitored by anxious parents, and all of us who carry cellphones have our locations pinged to cell towers so we can always be found. We are always potentially visible, and we often send out tweets or posts to ensure that someone recognizes, even likes us. All of this transparency can stoke a desire to disappear. Busch, who has previously written about reclaiming rivers by swimming across them, and about citizen science as effective environmentalism, in this book is interested in how we have devised strategies to avoid being seen. "The entire world is shining with things we cannot see," she writes, and these short essays explore what it can mean to move among such things. "Inconspicuousness begins as self-protection but soon extends to self-reliance and a deeper appreciation of who we are and where we belong." What Edmund Burke called "judicious obscurity" can be empowering. The play of visibility and invisibility starts early, as infants and toddlers begin to learn about object permanence. Are you still there when I can't see you? How about me? When I cover my eyes, can you see me? From peekaboo to hide and seek, children find fear and delight in covering and uncovering themselves and others. Busch quotes the famed psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott: "It's a joy to be hidden but a disaster not to be found." It's no fun at all, and indeed may be terrifying, to realize that nobody is looking for you. There is little about terror in "How to Disappear," but there is a great deal about wonder. Busch is fascinated by the astonishing ways animals use camouflage, or what scientists call "adaptive coloration." Caillois might have been helpful here, but his work and the stream of reflections that has followed from it go mostly unnoticed. There are insightful pages on British zoologist Hugh B. Cott's work on how animals fool one another by blending in with their surroundings. Busch doesn't catch Cott's hide-and-seek name ("You Be Caught"), but she does share her delight in the "menagerie of imposters" and concludes that "invisibility seems woven into the very structure of being and behavior." Busch's subtitle signals that she's providing only notes on invisibility. Her slim volume lacks a general argument. Instead, the author shares her enthusiasms for the natural world and for how one can position oneself to catch a glimpse of those things that shine through the obscurity around them. For example, she describes the joys of deep-sea diving and of the indifference (she imagines) with which undersea creatures treat her when she is far beneath the surface. Underwater, though, Busch loses me, and when she asserts that "submerged, I have become a refugee from the visible world," I am visibly rolling my eyes. Refugee? Matters only get worse when she writes of the "healing" and "solidarity" that come from being under the sea. I suppose expensive tourist activities can be restorative, but the imagined solidarity with fish and refugees seems all wet to me. Busch wants to create "a field guide to invisibility," but field guides are useful when they help the wanderer tell one thing from another - to distinguish, say, among similar-looking trees or flowers. She instead tends to lump many things together: Camouflaging animals hiding from predators are grouped with divers in expensive gear enjoying colorful fish; memories that disappear from dementia somehow are similar to writings that are made to disappear by redacting censors. Field guides need to be precise, and although there are some fine moments in "How to Disappear," Busch can be a bit wooly. She notes that contemporary culture tends to accept the pliability of the self, citing Rachel Dolezal as an example. Dolezal was widely vilified for passing as an African-American - not celebrated for expanding the boundaries of identity. A discussion of the "vanishing self" may belong in a book on invisibility, but when Busch writes of an anesthesia before minor surgery producing the "most blissful" moments of boundless "gratitude" and "an ineffable accommodation by a larger and supremely benign sphere of existence," this guide eludes me. Anesthesia-produced ineffability, even from a drug labeled "versed," should be left in the operating room. Busch doesn't want disappearance to sound like an option only for the privileged, so she ends her book with comments on how diminishing the self might lead one to become kinder, more altruistic. That's nice, but sometimes animals obscure themselves to be more successful predators and sometimes to avoid being prey. Distinctions, Caillois noted long ago, are key - whether one is hiding or seeking. --- Roth is the president of Wesleyan University. His most recent book is "Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters." We Want to Negotiate: The Secret World of Kidnapping, Hostages and Ransom By Joel Simon Columbia Global Reports. 189 pp. $15.99 paperback --- I never took it personally when the Islamic Republic of Iran abducted me in 2014 and used me as a hostage for 544 days. True, the impact on my loved ones - and my own lasting scars - is deeply personal. But the officials in Tehran who raided my home and imprisoned my wife and me were not so much interested in us. They grabbed me because I was a Washington Post reporter and an American citizen, and because of that I represented something of value to them. I understood that very early in my ordeal. What I was less sure about was this: What, if anything, would the U.S. government do to bring me home? This is the awful question that hostages and their families ask themselves. And as Joel Simon expertly explains in his new book, "We Want to Negotiate: The Secret World of Kidnapping, Hostages and Ransom," there is no consensus about how to respond to an ancient practice that has made a terrible resurgence in the post-9/11 era. When foreign governments or terrorists or gangs take a human hostage, they transform him or her from a person into a piece of property. That hostage's government then must decide: Should it pay ransom? Should it refuse to engage? Or should it follow some other tactic? Its response speaks volumes about that nation's values - and it's a good predictor of whether the hostage will survive. Simon, the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, is well suited to explaining this modern phenomenon. Working for more than two decades with the group, he has advocated on behalf of hundreds of journalists taken hostage, including me, and has come to a difficult conclusion: There is no single answer on how to respond. Simon identifies three important factors that affect the likelihood of a safe return: "Does the hostage have kidnapping and ransom insurance? Was he or she kidnapped by a criminal group? Is the victim a national of a country that pays ransom?" If the answer is "yes" to any of these questions, there is a good chance the individual will come home in one piece. But if the answer is "no" to all of them, survival rates drop dramatically. "If kidnappers are not making it on the money front, they will start making political demands, or sell hostages to terrorists," Doug Milne, a pioneer in kidnapping and ransom insurance - K & R for short - tells Simon. "It's much better to resolve them as commercial cases." But others believe paying ransoms is a bad idea. Paying a terrorist group, a crime syndicate or one of the growing number of governments that practice hostage taking incentivizes the behavior and encourages its continuation. David S. Cohen, President Barack Obama's anti-terrorism guru, articulates the core paradox a nation like the United States faces. Simon quotes a speech Cohen gave in 2012: "Refusing to pay ransoms or to make other concessions to terrorists is, clearly, the surest way to break the cycle, because if kidnappers consistently fail to get what they want they will have a strong incentive to stop taking hostages in the first place."But Cohen also recognizes that "not to pay ransom to terrorists is to jeopardize innocent lives." Governments base their hostage response policies on previous experiences and the political cost of past cases. History is littered with hostages who were left to die, sometimes in horrific fashion. That's because while hostage recovery is always a government's priority, it's never the top priority. Simon offers the heartbreaking example of James Foley, a journalist who was taken hostage in Syria by the Islamic State and ultimately executed despite the efforts of his mother, Diane Foley. James's brutal death came, it can be argued, in large part because of the U.S. government's lack of a coordinated strategy for securing the release of American hostages. Throughout her son's long captivity, Diane Foley kept pushing the U.S. government to do more to bring James home. "She believed it was only President Obama himself who could cut through the bureaucratic infighting and 'make things happen,'" Simon writes. Indeed, that dynamic was at work in my case. Several months into my imprisonment, a secret channel was set up to negotiate my release and that of other Americans in Iran in exchange for the freedom of several Iranians in U.S. prisons. Such arrangements do not happen without the U.S. president's knowledge and approval. Simon provides a vivid critique of Washington's official position: "A no concessions policy is only credible if governments are willing to let hostages die to make the point that they will never give in," he writes. But the U.S. government is not consistent in its approach to hostage recovery. Look no further than the outcomes for American hostages in North Korea and Iran. Three Americans held in North Korea were released on the same day that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Pyongyang, while several Americans, lacking official visits, still languish in Iranian prisons. Some of our close European allies, by contrast, have clear policies for handling hostage situations. In Spain, for instance, there is no need for public outcry because Spaniards expect that the government will do whatever it takes to bring hostages home. Such was the case in 2009 when Spain paid for the release of aid workers taken by al-Qaeda in northern Africa. Simon probes the question of whether the media should be used to raise awareness of a hostage's plight. He details cases, like mine, in which news outlets have worked to compel a government to do everything in its power to retrieve a national. In discussing Foley's situation, he notes that even with public awareness, the hostage was murdered. But press coverage possibly makes a hostage's confinement a little less horrific. "A hostage who matters in the eyes of public opinion ... becomes more valuable and will be better treated by his captors," Florence Aubenas tells Simon. Aubenas, a French war correspondent who was taken hostage in Iraq in 2005 and freed five months later, is now a leading advocate for French hostages. Bringing the plight of hostages to the public has another effect. Remembering them "is defending their integrity, and honoring a certain ideal of freedom of the press and democracy." Reading the many cases Simon explores in the book, I was reminded of my discussion with a government psychologist after my release. I asked him how progress was measured in the healing of a liberated hostage. He smiled and said, "Jason, I've handled a lot of returning captives, and there's one thing I've learned." I leaned forward, ready for the key to recovering my old spirit. "If you've seen one case," the doctor told me, "you've seen one case." No government has found a way to prevent hostage-taking, and the practice is as popular as ever. But this is one area where the Trump administration has had some success. Andrew Brunson, a pastor detained in Turkey, was released in October 2018 after the United States imposed sanctions and tariffs. Joshua Holt, a Mormon missionary, was freed in May 2018 after nearly two years in a Venezuelan prison following separate meetings by two U.S. senators with President Nicolas Maduro. But a question still nags: Those releases came at what cost? For no hostage is ever freed for nothing. In essence, HB 5595 does not legalize selling marijuana for almost every Connecticut resident. It does not change the criminal penalties for distribution, it simply creates an exception to those laws for certain licensed entities. This bill gives one community the legal right to profit from cannabis sales while it remains a felony for everyone else. You would be hard pressed to explain how something so clearly biased could become law, except we have decades of data from the war on drugs to show where we came from and where HB 5595 has us headed. The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming By David Wallace-Wells Tim Duggan. 310 pp. $27 --- Here is a modest proposal. Climate scientists should shut up about global warming. The gatekeepers for what we know and think about climate change should take a vow of silence and let some other people get a word in edgeways. Because, important though the science is, we need to stop defining the great issue of the 21st century in scientific terms. If climate change is, as this book successfully argues, a game-changer for everyone, everywhere, all the time, then let's reflect that in the discourse. We've got the science. Let's bring on the philosophers and playwrights, lawyers and priests, economists and comedians. Society's response depends on it. David Wallace-Wells offers a good starting point. His book, "The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming," scares us with tales from a future climate-changed world that transcend climate science. Not since Bill McKibben's "The End of Nature" 30 years ago have we been told what climate change will mean in such vivid terms. "It is worse, much worse, than you think," Wallace-Wells begins the book. Not least because, in those 30 years, we have doubled our cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels. He foretells a world in which climate change is pervasive, ubiquitous and dramatic. "The path we are on as a planet should terrify anyone living on it," he writes. Nothing will be the same. Wherever we live, we will be flooded, engulfed by fires, plagued by new diseases, choked by toxic air, deprived of water or impoverished as a climate in chaos leads to an economy in meltdown. "The assaults will not be discrete," he warns. "They will produce a kind of cascading violence, waterfalls and avalanches of devastation ... in ways that build on each other and undermine our ability to respond." There will be climate wars. Nature itself will look like an enemy rather than a friend. The naysayers of climate change would rather not hear these stories. They are very good at shutting climate into an echo chamber of spurious scientific uncertainty. What they fear is voices like Wallace-Wells' that might strike a strong public chord. That was why, last fall, they tried to prevent the "climate kids" - American students who charge the government with violating their human right to live in a safe climate - from having their day in court. The legal tussle is still unresolved. In the first half of his book, Wallace-Wells, an editor at New York magazine but not, he insists, an environmentalist, does a valiant job of giving a plain person's guide to the scary scenarios and inevitable truths of climate change. Dying oceans, drying rivers, wildfires, plagues of disease, climate wars and rising tides all get their chapters. His sourcing is good, and he makes the right caveats. All science is provisional, he warns. "What actually lies ahead may prove even grimmer, though the reverse, of course, is also possible," he writes. The essence of the matter is plain, however. Once in the atmosphere, the carbon dioxide from our burning fossil fuels stays there, constantly turning up the planetary thermostat. Climate change does not have an on-off switch. It won't stop at two degrees or four degrees or six degrees or indeed anywhere, until we stop those pesky emissions. The only questions are how soon and at what level. That simple truth is alarming but also a challenge to action. "However warm the planet gets," wallace-Wells writes, "it will always be the case that the decade that follows could contain more suffering or less," depending on our choices. It also changes the dynamic of optimism vs. pessimism over the future, something Wallace-Wells deals with well. In the midst of one apparently doom-laden narrative, he steps aside: "The thing is, I (BEGIN ITAL)am(END ITAL) optimistic," he says. "I know there are horrors to come. ... But those horrors are not yet scripted." We don't have to surrender, because there is no inevitable. Technology is our best shot at halting the planet's warming. The good news is that "the solutions are obvious, and available," he writes. Post-McKibben, we have brought down the cost of wind turbines, solar panels and electric cars so that the seemingly inevitable trade-offs between low-carbon energy and economic growth are disappearing. We now appreciate that reformulating our industries based on low-carbon emissions is good for growth. What worries Wallace-Wells is what is going on in our heads. Why do we react to obvious and available solutions so slowly? Why do we often seem blind to the climate catastrophes happening all around us? We've already witnessed a huge impact from the one degree of warming we have caused so far, but we choose barely to notice. We still routinely call the sharp extremes of climate change natural disasters. Wallace-Wells argues that climate change lay behind the civil war in Syria that sent a million refugees to Europe. The influx of desperate people, he says, excited anti-migrant passions, unleashing "much of the populist moment the entire West is passing through." That narrative may be an arguable proposition. Probably Bashar al-Assad had a hand in there, too. But he is undoubtedly right that we constantly avoid framing geopolitical events in a way that acknowledges climatic influences. The most interesting part of this excellent book is where Wallace-Wells moves on to wonder whether this pattern of climate denial might continue into a "hothouse Earth" of supercyclones, megafloods, droughts without end and killer heat waves. Will it morph into nihilistic acceptance and even a failure to recognize what is happening at all? As Wallace-Wells puts it: "One way we might manage to navigate [rising temperatures] without crumbling collectively in despair is, perversely, to normalize climate suffering at the same pace we accelerate it." After all, urban air pollution already kills millions each year. "We live with ... those death tolls, and hardly notice them," he observes. He delves into why we find it hard to get our heads around something so enormous and all-embracing. The elephant in the room. Nobody's academic discipline can encompass it. It plays havoc with the mental models we create to try and understand a complicated world. It questions our ingrained "sunny-side-up optimism" by confronting us with a future in which "the facts are hysterical." Climate change upends the certainties of 10,000 years of post-ice-age climate stability, an era that allowed human civilization to evolve to our current crossroads. But to move forward, to make sense of what we are learning to call the Anthropocene, requires new perceptions that probably lie far beyond the imaginings of climate modelers. "It is not a subject that can sustain only one narrative, one perspective, one metaphor, one mood," Wallace-Wells concludes. Step aside, scientists. Please. --- Pearce is a British-based science correspondent whose books include "With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear Tipping Points in Climate Change." I was dubious when Crystal Icenhour approached me to write about her medical testing company. It sounded too much like Theranos, the discredited start-up that claimed to have medical technology that revolutionized blood testing by using minuscule samples. Theranos ceased operations last year, and its founder, Elizabeth Holmes, the self-made billionaire and "next Steve Jobs," faces federal fraud charges. Forbes magazine reduced its estimate of her net worth from $4.5 billion to zero. Icenhour is no billionaire, but the gritty Texan - she cleaned floors in her family's truck-repair shop - is an entrepreneur with a doctorate in molecular medicine from the University of Cincinnati Medical School. She said the Theranos story dogs her on fundraising and rounds promoting the business to potential clients such as health insurers and hospitals. Her firm is impenetrably named Aperiomics. Aperio is Latin for "reveal." ("Branding is not my forte," she said.) "It's really frustrating," the 45-year-old medical research scientist said. "Theranos has done a huge disservice." For one thing, Icenhour never, ever wears a black turtleneck. Black turtlenecks were Holmes' signature look, channeling Silicon Valley icon Steve Jobs. "Anything we can do to differentiate ourselves, we do it," Icenhour said. "I am careful how I make our pitch. We stopped using words like 'single test.' " She also touts her credentials, including a PhD and fellowships at Duke Medical Center and the Mayo Clinic. (Holmes was a Stanford dropout.) She emphasizes that Aperiomics received a grant from the National Science Foundation. Ashburn, Virginia-based Aperiomics is a precision medical biotechnology company that crunches data to help people with chronic illnesses find the cause and fix it. Depending on what type of symptoms the patient has, Aperiomics takes a clinical sample from a patient's blood, tissue, feces, swab or other sources and sends it out to a laboratory partner, who sends back a raw data file. Aperiomics' secret sauce is its proprietary analytics and database. "We crunch the data and determine what is in the sample," Icenhour said. "We are taking capability already existing in some labs and using the software to dig into the information and get more comprehensive answers." About 350 doctors have ordered the testing on behalf of more than 1,000 patients from 18 countries. Most of its patients have been sick for a very long time, sometimes decades, and find Aperiomics through Google, Facebook or through the company website or word of mouth. Aperiomics requires a patient's doctor to sign off on the testing. "Most of the time, the patients take us to their doctor and say, 'I want this.' Our patients are well educated and chronically sick, and so they refused to accept their condition," Icenhour said. The company will provide support to help the physicians understand the test results. A lot of the analysis deals with boring but painful issues such as chronic bladder problems. They find some pretty gross stuff, too. They identified human whipworm in a young man who had been sick for six years. Another man had a rare infection that came from his cat's fleas. They found leprosy in a northern Virginia resident who had traveled to Haiti. It's a tiny company with six employees and $1 million in revenue for 2018, but Aperiomics has yet to turn a profit. The company owns its own computers but relies on Amazon Web Services for cloud capabilities. (Amazon Chairman Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) Icenhour has raised over $1 million from investors and owns 15 percent of the firm. Icenhour said millions of people suffer from chronic infections that are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Aperiomics tries to complete the picture. Sometimes the picture is humorous. She remembers driving in her car when one patient phoned her with a following greeting to describe his ailment: " 'Uuuuuuhh, so . . . I slept with a prostitute,'" Icenhour recalls, adding, "there's never a dull moment." Like most of the health-care industry, the payment system is complicated. Patients not using insurance pay a discounted average cash price of $1,000 for a test. The average insurance payment from private payers is about $3,000 per sample. The company has relationships with UnitedHealth, Blue Cross and Cigna for patients out of their networks. Patients with those companies can pay from $200 to $700 out of pocket. Icenhour became interested in medical mysteries while growing up in Texas and Oklahoma. She spent a lot of time with her chronically ill grandmother, visiting doctors as they tried to find the source of her pain. "I wanted to go into a field where I could help," she said. She was the first in her family to attend college, graduating from the University of Tulsa in 1995. Icenhour wanted to be a physician but detoured into graduate school after she realized she was better at research. "I am good at putting puzzles together," she said. "That's the common thread throughout the work I have done . . . connecting dots." She also had the entrepreneurial gene, having grown up in a family-run business. Her parents ran a large-truck repair shop in Fort Smith, Arkansas, near the Oklahoma border. Fetching wrenches, mopping grease from floors, stocking parts and keeping the books taught her that owning a business includes an unglamorous, scrappy side. "I did whatever it took to make the business run," Icenhour said. After college, graduate school and fellowships, a colleague recommended her to a friend at the University of Virginia who wanted to found a biotech company. They named it Phthisis (the co-founder picked the name), which is ancient Greek for tuberculosis. Icenhour moved her whole family, which includes four children, to Charlottesville, Virginia. Phthisis made kits for clinical lab testing. It ended up being acquired in a "graceful exit," in which everyone got their money back, investors included, but no one got rich. A Virginia business acquaintance put her in touch with three academics - two professors from George Washington University and another from Boston University - who had created academic software that could identify microorganisms. "They are computational biologists and statisticians," Icenhour said. "Math guys." Icenhour's contribution was to find how the bioinformatics, as it is known, could be put to practical use in health care. She joined the company March 1, 2014, and has been going nonstop ever since. Aperiomics hit $250,000 in revenue in 2017 and then hit just over $1 million last year. The company breaks even, but Icenhour hopes to turn positive in the next couple of years. I caught her on her cellphone as she drove her Rav4 back from a fundraising pitch in Pittsburgh. At the time, she had $675,000 of the $2 million she hopes to raise in her latest round. Now that's up to $995,000. That tells me she knows what it takes to make the business run. Jobs will be cut under changes the Ford government has made to Ontarios child advocate office, staff learned Thursday as the province faced more criticism of its overhaul of autism services. Staff at the office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth which will be shut down this spring, with investigations transferred to the ombudsman were told at a meeting that more than 40 of them in Toronto will likely be laid off, sources say. Officially, however, the exact number is yet to be determined, the Ontario Ombudsmans office said in a statement. One employee who spoke to the Star said staff were told the best-case scenario is 24 of 67 positions will transfer over, but all advocacy jobs will be axed. Two-thirds of staff is a lot, said the Toronto employee, who did not wish to be identified. However, the employee said there are issues of seniority among the investigative and advocacy staff and were not clear how that process is going to shake out. Read more: Autism changes will spark crisis parents warn Ford government Ontario autism program changes best for all children, says social services minister The Ford government set for changes to the planning act, education and health care The child advocate also has an office in Thunder Bay that will be shut down. Ombudsman Paul Dube is taking over investigations done by the childrens advocate, by May 1 at the latest, under provincial legislation brought in by the Ford government last year. Advocacy will be the responsibility of the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and Minister Lisa MacLeod has said she will also personally assume such duties and it will create roundtables to give youth a voice. Meanwhile, MacLeod came under more fire Thursday for changes to the provinces autism services, but said the government will go ahead with its plan that is meant to clear the 23,000-child wait-list for services, and ensure more children receive support for services. As of April 1, families will qualify for up to $20,000 a year for each child under 6 up to a lifetime maximum of $140,000. Children older than that can access up to $5,000 a year up to age 18, to a lifetime maximum of $55,000. However, amounts are based on a sliding scale depending on family income, and only those earning less than $55,000 in net income will qualify for the entire amount. Intensive therapy for children with severe needs can cost up to $80,000 a year, and some families are bracing for a drop in support from the government. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Parent Sarah Farrants of London, who made the trip to Queens Park, said there was no hope in there today from PC MPPs. Listening to them and watching them applaud her (during question period), theres no hope for parents. She and mom Brandi Tapp later met personally with MacLeod to outline their concerns. We told Lisa that it took 96 days with the Liberals, to get the former government to improve the system, said Farrants, whose 3-year-old son is on a wait-list for autism therapy. Were not going away. These are our children. I would prefer to go back on the wait list than to move forward with this program, Tapp added. She is offering sub-standard therapies to 23,000 children so she can look good on paper by clearing the wait list. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said parents feel betrayed by Premier Doug Ford, who promised families so much during the election campaign. This premier has done nothing to offer anything to parents, Horwath said. The promises were big, but the result was nil. MacLeod noting the province is spending $321 million on its autism program, up from the $256 million the Liberals budgeted said I understand that there are a lot of parents who are concerned about this plan, but there are a lot of parents who are going to be relieved with this plan. She said its heartbreaking to hear from upset families. As a mother, I can appreciate parents fighting for their children, she added. As the minister, I have to make sure I am supporting as many children as possible. With files from Rob Ferguson Read more about: If Jody Wilson-Raybould felt she was suffering undue pressure before in her spat with the Prime Ministers Office, it is looking like a walk in the park compared to what the former minister in Justin Trudeaus government must be feeling now. Thanks to an extraordinary intervention on Thursday by Michael Wernick, Canadas top civil servant, Wilson-Raybould is now essentially being dared to come out from under the murky cloud of anonymous media leaks, cryptic gestures and non-answers that have fuelled the story were now calling the SNC-Lavalin scandal. There was no inappropriate pressure put on the minister at any time, Wernick flatly declared at the Commons justice committee, in an appearance that could have been titled: Enough of this b.s. Wilson-Raybould, who is due to appear at the committee next week, now has to decide whether she wants to call Wernick and by extension, none other than the prime minister himself a liar. She stood in the Commons earlier this week and said she was keen to speak her truth. However, its not Wilson-Rayboulds truth we urgently need to hear now, but just the plain old truth. Wernick, who prefaced his testimony with a cri de coeur about the toxicity of politics, is clearly exasperated with the ways in which this tale has unfolded in what he called the vomitorium of social media. Its hard to disagree with him on that; one gets the sense he was also speaking for his boss, the prime minister, who lost his right-hand man, Gerald Butts, amid the wreckage of this 2-week-old controversy. Read more: No inappropriate pressure on Jody Wilson-Raybould in SNC-Lavalin affair, top civil servant says Jody Wilson-Raybould wants to speak my truth as Liberals quash call for SNC-Lavalin inquiry The SNC-Lavalin affair: meet the main players Wernick has even argued that Wilson-Raybould can no longer hide behind the solicitor-client cloak shes been using to avoid confirming or denying whats being said about her differences with the PMO on making a plea deal with SNC-Lavalin in its fraud and corruption case. Stakes are now upped, so is the pressure. Whatever else was accomplished by Wernicks forceful words on Thursday, the bizarre imbalance in this story anonymous allegations and on-the-record denials is rapidly coming to an end. Yet another leak to The Globe and Mail on Thursday reported that Wilson-Raybould told cabinet this week she had faced undue pressure from the PMO to make that plea deal. Leaving aside the details of this newest report, the very fact of that leak showed that Wilson-Rayboulds war with the PMO is not over, however conciliatory (and strange) it was to see the former minister sitting down with her colleagues on Tuesday. If she indeed did tell her former fellow ministers that the PMO had been trying to force her to make a deal with SNC-Lavalin, it is a story opposite to what Wernick told, in some detail, to the justice committee on Thursday. Opposition members of the committee and no doubt some supporters of Wilson-Raybould seem to favour the version of this scandal that theyve only been able to cobble together between the lines of this story. In that version, a principled Wilson-Raybould stood up to the PMOs corporate cosiness with SNC-Lavalin and got demoted from justice to veterans affairs minister as punishment. Wernick didnt dispute that conversations took place he even laid them out in some detail, including how he told Wilson-Raybould of how her colleagues in government were reading the business pages and worried about SNC-Lavalins future. Was that pressure? He doesnt think it was, but he said the ethics inquiry will help sort that out. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... So will Wilson-Raybould. Over the weekend, as she mulls what she can or will say to the justice committee, her choices will be to side with Wernick or the oppositions version of events. Now that is pressure. Earlier this week, it was looking like efforts were being made to bring Wilson-Raybould back into the fold. Everyone was smiling after she spoke to cabinet and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale even said he was satisfied. Wilson-Raybould walked back into the friendly fold of Liberal caucus and told reporters she still intended to run as a Liberal in the next election. Trudeau even told reporters that he was sorry for not apologizing to her sooner and condemning what has been said about her. Wernicks testimony was not at all conciliatory toward the Wilson-Raybould story being told in the shadows to date. It was in fact a dare and a challenge. It might even be pressure. Undue? Well have to see. Susan Delacourt is the Stars Ottawa bureau chief and a columnist covering national politics. Reach her via email: sdelacourt@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @susandelacourt Read more about: Political Blind Dates second season kicked off Feb. 14 on TVO. In the latest episode, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie and federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer squared off over the values of rural vs. urban voters. Heres the dating debrief: What was your first impression of your date? Bonnie Crombie: That he was kind, intelligent and very family-oriented. Andrew Scheer: My first impression of Mayor Crombie was that she was really thrilled to be in Saskatchewan! Was there a moment when you thought, what have I got myself into? B.C.: I have to admit, when I found out I was going to be driving a wheat combine, I was a bit nervous but at the same time, excited. A.S.: Not really. I had seen other episodes before and was excited for the opportunity to talk about my riding and my province, and get to know Mayor Crombies city. The Leader of the Official Opposition, Conservative MP Andrew Scheer, drives with his date, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, while they talk about what constitutes public art. What facts or viewpoints had you not considered/heard before? B.C.: I expressed to Mr. Scheer the need for municipalities to have sustainable revenue tools, including exploring giving cities a portion of the income tax or HST. Cities power the nation. We own 60 per cent of the countrys infrastructure, and we keep the country running, yet we only receive 10 cents from every tax dollar collected. This simply isnt enough to fund city services and maintain infrastructure like roads, bridges and waterways in Canadas sixth largest city. It didnt seem that it was something that he would consider, Im assuming since the money would have to be diverted from the federal reserves. A.S.: N/A How much did your view change about the issue? B.C.: It didnt. Cities are on the front lines and need additional revenue so that we can maintain our roads, build regionally connected transit while tackling some of the real issues before us including crime, opioids and cannabis legalization. We agreed to disagree on this one. A.S.: N/A The Leader of the Official Opposition, Conservative MP Andrew Scheer, drives to his date with Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, while he reflects on how municipal leaders are the politicians who are the most familiar with everything going on inside their communities. What was the best strategy your date used to persuade you? B.C.: We didnt really persuade one another. We agreed that at the end of the day we are more alike than we are different. A.S. She knew that my family came from Mississauga, so she really pulled on my heartstrings and the nostalgia of being in the area. What part of your date do you wish you could do over? B.C.: The start of our Regina date. Through no fault of his own, Andrew had to turn his attention to dealing with a hot-button media issue which threw our schedule off a bit. Everything ended up working out in the end, and it was a great date. A.S.: I was really hoping I could show her the house my mother grew up in on Cawthra Rd., but we ran out of time. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... The Leader of the Official Opposition, Conservative MP Andrew Scheer, makes Syrian meat pies with Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, while they visit a Mississauga restaurant owned by a Syrian immigrant, and employing refugees. The next time you run into your date will it be awkward? B.C.: Absolutely not. Ive bumped into Andrew at several community events across the GTA since our date, and weve had the opportunity to catch up. A.S.: Actually our paths cross quite often in the GTA, so Im sure well continue to share a good laugh next time we bump into each other. What surprised you most about your date? B.C.: That while he may be the leader of the federal Opposition and fiercely political, at the end of the day, hes a relatable family man who cares deeply about the needs and issues facing rural communities. A.S.: It actually didnt come as much of a surprise, but everywhere we went, Mayor Crombie was instantly recognized and swarmed by fans. Will there be another date? B.C.: I hope so. I want to keep our conversation going about the important role that cities play in powering the nation. Given 80 per cent of the population lives in cities, its critically important that the leader of the official Opposition understands that we need our fair share of funding and a seat at the decision-making table. A.S.: Im looking forward to meeting Mayor Crombie in an official capacity as prime minister so we can talk about improving the quality of life for the people of Mississauga. How would you rate this political blind date out of 10? B.C.: 9.5 A.S.: 10 Political Blind Date is produced by Open Door Co., Nomad Films and TVO, which airs the show Thursdays at 9 p.m. and on tvo.org. The Toronto Star is the series media partner. Read more: Political Blind Date series hopes opposites attract, or at least get along Guns turned out to be not so scary compared to a frozen engine on a flight to Medicine Hat Call it Tinder for policymakers: a new TV show sends Canadian politicians on blind dates and sparks flyover issues Read more about: A tax on newspapers would imperil that mission in effect, it would tax the First Amendment. Why would a politician want that? What kind of politician would want to put the squeeze to newspapers, or discourage people from buying one? Perhaps someone who wants less coverage. The Liberals are tying themselves in knots over the Jody Wilson-Raybould affair. The former attorney general is doing most of the knot tying. But she is ably assisted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. At base, this should be a simple matter: Did Trudeau or any of his staff urge Wilson-Raybould to offer a deferred prosecution agreement a kind of plea bargain to SNC-Lavalin, a Quebec engineering firm facing bribery and corruption charges? If so, was such an action improper or illegal? In theory, these questions should be easy to address. In practice, they have been anything but. First, we know that Wilson-Raybould did talk to both Trudeau and his former principal secretary, Gerald Butts about the SNC-Lavalin business. Both men have confirmed that. Did such talk stray into the realm of impropriety? Trudeau and Butts say no. Wilson-Raybould wont say publicly. But her studied refusal to answer this question on the grounds that she is bound by solicitor-client privilege suggests she thinks someone did cross the line. If the Globe and Mail is correct, Wilson-Raybould told cabinet Tuesday that in her opinion it was improper for anyone to raise the issue with her once federal prosecutors had decided against offering SNC-Lavalin a plea bargain. That decision was made in September. But its worth noting that the law allows the attorney-general to override her officials on such matters at any time as long as he or she does so publicly. In any case, Wilson-Raybould chose not use this override. The prosecution of SNC-Lavalin is forging ahead. At one level, it could be argued that, since nothing happened, the entire controversy is moot. And perhaps it would have stayed moot had Trudeau simply left well enough alone. But he didnt. In January, he shuffled Wilson-Raybould against her wishes it seems into the Veterans Affairs portfolio. Why he did so is a mystery. He has said that the shuffle took place only because of Treasury Board President Scott Brisons decision to quit politics. He said if this hadnt happened, Wilson-Raybould would still be attorney general. The obvious but unanswered question is: why didnt he deal with the Brison vacancy in a way that left Wilson-Raybould in place? That option was certainly possible. Was he punishing her for refusing to give SNC-Lavalin a break? Did he want an attorney general who was more pliable? Or was there another reason? Here it should be remembered that Wilson-Raybould wasnt universally popular in the legal community. Indeed, after she was shuffled out of Justice, the president and vice-president of the Criminal Lawyers Association wrote an opinion piece in the Star slamming Wilson-Raybould for what they called her failures. In particular, they took her to task for her plans to eliminate some jury challenges and do away with preliminary inquiries. Whatever the prime ministers reason, Wilson-Raybould didnt accept her demotion quietly. She didnt deny subsequent media reports that she had been pressured to offer SNC-Lavalin a break. In fact, by insisting that only solicitor-client privilege kept her from talking, she added fuel to the fire. Trudeau, meanwhile, appeared befuddled. If he challenged her account too aggressively, he left himself open to charges of being anti-woman, anti-Indigenous or both. Yet if he didnt, he was left with no defence. On Wednesday, the country was treated to the bizarre spectacle of Trudeau apologizing to Wilson-Raybould for comments he hadnt made comments that suggested she could be hard to get along with. Wilson-Raybould, on the other hand, has taken no prisoners. She has undercut the prime minister at every turn, quitting cabinet altogether at a time when this could inflict maximum political damage and suggesting that only Trudeaus refusal to waive solicitor-client privilege is keeping her from detailing my truth. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... With the resignation of Butts, she has scored one kill. There may be more. She remains a member of the Liberal caucus even as she sandbags the Liberal government in the crucial months leading up to Octobers election. She has hoist the prime minister with his own feminist petard. I wouldnt be surprised if, after all of this is over, she ends up in cabinet again. Read more about: RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam pledged to civil rights leaders Friday to do everything that I can do bring good from what happened after a scandal over a racist yearbook photo and an admission of wearing blackface imperiled his governorship earlier this month. Northam met with members of the Richmond 34 former Virginia Union University students who protested segregation at a department store nearly 60 years ago at an Executive Mansion breakfast Friday. The event came a day after Northam cancelled an appearance at the historically black college to honour the group in what was supposed to be his second public event since the yearbook scandal broke three weeks ago. This last few weeks have been difficult and hurtful for Virginia and for this country, and I regret that, Northam said at the breakfast. I will do everything that I can to bring good from what happened. He added that he believed Virginia had a unique opportunity to really take action to address tremendous inequities. Northam was supposed to take part in a public tribute to the Richmond 34 Thursday on the campus. But he cancelled his appearance after students asked him not to come, saying his presence could overshadow the event. Members of the group said they were receptive to the governors approach and appreciated that he spent much of the breakfast listening to their stories. He knows that we are in his corner, Elizabeth Johnson Rice, a member of the group said. Anderson Franklin, who works at Boston College, said he was glad that Northam was open to having the breakfast. I thought it was a very gracious and a very important meeting, Franklin said. He said that some of the conversation focused on the fact that some members of the Richmond 34 still havent had their arrest records expunged. Members of the group were charged with trespassing, convicted and fined after trying to integrate the dining facility at the Thalhimers department store in downtown Richmond. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned their convictions in 1963. Northam has indicated he wants to make criminal justice reform a key part of his efforts to win back support of the black community during his remaining three years in office. Other areas of focus include helping minority-owned businesses and improving health outcomes of minority patients. Leaders throughout Virginias political structure have called on Gov. Ralph Northam to resign after a racist photo on his 1984 medical school yearbook page surfaced at the beginning of the month. Northam apologized, initially saying he appeared in a photo showing one man in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe. Northam did not say which costume he wore. The next day he said he no longer believed he was in the photo but acknowledged wearing blackface the same year to look like Michael Jackson in a dance contest. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... The political pressure for his ouster lessened considerably as scandals have enveloped his would-be successors. Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, has denied allegations from two women that he sexually assaulted them, and Attorney General Mark Herring said he wore blackface in college, making the public admission just a few days after calling for Northam to resign. Northam has largely stayed out of sight since then, with his only other public event being the funeral of a state trooper. FAIRBANKS, Alaska - A spending bill approved by Congress that kept the federal government open included a project dear to the Alaska congressional delegation: a new polar icebreaker. The spending bill includes $655 million for designing and building the icebreaker for the Coast Guard, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. The bill includes $20 million for materials to eventually build a second icebreaker and $740 million for new cutters, including six to be based in Alaska. The measure also provides $53 million for cutter support facilities in the state, with $22 million for Kodiak and $31 million to Seward. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, called the bill a significant step in the right direction toward an icebreaker fleet. I have been pushing to fully fund the acquisition of a fleet of Arctic-capable icebreakers because of the importance of this vessel for the safety and security of the Arctic region and for our national security as a whole, Murkowski said in a statement. She called it a huge victory in her yearslong fight to help fulfil Americas responsibilities as an Arctic nation. Her GOP colleague in Alaska, Sen. Dan Sullivan, also praised the funding. Congress and the Trump administration are acknowledging that Alaska is Americas Arctic, a fact that is important to our broader national security interests, he said in a statement. Congress passed the bill Feb. 14 and President Trump signed it into law, securing government funding through Sept. 30. ___ Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com WASHINGTON - The Trump administration and Chinese negotiators resumed high-level talks Friday aimed at resolving a trade dispute that has escalated uncertainty for corporations, unsettled investors and posed a threat to the global economy. For a second day, a Chinese team led by Vice Premier Liu met with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and other American officials. After the talks conclude, Liu is scheduled to meet President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday afternoon. Trump is set to raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports if the two sides cant reach a deal by March 2. But recently he has said hed consider extending the deadline if negotiators are nearing an agreement. Myron Brilliant, head of international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, expressed doubt Friday that any meaningful breakthrough would be achieved now. I dont expect to see a final deal done this week, but we are seeing progress, he said. Still, Brilliant, who has spoken with both sides, said he is encouraged because the negotiators arent merely exchanging viewpoints but instead, in his words, putting things to text ... Theyre getting closer to getting an agreement. The worlds two biggest economies are sparring over U.S. allegations that Beijing uses predatory tactics in a drive to make Chinese companies world leaders in such advanced industries as robotics and driverless cars. Those tactics, the Trump administration argues, include cyber-theft, the unfair subsidizing of state-owned Chinese companies, the use of regulations to hobble Chinas foreign competitors and pressure on American companies to hand over technology in exchange for access to the Chinese market. The Trump administration says the Chinese have repeatedly failed to live up to past commitments to open their markets and treat foreign companies more fairly. The U.S. has slapped 25 per cent tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports and 10 per cent tariffs on $200 billion worth; the tariffs on the $200 billion are scheduled to rise to 25 per cent if theres no deal. The Chinese have lashed back with import taxes on $110 billion in U.S. goods, heavily aimed at soybeans and other agricultural products in an attempt to put pressure on Trump supporters in the U.S. farm belt. The conflict has rattled markets. Its also fanned uncertainty among businesses that must decide where to invest and whether Trumps tariffs which raise the cost of imports on the target list will last long enough to justify replacing Chinese suppliers with those from countries not subject to the tariffs. The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have all downgraded their forecasts for the global economy, citing the heightened trade tensions. Brilliant said the two countries have yet to bridge their differences over nettlesome issues such as the forced technology transfer. He said the Chamber wants to see an end to the tit-for-tat tariffs between Washington and Beijing. But he also said American businesses are demanding a deal that will bring about lasting change in Chinese behaviour. We simply cant go back to business as it was before, Brilliant told reporters. The Chinese, he said, have got to deliver the goods. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... ___ Follow Paul Wiseman on Twitter at https://twitter.com/PaulWisemanAP WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is calling Amazons decision to drop its plans for new headquarters in New York a big loss for the city. Trump tells reporters the city could have hashed out a much better deal, but is still bemoaning the decision. Hes also blaming what hes calling radical left thinking, which he says isnt good for jobs or the economy. Amazon abruptly dropped plans last week to build one of its new headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, which could have delivered 25,000 jobs. Some politicians and activists had objected to the nearly $3 billion in incentives promised to one of the worlds richest, most powerful companies. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday called the reversal the greatest tragedy hes seen since hes been in government. JACKSON, Miss. - The Latest on flooding and severe weather in the South (all times local): 3:15 p.m. A bridge across the Ohio River between Kentucky and Illinois is closing because of flooding, one of more than 50 highways underwater across four states. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet announced Friday that the U.S. 51 bridge connecting Kentucky to Cairo, Illinois would close Friday afternoon because land on the Kentucky side is flooding, cutting off the approach. Officials say the bridge will likely stay closed until at least Thursday, and possibly longer. Officials say 4,700 vehicles a day normally use the bridge, with one third of those being trucks. Traffic will be detoured to the Interstate 24 bridge over the Ohio at Paducah, Kentucky. Road officials in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi reported Friday that more than 50 state or federal highways were closed by flooding, after days of heavy rain in the region. Scores of other local roads are closed. ___ 2:15 p.m. An official in a small Mississippi town says 100 or more people have been evacuated as flooding spills from a rising river. Bruce Alderman Jimmy Hubbard said Friday that the Skuna River threatens a neighbourhood and some businesses in the north Mississippi town of 2,000 residents. Some people were rescued from flooded residences Friday morning and an agricultural chemical business is scrambling to save millions of dollars in inventory. Hubbard calls the scene total chaos. Hubbard says the city work barn has flooded and volunteers are filling sandbags to try to save some properties. The river jumped by 18 feet (5.5 metres) from noon Thursday to noon Friday according to an automated gauge. Hubbard says forecasters fear a further rise after hours of heavy rain Friday morning. ___ 11:30 a.m. The waterlogged Tennessee Valley faces more rain and severe storms in coming days, even as flood predictions along the Mississippi River rise. More than 30 school districts in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee closed Friday after days of rain left many roads flooded. A mudslide in western Kentucky is threatening buildings in a small town. The Tennessee Valley Authority says 10 inches (25 centimetres) of rain has fallen in parts of northern Alabama this week. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Heavy rain continues Friday, with more rain and possibly tornadoes through Saturday. Downstream, flood forecasts are leaping higher. The Tennessee River could crest at a level unseen in decades. The Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois, could crest Sunday, with the Mississippi forecast to peak at Memphis, Tennessee, next week. In Mississippi workers began erecting floodwalls Thursday. ___ 7:45 a.m. Some roads are covered with water in the Tennessee Valley and schools are closed after days of heavy rain. Nearly a dozen city and county systems in north Alabama and southern Tennessee cancelled classes Friday. Storms have pushed rivers and creeks out of their banks, causing flooding. Other school systems are opening late, and forecasters warn more rain is on the way. The weather service says severe storms are possible across the region on Saturday. As much as 4 inches of rain has fallen across a wide area since Tuesday, swelling waterways. Forecasters say another 2 inches of rain could fall, and theres nowhere for the water to go because the ground is saturated. The flooding threat also extends into northeastern Mississippi and southeastern Arkansas. WASHINGTON - The Latest on the investigations involving President Trumps former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort (all times local): 4:54 p.m. Published reports say prosecutors in New York City are building a potential criminal case against President Donald Trumps former campaign chairman. Paul Manafort already awaits sentencing on federal conspiracy and fraud convictions. Manafort could face prosecution on state charges by the Manhattan district attorneys office even if Trump pardons him for his federal convictions. The move would be significant because Trumps pardon power doesnt extend to state charges. Bloomberg was first to report the developments and cited people with knowledge of the matter. Fridays reports say it isnt clear what charges the DAs office is considering. Spokespeople for the DAs office and Manafort declined to comment. ___ 12:14 p.m. Special counsel Robert Mueller is filing a sentencing memorandum in one of the two criminal cases against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Prosecutors are scheduled to file their document Friday in federal court in Washington, where Manafort pleaded guilty in September to two counts of conspiracy arising from his political lobbying work in Ukraine. Each count carries a maximum of five years in prison. Though Manafort cut a plea deal with Mueller, prosecutors arent expected to recommend leniency because they say he lied to investigators after agreeing to co-operate. The punishment he faces in Washington is much lower than what he faces in a separate tax and bank fraud case in Virginia. Muellers team in that case endorsed a sentence of between 19 and 24 years in prison. WASHINGTON - The Latest on the special counsels Russia investigation (all times local): 12:30 a.m. Special counsel Robert Muellers sentencing memorandum for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was not publicly available late Friday, suggesting the document may still be under seal. Muellers team was to have weighed in by the end of the day Friday on Manaforts punishment in one of his two criminal cases. But the memo was not publicly filed by midnight Friday, an indication that the document includes sensitive information and that prosecutors are seeking a judges approval to redact, or black out, that material. The sentencing recommendation comes as the 69-year-old Manafort, who led Donald Trumps 2016 campaign for several critical months, is already facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison in a separate case. __ 4:15 p.m. President Donald Trump is continuing to insist his 2016 presidential campaign did not collude with Russia as the special counsel is showing signs of concluding his investigation. Trump said at the White House Friday that he won the election because I was a better candidate ... and it had nothing to do with Russia. He adds that the report will say that if its an honest report. Trump has repeatedly tried to undermine Robert Muellers work during the two-year probe. Mueller is examining Russian election interference and possible co-ordination with associates of the president. At least six Trump aides or advisers have been charged in the investigation. __ 3:40 p.m. Six House Democratic committee heads are calling on Attorney General William Barr to make special counsel Robert Muellers full report public, including any evidence of misconduct by President Donald Trump. In a letter to Barr Friday, the committee chairmen say the public is entitled to know what the special counsel has found. Mueller is required to send a report to Barr and Barr is required to report to Congress. Its unknown how thorough Muellers report will be, and how much Barr will decide to release. The Democrats are warning against withholding information on Trump because of a Justice Department opinion that the president cant be indicted. They say withholding evidence of wrongdoing because the president cant be charged is to convert department policy into the means for a coverup. __ 3:30 p.m. A report from special counsel Robert Mueller about the Russia investigation is not expected to be delivered to the Justice Department next week. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Thats according to a senior Justice Department official who spoke Friday to The Associated Press. The official couldnt discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Mueller is examining Russian election interference and possible co-ordination with associates of President Donald Trump. It was not immediately clear when the report might come, though Mueller is believed to be wrapping up. Under Justice Department guidelines, Mueller will deliver his report to Attorney General Bill Barr. Barr will then prepare a report for Congress. The two-year probe has shadowed Trumps presidency. At least six Trump aides or advisers have been charged in the investigation. __ 11:20 a.m. The White House says President Donald Trump will let his new attorney general decide whether to release the findings of the special counsels Russia investigation to the public. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump was following the proper process by putting the decision to William Barr. But she stressed that the White House was not concerned about the findings. Sanders said Trump was president because he was the better candidate, adding that he didnt need to, nor did he collude with the Russians. Barr has said he wants to release as much information as he can. But he has also made clear that he ultimately will decide what the public sees, and that any report will be in his words, not those of special counsel Robert Mueller. Mueller is showing signs of concluding his investigation. RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The Latest on the case of a couple charged with the torture and abuse of most of their 13 children (all times local): 11:20 a.m. A lawyer for some of the children held captive and starved by a California couple says they are relieved after their parents pleaded guilty to torture and other abuse. Attorney Jack Osborn represents seven adults among 13 children of David and Louise Turpin, who enter pleas Friday in Riverside County Superior Court. Osborn says the adult children are glad there will not be trial. He says they can now move forward with their lives without the stress a trial would have involved. The attorney says the children have been living together, attending school, getting healthy and leading normal lives. ___ 10:30 a.m. A California prosecutor says the parents who shackled some of their 13 children to beds and starved them will spend up to life in prison. David and Louise Turpin pleaded guilty Friday in Riverside County Superior Court to torture and other abuse in a case dubbed a house of horrors. The charges included abuse of their 12 oldest children. Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin says the couple will be sentenced April 19 to 25 years-to-life in prison. Hestrin says the guilty pleas were important to protect the children from having to testify. The children, who ranged in age from 2 to 29 at the time, were severely underweight and hadnt bathed for months and the house reeked of human waste when the couple was arrested last year. ___ 9:35 a.m. A California couple who shackled some of their 13 children to beds and starved them have pleaded guilty to torture and other abuse. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... David and Louise Turpin pleaded guilty Friday in Riverside County Superior Court in the case dubbed a house of horrors. The couple was arrested in January 2018 when their 17-year-old daughter called 911 after escaping from the familys home in the city of Perris, southeast of Los Angeles. The children, who ranged in age from 2 to 29 at the time, were severely underweight and hadnt bathed for months and the house reeked of human waste. Investigators said some of the children had stunted growth and wasted muscles and described being beaten, starved and put in cages. ___ 6:52 a.m. A Southern California district attorney will address the case of a couple charged with the torture and abuse of most of their 13 children. A Friday morning court hearing is set for lawyers to discuss preparations for a Sept. 3 trial for David and Louise Turpin. The Turpins have pleaded not guilty to dozens of felony counts including torture, wilful child cruelty and false imprisonment. Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin plans a press conference to follow the court proceedings. His office didnt reveal what Hestrin plans to say. The Turpins were arrested in January when a daughter escaped from the familys Perris home and called 911. Investigators said some of the children had stunted growth and wasted muscles and described being beaten, starved and put in cages. CHICAGO - More than 75 per cent of the people who received gun license revocations last year in Illinois ignored the notices, Illinois State Police said. State police issued a report late Thursday in response to questions about the gunman who fatally shot five co-workers at a suburban Chicago warehouse last week. The man, Gary Martin, used a gun in the Aurora attack that he never should have been allowed to have because his firearm-owners card was revoked in 2014. Martin died in a shootout with police shortly after he opened fire. The only way we can honour those who died the only way we will ever be safer is to shine the brightest light on the good, bad, and ugly of this system and to lay bare for the public and policy makers the depth and breadth of our vulnerabilities, ISP Acting Director Brendan F. Kelly said in the report. State police say their records show that about 10,800 firearm-owner cards were revoked in 2018 but that only about 2,600 of those individuals returned notices. Revoked card holders are supposed to return the notices, or firearm disposition records, which document individuals receiving transferred firearms from revoked cardholders. In Martins case, he was prohibited under Illinois law from having an owners permit or owning a gun because he was a felon in Mississippi where he was convicted of aggravated assault in 1995. But authorities say Martin passed two background checks before buying the Smith & Wesson .40-calibre handgun he used in the Feb. 15 shooting at Henry Pratt Co. in Aurora. The Mississippi conviction was only discovered when Martin was fingerprinted to expedite his concealed carry license in March 2014. His owners permit was rescinded, and state police say they notified him in April 2014 that he wasnt supposed to possess a gun anymore. State police said an exhaustive search didnt find Martins returned owners permit or the record detailing how he relinquished his handgun. Robert J. Kardys, 76, of Windsor passed away peacefully Sunday, February 17, 2019 surrounded by his family following a courageous battle with multiple myeloma (cancer). Born on November 25, 1942 in Hartford, son of the late Edwin and Antoinette (Sinacore) Kardys, Bob was raised in Hartford , graduating from A I Prince Technical School, before moving to Windsor 30 years ago. He was employed by Colt's Patent Firearms before joining the US Marine Corps where he served during the Vietnam War. After his return from military service he joined the Hartford Police Department where he rose to the rank of Detective retiring after 24 years. He was then appointed a Juvenile Investigator for the State Of CT Division Of Criminal Justice for 23 years until finally retiring in 2013. He was a past President of the Police Benevolent Association. Bob loved boating and spending time on his 35' Main Ship, "Bobby K". He also loved snowmobiling up in Vermont with his friends "the Enfield crew". He was an avid scuba diver and a member of the Gillman Club since 1965. Bob was a past Commodore of the Hartford Yacht Club and a member of the Pattaconk Yacht Club. He leaves his two beloved sons, Steven R. Kardys and his wife Krista of Colchester and David J. Kardys and his wife Anne Marie of Ellington; five grandchildren Ashley E.(Kardys) Dabbondanza, Kylie A. Kardys, Steven R. Kardys, Jr., Hannah M. Kardys, and Scott M. Kardys; his beloved companion for 34 years Sharyn McIntosh and her son Brett J. Renna; and several cousins. Besides his parents he was predeceased by a brother Kenneth and a sister Elaine. At his request, private services will be held for his family. Contributions may be made to a charity of the donor's choice. The family would like to extend their heartfelt appreciation to St. Francis Hospital Hospice staff for their exceptional care. The Carmon Windsor Funeral Home is caring for the arrangements. For condolences please visit www.carmonfuneralhome.com CHICAGO - R. Kelly, the R&B star who has been trailed for decades by allegations that he violated underage girls and women and held some as virtual slaves, was charged Friday with aggravated sexual abuse involving four victims, including at least three between the ages of 13 and 17. In a brief appearance before reporters, Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx announced the 10 counts against the 52-year-old Grammy winner, whose real name is Robert Kelly. She said the abuse dated back as far as 1998 and spanned more than a decade. She did not comment on the charges or take questions. Kelly was driven to a Chicago police station in a dark colored van with heavily tinted rear windows around 8:15 p.m. Friday. He did not respond to questions from gathered reporters as he walked inside the building. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted a short time later that Kelly was under arrest. He was expected to be held overnight before an appearance Saturday in bond court. Kellys attorney, Steve Greenberg, told reporters following the singers arrest that one of the charges he faces appears to be tied to a decade-old child pornography case. Double jeopardy should bar that case, Greenberg said. He won that case. Kelly, who was acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008, has consistently denied any sexual misconduct. Greenberg said he thinks prosecutors rushed to judgment Friday in charging Kelly, calling the singer an innocent man. Mr. Kelly is strong, Greenberg added. Hes got a lot of support and hes going to be vindicated on all these charges. The arrest sets the stage for another #MeToo-era celebrity trial. Bill Cosby went to prison last year, and former Hollywood studio boss Harvey Weinstein is awaiting trial. Best known for hits such as I Believe I Can Fly, Kelly was charged a week after Michael Avenatti, the attorney whose clients have included porn star Stormy Daniels, said he gave prosecutors new video evidence of the singer with an underage girl. At a news conference earlier Friday in Chicago, Avenatti said a 14-year-old girl seen with R. Kelly on the video is among four victims mentioned in the indictment. He said the footage shows two separate scenes on two separate days at Kellys residence in the late 1990s. During the video, both the victim and Kelly refer to her age 10 times, he said. Avenatti said he represents six clients, including two victims, two parents and two people he describes as knowing R. Kelly and being within his inner circle for the better part of 25 years. I dont know what the tape is, Greenberg said of the video Avenatti gave prosecutors. We havent seen it. No ones showed us the tape. The new charges marked a watershed moment, Avenatti said, adding that he believes more than 10 other people associated with Kelly should be charged as enablers for helping with the assaults, transporting minors and covering up evidence. The video surfaced during a 10-month investigation by Avenattis office. He told the AP that the person who provided the VHS tape knew both Kelly and the female in the video. The jury in 2008 acquitted Kelly of child pornography charges that arose from a graphic video that prosecutors said showed him having sex with a girl as young as 13. He and the young woman allegedly seen with him denied they were in the 27-minute video, even though the picture quality was good and witnesses testified it was them, and she did not take the stand. Kelly could have gotten 15 years in prison. Charging Kelly now for actions that occurred in the same time frame as the allegations from the 2008 trial suggests the accusers are co-operating this time and willing to testify. Because the alleged victim 10 years ago denied that she was on the video and did not testify, the states attorney office had little recourse except to charge the lesser offence under Illinois law, child pornography, which required a lower standard of evidence. Each count of the new charges carries up to seven years in prison. If Kelly is convicted on all 10 counts, a judge could decide that the sentences run one after the other making it possible for him to receive up to 70 years behind bars. Probation is also an option under the statute. Greenberg said he offered to sit down with prosecutors before charges were filed to discuss why the allegations were baseless. But they refused, he said. Unfortunately, they have succumbed to the court of public opinion, whove convicted him, he said. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Legally and professionally, the walls began closing in on Kelly after the release of a BBC documentary about him last year and the multipart Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly, which aired last month. Together they detailed allegations he was holding women against their will and running a sex cult. #MeToo activists and a social media movement using the hashtag #MuteRKelly called on streaming services to drop Kellys music and promoters not to book any more concerts. Protesters demonstrated outside Kellys Chicago studio. As recently as Thursday, two women held a news conference in New York to describe how Kelly picked them out of a crowd at a Baltimore after-party in the mid-1990s when they were underage. They said Kelly had sex with one of the teens when she was under the influence of marijuana and alcohol and could not consent. Latresa Scaff and Rochelle Washington were joined by lawyer Gloria Allred when they told their story publicly for the first time. In the indictment, the prosecution addressed the question of the statute of limitations, saying that even abuse that happened more than two decades ago falls within the charging window allowed under Illinois law. Victims typically have 20 years to report abuse, beginning when they turn 18. The singer and songwriter, whose legal name is Robert Kelly, rose from poverty on Chicagos South Side and has retained a sizable following. He has written numerous hits for himself and other artists, including Celine Dion, Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga. His collaborators have included Jay-Z and Usher. Kelly broke into the R&B scene in 1993 with his first solo album, 12 Play, which produced such popular sex-themed songs as Bump N Grind and Your Bodys Callin. Months after those successes, the then-27-year-old Kelly faced allegations he married 15-year-old Aaliyah, the R&B star who later died in a plane crash in the Bahamas. Kelly was the lead songwriter and producer of Aaliyahs 1994 debut album. Kelly and Aaliyah never confirmed the marriage, though Vibe magazine published a copy of the purported marriage license. Court documents later obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times showed Aaliyah admitted lying about her age on the license. Jim DeRogatis, a longtime music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, played a key role in drawing the attention of law enforcement to Kelly. In 2002, he received the sex tape in the mail that was central to Kellys 2008 trial. He turned it over to prosecutors. In 2017, DeRogatis wrote a story for BuzzFeed about the allegations Kelly was holding women against their will in Georgia. ___ Associated Press Writer Amanda Seitz contributed to this report. ___ More of The Associated Press coverage of the investigations into R. Kelly can be found at: https://www.apnews.com/RKelly . WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has refused to meet privately with Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rossello, the governor said Friday, as he condemned the Trump administration for not providing more disaster relief in the 17 months since Hurricane Maria devastated the U.S. territory and left thousands dead. The Democratic governor, who has been reluctant to lash out at the Trump administration at times, said the Republican president himself bears responsibility for the slow pace of disaster relief. Eventually the buck has to stop somewhere, Rossello said Friday on the opening day of the National Governors Association meeting in Washington. It has to stop with the president. While the governors team has been in regular contact with federal officials, Rossello said he made public and private requests in recent weeks to meet with the president. The White House denied the requests without giving a reason, he said. A White House official noted that instead of making Trump available, the administration arranged a meeting between Rossello and Ben Carson, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Brock Long, who leads the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Rossello said he hoped to address Puerto Ricos challenges with Trump directly during a White House meeting with dozens of governors on Monday. There is no movement, Rossello said. We really need action right now. He compared the pace of recovery with the effort after Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005: Seventeen months after Katrina, federal officials had produced more than 10,000 project worksheets, while 17 months after Maria, just 60 have been produced, he said. The form describes the work necessary to restore a facility that was damaged or destroyed. The September 2017 storm caused an estimated $100 billion in damage and left an estimated 3,000 people dead. Trump has denied the estimated death toll, suggesting the number was made up to make him look bad. Some Puerto Rican Trump critics have suggested bigotry as a factor behind the Trump administrations lack of attention to the Caribbean Island, where Spanish is most residents first language. Rossello would not say one way or another whether he suspected racism. I would hope that in this time in the United States, the greatest nation on the planet, that was made great because of immigrants and diversity, that that wouldnt be the prevailing thought, he said when asked whether he feared Trump was motivated by racism. That would be my hope, because if it is, its a scary prospect not only for Puerto Rico but for everyone. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... ___ AP writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report. ELGIN, Ill. - A suburban Chicago police officer will not be charged in the fatal shooting of a woman armed with a knife along an interstate. The (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald reports the Cook County states attorneys office decided not to criminally charge Elgin police Lt. Christian Jensen on Friday following an investigation into the death of 34-year-old DeCynthia Clements. Clements was shot March 12, 2018, after a standoff on Interstate 90 during which she set her vehicle on fire. Although officers were prepared with stun guns and rubber bullets, Jensen fired his gun. A medical examiner determined Clements had cocaine and benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, in her bloodstream. Elgin police Chief Ana Lalley says an internal investigation will review whether Jensen violated any department policy or procedure, including use of force. WASHINGTON - Special counsel Robert Mueller is still seeking to keep secret details about his investigation into former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, according to a judges ruling Saturday. Muellers team has filed its recommendation for Manaforts punishment in one of his two criminal cases, but U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson says it contains sensitive information that prosecutors want to keep secret. The judge has directed that a public version of the document be filed with some material blacked out. Its unclear if that will happen Saturday. The sentencing recommendation comes as the 69-year-old Manafort, who led Donald Trumps 2016 campaign for several critical months, is already facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison in a separate case. It could also shed more light on how Manafort fits into Muellers larger Russian investigation, which is nearing an end. In recent weeks, court papers have revealed that Manafort shared polling data related to the Trump campaign with an associate the FBI says has ties to Russian intelligence. A Mueller prosecutor also said earlier this month that an August 2016 meeting between Manafort and the associate, Konstantin Kilimnik, goes to the heart of the Russia probe. The meeting involved a discussion of a Ukrainian peace plan, but prosecutors havent said exactly what has captured their attention and whether it factors into the Kremlins attempts to help Trump in the 2016 election. Like other Americans close to the president charged in the Mueller probe, Manafort hasnt been accused of involvement in Russian election interference. His criminal case in Washington stems from illegal lobbying he carried out on behalf of Ukrainian interests. As part of a plea deal in the case, Manafort admitted to one count of conspiracy against the United States and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. Prosecutors arent expected to recommend leniency because a judge found earlier this month that Manafort lied to investigators after agreeing to co-operate. Each count carries a maximum of five years in prison, a much lower potential punishment than in Manaforts separate tax and bank fraud case in Virginia. A jury convicted Manafort of eight felony counts last year, and Muellers team endorsed a sentence of between 19.5 and 24.5 years in prison in that case. Manafort, who has been jailed for months and turns 70 in April, will have a chance to file his own sentencing recommendation next week. Manaforts is set to be sentenced March 8 in Virginia and March 13 in Washington. Michael Cohen, President Donald Trumps former lawyer and fixer, met last month with federal prosecutors in Manhattan, offering information about possible irregularities within the presidents family business and about a donor to the inaugural committee, according to people familiar with the matter. Cohen, who worked at the Trump Organization for a decade, spoke with the prosecutors about insurance claims the company had filed over the years, said the sources. They did not elaborate on the nature of the possible irregularities. While it was not clear whether the prosecutors found Cohens information credible and whether they intended to pursue it, the meeting suggests they are interested in broader aspects of the Trump Organization, beyond their investigation into the companys role in the hush money payments made before the 2016 election to women claiming to have had affairs with Trump. Cohen pleaded guilty last summer to arranging those payments. The prosecutors also questioned Cohen about a donor to the presidents inaugural committee, Imaad Zuberi, a California venture capitalist and political fund-raiser, according to the people familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to discuss the confidential meeting. Around the time Zuberi contributed $900,000 (U.S.) to the committee, he also tried to hire Cohen as a consultant and wrote him a substantial cheque, one of the people said. Although Cohen did not go through with the arrangement, he was building a consulting business at the time with clients who sought to understand and have access to the Trump administration. A spokesman for Zuberi, Steve Rabinowitz, confirmed the cheque on Friday, saying it was for $100,000 and never cashed. Zuberi, the only person directly referenced in a recent subpoena the prosecutors sent the inaugural committee, had previously denied having any dealings with Cohen beyond a few conversations. There was no indication Cohen, who is scheduled to begin serving a three-year prison sentence in May, implicated Trump in the possible irregularities discussed during the meeting last month. If prosecutors concluded Cohens information was truthful and valuable, they could ask the judge who sentenced him to reduce his prison term. The White House referred questions to the Trump Organization. A spokeswoman at the company did not respond to requests for comment. In the past, the president has accused Cohen of lying to try to reduce his sentence. Lanny Davis, a lawyer and adviser to Cohen, would not comment on the investigations beyond saying that his client was interested in cooperating with and assisting the prosecutors in any way they believe is helpful. A spokesman for the United States attorneys office in Manhattan, known as the Southern District of New York, declined to comment. The prosecutors recently sought to interview Trump Organization executives, according to a person briefed on the request, which was previously reported by CNN. The nature of the questions they were seeking to ask was not known. So far, Cohen is the only person sentenced to significant prison time in various investigations connected to Trump. In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws for his role in the hush money payments, as well as tax and bank crimes. In a separate case brought by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about the timing of negotiations to build a Trump skyscraper in Moscow, and about the extent of Trumps involvement in the plans. In a memo to the court before he was sentenced in December, Cohens lawyers wrote that he was being disproportionately punished for conduct that is routinely pursued through noncriminal enforcement, referring to his admission of tax evasion. His lawyers drew a comparison to celebrities who received either fines or far less time after being charged with extensive tax fraud. The session with the Southern District prosecutors was not the first time Cohen provided information that could possibly lead to a reduced sentence. Earlier, Cohen met twice with the prosecutors to assist their investigation of the payments to women, including the Trump Organizations decision to reimburse Cohen for $130,000 he paid to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels. In an interview in December, Cohen told George Stephanopoulos of ABC News that he was done with the lying. He went on: I am done being loyal to President Trump, and my first loyalty belongs to my wife, my daughter, my son and this country. Federal law allows prosecutors to seek and a judge to grant a reduced prison term for a defendant who offers substantial assistance in investigating or prosecuting another person within a year of being sentenced. The same rule would also allow the judge to consider assistance Cohen provided, before his sentencing, to the special counsel. Last year, he met seven times with prosecutors from Muellers office. The continued scrutiny of the Trump family business and inaugural committee from the Southern District comes as Mueller is said to be wrapping up his investigation. Once he completes a report with his findings, various aspects of his investigation are expected to live on in the Southern District and other United States attorneys offices. Cohen declined to seek a formal cooperation deal with the Southern District, which would have required him to disclose any crimes he had committed or had been aware of, and would have delayed his sentencing. His decision to forgo such an agreement most likely contributed to the severity of his sentence; his lawyer had argued for no prison time. Trump had offered a different view, saying late last year that Cohen should serve a full and complete prison sentence. And as Cohen remained in the spotlight as a likely witness before Congress, Trump intensified his attacks on his former employee, urging prosecutors and the media to scrutinize Cohens family. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... The attacks led Cohen to postpone a planned appearance before the House oversight committee earlier this month. But this week, the committee announced that the testimony was back on for next Wednesday and that Democrats planned to question Cohen about the presidents business practices. Cohen has also agreed to testify behind closed doors before the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. Cohen was originally scheduled to begin his prison term next month, but his lawyers cited the congressional testimony as well as recent shoulder surgery as a reason for a two-month delay. The judge overseeing Cohens case granted the request on Wednesday. Read more about: PORT RICHEY, Fla. - A Florida mayor accused of shooting at deputies trying arrest him on allegations of practicing medicine without a license has been removed from office. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Friday suspending Port Richey Mayor Dale Massad. Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco says Massad fired on deputies during an early morning raid Thursday before surrendering. No deputies were hurt. The sheriff says Massad has a history of drug use, violence and threats and owns several guns, which prompted deputies to raid the home. State officials say the 68-year-old mayor was treating patients at home though he lost his physicians license in 1992. Besides illegal medical practice charges, jail records show, Massad faces five counts of attempted murder. Jail records didnt list an attorney for Massad. Port Richey is 40 miles (65 kilometres) north of Tampa. ATLANTA - At a time when counties, cities and states across the South are removing or covering up Confederate monuments, one of the worlds largest paintings of the American Civil War will reopen to the public Friday. But the artwork was never intended to celebrate the Confederacy, historians say. Atlantas Cyclorama depicts charging horses, wounded soldiers, cannon blasts and smoke on a Civil War battlefield in Atlanta as Union troops defeated Confederate forces and then torched much of the city. The painting also takes viewers into another, more personal battlefield in the minds eye, this one involving memory, facts, fiction, propaganda and romanticized portrayals of history, historians say. The German immigrants who painted it at the American Panorama Company in Milwaukee were creating the work for a northern audience to celebrate a northern victory in the Battle of Atlanta. So when people are concerned about Confederate monuments those who want to hug them and those who want to tear them down theyre both going to be surprised to find out its not one, said Sheffield Hale, president and CEO of the Atlanta History Center. And thats when you have the opportunity for insight and learning. DIVERGING VIEWS OF HISTORY The painting was created about 22 years after the Battle of Atlanta had occurred in 1864. It debuted in Minneapolis in 1886. When the artwork was relocated to Atlanta in 1892, Confederate sympathizers focused on the valour and bravery displayed by their side, said Gordon Jones, senior military curator at the history centre. It was advertised in Atlanta as the only Confederate victory ever painted. Its one of the greatest pieces of spin thats ever been put on an artifact, Jones said. Though the painting depicts a northern victory, southerners saw in the painting an Atlanta rising like the mythical phoenix the symbol still used on police cars and city buildings today. The more you learn about this painting, the more remarkable is the story, Jones said. And the story is definitely one of an artifact that changes meaning over time, depending on how you look at it. IMAX MOVIES OF THEIR DAY Before Hollywood movies, cycloramas such as the Battle of Atlanta were considered the virtual reality of their day. Its intended to surround you, to be this sort of virtual reality time machine, Jones said. After they were painted in cities such as Milwaukee and Chicago, cycloramas were rolled up and hauled by train around the country. People in various cities then paid admission to walk into specially built round buildings to view them. The Atlanta History Center built the massive Lloyd and Mary Ann Whitaker Cyclorama Building to display the painting. Inside is a 15-foot (4.6-meter) platform, allowing visitors to view the horizon at eye level, with a massive blue sky above and the battle unfolding beneath them. A canopy covers the observation platform, much like canopies were used in the 19th century displays. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... We have returned the painting to its original intent in 1886, and it was intended as an illusion, it was intended as mass entertainment, Jones said. Nobody has seen this painting the way it was originally intended to be seen in 1886. ONE OF THE WORLDS LARGEST PAINTINGS The 360-degree painting is longer than a football field at 371 feet (113 metres); and is nearly 50 feet (15 metres) high. It weighs 10,000 pounds (4,500 kilograms). When it goes on display again Friday, The Battle of Atlanta will join only a handful of giant cycloramas remaining worldwide. Another notable U.S. cyclorama, The Battle of Gettysburg, can be viewed at the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania. THE IMMIGRANT ARTISTS Among the exhibits opening Friday is one about the immigrant painters mostly German who battled sea sickness on the steamship that brought them to New York. To make their scenes as authentic as possible, some of the painters visited battlefields and met with Civil War soldiers in retirement homes before creating their cycloramas in Milwaukee. Michael Kutzer, a painter and historian who speaks German, has been working in Wisconsin to decipher the hand-written diaries of artist Friedrich Wilhelm Heine, who supervised the cyclorama painters in Milwaukee. That has helped shed light on who they were and their impressions of the United States after arriving from Europe. THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT The new exhibit opening Friday also includes early sketches of cycloramas, advertisements, and audio of the tours given from earlier eras. Military artifacts include a wooden chest used by Union General James McPherson, who died in the Battle of Atlanta. Actors who play characters from history will also provide context, Hale said. They include Paul Atkinson, the Georgia entertainment promoter who brought the painting to Atlanta, who explains how he interpreted the artwork for southern audiences. On the red clay landscape beneath the painting, the history centre has also restored the 128 soldier figures on the diorama beneath the painting. Those figures include a fallen Union soldier that was created in the likeness of actor Clark Gable after his visit to the Cyclorama when Gone With the Wind premiered in Atlanta in 1939. DENVER - Colorado police plan to search a landfill for the remains of a woman whose fiance is charged with murdering the mother of his 1-year-old child. The search of the landfill in Fountain is scheduled to begin Tuesday. The Woodland Park Police cautioned in a written statement that it could take weeks or even months to complete their search for Kelsey Berreths remains and other evidence. It was not clear on Friday what led police to search the site, which is about 40 miles from Berreths home. The 29-year-old flight instructor was last seen on Nov. 22 near her home in a mountain town near Colorado Springs, south of Denver. The search for Berreth did not begin until Dec. 2, when her mother reported her missing. Berreths fiance, Patrick Frazee, was charged with murder and solicitation to commit murder more than a month later. Frazee, 32, has not entered a plea. Dramatic court testimony during a Tuesday hearing revealed that Frazees girlfriend told police he repeatedly asked her to kill Berreth. Investigators told a judge that Kenney told police Frazee admitted beating Berreth to death with a baseball bat. The woman, Krystal Lee Kenney, is co-operating with prosecutors as part of a plea agreement. She is also required to testify against Frazee. The 32-year-old former nurse from Idaho has pleaded guilty to evidence tampering, admitting she moved Berreths cellphone. Kenney told police that Frazee demanded she come to Colorado and clean up blood spattered on the floor, walls and furniture of Berreths home. Kenney said she then watched as Frazee burned Berreths body on his property, according to testimony. She told police that Frazee planned to throw the remains in a dump or a river. Prosecutors evidence also includes cellphone tower data, suggesting Berreths phone was always in the possession of either Frazee or Kenney after Nov. 22, the date Frazee told police he last saw her. Prosecutors have not discussed any theories on why Frazee would kill Berreth. Her parents argue in a wrongful death lawsuit that they believe Frazee wanted full custody of the couples 1-year-old daughter. The child has remained with them temporarily while the criminal case proceeds. CHICAGOR. Kelly, the R&B star who has been trailed for decades by allegations that he violated underage girls and women and held some as virtual slaves, was charged Friday with aggravated sexual abuse involving four victims, including at least three between the ages of 13 and 17. In a brief appearance before reporters, Cook County States Attorneys Kim Foxx announced the 10 counts against the 52-year-old Grammy winner. She said the abuse dated back as far as 1998 and spanned more than a decade. She did not comment on the charges or take questions. R. Kellys attorney says the singer is shell-shocked by the aggravated sexual abuse indictment against him and plans to turn himself in to authorities Friday night. Steve Greenberg said his client is extraordinarily disappointed and depressed by the 10 counts Chicago prosecutors filed against him. His arrest sets the stage for another #MeToo-era celebrity trial. Bill Cosby went to prison last year, and former Hollywood studio boss Harvey Weinstein is awaiting trial. Best known for hits such as I Believe I Can Fly, Kelly was charged a week after Michael Avenatti, the attorney whose clients have included porn star Stormy Daniels, said he recently gave Chicago prosecutors new video evidence of the singer with an underage girl. It was not immediately clear if the charges were connected to that video, which Avenatti said includes audio in which Kelly and the girl say several times that she is 14 years old. Avenatti said the charges marked a watershed moment in the 25 years of abuse by Kelly and that he believes more than 10 other people associated with Kelly should be charged as enablers. In 2008, a jury acquitted Kelly of child pornography charges over a graphic video that prosecutors said showed him having sex with a girl as young as 13. He and the young woman allegedly depicted with him denied they were in the 27-minute video, even though the picture quality was good and witnesses testified it was them, and she did not take the stand. Kelly could have gotten 15 years in prison. Charging Kelly now with sexual assault for actions that occurred in the same time frame as the allegations from the 2008 trial suggests the accusers are co-operating this time and willing to testify. Because the alleged victim 10 years ago denied that she was on the video and did not testify, the states attorney office had little recourse except to charge the lesser offence under Illinois law, child pornography, which requires a lower standard of evidence. Each count carries up to seven years in prison. If Kelly is convicted on all 10 counts, a judge could decide that the sentences run one after the other making it possible for him to receive up to 70 years behind bars. Probation is also an option under the statute. Legally and professionally, the walls began closing in on Kelly after the release of a BBC documentary about him last year and the multipart Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly, which aired last month. Together they detailed allegations he was holding women against their will and running a sex cult. After the latest documentary, Foxx said she was sickened by the allegations and asked potential victims to come forward. #MeToo activists and a social media movement using the hashtag #MuteRKelly called on streaming services to drop Kellys music and promoters not to book any more concerts. Protesters demonstrated outside Kellys Chicago studio. As recently as Thursday, two women said Kelly picked them out of a crowd at a Baltimore after-party in the mid-1990s when they were underage and had sex with one of the teens when she was under the influence of marijuana and alcohol and could not consent. The women, Latresa Scaff and Rochelle Washington, joined lawyer Gloria Allred at a New York City news conference to tell their story publicly for the first time. In the indictment, the prosecution addresses the question of the statute of limitations, which is likely to be raised by the defence. It describes how prosecutors can charge Kelly under Illinois law even though the alleged crimes occurred as much as two decades ago. The indictment says in at least one instance, the abuse of a minor occurred between 1998 and 1999 but that it clearly fell within the 20-year charging window allowed under Illinois law. The 20-year period only begins, it says, after a victim turns 18. Greenberg said earlier this year his client was the victim of a TV hit piece and that Kelly never knowingly had sex with an underage woman, he never forced anyone to do anything, he never held anyone captive, he never abused anyone. Avenatti said his office was retained last April by people regarding allegations of sexual assault of minors by Kelly. He said the video surfaced during a 10-month investigation. He told the AP the person who provided the VHS tape knew both Kelly and the female in the video. The singer and songwriter, whose legal name is Robert Kelly, rose from poverty on Chicagos South Side and has retained a sizable following, despite the accusations. He has written numerous hits for himself and other artists, including Celine Dion, Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga. His collaborators have included Jay-Z and Usher. Kelly broke into the R&B scene in 1993 with his first solo album, 12 Play, which produced such popular sex-themed songs as Bump N Grind and Your Bodys Callin. Months after those successes, the then-27-year-old Kelly faced allegations he married 15-year-old Aaliyah, the R&B star who later died in a plane crash in the Bahamas. Kelly was the lead songwriter and producer of Aaliyahs 1994 debut album. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Kelly and Aaliyah never confirmed the marriage, though Vibe magazine published a copy of the purported marriage licence. Court documents later obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times showed Aaliyah admitted lying about her age on the licence. Jim DeRogatis, a longtime music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, played a key role in drawing the attention of law enforcement to Kelly. In 2002, he received the sex tape in the mail that was central to Kellys 2008 trial. He turned it over to prosecutors. In 2017, DeRogatis wrote a story for BuzzFeed about the allegations Kelly was holding women against their will in Georgia The list includes 22 priests who were ordained in the Diocese of Norwich and later accused of abuse while working in the diocese. Among them are priests, such as Richard T. Buongirno and Thomas W. Shea, who were sued by multiple victims. There are also seven priests who belonged to religious orders and served in the diocese and 12 priests who served or resided in the diocese but were accused of sexual abuse while serving in another diocese. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is pledging to expand opportunity for Americans of every race, religion and creed as he commemorates Black History Month. Speaking to hundreds Thursday at a White House reception, Trump boasted about the economy and said the unemployment rate for African-Americans is at its lowest ever. Black unemployment did reach a low, 5.9 per cent, in May 2018. But that figure changes monthly and had increased to 6.8 per cent by January. Trump also touted passage of a criminal justice reform bill in December. He says the nations sentencing laws disproportionally harm African-American communities far, far greater than anybody else. Catherine Toney, one of the first inmates released through the bills passage, thanked Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner for their efforts as the crowd applauded in approval. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Latest on Thursday nights SpaceX launch carrying Israels privately funded lunar lander (all times local): 8:45 p.m. Israel is on its way to the moon, following a dramatic nighttime launch by SpaceX. The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off late Thursday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket is carrying three separate spacecraft, most notably Israels privately funded lunar lander. Its a first not just for Israel but for commercial space. Israel seeks to become only the fourth country to successfully land on the moon, after Russia, the U.S. and China. It will take the four-legged lander nearly two months to reach the moon. If all goes well, touchdown would be April 11. The lander is called Beresheet, Hebrew for Genesis or In the Beginning. ___ 12:40 p.m. Israel aims to land on the moon after hitching a ride with SpaceX. The Falcon rocket is scheduled to blast off Thursday night from Cape Canaveral, Florida. A communications satellite for Indonesia is the main cargo. But Israels privately funded lunar lander a first not just for Israel but commercial space is generating the buzz. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Israel seeks to become only the fourth country to successfully land on the moon, after Russia, the U.S. and China. The spacecraft called Beresheet, Hebrew for Genesis or In The Beginning will take nearly two months to reach the moon. It will circle Earth in ever bigger loops until its captured by lunar gravity and goes into orbit around the moon. Touchdown would be April 11 at the Sea of Serenity. SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Padres have announced their $300 million, 10-year deal with All-Star infielder Manny Machado, more than two days after the deal was agreed to. Machado will be introduced Friday at spring training in Peoria, Arizona. The agreement, the largest for a free agent in big league history, includes an opt-out clause after the 2023 season and $150 million. Machado gets a $20 million signing bonus, payable within 30 days of the deals approval by the commissioners office, $10 million this season and $30 million in each of the remaining seasons. Machado is a Florida resident, and the signing bonus will not be subject to income tax in California, which has a top rate of 12.3 per cent. Machado has can pick six teams annually he cant be traded to without his consent. He gets a hotel suite on road trips and has the right to purchase premium tickets at Petco Park. His deal is the second-largest second in baseball history behind the $325 million, 13-year contract outfielder Giancarlo Stanton agreed to with Miami before the 2015 season. To make room for Machado on the 40-man roster, the Padres transferred right-hander Dinelson Lamet to the 60-day injured list. Manny Machado is a generational talent, and were ecstatic that hes chosen to spend his prime years in a San Diego Padres uniform, Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler and general partner Peter Seidler said in a joint statement. This momentous agreement speaks volumes to the direction of our organization, as well as our commitment to bringing a World Series championship to the Friar Faithful and the City of San Diego. ___ AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports TRENTON, N.J. - President Donald Trump could miss out on being on the 2020 ballot in New Jersey if he doesnt disclose his tax returns under a bill now advancing. The Democratic-led state Senate passed legislation Thursday inspired by the Republican presidents failure to disclose his tax returns. The measure requires presidential and vice-presidential candidates to release five years of federal tax returns to appear on the states ballot. Trump broke with decades of tradition by refusing to release his income tax filings during his 2016 campaign. He said it was because he is being audited. Democrats have used the issue to raise questions about what might be in the documents. The bill goes to the Democratic-led Assembly. If the measure is passes there, it would head to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. Republican Gov. Chris Christie previously vetoed the legislation. MANTORVILLE, Minn. - The Minnesota Attorney Generals office will review the case of a woman accused of killing her husband in southern Minnesota, then fleeing to Florida and killing a woman there. Lois Riess has not been charged in the fatal shooting of her husband, 54-year-old David Riess, at the couples home in Blooming Prairie last March. Dodge County Sheriff Scott Rose says his investigators were at a standstill waiting for a handgun recovered from Lois Riess hotel room after her arrest in Texas to be released by Florida authorities for ballistic testing in Minnesota. Rose says testing by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension indicates the shell casings found at David Riess homicide matched the handgun. Authorities say Lois Riess went to Fort Myers, Florida, met Pamela Hutchinson while there and killed her to assume her identity. She remains jailed in Florida in Hutchinsons death. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Latest on a cold-case arrest in the killing of a girl in California (all times local): 7:20 p.m. California authorities have released a decades-old photo of a suspect in the 1973 killing of an 11-year-old girl in the hopes of jogging the memory of potential witnesses. Officials in Orange County said Thursday that the photo may depict what James Neal looked like around the time Linda OKeefe was killed. Theyre asking anyone who saw him around then to come forward. The photo shows a smiling Neal with bushy hair and a moustache. The 72-year-old was in court in Colorado on Thursday. A judge scheduled a Feb. 28 hearing on his extradition. Neal was arrested this week in Colorado Springs in the killing the girl in Newport Beach, California. Linda was seen July 6, 1973, walking home from summer school, and her body was found the next day. Authorities say Neal lived in Southern California in the 1970s. ___ 3:50 p.m. A Colorado man arrested after DNA tied him to the 1973 killing of an 11-year-old California girl has yet to decide if he will fight extradition. The Colorado Springs Gazette reports 72-year-old James Neal, of Monument, nodded at his crying relatives as he was led into court for a brief appearance Thursday. A judge scheduled a Feb. 28 hearing, where Neal could say if he will fight extradition to California to face a murder charge. Neal was arrested in Colorado Springs on Tuesday for investigation of killing 11-year-old Linda OKeefe in Newport Beach, California. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Linda disappeared July 6, 1973. She was seen walking home from summer school, and her body was found the next day. Authorities say Neal lived in Southern California in the 1970s. ANKARA, Turkey - The U.S. peace envoy for Afghanistan has met his Russian counterpart in the Turkish capital for talks on efforts to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan. The Russian Embassy in Ankara announced on Twitter Friday that it was hosting a meeting between Washingtons peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Zamir Kabulov, Russian President Vladimir Putins envoy for Afghanistan. Khalilzad has stepped up efforts to find a peace deal for Afghanistan and held several rounds of direct talks with the Taliban. He will hold another round on Monday. The two sides have focused their talks on the withdrawal of U.S. troops and measures to prevent Afghanistan again becoming a staging arena for terrorists to attack the United States. Russia has also emerged as an influential player by hosting Afghan talks. BAGHDAD - Islamic State fighters facing defeat in Syria are slipping across the border into Iraq, where they are destabilizing the countrys fragile security, U.S. and Iraqi officials say. Hundreds likely more than 1,000 IS fighters have crossed the open, desert border in the past six months, defying a massive operation by U.S., Kurdish, and allied forces to stamp out the remnants of the jihadi group in eastern Syria, according to three Iraqi intelligence officials and a U.S. military official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on intelligence matters. But indications of the extremist groups widening reach in Iraq are clear. Cells operating in four northern provinces are carrying out kidnappings, assassinations, and roadside ambushes aimed at intimidating locals and restoring the extortion rackets that financed the groups rise to power six years ago. IS is trying to assert itself in Iraq, because of the pressure it is under in Syria, said Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasoul, the Iraqi army spokesman. The militants can count between 5,000 and 7,000 among their ranks in Iraq, where they are hiding out in the rugged terrain of remote areas, according to one intelligence official. In Syria, Kurdish-led forces backed by the U.S.-led coalition have cornered the militants in a pocket less than one square kilometre in Baghouz, a Euphrates River village near the 600-kilometre (370-mile) border. The Iraqi army has deployed more than 20,000 troops to guard the frontier, but militants are slipping across, mostly to the north of the conflict zone, in tunnels or under the cover of night. Others are entering Iraq disguised as cattle herders. They are bringing with them currency and light weapons, according to intelligence reports, and digging up money and arms from caches they stashed away when they controlled a vast swath of northern Iraq. If we deployed the greatest militaries in the world, they would not be able to control this territory, Rasoul said. Our operations require intelligence gathering and airstrikes. At its height in 2014 and 2015, the Islamic State group ruled over a self-proclaimed caliphate that spanned one-third of Iraqi and Syrian territory. The extremist offshoot of Al-Qaida in Iraq threatened to exterminate religious minorities. Iraqi forces, with U.S., Iranian, and other international help, were able to turn the war around and Baghdad declared victory over the group in December 2017, after the last urban battle had been won. But precursors to IS have recovered from major setbacks in the past, and many fear the militants could stage a comeback. The group is already waging a low-level insurgency in rural areas. The Associated Press verified nine IS attacks in Iraq in January alone, based on information gathered from intelligence officials, provincial leaders, and social media. IS often boasts of its activities through group messaging apps such as Telegram. In one instance, a band of militants broke into the home of a man they accused of being an informant for the army, in the village of Tal al-Asfour in the northern Badush region. They shot him and his two brothers against the wall, and posted photos of the killing on social media. Sheikh Mohamed Nouri, a local tribal leader, said it was meant to intimidate locals in order to keep them from sharing intelligence with security officials. I have members of our tribal militia receiving threatening messages warning them to abandon their work, said Nouri. In other instances, IS cells have killed mukhtars village leaders and municipal officials. They have attacked rural checkpoints with car bombs and mortar fire, and burned down militia members homes. In the town of Shirqat in central Iraq, militants stopped a police vehicle last month and killed all four officers inside. Other activities have aimed at restoring the groups financial footing. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... On Sunday, militants kidnapped a group of 12 truffle hunters in the western Anbar province, marking a return to a strategy of intimidating and extorting farmers and traders for financial gain. Naim Kaoud, the head of provincial security, urged locals to suspend truffle gathering, which has just one season a year and is an important source of income for rural families. Other truffle hunters have disappeared in the countryside, according to former lawmaker and Anbar tribal figure Jaber al-Jaberi. He said the militants are taking cuts from truffle hunters in exchange for access to the land, and kidnapping or killing those who refuse to co-operate. This is one of the sources of their funding, said al-Jaberi. Al-Jaberi cautioned against exaggerating the IS threat, saying the militants have been less successful at infiltrating communities than they were earlier this decade. These are different times, he said. Others are not so sure. Hans-Jakob Schindler, a former adviser to the U.N. Security Council on IS and other extremist groups, said the same grievances that gave rise to IS in 2013 remain today, including a large Sunni minority that feels politically and economically marginalized by the Shiite-led central government. Im very worried that we are just repeating history, said Schindler, who is now at the Counter Extremism Project. He said he has seen IS revert to the old type of classical terror attacks and kidnapping for ransom, tactics that were once widely employed by al-Qaida in Iraq. The militants staged a dramatic resurgence after 2011, when U.S. forces withdrew from Iraq and civil war broke out in neighbouring Syria. Today some 5,200 American forces are based in Iraq, after they were invited back to help stem the IS rampage in 2014. After President Donald Trump promised in December to pull American forces out of Syria, Iraqi lawmakers began clamouring for the U.S. to leave, arguing that the mission against IS was approaching its end. But with no letdown to IS militancy, those calls have petered out. MILAN - Anna Wintour paid tribute Friday to Karl Lagerfelds generosity and sense of humour as she presented a new fashion exhibition. Elsewhere in Milan, Versace unveiled its first womenswear collection since the Italian fashion house become part of a U.S. fashion group, and luxury brand Bottega Venetas new creative director showcased a collection that draws on the houses heritage but pushed it toward a forward-dressing consumer. The American Vogue editor-in-chief said that Lagerfeld, who died this week, would have loved the Costume Institutes upcoming exhibit Camp: Notes on Fashion at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, given his wonderful sense of humour. Karl was the very best benefactor and collaborator, as erudite as he was generous, Wintour said. Highlights from the third day of Milan Fashion Week previewing designs for the upcoming fall and winter: ____ VERSACE EMBRACES IMPERFECTION Donatella Versace mixed luxury and grunge in a new collection that calls on the Italian fashion houses key iconographic details of past decades. It was the Milan fashion houses first womenswear show since becoming part of the Capri Holdings Limited owned by Michael Kors. Versace said before the show that grunge is an attitude, that time in life when people were more deep in the sense of thoughts, talking and thinking. She said there is need for more of that now. Grunge came through in the purposely ravaged cashmere sweaters, held together by Versace hardware, including the Greek-head safety pin, like one that came with the invitation. The sweater paired perfectly with a tweed skirt with a colorful silk and lace slip peeking out. Other looks were more eclectic, as if pulled from some 1970s magic trunk of slinky, colorful pieces that layered into fun, upbeat looks including a shimmery turquoise slip dress, to the lace tights and V-branded pink-and-green coat with an acid green fur collar. Versace also played with the houses bondage heritage, with bondage tops laying over ribbed turtlenecks for day or forming the bodice of an evening dress. She closed on a series of black looks modeled by Gigi Hadid, her sister Bella Hadid, with iconic 1990s supermodel Stephanie Seymour closing the show. With this collection, I wanted to show that side of a woman that isnt afraid to step outside of her comfort zone because she knows that imperfection is the new perfection, Versace said in her notes. ____ BOTTEGA VENETAS NEW DIRECTION Bottega Veneta took a sharp turn under its new creative director Daniel Lee, reorienting the brand toward a more fashion-forward dresser. The British millennial designers first collection since joining the brand, owned by the French group Kering, incorporated Bottegas trademark intreccio weave in innovative ways while taking its core leather accessories in a fresh direction. An oversized weave on a red knitwear tunic emphasized the intreccios inherent grace. The weave was left open on a leather skirt for a laser-cut effect, while a repeating tab technique created leather coats for him and her with a slight wave effect. Bags included moulded leather in fresh geometric shapes. In the combined mens and womens collections, Lee put a lot of emphasis on the female neckline, which scooped, dipped and performed other more complicated geometric tricks. A leather tuxedo shirt with a plunging neckline was paired with an ice-green quilted skirt with a puffer coat esthetic. For men, knitwear looks were overlapped with large open panels and modernized necklines. A mans coat had wide shoulders, and was kept short for an overall square silhouette, and worn over an all-leather biker ensemble. Overall, the collection projected a hardness with ample leather and hardware, but the designers softer side came through in knitwear and pieces like a mirrored coat for women that moved like silk. ____ MARNIS CEREBRAL EROTICISM Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Marni creative director Francesco Rizzo says his woman for next season is a vigilante pursuing her prey in an escape room that has no limits. She is dressed for extremes as day turns to night, a little bit goth, a little bit huntress. The collection is an unusual yet sexy mix of satin, wool and leather. Each piece is an iteration of uniform that evolves. Panels of colour reveal pleats, dresses twist and fold, pleated panels become trailing scarves on shirts, satin runs into plaid wool, edges are left unfinished. It is one big game of trompe loeil. A print looks like squares up close, only to reveal a womans face or a bouquet of flowers at a distance, like a pixelated Mondrian. The looks are somewhere between eccentric office attire and sexy cocktail dress. Both the clothes and the accessories were covered with metal, rings, spikes, buttons, big crystals. Chastity belts cinch jacket waists for a fetish touch; metallic chainmail covers a ghostly white satin dress. Rizzo said the collection was also meant as a battle cry against censorship. It is very easy to censor at this moment, the designer said backstage. We need to remember revolutionary moments when (Yves) Saint Laurent, (Helmut) Newton created revolutions with the freedom of body. Today Marni for me is about cerebral eroticism. ____ CAMP AS FASHIONS ZEITGEIST The inclusion of many pieces from recent runway collections in the upcoming Costume Institute exhibit focusing on camp is an indication of its relevance in the fashion world, the curator said. Curator Andrew Bolton says camp has been used as an escape but also a tool for political criticism. I think camp has this ... playful sort of approach to the Zeitgeist. ... Its a reaction and a reflection of the times we are living, he said. The exhibit, sponsored by Gucci, will include pieces from creative director Alessandro Micheles fall and winter 2018-2019 collections, as well as recent looks from Viktor & Rolf and Palomo Spain. It runs from May 9 to Sept. 8 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The exhibition in some ways belongs to the DNA of what I have done in these years, Michele said. Camp isnt only a word created to explain how much you can be extravagant, exaggerated. It is that thing that hides the great power of clothes and the great power of appearance. The show will also include a Lagerfeld creation a 1987 Chanel look inspired by Versailles among 120 that he donated to the Mets Costume Institute. Presenting the exhibition in Milan, Wintour expressed her gratitude for Lagerfeld, whom she described as a great friend and an important donor, her voice cracking as she spoke. In their closing arguments, Fahey and co-counsel Reed Durham argued that the evidence against Ortiz was overwhelming, and jurors seemed to agree. The prosecutors presented three eyewitnesses to the murder, including a man seated in a car with Baez when Ortiz fired a round into his chest, fatally wounding him. The man, who drove Baez to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, at first refused to testify because he was so scared of Ortiz. GENEVA - A military court in Switzerland has fined a former sergeant in the Alpine nations army 500 Swiss francs ($500) for joining a foreign militia to fight the Islamic State group in Syria between 2013 and 2015. The tribunal in Bellinzona on Feb. 22 found Johan Cosar guilty of weakening Swiss defence and jeopardizing Swiss neutrality, but acquitted him of recruiting others to join the Syriac Military Council, a Christian militia group. Court spokesman Mario Camelin said Cosar also was ordered to pay 1,000 francs to cover costs and a criminal penalty of 4,500 francs. The financial penalty only will be imposed if he commits another infraction in the next three years. A cousin of Corsars was acquitted of similar charges. The rulings can be appealed. BERLIN - Police in southern Germany say a slaughterhouse worker suffered serious injuries after being kicked in the face by a dead cow. In a statement, police said the cow was killed according to regulations early Thursday at an abattoir in Aalen, and hung from a meat hook for further processing. Police said the carcass then kicked the man in the face, apparently due to a nerve impulse that experts say isnt uncommon. The 41-year-old worker was hospitalized. BERLIN - The German government pledged Friday to investigate the deportation of a Tunisian man shortly after the deadly 2016 truck rampage on a Berlin Christmas market, but denied media reports that authorities had tried to cover up his possible involvement in the attack. German weekly Focus reported Friday that Bilel Ben Ammar was arrested days after the market attack and deported to Tunisia a month later, despite having frequent contacts with the attacker. Tunisian asylum-seeker Anis Amri killed 12 people in the market attack, which was later claimed by the Islamic State group. Amri fled the scene, dying in a shootout with police in Italy days after the attack. Ben Ammars current whereabouts are unknown. German Interior Ministry spokeswoman Eleonore Petermann told reporters in Berlin that deportations are carried out according to the rule of law and certainly not in order to cover anything up. Still, Petermann said Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has ordered a probe into the circumstances of the deportation, which he only learned about on Friday. The Federal Prosecutors Office told The Associated Press it had given the go-ahead for Ammars deportation after concluding there was no evidence to charge him with anything in Germany, saying it had considered all the relevant circumstances. In this Dec. 20, 2016 file photo firefighters look at the debris after the trailer has been towed away from the crime scene in Berlin, Germany, one the day after a truck ran into a crowded Christmas market and killed several people. The German government has rejected media reports claiming authorities sought to cover up the involvement of a second man in the deadly 2016 truck attack on a Berlin Christmas market by deporting him. The investigation so far has not revealed that that any suspect with the exception of Anis Amri was present at the time of the attack, the office said. Still, opposition lawmakers said they want to question Ben Ammar as part of a parliamentary investigation into the attack. Green party lawmaker Konstantin von Notz said theres evidence Ben Ammar and Amri met the night before the attack and spoke over the phone on the day it happened. The question arises, was he just a witness? Was he an accessory? Or was he a co-conspirator? von Notz told reporters, adding there are doubts that Amri acted alone. Focus reported that Ben Ammar was an agent for Moroccos intelligence service and that the German government may have tried to deport him to avoid him being prosecuted. The magazine claimed that a video, so far kept under wraps by authorities, shows a man who looks like Ben Ammar helping Amri flee the scene of the attack. Von Notz said lawmakers havent been able to obtain such a video. Petermann, the ministry spokeswoman, denied knowledge of its existence. BEIJING - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hailed relations with China as trouble-free, during talks Friday with President Xi Jinping in Beijing aimed at strengthening relations in the face of criticism from the West over the kingdoms human rights record and its war in Yemen. Citing a 33 per cent increase in bilateral trade last year, the crown prince said high-level contacts were paying off in areas from commerce to security and defence. Saudi Arabias relations with China can be traced back a very long time in the past, Prince Mohammed told Xi at their meeting in the hulking Great Hall of the People in the heart of the Chinese capital. Over such a long period of exchanges with China, we have never experienced any problems with China, he said. His visit come five months after the crown prince came under intense pressure in the U.S. and elsewhere following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. In the U.S. Congress, criticism has also been building for months over the kingdoms handling of the war in Yemen, where it is accused of causing widespread casualties and suffering among civilians. The crown prince earlier Friday presided at a China-Saudi co-operation forum that concluded with agreements on co-operation in fields ranging from petroleum and the chemical industry to investment, renewable energy and counter-terrorism. Saudi Arabia is one of Chinas top crude oil suppliers and an important market for its exports, including military drones. Prince Mohammed also pledged Saudi Arabias backing for Chinas gargantuan belt and road infrastructure project, saying he was willing to link it with the kingdoms Vision 2030 plans a blueprint put forth by the crown prince to wean the kingdom off its reliance on oil, particularly as sustainable sources of energy become cheaper and more popular. The Crown Princes visit follows trips to India and Pakistan, which send millions of labourers to Saudi Arabia and are seeking closer economic ties. He is also due to visit industrial powerhouse South Korea on his Asian tour. China has refrained from faulting Saudi Arabia over issues such as the war or killing of the journalist, in keeping with its long-held tradition of non-interference in other countries affairs. For its part, Saudi Arabia has avoided criticizing Chinas authoritarian communist government over its treatment of its Muslim minority groups as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on religion and minority languages that includes the detention of an estimated 1 million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims in internment camps. Thats despite the ruling Al Saud familys image of itself as the defender of Muslims across the world and protector of Islams two holiest shrines. The hush-hush approach reflects how China and Saudi Arabia have grown close over the past decade based on complementary economic interests, said Michael Clarke of Australian National Universitys National Security College. Basically, in the Saudi case there seem to be very clear incentives for it to not rock the boat in service of the Uighur issue, Clarke said. TOKYO - The future of a key North Korean nuclear facility is on the table as leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump prepare to meet in Vietnam next week. The Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center, the heart of the Norths nuclear development and research, is Kims biggest carrot as he tries to win security guarantees and free his country from the U.S.-backed trade sanctions that are hobbling its economy. The North Korean leader has suggested hes ready to talk about closing the facility, capping the amount of fissile material it produces or possibly allowing international inspections. Trump, meanwhile, says he is going into the summit in no hurry to push the North to denuclearize, as long as Kim isnt conducting nuclear or missile tests. But time may be of the essence. As talks drag on, North Korea is believed to have produced enough weapons-grade nuclear fuel to make an estimated half a dozen or so more bombs in 2018 alone. Heres the latest on whats going on at Yongbyon and why its so important: ___ HEDGED BETS The North has taken steps to disable or dismantle some nuclear and missile facilities since the first Trump-Kim summit last June in Singapore but it has also been hedging its bets. Using open-source satellite imagery of the Yongbyon complex, a team of experts led by Siegfried Hecker, a former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory who has visited the Yongbyon facility several times, estimate the North made enough weapons-grade material to boost its stockpile from an estimated 30 nuclear weapons at the end of 2017 to 35-37 by the end of last year. North Korea unsurprisingly continued to operate and, in some cases, expand the nuclear weapons complex infrastructure, they wrote in a report published this month by the Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation. The authors note that Kim isnt violating any agreements with Trump or shocking any military strategists by building up the Norths stockpile thats to be expected in an arms negotiation process. But the stepped up activity underscores how important it is for Washington to push for a deal on Yongbyon. Stephen Biegun, Trumps special envoy on North Korea, says Washington hasnt lost its focus on the problem. He said last month Kim has committed himself to the dismantlement and destruction of the totality of North Koreas plutonium reprocessing and uranium enrichment programs. But he said Kims offer is contingent upon the United States taking as-yet unspecified corresponding measures. ___ NEW GROUND, OR DEJA VU? Kim agreed in talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in last September to consider closing a 5-megawatt reactor at Yongbyon. In his New Years address he hinted that he is willing to accept a moratorium or cap on nuclear fuel production. The Yongbyon reactor produces all of the Norths plutonium. Highly enriched uranium and tritium, which is a crucial booster fuel for nuclear weapons, are also produced at the Yongbyon complex. Christopher Lawrence, a physicist and nuclear security scholar at Harvard University, points out that while the North could still produce enough highly enriched uranium at other sites, the Yongbyon closure would severely restrict its supply of fissile materials and reduce its ability to cheat in the future. Unlike enriching uranium, making enough plutonium and tritium for its weapons program would likely require a large and hard-to-hide reactor. An interim deal to verifiably dismantle Yongbyon would be a strong sign that North Korea is serious about rolling back its nuclear program, he said in an email to AP. He said closing the reactor would not only stop production of plutonium but also eliminate the Norths ability to produce the tritium it needs to make nuclear warheads small enough to fit its long-range missiles. Other experts argue the reactor at Yongbyon, which began producing plutonium in 1986, is not as important as it once was. The North is suspected of having uranium-enrichment facilities in other locations, including one in the port city of Nampo, a short drive west of the capital, and skeptics claim Yongbyon has aged to the point that its closure would not be a major concession. The reactor is based on a 1950s British design. They also point out that Washington and Pyongyang have been down this road before. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... The North agreed to shut down the reactor in 1994, but restarted it in 2003. It shut the reactor down again in 2007 during a series of nuclear talks conducted under the direction of Kims late father, Kim Jong Il. In a made-for-TV moment seen around the world, the North blew up its cooling tower the following year. But that negotiation eventually fell through also. In 2013, less than two years after assuming power, Kim Jong Un ordered a new cooling system be built so the reactor could be restarted. Its been running ever since. __ WHAT TO WATCH FOR Nestled in a rugged, mountainous area about 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Pyongyang, Yongbyon is a big facility. Even if the talks go smoothly, theres an awful lot of details to nail down. Its not entirely clear if Kim is thinking of closing all of it, or just part, or how long that will take. Its also not clear what parts of it might be opened to inspectors, or for how long. Or, for that matter, who those inspectors might be. When Kim decided to close the Norths underground nuclear testing facility in Punggye-ri, he allowed only foreign media in to watch. They got quite the display of explosions and billowing clouds of smoke, similar to the demolition of the Yongbyon cooling tower years before. But experts expressed frustration from afar that they were unable to conduct soil tests that could have given them important clues to the history of the site and the level of the Norths nuclear technology. The blasts were also shallow enough to leave doubts over whether the North would simply dig new tunnels later. And, like Yongbyon, some critics said the site had been used so many times already that its tunnels were already structurally unsound. The lesson: Real progress must come at a real cost. As the North demonstrated when it restarted Yongbyon in 2013, simply deactivating a reactor isnt necessarily enough. Trumps negotiators have justifiably stressed the importance of irreversible moves by Pyongyang this time around. ___ Talmadge has been the APs Pyongyang bureau chief since 2013. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @EricTalmadge CUCUTA, Colombia - The Latest on the political crisis in Venezuela (all times local): 9:30 p.m. Venezuelas government is ordering the partial closure of its border with Colombia hours ahead of a U.S.-backed plan to deliver humanitarian aid over the objections of President Nicolas Maduro. Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez said on Twitter that the government was ordering the temporary closure of three crossings in Tachira state because of the serious and illegal threats against Venezuelas peace and sovereignty coming from Colombias government. The border area is where supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido are looking to deliver several tons of emergency food and medical supplies airlifted to Colombia in recent days by the Trump administration. --- 9:10 p.m. Venezuelas foreign minister says about 60 countries have backed its campaign to promote the U.N. Charters principles of non-interference in a nations internal affairs and opposition to threats to use force and have come up with seven proposed initiatives and actions. Jorge Arreaza gave no details to reporters after a closed-door meeting at the United Nations but said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Security Council, the General Assembly and its president, and the Geneva-based Human Rights Council would have to take actions. One action under consideration is a proposed letter to Guterres which Venezuela circulated to 46 countries last week expressing serious concerns at what it called threats to use force against Venezuela in violation of the U.N. Charter. Arreaza said he expects some news next week after diplomats discuss the proposed initiatives with their governments. Countries attending the meeting included Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Syria, South Africa and Bolivia. Russias U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said everyone at the meeting was very concerned that something might happen Saturday during the oppositions attempt to deliver aid that could trigger unpredictable events. ___ 8:10 p.m. Venezuelas foreign minister Jorge Arreaza is calling the oppositions attempt to deliver aid on Saturday a spectacle and is accusing the United States of orchestrating the event to generate violence and get the military to rise up. We can only hope that sanity and good sense will prevail in Cucuta, in Colombia, and that it will just remain as a big show, a big party, and that they dont try to open the doors to a military intervention, Arreaza told a news conference at U.N. headquarters in New York on Friday. Responding to a question about what orders Venezuelas military has been given to deal with people who may try to cross the border, Arreaza said members of the Venezuelan military ... will never have orders to fire on the civilian population. Our armed forces protect our national sovereignty and never will take action in a disproportionate manner against our people and citizens, he said. As for the aid, Arreaza said, we dont even know whats in those boxes. He said President Nicolas Maduro announced Thursday that Venezuela will accept help from the United Nations and the European Union, but it has to be done in the right ways. ---- 7:20 p.m. Opposition leader Juan Guaido says millions of Venezuelans will take to the streets to usher in international humanitarian aid. Guaido spoke late Friday from Cucuta, Colombia, on the eve of efforts to bring emergency food and medicine to Venezuelas neediest over the objections of President Nicolas Maduro. The opposition leader has declared presidential powers, vowing to oust Maduro and restore democracy to Venezuela. Guaido slipped across the Venezuelan border to attend a benefit concert in Cucuta, where tons of the aid is warehoused. He says he and other lawmakers made the trip across Venezuela with the help of the countrys military, a key player needed to defeat Maduro. Guaido says Venezuela is in search of freedom and thanks to the people of the world for supporting this historic moment. --- 7 p.m. Venezuelas foreign minister says the Maduro government is still in discussions with the United States on extending an agreement for U.S. diplomats to stay in Caracas. Jorge Arreaza told a press conference at U.N. headquarters in New York late Friday that there is a meeting pending with the U.S. envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams to work out, flesh out an agreement. He denied reports that an agreement has been reached. After the Trump administration recognized parliament chief Juan Guaido as the countrys legitimate leader last month, President Nicolas Maduro severed diplomatic relations with the U.S., ordered the expulsion of all American diplomats, and recalling Venezuelan diplomats from the United States. The U.S. reduced its staff at the Caracas embassy to a bare minimum but said it had no plans to close the mission. An interim arrangement allowing the U.S. diplomats to remain in Venezuela is due to expire on Monday. Arreaza said two preliminary meetings on the issue of the U.S. diplomats were held in New York, and there may be a third one soon, which he hopes will take place while hes still in the city. At any event it will depend on initiatives on both sides, and the respect that we have for each other, Arreaza said. Sometimes its difficult to negotiate with the United States when they are sticking their nose every day into our affairs. ---- 6:15 p.m. Musicians are wrapping up a giant concert to pressure Nicolas Maduro to let humanitarian aid into Venezuela with a rendition of John Lennons Imagine. Richard Branson took the stage and led a crowd of thousands in chanting Freedom and pumping their fists in the air to close the event. He noted that Venezuelan authorities blocked many viewers inside the country from seeing the concert online and called for the release of political prisoners. As the last song concluded, Branson shouted to the crowd in Spanish, Thank you! ___ 5:20 p.m. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has shown up at a benefit concert across the border in Colombia, defying orders banning him from travelling outside the country. Guaidos surprise appearance Friday at the star-studded Live Aid Venezuela concert attended by thousands of Venezuelans marks a new test of authority for President Nicolas Maduro. He was greeted with shouts of: Juan arrived! Juan arrived! Guaido was met backstage by Colombian President Ivan Duque. Venezuelas Supreme Court stacked with Maduro loyalists had banned Guaido from leaving the country, announcing that the opposition leader was under investigation for declaring himself interim president a month ago at an outdoor rally in Caracas ___ 4:25 p.m. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is strongly appealing for violence to be avoided on Saturday, which Venezuelas opposition leader has set as a deadline to bring emergency food and medicine into the country. President Nicolas Maduro says humanitarian aid isnt needed and has vowed to block attempts to bring it into Venezuela. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: Weve been following the situation with increasing concern ... and again very much appeal to ensure that there is no violence. Dujarric told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York on Friday that this is a message the secretary-general has been conveying privately and publicly all around. Guterres discussed Venezuela Friday with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo but Dujarric gave no details of their talks. Dujarric reiterated U.N. concerns about the politicization of humanitarian aid. For our part, aid should be used in a way that is impartial and that is free of political or any military objectives, he said. ___ 4:15 p.m. The United States and Venezuela have reached an agreement to extend the stay of U.S. diplomats in Caracas amid skyrocketing tensions between the countries. U.S. officials say the agreement will allow the diplomats to remain in Venezuela for another 30 days amid a battle over the legitimacy of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The Trump administration last month recognized parliament chief Juan Guaido as the countrys legitimate leader and demanded Maduro step down. In response, Maduro announced he was severing diplomatic relations with the U.S., expelling all American diplomats and recalling Venezuelan diplomats from the United States. The U.S. reduced its staff at the Caracas embassy to a bare minimum but said it had no plans to close the mission. An interim arrangement allowing that was due to expire on Monday. 3:45 p.m. An internet watchdog group says a benefit concert for Venezuela has been blocked from view for many of the people it is intended to help. The non-governmental group Netblocks reported Friday that websites and TV stations showing the Live Aid Venezuela concert in the Colombian border town of Cucuta appear to have been blocked. British billionaire Richard Branson organized the concert to shed light on shipments of humanitarian aid that President Nicolas Maduro will not allow in. Opposition leader Juan Guaido has vowed to deliver the aid on Saturday. Netblocks says YouTube, Bing and Google services inside Venezuela went down for nearly an hour during the concert. ___ 12:55 p.m. A benefit concert on the Colombian border with Venezuela has kicked off with an artist singing a song about her personal struggles as a migrant. Strumming her ukulele, Reymar Perdomo on Friday sang I Left, which has become the unofficial anthem of Venezuelans fleeing their countrys economic and political crisis. Perdomo was the first to take the stage at the Cucuta concert organized by British billionaire Richard Branson, who is trying to shed light on Venezuelas humanitarian crisis. Opposition leader Juan Guaido plans to bring aid into Venezuela on Saturday, defying President Nicolas Maduro. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Perdomo said performing so close to the border where she herself crossed not long ago brought back difficult memories. She also said shes confident there will be change because Venezuelans were showing they wanted it. Thousands gathered for the concert. ___ 10:45 a.m. The Trump administration says its sent nearly 200 metric tons of humanitarian assistance over the past two weeks to the Colombian-Venezuelan border for distribution inside Venezuela. The U.S. Agency for International Development says Friday that about 191 tons of relief supplies have been delivered to a depot in Cucuta, Colombia since Feb. 4. That includes food for 2,000 people for a month and medical material such as hygiene kits, wheelchairs, crutches, bandages and examination gloves. The aid is part of a $20 million package the administration announced last month after it recognized National Assembly head Juan Guaido as Venezuelas legitimate leader and demanded that President Nicolas Maduro step down. Maduro has ordered the borders with Colombia and Brazil closed as the opposition makes plans to bring the assistance in. ___ 9:50 a.m. Officials in Venezuela say a woman has been killed and a dozen more injured in a clash with security forces on the border with Brazil. Gran Sabana Mayor Emilio Gonzalez identified the woman shot dead Friday as Zoraida Rodriguez, a member of an indigenous community. A day earlier, President Nicolas Maduro ordered the border closed as the opposition made plans to bring in humanitarian aid from Brazil and two other neighbouring countries on Saturday. Gonzalez says members of the Pemon ethnic group clashed with the Venezuela National Guard and army, who were moving tanks to the border with Brazil. He says the soldiers fired rubber bullets and tear gas and the injured people were taken for medical treatment. ___ 9:25 a.m. British billionaire Richard Branson said he hopes a fundraising concert he is organizing on behalf of Venezuela will convince soldiers to disobey President Nicolas Maduro and allow shipments of humanitarian aid sitting on the border to pass. Branson said he postponed in California a planned test flight into space by his Virgin Galactic company to join dozens of pop artists from Latin America in the Colombian city of Cucuta for Fridays concert. He said he and a Colombian entrepreneur friend got the idea for a concert after speaking by phone with opposition leader Juan Guaido and his political mentor Leopoldo Lopez. The U.S. and dozens of other countries recognize Guaido as Venezuelas rightful president. For those people who think Venezuela is a utopia and Venezuela isnt suffering they should really come here into the crowd today and ask them why they are leaving, Branson said at a press conference early Friday. ___ 9:20 a.m. Venezuelas deputy foreign minister who is visiting Moscow says the embattled Venezuelan president is in persistent contact with Russias leader. Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Gil said at a meeting in the upper chamber of the Russian parliament on Friday that President Nicolas Maduro is constantly in touch with President Vladimir Putin on the phone. He thanked Russia for a recent shipment of medicine but reiterated the government stance that there is no humanitarian crisis in the South American country. Russia and China have been staunch backers of Maduro. Venezuelas government and the opposition are set for a showdown on Saturday as the opposition pledges to draw crowds to the countrys western border to try to usher in aid that Maduro has vowed not to accept. ___ 9:10 a.m. The U.N. refugee and migration agencies say some 3.4 million people have now fled Venezuela, up from a November estimate of 3 million people. The joint envoy for refugee agency UNCHR and the International Organization for Migration, Eduardo Stein, praised the tremendous solidarity shown by Venezuelas neighbours to people leaving the country. The agencies said Colombia hosts the highest number of Venezuela emigrants more than 1.1 million followed by Peru with 506,000 and Chile with 288,000. Brazil has taken in 96,000 Venezuelans. UNHCR responded to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduros vow to shut the border with Brazil and not let aid through by highlighting the utmost importance that the people in need of international protection can seek the protection they require. UNHCR said its Venezuela operation helped 80,000 people with issues like documentation, education, nutrition and sanitation. ___ 9 a.m. An opposition lawmaker travelling across Venezuela to collect humanitarian aid at the Colombian border says somebody threw two large rocks at a bus in her caravan. Deputy lawmaker Mariela Magallanes of the opposition-controlled National Assembly said Fridays pre-dawn incident was a direct attack that left a backup driver injured. The caravan of buses was travelling overnight from Caracas to the Venezuelan border town of Urena, where opposition supporters are planning to collect international aid despite President Nicolas Maduros refusal to let it enter. Magallanes says the rocks went through the windshield on the passenger side. She says its unclear who was responsible and the driver was being treated for injuries. Photos on social media show a broken windshield and a pool of blood on the floor of the bus. Magallanes says the attack wont stop the humanitarian aid from coming into Venezuela. ___ 1:10 a.m. Venezuelas power struggle is set to become a battle of the bands on Friday. Dueling concerts near the border between Venezuela and Colombia will literally set the stage for a showdown between the beleaguered government of President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leaders who are trying to usher in aid. British billionaire Richard Branson is sponsoring a Live Aid-style concert featuring dozens of musicians including Latin rock star Juanes on one side of the border, while Maduros socialist government is promising a three-day festival deemed Hands Off Venezuela on the other. The eyes of the world will be on Venezuela, opposition leader David Smolansky said in advance of the concert. HAVANA - After a tornado slammed Havana in late January, Mijail Ramirez complained on Twitter that authorities were threatening to evict him from his damaged home. A week later he said the government had changed its mind and would help him rebuild the house. Jorge Luis Leon used the official Twitter account of a Cuban vice-president to request that hospital waiting rooms have seating for family members, while a group of young people launched Sube, a ride-hailing app for the aging American sedans that ply the streets of Havana. In the 2 1/2 months since Cuba allowed its citizens internet access via cellphones, fast-moving changes are subtle but palpable as Cubans challenge government officials online, post photos of filthy school bathrooms and drag what was one of the worlds least-connected countries into the digital age. Communist authorities, in turn, are having to learn how to deal with more visible pressure coming from outside of party-controlled popular and neighbourhood committees. Life has changed, said Alberto Cabrera, 25, who is part of the team that developed the Sube app. You see it when you walk down the street. The other day, looking from the roof of my house I could see that a neighbour had mobile internet service, as did the person in front and the person beyond him. You never saw that before. In the first 40 days after Dec. 6, when people could start buying internet access packages for 3G service, 1.8 million Cubans on this island of 11 million purchased the services. A government report last week said about 6.4 million residents use the internet and social networks. Previously, nearly all Cubans could use mobile phones to link only to their state-run email accounts unless they connected to the internet at a limited number of government-sponsored Wi-Fi spots. We are in a process of learning about how to use the data packages, said Claudia Cuevas, 26, a university professor and member of the Sube team. Before you went to the park (with Wi-Fi zones) once a week to communicate with your family. The history of the internet in Cuba has been rife with tensions and suspicions since it began in the 1990s. Cubas government accused Washington of blocking its access to the fiber optical cables near the island, forcing it to use an expensive and slow satellite service. It was only in 2011 that Cuba got access to a submarine cable with the help of Venezuela. And it wasnt until 2015 that the general population gained access through the opening of Wi-Fi points in hundreds of parks. Critics of the communist government said it resisted giving Cubans free access to the internet because it feared a free inflow of information. Government supporters said it was fighting efforts by Washington to undermine Cubas communist system and revolution. For a while, the internet generated fear among Cubas leaders and there was a long wait, said Harold Cardenas, a pro-revolutionary blogger and Cuba specialist who now resides in the United States. It was collateral damage from the dynamics of the Cold War prolonged in Cuba for decades. Cardenas said that what Cuba can expect is more citizen participation, incorporation into global digital trends and challenges for the new president. People questioned by The Associated Press agreed that using the internet has become more practical since the recent arrival of cellphone access. Cubans are moving from state telephone company ETECSA to WhatsApp, searching for information on the internet and reaching out to government officials through Facebook and Twitter. Julio Aguirre Lusson, 25, a DJ who has had a YouTube channel called TecnoLikeCuba for a year, says he has noticed the impact. Previously, the country with the most subscribers to my channel ... was Spain, followed by the United States, and Cuba third. Now the highest number are Cubans, he said. Aguirre said, however, that there are still many limitations from both outside and inside Cuba. For example, there are obstacles facing local developers who want to enter their products in places like Google Play store. And in Cuba, developers face a paralysis in the delivery of operating licenses so they can work within a legal framework. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel opened a Twitter account prior to December and recently ordered all his ministers and senior leaders to do the same. But many of them only retweet official messages or propaganda slogans without providing their own content or answering citizens questions. Diaz-Canel has repeated the importance of the internet and says Cuban authorities are working on websites and platforms to provide government services, such as requesting a birth certificate or being able to fill in government forms that now must be done out by hand. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... An example of the growing use of the internet and social media was the reaction via Facebook and Twitter to the tornado that devastated half of Havana in late January. Residents used the platforms to assess the damage and organize solidarity. The combination of internet access and social networks is a channel that people can use to say things as they are directly: We need this or this is happening. It cannot be blocked and people must see it as a way to express themselves and say what they think, said Cuevas. RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian authorities on Friday began moving humanitarian aid to its northern border with Venezuela even though the international crossing has been closed. Brazils air force sent a plane with food and medicine to Boa Vista, the main city in the northern state of Roraima. They planned to transport via trucks the goods, which included rice, powered milk and first aid kits, to Pacaraima, the city that borders Venezuela. Humanitarian aid to Venezuela has become a flashpoint in the struggle between President Nicolas Maduro and Juan Guaido, who has been recognized by over 50 nations, including Brazil, as the countrys president. Guaido has announced plans to bring in aid on Saturday via Brazil, Colombia and the Caribbean island of Curacao. In anticipation of the planned aid delivery on Saturday, on Thursday Maduro closed Brazils border crossing. The maritime border with Curacao had also been shut. Brazilian officials stressed Friday they would not engage in a military confrontation with oil-rich Venezuela, which supplies much of Roraimas energy. We have to wait and see how things develop, Augusto Heleno, minister of institutional security, told Globo News. Whats clear is that Brazil will not take any aggressive action. Still, desperately needed aid sitting on the border was sure to raise tensions in Pacaraima, a dusty city with many dirt roads. In recent years, Pacaraima has received thousands of Venezuelans crossing the border in search of food and medicine. While most Venezuelans continue to other Brazilian cities, the most destitute stay in Pacaraima because they have no money for bus fare. Instead, they sleep on the sides of roads, look for odd jobs and try to hitch hike to Boa Vista, about three hours drive south. Many are emaciated and have health problems. On Friday, many Venezuelans could be seen crossing the border illegally away from the checkpoint. New York state prosecutors have put together a criminal case against Paul Manafort that they could file quickly if the former chairman of Donald Trumps 2016 campaign receives a presidential pardon. New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is ready to file an array of tax and other charges against Manafort, according to two people familiar with the matter, something seen as an insurance policy should the president exercise his power to free the former aide. Skirting laws that protect defendants from being charged twice for the same offence has been one of Vances challenges. Manafort was convicted of eight felonies, pleaded guilty to two more and is scheduled to be sentenced next month for those federal crimes. Prosecutors working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller have recommended as long as 24 years, a virtual life sentence, for the 69-year-old political consultant. The president, who has bemoaned Manaforts treatment at the hands of Mueller, said in November that he has not ruled out a pardon. He has frequently talked of his broad pardon power, possibly extending even to himself, and acted to liberate two political allies previously. A spokesman for Vances office declined to comment, as did Jason Maloni, a spokesman for Manafort. The White House didnt respond to a request to comment. Prosecutors in Vances office began investigating Manafort in 2017, months before Mueller charged him with conspiracy, failure to file reports of foreign bank accounts and failure to register as an agent of a foreign country, activities stemming from his earlier work for Ukraine. Muellers team followed up with more charges of bank fraud, filing false tax returns and failure to file reports of foreign bank accounts in early 2018. Read more: Manafort faces March sentencing in Virginia tax, fraud case Mueller seems to be wrapping up two-year investigation Court filing: Manafort faces more than 19 years in prison At the state level, Vance is preparing an array of criminal charges. While their full extent isnt clear, they would include evasion of New York taxes and violations of state laws requiring companies to keep accurate books and records, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the investigation is confidential. Much of the evidence against Manafort has emerged through Muellers prosecutions. But Vances office cant cut and paste Muellers charges into a state indictment. It must avoid New Yorks double jeopardy law, which provides protections for defendants even stronger than those guaranteed by the U.S. Constitutions Fifth Amendment. Former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman anticipated this concern last year when he urged Albany lawmakers to tweak the states robust double jeopardy protections to allow local prosecutors to charge individuals convicted of federal crimes but pardoned by the president. The state legislature didnt follow through on his request. Nevertheless, Vances office has identified several areas where it believes Manafort can be charged with state offences without triggering double jeopardy protections. For example, New York law allows defendants who have already been convicted of evading federal taxes to be charged with the same conduct as it applies to state taxes. As a part-time resident of New York, Manafort has some exposure. Muellers court filings also contain evidence of Manaforts manipulation of his business records as part of efforts to secure bank loans. While Mueller charged bank fraud based on this conduct, Vance could hit Manafort with state charges of falsifying books and records, according to one of the people. Manaforts legal team would almost certainly challenge the states efforts, invoking constitutional protections. New Yorks double jeopardy provisions have frustrated state authorities in the past, said John Moscow, who prosecuted global bank fraud and money laundering cases under Vances predecessor Robert Morgenthau. My suggestion is to change the double jeopardy statute in New York to permit prosecutions with this kind of conduct in mind, said Moscow, who is now at Lewis Baach LLC and isnt involved in the matter. As interpreted, the statute is too broad and needs to be rethought. If convicted of state crimes, Manafort would face confinement in notoriously tough prisons. L. Dennis Kozlowski, the former Tyco International Ltd. chief executive officer convicted in 2005 of securities fraud, grand larceny and falsifying business records, served part of his 8 1/3-to-25 year sentence at a medium-security prison. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Along with commuting some sentences, Trump has issued seven pardons, several of them to staunch political allies including Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona and conservative commentator Dinesh DSouza. At times he has seemed to relish his clemency power, musing about a possible pardon for Martha Stewart and commuting the sentence of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. Matthew Whitaker, who was acting attorney general until last week, told lawmakers on February 8 that he hadnt had discussions about potential pardons. But asked by U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat, what he knew of any pardon documents that had been prepared, Whitaker responded: I am aware of documents relating to pardons of individuals, yes. Escobars time then expired, and no followup question was asked. Read more about: In her book, Evil: The Science Behind Humanitys Dark Side, Julia Shaw looks at the science and psychology of evil, and how its rooted in our cultures. This excerpt examines a modern-day American villain to see what light can be shed by Americas most hated man. Humans like a sense of order and control, and we dont like the idea that bad things can happen to good people. But they do, all the time. Accepting this can help us to deal with the underlying inequalities, and try to do something about them like working to eliminate slavery, reduce extreme poverty, or prevent violent crime. These are probably not, as some believers in a just world might assume, necessary evils in society. Also counter to our just-world hypothesis is accepting that good things can also happen to bad people people who dont play by the rules, and exploit others. One of the most blatant examples of taking advantage of human suffering for profit is making life-saving medication extortionately expensive. In 2015, Martin Shkreli (also known as Pharma Bro), the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, bought the rights to the AIDS drug Daraprim, and almost immediately raised the price from $13.50 to $750 per pill. What was happening seemed to be a clear case of profit over patients. His reckless disregard for the wellbeing of patients earned him the title of Americas most hated man. In 2017, he was charged with multiple counts of fraud. As it turned out, however, after so much public criticism of him and his actions, it was difficult to find neutral jury members. Here is an excerpt of what might be the most bizarre jury selection process of all time, which led to over 200 jurors being excused from their duties. The court: The purpose of jury selection is to ensure fairness and impartiality in this case. If you think that you could not be fair and impartial, it is your duty to tell me. All right. Juror Number 1. Juror No. 1: Im aware of the defendant and I hate him. Benjamin Brafman (Shkrelis lawyer): Im sorry. Juror No. 1: I think hes a greedy little man. The court: Jurors are obligated to decide the case based only on the evidence. Do you agree? Juror No. 1: I dont know if I could. I wouldnt want me on this jury. The court: Juror Number 1 is excused. Juror No. 10: The only thing Id be impartial about is what prison this guy goes to. The court: Okay. We will excuse you. Juror 28, do you need to be heard? Juror No. 28: I dont like this person at all. I just cant understand why he would be so stupid as to take an antibiotic which H.I.V. people need and jack it up five thousand percent. I would honestly, like, seriously like to go over there The court: Sir, thank you. Juror No. 28: Is he stupid or greedy? I cant understand. Juror No. 59: Your Honor, totally he is guilty and in no way can I let him slide out of anything because The court: Okay. Is that your attitude toward anyone charged with a crime who has not been proven guilty? Juror No. 59: Its my attitude toward his entire demeanor, what he has done to people. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... The court: All right. We are going to excuse you, sir. Juror No. 59: And he disrespected the Wu-Tang Clan. Juror No. 77: From everything Ive seen on the news, everything Ive read, I believe the defendant is the face of corporate greed in America. Brafman: We would object. Juror No. 77: Youd have to convince me he was innocent rather than guilty. That comment from Juror No. 59 was the result of Shkreli buying an unreleased Wu-Tang album and never releasing the music to anyone else, resulting in a member of the Clan calling him a s---head.. In response, Shkreli called the rapper old and irrelevant, and threatened to erase the album, stating Without me, youre nothing. Even after filtering out biased jurors, Shkreli was found guilty of a number of the charges against him. During and after the trial, he was glib, superficial, entitled, posted hateful attention-seeking comments on social media and lied repeatedly. He even lied about being a graduate of Columbia University. This came to light during the trial, when a university administrator reported that there was no record of him ever attending. That evening, back at home, Shkreli posted a live stream on social media where, seated with his cat on his lap, he attacked critics while wearing a Columbia University T-shirt. He seemed to enjoy messing with people, perhaps even revel in being perceived as evil. It wasnt until 2018, when he was sentenced to seven years in prison for securities fraud and conspiracy, that the world saw an emotional display. The man who once thought himself untouchable cried in court. How did he get to this point? It is easy to write him off as a psychopath, or a bad apple, or evil. Indeed, in this section I was going to talk about what Robert Hare, the researcher who developed the psychopathy checklist, has referred to as snakes in suits. How being a callous and manipulative psychopath might be a helpful feature in business settings, because it can allow us to make decisions based on money rather than empathy. Then I caught myself. By using a framework that explains bad business behaviour as the result of psychopathic leaders, we fall back into the fallacy that evil is something other people do. That it is the result of fundamental flaws in a person, rather than a system that is created entirely to frame our measures of success and contribution in monetary terms. Shkreli is, in many ways, the epitome of what we think a bad boss or corporate CEO is like a sleazy, self-interested snake in a suit. But we must be careful. He has grown up in a world that glamorizes money, and often rewards those who succeed in business even at the expense of others. Many industries mark up prices for necessary goods, treat workers poorly or pay themselves very high salaries while their employees starve. Humans can readily adapt to the systems they live in, and Shkreli is among those who take it too far and relish being good at the corporate game. This is not to excuse his actions, but like all of us, Shkreli too is a product of his environment although likely with some dark tetrad personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, sadism and psychopathy) thrown in that make it even easier for him to ignore reasonable ethics and focus entirely on money and fame. Still, we must not dehumanize those who dehumanize others. Perhaps a system that encourages profit over all else has the potential to make us all into monsters. The defendant caused a very serious injury to the victim, prosecutor Vicki Melchiorre told Hartford Superior Court Judge Laura F. Baldini. He stabbed the victim in the chest and he nearly died. The 10-year prison term is the minimum the victim wanted his son to serve, Melchiorre said. A senior Waterfront Toronto director told a hearing in Ottawa that it was known all along that Sidewalk Labs might need to go beyond redeveloping a 12-acre parcel near Parliament St. and Queens Quay and expand their vision to 350 acres in the Port Lands. Meg Davis, Waterfront Torontos chief development officer and Kristina Verner, vice-president of innovation, sustainability and prosperity for the corporation appeared for before the federal ethics committees Liberal-majority standing committee on access to information, privacy and ethics Thursday afternoon. The two were asked about the corporations partnership with Google sister firm Sidewalk Labs to develop a proposal for a data driven residential neighbourhood on the waterfront. Politicians at the local, provincial and federal level and the general public understood the development proposal was only for a 12 acres parcel of land called Quayside, but last week the Star revealed Sidewalk wants to broaden that to encompass the Port Lands developing new neighbourhoods and a new light rail transit line throughout the entire area and getting a share of the property taxes, development fees and other benefits from increased land values money that would normally go to the citys coffers. Standing committee member, and Conservative MP Peter Kent suggested to Davis that senior politicians and the general public in the GTA and beyond are now viewing the Sidewalk proposal as a high profit real estate property development project rather than a technology partnership. Davis replied that the goal has always been to build out the Quayside property and that the original March 2017 RFP (request for proposals) for the project which Sidewalk later won envisioned an initiative that would be climate positive and improve transit and infrastructure on the waterfront. Read more: Googles Sidewalk Labs plans massive expansion to waterfront vision Politicians react with shock, anger to Googles sweeping vision for Port Lands Opinion | Edward Keenan: Torontos approach to Amazon is a model of how to deal with Google She went on to say the RFP and subsequent July 2018 plan development agreement between Waterfront Toronto and Sidewalk allowed for thinking at scale beyond Quayside in other words an expanded vision. You need district energy systems, you need different electric grids, transportation systems. What does it take to get to these lofty objectives, said Davis, adding: 12 acres probably doesnt get you there. This echoed a statement Sidewalk Labs CEO Dan Doctoroff made to the Star last week in the story about the Port Lands revelations. We were looking for innovative opportunities to help fund a waterfront LRT system, Davis told the standing committee. But committee member and NDP MP Charlie Angus disagreed with Davis version of events. The first map (in the RFP) was 12 acres. Quayside but then the plan development agreement was for the whole designated waterfront area. Isnt that rather unusual for one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in North America? Angus asked Davis tersely. People who bid (on the RFP) thought it was only 12 acres. (That) was the understanding from the get-go, Angus told Davis. She replied that the designated waterfront area in the plan development agreement goes beyond Quayside. A map in the agreement shows an area that takes in the Port Lands and also stretches west past the Rogers Centre. A press release in July explaining the agreement says that the final plan for Quayside may also bring forward proposals that work best at scale. The RFP does reference the potential for expansion. One section says: it may be beneficial to advance the solutions, processes and partnerships proven successful through the (Quayside) project to subsequent developments on the eastern waterfront. But Toronto developer Julie Di Lorenzo, who quit the Waterfront Toronto board last summer over her objections to the Sidewalk project, said after Thursdays committee meeting it was always her belief as a board member that the deal with Sidewalk only pertained to Quayside. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... She says she was a bit stunned to hear Davis embrace the expansion idea. From my time on the board, I was surprised to hear Waterfront Toronto representatives describing the (master plan Sidewalk is working on) as anything more than the Quayside lands, Di Lorenzo told the Star, noting that the city of Torontos own web page on the project only refers to Quayside. Davis pointed out that the proposal Sidewalk is expected to put forward draft and final master plans later this year must get approval from Waterfront Toronto and the city of Toronto. Any agreements regarding development charges, or tax sharing or anything stemming from land values would also need city of Toronto approvals, she added. After the meeting Angus, the standing committee member, said he still has many questions. I dont know how you put forward a project that in the long-term is about a major real estate development for the entire waterfront and not make that clear from the get-go. I have that concern, he said in a telephone interview from Ottawa. And they talk about, you need economies of scale and transit and you need to do it for climate change. All that might be true but thats not what the conversation was for the RFP, he added. Sidewalk Labs is expected to appear before the committee in March. This is not a witch hunt. This is about making sure that a huge project with potentially enormous benefits to the city of Toronto is done right, Angus said. And thats gotta be the focus all along, whether its Sidewalk Labs or someone else. We just have to make sure that due diligence is done every step of the way, he added. Meanwhile, at Toronto city hall, councillors voiced support for a motion put forward by councillor Joe Cressy calling for Toronto to establish city-wide rules and regulations for how data can be collected at Quayside and other smart city projects. Councillor Jennifer McKelvie said: Nobody cares about their privacy until they feel the pain of losing it. We should protect privacy ... and we should implement strong safeguards and standards over the way the data of our voters is collected. I have long been worried about how intrusive the data tracking could be at Quayside, added councillor Paula Fletcher. Its time to put in place some very strict parameters, clear guidelines, around data and ask (on behalf of residents) what do you really need to know about me? With files from David Rider and Gilbert Ngabo Read more about: OTTAWAConservative Sen. David Tkachuk says he wont apologize for comments he made at a pro-pipeline rally in Ottawa, calling criticism that he was inciting violence manufactured outrage. Tkachuk spoke Tuesday to the United We Roll convoy, which left Red Deer, Alta. on Feb. 14 and expressed a wide variety of demands, some related to the oil and gas sector. The convoy participants opposed bills that will overhaul environmental assessments of energy projects and ban oil tankers from the northern coast of British Columbia. Tkachuk told the crowd, many of whom had driven across the Prairies and Ontario in pickup trucks and semis, to roll over every Liberal left in the country ... Because when theyre gone, these bills are gone. The Saskatchewan senator said in a statement the comment was a figure of speech, in the context of an election year. This is manufactured outrage by the Liberals to distract from the real plight of our and gas industry and the harm they are doing to the West to my province with their policies, it read. The words I used may not have been as artful as I would have liked and certain individuals are happy to misinterpret them to suit their own self-interest, but I am not going to apologize for that. Privy Council clerk Michael Wernick prefaced an appearance at the House of Commons justice committee on Thursday by voicing grave reservations about the state of political dialogue. Wernick did not mention Tkachuk directly but said it was totally unacceptable that a parliamentarian would incite people to drive trucks over others after 10 pedestrians were killed in a van attack in Toronto last year. I hope that you as parliamentarians are going to condemn that, he said. Toronto Liberal MP Adam Vaughan apologized in early February for a tweet that people should whack Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Vaughan said the remark was in reference to the whack-a-mole carnival game, where players hold a mallet and hit targets as they randomly pop up from a board. Read more: Handling of convoy donations raises questions as trucks gear up to head home Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Yellow-vest movement offers inroads to extremist elements, and the convoy to Ottawa is no different Protesters greet Alberta-organized convoy on Parliament Hill Read more about: MONTREALThe CEO and union leaders at Bombardier Inc. say the plane-and-train maker is well on the way to finding new work for recently laid-off employees. Bombardier says filling different positions within the Montreal-based company, finding jobs with other employers or reverting to part-time work are part of the so-called reclassification process. Last November, the plane-and-train-maker announced about 5,000 layoffs 2,500 of them in Quebec and 500 in Ontario as part of a restructuring plan that the company says will save it $250 million (U.S.) a year. Chief executive Alain Bellemare says that so far about 20 per cent of laid-off employees in Quebec, or roughly 500 workers, have been reclassified, often finding other roles at the 77-year-old company or elsewhere in the provinces aerospace sector. David Chartrand, Quebec co-ordinator for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, says that no workers he represents have lost their jobs to date. Bellemare has said the reclassification process will take 18 months in total. Read more: Bombardier sees rail project issues solved by the end of 2020 Bombardier to cut 5,000 jobs, sell Downsview operation Bombardier CEO ends his silence on 5,000 layoffs, defends the move Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Read more about: HALIFAXPrime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed Thursday his government is responding to a desperate plea from the grieving mother who lost all seven of her children in a recent house fire, saying he wants to give this family a little solace in a time of unbelievable tragedy. Kawthar Barho, whose husband Ebraheim is in a medically induced coma to recover from extensive burns, has told local politicians and religious leaders in Halifax that she wants to be reunited with family members living overseas because she has no other relatives in Canada. The prime minister, in Halifax on Thursday for a funding announcement, said Halifax MP Andy Fillmore had already contacted Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen about expediting the immigration process for some family members. I cant comment on specific cases, but in heartbreaking cases like this were certainly looking at doing what we can to bring this family that has suffered such a devastating loss together, said Trudeau, who attended a vigil in Halifaxs main square Wednesday night in support of the Barhos. The Barhos arrived in Nova Scotia with their children as privately sponsored refugees in September 2017. Early Tuesday, a fast-moving fire killed all of their children: Ahmad, 14; Rola, 12; Mohamad, 9; Ola, 8; Hala, 3; Rana, 2 and Abdullah, who was born in Canada on Nov. 9. Read more: Baseboard heater may have caused Halifax house fire that killed seven children Empty house in Elmsdale a reminder of seven lives lost in Halifax fire Hundreds of mourners, including Justin Trudeau, gather at vigil for seven children lost in fire The cause of the fire remains unclear. Fillmore said immigration applications were being reviewed Thursday. This is an absolute priority to get this done as quickly as possible, he said. I think its absolutely critical that we get those family members here as quickly as we can. The Liberal MP said he had met with Kawthar at the hospital, where she was asked if there was anything federal officials could do to help. She made it clear that it was her family, Fillmore said. Natalie Horne, vice-president of the community group that sponsored the Barhos refugee claim, said some family members from Syria have already registered with the UN refugee agency, which should help speed up the process. Typical refugee claims can take several years to complete. Once (the Barhos story) leaves the headlines and people go back to their lives, theres still going to be a wake of tragedy for Kawthar and for Ebraheim, said Horne, vice-president of the Hants East Assisting Refugees Team. It will be a long road to recovery ... Its really important for us to get family here who can support them on that journey. Horne said Kawthar Barho told her the fire was caused by an electric baseboard heater that ignited a couch. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... However, deputy fire Chief David Meldrum said residents should be wary of reading too much into that kind of speculation. Were aware of the reports that are in the media, as well as other information on social media, Meldrum said in an interview. I want to remind everyone this information is not coming from official sources. Our investigation is ongoing. Meldrum said if the investigation uncovers anything that would affect community safety, that information will be released to the public as soon as possible. Still, he said it was unclear how long the investigation would take. Ehab Zalok, an expert in fire safety engineering at Carleton University in Ottawa, said the fact that neighbours heard a bang before flames spread rapidly through the house suggests something non-solid, like a gas, may have caused the fire to spread rapidly. He said the scale of the fire, which destroyed much of the homes top floor, suggests it was much more than just (a) structure burning or furniture burning because that kind of fire usually takes longer to grow. If you have something burning for a few minutes you would expect that people will smell something like smoke, smoke alarms will sound something to prepare people for whats coming, which is a bigger fire, he said in an interview. A funeral for the children is expected either Friday or Saturday, said Imam Abdallah Yousri of the Ummah Mosque in Halifax. Though the mosque can hold about 2,000 people, Yousri said the ceremony will be moved to a larger venue. That site had yet to be selected by Thursday afternoon. The Barhos had lived in the Halifax suburb of Spryfield for only a few months, having moved to the city from nearby Elmsdale, N.S., to take advantage of language training and other immigrant services. They had planned to return to Elmsdale next month. Neighbours say the children missed their old school and the friends they had made there. The Barho family was among 1,795 Syrian refugees who have come to Nova Scotia in recent years. The Trudeau government granted asylum to 40,000 Syrian refugees in 2015-16. A brutal civil war has raged across Syria since 2011, claiming more than 400,000 lives. Read more about: Good Morning, Viet Mom Written by Franco Nguyen. Directed by Byron Abalos. Until March 3 at the Aki Studio Theatre, 585 Dundas St. E. Cahoots.ca or 416-531-1402 Solo storytelling shows are the bread and butter of the Fringe circuit; with few creatives involved and usually very few set pieces, theyre easy to tour and cheap to put on. But once in a while, a solo show breaks out of the festival scene to stand on its own. Originally titled Soaring in Liquid Skies, standup and sketch comedian Franco Nguyens hour-long reflection on growing up as the son of Vietnamese immigrants has grown tremendously since its first appearance at the Toronto Fringe in 2017. For one thing, its new title, Good Morning, Viet Mom, is much more evocative of Nguyens sense of humour, which drives his storytelling, with its focus on his relationship with his mother Dieu and her life story. Though the show includes material thats almost positively part of Nguyens tight 15 minutes as a standup, the uniqueness of Good Morning, Viet Mom comes from Nguyens concurrent studies in film, drawing from the footage he collected on various trips to his mothers home in Vietnam, and the way that director Byron Abalos and technical director David DeGrow pull comedy, theatre and film together. They dive deeper into Nguyens family history, past the laughs and into the much darker reality of Dieus childhood, marriage and parenting style, and how it has affected Nguyens own path to adulthood. This combination got it rave reviews at the Fringe festival and a subsequent run at the Fringes wintertime offshoot, the Next Stage Theatre Festival, last year. Now Good Morning, Viet Mom is on its own tour with Cahoots Theatre, heading to Mississauga and Victoria, B.C., in March. Nguyens story remains largely the same including the bits that hit his comedic strengths, like his impression of being a child in the middle of a nasty divorce and some jabs at Winnipeg winters but this version of the show benefits from a more advanced set design by Christine Urquhart, projections by Kevin Matthew Wong, sound by Miquelon Rodriguez and lighting by DeGrow that amplify Nguyens jokes like a good partner. It makes one yearn to see what all touring standups could do with an intricate technical design. And yet, there are elements of Good Morning, Viet Mom that havent escaped what one would associate with a Fringe show: Nguyens story follows the common trajectory of humour, emotional reckoning and a heartfelt but middling ending that have come to define the personal storytelling show. It works and its especially powerful with this particular story, which explores an emotionally fraught immigrant experience. The fortunate bonus is Nguyens footage, which makes Dieu (a beautiful fashion person) a character of her own, beyond Nguyens intentionally exaggerated impersonation of her. But his portrayals of his parents fall into extremes, leaving the question of whether Good Morning, Viet Mom could have been developed further to include more nuance in this aspect. But as the play begins its own cross-country journey, its clear that Nguyen, a sometimes stiff but engaging performer, has been on a much longer path to reach a mature and sensitive relationship to his family history. And this show is a testament to that, and his artistic passions. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Read more about: There is only one sure thing about the Oscars: They will break your heart. This year more than ever, with guideposts gone and uncertainty running like wild dogs in the street. No matter what films and talent triumph at Sundays Academy Awards, there will likely be more people feeling shocked and appalled by the choices that there will be people celebrating them. Among them will be diehards still upset that their personal faves didnt even land a nomination such as the academy snubbing of First Reformeds Ethan Hawke for Best Actor and Wont You Be My Neighbor? for Best Documentary Feature. We are condemned to live in divided but engaging times. A credible case can made for any of the eight Best Picture nominees to triumph, which guarantees a riveting finale for the telecast, which again will be too long. The recent addition of 1,600 new academy members, many of them women and people of colour, means its harder than ever to guess the choices of the now more than 7,900 Oscar voters. Any number of surprises could happen Sunday. So be ready and dont be too heartbroken by them. Your heart will go on, to quote the theme song of long-ago Best Picture champ Titanic which incidentally beat my favourite film from that year, L.A. Confidential. Ive stopped crying. Read more: Oscars Best Picture nominees reviewed all in one place Oscar Odds: Why The Favourite could win Best Picture Domee Shi brings her love of food to the screen with Oscar-nominated Bao Lets get down to it with my annual will/could/should Oscar predictions: BEST PICTURE Will: Roma Could: Green Book or BlacKkKlansman or just about anything. Should: Roma Why: Roma, Alfonso Cuarons Spanish-language memory movie about his early life in Mexico, is the most glorious expression of cinema art among the Best Picture nominees. Its numerous wins in many pre-Oscar industry votes suggest victory, but it will have to leap two sizable hurdles: All previous Best Picture winners have been in the English language, and no Netflix movie has ever triumphed in this category. In this wide-open Oscar year, the Academy might instead go for the crowd-pleasing comedy Green Book or finally give Spike Lee his due with a win for historical thriller BlacKkKlansman. And the weird math of Best Pictures preferential ballot, which includes second, third and subsequent choices, means you also cant rule out Bohemian Rhapsody, Black Panther, The Favourite, A Star Is Born or Vice to take top gold. BEST DIRECTOR Will: Alfonso Cuaron, Roma Could: Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman Should: Alfonso Cuaron Why: This looks like Cuarons category to lose. He won the Directors Guild of America prize and other pre-Oscar kudos, and everybody agrees Roma is a masterful directorial statement, even if they dont like the film. But how many prizes should Cuaron and Roma get? Why not give Best Director to Spike Lee to make up for past snubs of Spike Lee joints? Academy voters are asking themselves these questions, and most of them are probably not leaning toward Cold Wars Pawel Pawlikowski, The Favourites Yorgos Lanthimos or Vices Adam McKay. Its between Cuaron and Lee. BEST ACTRESS Will: Glenn Close, The Wife Could: Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born Should: Glenn Close, The Wife Why: This is one of the safest bets at this years Oscars. Close has been reaping acclaim for her slow-simmering portrayal of an unsung spouse since The Wife premiered at TIFF in 2017. Her likely win will be her first Oscar in seven attempts, which makes her even more of a popular choice than closest rival Lady Gaga, a first-time nominee for her strong Hollywood debut in A Star Is Born. Olivia Colman (The Favourite) is another fine pick, but Yalitza Aparicio (Roma) and Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) would be shock wins. BEST ACTOR Will: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody Could: Christian Bale, Vice Should: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody Why: This is even an even better bet than Close. Malek playing Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody is the best thing about this hugely popular rock biopic, as even the films detractors admit. And the charming Malek has been relentlessly campaigning for the prize, unlike his nearest rival, the dour Bale (Vice), who did a great job channelling a despotic Dick Cheney. Its really between Malek and Bale, but Viggo Mortensen (Green Book), Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born) and Willem Dafoe (At Eternitys Gate) are grateful for their nominations. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Will: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk Could: Amy Adams, Vice Should: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Why: Many pundits, myself among them, are troubled that perceived front-runner King didnt get a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for playing the stoic mom in If Beale Street Could Talk. Its traditionally a prerequisite for Academy love, since actors dominate the voters. But everybody believes King will win, as she has in many other votes, and arent the movies all about believing? She has competition from Adams (Vice), a six-time Oscar nominee with no wins (yet). Votes split between The Favourites Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz, meanwhile, means neither will likely win. And the surprise nomination of Marina de Tavira (Roma) would become an even bigger surprise win. Shes worthy, but a real longshot. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Will: Mahershala Ali, Green Book Could: Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me? Should: Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me? Why: Of course Ali should have been nominated for Best Actor, since hes the co-lead with Mortensen in the two-hander Green Book. His studios cynical avoidance of vote splitting will likely be rewarded with a win nevertheless. Ali certainly deserves the prize, which he previously took for Moonlight in 2017, but Id rather see Grant win for his truly supporting role as McCarthys charming rogue accomplice in Can You Ever Forgive Me? I suspect a lot of Oscar voters might be thinking the same way. As for Adam Driver (BlacKkKlansman), Sam Elliott (A Star Is Born) and Sam Rockwell (Vice) great work, guys, but see you next year. BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Will: The Favourite Could: First Reformed Should: First Reformed Why: Its a longstanding tradition that Oscar voters give screenplay awards to films that are just a little too edgy to be considered for Best Picture. Which makes this ideal logic to suggest a win for the bawdy fun of The Favourites satire of 18th-century British royalty and politics. If I were an Oscar voter, though, Id give the nod to Paul Schraders First Reformed, an otherwise-overlooked drama of a clergymans crisis of faith in a world gone mad. Strange Oscar science could just as easily give the gold to Roma, Green Book or Vice. BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Will: BlacKkKlansman Could: If Beale Street Could Talk Should: If Beale Street Could Talk Why: If BlacKkKlansman wins here, it likely means it wont win Best Picture, for the reasons stated above. Academy voters arent going to let Lees achievement go home empty-handed, and hes one of four screenwriters credited with adapting Ron Stallworths true story of a Black cop infiltrating the KKK in the 1970s. The closest competitor would be Barry Jenkins If Beale Street Could Talk, an adaptation of James Baldwins book (also set in the 1970s) about love in the time of racial oppression. I dont see a serious challenge from any of the other nominees: A Star Is Born, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and Can You Ever Forgive Me? AND THE REST Roma is likely to be the nights numerical winner, even if no film will come close break the record for the most Oscars won at one time (which stands at 11, won by Titanic, Ben-Hur and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King). Besides Best Picture and Best Director, I also see Roma and Cuaron taking Best Cinematography and Best Foreign Language Film, for a total of four Oscars. Bohemian Rhapsody could also grab four Oscars. Besides Best Actor for Malek, Im also predicting wins for film editing, sound editing and sound mixing, based on the results of earlier industry votes. Getting the sound of Mercury right reportedly a blend of several voices was an amazing technical feat. The Favourite could be the nights biggest numerical loser, since its likely to cash in on just a few of its 10 nominations. Besides the screenplay prize, I see it also winning for production design and costumes. The film looks as cheeky as it sounds. There were mixed reactions to Damien Chazelles First Man and its low-key depiction of Apollo 11 moonwalker Neil Armstrong. But everybody was jazzed by the films special effects, especially its recreation of the moon landing. Im calling it for Best Visual Effects. Best Animated Feature for Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse, which is a grand feat of animation even if you dont understand it or believe what your eyes are showing you. Best Documentary Feature looks like a photo finish between the Ruth Bader Ginsburg doc RBG and the cliff-climbing jaw-dropper Free Solo. Both eminently worthy, but Judge Howell rules in favour of RBG. Vice has got to win the makeup and hairstyling prize, for the incredible prosthetics work that made Christian Bale disappear beneath former U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheneys jowls. You dont want Cheney dropping a bomb on Hollywood, do you? Its a fantastic year for film shorts, with a particularly strong Canadian contingent. I see Torontonian Domee Shis Bao winning for animated short, Montrealer Marianne Farleys Marguerite for live-action short and Iranian-American Rayka Zehtabchis Period. End of Sentence. for documentary short. Could this be the year the music awards are the consolation prizes? A Star Is Born is all but guaranteed to win Best Original Song for Shallow, since it keeps winning for that elsewhere. And Im guessing Black Panthers score, which artfully dives into African grooves, will just edge that of the equally ear-worthy If Beale Street Could Talk. But what do I know? What does anybody? Its been that kind of year at the Oscars. HALIFAX - The wary skepticism that Canadas big banks have for the cryptocurrency industry was on full display Friday when a Nova Scotia judge issued an order for the eventual disbursement of more than $30 million that belonged to the insolvent QuadrigaCX trading platform. Lawyers for the Bank of Montreal and the court-appointed monitor overseeing the case, Ernst and Young, said the banks are uncomfortable handling money from the cryptocurrency world, saying the uncertain origin of the funds raises concerns about possible money laundering. This is not a typical situation, said one lawyer who took part in the hearing through a conference call. Elizabeth Pillon, a lawyer representing Ernst and Young, said the banks had made it clear they were in uncharted territory. I dont blame them for hesitating, she told the court, saying there were money-laundering issues raised by the banks. We dont have the source-of-funds information that the banks are looking for, she said. The monitor has serious concerns about finding another institution to hold these funds. At the conclusion of the hearing, Justice Michael Wood of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court issued an order that will eventually see the QuadrigaCX money deposited in a Royal Bank account, which Ernst and Young will use to pay for the ongoing court proceedings. As well, the money could also be used to partially compensate 115,000 users of the QuadrigaCX exchange who are owed $260 million in cash and digital assets following the demise of the virtual operation on Jan. 28 amid a swirl of controversy. The case attracted international headlines last month when the company revealed its CEO and sole director, Gerald Cotten of Halifax, had died suddenly on Dec. 9 while travelling in India, leaving his company without access to about $190 million in Bitcoins and other cryptocurrency. According to the CEOs widow, Jennifer Robertson, Cotten was the only member of the QuadrigaCX team who knew the encrypted pass codes needed to gain access to the companys cryptocurrency reserves. When QuadrigaCX was in business, it couldnt get a bank account because of the reluctance of traditional banking institutions. As a result, it turned to third-party payment processors to handle their accounts. Court documents show that in January 2018, CIBC froze the accounts for a payment processor known as Costodian, preventing QuadrigaCX from getting at more than $25 million. The bank said it was unable to determine who the funds belonged to, so it turned to the courts for help. That money, in the form of five Bank of Montreal bank drafts, was eventually returned to the Costodian and will soon be deposited into the monitors Royal Bank account, according to the court order issued Friday. Another $5 million in other bank drafts are also expected to be handed to RBC, along with an unspecified amount of money from several third-party processors. However, the Royal Bank expressed hesitation about accepting and distributing the money without direction and relief from the court, according to a monitors report issued Feb. 20. In a draft court-order submitted to Wood, both Royal Bank and the Bank of Montreal agreed to transfer the funds, but both banks included clauses aimed at limiting their liability while carrying out their duties. Wood questioned the banks lawyers about the need for such provisions, suggesting they may have gone too far. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Theres always business risks in everything you do, he told the lawyers. Follow (at)NovaMac on Twitter. WASHINGTONTo hear the Americans tell it, the Chinese have gone on a commercial crime spree, pilfering trade secrets from seed corn to electronic brains behind wind turbines. China has stripped the arm off a T-Mobile robot, the U.S. says, and looted trade secrets about robotic cars from Apple. The alleged victims of that crime spree are individual American companies, whose cases lie behind the Trump administrations core complaint in the high-level U.S.-China trade talks going on in Washington. The complaint: That Beijing systematically steals American and other foreign intellectual property in a bid to become the worlds technology superstar. Yet the odds of a resolution to the trade dispute this week or anytime soon appear dim, in part because Chinas drive for technology supremacy is increasingly part of its self-identity. The seven-month standoff has upset financial markets and likely weakened the global economy. The United States has imposed taxes on $250 billion in Chinese imports; Beijing has lashed back by taxing $110 billion in American products. Determined to attain dominance in cutting-edge fields from robotics to electric cars, U.S. officials charge, Beijing is not only stealing trade secrets but also pressuring American companies to hand over technology to gain access to the vast Chinese market. U.S. intelligence officials told Congress last month that China poses the biggest commercial and military threat to the United States. A separate report said Beijing will steal or copy technologies it cant make itself. Geng Shuang, a spokesman for the Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesman, retorted that its totally unreasonable to make random accusations. Beijing counters that the United States is just trying to suppress a rising competitor. U.S. business groups broadly support the Trump administrations decision to confront China over its strong-arm tech policies. But they mostly object to the administrations weapon of choice: Steep tariffs, which are taxes on importers and are usually passed on to consumers to pay. Rooting out theft could prove impossible. Beijing typically doesnt dispatch spies on missions of commercial espionage. Rather, it encourages Chinese who study and work abroad to copy or steal technology and rewards them when they do. So U.S. companies might have no reason to suspect anything until a Chinese employee leaves and the employer discovers that trade secrets have been compromised. Most U.S. companies are reluctant to voice specific complaints about their encounters in China. Rather, most choose to speak through trade groups to avoid retribution from Chinese regulators. Last year, for example, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China found that one in five foreign companies says it feels compelled to transfer technology to the Chinese as the price of market access. Individual examples tend to surface only when the complaints wind up in court often in cases brought by U.S. prosecutors. Consider: Federal prosecutors charged in an indictment unsealed last month that the Chinese tech giant Huawei stole trade secrets from U.S. cellphone company T-Mobile and offered bonuses to employees who managed to swipe technology from other companies. U.S. authorities said Huawei was obsessed with a T-Mobile robot nicknamed Tappy that could detect problems in cellphones by mimicking how people use them. T-Mobile was letting Huawei engineers into the Tappy lab to test their phones. In 2013, according to the indictment, a Huawei engineer spirited a Tappy robot arm out of the lab in a laptop bag. Questioned by T-Mobile, he returned it the next day. Prosecutors allege that the Chinese company hungered for T-Mobile technology to use on its own phone-testing robot. Apple would collect less revenue without China, the country where its iPhone is assembled and the market that accounts for the most sales of that device outside the U.S. But a secretive project that could become a future gold mine has been infiltrated by thieves trying to steal driverless car technology for a Chinese company, according to criminal charges filed in Silicon Valley. The FBI seized the latest suspect, Apple engineer Jizhong Chen, this month after he bought a plane ticket to China. Chen and the other suspect charged in July, Xiaolang Zhang, were part of an Apple project focused on self-driving cars, according to the sworn affidavits from FBI agents. The two are accused of using their access to labs where only 1,200 of Apples 140,000 employees were allowed to enter to steal trade secrets. Chen took dozens of photos of confidential work on an iPhone 6 Plus, according to court records. One photo was taken last June just a week after Chen attended Apples secrecy training seminar for employees, the court records show. Zhang stored Apples trade secrets on various devices before being caught by the companys security team last spring, the FBI alleged. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... The alleged theft occurred while Zhang was preparing to defect to Xiopeng Motors, or XMotors, a Chinese startup specializing in electric cars and self-driving technology. XMotors backers include Alibaba Group, Chinas largest e-commerce company, and Foxconn, one of Apples major contractors in China. Zhang was arrested last year as he prepared to board a flight to China in San Jose, California, the FBI said. The FBI also alleged that Chen was stealing Apples trade secrets while interviewing for a job at a Chinese company that wasnt named in the court documents. Daniel Olmos, an attorney for both Chen and Zhang, has declined to comment on the allegations. Apple has said its working with U.S. authorities on the cases. In November, the Justice Department charged a government-owned Chinese company, Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co., and co-conspirators with stealing trade secrets from the U.S. semiconductor company Micron Technology. According to the indictment, the Chinese hoped to break into the market for a technology called dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, thats used in computer electronics. China, like any advanced nation, must decide whether it wants to be a trusted partner on the world stage or whether it wants to be known around the world as a dishonest regime running a corrupt economy founded on fraud, theft and strong-arm tactics, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions said at the time. The U.S. has barred Fujian Junhua from importing U.S. components, an action that threatens to put the Chinese company out of business. A year ago, a Chinese company, Sinovel Wind Group, was convicted in a federal court in Wisconsin of stealing technology the electronic brains that run wind turbines from its American partner, AMSC, formerly known at American Superconductor Inc. We believe that over 8,000 wind turbines an estimated 20 per cent of Chinas fleet are now running on AMSCs stolen software, CEO Daniel McGahn told U.S. government investigators. AMSC has not been compensated for its losses. The damage from that betrayal was severe: American Superconductor stock lost $1 billion (U.S.) in value, and the company slashed 700 jobs, more than half its global workforce. It was, McGahn said, a case of attempted corporate homicide. A Chinese businessman, Mo Hailong, who had been caught rummaging through an Iowa cornfield was sentenced to three years in prison in 2016 for pilfering trade secrets from U.S. seed corn companies. Five years earlier, DuPont Pioneer security guards had caught Mo and other Chinese men digging in a cornfield that contained test plots of new seed corn varieties. The other suspects fled the United States before they could be arrested. Prosecutors said Mo had travelled to the Midwest while working for Kings Nower Seed, a subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co., to acquire corn seed and ship it to China so scientists could try to reproduce its genetic traits. Read more about: SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., the Canadian engineering giant embroiled in a controversy that has reached into the prime ministers office, won a show of support from its largest shareholder. The Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec will be a rock of support, for SNC, said Michael Sabia, chief executive officer of the pension fund manager. Sabia said he continues to back management and is confident in SNCs long-term potential. The stock jumped as much as 5.5 per cent. This company has changed itself in fundamental ways, Sabia told reporters in Montreal Thursday. We are convinced of the companys potential. Its important not to lose sight of how much progress has been made. Sabias backing comes a day before SNC chief executive officer Neil Bruce is scheduled to update investors on next steps for the engineering firm, which has already had two profit warnings this year that sent its stock and bonds tumbling. SNC is also fighting a Canadian prosecutors decision to reject a request for an out-of-court settlement over corruption charges dating back more than a decade. Appeal Challenge Analysts say an agreement has become more challenging after reports this month that Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus office pressured the former attorney general to intervene on SNCs behalf. Failure to win an appeal in its legal case could result in a potential 10-year ban on government contracts. The scandal has led to the resignation of Trudeaus top aide and prompted former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to resign from cabinet. Right now the companys brand and name is splattered all over the news on a daily basis, Richard Leblanc, a professor of governance, law and ethics at Torontos York University, said in an interview. Prosecutors are not immune from the press. What SNC should have done is to confine its arguments to the merits of the case. While a lengthy legal trial and government ban wouldnt necessarily spell doom for SNC, its frightening away many investors in the short term. The stock had dropped about 25 per cent this year before todays rally, erasing about C$2 billion in market value. Theres a number of uncertainties around the company, Chris Murray, an AltaCorp analyst said in a telephone interview. I dont think any of them are lethal in the long term. No Sense SNC is seeking a judiciary review of the public prosecutors decision not to engage in negotiations and has been lobbying the government to overrule the agency. Bruce has made no secret of his bafflement at Canadas stance, telling analysts in early November the decision made no sense and that the prosecutors officials refused to speak to the company. Bruce and other executives will hold a conference call with analysts at 1:30 p.m. Friday after releasing quarterly results in the morning. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police charged SNC in 2015 with attempted bribery and fraud related to projects in Libya. The case is still in preliminary hearings, and no date has yet been set for the start of any trial. The lack of an out-of-court settlement with Canada has probably cost SNC more than C$5 billion in lost revenue and continues to damage its reputation, Bruce said in December. He wasnt with the company when the Libyan allegations emerged. New Management SNC has long argued it has overhauled management in recent years, put in place an ethics and compliance program. It has also complained that the ongoing legal issues are a drain on the company and its approximately 50,000 employees. Aside from the appeal of the prosecutors decision, SNC could be bailed out by new Justice Minister David Lametti, who said last week he could issue a directive to the prosecution service to settle the charges in exchange for a fine. A fine would likely cost SNC hundreds of millions of dollars, possibly as much as C$400 million, said Murray. Still, it would allow the company to turn the page and not have to deal with the overhang of a government ban in Canada as it pursues projects abroad, where it gets almost 70 per cent of its revenue. SNCs fate is a touchy issue in Quebec, where politicians such as Premier Francois Legault have urged federal prosecutors to strike a deal with the company. Legaults call takes on particular resonance as Trudeau gears up for an October election that will see him aim to win a majority of seats in the mostly French-speaking province, Canadas second-biggest by population. Local Pride Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... SNC is one of Quebecs great global competitors, and people here take great pride in it, Karl Moore, a professor of management strategy at Montreals McGill University, said in a telephone interview. There is also an economic dimension involved. There are a lot of well-paying jobs that come with having a head office such as SNCs in Montreal. Since its founding 108 years ago as a one-man engineering consulting office started by Arthur Surveyer with a single client, SNC has played an integral part in the construction of modern Quebec. Picked for projects including Quebecs iconic James Bay dam, the company served as a breeding ground for scores of locally trained engineers, many of whom gained valuable experience abroad as the company won contracts in far-flung countries such as India. SNC spent years trying to win business in North Africa before a rebellion ousted dictator Moammar Qaddafi in 2011. Libyan projects on SNCs books at the time of Qaddafis ouster included an airport, a prison and a water line network known as the Great Man-Made River, according to the companys 2010 annual report. The potential ban is already having an impact. S&P Global Ratings last week cut SNCs rating to BBB-, the lowest investment grade, on concern over reduced earnings prospects and the potential fallout from the corruption charges. Cash Reserves SNC had about C$736 million of cash and cash equivalents and about C$1.5 billion of net recourse debt as of Sept. 30, according to its most recent quarterly report. The debt figure includes C$500 million in borrowings under a term loan. SNC can overcome a fine for corruption and bribery and even a ban on government work in its home country though the builder would need to sell assets to raise cash and appease bond-rating companies, Murray said. 407 Help Relief may be on the way. Bruce reiterated last month SNC was weighing the possible sale of about 40 per cent of its minority stake in Toronto toll-road operator 407 International. Such a transaction could bring in more than C$2 billion, according to Maxim Sytchev, an analyst at National Bank Financial Inc. If the sale of 407 happens, the balance sheet is repaired, Sytchev said in a telephone interview. A fine of about C$300 million would not be balance-sheet negative. Just turning the page and moving on is very valuable if you are shareholder. Its a blue-sky scenario. SNC can also count on financial support in its home province, including the Caisse, which owns almost 20 per cent of the company. Its what Murray calls a sovereign put. There will be a backstop, Murray said. I dont think for a second that what is a viable business with some very valuable underlying assets would be at risk of defaulting on its debt. Read more about: Victoria Kim Victoria Kim reports from Seoul, South Korea, for the Los Angeles Times. Since joining the paper in 2007, she has covered the state and federal courts and the Korean community in Los Angeles. Her work has included investigations on the cover-up of the sex abuse scandal in the Los Angeles Archdiocese, killing of unarmed suspects by the Inglewood police, underpaid workers in the garment district and unaccredited law schools in California. She has previously written for the Associated Press in South Korea and West Africa, as well as the Financial Times in New York. Victoria was raised in Seoul and graduated from Harvard University. Staff reports Watertown Public Opinion A sewing workshop will be held on Saturday, April 13, at the Extension Complex. The workshop will be taught by the Magic Needlers Quilt Guild and will teach youth how to sew. A beginners session will be from 9:30 a.m. to noon and the advanced session will be from 1 to 3 p.m. The cost to participate will be $5 per person to cover supplies which will be furnished. This workshop is open to any youth ages 8-18. Please call the office to sign up as each session has a limit of 10 youth. Call by April 1 to sign up so supplies can be assembled. Soles4Souls Statewide 4-H Community Service Project The SDSU Extension 4-H Youth Development Program is partnering with the non-profit organization Soles4Souls and is hosting a shoe drive to help fight global poverty. Our goal is to collect 10,000 pairs of gently used or new shoes to help create jobs in developing nations. If we reach our goal, Soles4Souls will work with a local non-profit agency to provide new shoes to people in need in South Dakota. Put your unused shoes to good use and help create real economic change in developing nations. From now to August 1, 2019, please take part in this program to make a change. You can bring your new or gently used shoes of any kind to your local 4-H Extension Office. Soles4Souls disrupts the cycle of poverty by creating jobs and providing relief through the distribution of shoes and clothing around the world. Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., the organization repurposes product to supply its micro-enterprise, disaster relief and direct assistance programs. Since 2006, it has distributed more than 30 million pairs of shoes in 127 countries. A nonprofit social enterprise, Soles4Souls earns more than half of its income and commits One hundred percent of donations go to programs. Visit soles4souls.org for more information. 4-H Enrollments Just a reminder that there is still time to re-enroll and enroll in 4-H. Please give our office a call at 882-6300 if you have any questions. Character Quote Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well. Phillip Stanshope Upcoming events February 25: Florence Cloverbuds, Group 1 February 26: Florence Cloverbuds, Group 2 February 26: 4-H Archery & BB Gun February 28: 4-H Archery March 5: Waverly Cloverbuds March 7: Watertown Cloverbuds All 4-H club news for this column must be submitted to the Extension Office by Monday. Staff reports Watertown Public Opinion One of the oldest theoretical constructions in economics declares that in a perfect market, short-term profits and losses eventually even out so that, in the long term, all profits are zero. Famed 20th century English economist John Maynard Keynes gets credit for restating this jargon-rich theory into clear, concise language when, in 1923, he wrote, In the long run we are all dead. Keynes, who evidently didnt believe in commas, wasnt trying to be clever, says Simon Taylor, himself, like Keynes, an economist and faculty member of University of Cambridge. In fact, as Taylor explains in a 2013 blog post, Keynes was just trying to encourage his bland, statistics-stuffed fellow economists to be bold in their bland, statistics-stuffed forecasts. The full Keynesian quote, offers Taylor, better explains the concept. The long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead. Economists set themselves too easy, too useless a task if in tempestuous seasons they can only tell us that when the storm is past the ocean is flat again. No one can accurately predict the future; certainly no economist can. Still, Keynes is spot-on when he admonishes all, including you and me, that its too easy, too useless a task to only tell us that when the storm is past the ocean is flat again. That picture came to mind when plowing through the trove of 10-year market and income forecasts the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released Feb. 14. (All will be included in USDAs more detailed Agricultural Projections to 2028 report to be released March 13.) For example, USDA forecasts 2019 net farm income at $77.6 billion and, in 2028, pegs it at $79.5 billion, which also is guessed to be the highest income year in the coming decade. As such, USDA sees just a $1.9 billion growth in net farm income over the coming10 years with a few cork bobs along the way. Now thats a flat ocean. The breakout numbers that compose the net income projections do, however, imply some tempestuous seasons ahead. For example, under Direct Government Payments, USDA economists forecast annual taxpayer support dropping from 2018s, mitigation-boosted $13 billion to $9 billion in 2023 and rising again to $14.4 billion in 2028. That means $1 in every $5 in net farm income earned by farmers and ranchers 10 years from now will come from taxpayers. Just as worrisome is how USDA sees U.S. ag trade 10 years out. In the coming decade, USDA estimates that the international soybean market will grow 25 percent, yet U.S. soybean sales will capture only one-third of the global growth. And, too, while the global corn market will increase by 20 percent, U.S. corn exports will rise by just 11 percent. These are not good numbers if your domestic ag policy almost entirely depends on international exports to deliver year-in, year-out profits. The decade-long forecasts for other key commodities are equally disconcerting. For example, dairy shows slowly building stocks and slow-growing prices; hog and beef prices are seen as flat; cotton prices remain under 80 cents; and wheat prices never top $5.50 per bushel all decade. Perhaps the only good news here is that all 10-year economic forecasts especially ones like USDAs that predict specific commodity prices a decade out are rarely accurate. They are, however, benchmarks of what will happen short of an even harder-to-predict political or weather event that will drive global and domestic ag markets in directions no one can foresee. But thats where U.S. farmers and ranchers find themselves today: at the mercy of unpredictable short term, farm-altering events that will play an overly large role in their long-term success or failure. Is there any other sector of the U.S. economy that all but requires and indeed has designed and funded ag policy that institutionalizes cataclysm to play the largest role in year-to-year profitability and long-term success? Turns out that Keynes was on to something; weve got a flat-ocean ag policy that only really works during tempestuous seasons. Estonian tourists found sleeping on hotel awnings PHUKET: Two Estonian tourists have been charged with drunken disorderly behaviour and damaging private property after they were found sleeping on their hotel room mattress on top of the hotel awnings. tourismpolice By Eakkapop Thongtub Friday 22 February 2019, 06:52PM The men were taken to hospital for a medical check-up. Photo Eakkapop Thongtub The men were taken to hospital for a medical check-up. Photo Eakkapop Thongtub One of the men sleeping on the hotel awnings. Photo Eakkapop Thongtub One of the men sleeping on the hotel awnings. Photo Eakkapop Thongtub Eerik Meister, 37, and Marten Oks, 24, were staying on the second floor of a hotel on Soi Khok Makham in Rawai. They removed the mattress from the room and put it on the awnings outside their room window and went to sleep. Chalong Police were notified of the incident at 10:30am this morning (Feb 22) and arrived at the scene with Tourist Police. A fire truck was also called in as police and rescue workers woke the men up and helped bring them down from the awnings. Neither of the men had any injuries and both showed signs of intoxication. Police searched their hotel room to find their belongings damaged and scattered everywhere. Lt Col Sakkarin Sangjaroen of Chalong Police charged both men with drunken disorderly behaviour and damage to private property. The men accepted the charges. The owner of the hotel is in the process of claiming damages for the property. Both tourists agreed to cover the costs. The men were taken to Chalong Sub-District Promoting Hospital for a medical check-up. They are due to return to Estonia on Tuesday (Feb 26). Dogs rounded up at Ao Nang as PM visits Finnish boy dog-attack victim in hospital PHUKET: More than 20 dogs have been rounded up at Ao Nang Beach in Krabi following the attack on a 5-year-old Finnish boy on Wednesday. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha broke his schedule to visit the boy, Eemi Nikula, in hospital yesterday evening (Feb 21). tourismanimalsSafety By Eakkapop Thongtub Friday 22 February 2019, 11:58AM More than 20 dogs have been rounded up from the Ao Nang Beach area. Photo: Junelachat Junelaphet / Krabi Provincial Livestock Office More than 20 dogs have been rounded up from the Ao Nang Beach area. Photo: Junelachat Junelaphet / Krabi Provincial Livestock Office More than 20 dogs have been rounded up from the Ao Nang Beach area. Photo: Junelachat Junelaphet / Krabi Provincial Livestock Office More than 20 dogs have been rounded up from the Ao Nang Beach area. Photo: Junelachat Junelaphet / Krabi Provincial Livestock Office Eemi suffered scratches and bites to his torso, back and buttocks and has a wound about five centimetres long on his right calf. The most dangerous wound was a bite to his neck, white fangs had punctured two holes near his Adams apple. Eemi is now recovering at Krabi Nakharin International Hospital, where doctors have treated his wounds. (See story here.) Junelachat Junelaphet, a veterinarian with Krabi Provincial Livestock Office, told The Phuket News this morning that a team of livestock officials along with staff from the Ao Nang Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBorTor) removed more than 20 stray dogs from Ao Nang Beach yesterday morning. They will be held for 30 days for owners to come and collect them and to observe their condition to make sure they dont have rabies, Mr Junelachat said. All of the dogs will be sterilised and vaccinated against rabies, we will find a new home for any dogs that are not claimed, he added. Sombat Boonerit, village headman (Phu Yai Baan) of Ao Nang Moo 2, which includes the beach area where the attack happened, yesterday said that dogs at the Ao Nang beach area had often bitten tourists. We had previously notified the District Office and relevant departments, but they still cannot solve the problem, Mr Sombat said. Yesterday, Ao Nang district officers coordinated with district livestock officials to catch dogs around the beach and took them to a private site. All the dogs were vaccinated against rabies, he confirmed. We are taking serious action to avoid a repeat of this incident. If we ignore this problem, it will affect tourism. Most of the dogs on the beach were left behind by the construction workers who used to be in the area, he added. Krabi Governor Pol Lt Col (Rtd) ML Kitibodee Pravitra yesterday ordered all government offices involved in responding to the incident to their give full assistance. Eemis medical expenses are to be covered by the relevant insurance provider, he added. Doctors at Krabi Nakharin International Hospital said that Eemi remain in care at the facility. He is getting better and we have finished stitching his wounds, but we must monitor his condition for at least the next least three to five days, a a hospital staffer said. Krabi Governor ML Kitibodee yesterday visited Eemi in hospital, as did PM Prayut, who cancelled his last official appointments in order to visit Eemi. Angry elephant in quarantine, tourists treated PHANG NGA: The elephant that attacked two Italian tourists during a trek in Phang Nga on Tuesday (Feb 19) has been chained up and left in isolation for a period of one to two months for assessment, according to the Phang Nga Department of Livestock Development. animalsaccidentstourism By Waranya Prompinpiras Friday 22 February 2019, 05:30PM Francesco Di Megu is carried to an ambulance after the attack. Photo: Wat Kao Charoen Tham Manuel Trofa, 29, and Francesco Di Megu, 31, were riding the elephant (named Thanwa) along with a mahout through a palm oil plantation with elephant trekking company, Bangkaew Adventure Tour, when the elephant suddenly shook them off in a fit of rage and gored Di Megu in the stomach causing his small intestine to spill out. (See story here.) Sarote Jittakarn of the Phang Nga Department of Livestock Development told The Phuket News that Thanwa, who is approximately 8-9 years old, is still a very young adolescent who was previously used as a circus elephant and had attacked a mahout once before, although the mahout was unhurt. Thanwa has now been chained up by the leg and quarantined near the camp whilst the eldest mahout assesses his behaviour, Sarote confirmed. The mahout will determine whether Thanwa can be used for trekking again or if he will be used for logging instead. A professional mahout will know what to do with the elephant as he has more experience than a livestock officer, Sarote said. Col Boriboon Yusuksomboon of Thung Kha Ngok Police provided an update on the condition of the two Italian tourists. Trofas hip was fractured in the fall and he has had an operation at Phuket Bangkok Hospital, Col Boriboon confirmed. Di Megu has had abdominal surgery. He had one operation in Phang Nga Hospital and was then transferred to Bangkok Hospital for a second operation, he explained. Col Boriboon added that, Police are investigating whether the attack happened as a result of the mahout being reckless. If so, appropriate charges will be brought. This week The Point discusses the Steelers NFL draft, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, LaMelo Ball returns, and LeBron and teams in the playoffs. "I don't want to get into some comfort zone that is starting to get too familiar with the music," Tyler says. "I want it to evolve. But it does represent its own universe in a way that I think is cool, sort of like a brand, for a lack of a better word. But I am interested in pushing it without making a radical shift, not to freak people out but to keep people guessing." The Ambassador of Brazil to Tanzania, Antonio A.M. Cesar yesterday presented accreditation letter to the Secretary General of the East African Community, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko to also serve as Ambassador to the East African Community (EAC), according to the latest press release says. Amb. Cesar while presenting his credentials said his country attaches great importance to regional economic groupings such as the EAC and congratulated the EAC Secretary General for the wonderful regional initiatives. Count on Brazil support because the goals of the Community are excellent for the prosperity of the people in the region, said the Brazilian envoy, adding that regional integration initiatives take time but you need to continue so as to build a strong and powerful bloc. Stories Continues after ad He hailed the EAC as one of the fastest growing RECs in the world and said Brazil and the Southern American Common Market (MERCOSUR) of which Brazil is a member had a lot to learn from the EAC. While receiving the Brazilian Ambassador, Amb. Mfumukeko hailed the existing cordial relations between the EAC and Brazil. He welcomed the support from the Brazilian government geared towards enabling the economic bloc achieve its ambitious integration agenda. Mfumukeko briefed his guest on the progress being registered by the Community so far that include implementation of Protocols on the Customs Union, Common Market, East African Monetary Union and Political Federation. He further disclosed that the EAC Partner States had started drafting Constitution for EAC Confederation which is the model for a Political Federation that had been adopted by the Heads of State Summit. He said EAC has close working relationships with other regional economic communities (RECs) in Africa which are all geared towards promoting the African Unions vision of an African Economic Community. Present at the accreditation occasion were the EAC Deputies Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, Eng. Steven Mlote and Christophe Bazivamo of the Productive and Social Sector. Our goal with rebranding the CRAs Restaurant Week to Dine Out Connecticut is to recognize the incredible restaurant industry that we have in our state, says CRAs executive director Scott Dolch in a statement. We hope this weeklong initiative will encourage customers to try new restaurants and give restaurants a chance to reach a new client base. Until last January, and for over 100 years, the Democratic Party controlled politics in the state of North Carolina. Last week, I found out how instrumental my great grand father was in their rise to power. I learned this at a dinner where author Lee A. Craig, an economy historian and Alumni Distinguished Professor at NC State University, was discussing his new book entitled Josephus Daniels: His Life and ... Said The Talk co-host Sheryl Underwood, who spent part of her childhood on the South and West sides: I would say, for me, this is the one time that the system played out. In the beginning, everybody believed it to be that he was the victim, and they investigated it, and they went where the evidence took them. The Williams Companies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, and West segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises Transco and Northwest natural gas pipelines; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region. The Northeast G&P segment engages in the midstream gathering, processing, and fractionation activities in the Marcellus Shale region primarily in Pennsylvania and New York, and the Utica Shale region of eastern Ohio. The West segment comprises gas gathering, processing, and treating operations in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado and Wyoming, the Barnett Shale region of north-central Texas, the Eagle Ford Shale region of South Texas, the Haynesville Shale region of northwest Louisiana, and the Mid-Continent region, which includes the Anadarko, Arkoma, and Permian basins; and natural gas liquid (NGL) and natural gas marketing operations, as well as storage facilities. The company owns and operates 30,000 miles of pipelines, 34 processing facilities, 9 fractionation facilities, and approximately 23 million barrels of NGL storage capacity. The Williams Companies, Inc. was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Read More But now it looks like bragging rights for accuracy could be shifting to Zillow. Following an international contest involving teams of data scientists, Zillow announced that its median error rate on valuations of the 110 million U.S. homes in its database will soon drop to 4.0 percent or even below, from the current 4.5 percent. Zillow does not provide a breakout that distinguishes between its error rates for homes already listed on the market and off-market homes, so there is no direct comparison to Redfins claimed 1.77 percent figure for listed houses. But the overwhelming majority of homes in Zillows 110 million-property database are off-market, which are more challenging to value because theres usually less detailed information available on them. Note the difference in Redfins 1.77 percent error rate for listed homes versus its 6.66 percent rate for off-market homes. Given this, Zillows claim that it will have a 4 percent composite error rate on 110 million homes the vast majority of them off-market looks better. 23 hours ago | June 26th | 2021 6:00 AM What to Do When Your Portfolio Bores You: Go Skydiving Instead You're allocated, diversified and saving 10% or more for retirement. You (or your robo-advisor) have the rebalancing thing down pat. But you're a little bored. Life isn't all that exciting. And when Bobby next door makes money in some obscure cryptocurrency, you might feel a little, well, put out. Your returns aren't 400% like his. And so, you look into tweaking your portfolio. In this area, there is not a lot of comedy in church venues. Im really trying to expand it, she said. Its so needed. Its growing. Im excited to really open up clean comedy in New England. There are not a lot of venues where you can go out and sit next to your grandmother and your child. You ought to be able to go out and enjoy comedy without cringing." Imsil-gun, a tiny rural village in North Jeolla Province, is a town that most people in South Korea have heard of and precious few have visited. For starters, a trip there via public transportation is not easy. It is secluded behind mountains and admittedly scenic rivers, crouching behind the slopes just a little over 20 kilometers from Jeonju. Stretched across 597 square kilometers of mostly farmland and home to a meager 29,160 as of 2019, it is, for the most part, but a tiny speck on the map. But that speck has the scent of cheese, having earned its reputation as the countrys cheese mecca over the years. Imsil now doubles as the main producer of the domestically made Imsil cheese and a tourist site hosting Imsil Cheese Village and the Cheese Theme Park. It all started in 1966, when a young Roman Catholic priest from Belgium called Didier tSerstevens started to make cheese with the leftover milk from the two goats he owned. At the time, Imsil was an even smaller and poorer town, as its hills and barren lands were not the best place to grow crops. A little over a decade removed from the 1950-53 Korean War, the rural part of the country relied mostly on farming and raising livestock for a living. What started out as a way to help the farms struggling business, a small cheese factory he built on a $2,000 loan from his parents, had soon expanded nationwide, with Imsil cheese making its way even to the top hotels and stores in Seoul. The product now has over 70 commercial brands associated with it. Three years ago, the cheese pioneer was granted Korean citizenship, and he is now known as Father Chi Chong-hwan. It takes well over three hours by bus or train from Seoul to reach Imsil. But from Jeonju, which has a KTX station, it takes only 15 minutes by train or half an hour by car. Read also: The other side of Korea: Art, food and history Imsil Cheese Village is a little over 500 meters or a 10-minute walk from the Imsil train station, which is about a 10-minute bus ride from the intercity terminal. It offers a variety of workshops where visitors can experience making mozzarella, cheese sticks, pizzas, soaps, or the original Imsil cheese that the village is famous for. Fees for the workshops and packages vary between 10,000 ($8.90) and 32,000 won. At the Cheese Theme Park, there are packages that give participants a chance to make and package the cheese, as well as pizzas and other products, and tour the cheese-themed photo zones. The most expensive package, at 37,000 won per person, is the S course for groups of up to 40. Visitors participate in a hands-on cheese-making program at Imsil Cheese Village. (Korea Tourism Organization/The Korea Herald/File) The hours range from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., depending on when the programs start, and a program might last an hour or two. The park is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., except on Mondays, when it is closed. The park even offers lodgings at the aptly named Cheese Pension, although it doesnt look anything like cheese. The place maxes out at around two dozen guests with just seven rooms. In October the town hosts the annual Imsil N Cheese Festival, which takes place Oct. 3-6 this year. An average of 60,000 to 70,000 tourists visit the cheese town of Imsil-gun every year, but it would be a stretch to say it is one of the most popular tourist spots in Korea. While Imsil cheese has expanded into a nationwide enterprise that brings in north of 10 billion won annually, Imsil itself is still a relatively small agricultural town. Despite not being a prime tourist destination, there is no denying that Imsil has completed its transformation as a cheese town, a change that kicked off with a Catholic priest and the two goats he owned half a century ago. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, February 23 2019 Former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Friday that the health condition of his wife Kristiani Herrawati, better known as Ani Yudhoyono, had been improving amid her intensive medical treatment. The former first lady has been hospitalized at the National University Hospital in Singapore since Feb. 2 for leukemia. Yudhoyono updated the public while welcoming vice president candidate Sandiaga Uno, who was visiting the hospital. Sandiaga was accompanied by his wife, Nur Asia Uno, and mother, Mien. R Uno. We are touched by the support from all Indonesian people. That has strengthened me and my family, Yudhoyono said in a written statement. He also apologized to some visitors who were not allowed to meet with his wife. Sandiaga, the businessman-turned-politician, is the runni... Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, February 22, 2019 10:49 856 acca405afacc7201380025f21a14c0ed 4 Business Refund-of-VAT-overpayment,tax-revenue,growth,January,2019 Free The Finance Ministry has said that large repayments for overpaid value-added tax (VAT) in the manufacturing sector had reduced the tax revenue in January to Rp 86 trillion (US$6.10 billion). Taxation Directorate General spokesman Hestu Yoga Saksama said on Thursday that gross tax revenue grew 11.49 percent in January to Rp 105.28 trillion, but the obligation to repay VAT overpayments had reduced growth to 8.82 percent year-on-year (yoy). The tax office records showed that the manufacturing sector contributed about 20.8 percent of the total tax revenue, but this decreased in January to 16.2 percent, or Rp 16.77 trillion. Meanwhile, refunds claimed for overpaid VAT grew 40.66 percent to Rp 16.4 trillion. Tax revenue from the manufacturing sector grew negatively, Hestu said as reported by kontan.co.id. Taxation Director General Robert Pakpahan confirmed that the decline in tax revenue from the manufacturing sector was due to a new government policy to immediately repay overpaid VAT, locally called restitusi PPN. The Finance Ministrys data shows that the palm oil industry made the largest contribution to the January tax revenue at Rp 3.6 trillion, followed by the metals industry (Rp 2.2 trillion), the mining industry (Rp 2 trillion), the paper industry (Rp 1.4 trillion) and then the automotive industry (Rp 1.3 trillion). Tax revenue contributions from other sectors posted significant growth, with the financial sector growing 33 percent to Rp 10.01 trillion, the warehousing sector 35.4 percent to Rp 4.69 trillion and the mining sector 175.7 percent to Rp 3.6 trillion. Yustinus Prastowo of the Center for Indonesia Taxation Analysis (CITA) said the tax revenue performance in January did not reflect the annual performance of each sector. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Steve Holland and Idrees Ali (Reuters) Washington, United States Fri, February 22, 2019 11:11 856 acca405afacc7201380025f21a14d2aa 2 World #USA,#Syria,Donald-Trump,US,peacekeepers,Syria,withdrawal Free The United States will leave "a small peacekeeping group" of 200 American troops in Syria for a period of time after a US pullout, the White House said on Thursday, as President Donald Trump pulled back from a complete withdrawal. Trump in December ordered a withdrawal of the 2,000 American troops in Syria, saying they had defeated Islamic State militants there, even as US-backed Syrian forces continued a final push against the group's last outpost. But Trump has been under pressure from multiple advisers to adjust his policy to ensure the protection of Kurdish forces, who supported the fight against Islamic State and who might now be threatened by Turkey, and to serve as a bulwark against Iran's influence. A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement. The decision was announced after Trump spoke by phone to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. A White House statement said the two leaders agreed, regarding Syria, to "continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone." A senior administration official said Trump's decision had been in the works for some time. It was unclear how long the 200 troops would be expected to remain in the area or where exactly they would be deployed. Leaving even a small group of US troops in Syria could pave the way for European allies to commit hundreds of troops to help set up and observe a potential safe zone in northeast Syria. The commander of US-backed Syrian forces has called for 1,000 to 1,500 international troops to remain in the country to help fight Islamic State and expressed hope the United States, in particular, would halt plans for a total pullout. 'CLEAR DIRECTION' The decision to retain peacekeepers could help Trump overcome criticism that he had ordered a precipitous withdrawal fromSyria that could lead to Islamic State regaining strength. "This is a clear direction to our allies and coalition members that we will be on the ground in some capacity," the senior US administration official said. Until now, European allies have balked at providing troops unless they received a firm commitment that Washington was still committed to the region. Belgian Defense Minister Didier Reynders told reporters on Thursday before a meeting with acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan that the issue of keeping troops in Syria in the future would be a matter for discussion with US officials. Turkey wants to set up a safe zone with logistical support from allies and says it should be cleared of the US-backed Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara considers a terrorist group. The White House did not say where exactly its troops would be based. In addition to northeast Syria, officials have talked about the importance of keeping some troops at the strategic Tanf garrison on the Iraq-Jordan border. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the initial plan was to have some troops in northeastern Syria and some at Tanf. The official said planning was ongoing and could change. The Tanf garrison was set up when Islamic State fighters controlled eastern Syria bordering Iraq. But since the militants were driven out, Tanf has assumed a role as part of a US strategy to contain Iran's military buildup. US officials have told Reuters that while in Munich last week, Shanahan held a meeting on Syria with a small group of defense ministers. They talked about needing some sort of security arrangement in northeast Syria after the United States left. Shanahan will meet his Turkish counterpart on Friday. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham issued a statement applauding Trump's decision to keep a small contingent of US troops inSyria as part of an international stabilizing force, saying the president had followed sound military advice that would help avoid the problems the United States faced in Iraq. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Washington, United States Fri, February 22, 2019 10:10 856 acca405afacc7201380025f21a14be87 2 World #USA,#NorthKorea,Donald-Trump,kim-jong-un Free US President Donald Trump will have a one-on-one meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their summit in Vietnam next week, a US official said Thursday. The two leaders, who met for the first time in Singapore last June, are due to hold talks in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi on February 27-28. Trump is seeking to persuade the North Korean leader to abandon his nuclear arsenal. A US officials said next week's meeting would be "similar in format to what we saw last June in Singapore... there will be an opportunity for the two leaders to see one another one-on-one" before holding meetings with their respective teams. Stephen Biegun, the US special envoy to Pyongyang, is already in Hanoi holding talks with his North Korean counterpart Kim Hyok Chol. US officials have declined to speculate on what elements might be included in a joint statement at the end of the meeting. On Wednesday, Trump again praised his relationship with the North Korean leader but said he would have to make a "meaningful" gesture on the nuclear front if he wants to see sanctions lifted. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Damar Harsanto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, February 22, 2019 09:39 856 acca405afacc7201380025f21a149a57 1 Business digitalization,pertamina,Pelindo-II,tanjung-priok,Nicke-Widyawati,oil-and-gas Free The old Javanese maxim alon-alon waton kelakon (slowly but surely) might best fit the digitalization and automation at least twotwo state-ow enterprises (SOEs) are implementing to boost efficiency and catch up with the evolving era of digital innovations. Oil and gas holding company Pertamina started installing digital nozzles at 500 filling stations last August for real-time monitoring of their fuel supply. The company is now racing to complete installing 75,000 digital nozzles at 5,500 stations nationwide. Our timeline is to digitalize 1,000 stations by February, 3,000 by April and eventually fully digitalize our stations by June, Pertamina president director Nicke Widyawati told an editors gathering on Thursday. The move is intended to obtain more accurate and real-time data on market supply, so Pertamina can clamp down on leakage and inefficiency in a more timely manner. Pertamina retail market director Masud Khamid said it had teamed up with state telecommunication company Telkom to manage the digitalization project, including operations and maintenance. Pertamina will be paying around Rp 800 billion [US$56.8 million] a year to Telkom, Masud said. Telkom would receive Rp 15 from the proceeds of every liter of fuel that is recorded through the digital nozzles as the project fee. The company expects to be able to take immediate measures to respond to market operations whenever it receives digital notification of a shortage. Fuel is among the key commodities that contribute to price hikes, which frequently spark protests. Violent protests led to the fall of president Suharto in 1998, after he raised fuel prices a maximum of 70 percent as a condition the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) mega bailout package. Keeping fuel prices stable as mandated by the law remains a challenge for Pertamina, since domestic production is only 800,000 barrels per day, far short of the daily domestic consumption of around 1.4 million barrels. Fuel imports supply the rest. Nicke asserted that using digital nozzles would allow the company to anticipate any changes in fuel consumption trends. With digitalization, we will be able to collect [big] data on our customers. Imagine the huge data we will collect in the future. We will better understand our customers needs, look into various trends and explore many opportunities based on this data, he said. Aside from Pertamina, port operator Pelabuhan Indonesia II (Pelindo II), or Indonesia Port Corporation II, has also been digitizing its operations gradually at some of its key ports to reduce costs and speed up services. We are introducing [partial] automation to our port operations. We expect [to be fully automated] by 2023, said Pelindo II president director Elvyn G. Masassya. Elvyn said that its largest port, the 17-terminal Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta, had digitalized most of its operations, including navigation, freight registration and parking. Pelindo currently manages 12 ports across 10 provinces in the western part of the archipelago. According to Elvyn, the port operator's efforts to optimize the use of information technology since 2017 had contributed to its Rp 2.43 trillion net profit in 2018, a 9.95 percent increase from Rp 2.21 trillion in 2017. He attributed the increase to higher revenue and reduced costs, booking Rp 11.45 trillion in revenue in 2018, a 4.94 percent year-on-year increase from Rp 10.91 trillion. The company had also reduced its cost-to-income ratio to 69.90 percent in 2018, a 0.93 percent decline from 70.15 percent in 2017. "The lower cost-to-income ratio reflects our operations are more efficient today," he said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, February 22 2019 Election watchdog the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) launched on Tuesday its new web-based platform pintarmemilih.id that will allow the public, particularly young voters, to find comprehensive information regarding the 2019 simultaneous presidential and legislative elections. The platform, which means smart voting in English, is sponsored by Google Indonesia. The project has also received support from the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), anti-hoax platform Cek Fakta, news portal rumahpemilu.org, the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) and YouTube channel Kok Bisa?. Indonesia is the worlds fourth-most-populous nation and third-largest democracy. It is also among the countries with the highest number of internet users, of which the majority ... After the allegations were made, the Middletown common council hired an attorney to conduct an investigation into complaints made against the mayor. The investigation found no evidence to support DiMauros claims, but the report did include interviews with employees who said Drew made derogatory comments toward women and that there were also complaints by both male and female employees about not being treated fairly in the hiring and promotion process. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Riska Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, February 22, 2019 23:08 855 acca405afacc7201380025f21a161efd 1 Business equity-crowdfunding,capital-market,OJK,alternative-financing,fintech,startup,SMEs,MunicipalBond,regional-administrations Free The Financial Services Authority (OJK) is calling for financial technology (fintech) firms and local administrations to raise funds through equity crowdfunding and municipal bonds, respectively, in an effort to increase capital market activity. The OJK earlier this year issued a regulation on equity crowdfunding that enables start-ups as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to raise funds using equity crowdfunding platforms, without having to go through initial public offerings (IPOs). So far, two equity crowdfunding platforms had registered with the OJK during a period called the regulatory sandbox, but their names could not be revealed yet, Fakhri Hilmi, OJK deputy commissioner for capital market monitoring division II, said in Jakarta recently. A regulatory sandbox is similar to an incubation process, in which fintech companies arrange their products and business models while the financial regulator actively assesses regulations that will support them. The equity crowdfunding platforms will act as underwriters to facilitate start-ups and SMEs in offering some of their shares to a group of people through private placements over a period of time until they manage to gather the intended amount. The platforms will also act as security brokers and investment managers for the investors. Fakhri said that, although the platforms were allowed to trade the companies shares, the OJK would not encourage them to trade the shares like regular stocks at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). We intend to make equity crowdfunding platforms tools of investment, not trading, he said, adding that the regulation would hopefully make the countrys capital market more inclusive and increase the number of domestic investors. Djustini Septiana, OJK deputy commissioner for capital market monitoring division I, said that, after obtaining their licenses, the platforms would be required to report regularly to the OJK. The reports would include aspects like share issuances and total fund collection. The regulation, she said, also stipulated the number of investors, the maximum amount of investment and offering as well as the period of offering. Only limited liability companies [PT] valued at under Rp 10 billion [US$710,555] and not controlled directly by a conglomerate or subsidiary of a publicly listed company are eligible for fundraising through this method, she said. She added that the regulation would allow those companies to seek up to Rp 10 billion in funding over a 12-month period, in which they could conduct more than one offering, each lasting for 60 days. The regulation, she said, would also limit the amount of investment from the investors in order to protect them from the risks that might entail. At the same occasion, OJK executive head for capital market Hoesen said the financial regulator expected more local administrations to participate in municipal bond issuance. While the regulation had been issued in late 2017, no provincial, regency or city administrations had made use of this funding option yet, he said. He acknowledged that the slow progress was caused by the complicated nature of municipal bonds. Before issuing bonds, local administrations must set up a dedicated team to handle the management and investor relations, he said, adding that they would also have to obtain permission from the respective regional legislative council (DPRD) before being assessed by the Finance Ministry and the Home Ministry. Despite the slow start, he said, the OJK was aiming for 10 municipal bonds issuances this year, as 10 regions were currently considered eligible to issue the securities based on their financial state and planned projects. Last year, the administrations of West Java, East Java, Central Java and South Kalimantan expressed interest in issuing municipal bonds as an alternative way to finance infrastructure development in their regions. Hoesen added that the OJK continued to work with the Finance Ministry and the Home Ministry to encourage and help regions issue municipal bonds. Not only did municipal bonds widen the range of capital market instruments, they also made local administrations less dependent on state and regional budgets, he said. They can now seek funding from the private sector to build necessary infrastructure for their regions, he said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, February 23, 2019 08:33 855 acca405afacc7201380025f21a15efbd 1 City jakarta,Jakarta-deputy-governor,Gerindra-Party,PKS,anies-baswedan,Sandiaga-Uno,AgungYulianto,AhmadSyaikhu Free A prolonged tug-of-war between the Gerindra Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) over who is to fill the vacant deputy gubernatorial post ended on Friday, with the nationalist party finally giving a nod to the Islamist partys nominees. The two parties have agreed to submit the names of Agung Yulianto and Ahmad Syaikhu, both nominated by PKS, to Governor Anies Baswedan, who is to then ask the Jakarta Legislative Council to choose between the two. Anies has led the city without a deputy since August last year when then deputy governor Sandiaga Uno left to run as a candidate for vice president. Alhamdulilah (thank God), we have agreed and accepted the recommendations, Gerindra Jakarta chairman Mohamad Taufik said as quoted by kompas.com. We met Pak Anies two days ago. We [plan to officially] give him [the names] on Monday morning at 10, he said. Previously, Gerindra politicians questioned the quality of the candidates offered by the Islamist party, saying the three nominees Akhmad Syaikhu, Agung Yulianto and Ahmad Suhaimi did not understand Jakartas urban problems. Analysts have accused the Gerindra Party of stonewalling PKS over the deputy gubernatorial nomination as the nationalist party also wanted the position, which they allegedly believed should have been reserved for a Gerindra member. Sandiaga was a member of Gerindra, while Anies is non-partisan. The PKS, however, insisted that the post be given to one of its members as Gerindra decided to pair Gerindra leader Prabowo Subianto with Sandiaga and not a PKS leader for the presidential election. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Washington, United States Fri, February 22, 2019 08:08 856 acca405afacc7201380025f21a145978 2 World #USA,#politics,Donald-Trump,former,ally,Roger-Stone,gag-order Free An angry US judge issued a gag order on Thursday on Roger Stone after the former advisor to Donald Trump posted a picture of her on Instagram with crosshairs in the background. Stone, 66, is charged with lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstruction stemming from his contacts with WikiLeaks, which published Russian-hacked communications from Democrat Hillary Clinton's camp during the 2016 election campaign. Stone has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which resulted from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether the president's campaign colluded with Russia. Stone was ordered to appear in court by US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson after he posted the inflammatory picture of her on his Instagram account several days ago. A caption accompanying the image said Jackson was an "Obama appointed Judge who dismissed the Benghazi charges again(st) Hillary Clinton and incarcerated Paul Manafort prior to his conviction for any crime." During Thursday's hearing, Stone apologized to the judge for what he called a "stupid lack of judgment" and appeared to blame an unnamed assistant for the offensive Instagram post. "I am kicking myself for my own stupidity, but not more than my wife is kicking me," he said. Jackson was having none of it and after saying his apology rings "quite hollow" she ordered him not to communicate publicly about the case anymore. Jackson told him she was giving him a "second chance" but warned that he would not get another and could face prison time if he violates the gag order. Stone left court without speaking to reporters. Jackson had imposed a partial gag order on Stone last week, telling him not to speak to the media or make public statements around the courthouse or in its immediate vicinity. Stone's court appearances have been rowdy affairs featuring supporters and opponents and a large media contingent. Stone pleaded not guilty in federal court in Washington last month to the seven charges against him. He is the sixth campaign associate of Trump indicted by Mueller's team. Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion with Moscow and denounced the probe by Mueller, a former FBI director, as a "political witch hunt." Stone, who launched his career as a campaign aide to Richard Nixon and has a tattoo on his back of the first US president to resign from office, has spent decades advising Republican political campaigns. His association with Trump dates back to 1979, and he was one of the first to enlist when the billionaire real estate magnate launched his run for the presidency in 2015. Stone left the campaign months later but the indictment shows he remained in active communication with Trump's team, providing support and information. Mueller's office has indicted a total of 34 people -- including Manafort, Trump's former campaign manager -- but so far, no charges of outright collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow have been filed. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ruslan Sangadji (The Jakarta Post) Palu Fri, February 22, 2019 15:04 856 acca405afacc7201380025f21a15384a 1 National salary,governor,central-sulawesi,jusuf-kalla,Padang Free The association of provincial governments has lodged a request for a pay raise for governors with Vice President Jusuf Kalla during a national meeting on Thursday in Padang, West Sumatra, claiming "unfairness" because their salaries were lower than that of legislative councilors. Indonesian Provincial Government Association (APPSI) chairman Longki Djanggola, who is also the Central Sulawesi governor, said a governor had a much heavier workload than a legislative councilor, but that the latter received higher salaries. To be honest, I am from a province with a mediocre revenue, but our legislative councilors receive salaries of [up to] Rp 70 million plus transportation allowance and many more [benefits], said Longki during the ongoing APPSI National Work Meeting, as quoted by kompas.com. As a result, we can see that many regional heads have become involved in graft cases. We are [raising this issue] so the central government also knows [that] our salary is very small, he said. A provincial governor receives a basic monthly salary of Rp 3 million (US$213.17), while a deputy governor receives Rp 2.4 million. Presidential Decree No. 68/2001 on allowances for officials stipulates monthly allowances of Rp 5.4 million for governors and Rp 4.32 million for deputy governors. In addition, governors and deputy governors receive operational allowances at a certain percentage of the region's income as regulated in a presidential instruction. Governors and deputy governors may use their operational allowance to support their work, but they are not required to submit a financial report. They also receive additional benefits, like official cars and residences. This means the governor and deputy governor of a province like Jakarta could receive gross salaries of up to Rp 4.5 billion. Meanwhile, the governor and deputy governor of South Sulawesi could receive monthly salaries of Rp 458 million, or an annual income of Rp 5.5 billion. For example, Central Sulawesis provincial income was Rp 1.34 trillion in 2015. This means the monthly operational allowance for the governor and the deputy governor would be calculated at 0.15 percent of the provincial revenue, or Rp 166 million. Central Kalimantan regional secretary Fahrizal Fitri said the request for a raise was not unusual, as governors' salaries had not been increased for some time. According to APPSI, a governor has a greater workload than that of a city councilor. It is therefore natural that a raise in governors' salaries has been requested, Fahrizal said on Thursday in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, as quoted by Antara news agency. He also said that Central Kalimantan's 2019 regional budget was sufficient to accommodate a salary hike for its provincial heads if the President approved the request. The gubernatorial budget is allocated separately. If it is still inadequate, it can be increased in a revised budget, he added. Separately, Central Sulawesi Legislative Council chair Muharram Nurdin also said the request was sensible, considering the heavy and complex workload of governors. Moreover, the relevant regulation was enacted decades ago, so it did not reflect the needs of todays economy. Our currency is weak, which affects the price of daily needs. It is simply natural that the governors want a raise, he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. Muharram added that the salary increase would not hurt public perception of social justice because legislators, as the peoples representatives, understood the scope of a regional head's responsibilities. We have to be objective in reviewing their request, he said. Financial Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said last year that she was reviewing a possibility of revising the remuneration scheme for regional heads to prevent corruption. We are conducting the study, and we have also apprised [the] President, because [he] is equally focused on all remuneration, especially for regional officials, she said as quoted in kompas.com. We are [also] studying how much to raise salaries to prevent corruption, she said at the time, although she did not mention when the study would be completed. (gis) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, February 22, 2019 14:28 856 acca405afacc7201380025f21a15301a 4 Business Bangka-Belitung,tin-mining,reclamation,assistance,Germany Free Environmental problems in former mining sites across the country were in the spotlight after the issue was raised during the recent presidential candidate debate. Bangka Belitung, which was among major tin-producing provinces, is facing environmental problems. To deal with them, the Bangka Belitung provincial government has received a commitment from the German government, which has expressed its wish to help reclaim a former tin mining site in the province. We support the plan of the German government to conduct reclamation in a former tin mining site, said Bangka Belitung Development Planning Board (Bappeda) head Ferry Insani in the provincial capital of Pangkalpinang on Friday. He said the reclamation project was the result of a cooperation between the Indonesian and German governments to revitalize crisis areas to help improve economic activity. He said Germany had imported tin from Indonesia. The reclamation program is a pilot project because of the countrys responsibility as an importer of tin produced in the region, he added as reported by Antara. Ferry said he had not received details of the plan, however, he would coordinate with the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and state-owned tin company PT Timah to discuss the plan. Svann Langguth, a diplomat at the German Embassy responsible for science and technology affairs, said the program was part of Germanys commitment as a tin-importing country, to deal with environmental issues at former tin mining sites. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, February 22, 2019 08:25 856 acca405afacc7201380025f21a14627d 4 Business FreeportIndonesia,lay-off,denial,open-pit-mining,underground-mining Free Gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) denied on Thursday reports about the companys plan to lay off more workers as the end nears of open-pit operations at the Grasberg mine in Mimika, Papua. There is no plan to reduce the number of workers, said PTFI spokesman Riza Pratama in Timika, Papua, as quoted by Antara. He acknowledged, however, that open-pit mining was near completion and underground mining would be the focus in the future. He said production from the underground mining during the transitional period up to 2020 would be lower than that from open-pit mining. In the next two years, there will be a transitional period during which the underground mining will not reach maximal production, Riza said. He added that this would affect the revenue of the corporation and would certainly affect the amount of partnership funds that would be disbursed to support local development programs in surrounding areas in Mimika. We hope that the transitional period will take no longer than three years and production can be increased. If the production increases, the partnership funds will also be much higher, he stressed. PTFI plans to operate a mining train at the underground mine. The company is still waiting for an agreement from the provincial administration to operate the equipment. The miner has also allocated US$2.6 billion for constructing a smelter in Gresik, East Java, which will have a capacity of 2 million dry metric tons (dmt) of copper concentrate annually. In early 2017, the company laid off 3,340 workers when the government declined to extend the export permit for the concentrate. (bbn). Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, February 22, 2019 15:28 856 acca405afacc7201380025f21a155df3 4 Business octopus,exports,China,East-Nusa-Tenggara Free East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) exported 24 tons of octopus to China in January at a total value of US$63,000. The 24 tons of octopus were caught in Flores Island waters and were sent to China through Surabaya, said NTTs fish quarantine and quality control station head, Jimmy Elwaren, in Kupang on Friday, adding that the exports were carried out by local company PT Okishin Flores. Octopus was first exported to China in late 2018, with total export volume of 15.8 tons, he said He added that the province had also exported other products, such as seaweed, to the country in January. We have exported 75 tons of seaweed to China that was harvested in Sumba Island waters, he added, adding that the seaweed was exported in the form of alkali treated cottony chips (ATCC), with total export value of US$96,859. Other maritime commodities exported from the province in January included anguilla fish (27.8 tons), skip jack (0.5 tons) and dried fish (27.8 tons). (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Norman Harsono (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, February 22, 2019 23:11 855 acca405afacc7201380025f21a162a42 1 Business cybersecurity,technology,ICT,malware,cyber-attacks,WannaCry,computers,smartphone Free Indonesia was hit by a record 12.9 million cyberattacks last year, according to official data, and experts agree that such attacks will increase in 2019 as businesses and other institutions go through a process of digital transformation. Cyberattacks grow by an average 15 percent every year, Sulistyo, director of threat detection at the Cyber Body and National Encryption Agency (BSSN), said in Jakarta recently. The agency found that last years cyberattacks varied from phishing to denial of service (DoS), but the bulk of them were from malware a contraction of malicious software at 3.9 percent or more than 500,000 cases. Indonesias most notorious malware attack to date was that using the WannaCry malware, which infected dozens of computers at the Harapan Kita and Dharmais hospitals in Jakarta for two days in May 2017. The attack rendered much of patients online information inaccessible to hospital staff. Such cyberattacks cause direct and indirect losses of up to US$6.7 million for large companies and $33,500 for mid-sized companies in Indonesia, according to a Frost & Sullivan study released last year. Media commentators said the hospital attacks were unsurprising, as companies in the healthcare, finance, hospitality, retail (particularly e-commerce) and aviation industries were among those most prone to attacks. Were looking at companies that collect large amounts of personal customer data and risk suffering significant losses if their systems go offline, said Andrew Mahony, regional director for commercial risk solutions at Aon Asia. Aon, a global business consultancy, recently released its 2019 Cyber Security Risk report that includes an eight-point risk paradigm to evaluate a companys cybersecurity: technology, internet-of-things (IoT), supply chain, business operations, mergers and acquisitions, regulations, board of directors and employees. Employees, the report notes, remain the most common cause of data breaches through either reckless or malicious acts. The reports essential message is that cyberattacks are inevitable and thus, companies should invest in both preventative and remedial security measures to lessen and minimize successful attacks. "In 2019, the greatest challenge organizations will face is simply keeping up with and staying informed about the evolving cyber risk landscape," says the report. Three other pieces of insight from the report are: Hackers frequently attack during an acquisition period; data protection regulations favor holding breached companies responsible even if third-party vendors are at fault; and cloud computing is intensifying shadow IT activity, whereby a companys employees adopt certain technologies without informing the IT department. In Indonesias case, Mahony pointed out that the IoT factor was of particular concern because of the countrys high smartphone penetration rate at 98 percent of all internet users. Indonesia will see waves of vulnerabilities and exploits directed at smartphones instead of traditional desktop computers, he said. Dony Koesmandarin, territory channel manager of Kaspersky Indonesia, also predicted that smartphones would become soft targets for cyberattacks this year. Mahonys advice for companies was to catalog their existing IT systems with an emphasis on the distribution of administrative privileges, then hire a professional hacker to run a risk assessment as the basis for a cybersecurity roadmap. In terms of budgeting, research firm Gartner found that cybersecurity spending averaged 5.6 percent of a companys IT budget in 2016 but may range from 1 percent to 13 percent depending on individual businesses. Soegiharto Santoso, chairman of the Indonesian ICT Business Association (APTIKNAS), concurred on the urgency of cybersecurity measures, saying it was due to a lack of awareness on corporate security and individual data privacy. He listed ten pressing cyberattack concerns for this year: man-in-the-middle, drive-by, structured query language (SQL) injection, cross-site scripting, eavesdropping, birthday (cryptographic) attacks, password attacks and the three types mentioned by the BSSN. Companies need to consider appointing a specialized cybersecurity officer and educating their users on personal data privacy, he said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) London, United Kingdom Fri, February 22, 2019 09:29 856 acca405afacc7201380025f21a1496d0 2 World #UK,#IslamicState,British,teen,call-for-mercy,IS,citizenship Free A London teenager who joined the Islamic State group in Syria called on the British authorities on Thursday to reconsider their decision to revoke her citizenship, calling for "mercy". "I would like them to re-evaluate my case with a bit more mercy in their heart," Shamima Begum told Sky News from a refugee camp in eastern Syria. Begum was 15 when she ran away to join the jihadists with two school friends from Bethnal Green in east London in 2015. Now a 19-year-old mother, she has become a refugee after the group's proto-state collapsed. Separated from her Dutch IS fighter husband, and after giving birth to a son in the camp last weekend, she now wants to come home. Her family's lawyer, Tasnime Akunjee, is looking at challenging Britain's decision to revoke her citizenship, which risks leaving Begum stateless. The Guardian newspaper reported that he plans to travel to the camp to seek Begum's consent to bring her newborn son back to Britain while the case plays out. "I would hope that I would be able to outline the options for her, explain things to her. We would want her agreement and consent of course," he said. But Begum told Sky News she would not allow her son -- her third child, after the other two died in recent months while living under IS -- to leave Syria without her. Asked if she can change or be rehabilitated, she replied: "I am willing to change." Begum's family are from Bangladesh but the country said Wednesday she had no claim to citizenship there. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, February 22, 2019 20:34 855 acca405afacc7201380025f21a15f11c 1 National Ani-Yudhoyono,SBY,blood,cancer Free Former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Friday that the health condition of his wife Kristiani Herrawati, better known as Ani Yudhoyono, has been improving amid her intensive medical treatment. The former first lady has been hospitalized at the National University Hospital in Singapore since Feb. 2 for leukemia. Yudhoyono updated the public while welcoming vice president candidate Sandiaga Uno, who was visiting the hospital. Sandiaga was accompanied by his wife, Nur Asia Uno, and mother, Mien. R Uno. We are touched by the support from all Indonesian people. That has strengthened me and my family, Yudhoyono said in a written statement. He also apologized to some visitors who were not allowed to meet with his wife. Sandiaga, the businessman-turned-politician, is the running mate of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto in the 2019 election. The pair has been endorsed by four political parties, including Yudhoyonos Democratic Party. Alhamdulillah [Praise God] to hear from Yudhoyono that bu Ani has been upbeat. We all pray for her health because she is our inspiration, Sandiaga said after the visit. Ani has been visited by a number of high-profile politicians and government officials in the past week. On Thursday, President Joko Jokowi Widodo and First Lady Iriana took time to visit her. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, along with their wives, also visited Ani on Feb. 15. On Feb. 14, Prabowo visited Ani in Singapore, flying from Central Java where he was attending a campaign event. He was welcomed by Yudhoyono and oldest son Agus Yudhoyono, as well as by former coordinating economic affairs minister Hatta Rajasa, who is also Yudhoyonos son's father-in-law and was Prabowos running mate in the 2014 presidential race. Since his wife was hospitalized, Yudhoyono has halted his political activities and refrained from involvement in the election campaign to focus on Anis treatment. Yudhoyonos family, including Agus, his wife Annisa Pohan, his youngest son Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono and Edhie's wife Siti Ruby Aliya Rajasa, have been sharing updates on Anis condition on their Instagram accounts. The four of them took turns taking care of Ani at the hospital, according to one update. (swd) Wayne Benjamin, the principal in Triumph Venture Capital LLC of Windsor, the owner of the diner, said a new restaurant will need to develop a draw as a regional destination as the Comet did and, for decades before it, the Aetna Diner. But a new restaurant also could benefit from its location because it is right around the corner from a CTfastrak station, while Aetna Inc.'s headquarters is just a five minute walk away. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, February 22, 2019 08:37 856 acca405afacc7201380025f21a146b2d 1 National hoax,misinformation,digital-literacy Free Did you know that being handsome is a hoax?" biologist Berry Juliandi asked his audience at a recent media gathering. "A strain of a parasite named Toxoplasma gondii makes people like Superman look handsome." The parasite, he explained, alters an adult male's behavior to attract females for sexual relations. The Superman in Berry's anecdote has a distinct mission: To raise awareness that the tendency of making up stories can be retrieved from the smallest parasite to the biggest human. A member of the Indonesian Academy of Young Scientists, Berry argues that because of the nature of hoaxes, stressing on literacy may be counterintuitive in the war on the fake news epidemic that Indonesia has been waging. The problem is, he said, that people have the instinct to lie for survival. Tactics may range from being polite to denying mistakes. In fact, people have the ability to distinguish between fake and genuine information. But this is not easy because amygdala, a brain section that detects fear, disrupts the analytical function of another section. Amygdala is stimulated ahead of the cognitive function of the brains frontal lobe. This means that people tend to act impulsively before getting the chance to analyze information. As a result, they can be swayed by the creators of disinformation. In real life, this was made evident by a 2017 survey by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies that found 53.7 percent of respondents were unwilling to accept a candidate whose religion was different from theirs. People's fear that an election would be won by a candidate from another religion was exploited by the misinformation creators for their political gain. People who create hoaxes are creative. For instance, if he knows [his audience] likes the word Allahu Akbar [God is great], he will start by saying Allahu Akbar, Islam is indeed a righteous religion, Berry said. To outwit hoax mongers, Berry suggested an attack on the peoples animalistic side of the brain by helping children hone their critical thinking skills during family discussions or school lectures. We have to instill [critical thinking] in our children so they will have the habit of questioning every piece of information, Berry said. Psychologist Roby Muhammad cited a 2015 survey by global analytics firm Gallup, which revealed that educated Americans had more polarized views on controversial issues than less educated Americans. Thus, increasing individuals cognitive literacy could also make them more prone to hoaxes. For Roby, polarized views mean people tend to close their mind with strong opinions and they could potentially fall victim to hoaxes. To be effective, Roby suggested that combatting disinformation should involve formal institutions instead. Improve the trustworthiness of institutions like the police by resolving cases as the public expects. If they are trustworthy, the public will wait to turn to official police statements for clarification of fishy news, Roby said. But digital watchdog Information, Communication and Technology Watch executive director Widuri begged to differ, arguing that literacy remains important in the fight against disinformation. The disparity between technological advancements and knowledge [on misinformation] makes Indonesia's digital communities prone to negative content," she said. "Literacy helps in safeguarding children [from fake news] while encouraging them to be aware of negative content on the internet, added Widuri, an avid promoter of digital literacy. On its part, the government has implemented measures to counter the deluge of false information proliferating on social media. The Communications and Information Ministry created online antihoax show Lambe Hoaks on video-sharing website YouTube. According to its weekly reports, the ministry had identified 96 hoaxes between Feb. 6 and 13. The public has been encouraged to report any "negative" content they see on social media. Online communities have also joined forces in the fight through numerous community-driven fact-checking websites and campaigns, such as art-themed event against fake news #AkuSiapBersikap (I'm ready to take a stand). (mai) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Theresia Sufa (The Jakarta Post) Bogor Fri, February 22, 2019 08:32 856 acca405afacc7201380025f21a14684c 1 City fish,contamination,pollution,Jakarta-Bay Free Eating fish and mussels from Jakarta Bay is dangerous because of toxic and hazardous compounds (B3) that damage fish organs and paralyze mussels, an expert has said. A professor at Bogor Agricultural University's faculty of maritime affairs and fisheries, Etty Riani, told reporters on Thursday that the quality of fish depended on the quality of the environment. People who consume fish from Jakarta Bay are susceptible to cancer and degenerative diseases like kidney failure, she said. In a polluted environment, fish are prone to contamination from hazardous compounds, such as metal compounds that can damage fish tissues, carcinogens and mutagens. Etty explained that metal compounds entered the body of a fish through its skin pores, gills or when it was eating. The compounds then accumulate in the organs. The Citarum River and Jakarta Bay were among the most polluted river or coastal areas, she said. Hazardous compounds have been found in barracuda, pepetek, sokang, beloso and mussels from Jakarta Bay. Mussels that are contaminated by hazardous compounds become bubbly in shape instead of flat, which indicates unsafe meat. In comparison, Etty said that although fish in the Thousand Islands were also contaminated by metal compounds, the amount was much lower, making fish there relatively safe for consumption. All this time, B3 examinations on exported fish have been conducted, but I haven't heard of [B3 examinations] on fish for local consumption, Etty said. (sau) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin John Lee (The Jakarta Post) Sydney Sat, February 16 2019 During the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Sydney last March, then-Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull reiterated, We believe in ASEAN centrality. That repetition genuinely indicated where Australia stood, but desire cannot be taken to be destiny. Over the past two years, the United States, Australia, Japan and India have reinstituted the meeting of the Quad albeit at the senior official level rather than ministers. Along with China, these four countries are the regions naval powers. The Quad members are committed to the notion of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) despite differences with respect to what each country means by that term. As China is pushing to alter the regional strategic order, the non-ASEAN powers have moved to a countering mindset. The extent to which ASEAN remains central to the thinking of the Quad countries depends on... Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, February 22, 2019 08:33 856 acca405afacc7201380025f21a1469bf 1 Editorial #Editorial,Saudi-Arabia,#SaudiArabia,foreign-investment,Mohammed-Bin-Salman,state-visit,bilateral-relations Free Indonesia can only blame itself for its continued failure to secure lucrative business contracts and investments from Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Middle Eastern countries. Why do other countries get multibillion-dollar investments from Saudi Arabia while we only get a relatively smaller amount from the royal family? Why did Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman cancel his scheduled visit to Jakarta on Feb. 19 to 20, while his high-profile visits to Pakistan, India and China went on as planned? The prince pledged to pour billions of dollars into those countries. International media described the lucrative investments as part of the princes campaign to counter his worsening relations with the West. Why is it that we cannot reap such benefits? We feel we are close to Saudi Arabia, yet we are never seen as good enough for their money. This is a matter of business and goes beyond sentiments. Malaysia is much better than us at attracting Arab tourists and investors. Ironically, on Feb. 19, Saudi Gazette reported that a bilateral agreement between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia to resume recruitment of Indonesian housemaids by the kingdom is only awaiting ratification from Indonesias legislature. According to the agreement, only highly qualified and well-trained domestic workers would be sent to Saudi Arabia. The monthly salary of an Indonesian housemaid would be 1,200 riyal (US$319.95). So why was the visit of the princes father, King Salman, in March 2017 disappointing for President Joko Jokowi Widodo? Such questions will continue to be asked, and the government will unlikely find answers any time soon. The princes canceled visit delayed in diplomatic terms and the kings 2017 visit should sound alarm bells for Indonesias foreign policy. This is no longer just the Foreign Ministrys or the Presidents problem. We should ask ourselves why we fail to bring in mega investors from Middle Eastern countries despite our excellent bilateral relations with them. Simply being the worlds most populous Muslim-majority nation means little when it comes to the economy. One month after King Salmans visit, President Jokowi expressed disappointment with his guests much smaller-than-expected investment commitment. Jokowi insisted he had tried to win the kings heart, including changing his schedule to accompany the king for three days in Jakarta. Jokowi was surprised and a little bit disappointed that King Salman made a commitment to invest US$65 billion in China, compared to only $6.71 billion in Indonesia. Jokowi reportedly expected at least a $25 billion investment. We should be more competitive. We should be much more serious about better understanding the mind-sets and behaviors of Arab investors. We are the worlds most populous Muslim-majority nation. This should be highly advantageous. However, it evidently is far from enough. Investment will not come just because of a shared religion. Are we willing to learn from other countries about how to attract investors from the Middle East? The incident with Sands first started when officers in Norwich responded to an interrupted burglary. During a confrontation, state police said that Sands shot at officers in Norwich before stealing a car and fleeing. ALTON After more than 150 years in operation, Ss. Peter and Paul School is set to close its doors at the end of the school year. Ss. Peter and Paul parish Pastor Fr. Jason Stone made the announcement to teachers and staff Friday, and a letter was sent home with students detailing the imminent closing. The letter will also be published in the parishs weekend bulletin. In the letter, Stone wrote that declining enrollment contributed to a deficit, with the parishs debt to the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois having grown to approximately $750,000. The school began the 2018-19 school year with 64 students in pre-K through eighth grade, down from 79 in 2016-17. Stone detailed a possible million-dollar capital campaign as a way to dig out of the hole but said such an undertaking is at the very edge of our wherewithal as a parish family. At the end of the day, I could not ask the people of God for a sacrificial gift of one million dollars in order to keep the wolf from the door for three years, in hopes that a professional marketing campaign would finally reverse the years of declining enrollment and the longstanding public perception that we are about to close, Stone wrote. I felt that I had no alternative but to ask Bishop Paprocki for permission to close the school. The pastors of St. Marys and St. Ambrose have offered to take Ss. Peter and Paul students at the parishioner tuition rate, Stone wrote. Principal Harry Cavanaugh, who has been principal of the school for the past eight years, said he is really saddened by the decision to close. Its one of Altons best-kept secrets, this school. Its just home. After a while, everybody becomes like your family, Cavanaugh said. Its hard to see it split up like this. The school has been in operation since 1847, according to the schools website, when a parish school was conducted on lower State Street by five Sisters from the order of the Daughters of Charity. On March 3, 1907, the parishioners decided to build a new school. On Oct. 8, 1908, the cornerstone of the present school building was laid. In early 2016, problems with the buildings foundation were discovered shortly before students returned to school from winter break, when a teacher taking down Christmas decorations noticed a crack in the wall. Other cracks were discovered on all three levels of the school building, located at 801 State St. in Alton. As a result, classes were moved to Alton School Districts then-unused Mark Twain School building on Milton Road. The State Street building reopened to students at the start of the 2016-17 school year, after approximately $40,000 worth of repair work. The church will remain open despite the schools closure, with Stone saying the next few months will be a time of transition for our community. We are turning a significant page in our life as a parish family, Stone wrote, but we are not at the end of the book. Brunette said gorillas habitat is very different from anywhere in Nebraska. Arndt said gorillas are in need of the students help as their habitats are going away since people are wanting to live where they used to be. Arndt and Brunette displayed a lunch box with a gorilla on the outside of it where they stored various food items. Arndt said some of the things a gorilla eats include bananas, carrots, leaves and oranges. He added gorillas do not eat mice or snakes. To get the students excited, Arndt and Brunette had Principal Jenn Lohrberg and second grade teacher Jessica Phinney participate in a relay race. In the relay race, Lohrberg and Phinney had to peel an orange without using their thumbs and walk on their knuckles like a gorilla before completing the final task of tying a pair of shoes without using their thumbs. Lohrberg and Phinney used their mouths to peel their orange. Lohrberg took an early lead by peeling her orange first, which led to her winning the relay race. In addition to learning about gorillas, Engleman students were also shown a scorpion and a snake. HARTFORD, CT - 02.22.2019 - HARTFORD HOMICIDES - ?We?re better than this. The city of Hartford is better than this. Four homicides within a week is unacceptable,? says Hartford Police Lt. Paul Cicero about the recent homicides in Hartford. Post nublia phoebus translates to "After the clouds, the sun." Below the latin phrase is a tally of Hartford's five homicides in 2019. Cicero is in the Major Crimes Division at the Hartford Police Department. PATRICK RAYCRAFT | praycraft@courant.com (Patrick Raycraft / Hartford Courant) NORWALK Before securing a position at a Charkit, a chemical company in SoNo, Artie St. Armand spent most of his days watching television. Hed held a few odd jobs before the chemical company, cleaning tables at a local beach club and occasionally working on a housekeeping team at Star Inc. Lighting the Way, a Norwalk organization that supports people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities. But Charkit was a big leap for the 37-year-old. It would be the first job hed take on with a long list of responsibilities, something that concerned his mother, Tina St. Armand. I thought it would be a challenge for him because hes always been in a sheltered environment, she said. When he had an opportunity to work independently at Charkit, it was a little concerning, because I didnt know how he was going to react. But three years in, hes made a name for himself with colleagues describing him as diligent, outgoing and the master shredder, one of the responsibilities listed on his job description. Hes also known for his sense of humor. Arties ability to break through the stereotype that people with disabilities struggle to find and keep jobs illustrates a trend at STAR. The organizations My First Job program linked 19 people with disabilities to employment in 2018, seven of which were first jobs and the Department of Developmental Services ranked the initiative first in the state in terms of job placement, retention and hours worked for people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities. While 19 placements may sound like a low number, research suggests people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are underemployed, despite their ability and willingness to work, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers with disabilities face significant gaps in pay and compensation, compared to workers with no disability and one in three employment discrimination charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission allege discrimination on the basis of disability, according to the organization. I think were too quick to put people in buckets, said Luke Serafin, one of Arties coworkers. I think just because you have a disability doesnt make you any different in terms of not being able to hold a job or not being able to support yourself or your family. Andrew Stefanou, owner of a spa and hair salon in Darien, said he didnt think twice when a STAR job developer approached him six years ago, asking to place Denise Sapione at his establishment, Andrew Stefanou Salon & Spa. Sapione, 37, expressed interest in working at a hair salon and had prior experience. She has her own responsibilities. She knows what they are. Nobody has to ask her twice, Stefanou said. Denise wants so much to be with people and that makes me really happy that Im able to offer that to her. She makes my day every day that I walk in here and I see her around. One recent morning job developer Martha Spiegel was at STARs headquarters prepping 55-year-old Lucille Capasso for future interviews. A recruiter of more than 15 years, Spiegel helps STAR clients build active listening skills, recognize appropriate physical boundaries and how to shake hands firmly. Before leading a simulated interview, she took off her pearl necklace and placed it on Capasso, who said she hopes to work at a clothing store. Our job is to find the right fit and make the placement, Spiegel said. When its a good fit, you can tell. The employees have been there quite a while, usually management or owners are on site, its more of a family environment, its maybe a little more casual, theres a nurturing sort of feeling of kindness, generosity, humor, flexibility. You can feel those things. And if I dont feel it, I walk out. Capasso, eager to work, said a recent weight loss surgery helped her lose more than 70 pounds and gain self-confidence amid her job search. A job would allow her to support her sister who works two jobs to support the family. I dont like staying home. I want to work, Capasso said. Itll buy me stuff that I need like some more clothes and food in the house. Because of Arties progress, a Massachusetts company in partnership with Charkit is looking to hire individuals from a local organization like STAR. STAR staff said networking opportunities like these usually lead to successful job placements. Thats part of the role, is to educate people on inclusion, said Peter Saverine, director of philanthropy at STAR. Somebody knows somebody who has a disability and it takes off from there. Theyre usually the catalyst to make it happen. To learn more about STAR Inc.s job programs, contact Peter Saverine at 203-846-9581. Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media NORWALK Economic development professionals, real estate developers, investors and members of the public are invited to a Opportunity Zones Workshop, taking place in the city next month. The Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce, along with the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, Connecticuts Department of Economic and Community Development and Pullman and Comley, a law firm with offices in Bridgeport, Stamford and Hartford, are hosting the workshop to educate professionals and community members about the federal program. NORWALK Was it a fried breakfast snack or a cellphone a Westport man had in hand before he was pulled over by a cop on Post Road in April? The question was hashed out in Norwalk Superior Court on Friday. Westport resident Jason Stiber is challenging a distracted driving charge. He claims a Westport police officer mistook his McDonalds hash brown for a cellphone. A judge is considering the verdict, which will likely come before April 5. The incident occurred around 6 a.m. on April 11, 2018 when Stiber left his Westport home a bit early and made a pit stop at a McDonalds drive-through on the Norwalk border. He told the courtroom he purchased a caramel frappe and one hash brown before he was stopped three minutes later near Whole Foods on Post Road West by Westport Police Cpl. Shawn Wong Won. He said he saw me on a cellphone, Stiber said in court Friday. I was thinking he had seen the hash brown. Stiber said he tried to explain the situation to the police officer but he then immediately shut me down, said he had been doing this for 30 years. Stiber said he tried to prove his innocence by asking the officer to review his call history but he said the officer refused. States Attorney Laurence Tomaccio questioned the police officer, who stated Stiber never offered to show his call list and that even if he had, state law prohibits police from seizing cellphones. More News News Westport man goes to court over hash brown dispute The officer stated he saw Stiber using a black cellphone while driving eastbound near 250 Post Road West. It was clearly visible, he said. He was looking straight ahead, completely oblivious to the fact that I was there. Won stated the object was illuminated, consistent with the size of a cellular device and that Stiber held the object close to his face, lips moving, while speaking into the device. Stibers attorney shot back, arguing that by 6 a.m., Won was nearing the end of a double shift that started at 3 p.m. the previous day, indicating the officer could have possibly mistaken the hash brown for a cellphone. Thygerson also emphasized that when asked, Won wouldnt use the word unsafe to describe the way in which Stiber was driving. Before ruling, the judge said she would review her notes as well as a state statute regarding the use of cellphones while driving. A Westport resident since 2007, Stiber first went to trial to fight the ticket in August before a magistrate judge, who found him guilty despite Stibers presentation of the phone activity records. Stiber then requested a retrial. To prepare for the retrial, Stiber hired a lawyer for $1,000, about the same price he said his drivers insurance increased due to the ticket. Stibers attorney said the judge prohibited his client from speaking to the news media. tatiana.flowers@thehour.com Haywood, who travels two hours by bus and train to get to her full-time job at the North Side hospital, has her associates degree and dreams of eventually getting her doctorate to become an educator or therapist. But her $13.30 hourly wage is sometimes not enough to cover her phone and internet bills. She has a daughter, 3-year-old Imori, and grows tearful at the prospect that the girl might be better off living in the south suburbs with her father. BRIDGEPORT A citizen of Guatemala, who never had legal status in the U.S., pleaded guilty Friday to illegal re-entry into the U.S. after being deported, according to the Department of Justice. Hector Ovidio Diaz Garrido, 41, a citizen of Guatemala last living in Norwalk, pleaded guilty to one count of re-entry of a removed alien, the DOJ said. Court documents show that Diaz Garrido was deported from the U.S. to Guatemala in June 2011 after a March 2010 conviction in Norwalk for felony assault on a police officer. The DOJ said he never had legal status in the U.S. In April 2012, Diaz Garrido was found by U.S. Border Patrol in Weslaco, Texas. The DOJ said his prior order of removal was reinstated and he was again deported to Guatemala. On Nov. 6, 2014, Diaz Garrido was arrested by the Norwalk Police Department and charged with operating under the influence of alcohol, the DOJ said. At the time of his arrest he was using the name Jimy Diaz. On March 20, 2015, he was again arrested by Norwalk police on a charge of operating a motor vehicle while under suspension again under the name Jimy Diaz. In Nov. 2018, fingerprint analysis confirmed Jimy Diaz to be Hector Ovidio Diaz Garrido after he was convicted on the Nov. 2014 and March 2015 charges, the DOJ said. He was also convicted of three separate counts of failure to appear. Diaz Garrido is to be sentenced on May 20 in federal court in Bridgeport. At that time, he faces a maximum term of 10 years in prison. STAMFORD A two-and-a-half hour debate among city lawmakers about whether the state should install highway tolls provides a hint of what is to come in Hartford: conflicting facts; incomplete information; anger over another tax vs. practicality over how to fix aging infrastructure and ease traffic congestion. Members of the Board of Representatives Transportation Committee Thursday night voted 6-0, with one abstention, to recommend that the full board pass a resolution urging the state Legislature to abandon a plan to install tolls. The board often takes the recommendations of committees, but its not clear that will happen with the no-tolls resolution. Rep. Steven Kolenberg, R-16, the committee chairman, summed it up. Some people think tolls are more necessary than unpleasant. Other people think they are more unpleasant than necessary, Kolenberg said. And so the argument went. It began with two public speakers. One was Patrick Sasser, a city firefighter who owns a small excavating company and co-owns with his brothers a small trucking company. Sasser began fighting tolls a year ago and has since founded a grassroots group, No Tolls CT, that is organizing opposition statewide. The state is seeking to pay for long-neglected road, rail and bridge projects by doing the easiest thing imposing another tax on the poor, the working class and the middle class people of this state, Sasser said. More, little is clear about how tolls will affect local roads, Sasser said. They want to use congestive tolling. It means that during peak times the toll price will be jacked up to force people off (Interstate) 95 and the Merritt Parkway and onto city streets, Sasser said. Stamford is already congested with traffic. He cited a November news report about Pennsylvania, where tolls have been raised 11 years in a row, a trend expected to continue through 2044. In the story the governor complains that turnpike tolls are driving business away. Sasser asked representatives why anyone would want to give toll revenue to the Connecticut Department of Transportation. He pointed to the latest annual highway report from the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank. It says Connecticut has the highest administrative costs per mile in the U.S. $99,400. The national average is $10,900, according to the foundation. The second speaker, state Sen. Alexandra Bergstein, a newly elected Greenwich Democrat who represents a portion of North Stamford, is on the opposite side of the toll debate. Bergstein submitted a bill at the Capitol to authorize electronic tolls. Bergstein agreed with Sasser that the states method of funding and fixing its infrastructure is failing. She supports tolls because the revenue will help repair the 57 percent of Connecticut roads that are in poor condition, and the 338 bridges that are rated structurally deficient, Bergstein said. Lets disrupt that system and create a new system that includes a Connecticut Infrastructure Bank, Bergstein said. Its similar to the Connecticut Green Bank, which works with private investors to create low-cost, long-term financing to maximize the use of public funds for clean-energy projects. Thats a good idea, said Rep. Bradley Michelson, R-1, vice chairman of the committee. But its why tolling should wait. We should create the bank first and then consider tolls, Michelson said. It shouldnt be, Lets toll everyone now and hope it works. Were doing this out of order. Representatives said their constituents dont want another tax when they are already living paycheck to paycheck. Bergstein said a Connecticut resident who commutes 50 miles a day, five days a week would pay about $600 a year in tolls. But the same person now pays $2,300 a year in lost time in traffic and excessive fuel costs. Some questioned the $2,300 estimate, and other figures. Sasser, for example, said studies indicate that 70 percent of toll revenue would come from Connecticut residents. Bergstein said 40 percent. A state DOT report says 60 percent and Gov. Ned Lamonts budget proposal on Wednesday reduced that figure to as low as 50 percent. Bergstein said tolls could help get some trucks off the highways during peak travel times. Rep. J.R. McMullen, R-18, said they wont. The trucks have to go someplace, McMullen said. Tolls arent going to change anything. They will travel at night, Bergstein said. They travel at night now, McMullen said. Its often not possible for trucks to work at night, said Rep. Tony Spadaccini, R-14, who once co-owned a car-transport company in the area. We couldnt run the trucks at night because no one was there to accept the cars, Spadaccini said. Maybe they will not choose to change their behavior but now trucks are doing all that traveling for free, and your tax dollars are paying for it, Bergstein said. Connecticut is the only state on the East Coast with no tolls. Some representatives said the state should try other things first. Rep. Denis Patterson, D-6, said Connecticut under-uses its harbors and freight rail lines, and relies too much on the trucks that clog the highways. Bergstein said fixing the infrastructure and easing traffic will attract business to the state. Michelson said lowering taxes will spur business activity far more. Rep. Rob Roqueta, D-4, said its all speculation. We have no way to know what the outcome will be, Roqueta said. I lived in New York half my life. New York has tolls, and the traffic is worse than here, the emissions are worse. Roqueta said he opposes tolls. But Rep. Bob Lion, D-19, said its too soon for the board to take a stand. I will vote against this resolution (when the full board meets) because its too early in the process; its before this has even been flushed out by committees at the state level, Lion said. First it was 83 toll gantries, then it was 53 toll gantries. I think we have to consider whether we have all the information needed to take a position on this. To make the boards position clear, Rep. Nina Sherwood, D-8, proposed an amendment that says the cost of infrastructure improvements should not be funded by those who cannot afford to pay it, but by means and ideas meant to relieve the citizenry of that burden. The full board will take up the amended tolls resolution when it meets at 8 p.m. March 4 in Legislative Chambers, fourth floor, Stamford Government Center, 888 Washington Blvd. acarella@stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2296. The measure could be a win for both students and the district. Assistant Superintendent Sue Rogers said she had no plans to bring the proposal before the district due to a lack of interest in the program. What reservations do parents have over a program like this? It seems like the best of both worlds. Students get more opportunities and the school is able to recoup some of its funding. What could be wrong with more opportunities for the students? Its worth noting that homeschool parents, like those in public schools as well as the remainder of the community, pay taxes to cover the cost of public education. They do this by paying state income taxes, some of which go to public schools. And they pay either directly in property taxes on their homes or indirectly with rent helping cover landlords property taxes. So if theyre helping pay the bills, why not get something in return? More than a third of homeschool students are enrolled in online courses and a fourth take those classes in public school programs, according to federal data. If those numbers played out in Franklin County, it would be a win-win for the school system and homeschoolers alike. The district needs about 50 students, or roughly 20 percent of those eligible, to enroll in the virtual school to cover the cost of offering it. We commend school officials for exploring the option and urge homeschool parents and their children to take advantage. Yellowstone Scientist Explains Why Geysers Are Getting More Active Geologists have said that geysers at Yellowstone National Park have been getting more active in the past year or so. Its a good lesson in how geysers actually work, Michael Poland, the scientist-in-charge at Yellowstone Volcano Observatory told National Geographic on Feb. 19. As soon as you start to recognize a pattern, it changes. The upsurge in geyser activity is taking place at the Norris Geyser Basin. Poland, in the interview, made note of the Steamboat Geyser coming back to life in 2018. The Observatory said the geyser broke its all-time record by erupting 32 times last year. As geysers go, Steamboat is sort of typical in terms of having these sporadic, unpredictable eruptions, Poland told the magazine. But because its this really tall geyser and it has this name recognition, it makes it that much more interesting. Other geysers like Ear Spring, which is generally inactive, erupted and jettisoned trash from the 1930s. Also, Giant Geyser, in another part of Yellowstone, has also been erupting more often in recent months. But back in 2007 to 2008, Giant went bananas, Poland stated. It erupted many, many more times than it had in the past yearand Steamboat didnt do anything of the sort. Poland stressed there has been no change in the underlying heat source, and there have been no major geological changes. What absolutely isnt worth speculating about is the state of Yellowstones infamous volcanic system. Any uptick in any sort of activity at Yellowstone seems to spark fears about a catastrophic eruption of the parks huge caldera, even though such worries are unfounded, said National Geographic, citing Poland. He also said there has been no change in the magma reservoir that lies beneath Yellowstone over the past few years, despite alarmist headlines from British tabloids. The geysers, he noted, also have nothing to do with the magma that lies many miles beneath the surface of the earth. The geysers are located on the top of the Earths crust. Steamboat Geyser appears to have entered a phase of more frequent water eruptions, much like it did in the 1960s and early 1980s, said the Observatory on its website. Although these eruptions do not have any implications for future volcanic activity at Yellowstone (after all, geysers are supposed to erupt, and most are erratic, like Steamboat), they are nonetheless spectacular, and many people had a chance to see Steamboat in eruption during the summer of 2018. After Ear Spring erupted on September 15, employees found a strange assortment of items strewn across the landscape Yellowstone National Park 2018924 The last one was on Feb. 16, 2019. Ear Spring Trash Ear Springs eruption launched a number of items into the air, including a 1930s pacifier, dozens of coins, and a warning sign. On September 15, 2018 Ear Spring erupted and ejected lots of decades-old trash, Yellowstone officials said on Facebook. The last significant Ear Spring eruption was in 1957, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Foreign objects can damage hot springs and geysers. The next time Ear Spring erupts we hope its nothing but natural rocks and water, park officials wrote on Facebook. You can help by never throwing anything into Yellowstones thermal features! An anonymous supervisory park ranger told FourStatesHomePage.com: You might think that if you toss something in a hot spring or in a geyser that it disappears, but it doesnt disappear. Those items remain inside the geyser and might plug it up. Thats happened in many places in the park, the ranger stated. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (C), speaks to a crowd of supporters flanked by his wife Cilia Flores (2-L), Venezuelan Vice-president Delcy Rodriguez (R) the head of Venezuela's Constituent Assembly Diosdado Cabello, along with other members of the government, to announce his is breaking off diplomatic ties with the United States, during a gathering in Caracas on Jan. 23, 2019. (Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images) Will Venezuela Fundamentally Change US Foreign Policy? Venezuela becoming a major test for Donald Trump on multiple levels The decisions being made by the Trump administration in the coming weeks regarding Venezuela may constitute a sea change in U.S. policy. If a more vigorous application of the Monroe Doctrine is in the Trump playbook, it will impact the political landscape in both Venezuela and America, as well as the entire Latin American region, the Middle East, and indeed, the rest of the world. Actually, this may be understating the case. More Than Meets the Eye At first glance, Venezuela appears to be just another Latin American socialist basket case. But theres more than meets the eye in this sad and unnecessary drama. Sure, it resembles the Cuban communist nightmare, with perhaps less organization and more desperation. It also bears a likeness to Nicaragua in the 1980salmost irretrievably divided, corrupt, and weak democratic institutions in the clutches of militant Marxists. The Venezuelan tragedy is all of that, of course, but there are complex geopolitical and strategic factors to consider as well. For example, the countrys heartbreaking descent into the lower echelons of chaos could trigger more of the same in the region. Or, the scale of the migrant caravans heading northward toward the United States could potentially increase radically. Either or both could happen. Either could become a destabilizing force in the greater Latin America region and present a major geopolitical and economic headache for the United States. Geopolitical Complications From a geopolitical as well as a national perspective, Venezuela is a mess. Its had economic, military and clandestine relationships with Iran, the worlds largest terrorist state, for years. That complicates things. It has also certainly violated U.S.-imposed trade sanctions against Iran, especially since President Donald Trump re-imposed them on Irans banking and energy sectors. That in itself poses a challenge to American credibility in the world. That said, with the recent arrival of an Iranian naval battle group off Venezuelas coast, including surface-to-surface missiles, anti-aircraft guns, and electronic warfare capabilitiesits clear that the situation is no longer just about Maduros socialist experiment. If Iran can bait the United States into involving itself in a Latin American war, the Iranians may think they may have a freer hand in the Middle East to pursue a nuclear missile agenda, testing rockets and attacking Israel. Of course, Russia (whose navy is also in the area) and China are also watching to see how the United States responds. Both have military ties to, and investments in, a leftist Venezuela. At the same time, both are on the pointy end of U.S. foreign and trade policies. Russia hates U.S. influence in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Ukraine. And of course, China would prefer that the United States withdraw from the Asian-Pacific region and leave Taiwan to them. Both would also like to see an end to the U.S. dollar as the currency for international trade and finance. No doubt that Iran, Russia, and China would all like to see the United States entangled in a new quagmire in its own backyard. A Sharpened Focus: Latin America Policy But with the United States recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president, its increasingly evident that the Trump administration is laying the groundwork for some kind of U.S. response to the deteriorating situation there. And that response, whatever it may be, looks as if it will be happening sooner than later. There are several reasons why this appears to be the case. For one, Maduro has blocked much needed humanitarian aid from the United States that Guaido has approved. Its shortsighted thinking on Maduros part. It really only adds to Guaidos credibility and the United States potential influence in a future Guaido government. That will likely resonate with a large part of the Venezuelan people. Not only is Guaido a leader in the Venezuelan National Assembly, but hes representing his country in high-level talks with the most powerful country in the world. Thats credibility. On the flip side, Maduro comes out the loser. His denial of aid to his hungry people only reinforces the reality of him as an incompetent, despotic leader of a failed state. In a time of want and deprivation, thats an increasingly a hard sell, as is his validity as the rightful leader of Venezuela. Theres little wonder why. As the once-major oil producer and member of OPEC, Venezuelas rapid fall in oil production has added fuel to the countrys economic meltdown under Maduros direction. Apologists say that the avowed socialist easily won re-election in May of 2018 with 5.8 million votes compared to 1.8 million votes for his closest rival. But the turnout was less than one-third of voters, and the election results are disputed by many, since the election board is reportedly firmly in the Maduro camp. Testing Presidential Powers Against Adversarial Congress What will the Trump administration do? What does it want to do? Will Trump be forced to declare another national emergency to carry out foreign policy? More to the point, will Nancy Pelosis adversarial Congress challenge his authority? In actuality, Trump has the authority for a short-term intervention. But for extended commitments of U.S. military power, he must get congressional approval. If the current political climate in Congress continues, thats unlikely to happen. Congressat least the Houseis in no mood to back a president that the majority are seeking to remove from office. That fact puts an urgency into policy. It will certainly play a role in how Trump shapes his decisions. Short, Intense Burst That Reasserts American Power? Congressional restraint would, therefore, force Trumps hand toward a very quick and assertive action on the part of U.S. diplomatic, economic, and perhaps even military power. That would seem to play to the United States advantage and to Trumps personalitynot just in Venezuela, but throughout Latin America. As for Trumps decision-making, it may simply be a matter of refusing to be a prisoner of history. Recalling how much leverage the Soviet Union got out of Cubaand how much Iran, Russia, and China may yet get out of MaduroTrump may have already decided to act in a direct way with a predetermined outcome. It wouldnt be surprising. Why is so much riding on the once-wealthy jewel of South America that has fallen faster than a socialist talking point from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs lips? The reason is both complex and simple. The short answer is that Trumps political will, and Americas place on the international stage, will be determined in Caracas. Iran: An Asymmetric Adversary Finally, Trump would be wise to see that the IranianVenezuelan partnership isnt comparable to the Soviet Union-Cuba alliance. The Soviet Union, for all its bad deeds, was largely a symmetricalif adversarialrelationship. It was a nuclear-armed rational actor. Mutually assured destruction meant something to the Soviets. The IranVenezuela axis, on the other hand, is qualitatively different. Americas struggle with the Islamic Republic of Iran is asymmetrical. Iran wants nukes, is trying to get them and will likely use them when it can. Its way of seeing the world is more than ideological, its religious. Therefore, its also somewhat unpredictable and is much more prone to take risks that may escalate tensions and even lead to some bizarre realization of Islamic eschatology. That makes it a much more dangerous adversary. What will Trump do? Well have to wait and watch. And with all options on the table, the whole world, in fact, is watching too. James Gorrie is a writer based in Texas. He is the author of The China Crisis. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Utah Man Who Killed Newborn Accepts Plea Deal to Avoid Death Penalty A Utah man who was convicted of killing his newborn son will avoid the death penalty with a plea deal. Matthew Daniel Graves, of Roy, Utah, took the plea deal in January and admitted that he punched his newborn son, killing him. Graves apparently got angered after the baby woke him up from sleep with cries in 2017, according to the Standard-Examiner publication. A Roy man accused of punching and killing an infant in 2017 has pleaded guilty to avoid a potential death sentence. Standard-Examiner 2019220 On Feb. 20, Graves, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated murder. Now, prosecutors will not seek the death penalty in the case, and they also dropped a misdemeanor drug charge and a felony charge of allowing a child to be exposed to a controlled substance, according to the report. Prosecutors said he should get 25 years to life in prison, but the decision will be made by a judge during Graves sentencing. He was arrested shortly after police were told that a 1-month-old child wasnt breathing, and the child was taken to Ogden Regional Medical Center before it was taken by helicopter to Primary Childrens Hospital in Salt Lake City, according to the paper. A Roy father has pleaded guilty in the beating death of his newborn son, part of an agreement with prosecutors that spares him a possible death sentence. KSL.com 2019221 Doctors later discovered the child had a number of injuries that were not accidental. They told police the baby had profound brain trauma, the report said. The Deseret News, meanwhile, reported the baby suffered from skull fractures and separated vertebrae. Deputy Weber County Attorney Letitia Toombs said last year that Graves woke up to the sound of the child in September 2017 and then attacked the child before placing a pacifier in its mouth to pacify it. Graves later dropped off a 5-year-old living in the home to daycare and took the infant with him. Pure evil Daily Mail 2019221 He noticed the infant wasnt breathing and called his grandmother before calling 911. Graves then told police that he punched the child because it was crying, according to officials. Graves said he blacked out from rage when the incident unfolded, police said. Matthew made comments that he is a monster, that he has lost all hope in life and is going to lose everything, an affidavit said. He is slated to appear in court on March 2 for sentencing. Death Penalty Find Law says the death penalty is a legal sentence for a number of crimes under Utahs criminal statutes, and the state has put more than 50 people to death over its history. Utah is one of several states to use a firing squad during executions. Lethal injection is also offered, and, according to Find Law, if the person doesnt select, they will get lethal injection by default. Meanwhile, attorneys for death row inmate Michael Anthony Archuleta, who was found guilty in 1989 for killing a student, are trying to appeal his execution. Archuleta, 55, is one of nine men on Utahs death row, The Associated Press reported. Archuletas attorney, Charlotte Merril, said her clients previous counsel was conflicted, underqualified and underfunded and failed to see the red flags of Archuletas disability, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Lawyers with the state countered by arguing that Archuletas attorneys waited until the last moment to raise the concern in an effort to delay appeals that have stretched for decades. Fox13 reported that Archuleta is slated to die via firing squad. Hes never presented any good evidence at all that he is intellectually disabled. But the second point, of course, is he withheld this for many years, even more than a decade as a tactical delay, assistant Utah Attorney General Andrew Peterson told reporters last year. The Associated Press contributed to this report. U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (R) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, United States, on February 22, 2019. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria) US Meeting With Chinese Delegation Extended as Trump Describes Progress on Trade Talks At a press briefing at the Oval Office on Feb. 22, President Donald Trump and U.S. officials said the Chinese delegation who arrived in Washington for trade talks this week will be extending their trip because negotiations were going well. They will continue meeting with the American delegation over the weekend and depart the U.S. capital on Sunday evening or Monday, Trump told reporters, with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He also in attendance. The president also confirmed that a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to work out the final pointsof a trade deal was being planned for sometime in March, probably at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida resort that Trump owns, he said. The two sides have met in Beijing and Washington in recent weeks as part of ongoing negotiations after Trump and Xi agreed to a 90-day truce to stave off U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports from escalating, during a December 2018 meeting at the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Argentina. Though the initial deadline was for both sides to reach a trade agreement by March 1, Trump said on Feb. 22 that he was open to extending the deadline. Trump also said that the two sides have negotiated a deal regarding Chinas currency manipulation, though he did not provide further details. Asked by reporters about the prospects of finalizing a trade deal, Trump said, the fact that theyre willing to stay longer means something, adding that he believed there was a good chance a deal could be reached. Both parties want to make it a meaningful deal that is beneficial for both countries, Trump said. Liu, speaking through a translator, said, We believe it is very likely that it will happen. The Chinese side is ready to make the utmost effort. When asked whether the two sides have reached a compromise regarding structural reforms in China such as the issue of forced technology transfers, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the two sides made a lot of progress. As the trade dispute simmered, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted Chinese tech giant Huawei and its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou for allegedly skirting U.S. sanctions on Iran. Meng is currently out on bail in Canada as she awaits an extradition hearing. Asked whether Mengs case would be part of the trade deal, Trump said it has not been discussed, but the trade delegation would touch upon it in the next couple of weeks with the U.S. Attorney General about whether that would be a possibility. The Chinese trade delegation also read out to Trump a message from Xi: It is my hope that our two sides will continue to work together in a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation and could redouble our efforts so as to meet each other halfway and reach an agreement that works for our mutual benefit, according to a White House pool report. Xi also gave Trump greetings for the Lunar New Year holidays and said he was ready to be in close touch with you through various means, the message said. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (4thL), Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (3rdL), Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro pose for a photograph with China's Vice Premier Liu He (4thR), Chinese vice ministers and senior officials before the start of US-China trade talks at the White House in Washington, DC on Feb. 21, 2019. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) US Chamber of Commerce Urges Comprehensive US-China Trade Deal WASHINGTONThe U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 22 said gaps remain in the ongoing trade talks between the United States and China, particularly around structural issues, but urged both sides to make a comprehensive deal as soon as possible. Officials for the nations top business lobbying group, who said they had been engaged with those familiar with the talks, told reporters in a conference call that they also expected negotiations to continue past the March 1 deadline. U.S. and Chinese negotiators are meeting in Washington this week, seeking to hammer out a deal that would avert a scheduled increase in U.S. levies after that date, to 25 percent from 10 percent, on $200 billion worth of goods. To us, the date is not magical. Whats important is to get a comprehensive sustainable agreement, said the Chambers executive vice president and head of international affairs Myron Brilliant, noting he did not expect either side to impose more tariffs or increase existing ones as long as the talks continue to be constructive. Brilliant, whose group says it represents three million companies, said so far the trade war between the worlds two largest economies has increased business costs with the impact of tariffs continuing to mount. We want to go back to business, but not business as usual, Brilliant said, emphasizing that it was important for any deal to address the core U.S. concerns around Chinese business practices as well as ensure sustainable enforcement. President Donald Trump was scheduled to meet Beijings Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the White House later on Friday. The two countries have been embroiled in a tit-for-tat tariff battle since the middle of 2018 that has cost both economies billions. Trump has said next weeks deadline may slip. By David Lawder A convoy of US forces armoured vehicles drives near the village of Yalanli, on the western outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Manbij, on March 5, 2017. (Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images) Trump to Leave 200 Troops in Syria, Graham Applauds Decision President Donald Trump will leave 200 American troops in Syria, the White House said on Feb. 21. The United States began operations in the country in late 2014 to try and eradicate ISIS, the Islamist terrorist group, and under Trump decimated large parts of the organization, prompting the president in December 2018 to announce American troops would be leaving the country. We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency, Trump said on Twitter. Some 2,000 troops remained in the country when Trump announced the withdrawal, which began on Dec. 19. These victories over ISIS in Syria do not signal the end of the Global Coalition or its campaign, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement at the time. We have started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign. On Feb. 21, Sanders said, A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for [a] period of time. The statement didnt include any other information, such as where the troops would be stationed. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) applauded the move. This will ensure ISIS does not return and Iran does not fill the vacuum that would have been left if we completely withdrew. This also ensures Turkey and SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] elements that helped us defeat ISIS will not go into conflict, he said in a statement. A safe zone in Syria made up of international forces is the best way to achieve our national security objectives of continuing to contain Iran, ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS, protecting our Turkish allies, and securing the Turkish border with Syria. With this decision, President Trump has decided to follow sound military advice. This decision will ensure that we will not repeat the mistakes of Iraq, in Syria. For a small fraction of the forces we have had in Syria, we can accomplish our national security objectives. Also on Thursday, the White House said Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke and agreed to continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone, reported the Wall Street Journal. The safe zone would ensure Turkey doesnt attack Kurdish-led forces, who have assisted the United States in the fight against ISIS. My statement on President @realDonaldTrump decision to leave 200 American troops in Syria. pic.twitter.com/OA5apTumm5 Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) February 22, 2019 Civilians Leave Last ISIS-Held Territory in Syria Small trucks carrying disheveled men, women, and children left ISISs last pocket of territory in eastern Syria in an escorted convoy on Friday, hours after U.S.-led coalition airstrikes meant to pressure the terrorists targeted the area on the banks of the Euphrates River. At least 36 trucks and two buses were seen leaving the through a humanitarian corridor from the terrorists territory in the remote village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border. They were escorted by gun-mounted pick-up trucks belonging to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. As the convoy passed, automatic machine gun fire could be heard in the distance and coalition aircraft flew overhead. Some 300 ISIS terrorists, along with hundreds of civilians believed to be mostly their families, have been under siege for more than a week in the tent camp in Baghouz. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) surrounding the patch of land have been unable to carry out a final assault on it because of the presence of the civilians. An SDF spokesman, Mustafa Bali, said there were coalition airstrikes and intermittent clashes earlier Friday with the terrorists, meant to pressure them into allowing the last civilians to leave. For this evacuation to be a success, there [needs to be] military action, Bali added. The presence of so many civilians in Baghouzand possibly senior members of the extremist grouphas slowed down the expected defeat of ISIS. In the past few weeks, nearly 20,000 people had left Baghouz through the humanitarian corridor, leaving the ISIS holdouts on foot, but the terrorists then closed the passage and no civilians left for a week until Wednesday, when a large group was evacuated. Bali suggested many more civilians were inside, in caves and tunnels under the tents as well as surrounding homes and buildings. On the convoy that left Baghouz on Friday, civilians could be seen through the flaps of the flatbed trucks. Women, covered from head to toe in black and wearing gloves, were seen hanging on to the metal bar of a truck. A boy, who appeared to be about 9 or 10 years old, pleaded to get out of the truck, saying he had stomach problems. The escorts stopped to let him out into the desert briefly. Asked what the situation was like inside the village, he replied, Not good. The Associated Press contributed to this report. From NTD News The Fake News Knife Cuts Both Ways Commentary Attorneys for Nicholas Sandmann, a student at Covington Catholic High School, filed a $250 million lawsuit against The Washington Post for defamation. According to the suit, In a span of three (3) days in January of this year commencing on January 19, the Post engaged in a modern-day form of McCarthyism by competing with CNN and NBC, among others, to claim leadership of a mainstream and social media mob of bullies which attacked, vilified, and threatened Nicholas Sandmann, an innocent secondary school child. Sandmann was featured in a viral video that showed him in a confrontation with a Native American man named Nathan Phillips. Sandmann and his friends were waiting for a bus in Washington when they were approached and harassed by Phillips. But some news outlets showed edited video, falsely making it appear as though the students started the confrontation. [The] Post conveyed that Nicholas engaged in acts of racism by swarming Phillips, blocking his exit away from the students, and otherwise engaging in racist misconduct, the suit says. The Post ignored basic journalist standards because it wanted to advance its well-known and easily documented, biased agenda against President Donald J. Trump by impugning individuals perceived to be supporters of the President. This lawsuit highlights a major fault line in the United Stateslegacy media has a credibility problem. And it follows two other massive media blunders within the first two months of 2019. In January, Buzzfeed published a story suggesting that Trump ordered his former attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress. Left-leaning media organizations ran with the story and plastered wall-to-wall coverage at every opportunity. But so flagrant was this lie that the office of special counsel Robert Muellerknown for its ability to stay tight-lipped about the ongoing investigationwas forced to intervene, issuing a public statement, saying, BuzzFeeds description of specific statements to the Special Counsels Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohens Congressional testimony are not accurate. Shortly after the Covington incident, there were calls for politicians, media organizations, and even regular Americans to pause and wait for all the facts before passing judgment on the next breaking news story. That lasted all of five seconds. Because, during the last week of January, the media pounced on the salacious tale of Jussie Smollett, who claimed that he was victimized in a hate crime that was perpetrated by Trump supporters. The story was vociferously reported by major news outlets. And politicians and pundits showed they had not learned their lesson from the first two hoax stories of 2019 and were almost giddy in their rush to judgment. Sen. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) blamed Trump for the alleged attack, saying, Hes separating and dividing, and he is basically emboldening those folks who feel this way. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) called it a modern-day lynching. CNNs April Ryan said, This attack on Jussie Smollett is a hate crime and should be treated as such! Democrat Fox News contributor Richard Fowler said in a tweet, To be clear, Jussie Smollett is being hospitalized for a disgusting and heinous HATE CRIME based both on Jussies race and his sexuality-the intersectionality here matters! Being black and #LGBTQ in America is harder than ppl think. #JusticeForJussie The commentariat, yet again, proved its complete irrelevance. Within hours of the first reports, the official story began to fall apart. And, as of Feb 20, we knew that the attackers werent white Trump supporters, but were Nigerian, knew Smollett personally, and said Smollett paid them to participate in the alleged attack on January 29 and that they purchased the ropewhich was found around Smolletts neckat a nearby hardware store. To run headfirst into a blunder of such cosmic proportions, immediately after two other cases of high-profile fake news, requires someone to not just be beyond the pretense of objectivity, but pathological in their desire for outrage. Whether for ratings or for politics, the pursuit of the facts is secondary to maintaining their delusional preferred narrative. Its disgusting. Fake news is real and we are right to call it out. The Federalist, Daily Caller, and The Epoch Times (among others) have curated lists of fake news and fake hate crimes in the Trump-era. These lists should remind us all to not reflexively believe mainstream news, particularly on a story that clearly has an anti-conservative bias. Recent events show us that there are consequences to shoddy, misleading reporting. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh nearly had his good name ruined from false allegations pushed breathlessly by the media. Covington Catholic High School was forced to close for a day after students received death threats because of the medias lies. But that knife cuts both ways. And Sandmanns attorneys just gave the media 250 million reasons why they need to do better. Adrian Norman is a writer and political commentator. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Supreme Court Applies Constitutional Ban on Excessive Fines to States In a major victory for limited-government advocates, the Supreme Court unanimously found that a constitutional ban on excessive fines that Indiana had argued applies only to the federal government applies to all U.S. states. Civil libertarians have long complained that asset forfeitures arising from criminal convictions and cases in which a person is merely suspected of a crime can be arbitrary and excessive. Todays ruling should go a long way to curtailing what is often called policing for profitwhere police and prosecutors employ forfeiture to take someones property then sell it, and keep the profits to fund their departments, Wesley Hottot, a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice who argued the case Nov. 28 last year, said in a statement after the court released the decision. This gives them a direct financial incentive to abuse this power and impose excessive fines. During oral arguments last year, Hottot said the case was about constitutional housekeeping. The ruling, which compels states to abide by the Eighth Amendments excessive fines clause, may embolden others whose assets have been seized to challenge those forfeitures in court. Those legal challenges may drive states and localities that rely on forfeitures to find new sources of revenue. The Feb. 20 decision overturns a ruling by the Indiana Supreme Court that the state was entitled to keep a 2012 Land Rover LR2 valued at $42,000 that was confiscated from Tyson Timbs. Timbs used the vehicle when selling a total of $385 worth of heroin to undercover police, a crime for which he was convicted. He entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to a year of house arrest and five years of probation, but no prison time. The legal theory behind asset forfeiture is that because the vehicle was used to commit a crime, it becomes an instrument of the crime and can be seized. A private law firm sued on behalf of the state to force Timbs to forfeit the vehicle. Although the original trial court found Timbs used his car to transport heroin, it held that seizing it would be grossly disproportionate to the offense and, therefore, unconstitutional. The decision was reversed on appeal. Tyson paid his debts to society, Hottot said after this weeks ruling. He took responsibility for what he did. He paid fees. He is in drug treatment. He is holding down a job. He is staying clean. Our hope and goal now is to get back his vehicle from the police so Tyson will have an easier time getting to all the different commitments he has, to stay on the straight and narrow. The Supreme Courts official opinion was written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who turns 86 on March 15. Ginsburg has been away from the bench for much of this year recovering from surgery. For good reason, the protection against excessive fines has been a constant shield throughout Anglo-American history: Exorbitant tolls undermine other constitutional liberties, Ginsburg wrote. Excessive fines have long been used to retaliate against or chill the speech of political enemies, she wrote. Even absent a political motive, fines may be employed in a measure out of accord with the penal goals of retribution and deterrence, for fines are a source of revenue, while other forms of punishment cost a State money. This concern is scarcely hypothetical. She wrote that the Excessive Fines Clause traces its venerable lineage back to at least 1215, when Magna Carta guaranteed that [a] Free-man shall not be amerced for a small fault, but after the manner of the fault; and for a great fault after the greatness thereof, saving to him his contenement Despite Magna Carta, imposition of excessive fines persisted. The 17th-century Stuart kings, in particular, were criticized for using large fines to raise revenue, harass their political foes, and indefinitely detain those unable to pay When James II was overthrown in the Glorious Revolution, the attendant English Bill of Rights reaffirmed Magna Cartas guarantee by providing that excessive Bail ought not to be required, nor excessive Fines imposed; nor cruel and unusual Punishments inflicted. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas filed separate opinions concurring with the judgment, but disagreeing with the reasoning adopted by the court. Sen. Bernie Sanders at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 30, 2019. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders Refuses to Call for Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro to Step Down Socialist 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) refused to recognize Juan Guaido as Venezuelas interim president and would not call on socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro to step down during an interview with Univision. Sanders admitted that Maduro has been abusive to the Venezuelan people, but did not call on him to step down. In refusing to recognize Guaido, Sanders aligned himself with a handful of current and former communist regimesincluding China, North Korea, Cuba, and Russiawhich are backing Maduro. Meanwhile, more than 50 free world nations have followed the lead of the United States to recognize Guaido. Do you consider Juan Guaido the legitimate president of Venezuela, asked Jorge Ramos, the host of Al Punto, a Sunday talk show. No, Sanders answered. I think what has to happen right now, I think there are serious questions about the recent election. There are many people who feel it was a fraudulent election. And I think the United States has got to work with the international community to make sure there is a free and fair election. Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) refused to call for Nicolas Maduro to step down and did not recognize Juan Guaido as Venezuelas leader during an interview with Jorge Ramos. pic.twitter.com/dVZ5CK5N3P Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) February 21, 2019 Sanders is referring to the re-election of Maduro, which the United States and international observers consider a sham. Venezuelas elected National Assembly ousted Maduro in January declaring his presidency illegitimate. Guaido, the assemblys leader, assumed the interim presidency. Maduro has refused to step down and continued to control the military and other branches of the government. President Donald Trump immediately recognized Guaido as the legitimate leader of Venezuela. Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, instituted socialist policies in Venezuela, crippling the once oil-rich nations economy leading to widespread poverty and famine. More than three million Venezuelans have fled the desolation, triggering a humanitarian crisis in neighboring nations. Is Nicolas Maduro a dictator, senator, for you? And should he go? Ramos asked. Without agreeing, Sanders said that Maduro has been very abusive but did not say the socialist dictator should step down. This is a decision of the Venezuelan people, Sanders said. So I think, Jorge there has got to be a free and fair election. Sanders is a self-described socialist and has advocated for decades for socialist policies like Medicare for All, free college tuition, the $15 minimum wage, and the Green New Deal. Sanderss alignment with current and former communist regimes is significant considering his past with the Soviet Union. Sanders traveled there for his honeymoon. The Vermont senator praised the communist system and argued that breadlines are a good thing. Video 2. After his 1988 trip to the Soviet Union, @BernieSanders praises their (communist) youth programs and his wife Jane praises their (communist) system of not separating personal life and work. pic.twitter.com/Le8c87gG7f The Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) February 20, 2019 Since Maduro was declared illegitimate, the United States has shipped tons of aid to Venezuelas borders, but Maduro ordered the aid to be blocked. On Feb. 21, Guaido left Caracas along with 80 elected legislators and headed to the border to accept the aid. On Feb. 23, the military, which is guarding the barrier, will be forced to decide whether to allow Guaido to receive the aid or continue following Maduros orders. Trump warned the Venezuelan military against harming citizens, suggesting commanding officers stand to lose everything if they continue siding with Maduro. The president has positioned Venezuela as another step toward purging communism and socialism from South America and paving the way toward a fully free western hemisphere. Past President of the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia Paul Druitt saw Shen Yun in Perth's Regal Theatre, Western Australia, on Feb. 20, 2019. (Victor Bernal/NTD Television) PERTH, AustraliaShen Yun Performing Arts dancers captivated Western Australians with flawless choreography at the second performance in Perth on Feb. 20. Paul Druitt, former president of the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, described Shen Yuns sequence of dance steps and movements as just fantastic. They just didnt miss a thing. I thought someone is going to make a mistake but they didnt. How can they do all that? he said. They are very well rehearsed, absolutely beautiful, and synchronized. Having previously visited Mainland China back in the 1980s, Druitt is very aware of the Chinese regimes persecution of different spiritual practices and pleasantly surprised to see freedom of belief included in Shen Yun performances. I did not expect that, he said. We know from our Christian background and interests those sorts of situations [exist]. He was very impressed by the combination of 3-D animated backgrounds and dance movements to add an extra dimension to stories. How they synchronized that its just, apart from ongoing musicals, I have never seen anything like that, Druitt said. It was just amazing, absolutely amazing. Druitt commended New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts on preserving Chinas 5,000-year history, which communism sought to eradicate during the 1960s Cultural Revolution. [A] divine culture they are portraying it and living it today, which they dont want to lose and thats incredible, he said. It is important that it is portrayed because we dont want to lose that part of history, very important history. Australian stand-up comedian Maria Herman felt as though Shen Yun transported her to another world with its color and music. Its like being transported somewhere else. Its phenomenal, Im loving it I mean its so fluid and colorful and the men and the women [on stage] are just amazing, she said. They are acrobats and performers and dancers and actors and actresses, they are everything together. Its really a spectacular. Herman, who usually lives in the United States, recently visited Mainland China for three weeks but found nothing in theaters that compared to Shen Yunwhich is based in New York. I felt like I kind of went to a live movie because with the action going on in the background, with the screen coming to life in all that digital imagery kind of melding together with the live performance, it just really felt like something new, she said. Like a completely new kind of performance without a static background, something that the two gel together was fantastic, Ive never seen that before, I loved it, I really loved it. She also believes Shen Yuns live orchestra plays better music than anything she heard during her visit to China, and decided to buy the official soundtrack CD after learning they are for sale. It was very soothing, Herman said. The music that I heard in China that was traditional wasnt [very appealing] to me, I mean it was awakening and this feels a lot more soothing to me if you had a CD Id probably buy one. Independent property investor Carmel Morrissey said the dancing took her breath away. The dancing was breathtaking, just wonderful, I loved it, she said. I knew there would be a lot of color and the costumes, [but] I really didnt know it was going to be so outstanding and so emotional. Surgical patient care assistant Brine Maley found the performances to be very ethnically diverse, which many audience members dont think of when they think of China. [I liked] how the performance worked systematically through their cultures, and bringing in some of the nomadic people, she said. I found all these ethnic groups incredible it just gave an incredible insight into the ancient history. Maley could sense Shen Yun dancers love for the divine beauty through their high level of skill and agility. It gave me a sense of how that spirit moves from everybody and in every culture, she said. No matter how different, vastly different they dress and they appear, we are all the same. Theatergoer Helen Atlen Scott loves Shen Yun so much she returned to watch it for the fourth year. Theres no word in the English language that describes such beauty, talent, and magic, she said. The last episode it brought me to tears and I really honestly [hope] everyone in Australia should see this show, as well as China. Even though Atlen Scott had seen Shen Yun many times, she said she still felt a magical awe about the performance. She promised to return to see Shen Yun once again. With reporting by NTD Television, Michele Webster, and Richard Szabo. The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time and has covered audience reactions since the companys inception in 2006. PERTH, AustraliaShen Yun Performing Arts continued to captivate audiences at its third show at Perths Regal Theater in Western Australia, on Feb. 20, 2019. Film and theater transcriptionist Pamela Sistrunk said she was blown away after witnessing Shen Yun perform on stage. Its a choreographers dream, I think exactly what it is, just to find a group of people like that, that can move like that. You only dream about it, said Sistrunk, who has worked several years as a performance director and choreographer. Oh my goodness it was fabulous, I was just simply in awe. The dancers expressed beauty through their balance, lines and hand gestures according to Sistrunk. It wasnt just their hands, it was their arms, their shoulder, their head, everything, she said. They were perfect, absolutely perfect, we loved it. She enjoyed the show so much, she even wanted to join the dancers onstage, but found simply watching them was already a feast for the senses. Id dance with them [but] I think Im [already] exhausted from it, Sistrunk said. I really very loved it, I really did. I [would] love to come again. She applauded Shen Yun for standing-up for freedom of belief by exposing the Chinese communist regimes ongoing persecution of spiritual practices like Falun Dafa. Its wonderful, that they have spoken out, and brought it to the attention of the world, Sistrunk said. Theres a lot of people too that are too frightened to say anything Im glad they spoke out about that, there should be more people that do that. 5,000 Years Others who have an interest in Asian cultures found Shen Yun to be valuable in learning more about Chinese traditions. Shen Yuns portrayal of 5,000 years of Chinese culture, with bilingual emceeing in both Chinese and English, helped gold mine supervisor Mark Hayman foster a better understanding of Chinas cultural diversity. It was great with the explanations before the stanza so you had a background of what was going to happen, he said. It was truly indicated in the dance, you could see the story and the messages portrayed, its really enjoyable. Hayman also gained a deep admiration of classical Chinese dance and other traditions through watching the performances. [They have a] rich, colorful, and very old history it is interesting to know that is where it originated from, he said. [I also discovered] some of the different traditional roles Chinese people play in life, old ideals, expectations and stereotypes it is truly an enlightening experience. While watching the performance, disabilities support service team leader Caroline Moore felt as though she was travelling back in time to the golden age of emperors. The whole thing almost felt like you were being transported back, which was very interesting, she said. Very flexible dancers, it was very engaging, I liked all the different dance moves theyre very highly qualified dancers, very engaging, lots of color and prepare to be amazed. Moore also thought Shen Yun very creatively raised the issue of human rights through contrasting scenes of ancient China with modern-day China. I quite like the storytelling, so seeing that through dance is pretty interesting I did like how it highlighted the persecution, she said. They had the modern city in the background, it really brought into perspective that its still going on. Former medical orthopedics secretary Pat Timms thoroughly enjoyed the performances colorful journey through Chinas multi-millennial history. Some of them were very peaceful, some were quite moving and got your emotions going, [I] thoroughly enjoyed it, [it] was very well done, she said. Costumes are beautiful, and the precision absolutely beautiful. Joy and Light Former Australian Tax Office clerical officer Jenny Williams found plenty of joy in watching the Shen Yun dancers. There was some humor that lightened it a bit, she said. [Their costumes] are so colorful and beautiful and they float so beautifully, and the dancers used them to enhance the dance. Williams previously toured several cities across Mainland China in 2005 and found Shen Yuns portrayal of traditional Chinese culture to be a good reminder of her journey, the countrys divine past and continuing oppression of spiritual beliefs in China. There is always hope there was a lot of angels coming from the clouds, if people believe that then if it gives them hope, thats great, she said. The more we converse with China, visit China and get to know Chinese people that we have more influence on them and maybe the powers that be may take that on board. With reporting by NTD Television and Richard Szabo. The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time and has covered audience reactions since the companys inception in 2006. Sexual Torture of Detained Falun Dafa Adherents Rampant: Rights Lawyer Virtually all Falun Dafa prisoners of conscience in China, both male and female, are subjected to sexual torture, says Gao Zhisheng Editors note: The Epoch Times is publishing a number of articles exposing the use of torture by the Chinese regime against the groups it targets, and the suffering and harm it causes to those subjected to it. After acclaimed human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng began investigating the Chinese Communist Partys campaign of persecution against adherents of the Falun Dafa spiritual practice, he was horrified at the scale of the brutality. But what shocked him most was the discovery that, among the wide variety of torture methods used on Falun Dafa prisoners of conscience, sexual torture was routine and widespreadof both women and men. Among the true accounts of unbelievable brutality, among the records of the governments inhuman torture of its own people, the immoral acts that shocked my soul the most were the lewd yet routine practice of attacking womens genitals by 6-10 Office staff and the police, Gao wrote in an open letter to top regime officials in 2005. Almost every womans genitals and breasts or every mans genitals have been sexually assaulted during the persecution in a most vulgar fashion. Almost all who have been persecuted, be they male or female, were first stripped naked before any torture. No language or words could describe or re-create our governments vulgarity and immorality in this respect. Who with a warm body could afford to stay silent when faced with such truths? Gao, a Christian, was himself sexually tortured, including having toothpicks jabbed into his genitals, according to Dark Night, Dark Hood, and Kidnapping by Dark Mafia, an account he wrote of being physically and emotionally tortured for more than 50 days while in custody in 2007. Two people stretched out my arms and pinned them to the ground. They used toothpicks to pierce my genitals. There are no words to describe the helplessness, pain, and despair that I felt then, he wrote. Gaos sense of justice was so strong that he took the risk of writing three open letters to regime officials between December 2004 and December 2005 urging them to end their persecution of practitioners of Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong). The campaign was launched in 1999 by then-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin who feared the immense popularity of the traditional practice, which had 70-100 million adherents by the late 90s. Gaos letters, however, incurred the wrath of the regime and they went after him with a vengeance, leading to numerous detentions and savage torture over the past dozen yearsdespite his standing as one of Chinas most respected human rights lawyers. In 2001, the Ministry of Justice named Gao one of the countrys top 10 lawyers for his pro bono work on public interest cases. Born April 20, 1964, he grew up in a very poor family that couldnt afford to send him to school, but he learned by listening outside the classroom window. He eventually took a law course and opened a practice after passing the bar exam. He is often referred to as the conscience of China and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times. The Hope of China Tomorrow Gao was unflinching in his criticism of the CCPs rights abuses and unrelenting in his quest for justice for the Chinese people, and he paid the price. His law license was revoked and his practice shut down in 2005. In August 2006, after numerous death threats and continued harassment, he disappeared while visiting his sisters family. That was followed by a three-year jail sentence that was commuted to five years probation. He was taken into custody again in September 2007 and thats when he was tortured for over 50 days. In September 2007, Gao wrote an open letter to the U.S. Congress decrying the lack of religious freedom in China and the Partys persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, House Christians, and Tibetan Buddhists. The letter also slammed the regime for the suppression of human rights lawyers, crimes against property owners and farmers, corruption of the legal system, and allowing rampant pollution of lakes and rivers. Also in 2007, Gaos memoir A China More Just was published in English in the United States. In one chapter he criticized the CCP for employing the most savage, most immoral, and most illegal means to torture our mothers, torture our wives, torture our children, and torture our brothers and sisters and renounced his Party membership. The constant monitoring, harassment, detentions, torture, and disappearances continued, despite condemnation by the United Nations and other international organizations and individuals. Soon after he was released from a stint in jail in August 2014 and placed under house arrest, Gao escaped, despite being in poor health. He spent about three weeks on the run before his recapture the following month. He hasnt been seen or heard from since. Gaos wife and two children escaped to the United States in 2009, fleeing China through Thailand. At the launch in Hong Kong of The Year 2017: Stand Up, China, a book Gao wrote during one of his house arrests and released in 2016, his daughter, Grace Geng, said reading the book only increased her respect and admiration for her father. I think he is a very strong person. I am very confident that my father is one of the most sober men this era in China. He and those striving [for the betterment of China] are the glory of China today and the hope of China tomorrow. I am proud of them, said Geng, who hasnt seen her father in 10 years. To him, for whatever he thinks is right, he is prepared to bear the consequences. I think what is important [for him] is to have no fear; if it is right, if it is something righteous, be persistent and finish it. Falun Dafa practitioner Yin Liping shows a photo of Masanjia Labour Camp to congressional representatives at a hearing on Capitol Hill on April 14, 2016. Yin was a victim of torture and gang rape while incarcerated at Masanjia. (Minghui.org) Sexual Torture in Chinese Prisons: No Limits to the Perversion Editors note: The Epoch Times is publishing a number of articles exposing the use of torture by the Chinese regime against the groups it targets, and the suffering and harm it causes to those subjected to it. Despite torture being officially forbidden in China, it is widely and systematically used across the countrys vast prison system, human rights organizations say. A big part of the brutality is sexual torture, which alone is known to be especially effective in humiliating victims and breaking down their defences. According to the NGO International Society for Human Rights, victims are sexually abused either by police or prison guards, or stripped naked and thrown into cells with male inmates. The guards make it clear to the inmates that they can abuse the women without fear of punishment. The perversion of some of the members of these Chinese security institutions has no limits, according to torture survivors, the organization says on its website. Amnesty International reports that sexual torture has been used against Uighur Muslim political prisoners in the Xinjiang region of northwest China for years. Some have been tortured with particularly cruel methods which, to Amnesty Internationals knowledge, are not being used elsewhere in China. This includes the insertion of horse hair into the penis, or a special wire with small spikes which fold flat when inserted but extend when it is pulled out. Amnesty has also reported that Tibetan women have been sexually tortured, including a group of nuns who were stripped, brutally beaten, and sexually assaulted with electric batonsall while male prisoners looked on. The use of sexual torture on Falun Dafa prisoners of conscience is especially rampant. According to Minghui.org, there have been thousands of cases of sexual torture among Falun Dafa prisoners of conscience, both male and female. Minghui documents the campaign of persecution launched by the Chinese Communist Party against Falun Dafa practitioners in 1999. Well-known human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who travelled to several provinces around the mid-2000s to investigate abuses against practitioners while they were detained, said almost all Falun Dafa prisoners, male and female, have been sexually tortured. Gao himself was relentlessly tortured and subjected to sexual violence after he was detained for exposing the dire situation for practitioners, including having his genitals pierced with toothpicks. Minghui reports that rape is consistently and systematically used as a means to humiliate and traumatize female Falun Dafa prisoners of conscience. In one infamous case at the notorious Masanjia Forced Labour Camp, guards put 18 female practitioners in the mens cells and encouraged the men to rape them, which led to the deaths, disability, or mental instability of the victims. In April 2016, Yin Liping, a Falun Dafa practitioner who was rescued to the United States from China, recounted at a Congressional Executive Commission on China hearing her experience of being tortured to the verge of death on several occasions while incarcerated at Masanjia. She was also subjected to sexual torture. Yin told the hearing that one day she and eight other Falun Dafa practitioners were taken to a so-called black jail to be raped by the male inmates. She was locked in a room with four men who beat her until she passed out and then gang-raped her. She realized when she regained consciousness that the assault had been videotaped, further adding to her distress and humiliation. According to the website Status of Chinese People, at least 100 different torture methods are used on Falun Dafa prisoners of conscience in China. These include rape, molestation, shocking genitals with electric batons, rape with foreign objects (including toilet brushes and batons), shoving hot peppers into the vagina, pinching and pulling nipples of both men and women even to the point of tearing them off, kicking genitals, forcefully administering drugs that cause menstruation to cease, forced abortion, and more. Senators Denied Murray-Darling Law Advice The federal government will keep secret legal advice it says proves the Murray-Darling Basin Plan does not breach the Water Act. The federal government has refused to release advice to show that the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is indeed in line with Commonwealth law. Despite scathing findings from the South Australian royal commission questioning the legality of the plan, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority is urging federal and state governments to remain faithful to it. The inquiry found the Water Act had been breached but the government denies that, based on the secret legal advice. Assistant Water Minister Richard Colbeck told Senate estimates on Feb. 22 that the government was following a long-standing practice to not release sensitive legal advice. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young and fellow South Australian Rex Patrick accused the government of withholding important information from the public. They both want the plan to be overhauled, pointing to the royal commission as evidence it has failed.This is a train smash. If you can see the train about to go off the track then you can stop it, Senator Patrick said. Murray-Darling Basin Authority chief executive Phillip Glyde said the best way to manage water for communities, industry, and the environment was to stay the course with the 12-year plan. Theres been a train crash in relation to the Murray-Darling Basin for 50 years or more. There is a solution in place, Glyde said. Senator Colbeck warned major changes would destroy the political consensus it was built on, undermining its aims. While commissioner Bret Walker found there had been serious maladministration by the MDBA, Glyde said they couldnt find any evidence in the report to back up the claim. The government is also weighing up the Productivity Commissions recommendation it be split into two bodies, a management body and a regulator. MDBA compliance officer executive directors Russell James said the perceived conflict was overstated. There is a view in some of the reports that the authority is marking its own homework. I dont think that assessment is correct, James said. By Matt Coughlan Watch Next: Australian Vietnamese Community Has Warning About Communist China Yesterday is Tibet, today is Vietnam, and tomorrow is Australia, they say. A view of Gantry Plaza State Park along the waterfront in Long Island City, February 14, 2019 in the Queens borough of New York City. Amazon said on Thursday that they are cancelling plans to build a corporate headquarters in Long Island City, Queens after coming under harsh opposition from some local lawmakers and residents. Drew Angerer/Getty Images Searching for Common Ground Commentary Are people who disagree with us necessarily evil? Of course not. While advocating, defending, or fighting for our own principles and positions, harboring feelings of animosity toward our opponents is a poison that can rob us of our happiness and health. When I was in law school at Michigan nearly half a century ago, my criminal law professor shared a statement that Ive never forgotten. He said that a clever person focuses on how he is different from others, while a wise person focuses on what he has in common with others. (Thank you, professor Kamisar.) Recently, I found a point of agreement with a hardcore socialist. While doing some research about the allegations of sexual assault leveled against Virginias Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, I came across an article from the World Socialist Web Site. The author, Barry Grey, made two points that agreed with my conservative values: 1) Fairfax should not be denied due process of law; and 2) we cant automatically accept as true every allegation of sexual assault. (Anyone familiar with the 1955 torture-murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till, whose female accuser recanted years later, would resist the siren call to always believe women.) I disagree with Greys overall politics. In his article, he laments the removal of Al Franken from the Senate after he was accused of minor sexual improprieties. His reason: Frankens resignation shifted the balance of the Senate slightly toward the conservative side, rendering abortion rights less secure. Aha, I thought. Would Grey have defended pro-life Brett Kavanaughs right to due process last fall during Justice Kavanaughs confirmation hearings? I went first to the Socialist Worker website, where I found a collection of opinions from eight of its contributors. Every single one of them called for Kavanaughs scalp, due process be damned. But when I tracked down Greys Oct. 4 commentary on the Kavanaugh hearings, he unflinchingly rebuked the Democratic lynch mob for rejecting the presumption of innocence and for showing contempt for basic democratic rights, including due process. Bravo! While I remain miles apart from Greys political goals, I commend him for his integrity and courage in adhering faithfully to crucial principles of justice. Cronyism There is another recent issue where I find myself in agreement with a large number of people on the left. When Amazon announced that it was abandoning its plan to expand its headquarters into Queens, New York, the left exulted for a variety of reasons, most of them nonsensical and riddled with standard class-warfare boilerplate. Typical of the latter, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) effusively wrote on Twitter, Today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers & their neighbors defeated Amazons corporate greed, its worker exploitation, and the power of the richest man in the world. What actually happened was that Amazon decided to walk away from nearly $3 billion in tax breaks because of the financial beating they were facing from a cabal of NYC unions and politicians. Whatever greed Amazon was guilty of was exceeded by the unions greed. The scheme that had been hatched in the cesspool of Big Apple politics was that Amazon would be lured by tax breaks, and then the unions would latch onto Amazon and leech billions away from it. Amazon was being wooed as the patsy, or the conduit, through which the $3 billion of tax breakstax breaks that would have to be covered by the rest of the local taxpayerswould pass through Amazon and end up in the pockets of unions and other political insiders. What Ocasio-Cortez called the power of the richest man in the world (Jeff Bezos) was no match for the power of the NYC political machine. Thats why Bezos wisely bailed out before his company could be fleeced. That prudent decision is a shame for the thousands of New Yorkers who would love to have been exploited (Ocasio-Cortezs characterization) by one of the many six-figure jobs that Amazon would have created in Queens. All that having been said, I join with the progressives in celebrating that NYCs taxpayers will no longer have to be stuck paying for a $3 billion subsidy to a private business. There is no principle of justice that justifies such a lavish privilege being bestowed on any private enterprise, much less a business as large and profitable as Amazon. Such political cronyism is unfair and corrupt. Tragically, such cronyism is often erroneously called crony capitalism. The truth is that there is no such thing as crony capitalism any more than there is liquid ice; both terms are oxymorons. Capitalism is a social system of economic cooperation, based on private property and voluntary exchanges, in which the government plays the role of an impartial referee while consumers choose winners and losers in freely competitive marketplaces. Cronyism, on the other hand, is a repudiation of capitalism. With cronyism, the government abandons its role as impartial arbiter and instead intervenes to enrich special interests at the expense of everybody else. By its very nature, cronyism is a step toward socialism, because both involve the government picking economic winners and losers. Progressives deservedly win lots of popular support by opposing the abuses and unfairness of cronyism. Those of us who believe in free markets should oppose and denounce cronyism with equal vigor. When I read polls showing that capitalism is viewed with increasing negativity by Americansparticularly young AmericansI cant help but feel that cronyism plays a big part in fostering that antipathy. What is so insidious about this is that people keep mislabeling cronyism as crony capitalism. Consequently, capitalisms reputation sustains damage from unmerited association with the corrupt practice of cronyism. We conservatives oppose cronyism because it is an assault on property rights and the rule of law. We can join with progressives in denouncing a privilege that politicians give to those who neither need it nor deserve it, and who certainly have no just claim to the wealth of their fellow citizens. If there is one area of public policy where left and right may unite today, it would be around the goal of eliminating the cronyism of corporate welfare. Mark Hendrickson is an adjunct professor of economics and sociology at Grove City College. He is the author of several books, including The Big Picture: The Science, Politics, and Economics of Climate Change. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) listens during a news conference on prescription drugs January 10, 2019 at the Capitol in Washington, DC. Congressional Democrats held a news conference to introduce a legislative package "that would drastically reduce prescription drug prices in the United States." (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Rep. Omar Apologizes To Jewish Groups For Tweet Labeled Anti-semitic Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar apologized to a group of Jewish organizations in a phone call on Feb. 21 night after she received criticism for a tweet that many considered to be anti-Semitic, last week. Let me reiterate my sincere apology for any actual hurt my words have caused, Omar said during the call, according to The Times of Israel. I know there are a lot of people who in the last weeks have expressed support in trying to say this isnt anti-Semitic or this shouldnt be looked at in that way. Omar also reportedly said that the call was for you all to directly hear from me how I feel about my actions and for us to start the process of not only healing but building a relationship and getting to the process of politicking on our viewpoints on this. The call reportedly included Jewish groups like the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Democratic Council of America, the refugee resettlement agency HIAS, Americans for Peace Now and Bend the Arc. U.S. Rep Ilhan Omar (D-MN) speaks to media outside the US Captiol on Jan. 15, 2019 in Washington, DC. Members of the Freshman Class held a press conference on the government shutdown. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) Omar accused the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) of buying congressional support for Israel, last week. Both Democrats and Republicans condemned Omars comment. President Donald Trump called for her to resign or at least be removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee. Speaker Pelosi also issued a condemnation of the tweet, but did not call for any repercussions. The Minnesota congresswoman issued an apology on Twitter soon thereafter. Anti-Semitism is real, and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes. My intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole, her statement read in part. Omar has developed a track record for tweets about Israel that have received backlash. She previously tweeted that Israel has hypnotized the world, before later apologizing and has accused Israel of not being a democracy. It was also reported Thursday that she traveled to Honduras with a pro-communist, anti-American peace group, back in 2017. The congresswomans office confirmed that the conversation took place, but declined to comment further. By Mike Brest Follow Mike on Twitter Police Issue Warning After Tourists Dangle Legs Over UK Cliff: It Is Incredibly Dangerous Police have issued a warning after tourists persisted in dangling their legs over a popular cliffs edge in the United Kingdom. Its not the first warning from police, according to reports. Tourists try to take photos of themselves with their legs hanging over the 500-foot Beachy Head cliff along the Sussex Coast. They have to go over a fence that its intended to keep people away from the area. We were having a lovely day at Beachy Head yesterday until we saw this!! PLEASE dont sit on the edge of the cliff top it is incredibly dangerous. You dont know what you are sitting over. These people were in a fenced off section of cliff top!!! #NPAS999 ^JA pic.twitter.com/KaMC4Gv84g NPAS Redhill (@NPASRedhill) February 18, 2019 We were having a lovely day at Beachy Head yesterday until we saw this!! PLEASE dont sit on the edge of the cliff top it is incredibly dangerous. You dont know what you are sitting over, wrote the National Police Air Service (NPAS). They added that people were in a fenced off section of cliff top. Officials with the NPAS were apparently flying over the cliff when they took the photo. Police have warned that the cliff can break away at any moment, Fox News reported. If it breaks away, those unlucky tourists would drop 531 feet into the abyss below, the report said. According to the Dover Museum, the first recorded description of the White Cliffs of Dover, of which Beachy Head belongs, is from Roman leader Julius Caesar. Low clouds drift over Beachy Head, East Sussex, England, Chris Gorman! pic.twitter.com/K0eq6zH098 Jims the man (@yesjimstheman) January 31, 2019 Caesar allegedly saw the enemys forces, armed, in position on all the hills there. At that point steep cliffs came down close to the sea in such a way that it is possible to hurl weapons from them right down to the shore. It seemed to me that the place was altogether unsuitable for landing, according to the website. Caesar and his army instead landed just along the coast in Deal and a year later a full-scale invasion followed. In order for the Roman ships to navigate more easily, two lighthouses, Pharos, were built on top of the cliffs. One is on the east cliff and stands adjacent to the church of St. Mary, in Dover Castle and is today in an excellent state of preservation. A second Pharos was built on the Western Heights, the website says. Beachy Head is the tallest chalk cliff in Britain. But the most famous reference in English literature to the White Cliffs is in William Shakespeares King Lear, Act IV, Scene I. There is cliff, whose high and bending head looks fearfully in the confined deep: Bring me to the very brim of it, it reads. One of the characters, Edgar fools the blinded Earl of Gloucester that hes at the cliff edge and talks about the scene. Heres the place! stand still how fearful/ And dizzy tis, to cast ones eye so low half way down/Hangs one that gathers samphire: dreadful trade!/Methinks he seems no bigger than his head. Challenge yourself with our guided and supported Beachy Head running adventure. Run 20 miles (32km) scale 3,000ft of climb. Vehicle support and scheduled stops for tea, cake or a cheeky beer. June 16th 2019.https://t.co/SbgbjVs76G #trailrunning #runningadventure pic.twitter.com/W3K6JCoTLD Running Forever (@runningforever_) February 21, 2019 A number of other poets and writers have made reference to the White Cliffs over the centuries. Andrew Pollack (C), father of Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting victim Meadow Pollack, shakes hands with President Donald Trump (2nd L) as first lady Melania Trump (L), Julie Phillips Pollack (2nd R), and Hunter Pollack (R) watch during a Hanukkah reception at the White House on Dec. 6, 2018. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images) People Are Wrong About Donald Trump, Parkland Victims Father Says Americans need to turn off their TVs and look into President Donald Trump on their own, said Andrew Pollack, the father of Meadow Pollack, who was slain in the Feb. 14, 2018, mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Stop watching TV. Turn CNN off and do your research, he told The Epoch Times in a phone call. What has the president accomplished since he got into the White House? Since losing his 18-year-old daughter, Pollack has been an advocate for school safety, pushing to hold public officials responsible for the many actions and inaction that enabled the Parkland tragedy. Hes also been a supporter of Trumpnot just as a president, but as a person too. The guy is a straight shooter. I like him as a person. He has integrity and he loves his country and hes a caring guy, Pollack said. First Meeting The two first met on Feb. 21, 2018, when Trump flew Pollack and his family to Washington for a listening session with families of victims and survivors of the shooting. Trump sat down privately with the family for about 20 minutes. They talked about Meadow, about her brothers, about Trumps family. Hes a grandpa first and a dad before hes the president, and he was sick over the whole situation, Pollack said. Before the meeting, Pollack had been pondering what the president could do to help prevent similar tragedies in the future. Then, during the private meeting, he raised an idea. I asked him to put together a commission to look into school safety, he said. And Trump listened. Three weeks later, on March 12, 2018, Trump established the Federal Commission on School Safety to address school safety and the culture of violence in addition to several immediate actions, such as ordering assistance programs to enable firearms training for school personnel. The commission included Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and later, Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. The commission held a series of meetings, field visits, and listening sessions that included school safety experts, educators, and also families of victims, including Pollack. Many Meetings Since then, the Pollack family met with Trump and his family four or five times, including to speak at the White House Hanukkah reception on Dec. 6, 2018, where Pollacks rabbi led the prayer. Trump also privately met with Pollack and his family on the backdrop of the Presidents July 31 rally in Tampa, Florida, where Pollack led the Pledge of Allegiance in front of a crowd of some 10,000 people in the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall. Trumps wife, Melania, as well as Trumps children Ivanka, Eric, and Erics wife Lara, struck Pollack as humble, concerned, and open. Pollack didnt meet Donald Jr. Theyre just very kind people, he said. On the other hand, Pollack didnt have much sympathy for the media, particularly when it comes to school safety. He remembered a meeting with Trump and other families of school shooting victims. After an hour-long discussion, Trump called on the media to ask questions. They asked him if he was still going to shut down the government, Pollack said. They didnt care. Anything he did for school safety, for children, for teachers, the media didnt care. School Safety The commission released its final report on Dec. 18, 2018, putting out over 100 recommendations that could help prevent or counter a school shooting. The commission said it supported training school staff and faculty to carry firearms on school grounds, saying it could be a cost-effective way of providing the protection that a school safety officer would without having to hire one. Having trained, armed personnel in the school trumps law enforcement intervention, since most school shootings are done in several minutes, beating the usual law enforcement response time. Pollack agrees. He also supports the use of security dogs trained to take down shooters. He emphasized that school safety needs a non-partisan approach, criticizing people who cant differentiate school safety with the gun debate and who, in his view, fall into the idea that we cant get anything done. On the one-year anniversary of the Parkland shooting, Pollack gave a shoutout to Trump on Twitter: Youll never get the full story from the media, but since the moment I lost my beautiful princess last year in Parkland, President @realDonaldTrump has been gracious & 110% supportive of my family. Anytime Ive asked for help, he has delivered. GREAT President! Thank you, Andrew, Trump replied. We all miss beautiful Meadow! Defendants David Turpin, right, and wife, Louise, appear in Riverside Superior Court during an information hearing on charges that include torture and child abuse in Riverside, Calif., on Aug. 3, 2018. (Watchara Phomicinda/The Orange County Register via AP) Parents in House of Horrors Case Plead Guilty, Face Life in Prison David and Louise Turpin, the California parents accused of holding 12 of their children captive, have pleaded guilty to charges of child endangerment, torture, dependent adult abuse, and false imprisonment. The two face a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole, according to news reports. Sentencing for the two is slated for April 19. The two entered pleas on 14 charges at the Riverside County Superior Court on Feb. 22, CBS News reported. The Turpins are accused of keeping their kids shackled to beds in their home in Perris. They also gave them little food and didnt allow them to shower oftenonly once a year. They are accused of abusing 12 of their 13 children in the so-called house of horrors case. Only their 2-year-old was spared, according to officials. Their 17-year-old daughter escaped their home and called 911 in January 2018, leading to their arrests. When officials arrived on the scene, they discovered severely underweight children and adults living in the home. The house was also filthy and reeked of human waste. Officials also discovered the children were starved, beaten, and put in cages. Some showed signs of stunted growth and atrophying muscles. This is among the worst, most aggravated child abuse cases I have ever seen, District Attorney Mike Hestrin told CNN. Hestrin said that if the case went to trial, some of the victims would testify. An attorney for David Turpin declined to comment. And a lawyer for Louise Turpin also wouldnt issue a statement, according to CNN. Hestrin told NBC San Diego that their guilty pleas were instrumental in protecting the children from having to relive their experiences in captivity and testify in court. Those pleas will result in life sentences. Theyre going to serve an indeterminate sentence of 25 years to life unless the parole board, at some point, affirmatively decides they should be released, they will serve the rest of their lives in prison, he told USA Today. Hestrin said that defendants who are older than 60 automatically get parole hearings after serving 25 years behind bars. Hestrin said the children are uniformly pleased that they would not have to testify. The attention that they would have had to go through, the scrutiny they would have had to go through I think made this case much different than other child abuse cases, he added. More Details In a recording of the 911 call played in court last year, the girl who escaped said two younger sisters and a brother were chained to their beds and she couldnt take it any longer, according to The Associated Press. They will wake up at night and they will start crying and they wanted me to call somebody, she said in a high-pitched voice. I wanted to call yall so yall can help my sisters. The intervention by authorities marked a new start for the 13 Turpin offspring who lived in such isolation that the teen who called for help didnt know her address and some of her siblings didnt even understand the role of the police when they arrived at the house. Two girls, 11 and 14, had been hastily released from their chains when police showed up, but a 22-year-old son remained shackled. The young man said he and his siblings had been suspected of stealing food and being disrespectful, a detective testified. The man said he had been tied up with ropes at first and then, after learning to wriggle free, restrained with increasingly larger chains on and off over six years. The kids were rarely allowed outside, though they went out on Halloween and traveled as a family to Disneyland and Las Vegas, investigators said. The children spent most of their time locked in their rooms except for limited meals or using the bathroom. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Tanya Granic Allen, president of Parents as First Educators, speaks at a protest at Queens Park in Toronto, Canada on Feb. 20, 2019. (NTD Television) Parents Critical of Ontario Sex-Ed Curriculum Demand Education Minister Step Down Parent groups critical of the Ontario sex-ed curriculum that includes gender identity and other controversial topics staged a protest on Feb. 20 to demand that Education Minister Lisa Thompson step down from her position. Tanya Granic Allen, president of Parents As First Educators, said Thompson has kept the curriculum of the previous Liberal government under Kathleen Wynne in place, despite PC Premier Doug Fords campaign promise to replace it. Lisa Thompson has failed to repeal the Wynne sex-ed. Its a betrayal to parents, its a betrayal to our young and precious children, and this is a betrayal to Premier Doug Fords promise to repeal, Granic Allen said at a press conference before the protest. The Canadian Families Alliance (CFA) staged the protest at Queens Park to demand Thompsons resignation over the matter. Signs saying Lisa Thompson resign and say NO to irresponsible sex-ed were held by many in the crowd of over 100 people. CFA said alarm bells rang after Thompsons first speech in the legislature last July when she said children need to learn about gender identity. Parents became even more worried when the changes promised by Ford didnt materialize. She was doing well, but lately she changed her stance, and now shes talking what she feels is easier for her, said Abdul Rauf Jangda, director of the Thorncliffe Parents Association Director said. Controversial Curriculum The CFA is an umbrella group of grassroots family and parental rights organizations which represents over 200,000 Canadian parents from various political, cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds. They have been fighting the controversial 2015 version of the sex-ed curriculum since it was introduced by the former Liberal government. They argue that the material teaches children age-inappropriate content. The Ford government removed the 2015 sex-ed curriculum for younger children and said it would be replaced with a new program. In the interim, a revised version of the 2010 curriculum is being used, which includes a 1998 document on sexual health. However, critics of the 2015 curriculum say the controversial issues remain embedded in the revised version. They point to a January hearing that challenged the rollback of the provinces sex-ed curriculum, where lawyers representing the government told a court that teachers could still use the 2015 curriculum as a teaching resource. I wish we wouldnt have to be here. Id rather be in a warm toasty house, but were here because we have to see this to the end, Granic Allen said in an interview with NTD Television at the protest. Its the parents voice that matters most, and parents rights ought to be respected. Not Appropriate Campaign Life Coalition director Jack Fonseca cited some of these parents concerns at the protest, which include teaching the theory of gender identity as if it were fact, that 11-year-olds are being told to masturbate as a pleasurable way for children to learn about their bodies, and that asking 13- and 14-year-olds to create a personal plan for sexual activity. The crowd cried out Shame! for every concern that was listed. The whole sexualization stuff, thats not appropriate for any young child to learn anything like that, said Allison Bruns, a Kitchener-area parent who drove 1.5 hours to Toronto to participate in the protest. Bruns, who is part of a Kitchener homeschool group, was also concerned that a convicted child sex offender played a role in developing the 2015 curriculum. Its really important to us that the government at least pay attention to what parents are saying, and we know there are a lot of parents that have been against this curriculum written by a pedophile, Bruns said. Ben Levin was jailed in May 2015 for creating and possessing child pornography and counselling others to commit sexual assault. He was a former deputy education minister in two provinces, a former member of Wynnes transition team, and a global expert in childhood learning. The Ontario Government has concluded widespread public consultations regarding the sex-ed curriculum at the end of 2018. Thompson told CBC that the government would write and test a new curriculum in the spring to be introduced in time for the new school year in the fall. An African elephant and her baby are pictured on Nov. 18, 2012, in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. (Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images) Outcry as Zimbabwe Plans to Export Baby Elephants to China MUTARE, ZimbabwePlans by the government of Zimbabwe to export as many as 35 baby elephants to China has sparked an outcry among wildlife conservationists who say proper procedures havent been followed. They also raise concerns about Chinas significant role in the global trade in endangered species. Investigations by wildlife protection activists reveal that the baby elephants, some as young as 2, were separated from their mothers and are being held in pens at Zimbabwes Hwange National Park while preparations are finalized to send them to China, where they will be put in zoos. The export plan has been roundly condemned by local and international wildlife conservationists, who say the removal of young elephants from the herd is highly damagingnot only to the young elephants but to the entire herd. According to Sharon Hoole, a Zimbabwe animal rights activist with the U.K.-based group Bring Back Our Rhinos, the Wildlife Act stipulates that certain criteria must be followed before wildlife can be sold, and the government hasnt adhered to that. Theres supposed to be public stakeholder consultation, parliamentary consultation. Even during the capture they have to meet a criteria where representatives of citizens, stakeholders, and animal welfare services have to be involved, Hoole said in an interview. This capture and export of the baby elephants is illegal because these criteria havent been met, but they dont care about that because they know no one will do anything. So we have to do something. Wildlife expert Mike Hitschmann, who runs the Cecil Kop Nature Reserve, said a big concern is that China has one of the worlds worst track records when it comes to the illegal trade in endangered wildlife species. According to the U.S.-based Wilson Center, experts say the Chinese demand for wildlife products is driving the global trade in endangered species. The experts said many wild animals, particularly tigers, bears, and rhinos, are farmed en masse in China and treated inhumanely. Tigers are bred for the production of luxury items like tiger bone wine and tiger skin rugs, and bears are milked for their bile for use in traditional Chinese medicine. Hitschmann said Chinas relationship with Africa is another part of the problem, its one of blatant neocolonialism, which flourishes in countries that have questionable governments and gives Beijing the upper hand. Zimbabwe is no exception and basically whatever the Chinese want or need they can now get itwhether it be our mineral resources or our natural resources in the form of wildlife, he said. With the advent of the new government under President Emmerson Mnangagwa, there has been no improvement. In fact, it appears as if the situation is worsening. Hitschmann said that from the time the Chinese presence first started to increase in Zimbabwe, most of the countrys reptile species, such as tortoises and turtles, as well as rhinos, have been negatively affected. Now its elephants, and hes worried about the populations dwindling. Tinashe Farawo, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, denied the government is capturing baby elephants for export to China. We are known for being leaders in wildlife conservation and we cannot capture baby elephants for export, he said. We can only capture sub-adultsthats if we want to capture any elephant at all [for export]. We only capture young adult elephants which are no longer dependent on their mothers. But in this case, we are not doing that. Farawo said Zimbabwe had more 80,000 elephants, twice the countrys carrying capacity of 40,000. We last culled the elephants in 1987 and the numbers are growing, hence we are experiencing conflicts between humans and elephants. About five people have been killed by elephants this year, he said. However, Hitschmann said claims of over population are false and are being used as a basis for opposing the worldwide ban on the ivory trade and to justify the removal of elephant calves from the wild for export to Chinese zoos and theme parks. According to the Humane Society of the United States, this is the fourth time since 2012 that Zimbabwe has captured baby elephants for export to Chinaa total of 108 elephantsdespite broad opposition. Hitschmann said other issues for Zimbabwes elephants are poor management practices that have allowed for increasing human encroachment on protected areas such as national parks, and poor political decisions that have resulted in less available land overall for wild animals. He believes effective wildlife management requires out of the box thinking, such as if one particular area has a high elephant population that threatens the biodiversity, then herds can be relocated together to areas where there are no elephants, including other countries in Africa. In this way, we do our bit to slow down their overall population crash, it keeps the elephants in Africa which is their environment, and it makes good business sense because we need tourists to come and visit elephants in Africanot in China. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks to the media about Amazon scrapping its plans to build a new headquarters in Queens, New York, on Capitol Hill on Feb. 14, 2019. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Ocasio-Cortez Responds to NYC Billboard Which Slammed Her for Amazons Pullout Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) responded on Feb. 21 to a billboard which lambasted her for celebrating the cancellation of Amazons plans to build its second headquarters in New York City. The digital billboard, posted in New York Citys Times Square, points out that the pullout of the online retail giant means the city and state lost the prospect of 25,000 jobs, $4 billion in wages, and $12 billion in economic activity. Thanks for nothing, AOC, the billboard states, referring to the acronym of the democratic socialists name. Ocasio-Cortez responded to the billboard on Twitter on Feb. 21 by attacking those who funded it but ignored the message on the sign. Few things effectively communicate the power weve built in fighting dark money & anti-worker policies like billionaire-funded groups blowing tons of cash on wack billboards, Ocasio-Cortez wrote. This one is funded by the Mercers fact that its in Times Sq tells you this isnt for/by NYers. Few things effectively communicate the power weve built in fighting dark money & anti-worker policies like billionaire-funded groups blowing tons of cash on wack billboards (this one is funded by the Mercers). (PS fact that its in Times Sq tells you this isnt for/by NYers.) https://t.co/B4QTPi1r2k Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 21, 2019 On Feb. 19, when asked about Amazons pullout, Ocasio-Cortez said that it was incredible. She drew criticism and ridicule by suggesting, incorrectly, that New York City was paying Amazon $3 billion for the jobs that the company was creating. It shows that everyday Americans still have the power to organize and fight for their communities and they can have more say in this country than the richest man in the world, Ocasio-Cortez said. Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio pointed out that the $3 billion figure was a tax incentive which the city would provide only after Amazon had built its headquarters and created the 25,000 jobs. And that $3 billion that would go back in tax incentives was only after we were getting the jobs and getting the revenue, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said: Theres no money. Democratic New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo chided the politicians who caused Amazon to scrap its plan. We competed in and won the most hotly contested national economic development competition in the United States, resulting in at least 25,000-40,000 good paying jobs for our state and nearly $30 billion dollars in new revenue to fund transit improvements, new housing, schools and countless other quality of life improvements, Cuomo said. However, a small group politicians put their own narrow political interests above their communitywhich poll after poll showed overwhelmingly supported bringing Amazon to Long Island Citythe states economic future and the best interests of the people of this state, the New York governor added. Jay Carney, the Amazons top policy executive, told Cuomo on Feb. 14 that the worlds biggest online retailer would not go ahead with plans to invest $2.5 billion to build a second head office in the New York City borough of Queens. Carney, a former press secretary for President Barack Obama, told de Blasio the same shortly after. Abruptly scuttling its Big Apple plans blindsided Amazons allies and opponents alike. The company said the decision came together only in the last 48 hours, made by its senior leadership team and Jeff Bezos, Amazons founder, chief executive and the richest person in the world. Mark Harris, Republican candidate in North Carolina's 9th Congressional race, prepares to testify during the fourth day of a public evidentiary hearing on the 9th Congressional District voting irregularities investigation Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the North Carolina State Bar in Raleigh, N.C. (Travis Long//The News & Observer/AP/Pool) New Election Ordered in Disputed North Carolina House Race North Carolinas elections board on Feb. 21 unanimously ordered a new election for a U.S. House seat after officials said corruption surrounding absentee ballots tainted the results of last Novembers vote. The bipartisan boards 5-0 decision came after Republican candidate Mark Harris requested a new vote, telling the panel that evidence of possible ballot fraud had undermined confidence in the election. Andy Yates, a political consultant and founder of Red Dome Group, delivers testimony during the third day of a public evidentiary hearing on the 9th Congressional District voting irregularities investigation Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019, at the North Carolina State Bar in Raleigh, N.C. (Travis Long/The News & Observer/AP/Pool) In the televised hearing, board Chairman Bob Cordle said the corruption and absolute mess with the elections absentee ballots had cast doubt on the fairness of the contest. It certainly was a tainted election, Cordle said ahead of the vote. The people of North Carolina deserve a fair election. Harris request for a new vote came as a surprise. For months, he had said he should be declared the victor in the 9th Congressional District after he led Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes out of 282,717 ballots cast on Nov. 6. Elections officials, however, had refused to certify him as the winner due to allegations of irregularities in the vote. Beth Harris, the wife of Mark Harris, a Republican candidate in North Carolinas 9th Congressional race, listens to testimony during the third day of a public evidentiary hearing on the 9th Congressional District voting irregularities investigation Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019, at the North Carolina State Bar in Raleigh, N.C. (Travis Long//The News & Observer/AP/Pool) Through the testimony Ive listened to over the past three days, I believe a new election should be called, Harris said at a hearing in Raleigh. It was unclear whether Harris would run in the new race. He told the board he was recovering from an infection that led to sepsis and two strokes and he was not prepared for the rigors of the hearing. During this weeks hearing, Harris son said he had warned his father of potential illegal activity in the election by one of his political operatives, Leslie McCrae Dowless. John Harris, the son of Mark Harris, testifies during the third day of a public evidentiary hearing on the 9th Congressional District voting irregularities investigation Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019, at the North Carolina State Bar in Raleigh. (Travis Long//The News & Observer/AP/Pool) North Carolinas Democratic Party said the hearing had laid bare the Harris campaigns illegal scheme to steal an election. This saga could only have ended in a new election, the state Democrats said. Harris statement came on the fourth day of a hearing on whether his campaign benefited from what state investigators called illegal election manipulation by Dowless. Mark Harris, Republican candidate in North Carolinas 9th Congressional race, fights back tears at the conclusion of his son John Harriss testimony during the third day of a public evidentiary hearing on the 9th Congressional District voting irregularities investigation Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019, at the North Carolina State Bar in Raleigh. (Travis Long//The News & Observer/AP/Pool) Earlier on Thursday, Harris said he had known Dowless was going door to door on the candidates behalf to help voters obtain absentee ballots, a process that is legal. Harris said Dowless assured him he would not collect the ballots from the voters, which would violate state law. But residents of at least two counties in the district said Dowless and his paid workers collected incomplete absentee ballots and, in some instances, falsely signed as witnesses and filled in votes for contests left blank, according to testimony at the hearing. Harris campaign officials said they did not pay Dowless to do anything illegal, and Dowless maintained his innocence. By Gabriella Borter Kilometre 0 of the Trans Mountain pipeline system at the Kinder Morgan terminal in Edmonton on June 5, 2018. (The Canadian Press/Jason Franson) NEB Gives Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Its Endorsement CALGARYThe National Energy Board has endorsed an expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline following a reconsideration of its impact on marine life off the B.C. coast. The energy regulator says an increase in tanker traffic resulting from the pipeline would hurt southern resident killer whales and increase greenhouse gas emissions. But it says those consequences can be justified in light of what would be the pipelines benefits. While these effects weighed heavily in the NEBs consideration of project-related marine shipping, the NEB recommends that the government of Canada find that they can be justified in the circumstances, in light of the considerable benefits of the project and measures to minimize the effects. The energy board says it will impose 156 conditions on the project if it is approved. It has also made 16 new recommendations to the federal government. Among those recommendations are measures to offset increased underwater noise and the greater chance that a whale could be hit by a ship. They also include suggestions for better spill response and reducing emissions from tankers. The board notes that the new recommendations deal with areas outside its jurisdiction, but within the purview of the federal government. Reaction from environmental groups was swift. Stand.earth, which had tried unsuccessfully to widen the scope of the boards reconsideration, had said before the ruling that it expected the board to endorse the project again. Todays recommendation is the direct result of the Prime Ministers Office telling the NEB and federal bureaucrats to get to yes on this project, Tzeporah Berman, director of the Vancouver environmental group, said in a statement. Scientific evidence filed with the NEB clearly shows that there is not enough data to ensure the safety of the marine environment and that the NEB failed to address the climate impacts of this project. The Trans Mountain pipeline is not in the public interest and will never be built. Alberta has been fighting hard for the Trans Mountain expansion so that the province could move more crude oil to ports and from there to lucrative overseas markets. The energy boards original approval of the project was set aside last summer by the Federal Court of Appeal, which said the regulator had not properly considered marine life. The NEBs report starts the clock on a 90-day period for the federal government to decide whether the project should proceed. Officials in Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohis office have said a final decision wont be made until consultations with affected Indigenous groups are complete. The consultations were also an issue the federal Appeal Court raised when it put a halt on the project. It said talks with First Nations in the area had been insufficient. The regulators support does not guarantee restart of construction on the controversial pipeline. Sven Biggs, climate campaigner for Stand.earth, predicted before the ruling that there will be more lawsuits and delays resulting from the boards support of the project. He also said there will be protests in the streets and along the pipeline route if Ottawa decides to go ahead Vanessa Adams, spokeswoman for Sohi, wouldnt comment on Thursday on whether a cabinet ruling could be delayed. She said in an email the federal government wants to achieve the required public trust to help move resources to market by first addressing environmental, Indigenous and local concerns. She said a 60-member consultation team in British Columbia and Alberta has met with more than 85 of 117 Indigenous groups that would be affected by a Trans Mountain expansion and more meetings are taking place daily. Medicine Used in Forced Human Trials in China, Intentionally Debilitating Victims The production of new medicine is a long and complex process, calling for both animal trials, and then later human volunteer trials, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Patients with existing conditions or diseases may volunteer for new and experimental drugs. These different groups of patients will go through trials of the drugs for several months to several years, depending on the step. These processes are used to test the efficacy of the drug, potential side effects, and safety in general. Thus, the term medicine will generally make one think of a material that will bring good health, or at least comfort to the person who receives it. However, a number of doctors in China have corrupted the healing definition of the word, and turned medicine into the opposite extreme. Poison Falun Gong, a peaceful traditional Chinese meditation practice, is being brutally persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Inside mainland China, a believer of Falun Gong interviewed a traditional Chinese medical doctor about medical testing. Both the interviewer and the doctors names are omitted for their safety. When asked if the CCP uses people as test subjects, the doctor calmly replied this is common. The doctor gave an example of how medicine is used as poison in China. If there is someone who not only offers a corrupt official a bribe but also who happens to be in the hospital, that official, for the sake of silencing them, will ask the hospital to give them injections, the doctor said. Those injections can cause heart disease, brain disease, or other kinds of symptoms. All of these symptoms can be caused through medicine, said the doctor. When some drug manufacturers are testing medicine, those symptoms will be induced by those medicines, and then the effectiveness of the new drugs can be seen. Medical abuses are notorious in one particular city in Shandong Province. In Jining City, prisoners of conscience are forcefully injected with unidentified drugs. According to reports about Jining, the medical industry alone is worth over $14 billion annually. Many medical and pharmaceutical businesses not only from China, but also from other parts of the world, have factories and laboratories in Jining. Many of the job recruitment advertisements in the city request for clinical drug testing administrators. Toxic Testing Minghui.org, a U.S.-based website that serves as a clearinghouse on the persecution of Falun Gong in China, has reported many incidents involving Falun Gong practitioners being forcefully injected with unknown drugs. Former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, who initiated the persecution in 1999, said in reference to suppressing Falun Gong, [we] must use the method of medical treatment. Jiang also said that medicine and clinical experiments must be used. At many hospitals across Shandong Province, arrested individuals are forcefully given injections. The ages range from 22 to 50, with most victims between 37 and 44 years of age. Some were debilitated, some had lost their minds, and some even died abruptly. In all of these examples, one can see the evidence of medical experiment, said the individual conducting the interview. Any Falun Gong practitioners who were arrested and arbitrarily sent to mental hospitals will have a family history of mental illness written on their records. Below are several examples of the countless crimes committed on individuals within mainland China for maintaining their faith. Victims Su Gang (pronounced Soo Gahng) was a 32-year-old man from a neighboring county around Jining. He worked as a computer engineer. He was arrested and sent to a mental hospital on May 23, 2000. He was forcefully given injections that damaged the nerves in his spine. After nine days of receiving injections, he was released to his father. His father said Su had a lifeless look in his eyes, and no expression on his face. Su responded slowly to his father, while his body was stiff and rigid, and weak at the same time. Su passed away within a month after being released. A man named Yu Fenglai (pronounced Yoo Fung Lie) worked as an officer in the armed police forces. He was taken to a labor camp, and forced to swallow an unknown medicine. Yu wasnt allowed to sleep either. After a long time, days, of depriving me of sleep, along with the effects of that medicine, my ability to bear it was slowly being broken down, Yu said. I slowly lost myself. Yu said toward the end, he couldnt discern anything and was in a vegetative state, unable to control his body. A women named Xu Guiqin (pronounced Shoo Gway Cheen) was arrested at the age of 38 and sent to a womens labor camp. Before Xu was released, she received four injections that targeted the spinal column. Her face became swollen, her tongue stiff, her body numb, and she suffered severe memory loss. When she was released from the camp and sent home, she slowly began losing control of herself. Xu passed away nine days later. Another woman named Liu Zhimay (pronounced Leeoo Jer May) was a student at Chinas most prestigious college. She was arrested toward the end of 2002. She was given three shots every day. By 2003, other prisoners said she became abnormal, and they could hear her screams throughout the jail. I dont have a disease, dont give me shots, dont give me medicine! Liu shouted. Liu was released on Nov. 13, 2008. For the first two days when she was home, she seemed fine. By the third day, mental problems began surfacing. Liu was unable to sit still, she would speak unintelligibly, she wouldnt sleep at night, and began losing her memory. She also drank excessive amounts of water, and would be completely unaware of wetting the bed, laying in it. After several years, Liu passed away. Lu Meihua (pronounced Loo May Hwah) was arrested on Sept. 11, 1999. She was force-fed pills, and held down by five to six people and given shots. After receiving the shots, her legs moved uncontrollably, even when she laid down and tried to sleep. She became exhausted and was unable to do anything. Her posture became deformed, with her arms and head twisting to one side of her body, unable to sit or stand in a normal way. Epoch Times reporter Gao Jing contributed to this report. Measles Madness: Dr. Brian Hookers Statement to WA Legislators Dr. Hooker provided testimony on Friday, February 8, 2019, for the Washington State House Health Committee regarding the vaccines and the Personal Belief Exemption (PBE) bill that was introduced. Recent outbreaks of measles, especially in Rockland County, New York, and Clark County, Washington have created quite a furor in the public health infrastructure of the U.S. and now within state legislatures. Industry front groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) have seized the opportunity to introduce legislation to remove personal belief exemptions and religious exemptions for vaccinations required for school attendance. Nationwide, over 70 different bills have been introduced or are expected to be introduced in state legislatures to limit these types of exemptions. I recently had the privilege to testify in the Health Committee in the House of Representatives for Washington State and wanted to share some excerpts of my testimony. In Washington State, legislators have introduced a bill to remove the personal belief exemption specifically for the Measles Mumps Rubella (MMR) vaccine. I want to thank Karl Kanthak and Bernadette Pajer who both contributed important information for my testimony. its not low vaccination rates, its actually high vaccination rates with a vaccine product unable to provide lifetime immunity The following is taken from my testimony: There is a problem with measles in Washington State, but its not low vaccination rates, its actually high vaccination rates with a vaccine product unable to provide lifetime immunity or vigorous passive maternal protection to infants during the first year of life. When the measles vaccine was first introduced, most people over the age of 15 who had wild measles had lifetime immunity. In developed nations, like other communicable infections, measles was no longer dangerous except in rare circumstances because of inadequate nutrition, poor sanitation, and/or lack of healthcare. Because having the measles was a routine part of childhood, teens, adults, parents, and grandparents were immune. And because of maternal passive immunity, infants were protected. The death rate due to measles in Washington State in the four years prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine was 1.4 in 10,000 cases and approximately 2 in 1,000,000 in the general population. Legislators are being told that the use of personal and religious belief exemptions are putting the publics health in danger. They are told that two infants were recently exposed to measles and the babies are in danger. But in fact, if the mothers of the children had wild measles when they were children and they are nursing, the babies may be protected. If the mothers were vaccinated, even if they are nursing, they may not be. Additionally, maternal antibodies transported across the placenta can provide vital immunity against measles for infants. Pushing vaccination rates up even higher with an ineffective product is not the answer. As the editor of the journal Vaccine Dr. Gregory Poland of The Mayo Clinic stated in 1994, as measles immunization rates rise to high levels in a population, measles becomes a disease of immunized persons. An MMR vaccination rate of 75% has been reported for the recent measles cluster in Rockland County, New York. vaccination does not guarantee immunization and infectious diseases routinely break out in highly vaccinated communities. It was reported in the news and provided to legislators that in Clark County, WA there is a 22% exemption rate, but this is based on the voluntary Immunization Information Survey (IIS) which does not accurately reflect the vaccination status of all children enrolled in Washington schools. When compared to the more accurate CDC statistics for the state of Washington for MMR coverage among 19 to 35-month-olds, it is 95.3% +/- 2.6%. The IIS erroneously reports this number at 81.8% and cannot be relied upon. The current personal belief exemption rate for K-12 for the MMR vaccine in Washington State is only 2.9% (WA DOH School Survey). Vaccination rates for kindergarteners for at least one MMR vaccine are at least 93% (WA DOH School Survey). Washington State has achieved the public health goal of very high vaccination rates. As I have already remarked, vaccination does not guarantee immunization and infectious diseases routinely break out in highly vaccinated communities. An example of this is pertussis outbreaks, which occur due to problems with the acellular pertussis portion of the DTaP and Tdap vaccine, creating asymptomatic carriers. An asymptomatic carrier is a person that has become infected with a pathogen, but who display no signs nor symptoms. Although unaffected by the pathogen themselves, carriers can transmit it to others or develop symptoms in later stages of disease. SB277 [removal of personal belief exemptions in CA] did not change the minds of non-vaccinating parents. Instead, it pushed families out of school and created lost income to school districts. The SB277 experience in California, where personal belief exemptions were struck down in 2016, has not led to 100% vaccine compliance even within the school system. Removal of personal belief exemptions has served to alienate parents leading to an exodus from the school system (1.2%), as well as from the state, and placing the school districts in the untenable role of vaccination enforcers. An additional 1.4% within the school district are still unvaccinated due to Federal Individualized Education Programs, medical and other exemptions. SB277 did not change the minds of non-vaccinating parents. Instead, it pushed families out of school and created lost income to school districts. Regarding the Australian experience with vaccine mandates, one official stated that, Parents reported a greater commitment to their decision not to vaccinate and an increased desire to maintain control over health choices for their children including an unprecedented willingness to become involved in protest action. (J.Public Health Policy 2018 39:156, Helps et al.) With the removal of the PBE for the MMR vaccine, 2.9% of the children in WA State, which is 15,000 to 20,000 students, will be excluded from school. If the PBE is removed for all vaccines required for school attendance, 37,000 children will be removed from school. For small school districts, this will cause a financial crisis. Mandates do not encourage vaccination, they push exemption-using families out of schools. Over the past ten years in the U.S., there has been one reported death from the measles . . . During the same time period (based on VAERS reports), there have been 105 reported deaths associated with the MMR or MMRV vaccinations. The Supreme Court in the Bruesewitz vs. Wyeth case called vaccinations unavoidably unsafe, and the scientific literature shows an incidence of vaccine adverse events that is dangerous in light of the proposed mandate. Over the past ten years in the U.S., there has been one reported death from the measles, and it is unclear based on the medical history of the patient whether and how measles played a role in their death. During the same time period (based on Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reports), there have been 105 reported deaths associated with the MMR or MMRV vaccinations. From 2006 to 2011, the CDC funded a project by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Inc. for the automation of the VAERS database. VAERS up to this point has been a passive surveillance system based on voluntary reporting of vaccine adverse events (AEs) and CDC officials were concerned about underreporting of such events. The team from Harvard Pilgrim set up a monitoring system of a large health care provider (with 35 clinics) and monitoring the outcomes of from 1.4 million vaccines received. Using chart abstraction, 35,570 potential adverse events were reported within a window of 30 days post-vaccination. In other words, the rate of potential adverse events was 2.6%. As legislators, you are feeling pressure to protect infants and others susceptible to poor infection outcome, but taking away the personal belief exemption for an ineffective product is not the answer. You must not only protect those who are susceptible to poor infection outcome but protect those who are susceptible to poor vaccination outcome, and to consider the unintended consequences of a fully vaccinated population that does not have lifetime immunity. Brian S. Hooker is a science advisor for Focus for Health and board member of Childrens Health Defense. This article originally published by Focus for Health. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Matthew Whitaker Is Owed an Apology by Fake News Media on Both Sides Commentary Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker is owed an apology by an awful lot of people in the media, both on the left and the right. Whitaker was instantly mocked and dismissed in many quarters after he stated at a recent press conference that special counsel Robert Muellers investigation was almost completed and that he was looking forward to receiving his final report soon. Fake news outlets that spent the last two years building the Mueller hype were caught by surprise by Whitakers announcement. In recent months, they had been selling the narrative that Mueller is not only far from being finished, but that he has a whole new bunch of indictments waiting to be unsealed, supposedly targeting people such as Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner. Within minutes of the press conference ending, the uproar began as it became clear that many journalists covering the Mueller team simply refused to believe what Whitaker had said. This is what happens when people who are heavily invested in a particular narrative are confronted by new evidence. The person presenting the new evidence instantly becomes a problem to be managed. Vanity Fair took the position that Whitaker appeared confused and had little idea what he was talking about. Matthew Whitaker, the acting attorney general and a critic of the Russia probe, raised eyebrows Monday afternoon when he told reporters that Robert Muellers work is almost complete, and appeared to press the special counsel to bring the investigation to an even quicker end. Right now, the investigation isI thinkclose to being completed, he said. I hope we can get the report from Director Mueller as soon as possible. The public remarks on the inquiry into the Kremlins interference in the 2016 election were Whitakers first since Donald Trump tapped him to oversee it in November, and they were met with deserved skepticism. An opponent of the probe who had previously encouraged the administration to rein Mueller in, Whitakers motives in making such a statement were unclear. Whitaker told the media he had been fully briefed on the matter, yet the extent to which Trumps acting attorney general is up to date on Muellers timeline is foggy. The uncertainty surrounding Whitakers comments raised alarm bells for prominent observers of the probe, including Neal Katyal, a former acting solicitor general under Barack Obama, who cautioned that everything [Whitaker] says should be doubted, and CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, who blasted the acting attorney general as utterly unqualified. I have seen actual deer in actual headlights who express themselves more clearly than the attorney general of the United States did there, Toobin said on CNN. He cannot express himself about a matter of extreme importancethe Mueller investigationand he has raised all these questions about decisions hes going to review. What is he even talking about? Nowjust over three weeks after Whitakers statementsseveral media outlets report that sources have told them that Muellers investigation is set to wrap up as early as next week. The Hill, CNN, and The Washington Post all hear the same thing. It certainly appears that Toobin owes Whitaker an apology. And not just Toobin. Those desperate to explain away what Whitaker said includes many on the left and the rightpundits and reporters whove been selling panic and doom narratives about how Mueller and the Deep State have Trump boxed into a corner, where the clueless and impotent president either cant or wont take any real action to save himself. Now the fake news media is scrambling to spin this new information to try to save the fake news theyve been peddling for so long. Some are trying harder than others. Vanity Fair gets an A-plus for effort, already hard at work to keep hope alive among the faithful, with an article headlined, MERELY THE END OF CHAPTER ONE: The Mueller Report, Rumored To Drop Next Week, Is Only the Beginning of Trumps Hell. Heres something else Whitaker recently said that was also instantly dismissed. During his congressional testimony, he revealed that U.S. Attorney John Huber and his team of fellow U.S. attorneys have been investigating the FISA abuses relating to the warrant the FBI obtained on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Who were the people directly involved in either the creation or the internal approval of the FISA warrant which relied knowingly heavily on information paid for by the Clinton campaign? FBI Director James Comey Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates CIA Director John Brennan FBI Agent Peter Strzok FBI general counsel James Baker Special counsel to McCabe, Lisa Page Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson Former MI6 spy Christopher Steele Wife of high-ranking Justice Department (DOJ) official Bruce Ohr, Nellie Ohr What has been a standard talking point in many places in the right-leaning, Trump-supporting media for the past two years? Nothings happening to James Comey or Andrew McCabe or any of the other Spygate plotters. No investigations have been opened on these people and they are all being allowed to walk away without any consequences. Wrong. Whitaker just told everyone in a congressional hearing that both DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz and Utah U.S. Attorney Huber are investigating all these people. How could you investigate the FISA warrant without investigating the people involved in creating and proffering that warrant to the FISC court? When I point this out, the usual comeback is, But wouldnt the DOJ have announced each of these individuals were specifically being investigated? I can offer six specific examples from just the past year of the DOJ opening criminal investigations into six different people, where there was no official announcement that those investigations had begun or were ongoing. In none of these six cases was there any official or unofficial announcement that a criminal investigation had been opened into these people. We only learned of the investigations into Wanzhou, Fry, Edwards, and Wolfe when their indictments were unsealed and arrests were made after the investigations had completed. In fact, there still hasnt been any official confirmation from the DOJ of the investigations into McCabe and Baker. This is nothing new. The DOJ often doesnt reveal that an investigation has started or is underway. The first inkling the public has of any investigation is after the investigation is over, and the prosecutors have indicted the person and are ready to take their findings public. Yet talking heads on television insist that if anything was being done to investigate Comey, McCabe, Strzok, Yates, or any of these other people involved in the Spygate scandal, the DOJ would talk to the news media about such investigations, there would be regular updates, and details would leak out. This is absurd. We keep watching examples unfold before our eyes that this isnt how things are done at the DOJ. They dont announce that they are opening a criminal investigation into someone no matter how loudly people on TV insist they have a right to know what they are doing. And even when an acting attorney general comes right out in a congressional hearing and reveals what people say they want to hearthat those involved in Spygate are being investigated by a team of U.S. attorneys for the shenanigans they pulled with that Carter Page warrantpeople either completely miss what he said or instantly dismiss it. They want to stick with the narrative that nothings been happening behind the scenes. Isnt it time people in the media stopped playing this game of pretending not to understand how the DOJ does its work? Brian Cates is a writer based in South Texas and author of Nobody Asked For My Opinion But Here It Is Anyway! He can be reached on Twitter @drawandstrike. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Letter From Masanjia an Eye-Opener for Audiences at New York University NEW YORKThe award-winning documentary Letter From Masanjia was screened at New York University (NYU) Feb. 16, bringing awareness to egregious human rights abuses in China. The specifically film sheds light on the Chinese communist regimes re-education through labor campsa system whereby dissidents are arbitrarily imprisoned then used as slave labor to produce goods for export. The movie was very, very powerful. Im still kind of processing it, said Doug Rose, a student at NYUs Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. The focal point of the film is a letter that traveled over 5,000 miles from a Chinese labor camp into the hands of an Oregon mother of two, Julie Keith. Keith was opening a package of Halloween decorations shed purchased from Kmart, when she discovered a handwritten SOS note from a man imprisoned in the notorious Masanjia labor camp. The letter-writer said he had been imprisoned for practicing the spiritual discipline Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong. The ancient discipline had grown popular in China the 1990s due to its health benefits and uplifting spiritual philosophy. By 1999, 70 million to 100 million people in China were practicingtoo many for the authoritarian regime, which launched a country-wide persecution campaign to eradicate it. Every person who did the meditation exercises suddenly became a criminal overnight. Upon receiving the letter, Keith took the story to her local Oregon newspaper. Soon, headlines across the globe were spotlighting Chinas labor camp system. When Canada-based film director Leon Lee heard about Keiths story, he reached out to his underground sources in China to help him find the letter-writer. After a three-year search, Lee found Sun Yi, who had actually seen Lees previous films and was eager to tell his story through the medium of a documentary. However, Lee wasnt able to go to China himself since his human rights-related films had drawn the ire of the Chinese communist authorities. So Lee told Yi what equipment to buy and gave him a crash course in filmmaking over Skype, so that Yi could secretly capture footage inside China, under the noses of Chinese authorities. After the NYU screening, Lee joined the event via video chat for a Q&A alongside Chris Chappell, NYU alumni and host of the popular YouTube channel, China Uncensored. We stand in solidarity with you, Albert Nicolas told event organizers afterward. An administrator at NYU, Nicolas brought his wife and two daughters to the screening. [The Chinese authorities] are packaging themselves to the West so that people think that they are better than what they really are. Nicolas expressed his hopes that one day Chinese leaders would be brought to justice for their crimes. His wife, Thelma, said she felt grateful the film was being shown. I wish more people could see it. Thank you so much for putting it all together, she said. I really did not know how brutal the regime really is. So I learned a lot about that, and how this brutality is forcing people to live in fear, said Rose Curran, a student majoring in global affairs at the School of Professional Studies. Although the re-education through labor system was formally abolished in China in 2013as a direct result of the immense attention Yis letter receivedother versions of extrajudicial detention have replaced the camps. Many Falun Dafa practitioners as well as activists, petitioners, and human rights lawyers are still being arbitrarily imprisoned in China. At the end of the event, Lee asked audience members to help spread awareness about what theyd seen now that they too had received this letter. ISIS terrorists wave their flags in front of the Iraqi provincial government headquarters in Mosul in June 2014. The disparate groups that make up Iraq's security forces are converging on the city of Mosul, that is likely to be decisive in the war against ISIS. (AP Photo) Jihadi Jack Says He Wants to Return to UK From Syria, but No One Cares A man who has been dubbed Jihadi Jack told British broadcaster ITV that he wants to come back to the United Kingdom. Jack Letts, who ran away to Syria in 2014, said he missed his mother and life in the UK. If the UK accepted me then Id go back to the UK, its my home. But I dont think thats going to happen, he said, adding that he doubts he would be released. The Briton known as Jihadi Jack has told ITV News he is homesick and wants to return to Britain. ITV News 2019222 Letts, who is also a Canadian national, is currently being held in a Kurdish prison. The man said he hasnt spoken to his parents in two years, and doubted that UK and Canadian officials would come and help me because no one really cares. Lettss parents are slated to go to trial in the UK after they allegedly funded terrorism by sending their son money. They denied the charges, saying that their son went to Syria to help refugees. To be honest at the time I thought it was a good thing, he said of the 2015 Paris attacks that left 130 dead, ITV News reported. Genuinely, at the time, we had this idea that when youre living in Raqqa getting bombed every five minutes by coalition jets and you see literally, Ive seen children burnt alive, he stated. Regarding the Paris attacks, he said, At the time, you have this sort ofand this is what war does to youyou have this idea of why shouldnt it happen to them? But then I realized, they have nothing to do with it, he added. Letts also said he misses people in his home country. Even if I could just see my mum I would like just a phone call, I dont know if Britain can do that for me here, but Id like just a phone call to my mumits been two years, he added. If I could make a request. Im probably not in a position to make requests. Thats it all, really. I miss my mum, he said. What else do I miss? I miss pasties. Its not really Englishsort of Scottish isnt it? I miss pasties. And Doctor Who. Sounds a bit stupid thats all. ISIS Women Want to Return It comes days after two women said they want to come back to the United States and U.K., respectively, after they got married to ISIS terrorists in Syria. A lawyer for one of the women, Hoda Muthana, who wants to come back to the U.S., said she is willing to pay whatever debts she has to society, including a lengthy prison term. We starved and we literally ate grass, she was quoted by The Guardian as saying in explaining why she wants to return. I would tell them please forgive me for being so ignorant, and I was really young and ignorant and I was 19 when I decided to leave, she said. "I turned to my religion and went in too hard," said Hoda Muthana, who's now begging to come home. New York Post 2019218 The Guardian reported that she posted messages on social media calling for terrorist attacks against Americans on holidays. However, President Donald Trump said she shouldnt return to the country, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agreed. Ms. Hoda Muthana is not a U.S. citizen and will not be admitted into the United States. She does not have any legal basis, no valid U.S. passport, no right to a passport, nor any visa to travel to the United States, Pompeo said in a statement earlier this week. Hassan Shibly, her familys lawyer, said she is accountable for her actions and she will only answer to God for her decisions, Fox News reported. People shouldnt forget that Hoda herself right now and her family are not saying that she should just come back home, that she should get a free pass, he added. Everybody acknowledges that what she did was horrible, disgusting, unacceptable, but we also acknowledge that America is great because of our legal system. Shamima Begum, 19, said she is willing to change to come back to the UK after joining ISIS in 2015, The Guardian reported. She said on Feb. 22: I would like them to re-evaluate my case with a bit more mercy in their heart, you know. Homogenised Temperature Data From Australian Weather Bureau in Spotlight Again A report in The Australian has warned that the integrity of Australias historical temperature record is being challenged after the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) updated its temperature records for the second time in six years. The report cited environmental scientist Jennifer Marohasy who questioned how BoM could have released an updated dataset called ACORN-SAT version 2 in October 2018 that generated a 23 percent increase in the rate of warming, just through updating the official ACORN-SAT record. Marohasy shared a table comparing raw temperature readings and the two homogenised ACORN-SAT datasets, explaining that the data corrections have resulted in a rewriting of the temperature records of 112 weather stations dating back to 1910. ACORN-SAT stands for the Australian Climate Observations Reference NetworkSurface Air Temperatures. Temperatures are changed through a process known as homogenisation, and then changed again, sometimes by as much as 6.4 degrees Celsius (11.5 F) for the one day, Marohasy said in a blog post. Met. Bureau Rewrites History Again, at Alban pic.twitter.com/bTs0w9UNfz Jennifer Marohasy (@JennMarohasy) February 15, 2019 According to Marohasy, 44.8 degrees Celsius (112.6 F) was the maximum temperature measured at Albany, Western Australia, on Feb. 8, 1933. In the year 2012, BoM homogenised the maximum temperature to 51.2 degrees Celsius (124 F), before it was recently revised to 49.5 degrees Celsius (121.1 F). While various accounts have revealed that it is not unusual for weather bureaus to change temperature recordsNew Zealands National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) was involved in a court battle with climate skeptics who claimed that scientists had taken raw temperature records and adjusted them resulting in warming trendMarohasy questioned the rationale behind the scale of the homogenisation applied to the Albany records on Feb. 8, 1933. Usually past temperatures are cooled relative to the present as part of remodelling, Marohasy explained. But she found it unusual that the Feb. 8, 1933 Albany temperature record had been increased so much by BoMs homogenisation, given that cooling the past relative to the present has the effect of exaggerating global warming. Given the magnitude and direction of this change to the Albany temperatures, which was first made six years ago, several of us asked the bureau: Why?' Why was the temperature at Albany on this day (February 8, 1933) adjusted-up by so much (6.4 degrees) in the official version 1 of the ACORN-SAT data set that was published six years ago? Marohasy said she never got a response. When The Australian contacted BoM, a spokesman strongly defended the second version of ACORN-SAT, describing it as an improved official homogeneous temperature data set with rigorous and reliable methodology. The new data set has benefited from numerous scientific and technological advances which have occurred over the past six years, as well as the insights and recommendations from an independent ACORN-SAT technical advisory forum, the spokesperson told News Limited. It also contains new data which was not previously available when the bureau developed the first data set. However, Marohasy is not satisfied with BoMs explanation that homogenisation is worlds best practice, and that ACORN-SAT is scientific. She questions the scientific merit of making unconventional adjustments to historical temperatures. It is not scientific to make such changes to temperature measurements, though this type of change, she said. The integrity of the historical temperature record is of extraordinary importance. This record also underpins belief in catastrophic human-caused global warming. Given the apparent lack of transparency surrounding BoMs homogenisation methods, Marohasy says she holds grave concerns when she sees leading climate scientists like Sophie Lewis and David Karoly refer to the revised ACORN-SAT data as observations in their peer-reviewed scientific publications. They erroneously refer to ACORN-SAT Version 1 values as observations, Marohasy wrote. Most climate scientists seem to want to believe that the temperature values that they are working with represent real measurements but they dont. The Australian reported that the overall changes in ACORN-SAT 2 have increased Australias temperature movements for the past 100 years by 23 percent to 1.23 degrees Celsius (34.2 F), which would is very close to the 1.5 degree Celsius warming that the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been warning of. Marohasy questioned how BoMs homogenisation could have resulted in a 23 percent increase in the rate of warming compared with the previous official ACORN-SAT temperature record. The temperature increase in the maximum temperature dataset is now 0.116 degrees Celsius compared to 0.09 degrees Celsius in ACORD-SAT version 1. The incorporation of data from new sites may account for some of the 23 per cent increase, Marohasy told The Australian, because the bureau have opened new sites in hotter western NSW, while closing higher-altitude weather stations, including Charlotte Pass in the Snowy Mountains. She added that the effect of changing from manual to automatic weather stations had also not been assessed properly. Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott previously advocated for BoMs behaviour to be forensically investigated. However, BoM only faced a technical panel review of its network equipment and temperature data handling that eventually found no major issues with the homogenisation methods it uses. However, the panel recommended that BoM introduce confidence levels or error margins in the data. BoM admits it has not yet finished implementing the recommendation but promises that work is underway to investigate ways to introduce uncertainty and confidence intervals for temperature data observations, adjustments, and national averages. This work will be made available to the public following thorough peer review, a spokesman said. Here Is What Jussie Smollett Told the Empire Cast After Being Released From Jail After being charged with making a false police report and released on $100,000 bond, Actor Jussie Smollett returned to the set of his Fox show Empire and begged fellow cast members for forgiveness while swearing he is innocent, according to sources who spoke to TMZ. Im sorry Ive put you all through this and not answered any calls. I wanted to say Im sorry and, you know me, I would never do this to any of you, you are my family. I swear to God, I did not do this, Smollett told the cast, TMZ reports. The apology reportedly moved Smollett to tears and he had to leave the set and come back after collecting himself. It was obvious Jussie had been crying a lot, so producers said he would have to come back later. He did, and were told he is currently shooting the scene, the TMZ source said. According to the police, Smollett staged the attack because he was unsatisfied with his $1 million salary. Smollett wrote a $3,500 check to two Nigerian-American brothers who were extras on Empire, Abel and Ola Osundairo, to carry out the hoax crime. The bit of street theater included a noose, bleach, and a pair of plain red hats made to resemble ones worn by supporters of President Donald Trump. Smollett claimed that his attackers tied the noose around his neck, splashed him with bleach, and yelled This is MAGA country, a reference to the acronym of Trumps campaign slogan, Make America Great Again. Bogus police reports cause real harm. They do harm to every legitimate victim, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a press conference on Feb. 21. Im offended by whats happened and Im also angry. This publicity stunt is a scar that Chicago didnt earn and certainly didnt deserve. Johnson also referenced the media frenzy that followed Smolletts allegations. The police chief said the news media relied entirely on Smolletts account and shoveled blame, without evidence, on Trump supporters and the president. Celebrities, news commentators, and even presidential candidates weighed in on something that was choreographed by an actor, he said. Many of those who reacted initially have declined to respond to the update, while others have said it didnt matter that Smollett appeared to make up claims of an attack. EXCLUSIVE: I tracked down surveillance of the Osundairos buying supplies before attack Sources say Jussie Smollet told brothers what to buy. Countless phone calls placed for this. Visited more stores than I wish to admit. @cbschicago https://t.co/GT6h2g6Y9a pic.twitter.com/ULr3UTDe9Q Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) February 20, 2019 Two weeks before the incident, Smollett received a threatening letter that featured a stick figure with curly hair with a noose around its neck and a death threat. The envelope was filled with white powder, which investigators said was crushed Tylenol. Police now say Smollett mailed the letter to himself and orchestrated the attack. Chicago police assigned a dozen detectives to the case who followed leads from a grainy surveillance video to identify the Osundairo brothers. Investigators managed to pin down a rideshare cab the brothers use and traced the payment to one of their personal accounts. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis waves after speaking about Venezuela before the arrival of President Donald Trump during a rally at Florida International University on February 18, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Florida Governor Welcomes Amazon with Open Arms Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis welcomed global e-commerce giant Amazon on Feb. 20 in response to the companys recent decision to pull out of a planned headquarters expansion in New York City. While touting Floridas low taxes, and business-friendly political and economic culture, DeSantis said, On behalf of Florida, and to companies like Amazon, we welcome you. The newly elected governor of the nations third most populous state also cited the failed deal as an example of growing anti-business demagoguery on the progressive left. If you look at what just happened to Amazon in New York City, there is a hostility, DeSantis said in a speech at the Economic Club of Florida in Tallahassee. These political hostilities, I think, matter more than any of the other things. Florida is a place where you can do well without facing the political blowback that you are seeing in other parts of the country, he said. Our posture here is one of welcoming, not demagoguery and hostility. In many ways, the message spoke to the larger conflict of visions between the increasingly influential socialists in the Democratic Party, and the low-tax, low unemployment policies that define the Trump economy. DeSantis was enthusiastically supported by President Donald Trump in his bid for governor but was nearly defeated in November 2018 by former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, a far-left Democrat who was endorsed by the self-identifying socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and financially backed by billionaire George Soros. No HQ2 Perhaps no other single person did more to undermine the Amazon deal than self-avowed socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). For months, Ocasio-Cortez drummed up local activist resistance, in addition to her immense social media following, to the companys attempt to build a second headquarters, dubbed HQ2 in Queens, New York. The freshman congresswoman hails from Queens and regularly denounced Amazons hiring practices, wages, and lack of unionization. She took particular issue with New Yorks decision to offer $3 billion in state and city tax incentives if the company could meet its proposed employment and community investment commitments. Ocasio-Cortez wanted the $3 billion to go to teachers and to fix the citys subway system, although the money mostly only existed as a reduction in Amazons long-term tax liability. Overall, the deal would have yielded an estimated 25,000 jobs and nearly $30 billion in tax revenue over 25 years. But Amazon finally relented last week amid the extreme political pressure. After much thought and deliberation, weve decided not to move forward with our plans to build a headquarters for Amazon in Long Island City, Queens, an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement on Feb. 14. While polls show that 70 percent of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City, the statement said. For her part, Ocasio-Cortez celebrated: Anything is possible: today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers & their neighbors defeated Amazons corporate greed, its worker exploitation, and the power of the richest man in the world, she said in a tweet. In a follow-up interview with NBC News the same day, Jodi Seth, head of policy communications for Amazon, said, If you talk to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, its Never Amazon. It wasnt any one incident, Seth said. It was that the environment over the course of the past three months had not got any better. There were some local and state elected officials who refused to meet with Amazon and criticized us day in and day out about the plan. Thanks For Nothing, AOC! The fallout of Ocasio-Cortezs efforts reaped bipartisan scorn. Republicans predictably chided the 29-year-old socialist, but New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, an establishment Democrat, lambasted the activism that led to the debacle, although he didnt single out Ocasio-Cortez by name. A small group politicians put their own narrow political interests above their communitywhich poll after poll showed overwhelmingly supported bringing Amazon to Long Island Citythe states economic future and the best interests of the people of this state, Cuomo said in a statement. On Feb. 20, a Times Square billboard denounced Ocasio-Cortez for her role in terminating Amazon HQ2. Thanks For Nothing, AOC! the billboard stated. Job Creators Network, the group that sponsored the sign, issued a statement saying, The pullout of Amazonbecause of anti-business politicians, notably Ocasio-Cortezis a major blow to the New York economy. The retreat will not only cost the area $12 billion in economic activity, but 25,000 new jobs that would have paid an average salary of $150,000. Alfredo Ortiz, president and CEO of Job Creators Network, offered his own message about the dangers of socialism and what he sees as an unsettling trend. The Amazon pullout is a perfect example of what weve been saying: socialism takes and capitalism creates, Ortiz said. The economic consequences of Amazons pullout is just a small taste of the harm that is to come if Ocasio-Cortezs anti-business canon comes to fruition and is made federal policy. In Florida, DeSantis called the Amazon-related political hostilities and New Yorks oppressive high tax regime a vicious cycle. High taxes and a rising antipathy toward business is making people leave, he said, while adding that the cycle will continue unless they change. We are living through a real-life experiment about what type of economic policies succeed and what types do not, or are even counterproductive, DeSantis said. Judge Brian Cogan upper right, gives instructions to jurors in the trial of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in New York. On Feb. 20, 2019, El Chapos lawyers raised concerns of potential juror misconduct and said they were reviewing all available options after a juror at the notorious Mexican drug lords trial told a news website that several jurors looked at media coverage of the case against a judges orders. (Elizabeth Williams via AP) Feds: El Chapos Sons Indicted on Drug Conspiracy Charges WASHINGTONTwo sons of notorious drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman have been indicted on drug conspiracy charges, the Justice Department said on Feb. 21. Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 34, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez, 28, are charged in a single-count indictment that was unsealed last week in Washington. Prosecutors allege the two brothers conspired to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana into the United States from Mexico and elsewhere in the world from 2008 to 2018. They are both believed to be living in Mexico and remain fugitives. Their father was convicted earlier this month on drug and conspiracy charges in New York. During a trial that lasted more than three months, prosecutors portrayed El Chapo as the calculating leader of a bloodthirsty smuggling operation that funneled tons of cocaine and other drugs into American cities. The offenses could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. Feds: El Chapos sons indicted on drug conspiracy charges https://t.co/dPH51Tz5AC pic.twitter.com/PZwz6GPlG4 PIX11 News (@PIX11News) February 22, 2019 Prosecutors have said Guzman, who twice escaped from prison in Mexico and was extradited to the United States last year for his trial, had amassed a multibillion-dollar fortune smuggling tons of cocaine and other drugs in a vast supply chain that reached well north of the border. Their father was convicted earlier this month on drug and conspiracy charges in New York. https://t.co/cIj5BAi9Ip ABC7 Sarasota (@mysuncoast) February 22, 2019 His lawyers raised concerns of potential juror misconduct after a juror told VICE News that several members of the panel looked at media coverage of the case and followed Twitter feeds of reporters, against a judges orders, making them aware of potentially prejudicial material that jurors werent supposed to see. Attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told The Associated Press on Thursday that there are now serious questions surrounding Guzmans conviction this month on drug-smuggling and conspiracy charges, and that he plans to ask District Judge Brian Cogan to bring in all 12 jurors and six alternates to question them about reports several flouted admonitions to avoid media accounts of the case. In some cases, similar jury shenanigans have been deemed prejudicial enough to warrant a new trial, a possibility experts say cant be ruled out in Guzmans case. This is a question about fundamental fairness, said former federal prosecutor Duncan Levin. Its presumptively prejudicial for a juror to have this information, and its a step more outrageous for them to have accessed it when the judge specifically told them not to. In El Chapos case, the anonymous jurors were not sequestered but were escorted by U.S. marshals to court, where they were required to give up their phones. They were allowed access to their devices at any other time, though the judge gave them a standard instruction each day not to view news or social media about the case. Still, the juror who spoke with VICE News said five jurors involved in the deliberations and two alternates had heard about child rape allegations that had been made against Guzman and covered by the news media but not admitted into the trial. The juror also described an instance in which a juror used a smartwatch to look up a news story just moments after Cogan met with them privately to ask them whether they had been exposed to any recent media coverage. But convincing Cogan that the misconduct was real and that it is enough to order a new trial is a long shot, said former federal prosecutor Michael J. Stern. The judge will have to decide whether there was a reasonable possibility that the information could have affected the jurys verdict, Stern said. Either way, Lichtman said, the revelations surrounding the panel that convicted his client are sad and distressing. Guzman, who is facing a mandatory life sentence, is going to die in jail, he said. Thats why I repeatedly asked the jury to just give him a fair trial. It turns out that was too much to ask. By Michael Balsamo, Jim Mustian And Tom Hays Federal Judge Rules Prosecutors Broke the Law in Epstein Plea Deal A federal judge ruled Thursday, Feb. 21, that prosecutors at the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Florida broke the law when arranging a controversial plea deal for accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein, a wealthy, politically connected former New York City hedge fund manager with a Palm Beach, Florida, mansion, spent only 13 months in a private area of the Palm Beach County jail while being accused of molesting more than 100 underage girls over an eight-year period. He allegedly operated an international child sex ring at his Palm Beach mansion and 72-acre private island estate in the Caribbean. The minor-aged girls, mostly 13 to 16 years old, were often transported from the United States to his island estate on his private jet. According to U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marras 33-page opinion, Epstein and his co-conspirators knowingly traveled in interstate and international commerce to commit sexual abuse and other violations of not only Florida law, but also federal law. In addition to his own sexual abuse of the victims, Epstein directed other persons to abuse the girls sexually, the ruling stated. Epstein used paid employees to find and bring minor girls to him. Epstein worked in concert with others to obtain minors not only for his own sexual gratification but also for the sexual gratification of others, the ruling continued. But instead of prosecuting Epstein, now 66, the U.S. Attorneys Office negotiated a nonprosecution agreement, or NPA, which gave Epstein, his accomplices, and his Palm Beach and private island guests immunity from federal prosecution if he met the terms of the deal. The NPA was also sealed, which had the effect of keeping Epsteins victims uninformed about the plea negotiations occurring between federal prosecutors and Epsteins team of super-lawyers until after his lenient sentencing in 2008. That was a violation of law, Marra determined. The court is simply ruling that, under the facts of this case, there was a violation of the victims rights under the Crime Victims Rights Act, he concluded. A Deviation From Standard Practice Two of Epsteins underage victims, known as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida after the 2008 surprise sentencing on the grounds that they were never given an opportunity to express their opposition to the plea. Thursdays judgment affirmed their claim, albeit 11 years later. The ruling noted that the FBI had given Jane Doe 1 a standard Crime Victims Rights Act, or CVRA, notification letter in September 2007. The letter promised a reasonable right to confer with the attorney for the United States in the case, and to be reasonably heard at any public proceeding in the district court involving [a]plea. But from the time the FBI began investigating Epstein until the plea deal was finalized, the U.S. Attorneys Office never contacted the victims about the plea or even told them a plea was under consideration, according to the judge. Epsteins lawyers that included Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz and former Clinton-era independent counsel Kenneth Starr, were aware that federal prosecutors were deliberately keeping the NPA secret from the victims, and, indeed, had sought assurances to that effect. It was a deviation from the governments standard practice to negotiate with defense counsel about the extent of crime victim notifications, the decision said. But on top of keeping the victims in the dark, the judge also determined that prosecutors were actually misleading the victims into believing that federal prosecution was a possibility. While the government spent untold hours negotiating the terms and implications of the NPA with Epsteins attorneys, scant information was shared with victims. Instead, the victims were told to be patient while the investigation proceeded, the ruling stated. The victims and the U.S. Attorneys Office were given 15 days from Thursdays ruling to inform the court of how they wish to proceed. Renewed Interest Although the case occurred more than a decade ago, renewed interest has invigorated the highest levels of the U.S. government. On Feb. 6, the Department of Justice (DOJ) opened an investigation into possible professional misconduct regarding the U.S. attorneys handling of the case. Despite facing a potential life sentence in federal prison under human trafficking laws, Epstein was allowed to plead guilty to two state prostitution charges amounting to 18 months in county jail, although he served only 13 months. The deal also allowed Epstein to leave the jail for 12 hours a day, six days a week, and work unsupervised at his downtown West Palm Beach office. And in addition to affording his co-conspirators immunity, and in many cases anonymity, the NPA provided that it would not be available under public records laws. If the United States receives a Freedom of Information Act request or any compulsory process commanding the disclosure of the agreement, it will provide notice to Epstein before making that disclosure, Judge Marra noted in his decision. U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, (R-Neb.), has taken particular interest in the case. He recently sent two separate letters to the DOJ urging an investigation of the plea dealone on Dec. 3, and another Jan. 14. On Jan. 15, Sasse pressed President Donald Trumps U.S. attorney general, William Barr, for a commitment to investigate the plea deal during his confirmation testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. If Im confirmed, Ill make sure your questions are answered, Barr said at the time. When the DOJ opened its internal investigation on Feb. 6, Sasse issued a strongly worded statement. Jeffrey Epstein is a child rapist and theres not a single mom or dad in America who shouldnt be horrified by the fact that he received a pathetically soft sentence, Sasse said. The victims of Epsteins child sex-trafficking ring deserve this investigationand so do the American people and the members of law enforcement who work to put these kinds of monsters behind bars, he said. Father of Alabama ISIS Bride Files Lawsuit to Overturn Decision to Block Her Return The father of the ISIS bride who left her Alabama home to travel to Syria has filed a lawsuit challenging the decision by the U.S. secretary of state and President Trump to block her return. Hoda Muthana, 24, is alleged to have been a prominent online agitator for ISIS, marrying three members of the terrorist organization after she traveled to Syria in 2014. Tracked down by media in a refugee camp a few days ago, now with an 18-month-old son, she expressed her wish to return to the United States, stirring controversy. On Feb. 20 the United States said she wont be allowed back into the country. A civil complaint filed by her father Ahmed Ali Muthana on Feb. 21, claims that his daughters right to citizenship cannot be unilaterally revokedcitizenship that does not exist, according to an earlier statement by Mike Pompeo. Ms. Hoda Muthana is not a U.S. citizen and will not be admitted into the United States. She does not have any legal basis, no valid U.S. passport, no right to a passport, nor any visa to travel to the United States, Pompeo said in a statement. President Trump later stated he had instructed Pompeo to block her return. With ISIS territory squeezed to its final dregs by U.S.-led forces in the last couple of months, interest has grown in the so-called ISIS brides who traveled from the West and are now accumulating in the refugee camps in Syria as the caliphate shrinks to nothing. The British home secretary recently announced he had revoked the citizenship of a Shemima Begum, who traveled to Syria as a schoolgirl, aged just 15, from her home in London to join the so-called caliphate. She gave birth in the last few days in a Kurdish refugee camp, after sparking controversy with a number of interviews. Her family, too, has challenged the governments decision. Interviews in the Refugee Camp According to the Guardian, Hoda Muthana was the only woman to travel from America out of the estimated 1,500 people in the same camp (estimated to hold nearly 40,000) who traveled from Western nations, predominantly Europe. She left the country in 2014 to join ISIS, the Islamist terrorist group. She later called for Muslims who live in the United States to launch terror attacks. In one missive posted on Twitter in 2015, she wrote: Go on drive-bys and spill all of their blood, or rent a big truck and drive all over them. Veterans, Patriot, Memorial etc. Day parades go on drive bys + spill all of their blood or rent a big truck n drive all over them. Kill them. Muthana married an Australian jihadi extremist who died in battle. she then before married a Tunisian ISIS terrorist who also died in battle. Its not clear if her third husband, a Syrian jihadi, is still alive. She has expressed regret for her actions in media interviews, in which she said she was brainwashed and said she is willing to face the legal consequences. Success Will Likely Result in Prosecution Her father is being represented by the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America (CLCMA), funded by the Muslim Legal Fund of America. In a statement, they said, All parties involved, including Ms. Muthana, recognize that success in this lawsuit will likely result in Ms. Muthanas prosecution on allegations of material support of terrorism for her actions while Syria. Ms. Muthana has publicly acknowledged her actions and accepted full responsibility for those actions. The lawsuit is a civil suit that names President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr. The lawsuit seeks declaratory relief recognizing her U.S. Citizenship, and injunctive relief requiring the United States to made good faith efforts to return her and her young son. Citizenship is a core right under the Constitution, once recognized should not be able to be unilaterally revoked, said the statement. In an earlier interview, Pompeo told FOX Business this is a woman who has inflicted enormous risk on American soldiers and American citizens. Shes a terrorist. One of the attorneys for the case, Charles Swift, is best known for winning the Supreme Court case in 2006 that ruled the Bush administration did not have the authority to set up the military commissions to try terrorist suspects in Guantanamo Bay. ISISs once-sprawling caliphate that stretched over much of Syria and Iraq, is now confined to Baghouz, a town in eastern Syria. On Feb. 20, ISIS looked close to defeat in its last enclave in eastern Syria as civilians poured out, and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said the remaining jihadi wanted to fight to the death, Reuters noted. More than 2,000 civilians left the village of Baghouz in a convoy of dozens of trucks. Coalition warplanes could be seen overhead, and the sounds of intermittent gunbattles could be heard from the area, which is completely surrounded by the SDF. The terrorists are entrenched inside, still betting on ending it militarily, said Mustafa Bali, head of the SDF media office. Our forces said from the start that they have two options: unconditional surrender or for the battle to continue until its end. Reuters contributed to this report. Family of ISIS Bride Sickened by Her Vile Comments but Cannot Abandon Her The family of jihadi bride Shamima Begumwhose return to the UK has been blocked on grounds of affiliation with the ISIS terror grouphas told the British government in a letter they are sickened by the comments she has made in interviews, but want authorities to reverse the decision to strip her of British citizenship. In a letter to British Home Secretary Sajid Javid, reportedly seen and cited by the BBC, the family said they wish to make clear, that along with the rest of the country, we are shocked and appalled at the vile comments she has made to the media in recent days, but that the family cannot simply abandon her. The family called for a British court to review the UK governments decision to bar Begum from returning to Britain by revoking her British nationality. The letter, written by her sister Renu Begum on behalf of the family, also asked for the governments help in bringing the jihadi brides newborn son to the UK and noted that Shamima Begums incendiary public statements are not representative of British values, and my family entirely rejects the comments she has made. No Regrets In recent interviews, a largely unrepentant Begum said that while she did not agree with everything the terror group had done, she has no regrets about joining ISIS and suggested that air strikes against the terror group in Syria somehow justified the Manchester Arena terror attack. Its a two-way thing, really, she told the BBC, adding that the suicide bomber that killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester was a kind of retaliation for bombardments of ISIS-held enclaves, adding, So I thought, ok, that is a fair justification. "I didn't want to be IS poster girl" London teenager Shamima Begum, who fled to join Islamic State group in Syria, says she now wants the UK's forgiveness [Tap to expand] https://t.co/9KwR4TYUqA pic.twitter.com/JWsgeHHppl BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) February 18, 2019 Asked about her take on the particularly graphic atrocities the jihadi extremists are known to have carried out, Begum told The Times of London that seeing beheaded heads in bins did not faze her. When asked by a Sky News reporter, Did you know what Islamic State were doing when you left for Syria? Because they had beheaded people. There were executions, she replied, Yeah, I knew about those things and I was okay with it. Begum, who gave birth in a Syrian refugee camp last weekend, insisted that during her time with ISIS she was just a housewife and there was no evidence of her doing anything dangerous. Potentially Very Dangerous Security experts like British intelligence service head Alex Younger have warned, however, that would-be returnees like Begum were potentially very dangerous because having been in that sort of position people like her were likely to have acquired certain skills or connections. Survivors and other victims of the murderous cults reign of terror, meanwhile, are furious at the prospect of ISIS women getting a sympathetic hearing in the Western press, or worsea free pass. Ali Y. Al-Baroodi, who survived ISISs bloody occupation of Mosul, told the Jerusalem Post that claims on the part of jihadi brides that they were just housewives, as Begum has so insisted, are simply false. It was hell on Earth and every single one of them made it so, he said, asking sarcastically if perhaps local victims of the jihadi women should apologize for disturbing their stay there. [ISIS] demolished cities and hundreds of mass graves, [and left] thousands of orphans and widows, he added. Its impossible to muster sympathy for her, author and academic Idrees Ahmad wrote in reference to Begum, according to the Post. She went to Syria as a colonizer, several months after ISIS beheaded journalists and aid workers. Murderous and Misogynistic Cult In the letter, Renu Begum wrote that the family made every fathomable effort to stop Shamima Begum from joining ISIS in 2015. That year we lost Shamima to a murderous and misogynistic cult, she wrote. My sister has been in their thrall now for four years, and it is clear to me that her exploitation at their hands has fundamentally damaged her, Renu continued. The letter says: We have a duty to her, and a duty to hope that as she was groomed into what she has become, she can equally be helped back into the sister I knew, and daughter my parents bore. We hope you understand our position in this respect and why we must, therefore, assist Shamima in challenging your decision to take away the one thing that is her only hope at rehabilitation, her British citizenship. A Sky News reporter asked Begum in an earlier interview, One question that people are asking is whether you can be rehabilitated. She replied, It would be really hard because of everything Ive been through now. Im still kind of in the mentality of having planes over my head and an emergency backpack and starving, all these things. I think it would be a big shock to go back to the UK and start life again. Revocation of Citizenship UK authorities announced on Feb. 19 that they had moved to strip Begum of British citizenship, effectively blocking her re-entry. Exclusive: Shamima Begum has had her UK citizenship revoked by the British government, this letter seen by ITV News shows https://t.co/lFXaJFtBvM pic.twitter.com/7JMMPyKQNq ITV News (@itvnews) February 19, 2019 Under the 1981 British Nationality Act, a person can be deprived of their citizenship if the home secretary is convinced it would be conducive to the public good and provided that the individual does not become stateless. The Home Office said it is possible to revoke her British nationality on the grounds that she is eligiblethrough her motherfor citizenship of Bangladesh. However, Bangladeshs ministry of foreign affairs was cited by the BBC as saying that Begum is not a Bangladeshi citizen and there was no question of her being allowed into the country. In a statement cited by The Telegraph, the familys lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said, [The] Family are very disappointed with the Home Offices intention to have an order made depriving Shamima of her citizenship. We are considering all legal avenues to challenge this decision. Lord Carlile QC was cited by the Daily Mail as saying that while Britain has a strong case to block Begum from re-entry, she could use her newborn son to try and circumvent the move. He added that the case of Begumand by extension other ISIS would-be returneesis likely to be a headache for British authorities for some time to come. This is going to drag on for months or even years, Lord Carlile said. Since Begum began her campaign to be allowed back into Britain, it has emerged that at least a dozen more British jihadi women have surfaced in northern Syria, and may similarly seek re-entry to the UK. The approximately 12 women, as per multiple reports, are said to reside at the same refugee camp that is housing Begum after fleeing a losing battle against Western allies push to break the jihadi grip on Baghouz, the ISIS terrorist groups final stronghold in the region. Pigs are seen at the Zuqiao Slaughterhouse in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, on July 25, 2005. (China Photos/Getty Images) Experts Warn of Pollution, Human Health Risks from Spread of African Swine Fever in China The African swine fever has spread to 27 provinces in China, with Shandong Province the latest to report an outbreak on Feb. 20. The highly contagious disease kills nearly all pigs that contract it. The announcement from Chinas Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said that three pigs at a pig farm located in the provincial capital of Jinan died after contracting the virus, with 17 others showing symptoms of the disease. All 4,504 pigs on the farm were slaughtered in order to contain the disease. The carcasses were disposed of via burning or chemical treatment to ensure that no contamination occurs. But in an effort to save on proper carcass disposal costs, many pig farmers are throwing the carcasses into rivers and reservoirs, or burying them undergroundpotentially contaminating the soil and water sources. Carcass Problem State-run newspaper Nanguo Jinbao reported on Feb. 18 that about 50 pig carcasses were found floating in the Dule River, which runs through Liuzhou City in the southern Chinese region of Guangxi. On Feb. 12, Radio Free Asia published a video taken near the Nangang township in Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, where hundreds of pig carcasses can be seen floating in a river. The outbreak, which first appeared in the northeastern city of Shenyang in August last year, is taking its toll on China, as the worlds largest producer and consumer of pork. Now, the only four provinces left untouched by the disease are the northwestern regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, Hebei Province, and the southern island province of Hainan. Most pig farmers improperly discard carcasses due to the higher costs of a proper disposal. Hong Kong-based media Phoenix TV reported back in Sept. 2013 that proper disposal services by the authorities typically costs 200 yuan ($30) for each carcass. If a farmer chooses to do proper disposal themselves, the government will pay them 80 yuan ($12) for each pig as a subsidy. If the farm cannot do it by themselves and hires the authorities, the government pays just a 20 yuan ($3) subsidy. Chinese news portal Sohu reported in July 2017 that farmers can earn 200 to 300 yuan ($30 to $45) per pig if they sell the carcass to a slaughterhouse to process, though that is illegal. Lee Kwang-hoon, a Ph.D. of veterinary medicine from South Korea, told the Chinese-language Epoch Times on Feb. 20 that the problem with improper disposal is that the carcass could have other diseases. If the carcasses pollute water sources, then this could threaten the lives of other livestock who drink the water. In Chinas rural areas, drinking water is usually filtered but not sterilized. Lee is concerned that the polluted water can make people sick. Large amounts of E. coli can enter the water from dead pigs intestines. People will suffer diarrhea, abdominal pain, severe dehydration, and even death after drinking this kind of water, Lee said. Lee urged the Chinese regime to take action to prevent improper carcass disposal. Health Effects Chen Bingzhong, a Chinese health expert, told the Chinese-language Epoch Times in a Feb. 20 interview that the virus could potentially have a detrimental effect on human health. Chen, 86, is a retired professor from Peking Universitys Health Science Center and former president of the China Health Education Center, which served as the propaganda division of the central governments health department (the Ministry of Health before the agency changed its name to National Health Commission). The African swine fever virus is not known to have harmful effects to humans, but Chen said it could have the potential to affect ones nervous, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems, given the typical behavior of a virus. Chen said that a longer amount of time is needed to properly observe the viruss impact on the human body, including a pathological and toxicity analysis. Chen believes that the impact could be huge, especially for children, the elderly, or those with weak immune systems, as they could be susceptible to the viruss effect after eating infected pork products or drinking water that has been contaminated with the virus. Contaminated Food Products Recently, more food products made with Chinese pork have tested positive for African swine fever. Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea have already detected imported Chinese products with the disease. Meanwhile, the disease has appeared in pigs in Vietnam and Mongolia since January, though both countries have not yet linked the outbreak to China. Early on Jan. 22, Taiwan customs officials confiscated a ham sausage made by the Chinese brand Jinluo, originating from Shandong Province, after it tested positive for the virus. But at the time, the Chinese regime said there was no outbreak of the African swine fever in Shandong. Taiwans Council of Agriculture accused the Chinese authorities of failing to share the truth with them and not obtaining a real picture of the epidemic. Exclusive: Victor Davis Hanson on the Assault on Meritocracy, Politicization of the Virus, and the Platonic Noble Lie Deep 7.5-Magnitude Quake Hits Ecuador-Peru Border Region QUITO/LIMAA deep magnitude-7.5 earthquake struck the Peru-Ecuador border region early on Friday morning, Feb. 22, the U.S. Geological Survey said, causing tremors that the Ecuadorian president said were felt around the country. The quakes epicenter was in a sparsely populated area 140 miles (224 kilometers) east-southeast of Ambato, Ecuador, at a depth of 82 miles (132 kilometers). The USGSs initial reading assessed the quake, which occurred at 5:17 a.m. local time (10:17 GMT), at magnitude 7.7. One of the first photos coming out of Ecuador shows structural damage following a magnitude-7.5 earthquake there (Photo: Radio La Voz) pic.twitter.com/t6Gyp3JyVM Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) February 22, 2019 There was no risk of a tsunami being triggered, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and there were no initial reports of casualties or damage. Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno said on Twitter that preliminary reports do not indicate major damage, though he added that provincial response teams had been activated and that the tremors had been felt throughout the country. Compatriotas queridos, los reportes preliminares de los primeros sismos cerca de Macas no indican danos mayores. Fueron sentidos en todo el pais y algunos COE provinciales ya se han activado. Lenin Moreno (@Lenin) February 22, 2019 One resident in Cuenca, Ecuador, 157 miles (253 kilometers) from the epicenter, described the temblor as very strong, while a second resident there reported experiencing a good 30-second shake, according to witness statements on the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center website. Ecuadors emergency response service said the main quake and other smaller ones had shook the south of the country with reports of some minor injuries, evacuation of patients and staff from several hospitals and damage reported in some Amazonian towns. BREAKING Large earthquake early this morning in South America. Registered 7.5 near Palora, Ecuador. More details to come pic.twitter.com/0fW3YiC6w3 Leigh Spann (@WFLALeigh) February 22, 2019 Some areas were without electrical power, authorities said, while the countrys oil pipelines and hydroelectric dams were operating normally. In towns near the epicenter of the quake, the tremors caused alarm. I felt the walls and the floor move. I was very scared and we went out to the street, Lissette Alarcon, a 25-year-old university student, told Reuters. We still arent used to these earthquakes, she said. A magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck Perus southern coast in January 2018, killing one person, injuring scores more and causing roads and homes to collapse. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake that shook a central area of the Ecuadorean coast on April 16, 2016, killed more than 700 people, destroyed hundreds of houses and caused more than $3 billion of losses. By Alexandra Valencia and Mitra Taj Washington Resigning His Commission. General George Washington resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in the Old Senate Chamber of the Maryland State House on Dec. 23, 1783. Edwin White/Public domain Continuing Lessons from Washingtons Farewell Address Commentary This Feb. 22 marks the 287th winter since George Washington was born to Augustine and Mary Ball Washington. The second son of a moderately successful planter, he would, of course, rise to become one of the most consequential figures of the millennium. Among his great attributes was his ability to exit his responsibilities on terms that left his station and those around him better than when he began. Nowhere is that more the case than when he left the presidency in 1797. After establishing the office, setting the essential precedents, keeping the nation out of a foreign war, and loaning his valuable reputation to the cause of the new government, he left behind a Farewell Address that continues now, more than 200 years later, to be read each year on the floor of the U.S. Senate. But, how many pay attention to its chastising lessons? Washingtons Farewell Address has as much to say to America today as it did to the America he left when he retired. It would be fitting and beneficial for all concerned Americans to read it anew on his birthday each year. Here are a few core lessons from Washingtons address that still speak to 2019 America. He urged on us a fidelity to the Constitution and a resistance to what he called the spirit of innovation against its principles, changing the Constitution only through the approved amendment process of Article V. It isnt hard to imagine what he would have thought of the modern Supreme Courts discovery of a variety of rights not specified in the Constitution or Congresss prescience to shirk its responsibilities through delegating its powers. He warned against the spirit of party in a way that we could all use a reminder of today, where our conservatism has come to mean whatever the Republican president says it does at the moment, and the other party seems to stand for nothing more than the defeat of the incumbent. Washington reminded us to stand by principles and patriotism and not parties or presidents. He reminded us that good, stable, constitutional government is based in serious deliberation on the common good and not partisan warfare. He urged us that no other appellation should surpass the common name of American. He instructed us in language that would shock most modern ears, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular governments and that public happiness depends on religion and morality, and, what is moreand what is borne out today daily in headlines from coast to coastthat morality cant be expected to prevail in a world devoid of religion. Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports, he told us. He warned us against permanent alliances and the need for impartial commercial relationships with foreign nations. And, as if speaking directly to the daily headlines of 2019, warned that against the insidious wiles of foreign influence the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government. Those most actively supporting the Mueller investigation might find support in that warning. But, he added a caveat that we all should pay close attention to: But that jealousy to be useful must be impartial, he instructed, else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defense against it. Washington predicted that foreign governments would use the political party system that might develop in the United States as a means of sowing division and gaining favor. But he also understood that there was an equally bad tendency of people to use such concerns for their own partisan agenda rather than for the good of the whole. How prescient Washingtons Farewell Address seems to still be today, more than two centuries after it was offered to the American people. If we would return to it again on the day of his birth and meditate on his many lessons for the United States, we might end up being a better nation able to manage our journey together through the choppy waters of the 21st century. Gary L. Gregg holds the Mitch McConnell chair in leadership at the University of Louisville, where he is also director of The McConnell Center. He is author or editor of a dozen books, including his young adult novels published as The Remnant Chronicles. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The man, later identified as Zachary Greenberg, who attacked conservative activist Hayden Williams at the University of California at Berkeley on Feb. 20, 2019. (Courtesy of Brad Devlin, @bradleydevlin/Twitter) Conservative Activist Assaulted on UC Berkeley Campus Conservative activist Hayden Williams was punched in the face and shoved by an unidentified man on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley on Feb. 19, according to video footage filmed at the scene. Williams was attacked while recruiting for Turning Point USA, a conservative activist group, according to group President Charlie Kirk. While recruiting for our group at UC Berkeley a leftist thug comes & assaults our activists punching him in the face & hitting him repeatedly. Imagine if the attacker was wearing MAGA hat, would be national news! Kirk wrote on Twitter. This is the violent left! LEFTIST VIOLENCE ON CAMPUS While recruiting for our @TPUSA group at UC Berkeley a leftist thug comes & assaults our activists punching him in the face & hitting him repeatedly Imagine if the attacker was wearing MAGA hat, would be national news! This is the violent left! RT! pic.twitter.com/7RjbCPUcDf Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) February 21, 2019 In the video footage, a young man dressed in black pants and t-shirt is seen shoving, dragging, and punching Williams. He then calls him a racist in an expletive-laden rant before throwing a vicious punch in the victims face. The video has been viewed more than a million times since it was posted on Feb. 21. Here is the altercation from my friends perspective. Conservative activists, take note. This is exactly the right thing to do, and I am so proud of him for recognizing the situation and not retaliating with violence. pic.twitter.com/QEuJWEQtz8 Brad Devlin (@bradleydevlin) February 21, 2019 Members of Turning Point USA had a small table set up on campus and held signs supporting Trump and condemning racism. The assailant approached the table and assaulted Williams physically and verbally before taking off on foot. A UC-Berkeley spokesman told Campus Reform on Feb. 20 that the attack is being investigated. Dan Mogulof, assistant vice chancellor for the Office of Communications and Public Affairs for UC-Berkeley condemned the behavior. Let me state in no uncertain terms that this university strongly condemns violence and harassment of any sort, for any reason. That sort of behavior is reprehensible and intolerable, Mogulof told Campus Reform. We have, in recent years, spent millions of dollars to ensure that students from across the ideological/political spectrum can safely and successfully promote and discuss their beliefs. Our commitment to freedom of expression and belief is unwavering. My friend, Hayden, wants to thank all of you for the love and support. Hes giving you a wink, and wanted to let you know youll be hearing from him soon! pic.twitter.com/6kPmFZgQgz Brad Devlin (@bradleydevlin) February 21, 2019 University of California Police Department in Berkeley put out a request on Feb. 20 for the public to help identify the attacker. UCPD Officers found an injured male on the Plaza who reported he had been assaulted. The victim reported he had been tabling for the group Turning Point when two males approached the table. When a verbal altercation started, the victim began filming the interaction with his phone, the police stated. A physical confrontation ensued when one of the two men slapped the phone out of the victims hand. The suspect then knocked over the table the victim was at and the two men struggled over the phone. During the incident, the suspect punched the victim several times causing injury to the victims eye and nose. The attack is the latest in an epidemic of assaults on supporters of President Donald Trump. Breitbarts John Nolte had tracked 639 such attacks by July last year. The attackers use of the racist term is particularly poignant because Trump supporters were falsely accused of racism as a result of the attack on actor Jussie Smollett, which police now say was orchestrated by the actor himself. The media used Smolletts allegations to attack Trump supporters and the president himself. There is no evidence that Trump supporters are racists. The label is nevertheless perpetrated by establishment media outlets that have repeatedly rushed to report unverified hoaxes without corroborating the facts. Prior to the Smollett incident, the media falsely reported on the encounter between Covington high school students and a Native American man who waded into their space beating a drum. One of the children, Nick Sandmann, sued The Washington Post for $250 million over the incident. Epoch Times reporter Petr Svab contributed to this report. Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the date when the incident at UC Berkeley happened. It was on Feb. 19. The Epoch Times regrets the error. Pan Jianwei, a Chinese physicist who won the 2018 Newcomb Cleveland Prize, was recently denied his U.S. visa application to attend the award ceremony. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images; USTC) Chinese Physicist Who Won Major Science Prize Denied US Visa to Receive Award Pan Jianwei, a Chinese quantum physicist who was part of a research team to win a top science prize, was denied a travel visa to attend the award ceremony held in the United States. Chinese state-run broadcaster CGTN first reported on Feb. 16 that Pans U.S. visa application was under administrative processing, preventing Pan from receiving the Newcomb Cleveland Prize at a ceremony held in Washington on Feb. 14. While its unclear why the U.S. authorities did not grant him the visa, Pan was recruited under Beijings Thousand Talents Plan, a state-run program designed to attract mostly ethnic Chinese scientists and engineers in the West to take up lucrative jobs in China. The program has been criticized by the U.S. administration as a project to encourage overseas Chinese to transfer technologies beneficial to Chinas national interests. The Newcomb Cleveland Prize was established in 1923, and is the oldest prize awarded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), according to the organizations website. The prize is given annually to authors of outstanding scientific papers published in Science magazine, a peer-reviewed academic journal published by AAAS. The winner receives a $25,000 prize. The 2018 Newcomb Cleveland Prize was granted to a team of 34 Chinese physicists, including Pan, from various institutionsthe first time scientists from China won the prize in its 95-year history. The winning paper was published in Science on Jun. 16, 2017. The research team sent photon pairs through a near-vacuum of space, and received the pairs 1,203 kilometers (747.5 miles) away successfully by using a satellite, making inroads toward establishing the infrastructure for a next-generation quantum internet. Photon is a type of quantum particle. Secure communication is of crucial importance in the modern world, Jeremy Berg, editor-in-chief of Science and chair of the Newcomb Cleveland Prize Selection Committee said in an AAAS report on Jan. 31. Berg said the methods of using quantum entanglement for a secure communication were first raised by Albert Einstein in 1935. Pan Jianwei, 48, was a leading physicist in the research. He is a professor at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Hefei City of eastern Chinas Anhui Province. Pan was also one of the first people recruited under the Thousand Talents Plan, according to a 2011 article on USTCs official website. This program, first launched in 2008, is managed by the Chinese Communist Partys Organization Department, which controls staffing positions within the Party and is hence one of the most powerful agencies. According to his online personal resume, Pan received a masters degree in physics from USTC in 1995, then went to Austria to earn his Ph.D. at University of Vienna the following year. His teacher was Anton Zeilinger, one of the worlds greatest living quantum physicists. USTC hired Pan as a professor in 2001. Despite the position, he stayed in Europe and worked for professor Jorg Schmiedmayer, an atomic and quantum physicist at Heidelberg University, until 2008. After he returned to China in 2008, Pan was named an academician at the state-run Academy of Sciences in 2011. The Academy recommended him as a Thousand Talents Plan recruit. In December 2013, he was appointed vice president of USTC. The Plan has been criticized by U.S. authorities as a method of Beijings intellectual property (IP) theft. The Thousand Talents Program offers competitive salaries, state-of-the-art research facilities, and honorific titles, luring both Chinese overseas talent and foreign experts alike to bring their knowledge and experience to China, even if that means stealing proprietary information or violating export controls to do so, Bill Priesta, the assistant director of the FBI Counterintelligence Division, told U.S. lawmakers at a Congressional hearing on Dec. 12, 2018. This is not the first time that U.S. authorities have restricted Chinese scholars; as part of President Donald Trumps efforts to stymie IP theft, since June last year, the U.S. Department of State has limited the duration of visas for Chinese graduate students, studying in fields targeted by Beijing for aggressive development such as aviation, robotics, and advanced manufacturing, to one year. U.S. higher education officials had Science Magazine in a June 2018 report that the new restrictions would make it more difficult for Chinese students in those fields to attend international conferences and collaborate with scientists abroad. About a month later, reports emerged that Rao Yi, a neuroscientist and dean of the Peking University School of Life Sciences, was denied a visa to attend a workshop in the United States. Rao had studied and worked in the United States for over two decades, but returned to China in 2007. Chinese pro-democracy groups gather outside the FBI building in Los Angeles to call on the U.S. government to bring communist spies to justice. (Xu Xiuhui /The Epoch Times) Chinese Americans Call for Exposure and Punishment of Communist Spies Four pro-democracy Chinese groups submitted a petition letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Los Angeles on Feb. 19 to expose the activities of Chinese communist spies in the Los Angeles area and to call on the U.S. government to pay more attention to Chinas human rights violations and bring communist spies to justice. Members from the Local Committee of China Democracy Party, the Los Angeles Chinese Democracy Platform, the Social Democratic Party, and Federation for a Democratic China took part in a demonstration in front of the FBI building, holding up anti-communist banners that read Expel the Chinese Communist Party, Stop Being a Communist Spy and Bring Meng Wanzhou to Justice. According to the main organizer of the event, Yao Cheng, the demonstration was part of a global anti-red devil activity in addition to Los Angeles, demonstrations were also held in New York, Washington, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and in the Canadian city of Toronto on the same day. In his speech, Yao said the red devil refers to the Chinese communist spies in the West and the leaders of various overseas Chinese associations who openly promote totalitarianism in the United States and have become more aggressive in recent years. Yao gave several examples in an interview with the Chinese-language Epoch Times. At the Flushing Lunar New Year Parade in New York on Feb. 9, a pro-communist group Chinese Anti-Cult World Alliance was banned from participating in the parade. The organization hired nearly 300 people to occupy Flushings Main Street, the main parade route, waving CCPs five-star red flags, he said. On Feb. 9, a Tibetan Canadian student, Chemi Lhamo, was elected student president of University of Torontos Scarborough Campus (UTSC) in Canada. But her Facebook and Instagram accounts were soon flooded with hateful messages from Chinese international students. They circulated a rumor that Chemi was going to use funds from the student union to support a cause for Tibetan independence, and they petitioned for her to step down. On Feb. 11, McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada held a seminar to raise awareness of the re-education camps in Chinas Xinjiang region where 1 million or more Uyghurs are believed to be detained. Former detainees have told The Epoch Times that Uyghurs are being tortured, raped, and killed in secretive political re-education camps. Chinese students attended the event only to cause trouble. Using foul language, they yelled at and verbally attacked the speaker, Rukiye Turdush, a Uyghur activist. Yao believes that the incidents in New York and Canada are manifestations of the CCPs infiltration in North America. For the past 70 years, the CCP has used its power to brainwash and persecute the Chinese people. He said that the CCPs behavior is like a devil plaguing mankind and it is even more disturbing to see how the CCP influences other countries. Yao hopes to see the trial of Huaweis chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou. The U.S. government charged Huawei and Meng for violating sanctions against Iran and for stealing trade secrets from American company T-Mobile. But more importantly, we must stop the CCPs further infiltration. The American and Canadian governments must find ways to curb the CCPs aggressive ideological expansion, Yao said. Zheng Cunzhu, an attorney from Los Angeles, said that overseas Chinese leaders are hypocritical and pretend to be patriotic by uniting the Chinese and promoting Chinese culture, but in reality, they serve as the eyes and ears of the CCP to monitor the Chinese in the West, and use despicable means to threaten and attack pro-democracy groups. In an interview with the Chinese-language Epoch Times, Zheng shared some incidents involving the CCPs infiltration in the Chinese community in Los Angeles. A while ago, a number of pro-democracy activists in the Los Angeles area hired a firearms instructor to teach them about gun safety and laws related to the use of firearms in America. But soon after, the instructor received threats and was pressured to cut his ties with the group. He was even told that his class had been videotaped and photographed. The instructor got scared and agreed not to train pro-democracy activists in the future. In another incident, a businessman provided a warehouse for pro-democracy activists to have meetings on weekends. In less than two months, the businessman was dismissed from his position inside China and lost his job in the United States. All these incidents prove that the CCPs minions are doing evil deeds in democratic societies. The CCP not only controls China, but also reaches out into overseas Chinese communities, Zheng said. Fu Jun, director of the Southern California branch of the Federation for a Democratic China, wished to remind overseas Chinese that they must stay alert, as these red devils are causing chaos and stirring up conflict in the Chinese community. The red campaigns they instigated and organized obviously violate the U.S. laws. We hope the U.S. government will enforce the law strictly, and arrest and expel these bad guys accordingly, Fu said. Zheng mentioned the recent story of Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo who was accused of attempting to influence Australian politicians on behalf of the CCP. On Feb. 5, the Australian government rejected Huangs citizenship application and revoked his permanent residency. These so-called patriotic overseas Chinese leaders enjoy a free environment in the West, but they constantly help the CCP destroy freedom and democracy in Western countries, he said. The Australian government is doing the right thingcancel their permanent residency and send these patriotic hypocrites back to China, as they love the Chinese communist regime so much. Epoch Times staff Xu Xiuhui contributed to this report People check on travel packages offered by travel agencies during the Guangzhou International Travel Fair in Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong Province on March 3, 2018. Travelers in China were blocked from buying plane tickets 17.5 million times in 2018 as a penalty for failing to pay fines or other offenses, the Chinese regime reported this week on penalties imposed under a controversial "social credit" system. (Chinatopix via AP) China Bars Millions From Travel for Social Credit Offenses BEIJINGForgot to pay a fine in China? Then forget about buying an airline ticket. Would-be air travelers were blocked from buying tickets 17.5 million times last year under a controversial social credit system the ruling Communist Party says will improve public behavior. Some 5.5 million people were barred from buying train tickets, according to the National Public Credit Information Center. In an annual report, it said 128 people were blocked from leaving China because they were behind on their taxes. The ruling party says penalties and rewards under social credit will improve order in a fast-changing society. Three decades of economic reform have shaken up social structures. Markets are rife with counterfeit goods and fraud. The system is part of efforts by the Chinese regime to use technology from data processing to genetic sequencing and facial recognition to tighten control. Authorities have experimented with social credit since 2014 in areas across China. Points are deducted for breaking the law or, in some areas, offenses as minor as walking a dog without a leash. Human rights activists say social credit is too rigid and might unfairly label people as untrustworthy without telling them they have lost status or how to restore it. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence criticized it in October as an Orwellian system premised on controlling virtually every facet of human life. The ruling party says it plans to have a nationwide social credit system in place by 2020 but has yet to say how it will operate. Possible penalties include restrictions on travel, business and access to education. A slogan repeated in state media says, Once you lose trust, you will face restrictions everywhere. Companies on the blacklist can lose government contracts or access to bank loans. Offenses penalized under social credit last year ranged from failure pay taxes to false advertising or violating drug safety rules, the government information center said. Individuals were blocked 290,000 times from taking senior management jobs or acting as a companys legal representative. It gave no details of how many people live in areas with social credit systems. Social credit is one facet of efforts by the ruling party to take advantage of increased computing power, artificial intelligence and other technology to track and control the Chinese public. The police ministry launched an initiative dubbed Golden Shield in 2000 to build a nationwide digital network to track individuals. The ruling party is spending heavily to roll out facial recognition systems. Human rights activists say people in Muslim and other ethnic minority areas have been compelled to give blood samples for a genetic database. Those systems rely heavily on foreign technology, which has prompted criticism of U.S. and European suppliers for enabling human rights abuses. This week, Waltham, Massachusetts-based Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. said it no longer would sell or service genetic sequencers in the Muslim-majority region of Xinjiang following criticism they were used for surveillance. As many as 1 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang are detained in political re-education camps, according to U.S. officials and United Nations experts. Former detainees allege that Uyghurs are being tortured, raped, and killed in these secretive camps. The Chinese regime has used the excuse of potential extremist threats to justify its strict surveillance and crackdown on Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in the region. By Joe McDonald. The Epoch Times contributed to this report. Chicago Radio Host Demands Jussie Smollett Apologize to the Entire City for His Racial Hoax Chicago radio host William Kelly said Empire actor Jussie Smollett owes an apology to the entire city after allegedly perpetrating a fabricated racial attack against himself. The manpower of the Chicago police department has been completely misdirected towards solving this hoax, which has created a national firestorm against my city, okay? The city of Chicago. The city that I was born and raised in, that I love with all my heart, he said Thursday on Fox & Friends. And whenever I travel now throughout the country, throughout the world the first thing I hear from people is crime, murder. And now Jussie Smollett. We cannot let this go without an apology and, in my opinion, an arrest, a prosecution, and a punishment. This particular hate hoax has to be atoned for. WATCH: Kelly also said there were a number of red flags in Smolletts initial account of the alleged incident, like the fact that any bleach that was poured on him would have frozen to his face immediately during the polar vortex. First of all, the good news is that nobody in Chicago believed this hoax, okay? Because, first of all, anyone whos ever been to Chicago knows this is not MAGA country, he said. We have not become MAGA country here in the city of Chicago quite yet. Okay? But, you know, the combination of, you know, first of all, this allegedly took place at 2:00 a.m. in the morning during a polar vortex and bleach was allegedly poured over Jussie Smolletts head. Anyone whos been in Chicago for the last month knows that if any liquid was poured over your head it would be frozen to your face for life, okay? Im not a detective. But I do know that this, that this hoax did not add up from the word go. Not to mention the fact that anyone whos ever been raised in Chicago knows that the fact that nobody was shot during this alleged incident proves this was a hoax. By Nick Givas | Media And Politics Reporter You can Follow Nick on Twitter China's then-Vice President Xi Jinping (now Chinese leader) unveils a plaque at the opening of Australia's first Chinese Medicine Confucius Institute at the RMIT University in Melbourne on June 20, 2010. (William West/AFP/Getty Images) Canadian Province Closing Chinas Confucius Institute Education minister says program gives a friendly face to a regime responsible for more deaths than any other in history TORONTOThe Canadian province of New Brunswick has decided to give the boot to Chinas Confucius Institute, with the education minister saying the programs aim is to put a friendly face on a regime responsible for more deaths than any other in history. Education Minister Dominic Cardy said the program provides a one-dimensional view of China, influencing students so they only have a positive image, CBC reported. Their job is to create a friendly, cheerful face for a government that is responsible for more deaths than nearly any other in the history of our species, Cardy told CBC. And I dont think in an education system that is supposed to be the vehicle that transmits our values to the next generation, that showing that were open to a government that behaves that way is appropriate. Cardy said five students who attended the Confucius Institute (CI) made complaints about the program, saying certain topics such as Taiwan were off-limits in the classrooms. The provinces Department of Education officially began its partnership with CI in 2008. Cardy says he hopes the program will be gone by June. Confucius Institutes are branded as cultural and educational programs and are pushed by Beijing for hosting at academic institutions abroad. In Canada, about 10 educational institutions currently host CIs. Typically, the teachers and curricula for CIs are selected and paid for by the Chinese communist regime. The institutes are said by intelligence agencies to be used by Beijing to exert influence overseas. In 2010, then-head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Richard Fadden said CIs are under the control of Chinese embassies and consulates, and linked them with some of the regimes efforts to influence Canadas China policy. Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a former senior manager with CSIS, says many Western counter-intelligence agencies have identified CIs as forms of spy agencies used by the regime. Other institutions in Canada and around the world in recent years have also closed their partnerships with CIs. In 2014, the Toronto District School Board decided to remove CIs from the citys schools after an outcry by the community. A year before that, McMaster University closed its CI after China refused to remove clauses that violate human rights in its hiring practices for teachers who would end up working in Canada. A clause in CIs hiring contract for teachers stipulates that they cant practice Falun Dafa, a spiritual meditation practice severely persecuted by the Chinese regime. The University of Sherbrooke in Quebec also decided to shut down its CI, and the University of British Columbia and University of Manitoba have rejected Chinas offers to host an institute. In the United States, the University of Minnesota became one of the latest educational institutions to announce the closure of its CI recently, citing shifting priorities as well as new federal policy as the reason, Minnesota Daily reported. Under the National Defense Authorization Act signed into law last year, the U.S. Department of Defense is prohibited from funding Chinese-language programs offered by CIs. Several other U.S. universities have also moved to announce closures of their CIs over the past two years, including the Universities of North Florida, West Florida, South Florida, University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign, Texas A&M University, University of Iowa, University of Rhode Island, University of Michigan, and North Carolina State University. Previously, University of Chicago and Pennsylvania State University had also shut their CIs. More European universities have also started to shut their CIs, with the University of Leiden in the Netherlands becoming the latest to end its partnership with the institutes, announcing the decision on Feb. 19. In a report issued last year, the National Association of Scholars in the United States recommended that all universities shut their CIs, citing concerns about intellectual freedom, transparency, being prone to not give an objective view of China due to financial entanglements with China, and being used as a means to advance Chinas soft power. Other institutions in Canada that continue to host CIs are British Columbia Institute of Technology, Saint Marys University, Dawson College, Carleton University, University of Regina, University of Waterloo, Brock University, University of Saskatchewan, the Coquitlam School District, Seneca College, and Edmonton Public Schools. The latter renewed its contract with its CI in January. Canada is currently in the midst of a diplomatic row with China, after Beijing detained two Canadians citizens and increased the prison sentence of another to a death sentence. This came after Canada arrested Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. extradition request. Last week, a British political group warned that CIs threaten academic freedom and spread Chinese communist propaganda, with lawmaker Fiona Bruce asking for a review to assess whether the institutes represent a threat to academic freedom, freedom of expression, other basic rights, and indeed national security. Last year, FBI Director Christopher Wray said that the bureau is keeping a watchful eye on CIs. We do share concerns about Confucius Institutes. Weve been watching that development for a while, he said in a February 2018 U.S. Senate hearing. This undated photo provided by the Orange County District Attorney's Office shows James Neal. (Orange County District Attorney's Office via AP) Authorities Release Photo of Suspect in 73 Killing COLORADO SPRINGS, ColoradoCalifornia authorities have released a decades-old photo of a suspect in the 1973 killing of an 11-year-old girl in the hopes of jogging the memory of potential witnesses. Officials in Orange County said on Thursday, Feb. 21, that the photo may depict what James Neal looked like around the time Linda OKeefe was killed. Theyre asking anyone who saw him around then to come forward. The photo shows a smiling Neal with bushy hair and a mustache. The 72-year-old was in court in Colorado on Thursday. A judge scheduled a Feb. 28 hearing on his extradition. Neal was arrested this week in Colorado Springs in the killing the girl in Newport Beach, California. Linda was seen July 6, 1973, walking home from summer school, and her body was found the next day. Authorities say Neal lived in Southern California in the 1970s. A Colorado man arrested after DNA tied him to the 1973 killing of an 11-year-old California girl has yet to decide if he will fight extradition. The Colorado Springs Gazette reports 72-year-old James Neal, of Monument, nodded at his crying relatives as he was led into court for a brief appearance Thursday. A judge scheduled a Feb. 28 hearing, where Neal could say if he will fight extradition to California to face a murder charge. Next court date in Colorado for accused child killer James Neal is set for Feb. 28th. We expect to learn more about his extradition process at that time. pic.twitter.com/v7i0nKCiKg Michael Konopasek (@MikeKonopasek) February 21, 2019 Neal was arrested in Colorado Springs on Tuesday for investigation of killing 11-year-old Linda OKeefe in Newport Beach, California. Authorities say Neal lived in Southern California in the 1970s. Linda disappeared on July 6, 1973. She was seen walking home from summer school, and her body was found the next day. A photo of a smiling Linda OKeefe has hung for years on the wall of the police department in Newport Beach, reminding investigators to keep pressing forward on cold cases like hers. Authorities said they never gave up the search for her killer, even after decades passed and her parents had died. The suspects DNA profile was uploaded to a criminal database in 2001 but there were no hits for years, authorities said. They got a hit this year on a genealogical database, leading investigators to obtain a DNA sample from Neal, and it matched, Spitzer said. Neal lived in Southern California at the time of OKeefes killing and moved to Florida soon afterward, where he changed his name, Spitzer said. OKeefes two living sisters have been told about the arrest, authorities said. Over the years, hundreds of people have worked on the case, the police chief said. #COLDCASE CLOSED: Cindy Borgesons sister disappeared while walking home from school in 73, her body was found in a ditch. 45 years later, #NewportBeach investigators say they found the man responsible: 72-year-old James Neal in Colorado. FULL STORY: https://t.co/OAvVeuylOw pic.twitter.com/5ptBfwUP7k Melissa Egan (@_MelissaEgan) February 21, 2019 One of them was now-retired Newport Beach police Officer Stan Bressler, who said OKeefes death stunned the community and was never forgotten. Every once in a while, you just think, Gee, I wonder if well ever find him, he said. By Amy Taxin 4 Cases of Sexual Torture of Falun Dafa Adherents Documented by Gao Zhisheng Editors note: The Epoch Times is publishing a number of articles exposing the use of torture by the Chinese regime against the groups it targets, and the suffering and harm it causes to those subjected to it. In December 2005, human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng published his third open letter to top Chinese officials calling for an end to the campaign of persecution of Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong) practitioners launched by the Chinese Communist Party in 1999. He had travelled to several provinces to investigate abuses against practitioners while they were detained, and he included some of their accounts in the letter. Our investigation has shown that the system of re-education by labour, in its illegal deprivation of freedom, has been abusive beyond imagination, Gao wrote. Following are excerpts from four practitioners accounts included in the letter, titled We Must Immediately Stop the Brutality That Suffocates Our Nations Conscience and Morality. The excerpts are only a small example of the vicious torture these four practitioners endured over repeated detentions. Sexual Torture with Toilet Brush (Chang Xuexa, Dalian) The swarm of inmates struck and kicked me from every side. I passed out. They dropped me on the floor and forcefully stepped on my face and arm to see if I was faking. When I woke up, I could not move my left arm, for my elbow was dislocated. I still refused to renounce Falun Dafa. They stripped me naked, and several inmates began pinching my breasts, plucking my pubic hair, and stabbing my vagina. They used a brush that usually cleaned the water tank. They then put a basin under my lower body to see if I was bleeding. Since no blood came out, the inmates switched to a larger brush and repeatedly stabbed my vagina with it. What I had suffered in the camp was not the most brutal. Another practitioner named Ms. Wang Lijun was tortured in the small metal cage three times. Inmates tied many knots on a thick rope and pulled it back and forth in a sawing motion across her vagina. Her entire lower body swelled up. The head policewoman then ordered inmates to jab her swollen vagina with the thorny end of a broken mop stick. This torture caused Ms. Wangs vagina to bleed profusely. Her abdomen and vagina were so swollen that she could not pull up her pants, sit, or urinate. Ms. Wang still could not sit upright two months after the sexual torture. Her legs were also disabled. I also witnessed these inmates applying this same torture on a virgin. The head police officer also put venomous bugs on female practitioners bodies. Vagina Smashed with Iron Rod (Liu Shuqin, Changchun) Because there was not any good skin remaining on my body [due to many days of torture], the policemen started to shock my private parts with electric batons and pierced them. Afterwards they used an iron rod to smash my private parts. I passed out. Half an hour later they came out to see if I was still alive. I did not know how much time passed before morning arrived. I was already at the brink of death. I was carried to the Changchun City police department. There were many small cells, each with a tiger bench inside. There were female Dafa practitioners on every tiger bench. Most of them had fainted, with their lower bodies naked or with only a cloth covering the body. Incessant Humiliation and Sexual Assault (Wang Yuhuan, Dalian) We, the female practitioners, were all stripped naked and tied with limbs spread apart on a bed board for over 26 days. We suffered incessant humiliation and sexual assault from male police, doctors, and inmates. They handcuffed my hands behind my back and put a cloth bag on my head. They used a rope to tighten the bag on my neck so that I couldnt see anything and I could hardly breathe. Then they tied me up using ropes and put me in the trunk of the police car. They drove to a mountain where they brutally tortured Falun Dafa practitioners at will. Many fellow practitioners were tortured to death in this place. Mr. Liu Haibo was stripped of all his clothes and forced to kneel down. Police pushed the longest electric baton they could find into Lius bottom and gave his organs electric shocks. He died immediately. Mr. Liu Yi, a doctor from the Luuyuan District Hospital, was in his thirties when he was tortured to death in this devils hole. Twenty-three practitioners were tortured to death there. I knew many of them. The police simply buried their bodies in a hole. Xiang Min, a pretty Dafa practitioner, was carried back after a round of torture. She told me that the police sexually harassed her by touching her bottom while giving her electric shocks. Close to 30 practitioners were tortured to death in that round of arrests. Sexual Torture with Electric Baton (Wei Chun, Changchun) They did not allow me to sleep for five days and nights. My hands were handcuffed behind my back the entire time. They put lit cigarettes into my nostrils and mouth. My mouth was filled with cigarettes. At one time, a policeman hit my head with an iron club. On June 4, Mr. Liu Yonglai, Mr. Qu Fei, Mr. Huang Wenzhong, and myself were brought to the 4th floor. They took off all of Liu Yonglais and my clothes and handcuffed us together face to face. They used six electric batons on both of us, and shocked us on our heads, backs, thighs, genitals, both sides of our chests, and necks. The electric shocks continued for about one hour, and then they separated us. They handcuffed Lius hands behind his back and made him crawl on the grass. They put two chairs on his back and asked two criminals to sit on the chairs. Then, another six criminals used six fully charged electric batons and repeatedly shocked his back, buttocks, neck, calves, soles of his feet, and genitals at the same time. They even pulled out his penis to shock it separately. A section of border wall is constructed on the U.S. side of the border in Tijuana, Mexico on Jan. 28, 2019. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) 30-foot Border Wall Begins Construction In California Several days after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency, construction began on the fifth border wall project of his administration. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Tuesday that work has started on replacing 14 miles of a steel-mesh fence along the U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego, The Associated Press reported. The fence is being replaced with 30-foot high steel bollards. It is actually the second layer of barrier to be put up in the area, with the first layer nearly complete. SLSCO Ltd., a company located in Galveston, Texas, scored the $101 million contract in December 2018. The Trump administration has already awarded around $1 billion in contracts to cover 97 miles of the southern border, with the project in San Diego being one of the latest. Trump touted the construction Wednesday of a border wall in New Mexico. WATCH: We have just built this powerful Wall in New Mexico. Completed on January 30, 2019 47 days ahead of schedule! Many miles more now under construction! #FinishTheWall pic.twitter.com/TYkj3KRdOC Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2019 Progress continues after the president secured billions more in funding for border wall construction. Trump signed into law an appropriations bill earlier in February that doles out $1.375 billion for 55 miles of new wall, an amount immigration hardliners said was not enough. However, the president then took the controversial step on Feb. 15 of declaring a national emergency, which allowed him to allocate a total of about $8 billion in federal funds. A construction crew works on replacing the U.S.-Mexico border fence as seen from Tijuana, in Baja California state, Mexico, on Jan. 9, 2019. (Photo: GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP/Getty Images) The emergency order has been adamantly opposed by Democrats and progressive groups. A coalition of 16 states, led by California, filed suit against the president on Monday in an attempt to strike down the crisis declaration. A number of liberal organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Biological Diversity, have also leveled suits against the administration. By Jason Hopkins Follow Jason on Twitter. We've got some bad news for all you Limer's out there... This afternoon , Auckland council and AT have announced that they are going to be temporarily suspending Lime's license in Auckland meaning you won't be seeing the scooters in Auckland from tomorrow. Earlier this week, council chief operating officer Dean Kimpton said in the joint statement: "Auckland Council has formally written to Lime twice this week to request urgent updates, for us to be able to decide on any next steps from a licensing perspective, We have also asked Lime to provide information on the number of scooters affected, the technical issue leading to failure, its proposed solution including how it will manage pulling affected scooters off the streets, and assurance there will be no further malfunctions." The suspension only applies to Auckland at the moment so for now, you don't need to worry if you're in Christchurch or Wellington. The council will review the issue again next week to decide if they'll lift the suspension or if the scooters will be gone for good. Watch the video below: Click the image to the left and log in to get your exclusive reader perks. Terry Kovel and Kim Kovel answer questions sent to the column. By sending a letter with a question and a picture, you give full permission for use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names, addresses or email addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of photographs, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The amount of mail makes personal answers or appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, (The Daily Times), King Features Syndicate, 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803. This is the temporary subscription pass for users returning from the Vision Data subscription process. Your subscription will be updated within 24 hours, after your information is verified. Please click the button below to get your pass. One of the leading backers of the North Richmond safe injecting room says it is not working as well as intended and has called on the state government to extend its opening hours. Despite new data revealing there was a 7 per cent drop in public overdoses in the six months after the centre opened last June, Reason Party leader Fiona Patten, admitted the safe injecting room had only brought about a modest improvement in the area. Medical supplies at the safe injecting room. Credit:Darrian Traynor She said the centres limited operating hours had led to potential clients using drugs in the streets after it closed, which was fuelling community frustration. Ms Patten pointed blame at local councils and police who she said have stopped patrolling areas near the Lennox Street centre which were previously monitored. Concern is growing for a Brisbane man who's not been seen since Egyptian authorities agreed to free him from a Cairo prison, where he has been held without charge for more than a year. Egypt's prosecutor-general ordered the release of Hazem Hamouda, a dual Egyptian-Australian citizen, on Tuesday. Mr Hamouda with his Australian-born daughter, Lamisse. But Mr Hamouda, 55, did not at appear at the designated time or place, his eldest daughter Lamisse Hamouda, 29, said on Friday. "It just like the first time when dad went missing at the airport, it's baffling that this can happen," she said. A redrawn catchment for the new inner Sydney high school has failed to appease parents, who accuse education authorities of splitting their community and trying to neutralise calls for a new eastern suburbs high school. When the catchment for Inner Sydney High was revealed last year, there was an outcry from families that lived across the road but would not be included in the enrolment zone. Education Minister Rob Stokes ordered a review. The new boundaries, released on Friday, include larger sections of Redfern than the previous catchment, but are otherwise the same. They still extend east to Centennial Park and Edgecliff, and exclude Waterloo and parts of Darlington. The new school will be 14 storeys high, have brand new equipment and cutting-edge design, and feature five floors devoted to subjects such as science, music, food technology and visual arts, making it attractive to parents in the surrounding suburbs. At the next "prac" class, Ulrike arranged the remains of the sarcoid very nicely on a plate, suitably decorated with flowers, and announced the diagnosis to the whole class. She reiterated Professor Blood's previous statement and offered the plate to him from a distance, on a surgical trolley. Curiosity and a sense of adventure were laced with humour and truth-seeking, traits that continued throughout her life. In the first few years of her veterinary career, Ulrike worked mostly in large animal practice in Leongatha and Corowa before travelling to Europe in 1975, where she was employed as a locum in mixed practice, with a stint at the London Zoo, until 1977. In 1979 Ulrike married Graham Hobbs, a now-retired lawyer and the love of her life. Together they established Graham's practice in the same building as the successful Highton Veterinary Clinic, which Ulrike ran until 2010. In the beginning, Ulrike was Graham's legal secretary, and he was her veterinary nurse. Ulrike was an excellent veterinary surgeon, physician and human and animal acupuncturist, who treated and healed many broken bodies and minds with and without fur. Ulrike's first exposure to acupuncture was in 1982 for a cat with a paralysed bladder and amazed by the experience, she commenced a part-time human acupuncture course in 1984, graduating with a Diploma of Human Acupuncture in 1986. She, Graham and four other directors ran the human acupuncture college with 90 students from the mid-1980s until that course was transferred to Victoria University eight years later. Since the mid-1980s, Ulrike became involved with the recognition of acupuncture in both humans and animals and played a huge role in developing and providing training in veterinary acupuncture in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region. With the encouragement of Dr Allen Schoen (USA) and involvement of Dr Carl Muller and Dr Chris Robinson, Ulrike established the Australian IVAS course in 1991 and was instrumental in developing and delivering the course curriculum up until early this year. With her constant efforts, the course has been continually updated and improved to ensure the highest standards of delivery and optimum learning experiences for veterinarians wanting to integrate acupuncture into their practices. After decades of lobbying, one of Ulrike's most significant and latest achievements is bringing the Australian IVAS course into the mainstream of continuous education for veterinarians. The Centre of Veterinary Education (CVE),located at the University of Sydney, as the world's first organisation dedicated to postgraduate veterinary education, will be running the course from 2019 with the assistance of the lecturers,demonstrators and directors of the Australian College of Veterinary Acupuncture Ltd, all trained by Ulrike. Apart from developing and delivering the IVAS course in Australia, Ulrike attended and spoke at numerous conferences in Australia and internationally. In 1996, she travelled to Switzerland for the 22nd IVAS World Congress as Australian delegate and was then awarded by her international peers for her leadership and co-ordination of the IVAS courses in Australia. Ulrike was also a founding member of the AVAG ( Australian Veterinary Acupuncture Group) a special interest group of the AVA in the mid-1980s and was AVAG president from 1993- 2003. She was the AVAG representative in the AVA Policy Council from 2006- 2012 and held numerous other committee positions in both IVAS and AVAG ( IVAS Board of Directors, Education Committee, IVAS House of Delegates). In 1999, she received the AVA Meritorious Service Award and was an AVA life member. In February 2013, Ulrike, together with Dr Carl Muller, Dr Christopher Robinson, Dr Esther Horton, Dr Joanne Milan and her husband Graham Hobbs, founded the Australian College of Veterinary Acupuncture Ltd. In addition to delivering the Australian IVAS Course Certification and providing continuous education for IVAS graduates, the vision of this not-for-profit organisation was to improve the status and acceptance of veterinary acupuncture and to fund much-needed research into veterinary acupuncture. Ulrike was an avid and thorough researcher. She was involved in correcting the misconceptions in the two NHMRC( National Health Medical Research Council) reviews of veterinary acupuncture with her early observations and incisive essay on the non-existent placebo effect of acupuncture on animals in the late 1980s. She was a writer of numerous articles and case studies, lecturer of pilot electives (animal acupuncture) at the Veterinary Faculty of Melbourne University (1998) and a media speaker on radio and television concerning acupuncture. She was an Academic Associate of Melbourne University and hosted and provided work experience for a number of overseas and local veterinary students, as well as veterinary nurses and local school students. Ulrike was a patient and dedicated lecturer who put her heart and soul into teaching and promoting veterinary acupuncture. Assisted by Dr Carl Muller and Dr Chris Robinson and other guest lecturers, Ulrike has taught over 525 veterinarians in her time and by doing so has given countless animals the access to skilled and effective acupuncture treatment. The same trio and demonstrators were invited and delivered the Australian IVAS course in Cremona, Italy in 1999 to 48 veterinarians. Chinese-Australian businessman Chau Chak Wing has been awarded $280,000 in damages including interest after he won his Federal Court defamation case against The Sydney Morning Herald over an online article linking him to a US bribery scandal, in a decision that will be appealed by the publisher. In a judgment delivered on Friday, Federal Court Justice Michael Wigney said the October 2015 article by former Asia Pacific editor John Garnaut adopted a "sneering and deprecating" tone and rejected the Herald's defence of qualified privilege relating to publications in the public interest. Chau Chak Wing outside the Federal Court in June last year. Credit:Peter Rae Justice Wigney said the article used "sensational and hyperbolic language" and went beyond conveying a "strong suspicion" that Mr Chau was involved in bribing a former UN official in 2013 and instead suggested he was guilty of doing so. Quoting from a 1963 British case, Justice Wigney said "[a] man who wants to talk at large about smoke may have to pick his words very carefully if he wants to exclude the suggestion that there is also fire". The Menzies Coalition government took power in 1949, post-war reconstruction ebbed, the Transport Department was stripped back, and Ray's career stalled. He transferred to the Australian Post Office. Moving to the outer suburbs, the Marginsons raised a family, with five children born between 1951 and 1963, though the second died just a few days after birth. Ray began to rise rapidly, becoming Post Office Controller of Finance in 1963. The top jobs in the Commonwealth public service beckoned. However, the career ladders were mostly in Canberra. When the University of Melbourne advertised the new position of vice-principal in 1966 Ray seized the opportunity to return to hallowed ground. The university: crisis and relief Ray knew little about the financial crisis that had triggered the creation of his post. When he saw the state Auditor-General's damning report on the university, he almost rescinded his resignation from the Post Office. Melbourne had an impossible annual deficit, and there was clear evidence of malpractice. A Royal Commission was looming. With allies on the council and professoriate like R. Douglas "Pansy" Wright, Ray worked furiously to reorganise the administrative systems, establish full operational control, develop a registry, begin site planning and made inroads into the financial problem. He was helped by his capacity to work across political divides, honed in the public service. David Derham, vice-chancellor from 1968, reinforced the new centralisation while devolving financial responsibility to more accountable faculty deans. They were not natural allies but saw each other's strengths and worked together. Once the worst of the crisis had passed Ray could spend more time on planning, staff development, buildings and grounds, the Howard Florey Institute for medical research, and the arts. Internal traffic was curtailed; courts and spaces were created; botanical plantings lifted the site. Meanwhile, the arts provided "some personal relief", as Ray put it later, amid the financial dramas. Many of the university's vast holdings of paintings, ceramics and sculptures had been lost, misplaced or damaged. His secretary, Robyn Patton, retrieved a Rembrandt etching from under the stage in the conservatorium. The next steps were a comprehensive catalogue, a herculean effort, and later the University Gallery. Ray trawled the bequests for potential arts funding, stroked donors, pumped up acquisitions, ran complex individual collections like those of Russell Grimwade and the anthropologist Donald Thomson (Ray chaired the Thomson Committee for 40 years, stepping down when he was 91), populated the grounds with statues and installed a successful artist in residence program. Bronze sculptor Michael Meszaros said in 2013: "His appreciation of many different artists' work was broad and inclusive, encouraging each artist to work in the way that suited each one best and not trying to impose preconceptions on them." Ongoing uncertainty around China's decision to restrict Australian coal entering the Port of Dalian has raised concerns that BHP, Glencore and Peabody Energy may have to scramble to find buyers for any unwanted coal. The port's new curtailment of thermal coal imports is an escalation of China's decision to implement a 40 to 60 day customs period - instead of the usual 20 day - on coking coal, with Australia singled out for tighter restrictions. The Chinese Port of Dalian has placed heavy restrictions on and potentially banned Australian coal for an unknown period. Credit:Darren Pateman China is heavily reliant on Australian thermal coal for its power stations and coking coal to make steel and is one the largest consumers of Australian coal. Credit Suisse analyst Matthew Hope said any restrictions of Australian coal would force the miners to search for new markets to take their lower quality product but they may find few willing buyers. Suburban office and logistics specialist Growthpoint Properties is diving back into the once-struggling Perth market as it looks for growth beyond the healthy values and earnings generated by its east coast holdings. The removal of substantial sub-leasing space and subdued development activity made purchasing a $91.3 million A-grade West Perth building an attractive entry point into the states office market, managing director Tim Collyer said. Rising rents and property values have lifted half-year profits at the group, which owns the largest metropolitan office portfolio in the A-REIT sector, to $86.5 million on the industrys preferred measure, funds from operations. Growthpoint is building a 20,000 square metre office at Botanicca Corporate Park. Revenue of $136 million from ordinary activities - excluding a significant lift in property valuations - rose 3.6 per cent over six months to December 31, giving Growthpoint momentum to settle the West Perth purchase. There's a problem with crash diets: After shedding a few pounds, you indulge yourself and put them straight back on again. Qantas Airways risks learning that lesson with its ambitious plan to create a world-spanning network of ultra-long-haul routes. The new planes making such journeys possible are certainly more fuel efficient than their predecessors but if you use them to fly farther than previously thought possible, you risk squandering the benefit. How is an airline that's buying more efficient jets failing to get more efficient performance? Credit:Bloomberg Fuel costs rose $416 million in the December half, driving the carrier's key measure of underlying profit before tax to its biggest decline in four-and-a-half years, its results published this week show. The pain was particularly concentrated on longer overseas routes, which accounted for just over half of the increased kerosene spending. The government should use a levy on banks to help to cover the multibillion-dollar costs of any future use of the taxpayer guarantee of bank deposits, the International Monetary Fund says. In a detailed review of the financial system, the Washington-based IMF reiterated its support for moving to a government-guarantee of bank deposits that is specifically funded by a levy - such as the government's bank tax - rather than paid for from the budget if a bank were to collapse. Although it acknowledged the idea had previously been rejected by the government, and the 2014 financial system inquiry, the fund on Friday said the current system, introduced at the height of the global financial crisis, is fraught with "moral hazard." APRA chairman Wayne Byres said the regulator was committed to a "major data transformation program." Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Financial stability risks in Australia had diminished since its last such review in 2012, it said, and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg highlighted the fund's comment there had been changes to "further strengthen the financial system". Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. February 22, 2019: Global IT professional services market size is expected to reach USD 1.07 trillion by 2025 with a CAGR of 8.4%, according to a new study conducted by Grand View Research, Inc. Growth in demand for knowledge-based services and preference for flexible and customizable professional services are driving the global market. Enterprises across various end-use industries are under mounting pressures to reduce capital expenditures and increase operational efficiencies. The adoption of IT professional services has been growing as these services can help reduce the overall IT costs, and in turn, the capital expenditure. Benefits associated with these services, such as ease of deployment, lesser risk, and higher security, have also been aiding the market growth. Download sample Copy of This Report at: https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/it-professional-services-market/request-sample Incumbents of the BFSI, retail, telecommunication, and IT industries prefer cloud-based services. As the number of enterprises opting for digital transformation continues to increase, vendors are finding it more convenient to deliver IT services through the cloud technology. It also allows providers to expand their geographic reach and offer scalable services, as well as on-demand support. Tech companies, marketing firms, and consulting companies are the largest users of IT professional services. Digitization, big data analytics, and Business Intelligence (BI) are some of the key functionalities being outsourced to reduce the administrative costs and overheads. However, concerns over data security and protection of privacy and confidentiality are some of the factors that may hinder the market growth. Complete Report Available @ https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/it-professional-services-market Further key findings from the study suggest: The market is significantly diverse and fragmented but led by a few well-established companies, including Accenture PLC, Capgemini SA, IBM Corp., and Microsoft Corporation The ability of the vendors to provide cloud-based, tailored, and secured solutions would influence the customers' buying decisions The cloud segment is expected to witness the fastest CAGR over the forecast period Technology and consulting companies have emerged as the largest adopters of IT professional services and would continue the trend in the years to come The North America regional market led the global IT professional service market in 2017 and is expected to register a CAGR of 7.5% over the forecast period. However, Asia Pacific is anticipated to be the fastest-growing regional market with a CAGR of 9.6% during the forecast period About Radiant Insights Radiant Insights is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. We assist and facilitate organizations and individuals procure market research reports, helping them in the decision making process. We have a comprehensive collection of reports, covering over 40 key industries and a host of micro markets. In addition to over extensive database of reports, our experienced research coordinators also offer a host of ancillary services such as, research partnerships/ tie-ups and customized research solutions. For More Information, Visit Radiant Insights Contact: Michelle Thoras Corporate Sales Specialist, USA Radiant Insights, Inc Phone: 1-415-349-0054 Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519 Email: sales@radiantinsights.com Blog URL: http://ictmarketforecasts.wordpress.com Amid mixed reactions, the Orleans Parish School Board voted unanimously Thursday to approve a charter agreement that will pave the way for a partnership between Hynes Charter School and the University of New Orleans. The agreement allows 15 percent of the new school's seats to be reserved for children of full-time UNO employees, including professors and custodial staff. Another 25 percent of the seats will be reserved for residents living within a half-mile of the school and 25 percent for residents in a geographic zone encompassing two ZIP codes. New Hynes Charter School on UNO campus to reserve some seats for university employees When officials announced in November that a new campus of the highly rated Hynes Charter School would be opening in Gentilly in partnership wi Amanda Aiken, the OPSB's portfolio officer, said the district was "enthusiastic" about the prospect of creating an additional campus for the A-rated Hynes, one of the most in-demand schools in the city. The preference for families affiliated with UNO, Aiken said, is allowed by a state law that says up to half the school's seats could be reserved for employees' children. She noted that the university is providing land for the school. The School Board also provided materials showing the school will give preference to minority and low-income students. One of the ZIP codes the school will serve, 70122, is 80 percent African-American and has 23 percent of its residents living in poverty. The other ZIP code, 70126, is 93 percent African-American and 33.5 percent living in poverty. Half the parents who spoke at the School Board meeting said they were excited about the new school, while the other half raised concerns. Some brought up enrollment priorities for the current Hynes campus that mean it has a high percentage of white students. That campus, 990 Harrison Ave., has in recent years accepted up to 66 percent of its students from the school's immediate ZIP code, which is more than 90 percent white and has a poverty rate of just 6.5 percent, according to 2017 census data estimates. Data from Oct. 1 enrollment counts show that 359 of Hynes' 711 students, or 50.5 percent, are white and that 31.8 percent of its students are economically disadvantaged. Demographic data provided by the OPSB in January showed that throughout the city's public schools, 78.2 percent of students are black and 81.9 percent are considered to be "at risk." "Can we expect you to launch charter schools with other universities in New Orleans? Especially HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities)?" asked Wanda Romain, a parent advocate and educator. The new school will operate at the former Jean Gordon School "swing space," 6101 Chatham Drive, until a new building is constructed on the UNO campus. It will replicate Hynes' curriculum and will offer a French immersion program. Hynes has received an A grade from the Louisiana Department of Education for more than five years and is one of the most coveted schools in the city. Last year, it received more than 1,000 applications for just 75 kindergarten seats. The son-in-law of a former Mandeville mayor found himself embroiled in international intrigue this week, when he and other heavily armed Americans were arrested Sunday in Haiti as part of what some officials there believe was an attempted covert government mission. In a saga where many details are still foggy, Dustin Porte of Mandeville and four other Americans were flown back to the U.S. on Wednesday, three days after Haitian authorities in the island nation's capital of Port-au-Prince detained them, two Serbian nationals and a local man. They were caught at a checkpoint with an arsenal of rifles and pistols in the two cars they were driving. The men some with past ties to the U.S. military initially claimed to be on some sort of government mission, and later said they were providing security for a businessman working with Haitian leaders. Nonetheless, it remains unclear what their mission was and for whom they were acting. Citing federal sources, the Miami Herald reported Thursday that neither Porte, 43, nor any of his compatriots will face charges from the U.S. government. The affair has caused outrage in Haiti. Prime Minister Jean Henry Ceant went on CNN on Wednesday to call the detained men mercenaries and terrorists who were trying to destabilize the Caribbean nation, where recent economic turmoil and corruption allegations have put the poverty-stricken country of 11 million on edge. The U.S. State Department on Thursday said the detainees return to the U.S. was coordinated with authorities in Haiti but declined further comment. Porte is the husband of ex-Mandeville Mayor Eddie Prices daughter. In 2014, he founded Patriot Group Services, according to Louisiana business records. The company, which lists an address in Old Mandeville, is an electrical contractor that received a $16,000 subcontract from the Department of Homeland Security, the Miami Herald reported. Reached by phone Thursday, Portes mother, Inez, said that as far as she knew, her son would not be charged with a crime, and his family was trying to help as much as it could to get him back home. A staffer for U.S. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, whose district includes Mandeville, said the Republican congressman's office had been in contact with Porte's family and was waiting for more information from the State Department. According to the Herald, Porte formed part of a multinational group that included at least two former Navy SEALs Christopher McKinley, 49, and Christopher Osman, 44 and Marine Corps veteran Kent Kroecker. The remaining American in the group was 52-year-old Talon Ray Burton, who directs a security company named Hawkstorm Global, according to the Herald, which has reported extensively on the saga. The Serbian nationals were 37-year-old Danilo Bajagic whose LinkedIn profile says he works for a security company near Washington, D.C. and Vlade Jankvic, 41. The eighth man, Michael Clifford Estera, 39, is a Haitian national who may have been deported from the U.S., the Herald reported. 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 Riding in a Toyota Prado and a Ford truck without license plates, the men were stopped Sunday at a police checkpoint a block from Haitis central bank. Officers found six rifles, six pistols, two sophisticated drones and three satellite phones. Investigators learned that an ex-Haitian government official had originally purchased one of the vehicles and then sent it to Fritz Jean-Louis, an adviser to President Jovenel Moise, the Herald reported. After the men were detained, Jean-Louis claimed they were on a mission to evaluate the nation's central bank, the Herald said. He then left Haiti. Haitian officials, including Port-au-Prince police and the banks chief, rejected the explanations from Jean-Louis and the men. Porte and his companions were jailed on counts of illegal weapon possession and driving in cars lacking license plates. Speaking with the Herald, a human rights activist who monitored the arrests accused the men of working under the orders of Moise, the president. The activist, Pierre Esperance, said presidential staffers pushed for the captured men to be freed without condition, but police resisted. As word of the cloak-and-dagger affair spread, an agitated Ceant, the prime minister, told CNN that the eight were all terrorists and mercenaries aiming to throttle the government. He didnt explain further, CNN reported. Ultimately, Porte and six others were flown back to the U.S. on Wednesday. Only Estera remained in Haiti to face charges. The Herald quoted sources as saying that the U.S. government had intervened, citing concerns for the detainees safety. Esperance on Thursday said that he and others in his country were upset that the local justice system was not allowed to handle the case and that the U.S. had meddled in Haitian affairs. "It shows there was a conspiracy," he told the Herald. Staff writer Bryn Stole contributed to this report. The house may have burned, but the tradition has not. Rex organization officials announced Thursday they will continue the "beautiful tradition" of stopping at a historic New Orleans home for a Mardi Gras morning toast, despite the massive fire Wednesday that destroyed the St. Charles Avenue building and also the "loving cup" used in the ceremony. I imagine itll probably be a more emotional event than usual," said James Reiss, a krewe official. He did not elaborate on how the toast might play out differently from in past years, given the state of the home. Can't see video below? Click here. "We don't know yet. Something will happen," Reiss said. "Our intention right now is that everything done in past years will be done this year." The fire at 2525 St. Charles was declared under control at 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, about six hours after dozens of firefighters began arriving at the scene. However, firefighters were still pouring water on hotspots within the home Thursday. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. Rex's decision to stick with tradition comes less than two weeks before Mardi Gras, and as final preparations for Carnival's biggest two weekends of parades were in full swing. On Thursday, Mayor LaToya Cantrell held a second news conference on Carnival where she urged residents and tourists to stay safe. Some parades in the New Orleans area announced shifts in their start times or changed days due to potentially inclement weather this weekend. And Zulu's blackface tradition was called into question by a contingent of activists during a small protest Thursday evening. The cause of the fire at the mansion often known as "The Rex House" remained under investigation Thursday. New Orleans Fire Department officials said they expected to maintain a presence at the scene of the conflagration for another day or two. The ornate mansion, designed in the Queen Anne style, was built sometime before 1865 and is known for the many kings of Carnival at least five who lived there. Reiss said the home's residents have had close ties to several other krewes as well. It has been an important stop in Rex's parade since 1907, the first year in an unbroken tradition of Carnival kings stopping at the house to toast its residents during the Rex parade. 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 those traditions were to go away and fade as well, that would only add to the tragedy, Reiss said. But whatever form the traditional toast takes, it won't include the "loving cup" that has been used for decades. Reiss said the cup, made of silver and adorned with antlers for handles, is believed to have been destroyed in the blaze along with myriad Mardi Gras memorabilia, including flags of several krewes. He said Rex may present the family with replacement flags during this year's stop. Reiss said everything in the house is presumed to have been destroyed. "This is surely a loss for all of New Orleans," but more so for the family that called the mansion home for more than a century, he said. "We would assume some one-of-a-kind pieces" were destroyed in the blaze, said Mardi Gras historian Arthur Hardy, who attended Thursday's news conference with Rex officials at the krewe's den on South Claiborne Avenue. Only the shell of the home was left when the fire was declared under control. Parts of the mansion had collapsed, and bits of it fell off intermittently as the day wore on, prompting Fire Superintendent Tim McConnell to describe the home as "a catastrophic loss." McConnell said his agency and seven alarms' worth of personnel prevented the flames from spreading to a neighboring, five-story apartment building, which nonetheless took damage from smoke that could be seen and smelled for miles. The family that has owned the home for 113 years said they hope to salvage what is left. Im convinced that were ... going to repair and build," Christopher Montgomery said. "We'll get it under control and we'll just evaluate and start over." Can't see video below? Click here. In the end, the St. Bernard Parish port authority will be able to keep the Mississippi River facility it seized from a private company nearly nine years ago, but the cost will be more than twice the original price tag. The Louisiana Supreme Court recently decided to leave in place an appellate courts ruling that the agency needs to cough up $18 million more including annual interest after seizing Violet Dock Port from its original owners for an initial $16 million. The high courts 5-2 ruling apparently ends a legal battle that was widely viewed as an important test of the governments power to seize land for so-called public purposes. Both sides can claim victory, with St. Bernard fending off the original owners effort to reclaim their facility, but also being forced to pay much more for the land. The price will balloon still further when attorneys fees and costs owed to Violet Dock Ports original owners are set, their lead attorney, Randy Smith, said Friday. Smiths clients estimate that they racked up $6 million in attorneys fees and costs during a dispute dating back to 2010. For over eight years, these local citizens have had to fight the unwanted taking of their Mississippi River property and business, Smith said in a statement. Any check on the widespread governmental abuse of the power of eminent domain should be applauded, and while ultimately unable to stop the taking, we are most gratified to have a final ruling finding (significant) additional compensation. It was not immediately clear from what source the additional funds will come. The parish port authoritys lead attorney on the case, Jim Garner, said he had no comment. The case centers on the St. Bernard Port, Harbor & Terminal Districts use of $16 million in state funds to assume control of Violet Dock Ports land along a mile of river frontage, as well as several deepwater berths the company had spent decades developing. Violet Dock Port serviced U.S. Navy ships there and had geared up to begin lucrative bulk-cargo operations. But then the seizure occurred, and St. Bernard leased the site to a rival company named Associated Terminals, which runs other facilities owned by the parish authority. 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 Smith contended that St. Bernard officials violated guidelines for the use of eminent domain by doing almost nothing to change the Violet Dock Port facility or how it was used following the takeover. He also argued that port officials were simply trying to do a favor for Associated Terminals, which enjoyed important government connections. Garner and port officials replied that the seizure enabled the government to commercially transport goods and people, a valid public purpose. Additionally, the port authority argued that Violet Dock Ports bulk-cargo expansion plans were not as developed as the firm claimed. Ultimately, the original owners sued for the return of their property or, failing that, a much higher price for it. St. Bernard state court Judge Jacques Sanborn ruled in the ports favor, saying it had the right to seize the property and that $16 million was a fair price. A split 4th Circuit Court of Appeal panel then left Sanborns decision in place, prompting the plaintiffs to take the case to the state Supreme Court. The high court decided the takeover was legal but rejected the $16 million price tag as unfairly low. The case went back to the 4th Circuit, which set the new price at $29 million, plus about $5 million in interest dating back to the seizure. St. Bernards port authority then asked the state Supreme Court to review the ruling setting that price. Chief Justice Bernette Johnson joined Justices Marcus Clark, Greg Guidry, Jefferson Hughes and James Genovese in voting to leave the appellate court's ruling in place. Justices John Weimer and Scott Crichton voted in favor of revisiting the case. The Supreme Court justices communicated their decision Feb. 11 in a one-word ruling reading, Denied. The ruling became part of the record Wednesday. Note: This article was updated to correct the breakdown of the justices' votes. Activists calling for the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club to drop its hallmark black face paint because it perpetuates painful racial stereotypes held a small rally on the neutral ground outside the groups headquarters on North Broad Street on Thursday as members of the krewe heckled them from across the street. Organizers with Take 'Em Down, a group that was actively involved in the removal of four monuments to Confederate officials, have turned their sights on the overwhelmingly black Carnival krewe. Riders in Zulu's parade on Mardi Gras morning, both black and white, blacken their faces. They know good and damn well that this blackface has its roots in minstrelsy and they are the modern-day minstrels. They are strictly for the white guests who come to town to take part in Mardi Gras, said Malcolm Suber, one of the activist groups leaders. Take 'Em Down sent a letter to the organization asking for a meeting but was denied, said Suber, who noted that the krewe paraded without blackface briefly in the 1960s when criticized by civil rights activists. His group plans to continue to put pressure on the club, work to build public opposition to the Zulu custom and call on the City Council to deny the krewe a parade permit in future years if it does not change its ways, he said. 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 Zulus blackened faces and grass-skirt costumes have come under renewed focus in recent weeks as scandals over politicians who wore blackface in their youth have rocked Virginias state government. The organization, in a statement released last week, defended its tradition and argued that black makeup is not the same as blackface. Zulu parade costumes bear no resemblance to the costumes worn by blackface minstrel performers at the turn of the century," the krewe's statement said. "Zulu parade costumes more closely resemble and are designed to honor garments worn by South African Zulu warriors. About a dozen protesters Thursday evening held signs, chanted Take it off and tried to engage passing rush-hour motorists in conversation. Across Broad Street, about 40 Zulu members milled around the clubhouse, sometimes shouting back at the activists. As the rally continued, a Zulu member ducked into his Bentley to hastily slap on the groups signature face paint before flaunting it in front of the protesters. He then passed the makeup to another member, who did likewise. A Zulu spokesman did not respond to a request for comment before the protest, and Zulu members said they were told not to speak with the media. He's the yin to her yang, the dark to her light, the quiet to her storm. And if it's true that opposites attract, this young couple will feel a powerful animal magnetism when they meet on Sunday. "He" is King Barkus, Stanley James Louis Preston Foxworth, who will join Queen Bristol in reigning over the Mystick Krewe of Barkus at 2 p.m. at Armstrong Park. Tracey Foxworth, Stanleys human companion, offered insight into His Majesty's personality. My main worry is that he will fall asleep during the parade, Foxworth said. Thats how calm he is. Foxworth met Stanley about to two years ago at Zeus Place. He's half Boston terrier and half Shih Tzu, according to a canine DNA test. He had been neglected, she said. But what a face! Its no wonder the Barkus committee picked him as their king. Just look at him! Early on, Foxworth decided that if Stanley were to reign over Big Bark Theory: Barkus Goes to Comic Con, he would go all in. I asked a friend, Do you think having custom doubloons made is too much? said Foxworth, a marketing executive. She said yes, but I bought them anyway. Stanley didn't stop there; he'll wear crowns custom-made in Ukraine, one for everyday and one for the ball. The king is reserved and does not stoop to play silly dog games. Fetch? Fuggedaboudit. Roll over and play dead? Not on your life. Bury a bone? Nope. He is a terrible bone-hider, Foxworth said. He isn't a lap dog or cuddly and he isn't a barker, either. He prefers sleeping on his own to sleeping in my bed. Hes dignified. Stanley has a wardrobe of clothes, mostly in toddler Size 1. Stanley does not like to leave the house without clothes on, and my friends complain that he is naked if he does Foxworth said. It started with T-shirts, but then I had to step up my game. According to Foxworth, Stanleys favorite haunts are City Bark dog park in City Park and St. Anna's Episcopal Church on Esplanade Avenue. I go pretty much everywhere with him, and St. Annas is pet-friendly," she said. "He sits in the pew like a gentleman, and Father Bill (the Rev. Bill Terry) will say, I see we have Stanley with us today. In contrast, Queen Bristol is a pedigreed French bulldog from Jackson, Mississippi, who captured the hearts of her human companions when they saw her online. Ralph and Ashley Mahana, (general manager of the Windsor Court hotel and a corporate event planner at Entergy, respectively) said she has always lived like the queen she is. Named for Le Bristol hotel in Paris, where the Mahanas spent their honeymoon, Bristol is the opposite of Stanley: She's the ultimate cuddler and sleeps in bed with Ralph and Ashley every night. Because Bristol lives in a sleek condo in the CBD, her exercise options are a bit limited. When she cant be outside, she is doing her famous hallway sprint, said Mahana. We get her a new toy or bone about once a week and we play the flute (really poorly) so we can hear her bark and howl. And she tries on tons of outfits, said Mahana. She has many appearances leading up to the ball and the parade, so she will most likely wear some of her dresses or gowns from previous years for those. But she has two outfits being designed by Julie Winn who also happens to do the costume design for the New Orleans Opera. I wont spoil the surprise, but people and pups will be blown away. If Foxworth must strive to ensure that Stanley stays awake, the Mahanas must ensure Bristol gets her sleep. She very much enjoys afternoon tea at the Windsor Court, but she can only have decaf because she needs her beauty rest, said Mahana. As for her favorite foods, she likes turkey and cheese. Specifically, string cheese, he said. She goes crazy for string cheese. She will do anything for string cheese. Hmm, in that case, what would she do for beads? Carl Arrendondo, WWL-TV's chief meteorologist and a fixture on the Louisiana weather forecast scene for 28 years, will retire March 1 due to vision problems, the station announced this afternoon. Arrendondo has been diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a genetic disease that damages photoreceptors in the eye. According to the National Eye Institute, "In the late stages of RP ... people tend to lose more of the visual field, developing tunnel vision. They may have difficulty performing essential tasks of daily living such as reading, driving, walking without assistance, or recognizing faces and objects." Arrendondo already is a board member of the Louisiana Lighthouse [for the Blind] and said in a story posted by WWL-TV that he would be working with the Lighthouse to raise awareness of RP. Arredondo was a multiple winner of "Best Local Weathercaster" in Gambit's Best of New Orleans annual poll, and has been honored by the Associated Press and the New Orleans Press Club. WWL-TV's other meteorologists include Alexandra Cranford, Chris Franklin and Dave Nussbaum. The station did not announce a new chief meteorologist. Weatherwise, whom do you trust? Since the Nash Man capped his Magic Markers for the final time, to whom do you look when there's a storm that bears watching? New Orleans City Council member Cyndi Nguyen, whose district includes New Orleans East, listens to public comments before voting on whether Entergys $210 million power plant should proceed in New Orleans, La., Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. Big names like Foo Fighters, Lizzo and Stevie Nicks Give me all of the New Orleans musicians A festival in the (hopefully) cooler October Ronnie Lamarque Vote View Results When a fistfight broke out at Acadiana High School, America being fully digitized by now, a student recorded some of the event on a cellphone. When the students parent posted it on social media, the police showed up at her door and arrested her. The basis, or rather nonbasis, of the arrest is an obscure law that aims to prevent criminals from exploiting social media exposure for notoriety. Does this apply to a 32-year-old mother who apparently had no other connection to the event? We doubt it, and so do some experts questioning the actions of the Scott Police Department. Maegan Adkins-Barras, 32, was booked on unlawful posting of criminal activity for notoriety and publicity, and later released. Franz Borghardt, a criminal defense attorney who has taught criminal litigation at the LSU Law School as an adjunct professor, said he had never heard of the law until Adkins-Barras was arrested. Mom who posted video of school fight released from jail; lawyers weigh in A Broussard moms civil rights may have been violated Wednesday when police arrested her for posting a video to social media that shows a figh "The police are going to have some hurdles," said Borghardt, who is not representing Adkins-Barras. "They're going to have to either establish that she was a principal or accessory to the fight, and that means they're going to have to establish that she was there and somehow started or encouraged the fight. Scott Sternberg, who represents The Acadiana Advocate and other newspapers for the Louisiana Press Association, is not a criminal attorney but does question the arrest. "She obtained the video lawfully," Sternberg said. "This is something we do all the time for the media. If we obtained this video, there's a good chance we would post it. That concerns me. This sets up an extremely difficult precedent that somebody could be arrested for posting a video they lawfully obtained." School Superintendent Don Aguillard said the police acted on their own, not at the instigation of the school system, but that the new law might be added to student handbooks next year. The new law is apparently a decade old this fall, passed unanimously by the Legislature in 2008 and signed by then-Gov. Bobby Jindal. However, it appears to be little applied, if ever. Scott Police Chief Chad Leger addressed the arrest on social media: "Posting videos and photos of illegal activity on social media is against the law in the State of Louisiana. Violators of the law could be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both." This is not our reading of the 2008 law, nor is it a sensible approach for police agencies. For one thing, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution has not been repealed in Scott, and that fundamental law protects freedom of speech. Proving that the mother involved was seeking notoriety will be difficult, unless hundreds of millions of others who post on social media every day are guilty of the same offense. This seems a drastic overreaction from the police force. The students involved in the original altercation are being dealt with by school officials. One was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries and since released. The juveniles both have been recommended for expulsion and are facing criminal charges, officials said. Perhaps that should have been the end of it. The charging cable extends from a Chevrolet Volt during an electric-car show Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017, as part of National Drive Electric Week at the Audubon Zoo. Plugged into a home's wall outlet, the car's batteries can be charged in a couple of hours. Thousands of Medicaid recipients will soon get alerts that they may no longer qualify for the health care program for the poor, unless they have evidence that proves they still meet the states eligibility requirements. The 37,000 letters, which were mailed last week, are part of the Louisiana Department of Healths efforts to clean up the states Medicaid rolls, after installing a new eligibility system and amid concerns about potential waste in the program. Those who get letters will have 10 days to provide documentation that shows they qualify for Medicaid coverage, otherwise they will be removed from the program March 31. The Departments new eligibility system gives us the infrastructure to better and more often verify the information that recipients are reporting. It is this information financial and employment that is crucial to being eligible or not for Medicaid benefits, Health Secretary Dr. Rebekah Gee said. Fortunately, our new online system allows recipients to log on and use the self-service portal. This is the quickest and most reliable way to make these important updates. Louisiana Medicaid audit suggests possible wide-spread misspending, prompts federal probe A Louisiana audit that suggested there could be wide-spread Medicaid misspending has prompted a probe on the federal level. Medicaid has begun adding quarterly wage data from the Louisiana Workforce Commission to its enrollment system, to help identify those who may make too much money to remain on the program. Previously, income checks were done annually. LDH is urging Medicaid recipients to call the Medicaid Customer Service Line at 1-888-342-6207 to update their information. Gee said its possible some of the people who receive letters will be removed from the states Medicaid rolls if they have gotten a new job or a promotion at work. When the economy does better fewer people are eligible for Medicaid and thats a good thing, she said. +5 Louisiana's state-of-the art Medicaid enrollment system goes live after years in the works Louisiana now has one of the nation's most modern Medicaid enrollment systems an undertaking that leaders say will help address concerns ove Those no longer qualify for Medicaid because of increased income will be encouraged to seek insurance through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace portal. The Medicaid program that covers nearly 1.7 million Louisiana residents has faced increased scrutiny in recent years since Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, agreed to expand Medicaid through executive order shortly after taking office in 2016. More than 481,000 people, mostly the working poor, have been added to the state's Medicaid rolls through the expansion, which applies to adults whose household income falls below 138 percent of the federal poverty level, which is about $16,600 a year for a single person or $33,900 annually for a family of four. 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 Audit: Louisiana may have misspent $85M in Medicaid program Louisiana's health department may have spent as much as $85 million over 20 months for people enrolled in the Medicaid expansion program who d In the three years since the expansion took effect, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor has audited Medicaid at least nine times. According to the most recent one, LDH may have allowed up to $85 million to be spent on ineligible people during a 20 months period largely because of the self-reporting standards for employment under the old system and also worker errors. "Without a sufficient process to determine recipient eligibility, LDH cannot ensure that Medicaid dollars are spent appropriately," auditor Daryl Purpera concluded in his overview, which was presented to legislators last month. The effort to move to a more standardized enrollment portal has been in the works for years. It cost about $71 million, 90 percent of which was covered by the federal government, and required weeks of retraining employees. This is about saving people's lives, but some challenge Louisianas Medicaid health care costs In the two years since Louisiana expanded its Medicaid health care program, more than 400 women enrolled have been diagnosed with breast cance The audits findings here prompted members of Congress from other states to seek information about whether other states need to be doing more to maintain their rolls. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, of Wisconsin, and Rep. Jim Jordan, of Ohio, penned a letter last month to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services head Seema Verma, citing Purperas report as need for more information about whether there is a national Medicaid spending problem. If these improper payments are occurring in one state, it is logical to assume overpayments are occurring in other states, the Republican congressmen wrote in the letter. We respectfully request information about what the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plans to do to determine where overpayments are being made, steps CMS will take to recover overpayments, and controls CMS will put in place to ensure federal Medicaid dollars are only paid to those who qualify. Purpera responded to the congressmen with a letter of advice and to offer his assistance if its needed for the federal review. The Department of Health has the largest budget in Louisiana state government at $14 billion more than 70 percent from the federal government. Its funding has ballooned with the expansion of Medicaid, which is nearly all covered by the federal government through the Affordable Care Act. The expulsion of the president of student government and the student voted Mr. Lee High was upheld Thursday in a unanimous decision by the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board. Charlie Stephens, a senior at the prominent Baton Rouge high school, was successful in getting a review hearing from the board, the first such hearing since June 2011. The final vote, however, was 8-0 to uphold the suspension. Stephens needed five votes to overturn the expulsion. Board member David Tatman recused himself because his wife works at the high school. School administrators accused Stephens of two offenses that lead to an automatic recommendation for expulsion. They say they found evidence of marijuana in a search of his car, as well as a 2-inch long knife. Knives that are 2 inches or longer are prohibited on campus. He acknowledges the knife was his, but has not admitted to the marijuana. In his statement right after the Dec. 6 incident which led to his expulsion, Stephens said he did not know the origins of the marijuana. At Thursdays hearing, which Stephens chose to hold in public, the 18-year-old said he didnt know what was found in the car: I was speaking of the marijuana that (Assistant Principal Glen) Blankenship accused me of having. Stephens asserted he never should have had either his backpack or his car searched in the first place: The search was illegal from the get-go and thus anything from the search was fruit of the poison tree and should not be used against me." Board member Dadrius Lanus clearly was bothered. Why didnt you deny it if you didnt have it in the car? Lanus asked. Board member Connie Bernard had similar concerns about the knife found in Stephen's car. If any student can have a knife on campus over 2 inches, every student can have a knife on campus over 2 inches, Bernard said. And if any student had that, I would not feel safe. The students full name is Assaad Mawas Stephens but hes known to most of his classmates as Charlie. Stephens alleges the school system repeatedly violated its own policies and failed to afford him due process. A senior, Stephens, who turned 18 in October, is well known at Lee High, where students voted him this past spring to serve as president of the SGA and voted again to make him Mr. Lee High at the schools Oct. 26 homecoming dance. He's also active politically in the Louisiana Democratic Party. Stephens said he was one of four students who had their cars searched that Thursday and were expelled because of what was found. The hearing officer overturned two of those four expulsions. The searches grew out of the investigation of another student who was allegedly seen openly vaping in a classroom on Dec. 6; that student denied the allegation, was searched and nothing was found on him. School officials, however, reviewed video and noticed that earlier in the day that student walked into a bathroom, and that four other students, including Stephens, were in the bathroom with him for a good period of time, according to one administrators statement. The school then summoned the four students to the office for questioning. Once in the office, administrators had the students empty their pockets and searched their backpacks. In Stephens backpack, they found what one administrator described as five or so pieces that are used for vaping. Stephens said they were empty pods for a JUUL e-cigarette he bought after his 18th birthday, the legal age to vape in Louisiana. Nevertheless, that discovery prompted school administrators to search his car as well. 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 Legislation aims to prohibit people younger than 21 from purchasing assault weapons in Louisiana Nikolas Cruz was just 18 years old when he legally bought the AR-15 he used to kill 17 people at a Florida high school in February. Stephens attended Thursdays hearing with both his mother, Ola Mawas, and his father, Clifford Stephens, a finance professor at LSU. The family hired an attorney, but that attorney was stuck on a plane, so the father had to defend his son alone. The father, like the son, objected to having any search at all, saying the school lacked reasonable suspicion to do any search. Reasonable suspicion requires a specific allegation about a specific person, not just a search or a guess, said Clifford Stephens. Lee High Principal Rob Howle presented the case for the school system. Can't see video below? Click here. Assaad was in the restroom for an extended period of time with a student accused of vaping, Howle said. The fact we found four empty JUUL pods in his backpack gave us reasonable suspicion to search his vehicle. In his rebuttal, the father highlighted discrepancies in the statements of the administrators who searched the car, cast doubt on the accuracy of the drug field test conducted by law enforcement. Clifford Stephen also downplayed the knife found, which he said came from a First Aid kit of his, and said cigarillos found in the car could have been his own as well. He also said likened empty JUUL pods found to a cigarette butt. In advance of the hearing, the father put forward several arguments that his sons due process was violated and the the school system failed to follow its policies by not notifying him of the expulsion hearing via certified mail and not notifying him prior to the hearing of his right to view and copy any evidence to be presented by the school at the hearing. But Clifford Stephens focused heavily Thursday on his insistence that administrators had no basis to search his son. Charlie does not give up his constitutional rights when he walks through the door at Lee High, he said. Can't see video below? Click here. Board members, however, were focused not on due process concerns but on what was found in the car, particularly what Charlie Stephens admitted to having in the car. Lanus pressed the student for stronger denials and came away unsatisfied. From what Im hearing, he did have some of these things on him, Lanus said. Activists from four different Louisiana education groups protested Thursday night outside the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board Office, accusing the school system of not complying with a new school accountability law. The state law, Act 555, which was approved last year, requires that public schools with state-mandated academic improvement plans must hold at least one detailed public meeting on school grounds so that parents can learn what educators are doing to turn the schools around. +5 BR area places 3 of top 5 public school districts in annual Louisiana academic results Once again, the Baton Rouge area is leading Louisiana's academic rankings, but thanks to big changes in how the state calculates school and di The latest school report cards were released Nov. 8. Two-thirds of Baton Rouge public schools are obliged to have an improvement plan. Thirty-eight schools - or 44 percent - lagged with all students, while 21 schools - or 24 percent - lagged with groups of students. The groups argue that Act 555 required public meetings quickly after Nov. 8, and that the East Baton Rouge Parish school system has failed since then to share their plans with the parents at these 59 schools. Here it is February and nothing has happened, said Kristopher Lewis, a teacher and a member of the South Louisiana Coalition for Education, or SLCE. 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 SLCE was joined by Our Voice Nuestra Voz, Education Trust Louisiana and the Urban League. They protested as the School Board was meeting inside. The protesters plan to visit schools in other parts of Louisiana that have yet to hold Act 555 meetings. East Baton Rouge Parish school officials argue thats an incorrect reading of the law. They say that while Act 555 took effect in August, the meetings it calls for arent required to be held until April 17 at earliest. Thats when the state is set to approve the next batch of academic improvement plans. If approved, then Act 555 requires the affected schools to hold public meetings within 60 days, or by mid-June. Sydni Dunn, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Education, said Friday that is also how the state education agency is interpreting Act 555. Schools in Baton Rouge with improvement plans adopted before Act 555 took effect also held public presentations on those plans at regular open houses in August and September. Teri Fontenot, who has led Woman's Hospital as president and CEO for more than two decades, will retire later this year. Since Fontenot began running the hospital in 1996, Woman's has become the largest birthing hospital and neonatal intensive care unit in Louisiana, the hospital said. Fontenot also oversaw a move to Woman's $340 million replacement campus on Airline Highway, which opened in 2012. Fontenot said she's most proud of the role Woman's played in the recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina, when the hospital took in 122 infants from NICUs in five flooded New Orleans hospitals. The hospital cared for the infants and helped relocate them to places as far away as Oklahoma, she said. "It was so hard to describe how difficult it was because there was no infrastructure in place," she said. "It was the most authentic expression of our mission to improve the health of women and infants." More recently, Fontenot helped strike a partnership with Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center to open the region's only specialized breast and gynecologic center facility under one roof. 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 Fontenot will stay on until the hospital's board of directors finds a replacement, which will likely be late summer at the earliest. The board has hired Korn Ferry, a national search firm, to find a new CEO. "Under Teris direction, Womans has not only remained steadfast in its mission to improve the health of women and infants, but has strengthened its role in the community through expanded services and strategic partnerships," Woman's Hospital Foundation Board Chair Renee Harris said in a statement. Woman's Hospital tapped Fontenot as president and CEO in 1996, promoting her from the No. 2 job at the hospital. She began talks with the board about retiring in 2016, she said in an email to employees, but wanted to stay on until major projects were completed, especially establishing a partnership in the women's cancer service line and getting the new Breast and GYN Cancer Pavilion running. "Womans is in a position of strength and Im confident that it will continue to be a national leader in womens and infants health," Fontenot said in a statement. "We are financially strong, have an excellent reputation, and our care is highly sought out by patients and physicians both locally and regionally." Fontenot began working at Woman's in 1992 as senior vice president and chief financial officer, and became executive vice president and chief operating officer the following year. In 1994, she was named executive vice president of the hospital's parent, Woman's Health Foundation, before ascending to the top role. She said she plans to continue serving on several boards, as well as spend time with her two young grandsons and travel in retirement. GONZALES Ascension Parish sheriff's deputies arrested a Baton Rouge man over his alleged role an early morning break-in Feb. 13 that led to a shootout that left the homeowner injured and one suspected robber dead. Jalen Griffin, 20, whom deputies believed fled the scene of the 3 a.m. shooting in the Bishop Woods neighborhood off La. 621, was captured Thursday by deputies and the Louisiana State Police Apprehension Task Force, the Ascension Parish sheriff said in a statement Friday. Griffin's suspected accomplice in the robbery, Major Payton, 20, of Baker was shot and killed at the trailer home, deputies have said. The homeowner, a 60-year-old man who was hit by gunfire in the stomach, remained Friday in critical condition and has not yet been able to speak with sheriff's detectives, deputies said. 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 Sheriff's deputies said at the time said that the homeowner and Payton exchanged gunfire. They added Friday that detectives, who are waiting to speak with the homeowner, have not determined if the homeowner acted in self-defense. Deputies have not filed any counts against the homeowner either. Sheriff Bobby Webre said that Griffin was booked Thursday with counts of aggravated burglary with a weapon, illegal use of a weapon, attempted first-degree murder and second-degree murder. Griffin had not had his bail set as of Friday afternoon, deputies said. A grandfather who saw hazing wounds on his grandson while the LSU student was swimming demanded the investigation of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity that led to its closure last month and the subsequent arrests of nine members accused of hazing. Emails exchanged among at least 200 DKE alumni last month and obtained by The Advocate show that the man who reported the hazing allegations to the DKE national fraternity came forward to defend his grandson after another alumnus suggested that the allegations did not happen at all. The Advocate generally does not identify alleged crime victims without their permission. +2 Former DKE fraternity director: 'I knew from the very beginning ... that LSU was a problem' The former longtime executive director of the national Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity says the national organization has known for at least 30 The grandfather, who joined DKE at a different university more than five decades ago, said his grandson, an LSU student, was swimming in his pool over the winter holidays when he noticed wounds and bruises that were obvious signs of hazing. The grandson was uncooperative, the grandfather said, but the grandfather started to talk to friends who were familiar with LSUs DKE chapter, who told him pledges were being doused with gasoline. He said he quickly realized that the national organization needed to investigate. The complaint to (DKE) national came solely and independently, on and from my own accord, the man wrote in his email to other DKE alumni. [My grandson] would not give me information about the wounds because he was protecting and his fellow pledge brothers. The report that the DKE national organization submitted to LSU last month squares with that account; it says the investigation stemmed a phone call from a students relative. It also says that members of the LSU chapter and its leadership failed to meet the expectation to meet with the International Fraternity and participate in the investigation. But when local DKE alumni were notified by email on Jan. 17 that the LSU chapter would close based on the national organizations findings, not everyone disavowed the alleged behavior. +2 LSU admins on leave amid questions over handling DKE abuse; ex-student affairs president left in January LSU placed multiple administrators connected to Greek life on leave Friday, a month after the university quietly parted ways with another top- The local alumni president said he would resign because he didnt believe the allegations of physical abuse. Ben Gibson, a Baton Rouge lawyer, called the situation a f****** setup in his response to more than 200 alumni. Gibson said late Thursday that he regretted sending the email. In it, Gibson called out the grandson by name and claimed he was being recruited by another LSU fraternity and trying to bring DKE pledges with him. He said the student started the beratement of DKE throughout campus and then complained to the national chapter. He asked DKE alumni to contact the national chapter to stop this train of trying to shut down DKE. Gibson said by phone that his main complaint was that none of the pledges spoke up to the local DKE alumni about hazing allegations, and that the local chapter could have investigated the complaints before the national organization swooped in and shut down the chapter. 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 He said he has not read the arrest warrants, but that he still questions some of the accusations. No one got hit in the face with a lead pipe, he said. I think hed be dead or have a broken nose at a minimum. Gibsons email set off the grandfather, who had applauded the DKE national organization for swiftly investigating and responding to his accusations. Your email stated numerous inaccurate facts by putting the blame on an innocent 19-year-old for the failures of the Zeta Zeta Chapter to adhere to the principles of a gentleman, a scholar, and a jolly good fellow, the grandfather wrote in response to Gibsons email. He reiterated that his grandson held a deep loyalty to DKE and said he reported the hazing to DKEs national chapter over his grandsons objections. LSU hazing: DKE pledges were urinated on, struck with pipe during hazing rituals, arrest reports say Allegations against nine members of LSU's Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity that surfaced Thursday include ordering pledges to lie face down on a He asked that Gibson apologize to his grandson, which Gibson said in his emailed response he would not do. Gibson said Thursday that he regrets upsetting the family. The arrests came after the DKE national chapter submitted its report to LSU, which was sent to the newspaper along with the alumni emails. The DKE national chapter confirmed the reports authenticity. Last week, the newspaper filed a public records request to LSU for the same report, along with other documents related to DKE, but the university has not yet provided any records. LSU has placed at least three administrators on leave amid allegations that some may have known about the abuse and failed to investigate. The DKE report describes older members assaulting new members by extinguishing cigarettes on their bodies and by beating them with pipes and paddles. It says new members were forced to physically fight one another, and that they were forced or coerced to drink alcohol, consume marijuana and eat unpleasant food items. Some information obtained indicated that a brand on the flesh, usually on the chest, leg, or thigh, may be required to obtain or maintain membership in the separate club called the Friars, the report reads. DKE fraternity's history includes burning pledges with brand, 'suspicious activity' with goats Delta Kappa Epsilon boasts more past presidents among its members than all other American fraternities a list that includes Theodore Rooseve An emblem for the Friars is displayed on the LSU DKE house, and some members have posted photos on social media showing them in jean jackets with black Friars logos, embellished with a skull and crossbones. Arrest warrants for some of the DKE members say that the Friars were essentially a second organization within the fraternity. Allegations of branding at other DKE chapters date back to at least 1967, when the Yale Daily News reported that DKE members there had burned their pledges with a branding iron. A subsequent New York Times article referred to "a photograph showing a scab in the shape of the Greek letter Delta, approximately a half inch wide." The Big Squeezy 4626 Government St. (Inside White Star Market) 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday and Monday; 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday (225) 930-4466; thebigsqueezy.com Pros: Acai bowls. Flavorful cold-pressed juices. Cons: Expensive for regular customers. It is unclear what charge, if any, an Acadiana High School mom might be facing after spending the night in jail for posting a video to Facebook of students fighting on the school's campus. District Attorney Keith Stutes has declined to comment on the matter until his office receives the incident report from the Scott Police Department. "I have not received a report from the law enforcement involved," Stutes said. "And until that report is viewed, I cannot and will not have any comments." Scott Police Chief Chad Leger said he expects to send the report to the DA's office on Monday. The original charge Maegan Adkins-Barras spent a night in jail for was "unlawfully posting criminal activity for notoriety or publicity." An Acadiana High School resource officer contacted Adkins-Barras when he learned of the videos existence and arrested the mom Wednesday even after she removed her son's video from her Facebook page, according to the arrest affidavit. Adkins-Barras was released Thursday morning from the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center. State Sen. Fred Mills, a republican whose district covering portions of Lafayette, St. Martin, St. Landry and Vermilion parishes, supported the bill that unanimously passed in 2008. "It looks like in this situation, there was some misinterpretation of the law," Mills said. "The intent of the bill wasn't for innocent people to be arrested for something they didn't do." Another media outlet reported Friday that an unidentified source with the DA's office said "the charge will be lessened to illegally sharing images of juveniles without parental consent" and "additional charges may follow." Top stories in Acadiana in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Mom who posted video of school fight released from jail; lawyers weigh in A Broussard moms civil rights may have been violated Wednesday when police arrested her for posting a video to social media that shows a figh A search through the Louisiana State Legislature website for "illegally sharing images of juveniles without parental consent" yielded no results, and searches for individual keywords also yielded nothing promising. Franz Borghardt, a criminal defense attorney who has taught criminal litigation at the LSU Law School, could not immediately locate the law in question. The closest match he could find is "unlawful possession of videotape of protected persons." Protected persons, in this case, include "any person who is a victim of a crime" or "witness in a criminal proceeding" and who is "under the age of 17 years." The law says nobody can "knowingly and intentionally" possess or distribute video of protected persons. Both the original charge and the potential new charge are misdemeanors that carry the same possible sentence a fine of no more than $500 or no more than six months in jail, or both. "I think someone realized, 'Oops, what Scott police arrested her for doesn't fit the facts of the incident,' and now they have to justify the arrest by using another obscure and seldomly used law," Borghardt said. "You're going to have the same constitutional issues as before. I still say this all smells funny." Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin said Friday he believes Lafayette Parish should hold another election to determine if the City-Parish Council should split into separate bodies, a move that voters approved in a charter amendment on Dec. 8. At the same time, Ardoin acknowledged he does not have the authority to force a new election, and said his only goal is to ensure that all voters have representation under the new system. Recently discovered discrepancies between technical descriptions of the new districts and corresponding maps have raised questions as to whether some voters have been excluded from representation on either of the new councils. Ardoin said he will take legal action, or involve the Attorney Generals Office, if the problem is not fixed in time for qualifying for the Oct. 12 municipal elections, adding that the mechanism for fixing the problem is a local decision. I cant force a new election, Ardoin said in an interview with The Advocate on Friday. I can only advise them. I cant tell them how. +5 Validity of election splitting Lafayette City-Parish Council thrown in doubt The validity of the landmark Dec. 8 election splitting the Lafayette City-Parish Council into separate bodies has been thrown into question. The descriptions are enshrined in the charter, and Ardoin said he therefore thinks a new election is necessary. He cautioned that the city-parish might be exposed to a legal challenge from private groups if it decides not to hold another election. I know what my legal team is saying, and Im going to advise them the best way moving forward, Ardoin said. Beyond that, if they choose to do something differently, I would almost assuredly think they would end up in court. Somebody would challenge it, but that remains to be seen. Mayor-President Joel Robideaux, who opposed the amendment splitting up the council, told City-Parish Council members in an email Thursday morning that Ardoin had advised him over the telephone the matter MUST go back to a vote of the people. Ardoin said that characterization of the call was fair. He said his urgency in the call was based on the legal deadlines involved with holding a new election. The only eligible election date to redo the charter vote is May 4 if the city and parish are to proceed with electing new city and parish councils in October. For a May charter proposition to be legal, the city-parish must formally call for the election before March 11. The council is next scheduled to meet March 12, since Mardi Gras will disrupt the normal schedule of meeting every other Tuesday. Top stories in Acadiana in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Ardoin has called a meeting on Monday morning with Robideaux, City-Parish Council Chairman Jared Bellard, local election officials and others, including a representative of the Attorney General's Office. Bellard said Thursday he thought a new election might be necessary, but clarified on Friday he will wait until after the meeting to take a position. Ardoin said he is prepared for a healthy discussion as to whether a new election is necessary. Im fully open to a full discussion of all possible solutions moving forward, Ardoin said. Im going to convey where we believe we are, but we are not going to close the door on any possible solution. The December election followed a contentious campaign, with "Fix The Charter" organizers and their supporters arguing that the City of Lafayette needed its own city council, like the other municipalities in Lafayette Parish. Opponents didn't argue that point, but said those pushing the charter amendment moved too fast. Bellard reinforced the opponents' argument Thursday, as news outlets reported on the problems. Its a big deal because the public was misled. Im thinking they rushed this through and did it wrong, he said. A Fix The Charter organizer, Kevin Blanchard, said City-Parish Council routinely adjusts precinct lines and district boundaries with ordinances -- not charter amendments, which require voter approval -- to account for annexations and shifts in population. The needed fixes in the recently amended charter are no different, he said. "We can reapportion those districts to fix those problems well in advance of qualifying, Blanchard said, referring to the Aug. 6-Aug. 8 qualifying period for candidates entering the October election. "We reapportioned these districts multiple times over the years without going to a vote of the people." Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court Louis Perret, who plans to be in attendance at Ardoin's meeting on Monday, agreed the council has previously adjusted district boundaries with ordinances. At the same time, he noted, the discrepancies currently being scrutinized arose from a charter amendment. Perret said he was not clear on the appropriate fix, but that one is needed soon. "There are registered voters in my parish who are not going to be allowed to vote in this election. I dont think thats legal. You cant have an election and disenfranchise people, Perret said. I would love it if we could quickly solve this problem." Ada, OK (74820) Today Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 82F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Michael Patterson takes delight in predicting Oscar winners based on the Telluride effect. The 91st Academy Awards airs Sunday at 6 p.m. (Courtesy photo) The first self-driving shuttle may have just launched in Californias capital city as a three-month pilot, but its likely here to stay."This is a three-month trial," Mayor Darrell Steinberg told a crowd of students, faculty and others gathered Thursday at Sacramento State University for the launch of the autonomous shuttle program. "But let's be clear. Theres no three-month trial. Were not going backwards. This is going to beget the next advance, the next Olli shuttle, the next manufacturing center I hope in Sacramento, and so much more.The campus was selected as one of the pilot locations for Olli AV shuttles . The vehicles, made by San Francisco-based Local Motors LLC, are electric, eight-passenger vehicles and will connect riders from a parking garage to classroom buildings. The exact route is still being developed, say officials. Two shuttles are made available for the pilot. In addition to transportation, they will serve a research and academic component by serving as a classroom on wheels for students and faculty in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.We have the future right here on this campus. We have the next generation moving forward. And we really want them to be exposed to what is possible here, and to understand it, and feel it and touch it, said U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, in her comments at the press conference.The vehicle provides an opportunity to integrate robotics, and to integrate mechanical engineering, and to integrate user experiences and design in a way that continues, said Jay Rogers, CEO of Local Motors. The project is the first of its kind in the Sacramento region, which has been a leader in introducing new forms of mobility. The city partnered with Electrify America to introduce sharable electric cars in apartment buildings, and will deploy more than 250 electric vehicles on city streets in the coming weeks. The cars can be accessed via the Gig app , and allow drivers to rent them for as little as $2.50 a mile. Sacramento is also home to bike and scooter shares, provided by JUMP.If someone had said to me, 'Twenty-five years from now, youll be standing at Sacramento State University. And you will be speaking about driverless shuttles. And they will be made from a 3-D printer,' I would have said, 'Stop talking to me that way. Thats not happening. Are you kidding me?' the mayor quipped. Look at it. Here we are. When Jiankui He, a Chinese scientist, genetically edited twin babies last year, he might have inadvertently enhanced their cognition. Better Brain Function To make the babies immune to HIV/AIDS, He used CRISPR to introduce an alteration to the gene called CCR5, which is associated with the virus. However, scientists fear that the procedure might have given the children an unfair advantage. "The answer is likely yes, it did affect their brains," stated Alcino J. Silva, a neurobiologist from the University of California, Los Angeles, in a conversation with MIT Technology Review. "The simplest interpretation is that those mutations will probably have an impact on cognitive function in the twins." Silva is involved in a study that discovered the role of CCR5 to memory and synaptic connections. They found that the deletion of the gene resulted in smarter mice. In humans, they believe that the alteration could improve brain recovery of stroke patients. It could also be linked to better performance in school. The Dawn Of Designer Babies? The scientists involved in the study of the CCR5 gene on cognition said that He did not contact them. The Chinese scientist, it was revealed last year, reached out to experts to ask for scientific advice during his experiment. However, MIT Technology Review said that He "was certainly aware" of the link between CCR5 and better cognition. Silva and Miou Zhou, a professor at the Western University of Health Sciences in California, have shown in a 2016 study that removing the gene significantly improved the memory of mice. Silva added that because of his research, he interacts with several people who might be interested in designer babies. "I suddenly realized Oh, holy s***, they are really serious about this b*******," he recalled his reaction when He revealed his experiment in November. "My reaction was visceral repulsion and sadness." He also admitted to it himself. At a conference in Hong Kong, the Chinese scientist stated that he "saw" the paper linking the gene to cognition but argued that it needs independent verification. He also added that he does not support gene modification for enhancement. The experiment by the Chinese scientist was met with intense criticism from the scientific community when it was revealed last year. As a response, the World Health Organization announced that it will create a panel to discuss the scientific, ethical, social, and legal ramifications of gene editing and develop global standards to govern gene editing in humans. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google Maps is joining the fight against the opioid crisis. On Thursday, Feb. 21, the company stated that it will begin rolling out an update in the app that will allow users to find the nearest drug disposal. Finding Drug Disposal Via Google Maps According to a press release, users can now type "drug drop off near me" or "medical disposal near me" on the app to see local pharmacies, hospitals, and government buildings to discard unnecessary medication in their possession. The move is a response to the uptick of internet searches for "medication disposal near me" last month. "Addiction to opioids can start after just five days of use, and the majority of prescription drug abuse (53%) starts with drugs obtained from family and friends," stated Dane Glasglow, the vice president of product at Google Maps. "That's why Google wants to help people get rid of leftover pills that are sitting in people's medicine cabinets, and to make drug disposal locations easier for people to find with a simple search." Google has partnered with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, state governments, CVS, and Walgreens for the project. According to the company, the app highlights CVS and Walgreens location data in 50 states to help users discard of unused drugs. In seven states, more data that include hospitals, fire stations, and police stations have been included for medical disposal. The update builds on a web tool launched by the company last year in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration. Through the effort, the agency and local partners were able to collect 1.85 million pounds of unused prescription drugs as part of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. More information will be added to the app in the next couple of weeks in preparation for the next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day in April. The Opioid Crisis In The US According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 47,000 opioid-related deaths have been reported. Of that number, 36 percent were due to prescription opioids. Previous medical studies have found that drug disposal programs, where the public can safely get rid of the unused drug, is an effective tool to reduce opioid abuse. The White House, in its National Drug Control Strategy, also recommends the addition of more drug disposal sites. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The patent of Apple's foldable iPhone has been turned into renders, and they give a good idea of how the device could look. From the look of things, it could bend both ways, and no, it's not going to be another bendgate issue. Foldable iPhone Imagined LetsGoDigital gave a peek at how the foldable iPhone could turn out to be, where the images drawn up are based on the latest patent that CNET recently uncovered. Based on the renders, the device in question can be folded in half, similar to a flip or clamshell phone. Notably, it can bend forward or backward, just like a convertible 2-in-1 laptop. In other words, it can be used in what's called nowadays as "tent mode," allowing two users to view content on the two screens. Unlike the Galaxy Fold that Samsung recently unveiled at its Unpacked Event, it doesn't unfold into a bigger screen, which essentially makes it a tablet. From what can be gathered, it's staying true to the smartphone form factor. The Foldable Smartphone Era Going by the current trend in the industry, it seems that the future is filled with foldable, bendable smartphones. Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei and Xiaomi are getting ready to showcase their own take on the mechanism. Meanwhile, Lenovo has been showing off their own work for years already, though LG doesn't seem to have plans to follow suit. Now Samsung didn't release the world's first foldable phone. That honor goes to the Royole FlexPai, which was unveiled at CES 2019. At any rate, the South Korean brand is among the front-runners in this respect. For the uninitiated, the Galaxy Fold is scheduled to hit the shelves on April 26 with a whopping $1,980 price tag. All things considered, it makes sense for Apple to start working on a device leaning toward what could be the future of mobile devices. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 319-352-3334 or email legals@waverlynewspapers.com. Achieving greater efficiency for fast data center operations CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Today's data centers eat up and waste a good amount of energy responding to user requests as fast as possible, with only a few microseconds delay. A new system by MIT researchers improves the efficiency of high-speed operations by better assigning time-sensitive data processing across central processing unit (CPU) cores and ensuring hardware runs productively. Data centers operate as distributed networks, with numerous web and mobile applications implemented on a single server. When users send requests to an app, bits of stored data are pulled from hundreds or thousands of services across as many servers. Before sending a response, the app must wait for the slowest service to process the data. This lag time is known as tail latency. Current methods to reduce tail latencies leave tons of CPU cores in a server open to quickly handle incoming requests. But this means that cores sit idly for much of the time, while servers continue using energy just to stay powered on. Data centers can contain hundreds of thousands of servers, so even small improvements in each server's efficiency can save millions of dollars. Alternatively, some systems reallocate cores across apps based on workload. But this occurs over milliseconds -- around one-thousandth the desired speed for today's fast-paced requests. Waiting too long can also degrade an app's performance, because any information that's not processed before an allotted time doesn't get sent to the user. In a paper being presented at the USENIX Networked Systems Design and Implementation conference next week, the researchers developed a faster core-allocating system, called Shenango, that reduces tail latencies, while achieving high efficiencies. First, a novel algorithm detects which apps are struggling to process data. Then, a software component allocates idle cores to handle the app's workload. "In data centers, there's a tradeoff between efficiency and latency, and you really need to reallocate cores at much finer granularity than every millisecond," says first author Amy Ousterhout, a PhD student in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). Shenango lets servers "manage operations that occur at really short time scales and do so efficiently." Energy and cost savings will vary by data center, depending on size and workloads. But the overall aim is to improve data center CPU utilization, so that every core is put to good use. The best CPU utilization rates today sit at about 60 percent, but the researchers say their system could potentially boost that figure to 100 percent. "Data center utilization today is quite low," says co-author Adam Belay, an assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science and a CSAIL researcher. "This is a very serious problem [that can't] be solved in a single place in the data center. But this system is one critical piece in driving utilization up higher." Joining Ousterhout and Belay on the paper are Hari Balakrishnan, the Fujitsu Chair Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and CSAIL PhD students Jonathan Behrens and Joshua Fried. Efficient congestion-detection In a real-world data center, Shenango -- algorithm and software -- would run on each server in a data center. All the servers would be able to communicate with each other. The system's first innovation is a novel congestion-detection algorithm. Every five microseconds the algorithm checks data packets queued for processing for each app. If a packet is still waiting from the last observation, the algorithm notes there's at least a 5-microsecond delay. It also checks if any computation processes, called threads, are waiting to be executed. If so, the system considers that a "congested" app. It seems simple enough. But the queue's structure is important to achieving microsecond-scale congestion detection. Traditional thinking meant having the software check the timestamp of each queued-up data packet, which would take too much time. The researchers implement the queues in efficient structures known as "ring buffers." These structures can be visualized as different slots around a ring. The first inputted data packet goes into a starting slot. As new data arrive, they're dropped into subsequent slots around the ring. Usually, these structures are used for first-in-first-out data processing, pulling data from the starting slot and working toward the ending slot. The researchers' system, however, only stores data packets briefly in the structures, until an app can process them. In the meantime, the stored packets can be used for congestion checks. The algorithm need only compare two points in the queue -- the location of the first packet and where the last packet was five microseconds ago -- to determine if packets are encountering a delay. "You can look at these two points, and track their progress every five microseconds, to see how much data has been processed," Fried says. Because the structures are simple, "you only have to do this once per core. If you're looking at 24 cores, you do 24 checks in five microseconds, which scales nicely." Smart allocation The second innovation is called the IOKernel, the central software hub that steers data packets to appropriate apps. The IOKernel also uses the congestion detection algorithm to quickly allocate cores to congested apps orders of magnitude more quickly than traditional approaches. For instance, the IOKernel may see an incoming data packet for a certain app that requires microsecond processing speeds. If the app is congested due to a lack of cores, the IOKernel immediately devotes an idle core to the app. If it also sees another app running cores with less time-sensitive data, it will grab some of those cores and reallocate them to the congested app. The apps themselves also help out: If an app isn't processing data, it alerts the IOKernel that its cores can be reallocated. Processed data goes back to the IOKernel to send the response. "The IOKernel is concentrating on which apps need cores that don't have them," Behrens says. "It's trying to figure out who's overloaded and needs more cores, and gives them cores as quickly as possible, so they don't fall behind and have huge latencies." The tight communication between the IOKernel, algorithm, apps, and server hardware is "unique in data centers" and allows Shenango to function seamlessly, Belay says: "The system has global visibility into what's happening in each server. It sees the hardware providing the packets, what's running where in each core, and how busy each of the apps are. And it does that at the microsecond scale." Next, the researchers are refining Shenango for real-world data center implementation. To do so, they're ensuring the software can handle a very high data throughput and has appropriate security features. ### ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND ARCHIVE: Faster page loads http://news. mit. edu/ 2017/ faster-webpage-loads-data-center-bandwidth-0328 ARCHIVE: Testing new networking protocols http://news. mit. edu/ 2017/ speed-testing-traffic-management-data-center-networks-0321 This story has been published on: 2019-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Seminole, FL (33772) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 90F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A few clouds. Low near 75F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Tahlequah, OK (74464) Today Thunderstorms. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 83F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 319-283-2144 or email circ@oelweindailyregister.com. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A Madison County man is accused of sexually abusing a female child under the age of 11 in the the city of Syracuse, according to New York State Police. Robert D. Douglas, 42, of the city of Oneida, was charged with first-degree sex abuse, a felony, and endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, state police said. Douglas is accused of having sexual contact with a child in 2011. Douglas was arraigned in Syracuse City Court and was remanded back to the Madison County Jail on $100,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond. Douglas was sent to Madison County Jail for an October 2018 arrest for child pornography in the city of Oneida, state police said. An order of protection was issued to the victim. LIVERPOOL, N.Y. -- A Liverpool man who faces 25 felonies for impersonating a police officer to commit drug-related robberies has twice before been sent to state prison on weapon charges. Robert A. Shaw, 32, faces a series of drug and gun charges following searches at his home at 816 Oswego St., and at a storage unit in the town of Salina, according to Onondaga County Sheriffs deputies. The drugs were found at his home and the guns were found in his storage unit, according to felony complaints filed in Liverpool and Salina courts. Shaw was previously sent to state prison in 2009 and 2016, according to New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision online inmate records He was sentenced to spend up to 4 years in state prison for second-degree criminal possession of weapon in July 2009. He was released in April 2014. Shaw was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in state prison in September 2016 for third-degree attempted criminal possession of a weapon. He was released in August 2018. Robert A. Shaw, 32, was charged with 25 felonies. Shaw was charged Wednesday with: Two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance Two counts of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance Second-degree criminal possession of marijuana Six counts of criminally using drug paraphernalia Two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon 17 counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon Fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property First-degree criminal possession of marijuana Shaw is being held in the Onondaga County Justice Center. This investigation is continuing. Heres what investigators recovered in the search of his home and the storage unit: Weapons Glock model 17 9mm semi-automatic pistol that was stolen from Florida. Spike Tactical AR-15 style rifle with a defaced serial number. Stag Arms AR-15 style pistol, assault weapon with defaced numbers. Masterpiece Arms 9mm semi-automatic (UZI) style with a 30 round magazine and an attached silencer. Braztek International .38 special revolver. Semi-automatic 9mm pistol with no serial numbers. Russian-American Armory Saiga AK-47 rifle. Property Do you already have a paid subscription to any of the SWNewsMedia newspapers? If so, you can Activate your Premium online account by clicking here. Activation will allow you to view unlimited online articles each month. To activate your Premium online account, the email address and phone number provided with your paid newspaper subscription needs to match the information you use in setting up your online user account. If you are having trouble or want to confirm what email address and phone number is listed on your subscription account, please call 952-345-6682 or email circulation@swpub.com and we'll be happy to assist. I was a right klutz, a right stumblebum. I had just had a privileged but confronting few minutes chatting life and death with Kristie Purton one of the Cystic Sisters, and a young mum who has come home to die, Hunter Wells writes. This spunky, freckle-faced 35-year-old who so very publicly and very positively made such a wonderful thing out of living. I am feeling pretty shitty, but dealing with life as it happens, she says. Dying but smiling. I have always thought I am strong enough, that I can fight this thing. But her attitude is no longer enough. Its got to the stage where my body is giving in so, yeah. We are talking days. At best, weeks. I have lived with an incurable illness all my life, and I always knew it would claim me one day, but I never ever thought it would be now. It would always be sometime. The wrong things can happen at the wrong time. And now sometime is here. You may remember the Cystic Sisters from their 65 days of good deeds doing spontaneous, nice things for complete strangers. There was pre-paid parking charges, some cheer here, a cake there, scratchies hidden in library books and train ride tickets at Memorial Park. Small but big stuff that raised a smile here and a hug there. They made happy days out of their challenging days because they were living with cystic fibrosis - a cruel genetic disease slowly suffocating them and slowly shutting down their lungs. Sixty-five roses, they called it, because it sounded like cystic fibrosis. Kristies lying back in her lounge when I drop by, with a 24-hour lifeline of oxygen inserted in her nose. If I took that away I couldnt breathe, I couldnt do anything, she says. Her body aches and her chest cradling the transplanted lungs feels like it is caving in. My whole body is tired. They call it chronic rejection Kristie and her new lungs just dont get on. Theres no way back, and no way forward. But shes so stoic. Shes unflappable as she calmly spills the most personal, most intimate information, knowing it will be shared with the world. Go ahead, says Kristie. I am an open book. After all, she announced the end was near on Facebook. Strong, yes, shes very strong, says Nikki Reynolds-Wilson, one of the joined-at-the hip Cystic Sisters. To the point of being stubborn. But stubbornness has served her well when born, her parents were told she wouldnt live past 18. She passed that threshold some 17 years ago. So this reporter is probing away, asking some very personal questions with as much dignity as I can muster. Emotions are heaving, hearts are pumping and hands are shaking. Well, mine are. Then the aforementioned stumblebum moment. I got my foot tangled in her oxygen tube, the 24-hour lifeline. I just about tore it out of her nose, or the cylinder, or both. What are you trying to do, kill me? she asks. That was the ice breaker. Sometimes the wrong things happen at the right time. She quite enjoyed the attention being off her in that moment. At this time of darkness and hopelessness, of yielding to the inevitable, Kristie Purtons indomitable spirit and humour are shining brightly. Kristie wasnt well when she competed at the transplant games in Australia last September, even though she won a fistful of medals. That stubbornness kicked in again. I had been in and out of hospital with flus and viruses and they put it down to that. But in the back of her mind, those dark words - chronic rejection - were floating around. Two weeks ago the doctors consulted colleagues in Australia. It was a very thorough investigation, with lots of factors to be considered. They must rule out everything else before resorting to the rejection label. In the x-rays and scans it pretty much showed the lungs were scarred and shutting down, she explains. I can remember that moment. Note her use of the words the lungs, not my lungs. She has emotionally detached herself from the organs. The lungs have never attached, theyve just been rejected. As she would later tell her three children eight-year-old Haylee, Curtis, 10, and 16-year-old Zak: I have done my best with the new lungs but they didnt agree with my body. Theres nothing else we can do. Its not my fault, I have tried everything. Even in hospital, after being delivered the chronic rejection verdict, a stubborn Kristie still believed. I was sad, but Id heard stories about how you could have a second transplant. There was still hope. I could have another try. But no. The doctors disagreed and proceeded to talk her through it. A second transplant was not an option. I just broken down, she says. The outcome was that there was nothing else they could do for me. I said so I just go home and theres nothing more?, and they said no, theres nothing more! I will never forget those words. Kristie drove home from Auckland to Tauranga with just one thing going through her head, and it wasnt her own mortality. It was my three kids. How do you tell three kids so young that they wont have a Mum? She sat them down, and after explaining that her lungs simply dont agree with her body, she reassured them of how proud of them she is. I talked about all the good stuff they do and how they are my world. Of course they broke down, and they wanted to know how they would live without their Mum. We pretty much cried all day. Nikki will be there. She will be there for her sisters kids. We have always promised each other that whoever went first, the other would adopt their kids. I will keep that promise forever, says Nikki. Kristie says she will be there fighting until her last difficult breath. They may have rejected her, but she will make those lungs pump until the last possible moment. The prognosis was pretty much go home and you will have week. They took three x-rays over the five days I was in hospital, and the damage to the lungs is happening at a rapid rate. They said I could have really good days and I could have bad days, so just make the most of the good days. At daybreak one day last week, the champagne flowed atop Mauao. Whenever Kristie came out of hospital, the summit of Mauao was her holy place. I wanted to go back one more time, and 80 people came with me, she explains. They offered to carry her up, but that stubborn streak got her there under her own steam oxygen bottle and all. I explained to the kids that when I am gone, they can come up here when they are sad. You will always remember this day and you will remember me. I asked everyone to live their lives to the fullest. Kristie also has some advice for cystic fibrosis kids dont use her own outcomes as a measure of anything, because its extremely unlikely to happen to them. Any kid out there with cystic fibrosis is one of the strongest people in the world. They have to confront stuff no-one else will ever understand. They will go through life tough, but because of whats available to them these days, they will be old before anything bad happens. I was the unlucky one my lungs didnt agree with me. But most people have the most amazing outcomes. Look at my sister. Three years on and her lungs are amazing. She will live forever. She says it is the luck of the draw. Theres a whole bunch of straws and she drew an unlucky one. Theres nothing you can to do to prevent it or change things, she says. Its life. Her Mum and Dad are struggling on many levels. They have done everything in their power for us our whole lives. The possibility of having to bury their own child pretty much broke them. Her brother, who dodged the cystic fibrosis gene, is also struggling. You always forget the one who escaped it, says Kristie, but hes suffered watching his Mum and Dad go through all of this and knowing his sisters arent in good health and might die. I dont think his support and courage get acknowledged enough. It was the middle of 2016 when this reporter and the Cystic Sisters were down on Chadwick Road in Greerton doing what made them famous giving stuff away, doing little favours, making people happy and making folk aware of cystic fibrosis. It was their very own brand of kindness and good will. They had just stopped a retired teacher by the name of Mary Elders. People are always asking for things, never giving. This is an absolutely lovely thing to do, exclaimed Mary, as the Cystic Sisters thrust a little posy of flowers at her. There was a spontaneous round of hugs and pecks between people who, seconds earlier, were total strangers. The moment was made even more poignant when the teacher explained she had lost a pupil to cystic fibrosis. It encapsulated 65 days of kindness. Perhaps thats Kristies legacy, and the kindness will continue. This reporter gets up to leave. The oxygen is still flowing, no thanks to me. Theres a spontaneous hug. Then Kristie rocks me. Goodbye, she says. I have enjoyed knowing you. No see you soon, no catch you later. There was an uncomfortable finality in her farewell. Goodbye Kristie the privilege was all mine. Bay of Plenty You will be operating the Roller and also required to help out the team hands on. You will be working near Bayfair for a... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Stillwater, OK (74074) Today Heavy rain early will transition to showers and thunderstorms for the afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 79F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall possibly over one inch.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely. Low 68F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. TICKERS: FCC; FTSSF Source: Peter Epstein for Streetwise Reports (2/22/19) Trent Mell, CEO of First Cobalt, sits down with Peter Epstein of Epstein Research to discuss his company's projects, refinery and the macro outlook for cobalt. First Cobalt Corp. (FCC:TSX.V; FTSSF:OTCQX; FCC:ASX) is a well-known name in the cobalt world, but its share price has not been spared the beating taken by fellow cobalt and lithium junior shares over the past year. The cobalt price has not helped; it too has experienced a precipitous decline. First Cobalt's market cap is ~C$63 million+ (C$11 million cash at Sept. 29, 2018) yet it owns a cobalt refinery in Ontario, Canada, that has a replacement value (according to Hatch) of US$100 million, and that doesn't account for the years it would take to permit a new refinery. Time is money. This implies the company's 50 past-producing mines in Ontario are free to investors. It also implies that First Cobalt's flagship U.S. project, Iron Creek in Idaho, is free. Meaningful capital has been sunk into all of these assets, what to make of this? Is Cobalt being engineered out of electric vehicles, being replaced by nickel? Not according to the experts I trust most. Trent Mell is the CEO of First Cobalt; he's possibly biased in his thinking on cobalt demand, but I asked him his opinion anyway. Please continue reading to learn more about Mr. Mell's views on the cobalt space and his company. Peter Epstein & Epstein Research have no prior or existing relationship with First Cobalt or CEO Trent Mell. The views expressed in this interview are entirely those of Mr. Mell. Please give readers the latest snapshot of First Cobalt Corp. First Cobalt Corp. (TSX-V: FCC; ASX: FCC; OTCQX: FTSSF) is a North American pure-play cobalt company. Our flagship asset is the Iron Creek Cobalt project in Idaho, U.S., which has an Inferred mineral resource of 26.9 million tonnes grading 0.11% cobalt equivalent, (Co Eq), which works out to over 45 million pounds of cobalt, plus 175 million pounds of copper. We have been drilling for just over a year, and we see lots of opportunity to significantly grow this resource. We also own the only permitted cobalt refinery in North America and 50 past-producing mines in the Canadian Cobalt Camp in Ontario. The refinery is a rare strategic asset and our quickest route to cash flow and to cobalt production in North America. Please tell us more about your Flagship asset Iron Creek in the U.S. (Idaho). The Iron Creek Cobalt project is in the heart of the Idaho Cobalt Belt in Idaho, U.S. Most cobalt mining activity today takes place in the Democratic Republic of Congo, so having an asset in America is pretty special. This particular property was explored in the 1970s and '80s and has roads, historical drilling and underground access in three different areas of the deposit. The mining claims cover 1,700 acres and the area immediately above the resource is patented property, which means we own the surface rights. This is a big advantage when it comes to permitting. As stated previously, we have an initial Inferred Resource estimate of 26.9 million tonnes grading 0.11% Co Eq., containing 45.4 million pounds of cobalt, plus 175.4 million pounds of copper, under a base case open pit scenario. Alternatively, there is a conceptual underground option with a small open pit that results in an estimated 4.4 million tonnes grading 0.23% Co & 0.68% Cu (0.30% Co Eq.), containing 22.3 million pounds of cobalt, plus 66.7 million pounds of copper. We are delighted with the outcome of our first drill campaign, but much more remains to be done. We will have a second resource estimate by the end of March and the deposit remains open, meaning there is potential to continue expanding the resource. In 2019, we will continue to de-risk Iron Creek across three key fronts. First, there is the updated resource estimate which will include an additional 10,000 meters of drilling that was completed late last year. Next, we will commence baseline environmental studies to provide information on the existing conditions at the site and surrounding area so that designs for future mining and processing activities minimize the impact to the environment. Finally, metallurgical test work is planned on representative samples of the mineralized zones, including a review of mineralogy, comminution, flotation and hydrometallurgical recoveries. Please tell us about First Cobalt's most recent drill results announced Feb. 13th. The four holes we reported on Feb. 13th were drilled beyond the western extent of the resource. Extensions of particularly copper-rich mineralization were encountered. Results from these holes expanded mineralization an additional 120m in the Waite zone and 60m in the No Name zone. Whereas the maiden resource estimate reported mineralization to 150m below surface, the two westernmost holes released today trace mineralization to >300m below surface, and show that mineralization remains open down-dip and along the western strike extent. Iron Creek now has a continuous horizon of mineralization between the two zones along a strike length of ~800m. The best intercepts were: 13.4m of 2.22% Cu, incl. 4% Cu over 3m, and, 1.9m of 3.9% Cu + 0.22% Co, incl. 10.37% Cu + 0.47% Co over 0.5m, and, 4.0m of 2.88% Cu + 0.12% Co, incl. 6.17% Cu + 0.19% Co oer 1.2m, and, 3.9m of 2.92% Cu, and, 6.1m of 1.34% Cu, and, 1.6m of 5.68% Cu. Together, extensions along strike and at depth, continue to suggest further tonnage potential well beyond the boundaries of the maiden resource estimate. The Feb. 13th results support our view that copper-rich areas provide options for mine planning. There are 18 drill holes pending, which will also be included in an updated mineral resource estimate expected at the end of March. We anticipate a notable enhancement over the maiden resource estimate that we released in September, with still further upside as the deposit remains open in all directions. Some prospective shareholders think that a grade of 0.11% cobalt equivalent is too low, what's your response? The short answer is that I disagree, and there are a number of reasons why. One can certainly point to some high-grade cobalt drill results that have been released over the past couple of years, but these are typically vein-style deposits that struggle to hold together in resource modeling. In other words, grade is worthless without sufficient tonnage. By contrast, there are a number of Australian nickel-cobalt deposits that have the tonnage but much lower grades than we have at Iron Creek. In the case of Iron Creek, we are seeing good grade and we also have the opportunity to add a lot more tonnes to a deposit that is already as big as just about anything else in North America. Keep in mind that we also have a 0.3% Co Eq Inferred grade as an underground deposit, which starts to look quite high-grade across the universe of cobalt deposits. More generally, there are not many cobalt deposits out there, so it could be tempting to compare a 0.11% Co Eq. grade with copper or nickel deposits. However, the price of cobalt/lb can range from 7 to 12 times the price of copper/lb, so it is perhaps helpful to think in these terms. Iron Creek is rare as it is a primary cobalt project, whereas 98% of the world's cobalt is produced from nickel and copper operations. What should readers be looking for in your updated resource estimate at Iron Creek? Drilling from mid-2018 to the end of the year has further extended mineralization to the west, as well as at depth. This drilling has also intercepted mineralization between the two known zones throughout much of the 2018 resource area. All this points towards an increase in tonnage in the updated estimate expected at the end of March. For the maiden resource, we had only tested 500m of a known 1,000m strike extent and incorporated 150m of down-dip drilling. The upcoming resource will test further along strike and 300m down-dip. Importantly, the March resource update will not be the final word on the potential size of Iron Creek, but I hope it underscores that there are more tonnes to be drilled at the property. Tell us more about your permitted Cobalt Refinery in Cobalt, Ontario? Could the 24 tonnes per day (tpd) throughput be increased without a new permit? The First Cobalt refinery is potentially the quickest path to cash flow for First Cobalt and we are spending a lot of time working towards a restart of the facility within the next two years. We are currently testing third-party cobalt feed material as well as having discussions with automotive companies, metals traders and private equity funds, all of whom could help finance a restart in exchange for an off-take agreement for final product. The refinery is a hydrometallurgical cobalt facility in the Canadian Cobalt Camp, ~500 km from the U.S. border. It has the potential to produce either a cobalt sulphate for the lithium-ion battery market or cobalt metal for the North American aerospace industry and other industrial applications. In late 2018, the company released the results of three independent studies undertaken to estimate capital requirements, operating costs, permit renewal timelines, potential feedstock options and off-take opportunities. At a 24-tonne-per-day feed rate, and using the current flowsheet, the capital cost of the restart is estimated at US$25.7 million (including a 30% contingency) and a permitting review concluded that a restart is possible within 18 months of selecting a feedstock. Note: Here's a 4-minute corporate video featuring the First Cobalt Refinery in Ontario, Canada. Some investors are concerned that a sizable equity raise will be required to fund the US$25.7 million cap-ex for the refinery, is that the case? We believe that there is a strong business plan for the refinery that would support a financing package that could include debt, off-take financing, a stream or a JV interest. My goal is to restart the refinery without any equity dilution and generate cash flow to continue funding activities at Iron Creek. We believe that the refinery has the ability to be cash-generating in a relatively short period of time, which lends itself to a number of non-equity dilutive structures. With cobalt prices much lower than they were, might you have trouble finding feed material for the refinery? Payabilities for cobalt feedstocks, such as hydroxide, have come down due to lower demand from Chinese refiners. This is very advantageous for the First Cobalt refinery as it results in better margin opportunities. Some miners have also had difficulty having their contractual terms honored in Asia. As a result, many are now seeking alternative options to refine their cobalt material. There does not seem to be much focus lately on the 50 past-producing cobalt properties in Ontario. Are those properties out of the money with the current cobalt price? The Canadian Cobalt Camp remains highly prospective and our belief is that the area continues to hold district-scale potential for cobalt. With Iron Creek in Idaho now on the path towards becoming a development asset, our focus is on how to unlock value for our shareholders in this rapid-paced market. You may hate this question, but I have to askwhat are your thoughts on cobalt prices for 2019? A common refrain that I am hearing from supply chain purchasing managers is that a structural deficit in cobalt is expected in 2022 and 2023. That is not far away and auto companies are concerned about securing supply. Prices have pulled back significantly from their highs due to factors ranging from a strong U.S. dollar, trade war rhetoric, concerns over a slowdown in China and some gamesmanship in the cobalt trading market. It is disappointing and has certainly scared a number of retail investors but, in my view, it can't last. With EVs representing barely over 1% of new vehicle sales, how can one not be bullish on cobalt? Do you have a view on nickel substitution for cobalt; will nickel destroy demand for cobalt? No serious battery researcher believes that cobalt is coming out of the battery anytime soon. More nickel and less cobalt is on the horizon as we move towards the NCM 8.1.1 cathode, but even that has been delayed and will be more than offset by higher EV penetration rates. Battery metals expert consultancy Benchmark Minerals estimates that even factoring in adoption of the 8.1.1 chemistry, demand for cobalt will still increase more than 4x by 2028. Concerns that cobalt will be engineered out of the battery started with a prominent Tweet, that was quickly debunked. Why should investors consider buying shares of First Cobalt (TSX-V: FCC; ASX: FCC; OTCQX: FTSSF)? First Cobalt is well positioned for a shift in the commodities market. Iron Creek is a primary-cobalt project located in a mining friendly jurisdiction, Idaho, USA. The refinery is a unique asset in North America and has gained significant interest for its potential to provide traceable, ethical cobalt material into the North American market. While the battery materials have faced significant, and maybe overzealous, pressure in recent months, the fundamentals remain strong as EV adoption rates continue to rise in coming years. Peter Epstein is the founder of Epstein Research. His background is in company and financial analysis. He holds an MBA degree in financial analysis from New York University's Stern School of Business. [NLINSERT] Disclosures: Peter Epstein & Epstein Research have no prior or existing relationship with the management team, or any company mentioned in this interview. At the time this interview was posted, Peter Epstein did not own shares of First Cobalt Corp. or any company mentioned herein. Disclosures: The content of this article is for information only. Readers fully understand and agree that nothing contained herein, written by Peter Epstein of Epstein Research [ER], (together, [ER]) about NuLegacy Gold, including but not limited to, commentary, opinions, views, assumptions, reported facts, calculations, etc. is not to be considered implicit or explicit investment advice. Nothing contained herein is a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any security. [ER] is not responsible under any circumstances for investment actions taken by the reader. [ER] has never been, and is not currently, a registered or licensed financial advisor or broker/dealer, investment advisor, stockbroker, trader, money manager, compliance or legal officer, and does not perform market making activities. [ER] is not directly employed by any company, group, organization, party or person. The shares of NuLegacy Gold are highly speculative, not suitable for all investors. 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During the training, 228th Soldiers qualified on the M-240H Machine Gun in either the Blackhawk or the CH-47 Chinook to maintain their combat capabilities. During the exercise, the regiment also planned out air assaults with their Belizean and British counterparts to provide an opportunity for the three countries to come together and practice coordinating operations with the other armed forces. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Destinee Sweeney) X 0 20 Help Keep Us Soaring We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling. We need your help in reversing that trend. We would like to add 20 new subscribers this month. Each month we count on your subscriptions or contributions. You can support us in the following ways: A largely ignored story reported by the Lebanese magazine Ash Shiraa on November 3, 1986, soon blossomed into a major scandal involving the covert sale of US weapons to the government of Iran and the illegal supply of weapons to right-wing Nicaraguan rebels. The Lebanese magazine was the first to reveal that the Ronald Reagan administration was covertly selling arms to Iran in exchange for the release of seven American hostages by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon. On November 25, 1986, three weeks after the expose by Ash Shiraa, US Attorney General Edwin Meese announced to a stunned nation that profits from the sale of American weapons to Iran were used to buy and ship weapons to the Contra rebels battling against the socialist government of President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua. The covert Reagan administration operation violated at least two laws. The first was breaking a US arms embargo on Iran. The second was a violation of the 1982 congressional Boland Amendment, which prohibited US taxpayers funds being used to overthrow the government of Nicaragua. The scandal almost resulted in Congresss impeachment of Reagan and his vice-president, George H. W. Bush, from office. Today, in a period of deja vu, the Donald Trump administration has embarked on a Reaganesque policy of covertly shipping arms to Venezuelan rebels, based in Colombia and Brazil, readying for an insurrection against the government of President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela. At the same time, US covert operators have been caught in the act of mounting operations directed at the governments of Haiti and Nicaragua, both members of the increasingly-shrinking Latin American camp of Maduro allies. Reprising the role of Reagan, Trump, on February 18 during a speech at Florida International University in Miami, urged Venezuelan military officers to rise up, in a coup d'etat, and oust Maduro, who Trump called a "Cuban puppet." Making Trumps call seem like a repetition of history, the White House recently appointed Elliott Abrams as Trumps special envoy for the forced transition of government in Venezuela from Maduro to Juan Guaido, a Trump puppet. In 1991, Abrams, after agreeing to cooperate with Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh, was convicted on two criminal counts of withholding information from Congress. Abrams denied being involved in the illegal solicitation of funds for the Contras. On December 24, 1992, George H. W. Bush issued presidential pardons to Abrams and five of his co-conspirators in the Iran-Contra scandal. Bush had been identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in Walshs final report. In retrospect, Abrams, along with bumbling characters like Central Intelligence Agency director William Casey, National Security Adviser Admiral John Poindexter, and Poindexter underling Marine Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North were bound to mess things up for the criminal conspiracy. For example, Abrams solicited an illegal $10 million contribution to the Contras from the Sultan of Brunei. When North later gave Abrams the Swiss bank account number for Lake Resources, a CIA front in Geneva, he gave Abrams the wrong prefix of 368 instead of the actual number 386. Abrams then passed the account number to Brunei. In Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah wired $10 million from the Citibank branch in Brunei to the wrong account at Credit Suisse in Geneva. Due to Norths and Abrams error, a Swiss shipping magnate was suddenly $10 million wealthier. The Swiss businessman promptly re-invested the unintended financial windfall. Swiss authorities refused to identify the lucky winner of Abramss and Norths incompetence. In another example of Iran-Contra deja vu, the Attorney General who presided over the Bush pardons for the Iran-Contra Six, including Abrams, and the botched prior convictions of Poindexter and North was notorious cover-up artist William Barr, who Trump recently swore in as his Attorney General. As Trump begins to emulate Reagan in overthrowing progressive governments in Latin America, Abramss buffoonery is already at play. On February 3, authorities at Arturo Michelena International Airport in Venezuela seized a Boeing 767 jet, operated by 21Air LLC, said to have been carrying arms to US-backed rebels in Venezuela. The Boeing 767 took off the same day from Miami. During the Contra War escapades of Abrams and his cronies, Florida was a nexus for CIA proprietary airlines shipping weapons to right-wing guerillas in Central and South America. These airlines, which had no congressional or law enforcement oversight, often returned to the United States from their arms cargo runs laden with drugs, mostly cocaine from Colombia. Included in the secret cargo manifest were 9 assault weapons, including AR-15 rifles, a Micro Draco semi-automatic pistol, and a Colt 7.62 rifle with telescopic sights, in addition to 118 ammunition cartridges and military radio antennas. 21Air LLC's chairman is Adolfo Moreno, who, according to McClatchy News, is linked to Gemini Air Cargo, an airline involved with the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program during the George W. Bush administration and identified as such in an official report of the Council of Europe. Gemini Air Cargo, before it went out of business in 2008, was based at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, just outside of Washington DC. The Boeing seized by Venezuela was busy the last few months, making runs from Miami International Airport to Valencia and Caracas, Venezuela and Bogota and Medellin, Colombia. 21Air, which is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, claimed to McClatchy that the Boeing 767 had been chartered by another firm called GPS-Air. 21Air operates a sister firm, 21Cargo, Inc. of Doral, Florida. 21Cargo was formerly called Solar Cargo C.A. Doral is noteworthy as the place of residence for several Venezuelan oligarchs who, after Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999, moved to Florida, taking their money with them, secure from the tax authorities in Caracas. Gemini Cargo Logistics Inc., which was affiliated with Gemini Air Cargo, used a Miami address shared with firms linked to 21Air. That address is now used by the Colombian national air carrier, Avianca. Colombian right-wing president Ivan Duque, along with Brazilian far-right neo-Nazi president Jair Bolsonaro, are providing bases and other logistical support for Venezuelan right-wing rebel groups. The nature of CIA proprietaries is that they use a complex network of fronts and folding tent temporary addresses to mask their covert activities. During the Iran-Contra escapades of the CIA, non-descript companies flew unmarked aircraft from small airports in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, and Arizona in support of Contra arms supply operations. Trump has apparently restored these operations in support of right-wing dissidents in Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Cuba. The debacle with the CIA being caught red-handed at Valencia airport was soon followed by another in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Haiti, which has been an ally of Maduro and a recipient of $2 billion in aid from the Venezuelan PetroCaribe Fund, has been under intense pressure from the Trump administration to sever its tied with Maduros government. The US responded to Haitian non-committal on recognizing the puppet Guaido government by stepping up regime change operations against President Jovenel Moise and Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant. On February 7, violent protests began in on the streets of Port-au-Prince, Cap Haitien, Jeremie, Gonaives, and Jacmel. More suspiciously, the US State Department ordered all non-essential personnel out of the country following the outbreak of the anti-government demonstrations. On February 17, Haitian police arrested a group of eight heavily-armed men traveling in two cars in the capital of Port-au-Prince. Among the group were five Americans and a Russian (later identified as a Serbian national); a Serbian with at least one Croatian visa stamp in his passport; and a Haitian. The Haitian may be a foreign national employee of the US embassy in Port-au-Prince. The Russian and Serbian may hold permanent residency status in the United States. The Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste reported that police discovered in the foreigners' cars automatic rifles, 45-caliber and Glock pistols, a large amount of ammunition, drones, and satellite phones. Also found in the vehicles were a telescope, backpacks, bullet-proof vests, and various documents, including a list of names of Haitian citizens. The vehicles bore no license plates and the suspects' passports had no Haitian visa entry stamps. The passports did show extensive travel to other countries prior to being in Haiti. Five Haitian license plates were found in the vehicles. When arrested by police, the eight men refused to provide identification, insisting that they were on some sort of "government mission." They did not identify the "government" for whom they were working but insisted that they did not have to talk to the police. One of the arresting police officers said one of those arrested told him, "Our boss would call your boss." The Americans arrested all have prior US military service. Apparently, some sort of phone call was made because on February 20, the five Americans were flown from Haiti to Miami, where they were seen being handcuffed by law enforcement agents. The Haitian nation was not among those sent back to the US Although some of the initial revelations about the Iran-Contra scandal came from the Lebanese magazine, the Nicaraguan Contra aspect of the criminal conspiracy was exposed when a CIA contractor aircraft was shot down over Nicaragua during an air drop mission in support of the rebels. On October 5, 1986, after Abramss solicitation of $10 million from the Sultan of Brunei but before the Ash Shiraa revelations, a C-123 operated by Corporate Air Services, a subsidiary of Southern Air Transport, was shot down by a Nicaraguan soldier using a Strela-2 shoulder-launched missile. Corporate Air Services and Southern Air Transport, the latter based in Miami, were both CIA proprietaries. They and other front airlines operated throughout Florida and the southeastern United States. Although the C-123s pilot and co-pilot, both Cuban-Americans, as well as the Contra radio operator, were killed, there was one survivor. The cargo bay box kicker, Eugene Hasenfus, was, like the leader of the American team arrested in Haiti, a former Marine. Two of those arrested in Haiti were former US Navy SEAL officers. Prime Minister Ceant called the group mercenaries. Hasenfus, survived due to his wearing a parachute. He was quickly put on trial by Nicaragua and sentenced to 30 years in prison on terrorism and other charges. In December 1986, Hasenfus was pardoned by President Ortega and he returned to the United States. However, the revelation that he was flying covert missions for the CIA out of an air base in El Salvador helped unravel the criminal conspiracy being committed by Abrams, North, Poindexter, Casey, and all their associated cronies. The seizure of the Boeing 767 and its weapons cargo in Venezuela and the arrest of the well-armed Americans and their colleagues in Haiti may be the initial events, like the revelations of 1986, in exposing another incompetent CIA venture directed by a corrupt White House, one that involves, ironically, the bungling Elliott Abrams, who also failed miserably at overthrowing President Chavez in 2002 while working within the George W. Bush National Security Council. Are we witnessing a move towards global censorship of the internet? In particular, are we seeing the gradual attempt to shut off Russia and its news media from a normal free-flow of international communications? A kind of global apartheid system whereby nations are excommunicated from internet contact with the rest of the world? The concept may seem an outrageous, impossible idea. Imagine, say, the analogy of the international aviation system being policed by certain nations to the exclusion of others being able to fly civilian airliners to any destination. Imagine, say, old-fashioned telephone global networks being blacked out for certain countries. The whole notion of large areas of the world being made off-limits to transport and communications for certain nations seems on the face of it to be unimaginable in terms of violation against internationalism. Yet, are we not already seeing this nefarious development underway? The US-dominated global system of financial banking transactions is already being suborned to the political determination of Washington. Russia, Iran, Venezuela and other nations are steadily being excluded by American political decisions to conduct what one would define as normal conduct of financial business under the rubric of economic sanctions. It is therefore only a step-change for the same process of blackballing by Washington in the realm of global communications, specifically the internet. This week saw another notch towards this reprehensible situation. The US-owned internet company Facebook made a determination to ban a media company affiliated with the Russian-based RT news network. The decision came on the back of US news media claims that the Russian-affiliated news service was Kremlin-linked. Consequently, hundreds of internet pages and millions of citizens who subscribe to the service have had their means of communication terminated. All on the politically based claim that said services were somehow acting to extend Russian influence, which by prejudice is deemed to be bad. When the worldwide web, or internet, was conceived decades ago by a British scientist it was intended to be a global forum for all ideas, discussion and exchange. It so happens that much of the internet has come to be based in and controlled by Western states, primarily the US. Analogous to the international financial system. Facebook, the social media platform, claims to conduct communications for two billion users or nearly a quarter of the worlds population. For a US-based company to take the decision to shut off its network to parts of a Russian news network is a hugely political act. All the more so because the decision was based on the claims of a US-based news company that made dubious pejorative allegations against the Russian news network. What is at issue here is freedom of information. That is supposed to be a bedrock principle of democracy and human rights. By what right has a US-based internet company to determine that large swathes of the global communication system is to be made off-limits, or in a word censored? There is a reasonable suspicion that the real problem is simply that the American political system and the US media companies have a political problem dealing with news and information that happens to contest their view of the world, and the view that they would prefer global citizens to adhere to. The RT-affiliated news network banned this week by Facebook claims that the ban was motivated because of its recent critical views on US attempts to destabilize Venezuela for regime change. Criticism, freedom of speech and alternative viewpoints are supposed to be a pillar of any democracy. Yet here seems to be a case of a media service performing its democratic function, and then being blackballed for doing so. Information warfare is a term most often cited by American and Western allies to describe Russian news media. The reality is it is the US and its allies who have for decades gotten away with information warfare directed at their own citizens to keep them in a state of fear and paranoia against designated external enemies, such as the Soviet Union. That was the Cold War. Nothing, it seems, has changed. In an open world of communications, news and information, all citizens regardless of nationality should be free to decide for themselves what is accurate and reliable in terms of describing the world around them and major developments. It betrays the Orwellian, insecure nature of so-called democratic Western countries when their self-appointed authorities decide that their citizens are prone to Russian influence. It so happens that Russian news media organizations like RT are well respected by international audiences, including Western populations, for providing critical and accurate reportage and analysis. To shut off Russian news media services on the tendentious claim that they are Kremlin propaganda is a sign of deep distrust among Western authorities of their own people and their own political rationales. The upshot? Closing down the internet and imposing bans on Russian-based news networks operating in Western states. It is as reprehensible as closing down aviation to Russian airlines or those of any other nation deemed to be pariah. It is as reprehensible as closing down international financial systems to same countries. Oh wait, thats already happening. Russian President Vladimir Putin averred this week that the political agenda of American and allied anti-Russian ideologues is to eventually cut Russia off from the internet. We may consider that such a move an affront to international communications and free speech is well underway. But such an abuse of power can only be temporary. Humanity will always find a way to overcome political-technological fetters. And when it does, the would-be tyrants will be left powerless and viewed with contempt. Human freedom is something American and Western institutions proclaim to eulogize. They are finding out the hard way because of their suppression of the very thing they supposedly uphold. Global communications, like democracy, is a rhetorical chimera that Western ruling classes have no notion of respecting in practice. All their efforts at control are self-indicting of their own fraudulent pretenses. The world is awakening with collective consciousness, and there is no way to put the genie back in the bottle. Let present Western authorities try to censor all they like, for their self-defeating contradictions just come back to bite. Now that President Donald Trump directly declared his intentions, as covered in "Trump declares national emergency at border" (Feb. 16), Id like to say that Trumps national emergency is detrimental to our country and democracy. His wall has always been simplistic rhetoric, a campaign promise that constrains productive discussion about border security. Data show that illegal border crossings have been declining for decades and that terrorism in recent times has never resulted from these crossings. Meanwhile, immigrants continue to die crossing the border and in detention centers, and children separated from their families have gone missing. Unlike what Trump claims, El Paso, Texas, wasn't and isnt a violent city. His lies should bristle any St. Louisan who resents her city being called crime-ridden. What he doesnt talk about are the butterfly habitats endangered by bulldozers. Even if you disagree with the numbers, does Trumps wall warrant a national emergency? Perhaps the real emergency is our president flouting checks and balances and setting dangerous precedent for what future presidents could do. The article "County prosecutor opposes staff joining police union" (Feb. 20) reported that St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell thinks that his staff should not join the union that represents city police officers. Bell's position should be supported by citizens in this county, in the state of Missouri, and police union officers everywhere. The position is based on an obligation held by all elected public officials to provide open oversight and access to our courts for justice for all. Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger must have had second and third thoughts before writing the column about St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reeds delinquent personal property taxes and Reed's lying about it ("Lewis Reeds struggles with truth bigger than his tax bill," Feb. 18). Messenger couldnt write about Reed without running the risk of being outed as a personal property tax scofflaw himself. So he confessed but then said, Like most Missourians, I wish they (personal property taxes) didnt exist. Another tax-and-spend liberal who really doesnt want to pay his taxes, even ones that benefit schools and public safety. Join Underground Railroad historian J.E. Robinson for a tour of places where slaves took refuge on their quest for freedom more than 150 years ago. Stops include the New Bethel-Rocky Fork AME Church in Godfrey, which was one of the first stops for slaves escaping Missouri to get to Illinois, a free state. Visitors will also see Union Baptist Church in Alton, one of the oldest black churches in Illinois. Its founding pastor, John Anderson, was a pressman for newspaper editor Elijah Lovejoy, who was killed in 1837 by an anti-abolitionist mob. By Valerie Schremp Hahn This is ridiculous that she would get held without bond for doing an artistic reenactment for standing up for equal rights for women, White told The Washington Post. Theyre trying to send us a clear sign that theyre trying to silence women in Virginia. Michelle is a political prisoner. In an email, Michael Herring, the Richmond commonwealths attorney, said he believed it was unfortunate that Sutherland was held without bail. His office was not consulted on bond, but also did not speak up to recommend she be released on recognizance. Herring said he believed that the judge had been concerned that Sutherland, who was in town from New York, did not have a local address. The arrest happened Monday around 3:30 p.m., said Joseph Macenka, a spokesman for the Virginia Capitol Police. Officers identified themselves, asked her several times to cover up her left breast, Macenka said. Instead of doing that she arranged her clothing in such a manner so that both of her breasts were then exposed." Video published by the Richmond Times-Dispatch shows Sutherland in the moments surrounding the arrest. The summit is meant as a tutorial for church leaders to learn the importance of preventing sex abuse in their churches, tending to victims and investigating the crimes when they occur. The Vatican's senior sex crimes investigator delivered a step-by-step lesson Thursday on investigating abuse cases, citing the example of Pope Benedict XVI, who turned the Vatican around on the issue two decades ago. Archbishop Charles Scicluna told bishops they should cooperate with civil law enforcement investigations and announce decisions about predators to their communities once cases have been decided. He said victims had the right to damages from the church and that bishops should consider using lay experts to help guide them during the sex abuse investigations. The people of God "should come to know us as friends of their safety and that of their children and youth," he said. "We will protect them at all cost. We will lay down our lives for the flocks entrusted to us." Finally, Scicluna warned them that it was a "grave sin" to withhold information from the Vatican about candidates for bishops a reference to the recent scandal of the now-defrocked former American cardinal, Theodore McCarrick. It was apparently an open secret in some church circles that McCarrick slept with young seminarians. He was defrocked last week by Francis after a Vatican trial found credible reports that he abused minors. "I'm pleased to hear a willingness to explore the idea of reparations, but I'm not sure what they have in mind constitutes a reparations program," said William Darity, a Duke professor who has long been an advocate of reparations. "The danger is the possibility that the label 'reparations' is applied to a modest or incremental policy that falls far sort of what is required, and political leaders then say the nation's responsibility has been met." Darity said there were three key components of reparations programs in the United States: official acknowledgment of wrongdoing; redress for the crime committed; and a form of closure. For instance, Darity has called for having the federal government write checks only available to the descendants of those who had been enslaved in the U.S. Other forms of reparations could include transferring stocks, bonds, or other assets to descendants of sharecroppers, slaves, or both. The campaigns for Warren, Castro, and Harris did not respond to requests for comment on if they support this form of reparations, or to clarify what exactly they mean by supporting reparations. Darity said reparations do not simply mean advancing policies intended to also help black Americans. On Friday, Foulds, Darroch and a host of dignitaries are expected to attend a ceremony that was to include fly-bys by U.S. Air Force F-15Es among other aircraft. Two of Kriegshausers nephews who live in the St. Louis area were also planning on attending. St. Louisan John Kriegshausers actions that fateful day in 1944 are yet another example of why his is known as the Greatest Generation, Parson said in remarks prepared for the embassy event, which was closed to media. He and his crew acted selflessly to save innocent lives; Tony Foulds has acted nobly to preserve their tremendous legacy. Actions like Tonys help strengthen the special relationship between the United States and United Kingdom. Darroch said: The courage of those 10 men on that day will be remembered and not just by the children in the park whose lives were spared, but by the whole of the United Kingdom, who will always be grateful for their sacrifice. Parson was in Washington to attend a meeting of the Republican Governors Association. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CLAYTON If a judge allows the St. Louis County Council to take control of the St. Louis County Port Authority from County Executive Steve Stenger, the authority will remove itself from the embattled St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, officials said. The councils Port Authority appointees voted 5-0 on Thursday to give the partnership a 90-day notice that it would end the agencies longstanding agreement for the partnership to provide staff and office space. The new professional staff of the councils Port Authority would include many familiar faces from the ranks of partnership executives who left within months of Stengers taking office in 2015. First, a judge must determine that the councils version of the Port Authority is the legitimate board. Stenger and his rivals on the County Council on Nov. 7 each made appointments to their own versions of a port authority. The Stenger-backed authority has largely gone dormant since filing a lawsuit later in November asking the Circuit Court to eliminate the crippling uncertainty and decide which one is valid. A hearing is set for April 18. JEFFERSON CITY A Democrat running for Missouri attorney general is seeking to depose former Gov. Eric Greitens as part of his probe into possible nefarious dealings between the former chief executive and campaign donors. The Cole County Circuit Court issued the subpoena Thursday at Elad Gross' request. Gross sued Greitens' nonprofit, A New Missouri, last year, seeking internal financial information, but a Cole County judge later doused the request. Greitens resigned on June 1 after months of scandal, related both to his personal life and campaign apparatus. A New Missouri, for example, raised $6 million in 2017 from secret donors. The charity had faced a subpoena by the Missouri House, which was withdrawn after Greitens resigned. A New Missouri promoted Greitens' political career, but it did not have to adhere to campaign contribution limits, or disclosure requirements, leading to allegations that it was formed only to evade campaign finance law. Other allegations made during a months-long Missouri House investigation of the former governor included a charge that Greitens aides discussed seeking donations from foreign nationals, which is illegal. As the consultants had previously indicated, their report doesnt recommend adding turnstiles or ticket-takers. Some local officials had advocated such moves after some high-profile violent crimes on the system in recent years. But members of the consulting team say there isnt much correlation between fare evasion and serious crime. As in most other light-rail systems in the United States, Metro enforces fares by randomly requiring riders on the trains to produce time-stamped tickets. The report doesnt cite any statistics, but Stuart says MetroLinks rate of crime and the amount of crime is fairly typical for this type of system, she said. She cites disorderly conduct as a problem that makes MetroLink unpleasant to ride, such as the flouting of rules against loud music, smoking, eating and drinking. She has said an engaged, consistent security presence can deal with that and the perception by the public that the incidence of crime is worse than it really is. The incident was put in the spotlight when a truck driver posted a picture of the unconscious man on Facebook while the mans car blocked the Arsenal Street ramp to Interstate 44 in St. Louis. The idea is to prevent what happened. We are trying to get out to people when they overdose in real time. And, at that time, trying to get them into treatment, Williams said. The new initiative comes as St. Louis city and county are expected to set a record for overdose deaths in 2018. Final numbers are not yet available. But, in 2017, there was a record 760 opioid-related deaths in the St. Louis region. Nationally, drug overdoses killed a record 72,000 Americans in 2017. Fentanyl was identified in nearly half the cases, marking a huge spike from 2012, when the opioid was involved in only 6 percent of 41,000 drug fatalities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. St. Louis is well above the national average, with up to 95 percent of overdose deaths involving the lethal drug. Were deeply grateful to both the victim for having the courage to report and law enforcement for having the will to pursue charges, Clohessy said. Hes obviously a very dangerous man, and shame on every church official who knew of or suspected his crimes and ignored or hid them. Victims advocate Jeff Anderson said he had worked to bring at least half a dozen allegations against Lenczycki to light over the years. (Lenczycki) is an incredibly dangerous offender, and the more that can be known about him the more likely he will be put behind bars, Anderson said. The number of kids he actually violated is not known, but hes among the most dangerous perverse serial predators. Advocates say allegations of sexual abuse by priests, including Lenczycki, are often swept under the rug by church officials for years. In Lenczyckis case, he was moved from Illinois, to Missouri, and then California, continuing to act as a priest despite allegations of abuse brought to the attention of church officials. Records of abuse allegations span from 1979 to the early 90s and werent made public until the early 2000s, advocates said. The company, Missouri Green Materials, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in November. Two company officers, Daryl and Penny A. Duncan, were sentenced to probation in November and also ordered to pay the Environmental Protection Agency $1.5 million, as was U.S. Technology Corp. president Raymond Williams, of Ohio, who admitted sending the waste to Missouri. Missouri Green Materials, the Duncans and Williams are equally responsible for paying that $1.5 million total and can split that debt, or one of them can pay it all. JEFFERSON CITY A 25-year-old political consultant and former state legislative aide to a Maryland Heights state representative pleaded guilty to engaging in activities related to child pornography. In exchange for Carter Clinton Ballmann's plea on Thursday, a second charge was dropped. Ballmann, of Jefferson City, was arrested April 17 at the Missouri State Capitol as part of a child predator sting by the Boone County Cyber Crimes Task Force. He was accused of trying to entice an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old girl into to sending him nude pictures and sneaking out of the house. Charging documents claimed he sent texts containing the specific sex acts he wanted to engage in. The state charge was dismissed and he was indicted by federal authorities, who said the activity occurred between April 9 and April 11. Ballmann was working for then-Rep. Mark Matthiesen, R-Maryland Heights, at the time of his arrest. He was fired after the arrest. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. To put that in perspective, think of the total number of people in the entire state of Missouri: 6.114 million people. Imagine every woman, man and child in our state murdered. Missouri would be in effect wiped off the face of the earth. Yet today, certain groups claim the Holocaust never took place. They deny the films, pictures, concentration camps, ovens and the testimony of survivors. Why are we taught to hate? 2018 saw record highs of anti-Semitism in the streets, online and in the political arena, around the world said Naftali Bennett, Disapora Affairs of Education minister. The highest number of Jews has been murdered since the 1990s, all because they were Jews. The FBI reports that Jewish people were the victims of more reported hate crimes than any other religious minority. In 2017, 1,986 cases of harassment, vandalism or physical assault against Jewish people or their institutions were reported. This was up from the previous years total of 1,267. This past Oct. 28, a massacre took place at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh ending with 11 dead and 7 injured. When McCabe was finally forced out, it was in the most petty fashion possible. He was fired just 26 hours before his own self-declared retirement date. Trump was gleeful. Andrew McCabe FIRED, he tweeted. A great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI. But for all of the understandable alarm and indignation that McCabe registers, he seems, like other Trump dissidents, never to have found reason or opportunity to stand up to the president. There are paragraphs in The Threat that recount in detail McCabes inner outrage but no indication that those thoughts escaped his lips in the presence of Trump. What is it that makes otherwise proud public servants, Comey included, willing to subject themselves to Trump-inflicted indignities? Deference to the office? A determination to cling to power? A view of oneself as an indispensable institutional savior? At one point, McCabe puts his odds of getting the FBI directors position at one-in-ten-million, but he goes through a job interview with Trump that feels like a charade from the outset. The two married during the Depression after Osver, then Betsberg, had received fellowships to travel to France. When they returned to the states, they lived for several years in New York, with a few spent in Rome after Osver received a fellowship, the Prix de Rome. Also a painter, Betsberg preferred figurative work to Osvers industrial and abstract imagery. Two of her paintings are on display at the Slein gallery. Keeping her own name, she insisted on being treated as a woman on equal terms with her husband, Betsberg told the Post-Dispatch in 2006. The only time the couple shared studio space was in Rome, she said. Although the space was large, the two were separated only by a sheet. But, Betsberg said, neither of us could work, knowing that the other was there on the other side of the curtain. In Rome they met novelists such as Ralph Ellison and William Styron. In New York, they socialized with composers and choreographers. During the 1940s and 50s, Osver racked up sales, shows and awards, including two Guggenheim fellowships, according to the new book. Save Romania Union (USR) announced on Friday that it will lodge during the day with the Senate the citizens' initiative "New People in Politics" regarding the reform of the electoral legislation. According to Mihai Politeanu, USR member and chairman of the initiative committee for promoting the legislative proposal of the citizens on the reform of the electoral legislation, 140,000 signatures were collected for this demarche, of which 120,000 were validated. He specified that 20,000 signatures were invalidated by mayors, and they would be the subject of criminal complaints for abuse of office. "The idea to promote a citizens' legislative initiative on the reform of electoral legislation belongs to civic groups. (...) This initiative was supported by four political parties - USR, PLUS, PACT for Romania and the Party of the Free People. We therefore built in the summer of last year a coalition of civic and democratic political forces that assumed this project (...) The project proposes seven important changes: the election of the mayors in two ballots, (...) the preferential vote on the party list, (. ..) so that the citizen can vote the man on the party list and is no longer obliged to vote the list in the order decided by Dragnea or other local baron, the security of the vote, (...) free vote for the citizens living in the diaspora, but who still have their domicile in Romania (...), the elimination of the electoral threshold in the local and elections to the European Parliament and the reduction in the number of signatures necessary for enrollment in the elections," Politeanu told on Friday a press conference held at Parliament. USR Senator Florina Presada mentioned that "it is time for many citizens to find themselves in Romanian politics." In his turn, former Minister of Health Vlad Voiculescu, PLUS member, stressed that 140,000 Romanians signed "for things to change". The President chose to do politics by caviling the Government and attempting to permanently block its activity, Senate President and leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) Calin Popescu Tariceanu stated on Friday. "Unfortunately, the President chose this method to do politics by caviling the Government, through attempts to permanently block the Government activity, without realising how much damage causes to the country and the society. (...) The President's gesture is totally inopportune and unjustified," Tariceanu stated in Oradea, when referring to President Iohannis's statements regarding the national budget. In respect to the remark regarding the funding of parties, made by the head of state, Tariceanu labeled it as "demagogy and populism.""Over the past years, Romania was confronted with a corruption component related to the political parties which resorted to the funding or sponsorship formulas, to call them so, of which, some of them could have been considered outside the law. And, for this reason, there were numerous investigations and lawsuits related to the political parties and some people were convicted. I believe that the solution which other democratic states of the European Union is also practicing, that of funding the political parties, which, after all, are some democratic and useful institutions to the society, represents a very good solution, precisely for this channels not to exist, which bring corruption, influence peddling, groups of influence that promote certain interests which are not always related to those of the society. And I believe that this solution should be welcomed, not criticised, in order to clean up the political life and political parties of corruption. If he is consistent and truly concerned with fighting corruption, he should take into account these considerations which underpin the law," the ALDE leader said.President Klaus Iohannis announced on Friday that he will refer the 2019 budget draft bill to the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR). Police officers with the Constanta Criminal Investigation Service have tracked down and detained a German national internationally wanted for trafficking in risk and high risk drugs on German soil, according to a press statement released on Friday by the Constanta County Police Inspectorate (IPJ). The statement says the IPJ's Criminal Investigation Service, with support from the Constanta Immigration Service, located a 27-year-old German national on whose name a European arrest warrant was issued by the German authorities. "In order to locate it, the Romanian Police have received additional data and information provided by the SIRENE Bureau of the International Police Cooperation Center-IGPR, and on February 21, the man was detained under an ordinance and handed over to the Pre-trial Custody Centre, to be brought before court for confirmation of the international arrest warrant and surrender to the German judicial authorities," says IPJ Constanta. Romania must be a honest negotiator, in trade relations and also in general, while holding presidency of Council of EU, Minister for Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Stefan-Radu Oprea, said at the Parliament Palace on Friday. "Out agenda today includes informal discussions among trade ministers. We are going to discuss two of the priorities of the Romanian presidency that we have: the World Trade Organization (WTO) reform and the mandate that we need to give to the Committee for relations between the EU and the US. We must be a honest negotiator, in general, while holding presidency of the Council of EU. We will have constructive discussions with our colleagues and afterwards, at the joint press conference that we are going to have, I will be able to say exactly what we discussed during the meeting," said Oprea. Regarding the discussions with the WTO, Oprea said all European citizens deserve to be informed on the latest developments in trade relations."I must say, regarding the WTO, that I discussed last evening with Mr Azevedo [Roberto Azevedo - editor's note], the WTO general manager, and with Mr. Lange [Bernd Lange - editor's note], the head of INTA [The European Parliament's Committee on International Trade - editor's note]. I believe that there were very good discussions, open, with all parties involved, which will result in more transparency and more information for the European citizens. They deserve to be informed on the latest developments in trade relations. I also discussed about such recent events as the 76 states intending to initiate negotiations on e-commerce. I informed my counterparts that, during the Romanian presidency, on May 16, we will have a workshop in Geneva, together with Mr Azevedeo and other important representatives of the WTO, alongside European companies that are representative for the e-commerce field, to discuss on this topic. I believe that at the workshop we will discus the value that us, the Europeans, bring in e-commerce," said the Minister.Asked if there were any major obstacles against the negotiations between the European Commission and the US, the Romanian official mentioned that Romania "as a country holding the presidency of the technical committee, made the necessary steps.""We've prepared very well this meeting and today there will be political discussions and I expect fruitful discussions with my colleagues. What I'd like is everybody to agree," he specified.Trade ministers from the EU member states are meeting on Friday at the Parliament Palace to discuss about the modernization of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and about the trade relations between the EU and the US, informs the Ministry for Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship (MMACA).At the working breakfast, the officials will approach the ongoing negotiations in the trade field of the EU and the most recent development related to the initiative of the Union, titled "Everything but the weapons."On Friday afternoon, at 2.45 pm, the European Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and Minister Stefan-Radu Oprea will hold a joint press conference.The informal meeting of ministers is usually held by every presidency of the Council of the European Union, being meant to ensure an adequate framework and an exchange of opinions on topical issues at European and international level. President Klaus Iohannis signed on Thursday decrees appointing Vasile Daniel Suciu deputy prime minister and minister of regional development and public administration and Alexandru-Razvan Cuc transport minister. "The President of Romania, Mr Klaus Iohannis, signed the following decrees on Thursday, February 21: a decree for the appointment of a Mr. Vasile Daniel Suciu as member of the government, deputy prime minister and minister of regional development and public administration, and a decree appointing Mr Alexandru-Razvan Cuc a member of the government as transport minister, " reads a press statement released by the Presidential Administration. Prime Minister Viorica Dancila on Wednesday submitted to President Iohannis the picks.According to a Government press statement, Daniel Suciu was picked for minister of regional development and public administration and Razvan Cuc for transport minister."I have made these nominations to end the blockage of the government's activity, especially since the acting period at the two ministries expires. Regional development and transport are two key areas, for which we have provided under the national budget the money necessary for the conduct of investments that Romania needs. For the good implementation of the investment projects coordination by the fully appointed ministers is needed. I am voicing hope that the interests of Romania will prevail and soon the government will be able to carry out its activity in full team," said Viorica Dancila is quoted as saying in the statement. President Klaus Iohannis stated on Friday that the Social Democratic Party (PSD) is incompetent and incapable of running Romania. "One thing is clear: the PSD governance has failed. In hospitals, [there are] problems over problems, education is under-financed, Romania's economy is unsettled, especially after the OUG [Government Emergency Ordinance] No.114, issued in great secrecy at the end of last year, the highways are out of the question, the entire PSD governance represented an assault over justice and the rule of law in Romania, with the clear objective of getting their hands on justice, politicise justice so they can solve their criminal cases. Actually, the PSD isn't governing for the Romanians and Romania, but for Dragnea. The PSD is incompetent and incapable of running Romania," Iohannis stated at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace. Romania's Constitutional Court (CCR) will discuss on 6 March the President Klaus Iohannis' referral on the 2019 state budget bill, sources with the CCR announced. President Klaus Iohannis on Friday sent to the CCR a constitutionality objection over the 2019 state budget bill. In the document sent to the CCR, the president says among other things, that the state budget bill was passed with the violation of the role and duties of the Fiscal Council, that was to issue an opinion on all of the amendments admitted the long of the parliamentary debates. The president adds that the duty of the Fiscal Council to issue an opinion in reference to the statement of conformity signed by the prime minister and the minister of finance, was not observed, either. He also invokes the adoption of this bill with the violation of the principles and regulations on the fiscal-budgetary responsibility. According to Iohannis, the file of the legislative path of the 2019 state budget bill lacks a declaration of responsibility of the prime minister and the public finance minister, as required by the legislation. President Iohannis specifies that the piece of legislation was passed in violation of the provisions of the fundamental law, according to which "following accession, the provisions of the EU constitutive treaties, as well as the other community mandatory regulations have priority over the domestic laws' contrary dispositions, with the observance of the membership act's provisions." Moreover, the president stresses that the report on the macroeconomic situation on 2019 and its 2020 - 2022 projection was lodged by the gov't, according to its legal obligation, and yet it is grounded on a situation ignoring the developments at the world and the European economy's level The priorities of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the European Union and development of German investments in Romania were the main topics discussed at the bilateral meeting of the Minister for Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Stefan-Radu Oprea, and the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy of Germany, Peter Altmaier. The meeting took place on Thursday evening, in the context of the informal meeting in Bucharest of trade ministers from the EU member states, which takes place on February 21-22, 2019, informs a release of the said ministry sent to AGERPRES on Friday. The two high officials also discussed topical issues in trade policy, among the mentioned priorities being the initiation of negotiations between the European Union and the United States of America and the modernization of the World Trade Organization (WTO).At the meeting they also discussed topics related to the investment climate in Romania, contribution of German investments to the Romania's economic growth and concrete possibilities of increasing German direct investments. The two ministries reiterated their support for the development of Romanian-German trade relations, through actions meant to promote cooperation between the two states, for instance within the Romanian-German Cooperation Council, reads the MMACA release."Our mutual interest in stimulating cooperation in energy resources production for electro-mobility imposes us to identify common actions, under an action plan, for accomplishing this goal," reads the same source.Germany is an important trade partner of Romania, with trade exchanges between the two states estimated at 33 billion euros in 2018, an increase of approximately 10 per cent compared with 2017. Ministers of Trade in the EU member states are meeting on Friday at the Parliament Palace to discuss the process of modernization of the WTO and trade relations between the EU and USA. Minister of Justice Tudorel Toader says a judge can become a prosecutor with the European Prosecutor's Office, in reply to those who criticize the provisions in the emergency ordinance modifying justice laws. "A judge can become a prosecutor with the European Prosecutor's Office, according to the EU regulation on the setting up of the European Prosecutor's Office!," he wrote on his Facebook page. The National Union of Judges in Romania (UNJR) on Thursday condemned the provisions of Government Emergency Ordinance 7/2019 modifying justice laws, by saying tat the ordinance "violates the principle of career separation."UNJR criticizes the possibility that a judge who used to be a prosecutor could become chief of a prosecutor's office, which it says is a serious violation of the principle of career separation.According to the judges, a basic principle that was introduced once with the modifications brought to the justice laws in 2017-2018 was the principle of "career separation," meant to eliminate confusion between the two careers existing in the justice field, which are independent from one another. A legal conflict of a constitutional nature cannot be generated by law-making activity, says Justice Minister Tudorel Toader in a Facebook post. Toader makes reference to the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR)'s Decision 231 of 2013 on the request for settlement of the legal conflict of a constitutional nature between the judiciary represented by the Superior Council of Magistrates (CSM) and the executive power, represented by the Government of Romania. The CCR then rejected the request made by the Superior Council of Magistrates and found that there was no legal conflict of a constitutional nature. "The Constitutional Court's duty to settle the legal conflicts of a constitutional nature between public authorities was not conceived by the constituent legislator as a third distinct way of examining the constitutionality of legislative acts," the reasons for the decision specify. Social Democratic Party (PSD) Vice President, Deputy Doina Pana said on Friday in Bistrita that President Iohannis' speech when he announced that he had referred the state budget bill to the Constitutional Court was a disinformation, manipulation and anti-PSD one, given that the president is not allowed to do politics, according to the Constitution. As far as the PSD deputy is concerned, "Romania no longer has a president according to the Constitution" because "he not only blocks in any way he can the government, but also does politics. The entire speech around the budget today was disinformation, manipulation and a very, very clear political message. His entire speech on the budget was anti-PSD, something that a president is not allowed to do." Pana accuses Klaus Iohannis of the fact that he is currently delaying the budget, which is why the announced investments cannot be made and the children's allowances cannot be raised as of March 1, given that CCR was also referred to in relation to the capping law, which increased the deficit. "So he is the one who is causing the delay, the one who only blocks the Government, throws a spanner in the works, puts the brakes on," said PSD vice president. Doina Pana added that PSD decided, as a result of the "noxious politics done by the president" and "obsessively repeated lies" by the opposition parties, that ministers would have "massive" presence in the media, to present the good things done by the current Government. President Klaus Iohannis on Friday says he will refer the 2019 budget draft bill to the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR). "I will refer today to the CCR the 2019 budget, the budget of national disgrace," Iohannis told journalists at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace. Marshall coal ash basins resolution Chairman James Mallory announced the boards resolution identifying closure-by-removal as its members preferred coal ash basin closure method. Duke Energy has described three methods of closure for the remaining unlined coal ash basins around North Carolina: closure-in-place, closure-by-removal and hybrid closure. For closure-in-place, Duke will cap the basins with an impermeable barrier where the ash is now. Closure-by-removal is the complete excavation of coal ash from the basins into a lined landfill. A hybrid closure is a mixture of the two where some ash is excavated and some is capped in place. In the past, Duke has argued against total excavation because of cost, time and community disturbance. Duke says the time it would take to excavate the ash at Marshall would stretch well past state and federal timelines for coal basin closure. The Marshall Steam Plant on Lake Norman in Catawba County is one of six sites where Duke Energy is proposing to leave its coal ash alongside a river or lake, the resolution reads. There are 17 million tons of coal ash in the unlined basin at Marshall Steam Plant where Duke Energy is balancing the risk of keeping coal ash onsite with the cost of evacuation. As Benfield, a former paramedic with Iredell EMS, was going to help, two other deputies Reggie Allen, the school resource officer at North Iredell High and Caleb Rogers arrived. Benfield grabbed his trauma bag something most deputies carry and an AED (automatic external defibrillator). He handed the AED to Rogers and asked him to use it on the woman in the car while Allen checked on the driver of the other car. Benfield went to the 12-year-old girl trapped in the car. At first unresponsive, she came around and began answering questions, Benfield said. As personnel from the Harmony Fire Department, North Iredell Rescue Squad and Iredell EMS arrived and began to extricate the girl from the car, Benfield continued to offer her comfort holding her hand and cradling her face. He explained to her exactly what was happening as emergency personnel cut the roof from the overturned car. He shielded her face from debris, he said. Trooper Chad Crouse, who was on the scene to assist Ketner, called Benfields actions awesome. He was laying in the mud, holding her hand and he stayed with her the whole time, Crouse said. Michael Dwayne Ward, domestic violence protective order violation consolidated with domestic violence protective order violation, 120 days active, credit for 24 days served. Olivia Raeanne Waugh, possession of marijuana paraphernalia consolidated with simple possession of Schedule VI controlled substance, six months unsupervised probation. The following cases were heard on Feb. 14 in Iredell County District Court by Judge Edward Hedrick. Cassidy Mae Jackson, probation violation, credit for seven days served. Tyler Matthew Harris, possession of marijuana paraphernalia consolidated with possession of marijuana up to ounce, six months unsupervised probation. Wesley Brent Lewis, possession of marijuana paraphernalia, possession of drug paraphernalia and simple possession of Schedule IV controlled substance consolidated with possession of marijuana up to ounce, six months unsupervised probation. Brandon Jarrel Martin, carrying a concealed weapon, 45 days suspended, 24 months unsupervised probation. The following cases were heard on Feb. 15 in Iredell County District Court by Judge Carole Hicks. 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 LINCOLN Expert witnesses hired by the ACLU of Nebraska condemned conditions inside Nebraskas prisons in court filings Tuesday as dangerous to inmates due to inadequate health care, perpetual overcrowding and understaffing. The civil rights organization, which sued the State of Nebraska in August 2017, unveiled preliminary opinions from its experts in asking a federal judge to authorize the lawsuit as a class action for all of the 5,500 prison inmates incarcerated in Nebraska. ACLU officials said gaining class-action status would give them more leverage in their lawsuit and in possibly obtaining an out-of-court settlement. State attorneys, in court filings, have denied assertions by the ACLU and the 10 inmates now named in the lawsuit that prison facilities are so overcrowded that they violate constitutional rights. The ACLUs lawsuit, which is still in the pretrial stage, alleges that inmates are subjected to cruel and unusual punishment due to inadequate health and mental health care, overuse of solitary confinement and lack of adequate accommodations for handicapped inmates. Guinea pigs, Nigerian dwarf goats and a chinchilla visited Banner County Public Schools Thursday as high school students hosted a petting zoo for the elementary school. To celebrate National Future Farmers of America week, FFA teacher Bill Gifford and his students setup a petting zoo in his classroom. Arriving on campus for the first time as a freshman can be stressful for a multitude of reasons, so keeping yourself busy is key to settling into a healthy routine. In order to get into this new college lifestyle, Virginia Tech provides its students with plenty of opportunities outside the c Senior Aiden Cross brought her dog Kaya along with a duck and chicken to the petting zoo. As the elementary students returned to their classes, Cross hopes the students learned that No matter where you come from, you can always get involved in the agriculture community, Cross said. After an hour of showing them to the elementary students, the high schoolers and Gifford discussed changes to future petting zoos. Catherine Blankenship brought her two guinea pigs Gracie and Gary. I would have a more systematic approach to it, Blankenship said. I thought it was good that they got to pet the animals. They discussed using pens used at county fairs to contain the animals, so the high school students would not have to hold them and the elementary students would be able to watch the animals interact. Gifford said he could have hosted the petting zoo all day at school because it is a fun opportunity. They have hosted a petting zoo three times, with each time being a fun, educational opportunity. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form I am so very sorry that your life was stolen, Nelson wrote. No, I was not there, nor were any of my kin. But my ancestors belonged to the majority population of white people and they condoned such illegal and horrific acts. If I do not have the courage to stand and declare it was wrong and for that, I apologize, then I am guilty of perpetrating an attitude that is simply unacceptable. She concluded the symbolic letter with news of the joint resolution adopted this week, which is now part of the states official record for perpetuity. I am snowed in and cannot get to Richmond, but you can. So, please be there and feel free to tell all the others (there are more than 100) that Virginia is on the right path to reconciliation, Nelson wrote. In closing, please allow me to thank you. You may think that your loss of life was for nothing, but you would be wrong. Allie, it is because of you that this historic piece of legislation has come to pass: the first for any state in the United States. The legacy of racism that outlived slavery enabled the rise and acceptance of lynching, the resolution states. It also facilitated segregation and disenfranchisement and denied civil rights to African-Americans, a legacy that has yet to be uprooted, the resolution states. This dark and shameful chapter of American history must be understood, acknowledged and fully documented and the seemingly irreparable breach mended, it states. [T]he most abject apology for past wrongs cannot right them; yet the spirit of true repentance on behalf of a government and, through it, a people can promote reconciliation and healing and the disregard of manifested injustices. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Ogden jazz icon Joe McQueen may be gone, but his memory and legacy live on. One physical reminder of his life, McQueen's lifelong home at 3158 Grant Ave., has now become available for sale. The house received extensive remodeling, but as investor Richard Casperson has said, "Joe's energy is W hat do Ellesse, Balmain, and the BAFTAs all have in common? These brands and organisations have all embraced the future of digital models. Or notably one model: Shudu. The 3D digital model was created by Cameron-James Wilson. Initially a fashion photographer, Wilson decided to try his hand at 3D drawing back in 2017 when his first creation of Shudu went viral on Instagram. I wasnt trying to create a virtual supermodel or anything like that at the time, I was creating a beautiful portrait of someone because I love illustration, Wilson tells the Standard. Heres what you need to know about Shudu and what the future holds for AI models. How Shudu was created After 10 years working in fashion Wilson says he no longer felt inspired by his day-to-day work, so he decided to take a step back and work on 3D drawing. After sharing his designs on social media, a fashion designer friend, Tokyo James, posted one of Wilsons drawings of Shudu on Instagram, and it blew up. Everybody was loving her, wondering who she is and if shes real or not, says Wilson. It was at that point that I thought, she has so much potential. It was also a chance to bring together Wilsons passions: sci-fi, gaming and fashion, in a way that hadnt been possible before. He draws inspirations from films like Bladerunner and James Camerons creations, in part due to CGI. I love sci-fi and futuristic themes so the idea of having this supermodel thats virtual is really inspiring," he says. AI model Shudu striking a pose for Ellesse / Ellesse Brand campaigns: Balmain, Ellesse and beyond Once Shudu went viral, the opportunities came knocking. Her first campaign was with Balmain, where Wilson created two other digital models to pose alongside her, and re-created all of the Balmains designs in 3D, including the dresses and bags. Recently, Shudu was on-hand at the EE BAFTAs, acting as an AI stylist via a chatbot on EEs Instagram Stories campaign. She was turned into a hologram, wearing a custom Swarovski gown, and tasked with capturing looks on the red carpet and delivering high street alternatives to fashion fans at home. That was absolutely insane, says Wilson. I got to fly to Toronto to do motion capture with an actress, seeing someone in the Morph suit with all the dots on them. It was one of the most challenging things Ive done because of all the elements, from the hologram to building the animations. [It] was absolutely incredible. At the moment, you can catch Shudu in Ellesses recent brand campaign. She is modelling alongside a model that inspired Wilson, Misty, as well as Instagram-famous stunt expert Harry Gallagher. Speaking about the inclusion of Shudu, Ellesses brand director, Simon Beckon, said: Breaking the rules of sameness has been a longstanding ethos underpinning for the brand over the last sixty years and Ellesse has now taken the exploration of individual style one-step further for the SS19 campaign by rendering an AIs style being influenced by an IRL muse. One thing we didnt want to do though was just offer a spot in our campaign line-up to a digital influencer, when we could also offer this creative opportunity to the real talent behind the inspiration in the campaign so we decided to feature both equally. The model Misty acted as a stand-in model for Shudu in the Ellesse shoot. These images were then turned into Shudu images for the campaign. Misty then also starred in the SS19 campaign for Ellesse as herself. Wed been talking about working together because [Misty] has such a similar appearance and has been a fan of my work, explains Wilson. One of the major considerations was to have the opportunity to work with models who inspire me, and inspired me to create Shudu, and continue to create imagery of Shudu. Human model Misty modelling the SS19 campaign (Ellesse ) / Ellesse 3D diversity One thing Wilson hopes to achieve through his work with Shudu and the other digital models in his The Diigtals roster, is diversity. One model he created, named Bren, caused a stir on social media thanks to her visible stretch marks. Wilson says he wanted to demonstrate body positivity with Bren, and in a way, it was a reversal of all his work as a fashion photographer when he would be retouching aspects of peoples bodies like this. With photos, its all about stripping away the reality where with 3D images its all about putting it back in, he says. When adding those stretchmarks to Bren, people responded so positively and came up with this whole narrative of why she has them. They found her relatable and gave her a story and its so important when youre dealing with characters that are unreal, that people relate to them. As a result, he hopes to see more people experimenting with 3D models and adding their own versions of diversity to the mix. The 3D world is so new that you kind of have to make sure youre being responsible and creating lots of different people. Im only one person, I cant make the 3D world completely diverse it would only come from my point of view. Thats why I encourage people to create their own models and their own diverse characters because only that way will we see this new world be diverse and representative of lots of different people. The future of digital models Technology is making things like AI models a reality, particularly 5G. During the EE BAFTAs, EE drew on its 5G technology to project the holographic image of Shudu, whilst Central Saint Martins held the first mixed-reality catwalk during LFW, powered by Threes 5G technology. Could we see digital models like Shudu on the catwalk? Absolutely. I think so, as long as the intent behind it is to showcase technology and how amazing it is today, it would be a really cool thing to do. I would love to see Shudu on the catwalk, says Wilson. However, crucially, not at the expense of other models. Posted Friday, February 22, 2019 9:58 am Tim Eyman tried to bring a chair he's accused of stealing back to the Office Depot from whence it came, filming his attempt to clear up what he called "a big misunderstanding." (Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAj5VqCf2Xc) It was an accident that he walked out of the office-supply store without paying for the $70 chair, he said in a YouTube video he released Wednesday. Eyman, who's known for filing anti-tax initiatives in Washington state for more than two decades, was charged Tuesday with misdemeanor theft by prosecutors in Lacey, near Olympia, after he was caught on surveillance cameras rolling the chair out of the store without having paid for it. In his video, Eyman explains that he had just gotten back from a four-day vacation to Orlando, Florida, with his daughter and that this was his first opportunity to try to pay for the chair and make things right. He says that last week he was at the store he frequents and legitimately bought "a bunch of equipment," rolled the chair outside and put it in his car, then returned to pay for things but accidentally forgot to pay for the chair. "I thought I had paid for everything," he says to the camera. "Found out on Friday that I ended up not. Total mistake. Didn't mean to do it. Wasn't intentional." In his video, Eyman walks into the store and talks to the manager, who tells him he cannot film there. Eyman asks whether he can either pay for or return the chair. The manager tells Eyman no, that the matter is being handled by the Lacey Police Department. "This is where we're at," Eyman tells the camera in the Office Depot parking lot. "The theater of the absurd." At the police station, Eyman sits in the chair in the lobby waiting for detectives, who eventually have him leave the chair there to be logged as evidence. He tells them he is "sorry for the hassle" and calls it a "just a big screw-up." "At the end of the day, it was my screw-up. At the end of the day, I will do everything I can to try and make sure it's right," Eyman tells the camera after leaving the police station. "But at this point, my priority is, I want a chair." He returns to the same Office Depot and buys a new chair, paying an additional $12 to have it assembled. But he says he hopes to eventually get the original chair back "because it has a quite a storied history to it." The manager at Office Depot declined to comment Thursday on the matter. After the security footage of Eyman taking the chair was released, Eyman's attorneys issued a news release and statement from their client, contending the episode was an honest mistake caused partly by Eyman receiving a phone call that distracted him after he returned to the store to pay for merchandise and services. "I did not, shortly after giving legislative testimony in Olympia, walk into an Office Depot in Lacey wearing a bright red 'Let The Voters Decide' T-shirt, smile for the cameras, and steal a $70 chair just moments before spending $300 on two printers and after getting some life-changing good news," Eyman said in the statement issued by the Puget Law Group. "The reason that doesn't make any sense is because it doesn't make any sense. It's ridiculous, it's insane, it's completely unbelievable." Lacey City Prosecutor Joseph Svoboda filed one count of theft against Eyman on Tuesday in Thurston County District Court. The offense, a gross misdemeanor, carries a maximum of 364 days in jail and/or a $5,000 fine. Lacey police referred the allegation to prosecutors last week after Office Depot employees noticed a display chair missing from the store's entryway, reviewed surveillance video, recognized Eyman and called the police. The video shows Eyman looking around and circling the store's lobby before walking through the store's anti-theft devices into the entry vestibule. There he can be seen sitting, reclining and spinning around three times in a rolling chair before standing up and wheeling it out of the store. About a minute later, Eyman returned to the store, where he printed and scanned some documents, exchanged a printer and bought two new ones for $249, according to the police report. S imon Cowell was reportedly moved to tears during an emotional Britains Got Talent audition that featured a brave police dog who was nearly stabbed to death while saving his handlers life. The talent show mogul is said to have wiped away tears after he watched German shepherd Finn perform a magic trick with PC Dave Wardell at the shows Manchester auditions. The Mirror reports that a video documenting Finns story played during the act, featuring photos of the injuries he sustained during the attack in 2016 and of his journey to recovery. If I had a golden buzzer left I would give it to you, Cowell reportedly told Wardell and his canine colleague, before opening up about how he finds cruelty to animals upsetting. Moved: Cowell with his Britain's Got Talent colleagues earlier this year (Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images) / Getty Images When I hear about animal cruelty, especially dogs, it upsets me, he said. A dog will literally give up its life for you. Finns beautiful, I love him. Standard Online has contacted a representative for Britains Got Talent for comment. Britain's Got Talent - Manchester Auditions 1 /8 Britain's Got Talent - Manchester Auditions Kirk Andrew Cleaver / SplashNews.com Kirk Andrew Cleaver / SplashNews.com Getty Images Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images Getty Images Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images Kirk Andrew Cleaver / SplashNews.com Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images Earlier this year, Cowell and his fellow judges Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon were reportedly left in tears when a Grenfell fire survivor auditioned for the ITV talent show. Leanne Mya, who lived in Grenfell Tower along with her partner and young child, wowed the panel with her rendition of Sam Smiths Lay Me Down at the London Palladium, The Sun reported in January. Cowell reportedly praised her performance as a moment with a capital M, praising Mya for her courage, while his colleague Golden described her voice as stunning. A visual effects artist who worked on two Oscar-nominated films has called for more opportunities for women behind the camera. Marta Baidek helped created special effects for Steven Spielbergs Ready Player One and Solo: A Star Wars Story, both of which have been nominated for an Academy Award. The 26-year-old, from Chiswick, is now co-directing The Midwife, a horror film about a woman dealing with the aftermath of a miscarriage. Ms Baidek, a graduate of the MetFilm School in Ealing, said there had been improvements in numbers of female directors, but there was still a way to go. She said: It is super important to get women in higher up positions. Creatively, there should be a good balance of men and women. People come with different perspectives, from different parts of the world. The more we include new voices, the richer the product. Ms Baidek added: Working with Steven Spielberg - and on two Oscar nominated films - is a real pinch-me moment. I learnt so much and couldnt believe I was there. Ms Baidek is also the visual effects co-ordinator on Tim Burtons live action remake of Dumbo, which will be released in March starring Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito and Eva Green. According to US campaign group Times Up, only four per cent of the biggest earning films from the past decade have been directed by women. Efforts have been made by the British Film Institute to raise female representation in the UK. Around 38 per cent of the films screened at the 2018 BFI London Film Festival were directed by women. The BFIs five-year plan, BFI 2022, has set a 50-50 gender balance target for filmmakers. Ms Baidek is one of five MetFilm media school graduates to have worked on films vying for Oscar glory on Sunday. Bohemian Rhapsodys second unit director of photography Rina Yang, 32, of Clapton, studied a BA in practical filmmaking at the school based within the famous Ealing Film Studios. Jess Wilcock-Stow, 24, from Battersea, was a crowd costume trainee on The Favourite. Guy Lubin, 30, of West Ealing, worked on visual effects for animated feature Isle of Dogs. And Max Elliot-Lovell, 29, from Kingston upon Thames, was a lighting technician on Mary Poppins Returns. Jonny Persey, director of the MetFilm School, said: Were really proud of the ongoing journeys of our graduates in the worlds of film, television and corporate video. I think theres several factors at play here. More than 10,000 students have completed MetFilm School courses in 16 years. Our learning philosophy is to minimise the difference between being a MetFilm School student and being in industry. Its about make, make, make. Feature films, short films, web series or documentaries. K atie Prices son Harvey has showcased his impressive musical talents in a new Instagram post. His proud mum shared a clip of the 16-year-old playing an excerpt from Beethovens Fur Elise, captioning it: I love playing the keyboard. Fans were blown away by his abilities, and praised Harvey, who is blind, autistic and suffers from Parder-Willi syndrome, for his fantastic performance. Well done Harvey I certainly couldnt do that, one follower wrote. Wow Harv, you are so gifted and talented. Your art work, your music, your enormous heart! Keep being you Harv, another added. Thats beautiful Harvey!! Keep up the good work mate, inspirational, a third commented. Price, who supervises her sons social media account, shared a sweet clip of brilliant Harvey enjoying a book about frogs earlier this week. The former glamour model has also recently come under fire from followers for posting photos of Harvey online, with fans featuring that she is giving trolls ammunition by sharing the sweet snaps. The 40-year-old posted a picture of Harvey wearing a bow tie and comedy glasses on Wednesday, which prompted Instagram users to suggest that his account should be private to stop trolls. Well cute! Would be cuter for just his close family and friends [to] see this to avoid people trolling, one follower wrote. Katie Price - In pictures 1 /46 Katie Price - In pictures Instagram/katieprice @katieprice Jeff Spicer/Getty Images Katie Price: Harvey & Me Glen Gratton SplashNews.com @zoejamesmua PA Wire/PA Images The Adventures of Katie and Carl Fluffy style Katie at a film premiere in London in February Dave Benett Crisis talks Katie Price and Derrick Pountney after crisis talks via Showbiz Bang Loved up Katie Price with husband Kieran Hayler, who had an affair with her best friend Katie Price Twitter Image Shining in silver The model pictured at a screening of a Lego film which she attended with her children (Picture: Sean Dempsey/PA) Sean Dempsey/PA Wire Extravagant Katie Price poses with a copy of her autobiography - Love, Lipstick And Lies - in one of her famously extravagant attires (Picture: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Angel Katie Price at aphotocall to launch her new venture KP Rocks (Picture: Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images) Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images My Little Pony Katie Price wore a strange pink horse outfit for the fifth birthday of her equestrian school PA Riding in Katie riding a horse for a book launch in London Ferdaus Shamim/Getty Images Cooling off Katie Price poses in a bikini in the I'm A Celebrity shower ITV/Rex Features Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Bongarts/Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images This comments for you Katie! Get his Instagram locked down to private if you want Harveys Law to be taken seriously, you are giving sick trolls ammunition! they continued, referencing Prices efforts to make online abuse a criminal offence. Others, however, took Prices side, with one supporter arguing: Harvey is her child and she is proud of him and if she wants to post, let her be. A Swedish climate activist has demanded the EU double its climate change reduction targets to keep the planet below a dangerous level of global warming. Greta Thunberg addressed political and business leaders in Brussels as she led a march of thousands of Belgian students who had skipped class for the seventh Thursday in a row to draw attention to fighting climate change. The 16-year-old said it was not enough to hope that young people were going to save the world. There is simply not enough time to wait for us to grow up and become the ones in charge, she said, citing the fall in greenhouse gas emissions that was needed by 2020. 16-year-old Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg. / REUTERS The EU wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 per cent by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. Some people say that is good, that is ambitious; but this new target is still not enough to keep global warming below 1.5C, Ms Thunberg said, referring to what scientists regard as the preferable upper limit if the planet is to avoid extreme droughts, floods and the bleaching of corals. This target is not sufficient to protect the future for children growing up today. If the EU is to make its fair contribution to stay within the carbon budget for the 2C limit then it needs a minimum of 80 per cent reduction by 2030, and that includes aviation and shipping. Ms Thunbergs lone school strike last September was the catalyst for a global climate change movement that has seen thousands of school students march for the cause in their local towns. Students take part in a march for the environment and the climate. / AFP/Getty Images She said youngsters are being forced to skip school and protest because adults are not addressing climate issues quickly enough. Ms Thunberg told the European Economic and Social Committee plenary session that "we are school striking because we have done our homework" on the dangers facing the Earth. Also at the conference was EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, who said he was "glad to see that young people are taking to the streets for climate change". "It can in fact bring change," Mr Juncker said, notwithstanding the fact that Greta had chided his class of politicians for negligence in the face of such challenges. He also criticised U.S. President Donald Trump for suggesting climate change was "invented" and "ideological". President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. / REUTERS "In the next financial period from 2021 to 2027, every fourth euro spent within the EU budget will go towards action to mitigate climate change," Juncker said of his proposal for the EU budget, which is typically 1 percent of the bloc's economic output, or 1 trillion euros ($1.13 trillion) over seven years. "Mr. Trump and his friends believe that climate change is something that has just been invented and its an ideological concept, but ... something dangerous is already underway," Juncker said. Ms Thunberg was in Brussels to join a seventh week of demonstrations by Belgian children skipping school to protest against global warming. The march itself amid wintry sunshine gathered some 7,500 protesters in Brussels. N ew England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been charged with soliciting prostitution, according to police in Florida. Police said Kraft was twice filmed paying for and receiving sex at a massage parlour. The 77-year-old has been charged as part of a widespread crackdown on sex trafficking in the area surrounding Palm Beach County. Police said they planted undercover cameras as part of the operation. A top police official said at a press conference: He is being charged with the same offence as the others, and that is soliciting another to commit prostitution. Were as equally stunned as anyone else. An arrest warrant has been issued for him. In a statement, a spokesperson for Kraft said they "categorically deny that Mr Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further." Kraft is considered one of the most powerful people in NFL. E mpire actor Jussie Smollet told fellow cast members that he didnt stage a racist attack against himself, after he posted $100,000 bail imposed by a judge. The 36-year-old actor is accused of lying about being attacked for his race and sexuality, after police claimed he hired two brothers to stage an assault in Chicago last month. Smollett, who has been supported by family members throughout, told the Empire set: Im sorry I have put you all through this and not answered any calls. I wanted to say Im sorry and, you know me, I would never do this to any of you, you are my family. I swear to God, I did not do this. Jussie Smollett released from Cook County Jail - In pictures 1 /9 Jussie Smollett released from Cook County Jail - In pictures Empire actor Jussie Smollett leaves Cook County jail following his release AP Press Media mob an SUV carrying Empire actor Jussie Smollett as he leaves Cook County jail after posting bond Getty Images Jussie Smollett leaves the Cook County Jail after posting $10,000 bond and agreeing to surrender his passport at a court hearing in Chicago Splash News "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, center, leaves Cook County jail following his release EPA Empire actor Jussie Smollett is mobbed when he leaves Cook County jail following his release Getty Images Empire actor Jussie Smollett leaves Cook County jail after posting bond Getty Images Jussie Smollett exits Cook County Department of Corrections after posting bail in Chicago, Illinois Reuters Empire actor Jussie Smollett leaves Cook County jail after posting bond AP People believed to be family members of Empire actor Jussie Smollett and his legal team leave Cook County courthouse following the actor's bond hearing Getty Images His message came just before Smollet was due to join the cast and crew to film scenes for the popular TV series. Smollett claimed two masked men beat him while making racist and homophobic comments, poured a chemical substance on him and looped a rope around his neck in a shocking attack. Detectives investigating the alleged hate crime said they scoured CCTV and could not find any footage linked to the attack. The actor has appeared in Empire since 2015 / Splash News Smollett surrendered himself to authorities on Thursday on a charge of felony disorderly conduct. Speaking at a press conference, Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Mr Smollett "took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career." Smollett, 36, turned himself into police on Thursday / REUTERS Smolletts legal team have issued a statement saying he is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence. A woman who left the United States to join the Islamic State in Syria says she thinks she will have "no problem" returning to the US. Hoda Muthana, 24, who is from Alabama, is staying in a refugee camp with her 18-month-old son after fleeing the remnants of the caliphate. Despite the Trump administration insisting that she won't be allowed back, Muthana told NBC News she will have no problem returning to the country after leaving in 2014. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that the young woman is not a citizen and will not be admitted to the country. He was instructed by US president Donald Trump not to allow her back. The announcement came a day after Britain said that it was stripping the citizenship of 19-year-old Shamima Begum, who left the UK in 2015 to join the Islamic State. ISIS bride Hoda Muthana says she'll have 'no problem' returning to US / NBC News Muthana and her family are now suing the Trump administration in an effort to allow her to return. In an interview with NBC's Richard Engel, Muthana said: "I know in fact that I was a citizen. When I tried filing for a passport it was very easy. It came in 10 days. "So I thought I didn't have a problem and I'm sure there is no problem and I know my lawyer hopefully is working on it and he will win the case." Speaking in the al-Houl camp in northeast Syria, Muthana told NBC she fears for her life from other ISIS wives who might take reprisals against her for speaking out against the group. Muthana described herself as a former Islamic radical who has changed her beliefs and deeply regrets travelling to ISIS territory. Hoda Muthana, 24, left the US to join the Islamic State in Syria in 2014 / AP When asked what she expects will happen if she is allowed to return to the US, Muthana replied: "Of course Ill be given jail time." Her lawyers said in a statement that she expects to be charged with providing material support to terrorism if she is allowed to return. "Ms Muthana has publicly acknowledged her actions and accepted full responsibility for those actions," the lawyers said. "In Ms Muthana's words, she recognises that she has 'ruined' her own life, but she does not want to ruin the life of her young child." Hassan Shibly, attorney for Hoda Muthana / AP The family and their lawyers say they were told that the US determined she did not qualify for citizenship because her father was a Yemeni diplomat at the time of her birth. But the family argues her father ceased to be a diplomat before she was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, and that she had a legitimate passport when she left the US in Syria in 2014. The Obama administration initially determined she was not a citizen and notified her family that it was revoking her passport in January 2016. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a person born in the US to an accredited foreign diplomatic officer is not subject to US law and is not automatically considered a US citizen at birth. T he son of radical cleric Abu Hamza wants to return to the UK, according to reports. Sufyan Mustafa fled Britain for Syria in 2013 and previously had his citizenship revoked. The 24-year-old, suspected of terrorism offences, claims he was fighting against the Assad regime which he said he feels is the cause of terrorist organisations in the country. It was reported last year he was prevented from boarding a flight to the UK from Turkey, where he is believed to remain, after his named was flagged up on a watchlist. Abu Hamza is in prison due to terror offences / John Stillwell/PA Wire He has Moroccan nationality, so has not been left stateless by the Home Office after they revoked his right to settle in Britain, however is said he does not wish to go to Morocco. A source told the Sun: "He is trying to appeal against the decision to take away his British citizenship. He has been told he can travel from Turkey to Morocco but doesnt wish to." A friend of Mustafa told the Sun he was "desperate" to return. Mustafa is the seventh son of cleric Hamza, who is serving life in prison over terror charges. He has previously tried to distance himself from his father's views and refuted the idea he would cause harm to anyone living here. He has also spoken against ISIS in a video on his YouTube channel. His plea to come back comes at the same time as ISIS bride Shamima Begum attempting to return home. A 19-year-old UKIP member has been suspended from university after he made a series of offensive and inappropriate comments during lectures and seminars. Sebastian Walsh, a student at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), said he has been suspended after making comments about the Islamisation of Britain and halal meat. In a letter to Mr Walsh, partly published on Kipper Central, the university said: Specifically, the allegations [] are that you have made statements within the classroom to the effect of saying: 'that the country is Islamified'; 'that people who do not speak English should not be paid for because this is our country'; and 'that the practice of halal food is disgusting and barbaric'; and that you would have to kill yourself if you ever ate halal meat. Mr Walsh, who is studying a children, school and families course, told the Daily Mail he had said to fellow students: I would never touch Subway or KFC because they use halal meat in their products. I don't agree with barbaric slaughter on any sort of animals for a religion. We went on to start discussing the Islamisation of our country. And I think Halal meat is contributing to this." He added: Then, in another lesson, we were asked about our views on the privatisation of the NHS. I said it should be privatised to the point where if you're not a legal UK citizen you should not be entitled to free healthcare. And that's all I said. A week later I got an email stating that the university had received a report from my tutors which said my conduct was unacceptable. He was told by the university he was suspended until September 2019 because he had made controversial comments that breached a number of the Universitys conduct regulations, including those relating to harassment and bringing the University into disrepute. He was told he could return after signing a future good conduct and behaviour agreement and taking diversity training. Mr Walsh told Kipper Central he would not be signing any agreements that restricted his freedom of speech. In a statement, a UCLan spokesman said: In this case, a number of official complaints were made by students regarding a series of offensive and inappropriate comments made by Sebastian Walsh during lectures and seminars. We cannot divulge the actual comments made by Sebastian as they formed part of a confidential investigation. However, they clearly breached a number of the Universitys conduct regulations, including those relating to harassment and bringing the University into disrepute. F light passengers face cancellations and delays as a huge band of fog sweeps in over large parts of England forcing the Met Office to issue a severe weather alert. Forecasters warned of possible chaos at airports and delays to rail journeys during the morning rush hour as they issued the alert, which covers most of the south. The warning was put in place overnight and is not expected to be lifted until 10am on Friday morning, with drivers being told to be aware of low visibility on roads. Parts of the East Midlands, Suffolk, South East and South West were all set to be affected by the poor weather conditions, according to the Met Office. In its advice for travelling in fog, the weather service tells motorists to avoid travel wherever possible or to drive slowly with dipped headlights. A fog warning was in place for much of the south of England ( PA Archive/PA Images ) / PA Archive/PA Images The latest warning comes after forecasters predicted that the mercury could soar to near-record levels across the UK this weekend. Aboyne in Aberdeenshire hit the maximum temperature of 18.3C on Thursday afternoon, beating the previous high of 17.9C recorded in Aberdeen on February 22, 1897. Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said the mild weather is set to continue, but it is unlikely to reach such a high in Scotland again this month. "Over the next few days it'll be very mild temperatures, today is possibly the mildest for the next few days. "It could be early next week until it's as mild again, though whether we'll see 18.3C is unlikely. "So the mild theme is set to continue and it will be pleasantly spring-like through early next week." Forecaster Steven Keats said the mercury is expected to reach at least 15C in London over Saturday and Sunday. The warm weather is being caused by warm winds coming off the Canary Islands, where temperatures are in the low 20s. Posted Friday, February 22, 2019 11:15 am If Gov. Jay Inslee announces a bid for president, as he's widely expected to do soon, he'll have support from a newly formed super PAC. The group, called Act Now on Climate, announced its formation Thursday, headed by Corey Platt, who was political director for the Democratic Governors Association, which Inslee chaired last year. In a statement, Platt called climate change "the most pressing issue of our time and the most critical issue the next President will have to address," saying the PAC was formed "to ensure that the conversations surrounding who should be our next President also include a robust discussion of how we can ensure the very survival of our planet." That echoes repeated statements by Inslee, who has said he's seriously considering a bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination as a candidate who would make fighting climate change the top priority. The second-term governor traveled last month to the early primary state of New Hampshire and has said he'll announce his 2020 intentions within weeks. His longtime communications director, Jaime Smith, has recently taken a two-week leave of absence for what his office described only as "a special project." As a super PAC, Act Now on Climate can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money, and will disclose its donors. The Washington, D.C.-based group announced it will not accept corporate donations. Christy Setzer, a spokeswoman for the PAC, previously worked for the presidential campaigns of Vice President Al Gore, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Sen. Christopher Dodd. Setzer said Thursday the PAC just filed paperwork and had no donations to report yet. Inslee has established connections with wealthy environmentalist donors, including California billionaire Tom Steyer, whom he met with privately in December during a trip to San Francisco. Steyer had publicly mulled his own presidential candidacy, but said in January he would not run, and would instead spend $40 million on his ongoing efforts to convince Congress to impeach President Donald Trump. Asked whether Steyer was backing the new PAC, Setzer said via email "we haven't spoken to Steyer, but appreciate all he's done on this issue and hope he'd be supportive of us. If Jay Inslee runs, he would be our first call." I SIS bride Shamima Begums sister has begged Sajid Javid to help her baby nephew find his way home in an emotional letter and slammed her siblings vile comments. Renu Begum claimed her sibling had been lost to a murderous and misogynistic cult after fleeing London to join the terrorist group in Syria as a schoolgirl in 2015. But in a powerful message to Home Secretary Mr Javid, she said the family cannot simply abandon her and said they would challenge a move to revoke her UK citizenship. "Firstly, we wish to make clear, that along with the rest of the country, we are shocked and appalled at the vile comments she has made to the media in recent days," the letter read. Shamima Begum when she was 15 and fled to join IS / PA Ms Begum, now 19, is living in a refugee camp in northern Syria along with her newborn son and said she wants to return to Britain. The letter, seen by the BBC, said the baby boy was a "true innocent" who should not "lose the privilege of being raised in the safety of this country". It added: "We request that your office contacts our solicitor... to discuss the practical mechanics of how to help my nephew find his way home." Shamima Begum shocked at Home Offices decision to revoke her citizenship The family said they have had no contact with Ms Begum and had only learned she had given birth to a boy through media reports. Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green to join the terror cult in 2015 and resurfaced heavily pregnant at a Syrian refugee camp last week. Her family's letter said they had made "every fathomable effort" to block her from entering IS territory. Isis bridge Shamima Begum is interview by Sky News at a refugee camp in Syria (Sky News ) / Sky News "That year we lost Shamima to a murderous and misogynistic cult," her sister wrote. "My sister has been in their thrall now for four years, and it is clear to me that her exploitation at their hands has fundamentally damaged her." The Home Secretary revoked Ms Begum's British citizenship in a move only permissible under international law if it does not leave the individual stateless. It was speculated that Ms Begum, who is of Bangladeshi heritage, may have citizenship there but Bangladesh's minister of state for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam denied this. Appealing to the home secretary, the family said: "We are sickened by the comments she has made, but, as a family man yourself, we hope you will understand that we, as her family cannot simply abandon her. "We hope you understand our position in this respect and why we must, therefore, assist Shamima in challenging your decision to take away the one thing that is her only hope at rehabilitation, her British citizenship. Shamima Begum on Manchester bombings: "it's a two way thing" "Shamima's status will now be a matter for our British courts to decide in due course." Ms Begum earlier told Sky News she had no desire to go to Bangladesh: "I don't have anything there, another language, I have never even seen the place." Shamima Begum has had her British citizenship revoked Mr Javid's removal of her citizenship came amid heated debate over whether the teenager should be able to return to the UK after she was found in a Syrian refugee camp with the terror group's reign nearly over. The Muslim Council of Britain has warned Mr Javid's move heightens fears of "a two-tiered citizenship scheme, sets a dangerous precedent and demonstrates an abdication of responsibility". While many do not want to see Ms Begum return to the UK, others have argued she should face prosecution for her actions, and attempts at deradicalisation. The Begum family's lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said she was born in the UK, has never had a Bangladeshi passport and is not a dual citizen, which was confirmed by the Bangladeshi minister. TODO: define component type apester Mr Alam added: "So, there is no question of her being allowed to enter into Bangladesh." Asked about the situation on ITV's Peston, Mr Javid said: "I'm not going to talk about an individual, but I can be clear on the point that I would not take a decision and I believe none of my predecessors ever have taken a decision that at the point the decision is taken would leave that individual stateless." He also suggested to the Commons that action to bar her from returning will not impact her son's rights. Jeremy Corbyn on stripping Shamima Begum's UK citizenship "If a parent does lose their British citizenship, it does not affect the rights of their child," he said. The British Nationality Act 1981 provides the Home Secretary with the power to strip people of citizenship if it is "conducive to the public good". Meanwhile, the Government's chief adviser on countering extremism warned radical Islamists could exploit the unease caused by Mr Javid's move. Independent adviser Sara Khan said: "The Government has to recognise the unease felt by a wide range of people about decisions of this kind, not least those from minority communities with dual nationality. A British man known as Jihadi Jack has said he wants to return home after being held in a Kurdish prison for two years, but doubts that the UK will bring him back. Jack Letts said he missed his mother and British life, including pasties and Doctor Who, in a new interview shown today. The 23-year-old from Oxford is accused of travelling to Syria to fight for Islamic State. He told ITV News: If the UK accepted me then Id go back to the UK, its my home. But I dont think thats going to happen. Jack Letts speaking from his prison in Syria, where he has been held after being charged by the YPG with being a member of Isis / ITV/PA Wire I miss people mostly. I miss my mum. I know that sounds a bit toddler-ish. Even if I could just see my mum I would just like a phone call, I dont know if Britain can do that for me here, but Id like just a phone call to my mum its been two years. Mr Letts also has a Canadian passport thanks to his father's nationality, but admitted: "I don't know if that will still be valid." Mr Letts' parents, John Letts and Sally Lane, from Chilswell Road, Oxford, are awaiting trial in the UK accused of sending money to their son. They have denied three charges of funding terrorism. He converted to Islam while at Cherwell comprehensive school in Oxford. Mr Letts married an Iraqi woman who has given birth to his son / ITV News He first travelled to the Middle East in 2014, aged 18, after dropping out of A-level study. He ventured to Syria via Jordan. Mr Letts married an Iraqi woman who has since given birth to his son. When asked about the Paris terror attacks in 2015, Mr Letts told reporters: To be honest at the time I thought it was a good thing. Not that people who had nothing to do with it got killed. He added that he had seen children being burnt alive in bombings and has since realised that the Paris attack victims had nothing to do with it. A former Islamist extremist has warned it will take years before any Islamic State bride allowed back to Britain can be trusted because of the potential danger they pose. Aimen Dean, who was an early member of al-Qaeda before become a spy for MI5 and MI6, said there were well documented cases of IS women blowing themselves up with their children to kill others. He also warned the large numbers of children born to IS parents currently languishing in refugee camps represented a timebomb that could spawn a new terrorist problem unless de-radicalisation was carried out. Mr Deans comments, in a BBC interview, follow the disclosure that Shamima Begums family have written to Home Secretary Sajid Javid in an attempt to overturn his decision to strip her of her British citizenship. Jeremy Corbyn on stripping Shamima Begum's UK citizenship The letter, written by Ms Begums sister Renu, says that the family is shocked and appalled by the vile comments that the former Bethal Green schoolgirl made during recent interviews but that they cannot abandon her. We have a duty to her, and a duty to hope that as she was groomed into what she has become, she can equally be helped back into the sister I knew, and daughter my parents bore, the letter states. It adds her fate will now be decided by the courts and also appeals to Mr Javid for help in bringing Ms Begums new born son, who is understood to retain his British citizenship, back to this country. TODO: define component type apester But Mr Dean said although he believed Britons who had gone to live or fight under the Islamic State should be returned, their presence in this country would pose a long term security threat. We cant trust anyone who was in ISIS until years pass through their rehabilitation because there are well documented cases of ISIS women blowing themselves up alongside their own babies to kill security forces, he said. A long legal battle is expected before the courts decide whether the Home Secretary acted lawfully in removing Ms Begums citizenship. His decision is understood to be based on the grounds that she also qualifies for Bangladeshi nationality through her parents - even though she has never been to the country. Bangladesh has insisted she is not one of its citizens and that it does not want her. That has prompted claims that Mr Javid has acted unlawfully by making 19-year-old Ms Begum stateless - something he denies - and that he has left other Britons with foreign parents feeling there is a two-tier citizenship. Those concerns were highlighted today by Nazir Afzal, a former chief crown prosecuctor, who said that as irrational as it sounds many people now feel their citizenship is now conditional, where people are saying for the first time: am I really British?. S tephen Barclay's Brussels talks have been hailed by the Government as "productive" after European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker complained of "Brexit fatigue". The Brexit secretary and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox will again meet EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier next week to continue discussions on the contentious Northern Ireland backstop. The move follows comments by Mr Juncker that he is "not very optimistic" that a no-deal Brexit can be avoided. The European Commission president earlier told reporters that he was tired of Brexit, adding "this Brexit is deconstruction, it is not construction. Brexit is in the past, its not the future. And so we are trying to deliver our best effort in order to have this Brexit being organisaed in a proper, civilised, well-thought way, Sky News reports. Mrs May met with Mr Juncker on Wednesday / Getty Images However, Mr Barclay struck a more upbeat note as the UK continued to seek guarantees that the backstop arrangements will be temporary. A Brexit department spokesman said the Brussels meeting had been "productive", adding: "They discussed the positions of both sides and agreed to focus on what we can do to conclude a successful deal as soon as possible. "It was agreed that talks should now continue urgently at a technical level. TODO: define component type apester "The Secretary of State and the Attorney General will discuss again with Michel Barnier early next week. "The Attorney General will also explore legal options with the commission's team." Meanwhile, Chancellor Philip Hammond described Brexit as "a large black cloud" hanging over the UK economy and said a no-deal departure would be "extremely bad" for Britain. Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Stephen Barclay met with Michel Barnier on Thursday / REUTERS In an interview with BBC One's Breakfast a day after three Tory MPs resigned from the party over Brexit, the Chancellor was repeatedly asked whether he would quit the Cabinet if Mrs May went for no-deal. He replied: "I will always do what I believe is in the best interests of the country." Asked if a no-deal Brexit would be in the UK's best interests, Mr Hammond said: "No, definitely not." Jeremy Corbyn also met Mr Barnier in Brussels Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also met Mr Barnier in Brussels, stating after the talks that there was real concern on the EU side about the prospects of a no-deal break. "The threat of no deal is something that has deeply exercised people throughout the European Union. They are very worried about the consequences of it," he told reporters. "That was conveyed to us in no uncertain terms during the meetings. That is why we are determined to get no deal off the table." Mrs May is eager to get movement on the backstop before the Brexit issue returns to the Commons for a series of votes on February 27, when MPs are expected to mount a bid to delay Brexit beyond March 29. J ohn McDonnell today said Labour is moving towards a second referendum on Brexit that would give Britons the chance to stay in the European Union. In an exclusive interview with the Evening Standard, the shadow chancellor also called on Labour to move quicker and fiercer against anti-Semitism, and expressed regret for not enough action in the past. A ninth Labour MP quit the party today, citing disgust over the failure to crack down on anti-Semitism and intolerance under Jeremy Corbyns leadership. With Labour reeling from a week of turmoil, Mr McDonnell held out olive branches on the two big issues that the defectors complained about: Brexit and anti-Semitism. He gave his strongest indication yet that Labour is close to backing a second public vote and said he would campaign for Remain if one is held. On the peoples vote, weve kept it on the table and were moving towards that, he said. Ian Austin quit Labour today / Chris McAndrew/UK Parliament He said an amendment calling for a public vote which is being tabled for debate next week by Labour MPs Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson could be a solution. The amendment, which was reportedly endorsed by shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer at a planning meeting this week, would offer Theresa Mays deal an easy ride in the Commons if she put it to a binding yes-no vote of the public. TODO: define component type apester Mr McDonnell revealed the two backbenchers had been asked to redraft the amendment. And he said that if the Prime Ministers deal was rejected by the public, Britain would remain in the EU by default. If we were going on a peoples vote based on a deal that has gone through Parliament in some form, if that got voted down then youd have status quo, and that would be Remain, he said. His words clashed with those of Unite union leader Len McCluskey who said on Wednesday Remain should not be on the ballot paper as it was not the best option for our nation. Mr Corbyn was reported in the Guardian to be edging closer to backing a referendum, while The Times said Labour faced mass defections to The Independent Group of former Labour and Tory MPs if he refused. Mr McDonnell said Remain should be an option in a referendum and said Labour was moving into implementation stages around our conference decision, around the Peoples Vote. Asked how would he vote, he said firmly: Ive said all along if there was another one Id campaign for Remain and Id vote for Remain. In the same interview, Mr McDonnell criticised his party for moving too slowly and softly against anti-Semitism. Weve got to be quicker, and weve got to be fiercer, he said. I think theres been a lot of listening but not enough action. Thats the problem. Speaking of the criticisms made by eight Labour MPs who formed The Independent Group this week, Mr McDonnell agreed that clear-cut cases of anti-Semitism had not led to enough swift punishment. If Jeremy Corbyn wants to repair the party so it can fight the worst Tory government for many decades, he would look at Luciana Berger declaring that, as a Jewish woman, she cannot stay in an institutionally racist party and move every sinew in his body to change it. He would listen to each and every one of the now ex-Labour MPs when they say that the public are worried about feeling politically homeless, and he would build them a home, not a student union. Politics is about, and for, all the people in this country, not a tiny clique on the hard Left who want to prove that they are the best and who believe that if you're not in their gang then you belong in the bin. E ight Labour MPs and three Tory MPs have defected from their political parties to join the new Independent Group. Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Ann Coffey, Angela Smith, Gavin Shuker and Mike Gapes all announced their departure from the Labour Party on Monday, with Joan Ryan announcing her departure the following day. Former Tory MPs Anna Soubry, Sarah Wollaston and Heidi Allen have also defected to join the Independent Group, writing in a joint resignation letter that Brexit has re-defined the Conservative Party undoing all efforts to modernise it. A ninth Labour MP, Ian Austin, has also quit the party but said he had no plans to join the new group. Heres everything you need to know: What is the Independent Group? Eleven British politicians who have joined new political party 'The Independent Group' pose for a photograph after a press conference in Westminster / AP The Independent Group is not a recognised political party, and has no leader. In a statement of independence, the group said: Our aim is to pursue policies that are evidence-based, not led by ideology, taking a long-term perspective to the challenges of the 21st century in the national interest, rather than locked in the old politics of the 20th century in the partys interests. As an Independent Group we aim to recognise the value of healthy debate, show tolerance towards different opinions and seek to reach across outdated divides and build consensus to tackle Britains problems. Although the group does not yet have a manifesto, they have laid out a list of their key values on their website. Some of these include: The collective provision of public services and the NHS can be delivered through government action Paid work should be secure and pay should be fair The barriers of poverty, prejudice and discrimination facing individuals should be removed and advancement occur on the basis of merit Our free media, the rule of law, and our open, tolerant and respectful democratic society should be cherished and renewed Which Labour MPs have joined the Independent Group? Chuka Umunna Chuka Umunna: rising levels of youth violence should be treated like a disease / PA Chuka Umunna called for a change in politics to make it "fit for the here and now". He said the "established parties are simply not up to the challenge" and called them "deeply divided". "They don't represent the complex tapestry which is modern Britain," he said. "We have got to change our politics again. "We invite you to leave your parties and help us form a new consensus on a way forward for Britain." The Streatham MP has long made it clear he wants a second referendum on Brexit. Luciana Berger Decision: Luciana Berger resigned over Corbyns failure to tackle anti-Semitism / EPA An outspoken critic of the handling of anti-Semitism within Labour ranks, Luciana Berger is also one of those who left. She has frequently criticised Jeremy Corbyn's leadership and required a police guard when attending the Labour party conference in Liverpool last year follow vicious threats made to her online. As she announced her resignation, she said: "For my part, I have become embarrassed and ashamed to remain in the Labour Party. "I have not changed. The core values of equality for all, opportunity for all, anti-racism against all and social justice - the values which I hold really dear and which led me to join the Labour Party as a student almost 20 years ago - remain who I am. "And yet these values have been consistently and constantly violated, undermined and attacked, as the Labour Party today declines to my constituents and our country before party interests. "I cannot remain in a party which I have come to the sickening conclusion is institutionally anti-Semitic." Recently she was on the brink of facing a no confidence motion from her local Labour group but this was withdrawn after she was defended by prominent Labour colleagues. When the confidence vote was announced, she said: "I have made no secret that, as a Jewish woman representing a city with a Jewish community, I have been deeply disturbed by the lack of response from Jeremy Corbyn as party leader and many in the wider leadership to the anti-Semitism that stains our party." Gavin Shuker Former British Labour party MP Gavin Shuker speaking at the Independent Group Party launch and press conference in London. / EPA The 37-year-old Labour MP for Luton South has previously spoken of considering his position within the Labour party. Announcing he was leaving on Twitter, he said: "At a national level, I hope you'll agree that politics, as it is, is broken. None of the parties are providing the leadership that we need at this moment of crisis, and you've been trying to tell us this for a long time - not just since Brexit. "That's why my hope is that the actions I've taken today, alongside others, will enable us to change politics, together." Previously he quit the frontbench following Jeremy Corbyn's selection as leader. At the time of leaving his former position of shadow international development minister, he cited "political differences" for quitting. He has continued to be critical of Mr Corbyn and also previously faced a confidence motion from his local Labour group, which was unsuccessful in ousting him. Angela Smith Angela Smith also quit the Labour party in favour of joining the new Independent Group / EPA Angela Smith has spoken of her desire for a second referendum and her disdain over her party's stance on Brexit. She claimed earlier this year she was turned away from the Labour HQ when she tried to deliver a petition calling for a second Brexit vote. She previously told Channel 4 news "Labour MPs are being pushed to the very edge by the attitude of the leadership on key issues such as Brexit, anti-Semitism". Ms Smith has represented Penistone and Stocksbridge since 2010 and prior to that was MP for Sheffield Hillsborough. Mike Gapes MP Mike Gapes says he is sickened that Labour is a racist and antisemitic party Mike Gapes has previously spoken out on anti-Semitism in the Labour party. He said it was a "fantasy" that Jeremy Corby believes he can renegotiate Brexit. Announcing his departure, he said: "I am sickened that the Labour Party is now a racist, anti-Semitic party. "I am furious that the Labour leadership is complicit in facilitating Brexit, which will cause great economic, social and political damage to our country." He is the MP for Ilford South and has been since 1992. Chris Leslie Former Labour MP Chris Leslie resigned from the Labour Party / EPA The Nottingham East MP has been critical of the party's stance on Brexit, questioning why it was not backing a second referendum. The 46-year-old was previously shadow chancellor of the exchequer in 2015. He previously hinted he could leave the party over the situation. "My patience is wearing pretty thin with the Labour Party policy on Brexit," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One. Ann Coffey Former Labour politician Ann Coffey was one of several MPs who announced their resignation / EPA Ann Coffey was behind a letter of no confidence in leader Jeremy Corbyn after the Brexit referendum vote. She is the MP for Stockport and has been since 1992. Ann Coffey told the press conference: "I thought I would be in the Labour Party for the rest of my life. "But political parties are not an end in themselves in a parliamentary democracy. The Labour Party has lost sight of this, it is no longer a broad church. "Any criticism of the leadership is responded to with abuse and accusations of treachery. Anti-Semitism is rife and tolerated." Joan Ryan Joan Ryan strongly denied that she accused party systems after resigning from the Labour party. / PA Joan Ryan, who chaired Labour Friends of Israel, announced she quit the party in a Tweet on Tuesday. She wrote: "After 4 decades, I have made the terribly difficult decision to resign from the Labour Party." After quitting, the MP for Enfield North said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had ignored calls to tackle the problem of anti-Semitism and was not fit to be prime minister. "We never had this problem in the party before he was the leader. It comes with him, it is part of his politics, I am afraid," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "We have had endless calls on him to deal with the most virulent, vile anti-Semitism - bullying, abuse and aggression - and he has turned away from doing that." Which Conservative MPs have joined the Independent Group? Anna Soubry Anna Soubry arrives with Sarah Wollaston at a news conference in London / REUTERS Ms Soubry is the face of the Remain movement in the Parliamentary Conservative Party. The most high profile of the three defectors, Ms Soubry has been a staunch campaigner for a second referendum on Theresa Mays Brexit deal. On Saturday, when the Peoples Vote campaign announced its plans for a march through central London next month, it was Ms Soubrys quotes which were given the highest prominence. Parliament will need a way out, she said, and the demand will be loud and clear: put short term party politics aside, put Britain's national interest first. Put it to the people." Jeremy Hunt, 'very sad' about Conservative MPs departure She, along with Sarah Wollaston and Heidi Allen, was pictured with Mr Umunna and Ms Berger as they banded together for Brexit talks with the government in Whitehall last month. Ms Soubry had numerous ministerial portfolios under previous Prime Minister David Cameron, but has largely been consigned to the backbenches under Theresa May. Sarah Wollaston MP Sarah Wollaston defected from the Conservative Party / REUTERS Dr Wollaston was another leading Tory supporter of a so-called Peoples Vote. As chair of the health and social care and liaison committees in the Commons, she is arguably the most senior of the three defectors. She has despaired at the influence of hard Brexiteers such as Jacob Rees-Mogg, using the term Blukip on Monday night to describe Tory right-wingers who she said were closer to Nigel Farages ideology than the centre ground she occupies. Dr Wollaston tweeted: BLUKIP has been busy taking over the Tory Party alongside the European Research Group. Soon there will be nothing left at all to appeal to moderate centre ground voters. She was among 12 Tories, including Ms Soubry, who backed Dominic Grieves failed amendment to give power to Parliament on every Tuesday from February 12 to March 26 so backbenchers could discuss, amend and vote on Brexit. Heidi Allen Heidi Allen speaks at a news conference after quitting the Conservative Party. / REUTERS Ms Allen is a backbencher who has voiced strong views against Brexit and often rebelled against Theresa Mays government. She has previously toyed with the idea of leaving the party under hard Brexit rule, saying in 2017 of Mr Rees-Mogg: I couldnt be in the Conservative Party if he was my leader. Ms Allen has been the target of a deselection campaign by the Leave.EU campaign group. T heresa May is facing the most serious revolt of her leadership as dozens of Tory MPs warn they could rebel against the government in a bid to block a no-deal Brexit. Up to 100 Conservative MPs who want to delay Britains departure from the bloc are reportedly ready to stage a rebellion if the Prime Ministers reworked agreement cannot command a majority in Parliament next week. The Brexit Delivery Group, which represents both Remain and Leave MPs, is calling for a free vote in the Commons on a backbench move to take no deal off the table, according to The Telegraph. A letter sent on behalf of the group to chief whip Julian Smith states that many MPs are "deeply troubled" at the prospect of a no deal, the newspaper reported. Brexit chaos: Theresa May is braced for a ministerial revolt / AFP/Getty Images The letter stated that "numerous" members intend to back amendments taking the no-deal option off the table and delaying Brexit if a rejection of the Government's deal looks likely. And the group warned that up to 100 moderate Tory MPs are prepared to rebel against the Government to force Mrs May to delay Brexit if she cannot reach a deal, The Telegraph said. And up to 25 members of the Government are prepared to rebel and vote for a Brexit delay unless Mrs May rules out a no-deal scenario, according to the Guardian. It comes as fresh Brexit talks were scheduled for early next week as Mrs May heads towards another Commons showdown on her EU withdrawal stance. Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox announced they will hold talks again with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier in the coming days on the Northern Ireland backstop. Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay held talks in Brussels on Thursday / REUTERS Ahead of crunch Commons votes expected next Wednesday, Mrs May will travel to an EU-Arab summit in Egypt this Sunday. While Government sources have been keen to dampen talk of a "deal in the desert", the PM is expected to have meetings with EU leaders on the sidelines of the gathering. As the clock ticks down to the UK's scheduled exit from the EU on March 29, the PM faces a rebellion by up to 100 Tory MPs who want her to delay Brexit if she cannot cut a deal, according to the Daily Telegraph. Jean-Claude Juncker: I am not hopeful that a no-deal Brexit can be avoided After talks in Brussels on Thursday, Mr Barclay said both sides had agreed discussions should continue "urgently at a technical level". The PM believes that securing legally binding guarantees on the backstop is key to getting her Withdrawal Agreement through the Commons. S taff at the Ecuadorian Embassy have cause for celebration today with the news that they may finally be rid of their long-term house guest Julian Assange. The Australian government has confirmed that the WikiLeaks founder has a new Australian passport after years without one, and could now return to his home country. An official at Australias department of foreign affairs and trade confirmed yesterday that Mr Assange does have an Australian passport. The timing is good: last year he said that he feared Ecuador was seeking to end his asylum. He has been holed up in the embassy in Knightsbridge since the day he walked in, breaking his UK bail conditions, in 2012. The Londoner called the embassy this morning and asked for a response to the news of the new passport. A member of staff initially said no comment but then added: He has the right to do whatever he wants, but he doesnt move on. He could stay here for ever. Now, in another boost, Assange has the support of Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters, who described him as a hero of mine and called on Australians to rally for him. We live in strange and dark times and we need journalists and others, activists of all kinds, to shine light into the dark places, Waters told the Sydney Morning Herald. Waters is not his only high-profile backer. Assange has also entertained figures such as Pamela Anderson. Nigel Farage was seen there in March of 2017 but said he could not remember the reason for his visit. Assanges passport had been held up by wrangling over whether it could be issued to him given that a warrant is still out for his arrest in the UK. His UK lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, reportedly applied for a fresh passport halfway through last year. Greg Barns, Assanges Australian lawyer, gave credit to former foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop for her role in securing the new document. The Sydney Morning Herald reported Barns thought she had gone to great lengths to ensure Mr Assanges rights as an Australian citizen were upheld by being granted a passport. On nodding terms David Natzler, the outgoing clerk of the Commons, took his row with the BBC up a notch yesterday by bringing up the Jimmy Savile inquiry when asked about the Newsnight investigation into bullying in the Commons. Natzler tells this months House magazine that it must have been quite upsetting for the BBC to learn of its internal scandal. But Christopher Cook, the journalist who worked on the story, hits back: I was hired as part of the aftermath of the BBCs attempts to fix that. Because, you know, the BBC tried to fix it, rather than nodding along. --- After Piers Morgan branded the Duchess of Sussexs baby shower an orgy of opulent extravagance, former royal chef Darren McGrady proposes that Meghan should invite Piers around for lunch and charm him the way Princess Diana did, adding: I remember her coming into the kitchen after hed left and saying what a jerk she thought he was. --- Audiences at the Bush Theatres The Trick on Wednesday were left sobbing by the moving story of a woman mourning her late husband. Unfortunately, as they exited via the foyer, they were greeted by Queens Another One Bites the Dust, playing as part of the Bushs main show, And The Rest Of Me Floats. Olivia, everyone's Oscars favourite Olivia Colman / Getty Images The Oscars take place on Sunday and Britain is hoping for success. Olivia Colman and her film The Favourite have some impressive fans. It is the best movie of the year, Oscar-winning actor Jared Leto tells us. Hes also backing Free Solo, which is up for Best Documentary. Asked who she wants to win, actor Tuppence Middleton was resolute: Olivia Colman. Harry Potter actor Jason Isaacs is backing Richard E Grant for his role in Can You Ever Forgive Me?. I absolutely adore him, he tells us. I have my fingers, legs and toes crossed that he wins. Grant has taken Hollywood by storm by posing for selfies with the A-list and sharing effusive posts online. Its incredibly endearing that hes not pretending to be cool, Isaacs says. He never did. Hes a refreshingly, searingly honest person. He taught me a lot of unrepeatable things. SW1A Emily Thornberry watched as her local party voted in favour of a second referendum last night. Delighted at the attendance numbers, she says she will take their views on board, thus increasing pressure on Jeremy Corbyn. Reports suggest that dozens of MPs are prepared to either join the Independent Group or resign the whip if he rejects plans put forward by backbench Labour MPs. --- The arrival of Andrea Leadsoms third child didnt stand in the way of her aspirations to be an MP. I remember giving birth to her at home at 2.30 in the morning and going to a final selection meeting for Reading West that evening, she tells the Women With Balls podcast. People thought I was mad. --- Jeremy Corbyn was seen alighting the Eurostar at Brussels Gare du Midi yesterday, missing Tory Brexit team Stephen Barclay and Geoffrey Cox by seconds. Carry On, Brexit. It's all about Gillian at an X Files reunion The truth is out there... Gillian Anderson was reunited with David Duchovny, her X-Files co-star, last night. The American actor, who played Mulder to her Scully in the beloved sci-fi series, visited her backstage at the Noel Coward Theatre, where she is starring alongside Lily James in the stage adaptation of All About Eve. Despite their sometimes turbulent working relationship in the Nineties, the two are firm friends and returned for the 2016 revival of the show.During contract discussions, Anderson was offered less money than Duchovny but fought for equal pay. Those negotiation skills may come in handy for her next job: she has been cast as Margaret Thatcher in the next series of The Crown. Quote of the day 'I want to spend more time gazing at the sky than at the screen' S adiq Khan today faced heavy criticism over his record on housing after it was revealed that work had begun on only 6,000 affordable homes since last spring. The total equivalent to an average of 184 new houses and flats per London local authority leaves the Mayor at risk of missing his target of 14,000 affordable homes for the financial year to April. Any shortfall would be deeply embarrassing for a Mayor who pledged to make housing his first priority in his election manifesto and who faces the voters again in little more than a year. The new London Plan calls for 65,000 new homes a year to be built in London with half to be classed as affordable. But the Greater London Authority figures, quietly slipped out last week, show work started on 6,066 affordable homes funded by the GLA in the nine months to December with none in Richmond, just one in Havering and Merton, only three in Harrow and seven in Hillingdon. Sian Berry, Green party candidate for the next Mayoral elections and chair of the GLA housing committee, said: Its all so slow. By now you would expect to be seeing a step change at every quarter. But hes not even going to do the same as last year at this rate. Hes had three years. Were now in that part of the mayoralty where we start to judge him and the numbers are nowhere near good enough. Andrew Boff, London Assembly housing spokesman for the Conservatives, said: These are yet another set of deeply disappointing housing statistics which demonstrate that the Mayor is simply failing to get London building. Due to this Mayors failure to get a grip on the housing crisis, home ownership is becoming even more of an impossible dream for millions of Londoners. The figures also reveal that only 310 homes in the cheapest category of affordable housing those available for social rent were completed across London in the nine months to December, barely more than one a day. In 13 boroughs with a combined population of 3.2 million people not a single home for social rent or London Affordable Rent was finished despite the 4.82 billion that has been received from central Government since 2016. They include Islington where Mr Khans deputy mayor for housing, James Murray, was a cabinet member for six years. The slow pace of building social homes means that the total number in London has barely changed since 2012 and actually fell in 2017 because more were demolished than built. There are currently 232,000 families on the housing waiting lists of London councils. Simon Elmer, co-director of Architects for Social Housing, said: By any measure this is an abject failure to deliver the housing Londoners can afford to buy or rent. Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: The capital is feeling the full force of our housing emergency, with tens of thousands homeless and millions trapped in cripplingly expensive and unstable private renting. At the root of this is a chronic lack of social homes. Social rents are capped at 150.03 a week for a one-bedroom flat up to 194.13 for six or more bedrooms. The Mayor announced last November he would allocate 1 billion to 26 councils to build 11,000 council homes at social rent levels over the next four years. In total he has pledged to start 116,000 affordable homes by March 2022, a target that officials say he is on track to hit. The Mayor defended his record on LBC radio last week when a caller tackled him over the low number of completions. He said: The progress weve made is record number of starts on genuinely affordable homes, record number of starts on social rent. The criticisms from members of the Tory party is were not doing more. Well, I would do more if the Government gave us more grant and if we didnt have the uncertainty of Brexit leading to developers pausing starting new homes. K ensington and Chelsea council is planning to introduce a voluntary mansion tax asking its millionaire homeowners to donate to support other residents. The borough, which is home to the Beckham family, Robbie Williams and wife Ayda Field and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, wants to raise thousands of pounds for services through a community contribution. It hopes its celebrity homeowners will lead the way in donating and could encourage others to spend it like Beckham. The Tory borough has pockets of immense wealth in Chelsea, Holland Park, Knightsbridge and Notting Hill where mansions can fetch upward of 30 million. The borough also has some of the most deprived areas of London, leading to a vast wealth gap which came under scrutiny following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017. Current rules mean local authorities cannot raise council tax for the most expensive homes without increasing rates across the board, affecting low-income households. On Wednesday night the boroughs leaders agreed to ask their richest residents to pay a voluntary donation on top of their regular council tax bill. Robbie Williams and wife Ayda Field / Dave Benett Subject to a consultation, homeowners in the highest council tax band, band H, will be asked to donate. They currently pay 2,246.14 in council tax. Homes in the bracket are some of the most expensive in the country. The money will be used to establish a charitable fund that invests in people and helps them to build skills and gain employment. The scheme was pioneered by neighbouring Tory borough Westminster council, which has collected more than 600,000 since March 2018, including a 10,000 donation from an anonymous homeowner. The council has used the donations to help rough sleepers and youth employment. Kensington council leader Elizabeth Campbell said: One of our main ambitions is to narrow the gap in our borough and in our society, and we want to work with residents to make this happen. We are proposing a voluntary scheme with any money invested to be targeted for young people, skills, career progression and education. At this stage, we are really keen to see what our residents think. A row has broken out over a heritage project to commemorate the lives of prominent London women with pink plaques. Visitors to a weekend festival at Highgates historic Lauderdale House will be asked to suggest names of famous former residents to be honoured with the plaques. Possible candidates include socialist activist Eleanor Marx, daughter of Karl; 19th Century explorer Mary Kingsley; and Angela Burdett-Coutts, who was once Britains richest heiress. But critics today said the use of the colour pink risks reinforcing damaging gender stereotypes. Lauderdales director, Katherine Ives, said the project is aimed at making visitors aware of the fascinating women who have lived in and around the exclusive village. She said: Without being too political, a lot of history is written from the male perspective and its really great to learn about the womens history. The pink plaques is an initiative by several artists to help create our own accreditation for the areas remarkable women. Once the nominations are received, a selection will be chosen and included on local heritage walks or trails locally, with a view to putting up pink plaques on houses in the future. A similar scheme in Hampstead has seen memorials on buildings to notable former residents. Gina Martin, a feminist activist best known for a successful campaign to make upskirting illegal, told the Standard: Im really glad theyre doing this project, the idea is fantastic. But I can understand the issue with the chosen colour. We have a massive issue with gender and the colour theory has a lot to do with that. We shouldnt be associating colours with genders because we know how it can psychologically affect people. I get that a lot of people would see the pink plaques and automatically go Oh its for a woman but thats a problem. We wont progress unless we stop that association. Feminist activist and journalist Caroline Criado Perez said: Thats just a shame. Its such a great idea. I thought Im so delighted especially as I live in north London. "Around the time of the centenary I was trying to find out about suffragettes and suffragists who lived near me but couldnt find anything it was very difficult. So obviously I think this is incredibly important. Its unfortunate because of the way that pink has become associated as now time for the girls that its pink and fluffy. A spokeswoman for the Womens Equality Party added: Were delighted womens history is being celebrated. Its a shame it takes a gimmick like this to bring the importance of womens lives and work to life. Alicia Pivaro, one of the artists behind the project, said the plaques were aimed at reinforcing the need for more women to be celebrated. It wasnt our intention to offend. The idea for this project is to stimulate a conversation around the idea of people that should be celebrated, she said. We have used the colour pink for the branding for our Women Only exhibition we had last year. We wanted people to connect those two projects together. But if you think about it, is it also a provocation in the sense that if pink is still seen as a female colour, then where is the female history? Feminist commentator and beauty columnist Sali Hughes said: It seems like its broadly a good thing if they feel that people are being honoured who would not be recognised in a classic blue plaquebut making them pink cheapens it for me. It makes it a bit childish and makes it a bit infantilising. It should not be about the colour but the incredible women and their history. Its a bit like when the guy in the phone shop automatically offers you a pink phone. Why not red? Why not green? It does sound like a great project. Last year, English Heritage launched a campaign backed by Dame Judi Dench to address the imbalance of men and women represented on blue plaques after a survey found only 14 per cent of the markers commemorate women. The London Assembly recently called on the heritage body to relax its archaic rules in order to ensure more women are commemorated with blue plaques. Catbird is the ultimate New York cool girl jewelry brand. The Brooklyn-based company creates delicate pieces popular with street style stars and celebrities. The Girls cast wore Catbird jewelry during the show, while Liv Tyler, Michelle Williams, Emma Watson, Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth, Elizabeth Olsen, and Rashida Jones are also fans. Meghan Markle wearing her Catbird Threadbare rings / Getty Images Meghan Markle also loves the brands dainty baubles. Shes been spotted wearing two of their $44 Threadbare rings (more affordable than the elaborate royal tiara collection she now has access to.) Catbirds bustling Bedford Avenue jewelry shop is always full of millennials looking for their next tiny necklace fix - but just a few blocks away is a larger space offering engagement rings and permanent jewelry. 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}} They also recently opened a Welding Annex for folks who love Catbird so much they want to make their devotion to the brand permanent. Catbird The Forever Catbird Bracelets - which range from $94 to $334 - are quickly welded onto the recipient (no clasp required) so you can wake up every morning ready to roll. Leah Miriam Cooper I f theres one thing to know about the Academy, its that it doesnt always get things right. Illustrious and divisive in equal measure, the Oscars continue to split opinion every year something which, ultimately, testifies to the Awards enduring relevance and influence in Hollywood. While things are rarely black and white in the world of film criticism, there are times where it is clear that the Academy made a clear mistake. It goes beyond the likes of J-Lo being snubbed at this year's awards; certain oversights can take place over years, or even decades, with some of the biggest talent in Hollywood continually overlooked. From groundbreaking filmmakers to screen legends, these are the people who deserve an acting Oscar, but have never been awarded one. Amy Adams PA Amy Adams is one of the most critically lauded actors of her generation, and yet an Academy Award win still eludes her. After first making a big impression in Hollywood with roles in Catch Me If You Can and Junebug, Adams racked up six Academy Award nominations for turns in The Master, American Hustle, Doubt, The Fighter and, in 2019, Vice. However, it's the films she wasnt nominated for that seem the biggest oversights. While she could have simply counted herself a little unlucky before, things took a pretty baffling turn in 2016. The Academy refused to acknowledge her career-best performances in both Denis Villneneuves excellent sci-fi Arrival, and Tom Fords Nocturnal Animals. Either would have been deserving winners, and Adamss performances arguably justified two nominations that year. Instead, Brie Larson won for her performance in Room. Peter OToole Getty Images British acting royalty Peter OToole was nominated eight times for the Best Actor Oscar, including a run of four nominations between 1962 and 1969, starting with his career-defining turn in Lawrence of Arabia. While losing out to the likes of The Godfathers Marlon Brando in 1972 and Raging Bulls Robert De Niro in 1980 was understandable, OToole was incredibly unlucky to miss out against the likes of My Fair Ladys Rex Harrison and Charlys Cliff Robertson during the mid 60s. The Academy, perhaps recognising that OToole had been unfairly treated down the years, presented him with an honorary Academy Award in 2002 something the actor initially resisted, saying he wanted to win one outright. In fairer circumstances, perhaps he would have done. Lauren Bacall Getty Images Regarded as one of the leading actresses of Hollywoods golden age, with performances alongside Humphrey Bogart in To Have And Have Not and The Big Sleep, its surprising that Lauren Bacall was only ever nominated for one Oscar over the course of her career. Her performance in The Mirror Has Two Faces was the clear favourite for the Best Supporting Actress category ahead of the 1997 ceremony. The role was extolled by critics, and the award was seen as the ideal recognition of Bacalls illustrious career. Is wasnt to be though, as Harvey Weinsteins campaigning for The English Patient is thought to have swayed the Academy, resulting in Juliette Binoche picking up the prize. A surprised Binoche herself recognised the injustice, acknowledging Bacall during her speech, saying: I thought Lauren was going to get it, and I think she deserves it. Richard Burton Getty Images As with O'Toole, Richard Burton was nominated a staggering seven times without finding success at the Oscars remarkable, given he was arguably the most influential British actor of his generation. His first nod came for My Cousin Rachel in 1953, which earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the age of 28. Seven Best Actor nominations then followed, for performances in films including The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and Whos Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? His biggest snub came in 1978 though, when his performance as Dr. Dysart in Equus one of the strongest of his career was overlooked in favour of Richard Dreyfusss turn in The Goodbye Girl. His laughable performance in Exorcist II: The Heretic just a few months before could have swayed the opinion of the Academy, but its still a travesty he was never recognised with an award. Orson Welles Getty Images For a picture widely regarded as the greatest film ever made, Citizen Kane fared poorly at the Academy Awards. Despite receiving nine nominations, the movie missed out to How Green Was My Valley for Best Picture in 1942 and picked up just one award for Best Original Screenplay scant consolation. It was critically lauded at the time and is now recognised as one of the finest movies ever made, but its director and star Orson Welles missed out on individual awards, with John Ford picking up the Best Director award instead for How Green Was My Valley. His luck didnt change in the years that followed either Welles follow-up The Magnificent Ambersons completely missed out after receiving four nominations in 1943, and it took until 1970 before he received an Academy Honorary Award for services to the industry which Welles decided against picking up in person. Seventy-seven years on, Citizen Kane marks the biggest Oscars snub of all time, and Welless genius was never fully recognised by the Academy with the Best Director or Best Actor prize that he deserved. Matt Damon AFP/Getty Images Matt Damons films dont always align with the Academys tastes we cant imagine a world where We Bought a Zoo, EuroTrip or the awful Great Wall pick up Best Picture gongs. That said, hes earned a reputation as an impressive and versatile actor over the years, and he can count himself a little unlucky when it comes to the Oscars. Damon was unfortunate to miss out on Best Actor to Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets back in 1998, after being nominated for his engrossing performance in Good Will Hunting. Nicholson had a huge amount of fun playing misanthropic writer Melvin Udall, but it pales a little in significance compared to Damons striking performance, which announced him on the world stage. He might have shared the Best Original Screenplay Oscar with Ben Affleck for the film, but we think he deserved more, and hes been unsuccessful ever since, despite being nominated for performances in Invictus and The Martian. Glenn Close AFP/Getty Images Glenn Close has achieved seven Oscar nominations to date, and many critics including the Standards Matthew Norman predicted that 2019 could finally be the year the actress came in from the cold. Her stunning performance in The Wife was a timely reminder of Closes status as one of the most assured actors in Hollywood, having sustained an impressive career over the last five decades. Despite having never picked up an award, she proved most popular with the Academy during the 80s, racking up five nominations in the space of just seven years. The most high-profile of those roles her turn as the unnerving Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction should have won the Best Actress award, which instead went to Cher for her work on Moonstruck a charming but less substantial performance. A few years later, she lost out for Best Actress for her turn in Dangerous Liasons; Jodie Foster claimed the Oscar for her powerful role in The Accused. While she faced tough competition once again in 2019, ultimately losing to Olivia Colman for the top prize, the Academy may one day yet recognise Closes career as a whole with the award. If they do, itll be richly deserved. P lanning a trip to one of London's world class museums or art galleries? Our series of ultimate guides will tell you everything you need to know. Why should I visit the National Gallery? The National Gallery is the crown jewel of Trafalgar Square, with an elegant facade that hints at the scale of treasures inside. As the master of all it surveys atop one of Londons most iconic locations, its no surprise that its one of the most visited art museums in the world. And thats before we even get on to the paintings. Even the most art-averse will recognise many of the masterpieces that hang in the National Gallery; from Van Goghs Sunflowers to Seurats Bathers, visitors can nail a number of art bucket-list works with just one visit. The permanent collection, which is totally free to visit, is pure pleasure - but the gallery does hold skilfully curated temporary shows in its Sainsbury Wing. Recent exhibitions have explored Monets fascination with architecture, and the influence of Caravaggio on his contemporaries. JMW Turner, The Fighting Temeraire, 1839 / National Gallery, London The gallery was founded in 1824 amid calls that Britain should have its own National Gallery, buying a humble 38 paintings for a collection that today holds over 2,300 works. Given that the gallerys focus is on art from the 13th century to 1900, its unsurprising that the collection is significantly skewed towards male artists - but the gallery is attempting to redress this imbalance, starting with a forthcoming solo exhibition about Artemisia Gentileschi in 2020. If you have one hour If you're stuck for time, head to the Sainsbury Wing, the newest part of the gallery which sits slightly away from its main hubbub. Here you'll find its oldest treasures, including the Arnolfini Portrait and works by Botticelli and Raphael. Alternatively, put your trust in the experts and sign up for one of the National Gallery's 60-minute tours, the easiest (and most informative) way to see all of the highlights. If you have three hours Make the gallery's latest temporary exhibition your first stop. These expertly curated shows often take years to put together, and have explored everything from the usage of monochrome in art to Vermeer's interest in music. Next, make sure you wander through the permanent collection. Walk through the selection of artworks from the 16th and 17th century - including Holbein's Ambassadors and works by Titian - and you'll find yourself in the gallery's most popular section, featuring works from 1700 to 1930. Here you'll see the French impressionists, Turner and Gainsborough - expect it to be busy. If you want to make a day of it Despite containing some of the most famous paintings in the world, the National Gallery's size isn't too formidable. A day will give you enough time to visit the latest exhibition and explore the permanent collection from front to back. You'll want to stop for a bite to eat, and the gallery has three different spots to suit your mood: a dining room with views of Trafalgar Square, a cafe and an espresso bar. What are the highlights of the National Gallery's collection? Michelangelos Virgin on the Rocks and Jan van Eycks Arnolfini Portrait are both 13th century masterpieces, made no less vivid by the passing of centuries. Vincent Van Goghs Sunflowers is one of the most recognisable paintings from Western art, and will bring a little bit of sunshine into your day - although expect its vicinity to be crowded with people taking pictures of it on their phones. (It will be on a rare temporary loan to Tate Britain this year, for a new Van Gogh exhibition.) Vincent Van Gogh, Sunflowers, 1888 / National Gallery, London The Ambassadors, painted by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1533, is much more than a painting of two surly looking men; view it from a certain point and youll see the eerie presence of a giant skull. Thomas Gainsboroughs Mr and Mrs Andrews (1750) remain one of arts most famous couples, sitting proudly amidst a bucolic English landscape. Many believe the unfinished spot on Mrs Andrews lap was intended to be filled in when she had a child. JMW Turners The Fighting Temeraire is regularly voted one of the nations favourite paintings, and it can be seen in its full glory at the National Gallery. Although the ship it depicts played a major role in Nelsons victory in the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar, the painting is interpreted by many as showing a loss of power. Bathers at Asnieres is one of pointillism pioneer Georges Seurat's early masterpieces. The serene scene depicts a group of pals relaxing by a river, and went on to be hugely influential in the world of Western painting. Artemisia Gentileschi, Self-portrait c. 1615-17 / National Gallery, London There are currently only 26 works by women within the gallerys 2,300 strong collection; a recently acquired self-portrait of 17th century painter Artemisia Gentileschi is a must-see. The Italian painter, who was influenced by her fathers friend Caravaggio, will be the subject of a major exhibition at the gallery in 2020. Whats new in 2019 at the gallery? Spanish Impressionist Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida comes back into the spotlight in March. Sorolla: Master of Spanish Light will be the first major UK exhibition of his work for over a hundred years, reigniting interest in a painter known as the master of light. In October, the gallery will hold one of the biggest shows of the year with the first ever exhibition of Paul Gaugins portraits. Are there guided tours at the National Gallery? There are free daily guided tours, which take place Monday to Friday at 2pm. These 60-minute tours are designed to give you an insight into highlights from the gallerys permanent collection. There are also short ten-minute talks about individual paintings, which take place Monday to Friday at 4pm and last for 10 minutes. If that whets your appetite, check out the gallerys programme of free lunchtime talks, which examine everything from #MeToo in the art world to unicorns in art. Where is the National Gallery in London? The National Gallery is at the top of Trafalgar Square in central London. How to get to the National Gallery The nearest tube stations are Charing Cross (Northern and Bakerloo lines), Embankment (Northern, Bakerloo, District and Circle lines), Leicester Square (Northern and Piccadilly lines) and Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly and Bakerloo lines). When are the National Gallery's opening hours? The National Gallery is open everyday Monday to Sunday, from 10am to 6pm. It stays open until 9pm every Friday. (It closes on January 1 and December 24-26.) Is the National Gallery free? Yes! The National Gallery is completely free to enter and visit the world-famous permanent collection and numerous displays. There is an extra charge for some of the gallerys temporary exhibitions. In a nutshell T he year has seen social division and upheaval across Europe, with the whiff of revolution on the streets of Paris. Potent new ideas have been promoted by new media. The very notions of the state, the nation, international borders, treaties and alliances are called into question. The year in question is 1848, which experienced a form of European Spring akin to the Arab Spring of 2011, in a dozen countries and regions of the continent and South America. The resonances and similarities of the 1848 revolutions with the crisis in Europe and its semi-detached neighbour, the UK, in 2019 were drawn out in a brilliant lecture in London last week by Professor Christopher Clark of St Catharines College, Cambridge, author of The Sleepwalkers, his masterly account of the origins of the First World War. Then as now, in 1848, concepts of politics, parties, leaders and national movements were in violent flux. Parties with charismatic leaders became cults, with unquestioned beliefs, rather than vehicles for political association and dialogue. Behind the main political action were those who felt left behind the sense of being forgotten and ignored that fuels so much of the anger against Europe in the UK, and against authority in general among the gilets jaunes of France, or the disinherited youth support for the Five Star movement in Italy. The anger and sense of dislocation has brought a shift in the language of politics and the politics of language, in ways that seem to have taken most of us by surprise. New codes and modes of communication convey the depth of alienation and exclusion that underlie the sense of political impasse and collective social pessimism that pervades embryonic-Brexit Britain. In 1848, new means of print distribution saw the Communist Manifesto workers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your chains launched on the same day in Brussels and London, and catch on like wildfire. Here the analogy with 1848 ends. The new media of the past decade really are new, a new means of communicating, proselytising, subverting. They do not encourage dialogue or exchange of ideas. Twitter is the vehicle for outrageous statement, pungent sermons in 140 or 240 characters. Denigration and denial can be crude and insidious. Why does Anna Soubry appear on television so much? a Corbyn supporter asked recently, with faux innocence. Robert Fox Political concepts, as well as the political lexicon, have been turned on their head. The value as well as the performance of parliamentarians are called into question by the new populists. Last week David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, told a BBC interviewer: Parliament is important but it will always be trumped by the people, implying that he is now the peoples champion. In the BBCs ubiquitous vox- pop street interviews we are repeatedly informed that the people have spoken and that MPs are bound to follow, not lead, their voters. The new plebiscitary politics induced by the 2016 referendum are assumed by a swathe of commentators to require that parliamentarians become delegates, not elected representatives. The real people have finally spoken, Nigel Farage said of the referendum result in June 2016. So what happens to the 48 per cent who didnt vote this way? Overnight they appeared to have become non-people with a suddenness that the Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha would have envied. In Parliament we now have majority votes against the Government that dont count meaningful votes that turn out to be pretty meaningless. A defeat for a sitting prime minister of 230 votes seems seismic, yet the present incumbent feels she can tough it out, to quit only on her own terms. We have a new phenomenon of alibi politics, of always bending political rhetoric to blame someone else This seems to make a nonsense of the sovereignty of Parliament, the keystone to constitutional practice and reform from Henry VIIIs split with Rome, Parliament facing down Charles I and the so-called Glorious Revolution of 1688, which set the constitutional monarchy in stone. If Parliament was seen to be out of touch, or failing, the notion was of reform to widen the franchise of bringing the people into Parliament. This is now reversed. The inference from the 2016 referendum is that Parliament is brought to the people, whoever they may be, according to the populist riff in current vogue. The historian Peter Hennessy sees this as the new phenomenon of alibi politics, of always bending political rhetoric to blame someone else. Presumably, after March 29 we will have a deluge of alibi politics. The crisis of public language was elegantly diagnosed in a 1965 essay translated as The Anti-language by the great Italian novelist and essayist Italo Calvino. We suffer from anti-language, whereby officials of all walks hide behind terrible jargon. We do this to hide from real meaning and real responsibility. The jihadi bride Shamima Begum seems like a victim following this kind of displacement by the Home Office. The mangling and deception of anti-language causes semantic terror, says Calvino presciently. His argument is finer, even, than Orwells invention of doublethink and newspeak in his novel 1984. What both he and Calvino would make of the plague of semantic terror wrought by social media and electronic platforms can only be guessed. The absence of real political and policy dialogue, and clear unambiguous expression, has been cited by several of the Independent Group MPs quitting their parties this week. There is too much shouting and too little listening. Last words on the language politics crisis of 2019 are elusive, but some of the best words came from the Queen talking to the WI of Sandringham last month. D uring my years at Vogue, I found it hard not to be seduced by the wonderful world of Chanel. Im still seduced. At Chanel Couture 18 months ago, sat under the vast glass ceiling of the Grand Palais, it was the only time emotion got the better of me at my then soon departure from my happy workplace. I blubbed quietly through the whole thing, bereft that this magical world wouldnt be part of mine for much longer. There is no other fashion house like Chanel. Its make-up in that iconic monochrome palette is able every time to signal instant elegance from the depths of my chaotic handbag; the incredible craftsmanship of its ateliers remains unbeaten by its competitors. The sheer flamboyance and magic of its fairy-tale creations mean every show trafficks better on social media than any other. For the past 36 years this has all been down to Karl Lagerfeld, Chanels iconic creative director, who died this week, aged 85. I only met him properly just the once in Saint Tropez at one of his Cruise collections. My best friend, who knew the designer extremely well, dragged me over to say hello, saying he loved to meet new people Lagerfelds relentless hunt for the avant-garde, his adoption of pop culture and his erudite obsessions were what powered his dizzying success. That weekend in 2010, despite his kingly status, with his powdered white hair, dark glasses and fingerless gloves, he appeared to me rather shy, tired, slightly apart from the animated crowd around him. The caricature he had created of himself was the perfect armour to hide behind. I was too tongue-tied to say much. My brother had no such qualms. He charged in to chat animatedly about art and was soon perched on Lagerfelds knee, causing him to laugh uproariously. What strikes me now is that the designer was already in his mid-Seventies that weekend. His tenure has been startlingly long for an industry that churns out designers as fast as seasonal trends. Kaiser Karl would reign for another 10 and died quite literally on the job, an industrious workaholic to the end. Many close to him are naturally devastated. I do not like funerals and I do not want anyone to come to mine, he once said. And he was not exaggerating his ashes are to be placed without service alongside his long-gone lover and mother. But it was time for change at Chanel. That Im excited about Lagerfelds replacement doesnt negate how much I respect his historic achievements. I bet hell be cheering his successor (Phoebe Philo? Virgil Abloh?) from the pearly gates. How could he not, when he so acutely understood the pull of the new? "My brother charged in to talk about art and was soon perched on Lagerfelds knee, making him laugh" In recent years, Lagerfelds comments about women had also increasingly felt out of step. He belittled the #MeToo movement and many called him out for fat-shaming. The fashion world has taken to Instagram to pay tribute, but read the comments below and the younger crowd are less convinced. Perhaps its not surprising this generation didnt connect with him he was born 73 years before the launch of the iPhone (even though he carried three wherever he went). What I love best in life is new starts, he once said. He was in his day the radical newcomer, breathing electricity into the worlds most revered fashion brand. And now its the right time for our next innovator, a new voice for the next generation. Adieu, King Karl. Looks like sorrys not going out of style Meanwhile, in Milan, fashion continues in permanent apology mode. Yesterday was the Gucci show and the brands creative director, Alessandro Michele, again repeated his heartfelt contrition for their blackface sweater (both Prada and Katy Perrys clothing brand have also been in the firing line for similarly insulting accessories). Burberry has been forced to apologise for a nautically themed accessory that looked like a hanging noose. Meanwhile Boo Hoo, the British fast-fashion retailer, had to quickly reverse its ban wool promise last weekend after being widely ridiculed because of its outright refusal to commit to any form of sustainability, while landfill soars and its garments get ever cheaper. (Never mind it had no wool items, so just a cynically conceived PR stunt). The New York fashion magazine W also took a hit the week after posting a photograph of Miley Cyrus writhing around half naked between the feet of a suited man. Not surprisingly there were howls of rage. Although the shoot was five years old, what possessed them to repost it? For an industry that prides itself on challenging the past, its clearly in the throes of old habits. Looks like sorry is one trend thats going to continue. Barack Obama / AP Barack Obama, pictured above in a 44 bomber jacket can we just discuss? Is it me or is the former president looking damn hot? Not since the Kennedys have a White House couple exuded such confident good looks (and Kennedy had some fairly creepy habits around women). M etro Bank was a surprise winner on Friday as it claimed the biggest chunk of funding to shake up competition in small business banking despite recent controversy over its accounts. Metro, Starling and ClearBank are the three successful bidders from the first stage of a 775 million scheme paid for by Royal Bank of Scotland under an EU ruling over its state funding. Metro gets 120 million, Starling 100 million and ClearBank 60 million. The losers include TSB, CYBG and the Co-op Bank, which all applied for the cash dished out by the Banking Competition Remedies body. They remain in the running for other pools of cash as does Nationwide, regarded as a likely winner at some stage. The award surprised banking watchers, one of whom described the convoluted nature of the scheme as lunatic. But its a result for Metro, which is under fire over an accounting error which undermined its capital position and put pressure on chief executive Craig Donaldson. Donaldson said the money will help us bring much-needed competition to the underserved SME hotspots in the North. But some say the process of handing out the cash has been tortuous and hard to understand. They argue few customers are willing to switch accounts, especially to new players with unproven track records. Stuart Chalmers, head of UK commercial banking at Accenture, said: The high level of SMEs unwilling to switch places the onus on competitors to develop a distinct offering and communicate the long-term benefits. With strong customer loyalty and unconvincing switching incentives, the RBS Remedies Packages goal to disrupt the market looks currently unachievable. Todays trio claim they will have a 25% market share in five years, which rivals think unlikely. TSB, hit by major IT problems last year, missed out. Edwin Morgan, interim director general of the IoD, said: After seeing some scandalous mistreatment of companies in recent years our members have an increasing appetite for trying something new when it comes to external finance. Battle for 275 million On Monday the next stage of the byzantine bank competition scheme will see nine banks bidding to grab individual business customers. SMEs banking with RBS will be invited to view offers from the competing banks to switch away, with incentives that could run to thousands of pounds to move. Back when I was in seventh grade, I ran for class president. And, as a candidate, I was required to give a speech at a school assembly to about 500 of my fellow students. I did so, with a level of enthusiasm that surprised even myself. Related: Warren Buffett Took a Public-Speaking Course, and So Should You In fact, as I delivered that rousing, long-ago speech, I realized that I loved speaking in front of an audience. So, that's what I worked on in the years that followed. Through the long, winding trail of my career, I polished my skills to become the professional speaker I am today. According to PowerPoint statistics, Americans spend approximately 15 million person-hours per day viewing presentations. But here's what I've come to realize as a speaker myself: There are common beliefs,about speaking which people refer to all the time. Yet the irony is that these beliefs are completely wrong -- they're myths, really -- myths that have become part of the conventional wisdom about presenting. As Walmart founder Sam Walton once said, Swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. Here are some myths about presenting that we all need to turn away from. If you do that, you'll realize that the truth can help you become a much more effective presenter and dramatically increase your impact. Related: 6 Easy Tips for Conquering Your Fear of Public Speaking (Infographic) Myth 1: I must use a lectern and stand behind it. In conducting hundreds of presentation skills classes, I've heard many participants in my classes say: I have to stand behind the lectern! When I ask why, they offer one of the following responses: That is where I am supposed to stand. That is where I feel comfortable. I need to stand here because this is where my notes are. That is where my microphone is located. Its where the audience can see me. Yes, in the old days, people stood at lecterns. Those were the rules back then, but those days are over. In today's world where people are entertained continuously, we need to make sure our presentations are content rich and highly entertaining. News flash: It is not entertaining for your audience to see you standing behind a block of wood. Instead, a lectern is a barrier, a large object between you and the audience. If you have notes, you can carry them, and every room where I've ever presented has portable microphones. If you watch clergymen and women, and professional speakers, my estimate is that 99 percent of them come out from behind the lectern because they know it is essential to connect with the audience. Myth 2: I "must" use PowerPoint. According to research reported on the PollEverywhere blog, there are more than 35 million PowerPoint presentations made each day. That is mind-boggling. Everyone uses PowerPoint. Some clients we work with tell us their company requires every presentation have a deck. That way people who cant make it to the presentation can read the deck. In my opinion, though, there are some serious issues with PowerPoint. For many presenters, the tool becomes their presentation; instead of using PowerPoint to support their essential points it becomes the script for the presentation, and to make matters worse, it's read to the audience. Big mistake: Reading to the audience is a guaranteed prescription for boredom. The audience is comprised of adults, and they can read the screen themselves. So, reading to them will insult their intelligence and they will check out mentally and, sadly, not come back. If you must use PowerPoint, use it only to reinforce key points, not all points. I have seen many presentations with over 90 slides, which can be overwhelming. If you can avoid PowerPoint, use a handout instead and transform your presentation into a conversation. Myth 3: I must start my presentation with a joke. Terrible advice, and by far one of the worst myths about presenting I have heard. In my career, I have seen many people try this and fail miserably. Lets face it; comedy is an art. It is something that professional comedians work on for years. If you are not a professional comedian, please dont try telling a joke to start your presentation. If your joke does not go over well or isnt funny, you have begun your presentation on a weak note. As professional comedian Steven Wright said, Only one in four jokes ever works, and I still can't predict what people will laugh at. It is hard to recover from the bad joke once you bomb. The other risk about a joke is you may also offend someone. You are better off starting with a real story about something that has happened to you that is cute or funny, and one that is related to your topic. The story may not make people laugh out loud, but maybe they will be amused and smile. It is lower risk and has a better chance of being impactful. Myth 4: I have a dry topic, and I cant make it interesting. Saying this is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you decide in advance your topic is dry, then guess what? It will be! I believe you can make any subject interesting. The key is to find out why it matters to you, why it matters to them (the audience) and what you can be passionate about on this subject. As Seth Godin once said Communication is about getting others to adopt your point of view, to help them understand why youre excited. If all you want to do is create a file of facts and figures, then cancel the meeting and send in a report. Even if your presentation is highly technical, it can be interesting. I recently had the experience of seeing this in action: I was doing training for a client, but right after my presentation, an IT person was going to give a brief presentation on the topic of safe internet passwords for security. I hung around to watch. And his speech was amazing! The presenter used stories and a funny cartoon, displayed energy and was funny. He made everyone care about passwords, which was not easy to do. He helped them understand why his topic was important. I even heard someone say after he was done, Well, I hate to admit, it but that wasnt boring, and it was great! Myth 5: I should hold all questions to the end of my presentation. Here is the reality. If people have questions, they would like to ask them when they think of them. The other advantage of this approach is you can get more engagement from the audience earlier. Why do people ask that questions be held? We are afraid to lose control, but we can control how many questions are asked and can watch our overall time. If you wait until the end of your presentation, most people won't even remember what they wanted to ask. Let people ask questions as you go. Related: Wringing the Fear out of Public Speaking Want more help? I have an entire season of my podcast Winning Edge At Work dedicated to improving your presentation skills. If you watch, you'll hear me say that with some practice and hard work, you can be the kind of presenter that people want to watch. Related: 5 Myths About Presenting and How Overcoming Them Can Increase Your Impact Warren Buffett Took a Public-Speaking Course, and So Should You Pitch Perfect: Six Sales Presentation Techniques That Eliminates Nerves Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved The appeal of behemoth social networks like Facebook is slowly declining. Many social media users are growing tired of scrolling through feeds only to see what friends and family are eating or to read political debates. Younger social media users, especially, are turning to niche social networks to express their creativity and connect with friends or other people with similar interests. As a result, a number of new social apps are cropping up to fulfill this need for more interest-based social networking. Many of these platforms also allow users to hide their identities, giving users a sense of security and permitting them to share their thoughts or express themselves without judgment. Related: The Future of Social Media Platforms and Ways in Which Businesses Can Utilize Them Marketers who are aware of how social networking is evolving and how these new social channels are gaining popularity can discover ways to connect with their target audiences more effectively. Here are some of the emerging social apps to watch in 2019. 1. Virtual avatars turned influencers. Businesses of all sizes are putting money behind influencer marketing campaigns in an effort to expand their reach and boost brand awareness. According to research from the World Federation of Advertisers, 65 percent of multinational brands are planning to increase their spending on influencer marketing in 2019. The demand for quality, credible influencers continues to rise and nano influencers (someone with around 5,000 followers), micro influencers (someone with approximately 50,000 followers) and now virtual influencers, are saturating the market. With so many choices, brands can now be more selective in choosing which influencers they want to work with and in which way they want to work with them. As the influencer marketing world continues to develop, some fascinating social networks are emerging around it. A popular new 3D avatar, or virtual influencer, app called Zepeto recently shot to the number one spot in the iOS app store. Zepeto allows users to customize their own avatars with virtual outfits, hairstyles and accessories. It became an overnight sensation in China. The app is now picking up steam in the U.S. Virtual avatars are nothing new, however, upgraded technology such as facial recognition is helping take the concept to the next level. Many brands quickly realized the marketing potential for user-generated content on Zepeto. A quick search for Zepeto-related hashtags on Instagram reveals thousands of Zepeto avatars, many sporting their favorite brands. Social features-- such as private chats, games and virtual selfies with other users -- also make Zepeto an app to watch as social media users increasingly turn to secondary accounts to express other versions of themselves. Other virtual avatar social apps to watch include: Coey. An avatar-based networking app that allows users to ask questions, share knowledge, meet people and more. Genies. A social app to create highly-customized, lifelike avatars to chat with friends. Soon users will be able to use their avatars in games. Related: 10 Influencer Marketing Trends to Keep Your Eye On 2. Private messaging. In 2018, the total number of monthly active users of the top four messaging apps reached 4.1 billion. Whats more, users are spending more time on messaging apps, up to 12 minutes per day, and its estimated that more than 70 percent of all social sharing now takes place on messaging apps. For marketers who rely heavily on social networking to get in front of their target audiences, messaging apps provide numerous opportunities. A Twilio study revealed that 66 percent of consumers now prefer to reach brands, or be reached by brands, through messaging apps. Many brands have already introduced chat bots as a way to provide customer support. Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger are the undisputed leaders in this space; however, new messaging apps like Kik are presenting brands with more promising features to engage with their audiences more intimately. With well over 300 million users and 6,000 bots, Kik is now a top 10 app among teenagers and young adults based in the U.S. On Kik, users can access public chats on any topic or interest, or they can search for bots. Kik bots can be educational, funny, games or brand-based. Big brands such as Sephora and H&M are leveraging the private social app to share products, offer personalized styling services and help customers build style profiles. Other private messaging social apps to watch include: Imo. A private messaging and video app that reached the no. 1 spot in September 2018. Slack. A popular app for workplace communication, Slack is also becoming a place for brands -- primarily B2B -- to help existing customers share feedback, solve issues or participate in research. 3. Hey there, neighbor. Neighborhood social networking apps are appealing to the $130 billion local advertising industry. These apps offer private feeds for neighbors to share local stories, recommendations and advice. Arguably the most popular social app in this space is Nextdoor, which currently has a presence in more than 175,000 neighborhoods, or approximately 85 percent of the U.S. Nextdoor users send more than four million private messages a day on the app, and businesses can join the conversation by setting up a Nextdoor business page. With a Nextdoor business page, businesses can add basic information about their services, contact information, a link to their website and view the number of recommendations received from neighbors. Statistics on how many neighborhoods can view the business page and the ability to thank neighbors for their recommendations are simple but powerful ways to understand and get in front of local audiences. As Nextdoor rises in popularity, more competing neighborhood social apps are likely to emerge. Marketers should watch these networks closely as they can be great places to deliver hyper-local content. Other hyper-local, neighborhood social apps to watch include: Hoodi. A private neighborhood app that allows users to connect with their neighbors. Neighbourly. Googles latest hyper-local app that allows users to crowdsource answers to their questions from people in their community. Related: 5 Simple, Science-Backed Ways Entrepreneurs Can Connect With Gen Z Whats next. The social apps mentioned above should be on every marketers radar in 2019. Video apps like Tik Tok (short, mobile videos) and Houseparty (group video chats) are also grabbing the attention of younger audiences -- and worth watching. Though these platforms are primarily built for existing friendships or relationships, making it difficult for marketers to squeeze their way in, partnering with influencers on these apps could be a good start. Theres no way of knowing what will be the next Facebook or Instagram, but marketers should always be on the lookout for the next big thing. Related: 4 Reasons Why Social Media Has Become So Toxic and What to Look for Next 3 Trends That Are Redefining Social Networking Ayesha Curry Shares How She Took Her Love of Cooking and Food and Built a 'Homemade' Empire Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media STAMFORDA Stamford man is facing as many as 20 years in prison after being found guilty by a federal jury in Bridgeport of being in possession of 13 grams of cocaine. Norman Peters, 38, was found guilty of one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. His sentencing has not yet been scheduled. GREENWICH Finding common ground as a politically divided nation is the biggest challenge U.S. Rep. Jim Himes believes the country will face in the coming years. While the Fourth District congressman is celebrating recent wins that gave Democrats control of the U.S. House of Representatives, he said a daunting task looms ahead. We have a huge project in coming back together and getting away from a world where we are asked to be angry at each other, Himes said at a Thursday night meeting at Eastern Middle School hosted by the Greenwich and Stamford chapters of Indivisible. Give a little bit of thought into stitching ourselves back together as a country. In an hourlong question-and-answer session that covered everything from Russian interference and constitutional protections to border wall funding, Himes said winning elections isnt enough. Democrats also need to persuade citizens. I dont know exactly how we do that, he said. We need to form relationships people (with different views). Lets invite people into our way of thinking and listen to their way of thinking. Himes told the crowd in the middle school auditorium about an experience he said will stay with him for a long time. I went to Sikorsky in Bridgeport this morning, he said. Two-thirds of the workers were wearing Trump T-shirts. Ill be chewing on that for a couple of weeks. The congressman admitted he didnt know what to make of the experience. I suspect in part what caused them to put on those T-shirts is their concern that a guy like me doesnt hear their economic pain, said Himes. I spend a lot of time talking about things that may be a little abstract to those guys. But issues such as gun safety and family separation at the border are among the abstract issues Himes said he will never stop talking about. Im not sure those guys will be too happy if I talk about those issues when they think about the fact that they cant afford to send their kids to college, he said. I hope the guys I saw today will realize the president handed their kids a huge amount debt to pay off wealthy people and corporations. Those workers, Himes said, represent the thinking of many blue-collar workers across the U.S. And for Democrats to win the presidency in 2020, the party needs to show economically disadvantaged citizens what it has done to make their lives better, he said. While rebuilding the common ground among liberals and conservatives, Himes said its important to not lose sight of the fact that nothing about Donald Trumps presidency is normal. We cant get comfortable with bigotry, with racism, with people who muse about white supremacy, he said. Thats hard to do when the president tweets five times before lunch. We get desensitized to it. But we cant let our energy dissipate when we have constitutional crises. Himes urged the crowd to continue to mobilize politically and stand up for their values. There are lots of ways to reassert the decency thats at the core of who we are, said Himes. When the Smithsonian opened the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C., in 1987, its namesake was hailed as a philanthropist and connoisseur who had amassed one of the world's greatest collections of Asian art. Now the Smithsonian is one of several blue-chip cultural institutions dealing with the blowback from the Sackler family's other legacy - the American opioid crisis. The most dramatic of these recent demonstrations occurred last weekend, when viral videos showed hundreds of activists chanting, "Shame on Sackler" inside the Guggenheim Museum, as they rained fake prescriptions through the cavernous atrium, where empty pill bottles rolled on the floor in protest of the family at the center of the ongoing public health epidemic. The Sackler name is displayed in museums worldwide in recognition of gifts made by Arthur Sackler; his brothers, Mortimer and Raymond; and, after their deaths, their heirs. For more than five decades, individually and jointly, Sackler family members have donated to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, the American Museum of Natural History and the Dia Art Foundation. There's a Sackler gallery at the Princeton University Art Museum and Sackler museums at Harvard University and Peking University in Beijing. The family and its foundations also have donated to European cultural institutions, including the Louvre in Paris, and London's Royal Academy, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate Modern and the Old Vic theater. They have supported science education and research, with schools, institutes and centers named for them at Tufts, Cornell, New York and Yale universities, among others. But the Sackler name is becoming increasingly tied to the opioid crisis, thanks to the efforts of activists who have spotlighted the source of Mortimer and Raymond Sackler's wealth: the pharmaceutical giant Purdue Pharma, which since 1996 has manufactured and marketed the highly addictive painkiller OxyContin. Lawsuits have been filed, and protesters have used social media and demonstrations to raise awareness of what they call tainted donations. Students and arts advocates have called on the museums to renounce the donors and remove their names from their buildings. Three decades after Arthur Sackler's death, his family's legal problems and deteriorating public image are proving to be a grave threat to his cultural legacy. --- Arthur Sackler, who died four months before the Sackler Gallery opening, had donated 1,000 works worth an estimated $50 million to the Smithsonian, along with $4 million for a museum to house them. His gift created a world-class center of Asian art and culture adjacent to the Freer Gallery of Art, which opened on the National Mall in 1923 to showcase the collection of Detroit businessman Charles Lang Freer. Sackler made his fortune as a physician and medical marketer who popularized Valium and other drugs through direct advertising to doctors. In the 1960s, he became publisher of the Medical Tribune, a weekly newsletter to doctors. He was posthumously inducted into the Medical Advertising Hall of Fame. The Sackler brothers bought Purdue Frederick Co. in 1952, and Raymond and Mortimer bought out Arthur's one-third share after his death. Purdue Pharma was formed in 1991. In 2007 - 20 years after Arthur Sackler's death - Purdue Pharma and three of its executives pleaded guilty to misleading doctors about OxyContin's potential for abuse and paid more than $600 million in fines. But recent lawsuits for the first time name members of the family that profits from the company with participating in the deception. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 400,000 Americans died of opioid overdoses between 1999 and 2017. Not all were related to OxyContin. Controversial donors are not a new phenomenon - think of the robber barons Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller and Henry Clay Frick - but they have become increasingly problematic in today's polarized climate. Consumers boycott products advertised on television shows they don't like, and alumni pressure universities to rename buildings paid for by disgraced donors. Concerns about income inequality have challenged the very notion of allowing billionaires to gild their reputations by making tax-deductible gifts that result in their names being etched in stone. Public opinion is divided about whether the money should be returned or the names removed. But observers all agree - the problem is only getting worse. "It is more difficult and more salient now because we are more aware of built-in inequities," said Amir Pasic, dean of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. "Putting people's names on a building in today's atmosphere seems to be giving people of privilege something extra. We're more allergic to elevating some people over others." Outrage over the source of the Sacklers' wealth and what some view as their complicity in the epidemic have led to guerrilla protests by the anti-opioid group Prescription Addiction Intervention Now (PAIN). On Saturday at the Guggenheim, they launched a surprise protest - as they did last year at Harvard, the Met and the Smithsonian. Photographer Nan Goldin, who started PAIN after she says she became addicted to OxyContin, has spent the past year calling on arts institutions to remove the Sackler name, publicly denounce the family and refuse future gifts. The group's protest at the Guggenheim, home to the Sackler Center for Arts Education, funded by a gift from the Mortimer D. Sackler Family, was one of its largest. "We're raising awareness. It's getting out there," Goldin said. A Purdue Pharma spokesman said the company continues to support initiatives in law enforcement, education and health care aimed at addressing the opioid crisis. It says its opioid medications account for less than 2 percent of all opioid prescriptions. "Purdue Pharma is deeply concerned about the toll the opioid addiction crisis is having on individuals and communities across the nation, and we are committed to working collaboratively with those affected by this public health crisis on meaningful solutions to help stem the tide of opioid-related overdose deaths," the spokesman said in a statement. --- The issue of toxic donors is even more complicated in the case of the Sackler family, which is worth an estimated $13 billion. Its three branches and multiple generations are often - and, according to some descendants, unfairly - lumped together as a single entity. "It is a gross injustice to blame my late husband, Arthur Sackler, for the public health crisis surrounding opioids," Jillian Sackler, who continues to support the Sackler Gallery, said in a statement Monday to The Washington Post. "Arthur was never involved in Purdue Pharma, a company owned by his brothers Mortimer and Raymond and their families; he had nothing to do with OxyContin. "This drug came onto the market nearly a decade after Arthur's death in 1987. He never profited from it, nor is his estate named in any lawsuit. Not a penny of his philanthropy derived from the sale of OxyContin, and it is a disservice to the institutions he founded to suggest otherwise. Arthur would be horrified to see how this drug has been misused and would be working to find solutions." Smithsonian officials said that the gift agreement with Arthur Sackler, signed in 1982, included naming rights in perpetuity and that they had no plans to remove the name or return the donated money or art. "We give careful consideration to the process of naming," Smithsonian spokeswoman Linda St. Thomas said in a statement. "The museum was named in recognition of Sackler's generous gift to the Smithsonian. The donation agreement requires the Smithsonian to designate the facility as the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in perpetuity." The museum's director, Chase F. Robinson, declined to comment. Since her husband's death, Jillian Sackler has been a significant donor to the gallery, contributing more than $6 million, including a donation last year. Other gifts from the family include $1.4 million from the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, run by Arthur's daughter, Elizabeth, and $88,000 from Theresa Sackler, Mortimer's widow, whose most recent gift was 2016, according to the Smithsonian. While standing by the Sackler name, the Smithsonian no longer accepts naming gifts in perpetuity. In 2011, at the launch of a national fundraising campaign, it adopted a policy that limits naming of spaces to a "term of 20 years or until the next major renovation," St. Thomas said. Institutions have several options when faced with problematic gifts, said Pasic, the Indiana University dean. "Should they consider a new name? Would it be appropriate to give the money back in some way? There are no easy answers," Pasic said, adding that families with multiple branches and generations make the situation that much more complicated. "What do you do? Decide these are the bad Sacklers, these are the OK Sacklers?" A thoughtful discussion is required, he said, one that focuses on the changing perceptions of the donors and changing attitudes of constituents. "It goes to the core of the identity of the institution. This is a different era. A different time." 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. In its first flight with a test passenger on board, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity flew into the Mojave sunrise this morning (Feb. 22) and soared to an altitude of 55.87 miles (89.9 kilometers), just two months after its first flight to space. WhiteKnightTwo, the plane that lifts VSS Unity high enough to fire its motor, took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port launch site in California a few minutes after 11 a.m. EST (1400 GMT). Unity separated about an hour into the flight, then fired its motor. During the flight, VSS Unity reached a top speed of Mach 3.0 and reached a maximum altitude 4.4 miles (7 km) higher than Virgin Galactic's historic Dec. 13 flight . Take a look at the flight path our SpaceShipTwo will take during our fifth supersonic powered test flight. The flight window opens again tomorrow. More info on our flight test program can be found here https://t.co/FPuuC0NHoM pic.twitter.com/riEiledjo6February 21, 2019 See more Onboard the flight were copilots Dave Mackay, who is the company's chief pilot, and Michael "Sooch" Masucci, each of whom has clocked more than 10,000 hours in the air. A third Virgin Galactic staff member, Beth Moses, who is the company's chief astronaut instructor, was also aboard. Moses, who has completed 400 flights at 0 g, was onboard to provide more data about how human bodies experience SpaceShipTwo flights and what the in-cabin experience is like for passengers. The flight also carried four payloads provided by NASA. Those experiments will provide scientists with data about the implications of microgravity on how liquids and gases interact, how payloads vibrate and how dust particles behave, as well as testing electromagnetic field sensor equipment. Today's flight was originally been scheduled for Feb. 20, but was delayed on account of bad weather in Mojave. During the company's fifth powered test flight on Feb. 22, 2019, copilots Dave Mackay and Mike "Sooch" Masucci took the VSS Unity space plane to an altitude of 55.4 miles (90 kilometers). (Image credit: Virgin Galactic/Twitter) Today's successful flight marks the second time that VSS Unity has reached an altitude of more than 50 miles (80 km) above Earth, the line that some people use to define the boundary of space. (Others stick with the more stringent 62-mile, 100-km, marker.) Virgin Galactic is planning to carry space tourists on suborbital flights for $250,000 apiece. Company founder Richard Branson has said that he hopes to take his own first flight on July 16, 2019, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Israel's first space mission is on its way to the moon! A used SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched an Israeli moon lander along with an Indonesian communications satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida tonight (Feb. 21). After deploying its two payloads into orbit, the Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth and aced a landing (the third for this booster) on SpaceX's drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You," which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Liftoff occurred at 8:45 p.m. EST (0145 Feb. 22 GMT) just as the moon rose above the horizon here. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the SpaceIL moon lander and satellites for Indonesia and the U.S. military streaks into space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on Feb. 21, 2019. (Image credit: SpaceX) Although the primary payload for this mission was Indonesia's satellite, named Nusantara Satu, the tiny moon lander that hitched a ride with the satellite as a secondary payload stole the show today. It became not only the first Israeli spacecraft to venture beyond Earth's orbit, but also the first-ever privately funded moon mission. Related: Launch Photos: SpaceX Lofts Israeli Moon Lander, Satellites Beresheet: Israel's 1st moonshot An artist's depiction of the Beresheet lander on the moon's surface. (Image credit: SpaceIL) Today's launch was a momentous occasion for Israel, a small country that has never launched a mission into space, save for a handful of communications satellites and Earth-observation satellites that never left Earth's orbit. The lander, named Beresheet (meaning "in the beginning" in Hebrew), was built by the Israeli nonprofit organization SpaceIL, which began working on this mission in 2011 as a contestant in the Google Lunar X Prize. That international competition offered $30 million to whichever privately funded team could land a robotic spacecraft on the moon. When none of the teams were able to reach that goal before the deadline, the competition ended without a winner . But that didn't stop SpaceIL from pursuing its goal. "We have a vision to show off Israel's best qualities to the entire world," Sylvan Adams, a SpaceIL donor and Canadian-Israeli philanthropist, said during a pre-launch briefing in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday (Feb. 20). "Tiny, tiny Israel is about to become the fourth nation to land on the moon, and this is a remarkable thing because we continue to demonstrate our ability to punch far above our weight and to show off our skills, our innovation [and] our creativity in tackling any difficult problem that could possibly exist." If the mission is successful, Israel will be both the fourth nation and the fourth-largest nation to land on the moon, he added. Related: Israel's Beresheet Moon Lander in Pictures Beresheet will spend seven weeks making its way to the moon, swinging by Earth a few times and using our planet's gravity to build the momentum it needs to get to its destination. If Beresheet successfully executes a soft landing on the lunar surface, Israel will become the fourth nation to achieve such a landing on the moon, following in the footsteps of the world's "space superpowers" the United States, Russia and China. The first soft landing on the moon was achieved by the Soviet Union's Luna 9 spacecraft in 1966. NASA's Surveyor 1 spacecraft touched down on the lunar surface later that year. China joined the scene in 2013 with its Chang'e 3 lander and Yutu rover. "We thought it's about time for a change, and we want to get little Israel all the way to the moon," Yonatan Winetraub, a co-founder of SpaceIL, said during the briefing. "This is the purpose of SpaceIL." When Beresheet approaches the lunar surface, it will aim to touch down in a region called Mare Serenitatis, meaning "Sea of Serenity." The spacecraft will survive for only about two days before running out of power. During that time, it will study the moon's magnetic fields and take photos of the lunar surface along with some out-of-this-world selfies, Yigal Harel, head of the SpaceIL Spacecraft Program, said in the briefing. Once Beresheet's two days are up, the dead spacecraft won't be entirely useless. Mounted on the spacecraft is a laser retroreflector , a mirroring device that requires no power and can be used for space-to-ground communications via NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN). NASA contributed the device to this mission as part of an agreement with SpaceIL that would allow the startup company to utilize the DSN for its moon mission. Part of the time capsule on SpaceIL's Beresheet mooon lander, this small coin contains the text of the entire Hebrew Bible laser-etched onto its surface. (Image credit: Hanneke Weitering/Space.com) The retroreflector is not the only payload on board Beresheet that is designed to stand the test of time. SpaceIL has also included a time capsule in the spacecraft packed with digital files that hold information about the spacecraft and a variety of Israeli memorabilia. That includes a copy of Hebrew Bible, Hebrew songs, artwork created by Israeli children and a photo of Ilan Ramon , Israel's first and only astronaut. Inside the time capsule is an enormous digital database known as the Arch Lunar Library, a project of the nonprofit Arch Mission Foundation. The library contains "millions of documents from all around the world, different dictionaries [and] encyclopedias" on three laser-etched coins each about the size of a nickel, Winetraub said. "It's going to be the most densely packed artifact to reach the moon from information point of view, and it's going to stay there for future generations to see what is it like on Earth here in 2019." Nusantara Satu SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launches two satellites and Israel's first moon lander on Feb. 21, 2019. (Image credit: SpaceX) While Beresheet may be dominating the publicity for today's launch, the mission wouldn't be heading to the moon if it weren't for Indonesia's Nusantara Satu satellite and SpaceX's ability to offer ride-share missions. "We can't afford a full rocket ... so we basically do a ride share," Winetraub said. "This is Uber-style space exploration, so we're riding shotgun on the rocket." Also known as PSN-6, Nusantara Satu is a geostationary communications satellite built by the California-based aerospace company SSL for Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, Indonesia's first private telecommunications company. "Nusantara Satu is Indonesia's first high-throughput satellite that will serve to improve internet connectivity in the region," SpaceX officials said in a statement. "Additionally, the satellite's C-band and Ku-band transponders will be used for voice and data communications and video distribution throughout the Indonesian archipelago. One booster, three missions Beresheet and Nusantara Satu launched on a used Falcon 9 booster that had already traveled into space for two separate missions. Its maiden flight was for the Iridium-7 mission on July 25, 2018, when it launched 10 new Iridium communications satellites into orbit. After the booster stuck a drone-ship landing in the Pacific Ocean, SpaceX refurbished it and used it to launch Argentina's SAOCOM-1A Earth-observation satellite 11 weeks later. After successfully delivering SAOCOM-1A into orbit, the booster returned to Earth once more to touch down at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This is the second Falcon 9 booster to execute three successful launches and landings. In December 2018, a twice-flown booster launched 64 small satellites into orbit for the SSO-A Smallsat Express mission. That booster landed on SpaceX's West Coast drone ship, named "Just Read the Instructions," and could be refurbished for a historic fourth flight. By reusing rocket boosters, SpaceX aims to reduce the cost of spaceflight. Are those really baby frogs swimming out from the sun? A NASA spacecraft spotted jets shaped like tadpoles in regions of intense solar magnetic activity. These aren't living beings, of course. NASA says these "tadpoles" are entirely made up of superheated gas called plasma . It's the same kind of material that makes up about 99 percent of the observable universe. And what's more, the tadpoles may help solve a long-standing mystery, according to a statement from NASA . The sun has an intensely heated upper atmosphere called the corona, which is 200 times hotter than the solar surface. ( Temperatures in the corona range from 1.7 million degrees Fahrenheit or 1 million degrees Celsius, to more than 17 million F or 10 million C.) Related: The Sun's Wrath: Worst Solar Storms in History Scientists aren't sure what makes the sun's outer atmosphere so much hotter than the surface. It's a puzzling scientific question, and one that has practical implications. The corona releases charged particles that often make their way to Earth. During solar storms, the intense radiation can zap satellites or harm astronauts. The last such major event in the 1800s even shorted out telegraph lines . Understanding conditions on the corona can help researchers predict the behavior of such events. (Image credit: Abhishek Srivastava, IIT (BHU)/Joy Ng, NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center ) Scientists so far have two explanations for this solar heating, involving either so-called nanoflares or electromagnetic waves; in fact, the two competing phenomena may actually work together, NASA officials said in the statement. The nanoflare theory suggests that explosions may send energy into the sun's atmosphere; the explosions happen when magnetic-field lines connect and eject hot, charged particles. The electromagnetic-wave theory stipulates that a phenomenon called Alfven waves might shove charged particles into the sun's outer atmosphere. The tadpoles have a role to play in this debate: Researchers think these plasma balls may dump heat into the corona when the sun is very active, particularly when the sun is at the peak of its 11-year activity cycle. During solar maximums, the sun also has more sunspots, solar flares and coronal mass ejections of particles. Scientists found the tadpoles while looking at data from NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph. (IRIS). These tadpoles, also called pseudo-shocks, appear to come from sunspots (which are cooler magnetic regions on the sun) and then swim above the sun's surface to altitudes of more than 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers). That altitude is nearly half the diameter of planet Earth. "We were looking for waves and plasma ejecta, but instead, we noticed these dynamical pseudo-shocks," lead author Abhishek Srivastava, a researcher at the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) in Varanasi, India, said in the statement. The team ran computer simulations and found that the tadpoles may have enough plasma and energy to warm up the inner corona. They probably form when magnetic lines reconnect within sunspots. IRIS has been on solar watch for five years, along with many other satellites in NASA's heliophysics group. The latest addition is the Parker Solar Probe, which launched in 2018 to "touch" the solar corona during several flybys. Its close proximity to the sun may give more information about why the corona gets so hot. A paper based on the tadpole research was detailed last year in the journal Nature Astronomy. Russia's space agency Roscosmos has inked a deal with the U.S. space tourism company Space Adventures to fly two passengers to the International Space Station in 2021. And unlike past space tourists, these two passengers will fly together. Roscosmos officials said Tuesday (Feb. 19) that their agency signed a contract with Space Adventures to fly a pair of tourists (dubbed "spaceflight participants") on a single Soyuz spacecraft for a short-duration trip to space station. A veteran cosmonaut would presumably fill the third seat in the three-person Soyuz, though Roscosmos officials did not make that clear. The mission will be the first tourist flight to the station in 12 years, following the 2009 flight of Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte. Laliberte's flight, which cost a reported $35 million, was brokered by Space Adventures. Space Adventures has helped fly a series of super-wealthy tourists to the International Space Station over the last 18 years. All of the flights have had price tags in the tens of millions of dollars. The company also arranges weightless airplane flights, launch tours and other space experiences. In Photos: The World's First Space Tourists The first space tourist flight launched American millionaire Dennis Tito to the station for a week in 2001 for a reported $20 million. South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth launched next in 2002, spending 8 days in orbit for about the same price. In 2005, American entrepreneur Greg Olsen visited the station on a nine-day flight for $20 million. Entrepreneur Anousheh Ansari became the first female space tourist to visit the station in 2006. She spent 12 days in space for an undisclosed price. In 2007, Microsoft co-founder Charles Simonyi joined to space tourist club for the first time. He reportedly paid $25 million for a 13-day trip. Simonyi enjoyed the flight so much, he did it a second time. Simonyi returned to the International Space Station in 2009, this time paying a reported $35 million for the flight. He even bought the Soyuz capsule from that mission and donated it to a museum. Computer game developer Richard Garriott visited the space station in 2008 in between the Simonyi flights. Garriott, the son of NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, became the first American second-generation astronaut to fly in space. He reportedly paid $30 million for his 12-day flight. That brings us to Laliberte, who spent 11 days in space on his flight. Roscosmos did not detail the identities of who might fly on the 2021 Soyuz flight or how much it would cost per seat. Space Adventures has also not shared any details on the flight. "Over the last 18 years, our partnership has provided the opportunity for non-professionals to experience life in space. Our clients have spent in total close to three months in space and traveled over 36 million miles," Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson said in a statement. We look forward to continuing to work with Roscosmos in the pursuit of opening the space frontier to all. Editor's note: This story was updated at 7:28 p.m. EST to include comments from Space Adventures. This is the most detailed view of the distant object Ultima Thule. The photo is a processed composite combining nine individual images taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft just 6.5 minutes before the spacecraft's closest approach to Ultima Thule on Jan. 1, 2019. The best-ever photos of Ultima Thule have made it down to Earth, and they heighten the intrigue about the frigid and faraway world. On New Year's Day, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft zoomed past the 21-mile-long (34 kilometers) Ultima Thule, setting a record for the most distant planetary encounter in history . (Ultima lies about 1 billion miles, or 1.6 billion km, beyond Pluto, which New Horizons flew by in July 2015.) New Horizons has been beaming flyby data and imagery home to its handlers ever since, and will continue to do so for another 18 months. The early returns have been spectacular, revealing Ultima Thule to be a weird snowman-pancake hybrid with mysterious features, such as a bright "collar' where the body's two lobes meet. [ New Horizons at Ultima Thule: Full Coverage ] And now we have our best look yet. New flyby photos released today (Feb. 22) show Ultima in even more stunning detail, capturing bright circular features and dark pits, whose origins remain mysterious. "Whether these features [the pits] are craters produced by impactors, sublimation pits, collapse pits or something entirely different is being debated in our science team," New Horizons Deputy Project Scientist John Spencer, of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado, said in a statement. The newly released images boast a resolution of about 110 feet (33 meters) per pixel. They're the highest-resolution pictures New Horizons has ever taken, and may ever take during its operational life, mission team members said. The photos were captured just 6.5 minutes before the craft's closest approach on Jan. 1. At the time, New Horizons was 4,109 miles (6,628 km) from Ultima Thule and 4.1 billion miles (6.6 billion km) from Earth, mission team members said. (Closest approach brought the probe within a mere 2,200 miles, or 3,500 km, of Ultima.) There was no guarantee we'd ever get to see Ultima Thule whose official name is 2014 MU69 in this dazzling light. Capturing the newly released images was a "stretch goal" that demanded a precise square-up of Ultima in the narrow field of view of New Horizons' telescopic camera. "Getting these images required us to know precisely where both tiny Ultima and New Horizons were moment by moment as they passed one another at over 32,000 mph [51,500 km/h] in the dim light of the Kuiper Belt, a billion miles beyond Pluto. This was a much tougher observation than anything we had attempted in our 2015 Pluto flyby," New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern, also of SwRI, said in the same statement . "These 'stretch goal' observations were risky, because there was a real chance we'd only get part or even none of Ultima in the camera's narrow field of view," Stern added. "But the science, operations and navigation teams nailed it, and the result is a field day for our science team! Some of the details we now see on Ultima Thule's surface are unlike any object ever explored before." New Horizons launched in January 2006 to lift the veil on Pluto, which had remained largely mysterious since its 1930 discovery. The Ultima Thule flyby is the centerpiece of an extended mission that runs through 2021. New Horizons is in good health and has enough fuel to fly by yet another distant object , if NASA grants another mission extension, Stern and other mission team members have said. Georgetown, SC (29440) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 84F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 71F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. South Bend Tribune Report South Bend Tribune GOSHEN Elkhart County Police have identified the pilot killed in a small plane crash Thursday evening near Goshen Municipal Airport as Neal Myers, of Middlebury. Myers, 55, is owner of Max Myers Motors in Middlebury and was the sole occupant of the plane, according to Elkhart County Sheriff Jeff Siegel. FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro told The Goshen News that the 1998 Piper PA32 Myers was piloting was doing practice approaches to the Goshen airport when it crashed about a mile away in a field along County Road 42 near County Road 33. The crash happened about 8 p.m. The low-wing, single-engine plane was destroyed by fire following the impact. Brian Yoder, of Millersburg, told the Goshen News he witnessed the crash after picking his daughter up from Fairfield High School. He was driving on County Road 42 when he said he saw the plane come down and kind of line up with the road, and then it turned before seeming to plummet and explode. All of a sudden it took like a nosedive, Yoder described, estimating he was about a quarter-mile away. It was kind of freaky because I didnt know for sure if it was something else. And then Id seen the fireball. Yoder said he also saw sparks from what he later learned was the downed power lines from a large high-tension tower. James Garber, the property owner, surveyed the scene from the road. He gave an eyeball estimate that the plane was about a half-mile north of the road in the middle of the 80-acre field where he grows corn. He told the Goshen News the power lines that were struck are part of an Indiana-Michigan Power system running from South Bend to Fort Wayne. South Bend Tribune Report South Bend Tribune GRANGER The St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit is investigating the shooting late Thursday of an Indiana State Police trooper in his Granger home. His juvenile son, age 11, is being held in the shooting. Police were called to the home in the 10000 block of Conover Drive at about 11:08 p.m. Thursday, according to a news release issued Friday morning by the St. Joseph County Prosecutors office. The trooper is Matt Makowski. He suffered a single gunshot wound to his lower extremities and as of Friday afternoon was in intensive care unit of a local hospital after undergoing surgery, according to the prosecutors office. Makowskis juvenile son is being held in the shooting and was taken to the Juvenile Justice Center. He is being held on a preliminary charge of attempted murder, pending review by the juvenile authorities and the prosecutors office. The trooper was off duty at the time of the shooting. South Bend Tribune ELKHART Elkharts Common Council gave the go-ahead Thursday night for Mayor Tim Neese to spend $150,000 for an independent, third-party review of the citys police department. Neese has chosen a former U.S. attorney and assistant attorney general to lead the review after controversies over disciplinary cases in the department and a video showing officers beating a handcuffed man. Deborah J. Daniels, currently a partner in the Indianapolis law firm Krieg DeVault, will study the departments use of force, disciplinary procedures and culture. The study will include interviews and focus groups, a review of complaints against officers and a review of three years of use-of-force investigations and documents. Daniels will work with the nonprofit Police Executive Research Forum. The group has worked with other police departments nationwide in assessing and recommending policy changes, as well as offering recommendations for training. The Elkhart Fraternal Order of Police also has agreed to take part in the study. Council members agreed that spending $150,000 to receive an assessment of the department is a reasonable price to pay to ensure public trust. Weve had some unfortunate situations come to light over the past few months, so a review of our policies is a step that we absolutely should take, said Mary Olson, R-at large. Our budget is a $76 million budget, and $150,000 is a small price to pay to restore trust in our fine Elkhart Police Department. Council member Brent Curry, D-5, said he has heard from people who worried about the cost and others who see the review as a way to address concerns that they have had about the department. In the end, Curry agreed that the assessment is way to restore trust. Ive heard from people who would like certain questions asked to this person who we are considering hiring, Curry said. I personally would like the council representatives to have some dialogue with her, and during the investigation meet with her periodically to see how things are going, and make sure that the questions the public wants answered are answered. Neese, in a prepared statement, has said the final report will not name specific officers or incidents but rather focus on the departments overall systems, policies, and training, and provide recommendations for improvement where needed. The mayor pursued the independent review of the department after Indiana State Police turned down his request to conduct the investigation and after the U.S. Department of Justice failed to respond to multiple requests. Daniels served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana from 1988 to 1993, and as an assistant attorney general from 2001 to 2005. In 2014, the Ball State University board of trustees hired Daniels to review the handling of fraudulent investments that cost the school $13.1 million. The information she uncovered was to be provided to prosecutors. In 2016, she was hired by USA Gymnastics amid a sex-abuse scandal to review the organizations policies and practices for handling abuse allegations. She issued a report that called for a culture change in the organization and several policy changes. The Tribune, working with the nonprofit journalism group ProPublica, late last year investigated the handling of disciplinary cases in the Elkhart Police Department. The news organizations reported how disciplinary actions under the chief, Ed Windbigler, had dropped sharply since he took the position in 2016, how most of the departments supervisors had prior disciplinary records, and how Windbigler promoted 18 supervisors with disciplinary records. The Tribune and ProPublica also reported about an officer with a drunken-driving conviction who was promoted and never disciplined; the citys Police Merit Commission, which is supposed to sign off on promotions, was never made aware of the conviction or the promotion until months after the fact. Questions by the news organizations also led to the release of a video showing two officers repeatedly punching a handcuffed man in the police station after he tried to spit on one of them. In the wake of the revelations, Windbigler resigned, and Neese later announced he would not run for re-election. Last month, Neese appointed Chris Snyder, a 21-year Elkhart police veteran, as the new chief. Staff reports South Bend Tribune Its a critical moment for Navarre Middle School, a school that has received failing grades from the state but has the opportunity to transform itself. To do that, South Bend school officials must come up with a turnaround plan to create a transformation zone, a last-ditch overhaul in which the school would agree to make certain changes and receive help and possibly federal dollars. The other options under state law include the state board of education merging the school with another school, closing it or taking it over. Coming up with the best plan the first of its kind for the school corporation will take, among other things, the support of the community. Corporation officials have talked about the importance of public discussion and input. But the lone public meeting so far, at 10 a.m. today, hardly seems scheduled to encourage public attendance. Thats an ominous sign, and officials would do well to schedule another meeting. With a Feb. 27 deadline looming, having buy-in from the community is essential given the stakes and the potential rewards. In a recent Tribune story, David Freitas, a member of the Indiana State Board of Education, said hes had discussions with local school officials and told them there needs to be a systemic transformation. He said this year Navarre is under examination, but there are several other schools that are failing in South Bend that are up for examination in coming years. It doesnt make sense for us to keep coming back each year. Im looking for a long-term plan that will transform those schools that are in trouble. Freitas, the board member who represents an area that includes South Bend, expressed cautious optimism, but he noted that the board and the superintendent (are) going to have to relinquish some control over Navarre school which will be a transformation school. Superintendent Kenneth Spells told The Tribune that the great teachers at Navarre and great teachers throughout the corporation can make for a very special transformation zone. Weve seen transformation in the South Bend schools before. You need look no further than Madison STEAM Academy, which began its turnaround after receiving six F accountability grades in a row. The change took a tremendous effort on the part of students, parents and educators. But it didnt stop there. As Madison Principal Deb Martin said last fall, after it was announced that the school would be permitted to proceed with its improvement plan without formal intervention, The main reason for our growth is the embracing of the school by the community. Lets hope that district officials plotting the best course for transforming Navarre take those words seriously. Success! An email has been sent with a link to confirm list signup. Joseph Dits South Bend Tribune South Bend Tribune MISHAWAKA Liberty Mutual Insurance will move about half of its 470 employees out of its large downtown building in June, then eventually sell the structure and parking, which consumes two city blocks. The company doesnt have any timeline yet for when the site could be sold, said Glenn Greenberg, a spokesman with its national headquarters in Boston. Liberty Mutual had built the modern-looking, red-brick building and its parking lot in 1985 at the northwest corner of Lincoln Way and Main Street. The 93,556-square-foot structure itself fills a quarter of the property, and the rest is parking. Its a big building; its going to create a challenge, but maybe an opportunity, said Mayor Dave Wood, adding that he and city staff hadnt known about the changes until they were announced to Liberty Mutual employees on Wednesday. When asked what the city might do to respond, he said he and his staff are trying to reach the companys officials. Its all new, he said. We havent had a chance to discuss with them about their plans. A total of 230 full-time employees who work at the site, all of them in its customer service call center, will instead work from home, where the company will supply them with computers, Greenberg said. Of them, 18 positions will be eliminated, though those workers are encouraged to apply for other Liberty Mutual jobs in Mishawaka, he said. That will leave just 240 workers in the office and a lot of unused space, Greenberg said. Liberty Mutual could consider a variety of real estate options for where and how to place them, though he emphasized that its nothing we can predict. We havent considered any options yet, he said. It may depend, he said, on whats decided by the corporate managers of the divisions that work in the Mishawaka site, including personal insurance, commercial insurance, claims and distribution. Each is managed as an individual organization. As for the sale, he said, We dont know how the market will respond to that. The Mishawaka site, where 98 percent of the staff is full time, harbors one of Liberty Mutuals six customer service centers in the U.S. Liberty Mutual is making similar moves at two other sites that it owns, Greenberg said. The company will sell the site in New Castle, Pa., that has served as both a claims and customer service center. The Indianapolis claims center will likely be kept since it will see just 110 fewer employees out of 1,250 working at the same site. He said corporate officials made the decisions after consulting with two or three partners in claims and customer service over the past year. The work of the eliminated positions will go to those partners. It wont kill us, said Bruce Tassell, co-owner of Doc Pierces Restaurant, on Main across from Liberty Mutual, for the past 42 years. Well sure miss them. They were a great neighbor. With short lunch periods, he explained, much of the staff didnt have time for the nearly hour-long lunches that diners enjoy at Doc Pierces. He recalls owning the 111 Bar, a favorite among motorcyclists, which was among the old buildings that the city eventually tore down to redevelop the space where Liberty Mutual now stands. Wood also didnt think that a lot of the Liberty Mutual employees ate in downtown or engaged with businesses there. If Liberty Mutual relocates, he said, he hopes its in Mishawaka. Smiths Downtown, a bar and restaurant on Lincoln Way, gets calls every day for lunch orders from the employees, said owner Ryan Smith. Its not a big portion of his business, but he added, Every little bit counts. Its a good thing, working from home, said Abakar Bechir, a Liberty Mutual customer service representative who lives in South Bend. Maybe itll save some money. While everyone may not like it, he said, based on the atmosphere at Wednesdays announcement, The majority of people are OK with this. Greenberg said several employees in Mishawaka already work one or two days from home, since they have the flexibility to do so. Its not a major departure for many of the employees, he said. Physical access control: Critical steps to ensure a smarter future Steven Kenny, Axis Communications, looks at the benefits of physical access control systems within smart environments, and how knowledge gaps and dated methods can inhibit adoption. Physical security is becoming more dynamic and more interconnected, as it evolves. Todays modern access control solutions are about so much more than simply opening doors, with digitalisation bringing multiple business benefits, which would simply not be possible using traditional models. Digital transformation While the digital transformation of processes and systems was already well underway, across many industries and sectors, it is the transformation of physical security from a standalone, isolated circuit, to a network-enabled, intelligent security solution that brings many benefits to the smart environment. Yet, with more organisations now looking to bring their physical security provision up to date, there are many considerations that must be addressed to maximise the potential of access control and video surveillance. Not least of which is that connecting physical security devices to a network presents risk, so it is increasingly important for IT teams to play a role in helping to facilitate the secure integration of physical and network technologies, as these two worlds increasingly converge. Improved access control in smart environments These urban constructs are capable of reducing waste, driving efficiencies and optimising resources The smart city offers significant benefits, reflected in the US$ 189 billion that is anticipated to be spent on smart city initiatives globally by 2023. These urban constructs are capable of reducing waste, driving efficiencies, optimising resources and increasing citizen engagement. Technology, which is increasingly being incorporated to protect access points within the smart environment, can take many forms. These range from simple card readers to two factor authentication systems, using video surveillance as a secondary means of identification, right through to complex networks of thermal cameras, audio speakers and sensors. Frictionless access control During the COVID-19 pandemic, frictionless access control has provided an effective hands free means of accessing premises, using methods such as QR code readers and facial recognition as credentials to prove identity. Frictionless access control brings health and safety into the equation, as well as the security of entrances and exits, minimising the risk of infection, by removing the need to touch shared surfaces. Such systems can be customised and scaled to meet precise requirements. Yet, an increasing integration with open technologies and platforms requires collaboration between the worlds of physical security and IT, in order to be successful. Barriers to adoption Traditional suppliers and installers of physical security systems have built up a strong business model around their expertise, service and knowledge. Network connectivity and the IoT (Internet of Things) present a constantly shifting landscape, requiring the traditional physical security vendor to learn the language of IT, of open platforms, IP connectivity and software integration, in order to adapt to market changes and remain relevant. Many are now beginning to realise that connected network-enabled solutions are here to stay Those who cannot adapt, and are simply not ready for this changing market, risk being left behind, as the physical security landscape continues to shift and demand continues to increase. With end users and buyers looking for smarter, more integrated and business-focused solutions from their suppliers, it is clear that only those who are prepared will succeed in this space. Time will not stand still, and many are now beginning to realise that connected network-enabled solutions are here to stay, particularly within smart constructs which rely on such technology by their very nature. The importance of cyber hygiene Connecting any device to a network has a degree of risk, and it is, therefore, imperative that any provider not only understands modern connected technologies, but also the steps necessary to protect corporate networks. Cameras, access control systems and IP audio devices, which have been left unprotected, can potentially become backdoors into a network and used as access points by hackers. These vulnerabilities can be further compromised by the proliferation of connected devices within the Internet of Things (IoT). While the connection of devices to a network brings many advantages, there is greater potential for these devices to be used against the very business or industry they have been employed to protect when vulnerabilities are exploited. Cyber security considerations Cyber security considerations should, therefore, be a key factor in the development and deployment of new security systems. Access control technologies should be manufactured according to recognised cyber security principles, incident reporting and best practices. It is important to acknowledge that the cyber integrity of a system is only as strong as its weakest link and that any potential source of cyber exposure will ultimately impact negatively on a devices ability to provide the necessary high levels of physical security. The future of access control There is a natural dispensation towards purchasing low-cost solutions There is a natural dispensation towards purchasing low-cost solutions that are perceived as offering the same value as their more expensive equivalents. While some have taken the decision to implement such solutions, in an attempt to unlock the required benefits, while saving their bottom line, the limited lifespan of these technologies puts a heavier cost and reputational burden onto organisations by their association. The future of access control, and of physical security as a whole, will, therefore, be dependent on the willingness of suppliers to implement new designs and new ways of thinking, based around high-quality products, and to influence the installers and others in their supply chains to embrace this new world. Cyber security key to keeping businesses safe In addition, cyber security considerations are absolutely vital for keeping businesses safe. The integration of cyber secure technologies from trusted providers will provide peace of mind around the safety or corporate networks, and integrity of the deployed technologies. As we move forward, access control systems will become data collection points and door controllers will become intelligent I/O devices. QR codes for visitor management and biometric face recognition for frictionless access control will increasingly be managed at the edge, as analytics in a camera or sensor. The future of access control presents an exciting and challenging time for those ready to accept it, to secure it and to help shape it, offering a true opportunity to innovate for a smarter, safer world. Shortly after Uber began testing Semi-Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) on Pittsburghs streets in September 2016, Bike Pittsburgh launched a survey to capture how Pittsburghers who bike and walk feel about sharing the road with this new technology. Two years later, BikePGH relaunched the survey to see how Pittsburghers impressions of AV technology have changed. The first survey results surprised us when it revealed that Pittsburghers actually felt slightly more comfortable sharing the road with AVs than they did with human drivers, said Eric Boerer, BikePGH advocacy director who created and managed the survey. However, we also discovered that incidents happened and people had no place to share their experiences. This led to BikePGH developing the Submit Autonomous Vehicle Experience (SAVE) form to offer bicyclists and pedestrians a place to submit these edge cases. Initial 2017 survey responses found many people in Pittsburgh have experienced close calls, such as AVs passing bicyclists within less than four-feet, or failing to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, both required by state law. In 2019, there were several responses about Railroad Street in the Strip District, where BikePGH found a pattern of AVs creating a dangerous situation by passing people on bikes too closely as they attempted to ride over train tracks. The sheer number of AVs in the Strip District has increased potential conflict for people on bikes, says Mr. Boerer, There is a clear need for dedicated bike facilities in the Strip District. They help both human and robot drivers share the road with people on bikes. Since Ubers AV program launched in 2016, several more companies have begun testing in Pittsburgh, the State of Pennsylvania passed Autonomous Vehicle Testing Guidance, and most significantly, an AV struck and killed Elaine Herzberg, a pedestrian walking with a bicycle in Tempe, Arizona. Elected leaders play a key role in ensuring Pittsburghers safety by setting the terms for how the companies operate that are conducting autonomous vehicle research on our streets. While people were in favor of AV companies sharing more data with the city, there were many people unsure about imposing speed limits and other regulations on the companies. What seems to be clear is that we all need to work harder to educate the public, said Mr. Boerer. Thats one of the goals with this report, to spark conversation and dialogue around what it means to share the road with a developing technology that has the potential in the long term to save thousands of lives, but has potentially deadly consequences in the short term. Bike Pittsburghs 2019 survey aims to analyze how the landscape has changed, and how Pittsburghers on bike and on foot feel about sharing the road with AVs. Its important to keep an eye on this roll out, says Mr. Boerer, so that were all better prepared to make sure that it is introduced to our streets as safely as humanly possible. Key takeaways from the survey were: Sharing the Road First identified in our 2017 survey, people still feel safer sharing the road with AVs versus human drivers. This may be tapping into the frustrations that people have with human drivers. Death of Elaine Herzberg The death of Elaine Herzberg in Tempe, AZ negatively affected peoples opinion about sharing the road with AVs. However, there was a clear trend in how the tragedy didnt affect their opinion of AV technology in general, but soured their opinion of Uber, and how the company handled it. Regulations People are clearly in favor of requiring AV companies to share useful information, including safety related incidents, with the appropriate authorities. It is less clear how people feel about regulations that prescribe what the companies can and cant do during testing. Edge Cases In 2017, we identified some patterns that we found problematic. Specifically, there were several reports of AVs passing at less than the four-feet required by law. This comment was few and far between in 2019. However, there are several specific comments about AVs, who are impatiently passing people on bikes while riding on Railroad Street in the Strip District, leaving us to question whether humans are better able to deduce odd scenarios, or edge cases than computers. Policy Recommendations Whether city, state, or federal, elected representatives are the ones who can enact policy to ensure that the public remains safe, while still allowing companies to develop their technology. Roy Chapman, 73, of Nancy, passed away Tuesday, June 22, 2021 at his residence. Arrangements are pending and will be announced later by Morris & Hislope Funeral Home. Condolences may be expressed to the family at: www.morrisandhislope.com ANNAPOLIS (February 22, 2019)A bill in the Maryland General Assembly would allow people with a terminal illness six months from the estimated time of their death to end their lives with a lethal dose of prescribed medicine. Individuals should have the right to choose when they die, supporters said, while opponents of the measureknown variously as "death with dignity," "physician-assisted suicide" and an "end-of-life option"said public safety could be put at risk if the legislation passes. An individual would need to consent three times, twice orally and once in writing. At least two doctors would have to confirm that person is of sound mind, if a physician deems a psychological evaluation necessary, under the bill. "Lethal injection, mercy killing, or euthanasia," would not be legalized, and people who falsify requests or coerce others into ending their lives would be penalized with felony charges under the bill. Lawmakers in a Senate committee heard testimony on Tuesday on Senate bill 311; delegates heard testimony on its twin, House bill 399, on Feb. 15. Senate bill 311, or the "End of Life Option Act," was heard in a Senate committee on Tuesday. California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia, have legalized physician-assisted suicide, and Montana has no law prohibiting it. "I'm going to give a lot of heartfelt and thoughtful consideration," to the act, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said last week. Seventy-two percent of Americans would support ending a terminally ill patient's life, according to a 2018 Gallup poll. The act will "bring about tremendous relief during the most difficult time in a person's life," at almost no cost, Kim Callinan, CEO of Compassion and Choices, told lawmakers. The Department of Legislative Services estimated costs to the state of $173,700 for fiscal year 2020, and around $80,000 per following year. The legislation would give people a tool to control not if, but rather how they die, said lead sponsor Delegate Shane Pendergrass, D-Howard. "I believe people have the right," Pendergrass told Capital News Service. "Why should I stand in their way?" There are religious arguments for and against the act, but the element of compassion and understanding is not talked about as much, said lead sponsor Sen. William Smith Jr., D-Montgomery. "If you have a personal reservation for it, then that's fine," said Smith. "But we should still go ahead and make sure that that's available for other folks." "He was ready to die," said Diane Rehm, former radio host of "The Diane Rehm Show" on WAMU and NPR, speaking of her husband who she said died of Parkinson's disease after refusing to eat, drink and take medication for 10 days due to pain and loss of motor functions. "Why did laws infringe on an individual's decision to die peacefully, when dying was inevitable within a few months?" Rehm asked lawmakers. What is being argued for is the right of an individual who is psychiatrically together to make a personal decision, said Rabbi Emeritus Donald Berlin from the Temple Oheb Shalom congregation in Baltimore. "The end of life is coming soon, the option is just to not make it linger indefinitely," said Berlin, who has testified on the legislation in the past. A significant update from the last version of the bill, in 2017, states "one of the oral requests must be made while the individual is alone with the attending physician." However, this year's legislation has not fixed the concerns that have prevented its passing in previous years, opponents said. Oregon, the first state to legalize assisted suicide, found being a burden to one's family is the most common reason for death, not pain, said Kate Alexander, director of communication and engagement for Maryland Catholic Conference. Of 143 patients who died in 2017 from lethal medication in Oregon, 55.2 percent reported concerns of being a burden on family, friends or caregivers, according to a report from the Oregon Health Authority. The most common concern reported (more than one could be selected), by 88 percent of patients, was "decreasing ability to participate in activities that made life enjoyable." A psychological evaluation is very fluid, and a doctor who does not know a person may only see them for the first time in a fragile state, said Therese Hessler, associate director of the Maryland Catholic Conference. "There is no kind of mental evaluation that could attest for that," Hessler said. The bill is bad public health policy, said Annette Hanson, chair of the Maryland Psychiatric Society Legislative Committee. The law would apply to everyone in the state, including people in the public health system who are not educated, lack social support and do not have financial resources, Hanson said. There is no requirement that a patient's decision-making capacity be assessed at the time of taking the lethal medication, instead it is only once when the medicine is initially prescribed, Hanson said. A patient must ask twice verbally and once in writing to obtain the medicine, but after a prescription is sent to a pharmacist, the bill does not mandate any further contact between physician and individual. This session's bill was first introduced in 2015, and was titled the "Richard E. Israel and Roger 'Pip' Moyer Death with Dignity Act." Israel was a Maryland assistant attorney general and Annapolis alderman, and Moyer was an Annapolis mayor. Both died in 2015 following battles with Parkinson's disease. Israel was an outspoken supporter for the bill's first introduction to the legislature. "As the body continues to fail to respond to the mind, life loses its meaning, purpose and hope," Israel said in written testimony to a House committee. The legislation was an effort to make humanity the master of science in an age when, "modern medicine can keep the heart and lungs working long after the brain has ceased to function," said Israel. "I can appreciate the irony that if my advocacy is successful my voice will be forever stilled," Israel wrote. "So be it." PHILIPSBURG:--- The House of Parliament will sit in a Central Committee meeting on Friday, February 22, 2019. The Central Committee meeting is scheduled for 9.00 hrs. in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelminastraat #1 in Philipsburg. The agenda point is: Debriefing Tripartite and Work visit Suriname Members of the public are invited to the House of Parliament to attend parliamentary deliberations. The House of Parliament is located across from the Court House in Philipsburg. The parliamentary session will be carried live on St. Maarten Cable TV Channel 115, via SXM GOV radio FM 107.9, via Pearl Radio FM 98.1, the audio via the Internet www.sxmparliament.org, www.pearlfmradio.sx and Parliaments Facebook page: Parliament of Sint Maarten. ~Will Sarah Wescot Williams sag her for not following thru on various recommendations?~ PHILIPSBURG:---The feelings about the passing of a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin and Minister Stuart Johnson is a bittersweet one especially in particular against Romeo Marlin. The motion that was tabled by the Opposition MPs of Parliament is expected to hit a deadlock if the current coalition that is in limbo now that their party leader is in pretrial detention does not fall into place. It is alleged that over the past months the Prime Minister has been very disrespectful towards her own Ministers and also towards senior Civil Servants who are fed up with her bullying attitude and disrespectful behavior. It must be noted that Romeo Marlin has been very disrespectful towards her fellow colleagues in the Council of Minister in particular Minister of TEATT Stuart Johnson and Minister of VROMI Miklos Giterson. It is alleged that the Prime Minister has been calling Minister Stuart Johnson a Flamingo who has no clue of what he is doing and would rather see someone else fulfilling the post of Minister of TEATT rather than Stuart Johnson. With regards to the Minister of VROMI, she is labeling him as a drunkard and a substance abuser who doesnt show up to meetings. Sources say the Prime Minister is also constantly harassing him asking when he is going to repair the Government vehicle the MR-6 that was involved in a traffic accident in September 2018, that up until this week was parked up on the Government parking lot behind the Government building. Romeo Marlin allegedly went as far as labeling her fellow Ministers corrupt and has threatened she would report them to RST and TBO. What one would question why would Romeo Marlin label her colleague Ministers so negatively but now seeking their support if a motion is passed against her in calling for new elections. Recommendations based on a recent Parliament meeting as requested by the Chairlady of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams to review the rules and guidelines of the World Bank went on deaf ears as Romeo Marlin allegedly said that Sarah Wescot Williams is not going to tell her how to run her show. It goes to show that Romeo Marlin is not willing to follow thru on the advice of her seasoned Coalition Members among others MP Sarah Wescot-Williams. Romeo Marlin allegedly has been giving Minister Wycliffe Smith a hard time in getting the Library up and running of which Minister Wycliffe Smith is planning to take this issue to another level as a coalition member besides being a member of the Council of Ministers. Senior Civil servants are also in a silent uproar against the constant rude behavior of the Prime Minister who shows no respect to Civil Servant and continues to threaten them with warning and dismissal letters. It must also be noted that Romeo Marlin is centered around wrongdoings such as misleading the Governor with the Smith Orloff & Associates contract and the appointment of personnel for not following the correct procedures but yet she is quick to blame others. The general sentiment of those persons who spoke to SMN News is that Romeo Marlin is sent home by Parliament she only has herself to blame as she has not been behaving in the manner that is expected of a Prime Minister but rather as a Leader of a bush organization who is not trustworthy and loves to blame others for her failures such as the World Bank projects that are on a standstill. The only World Bank Trust Fund project that is in execution is the Repairs of the Police Station. All other projects such as Roof repairs, School Buildings, repairs of Hurricane Shelters are on hold due to the incompetence of the Prime Minister who refuse to follow thru on the advice of the Chairlady of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams to evaluate the World bank Trust fund rules and guidelines and adjust them accordingly in order to get things moving. Another big failure of the Prime Minister is the current financial situation of the Princess Juliana International Airport and PSS workers who lost their jobs since Romeo Marlin took office. Based on a Whatsapp message that circulated this past weekend it alleges that the Leader of the United Democrats Theodore Heyliger in his last remarks at Holland House in the presence of Minister Miklos Giterson and his public relation officer, prior to his detention on Tuesday morning, said that Leona has to go and will be gone by Friday if all goes well. The text further states that Leona doesnt answer his calls and she has been behaving very arrogant as if its the Dutch Government that had appointed her and she seemingly had prior knowledge that he would have been detained this week. One would wonder if the loyal UD Members of Parliament will follow thru on his intentions to send Romeo Marlin home. PHILIPSBURG:--- The House of Parliament will sit in Continuation Plenary Public meeting on Friday, February 22, 2019. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Tourism Economic Affairs, Transport, and Telecommunications will be present. The Plenary Public meeting which was adjourned on Monday, February 4, 2019 will be reconvened on Friday, February 22, 2019 at 10.00 hrs. in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelminastraat #1 in Philipsburg. The agenda point is: Discussion on the decision of the Council of Ministers taken on Tuesday to go with the Dutch government and European Investment Bank (EIB) financing proposal to the tune of US $100 million for the reconstruction of St. Maartens Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) (IS/487/18-19 d.d 14 January 2019) (This meeting was requested by MP A.M.R. Irion, MP E.J. Doran, MP C.T. Emmanuel, MP S.E. Jacobs, MP F.G. Richardson, and MP R. Brison) Members of the public are invited to the House of Parliament to attend parliamentary deliberations. The House of Parliament is located across from the Court House in Philipsburg. The parliamentary session will be carried live on St. Maarten Cable TV Channel 115, via SXM GOV radio FM 107.9, via Pearl Radio FM 98.1, the audio via the Internet www.sxmparliament.org, www.pearlfmradio.com and Parliaments Facebook page: Parliament of Sint Maarten. ~ Judge to give the decision on whether the prosecution can take place on Monday. ~ PHILIPSBURG:--- The judge at the Court of First Instance granted the prosecution their request to hold Leader of the United Democrats (UD) Theodore Heyliger for the next 8 days in pretrial detention. The Prosecutors Office also petitions the court on Thursday afternoon to grant them permission to prosecute Heyliger in the LARIMAR Investigation. Spokesman for the TBO Roderick Gouverneur confirmed the request for extension was granted while he said the Judge will render its verdict on whether or not the Prosecution will be allowed to prosecute Heyliger. LARIMAR Corruption Investigation can be considered one of the biggest corruption cases that involves politicians, civil servants and persons in the private sector such as construction companies. Heyliger was due to appear in court at 2pm on Thursday afternoon his appearance was delayed while members of his immediate family and few supporters waited for him outside of the Court House. Heyliger was arrested on Tuesday morning after several persons including his stepfather George Pelgrim was arrested two weeks ago. TBO officers also arrested Ron Elferink both men spent eight days 10 days on pretrial detention they were released when they petitioned the court to release them due to medical conditions. Prior to the recent arrests, the Managing Director of Windward Road Jan Hendrick Boekaar was also arrested while his home and office were searched. Windward Roads managed to secure a deal with the TBO and Prosecutors Office where they will pay a fine of USD2M. However, the money will be deducted from new projects that the Department of VROMI has to provide for the Dutch company. When Clive Palmer was recently revealed to have registered his Cessna Citation X in the Cayman Islands, sources close to the billionaire said it was for three reasons: "tax benefits and cheaper operational and maintenance costs". The idea that Palmer can save money by getting his jet serviced in a small island 15,000 kilometres away is, frankly, ludicrous. Indeed, his $4 million plane may never even have touched down there. But the Caymans charges no taxes, and is notoriously unco-operative with other governments - which is helpful when your creditors are chasing you for hundreds of millions of dollars. The Cayman Islands is a popular tax haven. Credit:AP Those who choose to use tax havens are mixing it with a group of characters that make the bar-room scene in Star Wars look like a church picnic. As recent leaks have revealed, tax havens are used by drug dealers and extortionists, kidnappers and kleptocrats. Many have just a virtual presence - one building in the Caymans is home to 18,000 companies. Others visit occasionally, just to ensure that the lawyers are keeping their affairs secret and untaxed. According to one estimate, four out of every five dollars in tax havens are there in breach of other countries tax laws. In Australia, tax haven users have gotten the green light from the Coalition government. Guess which countrys companies were the biggest buyers of Australian farmland in 2017-18? It was the Bahamas, whose firms bought two million hectares in a single year. The two men involved in a brawl at a supermarket south of Perth have been fined over the fight. Two men involved in a fight at Spudshed Mandurah have been fined. Credit:Tayla McLeod Footage of the scuffle at Spudshed in Mandurah on Saturday, February 9, shows the two men wrestling and falling to the ground near the frozen food section. Witness Tayla McLeod posted the video to social media, in which a Spudshed employee can be seen trying to pull the two men off each other while shoppers watched on in stunned amazement. As a result of the footage, Mandurah police Senior Sergeant Darren Hart said a 53-year-old Dudley Park man and a 28-year-old Waroona man had each been issued with a $500 infringement. WA Police are hunting for a man wanted in relation to an assault in Perths CBD. Police believe Thomas Bradley Anderson, 42, can assist them with their investigation into an assault in Perth about 11.10pm on Thursday. Thomas Anderson. Credit:WA Police He is believed to be 180cm tall, with a medium build, dark skin, black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is asked to call police immediately on 131 444. Zion Lutheran Church, located in Belleville, IL, has already begun celebrating Christmas with its special Christmas meeting on December 9 for the Korean and American women in the church congregation. In this bi-cultural celebration, women from two different cultures and backgrounds were able to come together to celebrate the diversity in their different cultures with members of the Lutheran Womens Missionary League (LWML). The event began with a welcome from the LWML. One committee member said he was pleased to see Korean and American women gather together in Zion to have a Christmas celebration. I pray that Korean and American women will work together for Gods mission, he added. Pastor Jin O Jeong, who leads the Korean congregation at Zion Lutheran, shared a presentation on the topic of Jesus Christ in Korean Culture, during which he explained the indigenization of Christianity in Korea. First, Jeong defined indigenization of Christianity as the idea that when the gospel is preached to the nations, it should wear the cloak of the culture of each respective nation. The meaning of the gospelthat Jesus Christ came here to die for our sins on the crossis never changed, Jeong said. The form is the culture. The way to express the gospel is different in different cultures. Jeong also showed examples of paintings of how some stories in the Bible are portrayed in a Korean culture as opposed to a Western culture. The Korean paintings have clear inclusions of the culture, including the traditional Korean clothing. The event also included performances by the Korean Womens Choir, which was conducted and led by Sarah Jeong. The Choir wore Hanbok, a Korean traditional dress, and sang By the Love of God, and Arirang, a Korean traditional folk song. Meanwhile, the women also celebrated the American traditions in celebrating Christmas by decorating ornaments and eating American food together for dinner. Through the sharing of these aspects of culture, the Zion Lutheran Church women were able to celebrate the diversity of the church, and take steps closer to becoming a church that becomes even more united in Christ. Thank you Lord for giving a valuable opportunity for Korean and American women to gather here in one mind to celebrate the wonders of the birth of your only begotten son, Jesus Christ, Jeong prayed during the event. Even though we speak different languages and come from different cultural backgrounds, we are all of one mind in giving God thanks for sending your Son Jesus Christ, whom you so graciously sent to earth and offered as the sacrificial Lamb for our sins. By this meeting, I hope that we are one in Jesus Christ, and love one another. A woman is dead and thousands of Victorians have been warned they are at risk of listeria infection, after the bacteria was detected in food from a south-east Melbourne catering company. I Cook Foods supplies meals to hospitals, aged care homes, and Meals on Wheels - which is part of the reason authorities are so concerned, as the elderly are particularly at risk from listeria. The service has been closed down following the elderly woman's death, and an urgent health warning has been issued for anyone who may have come in contact with the kitchen's food. What is listeria? Listeria is a bacteria present in soil and water, but tends to come into contact with humans through food. All Victorian state school zones are under review. Every Victorian state school zone is being reviewed, with some boundaries set to be redrawn in a move likely to concern parents who have purchased expensive homes in sought-after enrolment catchments. The changes will give principals greater powers to limit enrolments and are aimed at resolving ongoing confusion about school zones. Victorian Education Minister James Merlino confirmed a review is under way, and said it would fix anomalies such as students being zoned to two schools or no school at all. "For decades, schools and parents have found enrolment boundaries confusing and hard to find," he said. An award-winning jazz musician anointed as a future star is expected to admit that he was sexually inappropriate with a child in his care. Horn player, pianist and composer James Mustafa, an Australian Jazz Bell Award winner and music teacher at various secondary schools, has indicated that he will plead guilty to the offence. Before being hit with the serious charge, Mr Mustafa had made a name for himself in Melbourne's tight-knit jazz community, playing in various different festivals and sharing the stage with luminaries including James Morrison. Jazz musician James Mustafa. Credit: As well as setting up his own youth orchestras and playing in brass band Horns of Leroy, the Monash University graduate led the James Mustafa Jazz Orchestra, which won him the prestigious Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year award in 2015. An international student has become the third overseas traveller this month to contract measles in south-east Asia before returning to Melbourne while contagious with the viral infection. A measles alert has been issued anyone who visited Melbourne Central, Emporium shopping centre and RMIT University between February 12 and 20. The man returned from southeast Asia with measles and visited HOYTS cinema at Melbourne Central. Credit:Craig Sillitoe The teenage RMIT student, who also lives in the CBD, is being treated in isolation in hospital. It comes after two other people who travelled to the Philippines and India respectively contracted measles before returning to Melbourne. A person can carry three times as much MDMA into a music festival and still be eligible for a $400 on-the-spot fine, in lieu of facing a court, if the drugs are carried in a form other than a capsule, in what legal experts have called a "double standard". The rule, which falls under a trial policy introduced almost one month ago, comes after the death of two young people at a music festival last year and a recommendation from an expert government-commissioned panel. Three more people have died after taking drugs at festivals since. Carrying MDMA in pills or powder can change a person's eligibility for an on-the-spot fine that avoids a court appearance. Legal experts and advocates say the rule promotes a "double standard" because it determines a person's eligibility based on the way they carry drugs, for example in a capsule or in powder form. "It partially decriminalises [drug-taking] in one form, while maintaining it as criminal in another," said criminal lawyer John Sutton, managing partner of Armstrong Legal. Four men dubbed "tinnie terrorists" have been jailed over their poorly planned plot to travel in a seven-metre boat from Australia to the Philippines to help usher in Islamic law in that country. However, one could be released on parole as early as next week despite his charge carrying a maximum penalty of 25 years in jail. Paul James Dacre, Antonino Alfio Granata and brothers Kadir and Murat Kaya were under the influence of Islamic preacher Robert "Musa" Cerantonio between October 2015 and May 2016, when they hatched a plan to sail north so Cerantonio could encourage others to violently overthrow the Filipino government in the name of sharia law. The five men intended to head to Philippines in a small boat to overthrow its government. From left Musa Cerantonio, Paul Dacre, Shayden Thorne, Antonino Granata and Kadir Kaya. Credit:Artists Cerantonio lived in the Philippines in 2013 and 2014 and encouraged people there, including terror groups, to use violence in the name of radical Islam, before he was deported back to his native Australia. Choteau, MT (59422) Today Clear skies. Low near 60F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Low near 60F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Mr Miller is now listed on the webpage of a New Zealand asbestos removalist which has been clearing Wellington's Reserve Bank of asbestos. Ms Miller said she was just 19 when she bought the land in 2013, hoping it would give her the stability she never had when she was growing up in a family marred by collapses of her father's businesses. She had paid $125,000 for the 1.45 hectare property neighbouring her father's land, and still had a $100,000 mortgage. She had been told she would only get about $70,000 if she tried to sell it with the glass onsite. She had been quoted $110 a tonne (with GST) to clean it up, with her father telling her there were 900 tonnes on her land. The glass dump at Caitlin Miller's property off the Federal Highway near Lake George. Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong She had looked at legal action against her father, or trying to sell the glass, trying to give the glass away, trying to generate money for a clean-up such as through an advertising billboard onsite, and trying to move the glass to her father's land, all to no avail. "I just want anyone who has ideas," she said. "Someone might know how to clean up 900 tonnes of glass. I don't have the expertise, I don't have the capital." Loading She wanted the Yass council to take legal action to force her father to clean it up, but had been told the clean-up notice had now been put on hold and the council was taking no further action. "After five years of all the heartache with it I just want it gone," she said. I'd like to clean it all up and sell it, or sell it to someone who can clean it up." According to then ACT deputy chief minister Simon Corbell, Mr Miller planned to use the glass fines to replace sand and aggregate in buildings and roads and make pavers, a proposal Mr Corbell said in 2015 would divert the glass from landfill and save mining of sand and rock. Ms Miller, who lives in Canberra - the Lake George land is not zoned residential - discovered her father was stockpiling on her property when her brother told her in 2014. In early 2015, her father had begged her, in tears, to go to a Yass council meeting and ask for an extension to clean the site. She said she had trusted him; she was still only 20 at the time. But it was her biggest regret. "He didn't even come. I was alone. There was a room full of angry people," she said. Ms Miller said she understood why the local community was angry and she was aware that crowdfunding was an unusual step. But she had no choice but to rely now on the kindness of strangers. The Yass Council's head of planning, Chris Berry, said the council was not pursuing the dump because the cost of cleaning it far outweighed anything the council could recover. The council saw no point taking Mr Miller to court. "At the end of the day, we're taking a bankrupt to court. We can't recover our court costs because they're bankrupt. They can't afford to remove the material because they're bankrupt and they've got no money," he said. Records show Mr Miller's bankruptcy was discharged on June 20 2018. Loading Mr Berry said the glass fines were not causing a significant risk to the environment, nor to human health, he said. "We've made an operational decision not to pursue it on the basis that we will be spending ratepayers' money cleaning up an private property that we weren't responsible for in the first place," he said. Called in New Zealand, Mr Miller refused to answer questions, other than confirming he had been made aware of his daughter's fundraising efforts. "I've got nothing to say to you," he said. "I'm not going to tell you anything. You don't deserve to know. My life is private." Local resident Roger Melton said while it sounded as though Ms Miller was "the very unfortunate victim of her father's actions", if she wanted to raise money from the public it should be managed at arm's length by an independent local group. Ms Miller said she would also like a third-party, such as the council, to manage a fundraising effort. Mr Melton accused the ACT government and the Yass council of standing by while the glass was dumped and now refusing to take responsibility. "The question of who should pay for all this really has to be answered by finding out how did it happen in the first place and who is responsible," he said. The government's contracts database shows a contract with Remondis signed in September 2014 which says the company and the government must agree on "approved recyclers" to receive material, and Remondis must also keep records of the amount sent each month. The Canberra Times has requested this information. It is not clear when Mr Miller's Group 8 began taking glass; his daughter believes it was 2014. Hunger-striking Canberra detainee Isa Islam has been granted parole, but is yet to give ACT Corrective Services any indication as to whether he will end his hunger strike, which has now passed 75 days. Islam, 45, told The Canberra Times on Monday that he was unable to provide any detail about his discussions with the parole board, which suggested a resolution to the impasse was imminent. Violent offender Isa Islam continues to hunger strike over his treatment in Canberra's prison. Credit:Jay Cronan However, his decision not to end his hunger strike despite his physically debilitated state indicates he is prepared to hold out and continue his push for further demands. Islam had earlier made a series of key demands in a letter to the ACT government, including but not limited to an early release, monetary compensation and the settlement of personal debts. NSW Labor has doubled down on its opposition to a controversial coal mine proposal after the powerful union that represents coal miners targeted MPs. The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) has given Labor Party MPs an ultimatum over their lack of support for the Wallarah 2 mine proposal on the Central Coast. NSW Labor leader Michael Daley is standing up to the union. Credit:AAP Labor leader Michael Daley said he has a good relationship with the CFMEU, which was looking after its members. But ALP opposition to the mine to protect the Central Coast's water supply has been clear since 2011. "We moved in 2011 to prohibit the mine and I do recall [former premier] Barry O'Farrell and Chris Hartcher and all the Central Coast Liberals with their red T-shirts on that said 'Water not coal'. But when they got into government they changed their minds and said to the people of the Central Coast, 'Coal not water'," Mr Daley said. The question of who will be the mining behemoths next CEO, arguably the most important job in corporate Australia, is something that one source said was "openly talked about" in the industry. For BHP, the question of succession is an inevitable conversation given the company's scale, history and influence, regardless of any possible time-frame. So who will succeed Mackenzie? Will it be an internal appointment from the current executive ranks, or will BHP look outside? Loading Those who know the company well believe an internal appointment is most likely. And a fairly widely held view, at least in Australia, is that there are two leading candidates, chief financial officer Peter Beaven, and the boss of its Australian mining operations Mike Henry, two experienced executives in their early 50s. Other internal names mentioned include executive leadership team members Danny Malchuk (the man in charge of BHP's South American copper mines), Arnoud Balhuizen (chief commercial officer) and Steve Pastor (BHP's global oil and gas boss), all of whom are highly regarded. But who are the two men considered the lead candidates, and what does the industry and those who know them say about them? "Its going to be a big contest," said one observer. MIKE HENRY If youre looking for a loud, brash and outspoken mining industry executive, this is not what you get from Mike Henry. But "a very direct communicator" and a very effective operator is how the bespectacled executive is described by one source who knows him. "Youre not left with any misapprehension about where you stand. Youre not going to finish a conversation with him without clear direction and a clear understanding of what his position is," he said. Mike Henry is considered one of the two main favourites to be the next CEO of BHP. Credit:Philip Gostelow Henry is a BHP veteran of more than 15 years, and the boss of its enormous mining operations across multiple Australian states. This gives him a sweeping role in charge of BHPs biggest cash generator - its iron ore operations in Western Australia - as well as its Olympic Dam copper operation in South Australia, its coal mining operations in NSW and Queensland, and more. You could quite easily give it to Mike. But my gut feel is that Peter Beaven would be the front-runner. Mining industry source Canadian-born Henrys knowledge of the huge enterprise, a massive cash generating machine, is considered "encyclopaedic". He is a prolific reader, and considered to be super-intelligent. To relax, he has said in the past, that he likes to play guitar. Henry has also had significant experience in commercial roles at BHP, across minerals and petroleum, and has been the miners chief marketing officer. When the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age hit the phone this week to ask industry insiders about Henry and Beaven, one question posed by a source was whether Henry was the type to promote himself strongly to BHPs top echelon as a possible future CEO. But it was also acknowledged that Henry could be underestimated. "I think a lot of people would probably underestimate him, because hes not a shouter. The feeling I get from him is the saying, 'speak softly and carry a big stick'," the source said. I think its Mike and daylight...but others may give you a different view. Henry was described this week as an engaging bloke, an effective advocate and a clear speaker. But this was also offered: "He probably wouldnt be, to be blunt, your first choice to sit next to at a dinner party, I wouldnt describe him as entertaining, but he is someone who I have observed to be very effective." Asked what names he had heard as the key candidates, the source said simply: "Its been Mike basically, I think its Mike and daylight...but others may give you a different view." Loading On the latter point, some others do have a different view, with one interested party saying Beaven was the "short price favourite" to succeed Mackenzie. The observer said BHP's December half results were "littered with disappointing operating results from key assets in Australia. I mean who runs Australia? The bucks got to stop with someone," he said, referring to Henry. The source was also referring to production hits that diminished the miner's half-year results, such as a well publicised iron ore train derailment in the Pilbara. Events like that, he said, "did not do the scorecard of Mike Henry any good". But perhaps Henry has time to boost his "scorecard" anyway, with another observer saying that Mackenzie might stay in the top job for "another year or two, if not a bit longer. He seems energised by it...hes clearly got some unfinished business internally". Henry will also get a chance to impress a wide audience when he participates in a panel discussion at the Australian Financial Review Business Summit in Sydney next month. Another observer believes Henry is destined to one day be CEO of the world's biggest miner. "I think he will be a great CEO." PETER BEAVEN Peter Beaven is "a deal-maker" and a former banker who, according to some observers, is the favourite to succeed Mackenzie. "Peter is doing a much better job at being out on the front foot as well," one said. Perhaps that stems from the fact hes a runner. Its also wise to be prepared in advance when you shake his hand, because the BHP CFO can deliver a vice-like grip. Its going to be a big contest. Mining industry source Beaven is starting 2019 on what the source described as a good foundation, after recording a pretty good year. He also won kudos for his performance at a Senate committee hearing last year, which was perhaps an indication of an executive becoming increasingly rounded. Over recent months Beaven has shepherded through $US10.4 billion in returns to shareholders generated by the sale of BHPs former US onshore shale assets. In public commentary Beaven seemed keen that the cash from the sales would all be returned to shareholders, and while BHP sold the assets for billions of dollars less than they paid for them, the sale put $US5.2 billion of special dividends into investors' pockets. The $US5.2 billion off market buyback also returned a big chunk of cash to shareholders. The buyback, combined with the special dividend, have been two of the factors that have helped push BHPs share price up to its highest levels since 2011. But uncertainties in the iron ore market after a tragic tailings dam collapse in Brazil have also contributed to the stock price surge. Beaven has repeatedly emphasised how important it is for BHP to reward its shareholders. And his key role in the development of BHP's capital allocation framework, adopted in 2016, has helped the miner win back trust among investors. Before he joined BHP Beaven worked for major corporates UBS Warburg and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He was born in Portugal but raised in Africa, and in the past has spoken of how his early education was at an English boarding school in the Zimbabwean bush. He has an accounting degree from the University of Natal in South Africa and he became BHPs chief financial officer in October 2014. "Peter is a banker, so hes a deal-maker," one observer said. "I think hes more the deal-maker. So if youre looking for someone who is going to take the company forward and maybe do more on the deal side, acquisitions, restructuring that sort of thing - maybe thats the guy you want," he said. While an external appointment is possible, BHPs form on this front is to promote from inside. Analysts from Bernstein released a note last September saying that BHP chairman Ken MacKenzie had "a clear preference for an internal candidate". Multiple observers said that Beaven and Henry were the lead candidates to succeed Mackenzie. As "Diamond" Joe Gutnicks listed mining company, Merlin Diamonds, lent millions of dollars of shareholders' money to a private firm which is also linked to the colourful businessman, mine staff and contractors were wondering when they would next be paid. Merlin Diamonds, whose shares have been suspended from trading by the Australian Securities Exchange since October, has been in arbitration in Western Australia and the Northern Territory with former contractors and employees who claim they are owed more than $1.2 million. 'Diamond' Joe Gutnick in front of a painting of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in his Melbourne office in 2013. Credit:Jesse Marlow Other details about working life at Merlin Diamonds' NT mine site have also emerged this week. Key employees tell of arguments with Mr Gutnick about whether the company could claim certain stones were normal diamonds, or the much more rare and valuable green or pink diamonds. Others tell of being unsettled by the presence of the businessmans gun-carrying bodyguard in the sorting room. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! A man wanted for murder in Albania has been arrested in Slough. Granit Shehu was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police Service's Extradition Unit on Tuesday at an address in Pickwick Terrace, Slough. The 35-year-old was arrested on an International Arrest Warrant for Extradition on behalf of the authorities in Albania where he is wanted on suspicion of murder. He was taken to a central London police station and appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court the same day. He has been remanded in custody and will next appear at the same court on Tuesday, 26 February. There are rumblings that President Trumps newly-appointed Attorney General, William P. Barr, is expected to receive the confidential report by Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation under the special counsel rules, which will detail the decisions he reached. In May 2017, Mr. Mueller was given a mandate to investigate whether there was Russian interference in the 2016 election and any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump. He was also given the option of referring any other matters that he might come across to federal prosecutors. Interestingly enough, before he was nominated last summer, Mr. Barr wrote a 19-page memo that Mr. Mueller was on shaky legal ground if he tried to treat Mr. Trumps decision to fire former FBI Director Jim Comey as an act of obstruction. According to the special counsel code, Mr. Barr, as Attorney General may determine that public release of these reports would be in the public interest, to the extent that release would comply with applicable legal restrictions. He will also decide how much of that report should be shared with Congress, claiming it best to be transparent about the report, consistent with the special counsels rules and the law. In August 1994, Kenneth Starr succeeded the first Independent Counsel. In September 1998, he sent a report, co-authored by now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and others, to Congress on that investigation and ended up with a salacious and graphic account of Clintons dalliance with Monica Lewinsky, which is still available online through various publications. The Whitewater investigation began in January 1994 and ended in September 2000. The third Independent Counsel ruling there was insufficient evidence to charge the Clintons with any criminal wrongdoing in the Arkansas land deal decades before. All three Independent Counsels were Republicans. In December 1998, President Clinton was impeached in the Republican House and acquitted in the Republican Senate over the dalliance and lying about it, etc. Interestingly enough, it was Congress who voted 363 to 63 to release Starrs findings to the public and it went on the Internet. We all had a seat at the table then. Apparently the rules governing an independent counsel (no longer in existence) give him or her the authority to send the report to Congress, but a special counsel under different regulations has the authority to make the decision as to what to give to Congress. I dont know if we will get that seat at the table as we did with the Starr Report, but we should. It is possible that there may be insufficient evidence to charge President Trump and others of criminal wrongdoing in this respect. We need to know, but it will be William Barrs call as to what he wants the Congress to know and what he wants the public to know in a matter that is far more serious and unsettling each day, keeping in mind his 19-page memo referred to above. (Michele Corelli is a New Springville resident.) Staten Islanders know that the borough is a unique hybrid of urban amenities plus natural resources and wildlife. The Graniteville area is one of the best examples of this; its a great city neighborhood straddling the Graniteville Wetlands and Forest. During Superstorm Sandy, those wetlands and trees were all that stood between neighborhood homes and devastating destruction. The trees provided a buffer against punishing winds, while the ground soaked up flood waters. The morning after the storm, homes across from the Graniteville Wetlands were virtually unharmed by water, sustaining almost no damage. That natural area is more than a buffer to keep storms at bay; the Graniteville Wetlands also are home to flora and fauna and support a complex ecosystem right here in the heart of Staten Island. From deer to turtles, fish to waterfowl, the Graniteville Wetlands and abutting trees are a sanctuary for wild animals who peacefully live alongside their human neighbors. Up until now, weve coexisted. But, if a shopping center that includes a gas station, a massive parking lot and a big-box store is built on top of the wetlands, much of the wildlife will be forced out. And we humans living nearby will likely see our homes damaged or destroyed come the next big storm. A group of residents and environmental advocates has been working to permanently protect the natural area. New York State and the Army Corps of Engineers already recognize that it includes a protected wetland. New York state must issue a permit for any construction on the site and has requested that the aspiring developers do a comprehensive study of the area as habitat for an endangered turtle species . The state has ordered the developers to determine if the rare Eastern Mud Turtle lives in the Graniteville Swamp and Wetlands. The wetlands and forest are important natural resources. The Coalition to Save Graniteville Wetlands and Forest would like to see the area added to Staten Islands park system, extending the adjacent parkland area. New York city and state should work together to protect this land permanently by making it part of Staten Islands parks system. Thats the only way that we can be sure that the homes of Staten Islanders and the natural habitats of wildlife, possibly including an endangered species, will be preserved. (Gabriella Velardi Ward is a Graniteville resident. Paula Segal is a Manhattan attorney representing Graniteville residents.) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A 31-year-old Staten Island man faces reckless endangerment and drunken driving charges after he slammed into three parked cars and flipped his luxury vehicle in Brooklyn, authorities allege. Joseph Marino, a resident of Copper Leaf Terrace in Todt Hill, was found with an open bottle of vodka in his car after he overturned his 2016 Mercedes-Benz on 28th Street at around 8:25 p.m. on Tuesday, according to allegations in the criminal complaint. He allegedly damaged a parked 2015 Infiniti, which sustained a smashed-in side, roof and front fender; a 2000 Toyota, which sustained a front passenger side fender dent and broken headlight; and a 2017 Honda, which received a rear bumper dent, a flat and broken tire, and passenger door dents. An officer on the scene observed Marino exhibiting signs of intoxication, including incoherent speech, watery eyes, an odor of alcoholic beverage on his breath and an unsteady gait, the complaint, filed by the Brooklyn district attorney, alleges. Police say that Marino was unable to provide proof of insurance for the 2016 Mercedes-Benz. Marino faces charges of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, consumption of an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle, reckless endangerment in the second degree, reckless driving, possession of multiple licenses, along with other charges, according to the criminal complaint. Attempts to reach Marinos attorney were not immediately successful. Marino is due back in Kings County Criminal Court on March 20, according to public records. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The New Jersey State Police Department is probing the fatal crash that led to the death of Neil Holtermann, 34, a member Staten Islands well-known Holtermann Bakery family, according to a spokesman for the department. A crash on Interstate-280, at mile marker 7.5, occurred when a Ford F-350 was traveling eastbound before striking the left guard rail. The vehicle then went across the roadway and struck the right guard rail before catching fire at approximately 12:53 a.m. on Feb. 17, according to the police spokesman. Due to the crash and fire, the driver of the vehicle was pronounced dead on the scene, the spokesman said. While the spokesman was unable to confirm the identity of the driver because of an ongoing investigation, a family member confirmed that Holtermann, whose family owns Holtermanns Bakery in Great Kills, drove an F-350 truck and was traveling at the aforementioned location during the time of the accident. Neil Holtermanns sister, Alison, said she learned of her brothers death when she received a phone call at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Sunday. Once she was told of Neils death, Alison Holtermann said she dropped the phone and broke down crying right there. He had the most amazing laugh, she said. Every time he was in the room, you knew he was in the room. Another relative of Neils, Jill Holtermann, said the loss of Neil was heartbreaking." He was such a good kid,'' she said. "This never should have happened. A Facebook post by Holtermanns Bakery on Wednesday requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the college fund of Neils sons, Neil, Jr,. and Grayson. The gofundme effort for his sons has currently raised approximately $15,000. STATEN ISLAND -- Mayor Bill de Blasio will not attend the Islands St. Patricks Parade because organizers are preventing Pride Center of Staten Island members from marching with their banner. [The mayor] doesnt march in non-inclusive parades, said de Blasios spokesman Eric Phillips. Executive Director of the Islands Pride Center Carol Bullock said that St. Patricks Parade organizer Larry Cummings refused to let her group participate in the parade. Despite Cummings refusal, Bullock said she is not calling for a boycott of the March 3 parade. Borough President James Oddo called for the Pride Center to be included in the march, but also stopped short of boycotting the parade. After Oddos tweet, multiple elected officials, including Congressman Max Rose, District Attorney Michael McMahon and City Councilwoman Debi Rose, announced their support for LGBT inclusion. This isnt the first time the Pride Center of Staten Island has been excluded from the boroughs St. Patricks Parade. When Staten Islands LGBTQ community wanted to march in 2011, organizers told them they could march, but could not carry a banner or anything else that identified them because of the Catholic Churchs teachings against homosexuality. The issue came up again in 2014, when the Pride Center -- then known as the Staten Island LGBT Community Center -- applied to participate, following the welcoming of similar groups in the St. Patricks Day Parade along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. In 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio boycotted the Staten Island parade due to its ban on LGBTQ representatives. His predecessor, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, participated in the annual St. Pats for All parade in Queens, co-founded by longtime activist Brendan Fay, leader of the Lavender & Green Alliance, in response to the Fifth Avenue parade ban. FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER. CITY HALL -- Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday he is expanding a crackdown on parking placard abuse. The plan attempts to phase out city-issued parking placards around the city by 2021 and get rid of fake placards by increasing penalties and sending out a placard enforcement team. If placard parkers get caught abusing their city-issued parking pass three times, the city will permanently take away the parking placard. The new guidelines will also make misuse or fraudulent use of a placard an additional separate violation on top of a parking violation. The new rule will take effect this spring. Placard abuse erodes faith in government and has no place in our city its simply a question of fairness, de Blasio said. Misused and fraudulent placards increase congestion and pose a public safety risk. These initiatives give us the tools we need to start making a real dent in this pervasive issue, to help build a fairer city for all. The mayor also plans to push for changes to state law to raise the penalty for a placard violation from $50 to $250. In 2018, the city counted about 125,500 city-issued placards, not including state and federal placards The Department of Transportation handed out 50,000 placards, the New York City Police Department issued 44,000 and the Department of Education issued 31,500. From 2016 to 2017, the city said there was a 93 percent increase in NYPD summons for illegal parking with a placard. Under the new plan, DOT and NYPD will roll out a new parking management system, which will link parking meters, hand held enforcement devices and license plates and eventually show whether a car is in violation of parking and placard rules. DOT will also put together a new team of 10 Traffic Enforcement Agents who will go to different placard hotspots around lower Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn and ticket vehicles that are abusing their placard privileges or using fake placards. The Mayors SCOUT team will also conduct an annual survey on the rate of illegal placard use in different hotspots around the city to create a baseline of data to track the progress of the placard plan. FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER. Were highlighting some of the activities Staten Island students are engaged in -- both inside and outside the classroom. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Several Staten Island public schools celebrated the opening of United Federation of Teachers (UFT) Teacher Centers. The centers offer professional development activities for educators, designed to deepen content knowledge and enhance pedagogical skill, according to the UFT. Activities include intensive in-classroom support, after-school study groups, citywide networks, conferences and seminars. New centers recently opened during the 2018-2019 school year at Morris Intermediate School (I.S. 61), Brighton Heights; Egbert Intermediate School (I.S. 2), Midland Beach, and PS 69, New Springville. Our school has grown considerably, over the course of the last two years, and we are making great strides and academic progress with our students, said Celeste Arrigo, UFT Teacher Center site coordinator at I.S. 2. The Teacher Center will continue to support the advancement of teacher development and student progress, as we continue to promote our approach to 21st Century learners. View the photos above to see staff celebrating the grand opening. As part of our education column, In Class, we are highlighting some of the activities Staten Island students are engaged in -- both inside and outside the classroom. Heres a look at some additional recent education-related happenings. CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK To kick off Catholic Schools Week, elementary schools from across the borough gathered at Holy Rosary Church last month to celebrate as a united community. Catholic schools on Staten Island celebrated the 45th anniversary of the National Catholic School Week from Jan. 27 through Feb. 2. The theme this year was Catholic Schools: Learn, Serve, Lead, Succeed. Parents, teachers, pastors and administration of the Archdiocese of New York joined together at the church to celebrate. The mass commenced with a procession of two student representatives from each individual Catholic school. During the week, Our Lady Star of the Sea School, Huguenot, hosted Legacy Day, which celebrates all of the schools alumni who send their children to the school. The week-long celebration was sponsored by the National Catholic Educational Association and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. ESSAY CONTEST Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-East Shore/Brooklyn) is hosting a Presidents Day essay contest for students in Brooklyn and Staten Island to celebrate the holiday. Staten Island third- and fifth-graders can write an essay about what they would do if they were president to improve their community. Im happy to announce my Presidents Day essay contest and encourage teachers and parents to have their students participate as a way to foster an interest in our community, said Malliotakis. I look forward to hearing from our students about how they would change their communities for the better. It will be refreshing to hear positive ideas from our local children and hopefully get them engaged in community service. All essays must be received by Feb. 25. Each submission must include the students name, school, grade and contact information. It can be sent by email to presidentsdayessaycontest@gmail.com. Each participant will receive a certificate of merit from Malliotakis and contest winners will receive a gift certificate to a local book store. Do you have a story idea for the In Class education column? Email education reporter Annalise Knudson at aknudson@siadvance.com. FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. Catch and keep or let them swim away Death toll could rise, officials say, as at least 50 hospitalized, some are critical The death toll of a devastating fire burst in an old part of Bangladesh's capital Dhaka on Wednesday night has risen to 81, local officials said, and the number may continue to grow. Sayeed Khokon, mayor of South Dhaka, has officially called off the rescue operation in the noon of Thursday after nearly 14 hours of efforts. But a few teams of firefighters were still at the spot on standby and additional police deployed. Many bags have been brought with severed and burned body parts, which indicates that the death toll is much higher. About 50 people were injured, some critically burned. Hundreds of people rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue, where the bodies of the fire victims were taken, to identify their near and dear ones on Thursday morning. So far, about 30 bodies have been identified and the rest charred beyond recognition, according to The Daily Stars, the leading English newspaper in Bangladesh. The fire started around 10:40 pm on Wednesday at a warehouse in Chawkbazar area of Old Dhaka on the ground floor of the five-story building. The flames then quickly spread to three other buildings nearby, including a community center. Witnesses told local TV stations that many gas cylinders stored in the buildings continued to explode one after another. They said the fire also set off explosions in fuel tanks of some vehicles that got stuck in traffic in front of the destroyed buildings. Some reports suggested many of the fatalities were pedestrians, shoppers or diners who died quickly as several gas cylinders exploded, and the fire engulfed nearby buildings very quickly. "I was talking to a customer, suddenly he shouted at me, 'Fire! Fire!'" said Javed Hossain, a survivor who came to assess the damage to his grocery store Thursday afternoon. "I said 'Oh, Allah', in a fraction of a second the fire caught my shop." The fire was brought under control by 37 unites firefighters around 3 am, while the origin of the fire has not been known yet. Many of the victims were trapped inside the buildings, said Mahfuz Riben, a control room official of the Fire Service and Civil Defense in Dhaka. "Our teams are working there but many of the recovered bodies are beyond recognition. Our people are using body bags to send them to the hospital morgue, this is a very difficult situation," he said. High potential risk The district dating to the Mughal era 400 years ago is crammed with buildings separated by narrow alleys, with residences commonly above shops, restaurants or warehouses on the ground floors, despite the high potential risks. Local residents said there are still certain numbers of chemical warehouses, factories and sales outlets running in the over-populated residential area, although South Dhaka has stopped providing new licenses as well as renewal of old ones since last year. The authorities had promised to take actions to remove the chemical warehouse from residential buildings after a 2010 tragedy, but the local media said little had been actually done. A fire in Old Dhaka's Nimtoli area killed at least 123 people in 2010, causing a public outcry to relocate chemical warehouses and stores from the area. In 2012, a fire raced through a garment factory on the outskirts of Dhaka, killing at least 112 people trapped behind its locked gates. Another building housing garment factories collapsed less than six months later, killing more than 1,100 people. AP contributed to this story. (China Daily 02/22/2019 page12) Page Content Thousands of Los Angeles teachers went on strike in January, protesting working conditions that they described as intolerable. Now there are mixed views on whether the strike will have long-term ramifications for the labor movement. The six-day strike centered partly on wages, but the teachers said it had more to do with improving conditions for students, which they said could be achieved by reducing class sizes and adding more support staff, among other steps. On Jan. 22, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and the Los Angeles Unified School District announced a deal to end the strike. The union didn't get everything it wanted, but it did gain some notable victories. The district agreed to raise pay, cut class sizes, and hire more librarians, counselors and nurses. While some attorneys expect that the success of the strike will help strengthen unions in California and nationwide, others predict it won't have much of an impact. According to lawyers who represent labor unions, the strike might help counteract the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 decision in Janus v. AFSCME, which held that nonunion members in the public sector can't be forced to pay union feesa ruling that could significantly reduce revenue for labor unions. The successful outcome of the Los Angeles teachers' strike could motivate other workers to join unions, according to union-side attorneys. The strike also shows that solidarity works, which could help with union organizing efforts, they added. Nevertheless, management-side lawyers said the dispute is unlikely to have a significant effect on the labor movement. In their view, the issues involved in the teachers' strike probably won't resonate with other types of workers. Mandatory Fees Some collective bargaining agreements include an "agency shop" provision that requires bargaining-unit employees to either join a union or pay fees to cover certain expenses. In Janus, the Supreme Court outlawed these mandatory agency fees in the public sector, holding that they violate workers' First Amendment rights. Although the ruling applies to the public sector only, 28 states have right-to-work laws prohibiting unions and private-sector employers from mandating such fees. Unions must represent all workers in the bargaining unit, regardless of whether they are dues-paying members. So dues payments are crucial for unions in providing the economic resources to achieve labor's goals, according to Howard Rosen, a union attorney with Rosen Marsili Rapp in Los Angeles. While the Janus decision is seen as weakening the labor movement, the Los Angeles teachers' strike is viewed as strengthening it, he said. The strike sends a broader message: If there's solidarity, then workers can achieve their goals, he said. He expects that the strike will motivate other workers to join unions. "Now that they see what UTLA was able to accomplish, they might say they want to be a union member," he added. The Los Angeles labor dispute may inspire more employees to join unions, and it will help with organizing efforts, said Arthur Liou, a union attorney with Leonard Carder in Oakland, Calif. "I do think it's one that demonstrates in a very significant way how workers going on strike can result in big wins." Limited Reach? Some management-side lawyers said the issues that dominated the Los Angeles teachers' strike are unlikely to resonate with other types of public-sector workers or workers in the private sector. The teachers' message was about helping students, which is difficult to translate to other types of workers, said Mark Theodore, a management attorney with Proskauer in Los Angeles. [SHRM members-only online discussion platform: SHRM Connect] Also, public support for a strike may decline the longer it lasts, he said. As time goes by, tensions may grow, and community members may become increasingly frustrated and inconvenienced. Although strikes can be powerful tools, there are limits to how useful they can be, he added. Thirty-four percent of public-sector workers in the U.S. are union members, compared to 6.4 percent of private-sector workers, according to 2018 data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The California teachers' strike is unlikely to significantly change these numbers in either the public or private sector, according to Jason Kearnaghan, a management-side attorney with Sheppard Mullin in Los Angeles. "This was an event that received a lot of publicity, but I don't think it's going to move the needle too much with respect to the trends we've seen." But Liou said the Los Angeles teachers' strike focused on broad goals to help the community, and in his view, this message can be translated to other labor groups. To be successful, unions must connect their demands to broader political issues, such as alleviating inequality and providing access to health care, he said. "An important lesson for unions is to emphasize that type of message that will resonate with the broader community," Liou added. Toni Vranjes is a freelance business writer in San Pedro, Calif. Page Content If you live in the United States, your chances of dying in a car crash are 1 in 103. Your chances of dying from an opioid overdose? One in 96. In other words, for the first time in U.S. history, opioid overdoses have surpassed vehicle crashes as one of the leading causes of death in the country, according to the National Safety Council's (NSC's) latest report analyzing 2017 data on accidental deaths. How did opioid overdoses become so prevalent? And how does opioid useand misuseaffect employers and their workers? How the Pendulum Swung In 2015, more than 52,000 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses, almost two-thirds linked to opioids like Percocet, OxyContin and their "street" alternatives, heroin and fentanyl, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But the NSC found that just two years later, opioid overdose deaths alonenot all drug overdose deathssurpassed vehicle crashes as one of the leading causes of preventable deaths. "It is shocking," said Ken Kolosh, manager of statistics at the Chicago-based NSC, a not-for-profit organization that examines the causes of preventable deaths in the U.S. "There's been a long-term trend toward improving motor vehicle safety but a very rapid increase in opioid deaths. Since 2005, when you look at the death rate per 100,000 people, the car crash death rate improved by 19 percent. Over the same period, accidental deaths caused by opioid use have increased 430 percent." Dr. Bartley Bryt is chief medical officer at MagnaCare, which provides employers with health plan management services. The opioid epidemic in the U.S., he surmises, happened because of a convergence of social, economic and political dynamics. More than 20 years ago, he notes, political, medical and consumer groups promoted the notion that the medical community wasn't addressing pain adequately. "First came the consumerization of health care, with provider groups, hospitals and emergency rooms handing out these patient surveys about treating pain," Bryt said. "Politicians started saying, 'You're not doing enough about pain.' Drug companies put out some pretty effective drugs. People said they felt better. And we got this momentum moving so that we ended up with more patients requesting these drugs, quicker access to the drugs, and patient dissatisfaction if they didn't get the drugs." Years later, when it became clear that some patients were growing addicted to opioids, he said, the pendulum swung in the other direction. Lawmakers and the media turned a spotlight on the problem. Regulatory agencies began cracking down on opioid prescriptions. Doctors began prescribing fewer of them. The prescribing of opioids in the U.S. per capita peaked in 2012 and has fallen ever since, according to the CDC. It notes that opioid prescribing peaked at 81.3 prescriptions per 100 people in 2012, and by 2017 it had fallen to 58.5 prescriptions per 100 people. That, Bryt said, led some patients to turn to the black market to get the pain medications on which they'd come to rely. But on the black market, people don't always know what they're getting. Street dealers might hand over illicitly manufactured drugs that include heroin and fentanyl from Mexico, China and other places. That means those buying on the black market may get a product that is much more potentand addictivethan what they got from their doctors. "It's particularly dangerous when the person using the opioids does not know what they are getting," said Stefan Kertesz, a professor in the Division of Preventive Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "A person might have tolerance to opioids at one level, but if they get a surprise dose of something much more potent, they can die." Spotting Opioid Addiction Isn't Easy As with most substance misuse, whether it's of alcohol or drugs, workplace managers will see evidence of only a small portion of the people with the use disorder, Kertesz said. "Many people will have consequences of addiction that are kind of below the radar of the workplace," he said. "The types of problems that can sometimes emerge include a fall in performance, missed deadlines without identifiable reasons or failing to operate equipment appropriately." Frequent absenteeism on Mondays and Fridays (or the day after a payday) is another red flag. In all of these situations, Kertesz cautioned, there can be several possible causes, not just addiction. An employee may appear hungover not because of opioid use, but perhaps because of sleepless nights due to a sick child or a marital problem. Hence, managers should proceed with caution and guidance from HR professionals on how to assess the root of the employee's problem. "I'm an addiction medicine professional, but I still would call our HR professionals to sort out how to proceed," Kertesz said. Moreover, he said, it's important for employers to recognize that most people who are on prescribed opioids don't develop an addiction. Managers can't assume that opioid use has led to addiction. One-third of Americans have received an opioid prescription in the past two years, according to one poll. Most of these people never develop an addiction, according to the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Among those who receive opioids long term for pain, the percentage who might go on to develop a diagnosable opioid use disorder is likely to be 8 percent or less, Kertesz said. That risk is lower in older adults with no prior addiction history, though higher in younger people, he said. Help for the Addicted Still, it's a good idea for employers to have restrictions in place for prescription opioid use. The National Business Group on Health, a nonprofit association of more than 420 large U.S. employers, issued a recommendation last summer that employers work with their health plans and pharmacy benefits managers to ensure they are following national guidelines for prescribing opioids. During the Society for Human Resource Management 2018 Annual Conference & Exposition, two health experts shared tips for approaching workers who managers suspect may have an addiction. "I always tell managers and supervisors to use [we] messages," said Health Advocates' Vice President of EAP+Work/Life Services Norbert Alicea. "When you're speaking to an individual about work-performance issues, stay away from those blame statements that include the word 'you': 'You need help. You have an alcohol- or substance-abuse problem.' "I think it's a lot better that they take a step back and address it as, 'We have a problem. The organization has a problem. We are concerned about your work-performance issues and, based on what we have observed in the last hour, we're going to send you for a medical evaluation, which includes a drug and alcohol test.' " And don't be too quick to fire a worker with an addiction, Alicea said. "If you have an employee who's worked for you for 10 yearsand they're a relatively good employee, and they end up testing positiveto terminate that employee, retrain another employee, and then go ahead and hire [another employee] will cost you more money in the long run than to give that person an opportunity for rehabilitation by putting them on a last-chance agreement." You are now listening to the sounds of the New Generation. A podcast created for those who desire a new way of gaining information rather than reading a traditional newspaper. In our show we will discuss everything from sports, pop culture, politics, and local news. To stay up to date on our latest episodes every week be sure to follow us on your favorite podcast service. And dont worry, we keep it short. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. This includes cookies from third party social media websites and ad networks. Such third party cookies may track your use on Sharedots sites for better rendering. Our partners use cookies to ensure we show you advertising that is relevant to you. If you continue without changing your settings, we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on Sharedots website. However, you can change your cookie settings at any time. Learn more Panicked passengers grab their belongings in an attempt to leave the darkened cabin of an Indonesia Lion Air flight that skidded off the runway last Saturday in recently emerged footage. Flight attendants instruct passengers to remain seated while passengers on the plane are heard reminding each other to stay calm and waiting for pilot instructions. They were eventually evacuated through emergency exits over the wing. The Lion Air flight was evacuated last Saturday (February 16) at an airport in Pontianak, Indonesia due to the plane skidding off the runway and crashing nose first into the grass, where the tires of the plane can be seen swallowed up by the surrounding mud. Sengdia Sastra, the filmer, said: "We rushed out as the cabin was dark and smelled of smoke. At that time the plane had stopped after sliding off the runway." Flights from the Supadio International Airport were canceled while workers battled to drag the Boeing away from the runway. YAMBIO, South Sudan South Sudans rival armed groups are forcefully recruiting civilians, including child soldiers, violating a fragile peace deal signed five months ago. The evidence from numerous accounts that opposing sides are adding fighters to their ranks is a worrying sign that threatens the countrys peace, say officials. In Yambio, near the border with Congo, all sides met recently to try to resolve their differences and strengthen the peace agreement. However, the meeting quickly turned tense as the government and opposition accused each other of recruiting new fighters, including child soldiers. The meeting highlighted the need for all fighters to be integrated into a single, unified national army, said observers. The reports of new recruitment come from all sides. In Twic state 1,200 men were forced into the government army, according to a letter sent from community leaders to the governor in January. In Upper Nile state opposition leader Riek Machar is recruiting troops to balance his number of forces with the government, said a high-ranking opposition member who spoke with Machar and who insisted on anonymity for his safety. And in Western Equatoria state, another group, the National Salvation Front, is allegedly recruiting former combatants pushing them to take up arms again or hand over their weapons if they refuse, said Johnson Niwamanya, team leader for the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism, the body charged with documenting violations and overseeing the implementation of the peace agreement. South Sudan is slowly emerging from the five-year civil war that killed almost 400,000 people and displaced millions. A peace deal signed on Sept. 12 in neighboring Sudan has been marked by delays, missed deadlines and violations. The latest wave of recruitment shows the fragility of the peace, as all sides are boosting the size of their forces, said an expert. In addition are accusations of the continued use of child soldiers. An estimated 19,000 children are associated with armed groups in South Sudan, according to the United Nations, giving the country one of the highest numbers of child soldiers in the world. James Nando, an opposition commander in Western Equatoria who is accused of having child soldiers, said he is merely caring for orphans. While the parties say they are committed to peace, fighting continues across South Sudan. Sam Mednick is an Associated Press writer. OUTSIDE BAGHOUZ, Syria U.S.-backed Syrian forces fighting the Islamic State handed over more than 150 Iraqi members of the group to Iraq, an Iraqi security official said Thursday, marking the biggest repatriation from Syria of captured militants so far. The official said the Islamic State militants were handed over to the Iraqi side late Wednesday, and that they were now in a safe place under investigation. The transfer comes as the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces is involved in a standoff over the final sliver of land held by Islamic State in eastern Syria, close to the Iraqi border. Many believe the Islamic State threat would not end with the pockets recapture and that an insurgency by the group is under way. And in a foreboding sign, twin suicide attacks hit a village miles away from the Islamic State pocket, leaving more than a dozen people dead in a rare targeting of civilians. A few hundred people many of them women and terrified-looking children were evacuated Wednesday from the groups tiny tent camp on the banks of the Euphrates River, signaling an imminent end to the territorial rule of the militants self-declared caliphate that once stretched across a third of both Syria and Iraq. Some 300 militants, along with hundreds of civilians believed to be mostly their families, have been under siege for more than a week in the tent camp in the village of Baghouz. It wasnt clear how many civilians remain holed up inside, along with the militants. More trucks were sent in Thursday to the tip of a corridor leading to the camp to evacuate more people, but journalists on the ground outside Baghouz said no civilians emerged. We thought more civilians will come out today and we sent 50 trucks over, said an SDF commander who goes by his nom de guerre, Aram. We dont know why they are not coming out. Earlier this month, Iraqi Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi said Iraq will take back all Iraqi Islamic State militants in Syria, as well as thousands of their family members. The Iraqi security official, who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity, said the SDF are holding more than 20,000 Iraqis suspected of being Islamic State members as well as their families in prisons and camps in northern Syria. An intelligence official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said the first group of 150 have been moved to the capital Baghdad for interrogation. Sarah El Deeb and Qassim Abdul-Zahra are Associated Press writers. If you've been hankering to set your boots in Tahoe's titanic pile of fresh powder, this is a good weekend to head for the Sierra Nevada. The snow is plentiful in the mountain range, reaching as high as 20 feet along roadsides according to Caltrans. But a string of back-to-back storms slamming the region has made traveling through the mountains difficult and in many cases impossible due to road closures. Over Presidents' Day weekend, a popular time for Bay Area residents to visit the Tahoe Basin, Interstate 80 was closed for more than 24 hours due to whiteout conditions. Now, finally, Mother Nature is cooperating with people's Monday-through-Friday work schedules. For the first time in several weeks, the skies are clear over the northern Sierra on a Friday. For anyone planning to drive to the mountains after work, you won't need to worry about finding your way in a blizzard. Caltrans shared an image of Tahoe on Twitter Friday afternoon, showing the navy blue lake rimmed in snow under a bluebird sky (See image above). ALSO: It was 13-below zero at South Lake Tahoe, shattering the previous record low Sunny, cold, dry weather will continue through Saturday afternoon with clouds increasing in the later afternoon into evening . Light snow flurries are possible as a warm, wet atmospheric river sweeps into Northern California and southern Oregon. The storm will be focused to the north of Tahoe, but scattered, mild snowfall is forecast for the Tahoe Basin into Sunday with snow levels at about 4,000 feet. "Sunday doesn't look horrible for Tahoe, but there could be snow falling," says Brendon Rubin-Oster, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento. "If you want a better drive, it's best to leave that first half of Saturday." Heavier snowfall is expected Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as the atmospheric river moves south and snow levels inch up to 5,000 feet to 6,000 feet. "The snow levels will be rising but there will probably be snow over the passes," says Rubin-Oster. Less than five miles from the beach, snow fell in the hills of Malibu at elevations as low as 1,500 feet Thursday afternoon. Ana Cholo of the National Park Service was there to see it. Cholo drove into the hills along the Mulholland Highway through the burn scar from the recent Woolsey Fire and saw flakes falling from the sky between about 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.. "When is this crazy icy wind going to end?" asks a San Jose Reddit user. Bone-chilling temperatures and blustery conditions have gripped the Bay Area (and actually all of California) for at least two weeks. Stepping outside lately can make you feel as if you've been hit by an arctic blast at least thats what it feels like for Californians who basked in 75 degrees last February "Usually at this time, I'm wearing summer dresses," shares one Redditor. "It's been a while since it was this cold," chimes in another. "Maybe 2013 was the last time it was as cold as hell every night." t"It seems like this everyday," echoes another. "Even today it was so sunny and then I got punished for taking a lunchtime walk." Some, who have experienced winters that are actually cold, are less empathetic: "lol. full face mask? Granted I grew up in the midwest, but I've been out here for five years. I'm completely comfortable in my Bay Area-approved Patagonia vest. Y'all are weak!" ALSO: Temperature in South Lake Tahoe dives down to negative 8, shattering same-day record What's the cause of this bitter cold making Bay Area residents miserable? Spencer Tangen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, pointed to a high-pressure ridge parked miles off the coast and stretching all the way to the Gulf of Alaska as the main driver. Tangen said the ridge has been in place since early February, and describes it as a roller-coaster that the cold air rides along from the north to the south. "The air comes down from Canada and goes up and over the top of the ridge and then it comes down the east side and we're on the eastern side," he explained. High-pressure ridges often hug California's coast, blocking storms from the Pacific Ocean and keeping the state dry. But because this ridge is farther out at sea, storms are slamming into California, leaving behind more cold air and blustery conditions. Since the start of February, back-to-back cold fronts have moved across California, keeping this pattern going. "What can happen, after the cold front comes through, we get a difference in pressure and that creates strong winds when the cold front comes through," says Tangen. MORE: Photos: Bay Area stuns with snow-covered hillsides after unusually cold storm As a result, temperatures in the Bay Area have been below normal, and low-elevation snow in the hills, black ice on roads and chilling winds have all been in the mix. Coastal areas have dropped into the 40s several nights in February, while inland areas and mountain tops have sunk into the 30s, even 20s. Tangen says overnight lows and daytime highs at San Francisco International Airport have been on average three degrees below normal. The coolest temperatures usually fall when skies clear between storm,s and the warmer ones occur on cloudy days as clouds hold heat and radiate it toward the ground. Under a cloudless sky on Friday morning before the sun rose, the airport saw a low of 41 degrees and downtown San Francisco 44. Another piece that falls into this puzzle of cold misery is dry air that sends lips screaming, "Chapstick." This is because cold air can't hold as much humidity. When will this end? Tangen says the cold weather could begin to diminish as early as Friday night and Saturday as the ridge weakens. An atmospheric river poised to hit Northern California on Sunday will likely be focused to the north of the Golden Gate but the storm tapping into tropical moisture will usher some warmer air into the region with overnight lows inching up into the low-50s to high-40s. Next week, the forecast is still fuzzy as Tangen says it's still unclear what will unfold with this next storm. TravelSkills on SFGate is brought to you by Visa We've reported several times in the past couple of years about the ongoing development of the TWA Hotel at New York's JFK Airport, and now its opening is almost here: The hotel has started taking reservations for stays beginning May 15. To say this is an on-airport property is an understatement it incorporates the former TWA Terminal at JFK, which has been closed for almost two decades, as its public areas, with the newly-built hotel rooms behind it. The terminal building, with its innovative soaring-wings shape, was designed by legendary architect Eero Saarinen and opened in 1962. (For a look inside and out, click through the slideshow at the top of this post) The developers were careful to recreate the ambience of the old airline terminal as much as possible, right down to the "TWA red" color of its carpeting. The hotel revives the terminal's Paris Cafe that once served TWA passengers, this time under the direction of celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and its staff even combed through the offerings on old TWA in-flight menus as inspiration for the cuisine. To provide something different in the way of a cocktail lounge, the developers even bought and restored a Lockheed Constellation the kind TWA used to fly in the 1950s and reassembled it next to the property. The hotel also features outdoor terraces, a rooftop pool and an observation deck. The TWA Hotel, located adjacent to JetBlue's Terminal 5, has 512 guest rooms along with 50,000 square feet of event space to host meetings of up to 1,600 people. The tribute to TWA and 1950s-60s era design continues in the guest rooms, which feature TWA-logo toiletries and stationery, wood paneling, bed headboards covered with quilted faux leather and lined with brass, a Saarinen-designed Womb Chair, and even a 1950s-era rotary phone (equipped with a pulse-to-tone converter for modern communications requirements). And true to 'Mad Men' tastes, each room is equipped with a classic wet bar. Don't miss a morsel of important travel news! Sign up for our free bi-weekly TravelSkills email alerts! TWA Hotel Since the guest rooms look out on active runways, wouldn't aircraft noise be a concern for guests? Not really, because the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling windows are all made from 4-1/2 inch-thick, seven-pane glass "the second-thickest in the world after the wall at the U.S. Embassy in London," the hotel's developers claim. When we checked for reservations in late May and mid-June, we found starting nightly rates of $215 for non-refundable advance purchase bookings, with flexible rates beginning at $239. (That $215 rate doesn't include New York tax of $31.71, occupancy tax of $2, a Jacob Javits convention center fee of $1.50 and a "facility fee and tax" of $10.89, bringing the true cost to $261.10 a night.) Would you spend the night out at JFK for a chance to see this unusual hotel? Tell us what you think in the comments. 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. Why get caught up in the rocky real estate market of San Francisco when you can get lost in the crags of your own personal 80-acre Irish island? With the median house cost in the city now floating just south of $1.4 million, you might instead consider buying this bucolic property two miles off the coast of Galway that's listed with a comparable asking price. Like many other pastoral portions of the European nation, High Island (or Ardoilean) is home to rolling grass, two fresh water lakes and an "abundance of birdlife." Also, like the mainland, it's teeming with historical artifacts. RELATED: An entire California wine appellation is on the market for $3.3 million Some ruins may date back to 300 BC, when some say it served as an Iron Age settlement, but it is slightly better documented to have hosted several dozen inhabitants in the seventh century, when early Christians built a monastery there. (Many believe that Saint Feichin himself associated with supernatural healing abilities was responsible for the founding of the church, but scholars say it's hard to verify such claims.) Remnants of the monastery, an old water mill that may have been the first of its kind in Ireland, and interestingly, a "beehive hut," still exist on the island, making it a living historic destination and one researched by scholars for decades. It's also, as the Guardian points out, just 200 miles north of the Skellig Islands, which "Star Wars" fans may recognize as the backdrop of Luke Skywalker's lush, secluded holy Jedi hideaway. RELATED: The smallest home listed in San Francisco isn't beautiful, but it has potential Now here's the bad news: Whoever buys the island won't own the monastery or the artifacts those belong to the government and they'll likely have to build their own home if they plan on living there. The ad notes that there is a 970-square-foot modern structure (with a septic tank), but any other future building plans will need to go through the local planning department. Buyers are warned to "please note we have not tested any apparatus, fixtures, fittings or services. Interested parties must undertake their own investigation into the working order of these items." As for who will end up with the property, the realtor, Luke Spencer of Spencer Auctioneers, has a few ideas. It might be a wealthy European, or it might be some famed Bay Area tech CEO, as he told the Guardian: "someone from Google, or [Mark] Zuckerberg." Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira. When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez burst onto the scene with a primary victory over powerful Democrat Joe Crowley in June of 2018, it wasn't just the world that was shocked: even the candidate herself didn't seem to believe it. Months later, Ocasio-Cortez (or AOC, as she's become known) is a household name. Whether you're a fan of cable news or you vacuum all your information through Twitter, it's impossible to avoid the freshman congresswoman. Written by: Diana West Started the day with a Letter to the Editor of The Spectator US regarding "Andrew McCabe is the new Joe McCarthy" by Charles Lipson, a political science professor emeritus at the University of Chicago. Dear Sirs, In Professors Lipsons recent article, "Andrew McCabe is the new Joe McCarthy, an egregious slander is perpetuated that cries out for correction. The famous "decency" question asked by Army counsel Joseph Welch -- "Have you left no sense of decency?" -- reverberates through the ages, hounding Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who died in 1957, age 48, into perpetuity. Few can actually recall the details of the matter. Reader are prompted, Pavlov-style, to conjure a lurid scene of McCarthy's "recklessness" in "outing" some "innocent" person for his Communist Party affiliation.. The whole thing is a demonstrable fraud. Before the Army-McCarthy hearings from which this statement originates began, a young attorney from Joseph Welch's Boston law firm came to Washington to help Army counsel Welch prepare for them. His name was Frederick Fisher. Welch asked Fisher if there was anything in his background that might prove embarrassing to their client, the US Army. Fisher told him that there was something: He had been a member of the National Lawyers Guild, which the Attorney General had named the "legal mouthpiece" of the Communist Party. Given that the Army hearings were all matters related to Communist subversion inside the federal government, Welch decided to send Fisher back to Boston and bring in another assistant. According to the April 16, 1954 edition of the New York Times, Welch confirmed news reports that he had relieved from duty his original second assistant, Frederick G. Fisher, Jr., of his own Boston law office because of admitted previous membership in the National Lawyers Guild, which has been listed by Herbert Brownell, Jr., the Attorney General, as a Communist-front organization. This New York Times story in which Welch himself confirms Fisher's membership in a Communist front organization appeared six weeks before the Welch-McCarthy "decency" exchange. It bears restating: In asking his famous question of McCarthy on June 9, 1954, Welch was castigating McCarthy for a lack of "decency" for referencing Communist news about Fisher that Welch was himself the source of for the New York Times on April 16, 1954! Indeed, it was McCarthy's statement about the New York Times story to an aide -- "Jim [Juliana], will you get the news story to the effect that this man [Fisher] belonged to this Communist front organization?" -- that triggered Welchs ghastly, immortal reply. Blacklisted by History by the late M. Stanton Evans reprises the story in full, and includes a reproduction of the New York Times story in question. "Andrew McCabe is the new Joe McCarthy, is, to coin a phrase, perpetuating #FakeHistory which I am sure The Spectator will not wish to be party to. Sincerely, Diana West By Eric M. Johnson, Reuters | Feb. 21, 2019 NASA has warned SpaceX and Boeing Co of design and safety concerns for their competing astronaut launch systems, according to industry sources and a new government report, threatening the U.S. bid to revive its human spaceflight program later this year. NASA is paying SpaceX US$2.6 billion and Boeing US$4.2 billion to build rocket and capsule launch systems to return astronauts to the International Space Station from U.S. soil for the first time since America's Space Shuttle program went dark in 2011. Just ahead of the first scheduled un-manned test flight slated for March 2 under NASA's multibillion-dollar Commercial Crew Program, NASA's safety advisory panel cited four "key risk items" in its 2018 annual report earlier this month. For Boeing, they include the capsule's structural vulnerability when the heat shield is deployed. For SpaceX, the report mentioned the redesign of a SpaceX rocket canister following a 2016 explosion and its "load and go" process of fueling the rocket with the crew already inside the capsule. "Parachute performance" remained an issue for both companies. "There are serious challenges to the current launch schedules for both SpaceX and Boeing," the report said. Two people with direct knowledge of the program told Reuters that the space agency's concerns go beyond the four items listed, and include a risk ledger that as of early February contained 30 to 35 lingering technical concerns each for SpaceX and Boeing. Reuters could not verify what all of the nearly three dozen items are. But the sources familiar with the matter said the companies must address "most" of those concerns before flying astronauts and, eventually, tourists to space. The NASA risk database is updated routinely during the course of NASA's stringent certification process, which includes data collection, tests and collaboration with SpaceX and Boeing, the people said. The Boeing and SpaceX systems have already been delayed several times in recent years, which is common in this sector given the complexity of building multibillion-dollar spacecraft capable of shedding earth's gravity. NASA spokesman Joshua Finch deferred all technical questions on Boeing and SpaceX systems to the companies, citing confidentiality, but said: "Flying safely always takes precedence over schedule." Boeing spokesman Josh Barrett said the company "closed out" the capsule's structural vulnerability risk when it completed its structural test program in January. While Boeing is working through a number of other issues, they "are not driving any major architectural system changes." "Our numbers show we are exceeding NASA's safety requirements," said Barrett. SpaceX spokesman James Gleeson said the company, working with NASA, has developed "one of the safest, most-advanced human spaceflight systems ever built." "There is nothing more important to SpaceX than safely flying crew," said Gleeson, calling it "core to our company's long-term goal of enabling access for people who dream of flying to space." Founded by Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk, SpaceX has cut the cost of rocket launches with its pioneering reusable rocket technology, while Boeing traces its space business back to the first U.S. human space missions of the 1960s and is also the world's largest planemaker. The clock is ticking. The U.S. has been paying Russia about US$80 million per ticket for a ride to the International Space Station, a US$100 billion orbital research laboratory that flies about 250 miles (402 km) above Earth. There are no seats available for U.S. crew on the Russia spacecraft after 2019 given production schedules and other factors. NASA said last week it was considering paying for two more seats to the space station for this fall and spring 2020 to ensure U.S. access. The NASA plan for extra seats came a week after its safety panel said Congress should come up with a "mitigation plan" in case delays threaten U.S. access to the space station - echoing earlier concerns from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. NASA is set to conduct a flight readiness review on Friday for SpaceX's mission without a crew on March 2. NASA will decide whether to approve the test flight without a crew, while SpaceX addresses the issues raised for a human mission. Parachute Weaknesses Three people familiar with the project say the U.S. space agency has identified some design discrepancies between earlier SpaceX capsules designed to haul cargo to the International Space Station, and a newer version designed to carry humans. Some of the risks - such as those identified in the designs of the enormous parachutes that deploy when the capsule plummets back to Earth at supersonic speeds - are uncommon given how close SpaceX is to test flights, two of the people said. The timing of deployment of the SpaceX parachutes and the interaction of the parachutes themselves have raised concerns about parachute performance, and potentially whether they will be able to slow down the capsule enough to ensure the crew's safety, two people said. SpaceX has completed 17 parachute tests for the Commercial Crew Program so far, with an additional 10 tests planned prior to Crew Dragon's second demonstration mission, Gleeson said. He also said its parachute systems are designed with redundancy so the vehicle can still safely splashdown in the event that one parachute fails. NASA's safety panel said in its report that SpaceX may be required to re-design its parachute system. A re-design would likely trigger more testing and potentially weeks or months of extra delays, two of the people said. NASA also found design problems with the system that helps orient SpaceX's capsule in an upright position once it lands in the ocean, raising the risk of taking on excessive amounts of water, according to two industry sources and confirmed by a NASA official. SpaceX's Gleeson said Crew Dragon's outer shell is water-resistant, and the spacecraft itself is buoyant and does not pose a risk to crew members after splashdown. Risk of More Delays NASA announced earlier this month that SpaceX was now targeting March 2 instead of Feb. 23 for its un-crewed Crew Dragon test flight, with its astronaut flight planned for July. NASA explained the delay by citing vague concerns for both contractors, such as the need to complete hardware testing and other work. NASA said Boeing's un-crewed Starliner would fly "no earlier" than April, with the crewed mission currently slated for August. This is the schedule now at risk, according to the NASA report. The challenges in front of Boeing include last year's failure during a test of its launch-abort engines, which spilled caustic fuel on the test stand, Boeing's Barrett said. The accident was caused by faulty valves which Boeing has re-designed and re-ordered from the supplier, though the new valves must be re-tested, Barrett said. The test flights are also part of collecting the data needed to close out some risk items, NASA said. "SpaceX and Boeing both have challenges, both comparable, from a safety perspective," said one U.S. government source. Japan Airlines (JAL) today announced new spring menus on its international flights from March 1, 2019. Highlights include a new healthy and fulfilling business class meal created by a Michelin 2-star chef, the return of AIR Japanese Soba Noodles Tsuta on long-haul international routes, and the introduction of scrumptious baumkuchen snacks for Business Class customers. Welcoming a New Star - Chef Shinobu Namae, Owner of L'Effervescence Customers departing from Japan will enjoy a European inspired cuisine on mid to long-haul Business Class flights, supervised by Chef Shinobu Namae. After Chef Namae completed his training in well-known restaurants in Japan and overseas, he opened L'Effervescence in 2010 in Nishiazabu, Tokyo. The chef is known for serving delicious healthy meals that satisfy the palate while keeping customers fulfilled. Effective Period: from March 1, 2019 Applicable Class: Business Class Applicable Routes: From Tokyo (Narita) - Chicago, Dallas Fort Worth, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Vancouver, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Moscow, Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Delhi, Jakarta, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok (Seattle from March 31, 2019) From Tokyo (Haneda) - New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, Singapore-JL037, Bangkok-JL031 Sample - Spring Menu Main: Sirloin Steak with port wine sauce/peppered butter or Seafood with anchoiade sauce Side: Horse mackerel escabeche, asparagus w/mustard, ratatouille with conger, burdock salad Welcoming a New Star - Chef Sota Atsumi, Owner of MAISON After working as the chef at Le Clown Bar, a 100 year-old restaurant in Paris, Chef Atsumi plans to open his own restaurant in June 2019. Chef Atsumi carefully brings out the best flavor of each ingredient based on the concept of use everything, waste nothing. Customers departing from Paris can enjoy this limited time menu when traveling to Japan. Chef Atsumi traveled to France at the age of 19 and studied at Troisgros, Stella Maris, and other known restaurants. In 2014, he became the opening chef after the renewal of the 100-year old Le Clown Bar. He was awarded the Best Bistro in France by Le Foding, the most popular restaurant guide in France. Chef Atsumi plans to open MAISON in June 2019. Effective Period: from March 1, 2019 Applicable Class: First and Business Class Applicable Route: from Paris to Tokyo (Haneda) Sample - Spring Menu Main: Beef cheek with simmered chile-anchovy sauce, celeriac puree / Scallops and squid ink risotto Duck confit cannelloni white asparagus and aligot (First Class only) Side: Mozzarella burrata with beets, salad with strawberry and hibiscus sauce Chilled potato soup / Galette with pork belly confit, salad with mullet roe (First Class only) New Inflight Meals on Hawaii Route Fumiko Kono and Shinobu Namae, star chefs for JAL BEDD SKY AUBERGE, will collaborate and produce new menus on flights to Hawaii. Effective Period: from March 1, 2019 Applicable Class: Business Class Applicable Route: from Tokyo (Narita) to Honolulu and Kona AIR Series - Japanese Soba Noodles TSUTA The 31st edition will feature AIR Japanese Soba Noodles TSUTA. JAL is reintroducing the exclusive meal produced by TSUTA, a one-star restaurant in Michelin Guide Tokyo 2019. Mix the noodles with a special sauce made from truffle and chicken oil and enjoy! Effective Period: from March 1, 2019 to May 31, 2019 Applicable Class: Premium Economy and Economy Class Applicable Route: From Tokyo (Narita) - Chicago, Dallas Fort Worth, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Vancouver, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Melbourne (Seattle from March 31, 2019) From Tokyo (Haneda) - New York, San Francisco, London (JL043), and Paris From Osaka (Kansai) to Los Angeles Will be served as the second meal NEW DONBURI Menu on select flights from Europe Savory rice bowls will be served on select flights from Europe. The menus were original ideas created by JAL`s chefs using seasonal ingredients. Effective Period: from March 1, 2019 to May 31, 2019 Applicable Class: First Class and Business Class Applicable Route: From Tokyo (Haneda) to Paris and London From Tokyo (Narita) to Frankfurt and Helsinki [PARIS-DON*]Duck breast and foie gras with a special sauce / [LON-DON*]Seafood sashimi with a special sauce Helsinki route features Finland pork with vegetables/ginger and the Frankfurt route will feature pork (* the word `DON` means rice bowl in Japanese) Baumkuchen Now Served in Business Class The scrumptious cake will now be available at our self-service bar, where our customers can select and enjoy mid-flight snacks. Effective Period: from March 1, 2019 Applicable Class: Business Class Applicable Route: From Tokyo (Narita) - Chicago, Dallas Fort Worth, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Vancouver, Honolulu, Kona, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Sydney, Melbourne (Seattle from March 31, 2019) From Tokyo (Haneda) - New York, San Francisco, London, and Paris From Nagoya (Chubu) to Honolulu From Osaka (Kansai) to Los Angeles and Honolulu Contributed by Japan Airlines A search for an armed suspect Thursday evening in Berkeley has ended with a person's arrest, police said. As of 7:32 p.m., police had arrested a person they suspect was firing a gun from in or around a van in a parking lot near Heinz and Seventh streets near Berkeley Bowl West. Officers responded earlier Thursday evening after someone called to report gunshots and while dispatchers were on the phone they also heard the gunfire, police said. Officers used a loud speaker to convince the suspect to come out of the van and he was safely arrested. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Nearly 1,000 Oakland public school teachers, students, parents and others rallied outside Oakland City Hall on Thursday in support of a teacher strike that began earlier in the day. The strike, which occurred after two years of failed negotiations between the union and the school district, is the first potentially long-term walkout by Oakland teachers since 1996, when they went on strike for more than two months. Teachers staged a one-day strike on April 29, 2010, to protest stalled contract talks and the school board's decision to impose a contract on the union. Brown said on Wednesday that the union is hoping that the strike is short but said its length is "indefinite" and will last for more than one day. More than a thousand San Francisco city employees and nonprofit workers contracted by the city -- fed up with low wages -- rallied outside of City Hall Thursday amid union contract negotiations. The workers, represented by Service Employees International Union Local 1021, are in negotiations with the city and are urging city leaders to support their demands for pay raises as many struggle to survive in the Bay Area, one of the nation's most expensive regions. SEIU 1021 is the city's largest union and represents nearly 16,000 employees in San Francisco -- more than half of the city's workforce. Those employees include registered nurses, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency traffic officers, librarians, social workers, supportive housing advocates, court clerks and other public service workers. A U.S. Internal Revenue Service analyst in San Francisco has been charged in federal court with leaking information about the bank records of Michael Cohen, a former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump. IRS investigative analyst John Fry, 54, was charged in federal court in San Francisco on Feb. 4 in a criminal complaint filed under seal. The complaint was unsealed Thursday after Fry's initial appearance before a federal magistrate. The bank reports of potential suspicious financial activity were posted online on May 8 by Michael Avenatti, a lawyer for adult film actress Stormy Daniels in a defamation lawsuit against Trump. A seventh grader from Chaboya Middle School in San Jose is headed to the Scripps National Spelling Bee after correctly spelling "guanabana" at a regional bee on Sunday. Rishik Gandhasri participated in the 2019 Bay Area Regional Spelling Bee at the Amador Theater in Pleasanton and came out on top after 14 rounds. His winning word is a "large succulent irregularly ovoid fruit of a small tropical American tree having short fleshy spines and a slightly acid fibrous pulp," according to Scripps. The second-place finisher misspelled "occitan." Gandhasri will attend the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee from May 26-31 in Washington, D.C. A woman who was killed in a collision between a speeding car and a big-rig on Interstate Highway 880 in San Leandro on Tuesday morning was identified by the Alameda County coroner's bureau on Thursday as 20-year-old Karen Perez of Oakland. Perez was a passenger in a 2000 Honda Accord being driven by a 20-year-old Oakland man that collided with a 2015 Freightliner truck being driven by a 35-year-old man from Atwater in Merced County at about 10:55 a.m. Tuesday on southbound Highway 880 in the area of Floresta Boulevard, California Highway Patrol Officer Manuel Leal said. Leal said witnesses told officers that the Oakland man was making several unsafe lane changes in the No. 1 and No. 2 lanes at a high rate of speed and, for an unknown reason, the car lost control and crossed from the No. 1 lane to the No. 5 lane, where it collided with the big-rig. The collision caused the Accord's right front passenger door to be torn off and Perez was ejected, according to Leal. Two Bay Area contractors were convicted by a federal jury in San Francisco Wednesday of conspiring in a plot to rig bids for renovating a building at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Clifton Burch, 50, of San Lorenzo, president of Empire Engineering and Construction Inc., and Peter McKean, 49, of San Mateo, vice president of Townsend Management Inc., were each convicted of conspiring to defraud the U.S. government and conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud. They will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer on June 19 and could face a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. Prosecutors said Burch, McKean and a third contractor agreed to submit bids ranging from $6.2 million to $7.1 million in 2013 so that another supposed contractor, who was actually an undercover FBI agent, could win the U.S. Department of Energy contract with a lower bid. The probe grew out of a case in which Chinatown tong leader Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow was convicted of murder and racketeering and former state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco-San Mateo, and fundraiser Keith Jackson pleaded guilty to a corruption charge. An overturned big-rig is blocking all four lanes of westbound Interstate Highway 80 just east of Pena Adobe Road in Vacaville on Thursday afternoon, California Highway Patrol officials said. The overturned truck was reported around was reported at 2:50 p.m. and the CHP issued a Sig-alert around 3 p.m. Four other vehicles were initially reported to be involved, but the CHP later said they were vehicles had already been crushed. The driver of the big-rig that landed on its side was able to escape by breaking a window, according to the CHP. A gas leak that prompted a shelter in place advisory at San Francisco's Hall of Justice Thursday morning has been capped, according to PG&E. The leak occurred when just after 10 a.m. when construction crews not related to PG&E punctured a 2-inch natural gas line near Seventh and Bryant streets, San Francisco Assistant Fire Chief Jose Velo said. Crews were able to stop the leak at 10:40 a.m., PG&E spokeswoman Andrea Menniti said. Southbound Interstate Highway 680 in Walnut Creek has reopened after a collision involving a delivery van carrying corrosive chemicals on Thursday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol. The crash occurred around 8:55 a.m. just south of the junction with state Highway 24. No injuries were reported, but the CHP issued a Sig-alert at 9:15 a.m. It was canceled at 12:12 p.m. when the affected lanes reopened. The chemicals in the delivery van were found to be fully contained and there was no active hazardous materials situation or threat to public safety, according to the CHP. A 74-year-old man was hospitalized after a vehicle struck him and then fled the scene in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood early Wednesday morning, police said Thursday. The collision was reported at 5:19 a.m. at Sixth and Mission streets. A police officer spotted the victim lying on the ground in the intersection. He had lost consciousness and was taken to a hospital but is expected to survive, according to police. Investigators described the suspect vehicle as being red, but more details about it and the vehicle were not immediately available. Contra Costa Animal Services is looking for the owners of a 15-pound terrier found dead Wednesday evening, floating in the Contra Costa Canal in the unincorporated community of Clyde near Port Chicago. The animal was described as female, small and brown. She had not been spayed and no microchip was found. When discovered, the carcass was tethered to a crate that had been covered in green nylon. The scene was near Medburn Street, but it's not clear if the crate drifted downstream from another location. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) A suspended San Francisco police officer -- implicated in a racist text message scandal years ago -- pleaded guilty Thursday to robbing two banks late last year, federal prosecutors announced. Rain Daugherty, 44, of San Francisco robbed two banks, one in late November in the city's Sunset District and another on Clement Street in mid-December, prosecutors said. Daugherty had been charged with two counts of robbery for each of the two offenses. Pursuant to his plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to one count each, meaning the remaining two counts could be dismissed during his sentencing. U.S. District Judge William Orrick scheduled Daugherty's sentencing for May 9. Daugherty remains in custody. According to prosecutors, the first bank robbery occurred on Nov. 29, when Daugherty approached a teller at an East West Bank branch with a note demanding $50 and $100 bills. After allegedly saying to the bank teller "calm down, just do it," he apparently made off with $9,050 in cash. Two weeks later, on Dec. 13, Daugherty allegedly entered the Clement Street bank and approached a teller, again handing them a note demanding money. The teller complied and Daugherty fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, prosecutors said. Daugherty faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each count. A federal grand jury indicted him on Jan. 10 for the two bank robberies. Daugherty is also one of nine San Francisco police officers who in 2015 were accused of sending racist text messages in 2011 and 2012. Those messages came to light during the federal prosecution of former Sgt. Ian Furminger on charges related to the theft of money and property from drug suspects. The disciplinary proceedings against Daugherty and the eight others were delayed when they claimed in a lawsuit that the charges were filed after a one-year deadline. The proceedings resumed in 2018 after a state appeals court ruling in May, and after the California Supreme Court turned down the officers' appeal in September. When the disciplinary charges connected to the text messages were initially filed, San Francisco police said Daugherty and the other officers were placed in positions in which they had no contact with the public. Daugherty, however, was suspended from the department without pay in July 2018 because of an unrelated criminal investigation in San Mateo County. In that case, Daugherty is accused of stealing $13,095 between Sept. 1 and Dec. 1, 2017, from a 76-year-old man with Alzheimer's disease. For his alleged involvement, Daugherty was charged in San Mateo County Superior Court with one felony count of elder abuse and four misdemeanor counts of drug possession. Daugherty had allegedly been hired to do errands such as grocery shopping and driving for the victim. But he was allegedly caught on surveillance video withdrawing cash with the man's ATM card while alone on 30 occasions, according to prosecutors. A search of Daugherty's home on Dec. 1 found small amounts of cocaine and three other drugs, prosecutors said. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. A San Mateo man is suspected of robbing a Sonoma bank in September 2017, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said Friday. A DNA sample from a wig and glasses that were discarded in the trash after the robbery of the Umpqua bank identified William Brust, 32 as the robber, the sheriff's office said. Detectives submitted the DNA into a national database and Brust was picked up in Florida in December, the sheriff's office said. Brust is in the San Francisco jail on different charges there, the sheriff's office said. He will be brought to Sonoma County after the cases in San Francisco are completed, the sheriff's office said. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) After being closed for seven years, a portion of Stockton Street in downtown San Francisco reopened Thursday, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency officials announced. Stockton Street between Geary and Ellis streets had been closed for construction of the underground Central Subway, which is set to connect riders from the South of Market neighborhood to Chinatown. With the reopening of Stockton Street, some bus routes will return to their regular routes after having been rerouted for several years. The 8-Bayshore line and 91-Third Street/19th Avenue route will return to their previous routes, running through Stockton Street and onto Fourth Street, starting on Monday. More for you News Building housing Jay'n Bee Club up for sale The 45-Union/Stockton and 30-Stockton routes will continue its reroute and return to its regular route, also through Stockton Street and onto Fourth Street starting later this Spring, Muni officials said. "Stockton Street is a major commercial artery and bus route that brings life into the heart of District Three," Supervisor Aaron Peskin said in a statement. "For many residents in Chinatown and North Beach, this throughway also represents equitable and undisrupted access to downtown jobs and services. The celebration of this milestone, right before the Lunar New Year Parade and Celebration, is a symbol of hope for all of us that the final completion of the Central Subway is close at hand." "The Central Subway will bring together neighborhoods that have long been in need of improved public transit," SFMTA Director Ed Reiskin said in a statement. "The SFMTA has committed itself to building this vital link between two of San Francisco's most iconic communities. The reopening of Stockton Street represents a significant milestone in the growth of a world class transportation system," he said. Muni officials predict the Central Subway will be completed sometime later this year. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. A pedestrian was killed late Thursday afternoon in a collision with a vehicle in unincorporated Santa Cruz County, according to preliminary information from the California Highway Patrol. The fatality was reported at 5 p.m. at 6363 state Highway 9 in the community of Felton. The driver of the vehicle stayed at the scene, CHP officials said. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. An overturned big-rig is blocking all four lanes of westbound Interstate Highway 80 just east of Pena Adobe Road in Vacaville on Thursday afternoon, California Highway Patrol officials said. The overturned truck was reported around was reported at 2:50 p.m. and the CHP issued a Sig-alert around 3 p.m. Four other vehicles were initially reported to be involved, but the CHP later said they were vehicles had already been crushed. More for you News Napa Sheriff releases video of deadly shooting during... The driver of the big-rig that landed on its side was able to escape by breaking a window, according to the CHP. SAN JOSE (BCN) One hundred painters have converged on a wall in San Jose's downtown art district to transform it into an ambitious, colorful testament to the region's art scene. Local arts nonprofit Exhibition District is overseeing the 100BlockSJ project at 300 First St., across the street from California Theatre. Painting began last week and artists are readying for an unveiling on March 1, if weather permits. "Public art is the most accessible form of art, because it exists in everybody's realm," executive director Erin Salazar said, standing in front of the mural on Thursday. "I think there's something really beautiful about not having to walk into a gallery ... the art it just exists for everybody." Along with preventing graffiti -- the organization has only spent $20 on graffiti abatement at several mural locations since 2015 -- the mural also hopes to establish a visual identity for San Jose. "Once we put up a large piece of public art, it's showing that the place is cared for and loved," operations director Ellina Yin said. "We call it a vandalism deterrent, not a repellant." With about half the wall completed this week, artists were standing on risers and perfecting their 3 feet by 3 feet personal canvases, teaming up to create the expansive, 900-square-foot mural. The artists are required to comply with general decency guidelines preventing graphic nudity and profanity, but are otherwise allowed a free range of expression. Completed murals include portraits, depictions of community activism and abstract paintings. Yin said about 90 percent of artists are local, with 40 percent identifying as female, 50 percent as male and 20 percent as non-binary. The artists are anywhere from 18 to 50 years old, and include screen printers, former graffiti artists and art teachers, as well as those who are doing a mural for the first time. It's important to the group to pay their artists, and each will receive $300 in addition to material and equipment costs. "That means that we're dumping $30,000 directly into our artist community in the next two weeks, we feel really proud of that," said Salazar, who wishes they could include more artists, but funds are limited. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is sponsoring 100BlockSJ, along with material donors. Once it's completed, the project will be a Guinness World Record for collaborative murals, according to organizers. Salazar and Yin said coordinating the ambitious mural has been a "logistical nightmare," but also a "delightful learning experience." Part-time employee Haley Cardamon also helped with the work, and together the three make up an all-women team hoping to leave a mark in the city's public art sphere. "We're developing a community through the process of mural-making," Salazar said. "Simply the act of activating and engaging with the community is a draw, and there's an automatic feeling of community when people are outside in the sunshine." Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. OAKLAND (BCN) A 23-year-old man has been charged with murder for the fatal shooting of a 33-year-old man at a homeless camp in West Oakland last Friday, according to police and court records. Frank Kennedy is charged in connection with the shooting death of Robert Tuck III in the 2500 block of Wood Street at about 7:30 a.m. on Friday, according to authorities. In addition to murder, Kennedy is charged with being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm in a city and carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle. Alameda County prosecutors say he has a prior conviction for second-degree robbery in 2015. Kennedy, who is being held at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin without bail, was charged and arraigned on Wednesday and is scheduled to return to court next Wednesday to enter a plea. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. OAKLAND (BCN) A second suspect appeared in court on Friday on a murder charge for his role in the fatal shooting of a 29-year-old man in East Oakland earlier this month. Dylan Hyche, 26, of Oakland, who was charged and arraigned on Thursday, was scheduled to enter a plea on Friday in connection with the shooting of Melvin Joel Orellana-Monge of Oakland in the area of 54th Avenue and Holland Street at about 10 p.m. on Feb. 5. Orellana-Monge, who was from El Salvador, was transported to Highland Hospital in Oakland in grave condition after he was shot and died of his injuries there at 4:17 p.m. on Feb. 12, according to police. Previously, Maurice Rice, 29, of Oakland, was charged with murder on Feb. 13. Rice is scheduled to return to court on March 5 to enter a plea. Court officials weren't immediately available for comment on whether Hyche entered a plea on Friday or whether he postponed doing so until a later date. Oakland police Sgt. Bradley Baker wrote in a probable cause statement that a few minutes before the shooting Rice was dropped off next to his car, a 2006 Pontiac which was parked on 54th Avenue. Baker said Rice entered the Pontiac and locked his keys inside and within a few minutes two other shooting suspects returned to the scene and double-parked in the road. Orellana-Monge then arrived at the scene, traveling southbound on 54th Avenue, but his path was blocked by the suspects' double-parked car, according to Baker. He said witnesses later identified Hyche as the driver of the car that double parked. Baker wrote that Orellana-Monge drove around the suspects' vehicle and continued southbound on 54th Avenue but the three suspects shot at his car and he was struck by one bullet. Baker said video surveillance footage and witness statements connect Rice to the shooting but police didn't solve the case until Rice, who is the registered owner of the Pontiac, called police on Feb. 7, two days after the shooting, and said he had locked his keys in the car when it was parked on 54th Avenue but when he returned to the area it was gone. Baker said Rice came to Oakland police headquarters the next day, Feb. 9, to discuss his missing Pontiac and said he only had one set of keys to it. Baker wrote that when he showed Rice the surveillance footage of the person who had locked his keys in the Pontiac, Rice denied being the person in the video. Baker said Rice then "changed his story and said he had made a second key to the Pontiac." Baker wrote, "Based on the video surveillance footage, witness statements and Maurice Rice's statements it is apparent Rice is one of the three suspects who shot at the (Orellana-Monge's) vehicle." Baker said a search warrant that allowed police to inspect Rice's Pontiac led him to the Fairfax Liquor store at 5403 Foothill Blvd., near the shooting scene, where additional video surveillance footage was recovered that identified Hyche as being with Rice just before the shooting. Hyche subsequently was identified as being the first person who shot at Orellana-Monge and he was arrested in the 6700 block of Leona Creek Drive in Oakland at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, according to Baker. When investigators interviewed Hyche he admitted he was in the surveillance footage at the Fairfax Liquor store but denied being involved in the shooting, Baker wrote. However, Hyche could not provide an alibi as to were he was at the time of the shooting, according to Baker. The third suspect in the shooting remains at large. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Talks between Oakland school district officials and leaders of its teachers union were expected to continue into the weekend, following a second day of picketing, marches, near-empty schools and contract negotiations on Friday. Bargaining teams for Oakland Unified School District and the Oakland Education Association met behind closed doors Friday and discussions continued into the evening. Teachers, counselors and nurses were making plans to remain on the picket line next week while district officials said they are prepared to meet every day until an agreement was reached. If I had a child, Id be figuring out child care for Monday, said Franco DeMarinis, a physics teacher and head of the science department at Oakland Technical High School. Fridays negotiation session yielded very little movement, said Keith Brown, president of the union, which he said had ordered thousands of ponchos that will keep members dry in the rain expected Monday. School district spokesman John Sasaki said the district would be ready to continue negotiations Saturday and Sunday if no agreement emerged on Friday. Were just eager to have everybody back in school. We want our kids back in class learning, so we look forward to the day that resumes, Sasaki said. He did not have estimates for how many teachers or students missed school Thursday and Friday. A couple of hundred of the districts central office staff had been assigned to Oaklands 87 public schools to cover staff absences. The district has 37,000 students affected by the strike, and the union represents 3,000 teachers and other employees. Gov. Gavin Newsom and his staff have been in communication with both sides and are closely monitoring the strike, said spokesman Brian Ferguson. I applaud teachers, staff and community members for coming together to make their voices heard to improve public education in Oakland, Newsom said in a statement. I hope all of the parties can quickly reach a resolution that gets kids back into the classroom. Striking educators said their goal on Day Two was to continue drumming up public support for their cause and to increase pressure on the district. Along with many parents, several elected officials, including Sen. Kamala Harris, Rep. Barbara Lee and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, expressed support for the teachers. Schaaf has so far stayed out of the negotiating room unlike in Los Angeles, where Mayor Eric Garcetti got involved as a mediator. Shes being updated every day by both sides, Schaafs spokesman Justin Berton said. She is not playing a role in the negotiations. The mayors children, who go to Oakland public schools, stayed home Thursday and Friday. In Los Angeles, Garcetti played an active role in brokering a deal, and when it was reached, the mayor, who had been considering a run for president, announced it himself. Public support is one element unions weigh when considering a strike, and Oakland teachers may have been inspired by the response to teacher strikes in West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona, UC San Diego Professor Agustina Paglayan said. Paglayan studies political incentives related to education policy. The strikes that happened last year may have given a signal to teachers that parents now might be supportive of teachers and that striking, in some ways, may not be as risky than if communities were upset with teachers striking, she said. Sean Gailmard, a professor of political science who studies game theory at UC Berkeley, said those risks, including going without pay indefinitely, are the point. A strike is costly for a union, he said. They need to signal that theyre willing to incur high costs to get a better contract. Its basically like saying, Were going to burn some money because its more important to us to have a good contract than have that burned money. Union members have said that theyre willing to strike as long as it takes for the district to concede. On Wednesday, the union rejected the districts proposal for a 7 percent raise over three years and a 1.5 percent retroactive bonus. The union has maintained its counteroffer of a 12 percent raise since last spring, when the district offered a 5 percent raise. However, union members have said they would not consider a higher wage offer without other concessions, including smaller class sizes and more school counselors and nurses. DeMarinis, the Oakland Tech teacher, said poor retention and overfilled science classes are hurting students. Teacher burnout is a real thing, he said. Classes are packed to the gill. Members of the union have been communicating with one another over email chains, Whats App text messages and their Facebook page. If any potential deal is reached, the full membership would have to vote to approve it. Meanwhile, a handful of students have attended class Thursday and Friday, as many families either keep their kids at home, organize home-based groups with other parents or drop their children at one of numerous facilities open to them during the strike. Amy Martinez, a counselor at Oakland Tech, said she wanted to get back into the school and with her students as soon as possible. But she said shed probably be back on Broadway with her picket sign Monday morning. Counselors are responsible for academic, college, career and emotional support. Theres usually a long line for lunch hour drop-in sessions, Martinez said. I cannot physically meet with all 500 students and their families, Martinez said, which means there will always be students who need support who arent getting it. On Monday, the school board plans to vote on Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammells proposal to slash nearly $22 million from next years budget, which could result in close to 150 layoffs of central office and school site staff. Chronicle staff writer Alexei Koseff contributed to this report. Kimberly Veklerov and Ashley McBride are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com ashley.mcbride@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KVeklerov @Ashleynmcb A lawsuit by San Francisco challenging the Trump administrations withdrawal of guidelines on issues affecting poor and disabled people has been dismissed by a federal judge, who said the city could not show how it would be harmed by the repeal. The Justice Department guidelines, issued during the final years of the Obama presidency, included standards for state and local courts to avoid disproportionately harming poor people when imposing criminal fines. Another set of standards addressed compliance with a Supreme Court ruling requiring state and local governments to allow disabled people to live in their own homes or group homes and share workplaces with able-bodied workers. Further guidelines advised employers on compliance with laws banning job discrimination based on national origin. Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions withdrew the guidelines in December 2017 after President Trump ordered an overall reduction in federal regulations. Sessions offered only a general explanation for his action, saying the repealed guidelines were unnecessary, inconsistent with existing law, or otherwise improper. The citys lawsuit, filed in April, accused Sessions of violating a federal law that requires the government to engage in reasoned decision-making and provide meaningful explanations for actions that have legal consequences. In dismissing the suit on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar did not address the legality of the Trump administrations actions, but instead cited his earlier ruling that San Francisco lacked legal standing to mount the legal challenge. City lawyers argued that the repeal of guidelines protecting poor defendants from excessive fines would harm San Francisco by impoverishing more of its residents and making them more dependent on local public services. Tigar said the argument was speculative and did not show the likelihood of an impact on city government. The city cannot simply claim a concrete interest in the financial well-being of all potential future residents, the judge said. He also said San Francisco could not show that it faced federal enforcement action, or other tangible harm, from the withdrawal of guidelines interpreting laws that protect the disabled and the foreign-born. John Cote, spokesman for City Attorney Dennis Herrera, said Tigars ruling does not resolve the legality of the Trump administrations rollback of rights for the poor, people of color, people with disabilities and others. The court ruled that San Francisco does not have the legal standing to sue for those violations, Cote said. Somebody else could and we hope they do. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko Sen. Amy Klobuchar was hungry, forkless and losing patience. An aide, joining her on a trip to South Carolina in 2008, had procured a salad for his boss while hauling their bags through an airport terminal. But once onboard, he delivered the grim news: He had fumbled the plastic eating utensils before reaching the gate, and the crew did not have any forks on such a short flight. What happened next was typical: Klobuchar berated her aide instantly for the slip-up. What happened after that was not: She pulled a comb from her bag and began eating the salad with it, according to four people familiar with the episode. Then she handed the comb to her staff member with a directive: Clean it. The moment an abridged version of which Klobuchar recounted herself in a speech to fellow Democrats at the time encapsulates the underside of life on the Minnesota senators team, detailed in interviews with more than two dozen former staff members and internal emails reviewed by The New York Times. As Klobuchar joins the 2020 presidential race, many of these former aides say she was not just demanding but often dehumanizing not merely a tough boss in a capital full of them but the steward of a work environment colored by volatility, highhandedness and distrust. The senator feared sabotage from her own team: In an email, she once raised the prospect of an in-house mole. She and her top confidantes could complicate the future job opportunities of some staff members who sought to leave, former aides said, sometimes speaking to their would-be employers to register her displeasure. And Klobuchar frequently suggested that her aides were preventing her from greater standing in Washington and beyond, former staff members said. We are becoming a joke, she wrote in one email about the contents of her Twitter feed, and it is making me a joke. Questions about Klobuchars actions toward subordinates have shadowed the early days of her 2020 presidential campaign, with articles in HuffPost and BuzzFeed News by turns fueling the hard-driving reputation that has followed her for years in Washington and angering supporters who see sexism in the criticism. Klobuchar, 58, has allowed that she has high expectations. Am I a tough boss sometimes? Yes, she said at a recent CNN forum. Have I pushed people too hard? Yes. Presented with a detailed accounting of The Times reporting and the staff emails written by Klobuchar, a campaign spokeswoman, Carlie Waibel, said: The senator has repeatedly acknowledged that she can be tough and push people hard. But these anonymous stories some of which are just plain ridiculous do not overshadow the countless experiences of people on the senators team who she has been so proud to work with. Despite employee turnover that perennially ranks near the highest in the Senate, Klobuchar has defenders among her former staff. She noted at the forum that some people had been with her for many years. Erikka Knuti, a former communications aide to the senator, described her experience as broadly positive and said Klobuchar could be contrite at times, remembering a gesture of regret from the senator once after she snapped at Knuti in an elevator in front of another lawmaker. 'That wasnt OK,' she recalled Klobuchar telling her. It made me feel valued, Knuti said. While there was wide consensus in the interviews that women were often held to a different standard as bosses, former aides female and male said their concerns about Klobuchars behavior should not be dismissed as gender bias. Many of the aides said they had worked for both men and women, for lawmakers both compassionate and unkind, without encountering anyone else like Klobuchar. The world of congressional staffs is one of long hours and low pay, with much of the work shouldered by 20-something junior aides who are learning on the job. Some members of Congress are notorious for round-the-clock phone calls, late-night email and fierce attention to their own press coverage. Klobuchar is among them, but former aides said they were especially troubled by her willingness in excess of other senators, they said to embarrass staff members over minor missteps or with odd requests. Most of those interviewed for this article describing memories that span from shortly after her election in 2006 to the much more recent past discussed their time with Klobuchar on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal from the senator. These concerns were not idle, they said. Saving potentially damaging emails from Klobuchar became something of a last-day ritual, the aides said, in case they ever needed evidence of her conduct for their own reputational protection. She was known to throw office objects in frustration, including binders and phones, in the direction of aides, they said. Low-level employees were asked to perform duties they described as demeaning, like washing her dishes or other cleaning a possible violation of Senate ethics rules, according to veterans of the chamber. Appraisals of perceived staff incompetence were delivered at all hours of the day and night: In 20 years in politics I have never seen worse prep, Klobuchar said in one email, displeased at how a political event had been handled. This is the hands down worse thing you have ever given me, she wrote in another, questioning her teams grasp of policy as she rejected its slop. This is the worst press staff I ever had, she announced once to employees, according to an aide present. This was effectively a rite of passage, the aide said: The senator had plainly said the same about both predecessors and successors in the office. Still, while few contest that serving Klobuchar could be a challenge, other current and former aides spoke fondly of the experience, expressing pride over the national platform she has earned. The senators defenders say her conduct must be viewed in the larger context of women in Washington, where male leaders with legendary tempers and famously exacting standards, like former President Bill Clinton, have long subsisted atop the political food chain. For Klobuchar, there is the added complication of tending to a campaign image premised on affable Midwestern common sense. The Minnesota nice thing is also kind of a double-edged sword, Knuti said. In the Midwest you have to be outwardly nice and congenial. But these are tough people. Male senators yell quite a bit. But if a woman yells at you, its like, I got yelled at by my mom.' This much is not in dispute: For years, Klobuchar has had among the highest rates of staff turnover in the Senate, according to a review of congressional offices from the website LegiStorm. Over much of her Senate career, no one outpaced Klobuchar on this score; in 2017, two freshman senators, John Kennedy of Louisiana and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, surpassed her. The churn has produced a bit of a vicious circle. Democrats in Washington say she has struggled to recruit and retain top talent. Some operatives say they have shied away from her 2020 campaign, mindful of Klobuchars reputation. Among other concerns, her offices paid parental leave policy has been described as unusual on Capitol Hill. Two people familiar with the policy said that those who took paid leave were effectively required, once they returned, to remain with the office for three times as many weeks as they had been gone. The policy, outlined in an employee handbook, called for those who left anyway to pay back money earned during the weeks they were on leave. After receiving questions about the policy from The Times, Klobuchars office said it would be revised. We offer 12 weeks of paid maternity and paternity leave for our staff and have one of the strongest paid leave policies in the Senate, said a spokeswoman, Elana Ross. Weve never made staff pay back any of their leave and will be changing that language in the handbook. She declined to provide a copy of the current policy as written. Klobuchars supporters say the office environment has never adversely affected her work, cheering her status as a bipartisan pragmatist with a solidly Democratic record and political instincts more moderate than many of her 2020 peers. They cite her status as a legislative advocate for major national causes like lower prescription drug prices and more local issues like swimming pool safety after a tragic accident in Minnesota. The senator can also be charming, funny and warm, they say a fixture at staff weddings and birthday parties. Jonathan Becker, her former chief of staff, said that while Klobuchar could be tough, the intensity was exhilarating, too, compelling aides to raise their performance. Isnt that what the American people want in a president? he said. Theyre not looking for mashed potatoes. Others said that Klobuchar often squandered time and mental energy on trivial matters, obsessing over perceived snubs in news media clickbait about who was up or down in Washington and repeatedly suggesting that an inferior staff was standing in her way. Sen. Leahy, Im sure he doesnt put up with this, she once said of her colleague, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the longest-serving active senator, according to a person present. Some former aides who were frequent targets of her ire acknowledged that the senator often had a point, praising her intelligence and political antenna. She has been re-elected in two landslides, including a 24-point victory last year in a state President Donald Trump lost narrowly. But her blistering feedback to staff was often substantially out of proportion to the offense, these former aides said. Word choice or grammatical issues could make Klobuchar especially furious, not only in prepared text but also in office meetings or common speech. Words like straight-shooting and absolutely were known to invite her scorn. She urged staff members never to say that another senator led something and asked them to call her a co-sponsor of legislation instead of a supporter, suggesting that the latter sounded weak. Klobuchars exasperation often appeared connected to two factors: an abiding fear of being embarrassed in front of colleagues or in the press and the conviction that she works harder than her staff. In one message, in which she said she had not been prepared properly for an event, Klobuchar reminded her team of the hours she kept. Please dont claim lack of time, she wrote, asking what else might explain their failure. I flew in at one in the morning. I dont have that luxury to blame lack of time. Unless YOU were up working at one am, and up again five am the next day, please dont claim lack of time. That was when I was up. In private, she could deliver slashing remarks without particular provocation. Parched one day in the Capitol, she turned to a member of her team and said, I would trade three of you for a bottle of water, according to a person who witnessed it. Former aides said Klobuchar frequently told them they were damaging her political career. On one occasion, a former aide recalled, Klobuchar accused her of ruining my marriage, too. (The aide said she interpreted the comment to mean that Klobuchar, in her telling, was forced to work overtime, away from family, to overcome the aides failings.) Many staff members did warmly recall the misery-loves-company camaraderie that built among aggrieved aides. But the core truth of life with Klobuchar was never going to change, they said: She thought she was demanding their best and getting far less. And she was never going to apologize for pointing that out. I need to do some serious soul searching about our office, she said in one email, lamenting the teams work product. How can you treat me like this time and time again? This article originally appeared in The New York Times LOS ANGELES A federal judge in California has ruled that a twin son of a gay married couple has been an American citizen since birth, handing a defeat to the U.S. government, which had only granted the status to his brother. The State Department was wrong to deny citizenship to 2-year-old Ethan Dvash-Banks because U.S. law does not require a child to show a biological relationship with their parents if their parents were married at the time of their birth, U.S. District Judge John Walter held Thursday. A lawsuit filed by the boys parents, Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks, sought the same rights for Ethan that his brother, Aiden, has as a citizen. Each boy was conceived with donor eggs and the sperm from a different father one an American, the other an Israeli citizen but born by the same surrogate mother minutes apart. The government had only granted citizenship to Aiden, who DNA tests showed was the biological son of Andrew, a U.S. citizen. Ethan was conceived from the sperm of Elad Dvash-Banks, an Israeli citizen. The suit was one of two filed last year by an LGBTQ immigrant rights group that said the State Department is discriminating against same-sex binational couples by denying their children citizenship at birth. The cases filed in Los Angeles and Washington by Immigration Equality said the children of a U.S. citizen who marries abroad are entitled to U.S. citizenship at birth no matter where they are born, even if the other parent is a foreigner. This family was shocked and appalled and angry when they were told their family wasnt legal, said Aaron Morris, executive director of Immigration Equality. Andrew Dvash-Banks was studying in Israel when he met his future husband, Elad, an Israeli citizen. Because they couldnt marry at the time in the U.S. or in Israel, they moved to Canada, where they wed in 2010. The children were born by a surrogate in September 2016. Christopher Weber is an Associated Press writer. WASHINGTON A criminal investigation into whether former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe made false statements during an internal probe into a news media disclosure remains open, his attorney said Thursday. Weve had dealings with the U.S. attorneys office in Washington that has been handling the case, said lawyer Michael Bromwich. We are in continuing communication with them. The Justice Department inspector general last year referred for investigation and possible prosecution allegations that McCabe lied under oath when questioned about the source of information in a 2016 Wall Street Journal story about an FBI inquiry into the Clinton Foundation. McCabe has acknowledged that he permitted subordinates to speak to the reporter to correct what he said was a false narrative, but he has denied that he lied to investigators. He has called his March 2018 firing, which arose from the false statement allegations, politically motivated. Bromwich said McCabe will soon sue the Justice Department over his firing. McCabe is a frequent target of President Trumps wrath and has just published a book highly critical of Trump. The investigation into the news media disclosure exposed a rift between McCabe and former FBI Director James Comey. McCabe told the inspector generals office that he told Comey after the article was published that he had allowed the officials to share information about the call and that Comey responded that it was a good idea to rebut a one-sided narrative. But Comey is quoted in the report as saying McCabe never told him he had approved sharing details of the call and, in fact, had left him with the opposite impression. Asked about his current relationship with Comey, McCabe replied tersely, We dont really have a relationship now. Eric Tucker is an Associated Press writer. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Trial should begin in early 2020 for the suspect in a Florida high school massacre that left 17 people dead last year, a judge said at a hearing Thursday. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer said she intends to set a definitive trial date soon for 20-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who faces the death penalty if convicted. No exact date has been set, and even aiming for the first part of 2020 would be quick for such a high-profile murder case. WASHINGTON House Democrats will file a resolution Friday aimed at blocking the national emergency declaration that President Trump has issued to help finance his wall along the Southwest border, teeing up a clash over billions of dollars, immigration policy and the Constitutions separation of powers. Though the effort seems almost certain to ultimately fall short perhaps to a Trump veto the votes will let Democrats take a defiant stance against Trump that is sure to please liberal voters. They will also put some Republicans from swing districts and states in a difficult spot. Formally introducing the measure sets up a vote by the full House likely by mid-March because of a timeline spelled out by law. Initial passage by the Democratic-run House seems assured. The measure would then move to the Republican-controlled Senate, where there may be enough GOP defections for approval. The law that spells out the rules for emergency declarations seems to require the Senate to address the issue too, but theres never been a congressional effort to block one and some procedural uncertainties remain. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, seemed to predict approval, telling colleagues in a letter that her chamber will move swiftly to pass it and the resolution will be referred to the Senate and then sent to the Presidents desk. Should the House and Senate initially approve the measure, Congress seems unlikely to muster the two-thirds majorities in each chamber that would be needed later to override a certain Trump veto. Even so, Republican senators facing tough 2020 re-election fights in competitive states like Arizona, Colorado and North Carolina would have to take stances that could risk dividing the GOPs pro-Trump and more moderate voters. Moderate Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Wednesday she would back a resolution blocking the declaration, making her the first Republican to publicly state her support for the effort to thwart the emergency. With Republicans holding a 53-47 majority, three more GOP senators would need to vote with Democrats for the resolution to win initial approval. The votes could also cause discomfort for other Republicans whove opposed the declaration. Many have expressed concerns that Trumps declaration sets a precedent for future Democratic presidents to declare emergencies to help their own favored issues, like global warming or gun control. Alan Fram is an Associated Press writer. HOUSTON Months after the Trump administration announced an end to its wide-scale separation of migrant parents and children, the policy remains a heated issue in the courts and at the border as critics contend the government is still needlessly breaking up immigrant families. The Texas Civil Rights Project released a report Thursday that counts 272 separations at a single Texas courthouse since June, when President Trump issued an executive order ending widespread separations amid public outrage. The bulk of those cases involve children who cross the U.S.-Mexico border with relatives other than their parents, such as grandparents, uncles and aunts, or adult siblings. Thirty-eight cases involved a parent or legal guardian, the majority of whom had criminal convictions, the group said. In a statement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection argued the group incorrectly categorized cases involving other relatives because the Homeland Security Act does not make concessions for anyone other than a parent or legal guardian. CBP includes the Border Patrol, which apprehends people entering the U.S. illegally. The government and the American Civil Liberties Union were due back in court Thursday to discuss what might be thousands of children who were separated before a June court order requiring the speedy reunification of families. The government has acknowledged taking more than 2,700 children from their families and has reunited most of them, but a watchdog report last month found that thousands of other children were separated and released before the order. Whats happening is the government is doing separations unilaterally without any process to contest the separations and without a child welfare expert overseeing the separations, ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt said. One concern, Gelernt and others said, is the fate of children cared for by relatives in arrangements that were never formalized. In one case discovered by the Texas Civil Rights Project, an 11-year-old boy from Guatemala was separated from his uncle, who was his caretaker because his father had not been involved in his life and his mother had died of cancer, said Efren Olivares, a lawyer for the project. Nomaan Merchant is an Associated Press writer. When I read that electronic music DJ Steve Aoki expanded his pizzeria chain to Oakland, I had so many questions. What qualifies Steve Aoki, who should hardly be trusted to make enjoyable music, to make pizza? What exactly is the "lit herb infused dough" the menu repeatedly references? Is this an alternate reality and, if so, how can I go back? And most importantly, will my boss approve the expense report if I want to try the pizza? It would hardly be the grossest thing I've tried in the name of a story. I enlisted a few of my friends to put their bodies on the line for this important journalistic endeavor and try a few Pizzaoki pies at our weekly viewing of "The Bachelor." First, a little background on Steve Aoki for the uninitiated. He's a 41-year-old electronic and dance music producer and DJ, who has collaborated with artists across genres from Linkin Park to Kid Cudi. The restaurant business runs in the family; he's the son of Rocky Aoki, the Japanese-born wrestler who founded Benihana when he moved to the United States. Despite Aoki's family history in the food business, we were still pretty skeptical as we placed our order on Postmates. Pizzaoki's Oakland location only does business via third-party delivery apps, according to Berkeleyside, which first reported on the brand's Bay Area expansion. The pies are fired up at 536 Lake Park Ave. in the Grand Lake neighborhood, alongside five other pizza brands operating out of the same kitchen. We picked two different pizzas to taste test: a white pie named "Neon Future" topped with mozzarella, ricotta, garlic and parsley and the "Mayhem," a supreme pizza made with "Mama Aoki's homemade pizza sauce," mozzarella, pepperoni, sausage, meatballs, olives, onions and bell peppers. Both were made with the "lit herb infused dough." Let's start with the positives, since that'll go faster. It was easy to order through Postmates and the pizza arrived hot, about 30 minutes after we placed the order. Before delivery fees the pizzas cost about $20 each, and they were large. But when we opened up the boxes, there was something off-putting about one pizza's appearance. The white pie was alarmingly colorless (even for a white pie) and the crust was thin and doughy-looking. The "Mayhem" looked a little more appealing, with a bit of a browned color on the crust and absolutely loaded with toppings. Things started to really go wrong when we tried to serve the pizza. The first slice of "Mayhem" I tried to pull out of the box completely collapsed. It was so soggy that it had welded itself to the bottom of the pizza box. As I struggled to extricate the structurally deficient pizza from the box, my friend kept repeating "it's just so wet," which is just not how you want your dinner described. Once you were able to actually get a bite of the slice into your mouth, the flavors were fine if you're a fan of pepperoni, sausage, bell peppers and olives. The taste of the crust and sauce didn't come through, hidden under the massive pile of toppings. Even though it didn't look it at first, the "Neon Future" white pie actually had more redeeming qualities. The bites where you'd get a sizable amount of ricotta cheese were good, because ricotta cheese is objectively good. It was also topped with a healthy amount of garlic, which I'm a fan of. But the best part was we could actually taste the "lit herb" crust we were promised. The herb flavor shone through and set it apart from your average cheap delivery pizza. The irony was just that the pizza wasn't "lit" enough. Both pizzas were undercooked, leaving the crust super doughy. The white pie only held up better because it wasn't stacked as high with extras. If it had been baked longer, it could have made for a tasty, thin-crust pizza with a better texture. After a couple slices each, we all settled in with our stomach aches and our regrets. We drank enough wine to get rid of the pizza aftertaste in our mouths as we watched the familiar nonsense on "The Bachelor" play out. I wondered if the pizza would taste better if I was a little more "lit" and "herb-infused." The vegan in the room seemed happy to have dodged a bullet. It was pretty clear we wouldn't order from Pizzaoki again. With so many great pizza options in the East Bay, why would we? Cheeseboard, Sliver and Arizmendi's are all similarly priced and much tastier. And I'd take a Round Table King Arthur Supreme over that soggy mess any day. But some things are out of our control in this life. When my editor read the first draft of this article, he came back with some unexpected feedback: Try the pizza again. So against my better instincts, I placed another order via Postmates. The order was for a single pizza this time, just the Neon Future white pie that I thought showed a little more promise. There's good news and bad news. The pizza appeared to have been cooked a little longer and the crust had just a tiny hint of a golden-brown color. However, the second version of the white pie committed an even greater crime against pizza and/or humanity: an ungodly amount of garlic. I'm talking about chunks of raw garlic everywhere. I love garlic and even I was picking off clove-sized bits to make the pizza more edible. (See the gallery for photographic evidence.) I convinced a couple more friends to taste along with me (the aforementioned friend group from Bachelor night not-so-politely refused a second tasting), and they agreed. The amount of garlic piled onto the pizza was enough to ward off even the most persistent vampire. For what it's worth, we aren't the only ones out there who have sampled Pizzaoki and been left wanting more. There aren't any Yelp reviews for the restaurant's Oakland location yet, but the Los Angeles spot has mixed ratings. Many complain about quality control issues, with pizzas arriving burned or misshapen. Others focus on the positives ("It's perfect for late night munchies!") and acknowledge you get what you pay for. Berkeleyside's review wasn't exactly complimentary, either. Perhaps the most telling sign of the pizza's mediocrity is that I brought in leftovers to the office the next day and set them out around noon. As I headed out of the office around 5 p.m. there were still two slices sitting there. Anyone who has worked in a newsroom knows pizza, even cold pizza, doesn't usually last that long. We tried to reach Pizzaoki and its parent company Family Style Co. for comment, but didn't hear back. Fun fact: the email address provided online for media inquiries just gives you a bounce-back message. I tried two different email submission forms, but didn't hear back after a week. No phone number was listed for Family Style Co. or a Pizzaoki corporate office. (If you're reading this, Steve, shoot me an email.) Berkeleyside reports Pizzaoki is looking at expanding to several more Bay Area locations, including Berkeley, San Francisco and San Jose. If you try it out for yourself, let us know what you think in the comments. Read Alix Martichoux's latest stories and send her news tips at amartichoux@sfchronicle.com. Start receiving breaking news emails on wildfires, civil emergencies, riots, national breaking news, Amber Alerts, weather emergencies, and other critical events with the SFGATE breaking news email. Click here to make sure you get the news. This article, Facebook allowed advertisers to target people interested in Nazis, originally appeared on CNET.com. Facebook, under pressure to combat hate speech, has landed in hot water again for the audiences it allows advertisers to target. The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that advertisers were able to target people interested in perpetuators of the Holocaust including Joseph Goebbels, Josef Mengele and Heinrich Himmler to hundreds of thousands of users. Advertisers could also reach people interested in neo-Nazi bands such as Skrewdriver, according to the newspaper, which received a tip from a local musician. Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the social media company told the Los Angeles Times that it would remove the audiences from its ads platform. "Most of these targeting options are against our policies and should have been caught and removed sooner," Facebook spokesman Joe Osborne told the newspaper. "While we have an ongoing review of our targeting options, we clearly need to do more, so we're taking a broader look at our policies and detection methods." CNET conducted a search for some of the terms mentioned in the LA Times' report on Facebook's ad platform and they appear to have been removed. This is not the first time that the social network has faced criticism for the advertisements it allows. ProPublica reported in 2017 that advertisers could target ads interested in "Jew hater," "How to burn jews," or, "History of 'why jews ruin the world.' " In response, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg apologized and the social network vowed to increase oversight of its ads platform. An unprecedented number of grounded planes, a spate of maintenance problems and an especially bitter labor dispute could be the latest signs that Southwest Airlines has come of age, running into the same controversies that have beset older airlines that the quirky and beloved carrier has long tormented. Southwest canceled more than 350 flights this week due to storms and unspecified maintenance issues, which company executives have linked to years of contract squabbling with the mechanics union. To top it off, a computer outage Friday grounded flights around the country for nearly an hour. At Oakland Airport, where Southwest flies 78 percent of the available seats, some flights to Las Vegas were canceled Thursday because of bad weather, but there were no reported cancellations due to maintenance, an airport spokeswoman said. Any trouble at Southwest could have a big impact on Bay Area travelers. The airline, which arrived in Oakland in 1989 and came to dominate Californias air-travel market in the following decade, has nearly half of the market at San Joses airport, 9 percent at SFO, and nearly a third of the regional market, according to government data. The cancellations come 10 months after an engine on a Dallas-bound plane failed. Engine fragments struck the planes wing and fuselage, damaging a cabin window and causing fatal injuries to one passenger. Southwest may want to paint itself with this love image on the outside, and very folksy and cute and funny, said Henry Harteveldt, founder of travel research company Atmosphere Research Group. But on the inside, the corporate culture is rather dismal right now. Southwest started when Rollin King sketched the Texas Triangle San Antonio, Dallas and Houston on a cocktail napkin. (The Texas businessman died in 2014, and his better-known co-founder, Herb Kelleher, died in January.) It won over passengers with low fares and a fun attitude. Even as it grew and cast aside gimmicks including hot pants and peanuts the airline developed customer loyalty partly by eschewing baggage and other fees that its competitors began heaping on passengers. Southwest, known and respected for its family culture in the workplace, avoided much of the labor strife that has been part of the airline industry for decades. Continental Airlines, for example, endured years of rocky employee relations until 1994 when former CEO Gordon Bethune famously improved labor relations, thanks in part to improved channels of communication and employee bonuses tied to the airlines on-time performance. Those labor tensions resurfaced in 2010, when United Airlines completed its merger with Continental, and last year, when Uniteds nonunion catering workers voted to join the Unite Here union. Southwest has been negotiating a contract with the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, which represents the companys nearly 2,400 mechanics, for more than six years. The two sides came to a tentative agreement last year, but rank-and-file rejected it. The number of out-of-service aircraft skyrocketed on Feb. 12, just days after their last negotiations session. Southwest said it had an unprecedented number of out-of-service aircraft and late last week enacted a staffing protocol to maximize the availability of its mechanics across all scheduled shifts. The high number of groundings led the company to declare an operational emergency, according to media reports. AMFA has a history of work disruptions, and Southwest has two pending lawsuits against the union, Mike Van de Ven, chief operating officer for Southwest, said in a statement. We will be investigating this current disruption and exploring all possible remedies. Southwest prides itself on its reliability and works hard each day to get its customers where they want to go. We apologize to our customers who have been inconvenienced by this disruption. The union responded that the airline is scapegoating its mechanics. For Southwests leadership to connect the airlines self-declared operational emergency to collective bargaining negotiations is simply an attempt to divert attention away from the airlines safety issues, the union said. The Federal Aviation Administration has condemned the carriers capitulation of airworthiness and Southwest has confessed that it has flown passengers in unairworthy aircraft, it added. A union spokesman said in an email that Southwest mechanics have become less afraid to write up legitimate maintenance issues. And that leading up to the operational emergency, mechanics attendance and overtime were at normal levels. They did not call out sick at an increased level or decline overtime work, he said. No matter how small an issue we may find with an aircraft, we have an obligation mandated by operation of our FAA-issued licenses to repair it and make the aircraft airworthy, the spokesman said. It is our hope that the Southwest management will join this commitment to restoring our safety culture and looking at this transition not as an operational emergency but rather the beginning of a new normal. This spat is testing a belief that Southwest would avoid the union-management disagreements seen at other companies, said Rob Britton, a former airline executive who is an adjunct professor of marketing at Georgetown Universitys McDonough School of Business. The family culture that the late Herb Kelleher and others worked so hard to build and nurture is becoming harder to sustain, Britton said in an email. He said companies in any industry become more complex and harder to manage as they grow. Yet Southwest has built up a respect that will help customers accept operational hiccups, especially if they are clearly explained and deftly resolved. Travel research company founder Harteveldt said the airline and union must find a compromise, as the fallout can only intensify. For instance, if Southwest thinks out-of-service planes will become more of a permanent problem, the airline might re-evaluate its services and stop operating some flights. Thats going to frustrate everybody, Harteveldt said. No one wins in that scenario. San Francisco Chronicle staff and news services contributed to this report. Andrea Leinfelder is a Houston Chronicle writer. The National Enquirer has been one of President Donald Trump's most controversial allies, delivering scathing coverage of his opponents to supermarket check-out lines and funneling $150,000 to one of his alleged mistresses to buy her silence. So it will probably come as a surprise to California state employees and taxpayers to learn they were helping fund those efforts. During the 2016 presidential campaign, California's massive public pension fund, CalPERS, was one of the biggest investors in the debt-laden owner of The National Enquirer, according to public records reviewed by the Los Angeles Times. Through an investment managed by a New Jersey hedge fund, California's public pension fund appears to have owned as much as one-third of American Media Inc., the National Enquirer's parent company, in 2016. It is not clear whether CalPERS continues to hold a major stake in the tabloid publisher. Fewer than a third of California voters cast their ballots for Trump, who remains deeply unpopular in the state. Informed of the investment, Jeremy Bulow, a professor of economics at Stanford University, laughed in disbelief. "I'm sure lots of CalPERS (plan holders) will be happy to know they were paying hush money to help get Trump elected," he said. "That's going to make them feel real good about their pension fund managers!" California's pension fund, the largest in the nation, runs on contributions from taxpayer-funded state agencies and their employees. It has long drawn scrutiny over whether its mandate of seeking strong returns meshes with liberal Californians' expectations of ethical investment. Some of its investments drawing recent scrutiny have included oil pipelines, retailers that sell semiautomatic rifles, Russian sovereign debt and coal-producing companies. Joe Nation, a pension expert and public policy professor at Stanford, said he was surprised to learn about the investment in American Media Inc.: "It's a little bit strange that a pension system that is so concerned about socially responsible investing would invest in AMI, directly or indirectly." Megan White, a spokeswoman for the pension fund, said in an email that "CalPERS does not align itself with American Media's business actions." She added: "Our investment or ownership does not represent an endorsement of a particular company or product." She declined to answer questions about the pension fund's current stake. The privately held publisher, whose holdings also include Men's Journal, Soap Opera Digest and several other magazines, has not been required to publicly disclose its investors since 2016, and it did not respond to requests for comment. American Media Inc. has faced a barrage of bad headlines recently over its management practices. The company cooperated with the federal prosecutors in New York and reached a no-prosecution agreement over its hush-money scheme to help Trump, which resulted in a conviction for his personal attorney, Michael Cohen. But federal prosecutors have since started examining whether American Media Inc. violated its promise in the agreement not to break the law after Amazon mogul Jeff Bezos published a blog post earlier this month alleging that representatives of the tabloid publisher threatened to blackmail him with intimate photos with a mistress. The company has denied wrongdoing. Its problems also extend to its balance sheet, where the publisher reportedly carries more than $1 billion in debt. And its continual need for cash is exactly how CalPERS came to be invested in The National Enquirer's parent company in the first place. Starting in 2009, CalPERS invested $607.7 million with Chatham Asset Management hedge fund's "Chatham Eureka Fund," which is a "fund of one" a type of investment created and managed for a single institutional investor rather than for a pooled group of investors. In a recent disclosure, Chatham Asset Management said that its Eureka Fund technically has two investors. One is the hedge fund itself, which holds a 1 percent stake, suggesting that the other 99 percent is held by CalPERS. Chatham Asset Management snapped up a majority stake in American Media Inc. in 2014, when the publisher was struggling to emerge from a 2010 bankruptcy and needed a financial lifeline. In its most recent public filings, from July 2016, American Media Inc. reported that four Chatham-controlled funds together owned 78 percent of the company. The largest single owner, by far, was the Eureka Fund, with a 34 percent overall stake suggesting that CalPERS in essence owned one-third of the tabloid publisher. The Chatham hedge fund has said it is not involved in the day-to-day management of American Media, Inc., though it reportedly holds two seats on the company's board. And when the company's chief executive, David Pecker, attended a dinner with Trump at the White House in 2017, he was accompanied by the head of Chatham Asset Management, Anthony Melchiorre. White, the CalPERS spokeswoman, said that "as a large institutional investor," the pension fund has a broad array of investments, including stakes in more than more than 10,000 public companies. "Our primary mission is to invest on behalf of our 1.9 million members in order to deliver the benefits they were promised after a career in public service," she wrote. The pension fund has been winding down its investments in hedge funds since 2014 as part of a plan to cut costs and simplify the state's investments. As a result, CalPERS is "ending our relationship with the (Chatham) hedge fund, which currently represents 0.0006( percent) of the more than $350 billion CalPERS fund," White said. CalPERS' most recently available public disclosures, from 2018, indicate that the pension fund has closed out a majority of its investment in the Chatham Eureka Fund, with its remaining stake valued at a little more than $200 million. White told The Times to direct further questions to the hedge fund that manages CalPERS' investment, Chatham Asset Management, which did not respond to requests for comment. Bulow said that CalPERS had seen an unimpressive 2.3 percent rate of annual return out of its original investment in the Chatham Eureka Fund in 2009, far less than if the money had simply sat in an index fund that reflected the aggressive rebound of the stock market since the 2008 financial crisis. "It seems like the decision to exit from that sort of investment is a good one," Bulow said. Champagne Louis Roederer, the French company famous for producing Cristal Champagne, has agreed to purchase Merry Edwards Winery in Sebastopol, a highly regarded producer of Pinot Noir, from Merry Edwards and her husband Ken Coopersmith. The deal, which includes the Merry Edwards brand, inventory, winery and 45 acres of vineyard land, marks Roederers first foray into Sonoma County. The purchase price was not disclosed. I met with a lot of companies, and when I met with Roederer, we were instantly at ease with each other, said Merry Edwards, who started her eponymous company 22 years ago. Roederer owns three properties in Mendocino County: Roederer Estate, Scharffenberger Cellars and Domaine Anderson, in addition to wineries in France and Portugal including Domaines Ott, Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Ramos Pinto, Delas Freres and Champagne Louis Roederer. Frederic Rouzaud, president of Roederer, said that Merry Edwards distinguished record with Sonoma County Pinot Noir had first attracted him. Pinot is a growing focus for Roederer; the company built Domaine Anderson in 2012 in order to grow that segment of its portfolio. But it was Edwards story, and the fact that she built her winery from scratch, Rouzaud said, that sealed the deal. We had looked at Kosta Browne, he said another high-profile Sonoma Pinot brand, which sold last year to Duckhorn after a string of private equity investments and was no longer under the control of its founders. The importance of working with family-owned wineries, Rouzaud said, is something we cannot really explain or measure. As for Edwards decision to sell, she said it was simple. Im turning 72 this year, she said. How am I going to carry this forward? Her son and daughter became involved in the winery about 10 years ago, but both ultimately left to focus on pursuits outside of the wine industry. That left Edwards to face the same questions that many of her peers have had to face like Calera founder Josh Jensen, who sold his brand to Duckhorn a year before the Kosta Browne deal. I have a lot of energy now, but what if something happens? said Edwards. I have 28 employees. Do I want to wait until something happens? The deal with Roederer has been in the works for a year and a half, Edwards said. Throughout the process of searching for a buyer, she remained wary. Whats so common today is big companies come in and buy properties like ours, then they just ruin them, she said. She was encouraged by Roederers history of taking small properties and building them, but not losing their individual flavor. Lacy Atkins / The Chronicle Today, Merry Edwards Winery is widely understood to be one of Sonoma Countys great Pinot Noir producers. But the winery is merely the culmination of a long and varied career in which Edwards broke through gender barriers and made scientific discoveries that proved crucial for the California wine industry. She earned her masters degree in food science, with an emphasis in enology, from UC Davis in 1973 one of just three women in her program, and the only woman who would go on to become a winemaker. She immediately landed an enviable job, as head winemaker at Mount Eden Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and later went on to help launch Matanzas Creek in Sonoma County. For her masters thesis, Edwards tested 120 wines that had been bottled with lead capsules over their corks, and discovered widespread lead contamination in the wines. That groundbreaking research would help eliminate lead capsules from California wines. Edwards other major scientific contribution to the wine industry was related to clones distinctive selections of a single grape variety. In the 1970s, grapevine clones were poorly understood in California. But on a trip to Burgundy, Edwards learned that the University of Dijon was undertaking extensive research to learn how different clones of Pinot Noir behaved in the vineyard. I was completely blown away, Edwards said. By golly, these clones had completely different qualities. The 25-year-old Pinot Noir vines at Mount Eden, she figured, were as distinctive and beautiful as any. Could those vines produce an isolated clone? In 1975, Edwards took a vine cutting and sent it off to the UC Davis nursery for quarantine. The resulting plant material, officially known as UCD Clone 37, is now often called the Mount Eden clone, or the Merry Edwards clone and is responsible for much of the high-quality Pinot Noir planted throughout California. I feel like its my gift, Edwards said of Clone 37. Its virus free. It makes this incredible wine. I was really lucky to find that and be able to clean it up. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. Merry Edwards Winery was not the winemakers original business venture. In the 1980s, she went into business with her parents on a brand called the Merry Vintners. Each years wine labels featured an illustration of a different type of microbe. It was a financial disaster, Edwards said. Her family sold the brand to DeLoach Vineyards, and her second time around, with Merry Edwards Winery, we had learned to do everything the complete opposite, she laughed. Lacy Atkins / The Chronicle She launched that eponymous winery in 1997, a year after Edwards bought a 25-acre vineyard in Sebastopol, which would become her Meredith Estate. The companys land holdings expanded throughout Sonoma County over the subsequent years, and in 2006, after years of making the wines in custom-crush facilities, Edwards built a new winery in the middle of her Coopersmith Vineyard. Just four years later, she undertook a major renovation of the winery. Famously, Merry Edwards Winery has always offered free tastings. When asked whether that will change under Roederers ownership, Rouzaud laughed; he was not aware of the policy. But no, that will not change, he said. The Merry Edwards Winery staff is expected to remain on board, including Heidi von der Mehden, who was named head winemaker last year. Von der Mehdens hiring, in 2015, was the first step in the succession plan, Edwards said: We had a very clear three-year plan for Heidi to become winemaker. According to the agreement, Edwards will continue to work at the winery for at least a year. And then well play it by ear, she said. She has two young grandchildren now. Her priorities have shifted. This has been our life its been our passion, she said. But the point is: One has to be realistic. Should we expect more California acquisitions by Roederer in the coming years? Why not? Rouzaud replied. We never close the door. Esther Mobley is The Chronicles wine critic. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley Instagram: @esthermob Sen. Kamala Harris just got in trouble with her father after telling the world she smoked weed as a college student. But the Democratic presidential candidate didnt get scolded for the reason other pot-smoking children might. Earlier this month, Harris told a nationally syndicated radio show that I did inhale when asked if she smoked cannabis. It was a long time ago in college, she said. Asked if she supports legalizing cannabis, Harris wanted to be clear that she did. Half my familys from Jamaica. Are you kidding me? said Harris, whose father was born in Jamaica. Turns out that her father, Stanford emeritus professor of economics Donald Harris, didnt take it in such a lighthearted way. In a statement to jamaicaglobalonline.com, Donald Harris said, My dear departed grandmothers (whose extraordinary legacy I described in a recent essay on this website), as well as my deceased parents, must be turning in their grave right now to see their familys name, reputation and proud Jamaican identity being connected, in any way, jokingly or not with the fraudulent stereotype of a pot-smoking joy seeker and in the pursuit of identity politics. Speaking for myself and my immediate Jamaican family, we wish to categorically dissociate ourselves from this travesty. One reason why this might have stung Donald Harris: He has written extensively about his daughters Jamaican heritage in that same publication. And he didnt mention ganja. He and Kamala Harris mother, who was born in India, divorced when the candidate was young. She was largely raised by her mother in the East Bay and in Canada. The Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment about Donald Harris comments. Harris didnt back legalizing cannabis for recreational use until last year, two years after California voters did. She also opposed a statewide ballot measure to legalize marijuana in 2010, when she was San Franciscos district attorney and running to be state attorney general. She called that proposal flawed public policy. Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli One of San Franciscos last traditional mens clothing stores, a Financial District institution that teetered on the brink of closing after half a century, may stay open under new owners. The Hound Gentlemens Clothiers, in the 100-year-old Hallidie Building at 140 Sutter St., had struggled amid competition from online retailers and changing style preferences. With its lease expiring in April, and its owners looking toward retirement, it is negotiating to transfer ownership to Patrick James Inc., a Fresno manufacturer and seller of mens clothing and accessories. Patrick James would take over the lease and operate the store under the Hound name. Under the terms of the deal, the Hounds current owners, Walt Schorno, 81 and Mike Blunden, 75, would continue to work two days a week at the shop. My fondest memories over the years are of my customers, Schorno said in between helping customers find dress shirts and jackets. Weve gotten to know them well, sometimes outfitting different generations of the same family. Schorno thought the Hound would have to close this month after 46 years in business. With his 82nd birthday approaching, Schorno said, he planned to dial back some of his work responsibilities. He said he and Blunden did not want to sign another long-term lease, but they hoped the space could remain a mens clothing store. If the deal goes through, he said, he can continue doing what he loves. And if certain sales goals are met, both he and Blunden would have a small share in profits. When Schorno started the Hound in 1972 in a 400-square-foot space in the Flatiron Building, there were about 200 menswear shops in the city. A few like Brooks Brothers and Cable Car Clothiers still exist. But online competition has stiffened in recent years, and companies like Knot Standard, a New York luxury menswear company, and Amsterdams Suit Supply, both of which also have stores in downtown San Francisco, have cut into the business of stores like the Hound that rely on knowledgeable salespeople and in-house tailoring. The Hound does not even have a website. Workplace attire has also changed, said Brian Kilcourse, managing partner at Retail Systems Research in Miami. Tech workers wearing T-shirts and jeans are reasons why lots of high-end fashion businesses have gone out of business, he said. I do miss people coming into the store with a necktie and suit, Schorno said. Patrick Mon Pere Jr., whose father started the Patrick James company in 1962, said that terms are being negotiated with the building owners, and an agreement should be finalized in two weeks. The Hallidie Building has traditionally been home to mens retail on the ground floor, though the clothing warehouses on the upper floors have given way to offices, said Ed Conner, co-owner of the building. We have an interest in preserving the Hound name and the legacy it has, Mon Pere said. Patrick James online and catalog business accounts for half of its sales, and offerings from the Hound will be added to Patrick James catalogs. Some Hound customers prefer the store to the internet. The attention to detail and the variety of styles have kept retired teacher Tom Bostock, 68, coming back. Shopping online, you cant feel the texture and weight of the fabric, he said. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Schorno said the Hounds annual revenue has averaged $2.5 million over the past five years. The price of a suit runs about $1,000. Weve managed, even though weve stayed fairly flat, because of our customers, he said. The Hound plans to stay open until at least March 8, then reopen in April or May under new ownership. Schorno said hell keep the store open with limited hours during the transition. The shop is selling merchandise for 50 percent off, and is also offering five ties for free. Shwanika Narayan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: shwanika.narayan@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@shwanika Oakland public schools will remain open on school days during the teachers strike that began Thursday. Substitute teachers and administrators are supervising students, who are gathering in libraries and auditoriums. Here are answers to some key questions about the strike: Who is affected? The district enrolls more than 50,000 students, though about 13,000 of them attend charter schools whose teachers are not part of the 3,000-member union and arent on strike. What is at stake? Oakland teachers pay begins at $46,500, and the average salary is $63,100. Their contract expired two years ago, and teachers are demanding a 12 percent raise. They also want Oakland Unified to hire more counselors and nurses and to stop closing schools. Administrators say they have no choice, and need to slash $22 million to help close a $30 million budget deficit. The union on Wednesday rejected the districts latest proposal of a 7 percent raise over three years plus a retroactive 1.5 percent bonus. A district spokesman said every percent raise given to teachers was worth $3.5 million, because the district must give an equivalent raise to nonteaching staff. How long will it last? The two sides were scheduled to meet Friday at a neutral location. If an agreement is reached Friday or this weekend, teachers could be back at work early next week, said district spokesman John Sasaki. But that would happen only if the Oakland Education Associations 3,000 members had a chance to vote and approve the pact. Union officials said teachers, nurses and counselors were prepared to stay on strike until their demands are met. What are parents options? For parents who dont want to cross the picket line and cant keep their children at home, other options exist, including: Recreation centers Oakland city officials said 16 recreation centers are open for students from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on school days during the strike. The centers are: Allendale, 3711 Suter St.; Arroyo Viejo, 7701 Krause Ave.; Brookdale, 2535 High St.; Bushrod, 560 59th St.; Carmen Flores, 1637 Fruitvale Ave.; DeFremery, 1651 Adeline St.; Dimond, 3860 Hanly Road; Ira Jinkins, 9175 Edes Ave.; FM Smith, 1969 Park Blvd.; Franklin, 1010 E. 15th St.; Golden Gate, 1075 62nd St.; Manzanita, 2701 22nd Ave.; Montclair, 6300 Moraga Ave.; San Antonio, 1701 E. 19th St.; Redwood Heights, 3883 Aliso Ave.; and Mosswood, 3612 Webster St. Meals for students will be provided by Alameda County Community Food Bank. Residents can call the Oakland Education Association at 510-763-4020 with questions. Youth clubs Parents who have registered with the Boys and Girls Clubs may drop their children at the clubs at West Oakland, 920 24th St.; Central East Oakland, 3300 High St.; and East Oakland, 8530 International Blvd.; or the East Oakland Youth Development Center at 8200 International Blvd. Mandatory registration meetings are scheduled for 6 p.m. at each club Monday through Friday during the strike. Other options Oaklands public libraries will be open during their regular hours, and students may gather there. Children younger than 7 must be supervised by a caregiver. Some Oakland churches are also opening their doors for students, including Taylor Memorial Church, 1188 12th St.; Allen Temple, 8501 International Blvd.; and First Mount Sinai Baptist Church, 1970 86th Ave. Ashley McBride is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ashley.mcbride@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ashleynmcb Good morning, Bay Area. Its Feb. 22 and substitute teachers are scheduled to join the picket lines in Oaklands educators strike. Heres what you need to know to start your day. Soda drop Berkeley residents cut their consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages by half in the three years since the city passed a soda tax, even as residents of nearby Oakland and San Francisco kept their soda consumption flat. Thats the finding of a new UC Berkeley study that is among the first to document a long-term change in drinking habits after a local tax was imposed and of keen interest to California lawmakers introducing legislation intended to reduce soda consumption statewide. The studys authors believe the drop is connected to the tax because of the comparision to nearby cities and earlier shorter-term studies but acknowledge Berkeleys demographics are unlike the rest of the county, so its not certain that results there would hold up in other communities. Strike update Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Oakland teachers were joined on the picket lines for the first day of their strike on Thursday by students, parents and some substitute teachers who turned down assignments in solidarity. There was no clear resolution in sight, after teachers rejected an offer on Tuesday but bargaining teams for Oakland Unified and the teachers union were set to meet again on Friday morning. More: How long will strike last? What are parents options? Visa complications Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle After nearly two years of delays, the Trump administration is moving ahead with its plan to stop granting work permits to the spouses of many high-skilled visa holders. Sarah Morris / Getty Images At issue are permits for nearly 100,000 immigrants 30,000 in California alone who are here with spouses working on high-tech visas and seeking green cards. The vast majority of them are women. The changes will not happen immediately, but the uncertainty of future job statuses could have immediate ripple effects for families that rely on the visas, and companies struggling to attract top talent. Local man now part of giant, sprawling news story Federal prosecutors have accused a San Francisco IRS analyst of illegally accessing the financial records of Michael Cohen President Trumps former fixer and passing them to Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who represents Stormy Daniels, who accuses the president of buying her silence about past sexual affairs. The information, passed along to reporters by Avenatti, led to bombshell reports that revealed Cohen had set up an illegal shell company. The analyst allegedly leaked the information to Avenatti because he was concerned Cohens records were being withheld from law enforcement investigations. Whos left? The California Republican Party has never been less relevant, Joe Garofoli writes. It has no statewide elected officials. Its a super minority in the Legislature. Only one in four registered voters belongs to it. And the states entire Republican delegation of U.S. Representatives can fit in a minivan. So how should the party change to win back California voters? The three people vying to be state party chair this weekend at the GOPs convention in Sacramento arent calling for wholesale changes. Far from it. Around the Bay Almost a year to the day: The Vallejo officer in the Willie McCoy shooting killed another man in 2018 Six months away: San Francisco Mayor London Breed forms group to deal with expected traffic mayhem around the new Warriors arena Hundred thousand dollar bill: Supervisors start hearings on San Francisco General Hospitals extreme bills for those already insured 46 years in business: The Hound Gentlemens Clothiers finds buyer on eve of closure Snuffing birther bid: Kamala Harris call-them-out Twitter strategy for conspiracy theorists Oscar poll: Vote for your favorite Academy Awards nominees in our Datebook poll Fugitive recovery: Fifty people arrested in Tenderloin dragnet by San Francisco police many on failure to appear after earlier arrests. In Case You Missed It Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle Our nine-month-long investigation into problems with the cleanup at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard took a turn to another part of San Francisco this week: Treasure Island. Sign up for Bay Briefing Like what you're reading? Subscribe to The Chronicle's Bay Briefing newsletter and get the Bay Area's best journalism in your inbox every weekday. See More Collapse Heres what we published in the investigation this week: Corporate managers accused of directing an extensive fraud in the cleanup at Hunters Point led similar projects at Treasure Island and the work apparently has never been rechecked since fraud at the shipyard was discovered. A $5 billion real estate project on the island is moving ahead. A Washington D.C. watchdog group has sued the Navy for delaying the release of public records about the clean-up of radioactive substances on Treasure Island. The state health department has finished crawling through a housing development at Hunters Point with radiation scanners and says it found no hazards. But a review of the states final report on that effort, released this month, shows that its testing was superficial and did not address key questions about health and safety. Bay Briefing is written by Taylor Kate Brown and sent to readers email inboxes on weekday mornings. Sign up for the newsletter here and contact Brown at taylor.brown@sfchronicle.com Thank you for reading! You have reached your 30-day limit of free access to SentinelSource.com, The Keene Sentinels website. If you would like to read two more articles for free at this time, please register for an account by clicking the sign up button below. We hope you find The Sentinels coverage of the Monadnock Region valuable. We rely on our subscribers to bring you strong local journalism and hope you will consider supporting our work by taking advantage of this special subscription offer here. Charles H. Woods of London, KY, passed peacefully June 18, 2021, at Baptist Hospital in Lexington after a courageous battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife, Charlene; his daughter Lindsay Reedy (Aaron); and grandchildren, Tanner, Arden, and Nolan. He also leaves behind his nephew, Cr The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today the entry of a final judgment against James S. Polese, a former investment adviser at a large financial institution who was charged with misappropriating client funds. On January 31, 2018, the Commission filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts charging Polese and his former colleague, Cornelius Peterson, with securities fraud for engaging in various schemes to defraud their clients, including fraudulently misappropriating $350,000 of one client's money, using $100,000 of those funds to make investments in their own names, and directing the remaining $250,000 to Polese's personal bank account. The Commission's complaint also alleged that Polese and Peterson invested $100,000 of another client's funds into an investment in which Peterson and Polese held a financial interest, without informing the client or disclosing their conflict of interest. The Court has now entered a final judgment against Polese based upon his consent to resolve all claims. Polese agreed to disgorge $307,300 in ill-gotten gains and pay prejudgment interest of $35,276. In addition to ordering this monetary relief, the final judgment enjoins Polese from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as well as aiding and abetting any investment adviser's violations of the books and records provisions of Section 204 of the Investment Advisers Act and Rule 204-2 thereunder. The monetary judgment will be deemed satisfied by the $355,000 of restitution that Polese was ordered to pay in connection with a parallel criminal action brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, in which Polese pleaded guilty to conspiracy, securities fraud, aggravated identity theft, and bank fraud, and was also sentenced to sixty months imprisonment. The Commission has also entered an order barring Polese from associating with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization, and from participating in any offering of a penny stock. For further information, see Lit. Releases Nos. 24037 (January 31, 2018) and 24356 (November 16, 2018). Seattle's software industry is raking in new investment, with six local companies securing venture capital recently. New funding rounds were announced by software firms Getty Images, KenSci, Tango Card and Polly, according to company database Crunchbase. Getty Images topped the city's recent funding headlines by announcing a $100 million private equity round on February 1, financed by Koch Equity Development. According to its Crunchbase profile, "Getty Images is a creator and distributor of award-winning still imagery, video, music, and multimedia products, as well as other forms of premium digital content, available through its trusted house of brands, including iStock and Thinkstock. With its advanced search and image recognition technology, Getty Images serves business customers in more than 100 countries and is the first place creative and media professionals turn to discover, purchase and manage images and other digital content." The 24-year-old company also raised a $500 million round in 2018. Next up, KenSci raised $22 million in Series B funding, in a round announced on February 7 and led by Polaris Partners. According to Crunchbase, "KenSci is the worlds first vertically integrated machine learning platform for healthcare. Our ambition is to make healthcare more proactive, more coordinated and more accountable. KenSci's Machine Learning Platform and Predictive Analytics Apps answer the hard questions about 'Who might get sick?'" Founded in 2015, the company has raised two previous rounds, including a $8.5 million Series A round in 2017. Meanwhile, Tango Card raised $10 million in private equity funding, announced on February 12. The round was financed by FTV Capital. From the company's Crunchbase profile, "Tango Card bundles simple technology, great rewards and expert service to help companies get the most out of their reward programs. Almost every application and SaaS platform we use today has a reward or incentive component. From rewarding a first money transfer to Singapore to consistently meeting a step goal in your company's wellness program to making DFS disbursements more effective, rewards and incentives are a key building block of our modern economy." Tango Card last raised $34 million in private equity funding in 2018. Also of note, survey platform Polly raised $7 million in Series A funding, announced on February 13 and led by Slack Fund. From Crunchbase, "Polly is a survey platform that helps teams to quickly collect feedback, allowing them to measure their workflows and improve employee and customer experiences. Its notable clients include Soylent, Auth0, and Grammarly. The company was founded in 2015 by former Microsoft engineers Samir Diwan and Bilal Aijazi." The company previously raised $1.2 million in seed funding in 2016. In total, Seattle-based software companies have raised $143 million in venture funding over the past month, and $1.9 billion over the past year. This story was created automatically using local investment data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Southwest Airlines grounded all flights early Friday morning and suspended operations for 50 minute because of an issue with the computer system. "We are working directly with our customers who were impacted by average delays of 40 minutes in our earliest departing flights in the East. There were no cancellations," SWA said in a statement. The computer outage resulted in a flurry of delayed flights and confused and frustrated customers who were quick to jump on social media. More problems: Southwest grapples with new labor and revenue problems "Hey @SouthwestAir, at BWI we're being told that no flights are moving Nationwide due to a systems issue that began at 1am. Why no mention on your feed?" tweeted a customer named Jason Weinstock at 3:15 a.m. "Hi there, Jason. We are aware of the issues we're experiencing, but have been informed that the issue has been resolved. We should get the ball rolling here shortly. Thank you for your patience," the airline responded. By 6 a.m. Southwest Airlines was tweeting the airline was back up and running. Adding to SWA's troubles, a winter weather system canceled the majority of flights traveling to and from Las Vegas yesterday. Now, that system is moving through the desert and mountain west, and is expected to impact the airline's large operation in Denver. "Weather, along with a higher-than-average number of out-of-service aircraft, has resulted in approximately 80 cancelations today (2/22) out of nearly 4,000 flights scheduled," SWA said in a statement. As the Arctic ice pack shrinks, and Russia builds a fleet of polar-class icebreakers, the response in Washington, D.C., has been glacial indifference. "We have tried to convince them that we are an Arctic nation," Sen. Maria Cantwell said Thursday. The political ice, at last, is breaking. Congress' big appropriations bill, which fended off a second government shutdown, at last lays down money for new American icebreakers. "As long as [President Trump] doesn't try to take that money to build his wall," Cantwell said in a caveat. The spending bill contains $655 million dedicated to construction and design of a new, much-needed heavy duty polar-class icebreaker, along with $20 million for long lead-time materials for a second new polar cutter. RELATED: A rare win for Mother Nature in the 'other' Washington It contains $400 million for smaller offshore patrol cutters, plus $340 million for fast response cutters, six of which will be based in Alaska. The legislation holds $54 million for construction of new base facilities in Kodiak and Seward. With the U.S. down to one operational heavy-duty polar-class icebreaker, Cantwell and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, have made a crusade to get more vessels. They have pointed to retreat of the Arctic ice pack, the potential opening of new shipping routes and Russia's aggressiveness in getting ready. "This is a huge victory in my years-long fight to fulfill our responsibilities as an Arctic nation and to support the U.S. Coast Guard with the assets needed to carry out its mission of monitoring increased shipping, intercepting illegal activities search and rescue, and keeping our waters safe," Murkowski said in a statement. RELATED: Senate bill rescues conservation fund for Wash. The U.S. uses the polar-class icebreaker Polar Sea largely for missions to Antarctica. The vessel is beginning to show its age. A second vessel, the Polar Star, has become a "parts donor" after the cost of refurbishing proved unrealistic. By contrast, Russia has 41 icebreakers with eight more under construction. Sweden and Finland have fleets of icebreakers. Canada has 15 icebreakers serving Eastern Canada including two heavy duty vessels and four medium icebreakers. Even China, which is not an Arctic nation, has built a polar icebreaker. The National Energy Board of Canada has renewed its backing for an 895,00 barrels-a-day oil pipeline, even while acknowledging it will have "significantly adverse environmental effects" on endangered southern resident killer whales. A major pipeline or oil tanker spill is unlikely, but the "effects would be significant," Robert Steedman, the Board's chief environmental officer, told a briefing in Calgary. The orcas are, in essence, being told to take one for the team. The Board found the $9.3 billion (Canadian) pipeline would bring "considerable benefits" across the country. "While these effects weighed heavily on the NEB's consideration of project-related marine shipping, the NEB recommends that the government of Canada find that they can be justified in the circumstances, in light of the considerable benefits of the project and measures to minimize the effects," the recommendation said. RELATED: Orca protection must be part of Canadian pipeline -- energy board Washington Gov. Jay Inslee shot back: "Now is the time to protect our orcas and combat climate change, not invest in long-term fossil fuel infrastructure." The 650-mile, Alberta-to-British Columbia project would bring the TransMountain Pipeline to a terminus at Burnaby, just east of Vancouver. The oil would not be for B.C., but export to global, especially Pacific, markets. Thirty-four tankers a month, laden with bitumen crude from the Alberta tar sands, would traverse sensitive marine waters of the Salish Sea. The tankers would pass through Burrard Inlet and English Bay in Vancouver, then move to Haro Strait which separates the San Juan and Gulf islands -- and is a major feeding area for the orcas. They would exit through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The tanker route passes popular, beloved places -- San Juan, Stuart, Speiden, Sucia and Patos islands in the San Juans, as well as Dungeness Spit on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and, Cape Flattery, Shi Shi Beach and Point of Arches off the mouth of the Strait. The tanker route is bounded by national parks in both the United States and Canada. Both Inslee and B.C. Premier John Horgan have opposed the project, fearful of tanker spills and harm to the southern resident killer whales. RELATED: 'Year of the Orca' -- Inslee to unveil Orca whale recovery steps "We need to stop the bleeding right now: We can't be adding a pipeline and increasing tanker traffic at a time when we need to be assessing and repairing that we already have been doing," said Raynell Thomas of the Lummi Nation, which intervened in the National Energy Board deliberation. A Canadian appeals court ordered the Board to review an earlier decision, approving the pipeline, because it had failed to give attention to impacts on marine mammals, and had not heard out Canada's Aboriginal First Nations. The Board found that waters of the Salish Sea are "already highly disturbed," with conditions "already detrimental" to the orcas. It delivered 16 new marine safety recommendations, such as calling on B.C. ferry boats to make less noise as they cross the Strait of Georgia. "The (Board) panel feels strongly that if these recommendations are implemented, they will offset the relatively minor effects of project-related marine traffic and in fact will benefit the entire Salish Sea ecosystem," Steedman said. ALSO FROM CONNELLY: $655 million in the form of a polar icebreaker for a changing Arctic The benefits, cited by the Board, include giving Alberta oil access to new markets, additional government revenue, jobs and economic activity. In a very different view, Christianne Wilhelmson of the Georgia Strait Alliance said: "The NEB's recommendation relies on oil spill planning that's based on unscientific hope that diluted bitumen (oil) won't sink into our coastal waters. Weather and sea conditions on the proposed tanker route often make it impossible to respond to an oil spill." A 1988 barge spill of Grays Harbor dumped 230,000 gallons of oil into the ocean. The oil eventually fouled beaches of both Olympic National Park in the United States, and Pacific Rim National Park on Vancouver Island. "How can you argue these impacts are justified at all, let alone based on a dying industry doomed to fail?," asked Peter McCartney of the Wilderness Committee, a leading Canadian environmental group. The final decision on the pipeline, barring more court challenges, rests with the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau got the recommendation he wants. The Prime Minister has already endorsed the pipeline, and gone a giant step further. The Canadian government purchased the pipeline project last year when its Houston-based builder, Kinder Morgan, hinted at a pullout. But Premier Horgan struck a note of defiance, and said that the economy of the Salish Sea should not be thrown under 34 oil tankers a month. "We will continue to stand up for B.C. and defend our environment," Horgan tweeted, "the tens of thousands of jobs that depend on it & southern resident orcas from the risk of an oil spill." A King County Metro Transit employee was arrested in connection with raping and sex trafficking a woman, starting when she was a teenager. Mark Norton, superintendent of King County Metro Transit security, was booked into Snohomish County Jail Tuesday on investigation of sex trafficking, the King County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Norton had met the alleged victim while the two of them were in the Civil Air Patrol, in 2007, according to probable cause documents. He was a major, and she had recently joined as a cadet. He was 33 years old and she was under 18 when he asked her to babysit his two kids, the report said. He then started grooming and later raping her, even moving her into his basement. RELATED: Charges: Kirkland man raped, sexually assaulted two homeless women After Norton's wife found out and divorced him, he lived with the alleged victim in his house and began trafficking her on Craigslist when she turned 18, the report said. "Eventually the suspect operated as a pimp and pressured the victim to engage in prostitution on numerous occasions throughout Seattle, Lynnwood and Everett," the sheriff's office news release said. "The suspect arranged the prostitution online and kept the money brought by people wanting to have sex with the victim." Norton eventually made her marry his barber so the man could obtain a green card, in exchange for money, the report said. She repeatedly told Norton she wanted no part in any of it, but coerced her into doing it, and physically threatened her once. She was able to get away from Norton in 2015. RELATED: King County Council announces human trafficking awareness campaign The King County Sheriff's Office worked with the Snohomish County Sheriff's office during the investigation and arrested Norton in Stanwood. The report said a majority of the alleged crimes occurred in Snohomish County. King County Prosecutor's Office said in an email that Snohomish County prosecutors would be handling the case. King County Metro released a statement that said Norton was on unpaid leave, and his recent promotion to Metro's Interim Director of Facilities was revoked. "We are conducting our own administrative investigation to determine if any additional or unrelated code of conduct violations may have occurred," King County Metro said. Norton was released at 5:09 p.m. Wednesday, according to jail records. Twelve years after the rape of a 12-year-old girl was reported in Seattle, a newly tested rape kit led to the arrest of a Florida man in connection with the crime. On Tuesday, prosecutors charged Robert Childs, Jr., 43, a registered sex offender, with second degree rape of a child. Childs was arrested Thursday in Florida, where he lived, but he will likely be extradited to King County, according to court documents. In 2006, the alleged victim ran away from home to Seattle in search of her mother and met a man at the Torchlight Parade on July 29, 2006, the case report said. She asked him if she could use his cellphone to call her mom. The man pulled her into an alley with his hand around her neck and started groping her. He then raped her while the alleged victim said she told him no several times, records indicated. RELATED: After 10-year rape kit delay, man charged with raping, kidnapping teen in Seattle Later that night, the alleged victim reported the attack and went to Harborview Medical Center for a sexual assault kit. Court documents said the exam and collected forensic evidence was not sent to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab. The kit wasn't tested until 2018 and a DNA profile of Childs was matched with evidence in September. Childs already had an extensive history of sexual assault before July 2006. He had felony convictions of third-degree rape in 2001, third-degree child molestation in 1996 and second-degree rape in 1994, court records showed. He also had convictions for failing to register as a sex offender in 1997, 2006 and 2007. RELATED: Sexual assault survivors in Washington can track status of rape kit analysis with new portal In 2017, Washington state's Attorney General's Office won a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to test and investigate rape kits stored and untested at law enforcement agencies throughout Washington. Almost 6,500 sat untested, the oldest dating back to 1982, the office said. Processing backlogged rape kits has already resulted in multiple rape charges. Survivors in Washington can now track the status of their rape kit analysis as well, through a new online portal. Prosecutors requested Childs' bail be set at $500,000 and he was booked in Okeechobee County Jail in Florida as of Friday, awaiting extradition, according to jail records. SeattlePI reporter Alex Halverson can be reached at alex.halverson@seattlepi.com. Follow him on Twitter @AlexHalversonPI. Find more from Alex here. Merkel said, "I see the ballistic missile programs, I see Iran in Yemen and above all I see Iran in Syria. The only question that stands between us on this issue is, do we help our common cause, our common aim of containing the damaging or difficult development of Iran, by withdrawing from the one remaining agreement? Or do we help it more by keeping the small anchor we have in order maybe to exert pressure in other areas?" This takes wishful thinking to an entirely new level. Better to help the younger Iranians who hate the regime to topple it, as the U.S. is doing in Venezuela. How can Merkel acknowledge the threat that Iran represents and in the next breath diminish it? Not surprisingly, those assembled, many of whom believe as Merkel does, gave her remarks thunderous applause. The latest lithium-ion batteries on the market are likely to extend the charge-to-charge life of phones and electric cars by as much as 40 percent. This leap forward, which comes after more than a decade of incremental improvements, is happening because developers replaced the battery's graphite anode with one made from silicon. Research from Drexel University and Trinity College in Ireland now suggests that an even greater improvement could be in line if the silicon is fortified with a special type of material called MXene. This adjustment could extend the life of Li-ion batteries as much as five times, the group recently reported in Nature Communications. It's possible because of the two-dimensional MXene material's ability to prevent the silicon anode from expanding to its breaking point during charging - a problem that's prevented its use for some time. "Silicon anodes are projected to replace graphite anodes in Li-ion batteries with a huge impact on the amount of energy stored," said Yury Gogotsi, PhD, Distinguished University and Bach Professor in Drexel's College of Engineering and director of the A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, who was a co-author of the research. "We've discovered adding MXene materials to the silicon anodes can stabilize them enough to actually be used in batteries." In batteries, charge is held in electrodes - the cathode and anode - and delivered to our devices as ions travel from anode to cathode. The ions return to the anode when the battery is recharged. Battery life has steadily been increased by finding ways to improve the electrodes' ability to send and receive more ions. Substituting silicon for graphite as the primary material in the Li-ion anode would improve its capacity for taking in ions because each silicon atom can accept up to four lithium ions, while in graphite anodes, six carbon atoms take in just one lithium. But as it charges, silicon also expands - as much as 300 percent - which can cause it to break and the battery to malfunction. Most solutions to this problem have involved adding carbon materials and polymer binders to create a framework to contain the silicon. The process for doing it, according to Gogotsi, is complex and carbon contributes little to charge storage by the battery. By contrast, the Drexel and Trinity group's method mixes silicon powder into a MXene solution to create a hybrid silicon-MXene anode. MXene nanosheets distribute randomly and form a continuous network while wrapping around the silicon particles, thus acting as conductive additive and binder at the same time. It's the MXene framework that also imposes order on ions as they arrive and prevents the anode from expanding. "MXenes are the key to helping silicon reach its potential in batteries," Gogotsi said. "Because MXenes are two-dimensional materials, there is more room for the ions in the anode and they can move more quickly into it - thus improving both capacity and conductivity of the electrode. They also have excellent mechanical strength, so silicon-MXene anodes are also quite durable up to 450 microns thickness." MXenes, which were first discovered at Drexel in 2011, are made by chemically etching a layered ceramic material called a MAX phase, to remove a set of chemically-related layers, leaving a stack of two-dimensional flakes. Researchers have produced more than 30 types of MXene to date, each with a slightly different set of properties. The group selected two of them to make the silicon-MXene anodes tested for the paper: titanium carbide and titanium carbonitride. They also tested battery anodes made from graphene-wrapped silicon nanoparticles. All three anode samples showed higher lithium-ion capacity than current graphite or silicon-carbon anodes used in Li-ion batteries and superior conductivity - on the order of 100 to 1,000 times higher than conventional silicon anodes, when MXene is added. "The continuous network of MXene nanosheets not only provides sufficient electrical conductivity and free space for accommodating the volume change but also well resolves the mechanical instability of Si," they write. "Therefore, the combination of viscous MXene ink and high-capacity Si demonstrated here offers a powerful technique to construct advanced nanostructures with exceptional performance." Chuanfang Zhang, PhD, a post-doctoral researcher at Trinity and lead author of the study, also notes that the production of the MXene anodes, by slurry-casting, is easily scalable for mass production of anodes of any size, which means they could make their way into batteries that power just about any of our devices. "Considering that more than 30 MXenes are already reported, with more predicted to exist, there is certainly much room for further improving the electrochemical performance of battery electrodes by utilizing other materials from the large MXene family," he said. An international team of scientists and conservationists has announced the finding of what many consider to be the 'holy grail' of bee discoveries -- Wallace's giant bee. The bee (Megachile pluto) is the world's largest, with a wingspan more than six centimetres (2.5 inches). Despite its conspicuous size, the bee has been lost to science since 1981. In January, a search team that set out to find and photograph Wallace's giant bee successfully rediscovered the species in the North Moluccas, an island group in Indonesia. The find resurrects hope that more of the region's forests still harbour this very rare species. The discovery was announced today. A member of the team, Honorary Professor Simon Robson from the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney, said: "Amid such a well-documented global decline in insect diversity it's wonderful to discover that this iconic species is still hanging on." Dr Robson and Dr Glen Chilton, an honorary professor at Saint Mary's University in Canada, joined with Eli Wyman from Princeton University and Clay Bolt, a conservation photographer from Montana, to successfully rediscover this bee. The team was supported by Global Wildlife Conservation, an Austin, Texas, based organisation that runs a Search for Lost Species program. advertisement "It was absolutely breathtaking to see this 'flying bulldog' of an insect that we weren't sure existed anymore," said Clay Bolt, a natural history photographer specialising in bees, who took the first photos and video of the species alive after spending years researching the right habitat with collaborator and team member, Eli Wyman from Princeton University. "To see how beautiful and big the species is in real life, to hear the sound of its giant wings thrumming as it flew past my head, was just incredible. My dream is to now use this rediscovery to elevate this bee to a symbol of conservation in this part of Indonesia." The female giant bee makes her nest in active arboreal termite mounds, using her large mandibles to collect sticky tree resin to line the nest and protect it from invading termites. In hot and humid conditions, and sometimes during torrential downpours, the team observed dozens of termite mounds over the course of the search. It wasn't until the last day of a five-day stop in an area of interest that the team found a single female Wallace's giant bee living in an arboreal termites' nest in a tree about 2.5 metres off the ground. The bee is named after Alfred Russel Wallace, the co-discoverer alongside Charles Darwin of the theory of evolution through natural selection. Wallace, a British entomologist, discovered the giant bee exploring the Indonesian island of Bacan. He described the female bee, which is about the length a human thumb, as "a large black wasp-like insect, with immense jaws like a stag-beetle." The bee wasn't seen again until 1981, when entomologist Adam Messer rediscovered it on three Indonesian islands and was able to observe some of its behaviour, including how it uses its mandibles to gather resin and wood for its nests. Since then, other teams have looked for the bee, with no luck. advertisement "Messer's rediscovery gave us some insight, but we still know next to nothing about this extraordinary insect," said Mr Wyman. "I hope this rediscovery will spark research that will give us a deeper understanding of this unique bee and inform any future efforts to protect it from extinction." Although little is known about the bee, the species depends on primary lowland forest for resin and the nests of tree-dwelling termites, Mr Bolt said. In Indonesia, forest destruction for agriculture, however, threatens the habitat for this species and many others. Between 2001 and 2017, Indonesia lost 15 percent of its tree cover, according to Global Forest Watch. The team has already started conversations with Indonesian collaborators to look for Wallace's giant bee in other locations -- with the hope of eventually working together to develop a plan to strengthen conservation measures for the bee. A documentary film, In Search of the Giant Bee is now being produced by Vanessa Dylyn of Matter of Fact Media, in association with Glen Chilton. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=JT_B6sSuF5I The viceroy butterfly is a mimic, modeling its orange-and-black colors after the queen butterfly, a bug that tastes so disgusting predators have learned not to eat it or anything that looks like it, including viceroys. The apparent dependence of mimics on their models made biologists wonder if the fates of the two species are forever intertwined. If so, then what happens when the mimic and the model part ways? A study recently published in Communications Biology and led by Katy Prudic, an assistant professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Arizona, has found an interesting answer. Viceroy butterflies living in northern Florida, far away from the southern-dwelling queen butterflies, are not only more abundant than their southern kin, but they have also developed their own foul flavor. "In classical mimicry theory, we wouldn't predict that the viceroy butterfly would be able to stay or be in northern Florida. It should be limited to southern Florida, where the queens live," Prudic said. The classical theory, called Batesian mimicry, posits that one animal, known as the mimic, looks like another animal -- the model that predators recognize as "unpalatable." An unpleasant experience trying to munch on the model species convinces predators to avoid both species, since they cannot reliably tell the difference between the two. If the butterflies followed Batesian mimicry, populations of viceroys living in regions where predators had never met the unpalatable queens would not recognize the orange color of the butterfly as something awful; it would look like a delicious, easy-to-find snack, and predators would pick off the viceroy. Yet Prudic's study found that the viceroy thrives where the queen is not found, because it has evolved the ability to taste bad. advertisement "Have you ever chewed aspirin?" Prudic said. "It will not kill you, but you may want to die because it will be really, really unpleasant." Prudic's study began more than 15 years ago, as part of her doctoral dissertation. Prudic and her co-author, UA data science specialist Jeff Oliver, counted viceroy and queen butterflies and their host plants at eight sites across Florida. All over Florida, the viceroy caterpillar feeds on the same kind of plant: the Carolina willow. The tree arms itself against pests with phenolic glycosides, chemical relatives of aspirin. To pests, the aspirin-related toxins may be deadly, but caterpillars have evolved ways to avoid being poisoned by the plants. By possibly storing them in fatty bodies, viceroy caterpillars keep the chemicals out of their metabolic processes, and they live unharmed. When the viceroy lives alongside its model species, it likely discards the toxins when it metamorphoses from caterpillar to butterfly. But Prudic and her team found that when the mimic lives independently from the queen butterfly, it keeps the toxins, making the viceroy unpalatable to predators. advertisement In a pharmacology lab, UA Regents' Professor Barbara Timmerman helped Prudic investigate how much of the aspirin-related chemical could be found in the viceroy butterflies. These results were then compared to the abundance of queens at the capture sites. The second experiment was to test the viceroys' chemical defenses against predators. The butterflies were fed to praying mantids that had been hand-reared in the lab, and Prudic studied how they reacted to the butterflies. The mantids had a much stronger response to viceroys originating from those places where there were not any queens. "They learned to avoid these viceroys faster, and remembered to avoid them for longer," Prudic said. Years of rigorous statistical analysis followed, so that Prudic and her team could be certain about the relationship between the unpalatability of viceroy butterflies and the abundance of queen butterflies. A mimicry continuum This discovery changes the way biologists must think about mimicry. The relationship between viceroy and queen butterflies once fell into the Batesian mimicry category, but when one of Prudic's co-authors, David Ritland, first discovered that viceroys had the ability to be nasty, the butterflies' relationship was recategorized as "Mullerian." There are no models in this mimicry theory, only "co-mimics:" two different animals that look the same and are both unpalatable. But Prudic's study proves that the viceroy butterfly does not fit neatly into either mimicry category. "Both these categories that we thought about in mimicry are now coming together, and we are thinking more about a continuum between Batesian and Mullerian," Prudic said. She expects that such a continuum is not limited to just the viceroy-queen system; however, studies that deeply investigate mimicry relationships are unusual because they are time-consuming, labor-intensive and difficult to execute. Aside from proving that mimicry in the animal world cannot be sorted into a simple binary, this study may be helpful for conservation and management of species in the changing world. "It gives us predictive power to understand where critters will be, that they are not restrained to just where their models are." How are the images cast on the retina reassembled in the brain? Researchers in Munich and Tuebingen find that processing of visual stimuli occurs at the earliest waystation on the way to the visual cortex -- but not all are treated equally. In humans, the visual system collects up to 80% of all the sensory data received from the environment. In order to make sense of this deluge of optical information, the visual inputs that are picked up and converted into electrochemical signals by the approximately 130 million light-sensitive cells in the retina are fed into, and processed by a complex network of nerve cells in the brain. How the brain manages to accomplish this task is still not fully understood. A more detailed picture of the steps involved is, however, essential for the further development of artificial visual systems. Now a team led by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich neurobiologist Laura Busse, in cooperation with Thomas Euler and Philipp Berens (University) has succeeded in shedding new light on a longstanding and controversial issue in this field. In an article that appears in the leading journal Neuron, the researchers demonstrate that incoming signals from the retina are subjected to selective processing and weighting at the first neuronal waystation in the functional pathway that connects the retina to the visual cortex. In the mouse, the visual image that impinges on the retina is received by more than 30 specialized and functionally distinct types of ganglion cells. These different cell types respond in different ways to the input from the photoreceptors. For example, some react selectively to dark contrasts, while others are sensitive to particular spatial patterns. The streams of information that emanate from this retinal processing step are then conveyed in several parallel channels to the brain. "Primates appear to possess a similarly diverse set of retinal ganglion cells, and this most probably holds true for humans as well," says Busse. "Using the mouse as a model system, we have asked which types of ganglion cells project into the visual thalamus, and whether the information that arrives there is simply passed on, or is subjected to processing and transformation." The visual thalamus is the first waystation on the way to the cerebral cortex, and this processing pathway is, among other things, responsible for the perception and analysis of form and for object recognition. Both of the questions posed by Busse and her colleagues have been the focus of controversial debates. On the one hand, functional studies appeared to argue against the processing of ganglion input in the thalamus. However, recent anatomical studies have shown that individual cells in the thalamus may receive input from more than 90 retinal ganglion cells, which strongly suggests that these thalamic cells have a selective and/or an integrative processing role. Working closely together, the teams in Munich and have now investigated what happens to the incoming signals in the visual thalamus of the mouse. They used an array of controlled visual stimuli designed to evoke a range of responses -- such as switching from dark to bright or vice versa, and alterations in contrast or changes in the period of a flickering signal -- and analyzed the reactions of both retinal and thalamic cells. They found that most types of retinal ganglion cells indeed transmit information to the visual thalamus. They then used the results of their electrophysiological measurements to construct a computer model that allowed them to deduce which, and how many, of these cells contribute to the response of the thalamus. "The model indicated that the response of an individual thalamus cell depends on no more than five different types of retinal ganglion cells," says Busse. That cell essentially combines the signals received from these five cell types, but not all are given equal weight. Instead, the information received from two types of input cell dominates the output signal emitted by any given thalamus cell. The signals contributed by the other three have little influence on the form of the output, such that the latter often shows a strong resemblance to the input provided by one of the retinal ganglion cells. According to the authors, however, the weak signals conveyed by the non-dominant cell types may nevertheless help to make the visual system more 'robust' to computational errors -- by for example enhancing the functional connections between the cells in the network, in cases where a single retinal ganglion projects to many different cells in the thalamus. It is also possible that the relative weightings of the signals can be varied, to allow different combinations of input to be dynamically processed during learning processes, for instance. "At all events, the thalamus is not simply a passive relay station between the retina and the brain. It also serves as a signal processing site, and plays an important role in the relative weighting of incoming signals." The work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) as part of Collaborative Research Center 1233 on Robust Vision. Of the 4 million prisoners released each year, 23 percent have suffered from major depressive disorder. Due to resource shortages, many go without adequate treatment while in prison. Oftentimes they rejoin society in worse mental shape than before their incarceration -- which could be prevented with the right care. A team led by Michigan State University has found a cost-effective way to improve mental health in prisons. The research, published in Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, tested the effectiveness of interpersonal psychotherapy for inmates battling major depressive disorder, or MDD, as a strategy to bring affordable treatment into a prison setting. It is the first large randomized trial of any treatment for MDD, including therapy or medications, in any incarcerated population. About 15 million people touch the criminal justice system each year in the United States," said Jennifer Johnson, lead author and professor of public health in MSU's College of Human Medicine. "Most of us have friends, family or neighbors who have been through this system. The fact we've waited until 2019 to conduct a trial like this means we've understudied and underserved a huge population." About 2.3 million people are incarcerated every day, and if they too suffer from depression, addiction or other disorders, they often do not get the help they need. Prison funding for mental health care is determined by state legislatures, which often leaves them understaffed and under-resourced, Johnson explained. Voters may be unsympathetic, which creates a deficit for mental health treatment in the prison system -- which houses many people with untreated mental illnesses. To address the issues of care and cost, Johnson and colleagues trained a team to treat 181 inmates through interpersonal psychotherapy, or IPT. The team included master's level health therapists working in the prisons and bachelor's level re-entry counselors. This allowed the researchers to keep costs down by extending the reach of counselors and care without having to hire new mental health professionals. Johnson explained that IPT is one of the most-effective forms of therapy because it addresses difficult life events, which consistently burden prison populations. She explained that traumatic and challenging experiences -- such as assault, abuse, poverty, death of loved ones and loss of family members, children and friends -- are overwhelmingly present with those incarcerated. "When practicing IPT, you go back to when someone's depressed mood began and talk about what was going on in their life at that time," Johnson said. "IPT deals with relationships, feelings, conflicts with others, life changes and grief. Using this therapy, you're helping people feel and express emotions, and problem-solve with them in ways to improve communications or improve relationships that address the original problem." Counselors worked in a group-setting with inmates twice a week for 10 weeks, which reduced the cost of treatment. Inmates were individually assessed at the beginning of the trial, after the trial ended and then three months later to see if the therapy had a lasting impact. "As compared to the usual treatment prisons offer, IPT reduced depressive symptoms, hopelessness and PTSD symptoms and was better at ending cases of major depression," Johnson said. Using IPT proved a low-cost intervention as well. Once counselors are trained and supervision is no longer needed, the cost per patient would be $575 -- significantly less than treatment options outside of prison, she said. "This is the first large randomized study for major depression ever conducted for an incarcerated population, one that found an effective and cost-effective solution," Johnson said. "This method could drastically improve the mental well-being of people while in prison -- and when they re-enter the world." Moving forward, Johnson will continue researching ways to treat inmates by conducting the first large randomized suicide prevention trial for people leaving the criminal justice system. Amiskwia was originally described by the famous palaeontologist Charles Doolittle Walcott (1850-1927) in 1911 who compared it to the modern arrow worms (chaetognaths) -- a group of ocean-dwelling worms that are fierce predators, equipped with an array of spines on their head for grasping small prey. Such organisms are found world-wide at sites like the famous Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rockies, where their soft bodies are preserved intact. The strange anatomies exhibited by these animals led the American palaeontologist Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) to speculate that these organisms represented extinct body plans that are no longer seen today and that if we were to wind back the clocks to the Cambrian, more than 500-million-years-ago, and re-run the tape of life, then perhaps the animals alive today would look very different. More than 50 years after Doolittle Walcott came up with his theory about Amiskwia, scientists investigated its affinities and rejected his interpretation as they could not find evidence of the canonical grasping spines. Instead, they suggested it could be a ribbon worm, or its own distinct lineage only distantly related to anything that resembles it today. When Dr Jakob Vinther from the University of Bristol's Schools of Earth Sciences and Biological Sciences and Luke Parry, now at Yale University, studied specimens of Amiskwia, kept at the Smithsonian Institution they found something that had been missed before. advertisement Dr Vinther said: "I coated the specimen with ammonium chloride smoke to make the relief of the fossil stand out and then I could see that in the head was a pair of robust elements." Interpreting these structures as a set of jaws, their resemblance led him to think of a group of animals, called gnathiferans, which include rotifers, gnathostomulids and micrognathozoans. These animals are microscopic worms, with a distinctive internal jaw apparatus. The scientists realised that Amiskwia suddenly had a jaw of a gnathiferan, but a body of an arrow worm. Dr Vinther said: "The bizarre combination of anatomy seemed altogether alien back in 2012. "Some people have proposed that there could be a relationship between arrow worms and gnathiferans based on their shared possession of a jaw apparatus, both made of a substance called chitin. advertisement "However, there was little other evidence to suggest a relationship, such as evidence from phylogenetic analyses of DNA." Luke Parry added: "It altogether seemed like heresy to propose that gnathiferans and arrow worms may be related back then so we held off publishing our intriguing results out of fear of criticism from our peers. "However, new DNA studies have since emerged that found arrow worms to be more and more closely affiliated to the Gnathifera in the Tree of Life. "In particular, some researchers found that arrow worms share a duplication of the important Hox genes with a gnathiferan, the rotifers. We suddenly felt no more in a deadlock situation." Now the authors have published their findings in the journal Current Biology. The study follows a new phylogenetic study, which finds robust support for arrow worms forming an evolutionary group with gnathiferans. Luke Parry said: "We were excited to see that these researchers found a relationship between arrow worms and rotifers. "Our phylogenetic analysis, based on anatomical features, strongly suggest a relationship between these two groups of animals as well." The researchers find that Amiskwia is a stem lineage to arrow worms that possess the jaw apparatus seen in gnathiferan worms. This jaw evolved into the fearsome grasping spines in living arrow worms, which now is an important link in the marine food chain. Small crustacean larvae have evolved long protective spines to protect themselves from being swallowed by arrow worms. Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. Local Black History Month Taylor speaks to Castleton students Kate Barcellos / Staff Photo Rutland City Public Schools Superintendent Adam Taylor speaks during an event at Castleton Universitys Jeffords Auditorium on Thursday. CASTLETON As part of Castleton Universitys celebration of Black History Month, Rutland City Public Schools Superintendent Adam Taylor spoke to students, staff and faculty in Jeffords Auditorium on Thursday about how to disrupt inequities in education, as part of a series called Race Matters. Every day is black history day, Taylor began. If you get to know your history, you will find that we all come out of the Sahara Desert, and were all African when you get down to it. Taylor told his story of growing up in an only parent household, where he found he was black only because his birth certificate said Negro, which is how he identifies today. He was raised in the projects of West Oakland, California, by his mother, and began his now 27-year career in education as a drop-out prevention specialist before becoming an elementary school teacher, assistant principal and then a principal in the original kill zone of East Oakland. There were 39 homicides in one year in a nine-block radius, Taylor said. There were bodies pulled off my campus from time to time. Taylor related being the leader of a school to being a father, and learned through his years of teaching that power should be used not to serve oneself, but to serve others. He in the greatest power should be in the greatest service to others, Taylor said Coming from an area where 122 languages are spoken, Taylor said Vermont was a very foreign place, without the multicultural landscape he was so used to. Im mad that Rutland had such an issue inviting the Syrians to relocate here, Taylor said. Because of the fact that they are great people and would have contributed greatly to this community. ... Vermont is very white. In addition to race, Taylor said it was equally important to consider the intersections of lifestyles, gender identity, cultures and needs of every person especially when in charge of a classroom full of young adults. You have to consider that when you consider your students ... that its not just about race. Race matters ... black lives matter, but all lives matter.When he was wounded by a gunshot at age 17, rather than develop a deep hatred for others, Taylor said he began to reconsider life as precious, and acceptance of other people as a remedy for adversity. That also meant people of privilege had a responsibility to start the conversation about race and keep it going. White silence is more dangerous to people of color than racism, Taylor warned. I dont know whose team youre on. I dont know which side of the fence you sit on. Rutland City Schools is the fifth most impoverished district in Vermont, where 72 percent of the kids K-8 receive free or reduced lunch. With poverty comes trauma, which requires constant updating and training for teachers. But at the heart of every problem, solutions to racial adversity in schools could be found only when conversations are started and efforts to connect are made, even if that means making oneself vulnerable, he said. You have to be willing to have your feelings hurt, Taylor said. Taylor stressed the notion that people can choose whether to be offended, to take responsibility for ones actions and emotions, including racism. He cited the horrors of slavery that he credited with his birth in the United States. Im pretty sure one of my ancestors came over on one of those ships, Taylor said. Students of color were not minorities, Taylor said, because there was nothing minor about them, and he said human connection happened at a level below the skin. He said being racially aware was rooted in the art of simply being a good person, and it was important for many of the future educators in the audience to remember that when they set foot into their first classrooms. Your job is to motivate and inspire kids to be the greatest they can be, Taylor said. When they did, Taylor said, thats when the real work would begin. Secluding students to remedy bad behavior only resulted in pushing the student further to the outside, from trusting their teachers, and from success, he said. Its different when you walk in that classroom, Taylor said. You have to figure it out. If you dont cry 70 times in your first year, youre not meant to be a teacher ... that first year is when you really cut your teeth. Teachers needed to know their students, and in order for their students to open up to them and allow their teachers to teach them, a level of trust had to be established, which is far more important than hammering through lessons, he said. Ill use an Oakland analogy ... a pimp has to groom, he has to get to know a young lady in order to get her to go out and sell her body to get him money, Taylor said. Its about building that relationship that then gets her to go out and do something that she would not do ... its a foul analogy, but it makes sense. Its about building the relationship. Similar to a Catholic priest ... similar to a pedophile ... its about building those relationships where theres trust, where I will do whatever you ask me to. As teachers and social workers, Taylor said, they would be tasked with cultivating difficult relationships with parents unwilling to open up to them. Social workers? Teachers? Families dont trust us, Taylor said. They think were trying to get into their business ... were trying to help them. Were trying to figure out ways to bridge gaps. Taylor urged the students to make strong connections with one another and with the parents of their future students, to always encourage dialogue and always strive to teach the whole truth, even if it goes beyond their teaching requirements. Make sure your resources are available to your kids, Taylor said. You are their biggest resource. katelyn.barcellos @rutlandherald.com The White House said Thursday that a small contingent of US troops will remain. Sen. Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, applauded the decision. This will ensure ISIS does not return and Iran does not fill the vacuum that would have been left if we completely withdrew, he said. A small peace keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for (a) period of time, White House press secretary Sanders announced. The 200 troops who will remain will be divided between At-Tanf, an area near the Iraq-Jordan border, and northeast Syria, according to a US official. They would be able to provide unique high-end capabilities such as logistics, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and calling in airstrikes that would help encourage coalition countries like France and the United Kingdom to also keep their troops in Syria up to a total of 1,500. The US currently has more than 2,000 troops in Syria, where they are primarily helping the Syrian Democratic Forces in their campaign against ISIS. The US announcement came after a phone call between President Trump and Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which the two leaders agreed to create a safe zone in Syria. Some have worried that Russia and Iran would fill the vacuum created by a U.S. pullout. Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished Two major jewellery shows organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will open next week. The sixth HKTDC Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show, which showcases jewellery raw materials, will take place at AsiaWorld-Expo from 26 Feb to 2 March, while the 36th HKTDC Hong Kong International Jewellery Show, which specialises in finished fine jewellery, will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in Wan Chai from 28 Feb to 4 March. This year, the two shows will feature a record of more than 4,600 exhibitors from 48 countries and regions, once again forming the world's largest jewellery marketplace.HKTDC Acting Executive Director Benjamin Chau said, "Though the Sino-US trade conflict has been looming large over all sectors and industries, Hong Kong exports of fine jewellery showed healthy growth of 13.3% year on year to reach HK$57 billion in 2018. Exports to the United States, Hong Kong's largest jewellery export market, were particularly robust, growing by 18.1%.The two shows continue to receive support from industry organisations and jewellery associations from around the world. A total of 38 pavilions, including those from Australia, Mainland China, France, Germany, Italy, Myanmar, India and the US, will set up group pavilions at the shows. Japan as first-time partner country to showcase rare pearls.Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show runs from 26 Feb to 2 March, specialising in the raw materials used in the jewellery industry, will be held at AsiaWorld-Expo. The show is organised into different themed zones, including the Hall of Fine Diamonds, which showcases prime quality diamonds of different shapes, cuts, grades and rare colours.The Jewellery Show runs from 28 Feb to 4 March (opening on 28 Feb) and will feature a wide array of finished jewellery and exquisite craftsmanship. A total of 38 renowned jewellery brands will converge at the Hall of Fame to showcase their collections. The Hall of Extraordinary will display skillfully crafted, valuable and unique jewellery pieces from some 100 companies. A MAN who had hundreds of indecent images of children including one girl believed to be as young as two on his devices has been given a community order. Leslie Evitts (36), of Doncaster Road, Dalton, also had more than 4,000 computer-generated images of children and extreme pornography involving children and animals on his devices but he avoided a jail term at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday (19). Police officers discovered on June 27, 2017, that someone at Evitts home address had been accessing indecent images of children, Mr Brian Outhwaite, prosecuting, said. Evitts was working in Doncaster when police officers called at his address but they later tracked him down and arrested him. Officers seized four devices including three computers but it took them 13 months to get them analyzed, Mr Outhwaite said. They found 191 category A images (the most extreme level), 123 category B images and 467 category C images. Some of the most extreme images showed very young girls being abused one was aged between three and six and another was aged between two and five, Mr Outhwaite said. Police officers also found 4,006 prohibited images of children the majority of which were computer-generated images and two extreme pornographic images involving children and animals on his devices. When he was arrested, Evitt told officers that he had looked at the images but had not searched for them. The forensic report confirmed there were searches for children on his devices, said Mr Outhwaite. He admitted searching for these images and [that] he was sexually aroused by looking at them. Evitts had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing at Sheffield Magistrates Court, to making indecent photographs of children, possessing prohibited images of children and possessing extreme pornography. Judge Rachael Harrison sentenced Evitts to a two-year community order, which will include a 40-day rehabilitation activity requirement and 100 hours of unpaid work. He was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for five years and was given a five-year sexual harm prevention order. Under the terms of the order, Evitt will not be allowed to use any device capable of accessing the internet without making it available to a police officer and is forbidden from deleting his internet history or masking it by using an incognito browser. Judge Harrison said: You have undergone counselling and begun to appreciate what you are doing is wholly wrong and that the children in the photos are being abused just as if you were doing it yourself. Theres been a 12-month delay before examination of your computer and a further five- month delay before your case came to court and that is not acceptable in my view. I note the fact that you have no previous convictions. These were not a large number of images and in these circumstances, bearing in mind the counselling you have undertaken, I will not be giving you a prison sentence. MP for Rother Valley, Sir Kevin Barron, pictured with Paul O'Hanlon, chief executive of Omnicell UK & Ireland who hosted the event. MIX-UPS, delays and errors over medicine happen 20 times a week at Rotherhams hospital trust. Figures released by The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust revealed there were 1,045 incidents relating to medication last year, an average of 87 every month. Dr Callum Gardner, interim medical director at the trust, said although the aim was to have no such incidents, a small number do occur. These include cases where the wrong medication is dispensed, where medication has not been given out while awaiting confirmation the prescription is correct and where an error being made results in medicine not being given to a patient. The trust said 98.6 per cent of reported incidents were low risk or caused no harm to patients. Dr Gardner said the proportion of medication incidents in relation to the overall number of incidents given further consideration was in line with the national average. He added: We are committed to providing our patients with high quality, safe care. Although the level of medication incidents at the trust is in line with the national average, we are always looking at how we can improve further for our patients. Dr Gardner said the trust had a medication safety group which meets monthly to discuss incidents and action can be taken to prevent a repeat. Themes of trends are also said to be discussed at the trusts patient safety group and clinical governance committee, both of which are chaired by Dr Gardner. A health summit was held at Westminster earlier this month, discussing ways to reduce such medication errors and improve patient safety nationally, with Rother Valley MP Sir Kevin Barron among those attending. It was revealed that in 2018 alone, the Department of Health and Social Care had released a report which found that across England, there were 237 million mistakes occurring every year at some point in the medication process. These errors cause serious issues for patient safety, but also place a significant cost burden on an already over-stretched NHS. It was also revealed that the estimated cost to the NHS of avoidable adverse drug reactions reaches 98.5 million per year, consuming 181,626 bed days, causing more than 700 deaths and contributing to a further 1,078 deaths. After the summit, Sir Kevin, who is chair of the all-party parliamentary group on pharmacy said: It is a pleasure to have been involved in this event. It is crucially important that relevant stakeholders regularly come together to engage in free and open discussion about how best to improve patient safety. All those things will help some, but the big problem still remains: Virginia has a lot of old schools, and localities cant afford to fix them. Of the 2,068 school buildings documented, some 614 or just under 30 percent are 60 or more years old. Of those, 246 or just under 12 percent date to before 1950. Just because a school is old doesnt mean its in bad shape or outdated, although age is a good way to start finding schools that are in bad shape or outdated. At one time, a single electrical outlet per classroom might have been more than sufficient, but today that makes it hard to do anything with technology. In Lee County, schools now teach cybersecurity; they also have to worry about blowing out the circuits. So does all this relate to Northams newfound quest to bring about racial equity in Virginia? Heres how: A disproportionate number of the states oldest schools are in communities with large African-American populations. For example, if a person buys heroin from a dealer and then uses the drug with a friend, who then starts overdosing, if the person calls police but the friend ultimately dies, the caller could still be prosecuted for the friends death. But instead of facing a felony murder charge, that person would be charged with a Class 5 felony and face one to five years in prison and a $2,500 fine. We have worked with law enforcement, we have worked with commonwealths attorneys, we have worked with our friends down the hall, we have worked with victims advocates, Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, said Thursday on the Senate floor. We have worked to make sure that our position with respect to accommodation was included in this bill while making a concrete step in the direction of helping our communities stay safer, helping protect our children, our friends, our neighbors from the deadly hazard of poison being peddled through our streets, in our community, that is killing our children all over the commonwealth of Virginia. Last year, 921 people in Virginia died from an opioid overdose, according to preliminary data from the Virginia Department of Health. It would be the first time in seven years the total number of opioid overdose deaths declined from the previous year. Harris Markham Findlay, Richard Bernard Goff and Julian B. Goodman served in the Roanoke area in the 20th century, the diocese confirmed recently. The Roanoke Times previously reported that Steven Randy Rule, James Lee Rizer and Dennis Paul Murphy, who all appeared on the list, had ties to the region. Findlay served as an associate pastor at Our Lady of Nazareth in Roanoke County from 1941 to 1948, according to the churchs website. He died in 1980, and the abuse allegation emerged after his death. Goff, who was ordained in 1982 and dismissed from the ministry in 1991, was assigned to Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Salem and to Saint Joseph in Clifton Forge, according to the diocese. Goodman was removed from the church in 2002, after stints that included Roanokes St. Andrews Catholic Church. The Rev. Kevin Segerblom of St. Andrews said Wednesday he didnt have any information to add, and referred questions to the diocese. Goodman was removed in 2002 from a church in Charlottesville after revelations of sexual abuse in the 1970s in Goochland County. Turk had ruled in Halls favor in 2017, saying that prosecutors could not take the truck. Prosecutors appealed, eventually sending the case to the Virginia Supreme Court. Its order Thursday reinstated the forfeiture action. Commonwealths Attorney Mary Pettitt did not immediately respond to a message asking if her office still wanted the truck. Haga guessed that prosecutors would soon be resuming efforts to seize it. Theyre interested in these vehicles that dont have liens on them, Haga said. In Circuit Court, Haga had focused on what he described as the lack of connection between Halls truck and the distribution of a Schedule II drug charge to which he pleaded guilty. Hall was sentenced to serve seven months behind bars. Halls $35,000 truck had been purchased with a settlement Haga said he secured for Hall after Halls father was killed in a traffic wreck. It had nothing to do with drug-dealing. He didnt buy the truck with ill-gotten gains, Haga said. Prosecutors argued that it was enough that Hall drove to and from his meeting with the informant in the truck, and that he sold what Haga said was $60 worth of pills through the drivers window. Estimates from the library feasibility study run the cost for the library alone at between $5.2 million to $13.4 million. The study calls for a new library of 30,000 square feet, a fifth of Midkiffs projected size for the cultural center. This suggests a possible construction cost of at least $25 million. Midkiff has talked to Blacksburg town officials and pitched the idea to several potential partners, including the library. While she hasnt gotten any hard commitments, she hasnt heard a no yet, she says. We are neutral about where those 30,000 square feet of space for our new library might be, said Khan. We would be interested in hosting and managing a cultural center if that gave us an opportunity to have those 30,000 square feet of space. Im explaining the possibilities right now, Midkiff said. I want everybody excited about it. If we keep thinking about it, this could happen. It would be good for the town, good for business. Midkiff and the founders of the Future Economy Collective have talked about sharing space, and Midkiff says the collective coffee shop would be perfect for the cultural center. But the FEC women arent willing to wait the five to 10 years required to have a cultural center funded and built. With a $12,000 goal, they hope to be up and running much sooner. Rubens said students from a variety of majors can benefit from studying the subject. The health humanities minor I envision encourages the interdisciplinary exploration of the lived experience of health, illness, medicine and caretaking, Rubens said. As an attainable microcredential that complements the content and structure of existing degree pathways, the health humanities minor will train all students to think critically about the role health plays in their own lives, communities and future professions. Scaggs said that Rubens will not be required to teach during her fellowship and that her salary will remain the same. Scaggs also said that one person will be selected for the program each year and serve in the role for a semester. Rubens joined RUs Department of English as an assistant professor in 2015. She is also the co-coordinator of the universitys Graduate Certificate in Professional Writing and a faculty partner of the Virginia Governors School for Humanities and Governors School for Visual and Performing Arts. I look forward to working with Dr. Rubens as she provides continued dedication and service to the University and builds upon her professional experiences and interests, Hemphill said. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. But on Friday, a judge ruled that Dumas Hotel Legacy had not fully demonstrated it had complied with the terms of the contract. A term sheet is not a commitment to a loan, Judge William Broadhurst said at the hearing, sustaining the defenses argument against the Dumas groups complaint and also non-suiting a counterclaim by TAP, at its attorneys request. With that, Ill leave you all to continue to negotiate, or what have you, the judge concluded. What will happen next remained unknown following Fridays hearing. TAPs attorney, Christopher Stevens, argued in court and in his filings that his client gave the Dumas group multiple extensions to submit a bank letter, beyond the initial Sept. 14 deadline and into 2019. Its not that TAP doesnt want to sell it to Dumas, Stevens said after the hearing. The issue is that they havent been able to come up with the money to purchase it. Weve done a lot to accommodate them. In the end, if you dont have the money, you dont have the money, he said. Grocery store chain Food City is expanding its footprint in the New River Valley with a new Radford location. Currently, the Abingdon-based company has a store in Pulaski and one in Galax. The chain, owned by K-VA-T Food Stores Inc., has more than 130 locations in Southwest Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee, according to its website. The Radford store is being built on property owned by Summit Development Company, which falls under the Price-Williams Realty umbrella. It will be located at the intersection of Rock and Tyler roads on the right side of the road heading toward Radford University. Co-owner of the local realty company, Mark Williams, said the process of developing the parcel and finding a tenant was a multiyear effort, but ultimately everything came together with Food City. They are interested in expanding in this direction, he said. We approached them about this particular location, and after market analysis, they decided it was something they wanted to do. Williams said that construction will start in the spring and hopefully be completed by the end of the year as long as rain doesnt delay the project. (2) Ensure that students of color are not suspended for minor misbehavior. You cant learn if youre not in school. But in Virginia, black students are more likely than their white peers to be suspended even for minor violations. The Legal Aid Justice Center found that in 2016-17, black students were suspended at rates five times higher than Hispanics and whites. This gap was significantly wider than it had been the previous year. Virginias experience tracks that of other states. Typically, suspensions for major offenses (such as bringing a weapon to school) are not the problem. Rather, its the judgment calls, particularly for things like disrespect, that account for the greatest racial variance. Earlier this year, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos suspended Obama-era discipline regulations aimed at reducing racial discipline disparities. Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, Virginia does not need to follow suit. More training for teachers, more support for students, and yes, the governors commitment to hiring more guidance counselors are better approaches. (3) Listen to minority parents stories about what schools expect from their students. Under the Virginia Constitution, malfeasance by its very term is limited only to malfeasance in office and does not encompass acts outside an office. Corruption, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, means dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery (which probably explains Virginias use of the word and the non-necessity of using the word bribery, as in the United States Constitution). See also Blacks Law Dictionary, which defines corruption as the impairment of a public officials duties by bribery. In any event, the nature of the word is applicable to acts done by one in office, not acts before the taking of an office. Neglect of duty, by its very term, is confined to acts done in office; in essence, it is the equivalent of nonfeasance a failure to perform a duty required by ones position. An elementary school in Northern Virginia is apologizing for trivializing slavery after students played a game in a physical education class that required them to simulate moving through the Underground Railroad. As part of recognizing Black History Month, students in the third, fourth and fifth grades at Madisons Trust Elementary in Brambleton were given a lecture this month about the Underground Railroad. The students were then divided into groups of six and were responsible for overcoming a physical obstacle, such as moving through plastic hoops without knocking them over, said Wayde Byard, spokesman for Loudoun County Public Schools. It trivializes something that is important, Byard said. There was an error made here. ... Slavery is not a game. The game, first reported by the Loudoun Times-Mirror, was supposed to teach teamwork, communication and cooperation, according to the school system. Byard said the students were not assigned the role of slaves. But Michelle Thomas, president of the NAACPs Loudoun branch, said that aside from abolitionists, there could be no other role for students to play in an Underground Railroad simulation because African-Americans used the network of trails and hiding places to escape slavery. MOSCOW -- On the morning of February 15, Yevgeny Kayryak and his wife were woken by loud banging on the front door of their home in Surgut, a city in western Siberia. Kayryak said he opened the door to a group of 10 people of whom two were armed and masked. The couple was ordered onto the ground, and Kayryak was told he'd been charged with extremism and faced up to 10 years in prison. He immediately suspected the raid was connected with his religious beliefs. As a Jehovah's Witness, he supports the U.S.-based religious group that Russia banned in April 2017 and has since subjected to a widening clampdown. In an interview with RFE/RL, Kayryak said he was taken to a police precinct, where he said he was tortured and pressured to say -- falsely -- that he was a registered member of the faith's local chapter. He said he was put on the ground and told to face the wall, and a plastic bag was repeatedly placed over his head until he gasped for breath. He said he was beaten on the groin with a stun gun, and had his fingers twisted and his ankle trampled. In all, 40 Jehovah's Witnesses were rounded up by officers from the Surgut Investigative Committee that day, according to Jarrod Lopes, a spokesman based at the organization's New York headquarters. At least seven were subjected to torture involving stun guns and suffocation, three now languish in pretrial detention, and criminal investigations have been launched against 19, Lopes said. "Time becomes a blur in such moments, when you're experiencing terrible pain and fear of losing your life," Kayryak said. WATCH: In Kirov, two members of the Jehovah's Witnesses have been placed under house arrest after being released from jail to care for sick relatives. 'We Had To Specifically Come From Moscow For This' The arrests in Surgut are part of a widening dragnet targeting Russia's Jehovah's Witnesses, and come amid conflicting messages from the Kremlin, including President Vladimir Putin himself. On December 11, in a meeting with his Human Rights Council, Putin suggested that government policy toward some religious groups should be more "liberal." "We probably can, and even at some point should, be much more liberal toward representatives of various religious sects," Putin said. Returning to the topic later in the meeting, he added: "Jehovah's Witnesses are Christians too. I don't quite understand why they are persecuted. So this should be looked into. This must be done." The U.S.-based Jehovah's Witnesses organization has long been viewed with suspicion by some governments for its members' positions on military service, voting, and government authority in general. The group says it has about 170,000 adherents in Russia. In its 2017 ruling, the Russian Supreme Court ordered the seizure of the group's property and effectively banned worshipers from the country. Dozens have been detained in raids across the country, and 140 now face criminal charges nationwide, according to Lopes. In Surgut, Kayryak said he himself was held until 11 p.m. that day. He was questioned about his affiliation with the Jehovah's Witnesses, and while he said he identified as one, he denied belonging to the group's illegal local chapter. In the interview, Kayryak told RFE/RL he had never registered with the organization but maintained ties to some of its members in the city. That afternoon and evening, Kayryak said he was twice returned to the room where his interrogator sat, and twice was tortured for failing to give an affirmative response when asked to confirm his status as a member of the group. He said the four men overseeing the ordeal told him at one point, "We had to specifically come from Moscow for this." Russia's Investigative Committee has dismissed the allegations of torture in Surgut. In e-mailed comments to RFE/RL, Oleg Menshikh, a spokesman for the Surgut branch of the Investigative Committee, denied that its officers had used torture against Jehovah's Witnesses in the city and said investigators recorded on video all of their interrogations on February 15 and no use of violence was noted. "Employees of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation do not use illegal methods of conducting investigations in their work," he said. However, reports emerged at around the same that the Investigative Committee had launched a probe into the allegations following the publication of articles detailing the instances of torture. "We've had no complaints from Jehovah's Witnesses, but we decided to organize this investigation," a representative told the state news agency TASS. Broken Kayryak said he eventually broke down and gave his interrogator the answers he appeared to be demanding. "I called myself something I am not and have never been. Basically what they wanted to hear from me," he said, referring to his forced admission that he was a member of the local Jehovah's Witnesses chapter. He also revealed under pressure the names of several other believers in the city, something he'd refused to do before the torture began. Kayryak and his wife are now home in Surgut. During the search, the police confiscated a laptop, two cameras, two smartphones, several diaries and notepads, and copies of the Bible in various languages. Two days after his detainment, the interrogator called him and asked for the password to his laptop. Kayryak dictated it without a word of protest, he told RFE/RL. He is now awaiting trial like dozens of other Jehovah's Witnesses in Surgut. Yegiazar Chernikov, a lawyer representing many of them, told RFE/RL that city hospitals had refused to issue documents confirming that the victims had been subjected to violence. He also said that police had forwarded each of his appeals to the same Investigative Committee accused of perpetrating the acts. "They said: 'We're ready to treat you but we won't examine you. We will not record your injuries,'" he said. "The Investigative Committee is obviously pressuring doctors. These injuries must be recorded now because the marks are disappearing with each day. But they won't let us." For Kayryak and others like him, the main legal problem is the vague wording of the law against extremism: Jehovah's Witnesses are banned from gathering to pray or worship but their status as believers is not illegal. However, Chernikov believes the authorities rarely take into account this nuance. "The problem is they don't distinguish" between independent believers and members of the Jehovah's Witnesses chapter, he said. "If he says he's a Jehovah's Witness they automatically tie him to the banned local religious organization." Editor's Note: To receive Steve Gutterman's Week In Russia each week via e-mail, subscribe by clicking here. President Vladimir Putin altered his recipe a bit in his state-of-the-nation speech this year, omitting some of the prep work and hitting Washington and the West with a direct flame for a shorter period of time than last year, but the main ingredients were little changed -- as was the resulting dish he served the Russian people on state TV. Here's what changed in the latest edition of Putin's annual address parliament and what didn't. Cut To The Chase Putin's state-of the-nation address last year was essentially a campaign address, coming less than three weeks before the election in which he won a fourth presidential term, and he started it out with lofty language about making choices, building democracy, and conquering the cosmos. In this year's edition, delivered on February 20, Putin cut to the chase, stating at the start that the address would be "primarily devoted to matters of domestic social and economic development." The most likely motives for this approach -- persistent economic problems and falling popularity, trust, and approval ratings in opinion polls -- were plain to see. Putin delivered on his promise that domestic issues would dominate the address, at least in terms of the time devoted to them. What he did not do was toss out the script; instead he stuck largely to signals he has sent and strategies he has employed in past speeches. Among them is the tendency to set out goals in some detail, and maybe more detail than usual this time, but to give little indication of how they can be reached and where the money will come from. Speaking of about 60 billion rubles ($915 million) needed over the next three years to increase state subsidies for mortgages, Putin said, "We know where to get it." But he did not say where. Trash Talk Putin also stuck to the script of past state-of-the-nation speeches -- and other set-piece events such as an annual call-in show in which he takes often choreographed questions from Russians nationwide -- by suggesting that he was on the side of the people, and in tune with them, and that any failure to fulfill his stated goals lay with those in between. Addressing the prominent issue of garbage dumps, which have become a major problem for Putin -- as well, of course, as for the people who live near landfills that he said "have turned into real mountains of garbage" -- he asked how officials had allowed neighborhoods to be built "next to these dumps" and warned them that "brushing aside people's needs is entirely unacceptable." Man Of The People? Using the word "surprisingly" twice, Putin said with an air of annoyance that he "personally had to interfere" last year to stop what he indicated was a specific case of illegal dumping, adding that "almost nothing moved forward until I gave an order to station a guard there and not to let anyone in." His surprise seems surprising, though, considering how the Kremlin has cast him as the ultimate arbiter and the only person Russians can count on being able to turn to as a last resort -- a leader who has at times micromanaged to the point of inviting an 8-year-old girl to Moscow and giving her a dress after she asked for one "like Cinderella" on the call-in show in 2008. In any case, the focus on regular folks had been telegraphed ahead of time by the Kremlin, with independent Dozhd TV quoting sources as saying Putin would address "topics of concern for Russians" in a speech that was likely to be "about people." Oops!... I Did It Again One apparent implication was that Putin would have less to say about the outside world -- a shift that would signal, perhaps more strongly than in the past, that Russia and its people must rely on themselves and not wait for the world to change, and that their leader's energy was focused almost solely on improving life in his own country. In the event, Putin did do that -- until he didn't. After a long chunk of time spent on domestic issues, Putin used a segue about how "without sovereignty, Russia cannot be a state" -- uh, yeah -- to shift to international affairs. Here he broke no new ground, talking of the need for "closer cooperation" with Belarus and playing up what he called "equal and mutually beneficial relations with China" -- a description that many analysts who see China as the stronger partner would not entirely agree with. And he said Russia would welcome warmer ties with Europe -- but gave no indication that Moscow would take any steps in this direction, expressing "hope that the European Union and the major European countries will finally take actual steps to put political and economic relations with Russia back on track." That "ball's in your court" is the default signaling from Russia on ties with the West these days, along with "We are not the ones who" undermined relations, took aggressive steps, imposed sanctions first -- take your pick. 'Unreliable Partner' Lenoid Bershidsky, Bloomberg Opinion's Europe columnist, suggested it's not very smart for the Kremlin to take the same old, same old approach, writing that with Europe bristling at U.S. pressure, policy, and demands, Putin had "squandered a historic chance at continental leadership." "If President Vladimir Putin hadn't made Russia an unreliable partner for its neighbors, he'd be poised to realize his fondest dream: of displacing the U.S. as Europe's security guarantor," Bershidsky wrote in an article published the day before the state-of-the-nation speech. Far from courting the EU as a potential partner in the address, Putin likened at least some European countries to pigs, calling U.S. allies on the continent "satellites" that were "oinking along" with the U.S. position on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Had Putin wanted to set this speech apart from many others he has made, he might have done so by avoiding any focus on the United States -- Moscow's Cold War rival and a country he very often targets with criticism, sometimes by name and sometimes not. This time, it was almost as if he could not resist it, and he came close to apologizing as he plunged abruptly into the issue of the INF by explaining that the U.S. decision to withdraw from the pact is "the most urgent and most discussed issue in Russian-American relations." "This is why I am compelled to talk about it in more detail," Putin said -- and talk about it he did. Missile Message But here, too, he said little that was new. He reiterated Russia's repeatedly reiterated denial -- repeatedly rejected by the United States and NATO -- that Moscow has violated the 1987 treaty for years by developing and then deploying a cruise missile known as the 9M729 or SSC-8. Putin spent less time on relations with the United States and related matters than he did in his address in March 2018, when he listed a number of weapons that he said Russia was developing or deploying -- including a 20-meter nuclear torpedo that Popular Mechanics magazine said was "designed to cross entire oceans before detonating a thermonuclear warhead against an enemy coastal target such as a city or naval base" -- and demanded that the West "listen to us now." But the saber-rattling was hardly less noisy, with Putin naming at least five kinds of missiles -- Avangard, Kalibr, Kinzhal, Sarmat, and Tsirkon -- and asking of U.S. policymakers, "Can they count?" "I'm sure they can," he continued. "Let them count the speed and the range of the weapons systems we are developing." Putin seems to have taken quite a liking to his suggestion that Russian missiles can quickly reach the United States: He repeatedly mentioned his "let them count" quip at a dinner with Russian editors hours after the speech. Still, as with Europe, Putin also averred that "Russia wants to have sound, equal, and friendly relations with the United States." Funny way of saying so. Then again, Putin often makes comments that cover diametrically opposed views of the same issue, with your perception of his intent depending on which part you listen to more closely: We want warm ties, but the West is bad; "Russia is not threatening anyone," but check out these fearsome weapons and count how long they'd take to reach your shores; democracy is needed, but -- as he said at the end of the speech -- Russians must have "a common confidence" in the authorities. 'A Major Problem' This two-sided approach often leaves Putin's meaning open to broad interpretation and creates a kind of deniability. So does being vague. Putin may have been employing such tactics in lengthy comments he introduced by saying that "to achieve the ambitious goals facing the country, we must rid the system of everything that restricts freedom of enterprise and business initiative." Hear, hear, some might say -- but it's not that simple. Putin expressed concern about the number of cases against entrepreneurs that never go to trial -- 45 percent -- warning that the jobs lost when a business is closed for investigation -- 130 on average -- was "becoming a major economic problem." But Putin's wording -- "honest businesses should not face the risk of criminal or administrative prosecution" -- might give police and prosecutors a loophole, an excuse to go about the business of "terrorizing business" as usual: Of course, we only go after the dishonest ones. Putin's remarks on this issue were closely watched because his determination to root out one of Russia's biggest economic problems is facing a crucial test following the arrest of Michael Calvey, a prominent American private-equity investor in Russia who has been jailed on a large-scale-fraud charge he denies. Hand Me The Remote, Honey Aleksei Kudrin, a longtime former finance minister who is close to Putin and earlier in the week called Calvey's jailing an "emergency" for the Russian economy, suggested that words alone -- especially words that have been repeated several times -- won't fix the problem. "The president's call for reducing law enforcement pressure on business must be supported by clear measures, results, and personal responsibility for failure to perform," Kudrin tweeted after Putin's address. "Otherwise the president will again have to acknowledge the lack of progress in this area." Actions speak louder than words, of course, but there's also a question of how loudly words speak -- and how many people are listening. Putin may have adjusted his approach to the address this year because of falling ratings, but it appears that rating for the speech itself have fallen -- at least in Moscow. The address, shown live on five channels, was watched by 5.9 percent of Russians in the capital, the lowest proportion since 2013, the daily Kommersant reported. Of those Muscovites who had their TVs on at the time of the speech, most of them -- 61 percent -- were watching other programming. An international task force to combat money laundering has given Iran four months to pass anti-money-laundering and terrorism-financing rules or face increased international scrutiny of its banks. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization that underpins the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, announced the deadline at its February 22 meeting in Paris. "If by June 2019, Iran does not enact the remaining legislation in line with FATF standards, then the FATF will require increased supervisory examination for branches and subsidiaries of financial institutions based in Iran," it said. FATF acknowledged that Iran had passed a series of legislative measures since 2017, but said more steps were needed. It also called on Iran to change domestic rules that offer exemptions to UN-designated terrorist organizations if those groups are "attempting to end foreign occupation, colonialism, or racism." Tehran also needed to fully identify and freeze "terrorist assets" in line with UN Security Council resolutions, the task force said. Foreign businesses say compliance and Iran's removal from the FATF's blacklist are key issues to be resolved before they invest in the country. Hard-liners in Iran have opposed the measures, claiming it threatens national security. Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa Tens of thousands of people rallied in Bratislava and other parts of Slovakia to mark the one-year anniversary of the slayings of investigative reporter Jan Kuciak and his fiancee. Crowds gathered on February 21 in rallies organized by a group of students and organizations calling themselves For A Decent Slovakia. The group released a statement saying they demanded a proper investigation of the murders and a trustworthy government. "If we want to move forward, we have to know the names of those who ordered this monstrous murder," organizers said. Kuciak was shot dead along with Martina Kusnirova at their home near Bratislava in February 2018. Both were 27 years old. The authorities have said they believed it was a contract killing linked to Kuciak's work. The journalist was investigating political corruption at the time of the slayings, which triggered the biggest street protests in Slovakia since the fall of communism in 1989 and a political crisis that led to the fall of former Prime Minister Robert Fico's government in March. Kuciak was investigating possible government corruption and ties between politicians and Italian mobsters. Four suspects have been charged, but the mastermind is believed to be still at large. The U.S.-based Committee to Project Journalists and the International Press Institute on February 19 called on Slovak authorities to "expedite charges against all parties allegedly involved in the murder" of the investigative journalist. Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, AP, and dpa A Russian woman on February 21 placed an open coffin containing the body of her deceased husband in front of the regional government building in Samara in the Volga region, in protest against what she said was "competition between funeral homes" that prevented her from interring him. Media reports in Russia say that the man died two weeks ago and the woman was trying to obtain money to bury him in the city cemetery. The cemetery funeral home asked her to pay at least 30,000 rubles ($460), an amount too high for her. The woman then went to a second funeral home, which agreed to bury her husband for 8,000 rubles ($120). But when the gravediggers arrived at the cemetery, some 30 men prevented them from completing their task. The incident prompted the woman to bring her husband's body in the casket in front of the regional government building. The open casket was exposed in front of the building for several hours, before the widow removed it. Amid the reports and outcry on social networks, the Samara region's governor, Dmitry Azarov, stated that he will personally investigate the case and vowed to assist the woman in burying her husband. The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, now says she will bury her husband in a village. Samara, with population of around 1.2 million people, is located on the Volga River. Based on reporting by Mash, Govorit Moskva, Komsomolskaya Pravda, and RIA Novosti Moldovan President Igor Dodon says his country needs to maintain good relations with Russia amid uncertainty about the future of the European Union. In an interview with the Associated Press published on February 21, Dodon said his country relies on Moscow for energy, exports, and for help to settle the long-standing conflict in its pro-Russia breakaway republic of Transdniester. The interview comes ahead of the countrys February 24 parliamentary elections, which have the potential to tilt the country either to the West or East. The countrys leadership is split, with the ruling Democratic Party pursuing a pro-EU stance while the president has pressed for a policy more focused toward Russia. Until assuming the presidency, Dodon was the leader of Moldova's Socialist Party, a splinter group from former President Vladimir Voronin's Communist Party. He also is a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The pro-Russia Socialist Party, the countrys leading opposition group, is expected to win the most votes in the February 24 vote. However, it is not expected to receive a clear majority. Along with the Democratic Party and the Socialists, the ACUM (Now) bloc, which accuses Moldovas leadership of rampant corruption and is also considered pro-West, will be among competitors in the vote. An Association Agreement between Moldova and the EU came into force in 2016, but the Socialists favor the country joining the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union. Chisinaus unsteady record in fighting rampant corruption has angered many Moldovans, increased support for the Socialists, and brought complaints from the EU. Dodon asserted in the AP interview that he sees the need to maintain ties with the EU, which accounts for 70 percent of Moldovas exports -- much of it to neighboring Romania, with which Moldova shares a common language and history. But he also said the EUs development over the next 10 to 15 years is uncertain, making it important for Chisinau to keep friendly relations with Moscow. Moldova's mainly Russian-speaking Transdniester declared independence from Moldova in 1990 over fears that Chisinau would seek reunification with Romania. Most of Moldova was part of Romania in the interwar period. Moldovan forces and Moscow-backed Transdniester fighters fought a short but bloody war in 1992. The conflict ended with a cease-fire agreement after Russian troops in the region intervened on the side of the separatists. Some 1,400 Russian troops remain in Transdniester, despite UN calls to remove them. Dodon won the presidency in 2016 after an election campaign that capitalized on a wave of nostalgia for the Soviet era. Dodon has been suspended at least five times by Moldova's Constitutional Court, accused of failing to fulfill his constitutional obligations by refusing to sign into law bills passed by parliament and other matters. With reporting by AP, Reuters, and the BBC CHISINAU -- Medical tests from two Moldovan opposition leaders who have accused the authorities of poisoning them show they had elevated levels of mercury in their blood in recent months. The startling accusations come just days ahead of crucial parliamentary elections in a country caught in a tug-of-war between East and West loyalties. Medical files provided to RFE/RL's Moldovan Service on February 22 show Andrei Nastase of the pro-European ACUM (Now) bloc had a mercury blood level of 8.7 at the start of December, well above the normal value of less than two for that type of test. A known Moldovan toxicology expert who insisted on anonymity told RFE/RL that a mercury measurement below 10 was not "life threatening." Maia Sandu, another senior ACUM politician, had a level of 2.7, almost triple the reference range of one in her test, which was conducted by a different laboratory and dated January 4, 2018. Nastase and Sandu -- who was the runner-up in Moldova's 2016 presidential election -- lead the ACUM coalition, which is locked in a campaign battle with the pro-Western Democratic Party of the ruling coalition and the pro-Moscow Socialists. The Socialists are currently favored to win the February 24 elections, but opinion polls show them falling short of winning a majority needed to govern. Sandu said both she and Nastase experienced health problems last year, prompting the tests, which she said raised "reasonable suspicions" that they were purposely poisoned. "I underwent a treatment that helped lower the level of these metals in my blood but then the recent tests showed again an increase and the doctors with whom we spoke said that this accumulation cannot happen naturally, it must be intentional," she said. High mercury levels in blood can be associated with eating too much seafood, or a result of mercury leaching from the fillings in teeth. It can also be breathed in as a vapor when liquid mercury, such as the type found in thermometers, evaporates into the air; via skin contact through some cosmetic creams, or ingested through medicines and vaccines. According to the World Health Organization, mercury can damage the nervous, digestive, and immune systems and poison the lungs, kidneys, skin, and eyes. "Mrs. Sandu was being as diplomatic as possible and was using strict legal terms -- reasonable suspicions that we were poisoned," Nastase said. "[But] I'm telling you with all certainty, we are the targets of attacks by this government that wants us dead." Nastase offered no proof that he had been intentionally poisoned and did not say why he accused the Democratic Party of being behind such an act. Businessman Alexandru Machedon, who was Nastase's chief of staff during local elections last summer, also claims to have been poisoned. Machedon told RFE/RL that he first discovered elevated mercury levels in his blood in 2016, though he decided to keep his suspicions out of the public eye so as to not create fear among opposition protesters. Three-Way Battle Vitalie Gamurari, a spokesman for the ruling Democratic Party, has rejected the accusations of poisoning. "Strange accusations have been heard in the last few days and are becoming more and more fantastic," he said on February 21. Critics of the poisoning charges wonder why they were made only on the eve of the elections. Opinion polls suggest no party will win an outright majority in the vote and the ACUM bloc has signed a pledge not to enter into a coalition with either the Democratic Party or the Socialists in the case of a hung parliament. The ACUM bloc has accused Moldova's governing coalition of rampant corruption in one of Europe's poorest countries. The former Soviet republic of 3.6 million has had three governments since 2015, after the disappearance of some $1 billion -- about 12 percent of the country's gross domestic product -- from the banking system plunged it into a political and economic crisis. The European Parliament passed a resolution highly critical of Moldova on November 14, saying it had become a "state captured by oligarchic interests" that exert their influence over most parts of Moldovan society. The European Commission later announced it was cutting its financial assistance to Moldova by 20 million euros ($22.7 million) per year for both 2017 and 2018. The financial assistance earmarked by the EU for the two years originally totaled 140 million euros ($158 million). Written by Alan Crosby based on reporting by Liliana Barbarosie OF RFE/RL's Moldovan Service The legal onslaught by prosecutors against Jehovah's Witnesses continues across Russia. In Kirov, two members of the Jehovah's Witnesses have been placed under house arrest after being released from jail to care for sick relatives. Russia's Supreme Court banned the organization in April 2017. Iran on February 22 opened large-scale naval drills at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, state media reported, adding that the maneuvers will feature submarine cruise-missile launches for the first time. State agency IRNA said that more than 100 vessels were participating in the three-day drills held in an area stretching from the Strait of Hormuz to the Indian Ocean. Iran has in the past threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route, in retaliation for any hostile U.S. action. "The exercise will cover confronting a range of threats, testing weapons, and evaluating the readiness of equipment and personnel," Iranian navy chief Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said on state television. "Submarine missile launches will be carried out...in addition to helicopter and drone launches from the deck of the Sahand destroyer," Khanzadi said. State media said the military would be testing its new domestically built Fateh (Conqueror) submarine, which was launched last week and is said to be armed with cruise missiles. U.S. President Donald Trump in May withdrew from a landmark 2015 deal to curb Irans nuclear program and reimposed sanctions on Tehran. Trump said the deal was flawed because it did not include curbs on Irans development of ballistic missiles or its support for proxies in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq. Iran has expanded its missile program, particularly its ballistic missiles. Based on reporting by Reuters and IRNA A Moscow court has extended the pretrial detention for former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who is being held in Russia on an espionage charge. The Lefortovo district court on February 22 rejected a motion filed by Paul Whelan's lawyer to transfer him to house arrest and prolonged his pretrial arrest until May 28. Whelan's lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, said the court ruling will be appealed. A former U.S. Marine, Whelan, who holds U.S., Irish, Canadian, and British citizenship, was arrested on December 28 in Moscow and charged with spying. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in a Russian prison. His family says he is innocent and that he was in Moscow to attend a wedding. Russian officials have not released details of the allegations against him. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Andrea Kalan, wrote on Twitter on February 22 that the embassy was closely following Whelans case. Kalan also wrote that the embassy had been unable to release any information regarding the case because Whelan had not been allowed to give a signed Privacy Act Waiver to the embassy. "U.S. privacy laws require a consular official obtain permission from someone before we can release any information about their case, and this is done routinely," Kalan wrote. Kalan also expressed concerns over the refusal of Russian authorities to allow Whelan to do so. Whelan was working as a global security director for a U.S. auto-parts manufacturer at the time of his arrest. Relations between Russia and the United States have been strained over Russias alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, its seizure and illegal annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula, its support for pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine, and the 2018 poisoning of Russian former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain with a nerve agent. Whelan's detainment came weeks after a Russian woman, Maria Butina, pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to acting as an agent for the Kremlin. The Kremlin has denied that Butina is a Russian agent and has organized a social-media campaign to secure her release. In the past, Russia has arrested foreigners with the aim of trading prisoners with other countries. Whelan's lawyer has said that his client is innocent and suggested that Russian officials may be trying to use him in an exchange for Butina. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has rejected that scenario. With reporting by The Washington Post, Interfax, and Reuters BISHKEK -- A defense lawyer in a high-profile corruption case for former Kyrgyz Prime Minister Sapar Isakov says he has been targeted in a smear campaign by security officials. A two-minute video, posted anonymously, has circulated on the Internet for several days with claims that Nurbek Toktakunov has psychological problems and was involved in the killing of a police officer in southern Kyrgyzstan during ethnic clashes in 2010. Toktakunov told RFE/RL on February 21 that he thought the smear campaign was organized by the State Committee of National Security (UKMK) in an attempt to put pressure on his professional activities. The video alleges that Toktakunov is a drug addict and claims he is a "bad person" because "his civil rights organization Precedent in Bishkek is financially supported by the United States." The video also criticizes Toktakunov for working as the defense attorney of human right activist Azimjan Askarov in 2010. Askarov is serving a life sentence in prison on charges widely criticized as being politically motivated. The video also contains intimate scenes, apparently shot by a hidden camera, showing a man who looks like Toktakunov with a woman. UKMK spokesman Rakhat Sulaimanov told RFE/RL on February 21 that security officials had nothing to do with the video. The video appeared on Facebook on February 19, a day after preliminary hearings started in the corruption case against Toktakunov's client Isakov and several other former top Kyrgyz officials. BRUSSELS -- The European Union is set next week to remove Andriy Klyuyev, the head of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovychs presidential administration, from its sanctions list, but the assets freeze on Yanukovych and 11 of his associates are likely to be prolonged by another year, according to several EU diplomats familiar with the issue. EU ambassadors are expected to make the decision when they meet in Brussels on February 27. The move comes after a ruling by the EUs general court in July which said that the blocs restrictive measures against Klyuyev for 2017-18 should be annulled. He did, however, remain on the sanctions list as the asset freeze was prolonged by one year in March 2018, with a separate ruling for the new sanctions period necessary to be delisted. In the July ruling, the court concluded that since Klyuyev informed the European Council that Ukrainian criminal proceedings against him had been suspended before the renewal of the bloc's restrictive measures, the council should have sought clarification on the issue from Ukrainian authorities. Several diplomats from EU member states who are familiar with the talks but not authorized to speak on the record told RFE/RL that the lack of compelling evidence from Ukraine had forced EU to consider removing Klyuyev from the list. Andriys brother, Serhiy Klyuyev, was removed from the same sanctions list last year. Serhiy, who was a businessman and lawmaker from Yanukovych's Party of Regions, was the nominal owner of Mezhyhirya, the lavish Yanukovych residence outside Kyiv that is now a museum. The EU imposed asset freezes against Yanukovych and his inner circle shortly after the collapse of his government in February 2014. The bloc accused Yanukovych and his collaborators of misappropriation of Ukraine's state funds. Apart from the former president, the restrictive measures still include his son, Oleksandr Yanukovych, and the former Prime Ministers Mykola Azarov and Serhiy Arbuzov. Amnesty International has called on Iran to immediately halt plans to execute three young men who are on death row for crimes committed when they were under the age of 18. The London-based rights group said on February 22 it had learned that Mohammad Kalhori, Barzan Nasrollahzadeh, and Shayan Saeedpour -- all convicted for separate crimes that took place while they were minors -- are at risk of "imminent" execution. "The Iranian authorities must act quickly to save these young men's lives. Failing to stop their execution would be another abhorrent assault on children's rights by Iran," Saleh Higazi, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Amnesty International, said in statement. "International human rights law strictly prohibits the use of the death penalty against people who were under the age of 18 when the crime was committed," Higazi said. Iran is among a handful of countries that executes juvenile offenders. Amnesty International said it was aware of more than 90 cases of people in Iran currently on death row for crimes that took place when they were under 18. The rights organization said the real number is likely to be far higher. Kalhori was 15 years old when he was arrested in December 2014 over the fatal stabbing of one of his schoolteachers, the rights group said. According to Amnesty International, Nasrollahzadeh was arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence at the age of 17. He has said that he was tortured while in detention. He was later sentenced to death on charges of "enmity against God." The rights group said Saeedpour was arrested when he was 17 for a murder committed during a fight in 2015. Saeedpour was sentenced to death for first-degree murder in 2018. Amnesty said it had noted an "alarming pattern" by the Iranian authorities, who schedule executions of juvenile offenders at short notice in order to minimize the chances of public or private interventions for a reprieve. It called on Iran's parliament to urgently amend Article 91 of the 2013 Islamic Penal Code to abolish the death penalty for crimes committed by people under 18 in line with Iran's international obligations. Iran is one of the world's leading executioners. Amnesty said in April that 507 people were executed by the Iranian authorities in 2018, including at least five juvenile offenders. A woman jailed for making complaints about her forcible eviction at the hands of officials in the central Chinese province of Henan has vowed to continue her rights activism after being released at the end of a four-year prison term. Li Yufeng, 60, was released from Henan's Zhengzhou Women's Prison on at the end of her four-year sentence. She told RFA that she had refused food on several occasions while in prison, in protest at her treatment. "I was in the women's prison for more than two years, during which time I wasn't able to get hot water to bathe," Li said. "I had to wash in cold water." Li's lawyer had lodged a formal complaint with the prison authorities over her treatment, which included being forced to wear manacles and leg irons, and to have her arms pinned behind her back as a punishment. However, the prison authorities denied any mistreatment, she told RFA. Li's problems with the government began in 2000, when she was forcibly evicted and her home demolished. Her attempts to win redress led her to fight for others' rights as well as her own, and she joined campaigns by other activists, as well as publicly showing support for the 2014 Occupy Central pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. She was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in 2006 for commemorating the death of late ousted liberal premier Zhao Ziyang. She was rearrested as she took a group photograph with fellow petitioners and rights activists from Henan during the fifth plenary session of the 18th national congress of the ruling Chinese Communist Party in Beijing. Li received a four-year jail term in 2015 for the public order charge of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble." But she said she will continue with her activism now that she is out of prison again. "I have seen China's dark side, so I am even more determined to continue along this path," Li said. "I think, as a Christian, that I should show some love, compassion and humility." "I have no regard whatsoever for money or reputation, and so many other rights defenders are leading the way, and are able to give up the chance of material wealth," she said. "If they can do it, why can't I?" "I wouldn't be this determined to go on if it weren't for them," she said. Li's friend, who gave only a pseudonym Wu, said Li had made huge personal sacrifices to fight for the rights of ordinary people. "She has no pension, so it was very hard for her to eke an existence," Wu said. "She had no source of income at all when she was in Beijing, and she used to pick up discarded vegetables at the markets and take them home to cook." China's army of petitioners, who flood the ruling Chinese Communist Party's official complaints departments daily, frequently report being held in unofficial "black jails," beaten, or otherwise harassed, if they persist in a complaint beyond its initial rejection at the local level. They are often escorted home forcibly by "interceptors" sent by their local governments to prevent negative reports from reaching the ears of higher authorities. They then face surveillance, harassment and possible detention on criminal charges. Reported by Gao Feng for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Three U.S. lawmakers have called on U.S. President Donald Trump to raise human rights issues with officials in Vietnam when he travels to the one-party Communist Southeast Asian nation next week for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In a letter dated Feb. 19, U.S. House of Representatives members Zoe Lofgren, Chris Smith, and Alan Lowenthalco-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Vietnamexpressed concerns that Hanoi is hosting the second U.S.-North Korea summit scheduled for Feb. 27-28, given Vietnams poor rights record. Being chosen to host a summit of this magnitude is an honor the Vietnamese government neither merits nor has earned, particularly given its deplorable human rights record, the detention of American citizens, and a new cybersecurity law that has already led to the censorship of social media posts from American and German citizens, the letter reads. We ask you to raise these issues in any discussion you may have with Vietnamese government and Communist Party leaders during your visit. They must not come away from the summit emboldened to expand restrictions on fundamental freedoms, but should know that the Administration views the status quo as unacceptable. The lawmakers highlighted what they called Vietnams disturbing record on prisoners of conscience, pointing to a list released last year by London-based Amnesty International that includes nearly 100 dissidents jailed for expressing views critical of the government, and who they said endure alarming treatment in detention. American citizens have been arrested and reportedly brutally beaten during visits to Vietnam, they said, adding that U.S. citizen Michael Phuong Minh Nguyen has been held on what they called trumped up charges since July last year. On July 31, the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City Franc Shelton confirmed that Nguyena 54-year-old father of four from Californiahad been arrested and was being held at a detention center in the city while under investigation for activity against the Peoples government, according to Article 109 of Vietnams Penal Code. His brother-in-law said at a press conference during the time that during the investigation, Nguyen is not allowed any family visits or access to a lawyer, and cannot receive any letters or other written communication, even from his children. Lofgren, Smith and Lowenthal urged Trump in their letter to make Nguyens case a priority during his visit to signal that the Vietnamese governments actions are unacceptable. If you cannot reconsider the venue of the North Korea summit, we ask that you meet with Vietnamese leaders and make the case why substantive improvements in the protections of religious freedom, free speech, and other basic human rights are a prerequisite for enhanced U.S.-Vietnamese relations, the letter read. The three lawmakers closed by calling on Trump to strongly push for Nguyens release, as well as the release of all prisoners of conscience, and asked that he specifically raise the cases of Amnesty Internationals list of jailed dissidents, which they enclosed in the letter. During the Hanoi summit, Kim is expected to demand relief from economic sanctions and the U.S. is expected to press Pyongyang to follow through on previous pledges to denuclearize. Additional letters The request from the three U.S. representatives followed two separate letters from Vietnamese intellectuals and activists, urging Trump to help thwart Chinas gradual takeover of the South China Sea, where Hanoi and Beijing are embroiled in maritime territorial disputes. The two lettersone from Vietnamese exiles and another from intellectuals inside of Vietnamhad praised recent tough speeches about China by Trump administration officials and called for Washingtons support in the dispute over islands and reefs, saying Chinas actions in the waters were threatening the freedom of navigation and challenging the authority of the U.S. in the Asia-Pacific region. China has aggressively asserted its claims to the Spratlys, the Paracels, and the rest of the South China Seawhich Vietnam refers to as the East Seabased on its so-called nine-dash demarcation line that encompasses some 90 percent of the waters, including territory claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, and Malaysia. Beijing has been fortifying the islands it claims in the vital waterway with weaponry, runways and deep water berths. China has also created artificial islands in the South China Sea by dredging massive amounts of sand and Chinese officials have promoted tourism to the islands. Le Trung Tinh, a France-based member of the South China Sea Researchers group and signatory of the Feb. 14 letter by Vietnamese exiles, told RFAs Vietnamese Service that he hopes Trump will ask China to seek a resolution to the South China Sea dispute through international arbitration. If China is so adamant that they have strong evidence to support their case for sovereignty over the Paracels, why wont they accept bringing the case to a third party, he asked. Former political prisoner Nguyen Vu Binh, who is now living in exile, said he signed the letter because he believes Chinas actions in the sea, and particularly its aggressive behavior against Vietnamese fishermen, blatantly violate international law. If we want to keep our sovereignty over the sea and keep the islands free for fishing, we have to bring the issue to the attention of the international community, he said. The dispute in the South China Sea is not only between Vietnam and China, but the U.S. is also involved in strategic issues there, plus there is the issue of freedom of navigation, so I think President Trump will acknowledge the letter and the concerns of the Vietnamese people. To what extent is unclear, but I believe it will have an impact. Prominent blogger Mother Mushroom, who won a surprise release from a 10-year jail term for anti-state propaganda in October last year and relocated to the U.S., said she also believed the letter would have some effect on Trumps interactions with the Chinese. At least it will show the Vietnamese government that Vietnamese all over the world will never give up the desire to regain the Paracels and Spratlys, she said. Growing influence Signatories to the Feb. 17 letter penned by intellectuals and activists inside Vietnam, told RFA that its purpose was largely to inform the wider international community about the danger Chinese control of the South China Sea and growing influence poses to the region. Retired police colonel and former official with Vietnams Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Dang Quang said the letter is not only to let [Trump] know, but to show the world that when Vietnams sea and islands risk invasion, the U.S. is a natural ally of Vietnam. Hoang Dung, a linguistics professor, told RFA that those who signed the letter dont expect Trump will do anything for Vietnam, as any state leader makes decisions based on his own countrys interests. However, with this letter, we would like to inform the world and the Vietnamese people that the Vietnamese government has two options: to become more and more influenced by China, or to quickly move itself out of that influence, he said. When Trump and Kim Jong Un meet in Vietnam, this is a good time for us to show that the need to move out of Chinas influence is becoming increasingly urgent. Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by An Nguyen. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. Dozens of parents of children affected by faulty vaccines in recent years protested outside the health ministry in Beijing on Friday. Around 30 parents of children made sick by substandard and expired vaccines gathered outside the National Health and Family Planning Commission headquarters ahead of the annual parliamentary sessions in Beijing, calling on the government to deliver on its promises of assistance. Vaccine campaigner He Fangmei said the parents-turned-activists had planned to use heightened media attention around the National People's Congress (NPC) meeting in early March to publicize their families' grievances. "The two parliamentary sessions are about to begin, and 35 of us parents have come here to the health ministry to make our demands known," He said. "We want the government to finish work on a Vaccine Law, taking into account suggestions from parents like us," she said. "That includes early intervention and treatment and guarantees in the longer term." "We also want to see the health checks we were promised for our children implemented, and proper diagnoses made," she said. President Xi Jinping demanded a thorough investigation into last year's tainted vaccine scandal at Changchun Changsheng Biotech, and promised severe punishment for those responsible. But the authorities repeatedly detain, beat, and even "disappear" parent campaigners, who want the government to face up to its responsibilities and give the families hit by faulty vaccines compensation to help with mounting medical bills. String of scandals The Changchun incident was only the latest in a string of public health scandals surrounding fake, substandard, and expired vaccines that have had a devastating impact on the health of young children and on their immediate family. Parent campaigner Ma Teng from Linyi city in the eastern province of Shandong said his child developed symptoms the day after being vaccinated against hand, foot, and mouth disease at Linyi's Machanghu Health and Epidemic Prevention Station on June 4 last year. "They diagnosed it as pediatric snoring," Ma said. "We reported the adverse reaction to the Machanghua clinic, and later to the Linyi municipal health bureau, and received a diagnosis of an adverse reaction, but they didn't investigate further after making that diagnosis." "My kid didn't receive the standard treatment, and the eventual diagnosis was that there was no link to the vaccine at all," he said. Left paralyzed Yang Suiwang, from Qilin County in the northern province of Hebei, said his son Yang Zhixiang was left paralyzed following a vaccination in 2015. "His lower limbs are paralyzed, and the local government has been shirking its responsibilities," Yang told RFA. "I came to Beijing to petition about this, but they took me back to my hometown, and I said I would come back and petition again." "I am looking for a job in Beijing now, while going to the Health and Family Planning Commission and the complaints departments to protect the rights of my child," Yang said. Many parents say they were initially promised compensation and help with medical expenses, but that the assistance never materialized. Zhang Zhonghua, whose child has suffered from thrombocytopenia, aplastic anemia, and other diseases following a rabies vaccine administered in Liaoning six years ago, said she has been seeking redress for seven years now. "Neither the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health and Family Planning Commission, nor the manufacturer] Liaoning Chengda have given my son a penny towards his medical bills," Zhang said. "Every time there is a major political meeting in this country, they tell me that they care very much, and that the case will be dealt with in a timely manner," she said. "But once the meeting is over, they don't care any more." Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu have indicted detained human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng on subversion charges, a London-based rights group said. Yu Wensheng was indicted on Feb. 1 and his case handed over to the municipal prosecutor in Jiangsu's Xuzhou city, according to an Urgent Action brief on the website of Amnesty International. His wife said she is now awaiting a trial date at the Xuzhou Intermediate Peoples Court. "Yu Wenshengs lawyers ... have made 25 attempts to visit Yu Wensheng since he was taken away in January 2018, however all requests, without any clear or valid reason, have so far been rejected by the police," the Amnesty brief said. "Without access to a lawyer of his choice, [we are] concerned that Yu Wensheng is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment," it said. Police seized Yu on Jan. 19, 2018 after he released an open letter calling for amendments to the Chinese constitution. Judicial officials had revoked his license to practice law three days earlier. According to the overseas Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network, Yu was initially held in Beijing, but later transferred to Xuzhou and placed under incommunicado detention on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power" and "obstructing officials in the course of their duties." China recently passed a law allowing suspects to be held under "residential surveillance at a designated location" (RSDL) in cases allegedly involving matters of state security. The measure, which enables the authorities to deny access to lawyers or family visits, has been repeatedly used to target human rights lawyers, and is associated with a higher risk of torture and other mistreatment, rights groups said. Amnesty urged its members to call on the Chinese authorities to release Yu "immediately and unconditionally." "He has been detained solely for peacefully exercising his human right to freedom of expression," the statement said. Prior to his arrest, Yu had represented a number of high profile human rights cases, including members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement and fellow human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang, who was similarly detained on subversion charges. He was formally arrested by the Xuzhou police department on Apr. 19, 2018. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment for the subversion charge, if the circumstances are deemed particularly serious by the court. 'Opposing party rule' Shortly before his detention, Yu's application to start a new law firm was rejected over comments he made "opposing Communist Party rule and attacking the countrys socialist legal system," Amnesty International said. Yu had earlier described being beaten up and tortured in handcuffs by police in Daxing after he voiced support for the 2014 pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. "At the beginning, the officers only abused him verbally. Later, they handcuffed him with his hands bound behind the back of the iron chair," Amnesty International said. "He said that two police officers repeatedly yanked the handcuffs and he screamed every time they pulled them." Yu Wensheng was detained once more in October 2017 after he wrote an open letter criticizing President Xi Jinping as ill-suited to lead China due to his strengthening totalitarian rule over the country, the group said. "His family and friends believe that Yu Wenshengs current detention is related to this open letter," it said. Lawyers targeted Yu's detention came amid a nationwide police operation targeting more than 300 human rights lawyers, law firm staff and rights activists that began with a raid on the Beijing Fengrui Law Firm and some of its principal lawyers, including Wang Yu, on July 9, 2015. Ten of those detainees have been jailed on subversion or public order charges since, Amnesty said. In August, United Nations human rights experts called on Beijing to repeal regulations allowing the use of RSDL, because they were in breach of Chinas international human rights obligations and commitments. Previously, the Committee against Torture in its Concluding Observations had also expressed concern about RSDL. Reported by Zhu Dan for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. A newly opened Chinese hotel and casino on an island near Cambodias port city of Sihanoukville has been pouring raw sewage into the sea, ruining the beauty of a local beach, island resort owners and environmental activists say. The Jin Ding Hotel and Casino, which registered to do business on Koh Rong Samloeum Island in April 2018 and opened only recently, is now a major cause of concern for island residents, guesthouse owner Adam Kovac told RFAs Khmer Service. Every time I walk by the casino, I can see that something is going wrong there, Kovac said. There is a lot of mess, and a lot of dirt in the water underneath the casino. I guess they are dumping some stuff that is not supposed to go into the sea, Kovac said. When he first arrived on Koh Rong Samloeum, the island was like a paradise, with tourists coming to enjoy the amazing color of the water, Kovac said. But now, we dont like it there, and we wont go there, and this is going to affect businesses [in the area], he said. We need to stop this right now, so it wont be happening anymore. 'What will you do?' In a recent video produced by the Cambodian NGO Mother Nature that shows sewage flowing out of the Jin Ding casino and into the sea, environmental activists Long Sokun and Leang Sopheary urge provincial authorities to take action to curb the pollution. Have you ever visited this site? they ask, addressing themselves directly to provincial governor Yun Min. And what will you do when Chinese sewage released into the sea affects the islands beauty and hygiene, and leads to a decline in tourism? We hope you will not let this beautiful island become a second Sihanoukville, the activists say. Reached by RFA for comment, Sihanoukville provincial environment department head Samuth Sothearith declined to discuss the issue, saying he was in a meeting, while calls to Jin Ding casino manager Zhou Jianhua rang unanswered. However, Cambodian Ministry of Environment spokesperson Neth Pheaktra said on Friday that after being alerted to the situation on the island, his ministry will now inspect the casino and take action accordingly. First we will provide technical consultation to the casino, but if we see serious violations we will fine them and educate them according to the law, he said. Surge in investment Meanwhile, a surge in Chinese investment and in the numbers of migrant workers in the city of Sihanoukville itself has already left local beaches polluted and Cambodian residents struggling to meet higher prices as the cost of living rises, sources told RFA in earlier reports. The situation in this area has now changed a lot, Muong Sonya youth leader in the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association, a Cambodian student organizationsaid following a visit to the city in late 2018. I visited four beaches and saw pollution and poor sanitation everywhere, Muong Sony said. There were no garbage containers on hand, and plastic bags were everywhere, along with a flow of foul-smelling sewage, Muong Sony said, adding that trash now piles up not only on the beaches but on the city streets as well. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Richard Finney. Beckley, WV (25801) Today Mixed clouds and sun this morning. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 83F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Some passing clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Source: February 22, 2019 22:51 IST Robert Vadra, Congress president Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law, was grilled on Friday for about seven hours as he appeared before the Enforcement Directorate for the fifth time in connection with a money-laundering case related to purchase of alleged illegal assets abroad, officials said. Vadra reached the agency's office at Jamnagar House in central Delhi shortly before 11 am and left after 7 pm during which he had a lunch break too, they said. The businessman has been grilled in this case four times in the past, the last being February 20. Officials said the ED is confronting Vadra with documents and statements of other accused being investigated in the case and his statement is being recorded under section 50 (powers of authorities regarding summons, production of documents and to give evidence) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). During the last session, the businessman had told the investigating officer (IO) of the case that he was not well and hence, the recording of his statement was discontinued, the officials had said. Vadra's appearance before the ED is related to a criminal complaint on allegations of money laundering to purchase assets abroad in an alleged illegal manner. Before Friday's questioning, Vadra has been quizzed by the sleuths of the central probe agency in this case for about 26 hours, over four different days earlier this month. He has been asked by a Delhi court to cooperate in the probe being conducted by the central probe agency. ED's lawyers, during the last hearing in the case on February 16, had told the court that Vadra was 'not cooperating and giving evasive replies'. His lawyer had denied the charge and said he was ready to come for questioning as and when called. The ED case against Vadra relates to allegations of money laundering in the purchase of a London-based property, located at 12, Bryanston Square and worth 1.9 million pounds, which is allegedly owned by the businessman in a benami way. The agency had told the court that it had received information about various new properties in London that belonged to Vadra. These include two houses -- one worth 5 million pounds and the other valued at 4 million pounds -- six flats and other assets. Vadra has denied the allegation of possessing illegal foreign assets and termed it a political witch-hunt against him. He has said he is being 'hounded and harassed' to subserve political ends. His first appearance before the ED earlier this month had acquired political overtones after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, his wife and Congress general secretary in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, had accompanied him to the investigating agency's office and picked him up after questioning another time. Vadra had also deposed before the ED twice in Jaipur in connection with another money-laundering case related to an alleged land scam in Bikaner. His mother Maureen Vadra too was questioned by the agency once during the same deposition. Source: Last updated on: February 22, 2019 23:53 IST IMAGE: Young students paint Indian soldiers on a canvas to pay tribute and to condemn the Pulwama terror attack in Kolkata. Photograph: Swapan Mahapatra/PTI Photo The Supreme Court on Friday directed chief secretaries and director generals of police of states and Union Territories to take 'prompt' and 'necessary' action to prevent incidents of threat, social boycott and violence against Kashmiris following the Pulwama terror attack. It also sought responses from the Centre and 11 states where incidents of threat and violence against Kashmiris have taken place after the February 14 terror attack in which over 41 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed. "The Chief Secretaries, the DGPs of all states and Union Territories (UTs) including the Commissioner of Police, Delhi are directed to take prompt and necessary action to prevent incidents of assault, threat, social boycott and such other egregious acts against Kashmiris including students enrolled with the institutions in the respondent states and the UTs and other minorities in the wake of the terrorist attack of February 14," said a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna. The bench perused the list of top police officers, who have been appointed as nodal officers in state and UTs and said their details be given wide publicity by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) so that Kashmiris can approach them in case of 'assault, intimidation and threat'. Following the order, the Centre late on Friday night asked all states to ensure security of people belonging to Jammu and Kashmir. The state governments and Union Territory administrations and the nodal officers appointed by them are once again advised to take all necessary steps to prevent any act of assault, threat, intimidation, social boycott etc. against Kashmiris (including students) as well as minorities in accordance with the order of the Supreme Court, the advisory sent to all state government said. The home ministry also said the central government is concerned at the reports of incidents of assaults and harassment against residents of Jammu and Kashmir, especially students in some parts of the country, in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack. In this regard, an advisory was issued on February 16 to all state governments and Union Territory administrations to take necessary steps to ensure safety and security of the persons belonging to Jammu and Kashmir. The Supreme Court said the Nodal Officers, in addition those who may have already been appointed by Jammu and Kashmir, as per the list placed by the AG before this court, 'would take necessary steps to prevent acts of violence, discrimination and other coercive acts against Kashmiris'. Details like name, address, telephone numbers, and email id of these officers should be given wide publicity by the Ministry of Home Affairs in all the states, 'for prompt and timely action', the court said in its order. The bench perused the advisories issued by the MHA to the chief secretaries and DGPs of all states and UTs from time to time and said, 'the advisories of the kind already issued be reiterated'. It also directed that the police officers, who were appointed as nodal officers to deal with cow vigilantism and lynching incidents, would now be responsible for dealing with the cases of assaults on Kashmiris. Besides the Centre, top officials of Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Delhi have been directed to prevent incidents of 'threat, assault and social boycott' of Kashmiris, including students. The court was hearing the plea of Tariq Adeeb, a lawyer, alleging that students from Kashmir are being attacked at different educational institutions across the country after the Pulwama attack and authorities concerned should be directed to take action to stop such assaults. At the outset, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for Adeeb, claimed that 10 more incidents of assaults have taken place in various states after filing of the petition and necessary directions be issued urgently to stop them. He said that some fresh incidents against Kasmiris have taken place in Punjab and Maharashtra and urged the court to make these two states also parties, which was allowed. "The plea was filed in respect of nine states. But since I mentioned it yesterday and until today, 10 additional incidents have come to light, some in two new states of Punjab and Maharashtra,", Gonsalves said. On being asked as to what relief was being sought for, the senior lawyer said tha he wanted a similar order which was passed in mob lynching cases and senior police officers be appointed as nodal officers to deal with such incidents against Kasmiris. Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre said the ministry has issued the requisite advisory to states and UTs on this issue on February 16 and earlier also, such advisories had been issued. "Nodal officers have been appointed in all states and UTs and there names and numbers are available. This list was last updated in 2018. "The Centre has already issued advisory to all states and UTs on February 17 but we can't tell the states about their specific actions that can be taken in such cases because law and order is a state subject," he said. Taking note of submissions, the bench referred to earlier orders in cases of cow vigilantism and mob violence by which it had asked the states and UTs to appoint a senior police officer as nodal officer in each state to deal with such cases. The bench has now listed the matter for hearing on Wednesday when 'further orders' would be passed. The public interest litigation has sought a direction to the Centre and other authorities for prosecuting people engaging in hate speech, and to appoint a nodal officer in every state and Union Territory, including politically-sensitive districts, to prevent acts of violence, discrimination and vigilantism. It had also sought immediate setting up of a nationwide helpline number and a web-site containing contact details of the nodal officers appointed in politically-sensitive districts. "There is a sudden rise in the incidents of crimes against Muslims and Kashmiris after the Pulwama attack in which over 40 soldiers were killed... "Immediately after the attack, mobs and vigilante groups engaged in vitriolic hate speech and began attacking, and threatening Muslims and Kashmiris throughout the country," the petition said. Meanwhile, the University Grants Commission wrote to vice-chancellors of varsities across the country to ensure safety of Kashmiri students on campus and to maintain peace and harmony. The UGC was directed by the Human Resource Development Ministry on Thursday to issue an advisory to all the universities to ensure that the security of Kashmiri students is not compromised. "In the context of reports being received through various media regarding the safety of students from Kashmir studying in various higher educational institutions, all universities and colleges affiliated to them are advised to ensure the safety and protection of the students on the campus. "They may keep a watch on the situation and seek support of law and order machinery in case of any untoward incident," the UGC letter said. The letter also requested the vice-chancellors 'to look into the matter personally for the safely of the students and maintaining peace and harmony in universities/colleges'. ***** Journalist from Kashmir beaten up; one arrested In yet another incident of assault on Kashmiris after the Pulwama terror attack, a 24-year-old journalist from Jammu and Kashmir was beaten up in Pune. The local police, who earlier dubbed it as an incident of road rage, registered a case against the two suspected assailants Friday evening and arrested one of them. The journalist was allegedly thrashed by the two men Thursday night during a squabble at a traffic signal. Jibran Nazir, who works with a newspaper in Pune, said the assailants told him that they would 'send him back to Kashmir'. Nazir, however, stated that it was not an 'organised' attack. The assailants later apologised to him at the police station, he said. A police official said it was an incident of road rage and not linked with the Pulwama attack. The incident came a day after students from Kashmir studying in a college in Yavatmal in Maharashtra were attacked, allegedly by members of the Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena. Nazir said he was attacked on Tilak Road around 10.45 pm when he was returning home on a motorbike. As he stopped at a traffic signal, two men on a motorbike behind him started honking, asking him to move, which led to a heated exchange. Noticing that his motorbike had a Himachal Pradesh (HP) registration number, the duo said they would pack him off to Himachal Pradesh. When Nazir corrected them, saying he was a journalist hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, the duo beat him up, saying 'we will send you back to Kashmir, do your journalism there', he claimed. They snatched his mobile phone, damaged his bike and fled. After Nazir noted down their bike number and approached the Swargate police station, police located the assailants, who came to the police station with their parents and apologised to him. Nazir said he decided not to pursue the matter further and withdrew his police complaint. Later on Friday evening, the Pune Police registered a case, on their own, against Azharuddin Shaikh, 32, and Dattatray Lavate, 35, the two suspects. The case was registered against them under Indian Penal Code Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 279 (rash driving), said senior inspector Ashok Kadam. While Shaikh was arrested, the police were in the process of arresting Lavate, he said. ***** Those involved in attacking Kashmiri students sacked from Yuva Sena Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray said on Friday that the organisation has sacked those who assaulted Kashmiri students in Maharashtra's Yavatmal district in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. The students, studying at Dayabhai Patel Physical Education College, were attacked Wednesday night by members of Yuva Sena, the student wing of the Shiv Sena. "The party has sacked those involved in the act. Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India and no Indian, or for that matter, nobody should face the brunt of anger that is towards terrorism. We understand the angst but it must be against terror, not innocent people," Aditya Thackeray tweeted on Friday. A video of the incident had gone viral on social media and a police case was registered. As per one of the victims of the attack, they were asked to say 'Vande Mataram', slapped and abused. The attackers also asked them to vacate their rented accommodations within four days. Yuva Sena secretary Varun Sardesai had said on Thursday that the incident was condemnable, and action will be taken against the attackers if they turned out to be Yuva Sena workers. February 22, 2019 15:32 IST Pakistan is not concerned over Indias plan to stop the flow of its share of water to Pakistan from the Ravi, Sutlej and Beas rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty, a top official said. The response came after Union minister Nitin Gadkari said in New Delhi that India has decided to stop the flow of its share of water to Pakistan from rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty after the ghastly Pulwama terror attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed. Talking to Dawn on Thursday, secretary of Pakistans ministry of water resources Khawaja Shumail said: We have neither concern nor objection if India diverts water of eastern rivers and supplies it to its people or uses it for other purposes, as the IWT allows it to do so. He said Pakistan did not see Gadkaris statement as worrisome in context with the IWT. Actually India wants to construct Shahpurkandi dam at the Ravi basin. This project is abandoned since 1995. Now they (India) want to construct this in a bid to use its own share of water that goes unutilised and finally flows to Pakistan. So if they want to use this whether through storing it, through construction of this dam or any other way for their people, they can do as we have nothing to do with it. But we will definitely express our concerns and raise objections strongly if they use or divert waters of western rivers (Chenab, Indus, Jhelum) on which our right to use prevails, Shumail said. According to Pakistans commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Mehr Ali Shah, as the IWT has already given a right to India in 1960 to use the water of eastern rivers, it is now up to it to do so or not. Whether they diverted and used their unutilised share of eastern rivers waters in 1960, we had no problem. They want to do it now, we have no problem. And if they dont want to use this, we have no issue, Shah said. He said the planned Shahpurkandi dam was actually the stage-2 of the Ranjit Sagar dam. Though this project will also generate power, it will be used for irrigation purposes, he said. While commenting about the proposed visit of Indian experts (Indias commissioner for Indus waters) to Kotri Barrage (in Sindh province) keeping in view the tension between the two countries after the Pulwama attack, Shah said: Lets see what happens in this regard. But we hope for the best. A three-member delegation of Pakistani experts headed by Shah completed its general tour of inspection (from Jan 28 to Feb 1) to various hydropower projects 1,000MW Pakal Dul, 48MW Lower Kalnai, 850MW Ratlay and 900MW Baglihar dam at Chenab Basin in India. Besides, India, a couple of days before the Pulwama attack, also shared the design data of its three planned run-of-the-river hydropower schemes with Pakistan under the IWT. These included Balti Kalan, Kalaroos and Tamasha hydropower projects which are planned to be constructed at Balti Kalan Nullah and Kalaroos Nullah at the Jhelum basin and Tamasha, a sub-tributary of the Indus river, respectively. The reiteration to stop the flow of Indus water to Pakistan comes amid mounting Indo-Pak tension over the Pulwama terror strike that has triggered demands for action against the neighbouring country. India has already decided to revoke the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan and mounted a diplomatic offensive to isolate it in the international community. There were demands to stop flow of Indias share of Indus water to Pakistan after the Uri terror attack in 2016. Under the Indus Water Treaty signed in 1960, the waters of the western rivers -- the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab -- was given to Pakistan and those of the eastern rivers -- the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej -- to India. Source: February 22, 2019 21:58 IST Reiterating his warning to choke Pakistan's water supply, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said the neighbouring country won't get 'even a single drop of water' from India if it continues to export terror. The senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader was addressing a meeting of party workers of Jabalpur region. "(Pakistan PM) Imran Khan and others in that country are saying: how can India stop water to them? Remmeber, if you continue to support and export terrorism to India, Pakistan won't get even a drop of water. Remember this," Gadkari said. He said India was planning to build projects on three rivers flowing into Pakistan to use its share of water. "Our government will stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan," he said. The minister's remarks came amid anger in India over the Pulwama terror attack, for which Pakistan-based Jaish-e- Mohammed has claimed responsibility. Gadkari recalled the Indus Water Treaty, a water- distribution treaty between India and Pakistan signed in 1960 by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistans President Ayub Khan. "As per the treaty, of the six rivers between Pakistan and India, Pakistan got three rivers and India got three. The water which was ours was also going into Pakistan. "We are making three projects under which water which is ours by right will be given to Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan," he said. "The Indus accord says it was signed to maintain harmony, peace and brotherhood between the two nations. "But today, when we think of this accord, we feel where is that harmonious relationship, where is that friendship, where has our cooperation and coordination gone," the minister said. Pakistan is supporting and sending terrorists to India which is contrary to the aim with which the treaty was signed, Gadkari said. If Pakistan wants good relations with India, they should stop supporting and sending terrorists to India since friendship and cooperation are 'two-way affairs', he said. The Union cabinet in December had approved the Shahpurkandi dam project on the Ravi river in Punjab, a move that was intended to help India arrest its share of water flowing into Pakistan. For this, a central assistance of Rs 485.38 crore for irrigation component over five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23 was also announced. In September 2018, the Punjab and the Jammu and Kashmir governments had signed an agreement to resume works on the Rs 2,793-crore Shahpur-Kandi project, according to officials. Earlier on Friday, Gadkari also laid the foundation stone of the Rs 758.54 crore flyover to decongest traffic in western parts of Jabalpur city. February 22, 2019 08:54 IST 'After decades, there is movement on multiple fronts in artillery development. Now let us see how quickly we can get these guns into service.' Ajai Shukla reports. IMAGE: The K9 VAJRA-T, a tracked self-propelled howitzer, which has its roots in the K9 Thunder, the mainstay of the South Korean army, was displayed at this year's Republic Day parade. Photograph: Press Information Bureau For the third year running, new artillery guns have featured in the Republic Day parade, signalling that the army's debilitating shortfall of modern artillery guns -- the most effective battlefield weapon since the American civil war -- could soon be alleviated. The parade saw the debut of two new artillery guns. One is the Korean-origin K-9 Thunder self-propelled gun, a 155 millimetre, 52-calibre gun that Larsen & Toubro is building under licence in its Talegaon plant, near Pune. These guns are mounted on tracked vehicles to keep pace with fast-moving tanks of the strike corps, providing uninterrupted fire support even as armoured spearheads move deep into enemy territory. Just 100 K-9 Thunder guns are on order, enough only for one Indian strike corps. With three Indian strike corps awaiting modern self-propelled guns; the order to L&T could well be trebled. Also making its Republic Day debut this year was the M777 ultralight howitzer -- a 155 mm, 39 calibre gun, built largely of titanium, that is light and manoeuvrable enough for the mountain borders. BAE Systems has an order for 145 M777 guns, but, given the need to equip four recently raised mountain divisions, this order too could be doubled or more. Meanwhile, the army's most crucial new gun -- the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System -- made its debut in the 2017 parade. The army could eventually induct over 1,500 of these powerful, 155 mm, 52 calibre towed guns, to replace the old, lighter, shorter-range, less destructive 130 mm and 105 mm guns that has largely comprised the army's arsenal for several decades. For now, however, the ministry of defence has ordered just 10 ATAGS howitzers, shared between the two firms developing the gun -- Kalyani Group and Tata Power SED. The MoD has cleared an initial order for 150 guns, subject to successful trials. The lowest bidder will get to build 107 guns, while the more expensive bidder will build the remaining 43. Using this order as a springboard into artillery production, the Pune-based Kalyani group has invested Rs 500 crore to Rs 600 crore (Rs 5 billion to Rs 6 billion) into gun fabrication facilities. Group Chairman Baba Kalyani, who had earlier bought and transported to Pune an entire factory from Austrian gun-manufacturer, RUAG, told this correspondent he has recently bought another facility from the UK. "We have completed the acquisition of a BAE Systems facility in Barrow-in-Furness, UK, which is a submarine and artillery plant," says Kalyani. Kalyani, who makes no secret of his ambition to be the Krupp of India, has tasked his engineers to build various guns in order to develop design and fabrication skills. Besides the on-going ATAGS project, the Kalyani Group has already developed six other types of guns. "These include two 155 mm guns -- called the Bharat-52 and Bharat-45. We have also mounted a lighter 105 mm gun on a truck. We have built three ultralight howitzers -- one of titanium, another called the Hawkeye ULH, and finally a 155 mm, 39 calibre, all-steel ULH," says Kalyani. One of these came after Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat, on a visit to the Kalyani group, wondered whether it would be feasible to mount the all-steel ULH on a truck, for mobility in mountainous terrain. Kalyani says he has met General Rawat's request by integrating a 6.8-tonne, all-steel ULH onto a 7.5-tonne Ashok Leyland carrier. By March, it will be offered to the army and could go into testing. The Kalyani group is also pitching in the ULH segment, having developed an all-titanium ULH that, at 4.8 tonnes, is only marginally heavier than the 4.5-tonne M777. Kalyani says this gun would become lighter as development proceeds. Both the Kalyani group and Tata Power SED officials complain the Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million) the MoD is paying for each ATAGS will not even cover manufacturing costs. But they remain in the project in the expectation of large orders ahead. Meanwhile, the MoD is paying the OFB more generously -- Rs 14 crore (Rs 140 million) for each 155 mm, 45 calibre Dhanush howitzers it is manufacturing -- even though that gun is smaller and less complex than the ATAGS. The OFB developed the Dhanush from the technology blueprints provided by Bofors in 1986, and is now building 114 guns for the Army. "After decades, there is movement on multiple fronts in artillery development. Now let us see how quickly we can get these guns into service," says a senior army planner who deals with equipment induction. February 22, 2019 10:31 IST 'The government know very well how to pass a bill in the Rajya Sabha with consensus.' 'They got consensus from Opposition parties on the 10 percent reservation for economically weaker sections.' 'In instant triple talaq, the BJP wanted to take sole credit.' 'They wanted to take credit and see that other parties suffer (political) loss.' 'Therefore, the bill got stuck.' It was a historic decision in July 2017 when Supreme Court declared the practice of talaq-e-biddat (instant triple talaq) to be unconstitutional. Soon after that, the Narendra Damodardas Modi government brought in an ordinance making the practice a cognisable offence punishable up to three years and later on in the month of December 2018, the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha. However, the Opposition parties rejected it and wanted the bill to be sent to a joint parliamentary committee, stating that the bill needed more scrutiny and passing of the bill in a hurry was unconstitutional. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told Parliament in December 2017 that even after the Supreme Court judgment, there were 201 cases of instant triple talaq reported in the country and it needed to be stopped with a legislation. But try as it might, the Modi government was unable to clear the numbers hurdle in the Rajya Sabha where it had only 80 votes as against the 123 needed to get the bill passed. With the Opposition unwilling to relent, the government did not present the bill in the Rajya Sabha during the Budget session -- the government's final session before the nation went for a general election. Earlier this week, the government re-promulgated the ordinance banning instant talaq. Zakia Soman, founder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, who spearheaded the movement to ban the practice, hopes that the next government at the Centre will "take the responsibility" of turning the bill into law. "It is very unfortunate for our country that this issue was politicised," she told Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf. After failing to pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha, the Modi government has re-promulgated the ordinance on instant talaq. The problem is an ordinance is not a law. It has a temporary lifespan and it lapses after six months. I really hope once the general elections are over, whoever forms the new government, takes the responsibility of passing a law against (instant) triple talaq to make the Muslim family law just like the Hindu Marriage Act. We will renew our demand with the new government and will start engaging with them. We will again run a campaign for a codified Muslim family law. Will this ordinance make any difference? It has limited validity. Normally the validity period is six months, but this ordinance's life will be only till May 2019. Everyone thought that the ban on instant triple talaq will really become a law, but that has not happened as the Modi government was unable to pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha. It is very unfortunate for our country that this issue was politicised. If you look at the entire trajectory of the movement against instant talaq, you will see that politicisation took priority and justice for women was not so important for the political parties. This is true for the government as well as Opposition parties. The core concern of those who opposed the bill was criminalisation of instant talaq. A lot of misinformation was spread by political parties. All other laws protecting women also criminalise the offence, be it the law against dowry or bigamy or domestic violence. So this was not the first time it (crime against women) was criminalised. But because this law is pertaining to the Muslim community, there is a whole lot of brouhaha over criminalisation. It is not that since this instant talaq ordinance is there, all Muslims will go to jail. That is not the case because how many people are actually jailed in the bigamy law or for that matter the domestic violence law? Are these laws also non-bailable, like the one against instant talaq? They are bailable and so was the instant talaq law. We suggested this amendment and after that it was made bailable and compoundable. Compoundable means a magistrate can allow a compromise and withdrawal of the complaint if the wife so desires. In the final draft that went to the Rajya Sabha was this provision incorporated? Yes. It was made bailable and compoundable plus an FIR would be registered only at the instance of the wife or (her) family members. This minimises the threat of misuse. In such cases, what happens is that you are not giving legal teeth to the woman. Despite the Supreme Court's judgment, we are seeing incidents of instant talaq taking place. When two cases came to us from Rajasthan, we got the husbands arrested on the basis of ordinance, but then in both cases they were out in four days. So on the ground, people have actually got bail because of the amendment. And those who keep saying that this is a plan to send Muslims to jail should ask, why do Muslim men commit a wrongdoing by unilaterally divorcing their wives? Why is nobody saying what they are is doing is wrong according to the Quran, and legally too? To view this entire issue through the prism of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) being in power (is not good). The government brought the bill, but the Opposition parties threw the baby out with the bathwater. The government could have consulted more with the Opposition parties. However, there is no doubt about that that the Opposition parties are in no mood to support this law. Are any of them saying categorically 'Yes, we need a law on instant talaq'?' The Congress party and other Opposition parties must say clearly that a law against instant talaq is required. But they are not saying that. They are opposing the bill which has been brought in by the government. We found errors in the bill and suggested three amendments and all of those amendments were accepted. Why could the government not convince the Opposition parties about the final version of the of instant talaq bill? Because it is political. As this government has kept quiet when gau rakshaks have done violence. They also kept quiet during violence in the name of love jihad. There is generally marginalisation of Muslims which is very blatant. There is a perception that the Modi government is not Muslim friendly based on facts. So the Opposition capitalised on that perception. This was the possibility of a law as this opportunity came for the first time in 70 years of Indian Independence, but that opportunity was completely thwarted by the Opposition. The Supreme Court has already ruled that instant triple talaq is illegal. This then is the law of the land, isn't it? What is the significance of a judgment? The judgment says that instant triple talaq is null and void. Now despite that if a Muslim man gives his wife instant triple talaq, where will the wife go? She knows there is a Supreme Court judgment, then she goes to the police station and the police says, we sympathise with you, but we cannot take any action against husband as there is no legal framework to take action. Judgments cannot make up for the absence of laws. We need a comprehensive law which lays down the procedure of divorce. This was done by the Modi government, but now (after the instant talaq bill lapses) we will have to build a new movement again and press for this new law when the new Lok Sabha meets. We thought history was made after the Supreme Court judgment and the passage of the instant talaq bill in the Lok Sabha. Women themselves were committed to get a legal framework and they needed political support. In our country. or for that matter in any democracy, law-making is in the hands of Parliament and elected representative, but this got politicised. Antagonism by the government and Opposition parties took a toll on this legislation and after the election we will have to start our movement again. Do you feel that there is a belief among the Opposition parties that politicians should not tinker with civil laws of Muslims in a pluralistic society like India? That is true. We have the Hindu Marriage Act and the Christian Marriage Act and civil laws are as per every community's religious texts. Even we are not saying there should be uniform civil code, but we are saying there should be a law based on Quranic injunction of justice and equality. It should be a written and codified law. You cannot say it is our Sharia, and what is Sharia? Any maulana decides laws according to his whims and fancies and that is the law according to him. There are 10 different maulanas and they have 10 different interpretation of the Sharia. What should the Modi government have done to pass this bill in the Rajya Sabha? They should have created a consensus. They know very well how to pass a bill in the Rajya Sabha with consensus. They got consensus from Opposition parties on the 10 percent reservation for economically weaker sections. They got consensus of every political party and they got support on reservations. In instant triple talaq, the BJP wanted to take sole credit. They wanted to take credit and see that other parties suffer (political) loss. Therefore, the bill got stuck. February 22, 2019 08:16 IST 'In the last 55 years India and Pakistan have gone to wars, but nobody spoke about scrapping the Indus Waters Treaty.' IMAGE: A child stands near the Chenab river with the Baglihar hydroelectric project in Jammu and Kashmir. Photograph: Amit Gupta/Reuters Amidst anger over the Pulwama terror attack, Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari announced the decision to 'stop' India's share of water of three rivers -- the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej -- 'which used to flow to Pakistan'. As per the 1960 Indus Water Treaty governing six common rivers, India has full rights over the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers while Pakistan has full rights over the Jhelum, Chenab and Indus. However, an official clarified that it was not a 'new decision' and that Gadkari was 'simply reiterating' what he has always said. A similar demand for scrapping the Indus Water Treaty altogether was raised in the aftermath of the attack in Uri in September 2016 in which over 20 soldiers died. The treaty, signed in 1960, has been the most successful treaty between India and Pakistan lining out the water sharing arrangement between the two nations. In the aftermath of the Uri attacks, Dr Shakil Ahmad Romshoo, head of the earth sciences, geology and geophysics departments, University of Kashmir, explained to Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf why it is not possible to scrap the Indus Waters Treaty. There is a view that India needs to scrap the Indus Waters Treaty and cut off water supply to Pakistan. Is that possible? People who talk about scrapping this treaty have no technical understanding. I don't think it can be done. India is an emerging power and it is aspiring to become a permanent member of the United Nation Security Council, so I don't think you can scrap an international bilateral treaty which also involved the World Bank. In this treaty we have divided six rivers. Three rivers on the eastern front are given to India. On the western side three rivers have been given exclusively to Pakistan. This is a win-win situation. Both countries are happy and this is why the treaty has been working so well for the last 56 years. Will the World Bank step in if India abrogates this treaty? For many reasons it is not possible. Both countries are happy about this treaty. There are so many trans-boundary rivers in the world and countries have to find a mechanism to share water. All over the world the Indus Waters Treaty is referred as our most successful treaty. In the last 55 years India and Pakistan have gone to wars in 1965 then 1971 and Kargil too, but nobody spoke in past about scrapping this treaty. At this moment we are sharing water with Bangladesh and Nepal too. If we scrap this treaty we will scare these countries as well. So you should check out who is talking about scrapping this treaty. These are military generals or hawks. I don't think officially this is India's position. Vikas Swarup, the (then) ministry of external affairs spokesperson, hinted at this. He said treaties depend on goodwill. That is what he said. That's all. And that is a fact. India and Pakistan are in conflict over Kashmir and you can't open another front. I don't think we can afford to do that now. There is lot of insecurity in Pakistan too because they feel India is controlling the water despite the fact that this treaty is running very well. I have not heard anyone in Pakistan talking about scrapping this treaty because I believe they cannot get anything better than this treaty. There is a belief that scrapping this treaty would teach Pakistan a lesson. Technically, it is not possible. Even if you put infrastructure to do so, it will take you 10 to 15 years to build (canals to divert the water). J&K is a mountainous state and you will have to build canals to take the water out of the state. Can you explain how many rivers flow from India to Pakistan? There are six rivers. On the eastern front we have the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi for which rights have been given exclusively to India in the treaty. On the western front we have the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. The rights of these rivers are given to Pakistan except the fact that some water is used from these rivers for J&K for the purpose of hydropower generation, for domestic use and for agriculture. The rest of the water is released to Pakistan. What can be the implications for Pakistan if we stop the water? You cannot do that and let us assume we stop the water supply for the sake of argument. Where would the water go? We do not have infrastructure to store this water. We have not build dams in J&K where we can store the water. And being a mountainous state, unlike Tamil Nadu or Karnataka, you cannot move water to another state. So you cannot stop water technically. Take another example of water flowing from Uttarakhand or Himachal Pradesh. We do not leave this water to Pakistan, but use it in Rajasthan. Will there be flooding in India if we stop the river waters from entering Pakistan? Yes, the Kashmir valley will flood as will Jammu. You just don't have the storage capacity. We never developed diversion canals which could have taken this water to some other state. In Kashmir you do not need too much water for irrigation purposes. If you look at the Indus Waters Treaty, India is entitled to store water, but has failed to develop that infrastructure in J&K. The People's Democratic Party has always stated that J&K suffers losses because of the Indus Waters Treaty. That is a different aspect. If you see this treaty you will find that the people of J&K can use the water for non-consumption. We can use it for electricity. We cannot have dam projects. Even the National Conference had argued that this treaty was negotiated during 1960 and that the people of J&K were not taken into confidence and their government should be given compensation. These political parties were objecting because there are several restrictions on the usage of water. What is the role of the Indus commissioner? This treaty has set up a very good grievances redressal mechanism. Each country has its commissioner. If there is a dispute these two commissioners meet to sort out the problem. If they cannot reach an agreement, then they go to the foreign secretary level and failing that, the government. If the problem is not solved there as well, then they go to a neutral expert. That neutral expert panel is decided by these two countries. In the past neutral experts were from Europe and the US. Now even if they fail, then the issue goes to the International Court of Justice. Recently, we went to a neutral expert for the Kishanganga project in J&K where the decision went in India's favour. However, on appeal, the case went to the court of arbitration where the decision went in Pakistan's favour. February 22, 2019 08:52 IST 'A resurgent Jaish could be a reflection of the Pakistani security establishment's view that with the region moving ever closer to a post-US Afghanistan, it is time to redirect attention to Kashmir.' "I've been arguing for more than four years -- ever since the foreign combat war ended in Afghanistan at the end of 2014 -- that Kashmir-focused militant groups that had been operating in Afghanistan will increasingly redirect their attention to Kashmir and India," Michael Kugelman -- one of the most astute observers of developments in South Asia -- tells Rediff.com's Nikhil Lakshman in the concluding segment of an e-mail interview. Part 1 of the interview: 'US does not want India, Pakistan to go to war' IMAGE: A suicide bomber owing allegiance to the Jaish-e-Mohammad rammed an explosive-laden SUV into the bus carrying Central Reserve Police Force personnel, February 14, 2019, killing 41 CRPF troopers. Photograph: Younis Khaliq/Reuters As a long standing observer of Pakistan, do you believe the Pulwama massacre has the ISI's fingerprints all over it? It's hard to say. At this point, many details surrounding the attack still remain unclear -- we know JeM claimed the attack and we know it was carried out by a local militant, but that's about it. There have been reports that (Jaish founder Masood) Azhar himself ordered the attack in order to retaliate for the killing of his nephew, and there have been reports that ISI personnel were present in the planning meetings. I'd rather not speculate. The bottom line is that an organisation with close ties to the ISI claimed responsibility. The operation may have been perpetrated by a local terrorist, drawn on local weaponry and other resources, and been motivated by local grievances. But at the end of the day, the group's longstanding relationship with Pakistan will invariably raise concerns about some level of complicity from across the border. IMAGE: February 4, 2000: Masood Azhar leaves the Karachi press club after a news conference where he announced the founding of the Jaish e Mohammad. He had been freed from an Indian prison along with two other terrorists in exchange for the passengers and crew of the hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC-814. Photograph: Reuters 'Jaish has been allowed to resurge through supported terror actions in J&K in a deliberate tactic by Pakistan, if only to reduce the international pressure on the LeT after 26/11,' Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency, pointed out on Rediff on Saturday. Do you agree? There certainly is something to be said about the resurgence of JeM. Azhar largely disappeared from public view after his organisation was accused of trying to assassinate Pervez Musharraf in December 2003, and not until a decade later did he resurface -- through an audio recording of his voice played at a rally in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in early 2014. Ever since then he has made all manner of threats -- including, back in early 2014, a vow to assassinate Narendra (Damodardas) Modi if he became prime minister. The question is why the resurgence, and why now. I doubt it is meant to take attention off LeT; on the contrary, a more active JeM will only intensify the international community's concerns about Pakistan-based, India-focused, terror, whether JeM or LeT. JeM's resurgence can be read in a variety of ways. First, it could be meant to capitalise on the latest generation of Kashmiri militants who are inspired by the heavy-handed tactics of Indian security forces -- an attractive recruitment target. Second, it may be an effort to push back against attempts by other terror groups to exploit the situation in Kashmir. Both ISIS and al Qaeda have incorporated the region into their propaganda. Asim Umar, the head of AQIS, al Qaeda's South Asia affiliate -- and himself an Indian -- has explicitly called on Indian Muslims to mobilise for jihad. And third, a resurgent JeM could be a reflection of the Pakistani security establishment's view that with the region moving ever closer to a post-US Afghanistan, it is time to redirect attention to Kashmir and to provide a fillip to the militant proxies that can best help pursue Pakistan's interests there. IMAGE: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa pray at the Defence and Martyrs Day ceremony at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, September 6, 2018. Photograph: Kind courtesy PTIofficial/Twitter After General Bajwa took over as Pakistan army chief, there were murmurs that he was less of a hawk on India -- if that was possible at GHQ Rawalpindi! -- than his predecessor Raheel Sharif and that there was a possibility of some kind of detente on the LoC. That clearly has not happened with the almost daily skirmishes and the body count on both sides. How would you explain this? We often hear murmurs about Pakistani army chiefs supposedly taking a softer position toward India. There was much attention, for example, when (then Pakistan army chief) General (Ashfaq Parvez) Kayani's military began categorising domestic militancy as a greater threat than India. And before him, there was (General Pervez) Musharraf's short-lived backchannel effort to launch talks with India. But ultimately, after many short-lived gestures of conciliation, Pakistan's military tends to revert to the norm, with India becomes enemy #1 once again. I do think General Bajwa has given some attention to engaging with India -- the Kartarpur Corridor could not have been finalised without his assent -- and he, like other Pakistani military leaders, has seen the value of pursuing talks in order to dredge up the Kashmir issue. But when it comes down to it, any Pakistani military leader will need to project India as a foe in order to justify the army's outsize role in politics and statecraft. Would you say the Indian Army's pummeling of Pakistan positions in Punjab -- where the Pakistan army draws most of its recruits -- in retaliation for the beheading of Indian soldiers by Pakistani border action teams has compelled GHQ Rawalpindi to up the terrorism ante in Kashmir? Quite possibly, but then again we still don't know the full story behind the Pulwama attack. If it's true, as suggested by some Indian media reports, that the attack was organised by Masood Azhar in retaliation for India's killing of a relative of his, then this is a tragedy that has much more to do with a terror leader's personal vendetta than with a concerted strategy by the Pakistani security establishment. IMAGE: Young Kashmiris pelt stones at the security forces in Srinagar days after Burhan Wani's death. Did the ISI and the Pakistan army see in the youth upsurge in Kashmir after Burhan Wani's killing in July 2016 an opportunity to resurrect the insurgency in the valley the way it did in the early 1990s? The killing of Wani certainly posed an opportunity for Pakistan, but the question is to what extent did Pakistan actually need to be involved in this resurrection. The new generation of militants in Kashmir is driven by local grievances -- the killing of Wani and other repressive measures taken by Indian security forces -- and it doesn't need that much external enabling to get fired up. That said, these young insurgents, while products of the local environment, are convenient to Pakistan because they can very adroitly help carry out Pakistani interests -- and therefore Pakistan would have good reason to provide them with support, from arms to ideological support. Photograph: Umar Ganie for Rediff.com IMAGE: Security personnel guard a blocked road during a strike called in Srinagar during Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi's visit, February 3, 2019. Has the Modi government's handling of Kashmir aggravated the problem, created a situation where younger Kashmiris are getting radicalised, where the calls for azaadi are being muted by louder Islamic, ISIS-like, slogans? I don't think we should overstate the inroads made by ISIS and its ilk in Kashmir; while they have tried to deepen their footprint and influence, it is JeM and the other regional jihadist players that have made -- and will continue to make -- the biggest mark. That said, for sure, Modi's government has taken a consistently tone deaf position on Kashmir that has simply poured more fuel on the fire of the insurgency. It has vacillated between making misplaced pledges for more development -- for most Kashmiri rebels, the biggest problem isn't poverty, it's repression -- and cracking down heavily on local communities. In effect, India has alternated between offering carrots that locals have no interest in accepting and wielding sticks that just make things worse. This has created a fertile environment for radicalisation that local militant groups, international terror syndicates, and the Pakistani security establishment have been happy to exploit. On Lavrov's left is Sher Mohammed Abas Stanekzai, the chief Taliban negotiator, who The New York Times revealed on February 16, 2019 was educated at 'India's most prestigious military schools'! Photograph: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters IMAGE: Indian diplomats attended the multilateral talks on Afghanistan in Moscow, November 10, 2018, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, centre, convened with Taliban representatives present.On Lavrov's left is Sher Mohammed Abas Stanekzai, the chief Taliban negotiator, who The New York Times revealed on February 16, 2019 was educated at 'India's most prestigious military schools'! There is a belief that peace in Afghanistan will bring the barbarians to India's gates, encourage Islamic terrorists to foment trouble not only in Kashmir, but perhaps in the rest of India. Do you see this as a possibility? What are the security challenges India must be prepared for in the months to come? I've been arguing for more than four years -- ever since the foreign combat war ended in Afghanistan at the end of 2014 -- that traditionally Kashmir-focused militant groups that had been operating in Afghanistan against Afghan and NATO troops will increasingly redirect their attention to Kashmir and India broadly speaking. The sobering reality is that the day the fighting stops in Afghanistan -- if that day ever comes -- Kashmir could become an increasingly volatile ground zero for India-focused Pakistani terror groups. February 22, 2019 08:30 IST 'Banking is a boring business but still the banker should enjoy it as fancy awards and cozy relationships with politicians, Bollywood stars and corporate honchos cannot save them if the job is not done properly.' In the concluding part of the series Tamal Bandyopadhyay wonders how long Kochhar would need to wait for her redemption or downfall and atonement. Part 1: EXPLAINED! How Kochhargate unfolded Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com Allowing the Srikrishna panel to have as much time as it wants to complete the probe was a masterstroke by the board. By doing this, it forced Kochhar to put in her papers. How? Indias banking law does not allow the boss of a bank to abstain from office for four months or more. Kochhar, who went on her annual leave in June 2018 and later had to stay away for the completion of the probe, had no choice but to quit as the probe took its own time. It was a sort of bloodless coup which thwarted any ambition harboured by her to come back to the bank as CEO. A few days before the board sacked her, the Central Bureau of Investigation had filed its first information report alleging criminal conspiracy, cheating and quid pro quo -- ICICI Bank sanctioning Rs 3,250 crore to Dhoots group companies and Dhoot, in turn, investing Rs 64 crore in Deepaks NuPower Renewables Ltd. Going by the FIR, the bank sanctioned six high-value loans to the Videocon group between June 2009 and October 2011, violating the norms of loan sanction and Kochhar was one of the members of the sanctioning committee. The FIR also named other senior bankers who were directors on the board of ICICI Bank then, including Kamath, current CEO Sandeep Bakhshi, Sonjoy Chatterjee, K Ramkumar, NS Kannan, Zarin Daruwala, Rajiv Sabharwal and independent director Homi Khusrokhan. While Kamath is the president of the New Development Bank of BRICS countries, others are prominent names in Indian finance, heading foreign and local banks and non-banking finance companies. Of course, the CBI will have to probe these allegations - something which the countrys premier investigative agency is not good at, particularly when it comes to the banking sector. Both Arun Jaitley and Piyush Goyal have come down heavily on CBIs investigative adventurism. Whats the Kochhar side of the story? Well, barring issuing a release, expressing her shock, she has been keeping mum. She has appointed a lawyer to deal with the cases with the market regulator and other agencies but not the bank. Those who know her well are wondering why would the Videocon group do a favour to Kochhars husband as a quid pro quo to get money from the bank when it was getting money from the entire banking industry on a platter? They also claim that Kochhar all along made the statutory disclosures about her husbands companies but she did not disclose Videocons investments as she was not aware of them. Finally, they say that a particular corporate house has been after Kochhars blood because she has stopped giving it fresh loans and has been hounding it to recover money already lent to it. How would she recuse herself from the credit committee when she was not aware of her husbands dealings, they are asking, pointing out that out of the six loans, mentioned in CBIs FIR, she was involved in sanctioning only two. Finally, Dhoots Rs 64 crore investment in her husbands company is not gratification for her; its an investment by Dhoot which he can liquidate after 2021. But her bank is not taking these arguments seriously. For it, Kochhar is a closed chapter. Even before the Srikrishna report was submitted, the bank wrote to the Securities and Exchange Board of India, requesting it to decouple the bank from Kochhars case. For her, it will be a lone battle and the outcome will depend on how Sebi, the CBI, income tax authorities and the Enforcement Directorate move. Kochhars fall from the grace has dealt a blow to the personality cult which the Indian banking sector is known for -- in many cases the CEOs don a larger-than-the-institution persona. Many saw the seeds of Kochhars downfall in November 2014 when Shah Rukh Khan danced at the sangeet ceremony of her daughters wedding in a Mumbai hotel. I dont know whether he performed there or was a guest like many others, including Amitabh Bachchan, and chose to shake a leg well past midnight but it got wide media publicity which would not have been possible if the Kochhars did not want that. At the 60th anniversary of the ICICI group in January 2015, she shared the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who graced the occasion to dedicate to the nation the first digital village adopted by the bank -- Akodara in Gujarat. But when it came to the crux, brushing shoulders with the high and mighty and the penchant for glitz and glamour didnt come to her aid. In sync with the feudal style that she adopted after moving to the corner office, Kochhar never had to wait for the lift at the banks headquarters as someone would always be there to press the button and hold the lift when her high-end car entered the premises. She could always say that was a legacy but the rest is not. We dont know how long she would need to wait for her redemption or downfall and atonement. What are the lessons from Kochhargate? The boards of all private banks are not necessarily efficient and independent. The directors, including the chairman, could be a handmaiden of the CEO. First, rushing to give Kochhar a clean chit and later making a volte-face expose the quality of the board of ICICI Bank. All along, the Reserve Bank of India has been maintaining a stony silence. Shouldnt the banking regulator take a re-look at its perceived hands off approach for a systemically important entity such as the ICICI Bank? Does the larger than life image of a CEO in a company (not necessarily only banks) sow seeds of mis-governance, particularly when the leaders tenure is long? Should there be a cap on the tenure of the CEO? Does this case send a clear message to eminent persons not to defend in public media a high profile professional accused of misconduct without possessing all the facts? Finally, the recent developments in a few private banks, including ICICI Bank, say that the days of personality cult in Indian banking are over. The bankers should spend more time on bringing down the cost of funds, pushing up the quality of assets and governance. Yes, banking is a boring business but still the banker should enjoy it as fancy awards and cozy relationships with politicians, Bollywood stars and corporate honchos cannot save them if the job is not done properly. Tamal Bandyopadhyay, a consulting editor with Business Standard, is an author and senior adviser to Jana Small Finance Bank Ltd. The situation in Venezuela is tense and evolving quickly. Recent developments have led to a dramatic deterioration of what was already a strenuous economic and social situation. This complex environment proves challenging for humanitarian organizations. In this context, the Red Cross emphasizes that meeting the most-urgent needs of the Venezuelan people and strictly following the principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence remains its priority. These principles ensure that Red Cross volunteers are trusted and able to reach communities and people in need. In the region: Red Cross continues to help countries cope Millions of people have left Venezuela over the past 18 monthstraveling to and through Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Colombia has the largest share of migrants, with an estimated 1.1 million Venezuelans either transiting through the country or seeking to resettle there. These neighboring countries are straining to keep up with the diverse needs of those crossing the border. Many families are failing to meet their basic nutritional requirements as they struggle to find jobs in new and unfamiliar settings. The sudden influx of people in surrounding countries has also led to a rise in the price of food and medicine in some areas. The American Red Cross is contributing $350,000 to support people displaced from Venezuela who are living in surrounding countries. These funds will help local Red Cross societies to provide aid such as medical care, hygiene items, food, and water to families in need. For years, the American Red Cross has been working closely with the Colombian Red Cross to care for migrantsand this contribution is in-line with that support. The global Red Cross and Red Crescent network will refrain from engaging in politicized discussions, but is prepared to respond to humanitarian needs as they unfold in this unpredictable environment. In Venezuela: Red Cross is on the ground throughout the country Within Venezuela, healthcare is a major priority. The Venezuelan Red Cross has a network of hospitals and healthcare clinicsand more than 2,600 active volunteers across the country. The Red Cross operates eight hospitals and 38 outpatient clinics. In 2018 alone, these facilities provided services to more than 1 million Venezuelans. The global Red Cross and Red Crescent network has been active in Venezuela for years, focusing on responding to humanitarian needs of the peoplewithout regard to socio-economic status or political views. As events continue to unfold, the Red Cross is committed to carrying out its humanitarian mission each and every day. For more information: Every week, we select the best police reports from Athens and the University of Georgia for our website and newspaper. Today, were selecting the best of this year so far. From alien abductions to a nude dude, here are our favorite blotters from January to now. Asylum processes at the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana, unpaid labor for those incarcerated and a documentary regarding the human remains found at the University of Georgias Baldwin Hall in 2015 were among the topics the Athens for Everyone board of directors discussed on Monday night. Amanda Rockenbach started singing along to songs at the same time she started to learn to speak. As a child, she even got in trouble for sing Panel members ranged from an ACC commissioner to an immigrant rights activist, and each provided insight based on his or her own experiences with immigration legislation and topics at the local and state level. Traverse City, MI (49684) Today Mostly cloudy with showers and a few thunderstorms. High 72F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Some clouds. Low 57F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. , We're sorry, this article is not currently available According to todays RealClearPolitics polling average, President Trumps job approval is 44.3 percent with 52.6 percent of voters disapproving of his performance. Now contrast his job approval with that of the last two presidents at this same point in their first term, both of whom were re-elected. On Feb. 22, 2011, the RCP job approval average for Barack Obama was 48.5 percent with 45.7 percent disapproving. On this same day in 2003, George W. Bushs average was 57 percent with 37 percent disapproving. It is also notable that Trumps job approval average throughout 2018 and up to today has yet to reach 45 percent. Conversely, his average disapproval rating has consistently ranged between 51 and 55 percent. Meanwhile, those dismal numbers are only one gigantic pothole on his bumpy road to re-election. What I consider Trumps greatest foe is voter demography as outlined in the recent Pew Research Center study, "An Early Look at the 2020 Electorate." That study projects the percentage of eligible voters from each of the nations four largest racial and ethnic groups. Unfortunately for Trump, the results do not bode well based on how these same groups voted in 2016. Its the math, stupid! Specifically, how demographic math impacts Trumps ability to win the required 270 Electoral College votes and thus, a second term. Lets take a closer look, but first a caveat: Pews projected percentage of eligible 2020 voters by racial and ethnic group will likely differ from the percentage who actually cast a ballot. The study projects that whites will comprise 66.7 percent of eligible voters; Hispanics, 13.3 percent; blacks, 12.5 percent; and Asians, 4.7 percent. The fact that non-whites will comprise roughly one-third of eligible voters would not be a problem for Trump and the Republican Party if they did not overwhelming and consistently vote Democratic. But the ever-increasing Hispanic vote is the GOPs greatest cause of present and future consternation. For example, due to Hispanic growth, traditional ruby red Arizona, with 10 electoral votes, will be among the most contentious 2020 battleground states. And, though Republicans fondly remember when New Mexico last went red -- in 2004, helping re-elect President George W. Bush it is now solidly blue. Republican strategists also fear how the traditionally wide gap between the number of eligible and actual Hispanic voters is dramatically shrinking. Its no surprise that as the Hispanic population grows, as with any rising ethnic group it becomes increasingly empowered, engaged, and mobilized to vote. In fact, the 2018 midterm elections could be considered a historic turning point because Hispanics made up 11 percent of voters -- a record level of participation. (The number was only 7.3 percent in the previous midterms.) Most important, that 11 percent of the 2018 electorate mirrors the 2016 presidential election turnout when Hispanics also composed 11 percent of the electorate, while supporting Democrat Hillary Clinton by 66 percent to 28 percent for Donald Trump. In past presidential elections, turnout trends for Hispanics showed both consistent growth and solid support for the Democratic candidate. In 2012, Hispanics constituted 10 percent of the voting electorate when 71 percent supported Barack Obama to just 27 percent for Mitt Romney. In 2008, Hispanics were 9 percent of the voting electorate, and 67 percent supported Obama compared to 31 percent for John McCain. One could even go back to the 1984 Republican landslide when Hispanics made up only 3 percent of the electorate. Still, 66 percent supported the Democratic candidate, former Vice President Walter Mondale, compared to 34 percent who voted for Ronald Reagan. The takeaway is that the Democrat presidential nominee in 2020 can count on support from at least two-thirds of Hispanic voters, who will likely constitute at least 12 percent of the electorate. As previously seen, Pews study projects that in 2020 the percentage of eligible Hispanic voters is poised to overtake the percentage of eligible African-American voters, who in 2016 were 12 percent of the electorate, with 89 percent supporting Clinton. A great unspoken fear among Republican leaders is that the Hispanic vote has grown to be as solid a Democrat bloc as that of African-Americans. Asians too are growing into another Democrat voting bloc. In 2016 they were 4 percent of voters and, similar to Hispanics, 65 percent voted for Clinton and only 27 percent for Trump. Finally, there is the majority white vote that the Pew study projects will form 66.5 percent of eligible voters in 2020. Shown below is how whites percentage of the total voting electorate has consistently decreased since 2004 the last time a Republican president won re-election. 2004: 77 percent 2008: 74 percent 2012: 72 percent 2016: 70 percent 2020: 68 percent?? (My projection based on trends.) In 2016, Trump won 57 percent of the white vote compared to Clintons 37 percent. In 2020, it is anyones guess how much Trump will need to increase that 57 percent in order to win re-election because, pre-election, non-white vs. white voter turnout are variables that can only be estimated and modeled. But, common sense dictates that the shrinking white vote could negatively impact Trumps chances of again winning the three traditionally Democrat-leaning battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin with their predominately white populations and combined total of 46 electoral votes. These three states boosted Trumps total to 304, well over the 270 needed for victory despite him losing the popular vote to Clinton by 2.9 million votes 2.1 percent of the total cast. It is also instructive to remember just how Trump won: -Pennsylvania by 44,292 votes, a 0.7 percent margin of victory. -Wisconsin by 22,748 votes, a 0.7 percent margin. -Michigan by 10,704 votes, a 0.3 percent margin. And already there is trouble brewing for him in Michigan. A recent hypothetical general election matchup poll had all four of the leading Democratic presidential candidates denying him a second term. But, as my Republican friends are fond of saying, We dont believe polls and Pollsters always miss hidden Trump support. I dont necessarily believe my friends, but this I know, the American electorate is not minting enough new white voters to achieve Trumps re-election unless he increases his percentage of white voters by a yet unknown number of percentage points in exactly the right combination of states where electoral votes add up to 270. In the meantime, the president cant change demographics, but he can and must increase his job approval numbers. As a guide, and again I state for emphasis, the last re-elected Republican president, and the last Republican to win the popular vote, won a close re-election race against John Kerry in 2004 with a 48 percent job approval and a 47 percent disapproval rating the last week before the election. Today Trumps approval is four points below, and his disapproval is five points above, George W. Bushs. Based on all you have read, draw your own 2020 conclusions. In the Venezuelan crisis, said President Donald Trump in Florida, "All options are on the table." And if Venezuela's generals persist in their refusal to break with Nicolas Maduro, they could "lose everything." Another example of Yankee bluster and bluff? Or is Trump prepared to use military force to bring down Maduro and install Juan Guaido, the president of the national assembly who has declared himself president of Venezuela? We will get an indication this weekend, as a convoy of food and humanitarian aid tries to force its way into Venezuela from Colombia. Yet, even given the brutality of the regime and the suffering of the people -- 1 in 10 have fled -- it is hard to see Trump sending the Marines to fight the Venezuelan army in Venezuela. Where would Trump get the authority for such a war? Still, the lead role that Trump has assumed in the crisis raises a question. Does the reflexive interventionism -- America is "the indispensable nation!" -- that propelled us into the forever war of the Middle East, retain its hold on the American mind? Next week, Trump meets in Hanoi with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. While Kim has not tested his missiles or nuclear warheads in a year, few believe he will ever surrender the weapons that secure his survival and brought the U.S. superpower to the negotiating table. Is Trump prepared to accept a deal that leaves a nuclear North but brings about a peace treaty, diplomatic relations and a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Korean Peninsula? Or are American forces to be in Korea indefinitely? Nancy Pelosi's House just voted to cut off U.S. support for the Saudi war against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Senate may follow. Yet Trump is prepared to use his first veto to kill that War Powers Resolution and retain the right to help the Saudi war effort. What is our vital interest in Yemen's civil war? Why would Trump not wish to extricate us from that moral and humanitarian disaster? Answer: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his regime would sustain a strategic defeat should the Houthis, supported by Iran, prevail. Before the Warsaw conference called by the U.S. to discuss the Middle East, Bibi Netanyahu's office tweeted: "This is an open meeting with representatives of leading Arab countries, that are sitting down together with Israel in order to advance the common interest of war with Iran." The "war-with-Iran" tweet was swiftly deleted, replaced with a new tweet that spoke of "the common interest of combating Iran." Like many Americans with whom he is close, Bibi has never hidden his belief as to what we Americans must do to Iran. Early this week came leaks that Trump officials have discovered that Shiite Iran has been secretly collaborating with the Sunni terrorists of al-Qaida. This could, headlined The Washington Times, provide "the legal rationale for U.S. military strikes" on Iran. At the Munich Security Conference, however, NATO allies Britain, France and Germany recommitted to the Iran nuclear treaty from which Trump withdrew, and to improved economic relations with Tehran. Trump pledged months ago to bring home the 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria and half of the 14,000 in Afghanistan. But he is meeting resistance in his own party in Congress and even in his own administration. Reasons: A U.S. pullout from Syria would abandon our Kurdish allies to the Turks, who see them as terrorists, and would force the Kurds to cut a deal with Syria's Bashar Assad and Russia for their security and survival. This week, Britain and France informed us that if we leave Syria, then they leave, too. As for pulling out of Afghanistan, the probable result would be the fall of the Kabul government and return of the Taliban, who hold more territory now than they have since being overthrown 18 years ago. For Afghans who cast their lot with the Americans, it would not go well. U.S. relations with Russia, which Trump promised to improve, have chilled to Cold War status. The U.S. is pulling out of Ronald Reagan's INF treaty, which bans land-based nuclear missiles of 300 to 3,000 mile range. Putin has said that any reintroduction of land-based U.S. missiles to Europe would mean a new class of Russian missiles targeted on Europe -- and on the United States. Today, the U.S. maintains a policy of containment of Russia and China, which are more united than they have been since the first days of the Cold War. We are responsible for defending 28 NATO nations in Europe, twice as many as during the Cold War, plus Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. We have troops in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and appear on the cusp of collisions with Venezuela and Iran. Yet we field armed forces a fraction of the size they were in the 1950s and 1960s and the Reagan era. And the U.S. national debt is now larger than the U.S. economy. This is imperial overstretch. It is unsustainable. COPYRIGHT 2019 CREATORS.COM For the Sake of American Energy, It's Time to End the Trade War This week, Chinese President Xi Jinping is again meeting with senior Trump administration officials in Beijing, where they'll attempt to defuse trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. If they fail, the United States will raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods starting March 1. The trade war has taken a toll on many sectors of the U.S. economy. That's particularly true for the energy industry. In September, the Chinese put a 10 percent tariff on U.S. liquefied natural gas. As a result, LNG shipments to China have plummeted. While 25 U.S. LNG vessels reached China during the last six months of 2017, only six did during the same period last year. With U.S. natural gas production surging thanks to fracking, there's more fuel than ever before available for export. And China is poised to be the American LNG industry's best customer. But unless President Trump ends his trade war, he'll squander this business opportunity and the economic benefits it would create for everyday workers. China consumes more energy and emits more greenhouse gases than nearly every other country. Eager to reduce its use of coal and end the burning of wood and dung in living spaces, the country is actively looking for alternative ways to power its factories and homes. In 2016, China's poor air quality caused over 1 million premature deaths, according to a study from the World Health Organization. Regarding renewables, China recently decided to only consider new solar and wind projects that can compete with coal on price. The Chinese are also concerned that renewables projects could destabilize their energy grid. China found an answer to its energy problem in natural gas -- which is more reliable and efficient than renewables, but emits half as much carbon dioxide as coal. "LNG shipments allow the environmental benefits of natural gas to be spread around the world and can help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions," according to a report by energy company PACE Global. But the country doesn't get enough natural gas via domestic production or pipeline imports to meet demand. That's where U.S. LNG comes in. Our nation's energy companies are producing nearly 3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas each month, more than any other nation. And we're the sixth largest exporter of liquefied natural gas. The Energy Information Administration projects America will more than double its LNG export capacity by the end of 2019 and could become the top natural gas exporter as early as 2022. In other words, America is well-positioned to sell China the LNG it needs. But the trade war is complicating things. Last year, the number of U.S. liquefied natural gas vessels that traveled to China fell by around 20 percent compared to 2017. If the trade war continues, other LNG suppliers like Qatar and Russia will step up to take America's place. Earlier this fall, PetroChina, a subsidiary of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, signed a deal with Qatar to purchase 3.4 million tons of LNG annually through 2040 -- the biggest supply deal PetroChina has ever made. And the same month China implemented tariffs on U.S. LNG, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin dined over Russian crepes and discussed possible joint natural gas projects. A healthy trade relationship with China would greatly benefit the U.S. economy. If President Trump truly wants to achieve energy dominance and create jobs for American workers, he should pivot east and extend an open hand to China. Both nations will get a lot in return. Robert L. Bradley Jr. is the founder and CEO of the Institute for Energy Research. Though Rosston Meyer, founder of Poposition Press, read pop-up books as a kid, it wasnt until collegewhen he studied the work of master paper engineers Robert Sabuda and David A. Carterthat he developed a true appreciation for the forms unique artistry. Meyer, a longtime arts and comics enthusiast and a web and graphic designer by trade, was so inspired by Sabudas and Carters wide-ranging creations that he planned to make his own pop-up book. He sat on the idea for some 15 years before collaborating with the comic book artist Jim Mahfood on a book titled Pop Up Funk, which he and Mahfood self-published in 2013. After that, Meyer was hooked. He followed that first project with The Pop Up Art Book, which features the work of Mahfood and five other contemporary artists: Angry Woebots, kozyndan, Junko Mizuno, Tara McPherson, and Skinner. Meyer funded the book through Kickstarter. He also started considering the idea of launching a pop-up book press, and, after seeing firsthand the success that self-published books can find through direct marketing to consumers, he felt increasingly confident about the venture. Poposition Press is a true passion project. My goal was to create limited-edition pop-up books that feature artists or subjects that are of a deep personal interest to me, Meyer says. Meyers many pop-up book projects have taught him about the importance of harmonizing aspects of art and design. Though complex designs can make a pop-up book particularly dynamic, he believes that a simply engineered page with striking artwork can have the same effect. Each new project presents different challenges. For me, creating a pop-up book is kind of like solving a very long and in-depth puzzle, not just in terms of the paper engineering and design aspects of the project but also in the marketing and selling of the books, he notes. Meyer continues to rely on crowdfunding to support his projects and primarily sells them directly to pop-up book fans and people who collect the work of the featured artists. Having an awareness of already-established fan bases allows Meyer to better target his efforts. The artists that I work with have existing audiences that were able to tap into for each title through social media, emails, and other direct contact, he says. Online advertising has also been successful as Im able to market ads to specific demographics. For instance, Meyer sought out H.P. Lovecraft fan communities when marketing Skinners Necronomicon Pop-Up Book, a Poposition book featuring scenes from Lovecrafts stories, illustrated by Skinner, an artist in Oakland, Calif. Meyer recently partnered with Carter, to whom he initially reached out in 2013 to express his admiration and to seek advice about pop-up book engineering. The two struck up a friendship, and in 2017 Carter approached Meyer about a pop-up book that he was creating in collaboration with Hester van Eeghen, a Dutch shoe and handbag designer. The book was planned for a 30-year anniversary exhibition of van Eeghens work, to be held at the Tassen Museum of Bags and Purses in Amsterdam. The result of their efforts, One Thousand and One Handbags, was a unique project for Carter: his first limited-edition pop-up book, with the potential to be a collectors item. Meyer values close-knit hands-on collaborations that result in unique works of art. Its a wonderful feeling to hold a finished product in your hands that in some cases just two people worked on for months, he says. With the constantly evolving design and artistry that he brings to each new project, Meyer looks forward to putting more pop-up book wonders into the hands of readers. CONCORD [mdash] Doris McKenzie April 19, 1927 - January 7, 2021 Doris Ann Tilley McKenzie passed away January 7 at the Gardens of Taylor Glen in Concord NC. Doris was born in Rainelle, WV to Claude and Eula Tilley. She is survived by her twin sister Dora Lee Campbell of Shelby and her childr This book addresses the issue of why people kill each other in the name of religion. Within the pages of Pierce Kelleys new book, Hunted ($15.99, paperback, 9781545602072; $25.99, hardcover, 9781545605189; $7.99, ebook, 9781545602089), readers will find a story about a sixteen year-old Coptic Christian boy from a small village in Egypt who was spared after being captured by ISIS in Sirte, Libya in February 2015. Now, ISIS is hunting him. Twenty-one Coptic Christians were beheaded by ISIS in Sirte, Libya in February 2015. In Hunted, readers will learn of Mar-Thoma Christians, Hinduism, Buddhism, and the history of India. It is contemporary, relevant, informative, educational, and entertaining. ISIS continues to wreak havoc in the world to this day, says Kelley. This book addresses the issue of why people kill each other in the name of religion. It explains differences between religionsespecially Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus. Pierce Kelley has been a lawyer for over 40 years. He has written more than 20 books, most of which are novels, though he has also written several nonfiction books, such as legal texts, how-to books, and a collection of short stories. Xulon Press, a division of Salem Media Group, is the worlds largest Christian self-publisher, with more than 12,000 titles published to date. Hunted is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com. shows how strong and brilliant a Christian single mom can be Within the pages of Jeff Treganowans new book, My Faith is Not For Sale ($17.99, paperback, 9781545658635; $8.99, ebook, 9781545658642), readers will find a story about a Christian woman and an agnostic man who must team up together to fight a corporate giant trying to steal their research that is worth millions of dollars. The strong Christian woman in My Faith is Not For Sale is the heroine of the book. It is a suspense/thriller that will keep anyone guessing to the end. Women will love to read a book that for once shows the strength and brilliance of a Christian woman. My Faith is Not For Sale shows how strong and brilliant a Christian single mom can be, says Treganowan. Samantha uncovers a plot that could destroy the integrity of the Christian churchsomething that almost happened in real life in January 2018. Jeff Treganowan has risked his career in the Air Force to stand up for womens rights. It involved Senator Kennedy, Congressman Barney Frank, and several newspapers and television stations. He has previously published The Ultimate New-Home Buying Guide, a how-to when buying new homes. Xulon Press, a division of Salem Media Group, is the worlds largest Christian self-publisher, with more than 12,000 titles published to date. My Faith is Not For Sale is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com. TownNews is uniquely suited to provide state-of-the-art technology, and outstanding customer service to both the print and broadcast industries. TownNews, creator of the media industry's leading content, revenue, and engagement platform, announced today that it is acquiring GTxcels Rayos and Rivista suites. The acquisition will add more than 200 broadcasters and magazine publishers to TownNews client roster, which already includes nearly 1,800 newspaper, television, radio, magazine, and web-native properties. Our mission is to help our customers power audience engagement and drive revenue, and this deal furthers that goal, said Brad Ward, CEO of TownNews. It also strengthens our position in the broadcast market while significantly expanding our magazine business. More than 20 television broadcast properties use Rayos to create and deliver multimedia content to their web and mobile sites, apps, and other digital content platforms. The Rivista content management system is used by 175 magazine publishers. With the Rayos platform, TownNews can offer broadcasters a WordPress-based solution that really fits their needs, especially when combined with our cutting-edge live streaming platform, Field59, Ward said. Standard WordPress simply doesnt deliver the functionality, security, or scalability necessary for enterprise deployment. Rayos includes a wide variety of features and customizations that are specific to broadcast. And TownNews backs it up with a thirty-year track record of exceptional systems, infrastructure, security, and service. As part of the deal, seven GTxcel staff members with expertise in development, implementation, support, and sales will become part of the TownNews team. TownNews is the perfect home for our publishing partners and employees, said Peter Stilson, CEO of GTxcel. TownNews is uniquely suited to provide state-of-the-art technology, and outstanding customer service to both the print and broadcast industries. "We are thrilled to have the GTxcel employees join the TownNews team, Ward said. Their extensive experience in the broadcast and magazine CMS industry is a great addition to our already outstanding team." About TownNews TownNews equips local media organizations with the digital services and guidance to transform their business models and flourish in the digital age. Our tools and expertise in print, digital, video, OTT and advertising enable forward-thinking media organizations in dynamic markets to efficiently engage their audiences, increase security and grow revenue. Fueled by a passion for local media and a 30-year proven track record of success, more than 1,700 news organizations have benefited from the platform and tools we've built specifically for the media industry to thrive. About GTxcel GTxcels Digital Publishing software is the market leading solution for commercial and industrial clients. Our suite of Digital Publishing solutions takes static documents and publishes them to all digital platforms. GTxcel currently serves the Publishing market, Fortune 500 companies, and major Universities across the country. A privately held company, GTxcel is headquartered in the Boston, MA area. TEKLYNX General Manager Doug Niemeyer Im proud to be named a Supply & Demand Chain Executive Pro to Know for a third consecutive year as it reflects TEKLYNX continued commitment to providing industry-leading barcode and RFID labeling software solutions and customer support to make supply chains work better. Doug Niemeyer, TEKLYNX GM TEKLYNX International, the worlds leading barcode and RFID labeling software developer and solutions provider, today announced TEKLYNX Americas General Manager Doug Niemeyer has been named a 2019 Pro to Know by Supply & Demand Chain Executive. The Pros to Know Awards recognize supply chain executives who are leading initiatives to help prepare supply chains for the significant challenges of todays business climate. Im proud to be named a Supply & Demand Chain Executive Pro to Know for a third consecutive year, comments TEKLYNX General Manager Doug Niemeyer. This recognition reflects TEKLYNX continued commitment to providing industry-leading barcode and RFID labeling software solutions and customer support to make supply chains around the world work better no matter what challenges companies may face. More than 500 entries were received for the 2019 awards and this years winners include individuals from software firms and service providers, consultancies or academia, who helped their supply chain clients or the supply chain community at large. We commend this years recipients for their achievements in supply chain and for paving the way for the next generation of exceptional supply chain leaders. This years recipients embody the commitment to transformative supply chain tools and processes, earning these individuals a rightful place in this years Pros to Know listing, says John Yuva, editor of Supply & Demand Chain Executive. Today, more than 750,000 companies in over 170 countries trust TEKLYNX and the people behind its products to make barcode labeling operations efficient, accurate, secure and industry compliant. TEKLYNX is the only barcode labeling solution provider to offer subscription licensing allowing companies to start using TEKLYNX for a low cost of entry while offering a portfolio of tiered solutions that are designed to grow with companies over time. To view a full list of Supply & Demand Chain Executives 2019 Pros to Know winners click here and to learn more about TEKLYNX barcode and RFID labeling software solutions visit teklynx.com. About TEKLYNX International TEKLYNX International is the worlds leading barcode and RFID labeling software developer and solutions provider. An industry innovator for over 30 years, TEKLYNX helps companies operate smoothly and efficiently by implementing labeling solutions that streamline operations while staying ahead of industry-specific compliance and emerging regulations. TEKLYNX is world-renowned for its customer service; offering flexible purchase options, unparalleled service and support, and a comprehensive product offering that grows with companies over time. With operations in the United States, Europe, Japan, Latin America, China and Singapore, more than 750,000 companies in over 170 countries look to TEKLYNX integrated software solutions for their standard of success. Learn more by visiting teklynx.com, LinkedIn, Twitter @Teklynx, and Facebook.com/TEKLYNXInternational or call 888-629-4444. About Supply & Demand Chain Executive Supply & Demand Chain Executive is the executive's user manual for successful supply and demand chain transformation, utilizing hard-hitting analysis, viewpoints and unbiased case studies to steer executives and supply management professionals through the complicated, yet critical, world of supply and demand chain enablement to gain competitive advantage. Visit us on the web at http://www.SDCExec.com. Targray Biodiesel Trader Vincent Cariou The EU Biodiesel Trading Desk will leverage off Targrays global franchise and in-house expertise to create differentiated value for biodiesel consumers throughout Europe. Targray, a leading international marketer and distributor of biodiesel fuel, has announced the opening of its EU biodiesel trading desk in Geneva, Switzerland. Part of a broader investment plan to meet demand for low-carbon fuels in the EU, the Geneva trading desk will leverage off Targrays global franchise and in-house expertise to create differentiated value for biodiesel consumers throughout Europe. Targrays EU biofuels business will be led by biodiesel trader Vincent Cariou. Prior to joining the company in 2019, Vincent worked for nearly 10 years at agricultural commodities company Cargill, helping optimize procurement and logistics for biodiesel, vegetable oil and soybean meal customers in the European Union. Vincent has been intimately involved with the EU Biofuels market for many years and understands how to create sustainable value for customers, said Andrew Richardson, President and CEO of Targray. "We are excited to add his experience, insight, and energy to our growing European biodiesel team." About Targray Targray is an international leader in the sourcing, transporting, storage, financing and supply of commodities and specialty materials for renewable energy industries. Drawing on 3 decades of experience in international trade, logistics, and risk management, the company is focused on delivering an effective mix of products and services to create sustainable value for its customers in over 50 countries. About the Biofuels Division The Targray Biofuels Division is a major international supplier of bio-based fuels. Leveraging its extensive network of rail cars and fuel terminals, the Biofuels Division creates innovative biodiesel procurement solutions to help fuel retailers, distributors, traders and transportation firms in the U.S. and Europe grow their profits while helping create a more sustainable economy for future generations. Doug Rath, Chairman of the Board said, "Steve Bonner has been a customer, collaborator and advocate for Talent Plus for 30 years, and brings impressive experience to our Board, especially in strategic thinking to planning to action. He and I first met when he retained Talent Plus, to help him in his role as President of McGraw-Hill's Construction Information Group in 1989. We served as Cancer Treatment Centers of America board members together during his tenure as President and CEO of CTCA from 1999-2014." Since completing his Executive and Board roles at CTCA, Bonner has served as an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Harvard Business School where he also helps teach the Healthcare Innovation Course. He is an advisor to four private equity firms, and an investor, board member and advisor to about 15 healthcare start-up innovation companies. He is also a Lifetime Trustee of Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Bonner serves as an advisor to EIT Health, the healthcare innovation vertical created by the European Union. A passionate advocate for patient-centric, quality-driven healthcare, Bonner championed putting patients in control of their medical decisions through comprehensive, unbiased information about their conditions and the options they could consider at CTCA. He was named one of "100 Most Influential People in Healthcare" by Modern Healthcare. Bonner earned his bachelor's degree in Political Science from Amherst College, and his juris doctor degree from Mitchell Hamline School of Law. He is the proud father of Ted, Ann, Leslie, Mark and Alexis, and lives in Chicago. Talent Plus provides client partners highly validated, science-based assessment and interview solutions to deliver recruiting and selection enhancements that go right to the bottom line, through increased productivity, sales and retention. The Science of Talent (R) studies human potential and performance, enabling clients to pursue enhanced engagement and create award-winning cultures. Talent Plus, Inc. discovers and develops human potential with the highest validation in the industry and is an internationally recognized management consulting firm with world-class clients across the globe. Headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, Talent Plus also has an office in Singapore. For more information, please visit http://www.talentplus.com. ABA Showroom Floor Map We have performed quite a bit of research and discovered that the preferred method of receiving and paying funds for law firms and legal departments is an Automated Clearing House (ACH) transaction (also known as eCheck). Systems East, Inc. (home of Xpress-pay), a leading provider of comprehensive finance, billing, and payment solutions since 1981, announced today that it will be attending and exhibiting at the ABA TECHSHOW 2019, presented by the ABA Law Practice Division, in Chicago, Illinois, from February 27 March 1, 2019. According to the ABA TECHSHOW website, Technology is becoming fully integrated in the practice of law. Our legal work is now more dependent on the use of technology, in and out of the office. It helps us to practice more efficiently, serve clients more effectively, and better manage our daily lives. For decades, law firms and legal departments have primarily paid and been paid for services with paper checks; however, checks must be mailed, deposited, and cleared, a process which can add weeks before the funds are available. Wire transfers expedite the process but are very expensive. We have performed quite a bit of research and discovered that the preferred method of receiving and paying funds for law firms and legal departments is an Automated Clearing House (ACH) transaction (also known as eCheck). However, technologies currently offered to the legal industry are only providing credit and debit card transaction capabilities, which consume several percentage points of revenue. The law firms and legal departments need an ACH transaction technology offering, and Xpress-pay is bringing that to the industry table this year, stated Melissa Rogozinski, Education and Training Expert at Systems East., Inc. Rogozinski is also a twenty-four year career, legal industry veteran who is well known for her specialty in eDiscovery and legal technology. Jim Buttino, President of Systems East, also commented, Xpress-pay integrates seamlessly with practice management tools and can work directly with a businesss website. In addition to offering ACH transaction capabilities, we can also meet the need of law firms to separate funds between Trust and Operating Accounts as well as help reduce the impact of fees on the firms bottom line. Systems East, Inc. is headquartered in the Finger Lakes Region of Central New York and maintains satellite offices in South Carolina, Florida, and Arizona. Systems East also maintains PCI DSS, Level One Compliance and has an established record of providing professional assistance to thousands of clients in every state in the nation. In its thirty-seven year history, the experienced staff has specialized in the development of a variety of software products that are comprehensive, easy to use, and cost-effective. Systems East has consistently enjoyed steady and sustainable growth, resulting in a positive financial position every year, has no debt and has never sought or received funding from external sources such as banks or venture capitalists. This financial independence permits a focus on quality instead of shareholder income and is consistent with a management strategy that focuses on attraction and retention of both clients and employees. Systems East assists its clients in handling billions of dollars in transactions annually. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President and CEO James Bullard Its possible to view quantitative easing as having an important influence on the macroeconomy and simultaneously view the macroeconomic effects of unwinding the balance sheet as relatively minor. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard on Friday offered his views on the future of the Federal Reserves balance sheet at the 2019 U.S. Monetary Policy Forum hosted by the University of Chicagos Booth School of Business. In his presentation, When Quantitative Tightening Is Not Quantitative Tightening, Bullard made the argument for why the Feds balance sheet policy may be less important today than it was during the period when quantitative easing was most effective. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has raised the policy rate and, since late 2017, simultaneously reduced the size of the Federal Reserves balance sheet, he pointed out. Many have argued that the balance sheet reductionor quantitative tightening (QT) as it is sometimes called in global financial marketscould operate in the background with relatively small macroeconomic effects, Bullard said. Others argue that balance sheet reduction should have equal and opposite effects relative to balance sheet expansion, or QE, he explained, and, accordingly, that there may be relatively large macroeconomic effects. The Case for Small Effects from QT Bullard argued that the case for relatively small macroeconomic effects of balance sheet reduction is more accurate. He suggests that it is indeed possible to view quantitative easing as having an important influence on the macroeconomy and simultaneously view the macroeconomic effects of unwinding the balance sheet as relatively minor. This may be one reason why the FOMCs balance sheet reduction policy beginning in the fall of 2017 seemed to have only minor effects in financial markets, Bullard said. The balance sheet reduction has arguably been significant, he added, pointing out that the Fed has been able to reduce reserve balances by about 40 percent from the peak. Baseline Neutrality Bullard noted a 2010 paper1 suggesting that in situations where financial markets are functioning properly, temporarily expanding the level of reserves beyond the satiation point for banks would have no direct effect on the economy. This is one way to formulate a neutrality theorem for the size of the Feds balance sheet in ordinary times or when the policy rate is well above the zero lower bound, he explained. A baseline neutrality theory suggests temporarily increasing the Feds balance sheet size beyond the minimal level needed to implement monetary policy has no macroeconomic effect at all when the policy rate is well above the zero lower bound, Bullard explained. Signaling Effects However, while the Feds policy rate was near zero, the Feds balance sheet policy nevertheless had an important macroeconomic impact through a signaling channel, he continued. Bullard noted that actual effects of quantitative easing appear to be far from neutral,2 and one theory as to why this may be so is that QE did not have direct effects but did send a credible signal about how long the FOMC intended to keep the policy rate near zero. With the policy rate near zero, he explained, the FOMC may wish to signal convincingly that they will keep the policy rate near zero for longer, that is, beyond the time that an ordinary approach to monetary policy would call for rising rates. QE may have been a good approach to accomplish this objective, he said. Once the policy rate rose above the lower bound, balance sheet movements no longer provided a valuable signal about the future direction of monetary policy, he added. This means that baseline neutrality would again apply, Bullard said, and the size of the balance sheet could be reduced without important macroeconomic consequences. In other words, the balance sheet reduction could occur in the background, he noted. Asymmetric Effects In summary, the financial and macroeconomic impact of the FOMCs balance sheet policy may well be asymmetric, Bullard noted. With the policy rate near zero, the effects of QE may have been substantial due to signaling effects, he said. He pointed out that the FOMC normalized the policy rate to a considerable extent during 2017 and 2018. Now, with the policy rate well above zero, any signaling effects from balance sheet changes have dissipated, Bullard added. This means quantitative tightening does not have equal and opposite effects from quantitative easing, he pointed out. Indeed, one may view the effects of unwinding the balance sheet as relatively minor, he said. 1 See V. Curdia and M. Woodford, Conventional and Unconventional Monetary Policy, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, July/August 2010, 229-64. 2 See S. Bhattarai and C.J. Neely, An Analysis of the Literature on International Unconventional Monetary Policy, Working Paper No. 2016-021C, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, October 2018. Why Evil: The Rationality of Belief in God's Existence: an impassioned narrative that discusses important notions pertaining to the nature of evil and its connection to reality and God. Why Evil: The Rationality of Belief in God's Existence is the creation of published author, S. Kuhl, a US Navy combat veteran of Vietnam, a seminary student at Liberty University Baptist Theological Seminary, and a retired government contractor based at Edwards AFB. Kuhl shares, The atheists ask, if God is all powerful and all good, why then is their evil in the world. At first, this sounds like a reasonable question and in times past, the challenge was made against the existence of evil. However, in our modern world, the challengers have upped the ante and use the question to challenge the existence of God. New Christians may be chilled by the question, as the author was, upon first hearing the question, and elders may also be looking to broaden their knowledge of this question. This question is not limited to Christianity or modernity; it has existed since ancient times, and it attacks any monotheistic religion, where God is said to be good and all powerful. So modern prideful individuals, thinking they are smart, by asking the question are not as smart as they suppose; they are only echoing a very old question. The most frequent time honored response has been free will, however, Why Evil shows a variety of Bible-based reasons that leave God sovereign and in control. Why Evil exposes some of the historical answers and introduces some of the responses given by the ancient Israelites. In fact, The rationality of Gods existence is established through the existence of evil. Evolutionists tell us we are all just a bunch of chemicals, and we originated as single-cell organisms which evolved into man (most are creatures having enough intelligence to rationalize that something far greater must exist). By evolution, there would be no good and no evil, only existence and instinct (like some wild animal), no absolutes, no knowledge, no morals, no education, no civilization, no freewill, no smartphones, and the bigger fish would devour the little fish. Shall we continue? Viva la creation! Published by Christian Faith Publishing, S. Kuhls new book enlightens readers with the revelation of evil that lurks within the world and its parallelism with godhood and faith. This book draws in an accepting heart and mind in analyzing the wisdom behind metaphysical concepts that govern and shape reality. View a synopsis of Why Evil: The Rationality of Belief in God's Existence on YouTube. Consumers can purchase Why Evil: The Rationality of Belief in God's Existence at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Why Evil: The Rationality of Belief in God's Existence, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Included will be a Masterclass for the trade, a walk-around tasting for both media and trade, and a consumer tasting in the evening The Oregon Wine Board is bringing 60 of its most esteemed winemakers and a generous pour of Oregons fine wine and pioneering spirit to New York on May 6, 2019 for The Oregon Wine Trail, New York City. Oregon, which as a winemaking region, grew eight times faster than the overall wine category in dollar sales for 2018 according to Nielsen, is hosting this all day event at the Altman Building on 18th street. Included will be a Masterclass for the trade from 12:00 1:30 pm, a walk-around tasting for both media and trade from 1:00 4:30 pm, and a consumer tasting in the evening from 6:30 9:00 pm. Along with Oregon winemakers, Oregon artisan producers Olympia Provisions, Jacobsen Salt Co., Stumptown Coffee Roasters, the Oregon Cheese Guild and more will be on hand for a grand happening of Oregonian wine, food and personality. Consumers interested in exploring Oregon wine and food may purchase tickets here. Admission includes wine tasting with 60 wineries, gourmet cured meats from Olympia Provisions, handmade Oregon cheese, light passed hors doeuvres and other bites to accompany the wine, and Stumptown Coffee to keep people perky. The Altman building is located at 135 W 18th St, New York, NY 10011. This full day of Oregon wine and food education and celebration will represent Oregons varied geographic and climatic diversity, including winemakers from the Willamette Valley, Southern Oregon and Columbia Gorge AVAs. Participating wineries are: Abacela Winery Airlie Winery Alexana Winery Amalie Robert Estate Anne Amie Vineyards Antiquum Farm Apolloni Vineyards Archer Vineyard Argyle Winery Beckham Estate Vineyard Belle Pente Vineyard & Winery Brittan Vineyards Carlton Cellars Chateau Bianca Winery Chehalem Winery Citation Coleman Vineyard Del Rio Vineyards Domaine Roy Domaine Verdant Elk Cove Vineyards Eola Hills Wine Cellars Erath Winery Foris Vineyards Fullerton Wines Golden Cluster Grochau Cellars Hamacher Wines Holloran Vineyard Wines Hyland Estates Illahe Vineyards King Estate Knudsen Vineyards Lange Estate Winery & Vineyard Le Cadeau Vineyard Left Coast Cellars Montinore Estate Patricia Green Cellars Patton Valley Vineyards Perkins Harter Phelps Creek Vineyards Portlandia Vintners Quady North Raptor Ridge Winery REX Hill Solidarity Stoller Family Estate Trathen Hall Wines Troon Vineyard Union Wine Company Upper FiveVineyards Van Duzer Vineyards Westmount Wine Co. Willakenzie Estate Willamette Valley Vineyards William Rose Wines Winderlea Vineyard and Winery Yamhill Valley Vineyards ### About the Oregon Wine Board The Oregon Wine Board is a semi-independent Oregon state agency managing marketing, research and education initiatives that support and advance the Oregon wine and wine grape industry. The Board works on behalf of all Oregon wineries and independent growers throughout the states diverse winegrowing regions. Visit oregonwine.org. We look forward to showcasing our expertise in mortgage solutions at the premier event that represents all aspects of the real estate industry, and utilize the opportunity to collaborate with industry peers. - Z. Ed Lateef, Group Founder and Chairman Orchestrate TechSolutions, LLC, has announced its participation in the National Mortgage Servicing Conference, 2019. This premier event focuses on the latest trends and innovation in mortgage servicing including process improvement, resource management, quality control, data privacy, and much more. The conference will provide the company a chance to meet and interact with current and future clients across the industry. Orchestrate offers end-to-end mortgage solutions with a core focus on title and tax service, business process outsourcing as well as post-closing review and other QC services. Managed and operated from its onshore delivery center, the company has the expertise to engage the clients with both origination and servicing needs. It has always been inclined towards innovation in mortgage services, with impetus on information, connections, and solutions, which happens to be the theme of the conference this year. As in prior years, our team is optimistic about its participation at this year's conference. The innovative solutions and services aimed at enhancing the scalability and flexibility of mortgage operations have played a critical role in the success of its clients, effectively improving the efficiency of mortgage life cycle processes. Orchestrate TechSolutions, LLCs focus and growth strategy for 2019 and beyond is centered on the following core areas while expanding to meet clients demands. Title Services Tax Reporting Processing Support QA/QC Reviews Appraisal & Order Management Closing & Post-closing Services Customer Contact Services Z. Ed Lateef, Group Founder and Chairman of Orchestrate TechSolutions, LLC said, "We look forward to showcasing our expertise in mortgage solutions at the premier event that represents all aspects of the real estate industry, and utilize the opportunity to collaborate with industry peers. Face Fakhry, CEO of Orchestrate, echoed Eds views as he said, "There is a huge demand for quality and innovative services in the US mortgage industry, which has undergone massive transformation since the recession. The Expo offers a huge prospect for servicers like us, who have the capability to deliver ideal solutions with contemporary standards." He also believes that participations at the MBA conference can benefit from live interaction and meetings while on-site. Parties interested in bringing efficiency and enhanced profitability may schedule a meeting in advance by contacting him at ffakhry@orchestrate.com About Orchestrate: Orchestrate TechSolutions, LLC is a Dallas based Mortgage Services company. It operates global delivery centers on three continents and provides comprehensive mortgage solutions with special focus on Title, Tax service and mortgage business process outsourcing. Orchestrate TechSolutions, LLC has acquired a reputation for its capability to meet and manage the diverse needs of its clients that include leading banks and financial institutions. For more information, visit http://www.orchestrate.com. Were excited to be launching this CRM-centric website which has been designed to appeal to a broad audience of current and future Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM users. Steve Ewing Endeavour Solutions Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of a new Microsoft CRM focused website for customers https://www.endeavour365.ca, built using the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Portal Platform. This new Endeavour website uses the content management capabilities within the Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales Enterprise with a full integration to the firms cloud-based CRM. In support of this official launch of the new Endeavour365.ca CRM site, the Microsoft certified CRM consultants at Endeavour Solutions will be hosting a FREE webinar on Whats New in Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM included will be information of upgrade paths from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016, new development tools, and top features for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales, Outlook 365 integration, Customer Service and Field Service Automation. Endeavour is also launching an Endeavour Client Support Portal, also built using the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Portal Platform, to allow Endeavours ERP, CRM and Cloud clients to submit support requests online and to view open/closed cases managed internally by Endeavour through the case management functions within Dynamics 365 for Customer Service. To learn more about Microsoft Dynamics 365 visit https://www.endeavour365.ca/Dynamics365 Microsoft recently announced some major additions and enhancements to its April 2019 release of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform for customer relationship management. Come join Endeavours CRM consulting team to learn more. Webinar registration link at https://www.endeavour365.ca/new-partner/ About Endeavour Solutions Inc. Endeavour Solutions is a Gold certified Microsoft partner and is the largest Microsoft Dynamics GP partner in Canada. With a focus on ERP, CRM and Cloud solutions from Microsoft, Endeavour has become a highly sought after implementation support partner for Small and Midsized Business's across Canada. With the strong US dollar, Endeavour provides very attractive rates for remote training and support for ERP, CRM and Cloud clients across the USA. We strive, through financial services impact and community outreach, to be the advocate for all people by providing a sense of purpose and relevance. This mainstream commitment aligns us with the philosophy of National Life Group. National Life's new general agency in the Detroit area will hold a grand opening to celebrate some of the key charitable groups in the region that it has supported over the years. Directors of the Special Olympics and Easter Seals will be on hand when Preferred Financial Partners cuts the ribbon at its office in Troy. Mayor Dane Slater is scheduled to participate, along with Mehran Assadi, Chairman, CEO and President of National Life, and Colleen Schueneman, CEO of Preferred Financial Partners. A nominee for National Lifes LifeChanger of the Year educator recognition program will also be honored during the event. Were delighted to welcome Colleen and her team at Preferred Financial Partners to National Life, Assadi said. The Detroit region will be well-served by an agency that shares our corporate values to do good in the communities it serves. Schueneman and her team at Preferred Financial Partners have long been involved with Special Olympics and Easter Seals, as well as literacy initiatives in inner-city schools, because community support is a key part of their business plan. We strive, through financial services impact and community outreach, to be the advocate for all people by providing a sense of purpose and relevance, Schueneman said. This mainstream commitment aligns us with the philosophy of National Life Group. The grand opening will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. on Feb. 27 at Preferred Financial Partners office at 755 West Big Beaver Road in Troy. National Life is here to bring you peace of mind. Weve been keeping our promises since 1848. Believe in tomorrow, do good today. Learn more at NationalLife.com. Contact: Ross Sneyd, corporate communications, National Life Group, 802.229.3866. National Life Group is a trade name of National Life Insurance Company, founded in Montpelier, Vt., in 1848, Life Insurance Company of the Southwest, Addison, Texas, chartered in 1955, and their affiliates. Each company of National Life Group is solely responsible for its own financial condition and contractual obligations. Life Insurance Company of the Southwest is not an authorized insurer in New York and does not conduct insurance business in New York. TC105728(0119)1 "The recent damage costs from the California wildfires is currently estimated at over $20 billion USD." The recent damage costs from the California wildfires is currently estimated at over $20 billion USD. According to the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance, many nonprofits who were affected this past winter really struggled to get their feet back on the ground in the following months. Dave Gibson, Chief Claims Officer at the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance outlines in the campaign how having certain types of insurance (like property insurance) is just as, if not more important, than having an insurance company that will support your organization and its people in the face of disaster. In addition, Pamela Davis the CEO of Nonprofits Insurance Alliance, discusses how nonprofits can better manage risk in its day-to-day functions and some of the biggest risks facing nonprofits now and tomorrow. The print component of Empowering Nonprofits is distributed within todays edition of USA Today in Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, San Francisco, New York and Washington DC/Baltimore markets, with a circulation of approximately 250,000 copies and an estimated readership of 750,000. The digital component is distributed nationally, through a vast social media strategy, and across a network of top news sites and partner outlets. To explore the digital version of the campaign click here. This campaign was made possible with the support of Save the Children, Association of Fundraising Professionals, ANA Nonprofit Federation, Blackbaud, Community Brands, Nonprofits Insurance Alliance, UNIT4, RevUp, Act Blue, Community Brands, Acxiom, Wizehive and the Foundation of Hope. About Mediaplanet Mediaplanet specializes in the creation of content marketing campaigns covering a variety of industries. We tell meaningful stories that educate our audience and position our clients as solution providers. Our unique ability to pair the right leaders with the right readers, through the right platforms, has made Mediaplanet a global content marketing powerhouse. Our award-winning stories have won the hearts of countless readers while serving as a valuable platform for brands and their missions. Just call us storytellers with a purpose. Please visit http://www.mediaplanet.com for more on who we are and what we do. About Nonprofits Insurance Alliance: Nonprofits Insurance Alliance is a group of 501(c)(3) nonprofit, tax-exempt insurers whose purpose is to serve 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organizations by providing a stable source of reasonably priced liability insurance tailored to the specialized needs of the nonprofit sector and to assist these organizations to develop and implement successful loss control and risk management programs. Visit http://www.insurancefornonprofits.org for more. We continue to evolve and grow as a technology company, providing strong value in the market, while being recognized for our world-class IT services and reputation for caring about our clients success. Loffler Companies announced today that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Loffer to its 2019 Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list in the Elite 150 category. This annual list recognizes top North American solution providers with innovative approaches to managed services. Managed service providers are integral to the success of businesses everywhere. They empower companies to implement and operate complex technologies while staying within their budgets and keep a focus on their core business. CRNs MSP 500 list identifies the most groundbreaking managed service organizations, with advanced solutions that have endless potential for growth. The MSP Elite 150 recognizes large MSPs with significant managed services portfolios offering a strong mix of on- and off-premises services. Along with IT Managed Services, Lofflers IT Consulting offerings continue to deliver as a differentiator in the managed services space, as demand for IT strategy consulting rises. We are very pleased to be named to the MSP 500 and Elite 150 lists for the fourth consecutive year, said James Loffler, Vice President of the IT Solutions Group at Loffler Companies. We continue to evolve and grow as a technology company, providing strong value in the market, while being recognized for our world-class IT services and reputation for caring about our clients success. Capable MSPs enable companies to take their cloud computing to the next level, streamline spending, effectively allocate limited resources and navigate the vast field of available technologies, said Bob Skelley, CEO of The Channel Company. The companies on CRNs 2019 MSP 500 list stand out for their innovative services, excellence in adapting to customers changing needs and demonstrated ability to help businesses get the most out of their IT investments. Founded by Jim Loffler in 1986, Loffler Companies is nationally recognized as a leader in business technology and managed services. Loffler is among the top office solutions dealers in the US for service and support, with more than 500 employees working hard every day to exceed the expectations of their clients, partners and the community. Loffler has earned recognition for eight consecutive years as a Star Tribune Top Workplace, and for the past three years as a Best Place to Work by the Minneapolis-St Paul Business Journal. In addition, for ten consecutive years Loffler Companies has earned the Inc. 5000 award as one of the Fastest Growing Private Companies in America. Loffler is proud to partner with Ronald McDonald House, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and many other worthy organizations that help the communities in which the Loffler team lives and works. Loffler Companies provides integrated business technology and services partnered with leading partners such as Nutanix, Arctic Wolf, Microsoft, Mitel and NEC as well as Canon, Konica Minolta, Xerox, HP, Lexmark and FP Mailing Solutions. Its offerings include IT managed and security services, disaster recovery/business continuity, professional IT services/consulting, unified communications, multifunctional copiers and printers, print management services, software and workflow technology consulting, and on-site management of copy centers and mail rooms. For more information about Loffler Companies, call 952-925-6800 or email information@loffler.com or visit us online at http://www.loffler.com. To qualify for this unranked list, recognized individuals demonstrate influential qualities, including: persistence, integrity and leadership. Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) announced on Friday that Gerard Stewart Founder and Managing Partner Lisa Maxwell has been inducted into their Staffing 100 Hall of Fame in recognition for her influence and leadership in the staffing industry. Maxwell, who was also named to SIAs 2018 Global Power 150 list, was recognized on the annual Staffing 100 list in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and in 2018, qualifying her for the prestigious Hall of Fame. There was not a Staffing 100 list in 2015. To qualify for this unranked list, recognized individuals demonstrate influential qualities, including: Pursuit of Excellence Working hard to raise standards for the people in their companies, the talent and customers. Empower Others Inspiring their teams and their clients to take those steps that can help others, and finding the right solutions for the right group, be it a program, a job or technology. Persistence Being adaptable, and navigating the workforce solutions ecosystem by taking charge of mergers, acquisitions, needs of the customer, innovation and pioneering new models. Integrity Being ethical and inspiring others to be the same. Strong Leader Using experience and knowledge to elevate the industry. Maxwell is known for her high-level talent consultation to boards and CEOs of staffing and human capital firms from executive search, to succession planning and compensation analysis, to industry and company mapping. Her recognition on the Hall of Fame is a direct reflection of her global influence on the C-suite. The 2019 Staffing 100 North America stand out as leaders, executives and visionaries and for their significant commitment to empowering people. From job-seekers and internal talent to partners and stakeholders across the ecosystem, the Staffing 100 honorees understand that people helping people is both a competitive advantage and a way to advance the world of work for all, said Subadhra Sriram, Editor & Publisher, Media Products, SIA in a recent press release. Congratulations to those individuals named to this years list for their achievements and contributions and for making it, ultimately, about people. The complete list of honorees can be found on the Staffing 100 Hall of Fame website, si100.staffingindustry.com/staffing-100-hall-of-fame. About Gerard Stewart As an international leader in executive search, Gerard Stewart focuses on recruitment for C-suite executives in the human capital space, including for private equity firms, HR technology, HR services, and talent solutions companies. The team at Gerard Stewart advises client companies on recruiting and retaining outstanding leaders and helps mitigate the risks involved with senior level appointments. The firm has completed engagements across the global human capital landscape. Its prestigious client list includes firms in staffing, workforce management, human capital consulting, information technology services, vendor management software, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), managed service providers (MSP), professional services and outsourcing. Gerard Stewart leverages deep industry expertise and an extensive network of human capital executives to ensure access to leading candidates in chosen markets. Headquartered in Atlanta, Gerard Stewart has offices in London and Menlo Park, Calif. For more information, visit http://www.gerardstewart.com. Media Contact: Brittney Kowalski BMUR Branding Group, LLC Phone: (603) 504-2024 Email: brittney@bmurbrandinggroup.com How Prayer and Fasting Can Change Your Life: an invigorating account that assures a novel perspective of prayerfulness and self-denial in achieving spiritual enlightenment. How Prayer and Fasting Can Change Your Life is the creation of published author, Larry Allen. Allen shares, After finishing a twenty-two-day fast, God inspired me to write this book. I know it will change your life. Experience the miracle of prayer and fasting. You are about to enter into a new level of living. Somewhere in the pages of this book, it will suddenly happen to you. Prayer and fasting will become more than a phrase. It will become a never-ending source of spiritual power and personal communication with God. Discover it for yourself as you begin to apply these inspiring principles to every area of your life. In this book, youll learn how to solve your greatest problem, how to say good-bye to failure, how prayer and fasting conquer fear, how to know God hears your prayer, the powerful principles of fasting, and how to become a grand new you! And more of the concepts you are about to read have been tested. They work. If you want to enter a new dimension of Gods blessing, read on! Bishop Larry Earl Allen is the founder and director of the Rod of God Ministries, in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is an author, doctor, pastor, and international evangelist. Trained as a navy fighter pilot, he is now fighting the good fight. With a vision of Reaching the World for Jesus, Bishop Allen ministers to millions through radio, television, and rallies. He is a frequent guest on national TV programs. Bishop Larry Allens Winners in Jesus Conferences are currently being conducted in New Zealand, Australia, Israel, Paris, France; India, Africa, America, and around the world. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Larry Allens new book includes resounding guidelines that lead readers toward a divine experience that heals and motivates the heart and soul. View a synopsis of How Prayer and Fasting Can Change Your Life on YouTube. Consumers can purchase How Prayer and Fasting Can Change Your Life at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about How Prayer and Fasting Can Change Your Life, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Today, news headlines talk about how automation will take the jobs of countless American workers in the coming years, but we want to talk about how it can save companies who dont have enough skilled resources to manage the workload of mainframe app development. Infotel, the leading company of data performance and optimization solutions for z/OS, recently sponsored DAMA Houstons February 12 quarterly meeting in partnership with Db2 expert Craig S. Mullins, who gave his presentation titled Improving Database Application Quality for Optimizing Performance and Controlling Cost. Mullins and Infotel shared the presentation duties aimed to address data governance and code quality assurance for the mainframe and how it helps improve Db2 for z/OS. Additionally, Infotel presented a use case featuring its code quality assurance product DB/IQ. DB/IQ is a software solution designed to assess and improve the level of quality and maintainability of Db2 for z/OS applications before they get deployed live in a production environment. Craig S. Mullins is recognized as one of the foremost Db2 experts in the country. He is president and principal consultant of Mullins Consulting, Inc. and has more than three decades of experience in database systems development. In his presentation, Mullins discussed some of the biggest issues facing DevOps professionals, DBAs, and developers, and how Fortune 1000 organizations are approaching solutions to ensure mainframe application delivery at the lowest cost possible. Today, news headlines talk about how automation will take the jobs of countless American workers in the coming years, but we want to talk about how it can save companies who dont have enough skilled resources to manage the workload of mainframe app development, said Carlos Almeida, Infotel Corporations North American business analyst who has 20-plus years of experience in mainframe technologies. "Mainframe developers help assure the reliability of the worlds most important information systems for banks, airlines, governments, and retailers. Technology like DB/IQ can help bridge the skills gap were already experiencing. Mullins and Infotel discussed how DevOps resources can break down silos between the business and development sides of large enterprises, and how the DevOps process is creating greater efficiency within app development for Db2. Todays IT workforce is experiencing a serious skills gap as an aging expert workforce retires with a shortage of experienced talent to take their place. Within mainframe environments, the gap is wider than their Windows and open source counterparts. This presentation aimed to address one way to adapt to this new reality with new automation tools to help mainframe developers with their application workloads. Organizations are working to be more responsive and move faster than ever before, said Db2 expert Craig S. Mullins. DevOps practices and procedures can help them to rapidly and securely deliver applications that serve their customers with features that are up-to-date. But DevOps is not magic. It requires planning, orchestration and automation to succeed, and Infotel offers key pieces to the automation puzzle, especially for the Db2 aspect of application delivery. The presentation also covered: How to improve app performance & availability How Db2 app performance affects End User Experience (EUX) How to avoid runaway MIPS consumption The positive impact of code standardization across a large enterprise How a poorly developed app can destroy an IT budget, and how to avoid the pitfall Infotel finished the presentation with a quick use case from a large international insurance organization using DB/IQ for SQL code quality assurance across IBM z/OS. DB/IQ is a tool for DBAs, developers, and DevOps to assure code is up to in-house compliance standards as it is being written. Effective use of the system will typically uncover many potential problems and quickly help raise the quality of new and existing code as programmers are automatically alerted of any deviation from their organizations coding standards About DAMA Houston DAMA Houston is a chapter of DAMA International and hosts quarterly meetings for the enterprise data management community of the Houston metro area to network and learn from industry leaders. To learn more about Houston DAMA visit their website at http://houston.dama.org. About DAMA International DAMA, the International Data Management Association, is the premier non-profit and vendor-independent support, education and networking organization for data management professionals providing access to industry best practice and developmental resources. For more information on DAMA International, please visit https://dama.org. About Infotel Infotel Corp., based in Tampa, Florida, is a software vendor and IT consulting firm specializing in data performance and optimization solutions for the Mainframe z/OS platform. For more than 40 years, Infotel has delivered proven solutions to help clients improve their data management systems. For more information on Infotel Corp., please visit https://www.infotel.com/us/ or reach out directly at software(at)infotel.com Mark Hawblitzel, National Load Bank Sales Manager Adding Mark and Serafin to the HPS Loadbanks team has allowed us to assist more customers with their load bank needs than ever before, says Paul Karpf, Rental and Load Bank General Manager. HPS Loadbanks, the leading authorized distributor of Crestchic load banks in North America, is proud to announce the expansion of the San Diego sales team with the addition of Mark Hawblitzel as the National Load Bank Sales Manager, and Serafin Gutierrez Jr. as the Advanced Load Bank Project Manager. Hawblitzel comes to HPS Loadbanks with extensive Nationwide Sales and Rental experience in the industrial sector. He has a proven track record to ensure that HPS provides unmatched support after the sale, offering 24-hour technical assistance, training, repair quotes, and electronic upgrades. He will manage the daily customer service inquiries from before the sale to after to make sure all of our customers needs are met and exceeded. Gutierrezs knowledge of AC and DC load banks in the medium and high voltage Utility and Renewable Energy sectors, in addition to his cogeneration, data center, and Power Plant commissioning expertise, has made him an invaluable asset to the team. His experience throughout North America, with previous projects exceeding 50MW, ensures that HPS provides the best support in the business before/during/and after a rental project, offering our customers 24-hour technical assistance and training. For customers who own Crestchic Load Banks, Gutierrez can quote repairs and electronic upgrades as well. Adding Mark and Serafin to the HPS Loadbanks team has allowed us to assist more customers with their load bank needs than ever before, says Paul Karpf, Rental and Load Bank General Manager. Their extensive industry knowledge, project expertise, and customer service experience make them a perfect fit as HPS Loadbanks continues to grow. Call HPS Loadbanks at 877.838.1088 to learn more about our new and used load banks, and services today. Being considered a high-risk driver will make you pay more expensive premiums. It is recommended to shop around using quotes and a list of companies that will accept you, said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. Compare-autoinsurance.org has released a new video that explains how to get affordable car insurance, even if the person is a high-risk driver. Lack of experience, young age, DUI or poor credit score are just a few reasons a person can be labeled high-risk. And the financial consequences are very harsh. Car insurance costs soar immediately, with premiums becoming double or triple. However, using car insurance quotes online will help drivers find acceptable deals. Use http://compare-autoinsurance.org to get free car insurance quotes and compare prices. Do not rely only on the big, nationwide standard carriers. This is one of the biggest mistakes high-risk drivers commit. Depending only on the big 4-5 companies to provide high-risk coverage will, in many cases, bring disappointing results. Big names prefer to work with safe drivers. If they would accept high-risk drivers, the news will spread up immediately and they would be assaulted by such drivers. A high number of high-risk drivers will spell disaster for their business, Look for reliable subsidiaries of standard carriers. These companies may provide high-risk coverage. Even the industry giants have subsidiaries for high-risk drivers. It is recommended to check for other subsidiaries, too. With a simple search online, a person can obtain several company names, Also check for specialized, non-standard carriers. The big names and their subsidiaries are not always the best choice. There are dozens of smaller companies designed to provide coverage for high-risk drivers. Again, it is up to the client to check the market and make an educated choice Use online car insurance quotes. Getting online quotes becomes really crucial when looking for fair prices for high-risk drivers. And dont look just for prices, also check for flexible payment programs and coverage customizations. Look for extra services, like roadside assistance and check the prices. Compare-autoinsurance.org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. For more information, please visit http://compare-autoinsurance.org To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first documented arrival of Africans in Virginia, a Philadelphia travel agency has organized a once-in-a-lifetime historic trip, retracing the steps of history in Ghana, dating back to 1619, the birthplace of so many Americans of African descent. Lloyd Murray, founder and president of Palace Travel, says this trip is one of the most unique trips and experiences he has ever led to Africa. The Historic Return of the African Diaspora tour will take place August 5 to August 14, 2019. It is billed as an opportunity to draw the worlds attention to this symbolic moment of the long history of African enslavement. For the first time traveler to Africa, I would say that this trip will offer them a rich, heartwarming experience that they truly wont get with any other tour, Murray said. For those who have traveled to Ghana before, all I have to say, youll experience this country in a way that youve never experienced in the past. With the 400-year anniversary, Ive worked with the tourism office and government officials to give you access to a trip that will get you even more familiar with Ghanas rich culture and history. What makes this trip unique is that it will take travelers along the slave route from capture to storage at Cape Coast Slave dungeon now referred to as Slave Castles. Also included will be atonement ceremonies. There will be wreath-laying and tributes to Pan African pioneers, including Dr. W.E.B. Dubois, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, and Marcus Mosiah Garvey. Diaspora participants will meet with chiefs and elders and will be addressed by high-level government officials. Noted historians and local experts will take visitors on tours of W.E.B. DuBois former home and cultural visits to the Ashanti Kingdom where the groups will be especially welcomed by the Ashanti King. One of the more emotional legs of the trip will take travelers to Cape Coast Castle, known for the infamous The Door of No Return through which millions passed on the way to slavery. This is where travelers will be guest of the Paramount Chief of Elmina, Nana Kojo Conduah IV. The day will be capped off with the traditional Fihankra Ceremony where Returnees will participate in a traditional Naming Ceremony and receive their certificates of authentication. For more information about the trip, go to PalaceTravel.com (https://www.palacetravel.com/african-tours/return-african-diaspora-ghana/). Travel agents interested in receiving a commission for booking passengers on this trip, should contact the agency at ancestry(at)palacetravel.com For interviews with Mr. Murray, contact Neil Foote, Foote Communications, neil(at)neilfoote.com, 214.448.3765. confronts the religious mindset, dealing with issues of the heart Within the pages of Denroy Gumbs new book, A Church That Works ($16.49, paperback, 9781545658079; $8.99, ebook, 9781545658086), readers will find a book packed with insightful tips and revelatory concepts that will rekindle the fire in any local assembly. It is filled with biblical truths that will serve as a compass for anyone in church leadership. A Church That Works highlights truths that have been ignored in todays culture. Gumbs wants the reader to understand that true alignment comes from instilling correct biblical teaching and a proper fear of God in those we lead. A Church That Works confronts the religious mindset, dealing with issues of the heart, says Gumbs. It pulls church leaders back into observance of biblical structures Yahweh has set in placed for proper kingdom advancement through the local body. Apostle Denroy Gumbs is blessed with a unique anointing that makes him a powerful preacher, wise counselor, and an influential writer. Hes been in active ministry for over 15 years and currently resides in Anguilla with his wife, Twila. Xulon Press, a division of Salem Media Group, is the worlds largest Christian self-publisher, with more than 12,000 titles published to date. A Church That Works is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com. Attendees are eligible to receive 7.5 CLE credits (6.5 substantive, 1 ethics) in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. This program has been approved for 7.5 continuing education unit(s) by Practice Management Institute and PAHCOM. The second annual Healthcare Compliance Symposium is a joint effort of Widener University Delaware Law School and First Healthcare Compliance to provide resources and learning opportunities for those entering the healthcare compliance field and experienced professionals. The full-day event will be held on April 4th at the Delaware Law School and will include continental breakfast, lunch, learning credits, and a complimentary copy of The Fundamentals guidebook by First Healthcare Compliance. Registration is open to the public, but availability is limited. Eight expert presenters will cover timely topics and answer questions related to real-life scenarios. Attendees are eligible to receive 7.5 CLE credits (6.5 substantive, 1 ethics) in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. This program has been approved for 7.5 continuing education unit(s) by Practice Management Institute and PAHCOM. This education activity has been submitted to the Compliance Certification Board (CCB) and is currently pending their review for approval of CCB CEUs. Presentations will be led by the following experts: Edward McAndrew, Esq. is a counselor and trial lawyer who focuses his practice on cybersecurity matters, helping clients manage cyber risk, comply with legal requirements and industry standards, prepare for and respond to cyber incidents, and handle related investigations and litigation. Substantive areas of his practice include computer and financial fraud, digital privacy, intellectual property protection, social media, online speech, cyber-based national security issues and governmental demands for data. He recently joined DLA Pipers Intellectual Property and Technology practice as a partner based in Wilmington and Washington, DC. William J. McBorrough is co-founder and CEO at MCGlobalTech, a Washington DC-based information security management consulting firm. For more than 19 years, Mr. McBorrough has demonstrated success as an administrator, engineer, architect, consultant, manager, and practice leader, developing cost-effective solutions to support the strategic and operational goals of client organizations in the areas of enterprise information security risk management, IT governance, security organization development and management, and government information assurance and compliance. Kathleen W. McNicholas, MD, JD earned an MD from Jefferson Medical College magma cum laude and completed general surgery training at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and served as a surgical house officer in London at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street. She remained at CPMC for cardiothoracic training and chief residency then returned to GOS as senior registrar in the cardiac unit. Dr. McNicholas was chief of pediatric cardiac surgery at Deborah Heart and Lung Center prior to starting the cardiac surgery program in Delaware. Seeking a hobby, she studied law at the Delaware Law School and earned a JD cum laude and an LLM in health law with honors. After retiring from clinical practice, she completed a fellowship in patient safety leadership and became the medical director of performance improvement and patient safety and lead the Just Culture program and CANDOR. Currently, Dr. McNicholas is a consultant and patient advocate. Rebecca L. Rakoski, Esq. is the co-founder and managing partner at XPAN Law Group. Rebecca uniquely understands how technology intersects with her clients legal obligations and liabilities. She has extensive experience in cybersecurity standards and guidelines such as HIPAA, NY DFS, FTC, NIST, ISO, for cybersecurity and data privacy. Rebecca also focuses on domestic data privacy and cross border data transfer issues. Rebecca performs in-depth cybersecurity assessments, audits, and gap analysis. She advises and drafts internal and outward facing policies and procedures governing cybersecurity, including breach response/disaster recovery plans and counsels clients through a breach by navigating the complexities of different state and federal regulations. Rebecca also focuses on cybersecurity and data privacy due diligence in the areas of corporate mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, and transition and succession planning. Rebecca serves on the Board of Governors for Temple University Health Systems and is an adjunct professor at Drexels Kline School of Law. Lauren M. Russel, Esq. an associate with Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor LLP, represents employers on a range of issues relating to compliance with local, state, and federal employment laws and constitutional provisions. She has extensive litigation experience, and regularly assists clients in administrative proceedings before state and federal agencies, including the EEOC. She has litigated a wide variety of employment-related matters to successful resolutions, including employment discrimination cases under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, non-competition cases, and constitutional law cases, among others. In addition to litigation, Ms. Russell counsels employers on a broad range of topics, including revision of handbooks and related policies to ensure compliance with state and federal employment and labor statutes. Lauren also conducts on-site training on legal compliance, including anti-harassment training. Catherine Walters, Esq. is an employment and labor attorney who provides management-side representation and compliance services for employers of all sizes, including privately and publicly held companies, government contractors, health care providers, institutions of higher education, entrepreneurs, trade associations and other non-profit organizations. Her practice spans an array of industries, including financial and banking, manufacturing, defense contracting, health care, education, professional services, insurance, construction, technology, retail, real estate, and hospitality. Catherine recently joined the law firm of Bybel Rutledge LLP as a partner, where she serves as Chair of the Employment/Labor Law Group. Paul Weidenfeld, Esq. is nationally recognized for his work in both the prosecution and defense of Healthcare Fraud investigations, False Claims Act cases and qui tam litigation having earned numerous awards including the prestigious Attorney General Award for Fraud Prevention and Nightingale Outstanding Healthcare Litigator. A former Health Care Fraud Coordinator for the Executive Office of the Department of Justice, Paul has been representing providers and individuals in Healthcare Fraud matters since leaving the department, Andrew Wilson, Esq. is an associate and legislative specialist in Morris James' Health Care Industry and Government Relations Groups. Andrew works on a range of healthcare issues throughout the practice of medicine, assisting clinicians, practices, and other entities through licensing questions, regulatory compliance, and generally how to grow their practices. After graduating with his Juris Doctor from Albany Law School in 2010 and before moving to Delaware, Andrew worked as Counsel and Policy Analyst to members of the New York State Senate. He produced legislation, committee reports, and staffed press conferences on a weekly basis, addressing time-sensitive public policy issues. He also served as Counsel and Clerk to the New York State Senate Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, where his duties included running committee meetings and hearings, creating policy, acting as the agency point person, and bill tracking and analysis. About Delaware Law School: Widener University is a metropolitan university that connects curricula to social issues through civic engagement. Dynamic teaching, active scholarship, personal attention, applied leadership, and experiential learning are key components of the Widener experience. Delaware Law School is the First States only law school, providing Juris Doctor, legal graduate and paralegal degree programs with an emphasis on developing legal professionals who reflect the Delaware Way and its traditions of civility, integrity and mutual respect. The school offers signature programs in corporate and business law, environmental law, family health law and policy, trial advocacy, and dignity rights. About First Healthcare Compliance: Founded in 2012 by a nurse attorney, the First Healthcare Compliance software solution creates confidence among compliance professionals through education, resources, and support in the areas of HIPAA, OSHA, human resources compliance, and fraud waste and abuse laws. Serving clients across the United States, the companys evolving platform provides real-time insight for board reporting and across multiple locations. For more information please visit https://1sthcc.com/ Dutch Bros Coffee Part of our mission at Dutch Bros is to make a massive difference one cup at a time, said Joth Ricci, president of Dutch Bros. Our customers help us live that mission every day. Its remarkable what we can do when our communities come together. On Thursday, Feb. 14, Dutch Bros Coffee and its customers celebrated Valentines Day with the annual Dutch Luv Day, raising enough money for more than one million meals for local food banks in seven states. To provide quality food for people who are hungry warms my heart, said Travis Boersma, co-founder and CEO of Dutch Bros. Being a part of this special day is an honor. Dutch Bros donated $1 from each drink sold on Dutch Luv Day. Each dollar, on average, helps serve three meals. This year, Dutch Bros surpassed its million-meal goal, raising $351,561. Part of our mission at Dutch Bros is to make a massive difference one cup at a time, said Joth Ricci, president of Dutch Bros. Our customers help us live that mission every day. Its remarkable what we can do when our communities come together. Dutch Luv Day started as a canned food drive in 2007 before evolving into its current format, which allows individual food banks the flexibility to buy the food they need in their communities. Click here to find a list of organizations supported by Dutch Luv Day, or to find a Dutch Bros location near you, visit http://www.dutchbros.com/locations. About Dutch Bros Dutch Bros Coffee is the countrys largest privately held drive-thru coffee company, with more than 320 locations and approximately 10,000 employees in seven states. The company is headquartered in Grants Pass, Oregon, where it was founded in 1992 by Dane and Travis Boersma. Dutch Bros serves specialty coffee, smoothies, freezes, teas, a private-label Dutch Bros Blue Rebel energy drink and nitrogen-infused cold brew coffee. Its rich, proprietary coffee blend is handcrafted from start to finish. In addition to its mission of speed, quality and service, Dutch Bros is committed to giving back to the communities it serves. Through its Love Abounds Foundation and local franchisees, Dutch Bros donates several million dollars to causes across the country each year. To learn more about Dutch Bros, visit http://www.dutchbros.com, like Dutch Bros Coffee on Facebook or follow @DutchBros on Twitter. Vitenas Cosmetic Surgery proudly announces that its own, Paul Vitenas MD, FACS, is now part of the RealSelf Hall of Fame. Marking the first year of the award, only 1,000 of the 20,000 participating physicians were inducted into the 2019 Hall of Fame. Over the eight years of RealSelf rankings, Dr. Vitenas has earned multiple titles on the site, including being a part of the RealSelf 500 and the RealSelf 100. RealSelf is an online forum for everything aesthetic, ranging from facial plastic surgery to cosmetic dentistry. The free site offers detailed procedure information, before and after photographs, physician reviews and an extensive Q&A section. The questions are answered on a voluntary basis by board-certified physicians, experienced in cosmetic procedures. RealSelf has over 8 million unique visitors every month. To be invited into the RealSelf Hall of Fame, a physician must have previously been named in the RealSelf 500 or RealSelf 100, carrying a high patient rating. Above all, Hall of Fame physicians must be dedicated to patient education, consistently providing credible, valuable insights in response to consumer questions about elective cosmetic treatments. The top doctors are judged in three categories: earning patient reviews, answering consumer questions and sharing before/after treatment photos. In order to be recognized in any given year, doctors must maintain the distinction of Top Doctor or Top Contributor and uphold an average rating above four stars. Tom Seery, Founder and CEO of RealSelf, explains that these Hall of Fame doctors play a vital role in helping consumers make informed and confident choices about aesthetic treatments. The RealSelf Hall of Fame honors the achievements of board-certified aesthetic doctors who consistently put the consumer first. Seery then continues, Its my pleasure to recognize this elite group of doctors for their significant contributions on RealSelf and their high standards in patient satisfaction. As a Superior Inductee, Dr. Vitenas continued participation puts him in the top 5% of RealSelf physicians. To date, he has answered more than 2,100 consumer questions and holds a 4.7-star rating from over 140 patient reviews. His goal is to help consumers make educated decisions with elective procedures. He explains, Plastic surgery is a personal and intimate experience. Dr. Vitenas goes on to say, The relationship begins with (doctors) listening to our patients to determine their goals and expectations. ABOUT VITENAS COSMETIC SURGERY Founded in 1991, Vitenas Cosmetic Surgery offers a wide variety of surgical and noninvasive aesthetic procedures. Located on Richmond Avenue, close to the Houston Galleria and River Oaks, Vitenas Cosmetic Surgery is a stand-alone facility with dedicated, free parking. Mirror Mirror Beauty Boutique, offering noninvasive procedures, is housed on the first floor, while Dr. Vitenas office and patient treatment rooms are located on the second floor. Vitenas Cosmetic Surgery is the home of the Houston Surgical Center, Dr. Vitenas private surgical suites. With state-of-the-art recovery bays, all outpatient patients are carefully monitored for safety and comfort before leaving for home. Additionally, patients looking for extended help have the option of an overnight recovery suite, offering private nursing in a home-like space. More about the RealSelf Hall of Fame and the full list of recipients can be found on their website. If you are interested in finding out more about Vitenas Cosmetic Surgery, call our office at 281.484.0088. A patient coordinator will answer your questions and assist in setting up a complimentary consultation with Dr. Vitenas. Our goal is to continue to give our members personalized service to continue to further their financial growth. Neighborhood Credit Union and Dallas Federal Credit Union recently announced the merger between their two credit unions was completed as of February 5, 2019, when a system and operational integration took place earlier this month. Former Dallas Credit Union members now have full access to Neighborhood CUs robust lineup of products, ATMs, and branch locations. There are two former Dallas CU branches on Young Street in Downtown Dallas and Uptown off Highway 75 that were added to the Neighborhood CU network of branches. "Moving forward, this partnership will allow us to further solidify our commitment to the neighborhoods we serve and provide more access than ever to our innovative products and servicesall designed with the financial well-being of the community in mind," said Chet Kimmell, president of Neighborhood Credit Union. Neighborhood Credit Union will now have fourteen locations throughout Dallas Fort-Worth (DFW) including Dallas, Ellis, Tarrant and Denton counties, as well as the opportunity to welcome members from all over the metroplex through their wide-range of mobile offerings. "We're excited to welcome our new members to the Neighborhood CU family," said Nicole Pankow, senior branch manager of both the Young Street and Uptown branches. Our goal is to continue to give our members personalized service to continue to further their financial growth." Both Dallas-based credit unions have a long history of service in DFW. Neighborhood Credit Union, chartered in 1930 as Dallas Postal Employees Credit Union, is the oldest credit union in Dallas. As the original name suggests, the credit union was formed to serve Dallas postal workers and their families. Dallas Federal Credit Union was chartered in 1948 as Dallas Region Centennial Federal Credit Union and later changed its name to Dallas Federal Credit Union in 2002 serving federal employees and their families as well as the downtown Dallas and Uptown communities. About Neighborhood Credit Union: The oldest credit union in Dallas (chartered April 18, 1930), Neighborhood Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial organization serving Dallas, Denton, and Ellis counties, as well as the City of Arlington. With branches in Dallas, Richardson, Arlington, Mesquite, Duncanville, Waxahachie, Lancaster, Grand Prairie, Coppell, and Highland Village, and assets topping $720 million, Neighborhood Credit Union has a membership of 55,000 and continues to welcome new members daily. For more information, call (214) 748-9393 or visit https://www.myncu.com. Crestwood's 4 Acumatica Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) Summit is always a great time, but especially when you win! says Tim Thompson, Partner at Crestwood Associates. It isnt just a pride thing our team works very hard to support our clients. Were proud and grateful to see their commitment recognized on a grand stage. At the recent Acumatica Summit in Houston, Texas, the Crestwood Associates team brought home 4 Most Valuable Professional (MVP) awards, making them the most awarded company on the list. Senior software engineer Joe Jacob won in the Developer category, and Guillermo Pineda, Melissa Blassingame, and Michael Aichinger won in the general category. The latters selection marks the third consecutive year winning this award. Crestwood Associates was also inducted into the inaugural class of Acumaticas Presidents Club. Further, the company was nominated for four other awards during Summit. Summit is always a great time, but especially when you win! says Tim Thompson, Partner at Crestwood Associates. It isnt just a pride thing our team works very hard to support our clients. Were proud and grateful to see their commitment recognized on a grand stage. The Acumatica MVP award honors people in the Acumatica community who share their expertise, knowledge, and dedication to the platform and product. Award winners receive recognition, a small prize, MVP badges for social and web use, participation in various events and forums during the year, and discounted admission to Acumatica Summit. Acumatica Summit is a yearly event held around the country, during which there are training sessions, keynote speeches, networking events, and an award ceremony. VAR partners, customers, and prospects are invited to attend and contribute. Crestwood organized a promotion during the keynote speech with their customer Nothing Bundt Cakes. Together, they distributed over 1,200 bundtlettes (small bundt cakes) to attendees in the audience, and several other clients were promoted during the event, as well. About Crestwood Associates, LLC Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Mount Prospect, Illinois, Crestwood Associates is a premier Cloud Service Provider (CSP), Gold Certified Microsoft Dynamics Partner, 10-time Presidents Club Award Winner, and 2017 Inner Circle recipient. In addition, Crestwood was honored to be chosen as Acumatica's US Partner of the Year in 2016 and 2017, as well as being inducted into the inaugural class of Acumaticas Presidents Club for 2018. Crestwood delivers a variety of business solutions, including: Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Microsoft Dynamics CRM (now called Dynamics 365 for Sales), Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Acumatica Cloud ERP, and Greentree applications. From accounting and financial reporting, to CRM, manufacturing, distribution, payroll and human resources, Crestwood Associates provides the tools and services that help businesses perform above and beyond the competition. In a cloud-first world, you can rely on Crestwood to provide the right tools to run your business. The Crestwood team is comprised of over 45 certified professionals who provide in-depth industry experience and functional expertise. About Acumatica Acumatica is a leading provider of cloud business management software that empowers small and mid-size businesses to unlock their potential and drive growth. Built on the worlds best cloud and mobile technology and a unique customer-centric licensing model, Acumatica delivers a suite of fully integrated business management applications such as Financials, Distribution, CRM, and Project Accounting, powered by a robust and flexible platform. Ver-Tex Construction (Ver-Tex) recently announced that Cindy Cox, a recognized leader with extensive experience in senior finance operations, will join the company as Chief Financial Officer. At Ver-Tex, Cox will oversee all financial functions and will assume a strategic role in the overall management of the Company. Cox brings with her more than 20 years of experience in senior finance and leadership roles, and she most recently helped bring her previous company from startup to a business with hundreds of employees, including national and international expansion. She has built Finance & Accounting, Human Resources and Legal infrastructure during her career, and has strength in financial planning & analysis, budgeting, organizational leadership, accounting & internal controls, and process improvement. With international experience launching and running operations in London, Toronto, Philippines, Dublin, Portugal, and Sweden, Cox provides Ver-Tex with a wealth of knowledge that will help them in their continued growth and expansion. I am honored to join Ver-Tex and look forward to working with Brianna and the talented team at Ver-Tex. said Cox. I look forward to putting my background and skills to work to help the Company achieve greater results for our team members and our clients. Im thrilled to have Cindy join Ver-Tex. Her knowledge and experience will really help take us to the next level. Shes a welcomed addition to our growing team! said Brianna Goodwin, President and CEO of Ver-Tex Construction. Gina Siegel Caring Transitions services are perfect for managing the many aspects of a senior move or assisting with the process of downsizing to provide a safer living situation, as well as for busy families and people clearing out the home of a loved one who has moved into assisted care or passed. Gina Siegel understands what its like to relocate aging loved ones she did it twice in two days and now shes looking forward to helping other families through their transitions with her new business, Caring Transitions of Cincinnati East. Caring Transitions specially-trained professionals handle decluttering, organizing, packing, moving, resettling, in-home estate sales and online auctions, liquidations, and preparing homes for market. While the services are tailored for seniors, they can be customized for any situation. Caring Transitions of Cincinnati East serves east-side communities including Hyde Park, Terrace Park, Indian Hill, Mariemont, Mt. Lookout, Oakley, Pleasant Ridge, Kenwood, Blue Ash, Montgomery, Anderson, Newtown and Camp Dennison. Siegel grew up on the East side of Cincinnati and graduated from Cincinnati Country Day School and then DePauw University. After college, she worked in Miami, Chicago and New York, but when her parents health started to decline, she and her husband David, whose family lives live in Indianapolis, decided it was time to move home. When they got settled in Cincinnati, Siegel started her journey in caregiving both for her two parents and for her two children. She ended up quitting her job to care for everyone and then soon realized that her parents needed to relocate. I had wonderful, loving relationships with my parents, but no one prepares you for the unique challenges of caring for aging parents and, in many cases, you go from zero to crisis in a day. It was as important to me to honor my parents as it was to make sure they were safe and happy. My mom was in the beginning stages of Alzheimers Disease and, although she was physically healthy, it was no longer safe for her to live alone. Meanwhile my dad, who was cognitively strong and living alone, was in stage-four heart failure and could no longer climb the stairs in his home. We realized pretty quickly that my mom needed assisted living and that my dad would thrive in independent living, but it all happened so fast that we ended up moving them on back to back days. It had to be that quick and it was incredibly stressful, both for my parents and for us as a family, Siegel said. At the time, Siegel said they thought theyd save money doing everything themselves, but since 2013, theyve spent more than $20,000 in cash getting everyone moved (six times over three years), dealing with the estates, paying for storage, dozens of trips to online auction houses, consignment shops, and donation facilities, and more. That doesnt account for the lost wages from quitting her job or the incidental costs over the years. Now shes looking forward to putting that experience to good use. David and I came across Caring Transitions a few years ago and, having been through the experience of transitioning with my parents, we realized what an awesome opportunity Caring Transitions could be for us to help others. When we decided we were ready to pursue opening our own business, we pulled out our folder of business ideas and Caring Transitions information was right on top, Siegel said. We made a lot of mistakes, with the best intentions, by doing it all ourselves with my parents. We cant change our familys experience, but we can help other families have a more positive and less stressful transition. We have realistically been doing this for 10 years, and are now guiding Davids parents through their transitions, so we genuinely understand what our clients are going through. http://www.CaringTransitionsCincinnatiEast.com is very meaningful to us and the training and support that weve received has been impressive and invaluable. We just wish wed called Caring Transitions back in 2013. Caring Transitions services are perfect for managing the many aspects of a senior move or assisting with the process of downsizing to provide a safer living situation, as well as for busy families and people clearing out the home of a loved one who has moved into assisted care or passed. All of Caring Transitions services are customizable, so clients choose the solution that best fits their needs whether that means managing the entire move and estate-clearing, just getting someone resettled into their new place, or anything in between. Siegel is especially looking forward to the online estate sales component of the business. Before the move, my dad was able to go through everything with me and talk about what he wanted to save and what we could sell or donate, but my mom was more of a collector. She had a nicely decorated home in Hyde Park where every drawer and closet was filled with things that were valuable to her, not including the three full storage units she had been renting for more than 25 years. Even after selling items through an online auction, we still had 95 percent of her things left to distribute. We had to delay the closing of her home because we couldnt get the house cleared out in time. My parents have since passed away and we still have two storage units as well as a garage and basement filled with items from their homes. Now we know how to sort through what to keep and how to thoughtfully distribute the rest, Siegel said. Caring Transitions of Cincinnati East is bonded, insured and their W2 employees have been background checked. For additional information about Caring Transitions of Cincinnati East, call (513)321-2828, email GSiegel(at)CaringTransitions.com or visit http://www.CaringTransitionsCincinnatiEast.com. Wholesale company BuckWholesale.com releases three new trucker hats that have a great quality as an effect of the long years of experience with selling great quality hats. This season's released trucker hats are all compared to Richardson and to Patagonia trucker caps, as they contain the greatest quality but with one big difference; they are cheaper. The newest trucker hat Buckwholesale loves to introduce is named the Two Tone Trucker hat 2812. This 6-panel blank trucker hat contains a slightly curved bill and a mesh back. It has two tones and has the front part made of cotton (35%). In contrast, the mesh and the snap are polyester (65%). As most other hats sold by us, this One Size fist most people and contains a plastic snap. With a melange-colored front panel and many colors available for the mesh such as purple, white, maroon, green, black etc, Buckwholesale introduces to you the new Melange Trucker Hats 2811. The front panel is a poly melange jersey and it contains 6 rows of matching stitching on the visor area. It is pre-curved and has a Snapback closure. Unlike the first blank trucker cap mentioned, this one is 100% polyester. It is made in China and currently costs $2.50. Last but not least, comes our new Distressed Trucker Cap 2994. This distressed hat contains cuts in order to give one the vintage trucker hat look that is desirable. It has a low profile and contains a 100% cotton front. The frontal part is pre-curved and frayed as well. The back part is made of polyester and has a plastic snapback closure as other one-size-fits-most hats. This hat is comparable to the Hobby Lobby Trucker Hat & the Kbethos vintage Trucker Hats. The price for this wholesale trucker hats ranges from just $2.99 to $3.25. All of these are blank hats that can act as perfect custom hats. Customers seem very satisfied with their purchases and for that reason Buckwholesale is very happy to continue selling them in the days to come. About BuckWholesale.com Based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, BuckWholesale.com is the premiere online wholesale distributors of hats and t shirts. We have been serving the Wholesale Community online since 2003. We believe that our guide serves as one of the most thorough and comprehensive resources out there for investors who want to educate themselves. As an organization that believes in educating Americans to help them build financial success over a lifetime, Birch Gold Group is pleased to announce the release of the Birch Gold Group Scam Protection Resource Guide, available now at birchgold.com. With the rise of the Internet and the availability to conduct almost every sort of financial transaction online in mere seconds, the ability of scammers to dupe innocent people out of their money has never been easier. Internet fraud is responsible for more than $100 billion in losses by companies and individual citizens each year in the U.S. This comprehensive online manual is consumers chance to arm themselves with the information required to fight back. WHAT'S INSIDE The Birch Gold Scam Protection Resource Guides expansive list of topics includes, but is not limited to: Warning signs of a scam The most common types of fraud How to avoid being the victim of a ripoff An infographic detailing prominent scams A video that details how to avoid being the victim of fraud Peter Reagan, Financial Market Strategist at Birch Gold, said the guides inspiration came from the precious metals companys own look into how to protect against fraud. After kicking off our research, we found many other online resources that provided some solid, foundational information, Reagan says. However, almost all went just one or two layers deep, so they felt incomplete to us. We believe that our guide serves as one of the most thorough and comprehensive resources out there for investors who want to educate themselves." THE POWER OF EDUCATED CUSTOMERS Releasing the Birch Gold Group Scam Protection Resource Guide aligns with the companys philosophy of educating its customers to make informed decisions. The guide isnt limited to the fraud and online scam worries of 2019. Because it exists online, it is a living, changeable document. Birch Gold Group will add ongoing updates with alerts to the newest scams as they come into play, meaning that the guide will be a perfect resource for battling fraud both today and tomorrow. It also includes links to third-party resources that offer additional information on modern-day Internet scams and how to recognize, avoid, and report them. The major scams listed arent just given in theory. Incorporating extensive research, Birch Gold Group brings them to life with historical looks at how they were executed in the past to rip off investors for millions. "In our first outline for the guide, we identified the nine prominent scams that we really wanted to shed light on. We felt strongly about them, but we also had a sense that we needed to bring life to them, says Reagan. That's when we came up with the idea of highlighting real-life examples for many of these scams, including Bernie Madoff's scheme and how 'The Wolf of Wall Street' pulled off his. We believe that these simple additions will make that section of the guide much more impactful for readers." The full version of the guide is available here: https://www.birchgold.com/scam-protection-resource-guide/ ABOUT BIRCH GOLD GROUP In business since 2003 and headquartered in Burbank, California, Birch Gold Group has served thousands of customers by helping them diversify their savings, including retirement accounts, with physical gold and silver. The precious metals dealer has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, is a Consumer Affairs accredited brand and has a track record of customer success. The goal for Banker is to provide vocational career opportunities for students and adults who want to pursue a trade that gives them the skills, know-how and hands-on experience to become career-ready for our industry. ~ Chet McPhatter, Banker Steel President Banker Steel Company has launched two new innovative vocational institutes to accommodate a secondary education leading to a career in steel fabrication. Individuals are extended comprehensive steel fabrication career training that can lead to immediate career employment. As Banker Steel President, Chet McPhatter states, The goal for Banker is to provide vocational career opportunities for students and adults who want to pursue a trade that gives them the skills, know-how and hands-on experience to become career-ready for our industry. The vocational training is offered in two institutes: Banker High For the current high school senior, this training is an unpaid internship that offers them high school credit, welding, fitting and hands-on training. Banker Steel provides all tools and education, with a guaranteed career position upon successfully completing the required skills test. The 12-week, 4-hour per day course, began in January and includes OSHA 10-hour training and blueprint reading as part of their personalized curriculum. Banker University For those that have an aptitude but not previous experience in manufacturing / construction, they are eligible for a wage compensated 6-week course. Welding, fitting, and basic blueprint reading are taught and afterwards, a mentor is provided for an extended 2-4 weeks of training. The training is at no cost to the student although the 6-week program must be completed. After 30 days, a full benefits package is then offered. Solid trade careers are in high demand. Our programs prepare them to walk right into an entry-level job " said McPhatter. Both programs are providing new jobs for the area, with Banker High utilizing students from local school systems including Amherst County (1 student), Appomattox County (1 student), and Campbell County (6 students) public schools. Jon Hardie, Principal at the Campbell County Technical Center notes, Campbell County Schools is grateful for the opportunity Banker Steel is providing to our students. When professionals from business and industry work with our schools, teachers, and students to share their knowledge and expertise, it raises the level of education and improves the workforce of the future. For students looking to transition into the workforce after high school as a welder, this is a wonderful program with the opportunity to attain full-time employment with one of the top employers in our region. Banker is providing similar opportunities at their New Jersey facility as well. All jobs created by this program will be filled at plants in Central Virginia, New Jersey, and Florida to serve the American steel fabrication industry. About Banker Steel Founded over two decades ago, Banker Steel Company (Banker Steel) is led by Donald Banker (CEO) and Chet McPhatter (President) and is based in Lynchburg, Virginia. With fabrication facilities in both Lynchburg, Orlando, Florida and South Plainfield, NJ, Banker provides fabricated structural steel and erection services for the East Coast commercial construction market. The company also provides design-assist services and has had the privilege of fabricating steel for design-build projects such as the award winning Washington Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Banker Steel also operates NYC Constructors New York Citys largest commercial steel erector, and Memco LLC, a large steel and precast concrete erector based in Culpeper, VA. Banker Steel is a majority owned subsidiary of BF Holdings (BFH), a portfolio company of Atlas Holdings LLC. We choose to send queso to the Moon - and maybe someday chips as well, not because these things are easy, but because they are hard, said Mayor Adler. Mayor Steve Adler today revealed the contents of an official letter to extraterrestrials and future citizens of the solar system that will be placed on the moon approximately 40 days from today, mid-April. The letter was aboard the SpaceX Falcon rocket that launched out of Cape Canaveral, Florida last night. Yes, the real moon. said Mayor Adler. The Falcon is carrying a moon lander from commercial space exploration outfit SpaceIL, which in turn is carrying the Lunar Library from the Arch Mission Foundation. The physical archive is comprised of millions of documents laser etched in microscopic analog form on a radiation-proof nickel Nanofiche disk. It will be placed on the moon permanently. Space ILs moon lander will circle the moon in gradually descending orbit in order to facilitate a soft landing. The first and nominal landing opportunity will happen on April 11. The Arch Mission Foundations goal is to archive all human knowledge permanently in space. The Foundation provided this opportunity to Austins Mayor. Also included in the Billion Year Archive are: A full copy of the English language Wikipedia 25,000 books and other resources, including collections from Project Gutenberg and the Internet Archive The Long Now Foundation Rosetta and PanLex datasets, which provide a linguistic key to 5000 languages with 1.5 billion cross-language translations. As part of their program, the Arch Mission invited a limited number of celebrities, influencers, and dignitaries to make a contribution to the Lunar Library. Mayor Adlers letter includes a copy of the original, authentic, and never-before-published Kerbey Queso recipe from Kerbey Lane Cafe. We choose to send queso to the Moon - and maybe someday chips as well, not because these things are easy, but because they are hard, said Mayor Adler. The challenge to eat queso in zero gravity is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, among other key challenges, like next time remembering the chips. We are so happy to take the recipe for our best selling item of all time to the moon, said Kerbey Lane Cafe CEO Mason Ayer. I suppose getting the ingredients together out there in space is a whole nother story. But as central artifacts of civilization go, I cant think of a more important, sustaining foodstuff. No archive, time capsule, library or vault is complete without queso. One day we hope the whole galaxy will benefit. Turns out, the moon isnt really made of cheese. So we sent some. Adler also included a photo of Albert Leslie Cochran with the letter, together with an economic incentive package, in hopes of welcoming extraterrestrial visitors and future citizens. If it helps your decision to visit, please know that extraterrestrial beings have already been to Austin, become cultural icons, and even run for Mayor and they are forever welcome here. To wit, I am proudly enclosing a photo of Albert Leslie Cochran, the letter states. Adler declined to provide details about the image, commenting, Im not going to say exactly what the picture shows, but Leslie mooned Austin enough times. It was about time Austin mooned the moon. Mayor Adlers letter to extraterrestrials ends on a more serious note, echoing President Carter's message placed on the Voyager in 1977. It is my hope that on the future day that you read this, we will have solved the many things on this earth for which we are less proud. Presently, the world has not sufficiently responded to the dire threat of climate change and environmental injustice. And our society has let people become downtrodden, failing to recognize that each human being, regardless of the immutable characteristics of their birth or their station in life, is alive with the same fire that lights the stars at night. Austin today is working to make this a better universe by tackling homelessness and inequity, and through our support for the environment, restorative justice in our community, and the lasting beauty of our arts. Perhaps a future time capsule will send happy news of our solutions to the vexing problems that threaten what is great in our city and our world. We in Austin do not just hope for a better and more just tomorrow, but are taking the difficult steps in the present, so we will survive our time and we may live into yours. May this message represent our continuing hope and determination, and our good will in a vast and awesome universe. View the letter in full here. About Arch Mission Foundation The Arch Mission Foundation is a non-profit organization that maintains a backup of planet Earth, designed to continuously preserve and disseminate humanitys most important knowledge across time and space. The Arch Mission Foundation is preserving the knowledge and biology of our planet in a solar system wide project called The Billion Year Archive. Arch Libraries are the most durable records of human civilization ever built. Using new technologies, they preserve more knowledge for more time, than anything ever created. Arch Libraries are being designed in a variety of form factors to persist for long-durations on Earth, as well as in other locations across our solar system and beyond. The Arch Mission Foundation was co-founded by Nova Spivack and Nick Slavin. Other key early team members include Mathew Hoerl, Robert C. Jacobson, and Michael Paul. More information about team members and industry advisors can be found at http://www.archmission.org/crew. For more information visit: http://www.archmission.org About Mayor Steve Adler Steve Adler is Austins 52nd Mayor and Mayor of All The Queso. His top priorities include mobility, affordability and equity for all Austinites. Adler has been elected a Vice President of the National Council of Democratic Mayors, a Trustee of the United States Conference of Mayors, and Chair of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) policy board. Mayor Adler has received broad recognition for innovative ideas and leadership. Foreign Policy named him a Global reThinker and Living Cities included Mayor Adler on the list of 25 Disruptive Leaders (along with Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg and author Ta-Nehihi Coates) to mark that organizations 25th anniversary. The Austin Chronicle readership has named Mayor Adler as Best City Official each year since 2016, and Chronicle critics named Adler Best Drag Mother for his turn as Mother Ginger in Ballet Austins The Nutcracker and Most Devoted Pen Pal for his Wonder Woman letter. Austin Monthly has also named Mayor Adler Best Politician for fearlessly speaking up for Austinites [and] proving that a little snark goes a long way to support the morale of a community. For more information visit: http://www.mayoradler.com About Kerbey Lane Cafe On May 5th, 1980, Kerbey Lane Cafe began operating out of a small house on Kerbey Lane in north- central Austin. Famous for its fluffy pancakes and delicious queso, Kerbey Lane Cafe is dedicated to serving house-made food that is local, fresh and affordable, while providing a welcoming and memorable experience to all who come through its doors. These simple principles helped grow Kerbey Lane Cafe from a single location operating out of a humble house into a beloved Austin institution with eight locations throughout the Austin area. For more information, visit http://www.kerbeylanecafe.com. GUEST OBSERVATION Total employment lifted a very solid 39.1k in January well clear of the market median of 15k and a market forecast high of 27k. The year has started with a solid trend pace of employment growth with a three month average gain of 31.9k. In the year to December total employment grew 268.5k, or 2.2%yr, with a solid momentum into year end with a six month annualised pace of 2.2%yr. While it is just one month into the year, employment grew 271k in the year to January (2.2%yr) with a very solid 2.9%yr six month annualised pace. There is, however, an important caveat for the January Labour Force Survey January is the peak holiday month in Australia as Christmas, New Year and school summer vacation all come together. As such it is the month where little happens in Australia and economic activity stalls. In original terms total employment fell 234.5k in January (an average of 263.9k in the previous three years) so we are always cautious about reading too much into a January print. The mix of employment gains also painted a very solid picture with a +65.4k gain in full-time employment only partially offset by a 26.3k loss in part-time employment. In the month total hours worked rose 0.4% (total employment rose 0.3%) as hours worked per person gained 0.1%. In the year to January total hours worked has lifted 3.2%yr which is a robust pace compared to the 2.2%yr pace for employment. Despite the strong gain in employment, the unemployment rate was flat at 5.0% (market median was for 5.0%) as a 0.1ppt lift in the participation rate to 65.7% (65.72% at two decimal places) boosted the gain in the labour force to 45.7k. Source: Westpac As 2019 starts, NSW picks up the mantle as the state with the strongest labour market. In the month, employment lifted 47.2k (161.6k in the year), unemployment fell to 3.9% (a new record low) and confirming this is a strong print (rather than a soft unemployment rate due to declining participation) NSW employment to population ratio has also hit a new record high of 62.6%. Source: Westpac In January Victoria continued to make gains (2.2k/114.2k in the year) but it was a different story in the other states. Queensland employment pulled back (19.9k/5.6k in the year) while employment was flat in WA (0.8k/0.9k in the year) and fell in SA (4.5k/1.6k in the year). Victorian unemployment did lift in the month (4.5% from 4.2%) allowing NSW to clearly reclaim the mantle of having the lowest unemployment rate. Source: Westpac Victoria was the state showing the greatest improvement through 2018 with the unemployment rate down almost 2ppts to 4.2% in December while in NSW unemployment fell just 0.5ppts to 4.3%. The Qld labour market appears to have stalled with the unemployment rate lifting 0.1ppt to 6.1% while it has been flat in SA at 5.9% and lifted in WA from 5.8% to 6.4%. Source: Westpac We are closely watching how these trends continue through 2019 NSW has surprised us by dipping below 4% while Victorias improvement looks to have stalled. Will this shift through the first half of 2019? How will these labour markets respond to falling house prices, a contraction in construction activity and weak retail sales. Our expectation is for the unemployment rate to rise in NSW and Victoria. It is also worth noting that 2018 produced a 0.2ppt decline in the underemployment rate from Q1 to Q4. In January there was a further improvement in underemployment to 8.2% (from 8.3%) the lowest print in underemployment since March 2015. Again we would caution that this is a January print so would not project that this improvement can be sustained but nevertheless, it is another indicator of just how robust the labour market was at the end of 2018. For 2019 we are looking for a pause in the pace in employment growth due to the economic uncertainties surrounding the Federal Election at the same time as we expect to see a moderation in momentum in NSW and Victoria on the back of a moderation in housing activity. With reasonable estimates for the participation rate, our weaker jobs growth profile has the unemployment rate lifting to 5.5% in the second half of 2019 and further by end 2020. Justin Smirk is senior economist, Westpac Group and can be contacted here. New data gathered by tradie jobs website ServiceSeeking.com.au reveals prices can vary significantly depending on your postcode. Living in some suburbs can drive up the cost of hiring a tradie. It suggests the diagonal divide between the north-east and south-west of Sydney is clearer than ever. An excel file of the average hourly rates can be found here. The website study noted towards the end of last year as tradie prices started to decline, residents of the inner city, eastern suburbs and the north shore were paying up to 140 per cent more for tradies than those living in the south and west. ServiceSeeking.com.au mapped the average hourly charge-out rates of tradies across seven industries by analyising over 12,000 hourly rate quotes submitted on the site in 2018. The map displays areas with prices above the average in red and areas below the average in green. "The closer you get to the inner city and eastern suburbs, the higher the charge out rate," it concluded. The most expensive suburbs are clustered around the inner city, east and north; most of the south and west (and outer north-west) of the city is the land of "milk and honey" (ie cheap tradie prices). The geographical divide of the mapped tradie quotes bears a striking resemblance to the so-called "latte line" - north of the line is where the jobs are, while south of the line is where there's greater housing availability. Jeremy Levitt, CEO of ServiceSeeking.com.au says tradies continue to lift their rates for customers they perceive as being better able to pay higher prices. Property prices align with this trend too. "While we've seen a cooling in the levels of demand for tradies, there are some pockets in Sydney where customers will pay significantly more for an hour of a tradies' time," Levitt said. "Tradies working in suburbs considered to be more affluent often increase their charge-out rates because they perceive their customers to be more capable of paying higher prices. In addition to this, these suburbs generally have a higher demand for renovation services." A low supply of tradespeople above the "latte line" is also a factor, he noted. "A lot of tradies are commuting from the south and west to the north and east for jobs," Levitt said. Their hourly charge-out rates will incorporate overheads, including the cost of commuting along with insurance, vehicles, staff and tools. The data also revealed some interesting pockets of low and high prices. The cheapest prices for tradies are around the Blue Mountains, Milperra and Horsley Park where the average cost of a tradie is below $60 per hour. There are also pockets of low charge-out rates in the north and east, which Levitt puts down to either "a low demand for renovation services or a perception that residents in these suburbs can't afford higher prices". The data serves as a reminder to homeowners to shop around, Levitt said. "Renovators need to be sure to compare quotes and prices from numerous tradies to make sure they don't end up overpaying." Click here to enlarge. Source: ServiceSeeking.com.au The industries included in this analysis were: Source: ServiceSeeking.com.au Land Services SA has unveiled its upgraded digital land titles platform, designed to deliver better knowledge of the South Australian property market. The revamp includes a new web portal, www.landservices.com.au, through which South Australians can research and access land transaction services. There's been a rebranding including a new logo, and a refresh of the South Australian Integrated Land Information System (SAILIS). Land Services SA CEO Brenton Pike said the revamp illustrated the company investing and innovating since its commercialisation in October 2017. Land Services SA has also launched its SA Property Landscape Report in partnership with professional services firm BDO, revealing a snapshot of the wealth of historic property data. Click here to enlarge: Source: Land Services While our roots are in processing and recording property transactions and the provision of valuation services, we can add significant value by improving the accessibility and availability of property data to South Australias thriving start up and entrepreneurial ecosystem, Pike said. Our investment in system upgrades, innovative solutions for the land services industry, and support for the innovation hub in Adelaide to foster local digital start-up ventures together with the South Australian Government, is creating value for our communities. Click here to enlarge: Source: Land Services Land Services SA has also partnered with South Australian AI start-up Daitum, which is part of the Lot Fourteen innovation hub located at the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site, to unlock the potential value in its property data, and understand how it can be more effectively utilised. Click here to enlarge: Source: Land Services The findings of the Land Services SA and Daitum initiative will be presented at the Lot Fourteen innovation hub to further promote collaborative innovation and testing. Click here to enlarge: Source: Land Services Washington, Feb 23 : US State Department on Friday said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Japanese counterpart discussed the next-step engagement with North Korea over phone. Pompeo and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on Thursday reaffirmed their shared commitment to the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea, the State Department said in a statement, reports Xinhua. The two also committed to strengthening trilateral cooperation with the Republic of Korea on a unified approach toward North Korea, according to the statement. The phone call between the two allies' top diplomats came one day after US President Donald Trump's call with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The White House said Wednesday that the two leaders committed to coordinating closely in advance of the US-North Korea upcoming Hanoi summit. Trump announced on February 8 that his second meeting with North Korea's top leader Kim Jong Un would take place in Hanoi of Vietnam on February 27-28. Bengaluru, Feb 23 : Software major's social arm Infosys Foundation on Friday cautioned the public of falling prey to fraudsters extracting money by faking stories linked to it. "We request the public to alert city police to identify such conmen as helping it to spot them will be a service," said the Foundation in a statement here. With some individuals and groups engaged in collecting money from unsuspecting members of public, traders and other businesses are claiming to represent the Foundation. The Foundation is also in receipt of copies of appeals for funds typed on a fake letterhead of its social arm, bearing forged signatures of its Chairperson Sudha Murty. The Foundation uses its own funds for all its projects and programmes. Mumbai, Feb 23 : With the Hindi film industry condemning the Pulwana terror attack and not releasing films in Pakistan besides banning all Pakistani artistes from working in India, National award-winning actress Vidya Balan on Friday said a strong stand needs to be taken this time. "Though I have always believed that art should be kept away from all boundaries and politics, I think we have to take a stand now. Enough is enough," Vidya told the media at the launch of her debut radio show "Dhun Badal Ke Toh Dekho." In the worst-ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy erupted in 1989, a suicide bomber on February 14 rammed his SUV packed with explosives into a CRPF bus in Pulwama district, killing at least 40 troopers. Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed later claimed responsibility for the attack. When asked if art should be kept away from politics, the "Tumhari Sulu" actress said, "As an individual I believe that there is no better way to bring people together than arts, be it music, poetry, dance, theatre, cinema or any other art form. But this time I think we should just take a break from this practice and see what can be done for the future. As I said, some tough calls have to be taken at some point." A host of Bollywood actors, including Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra, Ajay Devgan and Vicky Kaushal, among others, have condemned the Pulwama attack. The film "Total Dhamaala" directed by Indra Kumar too did not release in Pakistan for the same reason. Itanagar, Feb 23 : The Arunachal Pradesh government on Friday decided not to table the Joint High Power Committee (JHPC) report on Permanent Residential Certificate (PRC) to non-Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe communities of Namsai and Changlang districts following violent protests. Security forces fired tear gas shells and used water cannons to disperse the protestors as the second day of the 48-hour shutdown turned violent in the mountainous capital city of Arunachal Pradesh. One of the protestors sustained a bullet injury in his leg while several security personnel and agitators were injured following clashes at Naharlagun, an official said. The government has suspended all internet services for the next 24 hours with immediate effect in order to avoid rumour mongering through social media platforms in the interest of public safety. "Keeping in view the present situation, the government has decided not to take up the PRC matter in the current Assembly session," Chief Minister Pema Khandu tweeted. Eighteen students' bodies and civil society groups have sponsored the shutdown to mount pressure on the Pema Khandu government to scrap the decision of granting (PRC) to non-Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe communities of Namsai and Changlang districts. The agitating groups alleged that the JHPC led by and Environment and Forest Minister Nabam Rebia constituted to look into the matter had submitted its report without proper verification of facts and the same should be rectified before it was tabled before the Assembly. The recommendation made by the JHPC was likely to be tabled in the Assembly on Saturday. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju spoke to Chief Minister Khandu on Friday and appealed to everyone for peace. "Violence will help nobody. The State govt has assured that the rights and constitutional safeguards of the indigenous people will be protected at any cost," Rijiju tweeted. The Minister said the government has decided not to table the JHPC report in the current Assembly Session. Bengaluru, Feb 22 : Karnataka has agreed to meet the terms of Indian Railways for building the 161 km Bengaluru suburban project at Rs 23,000 crore, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said here on Friday. "The project envisages building 82 stations with 12 inter-changes for the metro service in six years, and provides connectivity to the international airport as required for the special purpose vehicle (SPV)," Goyal told reporters after a meeting with Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to resolve issue. The Ministry of Railways had, however, agreed to grant its land for the project at a nominal lease of Rs 1 per acre, reducing the cost by 30 per cent and saving Rs 6,700 crore. The 119 conditions of the state government were acting as road blocks for commencing the suburban rail project in India's tech hub, bedevilled by grid locks, land shortage and other infrastructure woes. "The state cabinet will meet on February 25 to approve our 19 conditions by the state government through a special resolution," said Goyal. "The state government has also agreed for the right of FSI '5' on railway land to the railways for financing the project," said Goyal. The air-conditioned EMU (Electrical Multiple Unit) rake is planned for suburban corridor to facilitate safe and comfortable journey to the denizens. "The suburban rail service is much cheaper than other modes of transport like metro and bus, besides easing traffic congestion plaguing the city," Goyal added Agartala, Feb 22 : Tripura Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki on Friday said that utilising the infrastructure of neighbouring Bangladesh, Tripura would be a logistic hub in the North-East comprising eight states. Aaddressing the opening day of the week-long Budget session of the Tripura assembly, the governor said the state would be linked with the Bangladeshi ports, roadways and railway networks in near future making the state as a "logistic hub" in the entire northeastern region of India. In his customary speech, the Governor said the state government along with the Central government has taken a historic decision to ensure waterways connectivity with Bangladesh which, in the long run, would boost trade and commerce and also attract industries in Tripura and create it a viable and competitive zone. "The proposed waterways connectivity between Sonamura (India) and Daudkandi (Bangladesh) and extension of Agartala (India)-Akhaura (Bangladesh) rail link in Bangladesh would further facilitate transportation of goods and passengers." Solanki said that construction of "Maitri Setu" (friendship bridge) over the Feni river in southern Tripura and its connectivity with Chittagong and Mongla ports would make Tripura a logistic hub. Pune, Feb 22 : In second such incident in three days, a journalist from Kashmir was assaulted by some unknown persons in Pune, even as the Maharashtra Police nabbed three Yuva Sena office-bearers at Yavatmal on Friday, officials said. In the latest incident, Zibran Nazeer, a Copy Editor working with a national English daily was roughed up by some unidentified persons. No arrests have been made so far, an official said. Meanwhile, the police in Yavatmal arrested three Yuva Sena office-bearers, including Ajinkya Motke, for allegedly beating up five students near their home in Waghapur Road area of the town. The Aditya Thackeray-led youth wing of the Shiv Sena reacted by expelling the office-bears involved in the assault which created a political furore. Simultaneously, Aditya Thackeray also sought to distance himself from the assault with a stern statement and a warning of strict action against them. He tweeted: "There was an unfortunate incident yesterday (Thursday) in Yavatmal, with some students of Jammu & Kashmir. The @ShivSena had issued a press note yesterday itself which hasn't been printed today (Friday), maybe to further sensationalise the issue or defame us, while ignoring our disciplinary action." "As of last evening, the party has sacked those involved in the act. J&K is a part of India and no Indian, or for that matter, nobody should face the brunt of anger that is towards terrorism. We understand the angst but it must be against terror, not innocent people," Aditya wrote. In Yavatmal, the Kashmiri students -- identified as Umar Nazeer Ganai, Umar Rashid Dar, Tajimullah Ali, Owas Mushtaq and Amir Mulad -- were publicly humiliated and beaten up by a mob of around a dozen Yuva Sena activists. They also forced them to raise slogans like "Vande Mataram", "Hindustan Zindabad" and "Bharatmata ki Jai", and the terrified youths obliged. They are all studying in Dayabhai Patel College of Physical Education, which has come out in full support of the Kashmiri victims. A video-clip of the incident went viral in social media on Thursday with strong criticism from the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, among others. There are an estimated two dozen Kashmiri students in Yavatmal, and several thousand across the state, including Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Nagpur and other towns. New Delhi, Feb 22 : The Secretary General of Medical Council of India (MCI) Sanjay Srivastava has resigned from the post although the health and family welfare ministry has not issued any clarification on the step. MCI, which is the the apex body that regulated medical education in the country, on its website had last updated the page on February 19 which has mentioned Prof. Siddarth Ramji taking over as the Acting Secretary General. A former deputy director general at the directorate general of health services (DGHS) Shrivastava, has been appointed the secretary general to assist the Board of Governance (BOG) last year which was formed by the government through an ordinance. The seven members in the BoG include three doctors from the AIIMS- Dr VK Paul (former HoD paediatrics and current member, Niti Aayog), Dr Randeep Guleria (director) and Dr Nikhil Tandon (professor endocrinology). There are two other doctors -- Dr Jagat Ram (director-PGI Chandigarh) and Dr BN Gangadhar (director- National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences) -- and two ex officio members - Dr S Venkatesh (Director General of Health Services) and Dr Balram Bhargava (Director General- Indian Council of Medical Research). Despite multiple approaches to Paul, Dr Tandon and S. Venkatesh, none of the BoG members were ready to speak on the matter. New Delhi, Feb 22 : The government is likely to summon online restaurant aggregators like Zomato, Swiggy and Foodpanda soon to discuss provisions relating to the revised FDI guidelines on e-commerce segment, said informed sources on Friday. According to sources and industry insiders, the meet is very much likely to take place next week, when these restaurant aggregators could be called by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The development comes following revised FDI norms for the e-commerce platforms coming into force on February 1. These norms prohibit an online retailer from mandating any company to sell its products exclusively through its platform. The new policy also notes that the online retail firms would not directly or indirectly influence sale price of goods and services and would maintain a level-playing field. Bhubaneswar, Feb 22 : The Odisha cabinet on Friday approved Khushi scheme to provide free sanitary napkins to school girls across the state. The government has decided to spend Rs 466.08 crore in 5 years to improve menstrual hygiene among adolescent girl students of the state. Under the scheme, the state will provide free sanitary napkins to 17.25 lakh girls studying in Classes 6 to 12 in government and government-aided schools, Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawaharlal Navodaya Vidyalayas located in the state, said chief secretary A.P. Padhi. Each girl will be provided 18 numbers of beltless sanitary napkins per month, he added. The scheme will be implemented by the health and family welfare department of the state. The state cabinet also approved piped water supply projects in Baudh district under Basudha scheme. A total of 2.92 lakh people in two blocks of the district will be provided drinking water by spending Rs 427.59 crore. The government will spend Rs 555.42 crore for rural piped water supply projects, which will benefit 3.17 lakh people in four blocks of Nabarangpur district. The cabinet also approved a scholarship scheme for children of beneficiaries of Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme. The children, who are either studying or aspiring for technical and professional education, would be benefited, said Padhi. United Nations, Feb 22 : China was railroaded by the strong international revulsion against terrorism to go along with the Security Council press statement condemning the Jaish-e-Mohammad's (J-e-M) suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district that killed 40 Indian security personnel. While Beijing initially opposed the statement adopted unanimously by the Council on Thursday, following the overwhelming support for such a statement, with the United States playing a key role, it ultimately acquiesced, according to United Nations (UN) and diplomatic sources. China has provided cover in the Council for Islamabad's terrorism links and Pakistan-based terrorist leaders, repeatedly vetoing the inclusion of J-e-M leader Masood Azhar in the list of international terrorists. The Council statement called the February 14 attack a "heinous and cowardly suicide bombing" and noted that the J-e-M claimed responsibility for it. A Council press statement is short of a resolution and is usually arrived at by consensus but lacks the enforcement authority of a resolution, while making compliance a moral obligation. Clearly laying out the international obligation, the statement said that all countries need "to combat by all means...threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts". The statement "underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice". As a Council statement and not a resolution, it avoided a veto by China. The US, which has responsibility within the Council on terrorism related matters, pushed hard for the statement, which was held up for several days as it went through a process of fine-tuning to get China on board. One of the compromises for China, a UN source said, was to not name Pakistan directly in the statement but mention only J-e-M as a face-saving measure for both Beijing and Islamabad. Facing the mounting international opinion and isolation, Islamabad, which had pressured Beijing to oppose the statement, told China that it would not mind a mention of J-e-M, which is technically banned in Pakistan and is on the UN's international terrorism list, leading to China's compromise. However, diplomats pointed out that it is not much of a face-saver as the UN terrorism sanctions list clearly links J-e-M to Pakistan noting that it operates from Peshawar and Muzaffarabad. Since it was not a formal resolution, it saved Beijing from the dilemma of having to publicly take a stand and vote for it or veto it as a favour to its ally Pakistan while facing the world's horror against terrorism. Soon after the Pulwama attack, Indian diplomats at the UN sprang into action capitalising on the wave of sympathy for India and the revulsion against the terrorist attack to mobilise Council action, according to observers at the UN. Spontaneously, there was also a move by most members of the Council to act against terrorism and its sponsors. The US Mission - which is headed temporarily by Ambassador Jonathan Cohen after Nikki Haley's resignation - took the lead as the Council member in charge - or "pen-holder" in UN parlance - of counter-terrorism in crafting the statement and getting everyone on board. US President Donald Trump has declared that the Pulwama attack "only strengthens our resolve to bolster counter-terrorism cooperation and coordination between the United States and India." While France strongly supported the statement, it was the US that was the prime mover, according to sources with knowledge of the internal manoeuvres of the Council. French President Emmanuel Macron's adviser Philippe Etienne's assurance to India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval was about the next step of trying to overcome China's veto and get Azhar added to the sanctions list. Azhar, according to India, is the mastermind of the 2001 attack on Indian Pariliament, and the 2016 attack on the Pathankot air force base. The tough and unequivocal Council statement came despite intense lobbying by Pakistan's Permanent Representative Maleeha Lodhi to blunt diplomatic reprisals. On Tuesday, she met with Council President Anatolio Ndong Mba of Equatorial Guinea to appraise them of the "dangerous situation", as well as with other diplomats. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet have called for prosecution of those responsible for the attack. Their statements were broad enough to be interpreted to include action against the masterminds and the organisation based outside of India. Ruling out Pakistan's attempts to justify the attacks as work of what it claims to be "freedom fighters" or to link it to the Kashmir issue, the Council statement said, "The members of the Security Council reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed". A key phrase in the statement reaffirming "the need for states to combat by all means" terrorism would be a matter of legal interpretation on how far India can go in retaliation, although it would have to be taken "in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law". (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis) Prayagraj, Feb 22 : Advocating peace in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, a Hindu MP from Pakistan on Friday expressed hope that India and Pakistan would move forward in the direction of friendship. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was part of a 220-member delegation from 185 countries which was invited to attend the Kumbh festivities by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). "I will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday and request them that peace be given a chance," Vankwani told the media. He said he had made similar requests to the Pakistan government as well. Vankwani also congratulated the governments of India and Uttar Pradesh for the disciplined manner in which the Kumbh Mela had been organised. He said though he had visited the Kumbh many times in the past, the arrangements this time were the most disciplined he had seen. He said this was the first time he came on a government invitation. Accompanied by Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh, the foreign delegates were flown into Prayagraj from New Delhi in two special aircraft. They were greeted by a cultural troupe on their arrival at the Bamrauli airport here. "In the first aircraft, 58 foreigners and 14 officials arrived. The second aircraft carrying the remaining guests arrived shortly after noon," an official informed IANS. A special screening of the documentary "Kumbh: Eternal Journey of Civilization" by Harshit Jain was held for the visiting delegates. A cruise onboard 'Sangam,' a ship specially decorated for the high-profile visit, was organised for the visitors. Singh told reporters that the idea behind the ICCR initiative was to make "the delegates see that Kumbh was not just the confluence of rivers but also of different religions and faiths". He added that so far 22 crore people from across the country and the world have visited the Kumbh Mela. Beijing, Feb 22 : Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday as Saudi oil company Aramco signed a pact to develop a $10 billion refining and petrochemical complex in China as 35 other economic deals worth $28 billion were inked by the two countries. Aramco will develop a 300,000 barrel-per-day refinery in China with a 1.5 million tonne-per-annum ethylene cracker and a 1.3 million tonne-per-annum paraxylene unit alongside Chinese companies Norinco Group and Panjin Sincen, the National daily reported. The Saudi producer will have a 35 per cent interest in the new company, Huajin Aramco Petrochemical, with Norinco and Panjin Sincen holding 36 and 29 per cent stakes each. Aramco would supply up to 70 per cent of the crude feedstock for the complex, which is expected to start operations in 2024. Aramco also signed an agreement to buy a 9 per cent stake in Zhejiang Petrochemical, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. Saudi Arabia then signed 35 economic co-operation agreements with China worth a total of $28 billion at a joint investment forum during the royal visit, SPA reported. During the meeting, Xi urged a joint China-Saudi effort to counter extremism and terror. "China is a good friend and partner to Saudi Arabia," he said, adding that "the special nature of our bilateral relationship reflects the efforts you have made." The Saudi royal said the kingdom's relations with China dated back "a very long time in the past". "In the hundreds, even thousands, of years, the interactions between the sides have been friendly. Over such a long period of exchanges with China, we have never experienced any problems with China," he said. "The Silk Road initiative and China's strategic orientation are very much in line with the kingdom's Vision 2030," the Crown Prince said. Earlier, he met Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and discussed ways of strengthening relations and national security before the royal presided at a China-Saudi co-operation forum and its signing ceremony. Han said the two countries should enhance exchanges on their experiences in de-radicalisation, Xinhua news agency reported. The Crown Prince landed in Beijing on Thursday and was received by Khi Li Fung, the Chinese Deputy Chairman of the Advisory and Political Council. He later toured the Great Wall of China with the country's ambassador to Riyadh. The China trip was part of the Saudi royal's Asian tour after visiting Pakistan and India earlier this week. New Delhi, Feb 22 : The Enforcement Directorate on Friday questioned Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, for over seven hours in a money laundering case, for the fifth time. The case relates to overseas ownership of undisclosed assets worth 1.9 million pounds. Vadra arrived at the ED's Jamnagar office in central Delhi at 10.30 a.m. and left the agency's office at 7.20 p.m. He was allowed to go out for lunch for over an hour. Earlier in the morning, scores of Congress workers gathered outside, raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was questioned under sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Robert Vadra, who is the husband of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has faced more than 34 hours of questioning so far. He was earlier questioned on February 6, 7, 9 and 20. On February 2, the court granted him interim bail till February 16 and asked him to join the investigation on February 6. Then on February 16, a Delhi court extended Robert Vadra's interim bail till March 2. The ED has also lodged a money laundering case against his employee Manoj Arora after his role surfaced during an Income Tax Department probe in a 2015 anti-black money case involving absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari. The financial probe agency has alleged that Arora was aware of Robert Vadra's overseas undeclared assets and was instrumental in arranging funds. On February 12 and 13, Robert Vadra was also questioned by the ED in Jaipur in a land deal case in Bikaner, Rajasthan. On February 15, the agency attached a Rs 4.43-crore house in Delhi's Sukhdev Vihar. The property was in the name of Robert Vadra's company Sky Light Hospitality Pvt Ltd. Tirupati, Feb 22 : Alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was busy making a movie about himself even after receiving the news that 40 CRPF troopers were killed in a terror attack in Kashmir, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday said Modi should be ashamed. Addressing a rally in this temple town, he said Modi, who calls himself a nationalist, had no feelings to rush and console the families of the brave troopers who laid down their lives for the country. "When 40 of our CRPF jawans were martyred when blood was still flowing, the Prime Minister of India who calls himself a nationalist was sitting in a national park getting a movie made of himself. For three-and-a-half hours after our youngsters were killed, the PM posed in front of cameras, smiled and laughed for cameras and made a movie about himself," said Gandhi. "He did not feel the pain and sufferings of the families of youngsters who sacrificed themselves. Making a movie smiling and laughing was more important to him than helping the families of those who died. You can see the pictures of PM smiling, sitting in boat, posing in front of river." Gandhi was addressing the rally organised as part of ongoing 'bus yatra' of Andhra Pradesh unit of the Congress to assure the people that if voted to power at the Centre, the Congress would accord special category status to the state. The Congress President said Modi should also be ashamed of not giving the people of Andhra Pradesh what they deserve and what is their right. He said the commitment to the state was made by not an individual but by the Prime Minister of the country on behalf of over a billion people. "I want to make clear that when the Congress comes to power in Delhi, no force on earth can stop the Congress from giving special category status to Andhra Pradesh. It does not matter to me whether there is a Congress a government in Andhra Pradesh or not," he said. Gandhi recalled that five years ago, Modi had promised special category status to Andhra Pradesh for 10 years. He said Modi had also promised Rs 15 lakh in every bank account, 2 crore jobs to youngsters every year, remunerative prices to farmers. "Every statement of his was a lie," he said. The Congress leader said that during previous elections Modi told people that he would be 'chowkidar' not Prime Minister and also promised 'acche din'. "But after Rafale scam, there is new slogan in the country. Chowkidar chor hai." Former Kerala Chief Minister and Congress in-charge for Andhra Pradesh Oommen Chandy, state Congress chief N. Raghuveera Reddy, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, former central ministers Pallam Raju, Chinta Mohan, Subbirami Reddy, J.D. Seelam, P. Lakshmi and others were present at the event. New Delhi, Feb 22 : The government has issued the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Ordinance, 2019 to prevent chit fund scams and protect small investors. The ordinance, which prevents any individual or group of individuals from taking any deposit or loan from any person other than relatives, got President Ram Nath Kovind's assent on Thursday -- two days after the Union Cabinet approved its promulgation. It will tackle the menace of illicit deposit taking activities in the country launched by rapacious operators, who at present are exploiting regulatory gaps and lack of strict administrative measures to dupe poor and gullible people of their hard-earned savings. On February 6, the Cabinet had decided to amend the law based on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee that went into the provisions of the Bill. The ordinance will altogether ban unregulated deposit taking schemes, also called Ponzi schemes, and have adequate provisions for punishment and disgorgement or repayment of deposits in cases where such schemes somehow manage to raise deposits illegally. Any person running such deposit schemes without registration would attract penal provisions of the law. Advertisements of such unregistered schemes and brand ambassadors of such schemes would also be covered under under the law. The decision to amend the law came amid a storm over investigations into the Saradha and Rose Valley chit fund schemes that rocked West Bengal and other states and triggered a political war between the Trinamool Congress government in the state and the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. New Delhi, Feb 22 : AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding an end to the practice of post-retirement jobs for judges as it affects judicial neutrality. He cited specific instances of judgments influenced by outgoing Supreme Court and High Courts judges. "In recent years, the Indian Judiciary has been found grappling with several issues, prominent ones being its fight for autonomy and its perceived lack of credibility," Singh wrote in his letter on Friday. Informing the media about the letter, he said several incidents suggest that the power to announce judgements has been greatly influenced by vested interests operating outside of courts. "This has raised questions in the minds of people. The fact that post retirement judges are offered offices of profit under the government has seriously compromised the independence of judiciary." Singh cited the example of Justice Adarsh Goyal, who was appointed Chairman of the National Green Tribunal and named several other judges and their post retirement postings to bolster his point. "Former Chief Justice of India, P. Sathasivam who granted bail to Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah was immediately appointed the Governor of Kerala," he said. "Similarly, Supreme Court Judge A.K. Sikri, who retires in the first week of March, was nominated to the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal. As the issue started to snowball into a controversy, the judge declined the offer. It is important to note that in December 2018, he had accepted the same offer." The AAP MP also said that there have been reports that Sikri would soon be appointed as the Lokpal. "If this happens, then the credibility of the Supreme Court would be further eroded as Sikri had recently voted with the Government to oust CBI director Alok Verma. "Furthermore, several questions have been raised on Sikri's judgement pertaining to the Delhi government vs. Central government case related to the Services Department. Making him the Lokpal would automatically indicate that he is being rewarded for his judgements." Concluding his letter, the legislator requested Modi to ensure that a neutral and unbiased individual is appointed to the important post of Lokpal. "This would ensure that no questions are raised on the credibility of the Lokpal and he/she is able to smoothly discharge the constitutional duties." Singh said there should be an end to the postings of judges. "Although this is not a new practice, it raises questions on the credibility of the judiciary. This should be ended." New Delhi, Feb 22 : The BJP on Friday rejected Congress President Rahul Gandhi's claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was indulging "gleefully" in a photoshoot allegedly hours after the Pulwama attack and asserted that the photographs were taken in the morning. "Rahul Ji, India is tired of your fake news. Stop sharing photos from that morning to shamelessly mislead the nation. Maybe you knew in advance of the attack but people of India got to know in the evening. Try a better stunt next time, where sacrifice of soldiers isn't involved," the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said in a tweet. The tweet came hours after Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at the Prime Minister calling him "Prime Time Minister" and said that when people were crying over the deaths in Pulwama, Modi was indulging "gleefully" in a photoshoot. "Three hours after the news of the killing of 40 soldiers in Pulwama, 'Prime Time Minister' continued shooting the film," Gandhi said. "There was a lot of pain in the heart of the dear ones of the martyrs -- they were going through 'a sea of emotion', while the PM was laughing at a photoshoot at a river," the Congress chief tweeted Gandhi also attached photographs of Modi taking part the photoshoot. Bucharest, Feb 22 : The European Union will end trade negotiations with the US if the latter imposes tariffs on car imports, European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Friday. The European official made the remarks before the informal meeting of the trade ministers of the EU member states, which will discuss issues related to the mandate for trade negotiations with the US. "We are in a very delicate situation," said Malmstrom, adding that the negotiations will cease if the US imposed tariffs on car imports. "This is clearly stated in our mandate," he was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. "Currently, the US is busy with trade negotiations with China, so we have not been able to talk," said the European official, adding that according to the White House communique, "while we negotiate, we should not impose any tariffs against each other". EU trade ministers gathered on Thursday and Friday here to discuss the modernization process of the World Trade Organization and EU-US trade relations. Declaring that no decision will be taken at the informal meeting in Bucharest, the EU Commissioner said that the decision would be taken "in a few weeks". "I hope the ministers will feel ready soon enough to make a decision. We have not yet confirmed a date, but we have to start negotiating," said Malmstrom. Beijing, Feb 22 : China on Friday downplayed the statement issued by the UN Security Council naming the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in the Kashmir suicide bombing, saying the "mention doesn't mean a judgment on the incident". The UN Security Council in a show of unanimity on Thursday condemned in the "strongest terms" the February 14 Kashmir suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF personnel and was claimed by the Pakistan-based JeM. China, which has been protecting JeM chief Masood Azhar, joined the other 14 members of the Council in issuing a press statement that called upon all countries to combat terrorism and to cooperate with the Indian government in bringing the terrorists to justice. The statement called the attack a "heinous and cowardly suicide bombing" and noted that the JeM claimed responsibility for it. Asked if the statement meant the UN Security Council had evidence to hold the JeM responsible, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Friday said that although the statement mentioned "a particular organization, it doesn't mean a judgment on the incident", Xinhua news agency reported. "Yesterday, the UN Security Council issued a press statement that mentioned that a particular organisation but only in general terms. It does not represent a judgment on the attack," Geng said. China has consistently vetoed attempts at the UN Security Council to add Azhar to the list of international terrorists facing UN sanctions. Geng on Friday said that the Pakistani government had expressed its willingness to cooperate with India in the investigation and resolve their disputes through dialogue. He expressed hope that India and Pakistan "will continue to exercise restraint and have dialogue to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability". All relevant parties should conduct an objective and fair investigation into the Kashmir attack to find out the truth, he said. New Delhi, Feb 22 : The Union Home Ministry on Friday withdrew a notification giving sweeping powers to Assam Rifles to conduct searches without a warrant and take people into custody in the non-Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) areas. According to informed sources, fears of a backlash forced the Centre to scrap the notification. The Home Ministry put the notification in abeyance and would bring now only after a thorough review and consultations with the state governments concerned, they said. The issue of re-conferring powers under CrPC to Assam Rifles -- given in 1941 and taken back in 2006 -- had been pending for long and it was needed for effective enforcement of Free Movement Regime along the India-Myanmar border, the sources explained. The contours of the Free Movement Regime was elaborated in the land border crossing agreement between India and Myanmar in 2018 that called for suitable powers for border guards. Some technical faults in the notification and adverse intelligence reports about a possible backlash forced the Centre to reverse its decision. Northeast is already witnessing protests over the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill on fears that it would threaten demographic profile of the region. Srinagar, Feb 22 : Two militants were killed on Friday in a gunfight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore town. Police said one of the militants, whose identity is yet to be established, was killed in Warpora locality. "The operation against the militants is still going on," a police source said. Clashes broke out between civilians and security forces near the gunfight site as protesters tried to disrupt the operation against the militants. Security forces used pellet gunshots and tear smoke to quell the protests, injuring some of the protesters. On a tip off, the security forces started a cordon and search operation in Warpora. "As the cordon around the hiding militants was tightened, they fired at the security forces triggering an encounter," a police officer said. Authorities have suspended mobile Internet services in Sopore and adjoining areas. Lucknow, Feb 22 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday reiterated that building a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya is a matter of faith for crores of Indians and therefore, a term like impossible cannot be used with regard to such issues. Responding to a question by a youngster at a public outreach event of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- "Bharat ke Mann ki Baat", the monk-turned-politician said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the capability of changing impossible into possible. "You take it from me ... Narendra Modi is the name of turning impossible into possible," he said amid cheers from the crowd. He pointed out how people are now able to have "darshan" of the Akshyavat at a fort near the Sangam in Prayagraj after 450 years. "When this can happen, how can the Ram temple construction be called impossible?" he said with a chuckle. Responding to a question by a girl as to what the state BJP government is doing for women and girls, the Chief Minister said his government is paying special attention to this section of the society. The anti-Romeo squad, women helpline 1090, various scholarship programmes and separate reservation for women in the ongoing police recruitment is a reflection of this policy of the state government, Adityanath said. When asked by a student what is the highlight of his two-year-old government, he said that law and order has been brought on track and criminals are now scurrying for cover, getting their bails cancelled and feeling more safe inside the prisons than on the streets. He also trashed the opposition alliance and termed it as an effort to survive and called them a set of people who are out to protect graft, the corrupt and criminals. New Delhi, Feb 22 : The Supreme Court's direction to Chief Secretaries and police chiefs of states and union territories to take prompt action to prevent threats, assaults, intimidation and boycott of Kashmiris, especially students, after the February 14 Pulwama suicide bombing is expected to provide them relief, particularly in the northern states. The court also issued notice to the Centre and 11 states on a public suit by advocate Tariq Adeeb that focussed attention on the incidents, including Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy's widely condemned call to boycott Kashmiris in the aftermath of the terror attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy. "The Supreme Court direction for safety of Kashmiri students is a welcome decision. What now needs to be done is that all those involved in attacks on our children be brought to justice," Noor Muhammad, a retired bank officer, told IANS in Srinagar. "The Supreme Court order has come as a big relief for all of us. Our children went outside the state to pursue their studies proving that their first priority is education," he said. "Pushing these innocent children to the wall does not suit anyone other than those who want to alienate Kashmiris further." "Violence against children speaks of a mindset in which no moderate and right thinking person has any space," said Ghulam Nabi, a parent living in Srinagar's old quarters. Most incidents of violence have been blamed on rightwing Hindu activists. But despite the fear the stray attacks have created, fortunately leading to no death, thousands of Kashmiris continue to live amid the rest of the population across the country, but with a tinge of fear. The most recent assault occurred in Yavatmal in Maharashtra when Kashmiri students of Dayabhai Patel College of Physical Education were pounced upon in Waghapur Road area on Wednesday night. They were intercepted outside their home by activists allegedly from the Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena. They were slapped, kicked, punched and threatened with dire consequences. But the assault sparked widespread condemnation including by the Yuva Sena whose leaders pledged action if the attackers were Sena members. In Kolkata, where thousands of Kashmiris live, one Kashmiri doctor who has lived in the city for the past 22 years, is married to a Bengali and whose two children study in an upmarket school was threatened last week but vowed to stay put. Hundreds of Kashmiri students studying in institutions in Haryana and Punjab had been living in fear of a backlash following the Pulwama attack. Sikh non-profit organisation Khalsa Aid has sent nearly 300 Kashmiri students from various places back to their home state. Khalsa Aid volunteers said on Thursday in Mohali, where the students had gathered after the Pulwama attack, that the last batch was sent on specially arranged vehicles with security till Jammu so that they could travel further to their respective places. In Jammu, Sikh neighbours in particular came out in support of Kashmiri Muslims when mobs vandalized their property. Kashmiri students residing in PG accommodation in Mullana village in Haryana's Ambala district were told to leave on February 16. Following this, some arrived in Mohali while others took refuge in the Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed) University hostels. Some Kashmiris also arrived in Mohali from Dehradun and adjoining areas where rightwing Hindu groups were most aggressive, literally driving away the students. Some students wondered what was the fault of the larger community even if the suicide bomber was a Kashmiri or that a few Kashmiri students seemed to be supporting the attack on the CRPF. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has said that there were around 4,000 Kashmiri students studying in institutions in Punjab and their safety would be ensured. A teacher from the Kashmir Valley in a private university near Punjab's Jalandhar city said that he was "forced" to resign after a social media post linked him to comments on the Pulwama attack. Salman Shaheen, who was Assistant Professor of English at Lovely Professional University, alleged that a photo of his Facebook status was distorted to create an impression that he had written something objectionable about the suicide bombing. While the Punjab and Haryana Police are keeping a close watch on the security and safety of the Kashmiri students, the activities of some students, especially on social media, were being monitored by police and security agencies. In Himachal Pradesh, a court in Kasauli on February 17 sent a second year civil engineering student from Kashmir to judicial custody till February 28 for allegedly posting a comment "glorifying" the Pulwama killings. A court at Anekal in Bengaluru Rural District sent three Kashmiri students to 14-day judicial custody on February 17 for allegedly posting anti-India and anti-Army remarks on Facebook, Bengaluru Rural District Superintendent of Police P.T. Shivakumar told IANS. Another student, Tahir Latif, was remanded to judicial custody for allegedly uploading a screenshot of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) suicide bomber Adil Ahmed Dhar on his Whatsapp messenger platform. Kolkata, Feb 22 : The Border Security Force (BSF) has seized fake Indian currency notes with a face value of Rs 47,000 in Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 denominations from West Bengal's Malda district and arrested one person, an official said on Friday. Acting on a tip-off, the BSF troopers nabbed a suspect on Thursday evening and recovered 14 fake notes of Rs 2,000 and 38 fake notes of Rs 500 from his possession. "Habizuddin Ali, 28, a resident of Baligaon village in Assam's Sonitpur district, was apprehended by the BSF from the Malda railway station and fake notes with a face value of Rs 47,000 were seized from him," the BSF's South Bengal Frontier said in a statement. "The apprehended person was handed over to the English Bazar police station along with the seized fake notes," it said. In this year alone, the BSF's South Bengal Frontier has seized counterfeit Indian currency notes of the face value of Rs 7.23 lakh and apprehended two persons. New Delhi, Feb 22 : Days after a fire tragedy killed 17 people at a hotel in Karol Bagh, the Delhi government on Friday approved 10 amendments to the Delhi Building Bye Laws 2016 to enhance fire safety. In the amendments, special directives have been given regarding the use of rooftops, basements, passages and exit routes for curtailing the spread of fire in public buildings, the government said in a statement. "All existing and future guest houses must install carbon monoxide smoke alarms, fire doors on each floor and remove all kinds of combustible materials from passages, exit routes and rooftops," it said. The amendments were approved in an inter-departmental meeting, chaired by Home and Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain, the government said. The meeting was attended by senior officials from all the three municipalities of Delhi and Departments of Fire Services, Home and Urban Development of the Delhi government. "We have to strictly ensure that no one dies of fire mishaps in the city," Jain said. On February 12, a fire broke out at Hotel Arpit Palace in Karol Bagh, claiming 17 lives. Initial probe shows that many of the building regulations were not followed which could have reduced the impact of the horrendous incident, the government said. "The government has decided to amend the existing Delhi Building Bye Laws 2016 to prevent the recurrence of such ghastly fire incidents," the Minister said. According to the amendments, no kitchen will be allowed on rooftops or basements. "No cooking activity of any kind will be permitted on rooftop or basement," the government said. It also restricted the storage of inflammable material on the rooftops. "No temporary roofing over the roof or terrace using any inflammable material will be allowed." Fire NOC for guest-house will not be issued to those buildings, which have more than four floors (excluding basement and stilt floor), it said. "Inflammable materials of construction will not be used in passages, corridors or staircases like wooden panelling, foam panelling, carpet etc," the government said. Gas bank, if any, will be installed conforming to the standards prescribed in the National Building Code (NBC). "Owner/Director/Partner will submit three signed hard copies along with one soft copy in PDF format of all the floor plans indicating the floor-wise use while submitting the application to the Fire Department for NOC." Carbon monoxide detectors and alarm according to standards as required by Delhi Fire Service will have to be installed. "Natural or mechanical arrangements be made for smoke ventilation of the all passages/corridors at each floor level and staircases." Fire doors having fire resistance rating of not less than one hour at the entrance of staircases at each floor level be provided where number of occupants are more than 10 on each floor, it added. The Minister said: "It has been observed that many rooftops and basements are being misused for different activities which may have potential fire threat." The owners will be required to submit floor plans indicating the use of each floor to the Fire Department while applying for NOC, he said. New Delhi, Feb 22 : India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have huge opportunities for cooperation, especially in the MSME sector, and Asean companies can increase their investments in India in areas like medical devices, fishing and ship-building, the government said on Friday. In his address at the fourth India-Asean Expo and Summit here, Minister of State for Commerce C.R. Chaudhary said that in order to boost India-Asean economic cooperation, companies from India and the Asean can form joint ventures to start manufacturing in India. "I would like to request the Asean companies to enhance the increasing cooperation in the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector," Chaudhary said. "We can increase investments in various sectors like airlines, fishing and ship building. We need medical devices and apparatus, and Asean companies can get an opportunity in this area." Noting that boosting bilateral trade and investment is critical for both regions, the Minister pointed out that India has relaxed several laws and regulations to attract investments, which has also resulted in record foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in recent years. Chaudhary also said that although India-Asean bilateral trade has increased to $82.33 billion in the last fiscal, from $21 billion in 2005-06, the pace of growth has not been "up to the mark". New Delhi, Feb 22 : The Editors Guild of India on Friday condemned the ongoing tirade of abuse and intimidation of mediapersons, especially women journalists, in the wake of their reporting and commentary in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls. As much of these attacks came in the form of trolls on social media, the Guild called upon these platforms, primarily Twitter, to initiate action against those responsible. "Since much of this is being done through social media, the Guild urges their respective managements to exercise due caution and a sense of responsibility," the forum tweeted its statement. "Some of what is being allowed clearly amounts to sexual abuse and instigation to violence," the statement said in a clear reference to senior journalist Barkha Dutt being targeted with online abuse, inflammatory messages and sexist slurs after she tweeted a post offering help to Kashmiris, who were being targeted in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack. Following Dutt taking up the matter with Twitter, other journalists have unanimously spoken out against online harassment that must be held accountable. The Editors Guild of India's statement signed by President Shekhar Gupta and two other office-holders, urged corporations owning these social platforms that they need not be reminded about "not allowing unlawful behaviour". "Business models thriving on hate of any kind are reprehensible," it said. They also asked police cyber crime cells to address on priority any complaint lodged by journalists facing abuse. This comes two days after the government took cognisance of threats and abuse of senior journalists. The Ministry of Communications and IT has issued a notice asking the telecom operators in question to take appropriate action. "As per the Licence Agreement, the onus is also on the telecom operators to ensure that their networks are not used for obscene, malicious and objectionable transmission," it said, asking them to open dedicated call centre/helpline for receiving such complaints. Kolkata, Feb 22 : Seven people including two women and four children of the same family were charred to death in West Bengal's Purulia district in the early hours of Friday, police said. The reason for the fire has not yet been ascertained. "The incident took place after midnight. Four survived the fire but the other seven including four children, two women and one man died," Biswajit Mondal, officer-in-charge, Para police station told IANS. The family was involved in extracting date palm juice and selling it, and lived in a thatched hut in a field. The people who survived the fire had tried to save those trapped inside the hut and received burn injuries. "They were taken to a local hospital," police said. It is suspected that the fire could have originated from a earthen lamp or a stove. The bodies were taken for post mortem and an investigation is underway, the police official added. Srinagar, Feb 22 : Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, two former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers, on Friday welcomed a Supreme Court direction on protection of Kashmiri students outside the state. An apex court bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, hearing a petition filed by Tariq Adeeb, asked for steps to be taken to end all targeted attacks on Kashmiris residing outside their state in the wake of the February 14 Pulwama attack. Adeeb had sought direction to the Centre and state governments to prevent incidents of assaults, threats and social boycott of Kashmiris in the wake of the attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers were killed. Seeking a response from the states, the top court directed their chief secretaries and police chiefs to "take prompt and necessary action to prevent incidents of assaults, threats and social boycott" of Kashmiris residing in their territories. "Relieved about the SC order to ensure Kashmiri students based outside J&K are not harassed or face social boycott. Shameful that the honourable judiciary took decisive action where others conveniently turned a blind eye," PDP chief Mufti tweeted. "Grateful to Supreme Court for doing what our elected leadership in Delhi should have been doing. The union HRD (Human Resource Development) Minister (Prakash Javadekar) was busy living in denial and (Meghalaya) Governor (Tathagata Roy) was busy issuing threats. Thank goodness the SC stepped in," Abdullah also tweeted. United Nations, Feb 22 : North Korea has warned that it is facing a food shortfall and issued an international appeal for help to combat it as the country has been forced to cut rations after drought and floods led to a poor harvest, worsening the impact of UN sanctions. North Korea's appeal came ahead of a second summit on February 27-28 between its leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In an undated two-page memo to the UN, Pyongyang called on international organisations "to urgently respond to addressing the food situation", the Guardian reported on Friday. The regime told the UN that it was facing a shortfall of 1.4 million tonnes in food production this year, including crops of rice, wheat, potato and soybean, according to the report. "The government has requested assistance from international humanitarian organizations present in the country to address the impact of the food security situation," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Thursday. UN agencies were holding talks with Pyongyang "to take early action in order to address humanitarian needs," he added. According to the UN estimates, 10.3 million people - almost half of North Korea's population - were in need of food due to a sharp drop in crop production. It estimated that 40 per cent of the people in the country were undernourished. North Korea said it would import 200,000 tonnes of food and produce about 400,000 tonnes of early crops, but that it would still be left with a gap and ... would cut daily rations to 300g per person from 550g. The UN Security Council has unanimously boosted sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in a bid to squeeze funding for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Washington has been demanding from Pyongyang that it give up its nuclear weapons programme that threatens the US, while the regime has been seeking lifting of punishing sanctions, a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean war and security guarantees. Nashik, Feb 22 : Dramatic developments, including an unprecedented post midnight 'peasant rally' addressed by Maharashtra Ministers, led to a mammoth "long march" of farmers from Nashik to Mumbai being called off early on Friday. "Yes... The government has agreed to all our 15 demands and has promised their implementation in a time-bound manner, along with review meetings to be held every two months," All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) national President Ashok Dhawale told IANS. Drought relief, water and irrigation, Forest Rights Act implementation, hike in pension to all old farmers/agriculture labourers, farm loans waiver, problems in Public Distribution System, providing work under MNREGA in drought-hit regions, critical drinking water issues and Crop Insurance Scheme enhancement are among the 15 demands listed. Dhawale said that in 2018, after the first long march by some 35,000 farmers to Mumbai, the government had "agreed" but did not implement a single point, no review meeting was held, despite reminders and even though the matter was tabled in the Legislature. Accordingly, the AIKS announced the second long march -- this time a bigger affair -- that rattled the government. "The Chief Minister invited us for two meetings on February 11 and 17 but there was hardly any breakthrough, so we decided to go-ahead with the long march... This is when the government resorted to repressive tactics to force us to call off the agitation," Dhawale said. The march began on Wednesday but that evening Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan summoned the AIKS leaders for a late night meeting which went on till 1.30 a.m., but it was only partially successful. He promised to consult the political leadership and revert even as the farmers resumed their long march on Thursday. On February 21, over 40,000 farmers continued to march to Mumbai, with more joining in from various villages, towns en route, sending alarm bells ringing in the Maharashtra government. At 4 p.m., Mahajan again sought a meeting and along with his cabinet colleague, Tourism Minister Jaykumar Raval. They rushed to a village where the peasants had halted en route for lunch on Thursday. "They came with a draft, but we did not approve it. It did not include the assurances made in our meetings with the Chief Minister (Devendra Fadnavis) and the Ministers, so we demanded a modified draft. "After nearly four hours, the final draft was received from Mantralaya (Secretariat)," said Dhawale. Since the AIKS takes collective decision, all the 20-odd top leaders were called for a meeting late on Thursday, where they discussed everything threadbare and it was decided that the final draft was acceptable. "Given the past unpleasant experiences, we wanted a firm commitment from the government. So there was a press conference post-midnight, then we asked the two Ministers to address the farmers rally right there (in the village) and explain everything," Dhawale said. It was only after the farmers rally unanimously endorsed the AIKS leaders' decision and the government's commitment that the long march was finally suspended at 1.30 a.m., barely 25 km on the outskirts of Nashik, he said. "Everything will now depend on the government's implementation of its promises, which we shall take up in all the review meetings," Dhawale said. After a brief night's rest, farmers who had come from all over Maharashtra started returning to their homes from daybreak. New York, Feb 22 : Scientists have synthesised a molecular system that, like DNA, can store and transmit information, suggesting there could be an alternative genetic system for life that may be possible on other worlds. The team, led by Steven Benner at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Alachua, Florida, successfully achieved the fabrication of a new informational molecular system that is like DNA, except in one key area: the new molecule has eight informational ingredients instead of four. The synthetic DNA includes the four nucleotides present in Earth life -- adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine -- but also four others that mimic the structures of the informational ingredients in regular DNA. The result is a double-helix structure that can store and transfer information, according to the research appearing in the journal Science Magazine. They dubbed the creation "hachimoji" DNA (from the Japanese "hachi" meaning "eight," and "moji" meaning "letter"). Hachimoji DNA meets all the structural requirements that allow our DNA to store, transmit and evolve information in living systems. "By carefully analysing the roles of shape, size and structure in hachimoji DNA, this work expands our understanding of the types of molecules that might store information in extraterrestrial life on alien worlds," said Benner. This new molecular system, which is not a new life form, suggests scientists looking for life beyond Earth may need to rethink what they are looking for. This study opens the door to further research on ways life could structure itself in environments that we consider inhospitable, but which might be teeming with forms of life we have not yet imagined, the researchers said. "Life detection is an increasingly important goal of NASA's planetary science missions, and this new work will help us to develop effective instruments and experiments that will expand the scope of what we look for," said Lori Glaze, acting director of NASA's Planetary Science Division. New Delhi, Feb 22 : For photographer Juhi Saklani, life can persist in most unexpected places, like a grand tree braving traffic, pollution, and dirt of a busy Delhi road, what she exclaims as almost a "national monument". Displayed in 2019 Habitat Photosphere on 'Bhu/Earth', among many others, the trees photograph reminds humans of their oneness with nature. Habitat Photosphere, an India Habitat Centre (IHC) initiative, is geared towards sensitisation of a sustainable environment and cultural sustainability through the medium of photography. With this year's theme as 'Bhu/Earth', the ongoing exhibition is currently blooming with photographs, installations and interactive events. Saklani, one of the four awardees of the Photosphere Fellowship, is exploring art and ecology through photographs of trees growing through old walls and buildings, and inhabiting books, maps and newspapers. Some exhibited works in her series 'Human/Nature' use "regular headlines about trees being felled for buildings, roads, river interlinking, smart city projects, parking and more" as images. The series emerged from her "reading and conversations around deep ecology and the nature of the ecological crisis we find ourselves in today - how to live with climate change, species extinction, dramatic loss of biodiversity, depletion of water, massive deforestation, critical levels of pollution", she told IANS. "I am still a student of ecological issues and philosophies, but some of it has seeped into the photographs. I truly feel that humans need to start thinking of themselves as a part of nature, as opposed to controllers or 'conquerors' of nature," Saklani, who has previously been an editor and writer with Outlook Traveller for nearly a decade, said. Saklani, whose passion for photography started with taking photographs to support her articles, believes trees to be companions and healers that give solace. For her, the images featuring trees are not works of art - what is art are trees themselves. A special section 'A Window Into Redevelopment' is a tribute to the people of Delhi who in June-July 2018 protested the "proposed cutting of some 15,000 trees in Sarojini Nagar and Netaji Nagar" - government housing colonies which were to be "redeveloped" to host commercial spaces. "In face of official reports which said Sarojini Nagar was a place of 'no significant biodiversity', experts found 26 bird species and 11 types of butterflies in just a two-day survey. "Activists conducted tree surveys in Netaji Nagar and found an irreplaceable wealth of bargads, peepals, semals, neems, jamuns, amaltas...," a note on the section said. Thanks to the efforts of the protesters, "the company NBCC has to redesign its projects to minimise tree loss", the writer, who feels meditative while clicking trees, said. 'A Window Into Redevelopment', interestingly, has been curated as a combination of photographs and rustic-looking wooden windows allowing one to peep at the collages in which the threatened trees and demolished houses of these colonies are still trying to co-exist. "It's also a protest against the top heavy planning that does not involve people in the decisions about their city's future. And a reminder that people need to stay informed about what is happening to their city." Along with other awardees and more varied exhibitors, Saklani's earthy take on the Photosphere theme of 'Bhu' is open for the public to view till March 18 at the IHC here. The Photosphere has been curated by art historian Alka Pande. (Siddhi Jain can be contacted at siddhi.j@ians.in) New Delhi, Feb 22 : Misinformation has been weaponised in recent times with the objective of sowing the seeds of division, prejudice and hate among citizens, says Pratik Sinha, who has edited a riveting volume of essays that aims to present the real picture. "The intention (behind misinformation) is quite clearly political gain," said Sinha, the co-founder of Alt News. Titled "India Misinformed: The True Story", the book will be available in stores in March. "The propaganda of misinformation and hoaxes disseminated through print, graphics, and social media have altered the social landscape of this nation. Not only has it led to multiple cases of lynching, mob violence, defamation, and riots, but fake news also poses a serious threat to Indian democracy and its electoral policies," publisher HarperCollins India said in a statement. This book is written by the team of Alt News, a fact-checking website that debunks fake information, and has been edited by Sinha, Sumaiya Shaikh and Arjun Sidharth. It attempts to identify the purveyors of fabricated news, expose the propaganda machinery and familiarise its prospective readers with techniques to detect these menacing sources. The book has been pre-endorsed by writer-activist Arundhati Roy. "Here facts strike back in the era of fake news. This book doesn't just expose lies, it exposes the pattern of lies. In surveillance-speak it gives us the meta-data of the propaganda regime so that we may know what is being done to us and by whom. Everyone ought to read it," Roy wrote in her endorsement. The book, according to Krishan Chopra, Publisher at HarperCollins, is a brilliant guide on how to weigh all sides of the facts and make better judgment. Prayagraj, Feb 22 : Two hundred and twenty delegates from 185 countries across the world landed in Prayagraj on Friday to take part in the ongoing Kumbh mela, an official said. These visitors are part of a delegation of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) that was invited specially for the religious congregation. The delegates were accompanied by Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh. The delegates first made a stop over at the ICCR in New Delhi after which two special aircraft flew them to Prayagraj where they will be spending the day at the Kumbh mela. "In the first aircraft, 58 foreigners and 14 officials have arrived. The second aircraft with the remaining delegates will come shortly after noon," an official informed IANS. A special screening of the documentary "Kumbh: Eternal Journey of Civilisation" made by Harshit Jain was also shown to the visitors. They were greeted by a cultural troupe at the Bamrauli airport in Prayagraj. Union minister VK Singh told reporters that the idea behind the visit was to make "them see that Kumbh is not just confluence of rivers but also of different religions and faiths". He added that so far 22 crore people from across the country and the world have visited the Kumbh Mela. The visitors took a cruise on a ship named 'Sangam', specially decorated for the high-profile visit. New Delhi, Feb 22 : Soon after the Delhi Assembly began its Budget Session, three BJP MLAs were on Friday marshalled out of the House for interrupting the welcome address by Lt Governor Anil Baijal. The MLAs -- Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, O.P. Sharma and Jagdish Pradhan -- went near the Speaker's podium protesting against the Delhi government's "delay" in sanctioning prosecution in the JNU sedition case, after which Speaker Ram Niwas Goel called the marshalls. Later, Goel said the LG's address is not a part of proceedings of the House and they could have taken up the issue later. Gupta shouted that the government was "delaying" the sanction to prosecute the accused in JNU sedition case. Later, speaking to the media, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the BJP MLAs always create ruckus in the House. "The issue over which they are shouting, the (police) took three years to file the chargesheet. They even went to the court without following the proper channel. As per law, they should have approached the government before submitting the chargesheet in the court. "Law gives us three months for taking a decision on any chargesheet." Sisodia said that instead of questioning the government, the BJP should answer why it took three years for "their police to file the chargesheet". In January, Delhi Police filed a chargesheet against former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) President Kanhaiya Kumar and others in the sedition case registered in 2016. The case involves an event organised at the JNU campus in February 2016 against the hanging of Parliament-attack mastermind Afzal Guru. Kanhaiya Kumar has denied the charges against him. Delhi Police has sought permission from the Delhi government to go ahead with the prosecution. Lucknow, Feb 22 : Two terrorist suspects from Jammu and Kashmir have been arrested from Sanaharnpur district in Uttar Pradesh, Director General of Police O.P. Singh said on Friday. Talking to reporters, he said the two were caught by the Anti-Terror Squad of the Uttar Pradesh police on the basis of intelligence inputs. Singh said that the two owed allegiance to the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit and while one, Shahnawaz, hailed from Kulgam, the other, Aquib, was from Pulwama district. Two weapons and some cartridges were recovered from the two. Gandhinagar, Feb 22 : Thousands of fixed-pay teachers and employees of the Gujarat State Transport Corporation (GSTC) laid siege to the Gujarat Assembly here on Friday raising their oft-repeated demand of same-work-same-pay even as the police lathicharged them at several places. The show of strength by contractual teachers and the GSTC staff found backing from the opposition Congress, forcing the state's ruling BJP government to constitute a committee of three Cabinet-rank ministers to look into the demands. The teachers' agitation started on Thursday with a call to gherao the Assembly on Friday. Hundreds of teachers have since been protesting at their respective district headquarters while at many places, contingents getting ready to proceed to the state capital were prevented by huge police deployment. The agitating teachers have been engaged in government schools and colleges on a contractual fixed-pay arrangements for at least two decades. While they have not been absorbed in government jobs, their salaries are much less than the full-time teachers. On the other hand, the agitation by GSTC employees has disrupted bus services in almost all districts. Stranded passengers had no other option but to take private vehicles at exorbitant rates. The employees are demanding salaries according to the Seventh Pay Commission like all other government employees. Their salaries were not revised because the State Transport Corporation is running huge losses. New Delhi, Feb 22 : India-based global audio and music streaming service JioSaavn on Friday announced that it has secured the first rank India-wise and 28th rank globally in the 2019 list of "50 Most Innovative Companies". JioSaavn is the only Indian company that made it to the list, published by US-based business publication Fast Company. "The music streaming company which was formed in October 2018 when streaming start-up Saavn merged with telecom giant Reliance's JioMusic services, offers more than 40 million tracks in 15 regional languages for 38 million monthly active users," Fast Company wrote in its listing. The other domestic companies that ranked top on the India list of "Most Innovative Companies" include branded budget hotel marketplace OYO, biodegradable sanitary pad manufacturers Sathi and ride-hailing service Ola. "Our 2019 ranking of the businesses making the most profound impact on both industry and culture showcases a variety of ways to thrive in today's volatile world," said Fast Company which judged nominations received through an application process. The innovation benchmarking was done on the most profound impact on both industry and culture. San Francisco, Feb 22 : American telecommunications giant AT&T has pulled all advertisements from video-sharing platform YouTube as the latter is dealing with issues regarding predatory comments on videos of children, the CNBC has reported. With this, the telecom giant has joined companies like Disney, Nestle and Fortnite maker Epic Games in pulling ads from YouTube while the paedophilia content issue persists. "Until Google can protect our brand from offensive content of any kind, we are removing all advertising from YouTube," an AT&T spokesperson was quoted as saying by CNBC late on Thursday. The telecom major originally pulled its entire ad spend from YouTube in 2017 after revelations that its ads were appearing alongside derogatory content, including terrorist content, but resumed advertising in January. Meanwhile, Google-owned YouTube has not commented specifically whether advertisers are pulling out of the platform. However, earlier this week, YouTube said it was terminating accounts and channels that have violated the platform's policies. "YouTube declined to comment on any specific advertisers, but said in a statement: 'Any content - including comments - that endangers minors is abhorrent and we have clear policies prohibiting this on YouTube. We took immediate action by deleting accounts and channels, reporting illegal activity to authorities and disabling violative comments'," the report added. Baghpat/New Delhi, Feb 21 : After withdrawing the most favoured nation (MFN) status and slamming a 200 per cent import duty, India on Thursday decided to stop the flow of its share of water from the three eastern rivers -- the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej -- to Pakistan. "Under the leadership of (Prime Minister Narendra Modi), our government has decided to stop our share of water, which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from eastern rivers and supply it to people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab," Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari said in a tweet. In another tweet, he said construction of a dam had started at Shahpur-Kandi on Ravi river. Moreover, the Ujh project will store India's share of water for use in J&K and the rest will flow from the second Ravi-Beas Link to provide water to other basin states. All these projects have been declared as the national projects, he added. Thursday's announcement comes on top of actions like withdrawal of MFN status to Pakistan and slapping of a 200 per cent duty on all imports from Pakistan in the wake of the Pulwama suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF troopers and which was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). India has sent enough message to Pakistan that it will not be business as usual and that the February 14 terror attack would be avenged. Meanwhile, speaking at a public meeting in Baghpat, Gadkari said after partition India got three rivers but their water were flowing to Pakistan. "Water will be diverted to Yamuna. It means, there will be more water in Yamuna," he said. India is not exploiting any of its rights with this decision. Under the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan control over the water flowing in three "eastern" rivers of India -- the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej with the mean flow of 33 million acre-feet (MAF) -- was given to India. While control over the water flowing in three "western" rivers of India -- the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum with the mean flow of 80 MAF -- was given to Pakistan. The government had in December 2018 cleared the proposal to implement the Shapur Kandi Dam Project in Punjab on Ravi for which Rs. 485 crore central assistancewould be provided from 2018-19 to 2022-23. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had then said the project was cleared by the cabinet, which would minimise some of the water flow of Ravi, currently going waste through the Madhopur Headworks downstream to Pakistan. -- With inputs from IANS New Delhi, Feb 22 : Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, on Friday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the fifth time in connection with a money laundering case. The case relates to overseas ownership of undisclosed assets worth 1.9 million pounds. Vadra arrived at the ED's Jamnagar office in central Delhi at 10.30 a.m. Soon after, scores of Congress workers gathered outside raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Robert Vadra, who is the husband of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has faced more than 27 hours of questioning so far. He was earlier questioned on February 6, 7, 9 and 20. On February 2, the court granted him interim bail till February 16 and asked him to join the investigation on February 6. Then on February 16, a Delhi court extended Robert Vadra's interim bail till March 2. The ED has also lodged a money laundering case against his employee Manoj Arora after his role came up during an Income Tax Department probe in a 2015 anti-black money case involving absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari. The financial probe agency has alleged that Arora was aware of Robert Vadra's overseas undeclared assets and was instrumental in arranging funds. On February 12 and 13, Robert Vadra was also questioned by the ED in Jaipur in connection with a land deal case in Bikaner, Rajasthan. On February 15, the agency attached a Rs 4.43-crore house in Delhi's Sukhdev Vihar. The property was in the name of Robert Vadra's company Sky Light Hospitality Pvt Ltd. Washington, Feb 22 : Special Counsel Robert Mueller is expected to deliver a report in the coming weeks on results of his ongoing investigation into the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, the media reported. Once the report is submitted, it is not certain how much of it will become public or when, informed sources told The New York Times on Thursday. The submission of the report would effectively mean that his office is closing down. Mueller would no longer be conducting investigations in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Special Counsel would also not be opening any new lines of inquiry, the sources said. But active cases that have not yet been brought to a conclusion would likely continue. The White House is bracing for revelations that could politically damage President Donald Trump, or open him up to the possibility of impeachment by the Democrat-controlled House, even if he is not accused of criminal conduct. The report will be handed over to the new attorney general, William P. Barr. Barr will then review it for any classified information that would have to be omitted from any summary that he might decide to release, a process that could take days or even weeks, the sources told The New York Times. Mueller was appointed as the Special Counsel on May 17, 2017, in the wake of Trump's decision eight days earlier to dismiss James B. Comey as FBI Director. Mueller was given a mandate to investigate whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election and "any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump". He was also given the option of referring any other matters that he might come across in doing so to other federal prosecutors, who can further investigate and open new cases. The Special Counsel's office has indicted dozens of people, including a half dozen former Trump campaign advisers who have been indicted or pleaded guilty to past financial crimes, lying to the FBI, obstructing the special counsel investigation and failure to properly disclose their work for foreign governments. Mueller has also indicted dozens of Russian intelligence officers for stealing and then weaponising information from former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's inner circle. It has indicted Russian propagandists for the misinformation campaigns they spread on social media that sought to dampen support for Clinton in her campaign against Trump. Washington, Feb 22 : The White House has announced that a small contingent of US troops will remain in Syria following President Donald Trump's order for a "full" withdrawal of American military from the war-torn country. "A small peace keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for (a) period of time," White House press secretary Sanders said in a statement on Thursday. In December, Trump ordered staff to execute the "full" and "rapid" withdrawal of US military from Syria, declaring that the US had defeated the Islamic State (IS) terror group, reports CNN. The 200 troops who will remain will be divided between At-Tanf, an area near the Iraq-Jordan border, and northeast Syria, an informed US military official told CNN. The troops in northeast Syria currently advise the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The 200 remaining US troops would be able to provide unique high-end capabilities -- such as logistics, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and calling in airstrikes -- that would help encourage coalition countries like France and the UK to also keep their troops in Syria to help ensure the safe zone with a force of some 1,500 international troops, the official said. CNN reported Monday that the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces is asking the US and its coalition partners to provide air support and keep up to 1,500 troops in Syria as part of an effort to stabilise the country. Belgian Minister of Defence Didier Reynders said on Thursday during a visit to the Pentagon that European allies were open to proposals but needed a legal mandate for any Syria mission. Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke in a phone call on Thursday in which they agreed that the withdrawal of US troops from Syria should be carried out in line with common interests, stressing the need to support the political process in the war-torn country. The US currently has more than 2,000 troops in Syria, where they are primarily helping the Syrian Democratic Forces in their campaign against the IS. According to the Syrian forces, the IS now retains just 700 square metres of territory in a town along the Euphrates River in Syria. Trump has not publicly given the Pentagon a firm timetable in which to complete the withdrawal. Gen. Joseph Votel, the head of US Central Command which oversees all US military operations in the region, said earlier this week that Washington is talking to coalition partners to determine the shape of any future security arrangements in Syria. Hanoi, Feb 22 : At least 2,600 foreign journalists have registered to cover the second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un slated to be held here on February 27-28, a Vietnamese Minister has confirmed. At a press conference on Thursday, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung said they have just 20 days to prepare after Trump announced Vietnam's capital Hanoi as the meeting venue, while Singapore had nearly two months to prepare for the first US-North Korea summit last June, reports Xinhua news agency. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has also directed ministries and sectors to do their utmost to ensure security and safety for the summit to make it a success. Special attention should be paid to the reception work, the Prime Minister said, stressing the need to create maximum conditions for international reporters to cover the event. At the summit, Trump and Kim will meet one-on-one. The White House has not made Trump's agenda public yet. In Singapore, the leaders spoke privately for 38 minutes before the formal talks between the full delegations, sparking speculation about the content of Trump's conversation with Kim. Oslo, Feb 22 : Cyber crime is growing extensively these days. Norwegians have become one of the favourite targets of cyber crime and are easier to be cheated than Swedes and Danes, newspaper Aftenposten reported on Thursday. The reports show that they fall prey to a lot of ransoms, and other monetary based crimes. Mapping of over 120 million users in 45 countries, conducted by software company Symantec, showed that the only nation that is more exposed than rich Norwegian citizens are Saudi Arabians, the report said. Norwegians are exposed four times higher than Swedes and six times high than Danish citizens to so-called "phishing" attempts, reports Xinhua news agency. "Norway must have been far up the list for many criminal groups last year when it is so highly exposed. I do not think Norway has been so high on the list before," Snorre Fagerland, security analyst in Symantec, told Aftenposten. The reason for Norway being targeted is because it is one of the richest countries in the world and criminals can earn more money if they get hold of Norwegian data, said Fagerland, who together with his colleagues analysed 2.4 billion emails daily in 45 different countries. On the "black market", where stolen data is purchased and sold, a stolen Norwegian credit number with personal information may be worth $45. "The criminals are primarily concerned with profitability. When they enter a country like Norway, it requires investment. They must translate texts, reconnaissance and customize the attacks," Fagerland said. The way the "phishing" attacks are designed shows that the computer criminals have learned to master Norwegian language. At Symantec's list of 45 countries, Norway comes in third place among countries with the highest proportion of malicious links in the emails. The survey showed that 12.8 per cent of the malicious e-mails contained such fake links in 2018, which is more than twice as much as, for example, Denmark. Norwegians are also very high placed on the list when it comes to getting spam e-mails and "ransomeware" on mobile phones, when criminals lock mobile phones and then require ransom. -- With inputs from IANS Beijing, Feb 22 : China and Saudi Arabia on Thursday agreed to further boost financial cooperation, media reported. The two countries will enhance communication and coordination of macro policies, develop the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan through the financial sector and promote inclusive growth and sustainable development of both countries, according to the meeting of a financial sub-committee under a high-level committee to coordinate bilateral cooperation. At Thursday's meeting, jointly chaired by Chinese vice finance minister Zou Jiayi and her Saudi Arabian counterpart Harmad Al-Bazai, the two sides agreed to support multilateralism, step up policy communication and support under multilateral mechanisms and cooperate to enhance the effectiveness of multilateral mechanisms, reports Xinhua. The two countries will support reform of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and support new multilateral development institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to play more active roles. They will also boost settlement in local currencies and cross-border bond issuance as well as encourage their financial institutions to expand businesses in each other's market. Rome, Feb 22 : The deadline set by US president Donald Trump and Venezuela's opposition leader and self-declared interim president Juan Guaido for the military to allow humanitarian aid into the crisis-hit country could spark perilous conflict, Senators from Italy's ruling 5-Star Movement said on Wednesday. "We are alarmed and worried by the real risk of a military escalation in Venezuela's political crisis, which risks starting a very dangerous war for the region's and for global stability," said a statement from 5-Star lawmakers on the Senate's foreign affairs committee. The forcible entry of US humanitarian aid convoys at the Colombian border, planned by opposition leader Guaido on Saturday and opposed by the regime of embattled leftist president Nicolas Maduro and his armed forces "risk triggering incidents with unpredictable consequences," the statement warned. "The increasingly threatening declarations by US president Trump and unconfirmed reports that American special forces had already been deployed on the Columbian side of the border are alarming," it added. The Senators "fully supported" European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini's statement on Monday in which she said the bloc ruled out support for any military escalation in Venezuela, according to the statement. The lawmakers said they were confident the Italian government would "to its utmost" to avert a military escalation in Venezuela, the statement concluded. With the Venezuelan crisis now nearing a showdown, Trump stepped up his rhetoric on Monday, warning the Venezuelan military in a speech to abandon Maduro or "lose everything." The trailer of Anurag Singh's Kesari is every bit that patriotic juggernaut that we expected it to be. It is passionate and bombastic, brimming over with nationalistic indignation as Akshay Kumar, plays a wizened but lionhearted Sardar Ishar Singh who along with 21 Sikh soldiers defeated an Afghan battalion of 10,000 soldiers. This is a tale of wide-angled valour. And I really can't see anyone except Akshay carrying it off. There is a certain element of trendy gravitas about his personality which contemporises history (this one is set in 1897) without trivializing it in any way. And Akshay can nail the jingoistic rhetorics like no one else cab. His bloodcurdling war cry at the end of the trailer is so inspiring it prompted me to mutter 'Jai Hind'. Akshay instills a pliable passion into the rhetorics, as his character runs ferociously to annihilate the powerful invaders. This is a film that wears its heart on the sleeve. Director Anurag Singh has once made a film about a suspected Khalistani terrorist on the run in Punjab 1984. With Kesari he penetrates the big-time with a war cry. And who better to voice it than Akshay Kumar? The trailer doesn't have much to give of any other actor. I do hope the the supporting cast which includes a makeup-less Parineeti Chopra trying to look like a Sardarni married to the bravest soldier on that side of 1947, is used properly. What we see in the trailer are CG-induced war sequences. These could have been done better considering the film has four affluent producers, including Akshay Kumar himself and Karan Johar. They were probably cutting down on costs considering Manikarnika got away with such clumsy battle scenes (including shots of Kangana Ranaut as Jhani Ki Rani riding wooden horse). Kesari looks and feels authentic. Standing at the centre of this sanguinary world Akshay Kumar lords over the proceedings like a wounded lion. March 23 is the release date for this recreation of a chunk of India's freedom movement that many filmmakers have been trying to put together for years. But none succeeded. Akshay Kumar was destined to play Havildar Ishar Singh. He told me this is the toughest role of his career. Not only did he carry a heavy turban and thick lengthy beard, he also had to play man who wouldn't stop at anything to protect his nation. This is the mood that the country is now experiencing. Kesari echoes the public sentiment. Don't stop at anything to crush the enemy. In one sequence an Afghan enemy threatens to subjugate India and its people. Akshay stares at the big-talking enemy and says, "Chal joothe", as though someone had just told him that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is not only beautiful, she can also act. A little bit of humour never hurt the national pride. Ankara, Feb 22 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Donald Trump discussed the US withdrawal from Syria over phone late on Thursday, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Erdogan and Trump discussed the latest developments in Syria and emphasized the importance of supporting a political resolution to the conflict, Anadolu said, reports Xinhua. During the call, the two presidents also reiterated joint commitment to fighting terrorism and raising bilateral trade to $75 billion. Damascus, Feb 22 : At least 20 people were killed on Thursday when a car bomb went off in a town controlled by the Kurdish fighters in eastern Syria, a war monitor reported. The car bomb exploded in the town Shehel in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour Province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The bombing targeted a convoy of the Kurdish self-defence force and oil workers were among the killed, said the London-based watchdog, reports Xinhua news agency. The Islamic State (IS) militant group is behind the attack, it noted. The incident came as the last IS millitants planned to evacuate their last area in the eastern Euphrates River region in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour. The Observatory said 260 IS millitants remain in the farmland of the town of Bagouz while dozens of civilians are set to leave the area in accordance with an undeclared deal between the SDF and the IS. The SDF has been backed by the US-led coalition in their push to drive out the IS from eastern Syria close to the Iraqi border. The evacuation of IS millitants and their families from eastern Syria has been dragging on recently amid no exact information about their destination. "We are excited to have a new facility for our customers in the Los Angeles area," says Gil Flor, the site manager of metrology services for Carl Zeiss Industrial Metrology, LLC. "In addition to measuring services, this excellence center allows us to offer our customers several types of software training, including the different CALYPSO levels and PiWeb reporting software that connects machines together to control and analyze quality data." ZEISS engineers onsite can provide programming, consulting and specialized training. A broad range of contact and optical measurement systems and sensors are available, including the larger measuring range MICURA CMM with active scanning and submicron accuracy, ideal for measuring intricate parts. For optical measurements, the O-INSPECT system features both optical and contact scanning for reliable 3D accuracy. There are also the latest surface, form and geometry systems to round out inspection capabilities. The location and contact information for the new service center is: 21084 Bake Parkway, Suite 106 Lake Forest, CA 92630 Phone: (800) 327-9735 [email protected] For more information, visit ZEISS Metrology Services About ZEISS ZEISS is an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the fields of optics and optoelectronics. The ZEISS Group develops, produces and distributes measuring technology, microscopes, medical technology, eyeglass lenses, camera and cinema lenses, binoculars and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. With its solutions, the company constantly advances the world of optics and helps shape technological progress. ZEISS is divided up into the four segments Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology, Consumer Markets and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology. The ZEISS Group is represented in more than 40 countries and has over 50 sales and service locations, more than 30 manufacturing sites and about 25 research and development centers around the globe. In fiscal year 2016/17 the company generated revenue approximating 5.3 billion with around 27,000 employees. Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. Carl Zeiss AG is the strategic management holding company that manages the ZEISS Group. The company is wholly owned by the Carl Zeiss Stiftung (Carl Zeiss Foundation). Further information is available at www.zeiss.com ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions is a leading manufacturer of multidimensional metrology solutions. These include coordinate measuring machines, optical and multisensor systems, and metrology software for the automotive, aircraft, mechanical engineering, plastics and medical technology industries. Innovative technologies such as 3D X-ray metrology for quality inspection round off the product portfolio. ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions additionally offers a broad global spectrum of customer services with measuring houses and competence centers close to its customers. The unit is headquartered in Oberkochen. Production and development sites outside Germany are located in Minneapolis in the USA, Shanghai, China and Bangalore, India. ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions is allocated to the Industrial Quality & Research segment. Around 6,300 employees work for the segment, generating revenue totaling 1.5 billion in fiscal year 2016/17. Further information is available at www.zeiss.com/metrology SOURCE Carl Zeiss Industrial Metrology, LLC Related Links https://www.zeiss.com "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that 50 million Americans live with chronic pain that's more than 20 percent of the U.S. population," said Rachel Joy Swardson, Senior Marketing Manager of New Product Development at The Village Company, parent company of Village Naturals Therapy. "In an effort to help this growing population, we're excited to launch our Chronic Pain & Fatigue Bath Soak and Body Wash. The line is specially formulated with a blend of powerful ingredients like Epsom salt, arnica and ginger to help combat not only soreness but also the fatigue associated with these conditions. Our goal is to support the return of energy, strength and joy to those in pain." For 30 years, Village Naturals Therapy has provided customers with soaks, washes and lotions to help ease sore muscles, promote sleep and reduce tension. Now the company expands into chronic pain and fatigue support to elevate health and wellbeing both physically and emotionally. The line is formulated with arnica herb and Epsom salt, the key ingredients known to soothe painful inflammation, as well as blueberry and flaxseed oil providing antioxidants and vitamins to help protect and nourish the skin. Additionally, orange and eucalyptus essential oils provide uplifting fragrance and balance to help fight fatigue. The new Chronic Pain & Fatigue collection includes a bath soak as well as a body wash, offering versatile bathing solutions for the tub or shower. Enjoy a relaxing bath, foot or hand soak with Village Naturals Therapy Chronic Pain & Fatigue Soak. Infused with ginger to relieve soreness and D-ribose to improve skin elasticity, the 36-ounce soak also contains a slight shimmer from naturally-derived silver mica. Return strength and energy with the Village Naturals Therapy Chronic Pain & Fatigue Body Wash that can be added to running water for a bath or used in the shower with a washcloth or bath loofah. The 20-ounce wash contains 4 uplifting essential oils and pairs perfectly with the soak for the most therapeutic bathing experience. Both products will be available in Walmart stores starting February 23 and retail for $5.27. About The Village Company The Village Company (TVC) has a long and rich heritage in personal care products. Originally known as Minnetonka, Inc., TVC markets some of the country's most endearing and enduring heritage brands including Mr. Bubble , the #1 bubble bath brand in children's bath; Sesame Street Bath Products ; Village Naturals Therapy and Village Naturals Aromatherapy bath products; Soft & Dri deodorant; Dep hair gels; La Bella hair and skincare products; and the new HALLU bath and body line. The Village Company's brands are widely distributed through leading retailers in the food, drug, mass and beauty channels. Visit thevillagecompany.com to learn more. SOURCE The Village Company TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (the "Company" or "TGOD") (TSX:TGOD) (US:TGODF) is pleased to provide a detailed update on its Jamaican partner Epican Medicinals Ltd. ("Epican"). In June 2018, TGOD purchased 49.18% interest in Epican, a fully integrated Jamaican cannabis company with cultivation, extraction, manufacturing and retail distribution licenses. Significant progress has been made towards expanding cultivation, opening additional retail dispensaries, and establishing a leadership position in Jamaica's robust medical cannabis market. HIGHLIGHTS Leased a 100-acre parcel of land in Trelawny Parish , with land clearance underway to increase production with a 2,000 kg pilot towards a 14,000 kg operation. The 14,000 kg is expected to utilize approximately 5% of the property with the potential for expansion as demand dictates , with land clearance underway to increase production with a 2,000 kg pilot towards a 14,000 kg operation. The 14,000 kg is expected to utilize approximately 5% of the property with the potential for expansion as demand dictates Accelerated productive capacity while building inventory in advance of planned retail expansion Pursuing GMP certification at the Kingston Lab to facilitate global export Epican's flagship ~4,000 sq. ft. Kingston retail location opened in July 2018 and has experienced continual month over month sales growth. Epican will soon open a Cafe adjacent to the retail store expanding initiatives to include cannabis-related events such as Puff and Paint and Cannabis Yoga retail location opened in and has experienced continual month over month sales growth. Epican will soon open a Cafe adjacent to the retail store expanding initiatives to include cannabis-related events such as Puff and Paint and Cannabis Yoga Secured strategic locations in Montego Bay (on the "Hip Strip" Gloucester Ave.) and Negril (close to the world-famous "Rick's Cafe") for the planned second and third retail locations. The Montego Bay retail location is complete and ready to open pending authorization from the Cannabis Licensing Authority ("CLA"). Additional locations, including Negril, are planned for 2019 and 2020 (on the "Hip Strip" Gloucester Ave.) and Negril (close to the world-famous "Rick's Cafe") for the planned second and third retail locations. The Montego Bay retail location is complete and ready to open pending authorization from the Cannabis Licensing Authority ("CLA"). Additional locations, including Negril, are planned for 2019 and 2020 Expected to dramatically reduce delivery times across the island, Epican is piloting an industry first prescription delivery service for registered medical patients with a view to expand across the country subject to pilot success Testing the first high-technology cannabis vending machines including thumbprint scanners ensuring product access only to authorized patients Sponsored cannabis " Herb Cure " pavilion of the 2019 "Rebel Salute" music festival " pavilion of the 2019 "Rebel Salute" music festival Increased employees from 17 to 40 Jamaica has long been recognized as a premier location for cannabis enthusiasts and Epican has deep roots in the country. Founders, the McKenzie brothers, have been at the forefront of the nation's burgeoning medical cannabis industry, including extensive advocacy for the responsible development of the industry. Epican was awarded the country's historic first cultivation license and continues to forge the path to serving the medical needs of the country's 3 million inhabitants and nearly 4.3 million tourists each year. "We have made incredible progress in Jamaica over the past 8 months," commented Brian Athaide, Director and CEO of TGOD. "We plan to continue opening stores throughout the country, increasing productive capacity, and expanding our leadership in Jamaica. As Trelawny comes online in phases, we will accelerate production to meet growing demand within Jamaica and export product through TGOD's distribution channels in Mexico and beyond." The 49.18% Jamaican investment is an integral component of TGOD's international strategy, together with distribution and operations in Europe, Latin America and North America provide the Company with a strong foundation to rapidly expand organic initiatives across the globe. On Behalf of the Board of Directors, The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. About The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (TSX:TGOD) is a publicly traded, premium global organic cannabis company, with operations focused on medical cannabis markets in Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as the Canadian adult-use market. The Company grows high quality, organic cannabis with sustainable, all-natural principles. TGOD's products are laboratory tested to ensure patients have access to a standardized, safe and consistent product. TGOD has a planned capacity of 219,000 kgs and is building 1,643,600 sq. ft. of cultivation and processing facilities across Ontario, Quebec, Jamaica and Denmark. TGOD's Common Shares and warrants issued under the indenture dated November 1, 2017 trade on the TSX under the symbol "TGOD" and "TGOD.WT", respectively. For more information on The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd., please visit www.tgod.ca. Forward-Looking Information Cautionary Statement This news release includes statements containing certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law ("forward-looking statements"). Forward looking statements in this release includes, but is not limited to, statements about future research, development and innovation by the Company, statements about future facility construction and capital costs, statements about production timing, efficiencies, capacities and ramp-up, statements about future production, revenue and cashflows, statements about the offering of any particular products by the Company in any jurisdiction, statements about the success of any GMP applications, statements about the timing or success of any retail store launches or activities, statements about future prescription delivery services, statements about future export activities, and statements regarding the future performance of the Company. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forward-looking statements throughout this news release. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law. Neither TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of Toronto Stock Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. SAN DIEGO, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sonant Corporation announced the recent go-live status of its cloud-based contact center automation product, CourtTalk Traffic, for the Los Angeles Superior Court (LASC). Using phone or web access, citizens can get information about their traffic citations, make payments on traffic citations and traffic payment plans, sign up for traffic school, as well as request an arraignment hearing date and an extension on traffic payments and hearing dates. LASC is one of the largest traffic court systems in the United States serving over 10 million people of the county and is dedicated to serving their community by providing equal access to justice through the fair, timely and efficient resolution of all transactions. In response to the selection, Sonant President and CEO Charles Smith noted, "With the move to our hosted solution we are looking forward to many more years of a successful partnership as we celebrate our 25-year relationship with the Court." According to Rick Suminski, Sonant Project Manager for LASC, "Sonant's Hosted Services currently handles millions of calls per year for various government agencies, including secure payment processing. We expect this to grow significantly over the coming years. In addition, Sonant's hosted service significantly reduces the effort by LASC to maintain Payment Card Industry (PCI) data security compliance needed for secure payment processing. The hosted service also provides critical system infrastructure and redundancy to LASC." In 1993, Sonant Corporation provided automation services to LASC that established an industry benchmark for automation and processing the large volume of calls and payments from the public. About Sonant Corporation Sonant Corporation provides cloud-based, hosted and premise-based customized phone and Web contact automation and management, customer/citizen service, and electronic payment systems to a wide range of government organizations. It has been doing so for more than 25 years. Sonant offers many affordable, all-in-one client management, automated messaging, and e-payment solutions that easily integrate with an organization's existing phone and data networks. These software services offer cost-effective integration of the current voice- and data-processing technologies. Sonant Corporation 6215 Ferris Square, Suite 220 San Diego, CA 92121 Tel (858) 623-8180 Fax (858) 623-8190 www.sonant.com Media Contact Information Rick Suminski, Director of Customer Projects Sonant Corporation Email: [email protected] Phone: 858-864-1452 SOURCE Sonant Corporation Related Links http://www.sonant.com "Suicide is a preventable tragedy. The rates of suicide in Maine, and nationwide, continue to increase while rates for other leading causes of death are declining. There is no one cause of suicide. More funding, research, training, and awareness are critical to saving lives. Support from lawmakers and the community is needed to decrease the stigma of suicide and to provide more opportunities for education and training at all levels and in all circles. AFSP is the leading organization funding and focused on suicide, coordinating with many other groups to address this public health crisis," said Anne Falk, AFSP Maine Chapter Board Member and Field Advocate. AFSP Maine advocates will be asking legislators to support: (1) LD 3 establishing and providing funding for the Mental Health Providers Loan Repayment Program to increase the number of mental health providers in underserved practice areas; (2) LD 803 establishing four 24/7 regional crisis intervention centers to be operated and maintained by the Department of Health and Human Services; (3) LD 429 requiring licensed psychologists, social workers, and clinical professional counselors to complete a minimum of 6 hours of course work in suicide prevention, assessment, treatment, or management in the 10 years prior to license renewal; (4) LD 203 directing the Department of Transportation to construct and maintain certain barrier fences for suicide prevention; and (5) LD 97 authorizing final adoption of the Department of Education rule necessary to implement 2018's LD 1694 which requires school prevention, intervention, and postvention protocols. The first AFSP Maine State Capitol Day is a special day for all who have a connection with or a personal story around the topic of suicide. Volunteers will meet with their state legislators and share their stories about why they participate in this advocacy effort, giving a human face to this important health problem. Advocates hope that by sharing their stories, they will help legislators understand that state investments in mental health and suicide prevention can save lives. AFSP Maine advocates are part of a larger national movement of AFSP volunteer advocates who will be visiting over 40 state capitols across the United States in 2019 to bring best practices in suicide prevention to state legislators and their staff. To learn more about AFSP's advocacy efforts, visit here: https://afsp.org/our-work/advocacy/. On average, one hundred twenty-nine (129) Americans died by suicide each day in 2017, and 90% of those individuals had a diagnosable mental health condition at the time of their death. AFSP volunteers will urge state lawmakers to be the voice for the thousands of Maine residents affected by suicide each year. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide. AFSP creates a culture that's smart about mental health through education and community programs, develops suicide prevention through research and advocacy, and provides support for those affected by suicide. Led by CEO Robert Gebbia and headquartered in New York, with a Public Policy Office in Washington, D.C. AFSP has local chapters in all 50 states with programs and events nationwide. Learn more about AFSP in its latest Annual Report, and join the conversation on suicide prevention by following AFSP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. SOURCE American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Related Links http://www.afsp.org LAS VEGAS, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Signature Kitchen Suite earned multiple honors at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS), led by the highly coveted Gold "Best of KBIS" Award for its industry-first pro range with built-in sous vide modality, and the National Kitchen and Bath Association's (NKBA) inaugural "30s Choice Award" for the new integrated wine column refrigerators. Both awards recognize the most innovative new products showcased at the 2019 KBIS, North America's premier annual event dedicated to the kitchen and bath industry, which took place this week in Las Vegas. Both awards recognize the most innovative new products showcased at the 2019 KBIS, North Americas premier annual event dedicated to the kitchen and bath industry, which took place this week in Las Vegas. Unique to the brands new integrated wine column refrigerator series is Wine Cave technology, designed for precise wine preservation, inspired by the traditional, historic old-world caves of wineries, located near Signature Kitchen Suite's new Experience and Design Center in Napa Valley, Calif. Signature Kitchen Suite earned multiple honors at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS), led by the highly coveted Gold Best of KBIS Award for its industry-first pro range with built-in sous vide modality, and the National Kitchen and Bath Associations (NKBA) inaugural 30s Choice Award for the new integrated wine column refrigerators. Among the kitchen and bath industry's most prestigious awards, the Best of KBIS is the official show program that recognizes the best new kitchen and bath products that push the boundaries of design, technology and innovation. Winners are selected based on innovation, design and function. Signature Kitchen Suite earned the top honor among all kitchen products at the show, not just kitchen appliances but also cabinetry, countertops and more. The NKBA honors an outstanding group of young professionals as part of its Thirty Under 30 program. At KBIS, the incoming class was tasked with scouring the KBIS show floor in search of the most innovative products, ideas and technologies in 10 categories which are selected as the NKBA 30s Choice Awards. Signature Kitchen Suite is the fresh new luxury brand of built-in kitchen appliances from global home appliance leader LG Electronics, and is committed to innovative thinking, purposeful design and leading-edge precision. The 48-inch dual-fuel range caters to Technicureans, a new generation of forward-thinking home chefs, combining their passion for food with their appreciation and need for innovation. This is the first pro range on the market with built-in sous vide, induction and gas all on the cooktop, delivering the ultimate in precision cooking. Once limited to the pros, sous vide is a cooking technique that utilizes precise temperature control to deliver consistent, restaurant-quality results. Now, with the industry's first built-in sous vide range, home chefs have the capability to achieve professional-level results and capture the full, true flavor of foods. Unique to the brand's new integrated wine column refrigerator series is Wine Cave technology, designed for precise wine preservation, inspired by the traditional, historic old-world caves of wineries, located near Signature Kitchen Suite's new Experience and Design Center in Napa Valley, Calif. Carefully tailored to mimic these ideal environments, the exclusive Wine Cave design significantly reduces vibration a primary impediment to wine preservation, which causes chemical imbalances affecting the quality, flavors, aromas and texture as well as minimizes temperature fluctuations, limits light exposure and locks in humidity. Coinciding with the launch, the brand debuted a True Sommelier app that helps wine collectors manage their personal collections. "KBIS has become the platform to launch and showcase extraordinary kitchen and bath products that push the boundaries of design and innovation," said Brian Pagel, senior vice president, Emerald Expositions. "As a Best of KBIS award winner, Signature Kitchen Suite is demonstrating outstanding innovation, technological prowess and distinctive design." "We are challenging the industry to deliver exceptional innovation and value to our customers, so it's a tremendous honor to see both our sous-vide pro range and new integrated wine column refrigerators capture such coveted distinctions at the premier kitchen industry event," said Zach Elkin, general manager of Signature Kitchen Suite. "With thoughtful design, leading-edge precision and smart, intuitive features, Signature Kitchen Suite continues to lead innovation in the high-end kitchen appliance market." For more information on the entire line of appliances, visit SignatureKitchenSuite.com About Signature Kitchen Suite Signature Kitchen Suite delivers innovation in the luxury built-in kitchen appliance market with leading-edge technology that provides more flexibility to prepare food in the best possible way, demonstrating respect for the food at every level. The new luxury brand from global home appliance leader LG Electronics, Signature Kitchen Suite is embracing a new generation of forward-thinking Technicurean cooks, combining their passion for food with their appreciation for innovation. From the first-of-its-kind built-in sous vide range to the industry's only built-in French Door refrigerator with a convertible middle drawer, Signature Kitchen Suite's versatile and high-performance appliances deliver the ultimate precision cooking experience. Visit www.signaturekitchensuite.com or follow the brand on social channels @SKSappliances. Media Contact: Phoebe Dinner 212 237 4126 [email protected] SOURCE Signature Kitchen Suite Related Links http://www.signaturekitchensuite.com LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Google has announced the end of its forced arbitration policy for employers, which will go into effect for current and future employees on March 21, 2019. Under the new policy, Google will not reopen settled claims but its current employees can litigate past claims beginning March 21st. For contractors Google works with directly, it will remove mandatory arbitration from their contracts. While this will not apply to outside firms that employ contractors, Google says it will notify suppliers to see if they can use the same approach. The news comes as a direct response to a group of outspoken Google employees who protested the company's arbitration practices last month. Approximately one month earlier, the same group of 35 employees came together to demand Google end forced arbitration as it relates to any case of discrimination. In November, a 20,000-person walkout at Google prompted the company to get rid of forced arbitration for sexual harassment and sexual assault claims. Google said that since getting rid of forced arbitration for cases related to sexual harassment and assault, they decided to apply the policy to all forms of discrimination. Carney Shegerian, the founder of Los Angeles-based employee rights law firm Shegerian & Associates, has weighed in on Google's new forced arbitration policy. "Google's new forced arbitration policy is a win for all of their employees," says Shegerian. "While the removal of forced arbitration for sexual harassment and assault cases was a step in the right direction, the same policies should be applied to all forms of discrimination." About Shegerian & Associates: Shegerian & Associates has won clients over $200 million in employment-based disputes and maintains a 98% success rate. We have offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and New York. Media Contact: Pace Public Relations Caroline Kropke [email protected] SOURCE Shegerian & Associates Related Links www.shegerianlaw.com WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Department of Health and Human Services announced today finalized regulations for the Title X family planning program that reinstates President Ronald Reagan's "Protect Life Rule" which protects the integrity of the program by preventing the "co-location" of federally funded family planning clinics with abortion clinics. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins commented: "President Trump's HHS is taking a major step toward the ultimate goal of ending taxpayers' forced partnership with the abortion industry. The finalized 'protect life rule' draws a bright line between abortion and family planning programs -- just as the federal law requires and the Supreme Court has upheld. "It's a shame that the federal Title X family planning program has been co-mingled with abortion ever since President Bill Clinton issued regulations not only removing the wall of separation President Reagan issued, but even illegally requiring groups to refer for abortion. The result is that Planned Parenthood an organization that's been under criminal investigation for selling baby body parts gets roughly $60 million per year through what has become a slush fund for the abortion giant. "Planned Parenthood and other abortion centers will now have to choose between dropping their abortion services from any location that gets Title X dollars and moving those abortion operations offsite. Either way, this will loosen the group's hold on tens of millions of tax dollars. "This announcement follows a strong statement by the president in which he committed to veto any legislation that weakens federal policy on abortion. President Trump has been persistent in fulfilling his pro-life campaign promises including ensuring that taxpayers are not in a forced partnership with the abortion industry," concluded Perkins. SOURCE Family Research Council Related Links http://www.frc.org ATOTONILCO EL ALTO, Jalisco, Mexico, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Raising a glass to cocktail creativity and perfection behind the bar, Patron Tequila invites fans to celebrate International Margarita Day as it embarks on its search for 2019's "Margarita of the Year." The competition, featuring eight refreshingly unique twists on the iconic cocktail, kicks off today with the winner selected just in time for Cinco de Mayo. Patron, the global leader in the ultra-premium 100 percent agave tequila category, is bringing together eight bartenders from across the globe to showcase their most unique and creative interpretations of the classic margarita. Each contender in the search draws inspiration from their local regions to craft fresh flavor combinations think juniper and rose, lychee and ginger as they vie for "Margarita of the Year." Fans can vote for their favorite once daily now through www.MargaritaoftheYear.com. The margarita with the most votes will be crowned on April 25, 2019, in a global finale at Hacienda Patron in Jalisco, Mexico. The bartender who creates the winning recipe will be handed the coveted "Margarita of the Year" trophy to proudly exhibit in his or her bar. "There's tremendous merit in a bartender who can craft a simple, classic margarita with the finest quality and freshest ingredients, but these eight bartenders have truly transformed them into masterpieces," says Lee Applbaum, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Patron Tequila. "Using inspiration from local ingredients, stunning garnishes and of course the perfect tequila Patron these globally inspired drinks are elevated into true works of art." Each bartender selected to participate in this year's search created unique, flavorful interpretations of the margarita to highlight the cocktails versatility. The margaritas and participants include: "Paseo Margarita" with coconut and basil, by Jacyara de Oliveira in Chicago "Pasifika Margarita" with pineapple and coconut, by Samuel Jimenez in Oakland in "Golden Hour Margarita" with turmeric and pineapple, by Natalie Jacob in New York City in "Flamingo Park Margarita" with grapefruit, by Tyler Kitzman in Miami in " Margarita Caliente " with passion fruit and chipotle, by Adrian Martinez in Guadalajara " with passion fruit and chipotle, by in " Margarita Amore " with apple and chili pepper, by Cristian Bugiada in Rome " with apple and chili pepper, by in Rome "Dynasty Margarita" with lychee and ginger, by Jay Khan in Hong Kong in "Wild Rose Margarita" with juniper and rose, by Makina Labrecque in Calgary "What bartenders around the world are doing to elevate the beloved margarita is nothing short of awe-inspiring," said Jose Luis Leon of Mexico City, whose Verde Margarita was crowned as 2018's Margarita of the Year. "I've witnessed first-hand the unbelievable riffs these Margarita masters can come up with, and I'm excited to see what's in store for this year's search." This year fans can get to know the eight cocktails in numerous ways including various local Patron-sponsored events and activations over the coming months leading up to Cinco de Mayo. Once fans have explored each of the margaritas, they can vote for their favorite interpretation via: Casting their vote on the dedicated Margarita of the Year website Liking or commenting on a social post or video about a specific contender Sharing, re-tweeting, and pinning posts about a specific contender Voting at a Patron-sponsored event, including the final showdown at the Patron Hacienda Purchasing a dedicated Cocktail Courier kit that is sold for each contender "With Patron Tequila as the base, it's easy to create a margarita that's a cut above," remarked David Alan, Director of Trade Education & Mixology at Patron Spirits. "It's exciting to see our cocktail-crafting contenders take the margarita to the next level, spotlighting this storied drink and furthering its position as one of the world's most beloved cocktails." About Patron Tequila From hand-harvesting the highest-quality 100 percent Weber Blue Agave, to the traditional, time-honored distillation process and individual labeling, numbering, and inspection of each bottle, Patron tequila is crafted with meticulous precision and care. Though Patron has grown to become one of the most recognized and respected luxury spirits brands in the world, it is still exclusively produced in the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, in the same small batches and with the same commitment to quality and craftsmanship. For more information about Patron tequilas and liqueurs, please visit www.patrontequila.com . Contact : Sami Richman, M Booth Jennifer Pisciotta, Patron Tequila 212.481.7000 817.873.7112 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Patron Tequila Related Links http://www.patrontequila.com TUSTIN, Calif., Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- miVIP Surgery Centers, a network of ambulatory surgery facilities providing minimally invasive surgery, is the first outpatient facility in the world to use the SureForm 60 Stapler from Intuitive Surgical. Bobby Bhasker-Rao, MD, a general and bariatric surgeon who has expertise with the robotic da Vinci Xi Surgical System, used the SureForm 60 mm in a robotic-assisted sleeve gastrectomy, or gastric sleeve, procedure this week. Gastric sleeve surgery changes the shape and size of the stomach to reduce food intake, helping patients lose weight. Surgeons at miVIP provide robotic-assisted surgery for obesity, hernia, sleep apnea, GERD, prostate cancer and other medical concerns. They continually seek ways to improve surgical techniques that deliver better outcomes for patients. Used with the da Vinci system's SmartFire technology, the SureForm 60 offers 120 degrees of fully wristed articulation, providing more precise stapler placement to reduce the risk of tissue damage to the patient. "The SureForm 60 is the smartphone of surgical staplers," said Dr. Bobby Bhasker-Rao of miVIP Surgery Centers in Southern California. "This computer-interfaced stapler has all the intelligence and mechanics built in, allowing for a more consistent staple line." According to Dr. Bhasker-Rao, the stapler's SmartFire technology helps optimize tissue approximation and sealing to prevent leaks and bleeding, leading to much safer and higher-quality surgeries. The instrument's articulation feature approaches tissue where it naturally lies, minimizing tissue manipulation and, therefore, minimizing tissue damage. "This stapler further improves my ability to provide bariatric patients with the safest and most precise minimally invasive procedure possible," adds Dr. Bhasker-Rao. "For patients, this translates into a lower risk of complications, less pain, a shorter recovery time, and the best possible outcome." About miVIP Surgery Centers miVIP is a network of state-of-the-art outpatient surgery centers providing minimally invasive procedures in specialties that include Bariatrics, Gastroenterology, General Surgery, Gynecology, ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat), Orthopedics, Podiatry, Spine Health and Urology. miVIP facilities are equipped with robotics and other innovative technologies, and meet or exceed national assurance standards for safety and quality. Dedicated patient support teams provide concierge-level care and VIP treatment for an unparalleled healthcare experience. For information, visit www.mivip.com. Source: https://www.intuitive.com/en/products-and-services/da-vinci/stapling/sureform-60 Media Contact: Karina Calloway, Marketing Director, miVIP Surgery Centers (310) 208-6019, [email protected] SOURCE miVIP Surgery Centers Related Links http://www.mivip.com STOCKHOLM, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Summary of Q4 Financial overview October 1 December 31, 2018 Net sales amounted to SEK 0.0 M (0.0) Loss for the period was SEK 111.4 M (loss: 66.2) Loss per share, before and after dilution, was 2.53 (loss: 1.68) SEK On December 31 cash and cash equivalents amounted to SEK 375.6 M (404.1) Significant events during the period October 1 to December 31, 2018 At the company's Capital Markets Day in December, an updated strategy for Oncopeptides' business was presented At the company's extraordinary general meeting in December, Dr Jennifer Jackson was elected as a new board member Professor Paul G Richardson presented new interim data from the ongoing HORIZON study with melflufen at the 60th American Society of Hematology Meeting (ASH) The first interim results from the ongoing combination study ANCHOR with melflufen were presented at ASH in December Significant events after the reporting period In January 2019 , Oncopeptides completed a directed share issue of SEK 546.2 M before issue costs (approximately USD 60 M ) Financial overview of the group SEK thousand 2018 Oct - Dec 2017 Oct - Dec 2018 Jan - Dec 2017 Jan - Dec Net sales - - - - Operating loss -111,212 -66,704 -419,300 -247,620 Loss before tax -111,214 -66,704 -419,302 -247,620 Loss for the period -111,361 -66,704 -419,449 -247,620 Earnings per share before and after dilution (SEK) -2.53 -1.68 -9.77 -6.44 Cash flow from operating activities -108,855 -45,679 -333,727 -271,497 Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period 375,617 404,050 375,617 404,050 Research & development costs/operating expenses % 81% 79% 77% 80% Conference call for investors, analysts and the media The Year-end Report for 2018 and an operational update will be presented by CEO Jakob Lindberg and members of Oncopeptides management team, Friday February 22, 2019 at 14:00 (CET). The conference call will also be streamed via a link on the website: www.oncopeptides.com. Phone numbers for participants from: Sweden: +46-8-566-427 06Europe: +44-3333-009-270 USA: +1-833-526-83-82 Financial calendar Annual Report 2018: Week 17, 2019 Annual General Meeting: May 21, 2019 Q1 Report 2019: May 21, 2019 Q2 Report 2019: July 12, 2019 Q3 Report 2019: November 19, 2019 For more information, please contact: Jakob Lindberg, CEO, Oncopeptides AB E-mail: [email protected] Telephone: +46-8-615-20-40 Rein Piir Head of Investor Relations at OncopeptidesCell phone: +46-70-853-72-92 E-mail: [email protected] This information is information that Oncopeptides is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 08:00 CET on February 22, 2019. About Oncopeptides Oncopeptides is a pharmaceutical company developing drugs for the treatment of cancer. The company is focusing on the development of the lead product candidate melflufen (Ygalo), a novel peptide conjugated alkylator that selectively targets multiple myeloma belonging to the class of peptide-enhanced compounds. Melflufen is intended as an effective treatment of hematological cancers, and in particular multiple myeloma. The goal with the current clinical study program is to demonstrate better results from treatment with melflufen compared with established alternative drugs for patients with multiple myeloma. Melflufen will potentially provide physicians with a new treatment option for patients suffering from this serious disease. More information is available on www.oncopeptides.com. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/oncopeptides-ab/r/year-end-report-2018,c2747114 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/15404/2747114/995883.pdf Year end report 2018 (PDF) https://mb.cision.com/Public/15404/2747114/afa25e295a79d5c2.pdf Press Release (PDF) SOURCE Oncopeptides AB PITTSBURGH, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Additive manufacturing's promise to revolutionize industry is constrained by a widespread problem: tiny gas pockets in the final product, which can lead to cracks and other failures. New research published today in Science, led by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Argonne National Laboratory, has identified how and when these gas pockets form, as well as a methodology to predict their formation a pivotal discovery that could dramatically improve the 3D printing process. This image, taken under the synchrotron at Argonne National Laboratory, shows a keyhole void forming during the metal 3-D printing process. During laser powder bed fusion, a 3-D printer drills a hole into the metal. "The research in this paper will translate into better quality control and better control of working with the machines," said Anthony Rollett, a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and an author on the paper. "For additive manufacturing to really take off for the majority of companies, we need to improve the consistency of the finished products. This research is a major step in that direction." The scientists used the extremely bright high-energy X-rays at Argonne's Advanced Photon Source (APS), a DOE Office of Science User Facility, to take super-fast video and images of a process called Laser Power Bed Fusion (LPBF), in which lasers are used to melt and fuse material powder together. The lasers, which scan over each layer of powder to fuse metal where it is needed, literally create the finished product from the ground up. Defects can form when pockets of gas become trapped into these layers, causing imperfections that could lead to cracks or other breakdowns in the final product. Until now, manufacturers and researchers did not know much about how the laser drills into the metal, producing cavities called "vapor depressions," but they assumed that the type of metal powder or strength of laser were to blame. As a result, manufacturers have been using a trial and error approach with different types of metals and lasers to seek to reduce the defects. In fact, the research shows that these vapor depressions exist under nearly all conditions in the process, no matter the laser or metal. Even more important, the research shows how to predict when a small depression will grow into a big and unstable one that can potentially create a defect. "We're drawing back the veil and revealing what's really going on," Rollett said. "Most people think you shine a laser light on the surface of a metal powder, the light is absorbed by the material, and it melts the metal into a melt pool. In actuality, you're really drilling a hole into the metal." By using highly specialized equipment at Argonne's APS, one of the most powerful synchrotron facilities in the world, researchers watched what happens as the laser moves across the metal powder bed to create each layer of the product. Under perfect conditions, the melt pool shape is shallow and semicircular, called the "conduction mode." But during the actual printing process, the high-power laser, often moving at a low speed, can change the melt pool shape to something like a keyhole in a warded lock: round and large on top, with a narrow spike at bottom. Such "keyhole mode" melting can potentially lead to defects in the final product. "Based on this research, we now know that the keyhole phenomenon is more important, in many ways, than the powder being used in additive manufacturing," said Ross Cunningham, a recent graduate from Carnegie Mellon University and one of the co-first authors of this paper. "Our research shows that you can predict the factors that lead to a keyhole which means you can also isolate those factors for better results." The research shows that keyholes form when a certain laser power density is reached that is sufficient to boil the metal. This, in turn, reveals the critical importance of the laser focus in the additive manufacturing process, an element that has received scant attention so far, according to the research team. "The keyhole phenomenon was able to be viewed for the first time with such details because of the scale and specialized capability developed at Argonne," said Tao Sun, an Argonne physicist and an author on the paper. "The intense high-energy X-ray beam at the APS is key to discoveries like this." The experiment platform that supports study of additive manufacturing includes a laser apparatus, specialized detectors, and dedicated beamline instruments. In 2016, the Argonne team, together with their research partners, captured the first-ever X-ray video of laser additive manufacturing at micrometer and microsecond scales. That study increased interest in the impact Argonne's APS could have on manufacturing techniques and challenges. "We are really studying a very basic science problem, which is what happens to metal when you heat it up with a high-power laser," said Cang Zhao, an Argonne postdoc and the other co-first author of the paper. "Because of our unique experimental capability, we are able to work with our collaborators on experiments that are really valuable to manufacturers." The research team believes this research could motivate makers of additive manufacturing machines to offer more flexibility when controlling the machines and that the improved use of the machines could lead to a significant improvement in the final product. In addition, if these insights are acted upon, the process for 3D printing could get faster. "It's important because 3D printing in general is rather slow," Rollett said. "It takes hours to print a part that is a few inches high. That's OK if you can afford to pay for the technique, but we need to do better." Co-lead authors are Ross Cunningham and Cang Zhao, from Carnegie Mellon University and Argonne National Laboratory, respectively; other authors from Carnegie Mellon University are Christopher Kantzos and Joseph Pauza; other authors from Argonne National Laboratory are Niranjan Parab and Kamel Fezzaa. Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit the Office of Science website. About the College of Engineering: The College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (engineering.cmu.edu) is a top-ranked engineering college that is known for our intentional focus on cross-disciplinary collaboration in research. The College is well-known for working on problems of both scientific and practical importance. Our "maker" culture is ingrained in all that we do, leading to novel approaches and transformative results. Our acclaimed faculty have a focus on innovation management and engineering to yield transformative results that will drive the intellectual and economic vitality of our community, nation and world. About Carnegie Mellon University: Carnegie Mellon ( www.cmu.edu ) is a private, internationally ranked university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 13,000 students in the university's seven schools and colleges benefit from a small faculty-to-student ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real world problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. Contact: Emily Durham [email protected] SOURCE Carnegie Mellon University and Argonne National Laboratory Related Links http://www.cmu.edu WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In a research breakthrough funded by NASA, scientists have synthesized a molecular system that, like DNA, can store and transmit information. This unprecedented feat suggests there could be an alternative to DNA-based life, as we know it on Earth a genetic system for life that may be possible on other worlds. This new molecular system, which is not a new life form, suggests scientists looking for life beyond Earth may need to rethink what they are looking for. The research appears in Thursday's edition of Science Magazine. DNA is a complex molecule that stores and transmits genetic information, is passed from parent to offspring in all living organisms on Earth, and its components include four key ingredients called nucleotides all standard for life as we know it. But, what about life on other worlds? "Life detection is an increasingly important goal of NASA's planetary science missions, and this new work will help us to develop effective instruments and experiments that will expand the scope of what we look for," said Lori Glaze, acting director of NASA's Planetary Science Division. One way to imagine the kinds of foreign structures found on other worlds is to try to create something foreign on Earth. A team of researchers, led by Steven Benner at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Alachua, Florida, successfully achieved the fabrication of a new informational molecular system that is like DNA, except in one key area: The new molecule has eight informational ingredients instead of four. The synthetic DNA includes the four nucleotides present in Earth life adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine but also four others that mimic the structures of the informational ingredients in regular DNA. The result is a double-helix structure that can store and transfer information. Benner's team, which collaborated with laboratories at the University of Texas in Austin, Indiana University Medical School in Indianapolis, and DNA Software in Ann Arbor, Michigan, dubbed their creation "hachimoji" DNA (from the Japanese "hachi," meaning "eight," and "moji," meaning "letter"). Hachimoji DNA meets all the structural requirements that allow our DNA to store, transmit and evolve information in living systems. "By carefully analyzing the roles of shape, size and structure in hachimoji DNA, this work expands our understanding of the types of molecules that might store information in extraterrestrial life on alien worlds," said Benner. Scientists have much more to do on the question of what other genetic systems could serve as the foundation for life, and where such exotic organisms could be found. However, this study opens the door to further research on ways life could structure itself in environments that we consider inhospitable, but which might be teeming with forms of life we haven't yet imagined. "Incorporating a broader understanding of what is possible in our instrument design and mission concepts will result in a more inclusive and, therefore, more effective search for life beyond Earth," said Mary Voytek, senior scientist for Astrobiology at NASA Headquarters. One of NASA's goals is to search for life on other planets like Mars, where there was once flowing water and a thick atmosphere, or moons of the outer solar system like Europa and Enceladus, where vast water oceans churn under thick layers of ice. What if life on those worlds doesn't use our DNA? How could we recognize it? This new DNA may be the key to answering these questions and many more. This work also interests those interested in information as part of life. "The discovery that DNA with eight nucleotide letters is suitable for storing and transmitting information is a breakthrough in our knowledge of the range of possibilities necessary for life," said Andrew Serazin, president of Templeton World Charity Foundation in Nassau, The Bahamas, which also supported this work. "This makes a major contribution to the quest supported by Templeton World Charity Foundation to understand the fundamental role that information plays in both physics and biology." This research was supported by NASA's Astrobiology Program through the Exobiology Program. To learn more about NASA's Astrobiology Program, visit https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ SOURCE NASA Related Links http://www.nasa.gov WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine on Thursday's launch of Israel's first mission beyond Earth's orbit. SpaceIL's lander blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and now is on its way to becoming the first commercial lander to reach the Moon's surface. "Congratulations to SpaceIL and the Israel Space Agency. This is a historic step for all nations and commercial space as we look to extend our collaborations beyond low-Earth orbit and on to the Moon. "In July, I was in Israel and was very impressed with their commitment to expanding their role in the world's space community. As we better understand Israel's capabilities and the innovative work of their private industry, we know they'll be an even stronger international partner in the future, one vital to the success of extending commercial space to the Moon and eventually on to Mars and beyond. There are terrific opportunities awaiting Israel and all of us in advancing the space frontier." Learn more about this mission, and NASA's role in it, at: https://go.nasa.gov/2GWotTY SOURCE NASA Related Links http://www.nasa.gov ATLANTA, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. (NYSE: IVR) (the "Company") today announced it will hold its 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on Friday, May 3, 2019 at 1:00 pm ET at the Company's headquarters, located at 1555 Peachtree Street NE, 18th Floor, Atlanta, Georgia 30309. Stockholders of record of the Company as of the close of business on March 4, 2019 are entitled to attend the Annual Meeting and vote their shares. About Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. is a real estate investment trust that focuses on financing and managing residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities and mortgage loans. Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. is externally managed and advised by Invesco Advisers, Inc., a subsidiary of Invesco Ltd., a leading independent global investment management firm. Additional information is available at www.invescomortgagecapital.com. SOURCE Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. Related Links http://www.invescomortgagecapital.com Safeguard contractually promised that, if a distributor solicited an order from a customer for any Safeguard product, then they were entitled to the exclusive rights to and would receive all commissions generated from all sales to that customer ("Protected Customer") for the 36-month period following that sale. And, the 36-month account protection rights would restart each time Thurston and Teply made a new sale to that customer. Instead of working with them to develop their Protected Customers, Safeguard acquired two independent distributors and allowed them to solicit and make sales to Thurston's and Teply's Protected Customers. Safeguard actively concealed its involvement and misrepresented which customers were affected. The new distributors were even given more favorable pricing on Safeguard products than the prices offered to Thurston and Teply. Teply's suit went to an arbitration. A panel of three arbitrators found that Safeguard took advantage of Teply to a "grossly unfair degree" by refusing to enforce her account protection rights and "actively participating in the violation of those rights." The arbitrators awarded Teply $4,362,041.95 including attorneys' fees and costs. Thurston's suit went to a jury trial. The Idaho jury found Safeguard liable on all claims. Following the parties' post-trial motions, the district court entered judgment in favor of Thurston and against Safeguard in the amount of $6,792,649, including attorneys' fees and costs. The award also included $4,408,071 in punitive damages after the jury found that Safeguard had engaged in oppressive, fraudulent, malicious and outrageous conduct directed at Thurston. Safeguard hired Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP to appeal both cases to the Supreme Court of Idaho, raising a plethora of reasons for reversal. The Supreme Court rejected all of Safeguard's arguments and affirmed Teply's and Thurston's judgments. And, it ordered Safeguard to pay Thurston's attorneys' fees and costs on appeal. James M. Mulcahy of Mulcahy LLP was the lead trial lawyer for Teply and Thurston, and argued the appeals to the Idaho Supreme Court. Contact: James Mulcahy, 949-252-9377, [email protected] SOURCE Mulcahy LLP Related Links http://www.mulcahyllp.com LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagine a time when you can go out drinking without worrying about the hangover you'll have the next day. Thanks to NILO Hangover Recovery that day is here! NILO Hangover Recovery is an all-natural, vegan remedy that will help you go from zero to hero after a long night of celebrating. With NILO, which is packed with ingredients proven to aid in the prevention of hangovers, you can seize the day, everyday. "Being diagnosed with a liver condition that gives me terrible hangovers even after drinking just two beers, inspired me to find a remedy," said Founder and CEO of NILO, Said Chedraui. "My goal was to not only improve my daily life, but also help everyone live a better and more productive life." The main ingredient in Hangover Recovery is a powerful antioxidant called DHM which is derived from Hovenia Dulcis, a Japanese tree. DHM accelerates liver detoxification and minimizes the negative morning-after effects of alcohol. After over a year of perfecting the Hangover Recovery formula, NILO found just the right blend of DHM and other super antioxidants such as Glutathione, Milk Thistle, Chicory Root, Vitamin B Complex, and electrolytes. Hangover Recovery is easy to use and makes it even easier to wake up the next morning: Step 1: Have a good time. Step:2 Take one full bottle while drinking. Step 3: Go to sleep and wake up like a superhero! NILO Hangover Recovery is available to purchase through the website or at select online and retail locations including Northgate Markets, Marketon, and Amazon. For more information about how Hangover Recovery works, visit https://drinkhangoverrecovery.com/ and follow @DrinkHangoverRecovery on Instagram and Facebook. About NILO: Said Chedraui founded NILO in California in 2014. The premium brand was inspired by the Nile River, as this geographical landmark was the source of life to Ancient Egypt. NILO's first product was NILO Pure Coconut Water with real coconut chunks which quickly gained popularity on the west coast and surpassed big brand names like Vita Coco and Zico in all retailers where NILO Pure Coconut Water was offered. NILO has since expanded to provide a variety of 100% natural Tropical Fruit drinks such as Guanabana Juice that derives from a super fruit known for its anti-Cancer properties. Its most recent product HANGOVER RECOVERY reduces the negative effects of alcohol. The company has continued to grow rapidly at 100% per year and selling $5MM after the second year. NILO products are now offered at over 3,000 retailers such as Northgate Markets, Ralphs, Food4Less, etc. For more information on NILO, please visit https://www.drinknilo.com/ or follow @DrinkNilo on Instagram and Facebook. Media Contacts: Matt Kovacs BLAZE PR 310-395-5050 [email protected] SOURCE NILO Related Links https://www.drinknilo.com LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Monday evening, February 18th, Global Intuition held an exclusive event hosted by founder Yi Zhou at Fred Segal Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood debuting the new campaign short film, Intuition . The film showcases Global Intuition's basic line which is set to be available in April 2019. A variety of guests attended the event including newlyweds Vanessa and Michael Chow, actress Erika Christensen and her family, model and brand spokesmodel Lexi Wood, director Sofia Banks and her father, Andrew Banks from Australia Shark Tank, as well as the Sundance Film Festival's Director of Programming, Kim Yutani. The event was also honored to host the presence of Fred Segal's very own, John Frierson. John Frierson, Yi Zhou, Kim Yutani Vanessa and Michael Chow "Global Intuition is here at Fred Segal and what we like about it is that it is the intersection of art and commerce," said John Frierson. "When you think of the two words, global and intuition, global means big and intuition means anticipating the needs of people. This brand is going to kill it and I love it," said Andrew Banks. "Global Intuition takes a radical approach in terms of the distribution model, meaning it is based on the see-now-buy-now model and no fashion shows approach, made and inspired by the social media era," said Founder Yi Zhou. Find images of these guests and other attendees using this link & this link . Photos are courtesy of Global Intuition and Getty Images. About Global Intuition Global Intuition is a new concept brand that seeks to create complete looks for every lifestyle and emphasizes the importance of simplicity and quality over trends. Coming Spring of 2019, Global Intuition will go global with the release of the Basic & Classic lines. Connect with Global Intuition at www.globalintuition.net and Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . If you would like more information about this topic, please call Charlie Tinsley, Global Intuition PR Team, at 310-285-5337 Ext.5915, or email [email protected]. SOURCE Global Intuition Inc. Related Links http://www.globalintuition.net The shallow new Northeast zone, located above the "Upper Discovery" and "Lower Discovery" zones, has now been intersected in three drill holes and is open to the east and north. Highlights: Drill hole EL-18-33 cut three separate intervals highlighted by 4.8 meters of massive sulphides featuring 7.7% nickel and 2.95% copper within a broader 49-meter intersection starting at a downhole depth of just 37.9 meters and grading 1.34% nickel and 0.89% copper (see attached map). This textbook magmatic sulphide intersection in EL-18-33 started 37.9 meters downhole within a well mineralized taxitic gabbro chamber above, grading from disseminated into semi-massive sulphides at 75.7 meters downhole, and then massive sulphides starting at 77.1 meters. Disseminated mineralization exceeding combined 1% nickel-copper threshold was intersected further down the hole in two separate intervals starting at 94.5 meters and 143.1 meters, respectively, including a precious metal-rich 1.0-meter interval ( 95.9 m to 96.9 m ) highlighted by 4 g/t palladium, 2.7 g/t platinum, 2 g/t gold and 14.9 g/t silver in an area that warrants further investigation; to ) highlighted by 4 g/t palladium, 2.7 g/t platinum, 2 g/t gold and 14.9 g/t silver in an area that warrants further investigation; Drill hole EL-18-30, collared from the same location as EL-18-33 but drilled slightly further toward the east, also intersected the shallow Northeast zone massive sulphide sequence. Assays returned 7.8% nickel and 3.2% copper over 3.2 meters within a broader 9.7-meter interval grading 3% nickel and 1.6% copper. EL-18-30 also cut two other intervals of disseminated mineralization exceeding 1% nickel-copper threshold, starting from surface; A detailed review of geological and geophysical information pertaining to the Upper Discovery and Lower Discovery zones has revealed a robust flat-lying massive sulphide system with continuity that remains open for expansion in multiple directions as shown in new maps attached to this news release. Assay results for the final 13 holes of the 2018 program (EL-18-34 through EL-18-46) are pending and will be released when received, reviewed and interpreted. Dr. Peter Lightfoot, Technical Adviser for Garibaldi, commented: "EL-18-33 and EL-18-30 confirm the exceptionally high grades of the massive sulphide mineralization in the new Northeast zone, first detected in EL-18-23 (see Oct. 21, 2018, news release), at shallow levels on the northern flank of the E&L Intrusion. "What's most striking to me about the Upper and Lower Discovery zones, upon review of extensive data, is not just the grades but how the massive sulphide sheets are gently dipping and appear to be stacked at the southern margin of the E&L Intrusion," Dr. Lightfoot continued. "The observation these zones are stacked on the south flank of the Intrusion and also developed on the north flank adds an important guide in exploration of the E&L Intrusion at depth and along strike. There are analogues to this among nickel sulphides deposits elsewhere around the globe." Composite grade intervals of EL-18-33 Interval code Hole # Interval width (from - to) Ni % Cu % Co % Pt (g/t) Pd (g/t) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Ni+Cu (%) V EL-18-33 over 48.98m (37.88 - 86.86m) 1.34 0.89 0.039 0.230 0.342 0.225 3.7 2.23 * including over 4.77m (77.05 - 81.82m) 7.69 2.95 0.197 0.678 0.781 0.419 7.3 10.64 W EL-18-33 over 4.07m (94.49 - 98.56m) 0.24 0.79 0.006 0.669 0.998 0.531 5.2 1.03 including over 1.0m (95.9 - 96.9m) 0.80 2.87 0.014 2.700 4.020 2.060 14.9 3.67 X EL-18-33 over 17.99m (143.11 - 161.1m) 0.58 0.68 0.026 0.234 0.793 0.197 3.7 1.26 *denotes interval of massive sulphides (>75% sulphides) Composite grade intervals of EL-18-30 Interval code Hole # Interval width (from - to) Ni % Cu % Co % Pt (g/t) Pd (g/t) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Ni+Cu (%) S EL-18-30 over 9.19m (0.0 - 9.19m) 0.65 0.38 0.016 0.065 0.058 0.029 4.6 1.03 T EL-18-30 over 14.59m (48.94 - 63.53m) 0.50 0.54 0.022 0.197 0.431 0.215 2.5 1.05 U EL-18-30 over 9.68m (73.15 - 82.83m) 3.01 1.61 0.084 0.371 0.423 0.373 4.3 4.62 *including over 3.17m (75.9 - 79.07m) 7.78 3.19 0.227 0.649 0.780 0.483 7.3 10.97 *denotes interval of massive sulphides (>75% sulphides) Combined 1% nickel-copper is a minimum threshold for comparative analysis. Intervals are core lengths (true widths unknown at this time). To view the Geology/Mineralization Plan and Section map please visit: http://www.marketsmartinfo.com/GGI_EandL_Plan_and_Section_20190203d.jpg Upper and Lower Discovery Zones Following detailed petrological and geochemical data from drill core, coupled with assays reported previously, geological sections and plans have been constructed to illustrate the distribution of massive and disseminated sulphides in relation to the E&L Intrusion, Hazelton Group sedimentary rocks, and equigranular gabbros of the Nickel Mountain Gabbroic Complex (see attached maps). The E&L Intrusion typically consists of taxitic to orbicular textured gabbro and melagabbro with disseminated sulphides and locally grades into a texture of melagabbro orbicles separated by heavily disseminated sulphide. The immediately adjacent sub-horizontal sediment-hosted massive sulphide mineralization of the Lower Discovery zone is shown to extend laterally more than 120 meters and has not been closed off. The Upper Discovery zone comprises massive sulphides at the edge of the E&L Intrusion, and the north-south facing cross section illustrates that these sub-horizontal sheets appear to be stacked at the edge of the Intrusion. The Upper Discovery zone is open to the west, east and south. The sheet-like massive sulphides of the Lower and Upper Discovery zones and the overlying Northeast zone are indicative of a strong sub-horizontal control on massive sulphide mineralization at the edge of the E&L chamber. This will help guide aggressive drilling that targets expansion of existing zones and the discovery of new massive sulphide zones in 2019. To view the Upper/Lower Discovery Schematic Cross Section map please visit: http://www.marketsmartinfo.com/GGI_EandL_DiscoZone_2019_02_04c.jpg To view the Discovery Zone Schematic 1750M Elevation map please visit: http://www.marketsmartinfo.com/GGI_EandL_1750_2019_02_04c.jpg Drill Hole EL-17-01 Revisited A further review of data related to Garibaldi's first drill hole at Nickel Mountain in August 2017 suggests that EL-17-01 was even more significant than initially believed. EL-17-01 provides geochemical and geological evidence that there is a separate and deeper chamber approximately 160 meters below the Lower Discovery zone. Drill hole collar co-ordinates for holes EL-18-25 to EL-18-33 Hole Zone Easting * Northing * Elevation (MASL) Azimuth Dip Length (m) EL-18-33 Northeast 396185.8 6271506.0 1868.3 085 -84 423.0 EL-18-32 Exploration (Mag Anomaly) 395996.6 6270531.1 1200.1 000 -84 415.0 EL-18-31 Exploration (East of NE Fault) 396240.4 6271502.1 1858.5 156 -78 506.0 EL-18-30 Northeast 396185.9 6271506.2 1868.4 075 -78 706.0 EL-18-29 Exploration (VTEM Anomaly) 396793.6 6271133.5 1725.9 340 -55 504.0 EL-18-28 Exploration (Mag Anomaly) 396258.3 6270949.6 1505.4 220 -79 978.0 EL-18-27 Exploration (SW-NE Structure) 396098.8 6271538.7 1898.3 227 -72 342.0 EL-18-26 Exploration (Conductor + adit) 396112.1 6271404.6 1872.9 121 -73 564.0 EL-18-25 Same as EL-18-26 (hole abandoned) 396112.1 6271404.6 1872.9 123 -71 96.2 *UTM ZONE 9n WGS 1984, True North azimuths Exploratory Drilling Outside of Main Zones Garibaldi's 2018 drill program was designed with two primary goals. The highest priority was to focus on expanding the known mineralized footprint around both the historic Northwest zone and the 2017 Discovery zone, with a particular emphasis on detection of high value massive sulphides utilizing borehole electromagnetic geophysics. The second priority was to confirm and outline the extent of the E&L Intrusion in a 1.5 km radius from the Northwest and Discovery zones. The emphasis was on conductive, magnetic and geological features associated with known mineralization. The following large step-out exploratory holes did not intersect mineralization exceeding combined 1% nickel-copper but provided invaluable geological information to the south and southwest of the mineralized zones: Drill hole EL-18-31 targeted the east side of the northeast fault zone. Encouragingly, nearly the entire hole consisted of Nickel Mountain gabbro, intersecting a thick 275-meter sequence of gabbro to locally taxitic E&L gabbro, including well-developed orbicular features from 373 to 394 meters. This confirms the area is highly prospective. Drill hole EL-18-29 was a 700-meter step-out to the southeast, targeting the center of the Anomaly F VTEM conductor. The hole intersected a thick sequence of volcanics with some sedimentary rocks. The sparse pyritic mineralization encountered would not explain the conductivity. Drill holes EL-18-28 and EL-18-32 were both large step-outs, 1.4 km south of the Northwest zone testing portions of a magnetic anomaly. Both holes outlined mostly Hazelton volcanic rocks with no significant mineralization but provided important stratigraphic knowledge. The highlight was 39 meters of melagabbro in EL-18-28 from 679.8 to 718 meters with trace to 1% sulphides (pyrite-chalcopyrite). This intersection is 775 meters south of taxitic melagabbro in EL-18-26 and provides an attractive target area for follow-up exploration. Drill hole EL-18-27 tested for sulphides following the SW-NE trending fault behind the Northwest zone massive sulphides. This hole intersected Nickel Mountain gabbro but not significant mineralization. Its importance was to help map out the extent and shape of the Intrusive complex. El-18-25 and EL-18-26 tested the area below the Sumitomo adit. Hole 25 was abandoned at 95 meters due to the change in dip downhole exceeding thresholds. Hole 26 encountered a sequence of disseminated sulphides in taxitic gabbro and melagabbro of the E&L Intrusion. This part of the intrusion warrants further exploration. Nickel Mountain Drill Core Comes To PDAC Steve Regoci, Garibaldi President and CEO, commented: "The massive sulphide grades at Nickel Mountain continue to be in the very top tier globally as evidenced by the new Northeast zone near-surface discovery. A much bigger overall picture is also emerging with the four known zones open in multiple directions and showing continuity of mineralization. "As we evaluate the balance of the data that will continue to flow in from the 2018 program over the next few weeks, we are simultaneously planning a vigorous fully-funded 2019 drilling campaign designed to take the Nickel Mountain Project to an entirely new level given our greatly enhanced understanding of this dynamic and structurally intriguing system. We look forward to meeting investors at PDAC in Toronto in early March where Garibaldi has been selected to participate in the prestigious and popular Core Shack portion of the world's premier mineral exploration and mining event," Regoci concluded. Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) Garibaldi Resources has applied a rigorous quality assurance/quality control program at the E&L Nickel Mountain Project using best industry practice. All core was logged by a professional geoscientist and selected intervals were sampled. NQ2 drill core was sawn in half and each sample half was placed in a marked sample bag with a corresponding sample tag then sealed. The remaining half core is retained in core boxes that are stored at a secure facility in Smithers, British Columbia. Chain of custody of samples was recorded and maintained for all samples from the drill to the laboratory. All diamond drilling sample batches included 5% QA/QC samples consisting of certified blanks, standards and field duplicates. Two certified ore assay laboratory standards and one blank standard were used in the process and were supplied by CDN Resource Laboratories Ltd., an independent laboratory located in Langley, British Columbia. Samples were submitted to SGS Canada Inc. in Vancouver, British Columbia, an ISO 9001: 2008 certified lab, for base metal, sulphur and precious metal analysis using Inductivity Coupled Plasma (ICP), Fire Assay (FA) and Leco methods. Samples were prepared by crushing the entire sample to 75% passing 2 mm, riffle splitting 250 grams and pulverizing the split to better than 85% passing 75 microns. Gold, Platinum and Palladium were analyzed using a 30-gram fire assay and ICP-AES. Total sulphur was analyzed using a Leco method. Nickel, copper, cobalt, silver and other elements were analyzed by sodium peroxide fusion and ICP-MS. The performance on the blind standards, blanks and duplicates achieved high levels of accuracy and reproducibility and has been verified by Jeremy Hanson, a Qualified Person as defined by NI-43-101. Qualified Person Data Verification Mr. Jeremy Hanson, P.Geo., VP Exploration Canada for the Company, and a Qualified Person as defined by NI-43-101, has supervised the preparation of, reviewed and approved of, the disclosure of information in this news release. Mr. Hanson has verified the data, including drilling, sampling, test and recovery data by supervising all of such procedures. There are no known factors that could materially affect the reliability of data collected and verified under his supervision. No quality assurance/quality control issues have been identified to date. About Garibaldi Garibaldi Resources Corp. is an active Canadian-based junior exploration company focused on creating shareholder value through discoveries and strategic development of its assets in some of the most prolific mining regions in Mexico and British Columbia. We seek safe harbor. GARIBALDI RESOURCES CORP. Per: "Steve Regoci" Steve Regoci, President Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of this release. SOURCE Garibaldi Resources Corp. Related Links http://www.garibaldiresources.com Mr. Ford currently serves as a member of the corporate strategy team at Ford Motor Company. Since joining the company in 2006, he has spent time in labor relations, as a member of the UAW-Ford negotiations team; in purchasing, as a vehicle programs analyst; and in marketing and sales, working in global product marketing, as the Lincoln marketing lead for the western United States, and as the global marketing manager for Ford Performance. Prior to joining Ford Motor Company, Mr. Ford worked for Carney, Sandoe and Associates, where he recruited new teachers and helped place them in schools across the country. He then became a teacher himself, teaching middle school and high school math and history. He holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a M.B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management. "We are thrilled to welcome Henry Ford III to the Ford Foundation Board of Trustees," said Darren Walker, president of the foundation. "In recent years we've made a series of major investments to help southeastern Michigan, building on years of commitment to the region in which we were founded. Henry has been an advocate for these efforts, and I am delighted he will bring his dedication to social justice to his board service. Although we were established to be an independent institution, our recent efforts in southeastern Michigan have marked a reconnection with the Ford family, coming full circle with Henry's election to our board." The Ford Foundation has made a sustained commitment to its heritage, recognizing Detroit and its metropolitan area as an essential venue for tackling inequality in all its forms. That process began with the Grand Bargain in 2013, to which the foundation contributed $125 million as part of a group of funders investing nearly $400 million to help the city of Detroit emerge from bankruptcy in an equitable manner that preserved the rights of retired city employees and protected the collection of the Detroit Institute of the Arts. Two years later, the foundation's 16-member Board of Trustees gathered in Detroit for its first meeting in the city in decades, and hosted a series of events there affirming the foundation's commitment to supporting a bright future for the city. In 2017, the foundation opened an office in Detroit and selected Detroit native Kevin Ryan to manage it. The foundation makes more than $30 million in grants to organizations in and around Detroit each year, including its ongoing $12.5 million annual payment to fulfill the Grand Bargain. That work plays an important part in the foundation's efforts to address racial injustice and economic inequality, and advance democratic participation, across the US. Mr. Ford brings experience in the social sector to his role as trustee. He has served on the boards of schools in Michigan and Massachusetts, and currently serves on the advisory boards of Henry Ford College in Dearborn and Bridging Communities in Detroit. He also serves on the boards of The Henry Ford Museum, Operation Hope, and Neighborhood Villages, a nonprofit group he helped start that aims to partner with community-based organizations to increase the accessibility of early child care for all families. "I am honored to become a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ford Foundation," said Mr. Ford. "The foundation's commitment to ending inequality and building a fair and inclusive economy is more critical today than ever before, and it is impossible to overstate its role in reinvigorating the city of Detroit. I am both eager and honored to join my fellow trustees in shepherding the foundation my family created more than 80 years ago." Henry Ford III becomes the first Ford to sit on the foundation's Board of Trustees since his grandfather, Henry Ford II, resigned in 1976 after 33 years of service, variously as president, chair, and a member of the Board of Trustees. Henry Ford II created the modern Ford Foundation, guiding it on a deliberate process of becoming independentfirst in giving it an international mission, then in expanding the board beyond the family, followed by the foundation's move to New York City in 1953, and eventually through the divestment of its holdings in Ford stock. Built upon this history, the Ford Foundation has become one of the leading philanthropies in the world, with a $13 billion endowment and over $600 million in annual grant making. It has made more than $50 billion in grants over the course of its existence (in today's dollars), seeding such innovations as the Green Revolution, public television, microfinance, the human rights movement, international scholarships for thousands of leaders, and movements to advance civil rights in the US, end apartheid in South Africa, and advance rights and opportunity for women and girls worldwideamong many other areas of contribution. Ford Foundation trustees are elected by its board for terms of six years. Trustees set broad policy relating to grant making, geographic focus, investments, governance and professional standards, and they oversee internal and independent audits. The foundation's trustees hail from four continents and have extensive experience in the worlds of higher education, business and finance, technology, law, government, and the nonprofit sector. "On behalf of the entire board, we are excited to welcome Henry Ford III to the Ford Foundation," said Dr. Francisco Cigarroa, chair of the foundation's Board of Trustees. "We're so proud of our history and heritage in Michigan, and welcoming Henry to the board really reinforces that. He's a voice for fairness and equity in his work and pursuits, and will make a great addition to an already outstanding group of trustees." About the Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than 80 years it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Website: http://www.fordfoundation.org SOURCE Ford Foundation Related Links http://www.fordfoundation.org CINCINNATI, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstLight Home Care, an award-winning provider of non-medical home care, announced today its expansion of the FirstLight leadership team to meet the demands of rapid business growth. FirstLight has recently made seven strategic hires, including five newly appointed executive directors or directors. The company has expanded its organizational focus in several areas of technology, talent acquisition and franchise development with additional leadership talent. Kim McGraw has joined the team as the executive director of talent acquisition, HR and client services. McGraw comes from Procter & Gamble with over two decades of leadership roles in HR and organizational management. Jamie Davis, executive director of franchise development, and Michelle Miserez, director of franchise development, bring new, additional support to growth efforts of the company to expand the FirstLight family of franchise owners. Davis has more than 10 years of experience in leadership roles in franchise development and most recently held an executive director position at Primrose Schools, an education franchise. Miserez holds an MBA in sales, marketing and business development. She comes to FirstLight from Edible Arrangements, where she served as the company's senior manager of franchise sales. "As we grow our franchise family, I'm confident these leaders will only add to our core, talented team in place today and provide the organizational and franchisee support needed for our accelerating growth ahead," said Jeff Bevis, FirstLight Home Care co-founder and CEO. Perry Pruett now leads the company's focus on technology as the new executive director of technology platform services. Pruett has more than 30 years of operations and IT experience within the home care and healthcare industries. He previously served as vice president of IT systems for several leading providers. Caroline Hodson, new senior business analyst of technology platform services, will support Pruett in developing technology strategies for the franchise system. "Ongoing technology development of our platforms is a major focus for FirstLight Home Care," Bevis said. "We are seeing technology play an increasingly important role in home care, and it's essential that we focus on continual development of our technology platforms. We are confident our newest additions to the team will support FirstLight as we become home care industry leaders in technology." FirstLight has also expanded its healthcare strategy team, naming Kerri Pendley as the new director of healthcare strategy. Pendley has more than 18 years of experience in healthcare operations and business development. New national alliances coordinator, Amy Swan, will provide support to the healthcare strategy team and to FirstLight franchise owners. "The healthcare strategy team plays a crucial role in securing strategic partnerships that will open up new avenues of care for us," Bevis said. "This team is responsible for growing and developing new and existing regional and national alliance relationships, as well as expanding our healthcare strategy, working with even more alliances and partner organizations across the healthcare continuum." About FirstLight Home Care FirstLight Home Care is a top rated non-medical home care provider with a network of offices that provides more than 110,000 hours per week in care for more than 5,000 clients in over 34 states. The company has created a new standard in home care by combining best practices with innovative approaches to make them an emerging market leader in a rapidly-growing industry. Their 5,100 caregivers provide companion and personal care services at private residences, assisted living and retirement communities, nursing homes, adult-family homes and group homes. Clients include seniors, new mothers, individuals recovering from surgery, veterans, adults with disabilities and anyone 18 and over who might just need a little extra care or assistance. Visit www.firstlighthomecare.com to learn more. MEDIA CONTACT: Heather Ripley Ripley PR 865-977-1973 [email protected] SOURCE FirstLight Home Care Related Links http://www.firstlightfranchise.com PITTSBURGH, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fine Wine & Good Spirits Premium Collection at 5956 Centre Ave., Pittsburgh, will host a custom cocktail-making demonstration and tasting with wine specialist Brian Fairleigh from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM Tuesday, Feb. 26. Brian Fairleigh is the winery brand and wine education manager for Domaine Chandon, the leading producer of sparkling wines in the U.S. A graduate of Central Washington University's Global Wine Studies program, Fairleigh traveled worldwide studying wine. Since beginning his career with Domaine Chardon in 2010, he served as tasting room host, brand ambassador, and trade visits coordinator. Fairleigh will demonstrate how to mix February's Cocktail of the Month, Berry Bubbly, and offer attendees 21 years of age and older the opportunity to sample it and the following products: Belvedere Vodka (1.75 L; Code 7876) $46.99 (save $5 ) (save ) Chandon Rose (Code 6701) $17.99 (save $2 ) (save ) Chandon Brut (Code 7878) $17.99 (save $2 ) (save ) Chandon Blanc de Noirs (Code 8100) $17.99 (save $2 ) The PLCB regulates the distribution of beverage alcohol in Pennsylvania, operates more than 600 wine and spirits stores statewide, and licenses 20,000 alcohol producers, retailers, and handlers. The PLCB also works to reduce and prevent dangerous and underage drinking through partnerships with schools, community groups, and licensees. Taxes and store profits totaling $16.5 billion since the agency's inception are returned to Pennsylvania's General Fund, which finances Pennsylvania's schools, health and human services programs, law enforcement, and public safety initiatives, among other important public services. The PLCB also provides financial support for the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, other state agencies, and local municipalities across the state. For more information about the PLCB, visit lcb.pa.gov. MEDIA CONTACT: Shawn M. Kelly, 717.783.8864 SOURCE Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Related Links http://www.lcb.state.pa.us NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- EVOLIO Marketing, an agency dedicated to helping marketers create the best brand experiences, announced today that Joe Federbush, president, will present educational sessions at EXHIBITORLIVE. EXHIBITOR Magazine's EXHIBITORLIVE features university-affiliated sessions that can lead to Certified Trade Show Marketer (CTSM) professional certification, awarded by EXHIBITOR in affiliation with Northern Illinois University Outreach and reflects adherence to the highest educational standards of trade show and event marketing. ( www.ExhibitorOnline.com ) How to Measure the Value of Trade Show Participation - Part I: Basic Concepts Thursday, February 28, 8 a.m. This CTSM required session provides basic building blocks for measuring the value of trade show marketing. Session includes examples, case studies and worksheets to help you put this knowledge to work and allow you to focus on your program strengths and weaknesses and likely opportunities for ROI improvement. How to Measure the Value of Trade Show Participation - Part II: Practical Application Thursday, February 28, 10 a.m. This CTSM required class applies what you learned in part 1 and helps you interactively create an entire strategic event plan. You Know What to Measure - But How Do You Actually Measure It? Tuesday, February 28, 3 p.m. Regardless of booth size and investment level, measurement has become an integral part of many companies' event marketing endeavors. This CTSM elective is an interactive, introductory-level session designed for exhibit managers at all levels. About EVOLIO Marketing EVOLIO Marketing helps brand marketers deliver the best results for their event marketing experiences and activities. We do not build exhibits and we do not produce events, but we have friends who do. Instead, we develop effective strategies, conduct measurement with actionable results, and provide superior training and staffing so you can deliver the best event experience. It's all just part of our event marketing portfolio at EVOLIO. EVOLIO's distinctive process is specifically designed for companies of all sizes and budgets. EVOLIO helps answer your toughest question: How do I successfully align our events to our business strategy and make sure they deliver effective results? ( www.EVOLIOmarketing.com ) EVOLIO Marketing and the EVOLIO Marketing logo are trademarks of EVOLIO Marketing in the United States and other countries. SOURCE EVOLIO Marketing Related Links http://www.EVOLIOmarketing.com ATLANTA, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) today announced that Heather H. Wilson, chief data scientist of L Brands, Inc. (NYSE:LB), has been appointed to its board of directors. She will also serve on the board's Technology Committee. The Equifax Board now consists of ten directors, including nine independent directors. "We are excited to have Heather's expertise and broad experience in data and analytics available to our board and to our business leaders," said Mark W. Begor, CEO of Equifax. "Her deep knowledge of data science and its impact on business transformation across several industries will surely benefit our company and our customers for many years." "Heather is an accomplished business leader who brings a tremendously rich background to our board as a pioneer in data with over a decade of executive experience in data, analytics and artificial intelligence and is recognized as a world-class big data expert," said Mark L. Feidler, non-executive chairman of Equifax. "We appreciate her strong experiences in technology and driving innovation and we are confident that she will add great value to our board of directors and that Equifax will gain from her insights." From 2007 to 2010, Wilson was global head of innovation and advanced technology at Kaiser Permanente with responsibility for overseeing the strategies and implementation of leading edge data-driven analytical programs. From 2010 to 2012, Wilson was chief data officer of Citigroup and Global Head of Decision Sciences responsible for spearheading new analytical capabilities companywide. From 2012 to 2016, Wilson was chief data officer at American International Group, Inc. (AIG), with responsibility of the firm's data program and next generation data infrastructure. Wilson has served as chief data scientist of L Brands, an American fashion retailer where she has led several transformational initiatives over the last three years. Additionally, Wilson has been a steady supporter of diversity. She launched the Kaiser Permanente Women in Technology group, focused on mentorship and retention for women in math, technology and science. She was also an executive member of Citi4Women at Citigroup leading predictive analytics around retention, and at AIG she launched Global Women in Technology and served as executive sponsor of Girls Who Code. Wilson holds a bachelor's of business administration with a concentration in International Business from Shenandoah University and also attended Nanzan University in Japan as a Rotary Scholar and the International University in Moscow, Russia. ABOUT EQUIFAX INC. Equifax is a global information solutions company that uses unique data, innovative analytics, technology and industry expertise to power organizations and individuals around the world by transforming knowledge into insights that help make more informed business and personal decisions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index, and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs approximately 11,000 employees worldwide. For more information, visit Equifax.com and follow the company's news on Twitter and LinkedIn. FOR MORE INFORMATION Media Relations [email protected] SOURCE Equifax Inc. Related Links http://www.equifax.com Ella At the Shrine contains the sweet taste of a new and shining era for Ella as she becomes the crown jewel of Verve Records. Fitzgerald delivers a rousing seven-song set, which most notably includes an early version of George and Ira Gershwin's "'S Wonderful," three years before she would perfect the song on her monumental 1959 album Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George and Ira Gershwin Song Book and cause Ira Gershwin to famously remark: "I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them." Ella At the Shrine showcases The First Lady of Song just weeks before she'd go on to record her breakthrough album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book . Other tunes performed this evening include the bluesy "Cry Me A River," the rhythmic "Lullaby of Birdland," the swinging "Joe Williams's Blues" and "Air Mail Special," a bouncy number featuring Fitzgerald's famed scatting skills. The album includes liner notes by jazz broadcaster and educator, Phil Schaap, who discovered this recording in an undocumented area in Verve's vault where it sat untouched for more than six decades. In celebration of Fitzgerald's centennial in 2017, Verve debuted the previously unreleased Ella at Zardi's: an acclaimed live album that was recorded during her two-week stint at the nightclub in Hollywood. This recording, which earned Fitzgerald her first No. 1 on the Jazz Album Chart and her second No. 1 on the Traditional Jazz Albums Chart, was initially thought to be both the label's and Fitzgerald's first live album for Verve. Remarkably, Granz recorded and emceed Ella at the Shrine 10 days prior, announcing on the LP, as Fitzgerald is leaving the stage and the crowd roars for more, that "Ella has to get back to Zardi's." Due to the closeness in timeframe, it is easy to assume she is backed by the same musicians who played on Ella at Zardi's: Don Abney, piano; Vernon Alley or Joe Mondragon, bass; Frank Capp Drums. Fitzgerald's unwaning influence and remarkable legacy remains as strong as ever and her music continues to be honored and celebrated long after her passing. Most recently, the Recording Academy inducted her landmark 1959 album Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George and Ira Gershwin Song Books into the 2019's GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, just ahead of its 60th anniversary. With a goal of "preserving and celebrating timeless recordings," the inductions are for recordings at least 25 years old that exhibit qualitative or historical significance. Fitzgerald's album was one of 25 new titles inducted this year alongside recordings from: Aerosmith, Dolly Parton, Fats Domino, Frank Sinatra, Leonard Cohen, Miles Davis, Nina Simone and Tom Petty. "We're honored to add these masterpieces to our growing catalog and are delighted to celebrate the impact they've had on our musical, social, and cultural history," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George and Ira Gershwin Song Books is her third song book to join the illustrious GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, joining Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Song Book and Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Rodgers & Hart Song Book as well as several other albums and songs. In its recent appreciation of Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Gershwin Song Book, the Wall Street Journal asserted: "Fitzgerald's most ambitious album and one of her crowning achievements, this songbook is a matchless treasure." ABOUT THE ELLA FITZGERALD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation was created and funded in 1993 by Ella Fitzgerald in order to fulfill her desire to use the fruits of her success to help people of all races, cultures and beliefs. Fitzgerald hoped to make their lives more rewarding, and she wanted to foster a love of reading, as well as a love of music. In addition, she hoped to provide assistance to the at-risk and disadvantaged members of our communitiesassistance that would enable them to achieve a better quality of life. The Board of Directors of the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation seeks to continue Ella Fitzgerald's goals by making charitable grants serving four major areas of interest: creating educational and other opportunities for children fostering a love and knowledge of music, including assistance to students of music the provision of health care, food, shelter and counseling to those in need specific areas of medical care and research with an emphasis on Diabetes, vision problems and heart disease ELLA AT THE SHRINE TRACK LISTING SIDE ONE 1. 'S Wonderful 2. Cry Me a River 3. Lullaby of Birdland 4.Glad to be Unhappy SIDE TWO 1. And the Angels Sing 2. Joe Williams's Blues 3. Air Mail Special 4. Norman Granz Announcement SOURCE Verve/UMe Related Links http://www.umusic.com "Our students showcased Elizabethtown College's quality of education, and more importantly were recognized by a leading finance industry institution," Elizabethtown College Associate Professor of Finance Emma Neuhauser said. During the competition, students are given the unique opportunity to learn from leading industry experts and compete with peers from the world's top business schools. Mentored by industry professionals, Elizabethtown College CFA seniors Anastassiya Sayenko (Kazakhstan), Anthony Knight (Lancaster County), and Felix Goettfert (Germany) wrote an equity research report on a publicly traded company. The team then presented their findings to a panel of investment experts and were awarded first place honors. Other colleges that presented included University of Delaware, York College, and Temple University. "E-town provided us with this opportunity to put our skills out there, and I feel we excelled because of the solid foundation we gained through our finance program," said Knight. "This competition is 100 percent real-world learning of what to expect by the finance professionals in the field," Neuhauser said. "Students not only gain advanced knowledge and skills in analytical work and critical thinking, they learn how to perform under pressure, time management, working as a team with diverse backgrounds and experiences as well as coping with unexpected outcomes." All participants are held to the standard of the CFA Institute Code of Ethics. Etown's CFA team will be among more than 55 other teams competing in the North American regional competition held in New York City. Visit etown.edu to learn more about the Finance program at Elizabethtown College. Elizabethtown College, located in historic Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is a private coed institution offering more than four dozen liberal arts, fine and performing arts, science and engineering, business, communications and education degrees. Learn more: etown.edu. Contact: Keri Straub Director of Communications Elizabethtown College (717) 361-6412 [email protected] SOURCE Elizabethtown College Related Links http://www.etown.edu BROOKLYN, N.Y., Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- This notice is authorized by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York to inform merchants about an agreement to settle a class action lawsuit that may affect them. The lawsuit claims that Visa and Mastercard, separately, and together with certain banks, violated antitrust laws and caused merchants to pay excessive fees for accepting Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards. The defendants say they have done nothing wrong and the Court has not decided who is right, but the parties have agreed to a settlement. The Court has now given preliminary approval to this settlement. Under the settlement, Visa, Mastercard, and the bank defendants have agreed to provide approximately $6.24 billion in class settlement funds. Those funds are subject to a deduction to account for certain merchants that exclude themselves, but in no event will the deduction be greater than $700 million. The net class settlement fund, after deducting court-awarded attorneys' fees and costs, will be used to pay valid claims of merchants that accepted Visa or Mastercard credit or debit cards at any time between January 1, 2004 and January 25, 2019. If the Court grants approval of the settlement, and if that approval is affirmed on any appeals, every merchant that does not exclude itself from the class by the deadline described below and files a valid claim will get money from the class settlement fund. The value of each claim will be based on the actual or estimated interchange fees attributable to the merchant's Mastercard and Visa payment card transactions from January 1, 2004 to January 25, 2019. Merchants who are included in this lawsuit have the legal rights and options explained below. Exclude themselves from the Settlement Class. Merchants who exclude themselves will not get any money from this settlement but can individually sue the Defendants on their own at their own expense, if they want to. Merchants who wish to exclude themselves must make a written request, place it in an envelope, and mail it with postage prepaid and postmarked no later than July 23, 2019 , or send it by overnight delivery shown as sent by July 23, 2019 , to Class Administrator, Payment Card Interchange Fee Settlement, P.O. Box 2530, Portland, OR 97208-2530. from the Settlement Class. Merchants who exclude themselves will not get any money from this settlement but can individually sue the Defendants on their own at their own expense, if they want to. Merchants who wish to exclude themselves must make a written request, place it in an envelope, and mail it with postage prepaid and postmarked no later than , or send it by overnight delivery shown as sent by , to Class Administrator, Payment Card Interchange Fee Settlement, P.O. Box 2530, 97208-2530. Object to the settlement. The deadline to object is July 23, 2019 . To learn how to object, visit www.PaymentCardSettlement.com or call 1-800-625-6440. Note: Merchants who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class cannot object to the settlement. The deadline to object is To learn how to object, visit www.PaymentCardSettlement.com or call 1-800-625-6440. Note: Merchants who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class cannot object to the settlement. Eventually file a claim to ask for payment. To receive payment, merchants will be required to fill out a claim form. Claims cannot yet be filed. If the Court grants final approval, and if that approval is affirmed on any appeals, the Court will approve a claim form and set a claim deadline. Claim forms will then be mailed to all identified merchants. When the time comes to file claims, merchants can submit them via mail or email, or may file online at www.PaymentCardSettlement.com. For more information about these rights and options, visit: www.PaymentCardSettlement.com. Members of the Settlement Class who do not exclude themselves by the deadline will be bound by the terms of this settlement, including the release of claims against the released parties provided in the settlement agreement, whether or not the members file a claim for payment. On November 7, 2019, there will be a Court hearing to decide whether to approve the proposed settlement. The hearing also will address the requests for attorneys' fees and expenses, and awards for the Class Plaintiffs for their representation of merchants in MDL 1720, which culminated in the settlement agreement. The hearing will take place at: United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York 225 Cadman Plaza Brooklyn, NY 11201 Members of the Settlement Class do not have to go to the Court hearing or hire an attorney, but can if they want to, at their own cost. The Court has appointed the law firms of Robins Kaplan LLP, Berger Montague PC, and Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP as Rule 23(b)(3) Class Counsel to represent the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class. For more information about this case: Call toll-free: 1-800-625-6440 Visit: www.PaymentCardSettlement.com Write to the Class Administrator: Payment Card Interchange Fee Settlement, P.O. Box 2530 Portland, OR 97208-2530 Email: [email protected] SOURCE U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York Related Links http://www.PaymentCardSettlement.com LUXEMBOURG, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Constellation Oil Services Holding S.A. (" Constellation " or the " Company "), has entered into an amended and restated plan support agreement (the " Amended and Restated PSA ") and Backstop Commitment Agreement (the " BCA ") with (i) 100% of the lenders under its project financings consisting of the syndicated secured credit facility with Amaralina Star Ltd. and Laguna Star Ltd. as borrowers and the syndicated secured credit facility with Brava Star Ltd. as borrower, (ii) Banco Bradesco S.A., Grand Cayman Branch, as lender under its working capital facility, (iii) holders of a majority in amount of the 9.00% Cash / 0.50% PIK Senior Secured Notes due 2024 (the " 2024 Notes ," and the holders of the 2024 Notes, the " Noteholders ") issued by the Company pursuant to that indenture dated as of July 27, 2017 by and among the Company, the subsidiary guarantors party thereto and Wilmington Trust, National Association, as trustee, paying agent, transfer agent and registrar, and (iv) its shareholders. The Company's restructuring has the support of a majority of its creditors, as documented in the Amended & Restated PSA and BCA. The Noteholders that are party to the Amended & Restated PSA and BCA have committed to backstop a rights offering to raise $27 million of new capital. "With the support of holders of over 50% of the 2024 Notes, who have agreed to inject an additional $27 million of new capital into the Company upon closing of our restructuring, we have a majority of all financial creditors supporting the better-capitalized company, and look forward to a quicker path through our restructuring. The Company continues to perform well under its existing and new contracts and appreciates the support of our customers, suppliers, employees and other stakeholders as we recapitalize and re-profile our debt obligations," said Mr. Leduvy Gouvea, CEO of Constellation. Discussions with Members of the Ad Hoc Committee of Noteholders Following the execution of confidentiality agreements (such agreements, including the extensions thereof, the " Confidentiality Agreements ") with, representatives of the Company and the Company's financial and legal advisors (the " Company Representatives ") met in person and by telephone at various times with representatives of an ad hoc committee of Noteholders (the " Ad Hoc Committee ") and the Ad Hoc Committee's financial and legal advisors (the " Ad Hoc Committee Representatives ") to discuss the terms of a possible consensual restructuring of the 2024 Notes and related matters (a " Potential Transaction "), and exchanged proposals representing the terms of a Potential Transaction (the " Proposals "). Subsequent to these discussions, the Company reached an agreement regarding its restructuring proceedings with the Ad Hoc Committee and entered into the Amended and Restated PSA and BCA memorializing the terms of that agreement. Under the Confidentiality Agreements, the Company is required to publicly disclose these agreements (the " Cleansing Materials "). The Cleansing Materials consists of the Amended and Restated PSA, which attaches a term sheet containing the terms of the restructuring (the " Term Sheet "), as well as the BCA. All information contained in the Cleansing Materials is accurate as of the date of when delivered to such stakeholders, and has not been updated since such date of delivery. Such information should not be relied upon for any purposes. In accordance with its obligations under the Confidentiality Agreements, the Company has posted the Cleansing Materials on a section of its website that is readily accessible to the public. Certain Other Important Information In addition to the disclaimers and qualifiers set forth in the Cleansing Materials, all statements made in the Cleansing Materials are in the nature of settlement discussions and compromise, are not intended to be and do not constitute representations of any fact or admissions of any liability and are for the purpose of attempting to reach a consensual compromise and settlement. Nothing contained in the Cleansing Materials is intended to or shall be construed to be an admission or a waiver of any rights, remedies, claims, causes of action or defenses. Furthermore, the contents of the Cleansing Materials shall not be construed as guidance by the Company in relation to its future results, and the Company does not assume and expressly disclaims any responsibility to update such contents or information at any time. This press release is neither an offer to sell nor the solicitation of an offer to buy any security. This press release is also not an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to purchase with respect to any security, nor is this press release a solicitation of any consent to any amendments with respect to the 2024 Notes or any other security. About Constellation Constellation is a market leading provider of offshore and onshore oil and gas contract drilling and FPSO services in Brazil through its subsidiary Servicos de Petroleo Constellation S.A. (" Servicos de Petroleo Constellation "). With continuous operations since 1981, Servicos de Petroleo Constellation has built an unmatched reputation for excellence in offshore and onshore drilling services, obtaining ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and API Spec Q2 certifications for its quality management, environmental and safety records and systems. NOTICE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press 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, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by such sections and other applicable laws. Where the Company expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. However, such statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by the "forward-looking statements." The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly revisions to any "forward-looking statement," including, without limitation, outlook, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Investors should not assume that any lack of update to a previously issued "forward-looking statement" constitutes a reaffirmation of that statement. Continued reliance on "forward-looking statements" is at investors' own risk. SOURCE Constellation Oil Services Holding S.A. "CITGO is a historic brand that provides enormous value to the American economy and the communities in which it operates," said Luisa Palacios, newly appointed Chairwoman of the CITGO Board. "With highly complex refineries and, more importantly, best-in-class employees that keep this company running smoothly, CITGO is and will remain a major player in the energy industry. This Board will be working hard to provide the stability, leadership and protection that ensures it remains so." Friday's meeting included an intensive review of the company's business units, which provided ample opportunity for the Board to interact with the internal management team. The meeting included an in-depth discussion of the company's finances, operations and immediate challenges so the Board can quickly develop and implement its vision going forward. Additionally, the Board nominated and elected several corporate officers, including unanimous approval of Rick Esser as Executive Vice President. With the full support of the Board, Rick will immediately assume responsibility for the day-to-day strategic decisions and operations of CITGO while the company conducts an intensive internal and external search for a chief executive officer. The following corporate officers were also confirmed on Feb. 22: Vice President of Refining Art Klein Vice President and General Manager Lake Charles Refinery Jerry Dunn Vice President and General Manager Lemont Refinery Dennis Willig Vice President and General Manager Corpus Christi Refinery Trina Martinez Vice President of Supply and Marketing Karl Schmidt Vice President of Finance Curtis Rowe Vice President of Shared Services Glenn Hilman General Counsel and Assistant Secretary Judith Colbert Corporate Treasurer Gina Coon Corporate Controller Barry Treas "These officers were chosen not only for their experience and knowledge, but also because of their demonstrated commitment to the company over the years," continued Palacios. "CITGO is a strong company and, working together as the corporate leaders, we will fortify it even further." The extraordinary oil and gas industry experiences of the Board and Officers will enhance corporate governance and add significant depth to the Company's strategic decision making and long-term vision. Last year, CITGO achieved one of its strongest earnings results in the last ten years, providing a solid foundation from which the new leadership team will operate. About the Board of Directors Luisa Palacios is the newly appointed Chairwoman of the Board of CITGO Petroleum Corporation. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Palacios was a Senior Managing Director and member of the Management Committee of Medley Global Advisors where, during her career, she also served as head of Emerging Markets Research and Latin America Research. She previously worked at Barclays Capital, Society Generale and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. She graduated from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello and received a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and a Ph.D. in international affairs from The John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. She is a non-resident fellow at the Center for Energy Policy at Columbia University and a Visiting Professor at the Energy Center of Caracas-based IESA's School of Management. Rick Esser is the newly appointed Executive Vice President of CITGO Petroleum Corporation. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Esser served as Vice President of Compliance and Chief Strategy Officer. With more than 28 years of refining industry experience, he joined CITGO in 1997, and has served in numerous roles, including General Manager Pricing; General Manager Product Supply, Distribution and Trading; General Manager Crude Supply; Assistant Vice President Supply & Marketing; and Vice President of Supply & Marketing. Prior to joining CITGO, he spent seven years at the UNO-VEN Company before it became part of CITGO with the acquisition of the Lemont Refinery. Mr. Esser holds a master's degree in business administration from Keller Graduate School of Management and a bachelor's degree in business administration, marketing and management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Edgar Rincon is the Senior Vice President of Operations for the Western Hemisphere for Nabors Drilling. During his career with Nabors, Mr. Rincon also worked as Senior Vice President of Operations for the United States, Chief Procurement Officer and Vice President of Supply Chain. Prior to joining Nabors, Mr. Rincon worked at Pacific Drilling and McKinsey & Company in various leadership positions. He holds a master's in business administration with distinction from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Universidad Simon Bolivar. Angel Olmeta had a long career in Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), occupying various positions in strategic and corporate planning and corporate acquisitions, where he oversaw the purchase of CITGO by PDVSA. He also served as Executive Vice President of CITGO, Chief Operating Officer and a member of its Board. At the time of his retirement in 1998, he was a member of the Board of Directors of PDVSA. Mr. Olmeta received a bachelor's degree from the United States Military Academy (West Point) and graduate degrees from Columbia University, New York University and the University of Colorado. Luis Urdaneta is a former Vice President of PDVSA, former President of the CITGO Board and PDV America. He also served as Executive Vice President of an oil exploration and development company in Colombia and Chief Executive Officer of a coal company in Colombia. He spent more than 30 years in the Venezuelan oil industry. He graduated from the University of Zulia and received master's degrees in petroleum engineering and computer science from Pennsylvania State University. Andres Eloy Padilla is a Finance and Logistics Control Analyst at INABLO LLC, a full-service food import and export company. Prior to his current position, Mr. Padilla held finance-related positions in various Venezuelan companies. He received Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration degrees from Florida International University. About the Board Secretary Fernando Vera is an attorney and the current Board Secretary of CITGO Petroleum Corporation. His practice specializes in energy project development and financial and corporate matters, including the restructuring and implementation of infrastructure projects and investments in hydrocarbons projects. Mr. Vera previously served as a member and corporate secretary of the boards of various oil and gas companies in Latin America. He is a retired counsel of Gamez & Vera Abogados and also served as an attorney in an affiliate of The AES Corporation: C.A La Electricidad de Caracas until 2005 and in The Third Party Unit of the Exploration and Production Division of PDVSA until January 2003. Mr. Vera graduated from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello in 1997 and holds a Master of Law (LL.M) degree from The Washington College of Law, The American University, and a Master of Business Administration from IE Business School, Madrid, Spain. About CITGO Headquartered in Houston, Texas, CITGO Petroleum Corporation is a recognized leader in the refining industry with a well-known brand. CITGO operates three refineries located in Corpus Christi, Texas; Lake Charles, La.; and Lemont, Ill., and wholly and/or jointly owns 48 terminals, nine pipelines and three lubricants blending and packaging plants. With approximately 3,400 employees and a combined crude capacity of approximately 749,000 barrels-per-day (bpd), CITGO is ranked as the sixth-largest, and one of the most complex independent refiners in the United States. CITGO transports and markets transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products and supplies a network of approximately 5,000 locally owned and operated branded retail outlets in 30 states and the District of Columbia. CITGO Petroleum Corporation is owned by CITGO Holding, Inc. For more information, visit www.CITGO.com . SOURCE CITGO Petroleum Corporation VANCOUVER, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Capstone Mining Corp. ("Capstone") (TSX:CS) announced that management will be attending the BMO 28th Global Metals & Mining Conference in Hollywood, Florida. Darren Pylot, President & CEO will be presenting on Wednesday, February 27, 2019. Capstone's most recent corporate presentation is available at: http://capstonemining.com/investors/events-and-presentations/default.aspx. About Capstone Mining Corp. Capstone Mining Corp. is a Canadian base metals mining company, focused on copper. We are committed to the responsible development of our assets and the environments in which we operate. Our two producing mines are the Pinto Valley copper mine located in Arizona, US and the Cozamin polymetallic mine in Zacatecas State, Mexico. In addition, Capstone has the large scale 70% owned copper-iron Santo Domingo development project in Region III, Chile, in partnership with Korea Resources Corporation, the Minto copper mine in Yukon, Canada currently on care and maintenance, as well as a portfolio of exploration properties. Capstone's strategy is to focus on the optimization of operations and assets in politically stable, mining-friendly regions, centred in the Americas. Our headquarters are in Vancouver, Canada and we are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Further information is available at www.capstonemining.com. SOURCE Capstone Mining Corp. Related Links www.capstonemining.com WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, welcomed a magistrate judge's decision in Alexandria, Virginia earlier today ordering the federal government to fully disclose how and why and with whom it shares the terror watchlist. AP: Judge Orders Feds to List Private Groups Receiving Watchlist https://apnews.com/be5c1138b2d3483db46cd311026ddb67 "We applaud the judge's decision to shed light on the government's misuse of this illegal watchlist that has the potential to negatively impact the lives of so many innocent people," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "Congress must follow this federal court's lead and demand a comprehensive accounting of why so many private entities have access to the illegal watchlist and what they are doing with that access." In issuing the order, federal magistrate Judge John Anderson ruled that the federal government had not complied with an earlier court order requiring the FBI and other agencies to provide "detailed, complete, and specific" information about how, why, and to whom they provide watchlist information to. Read the federal court's order: https://tinyurl.com/WatchlistOrder Today's hearing was scheduled to deal with the revelation from earlier this month that the federal government disseminates its watchlist to more than 1,400 private groups. CAIR: Feds Share Terrorist Watchlist with 1,400 Private Groups (AP) https://apnews.com/ae4779a057c04947a332fce64f6cf345 The federal government's disclosure comes in response to a court order obtained by CAIR in its legal challenge to the watchlisting system (El Hady v. Kable). After years of denying that the watchlist is available to private companies, the government's disclosure raises critical questions about how the watchlist is shared and what recipients of watchlist information -- which include hospitals and universities, among other private entities -- do with that access. For years, CAIR has represented innocent Muslims -- people who have not been charged, arrested, or convicted of a violent offense -- who have been targeted by the watchlisting system. Some have lost jobs, been separated from their families, and all have been stigmatized by being treated as a "terrorist" by their own government. SEE: Detroit Mother Calls Out Feds For Breaking Up Family, Files Lawsuit https://www.wxyz.com/news/metro-detroit-father-calls-out-us-government-for-breaking-up-family-files-lawsuit 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. La mision de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprension del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos. CONTACT: CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 202-742-6420, [email protected], CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected] SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Related Links http://www.cair.com OAKLAND, Calif., February 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Just Get Out Of Town announced that as long as Oakland teachers are on strike without pay, they will donate 100% of fundraising proceeds to a strike-fund supporting those teachers. To encourage generous donations from the community, Just Get Out Of Town is donating a 7-night vacation voucher for every visitor who subscribes to their $24 to $97 trip-alert service. (Value of vacation voucher: $2100. Full details at JGOOT.com/oakland .) Until the strike ends, 100% of proceeds from this fundraising drive will be donated the Striking Oakland Teachers' GoFundMe account . "Teachers are our largest base of subscribers and have supported Just Get Out Of Town since our inception," said Joel McDonald, founder of Just Get Out Of Town. "As long as Oakland teachers are on strike without pay, we will donate 100% of fundraising efforts to a fund in their support." "I am a teacher in Fremont. Our family is using JGOOT to go on a few vacations this Summer and possibly Spring Break," said Steve Strout, a Bay Area teacher. Just Get Out Of Town is changing how people travel with one simple philosophy: Rather than choosing to travel and hoping to find a good deal, find 60% to 90% off travel deals far ahead of time, and schedule trips around them. For more information, visit JustGetOutOfTown.com or contact Joel McDonald at [email protected] . Facebook.com/jgootsfo/reviews Facebook.com/jgootmain/reviews SOURCE Just Get Out Of Town Related Links http://www.justgetoutoftown.com LONDON, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) ("the Company"), a globally recognised leader in direct selling of beauty products, today announced it completed the sale of its China manufacturing facility to TheFaceShop Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of LG Household & Health Care Ltd., one of Asia's largest consumer goods and beauty companies. TheFaceShop has acquired all of the shares of Avon's beauty manufacturing operation in Guangzhou, China. Net proceeds (pre-tax) to Avon are approximately $47 million. As previously announced, the companies have entered into a manufacturing and supply agreement, under which the Guangzhou factory will manufacture products for Avon's fast-growing Chinese business and other markets, while maximizing the capacity of the plant for its own production. Avon's associates at the facility will remain with the operation. The closing of the sale is a concrete step in Avon's "Open Up" transformation plan, key to which is a strategic shift to build more relationships with best in class partners. This is one example of measures Avon is taking to manufacture and deliver products more efficiently, to deliver a more agile and improved service to its millions of beauty entrepreneurs and their customers around the world. Jan Zijderveld, CEO of Avon, said, "We are very pleased to complete this transaction and see it as a significant step in our efforts to "Open Up Avon." The more local structure better fits our purpose and better positions us to grow in China and the wider Asian market. Mr. Zijderveld continues, "2019 is the year for Avon to execute against its initiatives. In addition to the sale of our China facility, we have recently announced several tangible initiatives to operate a more efficient, leaner and agile global infrastructure, including a 10% global headcount reduction and a 25% SKU reduction in 2019. We will continue to look at our assets and infrastructure and determine the optimal structure as we move forward." About Avon Products, Inc. For 130 years Avon has stood for women: providing innovative, quality beauty products which are primarily sold to women, through women. Millions of independent sales Representatives across the world sell iconic Avon brands such as Avon Color and ANEW through their social networks, building their own beauty businesses on a full- or part-time basis. Avon supports women's empowerment, entrepreneurship and well-being and has donated over $1billion to women's causes through Avon and the Avon Foundation. Learn more about Avon and its products at www.avonworldwide.com. #Stand4Her About LG Household & Health Care Ltd. LG Household & Health Care (LG H&H) is the #1 consumer goods company in Korea, with leading positions in all major categories including cosmetics, personal care, home care and beverages. The company is listed on the Korea Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of USD 18 billion as of December 1, 2018 and full-year revenue is approximately USD 6 billion (based on Bloomberg Estimates). In recent years, LG H&H has accelerated expansion beyond Korea, with leading luxury cosmetics brands such as 'The history of Whoo', 'su:m' and 'belif', and is now within the top 10 global cosmetics companies in Asia. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to the Company's transformation plan and its strategy and future growth in Asia. Because forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties, actual future results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the possibility of business disruption, competitive uncertainties, and general economic and business conditions in Avon's markets as well as the other risks detailed in Avon's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Avon undertakes no obligation to update any statements in this press release for changes that happen after the date of this release. SOURCE Avon Products, Inc. Related Links http://www.avonworldwide.com CAIRO, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- American Jewish Committee (AJC) commends Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's decisions to clean and protect the historic Jewish Bassatine Cemetery in Cairo and to make available the country's Jewish Communal registers. AJC, the global Jewish advocacy organization, has long called for these and other measures to preserve the heritage of the Egyptian Jewish community, which once numbered more than 80,000 and today is estimated to be fewer than 20. "Egypt's commitment to preserve Jewish sites and records is vitally important," said Rabbi Andrew Baker, AJC Director of International Jewish Affairs, who has visited Cairo regularly to meet with government officials. Sisi's decision came after AJC leaders met with Prime Minster Mostafa Kemal Madbouly and Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Anan in Cairo. AJC also has raised these issues in meetings with Sisi in the past. Sisi's announcement this week followed his meeting with a delegation of Orthodox Jews visiting from New York. Bassatine Cemetery, which dates to the ninth century, contains thousands of Jewish graves. Neglected for years, most of the inscribed headstones have been looted and squatter's apartments cover much of the original site. Broken walls leave it unprotected, and garbage is strewn throughout the cemetery. One day after Sisi's announcement bulldozers and other equipment were dispatched to the cemetery to begin the clean-up process. The Communal Registers contain important personal data, including births, deaths and marriages, of the Jewish Communities of Cairo and Alexandria. "For many Egyptian Jews these are the only formal records which might otherwise be inscribed in civil records. And there are cases where they are very important in proving a person's Jewish identity, for burial or for marriage," Baker said. Access to this official documentation is important to the religious life of Egyptian Jews and their descendants around the world. AJC, together with the Nebi Daniel Association of Jews from Egypt, the Jewish Community of Cairo, and the Consistoire of France, has called for a copy of the registers to be deposited with the Chief Rabbinate of France. AJC expects that Sisi's decision will lead soon to implementation of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture's unfulfilled promise to AJC in May 2017 to allow the registers to be copied. Over the years, Members of Congress also have urged Egyptian officials to address these concerns. A joint letter from Representative Nita Lowey and Senator Ron Wyden to President Sisi was sent two weeks ago highlighting the concerns over the cemetery and registers. AJC works closely on Egyptian Jewish heritage issues with the Paris-based Nebi Daniel Association; with Magda Haroun, President of the Jewish Community of Cairo; and Samy Ibrahim, Director of the Drop of Milk Foundation, dedicated to preserving Egypt's Jewish past. SOURCE American Jewish Committee Related Links http://www.ajc.org PUNE, India, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ReportsnReports.com Adds "Activated Coal Market- Global Industry Growth, Opportunities, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2025" To Its Research Database. The global Activated Coal market 2019 research is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the industry and provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. Finish give an account of Activated Coal industry spread crosswise over 119 pages, giving examination of 08 noteworthy organizations upheld with 233 tables and figures. Ask Discount @ https://www.reportsnreports.com/contacts/discount.aspx?name=1950355 This report researches the worldwide Activated Coal market size (value, capacity, production and consumption) in key regions like United States, Europe, Asia Pacific (China, Japan) and other regions. This study categorizes the global Activated Coal breakdown data by manufacturers, region, type and application, also analyzes the market status, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis. #Top organizations profiled in this Activated Coal Market statistical surveying incorporate Cabot(Norit), Calgon, MWV, CECA SA, KURARY, OSAKA GAS(Jacobi), Xbow Carbon and TaiXi Coal Group. 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Buy the latest research "Global Activated Coal Market Report for 2019" @ https://www.reportsnreports.com/purchase.aspx?name=1950355 Activated Coal Breakdown Data by Type: Powdered Activated Carbon, Granular Activated Carbon, Extruded Activated Carbon, Bead Activated Carbon, Others Activated Coal Breakdown Data by Application: Physical Reactivation, Chemical Reactivation, Physical and Chemical Reactivation Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins. The report focuses on global major leading Activated Coal Industry players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. 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Our database includes 100,000+ market research reports from over 95 leading global publishers & in-depth market research studies of over 5000 micro markets. With comprehensive information about the publishers and the industries for which they publish market research reports, we help you in your purchase decision by mapping your information needs with our huge collection of reports. We provide 24/7 online and offline support to our customers. Contact: Vishal Kalra Tower B5, office 101, Magarpatta SEZ, Hadapsar, Pune-411013, India +1-888-391-5441 [email protected] Connect With Us on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReportsnReports/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/reportsnreports Twitter: https://twitter.com/marketsreports G+ / Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/111656568937629536321/posts RSS/Feeds: http://www.reportsnreports.com/feed/l-latestreports.xml SOURCE ReportsnReports "There is nothing Righteous about Easter. This day is entirely pagan and is evil God worship at the highest level," Yisrayl said. Yisrayl says that the world has been tricked into believing this day is something it is not. He says the evil plan has worked so well that children are trained from the earliest age to celebrate this day and to pass on the tradition and keep it going. He begs the reader to stop following the tradition blindly and start looking into its origins. "Please take a minute out of your busy day to see where Easter started, how it started, what you are following and what you are teaching your children to celebrate," Yisrayl says. Yisrayl adds that there is a free booklet on Easter that dives deep into the history and scriptural references to prove it is not Righteous. The booklet, called "An Easter Remembrance", can be found here . Yisrayl says it's time the Scriptures are brought back into the schools and homes to start teaching children Righteousness instead of traditions. He says The House of Yahweh is willing to assist in that effort in whatever way they can. "Getting the bible back in to schools and homes will make a tremendous difference. It's a start, a great start. What can we do to help make that a reality?" Yisrayl asks. Yisrayl says the best way to gain a better understanding of these Guiding Laws is to watch their weekly Sabbath Service live streams every seventh day of the week at 9:00am CST on their website and Facebook live . To read the article and get more details, go to www.yahwehsbranch.com About Us: The House of Yahweh, fully recognized in 1983 as a non-profit organization in the United States of America, continues to this present day to fulfill its commissioned work of preaching and publishing the True Message of Salvation. The House of Yahweh has correctly restored the Heavenly Father's Name and the Savior's True Name in the translation named in Scripture as The Book of Yahweh. SOURCE The House of Yahweh Related Links http://www.yahweh.com MILFORD, Mich., Feb. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Since its inception, the Walters Family Foundation has contributed funding to support a variety of innovative projects that strengthen Michigan communities. These projects align with the family's mission to fund ideas that conserve the natural environment, celebrate arts and culture, advance economic vitality and empower people to reach their full potential through learning initiatives. In 2019, the Foundation is seeking new proposals from Michigan-based organizations that will further advance its mission. The Walters Family Foundation has championed ideas that range from creating a microgrant program for entrepreneurs in Eastern Market, Detroit to improving trout stream flows on Milligan Creek in Cheboygan County. Grant recipients include Detroit Promise Schools, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, Huron Pines, The Nature Conservancy, Detroit U Prep, Detroit Institute of Arts, Eastern Market Growing Communities and Midtown Detroit Inc. "The projects we have funded illustrate innovative approaches to empowering individuals and confronting complex problems in our communities and natural environments," said Carol Walters, Walters Family Foundation President. "We're interested in proposals that reflect our values of visionary thinking, integrity, collaboration and continuous learning." The Detroit Institute of Arts' "DIA Head Start" program is one such project. The DIA, partnering with certain Head Starts in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, will offer a multi-visit program to underserved pre-schoolers and their parents who have not had previous exposure to the museum. The program will provide gallery experiences in art and art-making and informal learning opportunities in order to familiarize the children and their families with the museum. "We'll be engaging families who might not be as comfortable at the museum. Any time an amazing cultural resource in the city can connect with parents and their young children, it's a positive for the community," says Teri John, Executive Director of Learning and Engagement , Detroit Institute of Arts. Huron Pines is another Walters Family Foundation grant recipient. The organization is working to support the restoration of the trout habitat on Milligan Creek in northeastern Michigan. Funding contributed to the replacement of undersized culverts that impeded fish from moving freely up and down stream. The creek's new arch structures help preserve quality trout habitat and stream health, which in turn improve the recreation and the economy in the area. "One of our priorities is to support restoration of Michigan streams, rivers and lakes. Providing free movement of fish up and down Milligan Creek is in line with our objectives," says Walters. Midtown Detroit Inc. applied for funding from the Walters Family Foundation to develop a sustainable public courtyard within the Selden Innovation Corridor, a new innovation hub for startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses in redeveloped vacant spaces in Midtown Detroit. The central courtyard will serve as the outdoor anchor of the Corridor, providing a place for residents and also configurations for small group meetings, open air workspace and community events. The grant fund also supports sustainable environmental features including a permeable pavement and bioswale systems. "Developing underutilized spaces, such as the Selden Corridor, are known to be advantageous to the community because once activated, they foster interaction, collaboration, productivity and further revitalization," says Sue Mosey, Executive Director, Midtown Detroit, Inc. In 2019, the Walters Family Foundation seeks to fund ideas that incorporate diverse perspectives, risk-taking and original solutions to challenging issues. "We want to see more great ideas and more visionary thinking. We encourage organizations to put forth innovative proposals that carry the promise of lasting impact," says Carol Walters. The Walters Family Foundation was created to build a legacy of family stewardship. It seeks to strengthen Michigan communities through grantmaking that supports conserving the natural environment, celebrating arts and culture, advancing economic vitality and empowering people to reach their full potential through innovative learning initiatives. The Walters Family Foundation believes in the relationship between communities and the natural environment and is committed to supporting projects that encourage and preserve their mutual, lasting vitality. For more information about the Walters Family Foundation please visit their website www.waltersffmi.org or contact Shilpa Bavikatte, Program Officer, at 248.205.1390 or [email protected]. Contact: Shilpa Bavikatte, Program Officer 248.205.1390 [email protected] SOURCE Walters Family Foundation Related Links http://www.waltersffmi.org EVERGREEN, Colo., Feb. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Super Seer Corporation, a Colorado-based American manufacturer of law enforcement products including riot, corrections, motorcycle, mounted, general duty helmets and accessories, this week announced they have released their latest riot helmet, 100% made right here in the U.S. Now carrying the Seer S1621 riot helmet, Super Seer proudly used only American components and sub components in the manufacturing of the product, earning it a Berry Amendment Compliant label. "When we set out to create the Seer S1621 riot helmet, it was important to make the helmet using Berry Amendment Compliant products, ensuring that every component and subcomponent used to create our helmets are sourced right here in the U.S.," said Steve Smith, President of Super Seer Corporation. "We want to benefit other American producers while investing our time and energy back into our American communities." The design of the new American-made riot helmet includes: a uni-directional, advanced composite fiberglass outer helmet shell that maximizes strength while minimizing weight, an integral molded visor and threaded tric nuts for attaching a polycarbonate riot face shield, dull/matte durable Polane paint, and a tough molded metal core that creates a scuff-proof edge design. As for the inside of the American-made police helmet, the S1621 is constructed with an inner impact absorbing liner that consist of semi-resilient energy absorbing polyurethane foam, perforated removable cushion pads built with air ventilation in mind, and a retention system which is comprised of a chin strap and secondary nape strap for additional helmet stability. Like all Seer riot helmets, the S1621 comes with a 3mm high-impact polycarbonate face shield that can flip 90 degrees and adapt to most gas masks. "Our team has been proudly designing, manufacturing, and distributing American riot helmets for over 4-decades, working collaboratively to source all of our raw materials from our local American communities," said Mr. Smith. "We are proud to support law enforcement officers from coast to coast, providing them with the materials they need to be safe and effective on the job. The New Seer S1621 riot helmet achieves this goal." The Seer S1621 is available in three individual outer shell sizes: small/medium, large, and extra-large, fitting head sizes that range from 6 5/8" to 8 3/8". Additionally, the American-made police riot helmet exceeds the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) 0104.02 riot helmet standards. Super Seer comes with over 50-years of manufacturing experience, taking pride in creating every helmet by hand. Completely made in the USA from raw materials, Super Seer is proud to support the USA through the operation and management of their business. For more information regarding the new Seer S1621 riot helmet, please visit: https://superseer.com/blog/18642/Introducing-the-All-New-Seer-S1621-Riot-Helmet. Photos: https://www.prlog.org/12755623 Press release distributed by PRLog SOURCE Super Seer Corporation Related Links https://superseer.com NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Self-injection Device Market - Overview This report by Transparency Market Research analyses the global self-injection devices market for the period between 2018 and 2026.An in-depth and unbiased market assessment has been made, which offers readers an in-depth and accurate analysis. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05743514 Market projections have been offered in terms of value (US$ Mn). Stakeholders of this report include companies and intermediaries engaged in research & development, manufacture, and marketing of products prescribed in the treatment of various medical conditions. Overview The global self-injection devices market has been studied for the forecast period from 2018 to 2026.For research, 2017 has been considered as the base year and 2016 as the historical year. The global self-injection devices market report comprises an elaborate executive summary that provides overall information about various segments of the market.The report provides a detailed competitive landscape, by major players operating in this market, along with their shares (value %) of the global self-injection devices market for 2017. The report also provides detailed company profiles of emerging market players operating in the global self-injection devices market. The market overview section comprises impact factors such as key market dynamics, including drivers, restraints, and opportunities, affecting the global self-injection devices market.These factors are likely to aid stakeholders in establishing a strong foothold in the global self-injection devices market. Furthermore, the market overview section comprises key industry events, technological advancements, product portfolio overview of leading players, and market attractiveness analysis in the global self-injection devices market. The market attractiveness analysis provides a graphical view comparing the expansion and market dynamics in various segments and countries to identify the most attractive market. Scope The global self-injection devices market has been segmented based on product, usage, and region.In terms of product, the global market has been classified into pen injectors, autoinjectors, and wearable injectors. Based on usage, the global market has been segmented into disposable and reusable self-injection devices. In terms of region, the global self-injection devices market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Moreover, quantitative analysis for major countries such as the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, the U.K., Italy, Spain, China, Japan, India, and Australia & New Zealand has also been provided in the report. A detailed qualitative analysis of factors responsible for driving and restraining the global market in various regions has been provided in this section. The report provides a detailed outline/blueprint of the global self-injection devices market, which is expected to assist new companies establish their presence and existing companies to expand their share in the market. The report concludes with the company profiles section, which includes company overview, financial overview, SWOT analysis, product portfolio, business strategies, and recent developments of key players. Competitive Landscape Major players operating in the global self-injection devices market include Becton, Dickinson and Company, Gerresheimer AG, Insulet Corporation, Ypsomed AG, Antares Pharma, Inc., West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Consort Medical plc, Sensile Medical AG, Owen Mumford Ltd., SHL Group, and Wilhelm Haselmeier GmbH & Co. KG. The global self-injection devices market has been segmented into: Global Self-injection Devices Market, by Product Type Pen Injectors Autoinjectors Wearable Injectors Global Self-injection Devices Market, by Usage Disposable Reusable Global Self-injection Devices Market, by Region North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany France Italy U.K. Spain Rest of Europe Asia Pacific China India Japan Australia & New Zealand Rest of Asia Pacific Latin America Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America Middle East & Africa GCC Countries South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05743514 About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links http://www.reportlinker.com ANNVILLE, Pa., Feb. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- All three Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PAANG) wings, part of Pennsylvania's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA), earned 2018 United States Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards signifying them as exceptional performers. The award spans a two-year period of wing performance. All three wings have earned this prestigious Air Force award before, but this is the first time that the 111th Attack Wing in Horsham, the 171st Air Refueling Wing in Pittsburgh, and the 193rd Special Operations Wing in Middletown received the award the same year. "We are extremely proud of how our three wings perform and it is nice to see that their outstanding accomplishments are recognized and honored at the highest level," said Brig. Gen. Michael J. Regan Jr., DMVA's deputy adjutant general-Air. "The men and women assigned to these wings play a key role in our nation's readiness and ability to keep us safe and preserve our freedom." 111th Attack Wing (ATKW), Horsham (Montgomery County) The 111 ATKW primarily serves as a control center for the MQ-9 remotely piloted aircraft. Flying over territory thousands of miles away, the aircraft can provide instantaneous information to combatant commanders, extended surveillance, battlefield reconnaissance and precision air strikes when needed. The wing also conducts defensive cyber protection. Award citation highlights include the wing undergoing an unprecedented cyberspace mission conversion, including a major facility renovation, and still meeting operational capability for remotely piloted aircraft and cyberspace operations missions. Despite the changes, the wing still deployed 25 percent of its personnel in support of the Global War on Terrorism. 171st Air Refueling Wing (ARW), Pittsburgh (Allegheny County) The primary mission of the 171 ARW is to provide in-flight refueling to Department of Defense and NATO aircraft and also support the homeland defense mission on a daily basis. The wing also transports cargo and passengers worldwide. Award citation highlights include the 171st supporting more than 200 aircraft missions, issuing over 400,000 pounds of fuel and processing more than 40 short tons of cargo. Additionally, 311 wing members were recognized for their performance during the 2017 Nuclear Operational Readiness Inspection as well as the wing being lauded by the commander of Strategic Command for its near flawless execution of the mission during the exercise. 193rd Special Operations Wing (SOW), Middletown (Dauphin County) The 193 SOW is home to the only airborne Military Information Support Operations broadcasting platform in the U.S. military. The unit assists civilian authorities during natural disaster or homeland security during peacetime and supports the Air Force Special Operations Command during wartime. Award citation highlights include the wing successfully executing overseas contingency and domestic operations deployments while maintaining a high rate of readiness. The wing deployed 642 members across 27 nations. Wing members flew 386 combat missions and safely executed 3,000 broadcast hours. Founded in 1747, the PNG is the third largest National Guard in the nation and is comprised of nearly 20,000 soldiers and airmen who reside in every county across the commonwealth. The PNG is part of the DMVA's dual mission, which also includes supporting Pennsylvania's nearly 800,000 veterans. For more information about the DMVA, visit us online at www.dmva.pa.gov or follow us at www.facebook.com/padmva or www.twitter.com/padmva. MEDIA CONTACT: Joseph Butera, 717-861-2178 SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Related Links http://www.dmva.pa.gov Nusantara Satu is a multi-mission satellite that includes Indonesia's first High Throughput Satellite (HTS) payload. Previously called PSN VI, the satellite will also provide voice, data and video distribution service throughout South East Asia. PSN is the first private satellite telecommunications company in Indonesia and a leading Asian provider of a full range of satellite-based telecommunication services. Nusantara Satu is also one of the first satellites to use SSL's next-generation electric propulsion system, which provides increased power, flexibility and performance, backed by a long heritage of electric propulsion success. An integral part of Indonesia's infrastructure, Nusantara Satu furnishes the most remote islands and villages with reliable, broad-based and affordable broadband to fuel economic growth and opportunity in the region. In addition the satellite's C-band and Ku-band transponders will be used for voice and data communications and video distribution throughout the Indonesian archipelago. "This mission demonstrates the success of SSL's advanced technologies and how we deliver business benefits to our satellite operator customers, which in turn will provide services that improve quality of life in the region," said Dario Zamarian, Group President, SSL. "We provided exceptional value to PSN by procuring the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch and partnering with Spaceflight and SpaceX to integrate additional missions. This marks the first time that our powerful electric propulsion system will provide orbit raising for both the primary satellite and a small tag-along mission." In addition to the satellite for PSN, SSL collaborated with rideshare provider Spaceflight to aggregate additional payloads that will accompany Nusantara Satu to orbit. This includes an experimental small spacecraft for the Air Force Research Laboratory that will deploy near GEO, and a spacecraft for SpaceIL that is the world's first privately funded lunar lander. "SSL has been a collaborative partner in helping us make Nusantara Satu a success," said Adi Rahman Adiwoso, Chief Executive Officer of PSN."SSL is a leader in broadband satellites and has designed and built a next-gen spacecraft solution that will advance our aspiration to improve lives and create new opportunities for economic growth in remote regions of Indonesia." About SSL SSL, based in Palo Alto, California, is a leading provider of advanced spacecraft systems, with broad expertise to support commercial and government satellite operators and innovative space missions. The company designs and manufactures spacecraft for services such as direct-to-home television, video content distribution, broadband internet, mobile communications, in-orbit servicing, space exploration, and Earth observation. As a Silicon Valley innovator for 60 years, SSL's advanced product line includes state-of-the-art small satellites, and sophisticated robotics and autonomous solutions for remote operations. SSL is a Maxar Technologies company (NYSE: MAXR) (TSX: MAXR). For more information, visit www.sslmda.com. About Maxar Technologies As a global leader of advanced space technology solutions, Maxar Technologies is at the nexus of the new space economy, developing and sustaining the infrastructure and delivering the information, services, systems that unlock the promise of space for commercial and government markets. As a trusted partner, Maxar Technologies provides vertically integrated capabilities and expertise including satellites, Earth imagery, robotics, geospatial data and analytics to help customers anticipate and address their most complex mission-critical challenges with confidence. With more than 6,100 employees in over 30 global locations, the Maxar Technologies portfolio of commercial space brands includes MDA, SSL, DigitalGlobe and Radiant Solutions. Every day, billions of people rely on Maxar to communicate, share information and data, and deliver insights that Build a Better World. Maxar trades on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange as MAXR. For more information, visit www.maxar.com. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements and other information included in this release constitute "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") under applicable securities laws. Statements including words such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "would", "plan", "potential", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate" or "expect" and other words, terms and phrases of similar meaning are often intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, expectations, projections, goals, forecasts, assumptions, risks and uncertainties, as well as other statements referring to or including forward-looking information included in this press release. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed in this release. As a result, although management of the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. The risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, the risk factors and other disclosures about the Company and its business included in the Company's continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time with Canadian and U.S. securities regulatory authorities, which are available online under the Company's EDGAR profile at www.sec.gov, under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com or on the Company's website at www.maxar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. All such forward-looking statements are based upon data available as of the date of this release or other specified date and speak only as of such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this release as a result of new information or future events, except as may be required under applicable securities legislation. Media Contact Wendy Lewis SSL Media Relations 1-650-852-5188 [email protected] Investor Relations Contact Jason Gursky Maxar VP Investor Relations 1-303-684-2207 [email protected] SOURCE Maxar Technologies Ltd. Related Links www.maxar.com DUBLIN, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Healthcare Information Systems Market Analysis & Trends - Industry Forecast to 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global Healthcare Information Systems Market is poised to grow strong during the forecast period 2017 to 2027 Some of the prominent trends that the market is witnessing include increasing popularity of wireless and cloud computing and shifting focus towards patient-centric healthcare information systems. This industry report analyzes the market estimates and forecasts of all the given segments on global as well as regional levels presented in the research scope. The study provides historical market data for 2015, 2016 revenue estimations are presented for 2017 and forecasts from 2018 till 2027. The study focuses on market trends, leading players, supply chain trends, technological innovations, key developments, and future strategies. With comprehensive market assessment across the major geographies such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Latin America and Rest of the world the report is a valuable asset for the existing players, new entrants and the future investors. Report Highlights: The report provides a detailed analysis on current and future market trends to identify the investment opportunities Market forecasts till 2027, using estimated market values as the base numbers Key market trends across the business segments, Regions and Countries Key developments and strategies observed in the market Market Dynamics such as Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities and other trends In-depth company profiles of key players and upcoming prominent players Growth prospects among the emerging nations through 2027 Market opportunities and recommendations for new investments Key Topics Covered: 1 Market Outline 1.1 Research Methodology 1.2 Market Trends 1.3 Regulatory Factors 1.4 Application Analysis 1.5 End User Analysis 1.6 Strategic Benchmarking 1.7 Opportunity Analysis 2 Executive Summary 3 Market Overview 3.1 Current Trends 3.1.1 Increasing Popularity of Wireless and Cloud Computing 3.1.2 Shifting Focus towards Patient-Centric Healthcare Information Systems 3.1.3 Growth Opportunities/Investment Opportunities 3.2 Drivers 3.3 Constraints 3.4 Industry Attractiveness 4 Healthcare Information Systems Market, By Component 4.1 Services 4.2 Software 4.3 Hardware 5 Healthcare Information Systems Market, By Deployment 5.1 On-premise 5.2 Cloud Based 5.3 Web-based 6 Healthcare Information Systems Market, By Application 6.1 Revenue Cycle Management 6.2 Laboratory Information Systems 6.3 Hospital Information System 6.3.1 Electronic Medical Record 6.3.2 Patient Engagement Solution 6.3.3 Electronic Health Record 6.3.4 Population Health Management 6.3.5 Real-time Healthcare 6.3.6 Other Hospital Information Systems 6.4 Medical Imaging Information System 6.4.1 Picture Archiving and Communication System 6.4.2 Radiology Information Systems 6.4.3 Monitoring Analysis Software 6.4.4 Other Medical Imaging Information Systems 6.5 Pharmacy Information Systems 6.5.1 Inventory Management 6.5.2 Prescription Management 6.5.3 Automated Dispensing Systems 6.5.4 Other Pharmacy Information Systems 7 Healthcare Information Systems Market, By End User 7.1 Research & Academic Institutes 7.2 Hospitals 7.3 Diagnostic Centers 7.4 Pharmacies 7.5 Ambulatory Care Centers 7.6 Other End Users 8 Healthcare Information Systems Market, By Geography 8.1 North America 8.1.1 US 8.1.2 Canada 8.1.3 Mexico 8.2 Europe 8.2.1 Germany 8.2.2 U.K 8.2.3 Italy 8.2.4 France 8.2.5 Spain 8.2.6 Rest of Europe 8.3 Asia Pacific 8.3.1 China 8.3.2 Japan 8.3.3 India 8.3.4 Australia 8.3.5 New Zealand 8.3.6 Rest of Asia Pacific 8.4 Middle East 8.4.1 Saudi Arabia 8.4.2 UAE 8.4.3 Rest of Middle East 8.5 Latin America 8.5.1 Argentina 8.5.2 Brazil 8.5.3 Rest of Latin America 8.6 Rest of the World (RoW) 8.6.1 South Africa 8.6.2 Others 9 Key Player Activities 9.1 Acquisitions & Mergers 9.2 Agreements, Partnerships, Collaborations and Joint Ventures 9.3 Product Launch & Expansions 9.4 Other Activities 10 Leading Companies 10.1 GE Health Care 10.2 NextGen Health Care Information Systems, LLC 10.3 McKesson Corporation 10.4 Agfa-Gevaert N.V. 10.5 Cerner Corporation 10.6 INFOR, INC. 10.7 Siemens Healthineers 10.8 Medidata Solutions, Inc. 10.9 KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V 10.10 Allscripts Health Care Solutions, Inc. 10.11 Athenahealth, Inc. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/rl3d6p/global_healthcare?w=5 Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com TEHRAN, Iran, Feb. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Mohammad Mokhber made the remarks on Tuesday at a ceremony marking Setad's achievements in creating jobs. He said Setad's job creation has led to 40,000 indirect jobs. During the ceremony, Barakat Foundation's employment plans for social jobs was also unveiled. Head of the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order (EIKO) According to Mokhber, the organization has initiated 40,000 projects on a budget of 500 trillion Rials. "The projects included building 1,550 schools, 2,200 cultural centers, 30,000 housing units, 1,100 healthcare projects, 2,500 hospital beds, and 159 health centers." He said one million health insurances have been issued in deprived areas by Barakat Foundation, adding, "10,000 infertile couples have received treatments, with 542 cases being completely treated, as a result of which 224 babies were born." The official further said good campaigns have been launched with people's help and 300,000 student stationery packs were provided by the campaigns which were then distributed in deprived areas at the beginning of the school year. He said Setad has been pursuing important activities after conducting extensive field surveys, according to which job creation plans were designed and organized. "We thank God because today we are at a milestone in Setad," Mokhber remarked, adding that he played a minor role in the organization's achievements. He pointed out that in the last seven months 20,000 social jobs were created, 700 people were employed in small and medium businesses and 1,500 people were provided with facilities. "The Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order should become a symbol of 'we can' mentality," he emphasized. Setad has gotten involved "in crucial spheres where people cannot be involved in and the government must not get involved in," the official added. He also said 382 companies within Setad have gone public and the organization is ready to sell up to 100% of its companies' stocks. 'Relying on people the only path forward' Elsewhere in his remarks, Mokhber said during the current economic war imposed on Iran by the enemies, there's "no way forward but to rely on the people." Western countries and the Americans used all of their powers to prevent the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, but "in spite of all of their activities the will of Allah Almighty was on the victory of the Islamic Revolution," he noted. Also after the Islamic Revolution, Mokhber continued, the enemies were seriously after the country's disintegration, a stage which "we passed through by the grace of God." The official compared today's economic war on Iran with the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, which is known in Iran as the "Imposed War", saying while during the Imposed War some people were involved, in the economic war all of the people are involved. Pointing to a recent statement by the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on entering the second phase of the revolution, Mokhber said under the Leader's command "we have placed our focus on the empowerment of people in deprived areas. In addition, as he emphasized, we have pursued individual cases as well." Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, the chief of staff of the Supreme Leader's office, also addressed the ceremony. "Mr. Mokhber's remarks and his presentation of the activities of the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order brings the glimmer of hope to the hearts of the people," he said. He said Barakat Foundation, whose name means blessing, "is really full of blessing." Mohammadi Golpayegani also said the relationship between the people and the Leader is the factor behind the survival of the Islamic system for forty years. Related Images mohammad-mokhber.jpg Mohammad Mokhber Head of the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order (EIKO) mohammad-mohammadi-golpayegani.jpg Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, the chief of staff of Iran's Leader office mohammadi-golpayegani-mokhber.jpg Mohammadi Golpayegani & Mokhber Visiting the jobs created by Setad at the sideline of the ceremony mohammadi-golpayegani-mokhber.jpg Mohammadi Golpayegani & Mokhber Visiting the jobs created by Setad at the sideline of the ceremony To contact the Barakat Foundation, please visit http://barakatfoundation.com/en/contact. SOURCE Barakat Foundation Related Links http://barakatfoundation.com WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, blockchain industry veteran, Kevin Batteh, announced to launch Jenga Advisors LLC, a Washington, D.C. based regulatory strategy firm specifically focused on advising blockchain companies with respect to regulatory compliant token projects and secondary market listings on global trading platforms. Jenga Advisors was established through a strategic partnership between Kevin Batteh and Jenga Business Consulting Group of Singapore ("Jenga BCG"), a leading blockchain advisory firm. "In order to be a successful, decentralized application, the underlying token that drives the application must be widely distributed. In many instances, the best way to achieve wide distribution is through a listing on a trading platform. Trading platforms provide a way for participants in a decentralized application to obtain or sell the underlying utility token of the application. This in turn allows the application to achieve broader use and beneficial network effects," said Kevin Batteh, founding partner of Jenga Advisors. "Kevin is widely recognized as a blockchain thought leader," said Bill Shihara, CEO of Bittrex. "Bittrex has relied on his global regulatory experience for several years, and he is an advocate that will enable blockchain clients to securely and efficiently navigate the current regulatory complexities, as well as the demands of responsible digital asset trading platforms who insist on working with compliant partners." "Kevin has been a trusted partner and advisor to several of our projects from the beginning and we are excited to see the launch of Jenga Advisors. Given his deep experience in navigating regulation both as an advisor to entities that must navigate regulation and as a regulator himself, we know that he will be a valuable partner to other token teams," said Matthew Roszak, chairman of Bloq. "We have relied on Kevin's expertise in the past and look forward to working with him in his new role," said Victor Kil, Chief of Overseas Projects for Upbit. Kevin has over two decades of experience as a financial services lawyer, and for the past seven years has focused on the intersection of financial regulation and blockchain. Kevin has a proven track record of advising blockchain companies, as well as digital asset trading platforms, regulated exchanges, miners, blockchain infrastructure providers, and mainstream companies that wish to leverage blockchain. Kevin began his career at a Fortune 100 law firm. In 2003 he joined the CFTC and served as chief trial attorney in the US Dollar LIBOR manipulation cases that resulted in billion dollar settlements. He also served as counsel to Commissioner Jill Sommers. Kevin has held senior roles with the UK FCA and the US Senate. Kevin is also a partner in Washington DC based Delta Strategy Group. Jenga BCG, headquartered in Singapore, is a comprehensive blockchain business consulting firm specializing in structuring and compliance, risk management and banking solutions, marketing and communication strategy for Asia markets. Over the last several years, Jenga BCG has assisted hundreds of blockchain projects out of Singapore. Website: www.jengaadvisors.com Contact email: [email protected] SOURCE Jenna Advisors LLC. Related Links http://www.jengaadvisors.com VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorney Kevin Biniazan is being celebrated by his clients and his peers after having a monumental first-year as a professional attorney. In 2018, he was able to achieve more than $1 million in successful settlements and verdicts for his clients. It is an uncommon achievement for a single attorney to secure $1 million for clients in one year, especially during their first full year in practice. In 2018, Attorney Biniazan took six cases to jury trials, with five of those trials being decided in favor of the plaintiff, whom he represented. The verdict total for all five of those successful trials was $630,875.00. Two of those verdicts reached $200,000.00. Another verdict came from the jury set at $165,000.00. In total, all of the offers from the defendants in the five successful jury trials totaled only $144,000.00, or $28,800.00 on average. The verdicts were, on average, more than 4 times larger than the final offer presented by the defendants in those five cases. When factoring in the various successful settlements secured by Attorney Kevin Biniazan in 2018, atop the five winning verdicts, he personally helped secure more than $1,100,000 for his clients in that year alone. For more information about Attorney Kevin Biniazan and Breit Drescher Imprevento in Virginia Beach, Virginia, inquiring parties should visit https://www.breitdrescher.com/. Since 1988, Breit Drescher Imprevento has been dedicated to helping victims of negligence. Our team of experienced personal injury attorneys helps injured individuals and their families in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and throughout the Greater Hampton Roads Area fight for justice and the fair recovery they deserve. SOURCE Breit Drescher Imprevento Related Links https://www.breitdrescher.com "Advocating for suicide prevention in Colorado is important to me for so many reasons. I've been personally touched by mental illness in my family for my entire life, as well as experiencing a person close to me that made a suicide attempt when I was a teenager. My community has also recently experienced many youth suicides which has impacted me greatly. Some Colorado residents are struggling to find resources in moments of crisis, increasing awareness of mental health and resources in Colorado can save lives and needs to be prioritized by our lawmakers and community members," said Mary Jo Lagesse, AFSP Colorado Community Outreach Committee Chair. Advocates will ask lawmakers to help increase available resources throughout the state by supporting SB 19-010 that would expand the existing Behavioral Health Care Professional Matching Grant Program, also known as the School Health Professionals Grant Program, by allowing grant funds to be used for school behavioral health care services, including screenings, counseling, therapy, referrals to community organizations, and training for students and staff. Advocates will also ask lawmakers to protect Colorado's youth by supporting HB 19-1129 that would prevent a licensed physician specializing in psychiatry or a licensed, certified, or registered mental health care provider from engaging in conversion therapy with minors. It would also make the advertising or practice of conversion therapy by a physician or mental health care provider a deceptive trade practice under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. The first Suicide Prevention Day at the Capitol is a special day for all who have a connection with or a personal story around the topic of suicide. Advocates will meet with their state legislators and share their stories about why they participate in this advocacy effort, giving a human face to this important health problem. Advocates hope that by sharing their stories, they will help legislators understand that state investments in mental health and suicide prevention can save lives. Advocates from AFSP-Colorado are part of a larger national movement of AFSP volunteer advocates who will be visiting over 40 state capitols across the United States in 2019 to bring best practices in suicide prevention to state legislators and their staff. To learn more about AFSP's advocacy efforts, visit here: https://afsp.org/our-work/advocacy/. On average, one hundred twenty-nine (129) Americans died by suicide each day in 2017, and 90% of those individuals had a diagnosable mental health condition at the time of their death. AFSP volunteers will urge state lawmakers to be the voice for the thousands of Colorado residents affected by suicide each year. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide. AFSP creates a culture that's smart about mental health through education and community programs, develops suicide prevention through research and advocacy, and provides support for those affected by suicide. Led by CEO Robert Gebbia and headquartered in New York, with a Public Policy Office in Washington, D.C. AFSP has local chapters in all 50 states with programs and events nationwide. Learn more about AFSP in its latest Annual Report, and join the conversation on suicide prevention by following AFSP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. SOURCE American Foundation for Suicide Prevention JFrog, the DevOps technology leader known for enabling liquid software via continuous update flows, is announcing the strategic acquisition of Shippable, a continuous integration and DevOps automation platform company. Shippable's portfolio of cloud-native and Kubernetes-ready CI/CD solutions will be incorporated into the JFrog platform, creating a complete, integrated DevOps pipeline solution. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/728777/JFrog_Logo.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/825042/JFrog_shippable.jpg ) With expertise in CI/CD pipeline automation and a drive to make DevOps an "assembly line" for software development, Shippable technology provides a leap forward for JFrog's DevOps platform, Enterprise+. Coupled with JFrog's industry-leading artifact repository management binary management, distribution, and security vulnerability scanning solutions, Shippable technology will allow JFrog customers to automate their development processes from the moment code is committed through to production. "We're immensely excited to welcome Shippable into JFrog, and eager to convert their expertise and products into unmatched value for JFrog customers," said Shlomi Ben Haim, Co-founder and CEO of JFrog. "The modern DevOps landscape requires ever-faster delivery with more and more automation. Shippable's outstanding hybrid and cloud native technologies will incorporate yet another best-of-breed solution into the JFrog platform. Coupled with our commitments to universality and freedom of choice, developers can expect a superior out-of-the-box DevOps platform with the greatest flexibility to meet their DevOps needs." Following a Series D funding round of $165 million announced in October of 2018, JFrog's acquisition of Shippable illustrates a promise to rapidly expand the JFrog technology portfolio across the DevOps pipeline. Coupled with the recent announcement of JFrog's incorporation of VulnDB security intelligence data from Risk Based Security, JFrog is now offering the most automated, complete, open and secure DevOps solution in the market. "We're thrilled to join the JFrog family and further the vision around Liquid Software," said Avi Cavale, Co-founder and CEO of Shippable. "Shippable users and customers have long enjoyed our next-generation technology, but now will have access to leading security, binary management and other high-powered enterprise tools in the end-to-end JFrog Platform. This is truly exciting, as the combined forces of JFrog and Shippable can make full DevOps automation from code to production a reality." Founded in 2013, Shippable's mission - complementary to JFrog's Liquid Software vision - is to help companies ship code faster and focus on innovation by removing all friction in the software development and delivery workflows. Shippable employees will join JFrog global teams, with the first technology integrations being released in the JFrog Enterprise+ platform in the summer of 2019, with full technical integration completing in Q3 of 2019. About JFrog - the Liquid Software Company JFrog is on a mission to enable continuous updates through liquid software, empowering developers to code high-quality applications that securely flow to end-users with zero downtime. JFrog is the creator of Artifactory, the heart of the end-to-end Universal DevOps platform for automating, managing, securing, distributing, and monitoring all type of binaries. JFrog products are available as open-source, on-premise, and on the cloud on AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. As the leading universal, highly available enterprise DevOps Solution, the JFrog platform empowers customers with trusted and expedited software releases from code-to-production. Trusted by more than 5,000 customers, the world's top brands, such as Amazon, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Uber, VMware, and Spotify depend on JFrog to manage their binaries for their mission-critical applications. JFrog is privately held with offices across North America, Europe, and Asia. Learn more at jfrog.com. About Shippable: Founded in 2013 and backed by Madrona Venture Group, Shippable's mission is to help their more than 400 customers ship code faster and focus on innovation by removing all friction in the software development and delivery workflows. With its hybrid automation platform, Shippable helps organizations easily achieve Continuous Delivery, optimize DevOps and enable Continuous Improvement. Shippable is Venture Capital-backed, with offices in North America and Asia. JFrog Media Contact: Alona Stein Blonde 2.0 for JFrog Alona@blonde20.com SOURCE JFrog American Mirror February 22, 2019 Sen. Bernie Sanders is even more fringe than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on socialism. During an interview Tuesday with Univisions Jorge Ramos, the Vermont socialist lawmaker refused to call on Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro to step down, wouldnt admit that Maduros a dictator, and dodged a question on whether Juan Guaido should be recognized as Venezuelas leader. The bizarre segment began when Ramos asked Sanders, who announced last week that hes running for president, whether he considers National Assembly president Juan Guaido the legitimate leader of Venezuela. No. I think what has to happen right now I think there are serious questions about the recent election. There are many people who feel it was a fraudulent election, and I think the United States has got to work with the international community to make sure that there is a free and fair election in Venezuela, Sanders said. Ramos gave Sanders another chance by asking if he believes Maduro is a dictator and if he should step down. Bernie again refused to speak ill of the socialist dictator. A d v e r t i s e m e n t I think clearly he has been very, very abusive. That is a decision of the Venezuelan people, so I think, Jorge, theres got to be a free and fair election, Sanders said, again dodging the question. The United States, most of Latin America, and several other nations have officially recognized Guaido as Venezuelas legitimate leader after years of Maduro oppressing, starving, and harming thousands ofinnocent citizens. Maduro has refused to step down, but Guaido declared himself the legitimate leader since the countrys constitution states that he can assume power if a president is deemed illegitimate. Ironically enough, Pelosi has publicly thrown her support behind Guaido as the legitimate leader. I support the decision of the National Assembly, Venezuelas sole remaining democratic institution, to recognize Juan Guaido, President of the National Assembly, as the Interim President until full, fair and free elections can be held. The United States must respect legitimate democratic processes, and support the right of the people of Venezuela to protest and defend their human rights, Pelosi said in a statement. The House Speaker even took it one step further and slammed Maduros socialist policies for pushing Venezuela to the brink of a total collapse. Nicolas Maduros regime of repression and impoverishment for his personal enrichment continues to gravely violate human rights, and must be condemned swiftly by the full international community. His recent decision to block bridges and cut off channels of food and supplies imperils the health and futures of the Venezuelan people, and must be immediately reversed, she added. Strange day when Pelosi has come down harder on socialism than Sanders. This article was posted: Friday, February 22, 2019 at 7:14 am Print this page. Infowars.com Videos: Comment on this article American Mirror February 22, 2019 Massachusetts snow plow driver John Pimental faces multiple criminal charges after protesters at a Fake Emergency Rally opposing President Trumps border wall flagged police when he splashed them with snow. A group of several dozen were protesting the president Monday the Falmouth Village Green when they allege a plow truck veered across the road, lowered the plow and intentionally doused them with slush. The group flagged down a Falmouth police officer around 12:30 p.m., after the driver came by a second time, soaking the group and signs that read Fake Crisis, TRUMPed Up Emergency and Trump Is The Crisis, The Falmouth Enterprisereports. The protesters alleged that a snow plow driver intentionally drove by the Village Green twice, throwing snow from the plow into the group of protesters, Falmouth Police Lieutenant Douglas M. DeCosta told the news site. They gave us a description of the vehicle and we were able to locate it in the area. He just veered closer and closer, a woman protester who was not identified told WABC. My whole back was wet, my legs were wet, another woman said. I was pretty drenched. It was cold and it hurt because there was a lot of ice in it. He jammed his foot on the gas and I thought he was coming toward me, she continued. A sane, trained plow driver would have never acted the way he did, protester Christine Uljua told WCVB. A d v e r t i s e m e n t Zach Uljua, who attended the protest with his parents, said hes convinced the driver targeted them intentionally. The plow was not already down when he came down the road, Zach Uljua said. He put it down before he got to us. It just made me angry that someone in Falmouth chose to do this instead of finding another way to let them know he didnt like our opinion, Pat Keoghan, another protestor, told the news site. The protesters used the controversy to get their signs on the news broadcast, one reading Separating Families: Slave owners, Hitler, ISIS, Trump UNFIT. Another read: 8158 lies to date. Sandra Faiman-Silva, a local anthropology professor attending the protest, posted about the ordeal on Facebook and recorded a video of the stunt she provided to police and media outlets. ~50 turned out for Fake Emergency Rally against border wall funding, she posed along with numerous images, including one of the plow truck. Rouge plow driver soaked demonstrators intentionally! Police are investigating and asking for written testimony c/o Oliver at Falmouth P.D. The post solicited sympathy from some, and trolling comments from others. BUILD THE WALL, Wade Michaels wrote. Faiman-Silva claimed in the comments that protesters did not demand an arrest. The Falmouth PD pressed charges. Officers tracked the truck to 31-year-old Pimental, a private plow driver, and issued him a court summons for disorderly conduct and assault, WABC reports. The assault charge carries a punishment of up to two and half years in prison, and up to $1,000 fine. A first offense disorderly conduct charge is a $150 fine, according to Massachusetts laws. I think an example should be made, an unidentified man protesting with the group told WCVB. Its about the law of respect. This article was posted: Friday, February 22, 2019 at 7:12 am Print this page. Infowars.com Videos: Comment on this article Claims actor was on a political mission Paul Joseph Watson PrisonPlanet.com February 22, 2019 Former Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke says he is not buying the explanation that Jessie Smollett staged his own hate crime merely for a pay rise, arguing that the actor was on a political mission. According to Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, Smollett staged the crime because he was dissatisfied with his salary. So he concocted a story about being attacked. This prompted speculation as to whether a pay rise was the entire motive, especially in light of reports that Smollett was already being paid $65,000 dollars per episode. Scoop: A well-placed source familiar with his comp tells me @JussieSmollett was being paid $65,000 per episode for his co-starring role on Empire. Average season has 18 episodes. Police say his dissatisfaction with his salary let him to stage this hoax. https://t.co/FuDas9AcN8 Yashar Ali ?? (@yashar) February 21, 2019 According to Sheriff David Clarke, the salary explanation just doesnt add up. Im not buying that @JussieSmollett staged his hoax due to a salary dispute with FOX studios, tweeted Clarke. Im not that gullible. AND DONT YOU FALL FOR IT EITHER! Smollett was on a POLITICAL MISSION for the left. Hes part of the slimy Hollywood elite. Im not buying that @JussieSmollett staged his hoax due to a salary dispute with FOX studios. Im not that gullible. AND DONT YOU FALL FOR IT EITHER! Smollett was on a POLITICAL MISSION for the left. Hes part of the slimy Hollywood elite. #MAGA2020 https://t.co/NlobXq2LqF David A. Clarke, Jr. (@SheriffClarke) February 21, 2019 A Twitter poll which garnered over 20,000 votes found that 80% thought Smolletts motive had an anti-Trump dimension. Do you really believe that a pay raise was Jussie Smollett's only motive? He was already on 65k an episode. Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) February 21, 2019 Clarke also suggested that the FBI was about to announce an investigation into Smollett and that the actor could be facing 5-10 years in prison for mail fraud after allegedly mailing a racist letter to himself. Cant wait for the FBI to hold their news conference to announce FEDERAL CHARGES against @JussieSmollett for mailing that hoax letter to the studio. That is MAIL FRAUD punishable by 5-10 years in federal prison. Dont turn away from this folks or it will go away, he remarked. Cant wait for the FBI to hold their news conference to announce FEDERAL CHARGES against @JussieSmollett for mailing that hoax letter to the studio. That is MAIL FRAUD punishable by 5-10 years in federal prison. Dont turn away from this folks or it will go away.#MAGA2020 pic.twitter.com/VQRT1CczIG David A. Clarke, Jr. (@SheriffClarke) February 21, 2019 Meanwhile, despite the fact that Roseanne was fired and had her entire show re-written over an offensive tweet, Smollett is already back on the set of Empire and continues to claim he is innocent. Roseanne tweets something offensive: FIRED, entire show re-written. Smollett fakes a hate crime, risks racial violence across America: He's already back on the set of Empire today. One rule for them, another for everyone else. Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) February 22, 2019 SUBSCRIBE on YouTube: Follow on Twitter: Follow @PrisonPlanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paul.j.watson.71 ********************* Paul Joseph Watson is the editor at large of Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com. This article was posted: Friday, February 22, 2019 at 7:49 am Print this page. Infowars.com Videos: Comment on this article Westmonster February 22, 2019 European Union officials are expecting Theresa May to request an extension of Article 50 that pushes back Brexit by months. The officials spoke to Bloomberg, with a rumoured delay set to span three months. One of the officials said that an even longer push back could be on the table. Brexiteers will be up in arms and rightly so. The rumour comes as some Tory MPs are pushing for a WTO Brexit to be blocked, which would mean a delay. It is expected that any delay would still seek to avoid the UK taking part in European Elections which Nigel Farage has confirmed he would stand in under the banner of his new Brexit Party. The establishment would take an absolute drubbing. Theresa May and the government have, time and time again, promised that the UK will leave on the 29th March 2019. For Brexit to be cancelled on that date would be shatter authority and trust in politicians. Deal or No Deal, it is time to leave. This article was posted: Friday, February 22, 2019 at 6:24 am Print this page. Infowars.com Videos: Comment on this article Chris Menahan Information Liberation February 22, 2019 With the arrest of Jussie Smollett on Thursday for allegedly staging a hate hoax against himself, the New York Times tried to salvage the narrative by headlining a 64-year-old story of a white on black lynching from 1955. The New York Times ran an article titled: Remembering Emmett Till: The Legacy of a Lynching. Subheadline: More than six decades after Emmett Till was murdered, locals are grappling with how to memorialize him. In this virtual reality documentary, we look at that effort and what it can tell us about racial reckoning in America. In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till walked into a Mississippi store to buy candy. After being accused of whistling at the white woman behind the counter, he was kidnapped, lynched and dumped into a river, the Times wrote on Twitter. In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till walked into a Mississippi store to buy candy. After being accused of whistling at the white woman behind the counter, he was kidnapped, lynched and dumped into a river. https://t.co/tcbBgVxVPt The New York Times (@nytimes) February 21, 2019 Does anyone think the Times will be talking about the staged lynching of Jussie Smollett (which also involved a noose) even two days from now let alone in 64 years? Quick! Try to distract everyone from the Jussie Smollett hoax! conservative commentator Mark Dice responded. Quick! Try to distract everyone from the Jussie Smollett hoax! Mark Dice (@MarkDice) February 21, 2019 I wonder why so many Americans think the media is the enemy of the people!? The New York Times reporting is false. They are a true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2019 This article was posted: Friday, February 22, 2019 at 6:30 am Print this page. Infowars.com Videos: Comment on this article Daily Caller February 22, 2019 Several days after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency, construction began on the fifth border wall project of his administration. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Tuesday that work has started on replacing 14 miles of a steel-mesh fence along the U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego, The Associated Press reported. The fence is being replaced with 30-foot high steel bollards. It is actually the second layer of barrier to be put up in the area, with the first layer nearly complete. SLSCO Ltd., a company located in Galveston, Texas, scored the $101 million contract in December 2018. The Trump administration has already awarded around $1 billion in contracts to cover 97 miles of the southern border, with the project in San Diego being one of the latest. Trump touted the construction Wednesday of a border wall in New Mexico. We have just built this powerful Wall in New Mexico. Completed on January 30, 2019 47 days ahead of schedule! Many miles more now under construction! #FinishTheWall pic.twitter.com/TYkj3KRdOC Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2019 Read more This article was posted: Friday, February 22, 2019 at 7:17 am Print this page. Infowars.com Videos: Comment on this article Plattsburgh, NY (12901) Today Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 92F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight A few passing clouds. Low 72F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Last July, Kevin Courts and Michael Riff, both of Hatboro, Pennsylvania., were caught poaching 21 diamondback terrapins in the marsh along Sea Isle Boulevard to sell on the illegal wildlife market. They each pleaded guilty in Upper Township Municipal Court and paid $2,000 fines. Its not easy to catch turtle poachers, who often work at night, so the enforcement is welcome. However, prosecutors should seek larger penalties to ensure would-be violators are discouraged and dont just write off the fines as a cost of doing business. Sommers, for example, originally was charged with six counts, including smuggling, when he was indicted last July. But prosecutors allowed him to plead guilty to a single count of false labeling for a package of live turtles he sold and shipped to Canada. That hardly seems appropriate for making more than half a million dollars in the illegal turtle trade. Whats worse, New Jersey wildlife officers once caught Sommers gathering terrapins and their eggs, advised him that it was illegal and let him go. Maybe enforcement by the state Department of Environmental Protection is as half-hearted as its previous porous protection of the turtles. Friends of the turtles can help by reporting suspicious activity around the marshes at night, especially with nets and poles, and in the spring nesting season along sandy strips near the water. A tip from a concerned citizen led to Courts and Riff being caught poaching. Call the DEPs 24-hour action line at 877-WARN-DEP. VINELAND Police are searching for a man they say is claiming to work for the city's electric utility to gain access to people's homes. Police received a report Thursday that a man identified himself as a worker with Vineland Municipal Utilities at a home in the area of Edna and Junior drives, according to a Facebook post from the department. The suspect is described as a Hispanic man in his late 20s or early 30s with a thin mustache. His clothing was described as casual, and police said the subject comes across as extremely polite. Police don't know whether the man was trying to gain entry into the home Thursday but said he matches the description of the suspect the department previously reported Jan. 18. Detectives are investigating. Anyone who can identify the subject in the post's photos can call Detective Charlie Mackafee at 856-691-4111, ext. 4317. The department reminded residents that VMU employees have ID badges with photos, and field employees wear uniforms and drive VMU vehicles prominently displaying the agency's logo. They also recommended that residents who suspect fraud call VMU dispatch at 856-794-4280 to verify there is a worker at their residence and call police immediately at 856-691-4111 or 911 if a subject matching the above description attempts to gain entry to their residence. A senator, Kabiru Marafa (APC, Zamfara Central) has described the decision of the electoral commission, INEC, to comply with an appeal court on Zamfara as the will of God. He also appealed to his supporters to accept the decision of INEC. Earlier, INEC said it has complied with the court order allowing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to field candidates in elections in Zamfara State. The Court of Appeal on Thursday dismissed a lower court ruling that stopped the partys candidates from contesting. The governorship and state assembly elections are scheduled for February 23 and March 9. The commission in a statement by its national commissioner, Festus Okoye, on Friday said, The Commission has today in compliance with the said order restored the APC to the ballot in the National Assembly, Governorship and State House of Assembly elections scheduled for 23rd February and 9th March 2019. The APC was earlier barred by the commission from fielding candidates as a result of irregularities that made the party miss the deadlines for the submission of names. Two courts, the Federal High Court in Abuja and the Zamfara State High Court, later issued conflicting orders on the matter. However, the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday set aside the judgement of the Federal High Court Abuja for lack or want of jurisdiction on the part on the lower court. Although Mr Marafa had appealed the judgement of the Zamfara State High Court, the latest ruling, however, favoured the state governor, Abdulaziz Yaris faction of the APC. Marafas equanimity In a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Marafa though unhappy with the development said: it is what Allah has decided and destined, we have accepted it. We tried our best but Allah knows the wisdom behind this. I have said it, that whatever comes out from the court, we will open our hands and accept it as Allahs will. What we are fighting is injustice and nothing personal, part of the statement read. Abdulaziz Yari Former Governor of Zamfara State He thanked his supporters for their support. He also said, he has already filed an appeal at the Sokoto division of the Appeal Court which will come up soon. He urged his supporters to remain law-abiding, and come out en masse to vote for President Muhammadu Buhari in tomorrows presidential election. Im appealing to my teeming supporters to be law abiding and shun anything that would cause confusion and breach of public peace. Please come out massively to vote for President Buhari. And for other elections vote for the candidates that will protect you and your properties in Senatorial and House of Representatives Elections. Vote according to your conscience, he said. Counsel kicks However, in a separate statement, Mr Marafas counsel and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, said INECs interpretation of the courts decision is a lie from the pit of hell. He explained that the Court of Appeal, in February, dismissed the appeal filed by APC challenging the judgment of Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, which had affirmed INECs stand that the APC did not conduct any primary election in Zamfara state. ADVERTISEMENT He said that INEC was right to have rejected APCs candidates from Zamfara State. The dismissal followed an application by APC to withdraw the appeal. The application was granted and the appeal dismissed accordingly. Next was the cross-appeal filed by Yari & Co on jurisdiction and cause of action. The judgment given by the Court of Appeal today clearly stated that the appeal partially succeeded and went ahead to set aside the judgment of the lower court on jurisdiction only, but refuse to grant the cause of action component of the appeal. By this, the Court of Appeal refused to grant INEC any order to revive candidates of the APC from Zamfara State. The cross Appeal therefore partially failed because, from the onset, APC had a complaint against INEC only, he said. He said the governor had applied to join the case voluntarily. And, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu in her judgment held that APC did not seek any relief against the 2nd to 6th dependants (Yari & Co) and considering that Yari and & Co didnt file a counterclaim or cross action against APC in the suit, she now held that Yari & Co have nothing to add in this case. From the foregoing, it is clear that the cross appeal by Yari and his group before the Court of Appeal, having partially failed, becomes at best, a mere academic exercise bereft of any utilitarian value to the entire case. The false assertion that the Court of Appeal had cleared the way for the APC to participate in Saturdays election is, therefore, a lie from the pit of hell. It is nothing short of the desperate minute by frustrated politician holding on any available straw to smuggle themselves willy nilly into Saturdays election. This cannot work. INEC is at this moment reminded that there exists in addition to the above legal obstacles, a subsisting appeal which arose from the Zamfara state High Court judgment which is still extant and pending before the Sokoto division of the Court of Appeal, in Appeal no: CA/S/32/2019, the lawyer added. Mike Ozehkhome [Photo Credit: Mike Ozekhomes Chambers] Mr Ozekhome said the judgment of the Federal High Court, going by the judgment of the Court of Appeal still partially succeeded, since the Court of Appeal refused to make any clear mandatory orders directing INEC to receive any candidates from Yari group for Saturdays elections. INEC is therefore obligated and legally bound to stand by its earlier well-founded position that APC, having never conducted any primaries in Zamfara state, have no candidates in the forthcoming elections in Zamfara state, have no candidate in the forthcoming elections in Zamfara state, except the presidential election. Any other act by INEC in fielding any candidates from the Governor Yaris group or the G-8 group will be illegal, unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect whatsoever, he said. ADVERTISEMENT The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Katsina State, Jibrin Zarewa, has said that all election materials have been distributed to the 361 political wards across the state. Mr Zarewa said the commission began distributing all sensitive materials for Saturdays presidential and National Assembly election on Wednesday. Speaking in an interview with journalists at INEC headquarters in Katsina on Friday, Mr Zarewa said the materials are leaving the local government for the wards. They were carried to all the 34 local governments on Wednesday and yesterday they were batched according to wards, 361 wards. He said the commission has also activated centres where ad-hoc staff will stay overnight and then move to the polling units early on Saturday. Katsina is the home state of the APC candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari. It was also one of the states that had logistics challenges last week. Materials meant for Kano, and the FCT were delivered to the state. INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, announced the postponement of the polls from last Saturday to tomorrow citing logistics challenges. Mr Zarewa assured that the commission is ready this time around. He said refresher courses will be conducted for the ad-hoc staff recruited for the election at the various wards on Friday. He said after the refresher course, all election materials would be shared based on polling units. We have made preparations for them (staff) to stay overnight there so that early morning they will proceed to the polling unit to commence the electoral process at eight o clock, he said. On likely challenges regarding deployment to local governments that are far from the state capital, Mr Zarewa said all vehicles carrying sensitive materials are tracked right from the moment they left the central bank of Nigeria up to the time they deliver the items. He also said during the distribution exercise, party agents, security agents and the press, were invited to witness the way we carried them along and we ensured that each and everyone arrived safely. We didnt have any problem with any of them. He said to avoid voter apathy arising from the postponement, the commission had immediately after the postponement, convened a stakeholder forum, and we conveyed to the wider spectrum of the populace of Katsina state the circumstances behind the postponement of the election and the preparations being made to ensure that we dont fail again. Soon after that, we took to the radio and television for the people to know that we are ready for the election on the 23rd. ADVERTISEMENT The police commissioner in Adamawa State, Audu Madaki has said his men will follow the dictates of the Electoral Act in handling election-related offences that may arise this weekend. Although Mr Madaki told PREMIUM TIMES voters in Adamawa are long known to be peaceful, he noted officers would follow the law in dealing with isolated cases of violent electoral malpractices, especially ballot box stuffing and snatching, should they come up on Saturday. Nigerians are set to head to the polls on February 23 to choose candidates in presidential and federal parliamentary offices, a week after the exercise was postponed amidst logistics challenges. But many have said they are participating in the elections with intensified concerns about security, days after President Muhammadu Buhari threatened ballot box snatchers with possible death. The presidential suggestion has sparked nationwide backlash, with critics carpeting Mr Buhari for issuing a blanket directive that could potentially aggravate the excesses of security agents. The Nigerian Army has said it would obey Mr Buharis directive to be ruthless against ballot box thieves. This has also been questioned by citizens who argued that a 2015 judgement by the Court of Appeal placed a ban on deployment of troops for elections. The case was instituted by Mr Buharis All Progressives Congress, which was the opposition party at the time. The police, however, have shown more restraint in legitimising the presidents comments, which apparently run counter to extant electoral laws. The law proscribes ballot box snatching as a serious violation of the electoral process, but recommends only a two-year jail sentence for a convict. The police will be guarded by the provisions of the electoral act, Mr Madaki told PREMIUM TIMES in an interview in Yola, Adamawa state capital, Thursday evening. He said the strict application of electoral laws in addressing cases of violent electoral fraud is encouraged by the Inspector-General Mohammed Adamu But measures against ballot box thieves would not be the only focus of the police when polling centres open on Saturday, Mr Madaki said. Already, about 4,000 police officers would be on election duty. Their efforts would be complemented by additional 1500 personnel from other law enforcement authorities, including the Federal Road Safety Corps, the State Security Service and the Civil Defence. Security in parts of Adamawa that still come under intermittent Boko Haram violence, especially Madagali Local Government Area, would be provided by the Nigerian military as part of its North-east operations, the police chief said. All law abiding citizens of the state should come out and vote en-masse for the candidates of their choice, Mr Madaki said. Our men will remain professional throughout the exercise. Lawyers and associates of activist Deji Adeyanju on Friday alleged serious ethical misconduct against the registrar of Kano State High Court. Balarabe Adamu was said to have absconded from the court on Thursday afternoon when documents clearing Mr Adeyanju as having met his bail conditions were brought in, thereby stalling the release of the political activist. Mr Adeyanju was granted bail on Monday by Rabiu Sadiq, a judge at the state court, 67 days after he was first arrested in Abuja by the police who then failed to file charges against him. News that Mr Adeyanju had secured bail was met with widespread jubilation by his supporters online, with many expressing relief that the activist would regain freedom ahead of the presidential elections in which his associates had accused the government of plotting to prevent him from taking part. We now have incontrovertible grounds to suggest that the Buhari administration is fearful of Deji Adeyanju and interfering in the judicial process to prevent him from being released before the elections, his friend, Ariyo-Dare Atoye, told PREMIUM TIMES Friday afternoon. The court granted Mr Adeyanju bail with terms that he must provide two sureties who have land assets in Kano State, as well as submit his international passport. Those conditions were met on Thursday afternoon, including the verification of assets, despite harrowing hurdles that had to be crossed, Mr Atoye said. Apparently, they thought that we would not be able to meet the conditions within a few days because it usually takes at least 10 days to verify such properties, Mr Atoye said. We were, however, able to fast track it and got it done within 72 hours between Monday and Thursday. Haruna Magacci, Mr Adeyanjus lawyer in Kano, confirmed that all the assets had been verified at the states land bureau and submitted to the court on Thursday. But when we arrived at the court to present the documents, the registrar had closed even though the judge was still in the chambers, Mr Magacci said. Mr Atoye said he had two telephone calls at separate hours preceding the submission of the documents in court, and Mr Adamu confirmed that he was in court to receive them. We learnt from people in court that he fled to avoid submitting the documents to the judge yesterday, Mr Atoye said. He added that when they gave the documents to the judge, he declined to sign a warrant for Mr Adeyanjus release from prison unless the registrar was present. The registrar could neither confirm nor deny whether he fled from the court as part of an alleged conspiracy to frustrate release of Mr Adeyanju from prison. When PREMIUM TIMES called him Friday afternoon, he answered the call, but after listening to the enquiries and learning that it had to do with Mr Adeyanju, he abruptly disconnected the line. Subsequent calls and text messages were ignored. Mr Atoye appreciated Mr Sadiq for according a bail to Mr Adeyanju, but said the judiciary must do more to resist executive interference and recklessness in its affairs. The state prosecutor, Musa Daihuru, told PREMIUM TIMES he was in court when Mr Adeyanju was granted on February 18. He expressed shock that he was still held in prison. ADVERTISEMENT Backstory The police arrested Mr Adeyanju on December 13, accusing him of being a suspect in a 2005 murder case in Kano. The police had called Mr Adeyanju to come for his the last of three mobile telephones seized from him when they initially arrested him on November 28 for leading a protest against security agencies bias ahead of the general elections. But once he arrived at the FCT Command Headquarters, he was held for five days without bail. He was later transferred to Kano to answer charges for alleged involvement in a deadly attack on a Kano businessman in January 2005. But the police did not file charges against him there. Instead, they asked a magistrate who admitted lacking jurisdiction to hear murder allegations to remand him in Kano Central Prison near the Emir Palace, where he had remained for 71 days and counting. PREMIUM TIMES confirmed that Mr Adeyanju was charged with murder in a trial that lasted from mid-2005 until 2009. But the activist was discharged and acquitted, alongside his co-defendants. Festus Keyamo, a rights lawyer who represented Mr Adeyanju in the case, said authorities did not appeal the judgement because they were also satisfied that Mr Adeyanju was not involved in the murder. Mr Atoye and other friends of Mr Adeyanju said the Nigerian government hatched the plot to pick Mr Adeyanju on a matter in which he had been discharged because of his activism. Deji Adeyanju is arguably the most vigorous activist to confront the Buhari regime and its many democratic failings, Mr Atoye said. But their plan to keep him in custody using all evil and extralegal machinations has become too glaring to Nigerians and they will respond accordingly at the poll on Saturday. ADVERTISEMENT President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived Katsina and has proceeded to Daura, his hometown where he is expected to cast his vote tomorrow. The presidential aircraft carrying Mr Buhari and his wife Aisha landed at the Umaru Yaradua airport Katsina at around3:25 pm. They were received by Governor Aminu Masari accompanied by some senators and other important personalities in the state. After the airport reception, Mr Buhari was ferried by an helicopter to Daura. His chopper took off from the airport at 3:48 p.m. Mr Buhari was in Katsina last week Thursday where he held a campaign rally in the town before heading to Daura to await the election. However, he left Daura for Abuja Saturday afternoon after the chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu announced the postponement of the election by one week. ADVERTISEMENT A former Peoples Democratic Party presidential aspirant, Stanley Osifo, on Thursday night threw his weight behind President Muhammadu Buhari by announcing his defection to the All Progressives Congress. Mr. Osifo, who hails from Edo State, told journalists at a press conference in Lagos that he is leaving the PDP with, at least, 10 million of his followers after the realisation that the party was not in the best position to deliver Nigeria to the desired destination. I believe if not for the coincidence in the postponement of the Presidential Elections from February 16 to 23, the announcement had been planned for this day (Thursday 21, 2019). I strongly believe in the decision taken and the whole world should know, Mr Osifo. Also, I want to state clearly that, my supporters and I are giving our unflinching support to the re-election of the incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari, and all other governors, senators, from top to bottom under the platform of the APC. Mr Osifos announcement came a day after 12 presidential candidates endorsed Mr Buharis re-election bid. Although Mr Osifo, 42, was the youngest among the PDP presidential aspirants before the partys primaries in October last year, he was largely regarded as a sponsored spy within the party, a claim he denied vigorously. On Thursday night, Mr Osifo scored the APC-led government high in terms of achievement and urged Nigerians to vote for the party The fight against insurgency has been dealt with to a large extent. Many of us today will tell ourselves the truth, infrastructural development that we can see all over the country today is the handiwork of the present administration, Mr Osifo said. My structure base spread across the 36 states of the federation, I can assure you today that millions of Nigerians are moving with me to the APC. We remain optimistic that nothing less than 10-15 million Nigerians, particularly those within the strata of young people who are going to move to join the APC. I have looked at the PDP and the APC, the fight against corruption is being carried out holistically, they are doing a lot in infrastructure, in the past few months, our GDP has increased. So all these informed my decision to decamp and support what is going on. The former presidential aspirant said he did not receive anything from anybody to influence his defection, insisting that himself and his supporters had become dissatisfied with the activities within the PDP. The reason why I chose the APC is based on what I see and believe. If I were to become president as a young person, I know that what has been laid down as a foundation by the APC, are things I will build on. I have made consultations widely, but with the party I am going to, I believe absolutely, there is no way you are moving that you would move aimlessly. I believe my future with the APC is very bright, right now, the focus should be on the elections. ADVERTISEMENT The Canadian and British High Commissions have called on Nigerians to exercise their civil rights by going out to vote at the rescheduled February 23 presidential election. The Canadian Embassy via its Twitter handle @CanHCNigeria on Friday, said Nigerians would decide their future by coming out to vote on election day. The commission noted that the citizens of Nigeria deserve a free, fair, credible and peaceful It also said in Pidgin English that it is time for Nigerians to put their money where their mouth is by voting. Remember! We encourage all Nigerians to exercise their democratic rights to get out and vote tomorrow. you will decide Nigerias future and deserve a free, fair, credible and peaceful chance to do it. Time don reach make una put una vote where una mouth dey! Meanwhile, the British High Commission In Abuja via its Twitter handle @UKinNigeria on Friday, acknowledged the efforts of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct credible free and fair elections. The UK Embassy also called on the Nigerian citizens to come out and vote on election day. We welcome the regular updates from @inecnigeria on preparations for tomorrows elections. Important they are able to carry out their role free from intimidation. Calling on all eligible Nigerians to vote tomorrow have your say on who runs your country! ADVERTISEMENT Onyema Nwachukwu, the new Acting Director, Defence Information (DDI), has appealed to the media to continue to support the military in the effort to defeat terrorism and criminality in the country. Mr Nwachukwu made the appeal on Friday at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, after John Agim, a Brig.-Gen., handed over to him. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Agim retires from the Nigerian Army on Friday after 35 years of service. The new spokesperson acknowledged the contributions of the media in the quest to rid the North-East of insurgency and terrorism, noting that they had defied the dangers associated with it. He also noted that the media remained firmly resolute in exposing the ills of terrorism, hardship and trauma to which the terrorists had subjected the citizenry. Coming from the theatre of operation in the North-East, I have observed that you, journalists, diligently go about your duties to promote justice, fairness and equity in your reportage in the face of the crisis. I implore you not to relent but rather redouble your efforts in supporting the Armed Forces of Nigeria, until we rid our society of the criminals, he said. He described terrorism as a societal ill and an aberration, which threatens collective peace, unity and national development and must not be allowed to thrive. It is, therefore, pertinent to work hands in glove to deny our common adversary the oxygen of publicity and crush the grandiose ego of terrorism. Until his appointment, Mr Nwachukwu was the spokesman of the Theatre Command, Operation Lafiya Dole, in Borno. In his remarks, Mr Agim, the outgoing DDI, noted that the task of managing the image of the armed forces was challenging because of the nature of military operations and its implications on the nation and citizens. He, however, said that he dedicated his years of service in managing the image of the armed forces to ensure it got the much needed public support. Mr Agim thanked the Chief of Defence Staff, Abayomi Olonisakin, and the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, for the opportunity given to him to serve, as well as the media for their support. (NAN) Godswill Akpabio, a senator from Akwa Ibom State, is perhaps one Nigerian politician with the biggest task in this Saturdays elections. First, Mr Akpabio, who is running for a second term, must ensure he beats his main opponent, Chris Ekpenyong of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to continue representing Akwa Ibom North-West in the Senate. Two, he has to get his boys (the APC candidates) to win the four House of Representatives seats in his district, in order to convincingly stamp his authority on the politics of the area. And finally, he has to make good a promise he has often made deliver Akwa Ibom State to President Muhammadu Buhari! The last of the tasks, to say the least, appears herculean; Akwa Ibom is one state that has refused to buy into Mr Buharis leadership style and his administrations programmes. If there is anything, most people in the state, including some supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC), appear eager to punish the president whom they blame for the nations economic woes. More so, the people, who are predominantly Christians, seem to have bought into the lies that Mr Buhari has a hidden plan to turn Nigeria into an Islamic state. The task before Mr Akpabio would not be over at all this Saturday; he still has to work for the APC candidate, Nsima Ekeres victory in the Akwa Ibom governorship election. A combination of all these tasks has pushed Mr Akpabio to have higher stakes, much more than any politician in Akwa Ibom State, in the 2019 general elections. The political battle ahead looks tough, especially considering the fact that the senator is up against the PDP, which has become like a religion in Akwa Ibom, fighting against the very system he himself helped set up and made formidable over the years. Akwa Ibom has generally been a PDP state, said Jack Essien, a former chairman of Ikono Local Government Area, who once worked with Mr Akpabio as his personal aide when the senator was governor. For us in Ikono-Ini federal constituency, we always return PDP like 90 per cent. Mr Essien is now an aide to Akwa Ibom governor, Udom Emmanuel. With the election being free and fair, PDP will not have much challenge in Akwa Ibom North-West. For every 1,000 voters, you see in the district, about 700 are PDP, Mr Essien told PREMIUM TIMES. As members of the PDP, we dont vote for individuals, we vote for the party. If the APC were to be so strong on the ground, they shouldnt be thinking of using federal might for the elections. You just need to go to your polling unit and vote. We are going to see federal might clash with the peoples might on Saturday. When asked how it feels to work against Mr Akpabio, a man who helped him up in politics, Mr Essien said Akpabio taught those of us who worked closely with him what loyalty truly means. You must be loyal to your boss. Today, Udom (Emmanuel) is my boss, I am loyal to him. Akpabio also taught us party loyalty. ADVERTISEMENT Governor Udom Emmanuel during the swearing-in of Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem as the Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government, SSG. Mr Essiens remarks may symbolise the thinking of some politicians who have worked previously with Mr Akpabio. But we are talking about Mr Akpabio here, and not just any politician; Akwa Ibom, for long, has remained Mr Akpabios chess board, and the politicians, his pawns. The senator is blessed with a rare gift of knowing how to show compassion and ruthlessness at the same time, towards the same set of people. He knows how to reward a people and how to afflict them, strategically, in order to put himself in a vantage position, and has enjoyed a great following over the years in the state politics. Mr Akpabio is not a stranger to tough political battles. In fact, like some people in the state say, great political battles, most times instigated by him is what makes the senator thick. In 2006, he had revolted against and defeated the very system that propped him politically, when as a commissioner he defied the then governor of the state, Victor Attah, to win the PDP governorship primary and eventually win the 2007 general election. Mr Attah wanted his son-in-law, Udoma Ekarika, to succeed him as governor. In 2015, Mr Akpabio, against all expectations, dribbled, and suppressed his political allies, including his most trusted friend, Umana Umana, to push for an outsider Mr Emmanuel to succeed him as governor. Today, to his credit, the senator has again reunited with his former allies Mr Umana, Mr Nsima, John Udoedehe, and others with a game plan of stopping Governor Emmanuels re-election bid and re-shaping, once again, the political map of the state. Mr Akpabios defection from the PDP to the APC in August last year is one of the biggest events in the history of Akwa Ibom politics. The senator has repeatedly said his defection is meant to take Akwa Ibom and the South-south into the mainstream of national politics. We are a minority, we cant afford to remain in the opposition for too long, the senator said. Most analysts who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES predict Mr Akpabios victory against his main opponent, Mr Ekpenyong, a former deputy governor of the state. The argument in favour of Mr Akpabio is that, through his leadership as governor of the state then and also as a first-time senator, he has given his Annang ethnic group a pride of place in the state politics. Therefore, they say, it would be hard for his people to sacrifice him in the election, just because of PDP. In Annang nation, Akpabio is synonymous with leadership, Boniface Akang, a lawyer and an APC chieftain in Mr Akpabios hometown, Essien Udim, told PREMIUM TIMES. No sane person in Annang land would vote against Akpabio. In fact, if a child in the womb were to be allowed to vote in this election, he would have voted for Akpabio. I dont see any threat to his success at the polls. I dont see him getting less than 85 per cent at the polls. He will win everywhere, mark my words, Mr Akang said. Where Mr Akpabio would have naturally been expected to encounter challenges in his re-election bid is the Abak Five (five local government areas that were formerly under the erstwhile Abak Local Government Area) because of the feelings of political marginalisation in the area. The five local government areas are Abak, Oruk Anam, Ukanafun, Etim Ekpo, and Ika. Under a zoning arrangement, it was the turn of the Abak Five to produce a senator for the district in 2015. But Mr Akpabio snatched it and rewarded them, instead, with the position of a deputy governor, which is occupied by Moses Ekpo. If PDP had given the ticket to someone from Abak Five, maybe Godswill Akpabio would have had a lot of challenges, Uwem Udoma, a former lawmaker and an APC chieftain from Abak, told PREMIUM TIMES. Giving it to someone like Chris Ekpenyong, I dont see him as a match for Senator Akpabio. I can tell you even without results being declared, the popularity of Godswill Akpabio in Akwa Ibom North-West, especially in Abak Five, is overwhelming. Both PDP and APC members in the district are in agreement that Godswill Akpabio should go back to the Senate, Mr Udoma said. Mr Akpabio himself, probably sensing that he may have an easy victory in his re-election, have been campaigning more for Mr Buhari and the APC governorship candidate, Mr Ekere. The senator on Thursday sent a message, through a public statement, to the PDP in the state the wailing of your self-acclaimed elders cannot stop your impending defeat at the polls. In politics, they say, anything can happen. The senators opponent, Mr Ekpenyong, is not a pushover in politics, having been a foundation member of the PDP in the state. He enjoys the backing of the state government and Governor Emmanuel who is eager to see the end of Mr Akpabios reign in the state politics. The PDP, in their fight against Mr Akpabio, has been trying to demonise the senator as a corrupt, selfish and unreliable politician. Governor Emmanuel, in an attempt to put a knife through the cord that binds Mr Akpabios family, appointed the senators relative, Prince Akpabio, as a commissioner in the state executive council, shortly after the senator defected from the PDP to the APC, September last year. The younger Akpabio has been campaigning and mobilising people in their hometown against the senator. It is left to see how this would play during the Saturdays elections. During a recent political rally at Obot Akara, where he comes from, Mr Ekpenyong talked tough about the election. We have finished campaigns, we have finished the election. We are only waiting for the D-day, he said. Nsima Ekere [Photo credit: nsimaekere.ng] We know how to do elections, Mr Ekpenyong assured Governor Emmanuel, who was present at the rally. When we finish in Obot Akara we will move on to another part of the state to give support to those who dont know how to vote. The governor smiled. Mr Ekpenyong warned those who have federal might not to dare step foot on Obot Akara and the entire state on the Election Day. We will surely extend our boundary from Obot Akara to all parts of Akwa Ibom, he said. As a sign of what shape the elections may take in the district, 11 buses hired by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ferry election materials were set ablaze in Obot Akara on February 16, before INEC postponed the elections. Two persons were reportedly shot dead in the incident. If Senator Akpabio wins re-election, and Buhari and Nsima (Ekere) also win, Akpabio would have elevated himself from being a great teacher to a god in the politics of Akwa Ibom, a businessman in Akwa Ibom who is non-partisan, told PREMIUM TIMES, Friday. But I dont see him winning everything, he added. ADVERTISEMENT The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has released 131 names of Fulani pastoralists it said was killed in violence in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Out of the 131, the association said 66 have been buried while another 65 are missing since the attacks. PREMIUM TIMES reported the violence which started on February 10 but which became public last Friday after the state government announced a casualty figure of 66. The state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, had on Tuesday said the casualty figure from the violence increased from 66 to 130. The statement by the Miyetti Allah said the casualty was 131 and listed the names of the victims. The violence reportedly started on February 10 when suspected Fulanis attacked a neighbouring community inhabited by the Adara people of same local government. Eleven members of the Adara community were killed in that attack. An alleged retaliatory attack by the Adara on the Fulanis led to the 131 casualties announced by the Miyetti Allah. Some Nigerians including the Kaduna police commissioner have expressed doubts in the figure released by the state government. In its statement on Friday, the Miyetti Allah lashed out at those who doubt the figures. While these acts of violence are condemnable, our organisations collectively denounce the attempt by many individuals and organisations to deny this heinous crime. Since the news of the carnage first broke, some people without any iota of evidence began discrediting the reports from the security authorities, the statement reads in part. Read the full statement below. In spite of the anger of the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the actions of the Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, he will still be riding on the wings of the party to the Senate this Saturday. But for the rupture in the Ogun APCs bulwark, Mr Amosuns ride to the Senate would have been easy. However, his fight is sundry and his egoistic determination to prove himself the lord of the manor may be his impending undoing. The current political situation in Ogun is a many-pronged battle between Mr Amosun and the former governor of Lagos State and national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, on the one hand, and against the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on the other. It is a case of friends-turned-foes in an episode triggered by a governorship succession struggle, ably oiled by an unbridled quest for the control levers of the power and politics of the state. Political history Mr Amosun is a former senator, representing Ogun Central senatorial distinct. He was elected senator in 2003. However, in 2007, he made an unsuccessful bid to become the governor of the state on the platform of the All Nigerias Peoples Party (ANPP). He lost the PDPs, Gbenga Daniel. His second attempt on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) was a success and he was re-elected in 2015 on the platform of the APC. The APC was formed by a coalition of parties including the ACN. Mr Amosun won his two governorship elections with Mr Tinubus support. Bid for Senate His bid to return to the Senate is not strange. It is now fashionable among former governors to return to the red chamber after completing their governorship terms. Some former governors in the Senate include Chimaroke Nnamani, Theodore Orji, Ahmed Makarfi, Bukola Saraki, Joshua Dariye, Adamu Aliero, Adamu Abdullahi, among others. Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State is also in the contest for a seat in the Senate under the Zenith Labour Party. There are however fears that Mr Amosuns adversaries may be seeking to pull the rug from under his feet in the ensuing intrigues. Not a few think that it is payback time for Mr Amosun, and the godfathers would not let him go free after perpetrating heinous anti-party activities. It was gathered that plots have thickened, even among APC leaders in the state to ensure he loses his bid to go to the Senate. Mr Amosun, however, appears to have strong control over his arena. His larger group of APC supporters are solidly behind him, even though they are currently backing a governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, Adekunle Akinlade. While Mr Amosun is keeping an eye on who becomes the governor of the state after him in an election rescheduled for March 9, he has to ensure his place in the Senate is assured at the polls on Saturday. Intra-party battle But his fiercer battles are within the APC. Mr Amosun and a former governor, Olusegun Osoba, are from Ogun Central senatorial district. Mr Osoba is currently leading the campaign for the election of the APC governorship candidate, Dapo Abiodun. A former governor of Ogun State, Segun Osoba ADVERTISEMENT Mr Amosuns splinter group is making his job difficult, but Mr Osoba has vowed to ensure victory for the APC candidate against Mr Amosuns adopted party candidate despite the odds. He is not likely going to support the election of the governor into the Senate. Besides the internal opposition he is grappling with, Mr Amosun has the PDP candidate to handle. Solomon Sanyaolu, who emerged the PDP candidate after the decision of the courts authenticating the Kashmu-led faction of the party, is pulling a lot of weight. Mr Sanyaolu is a former commissioner and had headed the Christian Welfare Board in the state. He has Mr Kashamus megabucks behind him and could cause an upset in Saturdays election. Ogun State senator, Buruji Kashamu [Photo Credit: CBS News] Another strong contender for the seat is the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Titi Oseni Gomez, whose rating as a former and first female speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly endears her readily to the people of the zone. Her campaigns have been profound, and she is ready to give Mr Amosun a run for his name. Although she was a member of the PDP until the present political dispensation when she defected to the ADC to pick the ticket to run for Senate, many believe with her billionaire husband, coupled with her political antecedents, Mr Amosun should have reasons to worry. Mr Amosuns campaigns had been an admixture of the love of President Muhammadu Buhari and self. While urging his supporters to vote for him on Saturday as the senator, he had also urged the people to vote for Mr Buhari as president. President Muhammadu Buhari [Photo: Presidency] He has not failed to warn the people against oppressors, who would come and give them money as loans and collect their PVCs. He has also not failed to tell them that the governorship election was a vote for liberation. If Mr Amosun fails to win on Saturday, which is unexpected and unlikely, his ego would be severely deflated. He may lose every tonic to pursue with zeal the election of Mr Akinlade as his successor. He is already dreaming about his place at the upper chamber. It is already becoming speculated whether he will become the Senate President or not. He will return as a ranking senator and would be qualified to vie for the position if zoned to the South-west. This calculation is already mustering a gravitational pull on the governor, making his victory a must attain. In spite of the odds, Mr Amosun stands taller than his opponents in Saturdays senatorial contest. If he can successfully put down the uprising against him within the APC ranks, he should earn his return to the Senate. ADVERTISEMENT The Police in Kano confirmed on Friday the death of two persons during Thursdays clash between supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) at Kofa in Bebeji area council. The commands public relations officer, Abdullahi Haruna, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Kano, while giving situation report. He also said people who sustained various degrees of injuries during the fracas were receiving treatment at various hospitals. He said no fewer than 20 vehicles were burnt while 18 others were also vandalised during the incident which occurred around 2:00 p:m on Thursday. According to him, a clinic was also burnt in the village as a result of the clash. The police spokesman said the command had also arrested 20 people in connection with the incident and warned people of the state to desist from acts capable of causing disaffection among residents. Investigations have commenced on the matter, he added. Reports say supporters of the two political parties clashed when former Gov. Rabiu Kwankwaso and the PDP governorship candidate, Abba Kabir-Yusuf, as well as their supporters were traveling to Bebeji town for a final rally. (NAN) The death toll from the ongoing Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria has risen to 75, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has reported. NCDC in its situation report on the disease released on Friday said 25 new cases of the disease were confirmed and six new deaths reported between February 11 and 17. The report for week seven stated that the new cases were reported from eight states. These are Edo -6, Ondo -2, Ebonyi -1, Plateau -2, Taraba -4, Bauchi -8, Kogi -1 and Kebbi -1. Six new deaths were also reported in Ondo -3, Bauchi -2 and Kogi -1. So far, 20 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 57 local government areas. These states are Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, Nasarawa, Ebonyi, Plateau, Taraba, FCT, Adamawa, Gombe, Kaduna, Kwara, Benue, Rivers, Kogi, Enugu, Imo, Delta, Oyo and Kebbi. On January 21, NCDC declared an outbreak of Lassa fever in Nigeria following an increase in the number of cases. The Chief Executive Officer, NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu, said from January 1 to February 17, a total of 1139 suspected cases were reported from 19 states and the FCT. Of these, 355 were confirmed positive, 3 probable and 781 negative (not a case). However, 1168 suspected cases have been reported from 30 states and FCT, he said. The 75 deaths reported in 2019 put the case fatality ratio in confirmed cases at 21.1 per cent. This represents a significant increase in the number of cases reported, compared to the same period in 2018. More healthcare workers affected Mr Ihekweazu said there has been an increase in the number of healthcare workers affected by the disease. According to him, one new healthcare worker was affected in Edo State. He said 13 healthcare workers have been affected since the onset of the outbreak in seven states. The states are Edo, Ondo, Ebonyi, Rivers, Bauchi and Benue and Enugu, which recorded one death. Distribution of confirmed lassa fever cases in Nigeria as at 17th February, 2019 Currently, 88 patients are being managed at various treatment centres across the country. These are the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH) Treatment Centre, Federal Medical Centre Owo, Federal Teaching Hospital Abakiliki, Bauchi, Plateau, Taraba and Kebbi. The National Lassa fever multi-partner and the multi-sectoral Emergency Operations Centre continues to coordinate the response activities at all levels, Mr Ihekweazu said. According to the situation report, 3872 contacts have been identified from 18 states. Of these 2600 that are currently being followed up, 1227 have completed 21 days follow up, while four were lost to follow up. ADVERTISEMENT 63 symptomatic contacts have been identified, of which 41 have tested positive, it said. Lassa fever is a haemorraghic disease caused by rodents. The disease is transmitted through faeces and urine of rats. Epicurve of lassa fever confirmed (355) cases in Nigeria week 01-07, 2019 Contact tracing is an important aspect of Lassa fever control because the disease can be transmitted through human to human contact. The disease can be transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces. Human to human infection and laboratory transmission can also occur. There is currently no approved vaccine. Lassa fever is treatable if diagnosed early and as such Nigerians are advised to visit health facilities when sick. Number of cases in Epidemilogical weeks NCDC said it has intensified its surveillance of the disease by deploying a multi-sectoral one health national rapid response teams (NCDC, NFELTP, Federal Ministry of Agricultural and Federal Ministry of Environment) to Ondo, Edo and Ebonyi states. The three states recorded the highest number of affect people since the outbreak. Prevention Prevention of Lassa fever relies on community engagement and promoting hygienic conditions to discourage rodents from entering the houses. In view of the outbreak, Nigerians need to take preventive measures such as keeping the environment clean, making houses free of rodents, washing hands before meals and keeping all foodstuff in tight lid containers. In the healthcare setting, staff should consistently implement standard infection prevention and control measures when caring for patients Confirmed lassa fever cases with States Specific Case Fatality Rate (CFR) as at 17th February, 2019 ADVERTISEMENT Ailing Yoruba actor, Babatunde Omidina, popularly called Baba Suwe was on Friday admitted at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idi Araba, Lagos State over an unknown ailment. The Theater Arts and Motions Pictures Producers Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN) secured the admission. The actor at the time of filing this report was placed in the private ward of the hospital and is being attended to by medical personnel. The national president of the association, Bolaji Amusan, known as Mr Latin had earlier in the day, in the company of others arrived the private residence of Baba Suwe in Ikorodu town, Lagos at about 12 pm, to take him to the hospital. The decision was reached after the association contacted the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, to assist the body tackle the health challenges of their colleague. A directive was reportedly given to the management of the hospital by the minister to assist the actor. Mr Amusan told PREMIUM TIMES the body was happy with the minister, as well as the conduct of the Chief Medical Director and staffers of the hospital, who gave required attention to the actor. The association also thanked the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for his financial support, as well as another actor, Muyiwa Adegoke (aka Londoner) for his efforts. We are appreciative of the Hon. Ministers quickest response and wish to equally say a big thank you to the Federal Government of Nigeria for giving the association a listening ear, and the kindest gesture of the Vice President of Nigeria, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, also to the ace actor, Muyiwa Adegoke, he said. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says defaulting wealthy Nigerian taxpayers who have no Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN) have only a 30 days lien to do so. The agency also said other Nigerians and firms with a turnover of N100 million in their accounts, but not paying taxes have only a 30 days lien to do so. The Executive Chairman of FIRS, Tunde Fowler, announced the period of grace in Lagos during a meeting with Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on Friday. Mr Fowler said about 59,000 companies charging for the Value Added Tax (VAT), and sometimes Withholding Tax (WHT), for their services, do not have TINs for the remittances to the FIRS of the VAT or WHT taxes they charge. He said the banks will return the lien on tax defaulters bank accounts after the 30 days grace period. The lien was lifted last Friday, February 15, 2019. To ensure tax justice, protect all taxpayers and also ensure that monies deducted from taxpayers in form of VAT or WHT by business owners are properly accounted for and paid into the right treasury, Mr Fowler said FIRS resolved to restrict the bank accounts of defaulters. He said last year, the FIRS, after reviewing the records from banks in the country, identified some operators who make a turn-over of between N100 million and N1 billion, but do not have TINs. However, in the course of their businesses, he said these operators charge VAT and perhaps WHT without remitting same to the FIRS. If these companies do not have TIN, it means that they have not been paying their taxes. At the same time, they have not been remitting the VAT and WHT they charge on taxpayers to appropriate authorities, in this case, FIRS. Criticizing the practice where companies would deduct monies meant for the government and fail to remit them to the appropriate agencies, Mr Fowler said if these people do not come forward to get TIN and pay appropriate taxes, FIRS will get their bank accounts frozen. Tax payment is not only for civil servants or salary income earners alone. Millionaires and billionaires, who make incomes from this economy need to pay taxes. It is not fair for any business or any person who makes an income from this economy not to pay taxes. Each of us must contribute to the national till. If any taxpayer has the opportunity to make their wealth in this economy, the least they can do is to pay their tax. The Executive Chairman also explained that following turn-up of taxpayers to clear their arrears, the FIRS wrote to the banks to lift the lien on bank accounts temporarily for a period of 30 days. In the last two weeks, the FIRS office was always besieged by taxpayers who want to clear their arrears, he said. The Chairman said the situation came to a point where the FIRS had to send letters to banks to lift the lien for 30 days to enable taxpayers to regularise their accounts. To remove delays in receiving notifications after transactions on taxpayers accounts, the FIRS chairman said online solutions have been put in place to help taxpayers. He urged taxpayers to register their companies with their e-mails and telephone numbers, adding that once payments are made, notifications would be received instantly. He identified some of the initiatives the FIRS is adopting to improve VAT compliance to include Auto VAT collect, e-Services, VAT certificates, Central VAT filing, VAT coordination, Tax Audit and Investigation, Joint Tax Force, Taxpayer Education and SAG Platform (State Accountant General Platform). ADVERTISEMENT FIRS would honour proof of WHT deduction by any government agency. The President of MAN, Masur Ahmed, thanked the FIRS for conceding to their demands for a review of VAT charges on animal feeds. He said it was important for Nigeria to take a cue from other countries who have zero per cent VAT rate on animal feeds. The federal government, he said, should sign an Executive Order and Gazette that animal feeds should be VAT exempt in Nigeria. This will go a long way to stabilizing the economy because VAT charges on animal feeds have adverse multiplier effects on the cost of production, Mr Ahmed said. PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 11:01:00 Press Information Persistence Market Research CONTACT: Persistence Market Research 305 Broadway 7th Floor, New York City, NY 10007, United States, USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353 Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Web: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com yogesh Seggar Team Lead 8009610353 email http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com # 658 Words CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.comTeam Lead8009610353 Sales of wind turbine rotor blades is expected to be valued at more than US$ 7,000 Mn by 2017 end and is anticipated to register a CAGR of 21.2% and be valued at nearly US$ 33,000 Mn by the end of 2025. Asia Pacific led by China and India will account for a major share of the global wind turbine rotor blade market between 2017 and 2025.Increasing levels of wind power generation aiding the market for wind turbine rotor bladesGeneration of electricity from wind is now firmly established as a mainstream source for power generation. Capacity of wind power has significantly increased across the world, as wind turbines have become more powerful, efficient and affordable for power producers in the last decade. These factors will create a positive impact on the demand for wind turbine rotor blades, as they are an essential component in wind power projects. Wind energy is a relatively large single source (around 50%) of all increase in electricity generation globally. To give an example of the importance and growing clout of wind energy, wind energy accounted for around 40% of Denmarks total power generation, 23% of Portugal and Ireland, and 19% of Uruguay. In South Australia, wind power contributes to around 40% of the total power generation.Request For Report Sample@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/15535 Climatic benefits with zero emissions the main advantages of wind energyIn the Paris Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP21), the long term target adopted by 186 countries that attended this conference is to make the power sector 100% emission free by 2050. This strengthens the position of wind energy as a major portion of renewable power will be supplied by wind energy, along with solar energy. China and the United States are the major producers of renewable energy. As the generation of electricity from wind creates no emissions, wind energy will play a major role in helping the two countries meet their commitments under the COP21 agreement. This will create a big boost in the sales of wind turbine rotor blades in the coming years.Technological competition with solar panels may limit the market for wind turbine rotor bladesTechnological innovation since the last decade has created significant improvements in terms of wind power generation, but this innovation has come at the cost of increasing the length of wind turbine blades. Hence, the limits related to maximum operable length may put on hold new installations, due to problems associated with transportation and on-site installation of large rotor blades. However, on the other hand, solar panels are shrinking in size, due to improvements in their technological efficiency. Being an important source of renewable energy with no moving parts and no noise pollution, solar panels may pose a threat to the wind turbine rotor blade market on a large scale.Offshore wind system installations a growing opportunityGeneration of renewable and clean sources of energy from offshore wind is a relatively new technology and has just taken off in many countries of the world. The rotor blades required for such harsh offshore environments require more technological advancements in terms of design and build. As of now, offshore wind power installations are mainly concentrated across Europe. However, countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, India, Taiwan and the United States have approved many offshore projects, which are under development and are expected to be operational in the near future.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC)@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/15535 Global Wind Turbine Rotor Blade Market Attractiveness Analysis by Blade LengthAmong the blade length segments, the 45-60 meters segment is estimated to be the largest segment, accounting for 65.9% share in terms of revenue in the global wind turbine rotor blade market by 2017 end. This will be followed by the Above 60 meters segment. The 45-60 meters segment is expected to retain its dominance over the forecast period, registering a CAGR of 19.1% in terms of value. The Below 45 meters segment is expected to hold a market value share of 12.1% by 2017 end. The transcatheter bioprosthesis market is expected to grow at a significant CAGR due to promising clinical development of newer technologies and rising demand for minimally invasive therapies. Transcatheter bioprosthesis provides minimally invasive treatment for patients with high-risk of severe native aortic stenosis. Transcatheter Bioprosthesis Market PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 11:40:05 Press Information Future Market Insights Future Market Insights U.S. Office 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Web: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com Umesh SEO Manager 3479183531 email https://www.futuremarketinsights.com # 755 Words Future Market InsightsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb: https://www.futuremarketinsights.comSEO Manager3479183531 Transcatheter bioprosthesis is an implantable medical device mostly used for patients suffering from severe symptomatic aortic stenosis of the aortic heart valve. In addition, transcatheter bioprosthesis is considered as an alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in patients with high surgical risk. Transcatheter bioprosthesis combines exceptional valve design and advanced sealing with an excellent safety profile. Transcatheter bioprosthesis is designed to replace the aortic heart valve without an open-heart surgery. However, the long-term durability of transcatheter bioprosthesis is still unknown. Due to the growing aging population, aortic stenosis is observed as the most frequent primary valve disease in developed countries. In 2013, around 300,000 individuals were suffering from aortic stenosis worldwide and one-third of the affected population were not eligible for open-heart surgery due to the high surgical risk. According to research conducted in 2014, there were around 120,000 transcatheter aortic valve implantations performed around the globe since 2002.Transcatheter Bioprosthesis Market: Drivers and RestraintsIncreasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases is the major factor expected to drive the growth of the global transcatheter bioprosthesis market. Transcatheter bioprosthesis is rapidly growing in the lower risk population and the midterm durability of transcatheter bioprosthesis is further expected to encourage the growth of the global transcatheter bioprosthesis market. It is observed that aortic valve disease affects more than 60 million individuals worldwide due to growing aging population. However, the snail pace adoption of transcatheter bioprosthesis in middle-income countries is expected to negatively impact the growth of the global transcatheter bioprosthesis market over the forecast period.Request Sample Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-7333 Transcatheter Bioprosthesis Market: SegmentationThe global transcatheter bioprosthesis market is segmented by material source, type of valve, end users and regions.Based on transcatheter bioprosthesis material source, the global transcatheter bioprosthesis market is segmented into:BovinePorcineBased on type of valve, the global transcatheter bioprosthesis market is segmented into:Mitral ValveAortic ValvePulmonary ValveBased on end users, the global transcatheter bioprosthesis market is segmented into:HospitalsAmbulatory Surgical CentersSpecialty ClinicsTranscatheter Bioprosthesis Market: OverviewThe transcatheter bioprosthesis market is expected to grow at a significant CAGR due to promising clinical development of newer technologies and rising demand for minimally invasive therapies. Transcatheter bioprosthesis provides minimally invasive treatment for patients with high-risk of severe native aortic stenosis. Surgical aortic valve replacement is considered as the standard treatment for severe aortic stenosis, whereas transcatheter bioprosthesis offers a new treatment option for patients with high risk for surgery. Based on transcatheter bioprosthesis material source, the transcatheter bioprosthesis market is segmented into the bovine and porcine source. Among them, the porcine material source segment is expected to hold maximum share in the global transcatheter bioprosthesis market. On the basis of the type of valve, the transcatheter bioprosthesis market is segmented into mitral, aortic and pulmonary. The aortic valve is expected to gain maximum market share due to increasing number of aortic stenosis cases. Similarly, based on the end users, the global transcatheter bioprosthesis market is segmented into hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, and specialty clinics. Among all end users, specialty clinics and ambulatory surgical centers segments are expected to grow at maximum CAGRs.Transcatheter Bioprosthesis Market: Regional OutlookOn the basis of geography, the global transcatheter bioprosthesis market is segmented into eight key regions, namely North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding China and Japan, China, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to hold maximum share in the global transcatheter bioprosthesis market primarily due to advanced healthcare infrastructure and availability of well-trained healthcare professionals. Western Europe is expected to hold second large share in the global transcatheter bioprosthesis market. From 2007 onwards the French National Authority for Health (HAS) has implemented an early assessment of transcatheter bioprosthesis in order to speed up the availability in the French market. Asia Pacific transcatheter bioprosthesis market is expected to grow at a significant rate over the forecast period. Growing healthcare facilities and increased healthcare awareness are mainly generating the demand for transcatheter bioprosthesis in the Asia Pacific region. However, the transcatheter bioprosthesis market in Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East and Africa is projected to show a slow growth over the forecast period.Request to View TOC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-7333 Transcatheter Bioprosthesis Market: Key PlayersExamples of some of the key players in the global transcatheter bioprosthesis market are Medtronic plc, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, Boston Scientific Corporation, and Direct Flow Medical, Inc., among others. The key players are majorly focusing on product development and geographical expansion to retain their market position. PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 09:45:01 Press Information Research Report Insights Contact Us: Research Report Insights (RRI) 42 Joseph Street Port carling P0B 1J0 Muskoka, Ontario1 Phone - +1-631-721-4201 Website: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/ Email: sales@researchreportinsights.com BISHU 6317214201 +1631721420 email https://www.researchreportinsights.com # 546 Words Contact Us:Research Report Insights (RRI)42 Joseph StreetPort carling P0B 1J0Muskoka, Ontario1Phone - +1-631-721-4201Website: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/Email: sales@researchreportinsights.com6317214201+1631721420 As per the latest report compiled by Research Report Insights (RRI), the global market for top load cartoning machines is likely to witness moderate growth. The market is projected to register healthy CAGR during 2017-2026. By the end of 2027, the global top load cartooning machines market is estimated to reach 766.8 million revenue. The most important factor in the top load cartooning machines market is the evolution of the packaging machinery market. Developers of top load cartooning machines are focusing on improving the design in order to expand the capacity. Manufacturers are introducing new models to strengthen their position in the market. Top load cartoning machines Market will increase at a CAGR of 4.5% through 2026The demand for innovative packaging solution is resulting in the development of modular top load cartoning machine. Market players are increasingly investing in the research and development to integrate advanced technology and deliver maximum efficiency. The manufacturers are also developing machines that can handle huge volume with minimal human effort, thereby minimizing errors and eliminating the wastage of raw materials.Request For Report Sample: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/sample/110114855/Top-Load-Cartoning-Machines-Market Key Highlights on the Global Top Load Cartoning Machines MarketThe global market for top load cartoning machines is segmented on the basis of product type, capacity, end use industry, and region. On the basis of product type, the market is segmented into horizontal and vertical. Horizontal top load cartoning machines are likely to be one of the top-selling products. By 2026 end, horizontal top load cartoning machines are estimated to exceed US$ 600 million revenue.Based on the capacity, top load cartoning machines with the capacity of 150-400 CPM are likely to witness robust growth throughout the forecast period 2017-2026. 150-400 CPM capacity of top load cartoning machines are projected to reach nearly US$ 300 million revenue by 2026 end.Request Report Discount: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/discount/110114855/Top-Load-Cartoning-Machines-Market Europe will Continue to Dominate the Global Top Load Cartoning Machines Market Through 2027On the basis of the end use industry, Food industry is expected to emerge as the largest end user of the top load cartoning machines. By the end of 2026, the food industry is estimated to create an incremental opportunity surpassing US$ 70 million between 2017 and 2026.Region-wise, the global top load cartoning machines market is segmented on the basis of Europe, North America, Japan, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), the Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Latin America. Among these regions, Europe is likely to remain dominant in the global market for top load cartoning machines. Europe is projected to register 3.6% CAGR during the forecast period 2017-2027.Global Top Load Cartoning Machines Market: Competition LandscapeThe report provides a detailed profile of some of the key market Participants active in the global market for top load cartoning machines. The companies operating in the market are Robert Bosch GmbH - Packaging Technology, MolinsLangen - Molins PLC, Omori Machinery Co. Ltd., Tetra Pak International S.A., Cama Group, Rovema GmbH, Econocorp Inc., Bradman Lake Group Ltd., PMI Cartoning, Inc., and ADCO Manufacturing. Most of the players operating in the global top load cartoning machines market are incorporating advanced technologies to develop machines that can offer efficiency and at the same time ensure smooth functioning of the process.Report Analysis: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/rd/110114855/Top-Load-Cartoning-Machines-Market Struts implants market is expected to gain high traction over the forecast period due to increasing number of surgeries associated with chronic disease and injuries. Struts implants are used with various implants to provide structural support. Struts Implants Market PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 11:41:54 Press Information Future Market Insights Future Market Insights U.S. Office 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Web: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com Umesh SEO Manager 3479183531 email https://www.futuremarketinsights.com # 743 Words Future Market InsightsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb: https://www.futuremarketinsights.comSEO Manager3479183531 Struts implants are medical implant intended to provide structural support and stability to implants. Strut implants are designed to provide an additional implant surface area. Struts implants are used for various applications such as osteoporotic and pathologic hip fracture, incus-stapes prostheses, and spinal implant and other. Strut implants or systems reinforce the proximal femur on the patient with high risk of hip fracture. Such as Y-Struct is the device (by Hyprevention) was developed to offer reinforcement solution for the prevention of fragility hip fracture in osteoporotic elderly. Strut implant represents a modular approach to incus and stapes replacement. Struts implants for incus and stapes replacement are designed to bridge the gap between the malleus and stapes prosthetics. For spinal implant systems, struts insert to provide additional implant surface area and enhance structural support.Struts Implants Market: Drivers and Restraints-Increasing incidence of chronic diseases, growing the aging population, rising accident & trauma cases is the major driving factor of the struts implants market. Increasing annual cases of hip fracture with aging population and osteoporosis will lead to driving the global struts implants market. Worldwide more than 2 million hip fracture cases are reported every year. Osteoporosis is the major disorder which leads to bone problems. According to CDC, in the U.S. around 24.5% of women age 65 years and over are suffered from osteoporosis of femur neck or lumbar spine which boost the demand of the struts implants over the forecast period. Increasing adoption of minimally invasive surgeries, increasing development of new implantable devices are another main factors expected to spur the growth of struts implants market.Request Sample Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-7340 Increasing orthopedic surgeries will lead to driving the struts implants market. Increasing development of application-specific strut implants and 3-D printed technology provide the huge growth opportunity for the struts implants market. Increasing number of replacement surgeries and prosthesis is provided the major growth opportunity for struts implants market. However high cost of implantation and surgeries, implant dislocation, toxicity issues, post-surgery infections with implants are the major factor expected to hamper the growth of the struts implants market. Stringent regulatory policies is a major factor expected to restrain the growth of the struts implants market. Delayed product approvals and initial capital investment restricting the entry of new players in the struts implants market.Struts Implants Market: SegmentationOn the basis of application, struts implants market can be segmented as:SubperiostealIncus And Stapes ProsthesisDentalHip FractureSpinal FractureOn the basis of the end user, the struts implants market can be segmented as:HospitalsAmbulatory Surgical CentersDental ClinicsStruts Implants Market: OverviewStruts implants market is expected to gain high traction over the forecast period due to increasing number of surgeries associated with chronic disease and injuries. Struts implants are used with various implants to provide structural support. Hospital segment is expected to gain the highest market share in the struts implants market due to the increasing number of hospitals. Ambulatory surgical centers segment is expected to anticipate highest CAGR in struts implants market over the forecast period.Struts Implants Market: Region-wise OutlookIn terms of geography, struts implants market has been divided into eight regions including North- America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Asia- Pacific excluding China & Japan (APECJ), China, Japan, Middle-East & Africa and Latin America. North America is the most dominating market for struts implants market due to the rise in per capita expenditure on healthcare and technological advancement. Western European countries like Germany, France, and the UK is another fastest growing region in struts implants market due to increasing adoption of advanced surgeries and implants for replacement, prosthesis and fracture correction. Another factor such as increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and injuries, lifestyle changes, rising obesity, and the smoking rate will boost the demand for struts implants in developing countries. The Asia Pacific excluding China and Japan struts implants market is expected to gain the highest growth rate over the forecast period with improving healthcare facilities. Increasing awareness about the benefits of minimally invasive surgeries in countries such as India and China will drive the growth of struts implants market. Rising number of old age population in Japan will increase the demand for struts implants.Request to View TOC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-7340 Struts Implants Market: Key Market ParticipantsExample of some market players participants in global struts implants market identify across the value chain are Olympus Corporation, Hyprevention, Zimmer Biomet and others. Compared to the automated diagnostics, conventional diagnostics is likely to emerge as the most-preferred sepsis diagnosis method. Towards 2026 end, conventional diagnostics is projected to generate more than US$ 400 million revenue. Fact.MR PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 12:51:24 Press Information Fact.MR Fact.MR Suite 9884 27 Upper Pembroke Street, Dublin 2, Ireland Abhishek Budholiya Marketing Manager +353-1-6111-593 email http://www.factmr.com/ # 648 Words Fact.MRSuite 988427 Upper Pembroke Street,Dublin 2, IrelandMarketing Manager+353-1-6111-593 A pin-point estimation of sepsis global epidemiological burden is tough to ascertain, a few scientific publications have reported it afflicts over 30 million people every year globally; leading to potentially 6 million deaths, as reported in the Sepsis Technical Expert Meeting convened by WHO in 2018. The health governing body further estimates that 3 million newborns and 1.2 million children are plagued by sepsis worldwide every year. Essentially, sepsis could possibly be the clinical manifestation of infections acquired both in health care facilities and in the community setting. Given health care-related infections are mostly resistant to antibiotics, it can swiftly lead to aggravating clinical conditions.Get Sample Copy of This Report @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=391 Accordingly, detection of some of biomarkers such as procalcitonin has become imperative for sepsis early diagnosis and the timely establishment of its apt clinical management. Ergo, diagnostics to help identify a casual pathogen of infection resulting to sepsis have increased.Although the onset of sepsis can be perilous and pose a short-term morbidity burden, it can also lead to considerable long-term morbidity needing support and treatment. The spectrum of sepsis, hence, is far-reaching and needs a multidisciplinary approach.Frequently, sepsis is under-diagnosed at an early stage when potentially it is reversible. In light of it, leading companies are coming up with sophisticated techniques and tools to offer sepsis diagnosis at an early stage. In a bid to perform research and development activities and expand its footprints, companies are opting for mergers and acquisitions.Sepsis Diagnostics Market: OverviewThe report offers a comprehensive analysis on the market for sepsis diagnostics for the assessment period 2018-2026. The report also focuses on the dynamics surrounding the sepsis diagnostics which significantly influence the growth of the market.Furthermore, the report elucidates the segregation of the market which is anticipated to provide readers with an actionable insights which will aid them in taking proper decision based on segments historical and future growth estimates.The report focuses on cost structure and supply chain to provide a comprehensive view of the sepsis diagnostics market. The report also includes disease epidemiology and technology roadmap along with product lifecycle. Further, PESTLE analysis gives overall picture of the sepsis diagnostics market. The report provides a coherent assessment through average pricing analysis. The report also includes regional and country-wise assessment along with patent analysis.BROWSE Full Report NOW @ https://www.factmr.com/report/391/sepsis-diagnostics-market A qualitative and quantitative information has been obtained for the forecast and assessment on the sepsis diagnostics market. The research sources include primary and secondary sources which have been further examined by in-house panel of experts. The growth of end use industries in the historical and forecast period have been estimated to aid the readers with their business investment decisions. The market size of the sepsis diagnostics is the result of revenue comparison, market share comparison and Y-o-Y growth comparison on the geography.Sepsis Diagnostic Market: Competitive LandscapeMajor market players being instrumental for the growth of the sepsis diagnostics market are profiled and assessed on the basis of company overview, financial overview, product offering, recent development, key differentiators and strategies. The report also includes SWOT analysis to provide a holistic picture of the competitive scenario of the sepsis diagnostics market. A deep dive analysis of the major market players becomes indispensable as it will succor readers to make proper decision to enlarge their business and can comprehend strategic moves made by prominent players in the sepsis diagnostics market.Enquire about this Report @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=AE&rep_id=391 About Fact.MR Fact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports. PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 10:51:15 Safety Instrumentation Systems (SIS) play a vital role in energy industries and global processes where they are used to provide extra safety to workers and equipment as well as for protecting the environment and nearby communities. When safe operating conditions are violated or safety limits are exceeded, safety instrumentation systems (SIS) are used to return the process to a safe state. Safety Instrumentation systems (SIS) are independent systems comprising sensors, actuators and logic solvers that successfully measure temperature, water level and pressure to ensure the safety of the process. Moreover, safety instrumentation systems provide safety by reducing the risk not to the unrealistic ideal of zero, but to a low level which can be bearable or can be solved later. Safety Instrumentation systems are used in various industries, such as chemicals, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, paper and pulp, metal and mining, water treatment, food and beverages and power generation.Safety systems use a systematic approach which revolves around safety requirement specifications, hazard identification and system operation and maintenance during the entire life of a plant. Due to increasing investments in oil and gas production, the oil and gas sector is expected to be the biggest sector responsible for the growth of the safety instrumentation systems market. Moreover, the safety instrumentation systems market is expected to witness prominent growth due to an increase in adoption of safety instrumentation systems (SIS) in power generation.Request For Report Sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-4673 Safety Instrumentation Systems Market: Market DynamicsDriversRise in automotive manufacturing across the globe is a major factor expected to drive the safety instrumentation systems market over the forecast period. Moreover, labor unions insisting on suitable safety measures in oil and gas and power generation industries will further drive the safety instrumentation systems market over the forecast period. That apart, safety regulations executed by governments and increasing adoption of safety instrumentation systems in power generation will also add to the growth of market. Additionally, high demand for SIS in developing regions and arrival of new technologies, such as Internet of Things (IOT), are expected to further boost the market.RestraintLack of awareness and complexity of standards in different applications are some of the factors which may hamper the growth of the safety instrumentation systems market over the forecast period. Similarly, the high cost and low response rate of safety instrumentation systems (SIS) will act as major restraining factors for the growth of safety instrumentation systems market during the forecast period.Safety Instrumentation Systems Market: SegmentationThe global safety instrumentation systems market can be segmented on the basis of component type, product type and application.On the basis of component type, the safety instrumentation systems market can be segmented into:Safety SwitchesSafety SensorsEmergency Stop DevicesProgrammable Safety DevicesValvesOn the basis of product type, the safety instrumentation systems market can be segmented into:Emergency Shutdown System (ESD)Safety Interlock SystemSafety Shutdown System (SSD)Fire and Gas Monitoring and controlBurner Management System (BMS)Turbo Machinery and Control (TMC)On the basis of application, the safety instrumentation systems market can be segmented into:ChemicalOil and GasPharmaceuticalPaper and PulpMetal and MiningWastewater TreatmentFood and BeveragesPower GenerationSafety Instrumentation Systems Market: Region-Wise OutlookThe European region is expected to be largest growing market due to rising demand for industrial safety measures to minimize accidents in case safety limits are exceeded. North America is expected to dominate the safety instrumentation systems market due to growing consumer awareness and expansion of medical industrial market. Asia Pacific region is expected to witness highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to the growing awareness regarding safety, emergence of new technologies and high demand for safety instrumentation systems in developing countries.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC): https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-4673 Safety Instrumentation Systems Market: Market ParticipantsSome of the market participants identified across the value chain of the global safety instrumentation systems market include:ABB Ltd.Emerson Process ManagementHoneywell International Inc.Schneider Electric SEGeneral Electric Company PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 14:02:29 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2019 / Rockcliff Metals Corporation ("Rockcliff") (TSX-V: RCLF) (FRANKFURT: RO0, WKN: A2H60G) is pleased to announce a reorganization transaction involving a financing led by Greenstone Resources II LP ("Greenstone") and a transfer of significant assets from Norvista Capital Corporation (TSX-V: NVV) ("Norvista"). This transformative event will reorganize Rockcliff into a well-capitalized resource company with a strong shareholder base enabling Rockcliff to undertake a major mineral exploration and mine development program over the next several years in the prolific Flin Flon Snow Lake base metals mining camp in Manitoba. This transaction (the "Transaction") is a reverse take-over for the purposes of the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V"). The Board of Directors of each of Rockcliff and Norvista unanimously support the Transaction. As at the date of this announcement, 36.8% of Rockcliff shareholders and 53% of Norvista shareholders have provided irrevocable undertakings and consents to vote in support of the Transaction. The Transaction is expected to close in April 2019.Transaction OverviewThe financing and asset acquisition will create a well-capitalized base metals focused developer and explorer with high-grade deposits, a significant land package of highly prospective exploration ground and access to concentrate production facilities.Manitoba is one of the most permitting-friendly jurisdictions in Canada. Should the economic viability and technical feasibility of the projects be established, the Transaction may allow Rockcliff to execute a "Hub and Spoke" development strategy from a centralized milling facility and transition into a copper-focused producer with low capital costs to production. Upon completion of the Transaction, the assets comprising the Hub and Spoke strategy are as follows:Talbot Option Agreement: Rockcliff will receive an earn-in option to acquire a minimum 51% ownership interest in the Talbot Property. The Property hosts the Talbot copper deposit, a high-grade 4.2M tonne National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") Inferred mineral resource grading 1.61% Cu, 1.4% Zn, 1.77 g/t Au and 27.96 g/t Ag (the "Talbot Report") as disclosed in the Rockcliff Press Release dated January 19, 2018. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.Tower Property: Rockcliff will acquire a 100% ownership interest in the Tower Property, including the Tower deposit, a high-grade 1.08M tonne NI 43-101 Indicated mineral resource grading 3.73% Cu, 1.05% Zn, 0.55 g/t Au and 17.28 g/t Ag plus a 1.25M tonne NI 43-101 Inferred mineral resource grading 2.0% Cu, 1.02% Zn, 0.27 g/t Au and 9.78 g/t Ag (the "Tower Report") as disclosed in the Rockcliff Press Release dated March 30, 2015. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.Rail Property: Rockcliff currently owns a 100% ownership interest in the Rail Property, hosting the Rail deposit, a high grade 822,000 tonnes NI 43-101 Indicated mineral resource grading 3.04% Cu, 0.99% Zn, 0.7 g/t Au and 9.3 g/t Ag as disclosed in the Rockcliff Press Release dated July 24, 2018. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.Historical Deposits: Rockcliff currently owns 6 additional historical underexplored base metal deposits, all open along strike and at depth with significant growth potential.Bucko mill lease: Rockcliff will acquire a 7-year processing lease of the Bucko mill and tailing storage facilities, at the Bucko Lake Mine, near Wabowden, Manitoba.Dominant land position, currently held by Rockcliff, of 4,000 square kilometres in the prolific Flin Flon - Snow Lake greenstone belt, home to the largest Paleoproterozoic Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) district in the world.The Talbot Report is currently filed on the SEDAR profile for Rockcliff and the Tower Report is currently filed on the SEDAR profile for Former Rockcliff (as defined below). The mineral resource estimate relating to the Talbot Property is viewed as current. The mineral resource estimate relating to the Tower Property is not viewed as current and will be updated.Rockcliff will be calling an Annual and Special Meeting of the shareholders of Rockcliff (the "Meeting") for mid April 2019 to seek approval to the Transaction. Full particulars of the Transaction will be included in the management information circular (the "Management Information Circular") mailed to shareholders in respect of the Meeting. Further particulars of the timing of the annual meeting will be provided in a subsequent press release. Trading in the shares of Rockcliff will remain halted until final regulatory approval is obtained to the Transaction.Red Cloud Klondike Strike Inc. has been engaged by the Board of Directors of Rockcliff, pursuant to an engagement letter dated February 8, 2019, to prepare an opinion as to the fairness, from a financial point of view, of the Transaction to the shareholders of Rockcliff (the "Fairness Opinion"). Further particulars of the Fairness Opinion will be provided in due course. The Fairness Opinion will be disclosed in and included with the Management Information Circular.Upon the completion of the Transaction, the board of directors of Rockcliff will initially consist of five (5) members, being Ken Lapierre on behalf of Rockcliff, Mark Sawyer on behalf of Greenstone, Don Christie on behalf of Norvista, and two other independent non-executive directors to be announced prior to the closing of the Transaction. There will also be further announcements on senior officers of Rockcliff to be appointed upon completion of the Transaction.Ken Lapierre, President and CEO of Rockcliff, commented: "This is a transformational moment in Rockcliff's 13-year history. Gaining the confidence of private equity firm Greenstone, a leased mill and the advanced-stage Talbot and Tower copper assets from Norvista is a testament to their vision of growth and confidence in Rockcliff's ability to succeed in this well-endowed mineral belt. We will now have the support of our partners, our shareholders and our investors to unlock the full potential of our extensive property portfolio. We look forward to completing this transaction and commencing exploration." Don Christie, the President and CEO of Norvista, commented: "Norvista has spent a considerable amount of time and effort over the last several years assembling its Manitoba asset portfolio and wor Some of the market participants in the Global Resuscitation Trolley market identified across the value chain include: Arjo, CFS Italia S.A.S., Haeberle, Medi Waves Inc., Strongman Medline, Tecno-Gaz, Bristol Maid, Desco Medical India, Armstrong Medical Industries, Apex Healthcare, Aurion, Capsa Healthcare, Egerton and ColMed. Resuscitation Trolley Market PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 11:32:47 Press Information Future Market Insights Future Market Insights U.S. Office 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Web: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com Umesh SEO Manager 3479183531 email https://www.futuremarketinsights.com # 774 Words Future Market InsightsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb: https://www.futuremarketinsights.comSEO Manager3479183531 Resuscitation is a procedure of reviving somebody from apparent death or unconsciousness. Resuscitation Trolley is a combination of drawers/trays/shelves that are on wheels and used in hospitals as transportation and dispensing of emergency equipment/medication at the site of some surgical/medical emergency for life support situations. Resuscitation Trolley has drugs as well as equipment for intubation, defibrillation, passage of central lines and intravenous medication. A few drugs that are indicated for use in advanced life support system are Atropine, Adrenaline (Epinephrine), Amiodarone. Resuscitation Trolley also has sutures, suction devices, surgical needles, scalpels, swabs, sponges, hemostats, retractors, forceps, o2 supplies, airways, tracheal tubes, IV supplies and cardiac monitor consisting of a defibrillator as well. Resuscitation Trolleys are installed majorly in intensive care units and hospital emergency departments. Resuscitation Trolleys are equipped as per the prescribed specifications. Resuscitation Trolleys are customized and provide better efficiency with precise knowledge of the layouts and careful provisioning. The major application involves emergency care and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.Resuscitation Trolley Market: Drivers and Restraints-Increasing incidence of cardiac arrests; rise in awareness of CPR i.e. cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and improved skillset of people performing CPR is expected to drive the Resuscitation trolley market over the period of forecast. Growing cases of emergency situations requiring airway and circulation support and improved trolley specifications available in the market is also anticipated to drive Resuscitation Trolley market growth over the period of forecast. However, in most of the cases, trolleys are not updated and maintained on a regular basis which is why they produce inefficient results. Not all the expected drugs and equipment are present. Daily maintenance and tracking could hinder the Resuscitation Trolley market over the period of forecast. Resuscitation Trolleys are also expensive to maintain, equipment like defibrillators and ventilation supplies cost are high, which might also be a hindrance to the growth of Resuscitation Trolley market over the period of forecast.Request Sample Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-7318 Resuscitation Trolley Market: SegmentationTentatively, Resuscitation Trolley Market has been segmented on the basis of Application, product type, end users and geography.On the basis of Product type, Resuscitation Trolley Market can be segmented as:Airway management Resuscitation Trolley equipmentCirculation management Resuscitation Trolley equipmentDrugsOn the basis of Application, Resuscitation Trolley Market can be segmented as:Adult UsePediatric UseOn the basis of end users, Resuscitation Trolley Market can be segmented as:Acute Care CentersHospitalsAmbulatory Surgical CentersDental ClinicsDental HospitalsMental Health inpatient Care CentersOn the basis of geography, Resuscitation Trolley Market can be segmented as:North- AmericaEastern EuropeWestern EuropeAsia-Pacific excluding China & JapanChinaJapanMiddle East and AfricaLatin AmericaResuscitation Trolley Market: OverviewGlobal Resuscitation Trolley market has witnessed growth due to expanding demand for emergency care and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation procedures. Resuscitation Trolleys are being extensively used for primary care, acute care, primary dental care, community hospital care and mental health inpatient care. Airway management includes oxygen pocket masks, endotracheal tubes, suction catheters, resuscitation bag with O2 supplies, bag valve masks and laryngeal masks. Circulation management includes intravenous cannulation and central venous cannulation. Drugs like dopamine, atropine and adrenaline are also present in a Resuscitation Trolley. Providing access to essential drugs and aid in procedures like cardiology and endoscopy will contribute to the major factors leading the growth of Resuscitation Trolley market during the period of forecast.Resuscitation Trolley Market: Region-wise OutlookGeography wise, Resuscitation Trolley market is divided into eight regions viz. North-America, Asia- Pacific excluding China & Japan, China, Japan, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Middle-East & Africa. North Americas Resuscitation Trolley market is expanding because of high rate of installations and adoption rate and it will remain dominant over the period of forecast due to good healthcare facilities and expenditure. The incidence of cardiac arrest cases is increasing. In 2015, sudden cardiac arrest mortality was 366807 in the US. Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation can double or even triple the chances of survival. North Americas Resuscitation Trolley market is expected to grow the fastest due to increase in number of CPR cases and improved skillset of the people performing it. Asia-Pacific Resuscitation Trolley market is anticipated to grow at a moderate rate due to poor awareness about resuscitation facilities and low healthcare expenditure.Request to View TOC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-7318 Resuscitation Trolley Market: Key Market ParticipantsSome of the market participants in the Global Resuscitation Trolley market identified across the value chain include: Arjo, CFS Italia S.A.S., Haeberle, Medi Waves Inc., Strongman Medline, Tecno-Gaz, Bristol Maid, Desco Medical India, Armstrong Medical Industries, Apex Healthcare, Aurion, Capsa Healthcare, Egerton and ColMed. PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 22:16:03 CARLSBAD, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2019 / Patriot Scientific Corporation (OTC PINK: PTSC) today announced its intention to petition the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for a rehearing en banc, stemming from litigation originating in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California that alleged infringement of Patriot's '336 patent against multiple defendants.About Patriot Scientific CorporationHeadquartered in Carlsbad, California, Patriot Scientific Corporation is the co-owner of the Moore Microprocessor Patent Portfolio. For more information on PTSC, visit www.ptsc.com About the MMP PortfolioThe MMP Portfolio includes US patents as well as their European and Japanese counterparts, which cover techniques that enable higher performance and lower cost designs essential to consumer and commercial digital systems ranging from PCs, cell phones and portable music players to communications infrastructure, medical equipment and automobiles.Safe Harbor Statement: Statements herein which are not purely historical, including statements regarding Patriot Scientific Corporation's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, representations, projections, plans or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties relating to the future of our MMP joint-venture and the licensing and litigation strategies employed by the joint venture. It is important to note that the company's actual results could differ materially from those in any such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with the effect of changing economic conditions, trends in the products markets, variations in the company's cash flow, market acceptance risks, patent litigation, technical development risks, and seasonality. Our business could be affected by a number of other factors, including the risk factors listed from time to time in the company's SEC reports including, but not limited to, the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the periods ended November 30, 2018, and the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended May 31, 2018. The company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained herein.Contact:Patriot Scientific Corp760-795-8517SOURCE: Patriot Scientific Corporation PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 10:04:48 Press Information Research Report Insights Contact Us: Research Report Insights (RRI) 42 Joseph Street Port carling P0B 1J0 Muskoka, Ontario1 Phone - +1-631-721-4201 Website: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/ Email: sales@researchreportinsights.com BISHU 6317214201 +1631721420 email https://www.researchreportinsights.com # 677 Words Contact Us:Research Report Insights (RRI)42 Joseph StreetPort carling P0B 1J0Muskoka, Ontario1Phone - +1-631-721-4201Website: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/Email: sales@researchreportinsights.com6317214201+1631721420 The vendor landscape of the global market for pacemaker devices is moderately fragmented, thanks to the presence of several established medical companies, observes RRI in a recent report. In the next few years, the market is likely to become more crowded and competitive owing to the rising number of specialist players in the market globally. To remain competitive in such intense dynamics, companies have begun focusing more on innovations and expansion of business across promising emerging markets.Implantable Pacemakers Continue to Remain Most Preferred Product VarietyOf the two key varieties of pacemaker devices in the market, namely external and implantable pacemakers, the segment of implantable pacemakers held a clear authority in the market, holding a more than 65% of the market in 2017. The segment is also likely to hold its ground over the reports forecast period. The steady rise in the number of innovative devices in this sector, improved convenience of advanced implantable pacemakers over external devices in terms of comfort and accuracy will continue to help implantable pacemaker devices remain the most preferred product type over the reports forecast period as well.Request For Report Sample: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/sample/110114851/Pacemaker-Devices-Market Geographically, the market for pacemaker devices in North America presently dominates in terms of revenue contribution to the global market. The regional market, holding a major share in the global markets overall revenue in 2016, is expected to expand at a robust CAGR of 8.7% over the period between 2017 and 2022. The well-established healthcare research sector in the region and the early adoption of innovative technologies in the field of healthcare and medicine could help the region retain its dominance in the global pacemaker devices market over the reports forecast period as well.Global Pacemaker Devices Market: Technological Advancements in Pacemaker Devices Help Market Gain Traction, says RRIIncreased Funds from Public and Private Bodies Help Push Research Activities AheadOne of the key factors likely to help the global pacemaker devices market gather steady pace in the near future is the rising support in the form of conducive regulations, increased funds and investments directed towards R&D activities in the field of advanced medical devices across the globe. Along with private investments, the market for pacemaker devices is also witnessing a significant rise in investment from governments and public bodies. An uptick in research and development activities is favoring the overall growth prospects of the market as well.The market is also benefitting from the increased incorporation of advanced connectivity features in modern-day pacemakers. Increased advent of technologically advanced products is expected to remain one of the key drivers for the market in the next few years as several new and specialized medical device companies are entering the market. Easy availability of advanced technology across high growth potential regions that have vast untapped growth opportunities could also benefit the market massively.Request Report Discount: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/discount/110114851/Pacemaker-Devices-Market The report is titled Pacemaker Devices Market (Product Type - External, Implantable; End User - Hospitals, Cardiology Clinics, ASCs; Application - Arrhythmia, Atrial Fibrillation, Bradycardia, Tachycardia; Technology - Single Chamber, Dual Chamber, Biventricular) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 20172022.For the study, the global pacemaker devices market has been segmented as follows:Global Pacemaker Devices Market: Product TypeExternalImplantableGlobal Pacemaker Devices Market: End UserHospitalsCardiology ClinicsASCsGlobal Pacemaker Devices Market: TechnologySingle ChamberDual ChamberBiventricularGlobal Pacemaker Devices Market: ApplicationArrhythmiaAtrial FibrillationBradycardiaTachycardiaGlobal Pacemaker Devices Market: GeographyNorth AmericaLatin AmericaEuropeJapanAsia Pacific except JapanMiddle East and AfricaKey Players:Some of the leading players operating in the global pacemaker devices market areBoston Scientific Corporation, Biotronik SE & Co. KG,Medtronic Plc.,OSYPKA AG, Lepu Medical Technology,Pacetronix Limited, Oscor Inc.,Zoll Medical Corporation, andAbbott Laboratories.RRI analysts estimate that the global pacemaker devices market will exhibit a promising 8.1% CAGR over the period between 2017 and 2022, rising from a valuation of US$5.5 bn in 2017 to US$8.1 bn by 2022.Report Analysis: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/rd/110114851/Pacemaker-Devices-Market On the basis of geography, the global oxygen delivery units market is segmented into eight key regions, namely North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding China and Japan, China, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. Oxygen Delivery Units Market PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 11:41:30 Press Information Future Market Insights Future Market Insights U.S. Office 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Web: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com Umesh SEO Manager 3479183531 email https://www.futuremarketinsights.com # 831 Words Future Market InsightsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb: https://www.futuremarketinsights.comSEO Manager3479183531 A variety of breathing units are designed to deliver oxygen from the supply to either breathing or non-breathing patients. Breathing units are offered in open or closed circuit with continuous or on-demand flows. Oxygen delivery units are designed to break the oxygen supply during a part of a respiratory cycle. Oxygen delivery units are mostly based on the fact that the oxygen is required only during the initial phase of inspiration, allowing the interruption of oxygen delivery during the rest of the respiratory cycle. Oxygen delivery units also use a regulator to have a low flow and store oxygen during expiration that is then used as a bolus during inspiration. Another approach for controlling oxygen delivery in oxygen delivery units is the use of a transtracheal catheter.Controlled oxygen delivery units are intended to reduce the oxygen consumption, increases the mobility of the patient because of the lower weight of the units. Oxygen delivery units primarily provide oxygen to the user and improve the patients live. Presently, there are three types of oxygen delivery units available in the market, they are oxygen condensers, oxygen tanks, and oxygen synthesizers. Oxygen Condensers are comprised of a large number of parts. The outer body of oxygen condenser is comprised of a few injection molded plastic parts that interlock to contain the internal components.Request Sample Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-7338 Oxygen Delivery Units Market: Drivers and RestraintsIncreasing prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is primarily driving the growth of the global oxygen delivery units market over the forecast period. According to the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, approximately 18 million persons in the U.S. are suffering from OSA, out of which 85% remain undiagnosed and untreated in 2012. Furthermore, technological advancements worldwide is further fueling the growth of the global oxygen delivery units market. A trend of providing advanced services with a developed medical infrastructure is driving the demand for oxygen delivery units and increasing the growth of oxygen delivery units market. Mergers and collaborations among key players are also contributing to driving the growth of oxygen delivery units market over the forecast period. Whereas, stringent regulations and device cost are expected to hamper the growth of the global oxygen delivery units market. Due to the precise nature of oxygen condensers, the internal assemblies are hand/machine installed. Human workers increase the cost of the device and limit the production capacity. These factors are responsible for restraining the growth of the global oxygen delivery units market.Oxygen Delivery Units Market: SegmentationThe global oxygen delivery units market is segmented by oxygen delivery unit type, end users and region:Based on oxygen delivery unit type, the global oxygen delivery units market is segmented into:Oxygen CondensersOxygen TanksLiquid oxygen tanksCompressed air oxygen tanksOxygen SynthesizersBased on End Users, the global oxygen delivery units market is segmented into:HospitalsAmbulatory Surgical CentersOthersOxygen Delivery Units Market: OverviewIt is observed that the healthcare industry is witnessing technological advancements in the medical devices. The advancements offer robust facilities and services to the patients. Oxygen delivery units market is expected to register a significant CAGR over the forecast period. Based on the oxygen delivery unit type, the global oxygen delivery units market is segmented into oxygen condensers, oxygen tanks, and oxygen synthesizers. Oxygen condensers function by filtering the surrounding air and condensing it. Oxygen condensers filter the oxygen out and store it to be used later. Oxygen tanks are the most popular amongst all the types. Oxygen tanks are portable and reliable. Based on the end user, the global oxygen delivery units market is segmented into hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, and others. Hospitals segment is anticipated to register the highest market share during the forecast period.Oxygen Delivery Units Market: Regional OutlookOn the basis of geography, the global oxygen delivery units market is segmented into eight key regions, namely North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding China and Japan, China, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. North America is anticipated to create lucrative growth opportunities for oxygen delivery units market due to increasing prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea. Western Europe market is expected to hold second highest market share in the global oxygen delivery units market. The Asia Pacific oxygen delivery units market is projected to grow with the maximum CAGR over the forecast period. Increasing government initiatives, growing healthcare expenditure, and rising disposable income are few of the factors responsible for the oxygen delivery unit market growth in the Asia-Pacific region. However, the oxygen delivery units market in low middle-income regions like Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa is expected to show a sluggish growth over the forecast period.Request to View TOC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-7338 Oxygen Delivery Units Market: Key PlayersExamples of some of the key players in the global oxygen delivery units market are Inogen, Besco Medical Co., LTD., Drive DeVilbiss International, Invacare Corporation and others. with the growing prevalence of knee and leg injuries has led to an upsurge in demand for the knee braces & supports. On the basis of product type, the knee braces & supports is expected to generate significant revenues, accounting for a value of over US$ 500 Mn by the end of 2022. Fact.MR PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 12:41:30 Press Information Fact.MR Fact.MR Suite 9884 27 Upper Pembroke Street, Dublin 2, Ireland Abhishek Budholiya Marketing Manager +353-1-6111-593 email http://www.factmr.com/ # 635 Words Fact.MRSuite 988427 Upper Pembroke Street,Dublin 2, IrelandMarketing Manager+353-1-6111-593 There has been tremendous surge in the foot and knee injury which has led to the increasing popularity of orthopedic braces. Specifically designed to address musculoskeletal issues, the medical devices are profoundly used by patients to wear on the course of recovery and rehabilitation. In addition, patients suffering from fractures and broken bones are also prescribed orthopedic braces to assist in musculoskeletal rehabilitation. Not only orthopedic braces are popular with respect to preventing injuries and rehabilitation, but also osteoarthritic care and post-operative care, namely.Growing demand for comfort and convenience has led to the integration of innovative features in range of orthotic shoe devices, offering cushion to keep the foot in neutral position and keep it safe from exertion. Additionally, soaring demand to support frail limbs has propped up the sale of orthopedic braces and support products. Besides, orthopedic braces application empowers injured body part, immobilizing extremities in the course of foot injury.Get Sample Copy of This Report @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=327 Leading market players in orthopedic industry continue to thrive and relentlessly focus on designing orthopedic braces and support system in line with the smart technology. This has led to the introduction of smart ankle foot orthosis (AFO), step smart braces and smart spine braces. Manufacturers have widely embraced anatomical modelling software applications and hypoallergenic materials with the view to design product with enhanced efficiency and accuracy.Orthopedic Braces and Support System: OverviewThe report moots a comprehensive analysis on the market for orthopedic braces and support system for the assessment period 2018-2026. The report also delves into the dynamics surrounding the orthopedic braces and support system which significantly influence the growth of the market.Furthermore, the report elucidates the segregation of the market which is anticipated to provide readers with an actionable insights which will aid them in taking proper decision based on segments historical and future growth estimates.The report focuses on cost structure and supply chain to provide a holistic view of the orthopedic braces and support system market. The report provides a coherent assessment through average pricing analysis. The report also includes regional and country-wise assessment.BROWSE Full Report NOW @ https://www.factmr.com/report/327/orthopedic-braces-support-system-market A qualitative and quantitative information has been obtained for the forecast and assessment on the orthopedic braces and support system market. The research sources include primary and secondary sources which have been further examined by in-house panel of experts. The growth of end use industries in the historical and forecast period have been estimated to aid the readers with their business investment decisions. The market size of the orthopedic braces and support system is the result of revenue comparison, market share comparison and Y-o-Y growth comparison on the geography.Orthopedic braces and support system Market: Competitive LandscapeMajor market players being instrumental for the growth of the orthopedic braces and support system market are profiled and assessed on the basis of company overview, financial overview, product offering, recent development, key differentiators and strategies. The report also includes SWOT analysis to provide a holistic picture of the competitive scenario of the orthopedic braces and support system market. A deep dive analysis of the major market players becomes indispensable as it will succor readers to make proper decision to enlarge their business and can comprehend strategic moves made by prominent players in the orthopedic braces and support system market.Enquire about this Report @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=AE&rep_id=327 About Fact.MR Fact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports. Organic Milk Market Organic Milk Market PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 11:42:14 The organic milk market encompasses all milk and milk products derived from animals that are fed organic feed that is devoid of any animal by-products, have access to fresh pastures, and are not treated with any synthetic hormones or antibiotics. The term organic only refers to the process in which the milk is prepared and has no relation to the end-product nutrient profile. The market for organic milk is expected to grow at a rapid pace with the mainstreaming of natural and organic foods.Market Dynamics of Organic Milk MarketSimilar to all organic foods, the demand for organic milk is closely tied to the increasing consumer preference for naturally and organically grown products. This positive view of organics is due to several factors such as the perception of anything organic as healthy and pure, increasing care for environment and concern for farm animals. All these factors are crucial for the acceptance of organic milk products, thereby leading to the popularity of labels such as grass-fed and pasture-raised.Price is an important constraining factor for organic milk market as organic milk is almost thrice as costly as regular milk. This high difference limits the scope of the market only to urban and high-aware consumers.The consumer shift towards organic dairy products is also influenced by the large scale food adulteration scandals that have occurred recently. For instance, the 2008 Chinese milk scandal wherein a large number of children were hospitalized due to an excessive amount of melamine in the milk and infant formulas, has led to a great number of regulations, import restrictions and price fluctuations in the market. Events such as these have increased consumer interest in what the animal is fed, how it is raised and processing methods.The regulatory aspects of the organic milk market are mostly centered on the use of the organic label. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires that apart from the use of organic feed, cows should have access to fresh grass and spend at least four months a year grazing in pastures. The crucial aspect of organic milk market is a lack of use of synthetic hormones such as rBGH, a growth hormone given to almost 30% of the dairy cows in the US. These ingredients are considered very negatively by most consumers.Market Segmentation of Organic Milk Market The organic milk market is segmented on the basis of application, packaging type, distribution channel, and geography. On the basis of application, the organic milk market is segmented as milk, dairy products and milk-based beverages and others. The majority of organic milk is consumed directly in the form of boiled milk, coffee, tea, and in cooking certain dishes at home. The use of organic milk is particularly increasing in households with kids due to extra concerns about food safety and health. The dairy products segment is further segmented into butter, cheese, desserts, and others. The dairy products segment is expected to gain market share with the growing consumer interest in healthy indulgent foods. Further these products are used in some bakery and confectionery good like milk toffies, bars and cakes and cookies.Request for Table of Contents @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2416 On the basis of packaging type, the market can be segmented into pouches, cartons, bottles, and cans. The use of any specific packaging type depends on the end-purpose and use. For instance, pouches offer a relatively cheap way and easy way to pack milk and are therefore very popular in emerging nations such as India. Cartons are an important packaging type in terms of the longer shelf life and convenience. Bottles can be of both glass and plastic and are heavily used for packing milk and beverages. Cans are mainly used to transport heavy loads of organic milk and in the case of many dairy products.On the basis of distribution channels, the market is segmented into hypermarkets/supermarkets, convenience and grocery stores, specialty stores, the internet and direct selling. The use of internet limited in the case of organic milk market as the products are easily perishable. Hypermarkets and supermarkets occupy the dominant market share mainly because a significant number of organic products are concentrated in large stores. Direct selling in the form of home deliveries is also an important and growing distribution channel because such delivery systems usually source the organic milk from local sources thereby ensuring freshness and quality.Regional Outlook of Organic Milk Market The United States occupies the dominant market share in the organic milk market. The increasing consumer awareness about natural consumer goods and increase in the incidence of lifestyle conditions such as obesity. Europe is another very important region in the organic milk market due to the high-income levels, easy product accessibility and strict regulations against synthetic food ingredients. U.K is a major consumer of organic milk and also houses many producers and suppliers. Despite occupying small market share at the current time period, the organic milk market is expected to grow at a significant level in emerging nations such as India and Brazil. This is due to the increasing awareness levels and fears of food adulteration among consumers.Key Market Players in Organic Milk MarketSome of the key players in the organic milk market include Danone (WhiteWave Foods Company), Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited, Organic Valley, OMSCo (Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative), Dairy Farmers of America Inc., Agropur Dairy Cooperative, Arla Foods Amba, Donegal Investment Group plc. , etc. among the others.Request for sample report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2416 PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 06:45:42 Press Information Future Market Insights Contact Us Future Market Insights 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Website: www.futuremarketinsights.com Vaibhav SEO 3479183531 email https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ # 626 Words Contact UsFuture Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: www.futuremarketinsights.comSEO3479183531 Mining shovels are mostly electric powered, and are primarily utilized for digging and loading earth, and for the extraction of minerals. Mining shovels are utilized in the surface mining of gold, copper, coal, and other commodities across the globe. Mining shovels are available in a wide range of payload capacities all over the world. They are designed and built to help mining sites move more quantities of material at lower cost per ton. Mining shovels are very difficult to operate owing to their mechanical complexity.Due to the rapid industrialization of emerging economies, particularly China and India, there has been significant growth in the demand for mined resources such as coal, iron ore, etc. Thus, it is anticipated that the demand for mining shovels will increase in the near future.A sample of this report is available upon request @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-8864 Mining Shovel Market: SegmentationThe global mining shovel market can be segmented on the basis of payload capacity and mineral type.Based on payload capacity (metric ton), the global mining shovel market can be segmented into:20-2530-3540-50More than 50Based on mineral type, the global mining shovel market can be segmented into:CoalIron OreNon-Ferrous MetalsIndustrial MineralsPrecious MetalsMining Shovel Market: DynamicsGlobally, the mining industry is cyclic in nature and depends upon the performance of numerous end-use sectors. However, the mining industry in Latin America and North America, primarily in countries such as Peru and Chile, is anticipated to return to its steady phase in the near future, creating opportunities for mining shovel manufacturers across the world, and, in turn, assisting the growth of the global mining shovel market.Owing to the very high prices of mining equipment such as mining shovels, various end users are opting for rental solutions. This, in turn, is anticipated to hinder the sales of new mining shovels across the globe, and, in turn, acts as a restraint for the mining shovel market.Prominent manufacturers in the global mining shovel market are found to be involved in merger and acquisition activities in order to enhance their presence in the mining business across the globe. For instance, recently, Komatsu America Corp. completed the acquisition of Joy Global Inc.Some manufacturers are focussed on the introduction of electric drive mining shovels that feature an advanced zero-emission electric drive motor, in order to provide higher productivity and low cost of ownership through reliability, efficiency, and durability.Mining Shovel Market: Regional OutlookGlobally, the mining shovel market is projected to be led by the Asia Pacific region, owing to its prominent share in the mining industry across the globe. Asia Pacific, led by China, is anticipated to account for the sales of a large number of mining shovels. Asia Pacific accounts for more than 3/5 of the global minerals production across the globe. Asia Pacific is expected to be followed by Latin America in the global mining shovel market, owing to the increasing copper mining across Brazil, Chile, Peru, etc. Latin America is anticipated to be followed by North America in the global mining shovel market over the forecast period. The North America mining shovel market is projected to be followed by Europe over the forecast years. The Middle East & Africa is expected to account for a small share in the global mining shovel market, owing to the comparatively low rate of mining activities in the region.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-8864 Mining Shovel Market: Market ParticipantsSome of the important companies involved in the mining shovel market include Deere & Company and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., Caterpillar, L&H Industrial, Komatsu Ltd., IZ-KARTEX, and Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group Co., Ltd., besides others. PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 10:50:33 Global Methyl Oleate Market IntroductionMethyl oleate is a fatty ester derivative, methyl ester derived from canola, soybean canola and other vegetable oils. Methyl oleate is used for a wide range of applications including, bio-fuel, agrochemicals, lubricants, cleaners, metal working fluids, oiling agent for textile, solvents and personal care and cosmetics products. Methyl oleate is formed by the condensation of carboxy group of oleic acid with methanol. Methyl oleate is also predominantly used as a chemical for the production of ester based detergent surfactants such as sulphonated methyl esters (SME), methyl ester ethoxylates (MEE), alkanolamides amongst others. Methyl oleate is known by alternate names such as Methyl Cis-9-octadecenoic acid, Oleic Acid Methyl Ester, Methyl Cis-9-Octadecenoate, Methyl Ester of Oleic Acid. Owing to numerous benefits such as good solvency properties, methyl oleate can be used as replacement for various hydrocarbon solvents. Methyl oleate is used as a substitute product for methyl benzene, dimethyl benzene, and solvent oil predominantly in the pesticide application. Methyl Oleate is widely being preferred owing to its low toxicity and environmental friendly properties. There has also been rise in demand for methyl oleate in the metal working industry both as lubricants and as cleaning agents and degreasers.Global Methyl Oleate Market DynamicsGlobal Methyl Oleate Market DriversAs methyl oleate is obtained from natural sources, these products are relatively more preferred over the synthetically derived alternatives. One of the prominent factors driving the demand for methyl oleate market is its increasing use as eco-friendly alternative used in pesticide formulations. Methyl oleate is used as a substitute for methylbenzene in the pesticide industry. It is also being used as an oil carrier and co-solvent in the agriculture industry. The growth of methyl oleate market is also being governed by the increasing demand from the paints coatings and inks application. Methyl oleate is used as a defoamer and solvents for inks and coatings and as tar remover.As methyl oleate is derived from bio based sources therefore it has low toxicity and poses low health and risk for end users. As methyl oleate is readily bio degradable, this becomes a major factor for the growth of the market demand.Global Methyl Oleate Market RestraintsThe use of other oleate esters such as ethyl oleate is expected to restrain the market demand for methyl oleate over the forecast period. The easier availability of the chemical alternatives in pesticides, metal working industry and other application has resulted in the prevalent use of the conventionally used chemicals. The cost for methyl oleate is also a major challenge for the global methyl oleate manufacturersGlobal Methyl Oleate Market TrendsMethyl oleate is used as a breeding bacterium liquid. Methyl oleate is used to produce antibiotic bacterium and is used as nutrient solution. Methyl oleate is also being used as non-fluorescing slurry lubricant to improve the absorbability and wettability of the slurry to reduce adhesion and achieve desired characteristics. Methyl oleate is also being used to make cosmetics, detergents and specialty lubricants and textile assistants.Methyl oleate is derived from bio based sources, manufacturers are also focusing on the development of methyl oleate through alternative production methods to improve yield, efficiency and output.Request For Report Sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-8843 Global Methyl Oleate Market SegmentationThe global Methyl Oleate market can be segmented on the basis of purity, end use industry and region.On the basis of source, the global methyl oleate market can be segmented as:Palm oilCanola oilSoyabean oilOthersOn the basis of grade, the global methyl oleate market can be segmented as:Methyl Oleate 99% purity gradeMethyl Oleate 70% purity gradeOn the basis of application, the global methyl oleate market can be segmented as:Printing inksAgrochemicalsMetal working fluidsCleaning chemicalLubricantAbsorbentPlasticizerCosmeticsOthersGlobal Methyl Oleate Market: Regional OutlookIn terms of regional perspective, the global methyl oleate market is projected to be dominated by Asia Pacific region with China being a major player in the market owing to the significant rise in demand from various applications such as metal working fluids, agrochemicals amongst others. North America and Europe are also projected to witness rise in demand for methyl oleate over the forecast period. This is attributed to the growing stringent regulations for the use of environmental friendly chemicals. Latin America has also witnessed noteworthy rise in demand for methyl oleate attributing to the rising agricultural production in the region. Japan and Middle East and Africa are projected to witness moderate rise in demand over the forecast period.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC): https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-8843 Global Methyl Oleate Market ParticipantsSome of the market participants identified across the value chain of global Methyl Oleate market are:KLK OLEOTokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.Acme Synthetic ChemicalsHebei Jingu Plasticizer Co., Ltd.Wilmar International Ltd.Lion CorporationHebei Jingu Grease Technology Co .Ltd The major key pillars of the global Inspection Machines market are also described to understand the possible reasons behind the progress of the market. Inspection Machines Market PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 23:37:14 Press Information About QYReports: We at, , 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. Contact: QYReports Jones John (Sales Manager) +91-9764607607 sales@qyreports.com Jones John Sales Manager +91-9764607607 email https://www.qyreports.com # 393 Words Contact:QYReportsJones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.comSales Manager+91-9764607607 A comprehensive analysis of global United States, EU, Japan, China, and Southeast Asia Inspection Machines has newly added by QY Reports to its extensive repository. The statistical report offers a prime wellspring of applicable information for global business progress.A comprehensive study of the global Inspection Machines market has recently added by QY Reports to its extensive database. Augmented demand for the global Inspection Machines market has been increased in the last few years. This informative research report has been scrutinized by using primary and secondary research. The global Inspection Machines market is a valuable source of reliable data including data of the current market.Request Sample Copy of This Report@The significant regions that are concentrated on global regions are North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East based on business attributes such as company overview, specifications, and productivity of the companies. Additionally, researchers throw light on the competitive landscape of the global Inspection Machines market. For this, the report encapsulates the data from various key players operating in the global regions. This research repository help to existing competitors as well as startups to make a well-informed business decision.Ask For Discount@ https://www.qyreports.com/ask-for-discount?report-id=63862 The major key pillars of the global Inspection Machines market are also described to understand the possible reasons behind the progress of the market. During the examination of the market, researchers studies about factors of the global market that are boosting the performance of the market. Different enterprises are profiled to get a better insight into various effective strategies carried out by them.Enquiry before buying@ https://qyreports.com/enquiry-before-buying?report-id=63862 The major players in global and United States Inspection Machines market, including Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany), Cognex Corporation (U.S.), Omron Corporation (Japan), Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (U.S.), Teledyne Technologies Inc. (U.S.), Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation (Japan) Sartorius AG (Germany), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (U.S.), Brevetti C.E.A. SPA (Italy), Vitronic GmBH (Germany), IRIS Inspection Machines (France), Stevanato Group S.p.a. (Italy).The On the basis of product, the Inspection Machines market is primarily split intoVision Inspection SystemsLeak Detection SystemsX-ray Inspection SystemsMetal DetectorsCheckweighersOtherOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report coversPharmaceutical & Biotechnology CompaniesMedical Device ManufacturersNutraceutical CompaniesCosmetics CompaniesOthers PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 10:52:35 Industrial trucks are used to move materials from one place to another in an industry. Other than being able to move materials anywhere in the industry, industrial trucks also facilitate vertical movement for lifting capabilities, if required. Non-lift modern trucks are utilized broadly for carrying and moving loads. Other power industrial trucks, on the other hand, are provided with mechanisms, which are mostly hydraulic in nature, for lifting loads. Forklift trucks are furnished with a fork-like system towards the front end, which allows trucks to pick up loads through pallets to elevate the load to the desired height and transport it to the desired location with maximum flexibility in the industrial complex. Most industrial trucks permit deposition of loads with mechanized pickup, removing manual work in lifting as well as transporting. The Industrial trucks are rated for loads at a specified maximum weight and a specified forward centre of gravity.Industrial Truck Market:Market DynamicsThe main factor behind the growth of the industrial truck market is the growing use of high capacity equipment in industries, rising awareness among people regarding the need to use better technology equipment for better results. Other factors promoting the growth of the industrial truck market are increasing need for for high yield and production, scarcity of labour and increasing focus on accuracy for enhancing yield and productivity. That apart, industrial trucks have become an integral component of the manufacturing industry, mining industry, railway and shipping industry and hence, the growth of these industries will also contribute towards the growth of the global industrial truck market.Request For Report Sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-4690 However, the high price of industrial trucks and a general lack of awareness amongst people can act as a restraint to the growth of the global industrial truck market. However, the current trend to use better technology and equipment to get better results will increase the demand for industrial trucks during the forecast period.Industrial Truck Market:Market SegmentationOn the basis of power used, the Industrial Truck Market can be segmentedas follows:Fuel operatedDieselGasolineLiquefied Petroleum Gas or LPGElectric operatedOn the basis of end-use industry, the Industrial Truck Market can be segmentedas follows:Construction industryManufacturing industryAviation industryTransportation and shipping industryOthersOn the basis of the movement, the Industrial Truck Market can be segmentedas follows:Pallet truckTractorLifting truckForklift truckOthersIndustrial Truck Market: Regional OutlookEurope holds a major share in the global industrial truck market. It is followed by Asia-Pacific, North America and Latin America. Europe and North America are projected to be major consumers owing to the extensive applications of industrial trucks in the manufacturing and construction industry. With increasing country integration or globalisation, which is evident from the increase in international trade and inbound-outbound FDI, positive growth in one economy leads to positive growth in correlated economies. Increase in industrial production in countries, such as China, India and Germany and strong growth purchase manager index numbers from Australia, China and UK will influence the growth of end-user industries in Asia Pacific, which in turn, will influence the demand for industrial trucks in the region during the forecast period. Rest of the world is estimated to account for a relatively small share of the industrial truck market.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC): https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-4690 Industrial Truck Market: Market ParticipantsSome of the examples of the market participants operating across the value chain of the global Industrial Truck Market are:CaterpillarCrown Equipment CorporationHyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc.Jungheinrich AGKION GROUP AGTOYOTA INDUSTRIES CORPORATIONUniCarriers Americas Corporation PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 10:59:28 Press Information Persistence Market Research CONTACT: Persistence Market Research 305 Broadway 7th Floor, New York City, NY 10007, United States, USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353 Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Web: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com yogesh Seggar Team Lead 8009610353 email http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com # 689 Words CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.comTeam Lead8009610353 Sales of de-aromatic solvents in India were valued at nearly INR 3,000 Mn in 2016 and are projected to reach nearly INR 5,100 Mn by the end of 2024, registering a CAGR of 7.1% over the forecast period. The de-aromatic solvents market in India is anticipated to create incremental opportunity of INR 2,147.5 Mn over the forecast period.Increasing use of de-aromatic solvents in household insecticides and mosquito repellents is fuelling the growth of the India de-aromatic solvents marketCommon and extensively used consumer products such as household insecticides, mosquito repellents and aerosols have been significant consumers of de-aromatic solvents in India in recent years. A variety of insecticides and mosquito repellents such as coils, sprays and electric mosquito repellent machines are available in the Indian market. Traditionally, coils dominated the Indian household insecticides market. However, over the past few years, there has been a significant growth in the use of insecticide aerosols or sprays. This can be attributed to various factors such as rising disposable income, higher availability of such products, easy usage and health and environmental benefits associated with such products, as aerosols do not produce smoke. Due to such factors, the market for insecticides and mosquito repellent sprays or aerosols has witnessed robust growth over the past few years. Moreover, there has been an increase in the demand for de-aromatic solvents from the manufacturers of household insecticides and mosquito repellents as they are odorless, contain relatively less volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and also have lower toxicity as compared to conventional solvents. The use of de-aromatic solvents in such products is expected to continue to witness a steady growth during the forecast period, thereby giving a boost to the India de-aromatic solvents market.Request For Report Sample@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/15913 Growing use of bio-based offerings and feedstock price volatility act as restraints to the India de-aromatic solvents market growthConventionally, crude oil based solvents form a key component of paints, coatings and inks. These solvent based paints, coatings and inks, among others, tend to release relatively higher amount of VOCs as compared to some of the other bio-based alternatives. In the recent past, market players have strived to develop eco-friendly or green product offerings that use bio-based raw materials for their synthesis and thus eventually do away with the use of conventional solvents in certain applications. Due to the increasing demand for greener alternatives, the bio-based solvents market is slated to register a steady CAGR of around 6%-8% over the forecast period. In addition, the feedstock for de-aromatized hydrocarbon solvents is naphtha, which is derived from crude oil. Hence, prices of these petroleum based de-aromatized hydrocarbon solvents tend to be volatile as they are influenced by volatility in the prices of crude oil. These factors adversely affect the profitability of manufacturers and in turn may inhibit the growth of the India de-aromatic solvents market.India De-aromatic Solvents Market Attractiveness, by ApplicationBy application, the paints, coatings and inks segment accounted for a relatively large value share of 43.2% in the India de-aromatic solvents market in 2016, followed by the metal working segment (21.3%). The paints, coatings and inks segment is expected to retain its dominance over the forecast period. The metal working and consumer products segments are expected to register significant CAGRs during the forecast period while the metal working segment is expected to witness relatively faster growth during the assessment period.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC)@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/15913 India de-aromatic solvents market is primarily an import driven marketThe de-aromatic solvents market in India is an import driven market. Around 70.8% of the total de-aromatic solvents consumed in the country are imported primarily from global players such as Exxon Mobil and Total S.A. Some of the other companies such as South Korea based ISU Exachem supply a noteworthy amount of de-aromatic solvents to India. Few of the local manufacturers such as Mehta Petro Refineries Ltd, Raj Petro Specialities Pvt. Ltd., Avani Petrochem Pvt. Ltd., and Eastern Petroleum Private Ltd. accounted for a share of approximately 30% in the overall sales volume of de-aromatic solvents in the country. Around 16,500 metric tons of de-aromatic solvents were supplied by local manufacturers in 2016. PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 07:04:40 Press Information Future Market Insights Contact Us Future Market Insights 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Website: www.futuremarketinsights.com Vaibhav SEO 3479183531 email https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ # 644 Words Contact UsFuture Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: www.futuremarketinsights.comSEO3479183531 Food Cans Market: OverviewFood cans are leakage, tamper-proof and maintain the nutritional value of the product. Food cans are highly preferred by the consumers especially for dry and granular food products. Food cans are impeccable choice for the customers due to its high barrier properties. Food cans witness high demand every year, with millions of food cans manufactured worldwide. Food cans are available in variety of closure that provides consumer convenience for product handling. These property of food cans increase their preference among the consumers as well as manufacturers. Food cans are the most effective packaging solutions that provide all the features needed during transportation and storage. Hot and cooked food is filled in the food cans, under the wide range of conditions. This ensures that food can be preserved for longer duration of time without the need of the preservatives. Food cans are best suited for preserving the food because it prevents the growth of microorganisms that cause food illnesses. Food cans manufacturers are focusing on the lightweight food cans due to inconvenience caused by consumers.A sample of this report is available upon request @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-8870 Food Cans Market: DynamicsThe global food cans industry has witnessed significant growth over the last few decades with the products soaring to new heights each year. Preference of food cans is expected to grow over the forecast period, owing to recyclability. Food cans serves the storage purposes for dry food products which include frozen food, beans, fruits and vegetables, pet food and others. Increase in the preference of canned food and increase in the disposable income is the primary factor driving the sales of the global food cans market. Being 100 % recyclable food cans are expected to be the ideal packaging choices for the manufacturers in the world which emphasizes sustainable packaging solutions. Increase in awareness among the consumers related to intake of healthy fruits and vegetables is contributing towards the growth of the global food cans market. Despite the positive factors, there are certain factors which hinder the growth of the global food cans market. Pouches and plastic containers are the alternative solution which provides additional functionality, features and value which is expected to hinder the growth of the global food cans market. Fish & seafood segment is expected to be most attractive segment, during the forecast period. Overall, the global outlook of food cans is expected to remain positive, during the forecast period.Food Cans Market: SegmentationThe global food cans market has been segmented as follows -On the basis of material, the global food cans market has been segmented as:AluminumSteelPlasticOthersOn the basis of application the global food cans market has been segmented as:Pet foodConvenience FoodFish & SeafoodFruits & VegetablesOthersFood Cans Market: Regional OverviewThe North America food cans consumption is expected to remain on the top in terms of value and volume during the forecast period. The United States (U.S.A) will remain the largest market of food cans while Canada is expected to register notable growth of food cans market during the forecast period. The Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is expected to closely follow the North America food cans market during the forecast period. Western Europe is expected to closely follow the APEJ region in terms of food cans market size during the forecast period. The Middle East & Africa (MEA) food cans market is expected to register sluggish growth during the forecast period.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-8870 Food Cans Market: Key PlayersFew of the leading players operating in the global food cans market are Ardagh GroupWells Can CompanyKian Joo GroupCPMC HoldingsKingcan Holdings LimitedCAN-PACK S.ATetra Laval International S.A.Aaron Packaging, Inc.Crown HoldingsBall Corporation Distal embolic filters are usually used during the surgical procedures like carotid artery disease treatment, percutaneous coronary intervention, and others. Distal embolic filters allow smaller debris particles to pass through. Distal Embolic Filters Market PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 11:37:45 Press Information Future Market Insights Future Market Insights U.S. Office 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Web: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com Umesh SEO Manager 3479183531 email https://www.futuremarketinsights.com # 798 Words Future Market InsightsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb: https://www.futuremarketinsights.comSEO Manager3479183531 Distal embolic filters are a type of embolic protection device (EPD) which is generally used for the embolic protection. Embolic stroke is one of the principal risks in the carotid artery stenting (CAS). The distal embolic filters are composed of a tightly wrapped filter which is attached to a guidewire and sheathed within a delivery catheter for the placement of distal to the target lesion. Distal embolic filters are able to trap the debris that embolize. Distal embolic filters are intended to protect the carotid artery stenting patient. Distal embolic filters reduce the plaque debris from reaching the distal bed and significantly prevents the adverse clinical events. Across the globe, distal embolic filters are widely adopted, however, failed in gaining the universal acceptance.Distal embolic filters are usually used during the surgical procedures like carotid artery disease treatment, percutaneous coronary intervention, and others. Distal embolic filters allow smaller debris particles to pass through. As according to Hori et al, embolic particles less than 100 micrometers can be tolerated more before interfering with microcirculatory function than larger particles, as smaller particles are less likely to cause end-organ damage. Some of the advantages of distal embolic filters are: preserve antegrade flow, contract imaging is possible throughout the procedure and simple to use. Whereas, disadvantages include the larger diameter sheath which is usually required to maintain most filters in their collapsed state during the advancements in the lesion, lack of ability to tailor guidewire characteristics to specific lesions, reduced maneuverability of integrated filter guidewire systems when compared with stand-alone guidewires and others.Request Sample Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-7325 Distal Embolic Filters Market: Drivers and RestraintsIncreasing prevalence of peripheral and cardiovascular diseases is driving the growth of the global distal embolic filters market over the forecast period. Introduction of technologically advanced distal embolic filters and rising research activities in distal embolic filters is also increasing the demand and propelling the growth of the overall distal embolic filters market. Growing trend of providing advanced services with developed medical infrastructure is further driving the demand for distal embolic filters. Strategic collaborations among key players are also contributing in driving the growth of distal embolic filters market over the forecast period. Whereas, product recall and stringent regulations are expected to hamper the growth of the global distal embolic filters market.Distal Embolic Filters Market: SegmentationThe global distal embolic filters market is segmented by distal embolic filters type, end users and region:Based on Distal Embolic Filters Type, the global distal embolic filters market is segmented into:GuardwireFilterwireSpiderBased on Application, the global distal embolic filters market is segmented into:Cardiovascular DiseasesPeripheral DiseasesNeurovascular DiseasesBased on End Users, the global distal embolic filters market is segmented into:HospitalsAmbulatory Surgical CentersOthersDistal Embolic Filters Market: OverviewDistal embolic filters market is expected to register a significant CAGR over the forecast period. Distal embolic filters are suggested to those patients who are undergoing high-risk intervention. FilterWire EX from Boston Scientific Corporation was the first FDA approved distal embolic filter. Based on the type, distal embolic filters market is segmented into Guardwire, filterwire and spider distal embolic filters. Guardwire distal embolic filters are anticipated to gain maximum market share in the global distal embolic filters market. Based on the end user, the global distal embolic filters market is segmented into hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, and others. Hospitals segment is expected to gain the highest market share during the forecast period due to factors like favorable reimbursement policies and rising healthcare infrastructure.Distal Embolic Filters Market: Regional OutlookOn the basis of geography, the global distal embolic filters market is segmented into eight key regions, namely North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding China and Japan, China, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. North America and Western Europe market together are anticipated to hold maximum market share in the global distal embolic filters market due to the presence of well-trained healthcare professionals and presence of key manufacturers. Asia Pacific distal embolic filters market is projected to grow at a rapid pace with the maximum CAGR over the forecast period. Rising healthcare facilities in the region are generating the demand for distal embolic filters. However, the distal embolic filters market in low middle income countries like Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa is expected to show a slow growth over the forecast period.Request to View TOC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-7325 Distal Embolic Filters Market: Key PlayersExamples of some of the key players in the global distal embolic filters market are Medtronic plc, Boston Scientific Corporation, Abbott Laboratories, and others. Major key players in distal embolic filters market are primarily focused in geographical expansion with the development and launch of innovative products. PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 11:02:15 Press Information Persistence Market Research CONTACT: Persistence Market Research 305 Broadway 7th Floor, New York City, NY 10007, United States, USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353 Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Web: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com yogesh Seggar Team Lead 8009610353 email http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com # 622 Words CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.comTeam Lead8009610353 The synthetic filter media was pegged at just over 1.1 billion units in the year 2016 and this is anticipated to reach nearly 1.7 billion units at the end of the forecast period, registering a CAGR of 4.6%. Even though it is anticipated to retain its dominance in the global automotive filters market, the synthetic filter media segment will stand to lose 140 BPS by 2025. Synthetic filter media finds increased application on account of its lower replacement rate and high dust holding capacity. Synthetic filter media is projected to create a total incremental opportunity of about US$ 3.6 Bn and should account for almost 60% of the global automotive filters market incremental opportunity during the forecast period.In volume terms, IAM sales channel to be 1.8X that of OES by the end of 2025The IAM sales channel segment already comprised more than 55% revenue share of the global automotive filters market in the year 2012. This is estimated to rise to about 58% by the end of the eight year study with a gain of 170 BPS. From a market value of slightly under US$ 6.5 Bn in 2017, IAM is projected to be worth more than US$ 10.1 Bn by the end of 2025, recording the highest CAGR of 5.8%. A total incremental dollar opportunity of approximately US$ 3.7 Bn can be safely expected in the IAM sales channel between 2017 and 2025. Key stakeholders in the global automotive filters market are advised to tap this highly lucrative sales channel. The rising preference for IAM sales channel can be explained because of its lower price when compared to other sales channels along with its widespread network.Request For Report Sample@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/16177 IAM segment expected to dominate the Asia Pacific automotive filters market during the forecast periodThe IAM sales channel segment held over 50% value share of the Asia Pacific automotive filters market in 2012. This segment is anticipated to witness a massive rise of 450 BPS by 2025 end and account for about 58% market share towards the end of the forecast period. The IAM sales channel segment is projected to register the highest value CAGR of 10.3% in the Asia Pacific automotive filters market. Being the most attractive segment in the Asia Pacific regional market, the IAM sales channel segment is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period.Booming economic growth and global biggies make Asia Pacific too big to ignoreRising purchasing power, improved infrastructure, and discerning customer tastes and preferences are driving the APAC automobile market and this directly stimulates the APAC automotive filters market. Global OEMs are setting up manufacturing units in this key strategic region because of its huge population and need for personal mobility. In addition, regional governmental authorities have done away with scrap incentive schemes that all but force customers to purchase new automobiles. Major component manufacturers are also shifting their production units from developed to developing countries to take advantage of cheaper labor and economies of scale, therefore reducing the cost of production and increasing their profit margins. China, Thailand, and India are the production hubs for a number of multinational automobile companies such as Honda, Toyota, General Motors, and Nissan.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC)@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/16177 Rampant piracy a massive challenge in the APAC automotive filters marketThe Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has called counterfeiting the crime of the 21st century. The region most affected with counterfeit products is Asia Pacific and this is mainly due to the price sensitivity of most customers. Counterfeit parts can be nearly 40% cheaper than their original brethren and this will negatively impact the growth of the APAC automotive filters market. As per the ACMA President, a lack of mandatory safety regulations for the checking of automotive components is aiding the growth of the thriving gray market. PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 06:51:33 Press Information Future Market Insights Contact Us Future Market Insights 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Website: www.futuremarketinsights.com Vaibhav SEO 3479183531 email https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ # 723 Words Contact UsFuture Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: www.futuremarketinsights.comSEO3479183531 Crude Heater Market: IntroductionA crude heater is considered to be a key element of the refinery industry. In order to ensure well maintained and efficient operations in an oil and gas industry, plant managers equip their facilities with advanced, reliable, and durable industrial heating equipment. Crude heaters are required to heat crude oil prior to the first stage of compression. Crude heaters are used to ensure better separation properties as well as improve the fluidity of the crude oil. Crude heaters also help in reducing the viscosity of some kinds of crude oils by preheating the material to generate easy flow. Owing to their several important features and benefits, the demand for efficient crude heaters is anticipated to witness significant growth in the near future. This rising demand for crude heaters is expected to significantly contribute in the growth of the global crude heater market over the forecast period.A sample of this report is available upon request @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-8866 Crude Heater Market: DynamicsThe growing demand for efficient and durable crude heaters in the oil and gas industry is considered to be the primary growth driver for the global crude heater market. Owing to the increasing demand for gasoline and fuel, the oil industry is anticipated to witness steady growth in the near future. The continuously increasing demand for refinery products across numerous end-use sectors is a sign for the future demand for high quality crude oil. In order to fulfill the demand for crude oil products, vendors have increased their refinery capacities. For example, in recent years, PDVSA and PETROBRAS have increased their refining capacities. This, in turn, is estimated to propel the demand for crude heaters over the period of forecast.Manufacturers in the crude heater market have to face some challenges regarding the stringent regulations laid down by governments. In order to reduce VOC (Volatile Organic Carbon) emissions from industries, regulatory legislations laid out by the EU government REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) address the production and use of chemical substances such as process oil, and its potential impacts on humans and the environment. The parliaments of other regions such as European nations have banned oil with high content of hydrocarbons, which affects the production of oil in terms of volume, subsequently hindering the growth of the crude heater market.The ongoing trend gaining momentum in the oil and gas industry is the introduction of the flameless combustion technique by Great Southern Flameless (GSF). This technology was introduced in the glass and steel industry many years before, as both these industries operate at very high temperatures and run at constant steady state conditions, which is considered to be an ideal condition for flameless combustion. The commercialization of flameless fired crude heaters demanded several design features to have a flameless heater operating in the refining environment.Crude Heater Market: SegmentationThe global crude heater market has been segmented by capacity and type of combustion.By capacity, the global crude heater market is segmented as:Less than 50,000 barrels per day50,001 to 1,00,000 barrels per day1,00,001 to 250,000 barrels per dayAbove 250,000 barrels per dayBy type of combustion, the global crude heater market is segmented as:Flame Combustion Crude HeatersFlameless Combustion Crude HeatersCrude Heater Market: Regional OutlookGlobalization, population growth, and economic changes have not only contributed to the crude oil industry, but have also led to a rise in the standards of oil and gas services. The increasing number of refinery projects in Europe and the Middle East, particularly Russia, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, and many others, is estimated to propel the demand for crude heaters. These nations have huge oil reserves, which, in turn, surges the demand for crude heaters. Further, Asia Pacific is estimated to be a key opportunistic market, due to the setting up of new refineries to meet the growing demand for new units in developing countries. This may positively impact the global crude heater market during the forecast period.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-8866 Crude Heater Market: Key ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants identified across the value chain of the global crude heater market are:Amec Foster WheelerExotherm CorporationAmerican Heating CompanyC. Broach CompanyThermotech Systems Ltd.Chromalox, Inc.Garcem Engineers Advancements in Cling Film Technology to Drive Adoption Across Diverse End-Use Industries in the Coming Years fmi PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 07:56:28 Several companies across the globe are working on advanced technology that will help them cut through the general product portfolio and expand their customer base. For instance, recently, Arm, a British semiconductor and software design organisation partnered with a Cambridge-based company PragmaticIC for developing an ultra-thin electronic gadget that can be easily printed on super flexible plastic. This smart-wrap is capable of carrying some data about the product and the location of the products. The sensor in the smart film allows tracking of the product lifecycle from the factory to the retail outlet to ensure the authenticity of the product.Request more information of Report with table of contents and Figures @Leading restaurants across the globe as well as food and beverage stores are identifying the advantages associated with the use of cling film as more people are using them on a day-to-day basis. Most companies are manufacturing cling films and supplying these at wholesale prices to retail outlets, hence making these films available to end consumers at affordable rates. Intensifying urbanisation in emerging economies such as India and China has led to the growing adoption of on-the-go food products, especially by the working population. Cling films are extensively used as an effective material for the packaging of ready-to-eat food products, hence boosting growth in demand across the global food and beverages industry.Considering all the leading scenarios, Future Market Insights (FMI) projects that the global cling film market will exhibit a CAGR of 5.8% from 2018 to 2028. The market was worth US$ 1,045.3 Mn by 2017 and is estimated to rise to a valuation of US$ 1,924.5 Mn by 2028 end.Request to Report Methodology @Cost-effectiveness and Durability to Push Demand for Cling FilmsThough cling film is thin it is highly durable and solid at the same time. Cling films can hold up against any object for an extended period of time. Even if the item is dropped, moved or tampered with in any way, the cling wrap will hold up and continue to protect the item. Cling film is one of the most cost-effective products to protect items compared to other materials. These films also help save space and keep stored products organised by consolidating items together without any added bulk, which is particularly useful when moving offices or homes. Cling films also keep the items fresh and even extend the shelf life of the products. Additionally, cling films are convenient to use as there are no restrictions and work with any kind of object that needs to be shipped or moved.Evidence Suggests Cling Films May Have Negative Impact on Human HealthFor decades now, doctors have been cautioning people about the toxic impact of plastic. New evidence suggests that heat causes the chemicals in cling film storage boxes to contaminate food products, causing grave concerns to human health. Cancer Research UK has been warning that cling film should not be allowed to touch the food it covers, when the food is heated in a microwave. The chemical causing the most concern is Bisphenol A (BPA), mainly used in the manufacture of plastics. Laboratory studies have linked BPA with breast and prostate cancer. These negative factors may restrict revenue growth of the global cling film market to a certain extent.Ask a question to Analyst @ PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 11:00:06 Press Information Persistence Market Research CONTACT: Persistence Market Research 305 Broadway 7th Floor, New York City, NY 10007, United States, USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353 Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Web: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com yogesh Seggar Team Lead 8009610353 email http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com # 879 Words CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.comTeam Lead8009610353 Global sales of chromatographic silica resin is estimated to be valued at more than US$ 80 Mn by 2017 end and is expected to increase to more than US$ 110 Mn by 2025, representing incremental opportunity of more than US$ 30 Mn between 2017 and 2025. Global sales revenue of chromatographic silica resin is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.1% during the forecast period. In terms of regional markets, North America is estimated to be the major market accounting for over 40% of the total market share, whereas Asia Pacific is projected to be a high growth market over the forecast period.Growing applications of silica resin chromatography in pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries is driving the worldwide chromatographic silica resin marketThe stable growth of pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries is expected to boost the global chromatographic silica resin consumption over the forecast period. As far as the pharmaceutical industry is concerned, silica gel column chromatography is used to segregate and collect different components of a drug. This has application in the purification of antibiotics such as rosarimicin, coloradocin and benzanthrins, among others. Silica resin chromatography is also used in the study of medicines such as hypnotics, sedatives, analgesics, local anesthetics and steroids. Chromatography also finds use in the field of biotechnology where it is used due to its ability to detect molecular components such as nucleic acids, fats, carbohydrates, protein and vitamins. Protein is the most desired component in a number of medicines and supplements and holds a high degree of importance in biopharmaceuticals. Size-exclusion chromatography is widely used for the purification and analysis of synthetic and biological polymers. Chromatographic silica resin is used in thin-layer chromatography for biomedical analysis. There is a growing demand for medicines, especially in developing economies such as China and India, and this is expected to drive the demand for biopharmaceuticals, which in turn will drive the growth of the chromatographic silica resin market during the assessment period.Request For Report Sample@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/15877 Advocacy of using chromatography technique in the food industry is boosting demand in the chromatographic silica resin marketThere is a growing problem of adulteration of hazardous ingredients and cheap substitutes in food items. However, in order to ensure the good quality and consistency of food products, clinical trials are conducted during the development of new food products as well as during existing batch production of food products. Chromatography is an important method in checking adulteration in food products. In the food industry, chromatography is widely used in a number of applications such as vitamin separation, sugar content analysis, triglyceride determination, determination of nutritional quality of food, spoilage detection, analysis of amino acids, colorants and residues, detection of aflatoxins in food products and many more. Hence, the use of chromatographic silica resin in the food industry is expected to witness a steady growth owing to a pulsating food industry in countries such as India.Availability of better substitutes is likely to restrict the growth of the global chromatographic silica resin marketActivated alumina is famous for its superiority in separation and purification techniques. Due to the atmospheric properties of alumina, it can be used with neutral, acidic and basic compounds as well. On the other hand, silica gel can only be used in limited end use industries whereas alumina, being a superior ingredient, is used for environmental cleanup and in many other applications such as biohazard, bioterrorism, gas and liquid dehydration applications. Due to its versatile applications at a relatively lower cost, alumina resins are a preferred choice over silica resins. These factors may restrict the growth of the chromatographic silica resin market during the assessment period.Global Chromatographic Silica Resin Market Attractiveness Analysis, by RegionNorth America region is expected to emerge as a relatively attractive market in terms of incremental dollar opportunity by the end of forecast period. Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a significant CAGR as compared to other regions. Increasing demand for chromatography from end-use industries as a result of economic growth, especially in emerging markets such as China and India drives the APAC chromatographic silica resin market. In terms of market value, the Europe chromatographic silica resin market is estimated to account for 31.5% share by 2017 end, whereas Latin America will account for 5.7% share.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC)@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/15877 Emerging markets in China and India have many diverse applications for chromatographic silica resinsDue to the stable economic growth in emerging economies such as China and India, a good number of opportunities will be created for the chromatographic silica resin market during the assessment period. There is a huge demand for pharmaceutical products in these countries. Moreover, the demand for chromatographic resins like silica gel is also increasing in agriculture, food and beverage and biotechnology industries as well as in academic institutes and R&D labs. In addition, tremendous growth in China and India has resulted in increased government expenditure on healthcare and biomedical industries. In addition, food security concerns in India have prompted the government to invest hugely in agriculture and soil testing. Similarly, strategic expansion of chromatography players in China can be a boon for the chromatographic silica resin market. Also, the presence of bio-clusters in these countries may also propel the chromatographic silica resin market in the near future. The baby bottle warmers are getting technology advancement which reduce more human efforts and improve the quality for temperature control and others. The high efficacy of the baby bottle warmers increase the market share for baby bottle warmers. The lack of product availability in the region along with lack of awareness about the product in all the region and high price problem is also the major hindrance for the growth of baby bottle warmers. Baby Bottle Warmers Market PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 11:21:19 Press Information Future Market Insights Future Market Insights U.S. Office 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Web: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com Umesh SEO Manager 3479183531 email https://www.futuremarketinsights.com # 658 Words Future Market InsightsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb: https://www.futuremarketinsights.comSEO Manager3479183531 Baby bottle warmers is very necessary device which is needed for warming the milk for baby at a particular temperature which is required and make the milk warm, so that baby can easily take the milk. The baby bottle warmer consist of warm heat which is produce by water boiling and small cooler which cool the bottle and make the temperature of milk normal. Milk is the main food for babies, as milk content all necessary component which is present for growth. The milk can be stored in a frozen condition where it can used for various hours. The bottle warmer is much more effective than any other traditional method for heating milk and then cooling by using cold water, this whole process increase the time limits for preparing the frozen milk to a normal milk which can be taken by babies. The traditional method for milk warming is a time taking process and the temperature control is also not done in a proper way, in some cases after boiling and cool the milk remain hot according to babies or in some cases after cooling the milk got extra chill, this all effect the babies lifestyle and the time management issue is created.Baby Bottle Warmers Market: Drivers and RestraintsBaby bottle warmers is a growing market over the forecast period, as the birth rate per hour is 15,000 over the worldwide which directly boost the market for baby bottle warmers. The time management is the major benefits of baby bottle warmer along with perfect temperature and less losses of energy. The baby bottle warmers are getting technology advancement which reduce more human efforts and improve the quality for temperature control and others. The high efficacy of the baby bottle warmers increase the market share for baby bottle warmers. The lack of product availability in the region along with lack of awareness about the product in all the region and high price problem is also the major hindrance for the growth of baby bottle warmers.Baby Bottle Warmers Market: SegmentationBaby Bottle Warmers market is segmented based onBaby Bottle Warmers based on Product TypesBaby Bottle Sterilizers TypeBaby Bottle Warmers TypeOther TypeRequest Sample Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-7123 Baby Bottle Warmers based on End UserHomecareBaby Care CentresOthersBaby Bottle Warmers Market: OverviewBaby bottle warmers market is mainly focused by increasing number of baby in various region over the worldwide. The advance technology increase the product quality with additional feature for fully automatic and alarm system when the warming process is completed. The baby bottle warmer is a most important product for all the mothers, as the baby food is the most important part for baby growth and development. Industries players are continuously working to improve the quality of the product with advance sensor technology, along with that the players are working on price problem to reduce the prices of the product.Baby Bottle Warmers Market: Region-wise OutlookGeographically, Baby Bottle Warmers market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan, Japan, Middle East and Africa. North America has the major market for baby bottle warmers as the present of major players along with lifestyle of the region also recommended the product by health professional. Western Europe & Eastern Europe Baby Bottle Warmers market also show growth as the product adaptation is increasing within the region. Asia Pacific Excluding Japan show sluggish growth due to lack of product availability with the region along with pricing is also the major factor which affect the Baby Bottle Warmers market growth of baby bottle warmers market.Baby Bottle Warmers Market: Key PlayersSome of the players in baby bottle warmers market include: Koninklijke Philips N.V., Kiinde, Inc., Handi-Craft Company., beaba, Babybelle Asia Ltd, B.Well Swiss, Barkey GmbH & Co. KG, Tommee Tippee, BELDICO and others.Request to View TOC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-7123 PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 10:52:26 Automotive Relays are widely used in electrical systems used in applications like automotive, trucks, industrial and heavy equipment. A high current circuit can be controlled by a lower current circuit with the help of Automotive Relays. Multiple things can be switched at the same time by one output because of Automotive Relays. Automotive Relays of different sizes and shapes are available which are used in land and sea vehicles. The most common applications where these Automotive Relays are used are the car flashlights, car alarm systems, anti-locking brake systems, car antennas, car stereos, horns, intermittent wipers among other applications.The Automotive Relay Market is estimated to grow at a moderate CAGR during the forecast period.Automotive Relay Market: Drivers & RestraintsWith the increase in levels of safety and comfortable driving experience, offered by automotive relays; the demand for automotive relays has increased and expected to grow even more in the forecast period. With the fast pace development of PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards), lighter PCB relays are gradually replacing complicated plug-in devices. This factor is likely to increase the global PCB relay market. Also, PCB relays are expected to remain the dominant segment of the global relay market in the forecast period. Government regulations to include safety components in automobiles to lessen the number of casualties is forecasted to drive the automotive relay market during the forecast period. These devices can be used in safety systems like head restraints, heads-up displays, steering systems, seatbelts, and airbags. With the increase in the use of technologies like GPS, weather, temperature and traffic information, demand for automotive relays is expected to grow at a high CAGR. With the increase in demand for comfort levels, concepts like sunroof control, keyless entry systems, mirror control and infotainment systems have emerged. The increase in the demand for the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) segment is also a key factor that is likely to drive the growth of global Automotive Market.Request For Report Sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-4687 In the automotive industry, lack of standardization is a factor that can restrain the growth of Automotive Relay Market. Automotive relays are weaker compared to the conventional plug-in relays when factors like the ability to withstand voltage fluctuations, vibrations, and high temperature, and robustness are considered. Hence, in many applications, especially powertrain systems, conventional plug-in relays are still preferred. This factor may also restrain the growth of Automotive Relay Market in the forecast period.Automotive Relay Market: Market SegmentationAutomotive Relay Market can be segmented based on product type, application type and regions.Based on the application type, Automotive Relay Market is segmented into:Powertrain SystemsBody & ChassisConvenienceSafety & SecurityDriver Information SystemsBased on product type, Automotive Relay Market is segmented into:PCB relayPlug-in relayBased on regions, Automotive Relay Market is segmented into:North AmericaEuropeAsia PacificRoWAutomotive Relay Market: Regional OutlookAutomotive Relay Market share of Europe was 24% from the total global revenue in 2016. Convenience applications and powertrain systems are largely responsible for the regional sales in the Asia Pacific region. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to show a moderate CAGR in the growth of Automotive Relay Market during the forecast period. The Asia-Pacific region is gradually being called the automobile manufacturing hub because of the ease of availability of raw materials and comparatively lower labor costs. Owing to high demand and significant vehicle production in China, China is estimated to show significant growth trends in the Automotive Relay Market. LCV (Light Commercial Vehicle) relay segment is also estimated to grow at a high CAGR in the forecast period. Specifically, the North America region is one of the regions where this growth is expected to be witnessed.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC): https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-4687 Automotive Relay Market: Key PlayersSome of the major players of the Automotive Relay Market are:-Salzer Electronics Ltd.ABB Ltd.Panasonic CorporationDeltrol ControlsOmron CorporationAmerican Zettler Inc.TE Connectivity PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 10:52:00 The automotive inflatable seat belt function is similar to a standard seat belt in everyday usage. The crash sensing system of the vehicle in which the automotive inflatable seat belt is deployed determines the deployment timing of the automotive inflatable seat belt. In the case of a car crash or collision, the automotive inflatable seat belt deploys itself slightly before the other safety or air bags. Mostly tubular, the automotive inflatable seat belt inflates itself completely around the body of the occupant. The automotive inflatable seat belt aids in distributing the impact energy during the crash around five to four times more around the passengers body instead of a traditional automotive seat belt.; which enlarges the protection range and aids better in decreasing the risk of injuries. Another feature of the automotive inflatable seat belt is that it has an airbag built inside the webbing of the seat belt which provides additional protection to the critical body parts such as the head and neck and thus also protects from the impact of the side window or the collisions.Automotive Inflatable Seat Belt Market: Market DynamicsThe increasing demand for automobiles with enhanced safety features is fueling the growth of automotive inflatable seat belt market. The growing demand for automobiles with additional occupant protection inclusions is also driving the market growth. This is attributed to the fact that the automotive inflatable seat belts aid in reducing the risk of chest, neck and head injuries for the rear seat passengers as well who are often children and older passengers and are comparatively more vulnerable to such injuries.However , the application of automotive inflatable seat belts for usage with infant or children seats is a challenging factor because of the thickness of the automotive inflatable seat belt which can jeopardize the safety of infants. There are stringent regulations on child safety feature inclusions in the automobiles in countries such as US and Canada.The texture of the automotive inflatable seat belts is widening the scope of its market, because unlike conventional seat belts; inflatable ones make customers feel padded and softer. These belts can be deployed in milliseconds when any crash occurs, thus further improvise on vehicle safety measures. Different car manufacturers are planning to buy the automotive inflatable seat belt technology from the Ford Motor Company, thus creating opportunities for market growth in other regions than North America and Western Europe.One of the prominent trends in the automotive inflatable seat belt market is the inclusion of automotive inflatable seat belt in most of the car models of from the major companies such as Ford Motor Company and Mercedes Benz.Request For Report Sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-4684 Automotive Inflatable Seat Belt Market: Market SegmentationThe global automotive inflatable seat belt market can be segmented by its type:SRS seat belt (Air-belt)Explorer rare seat beltIt can also be segmented by the type of vehicle it can be installed in:Passenger Cars (PC)Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV)Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCV)Automotive Inflatable Seat Belt Market: Regional OutlookThe global automotive inflatable seat belt market geographically is segmented as North America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. North America and Europe are expected to hold a significant market share of automotive inflatable seat belt market owing to the growing demand for occupants safety. Furthermore, the increase in R & D activities related to automobiles especially passenger cars; wherein inflatable seat belts are useful for improvising life-saving measures and occupant protection during a collision scenario; aids in boosting the growth of automotive inflatable seat belt market in the region. The market in the APEJ is anticipated to have an inclination for automotive inflatable seat belt because of the increasing concerns for enhancing safety features of the cars.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC): https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-4684 Automotive Inflatable Seat Belt Market: Prominent PlayersSome of the prominent players in the global inflatable seat belt market are:Ford Motor CompanyModitech Rescue SolutionsLEXUS GLOBALThe Lincoln Motor Company PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 10:52:55 Global Aircraft EMI Shielding Market IntroductionThere has been an imperative need for emi shielding in the military and other aerospace applications. With growing advancements in the wireless technology and increased signal sensitivity in devices, there has been a greater demand for shielding in the avionic equipment. The electromagnetic interference caused by induction or outside radiation may affect the electrical circuit of the aircraft. Electromagnetic interference can cause temporary and permanent disruption in the circuit components. The electric fields induced may be intentional or unintentional but is a major problem for advanced devices and degrade or fully destroy the avionic equipment. Thus there has been a greater need of aircraft emi shielding to save the electronics and also prevent severe accidents which might occur due to electronic interference between pilot and the connecting tower. The shielding of devices has not only reduced emi emissions but also has led to increased performance. Various parameters need to be gauged to evaluate the effectiveness of the shielding such as material of the shield, thickness, frequency and distance of the shield.Global Aircraft EMI Shielding Market DynamicsAircraft EMI Shielding Market DriversThe growing regulations for emi shielding by the aircraft authorities for safety has led increase in manufacturers focus on use of emi shielding. The growing use of wireless technologies and electronics in the aircrafts is projected to boost the demand for aircraft emi shielding over the forecast period. The up cycle in aircraft production and new orders will drive the demand for aircraft emi shielding. The existing aircraft fleet has also created rise in demand for aircraft emi shielding and is being deployed in terms of cable up gradation and others. The growing MRO budget is expected to generate opportunities for aircraft emi shielding over the forecast period.Request For Report Sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-7716 Aircraft EMI Shielding Market RestraintsOne of the major challenge faced by the global Aircraft EMI Shielding market is the additional cost associated with the deployment of such products or materials is a major challenge for manufacturers. However, the manufacturers are focusing on improving efficiency and reducing cost of productionAircraft EMI Shielding Market TrendsIn order to win an edge over the other players in the market, the manufacturers are focusing on entering in long term collaborations with the aircraft OEMs. This ensures reliability and expansion of their distribution network.The manufacturers are also offering integrated services along with various emi shielding products and materials. This has also been a prolonged trend in the industry.Global Aircraft EMI Shielding Market SegmentationThe global Aircraft EMI Shielding market can be segmented on the basis of platform type, material type, product type, location type, sales channel and regionOn the basis of application, the global Aircraft EMI Shielding market can be segmented as:Commercial aircraftsPrivate AircraftsMilitary/defense aircraftsOthersOn the basis of platform type, the global Aircraft EMI Shielding market can be segmented as:Fixed wing platformRotary wing platformOn the basis of aircraft type, the global Aircraft EMI Shielding market can be segmented as:Narrow BodyWide BodyRegional jetTurbopropOn the basis of product type, the global aircraft emi shielding market can be segmented as:GasketsCable over braidsLaminates, Tapes and foilsPaints and coatingsOthersOn the basis of location type, the global aircraft emi shielding market can be segmented as:Electronic bayAirframeFlight deckAntennaOn the basis of sales channel, the global aircraft emi shielding market can be segmented as:OEMAftermarketGlobal Aircraft EMI Shielding Market: Regional OutlookIn terms of regional perspective, North America and Europe are anticipated to lead the global demand for aircraft emi shielding. This is attributed to the stringent regulations prevailing in the regions. Asia Pacific with rising aircraft fleet and aircraft production is also anticipated to generate significant growth opportunities. This region is anticipated to witness relatively higher growth rate. Middle East and Africa is projected to hold significant share in the global aircraft emi shielding market. Latin America is projected to be a low volume high growth region. Japan is expected to witness moderate demand for aircraft emi shielding.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC): https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-7716 Global Aircraft EMI Shielding Market ParticipantsSome of the market participants identified across the value chain of global Aircraft EMI Shielding market are:Glenair, IncParker Hannifin Corporation (Chomerics Division)W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.The 3M CompanyLaird PlcPPG Industries, Inc.Simotec (Thailand) Co. Ltd.HEICO Corporation In the current Mosaic podcast (introduced here), the Hudson Institutes Michael Doran supports the withdrawal of American troops from their stations in Syria. In his January essay for Mosaic, Doran defended the White Houses strategy in Syria based on a prudent assessment of geopolitical realities. Weighing the pros and cons, Doran forcefully makes the case that, if the United States is to succeed in advancing its interests and elevating its allies in the Middle East, the current strategy (assuming it is a strategy) is the only one worth pursuing. With interviewer Jonathan Silver pressing him on key points, Doran makes the case better than I have heard anyone in the White House make it. I found this podcast to be highly educational and well worth the time. Today we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of George Washington. Of all the great men of the revolutionary era to whom we owe our freedom, Washingtons greatness was the rarest and the most needed. At this remove in time, it is also the hardest to comprehend. Take, for example, Washingtons contribution to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Washingtons mere presence lent the undertaking and its handiwork the legitimacy that resulted in success. The conventions first order of business was the election of a presiding officer. Washington was the delegates unanimous choice. Presiding over the convention during that fateful summer, Washington said virtually nothing. In his excellent book on Washington, Richard Brookhiser notes: The esteem in which Washington was held affected his fellow delegates first of allWashington did not wield the power he possessed by speaking. Apart from his lecture on secrecy, Washington did not address the Convention between the first day and the last. The esteem in which he was held by his fellow citizens was similarly crucial to the implementation of the Constitution during his presidency. In 1790 Rhode Island became the thirteenth state to ratify the Constitution. To mark the occasion, President Washington made a ceremonial visit to Newport when Congress recessed in August. Newport welcomed Washington with open arms. In Newport on August 18, according to James Thomas Flexner, Washington completely fatigued the company by briskly walking, fortified by the wine and punch served in four different houses along his route, from nine in the morning until one in the afternoon. In anticipation of Washingtons visit to Newport, the members of Americas oldest Jewish congregation prepared a letter welcoming Washington for presentation to him at a public event on the morning of August 18. The letter was authorized by the congregations board and signed by its president, Moses Seixas. It is Washingtons magnificent letter responding to Seixas that that has become famous as one of the classic statements of religious toleration in America. The congregations letter to Washington is not so well known, although the most prominent line in Washingtons letter echoes that letter. By far the most striking feature of the congregations letter is its expression of sheer gratitude to Washington himself and to America for the freedom and equal rights the congregants had attained as American citizens. Here is the congregations letter: Permit the children of the stock of Abraham to approach you with the most cordial affection and esteem for your person and merits ~~ and to join with our fellow citizens in welcoming you to NewPort. With pleasure we reflect on those days ~~ those days of difficulty, and danger, when the God of Israel, who delivered David from the peril of the sword, ~~ shielded Your head in the day of battle: ~~ and we rejoice to think, that the same Spirit, who rested in the Bosom of the greatly beloved Daniel enabling him to preside over the Provinces of the Babylonish Empire, rests and ever will rest, upon you, enabling you to discharge the arduous duties of Chief Magistrate in these States. Deprived as we heretofore have been of the invaluable rights of free Citizens, we now with a deep sense of gratitude to the Almighty disposer of all events behold a Government, erected by the Majesty of the People ~~ a Government, which to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance ~~ but generously affording to all Liberty of conscience, and immunities of Citizenship: ~~ deeming every one, of whatever Nation, tongue, or language equal parts of the great governmental Machine: ~~ This so ample and extensive Federal Union whose basis is Philanthropy, Mutual confidence and Public Virtue, we cannot but acknowledge to be the work of the Great God, who ruleth in the Armies of Heaven, and among the Inhabitants of the Earth, doing whatever seemeth him good. For all these Blessings of civil and religious liberty which we enjoy under an equal benign administration, we desire to send up our thanks to the Ancient of Days, the great preserver of Men ~~ beseeching him, that the Angel who conducted our forefathers through the wilderness into the promised Land, may graciously conduct you through all the difficulties and dangers of this mortal life: ~~ And, when, like Joshua full of days and full of honour, you are gathered to your Fathers, may you be admitted into the Heavenly Paradise to partake of the water of life, and the tree of immortality. Done and Signed by order of the Hebrew Congregation in NewPort, Rhode Island August 17th 1790. Moses Seixas, Warden Today, as we contend with the contemporary equivalent of the Babylonish empire, let us send up our thanks to the Ancient of Days for this indispensable man. (First posted February 2006.) The left would have you believe that America is a sea of hate from deplorable Trump voters, and on campus especially we hear endlessly that dissent from the party line is literal violence to vulnerable peoples. Strangely, actual violence on campuses (and elsewhere) seems to be the monopoly of the left. Such as this incident at Berkeley today, where a student with a table on Sproul Plaza promoting Turning Point USA was assaulted. Notice that the leftist thug says the Turning Point person is promoting violence, while he is the only one throwing punches. I wasnt on campus today (luckily for that thug, or I might well have dished him some of his own strokes), and while I dont know the student who was assaulted (Hayden Williams), I do know a couple of students who were present. The Berkeley administration is correctly and promptly saying this is intolerable and that it intends to identify and charge the offender. It is not yet known whether this person is a student, though the backpack would seem to indicate that he might be, and identifying him from this video shouldnt be difficult. (The Berkeley police are said to be investigating.) If he is a student, he should be expelled from the university forthwith. It is clearly not a safe space for anyone with him around. This is hardly a unique occurrence. The Berkeley College Republicans often have a table out on Sproul Plaza, where they are frequently spit on, have their signs and printed material ripped up, and are subject to loads of verbal abuse. But as conservatives are made of tougher stuff, they roll with it rather than demanding a safe space. Editorial Suing to protect the right to be left alone @PottstownNews on Twitter Evan Brandt has been a staff reporter for The Mercury for more than 20 years. He covers municipal, school district, political, state government, federal government and environmental news. Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email circulation@postregister.com for help creating one. As Typhoon Wutip bears down on Guam, officials on Friday said their primary concern is not the strength of the winds it will bring, but the length of time they'll be blowing across the island. National Weather Service Meteorologist Brandon Aydlett said tropical storm-force winds are expected by early this morning, in the range of 35 to 45 mph. Gusts between 50 and 60 mph are possible. However, typhoon force winds higher than 74 mph are not likely. Guam went into a readiness mode even before Condition of Readiness 2 was declared at 4 p.m. Friday. Public school students were sent home early, banks closed early and are scheduled to close today, dozens of residents went to schools-turned-shelters and expectant moms were asked to check in at Guam Memorial Hospital. The closest point of approach will be sometime between midnight Saturday and 3 a.m. Sunday, between 150 and 180 miles away from Guam. "Guam stays just inside the tropical storm force winds," Aydlett said. "The storm is slowing down," he said. Pointing to the storm's track, he added, "As it's rounding this curve around the Marianas, it's going to give us a prolonged 'closest point of approach.'" "It's going to be lingering for much of the weekend," he said. The gusty winds and rain are not expected to ease up until late Sunday evening, he said. 149 seek shelter As of 7 p.m. Friday, 149 Guam residents had sought shelter in public schools, said Guam Department of Education spokeswoman Isa Baza. Five public schools were opened as typhoon shelters at 4 p.m. At Machananao Elementary School in Yigo, a family of 22 grandparents, parents and children came in to seek shelter. School officials said the family members are recurring tenants at the shelter. One of the daughters, 22-year-old Jayann Jaint, said her family has been to the shelter three to four times in the last year. She said the family lives on a ranch and goes to the shelter mainly for the young children to stay warm and safe. Several elementary school-age children are with the family at Machananao. Shelterees at the school stayed calm as they prepared for the coming storm. Astumbo Elementary School in Dededo, George Washington High School in Mangilao, Harry S. Truman Elementary School in Santa Rita and Inarajan Middle School also were opened as shelters. Rainfall could be considerable At 10 p.m. Sunday, Typhoon Wutip is expected to be due west of Guam, heading north, allowing its tail to linger over the islands a few hours more. Unlike most other storms that pass by or through the Marianas, Wutip is not tracking for the Philippines or Taiwan. It's pivoting around Guam, bending in a more northerly direction, on an offshore path that will allow Wutip to rake the islands with wind and rain a little longer, although at arm's length, 150 miles or so to the west. The longer Wutip hangs around, the more rain will fall. "Rainfall has been increasing across the typhoon," said Aydlett. As the storm passes, "if we get those rain bands that just stay right over the island, we could see some considerable rainfall amounts." Six to 8 inches of rainfall is now expected. A Flash Flood Watch was posted Friday for both Guam and Rota. The watch remains in effect through early Monday morning. No shear relief There was some hope that high-altitude winds traveling in a different direction from the storm might shear off the top of Wutip and knock it back down to tropical storm status. Aydlett said that some weakening from upper-level wind shear is expected in the days ahead, but not enough to spare us the gusts and rainfall Wutip will bring over the next two days. "Right now, we've got a typhoon," Aydlett said, "and that shear is not going to cause anything to weaken, at least while its passing close to us." Well-developed storms tend to protect themselves from wind shear, at least for a time. And Wutip is strong enough to resist wind shear "for at least a couple of days," he said. Arguments were heard Friday in the Supreme Court of Guam in connection with an appeal filed by Robert Patterson III, who was convicted of raping of a 17-year-old girl on Guam last year. Patterson, 47, a native of Arkansas, was found guilty in March of 2018 of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old known to him in 2017. He was sentenced to 24 years in prison in that case. Patterson also was convicted in 2012 of sexually assaulting two girls, ages 9 and 10 at the time, according to the Guam sex offender registry. In trying to appeal the 2018 conviction, the defendant's attorney, Terence Timblin, argued that phone records prove that Patterson "couldn't possibly have committed the crime." Timblin said his client made a seven-minute phone call to his spouse during one of the time frames that the alleged rape occurred, yet, the defense attorney said, the alleged victim testified that Patterson made no phone calls during the assault. 'Much ado about cellphones' Assistant Attorney General Jeremy Kemper, representing the prosecution, called the matter, "much ado about cellphones." Kemper said the time frame of the crime could vary somewhat from the victim's memory of the time it took for the alleged crime to be committed. "As a matter of biology, it doesn't have to take (a) certain amount of time," said Kemper. Kemper told the court that the evidence during the trial showed that Patterson was in the room with the victim for an extended period of time and, he said, the victim's brother's testimony corroborated that. Kemper said the victim was asked during cross-examination if she had timed the alleged assault. "That's kind of a dumb question," said Kemper. "Who would time that? No one. That's who." Timblin also argued that phone records show that a phone call was made from the defendant's cellphone to the house phone during one of the time frames when the alleged assault occurred. "Mere proof of a phone call from the cellphone to the residence does not categorically prove that person's absence from the home," said Associate Justice Robert Torres. "We had the victim testify as pointed out by the government in reference to a criminal sexual conduct offense. The testimony of the victim is sufficient and need not be corroborated as I understand," said Supreme Court Associate Justice Philip Carbullido. Carbullido said the jury in the 2018 Superior Court trial had already heard the testimony regarding the conflicting times and rejected all of it. Chief Justice Katherine Maraman told the attorneys that the court would later issue a written opinion. Dario Gualtieri, wanted in Spain for his failure to serve a four-year sentence on a sexual assault conviction, will be extradited to the country. He signed an affidavit of waiver of extradition Friday at the District Court of Guam. This essentially means he has waived his right to an extradition hearing and agreed to be returned to Spain. His attorney, assistant federal public defender Leilani Lujan, said Gualtieri wanted to return speedily to the country. Gualtieri was convicted of raping a woman he met at a nightclub in 2012. The two shared a taxi home and Gualtieri escorted the woman to her home. He walked into her home under the pretext that he wanted to make sure she did not need any assistance, court documents stated. Once inside and after she had rebuffed his advances, Gualtieri sexually assaulted her. He was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay 12,000 euros, or about $13,542, in restitution. Gualtieri arrived on Guam by sailboat. A medical emergency caused the boat to dock at the Agat Marina on Feb. 2. He was arrested on Feb. 15. Gualitieri will remain in the custody of District Court marshals until representatives of the Spanish government arrive to take him back to Spain. The Post and Courier provides a forum for our readers to share their opinions, and to hold up a mirror to our community. Publication does not imply endorsement by the newspaper; the editorial staff attempts to select a representative sample of letters because we believe its important to let our readers see the range of opinions their neighbors submit for publication. 1.6k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Advertising Rhode Island Democratic Congressman David Cicilline told CNNs New Day this morning that the American people deserve to see the Mueller report. And he also said that he will take any and all steps necessary to make sure that happens. He said that he will even begin impeachment proceedings in the House to assure that Muellers report is made public. We are going to use legal remedies, legislative remedies, court remedies if we need to. This report belongs to the American people. They have a right to know the truth, Rep. @davidcicilline says about the Mueller report. We are going to use legal remedies, legislative remedies, court remedies if we need to. This report belongs to the American people. They have a right to know the truth, Rep. @davidcicilline says about the Mueller report. https://t.co/93KRSTd2rq pic.twitter.com/STwZr62k7J New Day (@NewDay) February 22, 2019 New Day co-host John Berman discussed with Rep. Cicilline the legal and legislative routes that could possibly be taken to assure that the Mueller report is made public. The concern is that new Attorney General Bill Barr a Republican and Trump supporter will try to suppress public distribution of the report in order to protect the president. Advertising In the discussion, Berman raised the issue of the historical precedent set by Watergate Special Counsel Leon Jaworski, saying: My reading of the historical precedent is that the reason the House Judiciary Committee was able to see the evidence collected by the special prosecutor was because a judge determined there was already an open impeachment inquiry. Are you willing to open formal impeachment proceedings if thats the only way to see the evidence? Cicilline responded by making clear that in his opinion the large number of current investigations into the president gave them more than enough basis for Congress to demand the report. However, the congressman also said that he is prepared to pursue all legal strategies necessary to accomplish their goal. Berman asked for clarity on the impeachment question, saying: You are not at impeachment yet, even just as a means for leverage here? I can only speak for myself, Cicilline replied, saying it was critical for Congress to see the report: It may, in fact, have facts which support initiating impeachment proceedings and we cannot be precluded from seeing it. If we have to have a perfunctory impeachment motion to open it up in order to access those materials, I think its critical that we do it. This is the first time we have seen a discussion concerning the need to open up impeachment proceedings in order to force Attorney General Barr to turn over Muellers final report to the House of Representatives. One thing that is clear from Rep. Cicillines comments is that he and his colleagues in the House Democratic caucus are ready, willing and able to do whatever it takes to make sure they get their hands on the work product of Bob Muellers very lengthy investigation. And they will be supported by Democratic senators as well. This means that if Attorney General William Barr refuses to turn over Robert Muellers report to Congress, then that may very well lead to the impeachment of Donald Trump in the U.S. House of Representatives. 881 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Advertising All of Washington is waiting for special counsel Robert Muellers report on collusion between Donald Trumps campaign and Russia. Rumors are that Mueller could submit a report to the Department of Justice (DOJ) as early as next week. If that happens, it would bring to a close what the president refers to as a witch hunt. In fact, it is an investigation that has dominated headlines for nearly two years. But today Mueller will file with a federal court a document which may reveal a great deal of information about the alleged collusion. Muellers sentencing memorandum for Paul Manafort is due to a federal judge in DC District Court before midnight today. The will be the last major court filing in Muellers lengthy Manafort prosecution and it could be a bombshell. Mueller could tell all in last major court filing in Paul Manafort's case https://t.co/FsUHH80UkA pic.twitter.com/4AepBK5WDy CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 22, 2019 Advertising The probe of Trumps one-time campaign manager has led investigators to compile a huge amount of information about Manaforts secret bank accounts, his Ukrainian political work, and his underhanded activities while serving on the 2016 Trump presidential campaign. In the sentencing memorandum prosecutors will outline in detail all facts they believe the federal judge should take into account before his sentencing (which is now set for March 13.) This means Mueller will disclose what he knows about Manaforts criminal business schemes, his contacts with key Russians after he was arrested and the lies he told to prosecutors and a grand jury after he agreed to cooperate with the Mueller investigation. In filings like these, prosecutors write a detailed account of all of the defendants crimes and misbehavior. Up to now, the details of Manaforts cooperation have been guarded by prosecutors, since his interviews are a major part of Muellers investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election. Todays memo will outline the evidence Mueller has with respect to the two charges Manafort pleaded guilty to in September: conspiracy against the United States, and conspiracy witness tampering, which he committed after he was arrested by trying to contact former Ukrainian business associates. At the time of his plea, he also admitted to a many other money laundering and foreign lobbying crimes that took place in connection with his work for Ukrainian politicians and other foreign clients. According to Manafort his co-conspirators were: his long-time colleagues Rick Gates, who is still cooperating with Mueller, and Konstantin Kilimnik, whom prosecutors say is connected to Russian intelligence and who is at the heart of their inquiry. The memo will also likely cover his and Kilimniks alleged contact with potential witnesses in his case after Manaforts October 2017 arrest, and his lies about his interactions with Kilimnik in 2016 and other topics. Previously, prosecutors said Manafort should face up to 25 years in prison and pay tens of millions of dollars for tax and bank fraud. Fridays sentencing memo will give more details about why they think he should spend the rest of his life in jail. In the past, Muellers sentencing memos have revealed devastating new information which has been detrimental to the president. We can expect todays memorandum to do the same thing. Today could be a very bad day for Donald Trump as Mueller files with the court a public document setting forth the evidence he has proving that Trumps campaign manager colluded with Russia during the 2016 campaign in a conspiracy against the United States. 2.6k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Advertising The mainstream media has long insisted that there is a Department of Justice (DOJ) policy that prevents it from indicting a sitting president. However, there actually is no such policy. As a result, Donald Trump may very well be indicted and charged with various crimes while he is still in office. First, it is important to point out that what has been referred to as a DOJ policy was nothing more than a memo written by some DOJ staff person in the 1970s. It has never been tried or tested in court. Therefore it carries no legal weight, and it is not even backed up by any legal authority. Its also important to keep in mind that the issuing of an indictment i.e., charging someone with a crime is not the same thing as ARRESTING a suspect and throwing them in jail. So if the theory is that a president is too important to have his job interrupted with an indictment, that theory fails. The issuing of an indictment by itself would do nothing whatsoever to interfere with Donald Trumps busy schedule. Its merely a piece of paper a prosecutor obtains from a grand jury. It could authorize an arrest, but it does not require it. Advertising Last night Rachel Maddow had on a guest who provided new historical evidence which shows that the old DOJ memo is not an official policy. It was in fact written to argue why the DOJ could indict then-Vice President Spiro Agnew. It argued that a vice president wouldnt be nearly as busy as the president, and so he could be indicted. This was all explained by Walter Dellinger, former U.S. Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel. He said his office had never accepted that a president could not be indicted, which he believed was a shaky conclusion. "They did not accept the proposition that a president could not be indicted" -Walter Dellinger, former assistant attorney general, Office of Legal Counsel pic.twitter.com/IMbOy4W6jY Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) February 22, 2019 So there really is no DOJ policy that prohibits Robert Mueller, SDNY, or any other prosecutor from indicting Donald Trump while hes still in office. Of course, if that does happen, Trump would immediately appeal to the Supreme Court, hoping to get it overturned. But there does not seem to be a majority on the court that would rule in favor of Trump, especially without some clear legal authority to do so. And such authority does not exist. If the Supreme Court rules that the indictment against Trump is valid and enforceable, they may also say that he cant be arrested while still in office. Thats an open question. But the key point is that an arrest does not necessarily follow from an indictment. And an indictment against the president may very well be imminent, since there is no legal basis to prohibit it. Clearly an indictment against Trump, which explains in detail his crimes and the evidence against him, would destroy him politically. It would necessarily lead to impeachment proceedings in Congress. And it would certainly leave him with no choice but to resign from the office which he fraudulently won in the first place. As rumors abound that the Muller probe is almost at its end, there remains an intriguing mystery which is yet unresolved: Before he rides off into the sunset, will Bob Mueller make one final stand, and indict the sitting President of the United States? Advertising WASHINGTON (Reuters) U.S. authorities have arrested a U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant who described himself as a white nationalist and amassed a cache of weapons to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country, according to court documents. Christopher Paul Hasson, who is assigned to the Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington and lives in a Maryland suburb, had drawn up a list of possible targets, including House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and MSNBC television host Joe Scarborough, prosecutors said in court documents. Calling Hasson a domestic terrorist, the prosecutors said he was arrested on Friday on weapons and drugs charges. In a draft email in June 2017, they said, Hasson wrote: I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth. I think a plague would be most successful but how do I acquire the needed/ Spanish flu, botulism, anthrax not sure yet but will find something. Advertising A hearing on a motion to detain him pending trial was set for Thursday. In a statement, the Coast Guard confirmed that an active duty member of the service had been arrested. Because this is an open investigation, the Coast Guard has no further details at this time, it said. The Office of the Federal Public Defender in Maryland did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The prosecutors said agents found 15 firearms and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition in Hassons residence in Silver Spring, Maryland. They said from 2017, Hasson routinely studied a manifesto by Norwegian far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who in July 2011 killed eight people in downtown Oslo with a car bomb and then shot dead 69 people, many of them teenagers, at a Labour Party camp. (Reporting by Mohammad Zargham and Eric Beech; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Cynthia Osterman) 904 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Advertising Senate Democrats have introduced a resolution to block Trumps national emergency declaration and construction of his wall. Democrats move on Trumps National Emergency In a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said: If the presidents emergency declaration prevails, it will fundamentally change the balance of powers in a way our countrys founders never envisioned. That should be a serious wake up call to senators in both parties who believe in the constitutional responsibility of Congress to limit an overreaching executive. This issue transcends partisan politics, and I urge all senators Democrats and Republicans to support this resolution to terminate the presidents emergency declaration when it comes up for a vote in the Senate. Identical companion legislation to the House resolution will soon be introduced in the Senate. Advertising Republicans Are Already Coming On Board To Block Trump Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said that Trumps undermine Congress and dubious constitutionally. She added, If its a clean disapproval resolution, I will support it. More Republicans are expected to join Senate Democrats in supporting the resolution, and with only three more Republicans needed for passage, it is likely that the resolution will pass. The key is how many Republicans cross over to join with Democrats against Trump. If it is a handful, Trump can veto the resolution and the battle will head to court, but if 15-20 Republicans bolt, Trump will have a real problem, and it will show the courts that Trump is acting in defiance of the will of Congress. The battle is on as Democrats are out to fulfill the will of the people to stop Trumps wall. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook 3.6k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Advertising Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, tore into Republicans on Thursday in an open letter published in the Washington Post. This is a moment of great peril for our democracy, Schiff said. The powerful Democrat slammed Republicans for publicly standing by as Trump continues to demonstrate a complete lack of fitness and decency, even as they privately express their concern with the presidents conduct. Schiff also hit the GOP for letting Trump get away with his fake national emergency, which is essentially an attempt to strip Congress of its authority. Advertising The congressman wrote: To my Republican colleagues: When the president attacked the independence of the Justice Department by intervening in a case in which he is implicated, you did not speak out. When he attacked the press as the enemy of the people, you again were silent. When he targeted the judiciary, labeling judges and decisions he didnt like as illegitimate, we heard not a word. And now he comes for Congress, the first branch of government, seeking to strip it of its greatest power, that of the purse. Many of you have acknowledged your deep misgivings about the president in quiet conversations over the past two years. You have bemoaned his lack of decency, character and integrity. You have deplored his fundamental inability to tell the truth. But for reasons that are all too easy to comprehend, you have chosen to keep your misgivings and your rising alarm private. That must end. The time for silent disagreement is over. You must speak out. History will not be kind to the Republican Party With the Robert Mueller report on the verge of being released, Republicans will again have a chance to demonstrate where their loyalties lie. According to Andrew McCabe, the special counsels findings could be detailed and damning, leaving Republicans very little wiggle room when it comes to defending this president. If the past is any indication, though, the GOP will continue to act as a spineless lap dog for this president no matter what dirt the Mueller report shows. Ultimately, nothing can forgive the Republican Partys appeasement of Donald Trump over the past two years. History will forever consider it a dark stain on the party and the country. But if they have any interest in redeeming themselves and their party, they should listen to Adam Schiff and say publicly what they have reportedly said privately: that Donald Trump is a disgrace to the presidency and must be stopped. Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter Advertising By Gabriella Borter (Reuters) North Carolinas elections board on Thursday unanimously ordered a new election for a U.S. House seat after officials said corruption surrounding absentee ballots tainted the results of last Novembers vote. The bipartisan boards 5-0 decision came after Republican candidate Mark Harris requested a new vote, telling the panel that evidence of possible ballot fraud had undermined confidence in the election. In the televised hearing, board Chairman Bob Cordle said the corruption and absolute mess with the elections absentee ballots had cast doubt on the fairness of the contest. Advertising It certainly was a tainted election, Cordle said ahead of the vote. The people of North Carolina deserve a fair election. Harris request for a new vote came as a surprise. For months, he had said he should be declared the victor in the 9th Congressional District after he led Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes out of 282,717 ballots cast on Nov. 6. Elections officials, however, had refused to certify him as the winner due to allegations of irregularities in the vote. Through the testimony Ive listened to over the past three days, I believe a new election should be called, Harris said at a hearing in Raleigh. It was unclear whether Harris would run in the new race. He told the board he was recovering from an infection that led to sepsis and two strokes and he was not prepared for the rigors of the hearing. During this weeks hearing, Harris son said he had warned his father of potential illegal activity in the election by one of his political operatives, Leslie McCrae Dowless. North Carolinas Democratic Party said the hearing had laid bare the Harris campaigns illegal scheme to steal an election. This saga could only have ended in a new election, the state Democrats said. Harris statement came on the fourth day of a hearing on whether his campaign benefited from what state investigators called illegal election manipulation by Dowless. Earlier on Thursday, Harris said he had known Dowless was going door to door on the candidates behalf to help voters obtain absentee ballots, a process that is legal. Harris said Dowless assured him he would not collect the ballots from the voters, which would violate state law. But residents of at least two counties in the district said Dowless and his paid workers collected incomplete absentee ballots and, in some instances, falsely signed as witnesses and filled in votes for contests left blank, according to testimony at the hearing. Harris campaign officials said they did not pay Dowless to do anything illegal, and Dowless maintained his innocence. (Additional reporting by Andrew Hay; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Dan Grebler and James Dalgleish) 2.6k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Advertising Former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe told MSNBCs Ari Melber on Thursday that he believes special counsel Robert Muellers final report set to be released as early as next week will not hold back on detailing Donald Trumps potential crimes. McCabe told Melber that even if Trump cant be indicted, he expects the special counsel to lay out in detail the presidents misconduct and illegal behavior. I expect that Director Muellers team will produce an all-encompassing report that details exactly what they found and exactly what they think about it, McCabe said. McCabe added, I think its unbelievably important that that information is shared with Congress, and Id also like to see it shared to the greatest extent possible with the American people. Advertising Video: Andrew McCabe expects the Mueller report to detail all of Trumps potential crimes. #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/21giOqgqhe PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) February 22, 2019 David Corn of Mother Jones said he was struck by McCabes belief that Muellers report would be highly detailed: I wrote down that exact quote because that just jumped out at me. Now, McCabe is a witness in this case. Hes not part of it. He used to be part of the case before Robert Mueller took it over. We can say he has inside insight. He understands the people working the case, the prosecutors, the FBI people, and has some insight into Robert Mueller. So when he says an all-encompassing report is going to be produced detailing basically everything they found, that is the most expansive statement we have from anybody close to the Mueller probe on the subject of the report. Muellers report could lead to Trumps impeachment Many leading Democrats have been reluctant to bring up impeachment talk before the release of the Mueller report. With the special counsel probe wrapping up as early as next week, that could be about to change. If the Mueller report lays out Donald Trumps potential crimes in great detail, as McCabe suggests, it will give Democrats the fuel they need to move forward on impeachment proceedings. And perhaps even more importantly, if the report is detailed and damning enough, it could create an environment in which Republicans in Congress have no choice but to do what they have refused to do for the past two years: hold Donald Trump accountable. Robert Mueller may not be able to indict or charge a sitting president, but his report does have the power to effectively end Trumps presidency. Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter Three Great Live Reported Hands: Negreanu's Near Miss and a Chino Moment February 22, 2019 Mo Nuwwarah This is Volume 8 of an ongoing series in which PokerNews will look back on some of the most memorable hands recorded in the long history of live reporting on this site. To read more about the concept and which hands make the cut, check out Volume 1. Three-Way Ship in Vienna Original title: Luca Cainelli Eliminated in 5th Place (140,000) Date: 10-31-2010 Reporter: Lee Davy Tournament 2010 PokerStars EPT Vienna Main Event Players involved: Daniel Negreanu, Luca Cainelli, Martin Hruby Back in the 2010 PokerStars European Poker Tour Vienna Main Event, PokerStars' own Daniel Negreanu looked to be a massive favorite to capture his first EPT crown. Five-handed, he held the chip lead with double the stack of second-place Luca Cainelli. However, they'd be the next two players out, as fate would have it, with a massive pot spoiling both players' chances. Blinds and antes were 60,000/120,000/15,000, with Negreanu around 6 million and both Cainelli and Martin Hruby around 3 million. Cainelli opened for 280,000 under the gun and received calls from Negreanu and Hruby then also on Team PokerStars on his left. The flop came and Cainelli continued big for 725,000. Everyone stuck around for the turn. At this, Cainelli jammed, with Negreanu quickly getting his stack in as well. Perhaps out of surprise, or perhaps just savoring the moment, Hruby needed a moment before committing as well, turning up for the nuts. Negreanu held , having turned two pair, while Cainelli was stone dead and quite unlucky with . The river paired the board but preserved Hruby's straight as a winner. He raked in the monstrous pot to take a huge chip lead, which he'd eventually ride to a second-place finish for 470,000, losing out to Michael Eiler heads up. As for Negreanu, he'd bust in fourth and it remains the closest he's come to winning an EPT Main Event title. Cainelli got his aces cracked in two spots. Robert Scott Shows His Hands Original title: A Double-Up Nearly Turns Violent Date: 05-10-2011 Reporter: Eric Ramsey Tournament 2011 WSOPC Harrah's Cherokee Main Event Players involved: Robert Scott, Michael Rocco Everyone who has played poker for some reasonable amount of hours has seen a game get heated, but it's rare for things to come to blows. That didn't quite happen in the 2011 WSOP Circuit Harrah's Cherokee Main Event, but a misunderstanding did leave one player putting his dukes up late in the tournament thinking he might have to defend himself. It was late on Day 2 of the event, with just 11 players remaining, and Robert Scott raised on the button to 29,000 at 6,000/12,000/2,000. Michael Rocco was in the big blind and opted to shove all in with a covering stack, setting Scott at risk for 293,000. Scott thought Rocco was coming after him. Scott didn't need long before calling with and had to be pleased when Rocco rolled over . A board of meant a double for Scott, and he began walking to the rail to celebrate with his friends. He walked past Rocco on the way, and Rocco stood to congratulate him, offering a chest bump. Scott, thinking the man walking towards him with chest out had ill intentions, raised his fists and prepared to defend himself. "Don't make me f*** you up!" he yelled. Rocco found himself in an awkward spot, but the situation was resolved in short order as he explained the situation and the two players squashed things over a few handshakes. Rocco still had a solid 40 big blinds after the hand but would bubble the official final table, while Scott navigated to a second-place finish for $58,639. Chino Rheem Keeps it Light at the Final Table Original title: Ector Takes First Pot, Chino Gets All the Laughs Date: 09-06-2016 Reporter: Paul Oresteen Tournament 2016 WinStar River Poker Series $2,500 Main Event Players involved: Chino Rheem Chino Rheem has been the talk of the tournament poker world lately as he's absolutely on fire after taking down the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event and then getting third in the Aussie Millions $25K Challenge. However, Rheem is well-known in the community for the incredible highs and dreadful lows he experiences, having found himself in need of some stakes in his time despite some fantastic results. At the same time, those very results mean more than a few have been willing to back Rheem. When he made the final table of the 2016 WinStar River Poker Series $2,500 Main Event, Rheem was able to poke a little fun at his own history. During one of the first hands of the final table, with the winner scheduled to claim a cool $1 million, some of the players joked about how sparse the rail was. Some Layne Flack fans ribbed the competitors, asking whether they had any family or friends. "Don't worry," Rheem quipped. "If I win this thing, I'll have friends showing up, lining out the door." Alas, Rheem would only muster a seventh-place finish for $54,288, while the final five chopped for over $200,000 apiece. Rheem isn't above chuckling at his own expense. Flash The Venezuelan government led by President Nicolas Maduro has sealed off the country's border with Brazil and suspended aerial and maritime communications with the neighboring islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The military has also placed freight containers at the Tienditas bridge linking Venezuela with the Colombian city of Cucuta to block U.S. aid, as Maduro warned that the forceful humanitarian aid is fake and might be the first step toward a foreign invasion. The United States and other countries in the region, in coordination with the Venezuelan opposition, have declared their plan to deliver aid into Venezuela on Saturday. It coincides with the date that self-proclaimed Acting Venezuelan President Juan Guaido set for himself to take presidential powers. Guaido, head of the Venezuelan National Assembly, declared himself interim president during an antigovernment rally on Jan. 23, a move which was immediately recognized by the United States. Maduro accused Washington of orchestrating the show to impose, through a coup d'etat, a puppet regime in Venezuela. Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia told reporters on Wednesday that his country is "categorically" against regime change in Venezuela. "Russia is categorically against this regime change that we see is being implemented," said Nebenzia, adding that he hopes that "there are no foreign troops whatsoever coming to Venezuela from whatever country." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Friday that China opposes military intervention and any action that could lead to heightened tension or even turmoil in Venezuela. The government of Venezuela has "remained calm and exercised restraint," effectively preventing large-scale clashes, Geng said. "If so-called 'humanitarian aid' is delivered into Venezuela by force, once violent conflicts are caused, serious consequences will be brought on," he warned. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Wednesday that the country's internal order and proper protection of its borders are guaranteed. The Venezuelan government has arranged cultural activities and medical and nutritional assistance trips for Colombian citizens who live along the border, she said. On the other side, the opposition has arranged a charity concert called "Venezuela Aid Live" to hype up its momentum and rally support. Rodriguez said: "The first thing I would tell (U.S.) President Donald Trump is that his coup attempt in Venezuela failed, and even his own media are beginning to tell him that." She said that the way out of the crisis is through dialogue, and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza had held a very important and lengthy meeting with the European Union and Uruguay contact group. "There is a minority of world governments that intends to become hegemonic through force, but the only power we recognize is the power of international law," Rodriguez added. Maduro on Thursday met commanders of different components of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB) in person, and with leaders of the main regions and military zones through a video conference. He praised the morality and disposition of the FANB in the face of the current psychological war waged by the United States. The U.S. government has been plotting a set of provocations, but it "underestimated the capacity, preparation, moral firmness, professionalism and Bolivarian character of the Venezuelan military," Maduro warned. The current U.S. provocation takes the form of "fake humanitarian aid," he stressed. According to Rodriguez, the United States is blocking Venezuelan state funds to be used on treating children with cancer or kidney problems. "They have refused (to hand over) funds that the (state oil firm) PDVSA, through the Simon Bolivar Foundation and Citgo, earmarks and channels annually to treat cancer and kidney patients, mainly children," she said. "These patients, which are under the protection of this PDVSA program, are being turned out of medical centers," Rodriguez said. "We have had a death in Brazil and we have serious kidney transplant and cancer cases." While Washington insists on delivering "humanitarian aid" to Venezuela, it is causing a humanitarian crisis among the sick, said Rodriguez, calling the announced delivery of aid on Feb. 23 "a big circus, a big show." Venezuela has said it will block the delivery of U.S. aid, which it believes is a pretext to launch a military incursion. Flash Fifth-generation (5G) technology is not exclusive to one or few countries, but a result of exchange and cooperation among various countries, foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Thursday. His comments form China's official response to allegations on the security of Chinese tech companies' products and equipment, including Huawei. According to a BBC report, the United States is campaigning its allies to exclude Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from delivering 5G. Mobile World Congress 2019 will take place in Barcelona, Spain on Feb. 25-28, and is expected to focus strongly on 5G. The technology is one that the international tech community is striving toward, Geng said at a daily press conference. The global industry chain, supply chain and value chain of 5G are highly integrated and cannot be separated, or it will impact multilateral cooperation, damage the open and inclusive market, and undermine international rules of fairness, justice and non-discrimination, he said. China will strengthen communication and cooperation with all parties in science and the technology field, including 5G, Geng said. In an age of globalization, no country should be separated from others to pursue independent development, and no technology can be developed or applied without cooperation, he said. China will continue upholding the principles of joint consultation and cooperation for shared benefits, and work with all parties to grasp the opportunities brought by technological revolution for mutual benefit, he said. China also hopes all countries will make the right judgments and choices in line with their own interests, he added. Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University and co-author with Kevin Kruse of the new book Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974. Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University and co-author with Kevin Kruse of the new book Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974. Thank you for reading the Philadelphia Tribune. You have exhausted your free article views for this month. Please press the "subscribe" button below and see our introductory price of $0.25 per week for 13 weeks. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you next month. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Federal prosecutors in Florida violated the rights of victims by secretly reaching a non-prosecution agreement with a wealthy financier accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, a federal judge ruled Thursday. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra said in a 33-page decision that victims of financier Jeffrey Epstein should have been consulted under federal law about the deal. Marra stopped short of invalidating the non-prosecution agreement but asked prosecutors and victims' lawyers to recommend in 15 days how to move forward. While the government spent untold hours negotiating the terms and implications of the [agreement] with Epsteins attorneys, scant information was shared with victims, Marra wrote. Instead, the victims were told to be patient while the investigation proceeded. The law, Marra added, "lends itself to only one interpretation; namely, that victims should be notified of significant events resulting in resolution of their case without a trial." Epstein, now 66, reached the deal in 2008 with then-Miami U.S. Attorney Alexander Acostas office to end the federal probe that could have landed him in prison for life. Epstein instead pleaded guilty to lesser state charges, spent 13 months in jail, paid financial settlements to victims, and is a registered sex offender. Acosta, now President Donald Trump's labor secretary, has defended the deal as appropriate given what prosecutors knew and could prove at the time, especially with many victims reluctant to testify. Marra said in his ruling he was not passing judgment on whether the deal should have been struck, only that victims' rights were violated. Bradley Edwards, attorney for two victims who brought the lawsuit, said the decision should mean the non-prosecution agreement is thrown out possibly exposing Epstein to federal charges once again. The agreement also granted immunity to anyone who assisted Epstein in finding the underage girls or concealing the abuse. "Rather than work to correct the injustices done to the victims, the government spent 10 years defending its own improper conduct," Edwards said in an email. "It is time for the government to work with the victims, and not against them, to hold everyone who committed these crimes accountable." The U.S. Attorneys Office in Miami declined comment Thursday. The Justice Department, however, recently opened a separate investigation into the handling of the Epstein case to determine whether prosecutors committed professional misconduct. Earlier this month, the Labor Department run by Acosta issued a statement saying the secretary welcomes the Justice Department probe. "For more than a decade, this prosecution has been reviewed in great detail by newspaper articles, television reports, books, and congressional testimony," the statement said, adding that "the actions taken were in accordance with department practices, procedures, and the law." Court documents show Epstein had a Palm Beach, Fla., mansion where at least 40 underage girls were brought for what turned into sexual encounters. Authorities say he had female fixers who would look for suitable girls, some local and others recruited from Eastern Europe and other parts of the world. Before the scandal broke, Epstein was friends with Trump and had visited his Mar-a-Lago resort. Trump at the time told interviewers that Epstein was a great guy. Records also show former President Bill Clinton flew on Epsteins jet more than two dozen times on various philanthropic trips. Neither Trump nor Clinton has been implicated in any wrongdoing. Epstein also has a home in New York City, a ranch in New Mexico, and a private Caribbean island. SUNDAY Anderson .Paak & the Free Nationals The California rapper came to prominence with contributions to Dr. Dres Compton album. On this tour stop, hes promoting last years rock-solid Oxnard. 8 p.m., the Fillmore, 29 E. Allen St., $92 for a verified resale ticket, 215-309-0150, thefillmorephilly.com MONDAY Martha Graham Cracker Cabaret Expect plenty of laughs, live music, and fake eyelashes at this performance by actor Dito van Reigersbergs alter ego. 7 to 9:30 p.m., LEtage, 624 S. Sixth St., $20 in advance, $30 on the day of show, 21+, 215-592-0656, facebook.com/MarthaGrahamCracker TUESDAY Wanda Sykes She may not want to admit it to the world, but the Emmy-winning comedian is a part-time Media resident she was even spotted voting there in November. This week, she returns for a more entertaining reason: two nights at Punch Line Philly. 8 p.m., also Wednesday, Punch Line Philly, 33 E. Laurel St., sold out, 215-606-6555, punchlinephilly.com WEDNESDAY BOB: A Life in Five Acts Bobs on a lifelong quest to become "a great man. Follow his epic, cross-country journey in pursuit of a dream not unlike our own. 8 p.m., with additional shows through March 17, Azuka Theatre Company, 302 S. Hicks St., pay what you decide, 215-563-1100, azukatheatre.org THURSDAY Philly Black Trans History: A Multigenerational Panel The Trans Masculine Advocacy Network hosts a discussion of the black transgender community in the city, featuring pioneers of all ages. Members of the queer community and allies are welcome. 6 to 8:30 p.m., William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St., free, 215-732-2220, waygay.org FRIDAY AND SATURDAY Dance Theater of Harlem This visit is part of the dance companys 50th anniversary season and will include the world premiere of the Nyman String Quartet No. 2 by resident choreographer and Philadelphia native Robert Garland. 8 p.m., Friday, also 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St., $64 to $78, 215-898-3900, annenbergcenter.org Maple Sugar Day Fox Chase Farm holds its annual celebration of everything maple, including tours, candy making, crafts, and pancake tasting. Noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, Fox Chase Farm, 8500 Pine Rd., $3, 215-728-7900, foxchasefarm.org For travelers who seek out historic hotels, learning about a property firsthand and from an expert is a lovely perk. No brochure or website can make history come alive or indulge questions the way a human guide can. For many travelers, guided tours are the highlight of trips to such iconic properties as the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, which served as a secret bunker for members of Congress, or the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colo., which has a rich history both as a resort built by an automobile magnate and as the inspiration for the Stephen King novel The Shining. These lodgings, all featured on the Historic Hotels of America website (historichotels.org), offer guided tours of their fascinating properties, making your time there a truly memorable experience. Jekyll Island Club Resort, Jekyll Island, Ga. After an exquisite day at the majestic Jekyll Island Club Resort off the coast of Georgia, my companion asks, What was your favorite part? Its a tough call. The 5,700 acres of island tranquility once served as a private retreat for a group of Americas wealthiest families picture Vanderbilts and Morgans. In 1947, the state of Georgia bought the island, and in 1983, architect Larry Evans and lawyer Vance Hughes proposed restoring the historic building. The Jekyll Island Club opened as a hotel in 1986. Now owned by Northview Hotel Group, it has 157 rooms, with more units to come this year. The stately Queen Anne-style architecture, breezy verandas, and trees filled with swaying Spanish moss make for a relaxed and elegant atmosphere. But my favorite part? That was Sherri Zacher, the Jekyll Island Club Resorts concierge, who conducts the history tours. Sherri is Siri when it comes to club information. She shared details about the secret 1910 meeting disguised as a duck hunt that laid the groundwork for the Federal Reserve banking system and showed us Joseph Pulitzers favorite seat for an after-dinner smoke. Her childhood memories of trips to the island lent the presentation a personal feel and allowed us to experience a sense of connection and inclusion, to feel solid as a Rockefeller in this grand history-heavy retreat. Tours: Monday through Thursday at 2 p.m. Free for hotel guests; $15 per person for non-guests. Reservations recommended. Room rates from $149. Information: jekyllclub.com, 855-535-9547. Omni Mount Washington Resort, Bretton Woods, N.H. Under the front veranda of the Omni Mount Washington Resort is a bar that no one was supposed to know about well, no one with a badge. This was a Prohibition-era speakeasy. The Cave, as the bar is now known, still offers a Prohibition Punch, which Craig Clemmer, the resorts director of sales and marketing, describes as "a Roaring 20s-era cocktail served in a tea cup." Momentous events have happened here, such as the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, at which the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were established. But what was truly newsworthy when the 200-room Spanish Renaissance Revival-style hotel was opened it in 1902 by coal and railroad magnate Joseph Stickney? "To have hot and cold running water and a private bath in every room in this hotel was unheard of at the time," Clemmer says. Tours: Daily, 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Free for guests. Private group tours can be arranged. Room rates from $219. Information: omnihotels.com and search for Mount Washington Resort, 603-278-1000. Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, Riverside, Calif. To look at the Mission Inn, youd never guess that this giant, labyrinthine complex began as a humble adobe and boardinghouse in 1876. The owners son, Frank Miller, a world traveler and lover of beauty, opened todays hotel on the site in 1903. He constructed it in the Mission Revival tradition popular at the time and kept adding to it in a variety of architectural styles, including Spanish, Moorish, and Mediterranean revival. Millers lifes motto was Dramatize what you do, says collections manager Karen Raines. And that he did, amassing a mammoth collection of art, religious artifacts, and other antiquities. The hotel has more than 8,000 pieces, some of which it displays in rotating exhibits in the hotel and at its museum. (The hotel made a great impression on novelist Anne Rice, who set part of her book Angel Time there, in what her protagonist calls "a giant confection and confabulation of a building." Some areas viewable only on the tour include the Grand Parisian Ballroom, with its 1903 custom-made Kimball pipe organ, and the Saint Francis of Assisi Chapel with Tiffany stained-glass windows. Youre more likely to see these rooms on earlier tours, since theyre often in use later in the day. Tours: Weekdays at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m.; weekends at 10, 11:30, 1:30, 2:30, and 4. Adults, $13; children (11 and younger), free with paying adult. Reservations recommended. Room rates from $199. Information: missioninn.com, 951-784-0300. Palmer House Hilton, Chicago Being both warm and palatial is a neat trick, but, then, the Palmer House has some magic to it. The original hotel was a wedding gift from business and real estate magnate Potter Palmer to his bride, Bertha Honore Potter, a cultural leader, renowned art collector, and advocate for women. The first Palmer House opened in 1871 but fell to the Great Chicago Fire just 13 days after the grand opening. Palmer then rebuilt what was advertised as the worlds first fireproof hotel. The current hotel, with 1,641 rooms, is the third incarnation, built in the 1920s in Classical Revival style. "He was an exceptional man, she was an exceptional woman, and they contributed to each other and to the nation," says Ken Price, resident historian of 37 years. Price hosts the hotels History is Hott tour, revealing the backstory of characters as intriguing as the city they nurtured, and describing the heyday of the legendary Empire Room, which showcased entertainers such as Tony Bennett, Carol Channing, and Sonny and Cher. When Chicago hosted the 1893 Worlds Fair, Bertha asked the hotel chefs to create something unique. They came up with the brownie, and their original recipe is still served at this Chicago landmark. Tours: Offered through the Lockwood Restaurant. Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 3 p.m. for lunch tour; 1:30 to 3 for tour alone. Reservations required 24 hours in advance. The lunch tour is $70; tour alone is $40. Room rates from $109. Information: palmerhousehiltonhotel.com, 312-726-7500. The Buccaneer, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands Before Johnny Depp, there was John Martel, a real-life pirate of the Caribbean. When Martel fled from British pirate-hunters, the story goes, he abandoned most of his ships in the bay that fronts this property, thus inspiring its name. Originally 11 rooms on a former cattle ranch, the hotel now has 138 rooms, plus a six-bedroom villa, and the new Beauregards on the Beach restaurant. Elizabeth Armstrong, whose family owns the hotel and has been on the island since 1723, hosts weekly history tours of the property. She covers the Igneri Indians arrival from South America, the sugar era (an old sugar mill is the site of Tuesday night cocktail parties), and a charmed time when vacationing celebrities such as Lauren Bacall and Jason Robards would come for extended stays and, she says, "people would rake the beach and make their own drinks." Some tourists visit St. Croix for warmth and water, Armstrong says, "but when they find out that there is a deeper story to the island, it makes a difference, and its why people fall in love with it." Tours: Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. Reserved for hotel guests. Free. Room rates from $315. Information: thebuccaneer.com, 340-712-2100 or 800-255-3881. You are here: World Flash Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for closer ties with Caribbean countries on Thursday. Wang made the remarks when meeting with representatives from Caribbean countries that have diplomatic ties with China. Wang said China and the Caribbean countries had fostered a paradigm of relations of equal treatment and win-win cooperation between big and small countries. He called on all countries to safeguard the international order with the United Nations at the core, as well as multilateralism based on international rules. Stressing the importance of sustainable development, he called for intensified cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative and jointly safeguarding the global and regional peace and stability. The Caribbean countries stand ready to jointly construct the Belt and Road with China, and intensify coordination on climate change so as to safeguard common interests, said the Caribbean representatives who came to attend the seventh round of foreign ministries' consultations between China and their countries. Elwyn, a Delaware County-based nonprofit that serves people with disabilities, wants to build a 53,000-square-foot administrative building on Camdens waterfront as part of a region-wide effort to consolidate its real estate footprint. The agency was approved last week for support from New Jerseys Grow NJ economic development program that will largely cover the buildings nearly $40 million construction tab if job-creation and other criteria are met, said Elwyns vice president for corporate real estate, Jeremy R. Sunkett. The offices would be built on a vacant waterfront parcel owned by developer Liberty Property Trust beside the 18-story Camden Partners Tower. Elwyn plans to employ about 200 staffers at the site, with 167 coming from the main campus in Middletown Township and the rest from offices in Vineland, N.J. Elwyn is exactly the kind of organization that Grow NJ was designed to attract, the nonprofits president and chief executive, Charles McLister, said in a statement. We have an important mission to serve children and adults with disabilities, and we have a strategic plan that calls for growth in the Delaware Valley. With the Grow NJ approval, Elwyn can begin formal negotiations for the development site, Sunkett said. It is evaluating options for having the project built, since Liberty, which holds development rights to the land, has opted to get out of the business of building offices to concentrate on industrial projects, he said. The move to Camden will allow the group to use more of its main campus in Middletown for care programs rather than administrative functions, although it also intends to substantially shrink its Delaware County landholdings, Sunkett said. Much of its roughly 270-acre main campus property could go up for sale, with preliminary discussions revolving around a scenario in which only about 70 acres are retained, he said. Elwyn already is seeking buyers for a similar-size property it owns that once served as the campus of the now-defunct Sleighton Farm School, which the nonprofit does not use. Middletown officials have taken steps toward acquiring 80 acres to preserve as open space, the Delaware County Daily Times reported last week. Less space is needed for programs than in the past because of an industry-wide move away from institutional housing for service recipients in favor of home-based care, Sunkett said. Meanwhile, the nonprofit is negotiating new leases for some of the functions that will vacate its 2.75-acre West Philadelphia campus at 4040 Market St., which it sold to the University of Pennsylvanias medical network last year. Some are likely headed into offices at a converted former telephone exchange building near Filbert and Preston Streets, just north of the recently sold property, while others are bound for what had been the Wakisha Charter School at 900 W. Jefferson St. in North Philadelphia, Sunkett said. Much of the West Philadelphia property has been used as a base for the teachers and therapists who visit homes and classrooms for Elwyns early-childhood special-education programs, Sunkett said. Plans call for them to instead report to as many as six smaller hubs that are planned across the region closer to the communities those staffers serve, he said. Through this reconfiguration, the staffers who now occupy about 110,000 square feet in West Philadelphia will soon require a little more than a quarter that much space, he said. By the time the line began moving on a hot Tuesday morning in June, nearly a dozen seniors had been waiting for almost a day. They gathered in South Philadelphia by the end, scores of them, most older than 62 to try to secure one of the new, affordable senior housing units sprouting near Fourth and Snyder Streets. Many had begun lining up the afternoon before with their lawn chairs and sun hats. Waiting hours overnight even seemed a small price to pay, they thought, for a chance at safe, clean housing that they could afford. In reality, most of them had been waiting much longer than 24 hours. The new development, called Cantrell Place, had been in the works since 2011 when Montgomery County-based developer Presbys Inspired Life envisioned the senior housing community. Before finally opening its doors in December, Presby had spent the time drawing up plans, assembling land, and applying for funding over and over again. The 61 one-bedroom units, with space for seniors who make as little as $12,240 and as much as $36,708 annually, had been more than seven years in the making. For seniors who lived in the surrounding neighborhoods, that meant living in rowhouses with too many stairs or too much space to maintain. Some stayed in properties crumbling from disrepair. Others had seen their incomes decline and cost of living rise, leaving them in houses they could no longer afford. Yet in todays affordable housing landscape, seven years to finish a project could be considered the norm. Government funding for these types of projects has continued to shrink. Competition for what remains has intensified. Nonprofit and for-profit affordable housing developers must often apply repeatedly for the limited public money. If they dont get it, experts say, its hard for affordable housing projects to proceed. The issue has become particularly problematic for senior citizens. A majority of the massive baby boom generation, defined as those born between 1946 and 1964, is in its 60s, with several million boomers now in their 70s. According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, the population of people aged 65 and older is expected to jump to 73 million by 2030, an increase of 33 million in two decades. But the problem is far greater than growing demand. Its no longer uncommon for people to live into their 80s and beyond, meaning housing is needed for longer than it once was. At the same time, the number of older, low-income households is growing, the Harvard study said, with those earning less than $15,000 per year jumping 39 percent between 2000 and 2016. The result, experts say: an affordable senior housing crisis one that is expected to grow worse in the coming years. Subsidies havent really kept pace with the growth in that population, said Robert Silverman, a professor at the University of Buffalo and an expert in affordable housing. Without funding for affordable housing development, what developers have been left with as options and what kinds of options they pursue have really been market-rate housing that leans toward the high-rent market. A five- to 10-year wait for a home Isabella Kelly has survived cancer twice, suffers from spinal stenosis, and has endured a broken ankle that landed her in the hospital. In other words, at 66, she knows shes a pretty tough lady. Which is why, she thinks, she stayed in her collapsing West Philadelphia home for so long. For years, she had no heat and eventually broke her oven using it to try to stay warm. Water from her leaking roof filled buckets and bags. And when she came home from the hospital after ankle surgery in 2017, she found her kitchen ceiling with a gaping hole in it. I saw stuff dropping down from the ceiling one day, and I looked up and there was a raccoon looking at me, Kelly said. I yelled and it just stood there. And then the second time it was on top of the closet. I nailed a 2-by-4 up there and some heavy cardboard to the roof, but I couldnt sleep. I was like, What if I wake up and it is sitting on my chest? So in the summer of 2017, Kelly applied to Presby for a low-income apartment. But like thousands of other seniors looking for affordable housing in the region, she was told there was a wait list one that could take years to be whittled down. At Presbys affordable senior communities, as well as other senior communities in the region, applicants face wait lists that are often hundreds of people long. At Presby, for example, nearly 4,200 people are waiting to move into the 2,451 slots they offer at the 36 communities they developed or manage. The wait, a spokesperson said, can typically last several years. Kelly ultimately secured a spot at a community in Southwest Philadelphia just a few days before Christmas roughly a year and a half after she applied. The Philadelphia Housing Authority said its wait list for affordable senior housing is 11,262 people long meaning applicants can expect to wait between five and 10 years to get a spot inside one of its 2,100 senior-only public housing apartments. For physically disabled seniors, however, PHA typically can move them into accessible units within a year, a spokesperson said. (PHA classifies seniors as people 55 and older, compared to Presby, which has a minimum age requirement of 62 for its residents.) The demand is really high, said Vidhi Anderson, executive director of housing and land development at Presby. I think it becomes a bit of a bottleneck with funding. Its extremely limited and extremely competitive. Its not for the faint of heart. Slashed federal funding, fiercer competition When developers of affordable senior housing want to build a new community today, their options for sizable chunks of funding largely boil down to one: low-Income Housing Tax Credits, administered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. It wasnt always this way. For decades, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funded new affordable senior housing projects through its Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program, known as Section 202. Started in 1959, the program produced nearly 400,000 new units for low-income elderly households over its lifetime, HUD estimates. Yet the program was slashed in 2012 by several million dollars, eliminating the ability for Section 202 to be used for new projects. Current funds support only existing senior housing, and allocations were cut further in 2016-17, Harvard says. The only real way to fund [projects] now is through the low-income tax credits, Anderson said. And competition can be fierce. Each year, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency receives around $30 million in housing tax credits from the federal government, which developers can apply for in amounts as large as $1.25 million. If selected, developers then transfer those credits to investors and corporations in exchange for millions of dollars of equity. The investors, in return, can use the credits as a discount against future taxes. Last year, across the state, developers of 98 affordable housing projects submitted an application for tax credits. Slightly more than a third 39 total were selected. Ted Wasserman, president of Montgomery County-based Wasserman Properties, was one applicant who was denied last year. He hopes to build a 44-unit low-income senior housing community called Frankford House in Philadelphias Frankford neighborhood, which he said will provide social and health-care services, in addition to housing. Already, he said, he has sunk nearly $150,000 into planning his project. He recently applied again. But with competition just as aggressive 86 applicants theres no guarantee that he will get the funds this year. All types of affordable housing are going after that same pot of money, Wasserman said. And there are stories of people who have applied three or four times." Anderson from Presby knows what thats like. For the organizations Witherspoon senior housing project in Southwest Philadelphia, which also opened its doors in late 2018, Presby applied three years in a row before being awarded tax credits. And then, it still needed funding from the city, as well as private money, to cover the projects full cost. With a line of senior citizens camped out for that rent-subsidized project, too, Presby had the 60-unit community filled up in a matter of days. HARRISBURG (AP) Federal money for submarine manufacturing in Philadelphia, aircraft construction in Pittsburgh, and other military construction projects in Pennsylvania could be at risk of being diverted by the Trump administration to help finance a U.S.-Mexico border wall, U.S. Sen. Bob Caseys office said Thursday. Casey's office said there is nearly $200 million in congressionally approved money for military construction projects in Pennsylvania. That includes about $71 million to expand a submarine propeller manufacturing facility in the Philadelphia Navy Yard and at least $85 million to improve facilities at Pittsburgh's Air Force Reserve station to accommodate the larger C-17 Globemaster III. Another $8 million is set aside to replace aging facilities at Fort Indiantown Gap, the National Guard training center near Harrisburg. In a statement, Casey's office said it has received no information from the Trump administration on what money is at risk. "I will fight like hell to keep this funding and these projects up and running in Pennsylvania," Casey, a Democrat, said in a statement. The office of U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican, said separately that it did not know which projects could be at risk of seeing money diverted. Last week, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, moving to secure more money for his long-promised wall after Congress approved only a fraction of the money he had demanded. The White House has said the border project would receive $3.6 billion that Congress originally provided for military construction projects. The Department of Defense said Thursday that no decisions have been made on which projects would lose money. Casey opposes Trump's declaration as an abuse of power. He also opposed Trump's efforts to get more money from Congress for the border wall, saying no security expert thinks building a wall as Trump envisions it is an effective border strategy. Toomey has said he preferred that Trump work with Congress on border security, rather than taking unilateral action. Toomey had contended that Trump's proposals for more money from Congress were reasonable, but Toomey had more broadly defined the money as being for border security, such as technology and roads, and not just a wall. In the meantime, a number of efforts are underway to stop the diversion. California is leading a group of 16 states in a lawsuit filed Monday contending that Trump's declaration is unconstitutional, while House Democrats planned to file a resolution Friday aimed at blocking the national emergency declaration. Pennsylvania's attorney general, Josh Shapiro, said earlier this week that he would take legal action if Pennsylvania loses federal funds because of Trump's emergency declaration. The federal government had not provided guidance on the funding sources, Shapiro, a Democrat, said. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, R, who is flirting with a 2020 White House run, on Thursday accused the Republican National Committee of taking "unprecedented" steps to shield President Donald Trump from primary challengers. Hogan, who is being courted by Republican dissidents seeking an alternative to Trump, told Politico in an interview that he was disgusted by RNC efforts to close ranks around Trump and troubled by reports that Republicans in South Carolina were considering scrapping their primary altogether. "I've never seen anything like it, and I've been involved in the Republican Party for most of my life. It's unprecedented," Hogan told Politico reporter Alex Isenstadt. "In my opinion, it's not the way we should be going about our politics." Hogan spokeswoman Amelia Chasse confirmed the comments made by the governor, who has stepped onto the national stage since his reelection in November to discuss the direction of the GOP, President Trump and his own future. "The governor was referring to the reporting that the Trump campaign is seeking to close off parts of the primary process," Chasse said. "He sees it as . . . problematic, not the way it should work." Hogan, who has criticized Trump since before the president was elected, is now speaking more frequently and in sharper tones about Trump and Washington politics. Earlier this week in an appearance on CBS This Morning, Hogan said Trump acts "irrationally" at times and looks "pretty weak" in the general election. He also questioned the president's decision to issue an executive order declaring a national emergency over border security. Hogan captured a significant portion of the African-American and female vote in heavily Democratic Maryland last November, when he became only the second Republican governor reelected in the state since Reconstruction. Two people close to Hogan said the governor represents a style of Republicanism that is lacking in today's politics, and that he would like to revive. He has dramatically broken with mainstream GOP positions on issues like guns and immigration. But he says he wants to be a part of the national conversation about how to help move the party forward. "And the question is, what are they afraid of?" Hogan said to Politico. "Because on the one hand you look at polls, 70 percent of Republicans support the president in a primary. Why are they so concerned? Why the puffing out the chest - 'We've put together the greatest team ever assembled, we're going to raise all this money early, we're going to hire all these people early, we're going to take over the RNC.' " Hogan, who is the incoming chairman of the National Governors Association, is attending the group's gathering in Washington over the next few days. He will participate in a regional NGA meeting about business development during a trip to Iowa early next month. While in Iowa, the first state in the presidential nomination process, Hogan may meet with voters, Chasse said. The governor also plans to make a springtime visit to New Hampshire, where the countrys first primary is held. Three moves by State Sen. Anthony H. Williams this week suggest he is creeping closer to challenging Mayor Jim Kenney in the May 21 Democratic primary. First, Williams has people circulating nomination petitions, collecting the 1,000 signatures from Democratic voters he needs by March 12 to get his name on the ballot. Second, Williams declared that he will not accept campaign donations from Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers after that unions leader, John J. Johnny Doc Dougherty, City Councilman Bobby Henon, and six other union officials were indicted three weeks ago. Third, that statement, which said, The current political environment is seriously tainted by allegations of undue influence and corruption that has reached into City Hall and are casting a shadow over the Mayors Office," was issued by the Williams Exploratory Committee. Thats new. Williams didnt mention Kenney in any of that. He didnt need to. Kenney told reporters on the day Dougherty was indicted that he would continue to accept political support from Local 98. And he attended a Center City fund-raiser for his reelection campaign, hosted by Local 98, the next day, sneaking out the back door later to avoid reporters. Expect more of this. Candidates for public office this year will be studying campaign finance reports, using Local 98 ties to brand competitors as too cozy with corrupting influences. Some of the politicians using that tactic will likely have been previously funded by Local 98. Williams, for instance, has received $447,000 in Local 98 money and political support since 2000, according to an Inquirer analysis of the unions political action committee. Kenney campaign spokesperson Harrison Morgan knocked Williams declaration about Local 98 money as "nothing more than a shallow and hypocritical political stunt. If Senator Williams is so outraged, he should return the more than $400,000 he has accepted from Local 98 over the years, Morgan said. Williams told Clout he will announce his intentions for the mayors race in the coming days, not weeks. We wondered, how would a 2019 campaign compare with 2015, when Williams finished a distant second to Kenney in a six-candidate primary? Williams said he would organize his campaign to be more bottom-up, rather than the top-down model he used four years ago. That means using more technology and data sharing to reach out and talk to voters. Its about rowhouse families, people in poverty, impacted by unemployment, Williams said of his message to those voters. All of us would like to think we have progressive values, but when the majority of us are not making progress, we have to speak to the truth about Philadelphia. A word of caution here: Williams publicly flirted with a 2011 challenge to then-Mayor Michael Nutters bid for a second term. In the end, he didnt enter that race. As predicted, the Battle of the Barrio Did we say candidates are going to batter each other with Local 98 ties? Hey, heres an email from City Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez knocking her Democratic primary opponent, State Rep. Angel Cruz, for his close ties to Local 98. Quinones-Sanchez is seeking a fourth term in Councils majority-Latino 7th District, where the Democratic ward leaders have again denied her their endorsement. Cruz is one of those ward leaders. Go figure. Clout predicted this long-festering fight last month. In an email blast to supporters, Quinones-Sanchez cited the indictments and declared herself disappointed but not surprised" by the ward leaders. She also noted Local 98 spent over $100,000 in the final week of the 2015 primary, giving that money to wards and organizations backing her then-primary opponent, Manny Morales. Cruzs 7th Ward received $25,000 of that money. I dont hide it, Cruz said Thursday. John Dougherty is my friend. Cruz, now in his 10th two-year term in Harrisburg, has received $141,334 in contributions and other support from Local 98s Committee on Political Education since 2000. Will he take more from the union this year? Cruz says he has asked Local 98 for support, and well find out when he files his first campaign finance report for 2019 in early April. And he noted that Quinones-Sanchez accepted $2,500 from Local 98 in 2007. For now, hes the financial underdog. Quinones-Sanchez reported having nearly $115,000 in her campaign account as of Dec. 31. Cruz reported having just $1,553 at the end of the year in the account he uses to run for the state House. Mike Stack III and the 10th District We slipped into the campaign fund-raiser held Tuesday by former Lt. Gov. Mike Stack III to see what we could determine about his political future. We didnt get much of a hint from him. But the citys Board of Elections roster of candidates pulling nomination petitions lists Stack as collecting signatures in City Councils 10th District, held by Councilman Brian ONeill, a Republican now in his 10th term. I love the city, and I love public service, Stack told us as former State Sen. Vince Fumo and State Sen. Larry Farnese mingled at the fund-raiser. Ive always felt like I could contribute a lot. So Im still focused on how we can best serve our city and our region. ONeill would make a formidable opponent, listing $445,324 in his campaign account as of Dec. 21. Stack, as we told you last week, has $10,593 in the bank and $137,814 in debt, including $90,000 owed to his mother, former Municipal Court Judge Felice Stack, and $33,000 owed to himself. And Stack has primary competition. Two Democrats, Judy Moore and Taras Smerechanskyy, are also circulating nomination petitions in the district. City officials recently blamed a clerical error, in part, for allowing a friend of Councilman Kenyatta Johnson to secure two city-owned lots without bidding this summer and then flip them for a cool $165,000 profit at taxpayers' expense. The Inquirer and Daily News have found it was not the first time that city records inaccurately reflected the details of a no-bid land sale to the developer, Felton Hayman. >>UPDATE: Reports of flawed records and improper sales trigger call for investigation of city land deals In the lead-up to a 2016 purchase of three Point Breeze lots by Hayman, records maintained by the city committee that cleared the transaction failed to show that other potential buyers were interested in the properties. They also mislabeled Haymans intentions for the lots, describing them as side yards not to be developed. Side yards are typically sold at a lesser price to immediate neighbors, which Hayman was not. The inaccuracies were eventually flagged by the head of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and corrected before final approval of the deal. Still, the sales went through without the required competitive bidding or appraisals. The discovery of the inaccurate records follows a report last month in the Inquirer and Daily News that the city sold three other Point Breeze properties to Hayman in August at below market rate prices, after incorrectly listing Hayman as the only developer to have expressed interest in the lots. Officials later acknowledged that the city had received a total 16 expressions of interest for the properties in that deal. In that case, a spokesperson for the city's landholding agencies blamed a clerical error. Under city guidelines, interest from multiple developers should have triggered competitive bidding to ensure that taxpayers received the maximum value for the land. Mayor Kenney acknowledged that the sale was flawed but saw no need for disciplinary action. "I'm told this was human error, inadvertent," Kenney said in a statement responding to the report. "In this instance, I fail to see why you'd discipline someone for making a mistake." Kenney, at that point, was unaware of the other inaccuracies since uncovered. In October 2014, Hayman told the city's Vacant Property Review Committee that he wanted to buy a lot on Ellsworth Street and two on Manton Street to "build three-story homes for affordable housing," meeting minutes show. Johnson provided a letter of support for the project. With little discussion, the committee approved the sale to Hayman for a combined price of $70,488 less than half the fair-market value of the property at the time. Despite Hayman's stated intent to build on the lots, the committee recorded that deal as involving "side yard" sales. That designation refers to the sale of a lot to a neighboring resident for use as a yard, not development. Lots sold as side yards are typically priced lower than those to be developed. The committee also did not record, as required, the number of individuals or entities that had expressed interest in buying the lots. In this instance, two of the properties each had 20 expressions of interest. Emails from January 2015 show that the head of the city's Redevelopment Authority (PRA) was concerned about the inaccuracies and questioned why the properties were being sold without appraisals. "They're listed as side yards but [Hayman] doesn't live adjacent to the parcels," Brian Abernathy, then the executive director of the PRA, wrote to Susie Jarmon, the chair of the Vacant Property Review Committee. "Additionally, the number of [expressions of interest] isn't listed. Could you provide more detail on the transaction and why it's being sold w/o an appraisal?" Minutes later, Jarmon sent a response. The punctuation is hers: "I'm out sick today. As for felton hayman these are for development I will let you know how many applicants on the felton deal I thought all of the forms were completed I guess I will have to check these to" Abernathy forwarded Jarmon's response to Tania Nikolic, then the PRA's deputy executive director. He added one word: "Sigh." "I am sorry what!?@!" Nikolic wrote back. She said she felt uncomfortable presenting the sale to the PRA's board and asked that she not be asked to present future items from Jarmon's committee. Two days later, Abernathy emailed Jarmon to say that she should postpone the Hayman sales. "I'm willing to take the hit with w/Kenyatta [Johnson] if you need me to," he wrote. Eight months later, the committee corrected the records to show that the proposed sales were for "new construction" and "development," and there were 42 expressions of interest among the three properties. The sale went through in January 2016 at below-market prices and without bidding or appraisals. While Hayman had told Jarmon's committee that he would build homes for "under $250,000," they sold for between $325,000 and $415,000. Abernathy, now the city's first deputy managing director, declined to comment on the sales. Nikolic, who now works at Amtrak, did not respond to a request for comment. Nor did Jarmon. Kenney's office could not provide an explanation for why the sales were initially mislabeled or sold without bidding or appraisals. Responding to questions about the profit Hayman made with the quick re-sale of the city lots he purchased in August, Kenney placed some of the blame on City Council, which must approve sales of city-owned property. Under the unwritten tradition known as "councilmanic prerogative," Council members can veto development projects in their districts. Kenney told WHYY's RadioTimes host Marty Moss-Coane last week there is little he can do about that. "Councilmanic prerogative will only be ended by Council," he said. "What you have is a political dynamic where the 10 district Council people will not vote against what another district Council person says in terms of a development or property or land distribution." Council President Darrell Clarke, who appointed Jarmon the chair of the Vacant Property Review Committee, declined to comment on the committee's actions in the Hayman sales. In a statement, Clarke's office said he was trying to streamline the city's "disjointed approach to public land use and disposition." Johnson, whose letters of support essentially ensured Hayman would get the properties he sought, issued a statement saying that he was not aware that the vacant property committee had initially mischaracterized the sales. He said the errors "show once again that the system is broken." "The Councilman believes that he has an obligation to his constituents to ensure that development balances the needs of longtime residents and new residents, and to make sure that everyone has a voice in how their community is developed," the statement said. "When the city fails to compile and distribute accurate information regarding city-owned property, we end up with deals that shortchange the people of Philadelphia." Hayman, who grew up with Johnson, said he, too, was unaware that the paperwork for the sales had been incorrect. I dont know nothing about that, and Im being honest, Hayman said. I dont get into the politics of this stuff, man. Im just trying to make a living for myself and my family. Felton Hayman has done it again. With the backing of City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, a childhood friend, the Point Breeze developer sidestepped a thicket of city policies and made a killing in September by reselling two of three properties he purchased from the city just a month before at a fraction of their market value money that could have gone to taxpayers. Hayman pocketed $165,000 2 times what he paid in the deal, records show. Multiple city rules are in place to prevent precisely those types of transactions. In this case, the city ignored them, as well as at least four other developers who had expressed interest in buying one or more of the lots. "For these properties, Councilman Johnson's indication that he supported the sale of the property to Mr. Hayman made Mr. Hayman the only eligible purchaser," Paul Chrystie, a spokesperson for the city's landholding agencies, said in an email this month. The below-market land sales were made possible by the unwritten tradition known as "councilmanic prerogative," which effectively gives City Council members veto power over development in their districts. The administrations of Mayor Kenney and Mayor Michael Nutter put in place safeguards to ensure that city land is sold at fair market value, thus protecting taxpayers' interests. But those safeguards proved useless in the Hayman transactions. It's not the first time that Hayman, 50, a Johnson campaign contributor with a criminal past, has benefited from sweetheart deals with the city thanks to Johnson's support. The Inquirer and Daily News reported in 2016 that his company, Hayman Construction, bought three city properties in Johnson's district at prices far below their worth. Hayman then built and sold homes on the lots for as much as $415,000, despite promises to the city that he would create affordable housing. Reached on his cell phone, Hayman dismissed any concerns about his latest windfalls. "You got a right to make all the money you want," he said. "Why are you worried about these three lots?" As it turns out, the FBI too has an interest in the sales. According to sources, the agency has subpoenaed city records pertaining to the transactions. Hayman grew up with Johnson in Point Breeze. While Johnson ultimately went into politics and was elected to City Council in 2011, Hayman's path led him to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in 1991 to third-degree murder. Police said Hayman, then a gang member, had helped concoct a plan to kill a rival drug dealer. The hit went awry when some of Hayman's coconspirators shot and killed the wrong man in a West Oak Lane tavern. After release from prison, Hayman worked as a driver and legal assistant to a Philadelphia lawyer before going into the construction business. Johnson provided his old friend letters of support that proved invaluable in leapfrogging other developers in Point Breeze. Hayman contributed $4,600 to Johnson's campaign fund between 2012 and 2016. Hayman's most recent purchases were finalized in August, four years after the developer notified the city of his interest in buying 2040 and 2046 Titan St. and 1200 S. Bucknell St. The city's Vacant Property Review Committee in 2014 approved selling the lots for $12,852, $11,913, and $14,752, respectively. The committee, whose chair is appointed by Council President Darrell Clarke, used an automated system for establishing property values known as LAMA shorthand for "land management" that can lag far behind fair market value in gentrifying neighborhoods. Philadelphia's policy at the time called for open bidding if more than one potential buyer has notified the city of an interest in a property. In the case of the properties committed to Hayman, each had multiple "expressions of interest" from developers. Rather than triggering competitive bidding, which would have assured taxpayers the best prices on the properties, the interest from other developers was disregarded by the city in deference to Johnson's support. A Vacant Property Review Committee fact sheet sent to the Redevelopment Authority states there had been only one expression of interest for the lots. Provided evidence to the contrary by the Inquirer and Daily News, Chrystie conceded that there were 16 potential bidders among the three lots. He said a city clerk had inadvertently typed the wrong figure on the fact sheet. In June 2015, having previously given Hayman a commitment to sell the properties to him for a total of $39,517, the city raised the prices with appraisals to $31,000, $34,000, and $36,000 each. But even those figures likely represented outdated values for the lots, as they relied on late 2014 comparable sales at a time when the price of land in Point Breeze was soaring. Developer Ori Feibush, a longtime public critic of Johnson, called out the potential sale in a November 2015 Facebook post that claimed the properties were being vastly undervalued by the city. Johnson's former legislative assistant, Steve Cobb, acknowledged in a response that there were "concerns regarding how it was appraised." Cobb, who has since left Johnson's employment, referred questions about the appraisals to Johnson. The Feibush case resolved, Hayman's proposal went to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority last August. The sale price remained that assigned the properties three years before. Even though the city's current policy permits a sale price to be reconsidered if settlement isn't reached within six months, Chrystie said the city did not "feel it was fair" to ask Hayman to pay the current market value on the properties when he was ready to settle on them in 2015. That despite the fact that the city once before had adjusted the price of the properties. In holding to the 2015 prices, the city ignored one of the "guiding principles" of its current policy: "Sell properties at fair market value if the proposed use is a strictly private one." Before the authority voted to approve the sale, Anne Fadullon, the board chair, noted that the transfer of the properties to Hayman Construction would be subject to an Economic Opportunity Plan to guarantee that a portion of the construction work would go to minorities, women, or people with disabilities, meeting minutes show. Hayman never signed the Economic Opportunity Plan, officials now say. The sale went through anyway. Hayman said in an interview that he purchased the lots "fair and square." "I'm a straight shooter. Are you telling me an ex-con doesn't have a right to come back? I'm building houses," Hayman said. "You don't think that's a good thing? The city's got to get their sh in order. I didn't do nothing wrong. I didn't set the prices." City planning officials say they were caught off guard when Hayman quickly flipped the Titan Street properties to another buyer for a hefty profit. The sale had been approved with the expectation that he would build homes there, according to Jamila Davis, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority. In May, Johnson introduced a resolution in Council to close the Hayman deal. Outside Council chambers earlier this month, he declined to comment on the sales. "I'm not going to talk about that now," Johnson said. Johnson's attorney, Patrick Egan, said in a statement that his client had done nothing wrong. He said that the city landholding agencies had set the low prices under old procedures. He said Johnson was not notified that other developers were interested in the lots and was not updated on what Hayman did with them after buying them. If nothing else, the episode runs counter to a claim Johnson made in January after the Inquirer and Daily News reported on a similar land flip. Johnson declared in an op-ed column that the days of no-bid sales and land flips were over: "Fortunately, that old system is in the past." Daniel Saslow, whose Baltimore-based DYS Properties bought the 2040 and 2046 Titan St. lots from Hayman in September, said he would have gladly purchased them directly from the city for $115,000 apiece. The money, instead, went to Hayman, who was described by his attorney, Robert Mozenter, as a "poster boy for redemption and rehab." He saw nothing wrong with Hayman turning a quick profit reselling under-priced taxpayer-owned land. "Is anything illegal about that?" Mozenter asked. "This is America." Staff writer Craig McCoy contributed to this article. CLEARWATER, Fla. Roman Quinn had only been home a few days. The Phillies season had just ended, and the 25-year-old outfielder was happy to be in his recently purchased home in Port St. Joe, a tiny town of 3,500 in the Florida panhandle. It is the place where he grew up and the place where his wife, Jenifer, grew up, too. We had just bought the house about a month before, Quinn said Thursday afternoon, following the Phillies final spring-training workout before Fridays Grapefruit League opener against the Tampa Bay Rays. We had gotten the floors and a lot of other things redone. And, then, a hurricane was headed their way. Its name was Michael, and it would intensify so quickly that it became one of the fiercest storms in U.S. history, reaching 155 miles per hour when it made landfall around 2 p.m. on Oct. 10, about 12 miles northwest of Port St. Joe. Quinn and his father had boarded up the new home the day before. Quinn and his wife, who was six months pregnant, decided they would ride out the storm with their 4-year-old daughter, Londyn. We were hearing that the hurricane was going to hit us as maybe a Category 2 or 3, which is what it was initially, Quinn said. We were expecting it to slow down as it got closer to us. My wife had family staying in their homes, and we wanted to stay in case they needed some help. Quinns phone started blowing up early on the morning before the hurricane made landfall. It was his brother Rock. First, he called me, and then he text[ed] me, Quinn said. Im thinking, What does he want this early in the morning? He just kept calling, and I was asleep. I finally answered and said, Whats up man? He said, I dont know if you have any way to get out of there right now, but theyre saying this is going to be a Category 5 hurricane. That got Quinns attention. I shook my wife a little and told her, Its going to land as a Category 5, he said. By then, it was too late to leave. They decided to try to sleep through it instead. I felt like we had a pretty sturdy house, Quinn said. We had a brick house with a metal roof, so I wasnt really worried about our house getting too much damage. Its pretty new, and its kind of on a little bit of a hill, so I thought if the water did come, it would wash back down. When the Quinns awoke around 3 p.m. they looked out their back door. The power was out, and we looked outside on the back porch, and the wind was howling," Quinn said. "The trees were blowing down, and it was raining hard. I had never seen anything like that in my life. The storm roared for four more hours. When it finished around 7, we walked out in front of the house and, man, our street was a mess, Quinn said. Trees were down, power lines were down everywhere. Right across the street from me, a giant oak had landed right on top of someones house. We dont have any trees near our house, thankfully. It was by far the craziest thing I had ever seen in my life. The storms aftermath was not easy, either, and its far from over. We will be cleaning up for years, Quinn said. Michael was classified as a high-end Category 4 hurricane and just missed being Category 5. At the end of November, it was reported that 43 people had died in Florida. My wifes family lives right on the beach, which was about 10 to 15 minutes away, but we couldnt get to them the day of the storm, Quinn said. The bridges were closed and the [cell phone] towers were down, so we couldnt talk to them. Man, it was scary. We drove around our little side of town, and I went by my moms house to make sure she was all right. She only lives about five minutes away. What we were seeing was just devastating. Houses burned down. Roofs were off homes and churches. Man, it was by far the worst thing I have ever seen and could have ever imagined. A couple days later, the bridges opened, and we were able to get to my wifes family, but you had to weave around the caved-in roads. Jenifer Quinns mother, stepfather and grandmother were unharmed but suffered some property damage. For a few days, the Quinns stayed with Jenifers mother and ate canned goods and frozen foods. Quinn also helped his brother Sandy, a county commissioner, look for people in need of help. He actually asked me if I could get in touch with a bunch of different people, Quinn said. They had no way to communicate with people, so they were just driving around making sure everybody was OK. It was getting pretty bad. Signs were going up, You loot, we shoot. It was just crazy. Eventually, Quinn, his wife, and daughter made their way south to a Clearwater hotel, while they waited for the power to be restored. I reached out to Joe Cynar," the Phillies assistant director of minor-league operations, based in Clearwater, "and he got me situated, Quinn said. He told me anything I needed and they would be there for me. It was really cool. A lot of people reached out to me. Gabe [Kapler] called, and all the staff wanted to make sure I was all right. When Quinn left Citizens Bank Park at the end of last season, he could have felt like one of the most unfortunate players in the organization. Since being selected in the second round of the 2011 draft, he has been besieged by injuries that have slowed his ascent to the big leagues and prevented him from playing more than 88 games in any single season. But, after this offseason, and after an encounter with Hurricane Michael, he feels nothing but fortunate. It made me appreciate things more and care less about material things, Quinn said. The reason why people stay back in hurricanes is because they dont want to lose things in their house, but when it comes to something like this, that should be the last thing youre worried about. If youre told to evacuate, you should evacuate. Me and my wife should have evacuated. Next time theres a hurricane, were out of here. Well get as far away as we can from it. Flash Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday met with Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir in Beijing. Hailing the rapid development of cooperation in various fields, Wang said that the ties between China and Saudi Arabia feature mutual respect, mutual understanding and mutual support. The international situation is filled with uncertainty currently, he said, calling on the two sides to work together to inject more positive energy and stability to the international and regional situation. China stands ready to strengthen high-tech cooperation with the Saudi side and jointly usher in the fourth industrial revolution, he said, adding he believes Saudi Arabia will continue providing a fair market environment for Chinese enterprises. Wang also said that both China and Saudi Arabia face the threats of terrorism and extremism, and the two sides should strengthen cooperation to jointly safeguard the security and stability of the two countries and the region. Describing bilateral ties as "very stable and solid" with rapid development in recent years, Adel al-Jubeir said the Saudi side regards China as a long-term strategic partner and looks forward to closer ties in politics, economy, security and other areas. The Saudi side completely understands and supports China in its efforts to safeguard national security and stability and opposes any interference in China's internal affairs, he said. Gov. Tom Wolf recently proposed a budget for 2019-20 that includes increased education funding across the board for basic education, special education, early childhood education, and career and technical education as well as for school safety and to boost teacher salaries. All of these are areas of great need, worthy of increased state support. The governors proposal of a 4 percent overall increase in state spending for public schools, or $479 million, is a positive step, building on the investments in education that he made in his first term. But the proposed funding isnt enough and will not significantly change Pennsylvanias ranking as the fifth-worst state in the country in terms of the meager share of education costs covered by state government. There is another shortcoming in the governors budget that is just as critical to address: equity. The proposal does not consistently focus investments on the students and school districts where the need is greatest. Pennsylvania is a state where the gaps between education haves and have-nots are enormous and growing: A recent analysis by the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center found that the spending gap between a typical high-wealth and low-wealth district in the commonwealth widened from $3,058 per student in 2013 to $3,778 in 2017. In 2016, state legislators joined with Wolf to adopt a mechanism designed to help address the problems that led to Pennsylvanias being labeled the most inequitably funded state in the nation. That mechanism is a fair funding formula for state basic education dollars that drives more funding to districts and student populations that need more support. However, this formula only applies to new money, leaving the vast majority of basic education funding distributed without consideration of district and student need. And of all the new funding for public schools in Gov. Wolfs proposal, only about one-third $166 million is driven out to districts using this need-based basic education formula. Even if the governors proposal is adopted in full, only 11 percent of the states total appropriation to basic education funding $705 million out of $6.5 billion will be distributed through the states fair funding formula. Although the amount of money being distributed through the formula has steadily grown since its adoption, so has the amount of funding allocated outside of it. Meanwhile, research has shown a disturbing and consistent statewide pattern that Pennsylvania districts with larger numbers of African American students receive fewer state education dollars. Providing access to a quality public education for Pennsylvanias most underserved students requires bolder efforts to distribute state aid equitably that is, to the students and districts with the greatest unmet needs. That would mean driving additional dollars through the formula, or even designating additional funding specifically for the districts identified via the formula as most underfunded. The lack of targeted state support leads to glaring and continuing disparities between high-wealth and low-wealth districts here in the Philadelphia area. Our region is home to 13 affluent suburban school districts that spend $20,000 or more per student amounts far above the statewide average of $15,000. Just miles away, three districts Philadelphia, Upper Darby, and Oxford Area School District are spending less than $14,000 per student, and not for lack of effort. These three districts can only muster about half of the $26,422 per student that Lower Merion School District spends, despite levying significantly higher tax rates. Disparities like these are what propelled school districts and families across Pennsylvania along with two statewide organizations to file a lawsuit against the state in 2014 to compel state officials to adequately and equitably fund schools. The Education Law Center serves as one of the organizations representing plaintiffs in the case, which is slated for trial next year. The state legislature continues to violate its constitutional duty to provide a thorough and efficient system of public education. As budget season unfolds, we urge our lawmakers to consider options to adequately and equitably fund our schools and ensure that all children in Pennsylvania have access to a quality public education. Deborah Gordon Klehr is executive director of the Education Law Center, a statewide nonprofit legal advocacy organization. The Philadelphia District Attorneys Office has dropped all charges against the former owner of a now-closed Bella Vista day-care center who in 2017 was accused of sexually assaulting two children in his care, saying there was insufficient evidence to prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecutors moved last month to drop the case against Duncan Round, according to court records. Round, 54, of Burlington County, was the owner and operator of Sprouts Daycare & Philly Kids Gym, 604 S. Ninth St. Ben Waxman, spokesperson for District Attorney Larry Krasner, said in an email that the available DNA evidence in the case was inconclusive. This is not always a barrier to prosecution, but for this case, that evidence was crucial in order to move forward to trial, Waxman said. He did not elaborate on other reasons for the dismissal, and said the office would have no further comment related to the case. Round did not respond to requests for comment. His attorneys, Gary Silver and Anthony Petrone, declined to comment. In interviews Thursday and Friday, parents who had enrolled their children at Rounds facility praised his character and questioned why the police and the District Attorneys Office charged him based on what the parents believe were questionable allegations. It was truly sad to see this hyper-aggressive prosecution. He was guilty before being found innocent, said Salvatore Sandone, whose son, Nexen, 6, attended Sprouts from the ages of 6 months to 4 years. What they accused him of was uncharacteristic of what I know about Duncan, added Sandone, who said he has an education doctorate and operates his own school-age child-care program in South Philadelphia. I didnt believe it when I heard it. Some parents, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect their childrens privacy, said the molestation allegations could not be credible because other adults and children would have been present when the alleged crimes occurred. What Duncan and one of his coworkers were being accused of was outlandishly impossible, said a father of two former Sprouts children. A father of a son with special needs who was enrolled at Sprouts said city law-enforcement officials took extraordinary measures to try to prove that an innocent man was guilty, and ruined his business and life in the process. They laid out the red carpet for more victims to come forward, and not a one did nothing, he said. Round was arrested in August 2017 and faced a host of charges, including two counts each of rape of a child, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, and unlawful contact with a minor. Charging documents accused him of abusing two children at the day care in July 2017. The alleged victims were not identified, but several parents said the woman who accused Round of molesting her young son and daughter had threatened to sue him after accusing him of being responsible for an injury to her son while at the day care. Public records show no such lawsuit has been filed. Rounds lawyer at the time of his arrest, Brad V. Shuttleworth, said then that Round was innocent and had passed a polygraph test. Still, Municipal Court Judge James M. Lynn ruled at a preliminary hearing that month that prosecutors had presented enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial. The standard of proof required to move beyond a preliminary hearing is lower than that required to secure a conviction at trial. Round had been scheduled to face a jury last month, but the District Attorneys Office decided to withdraw the case. Prosecutors did not provide any reasons in court documents finalizing the dismissal. Earlier this month, Round sent an email to former Sprouts parents notifying them of the decision by the prosecutors office, calling the ordeal a difficult and destructive process for him, his family, and his coworkers. He filed a motion to expunge the case earlier this month, according to court records. VATICAN CITY The lone U.S. bishop scheduled to address Pope Francis global summit on clergy sex abuse on Friday called for members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy to police each others behavior, and offered the most concrete proposal yet for dealing with prelates who mishandle abuse allegations against priests or face claims of sexual misconduct themselves. In his speech on the conferences second day, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago urged his colleagues to empower him and other metropolitan archbishops to investigate their colleagues in neighboring dioceses. Another authority would be appointed to do so in cases in which the archbishop himself was accused. The recommendation stands at odds with an alternative proposition, floated last fall by bishops in the United States, to let a board led by Catholic laity investigate allegations against prelates. This past year has taught us that the systematic failures in holding clerics of all rank responsible are due in large measure to flaws in the way we interact and communicate with each other in the college of bishops, Cupich said. But they also reveal in too many cases an inadequate understanding [of] the relationship between the pope and the bishops, bishops among themselves and the role of bishops conferences. Cupich had proposed a similar suggestion at a meeting of U.S. bishops in November, when it became clear that the Vatican and many of his colleagues were uncomfortable with the idea of investigations led by civilians outside the churchs traditional leadership structure. But by endorsing it again Friday from a Vatican pulpit and before an audience of more than 190 bishops and religious superiors from around the world Cupich helped propel to the forefront his solution to the most acute problem currently vexing the hierarchy in the U.S. While bishops from some parts of the world have spent the opening stretch of Francis four-day summit struggling to accept that clergy sex abuse is a problem in their nations, the U.S. and other Western countries are enduring a second wave of the crisis. In the last year, nearly all of the scandals that have erupted in the American church from the allegations against now defrocked former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick to the Pennsylvania grand jury report that implicated the states bishops in decades of systematic cover-up have been focused less on individual abusers than on the church leaders who enabled them by turning a blind eye. McCarricks alleged abuse of seminarians and minors, for instance, is said to have been an open secret for years in some corners of the hierarchy before news emerged last summer that two of the four dioceses he led in his career had secretly paid settlements to his victims, leading to his suspension and ultimate laicization last week. Like other bishops, he operated with relative impunity, answering only to the pope. They have been historically hesitant to take on the responsibility of policing each others conduct. Still, Cupich said Friday that he and his colleagues cannot rely on the Holy See to come up with all the answers. We have to come to an ownership that I am responsible as a bishop but also that we are, together, as a college of bishops, responsible, too, he said at an afternoon news conference. What happens in one place happens to us all. The plan the cardinal described Friday would grant new authority to metropolitan archbishops a title given to those prelates tasked with both leading an archdiocese and supervising bishops in nearby dioceses. Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, for example, is one of 34 metropolitan archbishops in the U.S. and presides over a province that includes the seven other Roman Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania. But the role is largely an honorific title in the modern Catholic Church with no significant authority. Under Cupichs proposal, complaints against prelates would come to the metropolitan archbishop and the Vaticans top diplomat in each country through independent reporting mechanisms, such as a toll-free hotline and a website that U.S. bishops are scheduled to launch this summer to receive complaints against prelates. Those authorities would investigate and make ultimate recommendations to the Vatican on the action to be taken. Cupich also stressed Friday that civilian experts also should be involved to stress the transparency of the investigations. Ultimate authority still would rest with the pope. Its a more regional approach," Cupich said, explaining his plan in more detail after his speech. I feel thats important simply because part of the follow-up is not just trying the case or doing the investigation, but offering pastoral care to the person who has been victimized. Despite the cardinals eagerness to offer specifics Friday, it remained unclear whether his ideas had gained traction either with his audience, which remained behind closed doors as it has throughout the summit, or the abuse victims who have camped outside in St. Peters Square all week. Many of those victims pointed out that McCarrick himself was the metropolitan archbishop of Washington when his accusers came forward. They questioned how this system would work with a prelate with his own problems at the helm and insisted that after years of cover-up the time for allowing the bishops to police each other was over. Bishop Michael Bransfield, a Philadelphia native, presided for years as the top prelate in West Virginia despite concerns about his conduct with junior priests or seminarians. He left his post last fall amid an investigation into sexual harassment claims. As for Cupichs colleagues in the hierarchy, only a handful spoke publicly about the proposal. Its an important proposal, and it needs to be studied and brought forward, said Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, who along with Cupich is one of the organizers of this weeks conference. We need to be together when it comes to structures of responsibility. Also unclear was how it would fare against other competing ideas. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo the archbishop of Galveston-Houston, who is representing the U.S. at the summit this week as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops had hoped that he and his colleagues could vote last fall on a proposal for laity-led investigations of problem prelates. Vatican officials ultimately waved them off making any decisions, amid concerns over the amount of authority the idea would place in the hands of those outside the hierarchy. But it was clear from that meeting in Baltimore that many of the bishops in the United States were also leery of the idea; it might not have passed even if they had been allowed to cast ballots. Chaput, for instance, spoke in favor of Cupichs plan in November. Cardinal Sean OMalley, archbishop of Boston, had a hand in another alternative idea early in Francis papacy. As a member of the Pontifical Council for the Protection of Minors, he was part of the group that proposed a first-of-its-kind Vatican tribunal to adjudicate bishop sex-abuse issues. Francis initially endorsed the idea, only to abandon the plan within a year amid strong resistance within his own hierarchy. OMalley, speaking at a news conference Friday, stopped short of endorsing Cupichs plan outright but stressed the need for some structure to address the problem. We need some very clear protocols, he said. In the United States, its at the uppermost of our minds right now. He added later: Transparency is really what the way forward is about. We have to confront our sinfulness and deal with it, not ignore it and sweep it under the carpet, Cupich, Scicluna, and the conferences other organizers have said they will remain in Rome after the summit closes Sunday to work on a plan to implement specific anti-abuse measures. After a series of embarrassing stories of developers reaping inappropriate windfalls, city officials have halted the sale of public lots recommended by a committee created to vet such deals in the first place. The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority is setting aside virtually all sales that come through the Vacant Property Review Committee whose chair is selected by the City Council president in what officials say is an effort to prevent developers from continuing to exploit loopholes in the system at taxpayers expense. The freeze follows recent Inquirer and Daily News reports about how a childhood friend of Councilman Kenyatta Johnsons was able to make $165,000 in September by reselling two Point Breeze lots hed purchased from the city the month before at below market value. The sales had been approved by the VPRC. The newspapers have previously reported that other developers backed by Johnson, including campaign contributors, had gone through the VPRC and leapfrogged competing developers to purchase land at steep discounts in no-bid sales. WHYY reported last week on a similar land flip. Anytime we see information like that and stories like that it makes us go back and look at our policies, said Jim Engler, Mayor Jim Kenneys chief of staff. We want to develop a system that is accessible for people, but also be responsible with our city-owned assets and make sure theyre not exploited. The VPRC makes recommendations to the Redevelopment Authority on the sale of land owned by the citys Department of Public Property. The Redevelopment Authority acts as the settlement agent and its board then votes on approval of the sales. Recently, however, the VPRCs oversight and record-keeping have been called into question. In the case of Johnsons developer friend, Felton Hayman, the VPRC failed to disclose that other developers had submitted expressions of interest for the sought-after properties, which should have triggered open bidding. The VPRC also initially inaccurately described Haymans intended use for three of the properties as side yards, not to be developed. Hayman built homes there that sold for as much as $415,000. The FBI in November subpoenaed city records pertaining to the most recent Hayman transactions, in which he purchased two lots for $65,000 and quickly resold them for $230,000. Anne Fadullon, the citys director of planning and development, said Friday that she and Greg Heller, executive director of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, were in agreement with the decision by the authoritys board decision to postpone the VPRC-related sales. The [Redevelopment Authority] board said, Lets just take a pause, so they really can understand whats going on, said Fadullon, who also chairs the board. Fadullon said board members had been feeling a little bit uncomfortable approving the VPRC land sales, given the committees recent track record of recommendations. The board also wanted time to review an executive order issued last month by Kenney aimed at stopping future land flips and speculation in city properties. The Redevelopment Authoritys decision not to finalize the sales of VPRC-approved properties is likely to increase tensions between the Kenney administration, which typically favors competitive bidding, and Council members, who want to maintain their influence over who purchases land in their districts. Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez opposes the redevelopment authoritys move, saying it will contribute to existing delays in selling vacant and blighted land. The citys Land Bank, created in 2014, was supposed to professionalize and streamline the process, but it has been slow to get off the ground. You cant ask me to trust the process when nothing is going to move, Quinones-Sanchez, said. All sales of public land in Philadelphia must be approved by Council. Under the unwritten tradition known as councilmanic prerogative, Council members defer to one another when it comes to development in their districts. She said the Redevelopment Authoritys emphasis on selling properties to the highest bidder would primarily benefit wealthy out-of-town developers, while locking out neighborhood residents some of whom have been maintaining land in hopes of purchasing it. People have been waiting in line for years and now they have to compete with investors in bidding? Thats gentrification, said Quinones-Sanchez. Competitive bidding will push all my people out. Clarke spokesperson Jane Roh declined to comment Friday. Fadullon said the citys landholding agencies would not always use competitive bidding and would remain flexible with pricing in cases where the highest dollar value may not actually be the best value for the city such as land targeted for affordable housing, workforce development, business expansions, and side yards. We want to make sure we have neighborhoods that work for everybody, Fadullon said. The path forward remains unclear, but both Council and the Kenney administration agree that the land disposition process needs to be streamlined and that there must be more accurate record-keeping and clearer communication among city agencies and potential buyers. Unless we can be sure that Council members and the public are getting the most accurate information, the system will continue to fail, Councilman Johnson said in a statement. This is a citywide problem that needs a citywide solution, so Im pleased that Mayor Kennys administration is working to make improvements. But Quinones-Sanchez, who sponsored the Land Bank legislation, said she was still struggling to find out which property sales in her district are being delayed and for how long. They have not said with all clarity, Quinones-Sanchez said. But I told the administration that I will be on Market Street screaming bloody hell if they dont get it together. The increase may be small, but for the first time in more than two decades, Philadelphia last year saw more money flow into its workers pension fund than was paid out. A report unveiled by the city pension board on Thursday said city employees and taxpayers contributed $865 million to the fund, while $838 million was paid out in retiree benefits and fund expenses, in fiscal year 2018, which ended June 30. Overall, the plan is still projected to have only 47 percent of the $12 billion it needs to pay current and future retirees. But thats an improvement over what had been 45 percent funding status for years for the struggling pension fund. City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart, who is a member of the pension board, commended the citys improvements but called for further reforms and improvements. More recently released numbers show that the fund has been losing money since the close of the fiscal year. For calendar year 2018, the fund averaged a 4.2 percent loss in investments. The fund would have to perform exceptionally well the next several months to be able to still meet its assumed rate of return on investments for fiscal year 2019. The increase in funding was in part a result of additional contributions from city employees, negotiated in the most recent labor contracts, and a portion of the sales tax being used to help pay off the funds $6.1 billion unfunded liability. The city pumped in an extra $63.1 million in fiscal year 2018, which included $24 million in sales tax revenue and $6 million in additional member contributions, according to the actuarial valuation report. Both those numbers are expected to continue increasing each year under the citys new funding policy. Rhynhart said during Thursdays meeting that investment returns on public pensions have been dropping and are expected to continue to do so. She said she would like the fund to move from its current 7.6 percent assumed rate of return to a 6.8 percent rate. She also made other recommendations, including amending the citys investment policy and adding an extra layer to its stress testing. Fellow board members, however, pushed back on her proposals, saying that everything she recommended was already being done, even if it wasnt a written policy. Everything you have here [it] makes sense to formalize it. I dont want it to go to the public as if these are new ideas, said Brian Coughlin, the firefighters unions representative on the board. The only question I have that I wouldnt want to see is that 6.8 percent. I think thats unfair and a little bit irresponsible. Such a shift would limit the funds market risk but cost the city $1.6 billion more over several years, Rhynhart said. I know theres a big hit on the citys budget, Rhynhart said. But I do think its realistic, and its also in the best interest which we are all working towards for the pensioners and future pensioners. Rhynhart said that while she didnt expect the board to adjust its investment return rate to 6.8 percent in one move, she would like to see it lower than 7.55 percent. She asked that it consider her proposals at the March meeting. Coughlin and other board members were ready on Thursday to vote to decrease the rate to 7.55 percent, noting that since 2005 they have been paring the assumed rate of return from its high of 9 percent. But they held back at Rhynharts request. The funds investments saw a 9 percent return in fiscal year 2018. But over time, the asset return rates have been well under 7 percent for example, averaging 6.73 percent over the last five years. For the family of Nadia Malik, time is measured in the periods before and after Feb. 20, 2014. Before, there was Nadia, a young mother who had ambitions to become a doctor and who wrestled with a tumultuous long-term relationship. And after, in her absence, there is nothing but ceaseless grief and unanswered questions, a raw anguish renewed every year. Thinking of what she couldve become, thats hard, her sister Mona Malik said in a recent interview. I still have moments on the street where I see someone that reminds me of her, and I have this strong sense of, What if?'" Five years ago this week, Nadia Malik, 22, was found dead inside an abandoned, snow-covered car on 30th Street in University City. Shed been missing from her home in Delaware County for 10 days. Bhupinder Singh, the father of her children and the last person to be seen with her, was in Ohio, where he told police he and Malik had gotten into an argument about their relationship before he left the state. In the years since, Maliks family filed a civil lawsuit against Singh, hoping that would compel him to provide more answers. He never responded to the suit. A half-decade later, the Maliks still know little about Nadias final hours. It is a mystery that confounds them. Not knowing what happened, thats by far the hardest part, Mona Malik said. Yes, we still want justice, but we also want a sense of closure. Somebody has to know something, and maybe five years is how long it took them to realize that they need to talk." In 2014, the Philadelphia Medical Examiners Office ruled the cause and manner of Maliks death undetermined," an uncommon ruling that raises more questions than answers. But that hasnt deterred the family in the pursuit of information about what happened to her. The family hired a forensic expert who said Maliks death was extremely suspicious, possibly a homicide. They retained a private investigator in hope of drawing attention to a case that has frustrated investigators in Philadelphia and Delaware County, where the couple lived. And they offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in connection with her death, a pledge that still stands. Attempts to reach Singh, 30, were unsuccessful. Mark Phillip Much, the lawyer who represented him on a charge of violating probation in a DUI case by traveling to Ohio in the days after Malik went missing, declined to comment. The familys final contact with Maliks longtime boyfriend was days before her body was found, when he sent them a string of antagonizing text messages, demanding money in exchange for information about her whereabouts. The couple had been traveling around the city and its suburbs in a black sedan owned by Singhs father. Her body was later found in its passenger seat, covered with a duffel bag. In 2016, Maliks family sued Singh, contending that he intentionally harmed [Malik] and left her dead or near-dead in the car, abandoning her without her identification, cell phone, or even the keys to the vehicle. The suit also blamed Singh in the sudden and mysterious death of one of the couples three children in 2012, a 3-month-old who the medical examiner said died under suspicious but inconclusive circumstances of a type of muscle atrophy commonly called wasting syndrome. In the absence of any response to the allegations contained in the lawsuit, a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge issued a default judgment in July and ordered Singh to pay the Malik family $10 million to compensate for their loss. If I saw him face-to-face today, I dont think I could compose myself enough to have a conversation with him, Mona Malik said of Singh. Theres some kind of connection that no one is putting together, but I think, I hope, one day it will be put together. Stephen J. Cina, a forensic pathologist the family hired to review Maliks autopsy, called the circumstances of her death extremely suspicious. Cina found that one of two conclusions could be drawn: that Malik died of homicide by unspecified means," or, as the city medical examiner ruled, that both the cause and manner of her death were undetermined. Despite the familys years of lobbying for a second forensic examination by the medical examiner, James Garrow, a spokesman for the citys Department of Public Health, said there was not enough new information for the office to reopen the investigation into Maliks death. That decision frustrates the family. It ignores, they say, the threatening text messages Singh sent Maliks family as they searched for her. It clashes, in their minds, with evidence that Singh left Malik in Pennsylvania, then traveled by bus to his parents home in Ohio, carrying her cell phone and the only key to the vehicle in which her body was found. Mona Malik is working with Kevin Ryan, a Philadelphia-based private investigator, to try to bring new momentum to the investigation. At the five-year anniversary, we now have a second set of eyes on the case, to finally attempt to bring justice for Nadia, Ryan said. I think the evidence is there, we just need to present it in a comprehensive way." The family learned that a man matching Singhs description was a frequent user of Paltalk, a video chat program, and sometimes discussed Nadias death with other users in 2015 and 2016. One woman gave the family screenshots of a conversation she had with the man she believed to be Singh. In the conversation, he asked her if she was talking to him in order to collect the $100,000 reward the Maliks have offered for information about her death. The man also wrote that hes missing Nadia and that the two broke up 2 months before her death, according to the screenshots. As the family continues to pursue leads, they have an ally in Barry Williams, a retired Marple Township police detective who was involved in the investigation early on. As a high-profile case, it is the most frustrating case Ive had just the fact that we couldnt bring closure to the family, said Williams, now a security official for the Marple Newtown School District. Theres only one person alive who can answer all these questions for us. And we dont have those answers." Williams questioned Singh in 2014 when he was arrested for violating his probation by traveling to Ohio, and said he provided a brief timeline of his whereabouts that was later debunked by surveillance footage and cell phone records. Then he stopped talking and asked for an attorney, Williams said. The Philadelphia police detectives assisting in the investigation said their work was hampered in part by the undetermined ruling from the medical examiner. Capt. John Walker, who worked on the case as a lieutenant in the departments Southwest Detective Division, said the departments findings were thoroughly reviewed by staff at the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office. We had good attorneys review the case, Walker said recently in his office in Northeast Philadelphias 15th District, which he took over as commanding officer late last year. But without a ruling from the ME, theres not much we could do. It wasnt for lack of trying. Walker said that the detectives went above and beyond in the forensic examination, ordering tests to detect every possible substance they even tested a little-known theory that an overdose of nicotine can be fatal. Nothing conclusive came back. All we want to know is what happened, Walker said. Were hoping [Singh] does the right thing, comes forward [to provide more information] and gives us some idea. In the meantime, Maliks parents work to mend their fractured family. The couple won custody of their daughters two surviving children, 9 and 5, after a lengthy custody battle with Singh in which a Delaware County judge ruled that they would be better off with their maternal grandparents. Mona Malik said her mother, 61, did not anticipate having young children back in her home. But its a responsibility that ultimately helped her. A part of her needs to do it, because she sees my sister in the kids, Malik said. It keeps her going. Another sinkhole related to the embattled Mariner East 1 natural gas pipeline opened in the backyard of a West Whiteland Township home Sunday afternoon, authorities said, prompting safety concerns among residents. The five-foot wide, 10-foot-deep sinkhole appeared less than a year after the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission ordered pipeline operations to halt when sinkholes were found in the same neighborhood of single-family homes. The pipeline resumed operation last May. On Sunday, a broken water-drainage system associated with Mariner East 1 caused the sinkhole behind a home on the 400 block of Lisa Drive, exposing a portion of the pipeline, the Chester County Department of Emergency Services said. Police were called around 4:30 p.m. The pipeline was voluntarily shut off. No injuries were reported, no one was evacuated, public safety was not affected, and the pipeline was not damaged, the department said. We are working in coordination with the Pennsylvania PUCs Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement and its consultants to perform activities to ensure the area remains stable," according to a statement from Energy Transfer LP, which manages the pipeline. "It is too early to know additional details at this time. The pipeline, which began operating in 1931 to funnel gasoline, was repurposed as a natural gas pipeline in 2014 by Sunoco Logistics, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer. Each day, the pipeline 8 inches in diameter facilitates the flow of up to 70,000 barrels of volatile natural gas liquids from the Marcellus Shale gas region in Western Pennsylvania to a Sunoco refinery in Marcus Hook. Mariner East 1 is part of a pipeline system that includes Mariner East 2 and Mariner East 2X. Officials with Sunoco and the PUC responded to Lisa Drive on Sunday and Monday to evaluate the situation and work together to come up with a game plan to seal the hole with concrete, said Bill Turner, Chester County deputy director for emergency management. Several utility workers gathered on Lisa Drive on Monday to examine the sinkhole, with a bulldozer parked nearby. Turner said Monday that he could not say exactly how the sinkhole appeared and directed questions to the PUC. Nils Hagen-Frederiksen, a spokesperson for the PUC, said he could not discuss specific details, citing an active investigation. Locals said there was little mystery to the sinkhole. Its riddled with caves of various sizes, Eric Friedman, the spokesperson for Del-Chesco United for Pipeline Safety, said Monday of West Whitelands geologic makeup. Its unstable. The area has problems with roads sinking.... This is an area, frankly, that was recognized by citizens' groups as a geologically problematic area.... It seems like everyone knew this was going to be a problem except Sunoco and the PUC." Del-Chesco United for Pipeline Safety, which calls itself a nonpartisan grassroots organization, said in a statement it wanted residents of Lisa Drive and nearby areas to be evacuated and moved out at least a half-mile from the pipeline, and for Gov. Tom Wolf to immediately and permanently shut down both of these pipelines. In March 2018, Mariner East 1 was shut down by a PUC-issued emergency order when sinkholes appeared on Lisa Drive. The PUC lifted that emergency order two months later. In December 2018, Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan announced that his office had opened a criminal investigation into the Mariner East pipeline, citing the sinkholes on Lisa Drive, contaminated water, and not so subtle bullying of local residents. He did not pinpoint any charges that Sunoco or its parent company could face. Hogans announcement came amid a tumultuous year for Sunoco, which in February 2018 paid a $12.6 million penalty for violations that included drilling without permission related to Mariner East 2. In May 2018, Pennsylvanias Department of Environmental Protection said it had fined the company $355,622 for spilling drilling fluid while constructing Mariner East 2. This month, Hogan said a pipeline worker had left in December an obscene series of comments on the Instagram page of a resident who posted concerns about the pipeline. On Sunday, when the latest sinkhole emerged on Lisa Drive, Hogan said Sunoco hired constables who acted like a private security force and kept people at bay from the pipeline. Back on Lisa Drive residents worry that the ground in their neighborhood is sinking. I feel really bad for the residents," said Christina DiGiulio, a former analytical chemist for the U.S. Department of Defense and an advocate for residents who live near the Mariner East pipeline project. Theyre up against Goliath. Construction on the Mariner East 2 pipeline was finished in late December 2018. The last leg of the pipeline, Mariner East 2X, is projected to be finished by late 2019. PHOENIX (AP) A confrontation between an intrepid 12-year-old reporter and an Arizona marshal has ignited a debate about press freedom, with social media mostly branding one brave and the other a bully. Marshal Joseph Patterson, who serves the border town of Patagonia, said Friday that he has received hundreds of calls to the marshals office, including death threats, since a young journalist from Central Pennsylvania alleged that he threatened to put her in jail. If I get hurt, thats on me. I signed up for this job a long time ago, Patterson told the Associated Press. However, I dont need help from a 12-year-old girl and the internet. Hilde Kate Lysiak posted video from their interaction Monday in Patagonia, roughly 20 miles from the Mexico border, on her newspapers website, Orange Street News. She was on her bicycle following a tip when Patterson stopped her, Lysiak wrote. The young journalist identified herself as a member of the media and gave her name and phone number. That's when Patterson made a remark about not wanting to hear about press freedom and threatened to arrest her, according to Lysiak. The video begins with Lysiak on her bicycle asking Patterson, who is sitting in his patrol vehicle, why he said she "could be thrown in juvie." "What exactly am I doing that's illegal?" Lysiak asked. He then asks if he's being filmed. "You can tape me OK but what I'm gonna tell you is if you put my face on the internet, it's against the law in Arizona," Patterson says. He then warns her that she cant follow law enforcement around even if shes a reporter. Patterson goes on to say its for her own safety because there was a mountain lion in the area. According to Lysiak, other people in the area at the time were not stopped or questioned. Patterson then accused the girl of lying about going to a friend's house before following his vehicle. The conversation ends with him promising to call her parents. According to Patterson, it was not his first interaction with her. He also said at no time did he lie to her. "She asked me a question, If I could be arrested, " Patterson said. I know the First Amendment. I get it. But you cant interfere with law enforcement. He also reiterated that it is a felony in Arizona to put the information of a law enforcement agent on the internet. In a statement on the town's website, officials said they had gotten numerous comments on the incident. Officials said they reviewed the matter and "have taken action we believe to be appropriate for the situation." Lysiak, who declined interview requests Friday, said on Twitter that she is glad the town acted. However, she cautioned against retaliation by circulating personal information about Patterson online. "My focus is on protecting our First Amendment Rights," she tweeted. Dan Barr, a lawyer with the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona, said there's no law that prohibits filming law enforcement doing their job, especially if they're in uniform. People can't impede them from doing their job such as physically being in the way. He said he didn't see anything like that in Lysiak's video. "What I saw was a 12-year-old girl. She's riding her bike to cover a news story," Barr said. "You can only wonder what she's going to do as a reporter four years from now when she gets her driver's license." The statute Patterson referred to applies to public information such as home addresses of law enforcement agents or judges, he added. Lysiak started her own newspaper to cover news in her hometown of Selinsgrove, Pa. It wasnt immediately clear what brought her to Arizona. The youngest member of the Society of Professional Journalists, she received kudos from the organization. She is holding the powerful accountable and demonstrating the qualities of a good, ethical, persistent journalist, president J. Alex Tarquinio said via the groups Twitter page. This is not the first time Lysiak, whose father is a former New York Daily News journalist, has received attention for her reporting. In 2016, she beat out other local media outlets with a story about a homicide in her neighborhood by interviewing residents. Delaware County on Thursday filed a petition with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to join a lawsuit filed by area residents against the owners of the controversial Mariner East pipelines. If granted, the motion to intervene would allow lawyers for the county to present evidence, call or cross-examine witnesses, and file briefs in the case brought by seven residents of Delaware and Chester Counties against Sunoco and its parent company, Energy Transfer Partners. The formal complaint by the residents alleges numerous safety risks associated with the Mariner East pipelines, which are part of a multibillion-dollar effort to bring natural gas liquids from the Marcellus Shale gas region in Western Pennsylvania to the Sunoco refinery in Marcus Hook and elsewhere. In December, an administrative law judge denied an emergency request by the residents to halt operations of the pipelines because of safety concerns. That decision was unanimously upheld by the PUC last month. The residents original lawsuit is proceeding. In its petition, Delaware County stated: Sunocos lack of adequate emergency planning and public awareness directly affects the ability of Delaware County to devise and implement an emergency evacuation plan. Delaware County will be irreparably harmed if Sunoco does not ensure the safety and reasonableness of facilities located within Delaware County." Several school districts, townships, and a homeowners association already have joined the lawsuit. A spokesperson for Energy Transfer Partners could not be reached Thursday for comment. Mariner East 1 has been operational for several years. Mariner East 2 began service in late December, and Mariner East 2X is expected to be completed later this year. Flash Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a decree on Thursday accepting the resignation of the government over economic issues after he publicly criticized it. First Deputy Prime Minister Mamin Askar Uzakpayevich will become the acting head of the government, according to the decree published on the president's website. Members of the government will continue their duties until a new cabinet is formed. Nazarbayev said earlier in the day in a statement that the government spent funds for other purposes than should be and regulations will be discussed during the congress of the ruling party on Feb. 26-27 in Astana. He said the government should resign, and expected a new cabinet to take effective measures to raise people's living standards and boost the economy. Joining a trend among universities across the country, Drexel University will develop a residential complex for its more than 1,500 Pennoni Honors College students, paying for part of the cost through a new $5 million donation, the school has announced. The funds, contributed by Greg S. Bentley, CEO of Exton-based software development company Bentley Systems, and his wife, Caroline, will be used to transform a student residence already under construction into Greg and Caroline Bentley Hall, a dorm for honors students. The money also will go toward a 10,800-square-foot, two-story glass and stone extension onto the building that will house three seminar rooms, study and social lounges, and honors college offices. So-called honors colleges, which have more stringent admission and academic requirements for students, have been proliferating around the country, along with programs to house those students. The University of Pennsylvania and LaSalle, St. Josephs, and Temple Universities are among the schools that have some honors programming and designated honors housing. Formerly the Drexel Institute of Technology before it was renamed in 1970, Drexel developed a pioneering cooperative program in which students could divide their college careers between attending classes and working. The Bentleys did not attend the school, but they have had a long involvement with the university, and Bentley Systems hires several Drexel students annually. The gift, which was announced Tuesday and is one of the larger ones the honors programs have received, will make Drexel "more appealing for students who might otherwise consider a liberal arts school, said Paula Marantz Cohen, dean of the honors college. They can get the best of both worlds: the co-op and the interdisciplinary experience. With the new facilities, she said, "well bring more students in our doors than we would before when we were scattered across the campus, she added. The honors complex will create an intellectual oasis where students from all disciplines can gather to discuss ideas, take seminar-style, cross-disciplinary courses, and learn more about opportunities for research, fellowships and mentoring on campus, Marantz Cohen was quoted as saying in a news release. She said that some of the honors programming would be open to all students. In the first phase of the $35 million project, led by developer American Campus Communities, the residence hall will house about 380 students and open in the fall. The two-story addition is projected to open in 2020. The developer owns and operates three other student residence halls on Drexels campus, but the school will retain ownership of Bentley Hall. Greg Bentley, a Drexel trustee and the chair of the Pennoni Honors College Advisory Board, has advocated for a consolidated honors programming space for years. Drexels Honors College houses five initiatives: the Honors Program, the Office of Undergraduate Research, the Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry, the Center for Scholar Development and the Center for Marketing and Media. A new Center for Civil Discourse is also in the works and aims to bring together students, activists, and experts in analyzing todays political climate. The student body is getting some furry company the four-legged kind at La Salle University. The Catholic college in the citys Logan neighborhood announced this week that it would become the first in the region to allow upperclassmen to have dogs as pets in a residence hall, beginning in the fall. Dogs fit for admission must weigh under 30 pounds. Certain larger or more aggressive breeds including Dobermans, German shepherds, pit bulls, and Rottweilers need not apply. The idea grew out of a university twice-a-year event where faculty and staff are encouraged to bring their pets to work to mingle with the student body. The onslaught of students who wanted to come out and pet our pets was overwhelming, said Dawn Soufleris, vice president of student affairs. Were talking hundreds of students coming out. That joy and calmness, the sheer happiness, made us think, you know what, we might want to look at this a little more closely. Schools locally and nationally, including La Salle, allow dogs and other pets if they are required for therapeutic reasons or if they are service animals. At La Salle, 14 emotional support animals currently live on campus, including 11 dogs, two cats, and a gecko. Some colleges also allow pets for simple joy. Delaware Valley University welcomes fish, hermit crabs, approved snakes, lizards and amphibians, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, chinchillas, rats, mice, and rabbits. At one time, cats could come, too. But the school put a pause on that. Nationally, some universities are known for their pet-friendly policies and appear on a variety of top 20 or 25 pet-friendly college lists. At Stephens College in Missouri, the presidents office offers dog treats, and theres a doggy day-care on campus. Few schools in Pennsylvania appear on the lists, with the exceptions of Delaware Valley; Washington and Jefferson in the western part of the state, where eligible dogs and cats must weigh 40 pounds or less; and Lehigh University in Bethlehem, where dogs and cats are allowed in fraternity and sorority houses. Centenary College in Hackettstown, N.J., is noted on some lists for its equestrian program. Could La Salle carve a niche for itself locally in the pet field? Soufleris acknowledged that the dog-friendly policy will likely be a strong recruiting tool, one that its collegiate neighbors dont have. That could be key, given La Salles problemsin recent years with enrollment and finances, a struggle it is far from alone in having. La Salle will allow dogs in St. George Hall, a 55-bed residence hall with single and double rooms. Roommates must agree to a dog, and the pets can be walked around campus if on a leash. There will be other requirements, including a $100-per-semester fee to cover any needed clean up. Dogs have long had a special spot in the hearts of many top administrators at La Salle. President Colleen Hanycz has four Schnauzers. Soufleris has a Schnoodle named Diva. La Salle, which enrolls nearly 5,200 undergraduate and graduate students, sees many benefits to having dogs, including building responsibility in student pet owners and encouraging exercise via dog walking. Dogs also relieve anxiety and stress, she said. If the program succeeds, La Salle is prepared to expand it, Soufleris said. One recent frosty morning, WRTI-FM (90.1) was raising the curtain on the day with a string of overtures: a Beethoven Leonore, Smetana's overture to The Bartered Bride, and Brahms' Academic Festival Overture. Here was the station doing what it has done for years: keeping listeners warm with old chestnuts. But a lot has changed at WRTI, the Temple University-owned station with a twin jazz-classical identity, and more change is on the way. Among recent moves on the classical front: The station has hired Debra Lew Harder, who has been host and producer of Saturday Morning Classical Coffeehouse, as classical midday host. In a departure that may strike purists as heretical, the station has started playing single movements from larger pieces on a fairly regular basis. And in perhaps its most significant bit of evolution, WRTI has taken on a heavy schedule of performances aired live from its studios in North Philadelphia. The broadcasts reinforce a shift in the stations mission that has been underway for years, away from simply playing CDs and toward promoting local music groups and presenters to a concentrated listenership. Imani Winds recently previewed the quintets Philadelphia Chamber Music Society concert with a visit to the WRTI studio for a performance and interview, as did Astral Artists laureate cellist Christine Lamprea and pianist Navah Perlman in advance of a Haverford College appearance. The shows are available on demand on the WRTI website, along with other features on music and arts in the city generally. Whats in it for the stations owner? Temples mission is to provide a great education, and people learn a lot of different ways, said university spokesperson Ray Betzner. One of the great opportunities with WRTI is to provide news, classical music, and jazz, and those are parts of a well-rounded life." The evolution from being just a radio station to chief promoter of classical music in the city potentially opens up wider funding possibilities. Bill Johnson, WRTIs general manager, refers to the enterprise as not merely a media outlet, but a cultural institution whose roots are in radio. (Full disclosure: The Inquirer partnered with WRTI last spring to send classical music writer David Patrick Stearns to Europe and Israel to cover the Philadelphia Orchestra on tour in Europe and Israel.) Radio, in fact, may have no choice but to evolve. We live with instant access and bottomless supply. YouTube, Spotify, SiriusXM, Pandora the list of musical content providers is endless. And yet, whether you call it radio or something more, the need for curation has never been more acute. It feels downright liberating in our exhausting era of profligate choice to let someone else make the decisions. Not just any someone else, of course, but a smart someone else. The power of this relationship a strange degree of intimacy with a voice youve never seen or met hit home for me late one night in December. Friends over for dinner had just left after an evening of bleak talk about politics and ailing family members. Turning to the cleaning up, I switched on Classical Through the Night, the national show carried by WRTIs HD-2 service. Mendelssohns incidental music to A Midsummer Nights Dream was on, and the music, the surprise of it, arrived like a rush of humanity in a harsh world. It was music I had, of course, heard a thousand times but had I? The familiar score was reworked, patched together in a different way with new material, and beautiful. It turned out to be Erich Wolfgang Korngolds arrangement of the score for the 1935 Max Reinhardt film. The meaning of it continued to ripple in my mind for days afterward. Mendelssohn wrote the pieces fairy-music overture when he was 17, and Korngold had been a wunderkind in his own right who later fled Nazi Austria for the U.S. and a new life in film music. A late-night accidental encounter became something bigger and more enduring than passive listening. There is tremendous value to having someone else tip you off to composers and pieces youd have never known had you been left to your own devices. That is partly the case for playing single movements. If you loved the explosive first movement of Nielsens Symphony No. 3, you might go out and listen to the rest of it. On WRTI, Mozart is the composer who shows up most frequently, according to the stations own analysis of one recently sampled week. After that, in no particular order, come Vivaldi, Beethoven, Dvorak, Chopin, and Bach. The Rossini string sonatas are getting a good workout these days, as are any number of pieces by Handel, Grieg, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and Gershwin. But thats just the popularity list for WRTIs daytime classical programming. At night, jazz takes over the airwaves, and classical moves to HD-2. There youll find Classical Through the Night, with an eclectic mix that on one recent stretch of the wee hours included an anonymous 14th-century work at 2:54 a.m., Nino Rotas film music to The Leopard led by Riccardo Muti at 4:34 a.m., and Stravinskys Suite italienne an hour before daybreak. (No, I didnt stay up listening, but I peeked at the programming guide). Other shows on HD-2, such as Exploring Music and Collectors Corner, are wonderfully revealing of artists and repertoire you never heard of, had only heard of but never knew, and thought you knew but really didnt. Broadcasts on successive nights from the orchestras of Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Pittsburgh keep you up to date on the relative quality and characteristics of those ensembles. The biggest part of the stations classical listenership, though, is tuning in during the day, and its that core experience that the station is steering toward being more supportive and reflective of the live performing arts community. Yes, you can summon BBC Radio 3 and hear Shostakovich and Philip Glass with a tap of the touchpad. But a local focus differentiates WRTI. Sometimes now, the station will air unpublished recorded performances by the Philadelphia Orchestra and other groups. Live-from-studio classical and jazz broadcasts are averaging four per week, says Johnson. As the attention bandwidth of most media consumers becomes more splintered, and as arts and culture struggles to maintain a direct line of communication with its base, WRTIs direction appears to be filling the right need at the right time. We are certainly getting a great public response, and the demand is increasing for us to do more, Johnson says. More organizations and artists are reaching out to us than ever before, asking how they can be a partner." The goal, he says, is to increase partnerships with local groups to the point that the regions artists and presenters are fully woven into the stations identity. That should be part of our ongoing sound. Logansport, IN (46947) Today Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 84F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms. Low 69F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Staff reports The Petoskey News-Review Its 2019, and over 50 percent of Michigan third-graders cant read at grade level. The state no doubt is experiencing a crisis in education and skills as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in Tuesday nights State of the State address. But its not a new problem. Michigan third-graders rank in the bottom 10 states in the nation for literacy. And before people start pointing fingers at the inner city or public schools, this is a problem for schools across the state. To address the problem will likely require overhauling the system, something Republican and Democratic leaders seem to agree on in principle. Yet they disagree on the way to move forward. The big question: How will the state pay for whatever programs it hopes to implement? The most likely options: Reallocate money from other parts of the state budget or raise taxes. What can Gov. Whitmer and this Legislature do that decades of Michigan leaders have failed to do? That remains to be seen. Why a new bipartisan solution is essential Whitmers call for a new bipartisan solution is an essential component. There is no such thing as Republican or Democratic school kids, she said Tuesday. This is not happening because Michigan kids are less talented. Its not happening because our kids are less motivated. Its not happening because our educators are less dedicated. It is happening because generations of leadership have failed them. Weve been down this road before. In 2005, a 41-member bipartisan group dubbed the Cherry Commission, led by former Lt. Gov. John Cherry, released a plan to double the share of Michigan adults with post-secondary education certificates or degrees over the ensuing 10 years. But there was no consideration of how to finance the recommendations in the report. There has been progress such as toughening high school graduation requirements but, during the 2008 recession and Michigans painfully slow recovery, plans largely languished. Now that Whitmer is renewing the call to reach similar goals, there must be a will to invest and pay for these initiatives. Our kids cant afford to wait for our elected officials to figure it out. Neither can businesses that rely on an educated workforce to be successful. About 44 percent of Michigans workforce have completed post-secondary education whether a four-year degree, community college or skilled trades certification but its clearly not enough. Since 2011, nearly all new jobs require education beyond a high school diploma, according to a 2018 report by the Michigan Higher Education Attainment Roundtable. In Tuesdays speech, Whitmer called for 60 percent of Michigans workforce to have completed post-secondary education by 2030 an aggressive goal that will take bipartisan support to achieve. But thats what Michigan needs. Michigans greatest strength is and always has been our people, Whitmer said Tuesday. Hopefully, Michigan residents have elected the right people to finally solve the education crisis. Lansing State Journal You are here: World Flash Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday ordered the country's southern border with Brazil be sealed off. "I have decided: in south Venezuela, starting at 8 p.m. today Thursday Feb. 21, the land border with Brazil will be totally and absolutely closed," said Maduro. The measure will be in effect until further notice, the president said during a meeting with the high command of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces. The move comes amid what he called "provocation" from Brazil's right-wing government. Venezuela is also considering sealing its border with Colombia, he added. "I don't want to have to make these types of decisions, but I am evaluating it -- the total closure of the border with Colombia," said Maduro. Both Colombia and Brazil have aligned themselves with Venezuela's right-wing opposition and its campaign to oust Maduro and the ruling socialist PSUV party from power. The president called on Colombia's armed forces to refrain from taking part in the Washington-orchestrated maneuvers, including an announced Feb. 23 attempt to deliver humanitarian aid, which Venezuelan officials believe is a pretext for military intervention. The responsibility "for any outbreak of violence on the border between Colombia and Venezuela rests on (Colombian President) Ivan Duque," Maduro said. According to Maduro, Duque informed his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump that "he does not have the backing of the Colombian armed forces for an attack on Venezuela." On Wednesday, Caracas announced the indefinite suspension of air and maritime connections with the neighboring islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire, which face Venezuela's Caribbean coast. Political tensions between the government and opposition groups in Venezuela came to a head after Maduro was sworn in to a new term on Jan. 10. The opposition, which largely boycotted the presidential elections in May, refuses to recognize Maduro's reelection win and has been demanding a new round of voting. Staff reports The Petoskey News-Review GAYLORD Paul Stanley Koronka of Gaylord has been recognized for his service in the Army and has been presented a quilt by the local Patriotic Quilters group. Paul was born to Rosemarie (Koscielniak) and Stanley Koronka. He is the oldest and has a sister, Loretta Swantek, and younger brother, Michael Koronka. When Paul was 11, his dad, who was 38, passed away. Pauls sister was 9 and his brother was 2. His mother told Paul that he was now the man of the house. He would try to do what an 11-year-old could do to help support himself because his mother at that time did not work outside of the home and had two others to support. Paul went to St. Mary School and was always well behaved, so he was made a hall monitor. He was also an altar server and a Boy Scout. When he was in high school, he worked at the A &, P grocery store stocking shelves and bagging groceries. He liked being a bag boy because he liked people and he always got tips for carrying out the groceries, He also worked for Glen Electric and Furniture as a delivery man. Mr. Noirot, Harry Andrews and Lucille said that he was well liked and a very polite young man. One day, Paul had an opportunity to get a ride in an airplane with Bob Nichols. After that Paul knew that was what he wanted to do aviation. After graduating from high school in 1970, Paul went to Alpena Community College. He took pilot training at Alpena Airport and received his license in 1971. Since Paul was going to college he received a deferment from the draft. He couldnt attend college in the fall of 1971 because of financial reasons, so he was now eligible to be drafted. When he received his draft letter, the draft board told him he had about a month and so Paul enlisted. The draft board also told him that he was eligible for a deferment from going to Vietnam because of his household situation, but Paul would have nothing to do with that. He was serving his country wherever they sent him. It would mean that he would have to serve three years instead of just two, but he could go into the field he wanted to, so he chose Army aviation. He couldnt be an airplane pilot because he needed a college degree, and they had enough helicopter pilots, so he went to school to become an avionics mechanic Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 35K20. He enlisted on Feb. 14, 1972. After his training, he was sent to Vietnam and was stationed at Can Tho Army Airfield in the Mekong Delta. After his tour in Vietnam, he returned to the states with a short tour at Fort Bliss, Texas, and a temporary duty assignment at Moffett Naval Air Station in California. Then he was sent Germany with a temporary assignment in Rota, Spain, and then returned to Fort Dix, New Jersey. He was discharged from Fort Dix on Feb. 14, 1975. During his time in the military, he earned many medals: Army Service, National Defense, Army Good Conduct, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Medal and Unit Citation, Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign and the Bronze Star for meritorious achievement. He then worked for Western Geophysical, but he knew that he didnt want to do that the rest of his life, so he applied to the Michigan Stale Police (MSP), but there was a discrimination lawsuit for failing to hire more women and minorities. In March 1976, he went to work for GTE (General Telephone and Electronics) for 21 years, finishing his career as a truck driver for various companies Gordon Foods, Conway Transportation, Northern Energy, retiring from Airgas USA in April 2014. After a year off, he went to work part time for North Country Aviation, retiring again Aug. 15, 2018. At the quilt presentation, his wife, Teresa, related how she and Pauls paths crossed. Paul and I met on a blind date on Sept. 8, 1975. We found out we had a lot in common, she said. I went to airline school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for three months to become a stewardess in 1970, but at the end of the course the airlines were on strike, and since the school guaranteed us a job, we all took a civil service exam, and I was sent to Washington, D.C., in January 1971 working for the Navy, she continued. I was there four years and I worked at various positions with the Navy, i.e., sending young men to Annapolis Naval Academy, then sending young men to flight training in Pensacola, Florida, and the last job I had was on the VP desk sending young men to U.S. Navy patrol squadrons. I came back to Michigan because my dad had open heart surgery and was not expected to live. I lived in Roscommon and went looking for a job. The MSP was recruiting women in 1974, so I enrolled in the police academy, but they were just accepting applications at the time. I had cousins that were in the MSP and they told me about applying. I ended up at Weeklys selling advertising for the Northern Star. So I moved to Gaylord in September 1974. Paul and I dated for one month when he asked me to marry him, on Oct. 10, 1975, and on May 8, 1976, we were married, she concluded. Staff reports The Petoskey News-Review Sometimes, researching our countys history ends up with more questions than answers. That is the case with this months story on the ghost town of Logan. The community was located about six miles north of Gaylord. Today, this would be on Whitmarsh Road east of Old 27 extending to about Nowak Road. This first and most obvious question is How did Logan gets its name? Was it named for Civil War General John Logan? Was it the first name of a pioneer to the area? Was it named for the town from which the early settlers came from? Logan was a thriving community during our countys lumbering era. The earliest mention of Logan was in 1880 when the Michigan Central Railroad was extended from its terminus in Gaylord north to the straits of Mackinac. For a short time, 1880 to 1883, Logan had a post office. Joshua Lantz was the postmaster all four years. Census records show he and his family later moved to Kansas where he died in 1933. Why he moved to Otsego County from Ohio and how he was selected to be the postmaster remain a history mystery. There is a gap in the chronology of events until 1890. That is when the Rodgers-Allison Lumber Company from Pennsylvania built a saw mill in Logan. It was located next to the railroad in section 24 of Corwith Township. An undated railway map identifies the Allison-Rodgers Railroad about a half mile east of Logan. It covered a distance of approximately five miles going south parallel to what is Nowak Road today. Charles O. and his wife Anna Rodgers along with their son Floyd lived in Logan for awhile. This information was confirmed by articles in the newspaper and document at the county Register of Deeds. Sometimes the town of Logan is referred to as Rodgers or Rogers. It is assumed this is due to the Rodgers family and their lumbering business. The Rodgers family moved from Otsego County to Canada in 1905 or 1906 when the sawmill was sold to the Yuill Brothers of Vanderbilt. The town must have had a growth spurt about that time as evidenced by a series of newsy tidbits printed in the Otsego County Times. A local correspondent reported what happened the prior week and who was doing what. That might sound gossipy to us today, but actually it provides a glimpse into the every day life of a tiny, temporary lumber town. Another description of the small community during its heyday is found in Logan A Vanished Village. It is a first-hand account by Earl Freel, who lived at Logan when he was young man. His brief story is published in A Step Back in Time volume 1. He mentions, among other things, the company store, church, railroad roundhouse, potato warehouse and school. Mr. Freel also lists the names of some of the men employed at the lumber mill and its two logging camps. Complimenting Mr. Freels narrative are a few photos from Charlie Conn collection. These include Logans store and boarding house, its sawmill and crew, men stacking cut lumber and hauling away scrap lumber. The people in these photos are not identified but may be some of the men listed in Mr. Freels story. It is believed the photos were taken between 1910 and 1917. New information recently surfaced when a Sanborn Insurance Map of Logan date July 1916 was discovered on the Library of Congress website. The primary purpose of the map is to show safety and operational details of the Yuill Brothers Mill and Lumber Yard. However, it also reveals the layout of some of the houses, mill, general store and school. The main street now known as Whitmarsh Road was labeled Clyde Road. Another history mystery who was Clyde? Perhaps the most puzzling part of Logans history is the school. Logan was situated on the borderline of Corwith and Livingston townships. Almost all of the homes were on the north side of the dividing road in Corwith Township. The school was across the street in Livingston Township. Back then, our rural one-room schools were operated within township boundaries. This meant the students on the north side of the road were not allowed to attend the Logan School. Instead, they had to walk about two miles to Rush School the nearest school in Corwith Township. Rush School was built in 1890. The year the Logan School began operation is not currently known. One theory for this odd arrangement could be that the Logan School was built prior to 1890 and the two townships worked out an agreement similar to fractional schools which allows students from a different county to attend school in the neighboring county. Maybe until then, kids on the north side of the road went to the Logan School across the road in Livingston Township. More research is needed. The ghost town of Logan is typical of many of the other lumbering era communities of our past. Settlements spring up in the wilderness for the purpose of harvesting the trees. Once that task is completed, people moved on to greener forests. Hopefully we have since learned to avoid boom and bust cycles. Hopefully we learn from our past. Hopefully we now think and act in ways that create a sustainable future. Thats why studying history is important. Thats why history matters. Chris Engle Special to the Herald Times OTSEGO COUNTY Theres a new button at the top of the countys website that officials hope will be the first click for people starting or building their business in Otsego County. The One Stop Shop Business Center button takes users to a directory of services meant to help businesses get established including counseling, education, employment incentives and financial help. It also answers questions around zoning, registering a business name or LLC, or working out of a home. The county developed it in partnership with Otsego County Economic Alliance (OCEA). The online business center went live Feb. 11 and is broken into five sections: business counseling, business incentives, mapping/planning/zoning services, FAQ, and networking (see related story). It is the top button on the countys homepage, www.otsegocountymi.gov and brings together, under one digital umbrella, services and resources that are physically scattered across several office buildings around Gaylord. Otsego County Administrator Rachel Frisch said the effort is meant to bring together relevant information for new or expanding businesses into one place on the county website. The intent is to provide an organized, detailed, convenient means to facilitate business growth, she said. Its like putting our best foot forward when people are researching our area for business information and opportunities. The idea for the online business center came out of discussions between Otsego County Board President Ken Borton and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. Borton, who also serves as president of Michigan Association of Counties, toured Oakland County facilities two years ago. While I was there, I was really interested in how (Patterson) and his team were able to turn the countys economy around after losing 60,000 jobs in the recession, Borton said. During Bortons second visit to Oakland County along with Frisch, Trisha Adam, Otsego County human resources director, and Lisa McComb, Otsego County Economic Alliance director, Patterson explained how his county set up their own online one-stop shop to make it easy for employers to navigate the process and paperwork of doing business in Oakland County. On a smaller scale, I didnt see any reason we couldnt do this in Northern Michigan, Borton said. We want to do everything to welcome businesses that bring living-wage jobs here. If by creating the One Stop Shop we can make things easier, more convenient, more efficient and more organized to promote and facilitate bringing in new businesses and strengthening existing businesses, thats a success, Frisch said. Its been up and running since Feb. 11, so its still very new. We will continue to add to it and refine it over time. One Stop Shop breakdown Business counseling Provides contact information for the OCEA and the regional office of the Small Business Development Center. Free, personalized assistance on developing business/marketing plans, financial analysis, problem solving, management skills and more. Business incentives Information on numerous Michigan Works! programs to assist employers in posting jobs and finding workers, be reimbursed for on-the-job training, and obtain tax credits and wage subsidies. Description of University Center/M-TEC in Gaylord offering academic and career technical/vocational training. Otsego County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority offers state and local financial assistance to redevelop contaminated, blighted or functionally obsolete properties. Access to Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Centers through OCEA. Contact information for Procurement and Technical Assistance Centers, which aids small businesses in bidding and securing government contracts. OCEA site and building inventory of vacant industrial, commercial and office space. Property Assessed Clean Energy (Public Act 270 of 2010) to promote energy-efficient improvements and renewable energy systems in commercial or industrial properties. Mapping, planning & zoning Contact information for land use services, planning and zoning, capital projects and grants Zoning maps U.S. Census data Permit applications for zoning, parcel division FAQ section Answers to most common questions about starting or building a small business in a directory format Networking 4:45 Club gathers every second Tuesday of the month at a local restaurant. Call Brandy Riopelle at (989) 731-0287 for more information. Business After Hours events happen monthly at local businesses as an opportunity for colleagues to meet and network. Taste of Gaylord is an annual event bringing together local restauranteurs to present their offerings to the public and raises funds for scholarships presented to students studying culinary arts or hospitality management. Steve Zucker (231) 439-9346 For parents, keeping tabs on everything students in area schools are doing can be a daunting task. From classes and grades, to extracurricular activities and social interactions, there is a good deal for parents to monitor. Its an even more difficult task for parents be in the know about new trends in illegal or dangerous substance use that their children could fall into. Long gone are the days when smelling alcohol on a teens breath, or being wary for the smell of marijuana smoke, were among parents top detection tools. Both Scott Kelly with Charlevoix-based Bay Area Substance Abuse Education Services (known extensively in the area as BASES) and Susan Pulaski, community health coordinator with the Health Department of Northwest Michigan, said that the landscape of substance use among teens is changing almost daily and its largely tied to one phenomenon vaping. Vaping, is the term for using electronic cigarettes and other devices that allow a person to inhale water vapor infused with various chemicals. Originally designed as an alternative to smoking, the types and uses of these devices have exploded in recent years, both Kelly and Pulaski said. And the trend goes way beyond the rebellious smoking in the boys room activities of teens decades ago. Kelly and Pulaski note the devices are dangerous on many levels. First, they now come in many forms, some of which look nothing like any sort of vapor inhaling device. There are so many sizes and shapes of these things its difficult to keep up with it, Kelly said. He said the devices can be very easy to conceal, because often they are small and/or look like everyday items such as a pen or USB storage stick. Kelly noted recently learning of one vaping device that looks like an inhaler which a person might use to treat asthma. Pulaski said even simply looking at vaping devices as a smoking substitute comes with dangers. First, she noted that while most teens understand that smoking cigarettes is bad for them, there is a perception among many that because vaping doesnt involve inhaling smoke, it is safe. However, both Kelly and Pulaski noted whatever small safety gains might be found in the absence of smoke are more than wiped out by the fact that the nicotine levels in many of these vaping products are much higher than in most cigarettes. Nicotine is a stimulant that is highly addictive, especially in higher doses, they both said. Ingesting nicotine through vaping devices is just the tip of the iceberg. Both Pulaski and Kelly said many other substance can be inhaled through the devices, such as THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. One of the things weve been emphasizing to people is this is a drug delivery device, not just a substitute for smoking. You can put so many things in them, Kelly said. Both Kelly and Pulaski pointed to a 2018 Michigan Profile for Healthy Youth survey of students in seventh, ninth and 11th grade during the 2017-18 school year that showed nearly 25 percent of surveyed students in Emmet County had used a vaping device in the previous 30 days, and more than 35 percent had done so among surveyed students in Charlevoix County. That compares with 12.4 percent and 25.4 percent respectively for alcohol use in the two counties. Kelly said in his experience, many he estimated around 80 percent of teens caught vaping or with vaping devices in schools are naive about it. These are the kids you typically would expect. They heard about it and they wanted to try it, Kelly said. Another concern Kelly expressed is a perception among many people especially teens that THC is safe, when in fact, he said, the amount of the substance that is in many marijuana strains and also can be found in many liquids that can be inhaled via vaping is much more potent than decades ago. In fact, Pulaski said it isnt necessarily use of marijuana cigarettes that parents need to be looking for among children, as today THC comes in so many more forms and potency levels. Its not the same product that they (parents) might have known about in the past, she said. THC levels are so much higher, they shouldnt even call it marijuana anymore, they should just call it THC. We know the effects of the lower doses on developing brains, but we dont have research on what that (higher) level (of THC) is going to do to developing brain. Both Pulaski and Kelly said they are concerned that products with THC will be more likely to fall into the hands of teens now that voters approved a ballot measure in November legalizing the use of marijuana for recreational purposes for people over the age of 21. Both Kelly and Pulaski said its difficult for even them to keep up with the constantly changing substance use landscape, but both encourage parents to educate themselves as much as possible and to pay attention to their children and look for changes in their behavior and have conversations with them about their concerns. I like to compare it to being a bank teller. You have to know what the real bill looks like so you can spot the fake one. In the same way, parents need to be in tune with their kids to so they can notice when something has changed. He noted that the hard part for many parents is identifying the difference between the ups and downs of typical adolescent life and changes that might be caused by other things, such as substance abuse. To help parents and other community members, the SAFE in Northern Michigan organization will soon host the next in its series of community informational sessions on vaping and other substance abuse issues. This event is slated for 5:30-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 26, at Alanson Public Schools. To learn more about the efforts of the SAFE in Northern Michigan organization, visit https://www.safeinnm.com/ Sean Miller (231) 439-9394 semiller2@petoskeynews.com The Petoskey News-Review HARBOR SPRINGS Eight Harbor Springs area restaurants, alongside the Harbor Springs Chamber of Commerce, will soon be serving up specials for the chambers fourth annual Restaurant Week. The event actually spread over 10 days was started as an opportunity for both locals and visitors to enjoy area restaurants with the offered price-fixed menus. Its really to offer some deals during a less busy time of year to get people out and make Harbor Springs a destination point for fun and good food, said volunteer event organizer Jenny Brower. Its also nice as, in Harbor Springs, you can almost walk out your door and be on a ski or snowmobile trail to anywhere which would make a nice day of recreation and food. Participating restaurants this year include Vernales Restaurant, Staffords Pier, the Country Club of Boyne, Piersons Grille & Spirits, Northern Lights Recreations Sassy Loon Bar & Grill, The Paper Station Bistro, Small Batch and The New York Restaurant. Each restaurant has its own special price-fixed menu, with some offering options at $15, $25 and $35. I defy anyone to look at the offerings and pick just one restaurant to go to, Brower said. The chefs at all the restaurants are great and on point with the selections this year. Each year they surprise me and this year will be no different, she said. Some of the offerings this year include chicken piccata or grilled pork medallions at Staffords Pier, roasted duck or leg of lamb at the New York or even pesto chicken rigatoni or ahi tuna at the Paper Station. This year the event is also donating some of its proceeds from registrations to the Harbor Hut. The hut is a food pantry at the Harbor Springs Middle School that provides children food for the weekend to tide them over until Monday. Its an incredible thing for the kids as its hard for some of them. Some kids come in and are even shopping for their family, Brower said. We figured if we are doing this type of food event we could give back to others that need food too. It made sense. Harbor Springs Restaurant week runs from March 1-10 and Brower hopes people make the most of it. Its spread that long to hit two weeks to really give people an opportunity to try more than one restaurant. I know I will be, she said. More information about the upcoming event can be found online at www.harborspringschamber.com. William T. Perkins (231) 439-9353 PETOSKEY Email records from January and February suggest John Calabrese, Emmet County administrator, and Bill Shorter, chair of the board of commissioners, ran into a disagreement during the weekend of Feb. 9 about Shorters alleged failure to report meetings hed had with chairs of other boards. That Sunday, Calabrese forwarded some of those correspondences to Commissioner Toni Drier, who then called for a hearing into alleged code of ethics violations at the Feb. 11 board of commissioners meeting. The News-Review filed a Freedom of Information Act request for email records from the county the morning of Feb. 12. The request was granted this Wednesday, Feb. 21. According to those emails, the issue arose over the possibility of a four-county meeting to discuss 2020 contracts with the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance (NLEA). In an email to the Emmet County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 7, John Calabrese said Kevin Shepard, Charlevoix County administrator, had reached out to him to set up such a meeting. The contract between Emmet County and NLEA had been a matter of dispute for several months. On Jan. 14, the county commissioners voted to rescind a previous contract proposal they sent to the agency and to have county staff continue negotiations. The multi-county meeting would potentially include the county administrators and board chairs from all four NLEA member counties: Emmet, Charlevoix, Cheboygan and Antrim. It would not include a representative from the NLEA. In his Feb. 7 email, Calabrese said he talked to Shorter about the possible meeting and he agreed this seems to be a promising avenue to try to work out a solution to the long-running dispute over NLEA membership rates. However, on Saturday, Feb. 9, Shorter followed that email up with his own email to the board, clarifying that on Jan. 16, after a 911 Charlevoix-Cheboygan-Emmet Central Dispatch Authority meeting, Chris Christensen, chair of the Charlevoix County Board of Commissioners, approached him with the same idea. Emmet County Commissioner David White was also there. We both agreed this would be an excellent idea, Shorter said in the Feb. 9 email. He also said he reached out to John Wallace, chair of the Cheboygan County Board of Commissioners, about the idea. Shorter admitted to those interactions in an interview with the News-Review the night of Monday Feb. 11, but argued that the discussions had been brief, and that the matter had been on the back burner for him. Emails from Calabrese suggest that, throughout the week of Feb. 3, he had been in contact with Shorter about the possible meeting, and had encouraged him to inform the board about the opportunity as well. In an email to Shorter on Feb. 7, just before Calabrese sent his email to the full board, he said, I think it is extremely important for the rest of the Board to know that an opportunity exists for us to engage in meaningful discussions with our three partner counties in the NLEA to try to resolve our membership issue. I believe that failing to do so would not be transparent, and we would be withholding important information that may relate directly to a possible action that might take place at Mondays meeting. Other emails from Calabrese suggest that at that point he did not know Shorters conversations with the other county chairs took place as far back as January. I found out when I received that email that the Board received yesterday, he said in an email to Drier Sunday morning. In that same email, Calabrese forwarded one of his previous correspondences with Shorter. Shortly thereafter, he also forwarded a set of emails from the week of Jan. 21. In those emails, Tammy Doernenburg, Emmet County planning and zoning director, emailed Calabrese to inform him that Shorter had visited her office the Friday prior to inquire about a case on planning boards agenda. There is no evidence that that incident is related to the NLEA issue, but it does suggest another instance in which Calabrese believes Shorter crossed an administrative line. I find this situation problematic, and in conflict with proper procedures, Calabrese said in a Jan. 22 email to Shorter. On the morning of Monday, Feb. 11, he also forwarded her a document from the Michigan Municipal League with a general job description for a county administrator. Other charges against Shorter, as listed in county agenda materials, date as far back as one year ago, but the News-Review has not requested records dating back that far. Drier has not commented on the nature of those charges, stating she believed it would be inappropriate to do so before the hearing Thursday. Warfare in the 20th century was the bloodiest in human history. For some reason we celebrate it. I do not. I find it very promising that warfare today (fingers crossed) has turned into a chess match with exponentially fewer deaths. Examples: If we impose trade and financial sanctions on them, they will send missiles out into the empty Pacific. Oh, but if they do that, we will stage exercises near their border. Well, ha, ha, if we do that, theyll hold peace talks with their neighbor. (North Korea) Another we will invade them if they do not accept our humanitarian aid. (Venezuela) Or, we will show them that we are so serious about regime change that we will pull our troops from their country. (Syria) We will pay to remove the anti-personnel mines we laid in wherever. We will sail a couple ships past their man-made islands to show them how powerful we are. (China) Throughout the world we will replace our troops with drones and robots and use satellites to bomb the enemy as precisely as possible. We will shore up our cyber-defense so they cannot learn how we manufacture Grand Theft Auto. We are competing with Russia to develop the least explosive nuclear bomb. This new respect for human life (and commercial markets) is transforming how we compete as nations, a competition once called warfare. Now, if we can just figure out how to fit the chess-avoidance terrorists into this equation. JOHN SLONAKER, Carlisle, Pa. The smartphone with a foldable screen, which Samsung will start shipping at the end of April, is far more than an expensive gimmick. With the release of the $1,980 Galaxy Fold, Samsung challenges Apples claim to premium pricing and unleashes, in what looked like a mature market, the same kind of race that Apple started with the first iPhone. The price point, of course, is pure cheek. When Apple launched the iPhone in January, 2007, it did so at $399 with a two-year contract, more than most mobile phones cost that year, but Nokias 2007 flagship handset, the N95, sold for a hefty $700 unlocked - and it didnt even have a full keyboard. Samsung, however, isnt trying to be the Apple of 2007: It has moved to displace the Apple of today from the enviable market position of capturing 44.4 percent of the smartphone markets total value in the last three months of 2018 while delivering only 18.2 percent of unit shipments. The ability to price its phones at a premium to other manufacturers products is, arguably, Apples biggest advantage, established during a few crucial years at the end of the 2000s while Nokia lost its way, Microsoft failed to compete and Google still worked on its Android operating system. Now, Samsung is making a grab for the premium price-setters crown with an innovation as bold as Steve Jobss abolition of the physical keyboard. The foldable phone adds another device, the tablet, to the list of gadgets you dont really need if you have a smartphone (that list already includes a camera, a music player and a watch, to name just the most obvious conquests). Its also the biggest change the market has seen since 2007. One can gripe about the difficulty of using the fold-out novelty one-handed, expect software problems (Android needs a serious upgrade to run on a shape-shifting device, and so do popular apps) or complain about the bulkiness of the two-battery, two-screen phone - but the first iPhone, too, received its share of criticism just because it was different and required a learning curve. Being able to watch movies, play games and read books on a good-sized screen and still use the device as a reasonably-sized phone is a big advantage that, in the end, trumps all the complaints. Economically, passing up a tablet for a Samsung Galaxy Fold makes no sense. A latest-generation iPhone plus an iPad Pro can be had for the same price, and, no question, the pair would be the more practical purchase: As first-generation tech, the Fold can be expected to be buggier than these long-perfected devices. Samsung, however, isnt trying to make a reasonable offer to consumers. Its claiming the right to set higher prices than Apple. Citigroup predicts Samsung will ship about a million Folds this year; at the current price point, that would be a bigger achievement than Apples 2007 iPhone sales of 1.39 million units. The people who buy the Fold wont just be early adopters: theyll be, lets face it, the kind of people (call them tech devotees, wannabes or just vain) who have helped Apple obtain its price-setting power. Arguably, itll be cooler to own a Fold than an iPhone because its the new new thing - and also because its so expensive: an unbeatable combination. For the iPhone, the real test came in 2008, with the second model and an eight-fold sales jump. Samsung probably wont see a similar dynamic, but, if the Fold works properly and doesnt break too easily, it may have enough time to establish itself as the new king of cool since other manufacturers working on foldable screen tech wont be able to source enough of the new displays: Samsung has a jump on them when it comes to manufacturing at scale. It has more production capacity than its rivals (South Koreas LG Display and Chinas BOE and Visionox) put together. Samsung, of course, is taking a gamble. But, for the worlds biggest smartphone manufacturer suffering from historically low profit margins, the bold move is justified. If the Fold takes off, itll set off a new cycle for the smartphone industry, which has struggled to grow recently (unit shipments dropped 4.4 percent in 2018). Samsungs competitors, such as Huawei and Xiaomi, which are also planning to launch foldable phones soon, will be forced to drive down prices as the biggest players also compete on the ergonomics and functionality of the new devices, something that hasnt happened in the industry for years. Samsung, however, can try to do what Apple had done before it, hanging on to premium prices. This time, it has a chance to do things right. Theres a possible incentive for smartphone producers to push more foldable phones: Even though the devices are advertised as extremely durable, the constant folding and unfolding makes it likely that they wont last as long as current smartphones, which people replace increasingly seldom. The industry would love a shorter natural replacement cycle. Apple, meanwhile, faces its Nokia moment. It can hardly do what it did with its competitors earlier, more timid innovations such as large screens or the elimination of bezels - simply copy them and set the price higher. A foldable iPhone for $2,500 later this year? Its not happening, though Apple is working on a foldable device, as a recent patent indicates. So what role can the phone revolutionary of 2007 play in the next revolution, against competitors eager to deny it its usual mammoth profit share? Jobs probably would have had an answer by now. Current Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook hasnt given an indication of his plans yet. - - - Bershidsky, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, was the founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti and founded the opinion website Slon.ru. On behalf of over 12,000 Pennsylvania state corrections officers, the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association (PSCOA) supports the commonwealths efforts against legal challenges to its mail policy that was developed after a rash of K2, a synthetic cannabinoids, was being smuggled through the mail in prisons throughout the system. Simply put, our officers were becoming seriously sick from a substance that could not be detected. Once the department took unprecedented steps, working with the PSCOA, to protect the safety of everyone, I can report that illnesses from our officers are down considerably. Thats what Pennsylvanias policy is all about: Safety. And inmates still receive their mail. Perhaps other states should look to Pennsylvania as a model for how it handles its mail. JASON BLOOM, president of PSCOA, Harrisburg A state appeals court has decided not to believe an unlicensed truck driver who claimed he was a victim of misidentification when a state trooper twice pulled him over on Interstate 81. Instead, the Superior Court judges sided with Cumberland County Senior Judge J. Wesley Oler Jr., who convicted Edwin Giang of multiple violations of trucking regulations and fined him $8,072. Giang, 25, of Quincy, Maine, was pulled over near Exit 52 of the highway in September 2017 after the car carrier he was driving was clocked going 69 mph in the 55 mph zone, police said. The trooper who stopped Giang, cited him for operating a commercial vehicle without a commercial drivers license. The officer ordered that the rig be placed out of service and parked at a nearby truck stop. An hour later, the trooper said he saw Giang drive by in the same vehicle again. He said he pulled Giang over but was interrupted by a vehicle that pulled up behind his cruiser. Giang drove away while the trooper was preoccupied and was cited by mail for an array of added commercial vehicle violations. Police claimed that in addition to lacking a commercial license, Giangs rig didnt have a required driver log book, lacked a fire extinguisher and other safety equipment, and did not have a federal inspection certificate. Giang didnt appear for a hearing where a district judge convicted him of the violations. He did appear for a nonjury trial Oler scheduled after Giang appealed the district judges ruling. Oler convicted Giang again despite Giangs claim that the trooper misidentified him as the driver during the second aborted traffic stop, Judge Jacqueline O. Shogan noted in the Superior Courts opinion. Shogan cited Giangs unsuccessful argument that the troopers identification of him was faulty because the officer couldnt remember whether the driver of the rig was wearing glasses. Giang did admit to being the driver during the first traffic stop, however, the state judge noted. You are here: World Flash Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump discussed the U.S. withdrawal from Syria over phone late on Thursday, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Erdogan and Trump discussed the latest developments in Syria and emphasized the importance of supporting a political resolution to the conflict, Anadolu said. During the call, the two presidents also reiterated joint commitment to fighting terrorism and raising bilateral trade to 75 billion U.S. dollars. Three of the teens accused of killing musician Kyle Yorlets in Nashville, Tenn., were evicted from a court hearing for laughing and talking, USA Today reports. The incident occurred during a juvenile court hearing in the case Thursday. According to USA Today, the teens continued laughing, talking and turning around in their seats even after their lawyers and court staffers told them to be quiet. The judge finally ordered them removed from the courtroom because of their behavior. Theyve been sitting there like theyve been sitting on the playground, Juvenile Court Magistrate Mike ONeil said. From R-L: Decorrius Wright, 16, Diamond Lewis, 15, and Roniyah McKnight, 14, are charged in connection with the death of 24-year-old Kyle Yorlets. Michie Gibson, the lawyer for one suspect, said Were dealing with children and they might not appreciate or understand the seriousness of what happened. Five juvenile ages 12 to 16 are accused of fatally shooting Yorlets, a Carlisle-area native, during a robbery outside his Nashville home. They are charged with criminal homicide. Yorlets, 24, was a member of the band Carverton. His slaying prompted a wave of mourning both in Nashville and central Pennsylvania. Cheyney University, founded 182 years ago, has reached a point where its future has never looked more bleak. The Delaware County historically black university is nearly $10 million short of being able to keep its doors open for the remainder of this academic year. Its enrollment has sunk to 469, the lowest level in at least four decades. And its looking increasingly likely the institution needs a miracle to happen to avoid losing its accreditation. State System of Higher Education Chancellor Dan Greenstein painted a brutally honest picture of the status of this system university for the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday. Greenstein said he doesnt think closing Cheyney is the right move, but the nations oldest black institution of higher education cant continue on its current path. Cheyney is at a watershed moment, Greenstein said. The systems board is meeting next week to decide whether to loan $10 million to Cheyney to cover its shortfall for this year. That money would come out of allocations to the other 13 system universities and is on top of $43 million it already owes to its sister schools. Beyond that, the systems board also is going to have decide what path it wants to pursue with Cheyney going forward with or without its accreditation. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education will make a decision in November whether or not to renew the universitys accreditation. By then, Cheyney has to demonstrate that it has complied with certain conditions that Middle States has set for it and given the school an unprecedented two years to meet. Two of those conditions have to do with balancing its budget, which it is not able to do this year. Losing its accreditation would cost the university an important seal of approval enjoyed by many higher education institutions. More importantly, its students are unable to receive federal financial aid. At Thursday's Senate budget hearing, State System of Higher Education Chancellor Dan Greenstein said Cheyney University is at watershed moment in its history. Greenstein told the panel of senators he sees only three options ahead for Cheyney and offered his opinion on each. One of them is to continue as we are, which in my professional opinion is not viable, he said. The second is to recommend to the Legislature that Cheyney be closed because only the Legislature has that authority. That in my professional opinion would be the wrong thing to do. A third path is to acknowledge the likelihood that our accreditation will be lost immediately to begin to plan for our students and our employees who deserve a future and need our attention, he said. That third option would involve working swiftly to continue state funding to put Cheyney on a different path. After the meeting, Greenstein clarified what that might look like. Theres a misconception that a viable future for Cheyney requires accreditation and thats not true, he said. It could mean offering certificate and non-degree programming to meet workforce needs, an area where more higher education institutions are moving. Or it could mean Cheyney becomes a department or school and affiliates itself with an accredited university. Theres a world of opportunities out there, he said. Its not the end of the world. The chancellors description of Cheyneys situation, though, struck some emotional chords. Sen. Vince Hughes, D-Philadelphia, a longtime champion of the university, is hoping for a miracle to save Cheyney. Hughes commended the universitys President Aaron Walton, who came on board two years ago, for the difficult decisions and program cuts he made to try to save its accreditation. He also chastised lawmakers and governors for neglecting to invest in the university, which he noted has had only two new buildings erected on its campus over the past three decades. He also acknowledged some poor decision-making by campus officials who mismanaged $47 million in student financial dollars that may have to be paid back to the federal government. And the school also lost 3,000 applications over a four-year span, which didnt help. But beyond that, Hughes said dollar and cents cant be the only factors that decide Cheyneys future. Its place in American history also has to be considered. The notion that historically black colleges and universities, Cheyney and Lincoln, is predicated on a history of discrimination that required a place to be in position to educate folks, who could not get that education somewhere else by law, he said. There is a role and a place for this institution. Ken Mash, the systems faculty union president, was on hand to witness the exchange and said Hughes wasnt the only one taken aback by the chancellors brutal honesty about Cheyneys situation. People are attached to that university with good reason. The university was there to address ongoing continued discrimination in Pennsylvania and to see that go away and go away under those circumstances is extremely difficult for people including me, Mash said. He said the problems at Cheyney were evident 10 years ago and that the powers that be chose to ignore them. Ive seen people shrug their shoulders and say Thats Cheyney as if that was some kind of an explanation for why they were willing to accept something at that university that they would never accepted at any other institution," he said. "Its a malignant indifference thats what it is. Whats more, he said there are students who need an institution like Cheyney that will not be served if it goes away. Its just awful, Mash said. Upon returning to his office, Mash held a video conference with Cheyney faculty to inform them of the conversation about their school and the discussion about its accreditation. He said they were stunned and their immediate concern was for the students and what would happen with them. That was confirmed in an emailed statement by Cheyney faculty member B.J. Mullaney. First, as a faculty member I, and I believe all my colleagues, want what is best for our students, she said. Chancellor Greenstein discussed several possibilities. We really don't have enough information in a situation that is still nebulous. We know that closing Cheyney does not seem to help anyone. What we hope is that any plan will result in the best possible outcome for Cheyney students. Whatever happens with Cheyney, Greenstein told the committee there are lessons to be learned from the circumstances that led it to where it is today. I hope we will take the time and create the space to learn those lessons so they will never be repeated in this commonwealth and in this country, he said. Cheyneys history, the institutions brand, the revered service that is offered to its students, its alumni, they deserve, they demand nothing less than that. A pedestrian was killed when she ran into the side of a tractor-trailer on Interstate 81 in Franklin County early Friday, state police said. Trooper Andrew Farnsler said the woman, who was not identified, entered the highway from the west berm and struck the passenger side of the trucks cab around 1 a.m. in Guilford Township. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Farnsler said the truck driver, Miami Jade, 27, of Brooklyn, Pa., was suspected to be under the influence of alcohol. Can people who steal from nonprofit groups be ordered to pay them back? Pennsylvanias Supreme Court has decided to delve into that question. The issue is whether a ruling by that court which has spared state legislators convicted of corruption from paying millions of dollars in restitution should be extended to cover other crooks as well. The fulcrum for that decision will be an appeal filed by Beverly Steffey, a Kittanning woman who stole nearly $220,000 from three nonprofits in Armstrong County. Steffey appealed to the Supreme Court after the Superior Court in September rejected her argument that she should receive the same protection from restitution as those convicted politicos. The high court agreed to consider her appeal Thursday. Steffey is shooting for a court-sanctioned expansion of the so-called and much criticized Veon decision the Supreme Court issued in November 2016. In that decision, the justices concluded that former state Rep. Mike Veon didnt have to pay $135,000 in restitution to the state for his conviction of misusing a state-funded nonprofit for political gain. The state cannot be owed restitution because it is not a person and so cant be considered a crime victim under Pennsylvania law, the Supreme Court found. Steffey failed to convince the Superior Court that the Veon decision also should shield her from paying restitution for looting the Allegheny Valley Land Trust, the Armstrong County Conservancy and the Progressive Workshop, where she served as financial director. Investigators said she spent years forging checks on the bank accounts of the groups. Shell now be able to argue before the Supreme Court that, like the state government, nonprofits are non-natural persons to whom no restitution is legally due. In the Superior Court opinion which the Supreme Court has agreed to scrutinize, Judge Jack A. Panella rejected Steffeys argument, concluding the Supreme Court did not intend for its Veon decision to be such a sweeping modification of the law of restitution. Panella found that state law considers corporations and other limited liability corporations to be persons for restitution purposes. The high court will have its say on that when it rules on the Steffey case. Former Penn State president Graham Spaniers attorneys declined comment Thursday on their clients latest court setback in his fight against a 2017 child endangerment conviction flowing from the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. But Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro felt the Pennsylvania Supreme Courts refusal to hear Spaniers appeal was worth noting. "We are pleased by the Supreme Courts decision to deny Graham Spaniers appeal, Shapiro said in a statement released by his office. No one is above the law, and my office will continue to pursue anyone who looks the other way in the face of child sexual abuse. There are consequences for failing to protect children in Pennsylvania. Graham Spanier was found guilty by a jury of misdemeanor child endangerment over his handling of a 2001 eyewitness complaint about Sanduskys behavior with a boy in a university shower facility. He could still ask the states high court for a reconsideration of its latest order. But, absent that, Spanier is on the hook to serve a four-month minimum sentence that has been divided by the trial judge into two months in county prison, followed by two months of house arrest. An estimated $24,000 worth of methamphetamine was found while searching a Schuylkill County residence on Thursday, according to state police. Troopers from a Vice/Narcotics unit and members of the Schuylkill County Drug Task Force searched the home in Gordon Borough at 6:05 a.m. The following items were seized, among others: Approximately 240 grams of methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of $24,000. One shotgun Several packets of suspected fentanyl Drug paraphernalia used for the packaging, repackaging and weighing of controlled substances John Solomon Kessler, 46, who lived at the residence, was charged with felony possession with intent to deliver-methamphetamine and persons not to possess firearms, plus misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance - methamphetamine and suspected fentanyl and possession of drug paraphernalia. Kellers bail was set at $75,000, which he was unable to post, according to police. He is being held at Schulykill County Prison. Motorists in Cumberland County will encounter a mile-long, single-lane closure on the Pa. Turnpike on Friday. The closure is planned for 10 hours. The Pa. Turnpike Commission said starting at 4:30 a.m. Friday, one eastbound lane will be closed at mile marker 238.5 for pothole repairs. The closure ends at mile marker 239, and eastbound motorists will experience a single lane pattern for that mile of road. The repairs are expected to be done by 2 p.m. Friday. To report an accident or other emergency on the Pa. Turnpike, stay in your car and dial *11 on your phone. The first president of the United States, George Washington, served two terms from 1789 to 1797. He was born on Feb. 22, 1732. Washington was from Virginia and as a young man served in the French and Indian War. He married in 1759 and became a stepfather to his wifes two children. According to history.com, Washington served as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in 1774 in Philadelphia. By the time the Second Continental Congress convened a year later, the American Revolution had begun and Washington was named commander in chief of the Continental Army. As a result of his service and victory over the British, Washington became a national hero. After the eight-year war he returned to Mount Vernon to farm. In 1787 he was asked to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to head the committee to draft the new constitution. His impressive leadership there convinced the delegates that he was by far the most qualified man to become the nations first president, according to history.com. The first presidential election was held Jan. 7, 1789, and Washington won. The second place vote getter, John Adams, became the nations first vice president. Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, in New York City. The capital in Washington, D.C., had not yet been built. At the time he became president, the United States included 11 states. He died at the age of 67 at his Virginia plantation, Mount Vernon. Unearthing Microsofts HoloLens feels a little like walking the decks of the Titanic. Four years ago, Microsofts augmented-reality headset ignited the imaginations of consumers and developers alike with its promise of lifelike animated sprites that could perch on real-world objects. Then... it sank. Its almost criminal that Microsofts original HoloLens demos never saw the light of day. Bending down to peer inside a coffee table into the Minecraft underworld was an utterly transformative experience. But at least Microsofts vision of using the HoloLens as a business tool apparently is alive and well. As is the HoloLens. Because Microsoft never sold its device to consumers, PCWorld never formally reviewed it. But we have the original on hand. As Microsoft is expected to bring forth the next generation of HoloLens at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona this weekend, we gave it another run-through, focusing on what made it bestand what could be better. Mark Hachman / IDG In this shot of the Microsoft HoloLens, you can see what Microsoft calls the environment understanding cameras that map the world around you, as well as the front-facing 2MP camera. A consumer failure with corporate potential As a consumer device, the HoloLens is dead. Only one Microsoft Store on the West Coast even has a HoloLens in stock for demonstration purposes. Microsofts remaining HoloLens supplies are sold through Insight, a solutions provider, Microsoft support reps said. On Microsofts site, the Commercial Suite version of the HoloLens costs a cool $5,000. Mark Hachman / IDG The HoloLens shipped in a hard plastic case. But commercial it was not, back in 2015. Removing it from its cloth-covered plastic shell three years later reveals a lovingly engineered piece of consumer hardware. The HoloLens perches fairly comfortably on my head, supported by a removeable nose piece and my ears. Clicking a dial adjusts the tightness of the fit. Theres an optional head strap, too, if you'd prefer taking its 1.28-pound weight on the crown of your head. I wore the HoloLens pretty solidly for about three hours in one stretch. While I was conscious of the weight, I never felt uncomfortable. Mark Hachman / IDG The HoloLens audio is controlled by a pair of buttons on one side; you can control the brightness of the display with the others. The HoloLens includes built-in speakers, which can be adjusted with a pair of buttons on one side. On the other, a similar pair of buttons controls the brightness of the display. An optional headphone jack is available too. Underneath the power button is a row of pinprick-sized holes, which light to indicate the battery level. (The HoloLens drains fast, and our unit provided about three to four hours of charge in fairly constant use.) All that pales in comparison to the focal point of the HoloLens: the display. While virtual-reality devices like the first HTC Vive tethered you to the PC by way of a display and power cord, the augmented-reality HoloLens superimposes the display over the real worldunderstanding where physical surfaces are, and placing objects accordingly. You're free to roam wherever you'd like. Its magical, when it works. Mark Hachman / IDG A dial ratchets the HoloLens tightly around your head. I preferred the weight (1.2) pounds to rest on my nose and the brim, and from there my ears. An optional head strap can take some of the weight, too. By now, the hardware underlying the HoloLens is fairly well understood, at least in broad strokes. In terms of resolution, though, the lack of a PC-powered display means that the HoloLens essentially provides 720p of resolution per eye. Combine that with the relatively limited field of view, and thats where the experience gets complicated. Want a brief look at what it's like to actually use the HoloLens? Here's a video using the HoloLens itself, taken with its built-in mixed-reality camera. The first fix: Field of View (FOV) HoloLens works its magic by suspending holograms, or what appears to be a three-dimensional object, virtually in front of you. Theres not that much difference between the image that a monitor paints on the glass in front of your eyes and the image that the HoloLens paints on each lens in front of you. Mark Hachman / IDG Standing about five feet away, the HoloLens field of view is about the size of this window. (The HoloLens front-facing camera is offset, with a slightly wider angle of view, so it captures more than you see.) The photos youll see here are shot with the HoloLens mixed-reality camera, overlaying holograms onto the real world. The difference is what HoloLens does next. It uses a front-facing camera to scan the room in front of you, interpreting what it sees as a three-dimensional mesh, then attaches the hologram to that mesh itself. Using the HoloLens usually means anchoring various windows (such as Settings, for example) to a nearby surface, then using any three-dimensional open space near you as your HoloLens playspace. The illusion of physically walking around the hologram, as well as being able to anchor it or have it interact with real-world surfaces, fools your eyes into thinking its real. Mark Hachman / IDG The farther back you are, the more you can see. This is about eight feet away, against a different door. That illusion is especially effective if the hologram remains in the field of viewthe rectangle that serves as the HoloLens screen. The FOV covers much of the width of a door at a few feet, or about 50 degrees. Anything outside of it, though, cant be entirely seen, and this instantly reminds you of the limits the HoloLens FOV imposes. Mark Hachman / IDG Back up far enough, and even large holograms like this Tyrannosaurus Rex can fit into your field of view (FOV). Because the HoloLens knows where in virtual space a hologram exists, its possible to have one directly in front of you and another to the side or rear. Its trying to turn and find the second hologram when frustration can kick in. (A setting allows you to trash all holograms loaded into your scene, even the ones you can't see.) But the first-generation HoloLens could never convincingly offer up the illusion of, say, a forest, as the HoloLens lacks the capability to swamp your peripheral vision. The FOV problem isnt just a visual issue. Interacting with holograms and apps typically requires air clicking a hologram or window, in much the same way you'd click a mouse. Triggering the Start menu requires a bloom hand gesture, like a flower opening. In both cases, though, the HoloLens must be able to detect your gesture. (There are two alternativesvoice control and a small Bluetooth clickerbut gestures are the most common way of interacting.) Mark Hachman / IDG Holograms can either be two-dimensional Windows apps, or full-fledged three-dimensional objects. Using a two-handed gesture, you can place these windowed apps along surfaces, where HoloLens will remember them, even if youre facing the other way. (The front-facing camera is only 2MP, so the resolution here is lousy. They look better in real life.) Anyone whos used the HoloLens, then, would rate the field-of-view as the primary area for improvement. If I were designing the next-generation HoloLens, however, Id strike a compromise, offering users the option of dialing down the peripheral detail. In the VR space, this is known as foveated rendering, concentrating the processing power on rendering detail where your eyes are looking. Thats probably a necessity for a new HoloLens, toomore on that in a minute. But I also appreciated the blank space at the edge of my vision, either to glance at my PCs screen, a person, or something else. If Microsoft were to improve the HoloLens, Id leave the option to fade out the periphery, providing a more grounded sense of place to the user. The second fix: Resolution Its no secret that early VR users suffered from vertigo, caused by the latency between what the displays rendered and what the user expected to see. Though theres still some noticeable render lag within the HoloLens, the fact that your vision tracks real-world objects helps prevent any nausea. Mark Hachman / IDG Its a little easier to tell thats actor George Takei when using the HoloLens, and an app called Actiongram. But if Microsoft is striving for realism, more resolution is a must. I still experienced discomfort. Dialing up the brightness of the display is a must. Even then, however, holograms can be low-resolution, and sometimes laggy when interacting with you. After an hour or two, my eyes ached from the strain. A reported processor spec bump must happen to ensure a next-gen HoloLens will be comfortable to use. The resolution isnt merely a visual issue, either. HoloLens maps your environment, applying a very coarse surface mesh over walls, desks, tables, and more. (Objects can be anchored to a surface like a desk, and certain games will actually use these surfaces as part of the experience.) A spartan workspace is easily accommodated. But as your environment moves further away from minimalism, HoloLens struggles to keep up. My basement office, full of monitors and boxes and peripherals and lamps, would probably give organizational guru Marie Kondo the cold sweats. To compensate, HoloLens would occasionally draw a big black surface that would interrupt the scene. A next-gen HoloLens would be well served by increasing the number and density of the three-dimensional mesh of points it uses to creates a virtual space. The third fix: UI Certain elements of the HoloLens UI havent held up over time, including the nose first method of navigating. Too much navigation involves steering a cursor from point to point by slightly moving your head. Its especially painful when you have to enter a Windows or Wi-Fi password: Manually pushing the cursor from letter to letter is a major pain. Mark Hachman / IDG Navigating the Start menu through the bloom gesture is fine. But when you have to navigate, letter by letter, to spell out a passwordugh. (Again, the HoloLens camera is awful, but theres no way to take a photo without it.) Microsofts first-generation HoloLens works around this somewhat through voice recognition, where many simple tasks, such as opening the Settings menu, can be performed by merely saying a word, like settings. But modern VR equipment is beginning to include eye tracking, which can save time navigating from element to element. If Microsoft is developing a next-generation HoloLens, it would be a shame if eye tracking were excluded. The HoloLens voice recognition works well, but even it can be unnecessarily confusing. Some commands can be performed simply by saying the command; others require you to invoke Cortana beforehand, which makes little sense. Still, I found I relied on voice more and more to avoid tediously steering the cursor. Mark Hachman / IDG This little gizmo is the HoloLens "clicker," which you can click to input choices, or "twist" to scroll. The important aspect of the clicker is that you can click without the HoloLens camera seeing your movements, which is far more comfortable than simply air-clicking all of the time. Lifting your hand to constantly air click gets old, too. But scrolling is the worst, requiring you to air-click and drag through the minimal field of view. Microsofts optional clicker basically acknowledged that air navigation failed. But couldnt Microsoft have tried something a bit different, such as clicking by audibly snapping your fingers? The fourth fix: More apps If you think the Windows app store looks empty, you should see the HoloLens aisle. At one point, UWP apps like Twitter were considered to be the future, traversing PC, phone, and HoloLens alike. Mark Hachman / IDG Its just another hologram, but opening the Rome tour on Microsoft Studios own HoloTour via this painting is a great start, especially as it seamlessly works its way into... You can exhaust most of the best HoloLens apps in an afternoon. HoloTour offers genuinely interesting 360-degree recorded video tours of Machu Picchu and Rome, complete with a recorded tour guide. Step back, though, and they arent much different from a HoloLens-specific version of Myst, as you virtually explore hotspot after hotspot. Holo Galaxy isnt much better, with a cursory 3D view of the solar system and other stellar points of interest. Mark Hachman / IDG ...A 360-degree video tour of Rome. Yes, youve probably seen 360-degree video before. But its all nicely presented, with a friendly, informative narrator. RoboRaid, jaw-dropping in its time, creates virtual bugs and drones that literally crawl out from your HoloLens-mapped walls. Youll need to use oral commands, your air-click skills, and the ability to hop nimbly about the room to avoid laser blasts. Its still a lot of fun, but not too different from the shooting gallery games that tend to be bundled with VR gear. Flash The president of the Northwest regional chapter of Cameroon Association of English-speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ) was kidnapped Thursday by "unknown gunmen" in Bamenda, Cameroon's largest Anglophone city, CAMASEJ said in a statement. "It is with great disbelief and shock that CAMASEJ Northwest just learned of the kidnap of its president, Ambe Macmillian Awa, this Thursday afternoon around 2:30 p.m. by unknown gunmen," Fongoh Primus Ayeh, secretary general of CAMASEJ Northwest, said in a statement released Thursday evening. Ayeh "vehemently" condemns the act and said it was "tantamount to kidnapping all journalists in the region and nation." He said the search for Awa's whereabouts was in progress and demanded his "immediate and unconditional release." Awa, who is also secretary general of the Northwest chapter of Cameroon Journalists Trade Union, is the first high profile journalist to be kidnapped since an armed conflict started in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon in November 2017. His abduction has drawn condemnation. Committee to Protect Journalists tweeted that it was "concerned" over the abduction and stressed that "he must be freed unharmed." Kidnappings have become rampant in the two troubled Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest since the start of this year. Over the weekend, 170 students and their teacher were kidnapped in the Northwest. They were released later following negotiations. Armed separatists want the two regions to secede from largely French-speaking Cameroon and create a new nation they called "Ambazonia." The United Nations estimates that at least 430,000 people in Cameroon have been displaced internally by the conflict. 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 Hong Kong: Gov't cautious over legal amendments The Government is collecting views on proposed amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and will carefully handle the amendment process, Secretary for Security John Lee said today. Speaking to the media, Mr Lee said the proposed amendments will address legal loopholes by enabling the one-off case-based approach to be applied to jurisdictions without long-term surrender arrangements with Hong Kong. When asked about the case of two Saudi women who claimed there was an attempted kidnapping at the airport, he said the Police are dealing with the matter. All people in Hong Kong must comply with the laws of Hong Kong. Any matter that relates to issues of law will be dealt with by the law enforcement agencies accordingly. This story has been published on: 2019-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. It is notable that, though subsequent Christian piety, meditation, and art would rightly dwell upon the extremities of Jesus sufferings in the Passion, the New Testament narrative is typically spare. All the gospels are hesitant to speak much beyond the bare facts about the sheer physical horror of the Passion. Instead, they tersely say that Jesus was scourged, crowned with thorns, crucified. The reason for this is not far to seek. Crucifixion was a common occurrence in the world of the New Testament writers. They did not need to tell their readers about horrors they could see for themselves simply by taking a walk down the road from their house. Crucifixion was not only a form of punishment reserved for slaves and similar dregs of society, it was a form of state terror designed to induce Stockholm Syndrome in subject populations. Stockholm Syndrome is the peculiar response certain hostages have shown in which they come to identify with and even love their captors. The Roman occupying power used crucifixion against rebels and rivals to Romes power not only to kill them, but to make all who might be tempted to imitate them instead turn against them in disgust and identify with their killers. And it worked quite well. So in the gospels, we see Christ hanging on the cross at Golgotha, crucified and guarded by Roman troops. And the response of the Jewish crowd? Not fury at the Roman crucifiers, but at the victims: And those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads, and saying, Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross! So also the chief priests mocked him to one another with the scribes, saying, He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe. Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. (Mark 15:29-32) This powerful psychological pressure to renounce and despise discredited victims by the most skilled dominators of subject populations in the ancient world had a sort of force multiplier in ancient Israel. For the manner of Jesus death was not only shameful to Gentiles; it had taken on a profane dimension in Jewish piety as well. Deuteronomy 21:22-23 declared: And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is accursed by God; you shall not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance. A plain prima facie reading of this text therefore meant to nearly every Jewish onlooker that any crucified victim stood condemned, not only by Rome, but by God Almighty. Literally every authority in the world of the apostlesJewish, and Romansaid that the crucifixion of Jesus was the proof that he was accursed by Rome, and their own peopleand God. And it was extremely clear to crowd mocking him just why God had condemned him: He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him; for he said, I am the Son of God. (Matthew 27:42-43) Fulfilment of the Old Covenant, not Abolition And yet, almost instantly after this death that should have been the definitive proof that their hopes were indeed misplaced, we find the disciples, not shamefacedly trying to explain away the cross, but loudly boasting of it. Rather than pounding down the dirt on the grave of their dead Master as a fake messiah, the disciples are astonished to discover that it is the key to understanding everything about Jesus entire mission. Like men and women in possession of a secret that is hidden in plain view before the very eyes of their enemies they announce, with laughter that we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Corinthians 1:23-25). What the apostles had come to understand, with the help of the Holy Spirit, was Jesus teaching that he had not come to abolish, but to fulfil, the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17). And once they saw that, they saw Jesus hidden everywhere in the Old Testament. So, for instance, Jesus choice of Passover as the feast upon which he would hand himself over to us for crucifixion is the poignant reminder that this feastand above all the Passover lamb that is slaughtered and his blood splashed on the lintels and doorposts of Jewish homes to deliver them from the Angel of Death in the Exodus (cf. Exodus 12:21-27)is the great sign that his crucifixion is in continuity with this history of his people and not a break with it. John, the last prophet sent to Israel as the herald of Messiah, declared at the dawn of Jesus ministry: Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29). At the close of that ministry, Jesus is condemned on the day of the Preparation of the Passover, at noon: the same day and hour the Passover lambs were slaughtered in the Temple (cf. John 19:14). Jesus fulfils the prophecy of Isaiahs Suffering Servant: He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. (Isaiah 53:7) Jesus Made a Choice to Die for Us Another profound mystery of the Cross lies in the fact that Jesus is neither a helpless pawn of the Father, nor simply swept along by a torrent of human hatred. Jesus tells his disciples, No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord (John 10:18). Accordingly, he makes a real decision to offer himself in love to the Father for our sake. The scene in the Garden of Gethsemane was not play-acting: it was the hardest choice he ever made and was the culmination of a life of Yes to his Father. This brings us back to the mystery of the complete union of his full humanity with his deity. Jesus, being fully human, fears the agonies he must undergo as any normal person would. Some people have the notion that the Passion must have been easy since he was God. But the plea to be spared the Cross, like the bloody sweat, is perfectly genuineas is his iron will to obey when the plea is refused. His work here, as at every other moment, is to unite his human will with the will of the Father. This is a discussion with Gavin G. Young, who recently wrote of himself: I am an ex-Christian. I am now an atheist and scientific naturalist and in most respects I am also now a secular humanist. It originated in the blog combox of my paper, Atheists, Miracles, & the Problem of Evil: Contradictions. ***** When atheists talk science, no miracles are permitted or even imaginable. But when they talk problem of evil or getting evidence for God that even they will accept, the more miracles the merrier: we are supposed to think that God should perform literally millions of miracles in order to stop all suffering and make His existence manifest to one and all: no doubt whatsoever. To put it another way, in effect the atheist argues (in self-contradiction): A) You Christians believe in miracles, which are unproven and irrational and contrary to science; therefore I reject your belief-system. B) If your God doesnt perform many miracles in order to alleviate human suffering, either this proves he doesnt exist, or that he is evil and/or weak and ineffectual. A contradicts B (claims of miracles are a disproof of Christianity / miracles are required to prove Christianitys God). Yet atheists habitually make or simultaneously assume both arguments. Its illogical, irrational, and most unfair as a critique. The atheist cant have it both ways and remain logically consistent. There isnt really a contradiction in what atheists are claiming. Point A says theres no scientific evidence for the existence of miracles and thus miracles dont happen, but since Christianity says that miracles happen, then the lack of evidence of miracles [evidence that should be there if Christianity is true in its claims about the Christian god] is evidence against the existence of the god of Christianity. Point B says that since miracles dont happen then a loving all-powerful all-knowing type of god doesnt exist, but most Christians believe that their god is loving, all powerful, all-knowing. Thus the god that those Christians believe in doesnt exist. My point (B) was that atheists demand that God perform miracles in the case of human suffering, and if He doesnt, He doesnt exist. They also demand them in the case of proving His existence; i.e., He has to perform some extraordinary miracle like writing John 3:16 in the stars; then the hardened, cynical atheist will submit in dust and ashes (God having performed according to the all-knowing epistemological requirement of the wise atheist). So its an odd situation, whereby atheists 1) state that miracles are categorically impossible, yet 2) they demand this very thing as virtually the only means by which they can be brought to belief in God (and then reject it when it happens). From the Christian, biblical point of view, it is recognized that human excessive disbelief and skepticism (of the hardened, rebellious type) will not be overcome even by a miracle: Luke 16:29-31 (RSV) 29] But Abraham said, `They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. [30] And he said, `No, father Abraham; but if some one goes to them from the dead, they will repent. [31] He said to him, `If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead. Defining miracles as impossible (which is extremely difficult to do, logically or philosophically) is the key to why atheists almost never come to belief. The prior assumption determines what they will accept, so that even when a miracle is documented and presented to them, they dismiss it because they have already concluded that miracles are absolutely impossible. I think this is some of what Jesus hit upon in the statement above: nonbelievers reject revelation; therefore they will even reject a miraculous rising from the dead. In other words, nothing is good enough for them. They will reject what even they themselves claim is the thing that will convince them. I agree with some of what you said in reply to my post. Many atheists, myself included, do expect for evidence to be provided before they and me will be believe in a god. As Carl Sagan said (I paraphrase because I dont know the exact wording for certain) Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. I and many other atheists dont want to be credulous, we dont consider blind faith to be a virtue. Before I had become an extremely convinced atheist I prayed to the biblical god saying God if you exist please provide me with evidence of your existence, evidence of the sort that you know (if you exist) will convince me. In the prayer I also said to the god that according to the Bible when a man made a request to Jesus to perform a miracle (to end the demon possession of his son), the scripture passaged hints that the man didnt believe that his son would be healed but that his request was granted anyway. For it says (Mark 9:24 [NASB] Immediately the boys father cried out and said, I do believe; help my unbelief. Jesus then said the mans son was healed. I applied that scripture to my situation and said God, help me in my unbelief like the Bible says the other man was. In other words I made clear that even though I didnt believe god existed, my lack of belief should not be used as a reason for god (if he existed) to not grant my prayer request for evidence. Furthermore in the Gospel of/(according to) John, scripture says that Thomas said he wouldnt believe that Jesus was resurrected, unless Thomas was provided with specific evidence. According to the account Jesus then offered the evidence to Thomas (extraordinary evidence of the extraordinary claim that Jesus was resurrected). Then Thomas said he believed and John 20:29 KJV says Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. Exodus gives an account in which the Bible claims that Yahweh God (Jehovah God/the LORD) said that if certain miracles would be performed then certain people would believe (though the account also says they might not initially believe based upon some of the initial miracles) and the god offered to perform those miracles through Moses as evidence. See Exodus chapter 4. Note the following portion of it from the Exodus 4:1-10 [ASV]: 4 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice; for they will say, Jehovah hath not appeared unto thee. 2 And Jehovah said unto him, What is that in thy hand? And he said, A rod. 3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. 4 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Put forth thy hand, and take it by the tail (and he put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand); 5 that they may believe that Jehovah, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. 6 And Jehovah said furthermore unto him, Put now thy hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow. 7 And he said, Put thy hand into thy bosom again. (And he put his hand into his bosom again; and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.) 8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. 9 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe even these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. There is also the account mentioned in 1 Kings chapter 18. Verses 36-40 (ASV): 36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening oblation, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, O Jehovah, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. 37 Hear me, O Jehovah, hear me, that this people may know that thou, Jehovah, art God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. 38 Then the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, Jehovah, he is God; Jehovah, he is God. 40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. Thus according to some parts of the Bible Yahweh/Jehovah and Yeshua/Jesus are willing to provide evidence, even miracles even extraordinary ones, to help people believe, that Yahweh and Jesus did sometimes provide such evidence and that as a result some people believed. Thus atheists are only asking for the type of evidence that the Bible itself says God and Christ provided in the past. Dave, regarding your comment of saying some atheists say that god has to perform some extraordinary miracle like writing John 3:16 in the stars; then the hardened, cynical atheist will submit in dust and ashes, the Bible actually says that at some point a miracle of such magnitude would happen. The atheists you refer to are only saying that they require something of magnitude of what the Bible itself says will happen (though according to the Bible many seeing it will mourn) will be needed to convince them. I am referring to the sign of the Son of Man and accompanying signs; see Matthew 24:29-31 (NASB): 29 But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. I dont say with 100.0000% certainty that miracles never happen (though my degree of certainty is now extremely close to 100%), but rather that since there is no good evidence for them (like there is no good evidence for the existence of Santa Claus, a being that is claimed to have magical/supernatural powers) it is reasonable to conclude they dont happen (and one would have justification in believing they dont happen) and that I thus dont believe they happen. But I have ideas of what I would consider a confirmed miracle and if such happened then I would believe that the supernatural exist. And if it were a certain type of miracle (and could be confirmed by scientifically), then I would be convinced that the biblical god exists. In other words I remain open to new evidence. I test from time to time my assumptions and conclusions to see if a viewpoint/belief of mine is in error. Another way of saying it, is I believe provisionally and to an extremely high degree of confidence that miracles dont happen and that no theistic god exists, but I still remain open to future evidence showing that I am wrong. I never received any evidence that convinced me the biblical god (God the Father) nor the heavenly Christ Jesus (as opposed to a historical human Jesus who was called the Christ) exists, despite requesting such evidence (I prayed both to Yahweh and to Jesus and even to a generic [unknown god] in case someone other than Yahweh and Jesus is a real god). I also dont believe Satan, angels, demons, Zeus, Aphrodite, Hathor, nor any other spirit beings (including spirits of the dead) exist, nor Santa Claus, magical elves, gremlins, etc. *** Thanks very much for your long and meaty comment. This is good to discuss. Thus according to some parts of the Bible Yahweh/Jehovah and Yeshua/Jesus are willing to provide evidence, even miracles even extraordinary ones, to help people believe, that Yahweh and Jesus did sometimes provide such evidence and that as a result some people believed. Thus atheists are only asking for the type of evidence that the Bible itself says God and Christ provided in the past. Thats quite true. But the very fact that it was sometimes means that there are also times when He does not. So this means that sometimes God wants someone to come to Him whether there is physical / empirical evidence (not the only kind there is) or not: that He can reach them through other means. But human free will dictates that some people will not believe in Him, anyway, and sometimes despite miracles. As you note, He appeared to Doubting Thomas and offered proof, but He also noted at the same time that it was more blessed for folks to believe without the proof of miracle and an extraordinary post-Resurrection of Jesus. Thus, you might be (from our perspective) in the category of person for whom God will not perform a miracle, for whatever reason (only He knows). The biblical record is mixed, and you cant argue from it that it is normative for God to appear every time an atheist demands Him to (or else he will refuse to believe or state that he is unable to). Its not normative. Miracles (by definition) are always rare and the exception to the usual course of events. Yes, the Second Coming will be an event that everyone sees. But by then itll be too late if a person hasnt repented. As you cited, He will at that time gather His elect, who freely accepted His grace and became His disciples. Thats why, in the next chapter (25), starting at verse 31, its the great judgment scene of the sheep and the goats. The people arent judged based on whether they responded to the obvious fact that He appeared in His Second Coming. They are judged based on how they treated the poor and unfortunate (25:35-45). Thats got nothing to do with seeing a miracle. It comes from the inside: the knowledge of right and wrong that God put into our conscience. We know what is right, and can either choose to act accordingly or rebel against it and end up damned (25:46). You say you are open to the possible evidence of an extraordinary miracle which would make you believe. I believe you. I have no reason to doubt your report. But I take a step back and examine the underlying premise (being the relentless Socratic that I am). What makes you think that God is bound to such a request from you (as if there is no other possible way to come to believe in Him), or that He should fulfill it? You tried to argue that the Bible indicates it, but it does only on some occasions. There is no indication that this will always be the case. The same Bible (St. Paul) also states in Romans 1:19-20 that everyone knows that God exists just by looking at His creation. Therefore, in the biblical view every person knows there is a God. It may be buried down deep, but they know. At least thats what we believe about it. Obviously, you disagree, but thats why were talking: seeking better understanding of our views. So I submit that is why God doesnt (usually) bow to these requests from atheists to perform some huge miracle sufficient to break down their resistance. I could see God saying, youre not fooling anyone: least of all Me. You already know that I exist, so why do you play this game of demanding a sign as proof for what you already know? Thats why Abraham said (as reported by Jesus, If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead (Lk 16:31, RSV). In other words, inspired revelation was sufficient. But if someone rejected that, then they would also reject someone rising from the dead as an equally unsatisfactory proof. They will simply deny that it happened (just as nonbelievers do with regard to Jesus own Resurrection). I think Jesus was partially alluding to Himself in this story and how many wouldnt believe in Him even after He rose from the dead. I have written a post about the medically documented cures at Lourdes. I highly doubt that you will accept any. Youll find a way to dismiss any and all of them. Or maybe you wont, and itll be your time to cease disbelieving and to enter into the joy of His grace and fellowship (I hope so). Further evidences of miracles are presented in another post. As for the usual stock comparison of belief in God to Santa Claus, magical elves, gremlins, etc.: that is easily responded to, and I have, in this fashion: [G]iven the fact that many thousands of philosophers, theologians, and scientists have believed in God, but not in Santa Claus, its rather silly to put God and Santa Claus in the exact same epistemological boat. There is a plain, obvious difference there. Its a reason to more closely consider theistic arguments, not a proof in and of itself of Gods existence. No matter how many atheists are also prominent in philosophy and science does not overcome my point, which is that the sharp folks who believed in God did not place Santa Claus in the same category of likelihood. That goes against your breezy, casual claim that the two beliefs were equivalent and equally compelling (which is, not at all). (God: Is He No More Believable than Santa Claus?) In another paper I wrote: *** Photo credit: Doubting Thomas, by Guercino (1591-1666) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** This column full of my typical vitriolic insults and brazen lies appeared in the print edition of the Deseret News today, as well as online at LDS Living: How Recent Findings on Beekeeping in Ancient America Relate to the Book of Mormon *** From the remarkable Stephen Smoot, who, having been back in Utah for a while now and having even been twice to Egypt since his return from the North, has apparently begun to thaw out from the time he spent doing graduate work in ancient Near Eastern studies and Egyptology among the igloos at the University of Toronto: The Need for Historicity of the Book of Mormon And, while were on the subject of Stephen Smoot, heres another offering from him thats worth reading: Retrograde Nelson *** Alma Son of Judah: The Ancient Bar Kokhba Letters from Israel Refute a Popular Argument Against the Authenticity of the Book of Mormon *** All the way back in 2015, I posted a blog entry and a link under the title of Catholic Higher Education in Ruins. (Its publicly unavailable at the moment. Maybe Ill need to dredge it up again.) We Latter-day Saints shouldnt feel complacent, though, let alone smugly superior. Some of you may have missed this bracing article by my friend and BYU colleague Ralph Hancock that appeared in the March 2014 issue of the superb non-LDS magazine on faith and public affairs First Things: http://www.firstthings.com/article/2014/03/keeping-faith-in-provo I once naively thought that Brigham Young University and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were immune to such things. I no longer think so. Apostasy and drift seem to me normal tendencies among fallen humanity in a fallen and ambiguous world, and Im now convinced that we must all remain vigilant if we would prefer to avoid such falling away individually, yes, but also collectively. I say this neither out of paranoia nor panic, but simply because Ive now orbited the earth enough times that Ive seen a few things. (To put it in geologic terms: Since I was born, North America has moved very nearly two yards to the west-southwest.) Ive seen strong people fade away, drop into inactivity, or even, in a few particularly painful cases, become avowed enemies of things that they once loved. And Ive certainly seen the ambient culture become much more hostile to many things that I believe and treasure and Ive seen that hostility cause grievous damage and leave casualties among the Saints. I had almost forgotten about the radio interview that I recorded in Sydney with Dr. Rachael Kohn of ABC Radio National, the Australia-wide Public Service Broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It took place while I was in Australia late last year (2018). It was, I believe, my fifth interview with Dr. Kohn the third of three interviews recorded in Sydney, Australia, while the others were done in Provo, Utah, and in Istanbul, Turkey. And, regrettably, it will be my last interview with her, because she retired from ABC Radio National at the end of 2018. Its unfortunate because she is an extraordinarily intelligent observer of the religious scene in Australia and beyond and because, as she herself lamented to me in conversation after the completion of the interview, both print and broadcast journalists in Australia, the United States, Canada, and elsewhere are less and less informed about even the most basic facts regarding world religions. This is especially to be lamented given the (perhaps increasingly) important role that religious beliefs appear to play in social and political issues around the world. (Mainstream journalisms general failure to give adequate or even accurate coverage to religious issues is a significant recurring theme among those who contribute to the invaluable Get Religion website, from which I occasionally draw.) Anyway, my conversation with Dr. Rachael Kohn can be heard as part of an episode of her radio program (The Spirit of Things) that is archived and available on the Radio National (RN) website under the title of Muslim Achievers and Islamophobia: https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/spiritofthings/muslim-achievers-islamophobia/10519102 Heres the part of the description of the program thats relevant to my involvement in it: Daniel Peterson is Professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, is in Australia to talk about Islamophobia. He directed a major translation project of classic Arabic volumes, and he tells Rachael why, as a Mormon, he is committed to spreading appreciation of Islam. *** This seems to me a genuinely wonderful and quite courageous effort: Trauma Toys bring peace to children fleeing ISIS *** And heres a very interesting effort thats underway within the American Muslim community: In Detroit, one organization is schooling Muslims on racial justice Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship enters into an area where controversy is conceivable: Assessing the Criticisms of Early-Age Latter-Day Saint Marriages Abstract: Critics of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have accused Joseph Smith and other early Latter-day Saint men of pedophilia because they married teenaged women. Indeed, they have emphatically declared that such marriages were against 19th-century societal norms. However, historians and other experts have repeatedly stated that young people married throughout the 19th-century, and such marriages have been relatively common throughout all of US history. This article examines some of the accusations of early Latter-day Saint pedophilia and places such marriages within the greater historical and social context, illustrating that such marriages were normal and acceptable for their time and place. The publication of Craig Fosters article falls on the 344th consecutive Friday on which at least one article has appeared in Interpreter. The Interpreter Foundation was launched just slightly more than 345 weeks ago. *** Also from the Interpreter Foundation: Interpreter Radio Show 17 February 2019 In this episode, Bruce Webster and Kris Frederickson discussed on Come, Follow Me lesson 7, covering Matthew 5 and Luke 6. *** Also from the Interpreter Foundation, a somewhat different form of the above: Audio Roundtable: Come, Follow Me New Testament Lesson 8 Blessed Are Ye Matthew 5 This is an Interpreter Radio (audio) Roundtable for Come, Follow Me New Testament Lesson 8, Blessed Are Ye, which covers both Matthew 5 and Luke 6. This specific roundtable, however, discusses Matthew chapter 5, while the Luke 6 discussion may be found at https://interpreterfoundation.org/cfm-audio-roundtable-come-follow-me-new-testament-lesson-8-luke-6. It was extracted from the 17 February 2019 broadcast of Interpreter Radio and features Bruce Webster and Kris Fredrickson. The complete show may be heard at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-february-17-2019/. *** Also from the Interpreter Foundation, in a variant form: Audio Roundtable: Come, Follow Me New Testament Lesson 8 Blessed Are Ye Luke 6 This is an Interpreter Radio (audio) Roundtable for Come, Follow Me New Testament Lesson 8, Blessed Are Ye, which covers both Matthew 5 and Luke 6. This specific roundtable, however, discusses Luke chapter 6, while the Matthew 5 discussion may be found at https://interpreterfoundation.org/cfm-audio-roundtable-come-follow-me-new-testament-lesson-8-matthew-5. It was was extracted from the 17 February 2019 broadcast of Interpreter Radio and features Bruce Webster and Kris Fredrickson. The complete show may be heard at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-february-17-2019/. *** And please dont forget about our film project: Witnesses *** The items above remind me of the confident prophecy issued slightly more than five years ago now by a pseudonymous critic on a small, extraordinarily nasty, and mostly atheist ex-Mormon message board: By Jan. 1, 2014 Interpreter will be dead. . . . Either totally dead or down to token blog style postings. (Bond James Bond, 25 January 2013) His prediction appears to have been mistaken. And, in fact, he himself seems to have disappeared in the meantime. On February first Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple Moved like Lightning in China to Reduce iPhone Pricing Prior to the Chinese New Year & Online Sales Skyrocketed." The Chinese website Feng.com broke the story. The report noted that "News reporters learned from Alibaba that Tmall data showed that since January 13, when the iPhone started to cut prices at Tmall, as of January 29, iPhone sales increased by 76% in half a month." The report further noted that "Since January 11th, Suning announced that the iPhone price cuts began on the same day, Suning Tesco Apple's traffic and sales both exploded. Among them, iPhone 8 series and iPhone XR are the most popular growth. As of January 30, sales of the overall Apple brand on the Suning platform increased by 83%." Reuters has finally caught up with with this news, now week's old, by reporting that Several Chinese electronics retailers including Alibaba-backed Suning and JD.com slashed iPhone prices recently, with discounts as steep as 20 per cent. What the Reuters story adds to this story is that Apple officially teamed up with Chinese payments giant Ant Financial Services Group and several local banks to offer interest-free financing. The pricing promotion that Apple offered back in early December in the U.S. is now being repeated on their Chinese website. Reuters further reported that "Users buying products worth a minimum of 4,000 yuan worth from Apple would qualify for interest-free financing that can be paid over three, six, nine, 12 or 24 months, the website shows. Apple is offering the plan through Huabei, a consumer credit service run by Ant Financial, the payment affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba, Apples China website shows." For more on this read the full Reuters report here. About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or negative behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus. Minnesota senator and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchars temper is something of legend on Capitol Hill. Last year, she was named one of the Worst Bosses in Congress by Politico after a survey showed that from 2001-2016, she had far-and-away the highest annual staff turnover rates in the Senate. Although highly popular in her home state, Klobuchars reputation for behind-closed-doors volatility precedes her, and an article in todays New York Times details some such allegations at length. A particularly Iannuccian anecdote thats been raising eyebrows has an assistant hustling through a crowded airport terminal to fetch the senator a salad, losing the plasticware somewhere along the way before boarding. After a first-class dressing-down of the insufficient aide, Klobuchar works around his faults by eating her salad with a comb from her bag before then giving said comb to her assistant, and demanding it be cleaned for her. Others allege everything from the hurling of binders to public humiliation. Some tell of the senators paranoia: She feared sabotage from her own team and threatened departing staffers with opportunity-knocking in the face of betrayal. Its also evident that Klobuchar obsessed over media snubs and trivial Twitter matters, e-mailing her staff about the subject: We are becoming a joke, and it is making me a joke. In one particularly stinging jab, Klobuchar tells a staffer, I would trade three of you for a bottle of water. New e-mail snippets reveal a bitter boss, constantly disappointed in her staff and making it painfully clear. But those well-acquainted with the senator will find the article old hat: There have been pieces from The Huffington Post, BuzzFeed News and New York Magazine that have painted a far worse picture of the Klobuchar HQ. Something as minor as the failure to charge her iPad for her, or the use of staples instead of paper clips could result in being pelted with a binder or leaving the office in tears. Beyond the petty and pejorative, mistreatments extended to parental leave policies, Per the Times: Among other concerns, her offices paid parental leave policy has been described as unusual on Capitol Hill. Two people familiar with the policy said that those who took paid leave were effectively required, once they returned, to remain with the office for three times as many weeks as they had been gone. The policy, outlined in an employee handbook, called for those who left anyway to pay back money earned during the weeks they were on leave. Some staffers, however, went to bat for their horrible boss. They allege that in spite of her temper, she remains a warm and funny superior whose attitude has never interfered with her ability to serve her constituency as a pragmatic bipartisan. Others fondly remember the misery-loves-company camaraderie created under her purview. Nonetheless, these allegations are extensive and well-documented. The senator addressed them herself at a recent CNN forum: Am I a tough boss sometimes? Yes. Have I pushed people too hard? Yes. But ultimately, the senator and her camp have dismissed many of the reports as anonymous or sensational, and deflected by citing the countless experiences of people on the senators team who she has been so proud to work with. As more candidates enter the 2020 race, voters will have to decide whether Klobuchars behavioral issues should be disqualifying. Some are already attempting to dismiss these allegations against the senator, citing sexism and gender-reversal what-ifs: If Amy Klobuchar were Andrew Klobuchar, this wouldnt be a story. That may very well be the case, and sexism certainly will play a part in how this story is covered. But pointing to such a substantive cultural failure isnt the reason why this story shouldnt be told, its the reason it needs to be: We have to work toward zero-tolerance of abuse by the powerful, regardless of identity. In a new pilot study, autistic adults showed real-life, functional improvement after a combination treatment approach that included graded exposure to fear and anxiety-producing experiences in a virtual reality environment. The design and preliminary results of this novel approach are published in Autism in Adulthood, a new peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Click here to read the full-text article on the Autism and Adulthood website. In the article entitled "Using Virtual Reality Environments to Augment Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Fears and Phobias In Autistic Adults," a team led by Professor Jeremy Parr from Newcastle University and NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K. describe a pilot study in which they tested a combined cognitive behavioral (CBT) therapy and immersive virtual reality approach in adults aged 18-57 on the autism spectrum. The participants received one educational session followed by four 20-minute therapeutic sessions of gradually increasing exposure to the feared stimulus to minimize anxiety. "Phobias commonly co-occur with autism and often cause significant distress. While results are very preliminary, it is exciting to see innovative strategies for an issue that has been so hard to treat. Emerging Practices papers, such as this one, look towards the future by highlighting new avenues of research that have the potential for improving quality of life for autistic adults," says Christina Nicolaidis, MD, MPH, Portland State University and Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon and Editor-in-Chief of Autism in Adulthood. 100 years ago Feb. 22, 1919: Owners of the Newmarket store, which burned down on Christmas, are rebuilding. They have bought the adjacent Chris Phillos building, which theyll convert to an addition to the store. One man died in the fire, and fireman Leonard Elliott died weeks later. 75 years ago Feb. 22, 1944: Pvt. Harlan Otto has been reported killed in action on Kwajalein Island, part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific. He was from Danvers, where his parents still live. Otto had been in the service for 11 months. 50 years ago Feb. 22, 1969: Norfolk & Western crews are tearing down the old Nickel Plate depot in Carlock. Built in 1907 by the Lake Erie & Western, it was Carlocks gateway to Bloomington and Peoria. The station has been closed since the Nickel Plate merged with the N&W. 25 years ago Feb. 22, 1994: WJBC will sound a little different in the future. Adam Nielsen has been named to host Problems & Solutions, a cornerstone program of the station. New program director Dan Swaney will host afternoon drive time; Charlie Schlenker becomes night news editor. Compiled by Jack Keefe; jkeefe@coldwellhomes.com. Editor's Note:Although Yunnan province is less developed economically, when compared with Chinas eastern provinces, its tourism resources are so rich that one should not explore China without visiting Yunnan. From the world-renowned Lijiang, to numerous small ancient towns; From the amazing Karst formations to the newly listed World Heritage Site Hani Terrace, Yunnan can be a complete eye-opener for even the most discerning travelers. Here are eight Yunnan destinations not to be missed. 1 The Old Town of Lijiang The Old Town of Lijiang, located in the Lijiang Autonomous County of the Naxi Ethnic Minority, Southwest Chinas Yunnan province, is one of the last surviving ancient towns in China. Lying in a broad, fertile valley in the northwest of Yunnan Province, the Old Town of Lijiang has been a commercial, political and cultural center of the Naxi people and other ethnic minorities for over eight centuries. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, Lijiang's Naxi people still preserve much of their native Dongba culture and deep spiritual connection to nature.[Photo/China.org.cn] Cheers ... to news that Amazon will pour $700 million into work by Rivian to produce electric vehicles. That comes as word also spread that GM also is interested in Rivian. Rivian, a startup, bought the former Mitsubishi Motors plant in Normal and unveiled its electric pickup truck to rave reviews at the LA Auto Show. Amazon is said to be interested in the possibility of using electric trucks for its delivery services. With the company's hefty wallet and strong retail presence, the idea of a partnership is the best news we've heard in a long, long time. Cheers ... to Mark and Scott Kelly, the identical twin astronauts, whose willingness to be part of a special study will provide information for decades to come. Scott Kelly spent 340 days at the International Space Station. When he returned to earth, scientists were able to compare changes in his body to that of Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut who lives in Arizona. We salute the willingness of the brothers and their families to submit to the tests. Cheers ... to the city of Bloomington, for suspending its business registration program. The new program required businesses to register with the city for a fee of $50. Those who did register will get their money back. Knowledge of all the businesses in the city is important, but it's a need that doesn't require a $50 payment. Cheers ... to Heartland Community College, for partnering with food distributor Sysco of Lincoln on its truck driving program. Heartland has students. Sysco needs drivers. Goes together like peanut butter and jelly. Prayers ... to the families and friends of those killed in last week's mass shooting in Aurora. One of the civilian victims had ties to Peoria County and another to LaSalle County. Probably most heart-wrenching was news of the death of an intern spending his first day at Henry Pratt Co. The shooting came 11 years and one day after the mass shooting at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, a short drive from Aurora, that also left five people dead. Sign up ... to volunteer at Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington, which is looking for some outside help. If you're interested, call 309-434-2842. Good idea ... for members of the Bloomington Police Department, city council, business owners and neighbors of the west side to get together to stem a number of shootings in that area. Bloomington-Normal is a fine place to live, and our residents regardless of their address shouldn't have to worry about guns in their neighborhoods. Let's work together to get this done. Cheers ... to the city of Bloomington and Kroger, which came to an agreement to continue infrastructure work on a new Kroger site along West College Avenue. The store now has another year to move on the project before town incentives dry up. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Illinois State Police rescinded more than 10,000 gun licenses last year and more than 75 percent of the revocation recipients ignored it, according to newly released data. The state agency provided the staggering figures late Thursday, as part of a trove of law-enforcement documents involving Gary Martin, the convicted felon who fatally shot five co-workers and wounded several police officers at an Aurora warehouse last week. Martin, 45, went on a rampage after learning he was being terminated opening fire with a gun he never should have been allowed to purchase. In the shooting's wake, authorities disclosed that Martin passed two background checks before buying the Smith & Wesson .40-caliber handgun used in the mass killing. Illinois law prohibited Martin as a convicted felon from holding a firearm owner's identification card or owning a gun. Illinois State Police, which approved Martin's FOID card in January 2014, released a detailed account of the shooter's background checks amid questions about how his aggravated assault conviction from Mississippi in 1995 could have been missed. "The only way we can honor those who died, the only way we will ever be safer, is to shine the brightest light on the good, bad, and ugly of this system and to lay bare for the public and policy makers the depth and breadth of our vulnerabilities," state police Acting Director Brendan F. Kelly said in a statement Thursday. According to the agency, Martin passed a background check when he applied for his FOID card and again when he purchased the handgun from a local dealer in March 2014. State police used at least five Illinois-centric and five federal databases to review Martin's criminal history before granting approval, according to the agency's report. None of them showed that Martin had been convicted of beating and stabbing his then-girlfriend in the mid-1990s, authorities said. In fact, federal databases omitted Martin's felony conviction as recently as Wednesday, state police said. It only appeared in the system Thursday, according to the release. It's an unsettling shortcoming that raises questions about the thoroughness of the federal crime databases. Martin's criminal court records are available to the public on the internet, and his conviction is referenced in public document databases used by the Chicago Tribune and news organizations around the country. In 2013, the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics found at least 25 percent of felony convictions are not available to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, according to state police. Congress passed a law last year aimed at addressing the problem. State police only discovered Martin's Mississippi conviction after he agreed to be fingerprinted in March 2014 to expedite the processing of his concealed-carry license. Illinois does not require fingerprinting to obtain either a FOID or concealed carry license. There are currently 2,285,990 active FOID cards and 325,187 active concealed-carry licensees statewide, according to state police. Of the concealed-carry holders, only 126,559 submitted fingerprints with their applications. After learning of the omission in Martin's background check, ISP said it notified Martin and the Aurora Police Department in April 2014 that he was no longer able to possess a gun. He was given 48 hours to find a qualified owner for his weapon or relinquish it to local authorities, as well as submit a document called the Firearm Disposition Record to Aurora police. Aurora officials say they have no record of receiving ISP's revocation notice and, even if they did, the department had no legal obligation to confiscate the gun. State law, however, does allow local law enforcement to obtain a search warrant to retrieve a revoked FOID holder's weapons. The Illinois State Police does not have copies of revocation notices sent to local police departments in 2014 because the agency only preserved those records for three years, according to the statement. State police said an "exhaustive search" failed to turn up Martin's returned FOID card or document detailing how he had relinquished his handgun. It's an unsurprising result, given the vast majority people ignore their revocation notices, state statistics show. In 2018, 10,818 FOID cards were revoked, according to state police. Only 2,616 Firearm Disposition Records were returned -- meaning more than 75 percent of those with revoked licenses ignored the order. There have been only 110 arrests since 2014 for failure to return a FOID card or not submitting the Firearm Disposition Record. There were only 10 arrests statewide for the offense in 2018. Just Thursday, Johns Hopkins University released an analysis of Illinois gun laws that found that failure of law enforcement to follow up on revocations was one blind spot the state should address by telling law enforcement to be more aggressive in their efforts to dispossess the barred owners. Previous attempts in Illinois to mandate the follow-up has been met, however, with concerns this would overtax departments. Report co-author Cassandra Crifasi said policymakers need to weigh this against the "public safety benefit" to getting guns out of the hands of people who are barred from having them. "There is more weight behind the revocation if there is some legislative action, but we also recognize that at times there are constrained resources and sometimes law enforcement has to prioritize," she said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 PEORIA Attorneys for a man accused of kidnapping and killing a University of Illinois scholar from China say they could be ready for a trial to begin July 1. A judge already denied a request from Brendt Christensen's attorneys to delay proceedings until October, but said he would be open to a reasonable proposal. The trial was originally scheduled for September 2017. Prosecutors are trying to prove Christensen kidnapped and killed 26-year-old Yingying Zhang in 2017. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Christensen's attorneys said they needed more time to find a psychiatrist. The (Champaign) News-Gazette reports that defense attorneys say they've found a new psychiatrist who could be prepared by July 1. Prosecutors have until Friday to respond. A Monday hearing is scheduled to discuss the trial date. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 BLOOMINGTON Two California men face felony charges after state police seized cocaine valued at $5 million when a semitrailer truck was stopped and inspected on Interstate 55 in McLean County. Assistant States Attorney Jeff Horve said Friday the seizure is the countys third largest cocaine bust ever made. Brandon Weise, 35, of Murrieta, Calif., the semi driver, and his passenger, Miguel Martinez, 36, of Indio, are both charged with controlled substance trafficking and possession of cocaine with intent to deliver. State troopers seized 50 kilos of cocaine individually packaged for sale during the stop/inspection on Thursday, said Horve. Total weight of the drugs was 110 pounds, he said in court. The semi was headed north when officers became suspicious of the trucks route during the inspection, based on paperwork indicating the cargo was headed to Minnesota. A canine search indicated drugs in the vehicle that was pulled over north of the Twin Cities, said Horve. The defendants admitted the truck was actually bound for Chicago with a cocaine delivery, Horve said. Associate Judge Sarah Duffy set a $500,000 cash bond for both defendants. A March 8 arraignment was set for both men. If convicted, they are eligible for up to 120 years on the charges. Contact Edith Brady-Lunny at (309) 820-3276. Follow her on Twitter: @pg_blunny Love 11 Funny 10 Wow 10 Sad 10 Angry 20 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SPRINGFIELD Formal charges have been filed in McLean County against a Bloomington man in connection with the armed robbery of a Check Into Cash store in Bloomington, and who has a warrant against him for the Jan. 17 robbery of Freedom Oil at 601 S. Main St. in Normal. The man also faces charges in Springfield for the robbery of a Check into Cash store there. Police in both cities identified the suspect as Toshiro D. Luttrell, 39, of the 900 block of West Taylor Street in Bloomington. As of Friday, Bloomington police declined to indicate if Luttrell has a connection to a man nicknamed the Business Bandit, who is considered as a suspect in at least seven recent armed robberies in the Twin City area. Officers were called at 11:15 a.m. after a man armed with a gun entered and demanded money from an employee. The suspect took an undisclosed amount of cash and property and left on foot. In Springfield, a man enter entered the Check Into Cash store at 1754 Wabash Ave., about 3:34 p.m. on Feb. 5. He also showed the employee a gun and demanded money before fleeing. There were no injuries reported in any of the robberies. BPD identified Luttrell as a suspect in the Bloomington store robbery, and were able to connect him to the Springfield robbery, said police. BPD detectives, BPD's Street Crimes Unit, and Springfield police executed a search warrant on Luttrell's residence in Bloomington. During the search, detectives located a stolen firearm, said BPD. Luttrell was arrested Feb. 6 on a warrant from the Sangamon County States Attorneys Office on charges of armed robbery, aggravated robbery unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and theft over $500. On Friday, BPDs Criminal Investigations Division, working with the McLean County States Attorney's Office, issued an arrest warrant and charged Luttrell with armed robbery with a firearm, aggravated robbery and robbery. Luttrell is being held in the Sangamon County Jail in lieu of $50,035. Anyone with information concerning the Springfield incident is asked to call the Springfield Police Department at 217-788-8311 and/or Sangamon/Menard County Crime Stoppers at 217-788-8427. For the Bloomington case, contact Bloomington police Detective Jared Roth at 309-434-2379 or email him at jroth@cityblm.org. To remain anonymous, call McLean County Crime Stoppers at (309) 828-1111. Love 3 Funny 1 Wow 4 Sad 0 Angry 11 SPRINGFIELD Contempt of court charges issued by a McLean County judge against a Massachusetts father who has refused to return to Illinois for hearings in his child custody case have been upheld by the Illinois 4th District Appellate Court. Michael Cadena, of Weymouth, Mass., was found in direct criminal contempt of court in September 2018 by now-retired Associate Judge Lee Ann Hill. Cadena and his former girlfriend, Amber Buck, have been embroiled in a custody battle over their 5-year-old son, Michael Cadena Jr. In an order issued Friday, the appellate court affirmed Hills decision to find Cadena in direct criminal contempt for ignoring six orders to return to Illinois with the child for hearings in the pending custody case he filed in 2014 against Buck. In the ruling, the appellate court said Cadena's "defiance of the court's order had gone on for eight months at the time of sentencing and was clearly deliberate." The proceedings related to the child were delayed as a result of the father's defiance, said the ruling. After he was given custody of the child, Cadena left McLean County with the boy in March 2017 without the courts permission to live near Boston. Previous drug use by both parents caused them to lose custody of their child for periods of time; Buck, 31, was placed on probation in 2017 on felony drug charges. She was later found fit to parent her son and his older sister. The dispute over where the child should live went viral last year after 44-year-old Cadena and his supporters turned to social media to gather support for his efforts to have the case transferred to Massachusetts. A judge in that state refused to remove the case from Illinois. An appeal of the jurisdiction decision is pending. Cadena has accused Buck of physically and emotionally abusing the boy when the child lived with her. Cadena has cited fears for his safety and his son's as the reason for refusing to return to McLean County court. In October, Buck went to Massachusetts and picked up her son after Cadena was arrested on the criminal contempt charges. He was released from jail after Hill recalled the warrant following the boy's return, with Buck, to Illinois. Contact Edith Brady-Lunny at (309) 820-3276. Follow her on Twitter: @pg_blunny Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. LINCOLN A new $27 million state-of-the-art YMCA could open in Lincoln by late next year. Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital President and CEO Dolan Dalpoas has told the Lincoln City Council that a coordinated effort between the hospital and the Lincoln YMCA will lead to construction of a new 80,000-square-foot facility on the hospital campus. Dalpoas also is a member of the YMCA Board of Directors. Because the missions of the hospital and the YMCA are aligned, we can be natural partners to work together, he said. This represents a nearly $27 million investment in our health, in our youth and in our great community of Lincoln and Logan County. Dalpoas said the goal is to break ground later this summer or early fall. A capital campaign to help raise awareness and money is expected to begin soon. FWAI Architects, Inc. of Springfield has been hired as the architect on the project, Dalpoas said. The facility would be built on the site of the former Crossroads Motel at 1305 Woodlawn Road. The YMCA currently has a facility at 719 Wyatt Ave. in Lincoln and is headquartered at 604 Broadway in Lincoln. Dalpoas said decisions on the future of those facilities is not yet known. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} There is a lot of stuff to do, Dalpoas said. It is not unreasonable to think that we wouldnt be operational by late 2020. It is a multi-faceted building, said lead architect Paul Wheeler. We have a public sort of grand entry. There will be an operational (community) day care facility for up to 80 kids, and parents will have easy access to drop children off." He added there will be a physical therapy clinic, locker rooms, a gymnasium, and a lounge with a small cafe for fellowship and gathering. The plan also calls for a swimming pool that can be used by the high school and Lincoln College. Another pool would be built for exercise and therapy, he said, along with two studios for aerobics and spin classes. On the upper level, a track will circle the gym, with wellness and fitness centers. We have a preliminary drawing that shows a lot of glass for a lot of visibility, said Wheeler. We want people to see the multi-faceted usage. Dalpoas said officials have not yet determined what impact the new facility will have on costs in the future. It is our intent that this facility be used by as many people as possible of all socio-economic backgrounds, he said. This project, if successful, which it will be, will put the YMCA in a position to be more committed to scholarships so that those less fortunate, can use this facility. Currently, the YMCA offers health and fitness programs, aquatics, camping, childcare, arts and sports. Decatur Family YMCA CEO Matt Whitehead is overseeing the Lincoln YMCA on an interim director basis and referred questions to members of the YMCAs board of directors. Contact Kevin Barlow at (309) 820-3238. Follow him on Twitter: @pg_barlow Love 2 Funny 3 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 Build your health & fitness knowledge Sign up here to get the latest health & fitness updates in your inbox every week! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Everyone around the dinner table was surprised at my instant recall of the date of the Battle of New Orleans. But no one was more astounded than I. When the question was asked, I replied without hesitation, 1814. How did you remember that? asked my mom. Not with help from Alexa. Instead, I drew upon memories of interactions with that great oracle of all things cultural: 1970s television. Specifically, I remembered a TV commercial for a record album featuring country music hits. Without pause, I began to sing the lyrics to the song Battle of New Orleans. In 1814 we took a little trip, along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip'. We took a little bacon and we took a little bean, and we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans. My husband was shocked. I didnt know you liked Johnny Horton, he said with admiration in his eyes. Who? The artist! Do you know the rest of the song? he asked. Nope. Just those few lyrics. The commercial played only about 10 seconds of each hit song Today, I struggle to remember where I parked the car that morning, but I can faithfully recite one or two lines from songs I heard on K-Tel television ads when I was in fifth grade. What is a K-Tel record, youngsters may ask. Think of it as a medieval form of the playlist. Allow me to describe media consumption and marketing of my youth: Many households, like mine, had one television. A few families had two TVs because one was an older set which was relegated to the basement for the kids to watch. Nobody I knew had three. There was no remote control. Changing channels meant (wait for it), walking to the TV and turning a plastic, round knob. And if you turned it too fast, your father would warn, Be careful or youll break it! (A broken knob meant using a pair of pliers to pinch and turn a metal shaft which switched channels.) If you sat right in front of the television, your mother would scold, Dont sit so close! It will ruin your eyes! There was no way to skip commercials. You watched them all, over and over. Thus, my total recall of 45-year-old television commercials. Brilliant marketers realized radio listeners wanted to buy recordings from artists on different labels and so compiled them on one album. (Dont even think about asking, Whats an album?) Companies such as K-Tel, Ronco, Columbia and others advertised the albums in 60-second spots on TV. The late Bob Washington, a Canadian radio personality, did the excited voiceover for most of the K-Tel ads which went something like, 20 original hits! 20 original stars! Get yours for $3.99, 8-track tape $5.99! Available at these fine stores (Dont ask about 8-track tapes either.) The commercials claimed the songs were everyones favorites, but I didnt know many of them. However, after watching repeated ads for 25 Great Polkas, I learned the difference between the Ohio Polka and the Liechtensteiner Polka. So I got that going for me. One or two lines from each song were played as artists names and song titles quickly scrolled across the TV screen. But the complete lyrics were never played. As a result, I know just few lines to lots of songs and have to hum the rest. I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy uh (Thats all I know. Repeat.) V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N in the summer sun. umla, la, la The rest of the song is a mystery, but I remember Connie Francis face on the screen. At the dinner table last week, my husband clarified the Battle of New Orleans was actually fought in January 1815. Well, OK, I said. But if you dont like that one, just wait! Theres many more! Contact Susan Hazlett at susanrhazlett@yahoo.com or write to her in care of The Pantagraph, 301 W. Washington St., Bloomington, IL 61702-2907. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has carried out its first humanitarian mission in over five years in the eastern city of Derna, where people are in emergency after military operations conducted in the city Paris, France (PANA) The International Federation of Human Rights (IFHR) and two other rights groups have warned that the Khartoum peace deal concluded since February in the Sudanese capital between the Bangui government and 14 armed groups is a chance for peace, justice and reconciliation for the Central African Republic Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - The Mauritian Council of Religions (CoR), which brings together all religions, has expressed concern about violence in schools that has hit alarming proportions since last week Ottumwa, IA (52501) Today Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. High 81F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mostly cloudy with some showers after midnight. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. What's new for home viewing on Video on Demand and Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and other streaming services. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga in "A Star is Born." Top streams for the week "A Star Is Born" (2018, R), Bradley Cooper's latest remake of the Hollywood classic with Lady Gaga in the starring role, earned eight Academy Award nominations. You can catch up with the film before the Oscars are handed out on Sunday, along with "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" (2018, R) featuring Oscar nominees Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant, on Cable on Demand and Video on Demand. Also on DVD and at Redbox. Foreign language film nominee "Shoplifters" (2018, Japan, R, with subtitles), which took home the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival last year, is on Cable on Demand, Video on Demand and DVD. Ray Romano and Mark Duplass play neighbors and best friends in "Paddleton" (2019, not rated), a low-key comedy with a dramatic gut-punch: One of them is dying of cancer and the two reminisce and argue on a road trip to secure end-of-life drugs. The film, co-written and produced by Mark and Jay Duplass, comes to Netflix direct from its premiere at Sundance. Actor Kal Penn, a former member of President Barack Obama's White House team, hosts "This Giant Beast That is the Global Economy," an eight-part documentary series from producers Adam McKay and Will Ferrell that uses humor to explore the complexities of the world economy. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Pay-Per-View/Video on Demand World War II action meets monster movie in "Overlord" (2018, R), a thriller with Nazi super-soldier zombies. Also new: The latest revival of " Robin Hood " (2018, PG-13), this one with Taron Egerton and Jamie Foxx. Drama " The Maestro " (2018, not rated) with Xander Berkeley as real-life composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Lords of Chaos " (2018, R), a based-on-a-true-story drama that arrives two weeks after its theatrical debut. Available same day as select theaters nationwide are thriller "The Changeover" (2019, not rated), based on the award-winning children's novel by Margaret Mahy and starring Timothy Spall, Melanie Lynksey and Lucy Lawless, and racing drama "Trading Paint" (2019, R) with John Travolta. Netflix "The Photographer of Mauthausen" (2018, Spain, not rated, with subtitles) dramatizes the true story of Catalan photographer Francesc Boix, who documented and smuggled evidence of atrocities out of a Nazi concentration camp in World War II. Also new: International affairs: Korean superstar Song Kang-ho is "The Drug King" (South Korea, 2018, not rated, with subtitles) in this crime thriller starring Doona Bae. Also new: Paris Is Us (France, 2019, not rated, with subtitles), starring a young woman who starts to lose her grip on reality after missing an airline flight that crashes. Firebrand " (India, 2019, not rated, with subtitles), a Marathi-language drama about sexism and trauma produced by Priyanka Chopra. True stories: "Studio 54" (2018, not rated) looks back on the iconic club that epitomized the glamor and excess of the disco era. "Period. End of Sentence." (not rated, with subtitles) is nominated in the documentary short subjects category at this year's Oscars. Streaming TV: The Canadian comedy "Workin' Moms: Season 1" follows four thirtysomething friends trying to balance jobs, family and love lives in Toronto. Also new: Amazon Prime Video Hilary Swank and Michael Shannon star in the drama "What They Had" (2018, R), playing siblings with an ailing mother (Blythe Danner) and a father (Robert Forster) resistant to letting her go to a care facility. Two of the best crime dramas of the 1980s are now streaming in their entirety. "Wiseguy: Complete Series" (1987-1990), starring Ken Wahl as a deep-cover cop, pioneered the long-form storytelling now familiar on cable TV with multi-episode stories featuring such actors as Stanley Tucci, Kevin Spacey, Maximilian Schell and (in a rare dramatic role) Jerry Lewis. "Crime Story: Complete Series" (1986-1988), produced by Michael Mann, is a stylish series starring Dennis Farina as the head of a squad taking on organized crime in Chicago and Las Vegas. Also newly arrived is "Naked City: Season 1" (1958-1959), one of the first great TV crime dramas. From Canada comes the smart and nuanced "Intelligence: Complete Series" (2006-2007). More streaming TV: Louis C.K. writes, directs and stars in "Horace & Pete: Complete Series" (2016) with Steve Buscemi and Edie Falco. Brian Cox stars in the Australian crime drama "The Straits: Complete Series" (2012). Both ran a single season. International affairs: Jiri Menzel's Oscar-nominated comedy "My Sweet Little Village" (Czechoslovakia, 1985, not rated, with subtitles) is still considered the most popular film of all time in the former Czechoslovakia. Kid stuff: "Odd Squad: Odds and Ends" (2018) is a special double-length episode of the PBS kids series. Also newly arrived: John Travolta and Gene Hackman in Get Shorty (1995, R), based on the Elmore Leonard novel Comedy " The Birdcage " (1996, R) with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. The original " The Terminator " (1984, R) with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Glastonbury Fayre " (1972), a documentary about the 1970s music festival featuring Fairport Convention, Linda Lewis, Arthur Brown and Traffic. Nicolas Roeg is an uncredited co-director. Prime Video and Hulu Sally Potter's "The Party" (2017, R) is a satirical look at politics and personal relations starring Patricia Clarkson, Kristin Scott Thomas and Cillian Murphy (Prime Video and Hulu). Hulu Benicio Del Toro and Tim Robbins play aid workers in a war zone in the political satire "A Perfect Day" (2016, R). Streaming TV: Jennifer Lopez, Ed Sheeran, Josh Groban, John Legend and Carrie Underwood are among the stars of the "Elvis All-Star Tribute" (2019, TV-PG). Also new: "Stan Against Evil: Season 3" with John C. McGinley. HBO Now "Deadpool 2 (Super Duper Cut)" (2018, not rated) is a longer cut of the cheeky, super-violent Ryan Reynolds superhero hit that includes footage unseen in theaters. The sixth season of "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" is now on with new episodes on HBO Sunday nights and streaming the next day. True stories: "United Skates" (2018, TVG-14) looks at the roller skating culture in African-American communities. Available Saturday night are the HBO original movie "O.G." (2019, not rated) starring Jeffrey Wright and the companion documentary "Its a Hard Truth Aint It" (2019, not rated). Other streams The new "Desus & Mero" features TV and podcast personalities hosting a weekly talk show. New episodes Thursday nights on Showtime Anytime. The 12-part Dutch crime thriller "The Oldenheim Twelve" (Netherlands, with subtitles) debuts in the U.S. on Acorn TV. Also new is the TV movie "Marvellous" (2014, not rated), a heart-warming, based-on-a-true-story drama starring Toby Jones. Jo Joyner and Mark Benton are "Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators" in the first season of the comic mystery series set in modern Stratford-Upon-Avon. Streaming on BritBox. New on disc "A Star is Born," "Can You Ever Forgive Me?," "Overlord," "Robin Hood," "The Maestro." Now at Redbox A Star is Born, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Overlord, Robin Hood. Some of the states most exclusive neighborhoods could be effectively exempt from a proposal to allow duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes in single-family zones across the state. House Bill 2001, sponsored by House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, would allow the higher-density plexes and cottage clusters on any single-family lot in cities with 10,000 or more residents. The goal is to increase the supply of rental homes and drive down rents and in the process open desirable neighborhoods, with amenities such as good schools and parks, to more people. But restrictions recorded on property deeds when the neighborhoods were developed even some from a century ago sometimes prohibit the construction of anything other than single-family houses. In the residential areas, they show up with some frequency, said Alan Brickley, a longtime Portland real estate attorney. Its difficult to say how many neighborhoods might be affected. Deed covenants regulating the number of housing units are common in newer large-scale developments, but also in older planned communities platted by a single developer. The restrictions themselves, however, are buried deep in property records. Cities dont generally track them. But theyve left residents of neighborhoods without such restrictions wary that they could bear an outsized share of the density created under the policy, if it passed. It would force the developers into the older areas like where I live, said Bill Aspergren, a co-chair of the South University neighborhood in Eugene. If you go into the newer areas, nobodys going to be able to put a quad in there even if you could find room for it. The covenants are effectively private contracts that could open homeowners who build duplexes on their property to lawsuits from their neighbors. More likely, the higher density homes would never get built. Kotek suggested lawmakers could act to render the covenants unenforceable. Deed restrictions that prohibit more housing choices undermine the intent of House Bill 2001," she said in a statement. "We need to make sure that, going forward, deed restrictions do not further the exclusion that this bill is trying to address. The Oregon Legislature recently acted to nullify deed restrictions already on the books. In 2017, lawmakers barred homeowners associations or developers of planned communities from prohibiting the installation of rooftop solar panels and declared previous restrictions void. That law has never been tested in court, however, and government interference in agreements between private parties can face a high legal bar. Unconstitutional deed restrictions namely those that excluded people from neighborhoods based on their race have been nullified by the courts. The state in 2017 also created a process for removing those unenforceable restrictions from property records. The issue also could affect density plans in cities like Portland, where the citys Residential Infill Plan calls for more multi-unit houses in established neighborhoods. A spokeswoman said the citys Planning Bureau was aware of the potential issue but not clear how widespread it might be. House Bill 2001 already faces opposition from neighborhood groups, many that say it will bring crowding and hurt property values. And cities, including Portland, have said theyre uncomfortable with the aggressive timeline set out in the bill, which gives cities until December 2020 to write code allowing for the new housing types. -- Elliot Njus enjus@oregonian.com; 503-294-5034; @enjus Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. SALEM An alliance of Oregons largest public employee unions and some businesses on Thursday called for lawmakers to pass a new business tax that would raise at least $2 billion per biennium. In a presentation to the legislative subcommittee tasked with devising a way to raise huge amounts of new money for K-12 schools, members of the Coalition for the Common Good made it clear they would prefer a so-called gross receipts tax, which would be calculated based on businesses sales. Broadly speaking, that is the same type of tax that Oregon voters rejected in 2016, in the form of Measure 97. Democrats tried unsuccessfully in the 2017 legislative session to pass a smaller gross receipts tax. But there are different ways to design such a tax, including whether to tax different sectors at different rates and whether to exempt some sales. Although the legislative subcommittees bailiwick is the technical arena of developing tax policy, the Coalition for the Common Good focused its presentation on how more tax revenue could improve schools, rather than the nuts and bolts of tax law. Each of four representatives of the group told lawmakers specifically that the status quo of Oregons K-12 education funding is untenable. And they called on lawmakers to design and enact a bold tax increase without insisting it be paired with big money-saving changes to the states underfunded public pension system. Coalition representatives also said previous attempts to overhaul business taxes failed because business groups insisted that any tax increase be accompanied by pension system reforms. Gov. Kate Browns advisers are considering solutions for the Public Employee Retirement System nonetheless, including potentially taking $1.4 billion from the states workers compensation insurance corporation to pay down school districts PERS debt. Thats because, absent a similar change, rising pension costs could eat up much of the revenue Democrats want to raise for schools this session. Proponents of a tax increase for schools blamed the 1990s property tax relief initiative, Measure 5, for undermining the financial base for Oregon schools. They cited figures showing that Oregon taxpayers would be paying an additional $2 billion a year if voters had not passed the measure. The most recent federal estimates are that Oregon schools operate on 9 percent less per student than the national average $10,800 versus $11,840 If Oregon were to add $1 billion a year to that, Oregon's spending would rise to 6 percent above the national average, figures from the National Center for Education Statistics indicate. Fifteen other states would still be outspending Oregon. James Carlson, president and CEO of the Oregon Health Care Association which represents senior living facilities, acknowledged that the states largest business group, Oregon Business & Industry, presented its own tax proposal two weeks ago. They pitched a so-called business activity tax, under which the state would tax businesses on their sales minus input. Theyre a welcome voice in this discussion, Carlson said of Oregon Business & Industry. The Coalition for the Common Good was originally scheduled to testify along with the business group two weeks ago, but did not show up due to logistical issues with its presentation. Subcommittee co-chair Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, said before the hearing that the committee will come up with its own organic tax proposals, rather than adopting any specific proposal from an advocacy group. Hass said the committee will hear from one more group, the left-of-center Revenue Roundtable, next week. Then, lawmakers will have the hard job of coming up with a concrete plan, including tax rates. Hillary Borrud | hborrud@oregonian.com | 503-294-4034 | @hborrud Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. I am a landlord. About a year ago, three of my tenants came to me with concerns about one of the other apartments. Cars would come in, someone would get out, go in the apartment for a few minutes, come out and leave. This would happen over and over. They were selling drugs out of that apartment. One of my three tenants was a widowed retired school teacher and the other two were families with young children all good people who wanted a quiet, safe place to live without worrying about drug dealers. No one could prove what was going on, but everyone knew it. The solution was simple: I gave them a no-cause eviction. You have to protect your good tenants, or they will leave and you will be left with the drug dealers. When I took over these apartments some years ago, the police were there every week. Over time, we got rid of the problems and now have a tenant list I am proud of. Oregons Democrat-controlled Legislature is now pushing through Senate Bill 608, which would institute statewide rent control and eliminate no-cause evictions, the only tool we have for getting rid of the drug dealers. Rent control is not new. Its local governments stepping in to become landlords and results in landlords getting out of the business and causing a shortage of housing and higher rents. The price of housing is set by the demand. If you want affordable housing, tell your Democratic leaders to ease the restrictive land use laws and high building and development fees and the problem will take care of itself. Otherwise Oregon may someday look like New York City. Craig Pubols, McMinnville New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been charged with soliciting prostitution in Florida, according to authorities in Florida. Kraft, 77, was charged with two counts of soliciting another to commit prostitution, according to authorities in the town of Jupiter. He is one of the individuals - that would be Mr. Robert Kraft, Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr told reporters at a press conference on Friday morning. Kraft has not been arrested, according to the Jupiter Police Department. A spokesperson for Kraft issued a statement Friday morning. "We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further. Kraft was charged in connection with a Florida spa tied to an international human sex trafficking ring, according to authorities. The spa was among 10 shut down in Orlando, Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast eight-month long investigation revealed women there were in sexual servitude, according to authorities. Kraft reportedly solicited the prostitution sometime in January. Police say theres video evidence of the two incidents involving Kraft. According to tmz.com, the sting involved multiple law enforcement agencies including Homeland Security, the IRS, the Jupiter P.D., Palm Beach Sheriffs Office and more. More than 100 individuals have been identified as suspects. -- Geoffrey C. Arnold | @geoffreyCarnold Subscribe to get the Morning Briefing newsletter delivered to your email inbox weekdays at 7 a.m. Todays stories PORTLAND POLICE: Yelling and venting mark a listening session over Portland police texts with Patriot Prayer. Read more. PORTLAND PROTESTS: A Portland cops texts before dueling June 2017 rallies show warnings to all to avoid violence. Read more. MEASLES OUTBREAK: Nearly 70 people have been diagnosed with measles in the Oregon-Washington outbreak. Read more. PORTLAND SCHOOLS: Parents and others offer emotional testimony during a town hall on the Portland schools audit. Read more. TRAFFIC BILL: A motorcycle lane-splitting bill reignites a debate over safety concerns. Read more. OREGON DUCKS: Here are 10 potential candidates for Oregon Ducks defensive coordinator. Read more. JOHN CANZANO: Nike cant make you forget that Zion Williamsons shoe broke, but can it make you forgive? Read more. SHOE BLOWOUT: Nike is hammered on social media after Dukes Zion Williamson suffers a knee injury following a shoe blowout. Read more. DAIRY FARM: A troubled Oregon dairy farm sells to a lone bidder. Read more. FATAL SHOOTING: A teen was trying to stop an attack when he was fatally shot by Vancouver police, a report says. Read more. OREGON BILLS: Official state pet? Plastic straw ban? Heres a look at 20 eye-catching Oregon bills introduced in 2019. Read more. LOVELY OREGON: Wallowa Lake effort could give the public access to one of Oregons best views. Read more. HOMELESS SOLUTIONS: Providence and Catholic organizations plan to cut homelessness by 20 percent. Read more. OREGON POLITICS: Two Oregon lawmakers are demoted for rude behavior. Read more. AIR TRAVEL: Portland to Tokyo every day? Delta is seeking nonstop service in 2020. Read more. REAL ESTATE: Do tiny houses hold up to cold, snow, wind, hail, heat? A look inside the new Slabtown Village hotel. Read more. More news Whats fresh at Portland-area farmers markets in late winter Angry mom who tried to grab courthouse deputys gun gets 364 days in jail Dear Abby: Son and his friend close guesthouse blinds, prompting a visit and questions from Dad Ask Amy: One-night stand leads to daughter who doesnt know he exists Carolyn Hax: Lets list the ways you are Type A about chores, then let hubs do his part Find more at oregonlive.com Todays obituaries Peter Tork, lovably goofy member of the Monkees, dies at 77Click here to find area deaths reported recently Today in history AROUND THE WORLD: On Feb. 22, 1997, scientists in Scotland announced they had succeeded in cloning an adult mammal, producing a lamb named Dolly. (Dolly, however, was later put down after a short life marred by premature aging and disease.) Revelations that the Saudi Arabian government may have helped its citizens escape U.S. justice have generated national headlines, triggered a federal investigation and led to legislation introduced in Congress. The story began with a tip that federal law enforcement agents believed the Saudis helped one of its citizens, a young man studying in Portland, flee the U.S. before his manslaughter trial. Four more cases in Oregon soon emerged where Saudi students accused of serious crimes vanished before their trial or completing their sentence, even after some surrendered their passports to authorities. The Oregonian/OregonLive is now tracking similar cases around the country. So far it has found 17 across eight states and Canada. The news organizations growing investigative series also has prompted a number of questions from readers. Heres a breakdown. Q. How many Saudis have fled? How far back does this go? A. To date, The Oregonian/OregonLive has found 17 cases across the U.S. and Canada where university students from Saudi Arabia facing serious criminal charges have disappeared. They include men, from ages 19 to 28 at the time, accused of rape, manslaughter and felony hit-and-run. Some of these cases go as far back as 1988. State and federal officials, including prosecutors, Homeland Security investigators and the FBI, have confirmed that at least eight of these defendants, including three from Oregon, have returned to Saudi Arabia or left North America. Not all of them come from affluent or politically connected families. For example, Abdulrahman Sameer Noorah, accused of killing Portland teen Fallon Smart, was raised by a single mother, a kindergarten teacher, in the Saudi city of Jeddah, according to court records and interviews. Q. What indication do we have that the Saudi government is helping its citizens avoid prison time? A. The Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C., has told The Oregonian/OregonLive that, as a policy, it will provide money for bail and legal services to any Saudi citizen accused of a crime in the U.S. who seeks assistance. In some of the documented cases, thats exceeded $100,000. A number of Saudi defendants also have managed to leave the U.S. and Canada after they surrendered their passports to local or federal authorities, raising questions about how they escaped without official travel documents. Officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Marshals Service allege the Saudi government helped orchestrate Noorahs escape in 2017 by furnishing him with an illicit passport and possibly a private plane. Prosecutors in Ohio allege a 1988 manslaughter suspect, Abulrahman Ali Al-Plaies, was spirited away by Saudi officials just days before his trial. The Saudi Embassy last week denied it helps citizens escape prosecution in the U.S. The notion that the Saudi government actively helps citizens evade justice after they have been implicated in legal wrongdoing in the U.S. is not true, the embassy said in a statement. Q. Why cant the U.S. get these suspects back? A. Though considered a major strategic ally and trading partner, Saudi Arabia does not share an extradition treaty with the U.S. This means the Saudi government wont automatically turn over a criminal suspect who has returned to the country. Typically when people flee over borders its a question of diplomacy, said Mary Fan, professor at the University of Washington School of Law and an expert in the area of international criminal law. If you had the diplomatic leverage, you could have someone expel a national but thats just assuming that the foreign government is willing to cooperate. The Oregonian/OregonLive has spent two months asking the State Department for comment on its reports of Saudi nationals who escaped prosecution in the U.S. It has yet to receive a response. Q. What happens to the Saudi students when they return home? A. That remains unknown at this time. The Oregonian/OregonLive has tried to locate and contact all of the Saudi defendants found to have disappeared in the U.S. and Canada, without success. Some of these suspects appear to have active social media accounts. One of them, Abdullah Almakrami, who fled Wisconsin and the U.S. in 2014 after he was charged with sexual assault and surrendered his passport to authorities, posted updates from Saudi Arabia later that year, according to a Milwaukee Fox News affiliate report. The Oregonian/OregonLive hasnt been able to independently verify the details of that report. Q. Why cant authorities simply deny bail to any Saudi student? A. In Oregon, for example, the only crimes for which a judge may deny bail are murder, aggravated murder and treason (though an exception can be made for some violent felony crimes). This applies to U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike. Judges in these Saudi criminal cases have tended to set high bail amounts as a way to address the suspects flight risk, a common practice when the defendant is a foreign national. Some have insisted on additional conditions for release, including revoking the defendants passport or placing the defendant under pretrial supervision. Its worth noting that neither judges nor prosecutors in these cases appear to have known of a pattern of Saudi defendants vanishing while facing criminal charges. Q. Some Saudis have faced their crimes and havent fled, right? A. The Oregonian/OregonLive has reviewed multiple criminal cases involving students and other citizens of Saudi Arabia that have ended with convictions and prison time. Charges were dropped or reduced in others. Because there has been no way to comprehensively review all criminal cases involving Saudi nationals in the U.S., The Oregonian/OregonLive has yet to determine how common these types of disappearances are. Q. Why are there so many Saudi students here in Oregon and in the U.S.? A. The number of Saudi students in the U.S. began to surge in 2005, when the oil-rich nation created a generous scholarship program for those seeking to study here. The program was part of a deal brokered between former President George W. Bush and then-King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as a way to rekindle relations between the two countries after 9/11. More than 44,000 Saudis studied in the U.S. during the 2017-2018 academic year, according to data from the Institute of International Education, generating $1.8 billion in economic activity. Only China, India and South Korea had more students studying in the U.S. About 1,000 of these Saudi students enrolled at Oregon colleges and universities, figures show. Per capita, Oregon is second only to Ohio for number of Saudi students. Christina Luther, the director of Portland State University's Office of International Student and Scholar Services, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Saudi students first started coming to Portland State in the 1970s. Among them: Prince Mohamed bin Nayef, a prominent member of the royal Saudi family. Q. Did attorney Ginger Mooney, who represented four missing Saudis in Oregon, do anything wrong? A. Mooney hasnt been accused of any wrongdoing, nor has she ever faced a complaint with the Oregon State Bar regarding these cases. Records show she has handled at least nine criminal cases involving Saudi students across Oregon who were accused of crimes including sex abuse and harassment. Most ended with the charges dropped or reduced. I absolutely had nothing to do with anyone leaving the country or anyone failing to appear to any court appearance in my entire professional career, Mooney told The Oregonian/OregonLive last month. Q. Does this happen with citizens of other countries? A. At this time The Oregonian/OregonLive hasnt focused on the question of whether foreign nationals from other countries have a pattern of prosecution in the U.S. Anecdotally, prosecutors, police and federal law enforcement officials involved in these Saudi cases have said they arent familiar with defendants from other countries who have been bailed out of jail by their governments, provided legal counsel and subsequently disappear. Q. What is the U.S. doing about this? A. In response to The Oregonian/OregonLives reporting, U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have sought answers about these disappearances from the U.S. State Department, Justice Department, FBI and Customs and Border Protection. The Oregon lawmakers also have introduced legislation in Congress that would punish Saudi Arabia for its suspected role in helping citizens avoid prosecution in the U.S. The bills would create a system in the federal government that tracks and reports on all foreign nationals who have fled the country while facing criminal charges, which doesnt appear to exist at this time. Meanwhile, federal law enforcement officials within the Trump administration have launched a multi-agency investigation into how these Saudi students fled the U.S. Those agencies include the State Department, Justice Department and Customs and Border Protection, an aide to Wyden told The Oregonian/OregonLive. It appears that this is the first time a presidential administration has probed these disappearances. Q. What else does The Oregonian/OregonLive plan to look into for this project? A. The Oregonian/OregonLive will continue investigating criminal cases across the U.S. where Saudi nationals have escaped prosecution. Those findings will be published in real time. (Got a tip? Send it). The news organization will also track the federal investigation, legislative and political developments and also seek to better understand who in the U.S. government has known about these disappearances and for how long. The Oregonian/OregonLives Noelle Crombie contributed to this report. Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632 Lawyers for double murder defendant Jeremy Christian this week laid out a three-pronged approach to helping their client avoid a possible death sentence. In court papers filed Thursday, Christians lawyers gave notice of three legal defenses they intend to rely on or will keep as back-up options in their limited arsenal during an upcoming five-week trial this summer. Christian is accused of the aggravated murders of two strangers -- Ricky Best and Taliesin Namkai-Meche -- on a MAX train at the Hollywood Transit Center on May 26, 2017. Attorney Greg Scholl indicated that the defense team intends to make the argument that Christian is guilty except for insanity -- essentially that Christian was too mentally ill at the time of the killings to be held criminally accountable. Legal observers say thats a high bar to reach. It means they must show that Christian had a mental illness that was so severe that he wasnt aware of what he was doing. Few cases result in such a finding. But if Christian is found guilty except for insanity, he would go to the Oregon State Hospital for what could be the rest of his life. Scholl, however, wrote in the filing that the defense team also could rely on a second, slightly different argument: that Christian was only partially responsible for the alleged crimes under the eyes of the law due to mental illness. Or the team could use a third defense: that Christian was suffering from an extreme emotional disturbance and was so overcome by emotion at the time of the stabbings that he couldnt control himself. If successful with that defense, Christian could be convicted of first-degree manslaughter, resulting in a 10-year prison sentence. But Oregon courts havent allowed such a defense to aggravated murder, as even one of Christians attorneys noted at a pre-trial hearing several weeks ago. Scholl, however, contended that the Oregon Court of Appeals and the Oregon Supreme Court have gotten that wrong time and time again. Read the court filing here. On Friday, Christian appeared in the courtroom of Multnomah County Circuit Judge Cheryl Albrecht. He made no statements and sat quietly, as lawyers on both sides talked about future court dates leading up to trial. Trial is scheduled June 24 through July 26. Christian also faces other charges, including attempted aggravated murder for allegedly trying to kill a third man, Micah Fletcher. Police and witnesses said Christian stabbed all three men in the neck after embarking on a tirade against two teenage girls, one who was wearing a hijab. -- Aimee Green agreen@oregonian.com o_aimee Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. Updated Feb. 27, 2019 Portlands police chief called a listening session to hear from the public in the wake of the controversy surrounding hundreds of friendly texts between a police lieutenant and the leader of the right-wing Patriot Prayer group. It turned into hours of venting Thursday night. Speakers either called out the Police Bureau, complaining that Lt. Jeff Niiyas exchanges with activist Joey Gibson confirmed their long-standing fears that police favor conservative demonstrators while cracking down on leftist counter-protesters. Or they criticized Mayor Ted Wheeler and other city officials for questioning Niiyas communications without understanding the lieutenants role as a police liaison to groups planning rallies and marches in the city. Some also said the mayor should have reserved comment until after an internal investigation is completed into the communications. The pews at the Maranatha Church in Northeast Portland were mostly packed. Metal detectors and plainclothes officers greeted visitors as they arrived. A crowd organized by the Portland Democratic Socialists of America and other groups protested outside beforehand, calling for Wheeler, who also serves as police commissioner, to step down from that post. Some in the crowd held up printed yellow signs that read LIES and some hissed when they disagreed with a speaker or yelled sit down. At other times, people raised signs that read LISTEN when they agreed with a comment. Several speakers called on the mayor to resign, drawing applause. At times, attendees got into tense disputes among themselves or started screaming at the panel of city officials or speakers. A facilitator, the police chief and often most effectively the churchs senior pastor, Dr. T. Allen Bethel, tried to calm the audience and remind people of the purpose of the gathering. Hey people, this is a church, the mayor blurted into his microphone as several people in the first few rows got into a heated argument. Were here for solutions, people. Its 2019, Outlaw said. We have to come up with solutions so we dont continue to come here time and time again. Ive been here for a year, and it is the same thing. The chief, the mayor, Portlands deputy police chief and three assistant chiefs sat at a table at the front of the sanctuary. Speakers signed up to address them for two minutes each during the 2 -hour event. Outlaw said she called the gathering because she quickly recognized there was harm, impact and concern in the community. She acknowledged mistrust of police in Portland that she noted has built up over years. About 50 minutes into the session, facilitator Kory Murphy threatened to shut it down if the crowd didnt respect the ground rules, repeating, This is not productive amid jeers. At one point, Patriot Prayer supporter Haley Adams strode up to the front of the church and started screaming while some members of the crowd began chanting Nazi scum. Adams later stood on a pew and continued yelling and was escorted out. It appeared the meeting might end but the police chief said she was staying. Among the speakers, Shawn Shagerty urged the city to broaden its investigation to determine if any white supremacist groups have infiltrated the Police Bureau or other local or state law enforcement agencies. Others recommended the police better differentiate between protesters and not lump peaceful demonstrators with masked protesters or others who may be causing a disruption. Several urged police to hold demonstrators who are violent accountable for their actions, called for meaningful independent police oversight and a public airing of police contract negotiations. Left-wing activist Luis Enrique Marquez, who was named as an instigator of problems by Niiya in his texts with Gibson, yelled at the mayor, shouting, You collaborate with our enemies! Bob Winthrop, a former finance manager at the Police Bureau who described himself as a son of a Holocaust survivor who abhors white supremacists, praised Niiya as a flexible thinker and a really good cop. Attendees hissed as Winthrop spoke. Please dont criticize a cop before you know all the facts, Winthrop told the police and mayor. Tim Ledwith said he was punched in the face by Patriot Prayer follower Tusitala Tiny Toese on June 8, 2018, and he was reluctant to report the attack because of his healthy mistrust of police. He said his mistrust was born out because it seemed as if police didnt want anything to do with it until this past week when he received a subpoena to testify before a Multnomah County grand jury. Ben Lavine, who said he attended some of the protests, told the chief she shouldnt be surprised by the communitys reaction. He criticized Outlaw for speaking derisively against antifascist protesters on conservative radio host Lars Larsons show in August. Deb Winthrop told police she was among the peaceful counter-protesters at a demonstration last Aug. 4. I do not want to be associated with the tactics of antifa, she said, urging the bureau to better distinguish between protest groups. For future demonstrations to be effective, she suggested people leave their body armor and face masks at home and not be ashamed to show who they are. Many in the crowd hissed. James Buchal, who described himself as a member of the Republican Party, accused the city of excusing leftist violence and demonizing demonstrators who cooperated with police. People in the crowd booed. Ken Cannatelli said the practice of police reaching out to protest groups ahead of demonstrations is "not a tenable position,'' because "certain groups are not going to want to talk to police, '' and others that do will be seen as an incurring favoritism. Mary Hollingsworth said she came to express her support for the police. Keep up knowing who these specific groups are so they do not clash, she said, drawing taunts to sit down. "This is how you people are,'' she continued, addressing the crowd. "Dont tell me to sit down.'' The meeting followed last weeks release of months of text messages between Gibson and Niiya, who as supervisor of the bureaus Rapid Response Team crowd control unit has been the bureau liaison to protest organizers. The texts drew rebukes from the mayor and two city commissioners. The chief initiated an internal investigation into Niiyas communications, and the mayor called for an independent inquiry into alleged police bias in their handling of city demonstrations. Niiyas texts and emails with Gibson from 2017 and 2018 show him sometimes telling Gibson about the movements of counter-protesters, telling Gibson if officers would be on foot or bike at protests and alerting Gibson to have follower Toese, also a member of the far-right Proud Boys, take care of his outstanding arrest warrant before he showed up downtown. Niiya told Gibson that officers could arrest Toese if he acted out but it wasnt likely to occur, though Toese ended up being arrested on a warrant and additional charges. Niiya was doing his job, establishing a line of communication with protest leaders to help the bureau prepare and plan on how to staff demonstrations, and Niiya often shared his intelligence gleaned from Gibson with the mayors senior policy adviser, said Lt. Craig Morgan, president of the police union representing commanding officers. Clarification: A summary of Ken Cannatellis statement was changed to reflect his broader point about police communication with protest organizers. -- Maxine Bernstein Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. Coast Guard officials are asking for the publics help with their investigation into the capsizing of a fishing vessel that took the lives of three men near Newport earlier this year. The 42-foot Mary B II sank in January while crossing the Yaquina Bay bar during a time when the seas turned rough Because of the dangerous conditions, the Coast Guard began escorting fishing vessels into port. The Coast Guard began escorting the Mary B II to the tips of the jetty, but the boat did not come starboard in time and was swamped. Officials will hold a public hearing into the case in Newport at date to be announced in the next couple months. In the meantime, people who have information or questions are asked to email the Coast Guard at AccidentInfo@uscg.mil. Officials request that the subject line read: F/V MARY B II. After the hearing, investigators will issue a report that will include the collected evidence, established facts, causal analysis and conclusions, and possible safety recommendations to prevent similar incidents. -Tom Hallman Jr. thallman@oregonian.com; 503 221-8224 @thallmanjr A 27-year-old woman who punched a deputy in the face and then tried to pull another deputys gun from his holster at the Multnomah County Courthouse last summer was sentenced Thursday to 364 days in jail. Dequise Janelle Hammick was homeless, high on drugs and angry that she was in danger of permanently losing custody of her two young children when she lashed out during a Sept. 6 hearing held to determine her standing as a parent, according to investigators. The melee was caught on courthouse surveillance video. Hammick has two children, both age 3. She explained during her sentencing hearing Thursday that she was upset because she felt her childrens father was belittling her in front of the judge, so she first punched him in the face. One of her children was there and watching, prompting the childs foster parent to pick up the girl and leave the courtroom, according to a probable cause affidavit. Hammick was still angry when courthouse deputies came sprinting up to the seventh floor courtroom of Judge Amy Holmes Hehn, investigators said. Deputy Juan Roldan, who was the first to arrive, told Hammick to stop. He then grabbed her arm and handcuffed it. Hammick responded by punching Roldan below the left eye, causing swelling and redness, the affidavit said. Dequise Janelle Hammick, 27, lashed out in a Multnomah County courtroom on Sept. 6, 2018. Deputies then were able to hold her down and take her into custody. As she was being wheeled out of the courtroom and down the hall in a wheelchair, Hammick tried to remove the gun from the holster on Deputy Christopher Paynes duty belt, according to the affidavit. She was wearing handcuffs, and unsuccessful. Hammick pleaded guilty to assaulting a public safety officer, fourth-degree domestic violence assault and interfering with a peace officer for punching her childrens father and the deputy. Hammick told Judge Benjamin Souede that she was sorry for punching the deputy. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her defense attorney, Jason Steen, said her sentence is her last chance at salvaging her relationship with her children before the Oregon Department of Human Services permanently intervenes. Hammicks sentence includes a plan to release her from jail directly into an inpatient drug treatment program. Steen said the more than five months that Hammick has spent in jail so far have been good for starting her on a path toward a drug-free life. Steen said Hammick has a long-standing cocaine problem. She certainly seems to be a different person today than when I first met her, Steen said. In addition to 364 days in jail and drug treatment, Souede followed a plea agreement by sentencing Hammick to a mental health evaluation and possible treatment. The judge also sentenced her to probation for three years, ordered her to cease all contact with her childrens father and said she must undergo random urine tests. If she violates the terms of her probation, she could be sent to prison for up to three years. Hammick said shes thankful for the chance to get drug treatment. I have two kids and Im going to really try to work to get them back home and not away from me, Hammick said. It really hurt me. Souede told Hammick that it appears shes taking what she did seriously -- as she should -- because things could have turned out much worse. Obviously, we want people to feel safe in our courtrooms, Souede said. This is where we come to resolve disputes. And it doesnt work if we cant provide a safe environment. He added: It goes without saying that your behavior is not something that can be tolerated. -- Aimee Green agreen@oregonian.com o_aimee Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. SHEFFIELD, England U.S. and Royal Air Force planes roared over the English city of Sheffield on Friday to honor 10 American airmen who sacrificed their lives to save British children playing in a park beneath their crippled bomber during World War II. The fly-past brought tears to the eyes of 82-year-old Tony Foulds, for he was one of those children at that park. The spectacle over Sheffield's Endcliffe Park was the culmination of decades of lobbying by Foulds, who wanted an aerial display befitting the young fliers who died that day. As thousands of spectators watched from the park below and the BBC broadcast live on its morning news program, the climax came when four U.S. fighters passed overhead, with one veering skyward in the missing man formation to honor the fallen. "That was worth waiting 66 years for," Foulds said as he dabbed his eyes with a wadded tissue and recalled the dream he'd had since he was 17. Tony Foulds tends to a memorial honouring 10 U.S. airmen who died in a plane crash in Endcliffe Park, Sheffield, England, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. Foulds was just a kid running around in the park on Feb. 22, 1944 when a U.S. Air Force crew decided to crash and die rather than take the chance of hitting them. He's dreamed of honoring them for decades. Now he's 82 and about to get his wish. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)AP The crowd burst into a cheer of Hip, hip hooray! for Foulds, who has tended a nearby memorial for the airmen for decades, wracked with guilt because he believed he was responsible for the deaths of Lt. John G. Kriegshauser and the crew of the B-17G Flying Fortress nicknamed Mi Amigo. Kriegshauser, a 23-year-old pilot from St. Louis, Missouri, was on his 15th mission on Feb. 22, 1944, when Mi Amigo was hit by enemy fire during a daylight raid on the Aalborg airfield in occupied Denmark, a key fighter base that protected Germany from Allied bombers. The crew nursed the damaged plane back across the North Sea, trying to reach their base in Chelveston, England. But the weather was poor, and when the plane broke through the clouds it was over Sheffield, 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest. Tony was almost 8 years old that day and had joined a group of children for a schoolyard brawl in Endcliffe Park, an oasis of green surrounded on three sides by terraced houses and dense woodland on the other. After five years of war, including German attacks on Sheffield's steel and armaments plants, the boys were accustomed to hearing planes. But the sound of this aircraft wasn't right. The plane circled over the stretch of green and one of the airmen waved his arms at the kids. They waved back, thinking he was being friendly. Years later, Tony realized he was trying to get them to clear the field. "No one will ever tell me any different: I killed these lads," Foulds told The Associated Press. "And that will always stay with me." In January, BBC presenter Dan Walker chanced upon Foulds tending the memorial, as he does some 260 days a year, and took up his call for an aerial tribute. Walker started a Twitter campaign under the hashtag #gettonyaflypast. On Friday, another group of hashtags were trending on Twitter: #TonyGotAFlypast, #RememberTheTen, and #sheffieldflypast. "Tony has pretty much single-handedly spent the best part of seven decades ensuring the memorial in the park is kept up to standard, and ensured that the memory of the Mi Amigo and those brave crewmen is kept alive," said Lee Peace, a reporter at The Star newspaper in Sheffield. "Once people heard about the story, it just took off." Tony Foulds, 82, waves from Endcliffe Park in Sheffield, as warplanes from Britain and the United States stage a joint flypast tribute to ten US airmen Friday Feb. 22, 2019, 75-years after Foulds witnessed the crash that killed them. Foulds was just a child playing in the park on Feb. 22, 1944, when a U.S. Air Force crew decided to crash and die rather than take the chance of hitting the playing children. For decades Foulds has tended a memorial dedicated to honouring the 10 U.S. airmen who died in the plane crash at Endcliffe Park, and today the flypast fulfils his wish for the men who saved his life. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)AP Also in the crowd Friday were several family members of the crewmen. Kriegshausers nephew Jim and a relative of 2nd Lt. Melchor Hernandez, the crews bombardier, sat beside Foulds and both stretched out a comforting hand as he repeated his remonstrations of guilt. Hernandez's relative, Megan Leo, said he was the eldest of six children, a first-generation American whose parents came from Mexico. She said the story of his sacrifice had always been told in her family. "I think for this story to now be capturing so many hearts, it just reminds me of how many other stories we don't know, of all the men who died back then and in the years after fighting for our countries and for peace," she told the BBC, as she thanked Foulds. "We've always remembered them, but to know that 6,000 miles away from my home there's a man who's dedicated his life to remembering them means so much. It's the most amazing thing." As the jets roared into view, Foulds waved his arms over his head like a windshield wiper, hoping the pilots would see him. Painted on the sides of the planes were the names of the crew, young men from every corner of America. In addition to Kriegshauser and Hernandez, there were 2nd Lt. Lyle Curtis of Idaho Falls, co-pilot; 2nd Lt. John W. Humphrey of Wyoming, Illinois, navigator; Staff Sgt. Robert Mayfield of Raymond, Illinois, radio operator; Sgt. Vito Ambrosio of Brooklyn, waist gunner; Staff Sgt. Harry Estabrooks of Mound Valley, Kansas, flight engineer and top turret gunner; Sgt. George M. Williams of Faxon, Oklahoma, waist gunner; Sgt. Charles Tuttle of Raceland, Kentucky, ball turret gunner; and Sgt. Maurice Robbins of Manor, Texas, rear gunner. Even as his dream came true, Foulds refused to take credit for the flypast, turning at one point to the crowd to say, "Thank you very much for coming, it's lovely see you." The people roared. But he kept reminding everyone just as he has always done that the event was not to honor him. "It's for them," he said. And then, when the jets cleared the horizon, he left the cameras and went back to the memorial, anxious to be with the lads. Water, water everywhere and, hey, most of it in Portland Public Schools is safe to drink now. But there are still more than 500 drinking fixtures across the district that dispatch water containing unhealthy levels of lead, according to district maintenance officials. Rather than replace the pipes feeding those drinking fountains, they want to install new fountains and water bottle filling stations outfitted with powerful filters to reduce lead levels. The districts Office of School Modernization proposed testing the strategy in six schools: Jefferson High; Robert Gray Middle; and Rigler, Duniway, Arleta and Llewelyn elementary schools. Maintenance officials proposed the pilot program to the school board Tuesday, saying a combination of filling stations and filters would be the most cost-effective way to provide students with clean drinking water. Its the difference of paying between $3 million and $8.5 million to install those drinking stations districtwide versus investing more than $17 million to partially replace some school pipes with no guarantee that would work to lower lead levels. Heres the problem with the pipe replacement: Our schools average age is 77 years. And some are over 100 years old, John Burnham, the districts senior director of environmental services said. The feds did not pass laws about lead until about 30 years ago. That means theres no telling how much pipe needs to be replaced, he said. And a total replacement of all the districts piping would cost well over $100 million. I can eliminate the need for partial pipe replacement, Burnham said. Installing hybrid drinking fountains and water bottle filling stations that come equipped with high-end lead-capturing filters at six schools would cost between $202,000 and $570,000, depending on the model the district chooses, he said. If the pilot program is approved by the board, the district would install the stations by the end of the school year and test them throughout the summer. Its the most likely way to get schools where some fountains still test high for lead to provide drinking water with acceptable lead levels, well below the federal action level of 15 parts per billion, Burnham said. Burnham said he wants the district to be prepared if regulators sets a lower guideline for lead in water in the near future. In New Hampshire, for instance, state law requires water fixtures to test below 5 ppb for lead. We dont want to be caught five years from now when one of those entities lowers it to lower than 15, Burnham said, referring to state and federal health regulators. A Multnomah County grand jury has found no criminal wrongdoing in the Jan. 6 fatal police shooting of Andre Gladen, a 36-year-old legally blind man who suffered from schizophrenia and was shot and killed inside a strangers Southeast Portland home. The grand jury found Officer Consider Vosus shooting of Gladen was a lawful act of self-defense or defense of another person, the District Attorneys Office said in a statement released Friday. Police said shortly after the shooting that Gladen was armed with a knife. Sources said the knife resembled one the officer carried, but police have continued to decline to say who owned the knife. Police spokeswoman Lt. Tina Jones said the Police Bureau will release its reports on the shooting as soon as theyre available. The grand jurys ruling was announced about two hours before Gladens parents and siblings met at City Hall with Mayor Ted Wheeler, who serves as police commissioner, Police Chief Danielle Outlaw, City Attorney Tracey Reeve and Central Precinct Commander Mike Krantz. The policing institutions of the city of Portland failed Andre. I implore you not to fail me and the rest of Andres family, Andres twin brother, Fonte Gladen, wrote to the chief on Feb. 13. Please meet with us and answer the questions we have about this tragedy we are trying to deal with. Andre C. Gladen Fonte Gladen couldnt attend but he said he hoped his family would learn why the officer wasnt wearing a body camera, why he responded to the call alone and if the knife belonged to the officer. Portland police arent equipped with body cameras but for years have been exploring how to start a pilot program. After the City Hall meeting, Andre Gladens mother, two sisters and a younger brother spoke outside City Hall. They said they felt the city officials and police chief listened but many of their questions remain unanswered. They were told to wait for the grand jury transcripts, not expected to be made publicly available for two to three weeks, said their lawyer, Tim Volpert. "Andre was legally blind. He was unable to see what was coming his way,'' said sister Donna Martin. "He had no line of defense.'' Standing with family, she called the police shooting "shameful'' and "unnecessary.'' "I went in angry, and Im still angry,'' said Andre Gladens mother, Dorothy Collins. "They took him from me, and I cant get him back no matter what.'' She said Andre Gladen lived with her in Sacramento and she last saw him in early December before he came to Portland to visit with family. Andre Gladens sister Donna Martin pic.twitter.com/ECeMPxeY5T Maxine Bernstein (@maxoregonian) February 22, 2019 The police encounter began after Desmond Pescaia called 911 about a stranger sleeping on his front stoop about 2 p.m. that day. Gladen told Pescaia that he had been released from a hospital and someone was after him, trying to kill him. It looked like Gladen had a hospital-type gown sticking out of his shirt or pants and he had no shoes on, Pescaia said. Pescaia offered Gladen some water and $10 to catch a MAX train and get some food, but Gladen wouldnt leave and fell asleep on the porch of the home in the 9600 block of Southeast Market Street. Pescaia called police and when the officer arrived, Gladen ran inside the home through the open front door. According to Pescaia, Vosu followed Gladen inside. Gladen slipped and fell on the living room floor. Vosu tried to turn Gladen onto his stomach to handcuff him. Gladen then kicked the officer off and into a rear bedroom. When Gladen reached the entry to the bedroom, Vosu ordered Gladen to stand down several times before firing his Taser, Pescaia told The Oregonian/OregonLive. Gladen fell but got back up and Vosu, cornered in the rear bedroom, continued to order Gladen to stand down before firing three shots with his handgun, Pescaia said. As Gladen fell down on his back, Pescaia said he saw a knife fall from Gladens right hand and land beside him. Gladens family said he had been at Portland Adventist Medical Center before he showed up on Pescaias doorstep, less than half a mile away. His family members said they believed Gladen went to the hospitals emergency department on his own earlier that day, and walked out, and had been experiencing hallucinations. According to his family, Andre Gladen was shot twice in the chest. His family argued that police lack the training and skills to de-escalate an encounter with people suffering from a mental health crisis. "Police should be the last person that responds'' to such a call, Donna Martin said. "Calling for help, thats not a crime.'' Volpert, the familys local lawyer, said the mayor and chief acknowledged "significant systemic problems'' with the Police Bureau and the response to calls like these. "A lot of heads were nodding. I think they got the message. Theres something really, really wrong,'' he said. The police chief said the police investigative reports should be released in early March. When I met with Mr. Gladens family today, I listened and assured them this tragic incident is receiving a thorough level of investigation and review,'' Outlaw said in a statement. "It was an impactful meeting, and I appreciated the familys willingness to meet with us. Pescaia said he testified Thursday before the grand jury, along with his landlady and another housemate. Pescaia said he testified that he saw Gladen take the knife out of his right pocket after the officer shot him with the Taser. "I told the grand jury if I could have I would have taken the bullet for him,'' Pescaia said. Andrew Stroth, a Chicago-based civil rights lawyer, is also representing the Gladen family and said they would decide whether to file a lawsuit against the police based on the outcome of their own investigation. -- Maxine Bernstein Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian http://twitter.com/maxoregonian Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. A state oversight committee recommended Thursday that a former West Linn police officer fired in 2017 for racist posts on Facebook should have his police certifications revoked for 10 years. The group ruled Tommy Newberry engaged in gross misconduct while employed as a West Linn officer, warranting a temporary ban from policing in Oregon. The conclusion, made by the Police Policy Committee, will now go to the Oregon Board on Public Safety Standards and Training for a final decision in April. If the board moves forward with revocation, Newberry will have 20 days to decide whether to contest the ruling, according to Linsay Hale, professional standards division director for the state Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. Newberry, 66, could reapply for police certification after 10 years if the revocation takes effect. Members of the policy committee include Oregons FBI Special Agent in Charge Renn Cannon, Washington County Sheriff Pat Garrett, Portland Police Chief Danielle Outlaw and Oregon State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton. Newberry was a West Linn police officer for eight years and worked for the Portland Police Bureau before that. West Linn placed him on leave in July 2016 after several of his comments on Facebook and shared posts were reported by the media. He was fired in February 2017. The police department, and later an arbitrator, reviewed 131 posts Newberry made while on and off duty from February 2016 to July 2016 and found several of them showed racial bias against African Americans and other minority groups, and hostility toward the Black Lives Matter movement. Some posts included references to African Americans and Black Lives Matter supporters as ghetto rats, cockroaches and morons, among other insults. The Clackamas County Peace Officers Association, Newberrys police union, filed a grievance on his behalf the month after he was fired. An arbitrator deemed Newberrys firing justified last summer. The city was ordered to pay lost wages because the arbitrator concluded that Newberrys social media use was common knowledge, yet nothing was done until his posts were reported by the media. The city initially appealed the ruling, but later agreed to pay Newberry $120,000. -- Everton Bailey Jr. ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 |@EvertonBailey Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. A man believed to be the driver of a pickup truck seen running down three people in Northeast Portland earlier this year was arrested Thursday on suspicion of robbing an Oregon City drugstore. Austin Keever-Nyberg, whos accused of attempted first-degree assault in the Portland case, was one of two men arrested in an armed heist at a Rite Aid store, according to Oregon City police. No employees were hurt. Police said Keever-Nyberg, 21, jumped the pharmacy counter Thursday night while armed with a knife, ordered employees to the ground, stole medication and left the store. He threatened another employee with the knife on his way out, according to police, and fled on foot toward nearby Main Street. Officers set up a perimeter and initiated a police dog search, police said, and Keever-Nyberg eventually came back and ran to a car parked in the lot of the shopping center where the drugstore is located. Police said the driver, 19-year-old Jacob Petersen, tried to make a getaway. Officers pinned the car, however, and took both men into custody without incident. They recovered the medication and knife. Austin Keever-Nyberg, left, and Jacob Petersen are pictured in Clackamas County Jail booking photos. (Clackamas County Sheriff's Office) Records show both men are accused of first- and second-degree robbery, as well as unlawful use of a weapon, and are being held in the Clackamas County Jail. He pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted first-degree assault in the Portland case earlier this month. Video footage of the incident went viral. -- Jim Ryan; jryan@oregonian.com; 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015 Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. Global Hypervisor market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely Red Hat, VMware (Dell Technologies),Citrix, Microsoft,and Others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2023 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2023, etc. In this market research report, the global Hypervisor market is valued at USD XX Soft Magnetic Composite Market Share, Trend, Opportunity And Forecast And Top Key Players Are Daikin,Solvay,The Linde Group,Akzonobel,Duoponts,G.A.S,Arkema Group,Yara International https://www.kennethresearch.com/sample-request-10076206 https://www.kennethresearch.com/report-purchase-id-10076206 https://www.kennethresearch.com/report-details/soft-magnetic-composite-market/10076206 It refers to the chemical substance with greater vapor pressure than atmospheric pressure at 105 Fahrenheit temperature. It is used as carrier for active drug ingredient to provide force that drive out the drug from container and accountable for the delivery of the formulation in the appropriate form. Aerosol are widely used in pharmaceutical sector that combination of active drug and propellant. The main purpose of the propellant is to offer required pressure delivery and spray property. Pharmaceutical aerosol has wide application on skin, through nose, mouth. Propellants are the one of the main component of the pharmaceutical aerosol.Request For Free Sample-Market Size And ForecastGlobal pharmaceutical propellant market is anticipated to flourish at a significant CAGR over the forecast period. Government of the countries starts focusing on the health related problem rising among people and heavily investing in the development of the pharmaceutical sector. Traditionally the pharmaceutical industries provide drug that could be consumed orally and injectable. Moreover, with development of effective administration technology in pharmaceutical industry, the drug can be used on skin and inhaled directly. Increase in pollution and ozone layer depletion and other are responsible for the increase of nasal, skin mouth problem among the people across the globe. Moreover, growth in development of technic in pharmaceutical sector is believed to open a gateway of opportunities for the pharmaceutical propellant.In the regional market North America is projected to dominate the pharmaceutical propellant market over the forecast period. High prevalence of the nasal disease and skin problem cause of the environment changes is expected to benefits the growth of pharmaceutical propellant market. Apart from this increasing spending money and high awareness is anticipated to robust the growth of pharmaceutical propellant market.Further Europe is expected to contribute significantly towards the growth of the pharmaceutical propellant market. The market is mainly expanding on the back of the growth and expansion of pharmaceutical industry and high awareness related to health among people in this region.Market SegmentationOur in-depth analysis has segmented Pharmaceutical Propellant market into the following segments:By TypeLiquid Gas PropellantHydrocarbonsChlorofluro CarbonsHydrofluro CarbonsHydro Chloro Fluro CarbonsCompressed Gas PropellantCarbon Dioxide(CO2)Nitrogen(N2)By End UserHospitalResearch laboratoryBy RegionPharmaceutical Propellant market is further classified on the basis of region as follows:North America (United States, Canada), Market size, Y-O-Y growth Market size, Y-O-Y growth & Opportunity Analysis, Future forecast & Opportunity AnalysisLatin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Rest of LATAM), Market size, Y-O-Y growth, Future forecast & Opportunity AnalysisEurope (U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Hungary, BENELUX (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), NORDIC (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland), Poland, Russia, Rest of Europe), Market size, Y-O-Y growth, Future forecast & Opportunity AnalysisAsia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Rest of Asia-Pacific), Market size, Y-O-Y growth, Future forecast & Opportunity AnalysisMiddle East and Africa (Israel, GCC (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman), North Africa, South Africa, Rest of Middle East and Africa), Market size, Y-O-Y growth, Future forecast & Opportunity Analysis.Buy Now-Growth Drivers and ChallengesIncreasing in the skin and nasal diseases is the major factor which is expected to intensify the growth of the pharmaceutical propellant. Apart from this large number of new of cases diagnosed over past few years is expected to trigger the growth of the pharmaceutical propellant. Increasing healthcare expenditure and rising per capita income of the population is anticipated to positively impact the growth of the global pharmaceutical market.Further, rising number of hospital and awareness regarding the health care is anticipated the foster growth of the pharmaceutical propellant market across the globe. Government initiatives and wide policies provide the good opportunity to the new business entrants which are expected to trigger the growth rate of pharmaceutical propellant.However cost and properties of propellants (toxicity inflammability and others) are major restraints for the growth of the pharmaceutical propellant. Propellants are also responsible for ozone layer depletion which is anticipated the negative impact on the growth of global pharmaceutical propellant market.Key PlayersSRFCompany OverviewBusiness StrategyKey Product OfferingsFinancial PerformanceKey Performance IndicatorsRisk AnalysisRecent DevelopmentRegional PresenceSWOT AnalysisDaikinSolvayThe Linde GroupAkzoNobelDuoPontsG.A.SArkema GroupYara InternationalScope and ContextOverview of the Parent MarketAnalyst ViewSegmentationThe Pharmaceutical Propellant market is segmented as follows:By type & Y-O-Y Growth AnalysisBy end user & Y-O-Y Growth AnalysisBy Region Market Size & Y-O-Y Growth AnalysisMarket DynamicsSupply & Demand RiskCompetitive LandscapePorters Five Force ModelGeographical Economic ActivityKey Players (respective SWOT Analysis) and their Strategies and Product PortfolioRecent Trends and DevelopmentsIndustry Growth Drivers and ChallengesKey Information for Players to establish themselves in current dynamic environmentRead More-About Kenneth ResearchKenneth Research is a reselling agency providing market research solutions in different verticals such as Automotive and Transportation, Chemicals and Materials, Healthcare, Food & Beverage and Consumer Packaged Goods, Semiconductors, Electronics & ICT, Packaging, and Others. Our portfolio includes set of market research insights such as market sizing and market forecasting, market share analysis and key positioning of the players (manufacturers, deals and distributors, etc), understanding the competitive landscape and their business at a ground level and many more. Our research experts deliver the offerings efficiently and effectively within a stipulated time. The market study provided by Kenneth Research helps the Industry veterans/investors to think and to act wisely in their overall strategy formulationContact Us1412 Broadway,21st Floor Suite MA111,New York, NY 10018Name:DavidEmail:sales@kennethresearch.comPhone: +1 313 462 0609 Latest Research on Human Resource Outsourcing (HRO) Market Analysis & Forecast 2019-2025: Top Key Company like Accenture PLC, Capita, Northgate Capital, LLC, Xansa, Vertex, Ceridian HCM, ADP, LLC, IBM, Aon Hewitt, Adecco S.A https://www.theresearchinsights.com/request_sample.php?id=8375 https://www.theresearchinsights.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=8375 https://www.theresearchinsights.com/checkout?id=8375 https://www.theresearchinsights.com/ The rapid growth of industrialization has led to increasing the demand for trained and qualified employees to manage personal functions and administrative tasks of an enterprise. In order to improve operational efficiency, companies opt for services like human resource outsourcing in which the company that requires trained professionals, hire employees from firms providing such resources by having a service level agreement where both the groups mutually agree to the services that the resource will provide. Particular companies provide outsourcing resources.The process of human resource outsourcing is beneficial to many companies since this concept makes business processes very economical and efficient. Such factors drive the growth of human resource outsourcing market. Also, a lot of tedious training is required to have a separate operational HR department. Thus, business organizations prefer outsourcing as a solution. Such factors boost the market for human resource outsourcing.Get Sample copy of this Report @:The key players of the Accenture PLC, Capita plc., Northgate Capital, LLC, Xansa Plc., Vertex Inc., Ceridian HCM, Inc., ADP, LLC, IBM, Aon Hewitt and Adecco S.AThe report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the US, Canada, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of World. Annual estimates and forecasts are provided for the period 2019 through 2026. Also, a five-year historic analysis is provided for these markets. Market data and analytics are derived from primary and secondary research.The Global Human Resource Outsourcing (HRO) Market Report provides detailed study of markets, including production, outline, dimensions, producers, value, prices, imports, trades, growth rates, consumption, exports, imports, sales revenues, Spotlight. The Human Resource Outsourcing (HRO) market report is also available for those interested in acquiring, acquiring, investing, new suppliers, or finding valuable global market research facilities.The Global Human Resource Outsourcing (HRO) effectively deliver the global capabilities you need for your business and your population. It also allows voluntary, affordable reports that are the end result of personalized research conducted by internal expert teams.This report analyzes the worldwide markets for Human Resource Outsourcing (HRO) in US$ Million by the following Service Segments: Benefits Administration Services, Payroll Services, Education and Training Services, Recruitment Process Outsourcing, and Other Services.What the research report offers:-Monitoring the effectiveness of sales by profiling top key players-Offers practically oriented case studies from different c level peoples-Analysis of influencing factors-Offers facts and figures about revenue generation-A detailed description of drivers, restraints, and challenges-List of government rules, regulations, and policiesGet up to 20% Discount on this Report @:Segmentation based on type of outsourcing of Human Resource Outsourcing in Market:- Business process HR outsourcing: In this process, there is an external supplier that manages all the activities of the resource- Shared service HR outsourcing: In this process, only transaction or administrative elements of the human resources are subcontracted to an external supplier- Application (and facilities) service HR outsourcing: In this, the external supplier looks after technological infrastructure in order to support the activities of HRThe report covers exhaustive analysis on:-Global Human Resource Outsourcing Market Segments-Global Human Resource Outsourcing Market Dynamics-Historical Actual Market Size, 2015 - 2018-Global Human Resource Outsourcing Market Size & Forecast 2019 to 2026-Supply & Demand Value Chain for Human Resource Outsourcing Market-Global Human Resource Outsourcing Market Current Trends/Issues/Challenges-Competition & Companies involved in Human Resource Outsourcing Market-Human Resource Outsourcing Technology-Value Chain of Sales Performance Management solutionsBuy Now this Report @:About usThe Research Insights A global leader in analytics, research and advisory that can assist you to renovate your business and modify your approach. With us, you will learn to take decisions intrepidly. We make sense of drawbacks, opportunities, circumstances, estimations and information using our experienced skills and verified methodologies. Our research reports will give you an exceptional experience of innovative solutions and outcomes. We have effectively steered businesses all over the world with our market research reports and are outstandingly positioned to lead digital transformations. Thus, we craft greater value for clients by presenting advanced opportunities in the global market.Contact usRobinSales managerContact number: +91-996-067-0000sales@theresearchinsights.com Asthma and COPD Drugs market Key Players are GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis AG, Merck & Co., Abbott Laboratories, Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, Roche Holding AG, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Vectura Group, Pfizer. https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/311?utm_source=openpr&utm_medium=Niranjan https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/311?utm_source=openpr&utm_medium=Niranjan https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease blocking the airways of the lung because of inflammation, mucus production, tightening of muscles. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease(COPD) is caused by the obstruction in the airways causing difficulty in breathing, with the primary cause as tobacco smoking.Get the Sample Report:Global COPD and asthma devices market is expected to reach $41,355.2 million by 2022, according to a new report by Allied Market Research. The drug powder inhaler was the highest revenue-generating segment, accounting for over half of the share in 2015. This segment is expected to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period.The factors hampering the market growth include environmental concerns associated with metered dose inhalers (MDI) and the high cost of selected inhalation devices. Regulatory authorities such as U.S. food and drug administration (USFDA) across several regions have banned the production and sales of MDIs, as they release environmentally hazardous gases such as a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and hydrofluoroalkanes (HFA). Thus, soft mist inhalers (SMIs) and nebulizers are expected to replace MDIs for the treatment of respiratory diseases in the near future.Compressor nebulizers constitute around four-fifths share of the overall nebulizers market, owing to their perpetual usage in home healthcare medication and widespread availability across various regions. Nebulizers are electric- or battery-powered machines, which dispense the medication in the form of fine mist. They are used in home healthcare set-ups for debilitated patients, geriatric, and children. However, the large size of nebulizers and the need for continuous power supply are expected to hinder the market growth.For Purchase Inquiry:Key findings of COPD and Asthma Devices Market:- Drug powder inhalers (DPIs) segment is projected to grow at a significant CAGR of 5.7% during the forecast period.- North America was the leading region in 2015 and is expected to continue its dominance throughout the analysis period.- The COPD and asthma devices market in Europe is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.1%.- The compressor nebulizers segment is expected to register a CAGR of 5.4%.- North America is expected to remain the highest revenue-generating region, owing to widespread and early adoption of inhalers & nebulizers and a large pool of patients suffering from respiratory diseases.- Moreover, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow rapidly due to rising healthcare expenditure, growing awareness of advanced portable COPD & asthma devices, and increasing disposable income.The key product manufacturing companies profiled in this report include - - --- GlaxoSmithKline Plc- Novartis AG- Merck & Co., Inc.- AstraZeneca Plc- Philips Healthcare- 3M Health Care- Allied Healthcare Products, Inc.- Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.- GF Healthcare Products- Smith Medicals, Inc.- Lincare Holdings, Inc- Baxter International.About Us:-Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions. AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.Contact Us:-David Correa5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesUSA/Canada (Toll Free):+1-800-792-5285, +1-503-894-6022, +1-503-446-1141UK: +44-845-528-1300Hong Kong: +852-301-84916India (Pune): +91-20-66346060Fax: +1(855)550-5975help@alliedmarketresearch.comWeb: Hospital Acquired Infection Control Market Huge Growth, Latest Trends And Demand Forecasts By: Abbott Laboratories, Bayer AG, Olympus Corporation, Medivators, Maquet Getinge Group, Belimed, Roche, Johnson & Johnson, MMM Group, Hospital Acquired Infection Control Market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-hospital-acquired-infection-control-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/speak-to-analyst/?dbmr=global-hospital-acquired-infection-control-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-hospital-acquired-infection-control-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=global-hospital-acquired-infection-control-market Hospital Acquired Infection Control Market offers explanatory knowledge on the market parts like dominating players, drivers and restraints, production, revenue, consumption, import and export, and the most effective development within the organization size, deployment type, inside, segmentation comprised throughout this analysis, also major the players have used various strategies such as new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions and others, to increase their footprints in this market in order to sustain in long run, additionally to present the clear view point of Hospital Acquired Infection Control Market.For In-Depth Review | Get Free Sample Copy@Hospital Acquired Infection Control Market is expected to reach USD 7.5 billion by 2025, from USD 5.2 billion in 2017 growing at a CAGR of 4.8% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. The upcoming market report contains data for historic year 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.According to WHO (World Health Organisation), many patients are affected by hospital-acquired infection each year in world which causes major financial and mortality losses for health system. The endemic burden of health care mostly affects the patient in low and middle-income than in high-income countries who are admitted to intensive care units and in neonates.Market Key Competitors: Olympus Corporation, Medivators Inc. (Cantel Medical Corp.), Getinge Group, STERIS Plc., Belimed AG (Metall Zug), Steelco S.P.A, Pfizer Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Merck & Co., Inc., Advanced Sterilization Products Services Inc. (Johnson & Johnson), Abbott Laboratories, Bayer AG, Alere Inc., Dickinson and Company, Bemis Company, Cantel Medical Corp., Covidien plc, Crosstex International,Inc., Danaher Corp., Diversey , Inc, Getinge Group, MMM Group, Purdue Pharma LP, Sealed Air Corp, Semperit AG Holding, Synergy Health plc,Market Competitive Analysis:The global hospital acquired infection control market is highly fragmented and the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions, and others to increase their footprints in this market. The report includes market shares of global continuous glucose monitoring market for global, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America.For Instance, in July 2016, the Getinge Group(Sweden) was acquired by 1stCall Mobility Ltd(U.K.), a company specializing in supplying rental equipment. This acquisition was beneficial for Getinge Group (Sweden) to expand their business strategy.Speak To Industry Experts, Request For Details Report @Market Key Development:-In 2017:- STERRAD Systems with ALLClear (U.S.) launched advanced sterilization product STERRAD 100NX ALLClear Technology. This is helpful in minimize workflow interruptions before they occur. It is the only sterilization platform with integrated quality control features, which may enhance compliance.In 2014:- Kimberly-Clark Health Care (U.S.) and 3M (U.S.) infection prevention division today announced collaboration to deliver best class surgical and infection prevention solutions to hospitals and healthcare facilities in the U.S.Global Hospital Acquired Infection Control Market Enlightenment : The new perspective is canvassed in this Hospital Acquired Infection Control study that is incorporated patterns investigation, speculation plausibility, venture return, proposals for development, SWOT examinations and opportunity analysis of the contender; It gives briefs introduction of Hospital Acquired Infection Control publicize business survey, essential components, and benefits. The examination revelations said in the Market report ups stream and down-stream analysis to measure accomplishment in global Hospital Acquired Infection Control industry and augmentation to take choices in future; The particular study quality several highlights, of the market. It executes the steady and through and through analysis remembering the real objective to extract worldwide certainties and highlights of global Hospital Acquired Infection Control market. It looks at the Hospital Acquired Infection Control past and current information and strategizes future Market trends. It expounds the Industry production network situation concerning volume; The Research Report similarly extends the points of interest, cost structure and assembling process. It connects the age by regions, applications, and Hospital Acquired Infection Control advancement. It covers the Hospital Acquired Infection Control business change slant, upstream and downstream client audit, suggestions, promoting channels, and gearHospital Acquired Infection Control Market Report Provides the Following Market Data: Forecast And Analysis For The Hospital Acquired Infection Control Market On A Global And Regional Level. Hospital Acquired Infection Control Market Growth Opportunities, Market Size, Share, Trends Factors, CAGR Of Market. Target Audience For The Hospital Acquired Infection Control Market Along With Sales & Revenue Figures. Present And The Future Hospital Acquired Infection Control Market Trends. In-Depth Quantitative And Qualitative Analyses Of The Hospital Acquired Infection Control Market. Detailed Company Profiles Of The Prominent Market Players.TABLE OF CONTENTSPART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYPART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORTPART 03: RESEARCH METHODOLOGYPART 04: MARKET LANDSCAPE Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysisPART 05: PIPELINE ANALYSIS Pipeline analysisPART 06: MARKET SIZING Market definition Market sizing Market size and forecastPART 07: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market conditionPART 08: MARKET SEGMENTATION Segmentation Comparison Market opportunityPART 09: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPEPART 10: REGIONAL LANDSCAPE Geographical segmentation Regional comparison North America South America Europe MEA APAC Market opportunityPART 11: DECISION FRAMEWORKPART 12: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES Market drivers Market challengesPART 13: MARKET TRENDSPART 14: VENDOR LANDSCAPE Overview Landscape disruptionPART 15: VENDOR ANALYSIS Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendorsPART 16: APPENDIX List of abbreviationsToc continued!Get Full TOC @Market Drivers and Restraints: Increasing prevalence of infections. Implementation of stringent guidelines associated with hospital infection prevention and control. Developing healthcare infrastructure in emerging countries. Rising number of hospitals across the world.Market Segmentation:Based on product type, the market is Segmented into: microbial testing instruments, reagents and consumables, infection.Based on application, the market is Segmented into: disease testing, drug-resistance testing.Based on technology, market is classified into: phenotypic methods, genotypic methods .Based on disease, the market is segmented into: hospital acquired pneumonia, surgical site infections, gastrointestinal infections, urinary tract infections (uti), others.Based on geography: North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa.Note: If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Make an Inquiry for Discount On this Report@About Us:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com Africa Mobile Phone Accessories Market registering a CAGR of 5.8% in terms of revenue during the forecast period (2016-2026). Mobile Phone Accessories Market https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-af-1885 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-the-analyst/rep-af-1885 The Africa Mobile Phone Accessories market is anticipated to grow from US$ 2,315.9 Mn in 2016 to US$ 4,060.2 Mn by 2026, registering a CAGR of 5.8% in terms of revenue during the forecast period (2016-2026) according to a new report Mobile Phone Accessories Market: Africa Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 20162026 published by Future Market Insights. In this report, the Africa mobile phone accessories market is tracked in terms of value and volume, and is calibrated to obtain market revenue estimates.According to Future Market Insights, Increasing disposable income and rapid urbanisation are factors anticipated to drive growth of the Africa mobile phone accessories market over the forecast period. Increased internet usage and smartphone penetration, along with a robust growth of m-commerce is further expected to push the demand for mobile phone accessories in Africa during the forecast period. The report also identifies factors likely to hamper the growth of the Africa mobile phone accessories market. Poor economic conditions and an established market captured by Chinese vendors are some of the major challenges expected to be faced by market players in the Africa mobile phone accessories market during the forecast period.The overall Africa mobile phone accessories market is segmented on the basis of type, price, distribution channel, and region. The report provides market data in terms of value and volume and forecasts projections for the period 2016-2026.Get Sample Copy of Report @Segmentation highlightsIn 2015, the protective cases segment dominated the Africa mobile phone accessories market, followed by the headphones & earphones However, Future Market Insights analysts predict the power bank segment to expand at the fastest CAGR of 6.8% over the forecast period in terms of revenue. Demand for power banks is estimated to witness the highest growth rate by 2016 frequent power cuts in certain parts of Africa is a key factor likely to boost this demand.The mid-priced segment is expected to expand at the highest CAGR of 6.2% in terms of value during the forecast period. In terms of market share, the low-priced segment alone accounted for more than one-third of the revenue share of the overall market in 2015 and Future Market Insights analysts feel this segment will dominate the Africa mobile phone accessories market in the coming 10 years.The online store segment is expected to expand at the highest CAGR of 7.2% in terms of value during the forecast period. In terms of market share, the multi-brand store segment alone accounted for more than one-third of the revenue share of the overall market in 2015 and is expected to dominate the Africa mobile phone accessories market between 2016 and 2026.Vendor insightsFuture Market Insights forecasts a very promising scenario for key players operating in the Africa mobile phone accessories market over the next 10 years. Analysts are of the opinion that innovation in new product offerings and services will be a critical lever for companies such as Case-Mate, Muvit, and Mozo Accessories to consolidate their market position and establish a solid customer base.If You Have Any Query, Ask The Analyst @Regional forecastIn terms of region, Future Market Insights sees great potential in the Rest of Africa region, a segment that dominated the overall Africa mobile phone accessories market in 2015, accounting for more than one-third of the total market share. This segment is expected to be the largest revenue generator for mobile phone accessories in Africa by 2016, accounting for a revenue share of 44.1% by the end of 2016. The mobile phone accessories market in South Africa is projected to expand at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.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: +1-845-579-5705 Digital Transformation in Manufacturing Market 2019-2026: Comprehensive study explores Huge Growth in Future| Top Players like Altria, Accenture, Cognizant, Google, Capgemini, Siemens, Cognex, and IBM Digital Transformation in Manufacturing Market https://www.reportconsultant.com/request_sample.php?id=7561 https://www.reportconsultant.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=7561 https://www.reportconsultant.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=7561 www.reportconsultant.com Digital Transformation is a latest trend in manufacturing industry. Several driving forces of digital transformation in manufacturing market are relatively similar to those in other industries. Changes in consumer expectations affect the entire supply chain, since several manufacturers obviously depend on each other, so even manufacturers that do not produce consumer goods are affected by these changes. In addition, those who make manufacturing decisions also have different expectations, since, in the end, we are all consumers.For example, Industry 4.0 and Industrial IoT (IIoT) is a term coined to mix traditional industrial and manufacturing practices with the technological world. In addition to this, IT modernization will boost digital transformation in manufacturing market. This growth is mainly due to the evolution of manufacturing in Industry 4.0 in the developed economies, the increase in IoT penetration and the adoption of the cloud platform and the modernization of IT will drive digital transformation.Get Sample Copy of This Report @Top Key Players:Altria Group Inc.; Cognizant, SAP SE, Dell Emc, Microsoft Corporation, Adobe Systems Incorporated, Accenture PLC, Capgemini, IBM Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Google Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and CA TechnologiesGeographically, the global Digital Transformation in Manufacturing Market has fragmented across several regions. The major regions include North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. The manufacturing industry is going through extremely uncertain and unpredictable times with respect to consumer spending / confidence, on the one hand, and the broader geopolitical and macroeconomic panorama of the other is high. There is a protectionist climate in the USA. UU In which manufacturing is one of the key points of the new presidency. In other regions there are similar protectionist risks.Top Five Trends in Digital Transformation in Manufacturing Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 AI and Machine Learning Robots Speed and Efficiency Data and AnalyticsGet Reasonable Discount on This Premium Report @To be ahead in the global competition several manufacturers and service providers are tracking the new approaches and sales methodologies. Due to the presence of an increasing popularity of digital transformation is also impacting on the market growth. Technological advancements such as IOT, Robotics, AI, Machine learning are also driving the global market. Furthermore, it offers restraining factors of the global market.Industry outlook has been provided by illustrating some significant strategies adopted by them. The global Digital Transformation in Manufacturing Market has been analyzed through industry analysis techniques such as SWOT and Porters five-technique. The notable feature of this research report is, it offers proper insights into the businesses by explaining drivers, restraints, and opportunities in front of the businesses.Reasons for Buying this Report- This report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics It provides a forward-looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining digital transformation in manufacturing market growth It provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to grow It helps in understanding the key product segments and their future It provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitorsTable of Content:Global Digital Transformation in Manufacturing Market Research Report1. Market Overview2. Competition Analysis by Players3. Company (Top Players) Profiles4. Digital Transformation in Manufacturing Market Size by Type and Application5. US Market Status and Outlook6. EU Development Market Status and Outlook7. Japan Market Development Status and Outlook8. China Market Status and Outlook9. India Global Digital Transformation in Manufacturing Market Status and Outlook10. Southeast Asia Market Status and Outlook11. Market Forecast by Region, Type and Application12. Market Dynamics13. Market Effect Factor Analysis14. Research Finding/ Conclusion15. AppendixGet More Information about Report @About Us:Report Consultant - A global leader in analytics, research and advisory that can assist you to renovate your business and modify your approach. With us, you will learn to take decisions intrepidly. We make sense of drawbacks, opportunities, circumstances, estimations and information using our experienced skills and verified methodologies.Our research reports will give you an exceptional experience of innovative solutions and outcomes. We have effectively steered businesses all over the world with our market research reports and are outstandingly positioned to lead digital transformations. Thus, we craft greater value for clients by presenting advanced opportunities in the global market.Contact Us:Rebecca Parker(Report Consultant)Akasaka Biz Tower,5-3-1 Akasaka Minato-Ku,Tokyo, JapanContact No: +81-368444299sales@reportconsultant.com General Anesthesia Drugs Market: Increasing Incidence of Surgeries related to Carniomaxillofacial Deformities, Chronic Respiratory Disease | Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA, and Hospira Inc. https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-388 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-388 http://www.marketresearchblog.org/ https://www.fmiblog.com/ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ Future Market Insights (FMI) delivers key insights on the global general anaesthesia drugs market in its upcoming outlook titled, General Anaesthesia Drugs Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2015 2025. In terms of value, the global General Anaesthesia Drugs market is projected to register a healthy CAGR of 3.8% during the forecast period due to various factors, FMIs report offers vital and detailed insights about the said factors.Request to View Sample of Research Report @The market is segmented on the basis of product and region. On the basis of product, the market has been segmented in to: Propofol, Sevoflurane, Dexmedetomidine, Desflurane, Remifentanil, Midazolam and Others. The Propofol segment is estimated to account for 29.8% share of the global general anaesthesia drugs market by end of 2015, and is expected to register a robust CAGRs of 5.4% in terms of value during the forecast period. In terms of revenue, Propofol is currently witnessing major contribution from Asia Pacific, North America and parts of Western Europe. Increasing incidences of cardiovascular disease related surgeries are likely to further fuel market growth during the forecast period. Sevoflurane segment is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.6% in terms of value during the forecast period.Growth of the global General Anaesthesia Drugs market is primarily driven by increasing incidence of surgeries related to cardiovascular diseases, accidents, carniomaxillofacial deformities, chronic respiratory disease, and joint replacement surgeries, especially among the geriatric population. Other trends driving market growth include strategic alliances among key players in the market, manufacturers eyeing intravenous general anaesthesia drugs market share, and expansion of healthcare sector in developing countries due to growing investments by major players. In addition, surge in demand for general anaesthesia drugs in all major and moderate surgeries owing to increasing health awareness and growing disposable income is projected to result in increased spending on general anaesthesia drugs. This in turn, is expected to bolster general anaesthesia drugs market growth during the forecast period (20152025).This report assesses trends driving each segment and offers analysis and insights about the potential of general anaesthesia drugs market in specific regions. North America is estimated to dominate the general anaesthesia drugs market with 31.0% market share by end of 2015. North America and Western Europe are collectively expected to account for over 56.9% of the total general anaesthesia drugs market share, in terms of value by end of 2015. The Asia Pacific excluding Japan market is estimated to witness the highest CAGR of 5.2% over the forecast period, followed by Latin America due to increasing incidences of surgeries related to cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases. Asia Pacific excluding Japan is expected to dominate the general anaesthesia drugs market with 31.1% market share by end of 2025. Sevoflurane is mostly used for maintaining the sedative stage in patients during the surgical procedure, and is expected to account for US$ 1,257.0 Mn by end of 2025.A Methodology of this Report is Available upon Request @Key players of the global general anaesthesia drugs market such as: Baxter International Inc., AstraZeneca, AbbVie Inc., B. Braun Melsungen AG, Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA, and Hospira Inc. focus on making substantial investments in research and development to enhance the general anaesthesia drug quality by minimize side effects and maximize efficacy, in order to offer competitive advantage and create high entry barriers for new players attempting to enter the general anaesthesia drugs market.About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customized and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact UsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comBlog:FMI Blog:Web: Artificial Insemination Global 2019 Market Growth Analysis By Labotect GmbH, Hamilton Throne Ltd., Nikon Instruments Inc., Biogenics Inc. Etc. Artificial Insemination Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1218 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/artificial-insemination-market-1218 Global Market of Artificial Insemination is expected to reach USD 1.95 billion in 2023 from USD 1.35 billion in 2016 with a CAGR of approximately 10.9% during the forecast period 2017-2023.Key Players:Labotect GmbH (Germany), Hamilton Throne Ltd. (U.S.), Microtech IVF S.R.O. (Czech Republic), Rinovum Women's Health LLC (US), Zander scientific Inc. (U.S.), INVO Bioscience (U.S.), Nikon Instruments Inc. (U.S.), MedGyn products Inc. (U.S.),Conceivex Inc. (US), Biogenics Inc. (U.S.), LifeGlobal Group LLC (U.S.), TenderNeeds Fertility (US) and Surelife Pte Ltd. (Singapore).Artificial Insemination Market - SegmentationGlobal artificial insemination market has been segmented on the basis of type of procedure which includes intracervical insemination, intrauterine insemination, intratubal insemination and other procedures. End users are hospitals, clinics, fertility centers and others.Get Sample Report @Artificial Insemination Market - OverviewArtificial Insemination is a treatment for infertility. It is a medical process involving introduction of semen into the female reproductive tract. It is recommended to the couples experiencing unexplained infertility or problem with intercourse. Artificial insemination has grown in popularity as infertility becomes more prevalent and as more women opt to become single mothers. The procedures for artificial insemination are legal in most of the developed countries but there are no such rules and regulations governing it.Changing lifestyle, poor reproductive health of women, psychological stress, addiction, lifestyle changes and increase in age of women at the time of first pregnancy act as drives for the growth of this market.Artificial Insemination Market - Competitive AnalysisInnovation is the organic strategy to gain the market. Many companies are operating in the market; however, the major companies dominated the major share in the market due to well-developed brand identity. Now-a-days, there is a significant increase in the number of the company offering artificial Insemination. Thus, companies are adopting the new strategies to minimize the competition and increase the market. Some major companies are focusing on development of new and advanced products to gain the market share. Whereas, some are having used the technique of acquisition and collaboration to gain the market.Latest Industry Updates:Being a competitive market, several different manufacturers are focusing on the product launch, and acquisition for the market development. Some of the latest development in the market are-Labotect GmbH is a major player in artificial insemination market. The company develops products for use in assisted reproduction, medical science laboratories and medical surgery. Incubation technique is one of the key areas of the company helping it to maintain competitive advantage. Its products include embryo transfer catheters and puncture needle are the products for artificial insemination.Hamilton Throne Ltd. Is a leading provider for computer aided sperm analysis and advanced laser system IVOS, CEROS, human motility II are sperm analysis products In September 2016, the company acquired Embryotech Laboratories, a company providing testing assays and quality control ServicesArtificial Insemination Market - Regional AnalysisDepending on geographic region, artificial insemination market is segmented into four key regions: Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East and Africa. North America is the largest market. The cost of artificial insemination in America in between USD 300 to USD 500 per attempt. According to American Society of Reproductive Health, the typical success rate is 10 to 20 percent. Continuous increasing in number of fertility clinics in the U.S and Canada, increase in drug addiction and smoking among women, unprotected sexual intercourse and rising trend of planned pregnancy favor the growth of this market in America. The European market is also growing continuously.Browse Complete 80 Pages Premium Research Report Enabled with Tables and Figures @Deterioration of reproductive health among women, increased age of women at the time of pregnancy, rising income of families and demand of technological advancement in artificial insemination drive this market in Europe. Asia-Pacific market is expected to show fastest growth in the Artificial insemination market during the forecasted period. Rise in number of miscarriages, lack of awareness about reproductive health, increase in psychological and physical stress favor the growth of this market in Asia-Pacific. Government of India has number of programs for women in rural areas. In India, Janani Suraksha Yogana under National Health Mission was a great success initiating women to carry out institution delivery which provided cash assistance to pregnant women after delivery. Middle East and Africa show steady growth in this market.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 Noise Barrier (Soundwall) Global Market 2019: Key Players Yuanxing, Xinzhu, YAD, Tiansheng, SHANGHAI ZHONGCHI https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3754684-global-noise-barrier-soundwall-market-insights-forecast-to-2025 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/3754684-global-noise-barrier-soundwall-market-insights-forecast-to-2025 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=3754684 https://www.wiseguyreports.com Noise Barrier(Soundwall) IndustryDescriptionWiseguyreports.Com Adds Noise Barrier(Soundwall) -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecast To 2024 To Its Research DatabaseNoise barrier (also called soundwall, sound berm, sound barrier, or acoustical barrier) is an exterior structure designed to protect inhabitants of sensitive land use areas from noise pollution. Noise barriers are the most effective method of mitigating roadway, railway, and industrial noise sources other than cessation of the source activity or use of source controls.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including its definition, applications and manufacturing technology. Then, the report explores the international and Chinese major industry players in detail. In this part, the report presents the company profile, product specifications, capacity, production value, and 2012-2017 market shares for each company.Through the statistical analysis, the report depicts the global and Chinese total market of the Noise Barriers industry including capacity, production, production value, cost/profit, supply/demand and Chinese import/export. The total market is further divided by company, by country, and by application/type for the competitive landscape analysis. The report then estimates 2017-2022 market development trends of the Noise Barriers industry. Analysis of upstream raw materials, downstream demand, and current market dynamics is also carried out.In the end, the report makes some important proposals for a new project of the Noise Barriers Industry before evaluating its feasibility. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight of global and Chinese Noise Barriers industry covering all important parameters.Global Noise Barrier(Soundwall) market size will increase to xx Million US$ by 2025, from xx Million US$ in 2018, at a CAGR of xx% during the forecast period. In this study, 2018 has been considered as the base year and 2019 to 2025 as the forecast period to estimate the market size for Noise Barrier(Soundwall).This report researches the worldwide Noise Barrier(Soundwall) market size (value, capacity, production and consumption) in key regions like United States, Europe, Asia Pacific (China, Japan) and other regions.This study categorizes the global Noise Barrier(Soundwall) breakdown data by manufacturers, region, type and application, also analyzes the market status, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis.Request for Sample Report @The following manufacturers are covered in this report:YuanxingXinzhuYADTianshengSHANGHAI ZHONGCHICenter IntHirose GikenIHIEvonikFence-CreteSound Fighter SystemsParagon Noise BarriersConcrete Solutions, IncPort-O-Wall Systems, LLCCarsonite Composites, LLCEvonikEd. Zublin AGEuroviaAkripolFaistKohlhaulZbloc International ABDELTA BLOCGramm BarriersNoise Barrier(Soundwall) Breakdown Data by TypeGround-Mounted Noise BarrierStructure-Mounted Noise BarrierNoise Barrier(Soundwall) Breakdown Data by ApplicationConstructionTransportationIndustrial SectionsAirportOthersNoise Barrier(Soundwall) Production Breakdown Data by RegionUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanOther RegionsLeave a Query @Table of ContentsGlobal Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Market Research Report 2019-2025, by Manufacturers, Regions, Types and Applications1 Study Coverage1.1 Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Product1.2 Key Market Segments in This Study1.3 Key Manufacturers Covered1.4 Market by Type1.4.1 Global Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Market Size Growth Rate by Type1.4.2 Ground-Mounted Noise Barrier1.4.3 Structure-Mounted Noise Barrier1.5 Market by Application1.5.1 Global Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Market Size Growth Rate by Application1.5.2 Construction1.5.3 Transportation1.5.4 Industrial Sections1.5.5 Airport1.5.6 Others1.6 Study Objectives1.7 Years Considered2 Executive Summary2.1 Global Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Production2.1.1 Global Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Revenue 2014-20252.1.2 Global Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Production 2014-20252.1.3 Global Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Capacity 2014-20252.1.4 Global Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Marketing Pricing and Trends2.2 Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Growth Rate (CAGR) 2019-20252.3 Analysis of Competitive Landscape2.3.1 Manufacturers Market Concentration Ratio (CR5 and HHI)2.3.2 Key Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Manufacturers2.4 Market Drivers, Trends and Issues2.5 Macroscopic Indicator2.5.1 GDP for Major Regions2.5.2 Price of Raw Materials in Dollars: Evolution....8 Manufacturers Profiles8.1 Yuanxing8.1.1 Yuanxing Company Details8.1.2 Company Description8.1.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Noise Barrier(Soundwall)8.1.4 Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Product Description8.1.5 SWOT Analysis8.2 Xinzhu8.2.1 Xinzhu Company Details8.2.2 Company Description8.2.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Noise Barrier(Soundwall)8.2.4 Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Product Description8.2.5 SWOT Analysis8.3 YAD8.3.1 YAD Company Details8.3.2 Company Description8.3.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Noise Barrier(Soundwall)8.3.4 Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Product Description8.3.5 SWOT Analysis8.4 Tiansheng8.4.1 Tiansheng Company Details8.4.2 Company Description8.4.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Noise Barrier(Soundwall)8.4.4 Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Product Description8.4.5 SWOT Analysis8.5 SHANGHAI ZHONGCHI8.5.1 SHANGHAI ZHONGCHI Company Details8.5.2 Company Description8.5.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Noise Barrier(Soundwall)8.5.4 Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Product Description8.5.5 SWOT Analysis8.6 Center Int8.6.1 Center Int Company Details8.6.2 Company Description8.6.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Noise Barrier(Soundwall)8.6.4 Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Product Description8.6.5 SWOT Analysis8.7 Hirose Giken8.7.1 Hirose Giken Company Details8.7.2 Company Description8.7.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Noise Barrier(Soundwall)8.7.4 Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Product Description8.7.5 SWOT Analysis8.8 IHI8.8.1 IHI Company Details8.8.2 Company Description8.8.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Noise Barrier(Soundwall)8.8.4 Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Product Description8.8.5 SWOT Analysis8.9 Evonik8.9.1 Evonik Company Details8.9.2 Company Description8.9.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Noise Barrier(Soundwall)8.9.4 Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Product Description8.9.5 SWOT Analysis8.10 Fence-Crete8.10.1 Fence-Crete Company Details8.10.2 Company Description8.10.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Noise Barrier(Soundwall)8.10.4 Noise Barrier(Soundwall) Product Description8.10.5 SWOT Analysis8.11 Sound Fighter Systems8.12 Paragon Noise Barriers8.13 Concrete Solutions, Inc8.14 Port-O-Wall Systems, LLC8.15 Carsonite Composites, LLC8.16 Evonik8.17 Ed. Zublin AG8.18 Eurovia8.19 Akripol8.20 Faist8.21 Kohlhaul8.22 Zbloc International AB8.23 DELTA BLOC8.24 Gramm BarriersBuy Now @Continued...Contact Us: Sales@Wiseguyreports.Com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (Us) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (Uk)About Us: Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres: Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt Ltd Pune 411028 Maharashtra, Global Ph: +91 841 198 5042 Biofilter Market by Type, Application, Region - Global Trends & Forecast to 2025: Pentair, Veolia Water, Evoqua, OdaTech, Waterloo Biofilter, Pure Air Solutions etc. https://www.reportsnreports.com/contacts/requestsample.aspx?name=1958024 https://www.reportsnreports.com/contacts/discount.aspx?name=1958024 https://www.reportsnreports.com/purchase.aspx?name=1958024 https://www.reportsnreports.com/contacts/discount.aspx?name=1958024 Global Biofilter Market is segmented based on type, application, and geography. The study objectives are to present the Biofilter development in United States, Europe and China.#Download Sample Pages of Report @The global Biofilter market 2019 research is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the industry and provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure.#The key manufacturers in the Biofilter Market include Pentair, Veolia Water, Evoqua, OdaTech, Waterloo Biofilter, Pure Air Solutions, Bohn Biofilter, CMI Europe Environment, PPC Air, Anua, Transchem Agritech, Air Clean S.R.L., Ambio Biofiltration, Biorem, BionomicComplete report on Biofilter market spread across 109 pages, profiling 15 companies and supported with tables and figures is now available @Segment by Type- Biological Aerated Biofilter Systems- Denitrification Biofilter Systems- Activated Carbon Biofilter SystemsSegment by Application- Chemical & Petrochemicals- Oil & Gas- Water & Wastewater Treatment- PharmaceuticalsDevelopment policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.The report focuses on global major leading industry players of Biofilter market providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Biofilter market development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.Order a copy of Global Biofilter Market Report 2019 @The Biofilter market was valued at xx Million US$ in 2018 and is projected to reach xx Million US$ by 2025, at a CAGR of xx% during the forecast period. In this study, 2018 has been considered as the base year and 2019 to 2025 as the forecast period to estimate the market size for Biofilter.With tables and figures helping analyze worldwide Biofilter market, this research provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Major Points from Table of ContentsCharpter 1 Biofilter Market OverviewCharpter 2 Global Biofilter Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and ApplicationCharpter 3 United States Biofilter (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Charpter 4 China Biofilter (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Charpter 5- Europe Biofilter (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Charpter 6 Japan Biofilter (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Charpter 7 Southeast Asia Biofilter (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Charpter 8 India Biofilter (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Charpter 9 Global Biofilter Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales DataCharpter 10 Biofilter Maufacturing Cost AnalysisCharpter 11 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersCharpter 12 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersCharpter 13 Market Effect Factors AnalysisCharpter 14 Global Biofilter Market Forecast (2019-2025)Charpter 15 Research Findings and ConclusionCharpter 16 AppendixA discount can be asked before order a copy of Biofilter market report atAbout Us:ReportsnReports.com is your single source for all market research needs. Our database includes 500,000+ market research reports from over 95 leading global publishers & in-depth market research studies of over 5000 micro markets.Tower B5, office 101,Magarpatta SEZ,Hadapsar, Pune-411013, India+ 1 888 391 5441sales@reportsandreports.com Escalators & Moving Walkways Market Market Overview and Growth Rate Analysis 2018-2025 by Leading Companies: Schindler, Fujitec, Hitachi, Toshiba corporation, Stannah, KONE corporation, Thyssenkrupp AG, Otis Elevator Company https://www.marketstudyreport.com/request-a-sample/1212657/?utm_source=openpr.com-AN https://www.marketstudyreport.com/check-for-discount/1212657/ https://www.marketstudyreport.com/reports/escalators-moving-walkways-market https://www.marketstudyreport.com/reports/2018-global-escalators-industry-report-history-present-and-future?utm_source=RR-AN https://www.marketstudyreport.com https://www.marketstudyreport.com/blog Based on revenue, parallel escalator segment will hold approximately USD 9 billion in 2025 of the overall escalators & moving walkways market share owing to its increasing applicability in the public transportation like airports, subways, transit systems, shopping malls, hotels, arenas etc. The moving walkways segment is said to account for a revenue share of over USD 3.5 billion in 2025. They are either horizontal or inclined planes used to cover short to medium distances with luggage or shopping trolleys. Unique tailor-made design with efficient smart operational modes and standard safety features offered by moving walkways will spur the demand in near future.Request a sample of this premium report at:Escalators & Moving Walkways Market will surpass USD 21 billion by 2025; according to a new research report. Increasing income level of consumers and dynamic lifestyle changes in various economies is leading to elevated shopping malls and supermarkets demand round the globe. Consumers now look for better ambience, convenience, marketing focus, infrastructure, as well as the safety and security during their shopping experience. They allocate different weightage according to each of these significant factors. Hence, mall developers are now focusing more on improving convenience and creating a better ambience. Installation of automatic staircases and sidewalks leads to easy accessibility to different floors leading to better distribution of customers to all corners of the mall. These factors are said to drive the escalators and moving walkways market in the coming years.Increasing air transport of freight and passengers owing to purchasing power parity and rise of global tourism has led to escalated airports demand since the last few decades. According to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Asia Pacific region, accounted for close to 33% of the world?s ASKs (Available Seat Kilometers) in 2016 and is said to enjoy the largest market share. This is due to developing economies in this region, huge population, and increasing consumer income levels. These factors generate demand for new routes to various international cities, which in turn is said to fuel the airports demand in the coming years. These factors will foster the escalators and moving walkways market in this region.The escalators & moving walkways market competitive landscape includes key players such as Schindler, Fujitec, Hitachi, Toshiba corporation, Stannah, KONE corporation, Thyssenkrupp AG, Otis Elevator Company, Mitsubishi electric corporation, Hyundai Elevator company, Sigma elevator company, Gulf Elevator & Escalator Co. Ltd., Sicher Elevator Co., Ltd., Kleemann Hellas SA, and Stein Ltd. In order to dominate the global market, these players are engaged in research and development activities to bring innovation and product differentiation, keeping in mind user convenience and safety.The retail application segment will capture a significant share of over 30% of the global escalators & moving walkways market in 2025 owing to increasing number of shopping malls, supermarkets, departmental stores etc. in emerging countries driven by changing demographics, sustainability concerns, and shift in purchasing pattern. The airport segment revenue will capture a market share of over 20% by the end of 2025 and will grow with a CAGR of over to 4% during the forecast spell.Request a discount on standard prices of this premium report at:Considering region, Asia Pacific will hold the maximum share of around 40% in the escalators and moving walkways market by the end of forecast period. Rapid urbanization and rising demand for residential, institutional and commercial spaces due to large population will drive the regional escalators & moving walkways market in the coming years. North America moving walkway market will reach close to USD 500 million in 2025 exhibiting growth with a CAGR of close to 3 %.Table of Content:Chapter 1. Methodology & ScopeChapter 2. Executive SummaryChapter 3. Escalators & Moving Walkways Industry InsightsChapter 4. Escalators & Moving Walkways Market, Product By ApplicationChapter 5. Escalators & Moving Walkways Market, By ApplicationChapter 6. Escalators & Moving Walkways Market, By RegionChapter 7. Company ProfilesMore Details on this Report at:Related Reports: -2018 Global Escalators Industry Report - History, Present and FutureThe global market size of Escalators is $XX million in 2017 with XX CAGR from 2013 to 2017, and it is expected to reach $XX million by the end of 2023 with a CAGR of XX% from 2018 to 2023. There are 3 key segments covered in this report: geography segment, end use/application segment and competitor segment. For geography segment, regional supply, application-wise and type-wise demand, major players, price is presented from 2013 to 2023. This report coverss following regions: North America, South America, Asia & Pacific, Europe and MEA (Middle East and Africa).About Us:Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Contact Us:Market Study Report LLC4 North Main Street,Selbyville, Delaware 19975USAPhone: 1-302-273-0910US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:Blog: Digital Banking Market will be valued USD 9000 billion by 2024|By Key Vendors: Kony, BNY Mellon, Finastra Fiserv, Temenos, Backbase, Oracle, SAP SE, Intellect Design Arena https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2651 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/digital-banking-market https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2651 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/dynamic-application-security-testing-dast-market https://www.gminsights.com http://algosonline.com/news Corporate banking held over 13% share in the digital banking market in 2017. The emergence of the fintech players is the primary factor accelerating the adoption of digitalization among the corporate banks. The corporate banks are experiencing tough competition from the fintech companies that are offering standalone products at low costs. This is encouraging corporate banks to embrace the technologies to provide a better experience to their customers. Moreover, the integration of the advanced technologies into the banking platforms, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, big data analytics, is also augmenting the demand for digital solutions among the corporate banking sector to analyze the customer behavior and meet their requirements.Request for a sample of this research report @The increasing venture capital investment in fintech sector is propelling the digital banking market. Over the past five years, fintech has emerged as the most lucrative sector and the venture capitalists are investing billions in the sector to make profits. In 2017, approximately USD 16.5 billion investment was witnessed in the fintech companies, increasing from USD 3.7 billion in 2013. Acknowledging the rise of fintech players, banks are looking to boost their investments in technology. While some banks are collaborating or investing in the fintech companies to develop more customer-centric products, others are acquiring the fintech players to acquire technical expertise and expand their product portfolio.Company profiled in this report based on Business overview, Financial data, Product landscape, Strategic outlook & SWOT analysis: Appway Backbase BNY Mellon CREALOGIX ebanklT ETRONIKA Fidor Solutions Finastra Fiserv Halcom D.D. ieDigital Intellect Design Arena Kony NETinfo NF Innova Oracle SAB SAP SE Sopra TCS Technisys Temenos WorldlineThe supportive government initiatives & policies for the promotion of digital banking services is also driving the digital banking market. Governments across the globe are constantly working on accelerating the adoption of digital banking services. The demonetization activities and digitalization policies adopted by the government are encouraging the adoption of digital payment solutions. Moreover, governments are also offering tax incentives and subsidies to the fintech players to encourage the adoption of digital solutions.Browse Full Report:Non-transaction services in the digital banking market are anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 14% during the projected timeline. The increasing need to provide enhanced customer experience is driving the adoption of non-transaction digital services among the banking institutes. The digital disruption and generational shift cause fundamental changes in customer behavior that are rapidly influencing customer expectations from banks. Over a third of the millennials (population aged between 16 to 34) believe they will be able to live a bank-free existence in the future. Customers, especially the younger population who are digitally savvy, hyper-connected, and choice conscious have an inclination toward tech-oriented services as their preferences are changing. These customers are accustomed to digital experiences offered by online retailers and expect the same or perhaps a richer experience from the banks.The North American digital banking market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 2.5% during the forecast period. The market is driven by the early adoption of digital solutions among the banking institutes. The high penetration of internet and smartphone users is also augmenting the demand for digital banking solutions. Large volumes of credit card and debit card transactions in the region also promote the digital banking market.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @The key players in the digital banking market space are Appway, Backbase, BNY Mellon, Crealogix, ebanklT, EdgeVerve Systems, ETRONIKA, Fidor, Finastra, Fiserv, Halcom, IE Digital, Intellect Design Arena, Kony, NETinfo, NF Innova, Oracle, SAB, SAP, Sopra, Tagit, TCS, Technisys, Temenos, and Worldline.Browse Related Report:Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) Market Size, Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Spain, China, India, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, GCC, South Africa), Growth Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2018 2024About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog: Acne Vulgaris Treatment Market Trends | Top Industry Pfizer Inc., and Novan Inc, Allergan plc, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Valeant Pharmaceutical International Inc., F.Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Mylan, N.V., Bayer AG Acne Vulgaris Treatment https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/1260 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1260 According to a study published in the British Journal of Dermatology in 2015, 9.4% of global population was estimated to be affected by acne. Moreover, globally, acne is the eight most prevalent disease. The U.S. is the largest market for acne vulgaris treatment products. According to study by National Institute of Health (NIH), in 2013, over US$ 3 Billion was spent for treating acne vulgaris in the U.S. In 2014, according to American Academy of Dermatology, the number of acne vulgaris patient aged 25 years and above, especially women, is rising significantly. Furthermore, low awareness regarding the factors causing acne is another factor leading to increasing prevalence acne vulgaris.Download PDF Brochure @Treatment for acne on an average lasts for two years, therefore companies capitalize on this and earn sustainable revenue from acne treatment products. Majority of the population suffering from acne prefer OTC products as first line therapy. However, some have to visit dermatologist to cure acne vulgaris on account of ineffective result from OTC products.Key players in the acne vulgaris treatment market are focusing on collaboration, acquisition, and new product development strategies in order to enhance their product offerings and sustaining their position in the market. For instance, in 2017, LOreal a global beauty company signed an agreement with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. to acquire its skin care brands portfolio which includes anti-acne brand AcneFree at US$1.3 billion. Also, in November 2017 Novan Inc., announced its plans to conduct phase three clinical trial for its new anti-acne molecule.Novan has unique nitric oxide technology, Nitrici, through which a timed release of nitric oxide from chemical entity is possible. This is beneficial as nitric oxide has natural ability to revitalize tissue, kill invading microorganisms, prevent clotting, regulate inflammation, and even aid in removing cancer cells. Moreover, in 2017, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. signed an agreement with Haitong International Zhonghua Finance Acquisition Fund I, L.P, to sell its Obagi Medical Products business for US$ 190 million in cash. Obagi Medical Products have high presence in acne treatment products market.Key players in the global acne vulgaris treatment market are Allergan plc, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Valeant Pharmaceutical International Inc., F.Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Mylan, N.V., Bayer AG, Janssen Pharma Inc., Galderma Inc., Pfizer Inc., and Novan Inc.Get Exclusive Sample Copy @Acne Vulgaris Treatment Market Taxonomy:On the basis of product type, the global acne vulgaris treatment market is segmented into:MedicationsBenzoyl peroxidesRetinoidsSystemic and topical AntibioticsHormonal AgentsOthers (Salicylic Acid, Azelic, Dapsone, and Alternative therapy)DevicesLaser devicesHeat extraction devicesOthersAbout 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.1001 4th Ave,, #3200, Seattle, WA 98154 The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Education and other central departments, recently issued a notice that forbids any gender discrimination against women in the workplace, Chinanews.com reported Thursday. China has made great achievements in establishing gender equality. But some women, especially in pregnancy-related conditions, are still more likely to face discrimination in the workplace or while looking for jobs. According to the notice, in the hiring practices, employers or companies focusing on providing human resource services cannot refuse to hire qualified female applicants or recruit them quid pro quo in a way that constrains them from having children. To ensure the rights of women to give birth, the notice requires employers not ask female applicants non-job-related questions involving their marital status or number and ages of their children, nor have new female hirees take pregnancy tests. A coordinated face-to-face meeting mechanism will be established to ensure the implementation of the new regulation. Employers who are reported to have discriminated against job applicants based on gender will be summoned. Those who refuse to stop or rectify the situation will be punished according the law and exposed to the public through media. Employers and human resource companies who post in portals job advertisements that include gender bias shall be ordered to make corrections, and may face penalties and have their business licenses suspended. The notice specified regulations to strengthen the judicial relief and legal aid system, and require courts to settle cases on equal employment opportunities to better handle disputes over gender discrimination against women. The country will also strengthen the inspection of employers and human resource service organizations, investigate and deal with actions violating the labor protection law and infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of female employees, and promote gender equality in employment. In addition, more favorable measures will be taken to further support the employment of women such as enhancing job-training services for women, providing child care services for children under 3, and improving the maternity insurance system for female employees. Newborn Screening Market to Witness Huge Growth by Key Players Agilent Technologies, AB SCIEX, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Covidien PLC, GE Life Sciences, Masimo Corporation, Natus Medical Inc., PerkinElmer Inc., and ZenTech S.A Newborn Screening www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/2192 www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/2192 Newborn screening tests look for developmental, metabolic, and genetic disorders in infants. It allows steps to be taken before development of symptoms. Although, majority of these illnesses are very rare, they can be treated with early diagnosis. Newborn screening includes over 30 conditions and illnesses. Increasing awareness among parents for disease screening is a major factor driving newborn screening market growth. Furthermore, various government and non-government organizations are actively focused on offering better fetal and maternal care. For instance, in June 2018, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) led a campaign to fight sickle cell disease in Africa and urged governments, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, to invest in newborn screening of the disease.Download PDF Brochure @Increasing number of newborn screenings, owing to rising awareness among parents and governments is expected to drive the newborn screening market growth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2017, four million infants in the U.S. are routinely screened, using a few drops of blood from their heel, for certain endocrine, genetic, and metabolic disorders. The infants are also tested for hearing loss and Critical Congenital Heart Defects (CCHDs) prior to discharge from a hospital or birth center.Furthermore, increasing incidence of hospital acquired diseases create an acute need for newborn screening. For instance, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2011, around one in every 25 infants was infected with at least one hospital acquired infections.Novel treatments, biomarkers, and technologies are expected to enable various diseases to be considered as potential candidates to be included in New Born Screening (NBS) programs. For instance, new treatments such as Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT), Enzyme Replacement Therapy (ERT), and gene therapy and new pharmacological drugs have allowed autoimmune diseases to be considered as potential candidates to be included in NBS programs.Government initiatives to support screening of newborns is also a major factor driving the newborn screening market. For instance, CDC is working to harness the latest advances in science and technology so that more disorders can be identified accurately and treated quickly. In 2005, CDC established the Newborn Screening Translation Research Initiative (NSTRI) with the CDC Foundation. NSTRI works with corporate, academic, and foundation partners to assure the quality of research methods during both pilot studies and routine screening.Key players operating in the global newborn screening market include, Agilent Technologies, AB SCIEX, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Covidien PLC, GE Life Sciences, Masimo Corporation, Natus Medical Inc., PerkinElmer Inc., and ZenTech S.A.Get Exclusive Sample Copy @Detailed Segmentation:Global Newborn Screening Market, By Product:Assay KitsHearing Screening DevicesMass SpectrometerPulse OximetryGlobal Newborn Screening Market, By Test:Blood TestCardiac TestHearing TestUrine TestGlobal Newborn Screening Market, By Application:Blood Spot DiseaseCritical Congenital Cardiac DiseaseMaple Syrup Urine DiseaseHearing DisabilitySickle Cell DiseaseThyroid DisorderAbout 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.1001 4th Ave,, #3200, Seattle, WA 98154 Autism Disorder and Treatment Industry Dynamics, Upcoming Trends and Major Players as Pfizer, Allergan, Merck & CO Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Novartis AG, Johnson & Johnson Services, etc Autism Disorder and Treatment Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1605 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/autism-disorder-and-treatment-market-1605 MRFR offers a Phenomenal Analysis of Autism Disorder and Treatment Market by Segmentation, Regional Analysis, Top Companies, Scope, and Applications. Covering North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. And It Is Incorporated On Marketresearchfuture.Com With 108 Pages.Market Scenario:Global Autism Disorder and Treatment Market is expected to mark a CAGR of 4.37% during the forecast period 2017 to 2023. Autism is a developmental disorder which is characterized by communication challenges, repetitive behavior, etc. In 2015, estimation of the global autistic population had reached 24.8 million. The count has been projected to further increase in the upcoming years. This, in turn, is likely to have a positive influence on the growth of the autism disorder and treatment market.Request Sample Copy atAlthough no cure has been found, a number of treatments such as behavioral therapy, speech therapy, etc. are developed for the patients. Furthermore, research & development activities are being incessantly undertaken for the development of the treatments available in the market. The development of autism culture has intensified the demand for a cure and the acceptance of autism as a difference rather than disorder has raised awareness about the same. It is likely to favor the expansion of the autism disorder and treatment market in the forthcoming years. However, a weaker pipeline for drugs is expected to hinder the growth of the market over the next couple of years.Competitive Players:Some of the key players profiled in the report are Pfizer Inc., Allergan, Merck & CO Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Novartis AG, Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd., Consern Pharma Private Limited, Coronis Partners Ltd., Heptares Therapeutics Limited, Curemark LLC, Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc., and Saniona AB.Industry News:In January 2019, a bill has been advanced in Colorado for legalizing the use of marijuana for the treatment of autism.In January 2019, a group of researchers in Japan, led by Professor Hidenori Yamasue of Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, is conducting a clinical trial to make available for use as a nasal spray a drug that improves symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, or ASD.In January 2019, Neurochlore, a French biotechnology company, and Servier, an international pharmaceutical company, has announced the launch of phase 3 studies in Europe to evaluate the use of bumetanide for treating children who have autism.Market Segmentation:By type, the global autism disorder and treatment market has been segmented into Asperger Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, and others.By treatment type, the autism disorder and treatment market have been segmented into ABA (applied behavioral analysis), hyperbaric oxygen therapy, chelation therapy, oxytocin therapy, and others.By drug, the global autism disorder and treatment market is segmented into SSRIs, anti-convulsant, stimulants, anti-psychotic. The anti-psychotic segment is further sub-segmented into Abilify (aripiprazole) and Risperidone.Regional Analysis:By region, the global autism disorder and treatment market has been segmented into Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa. Americas has witnessed an upsurge in demand for autism screening tests owing to the rising awareness about its availability and access. It is expected to emerge as the largest regional autism disorder and treatment market globally in the foreseeable future. In addition, the approval and expected launch of the atypical anti-psychotic in the U.S. such as Namenda and Latuda is poised to catapult the sales of the market across the review period.Asia Pacific houses a significant proportion of the autistic population. The developments in the healthcare sector of the region have created an awareness among the people for screening and treating autism. This, in turn, is prognosticated to have a favorable impact on the growth of the autism disorder and treatment market in the forthcoming years. It is projected to thrive at a relatively higher CAGR over the assessment period. Meanwhile, the Middle East & Africa is likely to hold a small share of the autism disorder and treatment market and exhibit steady growth through the projection period.Browse Complete 108 Pages Premium Research Report Enabled with 30+ Respective Tables and Figures atAbout 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.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Pope Francis receives unique Bible translation from Germany His Holiness Pope Francis and Martin Wiedmann www.thewiedmannbible.com/press-kit Rome / Stuttgart. Faith can move mountains. In this case, the saying goes even beyond death. At the general audience, in the audience hall Paul VI in Rome, Pope Francis received the number ONE of the limited Wiedmann Bible ART edition on February 20th. The original is worldwide unique. It is a visual narrative of the Bible depicting the Old and New Testament in 3,333 illustrations. A printed copy of the special ART-Edition was gifted by the son of the artist, Martin Wiedmann."It was overwhelming. I stood in the Prima Fila (1st row). I have never been so full of anticipation in my life. Pope Francis listened attentively to Martin telling the Wiedmann Bible's story and was very enthusiastic about the work. My father worked long and hard on this Bible. Even in times when he was seriously ill. His faith strengthened him and never let him give up his hope that his Bible will be published one day," says Martin Wiedmann.However, Willy Wiedmann (1929-2013) did not know back then that his son would be the one taking on this mission. He discovered the Bible with its 3,333 paintings in the attic of his father's gallery. He digitized the illustrations and first published virtual versions of the Bible. In cooperation with the German Bible Society and the renowned photographer and designer Manfred Rieker, the Wiedmann Bible was published as a print edition for the first time in February 2018. The limited ART-Edition contains all illustrations of the original. Comments as well as a biography of the artist and various bible verses from the revised Luther Bible 2017 complement the images. The golden edition is limited to 333 copies, the red and black edition to 3,000.By now, among others, the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, the Bavarian State Library in Munich, the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar, the Bible Museum bibliorama in Stuttgart and the largest bible museum in the world, the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. (USA), added the Wiedmann Bible ART edition to their inventory. If and where the Wiedmann Bible ART-Edition will be showcased in the Vatican is not yet known.For more information visit us atWiedmann Media AG: Production and distribution of artistic, literary and graphic works. The Company may acquire, enhance and dispose of licenses and other intellectual property. The Company is the owner of the Wiedmann Bible.About the Wiedmann BibleThe Wiedmann Bible is the only visual narrative of the Bible depicting the complete Old and New Testament in 3,333 illustrations. After 16 years (19842000) of creative effort, and with the help of over 40 different Bible translations, German artist Willy Wiedmann completed his lifes work: 19 leporellos (accordion-style books) containing 3,333 images with a total length of almost 1 mile. Due to the lack of technology and monetary funds, Wiedmann was not able to publish his artwork. Because of this, he stored it in four aluminum boxes in his gallerys attic in Stuttgart, Germany, where it fell into oblivion.After Wiedmanns death in 2013, his son Martin found the leporellos and decided to complete his fathers mission: to share the Bible with the world. Today, it is known as the Wiedmann Bible and it is the longest illustrated Bible ever created. You can discover the Wiedmann Bible through an interactive app and kiosk in English, German, and Spanish, as well as through a limited print edition. In 2018, the Wiedmann Bible made its first visit to the US and is now on display at Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, until April 28, 2019.About Willy WiedmannWilhelm Richard Heinrich Willy Wiedmann (* March 14, 1929, in Ettlingen, Germany June 21, 2013, in Stuttgart, Germany) was a musician, composer, visual artist, church painter, gallery owner, curator, husband, and father. Wiedmann created his own artistic style which he called Polycon. It is made up of multiple panels comprised of geometric forms that overlap, intertwine and complement each other. The different compositions create pictures within pictures, which can be perpetuated endlessly. His vision was to create a complete, illustrated Bible as a continuous visual narrative. He pored over the words of the Bible, using over 40 different translations to aid his understanding. In 2002 the Willy Wiedmann was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his work in the service of art and culture.Contact the Wiedmann Bible:Wiedmann Media AGMartin WiedmannP.O. Box 614CH - 8853 LachenSwitzerlandMartin Wiedmann Tel.: +41 79 400 9774Diana Lammerts Tel.: +49 151 240 77997Email: mailto:press@thewiedmannbible.com Wind Tower Market Tremendous Economic Opportunity In Near Future To 2025 | Current Scenario, Future Scope , Innovation By Top Key Players Wind Tower Market https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-toc-and-sample/2191 https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/wind-tower-market https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/2191 www.alliedmarketresearch.com A wind tower is a tall structure, at the upper end of which the nacelle and the wind turbine are mounted. Wind tower is manufactured in multiple designs such as uni-directional, bi-directional, and multi-directional. Moreover, the length of the wind tower relies on the energy generation capacity of the turbine and the size of its blades. A wind tower with large blades causes them to come in contact with structures on the ground. Thus, to keep the long blades of the wind turbine clear of the ground and other objects, it is imperative to choose a wind tower with an optimal height. Wind towers are often used in hot dry climates for cooling purposes.Report a Sample copy of this report @This report projects the trends and opportunities of the global wind tower market. It includes a qualitative and quantitative analysis with comprehensive research methodologies and reliable projections to understand the present overview and predict the market behavior during the forecast period.The key players operating in the market include Suzlon Energy Limited ENERCON GmbH CS Wind Corporation General Electric Siemens AG Trinity Structural Towers Inc. Vestas Wind Systems A/S Shanghai Taisheng Wind Power Equipment Co. Ltd. WINDAR Renovables KGW Schweriner Maschinen-und Anlagenbau GmbH.The market witnessed significant growth opportunities globally, owing to increase in the demand for wind towers on onshore wind farms. Henceforth, boom in onshore energy sector is expected to lead the market growth. Strong government support and initiatives for wind energy enhancement in several countries around the world majorly drive the growth in the wind tower market. Governments of both the developed and the developing nations are strongly promoting wind energy as an alternative to conventional energy sources and hence positively influencing the market for wind towers. Moreover, depletion of fossil fuels and increase in demand for sustainable energy sources is expected to pose lucrative opportunity for market growth. However, the high maintenance and replacement costs of wind turbines is expected to restrain the market growth.The global wind tower market is segmented based on type, application, and geography. On the basis of type, it is divided into tubular steel, lattice, concrete, hybrid, and guyed pole towers. On the basis of application, it is classified into off-shore and on-shore. Geographically, it is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.Access full report@Key Benefits This report provides a quantitative analysis of the current trends, estimations, and dynamics through 2017-2023, which assists to identify the prevailing market opportunities. Major countries in each region are studied to evaluate trends and opportunities of the global market. The region-wise and country-wise market conditions are comprehensively analyzed in the report. Key players of the wind tower market are also listed. This study evaluates value chain to understand the competitive environment across geographies. An in-depth analysis of segmentation is provided to elucidate the dominant opportunities.Get a purchase enquiry@About Us:Allied Market Research, a market research and advisory company of Allied Analytics LLP, provides business insights and market research reports to large as well as small & medium enterprises. The company assists its clients to strategize business policies and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.Allied Market Research provides one stop solution from the beginning of data collection to investment advice. The analysts at Allied Market Research dig out factors that help clients to understand the significance and impact of market dynamics. The company amplies clients insight on the factors, such as strategies, future estimations, growth or fall forecasting, opportunity analysis, and consumer surveys among others. As follows, the company offers consistent business intelligent support to aid the clients to turn into prominent business firm.Contact:David Correa5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesToll Free (USA/Canada):+1-800-792-5285, +1-503-894-6022, +1-503-446-1141UK: +44-845-528-1300Hong Kong: +852-301-84916India (Pune): +91-20-66346060Fax: +1855550-5975help@alliedmarketresearch.comWeb: Global Intraoral Scanners Market Is Driven By Increase in Prevalence of Tooth Loss or Edentulism and Rise in Geriatric Population Intraoral Scanners Market https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/2638 https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/2638 https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/intraoral-scanners-market The Intraoral Scanners Market is expected to reach $557 million by 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.7% from 2017 to 2023. The CEREC system accounted for more than one-fifth of the global market share in 2016.Oral Scanners are used in orthodontics to capture 3D images of oral teeth and soft tissues. The increase in the elderly population and the increase in the number of patients suffering from dental diseases are expected to lead to market growth. In addition, the benefits of intraoral injections, such as shorter treatment periods, promote market growth. However, the high cost of the device and the lack of skilled professionals are expected to hamper market growth.Download PDF Report Sample @Asia-Pacific is projected to register the highest CAGR of 11.0% during the forecast period, owing to increase in incidence of dental disorders and rise in healthcare expenditure. In addition, introduction of technically advanced intraoral scanners in the market at low cost offer a lucrative opportunity for the market growth.The major companies profiled in the report include 3M Company 3Shape A/S Align Technology Inc. Carestream Health Inc. Condor International Densys3D Ltd. Dental Wings Inc. Dentsply Sirona Inc. Planmeca OY Guangdong Launca Medical Device Technology Co. Ltd.The CEREC system is expected to dominate the global market throughout the forecast period due to the increased demand for technically advanced oral scanning devices. The CS system is expected to register the highest CAGR of 11.5% over the forecast period.Make an Enquiry before Buy @Key Findings of the Intraoral Scanners Market: The 3M ESPE Lava COS system is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.0% during the forecast period. The hospital segment accounted for nearly half of the share of the global intraoral scanners market in 2016. The dental clinics segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 11.0% during the forecast period. France and Germany collectively contributed for more than one-third share of the European intraoral scanners market in 2016. Japan is the major shareholder, and accounted for more than one-third share of the Asia-Pacific intraoral scanners market in 2016.Access Full Summery @About Us:Allied Market Research, a market research and advisory company of Allied Analytics LLP, provides business insights and market research reports to large as well as small & medium enterprises. The company assists its clients to strategize business policies and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.Contact:David Correa5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesToll Free (USA/Canada):+1-800-792-5285, +1-503-894-6022, +1-503-446-1141UK: +44-845-528-1300Hong Kong: +852-301-84916India (Pune): +91-20-66346060Fax: +1855550-5975help@alliedmarketresearch.com Rapid Rise Of Cosmetics Market Globally Expected To Grow at a CAGR of 4.3% To 2022 | Top Key Player LOreal International, Avon Product Inc., Proctor and Gamble Company, Unilever PLC, Oriflame Cosmetics S.A., Revlon, Inc Cosmetics Market https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/request-sample/628267?utm_source=op&utm_medium=Srbh https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/628267?utm_source=op&utm_medium=Srbh https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/request-for-discount/628267?utm_source=op&utm_medium=Srbh Cosmetics (makeup or beauty products) are mixtures of different chemical compounds generally used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. The cosmetics products that are predominantly available and used by individuals are sun care, skin care, hair care, deodorants, makeup & color cosmetics, and fragrances. These products are offered primarily through retail stores and online portals. The world cosmetics market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.3% from 2016 to 2022.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @Factors that strengthen the growth of this market include change in lifestyle, rise in disposable income, need for skin care products due to varying climatic conditions, and change in packaging styles & attractive marketing strategies. However, factors hindering the market growth are increasing awareness of probable side effects of chemical based cosmetics and advanced beauty treatments. Moreover, rising demand for natural, herbal, and organic beauty products creates potential opportunities for manufacturers to innovate and develop new products according to consumer preferences.The world cosmetics market is segmented on the basis of category, mode of sale, gender, and geography. The category segment includes skin & sun care products, hair care products, deodorants, makeup & color cosmetics, and fragrances. Among these products, skin & sun care and hair care are majorly used products and hold a considerable share in global cosmetics market.The mode of sale comprises retail and online sale, where retail mode is further classified into general departmental store, supermarkets, drug stores, and brand outlets. Customers majorly prefer the retail mode of sale while buying cosmetic products. However, online medium for the purchase of cosmetic products is observed as a rising trend, worldwide. Geographically, the cosmetics market is segregated into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Asia-Pacific and Latin America Middle East and Africa (LAMEA) are the prominent growth markets.Key Benefits The report includes an in-depth analysis of the world cosmetics market, including current trends, drivers, restraints, and growth opportunities. Porters Five Forces model illustrates the potency of buyers and sellers, which is expected to help the market players adopt effective strategies. Value chain analysis provides a clear understanding of the key intermediaries involved and their respective roles at every stage. Key market players have been profiled to gain an understanding of the strategies adopted by them.The current market trends are quantitatively analyzed and estimated for the 20162022 period, which have been provided to highlight the financial competencyGet Purchase Inquiry @Top Key Companies : LOreal International, Avon Product Inc., Proctor and Gamble Company, Unilever PLC, Oriflame Cosmetics S.A., Revlon, Inc., Kao Corporation, The Estee Lauder Company Inc., Skin Food , Shiseido Company, LimitedMarket SegmentationThe world cosmetics market is segmented based on category, mode of sales, gender and geography.BY CATEGORY Skin & Sun Care Hair Care Deodorants Makeup & Color FragrancesBY MODE OF SALE Retail OnlineBY GENDER Men WomenBY GEOGRAPHY North America Europe Asia-Pacific LAMEAGet Purchase Discount @About Us:Big Market Research has a range of research reports from various publishers across the world.Our database of reports of various market categories and sub-categories would help to find the exact report you may be looking for.We are instrumental in providing quantitative and qualitative insights on your area of interest by bringing reports from various publishers at one place to save your time and money. A lot of organizations across the world are gaining profits and great benefits from information gained through reports sourced by us.Contact Us:5933 NE Win Sivers Drive, #205, Portland,OR 97220 United StatesDirect: +1-971-202-1575Toll Free: +1-800-910-6452E-mail help@bigmarketresearch.com Ready to fill pastry Market, 2018 to 2027 by Segmentation Based on Product, Application and Region(Ready to fill pastry Market can be segmented on the basis of taste: Spicy Cups Veggie Cups Fruity Cups) https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=3030 https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=T&rep_id=3030 https://www.factmr.com/report/3030/ready-to-fill-pastry-market https://www.factmr.com/ https://factmrblog.com/ http://theguardiantribune.com Ready to fill pastry Market is expected to rise with a single digit growth rate of 9.9% in the forecast periodThe food industry has seen a significant growth in recent years due to increasing demand for easy to make and quick recipes. he changing taste of people has increased the interest of people in bakery foods. In order to meet the demand for changing food preferences, the manufacturers have started to develop readymade products that can instantly provide consumers with the desired food category. This has increased the demand for ready to fill products in bakery such as ready to fill pastry. The ready to fill pastry is made from different types of dough with different flavors and design. The demand for ready to fill pastry has increased since it provides people with mouthwatering taste instantly. The consumers just have to fill the material inside, if required, and the pastry is ready. An increasing percentage of single-person households in the world to augment the demand of ready to fill pastry in the market.Vendors in the ready to fill pastry market are focusing on manufacturing more varieties and shapes of ready to fill pastry to engage more customers in purchasing these bakery products. The growing interest of people in diversified bakery goods and increasing consumer spending on food are the key trends in the ready to fill pastry market.Click here to subscribe Sample @Ready to fill pastry Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe consumer spending on food products has increased significantly. People are more inclined towards the consumption of food that requires less time to make. The increasing adoption of ready to eat food has significantly driven the growth of ready to fill pastry in the market. These pastries are widely used by people since it does not requires time to make. The ready to fill pastry allows quick serving as an appetizer as well as a dessert since it can be filled with any material as per requirement. Thus, flexibility of taste is provided by ready to fill pastry. These pastries also give people a choice of the shape and taste since it is available in many flavors. Such factors are significantly driving the adoption of ready to fill pastry in the market, thereby propelling the market growth.The ready to fill pastry is made of various ingredients that are not healthy for people to eat regularly. Thus, growing health concerns among consumers may hinder market growth. The continuous need for maintaining food quality and consistency may create challenges for manufacturers. Such factors are further hampering the growth of ready to fill pastry market.Ready to fill pastry Market: SegmentationThe ready to fill pastry market can be categorized on the basis of taste and type. On the basis of taste in the ready to fill pastry market, the demand for fruity cup in ready to fill pastry is expected to rise due to high consumption of desserts. On the basis of type, the ready to fill pastry is mostly consumed as dessert and is therefore expected to have a high share in the market.Ready to fill pastry Market can be segmented on the basis of taste:Spicy CupsVeggie CupsFruity CupsReady to fill pastry Market can be segmented on the basis of type:AppetizerDessertReady to fill pastry Market: Competitive LandscapeExamples of some of the key players operating in the ready to fill pastry market are Plassey Food & Distribution Company Ltd., Cuisine Innovations Unlimited,LLC, Wallbridge Co. Ltd., Smilde Bakery, CGM Foods, Apromo Trading and Pidy Gourmet NV.Request/View TOC@Regional OverviewThe ready to fill pastry market is segmented across North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, China, SEA and others of APAC, Japan and Middle East & Africa. Europe is expected to be a large market for ready to fill pastry as a majority of the ready to fill pastry vendors such as Pidy Gourmet NV, Plassey Food & Distribution Company Ltd. and Smilde Bakery are based in the region. Rise in working population in the North American region to create needs for alternatives for cooking. The growing popularity of ready to fill pastry in developing regions, such as APEJ, Latin America and parts of Africa, is characterized by the increasing awareness of people about ready to eat foods. Rising disposable income among people in the countries mentioned above is likely to increase the scope of penetration of ready to fill pastry in these regions in the near future.The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the Ready to fill pastry Market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The Ready to fill pastry Market report provides analysis and information, according to market segments such as geographies, application and industry.The Ready to fill pastry Market Report Covers Exhaustive Analysis On:Market SegmentsMarket DynamicsMarket Size & DemandCurrent Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies involvedTechnologyValue ChainThe Ready to fill pastry Market Regional Analysis Includes:North America (U.S., Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru)Western Europe (Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain, BENELUX, Nordic, Eastern Europe)CIS & RussiaAsia-Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, South Korea)JapanMiddle East & Africa (GCC Countries, South Africa, Turkey, Iran, Israel)The Ready to fill pastry report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The Ready to fill pastry report provides an in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macroeconomic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The Ready to fill pastry report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.The Ready to fill pastry Market Report Highlights:A Detailed overview of the parent marketChanging market dynamics in the industryIn-depth market segmentationHistorical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and valueRecent industry trends and developmentsCompetitive landscapeStrategies of key players and products offeredPotential and niche segments, geographical regions exhibiting promising growthA neutral perspective on market performanceMust-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprintGrow Your Business From Expert Advice:About USFact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; thats why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsRohit BhiseyFact.MR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:Blog:Read Industry News at - Carpal Tunnel Release Systems Market Sales Volume Forecast by Application 2018-2028 https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1935568 https://www.researchmoz.us/carpal-tunnel-release-systems-market-global-industry-analysis-2013-2017-and-opportunity-assessment-2018-2028-report.html https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=1935568 https://www.researchmoz.us https://researchknowledgeresource.blogspot.com/ The Carpal Tunnel Release Systems Market is segmented as Follows:Carpal Tunnel Release Systems Market, by Product TypeCarpal Tunnel Release Systems Market, by End UserCarpal Tunnel Release Systems Market, by RegionThis report covers the global carpal tunnel release systems market performance in terms of revenue contribution from various segments. The report begins with an overview of the carpal tunnel release systems and its definitions. The market viewpoints section underlines macro-economic factors influencing the growth of the carpal tunnel release systems market along with detailing its opportunity analysis.The global carpal tunnel release systems market is segmented based on product type, end user, and region. On the basis of product type, the market has been segmented as open carpal tunnel release system and endoscopic carpal tunnel release system.To Download Sample Report With TOC:On the basis of end user, the market is segmented as hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers and speciality clinics.A detailed analysis has been provided for each region in terms of market size, Y-o-Y growth rate, absolute $ opportunity, and market attractive index. The regional market dynamics provide the key growth driver, restraints, and trends pertaining to each region. The forecast of the carpal tunnel release systems market by country, product type, end user, are represented in the tabular form for each region. This section also helps to understand the opportunity of the carpal tunnel release systems market in major countries by each segment. The volume analysis of carpal tunnel release systems is also provided by region. The volume of carpal tunnel release systems is triangulated with the average selling price.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @In the next section of the report, the Competitive Landscape is included to provide report audiences with a dashboard view and to access the key differentiators among the competitor firms. This section also provide wise structure analysis to understand the tier structure of c carpal tunnel release systems market. Along with tier structure this section is also assessed market share analysis for top companies to cross validated the carpal tunnel release systems market value. This analysis is done on granular level by analyzing the revenue generated by each of the manufacturer from carpal tunnel release systems. This section is primarily designed to provide clients with an objective and detailed comparative assessment of product offerings and strategies of key providers specific to the market segments. Detailed profiles of players in the carpal tunnel release systems market are also provided in the report, which highlights company description, product/segment overview, SWOT analysis, financial information, key developments related to market and strategic overview.The next section of the report highlights the carpal tunnel release systems market outlook for 20182028 and sets the forecast within the context of the carpal tunnel release systems market by region. The key regions assessed in this carpal tunnel release systems market report include North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific excluding China and Japan, China, Japan and Middle East and Africa. A detailed analysis has been provided for each region in terms of market size, Y-o-Y growth rate, absolute $ opportunity, and market attractive index. This section helps to analyses the that maturity level of all the region in global carpal tunnel release systems market.Make An Enquiry@The above sections by product type, end user; evaluate the historic market analysis for the period of 20132017 and growth prospects of the carpal tunnel release systems market for the period 20182028. Along with hoistric analysis, market value forecast and Y-o-Y analysis by product type and end user for carpal tunnel release systems market is also provided in this section. We have considered 2017 as the base year and provided data for the forecast period.The final section of report represents the global scenario for the carpal tunnel release systems market along with Y-o-Y growth and market forecast till 2028. This section also evaluates the global market opportunity over the forecast period and also the absolute dollar opportunity for each year. This section will help to understand the overall market growth of the carpal tunnel release systems market and the opportunity analysis for each year over the forecast period. This section also provide with the volume analysis for global carpal tunnel release systems market to analyse the global sale of carpal tunnel release systems.Research MethodologyInitially top down analysis is used to calculate the market size of global carpal tunnel release systems market. Firstly total number of carpal tunnel release procedure performed annually in top 20 countries is analysed by secondary research. The number of surgery performed by open carpal tunnel release systems and endoscopic carpal tunnel release systems is also differentiated for top 20 countries. Number endoscopic procedure perform by single carpal tunnel release systems is confirmed by primary interviews with surgeon and nurses to analyse the volume of carpal tunnel release system. Prices of various carpal tunnel release systems available in the market are analysed to calculate the average selling price of carpal tunnel release system by weighted average methodology. The volume of carpal tunnel release systems is them multiplied with average selling price to obtain the market value of carpal tunnel release systems in 2017 for top countries.Bottom-up approach is used to validate the total market size obtained. The forecast presented in the report provides total revenue of the carpal tunnel release systems market over 20182028. While forecasting the market size, we have considered the impact of several factors such product approvals for carpal tunnel release systems, R&D investment by major players, pipeline analysis, penetration of products in all end user facilities channel, generic penetration across all regions, etc. However, quantifying the market across the aforementioned segments and regions is more a matter of quantifying expectations and identifying opportunities rather than rationalizing them after the forecast has been completed. In addition, we have taken into consideration the year-on-year growth to understand the predictability of the market and to identify the right growth opportunities in the global market.ResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite:Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ bit.ly/1TBmnVGBlog: Global Medical Film Printers Market Perspective and Forecast 2019 - 2025| Key Players: KNDMED, KONICA MINOLIA, HU.Q, FUJIFILM, Intrahealth, McLantis Group and More Global Medical Film Printers Market https://www.statsandreports.com/request-sample/182430-global-medical-film-printers-market-insights-forecast-to-2025 https://www.statsandreports.com/report/182430-global-medical-film-printers-market-insights-forecast-to-2025 https://www.statsandreports.com/check-discount/182430-global-medical-film-printers-market-insights-forecast-to-2025 https://www.statsandreports.com/placeorder?report=182430-global-medical-film-printers-market-insights-forecast-to-2025 https://www.statsandreports.com/request-sample/182430-global-medical-film-printers-market-insights-forecast-to-2025 www.statsandreports.com Stats and Reports Analyst have added a new research study on Global Medical Film Printers Market Insights, Forecast to 2025 with detailed information of Product Types, Applications and Key Players. This report analyses emerging trends, key challenges, future growth potentials, drivers, competitive outlook, restraints, opportunities & market ecosystem, and value chain analysis of Global Medical Film Printers Market.The following manufacturers are covered in this report, with sales, revenue, market share for each company:1. KNDMED2. KONICA MINOLIA3. HU.Q4. FUJIFILM5. Intrahealth6. Huqiu Imaging Technologies7. Carestream Health8. McLantis GroupMarket size by Product Photographic Film CT Film Laser Film Breast Film Dry Film OthersMarket size by End User Hospitals ClinicsGet Sample Copy of this Research Report:The report provides in-depth comprehensive analysis for regional segments that covers North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Rest of World in Global Outlook Report with Market definitions, classifications, manufacturing processes, cost structures, development policies and plans. The facts and data are well presented in the report using diagrams, graphs, pie charts, and other pictorial representations with respect to its Current Trends, Dynamics, and Business Scope & Key Statistics.Important Features that are under offering & key highlights of the report:Detailed overview of Medical Film Printers marketChanging market dynamics of the industryIn-depth market segmentation by Type, Application etcHistorical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and valueRecent industry trends and developmentsCompetitive landscape of Medical Film Printers marketStrategies of key players and product offeringsPotential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growthA neutral perspective towards Medical Film Printers market performanceMust-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprintRead details of this Research Report:Key questions answeredWho are the Leading key players and what are their Key Business plans in the Global Medical Film Printers market?What are the key concerns of the five forces analysis of the Global Medical Film Printers market?What are different prospects and threats faced by the dealers in the Global Medical Film Printers market?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?Major Points Covered in Table of Contents:1 Study Coverage2 Executive Summary3 Market Size by Manufacturers4 Medical Film Printers Production by Regions5 Medical Film Printers Consumption by Regions6 Market Size by Type7 Market Size by Application8 Manufacturers Profiles9 Production Forecasts10 Consumption Forecast11 Upstream, Industry Chain and Downstream Customers Analysis12 Opportunities & Challenges, Threat and Affecting Factors13 Key Findings14 AppendixCheck Discount on this Premium Research Report:Following are the exclusive research methods included in the global Medical Film Printers MarketThe research methodology developed by SNR Research is tried and tested according to the customers needs. The data collected from both secondary and primary sources has analysed on the basis of several aspects that influence the market. The systematic research method includes a market summary with an in-depth secondary research with a combination of primary research to determine the size of the global Medical Film Printers Market. SNR Research offers a full proof report without any statistical errors, thus, increasing the assurance of the quality of this research report.The bottom-up and top-down approaches has been carried out to know the size of the market. To get the brief idea about the market structure, top players operating in the global Medical Film Printers Market are carefully studied. It is important to know that in an ever-fluctuating market, the overall economy of the market forecast is based on the parent market trends, governing factors and various macroeconomic factors that consists of Gross domestic product (GDP), public policies, export, and import of data. Based on these parameters, SNR Research helps to understand the market monotony and find the correct opportunities for top players.Buy This Premium Research Report:The study objectives of this report are:To study and analyze the global Medical Film Printers market size (value & volume) by company, key regions, products and end user, breakdown data from 2013 to 2017, and forecast to 2025.To understand the structure of Medical Film Printers market by identifying its various subsegments.To share detailed information about the key factors influencing the growth of the market (growth potential, opportunities, drivers, industry-specific challenges and risks).Focuses on the key global Medical Film Printers companies, to define, describe and analyze the sales volume, value, market share, market competition landscape and recent development.To project the value and sales volume of Medical Film Printers submarkets, with respect to key regions.To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market.Get Sample Copy of this Research Report:About UsStats and Reports is a global market research and consulting service provider specialized in offering wide range of business solutions to their clients including market research reports, primary and secondary research, demand forecasting services, focus group analysis and other services. We understand that how data is important in today's competitive environment and thus, we have collaborated with industry's leading research providers who works continuously to meet the ever-growing demand for market research reports throughout the year.Contact:Stats and ReportsSatish K. (Global Sales Manager)Mangalam Chamber, Office No - 16, Paud RoadSankalp Society, Kothrud, Pune, Maharashtra 411038Phone: +1 650-646-3808Email: sales@statsandreports.comWeb: Elderly Care Global Market Competitive Landscape 2025: Kindred Healthcare, Brookdale, Encompass Health, Genesis, Interim HealthCare Inc., Extendicare Inc. and LHC Group https://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-elderly-care-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=global-elderly-care-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-elderly-care-market/ The key players of the Elderly Care Market are making moves like product launches, joint ventures, developments, merges and accusations which is affecting the market and Healthcare Industry as a whole and also affecting the sales, import, export, revenue and CAGR values.Global Elderly Care Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.4% in the forecast period 2018 to 2025.Global Elderly Care Market, By Product Type (Pharmaceuticals, Housing and Assistive Devices), Service (Institutional Care, Homecare, Adult Day Care), Application (Heart Diseases, Cancer, Kidney Diseases, Diabetes, Arthritis, Osteoporosis, Neurological, Respiratory and Others), Geography - Industry Trends and Forecast to 2025The key market players for global elderly care market are listed below: Right at Home, LLC, Koninklijke Philips N.V, Hanami Residential, EXTENDICARE, Amedisy, Brookdale Senior Living Solutions, Almost Family, BAYADA Home Health Care, Encompass Health Corporation, Kindred Healthcare, Inc., LHC Group, Inc., Genesis HealthCare, Compassus, Econ Healthcare Group, Trinity Health, St Lukes Eldercare Ltd., Rosewood Care Group, Interim HealthCare, United Medicare Pte Ltd, Exceptional Living CentersGet Free Sample Copy @The global elderly care market is segmented based on products type into two segments; housing and assistive devices and pharmaceuticals. In 2018, housing and assistive devices products segment is valued to rule with the highest market share 2025, rising at the highest CAGR of 6.6%.The global elderly care market is segmented in service into homecare, institutional care and adult day care. In 2018, homecare segment is valued to rule with the highest market shares by 2025, rising at the highest CAGR.Homecare is further sub segmented into health care, non-medical care. Healthcare is segmented into medical care, physiotherapy services, telehealth, palliative care and hospice care. Non-medical is segmented into personal care and rehabilitation others. Institutional care is segmented into hospital based, independent senior living, assisted living and nursing home.The global elderly care market is segmented in Application into heart diseases, respiratory, diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer, neurological, kidney diseases, arthritis and others. In 2018, heart diseases segment is valued to rule with highest market shares and rising at the highest CAGR.Based on geography, the market is segmented into 5 geographical regionsNorth America,Europe,Asia-Pacific,South AmericaMiddle East and Africa.Make an Inquiry before Buy @Objective of the Elderly Care Market Report1. To analyze strategies/developments such as collaborations, agreements, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, and product launches and developments in the Elderly Care Market2. Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments in the Elderly Care Market3. Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the Elderly Care Market4. The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Elderly Care Market , thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies5. To strategically analyze micro markets with respect to individual growth trends, prospects, and contributions to the total market6. Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.Table of Content: Global Elderly Care Market1 Introduction2 Market Segmentation3 Market Overview4 Executive Summary5 Premium Insights6 Global Elderly Care Market, By Product Type7 Global Elderly Care Market, By Services8 Global Elderly Care Market, By Application9 Global Elderly Care Market, By Geography10 Elderly Care Population Split By Point Of Care11 Global Elderly Care Market, Company Landscape12 Company Profiles13 Related ReportsClick to View the Full Report TOC, Figure and Tables @About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com A Shanghai hospital is collaborating with a biotechnology company from the United Kingdom to start clinical trials of a method to screen for cancer through breathing tests - which it said has great potential to become an easy, noninvasive and less expensive way for early diagnosis of various cancers. It was the first time that such a technology had come to the Chinese mainland, said Renji Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the Chinese partner in the Sino-UK project, during a signing ceremony with Cambridge-based Owlstone Medical on Monday in Shanghai. The British company will provide its patented devices and training, and the Shanghai hospital will provide lab space and a research team. Subjects of the test need only wear a breathalyzer and breathe for several minutes as the device checks for volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. The test samples the whole body, doctors said. VOCs are produced as the end product of metabolic processes within the human body. Underlying changes in metabolic activity can produce VOC patterns characteristic of specific diseases, they said. Owlstone said on its website that the device uses a chemical sensor on a tiny silicon chip. Wang Liwei, director of the lab, said the China-UK team is working on a detailed proposal for the trial, which includes setting standards for the telltale VOCs and the age range of the subjects. The trials are expected to begin in three months. "Such trials have been carried out in the UK on 4,000 individuals and achieved an accuracy rate that qualified for clinical application. So it may win approval for use in the UK soon," Wang said. He said the hospital will first carry out trials looking for lung cancer, the most common form of cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths in China. The target for the trials is 70 percent accuracy. With a total of 787,000 newly diagnosed patients every year, lung cancer tops China's malignant tumor incidence and accounts for nearly one-fourth of cancer deaths in the country, according to the National Cancer Center. "Such a fast and noninvasive means of screening will reduce the cost of medical treatment for individuals and society as a whole and improve the overall early diagnosis and survival rate of cancer patients," Wang said. Chris Hodkinson, vice-president of business development at Owlstone Medical, said the cooperation will improve the technology and eventually benefit more cancer patients at home and abroad. Experts said VOCs originating from all parts of the body are captured in a person's breath, making the technology applicable to a wide range of cancers. "We have plans to expand the screening technology to other cancers, including gastric cancer and intestinal cancer, for which the current detection means - gastroscopy and enteroscopy - are kind of painful, and to pancreatic cancer, which is hard to discover," Wang said. Superdisintegrants Market Global Research Objective with Top Most Leaders like DFE Pharma, Roquette Freres, BASF SE, Ashland Global Holdings Inc., JRS Pharma, Merck KGaA https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/6663 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/superdisintegrants-market-6663 Market Research Future has recently declared the expansion of a new research study to its thorough collection of research reports Global Superdisintegrants Market Research Report.Superdisintegrants Market - OverviewOral administration of medical drugs in the form of tablets and capsules is one of the most commonly prescribed methods for drug delivery due to several key factors ranging from being easy to swallow to better chemical stability in this form.Superdisintegrants have become a vital addition to tablets and capsules as they facilitate rapid disintegration of smaller doses than conventional disintegrants making them ideal for various medical applications in the pharmaceutical sector.Market Research Future's new publication on the global superdisintegrants market has observed the growth of the market at a healthy CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period from 2018 to 2023.GET EXCLUSIVE SAMPLE REPORT @At the beginning of the forecast period in 2017, the market generated a revenue of USD 371.3 Mn. The projected rate of growth is anticipated to establish the market at a value of USD 576.2 Mn by the end of the review period in 2023The global pharmaceutical industry has witnessed a significant spike in its growth over the past few years, and this growth is expected to continue in the coming years. Many patents on popular drugs have expired or are likely to expire soon, which has prompted the entry of new competitors and the production of generic drugs.Increasing production of generic drugs is expected to cause a rise in demand for superdisintegrants. Moreover, superdisintegrants are used highly in the production of drugs which are aimed at geriatric and pediatric patients as they offer good disintegration and efficacy at low dosages. The ever-expanding aged and infant population is likely to impact the global superdisintegrants market in a positive manner.Emerging economies offer the global superdisintegrants market with considerable opportunities for growth over the forecast period. The prevalence of several chronic diseases combined with the rapidly expanding healthcare sector in the region will contribute to future growth of the market.Leading Key PlayersAnalysis of the competitive landscape of the global superdisintegrants market includes several important market players such as DFE Pharma, Roquette Freres, BASF SE, Ashland Global Holdings Inc., JRS Pharma, Merck KGaA, DowDuPont Inc., Avantor Performance Materials, LLC, Corel Pharma Chem, and Asahi Kasei Corporation.Superdisintegrants Market - SegmentationMRFR's analysis of the various segments in the market has been performed on the basis of type, formulation, therapeutic area, and region. Types of superdisintegrants have been segmented into synthetic superdisintegrants, natural disintegrants, and others.Among these, the synthetic superdisintegrants segment has been widely used, making it the most significant market segment. However, the natural superdisintegrants segment is growing at a truly rapid pace due to the growing demand for natural ingredients.Formulations which include superdisintegrants have been segmented into tablets and capsules. Tablets govern a majority share of the total market, while the capsules segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the review period.Therapeutic areas where superdisintegrants are used have been segmented into gastrointestinal diseases, neurological diseases, oncology, infectious diseases, inflammatory diseases, hematological diseases, and cardiovascular diseases.Among these segments, the gastrointestinal diseases segment is at the forefront of market growth due to the demand for fast acting medicine for these types of diseases. Meanwhile, the oncology segment is growing rapidly and is expected to display the highest CAGR over the forecast period.OBTAIN PREMIUM RESEARCH REPORT DETAILS @Detailed Regional AnalysisLed by the U.S, the Americas have captured the largest share of the global superdisintegrants market. The presence of a developed healthcare sector as well as several important market players that have and continue to influence growth and contribute to the sizeable share that this regional market possesses.The region also has a high demand for drugs for many chronic diseases where superdisintegrants are required due to the prevalence of such diseases.The Asia Pacific Superdisintegrants Market is likely to grow at the highest pace due to the concentration of rapidly emerging markets in the region. China, Japan, India, and several other country-level markets have a high demand for drugs for chronic diseases.The APAC regional market has several avenues for growth that are expected to open up in the coming years. The regions rapidly growing healthcare sector and the presence of a number of contract manufacturing organizations for pharmaceuticals is likely to have a positive impact on the market.About Us:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Office No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India CNG Vehicles Market Scenario Highlighting Major Drivers(Ford Motor Company, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, General Motors, Honda Motor Company) & Trends, 2018-2027 https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=2537 https://www.factmr.com/report/2537/cng-vehicles-market https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=AE&rep_id=2537 https://www.factmr.com/ https://factmrblog.com/ https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ CNG vehicle continues to witness lucrative opportunities across the countries on the backdrop of the increasing number of the NGVs (Natural Gas Vehicles) and increasing preference for CNG vehicles across the world. Moreover, the growth in the automotive industry has influenced the adoption of the CNG vehicles due to the depletion of crude oil resources owing to the increasing demand for high quality and reliable CNG vehicle from the consumer. For instance, there has been an increase in the fleet of CNG vehicles by 7.4% in 2014 to 18% in 2018 across the world.Request for a Sample of this report:The trending convergence of government regulations on fuel emissions & natural gas powered vehicle production which have more adoption rate and is further anticipated to create remunerative growth opportunities for CNG vehicle market. Around the world, governments have issued stringent regulations regarding emissions and fuel efficiency. The global fossil fuel price has seen an increasing trend over the past five to ten years. Due to these reasons, there is a growing demand for cheap and environmentally friendly fuel alternative. Original equipment manufacturers of vehicles are promoting their products by showcasing fuel efficiency and emission-free features. This factor is fueling the demand for automotive CNG vehicle market.A recent Fact study foretells the CNG vehicle market to record an expansion at 3.2% over the forecast period (2018 2027). CNG vehicle continues to witness increased demand from automotive industry. However promotional buyers demand has impressive growth in some of the regions.CNG vehicle for Passenger vehicle type segment are Estimated to be the Most Lucrative Market in the CNG vehicleThe demand for CNG vehicle for passenger vehicle type segment is estimated to grow at a significant rate and is projected to reach more than thousand millions by 2027 end. The CNG vehicle for commercial vehicle segment is growing at a relatively slower pace as compared to other CNG vehicle segment. The slow growth in the commercial CNG vehicle in the market is due to the long product lifecycle and the availability in the market globally. Though the CNG vehicle for passenger vehicle segment has maximum work piece diameter, which is used in various light commercial vehicle. Therefore, it holds more than 60% share in terms of value in 2018.Get Access To TOC Covering 200+ Topics:Dedicated Fuel CNG vehicle are anticipated to be the most Favorable Product Type in CNG vehicle MarketDedicated fuel CNG vehicle holds more than 45% share in CNG vehicle sales owing to have less complicated yet simple design. Although the bi-fuel and dual fuel CNG vehicles are also growing at a significant rate owing to the increasing demand for fuel efficient vehicles and optional fuel function. Also, the dedicated CNG vehicle is estimated to grow at a significant CAGR of more than 3.5% in terms of value, in the global CNG vehicle market over the forecast period.APEJ: Market Leader in the CNG vehicleThe CNG vehicle market has been evaluated across primary regions such as North America, Latin America, Europe, Japan, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ) and Middle East and Africa (MEA). Among these, APEJ CNG vehicle market is expected to hold favorable growth in terms of CAGR over the forecast period. In terms of value, the APEJ market is anticipated to hold a prominent share of the market by 2027. The market for CNG vehicle is estimated to grow at a significant CAGR of more than 3.6% and will represent a total incremental opportunity of over thousand millions in terms of value during the forecast period.Competition DashboardThe competitive landscape section of the CNG vehicle market delivers the most insightful information regarding the key market players, their relative global position and business strategies. The market for the CNG vehicle is estimated to grow over the forecast period as the contenders in the global market are rising and competition with the existing players is estimated to grow in the next nine years. The manufacturers in CNG vehicle market to expand with strategic developments such as product launches, product innovation, expansion, collaborations and acquisitions in the CNG vehicle market.For any query get easily connect with an Analyst:About FactMRFactMR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market insights reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFact.MR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:Blog:Read Industry News at - Osteomyelitis Market 2019 Analysis - Research Covers Top 10 Players as CrystalGenomics Inc, Debiopharm International SA, Nabriva Therapeutics, Shimadzu Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Medtronic plc Etc Osteomyelitis Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/6042 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/osteomyelitis-market-6042 Global Osteomyelitis Market Research Report show the Information By Type Duration, Pathogenesis, by Diagnosis Blood Tests, Imaging Tests, Bone Biopsy, by Treatment Antibiotics, Surgery, End-User Hospital and Clinics, Research Organization - Global Forecast Till 2023Major Vendors Mentioned in Osteomyelitis Market:Allergan Plc (Republic of Ireland) CrystalGenomics Inc (South Korea), Debiopharm International SA (Lausanne), Motif Bio Plc (London), Nabriva Therapeutics AG (Dublin), Vyome Biosciences Pvt Ltd (India), F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Switzerland), Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands), General Healthcare (U.S.), Siemens AG (Germany), Toshiba Corporation (Japan), Shimadzu Corporation (Japan), Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (South Korea), Neusoft Medical Systems Co., Ltd. (China), Medtronic plc (Ireland), Shenzhen Anke High-tech Co., Ltd. (Hong Kong), and others.Get a Sample Report atOsteomyelitis Market HighlightsThe Global Osteomyelitis Market is segmented on the basis of pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment, and end-user. The increasing prevalence of osteomyelitis, growing child population, and growing cases of diabetes are estimated to drive the market during the forecast period. However, factors such as the limited availability of treatments, risks associated with surgery, and low healthcare expenditure in the middle and low-income countries are estimated to restraint the market growth, during the forecast period.The market for osteomyelitis is segmented by pathogenesis which is sub-segmented into trauma, contiguous spread, and others. By diagnosis, the market is categorized into physical examination, blood tests, imaging tests, bone biopsy, and others. The blood tests segment is sub-segmented into Complete Blood Count (CBC), Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR), and C-Reactive Protein (CRP).The imaging segment is sub-segmented into X-rays, Computerized Tomography (CT) scan, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). By treatment, the market is segmented into antibiotics and surgery. The antibiotics segment is sub-segmented into ceftriaxone, nafcillin, ceftazidime, and others. By end-user, the market is segmented into hospitals and clinics, research organizations, diagnostic diseases, and others.The Global Osteomyelitis Market Regional Analysis:The Americas dominates the global market for osteomyelitis owing to the huge patient population and increasing healthcare expenditure. As per a study published in the International Journal of Biological Sciences in 2015, diabetic patients have higher risks for osteomyelitis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2017, approximately 30.3 million people, accounting for ~9.4% of the total U.S. population were estimated to suffer from diabetes within the U.S. in 2015.In 2017, it was estimated that Europe stood second in the global osteomyelitis market. Factors such as the increasing prevalence of osteomyelitis, the presence of developed healthcare industry, and rising government support provide favorable backgrounds for the market to grow. According to the Office for National Statistics in 2015, the government-financed healthcare expenditure accounted for 79.5% of the total spending on healthcare. The government support is estimated to drive the market by enabling the patients reach for expensive surgeries.Asia Pacific was estimated to be the fastest growing region for the global osteomyelitis market in 2017. According to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation in 2017, medical tourism in India is likely to reach a whopping USD 9 billion by 2020 from USD 3 billion in 2015. This increasing medical tourism boosts the Asia Pacific market for osteomyelitis. Moreover, the increasing prevalence of diabetes and an expanding healthcare sector within the region fuel the market within the region.On the other hand, the Middle East and Africa holds the least share in the global osteomyelitis market. The presence of poor economies, stringent government policies, and low per capita income, especially within the African region make the market to lag within the region. A majority of the market share within this region is estimated to be held by the Middle East due to the presence of developed economies such as Kuwait, Qatar, Dubai, and others.Browse Complete 90 Pages Premium Research Report Enabled with 74 Respective Tables and Figures atMajor TOC For Osteomyelitis Market Research Report Forecast to 2023:Chapter 1. Report PrologueChapter 2. Market Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope Of The Study2.2.1 Research Objective2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 LimitationsChapter 3. Research Methodology3.1 Introduction3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary Research3.4 Market Size EstimationChapter 4. Market Dynamics4.1 Drivers4.2 Restraints4.3 OpportunitiesTOC Continued!About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Passive Optical LAN Market 2024 | Alcatel Lucent SA (France), Ericsson Inc. (Sweden), Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (China), ADTRAN, Inc. (U.S.), TE Connectivity Ltd. https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/sample/110114920/Passive-Optical-LAN-Market https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/discount/110114920/Passive-Optical-LAN-Market https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/rd/110114920/Passive-Optical-LAN-Market https://www.researchreportinsights.com/ Passive Optical LAN or POL is a solutions that helps private and public organizations by outstanding network performance. POL contribute various services to businesses, governments, hospitals, hotels, real estate developers, and universities by reducing their infrastructure cost and deploying single network.Optical fiber is more reliable as a data transfer via fiber, which reduces the risk of disconnection and downtime as compared to services delivered by the cable network. Fiber optics are completely immune to many environmental factors that affect copper cable. The optical fiber is made of glass, an insulator reduces risk of electric current flow through it.Request For Report Sample:The opportunity in the global passive optical LAN market is projected to be worth US$103.4 bn by 2024, rising from US$14.1 bn in 2015. The market is expected to expand at an impressive CAGR of 22.9% during the forecast period of 2016 to 2024. By component, the wavelength division multiplexers/de-multiplexers segment accounted for 12.0% of the global passive optical LAN market revenue in 2015, emerging as the leading contributor. This segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.3% over the forecast period of 2016 to 2024. Optical amplifiers, on the other hand, are poised to register the highest CAGR of 24.0% during the same period.By region, in 2015, the global passive optical LAN market was dominated by Asia Pacific, accounting for 36% of the global market. Going forward, Asia Pacific is predicted to maintain its dominance owing to the rising demand for passive optical LAN networks, particularly in China. A surge in the use of electronic gadgets and data traffic are two of the factors expected to propel the Asia Pacific market for passive optical LAN. Governments of many nations are focusing on investing more for the improvement of the network infrastructure, which is further predicted to boost the Asia Pacific passive optical LAN market.Some of the leading players in the POL market are Alcatel Lucent SA (France), Ericsson Inc. (Sweden), Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (China), ADTRAN, Inc. (U.S.), TE Connectivity Ltd. (Switzerland), ZTE Corporation (China), and Verizon Communications Inc. (U.S.)Request Report Discount:Passive Optical LAN Market, by ComponentOptical cablesOptical couplersOptical power splittersOptical encodersPatch cords and pigtailsOptical connectorsOptical amplifiersOptical transceiversFixed and variable optical attenuatorsOptical circulatorsWavelength division multiplexers/de-multiplexersOptical filtersOthersPassive Optical LAN Market, by ApplicationLoop feederInterofficeFiber in the Loop (FITL)Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)Hybrid Fiber-Coaxial Cable (HFC)Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) systemsPassive Optical LAN Market, by GeographyNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaMexicoEuropeU.K.GermanyItalyFranceRest of EuropeAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaRest of APACRest of the WorldSouth AmericaMiddle EastAfricaReport Analysis:About Us:Research Report Insights (RRI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver a host of services including custom research reports, syndicated research reports, and consulting services which are personalised in nature. RRI delivers a complete packaged solution to clients; this combines current market intelligence, technology inputs, statistical anecdotes, valuable growth insights, 360-degree view of the competitive framework, and anticipated market trends.Contact Us:Research Report Insights (RRI)42 Joseph StreetPort carling P0B 1J0Muskoka, Ontario1Phone - +1-631-721-4201Website:Email: sales@researchreportinsights.com Grow Light Market - Soaring popularity of commercial greenhouses | Royal Philips Electronics, Heliospectra Ab., IWASAKI ELECTRIC CO., LTD., Hortilux SchrEder B.V., Sunlight Supply Inc., and Gavita Holland B.V https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=2213 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=2213 https://www.tmrresearch.com/grow-light-market In order to stimulate and power the growth of plants and seeds a specially designed artificial source of light is used which is known as grow light. They are also popularly known as plant lights; grow lights are used in conditions where naturally occurring light is not available or in cases where the artificial sources of light are required to augment the sunlight. Grow lights are widely used in vertical farms, commercial greenhouses, and in horticulture, applications to increase and improve the yield. Some of the major types of grow lights are high-intensity discharge grow lights, fluorescent grow lights, and light-emitting diode grows lights.Grow light technology helps in extending the hours of the natural daylight which further increases the health, growth rate and yield of the plants. Artificial lighting, such as high-pressure sodium lighting, LED lighting and plasma lighting can extend the availability of crops throughout a season. Growing awareness regarding the importance of alternative farming, owing to the less availability of fertile agricultural land and increasing population, are the key factors anticipated to spur the industry demand.Unlike traditional farming, indoor farming can produce crops throughout the year, which results in increased productivity. Furthermore, indoor farming can protect crops from extreme weather conditions through the usage of techniques such as the controlled environment agriculture technology, where the facilities use artificial environmental control, control of light, and fertigation.Get Brochure of the Report @Global Grow Light Market: OverviewA grow light is an artificial source of light energy, which is especially designed to stimulate and power the growth of plants and seeds. Popularly called plant lights, grow lights are used in situations where there is a lack of naturally occurring light or where artificial sources of light are required to supplement sunlight. Grow lights are widely used in commercial greenhouses, vertical farms, and a range of horticulture applications to better the yield. Some of the major types are fluorescent grow lights, high-intensity discharge (HID) grow lights, and light-emitting diode (LED) grow lights. The adoption of grow lights has gained traction in recent years, driven by the growing popularity of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) and the increased adoption of LED lighting.Global Grow Light Market: Key TrendsGrowth in indoor farming methods and soaring popularity of commercial greenhouses for cultivating plants are the key factors propelling the grow light market. Government regulations and intensive initiatives to support the adoption of solid state lighting (SSL) technologies, such as LED, across various regions have boosted the market. The increasing adoption of automation in commercial greenhouses has helped growers maximize their yield using grow lights, thereby accelerating their implementation in controlled environment agriculture practices. Efforts by manufacturers to speed up time-to-market for energy-efficient grow lights and the launch of customized products with specific intensity and wavelength are expected to open up lucrative avenues in the market. With vertical farming methods gathering steam in various developed nations, the grow light market is expected to witness numerous exciting opportunities for manufacturers.Get Table of Content of the Report @Global Grow Light Market: Market PotentialNoribachi, a U.S.-based LED technology manufacturing company focusing on clean lighting technologies for commercial applications, announced in April, 2017 the launch of its advanced, full-spectrum LED grow lights. The product line features a wide range of warehouse grow lights and DIY kits developed in its Northern California Growlab. The innovative and high-end LED grow light is used by farmers to facilitate the growth cycle of different types of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. The LED technology developed by Noribachi enables a number of commercial growers and urban farmers to optimize space, increase light output, and reduce their energy costs.Noribachis Growlab (NGL) has been a key testing ground for several smart grow light technologies. As a vital part of NGLs testing environment, Noribachi has developed a program known as Customer Grow, which encourages its customers to send plants with specific growth requirements to the lab for testing. During the testing period, the company designs a customized equipment or fixture to maximize light output with due consideration of the optimum growth conditions for each plant, thereby helping growers improve the quality and quantity of the yield.Over the past few years, technological advances in LED grow lights have led to cutting-edge innovations in the farming and horticulture industries, thereby creating abundant growth opportunities for manufacturers of LED.Global Grow Light Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the Middle East and South America are prominent markets for grow lights. The regional markets are driven by the rising adoption of indoor farming methods. Constant advancement in urban farming technologies and the growing popularity of hydroponics among agriculturists are key factors fuelling the demand for grow lights in the developed regions of Asia Pacific and North America. Meanwhile, the impending food crisis in some regions, particularly in various parts of Southern Africa, is expected to stimulate the demand for vertical farming and CEA practices, thereby boosting the adoption of grow lights in these regions.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Grow Light Market: Competitive AnalysisSeveral emerging players are forming partnerships with commercial agriculturists and research institutions to develop innovative grow lights that help control light levels dynamically in order to augment crop quality and maximize yield. Leading players are offering cloud-based solutions to gain a competitive edge over others. Major companies eyeing a significant share in the grow light market include General Electric Company, Osram Licht AG, LumiGrow, Inc., Royal Philips Electronics, Heliospectra Ab., IWASAKI ELECTRIC CO., LTD., Hortilux SchrEder B.V., Sunlight Supply Inc., and Gavita Holland B.V.About Us:TMR 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.Contact Us:Rohit BhiseyHead Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Global Brine Concentration Technology Market to 2026| Advent Envirocare Technology Pvt. Ltd., Modern Water plc., Memsys Water Technologies GmbH, Enviro Water Minerals Company Inc., Oasys Water, TETRA Technologies Inc. https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1825182 https://www.researchmoz.us/brine-concentration-technology-market-global-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-2018-2026-report.html/toc https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=1825182 http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG https://marketreportandanalysis.blogspot.com Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Brine Concentration Technology Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2018 - 2026" to its huge collection of research reports.Brine concentration technology entails treatment of the produced brine to remove harmful salts from the water. Brine is considered a high-concentration solution of salt. It is usually sodium chloride mixed in water. Brine is produced through various processes. It is a salt water solution, which may contain different salts such as calcium sulfate, silica, calcium chloride, and sodium. Brine needs to be treated before it is discharged into the environment. Brine concentration technology is likely to vary according to the end-use industry and quality of the produced brine.FREE| Request Sample is Available at:Implementation of stringent regulations related to minimization of harmful carbon emissions is propelling the demand for brine concentration technology. Increase in oil & gas activities and growth in other end-use industries have resulted in the production of brine in the environment. Therefore, governments of several countries are funding and supporting development and adoption of the latest technology in the brine concentration technology.Asia Pacific is estimated to emerge as one of the prominent regions of the brine concentration technology. Highly environment-conscious Europe and North America are projected to lead the global brine concentration technology market in the near future. The brine concentration technology market is projected to witness a large number of collaborations between manufacturers and technology developers during the next few years.This report analyzes and forecasts the brine concentration technology market at the global and regional level. The market has been forecast based on revenue (US$ Mn) from 2018 to 2026, considering 2017 as the base year. The study includes drivers and restraints of the global brine concentration technology market. It also covers impact of these drivers and restraints on demand for brine concentration technology during the forecast period. The report also highlights opportunities in the brine concentration technology market at the global and regional level.Get complete TOC with Tables and Figures at:The report includes detailed value chain analysis, which provides a comprehensive view of the global brine concentration technology market. Porters Five Forces model for the brine concentration technology market has also been included to help understand the competitive landscape. The study encompasses market attractiveness analysis, wherein products and application are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate, and general attractiveness.The study provides a decisive view of the global brine concentration technology market by segmenting it in terms of end-user industry, technology, and region. Based on end-user industry, the brine concentration technology market has been segmented into coal-to-chemicals, food & beverage, and landfill/leachate. In terms of technology, the brine concentration technology market has been classified into HERO, CCD, VTFF, MVC, and others. These segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends. Regional segmentation includes current and forecast demand for brine concentration technology in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa.Make An Enquiry @The global brine concentration technology market is a highly competitive. Leading players dominate the market. Key players operating in the brine concentration technology market are Advent Envirocare Technology Pvt. Ltd., Modern Water plc., Memsys Water Technologies GmbH, Enviro Water Minerals Company Inc., Oasys Water, TETRA Technologies, Inc., Fluid Technology Solutions, Inc., Osmo Membrane Systems GmbH, Saltworks Technologies Inc., Duraflow LLC., Veolia, and Synder Filtration, Inc. Market players have been profiled in terms of attributes such as company overview, financial overview, business strategies, and recent developments.About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.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 @Follow us on Blogger at : Sterile Injectable Drugs Market Trends & Innovations during the Period Until 2025 || Key Player - Baxter International Inc., Sanofi, Pfizer Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc. AstraZeneca, Gilead, Sciences Inc. mrrse https://www.mrrse.com/sample/4320 https://www.mrrse.com/sterile-injectable-drugs-market-industry https://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/4320 Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has recently updated its massive report catalogue by adding a fresh study titled Sterile Injectable Drugs Market Trends & Innovations during the Period Until 2025 - MRRSE. This business intelligence study encapsulates vital details about the market current as well as future status during the mentioned forecast period of 2025.The report also targets important facets such as market drivers, challenges, latest trends, and opportunities associated to growth of manufacturers in global market for Sterile Injectable Drugs Market. Along with these insights, the report provides the readers crucial insights on the strategies implemented by leading companies to remain in the lead of this competitive market.Request Free Sample Report @This report on sterile injectable drugs market studies the current as well as future prospects of the market globally. The stakeholders of this report include companies and intermediaries engaged in the manufacture, commercialization, providing sterile injectable drugs products as well as new entrants planning to enter this market. This report comprises an elaborate executive summary along with a market snapshot providing overall information of various segments and sub-segments considered in the scope of the study. This section also provides the overall information and data analysis of the global sterile injectable drugs market with respect to the leading market segments based on major types, applications, usage, end users, and geographies.Based on the product type, the sterile injectable drugs market has been segmented into: small and large molecules. In term of indication, it can be segmented into cardiology & metabolic disorders, neurology, oncology, autoimmune, gastroenterology, hematology, pain, infectious diseases and others. On the basis of drug class it can be segmented into monoclonal antibodies, cytokines, peptide hormones, vaccines, peptide antibiotics, insulin, blood factors, immunoglobulin and others,. Each of the market segments have been extensively analyzed based on the market related factors such as increasing adoption rate worldwide, technological advancement, and growing number of use of disposable products in various geographies. Moreover, historical year-on-year growth have been taken into consideration while estimating the market size. The market size and forecast in terms of US$ million for each segment has been provided for the period from 2015 to 2025. The report also provides the compound annual growth rate (CAGR %) for each market segment for the forecast period from 2017 to 2025, considering 2016 as the base year.The market overview section of the report explores the market dynamics such as drivers, restraints, and opportunities that currently have a strong impact on the sterile injectable drugs market and could influence the market in the near future. Market attractiveness analysis has been provided in the market overview section in order to explain the intensity of competition in the market across different geographies. The competitive scenario among different market players is evaluated through market share analysis in the competitive landscape section of the report. All these factors would help market players to take strategic decisions in order to strengthen their positions and expand their shares in the global sterile injectable drugs market.Geographically, sterile injectable drugs market has been segmented into five major regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. The market size and forecast for each of these regions has been provided for the period from 2015 to 2025, along with their respective CAGRs for the forecast period from 2017 to 2025, considering 2016 as the base year. The report also provides with market size and forecast for major countries in the respective regions. A detailed qualitative analysis of factors responsible for driving and restraining the market growth and future opportunities has been provided in the market overview section. This section of the report also provides with market attractiveness analysis, Porters five forces analysis, market strategy overview, and market share analysis by key players, thus presenting a thorough analysis of the overall competitive scenario in the global sterile injectable drugs market.Browse Complete Report with TOC @The key findings section included in the report would assist existing market players in expanding their market shares, and new companies in establishing their presence in the global sterile injectable drugs market. The report also profiles key players operating in the sterile injectable drugs market which are Baxter International Inc., Sanofi, Pfizer Inc., and GlaxoSmithKline plc. AstraZeneca, Gilead, Sciences, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Novartis AG, Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., and Novo Nordisk A/S. The global sterile injectable drugs market is dominated by two global vendors that accounts for around 80% share of the global market.The global sterile injectable drugs market is segmented as follows:Global Sterile Injectable Drugs Market, by TypeSmall MoleculeLarge MoleculeGlobal Sterile Injectable Drugs Market, by Drug ClassMonoclonal Antibodies (Mabs)CytokinesInsulinPeptide HormonesVaccineImmunoglobulinsBlood FactorsPeptide AntibioticsOthersGlobal Sterile Injectable Drugs Market, by By IndicationCardiology & Metabolic disordersNeurologyOncologyAutoimmuneGastroenterologyHematologyPainInfectious diseasesOthersGlobal Sterile Injectable Drugs Market, by Distribution ChannelHospital PharmacyRetail PharmacyE-commerceGlobal Sterile Injectable Drugs Market, by GeographyNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeGermanyU.K.FranceItalySpainRest of the EuropeAsia PacificChinaIndiaJapanAustralia & New ZealandRest of Asia PacificLatin America (LATAM)BrazilMexicoRest of LATAMMiddle East & AfricaGCC CountriesSouth AfricaIsraelRest of Middle East & AfricaEnquire about this Report @About Market Research Reports Search Engine (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.com Technology Evolution: Global Quantum Dot (QD) Display Market to 2026| Sony Corporation, LG Display Co. Ltd., and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, Sharp Corporation, Quantum Materials Corporation, Microvision Inc. https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1800831 https://www.researchmoz.us/quantum-dot-qd-display-market-global-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-2018-2026-report.html/toc https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=1800831 http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG https://marketreportandanalysis.blogspot.com Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Quantum Dot (QD) Display Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2018 - 2026" to its huge collection of research reports.The Quantum Dot (QD) Display Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2018 2026 report provides analysis of the quantum dot (QD) displaymarket for the period 20162026, wherein the years from 2018 to 2026 is the forecast period and 2017 is considered as the base year. Data for 2016 has been included as historical information. The report covers all the trends and technologies playing a major role in the quantum dot (QD) display market growth over the forecast period.FREE| Request Sample is Available at:It highlights the drivers, restraints, and opportunities expected to influence the market growth during this period. The study provides a holistic perspective on the markets growth in terms of revenue (in US$ Mn) across different geographical regions, namely North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South America. The report highlights the key trends affecting the market on a global scale. Furthermore, region wise prominent countries/regions covered in the report include - the U.S, Canada, Germany, France, U.K., India, China, Japan, GCC,South Africa, and Brazil.This report analyzes and forecasts the market for quantum dot displays at the global and regional level. The market has been forecasted based on revenue (US$ Mn) from 2018to 2026. The study includes drivers and restraints of the global quantum dot (QD) display market. It also covers the impact of these drivers and restraints on themarketduring the forecast period.The report comprises a detailed value chain analysis which provides a comprehensive view of the global quantum dot (QD) display market. Porters Five Forces model for the quantum dot (QD) display market has also been included to help understand the competitive landscape in the market. The study encompasses market attractiveness analysis, where in end-users are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate, and general attractiveness.Global Quantum Dot (QD) Display Market: TaxonomyThe report segments the market on the basis ofmaterial, component, device, and region. The material segment includescadmium-containing and cadmium-free.Component segment includesLED, glass tube and film. Device segment is bifurcated into consumer electronics, medical devices, and others.Consumer electronicssegment is further segmented intotelevision, smartphone, laptop, wearable devices, and others.Get complete TOC with Tables and Figures at:Global Quantum Dot (QD) Display Market: Research MethodologySecondary research sources that are typically referred to include, but are not limited to company websites, annual reports, financial reports, broker reports, investor presentations, and SEC filings, internal and external proprietary databases, and relevant patent and regulatory databases, national government documents, statistical databases, and market reports, news articles, press releases, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market.Primary research involves e-mail interactions, telephonic interviews, and face-to-face interviews for each market, category, segment, and sub-segment across geographies. We conduct primary interviews on an ongoing basis with industry participants and commentators in order to validate the data and analysis. Primary interviews provide firsthand information on market size, market trends, growth trends, competitive landscape, and outlook, etc. These help validate and strengthen secondary research findings. These also help develop the analysis teams expertise and market understanding.Global Quantum Dot (QD) Display Market: Competitive DynamicsSony Corporation, LG Display Co. Ltd., and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, Sharp Corporation, 3M Company, Nanosys, Inc., Quantum Materials Corporation, Microvision Inc., Evident Technologies, Inc. and QD Vision, Inc.are some of the major players operating within the quantum dot (QD) displaymarket profiled in this study. Details such as financials, SWOT analysis, business strategies, recent developments, and other such strategic information pertaining to these players have been duly provided as part of company profiling.Various players are introducing advanced displays and establishing partnerships with other players to provide various quantum dot displays on a large scale in order to provide excellent picture quality at low cost.Make An Enquiry @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.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 @Follow us on Blogger at : Global Prosthetic Heart Valves (Cardiovascular Devices) Market Set for Rapid Growth by 2028 - Companies covered Such As Abbott Laboratories, Edwards Lifesciences Corp, Medtronic plc, LivaNova PLC and CryoLife Inc ResearchMoz https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1978275 https://www.researchmoz.us/prosthetic-heart-valves-cardiovascular-devices-global-market-analysis-and-forecast-model-report.html/toc http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG http://summaryofmarketresearchreports.blogspot.in/ Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Prosthetic Heart Valves (Cardiovascular Devices) Market Set for Rapid Growth by 2028 - Companies covered Such As Abbott Laboratories, Edwards Lifesciences Corp, Medtronic plc, LivaNova PLC and CryoLife Inc" to its huge collection of research reports.Prosthetic Heart Valves (Cardiovascular Devices) - Global Market Analysis and Forecast Model is built to visualize quantitative market trends within Cardiovascular Devices therapeutic area.Depending on the severity of the condition Valvular Heart Diseases can be treated by surgical repair or replacement procedures using prosthetic heart valves. Mechanical Heart Valves are generally made of non-physiological materials with a mobile occluder, which is made of rigid materials. This segment comprises of Mechanical Sutured Mitral Valve Replacements and Mechanical Sutured Aortic Valve Replacements. Tissue heart valve are a combination of tissue and synthetic biomaterials with the tissue itself being flexible. Bovine and porcine valves are included here. This segment comprises Tissue Sutured Mitral Valve Replacements, Tissue Sutureless Aortic Valve Replacements and Tissue Sutured Aortic Valve Replacements.Each of the covered 39 countrys color-coded and fully-sourced market models are equipped with epidemiology based indications with procedure volumes. To increase the data transparency, the interactive excel deliverable covers installed base, new sales volumes, product usage, average selling prices, market size and company share/rank analysis (wherever available). Moreover, analyst comments with qualitative insight offer context for quantitative data.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Key Inclusions of the market modelCurrently marketed prosthetic heart valves and evolving competitive landscape -- Insightful review of the key industry trends.- Annualized total prosthetic heart valves market revenue by segment and market outlooks from 2015-2028.- Granular data on total procedures, units, average selling prices and market values by segment.Global, Regional and Country level market specific insights -- Qualitative market specific information is available with global trends further broken down into regional trends. In addition GlobalData analysts provide unique country specific insights on the market.- SWOT analysis for Prosthetic Heart Valves market.- Competitive dynamics insights and trends provided for Prosthetic Heart Valves market.Drive the understanding of the market by getting the veritable big picture including an overview of the healthcare system. In addition the Market Access segment allows you to delve deeper into market dynamics with information on reimbursement policies and the regulatory landscape.- Country specific overview of the healthcare system.- Country specific reimbursement policies.- Country specific medtech regulatory landscape.Browse TOC @Robust methodologies and sources enable the model to provide extensive and accurate overview of the market. Demand and supply-side primary sources are integrated within the syndicated models, including Key Opinion Leaders. In addition, real world data sources are leveraged to determine market trends; these include government procedure databases, hospital purchasing databases, and proprietary online databases.Companies covered: Abbott Laboratories, Edwards Lifesciences Corp, Medtronic plc, LivaNova PLC, CryoLife Inc, Lepu Medical Technology (Beijing) Co Ltd, TTK Healthcare Ltd, Comed B.V., Braile Biomedica Ltda, Labcor Laboratrios Ltda, Others.Countries covered: United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, China, India, Russia, Japan, Australia, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Israel, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Taiwan, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Argentina and Chile.ScopeThis Market Model gives important, expert insight you wont find in any other source. The model illustrates qualitative and quantitative trends within the specified market. This model is required reading for -- CMO executives who must have deep understanding of the prosthetic heart valves marketplace to make strategic planning and investment decisions.- Sourcing and procurement executives who must understand crucial components of the supply base in order to make decisions about supplier selection and management.- Private equity investors that need a deeper understanding of the market to identify and value potential investment targets.Reasons to buyThe model will enable you to -- Develop and design your in-licensing and out-licensing strategies through a review of pipeline products and technologies, and by identifying the companies with the most robust pipeline.- Develop business strategies by understanding the trends shaping and driving prosthetic heart valves market.- Drive revenues by understanding the key trends, innovative products and technologies, market segments, and companies likely to impact the prosthetic heart valves market in the future.- Formulate effective sales and marketing strategies by understanding the competitive landscape and by analyzing the company share of market leaders.- Identify emerging players with potentially strong product portfolios and create effective counter-strategies to gain a competitive advantage.- Track device sales in the global and country-specific prosthetic heart valves market from 2015-2028.- Organize your sales and marketing efforts by identifying the market categories and segments that present maximum opportunities for consolidations, investments and strategic partnerships.About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @Follow us on Blogger @ Global General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Market 2019 | Sandvik AB (Sweden), Kennametal Inc. (U.S.), Ceratizit S.A. (Luxembourg), Extramet (Switzerland), Federal Carbide Company (U.S.) Market Research Hub https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=2100037 https://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/global-general-purpose-tungsten-carbide-powder-market-insights-forecast-to-2025-report.html This research report titled Global General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Market Insights, Forecast to 2025 has been added to the wide online database managed by Market Research Hub (MRH). The study discusses the prime market growth factors along with future projections expected to impact the General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Market during the period between 2019 and 2025. The concerned sector is analyzed based on different market factors including drivers, restraints and opportunities in order to enlighten the readers about the actual scenario prevailing in the General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Market.Get Sample Copy of This Report @Global General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder market size will increase to Million US$ by 2025, from Million US$ in 2018, at a CAGR of during the forecast period. In this study, 2018 has been considered as the base year and 2019 to 2025 as the forecast period to estimate the market size for General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder.This report researches the worldwide General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder market size (value, capacity, production and consumption) in key regions like United States, Europe, Asia Pacific (China, Japan) and other regions.This study categorizes the global General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder breakdown data by manufacturers, region, type and application, also analyzes the market status, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis.This report focuses on the top manufacturers' General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder capacity, production, value, price and market share of General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder in global market. The following manufacturers are covered in this report:Sandvik AB (Sweden)Kennametal Inc. (U.S.)Ceratizit S.A. (Luxembourg)Extramet (Switzerland)Federal Carbide Company (U.S.)Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten Co., Ltd. (China)Nanchang Cemented Carbide Co., Ltd. (China)Jiangxi Yaosheng Tungsten Co., Ltd. (China)OMCD SpA(Italy)Specialty Metals Resources SA(Belgium)TaeguTec Ltd(Korea Republic)Japan New Metal Co., Ltd. (Japan)Eurotungstene (France)General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Breakdown Data by TypeWCW2CGeneral Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Breakdown Data by ApplicationMachine Tools & ComponentsCutting ToolsDies & PunchesAbrasive ProductsOthersGeneral Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Production Breakdown Data by RegionUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanOther RegionsGeneral Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Consumption Breakdown Data by RegionNorth AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaMalaysiaPhilippinesThailandVietnamEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalyRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaGCC CountriesTurkeyEgyptSouth AfricaRest of Middle East & AfricaBROWSE Full Report NOW @Table of ContentsGlobal General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Market Research Report 2019-2025, by Manufacturers, Regions, Types and Applications1 Study Coverage1.1 General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Product1.2 Key Market Segments in This Study1.3 Key Manufacturers Covered1.4 Market by Type1.4.1 Global General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Market Size Growth Rate by Type1.4.2 WC1.4.3 W2C1.5 Market by Application1.5.1 Global General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Market Size Growth Rate by Application1.5.2 Machine Tools & Components1.5.3 Cutting Tools1.5.4 Dies & Punches1.5.5 Abrasive Products1.5.6 Others1.6 Study Objectives1.7 Years Considered2 Executive Summary2.1 Global General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Production2.1.1 Global General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Revenue 2014-20252.1.2 Global General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Production 2014-20252.1.3 Global General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Capacity 2014-20252.1.4 Global General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Marketing Pricing and Trends2.2 General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Growth Rate (CAGR) 2019-20252.3 Analysis of Competitive Landscape2.3.1 Manufacturers Market Concentration Ratio (CR5 and HHI)2.3.2 Key General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Manufacturers2.4 Market Drivers, Trends and Issues2.5 Macroscopic Indicator2.5.1 GDP for Major Regions2.5.2 Price of Raw Materials in Dollars: Evolution3 Market Size by Manufacturers3.1 General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Production by Manufacturers3.1.1 General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Production by Manufacturers3.1.2 General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Production Market Share by Manufacturers3.2 General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Revenue by Manufacturers3.2.1 General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Revenue by Manufacturers (2014-2019)3.2.2 General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Revenue Share by Manufacturers (2014-2019)3.3 General Purpose Tungsten Carbide Powder Price by Manufacturers3.4 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion PlansMore Information@@@About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports of different sector like chemicals market research and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of 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.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email: press@marketresearchhub.com Chinese scientists have found that baby golden snub-nosed monkeys have "wet nurses," an activity seen for the first time in an Old World nonhuman primate. Nearly 90 percent of golden snub-nosed monkey infants evaluated in a five-year field study were nursed by females other than their biological mothers, according to a paper published on Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. The researchers found that 40 out of 46 infants suckled from one or more females that were not their mother, predominantly seen during their first three months. Four of the six infants who did not receive nursing from another female died during winter, while only six of the 40 infants who were fed by "wet nurses" died, according to the study. The study's co-author Xiang Zuofu with China's Central South University of Forestry and Technology told Xinhua that, since breastfeeding is energy-consuming, a majority of animal mothers are unwilling to do so and among primates, only prosimians and New World monkeys nurse infants that are not their children. The cost of helping others are particularly high for monkeys such as the golden snub-nosed monkey that live in high-elevation temperate forests with extremely cold, five-month-long winters but those mutually beneficial behavior is believed to enhance infant survival and reduce postnatal reproductive costs incurred by the infant's mother, according to Xiang. The study also showed that the allomaternal nursing activities occurred in a tolerant kin-based support network where those breast-feeding mothers are relatives. Those collaborative activities are necessary in the early evolutionary age of human beings, so the study can provide a new perspective to human evolution study, according to Xiang. Global Biomaterials Market Key Applications & Investments 2025: Evonik Industries, Bayer Healthcare AG, Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc, Wright Medical Group., Koninklijke DSM N.V. https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1833126 https://www.researchmoz.us/global-biomaterials-market-analysis-by-type-metal-ceramic-polymer-by-application-orthopedic-cardiovascular-plastic-surgery-wound-care-by-region-by-country-2018-edition-forecast-to-2023-report.html/toc https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=1833126 http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG https://studyanalyst.blogspot.in ResearchMoz include new market research report "Global Biomaterials Market Analysis By Type (Metal, Ceramic, Polymer), By Application (Orthopedic, Cardiovascular, Plastic Surgery, Wound Care), By Region, By Country (2018 Edition): Forecast to 2023 -- By Region (North America, Europe, APAC, ROW), By Country (U.S, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain China, Japan, India)" to its huge collection of research reports.A comprehensive research report created through extensive primary research (inputs from industry experts, companies, stakeholders) and secondary research, the report aims to present the analysis of Global Biomaterials Market By Type (Metal, Ceramic, Polymer), By Application (Orthopaedic, Cardiovascular, Plastic Surgery, Wound Care), By Region (North America, Europe, APAC, ROW) and By Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, China, Japan, India).For more information on this report, fill the form @According to Azoth Analytics research report, Global Biomaterials Market Analysis By Type (Metal, Ceramic, Polymer), By Application (Orthopedic, Cardiovascular, Plastic Surgery, Wound Care), By Region, By Country (2018 Edition): Forecast to 2023 the global market value is projected to display robust growth represented by a CAGR of 14.8% during the forecast period of 2018 2023.The Segment of Polymer biomaterials witnessed growth at a noteworthy rate over the past few years and expected to grow in the forecast period with increasing demand of cardiovascular diseases and cosmetic surgeries across the globe along with rise in disposable incomes. Amongst the region North America accounts for the largest regional share, by value in global biomaterials market in 2017. Additionally, Asia Pacific will be a growing region in the forecasted period, 2018-2023 as old age population is increasing along with rise in cardiovascular diseases. Increasing number of cosmetic procedures is also fuelling the biomaterials market.The report titled Global Biomaterials Market Analysis By Type (Metal, Ceramic, Polymer), By Application (Orthopedic, Cardiovascular, Plastic Surgery, Wound Care), By Region, By Country (2018 Edition): Forecast to 2023 has covered and analyzed the potential of Global Biomaterials Market and provides statistics and information on market size, shares and growth factors. The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyses the emerging trends along with major drivers, challenges and opportunities in the global biomaterials market. Additionally, the report also highlights market entry strategies for various companies across the globe.To Browse a Complete Report with TOC Visit @Scope of the ReportGlobal Market (Actual Period: 2013-2017, Forecast Period: 2018-2023)Global Biomaterials Market By valueBy Type Polymer, Metal and Ceramic BiomaterialsBy Application - Orthopaedic, Cardiovascular, Plastic Surgery, Wound Care, OthersRegional Markets North America, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World (Actual Period: 2013-2017, Forecast Period: 2018-2023)Biomaterials Market By valueBy Type Polymer, Metal and Ceramic BiomaterialsBy Application - Orthopaedic, Cardiovascular, Plastic Surgery, Wound Care, OthersCountry Analysis - U.S, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain China, Japan, India (Actual Period: 2013-2017, Forecast Period: 2018-2023)Biomaterials Market By valueBy Type Polymer, Metal and Ceramic BiomaterialsBy Application - Orthopaedic, Cardiovascular, Plastic Surgery, Wound Care, OthersMake An Enquiry @Other Report HighlightsMarket Dynamics Drivers and RestraintsMarket TrendsPolicy and Regulatory LandscapeCompany Analysis Evonik Industries, Bayer Healthcare AG, Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc, Wright Medical Group., Koninklijke DSM N.V.About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.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 @Blog: Comprehensive Analysis on North America Commercial Drone Market with Major Key Players: Parrot, 3D Robotics, Yuneec International, Cyberhawk Innovations Ltd., Intel and senseFly Commercial Drones Market https://www.graphicalresearch.com/request/1022/sample https://www.graphicalresearch.com/industry-insights/1022/north-america-commercial-drone-unmanned-aerial-vehicle-UAV-market https://www.graphicalresearch.com/request/1022/inquiry-before-buying https://www.graphicalresearch.com/industry-insights/1016/europe-commercial-drone-unmanned-aerial-vehicle-UAV-market https://www.graphicalresearch.com/industry-insights/1011/asia-pacific-commercial-drone-unmanned-aerial-vehicle-UAV-market https://www.graphicalresearch.com/ As per the latest report by Graphical Research titled North America Commercial Drone Market predicted to cross USD 7 billion by 2024.The rise in adoption of smartphones, demand for aerial services, and demand for drone services for commercial applications impacts the market growth. The legalization and adoption of commercial drone in the market by government authorities has brought many new valuable avenues for business and usability in the market. Factors such as regulations regarding the security and privacy, use of satellite imagery hamper the market growth of the drone. Moreover, increased application areas for drones has created lucrative opportunities for players present in the market.Request for a sample of this research report @Leading players are aiming to explore new technologies and applications to meet the growing demands of customers. Collaborations and acquisitions would enable them to enhance their product portfolios and expand into different geographies. Emerging economies would provide opportunity for growth and expansion. Vendors are developing specialized solutions for small and medium-sized businesses to meet their specific business requirements.The autonomous mode of operation of a civilian UAV drone is estimated to be the fastest growing mode of drone in the market with a CAGR of 23.4% in the forecasted period. This can be attributed to the technological advancement and utilization of drone capabilities, such as, with the use of thermal and hyperspectral sensors in flight to capture and experience immersive view from drones.Browse key industry insights from this report @The usage of drone technology in agricultural practices has been on a significant rise in the civilian UAV market, with the farmers being provided decision making insights through big data analytics. This has helped the farmers in understanding their crops better for enabling maintenance and balance of their crop production, with efficient deployment methods such as, crop spraying, aerial spraying, crop monitoring, soil & field analysis and health assessment.North America commercial drone market consists of both multinational companies with wide product portfolio and regional player or SMBs that offer niche products and services. Some of the major market players are Parrot, 3D Robotics, Yuneec International, Cyberhawk Innovations Ltd., Intel and senseFly.Canada is the fastest growing country in the commercial drone market in the North America region with a CAGR of 27%, due to the governments take on adoption and exploration of commercial drones to cater innovation with technology in unmanned vehicles. It is estimated that the country utilizes about three- fourth of its drones for recreational purposes and the remaining one fourth in for non-recreational purposes.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @Segments We Cover:North America Commercial Drone Market Analysis, By TechnologyRemotely Operated DroneSemi-autonomous DroneAutonomous DroneNorth America Commercial Drone Market Statistics, By ApplicationAerial photographyAgricultureEmergency ManagementInspection & MonitoringRemote Sensing & MappingWildlife Research & PreservationNorth America Commercial Drone Market Growth, By ProductFixed Wing DroneRotary Wing DroneHybrid DroneThe above information has been provided for the following regions and countries:U.SCanadaRelated Reports:1. Europe Commercial Drone Market Size By Product (Fixed Wing Drone, Rotary Blade Drone, Hybrid Drone), By Technology (Remotely Operated, Semi-Autonomous, Autonomous), By Application (Aerial Photography, Agriculture, Emergency Management, Inspection & Monitoring, Remote Sensing & Mapping, Wildlife Research & Preservation), Industry Analysis Report, Countries Outlook (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Russia), Growth Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2018 20242. Asia Pacific Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Market Size By Product (Fixed Wing Drone, Rotary Blade Drone, Hybrid Drone), By Technology (Remotely Operated, Semi-Autonomous, Autonomous), By Application (Aerial Photography, Agriculture, Emergency Management, Inspection & Monitoring, Remote Sensing & Mapping, Wildlife Research & Preservation), Industry Analysis Report, Countries Outlook (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Russia), Growth Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2018 2024About Graphical Research:Graphical Research is a business research firm that provides industry insights, market forecast and strategic inputs through granular research reports and advisory services. We publish targeted research reports with an aim to address varied customer needs, from market penetration and entry strategies to portfolio management and strategic outlook. We understand that business requirements are unique: our syndicate reports are designed to ensure relevance for industry participants across the value chain. We also provide custom reports that are tailored to the exact needs of the customer, with dedicated analyst support across the purchase lifecycle.Contact Us:Parikhit B.Corporate sales,Graphical ResearchEmail: sales@graphicalresearh.comWeb: Global Conditional Access System Market Detailed In New Research Report By Top Most Key Players | Cisco Systems, Inc., China Digital TV Holding Co., Ltd., Verimatrix, Inc. and Irdeto, Inc. ResearchMoz https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=172703 https://www.researchmoz.us/conditional-access-system-market-global-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-2013-2019-report.html/toc http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG http://summaryofmarketresearchreports.blogspot.in/ Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Conditional Access System Market Detailed In New Research Report By Top Most Key Players | Cisco Systems, Inc., China Digital TV Holding Co., Ltd., Verimatrix, Inc. and Irdeto, Inc." to its huge collection of research reports.This comprehensive report by Transparency Market Research analyzes and provides market growth forecasts for the conditional access system market at the global and regional level. The report provides an analysis of the global conditional access system market for the period from 2016 to 2026, wherein the period from 2018 to 2026 is the forecast period and 2017 is the base year. Data for 2016 is provided as historical information. The report covers all the major trends influencing the expansion of the conditional access system market over the forecast period.It also highlights various drivers, restraints, and opportunities expected to affect the markets expansion during this period. The study provides a complete perspective on the conditional access system market expansion in terms of revenue (US$ Mn), across different geographical regions namely North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South America. The report would help manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors to understand the current and future trends in the market and formulate their strategies accordingly.The report also includes value chain analysis of the conditional access system market. These market estimates have been analyzed by taking into account the impact of different political, social, economic, technological, and legal factors along with the current market dynamics affecting the market expansion.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Global Conditional Access System Market: Scope of the ReportBased on solution, the conditional access system market is segmented into smartcard-based conditional access systems and card-less conditional access systems. Smartcard-based conditional access systems are traditional systems that include additional hardware such as chip/smartcard with embedded conditional access software. This card is inserted in the set-top box to enable content security by providing access to authorized users.Smartcard-based CAS currently have significant penetration in the global conditional access systems market as these systems have been in existence for a long time.Card-less conditional access systems, also known as software-based conditional access system, require no hardware, and the software is embedded directly onto the set-top box. The most significant advantage of card-less conditional access systems is their low operating and upgrading costs as compared to smartcard-based conditional access systems. In addition, software-based conditional access systems offer better security against intrusion than smartcard-based conditional access systems. In tersm of application, the market has been segmented into television broadcasting services, Internet services, and digital radio broadcasting services. The television broadcasting services segment has been further categorized into smart card, set-top box, conditional access module, and software-based conditional access systems.Browse TOC @The report also includes competitive profiling of the key players associated with the conditional access system market around the globe. The important business strategies adopted by leading players, their market positioning, financials, SWOT analysis, and recent developments have also been identified in the research report. The competitive landscape section of the report also offers an overview about the major contributing regions/countries byof these key players in order to strengthen their market position in the future.Global Conditional Access System Market: Research MethodologyThe research methodology is a perfect combination of primary research, secondary research, and expert panel reviews. Secondary sources such as annual reports, company websites, SEC filings and investor presentations, internal and external proprietary databases, statistical databases, relevant patent and regulatory databases, market reports, government publications, World Bank database, and industry white papers are usually referred to for developing preliminary market understanding. Further, for this report, we have specifically focused on data from various national telecom authorities and industry bodies.Primary research involves telephonic interviews, e-mail interactions, and face-to-face interviews for detailed and unbiased reviews on the master recharge API market, across geographies. Primary interviews are usually conducted on an ongoing basis with industry experts and participants in order to get the latest market insights and validate the existing data and analysis. Primary interviews offer new and fresh information on important factors such as market trends, market size, competitive landscape, growth trends, etc. These factors help to validate and strengthen secondary research findings.Moreover, the data collected and analyzed from secondary and primary research is again discussed and examined by our expert panel.Global Conditional Access System Market: Competitive DynamicsKey players that have been profiled in this study include Cisco Systems, Inc., Kudelski Group (Nagravision SA), China Digital TV Holding Co., Ltd., Verimatrix, Inc., Irdeto, Inc., Viaccess-Orca (Orange Group), Austrian Broadcasting Services GmbH & Co. KG (ORS Group), Coretrust, Inc., Wellav Technologies Ltd., Alticast Corporation, ABV International Pte. Ltd., Sumavision Technologies Co., Ltd., Sumavision Technologies Co., Ltd., and ARRIS Group, Inc.. Details such as financials, business strategies, SWOT analysis, recent developments, and strategic information pertaining to these players have been duly provided as a part of company profiles.The conditional access system market has been segmented as below:Market Segmentation: Global Conditional Access System MarketBy Solution TypeSmartcard-based CASCard-less CASBy ApplicationTelevision Broadcasting ServicesSmart CardSet-top BoxConditional Access ModuleSoftware-based CASInternet ServicesDigital Radio Broadcasting ServicesIn addition, the report provides analysis of the conditional access system market with respect to the following geographic segments:North AmericaThe U.S.CanadaRest of North AmericaEuropeThe U.K.GermanyFranceCIS CountriesArmeniaBelarusRussiaAzerbaijanKazakhstanRest of EuropeAsia Pacific (APAC)ChinaIndiaJapanAustraliaRest of Asia PacificMiddle East and Africa (MEA)GCCSouth AfricaRest of Middle East and AfricaSouth AmericaBrazilRest of South AmericaAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @Follow us on Blogger @ Best Statistical Report of Mouse Model Market Trend Expected to Guide by 2025: Focusing Top Key Players like Envigo, GenOway, Harbour Antibodies, Janvier Labs, Taconic Biosciences, The Jackson Laboratory Mouse Model https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/requested_sample/67110 https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/enquiry_before_buying/67110 https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/requested_sample/67110 https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/request_for_discount/67110 www.upmarketresearch.com Up Market Research offers a latest published report on Global Mouse Model Market Research Report 2019 delivering key insights and providing a competitive advantage to clients through a detailed report. The report contains 101 pages which highly exhibit on current market analysis scenario, upcoming as well as future opportunities, revenue growth, pricing and profitability.Request Sample Copy Of this Report @Mouse Model Market research report delivers a close watch on leading competitors with strategic analysis, micro and macro market trend and scenarios, pricing analysis and a holistic overview of the market situations in the forecast period.It is a professional and a detailed report focusing on primary and secondary drivers, market share, leading segments and geographical analysis. Further, key players, major collaborations, merger & acquisitions along with trending innovation and business policies are reviewed in the report. The report contains basic, secondary and advanced information pertaining to the Scuba Diving Fins Market global status and trend, market size, share, growth, trends analysis, segment and forecasts from 2018 2025.The scope of the report extends from market scenarios to comparative pricing between major players, cost and profit of the specified market regions. The numerical data is backed up by statistical tools such as SWOT analysis, BCG matrix, SCOT analysis, PESTLE analysis and so on. The statistics are represented in graphical format for a clear understanding on facts and figures.The generated report is firmly based on primary research, interviews with top executives, news sources and information insiders. Secondary research techniques are implemented for better understanding and clarity for data analysis.The report for Mouse Model Market analysis & forecast 2018- 2025 is segmented into Product Segment, Application Segment & Major players.Region- wise Analysis Mouse Model Market covers: North America Europe China Japan India Southeast Asia Other regions (Central & South America, Middle East & Africa)For More Information On This Report, Please Visit @The Major Players Reported In The Report Are: Envigo GenOway Harbour Antibodies Janvier Labs Taconic Biosciences The Jackson Laboratory Charles River Laboratories International Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Horizon Discovery Group Trans Genic Ingenious Targeting LaboratoryGlobal Mouse Model Market: Product Segment Analysis: Inbred Mice Outbred Mice Genetically Engineered MiceGlobal Mouse Model Market: Application Segment Analysis: Medical Pharmaceutical Education OtherThe Report Covers In- Depth Analysis As Follows: Chapter 1 Overview of Mouse Model Market Chapter 2 Global Market Status and Forecast by Regions Chapter 3 Global Market Status and Forecast by Types Chapter 4 Global Market Status and Forecast by Downstream Industry Chapter 5 Market Driving Factor Analysis of Mouse Model Market Chapter 6 Mouse Model Market Competition Status by Major Manufacturers Chapter 7 Mouse Model Market Major Manufacturers Introduction and Market Data Chapter 8 Upstream and Downstream Market Analysis of Mouse Model Market Chapter 9 Cost and Gross Margin Analysis of Mouse Model Market Chapter 10 Marketing Status Analysis of Mouse Model Market Chapter 11 Report Conclusion Chapter 12 Research Methodology and ReferenceRequest Complete TOC Of this Report @Mouse Model Market Analysis and Forecast 2018- 2025 report helps the clients to take business decisions and to understand strategies of major players in the industry. The report also calls for market- driven results deriving feasibility studies for client needs. UpMarketResearch ensures qualified and verifiable aspects of market data operating in the real- time scenario. The analytical studies are conducted ensuring client needs with a thorough understanding of market capacities in the real- time scenario.Global Mouse Model Market: Key Stakeholders: Manufacturers Distributors/Traders/Wholesalers Subcomponent Manufacturers Industry Association Downstream VendorsIn this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Mouse Model Market are as follows: History Year: 2013-2017 Base Year: 2017 Estimated Year: 2018 Forecast Year 2018 to 2025Key Reasons to Purchase: To gain insightful analyses of the market and have a comprehensive understanding of the Mouse Model Market and its commercial landscape. Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by your competitors and leading organizations. 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Get in touch with our sales team, who will guarantee you to get a report that suits your necessities.You can also ask for region wise market research report, as below: Mouse Model Market Global Market Status & Trend Report 2013- 2025 Top 20 Countries Data Mouse Model Market North America Market Status and Trend Report 2013- 2025 Mouse Model Market South America Market Status and Trend Report 2013- 2025 Mouse Model Market Europe Market Status and Trend Report 2013- 2025 Mouse Model Market EMEA Market Status and Trend Report 2013- 2025 Mouse Model Market Asia Pacific Market Status and Trend Report 2013- 2025 Mouse Model Market China Market Status and Trend Report 2013- 2025 Mouse Model Market India Market Status and Trend Report 2013- 2025 Mouse Model Market United States Market Status and Trend Report 2013- 2025About UpMarketResearch:The UpMarketResearch () is a leading distributor of market research report with more than 800+ global clients. As a market research company, we take pride in equipping our clients with insights and data that holds the power to truly make a difference to their business. Our mission is singular and well- defined we want to help our clients envisage their business environment so that they are able to make informed, strategic and therefore successful decisions for themselves.Contact Info:Name: Alex MathewsEmail: Alex@upmarketresearch.comOrganization: UpMarketResearchAddress: 500 East E Street, Ontario, CA 91764, United States. Blue Biotechnology Market 2023 Top Key Players are Aker BioMarine, Marinova, New England Biolabs, PML Applications Ltd., Sea Run Holdings Blue Biotechnology Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/713 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/blue-biotechnology-market-713 Namely Blue Biotechnology Market Report has Been Published by Market Research Future Which Covers All the Geographical Locations with Demand, Trend Analysis with near about Forecasted results and Also Covers the Market Expectations.Market Synopsis:Blue biotechnology deals with the application of biotechnology to marine or aquatic sources at a molecular level to extract active new ingredients for development of new drugs and other purposes. Market Research Future (MRFR) has published a report asserting that the Global Blue Biotechnology Market is anticipated to expand at a strong CAGR of 10.2% during the forecast period of 2017-2023.Get PDF Sample Copy @Competitive Analysis:The major players of the Global Blue Biotechnology Market that are profiled in the report by MRFR are Aker BioMarine (Norway), Marinova (Australia), New England Biolabs (the U.S), PML Applications Ltd. (the U.K), Sea Run Holdings, Inc.(the U.S), PICES (Canada), Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (the U.S), Shell Marine Products (the U.S), GeoMarine Biotechnologies (India), GlycoMar (Scotland), Cellgen Biologicals Pvt Ltd. (India), Nurture Aqua Technology Pvt. Ltd. (India), Samudra Biopharma Pvt.Ltd (India) and Sanosil Biotech (India).Market Latest Update:The rapidly increasing research and development expenditure by the players for innovative product launch in medical, cosmetics, food and other industries is triggering competition in the global blue biotechnology market. The nascent stage of blue biotechnology has created huge opportunities for the product manufacturers and research institutes to explore higher verticals in the global blue biotechnology market.In June 2018, Hilton Lifestyle, LLC, a skincare manufacturer in the U.S., has announced the launch of its first full skincare line under the Paris Hilton brand called ProD.N.A. These skin care products are manufactured with the use of enzymes sourced from marine microalgae.Market Driver and Restraints:Oceans and Seas consist of large biodiversity and the development in the field of biotechnology has made it possible to utilize the marine and aquatic sources for obtaining various products that are useful for mankind. The availability of large market for blue biotech products in the various sectors is majorly driving the Global Blue Biotechnology Market.The increasing demand for blue biotech products in the pharmaceutical industry for production of various medicines and drugs is fueling the expansion of the global blue biotechnology market. The flexibility, adaptivity and constant development of blue biotechnology are widening its application range in various industries.The vital application of blue biotech products in cosmetics, food and feed industries is impacting positively on the expansion of the global blue biotechnology market. The increasing consumer demand for biologics over the conventional synthetic products is one of the major factors driving the growth of the global blue biotechnology market.The rapid development in the field of biotechnology owing to the increasing research and development expenditure is resulting in the significant expansion of the global blue biotechnology market. However, the strict regulatory framework for conservation of marine ecosystem is likely to act as a restraint on the expansion of the global blue biotechnology market.Market Segmentation:The global blue biotechnology market has been segmented on the basis of product, application and end-users. Based on products, the blue biotechnology market is segmented into enzymes, pharma products, bulk chemicals, biopolymers and other products. Based on application, the blue biotechnology market is segmented into bio-engineering, genomics, vaccine development, drug discovery and others. Based on end-users, the blue biotechnology market is segmented into hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, research institutes, laboratories, and others.Browse Full Reports @Regional Analysis:The global blue biotechnology market has been segmented into five major regions such as North America, South America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East and Africa. The North America region is dominating the global blue biotechnology market owing to the rapid development in the field of biotechnology and large number of players focusing on development of blue biotechnology in this region. The Europe region is the second largest market in the global blue biotechnology market due to the increasing consumer demand for biotech products in this region. The Asia Pacific region accounts for the steady growth in global blue biotechnology market as the blue biotechnology is still at a nascent stage in this region. Lack of awareness and less technological penetration in the underdeveloped area is resulting in the slow growth of blue biotechnology market in the Middle East and Africa region.About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Plant Based Waters Market share research by applications and regions from 2016 to 2024 Plant Based Waters Market https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/1318 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/plant-based-waters-market https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/1318 https://www.gminsights.com http://algosonline.com/news The growth prospects for Plant-based waters market have been forecast to be positively high over the coming years. This is evident from the recent clash between Pepsi and Coca-Cola, wherein both the companies have been planning to commercialize packaged coconut water in a bid to establish their position in global plant-based waters industry. Of late, consumers have been preferring to purchase healthier organic drinks, as opposed to aerated ones, on account of which companies have been vying with one another to manufacture plant-based beverages instead of routine drinks. A sedentary lifestyle has led to an increase in the consumption of soda-based drinks. The rise in health hazards such as obesity, cancer, indigestion, and diabetes due to these drinks have also prompted numerous beverage firms to penetrate plant-based waters market, which is slated to observe a CAGR of 19% over 2017-2024.Request Sample Copy of This Report @Company Profiles1. Harmless Harvest2. Oviva3. The Coca-Cola Company4. PepsiCo5. CALIWATER Cactus Water6. Sibberi Tree Water7. Drink Simple8. Steaz - The Healthy Beverage Company9. Happy Tree10. DrinkSEVA11. World Waters12. ARTY Water Company13. All Market InBrowse key industry insights spread across 225 pages with 256 market data tables & 12 figures & charts from the report, Plant-based Waters Market Size By Product (Coconut Water, Maple Water, Birch Water, Artichoke Water, Cactus Water), By Flavor Variant (Flavored, Original), By Pack Type (Cans, Bottles, Cartons, Pouches), By Distribution Channel (Online, Retail Stores, Cafes & Fitness Centers), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, China, India, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, GCC), Growth Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 20172024 in detail along with the table of contents:Global plant-based waters industry has been witnessing an appreciable growth across the Asia Pacific region, particularly due to the increased availability of coconut plantations in countries such as India. The region is anticipated to be a lucrative business ground for market players as there is a tremendous untapped potential across the continent for branded & packaged coconut water, in addition to other plant-based drinks. For instance, the year 2015 witnessed Vita Coco, one the worlds top coconut brands, penetrate the plant-based waters industry in Asia Pacific, by establishing its brand value across China, South Korea, Japan, Philippines, and Singapore. In addition, the company had then outlined plans to enter the business across five other geographies, including Malaysia, Australia, Brunei, New Zealand, and Maldives. As on today, Vita Coco, with its plethora of well-commercialized coconut water products, holds a healthy share of APAC plant-based waters market.A major factor that is likely to expand the business scope of plant-based waters industry is the mode of distribution. The advent of digitization has mobilized businesses, and every product and service-based firm now has a major share in the online space. On these grounds, it would not be incorrect to presume that online channels will play a vital role in commercializing plant-based waters industry. Hectic consumer lifestyles and easy product availability will be the key factors driving plant-based waters market via online distribution channels. Companies have the opportunity to promote a wide range of their products on online platforms, which will further stimulate the expansion of this segment.While online portals will gain momentum at a brisk pace, brick-and-mortar stores will continue to garner popularity, owing to the broad product portfolio and a loyal consumer base. Estimates state that plant-based waters industry size from retail stores is expected to witness a growth rate of 23% over 2017-2024. The robust growth of this segment may also be attributed to the fact that consumers get to actually see and feel the product, and this physical proximity makes a marked difference in product sales. On these grounds, companies have also been concentrating on the packaging of the product. Shifting consumer inclination toward organic and aesthetic packaging has led to the development of numerous packaging options, such as bottles, pouches, cartons, and cans. In addition, manufacturers have detected that innovative packaging helps extends the shelf life of these products and further aids the producers to manufacture low-calories and healthy drinks, which has led to the expansion of plant-based waters market from the packaging type.The vast expanse of birch and maple trees across European regions such as UK, Germany, and France will also augment plant-based waters industry from birch. Despite coconut water being one of the largest revenue generating segments of plant-based waters market, other products, such as cactus water and artichoke water have also been gaining a significant momentum. Other plant waters include ginger water, rose water, bamboo water, and barley water.This industry is rather fragmented and involves the presence of domestic players such as PepsiCo Inc., The Coca-Cola Company, Happy Tree Group, Steaz, DRINKmaple, Harmless Harvest, Oviva Maple Water Company, Caliwater LLC, World Waters, ARTY Water Company, All Market Inc, Sibberi, and DrinkSEVA. The emerging economies are forecast to develop extensively over the years ahead, owing to which companies at the global level have been eyeing the developing countries to explore the untapped potential. Major corporations have been signing agreements with online retailers like Amazon in order to expand their sale via online distribution channels.Global plant-based waters market encompasses original and flavored waters. Leading market players have also been striving to develop unique water flavors to broaden the product portfolio. The latest trend in plant-based waters market is that of blending ginger, green tea, and rose flavors. The segment is slated to experience massive growth based on changing consumer tastes.Customers have now become increasingly health-conscious, which is one of the major drivers of plant-based waters industry. In order to retain a loyal consumer base, it is essential that these plant beverages contain organic, natural, and low-calorie ingredients. It is quite perceivable that the dearth of recorded health benefit claims and sustainability issues would act as major hindrances for the growth of plant-based waters market. However, incessant efforts are being undertaken by companies to minimize the restraints as far as possible, in order to carve out a positive growth path for this industry over the years ahead.Inquiry before buying @ContinueAbout Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Explore Our Blog @ Urology Consumables Market Estimated to Flourish by 2027 - Urocare Products, Inc., ConvaTec Inc., Cure Medical, LLC, Medical Technologies of Georgia, Bactiguard, Braun Melsungen AG, Coloplast Urology Consumables Market to 2027 https://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPRE00003145 https://www.theinsightpartners.com/inquiry/TIPRE00003145 https://www.theinsightpartners.com/buy/TIPRE00003145 The Insight Partner's dedicated research and analysis team consist of experienced professionals with advanced statistical expertise and offer various customization options in the existing study.Urology consumables are the medical devices that are being used in the field of urology. Urology consumables include products such as catheters, drainage bags, guidewires and others. These devices facilitate in draining urine out of the bladder. These consumables are used during surgeries and by patients with spinal cord injury, urinary incontinence, bladder dysfunction, and benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH).To complete the process, information about medical components and services usually go through a number of independent stakeholders, including manufacturers, insurance companies, hospitals, providers, group purchasing organizations, and several regulatory agencies.Get PDF Sample Copy of this Report @Leading Urology consumables Market Players:1. Boston Scientific Corporation2. Medtronic3. Urocare Products, Inc.4. ConvaTec Inc.5. Cure Medical, LLC6. Medical Technologies of Georgia7. Bactiguard8. Braun Melsungen AG9. Coloplast10. Hollister IncorporatedThe report analyzes factors affecting urology consumables market from both demand and supply side and further evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend. The report also provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions namely; North America, Europe, APAC, MEA and South & Central America after evaluating political, economic, social and technological factors effecting the urology consumables market in these regions.North America is expected to contribute to the largest share in the urology consumables market in the coming years, due to availability of advanced healthcare facilities in the United States as well as Canada. Also, Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness steady growth during the forecast period, owing to rising cases of urology disorders and opportunities from the emerging economies such as China and Japan.Have Queries? Ask us atThe global urology consumables market is segmented on the basis of product, gender, application, and end user. Based on product, the market is classified as, urinary catheters and urinary drainage bags. Urinary catheters are further classified as, foley catheter, condom catheter and intermittent catheter. Urinary drainage bags are further segmented as, large bags and leg bags. Based on gender, the market is classified as, male and female. On the basis of application, urology consumables market is categorized as, spinal cord injury, urinary incontinence, bladder dysfunction, benign prostate hyperplasia, and other applications. Similarly, based on end users, the market is classified as, long-term care facilities, hospitals and other end users.Key Benefits- To provide detailed information regarding the major factors (drivers, restraints, opportunities, challenges, and trends) influencing the growth of the global Urology Consumables market To forecast the size of the market segments with respect to four major regional segments, namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World (Latin America and the Middle East & Africa)The report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global urology consumables market based on product, gender, application, and end user. It also provides market size and forecast till 2027 for overall market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South & Central America. The urology consumables market by each region is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report covers analysis and forecast of 18 counties globally along with current trend and opportunities prevailing in the regionBuy this Report now atAbout 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.Contact us -Contact Person : Sameer JoshiPhone : +1-646-491-9876Email Id : sam@theinsightpartners.com Self-fusing Silicone Tape Market Predicted Industry Analysis by 2028 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-8785 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-8785 Self-fusing silicone tape, also known as self-bonding silicone tape, is largely used by military organizations as an insulating solution for electrical applications. Self-fusing silicone tape, when stretched and wrapped around cables, wires, or any other device, bonds the product, making a water-repellent, strong, and electrically insulating layer. Self-fusing silicone tape is an all-purpose repair tape made out of specially formulated silicone rubber. Also non-tacky by nature, self-fusing silicone tape doesnt contain any adhesives; yet, it chemically bonds when in contact with a substrate. Regions with established automotive as well as electronics industries are likely to be prominent market places for self-fusing silicone tape. Both, developed as well as developing economies hare expected to display ample opportunities for the growth of self-fusing silicone tape in their respective markets.Request to Sample of Report @Global Self-fusing Silicone Tape Market: DynamicsThe growing significance of packaging to provide electrically-insulated solutions has pushed packaging manufacturers to offer products such as self-fusing silicone tapes. This has successfully catered to clients operating in the electronics and automotive industries. Self-fusing silicone tape, to a broader extend, has emerged as a better alternative in place of duct tape and other electrical tapes. Self-fusing silicone tapes have a large number of applications related to wrapping and sealing wires / cables, thus, making these items waterproof as well as corrosion-resistant. Self-fusing silicone tapes are increasingly being used in the electronics industry to sustain electronic appliances at lower as well as higher voltages. In the electronics industry, sectors such as consumer durables and telecommunication are expected to dominate the overall demand for self-fusing silicone tapes.Global Self-fusing Silicone Tape Market: SegmentationThe self-fusing silicone tape market is segmented by thickness and end use industry served.Segmentation by thickness:Self-fusing Silicone Tapes with Thickness Below 0.25 mmSelf-fusing Silicone Tapes Between 0.26 mm to 0.50 mmSelf-fusing Silicone Tapes Between 0.51 mm to 0.75 mmSelf-fusing Silicone Tapes with Thickness Above 0.76 mmSegmentation by end use industry served:Aviation and Aerospace IndustryBuilding and Construction IndustryAutomotive & Mechanical PartsGeneral IndustrialShipping & Logistics IndustriesElectronics & ElectricalsMetal Working IndustriesOthersGlobal Self-fusing Silicone Tape Market: Regional OutlookThe global self-fusing silicone tape market has been segmented into 7 regions: Latin America, North America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Middle East and Africa (MEA), Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), and Japan.North America is presently a prominent region in the market for self-fusing silicone tapes, owing to the firmly placed electronics, aviation, and aerospace industries here as compared to other regions across the globe. Europe is a key exporting region in the global self-fusing silicone tapes market. European countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain, etc., have visible penetration of manufacturers that operate in the self-fusing silicone tapes market. Also, manufacturers of self-fusing silicone tapes in this region have a geographical advantage, leading to large exports to adjoining regions, including the Middles East and Africa. Asia Pacific is expected to witness impressive growth in the self-fusing silicone tapes market, due to rapid industrialization expected to take place in countries such as India, China, Vietnam, etc., over the forecast period. However, the Latin American market for self-fusing silicone tapes is anticipated to experience marginal growth during the forecast period, owing to an economic slowdown in this region since the 2008 financial crisis.As a summary, the market for self-fusing silicone tapes is projected to witness a healthy rate of growth during the forecast period.Request Report for TOC @Global Self-fusing Silicone Tape Market: Key PlayersSome of the important manufacturers presently operating in the global self-fusing silicone tape market are:Permatex, Inc.Scapa Group PlcThe 3M CompanyAvery Dennison CorporationDenka Company LimitedRS Components Ltd.Parafix Tapes & Conversions LtdSeal King Ind Co. Ltd.Lynvale LtdORAFOL Europe GmbHCreative EmbroideryLamatek, Inc.M. EnterprisesAdhere Industrial Tapes LtdCreative Safety Supply, LLCWuxi Canaan Adhesive Technology Co., Ltd.GPI Corporation (M) Sdn BhdAbout UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customized and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.U.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705 A series of rattan ladders that used to be the only way up and down for 500 villagers living atop a cliff have become a tourist attraction in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province. Life in what has been characterized as a "cliff village" first garnered nationwide attention in May 2016, when a Chinese newspaper published a collection of photos featuring students scaling the 1,400-meter cliff on rattan ladders. When residents refused to leave the site despite the difficulties of living there, the local government spent 1 million yuan ($147,000) to add a steel ladder with a handrail that has cut travel time to the nearest town from three hours to one. China Telecom followed with an investment of 1.5 million yuan to bring cellphone service and the internet to the village. The changes are in line with the discussion President Xi Jinping had on March 8, 2017, with delegates from Sichuan during the annual National People's Congress session. Having learned about the difficult lives of residents, Xi told the delegates that the process of poverty reduction requires tailored policies and precise measures, and sometimes patience and meticulous accuracy - like "doing embroidery". All the changes have meant not only greater convenience in life, but also more possibilities to increase incomes. During the Chinese New Year celebration this year, hundreds of tourists visited the village, which now boasts a hotel with hot water for showers and Wi-Fi connections, according to Ahke Jiushe, an officer with the Zhaojue county government, which administrates the village. Interest from tourists has also encouraged a company in Chengdu to invest to further tap resources in the broader region, such as canyons, karst caves, hot springs and primitive forests. Mou'se Subure, a young Yi villager, spends between three and four hours doing livestreaming related to hometown specialties such as peppers, walnuts and honey. His do-it-yourself marketing campaign has proved to be an effective way to boost sales. Mo'se Labo, another Yi villager, uses the internet to sell his special talent - jumping from one boulder to another on the mountain and crossing a suspension bridge high over a river. The former farmer gets 100 yuan for a 30-minute live broadcast. The students who were once photographed on the cliff face have been enjoying their new world with the completion of a five-story school early last year. You are here: Business Chinese smartphone makers are set to show off handsets for the next generation of mobile Internet, 5G, at the Mobile World Congress 2019--the most important mobile technologies trade fair in the world. Manufacturers including Huawei, OPPO, Xiaomi, ZTE and OnePlus have confirmed that they will present 5G phones or design ideas at the fair, which kicks off in Barcelona, Spain on Feb. 25 and runs through to Feb. 28. Huawei is expected to display its first-ever foldable phone, which uses the new Balong 5000 5G chip. ZTE will also bring a new 5G phone to the event. China Unicom said it will launch innovative products--including 5G mobile phones--and announce cooperation arrangements with global partners such as Spanish multinational telecommunications company Telefonica. Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Rumen Porodzanov on Thursday opened the first demonstration zone for agricultural commodities trade under the 16+1 cooperation mechanism between China and the 16 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC). The zone was launched at the Agricultural University of Plovdiv, the ministry said in a press release. "Part of it is also a demonstration center, which will train students who will have the opportunity to make real deals with China," the ministry said. The establishment of the demonstration zone was agreed between Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang last year, the ministry said. At the opening ceremony, Porodzanov recalled the establishment in Bulgaria of the Association for the Promotion of Agricultural Cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European countries, the ministry said. Thanks to the Association, Bulgaria has become a pioneer in agriculture, Porodzanov said at the ceremony, which was also attended by Plovdiv Region Governor Zdravko Dimitrov. China and the United States kicked off a fresh round of high-level economic and trade talks on Thursday morning, as negotiators strive to beat a 90-day deadline that ends on March 1. The Chinese delegation is headed by Vice Premier Liu He, who also came as the special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping; while the U.S. team includes Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Liu, Lighthizer and Mnuchin co-chaired the formal opening at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House. The Chinese attendees of the opening included Governor of the People's Bank of China Yi Gang, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai, Deputy Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs and Vice Finance Minister Liao Min, Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Jun, Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China International Trade Representative Wang Shouwen, as well as Cong Liang, secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission. On the U.S. side, major officials attending the opening included Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow, and Peter Navarro, assistant to the president for trade and manufacturing policy and director of the National Trade Council, among others. The two-day talks, the seventh round since last February, came on the heels of the just-concluded round held in Beijing from Feb. 14 to 15, and the working-level consultation between the two sides has started here earlier on Tuesday. Altogether these discussions aimed to resolve outstanding issues regarding the economic and trade relations between the world's two largest economies, as negotiators of both sides have worked relentlessly to achieve consensus on issues of major concern before March 1. With the current round counted in, there have been three rounds of talks between the two sides in less than a month since the end of January, despite the week-long Lunar New Year holidays in China and Washington's Birthday long weekend here in the United States. During the talks last week, the two sides reached consensus in principle on major issues, and had specific discussions about a memorandum of understanding on bilateral economic and trade issues. After months of escalating trade friction involving massive extra tariffs on imports from each other, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump agreed on Dec. 1 that the two countries should manage to reach a mutually beneficial and win-win agreement within 90 days to break the impasse. The trade standoff has had negative impacts on both economies and added much uncertainty to global markets and the world economy. During a meeting with the U.S. delegation last week, the Chinese president once again highlighted the role of cooperation in resolving the economic and trade differences and frictions, and urged negotiators of the two sides to "make persistent efforts" to reach a mutually beneficial deal. "Cooperation is the best choice for both sides," Xi said, adding that "of course, there are principles in cooperation." 'We are not preparing for war, but you are sending threats': Pakistan Army tells India International oi-Vikas SV Islamabad, Feb 22: A day after Prime Minister Imran Khan authorised the military to respond "decisively" to any aggression by India, Pakistan Army's Major General Asif Ghafoor on Friday said that Islamabad is not preparing for war, but it was India that is sending threats. Ghafoor further said that Pakistan has the right to retaliate if its national sovereignty is at stake, adding, "Hope you don't mess with us." "We are not preparing for war. It's you (India) who is sending war threats. We are not preparing for initiating a war but we have a right to respond to the war threats from your side," news agency quoted Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations, Major General Asif Ghafoor, as saying at a press briefing. [Imran Khan chairs NSC meeting, authorises army to 'respond decisively' to Indian aggression] He also reportedly said that the 'battle-hardened' Pakistani army would retaliate in case of any threat. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday chaired the National Security Council meeting in which he authorised the military to respond "decisively" to any aggression by India. The meeting was convened to discuss the country's security situation in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack by a suicide bomber of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group that killed 40 CRPF soldiers last week in Jammu and Kashmir. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 17:40 [IST] About 200 US companies to move manufacturing from China to India Talks with China will not help says USA NSA on situation on Ladakh 20 members of a family removed from US flight after mask of 1 slipped under nose No, US is not completely withdrawing its forces from Syria International oi-Shubham Ghosh Washington, Feb 22: The US said on Thursday, February 21, that a small contingent of its troops will stay back in Syria even though President Donald Trump had ordered for a "full" withdrawal of its forces from the war-ravaged country. In a statement, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said: "A small peace keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for (a) period of time." In December last year, the US president ordered a "full" and "rapid" pull-out of the military from Syria saying that the Islamic State had been defeated. This Syrian man spent 7 months at Malaysia airport before landing in Canada The decision met strong criticism both within the US and outside as experts and Washington's allies predicted major security collapse as a result of such decision. It was also said that the withdrawal would give countries like Russia, Turkey and Iran bigger influence in the region. "We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency," Trump had tweeted at the time. Question was raised subsequently over the security of the Kurds who helped the US against the IS in Syria, post its withdrawal, as Turkey was planning to launch an onslaught against the group that it considers to be its enemy. Sound decision, says Republican senator who criticised Trump over withdrawal plan The decision to keep 200 troops back was, however, welcomed by many. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina who had criticised Trump earlier for the withdrawal decision, praised the latter on Thursday saying leaving some troops behind as a peacekeeping force was a good idea as it will protect the gains that Washington made in Syria all these years, CNN reported. Israel retaliates against Iran missile fire with strikes in Syria; West Asia tension intensifies "It will help to ensure that ISIS won't come back, Iran won't move to fill the vacuum and there won't be a conflict between Turkey and the Kurdish forces. ... This will prevent the debacle that occurred in Iraq to happen in Syria. It is a very sound decision." The troops will remain between At-Tanf, an area near the Iraq-Jordan border and northeast Syria, according to a US official who has information about the planning process, the report added. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 16:51 [IST] UN Security Council condemns Pulwama attack, names Jaish; China on board this time International oi-Madhuri Adnal Washington, Feb 22: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC), comprising 15 nations, including China condemned in the "strongest terms" the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama which resulted in over 40 Indian paramilitary forces dead and dozens wounded on February 14, 2019. [China again declines to back India's request on JeM Chief Masood Azhar] The Security Council also urged the international community to co-operate actively with India in bringing the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of terrorism to justice. In a statement, the 15-nation body, which also includes China, strongly condemned the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama that claimed the lives of over 40 CRPF personnel last week. "The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in over 40 Indian paramilitary forces dead and dozens wounded on February 14, 2019, for which Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility," the statement said. The UNSC members expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the Indian people and the government, and wished a speedy and full recovery to those injured. The UNSC termed the attack as heinous and cowardly. The condemnation also named the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed which claimed responsibility for the attack. [Back off from the Uighurs, we will support you: The China-Azhar bonhomie explained] The UNSC reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. The member countries underlined the need to hold accountable those behind these reprehensible acts and bring them to justice. Earlier, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had strongly condemned the attack and called for those behind it to be brought to justice. The international community had also extended its condolences and support to India in the fight against terrorism. In a major boost to India's efforts to get Jaish-e-Mohammed Chief Masood Azhar on the list of global terrorists, France is expected to soon move a proposal at the UN to ban him. The proposal, when moved, will be fourth such bid at the UN in last 10 years. China and Greece co-produced bilingual play Agamemnon, a masterpiece of ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus, premiered Wednesday evening at the National Theatre of China. The play, co-produced by the national theatres of China and Greece, features both Chinese and Greek actors and actresses, languages, and cultural and musical elements. The play presents the Greek mythology in which Agamemnon, king of Argos, united the Greek armed forces for a crusade against Troy and ended up being killed by his wife upon return to Greece for sacrificing his own daughter for the war. Stathis Livathinos, the artistic director of the National Theatre of Greece and the Agamemnon play director, said he tried to interpret the ancient Greek work from the perspective of modern languages and aesthetics. The play was part of the cooperation and exchange between the two country's national theatres. Last year, another bilingual co-production by the two sides, "The Orphan of Zhao," a drama based on a traditional Chinese tragedy, was staged in Athens. Let Abhinandan go: When Pakistan Army chief was jittery and his legs shook in nervousness To respond to India, Pakistan puts army on standby International oi-Vicky Nanjappa Islamabad, Feb 22: As India readies for action in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack, Pakistan has authorised its military to respond decisively and comprehensively to any aggression. Pakistan Prime Minister, Imran Khan who chaired a meeting of the National Security Committee in Islamabad also decided to act against proscribed organisation. Further it also notified Hafiz Saeed's Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniyat as banned groups. There was however no mention of the Pulwama attack during the meeting. Pakistan bans JuD, FIF; To accelerate anti-terrorism operations An official statement read, "the National Security Committee meeting was convened to discuss the situation arising from the Pulwama attack, and the "forum noted that the state of Pakistan is not involved in any way, means or form in the said incident." The incident was conceived, planned and executed indigenously. It further reiterated Pakistan's offer to investigate the attack and of dialogue on the issue of terrorism among other disputed issues. "At the same time, the Prime Minister authorised armed forces of Pakistan to respond decisively and comprehensively to any aggression or misadventure by India," the statement said. After free hand to Army post-Pulwama, India back to 'talks with Pakistan'? It further said that Pakistan will take action against anyone found using it soil on the basis of the investigation or any tangible evidence provided. India needs introspection to realize that why people of (Jammu and Kashmir) have lost fear of death. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 6:01 [IST] At all party meet, PM Modi says priority is to strengthen democracy at grassroots in J&K Narendra Modi conferred with Seoul Peace Prize 2018, says award belongs to People of India International oi-Madhuri Adnal Seoul, Feb 22: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Friday was awarded with the Seoul peace prize 2018 on his two-day visit to South Korea. PM Modi was selected after candidates proposed over 1300 nominators from around the world. Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan was the recipient of the honour in 1999. [Seoul Peace Prize: Here are the winners till date] "The Seoul Peace Prize does not belong to me, it is dedicated to the people of India and our country's culture of peace and harmony. It's for the success India has achieved in the last 5 years, powered by the skills of 1.3 billion people," PM Modi said after accepting the award. "I am even more honoured that this award has been given to me on the 150th year of Mahatma Gandhi's birth. It makes it even more special," said the Prime Minister. ''India's growth story is not only good for the people of India but also for the entire world. We live in an increasingly interconnected world. Our growth and prosperity will inevitably contribute to global growth and development,'' Modi said. The Prime Miniter also said,''India, as a responsible member of the international community, has been in the forefront of our collective fight against climate change. Despite having a historically low carbon footprint, India has been playing an active role in the global fight against climate change.'' ''Like Korea, India has also suffered the pain of division and cross-border strife. Our endeavour towards peaceful development has only too often been derailed by cross-border terrorism. The time has come for all right-thinking nations to join hands to completely eradicate terrorist networks. Only by doing so, Can we replace hate with harmony; Destruction with development & Transform the landscape of violence and vendetta into a postcard for peace,'' Modi said in Seoul. In the official address, the South Korean presenter enlisted the Prime Minister's achievements that led to this honour. "PM Modi has contributed to the economic contribution to the country and the world. He has been critical in promoting regional and global peace. " [What is Seoul Peace Prize?] The recipients include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus, former United Nation Secretary-General South Korean Ban Ki-moon, among others. The PM arrived in Seoul on Thursday in his second visit to the Asian nation after his state visit in May 2015. Modi in Seoul: India, S Korea sign 6 agreements; Set to bolster ties in key areas International pti-PTI Seoul, Feb 22: India and South Korea signed six agreements on Friday to enhance cooperation in key areas, including infrastructure development, media, start-ups and combating trans-border and international crime, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country. Modi, who is on a two-day visit to South Korea to strengthen India's strategic ties with the country, was accorded an official reception at the Blue House, the executive office and official residence of the South Korean President Moon Jae-in here. He also met First lady Kim Jung-sook. The memorandum of understandings (MoUs) were signed after the two leaders held "constructive" talks on enhancing bilateral cooperation in a number of areas including trade, investment, defence and security. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that six documents between India and South Korea were signed/exchanged in the presence of the two leaders on cooperation in media, start-ups and police among others. Earlier, the MEA said that a total of seven documents were signed/exchanged. However, it later said that six agreements were inked. An MoU was signed between Korean National Police Agency and the Ministry of Home Affairs to enhance cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries and combat trans-border and international crimes. Another agreement was signed for releasing a joint stamp, commemorating Princess Suriratna (Queen Hur Hwang-ok), a legendary Princess of Ayodhya, who went to Korea in AD 48 and married King Kim-Suro. A large number of Koreans trace their ancestry to the princess. [Narendra Modi conferred with Seoul Peace Prize 2018, says award belongs to People of India] The two sides also signed an agreement to continue operations of Korea Plus organisation that facilitates investments by Korean companies in India. Korea Plus was operationalised in June 2016, and comprises representatives from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy of South Korea, Korea Trade Investment and Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and Invest India. The two countries will promote collaboration among start-ups and set up a Korea Start-up Centre (KSC) in India to commercialise ideas, technologies and designs of start-up companies. [Modi in Seoul: 'I'm grateful that South Korea is standing with us in this fight against terrorism'] The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) and Prasar Bharti have agreed to facilitate the broadcast of DD India Channel in South Korea and KBS World Channel in India. Another MoU was signed between the National Highways Authority of India and Korea Expressway Corporation to promote bilateral cooperation in road and transport infrastructure development projects of India, and facilitate technical and institutional knowledge exchange in the field of road and transport. Modi is visiting South Korea on the invitation of President Moon. This is his second visit to the Republic of Korea since 2015 and second summit meeting with the South Korean president. PTI How naxals are using coal transport contracts to fund their activities India has unhealthiest coal power plants in the world: Study International oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa Geneva, Feb 22: China and the US may be the largest producers of coal power, but power plants in India take the highest toll in the world when it comes to health, a global study claims. Coal-fired power plants produce more than just carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming, said researchers from ETH Zurich in Switzerland. Coal burning also releases particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury -- thus damaging the health of many people around the world, they said. To meet energy demands, coal ministry increases fuel supply to power plants To estimate where action is most urgently required, the researchers modelled and calculated the undesired side effects of coal power for each of the 7,861 power plant units in the world. The results, published in the journal Nature Sustainability, show that China and the US are the two largest producers of coal power, but power plants in India take the highest toll in the world when it comes to health. Central Europe, North America and China all have modern power plants, but Eastern Europe, Russia and India still have many older power plants equipped with insufficient flue gas treatment, said Stefanie Hellweg from ETH Zurich's Institute of Environmental Engineering, who led the study. As a result, these power plants only remove a fraction of the pollutants -- while also often burning coal of inferior quality. "More than half of the health effects can be traced back to just one-tenth of the power plants. These power plants should be upgraded or shut down as quickly as possible," said Christopher Oberschelp, the lead author of the study. The global picture of coal power production shows that the gap between privileged and disadvantaged regions is widening. This is happening for two reasons. Firstly, wealthy countries -- such as in Europe -- import high-quality coal with a high calorific value and low emissions of harmful sulphur dioxide. The poorer coal-exporting countries such as Indonesia, Colombia and South Africa are left with low-quality coal, which they often burn in outdated power plants without modern flue gas treatment to remove the sulphur dioxide. "In Europe, we contribute to global warming with our own power plants, which has a global impact. However, the local health damage caused by particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide occurs mainly in Asia, where coal power is used to manufacture a large proportion of our consumer products," said Oberschelp. "Global coal resources will last for several hundred years, so the harmful emissions need to be limited politically. It is particularly important to leave coal that is high in mercury and sulphur content in the ground," said Oberschelp. Researchers said reducing the negative health effects of coal power generation should be a global priority. India's coal production: What's in store for 2019? "But further industrialisation, especially in China and India, poses the risk of aggravating the situation instead," they said. The initial investment costs for the construction of a coal power plant are high, but the subsequent operating costs are low. Power plant operators thus have an economic interest in keeping their plants running for a long time, according to researchers. "The best option is therefore to not build any new coal power plants. From a health and environment perspective, we should move away from coal and towards natural gas -- and in the long term, towards renewable energy sources," said Oberschelp. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 7:57 [IST] To stay in Grey List or downgrade to Black List: Key FATF decision on Pak this week Pakistan will implement FATF's new action plan in 12 months: Minister after country retained on 'grey list' FATF continues to keep Pakistan in Grey List despite India's push to blacklist International oi-Madhuri Adnal Washington, Feb 22: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the international terror financing and money-laundering watchdog, on Friday decided to continue to retain Pakistan in the grey list, despite Indiai's push to blacklist the neighbour over terror funding. [After Pulwama attack, India trying to push Pakistan on FATF blacklist] The decision to keep Pakistan in the 'grey list' was taken at the end of week-long meetings by the FATF in Paris on Friday. After the Pulwama terror attack, India had reportedly made a strong case in front of the FATF against Pakistan's non-compliance in curbing terror funding and pressed the watchdog to keep its neighbouring nation on a terrorism financing watch list. This could result in Pakistan being placed on the FATF's "blacklist", which entails sanctions and comprehensive monitoring - a fate currently restricted to only Iran and North Korea. However, with the banning of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed linked Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and its charity wing - Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), Pakistan hoped that it will succeed to remove its name from the grey list of Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in September this year. [Pulwama attack: On Pak's role, India to hand over dossier to FATF] The Paris-headquartered FATF is a global body created to counter terrorism financing and money laundering. Earlier in June 2018, FAFT - a global terrorism financing and money laundering watchdog had officially placed Pakistan on its grey list, during a plenary meeting held in Paris, due to strategic deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regime. FATF argued that Pakistan had failed to act against terror financing on its soil. On January 27, 2017, Interior Ministry had placed JuD and FIF on its Watch List under section 11-D-(1) of Schedule II of Anti Terrorism Act, 1997. It was given a deadline of September 2019 to implement the conditions set by the FATF, failing which it will fall into the 'black list'. The two other organisations including Ghulaman-e-Sahaba (GS) and Maymar Trust had also been placed on the Watch List in the same year. Total four organisations were on that list till Thursday. What is FATF? The FATF is an intergovernmental organisation responsible for designing and promoting global regulatory rules and standards aimed at curbing cross-border money laundering and terror financing. It was established by the G7 in 1989 and is headquartered in Paris. India has been a member of FATF since 2010. Shenzhou-12: China all set to launch manned mission with three astronauts for its space station China backs Pak again, says mention of JeM in UNSC statement only in general terms not a judgemental International oi-Madhuri Adnal Beijing, Feb 22: China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, on Friday sought to downplay the scathing statement issued by the powerful organ of the world body naming Jaish-e-Muhammad in the Pulwama terror attack, saying the mention of the Pakistan-based outfit was only in "general terms" and "does not represent a judgement". China's lone opposition in the 15-member UN Security Council to any mention of terrorism resulted in a delay of nearly one week in issuance of a statement by the powerful body on the dastardly Pulwama terror attack, official sources said on Friday. However, the US assiduously worked as "pen holder" making various adjustments to get the approval by all other members of the Council, the sources told PTI. Earlier on Thursday, the powerful UN Security Council (UNSC) strongly condemned the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack. "The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir, which left 40 Indian paramilitary forces dead and dozens wounded on February 14, 2019, for which Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility," it said in a statement. Asked about the statement highlighting the role of JeM claiming the responsibility of the Pulwama attack, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters that Beijing was closely following the developments related to the terror incident. "Yesterday, the UN Security Council issued a press statement that mentioned that a particular organisation but only in general terms. It does not represent a judgment on the attack," Geng said. On Feb 14, 44 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country. India has mounted a diplomatic offensive to isolate Pakistan in the international community for its support to terror groups and cross border terrorism. (with PTI) Woman on Tinder threatens to blow up Rashtrapati Bhavan, warns of nuclear attack; cops on lookout India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Feb 22: A woman on Tinder, a dating up, reportedly threatened a 30-year-old man who is currently preparing for CA, that he would know 'who she really is' after the Rashtrapati Bhavan is blown up with a bomb, while warning him of a nuclear attack on Delhi. [Karol Bagh fire: Hotel Arpit Palace owner arrested upon return from Qatar] After receiving this threat message, the man ended up calling the Police Control Room. The man underwent rigorous questioning by the Intelligence Bureau, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police and officials of the local police station. During the interrogation, the man revealed that he had a fight with the woman during a chat on Tinder, this Wednesday. It was then, the woman said, "you don't know who I am. When there will be a nuclear attack on Delhi and the Rashtrapati Bhavan will be blown up with a bomb, you will get to know". After which he stopped chatting, he informed the police around 10.30 pm, following which he was interrogated the whole night and let off on Thursday morning. [Video: Why this Delhi traffic cop held a mirror in front of bike rider without helmet] It is learnt that the man is also suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and is undergoing treatment. Meanwhile, police are on the lookout for the woman and also had sought Tinder for their assistance in identifying her. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 8:00 [IST] Why the ban on Hafiz Saeeds Jamaat-ud-Dawa is an eyewash India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 22: Pakistan has yet again decided to ban the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the financial wing of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba which is headed by 26/11 mastermind, Hafiz Saeed. India does not read much into this and officials say that there have been many such bans in the past, but the fact is that no action is being taken on Saeed, who continues to roam around freely. In fact this is more of a protective measure in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack. Pakistan bans JuD, FIF; To accelerate anti-terrorism operations Pakistan has this tendency to protect its terrorists under the cover of a ban and it had taken similar action following the 26/11 attack. However the Lashkar-e-Tayiba did not stop its activities, the official explained. Pakistan's action against the JuD and also the Falah-e-Insaniyat also being run by Saeed has been taken in the backdrop of a meeting of the Financial Action Task Force in Paris that is reviewing Pakistan's steps to counter terror financing. India also took note of the fact that no such action has been taken against the Jaish-e-Mohammad, which was involved in the Pathankot, Uri, Nagrota and Pulwama attacks. Bans of the past: There have been bans in the past, but the Jamaat-ud-Dawa has managed to over come it in various ways. Both the Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court had cleared the JuD in the past and allowed it to operate. While the bans have been in place in the past as well, the JuD has always managed to overcome it either by going to court or carrying out its activities by coming up with newer outfits. Mumbai terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed writes column for Pakistani newspaper on Kashmir issue The beginning of the JuD: The JuD is the parent group of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. However in the year 2000, there was another parent group of the Lashkar which was known as the Markaz Dawa wal-Irshad. This was the group that carried out the alleged charity work and raised funds for the Lashkar. Those were early days of the Lashkar and the Markaz had played a vital role in funding it. However in the year 2002, the Markaz was banned for funding terror activities. Did it make any difference? Not at all and Saeed immediately floated the JuD. Similarly Saeed floated the FeF after the JuD was banned. Post 26/11: Following the 26/11 attack, investigators in India found the funding of the attack to have been carried out by the JuD. There was international pressure and this forced a ban on the JuD. In fact the then interior minister, Rehman Malik had informed that the JuD had been banned with immediate effect. Although the statement sounded strong, Pakistan was not going to take any chances and directly confront the JuD. It did not impose the ban directly but asked various authorities such as the UN to impose sanctions on the JuD. Paksitan's eye wash was evident in the year 2008. It sealed 100 offices of the JuD and even Saeed was placed under house arrest only to be released later. During all this Pakistan made a shocking statement in which it stated that there was no need to issue any notification banning the JuD when the UN has already added it to the list of banned outfits. Courts to the rescue: There was some more eye wash by Pakistan. It claimed that it had sealed the 200 acre campus of the JuD in Murdike. It also stated that an administrator in Pakistan had taken over the operational facility of the JuD. Imran Khan's minister proved yet again that Hafiz Saeed is Pakistan's asset No. 1 All this led to the JuD seeking legal recourse. The petition drafted by top bureaucrats of Pakistan sought a directive to first release Saeed who was under house arrest. The court allowed the petition and in the days to come even the ban on the JuD was lifted. It is quite surprising that the Pakistan government was asked to return the property of the JuD and also its other assets when there was never any official notification The Jud empire: The JuD has a sprawling campus at Murdike spread over 200 acres of land. It has teaching facilities catering to 3000 students and also residential complexes. The investigations post 26/11 showed that the ten terrorists were housed in this complex and underwent training over here. The funds according to investigators came in from Saudi Arabia right from 1998 and till date the majority of the funding is from there. With the help of these funds the JuD has been accused of recruiting youth from Kashmir and Pakistan and train them to undertake strikes against India. Further it has also been found that the JuD in a bid to attract possible recruits from southern Punjab also held camps in Kasur district. This particular camp had come under the radar of the Indian agencies. The fact that the JuD enjoys the complete backing of the military can be seen in various instances. Following the Quetta earthquake the JuD was openly seen assisting the military in relief works. This was quite surprising as Pakistan had claimed that it had banned the JuD. Even when former President Pervez Musharaff had claimed to have curbed the outfit and clipped its wings, he was no where to be seen or heard when Saeed held a rally in Lahore at the same time. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 6:13 [IST] Unlock Uttar Pradesh: Malls and restaurants to reopen from today; What is open, what is not? Name, patronage of PM Modi enough to win UP polls says aide BSP to fight solo in UP, Uttarakhand, no tie-up with Owaisi's AIMIM, says Mayawati Uttar Pradesh: Two suspected JeM terrorists arrested in Saharanpur India oi-Chennabasaveshwar P New Delhi, Feb 22: Two suspected JeM terrorists, one of them a grenade expert, were arrested from Saharanpur by Uttar Pradesh ATS wing on Thursday. Both are from Kashmir. They have been identified as Shahnawaz and Aqib from Kulgam and Pulwama respectively. Two weapons and live cartridges were seized from their possession. Uttar Pradesh DGP OP Singh told reporters, "Yesterday after inputs two suspected terrorists were caught from Saharanpur by our ATS wing. They are linked to JeM and both are from Kashmir. Shahnawaz is from Kulgam and Aqib is from Pulwama." JeM plans another suicide strike: IB says plot aimed at distracting armed forces UP DGP OP Singh: Yesterday after inputs two suspected terrorists were caught from Saharanpur by our ATS wing. They are linked to JeM and both are from Kashmir. Shahnawaz is from Kulgam and Aqib is from Pulwama pic.twitter.com/ENRuf34bgz ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) February 22, 2019 "Of the two Shahnawaz is said to be a grenade expert. We will seek transit remand and investigate when they came here from Kashmir and who is funding them and what was their target. We are in touch with J&K Police, " said the DGP. The raid was conducted as part of an investigation based on intelligence inputs to the ATS. Uttar Pradesh DGP OP Singh confirmed that one Jaish-e-Mohammed operative was picked up during the raid. He said the ATS acted only after verifying the intelligence inputs received by the police. Sena sacks youth activists who allegedly assaulted 2 Kashmiri students India oi-Deepika S Mumbai, Feb 22: Two Kashmiri students were allegedly attacked by activists of the Shiv Sena's youth wing in Maharashtra's Yavatmal on Wednesday night, becoming the latest incident of the kind to occur after the Pulwama terror attack. The students were threatened and the attack happened on Wednesday night, police said. A video of the incident has gone viral on the social media and a case has been registered at the Yavatmal police station. The students were attacked around 10 pm outside their rented accommodation on Waghapur Road, police said. After Pulwama, Kashmiris from various parts of India allege harassment, CRPF launches helpline The students were from the Dayabhai Patel Physical Education College, police said. The Yuva Sena president Aaditya Thackeray condemned the incident saying that innocents should never be targeted. "As of last evening, the party has sacked those involved in the act. J&K is a part of India and no Indian, or for that matter, nobody should face the brunt of anger that is towards terrorism. We understand the angst but it must be against terror, not innocent people," he tweeted. Yavatmal SP M Rajkumar told PTI that some students from Kashmir, residing at Vaibhav Nagar under Lohara police station were attacked and threatened by some activists of Yuva Sena. "The Kashmiri students were returning home after having dinner outside when activists of Yuva Sena intercepted them and slapped them. The video of the incident is there in the social media. The victims lodged a complaint at Lohara police station Thursday.Police identified the culprits and have also apprehended the main accused in the incident," Rajkumar said. A victim of the attack told media, "We wereasked to say 'Vande Mataram' if we want to live here. They slapped us and abused us when we were returning from market Wednesday evening," he said. "The attackers asked us to vacate our rooms here and return to Kashmir within four days," the student said. We were warned that if we failed to return to Kashmir in this time frame, they will kill us," he said. "Some members in our colony intervened and saved us," he added. "We have nothing to do with it (Pulwama attack). Whatever happening is happening outside.We have come here to study. If we go back to Kashmir the situation over there is also bad. Neither can we study there nor are we being allowed to study here. "Where will we go? We want to study here without any tension. We want to thank the police for helping us and now we are feeling a little better," he said. Asked to comment on the incident, Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray said, "There is resentment across the country over the Pulwama terror attack. While it is necessary to teach Pakistan a lesson, one should realise nobody is troubled while doing so." The young leader, son of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, said he would conduct an investigation into the Yavatmal thrashing incident and take the necessary action after truth is ascertained. He also called for unity among Indians. Meanwhile, a video of the attack has gone viral on social media. It shows the Yuva Sena workers asking the students where they are from. When they say they came from Kashmir, they are slapped, beaten up and threatened with dire consequences. The assailants can be seen harassing the students and asking them if they are terrorists or if their relatives in Kashmir are terrorists and go around killing Indian soldiers. In the video, the attackers are also seen forcing the students to shout slogans like 'Vande Mataram' and 'Hindustan Zindabad'. If you have an allergy and paramedics find you unresponsive, sometimes its hard to know, so its great to have that in your profile, she said. If you have pets in your home, if theres a fire in your home, first responders are going to know whats going on. 'Rahul Ji, India is tired of your fake news': BJP hits back at Congress India oi-Vikas SV New Delhi, Feb 22: The BJP on Friday hit back at Congress president Rahul Gandhi over allegation by him and his party that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was continued shooting for a "promotional film" at the Jim Corbett National Park even hours after dastardly terrorist attack at Pulwama which left 40 CRPF personnel martyred. The BJP accused the Congress of "shamelessly mislead the nation" by "sharing photos from that morning". The issue, raised by the Congress yesterday, has snowballed into a major political slugfest between the two national parties with allegations and couterallegations being hurled from both sides. "Rahul Ji, India is tired of your fake news. Stop sharing photos from that morning to shamelessly mislead the nation. Maybe you knew in advance of the attack but people of India got to know in the evening. Try a better stunt next time, where sacrifice of soldiers isn't involved," BJP's latest tweet on the matter said. Rahul Ji, India is tired of your fake news. Stop sharing photos from that morning to shamelessly mislead the nation. Maybe you knew in advance of the attack but people of India got to know in the evening. Try a better stunt next time, where sacrifice of soldiers isnt involved. https://t.co/qiAhUKrNdg BJP (@BJP4India) February 22, 2019 Ealier on Thursday, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala had alleged that although the terror attack occurred at 3.10 pm, PM Modi continued shooting a "promotional film" with Discovery Channel until 6.40 pm. Congress also alleged that the shooting went on till 6:30 pm on 14 February and that the PM had tea and snacks at 6:45 pm. [Was Modi really filming in Corbett for hours after Pulwama attack?] Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad dismissed the claim that PM Modi was shooting a film with Discovery Channel, and accused the Congress of showing its "true colours" at a time when the whole world was firmly standing behind India. However, NDTV quoted government sources as saying that there was a 25-minute delay in informing him because of bad weather and poor network coverage. They said PM Modi tried returning to Delhi soon afterwards, but could make it only by late that night due to weather conditions. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 13:55 [IST] Post-Pulwama, Chhattisgarh food vendor gives Rs 10 discount to customers who say Pakistan Murdabad India oi-Shubham Ghosh Raipur, Feb 22: Indians are extremely upset over the dastardly terror attack on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district last week that saw over 44 personnel getting martyred. From common man to celebrities to sportsmen, condemnation has come thick and fast and Pakistan has been vehemently attacked. FIR against 2 IPS Officers for illegal phone tapping in Chhattisgarh A food-stall owner in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, has even gone to the extreme of offering a discount of Rs 10 on a chicken leg piece that he sells to customers who say "Pakistan Murdabad", ANI reported. Anjal Singh, the vendor, considers Pakistan the real culprit for the February 14 attack on the jawans who were travelling in a bus on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in the disturbed state when the suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into their vehicle. "Pakistan never valued humanity and they never will. That's why everyone should say Pakistan Murdabad from their hearts," ANI quoted Singh as saying. Chhattisgarh: A food stall owner in Jagdalpur is offering a discount of 10 on chicken leg piece to customers who say 'Pakistan Murdabad'. Anjal Singh, stall owner says,"Pak never valued humanity&they never will.That's why everyone should say Pakistan Murdabad from their hearts" pic.twitter.com/ugEN8N5L5E ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2019 Singh is not the first, however. Just a couple of days ago, a video of a street vendor selling shoes by chanting "Pakistan Murdabad" also went viral on Internet. Chhattisgarh: PM slams Congress government for blocking central schemes The identity of the man and his location were unknown. The video was posted on Twitter by a Delhi-based man on Monday, February 18. Pakistan was condemned after terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed which is based on its soil claimed responsibility for the attack. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 9:47 [IST] Not just India's share, Govt mulling to cut down Pakistan's share of river water as well India oi-Vikas SV New Delhi, Feb 22: India has made it clear that the water flowing into Pakistan from the three Eastern Rivers of the Indus system, which are essentially India's share as per the IWT, would be cut down drastically in years to come. That may irk Pakistan, but there is not much they can do about it as India has merely decided to utilise its share of water better, which in fact should have been done long back. But, what will definately leave the Pakistanis worried is Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari's latest remark that India may try and cut down the flow of Western Rivers as well which are Pakistan's share as per the Indus Water Treaty. India to reduce water flowing into Pakistan, set to divert Eastern rivers to other parts "Nirnay kewal mere dept ka nahi hai, sarkar aur PM ke level pe nirnay hoga par maine apne department se kaha hai ki Pakistan ka jo inke adhikar ka bhi paani ja raha tha vo kahan kahan rok sakte hain uska techinical design bana ke taiyaari karo (It is not just the the decision of my department, it will decided at the level of the Prime Minsiter and government. But i have told my department to prepare a technical design so that Pakistan's share of water can also be cut down)," news agency quoted Gadkari as saying. This means that India may try and utilise a clause in the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) which allows India to use water from the western rivers. It is largely believed that IWT clearly delineates that three Eastern Rivers belong to India and three Western Rivers belong to Pakistan. But, that is not the case. The average annual flow of the Western Rivers is much higher than the Easter Rivers, and for this reason there is a provision in the treaty that India can use the water of Western Rivers for farming and irrigation only. Gadkari also took to Twitter to elaborate on India's plan regarding the three rivers - the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej- that flow into Pakistan. These are eastern rivers and would not violating the treaty in any manner by diverting their flow. It is what Gadkari said today is something that would leave the Pakistan worrying. But India needs to go about it in a carefully and planned manner so as not to violate the treaty and give Pakistan as opportunity to knock the doors of the United Nations. The World Bank had last year said that India is allowed to construct hydroelectric power plants on the Jhelum and Chenab Rivers after secretary-level discussions between India and Pakistan on the technical issues over the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) concluded. Gadkari's 'water missile' not new for Pakistan It is notable that Prime Minister Modi chaired a review meeting of Indus Water Treaty in July last year and it was decided that India will 'exploit to the maximum' the water of Pakistan-controlled rivers, including Jhelum, as per the water-sharing pact. What is the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)? The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank to use the water available in the Indus System of Rivers located in India. The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960 by the first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and then President of Pakistan Ayub Khan. According to this agreement, control over the water flowing in three "eastern" rivers of India - the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej with the mean flow of 33 million acre-feet (MAF) - was given to India, while control over the water flowing in three "western" rivers of India - the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum with the mean flow of 80 MAF - was given to Pakistan. The treaty also provides arbitration mechanism to solve disputes amicably.Climate change is causing melting of ice in Tibetan plateau, which scientists believe will affect the river in future. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 11:55 [IST] Madurai man who wanted to overthrow non-Islamic Indian govt charged by NIA NIA unearths deposits into shell companies by naxalites India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 22: The National Investigation Agency has raided 10 places in Jharkhand in connection with a case relating to Left Wing Terrorism. NIA conducted searches at 10 locations in Jharkhand and West Bengal with the support of Jharkhand and West Bengal Police respectively in connection with PLFI (People's Liberation Front of India) Terror funding case. NIA arrests one from Malda in fake currency case The residences and offices of close associates and offices of companies associated with PLFI Chief Dinesh Gope in Ranchi, Gumla, Khunti and Kolkata were searched for their alleged role in the financing of PLFI. During searches, NIA has seized huge materials including documents, digital exhibits as under: i) Incriminating documents pertaining to payments/investment by PLFI chief/cadres in various firms and immovable properties. ii) Fake PAN Cards and fake identity cards iii) Bank accounts details and fixed deposits and cash approximately Rs.3.41 Lacs. iiii) Documents showing payments made to the various shell companies v) 40 Mobiles and other digital devices containing incriminating information. NIA officially takes over probe into Pulwama terror attack vi) Diaries containing entries of investments. The case relates to depositing of extorted levy amount by PLFI supremo, Dinesh Gope through associates namely Vinod Kumar, Yamuna Prasad, Chandra Sekhar Kumar, Nand Kishore and Mohan Kumar who have been arrested. Dinesh Gope, the chief of PLFI is presenting absconding. Its done: The 3.45 am call to NSA Doval after Balakot was hit and Operation Bandar was competed JeM plans another suicide strike: IB says plot aimed at distracting armed forces India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 22: The Intelligence Bureau has sounded an alert that the Jaish-e-Mohammad may be planning another attack similar on the lines of the Pulwama terror strike. IB sources tell OneIndia that the attack that is being planned may be similar compared to the Pulwama attack. Further the IB also says that this could be a ploy to distract the security forces, who are planning action against Pakistan. Azhar makes Pulwama attack political, tells Pak on how to send Modi packing India has warned Pakistan of action, following which there has been a high state of alert in Pakistan. Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan even asked the army to remain on standby in the wake of India planning action. India on the other hand has been planning a series of action against Pakistan. India first withdrew the most favoured nation status. There were also a series of high level meetings that discussed the possible military action against Pakistan. Among the action discussed were surgical strikes, limited conflict and also aerial strikes. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 11:15 [IST] At all party meet, PM Modi says priority is to strengthen democracy at grassroots in J&K Chidambaram slams government for insisting on polls in Jammu and Kashmir before granting statehood Restore statehood first, if you want elections in J&K: Omar Abdullah to Centre J&K: Two terrorists killed in Baramulla encounter, arms and ammunition recovered India oi-Deepika S Srinagar, Feb 22: Two terrorists were gunned down by security forces in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district on Friday. This comes amid severed ties between India and Pakistan, in the wake of Pulwama terror attack that claimed lives of 40 CRPF jawans. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Warpora area of Sopore, in north Kashmir, acting on specific information about the presence of militants there, police said. The militants fired at the search party, leading to a gunfight. Two militants have been killed, a police official said, adding the operation was going on. The identity of the militants was yet to be ascertained. 30 years on, martyred IAF officials to get justice as trial against Yasin Malik is set to begin From videos to mails, how NIA built a water tight case against Yasin Malik Name of IAF officer who was killed by Yasin Malik to be added to War Memorial IAF hero gets justice: Why it is time up for Yasin Malik First Yasin Malik, now Javed Mir: Our martyred IAF heroes are getting justice at last Enough grounds to proceed: The crimes of Kashmir separatist Yasin Malik J&K: Separatist leader Yasin Malik detained in Srinagar India oi-Deepika S Srinagar, Feb 23: Separatist leader and JKLF chief Yasin Malik was detained by police in a late night raid on Friday. He was arrested from his Maisuma residence and has been taken to the Kothibagh Police Station. Malik's detention comes ahead of crucial hearing on Article 35-A in Supreme Court that is likely to take place on Monday. Police and paramilitary forces have been put on high alert but there was no confirmation about any more detentions. Earlier, the government had decided to withdraw his security, among other separatist leaders and mainstream politicians, citing lack of state resources. J&K administration withdraws security of 5 separatist leaders including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq The Supreme court is scheduled to hear on February 25 the petitions challenging the validity of Article 35A, which bars outsiders from purchasing land and property in the State and also bars them from government jobs and government scholarships. Chidambaram will be in Parliament tomorrow, says Karti after SC grants bail to his father INX Media: Centre allows CBI to prosecute Chidambaram, chargesheet likely soon India pti-PTI New Delhi, Feb 22: The CBI is likely to file a chargesheet in the INX media foreign investment clearance case as it has received sanction from the Centre to prosecute former finance minister P Chidambaram, under whose tenure approval for it was given, officials said on Friday. They said after clearance from the Centre, giving a go-ahead to the agency to press charges against Chidambaram, the CBI might soon proceed with the filing of the chargesheet. The CBI had registered an FIR on May 15, 2017 against alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007, when Chidambaram was the finance minister. Rafale deal: Costlier aircraft and longer delivery period, says Chidambaram on CAG report The Law Ministry had told the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that there was "no legal infirmity" in the agency's request seeking prosecution sanction. This view has now been communicated to the CBI, they said. Chidambaram was not listed as an accused in the FIR registered by the agency. The Prevention of Corruption Act mandates an investigating agency to get prior sanction from competent authority for prosecution of an accused public servant. The agency had registered the FIR against Karti Chidamabaram, his company Chess Management Services, Peter Mukerjea and Indrani Mukerjea, INX Media, Advantage Strategic Consulting Services and its Director Padma Vishwanathan. Both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate are investigating the foreign investment clearance granted to the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006 and the INX Media in 2007. The government has already given sanction to prosecute Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis case. Chidambaram had denied allegations of any wrongdoing in clearing the foreign investment proposals of these companies. According to the CBI, INX Media stated in its records that Rs 10 lakh was given to Advantage Strategic Consulting (P) Limited, a firm "indirectly" owned by Karti, for management consultancy charged towards FIPB notification and clarification. The FIR also alleges that invoices of approximately Rs 3.5 crore were raised in favour of the INX group in the name of other companies in which Karti had substantial interests "directly or indirectly". The allegations levelled by the CBI are based on the information given by "source", the FIR has claimed. INX Media was seeking investment from Mauritius, an official had explained. The investment was allowed by the FIPB board and the finance minister with the condition that only Rs 4.62 crore could be received, he had said after registration of the FIR. For investment in INX News Pvt Ltd a separate proposal was required, he had said. The company allegedly violated the conditions set by the FIPB and received investment to the tune of 26 per cent in the capital of INX News which included foreign investment. It allegedly generated more than Rs 305 crore of FDI in INX Media against the approved inflow of Rs 4.62 crore by issuing shares to foreign investors at a premium of more than Rs 800 per share, the FIR had said. The violation prompted an Income Tax Department probe. INX Media claimed that the investment was done as per FIPB conditions, it had said. In order to wriggle out of the situation without any punitive action, INX Media entered into a criminal conspiracy with Karti whose father was the finance minister of the country, the agency has alleged. Officials, by virtue of the influence exercised over them by Karti, not only ignored serious illegalities on the part of INX Media but also showed undue favours by abusing their official position and advised the company to file for a fresh clearance, the FIR had claimed. Chidambaram had issued a strong rebuttal to the allegations after the FIR was filed and searches were carried out on May 16, 2017. Nitin Gadkari takes on Congress for its guarantee to nullify CAA in Assam if voted to power Instead of just 1, more firms should be allowed to make vaccines: Gadkari After saying more firms should be allowed to make vaccination, Gadkari clarifies Gadkaris water missile not new for Pakistan India oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi New Delhi, Feb 22: When Union Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari on Thursday announced India's plan to stop its rightful share of water under Indus Water Treaty then it was taken as if New Delhi has launched a new 'water missile' to target Pakistan post-Pulwama attack. There is palpable anger in India after the February 14 suicide attack in which a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed at least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel. However, what Gadkari said is not new for Pakistan as it knows that the Modi government has been working to stop India's water wastage from its share in the Indus Water Treaty much before the Pulwama attack. 'Cheap politics': Nitin Gadkari slams Congress's 'direct attack on PM' tweet Gadkari on Thursday tweeted, "Under the leadership of Hon'ble PM Sri Narendra Modi ji, Our Govt. has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab." "The construction of the dam has started at Shahpur-Kandi on Ravi river. Moreover, UJH project will store our share of water for use in J&K and the balance water will flow from 2nd Ravi-BEAS Link to provide water to other basin states. All the above Projects are declared as the National projects," he said in a series of tweets. Earlier in the day while speaking at an event in Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, Gadkari had spoken about how India was working in the direction to stop extra water from flowing into Pakistan. Even on January 12, Gadkari had expressed Modi government's plan to divert India's rightful share of water under the Indus Water Treaty to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh at the MoU signing function for the construction of Renukaji Multi-Purpose Dam project in the Upper Yamuna Basin. The Indus Water Treaty gives control over the water flowing in the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej rivers with the mean flow of 33 million acre-feet (MAF) to India, and the water flowing in the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum rivers with the mean flow of 80 MAF to Pakistan. However, India uses nearly 93-94 percent of its share under the treaty. The rest of the water remains unutilised and goes to Pakistan - this is the water that India wants to stop. Even, Pakistan Senate's Standing Committee on Water and Power had said in July 2015 that India was using less than its allocated share in the western rivers under the treaty. It is notable that Prime Minister Modi chaired a review meeting of Indus Water Treaty in July last year and it was decided that India will 'exploit to the maximum' the water of Pakistan-controlled rivers, including Jhelum, as per the water-sharing pact. Though India's step is not a violation of the treaty, if India manages to stop the current wastage of 7 percent of the water of its share then also it will have a visible effect in Pakistan as around three-quarters of the Pakistani population is dependent on the Indus basin for their livelihoods and drinking water. Put him in his place says peeved Gadkari after MOIL MD skips conclave Since the technicalities of bilateral treaties are complex and are not generally understood by the common people, they can be used by politicians to confuse the general public. Of late Pakistan has been trying to misguide Pakistanis over the Indus Water Treaty to divert their attention from country's water shortage that has resulted from poor utilisation of water, corruption and inadequate investment in dams. For example, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday had written a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and sought his help to reduce the tension between Islamabad and New Delhi after the Pulwama attack. Out of the context, he also informed the UN Secretary-General that India has also hinted that it may abandon the Indus Waters Treaty, which is a white lie. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 5:53 [IST] Not exactly a cakewalk for DMK in Tamil Nadu In new TN assembly DMK has most MLAs with pending criminal background, crorepatis DMK-Congress: Frenemies first Lok Sabha alliance dates back to 1971 India oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi New Delhi, Feb 22: Tamil Nadu is one of the important states in terms of Lok Sabha seats. It sends 39 members to the lower house of the Parliament. The Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have stitched an alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The DMK is one of the important Dravidian parties of Tamil Nadu. It was founded in 1949 as a breakaway faction of the Dravidar Kazhagam by C. N. Annadurai in Madras State, which was later renamed as Tamil Nadu on January 14, 1969. Though the DMK and the Congress share a frenemy kind of relation, their Lok Sabha alliance dates back to 1971. On one occasion, the Congress even toppled Union Government demanding the expulsion of the DMK from it. Tamil Nadu: Congress-DMK finalise seat sharing, grand old party to fight from 9 LS seats Even the DMK's mother organisation, Dravidar Kazhagam, was born to oppose the Congress' policies. Periyar E. V. Ramasamy had broken his ties with the Congress in order to start a movement in 1925 that later gave birth to Dravidar Kazhagam in 1944. DMK's Lok Sabha Journey The DMK was the first regional political party of then Madras State to send its representatives in the Lok Sabha. Seven DMK candidates were elected to the Lok Sabha in 1962 general elections. In the 1967 general elections, the DMK improved its performance substantially and won 25 seats. The DMK first entered into an alliance in 1971 general elections when it joined hands with the Congress and won 23 seats. When the Lok Sabha elections were held post emergency in 1977 then the DMK joined hands with the Janata Party and won two seats. After the fall of Morarji Desai led Janata Party government, the DMK again forged an alliance with the Congress and won 16 Lok Sabha seats in 1980 elections. In 1984 Lok Sabha polls, the DMK for the first time entered into an alliance with multi parties. General elections were held in 1984 soon after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The party joined hands with Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Janata Party and Tamil Nadu Congress and won only two seats. The sympathy wave post-assassination of Indira Gandhi helped her son Rajiv Gandhi to secure a landslide victory for the Congress in 1984 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress' total tally stood at 414 seats. In 1989, the DMK joined hands with the National Front launched by V.P. Singh. The DMK could not win any seat, but V.P Singh became Prime Minister of a coalition government. The Lok Sabha elections were again necessitated in 1991 because the previous Lok Sabha saw two Prime Ministers: VP Singh and Chandra Shekhar. The DMK again could not win a seat during the 1991 elections. This was the election wherein former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991, in Tamil Nadu's Sriperembudur constituency by a suicide bomber of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). When general elections were announced in 1996 to elect 11th Lok Sabha, the Dravidian Party won 17 seats after a gap of 12 years as a part of the Third Front. By sealing alliances, BJP shows it's a step ahead of Opposition in alliance-making game? However, that Lok Sabha couldn't complete its full term and saw three prime ministers: Atal Bihari Vajpayee, H.D. Deve Gowda, and I.K Gujral. Interestingly, it was the DMK which became the prime reason for the premature dissolution of the 11th Lok Sabha. The Congress withdrew its support to Gujral government when he refused to drop the DMK from his government. The Congress had asked for the expulsion of the DMK after the Jain Commission report indicted the DMK, its leader M Karunanidhi and others for the LTTE's unchecked activities in Tamil Nadu that led to Rajiv Gandhi's assassination. When elections were held in 1998 to elect 12th Lok Sabha then the DMK could only win five seats. This was the Lok Sabha in which Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government lost the Vote of Confidence Motion with just one vote. Saifuddin Soz; a Member of Parliament (MP) of Jammu and Kashmir's National Conference, a coalition partner of ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA); voted against Vajpayee government by defying his party's orders. Interestingly, the Vajpayee government had to face the Vote of Confidence because of another Dravidian party. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) supremo Jayalalitha withdrew her party's support after she failed to persuade Vajpayee government to dismiss the DMK-led M. Karunanidhi government in Tamil Nadu. The era of unstable governments ended after 1999 Lok Sabha polls when Vajpayee led a coalition government for full five years. Then the DMK had come under the umbrella of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led NDA and won 12 seats. That Lok Sabha election has remained the first and last election when the DMK sided with the BJP. Before the 2004 General Elections, the DMK formed Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) and included Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Indian Union Muslim League and the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi in it. The DMK improved its tally by winning 16 seats and other DPA alliance partners won 13 seats. The Congress bagged 10 seats. The DMK returned back to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) during 2009 Lok Sabha polls and won 18 seats. The party failed to even win a single seat during 2014 Lok Sabha elections Corruption Charges The party faced corruption charges over 2G spectrum allocation. In 2010, a case was filed against Minister for Communications and Information Technology and DMK MP A. Raja for causing the government exchequer multi-crore loss. He was accused of undercharging mobile telephone companies for frequency allocation licenses, which they used to create 2G spectrum subscriptions for cell phones. Raja was arrested on February 2, 2011, and was released on bail after 15 months on May 15, 2012. DMK Supremo late M. Karunanidhi's daughter MK Kanimozhi was also arrested and sent to Tihar jail on May 20, 2011, for alleged kickbacks in 2G case. She got bail on November 28, 2011. On 21 December 2017, a Special CBI Court acquitted all accused, including Raja and Kanimozhi, in the 2G spectrum allocation case. However, the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation have filed appeals against this verdict in the Delhi High Court. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 5:47 [IST] The details of the alleged assault released Thursday in a document of opinion by Reed stated that it seemed that Moffitt was late in recording his working hours, and during a conversation about it Kveton slapped Moffitt on the hand. Reed said in his opinion it came down to how hard was the slap on the hand and what was the intention of Kveton. Delhis own Wonders of the World Park, check out what it has India oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa New Delhi, Feb 22: A 60-ft Eiffel Tower and a 20-ft Taj Mahal are among the replicas of the seven wonders of the world built at a theme park here using 150 tonnes of industrial and other waste. Home Minister Rajnath Singh Thursday inaugurated the 'Waste to Wonder Park' which is spread across an area of seven acres in the Sarai Kale Khan area. Delhi: Police officer shot at by two unknown assailants The replicas are -- Taj Mahal (20 ft), the Great Pyramid of Giza (18 ft), Eiffel Tower (60 ft), Leaning Tower of Pisa (25 ft), Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer (25 ft), Rome's Colosseum (15 ft) and New York's Statute of Liberty (30 ft), SDMC officials said. The park has been built by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) as part of its initiative to process waste under meaningful projects and add aesthetic value to the city. "The seven replicas have been made with a scrap of automobile parts and other metal waste like fans, rods, iron sheets, nut-bolts, bicycle and bike parts, defunct sewer lines and age-old appliances gathering dust in 24 municipal stores," the official said. SDMC Commissioner P K Goel said 150 tonnes of scrap and waste has been used to create the "architectural wonders for the city". He claimed this was the "world's first" such park where all the seven wonders have been replicated using waste products. "In other wonders of the world parks, cement and mortar have been used, and their cost had been much higher," Goel said. The replicas have been fabricated artistically and the park has been commissioned in the "shortest period of six months despite the expected time of completion being eight months" in view of the vast waste material available, the SDMC said. "Even wash rooms have been made from obsolete shipping containers. Five artistes, seven supplementary artistes, and 70 welders worked on it to accomplish the most coveted project. It has been built over an area of seven acres," the official said. Girls at Delhi shelter home abused by staff, chilli powder in private parts There are plans to start a light and sound show to showcase the journey leading to the wonder park from the waste materials, the SDMC said. To avoid huge rush of visitors, it has been decided to charge an entry fee of Rs 50 for adults and Rs 25 for children in the age group of 3-12, it said. However, children up to three years of age and senior citizens, 65 years and above, will not be charged any fee. School students from the municipal corporations, carrying identity cards, will be allowed free entry, the official said. Lt Governor Anil Baijal and BJP MP Maheish Girri were also present on the occasion. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 7:07 [IST] Name, patronage of PM Modi enough to win UP polls says aide Congress and DMK synonymous with corruption: Shah India oi-Chennabasaveshwar P Ramanathapuram, Feb 22: BJP Chief Amit Shah equated Congress and DMK with 'corruption' and BJP and NDA for development while addressing 'Shakti Kendra Pramukh Sammelan' in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu. This is Amis Shah's first address to the party workers in the state after announcing alliance with AIADMK. Amit Shah backed his claim with the Finance Commission grant provided to Tamil Nadu under NDA government. Shah said, "BJP and Prime Minister Modi want development of every area of Tamil Nadu. In the 13th Finance Commission, UPA gave only Rs. 94,540 to Tamil Nadu whereas NDA government gave around Rs 5.42 lakh for the development of Tamil Nadu. This is 500 per cent more than given by the Congress led UPA government." "In this budget, our government has announced of setting up of Fisheries department for the welfare of fishermen spread across the country, " said Shah. 'Rahul Ji, India is tired of your fake news': BJP hits back at Congress Shah went on to say that Congress and DMK are synonymous with corruption and BJP and NDA stand for development. "I dare Stalin and Rahul Gandhi to give account of development of Tamil Nadu to its people, " said Shah. Speaking on the alliance with AIADMK, Shah said, "We are not going to fight election on just 5 seats, we are going to fight elections on 40 seats in alliance with AIADMK." He paid homage to two brave hearts of Tamil Nadu who laid down their lives protecting the country in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir. Shah assured that PM Narendra Modi-led NDA government will avenge the killing of our soldiers. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 16:03 [IST] 2 years of Pulwama terror attack: Will not forget, say Rajnath Singh, Shah Beef can be detected, but not RDX: Congress leader's absurd analogy India oi-Vikas SV New Delhi, Feb 22: As if the unnecessary politics and needless statements over the Pulwama terrorist attack was not enough, Congress leader Haroon Yusuf has now drawn beef into the entire debate on national security. Yusuf took to Twitter on Thursday and posted that if 3 kg beef can be detected, then how come massive quantity of RDX went unnoticed. To rub it in further, Yusuf has posted the tweet with hash tag 'ModiFailsNationalSecurity'. As per reports, around 80 kg of RDX was used in Pulwama terrorist attack which left 40 CRPF personnel martyred. Pulwama attack: Maruti team holds key to ownership details of car "@narendramodi Ji can trace 3 kg of beef but cannot trace 350 kg of RDX #ModiFailsNationalSecurity(sic)," Yusuf alleged in a tweet. Tweet has left the BJP fuming and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was quick to call Yusuf's remark "scandalous and irresponsible". Speaking to PTI, Yusuf, however, remained defiant and defended hi tweet. "What I have said is reality. Can you deny it? Lynching was done for polarisation. You can catch 3 kg beef, kill innocents, but not 350 kg RDX. Isn't Modi informed by security agencies," he said. Delhi BJP vice president Rajiv Babbar claimed Yusuf's remarks exposed the Congress's "double face". "They can not even wait for a few days and have started defaming security agencies. This exposes their double face. They claim solidarity with the government in all-party meeting and soon start seeking political gains through their shameful comments," Babbar alleged. Delhi BJP Minority Morcha president Mohammad Haroon termed Yusuf's statement "very objectionable". Pulwama: Huge impact as Supergel-90 multiplied potency of main explosive "The Pulwama attack shocked the nation and in the meantime Yusuf has issued very objectionable statement against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and tried to give it a communal colour," he alleged. Yusuf's statement is an attempt to "divide" the country on "communal lines", he claimed. OneIndia News with PTI inputs For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 10:53 [IST] To stay in Grey List or downgrade to Black List: Key FATF decision on Pak this week Be ready to face any eventuality: Pak Army Chief tells troops amid growing tension with India International oi-Deepika S Islamabad, Feb 23: Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has reportedly visited Pakistani troops at the LoC in Kashmir on Friday, and asked them "to be ready to face any eventuality". It was the first visit of the Army chief to the LoC since tension escalated between the two countries after the terror attack. The development comes amid the denial by the Pakistan Army that it is was preparing for war with India. However, it asserted that the country 'has a right to respond to the war threats'. Radio Pakistan reported that Bajwa lauded high morale of the troops. Bajwa said Pakistan is a peace loving country but it will not be intimidated or coerced. We are not preparing for war, but you are sending threats': Pakistan Army tells India He said, "Pakistan is a peace loving county and it will not be intimidated or coerced. Any aggression or misadventure shall be paid back in same coin." The already sour relations between India and Pakistan have worsened as New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the Pulwama attack. Both countries have called back their envoys for "consultations." Earlier in the day, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor also said that India blamed Pakistan for the Pulwama attack "without due investigation" and New Delhi has not yet accepted the "reality of partition". "We have a 72-year history. The partition happened in 1947 and Pakistan was liberated. India still hasn't been able to accept that," the Army spokesman said after the terror strike by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. We are not preparing for war, you (India) are issuing threats...we have right to respond to the threats. We are not preparing to initiate but planning to defend and retaliate which is our right," the Army spokesman said. Going slow on Hafiz Saeed, looking up to Azhar, Pak is only worsening its case at FATF Azhar makes Pulwama attack political, tells Pak on how to send Modi packing India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 22: In what appears to be an election pitch to oust the Narendra Modi government, the Jaish-e-Mohammad has urged Pakistan to stay strong. In an audio clip that is being circulated in the Kashmir Valley, the JeM says that if Pakistan remains strong, Modi will go backwards. However if the Pakistan government comes under pressure that then it would help Narendra Modi regain his position, Maulana Masood Azhar, the chief of the JeM is heard saying. Back off from the Uighurs, we will support you: The China-Azhar bonhomie explained In the clip, he is further heard saying that the Pulwama attack was carried out by a Kashmiri. India is crying about it, but it is not working. Azhar goes on to say that US President Donald Trump did not mention it and neither did the European Union put forth any statement. The Chinese media did not report it, he also says. Seeking to absolve Pakistan of its role in the attack, the JeM chief says that the Kashmiri freedom struggle does not need any foreign support. The attack was carried out by a Kashmiri. It did not happen near the border, but near Srinagar, he also said. There is no point in blaming Pakistan for the attack, he also says. This is an attack in retaliation to the claim that terrorism has been wiped out in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, he said. Not opposed to Masood Azhar's banning: Saudi FM He also added that there are a few that this attack would help Modi in the elections. People who think that this attack would help Modi are completely wrong. They do not under politics and neither are they aware of the Hindu mindset, he added. This attack has in fact sent Modi's popularity to the graveyard, he says in the 8 minute clip. Modi made a big issue about terrorism being wiped out. If that was the case, how did this attack take place, he asks. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 8:03 [IST] One of the hardest, how team Doval built a fool proof case to get Michel to India AgustaWestland scam: Rajiv Saxena's interim bail extended till Feb 25 India oi-Vikas SV New Delhi, Feb 22: A Delhi Court on Friday extended the interim bail of AgustaWestland scam co-accused Rajiv Saxena, who was extradited from Dubai on January 30, till February 25. The Patiala House Court had on February 14 granted interim bail for seven days to Saxena and had asked AIIMS to file a detailed medical report on Saxena's health. AgustaWestland scam: ED opposes Rajeev Saxena's plea to meet his lawyer in private AIIMS has reportedly filed a detailed health report of Rajiv Saxena. The court would consider his regular bail plea on February 25, the next date of hearing. Saxena had sought bail on medical grounds and told the court that he was suffering from a "heart disease" and "advanced-stage leukaemia" (blood cancer). On February 14, Saxena was asked to furnish two bail sureties of Rs 5 lakh each. On February 13, the Enforcement Directprate had said that it was not opposing Saxena's bail plea due to his medical condition and the fact that he was cooperating in the probe. The court had then asked the lawyer appearing for the ED whether the bail was not being opposed on merits, to which he replied that he was relying only on Saxena's medical condition as he is suffering from leukamia. To this, the court had said, "remember it will apply in other cases then. We are recording everything, whatever you are saying". Saxena had sought bail on medical grounds and told the court that he was suffering from a "heart disease" and "advanced-stage leukaemia" (blood cancer). AgustaWestland: The importance of Rajeev Saxena and how he will help crack the money trail Saxena is one of the accused named in the chargesheet filed by Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the case. The agency had alleged that in connivance with another accused, Guatam Khaitan, a Delhi based lawyer, Saxena provided a global corporate structure for laundering illegal proceeds of the crime for payment to various political persons, bureaucrats and Air Force officials to influence the contract to supply 12 VVIP helicopters in favour of AgustaWestland. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, February 22, 2019, 16:19 [IST] WASHINGTON If the goal is to build a border wall, then President Donald Trump has made the wrong decision at every turn. In early 2018, Trump had the opportunity to secure $25 billion in funding for his border wall in exchange for legal status for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients. Instead of taking the deal, he blew up the negotiations with his s---hole countries remark and by demanding changes to legal immigration policy. Then in June, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $1.6 billion for 65 miles of fencing by an overwhelming bipartisan 26-5 margin. This could easily have passed the House and Senate. Instead, Trump later shut down the government over wall funding and demanded $5.7 billion. Result? After a disastrous 35-day shutdown, he got less $1.38 billion than he would have if he had just gone along with the bipartisan deal six months earlier. Now, the smart move for Trump would have been to pocket that $1.38 billion and bolster it with another $3.1 billion he could arguably use without a declaration of a national emergency by reprogramming $600 million from the Treasury Departments drug forfeiture fund and $2.5 billion from the Defense Departments drug interdiction program. In all, Bailey said 17 people have not filed the annual reports, including some people who did not file them two years in a row. Some people may not know they have to fill out the report when their campaign is over, she added. The U.S. ethanol industry faces serious challenges at present, given a combination of factors: production that has exceeded demand, low selling prices, hefty Chinese tariffs and delays by the federal government in enabling year-round sales of a 15 percent ethanol blend nationwide. The U.S. ethanol industry was rocked by low prices in 2018, the University of Illinois said in a recent report, especially in the second half of the year when prices reached their lowest levels in over a decade. Although domestic and export use for U.S. ethanol increased since 2014, both production capacity and actual production have increased even faster, the report said. For example, ethanol production in the U.S. looks to have topped 16 billion gallons for the first time in 2018, and this has simply been too much for the domestic and export fuel markets to absorb. Ethanol firms have responded by lowering production in recent months. The University of Illinois study looked at multi-year investment returns and concluded that the ethanol sector remains a sensible investment opportunity, despite current complications: Ethanol plants have a more than respectable record of investment performance over the last dozen years. The Indiana man who was critically injured in a pileup on Interstate 80 on Wednesday morning has died, law enforcement officials said Friday. Jason Palmer, 29, of Mishawaka, Indiana, died Friday from the injuries he suffered in a pileup of 11 vehicles nine of which were semitrailer trucks on I-80 between Aurora and Giltner. Palmer was a passenger in a Jeep Cherokee that was in one of the early collisions. The drivers of two semis saw that the Cherokee was stopped, the Nebraska State Patrol said. One semi struck the other, then collided with the Cherokee. Palmer was taken to a hospital in Aurora, then flown by medical helicopter to a hospital in Kearney, where he died. The driver of the Cherokee was treated at the Aurora hospital for minor injuries and released. Authorities are still investigating the pileup but said winter weather conditions were a factor. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Thanks for subscribing to the Omaha World-Herald and supporting local journalism. As a subscriber, you have exclusive access to articles that carry the Subscriber Plus logo (left). An Air Force jet piloted by an Offutt-based crew is flying the first aerial photography flight over Russia in more than a year under the Open Skies Treaty, Pentagon officials confirmed, marking a return to some limited military cooperation between the two nations. The OC-135B flew from Offutt Air Force Base to Japan late last week. On the way there, they picked up a team of monitors from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency to staff the expensive sensors, or cameras, mounted in the cabin of the four-engine jet. It flew on to Russia on Monday. The observation flight was scheduled to take place Friday and Saturday local time (Thursday and Friday in Omaha) and begin in Khabarovsk, in the Russian Far East, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Six observers from the Russian Federation were to be on board, said Eric Pahon, a spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense. The Open Skies Treaty, ratified in 1992 after the Cold War, allows its 34 members to fly supervised aerial photography missions over one anothers territory. Since then, member nations have flown more than 1,400 flights. Ricketts said that farmers and ranchers are the original conservationists and that its incumbent on farm country to do a better job telling its story, including educating the public about where its food comes from. Every generation gets a little farther away from the family farm, Ricketts said. Farm country is hurting these days in large part because of trade disruptions that have helped depress crop prices. Nebraska farm income for 2018, for example, is expected to be the lowest since 2002, according to the Nebraska Business Forecast Council. Still, Ricketts said things are looking up, citing deals negotiated by the Trump administration such as a rewrite of NAFTA that still has to be approved by Congress. Were making great progress, Ricketts said. Id always like to see faster progress. On Thursday, however, King argued that he was misquoted by Times reporter Trip Gabriel, explaining that he had been talking about Western civilization and not white supremacy. He has made similar comments as recently as last week at a town hall in Iowa, the Sioux City Journal reported. To prove his point, King turned to LexisNexis, a research database with access to archived news reports and public records. After three weeks of research, King said "in all of history" LexisNexis showed he had never used "either one of those terms that identified as the odious ideologies." But he noted that he has said "Western civilization" 276 times. "If you want to score it on a matter of logic, it's Steve King: 276," he said. "New York Times: 0 and 0." In an emailed statement to The Washington Post Friday, the Times's politics editor Patrick Healy said King was not misquoted nor were his comments taken out of context. "Trip Gabriel typed detailed notes during the interview and we are absolutely confident that we quoted Mr. King accurately, fairly and in the proper context," Healy said. "I'd point out that for more than 24 hours after the article was published, Mr. King did not dispute he had made the comment." No one spoke against LB 474 Thursday, but Dorn expressed skepticism about the bills chances, given the states tight budget situation. He said he plans to focus on another proposal that would allow counties facing a federal court judgment to impose a half-cent sales tax on purchases in the county. Under LB 472, the tax would have to be approved by a two-thirds vote of the county board and would apply even where there are city sales taxes. Dorn also introduced a third option. LB 473 would allow counties and other local governments facing court judgments too large to pay off at one time to get a loan from the state at 0.5 percent annual interest. All three measures seek to address a judgment granted in 2016 by a federal jury in Lincoln to Kathy Gonzales, Thomas Winslow, James Dean, Debra Shelden, Ada JoAnn Taylor and the estate of Joseph White. The six had been convicted and sent to prison for the 1985 rape and slaying of Helen Wilson, 68, of Beatrice. DNA testing of crime scene evidence, ordered as a result of Whites appeals in 2008, matched none of the six, but it did match a criminal drifter who died in 1992 in Oklahoma. White, Winslow and Taylor, all of whom were still in prison, were ordered released. White subsequently died in a workplace accident. According to court documents, Nelson was informed of the suspected abuse by a teacher and a student teacher, but there are conflicting accounts about who reported Sedlaceks behavior to authorities and what day it was reported. The teacher called the child abuse hotline on Nov. 20 after being instructed to do so by the schools assistant principal, according to court documents. The teacher witnessed an incident on the playground on Nov. 19 allegedly involving Sedlacek and a student. In those same court documents, Nelson said he contacted the districts human resources officials on Nov. 19. Matt Burns, Nelsons attorney, said his client not only called OPSs human resources department, but he also called the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. It is not clear whether more specificity in the OPS policy, and greater conformity to the language in state law, would have changed events at the school. Polikov said that if other people at the school did not report to CPS or law enforcement, that wouldnt absolve the principal if he didnt report it. Thats not a defense, he said. Thats the same defense you get when, Well, I ran the stop sign, but there were other people running the stop sign. A 45-year-old man has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting deaths of two men in Holdrege, Nebraska. Deputy Phelps County Attorney Natalie Nelsen on Friday announced the charges against Manuel Gomez of Holdrege. Gomez was arrested Thursday after the shooting deaths of two men and the wounding of a third man. Around 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Holdrege police officers responded to a report of a shooting at one address. Police later discovered additional crime scenes at another address, Sunrise View Apartments, in multiple units. Raymond Burton, 65, and David Rogers, 54, were both found dead inside separate units of the apartment complex, according to a press release from the Nebraska State Patrol. Doyle Morse, 64, was able to call 911 after he was shot at the first address, the release said. He is in serious condition at CHI Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney. A vehicle owned by Gomez was seen traveling in the north part of Holdrege shortly after the shootings. The release said a short, low-speed pursuit ensued and Gomez drove to the Phelps County Sheriffs Office. He was taken into custody without incident. Ash entered the School of American Ballet in New York City and worked hard toward her dream. Any time she felt bullied, she tried to stand up for herself and she became more determined to succeed. At 18, her dream came true when she joined the New York City Ballet, where she danced many solos and principal, or lead, roles. Then she moved to Europe to be a soloist with a dance company in Switzerland before returning to work in the United States. In 2011, Ash started the Swan Dreams Project, a charity that uses dance and the arts to teach kids that where they live, how much money they have, what their race is or anyone else's ideas about them cannot limit their dreams. "You will face nos in life, but you need determination, focus and passion," she said. "Know that nothing will take your dreams from you. Give it your all, and you will reach your goal." In 2016, the virtual National Women's History Museum honored Ash for not only being one of the first African-American professional ballet dancers, but also for her work through the Swan Dreams Project, which runs a summer camp in Rochester and an after-school program in San Jose, California. And even though Ash has won awards and acclaim, she said the thing she treasures most is making her family proud because she reached her dream. "All of the hard work and sacrifice paid off," she said. "When you have a dream, believe it with all of your heart." West Lake is farther along in the FTAs approval process. Noland hopes it receives a favorable rating when the FTA submits its annual report to Congress, probably in a few weeks. That report was delayed by the five-week partial shutdown of federal government agencies earlier this year, as FTA employees were sidelined during that time. The category is as strong as I think its ever been, Johnston said. I dont know that theres ever been a better batch of five films. I think we would be the longest of long shots because Spider-Man has great momentum and is a great film. Were not expecting to win, but, as they say, its an honor just to be nominated. For those who have yet to see Ralph Breaks the Internet, it follows our two classic video game characters, Ralph and Vanellope (voiced by John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman), as they journey into the Internet, which Ralph breaks, both figuratively and literally. The film is fast-paced, joke-packed and family-friendly, but its also a sharp, thoughtful satire about the World Wide Web and what its done to our culture, society and nervous systems. The films depiction of the Internet is at least partially dystopic. We wanted to walk the line, Johnston said, and have this weird balance of the beauty and ugliness (of the Internet) as best we could. With more than 500 people working on the film, Ralph Breaks the Internet became a way for many, many artists to share their humorous (and sometimes disturbing) ideas about the Internet and where its taking us. Heady stuff for a kids movie. 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. The Auburn-Opelika area is long overdue when it comes to need for a new cancer treatment facility. Fortunately, East Alabama Medical Centers Spencer Cancer Center is on target to open its doors to patients as early as June. It will be a welcome addition to the community. EAMCs current cancer wing is too small and too short of the services needed that patients would like to find at one stop, under one roof. Soon, instead of traveling sometimes hours away to locations such as on U.S. Highway 280 to Birmingham or Interstate 85 to Atlanta, needed treatments and attention will be more readily available right here at home. When youre under cancer care, you want to stay home, EAMC President and CEO Laura Grill said. You dont want to do the 280 shuffle. No, you dont. Cancer is a horrible disease and steals away far too much from us already. Testing for it and getting early treatment is one way to defeat it. Improving quality of life for those already with it is of utmost importance. Construction on Spencer Cancer Center is moving along well, with completion expected by May 15, equipment move-in during late May and early June, and the first patients could be received as early as June 16. CHAMBERS COUNTY Three Valley residents were arrested Thursday on drug-related charges after drug task force agents searched a home on Plantation Road in Valley. Richard Nolen Foster, 40, Kimberly Anne Templeton, 39, and Jillian Ray Larkin, 39, were arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (methamphetamine), unlawful possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), second-degree unlawful possession of marijuana, first-degree unlawful possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Each was taken to the Chambers County Detention Facility. Agents of the Chambers County Drug Task Force, Alabama Drug Enforcement Drug Task Force Region D and the Chambers County Multi-Jurisdictional SWAT Team searched a home located at 1083 Plantation Road, the residence of Richard Foster, according to a news release on Thursday. Handguns, surveillance equipment, methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia were seized during the search, police said. CHAMBERS COUNTY Two LaFayette residents were charged with drug offenses after drug task force agents searched a location Friday morning in LaFayette. Raymond Greer, 70, and Yvonia Greer, 67, were arrested and charged with possession of crack cocaine, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to a Chambers County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force news release. Both were taken to the Chambers County Detention Facility. The search was done by the Chambers County Drug Task Force, Alabama Drug Enforcement Drug Task Force (Region D) and the Chambers County Multi-Jurisdictional SWAT Team at a location at 4396 County Road 158 in LaFayette. Agents seized Crack Cocaine, Hydrocodone Pills, US Currency, Drug Paraphernalia and (two) Handguns, read Fridays news release. Regardless of what damages are recovered, nobody is going to be able to compensated or made whole from those damages. They would simply pass to the state, which is contrary to really what the intent of the wrongful death act was," Libby Goodknight, the attorney representing the medical providers, said during oral arguments last fall. The Rev. James wrote a letter to King in March 1955, which is part of the Martin Luther King King Jr. Papers Project. In the letter, James apologized that he couldnt attend an anniversary event that King had invited him to because that is our Communion Sunday and James wouldnt like to be away that Sunday. Reeves had what appeared to be blood on her clothing and took a knife out of her purse that had a broken tip and what appeared to be blood on it, the deal states. Reeves smirked and said, I broke the tip off on that (expletive), according to the deal. Vanuatu turns the Corner LETS USE THIS AS A SPRINGBOARD FOR THE FUTURE Before Ben Hirasuna showed up for the first job interview of his life, he went for weeks at a time without leaving his parents home in Santa Monica. Outside, sun poured down; inside, he looked at the top of his forearm and noticed it was every bit as pale as its underside. To say Hirasuna is shy is to say the ocean is big it captures nothing of the vastness of the feeling. He managed to attend college at Arizona State for just over a year but returned home for good in November 2017. For a few months, he took some classes at a local community college, but eventually his routine gave way to solitude at home. During the day, he slept; at night he rose to battle the enemy in futuristic cities and pastel landscapes on his PC, or tinkered on another monitor with any of the codes (Java, Perl, Rust, C++ and C#) he taught himself in high school. Finally, last November, his parents insisted that he get a job any job, at the bakery down the street or at McDonalds, if it came to that. Hirasuna could not imagine a worse hell than a job in customer service, which would require, he sensed, a more cheerful public face than he could possibly muster. He remembered that in September, he went to an innovation fair at his old high school and met the head of a technology consulting business called Auticon, which specializes in hiring people who are, like Hirasuna, on the autism spectrum. He made an appointment with a recruiter at the office, and in early January, he forced himself to make the 10-minute drive to Auticons office two blocks from the beach. After going upstairs to the right floor, he stood outside the door of the office, stymied by what to do next. Given a few hours, Hirasuna could usually make sense of whatever computer code someone threw at him, but this particular script was elusive. Did he open the door and barge right in? It seemed kind of rude, Hirasuna said. Like, Hey, here I am! A mass of soft, pale brown curls surrounds his head, cloudlike. As he recalled this moment of indecision, he reached up and pulled on a strand of hair a few times. It was like my brain threw the blue screen of death on me, he recalled. Was he supposed to wait right there for someone to open the door? What if they were busy with another appointment at that moment and he interrupted or even ruined it? Hesitating in the hall, he feared he would just stand there forever, blowing what seemed like such a good opportunity to do work he might actually like in a disastrous moment of total self-conflagration, his head exploding with uncertainty. And then it happened. Someone opened the door. Offices, for plenty of people, can occasionally be overwhelming, crowded with feelings too big for cubicles, too personal for a professional setting. A higher-up checks a watch midconversation; a comment in a meeting is talked over; someone and someone else go to lunch. Doubts flourish under fluorescent lights that expose every slight, every interpersonal hurdle. And then there are people like Hirasuna, who are on the autism spectrum; people who feel bombarded by those same clues and cues, all the while knowing they are unreliable interpreters of their meaning. For some people with autism, socializing is an elaborate game with more exceptions than rules, so that any small decision hover outside the bosss office? dont hover? poses an insurmountable challenge. Guesswork is prevalent, misapprehension the norm. When it is hard to read the room, so to speak, it does morph into anxiety over time, said Grey Patton, a 23-year-old employee on the spectrum who graduated from the University of California, Riverside, last spring and who, like Hirasuna, started working at Auticon in January. Its moving in the dark without a flashlight. Auticons Culver City office. Ryan Pfluger for The New York Times The challenges of navigating the social complexities of a workplace is one reason unemployment even among college-educated people with autism appears to be disproportionately high. No good national data exist, but various small studies suggest the problem of joblessness is chronic, says Paul Shattuck, a professor of public health at Drexel University who studies autism outcomes. Anxiety, commonly experienced in people with autism, can make typical workplace competition unbearable; one Auticon employee, in a BBC report, compared his experience at his last job to the television show Survivor. The interview process alone is a sociability test that many people with autism are destined to fail or inclined to avoid altogether. (Some members of the autism community prefer to be described as autistic. Others, including those I interviewed at Auticon, preferred to be described as on the spectrum or as a person with autism. Just dont call me late for dinner, said one who did not have a preference.) Major technology businesses like Microsoft and SAP have made significant efforts over the past several years to hire more people with strong cognitive skills who are on the spectrum, recognizing that they represent untapped potential in the job market. Human-resource departments have modified interview processes, trained staff to accommodate certain sensitivities (to sounds or disruptions) and helped co-workers and managers adjust to those colleagues needs (for example, closer supervision). Auticon goes one step further; it is an office where people who have autism are a majority. Employees on the spectrum do not make up a pod within a company; instead, they define the predominant culture. Many businesses that recruit people with autism specialize, like Auticon, in quality assurance, which is like a poultry-inspection service for software. Is the log-in working on the home page? What happens if someone right-clicks on this other link? The work can be rote and entry-level or require more skilled analysts to write scripts that test that software automatically, essentially to see if I can break it, as Hirasuna put it. In 2013, around the same time technology companies first started expanding their hiring of people with autism, Gray Benoist, a father of two sons on the spectrum, plotted out a business for the express purpose of securing his childrens future. He knew they were smart and capable; he also knew, as he put it, that they present themselves in ways that may not be corporate-America kinds of ways. He moved his family from St. Louis, where he had been the chief financial officer of an industrial-product business, and started over in Santa Monica, to create a software quality-assurance business that expanded its offerings over time. With a few partners, he founded MindSpark as a California benefit corporation, a type of for-profit business. It is founded on the radical proposition that social purpose and employee well-being are as essential to their mission as profit. Within five years, the business was thriving, with two offices, one in Culver City and the other in Santa Monica. The company had about 32 employees, ranging from entry-level trainees to skilled automation analysts, all of whom were on the spectrum, as well as about seven neurotypical managers and administrators. (With time, says Rebecca Beam, Auticons president, the company hopes to promote current analysts into more managerial roles, breaking down that division.) In 2018, Auticon, a German company based in Munich, a business also devoted to employing people on the spectrum, acquired Benoists start-up. The name MindSpark nicely matched the feel-good ingenuity of the business; Auticon, on the other hand, summons the image of an army of automatons, defined by their diagnoses and marketed to deliver maximum software efficiency. Auticons marketing material names pattern recognition and uncompromised honesty as valued skill sets in autistic people. In fact, research is mixed on whether people with autism actually do excel at visual pattern recognition, relative to peers of equivalent I.Q., and the range of talents (and honesty) is highly individual. Selling autism as a brand likely perpetuates some generalizations even stereotypes in the name of overcoming bias, a complicated compromise, if a strategic one. A business full of people who are on the autism spectrum provides its own kinds of managerial and interpersonal challenges, but to be the norm in an office, rather than an exception, is an unqualified relief for many of Auticons employees. Hirasuna noticed the difference in the first week of work, when he was writing an email to his manager. I realized after the first day, Oh, yeah, I dont have to read this over for nuance and all that stuff, he said. In college, he hated emailing his professors, because he agonized over whether his tone was too forceful or too presumptuous or too inarticulate. At Auticon, he said, he felt a release in simply writing an email, reading it over for typos and sending it out. What was the worst his boss was going to think if he sent out a tone-deaf email? Thats autism! Hirasuna said with a big, comedic shrug. O.K. thats what we expected! One morning in late January at a daily status meeting at Auticons Culver City office, Mirzat Musayaf, a manager, gathered a group of four software analysts in the conference room to find out where things stood on a project for a major client. As the meeting began, Kayla, 59, one of the more outgoing members of the office and an informal leader, rocked gently back and forth at the conference table. (She asked that only her first name be used.) Kayla was not offended when Musayaf, whose workstation is across from her own, first placed another computer monitor next to her first one, so her frequent movement would not distract him. Oh, it drives my husband crazy, too, she assured him. But it helps me concentrate. (Bill Gates is also known to rock during meetings; a 1990 Fortune article noted that some of his employees, when engaging in intense conversation, did the same, as if emulating his movement.) Musayafs agenda that day included addressing any mistakes that had been made over the past week. Kayla believed a colleague, who was also sitting at the table, had digressed from instructions directing analysts to notate a certain task in a specific way. As the conversation turned to that issue, the colleague started wringing his hands. His lower jaw jutted out, and he gritted his teeth. He asked a question, then smiled with vindication upon hearing the answer. O.K., he said, then leaned in and pointed a finger at Kayla: she was at fault for this issue, he explained, not him. The issue was minor, his reaction stark and defensive; no self-conscious joke or neutral professionalism defanged his point. It was a classic office dynamic playing out in raw, unedited form. Later, in an email to me, Kayla wrote that although she could see how someone neurotypical might interpret his reaction as hostile, she, as someone also on the spectrum, did not. I knew that he was showing no anger or malice toward me, she wrote. We understand and respect each other. Grey Patton at Auticon. Ryan Pfluger for The New York Times Musayaf interpreted the moment of tension in the meeting as essentially harmless; he understood the colleagues strong reaction as a symptom of anxiety rather than an unlikable character trait. Musayaf, like the other managers, known as leads, had received a few three-hour training sessions on how to work with people on the spectrum, but he was hardly an expert; that he was drawn to the work at Auticon, despite other options, suggested to the people who hired him that he would be sensitive enough to manage his team well. Musayaf could see that even after the conversation had moved on, Kaylas colleague was still distressed. Musayaf stopped the discussion to make a point. Look, he said, there is no correct way, or incorrect. He explained, gently, that his only objective was to keep the project on track. The colleague visibly relaxed. A culture of acceptance occasionally conflicts with a training environment intended to prepare the staff for the possibility of working in a more typical office. Rebecca Beam, a longtime tech recruiter who became president of Auticon when the company acquired MindSpark last year, sensed early on that many Auticon employees felt uneasy when she stopped by their desks in the morning with a big hello. Many of them were uncomfortable with small talk; they had no interest in rehashing their weekends or looking at pictures of Ziggy, Beams terrier mix; but Beam saw a morning greeting as the bare minimum of office socializing, a nicety they might as well endure, if only for practice. Before working for the company, Beam had no personal connection to someone with autism but believes all individuals deserve work worthy of their talents. She joined the advisory board of MindSpark at its founding and relied on her longstanding business contacts to bring in major clients like Fox and Warner Brothers. But before she was put in charge of Auticons United States business in June 2018, she hadnt known the staff well enough to realize, as she eventually did, that every decision, no matter how small, mattered. In her first weeks on the job, Beam made what turned out to be a bold move: She gave the Santa Monica office a small makeover, trying to brighten it with some new furniture for the front entryway, a smattering of succulents, some framed posters of illustrated animals. Over a weekend, she also had a wall, once white, painted gray. That Monday, Max Gadson, a 24-year-old analyst who has been with the company for two years, arrived at the office and stopped short, taking in all this newness. He knew something was happening they had been told to clear their desks but no one knew exactly what. No one said anything about the wall being painted, much less that it would be gray, and here it was Monday, and now, boom! Gray wall. Gadson does not have obsessive-compulsive disorder, but he imagined that this feeling was a bit like that, the sense that something was out of order. He did not understand why the wall color had changed and sought out his supervisor to talk it through. Another co-worker, Gray Benoist Jr. (the son of MindSparks founder), who is 31, took issue with a new patterned chair now placed in the entry area. The chair would later prove popular some staff members avoid the small couch opposite the chair, for fear someone will sit too close to them but certainly, in the beginning, Beam could tell some employees were out of sorts. One analyst asked why she insisted on placing succulents in the Culver City office when, as he sees it, they were so clearly superfluous. On another occasion, she moved a young mans desk without consulting him, and he temporarily quit. For most of Beams staff, she realized over time, there is no such thing as a pleasant surprise (unless its pizza). People with my type of disorder, its not that we dont have emotion, Gadson said. Its that we have too much emotion. We cant push that stuff back. Beam, as she started to understand the offices workings, gave a lot of thought, in her first month, to the size of a couch she was buying for a conference room in Culver City, until the question was no longer about a couch and more about a culture. She knew that if she bought one that was long, employees would sleep on it and not just doze, sitting, with their eyes closed, but stretch out and slumber deeply. Many of her employees have poor sleep habits; some are on medication that can affect their sleep. (Around half of adults with autism also have a mental diagnosis of a psychiatric condition like anxiety or depression, according to a 2015 Kaiser Permanente study of 1,500 people on the autism spectrum.) Would Auticon, going forward, be a place where you could regularly lie down and nap during lunch in the conference room, so long as you made it back to your desk on time? Or was it going to be a place where that was considered inappropriate? In the end, Beam decided to lean into the workplace as an accommodating space: She bought the big couch. At lunch, someone is usually napping on it, even when other employees are playing Ping-Pong on the conference table, their jackets strewn across it for a net. Auticons president, Rebecca Beam Ryan Pfluger for The New York Times Accommodations that would seem unusual at another office seem perfectly reasonable to the employees at Auticon. At the Culver City office, overhead lights bothered one or two colleagues so much that everyone agreed to work without artificial lights, so that often, by the end of the day, they are all working in pitch darkness, rectangles of soft, bright light from their computers illuminating their faces. Absences, in general, are not encouraged, but they are accepted as a cost of doing business with a population that often experiences depression. Managers adjust, within reason, to their employees boundaries, rather than the other way around, such as when employees suffering from gastrointestinal problems a little-understood but common issue for some people on the spectrum call in to explain, in great detail, why they wont be coming in that day. Another employee had disappeared, without notice, for several days, and his managers were afraid for his safety. You know, some employers would say to someone like that, Im done, Beam said. But Im going to work with that person and work with that person, because I see the potential. Beam frequently checks in with Emily Gale, a behavior analyst who consults for Auticon and specializes in autism in the workplace. Gale, in one instance, came in to help resolve an issue with an employee who always said he understood the feedback he was getting on a given task but never actually executed it successfully. It was clear that the analyst was getting so anxious I could see it that he wasnt able to process what it was he was being told, she said. He was rubbing his hands on his knees, rocking, repeating back words without seeming to grasp the context. Ultimately, they worked out a system in which the lead would ask fewer open-ended questions to confirm that the employee understood, and the analyst, instead of being expected to express any uncertainty or confusion during the conversation, would ask follow-up questions by email or Slack. The lead also provided a written cheat sheet with instructions, rather than having the staff member take notes while listening. The lead reported to Gale the following week that he had a better sense of what the analyst did and did not understand and could therefore address it. Some Auticon employees have skills that would likely earn them higher pay were they employed at a big company in the United States. But Auticon invests heavily in their training and offers the kind of bespoke workplace systems that allow for their success, even for analysts in entry-level jobs. It employs analysts with advanced degrees from top universities and people who failed to make it through college, people whose minds work at high operating speed and some with short-term memory challenges (and some with both). Somehow the balance of talents and abilities keeps the operation afloat. I kind of like it here, Hirasuna said, a month into his job. He was learning new programming skills he wouldnt have acquired on his own. He felt the strain of leaving the house every day but also, he had to admit, some relief. As workplaces go, this one was relatively painless: They accept me as I am. At the Culver City Auticon office one evening in January, several employees took turns playing Super Smash Brothers Ultimate in the conference room during a staff party, while a software analyst sat silently, unmoving, unspeaking, watching for the duration of the two-hour gathering; another played alone at his desk on an Xbox One he had brought with him. In the middle of the main room, several colleagues and Beam were competing in a brainy board game called Scrutineyes, a sophisticated version of I Spy in which competitors name objects on the board that start with a certain letter. Horus, said one competitor named Will Collett, 31, recognizing the half-falcon, half-man image of the Egyptian god. He spotted a medieval weapon: Halberd. Before he worked at Auticon, Colletts previous jobs were selling vacuum cleaners door to door and then working at a fast-food restaurant, which refused to promote him for reasons he is still not sure he grasps. A few feet from that game, Grey Patton sat on a small bench near the door. Patton, sweet-faced and floppy-haired, his forehead showing a sheen of perspiration from the stress of the party, needed to sit somewhat apart to stay calm in an office full of people talking and moving in unpredictable directions and playing video games at high volume. As a college student, he said, he attended a party once. It felt really claustrophobic, he said. I was like, O.K., I think Ive had enough. He had come to this party mostly for the pepperoni pizza, which he was now eating in peace. Patton could at least be fairly sure, at Auticon, that no one would pressure him to join the fun or even wonder why he did not. The night of the party, Auticon employees could see, if they walked along an outdoor corridor on the way to the bathroom, another office across a courtyard. Its conference room was brightly lit and crowded with about 15 well-dressed employees. The office was the corporate headquarters of a fast-casual vegetarian-restaurant business, and its employees looked well suited to the work fit, tan but not too tan, as if they had all chosen just the right amount of S.P.F. One person was usually talking at a time; everyone else looked listless. The darker it got outside and the longer the meeting lasted, the more tempting it was for someone walking by to stare into the bright room. The office space looked like a diorama of the worlds worst meeting interminable, held at the end of the day, in a too-small, harshly lit room. The next evening, the same people seemed to have gathered for yet another meeting in that same bright room. In the Auticon office, across the way, the room was, at 5:30, silent and dark, so dark you actually might want a flashlight to move across it. Earlier in the day, the room, though quiet, practically vibrated with an intense sense of collective focus; by early evening, that concentration was giving way to a more meditative energy. Kayla interrupted the silence with a burst of laughter. She had been telling her colleague the one who had bristled in the meeting that her son had used small metal numbers to post the number representing pi up to 15 digits on the back of her car. The colleague sent a message on Slack: I prefer this number: 3.87298334621. The note made her laugh, even though she wasnt sure what it meant. Its the square root of 15, he told her. She burst out laughing again. The conversation turned to the meeting happening across the courtyard, which seemed to have struck a few people the same way: with a feeling of sympathy. They had to execute tasks at Auticon, but they did not have to perform charm, to fake engagement at an intolerably endless meeting. Dont they look miserable? Beam said. Kayla was indignant. You know that at least some of them are introverts, she said. This seemed like unnatural torture to her, what those employers were doing. It was almost as if they didnt think their employees had feelings. Whether or not it impacts your family directly, its important for people to be aware and educated about child abuse, she said. Anyone can help out in simple ways, she said, such as reaching out to a family member or friend who may need a break to watch their child for them, even if just for a few minutes. What its about is a father who is trying to get his children to bed. While he is doing the routine, he finds out that instead of just reading books, Mom loves to use her imagination and re-tell stories, Weisenbacher said. Hes not quite familiar with them, so he bases the stories off what the childrens interests are. So he take classic fairy tales and twists them. So instead of it being The Boy Who Cried Wolf, its The Girl Who Cried Dinosaur. Or, Rumpelstiltskin is now Rumpelstiltskina. And instead of changing straw into gold, she takes gold and turns it into straw. Every modern fairy tale has a twist. Whether cars are a great investment in a strong economy isnt apparent. Their value rose more than 300 percent from 2008 to 2015, according to the Historic Automobile Group International. By comparison, the S&P 500 rose 40 percent in that same period. But over the past four years, they have risen a comparatively modest 85 percent, with Ferrari leading that growth, while the S&P 500 rose 22 percent. When housing and everything crashed in 2008, there were still wealthy people, so they bought alternative assets and they bought cars, said Stu Carpenter, founder of Copley Motorcars and a leading expert on Ferraris and Land Rovers. More collectors came into the market and drove up prices, and then more cars came into the market. Supply and demand fed off each other until 2015, when most things peaked. The response in the last recession surprised even the experts, said David Gooding, president of Gooding & Company, a leading auto auction house. We didnt see it coming, but in retrospect, it does make sense, he said. While there was so much uncertainty in traditional markets, there was a flight toward tangible things people could wrap their minds around. He cautions against thinking it will happen again: Does it mean it will always be the case? No. The car market will continue to have some peaks and valleys. After recent auctions in Pebble Beach, Calif., and Scottsdale, Ariz., experts said cars were fairly valued, even though that meant some cars, even Ferraris, sold for less than they would have a few years ago. But both Mr. Gooding and Mr. Carpenter said that sellers were going to have to be realistic about a cars price and quality. Shamima Begum was 15 when she became radicalized, left her home in London for Syria and joined the Islamic State, marrying one of its fighters. As the groups grip on its last pieces of territory slipped, Ms. Begum, 19 and pregnant, fled to a refugee camp in northern Syria. When she met a British reporter there, she made one thing clear: She wanted to come home. But Britains Home Office informed her family by letter of its plans to strip her of her citizenship. The government says it is acting to protect the British public first. But a lawyer for Ms. Begum, who recently gave birth to a baby boy, said the move would render the British-born woman stateless. They went on to cast mostly nonprofessional Lebanese actors from the same neighborhoods, most of whom had known only the privations the film depicts. They changed the apartments and streets where they filmed as little as possible. The films star, Zain Al Rafeea, is a young Syrian refugee from a poor family who Ms. Labaki said had grown up largely on the streets, developing an eye-watering fluency in profanity that topped even that of his character, whose every third word seems to be a curse. (The United Nations resettled the family in Norway last year; Ms. Labaki said Zain was adjusting well. In fact, Ms. Labakis team has helped all the young children in the film enroll either in schools or part-time classes since the end of filming.) None of this is Ms. Labakis usual milieu. This is happening five minutes away from a completely different life, she said on a recent afternoon as her Land Rover jounced from the well-groomed streets of Achrafieh, where she lives and works, to the hardscrabble neighborhood called Nabaa, where she shot the bulk of the film. Garbage littered the sidewalks. Electrical wires sagged overhead; laundry slumped from balconies. Cockroaches trundled by Ms. Labakis gray Converse sneakers. As Ms. Labaki got out, people hung out from balconies or waved from corner stores to congratulate her Mabrouk! on the Oscar nomination. It was Ms. Labakis own ignorance about places like Nabaa, she said, that generated the films shock-and-dismay approach, which put off some reviewers. You know its happening, she said, but its shocking to see how unbearable it is. Its different to be inside of it. Though the empty pews of many parishes suggest that much of Italys population is Catholic in name only, cultural ties to the church are still strong. Festivities for a citys patron saint sweep up citizens, churchgoers or not, and some 8,000 church-run oratories throughout Italy offer after-school programs and other activities for children. The heroes of two of the most popular shows on Italys national broadcaster are a priest and a nun. Italians tend to know their parish priest, so if they hear of an abuse case somewhere they say, Yes, its horrendous, but our priest is not like that, Monsignor Lorenzo Ghizzoni, the Italian churchs top official responsible for protecting minors, said in an interview in his office in Ravenna. Such denial often seems to be echoed in secular institutions. Survivors accuse the government and the judiciary, which has been slow to investigate clerical abuse cases, of silence on the issue. Prosecutors have often said that their hands are tied by expired statutes of limitations. Italian politicians vie to stay on the good side of the Vatican. Same-sex civil unions were approved only in 2016, and the final draft was watered down. Italy still has one of the most restrictive laws in Europe on medically assisted fertility. There are no reliable statistics on the number of victims of clerical abuse in Italy. But tracking cases through confidential tips and news reports, usually in local papers, Mr. Zanardis group, Rete LAbuso whose name means the Abuse Network has created a map of alleged offenses. SYDNEY, Australia A billionaire businessman won a defamation case on Friday against a media organization that he claimed had wrongly linked him to a bribery case that implicated a former president of the United Nations General Assembly. The businessman, Chau Chak Wing, a well-connected political donor in Australia, was awarded 280,000 Australian dollars ($200,000) in damages in the verdict against Fairfax Media and the journalist John Garnaut. Fairfax said it was appealing the decision. In an October 2015 article, the Sydney Morning Herald, a Fairfax newspaper, reported Mr. Chaus supposed connection with an international bribery scandal involving John Ashe, a former president of the United Nations General Assembly. The article was published around the time that American prosecutors charged that Mr. Ashe had accepted bribes from Chinese businessmen to support their interests at the United Nations and Mr. Ashes native Antigua. Mr. Ashe died in 2016. After Fridays ruling, Mr. Chau, a billionaire property developer who immigrated to Australia decades ago and has faced previous accusations of using his money to meddle in the countrys politics on behalf of China, said he would continue to donate to worthy causes as I have always done. When he met Mr. Moon in September, Mr. Kim promised to become the first North Korean leader to visit Seoul. But with his negotiations with Washington stalled, the year ended without Mr. Kim visiting as Mr. Moon said he would, further raising doubts about Mr. Moons influence over Mr. Kim. While Mr. Moon remained preoccupied with North Korea, domestic affairs turned against him. The popularity of his governing Democratic Party has plunged as its politicians have been tainted by #MeToo accusations and other scandals. South Koreans in their 20s, a traditional support base for progressives like Mr. Moon, have been fast losing faith in his government because of his inability to create more jobs, according to the polling company Realmeter. Older, more conservative South Koreans have rallied in central Seoul almost every weekend in recent months, criticizing as dangerous Mr. Moons economic policies and his rapprochement efforts with the North. But Mr. Moon remains convinced that Mr. Trumps strong desire to achieve something none of his predecessors could accomplish ending the North Korean nuclear crisis and Mr. Kims desperate need to improve his countrys economy can create a singular opportunity for both Koreas. Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim, he says, can denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and end the tensions there, opening the way for economically integrating the impoverished North, with its cheap labor, and the South, whose slowing economy needs a new source of growth. We have never had an opportunity like this since the Korean War ended in an armistice in 1953, and we should not miss it because it will never come again, Mr. Moon said last month. Longtime North Korea observers saw the current stalemate coming when Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim ended their Singapore meeting without sorting out key details, especially what is meant by the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In the past, the North used that term when it argued that it would give up its nuclear weapons only when the United States ceased hostilities, including ending its military presence in South Korea. HONG KONG Two Saudi sisters made a daring plan to escape to Australia, fleeing what they described as an oppressive life, only to have their journey cut short at an airport in Hong Kong, their lawyer says. The women, who are seeking asylum, have been in hiding since September, after they were prevented from boarding a connecting flight to Melbourne at the Hong Kong International Airport, the lawyer said on Friday. The sisters odyssey, which they have chronicled on a Twitter account that their lawyer, Michael Vidler, confirmed belongs to them, appears to be the latest example of women from Saudi Arabia and other Middle East nations trying to leave restrictive societies. The sisters, 18 and 20, have declined to publicly reveal their true identities and have assumed the pseudonyms Reem and Rawan out of fear that it would hurt them, Mr. Vidler said. If they returned home, he added, they could be severely punished. NEW DELHI Pakistan is not doing enough to curb terrorism financing and money laundering, a global financial watchdog said Friday in a stern warning that reflects renewed scrutiny of the countrys links to militant groups. The Financial Action Task Force, a watchdog based in Paris, hinted that Pakistan could face consequences like being placed on the groups blacklist if it had not taken specific steps by May. Even remaining on the watchdogs gray list would have consequences, complicating Pakistans ability to raise money on international markets at a time when its economy is sputtering and it is in dire need of loans. A blacklisting could lead to sanctions by Western countries, including the United States. The warning comes a week after India threatened to retaliate against Pakistan for a bombing that killed at least 40 Indian soldiers in Kashmir. The militant group that claimed responsibility, Jaish-e-Muhammad, or Army of Muhammad, operates in Pakistan, where it raises money under aliases, according to American and Indian officials. KARACHI Pakistani police said Friday that five children from a single family died after dining at a restaurant in the sprawling port city of Karachi, adding to growing national concern over public hygiene and the lax enforcement of food safety laws. The children, aged 2 to 9, had dined with their family in Karachis business district. Their mother and aunt were also hospitalized early Friday morning and remained in critical condition later that day. These and other recent deaths are sparking a nationwide outcry over food safety. Last November, two brothers died in Karachi after consuming food from an upscale restaurant. In the city of Multan in Punjab Province, 15 people were hospitalized in January after eating food contaminated by lizards. In another incident last month, about 240 people suffered food poisoning at a wedding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. BEIJING Kai Li, an American businessman born in China, had stepped off a plane in Shanghai, preparing to visit his mothers grave. Instead, Chinese state security officers grabbed him and accused him of spying, and a court later sentenced him to 10 years in prison after a short, secretive trial. Now, two and a half years after Mr. Li was detained, his family in New York has broken its silence, saying that the espionage conviction against Mr. Li, an exporter of aircraft parts, was groundless and driven by political motives. In recent years, relations between the United States and China have been tested by trade and technology disputes. The United States has accused China of hacking companies and inducing or bribing scientists to hand over commercial secrets. China has also stepped up warnings against foreign spies and publicized convictions of foreigners on espionage charges. Harrison Li, Mr. Lis son, said the Chinese authorities had charged his father with providing state secrets to the F.B.I. He says he is sure that his father was not a spy, and that his conviction showed the risks that American visitors to China face as tensions with the United States have festered. As the looming gray building imploded, crumbling into a pile of debris and dust, a crowd of onlookers cheered. Some wept. The televised blast on Friday that leveled the Monaco building, the former home of the drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in Medellin, Colombia, erased a symbol of the citys past that many have tried to forget. In its place, the city is planning a memorial park to honor the victims of his drug cartels crimes. Today, that building falls and hope begins, President Ivan Duque of Colombia said in a televised statement. It is impossible to change the past, but you can build a better present and a better future. Good Friday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today. _____________________ When President Trump meets with Kim Jong-un next week in Vietnam, Mr. Trumps advisers hope to hammer out a plan for ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons. But Mr. Trump seems more focused on finally declaring an end to the Korean War. Democrats far-reaching proposal for a Green New Deal is technologically possible, experts say. But it would cost trillions of dollars and could not be accomplished within the 10-year time frame that supporters say is necessary. Officials in North Carolina ordered a new election for the House race in the Ninth Congressional District after Mark Harris, the Republican candidate whose apparent win there is under investigation, called for a new vote himself. WASHINGTON The Justice Department will soon receive a final accounting from Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, of his nearly two-year investigation into how Russia influenced the 2016 election, whether the Trump campaign participated in those efforts and whether President Trump obstructed justice. But there is no guarantee that the public will ever see that full report. The special counsel regulations say that Mr. Mueller must submit a confidential report outlining his prosecutorial decisions to the attorney general, William P. Barr, and that the attorney general must then send a summary of that work to Congress. The regulations leave Mr. Barr considerable flexibility as to how much detail he provides to Congress and the public, discretion that was built into the regulations in response to the independent counsel Ken Starrs decision to give Congress a lengthy and, critics said, salacious report on his investigation into President Bill Clintons sexual relationship with a young White House intern. Once the special counsels office delivers its report and closes its doors, the work of the Justice Department and Congress to inform the public of Mr. Muellers findings begins. While Mr. Barr must tell lawmakers why the special counsels work concluded, he does not have a legal obligation to give them the full details of Mr. Muellers report. Proceeds will go to Variety, the Childrens Charity of Illinois, which helps improve the lives of children with disabilities. The party will feature a red carpet reception, an appetizer station, a catered buffet, desserts, a silent auction and awards show viewing. Michael D. Cohen, President Trumps former lawyer and fixer, met last month with federal prosecutors in Manhattan, offering information about possible irregularities within the presidents family business and about a donor to the inaugural committee, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Cohen, who worked at the Trump Organization for a decade, spoke with the prosecutors about insurance claims the company had filed over the years, said the people, who did not elaborate on the nature of the possible irregularities. While it was not clear whether the prosecutors found Mr. Cohens information credible and whether they intended to pursue it, the meeting suggests that they are interested in broader aspects of the Trump Organization, beyond their investigation into the companys role in the hush money payments made before the 2016 election to women claiming to have had affairs with Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty last summer to arranging those payments. The prosecutors also questioned Mr. Cohen about a donor to the presidents inaugural committee, Imaad Zuberi, a California venture capitalist and political fund-raiser, according to the people familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to discuss the confidential meeting. Around the time that Mr. Zuberi contributed $900,000 to the committee, he also tried to hire Mr. Cohen as a consultant and wrote him a substantial check, one of the people said. In a statement, Mr. Fairfaxs spokeswoman did not indicate whether he would testify but accused Republicans of engaging in political theater and said they were seeking partisan gain from the accusations. House Republicans want to pursue this historically unprecedented course of action because the accused is a popularly elected Democrat, said Lauren Burke, Mr. Fairfaxs spokeswoman. The sexual assault claims, Ms. Burke said, should be taken up by law enforcement professionals. House Republicans framed their decision to move forward with the hearings as a response to the requests of the two accusers, who have been urging the Legislature to investigate and have repeatedly stated their willingness to testify. But the inquiry could also make the election-year quandary Virginia Democrats find themselves in even more painful. The specter of public hearings into the allegations against Mr. Fairfax, who is black, would not only revive a scandal that had started to quiet, it would also serve as a reminder that Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring, who are white, have refused to resign after admitting they wore blackface in their youth. All 140 seats in the Virginia General Assembly are on the ballot in November and Republicans are clinging to narrow majorities in both chambers. [Read more about how Mr. Northam is trying to repair his relationship with black Virginians.] House Republicans and Democrats had met earlier in the week to discuss crafting a bipartisan response, but by Thursday were criticizing one another over how to deal with the claims against Mr. Fairfax. The Republicans had sought to create a 10-person investigative panel, equally divided between parties, to examine Ms. Watsons claim that Mr. Fairfax raped her in 2000, when they were Duke University students, and Dr. Tysons accusation that he sexually assaulted her during the 2004 Democratic convention in Boston. But Democrats were uneasy about creating a forum they said would politicize the accusations and indicated they would prefer that law enforcement handle the matter. Several Democratic presidential candidates spoke up when the actor Jussie Smollett described a hateful attack based on his race and sexual orientation in January. Not as many have spoken up since the police said the assault had been staged. Mr. Smollett surrendered to face a felony charge of filing a false police report on Thursday, after the police in Chicago said he hired two brothers for the assault. Mr. Smollett denies the accusation, and his legal team said Thursday that he feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing. [Latest update For Jussie Smollett, how a life of arts and activism is upended.] At first, several Democratic presidential candidates expressed support for Mr. Smollett, who stars on the show Empire. Senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker both called the reported assault a modern day lynching, comments that Republicans are now criticizing them for. In a Facebook post on Thursday, Ms. Harris said she was sad, frustrated and disappointed by the reports about Mr. Smollett. But other candidates have not publicly revisited their initial views of the case. Federal prosecutors in San Francisco on Thursday charged an employee of the Internal Revenue Service with illegally leaking banking records connected to Michael D. Cohen, President Trumps former personal lawyer and fixer. Prosecutors said that in his role working for the investigative unit of the I.R.S., John C. Fry, an employee of the agency since 2008, had access to various law enforcement databases and had used them to search for records related to Mr. Cohen multiple times. He then gave the information to Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for the adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, who has claimed to have had an affair with Mr. Trump, according to the prosecutors. Mr. Avenatti was not identified in the complaint filed by prosecutors, which only says Mr. Fry gave the information to an attorney based in Newport Beach, Calif., in May, and that the lawyer in question posted on Twitter the confidential banking information related to the taxpayer and the taxpayers company. One of the reports that Mr. Fry downloaded listed payments to a bank account affiliated with Mr. Cohen, including $500,000 from a company connected to a Russian oligarch who donated money to Mr. Trumps inauguration fund, according to an affidavit filed by prosecutors. WASHINGTON The government shutdown that ended last month has taken a lasting hit on the Coast Guard, which has grounded aircraft, stopped major ship repairs and will leave parts of an air station in Puerto Rico without emergency generators for the start of hurricane season because of a backlog that will take months to process. Internal documents obtained by The New York Times show that the Coast Guards ship maintenance command lost at least 7,456 productive workdays or 28.5 years worth of workdays as a direct result of the partial shutdown, which furloughed 6,400 civilian employees. This reality poses significant risk to operational availability of cutters and boats, the documents concluded. The service also noted a domino effect that has caused delays in repairs and maintenance on its roughly 200 aircraft, which, in turn, could keep them from being immediately available. Told him, Raise your hand and vote yes. [laughs] It was nothing substantive. But he was standing there and he wasn't used to it. It was the very first day and there were actually a couple of votes. It was procedural type stuff. And he was there, and I said, Well, they called your name. So you've got to decide which way you want to vote on this thing. I said, You either you put your finger up, your thumb up if it's yes, down if its no, or you go up and you tell them what you want to do. So he laughed. That was the only time he asked me which way to vote. But beyond that, we talked about what the institution is like and how do you succeed in it. And I told him my basic view, which is that I learned to count to 60 when I was in grade school. Thats what you need to do to succeed in this place. And if you dont have 60 in your party and sometimes even people in your party wont necessarily agree with you then youve got to go find other people. And he took that to heart. While people think were all just chit-chatting on the floor, what were really doing is working each other over to say, Hi, do you agree on supporting this or that? Would you sign on to this piece of legislation? And so when I would get to the floor, if I wanted to find Cory to talk to him about something, increasingly, he was out on the Republican side of the aisle. [Our Politics editor, Patrick Healy, will be responding to readers questions and feedback on our coverage of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Please leave your questions for him in the comments section.] Despite employee turnover that perennially ranks near the highest in the Senate, Ms. Klobuchar has defenders among her former staff. She noted at the forum that some people had been with her for many years. Erikka Knuti, a former communications aide to the senator, described her experience as broadly positive and said Ms. Klobuchar could be contrite at times, remembering a gesture of regret from the senator once after she snapped at Ms. Knuti in an elevator in front of another lawmaker. That wasnt O.K., she recalled Ms. Klobuchar telling her. It made me feel valued, Ms. Knuti said. While there was wide consensus in the interviews that women were often held to a different standard as bosses, former aides female and male said their concerns about Ms. Klobuchars behavior should not be dismissed as gender bias. Many of the aides said they had worked for both men and women, for lawmakers both compassionate and unkind, without encountering anyone else like Ms. Klobuchar. The world of congressional staffs is one of long hours and low pay, with much of the work shouldered by twentysomething junior aides who are learning on the job. Some members of Congress are notorious for round-the-clock phone calls, late-night email and fierce attention to their own press coverage. Ms. Klobuchar is among them, but former aides said they were especially troubled by her willingness in excess of other senators, they said to embarrass staff members over minor missteps or with odd requests. [Make sense of the people, issues and ideas shaping American politics with our newsletter.] Most of those interviewed for this article describing memories that span from shortly after her election in 2006 to the much more recent past discussed their time with Ms. Klobuchar on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal from the senator. These concerns were not idle, they said. Saving potentially damaging emails from Ms. Klobuchar became something of a last-day ritual, the aides said, in case they ever needed evidence of her conduct for their own reputational protection. When I was in the Air Force, they preached all the time: Do the right thing. Integrity first. Service before self. Excellence in all we do, said Aaron Weed, a 22-year veteran who is now Oscodas town supervisor. This is not the Air Force that I was a part of, he continued. The side of the Air Force that I am seeing is just disgraceful. Blood testing has emerged as a sticking point. Specifically, a growing movement of veterans and others, united in advocacy groups with names like Fountain Valley Clean Water Coalition and Need Our Water, are asking the military test their blood for the chemicals, hoping to bring results to their doctors or use them in lawsuits. Their requests have been denied, and the military says that too little is known about the substances to make the results useful. Instead, it will pay for the C.D.C. to start yearslong population-based health studies in some communities. They dont want to know, said Cindi Ashbeck, 56, a veteran who worked out of Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Michigan. Its not being addressed, because you open that can of worms, and youve got an Agent Orange thing on your hands. PFAS are a broad class of chemicals developed in the 1940s. Because they repel grease and water, they have been used across industries for decades, often to prevent stains. They are placed in a dizzying array of products: food packaging, nonstick pans, clothing, furniture. They are also used to extinguish fires where petroleum-based explosions pose a danger. But the chemicals move quickly through the earth and into water, where they persist indefinitely. Some scientists have deemed them forever chemicals, and over the last two decades, a growing body of research has shown that the compounds meant to help us are likely hurting us. Aiden and Ethan Dvash-Banks are twin brothers who were born minutes apart. But only one of them was considered to be a United States citizen by the State Department. A federal judge ruled this week that was a mistake. The twins are the sons of two married gay men, an American citizen and an Israeli citizen. Aiden was conceived using sperm from his American father and Ethan was conceived using sperm from his Israeli father, court records show. A surrogate mother gave birth to the boys in Canada in 2016. The family sued the State Department for denying Ethan citizenship, drawing attention to a department policy that says that a child born abroad must be biologically related to an American parent to become a citizen. Gay rights activists argued that the policy harms same-sex couples, who often use assisted reproductive technology to have children. Two kids who have almost identical life experiences and parenting, said Aaron C. Morris, a lawyer for the family and the executive director of Immigration Equality, a legal advocacy group that worked on the case. To treat them differently is absurd. As with the Smollett case, the sensational elements of the story a young Muslim woman cornered, harassed and followed became fodder for the news media. These kinds of rare cases do damage, especially in the current hostile political environment, said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. They are seized upon and used to try to discredit legitimate anti-Muslim incidents or used to say there is no such thing as a hate crime. Mr. Hooper said his group received 2,000 to 3,000 bias reports annually before verification, and less than a handful were deemed false each year. Cynthia Deitle spent more than 20 years as an F.B.I. special agent in the civil rights unit, focused on hate crimes and police brutality. As the director of programs and operations at the Matthew Shepard Foundation, she said the most common motivation behind the false hate crime reports that she had investigated was the desire for attention and sympathy. They felt that being labeled a hate crime victim would be a positive result, Ms. Deitle said. The cases I examined took place in a workplace environment and at residences, and sometimes the allegation was made to draw attention away from a real negative aspect of the complainants life, like poor performance at work or school, or a feeling that the complainant was not getting the attention she or he deserved. In Mr. Smolletts telling of the Chicago attack, he was leaving a Subway restaurant in the Streeterville neighborhood when two masked men attacked him around 2 a.m. He said they called him homophobic and racial slurs and slung a rope around his neck. Even by hate crime standards, the story of an assault on a celebrity seemed shocking, and garnered relentless attention. But it wasnt long before the story collapsed. Questions, inconsistencies and a lack of evidence chipped away at Mr. Smolletts version of events. He steadfastly pushed back at doubters, even appearing on Good Morning America, where he passionately proclaimed his innocence and questioned why anyone would make up a hate crime. You do such a disservice when you lie about things like this, Mr. Smollett told Robin Roberts. For instance, the way that the city pays for Naper Settlement, we put millions into Naper Settlement every year, but the revenues that come through the things that Naper Settlement does goes to the Naperville Heritage Society, that doesnt come back to the city, she said. There are things like that where I think we could take another look and explore why that is. Doesnt the 14th Amendment make it unnecessary? Not exactly. The E.R.A. was first proposed in 1923 but wasnt passed by Congress until 1972. It then needed to be ratified by 38 states by 1982 (a mostly arbitrary deadline) to be added to the Constitution, but only 35 states ratified it in time. During the 1970s and 80s, Ruth Bader Ginsburg helped to persuade the Supreme Court to extend the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to prohibit unequal treatment on the basis of sex similar to what the E.R.A. would have done. But supporters said that clause doesnt go far enough, particularly when it comes to violence against women, sexual harassment and equal pay. The amendment also has symbolic value. I would like to be able to take out my pocket Constitution and say that the equal citizenship stature of men and women is a fundamental tenet of our society like free speech, Justice Ginsburg said in 2017. [READ MORE: Do American Women Still Need an Equal Rights Amendment?] Why did the E.R.A. stall? The undoing of the E.R.A. is largely considered the handiwork of one woman: Phyllis Schlafly, a proudly anti-feminist Republican, who rallied housewives to fight the amendment in the 1970s. Her argument was mostly that women already had equal rights, but also that the E.R.A. would tear apart the traditional family structure and strip women of remaining privileges, such as having separate bathrooms and college dormitories for men and women. These are the same arguments opponents have made in recent years as E.R.A. efforts picked up steam. Why are we talking about it again now? In 2017, Nevada ratified the amendment, an effort led by State Senator Pat Spearman, a Democrat. It was then that other states said, Wait a minute, you mean we can still do that? Robles-Roman told me. In 2018, Illinois followed suit. And last month, Virginia came close to being the 38th and final state needed to ratify the amendment until the state House killed its progress. VATICAN CITY The unprecedented meeting in Rome on clerical sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church has drawn participants from around the world. But there is one country with a particularly large stake in what happens at the Vatican this week. The clergy sex abuse crisis has engulfed the American Catholic Church for months, as leaders contend with growing state and federal investigations, and ordinary Catholics grow weary of waiting for the Vatican to finally resolve the crisis. The yearning for a response from Pope Francis yielded on Friday a first step to holding bishops accountable for abuse in their dioceses. And it was an American Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago who presented the proposal. But survivors and law enforcement officials say they doubt that the churchs response so far matches the magnitude of the crisis sweeping the United States. Now all they are going to do is set guidelines again? Mark Belenchia, 63, an abuse survivor and activist in Jackson, Miss., asked on Friday. That is gibberish as far as I am concerned. LONDON Wireless carriers have for years said the next generation network, known as 5G, will provide not only hyper-fast mobile phone speeds, but breakthroughs for data-heavy technologies like autonomous vehicles, robotics and artificial intelligence. So it came as a surprise last month when one of the worlds largest carriers, Britains Vodafone, said it was pausing some 5G investments in Europe. The decision stemmed from the roiling debate about the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, and uncertainty over whether European countries would ban the company from 5G networks because of national security concerns being raised by the Trump administration. Vodafones decision involved only a small piece of its business in Europe, but shows how questions swirling about Huawei risk a cooling effect on the broader wireless industry. Even Huaweis competitors have cautioned that the new uncertainty could harm business. A blanket ban on Huawei, the worlds largest maker of telecommunications equipment, would have a significant implication for the wireless industry, and lead to a significant delay in the construction of new 5G networks, said Nick Read, Vodafones chief executive. Each week, technology reporters and columnists from The New York Times review the weeks news, offering analysis and maybe a joke or two about the most important developments in the tech industry. Want this newsletter in your inbox? Sign up here. Hello, dear readers! Im Nicole Perlroth, cybersecurity reporter here at The Times. Im afraid the weeks news isnt all unicorns and rainbows. This should come as a shock to no one, but President Trumps confrontational diplomacy has energized state hackers in Iran and China. They are targeting companies and government agencies in the United States with renewed gusto, after a multiyear lull. The rebound in activity comes on top of the continuing threat from Russians, who have already started hacking European civil society groups before elections there in May. Consider this a preview of 2020. With the United States pulling out of the nuclear deal with Iran, Iranian hackers are hitting American banks, businesses and federal agencies with cyberattacks. Theyve significantly stepped up their game: harder to track down and more effective. IF THE POWER of art lies in the transformation of reality, then no medium more fully embodies radical metamorphosis than papier-mache. To create beauty from the layering of torn newsprint bathed in a glue of flour and tap water is to align yourself with childhood, domesticity, ancient cultures, protest and trash. It is a salvage or rescue mission, finding a use for the lowliest of products yesterdays news. In an age rife with the sleek and the minimal, papier-mache (chewed paper in French), has less-than-mythic associations: It is homey and sloppy, redolent of kindergarten and the corner store. Like clay, papier-mache is infinitely moldable, but instead of coming straight from the earth, a noble mix of raw minerals, it has lived another life entirely, from tree to pulp to industrial printing press to breakfast table to garbage bin to art, before emerging entirely unrecognizable in sculptural form. First used by the Chinese around 200 B.C., not long after they learned how to make paper, the technique has been employed by myriad cultures throughout the centuries to fashion decorative objects mirror cases, snuff boxes, warrior helmets, ceremonial masks, anatomical models and Catholic statuary. With its arrival in Europe from Asia in the 17th century, it carried the scent not of glue or flour but of exoticism. The objects were often japanned covered with glossy black coating, decorated with gold and mother-of-pearl. Paradoxically strong and durable despite its lightness, papier-mache became an industry; by the mid-1800s, at least 30 English manufacturers were making decorative and useful objects and furniture from it, including tables, chairs and canopy bed frames, though the pieces eventually became too kitschy for even the embellishment-mad Victorians and fell out of fashion. But in the mid-20th century, papier-mache re-emerged as art. In the humble mediums alliance with everyday life, Pop artists found the perfect rebuke to the swagger of bronze, marble and steel, which dominated sculpture at the time. Claes Oldenburg used it to mock the macho subtext of space age dominance with Empire (Papa) Ray Gun (1959), his bulbous, flimsy sculpture of a ray gun that seems about as threatening as a blow dryer. It was the ideal material as well for the droopy, organic abstractions of the German-born American artist Eva Hesse easy to stretch into a dangling or lumpy shape to be covered in sinister black paint. In 1975, Red Grooms and his wife and collaborator, Mimi Gross along with 21 assistants used it to create one of their most famous works, the alternative universe Ruckus Manhattan, a boisterous 10,000-square-foot replica of the borough. Influenced by the politically radical Bread and Puppet Theater collective, founded by Peter Schumann on the Lower East Side in the 1960s (the company would share fresh-made loaves and homemade aioli with their audiences), a young Kiki Smith made papier-mache sculptures such as Hard Soft Bodies (1992), which consists of two female torsos hanging, like ghostly husks, against the wall. Her work illuminated how much paper is like skin, at once frail and robust, susceptible to puncture and able to weather the years. The act of using papier-mache itself can be read as a pantomime of caring for such bodies: bandaging the skinned knee, wrapping the corpse. On Tuesday , Feb. 26, t he second day of Paris Fashion Week, the city will wake up to 4,000 posters of Carine Roitfeld. The placards show her completely naked, looking out a window and making a peace sign with one hand. They will be placed in hot spots all over the city. No model, fashion editor or tourist will be able to escape them. A team has been hired to put up new posters if the first ones are vandalized or covered up. Ms. Roitfeld, 64, has long been a ubiquitous force during the shows here. As the editor in chief of Vogue Paris for 10 years and, later, the founder of CR Fashion Book, she was a front-row regular. Her parties are known for being the most exclusive and elaborate, attracting celebrities like Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian West. But in those roles she was still somewhat in the background: an editor and influencer, not the main event. Now thats about to change. From the start, The Daily has been about deepening peoples connection to the news and the reporters who gather it. For us, this newsletter is about deepening our connection to you. MB Talk to Michael on Twitter: @mikiebarb. On The Daily this week What about Andrew Yang? Dozens of listeners asked how we chose which Democratic presidential candidates to mention (or not mention) in Wednesdays episode. So we asked Alex Burns, our guest for that episode and a national political correspondent, to explain: The barriers to running for president are lower than ever thanks to the internet, its easier to raise money and get your name out there, and President Trump has obliterated traditional assumptions about who is qualified to be president. But that doesnt mean every candidate who runs can or should get covered in the exact same way from the start. In a field this huge, that would be a practical impossibility, even if it were the right thing to do. And personally, I dont think its the right thing to do. As a reporter, I am most focused right now on the candidates who have clear national constituencies or who are discernibly shaping the Democratic Partys debate around issues and identity. I also think its incumbent upon me and other reporters to be sensitive to signs that that group of candidates is changing that someone with a big title and national profile actually doesnt have that much to say, or that someone relatively obscure is connecting powerfully with voters on the ground or through a set of distinctive ideas. The candidates we spoke about this week, like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, have all been major figures in American politics for years. Some of the lesser-known candidates in this race, like Tulsi Gabbard and John Delaney and Andrew Yang, have a chance in this race to show that they can be consequential in the same way. But for now, the burden of proof is on them. About that music on Wednesday Still, the resurrection of Dworkins work and reputation is in some ways quite strange, because her contemporary admirers tend to reject her central political commitments. Dworkin, whod turned tricks as a broke, bohemian young woman, wanted to outlaw prostitution and pornography, and in the 1980s she made an alliance with the religious right to push anti-pornography legislation. There is no sympathy for such a bargain in feminist circles today, where its mostly taboo to treat sex work as distinct from any other kind of labor. Yet the renewed interest in Dworkin is a sign that for many women, our libidinous culture feels neither pleasurable nor liberating. Me and my peers, we believed in this sort of fairy tale, that there was a line of demarcation that was very clear between rape and nonconsensual acts, and consent, said Fateman. We knew where the line was, and everything on the side of consent was great, and it was an expression of our freedom. But thats not the experience of sex that a lot of people are having. Moira Donegan, the writer best known for creating an online list of alleged sexual abusers and harassers in media, recently wrote an appreciative reappraisal of Dworkin occasioned by Last Days at Hot Slit. It should not be hard to say that heterosexuality as it is practiced is a raw deal for women and that much pornography eroticizes the contempt of women, she wrote. It should not be hard to say any of this. But it has become hard. Seen from a certain angle, the #MeToo movement or at least those offshoots of the movement that question the unequal power dynamics behind seemingly consensual encounters looks like a way of saying those hard things. Indeed, some of Dworkins ideas have been reincarnated in #MeToo, and not just because she also sought to challenge oppression by going public with her own stories of sexual abuse. Think of the woman who told a reporter, last year, about an encounter with the actor Aziz Ansari that shed come to understand as sexual assault, though she didnt describe force or threat. Decades earlier, Dworkin created a political framework for viewing such an experience one most would probably write off as bad sex as a violation. In that 1975 lecture, she described presumptive rape as one in which the constraint on the victims will is in the circumstance itself; there has been no mutuality of choice and understanding. Consent, she insisted, had to mean more than just acquiescence. Unemployment rates have risen from a little over 10 percent in 2016 to 23 percent in 2018. The stasis of the presidency was strikingly illustrated by Mr. Buharis taking six months to appoint government ministers and spending months away in London for medical treatment. His reluctance to speak to the people or to react in a timely manner to scandals in his government did not inspire confidence. Babachir Lawal, a former top official in Mr. Buharis government, was only recently charged for a 2016 corruption scandal. While not seen as personally corrupt, Mr. Buhari seems either powerless or unwilling to deal with corruption charges against some of his confidantes. In October, videos of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the governor of the Kano State, receiving wads of dollars from a government contractor allegedly as kickbacks were leaked and created a sensation in Nigeria. Mr. Buhari failed to make a clear statement, and a few weeks later, the president campaigned alongside the governor and endorsed his candidacy. Another significant failure of Mr. Buhari has been improving the rule of law and civil liberties. In his administration, the police and the army have continued with, if not heightened, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, illegal detentions, executions and intimidation. Mr. Buhari has supported the armys use of deadly force and used language promoting the heavy -handed violence of the state security forces, demonstrating that he is still very much a military dictator at heart. It forces one to ask: Will the election change anything? In a rent-seeking system sustained by patronage, fueled by corruption and perpetuated often by force and disregard of the rule of law, moving the country toward a more functional democracy will require much more than elections. It would be naive to expect that a new president in the person of Mr. Abubakar will radically reform Nigeria. Mr. Abubakar has a tainted reputation, having been accused of amassing great wealth through corruption, his primary accuser being no less than his former boss, Olusegun Obasanjo, who was the Nigerian president from 1999 to 2007. In 2005, Mr. Abubakar was involved in an F.B.I. investigation of Representative William Jefferson. According to the F.B.I., Mr. Abubakar had sought bribes from Mr. Jefferson to help him win business contracts in Nigeria for a technology company controlled by Mr. Jefferson. In 2010, a United States Senate report accused Mr. Abubakar and Jennifer Douglas, his fourth wife, of laundering over $40 million in suspicious funds into the United States between 2000 and 2008. Mr. Obasanjo, the former president, described Mr. Abubakar as disloyal, incompetent and corrupt in several interviews and a book. In a shocking twist to the tale, Mr. Obasanjo is now backing Mr. Abubakar against Mr. Buhari. She is also contending with the relentless manipulation of social media by what she says are government-friendly sources to spread false information about her and Rappler. The se trolls focus on Facebook, which is where most Filipinos get their news. She has been called a foreign agent, a troublemaker, a tax cheat, a traitor and ugly. Last week, two people whom Ms. Ressa suspects were working for the government managed to slip into Rapplers building and broadcast a video on Facebook Live from just outside its door urging protests and social media attacks. Among the comments on the feed: Hang Ressa, Bomb Ressa and Behead her. Government officials have said she is enjoying the attention. She is not, and Ms. Ressa reported the video to Facebook. She had already provided the company with copious evidence of the way its platform has been abused by Mr. Dutertes troll army. This time Facebook responded by blocking the user who posted the video for 30 days (he may have popped up again on Facebook in Singapore, though). Its a cat-and-mouse game, and Ms. Ressa said Facebook is haphazard about enforcing the rules. While individual executives have been helpful, Ms. Ressa said, shes had a hard time dealing with Facebook, which has responded slowly. Facebook is now the worlds largest distributor of news and yet it has refused to be the gatekeeper, she told me in a recent onstage interview. And when it does that, when you allow lies to actually get on the same playing field as facts, it taints the entire public sphere. At some point, she said, Facebook has to take down the lies. As she noted to me on Thursday night, A lie told a million times is truth. On social media, though, that is more like a billion times. Ms. Ressa said she wished she had tried to stop the online abuse sooner: We ignored it far too long and that is the lesson I have learned. To the Editor: Re The Lawyers Who Did Not Break (column, Feb. 22): David Brooks rightly praises federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, a notoriously independent office, for standing up to Donald Trump. But praise belongs as well to two institutions that the framers of the Constitution wisely protected, seeming to have anticipated threats like those we now face. Members of the federal judiciary, with life tenure under Article III , are able to ignore political interference and follow the law. Watergate taught us that although the president is powerful, the law is more powerful. The press, protected by the free-press clause of the First Amendment, is the second constitutional institution checking the president. President Trump can shout fake news all he wants, but he is powerless to stop the stories. After he is long gone and books are written about how the country was able to survive this troubled time, the federal courts and journalism will be among the heroes. Ms. Nelson says she is convinced that, while a vanishing fraction of Americans belong to unions, workers are increasingly fed up with their lot and amenable to the idea of taking on their bosses directly. After she gave the speech calling for a general strike, a labor historian asked her whether it was too dangerous to talk about publicly. Strike, strike, strike, strike, strike, strike, strike, Ms. Nelson told him. Say it it feels good. Her vision reflects the restless energy upending the Democratic Party today and the populist fury that drew many blue-collar voters to Mr. Trump. It is also what has some union leaders hoping shell gun for labors top job as the leader of the nations largest federation of unions, the A.F.L.-C.I.O., the next time it opens up. In Senator Sanderss office, Ms. Nelson said she had been initially hesitant to attend that nights address and listen to a bunch of lies, but had come around to the idea. It would be really good to be standing there and feeling like I was on equal ground, she told me. With whom, I asked. She didnt hesitate. With all the powers that be, up to and including the president of the United States. I could stab you right now Ms. Nelson grew up in Corvallis, Ore., a city with small-town vibes. Her parents, a music teacher and a lumber worker, were Christian Scientists a religion established by a woman who espoused gender equity. The church, Ms. Nelson said, taught her that male and female qualities can be expressed by anyone. Early dreams of working as an actress didnt pan out, and Ms. Nelson graduated from a Missouri college with about $45,000 in student debt. She spent nearly a year holding down four jobs waiting tables, selling linens, substitute-teaching and temping at an insurance company. When she found out United had openings for flight attendants in 1996, she drove 300 miles to Chicago to audition. By then, United had generally stopped making applicants step on a scale to meet a weight requirement. The airline did measure Ms. Nelsons height (an acceptable 5-foot-4), and when she got the job, they checked her hair (wispy and blonde) to make sure it did not rebel against an updo. She spent six weeks in training, which included a makeup day when the men took the day off and the women learned how to apply mascara. This was helpful to Ms. Nelson, a granola from Oregon, she said, who had never worn any. Japans largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, was already being investigated by United States prosecutors over whether it had failed to detect money laundering and sanctions violations at its branches. On Friday, the bank got a fresh warning that it needed to address the issue, and quickly. A federal banking regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, said it had uncovered serious problems at branches owned by MUFG Bank, the banks name in the United States. The regulator said that the bank appeared to have broken anti-money laundering laws on more occasions than previously thought and that it must fix the problems immediately. The order was the latest in a series of reprimands for the bank, and the first from the agency that became its regulator when MUFG switched from being licensed by New York State to being federally licensed in November 2017. State regulators and other federal authorities have said for years that MUFG failed to properly monitor who its customers were and where their money came from. The problems were so severe that one former employee likened the banks anti-money laundering program to a dumpster fire. Jeffrey K. Skilling, the former chief executive of Enron whose lies contributed to the sudden collapse of the energy company in one of the countrys most high-profile cases of corporate fraud, was released from federal custody on Thursday after serving more than 12 years in prison, the federal authorities said. Mr. Skilling, 65, was released from a halfway house in Texas, his final stop in the federal prison system after being held at a prison camp in Alabama and a prison in Colorado, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said on Friday. A lawyer for Mr. Skilling did not respond to a message seeking comment. Mr. Skilling was one of several Enron leaders who guided the company through a spectacular rise in the 1990s, as it evolved from a sleepy pipeline operator into one of the worlds dominant energy companies by reshaping the way natural gas and electricity were bought and sold. He was later convicted for his leading role in a complex fraud and conspiracy scheme that led to the companys stunning fall, which culminated in one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in American history on Dec. 2, 2001. Mr. Skilling had abruptly quit four months earlier, in August 2001, after less than a year as chief executive. His resignation stunned Wall Street analysts and raised suspicions, despite his assurances at the time that his departure had nothing to do with Enron. WASHINGTON President Trump said the United States and China were moving closer toward a trade agreement and suggested that the fate of Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant facing criminal charges along with its chief financial officer, could be resolved as part of a final trade deal with Beijing. Ringed by his top advisers and a visiting Chinese delegation on Friday in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump said talks would continue through the weekend and that there was a very, very good chance of a deal with China being reached. He said he expected to meet personally with President Xi Jinping of China to work out the final points, most likely in March at Mar-a-Lago, the presidents resort in Palm Beach, Fla. The talks have been aimed at resolving the Trump administrations concerns about Chinas trade barriers and its treatment of American companies, including forcing firms to hand over valuable technology as a condition of doing business there. But Mr. Trump again indicated that he might intertwine a national security case with the trade talks, despite concerns from his own law enforcement and intelligence officials about doing so. Asked by a reporter if criminal charges against Huawei which has been accused by the Justice Department of stealing trade secrets could be dropped as part of the trade pact, the president said: Well be talking to the U.S. attorneys and the attorney general. Well be making that decision. After breaking up, Willa and Hesper each travel, separately, to the Old World, to discover their roots and soothe their heartache. Willa signs up for an INSPIRING JEWISH SURVIVOR TRIP! to concentration camps in Germany (a plausible internet marketing tactic, though perhaps without the exclamation point), while Hesper travels with her family to Tbilisi, Georgia, to learn about her grandfathers past. Image The novel belongs to a growing genre of books about young Jewish Americans exploring their Eastern European backgrounds to better understand themselves in the company of Nicole Krausss The History of Love, Dara Horns The World to Come and, most similarly, Jonathan Safran Foers delightful Everything Is Illuminated, in which a young Jewish American travels to Ukraine in search of the woman who once saved his grandfather from the Nazis. That first devastating breakup is fertile territory for a novelist: The misery, irrationality and fits of self-destruction that young exes indulge are all excellent fodder for fiction. But instead of exploring the particulars of these womens pain, Feltman concocts a series of historical and familial tragedies, both big and small, for them to reckon with including a secret adoption, a major natural disaster and the Holocaust. When she tries to return to Willa and Hespers post-breakup suffering, it seems trivial by comparison, the worms in the apple. Meanwhile, the heroines, who narrate alternating chapters, react with the same agony to both the minor crises (like learning that your ex has a new favorite place to eat caramel walnut cake) and the major ones (like the attempted extermination of an entire population). We get the sense that Willa has always been hypersensitive: Youre emotionally immune deficient, a friend once told her. When Im around you, everything hurts a little bit extra. But soon Hesper, at first free-spirited and selfish, starts to behave similarly deficient. Their constant mutual torment renders the reader somewhat numb. By the time the corpses of bears and wildcats float through the streets due to a flood at a Tbisili zoo (yes, really), I could barely muster a reaction. Image [ Whats next for Northern Ireland? ] It is about who owned the language, or got the most out of it. Yes, the times were known as the Troubles. But as the Belfast writer Jan Carson puts it in her upcoming novel, The Fire Starters: Troubles is too less a word for all of this. It is a word for minor inconveniences, such as overdrawn bank accounts, slow punctures, a womans time of the month. It is not a violent word. So the I.R.A. invented the armed struggle. Violence joins injustice it was the work of a marketing genius and the solid conviction of hundreds, thousands, of men and women: It was their war, their struggle. What Keefe captures best, though, is the tragedy, the damage and waste, and the idea of moral injury. Dolours Price and many like her believed that, after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, she had been robbed of any moral justification for the bombings and abductions. The last section of the book, the tricky part of the story, life after violence, after the end, the unfinished business, the disappeared and the refusal of Jean McConvilles children to forget about her I wondered as I read if Keefe was going to carry it off. He does. He deals very well with the wars strange ending, the victory that wasnt. While much of the language of Say Nothing takes me back to my youth, a new word makes its appearance on one of the final pages: Brexit. It would be ironic, to say the least, Keefe writes, if one inadvertent long-term consequence of the Brexit referendum was a united Ireland an outcome that three decades of appalling bloodshed and some 3,500 lost lives had failed to achieve. A more likely outcome, I fear, is a fresh border dividing Ireland, right on top of the old one. When the Republic of Ireland and Britain joined what became the European Union on the same day, in 1973, the border immediately started to become less relevant. The E.U. is a big part the boring part of the story. The border is there but hard to discern; Spot the Border is a popular game with people driving across it. Driving north, the kilometers become miles and the road signs are in English instead of both English and Gaelic. But theres no evidence of the checkpoints or observation towers that were there before the Good Friday Agreement. Since the Brexit referendum, much has been said, and promised, about soft borders and hard borders. But as someone observed I cant remember who all borders are hard, and the line across Ireland will be the only land border dividing Britain from the E.U. There will be checkpoints; there might also be observation towers. There will be men and women in uniform; there might also be armed soldiers with English and Scottish accents. There will be trouble, and there might also be Troubles. Say Nothing is an excellent account of the Troubles; it might also be a warning. That means when a call comes in for that stations area, the crew will take the equipment applicable to the call and go, but if a second call comes in, instead of that same station responding, another station, either in Waukegan or another nearby town, will take the call. That may be whats missing from so much Trump art today the critical introspection to accompany the laughter. Mr. Gustons drawings and paintings are intimate, as if he were grappling with the reality of Mr. Nixons existence. The process of making them was fraught, both politically and artistically; only a handful were shown in the following decades (Mr. Guston died in 1980). I dont mean to suggest that contemporary artists like Ms. Bernstein and Mr. Birk dont know the stakes of our time Im sure they do but hanging on the white walls of galleries, for the eyes of a largely liberal, self-selecting public, caricatures of President Trump feel safe. Creators and viewers alike get validation, rather than a prompt for examination or self-reflection. Part of the trouble may also be with the form. When you have a president whom many people already view as a caricature, representing him as such loses some of its disruptive power. As with Ms. Rubells performance, you end up with familiar images and generalized meanings. What would it look like to make art about the Trumps without their likeness? How might it create different aesthetic and political possibilities? There are answers already out there. Some of them veer closer to propaganda than art, like Robin Bells light projections of protest messages on government buildings and Trump hotels. (Mr. Bell currently has a solo show on view at George Washington University.) Badlands Unlimited, the publishing company founded by artist Paul Chan, makes signs that appropriate the language and style of the posters used by the right-wing Westboro Baptist Church: God Hates Ivanka, reads one. Other answers are contained within larger bodies of work. The artist Alexandra Bell researches the role of the media in the perpetuation of racism. Her exhibition last year at Recess Assembly included a blown-up and marked-up reproduction of Donald Trumps 1989 newspaper ad calling for the execution of the Central Park Five a searing indictment of the man whos now president. Sometimes the answer is only partly the work of artists, as in the case of HEWILLNOTDIVIDE.US. In January 2017, Shia LaBeouf, Nastja Sade Ronkko and Luke Turner placed a camera at the Museum of the Moving Image and invited participants to stand before it and speak the title words. The installation was so quickly swarmed by supporters of the president and trolls that the museum removed it within a month. Its rise and fall make for an incisive portrait of the harassment and vitriol that mark the age of President Trump. None of these works will sway public opinion; art can never be a substitute for action and indeed, some of the most interesting reactions to Mr. Trumps presidency have been gestures of protest, like Richard Princes refunding of the money paid to him for making a painting that depicts Ivanka Trump. But they can refocus our attention, open our eyes a little wider and make us see things we didnt know we needed to see until we see them, as the critic Jerry Saltz once described the potency of art. When it comes to the Trumps, weve seen plenty already, but there remains much more that we havent. An Indonesian art collective was announced on Friday as the artistic director of the fifteenth edition of Documenta, the trendsetting art exhibition held every five years in the industrial town of Kassel, Germany. The group, called ruangrupa its name is spelled with a lowercase r and loosely translates as a space for art will be the first Asian curators of the event, one of the art worlds most high-profile exhibitions. Featuring 10 core members, ruangrupa are also the first artists, rather than full-time curators, to have been chosen to organize the exhibition. The 15th edition will run from June 2022 through September of that year. The collective is known for working with community groups and intends to bring that approach to the exhibition, Farid Rakun and Ade Darmawan, two of ruangrupas members, said in a news release. They will focus on todays injuries, especially ones rooted in colonialism, capitalism, or patriarchal structures, they added. They also want to show works or present events that enable people to have a different view of the world, they said. Founded in 1955, Documenta describes itself as a museum of 100 days and transforms working-class Kassel into a global arts hub. It often highlights pressing social issues, and gives both art world stars and lesser-known artists a global platform. The abrupt change was jarring to Jonathan Stafford, the companys interim leader, who said he had thought the casting was locked in. He said he was also upset when Mr. Martins defied his instructions to wait until the dancers had exited before going backstage after the first performance of The Sleeping Beauty last week. Unfortunately, he did not respect my wishes, even though I was crystal clear, said Mr. Stafford, a ballet master and former principal dancer. I was as surprised as anybody, he added. One dancer complained to me directly. These sensitivities stem from the circumstances surrounding Mr. Martinss departure. He was the subject of multiple accusations of abuse, but an investigation commissioned by City Ballets board did not corroborate those allegations, which former dancers and others had made in interviews with The New York Times and The Washington Post. That outcome divided the company, with some dancers sad to see Mr. Martins go and others upset that he had not been held to account. Mr. Martins retains artistic say over his ballets, including The Sleeping Beauty, now in performances, and Romeo + Juliet, which was performed last February. Both had been programmed before Mr. Martins retired under pressure in January 2018. He changed the casting for The Sleeping Beauty just before the roles were officially announced pulling Ms. Bouder from her usual position as Princess Aurora in the first cast and switching her with Sterling Hyltin in the third cast. He also swapped out several other dancers at the last minute. This has left some in the company bristling at Mr. Martinss remaining levers of control. What can a remote outpost tell us about how the U.S. got pulled so deep into Syrias war? The answer might be easiest to understand if we start out small. In March of 2016 a series of victories in a desolate patch of the Syrian desert. A band of rebels captures a border crossing. And then they move and capture a rectangular compound thats been in the hands of the Islamic State. Now, like a lot of forces in Syria, big and small, these guys want to be known. Theyd sent out promotional videos. Theyd made the TV news. Theyd even made a YouTube page, and asked visitors to subscribe, to follow along while they go fight ISIS. But all these videos, they tell us something else. American weapon. American weapon. American weapon. And all this propaganda? Behind the scenes are coalition advisers. Theyre coaching the rebels with how to introduce themselves to the world. Theyre backing the rebels because, at the time, this was part of Americas big plan for defeating the Islamic State in Syria: Train and equip local rebels to do the fighting. We will advise, and we will assist. These rebels are called the New Syrian Army. And that compound they captured? That rectangle in the desert? It turned into a small military base called Al-Tanf. Thats far away from all other U.S. and coalition bases in Syria. In the years to come, the base will be attacked by ISIS, threatened by Iranian proxies and become the subject of Russian conspiracy theories. This base will illustrate how it can be easy to get involved in a war This is a transnational long-term threat. but much harder to get out of one. Senator, that would have to be provided in a different setting. Wait a minute. Why cant you Wait. Wait a minute. How the mission can change in unexpected ways. But the original mission, of course, was to defeat the Islamic State. The choice of Al-Tanf as a base was a good one. Right off the bat, the rebels build a couple walls. And this gives them control of a major road. That lets them disrupt the Islamic States ability to move between Syria and Iraq, and to stop them from entering Jordan, which is an important American ally. But the rebels main objective is to use Al-Tanf as a staging ground to seize the region back from ISIS. In their first year, the rebels have some failures and they have some successes. American and coalition soldiers are there with them doing the training. The rebels managed to recapture a good amount of land, along with other rebel groups in the area. Thats seen in blue. But heres where Al-Tanf is forced to take on an entirely new, entirely unexpected role, an example of Americas expanding mission in Syria Iran. See, when the American-backed rebels capture land from ISIS remember, that was their original mission theyre also capturing land that President Bashar al-Assad wants back, after losing it earlier in the civil war that began in 2011. So the regimes coming after them, like it or not. Irans been supporting the regime, and has its own reasons for wanting control of this rebel area. See this road that Al-Tanfs on? It leads all the way to Iran. Iran wants to be the dominant player in the region. Do you think it wants a little U.S. base blocking a valuable supply route that carries Iranian influence and materiel all the way to the Mediterranean? No. So in the spring of 2017, the Syrian army and Iranian-backed militias decide to take the region back with an offensive. Their objective is to reach the Jordanian and Iraqi borders. In the way is Al-Tanf. And by this time, the U.S. has established a protective circle around the base thats called a deconfliction zone. Basically, it means cross into that circle uninvited and you risk an American attack. But the pro-regime forces advance anyway. The Americans strike, saying its in self-defense. [explosion] These videos claim to show the strikes on pro-regime forces. [Arabic shouting, in reaction to blast] Then the Americans drop leaflets warning the oncoming forces to stay away from the deconfliction zone. But they keep coming. [explosion] And the U.S. keeps striking. And heres where our story comes to a pivotal moment that shows just how messy it can be when you get involved in a civil war. The U.S. told the world that it was in Syria to fight the Islamic State. Tonight, on my orders, Americas armed forces began strikes against ISIL targets in Syria. And now, its attacking Syrians and Iranian proxies. It was necessitated by offensive movement I dont know there were Iranians on the ground but by Iranian-directed forces. So now we get more American hardware coming in. Meanwhile, the base that looked like this when the rebels took over has now grown to look like this. But if Iran has become a factor in the U.S. mission in Syria, heres an example of how the government doesnt want to publicly admit that this has expanded the mission. So lets head to Washington for a second. Dont click away. I know congressional hearings arent always a thrill a minute, but this one stand. gets interesting. So let me so what is the A senator asks a high-ranking State Department official what U.S. troops will do in Syria once ISIS is defeated non-ISIS priorities. but question seems to strike a nerve. Senator, that would have to be provided in a different setting. He doesnt want to say that Irans part of the Syrian strategy now. Um. Why not? Wait a minute. Why cant you Wait. Wait a minute. That wont pass muster. So he relents, just a bit. We are deeply concerned with the activities of Iran, with the ability of Iran to enhance those activities through a greater ability to move materiel into Syria. And I would rather leave the discussion at that point. The Iranian threat came just up the road from Al-Tanf. But Americas mission in Syria is also growing beyond ISIS because of what lies just 12 miles to the south Trapped in a no mans land, but still the numbers grow. the lives of 50,000 refugees. 50,000. They live in a camp called Rukban. Many of them have fled the Syrian regime and the Islamic State. The camp is so close to Al-Tanf that its protected by the bases deconfliction zone. And were going to be present at Al-Tanf to make sure ISIS cannot return and also to manage this difficult humanitarian situation. Hear that? Yet another reason to stay in Syria protect the refugees. But these refugees serve another purpose [Russian speech] as props for Russian misinformation. See, Russias got bases in Syria, too. It wants to secure its own influence in the region. But the American presence in Syria, including at Al-Tanf, is getting in the way. So the Russians try to make the Americans and rebels at Al-Tanf look so bad that theyll be forced to give it up. [Russian speech] They often claim that the Americans and rebels at Al-Tanf block aid shipments to the Rukban refugees, creating a humanitarian crisis. But the internet is also full of conspiracy theories about the base. Some seem to have been influenced by Russias statements. Take Al-Tanfs Wikipedia page. The original entry smears the Al-Tanf rebels by calling them armed gangs and militants that are training terrorists, who the U.S. helps transport. The user who wrote all this has uploaded photos elsewhere that show a Russia connection. How? Well, one, they show a city Russian advisers were in at the time. Two, the file names are all in Russian. And, three, one is taken from the inside of a Russian military vehicle, like the one seen here elsewhere in Syria. Al-Tanf is just one example of how Russias presence in Syria has contributed to yet another reason the U.S. mission has expanded preventing unchecked Russian influence. After more recent Russian threats, the U.S. sends Marines to Al-Tanf as a show of force. [gunfire] The base that looked like this after those airstrikes against pro-regime forces, has grown even bigger. And soon after, a top general arrives, stressing Americas support for the base. Construction on a new expansion begins three weeks later. I dont want to be in Syria forever. Its sand. And its death. President Trump reverses course, and orders a troop pullout from Syria. But theres an ongoing debate in the government about whether to make Al-Tanf the exception, to keep troops there even after all other U.S. troops in the country have left. Will the bases story end with the rebels and refugees left to fend for themselves, or will the U.S. decide to stay put to counter its rivals and small pockets of ISIS in a mission that has no end in sight? Whatever happens, remember: This is all taking place in just one small, remote corner of Syria, a country thats in conflict from end to end. So 23 seconds into this video, I mentioned a border crossing, the one the rebels use to cross into Syria. Turns out, the Syrian civil war isnt the only time conflict touched this crossing. I found these images from the Iraq war from 2007. These are refugees flooding the Al-Tanf crossing, trying to get out of Iraq. Back then, Syria was far safer. Being a foreigner and a New York Times reporter tends to help its always local journalists who face greater danger, as I saw in Mexico and Iraq and the threats we face did not used to be something many journalists or media companies talked about very often. But whats interesting is that for The Times at least, thats changing. Our new publisher, A.G. Sulzberger, has been especially vocal as of late, advocating on behalf of journalism and journalists, and trying to persuade President Trump to tone down his rhetoric, such as his references to journalists as the enemy of the people. This week that dispute flared up yet again. A.G.s main point speaks to something that is sometimes easy to overlook; that however flawed journalists and our journalism may be, demonizing journalists especially as a group hurts democracy, and has the potential to be deadly. Just this week, the authorities in Maryland said a Coast Guard lieutenant and self-described white nationalist who had been arrested was plotting to kill several prominent American journalists, among others. The phrase enemy of the people is not just false, its dangerous, A.G. wrote in a statement this week responding to President Trumps latest broadside (perhaps inspired by this story from us with new details about his efforts to undermine the special counsel investigation). It has an ugly history of being wielded by dictators and tyrants. What youre seeing now, A.G. argues (along with many political scientists), is the spread of that particular virus. When the only defenders of journalism are journalists when elected officials in a democracy behave as if reporters are combatants leaders with tyrannical instincts become emboldened. A Utah man who is accused of attacking a Latino man and his son with a metal pole last year after announcing his desire to kill Mexicans was charged with federal hate crimes on Thursday, a move celebrated by local officials who criticized the states hate crime law as ineffective. Federal prosecutors charged the Utah man, Alan D. Covington, with three counts of hate crime assault, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to a statement from the United States attorneys office for the District of Utah. The indictment alleges that Mr. Covington, 50, walked into a tire store in Salt Lake City in November, shouted that he wanted to kill Mexicans and then attacked Jose Lopez and his son Luis with a metal pole, causing bodily injury. He also swung the pole at a third man, Angel Lopez-Toria, who was uninjured, prosecutors said. Mr. Covington was charged last year with three felonies, including second-degree assault. But law enforcement officials were frustrated that he could not be charged with a hate crime; in Utah, the hate crime law can be applied only to misdemeanors, not felony crimes like murder or a violent assault. 1950: The Korean War begins. Its technically never ended. Heres why. First off, the war itself. It killed about 4 million people. On one side, there was South Korea, allied with U.N. forces led by the Americans. On the other side, there was North Korea, backed by the Soviet Union and China. They fought for three years, until A special building had been erected for the signing of the Korean armistice. This was the signing of a cease-fire, and it did seem to offer some hope. We have stopped the shooting. That means much to the fighting men and their families. And it will allow some of the grievous wounds of Korea to heal. But a cease-fire is not a binding peace treaty. It was all quiet on the Korean front the day after the signing of the armistice. It only ended the fighting. It also set guidelines, like for the exchange of prisoners and where the army should withdraw to. The open ground left between must become the demilitarized zone or DMZ. It also laid the groundwork for a permanent peace treaty. But heres the catch. South Koreas president was against the troops President Syngman Rhee is the man who threw a spanner into the works just as the armistice talks at Panmunjom seemed to have reached finality. and never let his country sign it. He wanted to keep fighting to unify the whole peninsula and punish the North. None of this boded well for the peace conference, which kicked off a year later. Seeking solutions for Far Eastern problems. The free world and Communism are again locked in bitter argument. One of those arguments was over whether foreign allies, like the U.S. and China, could keep troops on the peninsula. And another was how to unify the two countries through elections. Even allies couldnt agree amongst themselves. So the talks went nowhere. Sixty-five years later, theres now talk of hashing out a formal ending to the Korean War. And that could set the stage for a broader peace on the Korean peninsula. That didnt really make it out into the media very much because I mean, we can say it all we want, but the media, generally speaking, the CNN pundits and The New York Times, will generally call it the Trump shutdown, because he owned it initially. I get that. But once he owned it, he asked to negotiate, and I think thats a pretty fair ask. He did not have anyone to negotiate with. So that was frustrating, to watch that play out from the inside. Now, it looks like maybe the deal will be less money for the wall, or some kind of fencing. The semantics over wall versus fencing, first of all, are highly misleading. Trumps plan has been what normal people would describe as fencing for a long time now. I get that he still calls it a wall. But thats because in our English language a normal person would go up to what we have on the border right now and say its a wall, or a fence, and theyd both be right. What were actually talking about is steel bollard fencing. Again, its a mass misinformation campaign by the other side on this. And thats been amplified by a lot of the media, is that were just talking about 2,000 miles of, like, concrete wall. Its so unbelievably false. I want like a giant reset button to be like, O.K., lets start the debate over, because I wasnt here when we started the debate. Now I am. Id like us to be very honest about what were talking about. Sounds like youre describing a messaging problem for Republicans. I dont have all the answers, but I think the way Id describe the right way to message is to help people understand the why behind the what. Its like, why do I believe we need extra fencing down the southern border? And in a deeper why than just, Hey, its security and murders and crime. Some of thats true, but it leads us into a debate about how much crime and how much drugs. The why is: We enforce our laws, and because we believe in our own sovereignty, and I believe that illegal immigrants shouldnt be able to cut in front of legal immigrants. Thats a better why. Traditionally in Washington, there was an idea that as a new member you come in and keep a low profile. You and other freshmen are clearly taking a different approach. Why? We are not yet a country that detains people for their internet searches or deleted documents, Ms. Stelzig said. Prosecutors say that for at least two years, Lieutenant Hasson visited white supremacist and neo-Nazi websites, and studied the 1,500-page manifesto written by Anders Behring Breivik, a far-right Norwegian extremist who killed 77 people in 2011. They said that he also took the synthetic opioid Tramadol while at work and that he had obtained the drug illegally. The Coast Guard declined to comment on the case on Thursday, citing the continuing investigation. In writings discovered on his computer, prosecutors said, Lieutenant Hasson said he was a longtime neo-Nazi, but one who preferred focused violence to marches and rallies. A letter he drafted to friends in 2017, prosecutors said, contained musings about how to cause the maximum disruption to society. But in public, Lieutenant Hasson gave little indication of his troubled thoughts. Records indicate that he graduated from Greenway High School in Phoenix in 1987 and served in the Marines from 1988 until 1994 as a mechanic servicing F-18 jets. In 1993, he married Shannon Coleman in Hampton, Va. After the Marines, he served in the Army National Guard for two years, according to court filings, and at some point after that joined the Coast Guard, and became an officer even though he did not attend college. With 28 years of military service, he would be nearing the Coast Guards mandatory retirement limit of 30 years. Like many military families, the Hassons moved frequently, living in Arizona, Nevada, California, Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey, according to property records. Along the way, he apparently had children his lawyer referred to him in court as a father but neither they nor his wife was present at the hearing on Thursday. As you will see below, I dont expect either of those to take home the gold, but be advised as always that this is coming from a forecaster who thought Get Out would win Best Picture last year, mostly because I had actually seen it. Your winner ended up being The Shape of Water, which I eventually saw the last 20 minutes of, thanks to Redbox. If a toilet is a prominent element of a shows set, rest assured it will be used. And so it is in the new cheerleading musical, We Are the Tigers. Since the show is about teenagers, the bathroom action involves drunken vomiting. And since it is a horror comedy, the upchucking is followed by a brutal murder. For some of us, the combination of cheerleaders, jump scares and songs makes for a tantalizing mix. After all, high school boosting has long been a staple of horror films, from Cheerleader Camp to Jennifers Body. And the activity was entertainingly staged in Lysistrata Jones and Bring It On: The Musical, which played Broadway in 2011 and 2012. Unfortunately, Preston Max Allens meandering show is a textbook example of how to squander a promising concept. There is almost no cheering and not nearly enough slashing; on the other hand, there is an abundance of exposition, often done via samey-sounding tunes that echo each other. (The plays East Village venue, Theater 80 St Marks, once hosted Silence! The Musical, a fantastically funny spoof of The Silence of the Lambs, which proved that music, horror and comedy can be combined into a winning package.) Most of the first act consists of an extended introduction to the Giles Corey High cheerleaders as they prepare for their traditional annual sleepover, hosted by the ambitious, brittle captain, Riley (Lauren Zakrin). SAN FRANCISCO Pinterest confidentially filed paperwork to go public, according to two people familiar with the decision, joining a stampede of high-profile start-ups heading toward the public markets. The company, which has an app and a website that allow people to save images and links to virtual pin boards, filed its paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission in early February, the people said. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the filing publicly. Private market investors have valued Pinterest at $12 billion. In September, it was expected to top $700 million in revenue last year, a 50 percent increase from 2017. At the time, it had 250 million monthly active users. Mike Mayzel, a Pinterest spokesman, declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Pinterest had filed the paperwork with regulators. SAN FRANCISCO Google said it would no longer force employees to settle disputes with the company in private arbitration, expanding on an earlier pledge to do away with the practice in cases of sexual harassment or assault. Google informed its staff in an email on Thursday that the new policy would take effect globally on March 21 for current and future employees. Gina Scigliano, a Google spokeswoman, confirmed the changes. In November, the company agreed to scrap forced arbitration in individual cases of sexual harassment or assault after 20,000 Google workers staged a walkout demanding changes to how it treats employees. The walkout was prompted by a New York Times article that revealed Google had given a senior executive, Andy Rubin, a $90 million exit package even after it found he had been credibly accused of sexual harassment. The employee organizers behind the walkout demanded that Google also stop forcing employees into arbitration for other types of disputes. Google said it had decided to make the blanket change after comparing its policies with those of other companies. Employees who prefer to arbitrate privately will still have that option. Khuzami was born in Brooklyn (you cant understand the Trump presidency without understanding the resentments and cultural geography of the New York boroughs) and raised in Rochester. According to a 2013 Times DealBook story, he was born into a bohemian family, with ballroom-dancer parents, a muralist sister and a drummer brother. They joke that Robert is the white sheep in the family. He began college at the State University of New York at Geneseo before transferring to the University of Rochester. He supported himself as a dishwasher, bartender and overnight dockworker. He went to Boston University law school and his career took off. Khuzami has served through three separate intense investigations. In the 1990s he was part of the team that prosecuted Omar Abdel Rahman, the Blind Sheikh, who led a foiled plot to blow up the United Nations and other landmarks. In 2009, in the wake of the financial crash, he was named head of enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission, revitalizing a demoralized unit. And now he is part of a team taking on the president of the United States. In between his government service, hes taken lucrative private sector jobs, as general counsel for Deutsche Bank and as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis. Andy McCarthy was one of Khuzamis fellow prosecutors in the Blind Sheikh case. In his book Willful Blindness, McCarthy describes Khuzami as fearless, dogged and willing to contend with the thorniest knots of evidence. In an email to me, McCarthy wrote that Khuzami is as terrific as you may suspect he is. Over the years, Khuzamis employees have generally described him as intimidating but likable. He was intimidating after the financial crisis. In the 2011 fiscal year, for example, the S.E.C. brought a record 735 enforcement actions. In the same year, his division collected $2.8 billion in penalties and disgorgement. His critics have often come from the left. Khuzami spoke at the 2004 Republican National Convention, in defense of the Patriot Act. Some argue, plausibly, that as general counsel to Deutsche Bank from 2004 to 2009, he should have been aware of the financial shenanigans of that era. Others argue that since hes been through the revolving door between the elite firms and big government, hes actually been soft on Wall Street bigs, charging them penalties but not actually holding them responsible. Like Aesop, the other brands that have altered the way the world sees Australia mostly reside at the top end of the market. Twenty years ago, Australian fashion abroad mostly meant surf gear; now high-end brands like Zimmermann appeal to a very different beachgoer Beyonce, for instance, who has often worn its whimsical creations. The Australian cafe explosion is well documented; chains like Bill Grangers in Britain and Asia, and Bluestone Lane in the United States have raised the standard for mass market coffee and successfully made the case for breakfast as a social event. And although Yellow Tail dominated the cheap-wine market in America for a decade from the early 2000s, the past few years have seen more expensive Australian wines gain a foothold, contributing to a growing notion of Australia as a gastronomic mecca. Theres a reason the Rene Redzepis of the world rave about native ingredients like Tasmanian abalone, lantana blossoms and pink peppercorns. But even as the version of Australia sold abroad starts to look more nuanced, the real Australia is becoming increasingly myopic. Thanks to the mining boom and a strategic realignment with Asia over the past three decades, weve become very, very wealthy. At the same time, our politics have grown increasingly small. Weve turned into highly discerning consumers, eager to spend on evermore beautiful homes, wardrobes and experiences. Australia today is country, continent and concept store all in one, filled with exquisite, expensive items for an optimized life. Youd think with all that extra cash floating around we could have become a kind of super-Sweden. (Or at the very least, New Zealand.) Our politicians not only have failed on the vision thing; theyve also ignored existing problems. Take the case of our environment: This year alone, the precious southwestern wilderness of Tasmania has faced catastrophic fires during its driest January on record; in the northern city of Townsville, there have been unprecedented floods; and up to a million fish have died in the Darling River. [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] Just a day after Joaquin Guzman Loera, the drug kingpin known as El Chapo, was convicted of all 10 counts in a drug conspiracy case in Brooklyn, the Department of Justice unsealed another indictment against two of his younger sons. That brief four-page indictment, announced by the department on Thursday more than a week after it was unsealed on Feb. 13, charges Joaquin Guzman Lopez and Ovidio Guzman Lopez with one count of conspiracy to knowingly, intentionally, and willfully distribute cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana for importation into the United States. The indictment entails a period from April 2008 when their father was running the Sinaloa cartel with his partner, Ismael Zambada to April 2018. The two brothers have yet to be arrested and authorities believe that they are in Mexico. If they are arrested there, the United States would have to extradite them to bring them to trial, which would be held under Judge Rudolph Contreras of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. A. Eduardo Balarezo, one of El Chapos lawyers, questioned the timing of the indictment. The recent indictment against Joaquins two sons smacks of a concerted attempt by the government to paint the entire family as being involved in criminal activity when the only evidence they have of it is based on cooperator testimony, he said. [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] Melissa DeLoatch was standing with her six children outside a 7-Eleven in Garnerville, N.Y., on Wednesday afternoon when her husband, Sean, asked a man who was smoking nearby to move away from the children. He and the man, Jason Mendez, began to argue, the police said. Then the unthinkable happened: Mr. Mendez got into his car and drove it into the family, the police said. He reversed 20 feet, the police said, shifted back into drive and plowed into the family a second time. Ms. DeLoatch, 32, who family members said was pregnant, was killed. She put herself between the car and some of her children as she pushed the others out of the way, her brother said. Her husband and their six children, who ranged in age from 10 months to 10 years old, were injured but are all expected to survive, the police said. [Read about the events that our other critics have chosen for the week ahead.] NEIGHBORING SCENES: NEW LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA at the Film Society of Lincoln Center (Feb. 22-26). The most dogged of cinephiles will be willing to miss the Oscars to spend Sunday night watching Our Time, the new film from the Mexican provocateur Carlos Reygadas (Post Tenebras Lux) and the centerpiece of this years Neighboring Scenes. It charts a marriage disrupted when the wife (Natalia Lopez) of a rancher and poet (Reygadas) has a fling with a hired hand an affair that she believes her husband condones. That Lopez and Reygadas are married in real life gives the film a riveting voyeuristic tension. Other titles screening include Buy Me a Gun (on Saturday), a Mexican-Colombian production billed as a cross between Huckleberry Finn and Mad Max. 212-875-5601, filmlinc.org 1900 at Film Forum (Feb. 22-28). After Last Tango in Paris, Bernardo Bertolucci, who died in November, made what is either the most misguided folly or the least appreciated epic of 1970s cinema. It tells the story of two men born directly after Verdis death in 1901: Alfredo (Robert De Niro), the scion of an Italian landowning family, and Olmo (Gerard Depardieu), a bastard born to a clan of farmers in the landowners employ. They remain friends through World War II, despite Olmos Marxist skepticism of Alfredo and Alfredos fecklessness in the face of Fascists. (Donald Sutherland and Laura Betti play a couple attracted to the movements sadistic side.) As in Bertolucci films great (The Conformist) and terrible (Luna), the competing personal, operatic and social-realist impulses can be frustrating. Still, the cinematographer Vittorio Storaro didnt shoot a dull frame in this full-length, 316-minute cut, which is screening with its Italian dialogue track. 212-727-8110, filmforum.org WINTER KEPT US WARM at the Quad Cinema (Feb. 26, 7 p.m.). The title may only be familiar because of T. S. Eliot, but this low-budget, black-and-white debut feature, directed by David Secter, has its champions, who cite it as a landmark of Canadian low-budget cinema. Centered on the unvoiced yearning of two male students a freshman and a senior at the University of Toronto, the film is getting a rare screening in the Quads recurring Coming Out Again series. The noted Toronto filmmaker David Cronenberg is said to be a fan. 212-255-2243, quadcinema.com A member of the family that owns the manufacturer of OxyContin repeatedly gave testimony in a lawsuit that conflicts with details in a report by federal prosecutors, newly disclosed court papers indicate. Dr. Richard Sackler, who was once president of the company, Purdue Pharma, and is the son of one of its founders, said under oath during a pretrial deposition that he first learned from a Maine newspaper article in 2000 that OxyContin, a powerful opioid painkiller, was being abused. His statement contradicts evidence in a confidential Justice Department report from 2006 that came to light last year. In the report, prosecutors pointed to a 1999 email indicating that Mr. Sackler was told then that in internet chat rooms, drug abusers were discussing crushing and snorting OxyContin. A Purdue Pharma spokesman stood by the accuracy of Mr. Sacklers testimony and added that he was unable to comment on the claims in the Justice Department report because the company had not seen it. The deposition, in a lawsuit filed by the state of Kentucky, was given in 2015 and has been sealed since. On Thursday, two news organizations, STAT and ProPublica, published the transcript of the deposition. Since the cases settlement in 2015, Purdue Pharma has been fighting to keep the deposition secret. Want climate news in your inbox? Sign up here for Climate Fwd:, our email newsletter. WASHINGTON The Trump administration, setting the stage to move forward with one of its most consequential climate-policy rollbacks, announced Thursday that it had decided to scrap negotiations with California over the presidents plan to undo Obama-era fuel efficiency standards for c ars and light trucks . The move makes a protracted legal battle almost certain. At the heart of the talks was Californias longstanding right to opt out of national auto emissions rules and set its own tailpipe standards. State officials have vowed to sue to protect that authority if the administration tries to impose weaker federal standards on California and the dozen states that follow its lead. Xavier Becerra, the California attorney general, said Thursday the state was prepared to defend our national Clean Car standards even if the Trump administration intends to go AWOL. Under rules established by President Barack Obamas administration to cut planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes, national fuel economy standards would nearly double by 2025. The Trump administration said in August that it intended to freeze that measure after 2021, when new cars must average around 30 miles a gallon. It also said it would challenge the right of California and the states that follow its lead to set their own rules. EPAs monitoring showed that, despite taking significant steps to mitigate fugitive emissions, ambient EtO levels were as high as 350 times the allowable threshold around the Sterigenics facility, the letter added. Although we appreciate that EPA has been working with the two facilities in Lake County that use EtO to assess their emissions levels, we are disappointed the EPA has not yet begun ambient air monitoring in the areas surrounding these facilities. Ford Motor Company said on Thursday that it was investigating how it tested the emissions and fuel efficiency of its vehicles after employees reported possible flaws with the companys computer models. The company said it had notified the Environmental Protection Agency about the issue and had hired a law firm, Sidley Austin, to investigate specifications it used in the testing. Kim Pittel, group vice president for sustainability, environment and safety engineering at Ford, said that the investigation had not indicated, so far, that the company reported incorrect data to consumers or regulators. Were early days into the investigation, Ms. Pittel said in a telephone interview. But there has been no determination that this affected fuel economy labels or emissions certification. Green New Deal: A proposal by congressional Democrats for a 10-year national mobilization to make the U.S. carbon-neutral would cost trillions of dollars and probably take longer than that but it would be feasible and a major victory against global warming, experts and economists told us. Jussie Smollett: After his arrest in Chicago on Wednesday over accusations that he staged a homophobic and racist attack on himself, the actor was said to be back at work on the Fox show Empire, raising awkward questions for Fox about the future of his character and the show itself. Prosecutors have said he was upset by his salary and seeking publicity. Spain: RiFF, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Valencia, has closed indefinitely as health officials investigate the death of a woman who ate there. Spanish news outlets reported that the restaurant had been tied to as many as 28 cases of food poisoning. Space: Japans Hayabusa2 spacecraft landed on an asteroid and fired a bullet to help with the gathering of samples. And an Israeli companys lander blasted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, aiming to become the first private craft to land on the moon. Academy Awards: Our expert has been closely following the races and the voters, all season. Heres what he thinks will happen at the Oscars ceremony on Sunday. Karl Lagerfelds cat: Choupette, the designers immensely pampered and incredibly famous white Birman, is expected to receive a substantial inheritance. Its a truism that books help us imagine our way into other peoples lives, and the books on this weeks list do it in a remarkable variety of ways. Theres historical fiction that visits the relatively recent past (Tennessee Williams and his social milieu come to life in Christopher Castellanis Leading Men) and the very recent past (Thomas Mallons Landfall is a novel about George W. Bush and his presidency). Valeria Luisellis innovative new novel asks us to imagine the pain and sacrifice in the lives of those who arrive at the American border. Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom offer evocative stories about being black in America. Esme Weijun Wangs essays give us a firsthand idea of what its like to experience schizophrenia. Also this week: A look at Americas territorial empire, an ingenious satirical novel, a memoir about grief and Virginia Woolf, the biography of a powerful and influential first lady, and Elizabeth McCrackens long-awaited new novel, Bowlaway. John Williams Daily Books Editor and Staff Writer LEADING MEN, by Christopher Castellani. (Viking, $27.) Castellanis new novel reimagines the relationship between the playwright Tennessee Williams and Frank Merlo, who were together from roughly 1947 to 1963, years during which Williams composed Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and other enduring classics. In addition to expertly recreating a social milieu, Leading Men also includes thoughts about the nature of fidelity, the artistic impulse and the manifold variety of estrangements and humiliations that come with being the lover of a much more famous and talented man. The novel casts a spell right from the start, our critic Dwight Garner writes. This writers scenes glitter, and they have a strong sexual pulse. LOST CHILDREN ARCHIVE, by Valeria Luiselli. (Knopf, $27.95.) Inspired by surge in unaccompanied children at the United States-Mexico border, Lost Children Archive is a retelling of the American road novel, with a twist. An unhappily married couple take their two young children on a trip to visit the ancestral homeland of the Apaches in Arizona. The novel is organized around the boxes each family member carries along on the trip, which overflow with newspaper clippings, snapshots, research materials and nested narratives about lost children, real and invented. Luiselli drives home just how much pain and sacrifice we are prepared to accept in the lives of others, our critic Parul Sehgal writes. The novel truly becomes novel again in her hands electric, elastic, alluring, new. When Jussie Smollett reported he had been assaulted while walking in downtown Chicago, the outpouring of support was immediate and expansive. Hollywood stars, advocacy groups like GLAAD and presidential candidates expressed outrage at the incident and warmth toward Mr. Smollett. But Thursday, in the wake of his arrest, numerous public figures, some of whom had started out in his corner, returned to social media or spoke out elsewhere to give voice to their evolving sentiments on the matter. President Trump, who last week called the reported attack horrible when a reporter asked him about it in the Oval Office, tweeted a completely different response after Mr. Smollett was charged Wednesday with having filed a false police report. No matter how much free time you have this weekend, we have TV recommendations for you. Come back every Friday for new suggestions on what to watch. This Weekend I Have an Hour, and I Listen to a Lot of Podcasts This Giant Beast That Is the Global Economy When to watch: Starting Friday, on Amazon. If you like in-depth explainers with a slightly snarky vibe, try this eight-part documentary about money, hosted by Kal Penn. Adam McKay is among the shows executive producers, and it includes his brand of celebrity cameos and sardonic asides. That doesnt dull the pain, though, of the vice grip that is squeezing most of us to death while the mega-rich dance and give each other yachts. 3 Hours (And Change), and Whats All the Fuss? Our guide to dance performances happening this weekend and in the week ahead. BATTERY DANCE at Schimmel Center at Pace University (Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m.). This troupe, under the direction of Jonathan Hollander, presents an evening of repertoire featuring the premiere of Tadej Brdniks The Red Line. A former principal with the Martha Graham Dance Company, Brdnik sets his dance to music by the Syrian composer and clarinetist Kinan Azmeh. The program also includes the return of Hollanders Secrets of the Paving Stones (2003) and On Foot, which was created by the dancers with Hollanders guidance in 2017. Featuring the artwork of the Syrian-Armenian visual artist Kevork Mourad, the piece focuses on countries undergoing conflict. 212-346-1715, schimmelcenter.org FARRUQUITO at the Town Hall (Feb. 22, 8 p.m.). This famed flamenco artist returns to New York for a one-night-only performance of Farruquito, which is based on his life. It has certainly been an eventful one: A star dancer, he served three years in prison for a hit-and-run accident in Seville, Spain. In the show, for which he serves as both choreographer and composer, he includes a tribute to his grandfather, the celebrated dancer Antonio Montoya Flores, or El Farruco. The evening also brings him back to the Town Hall, where, at the age of 18, he made his New York debut in 2001. 212-997-6661, thetownhall.org FJK DANCE at John Jay College Black Box Theater (Feb. 22, 6:30 p.m.). Formed by Fadi J. Khoury and Sevin Ceviker, this contemporary group blends Argentine tango, ballroom, jazz and Middle Eastern folkloric movement. For its Black Box series, which continues monthly through August, the company takes inspiration from its weekly site-specific performance workshops for NYC Health & Hospitals/Kings County. The program will highlight Untold, a multimedia work and art installation that combines ancient Middle Eastern aesthetics with contemporary ballet and ballroom dance. A discussion following the performance will touch upon what dance can do to improve mental health. 615-810-2251, fjkdance.org Media outlets keep reporting on multiple scandals involving politicians, lawyers, business and political activists as well as foreign entities, and so far almost all those who have some kind of clout haven't gone to jail or prison! But on Thursday, an amended version of the bill ignited a firestorm with Hammond and East Chicago city leaders, removing the hold-harmless clause that mayors in both cities said they were promised in the original legislation. The bill in its current form favors Gary to the determent of other Region communities. The bill's amended language leaves any reparation payments the city of Gary might make to Hammond or East Chicago up to the discretion of Gary. It's unfair and insulting to the two other communities. Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said he and fellow East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland were promised that hold-harmless language would remain in the Senate's Gary casinos bill. When I testified and Mayor Copeland testified about this bill in the Senate committee, they specifically told us there would be hold-harmless language in the bill to keep the Hammond and East Chicago governments whole, McDermott said. I toned down my opposition to the bill because of that assurance. Now it looks like they just did it to shut me and Mayor Copeland up. This was bad faith and anti-Region. We agree. INDIANAPOLIS After controversially deleting a list of protected classes, the Indiana Senate voted 39-10 Thursday to approve legislation allowing judges to enhance a prison term when the underlying crime is motivated by bias. State Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, fulfilled his duty as sponsor to present Senate Bill 12 to the chamber, even though it no longer matches his preferred policy since it does not define bias or specifically cover groups traditionally targeted for hate crimes. "If I wanted the language to look like that, I would have put it in that way," Bohacek said. "But that's OK. The process works, and we're going to send it to the House, and the House is going to have to do something." All nine Democrats in attendance and state Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, chairman of the Public Policy Committee that shaped the comprehensive bias crime legislation Monday, voted no on the revised proposal that was gutted Tuesday on a 33-16 Senate vote. Speaking against the measure, state Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary, quoted the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as he told his colleagues that history will not forget what happened this year in the Indiana Senate. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped charges of drug-induced homicide against Trauthwein. He was also given credit toward the sentence for 615 days spent in Lake County jail since his arrest in the summer of 2017, according to Lake County States Attorneys Office spokeswoman Cynthia Vargas. INDIANAPOLIS Gov. Eric Holcomb is working from Washington, D.C. through Monday while he attends the 111th annual winter meeting of the National Governors Association. During the four-day event, the Hoosier chief executive is slated to meet with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, Holcomb's immediate predecessor as Indiana governor. Holcomb also plans to hobnob with corporate leaders who employ Hoosiers, as well as representatives from Canada and Japan two of Indiana's largest international trading partners. On Monday, Holcomb will participate in a workforce development panel at the 4th annual "Invest in America" summit at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The governor is expected to highlight Indiana's employer-led education and job training programs, and why he believes they make the Hoosier State a premier place to do business. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Chair Yoga FEB. 23, 10-11 a.m., East Chicago Public Library Pastrick Branch, 1008 W. Chicago Ave., East Chicago. 219.397.2453. ecpl.org. Yoga improves balance and coordination while bringing peace to both mind and body. A certified yoga instructor will guide participants through safe and fun exercises that can be done while sitting on a chair. Miller Woods Hike FEB. 24, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education, 100 N. Lake St., Gary. 219.395.1882. nps.gov/indu. The hike begins at the center and travels through varied habitats, including rare black oak savanna, and offers views of Lake Michigan and Chicago. Participants should wear sturdy shoes and bring water and insect repellent. Slow Flow Yoga FEB. 27, MARCH 6, 13, 20, 6-7 p.m., Schererville Community Center, 500 E. Joliet St., Schererville. 219.865.5530, ext. 6101. schererville.org. These classes connect accessible yoga postures with breath and fluid movement in a well-rounded practice. The slower pace offers new students a chance to build confidence, while more experienced students can refine the fundamentals of alignment. Backyard Games MARCH 5-APRIL 9, 4-5 p.m. Tuesdays, Eisenhower Fitness & Community Center, 2550 178th St., Lansing. 708.474.8552. lanoakparkdistrict.org. Adults can relive their childhood with their grown-up friends at this weekly hour of gameplay. Featuring a different game each week, games may include cornhole, horseshoes, kickball, ladder toss, tetherball and more. FEB. 26: Registration deadline. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 HEBRON A domestic brawl left a 1-year-old with facial injuries after the child's father became violent while demanding Xanax pills from the mother. Police responded to a domestic battery at the 100 block of Orchard Avenue in Hebron at 9 p.m. on Feb. 9. When police arrived they found an injured baby with dried blood on his face and T-shirt and a woman with several bruises and a neck injury. Nicholas Drugan, 33, of Hebron, was charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in injury, criminal confinement, strangulation and two counts of domestic battery. The mother told police the baby's father, Nicholas Drugan, became angry when she refused to give him her prescription medications, and the two began fighting over her purse that contained the medications. They ended up on the floor after the purse straps broke. The woman said Drugan allegedly hit her on the head, put his hands around her throat, held her down and refused to let her get up, the court report said. The 1-year-old baby boy was in the same room, the mother told police, and she believes Drugan elbowed the boy in the face during the struggle. A lot of blood came from the boy's nose, she said. HAMMOND A woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to robbing an East Chicago bank at gunpoint in March 2014. Ashley Patterson, 33, of East Chicago, faces a sentence of 10 years and five months in prison, according to a plea agreement. Patterson and her co-defendant, Jeremiah Ellis, were accused of robbing on March 29, 2014, the First Merchants Bank, 4740 Indianapolis Blvd., East Chicago. Police said the couple took $9,966.81 from the bank and then shot at officers who were pursuing them. According to media reports, Ellis and Patterson also shot at officers before being arrested April 4, 2014, in Missouri. Two young children were with the couple and were taken into protective custody. Patterson pleaded guilty to bank robbery and use of a firearm in relation to bank robbery, records show. As part of her plea agreement, she agreed to cooperate with authorities. Ellis remains in custody at a federal medical center in North Carolina for further evaluation of whether he will have the capacity to move forward with his case, records show. GARY A landlord entered a home late Wednesday to complete some work and discovered two people dead inside, police said. Gary police were dispatched about 8:40 p.m. to the 400 block of Jefferson Street, where they met with the landlord before entering the home, Cmdr. Jack Hamady said. The bodies of a 55-year-old man and 48-year-old woman were found in the home, he said. The woman was identified as Tracy Valentine, of Hobart, Lake County Coroner Merrilee Frey said. The man was identified as Timothy Snow, of Hammond. A coroner's release listed the manner of death as homicide, but said the cause of death was pending further investigation. The man and woman were pronounced dead about 10:15 p.m. The deaths of the two people mark the seventh and eighth homicides this year in Gary, records show. Anyone with information about the double homicide is asked to call Detective Edward Gonzalez of the Lake County/Gary Metro Homicide Unit at 219-755-3855. To remain anonymous, call 866-CRIME-GP. St. John Police Chief James Kveton did not return a call seeking comment on the report. Brannock, a teacher for 45 years, was immediately placed on leave for the way he allegedly handled the Sept. 21 incident. He retired in October. Brannock previously told The Times he never saw a gun on Daniel Lee Buckley, 40, of Dyer, who was charged with felony impersonation of a public servant. Police and school officials accused Brannock of failing to promptly report the incident and not following school protocol. Lake Central High School administrators contacted police Oct. 29 after inventorying vehicles the prior week and discovering the Toyota was missing, the report says. The SUV had been at the school during the Sept. 21 incident. An administrator contacted Brannock, who allegedly said he took the SUV the weekend after the Sept. 21 incident. He told the administrator he didn't have a key, so he hired a locksmith to make one, the report says. "Brannock advised that the vehicle was his," according to the report. Police located a receipt for the vehicle, which was valued at $8,000, on an auto shop computer. Early in this century, the FARC seemed to be gaining momentum. The evolving conflict resembled the first years of the United States long and costly military involvement in Vietnam. More and more civilian and uniformed American advisers were being sent, along with a steadily growing array of helicopters, arms and ammunition, and other materiel. It seems that 15 states do not have a grasp of the constitutional rights and responsibilities of the President. Two rulings on Article II, Section 2 guarantee that the president alone has the power without judicial review to declare an emergency. Article IV, Section 4, was framed to make sure that the president would defend the entire United States against invasion. President Trump is just trying to fulfill the duties of his sworn oath. Also, people should understand the danger in defending the border. I have two relatives (by marriage) who are border patrol agents. One of them has been killed in the line of duty. The other is still serving. Walls dont bleed and die. These excerpts from the book The Heritage Guide to The Constitution explain the constitutional right of the president to declare an emergency: Page 200, under Article II, Section 2: Its just fun, Garcia said. The project, a registered nonprofit, gives the students a chance to interact with their elders, Garcia said. She said the project also encourages students to independently research their region and tell the stories about where they live. Students can submit their videos individually or in groups after receiving written parental permission a form can be found on americanhistoryfilmproject.org, and people who are interested can email info@americanhistoryfilmproject.org with questions. Garcia is also willing to meet with anyone to answer questions, she said. She said videos can be created in a variety of ways, and the variety of genres can already be seen on the website. Despite this, Garcia hasnt found as many interested young filmmakers or educators as she had hoped since she became involved with the project. She has a number of ideas for films including the orphan trains that came through Nebraska and Native American stories that she would like to share with others. Sisters in Sobriety is an option for women who have just completed treatment. Our goal is to provide that bridge between treatment and independent living, he said. Felton said the home will give preference to women in North Platte and Region II Human Services 17 surrounding counties. While people in eastern Nebraska have already reached out to Felton and Shore, then we (wouldnt) have any room for people who are local, returning from treatment, Felton said. While the house wont completely turn away people from outside the region, those names would likely be moved to the bottom of a waiting list, he said. Felton has previously managed recovery homes for men in Hastings. He has worked on his own recovery from addiction, and has been a therapist, for more than 30 years. While Shore is not a recovering addict, Ive worked with substance abuse the 33 years Ive been in practice, she said. Felton added that hes met few therapists who are as well-versed in drug addiction as Shore. He also felt it was most appropriate for a woman to be the person in charge of a womens recovery home. Nebraska State Patrol troopers arrested a North Platte man Wednesday morning after a crash and a foot chase near Sutherland. The 35-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine, open container, and leaving the scene of an accident. About 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, the State Patrol received a report of a crash on eastbound Interstate 80 involving a tractor-trailer and a Pontiac sedan. After arriving, troopers were informed that the driver of the Pontiac had run away. Troopers tracked the suspect through the snow and over the South Platte River. They apprehended him about two miles from the accident scene. The man had received facial injuries in the crash and was showing signs of hypothermia. He was taken to Great Plains Health in North Platte. After he was medically cleared, the man was taken to Lincoln County Jail and jailed on suspicion of careless driving, leaving the scene of an accident, possession of an open alcohol container, possession of methamphetamine and obstruction. The man also had outstanding warrants from Lincoln and Lancaster counties. North Augusta, SC (29841) Today Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. High near 90F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low near 70F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Caleb Slinkard was hired as the editor of the Norman Transcript in August of 2015. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University-Commerce and previously was in charge of several newspapers in northeast Texas. Follow Caleb Slinkard Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Norman, OK (73070) Today Thunderstorms likely. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 78F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms in the evening, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. TODAY Roller Skating at UMBA Hall Skating every Friday night at the UMBA Hall in Underwood except holiday weekends or if Underwood Schools are cancelled due to weather. Fourth grade and younger may skate from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Fifth grade and older skate from 8:30 to 10 p.m. Admission is $4. No outside skates are allowed. The party room may be reserved for birthday celebrations for $30. Private skating parties are available for two hours of skating for $300. Call 712-566-2222 to reserve a time. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has reportedly been charged with soliciting a prostitute. Police in Jupiter, Florida, announced at a press conference a number of arrests in a prostitution and human trafficking sting at Orchids of Asia Day Spa massage parlor, according to WPTV in Florida. Kraft is being charged with two counts of soliciting another to commit prostitution from two separate visits to the spa, Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr said during a news conference, according to video posted at TMZ. Police said there is video evidence of those men receiving services from prostitutes. The Patriots issued a statement refuting the allegation. "We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further, team said in a statement. Kraft, 77, purchased the Patriots in 1985 for $175 million and is also the owner of the New England Revolution and the Kraft Group. Kraft lost his wife Myra to whom hed been married since 1963 in 2011. Since 2012, he has been has been in a relationship with 39-year-old Ricki Noel Lander, MassLive.com reported. The Patriots are weeks removed from winning a sixth Super Bowl under his ownership, defeating the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 on Feb. 3 in Atlanta. Edward Hynes Charter School will be allowed to give the children of University of New Orleans employees enrollment priority at its new Gentilly campus. New Orleans public charter schools are already required to reserve 25 percent of available seats for students living within a half-mile radius under the Orleans Parish School Board policy revised last year. An additional 25 percent are made available first for students who live within a schools area as defined by the OPSB. School areas are based loosely on ZIP codes. The planned Edward Hynes UNO Charter School will reserve an another 15 percent of its seats for the children of full-time UNO faculty and staff who live in Orleans Parish. Amanda Aiken, OPSBs senior chief and portfolio officer, said Tuesday that any Hynes UNO seats not claimed by UNO families would be made available to all parish applicants. The OPSB also stated the school would provide priority seating to Gentilly families. The proposed priority for UNO children comes after UNO committed to providing land for the new Hynes school. The K-8 school is set to open to 75 kindergarteners this August. The campus will open on the Jean Gordon modular campus at 6101 Chatham Drive in Gentilly. Hynes is one of the most in-demand and high-performing schools in New Orleans, but critics say its Lakeview campus lacks diversity. About 90 percent of residents in the 70124 ZIP code, which includes Lakeview, identify as white, according to 2017 Census Bureau estimates. Nearly 5 percent of residents in that ZIP code identify as black. Aiken said Hynes UNO is intended to provide more access to low-income and minority families living in ZIP codes 70126 and 70122, where, respectively, 92 percent and 80 percent of residents identify as black. Hynes Charter wants to reserve seats for children of UNO staff at new Gentilly campus A total of 432 full-time UNO employees live Orleans Parish, according to UNO spokesman Adam Norris Thursday (Feb. 21). Sixty-six percent of them identify as white. More than 23 percent of employees identify as black, about 3 percent identify as Hispanic and about 5 percent identify as Asian. 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 The OPSB on Thursday voted unanimously to approve its charter contract with Hynes. The Board of Supervisors of the University of Louisiana System, which manages UNO, will review the universitys plan to lease space to Hynes on Friday. The charter organization would pay UNO a dollar a year to use the space, according to UNOs contract with Hynes. On Thursday, the OPSB listened to several comments from residents who opposed the enrollment priority. Uptown resident Emma Maxwell said this priority doesnt help working class families. Resident Wanda Herbert-Romain said she couldnt applaud this venture, and stressed OPSB needs to launch more initiatives with universities in the city to serve more students. Lona Hankins, a parent and former Louisiana Recovery School District employee, said the contract itself doesnt mention if the school will serve the aforementioned ZIP Codes. Resident Ashana Bigard praised Hynes after touring the Lakeview campus, but she said shes worried Hynes could discriminate against poor and black students. Other residents spoke in favor of the deal. Hynes teacher Anne Kramer spoke in support for the UNO partnership because itll give more quality seats to students in the city. A UNO employee said this partnership will ensure his child will get a seat in a quality school. Hynes isnt the first New Orleans charter with enrollment priorities for the children of university employees. Tulane University provided $1.6 million to Lusher Charter School to ensure Lusher could reopen its K-12 school in Uptown New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Lusher in turn opened seats to the children of Tulane faculty and staff. A percentage of Lusher openings are still reserved for the children of Tulane employees who meet admissions criteria. Wilborn P. Nobles III is an education reporter based in New Orleans. He can be reached at wnobles@nola.com or on Twitter at @WilNobles. Clements was shot after an hour-long standoff with Elgin police in which she refused to leave her vehicle after being stopped on I-90. The shooting occurred after she set her SUV on fire and then exited it with a knife in her hand, as seen in video taken from squad car and police body cameras that was released to the public. A 27-year-old man is accused of killing two people in New Orleans within 14-months of his release from a Louisiana prison, where he had served time in connection to the death of a third person, Orleans Parish prosecutors said. An Orleans Parish grand jury on Thursday (Feb. 21) handed up the murder indictment against Darnell Braud based on allegations he killed 22-year-old Peter Oatis Jr. on Nov. 2, 2017, about seven months after Brauds April 2017 release on parole, according to a news release from Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaros office. Braud had not previously been publicly accused in that case. Braud had already been jailed since July, though, following his arrest and subsequent indictment in connection to the shooting death of 29-year-old Jarivas Jarrow, who was shot dead about six months after Oatis was killed. While taking his child to school, a New Orleans man is gunned down in front of his family Braud was on parole at the time of the shooting deaths of both Oatis and Jarrow. The parole and his prison sentence stemmed from a 2008 manslaughter conviction in connection to Sept. 30, 2007, fatal shooting of 18-year-old Warren Martin. Braud was 16 years old when Martin was killed. Braud was initially charged with second-degree murder in Martins death before he pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Braud faces a charge of first-degree murder in Oatis death. Oatis was found fatally shot in the near the Seabrook Bridge, officially named the Senator Ted Hickey Bridge, in New Orleans East. Oatis aunt had reported him missing two days after his body was found, New Orleans police have said. The DAs office said DNA helped connect Braud to Oatis homicide. First-degree murder applies when someone commits a second-degree murder along with another felony. The DAs office listed obstruction of justice as the additional felony. 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 Braud faces a first-degree murder charge in Jarrows death, as well. Jarrow was shot dead May 24, 2018, outside his home in the Leonidas neighborhood. He was killed in front of his 1- and 2-year-old sons, just before taking the older child to school, his girlfriend Trichelle Harris told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. A warrant for Brauds arrest in the case states Jarrow was shot by a masked man, but witnesses saw a car Braud was known to drive flee the scene with the gunman. Another witness later told investigators Braud told him he killed Jarrow. According to the warrant, Braud told the witness he and Jarrow had gotten into an argument at a nearby corner store the morning of the shooting. The DAs office is not pursuing the death penalty in either of the first-degree murder cases pending against Braud. Braud, who the DAs office noted, stands accused of murder for the third time in his life, is currently scheduled to stand trial on April 2 in the murder of Jarrow, in a case overseen by Orleans Criminal District Judge Franz Zibilich. Man accused of murder in May fatal shooting was on parole after manslaughter conviction Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Peter Oatis was on parole during Oatis and Jarivas Jarrows shooting deaths. Darnell Braud was on parole during Oatis and Jarrows shooting deaths for which police and prosecutors say Braud is responsible. James Jim OHern, an investigator with the Orleans Parish District Attorneys Office since 2012, died Wednesday (Feb. 20) at his home after a six-month battle with brain cancer, the DAs office said. He was 65. OHern joined the DAs office following his retirement from the New Orleans Police Department, where he served as officer and detective for 15 years, according to a news release from Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaros office. Before joining NOPD, he worked as an Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office deputy. "Jim O'Hern was one of the finest law enforcement officers ever to commit his life to public service in New Orleans," Cannizzaro said in a statement. "He was a man of unimpeachable integrity, dedication and kindness. OHern investigated major cases for the DAs office, and his expertise proved invaluable in the rape case against former New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence, and in the apprehension of murder suspect Robert Durst, who gained infamy from the HBO documentary, The Jinx, among dozens of other cases, the DAs office said. At crime scenes, he was recognizable for his dapper suits and a wide assortment of fedoras," the release 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 Born in Montgomery, Ala, OHern was raised there and in Sierra Vista, Ariz. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps at 17 and retired after more than 20 years at the rank of Master Sergeant. (OHern) served his country with valor as a United States Marine, and brought that same sense of duty and honor to his work on behalf of public safety in New Orleans, Cannizzaro said. OHern is survived by his wife, Belinda, who he wed in August 2017; his son, Patrick; his stepdaughter, Katherine Brunty Troth and husband Austin; his stepson Allen Smith, his granddaughter Emily OHern; and other relatives. Visitation is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday (March 9), at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, with a funeral service to follow. Friends are invited to gather afterward, from 3 to 7 p.m., at the Boondock Saint, 731 St. Peter St., with a second-line to follow. Kenneth Kenny Knight, longtime adviser for former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, was sentenced on Thursday (Feb. 21) to serve five years in federal prison related to charges that he ran a pill mill clinic in New Orleans East. Knight pleaded guilty Jan. 5, 2017, to conspiring with others to dispense oxycodone and hydrocodone outside the scope of a professional practice, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Peter Strassers office. The Axcess Medical Clinic, which he owned and operated, provided the illegal prescriptions for opioids, federal court records show. U.S. District Judge Barry Ashe also sentenced Knight to pay a $15,000 fine and was ordered to three years of supervised release following his release from prison. Ashe ordered the maximum amount of prison time Knights conviction allowed. Knight operated several pain management medical clinics, including locations in Harahan and Picayune, Mississippi, records show. DEA agents began surveillance of the New Orleans clinic in the fall of 2014, shortly after Axcess moved its Mississippi location to a suite at 9954 Lake Forest Boulevard, according to a factual basis filed in federal court. Prosecutors said Knight conspired with Dr. Barbara A. Bruce and Theresa Tammy Schlosse, a certified medical assistant, and others to illegally provide patients with prescriptions for addictive painkillers. Kenny Knight pleads guilty to running 'pill mill' clinic Knight directed Bruce to write prescriptions without examining patients and split half the profits with Bruce, states the factual basis, which Knight acknowledged with his guilty plea. Bruce was sentenced last last year to two-and-a-half years in federal prison. 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 According to The New Orleans Advocate, Knight told Ashe at his sentencing hearing he did not intend to hurt anyone asked for forgiveness. The people who arent in the room are the victims of the opioid crisis. And we havent even heard from them, Ashe told him, the newspaper reported. The DEA's undercover investigation of the clinic involved at least one agent and two confidential sources acting as patients. During each office visit, the patients working undercover paid clinic staff $300 for an initial visit and $240 for follow-up visits. Though the patients often did not actually see Bruce during their visits, they received written prescriptions for various pain medications, often through Schlosser. Knight was an officer in the National Organization for European American Rights, a predecessor to the European-American Unity and Rights Organization, which is the white nationalist group started by Duke, records show. Knight denied his membership to the latter group in 2015 when reports surfaced about a 2002 meeting in Metairie of EURO at which U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise accepted Knights invitation to speak. Scalise said then speaking at the groups meeting was a mistake I regret, and that he did not realize then the type of organization he was addressing. Duke, Knights friend and fellow federal convict imprisoned on tax evasion charges, addressed the conference remotely. Staff writer Laura McKnight contributed to this report. The approximately 2-year-old male mountain lion had become a regular presence in the town and appeared unafraid of humans, authorities said. Prosecutors say Gilmore and Ormond displayed a loaded 9mm handgun May 15, 2017, and demanded more than $500 in cash, lottery scratch-off tickets and cigarettes from the clerk at a Speedway station in Hampshire. Gilmore dealt with the clerk and Ormond served as the lookout, the release said. UPDATE (Friday, 9:37 p.m.): ESPNs Jeff Passan reports the Phillies are not expected to close a deal with Bryce Harper on Friday, while MLB Networks Jon Heyman reports the Giants, Padres and Nationals are still in the game to varying degrees. Barring something completely unexpected, Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies will not be consummating a deal tonight, league sources tell ESPN. Owner John Middleton is in Las Vegas for more of a meet-and-greet than a sign-a-deal, sources said. Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 23, 2019 While Philly appears to be in strong position, word is there is no deal yet with Bryce, and no expectation he will be returning east with Phillies owner John Middleton. Just a meeting, is the official word. SF, SD, Wash, maybe 1 more still in the game to varying degrees. Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 23, 2019 Chisox wouldnt hang up if Harper were to call but they are not in aggressive pursuit. They made a sincere try for Machado but believe the numbers are getting too high for Harper. Saw MM, who also would have played 3B for them, as better positional and $ fit. Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 23, 2019 While Nats owner Mark Lerner, in saying theyre moving on, left door open a crack, father Ted is a wild card and Nats people would prefer Harper go anywhere but Philly, it feels now like SF, SD and maybe even the dreaded mystery team r bigger threats to favored Phils. Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 23, 2019 The biggest question no longer seems to be whether Bryce Harper will ultimately sign with the Philadelphia #Phillies, but just how big of a check John Middleton will be writing. Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 23, 2019 UPDATE (Friday, 9:15 p.m.): NBC Sports Philadelphias Jim Salisbury reports the plane of Phillies owner John Middleton is on the ground in Las Vegas, which is Bryce Harpers hometown. A source in Las Vegas tells me that Phillies owner John Middletons plane is on the ground in that city. Vegas is Bryce Harpers home town. No other details, but talks clearly ongoing. Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS) February 23, 2019 Can confirm @JSalisburyNBCSs report that John Middletons private jet is in Las Vegas, home to Bryce Harper. Its unclear who from the Phillies organization was on the plane. Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) February 23, 2019 Phillies owner John Middleton appears to be flying solo (or at least hes at the Bryce Vegas meeting w/o MacPhail/Klentak). Phils have long felt like favorite, thanks to great park (esp for lefty sluggers), improving team and of course stupid $. JM obvs hoping to close deal. Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 23, 2019 UPDATE (Friday, 2:40 p.m.): Philly.coms Matt Breen reports the Phillies still believe they will land Bryce Harper. The Phillies, according to a source, continue to feel confident they will sign Harper. UPDATE (Friday, 10:25 a.m.): NBC Sports Washington reports the Nationals have moved on from Bryce Harper. Nothings certainly changed on our end, owner Mark Lerner told NBC Sports Washington Friday. Weve moved on. As I said back then and we had to. There was no way we could wait around. Bryce, Im sure will make his decision hopefully in the next few days, but weve filled out our roster and like I said, we wish him nothing but the best ... We really havent heard from them in a couple months. After passing (or missing, depending on your point of view) on free-agent third baseman Manny Machado, the Philadelphia Phillies appear to be all-in on free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper. But according to MLB Networks Jon Heyman, the feeling isnt mutual. Jon Heyman on WFAN: "I've heard from a number of people that don't talk to Scott Boras that (Bryce Harper) is not that enamored with Philly... he's been there enough to have an impression... Philly is an acquired taste... Philly would not be near his top choice." Ben Livingston (@bliv94) February 21, 2019 However NBC Sports Philadelphias Jim Salisbury reports the rumors of Harper not wanting to come to Philadelphia are just plain wrong. Are the rumors true? No, a person close to the free-agent slugger told us this week. Harper, the person said, has no aversion to playing in Philadelphia. Salisbury appeared Thursday on 94WIP and explained the main motivation in Harpers decision-making process: I do believe its all about money. Ive heard the reports and the rumble that he doesnt want to play in Philadelphia. Ive asked people that are very, very close to him if thats true and they say that its not true. Phillies fans are desperate for Harper to sign with Philadelphia. Check out the message construction workers in Cherry Hill, N.J. (a Philadelphia suburb) spelled out while working on a water main break, per NBC10 Philadelphia: Construction crews in Cherry Hill had a message for #SkyForce10, the @Phillies and @Bharper3407 while working on a water main break along Route 70 eastbound. #SignHarper #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/p4Z9CTcoTF NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) February 21, 2019 Harper may have no choice but to sign with the Phillies. 670 The Score in Chicago reports the White Sox will not bid on Harper, after deciding that $300 million was too much to spend on any player. Plan your trip to spring training: Travel services at TripAdvisor, Cheapflights.com, Uber, Priceline, Expedia, Orbitz. The San Diego Padres, who signed Machado to that 10-year, $300 million contract, have not ruled out signing" Harper, according to Heyman. But really, can a small-market team like the Padres afford two 26-year-old All-Stars making at least $30 million per season? Heyman reports the Washington Nationals shouldnt be discounted, but they dont appear willing to budge on the $300 million offer they made before the end of the regular season. The San Francisco Giants have appeared uncomfortable with giving Harper a long-term contract, per MLB.com. The Giants have expressed interest in Harper, but many believe they only are willing to offer a lucrative short-term contract. It is difficult to believe Harper would accept a short-term deal, even with a high average annual value. So that leaves Harper and agent Scott Boras with just the Phillies, unless a mystery team jumps in at the 11th hour. Matt Breen of Philly.com reports the Phillies are confident they will sign Bryce Harper. The Phillies, according to a source, are confident they will sign Bryce Harper as they have ramped up their negotiations with the outfielder after being motivated by losing out on Manny Machado. Heyman reports the Phillies total focus" is on Harper, who is is looking to get more than the $325 million Giancarlo Stanton received from the Marlins before being traded to the Yankees. A 24-year-old former New Jersey postal worker faces up to 15 years in prison after admitting she accepted cash to steal envelopes containing credit cards. Kyanne Costley, 24, of Newark, received $100 for each card from a man she knew only by an alias and pocketed a total of $1,750, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in a statement. She pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Newark to accepting bribes. Costley, who worked as a mail carrier in Elizabeth, took the envelopes while delivering mail between September 2017 and February 2018. She is scheduled to be sentenced May 29. The man accused of bribing Kostley - Moussa Dagno, of East Orange - was arrested in February 2018 and charged with bribery and theft of mail. The pair met in Bloomfield and Newark on multiple occasions to exchange the credit cards for cash, according to court papers. Those charges remain pending. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison after admitting his role in armed robberies of three South Jersey businesses, the U.S. Attorneys office announced Friday. Terrance Robinson, 32, of Havertown, previously pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence for robberies at two banks and a convenience store in 2017. Robinson teamed up with Jeffrey Edmonds, 45, of Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, to pull off the jobs, officials revealed. Edmonds already pleaded guilty for his roles in the robberies, and sentencing is scheduled for March 1. The pair drove to a store in Upper Pittsgrove Township on Nov. 1, 2017, stopping along the way to remove their license plate and pick up a handgun. Edmonds remained at the wheel while Robinson entered the store with the gun and left with cash. Their next targets were an Ocean First Bank in Upper Deerfield Township on Nov, 6, 2017, and a Fulton Savings Bank in Alloway Township on Nov. 14. For those robberies, Robinson remained in the car and Edmonds entered the bank with a gun. In addition to a sentence of 147 months in federal prison, U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle sentenced Robinson to 5 years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $13,527 in restitution. Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Cory Booker, the New Jersey U.S. senator and Democratic presidential hopeful, recently spent three days campaigning in New Hampshire as taxpayers continued to pay him his full government salary and benefits. Are we getting our money's worth from Booker? I say, No. In what profession, other than politics, can you leave your work and obligations undone, while receiving full compensation in a tryout for another job? It isnt like Booker needs our money. He built up a war chest by accepting very generous donations from some industries with then-pending legislation which, if it had passed, could have reduced their profits. Big Pharma was apparently so secure that Booker would oppose a failed 2017 bill allowing consumer importation of lower-priced prescriptions from Canada that they handed him more than $220,000 in Senate campaign contributions. Booker had a Hallelujah!, come-to-Jesus moment earlier this year when he saw how that would play in Peoria during a presidential run. He belatedly renounced his sellout (by co-sponsoring new legislation to allow the drug imports). But, most importantly, he didnt return the earlier drug-company contributions. I'm thinking of telling my boss I'll be traveling the country looking for another job but I would like to be fully compensated even though I wont be doing any work. It worked for Cory, so maybe it will work for me. If not, Plan B is to ask New Jerseys other U.S. senator, Bob Menendez, to find me a rich friend who would provide the same kind of gifts that he received from Dr. Salomon Melgen, who has been convicted of Medicare fraud. Unlike Sen. Menendez, I would prefer not to violate my code of ethics. Carol Rhodes, Barnsboro Merge N.J. school districts and save As someone involved with the senior community and as an advocate for elder residents, I know the challenges seniors face every day due to the high cost of living in New Jersey. I would like to see some changes in our state, and one that is long overdue is the merging of school districts. There are approximately 600 New Jersey school districts, which is senseless when there arent even 600 towns in the state. There is no rational reason for this many school districts, and it costs taxpayers more money every year. I agree with state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, who wants to require some of these districts to consolidate in a way that would save taxpayers money but wouldnt disrupt the childrens education. This is a much better and practical approach than what we have now, and one that deserves strong public support. Leona Mather, Elk Township Editors note: The writer is employed by Gloucester County government as executive director of its senior services division. Send a letter to the editor of South Jersey Times at sjletters@njadvancemedia.com Calling them dangerous, a state senator said she wants to act on the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics and ban the sale of baby walkers in New Jersey. While manufacturers have attempted to make infant walkers a little bit safer, theyre proven to pose a danger to infants and hurt their physical development, state Sen. Linda Greenstein, D-Middlesex, said during a hearing on her proposal to take the products off of store shelves. If you get to a staircase you can tumble down, and many babies have. If you get to a swimming pool, you can tumble in, Greenstein said last week. And you can hurt yourself in many different ways. Theyre dangerous. The state Senate Law and Public Safety Committee approved the bill (S3122) by a 4-1 vote last week. It does not have a sponsor in the Assembly. State Sen. Declan OScanlon, R-Monmouth, the only no vote, said the libertarian in me cant possibly vote for what I consider to be pre-emption of parental discretion and responsibility. Baby walkers resemble a round saucer on wheels that allow children who arent yet able to walk to move around. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended they be pulled nearly three decades ago because of reported injuries and deaths. Theres really not much good to them except that theyre a bit of a babysitting device, I think, Greenstein said. A study, based on data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, found that more than 230,000 children under 15 months old went to the emergency room for injuries related to baby walkers between 1990 and 2014. The vast majority of injuries were to their head or necks and most were caused by falling down the stairs. Nearly four in 10 children actually admitted suffered a skull fracture, the report said. The study also found injuries fell dramatically after manufactures made design changes to improve safety and again when federal safety standards were adopted in 2010. Makers of infant walkers voluntarily tightened safety standards in the 1990s that cut injuries by almost 90 percent, and remaining injuries were from older models that do not meet the new standards, according to Alexandra Esielonis, a representative from the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association. Merchants who violate the proposed ban would be subject to a $10,000 fine for the first offense and $20,000 for subsequent offenses, according to the bill. The full state Senate and state Assembly both of which are controlled by Democrats would both need to pass the measure before Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy could decide whether to sign it into law or veto it. Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. A teacher at a nursery school was fired after an incident involving a child on Thursday morning, according to an attorney representing the Ocean County school. Though the mother of a different child claimed in a Facebook post that she saw the female teacher slap the student, Manchester police said the interaction at Hilltop Nursery on Route 37 was captured on video and the child was not slapped, struck or assaulted. Slapped, struck or assault have very implicit meanings and none of that occurred according to the video, Capt. Todd Malland wrote in an email to NJ Advance Media. He declined to further describe the interaction between the teacher and child. Police are investigating along the Ocean County Prosecutors Office and the New Jersey Department of Children and Families institutional abuse investigations unit. Robert Allen, an attorney who represents the school, said by phone Friday that Hilltop has been a family-owned business for about 30 years. "Hilltop is a great place with great people and parents who have sent their children to school there will say the same thing, Allen said. In a statement Allen wrote, the child was not harmed but the conduct of the teacher was not acceptable and consequently the teacher was dismissed. We regret that the incident took place and want to assure all of our families that our students safety and well being remains our utmost concern. Allen added that the matter is being fully and appropriately addressed. A spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutors Office didnt immediately respond to a request for additional information. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. A New York admitted Thursday to participating in an ATM skimming scheme that stole $428,581 from New Jersey banks using card-reading devices and pinhole cameras, authorities said. Bogdan Rusu, 39, of Queens, pleaded guilty in federal court in Newark to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He faces a $1 million fine and up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced on July 1, said U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito. Rusu and others defrauded banks and their customers by illegally obtaining customer account numbers and personal identification numbers, authorities said. Eleven others charged in the scheme have pleaded guilty, the U.S. Attorney said. The criminal complaint states skimming devices were installed onto the card-reader interfaces of bank ATMs and bank vestibule doors. The devices recorded information contained in the magnetic strip of customers cards when they swiped at the door or the machine. The thieves also installed pinhole cameras concealed within overlay plates designed to blend in with the banks existing ATM components, the complaint states. The cameras recorded bank customers as they entered their pins. The thieves then created their own ATM cards and passed them around to co-conspirators who in turn used the counterfeit cards to make unauthorized ATM withdrawals, the complaint states. The complaint does not name the banks where the devices were installed. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. In reaction to urgent pleas from residents and local officials, the state took its first action Friday to stop dumping at the site of 75-foot tall pile of dirt and debris in North Jersey. New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, acting on behalf of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, filed an order in Superior Court that would halt all activities at the Vernon township dump site, force the property owner to identify all the materials in the massive pile and allow the state to do its own testing of the dirt and debris. State law is crystal clear: No one has a right to operate an unlicensed solid waste dump, and especially not in a residential area, Grewal said. So today, were going after an operator to stop building his 75-foot-high pile of soil and solid waste and start removal of contaminantsimmediately." The action comes a week after NJ Advance Media published a lengthy report on how residents and local officials have fought for years to stop the dumping that has created the 7-story tall mountain of dirt and debris. The pile, on land owned by longtime Vernon resident Joseph Wallace, has been at the center of a growing controversy in the otherwise quiet mountain town. Wallace, who pled guilty to six counts of illegal dumping in New York in 2017, insisted to NJ Advance Media that the material he is bringing onto the property is clean and poses no hazards to the community. But on Feb. 15, the NJDEP determined that soil that had fallen off Wallaces pile and onto a neighboring property contained levels lead and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) above the states residential standards. That finding classified the soil as solid waste under state law, and on that basis the NJDEP classified the pile as an unlicensed solid waste facility. The court action comes after the NJDEP issued two notices of violation to Wallace on Wednesday. The first notice was for operating an unlicensed solid waste facility, and the second was not not allowing NJDEP officials onto the property. [NJDEP] has done more, relative to this site, in the last eight months then had occurred in the last eight years, said Shawn LaTourette, the NJDEPs deputy commissioner for legal and regulatory affairs. LaTourette stressed that while the lead and PAH levels were above residential standards, they were still relatively low and did not constitute a public health emergency. After the news broke on Friday, NJDEP officials were seen in Vernon near the dirt pile handing out warning letters to dump truck drivers. The letters warned drivers that if they dump at Wallaces property, the companies they work for may be subjected to fines. Right now, DEP officials in Vernon are handing out these warning letters to dump truck drivers headed to the dirt pile pic.twitter.com/tCHCqKyIbr Michael Sol Warren (@MSolDub) February 22, 2019 Since 2014, the Sussex County Soil Conservation District has placed two stop work orders on Wallace. Last year, the soil district took Wallace to court for stop work order violations; Wallace was fined $75,000 in May. He has since appealed the fine, the case is ongoing. Vernon officials have issued more than 70 municipal summonses to Wallace since last May. A trial date for those summonses has not yet been scheduled. Government at all levels are working together to stop this menace, said Vernon Mayor Harry Shortway. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-5th District,) who has been a vocal champion for Wallaces neighbors, said he was encouraged by the states actions but stressed that this was just a first step. If the next phase of testing confirms these initial results, we will need a clear timetable for core testing, enforcement, potential remediation, compensation for residents, and a detailed plan to address any ongoing health risks to families, Rep. Gottheimer said. Additionally, should the facts bear out, Mr. Wallace must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The ongoing saga of the dirt pile received attention in Trenton last week. Three Republican state lawmakers representing Vernon pledged their support for S1683, a bill sponsored by state Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex) that would place stricter regulations on New Jerseys solid waste industry. The three lawmakers --- state Sen. Steve Oroho, Asm. Hal Wirths and Asm. Parker Space --- issued a joint statement on Friday praising the NJDEPs actions. We always believed the [NJDEP] was the most appropriate enforcement authority to address this matter and we know their latest actions are greeted with a certain sense of relief in the community at-large, the lawmakers said. Clearly, the immediate cessation of any more dumping on the site while the waste pile is being thoroughly tested is a must. Read the full complaint filed by the state Attorney General below: This story was updated at 1:32 pm to include the warning letter being distributed in Vernon by NJDEP officials. Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MSolDub. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Martinez will talk about what people can do at the grassroots level to protect the planet as part of a series of Earth Month events. He is the youth director for the climate and social justice group Earth Guardians, and his activism has taken him around the world to talk about climate change. The man accused of striking and killing a beloved vice principal during a street race last fall was indicted Friday. Freddy S. Garcia Jr., 22, of Piscataway, has been indicted on counts of aggravated manslaughter, vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a fatal accident, causing a death while driving with a suspended license, three counts of hindering apprehension and making false reports to law enforcement. Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey says Garcia was behind the wheel of a vehicle during a street race in Piscataway the night of Oct. 6, 2018. That night, on Stelton Road, Garcia lost control of a 2003 Honda Accord, striking and killing Tyrone Harrison, 49. Harrison, the former vice principal of New Brunswick High School, had just transferred to McKinley Community School, a preK-8 school in the school district. Harrison, a former Ohio State fullback, was walking to a relatives house in Piscataway after getting off at the Edison train station about a mile from the town border. After the collision, Garcia fled the scene and ditched his car, authorities allege. Later, he reported the unregistered, uninsured vehicle as stolen, trying to deceive investigators. He also received a motor vehicle summons for fictitious license plates on the Accord. Another man was arrested in the case after investigators learned he altered social media posts to make it harder to learn who was driving the car that hit Harrison. The case remains under investigation, and police ask anyone with further information about the incident to call Officer Meredith Robbins at 732-562-7652 or Detective Jonathan Berman at 732-745-4328. Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Kyle Valdez was a certified scuba diver, black belt in karate and honors student who was headed to Drexel University to study biomedical engineering. Last April, though, he did ecstasy with another teen and died in the front seat of a vehicle parked at a Bucks County, Pennsylvania pizza parlor. The Falls, Pa. resident was 18. The teen who supplied the drug, Jacob Jasper, 18, was recently sent to a juvenile justice facility after a court hearing in which he was found delinquent of drug delivery resulting in death and involuntary manslaughter, and related drug charges. Jasper, of Lower Makefield, was 17 last April, and his case was handled in juvenile court, but the Bucks County District Attorneys Office is publicizing it because they believe its the first successful prosecution for drug delivery resulting in death in Pennsylvania for ecstasy, which is known also as MDMA or Molly. The public should know heroin and other opioids are not the only dangerous drugs on our streets. Stimulants like MDMA can also cause fatal overdoses, and the people pushing those drugs are going to be on the hook for it, Deputy District Attorney David A. Keightly said in a statement. Unfortunately, those realizations came too late for the young men in this case, he said. Jasper will get extensive treatment in the facility, where hell be regularly re-evaluated and could stay in its custody until hes 21. He also has to pay $18,708 to Valdezs family, the district attorneys office said. Jasper worked at the pizza restaurant where Valdez died. The district attorneys office said Jasper arrived late to work on April 14 and told fellow employees he used Molly the night before and wanted to stay high. Detectives later found he received a shipment of the drug the day before for which he used anonymizing software to purchase online. At 2:30 p.m. that day, Jasper repeatedly asked a female co-worker and Valdez, who worked at a nearby business and was visiting her, to use MDMA with him in his car, the office said. Valdez eventually went with Jasper and the two snorted it. At about 5 p.m., the two went back to Jaspers car and smoked from Jaspers Juul device. Court papers say Jasper later told police that Valdez seemed anxious and was sniffing a lot. Jasper got off his shift at about 9:30 p.m. and found Valdez unresponsive in the passenger seat. But he did not dial 911. He called his female coworker, the district attorneys office said, and while unleashing a slew of curse words, said he wanted Valdez out of his car and did not want to call police. Witnesses told responding police officers that at about 10 p.m., someone finally called 911 and Jaspers main mission at that point was hiding his backpack from the cops because it contained drugs. When police arrived, Valdez had been dead for some time. He was born in Trenton, New Jersey and lived in Falls his entire life. He was a senior at Pennsbury High School when he died. Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Jersey City is set to install more than 80 new speed humps throughout the city this year. The traffic calming measures will be built in all six wards of the city, although the Bergen-Lafayette and West Side neighborhoods will receive the most. A total of 21 humps will be installed in Ward F, while 16 will be built in Ward B. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop said in a statement that members of the community provided recommendations on where the humps are most needed. Meanwhile, 14 humps will be installed on the streets of Ward A, while another 14 will be build in Ward C. Ward D is set to receive 12 speed humps, and Ward E which encompasses Downtown Jersey City will get just four. The effort comes as the city continues to implement its Vision Zero Action Plan, a 77-point proposal aimed at eradicating traffic fatalities by 2026. In February 2018, Jersey City became the first municipality in New Jersey to adopt the Vision Zero strategy, which began in Sweden in the 1990s and has since spread to cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. FULL LIST OF SPEED HUMP LOCATIONS The action plan asserts the must city prioritize traffic safety projects on the high injury network, a 31-mile collection of city-controlled streets on which 38 people have died and at least 125 serious injury crashes have taken place in the last decade. Ten of the countys 23 traffic fatalities in 2018 were in Jersey City. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft faces two counts of soliciting prostitution in Florida after police busted an alleged human trafficking ring at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Fla. The spa is owned by 58-year-old Hua Zhang, who reportedly is facing nearly 30 charges following the investigation. According to its website, Orchids of Asia Day spa: "Provides massage therapy that will ease sore muscles, stiff necks, and other aches you may be experiencing. We offer a variety of massage modalities including Body & Facial Massage, Holistic Massage Therapy and Value Packages, all in a serene and relaxing environment. Also, there are private (quiet) and clean rooms and soft music for you. Come to take a top quality massage service! Online reviews insinuated Orchids of Asia Day Spa is a place for paid sex, and an investigation of the parlors garbage revealed bodily fluids, according to a report from Treasure Coast Newspapers. The Patriots released this statement on their owners behalf: We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further. Police found women were engaging in sexual acts, averaging eight clients a day and 1,500 men a year, with no days off, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told the Orlando Sentinel. USA Today reports acts were captured on surveillance video and TMZ reports there is video evidence from body cams. The Boston Globe details whats on the video. According to TMZ, the operation was investigating human trafficking over a period of about eight months. Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook. This story was originally published by Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization covering public education. Sign up for their newsletters here: chalkbeat.org/newsletter A new school-attendance squad is on the job in Newark, ready to phone families and track down truant students. More than 40 new attendance counselors and truancy officers made their official debut this week part of a campaign by Superintendent Roger Leon to curb rampant absenteeism in the district. The linchpin of Leons approach is the rehiring of the attendance workers, who were laid off nearly six years ago amid questions about their effectiveness. The employees some new and some returning will help craft school attendance plans, contact families, and bring truant students back to class with the help of Newark police officers. They have their work cut out for them: Nearly a quarter of students have already missed about two weeks or more of school since September, according to district officials. In his drive to boost attendance, Leon also launched a back-to-school campaign last fall and eliminated some early-dismissal days when students tend to skip class. At a school board meeting Tuesday, Leon said those efforts have resulted in fewer chronically absent students who miss 10 percent or more of school days for any reason. So far this school year, 23 percent of students are chronically absent, down from 30.5 percent during the same period the previous school year, he said. Right now, were in a really, really good place, Leon told the board. Having hired these attendance officers will get us where we need to go. A long to-do list awaits the attendance workers, who will earn between $53,000 and $95,531, according to a district job posting. They will create daily attendance reports for schools, call or visit families of absent students, and make sure students who are frequently out of school start showing up on time. They will also be tasked with enforcing the states truancy laws, which authorize attendance officers to arrest habitually truant students and allow their parents or guardians to be fined. Newarks attendance counselors will gather evidence for potential legal actions, deliver legal notices to students homes, and appear in court when required, according to the job posting. The district is also establishing a new truancy task force to track down truant students, as required by state law. The task force will include both district employees and police officers who will patrol the streets searching for truants to transport back to school. The teams will be going up and down every one of our corridors and getting kids in school, Leon said Tuesday, adding that they will eventually be provided buses. Criminal-justice reform advocates across the country have criticized state laws, like New Jerseys, which criminalize truancy. As a result of such laws, parents can face fines or even jail time and students can be put on probation or removed from their homes. Meanwhile, a 2011 study found that truant students who faced legal action were more likely to earn lower grades and drop out of school than truant students who did not face those sanctions. While truancy laws may be on the books, districts have discretion in how they enforce them. Peter Chen, a policy counsel for Advocates for Children of New Jersey, has studied absenteeism in Newark and said he did not know how the districts new attendance workers would carry out the law. But he cautioned against punitive strategies, such as issuing court summonses or suspending frequently absent students, which can temporarily boost attendance but eventually drive students further away from school. Once the school is viewed as the enemy, as somebody who is out to get the student, its incredibly difficult to rebuild a trusting relationship, he said. And what we see time and again is that a trusting relationship between a school and a family or student is a critical component to building a school-wide attendance strategy that works. Superintendent Leon declined to be interviewed after Tuesdays board meeting, saying he would answer written questions. As of Wednesday evening, he had not responded to those questions. At the meeting, he did not rule out the possibility of the districts truancy officers making arrests. But he said the police officers job was not to arrest truant students, only to protect the attendance workers. I need to make sure that any staff members that we hire are safe, he said. In 2013, then-Superintendent Cami Anderson laid off all 46 of the districts attendance counselors. She attributed the decision to budget constraints and limited evidence that the counselors had improved attendance. The district shifted the counselors responsibilities to school-based teams that included administrators, social workers, and teachers. Critics said the district was expecting schools to do more with less, and the Newark Teachers Union which had represented the attendance counselors fought the layoffs in court. An administrative law judge sided with the union, but then-State Education Commissioner David Hespe later overturned the decision. Leon, who became superintendent in July, promised to promptly restore the attendance counselors. However, his plans were delayed by a legal requirement that the district first offer the new jobs to the laid-off counselors, some of whom had moved out of state. By the beginning of February, all the positions had been filled and, on Friday, Leon held a roughly 90-minute meeting with the new attendance team. To create lasting attendance gains, experts advise schools to consider every aspect of what they do their discipline policies, the emotional support they provide students, the quality of teaching, and the relationship between staffers and families. Simply outsourcing attendance to designated employees will not work, they warn. Superintendent Leon appears to agree. In an interview last year, he said he expects all school employees to join in the work of improving attendance. The last thing that needs to happen is for people to walk away saying, Oh, attendance is going to be solved because now we have the attendance counselors, Leon said. No, everyone has to worry about attendance. A 34-year-old New York City man was killed after his pickup truck burst into flames in a crash on I-280 in West Orange early Sunday. Though State Police said the man has not yet been positively identified, family members told SILive.com Neil Holtermann, of Staten Island, died in the crash. Holtermann was driving east near milepost 7.5 just before 1 a.m. when he struck the left guardrail, crossed over the highway and struck another guardrail and a bridge support, State Police said. The pickup truck then caught fire, according to Sgt. Lawrence Peele. Holtermann was pronounced dead at the scene. There were no passengers in the vehicle and the crash remains under investigation. Holtermanns family owns Holtermann Bakery in Staten Island, a well-known business in the New York City borough, SILIve.com said. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Q. My wife and I are both seniors who are retired. Several years ago, our tax preparer wanted to know the total value of our combined IRAs for our New Jersey return. When I asked why, she said it was because if we moved to a state such as Florida where there is no state income tax, New Jersey would seek to claw back state income taxes on IRA money that was earned in New Jersey. Is that correct? -- Retired A. It's against federal law for any state to claw back taxes on money earned in that state if the taxpayer moves to a tax-free state. But there are valid reasons why your tax preparer will want to know the total market value of your IRA accounts, specifically, they're needed to make calculations for your Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). Let's go back for a moment. We frequently talk about basis when we are talking about income taxes. Basis is the amount you have invested in something like a stock, a bond or your house. When you sell or withdraw something, you do not pay taxes on your basis, said Bernie Kiely, a certified financial planner and certified public accountant with Kiely Capital Management in Morristown. He said traditionally, IRA contributions had zero basis for federal income tax purposes. People would make tax deductible contributions to their IRA or they would roll over 401(k) or 403(b) accounts into their IRAs. New Jersey has never allowed a tax deduction for IRA or self-employed pension accounts, Kiely said, so the amounts in these accounts usually had no federal basis but they did have basis for state income tax purposes. So when you make your first IRA withdrawal, how do you deal with your tax basis for New Jersey purposes? Kiely said New Jersey has two methods to deal with tax basis for IRAs. The first is the Three-Year Rule. "The Three-Year Rule allows you to take out your tax basis first if you will take out your entire basis within 36 months of taking your first IRA distribution," he said. "To do this, you need to know how much is in all your IRA accounts, what your total basis is and how much you are planning to take out each month or year." If you will have taken out your entire basis within 36 months, the withdrawals are tax-free until your basis is exhausted. Then your withdrawals are 100 percent taxable, he said. If you will not have taken out your entire basis within 36 months from the date of your first distribution, you must use the General Rule Method. "Under this method, part of your withdrawal is taxable and part of it is not," Kiely said. "The portion that is not taxable is the ratio of your tax basis to the market value of all your IRAs." He said this calculation must be done every year you take money out of your IRA. Kiely offered this example: Assume you have $50,000 of basis in your IRA and a market value of $500,000. If you then withdraw $10,000 from your IRA, $1,000 (10 percent) will be tax-free and $9,000 will be taxable. The next year your remaining basis will be $49,000 and let's assume the market value is $493,000 ($500,000 - $10,000 + $3,000 market gains). Your basis is now 0.099 percent. A $10,000 withdrawal will be $993 tax-free and $9,007 taxable. So to answer your question, either you or your tax preparer needs to know the total market value of all your IRAs, plus the unrecovered basis, so you/they can make the required calculations, Kiely said. Email your questions to Ask@NJMoneyHelp.com. Karin Price Mueller writes the Bamboozled column for NJ Advance Media and is the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Follow NJMoneyHelp on Twitter @NJMoneyHelp. Find NJMoneyHelp on Facebook. Sign up for NJMoneyHelp.com's weekly e-newsletter. A police officer was flown via helicopter to a South Jersey hospital after his cruiser collided with another vehicle and utility pole Friday afternoon. The crash took place around 1:30 p.m. on Williamstown Road in Winslow Township, according to police. The cruiser which was responding to a medical emergency. The crash caused serious damage to the the cruiser and the passenger vehicle, and the utility pole toppled over, police said. The officer was taken to Cooper University Hospital in Camden, while the other vehicles driver sustained only minor injuries, according to police. Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Authorities on Thursday announced the arrest of a second man accused in the slaying of a 24-year-old man nearly two years ago in Pemberton Township. Brandon A. Clifton, who records show was already serving a state prison term on an unrelated case, was charged with murder and weapons offenses in the March 21, 2017 killing of Shaquille Williams, the Burlington County Prosecutors Office said. Police responded to a call of gunfire in the 100 block of Kinsley Road around 9 p.m. and found Williams shot several times in a car, according to officials. Williams, of Browns Mills, died at the scene. Clifton, 20, remains in state prison for weapons offenses, theft and assault, state Department of Corrections records show. The township resident was sent to Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility in July. In November, Douglas Lewis, 23, was indicted in the shooting. Lewis, of Pemberton Township, faces charges, including murder, conspiracy to commit murder and weapons offenses. Lewis was arrested in October and remains held at the Burlington County Jail, according to the prosecutors office. Authorities did not disclose a possible motive for the killing. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters We are saddened to announce the passing of Peter S. Petrosian on June 16, 2021 in Cumming, Georgia. This year, Peter turned 69 years of age and celebrated his 36th wedding anniversary to his wife, Beth (Balise) Petrosian. Peter was the son of George and Alice (Mooradian) Petrosian who passed The new system is set to go into effect May 1. Officials in Riverwoods also plan to eventually join the joint system as soon as they can remove the village from its membership with the Lake County Emergency Telephone System Board, Riverwoods Mayor John Norris has said. SEYMOUR Police are following up on some leads and are on the lookout for a man who allegedly approached two Seymour Middle School students at their bus stop this week, asking if they wanted a ride. The two female students declined the mans offer and the man drove away, but not after turning his car around and passing the students a second time, according to police. The incident happened around 9 a.m Thursday on Roosevelt Drive. Students had a two-hour school delay Thursday morning, due to icy road conditions. The district sent out the following message to parents Thursday alerting them of the incident: On 02/21/19, two Seymour Middle School students reported to School Resource Officer Corey Tomassella that at around 9:10 this morning while at their bus stop located at 193 Roosevelt Drive, they were approached by a suspicious male in a car. The male pulled over and asked them if they wanted a ride. The students told the male no and the car left, turning around and passing by them slowly a second time. The male was described as an older, black male, bald, with little facial hair. The car was described as a silver colored Toyota. Officer Tomassella did speak to a parent in the area who also observed the car and male approach the girls at the bus stop. Seymour Schools Director of Security Richard Kearns said police are investigating the incident, and are on top of it. The districts bus company, All-Star, was also notified to ensure drivers keep their eyes out for the vehicle in question and any suspicious people and other vehicles around Seymours bus stops. There is increased police presence in the area, Kearns said. Superintendent of Schools Michael Wilson said fortunately nothing happened and was grateful to the students for immediately reporting the incident to the school resource officer. It was scary and crazy, Wilson said. Luckily, the students did report it and the Police Department is now aware. Deputy Police Chief Roberto Rinaldi sent out a press release late Friday saying the detective bureau is following up on some leads and the investigation is still ongoing. The incident, Rinaldi said, also appears to be an isolated incident. If anyone has any information pertaining to this incident, they are asked to contact the Seymour Police Department at 203-881-7600; the Seymour Detective Bureau at 203-881-7638 or Kearns at 203-888-2561, ext. 1003. All calls are kept confidential. jean.sos@snet.net WESTBROOK Joe Boccia has dedicated his life to boats, but no vessel has captured his heart like his recent project, Puzzle B. I put hours and hours into this and it never got boring, he says, standing in his workshop. I was out here at 4 oclock in the morning before work or Saturday mornings, sanding and filling. It just felt fulfilling. The 14-foot Brockway replica was built to support the teachers at Collaborative Preschool, an integrated preschool for Chester, Deep River and Essex children with and without special needs. The funds will go through the Essex Elementary School Foundation. For $20, individuals can buy a raffle ticket for a chance to win the boat. All proceeds will go to the teachers for those items that are not covered in the budget. The drawing will be on Sunday, May 4 at 4 p.m., at the Spring Boat Show at Brewer Essex Island Marina, 11 Ferry St., Essex. Ticket-holders need not to be present to win. Boccia, commonly known as Joe Boat, and his wife, Liz, have a 6-year-old grandson on the autism spectrum. These grandparents saw, firsthand, how dedicated and attentive the preschool teachers were in the school setting. They also saw how much money these professionals invested in their students over the three years their grandson was in the preschool program. This is their way of giving back. When reached for comment Ruth Levy, superintendent of schools for Chester, Deep River, Essex and Region 4 schools, was nearly speechless. I have to tell you, Im choked up hearing that somebody would go to that extent to express their gratitude, because truly our educators are selfless and love these children, everyone of them, she said. I think every educator hopes to have made a positive impact and to know theyve touched the lives in a positive way for children and families, and this truly is what we live and hope for, she adds. This dedicated grandfather speaks eloquently about spending time with his grandson, the special times they share and his deep love for him. He requests that his grandsons name not be printed. Evidence of childs play is scattered around the Boccia family home. A small inflatable sandbox, filled with kinetic sand, holds a trove of cars and trucks Hes non-stopped played with it, JoeBoat says. Its on the dining room floor. Its still there, three years later hes still playing with it. That was so beneficial and the teacher bought it personally, because its not budgeted, he adds, emotionally. Thats what got this going. Levy knows the extent her teachers will go to support their students. Oh, my goodness, she says. Please, please, please express my personal gratitude for this. Students, especially students that have special needs, these teachers always are finding things that are going to enrich their lives in one way or another and they have no hesitation spending their own money, she adds. It was in April 2018 that JoeBoat started planning the Puzzle B project. His grandson graduated in June 2018. The idea of building a Brockway replica was the idea of his friend, Bryan Amenta. Earl Brockway built the Brockway Skiff in Old Saybrook. Every one of us had these, as kids, recalls JoeBoat. You could go to Floral Park in Old Saybrook and buy them for $80, unfinished and finish them yourself. That was in the 60s. JoeBoat owns Westbrook-based East Coast Trailers, delivering boats all over the country including Florida, California, Texas, Rhode Island and Utah. Amenta, a technology education teacher at Madisons Daniel Hand High School, worked with three DHHS seniors to put the hull of the boat together in a boat building class. The students, Mike Halloran, Declan Palazzo and Xhoni Ulku all graduated in 2018. I started that boat building class back in 1998, when I started at Daniel Hand High School, so Ive been over 20 years building boats with the kids, says Amenta. That 14-foot Brockway is just one that Ive built probably 30 of them over the last 20 years or so. Yet, for the students building it, it was a special experience. Halloran, talking via phone from Unity College in Maine, says that knowing where the boat was headed made it a unique building experience. We were way more precise with all of our cuts, making sure everything was proper, that we didnt mess up at all, he says. After seeing it around Christmas time, finished, it was unreal seeing it come from just pieces of plywood into a boat you could go into a store and buy, he adds. Palazzo, studying mechanical engineering at Central Connecticut State University, says that working on the boat for three months was a positive experience. We knew, in the end, that all the proceeds were going to a really good cause and someone was going to end up with an amazing boat, so it felt good, he says. After JoeBoat finished the boat, sanding, painting and installing seats, he outfitted it with the 1955 Johnson Seahorse 10 motor that he used as a youngster. It felt fulfilling to take that out of my collection and put it on here, it really did, says JoeBoat. I always had a love for these 50s vintage outboards. Thats what I had as a kid That one I totally restored it, every nut and bolt, he continues. My son, at the time was a senior at Westbrook High School, and he did the paint job on that motor as a senior project in high school. He painted that motor and he is my grandsons father, he adds, so that motor had to go to this boat. As he stands next to the finished boat, beside the name, Puzzle B, are the words Till all the pieces fit and a piece of puzzle, a symbol for autism. There is so much Ive learned, he says. These teachers go deep into these kids minds and theyre no longer behavioral problems, theyve found the reasons, he says, referring to the children, like his grandson, that have special needs. He is so advanced in areas and so delayed in other areas, he says. There are so many programs available to these children. The money raised, says JoeBoat, is for those teachers that brought my grandson to where he is today. Tickets can be purchased at Atlantic Outboard,475 Boston Post Road, Westbrook, Essex Marine Group, 37 Pratt St., Essex and East Coast Trailers; Telephone 860-399-6120; joeboat@sbcglobal.net Can a play have too much of a good thing? If so, I put a fin on Cheryl Strayeds Tiny Beautiful Things, an earnest story, earnestly adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos (of My Big Fat Greek Wedding renown), currently and earnestly directed by Ken Rus Schmoll for Long Wharf Theatre, where Tiny Beautiful Things resides through March 10. Tiny Beautiful Things is refreshing fodder for theater, and the gang responsible for ferrying Strayed to the stage (co-conceivers Marshall Heyman, Thomas Kail, and Vardalos) followed the road less taken insofar as personal correspondence seldom serves so absolutely as a play (A.R. Gurneys Love Letters and Jerome Kiltys Dear Liar are two venerable, epistolary examples). Tiny Beautiful Things consists of seemingly countless letters sent anonymously to Strayed, then a volunteer advice columnist working under the nom de plume Sugar. Strayed is the first to admit that she has no formal education suited to dispensing advice to the lovelorn, suicidal or sexual-assault victims. On the contrary, she has battled her demons and survived some pretty tough times that would make Dear Abby blush. Her experience, along with her innate empathy, listening skills and wits, is just what the doctor ordered to comfort so many isolated souls. The play starts with Sugar (Cindy Cheung) overwhelmed by the sheer volume of mail dumped in her lap. She initially responds with bromidic niceties apparently appropriated from Hallmark. When her readers vociferously reject her platitudes, she realizes that, if she is to finish out the week at least, shed better simply share her wide range of experiences relating to the question, and let the readers mine her analogies for something they can use. After Sugars sobering brush with her unhappy readers, she quickly gets the hang of it and skates peacefully the remaining hour remaining in the 80-minute performance. The play settles into a predictable rhythm of one desperate letter writer after another declaring fire! and Sugar not only extinguishes the flare-up but she figuratively makes each person feel warm and loved. They believe that she listens, and cares. Youd be surprised just how taxing an hour of soul-soothing can be. While there are a few genuine laughs in Tiny Beautiful Things, it grows monotonously earnest: or, as Nigel Tufnel of This is Spinal Tap might say, it goes to 11. Schmoll stages the play in Sugars backyard (Kimie Nishikawas literal set, complemented by Leah Gelpes sound design, lends a Pleasant Valley Sunday air to the production). Further personalizing the performance, all the letter writers (Brian Sgambati as Writer No. 1, Elizabeth Ramos as Letter Writer No. 2 and Paul Pontrelli as Letter Writer No. 3) are all physically present in the same space with Sugar, even sipping Bud Lights together as if attending a picnic with old friends. While such a concept fleshes out the camaraderie and communion between the characters, it also suggests that the letter writers have become her disciples while she is their sole confidant, minister and shaman. Sugar seems infallible, which rubs against the humanity idea. That said, the protein of Tiny Beautiful Things is Strayeds wonderful language. Her written responses are poetic, replete with delicious rhetorical device even amid horrible circumstances, and yet clearly accessible to her rangy readership. She eloquently speaks their language. The performances are all fine, but Cheungs Sugar is addictive. She is unaffected yet passionate and wise beyond books: Her Sugar plays to her fellow characters, not the audience. Tiny Beautiful Things, which comes from a passage toward the plays end, wraps up Sugars philosophy this way: See beauty where you least expect it and embrace life even when life hurls lemons at your heart and soul. And while it takes a long 80 minutes getting there, its satisfying to hear nonetheless. E. Kyle Minor is the Register theater critic. Sam Burton likes a challenge. And so why not open a bookstore in New Haven in 2019? Also, just to make it more stimulating, he lives with his wife and their 16-year-old son in Northampton, Mass., near another bookstore he has operated there for more than a decade. He will commute to New Haven, probably staying overnight here three or four days every week. Granted, there are some potential obstacles with the plan. But this is good news, folks: were getting a new bookstore, Grey Matter, and its opening soon. (The tentative date for the soft opening is Thursday.) When I stopped in to see Burton last Monday afternoon in his future shop at 264 York St. (around the corner from Yales Broadway shopping district), he was unpacking boxes of books and arranging them in the many bookcases he has brought in. He didnt yet have a proper store sign but he had composed this message for passers-by: Grey Matter. Used and rare books. Coming early 2019. And he had displayed a book in the front window: So You Want to Open a Shop by Alissa Keir. Perhaps hes read it recently. This property has been vacant for a few years; its revolving tenants have included clothiers and a Wawa convenience store. But its surprisingly spacious, containing 1,700 square feet, and has a marvelous parquet floor. The books Burton was pulling out were mostly academic or scholarly, focusing on art, photography and architecture. As a guy with a philosophy degree, he will carry more than a fair share of works by philosophers. But there will be lots of fiction too, along with first edition collectibles. I have boxes and boxes of Egyptology, he said. Im thinking if I havent seen a book before, theres a market for it. While I was taking a quick tour of the unfolding collection, I noted a bookcase with the categories Sex (only two titles as of last Monday), Relationships, Gay and Lesbian interest and Pregnancy, childbirth, babies. Burton said he will buy used books if he thinks he can re-sell them. Of course he is well aware Book Trader is doing the same thing close by on Chapel Street, but the competition doesnt seem to concern him. Where Im from, there have been so many used bookstores, he noted. It was like a book mecca. A few of them closed but new ones recently came in. Burton knows about the independent bookstores here that have gone dark over the past 10 to 20 years, including Labyrinth on the adjacent block of York Street, Arethusa on Audubon Street, Bryn Mawr and the Foundry, both of them on Whitney Avenue. He said Arethusa seemed like a really good store and admitted, Labyrinths closing gave me pause. But he added, This seems like a good place to sell books and buy books. Obviously, Im not 100 percent confident this will work out, he said. In theory, this is ideal. What the practice is, Ill find out soon. I asked Burton if he sees raised eyebrows and worried looks when he tells his friends what hes doing down in New Haven. Not really. People seem to mostly think its a good idea. My wife maybe less so! Shes been extremely skeptical about this undertaking. But I think shes been won over because this place is so nice and well located. He calls it a life-changing undertaking but explains his motivation this way: Ive been in Hadley for 15 years. Id previously never been anywhere more than five years. Doing something new in life is stimulating and fun but exhausting. Heres something that will contribute to Burtons exhaustion: His landlord, Yale University, requires him, like its other stores in that area, to remain open until 9 p.m. six days a week. Burton will take it easy on Sundays, closing by 5 or 6 p.m. He is optimistic enough to have signed a five-year lease. Referring to the Yale representatives he is dealing with, Burton said, They have a mixed reputation but theyve been very good to me and for the right reasons. Having a store like this will be good for the neighborhood. Lauren Zucker of Yale University Properties told me in an email: As part of Yale Universitys community investment program, we are delighted to welcome an independent book seller. As a man living in another state, Burton cant be at Grey Matter seven days a week. Asked how he will manage his schedule, he said: In the short term, when I need to spend the night Ill use an Airbnb or hotel. My hope is Ill be here three or four days a week. My trusty staff will run it the rest of the time. As a way to liven up the place and fill all those hours he must remain open, Burton is planning to have readings by authors and maybe music performances. This nice guy came in, a jazz musician and writer. If its allowed, Ill have him in to play. (There is a kind of mini-stage by the large front windows). People do seem to be drawn in by the idea of a bookstore coming to town. Everyones been so nice and welcoming, Burton said. Theyve been writing to me and coming through the door. It feels great. Burton embraces the concept of a virtuous circle in a bookstore rather than the vicious cycle we contend with in other endeavors. What you want in this business is people coming in because theres always something new to see; they buy books and that makes room for me to replace them with new books. The future looks schleppy! he said. He meant that if he can sell 500 books per month, hell have to schlep 500 new ones to his store. Burton actually had this New Haven bookstore idea 10 years ago and came down here to scout out sites. I decided I wasnt ready. Its different having a 16-year-old than a 6-year-old. That teenage son of his is looking forward to the opening-day party, for which Burton will offer wine, snacks and pizza. Hes very excited about New Haven pizza, Burton said. Befitting his seat-of-the-pants approach, Burton told me last Friday he still wasnt positive he would be allowed to open Thursday. Thats my plan, unless the fire marshal or some other authority tells me I cant. And when I asked him if the store will begin its sales at the same time as the 5 p.m. party, he replied, I guess so. But he added its possible he will be doing business earlier in the day. As for the longer term, Burton said, I hope that, by hook or by crook, I can make a go of it. Contact Randall Beach at 203-680-9345 or randall.beach@ hearstmediact.com NEW HAVEN After a mistake by patrol officers let the man now suspected of being serial rapist drive away from a traffic stop, detectives with the Special Victims Unit noted connecting with the victims helped lead to the charges against a city man. Navardo Lockhart, 26, described as a resident of Platt Street or Atwater Street in court files, has been linked to at least eight alleged incidents, six of which correspond to DNA evidence, according to police. He is charged with first-degree sexual assault in five cases, with more charges potentially on the horizon. The pending cases relate to incidents on Jan. 7, 2017, and May 20, May 24, May 27 and Aug 26, 2018. In each case against him, Lockhart allegedly held a woman at gunpoint and forcibly sexually assaulted her or forced her to commit a sexual act, according to the affidavits on file. Each incident occurred in the area of Edgewood Park and Norton Street. On multiple occasions, he also stole the victims cellphones, police said. Lockhart now faces 12 felony and six misdemeanor charges stemming from the five cases. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him in two of the five cases. In the other three, which he was arraigned on Thursday, he has not yet entered a plea. He is next scheduled to appear in court March 11, according to judicial records. Lt. Renee Dominguez and Sgt. Mary Helland, who oversee the Special Victims Unit that compiled that cases against Lockhart, discussed the investigation and the series of events this week. Its a rarity that we have what would be classified as a serial rapist (in New Haven), said Dominguez, noting that the East Coast Rapist, arrested in 2011, was the last one. Its not something you normally see. The department began to receive reports of a man robbing and attacking women he perceived as sex workers in April 2018, Helland said. Detectives spoke with potential victims. There was fear of an attacker out there, Helland said Thursday, but no one wanted to make a report at the time. They developed a description of the suspect and disseminated it to fellow officers. Patrol officers made contact with Lockhart on May 20, although he had not been specifically identified as a suspect in a larger string of cases at that time. Officers spoke with a man and woman on Edgewood Avenue that evening, according to the affidavit for the May 20 case. The woman told police on multiple occasions that the man, who gave his name as Vardo Lockhart, had held her at gunpoint and forced her to perform sexual acts. Officers Christopher Landucci and Lindsey Nesto and former Officer Jacob Cedeno did not arrest Lockhart, according to an internal affairs report. They were later found to have acted negligently. Landucci and Nesto received suspensions, while Cedeno left the department before the investigation concluded. Dominguez said Detective Joshua Kyle came across a report about the matter while investigating the Aug. 26 incident, she said. Helland on Sept. 12 assigned the case to Officer Eduardo Leonardo, who followed up with the victim, according to the affidavit. Lockhart was charged Thursday in connection with the Aug. 26 incident . Were happy to have a positive conclusion to that and to have him arrested and have some closure, said Dominguez. We took something that was not dealt with appropriately and the detectives did a full investigation, they made an arrest, theyve reached out to the victim theyve done everything that they should have. We tried to do the best with it afterwards and they did a great job. Helland and Dominguez both credited detectives for their ability to build a bond with the victims as they investigated the matter. As we were out there talking to the women, I think it became very apparent to them that, if they were to report it, that there wasnt going to be the judgment that we were going to take it seriously, that we did believe them, Helland said. We had enough people giving us the information and corroborating it to believe that there was, in fact, an individual out there in possession of a weapon who was sexually assaulting and robbing these women. Once the victims knew that police believed them, the hesitation to report an assault went away, Helland said, which is when the May and August assaults came to light. The work of the detectives is amazing because they really are able to build rapport. Initially, a victim may come off as not wanting to work with the police and its more because theyre fearful, theyre apprehensive, said Dominguez. Her detectives go out and they are immediately able to establish rapport, whether its just the amount of time they have been investigating these sorts of sensitive issues or they just really have learned the art. The victims, in turn, had been helpful and forthcoming, Dominguez said. Helland noted that the victim in the May 20 incident remains in touch with Leonardo, showing her faith that he cares. Even after the indiscretion that was practiced by patrol, our people were able to go out there and she does have a trust with that officer now, said Helland. I think thats telling. Helland said patrol officers have been offered training on how to initially respond to potential victims after the May 20 incident, which she believes has been helpful. I think its a learning experience, said Helland. And thats something to take away from that experience. Police were able to identify Lockhart after a break in the Aug. 26 case, Helland said. The female victim in that case had her phone stolen. According to the affidavit, she contacted police Sept. 6 to say that, after buying a new phone and connecting it to her Google Cloud account, she found pictures of the man who attacked her, which had been saved before she disconnected her stolen phone from the account. After reviewing calls made by the stolen phone, through a log provided by the woman, police began to investigate a commonly-called number. Detective Kyle, by cross-referencing the number with departmental records and national databases, was able to link to a person known to Lockhart, then to Lockhart, Dominguez said. That gave the department a photo of the suspect, Dominguez said. A photograph of Lockhart from a previous arrest showed he had similar characteristics to the person in the photos downloaded from the womans Google account, according to the affidavit. Now we have a person, said Dominguez. It was a lot of hard work by Detective Kyle to get an identity. Helland said two victims identified Lockhart as their attacker after seeing the phone huge for this case which, in turn, allowed them to obtain a search warrant for his DNA, linking him to the Aug. 26 incident. Police managed to track down and arrest Lockhart on Sept. 15. A BB gun, believed to be the weapon used in the attacks, was recovered, Helland said. Now, legal proceedings are underway. For Lockharts DNA to be entered into the national system and potentially linked to other victims he will have to be convicted, Dominguez said. Its just the beginning, said Helland. But it is nice to have some closure for (the victims). Dominguez said the department wanted to spread word of the arrest and the investigation which it did with a press release and an interview to be transparent with the public and highlight the strong work by detectives, which may have been obscured by the internal affairs investigation. We wanted to just be able to tell the good story the really hard work, said Dominguez. We had a blemish, but we had all this really good work going on (as well). Beth Merkin, Lockharts public defender, wasnt available to be reached for comment Friday. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com NEW HAVEN District officials have answered questions about how it will spend money from one of its largest grants, although some in the community were left with questions about priorities. Members from the community group NHPS Advocates, which formed in the aftermath of Superintendent of Schools Carol Birkss hire to regularly challenge the school board to be transparent and accountable in how it operates, recently emailed board members questions about how the district spends its Alliance Grant money. We are concerned by what appears to be a steady expansion of corporate-style management in a time of severe deficit and cuts to educational services directly affecting students, the letter said. Birks and district staff had a presentation prepared within the day the email was sent for its the committee meeting, explaining their position on questions about two contracts a curricular audit for $132,500 and a data training program for $144,000. Both contracts, if approved by the school board on Monday, will be paid through the districts $17.8 million Alliance Grant, which is issued by the state to the 33 lowest-performing school districts for targeted turnaround efforts. New Haven also qualifies for additional state funds as a priority district, for its students high level of need. Deputy Superintendent Ivelise Velazquez said curricular audit firm Curriculum Solutions offered the highest quote among three bidders, but it was also the only one of three bids to provide the proper scope of services needed to review six core areas of curriculum before the summer. They will look at our policies, how we follow the policies, what curriculums are currently in use, do a thorough document review and a visit with 10 people who are experts in the area of curriculum, interview students, parents and teachers, she said. This is extensive. Its a really complex system. Velazquez said Curriculum Solutions would be contracted to produce a 250-page document with action items by the end of June, so administrators could review it over the summer. Summer is a big time to look at curriculum because we have teachers and administrators who are available to take action, she said. She added that auditing and reviewing curriculum can ensure the same standard of instruction is being delivered in all schools. The NHPS Advocates letter noted that nothing in the districts finalized plan with the state Department of Education for Alliance District funds noted a curricular audit. Birks said the district is free to spend the funds however it sees fit so long as it receives state approval and the funds are being used to enhance one of four areas talent, culture, climate and academics and operations. Committee Vice Chairman Joe Rodriguez, who is deputy state director for U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he knows professionals from around the state who encourage a curricular audit during a time of transition; Birks started working in the district in March 2018. Velazquez said one thing she likes about the Curriculum Solutions firm is they are not a curricular vendor. Their recommendations arent also a sales pitch for what comes next; theyre independent, and thats a really good thing because theyre going to be more objective, she said. Ilene Tracey, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said she is not aware of the last time the district underwent an extensive curricular audit. She said University of Connecticut consultants audited the reading curriculum four years ago. The NHPS Advocates letter also highlighted that $100,000 was allocated within the grant proposal for a program called Data Wise, although the contract before the committee called for $144,000 in funding. Birks said the $100,000 figure had been an estimate, and the actual cost would be $144,000 . The $44,000 difference would be funded by savings in other line items within the tiered grant, she said. Velazquez said the Data Wise project, a program owned by Harvard University, is designed so educators can use data to yield better results. Its not about making decisions and finding the data to support it, but the other way around, she said. Whats at the heart of this is looking at data to make better decisions. The contract presented to the committee is sparse on details as to how the program works as the design, content and all other aspects of the two Data Wise Institute Custom Programs in New Haven are protected by copyright and are Harvards intellectual property, according to the contract. Velazquez said the district will pay for administrators to complete a digital training on how to use an inquiry base to identify a learner-central problem and identify what adult problems are contributing to the learner-centric problem. Part of the Data Wise process is structured to look at student work and develop a common language, Birks said. Its not just people sitting around looking at data. Committee members forwarded both contracts to the full board for consideration without recommendation, with Rodriguez citing a need to discuss both contracts in greater depth. NHPS Advocates parents at the meeting said they felt the district was responsive to their questions, especially as parents have had questions about school district spending escalate to arguments with school board members in the past. I dont know enough, said parent Sarah Miller, but we have more information, which is good. Miller said she still wonders why the district would spend money on Data Wise instead of on targeted interventions for students, especially if academics is one of the four categorical focuses of the Alliance Grant. The NHPS Advocates letter also asked about several staff positions mentioned in the Alliance Grant a data fellow, a climate specialist, a continuous improvement specialist, a manager of data analytics, a chief of talent and three network project managers but Birks said Tuesday she does not intend on making those hires this year. According to the districts finalized Alliance Grant plan for 2018-19, the district identified three priorities for strengthening its talent: team mentors, professional learning opportunities and a human capital pipeline. The plan lists differentiated professional learning and opportunities under a chief talent officer as the means for creating a talent pipeline. Opportunities will continue for teachers to be Curriculum Facilitators and Teacher Leaders. Curriculum Facilitators will enhance professional learning in the areas of curriculum, instruction, and the integration of technology in the classroom, focusing on Turnaround and Focus Schools, the plan says. brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com NEW HAVEN The city Police Department is comfortable hiring qualified candidates who have had a single DUI, provided that it was more than a year ago, or experimented with Ecstasy in the distant past. But its not too sure about the use of medical marijuana. The department recently released its current Employment Drug Policy, allowing applicants greater insight into the standards it has begun to use to judge drug use. The New Haven Independent first obtained a full version of the policy after a January ruling from the state Freedom of Information Commission, which required its release after the department had sought to withhold it. Following the ruling, the department released it to the Register within hours of an FOI request. City police also recently sent out 125 conditional offers of employment to would-be officers, which, among other aspects of a background check, sets the review of candidates history with marijuana, alcohol and other substances into motion. The department, which offers lower pay than surrounding cities and towns, is battling to attract and retain officers. The latest version of the policy, which came into effect March 1, 2018, indicates those seeking to become police officers will be disqualified if they have used illegal narcotics; distributed or manufactured narcotics with potential for abuse as classified by the Drug Enforcement Agency; or used hallucinogens, except for Ecstasy that was more than seven years prior. It also says that applicants who have illegally sold, produced, cultivated or transported any controlled substance, unless the individual was living in a state where recreational or medical marijuana is legal; have used a controlled substance other than marijuana in a state where it had been legalized in the last year; or are currently prescribed medical marijuana, will be disqualified. The use of anabolic steroids, a recent DUI, or multiple past DUIs also are disqualifying factors, according to the policy. Assistant Chief Racheal Cain, the departments head of professional standards, said she helped draft the policy with the help of counsel. Cain said the department considers the severity, recency, and legal status of a drug when putting together its standards and updates them over the years as societal expectations change. The citys civil service lists routinely have drug guidelines, Cain said. A version of this policy has been in effect throughout her 20-plus years of service, she said. We want the best applications, said Cain, noting the importance of having guidelines. We understand were hiring from the human race. The Board of Police Commissioners has the discretion to override the policy, board Chairman Anthony Dawson said Tuesday. It serves as a guideline for the commission to judge the stories of applicants, he said. We try to make it as fair as possible, said Dawson. The prohibition on medical marijuana use which was reversed from a draft of the policy submitted to the board in January 2018 was included after members considered the advice of corporation counsel, Dawson said. Connecticut law bars employers from discriminating against medical marijuana users unless required by federal law or required to obtain federal funding. The final version of the policy also bars would-be officers from ever having used steroids one cycle was allowed under the draft and removes a numerical limitation on the number of times an applicant is permitted to have used Ecstasy. Former Fairfield Police Chief Gary MacNamara, now executive director of public safety and governmental affairs at Sacred Heart University, said the New Haven departments efforts show an attempt, reflected across law enforcement, to adapt and adjust to the conventions of the modern world. He noted that departments used to have a height requirement for would-be officers, went back-and-forth about necessitating a college degree, or barred beards, tattoos and earrings. As society changes, law enforcement is going to change, MacNamara said. Now, as states move to decriminalize and/or legalize marijuana, departments must reckon with how to deal with something that once was illegal, he said. MacNamara said he believes it is important to have such discussions and allow people to understand what makes someone qualified to become a police officer. We know that a diverse police department is important, but diversity is also important in life experience, said MacNamara. We have to look at what societys messages are, and as law enforcement, engage in making sure that we dont disqualify good people. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com Bits of improvement were seen in public schools across the state in the 2017-18 school year, and not just because of high test scores. The states Next Generation Accountability indexes released Friday show an upswing in the number of students improving in their own math and reading performance from one year to the next, taking more college level courses, graduating on time and taking an art course before they leave high school. Combined, the states 968 schools pulled a score of 74.9 out of 100 on an index developed by the state and approved by the U.S. Department of Education. That compares to a statewide score of 73.2 score in 2016-17. Most local districts helped in the effort, showing overall, incremental improvement from one year to the next. To outgoing Education Commissioner Dianna R. Wentzell it signals the needle is moving in the right direction. We will continue our push to build on this momentum, Wentzell said in a written statement. To Ajit Gopalakrishnan, chief performance officer for the state Department of Education, it signals something more. A big take away from me is that if we prioritize at the state level it can actually make a difference, Gopalakrishnan said, speaking with reporters Thursday. When the state puts a focus on Advanced Placement courses and even helped some students pay for them, index results show districts and schools responded. Overall, New Haven Public Schools scored a 65 in 2017-18, its highest score on the index in the three years that growth has been a factor in the calculations. However, it is also the widest the gap has been between the district and the state in that three year period, with 9.9 points separating the district average and the states average of 74.9. The district and state scores on average have been stagnant in the first three years. In 2016-17, the district scored a 64, 9.2 points lower than the state average of 73.2 on the index. The year before that, the district scored a 64.3, 8.8 points below the state average of 73.1 New Haven scored higher on the index in 2017-18 than most comparable large urban districts, such as Bridgeport (62.4), Waterbury (61.4) and Hartford (59.6). In this years results, the state named Strong School in its penultimate year of operations before it becomes the Barack H. Obama School a school of distinction as 77 percent of its high needs students met their growth goal in math, compared to 53.5 percent the year prior. Also two city schools were named turnaround schools because of performance issues over three years, High School in the Community, because of its four-year graduation rate, and Troup School, because of its accountability index score. Hillhouse High School was named a focus school because of the low academic performance of its high needs students in both math and language arts. More Information 2018 Schools of Distinction The state recognized 160 schools statewide that have high performance and high growth, overall or in specific areas. In our region, those schools include: School Why recognized Bryant School, Bridgeport High growth in reading high needs students Bradley School, Derby High growth in math, all student and high needs students Holland Hill, Fairfield High growth all students in reading, high needs students in math Sherman School, Fairfield High performance and high growth Jennings School, Fairfield High performance Osborn Hill, Fairfield High growth, all students, in math Orchard Hills, Milford High growth all students, in math Monroe Elementary High growth all students and high need students, in reading Fawn Hollow Elementary High growth all students and high need students, in reading Oxford Center School High growth, high needs students in math Elizabeth Shelton School High growth, all students and high needs, math Sunnyside, Shelton High growth all students and high needs, reading Longhill, Shelton High growth, all students and high needs, math Booth Hill, Shelton High performance and high growth Booth Hill, Trumbull High performance and high growth all students in reading Middlebrook, Trumbull High performance and high growth all students in reading Daniels Farm, Trumbull High growth, all students in reading Tashua, Trumbull High Performance Source: State Department of Education See More Collapse In 2016-17, only Worthington Hooker scored above the state average in the index among the citys schools, but in 2017-18, both Hooker with a score of 80 and Quinnipiac Real World Math STEM School with a score of 76.2 scored above the state average. Mauro-Sheridan, which scored 74.5 on the index, was only 0.4 points below the state average. New Haven officials did not immediately return a request for comment. The massive data release includes a top down list of districts by score and a top 10 lists of schools. Fairfields Riverfield School is on the top 10 list. Fairfield Superintendent of Schools Toni Jones said she is thrilled. Fairfield administrators, teachers, and staff continue to work hard on behalf of all our students, Jones said. However, a score is not the total picture of what makes a great school. The joy of learning is important too, Jones said. The state release includes a list of 130 Schools of Distinction based on achievement or growth. Of them, 43 schools come from so-called alliance districts where needs are high. One or more schools from Bridgeport, Derby, Fairfield, Milford, Monroe, Oxford, Shelton and Trumbull made that list. Also released were a list of 36 so-called Turnaround schools that have been the lowest performing for three years running. Bridgeport has seven schools on that list. And there is a list of 20 focus schools, meaning academic growth among high needs students is consistently out of step with the state. The Bridgeport Military Academy is on that list. So is Derby Middle School. Although designed to satisfy the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, state officials say they do not submit the full index to the feds but rather pieces of it including schools on the turnaround and focus lists. Right now, the only consequence for schools at the bottom is the potential for more help from the state. Some may get more resources by joining the Commissioners Network. Credit for growth In place for four years now, the index takes a more holistic view of student performance. The index combines 12 measures and judges them against goals set by the state. In addition to scores, and graduation rates, the index factors in absenteeism, physical fitness, how many students go onto college, and for the past three years, how much students improve over time. Of all the measures, academic growth counts the most, state officials said. There are so many variables that schools and districts with identical index scores can have very different profiles based on where their strengths lie, state officials said. What has principals like Mario Ciccarini at Bradley School in Derby excited about the system is not the incremental climb but rather the recognition his students get, no matter where they are, when they show improvement. It recognizes student growth, he said. In the past if students didnt reach proficiency targets, you didnt see it in the paper. Under the new system, Bradley School made the states list of distinction by virtue of high growth in math, for all students and high needs students. Team Bradley worked very hard, Ciccarini, a former math teacher said. The school started putting the same type of focus on math that is given to literacy. Students rotate through math lessons like they do literacy circles. There were focus groups and workshops to boost instruction. A fair reflection In Shelton, Schools Superintendent Chris Clouet called the results a fair representation of how he sees the district. Overall, the district scored an 80.1, up from 76.37 the year before. It is more of how we, as practitioners see the work, Clouet said. Though not in agreement with all the indicators used by the state, Clouet said they reflect of the work teachers and students do. The overall index is important, said Vicky White, Sheltons Supervisor of Literacy, but so is each component. Each tells a different story about work we are doing, White said In Shelton, four schools Elizabeth Shelton, Sunnyside, Long Hill and Booth Hill made the Distinction list for high growth and or high performance. Based on past performance, Shelton adjusted how teacher time was organized at one school to focus on math. The strategy, Clouet said, paid off. One indicator that remains a challenge for Shelton and other districts continues to be chronic absenteeism. It was one the few areas where there was slippage statewide in 2017-18, with more students absent from class at least 10 percent of the time. Also declining slightly, statewide was post-secondary entrance and physical fitness. The boost in college and career readiness came by more students taking Advanced Placement and other courses that can earn them college credit in high school. The percentage of high school juniors and seniors in those course rose from 67.6 percent in 2015-16 to 74.8 percent in 2017-18. lclambeck@ctpost.com; twitter/lclambeck Cook County records showed that Magee also owns a home on Whipple Drive in Merrionette Park. He claims it as his primary residence and receives a homeowners exemption. He also receives exemptions for being a senior citizen and a disabled veteran. Because of the exemptions, he ackknowlegded that he has owed no property taxes on the home since 2015. NEW HAVEN The aldermanic chambers at City Hall overflowed Thursday as the Board of Alders Black and Hispanic Caucus held a hearing for an update on Yale Universitys three-year-old promise that it would hire 1,000 residents by April 2019. Audience members, who crowded in up to three rows against the walls, crouched on the floors and spilled out into the hall, heard two different interpretations on how well Yale has maintained the promise of its hiring initiative. We believe strongly when New Havens economy is going well, the entire region blossoms, said Janet Lindner, Yales vice president for human resources and administration. That is why, she said, Yale has made 2,591 hires of city residents in that time period, including maintenance, security and service workers and faculty members, as well as apprentices and journeymen to construction jobs. Part of Yales promise was that, of the 1,000 jobs, at least 500 be in the citys neighborhoods with the highest need. Lindner reported that 627 of the 2,591 hires were from those communities. In total, 26 percent of those hires are African American, 17 percent are Latino or Hispanic and 42 percent are white, Yale reported. We do not consider our work done, Lindner said. Alder Jeanette Morrison, D-22, said she felt the inclusion of construction jobs of which Yale reported 390 hires, 205 from the high needs neighborhoods was misleading. To me, that number is false, she said. What we fought for was to make sure people have full-time jobs, and they get a check and when they get sick, they can go to the doctor. Other alders highlighted that the construction jobs represented jobs that Yale subcontracted, not actual Yale hires. Additionally, multiple alders wondered whether an apprenticeship could be considered a hired job. Alder Brian Wingate, D-29, said he had never seen the aldermanic chambers so full in eight years, which made him suspect there was some dissonance between what Yale was reporting and how satisfied the community is with the hiring efforts. Laurie Kennington, president of Local 34 Unite Here, offered a different interpretation of the numbers. The university is counting 627 people from neighborhoods of need theyve hired, she said. Two-hundred eight of those are ones we dispute, because theyre short-term jobs. That brought the figure down to 419, she said, shy of the 500 mark. One-hundred forty-six journeymen are also not part of the agreement, she said. If youre a journeyman, youve been hired. The point is new hires. Kennington said the number of new hires made in the communities demonstrating the most need was then 273, barely half of what was promised as of April. She said she saw some efforts from Yale, but there is something wrong with the system. We cant gloss over the fact that were behind by hundreds of jobs, she said. In addition to the number of hires, alders and community members expressed frustration over the shared perception that Yale does not respond to local applicants, and, if they do, the feedback is not constructive. Some residents said they have heard for years that they are not qualified enough to work at Yale, no matter how much experience they gain independently. Rebecca Corbett, an employee of Yale for 20 years, said a pipeline program that connected a degree from Gateway Community College to a job at Yale saved her life as an unexpectedly single mother. Today, she says she owns her own home and can provide for her family. She said others who find themselves in the same situation she once did deserve a similar chance. When audience members Andy Archer and Lorna Chitty criticized Yale for making investments they claimed as shady and profiting off the pain of those in the community they were claiming to help, Alder Richard Furlow, D-27, requested that comments from the public be kept to the hiring initiative. However, the hearing began with caucus chairwoman Dolores Colon, D-6, reading a list of Yales numerous contributions to the city, including things such as its payment in property taxes. The public sat through one-and-a-half hours of testimony before they were able to speak. The hearing lasted more than three hours in total. brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com In his letter to parents, Fleming urged parents to ensure their students were up to date with their vaccinations noting that children should have at least one dose of the mumps vaccine on or after their first birthday and a second dose between their fourth and sixth birthdays. While the area north of I-80 is within Orland Parks jurisdiction, immediately to the south is Mokena, and officials there would have to be in agreement before any interchange plans move forward. It was recommended that village staff reach out to neighboring communities, such as Mokena, to gauge their views on a possible interchange before proceeding with further analysis of the options, according to Trustee Carole Ruzich, who chairs the Development Services Committee, which heard V3s report. When a school regionalization bill was first introduced in the Legislature earlier this year, many Danbury-area school officials suspected it wouldnt gain traction. Now that the proposal is headed to a public hearing, school board members and concerned residents are speaking out. In a rare move, the Redding Board of Education, which is already part of a regional school district, has sent a letter to the state opposing Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looneys regionalization bill, which would impact towns with fewer than 40,000 residents. The bill, SB 738, was introduced by as a way to find efficiencies and save money, but has raised concerns about reduced local control and logistical questions regarding transportation, salaries, and how costs will be split. Some school districts also question what this will mean for investments districts have already made into their schools facilities and programs. We dont think it does anyone any favors, said Redding board member Christopher Parkin. Forced partnerships Only about 25, or roughly 15 percent, of the states 169 municipalities, have more than 40,000 residents. There are two other broader regionalization proposals, including a bill that would impact towns with fewer than 2,000 students. Gov. Ned Lamonts budget proposal also includes a plan that could reduce school money to small districts that didnt regionalize certain services, like sharing a superintendent. Im pleased we have a debate going on now with ways to save money, especially because many small districts have lost enrollment, Looney said. He said a small district that opts out of regionalizing would forgo state grants. Redding is no stranger to regionalization. It already shares a central office and high school with Easton as Region 9. The Easton, Redding and Region 9 boards have discussed the possibility of becoming one, but have faced several hurdles including separate contracts and pay scales for staff and 13 different bargaining units. Existing debt for the buildings and blending the curriculum and programs that currently represent the individual communities are also challenges. Parkin said the bill doesnt do anything to address existing problems of regional districts and said a better approach would be to start there. Heather Whaley, a Redding school board member, said this bill just amplifies these problems because Redding wouldnt expand on its existing relationship with Easton but would instead have to form a district with Bethel, Ridgefield and Newtown. I cant even imagine how it would play out, she said. It would be creating a huge mess. Concerns grow The Ridgefield school board has also sent a letter to the state opposing school regionalization. The letter argues these proposals will reduce or threaten local accountability and reduce the efficacy of local school organizations. Bethel Superintendent of Schools Christine Carver said some parents and taxpayers have reached out to her opposing the bill. While the school board hasnt taken a formal position, Carver said she also doesnt like the bill as written. Each district has invested in different programs and so officials question if this would require schools to get rid of existing initiatives or pay to add others so that there is equity across the board. Its four very different towns with different priorities, Parkin said. Carver said she understands wanting to find ways to save money, but doesnt think the data shows this plan will do that. Instead, it poses a greater risk of hurting student achievement because it would make the district large, she said. Bethels regional district would have about 13,700 students, based on the most recent enrollment numbers reported by the state Department of Education. As they now stand, Danbury has about 11,500 students, Stamford has about 16,000 and Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury and Hartford all have between 19,000 and 21,500 students, according to the state. All of these cities have more than 40,000 people and would be exempt. Looney said programs would have to be negotiated and new bargaining units created once existing contracts expire. He said the towns would probably contribute to the district proportionally based on the number of students. Cost savings A main goal of the proposal is to save money with the idea that not as many top administrators with six-figure salaries, including superintendents, will be needed. But school boards doubt removing a superintendent would generate the savings politicians expect. If you get rid of the person at the top, it doesnt mean you dont have to have more in the middle, Whaley said. Looney said the savings would be administrative and he doesnt propose closing any buildings. Instead, it could mean students attending schools that are geographically closer, such as a West Redding student going to Branchville Elementary School in Ridgefield. Its unclear how towns would pay for the building maintenance in those cases and who would be responsible for the students getting there. There is also a question about the impact on existing regional schools, like Joel Barlow High School, which now serves students from both Easton and Redding. Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media WASHINGTON Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Thursday that he thinks Congress will subpoena special counsel Robert Muellers report on Russian interference in U.S. elections if lawmakers dont receive a comprehensive summary of the document from the Justice Department. According to several media reports based on unidentified sources, Mueller is close to wrapping up his two-year probe and issuing a final report to the Justice Department. Blumenthal told CNN Thursday there will be subpoenas from Congress, including, I hope, from the Senate Judiciary Committee, if that information isnt released to Congress and the public. Some of southwestern Connecticuts largest companies have earmarked hundreds of millions of dollars in recent weeks for the same target their own stock. Those moves reflect a nationwide surge in stock buybacks since the 2017 U.S. tax reform, which significantly cut the corporate tax rate. Executives said the share repurchases reflect their desire to use their gains to increase value for shareholders, but the practice has sparked criticism from some Congressional leaders who argue that the strategy exacerbates income inequality and undermines long-term economic growth. There is a clear connection between this peak in buybacks and the tax cut that the president signed in 2017, said Chinmoy Ghosh, head of the finance department in the University of Connecticuts business school. It created a major cash inflow for many companies, and one of the resulting uses has been to buy back stock and give back some of the money to shareholders. Focus on shareholders Many corporate bottom lines ballooned in the wake of the tax overhaul, which lowered the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. U.S. companies responded last year by using their windfalls to repurchase a record $1 trillion of their own shares. The total exceeded the annual gross domestic product of all countries not among the worlds 16 largest national economies. The proliferation of buybacks has extended into the new year. Greenwich-based XPO Logistics announced last week it would repurchase up to $1.5 billion of its common stock. A week earlier, the company completed repurchasing 18 million shares, for a total of about $1 billion. Those buybacks represent a pivot for a firm that has forged its growth through buying other businesses. Between 2011 and 2015, the company made 17 acquisitions. M&A is in our corporate DNA, theres no question about that, XPO CEO Bradley Jacobs said on a Feb. 15 call with investment analysts. We have a very good track record with creating significant shareholder value through M&A. But today the best M&A target is acquiring our own stock. Thats where were going to deploy our resources for the foreseeable future. On Feb. 7, Stamford-based WWE announced a program to repurchase up to $500 million in stock. The stock-repurchase program underscores our commitment to the companys shareholders, WWE Co-President George Barrios said on a Feb. 7 call with investment analysts. The decision was supported by WWEs strong financial performance and demonstrates our confidence in the companys future. Two days earlier, Stamford-based Pitney Bowes said it would repurchase $100 million of its shares. Stamford-based United Rentals, another prolific buyer of other companies in recent years, is also focusing increasingly on buybacks. Last December, it announced that it would resume its $1.25 billion repurchase program. The program started last July, with $210 million of shares purchased through last September. United then paused the program last November to focus on the integration of its $2.1 billion acquisition of equipment-rental firm BlueLine. Companies are using a range of sources, including cash on hand and bonding, to pay for the buybacks. Pitney has reduced its stock dividend to finance its latest repurchases, although it said doing so would not change the amount of capital expected to be returned this year to shareholders. Mixed results Buybacks represents one of the main tools for boosting stock value. They reduce share supply, in turn raising share prices. They also entail less of a long-term commitment than increases in stock dividends, which companies are generally reluctant to reverse. We believe that Pitney Bowes (stock) is undervalued and that share repurchase is an attractive investment at this time, Pitney CEO and President Marc Lautenbach said on a Feb. 5 call with investment analysts. Pitney shares closed Friday at around $8. The price lags a 52-week high of about $13. But in a market that has dealt with sharp fluctuations in recent months, buybacks have not assured an immediate price spike. United shares closed Friday at about $137, compared with a 52-week high of about $190. XPOs shares dropped Feb. 15, by more than 10 percent, to about $51. The decrease came a day after the company missed its fourth-quarter earnings targets and announced reduced business from its largest customer, which is widely believed to be Amazon. Its stock closed Friday at around $52. The S&P 500 Buyback Index which comprises the 100 companies within the main S&P 500 index with the highest buyback ratios ended 2018 with an 8.7 percent annual decline in its value. The main S&P 500 finished last year with total returns down 4.4 percent year-over-year. Growing debate The proliferation of share buybacks has sparked concerns among some lawmakers on Capitol Hill that repurchases disproportionately benefit executives and affluent shareholders and come at the expense of companies rank-and-file workers. In a New York Times op-ed earlier this month, U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Bernie Sanders from Vermont, who announced this week his second run for president, said they planned to introduce legislation that would prevent companies from buying back stock unless they first invested in workers and communities. They advocate for initiatives including a $15-per-hour minimum wage, seven days of paid sick leave, decent pensions and more reliable health benefits. Why wouldnt it be better for our national economy if, instead, of buying back stock, corporations paid all of their workers better wages and provided good benefits? Schumer and Sanders wrote, in part, in the op-ed. Why should a company whose pension program is underfunded be able to buy back stock before shoring up the pension fund? Companies buying back stock counter that they are still investing in their workers through wage increases and comprehensive benefits packages. XPO announced last week a new program to support pregnant employees and their employees. Some critics of the company, such as U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said they were still skeptical of the companys intentions, citing alleged worker mistreatment at an XPO warehouse in Memphis, Tenn. In January 2018, Pitney Bowes said it would commit more than $18 million annually to raise wages of most of its U.S. hourly employees. But the company also said at the same time, that it planned to cut costs by $200 million during the next two years 60 percent of which would be people related. Pitney Bowes officials have since declined to comment further on the people-related savings. There is definitely some argument to be made that buybacks benefit a small portion of the population because not everybody owns stock, said UConns Ghosh. But its part of a bigger issue about how the wealth that is created in this country is distributed. pschott@scni.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott Now that Im retired I felt that I had more time to dedicate to the city, Lee said in explaining his inaugural run for office. Its the place I felt I could go and be of the most service because somebodys got to right this ship. Somebodys got to get this ship back on track and the leaders that Harvey has had are people that lacked a certain level of integrity, and I felt I could bring that to the table. Washington: Top trade officials from the US and China have started their latest, and possibly the last round of talks to negotiate a comprehensive trade deal before their self-imposed deadline of March 1. US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during their dinner summit on December 1 in Buenos Aires had agreed to temporarily pause their trade war till March 1 and arrive at a trade deal by then. The two countries have held at least half a dozen such rounds of talks since then. In the absence of a trade deal, Trump has indicated, a fresh round of import duties will be imposed on Chinese products. However, the US president is willing to extend the deadline and not impose fresh import duties, if he sees progress in the talks. The American delegation for the talks on Thursday was led by US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer and included Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. The Chinese delegation was led by Vice Premier Liu He and included the Central Bank Governor Yi Gang among others. This is the fourth time Liu He, who is also a special envoy of President Xi Jinping, is travelling to the US for trade talks. The high-level talks are expected to last for two days. Continuing discussions about the trade relationship between the United States and China, the USTR tweeted. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Vatican City: Pope Francis opened a landmark sex abuse prevention summit on Thursday by offering senior Catholic leaders 21 proposals to punish predators and keep children safe, warning that the faithful are demanding concrete action and not just words. The tone for the high stakes, four-day summit was set at the start, with victims from five continents --- Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and North America --- telling the bishops of the trauma of their abuse and the additional pain the churchs indifference caused them. Listen to the cry of the young, who want justice, Francis told the gathering of 190 leaders of bishops conferences and religious orders. The holy people of God are watching and expect not just simple and obvious condemnations, but efficient and concrete measures to be established. More than 30 years after the scandal first erupted in Ireland and Australia, and 20 years after it hit the US, bishops and Catholic officials in many parts of Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia still either deny that clergy sex abuse exists in their regions or play down the problem. Francis, the first Latin American pope, called the summit after he himself botched a well-known sex abuse cover-up case in Chile last year and the scandal reignited in the US. With his own papacy and the Catholic hierarchy at large facing a credibility crisis, Francis has now vowed to chart a new course and is bringing the rest of the church leadership along with him. The summit is meant as a tutorial for church leaders around the globe to learn the importance of preventing sex abuse in their churches, tending to victims and investigating the crimes when they occur. The Vaticans onetime sex crimes prosecutor delivered a step-by-step lesson Thursday on how to conduct an investigation under canon law, citing the example of Pope Benedict XVI, who turned the Vatican around on the issue two decades ago. Calling for a conversion from a culture of silence to a culture of disclosure, Archbishop Charles Scicluna told bishops they should cooperate with civil law enforcement investigations and announce decisions about predators to their communities once cases have been decided. He said victims had the right to damages from the church and that bishops should consider using lay experts to help guide them during abuse investigations. The people of God should come to know us as friends of their safety and that of their children and youth, he said. We will protect them at all cost. We will lay down our lives for the flocks entrusted to us. Finally, Scicluna warned them that it was a grave sin to withhold information from the Vatican about candidates for bishops --- a reference to the recent scandal of the now-defrocked former American cardinal, Theodore McCarrick. It was apparently an open secret in some church circles that McCarrick slept with young seminarians. He was defrocked last week by Francis after a Vatican trial found credible reports that he abused minors as well as adults. Francis offered a path of reform going forward, handing out a 21-point set of proposals for the church to consider including some that would require changes to canon law. He called for specific protocols to handle accusations against bishops, in yet another reference to the McCarrick scandal. He suggested protocols to govern the transfers of seminarians or priests to prevent predators from moving freely to unsuspecting communities. One idea called for raising the minimum age for marriage to 16 while another suggested a basic handbook showing bishops how to investigate cases. Abuse survivors have turned out in droves in Rome to demand accountability and transparency from church leaders and assert that the time of sex abuse cover-ups is over. The question is this: Why should the church be allowed to handle the pedophile question? The question of pedophilia is not a question of religion, it is (a question of) crime, Francesco Zanardi, head of the main victims advocacy group in Italy Rete LAbuso, or Abuse Network, told a news conference in the Italian parliament. Inside the summit hall Thursday, the church leaders heard five videotaped testimonies from victims about their abuse and cruel treatment from an indifferent hierarchy. One woman from Africa told the summit that the priest who began raping her at 15 forced her to have three abortions over the following 13 years. He gave me everything I wanted when I accepted to have sex; otherwise he would beat me, she said. The victims names were not released to protect their privacy, but Chilean survivor Juan Carlos Cruz confirmed he provided a video. You are the physicians of the soul and yet, with rare exceptions, you have been transformed ? in some cases ? into murderers of the soul, into murderers of the faith, Cruz said in his testimony. Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle choked up as he responded to such testimony, telling the bishops that the wounds they had inflicted on the faithful through their negligence and indifference recalled the wounds of Christ on the cross. In the keynote speech, he demanded bishops and superiors no longer turn a blind eye to the harm caused by clergy abuse and cover-ups. Our lack of response to the suffering of victims, yes even to the point of rejecting them and covering up the scandal to protect perpetrators and the institution, has injured our people, Tagle said. The result, he said, had left a deep wound in our relationship with those we are sent to serve. (AP) SCY SCY 022200 For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to keep Pakistan in the grey list for now, despite Indias push to blacklist it over terror funding. The decision to keep Pakistan in the grey list was taken at the end of week-long meetings by the FATF in Paris on Friday. Pakistan is already in the grey list and has time till October to avoid being blacklisted, technically referred to as countries under high-risk and other monitored jurisdiction. It has bought time till October 2019 to implement the conditions set by the FATF, failing which it will fall into the blacklist. Iran and North Korea are currently blacklisted. After Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility of killing 40 CRPF jawans in Pulwama on February 14, India had made a strong case against Pakistans non-compliance in curbing terror funding and provided new information to the watchdog relating to Pakistan. The details of the terrorist groups operation have been provided to the FATF, said an Indian official to Reuters. The Paris-headquartered FATF is a global body created to counter terrorism financing and money laundering. Over 800 officials from global multilateral bodies, including the IMF and World Bank, are in Paris for the six-day FATF gathering. The result is expected to be announced during the FATF presidents briefing on the outcome of the plenary. We will publish the outcome from the meeting, including our updated statements identifying high-risk and other monitored jurisdictions, at the end of the meeting, on Friday afternoon, Alexandra Wijmenga-Daniel, FATF communications management advisor, quoted as communicating through an email. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Pakistani troops at the LoC in Kashmir on Friday, and asked them to be ready to face any eventuality. Radio Pakistan reported that Bajwa lauded high morale of the troops. Bajwa said Pakistan is a peace loving country but it will not be intimidated or coerced. COAS visited Line of Control. Reviewed state of preparedness. Lauded high moral of troops. Pakistan is a peace loving country but we will not be intimidated or coerced. Any aggression or misadventure shall be paid back in same coin, COAS. pic.twitter.com/RUpdCzxWeI Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 22, 2019 "Any aggression or misadventure shall be paid back in the same coin," Radio Pakistan quoted Bajwa as saying. Earlier in the day, Major General Asif Ghafoor, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said India has levelled allegations against his country "without due investigation" after 40 CRPF personnel were killed in a suicide attack was a Jaish-e-Mohammed man in Pulwama on February 14. He also alleged that the terrorist belonged to Kashmir. Major Ghafoor said Pakistan took some time to respond to Indias allegations as his army was investigating the matter. He said New Delhi has not yet accepted the "reality of partition". "We are not preparing for war. It's you(India) who is sending war threats. We're not preparing for initiating a war but we have a right to respond to the war threats from your side," said Major Ghafoor. Major Ghafoor said Pakistan does not draw any benefit from Pulwama terrorist attack. Our PM has made India an unprecedented offer. Never before was such an offer made, he said in a press conference. Major said there are two senior Pakistan Army officials under the military custody on the charges of espionage. The Army chief has ordered their court-martial. It is in the process. Both are individual cases, there is no link between the two cases. "We have a 72-year history. The partition happened in 1947 and Pakistan was liberated. India still hasn't been able to accept that," the Army spokesman said. He further said: "Should you (India) initiate any reaction first, you would never be able to surprise us...we will surprise you." He said when it comes to India, "Pakistan has singleness of conception. We have will and determination." Ghafoor warned that military response this time will be different in case of war. "We are not the army of past, we are a battle-hardened army. We have fought against an unseen enemy and won," he said. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Pakistan claimed to have taken over the control of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) headquarters in Bahawalpur on Tuesday. "The Government of Punjab has taken over the control of a campus (Jaish-e-Mohammed headquarters) comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur," said the government of Pakistan attributed to the spokesman of the Ministry of Interior in tweeted. The Jaish has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on CRPF forces in Pulwama in the Jammu and Kashmir that resulted in the death of 40 jawans on February 14. The spokesman said that the action was taken in line with the decision of the National Security Committee meeting held on Thursday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The Government of Punjab has taken over the control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur: Spokesman of the Ministry of Interior Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) February 22, 2019 Pakistan is under pressure since the Pulwama attack took place as India among several other nations have been demanding action against the terrorist group and its chief Masood Azhar reportedly based in Pakistan. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Friday, decided to keep Pakistan on its grey list at the end of its week-long plenary meeting in Paris. India had lobbied hard to get the global financial body to blacklist Pakistan for non-compliance in curbing terror financing. India wanted Pakistan to be put under "closer scrutiny immediately" and has demanded that "stronger implementation" be sought from Islamabad in curbing terror financing. India had even prepared a dossier for the watchdog nailing the culpability of Pakistan in the Pulwama terror strike, the worst such attack in J&K in decades. "This will be a dossier on Pakistani agencies' links with the JeM and how the terror group is being aided by them. The details of the terror attacks carried out by the JeM in the past will be mentioned in the document," a security official previously told news agency PTI. The dossier will reportedly also highlight how the Pakistani agencies are providing funds to the JeM. Incidentally, in June 2018, Pakistan was put on the FATF grey list for failing to curb terror financing, courtesy a concerted bilateral effort by India with the US, UK, France and Germany all through 2017. Islamabad had reportedly been given a 27-point action plan to implement by September 2019, failing which it would be put on the FATF black list alongside North Korea and Iran post the October 2019 FAFT meeting. Pakistan had reportedly landed on the black list between 2012 and 2015. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Google is celebrating late Steve Irwin, more popularly known as the "Crocodile Hunter", with a Doodle. Today, February 22, would be his 57th birthday, which is also Australia's National Wildlife Day. Google has put together a slideshow of illustrations showing the Australian wildlife conservationist exploring the great outdoors, holding a crocodile and hanging out with his wife Terri and kids Bindi and Robert. To honour his legacy, Google Doodle has released a bunch of illustrations which follow the Crocodile Hunter's conservation efforts and achievements. The doodle above the search bar featured a cartoon of Steve smiling while holding a large crocodile. The gallery slider also featured many memorable moments of the conversationalist's life, including sketches of his family carrying on his legacy at Australia Zoo. Irwin died in September 2006 when a stingray barb went through his chest during filming for a documentary project. He left behind wife Terri, daughter Bindi and son Robert, now 15. "Today's Google Doodle acknowledges the life and achievements of my husband Steve Irwin, whose efforts to protect wildlife and wild places have been recognized as the most extensive of any conservationist," wrote Irwin's wife Terri in a blog post for Google. Terri, now 54, has previously admitted she still feels close to Steve, refusing to remarry or even go on date, as reported by Daily Mail. And on Friday, Bindi Irwin, now 20, posted a beautiful tribute to the late great 'Crocodile Hunter'. Alongside a photo of Steve cradling her when she was just a tiny bub, she wrote, 'Thank you for always being my guiding light.' Last year, Steve received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, more than a decade after his shock death. Over the course of his life, Irwin found worldwide fame as an enthusiastic conservationist. His passion for wildlife started as a child when he would help out at his parents' roadside wildlife park in Queensland. It was there that he met his wife Terri Raines, and the pair married in her hometown of Eugene, Oregon, in 1992. Instead of a honeymoon, the newlyweds traveled back to Australia to try and save a crocodile that was being hunted by a poacher, according to Raines. Washington: Scientists have developed an astrocomb, a tool that precisely measures frequencies or colours of light, which can help widen the search for Earth-like planets, and perhaps extraterrestrial life. The custom-made frequency comb, developed by researchers from National Institute of Standards and Technologys (NIST) in the US, provides the precision needed for discovering and characterising planets orbiting M dwarf stars, which comprise 70 per cent of the stars in the galaxy and are plentiful near Earth. These improved tools should allow us to find habitable planets around the most ubiquitous stars in our galaxy, said Scott Diddams, from NIST. A stars nuclear furnace emits white light, which is modified by elements in the atmosphere that absorb certain narrow bands of colour. To search for planets orbiting distant stars, astronomers look for periodic changes in this characteristic fingerprint, that is, very small variations in the apparent colours of starlight over time. These oscillations in colour are caused by the star being tugged to and fro by the gravitational pull of an unseen orbiting planet. This apparent wobble is subtle, and measurements are limited by the frequency standards used to calibrate spectrographs. Hundreds of exoplanets have been discovered using star wobble analysis, but a planet with a mass similar to that of Earth and orbiting at just the right distance from a starin the so-called Goldilocks zoneis hard to detect with conventional technology. Data collected by the team show the astrocomb will make it possible to detect Earth-mass planets that cause colour shifts equivalent to a star wobble of about one metre per secondat least 10 times better than previously achieved in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Infrared light is the main type emitted by M dwarf stars. While the idea of using frequency combs to aid planet discovery has generated a lot of interest around the world, NISTs astrocomb is the first in operation at near-infrared wavelengths, researchers said. Other combs currently operating on a telescope, such as the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) in Chile, are dedicated to visible light measurements, they said. For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Washington: Exercising can help counter the effects of jet lag, shift work, and other disruptions to the body's internal clock and help people cope with erratic schedules. The researchers from University of California, San Diego and Arizona State University in the US examined body clocks following exercise in 101 participants for up to five and a half days. The circadian "body"' clock is the 24 hour cycle that regulates many physiological processes including sleeping and eating. Many factors affect this internal body clock including light and time cues. Exercise has been known to cause shifts in the circadian clock however very little is known about this effect. The study, published in The Journal of Physiology, showed that exercising at 7 am or between 1 and 4 pm advanced the body clock to an earlier time, and exercising between 7 and10 pm delayed the body clock to a later time. Exercising between 1 and 4 am and at 10 am, however, had little effect on the body clock, and the phase-shifting effects of exercise did not differ based on age nor gender. "Exercise has been known to cause changes to our body clock. We were able to clearly show in this study when exercise delays the body clock and when it advances it," said Shawn Youngstedt, from Arizona State University. "This is the first study to compare exercise's effects on the body clock, and could open up the possibility of using exercise to help counter the negative effects of jet lag and shift work," Youngstedt said in a statement. The baseline timing of each participant's body clock was determined from urine samples collected every 90 minutes to measure the time of the evening rise in melatonin and the peak of melatonin several hours later. Participants then walked or ran on a treadmill at a moderate intensity for one hour per day for three consecutive days. They exercised at one of eight different times of day or night, but each individual exercised at the same time on all three days or nights. The timing of the body clock was re-assessed following the third exercise session. Given that the subjects tested were more physically active than average, the results might not translate to the average person. Further research will look at combining exercise with bright lights and melatonin to see what impact this has on body clocks, as well as examining the effect of changes in exercise duration and intensity on the body clock. New Delhi: In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the prime time minister continued shooting for a film till even three hours after news of the Pulwama terror strike came in. There was an ocean of pain in the countrys hearts and in the homes of martyrs and he was smiling and doing a photoshoot in the waters, Gandhi said on Twitter with the hashtag PhotoShootSarkar. Even after three hours of the news of the 40 jawans being martyred in the Pulwama terror strike, the prime time minister continued with a film shooting, the Congress president tweeted in Hindi. On Thursday, the Congress cited media reports to allege that Modi continued shooting for a film in the Corbett National Park on February 14 for self propagation, and stayed put till the evening despite the attack on a CRPF convoy in south Kashmirs Pulwama district in the afternoon that day. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, addressing a press conference, launched an all-out attack on the government and the prime minister over the Pulwama terror strike. In his hunger for power, the prime minister has forgotten "raj dharma" (duty of governance), he alleged. "The terror attack happened at 3:10 pm, but the prime minister was busy shooting for his promotional film till 6:40 pm. When the whole country was mourning the loss of lives of our jawans in the Pulwama attack in the afternoon, PM Modi was busy shooting for a film till the evening. Is there any PM in the world like this," Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said at a press conference. "The prime minister also knew about it, yet the PM, a person who claims himself to be a pseudo-nationalist, continues to shoot a film (for Discovery channel) for self-propagation in Corbett National Park in Ramnagar," he claimed. He alleged that the prime minister continued to "enjoy boat rides" with the camera crew and later ensured that there is slogan shouting by BJP people in his favour there."The prime minister continues to eat chai, samosas at seven o' clock at government expense in a PWD guest house when every single Indian household didn't eat their food," the Congress spokesperson said. On one hand, the country was picking up the "pieces of our martyrs", on the other hand the prime minister was doing his "propaganda and publicity", he claimed. "Can such conduct be expected from the prime minister of a country. The prime minister should have been chairing the cabinet committee on security immediately and should have taken action, instead of shooting films," he said. Surjewala said that the Congress party had shown restraint as directed by party president Rahul Gandhi, but it was important to raise issues of such conduct that "insults martyrs". "The Congress party and the entire nation stands united with our armed forces as also our government in every step that they take in tackling Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. We are determined in that resolve even today," he said. The Congress leader said that questions must be asked about the gross intelligence failure of this government and on the "priorities of a prime minister who on a sensitive time like this has gone on a foreign tour to South Korea instead of tackling terrorism". For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day visit to South Korea, will be conferred upon the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize on Friday, February 22, 2019. Modi will receive the honour in recognition of his dedication to international cooperation, global growth and human development. Modi is visiting South Korea on the invitation of President Moon Jae-in and aims to strengthen India's strategic ties with the country, seeking to enhance bilateral cooperation in diverse areas, including trade and investment. This is his second visit to the Republic of Korea since 2015 and the second summit meeting with President Moon Jae-in. Early in the day, while addressing the Indian diaspora in South Korea's Seoul, Modi thanked his countrymen for the Seoul Peace Prize Award 2018. "Tomorrow, I will be honoured with the Seoul Peace Prize. This prize is not mine, I will only be receiving it on behalf of 130 crore Indians and the 3 crore Indians living abroad. This prize is recognition of the hard work of all Indians," the prime minister was quoted as saying. PM Modi addressing the Indian diaspora in Seoul: Tomorrow, I will be honoured with Seoul Peace Prize. This prize is not mine, I will only be receiving it on behalf of 130 crore Indians&the 3 crore Indians living abroad. This prize is a recognition of hard work of all Indians. pic.twitter.com/zYAj4ahZYM ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2019 In his departure statement, Modi on Wednesday described South Korea as an important partner for India's key initiatives such as 'Make in India', and said as fellow democracies the two nations share values and vision for regional and global peace. The prime minister added that his visit is reflective of the importance the two countries attach to their relationship. As fellow market economies, our needs and strengths are complementary. South Korea is an important partner for our 'Make in India' initiative as well as in our 'Start-Up India' and 'Clean India' initiatives, Modi pointed out. He said collaboration between the two in the field of science and technology is encouraging, with joint research ranging from basic to advanced sciences. "Our people to people ties and exchanges, as always, provide the bedrock of our ties of friendship. We were touched by President Moon's decision to send the First Lady as his special representative at the 'Deepotsav' Festival held in Ayodhya last November," Modi said. The "growing depth and variety" in the relationship of the two countries has been accentuated by the harmony between New Delhi's Act East Policy and South Korea's New Southern Policy. "Working together, we are determined to take our relationship forward as a 'future-oriented partnership for People, Prosperity and Peace'," the prime minister said. (With inputs from agencies) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A Mumbai court on Friday has started a defamation process against Rahul Gandhi and Sitaram Yechury for making allegations against RSS over Gauri Lankesh murder. The defamation case was filed by one RSS worker. The court has asked both Rahul and Yechury to appear before the court in the next hearing on 25th March. On Thursday, a metropolitan magistrate's court has issued summons to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury after a defamation complaint was filed by an RSS worker for allegedly linking journalist Gauri Lankesh's murder with "BJP-RSS ideology". RSS worker and lawyer Dhrutiman Joshi had filed a private complaint in the court in 2017 against Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the CPI (M) and its general secretary Yechury. Magistrate P K Deshpande on February 18 ordered that "process be issued" against Rahul Gandhi and Yechury. He, however, dismissed the complaint against Sonia Gandhi and the CPI(M), saying a party cannot be held liable for comments made by individuals. The matter was set for further hearing on March 25. Lankesh was shot dead outside her house in Bengaluru in September 2017, allegedly by the members of a right-wing extremist group. Joshi alleged that within 24 hours of Lankesh's death, Rahul Gandhi told media persons that "anybody who speaks against the ideology of the BJP, against the ideology of the RSS is pressured, beaten, attacked and even killed". Yechury too stated that it was the RSS' ideology and the RSS men who had killed the journalist known for her trenchant criticism of right-wing politics, he alleged. Joshi claimed that these statements slandered the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and therefore a case of criminal defamation under IPC section 500 be registered against Rahul Gandhi, Yechury, CPI(M) and Sonia Gandhi. He named the CPI(M) because Yechury belongs to that party and Sonia Gandhi because she was then Congress chief. The Congress president is already facing another case for defamation, filed by a Bhiwandi-based RSS worker, for allegedly blaming the Sangh for Mahatma Gandhi's assassination. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday laid a wreath at the National Cemetery here and paid tribute to the fallen soldiers, including those who died in the Korean War. Prime Minister Modi arrived on a two-day visit to South Korea on Thursday to strengthen India's strategic ties with the country. He was also conferred with the Seaoul Peace Prize. He is the 14th person and the first Indian to get this award. On the first day of his visit, Modi unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the prestigious Yonsei University in Seoul along with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "PM Narendra Modi laid a wreath at the National Cemetery of the Republic of Korea that entombs remains of 165000 martyrs and paid homage to the fallen soldiers," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. Established in 1956, the Seoul National Cemetery is reserved for Korean veterans, including those who died in the Korean independence movement, Korean War and Vietnam War. On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Indian economy is based on sound fundamentals and will in the near future double in size to USD 5 trillion, as he had sold the country as a "land of opportunities" to investors in South Korea. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday laid a wreath at the National Cemetery here and paid tribute to the fallen soldiers, including those who died in the Korean War. Prime Minister Modi arrived on a two-day visit to South Korea on Thursday to strengthen India's strategic ties with the country. On the first day of his visit, Modi unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the prestigious Yonsei University in Seoul along with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "PM Narendra Modi laid a wreath at the National Cemetery of Republic of Korea that entombs remains of 165000 martyrs and paid homage to the fallen soldiers," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. Established in 1956, the Seoul National Cemetery is reserved for Korean veterans, including those who died in the Korean independence movement, Korean War and Vietnam War. 12:09 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In PM Modi: I would like to quote a portion of the 1988 Olympics Theme Song, as it captures the hopeful spirit for a better tomorrow for all- 'Hand in hand, we stand, all across the land, we can make this world, a better place in which to live.' 11:59 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Despite having a historically low carbon footprint, India has been playing an active role in the global fight against climate change: PM 11:58 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In India, as a responsible member of the international community, has been in the forefront of our collective fight against climate change: PM 11:56 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In We live in an increasingly interconnected world. Our growth and prosperity will inevitably contribute to global growth and development: PM 11:56 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Indias growth story is not only good for the people of India but also for the entire world, says PM. 11:53 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In A few weeks before the Seoul Olympics, an organization called Al-Qaeda was formed. Today, radicalisation and terrorism have become globalized and are the biggest threats to global peace and security: PM 11:52 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The games ended on Mahatma Gandhis birthday. The games showcased the best of Korean culture, warmth of Korean hospitality & success of the Korean economy, says PM Narendra Modi. 11:51 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The Seoul Peace Prize was established to commemorate the success of the 24th Summer Olympics held in Seoul in 1988, says PM. 11:48 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In PM Modi donates prize of Rs 1 crore 30 lakh to Namami Gange Projects. 11:47 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In I dedicate this award to the 1.3 billion people of India for giving me the opportunity to serve them. I am honoured that this award is being conferred on me in the year that we celebrate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi: PM 11:46 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In PM Narendra Modi on receiving Seoul Peace Prize: This award does not belong to me personally but to the people of India, the success India has achieved in the last 5 years, powered by the skill of 1.3 billion people. 11:45 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In PM Modi is the 14th person to be conferred with this award. 08:57 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Receive Seoul Peace Prize would be a matter of pride for me, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi 08:56 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In It was a matter of great honour for India to host First Lady Kim during Deep Utsav in Ayodhya, last year: PM Modi. 08:50 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Defence sector is an important part of our growing partnership with South Korea. An example of this is the induction of K-9 Vajra artillery gun in Indian Army, says PM Modi. 08:47 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "I express my gratitude to President Moon for his condolences on the Pulwama attack and support against terror. MoU signed between the two countries today will further take forward our counter-terrorism agenda," PM Modi. 07:36 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In South Korea: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook at Blue House (executive office and official residence of South Korean head of state) in Seoul. pic.twitter.com/rZblJiwlGI ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2019 07:36 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In South Korea: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accorded ceremonial reception at Blue House (executive office and official residence of South Korean head of state) in Seoul. pic.twitter.com/fN0IDV9RJo ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2019 For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Before the Pulwama attack, Maulana Masood Azhar-led Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) wanted to carry out a terror operation in national capital Delhi, according to sources. The Delhi Police and the military agencies have laid hands on an audio clip in which Masood was heard provoking Kashmiri youths against India and to carry out terror attacks. The plan was made by Abu Bakar. On January 24, the Delhi Police and the military intelligence arrested one Abdul Latif Gani from the Rajghat area in Delhi. On his cues, another person identified as Hilal Ahmad Bhatt was arrested from Kashmir. It was then that the security personnel got to know of the plan of a terror attack in Delhi. On mapping the mobile phones of both the terrorists, it was found that after Masoods nephews Usman and Talha Rasheed were gunned down by Indian security forces in 2017, he wanted to avenge their deaths and hence had planned an attack on Delhi. As per reports in a Hindi daily, in the audio clip, Masood is heard inciting Kashmiri youths against India asking them to avenge Usmans death. He is also heard saying that India has only given them an alternative between death and slavery. So, it is up to them to face death in Indias hands or attain martyrdom respectfully. The youths were also shown videos of terrorist killed by Indian forces and were asked to avenge their deaths. The sources also said that Indian security forces got to know that not only Delhi but also Ayodhya, Pune and Bengaluru were the targets of the terrorists. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Separatist leader Yasin Malik was detained by the Jammu and Kashmir police from his residence in Srinagar on Friday night. He was shifted to the Kothibagh police station. The detention came two days after the state administration said the security of 18 separatist leaders, including Malik, would be withdrawn. The JKLF leader on Thursday termed the announcement a "lie". While Malik said he had never received any protection from the state, hardline Hurriyat Conference termed the reports about the withdrawal of security of its chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani "ridiculous". "I have had no security with me for the last 30 years. So, when there was no security, what withdrawal are they talking about? This is utter dishonesty on part of the government" Malik told reporters. The JKLF chairman said he never had any security at his residence, office or even at his public rallies and he had turned down offers for it several times. He termed the notification a "lie". Home Minister Rajnath Singh, during his visit to Srinagar on Friday, had said security given to people getting funds from Pakistan and its snooping agency ISI should be reviewed. "Some elements in Jammu and Kashmir have links with the ISI and terrorist organisations. Their security should be reviewed," he had said after reviewing security in the aftermath of dastardly terror attack in South Kashmir's Pulwama district. Forty CRPF personnel were killed and five injured on Thursday in one of the deadliest terror strikes in Jammu and Kashmir when a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber blew up an explosive-laden vehicle near their bus in Pulwama district. The bus was part of a convoy of 78 vehicles carrying CRPF personnel from Jammu to Srinagar. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Two terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district on Friday, the Jammu and Kashmir police said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Warpora area of Sopore, in north Kashmir, acting on specific information about the presence of militants there, police said. The terrorists fired at the search party, leading to a gunfight. Two terrorists have been killed, a police official said, adding the operation was going on. The identity of the militants was yet to be ascertained. Baramulla: Two terrorists killed in an encounter with security forces in Sopore. Arms & ammunition recovered; identities & affiliations being ascertained. #JammuAndKashmir (visuals deferred by unspecified time). pic.twitter.com/52istInKNI ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2019 "Two top terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed were eliminated. There was no collateral damage and no injuries to security personnel. Identities yet to be ascertained. The public is requested not to venture into the operational area until it is sanitised," said DIG South Kashmir Atul Kumar Goel. Restrictions have also been imposed in the town to maintain law and order. Earlier on Monday, security forces had gunned down the mastermind of the Pulwama terror attack along with two other terrorists of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in a fierce encounter in which a major and four other security personnel were also killed. The encounter took place a week after 40 CRPF jawans lost their lives when a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist carried out an attack on the convoy of the security forces in Pulwama on February 14. Meanwhile on Friday, two suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were detained by the Uttar Pradesh ATS. A shopkeeper and 12 students, including two from Kashmir, were also detained in an ATS operation at Deoband. The ATS team had some inputs and on the basis of these, a private hostel located near the Khankah police station was raided. The Director General of Police (DGP) said one Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist was identified as Shahnawaz Ahmad Teli and was responsible for recruiting terrorists on the orders of Jaish. He is a resident of Kulgam in Jammu and Kashmir and will be interrogated on the Pulwama terror attack. The other terrorist has been identified as Aqib Ahmad, a resident of Pulwama. Two .32 pistols and 30 bullets have been recovered from the terrorists. Provocative videos also recovered from Shahnawaz. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Two Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were detained by the Uttar Pradesh ATS on Friday. A shopkeeper and 12 students, including 2 from Kashmir, were also detained in an ATS operation at Deoband. The ATS team had some inputs and on the basis of these, a private hostel located near the Khankah police station was raided. The Director General of Police (DGP) said, the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist was identified as Shahnawaz Ahmad Teli and was responsible for recruiting terrorists on the orders of Jaish. He is a resident of Kulgam in Jammu and Kashmir and will be interrogated on the Pulwama terror attack. The other terrorist has been identified as Aqib Ahmad, a resident of Pulwama. Two .32 pistols and 30 bullets have been recovered from the terrorists. Provocative videos also recovered from Shahnawaz. The DGP also said that Shahnawaz was an expert in using a grenade. The police will interrogate how many terrorists were recruited by him and what were their targets. They will also find out if the two arrested terrorists had any role in the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed in the Jammu-Srinagar highway on February 14. Sources have also revealed that before the Pulwama attack, the Maulana Masood Azhar-led Jaish-e-Mohammed wanted to carry out a terror operation in national capital Delhi, according to sources. The Delhi Police and the military agencies have laid hands on an audio clip in which Masood was heard provoking Kashmiri youths against India and to carry out terror attacks. The plan was made by Abu Bakar. On January 24, the Delhi Police and the military intelligence arrested one Abdul Latif Gani from the Rajghat area in Delhi. On his cues, another person identified as Hilal Ahmad Bhatt was arrested from Kashmir. It was then that the security personnel got to know of the plan of a terror attack in Delhi. On mapping the mobile phones of both the terrorists, it was found that after Masoods nephews Usman and Talha Rasheed were gunned down by Indian security forces in 2017, he wanted to avenge their deaths and hence had planned an attack on Delhi. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The CBI is likely to file a chargesheet in the INX media foreign investment clearance case as it has received sanction from the Centre to prosecute former finance minister P Chidambaram, under whose tenure approval for it was given, officials said on Friday. They said after clearance from the Centre, giving a go-ahead to the agency to press charges against Chidambaram, the CBI might soon proceed with the filing of the chargesheet. The CBI had registered an FIR on May 15, 2017 against alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007, when Chidambaram was the finance minister. The Law Ministry had told the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that there was "no legal infirmity" in the agency's request seeking prosecution sanction. This view has now been communicated to the CBI, they said. Chidambaram was not listed as an accused in the FIR registered by the agency. The Prevention of Corruption Act mandates an investigating agency to get prior sanction from competent authority for prosecution of an accused public servant. The agency had registered the FIR against Karti Chidamabaram, his company Chess Management Services, Peter Mukerjea and Indrani Mukerjea, INX Media, Advantage Strategic Consulting Services and its Director Padma Vishwanathan. Both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate are investigating the foreign investment clearance granted to the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006 and the INX Media in 2007. The government has already given sanction to prosecute Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis case. Chidambaram had denied allegations of any wrongdoing in clearing the foreign investment proposals of these companies. According to the CBI, INX Media stated in its records that Rs 10 lakh was given to Advantage Strategic Consulting (P) Limited, a firm "indirectly" owned by Karti, for management consultancy charged towards FIPB notification and clarification. The FIR also alleges that invoices of approximately Rs 3.5 crore were raised in favour of the INX group in the name of other companies in which Karti had substantial interests "directly or indirectly". The allegations levelled by the CBI are based on the information given by "source", the FIR has claimed. INX Media was seeking investment from Mauritius, an official had explained. The investment was allowed by the FIPB board and the finance minister with the condition that only Rs 4.62 crore could be received, he had said after registration of the FIR. For investment in INX News Pvt Ltd a separate proposal was required, he had said. The company allegedly violated the conditions set by the FIPB and received investment to the tune of 26 per cent in the capital of INX News which included foreign investment. It allegedly generated more than Rs 305 crore of FDI in INX Media against the approved inflow of Rs 4.62 crore by issuing shares to foreign investors at a premium of more than Rs 800 per share, the FIR had said. The violation prompted an Income Tax Department probe. INX Media claimed that the investment was done as per FIPB conditions, it had said. In order to wriggle out of the situation without any punitive action, INX Media entered into a criminal conspiracy with Karti whose father was the finance minister of the country, the agency has alleged. Officials, by virtue of the influence exercised over them by Karti, not only ignored serious illegalities on the part of INX Media but also showed undue favours by abusing their official position and advised the company to file for a fresh clearance, the FIR had claimed. Chidambaram had issued a strong rebuttal to the allegations after the FIR was filed and searches were carried out on May 16, 2017. He had said the government was using the CBI and other agencies to target his son. FIPB approval was granted in "hundreds of cases", the senior Congress leader had said. (With PTI inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Collaborating with Madame Tussauds Singapore, Indian Superstar Mahesh Babu will be launching his first and only wax figure in the world on March 25th, 2019 in Hyderabad. This will be a special moment for Madame Tussauds Singapore as this will be the first time unveiling a prestigious figure outside of Singapore. Maheshs wax figure will join Madame Tussauds Singapore the home of other A-list icons, the IIFA Award Experience and the new upcoming Ultimate Film Star Experience. All his fans will be able to get up close and grab their selfies with superstar Mahesh very soon. Mahesh - one of the most successful actors of Telugu cinema has had many achievements in his career. I am quite excited for the honour and this is a moment to cherish. It took over four hours to get the measurements and other details. Like all my fans, I am also eagerly waiting to see my wax statue of Madame Tussauds said Mahesh Babu. The skilled Madame Tussauds sculpting team specially traveled to Hyderabad to meet Mahesh Babu and conduct a detailed sitting process. More than 200 measurements were taken; the team also matched the hair and eye color of the actor to ensure a truly authentic representation of the star. Alex Ward, General Manager of Madame Tussauds Singapore said, Mahesh Babu is a superstar and we are honoured to partner with him. To finally add a Tollywood star to our attraction is an important step. We receive many Indian tourists from all over the country and our goal is to represent the best of Indian cinema. Madame Tussauds Singapore continues to grow their attraction with more immersive experiences. In spring they will also launch the Ultimate Film Star Experience. Guests will go on a behind the scenes journey, where they will rise to fame. This experience will give guests the chance to audition for a leading role as they act, dance and star alongside superstars of Indian cinema surrounded by interactive technology! For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Mumbai: Taimur Ali Khan is already a household name thanks to the constant media attention on the two-year-old but mother Kareena Kapoor Khan says the scrutiny is sometimes too much. The actor said while she and husband Saif Ali Khan don't believe in stopping the paparazzi from clicking pictures of their son, the media should be a little more responsible. When asked how does she look at the massive popularity of Taimur, Kareena told PTI, "We view it as something socially irresponsible because we have been such good parents, we haven't shied away, we never hid Taimur's face. In Hollywood, they don't allow children's faces to come (publish). But because Saif and I took the modern approach, we can't do that." Kareena Kapoor Khan and son #TaimurAliKhan return from their Parisian getaway! pic.twitter.com/0uSpZv5bHB Kareena Kapoor Khan (@KareenaOnline) January 12, 2019 The 38-year-old actor said both Saif and her don't want to to cover Taimur's face when they are out as it will "probably scar him more." "He would think 'what is happening?' I don't want him to grow up in that fear. I want him to grow up and fly, that's what parents want their children to do. I can't keep him away." Kareena said just a "little bit more responsibility" should be there because he is a child. "That would be nice from the media. I have never stopped them. But the constant attention, scrutiny (isn't good). Hopefully he's going to be a cool kid like his parents, be more interested in music and sports. That's what we want," she said on the sidelines of an event where she was announced as the ambassador for 'Swasth Immunised India' - a nationwide vaccination and immunisation campaign. Kareena Kapoor and son #TaimurAliKhan were clicked while going out and about in Mumbai with Babita! pic.twitter.com/RDTC3btaHn Kareena Kapoor Khan (@KareenaOnline) January 14, 2019 Kareena said she has become a lot more responsible after becoming a mother and feels her life now revolves around Taimur. "It's important for mothers to have the knowledge of vaccination, they have to get the child immunised. It's important for mothers to have more knowledge because for a newborn infant, they are taking that responsibility. "That's why my life is in Taimur's hands because everything's about him. I hope people understand that and take it in a positive way," she added. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Lucknow: The BJP's key allies in Uttar Pradesh, the Apna Dal and the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) have expressed "displeasure" with the ruling party for allegedly not taking care of its alliance partners and said they were "open" to take their own course of action in the run-up to the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. While the Apna Dal said it was "free to make its own decision", the SBSP went a step ahead asserting that its option to join the SP-BSP alliance in the state for the upcoming general elections was open. Speaking to reporters in Bareilly, Apna Dal leader and Union minister Anupriya Patel said, "Some differences cropped up between the Apna Dal and the BJP. We had given them time till February 20 to resolve the issues, but there is no answer from the BJP. It appears they are not interested in taking care of their allies". "Now, the Apna Dal is free to make its own decision. A party meeting has been called to chalk out our future course of action," Patel added. The Apna Dal, a crucial ally of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, had won two seats - Mirzapur and Pratapgarh in 2014 Lok Sabha Elections. In Ballia, Uttar Pradesh minister and SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar also accused the BJP of creating confusion and not fulfilling his party's demands, and said the option for his outfit to join the SP-BSP alliance in the state for the upcoming general elections was "open". The SBSP, which has four MLAs in the 403-member Assembly, had contested the Uttar Pradesh civic polls separately. Rajbhar said he was in talks with TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, SP president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati, and a decision on retaining or severing ties with the BJP would be taken after February 24. Rajbhar had last week written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to give up the charge of the backward class welfare department, expressing disappointment that his recommendations on the appointment of state backward castes panel members have been "ignored". However, on February 17, the SBSP chief said his offer to give up the charge of the department was not accepted by the chief minister, who had assured him that the matter would be looked into. "The BJP is creating confusion. I am not satisfied with the talks with him (BJP chief). Discussions are going on for a number of days... They are promising but not fulfilling our demands," alleged Rajbhar, who had recently met BJP national president Amit Shah. Asked about the possibility of him parting ways with the BJP, he said, "The option of tying up with the SP-BSP alliance or with any other party is open. We can go anywhere." "I am in talks with West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, SP president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati. I will decide on leaving or remaining with the BJP on February 24." the SBSP chief told reporters in Lucknow. On February 10, the party had threatened to part ways with the saffron party if the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government does not implement a social justice panel's recommendation to classify various OBC and Dalit sub-castes into three broad categories and provide quota within quota to them. "It is implemented in Bihar and nine other states. Then why can it not be put into effect in Uttar Pradesh," Rajbhar asked. The committee, constituted in May last year, had in its recommendations to the state government, favoured classification of various OBC and Dalit sub-castes into three broad categories, backward, very backward and most backward, and provide quota within quota to them. Backward classes account for about 44 per cent of the electorate in the state and play a crucial role in making or marring political prospects of any party. The panel's recommendation to is likely to spice up the political scene in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. New Delhi: In an unusual move, the Delhi government has set the cut-off marks higher for the Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates than that for the general category aspirants in one of its recruitment exams conducted to appoint science teachers in schools. While the qualifying marks for the general category candidates is set at 80.96, the SC candidates will have to score 85.45 to make it through. The cut-off for the OBC category (73.45) is a few marks below than that for the general category and is 12 less than the SC cut-off. The lowest cut-off, 69.31 marks, is for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category. The Delhi Directorate of Education had in September conducted the Delhi Government Teacher Recruitment Exam to fill 222 vacant posts for science teachers in various government school across the national capital. Of the 222 vacant posts, 31 seats are reserved for the SC category candidates. The qualification mark for general category candidates in such examinations is usually higher than that for the other category candidates such as SC, ST and OBC. However, in some of the government examination such as the Rajasthan Public Service Commission, the cut-off marks for general category candidates is lower than the cut-off set for the backward class candidates. In 2013, the Rajasthan Public Service Commission set the OBC cut-off at the highest level in the Rajasthan Civil Services exam or the RAS exam. About the Delhi Directorate of Education: Delhi Directorate of Education (Del E) is the department under the education ministry of Delhi Government that manages the city's public school system. Directorate of Education divides Delhi region into 12 districts and 28 zones with the hierarchy from district to zones. Each district consists of one or more zones with District Education Officer as the head of education, similarly, each zone has Zonal Education Officer to command the education department of the zonal level. New Delhi: The Delhi University has released the final date sheet for UG (Theory) semester mode. The candidates who are preparing for the examination can visit the official website of Delhi University i.e. exam.du.ac.in - to check and download the final date. For the convenience of the students, we have provided the direct link below through which the candidates can check the datesheet. Direct link to download Delhi University UG final datesheet 2019. Delhi University will conduct UG exams in May and June 2019. DU has released the final datesheet for following subjects. Final date sheet of Choice Based Credit System (Semester II/IV/VI) Exams May-2019 B.SC.(H) SEM.II/IV/VI BA(H) SEM.II/IV/VI BAP SEM.II/IV/VI BCOM H Sem.II/IV/VI BCOM Sem.II/IV/VI BSC(P) Sem.II/IV/VI BSc Mathematical Science Sem.II/IV/VI Date-Sheet Ability Enchacement Sem. II Date-Sheet Generic Elective Sem.II-IV Final date sheet of (Three Year Undergraduate Courses (Semester-II/IV/VI) Exams May-2019 B.A. (Hons) Programme Semester-II/IV/VI B.Com. (Hons) Programme Semester-II/IV/VI B.Sc. (Hons) Programme Semester-II/IV/VI B.Sc. (Programme) Semester-II/IV/VI B.Sc. (Hons) Mathematics Semester-II/IV/VI B.Sc. Mathematical Sciences Semester-II/IV/VI B.Com. Semester-II/IV/VI B.A. (Programme) Semester-II/IV/VI Environmental Studies Semester-II Final Date sheet of Under Graduate Sem.IV/VI/VIII (Students admitted under erstwhile FYUP-2013 Exams May-2019) Arts Courses Semester-IV/VI Science Courses Semester-IV/VI/VIII Commerce Courses Semester-III/V Allied Course Semester-IV/VI/VIII Final date sheet of Annual Mode (Part-I/II/III) Exams May/June-2019 B.A. (Programme) NCWEB Part I/II/III B.Com. (Programme) NCWEB Part I/II/III Compulsory Test in Hindi Sem II- & Five-Year Integrated Programme in Journalism Sem. II/IV Exams May/June-2019 Compulsory Test in Hindi (CTH) Five Year Integrated Programme in Journalism Sem. II/IV Please purchase a subscription read this premium content. If you have a subscription, please sign up for a digital website account or log in. Australia's Prime Minister is in Auckland for his first official visit to New Zealand - and there are some things you should know about him. While Scott Morrison may be leader of one of the world's top 20 economies, you can't be blamed for not recognising the 50-year-old Prime Minister. Australia has had an unusually high turnover of leaders - seven in just 10 years - compared to four Prime Ministers in 10 years in New Zealand. It's meant that it can be difficult to keep up with Australia's PMs, and Mr Morrison is no exception. It was reported in December that leaders gathered for the G20 summit in Buenos Aires had difficulty recognising him. But Mr Morrison is an interesting politician; after all, he managed to win a fierce leadership battle in August last year where former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was voted out of leadership by his own Liberal Party. The Australian Prime Minister has confirmed his country has no plans to concede New Zealand's offer to take some of its detained asylum seekers. Standing alongside Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in Auckland on Friday, Scott Morrison said Australia and New Zealand don't always agree on immigration issues. "We might not always agree in these meetings, but we do always listen, which is an important part of the relationship," he told media. The New Zealand Government reaffirmed in October last year its offer to resettle 150 refugees from Australian offshore detention centres each year. Australia has not taken up the offer since it was made in 2013, however, arguing that refugees could use New Zealand as a back door to get into Australia. And the Australian position hasn't changed. "Our government has no plans to take up the arrangement, whatsoever," Mr Morrison confirmed on Friday. "And that is particularly now more pertinent on the basis of what happened in Parliament last week, that I think makes it even more difficult than it was before." He was referring to a landmark bill passed in Australian Parliament last week which makes it easier for sick refugees held offshore to be treated in Australia - a bill Mr Morrison's minority government tried to block. "We appreciate the offer, I should stress," he told Prime Minister Ardern. "We appreciate the friendliness of the offer, and its genuineness." Ms Ardern had been urged to address the dire conditions in Australian detention centres in her talks with Prime Minister Morrison. Filipa Payne from Iwi in Aus says conditions in centres need to be addressed as a priority, telling Newshub: "I hope that our Government actually stays strong and stands up for humanity." This livestream has finished. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison are holding a joint press conference in Auckland as part of the Australia-New Zealand Leaders Meeting. It's Mr Morrison's first official visit to New Zealand as Prime Minister of Australia, although he has met Ms Ardern before, at the ASEAN forum in Singapore last year. In a fleeting visit that will last less than a day, Mr Morrison was welcomed at Government House in Auckland on Friday morning, before meeting with Ms Ardern for private discussions. Prime Minister Ardern has been urged to address the dire conditions in Australian detention centres in her talks with Prime Minister Morrison. Filipa Payne from Iwi in Aus says conditions in centres need to be addressed as a priority, telling Newshub: "I hope that our Government actually stays strong and stands up for humanity." Mr Morrison came to power in August last year after ousting former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. The Liberal Party MP won the party room vote to become the country's 30th Prime Minister, after a controversial leadership battle. Newshub. The man charged with the decapitation of 71-year old Petone man Francis Tyson has been named. Forty-one-year old Eugene Baker appeared in the Wellington High Court this morning where name suppression lapsed. Police found Mr Tyson's body on November 30 at the Jackson St Flats. A witness told Stuff the victim's head was wrapped in a plastic bag and thrown out of a second-storey window in front of several children. Police have not confirmed this. Police have confirmed neither the victim nor the accused are suspected of any gang affiliations. Baker is also facing charges of intentional damage and the sale and supply of unapproved drugs. Baker will appear in the Wellington High Court again on May 1, 2019. Newshub. Police have confirmed the man shot after a pursuit in Kawerau was a patched Mongrel Mob member. The 29-year-old man was fatally shot on Thursday morning after police were called to a "family harm incident", then a bank robbery that he was involved in. Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Andy McGregor told media the man was known to police. He said police had put diversion tactics in place after a chase began, when the victim fled the scene of the bank robbery. At around 10:20am, police say the man pulled over and pulled his gun on the pursuing officers. Superintendent McGregor said it is then understood the man fired a shot before police shot back. The Independent Police Conduct Authority has been notified, and an investigation has been opened. Newshub. GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Who is Shang-Chi and what are the 10 Rings? The comic book origins of Shang-Chi, the next MCU solo star The boy was charged as a juvenile with disorderly conduct/threat of violence at a school, which is a felony. He also was charged with two misdemeanor weapons offenses. He will appear in court Monday. Funeral services were held at 6:00 PM on Saturday, June 19, 2021 at Scott Funeral Home, 2515 Veterans Parkway, Jeffersonville, IN. Visitation was 2 to 6 PM on Saturday. Funeral services for Thomas Armond "Tommy" Ritch, 72, will be Friday, June 11 at 11 a.m. from the Chapel of Kilgroe Funeral Home. Interment to followe at Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Cemetery in Gallant. The family will receive friends on Friday from 10 a.m. until service time at funeral home Fake concern about U.S. spending Democrats claim their denying President Trump all $5.7 billion he requested to build the wall on the United States southern border while hauling him into court to stop him from using other monies to build it is all about preventing an enormous sum of money from being wasted, and not a cynical attempt to make Trump look like just another lying politician when he runs for re-election in 2020 without the border wall he promised his supporters. Really? The United States government is expected to spend $4.407 trillion during the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. The difference between what Trump requested for the wall and what Congress reluctantly gave him was $4.3 billion, which is less than 1/1,000th of the entire federal budget. That $4.3 billion is about two-thirds of what the federal government spends every week to service the interest on its $22 trillion debt, a mountain of red ink that grew $318.9 billion higher in the first quarter of the 2019 fiscal year. In fact, to keep itself running in the style it has become accustomed to, the U.S. government borrows more money every two days than President Trump wanted to spend over two years building the wall. "We can offer no conviction. We can offer no real action," Aird said. "And we will have taken all parties involved through a political exercise that in the end could actually cause more harm than good." The process should be handled by law enforcement, Aird said, not by "individuals who will be on the ballot in November." Del. Lee Carter, D-Prince William, disagreed, saying the General Assembly should respect the wishes of the accusers and shouldn't force them to go the police. "Survivors of sexual assault are and should be entitled to choose whichever legal venue they desire to seek justice," Carter said. Senate Republican leaders are skeptical of the idea that the General Assembly should play a role in investigating Fairfax. It wasn't immediately clear Friday if the Republican caucus in the House is fully united behind the leadership's plan. Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, a member of House courts committee, gave a noncommittal answer when asked if he's on board with the idea. "That's what our chairman has said," said Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott. "That's what I'm doing." Democrats are also trying to avoid the appearance of a rush to judgment that could lead to the ouster of the only African-American in statewide office as Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring, both white, remain in office after admitting to wearing blackface as young men. Tyson, a California professor, has accused Fairfax of forcing her to perform oral sex in a Boston hotel room in 2004. Watson has accused Fairfax of raping her while the two were students at Duke University in 2000. Fairfax has said both encounters were consensual and has refused to resign. He has repeatedly professed his innocence, saying he was being smeared when it appeared he would ascend to the governorship given the calls for Northams resignation over the racist photo that appeared in his medical school yearbook. Fairfax has called for the FBI to investigate. On Thursday, he reiterated his desire for a non-political investigation. It would be extraordinary and unprecedented to initiate a General Assembly inquiry about matters that are better left to law enforcement, said Fairfax spokeswoman Lauren Burke. The lieutenant governor remains confident that the truth will prevail and that he will be exonerated. Aurora snow removal concerns: During the snow storm, it was humorous watching my aldermen post on social media. He gave the same tired refrain that Ive been hearing for a lot of years. Be patient homeowners, our arterial streets need to be done first, your streets can wait. Salt is in short supply and must be used judiciously. We pay exorbitant taxes in Aurora and are receiving very average service for our money. Why cant his postings say we have many trucks, resources, lots of salt and private contractors to deliver your service. All street will be plowed simultaneously, and you are important to us. We are really getting tired of the same poor results. With a strong and passionate finish to his tour of Southside and Central Virginia that began Wednesday in Salem and ended Friday morning at the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va, spoke to dozens of business leaders about tax reform, health care, the government shutdown and the future of America. Warner began by speaking briefly about the 35-day government shutdown Dec. 22 to Jan. 25 and how much damage it created for federal workers who didnt receive a paycheck. Ive been in politics a long time as a governor and senator but I dont think Ive ever seen anything as stupid as the government shutdown, he said. What amazed most of us in both political parties, is when President Trump said in early December he didnt mind shutting down the government and didnt mind if it was shut down for weeks or months, none of us took him seriously. Kevin Gill with Bank of the James asked Warner if he envisions a time when Congress and the White House can get positive work done by compromise and cooperation again. Warner said he sure as heck hopes so, which is why he is continuing to serve in his position. The Lynchburg contingent all agreed it does and said it is a key part of downtowns resurgence. Tweedy said the Academy, along with the Virginian and Craddock Terry hotels, serves as an anchor for downtown. It becomes more of a destination, Loving said. Youve got nice hotels; youve got the ability to be entertained and youve got the history. Warner said as he has traveled throughout the state, he has seen many cities similar to Lynchburg that have had success in rejuvenation but has also seen others that have struggled to move forward. One of the things I want to do from a statewide perspective is take those communities who are doing revitalization well and figure out their best practices and apply them to those [communities] of a similar size who arent doing so well, he said. As Lynchburg becomes a destination for locals and tourists alike, Tweedy said it is expected to grow by 6,000 residents over the next 15 years. Warner asked her whether there was any community pushback to the growth, and the mayor said most citizens appreciate it. Its exciting, but we have to balance the infrastructure as we grow, she said. Our governor should have been in Seattle arguing for [25,000 jobs] to be in Virginia and hes not, Cline said. And so thats the kind of thing that I think our governor should be doing and thats why I think our governor should step aside. Cline did not call for the resignation of Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who has been accused by two women of sexual assault, but said he was closely reviewing the situation. Cline also repeated his condemnation of Attorney General Mark Herring, who recently admitted to wearing blackface at a college party in the 1980s, and said it should be up to the voters to decide if Herring should continue to serve the state. I have every confidence that the voters will make that decision and not choose to reelect him, he said. Cline, an attorney from Rockbridge County, beat back a wave of Democratic enthusiasm last year to capture the 6th District by nearly 20 percentage points. In Lynchburg, however, he narrowly won the city by fewer than 400 votes in his race against Jennifer Lewis. Cline said the gathering at the Lynchburg Marine Corps League Detachment on Old Forest Road was held, in part, to hear from constituents who might not agree with his votes in Congress. Scruggs said the Beard Center which focuses on community education and outreach involving students and faculty to address issues of aging and the needs of older citizens saw the need for a regional health fair for older residents. Its never been done before and we saw that there was a need, Scruggs said. We wanted to partner with different organizations so we could reach as many seniors as we could. Scruggs said more than 250 people had come to the Forest Recreation Center during the first hour of the event, which was held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There were people in the parking lot at 8:30 a.m. waiting, Scruggs said. We didnt know what kind of a turnout we would get for a first-year event and we have just been blown away by the number of people we have had. We had some wonderful partners in this and they really have helped us to get the word out about today. Stuart Saunders, programs coordinator for Bedford County Parks and Recreation, said the health fair was a win-win for all of the organizations involved. Macys in Lynchburg will close in 2017, and by the end of the year, the former Sears building will be demolished to make way for an outdoor sh Students are also required to implement a community-based action project. We are going to give them the opportunity to develop in their personal communication styles, give them self awareness, develop relationships within a team and really let them be a part of their community, Johnson said. Brookville High School junior Maggie Mace was accepted into the Richmond program last spring and said the program has been a really good experience. Ive learned how important the environment is here in Lynchburg. Ive learned how few people use Percivals Island, especially teenagers. I think its a great tool that not as many people use but definitely should, Mace said. Throughout the program, Mace said shes learned several life skills such as how to properly write a proposal, how to talk to authority figures, how to compromise and more. Mace said the program has changed a lot of my thinking and has inspired her to enter a field related to environmental science when she gets older. The Houses Committee on Health, Resources and Institutions on a 16-5 vote advanced SB 1072 and referred it to the Committee on House Appropriations, according to the Virginia Legislative Information website. It advanced to the Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, where on Feb. 12 it was rejected on an 8-0 vote. Peake said he was disappointed but not surprised. He said he will check in on how just more than 60 residents still at CVTC are doing and how many are placed into group homes or transferred to other facilities. Should he win re-election this year, he said he plans to bring any future legislation he feels is necessary. I think we have to address the remaining residents, Peake said. I know their care is expensive but its an obligation we have to meet. And if these residents are not placed in appropriate settings, then we do whatever we have to do to make sure they are cared for at CVTC or a similar facility. Del. Scott Garrett, R-Lynchburg, serves on the subcommittee that unanimously voted down the bill. He said in a phone interview he doesnt think redefining training centers would solve challenges the commonwealth is facing as it works to meet a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice to close CVTC and other training centers. Our dress code says a girl wearing a tank top may be too much of a distraction to other students, White said. How much more distracting is it to sit beside a Confederate flag for a black student? Leslie Loucks, a parent of a Jefferson Forest student, agreed. We know that certain symbols have different meanings to different people, Loucks said. And we are not violating a students First Amendment rights to prohibit wearing symbols that may be offensive to other students. The incident portrayed on social media occurred on Feb. 4 during the first day of Jefferson Forests Spirit Week, which was Country vs. Country Club day at the school and students were allowed to dress accordingly. During a class change, several students photographed themselves displaying Confederate battle flags in different areas across campus. One photo shows a student draped in the flag, captioned with a defense of the banner as a symbol of history and heritage. The photographs were initially shared on Snapchat before being uploaded to Facebook on Feb. 5. The images were shared on Facebook by Roanoke resident Lyman Connor, a parent of a Jefferson Forest student. By Feb. 6, Connors post had been shared more than 1,500 times on Facebook. Any sort of unexpected tragedy hits small towns particularly hard because everyone really does know everyone else in some capacity or another. In fact, Sheridan still seems to be struggling with the death of Nina LeCuyer, an active member of the United Methodist Church whose heart of gold seemed to touch so many before the 56-year-old grandmother and owner of a cleaning business was killed in a head-on collision on Route 71 near Yorkville in August. A scientist at the University of Virginia School of Medicine has received a prestigious three-year, $1 million award from the William M. Keck Foundation to develop a new and better way to map out the submicroscopic world. This information helps us understand biological processes and aids researchers in developing new drugs to battle disease, among other benefits. Michael Wiener, PhD, a professor (and first-generation college grad) in UVA's Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, is seeking to create a simpler, more reliable method to determine the structures of molecules far too small for traditional light microscopes to see. "Our genes provide instructions for the design and construction of approximately 20,000 different molecular machines, which are called proteins. These proteins, individually and in complex with other proteins, carry out the functions of life on a molecular level," he said. "By determining the structures of these protein machines, we can learn about how they cause biological processes and disease. Also, these structures can be used to discover and design novel and effective drugs. These structure-based approaches have been used to develop powerful and effective drugs for AIDS, flu, cancer and many other diseases. So, there are very strong fundamental, clinical and economic motivations to be able to determine these structures quickly, easily and cheaply." Into the Atomic Realm For researchers seeking to determine the structure of molecules or molecular complexes, very powerful methods exist, either by using intense beams of X-rays on three-dimensional crystals made up of protein molecules or by using recently emergent methods with microscopes that use beams of electrons. However, each of these methods requires significant time and money to prepare suitable samples, and the high risk involved in successful sample preparation often makes the chance of failure very high. Wiener, working with Professor Lei Wang at the University of California, San Francisco, and Professor Ken Dill at Stony Brook University, proposes something entirely new. Instead of seeking to obtain lots of information from a single, hard-to-make specimen, he aims to collect small amounts of information from many easily prepared samples. He has named this new paradigm "Serial Solution Scattering Structure Determination," or S4D. The new approach could let scientists determine structures as both isolated entities and also in the context of living cells, and it could dramatically accelerate how quickly scientists can determine the structure of molecules. That would allow the field of structural biology to better keep pace with the tremendous amounts of information being generated in the field of genomics, the study of genes, and proteomics, the study of proteins. "I've proposed an alternative approach, based on simple physical theories more than a century old, and updated with the most modern, cutting-edge laboratory and computational methods. This high-risk, high-reward approach is not something that conventional federal funding sources have traditionally been highly eager to support. Some programs exist, but they are extraordinarily competitive," Wiener said. "The William M. Keck Foundation, however, specifically solicits these ideas, ideas that have the potential to be truly transformative to science." He expressed his gratitude to the Keck Foundation for making his work possible. "I feel extraordinarily fortunate to have the opportunity to pursue what I consider to be eminently realizable scientific dreams, with the ultimate goal of determining macromolecular structures, to high resolution and detail, in living cells themselves. As only the third UVA recipient of this award, and the first from the School of Medicine, I am appreciative of the support that I have received from the UVA Office of the Vice President of Research, Dr. Joel Baumgart in particular, as well as the support from the School of Medicine. We could really be onto something here!" Source: https://newsroom.uvahealth.com/2019/02/18/1-million-award-lets-uva-open-new-portal-to-the-submicroscopic-world/ UCL and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have entered into a new partnership which will enable much closer research collaboration and will explore opportunities to increase academic and student exchange between the institutions. As part of this commitment, UCL (University College London) is pleased to announce AIIMS has joined the new International Centre for Genomic Medicine in Neuromuscular Diseases (ICGMN), which is led by UCL. The ICGMN is a 5m initiative, bringing together skills and resources from five countries and aims to advance the genetic diagnosis and therapy for patients with muscle wasting neuromuscular diseases, including motor neurone disease and muscular dystrophy, which affect at least 17m children and adults globally. As a part of the Centre's research, AIIMS will soon launch its first patient trials. These trials will provide a better understanding of the different genes present in India's populations, which affect neuromuscular diseases, and this insight could lead to better treatments. On Friday 22 February, 2019, a Letter of Intent was signed between UCL's President and Provost, Professor Michael Arthur, and AIIMS' Director, Professor Randeep Guleria. "We are delighted to have signed a 'Letter of Intent' with AIIMS, agreeing to explore further how we might build on our strong relationship. Our existing collaborative activities span a range of areas in health and engineering, developed over a number of years," said UCL President & Provost, Professor Michael Arthur. "Through closer collaboration and sharing of our complementary expertise, UCL and AIIMS will gain a deeper insight into ground-breaking research and seek to fulfill our joint ambition to address some of the biggest challenges facing society today. "Jointly seeking to further academic and student opportunities to work together more closely, will also enrich both UCL's and AIIMS' communities, enabling them to develop and grow intellectually, culturally and socially. "This sits really well with UCL's approach to global engagement - building mutually beneficial partnerships, based on trust and respect, in this case between UCL and AIIMS." In 2018 the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology led a successful 3.66m bid to the Medical Research Council (MRC) to establish a brand new International Centre for Genomic Medicine in Neuromuscular Diseases. An additional 2m was contributed by UCL and UK collaborators Newcastle and Cambridge Universities. The aim of the Centre is to develop an international fellowship programme in genomic medicine, to increase the number of neuromuscular disease patients with an accurate genetic diagnosis, and to build "trial ready" cohorts and ultimately improve health outcomes for patients. Staff and resources from international centers in India, Brazil, Turkey, South Africa and Zambia will be central to the partnership. Director of the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and Director of the ICGMN Professor Michael Hanna, said: "Our vision is to create a transcontinental genomics research and capacity building partnership between the UK with excellent centers such as AIIMS. "We will discover new disease genes, define the genetic variants in known neuromuscular genes, understand comparative genetic architecture in different populations and explore disease mechanisms. "We will dramatically increase the number of patients with an accurate genetic diagnosis, build "trial ready" cohorts and ultimately improve health outcomes for patients with this unmet health need drawn from a combined population of over 1.5 billion people." AIIMS investigators will recruit, phenotype and genotype around 1000 Indian patients during the next 5 years creating a unique highly phenotyped trial ready patient cohort. In addition, the partnership will support a unique clinical training fellowship programme for Indian neurologists to become the genomic medicine experts of the future in India. Professor of Neurology at AIIMS, Padma Srivastava, said: "The AIIMS neurology team is delighted to be part of this major new MRC funded international genomics initiative with UCL. "It will enable us to jointly train Indian fellows in genomic medicine, to understand the genetic architecture of neuromuscular diseases in India and to build "trial ready" cohorts of patients. "We believe this collaborative initiative will enable a step change in genomic medicine in neuromuscular diseases and will be a template for genomic understanding other neurological diseases in India." Professor Hanna added: "I am very pleased to be working with outstanding principal investigators at AIIMS to ultimately advance genetic diagnosis and therapy for patients with neuromuscular diseases, diseases which affect at least 17m children and adults globally." Last year UCL academics specializing in medical research, healthcare technologies and frugal innovation welcomed AIIMS colleagues to London to discuss this future collaboration. Dr Dame Nicola Brewer (UCL Vice Provost-International) said: "This initiative connects experts in the UK, India, Turkey, South Africa and Zambia in a significant global partnership. "This international partnership will help to train a new generation of clinical academics who we hope will become leaders of genomic medicine and specialist care delivery in each of the partner countries - making a reality of co-creating wise solutions to global challenges as well as developing independent research capability on a global scale." The new International Centre will be official launched by Professor Fiona Watt, CEO of the Medical Research Council at a reception hosted by Lord Kakkar at the House of Lords on 3rd April 2019 and senior colleagues from AIIMS will attend. A new study led by UCLA researchers has fuelled further concerns over the controversial gene-editing experiment that was performed in China last year. Alpha Tauri 3D Graphics | Shutterstock The study suggests that the genetic changes introduced to make two baby girls resistant to HIV may have also enhanced their cognition and memory. In the study, He Jiankui (Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen) and colleagues used the CRISPR gene-editing tool to delete CCR5 from human embryos, some of which were then used later in IVF procedures. The experiment has since been widely criticized for being irresponsible and He is being investigated in China. As reported in the journal Cell, Alcino Silva and colleagues have now looked at the role CCR5 plays in neuronal recovery following stroke and traumatic brain injury. CCR5 is the gene that codes for the receptor HIV needs to enter human immune cells. The findings of the new study provide evidence that CCR5 is also a suppressor of memories and synaptic connections. According to the authors, people who lack the CCR5 gene recover more quickly from strokes and those who lack at least one copy of the gene seem to go further in education, potentially implying a role in intelligence. We are the first to report a function of CCR5 in the human brain, and the first to report a higher level of education. Thomas Carmichael, Study Leader Carmichael refers to the association between CCR5 deletion and educational success as tantalizing, but requiring further study. The new findings about CCR5 are already being followed up in trials involving HIV and stroke patients, one of which is being conducted at UCLA. Participants are being given a CCR5 inhibitor to see whether their cognition improves. Silva says there is a big difference between attempting to correct deficits in cases of ill health and trying to create human enhancement. The replacement of animals as test subjects is one step closer to reality with the successful testing of multi-organ "human-on-a-chip" models to recapitulate the 28-day experiments typically used in animals to evaluate the systemic toxicity of drug and cosmetic compounds. As published and featured as a frontispiece in the prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journal Advanced Functional Materials, the microfluidic device with interlinking modules containing human-derived heart, liver, skeletal muscle and nervous system cells was able to maintain cellular viability and record cellular function in real-time for 28 days. The University of Central Florida (UCF) in collaboration with the Florida biotech firm Hesperos, Inc., has shown that one of its innovative four-organ in vitro (out of body) model systems is able to realistically replicate in vivo (in body) responses to sustained drug dosing of human cells. "The technology could allow us, in the very near future, to move chronic drug experiments from animal models to these novel human in vitro models," said Hesperos Chief Scientist James J. Hickman, who is a Professor at UCF's NanoScience Technology Center. This is important because the toxicity and efficacy of new compounds are studied upon both acute (single administration at high concentrations, over a short-term period) and chronic (repeated or continuous administration at lower concentrations, over an extended period) exposures. While organ-on-a-chip models have previously been used for mechanism of action validation (efficacy) and acute toxicity screening, they have not been suitable for long-term studies due to short half-lifes, lack of organ-organ communication, and outcomes that are difficult to extrapolate to human organ functions. The Hesperos system overcomes these limitations with a model that allows interaction between its tiny organs, cultured in a serum-free blood surrogate solution from real human cells, in a way that realistically replicates system body responses to any compounds introduced to it. It can also non-invasively evaluate the electrical activity of neurons and cardiac cells, as well as the mechanics of cardiac and skeletal muscle contractions. Such monitoring of cellular function is crucial in chronic toxicity testing as it emulates in vivo function. In order to reach the 28-day testing milestone, Hesperos engineers used computational fluid dynamic modeling to modify their existing multi-organ models. They made them smaller, improved their flow characteristics, and incorporated more functional measurements. "We have created a valuable tool to model the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics profile of known drugs, in line with ICH (International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use) guidelines," Hickman added. "In the future, it could also be used to generate mechanistic models to predict the outcome of unknown drugs, and in other precision medicine applications." The tool would be especially valuable to the cosmetics industry, where the use of animals to evaluate toxicity of ingredients has already been banned in the EU, and more recently in some parts of the United States. Source: http://www.bioscribe.com/ Various stress effects make an integral part of modern life, and their minimization is of particular relevance. Currently, much attention is being paid to the study of the structural-metabolic and functional status of erythrocytes, since they serve as a kind of "cell dosimeter" to signal stress reactions and the action of facultative and obligatory exogenous and endogenous factors that cause various diseases. Erythrocytes (red blood cells) make up about 40-45% of the total blood volume of an adult. They are among the most numerous cells in the human body accounting for approximately 10% of the total cell volume of an adult organism. Under the action of oxidative stress, somatic shock, various medicinal substances, xenobiotics and pathologies, erythrocytes may be subjected to damage that triggers their programmed death (eryptosis). The deterioration of the erythron state plays a significant role not only in the specific gas transport function, but also in the regulation of the acid-base state, the water-electrolyte balance, the micro-rheological status of the blood, in immune reactions, in the binding and transfer of infection agents and medicinal substances. According to Anna Deryugina, Head of Department of Physiology and Anatomy at the Institute of Biology and Biomedicine, Lobachevsky University of Nizhny Novgorod, the study of the state of erythrocytes and early diagnosis of their changes is very important for analyzing the state of microcirculation. Microvasculature disorders are characteristic of a number of diseases, including atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and arterial hypertension. Further understanding of the mechanisms behind the changes in the state of erythrocytes under various types of effects will enable the development of optimal treatment regimens for patients and the implementation of timely preventive measures. A group of scientists from Nizhny Novgorod and Yekaterinburg is currently searching for new methods to analyze the state of cells. One of the promising modern approaches allowing a detailed study of the morphological and functional state of cells is the method of phase-modulation laser interference microscopy, which is used to study the dynamics of changes in the shape of the cell and its structure, as well as the functional state of erythrocytes. "In our studies, visualization of erythrocytes using phase-modulation laser interference microscopy showed a change in the erythrocyte nanostructure under stress, which was accompanied by the emergence of morphologically altered cells. By constructing phase pictures of erythrocytes (3D models), we were able to estimate the intensity level of oxidative processes, which are inevitable companions of stress," notes Anna Deryugina. In the course of the research, the relationship between changes in the erythrocyte morphology and modification of the membrane protein-lipid structure was shown, which manifested itself in a change in the electronegativity of the erythrocyte surface. In turn, the analysis of the electrophoretic mobility of erythrocytes, depending on the direction of the process, made it possible to judge about the development of stress with an increase in cytotoxicity or about adaptive changes in the body with genetic damage repair. "Thus, the analysis of the electrokinetic characteristics of erythrocytes and their visualization can provide a diagnostic criterion for the homeostasis of the organism as a whole. In other words, by using phase-modulation laser interference microscopy, one can quickly visualize membrane deformations and evaluate the state of the cells. This method can be used to diagnose and study the functioning of erythrocytes," concludes Anna Deryugina. Scientists note that erythrocyte visualization can become a form of rapid diagnosis of the body's condition that can be used successfully in clinical laboratories. A large UK study has found that almost one in 13 (8%) young adults suffer from PTSD following a childhood trauma, which is associated with a high prevalence of other mental health disorders. John Gomez | Shutterstock Among those with PTSD, only one in five had ever received any professional help and three out of four of those with PTSD had at least one other mental health condition. As is evident from Table 1, one in four were functionally impaired (could not pursue education, training or employment). Over half had a history of major depression, while one-fifth attempted suicide by age 18. Condition/risk event Percentage in trauma-PTSD Percentage in overall sample Major depressive episode 55 17 Conduct disorder 27 14 Alcohol dependence 26 11 Risk events for self-harm 49 10 Attempted suicide 20 2 Violent offence 12 4 Functional impairment 27 10 Loneliness or social isolation 50 25 Table 1. Percentage of mental health conditions in PTSD related to childhood trauma. The study was a large epidemiological study including more than 2000 18-year-olds. It was based on families with same-sex twins born in England and Wales during the years 1994-95. This was representative of the population of families with newborns in the UK. These twins were then reassessed for the current study at 18 years. One in three reported childhood trauma (median age: 15 years), with the most common cause being an event affecting someone close to the participant. The second most common cause of trauma was personal danger or assault (bullying or adult abuse), and thirdly, illness or accident. Young people have been shown to suffer the highest rates of trauma. The effects of such trauma on a developing nervous system, as well as emotional and social development, are more serious in this group. In a few cases, the trauma could not be recalled by the child such as one young woman who had a serious stomach condition requiring multiple bouts of resuscitation, and major surgery at only four months of age (none of which she remembers). Specialists said her nervous breakdown at age 8 was actually delayed PTSD. In the study, a diagnosis of PTSD was based on the presence of the following set of symptoms if they persisted for one month or longer: Reliving the traumatic episode by repeated memories or nightmares Avoidance of any reminder of the trauma Emotions of guilt, detachment or isolation Impulsive or irritable temperament, or lack of concentration Those at highest risk for PTSD were those who underwent violence or danger from other people, especially sexual or physical in nature (making up one-fifth of all trauma categories), who accounted for half the cases of PTSD. Other major risk factors for PTSD following childhood trauma included childhood victimization, being female, a lower IQ, lower socioeconomic strata, and having psychotic symptoms. Senior researcher Prof Andrea Danese pointed out that while some mental symptoms are normal following a trauma, they typically resolve in days or weeks. If they persist beyond a month, professional help must be sought, since PTSD is completely treatable. Young people with PTSD are falling through the gaps in care and there is a pressing need for better access to mental health services." Professor Andrea Danese, Senior Author The Aftermath of Trauma and PTSD Compared to the whole sample of over 2000 participants, those with PTSD had an eight-fold higher risk of developing psychotic symptoms and of drug addiction, were six times more vulnerable to major depression, and had five times the risk of generalized anxiety disorder. They had also a tenfold risk of attempted suicide, an eight-fold risk of self-harm, and were three times more likely to commit violent offenses. In fact, PTSD was not the commonest illness following a childhood trauma. A quarter of them reported self-harm and one in 12 attempted suicide. That is, children and young adults exposed to trauma must be screened for complex mental illness. Providing effective treatments early on could prevent mental health problems continuing into adulthood. Dr. Stephanie Lewis, Lead Researcher Observer Tim Dalgleish, of the University of Cambridge, says the study is a landmark in this area, and the results should be a wake-up call that service provision in the UK for children and adolescents dealing with the aftermath of trauma is woefully inadequate." In response, the NHS has a long-term plan in place to pour more money into improved mental care for children and young people first of all. This will give access to mental health support at school or college for another 345 000 more patients in this vulnerable group. Young adults will receive support until the age of 25. Assessing the accuracy and value of an increasingly popular and free online patient management app, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and other institutions say that physicians with more training and experience perform better in selecting appropriate diagnoses for sample patient scenarios. In a report on the study, published in the Jan. 11 issue of JAMA Network Open, the investigators conclude that the app, called The Human Diagnosis Project, or Human Dx, can reliably be used to determine physicians' skills in forming accurate, efficient diagnoses. "Doctors are constantly trying to stay up to date on current best practices to better provide patients with high-value care," says study co-author Reza Manesh, M.D., assistant program director for clinical reasoning for the Osler Medical Training Program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and an assistant professor of medicine. "We do this by reading new research, staying apprised of clinical practice guidelines and attending educational conferences; however, there is no way for doctors to self-assess how well they incorporate that new knowledge into how they make decisions for patients. There is an urgent need to objectively evaluate a physician's clinical reasoning and ensure they are making the right decisions for their patients." While there is no ideal or single metric to assess diagnostic performance, Manesh adds, "This online tool is a step in the right direction." Medical "board" exams, for example, feature multiple choice questions to test diagnostic skills, "but if you think about it, patients don't come in to the hospital or the clinic with a list of multiple choice questions," Manesh notes. Human Dx, free online, combines physician crowdsourcing of expert knowledge with machine learning, merging the collective wisdom of the worldwide medical community for benchmarking and mimicking real-world practice decisions in which clinicians must rule in or rule out dozens of possibilities and symptoms to make the right diagnosis. The tool is designed to facilitate these so-called "differential diagnoses" without the limitations posed by multiple choice. Manesh and his co-investigators set out to test the ability of Human Dx to assess users' diagnostic skills based on their reported level of experience. To do that, the investigators analyzed a total of 11,023 Global Morning Report cases solved by U.S. physicians and medical students using Human Dx between Jan. 21, 2016, and Jan. 15, 2017. Cases were solved by 1,738 users (239 attending physicians, 926 resident physicians, 347 intern physicians and 226 medical students) across 170 individual scenarios. The average number of cases solved by each participant was 74. Investigators used three key metrics to assess diagnostic performance: (1) efficiency, a percentile score calculated based on the proportion of findings revealed before the user included the correct diagnosis; (2) accuracy, analyzed by how high on the differential diagnostic scale the correct diagnosis was listed, and by how often the correct diagnosis was listed first; and (3) diagnostic acumen precision performance (DAPP), calculated from a weighted average of the percentiles of both accuracy and efficiency for each attempt to get the right diagnosis. To use the diagnostic portion of Human Dx, physicians or students log on to the app to view sample cases that offer basic information about a simulated patient case, as well as X-ray or lab test results. Human Dx provides immediate feedback to users who suggest a differential diagnosis listing potential causes. Cases cover a range of inpatient and outpatient scenarios from general adult medicine to subspecialty disciplines. All cases and diagnoses offered are first peer-reviewed for accuracy by a member of an independent editorial board comprising attending physicians at academic medical institutions. Johns Hopkins physicians contribute to this peer-review process. Human Dx has been used by over 16,000 subscribers. Based on the ranking of the correct diagnosis compared with all users who solved the cases, the highest average score for attending physicians (assumed to be the most highly trained and experienced group overall) was 76.9 (the highest possible score any one user could get was 100). For residents, the highest average score was 76.8, and for interns it was 74.7. Students--the least experienced group--showed a highest average score of 68.8. Overall, investigators found that attending physicians had higher accuracy scores than medical students (difference of 8.1 percent), residents (difference of 8 percent) and interns (difference of 5.9 percent). Attending physicians also had higher efficiency compared with residents (difference of 4.8 percent), interns (difference of 5 percent) and students (difference of 5.4 percent); and significantly higher DAPP scores than residents (difference of 2.6 percent), interns (difference of 3.6 percent) and students (difference of 6.7 percent). Forty percent of participants (496 people) were affiliated with one of the U.S. News and World Report top 25 medical schools. DAPP scores were highest for attending physicians affiliated with one of these top 25 schools compared with attending physicians for other institutions, a difference of 80 versus 72. In addition, residents affiliated with one of these schools had higher DAPP scores compared with their nonaffiliated peers (75 versus 71), as did interns (75 versus 69). Thirty-two percent of participants (417 people) were affiliated with one of the top 25 institutional recipients of National Institutes of Health research grants. Again, DAPP scores were higher among attending physicians, residents and interns affiliated with these institutions compared with their nonaffiliated peers (81 versus 72 for attending physicians, 75 versus 71 for residents, and 76 versus 69 for interns). The Institute of Medicine, in its 2015 report "Improving Diagnosis in Health Care," estimated that most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, and that "getting the diagnosis right" is a crucial component of effective health care, Manesh says. It has been estimated that $100 billion or more may be wasted annually in the U.S. as a result of inaccurate diagnosis, Manesh adds. "Diagnostic errors affect an estimated 12 million Americans each year, and likely cause more harm to patients than all other medical errors combined." The authors caution there were several limitations of the study, including that poor-quality attempts to solve the cases were dropped from the data set, so effort by users likely varied. In addition, unlike actual patient encounters, in which clinical information must be gathered and synthesized over time, the case simulations provide clinical data up front. There also may have been performance bias in favor of more technologically advanced individuals. Manesh and colleagues also are studying the ability of Human Dx to identify master diagnosticians compared with those with good or average abilities. This could help institutions identify their best diagnosticians. Both CT angiography and transcranial Doppler have limited accuracy in detecting cerebral vasospasm and predicting delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to ruptured aneurysm, reports a study in the inaugural edition of Critical Care Explorations, the official open-access journal of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer. "Cerebral vasospasm is frequently present on CT angiography and transcranial Doppler, lacking accurate prediction of DCI or unfavorable outcome after six months," according to the report by J. Joep van der Harst, MD, and colleagues of University of Groningen, The Netherlands. The paper is among the first to be published in the new open-access journal Critical Care Explorations (CCE), which will premiere at SCCM's 48th Critical Care Congress, opening today at the San Diego Convention Center. Designed to complement SCCM's flagship journals Critical Care Medicine (CCM) and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine (PCCM), CCE provides additional articles and information that encompass the broad scope of critical care. Study Compares Two Screening Tests for Cerebral Vasospasm after SAH The prospective study included 59 patients with aneurysmal SAH treated at the authors' neurocritical care unit and neurosurgical ward between 2013 and 2016. At five and ten days, the patients underwent both CT angiography and transcranial Doppler. The study is the first to directly compare the diagnostic performance of the two tests, which are commonly used for early detection of cerebrovascular spasm (CVS) to detect the "dreaded secondary complication" of DCI. "The optimal screening modality for detecting symptomatic CVS is a matter of debate," the researchers write. (They also note that the causative role of CVS is unproven.) On both days, CT angiography showed CVS in at least one vessel in nearly all patients. In contrast, transcranial Doppler showed CVS in less than half of patients. Agreement between the two tests was just 0.47. Sixteen patients had DCI, while 12 patients had unfavorable outcomes at six months. CT angiography was highly sensitive in predicting DCI for prediction of DCI, but it had "extremely low" specificity compared to transcranial Doppler. On day five, accuracy in predicting unfavorable outcomes was 61 percent with transcranial Doppler versus 27 percent with CT angiography. The results suggest that CVS after aneurysmal SAH is a common finding, and that neither test is an accurate predictor of DCI or unfavorable outcome. "Our study does not support a prominent role of screening with TCD or CTA," Dr. van der Harst and coauthors conclude. "Detection of CVS that does not become clinically manifest likely leads to overtreatment and prolonged hospital stay." Critical Care Explorations Debuts at the 48th Critical Care Congress 2019 "This prospective study on pressing clinical question is an excellent example of the discovery-centric, evidence-based focus of our new open-access journal," comments CCE Editor-in-Chief, Timothy G. Buchman, PhD, MD, MCCM, from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. "The open-access journal offers especially timely review, quick publication, and global dissemination of new ideas and syntheses that practitioners can bring to the bedside." Critical Care Explorations is designed to facilitate rapid communication of innovations and new information with the potential to influence critical care research and practice. It features a prestigious international Editorial Board with the same rigorous peer-review process as CCM and PCCM. "As a fully open-access journal, CCE's content is available all the time and is truly global, offering greater opportunities for exploring international perspectives on issues related to critical care," Dr. Buchman adds. Also available to read now are an introductory editorial, describing the vision behind CCE and providing practical information on the submission and publication process; as well asas well as a tribute to the late Vladimir ('Vlad') Kvetan, MD, FCCM, renowned for his leadership of Disaster Medicine and for the innovative concept of the 'ICU Without Walls.' Im a Marine veteran of 10 years that served in both Afghanistan and Iraq and to have someone so young die needlessly who was doing whats right and getting an education and his internship is beyond sad, Driskell said about Wehner. Ive seen the loss of life and when you serve in the military the risks are calculated there, but not in your hometown. (CNN) "On February 23, humanitarian aid will enter Venezuela one way or another," the country's self-declared president Juan Guaido declared earlier this month. But not so fast -- President Nicolas Maduro, who won reelection in a widely-criticized vote last year, has promised to block the supplies, and organizations including the Red Cross and United Nations have refused to help. The slow advance of aid toward impoverished Venezuela has become a proxy measure of the power struggle between its two rival presidents. At the same time, there is little doubt that the Venezuelan people are in need of help. So why is it so hard to agree on aid? What is happening? Venezuela is dealing with the worst economic crisis in its history. One in 10 Venezuelans are undernourished, and the economic crisis has triggered an exodus of at least three million people, according to the International Organization of Migration. Guaido has thrown all his weight behind a "humanitarian channel" that would bring tons of much-needed aid from foreign countries into Venezuela. But the plan isn't just benevolent -- it's also a direct jab at Maduro, who for years has denied that a humanitarian crisis was happening in Venezuela. "The impact of the humanitarian aid is highly political," admits Juan Miguel Matheus, an MP for the opposition. "Our first and primary goal is to provide relief for the Venezuelan population, but after that, with this move we want to checkmate Maduro. "If the aid gets in, Maduro is shown to have lost control of the situation; if it doesn't get in, we show that Maduro doesn't care for the suffering of the people," he says. Why aren't international organizations joining the opposition's plans? Many reputable international organizations, including both the Red Cross and Caritas, the humanitarian arm of the Catholic Church, have declined to participate in Guaido's aid campaign. The Red Cross tells CNN that the initiative organized by the Venezuelan opposition is too political. "The action of the Red Cross is based on two principles: humanity and neutrality. Neutrality is the most important one in situations like this," explains Francesco Rocca, president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. He is adamant that Venezuela should receive humanitarian aid, but that the operation should be a concerted effort. Only through an agreement between the two sides could the aid be really effective, he says. The United Nations has also chosen not to take sides, calling instead on both parties to de-escalate tensions. Ok, so who is actually bringing the aid? The United States has pledged 20 million dollars to help Venezuela. That has so far translated into three deliveries of air cargo to a border town in Colombia, where it is poised to enter the country. Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom have also chipped in, among others. Colombia has provided the logistical facilities for transporting the aid. Two more shipment points have been announced in Brazil and Curacao, both also near the Venezuelan border. Venezuela's closest neighbors, like Colombia, are the most interested in seeing aid brought in, as they hope this measure could help reduce the wave of Venezuelan refugees pouring across their borders. What is Maduro doing? Maduro sees the opposition-led plan as a trap, and has rejected the humanitarian aid it would bring in. Accepting foreign supplies during the current political crisis would be tantamount to accepting foreign political intervention, from Maduro's point of view. When the US sent a shipment of medical and food supplies to the Venezuelan border last week, Maduro's regime installed a blockade on one of the bridges that connect Venezuela and Colombia. Just a week ago on state television, Maduro dismissed Guaido's initiative, saying "Venezuelans are not beggars." But patriotism did not prevent Maduro from accepting $9 million from the UN in November 2018. Related: Venezuela closes key maritime, air borders What's next? It's hard to see how the opposition, which controls little real power on the ground in Venezuela, can guarantee that aid will enter the country by Sunday. While Guaido has described a "human wave" of volunteers heading to the border to carry supplies, very few aid professionals have lifted their hands to join in the effort. This story was first published on CNN.com. "Aid is piling up on Venezuela's border. Here's why it's not getting in." In what could serve as a model for tackling one of the nation's top public health crises, a University of Massachusetts Amherst epidemiology researcher is teaming up with two Western Massachusetts sheriff's offices to design, implement and study an opioid treatment program for jail detainees in Franklin and Hampshire counties. Funded with a $1.5 million grant from the federal Subtance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the three-year project aims to deliver medications to some 500 detainees who agree to treatment, and connect them to follow-up care through a comprehensive community reentry program after their release. Elizabeth Evans, assistant professor in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences and one of the grant recipients, will collect data from all the stakeholders to measure the project's outcomes. "The idea is to distill the lessons learned into a playbook or guide that can be used in jails in Massachusetts and across the nation," Evans says. The opioid crisis has grown so severe that Americans are now more likely to die from an unintentional opioid overdose than in a vehicle crash or any other accident, according to the National Safety Council. Opioid addiction "is probably the issue of the 21st century in terms of public health," Evans says, and the project reflects a shift in the approach to addressing the crisis. "Evidence supports the use of medications to treat opioid use disorder. This model signifies a willingness of the sheriffs to deliver care to reduce recidivism and to save people's lives," she says. Evans will help Franklin County Sheriff Christopher Donelan, Assistant Superintendent Ed Hayes and their staff expand and formalize the groundbreaking opioid treatment they began offering inmates in 2015 at the county jail in Greenfield. She also will work with Hampshire County Sheriff Patrick Cahillane, Assistant Superintendent Melinda Cady and their staff to implement the same program in the Northampton jail. The location of the rural counties along Interstate 91 leaves residents particularly exposed to the effects of opioid trafficking. For many of the jail detainees, it will be their first opportunity to receive evidence-based care for their disorder, Evans says. "This is a health condition," she says. "And this is a very vulnerable population." Each of the jails has a medical director who assesses the need for treatment, prescribes the medication and monitors the detainees who receive it. An estimated 40 percent of inmates at both jails report having an opioid problem, Evans says, and most are willing to receive treatment, which can begin in as few as four days after arrest. The treatment medications include Suboxone, which contains buprenorphine and naloxone to help ease cravings and the severe, flu-like symptoms associated with withdrawal; and Vivitrol, an opiate-blocker given as an injection that lasts about a month. Jail authorities also are seeking DEA approval to offer methadone, a synthetic opioid commonly used to treat opioid use disorder. "People who experience withdrawal develop a fear of ever experiencing that again," Evans says, which helps explain both the cycle of addiction and the high risk of overdose for detainees following their release from jail. According to a 2018 Massachusetts Department of Public Health report, the opioid overdose death rate is 120 times higher for recently released inmates than for other adults. And the first month after release is a critical time. "We recognize that the period after release from jail is a high-risk period for overdose and death from opioids," Evans says. "The inmates' tolerance changes and their bodies cannot withstand the same amount of substances as they could pre-incarceration. They often return to use at the same level, which becomes a lethal dose for them." That's why connecting people to medication providers and social services after their release from jail is a crucial part of the program, Evans says. Franklin and Hampshire counties are among seven in the Commonwealth in a pilot program mandated by the Massachusetts Legislature to start offering medication to inmates with opioid use disorder by September. Evans says the data gathered from the three-year project in Franklin and Hampshire counties may inform the Commonwealth's burgeoning plan for jail-based opioid addiction treatment. "Jails used to be all about public safety," Evans says. "Now they are taking on a public health role. This has potential benefits to both the incarcerated people and to us as a society." There is currently not enough evidence related to the effects of noncaloric sweeteners on appetite, shortterm intake, and risk of suffering from cancer or diabetes, as shown by a study recently published in the scientific journal 'Advances in Nutrition'. This study has reviewed prior evidence about the effects of sweeteners on gut microbiota through experimental research and clinical trials. According to this review, "it's necessary to carry out further research on the effects of sweeteners on the composition of human gut microbiota as well as confirming any effect that may have been proven in clinical trials on animals," says angel Gil, professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Granada (UGR) and President of the Iberoamerican Nutrition Foundation (FINUT, from its abbreviation in Spanish). On this matter, "every sweetener approved in the European Union is safe and its impact on macrobiota is negligible as long as its daily intake is under the ADI (Acceptable Daily Intake). Furthermore, lowcalorie sweeteners seem to have beneficial effects since they act as true prebiotics." Worldwide increase in sugar consumption, especially sucrose or fructose and glucose syrups, has raised concern about its possible adverse effects on human health and the development of chronic diseases such as metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, and type 2 diabetes. So much so that institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) have recommended a reduction in the consumption of these free sugars. Thus, sweeteners may substitute sugar because they mimic its sweet taste but have a negligible impact on daily energy intake and are frequently sweeter than sucrose. Critical analysis of the evidence The main goal of this review has been to critically discuss the evidence supporting the effects of nonnutritive sweeteners (NNSs), both synthetic sweeteners (acesulfame K, aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin, neotame, advantame, and sucralose) and natural sweeteners (NSs; thaumatin, steviol glucosides, monellin, neohesperidin dihydrochalcone, and glycyrrhizin) and nutritive lowcalorie sweeteners (polyols or sugar alcohols) on the composition of microbiota in the human gut. One of the main discoveries is that "the only nonnutritive and noncaloric sweeteners that significantly alter microbiota are saccharin and sucralose, although their impact on human health is unknown and further research should be carried out in order to confirm said alteration," professor Gil explains. "The same could be said about steviol glucosides, although only for intakes greater than the ADI." "In this sense, sweeteners based on amino acid derivatives don't exert great changes on gut microbiota due to their low concentration and because those amino acids are absorbed by the duodenum and the ileum," emphasizes the president of the FINUT. "With respect to polyol sweeteners (such as isomaltose, maltitol, lactitol, and xylitol), which are poorly absorbed or even not absorbed at all, they may have prebiotic actions and can reach the large bowel and increase the numbers of bifidobacteria in animals and humans." Besides this study, another review has been recently published in the journal 'Food and Chemical Toxicology', carried out using onlyin vivotrials. Likewise, "that paper also came to the conclusion that there is no evidence of lowcalorie sweeteners exerting adverse effects on gut microbiota," says Gil. Strict safety control Noncaloric sweeteners, like the rest of alimentary additives, are subject to a strict safety control carried out by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the U S Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other international institutions such as the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Thus, "the use of sweeteners, which are subject to strict controls by these organizations, is safe as long as they are consumed within the Acceptable Daily Intake," the UGR professor concludes. Column Biden, it's time to announce your plans You all make legislators keep local issues front and center, and in terms of the recent budget from the governor, the key word is that it is a proposed budget, she said. There are things in there that even Democrats dont like. Our pension issues actually started back in 1954, but now they are out of control. In recent years, weve had eight bond credit downgrades. Getting a budget that works is the first step. Kent Memorial Library and the Kent Community Fund will co-sponsor a multi-faceted workshop, Tips for Maintaining Safety in the Home, Feb. 25 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Main Street library. Representatives from the New Milford Visiting Nurse Association will discuss how to safe-proof ones home, how to avoid accidents, the benefits of having a Lifeline, how to maintain safety with body mechanics - getting out of bed properly, walking down the stairs safely, getting up from a chair safely, and tips on balance and movement. The Litchfield Hills Farm-Fresh Market will hold a winter harvest dinner March 16 from 6 to 10 p.m. in Bantam. Chef Samantha Tilley, owner of Mockingbird Kitchen and Bar, will serve as executive chef for the evening at her restaurant. Tilley will be joined by contributing chefs Carol Byer-Alcorace, executive chef for the summer farmers table dinners, and baker Barbara Mojon-Gugnoni, who has done the desserts for both the summer and harvest dinners. Dinner ingredients will be provided by vendors and other local Connecticut producers, including Arethusa Farm Earths Palate Farm, Plum Brook Chocolate, Bantam Bread, Laurel Ridge Farm, Stella Rose Farm, Berry Ledges Apiary, Maple View Farm, Troy Brook Bakery, Birdseye/Tanner Brook Farm, Mohawk Mountain Mushrooms, Twin Pines Farm, Brookside Farm, Olive Oil Factory, Wave Hill Bread and Cato Corner Farm Tickets are $100, with all proceeds to help fund the markets education programs. Tickets are on a first-come, first-serve basis, with reservations confirmed with receipt of payment at Feb. 23 and March 2 at the market, at http://www.litchfieldfarmersmarket.org/winter-harvest-2019.html or by mailing a check to Winter Harvest Dinner, c/o LHF-FM, P.O. Box 607, Litchfield, CT 06759. DANBURY For most of the past 30 years, John R. was one of the troubled homeless men living on the streets of Danbury, staying warm at the library, sneaking along the railroad tracks and drinking in downtown alleyways. When he wasnt on the street, he was usually in jail for a theft or assault charge often the former for trying to score some liquor and regularly the latter after hed finished it all. This year, for the first time in his life, John R. has an apartment of his own and is approaching six months of sobriety thanks to the help of a little-known network of agencies and nonprofit providers called the Danbury Community Care Team. Now the 48-year-old Danbury native, who asked that his full name not be used, is being hailed as a role model by homeless advocates who spent years trying to get him the help he needed. Weve found that we need a role so that its so seamless there are no cracks for these folks to fall through, said Kevin McVeigh, who facilitates that team through Danbury Hospital. Their most vulnerable times are in between treatments, so we do whatever it takes to be there for them. Because we know if we can keep them engaged with us, we can keep them off the street and get them back on their feet. The team connects dozens of local doctors, rehab centers, emergency shelters, police officers, city officials, food kitchens, religious nonprofits and mental health professionals to directly coordinate their services and ensure wrap around care for every individual who is, has been or could be teetering on homelessness across the Danbury area. The group has housed more than 80 longtime homeless individuals over the past three years and provides services to more than 230 others across all three of those categories, McVeigh said. But the work happens largely out of the public eye, shrouded in patient privacy laws and buried under the stigma that still surrounds homelessness. The success of John R. illustrates how the system is designed to work for every individual case and encourage any person, no matter their addiction or mental health needs, to pursue their own change. I have an opportunity to live life today, John R. said. I have an opportunity to face all the things in my life and work them out and get through them. Im quite surprised at myself. Ive always known I had the ability to make it and Im doing it. Cat and mouse Sitting in his new favorite armchair in the living room of his own Locust Avenue apartment, John R. recalled that he was not always homeless or drunk or high on opioids. In the mid-1990s, he forced himself to stay sober after a stint in jail and fell in love. He got married in 1997 and pursued his plumbing career while caring for his wifes children in their New Haven home. I got to a point where I said, Look at everything Ive achieved in my life. Ive got a beautiful wife, Im taking care of children, Ive got cars, Ive got a great bank account, I could probably use again, he said. I could probably shoot a bag of dope and it wont affect me like before. That was maybe 2004 and I havent put it down since. I lost everything in a couple of months. John R. has been in and out jail eight times since then, including stints for burlary, theft and several assault charges. He first met McVeigh, who was then working as a counselor at the MCCA rehabilitation center, about 12 years ago. The two hit it off and would work together here and there over years between jail, back and forth with other residential treatments and through numerous emergency room visits. When McVeigh was tapped to start the community care team almost five years ago, he worked John R. into the new coordinated access system where all of the providers who worked with him could share their information about his case. They were able to help each other track John R. down when he would seemingly vanish and hes now been through 10 episodes of treatment in just the past three years, McVeigh said. After two rounds of treatment in August and September, John R. was given an opportunity: Stay sober and the community care team will be able to provide a housing voucher within a matter of weeks. He almost couldnt believe it, but he stuck with it and on Dec. 15 he was able to move in to his new place on Locust. Its the first Christmas in a long time that I was able to stay sober and have some place to go and stay warm. Its a blessing, he said. I still look around and think, Okay, when are they coming to throw me out of here? But wait a second, if I keep doing the right thing, this might be possible. Whos driving? The topsy-turvy path John R. took out of homelessness is representative of most peoples journey from the streets, through addiction and back into a home. It also represents the new way of thinking about homelessness called housing first, through which a person is treated and then quickly put into a stable housing situation where the rest of their issues can be addressed over time. The fragility of that process is exactly what the community care team is designed to cushion, by giving every provider that helps that person the best view of every pothole on their road ahead, said Michele Conderino, who oversees homeless services for the Catholic Charities of Fairfield County. A team of about 30 people meets for at least an hour every week. You dont have a meeting every week and have that kind of attendance unless its working, Conderino said. At each meeting, the group looks over a list of dozens of names and provides updates, one-by-one, on the most urgent cases or with people who have appointments or court dates the upcoming week. More than 75 names were on the groups list at a recent meeting. After discussing the case of a Danbury man who had been awarded a housing voucher in Torrington but could not get there on his own, McVeigh asked, So whos driving? One provider picked the man up a few hours later. In other cases, the team checks in on people already housed simply because they havent heard an update from that person for some time. The seemingly mundane tasks underscore how comprehensive the team wants to be with every individual they help to not only get them into homes but to keep them there, Conderino said. Those efforts have helped reduce the long-term, chronically homeless population in Danbury over the past four years and it should decline again this year, said Conderino, who organizes the Danbury-area annual homeless count. Weve really moved so many of our long, longterm homeless people into housing and theyve stayed there, Conderino said. Now were looking at a group of people who have been in the shelters for a year or less. Were redesigning the system to meet their needs. No perfect system Sometimes the community care team is not able to help an individual in time or break through to someone who simply refuses services. David Mullen had been homeless, camping behind buildings downtown, for only a few weeks when police found his body partially submerged in the icy Still River the morning of Dec. 1. He had been working with the community care team and his family has said he was due to receive housing benefits just after the new year. Other familiar faces around downtown have rebuffed years of attempts from providers to seek shelter or enter treatment, but they cannot necessarily be compelled against their will to receive help, officials have said. Today there are fewer than a dozen such individuals downtown who fit that profile. There isnt one great solution, Mayor Mark Boughton said. If there was, everybody would be doing it. The systems not perfect, but I think we have the emergency space available we need. Its more the longterm housing stock issue that we need to address. This spring the city will begin a study of how to create a single campus that could include office space for community care providers and shelter beds to keep all of those services together, but the plan is still in its infancy, Boughton said. Each group secures grants and funding for its own programs, but combining many of those services in a single city-owned location could help further boosts the teams results, the mayor suggested. With time, though, McVeigh and advocates believe they can break through to people to put in the work that John R. has. He should be dead. Most people would be dead, McVeigh said. There is no sidestepping the work that goes in. The bottom line is theres only one person who can do the work on that recovery, and thats the person. John R. shrugged off the suggestion that he is a role model, but he does want to try to help others as he adjusts to his new home life. I long for having good friends in my life; good, caring, compassionate people to help you out, he continued. I also want to do the same for them. I want to be able to give back. I feel Ill be able to grow more when I give back, instead of just sitting here in my apartment. zach.murdock@hearstmediact.com Help support your local hometown newspaper/website. Independent local news reporting matters. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription, for as little as $3, so we can continue to provide independent local reporting on our communities. The classical view of an IoT deployment is relatively centralized a company wires sensors to important equipment, the sensors send data back to edge gateways, and the gateways do some limited processing of that data and then send it back to the cloud or to the data center. Its not simple, but its easy enough to understand the principles. Some, however, recognize that vastly different architectures for the IoT are possible, including Fleet Space Technologies, a startup that earlier this month announced that it had reached a million device signups for its ambitious satellite-based IoT edge system, which its calling Project Galaxy. The goal is to provide truly global, ends-of-the-Earth LoRaWAN coverage to any IoT device on the platform. Registered devices connect to a satellite for connectivity back to a home network. The company launched its first nanosatellite in 2018, and boasts that companies ranging from Fortune 500s to small startups have jumped at the chance to register devices for the Project Galaxy network. While technical details about the project are sparse, the open source LoRaWAN standard is popular enough that Project Galaxys potential market is as expansive as its name. Given the limitations of the low-power WAN technology, as well as the unavoidable delay inherent in satellite communications, Project Galaxys probably not going to be the best idea for time-sensitive applications, but its global reach could make it attractive to safety, research and monitoring implementations located in remote regions. IoT convoys Vehical-fleet management is a popular application for IoT tech on the enterprise side, and an Arizona-based company called Haulynx is offering a new twist on the basic idea of vehicle tracking. Haulynxs app works something like a freight-focused Uber or Lyft. Carriers can sign themselves into the system and make themselves and their trucks available for loads from brokers using the same system. Once the match between cargo and carrier has been made, the system provides turn-by-turn navigation, complete with location-aware routing based on the dimensions of the specific vehicle and cargo involved. The idea is that brokers can pay for access to the Haulynx network for quick and easy freight routing, along with automatic updates about the location and progress of their shipments. IoTenants Smart home tech is traditionally seen as part of the consumer side of the IoT world, but some of the same principles are being applied to commercial real estate by forward-thinking companies. A Czech startup called Spaceti wants to IoT-ify the entire office. From tracking open parking spots in the garage, to booking meeting rooms, temperature control even whether the coffee machines broken or not. Its all very comprehensive. Spaceti even logs all that information for potential analytics down the road, so that it can correlate productivity to office temperature, whether theres enough coffee for everyone, and so on. The system works with asset tagging and a series of stones, small, smooth wireless devices that work as sensors and hubs for information, all connected via a cellular network. The wellbeing smart stone, measures things like humidity and temperature, while the location smart stone provides information on tagged items, whether those are chairs, tables or otherwise. Its one of those pitches that sound great for a certain stripe of manager who likes to have a finger on absolutely everything thats happening at his or her company, but it sounds like actually working in an office like this could prove a little bit oppressive. Much will depend on whether the operation savings are worth the price of installing the stones and the software. The 41-year-old man accused of kidnapping a woman and her 5-year-old son in New Hampshire and later sexually assaulting the woman in Vermont waived his right to appear at his arraignment in federal court in Burlington Friday. Not guilty pleas to charges of kidnapping and transit of stolen vehicles were entered on behalf of Everett Simpson in a brief hearing. Simpson was indicted Thursday on four counts. Simpson allegedly left a Bradford drug abuse treatment center Jan. 4 and traveled to Manchester, New Hampshire, where the alleged kidnapping took place. He then allegedly brought the woman and her son back to Vermont, where the woman was assaulted in front of the child. The unusual details of the case drew stunned reactions in Manchester last month when they were first reported. Horrifying, Joan Goodwin said Jan. 7, after learning of the accusations against Simpson. Im glad [the survivors] ended up safe, even though Im sure shes traumatizedthe child, as well. That you cant even be safe in public that is a scary thing, Betty Simoneau said on Jan. 7. Especially parents with children. After the reported sexual assault, Simpson then allegedly fled to Pennsylvania. He was apprehended after he crashed a stolen car while fleeing police. An assistant U.S. attorney said Friday that his office is working with more than 15 investigative agencies in several states. The prosecutor added that potential evidence being studied by the FBI crime lab is "quite voluminous" and includes fingerprint and DNA analysis. Simpsons lawyer declined to comment Friday. The suspect is being held without bail. Police in Massachusetts have charged teenage girls ages 14 and 15 with robbing a bank. Fall River police say the 14-year-old girl walked into BayCoast Bank on Troy Street on Wednesday afternoon and told a teller she would "blow everything up and kill everybody" if the teller did not hand over cash. A bank employee handed the girl an "undetermined" amount of money and she left. The girl was seen on surveillance video getting into a black Toyota Camry outside the bank allegedly driven by the older girl. Police got a look at the license plate and traced the car to a home in the city where they found the girls. Both are charged with armed robbery. Their names were not released because of their ages. What to Know Data from the CDC's "500 Cities" Project shows half the adults living in a Brockton neighborhood report sleeping less than 7 hours per night The Brockton neighborhood also had 33 percent smoking rate Other Massachusetts cities with similar smoking rates include New Bedford and Fall River A neighborhood in Brockton has the highest smoking rate in Massachusetts, and its residents are also the most sleep-deprived, according to the findings from the Center for Disease Controls 500 Cities Project, which measured health risks and indicators down to the census-tract level in thousands of communities across the country. The study found that half the adults living in the Brockton neighborhood report sleeping less than seven hours per night on a regular basis. By contrast, a neighborhood in Cambridge with roughly quadruple the average household income reported that only about 26 percent of residents dont get a good nights sleep. Smoking Rates in the Boston Metro Area According to the survey, the Brockton neighborhood also had 33 percent smoking rate. Other Massachusetts cities with similar smoking rates include New Bedford and Fall River. Smoking increases sleep disturbances, said Maria Celli, the director of social services at the Brockton Neighborhood Health Center. Theres a lot of poverty in Brockton and thats going to cause distress or stress thats going to make a person vulnerable to pick up smoking. Celli told NBC10 Boston a lot of the health centers patients are also parents, who might hold down two jobs to pay the bills. They might be up until a certain time of night, taking care of children, tending to a home, and then getting up at 4 a.m. to work, she explained. NBC10 Boston spoke with a patient at the health center who is currently trying to quit smoking and said its been at least a month since he enjoyed his last good nights sleep. Its tough, said Robert, who asked NBC10 Boston to only use his first name. Could you go to sleep peacefully knowing you have to pay the rent but dont have the rent money to pay? Robert, a recovering addict whos been smoking since age 14, knows he will need help conquering the nicotine addiction. Right now, a pack of cigarettes lasts him about three days. I wish like hell I could quit, he expressed. If you have to pick the lesser of two evils, Id rather be trying to quit smoking than going through this drug thing again. Twenty-five miles away, its a different story. With a night-and-day difference in wealth, education and exercise, it is not surprising that Newton has a much lower smoking rate. However, Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller told NBC10 Boston there might be other reasons behind the nationally-low 9.5 percent smoking rate. We were one of the first cities or towns in Massachusetts to raise the minimum age from 18 to 21, Fuller explained. We also capped the number of stores that can sell cigarettes. We want tight restrictions. Fuller said city leaders are now turning their efforts to high-visibility preventative education in schools related to vaping and juuling. In the Newton neighborhood with the lowest smoking rate, it does seem difficult to find a place that sells cigarettes. At the corner of Beacon and Walnut, the Whole Foods grocery store doesnt sell them. Neither does the Walgreens across the street. The only store with cigarettes is a Mobil gas station. But owner John Coyle said the lack of competition hasnt boosted his bottom line. We probably make an extra 15 bucks per day, Coyle said. It used to seem all day long, youd have someone pulling up front, hopping out and buying cigarettes. That just doesnt happen anymore. Back in Brockton, cigarettes are prominently advertised on the storefronts of numerous businesses, sometimes right next to essentials like milk and break. Inside the Brockton Neighborhood Health Center, Celli said the details of the CDC study are generating discussion and debate about the reasons behind the high rates, and what can be done to improve the trends. It makes me think about what we can do as people who love and care for the community, Celli expressed. Is there some kind of public intervention we could pursue related to smoking and sleep? What to Know Patriots owner Robert Kraft faces two charges of soliciting prostitution in Jupiter, Florida, authorities announced Friday. The charges are connected to a wider human trafficking ring bust involving hundreds of men accused of contributing to sex trafficking. Experts say human trafficking warning signs are often missed at hotels, bus and train stations, and at airports. Florida law enforcement officials say New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is one of hundreds of men accused of allegedly soliciting prostitution as a result of a recent sting they say contributes to the world of sex trafficking. The major bust in the Sunshine State spans three counties, and police confirmed it had ties to New York and China. Todd McGhee, a retired Massachusetts State Police trooper who is now a private security consultant, says human and sex trafficking, which happens when someone is abducted or promised false employment, then exploited and prevented from leaving, is prevalent everywhere in the United States. "We are really talking about an international problem that feeds the U.S. market and make no bones about it, this is literally the magnitude of organized crime," McGhee said. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, authorities handled nearly 2,000 cases of human trafficking in 2015. DOJ numbers say most of those responsible were white males, and nearly all of them were U.S. citizens. McGhee says the men paying for sex, commonly called johns, contribute to keeping the billion dollar business thriving. "The johns will most likely get a slap on the wrist," McGhee said. "With that being said, it is a massive, massive money-making business." In 2010, the National Institute of Justice funded a study to measure sex trafficking in eight major cities in the United States. They estimated the illegal activity ranged from $40 million in Denver to $290 million in Atlanta. "Those controlling the ring have control of how the money comes in and goes out and it is absolutely an underground controlled process," McGhee said. The retired trooper also said there are signs of human trafficking that are missed all of the time, considering that a ring leader may be the only person who knows where a woman is hidden so they can be forced into prostitution, holding them in a hotel, or in the Florida cases, a massage parlor. At least 45 human trafficking suspects were referred to U.S. attorneys in Massachusetts in 2015, according to the DOJ. McGhee said the trafficking is happening in hotels, in a bus or transit station and in airports. "Often times there will be a handler who will do all the speaking," he said. "They may say there is a language barrier and that's why the others are not speaking for themselves." At an airport, a handler will keep control of the victims' passports, speaking on their behalf, again claiming a language barrier. My Life My Choice, a Boston-based group that works to help sex trafficking victims, say they helped 204 victims in just six months. UPDATE: Arlington police say Nyal Coiley has been found safe. Earlier story below: Police are asking for the public to help find a man who was last seen Thursday morning in Boston. Authorities say 21-year-old Nyal Coiley of Arlington, Massachusetts, was last seen in the Savin Hill section of Dorchester. Coiley is described as a white male. Police said he was wearing gray sweatpants and a navy blue hoodie. Anyone with information is asked to call 781-643-1212. Its that time of year the sun is out, the weather is warming up and you finally have a reason to break out the grill in your backyard. While there are so many great dishes to cook on the grill, few things beat a backyard burger. Now, maybe youre a tong-twirling grill master who makes your own marinades from scratch , but if youre like most folks, your grill skills may be a little rusty after a long, cold winter and a gray, dreary spring. Though burgers seem like they should be easy to cook on the grill, there are some tips and tricks you can use to ensure you have a restaurant-quality patty on your bun. Two Massachusetts brothers were arrested Thursday morning and charged with the rape of a child. Massachusetts State Police said two teams simultaneously arrested 34-year-old Dennis Orellana of Westborough and 26-year-old Hilin Orellana at their apartments before dawn Thursday. Marlborough Police had been investigating the 2014 rape of a girl and obtained warrants for both brothers, state police said. The two suspects were booked at the Marlborough Police Department. The Orellana brothers were expected to be arraigned Thursday. It was not immediately clear if they had an attorney. Maine's highest court has upheld the murder conviction of a man who was sentenced for the 1980 death of a 16-year-old in a case that stymied investigators for decades. Philip Scott Fournier was convicted and sentenced last year to 45 years for the killing of Joyce McLain in East Millinocket. Lawyers asked Maine's supreme court to toss the verdict. They argued that Fournier's trial was plagued with mistakes, such as the exclusion of evidence of an alternative suspect and exclusion of relevant testimony. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court published an opinion on Thursday that it is affirming the conviction of murder. The opinion states the court ``did not abuse its discretion'' in the way it handled evidence and testimony in the case. Fournier was indicted in 2016. A teacher from Louisiana has pleaded guilty to trying to persuade an 11-year-old Massachusetts girl into having sex and sending her sexually explicit photos. Federal prosecutors say 25-year-old Logan Procell pleaded guilty Wednesday to coercion and enticement of a minor and transfer of obscene material to a minor. Prosecutors say Procell first contacted the girl via Snapchat after seeing her on a different online application. Procell and the girl exchanged more than 1,600 texts, some of which contained sexually explicit images, requests for pornographic images and discussions about meeting for sex. The girl's mother discovered the messages and contacted police. Procell was a chemistry teacher at a high school in Noble, Louisiana, at the time. He faces 10 years to life in prison at sentencing scheduled for June 3. More than 500 grams of fentanyl were seized during the arrest of a Massachusetts man. Thirty-six-year-old Rosario Lara of Lawrence has been charged with trafficking a class A narcotic over 200 grams. Federal, state and local investigators developed information that Lara was trafficking fentanyl, according to state police. On Thursday, undercover agents arranged to buy the drug from Lara in the Tower Hill area of Lawrence and watched the deal be completed, state police said. Officials then approached Lara, who allegedly attempted to flee the scene. Police quickly caught the suspect and arrested him. About 532 grams of fentanyl was secured as evidence, state police said. It's unclear when Lara will be arraigned or if he has an attorney. The sailor photographed kissing a woman in Times Square at the end of World War II is being laid to rest. George Mendonsa's funeral will be held Friday at St. Mary's Church in Newport, Rhode Island. Burial will follow at St. Columba Cemetery in Middletown. Mendonsa's daughter told The Providence Journal that her father died Sunday after he fell and had a seizure at the assisted living facility in Middletown where he had lived with his wife of 70 years. He was 95. Mendonsa kissed Greta Zimmer Friedman, a dental assistant in a nurse's uniform, on Aug. 14, 1945 -- known as V-J Day, the day Japan surrendered. The two had never met. Alfred Eisenstaedt's photo of the kiss became one of the most famous photographs of the 20th century. Burlington, Vermont, is going head-to-head with Rochester, New York, to compete for direct flights to Boston. Mynbc5.com reports it's been 15 years since Burlington International Airport offered direct flights to the city. Tom Torti with the Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce says many local businesses have connections to Boston, and driving back and forth is not ideal. The airport has not disclosed which airline is proposing to provide the service to Boston. Burlington recently added nonstop flights to Orlando and will start offering direct flights to Denver in the spring. Flights from Plattsburgh International Airport in New York to Boston ended last year and were replaced with flights to Washington, D.C. Police tapped into Chicago's vast network of surveillance cameras and even some homeowners' doorbell cameras to track down two brothers who later claimed they were paid by "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett to stage an attack on him, the latest example of the city's high-tech approach to public safety. Officers said they reviewed video from more than four dozen cameras to trace the brothers' movements before and after the reported attack, determining where they lived and who they were before arresting them a little more than two weeks later. Smollett reported being beaten up by two men who shouted racist and anti-gay slurs and threw bleach on him. But his story fell apart when Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo bodybuilders and aspiring actors whom Smollett knew from the "Empire" set and the gym told police that Smollett paid them $3,500 to stage the attack because he was unhappy with his salary and wanted to promote his career. Smollett was arrested Thursday and made his first court appearance. He was later released after posting the required 10 percent of the $100,000 bond. Police Commander Edward Wodnicki, who heads the detective division that led the investigation, credited the camera network but also residents who shared information from their own cameras for helping to solve the case. "That was super useful in this investigation," he said of residents' cooperation. "The city came together to investigate and help the police with this crime." The search went beyond surveillance cameras to include other electronic records. Detectives also reviewed in-car taxi videos, telephone logs, ride-share records and credit card records, according to a summary of the case released by prosecutors. At first, police were puzzled when they could not find footage of the attack, which Smollett said occurred around 2 a.m. on Jan. 29 while he was walking home from a Subway sandwich shop. Chicago has the most extensive video surveillance network in the U.S., with access to more than 32,000 cameras mounted on buildings, poles, train tunnels and buses and even in businesses and private residences whose owners agree to opt into the system full-time. What's more, authorities can track someone by linking those cameras at a sophisticated emergency command center, police stations or even from tablets in officers' squad cars. Police say Smollett deliberately staged the attack in a spot where he believed it would be captured on video, but "that particular camera wasn't pointed in that direction," Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Thursday. But police soon found footage of two men walking in the area of the attack and interviewed more than 100 people seeking witnesses. Using 35 police cameras and more than 20 private-sector cameras, investigators were able to trace the men's movements after the attack, including footage of them getting into a cab, Wodnicki said. Detectives interviewed the cab driver, got video from inside the vehicle and followed it along a trail of cameras to the city's North Side, where the brothers got out and began walking. The private footage offered by residents included video from cameras embedded in doorbells that showed the men walking, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. After that, police tracked the men's movements "backward to where they came from" before the attack, Wodnicki said first walking, then to a cab and back to a ride-share car. "That was the lead we needed to identify a person of interest," Wodnicki said. "We were able to put a name to both individuals." Police found out the men had flown to Nigeria the same day as the reported attack and would return on Feb. 13. In the meantime, police executed more than 50 search warrants and subpoenas, including for phone and social media records. The Osundairos were arrested when they got off the plane. Within two days, they were released without charges after detailing the alleged plot orchestrated by Smollett. Although the camera network which has raised privacy concerns among some civil liberties groups was key, it was only one part of the investigation, Guglielmi said. "Then they just did the police work," he said. "It was a lot of digging." Tokyo, February 22, 2019 NEC Corporation today announced the development of Radio Units (RU) for 5G base stations that comply with O-RAN fronthaul specifications established by the O-RAN Alliance. In the future, 5G is expected to require a large number of small-coverage base station devices. NEC's RU are ideal for 5G conditions as they are compact, lightweight and consume a low level of power, which reduces installation and operation costs. The amount of 5G network traffic is rapidly increasing, which requires efficient configuration and operation of mobile networks and network devices. The O-RAN Alliance, in which major global telecommunications carriers and vendors of telecommunications equipment participate, designs and promotes open interfaces that enable multi-vendor interconnections, aiming to quickly build highly scalable and intelligent networks by combining equipment from several vendors. "NEC aims to drive the global expansion of 5G by contributing to ecosystems in radio access networks via interoperability testing between multiple vendors' equipment that is compliant with O-RAN fronthaul specifications," said Nozomu Watanabe, Senior Vice President, NEC Corporation. NEC will display RUs compliant with the O-RAN fronthaul specifications at Mobile World Congress 2019 held in Barcelona, Spain from February 25 to 28. *** At issue is an appropriate case to discuss during African-American History Month. L.B. Sullivan, an Alabama county commissioner, had sued The New York Times over an advertisement it published that sought funding for Martin Luther King Jr.s civil rights campaign. Sullivan claimed to be defamed, even though the ad did not mention his name, because it described police abuses and an unprecedented wave of terror. Alabama courts awarded him $500,000 in damages, a ruling unanimously reversed by the Supreme Court. A Montgomery County, Maryland, man was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison for abusing an autistic patient in his care. Fabrice Yantou, 22, was an employee of Community Support Services, which runs halfway houses for adults with developmental disabilities. Surveillance video showed Yantou abusing a 24-year-old patient who was unable to communicate verbally. The victim had autism and developmental disabilities. In the video, Yantou is seen turning out lights and then punching and kicking the victim. The victims mother spoke to News4, calling the abuse every parents worst nightmare. Prosecutors documented at least seven different incidents. The judge in the case called the abuse torture. Community Support Services' executive director, Susan Ingram, said the group has "a zero tolerance policy for mistreatment of any individual we support." As D.C. police step up raids of marijuana pop-up parties across the District, a News4 I-Team investigation has found the overwhelming majority of arrests stemming from those raids never make it to trial. The I-Team examined arrest records and court case files from more than two dozen police raids dating back to August 2017. Out of 255 arrests identified, the I-Team found prosecutors later dropped more than 80 percent of those cases. Download our NBC Washington app for iOS or Android to get alerts for local breaking news and weather. Of those remaining, nearly three dozen people accepted guilty pleas. Only three cases went to trial. Twenty-two cases are still pending. Pop-Up Pot Party Arrests The I-Team requested incident reports from each known raid of pop-up pot parties. MPD declined to provide the names of those arrested in many incidents, citing privacy concerns, but the I-Team scoured arrest logs to find additional names of those charged. The I-Team pulled court records to track the outcome of each case. The U.S. Attorney's office provided additional details for many cases that were not pursued. Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham defends his departments enforcement of the citys recreational marijuana use law, which allows people to possess and gift small amounts but prohibits buying and selling of marijuana. He said the widespread gifting of marijuana with goods amounts to a sale and is against the law. Our goal is to make arrests when people break the law, and thats what weve done, he said. Still, he told the I-Team he isnt surprised by its findings because marijuana prosecutions have always been very lenient in the District. Prosecutors dont pursue a lot of them. They never really have, he continued. The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia declined an interview but a spokesman confirmed the results of News4s investigation. In a statement, the spokesman said while the office fully supports the efforts of local police and that MPDs raids have led to the recovery of significant amounts of illegal drugs and firearms, the legal standard for successfully prosecuting these cases is higher than the legal standard required for arrests. The so-called marijuana pop-up parties began after D.C. voters passed a ballot measure in 2014 that made it legal for adults 21 and older to possess up to two ounces of marijuana, grow up to six plants at home and give someone up to one ounce. Newsham told the I-Team the number of parties has exploded recently as participants have exploited the gifting provision by giving marijuana to someone who first purchases goods, such as a sticker or T-shirt. Some say the events, which can be easily found on the Internet or social media, symbolize D.C.s gray market though Newsham says the law is clear. "If you're gifting it on a large scale to numbers of people under the guise of you're giving them something else, that's clearly distribution, he said. Pop-Up Pot Parties Advertised on Instagram The I-Team found the majority of the three dozen plea deals struck by prosecutors, however, were for possession charges, not distribution. Court records show prosecutors also offered plea deals in most of the cases they later dropped. Newsham said police have a duty to respond to community complaints about the events, such as noise and traffic, and pointed out the parties can attract crime as vendors often carry large amounts of drugs and cash. Still, some marijuana legalization advocates are questioning whether the raids, which often take hours and utilize dozens of officers, are a wise use of taxpayer resources, as so many of the cases go nowhere and can saddle those arrested with heavy legal fees and an arrest record. I don't believe that a heavy enforcement by MPD or the city is the right approach, said D.C. Councilman David Grosso, later adding: It's a waste of time. Hes behind a measure that would allow the District to tax and regulate the sale of marijuana, something hes attempted for years, and Mayor Muriel Bowser is expected to push a similar bill. Congress has so far blocked the Districts efforts, but Grosso is hopeful it will have a better shot of success under a Democratic-controlled U.S. House. "We are saying that more and more people should be allowed to operate in this business to engage in this business without the consequence of being arrested, Grosso said. But Josh Sanderlin, a D.C. attorney who consults for the budding cannabis industry, said he doesn't believe police raids are a bad use of resources because many of the events "are completely unsafe in that there are pounds and pounds of cannabis" and cash on hand. What's more, he said, "There are people who are just straight up selling cannabis for cash." Still, he said prosecutions can be difficult to prove and present a conflict between local and federal law, which prohibits all manner of recreational marijuana use. "I've never heard of anybody actually being prosecuted all the way through, so I would imagine that people in the industry are hip to that as well, said Sanderlin, who is a pro-legalization advocate. Purvis Rollins, a massage therapist who said he incorporates cannabis into homemade massage oils and lotions which he gifts to his clients, was arrested in January after renting out his Columbia Heights building for a pop-up event. Rollins, who said he served in the military, told News4 that armed cops stormed the building like they were clearing a building in Iraq or Afghanistan, and he called it terrifying. Two women who were running the event were arrested by police, but prosecutors later dropped their cases. Rollins, however, faces a misdemeanor possession charge after police found marijuana in his vehicle. He was also charged with running an illegal business at his event space after police found massage chairs on-site that Rollins said he keeps there for storage. He said hed like to see the law changed so that cannabis can be a free market where more people are able to provide for themselves. But until then, he said hes rethinking allowing people to rent his event space for pot parties. I definitely don't want the police coming in again, he said. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia provided the following statement to the I-Team: The U.S. Attorneys Office fully supports the efforts of the Metropolitan Police Department and other law enforcement partners to enforce drug and gun laws in the District of Columbia. MPDs enforcement actions at pop-up events have led to the recovery of significant amounts of illegal drugs and, in some cases, the recovery of illegal firearms. In analyzing the results of these efforts, it is important to recognize that the legal standard for successfully prosecuting cases is higher than the legal standard required for arrests. As prosecutors, the Office has a responsibility to pursue only those cases that we believe can be proven in court beyond a reasonable doubt. We have moved forward with the most viable pop-up cases and are aggressively prosecuting any cases related to pop-up events that involve weapons or violence. We recognize that these events have generated concern within the community, and we are committed to working with MPD, the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General, and other partners to deal with the problems associated with these activities. How We Got the Story After tracking an increase in MPD enforcement of pop-up parties, the I-Team submitted requests for incident reports from each known raid. MPD declined to provide the names of those arrested in many of the incidents, citing privacy concerns, but the I-Team scoured arrest logs to find additional names of those charged. The I-Team pulled court records to track the outcome of each case. The U.S. Attorney's office provided some additional case detail for many of the cases that were not pursued. Reported by Jodie Fleischer, produced by Katie Leslie, and shot by Steve Jones and Jeff Piper. What to Know Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax resisted calls to resign after two women separately came forward with assault allegations. Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson both have offered to testify before the General Assembly, but the session is coming to a close Fairfax vehemently denies the allegations and wants the FBI to investigate, but not the General Assembly. Virginia Lt. Gov. Fairfax and the two women who have accused him of sexual assault were invited Friday to testify before a General Assembly committee, nearly two weeks after the women offered to testify on their allegations. Del. Robert Bell, R-Albemarle, the chairman of the House Courts of Justice Committee, said his committee will schedule a meeting and invite Vanessa Tyson, Meredith Watson and Fairfax to speak. It's unclear when that meeting will happen. Lawyers for Tyson and Watson issued statements earlier this month saying they would be willing to testify if impeachment proceedings begin. Both Tyson and Watson have been critical of the General Assembly for its inaction. Tyson' lawyers issued a statement Thursday calling for lawmakers to hire "experienced independent investigators'' to probe the allegations against Fairfax. "It is unfathomable that the Virginia General Assembly appears intent on ending its current session without addressing this issue in any meaningful way,'' the statement said. "Credible allegations of sexual assault must not be ignored.'' In January, Vanessa Tyson publicly accused Fairfax of forcing her to perform oral sex in his hotel room during the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004. Her lawyer said last week Tyson plans to meet with prosecutors in Massachusetts to detail her allegations. Meredith Watson also publicly accused Fairfax of sexual assault. She issued a statement accusing him of raping her 19 years ago while they were students at Duke University. Fairfax has resisted calls for the General Assembly to investigate the claims, which he vehemently denies. He has called for the FBI to investigate. The family of a teacher who was murdered while she was pregnant is renewing a proposal to change Maryland's fetal homicide law. Laura Wallen, 31, was found dead after going missing for nine days in September 2017. Her boyfriend and the father of her unborn child, 32-year-old Tyler Tessier, was arrested and accused of shooting her in the back of her head and burying her body in a shallow grave in Damascus. Tessier later took his life in his jail cell just hours before his murder trial was set to start in September 2018. Wallen was 13 weeks pregnant when she was killed. Her family said she was excited to be a mom and had already named her son Reid. But Tessier was only charged in her death and not the death of the fetus. Under Maryland law, a woman must be at least 24 weeks pregnant for prosecutors to charge a suspect with two counts of murder. "When we first found out that Laura was murdered, the first thing that I asked was, 'Its double murder right?'" Wallen's father, Mark Wallen, said. On Thursday, Mark Wallen renewed his fight for Laura and Reids Law which would allow prosecutors to charge for fetal homicide starting at eight weeks of pregnancy. If the suspect knew the woman was expecting, he or she could be charged with double murder and convicted of two life sentences. Mark Wallen, Sen. Justin Ready (R-District 5) and other lawmakers pushed for the bill again in Annapolis on Thursday. They first presented and discussed the bill in the Maryland House and Senate last year, but it didn't pass. "Were trying to be sure that cases like what happened to Laura and Reid, that the state's attorneys can go after people for murdering two lives, really," Ready said. But opponents of the bill say it could lead to a fight to ban abortions in the state by stating that life starts at eight weeks. Mark Wallen says the bill would make husbands and boyfriends think twice before killing their pregnant spouses. "She would be very proud. She is proud of us already for what were doing," he said of Laura. William Barr has been attorney general for just one week but is on the cusp of staring down what will almost certainly be the most consequential decision of his long career: how much of the special counsel's findings to make public. The position catapults him from Justice Department outsider free to theorize and speculate on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation to the man at the center of the legal and political firestorm that will accompany its looming conclusion. With Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein preparing to exit after supervising the day-to-day investigation for nearly two years, and with Trump loyalist Matthew Whitaker now replaced in the top job, Barr is in the hot seat: He is responsible for navigating the department through congressional and public demands for details of Mueller's findings while dealing with a White House that may challenge, or even stifle, the conclusions. Friends say Barr is accustomed to pressure-cooker situations by virtue of his experience as attorney general from 1991 to 1993 under President George H.W. Bush, and other senior Justice Department jobs. He oversaw the department's response when Los Angeles erupted in riots after the Rodney King verdict and when Cuban inmates took hostages at a federal prison in Alabama. He blessed Bush administration pardons in the Iran-Contra scandal and offered legal advice on the White House's ability to invade Panama. In this case, though, no less than the fate of Donald Trump's presidency may hang in the balance of whatever Barr decides. "I'm sure it's going to be a tough set of decisions and circumstances, but Bill doesn't shy away from tough situations," said former Justice Department colleague Timothy Flanigan. "He's not likely to sit there fretting over what does this mean for his legacy or his long-term political viability." Although Barr carefully weighs difficult decisions and consults others before making them, once he's made them, "he doesn't kind of circle and fret," Flanigan said. Key decisions are expected soon as Mueller shows signs of concluding his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign. Mueller is required to produce a confidential report to Barr that explains his decisions to pursue or decline prosecutions. That could be as simple as a bullet point list or as fulsome as a report running hundreds of pages. Barr will then have to decide how much of Mueller's findings should be disclosed to the public. At his confirmation hearing last month, Barr was noncommittal about what he would do, though he said repeatedly that he supported making as much public as possible, "consistent with the law." He said in his congressional testimony that he will write his own report summarizing Mueller's findings for Congress and the public. "I can assure you that, where judgments are to be made by me, I will make those judgments based solely on the law and will let no personal, political or other improper interests influence my decisions," he said. Barr has noted that department protocol says internal memos explaining charging decisions should not be released. The attorney general is required only to say the investigation has concluded and describe or explain any times when he or Rosenstein decided an action Mueller proposed "was so inappropriate or unwarranted" that it should not be pursued. Democrats could use Mueller's findings as the basis of impeachment proceedings and have threatened to subpoena them if they are withheld from Congress. It's not clear what the White House or Trump's lawyers may do to learn details of Mueller's findings. But they may try to block the public release of any report that they believe could expose private conversations between the president and his staff. Hovering in the background is the 2016 decision by then-FBI Director James Comey to break Justice Department norms in the Hillary Clinton email investigation by publicly criticizing the Democratic presidential candidate even while saying she wouldn't be charged. Barr has said repeatedly that he disagrees with Comey's decision and considers it a mistake. It's unclear what Mueller will place in his report and how far it will go in answering the central question of the investigation whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia or how much he will reveal about whether the president sought to obstruct justice through firing Comey and other actions. Barr made clear at his confirmation hearing that he agreed Russia had meddled in the 2016 election and that Mueller's investigation, contrary to Trump's claims, is not a "witch hunt." But his view on the obstruction question is more nuanced. As a private citizen, he sent the Justice Department a memo last June arguing that Trump couldn't be investigated for firing Comey because a president has discretion to hire and fire subordinates. He has since sought to make clear that he believes that a president can be guilty of obstructing justice in other ways, such as by destroying evidence or instructing witnesses to lie. It's not clear if Mueller will make recommendations about the president, though Barr has said he sees no reason to revisit Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted. Barr, who friends say was reluctant to return as attorney general, has made clear that at age 68, he feels empowered to do the right thing and not care about the consequences. But that doesn't mean it will be easy. "I'm kind of glad it's him," Flanigan said, "and not me." The ongoing fight to ban gun sales permanently from expos held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds is now headed to Sacramento. California State Assemblymember Todd Gloria introduced Friday Assembly Bill 893, legislation that would ban the sale of guns and ammunition at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, territory located with Glorias district. The politician said the bill is part of his efforts to make San Diego-area neighborhoods safer by reducing the number of guns on the streets. There is an ever apparent link between the gun violence we see virtually every week and the number of guns in our communities, Gloria said in a press release. Additionally, the State of California should not be profiting or benefiting from the sale of firearms. This bill demonstrates that we value people over guns and public safety above all. The Del Mar Fairgrounds is owned by the state of California and managed and operated by the 22nd District Agricultural Association. Gloria believes gun shows which have been held there for decades just dont belong there. Under AB 893, the Agricultural Association would be prohibited from authorizing or allowing the sale of any firearm or ammunition on the property or the buildings that make up the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The well-known gun show in Del Mar ended after 30 years Sunday. NBC 7's Ramon Galindo has more. Last September after much back-and-forth from both sides the 22nd District Agricultural Association Board of Directors, which oversees the events at the site, voted to postpone gun shows at the Del Mar Fairgrounds for one year so they could review the issue further. Meanwhile, cities near the fairgrounds Del Mar, Encinitas and Solana Beach all passed resolutions supporting an end to the shows. Then-Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom threw his support toward ending the shows, too. This is something the community has supported for a long time. Now its time to put it into law, Gloria told NBC 7 Friday. The final "Crossroads of the West" gun show was held at the fairgrounds in December 2018. Some people want to see the events continue at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, but rather as gun education or safety events, where no firearms are allowed on site. But even if they never return to the fairgrounds, the organizers of Crossroads of the West have said theyre not going away and will continue to host gun shows at other venues. Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath, Del Mar City Councilmember Dwight Worden, and Rose Ann Sharp from Never Again CA joined Gloria for the announcement of AB 893. Glorias office said the bill is currently pending referral to the appropriate Assembly committees for review and could be on the Gov. Newsoms desk by this fall. If its signed into law, itll go into effect in 2021. The board voted 8-1 to postpone all gun shows in the Del Mar Fairgrounds until after December to review the matter further. NBC 7's Artie Ojeda has more. What to Know David Allen Turpin and Louise Ann Turpin were each charged with counts of torture and false imprisonment and other counts. The investigation began after a 911 call from a daughter who escaped from the Perris home. The Turpins pleaded guilty Feb. 22, 2019 as part of a plea agreement A Southern California couple accused of torturing and abusing some of their 13 children pleaded guilty in a Riverside courtroom Friday to all 14 felony counts against them. The counts against David and Louise Turpin included torture, willful child cruelty and false imprisonment in what was described as a house of horrors in Perris, located about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles. The abuse accusations involved their 12 oldest children. The case now moves to the sentencing phase, set for April 19, instead of a trial. The Turpins face a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole. District Attorney Mike Hestrin said the couple's first chance for a parole hearing would be in 25 years. Hestrin said the guilty pleas were important to protect the children from having to testify in a trial. "This is among the worst, most aggravated child abuse cases that I have ever seen or been involved in," Hestrin said. Defense attorneys declined to comment outside the courthouse. The case was brought to light on Jan. 14, 2018, when the couple's 17-year-old daughter escaped the family's house, called 911 and told the dispatcher that her two younger sisters were "chained up to their beds," shackled so tightly their bodies were bruised, according to testimony from the defendants' preliminary hearing. The testimony further revealed what authorities described as a torture chamber where the brothers and sisters, ranging in age from 2 to 29, appeared to be held captive. After responding to the family's home on Muir Woods Road in Perris, authorities said they found malnourished siblings shackled to furniture in filthy conditions, leading to the arrest of the couple accused of keeping them captive. The intervention by authorities marked a new start for the children, who lived in such isolation that the teen who called for help didn't know her address and some of her siblings didn't understand the role of the police when they arrived at the house. Two girls had been hastily released from their chains when police showed up, but a 22-year-old son remained shackled. The young man said he and his siblings had been suspected of stealing food and being disrespectful, a detective testified. The man said he had been tied up with ropes at first and then, after learning to wriggle free, restrained with increasingly larger chains on and off over six years. Authorities said the children were deprived of food and things other kids take for granted, such as toys and games, and were allowed to do little except write in journals. Although the parents filed reports with the state that they home-schooled their children, the oldest child had only completed the third grade, and a 12-year-old couldn't recite the full alphabet. An investigator testified that some suffered from severe malnutrition and muscle wasting, including an 11-year-old girl who had arms the size of an infant. The kids were rarely allowed outside, though they went out on Halloween and traveled as a family to Disneyland and Las Vegas, investigators said. The children spent most of their time locked in their rooms except for limited meals or using the bathroom. All the children were hospitalized immediately after they were discovered. Riverside County authorities then obtained temporary conservatorship over the adults. Jack Osborn, an attorney who represents the seven adult children in probate court, said they were happy the guilty plea spared them from testifying. "They are relieved they can now move forward with their lives and not have the specter of a trial hanging over their heads and all the stress that would have caused," Osborn said. The adult children are all living together, attending school and getting healthy while leading lives similar to their peers. He said they value their privacy. The social services agency tasked with overseeing the younger children declined to comment on their cases, citing confidentiality laws. Jessica Borelli, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychological science at University of California, Irvine, said children who suffer such trauma face many challenges, but she has seen people make miraculous recoveries. The guilty pleas from their parents, she said, could help, especially since many abuse survivors struggle with feelings of self-doubt. "It is a pretty clear affirmation of how they were mistreated," she said. "If there is any part of them that needs validation that how they were treated was wrong and was abuse, this is it." The degree to which the pleas help will largely depend on the children's perceptions of their situation, including their sense of justice, said Shefali Gandhi, director of clinical services at Childhelp Children's Center of Arizona. "The plea is the start of their journey to heal, not the end," she said. The children have not spoken publicly, though they will be allowed to speak at the sentencing if they choose to, Hestrin said. "I was very taken by their optimism, by their hope for the future, for their future," Hestrin said. "They have a zest for life and huge smiles, and I am optimistic for them and I think that's how they feel about their future." Associated Press reporters Amy Taxin, John Antczak and Brian Melley in Los Angeles contributed to this report. The Trump administration, which abruptly announced in December that it was pulling out of Syria, said Thursday that it will keep 200 U.S. troops in the country for now. "A small peace keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for period of time," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a one-sentence statement. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who had harshly criticized Trump's decision to pull U.S. forces out of Syria, applauded the president's decision to leave a few hundred as part of an "international stabilizing force." Graham said it will ensure that Turkey will not get into a conflict with Syrian Democratic Forces, which helped the United States fight Islamic State militants. Turkey views Kurdish members of the SDF as terrorists. Moreover, Graham said leaving a small force in Syria will serve as a check on Iranian ambitions and help ensure that IS fighters do not try to return. "A safe zone in Syria made up of international forces is the best way to achieve our national security objectives of continuing to contain Iran, ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS, protecting our Turkish allies, and securing the Turkish border with Syria," Graham said. Trump's decision to pull 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, which he initially said would be rapid but later slowed down, shocked U.S. allies and angered the Kurds in Syria, who are vulnerable to attack by Turkey. It also prompted the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and drew criticism in Congress. Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, called the decision a "betrayal of our Kurdish partners." The SDF is currently involved in a standoff over the final sliver of land held by IS in eastern Syria, close to the Iraq border. Many believe the IS threat won't end with the pocket's recapture and an insurgency is underway. In a foreboding sign Thursday, the IS claimed responsibility for back-to-back suicide attacks that hit a village miles away, leaving more than a dozen people dead in a rare targeting of civilians. It's unclear where the 200 remaining U.S. troops will be stationed. The U.S. military has a limited network of bases inside Syria. Troops work mostly out of small camps in remote parts of the country's northeast. Also, U.S. troops are among 200 to 300 coalition troops at a garrison in southern Syria known as al-Tanf, where they train and accompany local Syrian opposition forces on patrols to counter the IS group. Al-Tanf is on a vital road linking Iranian-backed forces from Tehran all the way to southern Lebanon and Israel's doorstep. Trump spoke Thursday with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "On Syria, the two presidents agreed to continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone," the White House said in a statement about the call. The White House also said acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford will be hosting their Turkish counterparts in Washington this week for further talks. Associated Press writer Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report. Ever since Jussie Smolletts alleged attack took place, being a veteran cop, I was somewhat skeptical. Easy to do from a thousand miles away. What was impressive to me was the professionalism of the Chicago Police Department and especially its leader, Eddie Johnson, with the cynics biting him and his officers backs mostly for the number of detectives assigned to the case. From the start, Johnson refused to comment other than to treat the so-called victim as a victim until all the facts of the case were thoroughly investigated. Detectives did a brilliant job of investigating a very difficult and serious accusation and showed not only professional competence but also what can be accomplished when police and citizens work together for the common good. Long after Smollett passes into history, Chicagoans can take pride in a department that showed its always wise to wait for the facts to come out, no matter the pressure involved. What to Know Pa. Sen. Bob Casey's office said there's nearly $200 million in congressionally approved cash for military construction projects in Pa. That money could be diverted toward the president's desired border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, Casey said. The Trump administration said last week it would divert military construction money toward the wall. Federal money for submarine manufacturing in Philadelphia, aircraft construction in Pittsburgh and other military construction projects in Pennsylvania could be at risk of being diverted by the Trump administration to help finance a U.S.-Mexico border wall, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey's office said Thursday. Casey's office said there is nearly $200 million in congressionally approved money for military construction projects in Pennsylvania. That includes about $71 million to expand a submarine propeller manufacturing facility in the Philadelphia Navy Yard and at least $85 million to improve facilities at Pittsburgh's Air Force Reserve station to accommodate the larger C-17 Globemaster III. In addition, more than $20 million is set aside to improve security and facilities at Fort Indiantown Gap, the National Guard training center near Harrisburg, and $9 million is approved for a new National Guard armory near York, according information from Casey's office. In a statement, Casey's office said it has received no information from the Trump administration on what money is at risk. "I will fight like hell to keep this funding and these projects up and running in Pennsylvania," Casey, a Democrat, said in a statement. The office of U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican, said separately that it did not know which projects could be at risk of losing money. Last week, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, moving to secure more money for his long-promised wall after Congress approved only a fraction of the money he had demanded. The White House has said the border project would receive $3.6 billion that Congress originally provided for military construction projects. The Department of Defense said Thursday that no decisions have been made on which projects would lose money. Casey opposes Trump's declaration as an abuse of power. He also opposed Trump's efforts to get more money from Congress for the border wall, saying no security expert thinks building a wall as Trump envisions it is an effective border strategy. Toomey has said he preferred that Trump work with Congress on border security, rather than taking unilateral action. Toomey had contended that Trump's proposals for more money from Congress were reasonable, but Toomey had more broadly defined the money as being for border security, such as technology and roads, and not just a wall. In the meantime, a number of efforts are underway to stop the diversion. California is leading a group of 16 states in a lawsuit filed Monday contending that Trump's declaration is unconstitutional, while House Democrats planned to file a resolution Friday aimed at blocking the national emergency declaration. Pennsylvania's attorney general, Josh Shapiro, said earlier this week that he would take legal action if Pennsylvania loses federal funds because of Trump's emergency declaration. The federal government had not provided guidance on the funding sources, Shapiro, a Democrat, said. What to Know Jacob Sullivan has admitted to killing Grace Packer in 2016 as part of a rape-murder fantasy. Sullivan, 46, still faces the death penalty when he is sentenced. Jury selection for the penalty phase began Friday. Grace Packer's adoptive mother, Sara Packer, plans to plead guilty. Her lawyer says she will also testify against Sullivan at sentencing. Warning: The details of this story are extremely graphic and could be disturbing to some readers. After days of delays, a Pennsylvania man's guilty plea in the rape, murder and dismemberment of a 14-year-old girl has been formally accepted. Jacob Sullivan will now face a jury outside Philadelphia to determine a sentence of either life in prison or death for raping and killing Grace Packer. Jury selection began Friday afternoon. Sullivan, 46, first pleaded guilty to all charges in the 2016 death in a Bucks County courtroom on Tuesday. But, the plea couldn't formally be accepted due to Sullivan suffering from high blood pressure. When court resumed Thursday, Sullivan complained of a headache. Medical personnel rushed him to the hospital both times. Graces adoptive mother, Sara Packer, 44, is expected to testify against Sullivan during the penalty phase of his trial. Packer has agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence, according to her attorney, Keith Williams. Sullivan was Saras boyfriend. Prosecutors have said that Sara Packer, a former foster parent and county adoptions supervisor, watched Sullivan act out a rape-murder fantasy they shared. Sullivan said he conspired in the crime with Sara Packer. Graces death raised questions about whether child welfare agencies could have done more to protect her. Packer and her husband at the time, David Packer, cared for dozens of foster children before David was arrested in 2010 and sent to prison for sexually assaulting Grace and a 15-year-old foster daughter at their home in Allentown, about an hour north of Philadelphia. She lost her job as a Northampton County adoptions supervisor in 2010 and was barred from taking in any more foster children. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services launched an investigation after Grace Packers murder but its findings have not been made public. In court Friday, it was revealed that on the day of the rape, Sullivan and Packer woke Grace up early and took her to the Quakertown home, telling Grace it was because the police were after her. Sullivan beat and raped Grace, and she was bound, gagged and left to die in a sweltering attic, authorities have said. Returning the next day and finding Grace was still alive, Sullivan strangled her, court documents said. The couple stored Grace's body in cat litter for months, then dismembered the body and dumped the remains in a remote area where hunters found it in October 2016, police have said. Sullivan's credit card was used to buy zip ties and kitty litter, investigators said. Sullivan, whose attorney had said Sarah Packer masterminded the plot, entered his initial plea as jury selection was about to get underway Tuesday. Packers trial was expected to begin next month. Democrats controlling the House have teed up a vote next week to block President Donald Trump from using a national emergency declaration to fund a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, accelerating a showdown in Congress that could divide Republicans and lead to Trump's first veto. The Democrats introduced a resolution Friday to block Trump's declaration, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House would vote on the measure Tuesday. It is sure to pass, and the GOP-run Senate may adopt it as well. Trump quickly promised a veto. "Will I veto it? 100 percent," Trump told reporters at the White House. Any Trump veto would likely be sustained, but the upcoming battle will test Republican support for the president's move, which even some of his allies view as a stretch and a slap at lawmakers' control over the power of the federal purse. A staff aide introduced the measure during a short pro forma House session in which Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., presided over an almost-empty chamber. "What the president is attempting is an unconstitutional power grab," said Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, the sponsor of the resolution, on a call with reporters. "There is no emergency at the border." Trump's declaration of a national emergency gives him access to about $3.6 billion in funding for military construction projects to divert to border fencing. But the administration is more likely to tap funding from a federal asset forfeiture fund and Defense Department anti-drug efforts first. Trump's edict is also being challenged in the federal courts, where a host of Democratic-led states such as California are among those that have sued to overturn Trump's order. The House may also join in. Pelosi said the House measure would "reassert our system of checks and balances." For Democrats, the vote is another chance to challenge Trump over funding for a border wall, the issue that was central to the 35-day government shutdown. It also puts some Republicans from swing districts and states in a difficult spot, as many have expressed misgivings about Trump's action despite their support for his border security agenda. Should the House and the Senate initially approve the measure, Congress seems unlikely to muster the two-thirds majorities in each chamber that would be needed later to override a Trump veto. The measure to block Trump's edict will be closely watched in the Senate, where moderates such as Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., have signaled they would back it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is only a reluctant supporter of Trump on the topic. Trump's GOP allies promised they would uphold any veto denying Democrats the two-thirds votes required to overcome one. "Democrats' angst over Congress' power of the purse is unwarranted, especially since the commander in chief's authority to redirect military funds for a national emergency is affirmed in a law passed by their own branch," said top House Judiciary Committee Republican Doug Collins of Georgia. Pelosi wrote in a letter to her fellow lawmakers that the Republican president's "decision to go outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process violates the Constitution and must be terminated." "It is institutional. It is constitutional. It is not political," Pelosi said. The battle is over an emergency declaration Trump issued to access billions of dollars beyond what Congress has authorized to start erecting border barriers. Building his proposed wall was the most visible trademark of Trump's presidential campaign. Congress last week approved a vast spending bill providing nearly $1.4 billion to build 55 miles (89 kilometers) of border barriers in Texas' Rio Grande Valley while preventing a renewed government shutdown. That measure represented a rejection of Trump's demand for $5.7 billion to construct more than 200 miles (322 kilometers). Besides signing the bill, Trump also declared a national emergency and used other authorities that he says give him access to an additional $6.6 billion for wall building. That money would be transferred from a federal asset forfeiture fund, Defense Department anti-drug efforts and a military construction fund. Federal officials have yet to identify which projects would be affected. Castro, the resolution sponsor, said that he has already garnered support from a majority of the House as co-sponsors and that he has at least one GOP sponsor, Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan. Castro's measure says Trump's emergency declaration "is hereby terminated." Castro chairs the 38-member Congressional Hispanic Caucus. ISIS fighters facing defeat in Syria are slipping across the border into Iraq, where they are destabilizing the country's fragile security, U.S. and Iraqi officials say. Hundreds likely more than 1,000 ISIS fighters have crossed the open, desert border in the past six months, defying a massive operation by U.S., Kurdish, and allied forces to stamp out the remnants of the jihadi group in eastern Syria, according to three Iraqi intelligence officials and a U.S. military official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on intelligence matters. But indications of the extremist group's widening reach in Iraq are clear. Cells operating in four northern provinces are carrying out kidnappings, assassinations, and roadside ambushes aimed at intimidating locals and restoring the extortion rackets that financed the group's rise to power six years ago. "IS is trying to assert itself in Iraq, because of the pressure it is under in Syria," said Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasoul, the Iraqi army spokesman, using an alternate abbreviation for ISIS. The militants can count between 5,000 and 7,000 among their ranks in Iraq, where they are hiding out in the rugged terrain of remote areas, according to one intelligence official. In Syria, Kurdish-led forces backed by the U.S.-led coalition have cornered the militants in a pocket less than one square kilometer in Baghouz, a Euphrates River village near the 600-kilometer (370-mile) border. The Iraqi army has deployed more than 20,000 troops to guard the frontier, but militants are slipping across, mostly to the north of the conflict zone, in tunnels or under the cover of night. Others are entering Iraq disguised as cattle herders. They are bringing with them currency and light weapons, according to intelligence reports, and digging up money and arms from caches they stashed away when they controlled a vast swath of northern Iraq. "If we deployed the greatest militaries in the world, they would not be able to control this territory," Rasoul said. "Our operations require intelligence gathering and airstrikes." At its height in 2014 and 2015, the Islamic State group ruled over a self-proclaimed "caliphate" that spanned one-third of Iraqi and Syrian territory. The extremist offshoot of Al-Qaida in Iraq threatened to exterminate religious minorities. Iraqi forces, with U.S., Iranian, and other international help, were able to turn the war around and Baghdad declared victory over the group in December 2017, after the last urban battle had been won. But precursors to ISIS have recovered from major setbacks in the past, and many fear the militants could stage a comeback. The group is already waging a low-level insurgency in rural areas. The Associated Press verified nine ISIS attacks in Iraq in January alone, based on information gathered from intelligence officials, provincial leaders, and social media. ISIS often boasts of its activities through group messaging apps such as Telegram. In one instance, a band of militants broke into the home of a man they accused of being an informant for the army, in the village of Tal al-Asfour in the northern Badush region. They shot him and his two brothers against the wall, and posted photos of the killing on social media. Sheikh Mohamed Nouri, a local tribal leader, said it was meant to intimidate locals in order to keep them from sharing intelligence with security officials. "I have members of our tribal militia receiving threatening messages warning them to abandon their work," said Nouri. In other instances, ISIS cells have killed mukhtars village leaders and municipal officials. They have attacked rural checkpoints with car bombs and mortar fire, and burned down militia members' homes. In the Shurgat area in central Iraq, militants stopped a police vehicle last month and killed all four officers inside. Other activities have aimed at restoring the group's financial footing. On Sunday, militants kidnapped a group of 12 truffle hunters in the western Anbar province, marking a return to a strategy of intimidating and extorting farmers and traders for financial gain. Naim Kaoud, the head of provincial security, urged locals to suspend truffle gathering, which has just one season a year and is an important source of income for rural families. Other truffle hunters have disappeared in the countryside, according to former lawmaker and Anbar tribal figure Jaber al-Jaberi. He said the militants are taking cuts from truffle hunters in exchange for access to the land, and kidnapping or killing those who refuse to cooperate. "This is one of the sources of their funding," said al-Jaberi. Al-Jaberi cautioned against exaggerating the ISIS threat, saying the militants have been less successful at infiltrating communities than they were earlier this decade. "These are different times," he said. Others are not so sure. Hans-Jakob Schindler, a former adviser to the U.N. Security Council on ISIS and other extremist groups, said the same grievances that gave rise to IS in 2013 remain today, including a large Sunni minority that feels politically and economically marginalized by the Shiite-led central government. "I'm very worried that we are just repeating history," said Schindler, who is now at the Counter Extremism Project. He said he has seen ISIS "revert to the old type" of "classical terror attacks" and kidnapping for ransom, tactics that were once widely employed by al-Qaida in Iraq. The militants staged a dramatic resurgence after 2011, when U.S. forces withdrew from Iraq and civil war broke out in neighboring Syria. Today some 5,200 American forces are based in Iraq, after they were invited back to help stem the ISIS rampage in 2014. After President Donald Trump promised in December to pull American forces out of Syria, Iraqi lawmakers began clamoring for the U.S. to leave, arguing that the mission against ISIS was approaching its end. But with no letdown to ISIS militancy, those calls have petered out. What to Know Cuomo says Amazon's backing out of deal to put one of its 2nd HQ in NYC is the "greatest tragedy" he has seen since he's been in government Cuomo said Friday on public radio station WAMC that losing the Amazon deal makes him sick to his stomach Cuomo again blamed fellow Democrats who control the state Senate Gov. Andrew Cuomo says Amazon's backing out of a deal to put one of its second headquarters in New York City is the "greatest tragedy" he has seen since he's been in government. Cuomo said Friday on public radio station WAMC that losing the Amazon deal makes him sick to his stomach. Cuomo's public comments were his first on the topic since his office issued a statement Feb. 14, the day the Seattle-based internet retailer announced it was backing out of an agreement to redevelop a site in Queens. Cuomo again blamed fellow Democrats who control the state Senate. They include Sen. Michael Gianaris, who represents the Long Island City neighborhood where Amazon wanted to base 25,000 jobs. Senate majority spokesman Michael Murphy called Cuomo's comments "baseless attacks." Defying orders banning him from leaving the country, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido made a surprise appearance at a star-studded aid concert in neighboring Colombia, joining thousands of other Venezuelans in pressuring President Nicolas Maduro into allowing the delivery of emergency food and medicine. On the Venezuelan side, a much smaller crowd gathered for a rival, three-day "Hands Off Venezuela" festival being organized by Maduro. Even as several million Venezuelans flee the country and those who remain struggle to find basic goods like food and antibiotics, the embattled president claims the relief effort led by Guaido is a U.S. orchestrated ploy to oust him from power. Click here to watch a live stream from Telemundo. The optimistic mood at the Live Aid-style concert opened in the Colombian border city of Cucuta couldn't mask underlying tensions a day before Maduro's opponents embark on a risky strategy to undermine Maduro and bring in the aid being amassed along three of Venezuela's borders. But the crowd reacted with joy when Guaido suddenly appeared. He was greeted with shouts of: "Juan arrived! Juan arrived!" Thousands of kilometers away, near a crossing with Brazil, a member of an indigenous tribe was killed and 22 more injured in clashes with security forces who enforced Maduro's orders to keep out the aid. Hours before the concert in Cucuta began, dozens of Venezuelans hiked across the border through high bushes on an unmarked trail. They carried ice boxes, snacks and water and whispered directions as they kept a close eye out for Venezuelan soldiers. "This concert happens once in a lifetime," 19-year-old Shirley Duran said. "It will be a great opportunity for so many poor people who are suffering under the heat, who are hungry, jobless. At last they'll have something to enjoy." British billionaire Richard Branson organized the "Live Aid Venezuela" concert, which features dozens of Latin musicians performing on a giant stage on one side of what Colombian authorities have renamed the "Unity" bridge. Not far off sits a giant shipping container and tanker that Maduro's government has placed on the bridge to prevent the delivery of U.S.-supplied food and medical kits. As Venezuela's political turmoil drags on, allies of Guaido, who the U.S. and dozens of other countries have recognized as Venezuela's rightful leader, are hoping the massive concert in Cucuta will set the stage for the smooth delivery Saturday of the aid and a turning point in their quest for a transitional government. The promised "humanitarian avalanche" is taking place exactly a month after Guaido declared himself interim president in an outdoor rally. At the concert venue, the feeling was one of collective catharsis, especially for migrants who in recent years have fled Venezuela's economic implosion by crossing into Colombia. Under a scorching sun, those in attendance waved Venezuelan flags, squirted water at each other and swayed to music by marquee artists including Colombia's Carlos Vives and Mexican rock band Mana as well as a host of Venezuelan performers. Reymar Perdomo, a Venezuelan street singer who rose to fame for a video went viral showing her singing on buses in Peru, kicked off the concert with her signature song, "Me Fui," Spanish for "I left," which has become the unofficial anthem of the mass exodus. Perdomo said performing so close to the border brought back painful memories. "A little over a year ago I crossed this border and was robbed of my luggage and all my money," she said. "But I know in this moment that there will be change because Venezuelans want it and they are showing it today." The plan to bring in aid is the most ambitious and potentially dangerous that the opposition has attempted to undertake since Guaido decided to challenge Maduro's rule. But the embattled socialist has shown no signs of backing down, and analysts warn that whatever happens over the next two days may not yield a conclusive victory for either side. "I think one of the government's aims is to confuse the whole thing, possibly to create some kind of chaos that makes the opposition look bad," Phil Gunson, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group based in Caracas, said of Maduro's rival concert. "It's a propaganda war." As if to highlight those risks, a woman from the combative Pemon tribe identified as Zoraida Rodriguez died from bullet wounds in clashes near the border with Brazil. Hours later, members of the Pemon tribe retaliated by taking control of the local airport, gateway to the world-famous Angel Falls. Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators. There was no immediate information on the condition of the injured, though local authorities said six people had to be rushed to a hospital across border because local clinics lacked medical supplies. Much like the original 1985 Live Aid concert, which raised funds to relieve the Ethiopian famine, Branson has set a goal to raise $100 million for Venezuelans in need within 60 days. He said he got the idea after brainstorming with Guaido and his political mentor, Leopoldo Lopez, who is under house arrest for leading protests against Maduro in 2014. "If we can take people to space why is it so hard to take people out of poverty?" said Branson, who skipped a test flight over California into space by his Virgin Galactic's rocket plane in order to attend Friday's concert. "We must break the impasse and end the humanitarian crisis." Days after Branson launched his concert, Maduro's government announced that not only would they hold a rival festival but that they would also deliver over 20,000 boxes of food for poor Colombians in Cucuta on Friday and Saturday. In contrast to the festive spirit in Cucuta, most of the acts at the pro-government show were unknown, the crowd of a few hundred much older and some attendees reported being bussed in by the government from as far away as the capital, Caracas. "We're facing a situation of possible aggression by the North American empire," said Jose Saavedra, a 61-year-old lawyer attending the concert. "We can't allow them to come here and impose conditions and a president on us. The president is elected by the Venezuelan people following the constitution." While the pro-Maduro conference was being broadcast on state TV, people inside Venezuela had trouble tuning into the fundraising concert. Internet watchdog group Netblocks said YouTube, Bing and Google services inside Venezuela went down for nearly an hour on state-run internet provide CanTV. On widely used DirecTV the plug was also pulled on two foreign networks that carried the concert live. Meanwhile, the aid continues to arrive. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera arrived in Cucuta for a meeting with his Colombian counterpart Ivan Duque with almost 9 tons of aid in tow, while Brazil's air force sent a plane with food and medicine to Boa Vista, the main city in the northern state of Roraima. A U.S. military cargo plane transported from Miami another 50 tons of aid boxes stamped with an American flag the fifth such aid airlift this month. The sharp rhetoric from both sides has put many in this border city of 700,000 on edge. Paola Quintero, an activist for Venezuelan migrants, said that while the concert has had a positive, short-term impact on Cucuta's economy, many are worried about what might happen Saturday when thousands try to move aid across the border. "What awaits those who will be on the bridge, trying to get aid through?" she said. Venezuelans like Rosa Mora, 40, said they were still debating whether to heed the opposition's call for a mass mobilization at three bridges in the Cucuta area Saturday, fearful that they might be met with resistance by the military. "I'm terrified of what's going to happen," she confided. Still, when she thinks about her children and a sister with diabetes that has gone untreated for the last year, she leans toward participating. "It won't be for me," she said. "But for our children." Henao reported from Urena, Venezuela. Associated Press writers Scott Smith, Fabiola Sanchez and Joshua Goodman contributed to this report from Caracas, Venezuela. Luz Dary Depablos reported from San Antonio de Tachira, Venezuela. What to Know Dueling concerts will literally set the stage for a showdown between Venezuela's beleaguered government and opposition leaders British billionaire Richard Branson is sponsoring a Live Aid-style concert on one side of the border Nicolas Maduro's socialist government is promising a three-day festival deemed "Hands Off Venezuela" on the other Defying orders banning him from leaving Venezuela, opposition leader Juan Guaido made a surprise appearance at the end of star-studded aid concert in neighboring Colombia, joining thousands of other Venezuelans in pressuring President Nicolas Maduro into allowing the delivery of emergency food and medicine. In Venezuela, a much smaller crowd gathered for a rival, three-day "Hands Off Venezuela" festival being organized by Maduro. Even as several million Venezuelans flee the country and those who remain struggle to find basic goods like food and antibiotics, the embattled president claims the relief effort led by Guaido is a U.S. orchestrated ploy to oust him from power. It's not clear how Guaido sneaked into Colombia in one video circulating on social media he appears running across a bridge near the Venezuelan town of Urena, while in another he could be seen boarding a helicopter belonging to the Colombian air force. But once he arrived at the giant stage located next to the Tienditas bridge connecting the two countries he was greeted like a rock star himself. Thousands of Venezuelans shouted "Juan arrived! Juan arrived!" when they spotted him donning a white shirt and accompanied by a large contingent of Colombian security as he made himself through the front of the crowd. The presidents of Colombia, Chile and Paraguay were on hand to be the first foreign heads of state to embrace the 35-year-old lawmaker since he declared himself interim president a month ago at an outdoor rally. The optimistic mood at the Live Aid-style concert opened in the Colombian border city of Cucuta couldn't mask underlying tensions a day before Maduro's opponents embark on a risky strategy to undermine Maduro and bring in the aid being amassed along three of Venezuela's borders. But the crowd reacted with joy when Guaido suddenly appeared. Thousands of kilometers away, near a crossing with Brazil, a member of an indigenous tribe was killed and 22 more injured in clashes with security forces who enforced Maduro's orders to keep out the aid. Hours before the concert in Cucuta began, dozens of Venezuelans hiked across the border through high bushes on an unmarked trail. They carried ice boxes, snacks and water and whispered directions as they kept a close eye out for Venezuelan soldiers. "This concert happens once in a lifetime," 19-year-old Shirley Duran said. "It will be a great opportunity for so many poor people who are suffering under the heat, who are hungry, jobless. At last they'll have something to enjoy." British billionaire Richard Branson organized the "Live Aid Venezuela" concert, which featured dozens of Latin musicians performing on a bridge-side stage not far from where Maduro's government has placed a giant shipping container and tanker to prevent the delivery of U.S.-supplied food and medical kits. As Venezuela's political turmoil drags on, allies of Guaido, who the U.S. and dozens of other countries have recognized as Venezuela's rightful leader, are hoping the massive concert in Cucuta will set the stage for the smooth delivery Saturday of the aid and a turning point in their quest for a transitional government. The promised "humanitarian avalanche" is taking place exactly a month after Guaido declared himself interim president in an outdoor rally. At the concert venue, the feeling was one of collective catharsis, especially for migrants who in recent years have fled Venezuela's economic implosion by crossing into Colombia. Under a scorching sun, those in attendance waved Venezuelan flags, squirted water at each other and swayed to music by marquee artists including Colombia's Carlos Vives and Mexican rock band Mana as well as a host of Venezuelan performers. Reymar Perdomo, a Venezuelan street singer who rose to fame for a video went viral showing her singing on buses in Peru, kicked off the concert with her signature song, "Me Fui," Spanish for "I left," which has become the unofficial anthem of the mass exodus. Perdomo said performing so close to the border brought back painful memories. "A little over a year ago I crossed this border and was robbed of my luggage and all my money," she said. "But I know in this moment that there will be change because Venezuelans want it and they are showing it today." The plan to bring in aid is the most ambitious and potentially dangerous that the opposition has attempted to undertake since Guaido decided to challenge Maduro's rule. But the embattled socialist has shown no signs of backing down, and analysts warn that whatever happens over the next two days may not yield a conclusive victory for either side. As if to highlight those risks, a woman from the combative Pemon tribe identified as Zoraida Rodriguez died from bullet wounds in clashes near the border with Brazil. Hours later, members of the Pemon tribe retaliated by taking control of the local airport, gateway to the world-famous Angel Falls. Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators. There was no immediate information on the condition of the injured, though local authorities said six people had to be rushed to a hospital across border because local clinics lacked medical supplies. Much like the original 1985 Live Aid concert, which raised funds to relieve the Ethiopian famine, Branson has set a goal to raise $100 million for Venezuelans in need within 60 days. He said he got the idea after brainstorming with Guaido and his political mentor, Leopoldo Lopez, who is under house arrest for leading protests against Maduro in 2014. "If we can take people to space why is it so hard to take people out of poverty?" said Branson, who skipped a test flight over California into space by his Virgin Galactic's rocket plane in order to attend Friday's concert. "We must break the impasse and end the humanitarian crisis." Days after Branson launched his concert, Maduro's government announced that not only would they hold a rival festival but that they would also deliver over 20,000 boxes of food for poor Colombians on Friday and Saturday. In contrast to the festive spirit in Cucuta, most of the acts at the pro-government show were lesser known, the crowd of a few hundred much older and some attendees reported being bussed in by the government from as far away as the capital, Caracas. "We're facing a situation of possible aggression by the North American empire," said Jose Saavedra, a 61-year-old lawyer attending the concert. "We can't allow them to come here and impose conditions and a president on us. The president is elected by the Venezuelan people following the constitution." While the pro-Maduro conference was being broadcast on state TV, people inside Venezuela had trouble tuning into the fundraising concert. Internet watchdog group Netblocks said YouTube, Bing and Google services inside Venezuela went down for nearly an hour on state-run internet provide CanTV. On widely used DirecTV the plug was also pulled on two foreign networks that carried the concert live. Meanwhile, the aid continues to arrive. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera arrived in Cucuta for a meeting with his Colombian counterpart Ivan Duque with almost 9 tons of aid in tow, while Brazil's air force sent a plane with food and medicine to Boa Vista, the main city in the northern state of Roraima. A U.S. military cargo plane transported from Miami another 50 tons of aid boxes stamped with an American flag the fifth such aid airlift this month. After the concert concluded, Guaido spoke alongside Duque and Pinera at the warehouse where the aid is being stockpiled. He said he was able to circumvent Maduro's travel ban only with the help of the Venezuelan armed forces, whose loyalty to Maduro has so far been impossible to break and will once again be tested Saturday. "Here is a Venezuela in search of freedom," Guaido said. "Thank you, to the people of the world for opening your doors to us." ___ Henao reported from Urena, Venezuela. Associated Press writers Scott Smith, Fabiola Sanchez and Joshua Goodman contributed to this report from Caracas, Venezuela. Luz Dary Depablos reported from San Antonio de Tachira, Venezuela. The Chicago Archdiocese revealed Thursday that current priests have fathered children in the past and were financially supported by the diocese. Four unnamed priests living today have fathered children, NBC 5 has learned, "and the last case was nearly 20 years ago," a Chicago Archdiocese spokeswoman said. Following New York Times reporting this week about secret Vatican rules in place for priests who father children, NBC 5 asked Chicago's archdiocese if any of its priests have fathered children, how many and how the children are taken care of. The archdiocese would not say if these priests are currently assigned to Chicago parishes but noted all of the children are now adults. The first priority, according to the archdiocese, is that the priest meets his responsibilities to the child. Financial support of differing lengths was provided to the priests' children, the Chicago Archdiocese spokeswoman said, and generally lasted through college. "Provisions were made in each case for the care of the child, and in general, the priest made arrangements to reimburse the archdiocese for amounts paid for such care," the spokeswoman said. The archdiocese said it will not release more information to protect the privacy of all involved. Former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who investigated priest sex abuse in the state, said bishops told her that consensual adult relationships had been reported. "When I did speak to the bishops from the state of Illinois, virtually all of them said to me, look, you're going to get reports from people about relationships that priests are having that are with adult women that are consensual," Madigan said. Unanswered questions include: How many children have been fathered by Chicago priests, how much money did they receive, and how did the priests afford to support them. Also, what care and consideration did the mothers receive from the archdiocese. The Vatican said priests are asked to leave once it is revealed they have fathered a child, and the Archdiocese confirmed that if they return, the priests must recommit their vows. The New York Times reported that canon lawyers said: "there is nothing in church law that forces priests to leave the priesthood for fathering children." "There was a time that priests were allowed to marry and so it is a policy change that they should consider making at this point," Madigan said. Though it remains unclear how many children of priests there might be, a support group website called "Coping International. Children of Catholic Priests" has 50,000 users in 175 countries. The news comes as Pope Francis opened the first-ever worldwide summit on priest sex abuse with the worlds bishops. But the 15,000 acres are significant ecologically, with prairie, bogs and wetlands, and the park had one champion who was hard to argue with: Stephen Mather, the Chicago businessman who became the first director of the National Park Service. In 1916, he rhapsodized about the Dunes as a Paradise for the artist and writer and worthy of National Park status. World War I derailed this agenda item, and Mather died in 1930. Here's the thing with National Margarita Day: Unlike some other national food holidays, the kind where you buy a cookie and get a cookie, the deals don't necessarily abound, though a few can be found (see below). What does, however, is the opportunity to A) visit the taqueria or cocina in your neighborhood and order the drink you've long enjoyed, alongside a heaping bowl of salty chips. Or? You can seek out one of Southern California's quirkier takes on the margarita. Nope, the places below aren't just crafting the tequila-terrific sip on Friday, Feb. 22, which is indeed National Margarita Day. You can order them on any day, as long as they continue to grace the menu (with the exception of Cha Cha's special Feb. 22 offering). Look to... Los Balcones, in Hollywood, if you like seafood with your drink, meaning in your drink. The Peruvian restaurant adds a large Spanish prawn to its Aquachile Margarita, which also boasts two ounces of Don Julia 1942. Price? That was a hint: It's $42. Birds and Bees, in DTLA, is also adding something offbeat to a margarita, but you've seen this element in the vicinity of the drink before. The margarita is called the Guac and Roll, and it rocks avocado cordial, in the drink. Also? There's tequila that's been infused with corn chips. Sipping your guac as you sip your marg? Genius. Also genius: The classic margarita is $8 on Feb. 22. Davios Northern Italian Steakhouse, in Irvine, has chosen to include a spirit in its margarita that isn't often seen on the margarita menu: Campari. The Italian Margarita also includes Limoncello, as well as some more traditional margarita elements, making it a delicious sippable fusion of two great cultural cuisines. Cha Cha's Latin Kitchen, in Brea and Irvine, will go the one-day-only route with one margarita in particular: El Palomar Margarita. Serrano chili gives it kick, and the made-in-house hibiscus tea lends a different sort of sweetness than you usually get with the beverage. Also? Look for happy hour pricing all day on Feb. 22. Margaritaville, at Universal City Walk, will rock a low, low special for Feb. 22: Look for $3.99 margaritas traditional margaritas. And, yep: The Great Margarita Toast will happen at, you guessed it, 5 p.m. (because it's always 5 o'clock somewhere). And Mezcal El Silencio has rounded up some of the top spots serving the spirit around LA, just in time for National Margarita Day: Here's the map. An effort to ratify the federal Equal Rights Amendment was defeated Thursday by the Republican-controlled Virginia House of Delegates, which blocked the gender equality measure by a single vote. ERA proponents had hoped Virginia would become the 38th state to approve the amendment. It would have then met the threshold for ratification in the U.S. Constitution. The failure of a last-ditch effort for approval of the ERA in Virginia evoked frustration and tears in Richmond on Thursday. Air Force veteran and ERA supporter Daphne Portis shouted at the House floor when lawmakers voted down the measure. "I defended my country. You should be defending women!" Portis said. "I'm disgusted by this vote," she continued in the halls of the General Assembly. "Amen," a woman called out. The proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution would outlaw discrimination based on gender, providing Congress with firmer grounding to pass anti-discrimination laws, while giving lawsuits more strength in the courts. Supporters like Portis said it's a long-overdue measure needed to provide equal protection to women under the law. She cried as she left the seat of power in her home state. "I really, really thought that they were going to pass this thing. I really, really thought, with all my heart. I mean, this is America," Portis said. ERA activists lobbied lawmakers in Richmond daily. Advocates often packed Capitol hallways to greet lawmakers on their way to the House or Senate chambers. Others staged protests aimed at House Republican leaders, including one that led to a women being arrested and jailed for several days on a charge of indecent exposure. In the Senate, the measure won bipartisan support. But it hit a dead end in the House, failing to get out of committee. When Democrats sought a rule change to bring it straight to the floor for a vote Thursday, Republicans blocked the move. "If you say you value women, that you support women, what I say is, prove it," said Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-Prince William), in support of the legislation. She added, "I see men that still allow the legacy of fear from opening the doors of opportunity for others. Fear has caused this body to be on the wrong side of history ... too many times and for far too long." Opponents of the measure said the passage of the ERA could have unintended consequences and open the door to broader access to abortion. Republican House Majority Leader Del. Todd Gilbert said the ERA was being pushed by pro-abortion advocates as a way of gaining "an unfettered right to an abortion, right up until the moment of birth and at taxpayer expense." "The question here is, shall we go forward with an amendment that so radically ignores an entire segment of the female population? That is, unborn girls," said Olivia Gans Turner, president of the Virginia Society for Human Life. Republicans have a 51-49 advantage in the House. The lone GOP defector on Thursday's vote was Republican Del. David Yancey, whose 2017 re-election race ended in a tie and had to be decided by a random name drawing. Democrats have made clear that they intend to make the ERA a key issue during this year's legislative elections. All 140 House and Senate seats will be up for grabs in what's expected to be a competitive fight for partisan control of the General Assembly. "The war begins in November. And we start now," said Lisa Sales of the Virginia Equal Rights Coalition. Two sons of notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman have been indicted on drug conspiracy charges, the Justice Department said Thursday. Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 34, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez, 28, are charged in a single-count indictment that was unsealed last week in Washington. Prosecutors allege the two brothers conspired to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the U.S. from Mexico and elsewhere in the world from 2008 to 2018. They are both believed to be living in Mexico and remain fugitives. Their father was convicted earlier this month on drug and conspiracy charges in New York. During a trial that lasted more than three months, prosecutors portrayed El Chapo as the calculating leader of a bloodthirsty smuggling operation that funneled tons of cocaine and other drugs into American cities. The offenses could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. Prosecutors have said Guzman, who twice escaped from prison in Mexico and was extradited to the U.S. last year for his trial, had amassed a multibillion-dollar fortune smuggling tons of cocaine and other drugs in a vast supply chain that reached well north of the border. His lawyers raised concerns of potential juror misconduct after a juror told VICE News that several members of the panel looked at media coverage of the case and followed Twitter feeds of reporters, against a judge's orders, making them aware of potentially prejudicial material that jurors weren't supposed to see. A push is underway this legislative session in Austin, to require large Texas colleges and universities to set up campus polling sites for elections. Meanwhile, in Denton, there's a battle shaping up over whether the University of North Texas should get its own polling place for the upcoming May election. Muhammad Kara thinks his fellow UNT students should have a voice. It's one of the reasons he ran for student government president. "We wanted to work with students to get what they wanted to accomplish," said Kara, an Integrated Studies major from Dallas. One thing he's trying to accomplish would ensure more voices are heard. "We currently don't have a polling site on our campus," he said. "So we have to find creative solutions to get our students to the nearest polling site." In the past, that's meant busing students to the closest polling site, at the Denton Civic Center, several miles away. But with busy class and work schedules, many students, says Kara, don't go. "They feel discouraged to vote because they don't have the time," he explained. "And if they don't have the time they're not going to make that a priority." The city of Denton is responsible for setting polling locations for the May election. The issue of whether to put a polling site on campus has been held up, over ethics and conflict of interest questions. Two members of Denton City Council, which has the final say, also have ties to UNT. Council member Deb Armintor is a professor there, as is the wife of fellow council member Paul Meltzer. An ethics panel this month ruled both must abstain from voting on or discussing city matters which pertain to the university. "I'm going to assume politics is the reason why some don't want this to happen," said Kara. An Austin-based state representative, democrat Gina Hinojosa, has introduced a bill which would place polling sites at 22 Texas college and university campuses with student populations over 10,000. Currently, less than a third have them. "I think students really want to vote," said Kara. "But there are so many barriers that are put in place that discourage them." He believes that could change, if those barriers were removed. Denton city council could take up the issue again, next week. February is when the country takes a look back for Black History Month. In Arlington, there's a historic cemetery that was the only place where African Americans could be buried in the early 1900's. If you take a drive by the 600 block of W. Arkansas Lane, you will see the cemetery has declined in disrepair over the years. On Friday at an 11 a.m. ceremony, the Arlington Heritage Memorial Grounds Corporation, along with representatives from the City of Arlington and Tarrant County, will officially begin the process of bringing the cemetery, founded in 1854, back to life. The Arlington Historical Society doesn't want this piece of Arlington history to be forgotten. Geraldine Mills, Director of the Arlington Historical Society, brought the importance of the project to the forefront after she met a man whose entire family was buried there. But for years, a locked fence kept him from accessing his familys graves. "There's just a lot of great history that is buried out here, and Mr. Poynter had like a list of 77 people, there were 77 graves out here. Now, we have over 100 that have been verified through death records and burial records. If they say they were buried in Arlington and they were black, they were buried here," Mills said. The plan is for the entire site to be surrounded by an ornamental fence with walkways winding through the cemetery, benches conveniently located throughout and existing grave markers will be restored to new ones. Mills says the site is intended to reflect its significant history and provide a welcoming place for descendants, students, citizens of Arlington, and all who wish to visit. Restoration work is already underway. According to the Arlington Historical Society, the historic cemeteries began as: Mill Branch Cemetery - 1850s - 1950s Located in the eastern portion of the cemetery site, this is the resting place for the Eli Ford Family and other pioneers, including the Middleton Tate Johnson family. Middleton Tate Johnson Family Cemetery - mid 1850s - 1950s The Father of Tarrant County, M. T. Johnson, passed away in 1866 and was buried in the State Cemetery in Austin. In 1870, his remains were relocated to the Mill Branch cemetery. In 1936, his grave site was marked with a Centennial Marker by the Texas Historic Commission. In the 1950s, the Johnson family requested that a portion of the cemetery be renamed to Middle Tate Johnson Family Cemetery. Arlington Colored Cemetery - 1900 - 1950s Located on the western portion of the cemetery, this was the only place in Arlington where African American residents could purchase burial plots. Alma Johnson is the earliest identified burial in 1916. Go here for more information on the restoration project. With lower gas prices, key safety features and the desire for versatility, consumers have spoken: SUVs are now more popular than cars, so its not surprising that many of our Consumer Reports top picks are SUVs. Were looking at our exclusive reliability data, were looking at our tests on our test track, were looking at safety information. Were looking at all of the information thats important when you buy a car, said Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports Car Expert. The Hyundai Kona was the top SUBCOMPACT SUV. CR testers found it a joy to drive and they were impressed that every trim comes standard with life-saving safety features including forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking and lane keeping assist. There were actually two Subarus on the list this year, two SUVs, said Fisher. The popular Forester took the top COMPACT SUV spot. With a roomy interior and fuel economy that tops the class. Need more room? The larger 3-row Ascent rolled right into CRs top spot for MIDSIZED SUV. It really offers a lot of room and a lot of function. And this is a new entry for them, but in reality, its actually based on some of their other models, it actually has the same underpinnings as the Subaru Forester, so we expect the reliability will be good as well, Fisher explained. Ready to splurge and treat yourself? The BMW X5 came in as CRs top LUXURY SUV. CR declared the redesigned 2019 model one of the best SUVs it has ever tested. Also rounding out Consumer Reports' list for this year are four cars from Toyota, including hybrid versions of the Camry and Avalon sedans, the Prius and the Yaris. Top full-sized pickup for 2019: The Ford F-150. For more info from Consumer Reports, click here. Record rainfall in most of North Texas last fall definitely bodes well for our bluebonnet forecast. In fact, we can already see their basal rosettes (with Texas star-shaped leaflets) growing in dense patches all over the Metroplex. Weve had ample well-timed rainfall this winter as well, assuring that moisture is not likely to limit their growth (if it keeps up). Now we just need some sunny, warmer spring days over the next month to help them send those dense blue flower spikes up! In fact, there are already pictures of bluebonnets blooming in South Texas on social media. Bluebonnets in Bloom 2018 - Gallery II "Bluebonnets, from what I can tell, are going to have a good year," said Andrea DeLong-Amaya, with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. "We've had a lot of moisture and it's been warm and sunny. I'm seeing a lot of [bluebonnet] plants; as long as we don't get bogged down in a spell of prolonged rainy weather which can cause rot they should do well," added DeLong-Amaya. But ample rainfall and temperature arent the only factors that effect wildflower blooming cycles. Frequent mowing on roadsides and or grazing by cattle in fields can also be a deterrent. So can the aggressive roadside weed, "bastard cabbage," which is starting to out compete many of our favorite native Texas wildflowers in some areas. Bluebonnets in Bloom 2018 - Gallery III Overall, I think we can probably assume that this spring is going to be an above average to excellent year for wildflowers in our area. I love bluebonnets as much as the next Texan and am excited about the possibility for a bumper crop. But folks should also check out the other amazing native wildflowers like firewheel (Gaillardia), monarda, paintbrushes and coreopsis that grow in the same general vicinity as our state wildflower. As always, you can share your bluebonnet photos with us by uploading them here or by emailing them to isee@nbcdfw.com. Texas is experiencing a high level of influenza-like illness (ILI), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. The CDC, which continues to recommend a flu vaccine for everyone 6 months and older, said the flu virus is elevated nationally. So far this season, the CDC estimates as many as 20.4 million Americans have had the flu and that as many as 22,300 people have died after contracting the virus. In Texas, the CDC reports flu activity has been widespread since mid-January. In Dallas County, there were 248 positive influenza tests during week six of reporting for 2019 (ending on Feb. 2). For week seven, 330 tests were positive. Since Sept. 9, 2018, there have been 1,402 people who tested positive for influenza in Dallas County and there have been 10 flu-related deaths, according to the county health department. In Tarrant County, there were 643 positive influenza A tests from Jan. 27 to Feb. 2. The next week, the number increased to 750. In Collin County, 353 influenza tests were postive from Feb. 3-9. Denton County had 286 positive influenza tests during week 5 of the year and 304 during week 6. What to Know Indiana recently passed legislation to legalize CBD after pressure from those who believed in the benefits of the hemp-based product. Indiana State Rep. Jim Lucas said criminalizing CBD just makes criminals out of otherwise good people. Indiana Attorney General's Office still recommends CBD products undergo testing so consumers know what's in them. When it comes to confusion over whether CBD is, or should be, legal, Texas is not alone. As the Texas state legislature prepares to consider legalizing the hemp-made health product, NBC 5 Investigates traveled to Indiana, which not long ago wrestled with the same questions and the fears associated with them. "I was terrified," recalled Edie Caito, when she learned in 2017 that police had raided a store on the south side of Indianapolis where she bought CBD. Caito said she has taken CBD capsules to ease the pain from fibromyalgia. Before her home state of Indiana legalized CBD, Edie Caito says she was terrified after learning of raids where CBD oil was seized. She joined the fight to push for legislation that legalized the hemp-based product in the Hoosier State. "I was afraid for all those people out there who had been using this ... We rely on this to get up and go to work every day," Caito said. In North Texas, store owners are stocking their shelves with CBD products, despite several cases in which users have been arrested, and their CBD confiscated, by authorities who said the state law makes it illegal. The same thing was happening in Indiana, before that state legalized CBD. "It was a big surprise for all the retail stores that CBD was being taken off the shelves," said Rick Montieth, who initially stopped selling CBD at his health food store after hearing some other shops had been raided by police. In Kentucky, CBD has become a thriving industry, with regulations in place to weed out potentially harmful ingredients, like high levels of pesticide and lead. But with the rapid growth comes a warning about where CBD is processed and what could end up in the oil. But after a few days, Montieth changed his mind. "I went on TV locally and said, 'I'm putting it back on the shelf,'" he said, believing it didn't make sense for the state to criminalize something that seemed to help so many of his customers. Caito also fought back, going on social media to build support for CBD users. "We did a phone blitz to the governor's office. And people would call and call and call," he said. Indiana State Rep. Jim Lucas, a Republican, said he was also swamped with calls from people who believed in the benefits of CBD. Lucas said he learned it was made from industrial hemp, which looks like, and is related to, marijuana, but with only low levels of THC, the intoxicating component that produces a high. Once he did his homework, and felt the public pressure to legalize CBD, he said he supported the successful passage of a bill that did just that. "When you start criminalizing things that shouldn't be wrong, the only thing we are doing is making criminals out of otherwise good people," Lucas said. Indiana State Rep. Jim Lucas, a Republican, talks about passing CBD legislation that made the hemp-based product legal in his state. Legalizing CBD also triggered new rules to show consumers and police what's in the product, including placing a QR Code on each bottle that can by scanned by phone. That code takes you to the product's website, showing independent lab reports on what's in the bottle, including the percentage of CBD. It also shows the percentage of THC, which police monitor to make sure it does not exceed the legal level. "The progress that we have made on this in just a short amount of time, within a year, it's just phenomenal," Lucas said. "Any other state that's considering this on CBD ... what the hell are you waiting for?" Kentucky hemp farmer Paul Glover says there is a green gold rush going on right now in the United States. His hemp farming operation has grown to nearly 100 acres. In 2017 the Indiana Attorney General, Curtis Hill, issues a legal opinion saying CBD was illegal in the state. Despite the new law legalizing CBD, the Indiana Attorney General's Office told NBC 5 Investigates it still believes CBD products promoted as having health benefits should undergo scientific testing to determine products are effective and safe under the guidance of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In Texas, one lawmaker has already talked about initiating new labeling requirements for CBD, but only if the state makes it legal. For now, it's too early to tell if the Lone Star State will follow in the steps of the Hoosier State. If you've been out at all recently, you've likely seen the newest health craze -- CBD oil. But is it legal in Texas? Well, that depends on who you ask. Attorney General William Barr will not receive the final report of special counsel Robert Mueller by the end of next week, NBC News reported, citing a senior Justice Department official. Multiple news outlets, including NBC News, CNN and the Washington Post, reported this week that Mueller's report on his team's investigation of alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia could be sent to the attorney general as early as next week. Daley is the only leading mayoral candidate who talks candidly about the citys and states pension systems. The only way to keep high local and state taxes from skyrocketing and to save pensions for retirees is to amend the Illinois Constitutions rigid pension clause. That requires action in Springfield. Its a big lift, but Daley is the only candidate willing to try. Our pension system is broke, Daley says. We cannot tax our way out without making Chicago unaffordable. We cant cut our way out without compromising our quality of life. A candidate for the state Senate has fired his campaign manager over what many are calling an anti-Semitic tweet. Bill Wadsworth, Republican candidate for the 5th Senate District, said he has fired campaign manager Nicole Palmieri over a tweet that went up Tuesday. The post was directed at his opponent Derek Slap, and showed a photo of Slap with Senator Richard Blumenthal with the text Even Dick isnt safe from Slaps money grabbing. In an interview with NBC Connecticut Thursday night, Wadsworth said he didnt approve of the tweet or have any knowledge of it until we reached out. The hard fact of the matter is it certainly looks like it is anti-Semitic and I dont approve of any activity in my campaign that supports any kind of activity like that, Wadsworth said. He added that he did not know Palmieri prior to her involvement in the campaign and that he immediately felt action had to be taken when he saw the tweet. I certainly apologize to Mr. Slap and anybody else involved in this because like I said, its not characteristic of the way that I run campaigns. The Jewish Federal Association of Connecticut (JFACT) decried the tweet as anti-Semitic and called upon Wadsworth to apologize. Both Blumenthal and Slap are Jewish. This type of stereotyping Jews as money grabbing is irresponsible and unacceptable. The use of anti-Semitic language and imagery as contained in this tweet is becoming normalized in our society and we must stand up and demand it stop, their statement read in fact. Slap said he was taken aback by the tweet and supported JFACTs position. This type of imagery and wording doesnt have a place, should not have a place in our politics. Hopefully it will be taken down and they will address JFacts concerns, he said. Palmieri released the following statement on the situation I decided to step away from the campaign to not draw attention away from the serious issues facing voters next Tuesday. Im shocked and saddened my tweet was used as a diversion from the issues at hand. Palmieri released another statement. "The intent of my tweet was to draw a political contrast between my candidate and Mr. Slap during the final days of the campaign. I'm sickened at the implication that this tweet was motivated by any racial or religious bias. And I am saddened that people would rush to such judgement (sic) and believe that I would engage in such hurtful and awful speech. I am someone who has openly embraced people of all races, religions, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds during my life and I will continue to do so. I hope we can move forward and focus on the important issues that are facing Connecticut," she said in the statement. Slap said he appreciates Wadsworths response and hopes this truly was an issue where the candidate wasnt engaged with the campaign, and he looks forward to focusing on issues that matter to the voters in the Fifth District. Almost 18 years later, many 9/11 first responders are plagued by long term health effects from Ground Zero. There is concern the federal fund set up to help them is running dry. The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund is running out of money and payments will be cut 50 to 70 percent, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said. The reason, according to the senator, is a rise in legitimate claims by first responders dealing with injuries and illnesses from answering the call on one of the countrys darkest days. September 11th was a day the world changed, said West Haven Fire Department Lt. William Heffernan. In the days after 9/11, Heffernan recalled West Haven firefighters asking themselves, how could we not go to help the greatest fire department in the world? About 30 firefighters, including current Chief James OBrien, responded to Ground Zero to help with the rescue operation in the rubble. To be there in person to see what transpired was overwhelming, OBrien said. We didnt know what was in the air we didnt know never occurred to us to worry about that, Heffernan said. But the exposure to toxins has led to major health problems for many 9/11 first responders. The ailments that we are seeing were not overnight and over time various respiratory problems arose and from that it turned into a lot of cancers were being discovered, OBrien said. OBrien goes for annual medical screenings at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York as part of the World Trade Health Center Program. The objective is to document illnesses and catch problems early. We have many firefighters here who are involved in the program, OBrien said. Congress made funding permanent for the health monitoring program, but the money set aside to compensate first responders and their families is running low. This money is owed to the first responders that answered the call, Blumenthal said during a Thursday press conference in West Haven. Blumenthal said he plans to introduce legislation to restore funding and reauthorize the program beyond 2020, something that certainly has support in the firehouse. When an individual is diagnosed with an ailment or cancer, this is a compensation for them to cover medical costs, OBrien said. If theyre unable to work so they can take care of their families. According to the most recent September 11th Victim Compensation Fund report, 366 claims have been filed by Connecticut residents. More than 130 are receiving payments. Teachers at a Loudoun County, Virginia, elementary school instructed students to pretend to be slaves during a gym class activity for Black History Month, the president of a local NAACP chapter says. Madison's Trust Elementary School students participated in an "insensitive" activity during their physical education classes, Principal David Stewart said in a letter sent on Feb. 12 apologizing to parents. "The lesson was culturally insensitive to our students and families. I extend my sincerest apology to our students and school community," Stewart said in the letter. Loudoun County Public Schools spokesman Wayde Byard said the gym class began with a lesson about the Underground Railroad as part of Black History Month. Byard said all students in the exercise, including minorities, were asked to act as members of the Underground Railroad but didn't specifically say students were asked to be slaves. Students in grades 3-5, including African-American students, were then split into groups and challenged to overcome a physical obstacle. Some of the students pretended they were escaped slaves, the NAACP said. Byard said the school system received about 10 complaints from families. "It's awful," Loudoun NAACP Chapter President Michelle Thomas said. "It's really insulting. It makes me feel unsafe because I have kids in Loudoun County Public Schools." Thomas said three teachers crafted the activity with the oversight of a school administrator. "It shows that there's some implicit bias problems right here at this school," she said. Stewart said the content covered during the activity would be retaught to students "within an appropriate and respectful context." "A next step for us as a school involves the formation of an equity/culturally responsive team which will be comprised of school personnel and parent representatives," Stewart said. They said the content will be taught to students again. Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Eric Williams said in a statement Friday the school system will make the following changes to address address racism, cultural insensitivity and inequity: Creating an "Equity and Cultural Competence Specialist" position for fiscal year 2020. "This person will organize cultural competence and implicit bias training for all teachers and administrators. Previously, this training had been optional for teachers and administrators, and it will now be required," Williams said. An outside expert will conduct an equity audit this spring to gather perspectives on racial and cultural insensitivity. The school system will then devise a longterm plan based on the results. The school board's budget for 2020 includes a position "dedicated to equity in education." The school board will create a group to address equity in education. "We acknowledge that this incident at Madisons Trust is a symptom of a broader issue. The diversity in Loudoun County is one of our greatest strengths, but Loudoun County is also a place where equity has proven a challenge for many decades," Williams said. "We have struggled with inequities in student achievement gaps, discipline disproportionality, underrepresentation of minority students in advanced programs and courses, and the lack of a diversified teacher workforce." The incident comes as several top officials in Virginia, including Gov. Ralph Northam, have been embroiled in a blackface scandal. Thomas said she has met with Stewart and with parents to try to come up with solutions to "remedy this racist act." "I'm satisfied with the progress that we're making," she said. Responding to growing questions in the aftermath of last weeks mass shooting at a factory in Aurora, the Illinois State Police released data Thursday evening which paints a shocking picture of the system for firearm regulation in Illinois. Earlier this week, state regulators admitted they failed to detect a Mississippi felony conviction which should have disqualified gunman Gary Martin from possessing a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) Card in Illinois. But the new data shows that only a handful of such violators are ever investigated or prosecuted. In a news release, the Illinois State Police blamed authorities in Mississippi for failing to link Martins criminal history with a so-called state identification number (SID). That failure reportedly prevented detection of a conviction from the nineties for aggravated assault for which he served five years in prison. But the ISP numbers also illustrate that efforts to revoke gun privileges for felons in Illinois are almost laughably inept. In 2018, the state revoked FOID cards for 10,818 individuals. All were to surrender their gun cards, and fill out a form explaining how they would dispose of their weapons. But the agency admitted that of those over 10,000 invalid license holders, only 2,616 filled out the forms, and only 3,469 FOID cards were ever turned in. More than 75% of FOID card revocations failed to result in a Firearm Disposition Record being returned, the ISP said. From 2014 through 2019, there have only been a total of 110 arrests for violation (of the statute). Previously the state admitted they were virtually powerless to pursue those who defy the law. The numbers indicate that of the 7,531 individuals who had FOID cards revoked and failed to respond, less than .004% were arrested or convicted. Martins felony conviction was eventually detected when he applied for a concealed carry permit in 2014. The State Police admitted that even though their procedure at the time was to submit an electronic message to local law enforcement notifying them that his FOID privileges were being revoked, there is no evidence that message was ever transmitted. Martin killed five co-workers and shot five police officers, after he was terminated by his employer last Friday afternoon. Toni Preckwinkle has cut ties with her top political adviser just days before the election and issued an apology over a Facebook post she called "unconscionable." Scott Cisek posted Thursday on Facebook a photo suggesting Lori Lightfoot was like the Nazis at the Nuremberg trials. The post was in response to Lightfoot's explanation for an event during her years at the U.S. Attorneys office. Over the line? Top political advisor for @toniforchicago, Scott Cisek, posts a picture of nazis and the Nuremberg Trials to reference a story about @LightfootForChi being reprimanded by a federal Appeals Court Judge when she was a federal prosecutor. pic.twitter.com/VaSmAEru7O Paris Schutz (@paschutz) February 21, 2019 The first mayoral campaign to criticize Cisek was Amara Enyias; her spokesman issued a statement saying the foolishness from Toni Preckwinkles senior adviser is a testament to the values and character of her campaign. This is the latest in a long history of problematic behavior from several of Preckwinkles closest advisers. Does she condone this kind of behavior and attitude? Gery Chico also weighed in today, Toni Preckwinkles top aide showed poor judgment that crossed a very serious line, and its just more evidence that Preckwinkle and her staff have no place on the fifth floor. Susana Mendoza called for an apology to Lightfoot, writing "there's no place for this kind of rhetoric in any civilized discourse." Several hours later Cisek deleted the original Facebook post saying I apologize for my Facebook comment. It was a stupid comment and I took it down. https://twitter.com/secisek/status/1098735371855245314 Lightfoot isssued a statement saying Politics is a tough business; I knew that before I jumped in. But it is disturbing to me that a mayoral candidates top adviser believes the genocide of millions of people is a casual enough subject to be used as a joke to settle a political argument. Take note of those that surround the people we expect to lead. Just before midnight Thursday, Preckwinkle announced Cisek is "no longer affiliated" with her campaign in "any capacity." "His recent social media post was unconscionable and showed insensitivity to the issue of anti-semitism," she said in a statement. "It does not reflect my values or the values of my campaign. I apologize to Lori Lightfoot and everyone who was offended by this insensitive comment." This is the second time this week that Preckwinkles campaign has targeted Lightfoot. Rep. Robert Martwick, a Preckwinkle supporter, crashed a Lightfoot press conference to complain about her criticism for his proposal to appoint the Cook County assessor rather than elect him. All of this attention between the Preckwinkle campaign on Lightfoot suggests perhaps the perceived frontrunner Preckwinkle is feeling threatened. A federal judge in California ruled Thursday that a twin son of a gay married couple has been an American citizen since birth, handing a defeat to the U.S. government, which had only granted the status to his brother. The State Department was wrong to deny citizenship to 2-year-old Ethan Dvash-Banks because U.S. law does not require a child to show a biological relationship with their parents if their parents were married at the time of their birth, District Judge John F. Walter found. A lawsuit filed by the boys' parents, Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks, sought the same rights for Ethan that his brother, Aiden, has as a citizen. Each boy was conceived with donor eggs and the sperm from a different father one an American, the other an Israeli citizen but born by the same surrogate mother minutes apart. The government had only granted citizenship to Aiden, who DNA tests showed was the biological son of Andrew, a U.S. citizen. Ethan was conceived from the sperm of Elad Dvash-Banks, an Israeli citizen. The suit was one of two filed last year by an LGBTQ immigrant rights group that said the State Department is discriminating against same-sex binational couples by denying their children citizenship at birth. The cases filed in Los Angeles and Washington by Immigration Equality said the children of a U.S. citizen who marries abroad are entitled to U.S. citizenship at birth no matter where they are born, even if the other parent is a foreigner. Only the Los Angeles case was decided Thursday. The State Department did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the ruling. Previously the department pointed to guidance on its website that said there must be a biological connection to a U.S. citizen to become a citizen at birth. "This family was shocked and appalled and angry when they were told their family wasn't legal," said Aaron Morris, executive director of Immigration Equality. "They wanted their twin boys to be treated exactly the same." Morris said the government wrongly applied a policy for children born out of wedlock to married same-sex couples. Walter agreed, writing that the State Department statute does not contain language "requiring a 'blood relationship between the person and the father' in order for citizenship to be acquired at birth." "This is justice! We are hopeful that no other family will ever have to go through this again. It's like a giant rock has been removed from our hearts," Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks said in a statement provided by Immigration Equality. Andrew Dvash-Banks was studying in Israel when he met his future husband, Elad, an Israeli citizen. Because they couldn't marry at the time in the U.S. or in Israel, they moved to Canada, where they wed in 2010. The children were born by a surrogate in September 2016. Everything seemed fine until the couple brought their cranky infants to the American consulate in Toronto a few months later to apply for citizenship and the woman at the counter began asking probing questions they found shocking and humiliating. The consular official told them she had discretion to require a DNA test to show who the biological father was of each boy and without those tests neither son would get citizenship. The men knew that Andrew was Aiden's biological father and Elad was Ethan's but they had kept it a secret and hadn't planned on telling anyone. After submitting the DNA test results that proved who fathered each boy, the couple received a large and small envelope from the U.S. on March 2. The big one included Aiden's passport. The other was a letter notifying Andrew that Ethan's application had been denied. The family has since moved to Los Angeles to be closer to Andrew Dvash-Banks' family. The other case involves two women, one from the U.S., and one from Italy, who met in New York, wed in London and each gave birth to a son. The State Department didn't recognize the couple's marriage, the lawsuit said, and only granted citizenship to the boy whose biological mother was born and raised in the U.S. An American-born ISIS bride told NBC News on Friday that she anticipates "no problem" in returning to the U.S. despite the Trump administration's insistence that she won't be allowed into the country. Hoda Muthana, 24, left the U.S. to join the Islamic State in Syria in 2014. She is now staying in a refugee camp with her 18-month-old son after fleeing the remnants of the caliphate. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told NBC's "Today" on Thursday that Muthana is not a citizen and will not be admitted to the country. Muthana, who was born in New Jersey and lived in Alabama, and her family are now suing the Trump administration in an effort to allow her to return. What to Know Oakland teachers want smaller class sizes, more counselors and full-time nurses, and a 12 percent retroactive raise Teachers say their salaries are not keeping up with the cost of living in the Bay Area Oakland Unified School District said schools will remain open, staffed by non-union employees and substitute teachers Teachers in Oakland headed into another day of strikes Friday after parents and students applauded their demands by keeping city classrooms empty. Oakland's 3,000 teachers went on strike Thursday over pay, class sizes and other issues, holding a boisterous rally at City Hall, marching through downtown streets and picketing outside the city's 86 schools. Union officials from the Oakland Education Association were returning Friday morning to the negotiating table with district officials. "Parents, teachers and students spoke with their feet today," union president Keith Brown said Thursday evening, calling for a strong turnout on Day Two. "Strikes are won on the streets, not at the bargaining table." The teachers are asking for a 12 percent retroactive raise covering 2017 to 2020 to compensate for what they say are among the lowest salaries for public school teachers in the expensive San Francisco Bay Area. "I'm bleeding out every month, falling further into debt," said Sarah Trauben, 30, who teaches english and government at Oakland Technical High School. She's taken on a second job as an SAT tutor to make ends meet. Teachers also want smaller class sizes and say the district needs to hire more full-time nurses and school counselors. In Sierra Donaldson's 9th grade biology class at Oakland Tech, she worries about safety in lab classes. "Class size is huge. I need to keep an eye on 32 14-year-olds, and I feel like it's just not safe if we're working with bacteria or other materials," said Donaldson. A starting salary in the district is $46,500 a year and the average salary is $63,000, according to the union. In neighboring Berkeley, a starting teacher makes $51,000 a year and the average salary is $75,000, the union said. "We cannot afford to live here," said kindergarten teacher Elena Njemanze, who has been teaching in Oakland for eight years and has a master's degree from Mills College. "I can only afford to pay rent because I have my parents helping me." The district initially offered a 5 percent raise covering 2017 to 2020, saying it is squeezed by rising costs and a budget crisis. In negotiations Wednesday aimed at averting a strike, the district increased its proposal to a 7 percent raise over four years and a one-time 1.5 percent bonus. But union officials rejected the offer. Oakland Unified School District spokesman John Sasaki said school administrators hope to get a counter proposal from the union when negotiations resume Friday. "We haven't heard any proposal since last May so we're hoping they have something for us when we meet tomorrow," Sasaki said. Local radio host Sana G. posted on Instagram a short video with a dozen Bay Area celebrities, including comedians, musicians, sports stars and others each saying, "I stand with Oakland teachers." Local celebrities like MC Hammer, Stephen Curry and Oscar winner Mahershala Ali showed support in a video to say they "stand with Oakland teachers." Parents showed their support by honoring the picket line, said Will Lynch, a father with a second-grader at Glenview Elementary School, where 9 children out of 460 turned up for school. "What are we doing not paying teachers enough money? It reflects our society's values in a very negative way," he said. The walkout affects 36,000 students at 86 schools. "We did not have a single student come to school today," said Katherine Carter, principal at Oakland SOL middle school. "A couple kids were on the picket lines, but aside from that no kids." No students turned up at West Oakland Middle School either, said Brown, the union president. "It's unfortunate that it's come to this, but it shines a spotlight on larger issues," she said. "Public education is a crisis in our country. The teachers are now lifting that up across different states." The union has also called for the district to scrap plans to close as many as 24 schools that serve primarily African-American and Latino students. The union fears further students will be lost to charter schools that drain more than $57 million a year from the district. Recent strikes across the nation have built on a wave of teacher activism that began last spring. Unions for West Virginia teachers, who staged a nine-day walkout last year, ended another two-day strike Wednesday. Last week, teachers in Denver ended a three-day walkout after reaching a tentative deal raising their wages. Teachers in Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest school district, staged a six-day strike last month that ended when they settled on a 6-percent raise with promises of smaller class sizes and the addition of nurses and counselors. Santa Cruz Sheriffs are searching for the owner of what could be a priceless memorabilia of someone's time in the Navy decades ago. Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday said deputies found a photo album filled with black and white pictures of what appears to be naval officers on ships and other photos of Japanese architecture, in the woods near New Brighton Road and McGregor Drive in November. "We believe it was stolen and thoughtlessly tossed aside," the sheriff's office said on Facebook. The album cover displays a design of Japan with an illustration of Mount Fuji, as well as a peacock and other colorful leaves and flowers. On the inside, dozens of photos are carefully arranged and framed. Some of the photos show what appears to be the Itsukushima Shrine located in the city of Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima. Most of the photos show officers on a ship. The Sheriff's Office said there were no identifying notes anywhere on the album. Authorities asked anyone with information about the owner of the album to call (831) 471-1121. San Mateo County on Thursday joined more than 1,300 cities, counties and groups in suing opioid prescription drug makers for allegedly fueling the nation's opioid epidemic. The county's lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco, but is expected to be transferred to U.S. District Court in Cleveland, Ohio, where Judge Dan Polster is verseeing more than 1,300 similar lawsuits filed by cities, counties, states, tribes, hospitals and insurance companies. Like the other cases, San Mateo County's complaint alleges that the makers of pain-killing drugs such as oxycodone, Oxycontin, a brand of oxycodone, and fentanyl misled doctors and patients about the risks of addiction and overdose and failed to report suspicious drug sales to authorities. County Counsel John Beiers said in a statement, "Our job is to protect the residents of San Mateo County, including public funds -- we would not be doing our job if we did not take steps to address the opioid epidemic impacting our county, including holding the corporate bad actors accountable for their part in this tragedy." Other Bay Area counties that have filed federal lawsuits now pending in Ohio include the city and county of San Francisco and Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Santa Cruz and Sonoma counties. The 20 defendants in San Mateo County's lawsuit include Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma LP, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. as well as six members of the Sackler family, which owns Purdue Pharma. The legal claims include public nuisance, false advertising, deceptive business practices, negligence and fraudulent concealment of material facts. The lawsuit alleges the opioid epidemic costs the county millions of dollars a year in extra expenditures for drug treatment, emergency room visits, law enforcement and social services. It says 26 county residents died last year from causes linked to opioids other than heroin and 11 people died from heroin use. Polster has scheduled an initial trial in October on three lawsuits filed by Cleveland, Akron and two Ohio counties. He has also been urging a settlement of all the cases. Last year, San Mateo County filed a separate lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court against three distributors of opioid drugs, including San Francisco-based McKesson Corp. That lawsuit has also been transferred to the federal court in Ohio. Yes, the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, is a terrorist group that Muthana voluntarily joined. But Lindh did the same with the Taliban and he was an active fighter, not the spouse of one. Like him, Muthana can be criminally charged for her activities on behalf of an enemy. All she wants is to submit to the decisions of our criminal justice system. What to Know San Francisco will equip 1,000 of its 3,000 sidewalk trash cans with sensors from startup Nordsense The sensors can tell if a can is full, and warn city officials to empty it before it overflows SF Public Works believes overflowing trash cans encourage littering and illegal dumping "Waste collection hasn't really changed for the past 100 years," Manuel Maestrini told us as a Recology trash truck roared by. "I mean, we used to do it with carts and horses. Now we do it with large trucks." Maestrini is a bit of an expert on the subject of trash: he studied dirty streets for his master's thesis while in Copenhagen the city that later became the first customer of his startup, Nordsense. (The name simply means "sensors from the north.") The startup makes a small black box that goes inside outdoor trash cans, and monitors how close they are to overflowing. Once enough trash has piled up, the box sends out a request for a garbage truck to come by and empty the can. Jonathan Bloom/NBC Bay Area "When a can overflows, there is a sort of domino effect," Maestrini explained. San Francisco's Public Works department likens the effect to graffiti on an otherwise-clean wall. "When someone tags a wall, if you leave it for a day or two, there will be a second, third and fourth tag," said Mohammed Nuru, the city's Director of Public Works. "When a garbage can starts attracting bags and starts becoming a pile, you know, the pile only gets bigger." Jonathan Bloom/NBC Bay Area Indeed, up and down Market Street, trash bags, boxes and piles of loose garbage are easy to find sitting next to the city's green sidewalk trash cans. They're a small piece of a problem our Investigative Unit has been covering for months. While campaigning, Mayor London Breed had promised cleaner streets within 90 days of taking office. Three months into her term, she maintains she's continuing to work at solving the problem. Mayor London Breed says San Francisco is cleaner under her administration and, thus, believes she fulfilled a campaign promise to usher in significant and noticeable improvements within 90 days of taking office. In comparing Breeds first three months as mayor to the three months prior, 311 data reflects a rise in complaints concerning trash, human feces, and used syringes on... "I am doing everything I can to invest the right resources into making San Francisco a lot cleaner," Mayor Breed told our Investigative Unit's Bigad Shaban. After a successful 50-unit pilot, Nuru said the city will install 1,000 of the Nordsense sensors in the city's highest-traffic neighborhoods, and the ones most visited by tourists including downtown, Chinatown and the Mission District. They'll equip a third of the city's roughly 3,000 trash cans, also putting some in places where there's a history of littering and illegal dumping. Jonathan Bloom/NBC Bay Area Maestrini and Nordsense CEO Anders Engdal said the sensors have been successful in Europe not only at keeping trash cans from overflowing, but at reducing the workload for garbage collectors who previously had to stop at every can along their route to check whether it was full. The sensors can also detect trash fires, overturned cans and tampering by people who open the container to fish out recyclables. Nordsense came to San Francisco as part of a city program called STIR, an acronym for "Startup in Residence." Startups in the program are invited to set up shop in San Francisco and work with the city government to co-develop an innovative solution to a pressing city problem over the course of 16 weeks. If the solution is successful, STIR will help fast-track the process of applying for a city contract. Jonathan Bloom/NBC Bay Area Nuru said at first, his department plans to gather data from the sensors to see how the existing trash collection and street cleaning routes could be adjusted based on the actual usage of the cans. Implementing a fully dynamic routing system, where cans are only emptied once they fill up, is a complicated undertaking that won't happen overnight, he said. The Nordsense sensors will complement the city's growing number of "BigBelly" smart trash cans, many of them near Union Square, which have built-in compactors and also alert officials when they're nearly full. Nordsense provides an instant upgrade for ordinary, non-connected trash cans, and each sensor boasts a battery life of 5 to 6 years. The NBC Bay Area Investigative Units probe of the deaths of two suspects who died separately in San Francisco after being given a common sedative to control them has led to a state investigation. The states Office of Emergency Medical Services is probing whether paramedics who administered the sedative Midazolam broke protocol that required them to engage constant electronic monitoring. David Monroe says his stepson, Carlos Margo, was just 36 when he died back in March of 2017 after being arrested by police. Records reviewed by NBC Bay Area show officers had come to a bar in the citys Castro District and tried to arrest Margo, who resisted. But records and photos show Margo was restrained and on a gurney when a city paramedic injected him with a 5 milligram dose of the common sedative, which slows breathing. After getting a call about Margo being in the hospital, family rushed to be at his side. When we got there I could tell he was already gone there was no brain activity or anything, Monroe said. There were at times 70 people at the hospital praying for him. Margo died 13 days later of anoxic brain injury which is triggered by oxygen deprivation. Monroe says that while he may never know if Midazolam caused that condition, there was never a need to sedate him in the first place. When they injected him, he was handcuffed, Monroe told NBC Bay Area, and they had a bunch of guys holding him down on the ground. I mean, whyd they have to do that after he was already handcuffed? Back in 2015, another suspect died after being injected with Midazolam. He too had clashed with police who took him to the Hall of Justice on an outstanding traffic warrant. Darnell Benson was just 40 when he died of the same kind of injury to his brain, which is a known complication from Midazolam. Both deaths, however, were ultimately blamed on methamphetamine. But records show in both cases, medics did not monitor the mens vital signs electronically before and after injecting them with the sedative, which is given to calm between 1,000 to 2,000 suspects every year in the city. Such monitoring is required under city protocols to guard against breathing and heart-related complications known to be linked to Midazolam. While the autopsy originally found that Midazolam played a role along with methamphetamine in Margos death, the final conclusion was changed to death from methamphetamine overdose while under law enforcement restraint. San Francisco public health officials, meanwhile, said they did a comprehensive investigation of both cases and there were no adverse findings. The cases were closed. But after our initial report on the deaths, officials with the state Office of Emergency Medical Services confirmed that it had led them to start a still ongoing investigation into whether the medics followed required treatment protocols. Good, at least somebodys looking into it, Monroe said, adding that while it is too late to save his stepson, he hopes the probe will prevent someone else from dying under the same circumstances. Whyd they have to inject him with that stuff? Theres something wrong. San Francisco Public Works has been cited for violating state safety laws, according to documents obtained by the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit. Investigators with Cal/OSHA found Public Works failed to establish and implement effective methods or procedures to correct the unsafe condition of overloadingstreet cleaning trucks. The states findings reflect what the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit exposed last week city vehicles are often unsecured and overloaded with trash, despite state laws that require such cargo to be tarped or tied down. Debris that falls from moving vehicles accounts for about 50,658 crashes, 9,805 injuries, and 125 deaths each year, according to a 2016 study by AAA. The citation also noted other hazards, including clogged drains at a Public Works facility, that resulted in employees being forced to wade through dirty water lined with floating used syringes and other unsafe debris. Cal/OSHA ordered the agency to immediately correct its "unsafe or unhealthy conditions." Larry Stringer, Deputy Director of Operations at Public Works, said he plans to meet with representatives from Cal/OSHA over the next two weeks to discuss the violations in detail, but declined to comment further. On Wednesday, Stringer sent a memo to Public Works employees to reiterate the departments commitment to safety and the continuous practice of properly loading city trucks. His note went on to pledge changes in the departments safety manual that will include new language on the proper loading of trucks. The departments safety manual specifies that cargo inside pickup trucks must be "properly loaded and secured with no less than two chains." When NBC Bay Area notified the department of that language, a Public Works spokesperson said the reference to "chains" in the agencys Code of Safe Practices is actually a mistake that will soon be corrected since securing loads would require the use of straps or ropes, not "chains." The current version of the departments safety manual is dated June 2017, which means the error appears to have gone unnoticed for at least one year and seven months. San Francisco Public Works has 15 days to appeal the Cal/OSHA citation or pay the $1,200 fine. Cal/OSHA Citations: 1. The employer failed to establish and implement effective methods or procedures to correct the unsafe condition of overloading the [Bureau of Street and Environmental Services] street cleaning trucks. The Bureau of Street Environmental Services Code of Safe Practices does not recognize the hazard of compromising a vehicle and the driver by overloading a vehicle. 2. The employer failed to include methods and/or procedures for correcting unsafe or unhealthy conditions, work practices and work procedures in a timely manner. It was documented in the Hazard Log on March 9, 2018 that the wash rack that is used multiple times, by multiple employees daily was compromised by pavement cracking and the inlet drain not functioning properly. Residuals from the street cleaning vehicles were not draining and employees were working in standing water with floating used syringes and other unsafe debris. ______________________________________ .full-width .embed, .full-width .embedded.cm.embed{ text-align:left; } Scientists have revealed the African origins of New Zealand's most mysterious giant flightless bird - the now extinct adzebill - showing that some of its closest living relatives are the pint-sized flufftails from Madagascar and Africa. Led by the University of Adelaide, the research in the journal Diversity showed that among the closest living relatives of the New Zealand adzebills - which weighed up to 19 kilograms - are the tiny flufftails, which can weigh as little as 25 grams. The closeness of the relationship strongly suggests that the ancestors of the adzebills flew to New Zealand after it became physically isolated from other land. This finding mirrors the close relationship between New Zealand's kiwi and the extinct Madagascan elephant birds, published by University of Adelaide researchers in 2014, hinting at an unappreciated biological connection between Madagascar and New Zealand. Like the better-known moa, the two species of adzebill - the North Island adzebill and South Island adzebill -disappeared following the arrival of early Maori in New Zealand, who hunted them and cleared their forest habitats. Unlike the moa, adzebills were predators and not herbivores. "The adzebill were almost completely wingless and had an enormous reinforced skull and beak, almost like an axe, which is where they got their English name," says Alexander Boast, lead author and former Masters student at the University of Adelaide. "If they hadn't gone extinct, they would be among the largest living birds." A team of researchers from Australia, New Zealand, and the US analysed genetic data from the two adzebill species. "A lot of past genetic research and publicity has focused on the moa, which we know were distant relatives of the ostrich, emu, and cassowary," says co-author Dr Kieren Mitchell, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Adelaide. "But noone had analysed the genetics of the adzebill, despite a lot of debate about exactly what they were and where they came from." "We know that adzebills have been in New Zealand for a relatively long time, since we previously discovered a 19 million-year-old adzebill fossil on the South Island," says co-author Associate Professor Trevor Worthy, a palaeontologist at Flinders University. "A key question is whether they've been present since New Zealand broke away from the other fragments of the supercontinent Gondwana or whether their ancestors flew to New Zealand from elsewhere later on." Researchers at both the University of Adelaide's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA and Curtin University's Ancient DNA Lab sequenced adzebill DNA from fragments of bone and eggshell. They compared this to DNA from living birds to discover the identity and origin of the adzebill. "It's possible that ancient migration of birds between Madagascar and New Zealand may have occurred via Antarctica," says Dr Mitchell. "Some coastal regions of the continent remained forested and ice free until as recently as 30 million years ago." Dr Paul Scofield, Senior Curator Natural History at Canterbury Museum says: "The North Island adzebill likely evolved from its South Island counterpart relatively recently. We know the North and South Islands were joined by a narrow piece of land around two million years ago. Adzebills probably developed in the South Island, then walked over this land bridge to the North Island." Based on new data published today in the journal Science, it seems increasingly likely that an asteroid or comet impact 66 million years ago reignited massive volcanic eruptions in India, half a world away from the impact site in the Caribbean Sea. But it leaves unclear to what degree the two catastrophes contributed to the near-simultaneous mass extinction that killed off the dinosaurs and many other forms of life. The research sheds light on huge lava flows that have erupted periodically over Earth's history, and how they have affected the atmosphere and altered the course of life on the planet. In the study, University of California, Berkeley, scientists report the most precise and accurate dates yet for the intense volcanic eruptions in India that coincided with the worldwide extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period, the so-called K-Pg boundary. The million-year sequence of eruptions spewed lava flows for distances of at least 500 kilometers across the Indian continent, creating the so-called Deccan Traps flood basalts that in some places are nearly 2 kilometers thick. "Now that we have dated Deccan Traps lava flows in more and different locations, we see that the transition seems to be the same everywhere. I would say, with pretty high confidence, that the eruptions occurred within 50,000 years, and maybe 30,000 years, of the impact, which means they were synchronous within the margin of error," said Paul Renne, a professor-in-residence of earth and planetary science at UC Berkeley, director of the Berkeley Geochronology Center and senior author of the study, which will appear online Feb. 21. "That is an important validation of the hypothesis that the impact renewed lava flows." The new dates also confirm earlier estimates that the lava flows continued for about a million years, but contain a surprise: three-quarters of the lava erupted after the impact. Previous studies suggested that about 80 percent of the lava erupted before the impact. If most of the Deccan Traps lava had erupted before the impact, then gases emitted during the eruptions could have been the cause of global warming within the last 400,000 years of the Cretaceous Period, during which temperatures increased, on average, about 8 degrees Celsius (14.4 degrees Fahrenheit). During this period of warming, species would have evolved suited to hothouse conditions, only to be confronted by global cooling from the dust or by climate cooling gases caused by either the impact or the volcanos. The cold would have been a shock from which most creatures would never have recovered, disappearing entirely from the fossil record: literally, a mass extinction. But if most of the Deccan Traps lava emerged after the impact, this scenario needs rethinking. "This changes our perspective on the role of the Deccan Traps in the K-Pg extinction," said first author Courtney Sprain, a former UC Berkeley doctoral student who is now a postdoc at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom. "Either the Deccan eruptions did not play a role - which we think unlikely - or a lot of climate-modifying gases erupted during the lowest volume pulse of the eruptions." The hypothesis that climate-altering volcanic gases leak out of underground magma chambers frequently, and not just during eruptions, is supported by evidence from present-day volcanos, such as those of the gas-spewing Mt. Etna in Italy and Popocatepetl in Mexico, the researchers said. Magma stewing below the surface is known to transmit gases to the atmosphere, even without eruptions. "We are suggesting that it is very likely that a lot of the gases that come from magma systems precede eruptions; they don't necessarily correlate with eruptions," Renne said. In the case of the K-Pg extinction, the symptoms of significant climate change occurred before the peak in volcanic eruptions. Flood basalts Renne, Sprain, and their colleagues are using a precise dating method, argon-argon dating, to determine when the impact occurred and when the Deccan Traps erupted to clarify the sequence of catastrophes at the end of the Cretaceous Period and beginning of the Tertiary Period - the K-Pg boundary, formerly referred to as the K-T boundary. In 2013, using rocks from Montana, they obtained the most precise date yet for the impact, and in 2018, they updated that to 66,052,000 years ago, give or take 8,000 years. Then, in 2015, they determined from a handful of samples in India that, in at least one spot, the peak of the Deccan Traps eruptions occurred within about 50,000 years of that date, which means, in geologic time, that the incidents were basically simultaneous. Now, with three times more rock samples from areas covering more of the Deccan Traps, the researchers have established that the time of peak eruptions was the same across much of the Indian continent. This supports the group's hypothesis that the asteroid impact triggered super-earthquakes that caused a strong burst of volcanism in India, which is almost directly opposite the impact site, the Chicxulub crater in the Caribbean Sea. Sprain and Renne argue that the coincident catastrophes likely delivered a one-two punch to life on Earth, but the details are unclear. Volcanic eruptions produce lots of gases, but some, like carbon dioxide and methane, warm the planet, while others, like sulfur aerosols, are cooling. The impact itself would have sent dust into the atmosphere that blocked sunlight and cooled the Earth, though no one knows for how long. "Both the impact and Deccan volcanism can produce similar environmental effects, but these are occurring on vastly differing timescales," Sprain said. "Therefore, to understand how each agent contributed to the extinction event, assessing timing is key." Which gases in the Deccan Traps are emitted when is a question that's hard to answer, because there are no flood basalt eruptions going on today, despite numerous ones in Earth's history. The most recent, near the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest, dwindled 15 million years ago after 400,000 years of eruptions. The paucity of information about flood basalts is one reason Renne and Sprain are interested in the Deccan Traps, which are still young enough to contain information about the sequence, effects, and scale of the eruptions, and perhaps the cause. "It makes we wonder whether we may see some external forcing mechanism, like the impact for the Deccan Traps, for other flood basalts that lead up to major peaks in eruptions, like the Columbia River basalts or the Siberian Traps," Renne said. "Could a major earthquake in nearby subduction zones or the accumulation of pressure due to rising magma unleash these major episodes in flood basalts?" Sprain noted that, in the same issue of Science, a research group at Princeton University also will publish new dates related to the Deccan Traps, some of which differ from those of the Berkeley group. Whereas the Berkeley group dated the mineral plagioclase from the actual lava flows, the Princeton group dated zircons in the sediment deposited between flows. Because it's unclear where the zircons came from, however, those dates provide only a maximum age for the lava, she said. (Natural News) Before the Internet was launched in 1992, our thoughts, values and beliefs were informed by our family and friends and by the books, magazines and newspapers we read and by what we heard on radio and saw on television. If we wanted to communicate with each other we would pick up the telephone, write a letter or meet face to face. (Article by Barbara Loe Fisher republished from NVIC.org) The Internet changed everything. The World Wide Web gave us electronic access to free, uncensored information on our computers, tablets and cell phones and the ability to instantly share that information with each other. It connected us together in a virtual public square, where we could do our own research and talk about our personal experiences, and express what we think and believe and how we feel about important issues that affect our lives. There are three billion people on the Internet communicating with each other. 1 Except for the printing press created in the 15th century, there is no other single means of communication that has had as profound an impact on freedom of thought and speech as the World Wide Web. Yes, the Internet has changed everything. And, now, everyone needs to know how the Internet is changing. In the very near future you may not be able to find information about vaccine science, policy and law published on websites like NVIC.org and TheVaccineReaction.org or be able to connect with us on social media platforms to have an open conversation about it. With the cancellation of net neutrality in the U.S. in 2017,2 3 the two decade forging of public-private business partnerships between governments and politically powerful corporations and institutions has cleared the way for factual information about health to be censored as fake news and quietly removed from the Internet if it does not conform with public health policy and government recommendations for use of pharmaceutical and food products. Has the Internet been hijacked by Wall Street? It sure looks that way. An electronic wall is being built to block you from getting information you want so you only get information someone else decides you need. An electronic burning of the books has begun, and the people are being silently herded into a virtual Dark Age. While this censorship is starting with conversations about health and vaccination, it will not end there. Those who have bought and control the Internet now have the power to restrict or block any kind of information they do not want you to see or talk about with your family, friends and others you connect with online.4 5 So who is doing the judging of what is truth and what is fake news online? The Internet Police Thinking and Speaking for You Web of Trust6 and Snopes,7 both for-profit enterprises, have attempted to police the Internet for the past decade by rating websites for trustworthiness or branding articles published online as true or false, even as they themselves became embroiled in controversy about trustworthiness.8 9 10 But Snopes and Web of Trust are rookies compared to the professional SWAT team hired this year by a new corporation, NewsGuard Technologies, Inc., to rate websites and online publications so, in their own words, they can quote fight false news, misinformation and disinformation.11 12 13 14 15 16 17 NewsGuard is collaborating with The Paley Center for Media,18 Google,19 Microsoft,20 21 Publicis,22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 schools, libraries32 and other institutions to protect you and your children from news and perspective they think will harm you and society. There is no question that fake news is a real problem in both mainstream and alternative media when demonstrably false information is deliberately disguised as fact. However, it is also a real problem when demonstrably factual information or perspective is mislabeled as fake news, simply because it criticizes government policy or threatens the bottom line of corporations selling government recommended commercial products like liability free vaccines. One of the most politically powerful public-private partnerships today is the lucrative one that has been forged by the pharmaceutical industry with government,33 34 35 36 37 38 mainstream media39 and wealthy philanthropic foundations with political agendas.40 41 42 43 44 45 NVIC Giving a Voice for the Vaccine Injured, Defending Human Rights It has been 25 years since the nonprofit charity founded in 1982 by parents of vaccine injured children, the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), began posting vaccine information on the Internet. Our mission is to prevent vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and to protect the ethical principle of informed consent to medical risk taking, which serves as the foundation for the ethical practice of medicine.46 The co-founders and parent representatives of NVIC have a long, transparent public record of consumer advocacy, including working with Congress to secure vaccine safety informing, recording, reporting and research provisions in the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 and serving on federal vaccine advisory committees and testifying in congressional and state legislative hearings.47 48 We represent and give a voice to a vulnerable minority, the ones for whom the risks of vaccination turn out to be 100 percent. But we also represent and give a voice to people who believe that the human right to freedom of thought, speech, conscience and informed consent must be protected.49 Verifiable Facts About Vaccination Not Fake News Ten years before the birth of the Internet, one of the best-kept secrets in America was that vaccines can and do cause injury and death and that some individuals are more vulnerable to being harmed by vaccination. In 1982, an Emmy award winning television documentary DPT: Vaccine Roulette produced by consumer reporter Lea Thompson alerted parents and pediatricians that the whole cell pertussis vaccine in DPT shots could brain damage children.50 51 It was a mainstream media outlet NBC that blew the whistle on the pharmaceutical industrys neglect, and the medical establishments denial of DPT vaccine reactions, and the 50-year failure of industry and government to improve the safety of a vaccine mandated for all children to attend school. These are verifiable facts: the truth, not fake news. Three years later in 1985, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich published DPT: A Shot in the Dark, a book that further documented the risks and failures of the old crude whole cell pertussis vaccine.52 A year later, Congress passed the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act. In that legislation, for the first time the US government acknowledged that FDA licensed and CDC recommended vaccines can and do injure children.53 54 Since the 1986 Act was passed, the government has awarded four billion dollars in compensation to thousands of children and adults who have suffered permanent injuries, or whose loved ones have died after being given federally licensed and recommended vaccines.55 These are verifiable facts: the truth, not fake news. Between 1991 and 2013, the National Academy of Sciences published a series of reports on vaccine adverse effects.56 These reports confirmed that vaccines can cause brain and immune system disorders, and that genetic, biological and environmental risk factors make some individuals more vulnerable to being harmed but doctors dont know how to identify them because of gaps in vaccine science.57 These are verifiable facts: the truth, not fake news. More than 684,000 adverse events following vaccination, including hospitalizations, injuries and deaths, have been reported to the federal government since 1990.58 This number is estimated to represent less than one percent of all vaccine adverse events that have actually occurred.59 These are verifiable facts; the truth, not fake news. The U.S. government now recommends that children receive 69 doses of 16 vaccines between the day of birth and age 18, with 50 doses given before the age of six,60 which is triple the number of vaccinations given to children in 1983.61 Almost all of these vaccinations are mandated by states for children to attend school62 and some children are being refused medical care and adults are being fired from their jobs if they dont get every one of them, even after suffering vaccine reactions and deterioration in health.63 64 65 66 67 Vaccine policy and mandates have helped to create a global vaccine market now projected to bring in a staggering $57 billion dollars for drug companies by 2025.68 69 These are verifiable facts, not fake news. But very soon you may not be able to get this information or talk about it online. It is already happening. Discrimination and Censorship: NVICs Information Targeted Online Traffic to NVICs websites has fallen more than 50 percent since net neutrality was cancelled last year and access to our online information was restricted by suppressive algorithms and rating systems.70 Although NVIC takes a pro-education, pro-informed consent position and does not make vaccine use recommendations, NVICs Pinterest account was recently suspended.71 The reason given was that Pinterest takes action against accounts that repeatedly save content that includes harmful advice, misinformation that targets individuals or protected groups or content that originates from disinformation campaigns and that Pinterest operators dont allow advice when it has immediate or detrimental effects on a Pinners health or on public safety. This includes promotion of false cures for terminal or chronic illnesses and anti-vaccination advice, adding that they rely on information from national and internationally recognized institutions like the CDC and WHO World Health Organization to guide their judgments. NVIC is awaiting the judgment of NewsGuard Technologies about whether our weekly online journal newspaper The Vaccine Reaction will be given a green or red rating, which will send a signal to major search engines and social media platforms with the power to preserve or censor and make information disappear from the Internet. Censoring Information for The Greater Good? The new Internet Police scrubbing the World Wide Web of information they do not want you to see or talk about is part of the larger culture war going on today in our country and in many countries.72 73 When it comes to vaccination, discrimination and censorship is justified in the name of public safety and The Greater Good.74 75 Whos greater good? Who among us in society should be given the power to take away our freedom to seek and obtain knowledge, to engage in rational thinking, to speak in the public square and follow the judgment of our conscience when making decisions about what we are willing to risk our lives and our childrens lives for? In America, where the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution guarantees civil liberties to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority, we cannot wait any longer to publicly discuss and answer that question. It is a question that needs open public discussion, not censorship, because what is at stake affects not only freedom of thought and speech, but the loss of autonomy, the first and most sacred of all natural rights that protects every one of us from exploitation by wealthy corporations and politically powerful institutions. Taking Positive Action with Eyes Wide Open and No Fear In this time of oppression, we cannot know what needs to be done unless we go forward with our eyes wide open, understanding the new reality without fearing it. It is time to collect, preserve and cherish the good books, articles, films, videos and podcasts that have been published about vaccination and share them with our family and friends; time to save and download to our computers and external hard drives the written and video information still online that we want to keep and share with our children and our grandchildren. Time to expand the open public record by attending, testifying at and recording every legislative hearing, every town hall gathering, and every federal vaccine advisory committee meeting where people discuss vaccination or attempt to eliminate the human right to autonomy and censor freedom of thought and speech. If the doors to the Internet are closing, we can still stand up and speak in the smaller public squares that have always been there. We can come together and talk the old fashioned way, meeting in cafes, hotels, churches and in the privacy of our own homes. We can set up telephone trees and stay in touch by mail the way we did before the Internet. We can still use the World Wide Web to create private messaging and host webinars. We can create new ways of communicating with each other using more secure channels for uncensored conversations about vaccination and health. No matter what happens to the Internet, the best way to not lose touch with us is to register today for the free online NVIC Advocacy Portal, which is a secure communications network that puts you in electronic contact with your own legislators and provides you with real time information about vaccine-related legislation moving in your state. Taking that action provides us with an address to send you information in the mail, which also happens if you make a charitable donation to NVIC in any amount. Today, everybody knows somebody who was healthy, got vaccinated and was never healthy again. NVIC has been here for 36 years telling the truth about vaccination and advocating for better quality vaccine science, higher government vaccine safety licensing standards, more humane public health policies and protection of informed consent rights. The truth about vaccination is out there now and the truth will shine bright and clear in the end, no matter who tries to stop it from being known. Its your health, your family, your choice and our mission continues: No forced vaccination. Not in America. Read more at: NVIC.org (Natural News) Researchers at the University of Cambridge have succeeded in putting stretchable and washable electronic circuits into fabric, paving the way for producing new smart textiles and wearable electronics. In tandem with colleagues from China and Italy, the researchers were able to show how graphene a two-dimensional form of carbon can be instantly printed onto fabric to manufacture electronic circuits that are wearable and at the same time have a long shelf life. They can last for up to 20 cycles in a typical washing machine. This new discovery paves the way for the creation of two-dimensional material inks, ranging from personal health and well-being technology, to wearable energy harvesting and storage, military garments, wearable computing, and fashion. (Related: Wearable electronic devices could be powered by human sweat.) Other inks for printed electronics normally require toxic solvents and are not suitable to be worn, whereas our inks are cheap, safe, and environmentally-friendly, and can be combined to create electronic circuits by simply printing different two-dimensional materials on the fabric, said the papers senior author, Dr. Felice Torrisi of the Cambridge Graphene Centre. For his part, study co-author Professor Roman Sordan of Politecnico di Milano, said: Digital textile printing has been around for decades to print simple colorants on textiles, but our result demonstrates for the first time that such technology can also be used to print the entire electronic integrated circuits on textiles. Although we demonstrated very simple integrated circuits, our process is scalable and there are no fundamental obstacles to the technological development of wearable electronic devices both in terms of their complexity and performance. Ph.D. student Tian Carey, the papers first author, extrapolated on the benefits of the material that they have made, saying, The printed components are flexible, washable, and require low power, essential requirements for applications in wearable electronics. The small textiles industry is currently focused on using graphene and other 2D material links to integrate electronic components and devices into fabrics and innovative textiles. Presently, the use of smart textiles include smart gloves which monitor the condition of Parkinsons disease patients. Smart clothing has been growing in popularity in recent years, mostly due to consumers need to always keep track of their medical/health and wellness condition. For instance, the recently-released smart workout gear provides the capacity to track ones own biometrics, including health and fitness indicators such as calorie burn, energy output, heart rate, and stress level. Fashion designer Ralph Lauren and performance-wear brands Athos, Hexoskin, and Physiclo debuted their smart workout gear at the New York Fashion Week in 2015. In the same year, Sensoria released its smart socks, which utilize chemically treated textile patches as variable resistors and silver-based conductive yarn that bridges each sock to a magnetic Bluetooth anklet, which then transmits data to a smartphone-based app. Two pairs of socks and an anklet cost $200. To learn more about innovations and scientific discoveries, head on to Scientific.news today. Sources include: ScienceDaily.com Cambridge-News.co.uk EDN.com (Natural News) Battery technology is constantly improving, despite there being only fair coverage about it on the news. Unless youre specifically looking for whats new in the world of rechargeable batteries, you arent likely to find a lot of information. But there are many experts around the world who are currently working on improving the technology behind them. Case in point: A team of researchers from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor recently worked on a project that yielded an exciting new type of power source. It was inspired by none other than the electric eel, and could one day be used to power a wide range of devices, from ultra-low power gadgets that are used in hospitals, to actual robots. The possibilities right now for it are countless. According to Thomas Schroeder, a University of Michigan engineer and a co-lead on the research, the result of their project has some pretty desirable physical features. He directly refers to it as a battery, and describes it as such: Our artificial electric organ has a lot of characteristics that traditional batteries dont have. He further adds that it isnt potentially toxic, and it runs on potentially renewable streams of electrolyte solution. He is referring to the fact that their new battery takes design cues from natures electric eel, which is known to be capable to delivering up to 600 volts of power through electrical discharges in order to protect itself as well as to hunt prey. For the eel, this is possible through the use of organs that run along the length of its body, which contain some specialized cells called electrocytes, and these are the source of the high-powered energy volts. The way it works is that a flow of ions is generated, and that carries an electric charge. With thousands of these electrocytes in place, all the tiny voltages produced are stacked together. This is the design that the team of researchers followed to come up with their new kind of battery. According to a report on the research, Shroeders team tried to mimic the anatomy of electrocytes in electric eels, which meant that they had to come up with a way to replicate the stacked unit design that produced the power that electric eels were able to generate. To do this, they relied on four different hydrogels, which were 3D printed, and then simply stacked together to form a fully synthetic system. After testing, the researchers were able to confirm that the system worked, and that by using 2,500 of the units together, they could generate a potential difference of 110 volts. Thats around two to three times smaller than the power generated by the electric eel, but its a start. The researchers are now working on ways to increase the power output by decreasing the thickness of the units and lowering the resistance, which is what works for the electric eel. As of now, the research on the new battery continues as the team looks for ways to actually make use of it. In theory, it is said that the new artificial battery can generate enough power for certain ultra-low power devices, such as pacemakers in patients that need cardiac treatment. Still, they think that there are ways to vastly improve the artificial batterys performance, and that it only requires making the hydrogel membranes thinner in order to reduce the resistance thereby increasing the voltage that can be generated. According to Markus Buehler, a materials scientist and engineer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the teams design is truly impressive. He says that it is an exciting advance that transcends conventional thinking, and that he anticipates the deployment of the technology behind it in the near future. Sources include: Dailymail.co.uk Nature.com (Natural News) Celebrity pop-astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is watching his career swirl the toilet following numerous allegations from four different women who say he sexually assaulted them. Tysons StarTalk show, which would have been cruising along in its fifth season, has reportedly been shelved until all details come forward about his improprieties. At that time, National Geographic, the network that airs StarTalk will then decide whether or not to keep the show going, or kill it for good. In order to allow the investigation to occur unimpeded we chose to hold new episodes of Star Talk until it is complete, a spokesperson from Fox Network Group stated. We expect that to happen in the next few weeks at which time well make a final decision. As we earlier reported, Tysons reputation took a major hit back in December when his latest accuser went public with claims that he made inappropriate jokes and sexually solicited her while drunk at an American Museum of Natural History holiday party. Tyson, its most famous employee, drunkenly approached her, she said, making sexual jokes and propositioning her to join him alone in his office, BuzzFeed News reported at the time. Another woman, Tchiya Amet, says that Tyson drugged and raped her while the two attended graduate school at The University of Texas at Austin, leaving her traumatized for decades, according to Newsweek. I went to [Neil deGrasse Tysons] apartment to visit like I did almost every day. He was like my big brother, or so I thought, Amet told reporters. He offered me a glass of water. I accepted a liquid in a cup made out of a coconut shell. I recall coming back to consciousness briefly, then next thing I remember is seeing him in the hallway the next day. I have lived in this nightmare for 30 years, and it stops today, she added. Check out Twisted.news for more stories like this one. Neil deGrasse Tyson cancels all live appearances in response to his show getting shelved Tyson, of course, denies these and the other similar allegations made against him by other women, claiming that his actions were somehow misconstrued or exaggerated. He insists that hes innocent, despite the fact that at least one of the alleged incidents was reported to a harassment hotline at the time, and isnt simply a bandwagon accusation without merit. In the meantime, Tyson is having to lay low and accept the fact that his shows might be cancelled in response to these scandals. Tyson is also reportedly going to skip out on several live appearances he was supposed to make in the coming months, including one in Tampa Bay and another in Orlando. In the case of Neil deGrasse Tyson, it makes sense to #BelieveWomen As the world awaits the findings of the investigation into the claims against Tyson, its important to remember that this fake science guru is a tried-and-true member of the political establishment which means its highly unlikely that hes being targeted with fake news in the same way as someone like Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. A close buddy of the Obamas, Tyson remains a valuable asset to the deep state, perpetuating lies about the safety of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), for instance, and the non-existence of God. In other words, hes someone the deep state has an interest in protecting, not targeting for destruction. Sexual assault allegations against celebrities who are opposed to the scientific status quo must always be taken with a grain of salt, given that negative P.R. companies are hired by the vaccine and GMO industries to try to destroy the reputations of independent scientists who question the status quo, writes Mike Adams, the Health Ranger. But when sexual allegations surface against people like Tyson who are shameless promoters of the status quo, they automatically carry more weight because its impossible for such allegations to have been fabricated by the very industries that Tyson promotes. Sources for this article include: Breitbart.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) At the request of California Leftist, Democratic cult leader, and American traitor Adam Schiff, Facebook has announced that it may soon implement new policies to actively censor content on its platform that goes against the official narrative that all vaccines are 100 percent safe and effective. Blaming several recent outbreaks of measles on the prevalence of anti-vaccine information online, Schiff believes that its now Facebooks job to actively steer users towards only pro-vaccine content in order to keep people protected. There is strong evidence to suggest that at least part of the source of this trend is the degree to which medically inaccurate information about vaccines surface (sic) on the websites where many Americans get their information, Schiff is quoted as saying, providing absolutely none of the supposedly strong evidence that he says proves that disease outbreaks are caused by people reading alternative information about vaccines on Facebook. The algorithms which power these services are not designed to distinguish quality information from misinformation or misleading information, and the consequences of that are particularly troubling for public health issues, he added, inferring that the all vaccines are safe and effective narrative represents the only quality information about vaccines. Facebook capitulates to Schiffs demands, says its working on new ways to combat the problem In response to Schiffs poorly-worded letter of warning to Facebook Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook reportedly released a statement in response, indicating that the company is exploring additional measures to best combat the problem. These measures apparently include reducing or removing this type of content from recommendations, including Groups You Should Join, and demoting it in search results, while also ensuring that higher quality and more authoritative information is available. For related news, be sure to check out VaccineJihad.com and VaccineHolocaust.org. YouTube actively demoting videos that tell the other side of the vaccine story Google, which also received the same letter from Schiff, did not immediately respond with a statement like Facebook did. However, the Google-owned YouTube platform last month took action to demote videos that promote misinformation about vaccines, using the example of videos that promote a phony miracle cure for a serious illness. Keep in mind that Schiff, the ringleader in all this, is the same tool bag thats been parroting the Russian collusion conspiracy theory any chance he gets. Despite a total lack of evidence that the Trump campaign in any way conspired with Vladimir Putin to steal the 2016 election, Schiff continues to tout it as though it were undeniable fact. And now with vaccines, Schiff wants all Americans to be forced to consume only pro-vaccine propaganda, citing the dangers of online free speech. Its an Orwellian nightmare that Schiff and his fellow Democrats believe is necessary to promote the greater good even though numerous outbreaks in the past occurred in populations that were fully vaccinated. According to Bloomberg, the first result that turns up when searching for vaccines on YouTube is a middle ground video that features a debate between those who support them and those who reject them. The fourth result is the first episode of the popular The Truth About Vaccines video series, which has around 1.2 million views. The current all-time-high measles outbreak in California since measles was eradicated due to vaccines and vaccinations, has local health authorities stumped because 85 percent of those contracting measles were fully vaccinated, Catherine J. Frompovich from Activist Post recalls hearing during a broadcast that aired on KYW Newsradio 1060 in Philadelphia during a measles outbreak that occurred back in 2014. For more vaccine-related news, be sure to visit Vaccines.news. Sources for this article include: Bloomberg.com NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Scientists are constantly learning more about what causes cancer, and most of us were exposed as children to some of these toxins before anyone knew they were dangerous. We can do better for the next generation, however, by spreading the word about what can cause cancer in children and limit their exposure from the beginning of their lives. One area that deserves close attention in this regard is insecticide exposure. Studies have shown that children who are exposed to insecticides and pesticides have as much as a 50 percent greater risk of cancer than children who arent, and it is exposure indoors that is particularly risky. Scientists looked at data from 16 studies carried out in places like Europe, North America, Australia and Africa to uncover the disturbing connection. They found, for example, that children who were exposed to pesticides or insecticides indoors had a 43 percent greater likelihood of developing lymphoma and a 47 percent greater likelihood of leukemia. Because they are smaller and their systems are still developing, the impact of these chemicals is greater than it is in adults. They are not always able to break down or excrete certain chemicals the way adult bodies can. While we normally associate these chemicals with agricultural workers, some of the most damaging exposure is coming from the insecticides that are sprayed around peoples homes for pest control. Children can breathe them in or ingest them if they happen to get them on their hands before eating or place their hands in their mouths. The fact that there isnt much air circulation indoors means these chemicals arent diluted by air, so children are getting a stronger dose than when they are used outdoors. That is why the Environmental Protection Agency warns people not to overuse insecticides and pesticides around their home and to keep children, toys and pets away from the areas that have been sprayed for as long as possible. Another method of exposure is when children live with adults who carry out farming work and bring the pesticides or herbicides they are exposed to on the job into their homes. Children younger than 12 are at particular risk, experts say. In addition to lymphoma and leukemia, researchers believe exposure to these chemicals earlier in life could be behind the rise in cancers like prostate and bladder cancer that were seeing now. Natural pest control You might not enjoy the prospect of finding a cockroach scurrying around your kitchen or a late-night encounter with a rat in your bedroom, but the idea of putting your children at a significantly higher risk of cancer is far worse. It only makes sense that a spray designed to kill insects cant be good for humans. Thats why finding natural pest control solutions is essential. There are lots of effective remedies depending on which type of pest youre trying to address. The National Resources Defense Council recommends that you seal your home to prevent pests from entering, repairing any tears in window and door screens and sealing cracks in bathrooms and kitchens using silicone caulk. Plug any openings that are bigger than inch wide. Make sure you dont have any places that invite insect infestations, like rotting wood or stacks of old newspapers. Essential oils can work well for some insects, with a mixture of citrus oil and cayenne pepper being effective on ants and eucalyptus oil working well to keep bees, wasps, and flies away. Citronella and lemon eucalyptus are effective against mosquitoes, while peppermint deters spiders. A mix of vinegar and water sprayed near entry points can also be used to keep spiders at bay. We might not be able to escape all the toxins in our environment, but avoiding insecticides and pesticides within your home is something that is easily under your control and could help reduce your familys cancer risk. Sources for this article include: NaturalHealth365.com Reuters.com NRDC.org (Natural News) The man who holds the title as the first in the United States to ever legally identify as neither in terms of his official gender status has since come forward to reveal that so-called non-binary gender identification is a total fraud, and that hes always been male. Jamie Shupe of Oregon has essentially had a 180-degree change of heart since the time he battled the courts, and won, to embrace transgenderism on his official government documents. But now Shupe says that hes renounced all ties to transgenderism, referring to the transgender movement as advancing harmful gender ideologies. In my thirty-plus-year marriage, I am the husband, Shupe now says. To my daughter, I am her father I no longer identify as a transgender or non-binary person and I will not be a party to advancing harmful gender ideologies that are ruining lives, causing deaths and contributing to the sterilization and mutilation of gender-confused children. For more related news, be sure to check out Gender.news. Transgenderism is fraud and pseudoscience, says Shupe Born a male, Shupe served in the military and married a woman early on in his life before deciding years later in 2013 that he no longer wanted to be a man. He embraced the doctrine of Leftist gender selection the idea that a person can become any gender that he, she, or ze wishes only to realize after the fact that its all fake. My history-making and landmark sex change to non-binary was a fraud based on the pseudoscience of gender identify, Shupe now admits. I am and have always been male. There should be no social or legal penalty for others to state that. Shupe tried taking female hormones, altering his appearance, and aggressively working against the natural order of male and female that he had been indoctrinated to oppose but it was never enough. I figured I was a transgender woman, Shupe says. My thinking was, well, Im not a male. I was in a deep, dark depression because I had boxed myself into this male identity that I couldnt stand anymore. Even after pretending to be a woman for many years, Shupe still wasnt happy, nor did he feel good about his quest to switch from male to female. In the end, he realized that he had been duped, and that theres no such thing as being a transgender. Now, Im suddenly telling my spouse Im the same thing she is? It didnt make sense to me, Shupe admits. No amount of hormones is going to make me look like a female. Shupes gender confusion stemmed from psychotic issues, he says and nobody was willing to help him, instead choosing to affirm his mental illness As Shupe was beginning to come to the realization that he is, and always will be, a biological male, he began to also recognize that society had been so brainwashed into transgender ideology that he would never actually find help for his condition. Instead, everyone was just affirming his non-binary status, without offering any help whatsoever. Shupe says he eventually acknowledged the fact that he was suffering from psychotic issues, including hallucinations, destructive behavior, and paranoia but, again, nobody was willing to help him out of it, as they had all been falsely led to believe that transgenderism and non-binary status were completely normal. Cross-sex hormones failed to cure or even alleviate my gender dysphoria, Shupe now admits. The only thing that did was to stop believing that I was a female. The APA (American Psychological Association) claims gender dysphoria is a treatable condition with social transitions and hormonal and surgical treatments. My experience as a transsexual patient proves otherwise. You can read the rest of Shupes story at ChristianNews.net. Sources include: ChristianNews.net NaturalNews.com By Roy Poses, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Brown University, and the President of FIRM the Foundation for Integrity and Responsibility in Medicine. Originally published at Health Care Renewal In the early 21st century, the debate about health care reform in the US ramped up. The result ultimately was the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, ACA, Obamacare), which arguably improved access to health care, made some reforms in the regulation of health care insurance, but did not affect the fundamental reliance of the US on employer-paid, for-profit health care insurance to finance health care for many patients. Nor did it really affect the issues we discuss on Health Care Renewal (look here for details). After the tumultuous election of President Donald Trump, the debate started up again with his and his partys attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare. Arguably, Obamacare ended up damaged but not repealed. Once again, the issues we discuss on Health Care Renewal were ignored, including threats ot the integrity of the clinical evidence base, deceptive marketing, distortion of health care regulation and policy making, bad leadership and governance, concentration of power, abandonment of health care as a calling, perverse incentives, the cult of leadership, managerialism, impunity enabling corrupt leadership, and taboos, or the anechoic effect. (Look here for a detailed discussion. ) It is time once again to discuss health care reform in the US. Now the push is from the Democrats and the left, with the stated goals of making care more universal, and perhaps decreasing or even ending the role of for-profit commercial health care insurance companies. It is no surprise that those who benefit the most from the current system (even as modified by Obamacare) are rushing to its defense. Dark Money to Defend Commercial Health Insurance We already discussed how large health care corporations, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, have been using dark money to funnel money for distinctly partisan purposes, to defeat whom they perceive as too left-leaning politicians, almost all Democrats. They seem to fear such politicians might promote health care reform efforts that would be based on anti-free-market, anti-business ideology, that is efforts to decrease the role of commercial, for-profit health insurance in financing health care. More recently, the focus has shifted to Democratic proposals for government run single-payer, or Medicare for all health insurance. In early January, 2019, the Hill reported Thomas Donohue, the president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, on Thursday vowed to use all of the Chambers resources to fight single-payer health care proposals. We also have to respond to calls for government-run, single-payer health care, because it just doesnt work, Donohue said during his annual State of American Business address. The US Chamber of Commerce historically has had many executives of big health care corporations on its board. We listed 10 such members in 2015. It also historically has received financial support from some corporations. We listed 17 in 2018. Then later in January, The Hill reported that a group called Partnership for Americas Health Future started digital ads attacking Medicare for All. The Hill stated its members include major industry players such as Americas Health Insurance Plans and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America So here we have the leaders of big health care corporations funneling corporate money into propaganda campaigns to defeat government run single payer health insurance, an old policy idea that suddenly is looking politically credible. Current US regulation and practice allows them to hide the exact amounts spent on such campaigns by processing them through dark money organizations. Such stealth health policy advocacy is now not new. What is surprising now is how some top leaders are willing to jump into the debate themselves, rather than just trying to manipulate public opinion through public relations/ propaganda proxies. Here are some telling examples. in chronological order. Quest Diagnostics CEO Attacks Medicare-for-All Using an Appeal to Authority, an Argument by Gibberish, the Non Sequitur Fallacy, (and an Incomplete Comparison) On January 24, 2019, Yahoo Finance reported A top health care CEO is sounding the alarm on Medicare for All, an idea gaining steam in political circles, including from newly-elected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Most people dont understand the basics of health-care economics in the United States, said Steve Rusckowski, chairman & CEO Quest Diagnostics (DGX), in an interview with Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Mr Rusckowski implied that he knows a lot more about health care economics than most people, so most people should listen to him. Thus, he began with an implied logical fallacy, the appeal to authority. He then presented the justification for his argument. The majority of people get their health care from their employers, and the majority of healthcare costs are paid by employers and employees, he said. If you look at the $3.5 trillion spent on healthcare costs, that portion is actually funding the Medicare and Medicaid programs throughout this country. The syntax was fractured, and so this was incoherent and confusing. In particular, it was not clear to what this portion referred. $3.5 trillion? Health care costs paid by employers and employees? The context of his use of that phrase did not help. Note that US total health spending was reported to be approximately $3.5 trillion in 2017 by the US Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). However, that was total health spending, not just the amount spent by Medicare and Medicaid. Furthermore, Medicare and Medicaid are funded by sources other than employers and their employees. While employers and employees pay tax on employee income to fund Medicare, general funds from the federal government, and from state governments funds Medicaid. Furthermore, many employers pay parts of their employees private health insurance premiums, while the employees make up the difference in premiums. Self-employed people may may for their own insurance, etc, etc. Mr Ruskcowski, not to put to fine a point on it, seemed to speaking gibberish, and would use this gibberish to justify his next point. So in formal terms, he used the logical fallacy of an argument by gibberish. When incomprehensible jargon or plain incoherent gibberish is used to give the appearance of a strong argument, in place of evidence or valid reasons to accept the argument. In any case, Mr Rusckowski went on to argue that he remained skeptical of a Medicare-for-all plan funded by corporations and employees. I dont think [corporations and employees] can affordto provide that access as described. However, not only were his earlier statement gibberish, they were not clearly arguments in support of his contention that corporations and employees cannot afford to provide that access as described. So this appeared to be an example of the logical fallacy of the non-sequitur. Mr Rusckowskis total compensation as CEO of Quest was over $10 million in 2017, as estimated by Bloomberg News. So it is perhaps not surprising that is self-interest in preserving the status quo was strong enough to motivate him to jump into the debate. One would think, however, that someone who managed to become a rich CEO of a medical diagnostic company could manage to be a bit more logical. Anyway, he has some strange bed-fellows in this cause, including two billionaires who are not directly involved in health care corporations, but who have obviously benefited from the current economic status quo. Michael Bloomberg and Howard Schultz Used the Incomplete Comparison Fallacy Two billionaires provided striking examples of one logical fallacy. First, from the New York Times, January 29, 2019: Mr. Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor who is considering a 2020 bid on a centrist Democratic platform, rejected the idea of Medicare for all, which has been gaining traction among Democrats. I think you could never afford that. Youre talking about trillions of dollars, Mr. Bloomberg said during a political swing in New Hampshire, which holds the nations first primary in 2020. I think you can have Medicare for all for people that are uncovered, he added, but to replace the entire private system where companies provide health care for their employees would bankrupt us for a very long time. Second, from CNN on January 30, 2019: Why do you think Medicare-for-all, in your words, is not American? CNNs Poppy Harlow asked Schultz on Tuesday. Its not that its not American, Schultz said. Its unaffordable. What I believe is that every American has the right to affordable health care as a statement, Schultz said, lauding the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, as the right thing to do. He added, But now that we look back on it, the premiums have skyrocketed and we need to go back to the Affordable Care Act, refine it and fix it. He argued that the Democratic progressive platform of providing Medicare, free college education and jobs for everyone is costly and as false as President Trump telling the American people when he was running for president that the Mexicans were going to pay for the wall. So both billionaire Bloomberg and billionaire Schultz stated that Medicare-for-all would cost too much. Yet neither addressed how much our current health care system costs. However, as a subsequent op-ed in the Washington Post by Paul Waldman pointed out, it only makes sense to talk about affordability in the context of a comparison with a reasonable alternative, say, the current health care system: there is one thing you absolutely, positively must do whenever you talk about the cost of a universal system and that journalists almost never do when theyre asking questions. You have to compare what a universal system would cost to what were paying now. there have been some recent attempts to estimate what it would cost to implement, for instance, the single-payer system that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) advocates; one widely cited study, from a source not favorably inclined toward government solutions to complex problems, came up with a figure of $32.6 trillion over 10 years. Thats a lot of money. But you cant understand what it means until you realize that last year we spent about $3.5 trillion on health care, and under current projections, if we keep the system as it is now, well spend $50 trillion over the next decade. Again, you can criticize any particular universal plan on any number of grounds. But if it costs less than $50 trillion over 10 years which every universal plan does you cant say its unaffordable or it would bankrupt us, because the truth is just the opposite. These are text-book examples of the fallacy of incomplete comparison. By the way, buried amongst his use of gibberish and non-sequiturs, Quest Diagnostics CEO Rusckowski also opined that Medicare-for-all would be unaffordable without any reference to the costs of the status quo, and hence also provided an example of an incomplete comparison. The Waldman op-ed noted The fact that these two highly successful businessmen whose understanding of investments, costs and benefits helped them become billionaires can say something so completely mistaken and even idiotic is a tribute to the human capacity to take our ideological biases and convince ourselves that theyre not biases at all but are instead inescapable rationality. Maybe. However, it may also be a tribute to their arrogance bred by decades of public relations (which Bernays thought sounded better than propaganda) and disinformation meant to soften up the minds of the public so that they will follow the lead of the rich and powerful. Schultz Also Added an Appeal to Tradition (or to Common Practice) Also on January 29, the Washington Post reported that Schultz referred to a town hall hosted Monday night by CNN in which Harris embraced a Medicare-for-all single-payer health insurance system and said she would be willing to end private insurance to make it happen. That is the kind of extreme policy that is not a policy that I agree with, Schultz said on The View, adding that doing away with private insurers would lead to major job losses. Thats not correct. Thats not American, Schultz said on CBS. Whats next? What industry are we going to abolish next? The coffee industry? Presumably, by saying thats not American, Schultz means that is not what we have always done, that is not what has been traditional American practice, begging the question of whether that practice could be ill-advised. Thus Schultz appeared to ladle on an appeal to common practice, otherwise known as an appeal to tradition. As an aside, the quote also suggests that Schultzs real concern is not with the affordability of Medicare-for-all, particularly in comparison with that of the current system, but with the financial health of the insurance industry. But that is for another day. Summary So, to protect against the dread Medicare for all, that is, proposals for a government single-payer health insurance system to replace our current practice of financing health care through large, mainly for-profit insurance companies, we see an acceleration of public relations/ propaganda paid by undisclosed donors, that is, via dark money. We also see prominent multi-millionaire and billionaire executives laying down a barrage of logical fallacies to support the status quo. It is hard to believe that the defenders of the current system are not mostly self-interested. That status quo has made some people very rich. It is also hard to believe they are stupid. However, a close reading of their arguments suggests they may think we are stupid, or at least befuddled by repeated public relations/ propaganda/ disinformation campaigns. In 2011, we wrote, Wendell Potter, author of Deadly Spin, has provided a chilling picture of health care corporate disinformation campaigns and the tactics used therein. In particular, Mr Potter recounted how deceptive PR campaigns subverted the health care reform plans of US President Bill Clinton, reduced the impact of Michael Moores movie, Sicko, and helped to remodel the recent health care reform bill to reduce its threat to commercial health insurers. He further noted how PR distracted public attention from the growing faults of a health care system based on commercial health insurance, and how practical and legal safeguards against abuses by insurance companies were eroded. Furthermore, Mr Potter described charm offensives; the deliberate creation of distractions, including the planting of memes for short-term goals that went on to have long-term adverse effects; fear mongering; the use of front groups, including astroturf, (faux disease advocacy and/or grass roots organizations), public policy advocacy groups, and tame (and conflicted) scientific/professional groups; and intelligence gathering. He provided some practical advice for detecting such tactics. For example, be very suspicious of policy advocacy by groups with no apparent address or an address identical to that of a PR firm, or with anonymous leaders and/or anonymous financial backing. Now it is 2019, once again health care reform is in the air, and once again the defenders of the status quo are hard at work. Now, they are even wealthier than they were 10 years ago, and have even more sophisticated tools, like social media and its hacks, at their disposal. Still, however, their arguments are ultimately built on sand. As I did in 2011, it makes sense to quote Wendell Potter onslaught drastically weakened health-care reform and how it plays an insidious and often invisible role in our political process anywhere that corporate profits are at stake, from climate change to defense policy. [Potter, Huffington Post] So, The onslaughts of spin will not stop, the distortions will not diminish, and the spin will not slow down. To the contrary, spin begets spin, as the successes of corporate PR functionaries increase the revenues of their employers, further funding their employers efforts to create a more hospitable climate for their business interests. Americans are thus being faced with increasingly subtle but effective assaults on their beliefs and perceptions. Their best defense right now is to understand and to recognize the sophisticated tactics of the spinners trying to manipulate them. Most important is a singular mandate: Be skeptical. [Potter, Huffington Post] I still hope that summarizing some of Mr Potters amazing points will help us all to be much more skeptical. You heard it here first. Yves here. While in theory, measuring and paying for performance is desirable, once you get outside areas like sales, it is very difficult to measure performance (trust me, there are academic papers which explicitly say that 100 years+ of experience with performance review systems shows them to have failed). By Nathan Favero, Assistant Professor of Public Administration & Policy, American University School of Public Affairs. Originally published at The Conversation Editors note: Denver teachers reached a tentative deal on Feb. 14 that ended a three-day strike. Besides raises of 7 to 11 percent, one of the concessions they won was the end of performance-based pay, which they said was unreliable and led to unacceptably low base pay. Nathan Favero, an education policy expert at American University, answers three questions about the effectiveness of performance-based pay and how its elimination will impact education in Denver. How did performance affect teachers pay? While teachers base salaries were mostly determined by their education levels and teaching experience, in Denver public schools, teachers also got substantial bonuses based on a number of other factors, including performance. The main performance-based bonus went to teachers in schools where students performed particularly well on standardized tests. If a school was designated as high-achieving, then all teachers in that school received the bonus that year. The size of bonuses for teachers working in recognized schools varied from year to year, but amounts have been as large as US$5,100 per teacher. Under early versions of the districts bonus pay system, teachers were also recognized individually for good performance. However, these individual performance bonuses were largely done away with in 2015. Teachers still received individual performance evaluations every year, but in most schools, these evaluations did not affect teacher pay, except when a teacher was found to be severely deficient. Even after 2015, individual performance pay was still used in one set of schools. Every year, the district identified 30 highest priority schools. Teachers in these schools could receive bonuses based on individual performance evaluations. These evaluations rated teachers based on several data sources, including students standardized test scores, surveys filled out by students, achievement of student learning goals set by the teacher and classroom observations conducted by school leaders or peers. How effective is pay-for-performance? Research teams based at the University of Colorado at Denver and the University of Colorado at Boulder have concluded that the pay-for-performance system had few effects on students. One analysis found that performance incentives caused a tiny increase in math scores, but even these small gains were offset by slight drops in reading and writing scores. Other analyses found no evidence of any effecton standardized test scores. Despite lackluster results on standardized tests, Denvers pay-for-performance system may have helped a bit when it comes to retaining teachers. One analysis estimates that the city retained up to 160 teachers per year who otherwise would have quit if it wasnt for the performance pay system. Given the fact that the district had 3,700 teachers at the time of the study, this means about 4.3 percent of Denvers teacher workforce was potentially retained because of the pay system. Another analysis indicates that the retained teachers were better-than-average teachers, which makes them particularly important to the district. Across the nation, other school districts have had similar experiences with pay-for-performance. On average, teacher pay-for-performance systems seem to produce a small improvementfor students, though not always. The limited success of Denvers performance pay system may be due in part to its complexity. Researchers found through surveys and interviews of teachers that many of them did not know exactly how bonuses could be earned or even had wrong information. Many teachers also felt that the bonus system was unfair and that the individual performance evaluation could sometimes be manipulated by, for example, setting easily achievable goals to be assessed with an administrator at the end of the year. So what changes under the new contract? Under the new labor deal, almost all pay-for-performance is eliminated. Instead of paying bonuses to teachers in schools with impressive standardized test scores, $750 bonuses will be paid to teachers in up to 10 schools selected by a committee for excellence in areas such as health education, counseling services and community engagement. The agreement specifically states that these awards cannot be based on teacher performance evaluation data or school report cards that contain standardized test scores. The deal also eliminates bonuses tied to individual performance evaluations for teachers in high-priority schools. Extra pay for teachers in hard-to-staff schools will continue. However, all teachers working in these schools will receive the same bonus, regardless of their performance evaluation. Teachers have asked for a pay system that is more predictable. The revised pay system should give them more certainty at the beginning of the year about how much they can expect to make. Students and administrators will have to hope that the district can continue to retain high-quality teachers despite the elimination of performance bonuses that may have helped persuade some of these teachers to stay in the district in the past. Easter Eggs and Trojan Horses in the Democrats Flagship Bill, H.R. 1 (For the People Act of 2019) HR1 (text here) was, symbolically, the first bill introduced in this session of the House, and it rapidly aqquired 227 co-sponsors of whom not one was a Republican. The bill garnered a lot of positive coverage. From the Brennan Center for Justice: The Brennan Center has long advocated for, and in many cases helped innovate, many of the reforms outlined in H.R. 1. Perhaps more than ever, Americans understand the problems facing our democracy, said Weiser. They are hungry for bold and effective solutions to those problems like those in H.R. 1 and real action on those solutions. Weiser submitted written testimony in support of the Act in advance of Thursdays hearing. In her comments on Thursday, she highlighted three of the reforms outlined in H.R. 1: Restoring the Voting Rights Act, a landmark civil rights law that was hobbled by the Supreme Courts 2013 Shelby County decision; a landmark civil rights law that was hobbled by the Supreme Courts 2013 Shelby County decision; Automatic voter registration (AVR), which would streamline how Americans register to vote and could add up to 50 million new voters to the rolls; and which would streamline how Americans register to vote and could add up to 50 million new voters to the rolls; and Small-donor public financing, which would amplify the voices of ordinary voters by providing public funds to match small donors. Thursday marked the latest in a series of hearings on H.R. 1, which have focused on elements of the bill ranging from presidential ethics to election security. The bill marks the first time in decades that either major political party has made comprehensive reform of the systems of democracy a central priority. (Let me pause to compliment the Brennan Center for not using the noxious phrase our democracy. As the old joke goes, What do you mean, we?) Democrat House organ The New Yorker: [Last week,] a hearing on H.R. 1, the For the People Act, took place in the House of Representatives. Elijah Cummings, Democrat of Maryland, the new chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, referred to the bill, in his opening remarks, as one of the boldest reform packages to be considered in the history of this body. He added, This sweeping legislation will clean up corruption in government, fight secret money in politics, and make it easier for American citizens across this great country to vote. That statement was not partisan hyperbole. The bill is a broad, imaginative, and ambitious set of responses to the most pressing challenges facing American democracy, many of which preceded the 2016 election, but almost all of which were brought into sharper focus by it. Implicit in the choice to take up an electoral-reform bill as the first act of the new Democratic majority in the House was the decision to confront not only these injustices but, more fundamentally, the forces that have allowed them to come into existence. The bill contains provisions to insure access to paper ballots, in order to verify the accuracy of voting results; to establish early voting in all states for federal elections; and to launch independent redistricting commissions, to address the problem of partisan gerrymandering. (Access to paper ballots. Oh.) Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in a scathing WaPo Op-Ed, dubbed it the Democrat Politician Protection Act, and given what we know about how the liberal Democrat establishment operates, it would be strange indeed if the bill did work in their favor, institutionally. Now, I have no doubt that there are good things in the bill; but its 600 pages long, and I dont have time to go through it all to find them. I do think, however, that the bill presents four major problems: Two Easter Eggs, little hidden surprises, and two Trojan Horses, something seemingly benign that is in fact destructive (in this case, of democracy, ironically enough in a bill titled For the People). The two Easter Eggs are raised barriers to small parties and digital voting; the two Trojan Horses are a role for the intelligence community, and the nature of campaign contribututions. Easter Egg: Barriers to Small Parties Bruce Dixon comments: HR 1 is surgically aimed to eliminate federal matching funds for Green Party candidates by raising the qualifying amount from its current level of $5,000 in each of 20 states to $25,000 in 20 states. HR 1 would cut funding for a Green presidential candidate in half, and by making ballot access for a Green presidential candidate impossible in several states it would also guarantee loss of the partys ability to run for local offices. From the Bill: SEC. 5202. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR MATCHING PAYMENTS. (a) Amount Of Aggregate Contributions Per State; Disregarding Of Amounts Contributed In Excess Of $200.Section 9033(b)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended (1) by striking $5,000 and inserting $25,000; and (2) by striking 20 States and inserting the following: 20 States (disregarding any amount of contributions from any such resident to the extent that the total of the amounts contributed by such resident for the election exceeds $200). Easter Egg: Digital Voting Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence!Edsger W. Dijkstra In other words, digital must be removed everywhere in the voting and tabulating process, because otherwise the vote is vulnerable to hacking and election fraud. Thats why hand-marked paper ballots, hand-counted in public, are the world standard. To quote another programming proverb: The cheapest, fastest, and most reliable components are those that arent there (Gordon Bell). From the Bill; Ive helpfully underlined and noted in square brackets the problematic portions of the text: SEC. 1502. PAPER BALLOT AND MANUAL COUNTING REQUIREMENTS. (a) In General.Section 301(a)(2) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(2)) is amended to read as follows: (2) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT. (A) VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS. (i) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT. (I) The voting system shall require the use of an individual, durable, voter-verified, paper ballot of the voters vote that shall [A] be marked and made available for inspection and verification by the voter before the voters vote is cast and counted, and which shall be counted by hand [B] or read by an optical character recognition device or other counting device . For purposes of this subclause, the term individual, durable, voter-verified, paper ballot means a paper ballot marked by the voter by hand [C] or a paper ballot marked through the use of a nontabulating ballot marking device or system , [D] so long as the voter shall have the option to mark his or her ballot by hand . (II) The voting system shall provide the voter with an opportunity to correct any error on the paper ballot before the permanent voter-verified paper ballot is preserved in accordance with clause (ii). (III) The voting system shall not preserve the voter-verified paper ballots in any manner that makes it possible, at any time after the ballot has been cast, to associate a voter with the record of the voters vote without the voters consent. (ii) PRESERVATION AS OFFICIAL RECORD.The individual, durable, voter-verified, paper ballot used in accordance with clause (i) shall constitute the official ballot and shall be preserved and [E] used as the official ballot for purposes of any recount or audit conducted with respect to any election for Federal office in which the voting system is used. (iii) MANUAL COUNTING REQUIREMENTS FOR RECOUNTS AND AUDITS. (I) Each paper ballot used pursuant to clause (i) shall be suitable for a manual audit, and shall be counted by hand in any recount or audit conducted with respect to any election for Federal office. [A] be marked leaves the agent doing the marking unspecified (see notes [C] and [D). [B] or read by an optical character recognition device or other counting device means that the count need not be by hand, and need not be public. [C] marked through the use of a nontabulating ballot marking device or system, for example, hackable touch screens. [D] shall have the option to mark his or her ballot by hand means that voting machine vendors can use UI/UX dark patterns to discourage hand-marking. [E] used as the official ballot for purposes of any recount means that the paper ballot is not the official ballot (!!) until a recount is performed. But how do we know to perform a recount if an election has been successfully hacked? Why not just make the paper ballot the official ballot to begin with[1], and get rid of all the digital cruft, as they do in Canada, Germany, and the UK?[2] Collectively, the notes show that the section title Subtitle FPromoting Accuracy, Integrity, And Security Through Voter-Verified Permanent Paper Ballot is at best deceptive and at worse a bait-and-switch. This entire section is so sloppy and bad it might as well have been written by an e-voting lobbyist. For me, it calls the good faith of the entire bill into question. Anybody who thinks this bill advances the cause of paper ballots in any way is a fool gravely mistaken. Trojan Horse: Intelligence Community From the Bill; Ive helpfully underlined and noted in square brackets the problematic portions of the text: By Lambert Strether of Corrente. As before, my daily schedule has ended up complexified and Im working on a post on HR1, the Democrat bill reforming the voting system. So Im going to put up some red meat now, and then return later with more. lambert UPDATE All done! * * * Politics But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? James Madison, Federalist 51 They had one weapon left and both knew it: treachery. Frank Herbert, Dune 2020 Health Care For 2020 Dem Hopefuls, Medicare-For-All Is A Defining Issue, However They Define It [Kaiser Health News]. Front and center are three words: Medicare. For. All. That simple phrase is loaded with political baggage, and often accompanied by vague promises and complex jargon. Different candidates use it to target different voter blocs, leading to sometimes divergent, even contradictory ideas. People are talking about this as a goal, as a commitment, as a value as much as a specific program, said Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster. Celinda Lake, not unexpectedly, is a horrible human being. When the State of Maine ran a poll on health care policy, Lake conducted it. Activists had to force her to put single payer questions in the survey (and that ended up being the preferred choice). More journalistic malpractice: Vague promises and complex jargon. Thats because liberal Democrats are, in bad faith, obfuscating the policy issues, just as they did in 2009. There are three bills to look at, and a third coming: S1804, the late-lamented HR676, and Jayapals forthcomong bill. It would be better if KHN simply summarized them, surely not impossible. Oh, and Medicare. For. All echoes a classic Clintonite trope on the Twitter: It. Goes. Like. This. You are, I think, to imagine a finger wagging at each . I loathe it. How Mainstream News Coverage Distorts the Policy, Politics, and Polling on Medicare For All [34Justice]. If you tell people that the policy will result in them losing their current insurance, paying higher taxes, and interacting with a bankrupt federal government, theyre less likely to support it. If you tell people the truth, however that public insurance in the United States is well-liked and more cost-efficient than private insurance, that other countries with Medicare-For-All-type systems spend way less money while covering a much higher percentage of their populations than we do, and that, under a Medicare For All system, all but the richest among us will get better coverage while paying less than they do today people are fully on board. We need our news media to start telling the truth. Tell people the truth What an odd strategy! New Cold War The Mueller joke [The Week]. Has there ever been a better shaggy-dog story than the one about the crooked lobbyist for the Ukrainian government who failed to fill out some forms and cheated on his taxes and then years later advised a TV star who went down an escalator before running for president against someone who refused to campaign in the states she needed to win both before and after her emails got hacked and some D-list political operatives sent some messages asking about the emails after they were in the news and then the guy won the election and an incoming member of his administration engaged in diplomacy? We havent quite arrived at the punchline yet, but let me go ahead and spoil it for you: Ohio goes Republican again in 2020. Yep. 2019 UPDATE Smooth move: A thing our office is doing that I'm really proud of is guaranteeing a salary floor of $52K. It is crazy that offices are paying junior and even mid-level staffers $35-40K. When rent for a 1BR is almost $2K/month in DC/NYC, that's not a livable wage. https://t.co/XAcHfo7ONj (1/4) Every Billionaire Is A Policy Failure (@DanRiffle) February 22, 2019 No doubt forcing everybody else to do the same. Imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth! (Klobuchar could take some hints from AOC, I think.) Realignment and Legitimacy Man Bites Blue Dog: Are Moderates Really More Electable than Ideologues? [The Journal of Politics]. From the abstract: Are ideologically moderate candidates more electable than ideologically extreme candidates? Historically, both research in political science and conventional wisdom answer yes to this question. However, given the rise of ideologues on both the right and the left in recent years, it is important to consider whether this assumption is still accurate. I find that, while moderates have historically enjoyed an advantage over ideologically extreme candidates in Congressional elections, this gap has disappeared in recent years, where moderates and ideologically extreme candidates are equally likely to be elected. This change persists for both Democratic and Republican candidates. Well, so much for the centrists, or at least rationalizations on behalf of the centrists by pundits. From the Bonica (DIME) database, n = 70,871 candidates over 35 years. Stats Watch There are no statistics of note today. Retail: Nike stock market value plunges by $1.1bn after basketball star Zion Williamsons shoe breaks [Independent]. The companys value tumbled by 1.7 per cent on Thursday as it was repeatedly blamed for a sprained knee to rising basketball star Zion Williamson, seen by millions live on TV. Sports lovers across the US watched in horror as the teenager was crocked when his Nike trainer tore apart mid-shot during a high profile college match. Barack Obama, who had gone to watch the match live, could be seen in his court side seat apparently saying with disbelief: His shoe broke.' Apparently, it didnt break. It exploded. I certainly dont have any shoes that explode. How could this be? Retail: Nikes smart sneakers are breaking when used with an Android phone [The Verge]. Nikes brand-new Adapt BB smart sneakers have stopped working for some users because of a bad Android update just days after they were released. Affected owners say either their left or right shoe no longer pairs with Nikes app, meaning it cant be used to tighten their fresh pair of $350 self-lacing shoes. Self-lacing shoes are the very definition of apparel that is not Jackpot-ready. But did they turn their shoes off and then on? Tech: YouTube loses Hasbro, AT&T as brands flee pedophile problem [Ad Age]. [A]d executives on the Thursday call said that YouTube dodged questions about implementing a system that would vet all videos before ads run. They believe Google wont allow that type of monitoring because it wants to keep its inner workings private [Ill bet!]. YouTube says it has to think about user privacy before opening to third parties that could poke around its platform. The offending videos were exposed earlier in the week by a YouTube personality who has been criticizing the company for months for featuring videos of children that could be construed as sexual. In many of them, children are playing or trying on clothes, and while this could be considered harmless content, the comments sections are filled with child predators sharing links to worse content or directing other pedophiles to moments in the videos. YouTubes algorithm was also suggesting videos that featured children, even when a viewer wasnt looking for them or only viewed a tangentially related video. So the algo is working as designed? Tech: You Give Apps Sensitive Personal Information. Then They Tell Facebook. [Wall Street Journal]. Millions of smartphone users confess their most intimate secrets to apps, including when they want to work on their belly fat or the price of the house they checked out last weekend. Other apps know users body weight, blood pressure, menstrual cycles or pregnancy status. Unbeknown to most people, in many cases that data is being shared with someone else: Facebook Inc. The Journal tested more than 70 apps that are among the most popular in Apples iOS store in categories that handle sensitive user information. The Journal used software to monitor the internet communications triggered by using an app, including the information being sent to Facebook and other third parties. The tests found at least 11 apps sent Facebook potentially sensitive information about how users behaved or actual data they entered just seconds after users enter it, even if the user has no connection to Facebook. Facebook is an outlaw company, worse than Uber. Cant we put Zuckerberg in jail? (Assuming you can jail an android; the Zuckerbergs handlers have to do something about the way its hairpiece melds with its skin; theres something really odd about it. That picture!) Tech: Google fails to disclose microphone in Nest Secure [Reuters]. The on-device microphone was never intended to be a secret and should have been listed in the tech specs. That was an error on our part. The microphone has never been on and is only activated when users specifically enable the option, Google said. Of course, of course! A strange definition of secure! Tech: A former social media evangelist unfriends Facebook [Evgeny Morosov, WaPo]. Perhaps data itself could become a platform on which all the others, from a town hall to a small local start-up, build new services. Youd have to standardize data to do that. It was tried. The Biosphere A Green New Deal Is Technologically Possible. Its Political Prospects Are Another Question. [New York Times]. The Green New Deal, in other words, is an exciting idea for many liberals and an enticing political target for conservatives. But, most of all, it is an extraordinarily complicated series of trade-offs that could be realized, experts say, with extensive sacrifices that people are only starting to understand But while the scope of the Green New Deal is enormous, experts believe that the economic trade-offs saving trillions on potential catastrophe by spending trillions to prevent it are worth serious consideration given the scale of the threat, and that a deep policy discussion would help voters and other Americans grapple with the environmental threats. Gosh, I hope preventing the grandkids from frying when they go out to play in the sun doesnt cost a lot of money! Green New Deal is big, but big is what America does best [Des Moines Register]. While many on the right have responded with predictable hysteria calling it communism, fascism and the end of air travel theres one criticism, coming from both left [i.e., liberals] and right, that speaks volumes about what America is in this moment. It says the GND is simply too big an idea. As in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dubbing it, the green dream; columnist Jonah Goldberg ripping it as a fantasy; the Washington Times calling GND supporters the unicorn caucus. it has always been in the countrys DNA to believe it had the power to transform destiny. Given the frightening state of our affairs and the planets imminent meltdown, we could do a lot worse than to reclaim that conviction. Instead, we get dour pragmatism and lectures on limitations. Thats your austerity talking. Young climate strikers can win their fight. We must all help [George Monbiot, Guardian]. A central task for any campaign is to develop a narrative: a short, simple story explaining where we are, how we got here and where we need to go. Using the narrative structure common to almost all successful political and religious transformations, the restoration story, it might go something like this. The world has been thrown into climate chaos, caused by fossil fuel companies, the billionaires who profit from them and the politicians they have bought. But we, the young heroes, will confront these oligarchs, using our moral authority to create a movement so big and politically dangerous that our governments are forced to shut down the fossil economy and restore the benign conditions in which humans and other species can thrive. This restoration narrative, I think, could be greatly strengthened by recent findings suggesting that ecological recovery restoring forests, salt marshes, peat bogs, the seabed and other crucial ecosystems could, by drawing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, make a massive contribution towards preventing climate breakdown. It took more than the hobbits to throw the ring into Mount Doom New England is losing 65 acres of forest a day [The Harvard Gazette (Joe Well)]. The region, heavily deforested in colonial days, is today one of the most densely wooded in the world, thanks to forests that regenerated over the past 150 years as farms were abandoned for city life Thompson said that about 88 percent of New England is forest or farmland, but that development 50 percent of which is residential amounts to a hard, permanent deforestation that removes the land from natural uses for the foreseeable future While climate change threatens to alter natural communities and favors some species over others, development eliminates ecosystems altogether, Thompson said. In addition, he said, land is our biggest asset in fighting climate change, with growing trees locking up carbon and natural areas buffering the effects. Get on your local zoning or land use board and be an obstructionist! Leave it in the ground applies to trees too, besides oil! Health Care Oregon efforts: So why is Senator Cleveland allowing the Whole Washington bill to die in her committee while pushing these other bills? ~Tobias G., Vancouver resident (1/2) #sb5222 https://t.co/nQhOy257In Whole Washington (@WAsinglePayer) February 18, 2019 Guillotine Watch Patriots owner Robert Kraft charged for soliciting prostitutes in Florida [AOL]. Kraft, 77, has been the principal owner of the Patriots since 1994, shepherding the franchise to one of the best runs in NFL history. That has included six Super Bowl titles, including the latest in February. Hes revered in New England for saving the Patriots from moving out of the region, as well as his familys myriad philanthropic endeavors. Kraft is worth somewhere between $4.36 and $6.6 billion. Maybe when his lawyers have this misdemeanor charge dropped, he can pay it forward by dropping a billion or so on a decriminalization campaign. Class Warfare Universal Basic Income in the US and Advanced Countries [NBER]. From the abstract: We develop a framework for describing transfer programs, flexible enough to encompass most existing programs as well as UBIs, and use this framework to compare various UBIs to the existing constellation of programs in the United States. A UBI would direct much larger shares of transfers to childless, non-elderly, non-disabled households than existing programs, and much more to middle-income rather than poor households. A UBI large enough to increase transfers to low-income families would be enormously expensive. We review the labor supply literature for evidence on the likely impacts of a UBI. We argue that the ongoing UBI pilot studies will do little to resolve the major outstanding questions. News of the Wired I love taking long-distance trains. Heres why Im thrilled Amtrak might cut them back. [Grist]. Amtrak is planning a major restructuring of its national network, which could finally make shorter-routes competitive with air travel. According to the Wall Street Journal, Amtrak is gearing up to replace its aging equipment, and is leaning towards replacing traditional dining and sleeper cars with sleek intercity cars designed for quick travel between nearby cities. The move would effectively chop up cross-country routes and prioritize travel between higher-traffic city pairs. The reallocation could boost ridership by millions with the same (meager) funding levels. Which is good for greenhouse gas, at least! #131 Surefire Investigations (podcast transcript) [Reply All]. GOLDMAN: Um, so our boss Alex Blumberg comes to us with stuff from the internet that he doesnt understand and we do our best to explain it to him. Uh, hi, Alex. BLUMBERG: All right. So I have a Tweet. Its from somebody named Maya Kossoff, and Mayas Tweet says I just left a hipster coffee shop in Philadelphia, all the young libs there were sipping disposable cups full of SEPTA sewer sludge and murmuring among themselves how Gritty is actually the Phanatics son. (laughs) And theres 1,163 likes and a bunch of retweets. And uh and I really dont know This transcript is weirdly relaxing, and very Philly. The Communal Mind [London Review of Books]. Close-ups of nail art, a pebble from outer space, a tarantulas compound eyes, a storm like canned peaches on the surface of Jupiter, Van Goghs Potato Eaters, a chihuahua perched on a mans erection, a garage door spray-painted with the words STOP NOW! DONT EMAIL MY WIFE! This, on the other hand, is not relaxing at all. An Interview with Nick Harkaway: Algorithmic Futures, Literary Fractals, and Mimetic Immortality [Los Angeles Review of Books]. People like Anthony Giddens and Bruno Latour have been talking for decades about late or liquid modernity: what happens when the traditional axes of self are cut loose. For example, people no longer define themselves so much by their family name; were all singleton individuals. We know where we come from, but we dont for the most part see The Name as a living entity to which we add. Likewise we are from a place, but we dont any more expect to be born, live, and die within a couple of kilometers of that location, and we dont define our identity by our village in the way that our forebears did. The same phenomenon is occurring with religion, profession, or trade almost every traditional domain of human identity. Any one of these things even all of them might still be important to you, but at the same time theyre less absolute than they once were. The distance from one coast of the United States to another might be vast to walk, but its a day in a plane. Dont worry. When the Jackpot hits, well be thinking very hard about villages, and how to make them work. In fact, we should be thinking about that right now, and not this liquid. stuff. * * * Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, (c) how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal, and (d) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. Todays plant (TH): TH writes: Early morningAloe Vera, backed by ornamental grass. Winter in California, I guess. Readers, Im still a little short on plants. And it would be very nice to see plants from readers whove never sent in pictures before! Also, readers, if any of you have access to the online Web of Science database (which is subscription only), would they kindly get in touch? We might be able to pose queries that the Bayo-Wyckhuys review study did not. * * * Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser. So do feel free to make a contribution today or any day. Here is why: Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know Im on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of small donations helps me with expenses, and I factor that trickle in when setting fundraising goals. So if you see something you especially appreciate, do feel free to click below! (The hat is temporarily defunct, so I slapped in some old code.) Or Subscribe to make a monthly payment! (CNN) The night they fled, Reem and Rawan didn't dare sleep. It was September 6, 2018. The two Saudi sisters were on a family vacation in Colombo, Sri Lanka. For weeks, they had helped their mother organize the trip, feigning excitement at the possibility of two weeks away from Riyadh, but knowing that if all went to plan, they'd never go back. Failure was not an option. Every step of their escape from Saudi Arabia carried the threat of severe punishment or death. "We knew the first time, if it's not perfect, it will be the last time," Reem says. CNN has changed the sisters' names and is not showing their faces, at their request for their safety. The sisters say years of strict Islamic teaching and physical abuse at home had convinced them that they had no future in a society that places women under the enforced guardianship of men, and limits their aspirations. "It's slavery, because whatever the woman will do it's the business of the male," Rawan says. That's why they say they renounced Islam. And that's why aged 18 and 20, they stole back their own passports, hid their abayas under the bedcovers, snuck out of their holiday home and boarded a flight from Colombo to Melbourne, via Hong Kong. The Hong Kong stopover was supposed to take less than two hours. Two hours has turned into five months. Why they fled "Good girls" do what they're told, are quiet, don't argue or risk embarrassing their families. Reem and Rawan say they had turned being "good girls" into a fine art. "In our house, we (were) always the good girls they wanted us to be. So, if they want us to clean, we will clean. If they want us to cook, then we will cook," 18-year-old Rawan says. "The last two years it was really bad, because I just forget who I am, I am just pretending (to be) like an Islamic girl," says her 20-year-old sister, Reem. They went to school, studied hard and avoided confrontation. Of course, the same rules didn't apply to their brothers. Beat your sisters, the siblings say their brothers were told, it'll make you better men. Reem and Rawan are reluctant to talk about the abuse at the hands of their family. They say it didn't happen all the time, just enough to remind them of the rules. And enough to fill them with terror about what might happen if anyone found out about their plan or, worse still, caught them carrying it out. The escape Leaving Saudi Arabia is not a simple undertaking for women who rebel against the system. Permission is needed from a male guardian for many basic activities, including international travel. Reem and Rawan say they had been planning their escape in secret for two years. They didn't dare discuss it in case they were overheard, so, instead, they swapped WhatsApp messages, even while alone at night in their shared room. Before they fled, the Sri Lanka vacation was just like any other. They wore their niqabs to the beach and sat away from the surf while their brothers swam and joked. They cooked the meals, and spent most of their days inside. It was humid. Their niqabs stuck to their skin and made it hard to see. "We travel to move from a box to another box. From home to hotel, nothing will change," Rawan says. "They will go out, they will live freely, the men, of course we will sit away, watching them doing what they want." Their five-year-old sister played in the sand, but their 12-year-old sister, like them, didn't. She too was learning that it's OK to be a girl in Saudi Arabia -- until you grow up. During the trip, Rawan turned 18. The timing was no accident. The vacation was planned with gentle persuasion to coincide with a birthday that, unbeknown to their mother, allowed Rawan to apply for an Australian tourist visa. On the last night of the trip, the sisters launched into action. Reem pre-booked the taxi. It was Rawan's job to retrieve their passports from a bag stored in their parents' bedroom. Around 2 a.m., she tip-toed past them as they slept, took the bag with their passports, then snuck back in again to return the bag so as not to raise suspicion. "It's a really great memory, exciting," Rawan tells CNN, smiling. Of the two sisters, she's the more talkative, taking the lead and occasionally looking to her sister for advice on the right word in English. Reem is more reserved. She's careful about what she says and who to trust. They both have dark, short, curly hair and being small in stature seem much younger than their years. When the cab driver arrived at 5 a.m., the sisters say they did something they'd never done before. They pulled on jeans they'd bought in secret and walked out of the house without their abayas. It was only after they arrived at Colombo Airport that the sisters booked the flight they'd meticulously researched online: SriLankan Airlines flight UL892 departing Colombo at 9 a.m., arriving Hong Kong at 5:10 p.m. local time. From there, they'd take Cathay Pacific flight CX135 departing at 7:10 p.m. for Melbourne, Australia. They had no trouble boarding the plane for the roughly six-hour flight to Hong Kong. It was after they arrived in at Hong Kong International Airport that things started to go wrong. Arriving in Hong Kong What happened in the transit area was something the sisters might have anticipated had they known their uncle had connections to the Saudi Interior Ministry or had realized the power Saudi officials could have over local airport staff. As soon as the women stepped off the plane, they say two men approached them and asked if they were going to Melbourne. The women say the men asked for their passports and boarding passes, first saying they might miss their flight, then suggesting there was something wrong with their Australian visas. In a letter to the sisters' lawyer obtained by CNN, SriLankan Airlines has identified the men as Naeem Khan, SriLankan Airlines station manager, and Noman Shah, a staff member for ground handling agent, Jardine Aviation Services. The sisters say the men led them to another area of the airport, where their lawyer Michael Vidler says they canceled the women's Cathay Pacific flight to Melbourne and booked them, without their knowledge, on an Emirates flight to Riyadh, via Dubai. Cathay Pacific tells CNN that the sisters' flight was canceled by representatives of SriLankan Airlines. SriLankan Airlines told CNN its staff members canceled the flight at the "explicit request" of the Saudi Consulate, which had already booked the sisters on the flight to Riyadh. The airline said consular officials told its staff the women's father had phoned and said the sisters needed to go back to Saudi Arabia "as soon as possible" as their mother was terminally ill. The women knew their mother wasn't ill and were quite sure there was nothing wrong with their visas. "We allege that they were the subject of an attempted kidnapping in an international airport in a restricted area," Vidler tells CNN. "The Saudi Consulate was actively trying to deceive them." CNN has approached the Saudi Consulate in Hong Kong and the Saudi Foreign Ministry for comment on the sisters' claims and has not received a response. Hong Kong Police have confirmed that they're investigating the allegations. SriLankan Airlines says at no time did the sisters indicate there was a problem. The women disagree. Vidler says that closed circuit television seen by his team appears to confirm that Saudi Consul General Omar Al Bunayan was at the airport, speaking to the women and airline staff. The presence of senior Saudi officials at the airport filled the women with dread. They'd heard about Dina Ali Lasloom, the 24-year-old Saudi woman who was forced onto a plane to Riyadh at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila in April 2017. Her hands, feet and mouth had been bound with duct tape, one witness told Human Rights Watch. Reem and Rawan feared the same could happen to them. They excused themselves to go to the bathroom where they made the decision to flee. As they emerged, they said they saw one of their passports on the table. Rawan tried to grab it. The teenager says one of the men immediately slapped her hand, prompting the sisters to scream in Arabic, "You kidnap us!" The sisters say they caused such a scene that the Consul General suggested they move to a quieter area where he presented them with their passports and new boarding passes -- for Dubai. They ran. First to the Cathay desk where counter staff told them their flights had been canceled. Then to the Qantas desk, where they'd hurriedly booked the next flight to Melbourne, QF30, departing at 7:00 p.m. Soon after they were issued boarding passes, the women say Shah, the ground handling staff member, tried to snatch them. Jardine Aviation Services, whose staff member carry out a number of tasks within the airport, says its employees didn't tell the women their mother was ill or that was there was an issue with their Australia visas. It denies its staff members slapped Hawan's hand or tried to grab the sisters' boarding passes. Hong Kong's Airport Authority has refused to give CNN a closed-circuit recording of the events that unfolded due to privacy concerns. For the second time in two hours, the sisters say senior Saudi officials stopped them from flying. The sisters say Saudi Vice Consul Al Sharif told staff at the Qantas check-in desk they were running away, had stolen money, and weren't tourists. Australian immigration officials were summoned on the phone and after a conversation with the women, Canberra canceled their visas. "The only issues with the visa occurred when the Vice Consul made what we believe to be false representations to the Australian authorities at the boarding gate of Qantas airlines," Vidler says. A spokesperson from Australia's Home Affairs department declined to comment on individual cases. Qantas also declined to comment but a spokesman pointed out that the airline does not make visa assessments. The sisters say they stayed at the airport for three hours before asking Cathay Pacific counter staff for permission to leave. They wrote their names and a fake Hong Kong contact address then caught a train to the city. Khashoggi case puts Saudi Arabia under scrutiny Reem and Rawan escaped Saudi Arabia weeks before the world's attention turned to the kingdom and the disappearance of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. They watched from Hong Kong as gruesome details emerged of Khashoggi's murder inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, allegedly by a team of hitmen who cut up his body with a bone saw. In November, a source told CNN that the CIA had determined that Khashoggi was killed on the instruction of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, known as MBS, a claim the kingdom denies. The Saudi sisters shrug when asked if they are surprised by Khashoggi's murder and the allegation that their country's de facto leader ordered it. "We know that Saudi Arabia can do stuff like this," Reem says. "They are chasing innocent girls, not even important girls," Rawan agrees. "We're just normal young women trying to find a life far away from violence." Soon after the women arrived in Hong Kong, their father and uncle came to the city to find them. Hong Kong police confirmed to CNN that a missing persons report had been filed. Using a passport tracking system linked to hotel check-ins, Hong Kong police officers located the sisters on Monday, September 10 and took them into custody for questioning. The women say they were held in a room in the imposing Wan Chai police headquarters for six hours, where they repeatedly refused requests from their father and their uncle to see them. Police eventually drove them back to their hotel. By that time, it was after midnight and the women hurriedly packed their bags and fled. In the five months since, they've moved from shelter to shelter, hotel to hotel, to evade detection and their potential forced return to Riyadh. The sisters have not sought asylum in Hong Kong, however. Doing so would have put them at the end of a long queue of claimants caught in Hong Kong's Unified Screening Mechanism (USM), a system used by the government to process asylum claims. The UNHCR doesn't assess claims in Hong Kong. Through their lawyer, Reem and Rawan are seeking a visa in a safe country. Vidler says they have few options. Their Saudi passports have been canceled and they don't have formal permission to stay in Hong Kong. Life in Saudi Arabia At home in Riyadh, the sisters say they were beaten by their father and brothers "for a reason and no reason." One day when she was 14, Reem says her brother started hitting her for talking and laughing with Rawan. "He said that people will hear my voice and it will bring shame," she says. The sisters knew it was likely there would be an arranged marriage. There was talk of Rawan marrying her younger cousin, a boy still in high school. Reem was the first to renounce Islam in October 2016, followed by Rawan in May 2017. They didn't dare tell anyone but say they announced it under fake names on Twitter. "I knew If I told my family they will hurt me and I'll be killed. Because that what we studied in schools, that whoever left Islam should be killed. I knew no one will protect me because all my family are so religious and none of them will support me. I was afraid of them finding out," Reem says. There are no firm figures on how many Saudi women have escaped the country -- or how many have failed in their attempt to leave -- but the total number of Saudi asylum seekers is rising. According to the United Nations, 575 Saudi nationals applied for asylum in 2015. Two years later, that figure had more than doubled to over 1,200. The period coincides with the rising influence of MBS who in June 2017 was appointed heir to the Saudi throne by his father King Salman. Since then, MBS has made it clear that dissent won't be tolerated, even as the kingdom has earned international plaudits for new female-focused policies, including lifting the ban on women drivers. Rana Ahmad, a 33-year-old Saudi national who runs the Atheist Refugee Relief agency in Germany, says the jailing and torture of the same women who campaigned for the right to drive had sent a message to some Saudi women that they have no future in the country. "They look at these women, they're trying to do something and the government puts them in jail. So they see no hope anymore, they want to leave," she said. Adam Coogle, a Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW), says women whose escape plans are thwarted are at serious risk of abuse. Punishments range from being locked in their room for months on end or banned from using a mobile phone, to criminal prosecution by the state for disobeying their parents or harming the kingdom's reputation. The women themselves say they fear they'll be killed by their own families. Coogle says there are few safe corridors for women to leave, because of political pressure the Saudi government applies to some foreign countries to return "runaways" without giving them the opportunity to claim asylum or put their case forward. "Anywhere you go that doesn't have some sort of respect for refugee law or a strong record of rule of law is a problem because they're the countries where Saudi Arabia can apply its diplomatic pressure to get countries to cooperate," he says. Few regrets Reem and Rawan say they could see signs of change in Saudi Arabia, but it wasn't moving fast enough for them. They laugh at the suggestion that progress was made by giving Saudi women the right to drive. "Driving cars is not something to celebrate," Reem says. "There is a woman abused in the house, and no one hears their voice, and they want us to celebrate a car?" Rawan adds. In Hong Kong, the sisters watch Netflix to pass the time. Wearing jeans and trainers, they could easily be mistaken for one of the millions of tourists that come through the city each year. Sometimes Reem wears lipstick. She seems relaxed but has a habit of picking at the skin on her fingers when she's nervous. Sometimes, she does it so much that they start to bleed. The sisters are anxious about what comes next. But even after five months of uncertainty and fear, they have few regrets. "I regret not waiting, but not leaving," Reem says. "From my childhood, I knew this is not my home. I always knew my rights would be taken." Rawan says she too knew there was no life for her in Saudi Arabia. "When I was growing up I saw my brothers do whatever they want, have whatever they want. But for me, I should be a good girl, a good woman, to marry someone, my cousin, because I should not even dream to choose my husband, to choose my partner. "I want to study what I want, I want to work what I want, I want to choose the day I marry. To choose the man I marry. Even if I don't want to marry, I want the right to choose." Correction: This story has been updated with new information from human rights lawyer Michael Vidler who said he originally misspoke about which Saudi consulate official was at the Hong Kong airport speaking to the Saudi sisters and airline staff. Only the Consul General was seen by Vidler's team on closed circuit television. This story was first published on CNN.com. "Desperate and alone, Saudi sisters risk everything to flee oppression." MDC National Council met on Friday at the partys headquarters Morgan Tsvangirai House in Harare. MDC National Council Resolutions The MDC National Council met today, 22 February 2019 at the party headquarters Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House, 44 Nelson Mandela Avenue and made the following resolutions 1. The National Situation 1.1 Noting the calculated and deliberate State-sponsored assault on the party leadership, party structures and ordinary Zimbabweans including the elected MDC members, the national council unreservedly condemns the sustained and needless brutality and the attempt to decimate the party and to intimidate the ordinary citizenry. 1.2 Noting the economic challenges, the humanitarian situation, the huge levels of unemployment in the country, the breakdown of social services, the poverty facing the people and the devaluation of the peoples salaries and the clueless monetary policy statement announced by the Reserve bank of Zimbabwe early this week, the national council calls for the promotion and strengthening of the multi-currency regime and that alternatively, the country joins the Rand monetary union to alleviate the dire plight of the people. 1.3 Council notes with concern and condemns four commanding heights of high-level corruption by State actors in the fields of foreign exchange, fuel, command agriculture and mining. 1.4 Council commiserates with the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in the Battlefields mining disaster. Council notes with concern the half-hearted and inadequate attempts by the State to deal with this particular disaster and all national disasters in general. The council notes that the States measures of intervention were grossly inadequate considering that the government has adequate resources to charter expensive jets for Mr. Mnangagwa and his cronies in government. 1.5 Council condemns the 2 percent tax levied on innocent Zimbabweans and the consequent poverty it has engendered among the people. 2. Dialogue 2.1 Council restated the partys commitment to genuine dialogue. In this regard, Council unequivocally affirms its commitment to genuine dialogue convened by a credible, independent and mutually acceptable arbiter. 2.2 Council restates that the dialogue process must be properly and independently guaranteed and that the conditions must be conducive to genuine dialogue. Council notes that Zanu PF has a history of battering people so as to frog-march and coerce them to meaningless dialogue platforms. To this end, Council calls for the immediate cessation of all forms of brutality and harassment of the people and the MDC leadership so as to create a proper environment for a genuine and durable national conversation to take place. 2.3 Council notes the inter-party dialogue that is taking place through other spaces such as Parliament. Council takes the position that the dialogue cannot continue to take place before the preliminary meeting of the principals ie. President Advocate Nelson Chamisa and Mr. Emmerson Mnangagwa. 3. Congress 3.1 Consistent with the powers exercised by the party President in terms of Article 9.1.2.1 of the party Constitution, the National Council reaffirms the position that the 5th Congress of the MDC be held on 24-26 May 2019. 3.2 Consequent to the resolution above, the National Council hereby authorizes the party through the Organizing department to shorten the time-frames for the convening of the branch, ward, district and provincial Congresses from those stipulated in the party Constitution. 3.3 The National Council hereby authorizes the Secretary General to write the notification for the said Congress. 3.4 Council resolves that there be another extra-ordinary National Council meeting to deal with Congress issues including but not limited to the appointment of the Independent Commission to run the national Congress in line with the dictates of the Constitution. 3.5 That the National Organizing Department, forthwith present to the Standing Committee and the National Executive the template and timeframes for the Congress. 4. Party Anniversary 4.1 The party will be holding a mammoth occasion to celebrate its 20th anniversary this year. Council notes the long road the party has travelled as well as the successes and tribulations it has encountered along the way and intends to launch a book and a documentary that chronicles its tumultuous journey of service and sacrifice. The national Council resolves to hold the partys 20th anniversary celebrations on the 14th of September 2019 at a venue to be advised. 5. School of Ideology 5.1 Council resolves to launch the Morgan Richard Tsvangirai School of ideology so as to inculcate the ideals and principles of social democracy, smart leadership and to infuse a culture of good governance across all strands of leadership and membership. 6. Regional and international advocacy 6.1 Council resolves that the party continues to focus on the people and leaders of SADC, Africa, the broader international community to appreciate the Zimbabwean crisis. Council also resolves that the party continues to engage other progressive movements in the region, Africa and the world to stand in solidarity with the citizens of Zimbabwe. 7. Party Deployees 7.1 Council resolves that all its deployees to Parliament, council and to all its zones of autonomy must go back to the people regularly as well as holding regular feed-back rallies and meetings in line with the mass-line culture of the party. MDC Communications Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News Opposition MDC President, Nelson Chamisa has once again snubbed a dialogue meeting called at the State House today maintaining that the venue for dialogue and the convener of the meeting were compromised. In his bid to bring closure to the July 2018 election dispute, President Emmerson Mnangagwa called for a dialogue meeting at his state residence on the eve of his departure for the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume told 263Chat that dialogue that excludes his party boss is just but a monologue charging that President Mnangagwa will be speaking on his own. We have described it as a monologue. Its not a dialogue. That is a monologue where the President will be speaking about himself to himself with himself. We received the initial invitation and we replied saying we are not coming until principles of a dialogue are established. We have a dispute between them and us. So that dispute cannot be mediated by ourselves just like at home or anywhere else that people have a dispute they cannot self-mediate. Self-mediation has failed. So we need a mediator; an independent mediator and a platform where present issues that are affecting the people of Zimbabwe. The problem of Zimbabwe is not us speaking and talking about ourselves as politicians. We have an economic and social crisis thats occurring that need to be solved, Mafume said. 263Chat further learnt that the dialogue meeting at State House did not go smoothly as one opposition leader Daniel Shumba walked out while Alliance for Peoples Agenda (APA) leader Nkosana Moyo was restrained from leaving. Shumba told 263Chat that he could not proceed with the meeting at State House as he saw it as a Nonsense. I told them that I cannot be part of nonsense and I walked yes, said Shumba. Mnangagwa was not there yet he is the one who invited us and he delegated some guy (Nare) and he was out of his depth. He does not know the difference between a moderator and a chairman. In our initial meeting, we raised a lot of pertinent issues and we could not proceed without Mnangagwa responding to those issues, he added. Build Zimbabwe Alliance (BZA) President Dr Noah Manyika also joined Chamisa in dodging the dialogue meeting citing the same reasons as raised by Shumba and Chamisa. Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa could not be drawn to comment as she said she was in a meeting. Writing on social media, Daniel Shumba later said, The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has formally withdrawn from the so-called National Dialogue process. Its insincere, choreographed, and highly compromised process, with some political principals singing for their supper. We disagree with the process, purpose, issues and level of engagement. Clearly, no outcomes can be expected from this facade. The process starts with a predetermined agenda even before agreeing on the moderator, issues, or milestones. Its inconsequential and of no effect. The President didnt even attend nor extend an apology. Was presided on by a Nhare, who is clearly out of his depth, and following a Zanu PF script. They refuse to broaden the participation to include other stakeholders. Zimbabwe is broader than just political parties. The Constitution of Zimbabwe doesnt provide for such a process. The absence of a willingness to legitimize the Nation Dialogue renders it an adventure or circus. The UDA refuses to be blindfolded or used as an extension of Zanu PF. The Nation shouldnt expect any outcomes. After the introductory remarks by political principals, the President ought to have responded to the litany of issues raised. The President is in deliberate and willful violation of the Constitution. The Mwenezi threats reveal the disregard and disrespect of this process. The National Dialogue fallacy is meant to clothe the fox in sheeps clothes. The UDA wont sanitize a conspiracy or be part of a betrayal of the peoples expectations. Were not opportunists and wont be part of a process that fortifies delinquencies at the peoples expense. The UDA will be joining a Constitutional Application confirming the Presidents deliberate and wilful negation of duty in terms of section 167(2)(d) of the Constitution. Its time for constitutionalism and the rule of law. Standing with the people. For such a time as this. 263Chat Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News Opposition parties in Zambia said Wednesday they will report President Edgar Lungu to the International Criminal Court in The Hague for alleged political violence against his rivals. Ten opposition figures told journalists in Lusaka President Lungu was to blame for an increase in violent crackdowns on opponents, including main opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema. They showed an undated video of Mr Hichilema fleeing police firing teargas. The footage also purported to show shell casings left over from the firing of live rounds. Mr Hichilema last week claimed he had survived an assassination attempt while campaigning in Sesheke in Western Zambia ahead of a recent by-election. President Lungu and Mr Hichilema have a long and acrimonious history. Citizens are maimed In 2017 Mr Hichilema was arrested and charged with treason after his motorcade apparently failed to stop for the presidents. We cannot sit idle as our citizens are maimed by ruling Patriotic Front (PF) cadres and so we have taken the decision to report certain individuals to The Hague for facilitating a wave of political violence, said Mr Charles Milupi, the leader of a smaller opposition party. In addition to President Lungu, the coalition would also report the Home Affairs minister, President Lungus advisor, his press assistant, and the PF secretary-general. We have trust and confidence of the ICC and if they are not guilty they will be acquitted, added Mr Milupi. Crimes against humanity He claimed the footage showed police wanting to assassinate Mr Hichilema so that he cannot contest elections in 2021. Police appeared from nowhere. Hakainde and his supporters were forced to scamper and he ran in the bush for over eight hours. One thousand rounds of ammunition against Hakainde and his supporters were found in the bush. This was a clear indication that they wanted to assassinate him, Mr Milupi said at the briefing, which was attended by Mr Hichilema. President Lungus spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. The ICC, based in The Netherlands, investigates and tries the gravest international crimes genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and state aggression. It can be requested to carry out an investigation by a state that has signed up to the courts founding Rome Statute, or by the UN Security Council. The ICC prosecution can also open a probe if it receives reliable information about crimes committed in a member state, which Zambia is. The East African Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News A nurse at a Uvalde junior high school was arrested Tuesday after authorities said she sent inappropriate images to a high school student. Victoria Placencia, a 24-year-old nurse at Morales Junior High School, was charged with sale, distribution or display of harmful material to a minor. A man was taken into custody on Friday after an 8-year-old girl confided in her teacher that she had been sexually assaulted, according to San Antonio police. Phillip Barnett Burks, 34, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated sexual assault of a child, jail records showed. On Jan. 25, the girl told her teacher that Burks, who watches her and her 1-year-old sister while their mom is at work, has forced her to have sex with him multiple times, police said. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox "The victim stated that this happened last night and happens every time (Burks) drinks," police wrote in his arrest affidavit. The teacher reported the allegations to police, who interviewed the child soon after. The girl told detectives that Burks taught her about sex and made her watch a pornographic video on his cell phone while her mother was at work. She initially didn't want to report Burks because she was scared, according to the affidavit. Police tried to get in contact with Burks, who was made aware of the investigation by the girl's mother, but detectives' efforts were unsuccessful, according to the affidavit. Burks' bail was set at $75,000, according to jail records. Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County. Read him on our breaking news site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | fsabawi@mysa.com|@FaresInSA San Antonio police have identified one of the three men allegedly involved in a fatal shooting Thursday on the West Side. Juan Guerra, 59, was arrested shortly after authorities responded to the killing at 4:15 p.m. in the 200 block of Monclava Alley. He was booked into the Bexar County Jail on a $200,000 bond. WASHINGTON - Long before President Donald Trump introduced his Space Force vision as an applause line at political rallies, the top administration official who would be selected to oversee its creation came out decisively against a similar plan. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said in a visit to Capitol Hill in June 2017 that she opposed the creation of a "Space Corps," a service some lawmakers had proposed to oversee military operations in space. "The Pentagon is complicated enough. We're trying to simplify. This will make it more complex, add more boxes to the organization chart and cost more money," she said. "If I had more money, I would put it into lethality, not bureaucracy." Less than two years later, Wilson finds herself leading a similar effort directed this week by the president. As Air Force secretary, Wilson has for the last two years led a department that includes about 321,000 active-duty airmen and has a budget of more than $156 billion. Initially recruited by former Pentagon chief Jim Mattis, she has focused on building up the readiness of Air Force squadrons to deploy after years of congressionally mandated budget cuts that hamstrung the military. But her role is likely to become even more prominent in coming months, following the Trump administration's decision to put her in charge of the Space Force. Wilson's name also has been floated by some lawmakers as a contender to become the next Pentagon chief, two months after Mattis resigned in protest of Trump's policies and the president replaced him on an acting basis with Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan. Like the Space Corps idea that Wilson, Mattis and other Pentagon officials fended off in 2017, the new Space Force proposal calls for the creation of a new branch of service within the Air Force Department, complete with a four-star general joining the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But it is smaller than the Space Force plan that Trump originally conceived, which also called for a separate Department of the Space that would have been led by another new politically appointed service secretary, rather than falling under Wilson's purview. The political realities for the Pentagon changed after Trump announced at a National Space Council meeting in June 2018 that he wanted a Space Force, a "separate but equal" branch of the Armed Forces. The plan now needs approval in Congress, including in the House, where Democrats took over following the midterm elections and have shown a desire to challenge Trump. Wilson said Thursday that when the president sends his 2020 budget proposal to Congress in coming days, it will include draft legislation for the Space Force. She defended the idea, saying Trump had prioritized its development at a time when adversaries seek to deny the United States the use of space in times of crisis or war. "I'm the secretary of the Air Force. I don't have the same kind of power of the presidency that the White House has," she said, answering a question from The Washington Post on C-Span's "Newsmakers" program. "By bringing this forward and saying, 'We're going to do something different. We're going to create a new force. We're going to do it in a cost-effective way,' the president has made this kitchen-table conversation, and he has made it a central element of what he wants to do as president of the United States," she said. "So, kudos to him for bringing this to the fore in a way that it really wasn't before." Wilson favoring U.S. military investment in space isn't a surprise. The service has warned about national-security issues there for years, and released a report in January that laid out a landscape where anti-satellite weapons increasingly are becoming a threat to national security. How the administration goes about focusing on space has been more of a friction point. Last fall, Wilson signed a memo that stated the cost of starting a Space Force Department and U.S. Space Command would be about $13 billion over five years. Some Space Force proponents and budget analysts questioned whether the number was inflated. Wilson said Thursday that the internal Air Force plan included a full Space Force Department, rather than a Space Force service, a distinction that will make the new service leaner and place it on even footing with the Marine Corps, which is part of the Navy Department. By creating a service along those lines, the money needed to start a Space Force will be "substantially less" than the Air Force plan last fall, she said, without providing a new figure. In an internal "pre-decisional" memo obtained by The Washington Post, the new Space Force estimates are dramatically different -- between $72 million and $73 million per year, with other costs remaining in the broader budget for the Air Force and Pentagon. Those figures are in line with estimates that Todd Harrison, a budget analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, had predicted. Wilson said she expects there will be discussions for months about the new Space Force proposal, and possibly congressional hearings. It would be "unwise" at this point to speculate whether Congress will be receptive to the new plan, she said. Wilson, a former New Mexico congresswoman, Air Force officer and university president, already has coped with rumors reported by Foreign Policy magazine that the president was angrily considering replacing her as a result of how she had handled the issue. Rep. Mike Rogers, R.-Ala., who along with Rep. Jim Cooper, D.-Tenn., proposed the Space Corps in 2017, said in an interview with his home state Opelika-Auburn News that the rumors were "a shot across the bow" after "the White House found out she was working against it." Rogers said that he thought she had become more supportive. Wilson declined to say whether she was committed to serving in her current job going forward, and would not say on C-Span whether she would accept an offer to become defense secretary. Her focus, she said, is taking care of the Air Force. Wilson, in an interview with The Post, cited the movie the 'The Dead Poets Society' when asked about her future. In the film, an English teacher played by Robin Williams urges students to seize the day. "Tomorrow is really uncertain," Wilson said. "I don't mean that in an professional way, I just mean that you never know. All you have is today. What are you going to do today? And that's all any of us have. I try to guide the Air Force to the future, but I think any of us that [say they] know what will happen tomorrow or next week are kidding ourselves about what it means to be human. We don't have any certainty in life, and I always live my life that way." Wilson and Gen. David Goldfein, the Air Force's top officer, also say the service needs to grow to match a national defense strategy that Mattis released last year focusing more heavily on preparing for adversaries like Russia and China and less on counterterrorism operations. "The operational squadron is really the fist of the United States Air Force," she said. "Our analysis says to execute the National Defense Strategy, we need 386. We can quibble about whether it's 386 or 390 or 375, but the Air Force is too small for what the nation is asking it to do." One issue decided recently: The Air Force will buy new F-15CX aircraft, Wilson said. The decision, first reported by Bloomberg in December, will provide the Air Force with new "fourth-generation" fighters even as it prioritizes the stealthy "fifth-generation" F-35, a more advanced aircraft. Wilson said in an interview with Defense News in September that she thought the Air Force should focus on spending its money on F-35s. But other senior leaders at the Pentagon, including Shanahan, pressed to buy both. Wilson told The Post that the service needs to grow from about 55 fighter squadrons now to 62 by 2030. The question is how to get there. "Now, you can argue and say, 'Why don't you just buy more F-35s?'" Wilson said. "You get fewer of them, and they do cost more to maintain, and Lockheed Martin hasn't driven down the sustainment costs as fast as we wanted. So it's, okay, what's the best use of the money if you are adding money for tactical air, and how do we modernize this fleet?" NEW YORK Just a day after Joaquin Guzman Loera, the drug kingpin known as El Chapo, was convicted of all 10 counts in a drug conspiracy case in Brooklyn, the Justice Department unsealed another indictment against two of his younger sons. That brief four-page indictment, announced by the department Thursday more than a week after it was unsealed Feb. 13, charges Joaquin Guzman Lopez and Ovidio Guzman Lopez with one count of conspiracy to knowingly, intentionally, and willfully distribute cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana for importation into the United States. The indictment entails a period from April 2008 when their father was running the Sinaloa cartel with his partner, Ismael Zambada to April 2018. The two brothers have yet to be arrested and authorities believe they are in Mexico. If they are arrested there, the United States would have to extradite them to bring them to trial, which would be held under Judge Rudolph Contreras of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. A. Eduardo Balarezo, one of El Chapos lawyers, questioned the timing of the indictment. The recent indictment against Joaquins two sons smacks of a concerted attempt by the government to paint the entire family as being involved in criminal activity when the only evidence they have of it is based on cooperator testimony, he said. Related: 'El Chapo' was facing life in prison. Here's why he may get a new trial. One of the prosecutors Mr. Guzmans case, Anthony Nardozzi, of the criminal divisions Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, has been named a lead prosecutor in the case involving El Chapos sons. Nardozzi played a small role in El Chapos conviction, examining a handful of the 56 witnesses presented by prosecutors. Among those he questioned included Guzmans mistress, with whom he eluded authorities by sneaking down a tunnel under his bathtub, as well as Isaias Valdez Rios,his former bodyguard and pilot, who recounted to jurors bloody killings and tortures. Nardozzi also interviewed several government agents, among them a supervisory special agent for Homeland Security Investigations. That agency also led the investigation against El Chapos two sons as part of a coordinated effort between federal, state and local enforcement agencies. HSI special agents from HSI Nogales investigated El Chapo, said Scott Brown, a special agent in charge of Phoenix. And it was special agents from the same office whose investigative efforts led to the indictment of two of his sons. The drug kingpins older sons, who helped take over the reins after his arrest in 2016, have been previously charged. Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar was charged in 2014 in a case in San Diego that involved, among others, his father. Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar was charged in 2015 in Chicago. Both remain at large. The latter has been added to the Drug Enforcement Administrations most wanted fugitives list. Related: Claims in El Chapo case highlight perils of 'Googling juror' Guzmans sons were brought up frequently over the course of his 11-week trial, usually just by name and picture. But a few anecdotes stood out, among them that they helped to orchestrate El Chapos famous tunnel escape from a maximum-security prison in Almoloya, Mexico, in 2015. It remains to be seen if and when the two younger sons will stand trial. At one time, their father had seven cases pending against him in the United States. The case against him in the Eastern District of New York, where he was tried, was filed in July 2009. It would be almost a decade before he was convicted. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Twice a month, families are welcomed into the parent center at Spring Woods Middle School where they shop at no cost for fresh and canned food at the School Market. A partnership to provide free food to Spring Branch ISD families was established this school year with the Houston Food Bank by the SWMS Communities in Schools Student Support Coordinator Elizabeth Velasquez. I used to work at the Houston Food Bank, she said. I knew I wanted to bring their resources to families in this area. The food is available to anyone in the community who has a need. Many of the families served at the School Market are composed of hard working single or two-adult parent units who make minimum or low pay at a variety of regular jobs, yet find themselves short on funds to cover basic necessities. Pallets of milk, produce, cereal, meat, canned vegetables, lunch-size servings of fruit, pasta, rice, and more, are delivered by the Houston Food Bank each market day. An average of 75 families arrive twice a month at the SWMS Parent Center between 4:30 and 7 p.m. to fill up boxes with these nourishing goods. The Food Bank encourages using student volunteers to help run the market to develop social and customer care skills, interact with clients, and to make an impact in their community. Student volunteers from the SWMS Rainbow Club, student council members and Spring Woods High School students welcome customers and are stationed at tables full of the markets goods. They also help customers carry boxes from station to station and out to the parking lot. We learn to help others in our community, said a student volunteer from the SWMS Rainbow Club. Serving here gives us social awareness. They really own it, said Velasquez of the student volunteers. They tell me when they have an idea about how to make the shopping experience better [for the customers]. Velasquez shares the School Market dates and hours information with other Spring Branch ISD schools in the area so their families can also enjoy the benefits of the Food Bank partnership. To publicize each bi-monthly School Market event, families and teachers receive fliers, which are also posted at apartment complexes in the area. Houston Food Bank delivery driver Wayne Westbrook said he delivers 35,000-40,000 pounds of food to SWMS twice a month. The Houston Food Bank relies on donations from Walmart, HEB, Kroger and many other supporters, said Westbrook. We have over 100 trucks picking up and/or delivering donations each day. Nothing goes to waste at the end of SWMS School Market. If supplies are not all distributed to the families who come to the parent center, surplus items are donated to a church food pantry. We are helping less-fortunate people and giving back to the community, commented another student volunteer. This teaches us to help each other, too. becky.wuerth@springbranchisd.com There's an entire week set aside to celebrate beer in San Antonio and the dates for 2019 have been set. From June 15-22, the beer brewers and fans will celebrate the 9th annual San Antonio Beer Week 2019, according to a tweet from the group. Moldy strawberries. Live roaches. Corn in "Thank You" bags. San Antonio restaurants were cited for these and other dirty actions during random health inspections across the Alamo City this week. While these violations are unusual, one Northwest Side Mexican restaurant takes the cake as far as creative wrongdoings go as it was marked for having "raw meat with blood on a lid" and a "bottle of Gatorade being used to store butter," according to a city health report. LAST WEEK'S INSPECTIONS: Feb. 15, 2019 Not to be beaten, a meat market also on the Northwest Side had points taken off its inspection report for having a "large pot of cooked refried beans" sitting out next to a water heater for more than an hour, a health inspector observed. Ice cream shops, cafes and gas stations also made this week's list of offenders, with one health inspector writing they had observed live roaches and roach droppings at the Marble Slab Creamery at The Shops at La Cantera. To land on this weekly list of restaurants compiled by the Express-News, an establishment must score 89 or below or anything less than an "A" during a random city health inspection. Click through the gallery above to see which San Antonio establishments were cited by health inspectors this week. The San Antonio Express-News examines hundreds of restaurant inspections each week conducted by the San Antonio Food and Environment Services division to bring you the eateries with scores of 89 or below. Restaurants are graded on a 100-point system where "100" is a perfect score, and demerits are based upon the number of violations found during a regular food establishment inspection. There are three categories of demerits and each is assigned a demerit score of 3, 2, or 1 points, according to the health division. If you have questions about inspections or complaints about a food establishment, contact the Metropolitan Health District office by calling 3-1-1 or 210-207-6000. Be prepared to provide the name, location, date of incident and details of the incident. Snow In Sierra View Photos The Tuolumne River Trust will host another free snowshoe hike in the Sierra Nevada this Saturday, February 23rd. Seth Connolly, Tuolumne River Trust staff member, was Fridays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. According to Connolly, We will be meeting in Pinecrest at the Crabtree Trail Head located off of Dodge Ridge Road, just before the entrance of the Dodge Ridge parking lot. This will be a three hour, moderate hike. The hike will start 9 am and continue through noon. The Tuolumne River Trust is an environmental nonprofit representing the Tuolumne River from its headwaters in the Sierra Nevada, through the Central Valley, and all the way to San Francisco Bay. Since 1981, they have promoted river stewardship through advocacy, collaboration, education, and restoration projects. They have offices in Sonora, Modesto and San Francisco, Participants on the hike this Saturday can expect to learn about natural and human history, snow hydrology and plant and animal adaptations in the Tuolumne River Watershed. All of the hikers will be required to sign a liability waiver. Minors must be accompanied by an adult. Snowshoes will not be provided, but they can rented through a number of recreational businesses. Space is limited, so make your reservations by e-mailing seth@tuolumne.org or call 949-533-2346. The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML. "For everyone, the collective revelation of these activities have served to educate us all on the past, punctuate the changes that have been made by our Order and in society, and direct us to continue to closely follow our values today," Jesse S. Lyons, an assistant executive director of the fraternity, said in a statement. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam refuses to resign after an alleged picture of him in black face surfaced. Northam at first said the picture was a mistake and then later said the picture was not him at all. He did admit to trying to portray Michael Jackson. According to media reports, almost everyone has called for Northam to resign as governor. Northam denies being a racist and admits that he has made some mistakes in the past. He attests there is nothing about who he is today that is racist and that he is inclusive of all people. At this writing, Northams future as governor appears bleak with high-powered Democrats in his state and even nationally calling for his resignation. Did Northam commit the unpardonable sin? Do we as Americans have unpardonable sins? We certainly do not forgive murder in America as people are executed or spend life in prison. Robbing, stealing from people also carry severe penalties. Illegal drug use and trafficking send people to prison. There are crimes that carry severe penalties in our country and around the world. However, what if your employer decides to terminate you because of something you did 30 years ago? What if you had an abortion when you were 18? What if a photograph surfaces of you dancing on a table somewhere shows up? What if you used some vulgar language on social media five years ago? What if you stole a cookie out of the cookie jar at your neighbors house or took a quarter off someones desk? The truth is we have all done something or a few things we probably regret. I wonder how many people in America have been disrespectful to their parents? What about the times we told our teachers that the dog ate our homework? How many times have we let gossip slip out of our mouths? Are you really safe from the past disrupting your life and career today? Apparently not. Everyone is in jeopardy it seems. Most all of us know we have messed up in the past in some form. People today go through multiple marriages and relationships knowing mistakes were made. We go through jobs and careers knowing that looking back we could have done some things differently. We look back through times of high school, college and young adult life knowing that if we had another chance we would likely do some things differently. Is there no room for grace and forgiveness in America? What about when a person says, I have messed up and made mistakes but thats not who I am today. Is there no room in America for redemption, a new start with old things being put behind? If we can never overcome our failures, sins and shortcomings in America then we are surely a doomed society. Oliver Cromwell was right when he said, If we forget the past we are condemned to repeat it. However, if we cannot forgive the past we can never outlive it. Glenn Mollette can be reached at GMollette@aol.com. Learn more about the author at www.glennmollette.com. The same misleading promises that surfaced repeatedly during the debate over the Affordable Care Act are being heard once again: lots more government involvement in your health care will save you tons of money. Medicare for All is the nice-sounding new name for the European/Canadian-style health care that has long been the holy grail of the American Left. A single-payer system, they insist, is just the ticket to lower individual and family health care costs. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont says that, while Americans would pay more in federal taxes, their private health insurance costs would vanish and they would come out ahead. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York insists, Medicare for All would save the American people a very large amount of money these systems are not just pie in the sky. Congress two Medicare for All bills would indeed eliminate all, or almost all, premiums, deductibles and cost sharing. It all sounds appealing. (Though it is worth noting that abolishing cost-sharing actually increases overall health costs.) Small wonder that the notion of supposedly free health care at the point of service attracts enormous popular support. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports 67 percent public support for Medicare for All, with only 30 percent opposed. Getting more for less is well-nigh irresistible. But like President Obamas promise that his government-managed health system would let you keep your doctor if you like him and deliver dramatically lower premiums, these latest proposals sounds too good to be true because they are. Both Medicare for All schemes establish a new trust fund for health care financing, but neither provides any meaningful explanation of how they would finance such an enormous program. Title II, Section 211 of the House bill says it would be funded from existing federal revenues for health care. It would also impose new income taxes on the top 5 percent of income earners; levy modest and progressive excise taxes on payroll and self-employment income; a modest tax on unearned income, plus a small tax on stocks and bond transactions. Unfortunately, analysts at the Congressional Budget Office cant substitute vague terms like modest and small for actual numbers to calculate revenues and costs arising from the proposals. The Senate Medicare-for All bill actually has no funding provisions at all, though its primary sponsor, Sanders, has separately outlined Financing Options. At least he doesnt pretend that only the rich would have to pay. Most of the new revenues supporting this plan would come from broad-based taxation slamming the middle class. It includes a new 7.5 percent payroll premium tax; a 4 percent household income tax; the repeal of tax breaks for job-based health insurance; and an array of new taxes on upper incomes, including capital gains and dividends, estate, wealth, and corporate income taxes. That sounds like it would raise a whole lot of money. And it would have to, because theres a whole lot to pay for. The liberal Urban Institute and the conservative Mercatus Center both independently estimate the 10-year cost of Sanders proposal at $32 trillion. Emory University professor Ken Thorpe, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, detailed the tax consequences for ordinary Americans and projected that Sanders plan would cost $1.1 trillion more annually than the senators earlier claims. Thorpe found that if it were fully funded, the Senate version of Medicare for All would require an additional 14.3 percent payroll tax and a 5.7 percent income-related premium. Thats taxing no less than 20 percent of payroll. And again, these are tax increases that would fall on virtually every income group in America, not just the rich. Thorpe concludes that 71 percent of working families would pay more for health care than today. Any way you slice it, Medicare for All requires new taxes on people of modest means at levels previously unimaginable. And this deadly combination of greater costs and massively higher taxation is integral to the plan. That doesnt bode well for proponents of the plan. The same Kaiser survey that found majority support for the basic idea also found that even more Americans would oppose Medicare for All by a sizable 60 percent to 37 percent if it would require most Americans to pay more in taxes. Well, it would. And were talking trillions more in taxes. Those proposing Medicare for All must provide clarity on its true costs. Step one is legislative text on exactly how they propose to fund it. Then the CBO can conduct a comprehensive analysis of the House and Senate versions and project their impact not just on federal spending, budget deficits and the national debt but also on the tax burden for all Americans in detail and on every income group. A fully transparent process, with open House and Senate hearings, would let taxpayers see the real price tag, not just hear lofty promises like those broken by Obamacare. Robert E. Moffit is a senior fellow in the Center for Health Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. He wrote this for InsideSources.com. But he previously worked on the campaigns of his father, former Cook County Clerk David Orr, who this week endorsed former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot in the mayoral contest. The younger Orr also worked on the 2015 mayoral campaign of U.S. Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia, who has endorsed Ald. Edward Burkes opponent Tanya Patino in the three-way 14th Ward election. The six Catholic bishops in the state are warning against proposed changes to the states abortion laws. When Gov. J.B. Pritzker took office, he said he wanted to make Illinois the most progressive state in the nation when it comes to guaranteeing womens reproductive rights. Several Democrats since have introduced bills that would do away with criminal penalties for abortion providers, remove a parental notice requirement for minors seeking an abortion, and allow medical professionals other than doctors and nurses to perform the procedure. The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays By Esme Weijun Wang Graywolf. 202 pp. $16 paperback --- Esme Weijun Wang once slipped into a psychotic state in a hotel room in Reno, Nev. "I was overwhelmed with a sense of free-floating terror that spread like blood and congealed around vulnerable targets such as my face, the patterns in the carpet and on the bedspread," she writes in her new book of essays, "The Collected Schizophrenias." She covered mirrors with towels to ward off her own image, and when that wasn't enough, she hid in a closet, bringing her laptop and narrating the crisis to a friend over chat. To Wang, this last detail is the most telling: She was insane in the moment, but she knew it. She still saw herself clearly in the encroaching dark. In the literature of mental illness, this is a contentious idea. As Wang points out, psychiatry has a term - "lack of insight" - for the presumption that many people with psychotic disorders will not have the self-awareness to know that they're sick or reliably convey what's going on in their heads. During an involuntary psychiatric stay, Wang found that insisting she was "doing OK" seemed to lower the staff's estimation of her sanity, possibly prolonging her imprisonment on the ward. (Of course, saying the opposite would have had the same result.) In this collection, Wang demonstrates insight in both senses. Her elegant essays are strongest at their most personal - when she writes, with clinical precision, about what it feels like to believe that she's dead, or to slip the boundary between our world and a sci-fi movie on TV - but they also confront major questions about psychiatric care with meticulous even-handedness. Wang, who once hallucinated that she was trapped in perdition, is an implicitly trustworthy guide to this netherworld of psychosis and chronic illness. "Having found myself in that crumbling landscape again and again," she writes, "I now know the signposts. ... I can describe the terrain." As she explains in an essay called "Yale Will Not Save You," Wang is no stranger to either success or calamity. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder the summer she finished high school, shortly after being accepted to Yale; because of a forced psychiatric leave, she graduated from Stanford instead. After a months-long experience of psychosis in 2013, her diagnosis changed to schizoaffective disorder, then years later expanded to include late-stage Lyme disease and post-traumatic stress disorder. Meanwhile, she sold a debut novel, "The Border of Paradise" (2016); appeared on Granta's list of the "Best of Young American Novelists of 2017"; and won the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize and a Whiting Award for this collection. Wang is a sharp critic of the ways we use badges and prizes to decide who is trusted to tell their own story. "'I went to Yale' is shorthand for (BEGIN ITAL)I have schizoaffective disorder, but I'm not worthless(END ITAL)," she writes. In another essay, "High-Functioning," she interprets "other signifiers": "my wedding ring, a referent to the sixteen-year relationship I've managed to keep"; a makeup routine that is "minimal and consistent. I can dress and daub when psychotic and when not psychotic. ... If I'm depressed, I skip everything but the lipstick." These are survival skills, but also, she suggests, concessions to an unctuous respectability politics, meant to distinguish her from others who share her diagnosis. She is hired to tell her story to patients at a clinic but flinches when one of them identifies too strongly. "I was the one at the head of the table, visiting," she writes, subtly implicating the reader who has made the same calculation. "She was the one who had come to this clinic every week for the last decade. Not much was changing for her - but everything, I had to believe, was possible for me." Wang speaks at clinics like that one on behalf of the Mental Health Association of San Francisco, a social justice organization that opposes certain medical orthodoxies, including involuntary treatment. She has also worked on the other side of the aisle, as a lab manager in the psychology department at Stanford, and she examines the field's thorniest questions from all angles. At MHASF, she was taught to use "person-first language" - as in "I am a person with schizoaffective disorder" - which "suggests that there is a person in there somewhere without the delusions and the rambling and the catatonia," she writes. But in her own life, she uses the term "schizophrenic," reflecting the fact that she sees illness as an irreducible part of her identity: "There may be no impeccable self to reach, and if I continue to struggle toward one, I might go mad in the pursuit." Wang's forays beyond the personal occasionally left me unsatisfied. At times, her cultural criticism - for example, an essay about the Slender Man, an urban legend that inspired two girls' attempted murder of a third in 2014 - feels underdeveloped, like anecdotes still searching for what they have to say. In her writings about fraught questions in psychiatric care, I sometimes wished she would lay out both sides of the argument, as when she writes that involuntary commitment "may sometimes be warranted" but "has never felt useful to me" - two statements separated by a gap she doesn't plumb, which left me feeling shut out of an important conversation she was having with herself. Still, her characteristic nuance more often carries the ring of wisdom, hard won. Ultimately, there are no simple answers for how to, in Wang's words, "live with a slippery mind." But there is surely some power in serving as your own best witness, as she does in these essays. It's a theme that feels especially current, since so much of public discourse amounts to deciding whose truth deserves to be believed. As a person sometimes abandoned by reality, Wang has always been vulnerable to having her truth discounted, even when she knows exactly what she's talking about. Maybe that's why she brought her laptop into the closet in Reno. As she writes, "Perhaps I was attempting to provide evidence for my side of the story." --- Caplan-Bricker is a writer in Boston. Horry County Council recently approved tax and fee hikes that will raise the bill of an owner-occupied $200,000 home by $105.80 in most of the unincorporated areas. Inside the city limits, the owner of a $200,000 home would pay $20 more per year (those residents pay separate city taxes). The hikes in the countys nearly $600 million budget will help pay for raises for county workers, additional 911 dispatchers, firefighters and patrol officers, and new stormwater equipment. Do you think county council should have increased taxes? Choices are: You voted: Discuss this article with your neighbors or join the community conversation. Click here to get access This is the latest in a long history of problematic behavior from several of Preckwinkles closest advisers, Enyia said. Does she condone this kind of behavior and attitude? Being progressive is not just about policies, its about the integrity and authenticity of your values. This is actually regressive and indicative of the kind of mayor she would be, and its exactly why voters are cynical about politics. Chicago deserves better. Muskogee, OK (74401) Today Thunderstorms likely. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 82F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Chico said his amount of City Hall-related work varies and accounted for less than one-third of the firms business last year. He said the total number of clients can vary from as low as 150 to as many as a few hundred per year, depending on the economy, since they handle a lot of real estate transactions. Most of the firms work in 2018 was focused on mergers and acquisitions and business litigation, which have nothing to do with City Hall, Chico said. Central Magnet School teacher Jay Tang demonstrates a Shaolin style of martial arts. Tangs family lives in China, so he is celebrating the new years holiday with his students at school by decorating the classroom. President Donald Trump on Thursday gave a full-throttled endorsement of U.S. Senator John Cornyns re-election, giving Cornyn yet more protection from a potential Republican primary challenge in 2020. Senator John Cornyn has done an outstanding job for the people of Texas, Trump wrote on Twitter on Thursday. He is strong on Crime, the Border, the Second Amendment and loves our Military and Vets. John has my complete and total endorsement. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Cornyn, who is seeking his fourth term in the Senate, had already won other important endorsements from key Texas officials including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Combined with Trumps, the endorsements send a clear message to potential GOP challengers that Cornyn will have backing from three figures that are widely popular in the Texas GOP. No big name Republicans or Democrats have announced plans to challenge Cornyn in 2020 so far. Kin Man Hui, Staff photographer / San Antonio Express-News Cornyn had little trouble in his last three campaigns. TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox. Sign up at HoustonChronicle.com During a stop in Austin on Thursday, Cornyn said he asked for Trumps endorsement. Well, I did ask him for it and I appreciate his support, Cornyn said after an event promoting the U.S. Armys Futures Command based in Austin. Cornyn repeated that Republicans have to be careful about being complacent. He said the 2018 election cycle showed that Republicans have to do a better job campaigning in a state that has been changing. ONLY ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Cornyn faces new threats in 2020 re-election bid More Information Cornyn's Senate track record U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has been in the U.S. Senate since 2002. 2002 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY John Cornyn 77 percent Bruce Rusty Lang 8 percent Doug G. Deffenbaugh 7 percent Dudley F. Mooney 5 percent Lawrence Cranberg 3 percent 2002 GENERAL ELECTION John Cornyn, R, 55 percent Ron Kirk, D, 43 percent 2008 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY John Cornyn 81 percent Larry Kilgore 19 percent 2008 GENERAL ELECTION John Cornyn, R, 55 percent Richard J. (Rick) Noriega, D, 43 percent 2014 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY John Cornyn 59 percent Steve Stockman 19 percent Dwayne Stovall 11 percent Linda Vega 4 percent Ken Cope 3 percent Chris Mapp 2 percent Reid Reasor 2 percent Curt Cleaver 1 percent 2014 GENERAL ELECTION John Cornyn, R, 62 percent David M. Alameel, D, 34 percent See More Collapse Obviously we know that 2020 is going to be another challenging election, Cornyn, 67, said. The endorsement comes just a day after Cornyn sent out a fundraising email to his supporters that warned the Democrat Beto ORourke could run against him. While most of the speculation has centered on ORourke running for the White House, Cornyn said ORourke reportedly met with U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, a sign that ORourke could be considering another Senate campaign. ORourke lost to Cruz in 2018, but by less than 3 percent of the vote. It was the closest U.S. Senate race in Texas since 1978. Two people remain hospitalized with serious injuries following a four-vehicle wreck that occurred Wednesday afternoon in the 1100 block of West Wall Street. Midland Police Department officers were dispatched at about 2:40 p.m. in response to a head-on collision, according to an email from a city spokesman. When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered four vehicles were involved, and two of the drivers were pinned inside their vehicles. The proposed Pecos Refinery may be entering the home stretch. MMEX Resources, which is developing the proposed two-phase project near Fort Stockton, has released information that includes the project's status, timeline, financial projects and proposed financing. "We are commencing our equity road show and needed to disclose some information that wasn't available before," Jack Hanks, chief executive officer, said in a phone interview. RELATED: Arrington finds challenges, rewards in drilling around, in and under Midland The total cost of the first phase is $93 million. The goal of the roadshow, which will be headed to New York, Houston and Dallas, is to raise the equity needed. Hanks and MMEX officials estimate debt will fund 80 percent of that cost, equity 20 percent of the first phase, a 10,000 barrel-a-day crude distillation unit to produce mid-range diesel for non-transportation purposes, naptha and residual oils. The second phase will be a 100,000 barrel-a-day full-scale refinery. "This is a great project. It has robust economics in it," said Hanks. "I think it will be well-received, and I'm looking forward to kicking off the road show." He said the project is six to nine months behind schedule and attributed the delay to selecting an engineering procurement and construction contractor and to containing the costs of the project. "There are a lot of factors in West Texas cement prices have gone up, steel prices have gone up, per diem and employment costs have gone up. Our costs have been increasing, and we've tried to get that to be still so we can put a circle around that so we can guarantee costs and go after equity. The financing world does not like surprises. This happens a lot in project financing institutions want guaranteed prices," he said. Hanks said the company expects to finalize an EPC contract within the next week or two. Other contracts for operations and maintenance and crude supply agreements are being finalized and are expected to be executed in the second or third quarter. Offtake agreements are in negotiation or in place for 100 percent of the distillation unit's output, he said. The 126 acres of land for the project, rights-of-way and easements have been obtained, and a road has been built to Section 3, he said. MMEX, Trinity Consultants -- its environmental consulting firm -- and VFuels -- the design and engineering firm -- have obtained environmental permits from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. RELATED: Year-end oil price decline knocks petroleum index off growth track Selecting an EPC contractor will lock in the overall project costs and allow MMEX to finalize financing and issue a notice to proceed with construction, Hanks said. That notice will allow fabrication of the distillation unit's equipment to begin in Houston, where it will be fabricated and then brought to the Fort Stockton site for installation. Hanks said the company has also done a lot of analysis of the crude supplies from the area. "We've tested (them) in a lab in Houston, a distillation analysis as if it were a true crude distillation unit. That tells us what the components are for the end products," he said. He said he is not concerned about the just-announced 60,000-barrel-a-day refinery proposed near Kermit in Winkler County. "We congratulate Winkler County," Hanks said. "We felt we were not the only people to have this thought, this idea. I don't view it as a competitor." DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 21, 2019--Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD) ("Pioneer" or "the Company") today announced that Timothy L. Dove will retire as CEO and a Board Director effective immediately. Scott D. Sheffield, Chairman of the Board, will return to his former role as Chief Executive Officer. Scott was Pioneer's founding CEO, serving from 1997 to 2016, and has served as Chairman since 1999. Lead Director, J. Kenneth Thompson, will become Chairman of the Board, also effective immediately. Scott Sheffield stated, "Tim has expressed his desire to retire and we have mutually agreed that now is the right time. Tim has been a valued colleague and made meaningful contributions to Pioneer over his 24 years with the Company. We wish him well for the future. Actively drilling around the edges of Midland since the late 1980s, David Arrington really saw the area's potential in 2013. "In mid-2013, Pioneer Natural Resources drilled what was really the first horizontal well in Midland County," he said while addressing a Brown Bag Lunch and Learn series at the Petroleum Museum. That data showed the potential of the resources underneath the city of Midland, he said. "We knew it had potential, but until someone drilled a horizontal well and proved it up, then you could make a logical decision," he said. OIL REPORT: Year-end oil price decline knocks petroleum index off growth track "That was the first time someone had thought to lease up in Midland County and actually be profitable," he added. It also spurred him to sign up 15,000 leases for 10,000 acres, a process that took three years. "I had lots of competition," he said. "A lot of them were young guys who reminded me of myself at that age. I didn't get it all, but I got enough." He has been actively drilling along the outskirts of Midland, with just a few wells about 50 feet within city limits. He told the audience that the rig across Interstate 20 from the museum is drilling one of his wells. "We're going to drilling around there two or three years," he said. Urban drilling is not without its challenges, he said, recounting being on a drilling rig at work beside the cemetery in Kermit in 1995 when the widow asked if the rig could be shut down during the funeral. While that was easier said than done because it's costly to shut down a rig, they did. Having worked in the Barnett Shale and drilling around Mansfield, Euless and Fort Worth, Arrington is used to city regulations regarding drilling within city limits, and Midland's statutes are not a barrier, he said. "Ordinances do cost extra with sound walls and things like that and you need emergency procedures. That just comes as part of it. It's things you normally do safety, safety routes, ingress and egress," he said. While he accommodates the details caused by the city ordinances, he also enjoys recounting how people benefited from leasing their land to him. One elderly couple who had always dreamed of going to the Holy Land had his landman make the check out to their church so they could go, recounted. OIL REPORT: MMEX Resources seeks to make up for lost time with Pecos Refinery And during the downturn of 2014-2016, a struggling businessman who had gone into debt but was unable to make payroll, was able to make payroll, pay back the bank and make it through the downturn And then there's the South Texas woman who had been willed mineral rights by her father, who she had never met. "Her aunt tried to trick her out of them," he said. "I did some fact-checking and she never knew her aunt, either. But the aunt knew what the mineral rights were worth and this woman didn't. So the aunt offered to pay for her father's funeral in exchange for the mineral rights." Luckily the woman held onto the mineral rights. She had been working three jobs and her husband was a truck driver. When she received a check from Arrington and called her husband to tell him it was for $1.2 million, "he had to pull over because he almost fainted." What makes Midland so great "is there are six to 11 oilfields," Arrington said. As Permian Basin oil and gas production continues to grow, Arrington said producers are becoming more efficient. His company is now drilling proficiently utilizing 2 -mile laterals, he said. "We need to be smarter, more cost-efficient," he said. Oil declined for the first time in more than a week after U.S. government data showed an increase in both crude stockpiles and production and as the commodity tracked moves in the equity market. Futures fell 0.4 percent in New York on Thursday. The Energy Information Administration reported nationwide crude stockpiles rose for a fifth straight week and production skyrocketed to 12 million barrels a day, a record-high. Crude's moves also mirrored the S&P 500 Index, which dipped lower. "We're seeing a little stabilization in broad asset prices, whether it's equities, which are a little off today. Commodities are lower as well," said Brian Kessens, who helps manage $16 billion in energy assets at Tortoise in Leawood, Kansas. The inventory report was "pretty spot on with what consensus was" and production is at "a new milestone." PREVIOUSLY: Oil rises to 3-month high as Venezuela woes add to OPEC cuts Oil has rallied above $57 a barrel this year in New York as OPEC and its allies began implementing output curbs as part of a joint agreement. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said he expects markets to balance by April. Yet, the ongoing U.S.-China trade war has investors concerned about the outlook for global economic growth. West Texas Intermediate for April delivery slipped 20 cents to settle at $56.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent for April settlement fell 1 cent to end the session at $67.07 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. AT THE PUMP: Gasoline prices resume slow rise before spring The EIA data showed that crude stockpiles rose 3.67 million barrels last week, while inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub increased 3.41 million barrels, the largest build since March 2018. The increase in output is the first rise since the middle of January. "U.S. crude production finally hit the 12 million barrel-a-day mark and we expect that number to increase in the weeks and months to come as new pipelines in the Permian are coming online," said Tariq Zahir, a commodity fund manager at Tyche Capital Advisors LLC. 2019 Bloomberg L.P. A spokeswoman for the hospitals said in a written statement, We were not defendants in this case nor were we consulted in the settlement discussion/decision. It is our understanding that the clinical employees who were named defendants in the case are state employees. She referred further questions to the states attorneys office. A states attorney spokeswoman did not immediately return a message seeking comment. 3 1 of 3 Shale Support LLC Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Shale Support LLC Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Louisiana-based Shale Support has entered into a new partnership that will allow the oilfield service company to supply frac sand and other proppants to customers in Argentina' Vaca Muerta shale play. Shale Support announced on Thursday that it has entered into a partnership with the Swiss shipping company Fracht Group that will the Lafeyette-based company to export frac sand to hydraulic fracturing sites in Argentina. TIAA Bank has announced that it is exiting its retail branch mortgage business to concentrate on digital mortgages, selling its retail branch business to U.S. Bank. TIAA Banks announcement comes just a year and a half after it acquired EverBank in a transaction TIAA said would significantly expand its retail lending capabilities. Now, however, the bank is exiting all of its retail branch mortgage offices. TIAA Bank pitched the change as a way to reach even more mortgage customers. We understand that borrowers today need fast, convenient and cost-effective solutions, said Blake Wilson, chairman and CEO of TIAA Bank. The changes were making will enable us to deliver mortgage solutions to even more people, using digital technologies that enable clients to work with us efficiently and easily, anywhere at any time. BECU, the largest community credit union in Washington State, announced reallocating $1 million in grant funds to bring back it First-Time Homebuyer Grant program, which helps new homebuyers shoulder their down payment. The credit union will award the grant funds to qualified members with up to 2% (up to $6,500) toward the down payment or closing costs on their first home. Grant funds come on a first-come, first-served basis. Each beneficiary must apply, qualify and close on their new home using a BECU conventional fixed or adjustable-rate loan up to $484,350. Interested homebuyers can either check BECUs website to review eligibility criteria and apply, or schedule an appointment with a BECU mortgage advisor. "Many of our members want to purchase their first house or condo, but tell us that the down payment is a major obstacle. This program was created to address that need," said Scott Strand, BECU's executive vice president and chief operating officer. "Last year, we helped membersfrom Gen Z-ers to baby boomerspurchase nearly 150 homes with the help of the grant. With house prices remaining relatively high across Washington, we are recommitting $1 million to help even more people realize the dream of homeownership this year." ADEL [mdash] Mr. Richard F. Ellenberg, 87 of Adel, Georgia passed away on June 20, 2021 at his residence. Mr. Ellenberg was born on October 27, 1933 in Pelzer, South Carolina to the late Vernon Monroe Ellenberg and Willie McHugh Ellenberg. He served in the United States Air Force and retired The United States You have likely heard the claim that equity portfolios can't help but to be global. Multinationals account for most stock market assets, and they sell their wares everywhere. Where a blue-chip company is headquartered does not indicate its revenue sources. In a new report, Morningstar puts that belief to the test. I can't link to the article, because it's tucked away in Morningstar Direct's institutional software, but I can provide its highlights. (The underlying data will eventually appear on Morningstar.com.) "We're deeply grateful to both the victim for having the courage to report and law enforcement for having the will to pursue charges," said David Clohessy with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "He's obviously a very dangerous man, and shame on every church official who knew of or suspected his crimes and ignored or hid them." (CNN) Pope Francis began an unprecedented summit in Rome to confront the Catholic Church's clergy abuse scandal by saying that Catholics are not looking for simple condemnation, but concrete actions. "In the face of this scourge of sexual abuse perpetrated by men of the church to the detriment of minors, I thought I would summon you," the Pope told the nearly 200 Catholic leaders gathered in Vatican City, "so that all together we may lend an ear and listen to the Holy Spirit ... and to the cry of the small ones who are asking for justice." "The holy people of God are looking at us and expect from us not simple condemnations," Francis continued in his opening address, "but concrete and effective measures to put in place. We need to be concrete." For the first time in Catholic history, the almost 200 global church leaders are gathering at the Vatican to address the crisis. The four-day summit, convened by the Pope last September, will include two speeches by Francis, talks outlining best practices, small group discussions among bishops and a penitential ceremony involving abuse survivors. Pope outlines summit roadmap The Pope then said that he had made a list of 21 "reflection points" that were handed out to the assembly of church leaders. Among the points was a proposal to raise the minimum age for marriage to 16 years old. Current canon law in the Catholic Church has the minimum age as 14 for females and 16 for males. Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, an organizer of the summit in Rome, said that conferences of bishops in individual countries have the power to raise the age, but that the Pope wants to make the change part of universal canon law. Scicluna, the church's top sex abuse investigator, called the guidelines a "roadmap for our discussion," adding that "they are very, very concrete." The Pope's "reflection points" include preparing a "practical handbook" of guidelines for handling abuse cases when accusations emerge. Also included are instructions to inform civil authorities and church officials whenever an accusation is made, establishing provisions to include non-clergy experts in investigations, as well as formulating "mandatory codes of conduct" for all church clergy, personnel and volunteers "to outline appropriate boundaries in personal relationships." More controversially, the Pope proposed that dioceses and Catholic organizations around the world not publish lists of clergy accused of abuse before a preliminary investigation and "definitive" condemnation have occurred. "The principle of natural and canon law of presumption of innocence must be also be safeguarded until the guilt of the accused is proven," the Pope said in the "reflection points." Abuse survivors often insist that the public is notified whenever an accusation is made, both to protect the community and to encourage other potential victims to come forward. "This seems to say that if a priest or a nun or deacon gets accused they don't tell the parish until the accusation is 'proven,'" said Tim Lennon, of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, who is in Rome participating in vigils with other clergy abuse victims. "Well, who proves this? The police or the bishops? We've seen for 35 years that bishops often cover up, so no one trusts that they are going to be good arbiters of guilt and innocence." As the sun set over St. Peter's Basilica, about 20 abuse survivors gathered near the Vatican, where they called on the church to adopt a "zero tolerance" policy towards clergy who abuse children and bishops who cover up the crimes. Some held flags from their home countries and wiped tears from bloodshot eyes. Related: Vatican faces growing list of scandals ahead of historic summit 'A life destroyed': Survivors speak After the Pope spoke, he and the assembled church leaders watched harrowing video testimonies from several victims of clergy sexual abuse. One woman, who was not named, spoke of a priest who began sexually abusing her when she was 15. "This lasted for 13 years," the woman said. "I got pregnant three times and he made me have an abortion three times, quite simply because he did not want to use condoms or contraceptives." The woman said that the priest would humiliate her, and beat her if she refused to have sex with him. "I feel I have a life destroyed," she said. Another survivor of clergy sexual abuse, identified as 53-year-old priest, said another priest molested him when he was a teenager. When he reported the abuse to the local bishop, who he did not name, the bishop "attacked me without trying to understand me." The priest said that neither the bishop nor the priest he says abused him have answered his letters, even after eight years of waiting. The last survivor of clergy sexual abuse to speak to the Pope and church leaders said that he had been sexually molested "over a hundred times," an experience that has led to traumas and flashbacks. When he told church leaders about the abuse, the man said, they "covered (up for) the perpetrators and that kills me sometimes." "I'll request that the bishops get their act clear because this is one of the time bombs happening in the church of Asia." The Rev. Hans Zollner, one of the summit's organizers, said at a news conference Thursday that he deliberately selected clergy sexual abuse victims from every continent to speak about their experience to make clear that "this is not a North American or Central European problem." The "searing, brutal, honest" testimonies, Zollner said, were followed by two minutes of silence in Paul VI Hall in Vatican City, where the summit is being held. "You could hear, you could see, you could feel that people were in tune with what had been read (and) what had been said," Zollner said. But differences soon emerged among the bishops in their small group discussions, said Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Australia. "It was immediately evident in the discussion with bishops from Africa and Asia saying, 'Well why are we talking about sexual abuse? Because abuse in my country takes many forms: child labor, child soldiers. Why this obsession with sexual abuse?'" Reaching consensus on how to approach clergy abuse "is going to be one of the big challenges of the meeting," Coleridge said at the news conference. Crucial moment for church The summit comes as the Catholic Church is confronting scandals on several fronts, from the sexual abuse of nuns by clergy to a salacious new book published Thursday that calls the Vatican "one of the biggest gay communities in the world" in which clergy regularly break their vows of celibacy. After the Pope spoke on Thursday morning, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Archbishop of Manila in the Philippines, gave a spiritual talk centered on healing wounds and providing justice for survivors of sexual abuse. "The abuse of minors by ordained ministers has inflicted wounds not only on the victims, but also on their families, the clergy, the church, the wider society, the perpetrators themselves and the bishops," Tagle said. "But it is also true, we humbly and sorrowfully admit, that wounds have been inflicted by us bishops on the victims and in fact the entire body of Christ. "Our lack of response to the suffering of victims," Tagle continued, "even to the point of rejecting them and covering up the scandal to protect perpetrators and the institution has injured our people, leaving a deep wound in the relationship with those we are sent to serve." On Wednesday, summit organizers met with abuse survivors from around the world, saying afterward that the meeting will help them "better understand the gravity and urgency of the difficulties" church leaders will face during the four-day summit. The meeting centers around themes: responsibility on Thursday, accountability on Friday and transparency on Saturday. On Sunday, more than 100 bishops from around the world, as well as other Catholic leaders, will gather for Mass in Sala Regia, an ornate hall in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace. Pope Francis has sought to deflate expectations for the meeting, officially called, "Protection of Minors in the Church." The goal, he said, is to hear abuse survivors speak about their experiences, to teach bishops about the church's procedures to deal with abusive clergy and to seek forgiveness. In his Angelus address on Sunday, Francis asked Catholics to pray for the meeting, an event that he said he wants "to be a powerful gesture of pastoral responsibility in the face of an urgent challenge of our time." Other prominent Catholics also have described the summit in urgent terms, saying the church's credibility is on the line. "My hope will be that people see this as a turning point," Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, a member of the organizing committee, said Monday at a news conference. "This is not the endgame. No one can say there will be no more abuse in the church or the world, but people will be held accountable." Catholic leaders at this week's meeting come from almost every part of the globe, with 36 from Africa, 24 from North and South America, 18 from Asia, 32 from Europe and four from Oceania, organizers say. In addition to Roman Catholic bishops, there will be 14 leaders of Oriental Catholic churches, 22 superiors general of religious orders and 14 members of the Vatican's own bureaucracy, including the heads of 10 departments. This story was first published on CNN.com. "Pope calls for 'concrete measures' as summit on clergy sexual abuse begins." LifeCare is the official ambulance service provider for both the city of Vermilion and Brown Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. featured Courts Kirkland gets life plus three years for murder Jussie Smollett has now been charged with filing a false police report in an alleged hate crime incident that it appears Smollett orchestrated on himself. The actor, according to the head of the Chicago Police Department, was apparently trying to gain publicity by portraying himself as a victim of bigotry, which he thought would help him in salary negotiations with the Fox show "Empire," on which he plays musician Jamal Lyon. The finale to this episode of celebrity misbehavior has shocked many in the African-American community, as well it should. "Why would anyone, especially an African-American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations?" Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson asked. "How could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol and see an opportunity to manipulate that symbol to further his own public profile?" But it should concern all of us, not just African-Americans, when victimization is perceived to be a route to greater fame and fortune. And the timing of this egregious hoax couldn't be worse, as it played out against the arrest of a white nationalist who officials say really did intend to kill and maim in the name of racial hatred. Emanuele pleaded guilty in November to the drug-induced homicide of the girl, whose body was found May 3, 2016, in the bedroom of her Glen Ellyn foster family. He also pleaded guilty to indecent solicitation of a child. Authorities said he and the girl had a sexual relationship. NEBO For folks in the Burke County area, memories of massive wildfires from a couple years ago likely still linger. But fire can be a positive presence in wilderness areas, as well. An upcoming program at Lake James State Park will look to teach participants the difference. The Good Fire in the Mounts program, orchestrated by the N.C. Forest Service, Carolina Land and Lakes Resource Conservation and Development, The Nature Conservancy of North Carolina, NC State Extension, N.C. Wildlife Resources Division, U.S. Forest Service and N.C. State Parks will take place at the park on Saturday, March 2, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The workshop will be held rain or shine in the east picnic area at Paddys Creek. In the case of severe ice or snow, the inclement weather date will be Saturday, March 9, at the same time. According to information from the Lake James Environmental Association, the workshop is open to the public at no cost and lunch is included, but space is limited. Those who are interested should register by Wednesday by contacting Christina Newhouse by phone at 828-361-2266 or by email at christina@carolinalandandlakesrcd.org. February 22, 2019 Venezuela - Abrams To Make Sure Humanitarian Aid Flights Are "Strictly By The Book" U.S. Department of State, February 21, 2019 Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams Travel to Miami and Cucuta, Colombia Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams will travel to Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida and Cucuta, Colombia February 21-22 to support the delivery of humanitarian aid to some of the most vulnerable people in Venezuela in response to Interim President Guaidos request. Special Representative Abrams will lead a U.S. government delegation to accompany humanitarian supplies to be transported from Florida to Colombia by military aircraft. While in Colombia Special Representative Abrams will meet Colombian President Duque and visiting delegations from Central and South America. --- New York Times, August 17, 1987 Abrams Denies Wrongdoing In Shipping Arms to Contras Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams has defended his role in authorizing the shipment of weapons on a humanitarian aid flight to Nicaraguan rebels, saying the operation was "strictly by the book." Mr. Abrams spoke at a news conference Saturday in response to statements by Robert Duemling, former head of the State Department's Nicaraguan humanitarian assistance office, who said he had twice ordered planes to shuttle weapons for the contras on aid planes at Mr. Abrams's direction in early 1986. Posted by b on February 22, 2019 at 14:05 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page At time of writing the share price of Mayne Pharma Group Limited [ASX:MYX] is down 6.25%, trading at 75 cents. It has been an up and down 12-month period for the stock: Source: marketindex.com.au The latest news out of the company is its 1HFY19 results, which reveal improved revenue and profits, but it seems investors wanted more. Pharmaceutical companies can be notoriously difficult to pick. The same goes for biotech stocks in general. Find out how to pick the best biotech stocks by downloading our report on the sector. Mayne Pharma share price down on results, growth underpinned by specialty brands Some highlights from the results presentation: Revenue up 13% Gross profit up 67% EBITDA up 184% Underlying EBITDA up 16% NPAT up 35% Its Generic Products Division saw gross profit grow 58%, while its Specialty Brands Division which includes FABIOR, SORILUX and the DORYX franchise, saw a 213% increase in sales and 227% rise in gross profit. FABIOR and DORYX are acne treatments, while FABIOR is a psoriasis treatment. The company operates two drug development and manufacturing facilities, one in Australia and one in North Carolina. What does the future hold for Mayne Pharma? As the company notes, Like many of our competitors, the performance of Generic Products will be more variable period to period depending on the timing of new product launches, cost savings from the transfer of products into Greenville, Salisbury or third party manufacturers, any competitor launches or withdrawals on key products and portfolio optimisation. The Company is currently facing emerging near-term competitive pressures on some key products as well as potential opportunities from market supply disruptions. In essence, the pharmaceutical business is a tough caper, and frequently the bigger players (particularly in the US) can put the squeeze on relatively small players like Mayne Pharma. That being said, the growth in sales of its Specialty Brands will be pleasing news for some investors. My overall sentiment on Mayne Pharma is lukewarm/negative. I am more bullish on gold, for instance. Regards, Lachlann Tierney For Money Morning PS: The Key to Spotting Breakout Biotech Stocks. Download your free report now. At time of writing, shares of Galaxy Resources Limited [ASX:GXY] have entered a trading halt pending an announcement. Galaxy has been in a slide over the last 12 months: Source: marketindex.com.au Curiously though, it has risen in the last three days: Source: marketindex.com.au This has occurred without any announcement. Get profiles and research on three ASX lithium plays. Download the report for free here. What could the contents of Galaxy Resources announcement be? While it is pure speculation at this stage, there are a couple of options on the table. One outcome could involve the sale of a package of tenements in the northern area of the Salar Del Hombre Muerto in Argentina for US$280 million. As per its December Quarterly Activities Report, the company provided the following update: Registration of the Catamarca tenement transfers with the Catamarca Mining Court was completed on 28 December 2018. The Salta tenements transfer registration process has started and the relevant public deeds lodged with the Mining Court for registration. Registration has not yet been finalized and the Salta court is closed for all of January 2019, so February 2019 is targeted for final registration of the Salta tenement transfers. This is the final condition to release the consideration of US$280 million (less withholding tax of approximately US$8 million) from the escrow account held with HSBC. So it is conceivable that the forthcoming announcement could be to do with the finalisation of this deal. Another option on the table is that in addition to the finalisation of the Catamarca deal, something further may be announced. Its also worth noting that in the December Quarterly Activities Report, the company also stated that: Galaxy has received several offers from potential strategic partners which are currently being evaluated in detail. Negotiations continue to progress, so the Board has resolved to formally extend the process timeline to ensure proper consideration is given to the strategic merits and proposed terms and structures of each of the offers. As such, there is the possibility that the Sal de Vida operation may have secured a joint venture partner as well. Again, this is all speculation, but from reading the tea leaves from their recent announcements it appears that Sal de Vida could be what the announcement centres on. Moreover, if the sale is finalised, it would give it cash on hand of around US$320 million (sale of tenements plus $41.1 million in cash and liquid assets as of its December announcement). This would give the company a sizeable war chest to plough into its other two projects at Mt Cattlin and James Bay. We will keep you updated when a further announcement is made. Regards, Lachlann Tierney, For Money Morning PS: Read this free report before you buy lithium stocks. Download now. Over the past six months, one by one, several large investments of debt schemes of a few fund houses have gone bad or are about to go bad. These include investments in group companies of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), (IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power, Jharkhand Road Project, IL&FS Education, etc. Large investment in holding companies of Dewan Housing & Finance is questionable,... The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to disclose the moratorium or grace period given to borrowers, says a report. , the recent communique from the central bank assumes significance with the promoter of a large corporate house cutting a deal with mutual fund (MF) managers to buy time, and another corporate house moving court against lenders which sold pledged shares to cut losses. According to the report from Economic Times , the recent communique from the central bank assumes significance with the promoter of a large corporate house cutting a deal with mutual fund (MF) managers to buy time, and another corporate house moving court against lenders which sold pledged shares to cut losses. There are more than 11,000 NBFCs of which 218 are systemically important, having total assets of Rs25 lakh crore. NBFCs too are large lenders against shares often funding promoters to diversify and raise stake through creeping acquisition. Quoting a person familiar with the subject, the newspaper says, MFs are not within RBIs jurisdiction, but the standstill deal between funds and the promoter concerned has not gone down well with the regulator. If borrowers, pledging shares to raise money, fail to bring in additional collateral when stocks fall, lenders should sell the stock to protect their exposure. And, if the shares cannot be sold, credit rating agencies should downgrade the instruments issued by the borrower to raise funds. If none of these happens, the very product loan against shares comes under question. RBI is understood to be closely monitoring developments relating to share pledged by promoters. The instruments have not been downgraded even though the failure to furnish stocks for meeting margin requirements amounts to a breach of covenant. Under the circumstances, if more corporates enter into such moratorium or standstill loans, or courts rule in favour of a borrowing corporate challenging lenders decision to sell pledged stock in a falling market, RBI may revisit the rules on loans against shares for NBFCs and banks. This could include raising the risk weightage on loans against stock, the newspaper says quoting a source. Alarmed by the recent Zee episode in which nine mutual funds (MFs) were found to have lent a staggering Rs7,000 crore to promoters of Zee group and then found themselves unable to liquidate the security of listed shares for fear of being unable to recover their full amounts, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is reportedly preparing to bring new regulations that will expressly prohibit MFs from entering into such transactions. Not just that, the market regulator is planning to direct MFs to convert all existing innovative security structures into direct pledge of shares, to give at least some measure of control to the mutual funds. The MF industry has currently lent over Rs50,000 crore to promoters of listed companies against their shareholding and, not surprisingly, given this huge magnitude of public funds involved, SEBI is moving double quick to pre-empt imbroglios such as the one involving Zee. The keenly-awaited meeting of the goods and services tax (GST) council, which was supposed to deliver a final decision on the differential tax rates on real estate earlier this week, hopes to reach a consensus on 24 February 2109. This is a critical matter and the outcome will have a notable impact on real estate market sentiment. The levying of 5% GST (without the benefit of input tax credit or ITC) can help boost homebuyers' favourable disposition towards making a purchase decision. While it may not trigger the kind of massive housing sales, which the industry sorely needs, it can make a difference. The crux of the matter is the relative merits and demerits of two propositions a flat 5% GST without ITC or a higher GST with ITC. If the Government decides on 5% GST without ITC, here are the impacts on different industry stakeholders: Impact on Homebuyers Lowering the GST rate can definitely provide a short-term boost for fence-sitting homebuyers to make purchase decisions. Even a marginal reduction in the overall cost of property purchase is a respite. For buyers, it is preferable if the council decides on a flat 5% GST rate without ITC for premium properties and 3% for affordable units. This would remove the ambiguity around the input tax credit. Currently, despite a provision in place for receiving ITC, buyers are unsure about how and when they will receive this benefit. For instance, the ITC calculated on a property worth Rs5,000 and 1,000 sqft in size is Rs1.80 lakh. However, this is a notional benefit at best and depends entirely on if and when the builder passes it on to them. It is a fairly big amount for the largest segment of potential homebuyers and ignorance about the exact transmission mechanism and timeline is not helpful. Therefore, a flat 5% GST without ITC is the best option for buyers. Impact on Developers Even a small increase in sales on the back of reduced GST will give some relief to developers funding issues by catalysing sales to some degree. To that extent, developers will see some improvement in their balance sheets. However, for builders to reap the maximum benefit when GST is reduced to 5% without input cost, the prevailing GST on input costs like cement and steel must also be reduced significantly. Currently, GST for cement is 28% - the highest among all materials. Given that cement is a major raw material in construction, a reduction in its applicable GST rate will a bigger benefit to buyers. Without lowering the GST on major raw materials, builders may either resort to illegal ways of purchasing materials or, if they do opt for the legal route, pass the higher cost on to the consumers. Impact on Government Exchequer For the exchequer, a rise in housing sales obviously equals extra funds into the government coffers. The current 12% GST is prompting buyers to opt for ready-to-move-in properties, which are exempt from this high tax. A move to slash GST rates to 5% will help attract more buyers to under-construction properties, on which stamp duty and registration can be charged. (Anuj Puri is Chairman of ANAROCK Property Consultants) When reached about the court decision, Frank Avila, an attorney for both Horton and Arias-Ibarra called the fact that there was a decision this early strange and unusual. He said he filed a reply to the court that he thought would be considered before a decision was issued. This is very, very, very, very, strange, he said. The insurance industry gives lucrative commissions and bonuses from six-figure payouts to a chance to bat against Mariano Rivera to the independent brokers who advise employers. Critics call the payments a classic conflict of interest that drive up costs. The pitches to the health insurance brokers are tantalizing. Set sail for Bermuda, says insurance giant Cigna, offering top-selling brokers five days at one of the islands luxury resorts. Health Net of Californias pitch is not subtle: A smiling woman in a business suit rides a giant $100 bill like its a surfboard. Sell more, enroll more, get paid more! In some cases, its ad says, a broker can power up the bonus to $150,000 per employer group. Not to be outdone, New Yorks EmblemHealth promises top-selling brokers the chance of a lifetime: going to bat against the retired legendary New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera. In another offer, the company, which bills itself as the states largest nonprofit plan, focuses on cash: The more subscribers you enroll the bigger the payout. Bonuses, it says, top out at $100,000 per group, and theres no limit to the number of bonuses you can earn. Such incentives sound like typical business tactics, until you understand who ends up paying for them: the employers who sign up with the insurers and, of course, their employees. Human resource directors often rely on independent health insurance brokers to guide them through the thicket of costly and confusing benefit options offered by insurance companies. But what many dont fully realize is how the health insurance industry steers the process through lucrative financial incentives and commissions. Those enticements, critics say, dont reward brokers for finding their clients the most cost-effective options. Heres how it typically works: Insurers pay brokers a commission for the employers they sign up. That fee is usually a healthy 3 to 6 percent of the total premium. That could be about $50,000 a year on the premiums of a company with 100 people, payable for as long as the plan is in place. Thats $50,000 a year for a single client. And as the client pays more in premiums, the brokers commission increases. Commissions can be even higher, up to 40 or 50 percent of the premium, on supplemental plans that employers can buy to cover employees dental costs, cancer care or long-term hospitalization. Those commissions come from the insurers. But the cost is built into the premiums the employer and employees pay for the benefit plan. Now, layer on top of that the additional bonuses that brokers can earn from some insurers. The offers, some marked confidential, are easy to find on the websites of insurance companies and broker agencies. But many brokers say the bonuses are not disclosed to employers unless they ask. These bonuses, too, are indirectly included in the overall cost of health plans. These industry payments cant help but influence which plans brokers highlight for employers, said Eric Campbell, director of research at the University of Colorado Center for Bioethics and Humanities. Continue Reading Its a classic conflict of interest, Campbell said. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met on Friday with China's President Xi Jinping and bagged a USD 10 billion oil deal, pressing on with his diplomatic charm offensive in Asia following a global outcry over the Khashoggi killing. Mohammed arrived in Beijing on Thursday following visits to Pakistan and India, showing the world that his country still has allies after the grisly murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He met with Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng earlier on Friday. "Is the crown prince's tour symbolic of Saudi Arabia's pivot to the East? Yes," Najah al-Otaibi, a senior analyst at the pro-Saudi think-tank Arabia Foundation, told AFP. "Riyadh wants to strengthen alliances in Asia -- especially now with the continuing fallout with the United States over Khashoggi's murder and other issues and attempts by the EU to put Riyadh on a black list over money laundering allegations," she said. Khashoggi, a fierce critic of the prince, was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October, a murder that tarnished the image of the kingdom and of the crown prince in particular. Riyadh initially denied the murder, then gave several conflicting accounts of Khashoggi's death, and now claims he was killed in an unauthorised operation that did not involve Mohammed. The murder sparked global indignation, with US lawmakers pushing for the United States to distance itself from the crown prince, but the White House has maintained close relations with Riyadh, a major Middle East ally. Separately, the European Commission wants to add Saudi Arabia to a money-laundering blacklist of governments that do too little to thwart the financing of terrorism and organised crime. But China is looking to strengthen its economic ties with the kingdom, as Beijing pursues its ambitious Belt and Road trade infrastructure initiative, while Riyadh rolls out "Saudi Vision 2030" -- the crown prince's major programme to diversify the national economy away from oil. During their meeting, Han suggested that the two countries deepen partnerships in energy, infrastructure construction, finance, and high-tech. Riyadh's national oil giant Saudi Aramco said it had signed an agreement to form a Saudi-Chinese joint venture -- worth more than USD 10 billion -- to develop a refining and petrochemical complex in northeastern Liaoning province. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority also announced the signing of 35 non-binding memorandums of understanding, including deals related to energy, mining, transportation and e-commerce. China is Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner. "As the kingdom diversifies its non-oil economy, it needs a variety of other investors with technical expertise, including the Chinese," Otaibi said. National security is also a potential area of cooperation between the Gulf state and China. The two countries should boost partnerships in counterterrorism and law enforcement, and exchange experience on combating extremism, Han said in his meeting with Mohammed, according to Xinhua's report. The Saudis said it "firmly supported" Beijing's efforts to keep the country secure, and opposed "interference by external forces in China's internal affairs", said Xinhua, paraphrasing remarks from the crown prince. Mohammed's remarks came as Riyadh has remained silent over China's treatment of Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities in the far-west region of Xinjiang. Up to one million Uighurs and other minorities are being held in internment camps in Xinjiang as part of a draconian anti-terror and anti-separatist campaign, according to estimates cited by a UN panel. Pakistan has re-instated a ban on two charities linked to Hafiz Saeed, the founder of prominent Islamist militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), that has carried out attacks in India, the interior ministry said on February 22. The ban comes as Pakistan faces international pressure to act against militant groups, amid escalating tension with its nuclear-armed neighbour, India, following a suicide bomb attack on Indian police in the disputed region of Kashmir. The attack, in which 40 Indian paramilitary troops were killed, was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group. Pakistan's National Security Committee, made up of top military and civilian officials, decided late on Thursday to ban the charities liked to LeT founder Saeed, who has long been on a U.N. international terrorism blacklist. The United States and India have blamed the LeT for numerous deadly militant attacks, including a four-day siege by gunmen in the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008 that killed 166 people. The United States has offered $10 million for information leading to Saeed's his arrest and conviction. "It was decided during the meeting to accelerate action against proscribed organisations," Pakistan's interior ministry said in a statement. Saeed, who denies being the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks and says he has no links to militant violence, has maintained that the two charities - the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) - are vital for helping the poor and have militant ties. JuD spokesman Yahya Mujahid said the two groups would turn to the courts to overturn the latest ban. Saeed has been placed under house arrest several times over the past decade but he has always been released after a few months and has mostly been living freely in Pakistan, to the anger of both India and the United States. Pakistan has long banned the LeT but for many years allowed its charity wings to operate an extensive network including 300 seminaries and schools, hospitals, a publishing house and ambulance services. The United States has repeatedly complained about Pakistan's failure to shut down the charities it deems "terrorist fronts" for LeT. Pakistan last year banned the two charities but the order was temporary and it lapsed. India has ratcheted up pressure on Pakistan since the Feb. 14 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. India accused Pakistan of having a hand in the attack. Pakistan denies that. Pakistan has also been placed on an international watchlist for failing to curb terrorist financing. File image Pakistan on February 21 asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to "dismiss or declare inadmissible" India's claim for relief to Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is on a death row in the country. Jadhav, 48, a retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of "espionage and terrorism" after a closed trial in April 2017. His sentencing evoked a sharp reaction in India. India on February 20 questioned the functioning of Pakistan's notorious military courts and urged the top UN court to annul Jadhav's death sentence, which is based on an "extracted confession". Making the final submission in the ICJ on the last day of the hearing, Pakistan's counsel Khawar Qureshi said, "India's claim for relief must be dismissed or declared inadmissible." "India's claim for relief (in the Jadhav case) remains as far fetched now as it was then (May 8, 2017)," he told the judges in his concluding remarks. Closing the arguments, Pakistan's Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan said, "India seeks relief which they cannot claim from this court." Asserting that the military court in Pakistan works according to the Constitution, he asked the ICJ to "dismiss India's request" in the case. Khan also assured the court that the process of judicial review in Pakistan was robust and Jadhav can avail it if he chooses. "Jadhav has been charged with terrorism for which an FIR has been registered with the police that is a civilian agency. The military courts have sufficient proof of espionage and the said military court on the available evidence and the judicial confession proceeded to convict him despite he being given the option of going for a judicial review, he has refused to do so," Khan told the court. He said India claims consular access, "surely (it) was not allowed for good reason in terms of the agreement of 2008, specially for the reason that commander Jadhav being involved in espionage." Khan also raked up the Kashmir issue and said Pakistan was awaiting India's response on Samjhauta train blast case and has sought evidence on his country's role in the Pulwama terror attack. After his submission, ICJ top judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf adjourned the hearing and said a date for the judgement would be announced later. On February 20, Harish Salve, who was representing India in the case, said that the time has come for the ICJ to make Article 36 a potent weapon for protecting human rights. On Pakistan's military courts, he said the International Commission of Jurists and European Parliament have criticised their functioning and added that anything diluting provisions of Vienna Convention must fail. India moved the ICJ in May 2017 for the "egregious violation" of the provisions of the Vienna Convention by Pakistan by repeatedly denying New Delhi consular access to Jadhav. The four-day hearing in the Jadhav case opened on February 18 amidst heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following one of the worst terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. At a time when Pakistan is under immense global pressure to combat terrorism, the country's cash-strapped government has gifted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman a gold-plated assault rifle, according to media reports on Thursday. The unusual gift for a visiting foreign dignitary was presented to Mohammad during his first official visit to Islamabad. The News International reported that Pakistan's Senate delegation called on the Crown Prince at the Prime Minister's House where Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani gifted him a portrait of himself and a gold-plated submachine gun. The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a submachine gun developed by German engineers, and this modified weapon has an elaborate pattern engraved on its gold-plated components, CNN reported. The Prince is also Saudi Arabia's defence minister. Presenting the Saudi Crown Prince with a weapon will likely raise eyebrows at a time when he has been embroiled in controversy over the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was brutally murdered at the country's consulate in Istanbul in October of last year, CNN said. The Crown Prince travelled to Pakistan, India and China widely seen as an attempt to bolster ties and improve the kingdom's image after a troubled year, the report said. In a similar gesture from the cash-rich kingdom in January, Saudi Prince Fahd Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, also the Tabuk Governor, presented a gift of 'gold Kalashnikov' and bullets to Prime Minister Khan at the Prime Minister's Office here. Khan had thanked the Saudi leader for the gold-plated Russian gun. The Saudi Crown Prince's just-concluded high-profile visit to Islamabad came in the midst of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following one of the worst terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed. The attack was carried out by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad. The international community led by the US has pressed Pakistan to deny safe haven to terror groups operating form its soil and bring the perpetrators of the Pulwama attack to justice. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Sunday signed a slew of investment agreements worth USD 20 billion which will provide a welcome relief to the teetering economy of the cash-strapped Pakistan. Pakistan is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund a multi-billion bailout package to overcome the country's financial instability. China, Islamabad's close ally, has also offered financial aid to the country. Pakistan Monday conferred its highest civilian award Nishan-e-Pakistan on Salman for his "outstanding support" in reinvigorating the ties between the two countries. Celebrating the legacy of the Crocodile Hunter on his 57th birthday, Fridays Google Doodle, which came in the form of a slideshow, was dedicated to Steve Irwin. The slides traced the conservationists career, depicting his adventures while exploring the outdoors with his wife and two children. He began early, at the tender age of 9. Deft at tackling crocodiles, he volunteered with Queensland's East Coast Crocodile Management Program, to help capture and relocate the largest of all living reptiles the endangered saltwater crocodiles. The Australian zoo keeper grew up around reptiles in the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park built by his parents Lyn and Bob Irwin. It is often said he inherited this love for reptiles from them. Steve was only 6-years-old when his parents gifted him an 11-ft python, which he later named Fred. In the 1970s, he moved to Sunshine Coast in Queensland and opened Beerwah Reptile Park. Steve also was a TV personality and hosted the very popular show The Crocodile Hunter, which eventually earned him the moniker. The show was reportedly watched by nearly 500 million people. His wife Terri and kids Bindi and Robert would make frequent appearances in the show and the four dedicated their lives to conservation efforts. Commenting on the Google tribute to the life and works of the legend, Terri wrote on a blog post: Todays Google Doodle acknowledges the life and achievements of my husband Steve Irwin, whose efforts to protect wildlife and wild places have been recognized as the most extensive of any conservationist. Thank you so much, @Google for honouring dad with his own #GoogleDoodle all over the world. A perfect way to celebrate his birthday, sharing everything he did to make the world a better place. pic.twitter.com/MrKdzTqZke Robert Irwin (@RobertIrwin) 21 February 2019 Expressing gratitude, his son Robert tweeted: Thank you so much, @Google for honouring dad with his own #GoogleDoodle all over the world. A perfect way to celebrate his birthday, sharing everything he did to make the world a better place. Steves enthusiasm and exuberance, coupled with the unbridled love for fauna shot him to fame at a very young age. After marrying Terri (who happened to be a visitor at his zoo), as a part of their honeymoon, the duo set out on a quest to capture crocodiles and record it. This turned out to be the first episode of the hit show, turning the spotlights on him. Later in life, he even discovered a new species of snapping turtle, named Elseya irwini to honour him. Unfortunately, his zest for a life of exploration and adventure was cut short when he was stung by a stingray in 2006 while making a documentary film titled Oceans Deadliest. However, his legacy lives on. He was posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018. Besides, November 15 is observed as Steve Irwin Day to celebrate wildlife; various fundraising events are organised on the day to aid Australia Zoo's Wildlife Warriors programme. Sharing or forwarding images from smartphone to smartphone has become common-place in todays digitally connected world. And, while most sharing is done for harmless social reasons, theres always a few oddballs that cant help but peddle hate by sending fake images that are often photoshopped. A simple Google search can expose fake news, but what about a picture? Sure, you can search an image using words, but how do you search an image using an image; how do you reverse search an image? While not everyones motivation for sharing fake images are sinister, wouldnt it still be nice to know the truth? Well, heres how you can find out: Navigate to the image in question Tap and hold down on the image until a menu option pops up Select Search Google for this image option and checkout at the results If the image in question is already downloaded on your Android device, youll need to use the desktop version of Googles image search. Select the Desktop site option Tap the camera icon and select whether you want to upload an image directly from your phone or a URL Once the image has finished uploading, Google will display search results for the image in question So, what if youre using an iPhone? The steps are relatively the same on the Safari browser with a slight change in route. The Lok Sabha elections are only a few weeks away and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is making all efforts to retain power for another five years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The top brass of the BJP are massively promoting the programmes launched by its government in public interest during its regime and promising a basket of work to be done in future. This means the party is strongly counting on being re-elected in the upcoming general elections. Several surveys, conducted in the run-up to the polls, have suggested that popularity of the BJP government and PM Modi among the voters is high in the country. One of the viable paths to counter Modis popularity and remove his party from power is to make a strong alliance of parties in the Opposition. Talks of a grand alliance or Mahagathbandhan (as termed by the leaders of opposition parties) have been going on since months. However, it still looks a tall order for the parties to bury their differences and come under one umbrella to form a broad anti-Modi coalition. As the stage is being set for the parliamentary elections, the grand alliance faces some serious challenges. Take a look: No formal agreement yet From attending swearing-in ceremonies of Congress leaders in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to supporting Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in their protests, unity among Opposition leaders was apparent. However, there is still no formal agreement among the parties, and that could lead to problems. PM Modi, arguably the most popular politician in India right now, could defeat a fractured opposition. Non-allying Congress Also, the Congress is yet to announce any major alliances. On the one hand, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who formed the government after winning 67 out of 70 seats in Delhi assembly polls, said he was tired of convincing the Congress to form an alliance, but they did not understand. On the other hand, Congress was sidelined by the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh. The only alliances that the Grand Old Party have finalised so far are with the Dravida Munetra Kazhagham (DMK) in Tamil Nadu and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra. No PM face against Narendra Modi Like 2014, the BJP is contesting the Lok Sabha polls with Narendra Modi in the forefront as the saffron party's PM candidate. But the anti-BJP front, struggling to form a cohesive alliance, has not yet signalled at even one potential PM candidate. This is constantly being used by the BJP to criticise the much-talked about potential alliance. Also read | Amit Shah tears into Opposition, says it lacks leaders and policies No match to BJPs campaign funding Campaigning plays a big role in elections, when parties put forward their vision for the country and make tall promises. However, it requires a huge amount of money. In this case, no opposition party comes anywhere close to the BJP. According to an ADR report released on January 23, the BJP's income from unknown sources is more than four times the aggregate of income declared by five other national parties. The saffron party alone declared Rs 553.38 crore as income from unknown sources, which is 80 percent of the total income of other parties (Rs 689.44 crore), said the report. Voter trust According to a survey conducted by Firstpost and Ipsos released in January, the NDA holds a clear edge over the grand alliance. The survey reports indicate that more than half of the respondents expressed willingness to vote for the NDA. A Times Group online poll result released on February 21 also suggested that 83 percent of the over 2 lakh respondents believed in the possibility of a Modi-led NDA government after the general elections. In the run up to the Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on February 21 announced that if the AAP wins all seven seats, his party will ensure that Delhi gets full statehood status within two years. Addressing a public rally here, Kejriwal said he will provide pucca house to every citizen of the national capital if Delhi attains full statehood. He also appealed to people to not vote for the prime minister in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, but for the issue of full statehood. Earlier this week, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had announced a door-to-door campaign to tell people how the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) had done "injustice" to them on the issue. "If the Aam Aadmi Party wins all seven seats in Delhi, we will ensure full statehood to Delhi within two years," Kejriwal told people. The ruling AAP has planned to corner the opposition on the issue in the Budget session of the Delhi Assembly which starts from February 22. Former Union minister Tariq Anwar on February 21 "squarely blamed" the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for the Pulwama terror attack, claiming that the CRPF jawans could have been saved had the request for airlifting them from Jammu been heeded. "It is Modi's government which must be held accountable for the loss of precious lives of CRPF jawans as it paid no heed to the request for airlifting of the security personnel," Anwar - who left the NCP and returned to the Congress a few months ago - alleged. Talking to reporters in his Lok Sabha constituency here, he also claimed that Modi's foreign policy "lacked direction" and questioned the Prime Ministers enthusiastic welcome to the Saudi Prince during the latters India visit earlier this week. "Had Modi forgotten that Prince Mohammed bin Salman had extended an assistance of 20 billion dollars to Pakistan which has been suspected of masterminding the Pulwama attack besides many other terrorist strikes in the past. What was this eagerness to breach protocol and rushing to the airport to welcome the Saudi prince", Anwar said. Referring to Modi's recent denigration of the opposition "Mahagathbandhan" as a "thagbandhan", the Congress leader asked "what is the BJP trying to achieve by stitching allies with smaller parties in state after state". He also demanded the resignation of Nitish Kumar from the post of the Bihar Chief Minister in the wake of a court forwarding an application seeking an inquiry into his role, besides that of many top bureaucrats, in release of funds to the shelter home at Muzaffarpur which gained notoriety on account of the sex scandal which is being investigated by the CBI. "His remaining in the post would not allow a free and fair inquiry. He should resign on moral grounds," Anwar said. Smollett reported being beaten up by two men who shouted racist and anti-gay slurs and threw bleach on him. But his story fell apart when Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo bodybuilders and aspiring actors whom Smollett knew from the "Empire" set and the gym told police that Smollett paid them $3,500 to stage the attack because he was unhappy with his salary and wanted to promote his career. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on February 21 met a delegation of eminent people from Chhattisgarh here and discussed issues such as the problems faced by the farmers and the tribals in the state. A 11-member delegation, headed by AICC Chhattisgarh in-charge P L Punia, met Gandhi for an hour this morning, sources said. While confirming the meeting, Punia said the last time Rahul Gandhi visited Chhattisgarh, he had called for the meeting. "There was discussion on tribal issues, problems of farmers, recent debt waiver and some other issues," a leader in the know of the development said. Gandhi listened to their suggestions for the development of Chhattisgarh and assured them of action. Tamil Nadu CM E Palaniswamy Sumanth Raman It ain't over till its over this famous sporting phrase echoes loudly in the electoral scene in Tamil Nadu today. A few weeks ago the elections in the state seemed a mere formality. The Dravida Munnetra Kahzagam (DMK)-Congress combine was set to sweep the state with a dozen opinion polls indicating a landslide in their favour. Even charitable polls gave the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kahzagam (AIADMK) a maximum of 4-5 seats out of the 39 in the state. It all looked smooth sailing for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), so smooth in fact that the partners may have got just a wee bit complacent. That possible overconfidence was the opportunity that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the AIADMK needed. Within a week (though talks had been going for the last several weeks) the AIADMK had stitched together a formidable alliance to take on the DMK-Congress combine. The roping in of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) of S Ramadoss and his son Anbumani Ramadoss was a huge boost to the AIADMK. Not just did they get the PMK with its 5-6% concentrated vote share into their fold for the Lok Sabha elections, they also got the party's backing for the 21 assembly seats where by-elections are to be held. The PMK will be contesting from seven Lok Sabha seats and has been promised a Rajya Sabha seat. The result of these by-elections could determine the future of the Edappadi Palaniswamy (EPS) government and with six seats out of the 21 being in the heart of PMK territory where the party could help decide the winner, the move by EPS and party coordinator and deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam (OPS) to have the PMK on their side is seen as a smart one. The PMK negotiated with both sides and the DMK missed a good opportunity to rope in the party of the large Vanniyar community. Next was the announcement of the tie up with the BJP. This was always on the cards. Five seats to the BJP and the deal was done. With the likes of S Krishnasamys Puthia Tamizhagam (a prominent Dalit party in southern Tamil Nadu), AC Shanmughams Puthiya Needhi Katchi (PNK) and TR Pachamuthus Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi (IJK) also being roped into the alliance, the AIADMK which was looking isolated a few weeks ago suddenly seemed to have found fresh legs to run the course. Talks are still on to persuade actor Vijayakanth's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) to join the alliance. If talks fructify GK Vasan's Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) is also likely to be part of the alliance. In effect, the large grouping of parties behind the AIADMK sent out a clear signal to the voters that this election was no longer a foregone conclusion. In the meanwhile the DMK-Congress combine decided on 10 seats as the share of the Congress (nine in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry) but were still in negotiations on the seats for the others in the alliance such as the CPI, the CPI(M), the IUML, Vaikos Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and Thirumavalavans Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK). Eventually, it appears that the two major players, the AIADMK and the DMK, may contest between 21-25 seats each with the side that ropes in Vijayakanth's DMDK contesting towards the lower end of this range. The creation of two large formations means that parties such as TTV Dhinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) and Kamal Hassan's Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) are being isolated. They could tie up with each other and a few smaller parties that are still not part of the two major alliances but the chances of such a combination making a state-wide impact are quite remote. If the DMDK does not agree to join either side they too could join such a front. It is also possible that Hassan may actually want to contest alone to test his strength as he has announced that his party would contest all 40 seats (including Puducherry). With some help from the BJP, EPS has emerged as the winner of this round. He has successfully negotiated a rainbow alliance with a swathe of parties and from a position of no hope the AIADMK seems to now have enough in the tank to put up a fight. Electorally the numbers still appear to be tilted in favour of the DMK-Congress combine but the margin between the two sides may now hardly be 4-5%, and that is clearly within striking range on the campaign trail. DMK President MK Stalin now has a fight on his hands to demonstrate his leadership qualities and deliver a significant victory for his party something he has been unable to do earlier. This will also be the DMKs first election after the demise of party patriarch and Stalins father M Karunanidhi. For the Congress limiting the BJP-led National Democratic Alliances (NDAs) gains in the state will be important. The Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu just got very interesting. Sumanth Raman is a Chennai-based television anchor and political analyst. Views are personal. For more Opinion pieces, click here File image The Congress said on Friday that there was no place for the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in the proposed alliance of opposition parties for Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra. This has been conveyed to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), said state Congress chief Ashok Chavan. "We have ideological differences with MNS, and any kind of electoral tie-up with it would be difficult," Chavan told reporters. The NCP wants the MNS in the alliance, sources said. Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar had met MNS chief Raj Thackeray a few days ago. The MNS is known for its strident anti-North Indian stand. Chavan also said the Congress was awaiting response from Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar, whom the Congress and NCP have offered four Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. Ambedkar and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, who have joined hands for the coming polls, would be holding a rally at Shivaji Park in Central Mumbai Saturday. "We want Ambedkar to be part of our alliance so that the BJP does not benefit (from division of votes)," Chavan said. He criticised the city authorities for not allowing the Congress to hold a rally of party chief Rahul Gandhi at Shivaji Park while giving permission to others. "All city grounds should be made available to all the parties. It looks like the government is not interested in being fair to all," he said. "We have organised Rahul Gandhi's rally at the MMRDA ground here and another rally in Dhule (in north Maharashtra) on March 1," Chavan added. Viju Cherian Move over Chulbul Pandey and Bajirao Singham, move over Inspector Balram and Action Hero Biju here comes KP-BOT! To help the people and to fight crime; to increase the efficiency of the police; to change the perception of the force and to give it a human face well, a humanoid face. On Wednesday, February 20, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inducted KP-BOT, a humanoid robot into Keralas Police force in the rank of a sub-inspector. Part of the Kerala Polices Cyberdrome project, it is noteworthy that the first humanoid in Keralas police force in fact, the first in India is a woman. Vijayan must be commended for this initiative and his vision. Probably not showing the Kerala Police in favourable light, at the inauguration ceremony, one of the first questions asked to KP-BOT was whether she would accept a bribe. To everyones rescue she replied that she had recorded the image of the official who had offered the bribe and would report it. Alas, if only all cops were like KP-BOT! However, highly-placed sources spread across Keralas million tea shops have informed us that opposition against this progressive initiative is growing. There is a proposal to place KP-BOT at Kerala Assembly and a group of politicians across party lines are drafting an objection note against this move. This group feels that they will be denied entry into the House because KP-BOT has a feature that can identify criminals and sound an alarm! How can any news in Kerala be complete without mention of a hartal! The above mentioned sources have also informed us that there are likely to be four sets of protests across Kerala. The first protest will be by the Kerala Union of Moustache-Twirling Policemen against the governments decision to assign KP-BOT as a woman. As it is, in Kerala the number of women are more than that of men. To balance the equation KP-BOT must be a man, said Meesha Raghavan, the president of KUMTP. The second protest will be by Keralas Revolutionary Democratic Party (RDP) against computers and technology taking away jobs in Kerala. The RDPs main rival, the Indian National Secular Party (INSP), is likely to back this protest. The third protest is by the trade unions across Kerala demanding better working conditions for KP-BOT. In the long list of demands, the prominent ones are: reducing the working hours of KP-BOT, better working conditions with air-conditions to reduce CPU heating, gratuity, timely updates and promotions, etc. The fourth protest, and one that is expected to be the biggest, is by social media activists. They are yet to decide the reason for calling the protest, and are likely to come up with a reason soon. This is expected to be a Bharat Bandh observed in Kerala. Other groups, which highly respect women and their fundamental rights, are likely to extend support. Its a long way before Keralas Robocop says The name is BOT, KP-BOT and ask the bartender to give her pina colada with extra tender coconut water, or before she walks through walls and busts Kochis criminal gangs infamously called Quotation Groups, meaning that for the right price quoted these anti-socials would take a hit job. Till then you can find KP-BOT at the reception desk at the police headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the states capital. Now thats a prize posting! (Disclaimer: Resemblance to any fictional characters is intentional and not coincidental.) Russian President Vladimir Putin Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia is militarily ready for a Cuban Missile-style crisis if the United States wanted one and threatened to place hypersonic nuclear missiles on ships or submarines near US territorial waters. The Cuban Missile Crisis erupted in 1962 when Moscow responded to a US missile deployment in Turkey by sending ballistic missiles to Cuba, sparking a standoff that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. More than five decades on, tensions are rising again over Russian fears that the United States might deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe, as a landmark Cold War-era arms-control treaty unravels. Putin's comments, made to Russian media late on February 20, follow his warning that Moscow will match any US move to deploy new missiles closer to Russia by stationing its own missiles closer to the United States or by deploying faster missiles or both. Putin detailed his warning for the first time, saying Russia could deploy hypersonic missiles on ships and submarines which could lurk outside U.S. territorial waters if Washington now moved to deploy intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe. "(We're talking about) naval delivery vehicles: submarines or surface ships. And we can put them, given the speed and range (of our missiles)... in neutral waters. Plus they are not stationary, they move and they will have to find them," Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript. "You work it out: Mach nine (the speed of the missiles) and over 1,000 km (their range)." TREATY VIOLATIONS The State Department dismissed Putin's earlier warning as propaganda, saying it was designed to divert attention from what Washington alleges are Moscow's violations of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. It referred queries about Putin's latest remarks to the Pentagon, which did not immediately respond. The INF pact bans Russia and the United States from stationing short- and intermediate-range land-based missiles in Europe. Washington announced on Feb. 1 it will withdraw from the treaty in six months unless Moscow ends its alleged violations. Analyst Kingston Reif of the Arms Control Association think tank said Putin may be seeking to signal that Russia can keep up with the United States, to distract from its internal problems or to deflect blame for the parlous state of the INF treaty. "He may also be trying to send the message that, look, neither side should want this world (of a new arms race) so we should sit down and resume discussions," Reif said. Putin has said he does not want an arms race but would have no choice but to act if Washington deployed new missiles in Europe, some of which he says could strike Moscow within 10 to 12 minutes. The United States does not currently have ground-based intermediate-range nuclear missiles that it could place in Europe but could develop and deploy them if the INF treaty collapses. Putin said his naval response to such a move would mean Russia could strike the United States faster than U.S. missiles deployed in Europe could hit Moscow because the flight time would be shorter. "It (the calculation) would not be in their favour, at least as things stand today. That's for sure." said Putin. Relations between Moscow and Washington were strained, he added, but the tensions were not comparable to those of the Cuban Missile Crisis. "They (the tensions) are not a reason to ratchet up confrontation to the levels of the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960s. In any case that's not what we want," said Putin. "If someone wants that, well OK they are welcome. I have set out today what that would mean. Let them count (the missile flight times)." Separately, Washington said on February 21 that it was carrying out an observation flight over Russia under the Open Skies Treaty, the first one since 2017. In a statement, the Pentagon said an unarmed OC-135B aircraft was being used and Russia was aware of the flight. US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet one-on-one and spend substantial amount of time together next week when the two leaders meet in Hanoi, Vietnam, the White House said on February 21. Trump and Kim are meeting for their second summit on February 27 and 28. The first one was on June 12 in Singapore, which was part of the president's effort to improve his country's relationship with North Korea and ultimately have a denuclearised state. "There will be opportunities for the two leaders to see one another one-on-one, to share a meal and indeed for expanded meetings of their respective delegations in laying out the objectives (which) is ultimately about denuclearisation of North Korea, a senior administration official told reporters during a conference call. "That is what was agreed already between the two sides and that is the overriding goal that President Trump is seeking to achieve with this summit," the official said, who spoke with reporters on condition of anonymity. This is an important step towards that ultimate goal, the official noted. "After breaking the ice with Kim in some aspects in June, Trump is also looking to talk in depth about the kind of future that North Korea could enjoy if it follows through on its commitment to the final and full of denuclearisation," the official said. Trump would be accompanied by his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and several of his top aides for the second summit meeting with the North Korean leader. Hundreds of reporters are travelling to Hanoi to cover the much-anticipated summit. Officials from the two countries are still negotiating on the text of the agreement or the joint statement that could be issued after the conclusion of the talks between the two leaders next week, another senior administration official said, responding to a poser. "We are in the midst of negotiating some issues and as is often the case in these negotiations nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. And in this case, I would not want to mention any of the specifics except that we will be closely engaged with the North Korean delegations right up until the president arrives for the summit next week," a third official said. The official noted that the talks are an effort towards denuclearisation of North Korea. At the same time, he cautioned that nothing was guaranteed as of now. "I don't know if North Korea has made the choice yet to denuclearise but the reason why we are engaged in this is because we believe there's a possibility that North Korea could make the choice to fully denuclearise and that is why the president has assigned such a priority to engaging with him (Kim)," the official said. One of the frustrating things about intelligence assessments is that they are reported completely divorced from policy, the official said. "It is not that the North Koreans are advancing their weapons of mass destruction programme despite our diplomacy. Our diplomacy is precisely because of what the North Koreans are doing and this is why the president has placed such a high priority on convincing the North Koreans to make a different set of choices," he said. The Congress has appointed Lt General (retired) DS Hooda, who oversaw the surgical strike in September 2016, to head a task force on national security. Congress President Rahul Gandhi met Lt Gen Hooda on February 21 in order to discuss the functioning of the task force. Gandhi also met a group of experts to chalk out effective strategies to guard the border. Lt Gen DS Hooda(retd): They (Congress) rqstd me if I could lead a Task Force which will look at our National Security challenges, internal & external, & come out with a vision document that should guide our diplomatic & security policies, say for over a period of the next 5 yrs. pic.twitter.com/wtIz5lLIlh ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2019 Lt Gen Hooda told news agency ANI that he would be happy to take up the offer: Earlier on February 21, the Congress had accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being insensitive to the Pulwama attack, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was shooting for a documentary in Uttarakhands Jim Corbett National Park on the evening of February 14, when the Pulwama terror attack had taken place in the afternoon of the same day. For the Congress to appoint Lt Gen Hooda to head a panel on national security is somewhat hypocritical, if not ironical, considering the number of times the Grand Old Party has dismissed and discredited the surgical strike. The surgical strike was a retaliatory measure taken by the NDA government on the intervening night of September 29 -30, 2016 in response to the Uri attack that had killed 17 Indian soldiers in the same year. The Congress has, however, repeatedly asked for its proof, even claiming that it was fake. President of the Mumbai Congress, Sanjay Nirupam, had at that time tweeted, Every Indian wants Surgical Strikes against Pakistan but not a fake one to extract just political benefit by BJP. After he was slammed for his tweet, he had offered a clarification saying, "I'm not saying you release all video footage, I don't think so either... as it may not be in the interest of national security... but there is a need to show some proof." Striking a similar note, former finance minister P Chidambaram had said, UPA did PoK strikes too, but it is up to the present government to give proof of the surgical strikes. The much-hyped surgical strike on last Wednesday night was not the only time that Army had crossed the LoC to take punitive action. Meanwhile, Pakistan has always maintained the narrative that no such attack by the Indian army had taken place. To this, Congress national spokesperson Anand Sharma urged PM Modi to "expose" Pakistan by putting forth credible evidence about the surgical strikes. He had said, "The government must expose Pakistan's denial. It has all the tools and instruments to do so. However, this is what Rahul Gandhi, the vice-president of the party at that time, had said in the aftermath of the surgical strike "Jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai which roughly translates to You [Modi] are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong. In fact, Gandhi had reiterated this sentiment in as recent as December 2018, accusing PM Modi for using surgical strikes for political capital. Spoken like a true soldier General. India is so proud of you. Mr 36 has absolutely no shame in using our military as a personal asset. He used the surgical strikes for political capital and the Rafale deal to increase Anil Ambanis real capital by 30,000 Cr. #SurgicalStrike https://t.co/IotXWBsIih Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 8, 2018 Reacting to Congress move of appointing Lt Gen Hooda, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, It is a belated and grudging recognition and acceptance of the surgical strikes of 2016 with which the General was intrinsically associated. Narendra Modi and Amit Shah (Image: NW18 Creative) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is hoping to make electoral gains in the eastern, southern and Northeastern regions of the country in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. For the BJP, these gains would help offset some of the losses it is expected to face in the Hindi heartland states. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Narendra Modi-led party swept through the Hindi-speaking belt. Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chandigarh and the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi have a total of 226 parliamentary seats. The BJP won 191 of these seats in the previous parliamentary election. Its partners from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 11 seats there. In December 2018, Congress was able to wrest Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan from the BJP in one-on-one contests in the assembly elections largely banking local anti-incumbency and agrarian distress. The saffron party is now facing similar anti-incumbency in many other northern states, leading observers to believe that it is likely to face substantial losses. Experts also highlight that the lack of a Modi wave that had swelled BJPs vote share in 2014. Opinion polls concur with these observations. Multiple polls have predicted BJP facing heavy losses in the Hindi-speaking belt. The Samajwadi Party (SP)-Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) alliance could cut down BJPs tally to half in Uttar Pradesh alone, the surveys show. The East and Northeast has been untapped regions for the BJP as far as parliamentary constituencies are concerned. So, it is here that the saffron party is desperate to make gains. The region, comprising Odisha, West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, has a total of 88 seats. The BJP had won just 11 of these Lok Sabha seats in 2014. The BJP has traditionally been a no-player in the Northeast. After Independence, many of the states in the region had Congress-led governments. Subsequently, regional parties sprang banking on regional identities and local issues. The BJP has historically had negligible support in the Northeast. The BJP did not have an organisation in the region as it has in many of Indias states. It relied on regional parties for support. In fact, in the 2014 Assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh, BJP won only 11 out of the 42 seats it contested in the 60-member assembly. With 42 seats, Congress registered a comfortable win. In Sikkim, it failed to win a single seat in the 2014 Assembly polls just like the Congress. Also read - BJP's Look East policy | Odisha: Saffron party stands to gain as CM Naveen Patnaik battles anti-incumbency The sun rises in the east However, in 2016, the BJP launched a massive campaign in Assam banking on the three-term anti-incumbency against Congress chief minister Tarun Gogoi. The saffron party managed to register a historic victory along with its allies. It was also able to form a government in Arunachal Pradesh after many Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) there defected from the Congress. With the help of allies, it was able to oust yet another three-term chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh. In the first half of 2018, the party formed governments in Meghalaya and Nagaland along with its allies and single-handedly displaced Manik Sarkar-led Left government in Tripura. Left had held power in the state since 1993. In December 2018, BJPs dream of Congress-mukt Northeast was realised when the MNF trumped Congress in Mizoram. The party structure has swelled rapidly since in most of these states. BJP has been gaining ground in the Northeast states in both parliamentary and assembly elections. The saffron party has not gained at the cost of the regional parties, but also the Congress which is the other national party there. According to a report by India Spend, Congress vote share in six Northeastern states (Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur) fell by 13.4 percent between 2014 and March 2018. In the same period, BJPs average vote share ballooned from under 4 percent to above 23 percent. The report also suggests that from an average seat share of 1.5 seats in six state elections between 2009 and 2014, BJPs average tally jumped to 23.5 seats there. Mergers and acquisitions To enter the Northeast, BJP deployed the mergers and acquisition strategy. Since 2014, the saffron party has actively formed alliances in the region. The efforts culminated in formation of the Northeast Democratic Alliance (NEDA) in 2016. NEDAs key members are the Bodoland People's Front (BPP), Ganashakti Party, Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), Manipur Democratic People's Front (MDPF), Manipur Peoples Party (MPP), Mizo National Front (MNF), Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), National People's Party (NPP) and Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF). Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) was part of the alliance till January 2019 while People's Party of Arunachal (PPA) was subsumed by BJP in December 2016. However, some of these parties have at times fought local and assembly elections separately. For example, the MNF and the BJP contested the 2018 Mizoram Assembly elections separately. The eight states have a total of 25 seats. With all of Northeast being governed by the BJP or its allies, the saffron party is hoping to win a significant number. Assam, with a total of 14 seats, is at the heart of BJPs Northeast strategy. Besides winning seven seats in 2014, the party had finished second in five constituencies (Karimganj, Silchar, Autonomous District, Barpeta and Kaliabor). Interestingly, the margin of loss was less than 10 percent in four of these constituencies. In Arunachal Pradesh, BJP won one seat and lost the other with a margin of less than 5 percent. The Republic TV-CVoter opinion poll in December 2018 showed NDA improving its tally, winning nine seats in Assam. However, in the January 2019 survey, the alliances tally fell to six. UPAs tally during the same period grew from four to seven. The sharp drop in BJPs favourability there may have been caused by the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. The contentious issue, which witnessed widespread protests in recent months, has visibly swung the mood in the Northeast. Under fear that voters might desert them because of their proximity to the BJP, many partners are threatening to quit the NDA. The Citizenship conundrum BJP has been pushing for The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill that seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal immigrants (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan) eligible for Indian citizenship. The move witnessed severe opposition in the region, especially in Assam. Also read: EXPLAINER | Citizenship (Amendment) Bills key question: Why are some illegal immigrants more equal than others? H Srikanth, professor of political science at the North-Eastern Hill University, told Moneycontrol: The legal and illegal migration that took place during colonial and post-colonial periods have generated so much of fear psychosis among the local inhabitants (in the region), who call themselves indigenous people or the natives, that they spontaneously unite to protect what they consider to be their regional and native interests. As a result, there is a movement against the Bill being led by civil society organisations, students and native intellectuals. Addressing a rally in Assam on February 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the citizenship bill will in no way cause harm to the regions interest. Assam Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) member stop a train during a protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill near Kamakhya Junction railway station, in Guwahati, Assam. (Image: PTI) Modi reiterated that BJP was committed to implement the 36-year old Assam Accord. The comments came on the day Modi was shown blag flags by protesters belonging to the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP) while he was on his way to the airport in Guwahati. Passing of the bill in Lok Sabha in the Winter Session had forced one of its allies the AGP to quit NDA. Meghalayas UDP also quit the alliance over the bill. NPP and MNF continue to oppose the bill. No regional party, irrespective of whether they support BJP or Congress at the national level, can dare to take a stand against the wishes of the local communities. As is evident, the AGP and the NCP came out openly against the Citizenship Bill, Srikanth said. As the bill was already passed in Lok Sabha, it only had to be pushed through Rajya Sabha. However, as the 16th Lok Sabha concluded its final scheduled sitting on February 13, the bill now stands to officially lapse on June 3. While the bill was under consideration in the Upper House, Srikanth said, As such, if the Rajya Sabha passes the Bill, the Northeastern states may experience Assam Agitation-like situation in the entire region. Some of the local BJP leaders in the Northeast states had taken a stand against the bill fearing desertions. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, belonging to the BJP, has come under pressure to push his party to withdraw the bill. Yet, the BJP has not backed down on the bill. In fact, BJP national president Amit Shah has said they would re-introduce the bill if they retain power. Some experts believe that the Bills pros for the BJP in West Bengal and pockets of Northeast outweigh the cons. The Citizenship Bill is an integral part of BJPs overall agenda to turn India into Hindustan. They expect the Bill to get support across the country, although they know they would meet resistance in the Northeastern states, Srikanth said. Also read - BJP's Look East policy | West Bengal: Saffron party all set to take on Mamata Banerjee's TMC head-on Even here, the BJP leaders are trying to convince the locals in Assam that it helps to increase the Hindu population and helps in reducing the percentage of Bengali Muslims, thus protecting the locals against the so called Bangladeshis, Srikanth added. Srikanth feels that this logic, however, does not hold with the Assamese who do not want to see any difference between Bengali Hindu or Bengali Muslim migrants/refugees. Similarly, to the tribal communities in the hill states, who are mostly Christians, it does not matter whether the outsider is a Hindu or a Muslim, to them both are Dhkars (foreigners). Asked why the BJP had pushed for the bill even as it stared at losses in the Northeast, Partha Das, psephologist and analyst at political consultancy Chanakyya, told Moneycontrol that the move was driven by ideology. There seems to be no electoral strategy behind this. This is only ideological just like the Ram Mandir issue, Das said. Srikanth said while the resistance may not make much of difference to BJP, as the total number of Lok Sabha seats from the Northeast are just 25, in the event of no national party gaining majority, the seats from the Northeast do matter. Not all losses, some gains According to Srikanth, while the sentiments against the Bill are strong among Assamese and the tribals, there is support for the Bill among the Hindu Bengalis who are in substantial numbers in Tripura and in Assams Barak valley region. This may help BJP in fetching some seats in Tripura and in the Hindu Bengali-dominated areas of Assam such as the Barak Valley, where many Bengali families did not find their names cleared in the NRC (National Register of Citizens) report, Srikanth suggested. Srikanth added that medias focus has been more on the Bills resistance and the considerable support that it enjoys among migrants and minorities of the region has been ignored. File image of BJP President Amit Shah, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis After a tough contest and subsequent loss to Congress during the assembly polls in the Hindi heartlands, the BJP is tied between retaining its seats in the west and making inroads into newer territories, particularly down South. This has prompted the saffron party to seal alliances with existing as well as new partners. Sources within the BJP, taking cognizance of a tight contest against a united Opposition in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar", have told Hindustan Times, We ceded space to allies such as the Janata Dal (United), buried differences with the Shiv Sena and kept our ambitions under check in Tamil Nadu to forge alliances that can help us return to power. The BJPs Kerala unit is reportedly in talks with the Bharatiya Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), an outfit with a considerable influence on OBC Ezhava community. The source told the publication that the BDJS want about half a dozen seats and that discussions are on. The BJP will reportedly support a couple of Independent candidates in the state as well. Kerala has 20 parliamentary constituencies. The BJP had contested 18 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, out of which they couldnt even win one. Meanwhile, the BJP continues to flirt with actor-politician Pawan Kalyan of the Jana Sena in Andhra Pradesh, but remains non-committal. Kalyans Jana Sena, which had once supported the TDP-BJP alliance but later had a fallout, has announced that it will go solo in the assembly elections, contesting all 175 seats. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Chandrababu Naidu led-Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had contested with the BJP as an alliance partner. Out of the total 25 parliamentary constituencies in Andhra Pradesh, the TDP had won 16 and the BJP had won a dismal three seats. Earlier this week, the BJP sealed an alliance with AIADMK in Tamil Nadu for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as well as 21 bypolls in the state. The AIADMK gave the party five seats out of a total of 39 parliamentary seats in the state. The alliance in Maharashtra also comes at a political cost for the BJP as it had to concede almost equal status to the Shiv Sena in the assembly even after it won 122 seats in 2014 as compared to Senas 63. With regional players giving tough competition to the BJP, the saffron party seems to be desperate to make its presence felt, even if it comes at the cost of the number of seats. Robert Vadra, Congress president Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law, was grilled on Friday for about seven hours as he appeared before the ED for the fifth time in connection with a money-laundering case related to purchase of alleged illegal assets abroad, officials said. Vadra reached the agency's office at Jamnagar House in central Delhi shortly before 11 am and left after 7 pm during which he had a lunch break too, they said. The businessman has been grilled in this case four times in the past, the last being February 20. Officials said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is confronting Vadra with documents and statements of other accused being investigated in the case and his statement is being recorded under section 50 (powers of authorities regarding summons, production of documents and to give evidence) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). During the last session, the businessman had told the investigating officer (IO) of the case that he was not well and hence, the recording of his statement was discontinued, the officials had said. Vadra's appearance before the ED is related to a criminal complaint on allegations of money laundering to purchase assets abroad in an alleged illegal manner. Before Friday's questioning, Vadra has been quizzed by the sleuths of the central probe agency in this case for about 26 hours, over four different days earlier this month. He has been asked by a Delhi court to cooperate in the probe being conducted by the central probe agency. ED's lawyers, during the last hearing in the case on February 16, had told the court that Vadra was "not cooperating and giving evasive replies". His lawyer had denied the charge and said he was ready to come for questioning as and when called. The ED case against Vadra relates to allegations of money laundering in the purchase of a London-based property, located at 12, Bryanston Square and worth 1.9 million pounds, which is allegedly owned by the businessman in a "benami" way. The agency had told the court that it had received information about various new properties in London that belonged to Vadra. These include two houses -- one worth 5 million pounds and the other valued at 4 million pounds -- six flats and other assets. Vadra has denied the allegation of possessing illegal foreign assets and termed it a political witch-hunt against him. He has said he is being "hounded and harassed" to subserve political ends. His first appearance before the ED earlier this month had acquired political overtones after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, his wife and Congress general secretary in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, had accompanied him to the investigating agency's office and picked him up after questioning another time. Vadra had also deposed before the ED twice in Jaipur in connection with another money-laundering case related to an alleged land scam in Bikaner. His mother Maureen Vadra too was questioned by the agency once during the same deposition. We are asking people to behave in a responsible manner and these are people who have violated the law already, said Crifasi, who is the centers deputy director. We are saying you are too dangerous to own firearms and have likely violated the law in some way, but we are going to leave it up to you. It is twisted logic. Its is absolutely alarming and represents a really important threat to public safety. Representative image Amid fear of retaliation from India in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, Pakistan has started making preparations for war, The Times of India has reported. The newspaper has accessed two official documents one by Pakistani military based in Balochistan and another, a notice sent to local administrations in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) reveal that Pakistan has begun planning its war logistics. The Pakistani army base headquartered at Quetta has written to Jilani hospital on February 20 to arrange for medical supplies in the eventuality of a war with India. In case of emergency war on the eastern front, Quetta logistics area is expected to receive injured soldiers from the civil and military hospitals of Sindh and Punjab. After receiving initial medical treatment, these soldiers are planned to be shifted from military hospitals to the civil hospital in Balochistan till the period of availability of beds in CMHs (civil military hospitals), the publication has quoted the letter to Jilani hospital. Adding that the Quetta logistics has a comprehensive medical plan, the letter said civil hospitals have been assigned the responsibility to reserve and earmark 25 percent of their bedding capacity for the injured soldiers. The letter concluded with the statement, We have received an overwhelming response from all over Pakistan and anticipate the same from Balochistan. The report also points out that on February 21, the PoK government sent a letter to local administration in Neelum, Jehlum, Rawalkot, Haweli, Kotli, and Bhimbher areas along the Line of Control (LoC) to warn the residents about a possible retaliatory action by the Indian Army. The letter by the PoK government also advised residents to take safe routes whenever commuting besides avoiding congregation and unnecessary lights at night. The report also mentioned that Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar has asked the Imran Khan regime not to make any concessions under pressure from the Indian government. The JeM is a proscribed terror outfit which claimed responsibility for killing 40 CRPF jawans in a terror attack in Pulwama on February 14. Robert Vadra, brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, on February 22 appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the fifth time in connection with a money-laundering case related to purchase of alleged illegal assets abroad, officials said. Vadra reached the agency's office at Jamnagar House in central Delhi shortly before 11 am, they said. He has been grilled in this case four times in the past, the last being February 20. Officials said the agency is confronting Vadra with documents and statements of other accused being investigated in the case and his statement is being recorded section 50 (powers of authorities regarding summons, production of documents and to give evidence) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). During the last session, the businessman had told the investigating officer (IO) of the case that he was not well and hence, the recording of his statement was discontinued, the officials had said. Vadra's appearance before the ED is related to a criminal complaint related to allegations of money laundering to purchase assets abroad, in an alleged illegal manner. He has been questioned by the ED sleuths in this case for about 26 hours over four days of deposition earlier this month. He has been asked by a Delhi court to cooperate in the probe being conducted by the central probe agency. The ED case against Vadra relates to allegations of money laundering in the purchase of a London-based property, located at 12, Bryanston Square and worth 1.9 million pounds, which is allegedly owned by the businessman in a "benami" way. The agency had told the court that it had received information about various new properties in London that belonged to Vadra. These include two houses -- one worth 5 million pounds and the other valued at 4 million pounds -- six flats and other assets. Vadra has denied the allegation of possessing illegal foreign assets and termed it a political witch-hunt against him. He has said he is being "hounded and harassed" to subserve political ends. His first appearance before the ED earlier this month acquired political overtones after his wife Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, recently appointed Congress general secretary in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, accompanied him to the investigating agency's office and picked him up after questioning another time. Vadra had also deposed before the ED twice in Jaipur in connection with another money-laundering case related to an alleged land scam in Bikaner. His mother Maureen too was questioned by the agency once during the same deposition. Representative Image Scores of farmers continued their protest here for a straight 10th day for compensation in lieu of their land acquired by the Noida Authority over the years. The farmers, including women, have been squatting right outside the authority's office in Sector 6 and had so far denied any talks with the officials "inside the office". On February 21, a delegation of the protestors, under the banner of 'Kisan Astitva Bachao Andolan', convened by Sukhveer Singh, went for talks with authority and administration officials which failed to find a way ahead. "They are not ready to listen to any of our demands in the correct way. They are dilly-dallying, making vague statements like this is not our responsibility," he told protestors after the meeting. "They are harassing the farmers by delaying solution for our problems," Singh added. However, authority said the meeting ended on a "positive note" and added that along with the district administration it has been persuading the farmers since day one for talks. "It was only today that they agreed to enter the office for a talk where the Noida Authority Chairman and CEO (Alok Tandon) deliberated on their demands. He suggested solution to issues that were concerned with the Noida Authority and requested that other issues be taken up with the district administration," Officer on Special Duty, Noida Authority, Rajesh Kumar Singh said. "The talks concluded on a positive note," he said in a statement. When asked about the situation, Noida City Magistrate Shailendra Kumar Mishra, who was present in the meeting, dodged any clear response, saying it was a matter for authority to deal with. After the demonstration, which has been taking place taking place from morning till evening since February 12, culminated for the day, the farmers vowed to continue their protest. "We have to keep this protest going to achieve our objective. We have to remain within the boundaries of the law and demand our rights in a democratic manner," he told the protestors. Image: Twitter/ @ranveersingh Joginder Tuteja Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt are having a dream run at the box-office. Before Gully Boy, they featured in movies as distinct as Padmaavat, Simmba, Raazi and Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya, and all clicked with the cinegoers. Now, Gully Boy will be part of that list. The movie has entered the Rs 100 crore club and the results have been good for a story that has been set in a world which has otherwise not been exposed to Bollywood fans. There aren't many flicks that have music as the core genre as street rap. In that aspect, the movie has done well to score a century. That said, it has taken the film eight days to reach this mark when ideally it should have happened in six or maximum seven days. With the kind of promotion and marketing efforts, it exceeded expectations when it came to the opening day. However, despite due to word of mouth reviews, the numbers weren't as super strong as many would have expected. The movie is doing well at the premium multiplexes of major cities with Mumbai contributing a lot due to the local flavour. Beyond that though the business has been lopsided and that is on expected lines since even the sheer idea of putting together this film was a risk in itself. It would be interesting to see where does the film land up now because Total Dhamaal has released and that has occupied a major count of screens. Also, the multi-starrer it is a movie for the masses. That said, the fact remains that 2019 has been a good year so far with different genre of films doing well and Gully Boy has added to the list. Meanwhile, Uri - The Surgical Strike has now reached 230.50 crore mark and that is an unbelievable number given the fact that the opening day had just about crossed the 8 crore mark. In the process, it has gone past the lifetime numbers of biggies like Kick and Chennai Express as well. Now next in line is Simmba, which currently stands at Rs 240.50 crore. With just 10 crore more to be gathered, this Aditya Dhar, Vicky Kaushal and Ronnie Screwvala film should manage to do that by the next weekend. From there, its remarkable journey towards the Rs 250 crore club will begin and one waits to see if that indeed turns out to be a landmark for Uri, which is clearly the biggest surprise story on this side of the millennium. (Joginder Tuteja is a trade expert and film critic, and loves to talk and write about anything that is related to films. He loves the word 'Bollywood' and truly believes that it has a ring to it that is sweeter than 'Hollywood') Tata-SIA joint venture full service carrier Vistara on February 22 announced a code sharing pact with Japan Airlines (JAL), a move which will allow Vistara customers seamless connectivity to Japan and vice versa. The pact between the two carriers is effective February, according to a Vistara release. Code sharing allows an airline to book its passengers on its partner carriers and provide seamless travel to destinations where it has no presence. JAL is the fourth codeshare partnership for Vistara after British Airways. As part of the agreement, Japan Airlines will add its 'JL' designator code to approximately 32 Vistara flights operating across Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune. JAL and Vistara already have an interline/through check-in partnership and the two airlines had signed a Memorandum of Understanding in September, 2017 to pursue commercial opportunities together, the release said. An interline arrangement refers to a pact to issue and accept tickets for flights that are operated by the partner airline. The code share flights will offer convenient connections to and from a daily flight that Japan Airlines already operates to Delhi directly from Tokyo Narita, it said. "We're delighted to further strengthen our partnership with Japan Airlines with this code share agreement. This partnership helps us offer greater convenience and variety of choice to customers with a comprehensive network, " said Sanjiv Kapoor, chief strategy and commercial officer, Vistara. The New Delhi-based airline currently operates over 800 flights per week to to 22 domestic destinations with a fleet of 22 Airbus A320/ A320 neo planes. "The number of passengers travelling between Japan and India has increased over time. By strengthening the partnership with Vistara, we will be able to provide better network access for our mutual customers. And, we look to further cooperate with Vistara to open up additional opportunities for both airlines," said Hideki Oshima, executive officer, Japan Airlines. Suzlon live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Shares of Suzlon Energy rose 31 percent on the back of report that a Danish firm may buy controlling stake in the company. Vestas is in talks with Suzlon to buy a controlling stake in the company, reported CNBC-TV18, quoting sources. According to sources, negotiations between Vestas & Suzlon with respect to the valuation is currently in progress, while Vestas is expected to make an open offer post the deal with Suzlon. However, the deal with Vestas will need approval from Suzlons lenders, it added. At close, Suzlon Energy was at Rs 5.80, up Rs 1.37, or 30.93 percent on the BSE. Here are the stocks that are in news today: Results Today: Tilaknagar Industries, CHPL Industries and Sang Froid Labs ING Mauritius Investments to further sell stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank Bank of Baroda to invest Rs 4,638 crore in equity of bank by way of preferential allotment SIS Australia Group Pty Ltd., a subsidiary of Security & Intelligence Services has signed definitive agreements to acquire initially 51% shareholding in Platform 4 Group Gabriel India's Chief Financial Officer Rajendran Arunachalam resigns BEL signs teaming agreement with Hughes India for Helicopter satcom solutions BEL signs MOU with JSR Dynamics for manufacture and sale of Glide Weapons and Light Weight Cruise missiles RCom seeks lenders' nod for release of Rs 260 cr in bank account to Ericsson SEBI fines Rs 6 lakh on Taneja Aerospace, 2 others for disclosure lapses Kaveri Seed Company clarifies that the Government of Andhra Pradesh has suspended the licenses of 14 Seed Companies including the Kaveri Seed Company on 28th January 2019. The said suspension has no impact on the budgeted sales of the Company Tata Steel board to consider and approve the issuance of unsecured Non-Convertible Debentures on private placement basis on February 26 AU Small Finance Bank entered into an agreement with ACKO General Insurance Company for General insurance as Corporate Agent Government of India to infuse Rs 6,896 crore in Allahabad Bank Dyanamatic Technologies signed a MoU with SAAB Technologies with an intent to explore future joint opportunities in commercial and defense related work. BEML signed a Certificate of Partnership with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics incorporated NBCC DWC-LLC subsidiary for Conceptualizing & Construction of India Pavilion at World Expo-2020, Dubai and other similar works. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Shares of BEML gained 3.6 percent intraday Friday as company signed Certificate of Partnership with Lockheed Martin. BEML and US based Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, signed a Certificate of Partnership at the ongoing AERO INDIA 2019 at Bengaluru, company said in release. The share touched its 52-week high Rs 1,418.05 and 52-week low Rs 521 on 05 March, 2018 and 26 October, 2018, respectively. Currently, it is trading 42.72 percent below its 52-week high and 55.91 percent above its 52-week low. At 09:46 hrs BEML was quoting at Rs 813.90, up Rs 27.60, or 3.51 percent on the BSE. Representative Image Moneycontrol News Softbank-backed Oyo on February 22 announced the commencement of its operations in Japan through a joint venture with Yahoo Japan Corporation to form Oyo Technology and Hospitality Company. Japanese entrepreneur and former Japan market leader for Handy and Booking.com, Hiro Katsuse, has been appointed as the CEO of the new entity. Through this entity, Oyo will bring its housing rental product from India, Oyo Living, re-christened as Oyo Life to Japan beginning March. Oyo Life aims to enter the housing rental segment in the country, targeting the young and growing population of Japan, starting with students and young professionals. "The joint venture between Yahoo Japan and Oyo will combine Yahoos marketing and distribution capabilities with Oyos ability to transform and manage rental housing properties with the help of technology," the company said in a statement. The home rental real estate industry is large and growing with a market size of 12 trillion yen. Oyo last raised $100 million from Star Virtue Investment, an entity controlled by the Chinese cab-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, which was part of a 1 billion round the company had announced in September. Representative image Vikas Vasal Self-employment has been one of the pillars of the current government's job creation agenda and it has been working to create a supportive eco-system for start-ups. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the start-up India initiative in his Independence Day speech in 2015. The action plan is based on three pillars of (a) simplification and handholding, (b) funding support and incentives, and (c) industry-academia partnership and incubation. However, it has not been a smooth ride for startups, with tax disputes around the valuation of investments, popularly known as angel tax, is one of the key concerns. As per a recent Indian Venture Capital Association (IVCA) survey, the income-tax department has sent notices to almost 2,000 startups, seeking information/demanding tax on investments received by them on grounds of excessive valuation of shares. The controversy arises in cases where a closely held company issues shares to a resident investor for a consideration in excess of the fair market value (FMV). The excess consideration is liable to tax in the companys hands as income from other sources. Accordingly, the capital /premium invested by the investors in startups in excess of the startup's FMV is taxed under this provision and is referred to as 'angel tax'. The provision seeking to tax excessive valuation of shares was introduced in 2012 to address cases of tax abuse and money laundering. The primary objective was to curb such practices where shares of a company were issued at a premium, which was eventually returned to investors in cash through other modes. This anti-abuse provision, however, has been applied by the tax authorities without looking into the merits/genuineness of the transaction. Investments received by startups were caught under these provisions. This has hurt startups as their initial investments are driven by the 'perceived potential' of the 'idea' and 'trust' in the capability of the promoter, rather than fundamentals of past sales or expected growth. Thankfully, the government has been cognizant of this pain point and has made efforts to address the concerns. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), now known as Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), in 2016 notified that the angel tax provisions shall not apply to investments in eligible startups fulfilling conditions prescribed by the DIPP. Subsequently, notifications were issued in 2017, 2018 and in January 2019, amending the definition of startups, capital threshold limit for startups, and net worth/ income threshold limits for investors for availing the exemption. The procedure for seeking approval was also amended and simplified with the DIPP's notification of January 2019, vesting the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) with the authority to grant approval for exemption from angel tax. Still, there was much ground to be covered. Paying attention to the representations from startups and the investor community, the DPIIT on February 19, 2019, notified major changes. A significant step has been to exempt startups with an aggregate paid-up capital (including share premium) of up to Rs 25 crore from angel tax. Also, investments by non-residents, venture capital funds and the specified listed companies would not be counted for Rs 25 crore capital threshold limit. In other words, startups would be eligible to raise capital from such investors without any cap, thereby allowing added sources of funds without triggering the angel tax. Further, to address the concerns around obtaining CBDT approval, the new notification replaces this requirement with an upfront exemption based on a self-declaration to be filed by the startup, stating that it has fulfilled the conditions for claiming angel tax exemption. The declaration includes an undertaking specifying that the startup shall not invest funds for a period of seven years in certain specified restricted assets, such as land and building, shares and securities, motor vehicles, jewellery, archaeological collections, drawings, paintings, sculptures, any work of art or bullion, etc. The other significant change is in the definition of a startup. An entity will be considered as a startup up to a period of 10 years from the date of incorporation (as against seven years at present). The startups annual turnover threshold during the eligibility period has also been increased to Rs 100 crore in any of the years (as against the current limit of Rs 25 crore). However, the new framework has inserted restrictions on investments by startups in certain non-business assets. This includes investments in assets such as land and building (except for use of business), onward lending (except when lending is a substantial part of the business), investment in shares and securities, purchase of expensive motor vehicles, etc. This restriction applies for a period of up to seven years from the end of the financial year in which shares are issued. Most significantly, non-compliance with this requirement shall result in revocation of the exemption with a retrospective effect. The key intent is to avoid misuse of these beneficial provisions. The recent changes may pose some challenge in certain cases like where investments have already been made in such restricted assets. Investment of temporarily idle funds in shares and securities or investment of funds in entities for the forward or backward integration in the supply chain are some of the usual and genuine business activities that would get impacted by this restriction. A clarification that these conditions should apply prospectively would help in mitigating any dispute and litigation on this account. In a nutshell, its a welcome move, where the government has attempted to address most of the concerns of the startup community. This would go a long way in ease of doing business in India. However, there may be some teething issues, given the manner in which restriction on the use of funds for certain category of assets has been introduced. They set the rules. They rewarded Smollett for his performance. They used him as their mannequin. And as an actor, even a lousy one with the depth of a piece of linguine, he understood. He performed as required and that kept the lights shining bright on him. Online food-tech firms such as Swiggy, Zomato and Foodpanda could likely be summoned by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) next week for a discussion related to the revised FDI guidelines on e-commerce, according to sources privy to the development. "DPIIT has said they will call all the restaurant aggregators for a meeting. Given that they aggregate restaurants, they too are in the business of e-commerce," a source told Moneycontrol. The development comes after members of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) met Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, DIIIT, seeking clarity on the issue. In a presentation that was made to DPIIT, the association stated that food aggregators are engaged in practices that are harmful for the restaurant industry, specially for thousands of small family run restaurants. Food aggregators provide marketplace access to sellers which in this case are restaurants and also provide other services such as delivery. NRAI has claimed that as e-commerce entities these companies are often not complying with Press Note 2 which was announced by the government in December. As per the revised FDI guidelines, e-commerce marketplaces cannot directly or indirectly influence the price of the product sold online. Conventionally marketplaces demanded exclusive tie-ups in order to increase their volumes. However even this isn't possible now given that Press Note 2 bars marketplaces from mandating any seller to sell a product exclusively on its platform. In its presentation, NRAI has also stated that restaurant agregators provide a suite of services to sellers including marketplace presence, order placement, delivery, payment collection etc. However not many give restaurants the option of unbundled services. "No service - such as delivery - should be forced by aggregators as a cost to participate in the basic marketplace, access for which must be provided in a fair and transparent manner," it said. It has also demanded for the data of consumers to whom the food is delivered to. Conventionally food-tech firms do not share consumer data with the restaurants. It has also pointed out the issue of discounting that happens on the food-tech platforms. It claims that small restaurants lose prominence on the marketplace platform if they do not participate in funding the discounts. Swiggy, Zomato and Foodpanda did not respond to queries. One of the industry stakeholders who spoke to Moneycontrol on condition of anonymity said that currently there is a lot of ambiguity related to the issue. "We do not sell pre-packaged product which would have an expiry date. Thus we are not in the business of retailing products. So the rules (Press Note 2) do not apply to us. However if the government would clarify that it applies to us, we will comply by it regardless of anything," he said. State-owned oil company Saudi Aramco signed a $10 billion deal to build a refining and petrochemical complex in China on February 22, as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wrapped up a two-day trip to Beijing. The Saudi delegation, including top executives from Aramco, arrived on Thursday on an Asia tour that has already seen the kingdom pledge investment of $20 billion in Pakistan and seek to make additional investments in India's refining industry. The crown prince will meet President Xi Jinping, who has made stepping up China's presence in the Middle East a key foreign policy objective, despite its traditional low-key role there. Aramco agreed to form a joint venture with Chinese defence conglomerate Norinco to develop a refining and petrochemical complex in the northeastern Chinese city of Panjin, saying the project is worth more than $10 billion. The partners will form a new company called Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Co as part of a project that will include a 300,000-barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery with a 1.5-million-metric-tonnes-per-year ethylene cracker, Aramco said. Aramco will supply up to 70 percent of the crude feedstock for the complex, which is expected to start operations in 2024. The investments could help Saudi Arabia regain its place as the top oil exporter to China, a position Russia has held for the last three years. Saudi Aramco is set to boost market share by signing supply deals with non-state Chinese refiners. China sees "enormous potential" in Saudi Arabia's economy and wants more high-tech cooperation, State Councillor Wang Yi, the Chinese government's top diplomat, said on February 21. Meeting Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, Wang said the main features of their ties were respect, understanding and support for each other, China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement late on Thursday. "All countries in the world have the right to develop, and Saudi Arabia is an emerging market country with enormous potential," the ministry paraphrased Wang as saying. China supports Saudi Arabia's efforts to diversify its economy and is willing to strengthen high-tech cooperation, Wang added. China has had to step carefully in relations with Riyadh, since Beijing also has close ties with Saudi Arabia's regional foe Iran. On February 20, Xi told the speaker of Iran's parliament that China's desire to develop close ties with Iran would stay unaltered, regardless of the global situation. China is also wary of criticism from Muslim countries about its camps in the heavily-Muslim far western region of Xinjiang, which the government says are for de-radicalisation purposes and rights groups call internment camps. Wang said both countries face the threats of terrorism and extremism, and should strengthen cooperation to safeguard security and stability. China was not seeking to play politics in the Middle East, the widely-read state-run tabloid, the Global Times, said in an editorial on Friday. "China won't be a geopolitical player in the Middle East. It has no enemies and can cooperate with all countries in the region," said the paper, published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily. "China's increasing influence in the Middle East comes from pure friendly cooperation. Such a partnership will be welcomed by more countries in the Middle East." Welcome to a new series on Moneycontrol: Companies That Changed The World. In this series, we take a deeper look at the businesses and corporations, and the people, that left an impact on the world. These were the large companies that built business empires (sometimes even actual empires) and shaped the geography, politics, history and cultures of the world. In fact, their spectacular, and consistent, success resulted in legacies that lasted well into the future. And, of course, the fabulous wealth they earned, albeit on the back of slavery, indentured labour and other sundry methods of dehumanizing the people they conquered so they didnt have to pay fair wages. And the monies were staggering. For instance, did you know that the Dutch East India Company, a megacorporation that existed from 1601 to 1799, is estimated to have been worth 7.9 trillion dollars in todays money? That was in 1637 at the height of something called the Tulip Mania, probably the first financial bubble in the world. Thats more value that the top 20 companies of our times combined. To put that into a modern perspective, Japans GDP, the third largest in the world right now, is between $4.8 and $5 trillion. Add Germanys GDP and you arrive at the value of VOC or the Dutch East India Company. A business concern with that much wealth and power would, without a doubt, have held sway over large swathes of the planet, and in some powerful places as well. Now you know how the Dutch financed all those pretty canals and houses in Amsterdam and elsewhere. Closer to modern times, Standard Oil, Ford Motor Company, and newer giant corporations like ExxonMobil, Walmart, Microsoft, Apple, SaudiAramco etc helped shape our world. In this episode, we take a look at a candidate for the title of most powerful company in history.' Towards the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I - arguably one of the most powerful monarchs in world history - a company emerged that would go on to be one of the most powerful in the world - The British East India Company (EIC). At one point in time, the East India Company had the largest military in the world and effectively owned in entirety a piece of land that we now know as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Owned. Writer and commentator Gurcharan Das, said, The modern corporation is...a child of the East India Company. It essentially caused two Opium Wars that led to the opening up of China as a market, on the back of Britains military prowess. It established most of the major cities in India, as well as ports like Penang and Singapore and its footprint stretched all the way to Japan. It played a central role in Britain's rise to commercial promninence, the creation of the British Empire, and the integration of global markets. Has any company ever influenced the lives of some many people and so many nations across the earth like the East India Company has, while being pretty darn broke? To think it was a company that came to trade but stayed to rule. Lets take a look. The British East India Company was incorporated in England on December 31, 1600. 102 years after Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to the Indian Ocean, the group of merchants led by Sir Thomas Smythe petitioned Queen Elizabeth I to grant them a royal charter to trade with the countries of the eastern hemisphere. William Dalrymple wrote in The Guardian about the origins of this company - On 24 September, 1599, 80 merchants and adventurers met at the Founders Hall in the City of London and agreed to petition Queen Elizabeth I to start up a company. A year later, the Governor and Company of Merchants trading to the East Indies, a group of 218 men, received a royal charter, giving them a monopoly for 15 years over trade to the East. Its full name was - Honourable Company of Merchants of London Trading with the East Indies. Yep, honourable. Their conduct in India would, in time, come to define colonization as a concept. But on that December 31, there was little to indicate that a tumultuous part of modern history was to unfold. The company was formed to, ostensibly, share in the East Indian spice trade, which had been monopolized by Spain and Portugal. (1000 percent profits were not unheard of.) The defeat of the Spanish Armada by England in 1588 gave them a chance to break the monopoly. Until 1612 the company conducted separate voyages, separately subscribed. As Elizabeth I was signing that charter, her counterpart in India Mughal emperor Akbar was the overlord of an empire that spanned nearly two million square kilometres, stretching from Afghanistan in the northwest to the Deccan plateau in central India, and skimming the borders of the highlands of Assam. By 1600, the Mughal empire had become firmly established, and was embarking on a century of strong centralised power, military dominance and cultural productiveness that would lead to the moniker Great Mughals. The Mughal court possessed wealth and magnificence that outstripped anything Europe could produce at the time, while Indias natural produce, and that of its artisans, was coveted all over the world. Mind you, this was Europe before the dawn of full blown industrialization. We are now well acquainted with the past glory that is restated regularly on political Twitter - in the words of William Dalrymple, India accounted for around a quarter of all global manufacturing while Britain contributed less than two percent to global GDP. There was good reason for the great Mughal cities of Jahangirs empire being shown to Adam as future marvels of divine design in Paradise Lost. In 1612, James I, the king of England, instructed Thomas Roe to visit the Mughal emperor Jahangir to arrange for a commercial treaty that would give the company exclusive rights to reside and establish factories. In exchange, the company offered to provide the Emperor with goods and rarities from the European market. This mission was highly successful. The company had tried to force its way into the lucrative spice markets of south-east Asia (in particular, Indonesia), but proved no match for the dominance of the Dutch. After EIC merchants were massacred at Amboyna (in present day Indonesia) in 1623, the company turned its attention to India. With Jahangirs permission, they built small bases, or factories, on Indias eastern and western coasts. From these toeholds, they began a profitable trade in spices, textiles and luxury goods that would lead to the commercial success they had hoped for. They dealt with Indian artisans and producers primarily through native middlemen. Meanwhile, the joint stock organisation of the company (in which ownership was shared between shareholders) spread the cost and risk of individual voyages between investors. One analysis drew up a rough estimate that in 1600, when the East India Company came into existence, the rents of all the lands and houses of England was estimated at 6 million pounds per annum and at 12 years purchase the total value would be 72 million pounds. At the same time, the stock of England including silver and gold coin, bullion, wrought plate, mines, jewels, furniture, stock of trade and cattle was estimated at 17 million - the total being 89 million pounds. Around 1770, yearly rents of lands and houses was estimated at 25 million pounds and at 25 years purchase amounted to 625 million pounds, and the countrys stock of other assets was estimated at 262 million pounds. The analysis deduced that England had gained 798 million pounds over a period of about 170 years by means of trade and commerce only because the country at that time had no other source of increasing wealth. In this increased wealth the East India trade had a major share, although the analysts claimed it was difficult to estimate the contribution precisely. By another rough calculation, it is assumed that the total profit from the East India trade per annum was one million pounds before the two companies were united in 1708 and after that the profit increased to two million pounds per annum. Taking into account the whole period, total profit from the East India trade came to figure 220 million pounds. A joint-stock company was a new type of business in the early 17th century - one that could issue tradeable shares on the open market to any number of investors, which meant it was capable of realising much larger amounts of capital. Dalrymple writes that the first chartered joint-stock company was the Muscovy Company, which received its charter in 1555. The East India Company was founded 44 years later. No mention was made in the charter of the EIC holding overseas territory, but it did give the company the right to wage war where necessary. Nick Robins wrote in his book The Corporation that Changed the World, In its financing, structures of governance and business dynamics, the Company was undeniably modern...All corporations will use political as well as economic ends to promote their interests. Today, thats called lobbying. And it was a popular employer, not unlike the Facebooks and Googles of today. Margaret Makepeace wrote in the book The East India Companys London Workers, Applications for admission always greatly exceeded the number of vacancies. Unsolicited petitions to the Court of Directors were routinely rejected. From 1600 to 1657, the Company operated with terminable stocks, issued for a single or a series of voyages. At various points in the life of a particular stock or venture, available proceeds were divided pro rata and distributed to the adventurers (or shareholders). The distribution of proceeds was actually liquidation of invested capital as well as distribution of profits. From very early on, the East India Company attracted a wide circle of investorsdukes, judges, knights, clergymen, and merchants. The number of investors, which was around 220 at the start in 1600, rose to nearly one thousand by January 1617, when the subscription books for the Second Joint-Stock were closed. Indias appetite for gold Under Mughal patronage, the British gradually ousted the Portuguese trading venture of Estado da India, which had a massive control of trading in India. According to Robins book, By 1620, the Company was managing a eet of 10,000 tonnes, operated by over 2,500 sailors and maintained by 500 ships carpenters. The company set up its first factory in Surat. The English were allowed to trade in the port paying a duty of 3.5 percent. By 1625, 220,000 pieces of cloth were being exported by the EIC from Surat. One analysis showed that between 1601 and 1612 cargo worth 200,540 was carried on in nine East India voyages of which 69 per cent consisted of bullion. This was also evident from Thomas Mun's estimate which showed that the value of the East India Company's exports in the first two decades of the seventeenth century was 292,286 of which 65 percent was in bullion. English trading activity in India spread from the Western to the Eastern Coast and finally to Bengal by the mid seventeenth century, when Shah Jahan was the Emperor of Delhi and his son Shah Shuja, a sibling of Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh, was the Governor of Bengal. The East India Company was permitted to trade in Bengal in return for an annual payment of 3000 rupees. To give you an idea of this time period, the mid-1600s was the time when the Taj Mahal was completed in Agra. 1653, to be precise. The EIC acquired Madras in 1639, Bombay in 1668, and Calcutta in 1690. Any tourist brochure about Mumbai will tell you proudly that the settlement of Bombay was gained as dowry to Charles II from his bride who received it from the Portuguese crown in 1661 and was handed over to the East India Company. In 1687, Bombay would become the headquarters of the west coast, taking over from Surat. Robins noted that the Anglo-Dutch fight during the 1650s damaged the Companys interests. To make things worse, Oliver Cromwell (the de facto ruler of England after its three civil wars) refused to renew the Companys charter in 1653, which allowed its monopoly to lapse. Robins wrote, This produced a brief window of open commerce, boosting trade and reducing prices, yet crippling profits a result almost exactly the same as the Dutch experience before 1602. On 14 January 1657, the situation had grown so bleak that the Companys directors voted to liquidate its affairs. This proved to be an effective ploy to force Cromwells hand. By October,a new charter had been granted, and a permanent joint stock was established with capital to the tune of 740,000 although only 50 percent of this was actually subscribed at the time. Robins notes that, Between 1658 and 1688, the Company managed to complete 404 voyages between London and the East Indies, an average of 13 each season. Factories were established at Hooghly, Balasore, Kashimbazar, Dacca, Malda and Patna. Their investment rose from 85,000 in 1674 to 150,000 in 1680 and reached 230,000 in 1681. The commodities exported to Europe consisted of silks and taffetas of fine quality and saltpetre. If funds were available the Company also purchased white sugar, cotton yarn, turmeric and beeswax. The Company's trade was always encouraged by the local governments because it stimulated the demand for native products and thereby helped to procure bullion for the country. By 1670, cotton and silk textiles accounted for 56 percent of the EICs imports, pushing pepper into second place, followed by raw silk, indigo, saltpetre, coffee and tea. Indian textiles hit an all-time peak of 1.76 million pieces in 1684, making them 83 percent of the Companys total trade. The 1680s were the peak of the boom, and EICs share price grew from 6070 in 1664 to 245 in 1677 and 300 in 1680. Robins writes in his book, In all, from 1657 to 1691, proprietors received 840 per cent in dividends on their original investment. And for India, there was a steady inux of bullion, stimulating growth in income, output and employment. Between 1681 and 1685 alone, the Company exported 240 tonnes of silver and 7 tonnes of gold to India. Financially, these were perhaps the best days of the companys life. A shift in strategy According to some historians, it was at this point that things began to change. Josiah Child, who had become a major player in the EIC, believed that profit and power must go together. For all his pretensions of nobility, Child was was not averse to venality. He was the first to open a line of bribery with the British crown. Upon his election as governor in 1681, he "awarded" Charles II 10,000 guineas to help smoothen the company's charter renewal. This would become an annual "gift" from the company for the next seven years. After what is known as the Glorious Revolution transpired in 1689, Child gave the government a 1.2 million pound loan at zero interest to ensure an exclusive trading charter. This corruption was so reviled that even Karl Marx wrote about it in an article in July 1853 for the New York Daily Tribune. Marx noted, So early as 1693, it appeared from Parliamentary inquiries, that the annual expenditure of the East India Company, under the head of gifts to men in power, which had rarely amounted to above 1,200 before the revolution, reached the sum of 90,000. The Duke of Leeds was impeached for a bribe of 5,000, and the virtuous King himself convicted of having received 10,000. Besides these direct briberies, rival Companies were thrown out by tempting Government with loans of enormous sums at the lowest interest, and by buying off rival Directors. With regard to the EIC, Child wanted, in Robins words, ...the Company to become a sovereign power in India, forcing the Mughal Empire to trade with it on terms of equality. Child pushed the British into conflict with Mughal forces which did not end well for them. The Mughals captured Surat and Bombay, winning that round of the rivalry. Aurangzeb eventually allowed the Company to trade again, but only after a penalty of Rs 150,000, plus damages was paid. He, however, allowed them to build a factory near a village named Kolikata. And thus was born the city of Calcutta. While the English lost that round, it becomes clear in hindsight that Josiah Childs aggressive vision for a formidable martial government in India by the English had taken root. There was another development that fed the ostentatious lifestyles of the English officers of the EIC in India. Nearly everyone that joined the company harbored hopes of adopting the conspicuous consumption habits of the British landed gentry. I suppose humans have always treasured status above everything else. To reconcile this dilemma, EIC executives would frequently use their privileged positions overseas for what Robins calls private adventurism. Executives accepted presents from local merchants in exchange for the company's business. The phrase "a lass and a lakh a day" was coined to describe the lifestyle Bengal executives came to enjoy. The three ports of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta allowed the East India Company to sustain a monopoly over the trade routes across the Indian Ocean. Although always volatile, EIC shares became an important bellwether of the British economy and the company emerged as one of Londons most powerful financial institutions. The rise of the English in India The East India Company, which had been hauled over coals back in England when the British parliament caught wind of their corruption and moved to dismantle their monopoly, was given a fresh lease of life. It saw off a difficult phase in 1697 when 5000 weavers marched on its office in London, protesting the EICs imports of Indian cloth that they claimed were threatening their own industries. Never let anyone tell you that the West always pushes globalization - they apparently hated it when they were at the receiving end of mass production. In any case, market forces overshadowed the cries of protesters, and textiles imports continued to be popular in England throughout the 18th century. Then, Aurangzeb died in 1707, and was succeeded by ineffective rulers. The Mughal treasury was depleted. As the empire gradually unraveled over the course of the 18th century, the EIC, which had been a junior partner in the Mughal empires sophisticated commercial networks, became increasingly involved in politics and powerplay. They grappled to maintain trading privileges in the face of declining Mughal authority and the emergence of dynamic individual successor states. Where business was concerned, Robins notes that Trade, and trade only, was their business. By the 1720s, the EIC was matching, and even beating, its Dutch rival VOC in terms of the Bengal textile trade. Overall, it started to compete with VOCs share of the entire trade with Europe a turnaround from the situation prevalent in the mid-1600s. In 1711, the company had established itself in China, and initiated commerce of tea in exchange for silver. By 1716, trading activities of the company established base and expanded trade around the Persian Gulf, Southeast and East Asia. By 1740, its stock price touched 200 pounds, and it supplanted the Dutch as the dominant mercantile force in the East. In this crucial period, we must note that the EICs business model will sound familiar to us in 2019: They kept supply and production costs low while maximizing the price of goods sold in England. They outsourced as much as they could, including manufacturing, shipping and retailing. The value that the EIC mainly added was in the selection of goods and in keeping the supply chain humming. Robins surmises that In a situation characterized by extremely poor information, the Company's strength lay in its ability to achieve an equilibrium between supply and demand on opposite sides of the planet. At this point in time, the Marathas were working towards establishing supremacy over India, challenging Mughal power frequently. In 1737, Bajirao conquered Delhi. In 1739, Nadir Shah invaded the Mughal empire, defeated the emperor Muhammed Shah and went back with the Peacock Throne as a part of his war spoils. The Sikh Empire had also been established in the early 1700s. Meanwhile, the predominance of bullion in the export trade of the East India Company with India continued without any interruption until 1757 in spite of several controversies among the mercantilists themselves. Between 1708 and 1756, bullion comprised 74 percent of the East India Company's total exports to Bengal. Their other exports were silver, broad cloth and woollen goods, lead, iron, copper, quicksilver, stores and provisions. This massive volume of trade caused so much inflow of bullion into India that the danger of drain of treasure from the West became a nightmare and India would come to be regarded as a sink of precious metals'. The EICs dividends that it paid back home were a modest, but predictable 7 to 8 percent. This was a far cry from the massive returns of the 1680s, and lagged those of the VOC, which awarded dividends averaging 20 percent in the 1730s. However, steadiness was the key. The Company earned a profit of 30 million more from its sale of Asian goods in the three decades 171343 than it paid out in bullion and other goods. In the meantime, Indias political landscape, riven by wars between the many smaller kingdoms and the Marathas and the remnants of the Mughal empire, was prime for a major change. That change would come in 1757 at the Battle of Plassey which would establish the East India Company as the most powerful force in India. The start of English rule in India Despite Englands dominance in subcontinental trade with Europe, the rest of Europe had not yet thrown in the towel. The French still commanded an important trading fortification near Calcutta. Also, local Indian rulers still sought to retake control of local trade. In June 1756, the Nawab of Bengal overwhelmed poorly prepared company forces and captured Calcutta, which the company had controlled since 1690. As a result, the EIC lost 2.25 million pounds. But the company had been preparing a counteroffensive. Led by Robert Clive, a commander of a nearby company fort who had begun his career in India as a young writer, a small but focused expedition was able to retake the city in February 1757. The victory in the Battle of Plassey over Siraj-ud-Daulah proved decisive for the EICs fortunes, which rose 12 percent when news of the victory reached London. That greedy-traitor trope? Its roots lie in something like this: Believing they could control the "foreign barbarians" to their own ends, three Indian aristocrats offered to help the company overthrow Siraj-ud-Daulah in exchange for exclusive business deals. But one of the aristocrats, Amir Chand, demanded a 5 percent cut of the company's earnings. Outraged at such a demand, Clive drew up two treaties, a real one for a separate conspirator that promised to install him as Britain's Bengal puppet, and a fake another for Chand pretending to agree to his terms. The operation went forward and Plassey, the then capital of Bengal, the richest province in India, fell into the companys hands. That strengthened the company's hold not only over Bengal but the rest of the subcontinent. Clive won an immediate 2.5 million pounds for the firm, to be followed by enhanced revenues in the future. The victory also sent EIC shares soaring to nearly 275 pounds. Robins summarises what followed, in this manner: In the space of less than a decade, the Company had rerouted the flow of wealth westwards. Yet, this was a corporate revolution, designed to acquire the riches of an entire people for the benefit of a single company.The win at Plassey was the zenith of the company's powers in the subcontinent. It also triggered a brutal era where the companys rapacity would result in famines, wars with China, and culminate in the shocking violence of 1857 after which the colony of India was taken over by the British crown. To paraphrase Jawaharlal Nehru, there is a reason that the Hindi word loot was one of the first loan words in English from India. We will cover that in the part two of the podcast on the East India Company. Rajiv Jamkhedkar Mr. Prakash runs a highly successful business in garments. It is highly profitable, spread over 7 cities, the business has a production facility (centralised factory) and 23 retail stores and employs around 70 persons. Despite running the whole company hands-on and the firm being family-owned and tightly run for more than 30 years, there is always an incident of theft, fraud and often one big case of embezzlement in accounts, purchase or billing department. In my opinion, Mr Prakash would have lost at least Rs 50 lakhs over last few years through internal fraud. He sighs what to do, this is the nature of the industry and cost of doing business. He feels he cant keep an eye everywhere in his factory and stores. All small and medium enterprises (SMEs) suffer theft or fraud on the inside, petty or large, material or monetary, every year. This is just so common that businessmen have taken it as a given. SMEs do not have access to legal counsels, let alone legal department like large companies do, to pursue the culprits. Neither do they have the time to chase the police to help them. They simply accept loss and move on. To run a small business is tough. In India, it is tougher than most places. My learning over 3 decades, as a curious banker to some of these SME businesses, is that the biggest risk in India is Operational Risk. Operational risk is way bigger in terms of losses created by it than say credit risk, market risk, pricing/hedging risk, currency risk, etc. Operational risk occurs due to errors of omission and fraud in the day-to-day running of the business. Within this, fraud is really the single largest cause of financial loss to small business. Some frauds are customer or market-related but really the key risk is internal or employee-related frauds. That is the one big whale every small business has to contend with, often enough. Very few business owners know that there is a way to cover this highly prevalent risk. It is called a Fidelity Insurance policy for group of employees. This is offered by PSU insurers but hardly marketed or talked about by agents. Under this Fidelity Insurance policy, if any business suffers a financial loss due to fraud or dishonesty by any of the employees, the insurer makes good the loss of business. Any business can take this policy to cover itself against fraud. Manufacturing, retail, professional services and financial services intermediaries are some of the most common users. Employee loyalty is a thing of the past. The nature of job market is such that employees dont get blacklisted for their crimes. They can easily run away to a different location and find a job. Police action is often not adequate or effective. This fidelity policy covers theft, embezzlement, and all manners of fraud. The business simply has to claim the loss within 6 months of employee being dismissed or terminated. Claim procedures may vary but an FIR stating the nature and size of loss must be filed with the local police. Businesses that deal with the accepting/delivering or transport of cash or valuable commodities are especially vulnerable. They must take this policy as a mandatory tool for protection. The second type of business that is especially vulnerable is a business that employs a large number of staff spread across different locations such as units or branches. Financial distribution, call centres, pharma and FMCG distribution these areas are dominated by SME operations. All these products are available very easily in India yet there is a woeful lack of awareness among the business communities around India. Budget hospitality startup Oyo Rooms is in advanced talks with FreshMenu to buy a significant stake in the cloud-kitchen startup, sources told Mint. This deal would mark the entry of India's third most valued startup in the online food delivery business. These discussions come months after Oyo raised nearly $1 billion, which pushed up its valuation to $5 billion. "Oyo is building a food team, which will help FreshMenu expand to more cities under the Oyo brand name. The idea could be more about adding the element of food to further build the hospitality business rather than getting into the food delivery entirely," a source told the newspaper. Oyo and FreshMenu were reportedly brought together by their common investor Lightspeed Venture Partners. According to the report, this would be a great opportunity for a company like FreshMenu to make its mark felt in the hypercompetitive food technology sector. It is brimming with companies like Swiggy, Zomato and Uber, which makes it tough for smaller companies that depend on discounts to attract customers. One of the investors told the newspaper that FreshMenu is just a brand selling on food aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato. Being one of the many brands present on those platforms makes it difficult for the company to ramp-up its business. The brand has been looking for an opportunity to raise funds for months. Headed by Rashmi Daga, FreshMenu had reportedly initiated discussions with many investors to raise $25-30 million. It was also in talks with Ola for the same, which went on to buy Foodpanda in 2017. "Oyo now has immense amount of cash and a strong backing of SoftBank. It will surely try to use this money to enter into multiple verticals," another investor was quoted as saying in the report.Moneycontrol couldnt independently verify the report. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Once a darling of the markets, with bumper listing gains in 2017, AU Small Finance Bank (AU) and MAS Financial Services (MAS) have had a rough ride in recent times. AU is down almost 22 percent from its 52-week high and 16 percent lower than the level at which Temasek had picked up equity in the company last June. MAS (CMP: Rs 542, M Cap: Rs 2,963 crore) too has seen a significant correction, down by close to 18 percent from its listing price. Did investors get their investment thesis wrong? Or are there still long-term opportunities that are now available at a more reasonable valuation? We believe there are fundamental reasons for these businesses doing well, going forward. Here are the reasons: Both entities are relatively smaller entities with assets under management of Rs 21,765 crore and Rs 4,915 crore respectively. That means there is enough headroom for growth without getting impacted by broader macro headwinds. AU and MAS are run by first generation entrepreneurs who know their respective businesses well and have a proven track record of navigating their businesses through different economic cycles. The presence of marquee shareholders in both companies showcases the faith of long-term investors in their growth journey. Finally, in a system where growth is hamstrung by lack of capital for many players, both AU (capital adequacy ratio of 19 percent) and MAS (CAR: 29.43 percent) have enough resources to capture market share in a weak competitive landscape. Promoted by first generation entrepreneur Sanjay Agarwal, AU successfully transitioned to a small finance bank (SFB) from its earlier asset financing NBFC avatar in April, 2017. It operates in eleven states of the country (Rajasthan and a few states of north and west India) and created a niche by focusing on a high growth segment (customers include low and mid income individuals and micro and small businesses) while ensuring minimum asset quality issues, thanks to robust processes and long experience in the market. The reported earnings post listing and conversion to the bank have been much less impressive compared to the robust growth in business. The high upfront cost of conversion to a bank coupled with compression in interest margin took a toll on the numbers. The advances book has risen by 2.8 times to Rs 20,000 crore over the last seven quarters with diversification to newer businesses like business banking, gold loans, home loans, agri-SME, consumer durables and two-wheelers. The diversification and de-risking of the book has resulted in close to 200 basis points decline in yields. However, the riskiness of the portfolio is coming down with a declining ratio of risk weighted assets to total assets. Source: Company While this has resulted in compression in interest margin, it should gradually stabilise as the bank becomes successful in garnering deposits and brings down the cost of funds. In the past seven quarters, deposits have risen over 15 times from Rs 815 crore in Q1 FY18 to Rs 12,573 crore in Q3 FY19. Today, deposits fund close to 67 percent of advances compared to 11 percent seven quarters back. However, CASA (low cost current and savings accounts) is languishing at 24 percent and deserves focus. The conversion to a bank has resulted in an increase in up-front or initial costs. Consequently, cost to income ratio (operating expenses to net total income) has risen to 61 percent, much higher than peer group banks (usually less than 50 percent). Going forward, as the bank sweats its investment and sees improved traction in fees from an expanded distribution network, this ratio should moderate, providing a fillip to earnings. What stands out for AU amid the high growth is its ability to contain asset quality stress with gross and net non-performing assets at 2.1 percent and 1.3 percent of advances respectively. We see a strong and profitable growth journey ahead. Seen in this context, the correction has rendered the valuation reasonable. Unlike AU, where growth is the hallmark of the business, MAS is a cautious NBFC based out of Gujarat that has weathered several sectoral challenges in the past and is coming out with flying colours from the headwinds confronting the NBFC space now. Promoted by Kamlesh Gandhi and Mukesh Gandhi, this Gujarat-based NBFC operates across six states and Delhi although a majority of the branches are in the economically vibrant states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The business primarily focuses on loans to small businesses and individuals. At present there are four product categories micro enterprise loans (MEL), SME (small & medium enterprise), two wheeler and CV (commercial vehicle) loans. The company also has a housing finance subsidiary catering to affordable housing. Over the years, the company has grown its book in a calibrated manner without taking on unnecessary risk. Source: Company MAS has a unique sourcing model. In addition to its sales team, the company has entered into commercial arrangements with a large number of sourcing intermediaries, including commission based Direct Selling Agents and revenue sharing arrangements with various dealers and distributors, where part of the loans that go bad are guaranteed by such sourcing partners. It has over 120 small NBFC partners for sourcing business. The company has stringent qualitative and quantitative evaluation criteria that keeps a check on delinquency. This is reflected in the numbers with the Gross NPA and net NPA at 1.19% and 0.95% of advances respectively. Source: Company The diversified funding profile, together with a big demand from banks for assets originated by the company, has shielded it in the wake of the funding crisis in NBFCs. While a rise in funding cost might impact near-term margin performance, there is little risk to its growth. The current weak sentiment may be just the right opportunity to gradually accumulate these high quality businesses for the long term. For more research articles, visit our Moneycontrol Research page Moneycontrol Research analysts do not hold positions in the companies discussed here Indian market consolidated for a second consecutive session in a row on Friday and closed flat. However, on weekly basis, both Sensex and Nifty rose 0.6 percent, and 0.2 percent respectively. The big outperformer was the broader market as both Nifty Midcap and Small-cap indices recorded gains of over 2 percent each for the week ended February 22. In terms of sectors, Nifty Metal rose 6 percent, followed by nearly 5 percent rally in the Realty sector, and Nifty Media rose 3.7 percent in the week. The Nifty formed a Hammer-like candle on the weekly charts and close above 10808 could confirm bullish bias. But, the market is getting nervous around 10800 levels due to lack of leadership in terms of stocks or sectors. After hitting a bottom at 10585, experts feel that the index should retest 10900 in the coming week, but could face selling pressure at higher levels around 11,000 in the short term. There is some kind of nervousness around 10800 but the kind of move which started from 10585 two days back, the chances of the index retesting highs of 10900-10950 remain high. Fundamentally, if we look at the trading zone of 10550-11000, Nifty trades at 17.7x 1-year forward earning and valuation point of view we would find buying support whenever the index slips below 10600, Shailendra Kumar, CIO, Narnolia Financial Advisors Ltd told Moneycontrol. On the higher side, for the market to break pat 11000 ceiling, the index requires some leadership and right now for the last three months we dont have any specific pocket in the market which is consistently doing better than the average market. Without leadership the range will remain for the foreseeable short term as well, he added. Stocks in news: Shares of GMR Infrastructure gained 2 percent after the company signed a concession agreement to develop a new international airport in Greece. Kotak Mahindra Bank shares fell over 3 percent as 8.3 crore shares worth Rs 10,307 crore traded on both indices. Adani Enterprises surged over 7 percent after Adani Defence bags UAV contract from Indian Army worth USD 2 billion. Shares of Suzlon Energy rose 31 percent on the back of a report that a Danish firm may buy a controlling stake in the company. Global Updates: European market were trading mixed as market participants closely monitored the signs of progress in trade talks between the US and China. Among Asia, the Shanghai composite index rose nearly 2 percent to close at 2,804.23, South Korea's Kospi ended higher at 2,230.50 and Hang Seng index finished 0.3 percent higher at 28816.30. Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.18 percent to finish at 21,425.51. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Shares of Bharat Electronics (BEL) rose as much as 2 percent in early trade after signing an MoU with Nagpur-based JSR Dynamics. "The MoU aims at leveraging the individual design and manufacturing capabilities of BEL and JSR to develop weapons and light weight cruise missiles," BEL said in a statement. BEL also signed an agreement with Hughes India to work on satellite communication solutions for helicopters under the Ministry of Defence. The company also launched its news product Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) at Aero India 2019 held in Bengaluru. At 09:19 hrs, Bharat Electronics was quoting at Rs 78.50 on the BSE, up 1.36 percent. Representative Image live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More As the counting of votes from the extraordinary general meeting held on February 21 goes on at Jet Airways, many of the airline's stakeholders, including pilots and investors, are keenly watching from the sidelines. The airline had called for the EGM to put to vote its resolution plan, which includes allotment of 114 million shares to lenders and conversion of debt into equity. Jet Airways has time till February 23 to announce the result. Post the EGM result, the management is expected to make an announcement that will provide better clarity on how much debt will get converted into equity and if Etihad Airways will bring in more money. The Abhu Dhabi-based airline currently holds 21 percent stake in Jet Airways and the same will reduce to 12 percent as the shareholding dilutes after the share allotment. That stake may go higher if Etihad Airways pumps in more money. But it remains to be seen how much the airline eventually invests, as it is not keen to participate in an open offer, which will get triggered once the shareholding crosses 25 percent. The banks, led by State Bank of India (SBI), are also expected to infuse some more liquidity into the airline, which has been forced to ground its aircraft, prune its network and delay salaries to its pilots. It has a debt of nearly Rs 8,000 crore and repayments of about Rs 1,700 crore due by March. Also see: SBI, PNB may pump in Rs 500 crore in Jet Airways if other lenders agree The Jet Airways management had promised to clear salary dues of its pilots by March. Though the pilots were promised that almost half of the arrears will be cleared this month, sources told Moneycontrol that only 25 percent was paid. "The dues now are 25 percent of the November salary and the whole of December and January salaries," an industry executive said, adding: "The pilots are waiting to hear from the management. They are hoping that a deal fructifies and the liquidity crunch is taken care of. Otherwise, there will be pressure on the pilot's union to take action." Piramal Enterprises' (PEL) largest selling painkiller, Saridon has sales of nearly Rs 100 crore, Nandini Piramal, its Executive Director, told Moneycontrol. We sell 31 tablets of Saridon every second and it is growing at sales of Rs 100 crore, said Piramal. The Supreme Court has exempted the pain relief tablet brand from the list of banned fixed-dose combinations (FDCs). In an exchange filing, the company said the apex court ruled in favour of Saridon, which is a heritage brand of its healthcare product portfolio. Commenting on the court order, Piramal said, "We are pleased with the Supreme Court ruling as it is an affirmation to our commitment to provide effective and safe healthcare solutions that address unique needs of Indian consumers. We were confident that the law would prevail in our favour." "In September 2018, PEL had been awarded a stay order from the Supreme Court on the ban, which allowed it to continue manufacturing, distribution and sale of the FDC," it said. Last year in September, the government had banned 328 FDCs, which were termed 'irrational' on the basis of safety issues and lack of therapeutic justification. Piramal said they will expand their healthcare product portfolio and aim to be among the top three over-the-counter (OTC) product companies in India by 2020. Saridon is available across a distribution network of nine lakh outlets in India. It would be in the bigots best interest if no one pointed out that the number of hate groups operating in America reached a record high last year more than 1,020, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. It would suit them just fine if everyone ignored the fact there had been three years of decline in the groups under President Barack Obama, but since Trump launched his presidential bid in 2015, the numbers have grown for four years straight. Ravindra V Rao Pulses are always in the limelight, for surplus production and lower prices or vice-a-versa. 2018-19 is no different. This time, output of the largest grown rabi pulse crop (chana) is set to shrink after two years of higher production. Two back-to-back years of record production led to a huge build-up of chana stockpiles in India in 2017-18, which resulted in a steep fall in prices last year. The lower prices prompted farmers to shift to other, more remunerative crops in the 2018-19 season. Thus, acreage under chana declined almost 10% this year. The government hiked the minimum support price (MSP) of chana by Rs 250 (to Rs 4,650) for 2018-19 season. Even then, the higher MSP failed to attract farmers as prices last year were almost 8-10% below the then support price (Rs 4,400 for 2017-18). Moreover, drought in the second-largest chana-producing state, Maharashtra, resulted in lower acreage in this season. Chana prices tested 4,750 in early December, retreating thereafter amid fears of huge government-held stocks. Also, in Karnataka and AP, harvesting of the early-sown chana crop commenced in January followed by Maharashtra later in the month. This too piled pressure on chana prices in early February. At the present juncture, the crop in many districts of MP (the largest chana-growing state) is in a ready-to-harvest condition. However, a cold wave in January and the recent reports of heavy rains and hailstorms have raised concerns about yield. A pull-back has thus been seen in chana prices in the past one week. Weather may still play a critical role as it would not only affect the yield but also delay harvesting. The present situation depicts a positive price picture in the short term. However, with a pick-up in harvesting in MP and Rajasthan, chana prices are bound to slide by late March. Chana production in 2018-19 may drop substantially from a record 112 lakh tonnes in 2017-18. The Madhya Pradesh farm department has pegged the 2018-19 chana output in the state at 52 lakh tonnes. Also, the state is expected to start procuring chana next month at the MSP. Meanwhile, the market is awaiting the second advance estimates of the 2018-19 crop, to be released soon by the Agriculture Ministry. On fundamentals, the long-term price outlook for chana is positive. In the short term, though, prices would be driven by the weather, harvesting pressure and the governments procurement policy. The author is Head - Commodity Research & Advisory, Anand Rathi Commodities The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on moneycontrol.com are his own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Bank of Baroda (BoB) has tied up with Germany's KfW Development Bank to extend funding of USD 113 million to refinance solar projects, under the Solar Partnership II Promotion of Solar PV in India. This proposal constitutes part of the overarching Indo-German Solar Energy Partnership, BoB said in a statement on Friday. Under an inter-governmental MoU in 2015, Germany has committed to providing financing support through KfW Development Bank for solar photo voltaic investments, it said. Dear Sandra: I certainly would want to know if I were the person in those see-through tights and would be grateful if you told me (after class so I dont go through the whole hour being embarrassed). But your yoga classmate unless you know her very well might not appreciate the direct approach. If you think that is the case, ask your teacher to deliver the bad news in private to her student. A yoga instructor I know told me she always wears underwear beneath her yoga pants, even the very expensive ones, no exceptions having seen too many nearly bare backsides in her years of teaching. A: What is familiarly remembered as Pearl Harbor is in fact an empire-wide attack by Japan on the United States Pacific holdings. In a matter of hours, Japan attacks the Philippines, Hawaii, Wake Island and Guam, but its remembered as an attack on Hawaii. There is an amazing moment later where Nixon, who fought in the Pacific, is talking about Hawaii and says its the only U.S. territory struck during World War II. And he served there. That kind of memory is forged in the day or two after the attack when you see drafts of FDRs speech and hes trying to figure out how to narrate this event. Militarily the damage done in the Philippines is arguably just as bad or worse than Hawaii. Just after the invasion and bombing, Eleanor Roosevelt describes the attack as a bombing of Hawaii and the Philippines. His secretary of state narrates it this way. In the end, the Philippines is conquered, one million people die there thats just Philippine numbers. Its the bloodiest event to ever take place on U.S. soil. But (in the days after the initial 1941 attack), the Philippines is crossed out of speeches, presumably because of a sense it is insufficiently domestic. Places with more white people sold better as the United States. Theres also the question of what the public backs. In polls right before Pearl Harbor, the public is asked if it supports a military defense of the Philippines. Though Muti often will say a few words to the audience before a concert carrying such urgent social content, he didnt this time, and indeed, didnt need to. It would be difficult to match the aura of austere stillness and solemnity that opens Schumans Ninth. The hushed dissonance of its softly stated strings, the air of mystery and dread it implies and the subsequent quizzical figures in the winds set the stage for one of the most chilling works in the American symphonic canon. Chicago area stores, for now, will likely still be selling the final bottles from Florida, where production has ended. At the moment, the only place you can definitely find locally made Malort, by the bottle ($18 for 750 milliliters, $3 for 50 milliliters) and the shot glass ($4), is the CH Distillery tasting room on Randolph Street, in the West Loop Gate neighborhood. (When it reaches local stores, the price is expected to stay the same as Florida-made Malort; Binnys charges $17.99.) If youre wondering about the origin, check the back label. The distillery would not disclose how many bottles were in the first run, but there should be enough to supply our partners for the next three months, said Dan Janes, director of marketing. (CNN) UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that Shamima Begum, the teenager who left London to join ISIS in Syria, should be allowed back into the country and called the government's decision to strip her of her British citizenship "a very extreme maneuver." "She obviously has, in my view, a right to return to Britain," opposition leader Corbyn, who is currently in Brussels meeting with EU officials, told CNN affiliate ITV on Thursday. "On that return she must obviously face a lot of questions about everything she's done. And at that point any action may or may not be taken." Begum, 19, who gave birth to her son over the weekend in a Syrian refugee camp, implored the British government to bring her home in a series of interviews. But on Wednesday, the UK Home Office informed her parents that it planned on taking away the teenager's British citizenship to prevent her from returning home. "She was born in Britain, she has that right to remain in Britain, and obviously she has a lot of questions to answer," Corbyn said on Thursday. The move by Home Office Secretary Sajid Javid to remove Begum's citizenship has sparked a debate about the legality behind it. A spokesman for the Home Office told CNN that the Home Secretary can deprive someone of their British citizenship "where it would not render the individual stateless." Begum's family is of Bangladeshi origin, according to former chief superintendent for the Metropolitan Police, Dal Bab, who has been in contact with the family. However the Bangladesh foreign ministry said in a statement that Begum is not a Bangladeshi citizen, nor has she ever visited the country. "The Government of Bangladesh is deeply concerned that she has been erroneously identified as a holder of dual citizenship shared with Bangladesh alongside her birthplace, the United Kingdom," the statement said. "She is a British citizen by birth and has never applied for dual nationality with Bangladesh ... There is no question of her being allowed to enter into Bangladesh." Javid told Parliament on Wednesday that children of jihadists who lose their citizenship could still be British, which could mean Begum's newborn son could be entitled to British citizenship. Begum was 15 when she flew out of London's Gatwick Airport with two classmates and traveled to Syria. The young women, all from the Bethnal Green Academy in east London, planned to join another classmate who had traveled to Syria months earlier. This story was first published on CNN.com. "Jeremy Corbyn calls for ISIS bride Shamima Begum's 'return to Britain'." UAE awards $5.5bn in military contracts to intl firms UAE awards $5.5bn in military contracts to intl firms The United Arab Emirates awarded $5.5 billion worth of military procurement contracts during a defense show this week, with arms sales under scrutiny due to its role in Yemens war, Reuters said. The majority were awarded to international companies such as US firms Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. The UAE also awarded deals to firms from Russia, Turkey, Pakistan and South Africa at the five-day IDEX military exhibition. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are leading a coalition that is battling the Houthi movement to try to restore the internationally recognized government in Yemen, which was ousted in 2014.Source : RT - Daily news Donald Trumps mercantile courtship with Saudi Arabia, which now reportedly seeks to acquire US nuclear know-how, is placing the world in danger, analysts told RT, warning that Riyadh could develop atomic weapons to nuke Iran. It is very, very alarming. Its a terrible thing to spread this kind of technology to a totalitarian state like Saudi Arabia, political consultant Lew Rockwell told RT. His comments followed reports alleging that Trumps adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner had engaged in secret dealings for the transfer of nuclear technology to build dozens of power plants in the Saudi desert. He was accompanied by former national security adviser Mike Flynn, and Trump fundraiser Thomas Barrack. This is a very reckless thing to be doing, added Rockwell. Also on rt.com Iran slams US hypocrisy over potential sale of nuclear secrets to Saudi Arabia No limits to nukes Experts were especially alarmed by a part of the report claiming that Riyadh refused to agree to restrictions on enriching uranium and processing plutonium. They want to produce plutonium so they can produce nuclear weapons, Rockwell explained. They want Saudi Arabia to have nuclear weapons so they can be threatened or maybe used against Iran, so Israel wont have to use its nuclear weapons. Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), does appear to be serious about acquiring nuclear capability, according to US political commentator and academic Gerald Horne. MBS was just in Pakistan, which is a major nuclear proliferator, and that is very ominous, dangerous and suspicious that these two world powers have been huddling together, presumably with Iran in the crosshairs, he said. Capitalizing on possible war Iran and Saudi Arabia are notorious regional rivals in a decades-long feud fueled by religious differences. Iran, a largely Shia Muslim country, has been challenging Saudi Sunni power across the region by supporting opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen. The rivalry also stretches to other parts of the Middle East, and their support for different political factions in Iraq and Lebanon. There could be a huge war. So, for the US to be doing this... my guess would be [that] people are making plenty of money out of this, Rockwell said. All part of Trumps plan The experts also noted that allowing the kingdom to develop its own nukes is perfectly in line with the foreign policy objectives of Washington. Last year, it withdrew from a cornerstone non-proliferation agreement (JCPOA), and renewed sanctions on Tehran to the loud applause of Israel, which had bitterly opposed the 2015 nuclear deal. This is all part of Trump's plan... to destroy Iran, Rockwell explained. It is a huge risk because Mohammed bin Salman will be very capable of nuking Iran. The idea that they would arm Mohammed bin Salman with nuclear weapons is certainly something out of the science-fiction movie. Its like Dr Strangelove, he added. If you like this story, share it with a friend! Oil major Saudi Aramco and Chinese companies have signed an agreement to develop a joint refining and petrochemical complex worth more than US$10 billion during Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salmans two-day trip to Beijing. Aramco and China North Industries Corporation, officially abbreviated as Norinco, along with Panjin Sincen, agreed to create the largest Sino-Foreign joint venture on Friday. The new complex will be located in the city of Panjin in the Chinese Liaoning province, and is set to start commercial operation in 2024, the Saudi company said in a statement. The partners will set up a new company called Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Co. Ltd., as part of a project that will include a 300,000-barrel-per-day refinery. Saudi Aramco will hold 35 percent of the newly formed venture, while its Chinese partners NORINCO and Panjin will hold 36 percent and 29 percent correspondingly, according to the deal. Aramco vowed to supply up to 70 percent of the crude feedstock for the refinery. The company also signed an agreement to buy a nine-percent stake in an 800,000-barrel-per-day integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in the Zhejiang province, it announced the same day. The multi-billion deal comes as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MbS) wrapped up his visit to China, Saudi Arabias largest trade partner, as part of his Asian tour. During his trip, the Saudi royal took a walk along the Great Wall before meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping. Saudi Arabia has long been eyeing investment in China, including its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Beijing has apparently become especially attractive for Riyadh, after some of its trade partners condemned the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last year. The crown prince has denied any links to Khashoggis death. Also on rt.com Russia & China to sign contract of the century for next-generation heavy helicopter Earlier this month, Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih told Xinhua news agency that major investment between the two countries is just starting. Saudi Arabia has a lot of capital that needs to find profitable places to be deployed. China is a great place to invest with a huge market and an improving environment, the minister stated. China is Saudi Arabias top trade partner. However, when it comes to crude imports, Russia has remained the leading crude oil supplier to the country for the past two years, leaving the kingdom behind. For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section Russias United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) plans to deliver Be-200 amphibious airplanes meant for Indias domestic market, the aircrafts manufacturer has announced. UAC plans to supply Be-200 planes for organizing domestic Indian flights, Chief Executive Officer of Beriev Aircraft Yuri Grudinin told media on Thursday. We are holding talks with potential partners. The Beriev Be-200 is a multipurpose amphibian plane with a capacity of 12 tons of water designed for extinguishing fires. It is also used for search and rescue, maritime patrol, as well as cargo and passenger transportation, capable of carrying up to 70 passengers. The jet can land on ice-covered airfields as well as water surfaces. India has been modernizing its air fleet. During the second day of Indias largest airshow, Aero India 2019, Russias Federal Service of Military-Technical Cooperation said that New Delhi may soon order an additional batch of Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters. Russia has already sent an offer for supplying up to 21 jets to India and is awaiting Delhis decision. It is just one of multiple deals the two countries may sign in the near future. Also on rt.com Magnificent seven: Top-notch Russian aircraft that may land in Indias shopping cart soon This year, Aero India runs from February 20 to 24 in Bangalore. Russian companies are presenting more than 200 military-purpose items at the air show. For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section A social media account sharing anime-style drawings of religious icons has caused public outcry in Russia, with priests and believers calling the artwork inappropriate and sinful. A social media group followed by thousands of people has been posting images of religious icons with the faces of characters from Japanese cartoons. The pictures, which feature representations of Jesus, Mary and a number of saints, seemed to capture the imagination of netizens but failed to impress members of the Russian Orthodox Church, some of whom accused the artists of blasphemy. A number of people even suggested that the controversial pictures may have breached Russian laws. The provocative images came to the publics attention in mid-February, when a TV channel in the Russian city of Ufa (1,355 km east of Moscow) aired an interview with a local church leader who called the artists creative efforts inappropriate and sinful. The priest also accused them of ignorance and violation of canon law. Local churchgoers were also uneasy with the artworks, with one woman saying she was wounded to the quick, while another slammed the artists for poking fun at God. Local church authorities said they are currently checking the controversial images. In 2013, President Vladimir Putin signed a law criminalizing actions aimed at insulting believers religious sensibilities. The most famous case taken under the legislation saw blogger Ruslan Sokolovsky receive a three-and-a-half-year suspended sentence for playing Pokemon Go on his phone in a church. Also on rt.com Siberian Orthodox believers vent anger at vodka sold in chapel-shaped bottles If you like this story, share it with a friend! Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to safeguard the United States from the purported evils of socialism but critics note that the US president is fine with giving government subsidies to the rich and well-connected. During his State of the Union address, Trump bemoaned the new calls to adopt socialism in our country. His detractors, however, have pointed to the generous government funding for industries such as agriculture not to mention the presidents calls for vast infrastructure projects, including his beloved wall on the border with Mexico. Trump is a hypocrite and a capitalist of the worst kind, Solomon Comissiong, host and founder of the Your World News Radio Show and Media Collective, told RT. He added that Americans suffer from a large amount of ignorance about what socialism really is, noting that the country would benefit immensely if Trump shared the wealth and not just with the wealthy. 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Share it with a friend! Handouts for the rich? Hypocrite Trump called out for socialism double standard (VIDEO) Handouts for the rich? Hypocrite Trump called out for socialism double standard (VIDEO) Source : RT - Daily news Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has refused to recognize Juan Guaido as Venezuelas interim president, calling instead for new elections. His comments have enraged Democratic lawmakers who are pushing for regime change. Sanders is widely seen as a top contender to take on Donald Trump in 2020, but his views on the current political crisis in Venezuela have put him at odds with the Democratic Party. In an interview with Univision, the senator an independent who identifies as a democratic socialist was asked if he considers self-declared interim president Juan Guaido to be the legitimate leader of Venezuela. No. I think what has to happen right now I think there are serious questions about the recent election. There are many people who feel it was a fraudulent election, and I think the United States has got to work with the international community to make sure that there is a free and fair election in Venezuela, Sanders responded. While he stressed the need for international cooperation in resolving the standoff between Guaido and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Sanders said that the United States must not use military force and intervene again as it has done in the past in Latin America whether it was Chile or Brazil or the Dominican Republic or Guatemala. The interview ruffled the feathers of Democratic lawmakers in Florida, who have adopted a hardline stance on Venezuela in order to appeal to the states politically active community of anti-Maduro Venezuelan-Americans. He is not going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party. He has demonstrated again that he does not understand this situation, Rep. Donna Shalala, a Miami Democrat who represents Venezuelan exiles, told Politico. The outlet also cited a statement released by the Florida Democratic Party, which said unequivocally that the group recognizes Juan Guaido as Venezuelas legitimate leader. Also on rt.com Venezuelan military rejects Trump threats, reiterates loyalty to Maduro Guaido declared himself interim president in January, a move that was quickly backed by Washington and a number of its Western allies. In recent weeks, thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in Caracas both for and against Maduro. However, the Venezuelan military has stood by the current government, leaving many to speculate that the US-backed usurpation attempt has already fizzled out. to RT newsletter to get stories the mainstream media wont tell you. Chinas coal imports from Australia continue as normal ministry Chinas coal imports from Australia continue as normal ministry Chinas Australian coal imports continue as normal, but the customs administration has stepped up environment and safety checks on foreign cargoes, Geng Shuang, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said on Friday. Geng said that a report that the northern port of Dalian has banned Australian coal imports was not true. On Thursday, Reuters reported that customs at Dalian has banned imports of Australian coal and will cap overall coal imports from all sources to the end of 2019 at 12 million tons.Source : RT - Daily news SAGINAW, MI In response to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessels update of her offices investigation of what she dubbed clergy abuse in the Catholic church, Saginaw Diocese interim Bishop Walter Hurley has responded to some of her comments. Hurley says the diocese is unaware of any non-disclosure agreements involving child sexual abuse by clergy. The diocese again pledged to cooperate with law enforcement. Saginaw Catholic Diocese spokesman Y. Chris Pham provided MLive/The Saginaw News with Hurleys statement Friday, Feb. 22, a day after Nessels press conference in Lansing in which she discussed the states investigation into alleged sexual abuse in all seven of Michigans Catholic dioceses. Hurley has served as the Saginaw dioceses interim bishop since the death of Bishop Joseph R. Cistone in October. His statement provided by the diocese Friday reads: "I fully agree with Attorney General Dana Nessel that victims of child sexual abuse deserve to be heard, and their abusers brought to justice. "To the best of our knowledge, the Diocese has not entered into non-disclosure agreements involving child sexual abuse by clergy and we have no intention of doing so in the future. "The Diocese pledges ongoing cooperation with the Attorney Generals investigation. If informed of an allegation of child sexual abuse, we will continue to turn the information over to law enforcement immediately. "We have not been notified by the Attorney Generals office of any accusations against any priest in active ministry. If we are notified, the accused would be placed on administrative leave immediately and we would follow the lead of law enforcement regarding the investigation. "I echo Attorney General Nessels request to anyone with reason to believe abuse has occurred: Please notify law enforcement immediately or call the Attorney Generals abuse hotline at 844-324-3374. As I stated earlier this week, these are difficult times for everyone victims and their families, the church and our community. We will continue to support the healing of victims and promote child safety. During her press conference Thursday, seven weeks into her term, Nessel said law enforcement has received more than 300 tips of alleged sexual misconduct in Michigans seven Catholic dioceses since her office began investigating the issue in August 2018 under her predecessor, Bill Schuette. She added that the investigation will take in the neighborhood of two years and that upwards of 1,000 sex-abuse victims could be uncovered. She did not elaborate on how her office arrived at that potential number of victims. She stressed to the public they not go to church officials with abuse claims. If an investigator comes to your door and asks to speak with you, please ask to see their badge and not their rosary, she said, adding she has heard stories from people encouraged to take settlements and sign nondisclosure agreements. The attorney generals office has established two reporting mechanisms for those who may be victims or having information regarding alleged sexual misconduct. The first is a website at www.michigan.gov/CI, which allows for confidential reporting. The second is a hotline at 1-844-324-3374, which is in operation from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. SAGINAW, MI A man accused of shooting Saginaw Township Police Officer Jeff Koenig begged another police officer to kill him hours later, the officer testified Thursday in a Saginaw courtroom. Five people testified on Thursday, Feb. 21 in Saginaw County District Judge Terry L. Clarks courtroom during a preliminary examination for 26-year-old Joshua Rosebush. They included Shiawassee County Sheriffs Detective Lt. Scott Shenk, who said after Koenig was shot in the face and shoulder on Jan. 22, he saw the suspect - Rosebush - driving east on I-69. He followed and eventually Rosebush pulled over, jumping out of the car and getting near Shenk in a crouching position with a gun pointed at him, Shenk said. At that time, I came out of my door in the crack of my door I fired two rounds at him and then an additional round. When I fired the first two rounds I observed him jump back, Shenk said. He said at the time he didnt know he had shot him, with the bullet striking Rosebushs cheek. Rosebush began yelling, Come on, (expletive) shoot me, come on, Shenk said. Shenk said two marked police cars pulled up and Rosebush was taken into custody. Rosebush is currently facing 26 felony charges, according to Blair Stevenson, Saginaw County deputy chief assistant prosecutor. The continuation of the preliminary exam is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, March 7. The planned witnesses include Koenig, who is home from the hospital after undergoing multiple surgeries. The following reflects the opinion of The Saginaw News Editorial Board. The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw is facing a crisis, and its initial slow response didnt help. Prosecutors say the diocese stonewalled law enforcement as it investigated claims of child sexual abuse by clergy. Some of those claims go back decades, prosecutors contend. For victims of clergy sex abuse, the wounds run deep. Some describe a lifetime of guilt and doubt after church officials and their parents either ignored their stories of sexual abuse as children or hushed them up priests wouldnt do that. Would they? The Catholic Church today is grappling with the sex-abuse scandal across Michigan, the United States and worldwide. Pope Francis is meeting this weekend with church leaders at the Vatican to discuss the issue. A common thread is the churchs refusal through the ages to acknowledge the victims. And even now, when a priest is accused and charged in criminal court, the church has been too slow to respond. In the Saginaw Diocese, allegations of sexual misconduct facing the Rev. Robert DeLand Jr., who heads to trial in March, date to 2017. Diocese leaders at first said they would cooperate with authorities investigating the matter. But prosecutors say the church wasnt as forthcoming as they felt it should have been. It led to a police raid of diocese offices in 2018 and created bad blood between police and church leaders. When MLive/The Saginaw News began asking church officials for information, the diocese put off interview requests. Eventually, interim Bishop Walter Hurley and former diocese delegate Michael Talbot, a retired appeals court judge, agreed to answer questions. Hurley admitted things should have been done differently when it came to answering police questions. DeLands arrest has shaken the faith of the Saginaw Dioceses 100,000 members in mid-Michigan, with church officials admitting the sex-abuse scandal has hurt attendance and tithing. As the state Attorney Generals Office continues its investigation into sex-abuse claims in all seven Michigan Catholic dioceses, theres a lesson to be learned from what happened in Saginaw. Cooperation between all parties is essential. There should be no foot-dragging when it comes to sharing information. Victims who say their abuse damaged them for years need compassion and understanding. Though it is painful for the church to face a sex scandal thats been brewing for decades, only by bringing it into the light can the healing begin. OCEANA COUNTY, MI A groomsman was acquitted of raping the maid of honor following a wedding they both were in by jurors who determined they had consensual sex. It took jurors less than an hour to return the verdict Thursday, Feb. 21, in Oceana County Circuit Court. Defense attorney Terry Nolan said he believes the woman lodged the complaint against Mark Steven Langston II of Muskegon because hes African-American. I believe this was a black/white thing, Nolan said. I really do. Langston, 32, was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, and could have faced more than 22 years in prison, Nolan said. The jury could have found him guilty of third-degree CSC by either force/coercion or by taking advantage of an incapacitated person. Instead, the all-white jury found him not guilty. Oceana County Prosecutor Joseph Bizon refuted Nolans assertion that the womans complaint was racially-motivated. That is contrary to evidence presented at trial which indicated the defendant had been friends with this entire group for years and had never had any issue with any members of the group before this incident, Bizon said. The prosecution presented a solid case, the best case possible, based on the evidence," he said. While Bizon said the case showed the system works as it should, he also said it provided a lesson. As a culture and society we still have a lot to learn about how to treat and approach victims of crime, he said. Langston was the only African-American member of the wedding party and had been long-time close friends with the groom, Nolan said. The wedding occurred in New Era on June 23, 2018, Nolan said. The bride and groom had rented a home near Silver Lake for the wedding party to stay, he said. Langston and the 32-year-old maid of honor, who is the brides sister, ended up in bed together in the same room where a bridesmaid also was sleeping, he said. His defense was consent that this was consensual sex with essentially buyers remorse in the morning, Nolan said. Nolan said the couple were discovered by the other bridesmaid when she woke up. The groom then ordered Langston out of the house, but he refused to leave, saying their encounter was consensual, Nolan said. The Oceana County Sheriffs office then was called. The jury returned its verdict after a 1 -day trial. KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI -- With Labor Day falling on a later date in 2020, Kalamazoo Countys intermediate school district is taking action that would allow local schools to start classes prior to the holiday weekend for that school year and two others. Dave Campbell, superintendent of the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Services Agency, said the decision to apply for the early-start waiver was made after staff noticed that Labor Day fell on a later date in 2020, he said. Observed on the first Monday of September, the holiday occurs on a different day of the month each year, though always falling somewhere within Sept. 1-7. In 2020, Labor Day falls on Monday, Sept. 7. Most Michigan districts begin their school year the Tuesday after the holiday, but more districts across the state are applying for waivers from the Michigan Department of Education in order to begin earlier. KRESA applied for the waiver for school years 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, Campbell said. The Kalamazoo County ISD includes Kalamazoo, Portage, Parchment, Comstock, Gull Lake, Galesburg-Augusta, Climax-Scotts, Vicksburg and Schoolcraft public school districts. If the waiver is approved, individual districts will be free to start their school year before Labor Day, Campbell said. Individual waivers from each district are not required after an ISD waiver is approved. Whether calendars change at any of the individual districts will be up to each superintendent, Campbell said. Gull Lake Community Schools and Portage Public Schools will both follow the advice of the intermediate school district, according to representatives for the local districts. Kalamazoo Public Schools has not yet made a decision on the 2020 calendar, district spokesperson Alex Lee said. Each district can decide whether to use the waiver if its approved, Campbell said, but KRESA staff hope the county schools will stay synchronized because of the number of shared programs. He said there is no timeline for when the state might approve KRESAs waiver request. Without an early start, the school year would extend farther into June. With the threat of snow days, that last day of school could be even later, he said. Students learn better in August than they do in late June, Campbell said. And without air conditioning in some school buildings, he said extending the school year is not sensible. Labor Day this year falls on Monday, Sept. 2. Schools traditionally start the first day after the holiday. Otsego Public Schools in Allegan County moved away from the traditional schedule in the upcoming school year. Students in Otsego will start school this year on Aug. 19, the district said. Mattawan Consolidated School, a member of the Van Buren County ISD, will begin school a week early in 2020. Superintendent Robin Buchler advocated for the change over the last two years with a goal of improving student performance. At a Board of Education meeting Monday, Feb. 12, the board voted to approve the calendar change in 2020. This was a compromise from Buchlers original plan of beginning school two weeks early in August 2019. In 2006, Michigan law began mandating schools start after Labor Day in an effort to help support the states tourism industry. In 2017, a law to remove the Labor Day requirement was proposed but failed to pass. Schools can apply for a waiver from the state and start their year prior to Labor Day if they meet certain criteria, including schools that operate on a year-round calendar, those that offer summer learning options and those that provide early/middle college programs. The calendar will better align with schedules at Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Western Michigan University, Campbell said. Districts early middle college programs will also benefit from the more synchronized schedule, he said. KRESA will hold public meetings before the change if the waiver is approved, Campbell said. This is a new process for us so we are working closely with MDE and the school districts to ensure we do it properly, he said. Planning schools calendars is a slow process as we involve various groups of people in the process to generate calendars that will work as well as possible. JACKSON, MI -- The state of Michigan recently ushered in two new leaders who have the power to make an immediate and positive impact in Jackson County by ushering out Sheriff Steven Rand. We hope Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel have the courage and moral fortitude to do what their predecessors did not. More than a year ago, Rand was caught on tape making misogynistic and sexist remarks, including a graphic description of a pornographic snuff film hed like to make, in which he shoots a court employee in the back of the head while having sex with her. The tapes were released to the Citizen Patriot/MLive following a lawsuit filed by sheriffs Lt. Tommy Schuette, who alleged Rand started discriminating against him after Schuette suffered a work-related hearing loss. The lawsuit also describes Rand as a multi-faceted bigot, who regularly denigrates women, minorities, the LGBTQ community and the disabled. After the tapes went public, the County Board of Commissioners, the City Council, the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, the Jackson Branch of the NAACP and the Citizen Patriot/MLive Editorial Board called on Rand to resign. He refuses to do so. The County Board and City Council went a step further, calling on former Gov. Rick Snyder to remove Rand for misconduct in office. Snyder referred the matter to former Attorney General Bill Schuette for review. There it languished for 10 months, leaving this community in limbo unable to move forward or heal as Rand remains the top law enforcement official in the county. This week, Jackson Vice Mayor Arlene Robinson again called for Rands removal. His continued presence in office proves institutional racism is alive and well, Robinson noted. We agree. In addition to the profanity-laden tapes, the Citizen Patriot/MLive investigation last year also found: * Rand discharged his handgun inside his office, and did not report the incident to anyone except Undersheriff Chris Kuhl, who told the Citizen Patriot/MLive that he investigated the shooting and verbally counseled the sheriff about gun safety. No official police report was ever filed. * Rand also failed to take action against a jail commander who was publicly criticized by a judge for altering a hospitalized inmates bond, allowing him to go free. The commander said it was a mistake, but the judge called it borderline criminal. During a discussion of the incident on the tapes, Rand calls the judge a big old dick, and thanks the commander for taking one for the team. So far, Whitmer and Nessel have been quiet on Rand. Several requests from a reporter for an update have been unsuccessful. On the campaign trail in October, Whitmer accused Schuette of dragging his feet on the Rand case. She assured a reporter she would move swiftly, if elected. Its time to make good on that promise. JACKSON, MI Phrases like combating discrimination and making Jackson more tolerant and inclusive are often thrown around by city officials. One tangible way to put them into action is by removing Jackson County Sheriff Steven Rand from office, Vice Mayor and Councilwoman Arlene Robinson said Wednesday during her State of the City speech. Its been more than a year since a lawsuit was filed by sheriffs Lt. Tommy Schuette alleging Rand created a hostile work environment for him, harassing him because of what he says is a work-related hearing disability. Schuettes attorney released audio recordings that Schuette made during staff meetings, in which the sheriff calls a female judge a scatter-brained c--- and fantasizes about making a snuff film with a female courthouse employee. Rand has confirmed its his voice on the tapes and has apologized. The only way to remove a sheriff is through governor order or recall. Recall signature gathering has temporarily stalled and the earliest that could remove him is May 2020, just months before his term ends. City officials were among the first to call for Rands resignation a year ago, as did the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and Jackson NAACP branch. The Jackson County Board of Commissioners also called for Rands resignation or governor removal from office and later took away nearly $11,000 in Rands annual benefits. These words bigotry, intolerance, discrimination are words unfortunately that have come into our homes and into our city, Robinson said. To any of those who doubt that discrimination and institutional racism exist, (Rand still in office) is a simple and straightforward (case) where we can recognize it still exists. Robinson and Mayor Derek Dobies plan to write letters to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel to ask for Rands removal, since hes refused to resign. Similar letters sent to former Gov. Rick Snyder and former Attorney General Bill Schuette from the city and county resulted in no action. A representative in Whitmers office told Jackson County officials that they are investigating the issue, county board Chairman James Steve Shotwell Jr. said. "We're doing everything we can," Shotwell said. "We're waiting on the governor's office to do what she wants to do." A spokeswoman from Whitmers office declined comment on questions from MLive/Jackson Citizen Patriot, but said the administration is in conversations with Nessels office on the issue. The attorney generals office didnt respond to questions. Rand did not return requests seeking comment for this story. Other city leaders, including Jackson City Councilman Freddie Dancy, have expressed frustration that Rand is still in office. While advocating to rename Francis Street after Martin Luther King Jr., Dancy doubled down on asking the governor for a decision on the sheriff at the Feb. 12 council meeting. Youve got people complaining about naming a street after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, but we have a bigot sitting in a chair in office. Thats why the street renaming is so important, Dancy said. We need diversity, we need unity. Because we have people sitting in positions that dont offer that. They offer bigotry, they offer hate. Hate in their heart. MLive reporter Gus Burns contributed to this story. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A Holland lawyer is charged with income tax fraud for failing to report income he made from allegedly embezzling more than $300,000 from clients, federal attorney say. Jeffrey James Palmer is charged with wire fraud and making a false statement on an income tax return. Staff with the U.S. Attorneys office in Grand Rapids say Palmer embezzled about $339,000 from two client trust fund accounts between 2012 and 2016. At the same time, prosecutors say he failed to report the ill-gotten gains on his tax returns. As an example, prosecutors said, he failed to report $82,000 in income for the 2016 tax year and claimed he made $32,000 that year. Palmer already has agreed to plead guilty to the two charges, pay the $339,000 in restitution and also pay $55,000 in additional tax due for misreporting the income, federal prosecutors said. The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Grand Rapids police said an officer acted properly when he contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement in November following a former Marines arrest, a move that ultimately led to a three-day stay in an ICE detainment center. Grand Rapids Interim Police Chief David Kiddle issued a statement Friday, Feb. 22 following an internal affairs review of the case surrounding Jilmar Ramos-Gomez. Lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center asked for the review following Ramos-Gomezs arrest Nov. 21 and subsequent detainment by ICE authorities Dec. 14. Ramos-Gomez, a U.S. citizen born in Grand Rapids, was released when an immigration-law attorney provided ICE with documents showing his citizenship. ACLU lawyers wanted to know why Grand Rapids police contacted ICE in the first place and noted that Ramos-Gomez had several documents on him when arrested: Michigan drivers license, military identification and his U.S. passport. Kiddle, in the statement, noted that Ramos-Gomez set a fire at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital and accessed the helipad before being arrested, an incident that met the criteria of a potential act of terrorism. He cited the following factors to back the officers decision: Grand Rapids Police Department policy requires employees to report any suspected criminal activity, including those pertinent to the Department of Homeland Security of which ICE is a part ICE has resources for tracking the travel of citizens and non-citizens to countries associated with terrorist activities The national Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) initiative a post 9/11 joint effort encourages information sharing between local law enforcement agencies, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. Ramos-Gomez was in the Kent County Jail from Nov. 21 until he entered a trespassing plea on Dec. 14. He was set to be released that day, but instead was picked up by ICE officers and taken to a detention center. ICE authorities later said he claimed to be a foreign national during a jail interview. Ramos-Gomezs relatives said he has mental health issues from post-traumatic stress disorder. ACLU leaders, in a response to KIddles statement, said they were disappointed in the Grand Rapids police position. They issued the following statement: Together with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, we are extremely disappointed that the Grand Rapids Police Department has failed to hold itself or the officer involved accountable for a clear case of racial profiling. The GRPD had no reason to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a United States citizen, especially when he was arrested with his U.S. passport on him. The officers actions highlight why it is inappropriate for local law enforcement to collaborate with ICE. We call on the GRPD to ensure greater oversight of any contacts with ICE in order to restore community trust." KENT COUNTY, MI -- Daniel Reed considered himself a good friend to Aubrianne Moore, the mother who police say killed her three children and then herself. Despite her actions that took four lives and devastated her family and community, Moore, 28, is being remembered by her friend as someone with a sarcastic sense of humor who loved her children. I always knew her as a happy person, Reed said. Thats why this blindsided so many people. Reed said Moore came across as quiet and soft-spoken to those who didnt know her, but she opened up to friends. They used to spend time laughing and joking around bonfires. Reed and Moore dated years ago and they remained close friends after breaking up, he said. She loved those kids. If we were away from them for a few hours, she was always talking about them, he said. Kent County sheriffs investigators say Moore used a rifle to shoot and kill her daughters Kyrie Rodery, 8, Cassidy Rodery, 6, and Alaina Rau, 2, on property just a short distance down 19 Mile Road NE from her boyfriends house. She then drove the girls back to the boyfriends house before turning the gun on herself outside of her car. Her boyfriend discovered the grisly scene about 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 18. Police think she had mental health issues involving paranoia that led her to believe her children were in jeopardy. Reed, who knew Moore for 11 years, said he never saw warning signs. No one expected this, Reed said. It was out of nowhere. Im still trying to wrap my head around it." He said he had little contact with Moore in the last couple of weeks. He figures the issues she struggled with must have become suddenly worse in the last few days. Reed described the moment he heard that Moore had taken her childrens lives and then her own. My heart just sank way into my stomach. I was speechless, he said. I havent really slept much in the last few days. He knows some people are calling Moores actions monstrous, but he thinks at least some blame should go to the states mental health system. Moore spent 10 days at Forest View Psychiatric Hospital in Grand Rapids in September on a diagnosis of unspecified schizophrenia" and psychosis" following an involuntary committal. Reed thinks more should have been done to treat Moore and make sure her mental state was stable. Two clinicians who interviewed Aubrianne Moore in September 2018 didnt think she was a threat to others, but both concluded she posed a threat to herself, according to hospitalization petition documents in Newaygo County. There are no court records in either Newaygo or Kent county indicating abuse issues involving Moore and the children, and the Michigan Office of Childrens Ombudsman officials also said there were no child welfare or abuse investigations concerning them. KENT COUNTY, MI She brought the lives of her young girls to hellish ends. To her mind, she may have been protecting them. Aubrianne Moore, who struggled with mental illness, almost certainly lost touch with reality, her last days tortured, before she took her kids to the woods and shot them with a bolt-action hunting rifle, a psychologist said. She put them in the car, drove to the home of her youngest childs father and killed herself. He found their bodies. She lived a hell and in her mind, the only redemption for herself and her children was to leave this earth, said R. Scott Stehouwer, chairman of Calvin Colleges psychology department who has no ties to the case. Thats my bet. Could I be wrong? I doubt it. Moore, 28, shot her daughters, Kyrie Rodery, 8, Cassidy Rodery, 6, and Alaine Rau, 2, on Monday, Feb. 18, in the woods in Solon Township. Moore shot herself outside of her car on 19 Mile Road NE near Division Avenue. Investigators think that Moores mental illness played a significant role in the killings. She was involuntarily hospitalized in the fall for unspecified schizophrenia and psychosis, court records showed. Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young said Moores online statements showed she believed her children were in danger. She had some postings on Facebook and things like that that lead us to believe she was paranoid and thought that the kids were in jeopardy somehow. We suspect that led to the events this day, the sheriff said. Based on such reports and Moores previous involuntary hospitalization, Stehouwer said he believes that Moore suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, which can result in hallucinations, delusions and disorganized thinking if not treated with proper medication. This is the kind of thing thats very difficult to predict. Its terribly perplexing, he said. Yet, he said, the care and welfare of her children should have been a primary concern, and they should have been monitored after she was released from Forest View Psychiatric Hospital. Because she posed a danger to herself, a factor in her involuntary hospitalization, she had to have posed a danger to her children, Stehouwer said. If Child Protective Services had been notified, its oversight might have protected the children. The Michigan Office of Children's Ombudsman said there were no child welfare or abuse investigations involving Moore and the children. Mental health officials, speaking in general, said there likely weren't any threats made or perceived toward the children to trigger CPS involvement. Stehouwer is convinced that somebody dropped the ball, and that CPS should have been involved. He hoped for changes. I hope the children did not die in vain, Stehouwer said. Moore and her children lived with her mother in Newaygo County, police said. When he heard about the killings, Holland attorney John Moritzs first thought was that of a client, Tracy Camburn. She killed her daughters, Candice, 10, and Kimberly, 5, at their Zeeland home the night before the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. She poisoned and stabbed them. She heard voices that told her the world was ending. She thought she was preventing their eternal suffering. Im wondering, I dont know if there are some type of common denominators, Moritz said. Parents are instinctively, I think, wired to protect their children almost at all costs. Whatever it was that overpowered, overpowered that instinct, is what I would be interesting in knowing. He thinks that mothers like Camburn and Moore have a very realistic belief theyre protecting their children from some horrible fate. So, in my opinion, (Camburn) clearly believed she was saving her daughters from an eternity of abuse and torture. Before the killings, everyone thought she was a great, loving mom, a good mom, he said. She calmly talked to Zeeland police after the killings. A prosecution witness was among three experts who said Camburn was legally insane. But bloody pajamas, crime-scene photos and autopsy reports were too much to overcome. A jury convicted Camburn of first-degree murder. She could not understand why others did not see she was only protecting her daughters. She, without waver, was completely convinced that she was saving her children, not harming them, Moritz said. If she was sitting right here, she would say, What are you talking about? I did protect my children. Stehouwer, the Calvin professor, thinks Moore shared Camburns bizarre belief she was protecting her children by killing them. Moore was involuntarily admitted to a mental-health facility in September. She wasnt eating because she thought her food was poisoned. Voices on television told her to keep her kids home from school to avoid a bus crash. She couldnt sleep because she feared burglars were going to break in, reports showed. She certainly appeared to believe she was in danger and the children were in danger . That is not an unusual type of delusional belief. And what happens is, its extremely frightening for the people who experience it, Stehouwer said. It appears to be very difficult for these folks to differentiate whats real and whats not real. For most of us, the sound of a ventilation system is easily ignored. Someone suffering from paranoid schizophrenia might not be able to block it out. It can take on a life of its own. They might hear whispering. It isnt easy to excuse anyone of killing children but Stehouwer said Moore suffered a medical, biologically produced condition that altered reality for her. Fortunately, even those who are untreated, typically do not become violent unless they are pushed, and may react to what they perceive as a threat, an imminent threat, he said. However, the biggest issue is they tend to go off their medication. Im doing really well now, I dont need medication, he said. He differentiates cases such as those of Camburn and Moore from those, for instance, in which a parent harms a child to hurt the other parent. He acknowledged that a lot of people see pure evil, not an illness. I dont expect people in general to understand it because its not really understandable to the normal mind, to the healthy mind, he said. He has seen the photos of the children. Theyre darling. Their mom looks just like any other mom. He urged vigilance. If you see something, say something. Stehouwer said he knows those with paranoid schizophrenia who have lived in a type of hell. The problem is that (Moore) pulled her children into it, to the very end. GRAND RAPIDS, MI North Park Montessori parents were informed of the next steps regarding potential asbestos exposure at the school Thursday, Feb. 21. The focus of the update was spelling out two main pursuits -- getting an accurate reading of the potential asbestos contamination in the building and an investigation into how the potential contamination happened -- by the school district. The school, located at 3375 Cheney Ave. NE, has been closed since Friday, Feb. 15, when plaster possibly containing asbestos was breached due to the cutting, drilling, and construction work'' during a project to replace the heating system and add air conditioning. The update from Grand Rapids Public Schools followed the districts executive teams meeting with officials from the Kent County Health Department and state agencies. Parents were told the first step is to determine the potential level of contamination, according to the update letter. In accordance with the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA), the district is hiring MicroAir Consulting to conduct that work. The company has done other work at the building. Students began classes Wednesday, Feb. 20 at GRPS University, 1400 Fuller Ave. NE. The Christman Company is the districts construction management company for the project. There are procedures for handling suspected asbestos-containing materials. To determine the potential level of contamination, the project designer, MicroAir Consulting, is required to develop a project design plan for the following: Determining the scope of potential contamination Cleaning and decontamination Clearance air monitoring We will be submitting this plan to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. We welcome their review and consultation with experts from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)," according to the update letter. Besides MIOSHA, officials with the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Environmental Quality, and Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs were present at the Thursday meeting closed to the media and public. Lynn Sutfin, public information officer for the Department of Health and Human Services, told MLive Tuesday the agency would provide assistance in interpreting the data once additional testing is complete. Basically, we will help them determine what level of health risk could have been caused based on the results of the testing," she said. In addition to the oversight and independent investigation by state agencies, GRPS hired Rehmann CIS to investigate the sequence of events and communications around the potential asbestos contamination at the school. Rehmann is on a $4,000 retainer and will be paid for hourly services from $125 to $250 per hour for an intelligence analyst, principal investigator and digital forensics analysis, according to John Helmholdt, communications director for GRPS. There are 364 first- through eighth-grade students affected by the school closure, according to the district. The district has now placed the entire North Park Montessori Asbestos Management Plan on its website. It may be viewed at www.grps.org/north-park-asbestos-plan. Helmholdt said said during a parent meeting at Trinity United Methodist Church Wednesday, Feb. 20, families should probably plan on students finishing the semester at GRPS University. The district, county, and state agencies are scheduled to meet again Thursday, Feb. 28. It is again closed to the media and public. Following that meeting, district officials told parents that school leaders hope to have a better understanding of the potential timeline for the contamination work to commence. Parents wanted the district to test GRPS University environment and were updated on those results. MicroAir noted that the asbestos results came back negative and that the testing for mold reflected the expected trace levels, according to the update. As you know, regardless of where a person is, be it outdoors or indoors, spores and mold are always found. The level found in this test and within this facility would be similar to what you would expect walking outside and lower than expected when compared to other facilities." During the Wednesday parent meeting Helmholdt was invited to attend, parents told him the district needs to work on a better system for picking up students, recognizing it was the first day. Several said it was not an orderly process and took too long. "We are aware of the issues and concerns about the student drop-off / pick-up location in the back lot behind GRPS U,'' officials said Friday, Feb. 22. " We will continue to monitor the traffic flow through Monday and Tuesday next week to determine if we need to make changes to our procedures." GRPS University, formerly City High Middle School, is a professional development training site and home to the districts Office of Organizational Learning and the Department of Public Safety and Security. The city rents the space to City Hall and the police department, Spectrum Health and others for training and events. We need to do a better job of educating students and parents that this is a co-location," Helmholdt said. Some parents liked the security presence in the building because of the other adults utilizing the space. However, some parents said the large security presence doesnt always make kids feel safe and it was unsettling to their children. One parent suggested an assembly for students to get to know the officers in the building. Based on parent suggestions, next week, GRPS said it will be working to ensure that the students are introduced to the public safety officers in the building. Helmholdt said a daily list of events and activities in the building are on the television display board near the main office. Parents also inquired about when students would be able to enjoy the same freedom theyve enjoyed in the Montessori environment. They also want to make it a more enriching environment. GRAND RAPIDS, MI A familiar name to West Michigan residents appears among a list of House Democrats pushing to block President Donald Trumps emergency declaration U.S. Rep. Justin Amash. Amash, of Cascade Township, as of Friday morning was reportedly the lone House Republican to sign onto the resolution of disapproval, a document the Associated Press characterized as a one-sentence statement that says Trumps emergency declaration is hereby terminated. Amashs chief of staff, Poppy Nelson, confirmed that Amash signed the resolution but declined further comment. She pointed to previous Twitter posts by Amash, in which he said, A national emergency declaration for a non-emergency is void. A national emergency declaration for a non-emergency is void. A prerequisite for declaring an emergency is that the situation requires immediate action and Congress does not have an opportunity to act. @POTUS @realDonaldTrump is attempting to circumvent our constitutional system. Justin Amash (@justinamash) February 15, 2019 The resolutions author is Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from Texas. His office could not immediately be reached Friday afternoon to confirm whether Amash was still the only House Republican to sign on in support of the measure. Trump declared the national emergency last week, in an effort to secure the money he needs to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The move has drawn fierce opposition, including from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who on Tuesday joined 15 other state attorneys general in a lawsuit against the Trump administration in response to the emergency declaration. Trump wants to divert $3.6 billion from military construction projects to pay for the wall. The New York Times reported earlier Friday that 220 House Democrats and Amash had signed the resolution of disapproval. Congress can use the resolution to end Trumps emergency declaration if there is concern that the president has used his powers irresponsibly," the newspaper reported. The Senate must take up the resolution within 18 days of its passage in the House, the Times reported. MUNDY TWP, MI A missing 41-year-old man was found dead Thursday afternoon in Mundy Township. Foul play is not suspected, according to a press release from the Metro Police Authority of Genesee County. Officers searching on horseback for Patrick P. Weinheimer discovered him around 2 p.m. Feb. 21 in a secluded field south of Grand Blanc Road and west of the Knights Inn. The field was adjacent to where hed last been seen leaving the Speedway at US-23 and Grand Blanc Road in Mundy Township on foot around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13. A business partner of Weinheimer filed a missing persons report. Metro Police Detective Mike Neering said officers searched for approximately three hours on Thursday before the discovery You cant get through a lot of the area, he noted of the location. A local resident offered the horses to aid in the search that had previously included a Michigan State Police helicopter and several K-9 units. Weinheimers cause of death is still unknown, but police said through a preliminary investigation it does not appear to be suspicious. Further investigation is pending autopsy results. The scene was processed by the Metro Police Authority and the Genesee County Medical Examiner Investigation. FLINT, MI -- U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee wants to see everything in special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation report, and unless hes persuaded otherwise, the Flint Democrat wants everyone else to see it as well. Unless I can be convinced theres some overarching, overriding national public interest in some of the information being redacted or somehow withheld ... the default position should be that this is information thats in the publics interest, and they have a right to know it, Kildee said Friday, Feb. 22, in Flint. Mueller is looking into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia and whether the president obstructed the investigation. There has been new speculation this week that his work is nearing an end. Attorney General William Barr, who oversees the investigation, has said he wants to release as much information as he can about the inquiry. But during his confirmation hearing last month, Barr also made clear that he ultimately will decide what the public sees, and that any report will be in his words, not Muellers, according to The Associated Press. Kildee spoke on how the report should be shared in a brief press conference following a meeting with union officials and other area leaders to discuss ways to preserve and expand Social Security. Last month, the congressman introduced the Social Security 2100 Act, which he promoted as a making the system financially stronger. Kildee said how and when information Mueller files is released is something we will have to work through. This is not a private interest -- not some private enterprise," he said. "This is not Trump Incorportated. This is the government of the United States of America. Hes the President of the United States. The people of this country have a right to know what the president is doing. HAMPTON TWP, MI A man out fishing was rescued Thursday night on Saginaw Bay. Police were dispatched at 10:16 p.m. on Feb. 21 to the Finn Road boat launch after an ice fisherman hadnt returned, according to a statement from the Hampton Township Public Safety Office. When police got to the launch, they found the mans vehicle with no one around. Investigators then contacted the U.S. Coast Guard Station Saginaw River for assistance and while waiting for the Coast Guard to arrive, officers could hear screams for help coming from near the walk path, the statement said. Police then directed the Coast Guard to the subject, according to the statement, who then rescued the man and took him to an ambulance that was standing by. The ice fisherman was on his snowmobile and had hit open water, police said. He was checked out at the ambulance and released. MLive-The Flint Journal could not reach the Coast Guard immediately for comment. Uptake is valued at more than $2 billion and is touted in Chicagos tech scene, but it has faced headwinds and has seen its employee count fluctuate in recent months. The lawsuit said Uptake employs about 500 people, down from 550 in November. In January 2018, Uptake had 750 employees. FLINT, MI Stephen Anthor pressed his hands on the neck of Kenneth White and begged 911 dispatchers to hurry up with an ambulance. A rock had just smashed through Anthors work van as he drove south on Interstate 75 in Vienna Township on Oct. 18, 2017. Anthors nearly 15-minute call with dispatchers was played in Genesee Circuit Court on Thursday, Feb. 21 as part of Mark Sekelsky and Alexzander Millers hearing before Judge Joseph J. Farah. I got a guy bleeding out. I got a busted windshield and my buddys heads about gone, Anthor told dispatchers. Kenny, dont die, man. Come on Kenny, wake up man. Come on man, please. I cant get a response from him. White, 32, died after the rock was tossed from the Dodge Road overpass onto southbound Interstate 75. Farah must decide if Sekelsky, 17, and Miller, 16, will be sentenced as juveniles as part of plea deals. Others juveniles charged in the case include 16-year-old Trevor A. Gray and Mikadyn M. Payne, 17. Kyle J. Anger, 19, will be sentenced as an adult in the case. The presumption for an adult sentence has to be overcome, Farah said in court. Which sentence might better protect the public in the end thats what the courts determination is all about. Anthor testified White was constantly helping other people. The day before he was killed, Anthor said White made him pull the truck over so White could shovel out a man who was struggling to clear snow from his driveway. Anthor also testified the man tried to pay White, but White wouldnt allow it. He said the old man said he didnt have any kids and if he did, hed hoped theyd be like him, Anthor said. I think the punishment should fit the crime. You can sugarcoat it any way you want. They went and picked up the boulder. They knew what they were doing. I think it needs to be dealt with harshly. Kenneths not coming back. Over and over again, Anthor could be heard on the 911 call pleading for an ambulance and begging for White to hang on until help arrive. During the playing of the recording Whites mother left the courtroom sobbing on Thursday. Whites family and friends wore shirts Thursday that said Justice for Kenneth and had a photo of White on it. Come on man, we got that fishing trip to go to, Anthor was heard saying on the 911 recording. Kenny, please. Psychologist Jennifer Zoftowski testified on behalf of Sekelsky and said the teen would be better served if he were sentenced as a juvenile because he could get the needed services and would be less likely to reoffend. Zoftowski said Sekelsky didnt get out of the vehicle at the first stop to throw items off the overpass, but did later because of his desire to fit in. She said Sekelskys brain was developed enough to understand the severity of what he was doing and believed nothing would happen and he wouldnt get caught. I do not believe that he went out there with the intention of hurting anyone, Zoftowski testified. I do believe that through intervention, he can be at about as low-risk as possible. Genesee County Assistant Prosecutor Karen Hanson read Snapchat messages from Sekelsky. Sekelsky repeatedly tells other suspects charged in the case to chill out in the messages Hanson read. To me this doesnt sound like someone who is scared or afraid, Hanson said. Theyre making up alibis the minute someone died. The hearing will continued for all four teens and Farah still has to determine if hell allow them to be sentenced as juvenile. The teens will have 10 of the 11 charges they faced dropped and have a second-degree murder charge amended to manslaughter if the deal is accepted in Genesee Circuit Court. All of them will then testify against Anger as part of the plea deal. Attorney James Gust said Miller was barely 15-years-old at the time of the incident. He said Miller had no prior criminal past and did not participate in the Snapchat conversations about the alleged crime. Id just like the court to not lose sight as to how young he was at the time of this incident, Gust told the court. The teens previously told the court they loaded rocks, car parts and other items into Angers Ford pickup truck and proceeded to throw 10- to 12-inch rocks from the overpass onto I-75. Anger testified he threw four rocks, Gray and Payne testified throwing three each and Sekelsky testified to throwing two. Gray and Payne had similar hearings last week. Ann Arbor musician and 2016 Voice finalist Laith Al-Saadi averted jail time and may avoid a permanent criminal record after accepting a plea deal stemming from his drug arrest last year. State police pulled over Al-Saadi, 41, in Otsego Countys Gaylord about 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 11 for driving with an expired license plate. A subsequent search of the vehicle, initiated after troopers said they smelled marijuana, led to the discovery of harder drugs, including fentanyl, hydrocodone and morphine, highly addictive medications usually prescribed for pain. Al-Saadi was sentenced Feb. 4 to a year probation after pleading guilty to illegal possession of hydrocodone. Otsego County Prosecutor Brendan Curran previously dismissed a charge of marijuana possession after Michigan voters legalized cannabis in November. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dismissed two remaining felony counts for possession of morphine and fentanyl. The prosecution also agreed to sentence Al-Saadi under a Michigan law that allows first-time drug offenders to clear their conviction upon completion of probation. I fully recognize that it was stupid and I have attempted to use this to better my life in the best way possible, Laith Al-Saadi at sentencing. Attorney Michael Komorn, who defended Al-Saadi, said the musician previously had a doctors prescription for hydrocodone and it ran out. My point is that I dont think that you are using these things recreationally, and that makes a difference to me in sentencing, Otsego County Circuit Judge Mertz said in court on Feb. 4. You do have a very successful career and from what Ive read youve used that in ways to help the community which I think is important, and I think its important you continue to be able to do that." Resolution of the case means Al-Saadi, who tours nationally, may now return to booking out-of-state concerts without the looming possibility of jail time. Al-Saadis next performance is Friday, Feb. 22 at 20 Monroe in Grand Rapids as part of Cure For The Winter Blues, a charity concert to raise money for mental illness. ANN ARBOR, MI A coalition of students and lecturers spoke out to demand greater funding for the University of Michigans Flint and Dearborn campuses during its Board of Regents meeting Thursday, Feb. 21. Members of the recently-formed One University Coalition claimed UMs Flint and Dearborn campuses are only able to provide students with about a quarter of the resources its Ann Arbor campus provides to students for instructional support, financial aid and health services. One University Coalition members say they dont believe it is possible to reconcile funding disparities with the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion that UM champions on the Ann Arbor campus. The University of Michigan cannot truly create an environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion in Ann Arbor if those same efforts are not being made in the Flint and Dearborn communities it calls home, said UM Lecturers Employee Organization President Ian Robinson. UM-Dearborn lecturer Arifa Javed said her course load has been declining constantly, to the point that she was reduced to teaching just one class this semester. Javed, who has taught on the Dearborn campus for two decades, said declining enrollment and a scheduling error contributed to her receiving only one-quarter of her regular pay, bringing to light challenges she believes many on the Flint and Dearborn campuses face. My course was given to a tenure-track professor by mistake, Javed said. As a result, I lost my earnings plus my health benefits. Being on COBRA has cost me about $3,000 dollars. The department has refused to reimburse me for these medical expenses. This story illustrates the precarity faced by all lecturers, especially those of us who work at Dearborn and Flint. Jono Bentley Sturt acknowledged the financial cushion he has as a lecturer on UMs Ann Arbor campus, allowing him to avoid working other jobs in order to make ends meet. Sturt urged the administration and regents to more equitably fund opportunities for both lecturers and learners. "The financial siloing of these institutions will take time to rework, which is why we understand this to be the beginning of a longer conversation, Sturt said. But the University of Michigan is a public institution, and as such has a charge to serve the public of this state, not only those here in Ann Arbor. Our Universitys faculty and learners in Flint and Dearborn deserve the same support that I am so grateful to enjoy here on this campus. UM spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said the university has long advocated for increased state funding for all campuses, including Flint and Dearborn. We continue to work on ways for our three campuses to collaborate with each other and enhance efficiencies to save money, while maintaining each campus independence and distinctive qualities, Fitzgerald said. The lecturers union previously noted the disparities in salaries on UMs Flint and Dearborn campuses during contract negotiations last year, making raising the minimum rates on those campuses a top priority. By the end of the third year of the new collective agreement reached in June, the minimum salary at which UM can hire entry-level faculty with Lecturer I appointments will increase by $16,500 (47.8 percent) in Ann Arbor; $13,700 (50.2 percent) in Flint, and $12,700 (44.9 percent) in Dearborn. Prior to the new deal, UM lecturers earned minimum salaries of $28,300 on the Dearborn campus, $27,300 at Flint and $34,500 in Ann Arbor. ANN ARBOR, MI - Police are seeking tips on the movements of an Ann Arbor man ahead of his untimely death this week. Richard "Dick" Fortune, 71, was found dead about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20 at his home in the 2600 block of Lillian Road on the east side of Ann Arbor. The death has been ruled a homicide, though police have declined to detail the exact cause of death. Now, police are seeking information on Fortune's whereabouts from Tuesday, Feb. 19 to Wednesday, Feb. 20, according to a statement released on social media. Please see the below release from our Detective Bureau regarding an ongoing homicide investigation. pic.twitter.com/tszN6MxPwD Ann Arbor Police (@A2Police) February 22, 2019 Police did not immediately respond to questions about the time frame, but Ann Arbor police Lt. Earle Fox confirmed no arrests had been made as of Friday morning. Several neighbors told The Ann Arbor News they weren't sure the last time they saw Fortune, known for regular neighborhood walks and visits to a recreation center. Fortune was found after the University of Michigan hospital requested a welfare check, Fox previously said. Details on why the check was requested were not immediately available. Police are in contact with Fortune's roommates, who are cooperating, he previously said. Those with information on the homicide or Fortunes whereabouts ahead of his death are asked to contact Ann Arbor police Detective Dan Iverson at 734-794-6930 extension 49321 or the Ann Arbor police tip line at 734-794-6939. ANN ARBOR, MI - Ann Arbor City Council has all but rejected a proposed affordable senior housing complex, saying its a good project at the wrong site. A formal decision on the proposed development at 3365 Jackson Ave. in Ann Arbor is still pending, and the public can voice opinions at a hearing during a March 18 City Council meeting. At that point, the council also will consider rezoning 3.5 acres in a single-family residential area to allow for the construction of the three-story building with 95 senior housing units called Lockwood of Ann Arbor Apartments. At least 21 of those units would be reserved for people making 50 percent of the area median income or less, and at least 20 more units would be reserved for people making 60 percent of the area median income or less. The development would be financed in part by Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, and rent control on the affordable housing units would be required for 99 years. Council members postponed considering the zoning request Tuesday, Feb. 19, because it seemed unlikely there would be enough support to advance the proposal to a second reading, which would require six votes. Eight votes would be needed to approve the measure, said Council Member Jack Eaton, D-4th Ward. Six council members said Tuesday they oppose the plans for Lockwood of Ann Arbor, citing concerns about environmental impact related to the Gelman Plume below the property, altering the character of the surrounding neighborhood and bringing increased traffic to the area. Council Member Jane Lumm, I-2nd Ward, said the proposed development was wholly incompatible with the surrounding area. When we begin to change zoning of single-family properties in single-family areas and neighborhoods for the purpose of more density and housing, I think weve gone too far, she said. This action of rezoning single-family properties for the sake of adding housing would - no question in my mind - set a very, very concerning precedent. Council Members Lumm; Eaton; Anne Bannister, D-1st Ward; Jeff Hayner, D-1st Ward; Kathy Griswold, D-2nd Ward; and Ali Ramlawi, D-5th Ward, where the proposed development site is located; all said they would oppose the measure. However, the council could not kill the proposal after a first reading Tuesday because there had not yet been a public hearing, which is required by law prior to final action on a Planned Unit Development ordinance, said Senior Assistant City Attorney Kevin McDonald. So the debate about the project thats been in the works for more than 15 months will stretch on for at least a few more weeks. Planned Unit Developments allow new construction to deviate from existing zoning in exchange for providing public benefits. Council Members Julie Grand and Zachary Ackerman, both Democrats from the 3rd Ward who supported the proposed development, said the addition of affordable housing alone was enough of a public benefit to justify the zoning change. The developer also proposes adding a public playground, 495 feet of public sidewalk along Jackson Avenue, two additional parking spaces for the nearby Dolph Nature Area and 480 feet of public path connecting to the nature areas trails. I am profoundly disappointed that were going to lose out on this housing, Grand said. For those of you who ... sit at this table and say youre in favor of affordable housing, I think you need to really examine your belief system and really understand where the rubber meets the road with this. There are always going to be trade-offs. Theres never going to be a perfect project. Council Member Chip Smith, D-5th Ward, said he doesnt expect the proposal to pass, although he said developments like Lockwood of Ann Arbor are currently the citys best option to create more affordable housing. I understand that this isnt the best location and I understand the issues that it creates for the neighborhood and the people there, Smith said. I look around and I say, Nobody else is proposing (affordable housing). At some point, we have to accept that were either going to let the market build it or were going to have to build it ourselves. Our voters just said that the mechanism we were using to fund affordable housing - (the sale of Library Lot) - wasnt what they wanted. Bannister, Hayner, Eaton, Ramlawi and Griswold all said they recognized the need for more affordable senior housing, but they dont think the Jackson Avenue property is the right place for it. Its good to see this kind of development but its in the wrong site. Youve picked the most difficult site, I think, to develop and youre asking for it to be rezoned, Ramlawi said in reference to the Gelman Plume. When you ask us to rezone something, its got to be more convincing than this unfortunately. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality said the type of stormwater infiltration system Lockwood of Ann Arbor plans to use will have no notable impact on spreading the underground dioxane contamination, according to a memo from city staff. Mayor Christopher Taylor and Council Member Elizabeth Nelson, D-4th Ward, did not state their opinions on the proposed development during Tuesdays meeting. Twenty-one people who lived near Lockwoods proposed site signed a petition opposing the development. Some of the petitioners also were among the seven people who urged the council to kill the project during the public comment portion of Tuesdays meeting. Amanda Carlisle, executive director of the Washtenaw Housing Alliance, was the sole person who spoke in favor of Lockwood of Ann Arbor at Tuesdays meeting, noting that more than 30 organizations that make up the housing alliance want the senior housing to be built. Carlisle also read a letter from Janet Hunko, director of Michigan Medicines Housing Bureau of Seniors, who said the development is a great start to mitigating the affordable senior housing shortage. Hunkos letter noted the recent loss of 200 affordable senior housing units as a result of properties reaching the end of their required rent control periods and began transitioning to market rate. TRENTON, N.J. -- A bill working its way through the New Jersey legislator may force President Donald Trump to release his tax records if he wants to be on the 2020 ballot. The bill, passed by the state senate Thursday would require all presidential candidates to release the previous five years of tax records in order to appear on the ballot, according to the Associated Press. If passed, the law would also apply to vice presidential candidates as well. Trump infamously refused to release his tax records prior to the 2016 election, breaking a tradition that goes back decades. However, there is no law that requires candidates to release that information, so Trump did nothing illegal in denying access to those records. The Democratic-led Senate passing the bill is the first step in making it law. The bill will now move to the assembly -- which is also controlled by the Democrats -- before it could end up on the desk of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, to be signed into law. A similar bill was previously passed by the Senate and Assembly before former Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican vetoed it. IRON MOUNTAIN, MI A teenage boy has been taken into custody after a girl was shot in Michigans Upper Peninsula. WLUC-TV6 reports that the incident occurred in a home on the 400 block of West Brown Street in Iron Mountain just before noon on Thursday. The 16-year-girl is hospitalized in Green Bay, Wisconsin with a gunshot wound to the abdomen, the TV station reported. The 15-year-old boy is being held following an investigation. The Iron Mountain Department was assisted at the scene by the Iron Mountain Fire Department and Beacon Ambulance. Some Republican state lawmakers are protesting Attorney General Dana Nessels decision to join a federal lawsuit challenging President Donald Trumps national emergency declaration over the southern border. Trump declared the emergency last week to obtain about $8 billion for building a wall along the border between the United States and Mexico. Michigan joined 15 other states Monday evening in seeking a court injunction to stop Trump from accessing funds to build a border wall. State Rep. Daire Rendon, R-Lake City, is introducing a House resolution opposing the suit, calling the action a political stunt engineered to prevent securing our countrys borders in a statement. The presidents most important obligation is to enforce the laws of this country that keep American families safe, Rendon said. Interfering with and delaying the construction of a border wall is not only a waste of state resources, but complicates our countrys ongoing struggle to stymie the flow of illegal drugs and human trafficking across the southern border." Another Michigan lawmaker, Rep. Michele Hoitenga, R-Manton, made a similar argument in a letter to Nessel, where she voiced her disapproval of Nessels decision to join the suit. It is wrong for our state to expend any effort or resources on something happening over 1,500 miles away when there are real barriers right here in Michigan making it more difficult for residents to live, work and raise a family, she wrote. In response to the overwhelming input I have received, I have written a letter to Michigan Attorney General, Dana... Posted by Michele Hoitenga on Wednesday, February 20, 2019 Nessel said she joined the lawsuit in part to defend Michigan residents from what she views as an unconstitutional act that could divert federal funds from the Michigan National Guard. I see it as my job as Attorney General to make certain that the people of our state are protected against unconstitutional acts by the president, she told reporters Tuesday. Were in this very strange set of circumstances right now where I dont think the president of the United States cares very much about the Constitution. GRAND RAPIDS, MI When it comes to taking action to mitigate the harmful effects of climate change, Michigan is in. That was the simple message Liesl Clark, the new state Department of Environmental Quality director, had for a packed room of environmental and renewable energy advocates at the Michigan Climate Action Summit held at the Eberhard Center in Grand Rapids. Clark, who had a leadership role in Gov. Gretchen Whitmers transition, is the co-founder of the clean energy policy consulting firm 5 Lakes Energy. Her address Thursday was one of her first public appearances since taking over the states environmental agency. The 20-minute speech was part introduction, part update on a state department undergoing a reorganization the governors office says is meant to help address climate change, tackle drinking water contaminants like PFAS and protect the Great Lakes. Ive spent 20 years at the intersection of food, water and energy in both the public and private sectors, said Clark, who also worked on energy programs under former Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Im very passionate about that intersection and I think its become clear how the governors vision lays all of these pieces out and how they will intersect with the executive orders and the work their office has done to kind of set up where things are going. In her keynote, Clark was short on climate policy specifics, but she leads a department that is being reorganized partly around that very issue. Whitmers restructuring will move ahead despite an early scuffle with the Republican-controlled legislature, which overturned her first attempt but, this week, dropped their objections to a second executive order that leaves intact a pair of controversial environmental regulatory oversight panels pending a state attorney general review. The DEQ will soon become EGLE (pronounced eagle) short for the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. The new EGLE includes an Office of Climate and Energy, which Whitmer hopes will bake progressive climate policy into place across state government. On Feb. 4, Whitmer entered Michigan into the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of governors from 20 other states that have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with Paris Climate Agreement goals. There are lot of climate pieces that happen across the entire DEQ right now, Clark said. And we've been having discussions about how we knit all those pieces together to make sure that we actually have an outcome that is greater than the sum of its parts. The new name, EGLE, has generated some groans in environmental circles and within the department itself. Clark asked the audience for the benefit of the doubt. Please go with me on Eagle, okay? she said, generating some laughs. Its not Deagle. Its not Beagle. Its not Meagle. Thank you. I appreciate that. Clark said EGLE will include new public-centric reforms like a drinking water public advocate, an environmental justice public advocate and an environmental justice task force. Along those lines, Clark said shes tried to express to the department already that simply taking public feedback on permitting decision, proposed rules and other actions the department conducts under public review is not a dialogue it's receiving comments. We have work to do, she said. That also doesnt mean that everything will always end up exactly as everybody wants it to. Right? Because theres a lot of different opinions and theres statute to follow. But, there is back and forth thats necessary in the course of discussion. EGLE will also house the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team, MPART, which was created by Whitmers predecessor Rick Snyder to tackle fluorochemical pollution, but which will now fall within the department rather than being run from the governors office. Clark said plans for MPART, for which a new director is yet to be named, include enhancing communication and outreach with communities affected by PFAS contamination. To date, there are more than 40 sites in 30 Michigan communities with known contamination sources and state testing last year found at least some PFAS in public water supplies serving about 1.4 million people in Michigan. Although PFAS contamination and climate change might seem like separate issues at first blush, Clark and others who spoke at the summit linked them together, saying that clean drinking water enhances Michigans ability to attract those whom experts think will move here as the negative effects of climate change escalate in other regions. Jonathan Overpeck, a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report and Dean of the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan, said Michigan could win big as people relocate to places with abundant fresh water. This region could rapidly become a more desirable place to live and do business, he said. But if we dont embrace renewable energy, adaptation will be tough. OSCODA, MI The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is going to test the blood and urine of people living near military bases in eight states to assess their exposure to toxic PFAS compounds that have leached in the groundwater. Michigan isnt on the list. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) announced the eight bases getting PFAS exposure assessments this week, eliciting disappointment from those who hoped to see the northern Michigan community of Oscoda make the cut. Contamination from the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base has heavily impacted the area, where PFAS-laden firefighting foam has polluted drinking water, lakes, rivers and wildlife. Oscoda activists and state officials have advocated for Wurtsmiths inclusion on the ATSDR list ever since Congress allocated funding for the national study in early 2017. They are disappointed by the exclusion, but not surprised. Its a perfect example of how theyve been disregarding Wurtsmith through this whole process, said Cathy Wusterbarth, co-founder of NOW (Need Our Water), a local activist group in Oscoda that has pushed for more action on the pollution. The group wants blood testing for local residents and veteran families who lived there when tap water came from wells that DEQ investigators say were very likely dispensing water contaminated by PFAS and other chemicals. Benzene and trichloroethylene (TCE) were documented at extremely high levels in Wurstmith water when the former B-52 bomber base was active. State officials say there are plans to conduct blood testing as part of a state-run PFAS exposure assessment in Oscoda, but have offered no details about when that could begin. We have a lot of information that would be valuable in a health study, Wusterbarth said. U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint, expressed regret that Wurtsmith did not make the ATSDR cut, but said he was pleased overall to see the studies launched. Kildee and Michigan Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters helped get language authorizing the study in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017. While I am disappointed Wurtsmith was not chosen by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, I am glad to see this PFAS health study move forward," Kildee said. The results of this first-of-its-kind federal health study will allow us to better understand how PFAS chemicals affect people and ensure that those exposed to these dangerous chemicals, including Oscoda residents, get the health care and resources they need. The groundwater under much of Oscoda Township south, east and northeast of the base is contaminated by PFAS, which are leaching into nearby Van Etten Lake in such quantity that a toxic surface water foam develops whenever the wind picks up. The Air Force has supplied a couple homes with filtration, but has done little else to curb exposure in drinking water because private wells near the base arent registering high enough levels of the individual compounds PFOS and PFOA, even though well testing has shown elevated concentrations of other long-chain PFAS compounds like PFHxS. Michigan regulators have nonetheless pushed the Air Force to increase the amount of groundwater it treats through a pair of on-base activated carbon filtration systems. A dispute between the state and Air Force over the pace of cleanup persists, with Department of Defense officials recently refusing to comply with state law on the basis of immunity. Reluctance to allocate more resources toward Wurtsmith are seen by many involved as reflective of Pentagon budgeting concerns as PFAS contamination mounts at current and former bases across the globe. According to the ATSDR, studies have shown that PFAS exposure has a variety of negative effects on humans. Exposure can affect the growth, learning, and behavior of infants and older children. It can lower a womans chance of getting pregnant and cause complications once she does. It can interfere with the bodys natural hormones, increase cholesterol levels, affect the immune system and increase the risk of certain cancers. The ATSDR says its exposure assessments are meant to glean information about the levels of PFAS that people living near the eight bases have in their blood serum. Participants are randomly chosen. The assessments will identify where exposure is coming from, how much PFAS people have been exposed to and how long theyve been exposed. Criteria cited by the ATSDR for site selection included whether the chemicals had been in drinking water and other factors like the community water supply type, how much PFAS was in the water, how long the exposure may have lasted and how many people might have been exposed in the area. An exposure assessment is different than a health study because it does not look at what types of health problems exposure might cause. The testing will begin this year and continue through 2020. This will serve as a foundation for future studies evaluating the impact of PFAS exposure on human health, said Patrick Breysse, head of the ATSDR. Communities selected for the ATSDR assessments are: Berkeley County, West Va. near Shepherd Field Air National Guard Base; El Paso County, Colo., near Peterson Air Force Base; Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, near Eielson Air Force Base; Hampden County, Mass., near Barnes Air National Guard Base; Lubbock County, Tex., near Reese Technology Center; Orange County, N.Y. near Stewart Air National Guard Base; New Castle County, Del., near New Castle Air National Guard Base; and Spokane County, Wash., near Fairchild Air Force Base. Two bases, the Horsham Air Guard Station and former Naval Air Warfare Center in Bucks and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania, and Gabreski Air National Guard Base in Westhampton, N.Y., have been part of pilot exposure assessment testing already. In Michigan, the state Department of Health and Human Services is already conducting a similar exposure assessment in northern Kent County, where the groundwater is polluted by high PFAS levels from tannery waste dumping by shoemaker Wolverine World Wide. The state says similar assessments are planned for Oscoda, Parchment and Grayling, another military site where high PFAS levels in drinking water have been caused by firefighting foam. Were setting an extremely high bar for Model 3. We have already made significant improvements to correct any issues that Model 3 customers may have experienced that are referenced in this report, and our return policy allows any customer who is unhappy with their car to return it for a full refund. This new data from Consumer Reports comes from their annual Owner Satisfaction survey, which runs from July through September, so the vast majority of these issues have already been corrected through design and manufacturing improvements, and we are already seeing a significant improvement in our field data. A trial program of a five-minute roadside drug test conducted last year in Michigan found most of the drivers suspected of impairment had marijuana in their system. The Michigan State Police have wrapped up their report on the pilot program, which put Alere DDS2 saliva test devices in the hands of 31 drug recognition experts from 12 police agencies in Berrien, Delta, Kent, St. Clair and Washtenaw counties. The oral fluid pilot program and the test instrument shows great promise to the law enforcement community to help establish probable cause in dangerous drugged driving cases, said Lt. Jim Flegel, a traffic safety specialist with the Michigan State Police. Though medical marijuana has been legal in Michigan since 2008, policing drivers who consume cannabis was a major concern for Michigan voters as they considered their position on the recreational marijuana ballot proposal last year. Marijuana is now legal for adult-use in Michigan for those 21 and over -- but driving under the influence remains illegal. From November 2017 to November 2018, 92 roadside drug tests were completed -- most of which (56 percent) were done in Washtenaw County. The results of the roadside tests were confirmed in 88 of the 92 tests with follow-up testing. The roadside test was offered after officers observed a drivers behavior and conducted standard field sobriety tests. Results were returned five minutes after a swab of the drivers mouth. Drivers were also asked to swab their mouths for a second test -- which was sent to an independent lab, Forensic Fluids Laboratories. However, blood tests are used as the standard in Michigan when deciding how to prosecute a case. Results of a 2018 roadside drug test pilot program conducted in 5 counties by the Michigan State Police. (Courtesy | MSP) Of the 92 tests, 74 drivers tested positive for active THC, six tested positive for opiates, three tested positive for methamphetamine, seven tested positive for cocaine, nine tested positive for benzodiazepine and 16 tested positive for amphetamines. There was some overlap, Flegel said: 21 of the drivers tested positive for two or more drugs. An analysis of the test results by Michigan State University statistician Dhruv Sharma concluded the roadside instruments performed well. Results of a 2018 roadside drug test pilot program conducted in 5 counties by the Michigan State Police. This chart shows the accuracy of the roadside test for active THC in saliva, compared to an independent lab analysis and a blood test. (Courtesy | MSP) However, the roadside tests at times showed the presence of drugs that werent present in the follow-up blood tests. This happened in six of the 16 tests for amphetamines, in two of the seven tests for cocaine, in one of the three tests for methamphetamines and in 11 of the 74 tests for active THC. In all, 62 of the traffic stops conducted in the pilot program resulted in an arrest of the driver for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Results of a 2018 roadside drug test pilot program conducted in 5 counties by the Michigan State Police. This chart shows the accuracy of the roadside test for opiates in saliva, compared to an independent lab analysis and a blood test. (Courtesy | MSP) Participating police departments included the Michigan State Police, sheriffs offices in Berrien, Delta, Kent, St. Clair and Washtenaw counties; and the local police departments of Lincoln Township, Escanaba, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Pittsfield Township, Ypsilanti and the University of Michigan. This is just the beginning of roadside drug testing in Michigan. In December 2018, the legislature agreed to extend the pilot program for another year, granting it $626,000 for 2019. Flegel said it will take several months to organize the program before launching it statewide. The roadside drug testing pilot program will be extended to every certified drug recognition expert in Michigan. There are 137 police officers, sheriff deputies and state troopers trained as drug recognition experts in Michigan, and additional 19 are in training right now, Flegel said. Drug recognition experts must attend a 72-hour, two-week program, complete field testing and pass a certification examination through The International Association of Chiefs of Police, with support from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. -- Amy Biolchini is the marijuana beat reporter for MLive. Contact her with questions, tips or comments at abiolch1@mlive.com. Read more from MLive about medical and recreational marijuana. Ford Motor Co. announced Thursday, Feb. 21 that it had launched an investigation into whether the automaker had incorrectly reported fuel economy ratings and emissions information. Kim Pittel, vice president of sustainability, environment and safety engineering for the automaker, said the issue came up after a handful of Ford employees raised concerns about its fuel and emissions reporting process. Pittel said in a Thursday statement that the employees reported their concerns through its Speak Up employee reporting channel regarding the analytical modeling side of its compliance process. The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker says that it has hired an outside firm to investigate its vehicle road load specifications in its testing process. A number of independent industry technical experts are said to be part of its own investigation team. Related: Ford releases official fuel economy ratings for resurrected midsize Ranger Ford also added that it is hiring an independent lab to conduct further testing, in addition to evaluating potential changes to its road-load modeling process and that it voluntarily shared its investigation with the EPA and California Air Resources Board. The automaker describes road load as a vehicle-specific resistance level used during dynamometer testing, fuel economy ratings and emissions certification. The investigation and potential concerns do not involve the use of defeat devices in our products, Pittel said in a statement. At this time, theres been no determination that this affects Fords fuel economy labels or emissions certifications. We plan to work with regulators and the independent lab to complete a technical review. As part of our review, we have identified potential concerns with how we calculate road load. The first vehicle we are evaluating is the 2019 Ranger; we are assessing additional vehicles as well. The Associated Press reports that the automaker launched the investigation for a wide range of its vehicles. If issues are found with the 2019 midsize Ranger, Ford will start looking at vehicles with model years dating back to 2017. Related: FCA reaches settlement in emissions cheating case, will pay more than $650M A.P. reports that Pittel said in an interview that its too early to predict how widespread the potential issue is, and that the probe will evolve depending on where the investigation takes us. I dont think that they would be making a statement like this at this point if they didnt already know there was a problem, Sam Abuelsamid, Navigant Research analyst, told the news organization. It definitely implies that theres an issue there. MANISTEE COUNTY, MI A Michigan State Police trooper ran 30 yards alongside a moving vehicle and trudged through deep snow to bring a wanted felon to justice. The multi-county chase began when a trooper from the Cadillac Post stopped 23-year-old Tyler McConnell of Manistee, who had failed to dim his headlights near Dublin in Manistee County at 8:20 p.m. on Feb. 16. After identifying the driver, the trooper discovered McConnell had an active felony assault warrant out of Manistee County and ordered him to get out of the car to be arrested. Instead, McConnell put the car in drive. The trooper reached into the car in an attempt stop the driver from getting it into gear but was unsuccessful. McConnell began to drive away with the trooper still partially inside the car forcing him to run alongside the car for about 30 yards until he was able to disengage from the struggle. After calling for backup the trooper continued to pursue the McConnell in his patrol car for several miles. Eventually, he crashed his vehicle into the woods at the tee intersection located at Brooks Road and 9 Mile Rd in Lake County, but he continued to flee on foot. Two DNR conservation officers arrived on scene to assist the trooper in tracking McConnell through the deep snow and he was located attempting to hide behind a tree. McConnell would not show his hands or comply with multiple other commands to surrender himself, so he was tasered by one of DNR officers and taken into custody by the trooper. McConnell has been charged with Fleeing and Eluding 3rd Degree, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (the vehicle), and Resisting and Obstructing a Police Officer. He was arraigned in the 85th District Court in Manistee on Feb. 19. Bond was set at $50,000. Are you dating or talking online to someone who says they are a military member? Have they asked you for funds or documents? You might be looking for true love, but chances are good that you are the victim of one of thousands of military scams conducted every day. U.S. military officials have warned those involved in online dating to proceed with caution when corresponding with someone claiming to be a U.S. military member serving in Syria, Afghanistan or elsewhere. Officials and websites like Military.com receive hundreds of questions or allegations a month from victims who state they got involved in an online relationship with someone who claims to be in the U.S. military but started asking for money for various false service-related needs such as transportation costs; communication fees; or marriage, processing or medical fees. Victims of these online military scams often think they are doing a good deed by helping a military member. Instead, they have given their money to a scammer, sometimes losing thousands of dollars, with very low possibility of recovery. The U.S. has established numerous task forces to deal with this growing epidemic. Unfortunately, the people committing these scams are often overseas -- using untraceable email addresses, routing accounts through numerous locations around the world and utilizing pay-per-hour Internet cyber cafes. See examples of fake documents used by scammers. Are you being scammed? Here's how to know. Military Scams: What to Look For There are a variety of words and phrases used by scammers to hook unsuspecting men and women into relationships. Here are some examples: They say they are on a "peacekeeping" mission. They say they are looking for an honest woman. They note that their parents, wife or husband is deceased. They say they have a child or children being cared for by a nanny or other guardian. They profess their love almost immediately. They refer to you as "my love," "my darling" or any other affectionate term almost immediately. They tell you they cannot wait to be with you. They tell you they cannot talk on the phone or via webcam for security reasons. They tell you they are sending you something (money, jewelry) through a diplomat. They claim to be in the U.S. military; however, their English and grammar do not match that of someone born and raised in the United States. Military Romance Scams: Common Questions Scammers tend to use similar stories to convince men and women that they have a legitimate need. Military.com regularly receives questions about these claims. Here are common answers to those questions: Military members and their loved ones are not charged money so that they can go on leave. No one is required to request leave on behalf of a military member. A general officer will not correspond with you on behalf of military personnel planning to take leave. A general officer will not be a member of an internet dating site. Military members are not charged money or taxes to secure communications or leave. Military members do not need permission to get married. Military members do not have to pay for early retirement. All military personnel have medical insurance for themselves and their immediate family members (spouse and/or children), which pays for their medical costs when treated at health care facilities worldwide. Family and friends do not need to pay their medical expenses. Military aircraft are not used to transport privately owned vehicles. Military financial offices are not used to help military personnel buy or sell items of any kind. Member of the military deployed to combat zones do not need to solicit money from the public to feed or house their troops. Deployed military personnel do not find large sums of money and do not need your help to get that money out of the country. Military Scams: How to Avoid Them You can avoid being taken for a ride by a military scam artist by practicing a few easy habits. Never send money. Be extremely suspicious if you are asked for money for transportation costs, communication fees or marriage processing and medical fees via Western Union. Do your research. If you do start an Internet-based relationship with someone, check them out. Research what they are telling you with someone who would know, such as a current or former service member. Communicate by phone. Be very suspicious if you never get to actually speak with the person on the phone or are told you cannot write or receive letters in the mail. Servicemen and women serving overseas will often have an APO or FPO mailing address. Internet or not, service members always appreciate a letter in the mail. Fact-check. Many of the negative claims made about the military and the supposed lack of support and services provided to troops overseas are far from reality. Check the facts. Don't use a third party. Be very suspicious if you are asked to send money or ship property to a third party or company. Often, the company exists but has no idea or is not a part of the scam. Watch for African countries. Be very suspicious if the person you are corresponding with wants you to mail anything to an African country. While some U.S. troops are stationed there, they are few and far between. Someone claiming to be in a place where we have few troops is suspect. Many scams originate in Nigeria. Watch for grammar. Be aware of common spelling, grammatical or language errors in the emails. Be guarded. Be very suspicious of someone you have never met and who pledges their love at warp speed. Military Romance Scams: How to Get Help How do you get help if you are the victim of a military scam or think you have found a romance scammer posing as a military member? Unfortunately, if you've given money to a scammer, you're unlikely to get it back since scammers are often located overseas and are untraceable. You can, however, report it. You can report the theft to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) (FBI-NW3C Partnership) on its website. You can also report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission. Your report helps law enforcement officials across the United States in their investigations. Report it online or by phone at 1-877-ID-THEFT. Finally, report Nigerian scams to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission by email at scam@efccnigeria.org. Keep Up with the Ins and Outs of Military Life For the latest military news and tips on military family benefits and more, subscribe to Military.com and have the information you need delivered directly to your inbox. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has had a rocky start auditioning for a permanent role in recent weeks, leading to speculation there may be other contenders for defense secretary waiting in the wings. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson's name has been floated for SecDef since Jim Mattis stepped down from the position, according to various reports. A congressional official also confirmed to Military.com that Wilson had been rumored as a contender. Rep. Ted Lieu, D-California, and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, even tweeted out their support for Wilson stepping into the role. In a recent interview, Wilson didn't rule out interest in the job. "I serve here at the pleasure of the president and with the confirmation of the Senate, and I think that's probably where I am," she told Politico during a podcast last week. I think that's up to the president of the United States and the United States Senate." Related content: An administration official told Foreign Policy this week that Wilson's congressional background and rapport with lawmakers could help achieve a speedy confirmation process. And the time may be right for a first-ever female defense secretary to lead the Pentagon, a key lawmaker told Military.com. "Women have always had a positive impact on our national security and have seen their roles and opportunities rightfully expand in recent years," Rep. Anthony Brown, vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said. "Women also continue to break barriers. Multiple women have graduated from Army Ranger School, two have passed the Marine Corps' Infantry Officer Course and, recently, Simone Askew became the first black woman to hold the role of First Captain and lead West Point's Corps of Cadets. "Women have risen to the top ranks in uniform and in our civilian national security leadership, and I'm confident we will soon see a woman shatter the last glass ceiling in the Pentagon," Brown, a Maryland Democrat and retired Army National Guard colonel, said. Others agree. "It's really striking over time to see how many women have been rising through the ranks and in greater numbers," said Melissa Dalton, a senior fellow and deputy director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies' International Security Program and director of the Cooperative Defense Project. Dalton previously served in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from 2007 to 2014. While there have been significant strides in adding female voices to the higher levels in the Defense Department, there could always be more, she said. That effort usually starts at junior levels and progresses upward. For example, Wilson graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1982, part of the third class to include women. She's the third woman to serve as the Air Force secretary, after Deborah Lee James, who served under President Barack Obama, and Sheila E. Widnall, who served under President Bill Clinton's administration. A Rhodes Scholar, Wilson served on the White House National Security Council staff as director for defense policy and arms control for President George H.W. Bush during the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Warsaw Pact. She served as a Republican in Congress from 1998 to 2009, representing New Mexico's 1st Congressional District. She chaired the House Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence and was senior ranking member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. She also served on the House Armed Services Committee for four years. Before President Donald Trump signed the policy enacting the first steps to create the Space Force under the Department of the Air Force on Tuesday, it was reported that Shanahan already planned to put Wilson in charge of an architect team for the new organization. But she's not the only woman with an impressive background. A few months after Wilson became the Air Force secretary, the Senate confirmed Ellen Lord to be the under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment at the Pentagon. As the Pentagon's top weapons buyer, Lord has looked for ways the DoD can cut costs and streamline purchasing. "In 2019, one of my key objectives is to rewrite [DoD Instruction 5000.02, "Operation of the Defense Acquisition System"]," she told Defense News in a December interview. "We have, right now, this huge, complicated acquisition process that we encourage our acquisition professionals to tailor to their needs," Lord said. "We are going to invert that approach and take a clean sheet of paper and write the absolute bare minimum to be compliant in 5000.02, and encourage program managers and contracting officers to add to that as they need for specific programs." While Congress in recent budgets has delegated more acquisition and decision authorities to each of the services, Lord oversees a number of large-scale budget programs at the Pentagon, according to DefenseOne. Those projects include the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship and SSBN 826 Columbia-class submarine program; the Army's Integrated Air and Missile Defense program; and the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV), OCX GPS control stations, and the VC-25B Air Force One. Lord's oversight of joint projects also includes the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Ballistic Missile Defense System and Chemical Demilitarization-Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives, DefenseOne said. Like Shanahan, a former Boeing Co. executive, Lord started in the defense industry. She holds a Master of Science degree in chemistry from the University of New Hampshire, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry from Connecticut College. She was the president and chief executive officer of Textron Systems Corporation, a subsidiary of Textron Inc., between 2012 and 2017 and has more than 30 years' experience at the company. She was also once the vice chairman of the National Defense Industrial Association, as well as a former director of the U.S.-India Business Council. Lord attended the Aero India aviation exhibition in Bengaluru this week as one of only a few officials at the event, where the U.S. hopes to make gains with India's defense sector. Last week, she reportedly canceled an appearance at NDIA to instead attend a meeting at the White House. But like Shanahan, her lack of a robust defense policy background may be a detriment among lawmaker circles, a former associate told Military.com on background Thursday. That said, Lord has a "no-nonsense" attitude when it comes to getting things done. "She has that, for sure," the former associate said. "Culturally speaking, the Pentagon it is the most intense no-nonsense place to work," said Todd M. Rosenblum, senior fellow in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council. Under the Obama administration, Rosenblum had served as the acting assistant secretary and principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs from 2011 to 2015. "It is a hard place to lead. That's typical. [But] success is apparent [in the Pentagon] quickly," he said Thursday. "The ability to look forward, to get things to 'yes,' to be a vocal advocate, a bureaucratic fighter, but ultimately to support the decision made by the highers ups -- those are characteristics I see very much demonstrated by women in senior positions in the building." Some are already eager for the first female SecDef -- no matter who it may be -- because it could change perceptions about women in senior roles. "I do hope that, once it happens, it will change the conversation from one that focuses on, 'Women being capable' of serving in the role to one that's about, 'How do we get the best people for the job and train them to do the best they can' for their role in this field?" said Maggie Feldman-Piltch, CEO and founder of #NatSecGirlsSquad, a start-up organization promoting competent diversity in national security. "The conversation now is so much [about] 'What is it like as a woman?' And we spend so much energy on little -- yet important -- things, like deciphering dress codes ... [when] we could perhaps start putting some of that energy into our actual jobs," Feldman-Piltch said. Dalton said women like Wilson and Lord are examples of the "proliferation of very capable women that can lead in various nodes -- whether it's on the acquisition side or the service side in areas at the Pentagon that perhaps have even been lagging and signals that the trajectory is quite strong for having the first female secretary of defense." For that reason, "I'm really looking forward to the day when we can say, 'Madam Secretary,' " Dalton said. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. The Taliban have been carrying out more than 27 attacks daily in Afghanistan while engaging the U.S. in peace talks, according to the Pentagon's Inspector General's office. The IG's report said that, in the three-month period from Oct. 1 through Dec. 30, the Taliban initiated a total of 2,517 attacks, or slightly more than 27 daily. All of the attacks were defined by NATO's Resolute Support mission as "effective enemy-initiated attacks," meaning that each resulted in at least one casualty, the IG report said. The number of attacks also represented a 10 percent increase over the same period in 2017, the report states. During the last quarter of 2018, U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad held three rounds of talks with the Taliban. In January, he announced that insurgent leaders had agreed in principle on the framework of a peace deal that would allow for the withdrawal of U.S. troops and include pledges from the Taliban that Afghanistan would not become a safe haven for terrorists. However, the Taliban have yet to agree to meet with the Afghan government on the framework or outline future relations with the U.S., the IG report states. The latest IG report lacks the usual sections on humanitarian assistance, government reform, infrastructure and other issues due to the 35-day partial government shutdown and the furlough of State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development personnel. In sum, the IG report states that "the security situation in Afghanistan remained volatile during the quarter. The Taliban continued to attack Afghan security forces and election facilities while U.S. and coalition forces intensified Afghan-led operations to counter the Taliban and terrorist organizations." U.S. Forces-Afghanistan told the IG that the Taliban "continued to threaten provincial capitals, including Ghazni city and Farah city," two cities that came under Taliban siege in 2018. Afghan security forces repelled recent attacks on provincial capitals, but "the Taliban remained active on the periphery of urban centers," according to the report. Despite the increase in attacks in the last quarter, the Afghan government held parliamentary elections in October, in which four million out of 8.5 million registered voters cast ballots, the IG report states. However, Taliban attacks on election day killed 52 people and wounded 336 across the country, and the election was marred by closed polling centers, inaccurate voter lists, and confusion over the use of biometric devices, it added. In addition, the Taliban and the Islamic State offshoot known as ISIS-K killed a total of 10 candidates and wounded or abducted six others, according to the report. The results of the election have yet to be released. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. The U.S. Army has announced it will upgrade a former 3rd Infantry Division soldier's Silver Star to a Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery during the unit's "Thunder Run" attack on Baghdad, Iraq, in 2003. Staff Sgt. Stevon A. Booker, who was killed protecting his platoon's flank, will receive the nation's second-highest award for valor in a ceremony in Pittsburgh on April 5, according to a Feb. 21 3rd Infantry Division press release. Booker is the latest soldier to have his Silver Star upgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross as the result of a comprehensive review of military awards and decorations at the direction of former Defense Secretary Ash Carter, the release states. Booker's unit -- A Company, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment -- led an armored assault, known as a Thunder Run, which helped topple Saddam Hussein's regime, the release states. At one point, Booker's platoon began taking heavy small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire, the release states. "Booker immediately reacted -- communicated the situation to his chain-of-command, returned fire with his mounted machine gun and reassured his crew that they would make it to their objective," according to the release. "When his crew machine gun malfunctioned, Booker completely disregarded his personal safety and took up an exposed prone position on the top of his tank." Under heavy enemy fire, Booker managed to destroy an enemy vehicle and "effectively protected his platoon's flank," the release states. "Booker continued to engage the enemy and protect his platoon while exposed for nearly five miles until he was fatally wounded," according to the release. The Army is scheduled to present Booker's mother, Freddie M. Jackson, with his Distinguished Service Cross on April 5, the 16th anniversary of her son's death, the release states. The Army also recently announced that it will upgrade Sgt. Daniel E. Cowart's Silver Star to a DSC in a March 20 ceremony for the heroism he showed during a combat patrol in Iraq in 2007. Cowart, a former member of the 1st Cavalry Division, is credited with wrestling a suicide bomber away from his three fellow soldiers before the bomb exploded. Cowart was severely wounded in the blast, but his actions saved the three soldiers' lives. Maj. Thomas Gordon Bostick will also receive the Distinguished Service Cross in March, an upgrade from the posthumous Silver Star he was awarded for "sacrificing his life" to protect his 173rd Airborne Brigade soldiers during an enemy ambush in Afghanistan. -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. For the first time in nearly 17 years, bright blue Union Jack flags commemorating a pivotal World War II battle will again fly high on Navy ships -- a move meant to symbolize U.S. naval might as adversaries pose new threats across the globe. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson announced the change to the Navy's official maritime flag on Thursday. The blue Union Jack flag, which features 50 white stars representing each state, will return to jackstaffs on June 4 in honor of the historic Battle of Midway. "Make no mistake: we have entered a new era of competition," Richardson said in a statement. "We must recommit to the core attributes that made us successful at Midway: integrity, accountability, initiative and toughness." The Union Jack will officially replace the First Navy Jack, the service's current maritime flag that features red and white stripes with a rattlesnake and the words "Don't Tread on Me." Navy ships began flying that flag in place of the Union Jack on Sept. 11, 2002, while fighting the Global War on Terror. Sailors around the world will raise the Union Jack on all Navy ships at morning colors on June 4, according to Navy administrative message 039/19, which was signed by Richardson and details the changes. There's just one exception: Only the Navy's oldest deployable warship -- the amphibious-command ship Blue Ridge -- will be allowed to fly the First Navy Jack. "The Navy will reestablish the custom in which the commissioned ship in active status having the longest total period in active status, other than USS Constitution, will display the First Navy Jack until decommissioned or transferred to inactive status," Richardson wrote. A version of the Union Jack first flew in 1777 and was updated with new white stars as more states joined the union. It symbolizes "the cumulative strength of our nation and of our Navy, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts," Richardson said. Displaying the flag is also a nod to the sea service's rich heritage. "A version of the Union Jack flew when Commodore [Matthew] Perry formally established relations with the Empire of Japan. A version of the Union Jack flew in harbors around the world as the Great White Fleet circumnavigated the globe. A version of the Union Jack flew in ports throughout the Pacific as the Navy island-hopped its way across the vast ocean, and in the Atlantic as the Navy supported operations to liberate the European continent," Richardson said. The Navy is a symbol that projects American values to the world, he added. "For more than 240 years, the Union Jack, flying proudly from jackstaffs aboard U.S. Navy warships, has symbolized these strengths," Richardson said. The new policy won't affect those who wear the First Navy Jack patch as an optional component on certain Navy working uniforms, according to the administrative message. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins. The nearly $13 billion loss in the most recent quarter is a devastating recognition that efforts to change the trajectory of the company have not been as successful as once thought. The loss follows an $8 billion profit in the same period last year. A Coast Guard officer accused of compiling a target list of Democratic presidential candidates and media personalities amid threats of mass violence will remain behind bars while his case moves forward, a U.S. District Court judge ruled Thursday. Lt. Christopher Paul Hasson was arrested Feb. 15 on drug and weapons possession charges, but a document filed by a U.S. attorney allege a much more far-reaching pattern of sinister activity, including plans to commit mass murder to further a neo-Nazi and white nationalist agenda. In the Greenbelt location of U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Day granted a detention order for Hasson. "The defendant is remanded to the custody of the Attorney General or to the Attorney General's designated representative for confinement in a corrections facility separate, to the extent practicable, from persons awaiting or serving sentences or being held in custody pending appeal, the order reads." The document indicates that the judge was convinced to order detention for Hassan "by clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure the safety of any other person and the community." His detention is subject to appeal. Hasson had been assigned to the Acquisitions Directorate of the Coast Guard's Washington, D.C. headquarters when he was arrested at his home in Silver Spring. A cache of 15 weapons and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition were seized at the time. A Coast Guard spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Scott McBride, told Military.com Thursday in a statement that Hasson, who previously served in the Army National Guard and the Marine Corps, had been under investigation by the Coast Guard Investigative Service since fall 2018 after the Coast Guard Insider Threat "first identified concerns about him." He was arrested by the FBI and CGIS "once they were confident in the strength of the evidence supporting the criminal complaint and warrant," McBride said. Hasson entered the Coast Guard in March 1996, serving first as an enlisted electronics technician and then earning a promotion to chief warrant officer in 2012, according to information provided by McBride. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in 2015, and received his assignment at Coast Guard headquarters the following year. "Lt. Hasson will remain on active duty until the legal case against him is adjudicated. Unlawful possession of drugs and firearms, as well as advocacy for supremacist doctrine, ideology, or causes, violates Coast Guard policy, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and our organizational core values," McBride said in a statement. A Marine Corps spokeswoman, Yvonne Carlock, said Hasson had enlisted in December 1988 and risen to the rank of corporal as an F/A-18 Hornet aircraft mechanic. He was discharged from the Marines in January 1994. Months later, he joined the Virginia Army National Guard, a National Guard spokesman told Military.com. He served as an infantry soldier in the now-defunct 1st Battalion, 183rd Infantry Regiment. He then transferred to the Arizona Army National Guard in September 1995, serving there until he was discharged in 1996. Hasson's extremist beliefs, violent ideations, and self-described addition to the pain drug Tramadol appear not to have raised any flags for the military prior to the Coast Guard's investigation last fall. On his computer, according to the U.S. attorney, were messages in which he fantasized about mass murder. "Dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth," he allegedly wrote in one missive. "I think a plague would be most successful." -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. By February 1945, the cruel and inhumane treatment by the Japanese against their enemies was well known. As the Allies liberated the Philippines, the decision was made to attempt a rescue effort at the Cabanatuan Prison. This rescue, often referred to as the Great Raid, liberated over 500 prisoners from Cabanatuan on Jan. 30, 1945. These prisoners then described their horrific treatment as well as the atrocities of the Bataan Death March. This convinced the Allied commanders to attempt more rescue operations in order to save the lives of those held by the Japanese. POWs interned by the Japanese in the Philippines were malnourished and subject to brutal conditions. (Photo: U.S. Army Signal Corps) A plan was quickly drawn up, this time using paratroopers from the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The target would be the University of the Philippines campus-turned POW camp at Los Banos. There the Japanese were holding over 2,000 Allied personnel, mostly civilians who were caught up in the Japanese onslaught of late 1941. The plan was divided into four phases. The first phase involved inserting the 11th Airborne's divisional reconnaissance platoon along with Filipino guerrillas as guides. Prior to the attack they would mark the drop zone for the paratroopers and landing beach for the incoming Amtracs. Others from the platoon would attack the sentries and guard posts of the camp in coordination with the landing of the paratroopers. The second phase consisted of the landing and assault by the paratroopers. These men were from Company B, 1st Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment along with the light machine gun platoon from battalion headquarters company. They were led by 1st Lt. John Ringler. U.S. paratroopers awaiting orders to jump. (Photo: U.S. Army Signal Corps, 1942) Simultaneous to the landing of the paratroopers, Filipino guerrillas from the 45th Hunter's ROTC Regiment would attack the prison camp itself. Together these two groups would eliminate the Japanese within and the Americans would gather them for transport from the camp. The third phase of the operation would bring the remainder of the 1st Battalion, 511th PIR across the Laguna de Bay in Amtracs. These would then be used to transport the prisoners to safety. Finally, another 11th Airborne element, the 188th Glider Infantry Regiment, would make a diversionary attack along the highway leading to the camp. The intent would be to draw the Japanese attention away allowing the paratroopers to escape with the prisoners. All of this would happen nearly simultaneously. The amount of coordination of forces was tremendous. Everything was set to go off at 7 AM on Feb. 23, 1945. The first to depart for the mission were the men of the division reconnaissance platoon who set out the night of Feb. 21 in small Filipino fishing boats. Once across the Laguna de Bay, they entered into the jungle and made their way to hide sites to wait for the assault to begin. On the morning of the 23rd at 0400, the 1st Battalion minus B Company boarded the 54 Amtracs of the 672nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion and set out across the bay toward their landing beach. At 0530 the men of B Company boarded the C-47's for the short flight to Los Banos. By 0640 they were in the air toward their destination. At 0700 on the morning of Feb. 23, 1945, the coordinated assault on the prison camp at Los Banos began. Lt. John Ringler was the first man out the door of the lead C-47 coming low at 500 feet. Having already marked the drop zone, the reconnaissance platoon and their accompanying guerrillas, spotting the incoming troop transports, sprung from their hide sites and attacked the Japanese guard post and sentries. Many were quickly overwhelmed. At the same time, the 45th Hunter's ROTC Regiment of Filipino guerrillas attacked three sides of the camp. As this was happening, the paratroopers were assembling on the drop zone and the lead elements were breaching the outer perimeter of the camp. Filipino guerrillas worked with the U.S. Marine Corps across the Pacific during WWII. (Photo: U.S. Marine Corps) The assault had been perfectly timed to coincide with not only a changing of the guard shift but also morning formation for both the prisoners and Japanese soldiers. Many Japanese were caught in the open, unarmed, preparing to conduct morning physical training. They were cut down by the gunfire of the assaulting forces. Some Japanese were able to mount a defense but many simply fled in the face of the charging Americans and Filipinos. By the time the balance of the 1st Battalion arrived at the camp in their Amtracs, the fight was all but over. In very short order the raiding force had overwhelmed and secured the prison. Out on the highway, the 188th GIR was making good progress against the Japanese and had successfully established blocking positions by late morning. The sound of their battles reminded the men at the camp that time was of the essence the Japanese were still nearby. Due to their harsh treatment, many of the prisoners were malnourished and extremely weak. Those that could walk began making their way towards the beach for evacuation. Others were loaded into the Amtracs at the camp and transported back across the lake. It took two trips to get all the internees across the lake and a third to evacuate the last of the assault troops, but at the end of the day 2,147 prisoners were liberated from the Los Banos prison camp. The cost to the Americans and Filipinos was just a handful of casualties no paratroopers were killed in the raid. Among those evacuated was Frank Buckles, a World War I veteran, who would go on to be the last living veteran from the conflict. "I doubt that any airborne unit in the world will ever be able to rival the Los Banos prison raid," said Gen. Colin Powell. "It is the textbook airborne operation for all ages and all armies." MORE POSTS FROM WE ARE THE MIGHTY: This carrier, a veteran of the Doolittle Raid, was just rediscovered after 76 years 7 things only siblings of military personnel know This was the Nazi plan to invade Great Britain 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. OLD SAYBROOK So, have you lived here all your life? folks would ask Earl Endrich Sr. His typical reply was, not yet, with a laugh. But Earl Endrick ended up living on his family farm his entire life, afterall. He died Jan. 20 of a heart attack at age 87. My fathers death wasnt really a surprise, but its not anything you ever really want to deal with, Earl Endrich Jr. said with sadness in his voice. He had one foot on a banana peel and the other in the grave for the past two months, and he knew it, Endrich said. Apparently, a dry sense of humor passed from father to son. The senior Endrich had not been well for the past few months and was recovering from a serious fall he suffered in October. The Endrich family has deep roots in Old Saybrook. Earl Sr.s great-grandfather purchased property on what is now Middlesex Turnpike in 1868 that would become Endrich Farm, which the family still owns and was devastated by a recent fire Dec. 30. More for you Shoreline Community rallies to rebuild burned Old Saybrook farm Endrich was born on the farm in 1931 to Frederick and Marguerite Endrich and graduated from Old Saybrook High School in 1950. He lived on the farm until his death. He was an amazing man, said his son. He started out his life right there in the house across from Burdick Oil, the original homestead, and his first job was delivering papers to Essex on a bicycle. Can you imagine doing that in 26-degree weather with only one arm? he said. Endrich Sr. was born with one fully functioning left arm, but his right ended at the elbow. But he was like a man with three arms, he did more than most men, his son remembers. The only thing he couldnt do was button his own left cuff, adding with a laugh, that half arm was dangerous, years ago he was a fighter, youd get too close and hed stick it in your diaphragm, and youd be all done. When I was young, we started with horses. I rode until I was 18 and went into the service, Endrich said. In 1966 when Endrich, now 65, was just 12, he helped his father build the barn that burned down Dec. 30, killing four oxen and a donkey. Although the senior Endrich ran the farm on the side for 40 years, his biggest passion was fishing. When he retired from the real estate and insurance business, he charter-fished the Scavenger, the boat I sword fished from, out of Ragged Rock marina for 15 years, Endrich said. Earl Sr. founded and owned the Earl Endrich Real Estate and Insurance Agency in Old Saybrook for 30 years. His love of the water and the town drew him to public service. In the 1960s, when North Cove was first dredged, he was the state rep from Old Saybrook. He went to Washington to get funds to get the dredging done. We had our own little boat out there, The little Earl. He loved fishing, clamming, loved the boat and the water. Earl senior served as a three-term state representative, a 31-year member of the Old Saybrook Fire Department instrumental in the acquisition of Firemans Field on Elm Street, as harbormaster, a member of the Waterfront and Shellfish Commissions, a justice of the peace, 1992 Republican Town chairman, and was past master of Siloam (now Anchor) Masonic Lodge. He also loved the farm and the bulls and the oxen. It was hard, but he had a lot of help with that. People always wanted to go fishing, so if they wanted to go out fishing, they had to shovel some s---. He kept horses, sheep, donkeys, geese, peafowl and oxen that competed in fairs all over New England. Years ago when he had his insurance and real estate business and owned the building that now is part of Saybrook Home, hed open up in the morning and go across the street to sit on a bar stool at the Monkey Farm. With the windows open, he could hear the phone ringing in his office, and could see if anyone came to the door. He also did a lot of business inside the Monkey Farm if people needed auto insurance, he was the only guy in town, Endrich said. In his later years he would visit the VFW, the American Legion and hang out with his old cronies, but really, he liked hanging out at the family farm with his wife of 26 years, Emily, who survives him, staying home, watching the pasture, seeing whats going on. You can see red-tailed hawks, deer, coyotes, theres always something going on up there, Endrich said. He was a straight-shooter. Hed tell you exactly what was on his mind. If he thought you talked too much, hed tell you to just shut up. You always knew where you stood with him, Endrich said. Endrich is a member of the Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce and when the Chamber holds their events at Saybrook Home, he likes to stand in the spot right where his dads desk used to be. Now its the bar, he laughed. He lived life to the fullest, he will be missed. State Sen. Alex Bergstein has hired a former campaign aide to be her privately funded office staffer, in a move that could raise transparency issues. For up-to-date information on public policy issues, sign up for the CT Politics newsletter. The Hartford Courant reported that the first-term lawmaker, using her own money, hired the additional staff. The employee is using her own computer, but Cheri Quickmire, executive director of Common Cause in Connecticut, the election and government watchdog, said the hiring could raise questions that date back to the era of Gov. Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., in the early 1990s, when loaned executives were brought into his administration. I thinks there needs to be an administrative policy or legislative rules on how we deal with this to make sure things are done ethically, Quickmire said in a Friday night interview. That would include somehow making the non-state employee using her non-state private email system somehow accountable to the state if she is working for a legislator. Colleen Murphy, who is the states chief transparency official as executive director of the state Freedom of Information Act, said Friday that whether or not shes paid by Bergstein, work generated by the aide is subject to the provisions of Connecticut public-records law. The source of her salary is irrelevant, Murphy said Friday night. It doesnt matter if you use private resources. Its the content created that is subject to the Freedom of Information Act. If shes performing a public function on behalf of the senator, its a public record. Bergstein did not respond to a request for comment Friday night. kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT I would love to see the tax increase to 12 cents, Parker said. Weve had a couple of years to acclimate to this tax and I think most of Chicago is used to it. I think increasing it to 12 cents would just be another little nudge in the right direction. MIDDLETOWN Applications are now being accepted for the Virginia R. Rollefson Environmental Leadership Scholarship, a $1,000 award to recognize leadership and initiative by a high school junior or senior residing in Middlesex County, Lyme, or Old Lyme for participation in a program, project, or activity that benefits preservation, conservation, restoration or environmental education. The scholarship is presented by The Rockfall Foundation. Applications must be submitted by March 1. The scholarship is named in honor of former Executive Director of The Rockfall Foundation, Virginia R. Ginny Rollefson, who retired in 2010 after 24 years with the Foundation. The award honors her long service to the Foundation, her enthusiasm, and her belief that we all benefit when young people are actively engaged in making their communities a better place to live. For a copy of the application and more information, visit www.rockfallfoundation.org or call 860-347-0340. Founded in 1935 by Middletown philanthropist Clarence S. Wadsworth, The Rockfall Foundation is one of Connecticuts oldest environmental organizations. The Foundation supports environmental education, conservation and planning initiatives in the Lower Connecticut River Valley through public programs and grants. In addition, the Rockfall Foundation operates the historic deKoven House Community Center that offers meeting and event room rentals and office space for non-profit organizations. For additional information about the Virginia R. Rollefson Environmental Leadership Scholarship or The Rockfall Foundation, visit www.rockfallfoundation.org or call 860-347-0340. Spring antiques show dates set HARTFORD Offering a mix of antiques, fine and decorative arts, the Connecticut Spring Show returns to Hartford on March 23 and 24. Held in the historic Hartford Armory, the show celebrates its 46th year with 50 of the best antiques and art dealers in the country. To stay relevant in a fast-paced, changing world the show will offer a more diverse selection of goods, while staying true to its early American niche, organizers said. The Connecticut Spring Show is a benefit for the Thankful Arnold House Museum and Haddam Historical Society. The 2019 Hartford Show will feature a millennials perspective to the world of antiques and arts. Kate Avery, artist, furniture designer, painter, blogger and influencer, is on tap to share her knowledge and design savvy with a fresh twist. She will show how to incorporate that unique and special antique object into a 21 st century setting and how to curate a space as a reflection of your individuality and style. Although known for her refurbished painted furniture, Avery has a deep understanding and respect for the exceptional and unique pieces found at the Connecticut Spring Show. Her talk Fresh Design with Antiques will be held Saturday, March 23, at 2 p.m., and is included in admission. The weekend will feature other educational programs. On Sunday, March 24, visitors age 35 and younger will receive free admission. Area museums will be showcased to highlight Hartfords numerous cultural venues which make the city a desirable destination. Additional information is available at www.ctspringshow.com . Or contact Elizabeth Malloy at contact@haddamhistory.org or call 860-345-2400. Goff House seeks board members EAST HAMPTON The Joseph N. Goff House is looking for additional volunteer board members to help plan Goff House events such as the annual celebration of East Hampton's Top 10 Students, the annual Goff House Gazebo Concert series held each Thursday in the summer in the East Hampton Village Center, participation in East Hampton Village Center events and the creation of historical exhibits in the museum space at 2 Barton Hill Road. Meetings are held every second Wednesday at the museum at 6:30 p.m. Call 860-918-4400 for more details. Hope and Support Groups to meet DURHAM/MIDDLEFIELD A service for those who have a loved one struggling with substance abuse or addiction is being offered in the Durham/Middlefield area. Hope and Support Groups provide a safe and confidential space for parents, guardians and all others dealing with a loved ones disease of substance abuse or addiction. The group is led by two trained facilitators, a licensed professional and a para-professional with lived experience. Recognizing that this disease affects entire families, the group provides a forum to share openly while receiving peer support, information and the compassion that everyone deserves thus breaking the stigma and isolation created by the disease. The group meets from 7-8:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at the Middlefield Federated Church, 402 Main Street, Middlefield. Parents, guardians, siblings, partners and all others living with a loved ones substance abuse disorder or addiction are invited to attend. This service is provided by TriCircle, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides resources for people and families affected by substance use disorders. Through education, research and community engagement they are dedicated to providing the tools that build strong futures. Recovery support group meets in Middletown MIDDLETOWN New Life Journey is a faith based recovery support community, comprised of people from all walks of life who recognize that although experiences shape and mold them, they are not limited to or defined by their stories. The group meets on Fridays from 7-8:30 p.m. at First Church, 190 Court Street, Middletown. For more information, email Admin@NewLifeJourneyCT.com. Young widows, widowers can attend support group MIDDLETOWN Middlesex Health Cancer Center and Middlesex Health Hospice and Palliative Care are holding a support group for young widows and widowers. Meetings will be held at the Middlesex Hospital Outpatient Center. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required. To register, contact Doreen Gagnon at 860-358-2053 or doreen.gagnon@midhosp.org, or Sherry Russenberger at 860-358-6091 or sherry.russenberger@midhosp.org. Adult education offers free classes, tutoring MIDDLETOWN Adult education offers free classes for area residents ready to earn their high school diploma. High school completion options include online classes and GED. Free GED tutoring is available days & evenings at 398 Main Street Middletown to help residents get their GED. There is no charge for area residents. English classes for non-English speaking residents are also available for all proficiency levels. Enrollment is ongoing and there is never a charge for area residents. Day and evening classes are available at 398 Main Street, Middletown. Call or stop by for more information, 860-343-6044. OLD SAYBROOK At 2:30 a.m. Dec. 30, Earl Endrich, Jr. awoke to his neighbor banging on his door. Across the street, Endrichs barn was on fire. The barn he helped his father build in 1966 at age 12. The barn that held his equipment, tools, hay, four oxen, a donkey and five sheep. The center of his life and of his livelihood was engulfed in flames. The barn was a total loss; only the sheep survived. As the sun came up and word began to spread, the effort to help Endrich, 64, rebuild his barn and his way of life began. My stomach turns every time I drive up the driveway, Endrich said looking at the charred, muddy ground where his barn and animals had stood just days before. Those animals didnt deserve to die like that. The fire was caused by an electrical anomaly in the building, according to Old Saybrook Fire Marshal Peter Terenzi. Endrich operates Townline Farms from his home across the street from the family farm, Endrich Farm on Middlesex Turnpike, near the Essex town line. He harvests wood with the that his family has owned since 1868. The old farm has been a mainstay in the town. After the fire, retailer SWAG of Old Saybrook posted the following to Facebook: Last week there was a fire in a barn most of you didnt know existed. But if you ever drive between Old Saybrook and Essex on 154 you may have seen the donkey. Or the steers. And smiled. Earl has those animals because, well he loved them and the whole idea of a small farm. Look theres a ton of good causes out there but if you can spare a couple of bucks you might just change the world. Community leaders wanted to help as well. It was a devastating loss. Earl has been an active member of the Chamber, an ambassador for us, and a town resident for years, said Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Judy Sullivan. We live in a great community and people want to support him. Its one of these situations where you just want to try to help. Outpouring of support Overwhelming, Endrich said of the swift support. I know a lot of people from the car business, commercial fishing, from Florida. I have friends all over the country helping out. I didnt know how many friends I had. Endrich served in the Navy, was a mechanic, a commercial sword and tuna fisherman and was the sales manager for Old Saybrook Volkswagen until he retired about four years ago. He moved back to Old Saybrook from Florida in 2006 to help his father, Earl Endrich Sr., with the farm. Strangers also want to help. The Montessori School staff and students sent over sandwiches with a nice card saying they would miss seeing the animals out in the pasture, Endrich said. People immediately took to Facebook to express their sympathy, share memories, and ask how to help. I was at the fire when it happened. Afterwards someone posted on Facebook saying that someone should make a gofundme. I decided to do that, said Junior Firefighter Jack Dunn, who is a senior at Old Saybrook Senior High School. He combined efforts with Sullivan, Kristy Benson of Bittersweet Farm and the high school to make fundraising for the farm his senior project. Donations may be made through GoFundMe (which at press time reached $10,010 of a $10,000 goal), an Essex Savings Bank account, an Amazon.com wish list and a spaghetti dinner taking place 2 to 6 p.m., Feb. 2, at the VFW. Tickets are $10. The funds will help rebuild and resupply the barn. Animals are sorely missed Still, the farm animals, who were also companions, will be hard to replace. Oxen Rock, Red, Lucky and Tom and Johnny the donkey had hauled logs and kept Endrich company during long days in the woods. The animals also trained younger oxen to take up the yoke when their own hauling days were over, provided a pastoral scene for passersby, and competed in fairs bringing home ribbons and cash prizes. Johnny also served as a watch donkey protecting the sheep from predators. Before the fire was out, neighbor Brad Hull brought his excavator and helped bury the animals. By New Years Day, the site was cleared, debris mounded into a few piles. During the fire, the hayloft collapsed, and all the hay came down on top of everything, Endrich said. There are some things I havent been able to find, and they may be in the piles. Charred yokes and rescued metal items now lay along the drive, the bright prize ribbons that hung in the barn are lost forever. To train a new team, the young oxen are hooked up behind an older team to watch and learn. Red and Rock were about 8 years old and set the example for 4-year-olds Tom and Lucky. Rock lived through the fire, but he was badly burned and had trouble breathing. He wouldnt drink or eat, I didnt want him to suffer, so we had to put him down, Endrich said. They can die of a broken heart when they lose a partner, Endrich said, noting that a previous farm pair team died at age 19 within days of each other (not related to the fire). I figured that was probably what would happen with Rock anyway, if he had lived, he said. Endrich now makes do with whats left, such as using his pick-up truck for hauling wood. They (oxen) do the job better than any equipment can, Endrich said. The truck can only go into the woods when its really dry, or frozen, but oxen never slip. He has two bulls on loan, White Chianina, which are about a foot taller than the Devons and Durhams he lost. In the spring he hopes to buy a pair of yearlings to train behind the Chianina, although he said, Ill never have a pair trained as well as they (Red and Rock) were. Endrichs great-great grandfather bought the original acres and built a house which Bittersweet Farm now rents. Endrichs father, Earl Endrich, Sr., 87, was born in that house and still lives on the farm property within sight of his birthplace, along with his wife, Emily. The senior Endrich is a 31-year veteran of the OSFD and was a local insurance executive and a state representative for Old Saybrook in the 1960s. Im completely baffled as to how it started, Endrich said. Indications point to an electrical fire, but the strange part of it is that the only thing running was the radio. I kept it on to help the animals get used to noises that they would hear at fairs. Nothing else was plugged in. I dont have big enough words of thanks for this, its just incredible, Endrich said of the community rallying around him. I just try to live a clean, wholesome, good life. To donate, visit the GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme. com/support-earl-endrich-barn-fire-recovery or search Support Endrich Farm Fire Recovery. Or, mail a check to Essex Savings Bank, Townline Farms Fund, 155 Main St., Old Saybrook, CT 06475. Tickets for the Spaghetti Dinner will be sold at the door. Donations will also be accepted at the dinner. Update to story: On Jan. 20 following publication of this article, Earl Endrich Sr. passed away at Middlesex Hospital from a heart attack at age 87. His great-great-grandfather purchased the Old Saybrook land that would become Endrich Farm in 1868. Endrich was born in the farms original homestead in 1931, and lived on Endrich Farm property until his death. Ann Gamble can be reached at anngamble41@gmail.com. DePauw University GREENCASTLE, Indiana DePauw University congratulates Colette Polezonis from Cromwell on being named to the fall 2018 deans list, which recognizes students who achieve a semester grade-point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Salisbury University SALISBURY, Maryland Kelsea Corcoran of Cromwell was named to the deans list at Salisbury University for the fall 2018 semester. U.S. Air Force SAN ANTONIO, Texas U.S. Air Force Airman Tyler B. Ayotte graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland recently. He is the son of Jeanne B. and Brian L. Ayotte and brother of Daniel J. Ayotte of Clinton as well as a 2013 graduate of The Morgan School in Clinton. The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills. Those who complete basic training also earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force. Wesleyan University MIDDLETOWN Doc Polk 19 recently received Wesleyan Universitys Herbert Lee Connelly Prize, which was established in 1980 by Mabel Wells Connelly in the name of her husband, member of the Class of 1909 and alumni secretary, 1924-56. Polk is from Middletown and previously attended Marshalltown Senior High School in Iowa. Supplemented by friends, relatives and sons Hugh Wells and Theodore Sample 48, the fund provides income to be awarded annually to a deserving undergraduate who demonstrates an interest in English literature and an unusual ability in nonfiction writing. Maine Maritime Academy CASTINE, Maine Maine Maritime Academy recently named 399 students to the deans list for outstanding academic achievement in the first semester of the 2018-19 academic year. Students named must earn a grade-point average of 3.3 or above on a 4.0 scale. Among them was Liam Flannery of East Hampton, who is studying in the marine systems engineering program. The College of St. Scholastica DULUTH, Minnesota Elizabeth Dillard of Middletown completed a certificate program in computer science/information systems at The College of St. Scholastica Dec. 15. Wentworth Institute of Technology BOSTON Allison Marie Fortunato of Cromwell and Gregory George Lagana of Portland made the deans list at Wentworth Institute of Technology for the fall 2018 semester. Southern New Hampshire University MANCHESTER, New Hampshire Gyanna Russell of East Hampton was named to Southern New Hampshire Universitys fall 2018 deans list. Eligibility requires a student accumulate an academic grade-point average of 3.5 to 3.699 and earn 12 credits for the semester. Clarion University CLARION, Pennsylvania Brianne Webster of Portland graduated with an information and library science masters degree during December commencement ceremonies at Clarion University. Emerson College BOSTON Kristin Lemley of Chester, Alyssa LaRosa of Middletown and Abigail LaVigne of Middletown were named to Emerson Colleges deans list for the fall 2018 semester. The requirement is a grade-point average of 3.7 or higher during the semester. In certain cases, companies also want to monitor employees who are a concern after they have been dismissed. That can include keeping an eye on what Doherty calls open source intelligence, such as social media activity, for signs that the person is acquiring weapons or stalking someone at their former workplace. In one case, a recently terminated employee posted a selfie taken in front of an executives home, Doherty said. But in October, Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, announced his opposition to the skyline-changing design because of concerns from community groups about traffic, the height of the podium, security along the river and the inclusion of a hotel in the plan. Because its three connected structures built at separate times, the property has proved versatile, Smith said. Were looking at a lot of larger deals, but after Walgreens there has been a lot of demand in the 50,000 to 100,000 (square foot) range, he said. The landlord is negotiating another 400,000 square feet of leases, he said. (CNN) At least 70 people have been killed and 40 injured after a fire tore through apartment buildings and chemical warehouses in a historic part of the Bangladesh capital Dhaka, the latest such deadly blaze in the south Asian nation. The blaze broke out Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. local time in Dhaka's Chawkbazar area, a district in old Dhaka with sprawling narrow streets and densely-packed buildings. Throughout the night, firefighters battled the blaze, which is believed to have started when a fuel cylinder in a car exploded. The fire then quickly spread across five buildings, including a restaurant, Ibrahim Khan, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Police told CNN. Among the dead were customers of the restaurant who were caught in the fire, said Khan. Inspector Morad Dul Islam from Chawkbazaar police station said that they do not yet have an estimate on the number of people injured but they are transferring them to nearby hospitals. One of the structures served as a warehouse for a perfume company. Plastics and chemicals that were being stored to manufacture the perfume ignited in the blaze that destroyed two buildings. Khan said the fire is now under control. "In the morning we were able to control the fire. The fire is now over," he said. Authorities began the process of identifying victims Thursday, as relatives waited at the Dhaka College Hospital for news of their loved ones. "When we are able to search the whole building then we will know the exact numbers of victims," said Lieutenant Colonel Zulfikar, fire brigade director. Built over 400 years ago, Chawkbazar is a commercial and industrial hub in the old city of Dhaka that's known for it's food. Over the past few decades its population has mushroomed with houses and apartments built on top of warehouses and factories over narrow, winding streets. Electric wires hang low over the over narrow, winding streets that are filled with rickshaw drivers and vendors. A tragic history of fires Bangladesh has a history of fatal building fires, especially in factories where safety and structural standards have long been found to be inadequate. Thirteen people were found guilty of gross negligence of safety measures and charged with "culpable homicide" after a November 2012 apparel factory fire on Dhaka's outskirts that killed at least 117 people and spurred others to jump from the building to escape the flames. In 2015, 13 died in a fire inside a plastic factory near the in the capital Dhaka. Two years earlier, eight people were killed in a fire at a clothing factory in May. That October at least seven people died in another large fire that broke out at a knitwear factory. The 2012 collapse of the eight-story Rana Plaza factory complex in Dhaka was Bangladesh's deadliest industrial disaster, killing 1,134 people. That disaster spurred widespread criticism about the state of workers rights and safety in Bangladesh. This story was first published on CNN.com, "At least 70 dead in Dhaka fire that ripped through apartment blocks." Foreign Minister Giorgos Katrougalos will chair a meeting of the National Council on Foreign Policy at 14:30 on Friday, 22 February, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The main subject of the Council will be briefing and discussion on the course of Greek-Turkish relations, also under the prism of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras recent visit to Turkey. Developments in the European Union centred around Brexit will also be discussed, as well as other current developments. SUPPLEMENTAL ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE STATE OF MINNESOTA COUNTY CHISAGO DISTRICT COURT TENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT FILE NO.:13-CV-18-401 In the Matter of the Petition of Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, d/b/a Christiana Trust, not individually, but as trustee for Pretium Mortgage Acquisition Trust In Relation to Certificate of Title No. 3475.0 issued for land in the County of Chisago and State of Minnesota legally described as: All that part of Block A of Home Addition to the Village of Chisago, described as follows, to-wit: Beginning at a point in the North line of Block A of Home Addition to the Village of Chisago, where said line is intersected by the East line of Lot 7 in Block 6 of Chisago Lake Park, according to the plat thereof on file and of record in the office of the Register of Deeds of Chisago County; running thence West on the North line of said Block A to a point where said line would intersect with a line drawn parallel to the East line of Lot 7 in Block 6 of Chisago Lake Park and distant 145 feet Westerly therefrom, which point constitutes the point of beginning of the tract hereby conveyed; running thence Southeasterly on a continuation of the line drawn parallel to the East line of Lot 7 in Block 6 of Chisago Lake Park and distant 145 feet Westerly therefrom, to the Southerly line of Block A of Home Addition to the Village of Chisago; running thence Southwesterly on a Southerly line of Block A of Home Addition to the Village of Chisago, a distance of 70 feet; running thence Northwesterly parallel with the continuation of the East line of Lot 7 in Block 6 of Chisago Lake Park and distant 215 feet Westerly therefrom to the North line of Block A of Home Addition to the Village of Chisago; running thence East on the North line of said Block A to the place of beginning. All that part of Block A of Home Addition to the Village of Chisago, described as follow To-wit; Beginning at a point in the North Line of Block A of Home Addition to the Village of Chisago, where said line is intersected by the East line of Lot 7 in Block 6 of Chisago Lake Park, according to the plat thereof on file and of record in the office of the Register of Deeds of Chisago County, Minnesota; running thence West on the North line of said Block A to a point where said line would intersect with a line drawn parallel to the East line of Lot 7 in Block 6 of Chisago Lake Park, and distant 215 feet West therefrom; running thence Southeasterly on a continuation of the line drawn parallel to the East line of Lot 7 Block 6 of Chisago Lake Park, and distant 215 feet West therefrom, to the Southerly line of Block A of Home Addition to the Village of Chisago running thence Southwesterly to the Southwest corner of said Block A; running thence Northerly on the West line of said Block A, a distance of 136.55 feet to an iron monument at the Northwest corner thereof; running thence East on the North line of Block A to the point of beginning. TO ALL PARTIES WITH AN INTEREST IN THIS REAL ESTATE, PARTICULARLY: Parties to be served: Scott B. Bowman and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. as nominee for GB Home Equity, LLC. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that unless you appear before this Court on the 28th day of September, 2018, at 1:30 p.m. at the Chisago County Government Center, 313 N. Main Street, Center City, MN 55012, to make a valid objection, the Court will enter the following Order: That the Registrar of Titles of Chisago County, upon the filing of a certified copy of this Order, Court File No. 13-CV-18-401, cancel Certificate of Title No. 3475.0 and enter a new certificate for the land therein described in favor of Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, d/b/a Christiana Trust, not individually, but as trustee for Pretium Mortgage Acquisition Trust, free of all the memorials now appearing on said cancelled certificate up to and including Doc No T-26096 and free of the memorial of this Order. Attendance is required only by those who wish to object to the entry of the above-described order. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this Order be served: (a) at least 10 days prior to such hearing upon all of the above named parties residing in this State in the manner provided by law for the service of a Summons in a Civil action; (b) at least 14 days prior to such hearing upon any of the above named parties not residing in this State by sending a copy of this Order by registered or certified mail, return receipt, to each of such parties at his/her post office address; (c) upon any of the above named parties who cannot be found by two weeks published notice and at least 14 days prior to the hearing by sending a copy of this Order by First Class mail to each of such parties at his/her last known address and at his/her address as stated on the Certificate of Titles if his/her address is so stated. (d) upon a dissolved, withdrawn, or revoked business entity governed by Minn. Stat., Chp. 302A, 303, 317A, 322A, 322B, or 323 in the manner provided by Minn. Stat. 5.25. (Note: return date on Order to Show Cause must be at least 30 days after date of mailing by the Secretary of State.) Dated: August 24, 2018 /s/ Suzanne Bollman Judge of the District Court Approved as to Form By /s/ Timothy J. Peterson Examiner of Titles SHAPIRO & ZIELKE, LLP Melissa L. B. Porter - 0337778 12550 West Frontage Road, Suite 200 Burnsville, MN 55337 (952) 831-4060 17-105653 Published in the ECM Post Review September 19, 26, 2018 857160 Ad details SUPPLEMENTAL ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE STATE OF MINNESOTA COUNTY CHISAGO DISTRICT COURT TENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT FILE NO.:13-CV-18-401 In the Matter of the Petition of Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, d/b/a Christiana Trust, not individually, but as trustee for Pretium Mortgage Acquisition Trust In Relation to Certificate of Title No. 3475.0 issued for land in the County of Chisago and State of Minnesota legally described as: All that part of Block A of Home Addition to the Village of Chisago, described as follows, to-wit: Beginning at a point in the North line of Block A of Home Addition to the Village of Chisago, where said line is intersected by the East line of Lot 7 in Block 6 of Chisago Lake Park, according to the plat thereof on file and of record in the office of the Register of Deeds of Chisago County; running thence West on the North line of said Block A to a point where said line would intersect with a line drawn parallel to the East line of Lot 7 in Block 6 of Chisago Lake Park and distant 145 feet Westerly therefrom, which point constitutes the point of beginning of the tract hereby conveyed; running thence Southeasterly on a continuation of the line drawn parallel to the East line of Lot 7 in Block 6 of Chisago Lake Park and distant 145 feet Westerly therefrom, to the Southerly line of Block A of Home Addition to the Village of Chisago; running thence Southwesterly on a Southerly line of Block A of Home Addition to the Village of Chisago, a distance of 70 feet; running thence Northwesterly parallel with the continuation of the East line of Lot 7 in Block 6 of Chisago Lake Park and distant 215 feet Westerly therefrom to the North line of Block A of Home Addition to the Village of Chisago; running thence East on the North line of said Block A to the place of beginning. All that part of Block A of Home Addition to the Village of Chisago, described as follow To-wit; Beginning at a point in the North Line of Block A of Home Addition to the Village of Chisago, where said line is intersected by the East line of Lot 7 in Block 6 of Chisago Lake Park, according to the plat thereof on file and of record in the office of the Register of Deeds of Chisago County, Minnesota; running thence West on the North line of said Block A to a point where said line would intersect with a line drawn parallel to the East line of Lot 7 in Block 6 of Chisago Lake Park, and distant 215 feet West therefrom; running thence Southeasterly on a continuation of the line drawn parallel to the East line of Lot 7 Block 6 of Chisago Lake Park, and distant 215 feet West therefrom, to the Southerly line of Block A of Home Addition to the Village of Chisago running thence Southwesterly to the Southwest corner of said Block A; running thence Northerly on the West line of said Block A, a distance of 136.55 feet to an iron monument at the Northwest corner thereof; running thence East on the North line of Block A to the point of beginning. TO ALL PARTIES WITH AN INTEREST IN THIS REAL ESTATE, PARTICULARLY: Parties to be served: Scott B. Bowman and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. as nominee for GB Home Equity, LLC. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that unless you appear before this Court on the 28th day of September, 2018, at 1:30 p.m. at the Chisago County Government Center, 313 N. Main Street, Center City, MN 55012, to make a valid objection, the Court will enter the following Order: That the Registrar of Titles of Chisago County, upon the filing of a certified copy of this Order, Court File No. 13-CV-18-401, cancel Certificate of Title No. 3475.0 and enter a new certificate for the land therein described in favor of Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, d/b/a Christiana Trust, not individually, but as trustee for Pretium Mortgage Acquisition Trust, free of all the memorials now appearing on said cancelled certificate up to and including Doc No T-26096 and free of the memorial of this Order. Attendance is required only by those who wish to object to the entry of the above-described order. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this Order be served: (a) at least 10 days prior to such hearing upon all of the above named parties residing in this State in the manner provided by law for the service of a Summons in a Civil action; (b) at least 14 days prior to such hearing upon any of the above named parties not residing in this State by sending a copy of this Order by registered or certified mail, return receipt, to each of such parties at his/her post office address; (c) upon any of the above named parties who cannot be found by two weeks published notice and at least 14 days prior to the hearing by sending a copy of this Order by First Class mail to each of such parties at his/her last known address and at his/her address as stated on the Certificate of Titles if his/her address is so stated. (d) upon a dissolved, withdrawn, or revoked business entity governed by Minn. Stat., Chp. 302A, 303, 317A, 322A, 322B, or 323 in the manner provided by Minn. Stat. 5.25. (Note: return date on Order to Show Cause must be at least 30 days after date of mailing by the Secretary of State.) Dated: August 24, 2018 /s/ Suzanne Bollman Judge of the District Court Approved as to Form By /s/ Timothy J. Peterson Examiner of Titles SHAPIRO & ZIELKE, LLP Melissa L. B. Porter - 0337778 12550 West Frontage Road, Suite 200 Burnsville, MN 55337 (952) 831-4060 17-105653 Published in the ECM Post Review September 19, 26, 2018 857160 Services for Charlie Hardy Jr. will be Monday, June 28, 2021, at 1 p.m., at Fellowship Baptist Church. Visitation will be from 12-1 p.m. To view the full obituary go to www.jamesfwebb.com. Submitted photo Paul Allen, MSU-Meridian professor emeritus will conduct a two-part seminar, Choose Stocks Wisely, in the computer lab at the Deen Building on MSU-Meridian's Riley Campus in downtown Meridian. Part One will be held March 20 and Part Two on April 17. Both workshops will be held from 3-5 pm. Open to the general public, the seminar cost is $25. Advanced registration for Part One is required by March 18. Participants must also have a copy of Allens book, which will be available for sale on site for $12 or via his website: www.choosestockwisely.com. Registration forms are available online at meridian.msstate.edu/events or picked up at the Deen Building on MSU-Meridians Riley Campus, located at 2212 5th Street. For more information, call 601-484-0156. In the last five years of his tenure, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is known to have gone out of his way when it comes to holding bilateral talks with India's neighbouring states and their state heads. Be it smoothening out ruffled feathers or boosting the affairs of trade and defence cooperation, PM Modi has tried to work out a lot of matters of national importance with our international brethren. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, in Seoul, earlier today. pic.twitter.com/bGWPQyfeq0 ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2019 So today when PM Modi was welcomed by the South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Seoul, the Indian Prime Minister took this moment to express his gratitude towards Koreans, who have always been invested in maintaining a healthy relationship with the Indian subcontinent. PM Modi is in South Korea on a two-day visit to strengthen strategic ties between the two countries, and upon his arrival he also unveiled the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Seoul's Yonsei University, along with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The Seoul Peace Prize being bestowed upon PM @narendramodi is a matter of great pride for 130 crore Indians. It not only acknowledges the success of PM Modi's progressive policies and reforms but also signals the rise of India on the world stage. pic.twitter.com/fCKB1WjR5O Amit Shah (@AmitShah) February 22, 2019 However, it is the Seoul Peace Prize that PM Modi was honoured with by the South Korean President that has got the international media talking. PM Modi accepted the honour and the prize, which he dedicated to the countrymen back home. "I believe that this award belongs not to me personally, but to the people of India. The success that India has achieved in the last 5 years is due to aspirations, inspiration & efforts of the people of India. On their behalf, I accept the Award and express my gratitude", said PM Modi after receiving the award. He further added that he wished to donate the prize money to Namami Gange project. The Seoul Peace Prize is dedicated to the people of India & our country's culture of peace and harmony. https://t.co/ymUdug3JYp Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 22, 2019 Namani Gange is a 'Clean Ganga' initiative taken up by the Union Government for the abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga. At the same event, PM Modi also touched upon the issue of climate change and terrorism at the event, and urged all the country to come together and fight off terrorism in the light of the recent Pulwama attack. We hope the funds are put to good use, and river Ganga is revived to its full glory at the earliest. Language and communication are as vital as food and water. We communicate to exchange information, build relationships, and create art. In this Spotlight feature, we look at how language manifests in the brain, and how it shapes our daily lives. Share on Pinterest In this feature, we will take a look at the importance of language to our brains and life experiences. We are all born within a language, so to speak, and that typically becomes our mother tongue. Along the way, we may pick up one or more extra languages, which bring with them the potential to unlock different cultures and experiences. Language is a complex topic, interwoven with issues of identity, rhetoric, and art. As author Jhumpa Lahiri notes meditatively in the novel The Lowlands, Language, identity, place, home: these are all of a piece just different elements of belonging and not-belonging. But when did our ancestors first develop spoken language, what are the brains language centers, and how does multilingualism impact our mental processes? We will look at these questions, and more, in this Spotlight feature about language and the brain. 1. What makes human language special? When did spoken language first emerge as a tool of communication, and how is it different from the way in which other animals communicate? As Prof. Mark Pagel, at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, explains in a question and answer feature for BMC Biology, human language is quite a unique phenomenon in the animal kingdom. While other animals do have their own codes for communication to indicate, for instance, the presence of danger, a willingness to mate, or the presence of food such communications are typically repetitive instrumental acts that lack a formal structure of the kind that humans use when they utter sentences. By contrast, Prof. Pagel adds, human language has two distinctive characteristics. These are: that it is compositional, meaning that it allows speakers to express thoughts in sentences comprising subjects, verbs, and objects that it is referential, meaning that speakers use it to exchange specific information with each other about people or objects and their locations or actions 2. Origins and importance of language As Homo sapiens, we have the necessary biological tools to utter the complex constructions that constitute language, the vocal apparatus, and a brain structure complex and well-developed enough to create a varied vocabulary and strict sets of rules on how to use it. Share on Pinterest Language is at least as old as our early human ancestors. Though it remains unclear at what point the ancestors of modern humans first started to develop spoken language, we know that our Homo sapiens predecessors emerged around 150,000200,000 years ago. So, Prof. Pagel explains, complex speech is likely at least as old as that. It is also likely that possessing spoken language has helped our ancestors survive and thrive in the face of natural hardships. Partly thanks to their ability to communicate complex ideas, Prof. Pagel says, humans can adapt at the cultural level, acquiring the knowledge and producing the tools, shelters, clothing, and other artefacts necessary for survival in diverse habitats. Possessing language, humans have had a high-fidelity code for transmitting detailed information down the generations. Many [] of the things we make use of in our everyday lives rely on specialized knowledge or skills to produce. Prof. Mark Pagel 3. Language in the brain But where, exactly, is language located in the brain? Research has identified two primary language centers, which are both located on the left side of the brain. These are Brocas area, tasked with directing the processes that lead to speech utterance, and Wernickes area , whose main role is to decode speech. If a person experienced a brain injury resulting in damage to one of these areas, it would impair their ability to speak and comprehend what is said. However, additional research shows that learning more languages and learning them well has its own effect on the brain, boosting the size and activity of certain brain areas separate from the traditional language centers. A study led by researchers from Lund University in Sweden found that committed language students experienced growth in the hippocampus, a brain region associated with learning and spatial navigation, as well as in parts of the cerebral cortex, or the outmost layer of the brain. Moreover, a study previously covered by Medical News Today found evidence to suggest that the more languages we learn, especially during childhood, the easier our brains find it to process and retain new information. It seems that language-learning boosts brain cells potential to form new connections fast. 4. The effects of bilingualism In fact, researchers have drawn many connections between bilingualism or multilingualism and the maintenance of brain health. Share on Pinterest Being able to speak more than one language has protective effects on cognitive functioning. Multiple studies, for instance, have found that bilingualism can protect the brain against Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia. In one such study, scientists from the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom and Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad, India, worked with a group of people with Alzheimers disease, vascular dementia, or frontotemporal dementia. The team noticed that in those who spoke a second language, dementia referring to all three of the types that this study targeted onset was delayed by as long as 4.5 years. [These findings] suggest that bilingualism might have a stronger influence on dementia than any currently available drugs. Study co-author Thomas Bak Another study, the findings of which appeared last year in the journal Neuropsychologia, also shed some light on why bilingualism might protect against cognitive decline. The authors explain that this is is likely because speaking two languages helps develop the medial temporal lobes of the brain, which play a key role in forming new memories, and it increases both cortical thickness and the density of gray matter, which is largely made of neurons. Being bilingual has other benefits, too, such as training the brain to process information efficiently while expending only the necessary resources on the tasks at hand. Also, researchers from the Universite de Montreal in Canada have found that bilinguals become experts at selecting relevant information and ignoring information that can distract from a task, senior study author Prof. Ana Ines Ansaldo notes. Yerba santa, a plant with a long history of medicinal use in its native California, contains an active compound that could treat people with Alzheimers disease one day. Share on Pinterest New research finds that an extract from the Yerba santa plant may prevent brain cell death in people with Alzheimers disease. This was the conclusion that scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA came to after testing 400 plant extracts with known medicinal properties. Using a new drug-discovery screen, they tested the compounds for their ability to deter the effects of aging on the brain. The initial round of tests yielded several extracts that protected against a type of cell death that occurs in Alzheimers and other aging-related diseases. Further tests revealed that sterubin, an extract of Eriodictyon californicum, or Yerba santa, was the most able to shield against inflammation and other triggers of brain cell death. Native tribes of California have long valued Yerba santa, which is the Spanish for holy herb, very highly as a medicine for respiratory illnesses, fever, infections, bruising, pain, and headaches. The researchers describe their findings in a paper that now features in the journal Redox Biology. Alzheimers disease, says corresponding study author Pamela Maher, who is a senior staff scientist at the Salk Institute, is a leading cause of death in the United States. And, she adds, because age is a major risk factor, researchers are looking at ways to counter agings effects on the brain. She notes that their identification of sterubin [] is a promising step in that direction. Alzheimers disease and drug discovery Alzheimers is a disease of brain tissue that results in the irreversible and progressive death of cells. It is the most common reason why people develop dementia. As yet, there are no treatments that cure or stop Alzheimers disease, although some can slow or delay the progression of symptoms for a while. According to a 2018 Alzheimers Disease International report, dementia affects 50 million people worldwide, two-thirds of whom have Alzheimers disease. In the U.S., the number of people living with Alzheimers disease is set to rise from approximately 5.7 million people today to nearly 14 million by 2050. Although there are some exceptions, Alzheimers disease most commonly strikes older people, making increasing age the most significant risk factor. The changes to the brain that occur in Alzheimers disease begin a long time before dementia symptoms, such as memory loss, emerge. The prime suspects behind the changes are toxic plaques of beta-amyloid protein that build up between nerve cells and toxic tangles of tau protein that accumulate inside the cells. Much of the research and development behind treatments for Alzheimers disease tends to focus on these and other hallmarks and how to stop them. However, as the authors explain in their study paper, because age is by far the most significant risk factor for Alzheimers disease, there must be a strong rationale for an alternative approach to drug discovery based upon the biology of aging. The researchers proposed that a screening tool should be able to test for multiple, aging-related pathways that kill brain cells rather than single molecular targets. New screening tool In previous work, the researchers had used a screening method to identify plant flavonoids that could reduce inflammation and protect nerve cells. From this, they developed a screening tool comprising tests, or assays, that do more than just identify compounds that might protect cells. They suggest that the new tool can also identify the target pathways of these compounds, possibly making them available as new molecular targets for drug developers. The team first tested all 400 plant extracts for their ability to deter oxytosis in mouse hippocampal nerve cells. Oxytosis is a type of cell death that occurs in Alzheimers disease. Extracts that passed this test then underwent further tests. These examined the compounds activity in a number of aging-related nerve cell function and survival pathways that are directly relevant to Alzheimers disease. Some of the tests used mouse cells, while others used human cells. One of the reasons that sterubin stood out was because it showed a strong ability to reduce inflammation in microglia, which are brain cells that provide support to nerve cells. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, February 22, 2019 Two Senate Democrats want the Federal Trade Commission to review claims that Facebook duped children into using their parents' credit cards to make purchases in games. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) last month asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to address allegations that the company allowed developers to trick children into spending their parents' money while playing games like Angry Birds and Barn Buddy. The lawmakers asked Zuckerberg to answer a host of questions, including when he personally became aware that children were likely unknowingly spending their parents' money while playing games. The lawmakers initially wrote to Facebook in response to a report by The Center for Public Integrity, which said newly unsealed court documents showed that the company encouraged developers to let children make in-app purchases without their parents' permission. advertisement advertisement The documents were part of the court record of a lawsuit filed in 2012 by Arizona resident Glynnis Bohannon, who alleged her son ran up hundreds of dollars purchasing Facebook Credits for use in Ninja Saga. Bohannon and Facebook settled that matter in 2016. Last month, The Center for Public Integrity convinced U.S. District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman to unseal many documents in the case, including damaging internal Facebook emails and memos. In one internal email, a Facebook employee referred to a child who racked up $6,000 in charges as a whale -- jargon for a big spender. Facebook's Kevin Martin, vice president for U.S. public policy (and a former Federal Communications Commission chairman), said in a five-page response to the senators that Facebook never encouraged anyone to engage in friendly fraud -- the industry term for charges made by a friend or relative without permission. Markey and Blumenthal say that response was unsatisfactory. It is clear that Facebook did not step in when it became aware that developers were encouraging children to make unauthorized credit card purchases, even when those games targeted children, the lawmakers stated late Thursday. We did not even receive an explicit answer to our question about when Mark Zuckerberg became aware of Facebooks friendly fraud problem. The senators went on to urge the FTC to review a complaint against the company filed Thursday by advocacy groups. It shouldnt take another settlement for Facebook to meet its ethical obligation to protect kids and families on its platform, they write. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, February 21, 2019 The major ad industry organizations this week asked California lawmakers to revise the state's new landmark privacy law in ways that could make it easier for companies to use data for ad targeting. The free flow of data online has powered the growth of the Internet by funding innovative tools and services for consumers and businesses to connect and communicate, the Interactive Advertising Bureau, Association of National Advertisers, American Association of Advertising Agencies, American Advertising Federation and Network Advertising Initiative wrote this week to California Assembly member Ed Chau, who introduced the state's law. On Thursday, the California Assembly held a hearing about potential revisions to the California Consumer Privacy Act, which isn't slated for enforcement until next year. The law allows consumers to learn what personal information about them is held by businesses, and to opt out of the sale of that information. advertisement advertisement The measure currently defines personal information as data that could potentially be linked to households or individuals -- which includes cookies, persistent identifiers, browsing history and IP addresses. The ad industry argued in its letter to Chau that the definition of personal information should be narrowed to exclude cookies, IP addresses and other pseudonymous information. The organizations argue that companies may have to connect names with browser cookies, in order to fulfill residents' requests to learn what data is held about them. To comply with the CCPAs broad definition of personal information, companies may be forced to identify and associate previously pseudonymous information (e.g., data associated with only an IP address or cookie) with the requesting consumers name or email address, the ad groups wrote. The ad industry is also asking lawmakers for other amendments, including one that would explicitly allow companies to let consumers opt out of some uses of their data, but authorize other uses. The law should clarify that businesses may offer more granular choices about the types of 'sales' they want to opt out of, or the types of data they want deleted, not just provide an all-or-nothing option, the ad industry writes. This would provide consumers with more valuable and personalized choices that reflect their preferences. by Tanya Gazdik , February 21, 2019 OKCupid wanted to make sure everyone felt the love on Valentines Day, not just those finding success on the popular dating app. So the company used brand ambassadors via GoGorilla to engage with thousands of consumers in multiple cities across the country. They gave out complimentary gift bags to commuters outside of major train, bus and subway stops. The gift bags aimed to make everyone feel loved on Valentine's Day, according to GoGorilla. No matter what their VD plans were, the OKCupid street teams made sure everyone they met walked away feeling special, GoGorilla stated in a release. The gift bags contained lollipops, Hershey Kisses, stickers, condoms, pens, candy hearts, buttons and postcards. A GoGorilla spokesperson declined to detail how many gift bags were given out or in which cities, other than it was thousands and thousands in multiple cities. by Dave Morgan , Featured Contributor, February 21, 2019 The worlds of media, marketing and advertising contain a lot of black boxes" -- systems and technologies that perform functions without a lot of obvious visibility into how they do what they do. The list could include how ad servers make decisions, how location-based tracking projects where someone is (or was), or how a research panel balances its output. Im naturally curious. My father was a prosecutor, so being inquisitive (or interrogating) is how I was raised. And, Ive always believed that those who know how things work have a big advantage over those who dont. To be clear, the lack of self-evident transparency into operations is not the result of a strategy on the part of the system creator or operator to deceive or obfuscate. Its just that most of them involve very complex systems, disparate inputs and complicated algorithms any or all of which may be modified at any time. Thus, its just not simple or practical to make it easy for all to understand, particularly when the purpose of these systems is to drive a particular market output or result. advertisement advertisement Net, net. Its probably true that most of the folks working in our industry are relying every day on the outputs of less-than-transparent black boxes. Here are some examples. Test yourself to see how much you know about them: Cable zone ad insertion. All those who watch television have grown up watching a smattering of localized ads during national network programming the local car dealer ad during the Super Bowl, for example. Do you know how those ads were delivered? Do you know how the Q Tone works? Do you know why the ads are sometimes cut off? TV upfront contracts. A massive amount of the entire national ad market is negotiated and committed over a two- or three-month time period. Do you know how those deals are structured? Do you know what options either buyers or sellers have? Do you know how those deals are guaranteed? DSP auction bidding/header bidding. So you want to buy some digital ads on an exchange, maybe on Google or MediaMath or Xandrs AppNexus. Do you truly (be honest) know how the auctions operate? Do you know how bids are accepted? Do you know how second bids or Dutch auction bids are calculated? Header bidding has been an enormous issue over the past two year for digital publishers, demand-side platforms (DSPs) and supply-side platforms. Do you really know what header bidding is, how it works and why its so important? ACR TV ad spot detection. Many of you have seen the results of automated-content recognition of TV content and ad spots: an output of properly equipped smart TVs. Do you know how the TV knows (ostensibly) what ads you watch? Do you know the difference between fingerprinting and watermarking? Commissions, discounts and rebates. Yes, this became a sore spot in our industry over the past years, and may still be for some time to come. However, if over the previous decade or two everyone in the U.S. ad market had worked to learn about what these were and how they operated by geography, vendor and partner, the transparency work of the ANA might never have been needed. Addressable TV ad delivery. You hear and read all the time about how big and important addressable ad delivery on TV is becoming. Do you know how different TV ads are actually delivered to different households? Do you know how systems across AT&T, Dish, Verizon and Altice do it? Do you know which have to store ads on personal DVRs in the homes, and which can deliver the ads dynamically? Do you know how they differ from the system employed in Europe by Sky and its AdSmart unit? CTV ad delivery. Connected TV ( CTV) is pretty buzzy these days. Do you know what CTV actually is? Do you know the formats of ads that can be delivered? Do you know the difference between CTV and addressable TV ads and AVOD (ad-supported video-on-demand) ads? Why does it matter if you know how these black boxes work? Isnt one of the perks of management that you dont have to know how the sausage is made? Isnt that why you hire technologists and experts? If this is the way you see the world, I suggest you're taking enormous risks both with your career, company resources and decisions youre making for your employer. Knowing how black boxes work means tens of billions of dollars a year in margin for companies and people in our industry who get them right. What about you? Do you know how the black boxes in your business work? Oncology Information Systems (OIS) is a comprehensive information and image management solution that facilitates the management of patient treatment schedules, treatment plans, treatment delivery, and treatment summaries. This system involves the exchange of information between radiation therapy departments and the healthcare enterprises. Factors attributed for the market growth are worldwide growing geriatric population along with rising prevalence of cancer, increasing investments in cancer research, and technological advancements in OIS. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) stated that there were 14 million new cases of cancer in 2012 that grew to 17.0 million in 2018, which is anticipated to reach to more than 22 million by 2030. Progress in developing treatments is enabling investors to invest in oncology research. Increasing equity investments in cancer-therapeutics startups is foreseen to shape the OIS vertical in the near future. On the contrary, higher costs associated with OIS services are anticipated to restrain the market growth over the forecast period. Get Sample Copy @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/7080 Global Oncology Information Systems (OIS) Market is expected to register a healthy CAGR over the forecast period. The market held a market value of USD 2,356.6 million in 2017 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% during the forecast period. Key players Accuray Incorporated, Cerner Corporation, Philips Healthcare, McKesson Corporation, Altos Solutions, Inc., Elekta AB, Varian Medical Systems, Inc., Flatiron Health, Inc., RaySearch Laboratories, Epic Systems Corporation, Bogardus Medical Systems, Inc., CureMD Healthcare Segmentation The global oncology information systems market has been segmented into product & service type, application, and end user. By product & service type, the market has been segmented into software and professional services. The software segment is further categorized into patient information systems and treatment planning systems. The professional services segment is further divided into consulting/optimization services, implementation services, and post-sale & maintenance services. The software for patient information systems segment spearheaded the market in 2017 as these systems offer advantages including planned treatment and remote access due to digital availability as compared to conventional record maintenance methods. On the basis of application, the market has been classified into medical oncology, radiation oncology, and surgical oncology. The medical oncology segment would lead the market over the forecast period owing to rising applications of OIS in efficiently managing, interpreting, analyzing, and storing the patient information, as well as, in predicting the treatment results for patients, thereby improving their survival rates. Based on end user, the market has been categorized into hospitals & oncology clinics, government institutes, and research centers. The global oncology information systems market has been segmented by region into the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa. The oncology information systems market in the Americas has further been segmented into North America and South America, with the North American market divided into the US and Canada. The European oncology information systems market has been segmented into Western Europe and Eastern Europe. The Western Europe oncology information systems market has further been classified as Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, and the rest of Western Europe. The oncology information systems market in Asia-Pacific has been segmented into Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, and the rest of Asia-Pacific. The oncology information systems market in the Middle East & Africa has been segmented into the Middle East and Africa. Regional Analysis Geographically, the Americas would grab the highest market share over the forecast period due to the presence of oncology information systems providers, changing lifestyle coupled with rising burden of cancer, increasing expenditure on healthcare, and adoption of oncology information systems in the US and Canada. The IARC reported that in 2018, the Americas have 13.3% of the global population and accounted for 21.0% of incidence and 14.4% of mortality worldwide. The oncology information systems market in the Middle East & Africa will exhibit considerable market growth rate from 2018 to 2023. Majority of the regional market is likely to govern by the Middle East region due to the presence of world-class cancer treatment centers in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, increasing healthcare sector reforms, and gradually rising investments in OIS sector. Growing adoption of OIS in European countries, namely, UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, as the major market value contributors such as Philips Healthcare, Elekta AB, and RaySearch Laboratories are headquartered in the region. Asia-Pacific would represent the phenomenal growth during the forecast period due to growing elderly population coupled with rising prevalence of cancer. The World Health Organization (WHO) and IARC reported that the proportions of cancer deaths in Asia (57.3%) are higher than the proportions of incident cases (48.4%) due to the higher frequency of certain cancer types associated with poorer prognosis and higher mortality rates. Browse Complete 90 Pages Premium Research Report Enabled with 81 Respective Tables and Figures @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/oncology-information-systems-market-7080 About US: Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. Contact Us: Market Research Future Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune 411028 Maharashtra, India Phone: +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Global Healthcare Business Intelligence Market (BI) industry has also suffered a certain impact, but still maintained a relatively optimistic growth, the past four years, Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) Market size to maintain the average annual growth rate of 5.01% from 303875 million $ in 2014 to 351890 million $ in 2018, Global Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) Market size will be further expanded, we expect that by 2023, The market size of the Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) will reach 451230 million $. Get Sample Copy of Global Healthcare Business Intelligence Market Report at@ https://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/2714354 Major companies discussed in the report include: Accenture Plc Ibm Corporation Information Builders, Inc. Microsoft Corporation Microstrategy, Inc. Oracle Corporation Qlik Technologies Inc. Sap Ag Sas Institute, Inc. Tableau Software Inc Global Healthcare Business Intelligence Market intelligence report is based on certain important parameters. It includes a meticulous analysis of market trends, market shares and revenue growth patterns and the volume and value of the market. Market studies are based on methodical researches. This report on Global Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) Market is also based on a meticulously structured methodology. These methods help to analyze markets on the basis of thorough research and analysis. Generally, research includes information about manufacturers, vendors, products, consumers, research papers and more. The analysis part mostly includes qualitative and quantitative analysis of markets like business models, market forecasts, market segmentations and other aspects that help in analysis. Every market research study gives specified importance to manufacturers dwelling in that market. A detailed analysis of manufacturers or key players is essential for anyone seeking to jumpstart business in any market. Competitive analysis or competitor study includes detailed information of manufacturers business models, strategies, revenue growth and all the data required that would benefit the person conducting the market research. For new investors and business initiatives market research is a must as it gives them a direction and a plan of action to move forward keeping in mind their competitors. Global Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) Market segmentation is also an important aspect of any market research report. Market segmentation is mostly based on demography, geography and behavior. It helps understand the consumers and their demands and behavior towards a particular product or market. Another important aspect covered in any market research report and is also a part of market segmentation is the regional study of the market. This section focusses on the regions with significant advancements in a particular market. Ask for Discount before Buying@ https://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/discount/2714354 Regional analysis of any market can give a detailed overview of regions which have more business opportunities, revenue generation potential and a forecast of next few years. For any new business establishment or business looking to upgrade and make impactful changes in their businesses, this particular section in a market report is very important. In this Global Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) Market report, the region highlighted the most is North America. For many markets this region is of extreme importance. This report gives detailed information of market size and price of this region and other important regions like Following regions are covered in Global Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) Market Industry report: North America Country (United States, Canada) South America Asia Country (China, Japan, India, Korea) Europe Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy) Other Country (Middle East, Africa, GCC) The report on Global Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) Market is a comprehensive documentation that covers all the aspects of a market study and provides a concise conclusion to its readers. The following Product Type Segmentation Are included in the report: Type Segmentation (Traditional Bi, Cloud Bi, Mobile Bi) Industry Segmentation (Providers, Hospitals, Payers) Channel (Direct Sales, Distributor) Segmentation Else place an Inquire before Purchase@ https://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/enquiry-before-buying/2714354 About Us: Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients. This report studies the global market size of Artificial Heart in key regions like North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Central & South America and Middle East & Africa, focuses on the consumption of Artificial Heart in these regions. This research report categorizes the global Artificial Heart market by top players/brands, region, type and end user. This report also studies the global Artificial Heart market status, competition landscape, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, sales channels and distributors. Artificial hearts are being used to help patients with total heart failure live normal lives past their life expectancy time line, or to help patients survive until their transplant date either by replacing the heart completely or by replacing the ventricles. The device is surgically implanted in the chest in order to help in the functioning of a deteriorating heart. An artificial heart may also be used temporarily and is removed once the heart starts functioning normally. In cases where the damage is severe, the biological heart is completely replaced with the artificial heart. An artificial heart is powered by either compressed air or electricity. The rise in the number of cardiac disorders along with an increase in the geriatric population is anticipated to drive the artificial heart market in the coming years. Improper lifestyle, leading to deteriorating cardiac condition is expected to offer growth opportunities during the forecast period for the manufacturers of artificial heart. North America is expected to contribute to the largest share in the artificial heart market in the coming years, due to technological advancements as well as improved treatment of cardiac conditions in United States and Canada. Asia Pacific is expected to record substantial demand for artificial heart market during the forecast period, due to the rise in geriatric population in various Asian countries. The global Artificial Heart market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and will reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025. The objectives of this study are to define, segment, and project the size of the Artificial Heart market based on company, product type, end user and key regions. Sample of this report@ https://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/232468?utm The following manufacturers are covered in this report, with sales, revenue, market share for each company: SynCardia Systems BiVACOR CARMAT Abbott Cleveland Heart AbioMed Jarvik Heart MyLVAD Cirtec Medical Systems Thoratec Corporation Market size by Product Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Total Artificial Heart Market size by End User Hospitals Clinics Others Market size by Region North America United States Canada Mexico Asia-Pacific China India Japan South Korea Australia Indonesia Singapore Malaysia Philippines Thailand Vietnam Europe Germany France UK Italy Spain Russia Central & South America Brazil Rest of Central & South America Middle East & Africa GCC Countries Turkey Egypt South Africa The study objectives of this report are: To study and analyze the global Artificial Heart market size (value & volume) by company, key regions, products and end user, breakdown data from 2013 to 2017, and forecast to 2025. To understand the structure of Artificial Heart market by identifying its various subsegments. To share detailed information about the key factors influencing the growth of the market (growth potential, opportunities, drivers, industry-specific challenges and risks). Focuses on the key global Artificial Heart companies, to define, describe and analyze the sales volume, value, market share, market competition landscape and recent development. To project the value and sales volume of Artificial Heart submarkets, with respect to key regions. To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market. Browse the complete report @ https://www.orbisresearch.com/reports/index/global-artificial-heart-market-insights-forecast-to-2025?utm_source=Mohit Some Points from TOC: Chapter One: Study Coverage 1.1 Artificial Heart Product 1.2 Market Segments 1.3 Key Manufacturers Covered 1.4 Market by Type 1.4.1 Global Artificial Heart Market Size Growth Rate by Product 1.4.2 Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) 1.4.3 Total Artificial Heart 1.5 Market by End User 1.5.1 Global Artificial Heart Market Size Growth Rate by End User 1.5.2 Hospitals 1.5.3 Clinics 1.5.4 Others 1.6 Study Objectives 1.7 Years Considered Chapter Two: Executive Summary 2.1 Global Artificial Heart Market Size 2.1.1 Global Artificial Heart Revenue 2013-2025 2.1.2 Global Artificial Heart Sales 2013-2025 2.2 Artificial Heart Growth Rate by Regions 2.2.1 Global Artificial Heart Sales by Regions 2.2.2 Global Artificial Heart Revenue by Regions .Continued If you have any Enquiry@ https://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/enquiry-before-buying/2324685?utm_source=Mohit About Us: Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients. Contact Us: Hector Costello Senior Manager Client Engagements 4144N Central Expressway, Suite 600, Dallas, Texas 75204, U.S.A. Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019 Email ID: sales@orbisresearch.com The Global Blood Screening Market is expected to register a growth of significant CAGR 9.8% during the forecast period (20182023). Blood screening is a medical process in which the blood is examined for the diagnosis of a specific diseased condition is known as blood screening. Exhaustive screening is essential for all donated blood to confirm that recipients receive the safest products. Scientific advances increase the sensitivity and effectiveness of the tests. For example, in August 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suggested the testing of all the donated blood in the U.S. and its territories for Zika virus in order to prevent transmission of this virus through the blood supply. The technology is cheaper and faster than earlier DNA analysis methods. The growth of the market is credited to the rise in demand for blood screening tests due to growing blood donations, increasing awareness about transfusion-transmitted diseases, and technological developments in the industry. Additionally, governments of various countries are in process to mandates testing all donated blood for several viruses. To Get Sample Report visit https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/6899 Key Players for Global Blood Screening Market Market Research Future (MRFR) recognizes the following companies as the key players in Blood Screening Market: There are plenty of large and small market players which operate in this market all over the globe. Some of the key players in the global blood screening market Grifols, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Abbott Laboratories, Biomerieux, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Siemens Healthineers (A Subsidiary of Siemens AG), Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Beckman Coulter (A Subsidiary of Danaher Corporation) and Becton, Dickinson and Company Segments for Global Blood Screening Market The global blood screening market has been segmented on the devices, service providers, application, end users. On the basis of technology, the market has been classified as nucleic acid amplification test (NAT), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), rapid tests, next-generation sequencing (NGS), western blotting. The nucleic acid amplification test is segmented in to transcription-mediated amplification (TMA) and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is segmented in to ELISA market, by platform and ELISA market, by generation. On the basis of products and services, the market has been classified as reagent and kits, enzymes and polymerases, standards and controls, probes and primers, buffers, nucleotides, and solutions, immunosorbents, instruments and software and services. The reagent and kits have been segmented in to NAT reagents & kits, ELISA reagents & kits. The instruments have been segmented in to rental purchase and outright purchase. On the basis of end users, the market has been classified as hospitals, clinics, research institutes and academic centers, blood banks and others. Regional Analysis for Global Blood Screening Market The Americas is projected to lead the blood screening market in the forecast period. Increasing healthcare awareness, advancement in technology, medical tourism are some other factors that boost the growth of the market. U.S. blood screening market dominated industry in 2017, due to the high demand for quality healthcare, vastly developed healthcare infrastructure as well as growing occurrence of cardiac disease in the region. Frequencies of blood screening are dramatically increasing over the last few years. Lately, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a guidance document suggesting regulations for laboratory developed tests. In addition, In February 2015, the U.S. FDA conducted a workshop to discuss the oversight of NGS. All these factors increase awareness, which would further increase the growth of the industry. The European market is expected to hold the second largest market share. The market is expected to witness growth owing to the rising patient population, changing lifestyle, and growing elderly population. This is expected to provide favorable backgrounds for the market to grow. Asia-Pacific is projected to be the fastest growing region for the global blood screening market in 2018. It is expected to witness profitable growth over the forecast period due to the existence of favorable healthcare schemes drafted by government agencies Other factors such as growing elderly population, rising demand for advanced and high-end technologies, healthcare reforms for infrastructural development and growing healthcare expenditure are some of the key factors that will accelerate the blood screening market growth during the forecast period. The Middle East and Africa accounts for the least share due to stringent government policies and low per capita income. To Browse Complete Report visit https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/blood-screening-market-6899 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), Statistical Report, Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. Contact Us: Market Research Future Hadapsar, Pune 411028 Maharashtra, India Phone: +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Note: We have changed our commenting system. If you do not have an mdjonline.com account, you will need to create one in order to comment. Did you see a photo in today's print edition that you'd like to order? Would you like to order a reprint of today's front page? Order Reprints Hiram, GA (30141) Today Chance of a shower or two during the morning, followed by partly cloudy skies this afternoon. High 86F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Atlanta, GA (30320) Today A shower or two around the area early, then partly cloudy during the afternoon. High 87F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Some passing clouds. Low around 70F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. As social media companies wrestle with how to police dangerous health misinformation on their platforms, Pinterest has taken an extreme approach: blocking search results related to vaccinations, whether the results are medically accurate or not. The San Francisco-based company told the Wall Street Journal it's been suppressing search results on the topic since December and will continue to do so until it finds a reliable solution to protect Pinterest users from harmful and misleading content. Pinterest searches about vaccines had been dominated by results that bucked long-standing scientific research and guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control by claiming vaccinations were hazardous. Users of the photo-sharing site can still pin this kind of material to their personal boards, even though it won't surface in searches. "It's better not to serve those results than to lead people down what is like a recommendation rabbit hole," Ifeoma Ozoma, Pinterest's public policy and social impact manager, told the Wall Street Journal this week. Alphabet Inc.'s Google will show drug-disposal locations on its Maps program, an effort to help people get rid of unused opioids and prevent drug abuse. The internet-search giant has joined with U.S. government agencies and drug-store chains like CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. to pinpoint places where patients can drop off leftover medication. Google searches such as "drug drop off near me" will bring up locations from a database of 3,500 sites in seven states as part of the pilot program. That number will grow as the program expands, Google said Thursday in a blog post. Opioid abuse now accounts for more deaths in the U.S. than car crashes or firearms, and much of the problem stems from legally prescribed drugs that are used by family members or friends of patients. By making it easier for people to safely get rid of unused prescription drugs, the company hopes to stop them from getting into the wrong hands. The company used to make money from search ads catering to the lucrative addiction treatment market. It banned ads for rehab centers in 2017 after criticism it was helping unethical and even fake treatment providers find and exploit addicts. RALEIGH - Nominations are being accepted for the 2019 North Carolina Award, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the state, now through April 15. Created by the General Assembly in 1961 and administered by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the award recognizes notable accomplishments by North Carolina citizens in the fields of literature, science, fine arts and public service. Award nominations may be submitted by anyone and must include a completed nomination form, cover letter, three letters of support and the nominees biography or resume. Additional letters of support and examples of the nominees work will also be accepted. Applications may be submitted online or materials can be sent to the North Carolina Awards Committee, N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, 4601 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-4600. The North Carolina Awards Committee will review the nominations and make its selections this summer. The recipients will be honored during ceremonies in Raleigh later this year. Past award recipients have included some of the countrys most distinguished artists, poets, writers, performers, journalists, scientists and public servants. Past award recipients include Maya Angelou, Doc Watson, William Friday, Gertrude Elion, Branford Marsalis, and other noteworthy North Carolinians. Information on the award and the online nomination process is available here. To receive forms by mail or e-mail contact Jennifer Fontes at Jennifer.fontes@ncdcr.gov or 919-814-6756. KURE BEACH Twenty feet below the surface of a natural spring, Lydia Byrd finds herself eyes wide open, blowing heart-shaped kisses, fulfilling her dreams. Byrd is a mountain girl living in a mermaids world, and loving it. Her underwater odyssey began in the shadow of North Carolinas highest peak; and will soon land her, shimmering tail and all, in a magical adventure at the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher in early March. Byrd, 23, grew up in Burnsville, far from the typical mermaid hot spots. She was surrounded by the security of supportive family and a close-knit, farming community. She found comfort in wooded hikes, snow and knowing everyone in town. Now the young woman creates magical memories and mesmerizes strangers, young and old, carrying on a Florida tradition dating back to 1947. Byrd and her enchanting siren sisters perform live, underwater shows as the famous Weeki Wachee mermaids. However, as with any tale worthy of retelling, Bryds peak to lagoon journey isnt without its rocky shoals and soul-searching. As an infant, Byrd was diagnosed with a form of liver cancer. She endured invasive surgery and chemotherapy. She triumphed over the disease and has little memory of the battle. Yet, it shaped her in many ways. CULLOWHEE - Teachers from 14 schools across the McDowell County School district recently participated in professional development sessions created to meet their needs and goals at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, a recognized national leader in professional development for teachers. Our NCCAT experience could not have been better, Superintendent Mark Garrett said. The staff did a great job working with us to construct professional development that fit our needs and then executed that plan to perfection. The facilitators were very knowledgeable and personable. The facilities and the hospitality were both top notch. Our teachers were treated like true professionals from the moment they arrived and left with a renewed energy to take what they learned and put into practice. We hope to do more with NCCAT in the future. I highly recommend engaging with NCCAT. McAlester, OK (74501) Today Thunderstorms likely in the morning. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 84F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Variably cloudy with scattered thunderstorms. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Pittsylvania leaders say there's misinformation being spread about fire and rescue funding; A Martinsville man held without bond after a motorcycle chase; A busy road closed for three days next week; Over 100 local students get scholarships. Two brothers who were wanted for the 2014 rape of a child in Marlborough have been arrested, according to Massachusetts State Police. The brothers, 34-year-old Dennis Orellana of Westborough and 26-year-old Hilin Orellana of Marlborough, were arrested Thursday morning, state police said. Marlborough police officers investigating the rape of the young girl obtained arrest warrants for the brothers in recent days, state police wrote in a news release. Earlier this week, the State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section began working to locate the Orellana brothers and set up surveillance outside addresses where the suspects may be have been staying, state police said. Before dawn Thursday, authorities simultaneously went to apartments in Marlborough and Westborough. Dennis Orellana was arrested in Westborough and Hilin Orellana was arrested in Marlborough, state police said. The brothers were expected to be arraigned Thursday. Although Democrats are gearing up for what is expected to be a crowded 2020 nomination fight, a new poll suggests that most New Hampshire Republicans hope to see just one candidate on the ballot in their states early presidential primary next year: Donald Trump. A University of Massachusetts Amherst poll released this week found that 61 percent of likely New Hampshire Republican voters believe the incumbent president should not be challenged in the first-in-the-nation 2020 GOP primary. By contrast, just over a third -- 39 percent -- said they would like to see other Republican presidential candidates on the ballot in New Hampshire as Trump seeks re-election. UMass Poll Director Tatishe Nteta argued that despite the majority support for Trump running unopposed in the 2020 primary, the presidents re-election bid could face some trouble in New Hampshire given the comparatively higher levels of turnout among highly educated voters." Voters with with college degrees said they oppose Trump facing primary challenges by a narrower 53 to 47 percent margin, while those with post-graduate education rejected the idea 60 to 40 percent, according to poll results. Jesse Rhodes, an associate professor of political science and associate director of the UMass Poll, added that slightly higher primary challenge support among younger voters and women -- 41 to 59 percent respectively -- suggests there could be bigger problems for Trump and for the Republican Party. In a diversifying electorate, the GOP can ill afford to drive away members of these groups, he said in a statement. Beyond opposing primary challenges against Trump, less than a quarter of likely New Hampshire GOP primary voters said they would reconsider their support for the president pending the findings of Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation into the 2016 election. Just 22 percent said they may change their vote if Mueller finds that Trump conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential contest, according to poll results. Even fewer, or 16 percent, said theyd reconsider their support if the special counsel concludes that the president directed his attorney, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress. The UMass Poll further found that only 14 percent of likely New Hampshire GOP primary voters would change their support for the president if Mueller found that Trump obstructed justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey and engaged in witness tampering. Rhodes said the findings highlight "the power of party identification in an era of sharp partisan polarization. The poll surveyed 600 registered New Hampshire voters, including 263 likely Republican primary voters, online from Feb. 7 to 15. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 7.3 percent. Members of Massachusetts congressional delegation signed on Friday to a U.S. House resolution that seeks to block President Donald Trumps recent declaration of a national emergency at the southern border from taking effect. Democrats, who have vocally rejected the White Houses push to build a wall along the United States border with Mexico, filed a resolution to terminate the presidents declaration and prevent him from bypassing Congress to secure funds for the controversial structure. U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, a Melrose Democrat and one of the measures 200-plus co-sponsors, argued that the resolution is needed to address what she called the constitutional emergency posed by the presidents executive action. House Democrats wont stand for it, she tweeted. Were fighting the presidents power grab. Congressman Stephen Lynch, D-South Boston, said he was proud to join his colleagues in co-sponsoring the resolution, which would specifically prevent Trump from redirecting funding from existing, congressionally approved national defense programs toward his proposed border wall. No president should be allowed to subvert the constitutional authority granted to the elected representatives of the people, he said. Lynch called on the U.S. Senate to join House lawmakers in advancing the legislation. No President should be allowed to subvert the Constitutional authority granted to the elected Representatives of the people. With 227 cosponsors, Joint Resolution 46 must first pass the House and then will be voted on in the Senate. Rep. Stephen Lynch (@RepStephenLynch) February 22, 2019 U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Salem, also urged senators to join House Democrats in supporting the resolution. Congresswoman Lori Trahan, D-Westford, meanwhile, said she decided to co-sponsor the resolution because no president, (Donald Tump)included, has the right to undermine the authority of Congress by declaring a fake national emergency just because they didnt get their way. The Senate should say the same thing, she said. I am a cosponsor of this legislation because no President, @realDonaldTrump included, has the right to undermine the authority of Congress by declaring a fake national emergency just because they didnt get their way. The Senate should say the same thing. #FakeTrumpEmergency https://t.co/PruytQIG4j Congresswoman Lori Trahan (@RepLoriTrahan) February 22, 2019 The resolutions introduction came one week after Trump declared the situation at the United States southern border a national emergency. White House officials argued that the declaration would allow the president to access about $8 billion for border security. The Trump administration is reportedly looking to build more than 230 miles of new barrier at the border and eying money from the Treasury Department drug forfeiture fund, Department of Defense drug interdiction program and other accounts for such construction. Massachusetts lawmakers were quick to condemn Trumps emergency declaration. House and Senate Democratic leaders, meanwhile, pledged to challenge the presidents action "in the Congress, in the courts and in the public, using every remedy available. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited all chamber lawmakers on Thursday to co-sponsor the resolution to terminate Trumps emergency declaration. All members take an oath of office to support and defend the Constitution. The presidents decision to go outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process violates the Constitution and must be terminated, she said in a letter to House colleagues. We have a solemn responsibility to uphold the Constitution, and defend our system of checks and balances against the presidents assault. This is a breaking news story and will be updated. President Donald Trump told NBC he was surprised to see New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft charged with soliciting prostitution in Florida. The 77-year-old Kraft was listed as one of 25 names of people charged in a prostitution sting in Florida. Police said that they have video of evidence of Kraft receiving sex acts at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida. Kraft owns a property in nearby Palm Beach. Police expect to execute a warrant for Krafts arrest on Monday. The Patriots have denied the allegations. We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further," a Patriots spokesperson said in a statement. Trump, who often boasts about his friendships with Kraft, Bill Belichick, and Tom Brady, emphasized that Kraft denies it when speaking to NBC in the Oval Office on Friday. The ascent of Pope Francis to the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church in 2013 came with anticipation based on a widely held belief: this pope was different. To his advocates, Pope Francis understood the churchs desperate need to address 21st Century cultural, social and religious realities. To skeptics, he was bent on revolutionizing the church, even if it meant discarding or negotiating beliefs and policies that have provided the fundamental core principles of Catholic faith for hundreds of years. Nearly six years into his reign, the Pope convened an unprecedented summit on the sex abuse scandal that has put the Catholic Churchs very place in the modern world to its greatest test. Getting to this point took 30 years since the scandal first broke, and even now, the church is plagued by denials and secrecy over the tragic scandal, which this summit was presumably designed to overcome and obliterate. What happens post-summit will say more about the churchs future than even the gathering itself. Too many church leaders at all levels have avoided confronting this tragedy, which has even begun draining the influence and credibility of Pope Francis, who inherited it. The popes critics have accused him of not doing nearly enough. The harshest among them accuse him of complicity. They point to his controversial defense of a bishop in Chile who protected an abuser. Pope Francis later said he was misinformed about the case and took harsh measures against members of the Chilean clergy that included defrocking some of them - the stiffest penalty, other than excommunication, allowed by the Church. The summit and its brutally honest testimony from victims would seem to serve as the Popes clear statement that the time for denials, excuses and cover-ups is over. That would not be enough to eradicate decades of abuse and dishonesty, but it would be better than not doing it. It isnt enough to satisfy not only many victims but many prosecutors and law enforcement officers, especially in the United States, who insist the church cannot be trusted to police itself, as a CNN report on the summit described. In many ways, Pope Francis does represent a departure from previous church tradition. He is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas or the Southern Hemisphere, and the first non-European pope since Gregory III, a Syrian who who reigned from 731 to 741 AD - nearly 1,300 years before this pontiff. Those are historical distinctions, though, not deviations from how the Vatican is managed, or managed itself and the Catholic Church. Pope Francis comments about gays, politics and other global issues - some related directly to Catholic faith, some linked only by their relationship to the human race - have indicated he does, indeed, reflect a progressiveness his predecessors did not share. This has provoked fierce debate within the church, causing the Pope to backpedal just when advocates for change were hoping hed take on the Vatican establishment. On sex abuse, there should be no division, and yet the Vatican has fallen tragically short of transparency and honesty during a horrific, decades-long scandal. That opinion is held not only by critics, many of whom have abandoned the church, but also among those followers who plead that without a full and transparent cleansing, painful as it is, their church will be ruined. The world is watching the Vatican, which ran out of do-over opportunities a long time ago. The summit and what happens next is the churchs last opportunity to convince those who still believe in it, and non-Catholics who once respected it, that morality from within is the fundamental principle of the faith - regardless of what price is required to practice and enforce it. Can this Pope accomplish that? If the Roman Catholic Church is to recover from this unspeakable abuse of trust, he has no choice. Dr. Marty Nathans guest viewpoint, Pay attention to whats happening in Venezuela, Feb. 22, raises important questions about the Trump administrations approach to Venezuela. He does not say much about the suffering of the Venezuelan people, or their desperation as they take to the streets to protest and the mountains to emigrate. However, to assume that the Trump administration wants Maduro out for humanitarian reasons would be naive. This is an administration, after all, that apparently tried to sell nuclear technology to the Saudis, one of the most oppressive regimes on the planet. Whats the difference between the Saudis and Maduro? The Saudis are perceived as a stable source of oil for our economy and power in the Middle East. Venezuela is an oil producer with is own agenda, a rival for influence in Latin America. The quest to control oil production warps our foreign policy even as it destroys our climate. People are suffering-- from climate change weather extremes, and oil-profit-supported oppression -- everywhere from Venezuela, to Saudi jails, to our own country as we struggle with wildfires and hurricanes. A Green New Deal that frees us all from fossil fuel chains is needed more than ever. Mary Memmott, Framingham We cannot understand that great book, the Universe, if we do not first learn the language in which it is written the brilliant Italian Renaissance scientist Galileo Galilei taught us. The book is written in mathematical language February marks the 455th anniversary of Galileos birth in Pisa, Italy. His world-changing accomplishments in astronomy, physics, and engineering inspired the 20th centurys scientific titan Albert Einstein to crown him the father of modern science. Galileo is popularly known for dropping a 10-pound cannonball and a one-pound lead ball off the top of Pisas Leaning Tower, demonstrating that all objects fall at the same speed. American schoolchildren should know that Galileos genius and experiments shaped modern human understanding of the universal laws of nature. Principally, Galileo did groundbreaking work on velocity, inertia, and motion; crafted his own telescope lenses that allowed him to view our Moons craters, the moons of Jupiter, and sunspots; and authored pivotal science books. His empirical observations differentiated between the spheres of science and faith. Galileo was also famously charged with heresy and subjected to house arrest by the Catholic Church because of his expansion of Polish mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus ideas about astronomy, which reversed humanitys millennia-old misconception that the Earth constituted the center of our planetary system. All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered, Galileo wrote. [T]he point is to discover them. For decades, K-12 policymakers have eschewed academic precision for mushy education school dogmas, including child-centered learning, hands-on learning, and 21st-century skills. Meanwhile, U.S. students lack basic knowledge and perform dreadfully on most national and international math and science tests. Until recently, Massachusetts was the exception to our nationwide educational mediocrity. From 2005 to 2017, the Commonwealth outperformed every other state on the math portion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). In 2007 and 2011, Massachusetts ranked among the worlds highest-achieving countries in gold-standard Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) testing. The Bay States success was a direct result of the landmark 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA), which put academic quality before politics. MERA established excellent science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) standards and objective, high-stakes tests that were central to the states historic K-12 accomplishments. A major lesson from Galileos revolutionary life was to put scientific facts and intellectual freedom ahead of political, or even religious, power. His adoption of Copernicus heliocentric universe challenged Aristotles ancient geocentric views, the consensus at the time. And because medieval theologians fused Aristotles works with Church teachings, Galileos opinions contradicted Church doctrine, which amounted to heresy. The Bible shows the way to go to heaven, Galileo wrote, not the way the heavens go. But he was a devout Catholic whose goal wasnt to undermine the Churchs spiritual authority. In addition to his early inclination to be a monk, another testament to his religious conviction was unearthed in historian Dava Sobels 1999 book Galileos Daughter. His two daughters apparently became nuns, while one of them, Sister Maria Celeste, corresponded with her father about his magnificent interstellar discoveries. Galileo might wonder why, in recent years, Massachusetts governors Deval Patrick and Charlie Baker discarded the Commonwealths nation-leading math and science standards for inferior, nationalized ones - Common Core math and so-called Next Generation Science Standards. These myopic decisions leave Bay State students two years behind their international competitors, essentially using the same math and science standards as Arkansas. In 2015, the Commonwealth's policymakers also stopped participating in the more rigorous TIMSS testing, opting instead for the soft-skills-centric Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which Stanford University mathematician R. James Milgram calls "shopping cart math." Predictably, the Bay States NAEP math scores fell dramatically between 2011 and 2017, while national 2015 math results were the worst in nearly a decade and remained unchanged in 2017. Centuries ago, Galileo told us that scientific success is driven by mastering math. If I were again beginning my studies, Galileo wrote, I would follow the advice of Plato and start with mathematics. Unfortunately, the ineptitude of K-12 educationists reigns over public schooling. These pedagogues, worshipping edu-babble and empty fads instead of durable facts, timeless truths, and empirical evidence, cling to failed dogmas that leave American schoolchildrens STEM futures lost in space. Jamie Gass directs the Center for School Reform at Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based think tank and Zeev Wurman is an executive with a semiconductor startup in Silicon Valley and a former senior adviser at the U.S. Department of Education. Regulations posted online today by the Trump administration ban federal Title X grants to health care centers that offer abortion services, referrals or even information about abortion services. The unofficial finalized rule, a throwback to the Reagan administration years that has been opposed both by Gov. Charlie Baker and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, states that providers of any type of abortion services must physically and financially separate those services from other family planning services in seeking Title X federal money. Opponents have said this amounts to a "gag" rule and were quick to respond. "As a doctor for over 20 years, I am appalled that the Trump-Pence administration would release such an unethical and heartless policy," Dr. Jennifer Childs-Roshak, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, said in a prepared statement. "We adamantly oppose the gag rule because everyone -- regardless of income or insurance -- deserves access to the best medical care and information possible. Know this -- our doors stay open. We will continue to be here for our patients and provide the full range of sexual and reproductive health care services - no matter what." The Masssachusetts Medical Society also reacted. "One of the most sacred aspects of the patient-physician relationship is trust. Part of that trust is earned when a physician is able to have open, honest and comprehensive conversations with patients about their health care. The revision of Title X regulations issued today creates a fundamental interference that inhibits a physician's obligation to fully counsel patients," said Dr. Alain A. Chaoi, society president, in a prepared statement. "Any situation in which a physician is prohibited from delivering all critical health-related information to a patient is unfair and dangerous for all involved. This rule and the pathway it intends to build toward further restricting access to health care services are unconscionable." He added, "In what can only be construed as an attempt to defund Planned Parenthood, the rule has effectively jeopardized access to health care for millions of women, especially those from underserved populations who rely on Title X funding for reproductive and other health care needs." "The Massachusetts Medical Society and its 25,000 member physicians and medical students will not under any circumstance support actions that fly counter to our oath to help our patients," Chaoi said. Abortion opponents applauded the new regulations. March for Life president Jeanne Mancini said it was a "win-win for all Americans." "It is absolutely appropriate that the new Title X regulations take into account the difference between abortion and healthcare," Mancini said in a statement posted to the organization's website. "Abortion is neither healthcare nor family planning which is why the Title X program has no business funding it." Abortion is legal in the U.S. but individual state laws govern when, where and under what circumstances the procedure can be performed. Providers receiving money through Medicaid are reimbursed for services performed -- there is no line item in any government budget for funding of Planned Parenthood -- and federal law already prevents government funding of abortions, except in cases of rape or incest, or to save a woman's life. Title X funds, meant to ensure low-income women have access to family planning and related preventative health services, are distributed as grants to states who thus have more control over how these grants are distributed. Under the Obama administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regulations prevented states and municipalities from withholding federal funding from qualified health providers for family planning services whether or not those providers performed abortions. Planned Parenthood states on its national website that Title X family planning program has enabled health centers to do 720,000 Pap tests, provided nearly one million women with breast exams and performed four million tests for sexually transmitted diseases in 2016. In 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning international non-governmental organizations from providing abortion services or offering information about abortions if they receive U.S. funding. Some recent studies have suggested this has resulted in an increase in abortions at unregulated clinics and further worsen maternal health in undeveloped countries. WESTFIELD -- Residents in communities around Barnes Air National Guard Base are to be assessed for human exposure to certain man-made industrial chemicals by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Hampden County is among the identified communities to be a part of assessments to examine human exposure to polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, according to the CDC. Westfield filed a federal lawsuit earlier this year against three manufacturers of firefighting foam contaminating water wells near Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport. PFAS is contained in some firefighting foams. According to the CDC announcement, the communities are near current or former military installations. The primary goal of the exposure assessments is said to provide information to communities about levels of PFAS in their bodies. "The assessments will generate information about exposure to PFAS in affected communities and will extend beyond the communities identified, as the lessons learned can also be applied to communities facing similar PFAS drinking water exposures," said Patrick Breysse, director of CDC's National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, in a prepared statement. This will serve as a foundation for future studies evaluating the impact of PFAS exposure on human health." People in each of these communities will be selected randomly to participate in the exposure assessments, according to the announcement. Participants will have their PFAS levels checked via blood and urine samples. The exposure assessments will use statistically based sampling. The sampling results from participants can give scientists information about community-level exposure. The assessments are expected to begin in 2019 and continue through 2020 and are said to be laying the groundwork for what is termed CDC/ATSDR's future multi-site health study that will look at the relationship between PFAS exposure and health outcomes. PFAS are man-made chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products since the 1950s. The chemicals are said to have been used in non-stick cookware; water-repellent clothing, stain-resistant fabrics and carpets; some cosmetics; some firefighting foams; and products that resist grease, water, and oil. Some studies have shown that PFAS exposure may affect growth, learning, and behavior of infants and older children; lower a woman's chance of getting pregnant; interfere with the body's natural hormones; increase cholesterol levels; affect the immune system; and increase the risk of cancer, according to the CDC. CDC/ATSDR partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the New York State Department of Health through a grant program with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials to begin assessing exposure in the Pennsylvania communities of Bucks and Montgomery County and Westhampton in New York. The announcement said CDC/ATSDR will build upon the work done at these two pilot sites to complete exposure assessments in eight additional locations starting in 2019: Berkeley County (WV) near Shepherd Field Air National Guard Base El Paso County (CO) near Peterson Air Force Base Fairbanks North Star Borough (AK) near Eielson Air Force Base Hampden County (MA) near Barnes Air National Guard Base Lubbock County (TX) near Reese Technology Center Orange County (NY) near Stewart Air National Guard Base New Castle County (DE) near New Castle Air National Guard Base Spokane County (WA) near Fairchild Air Force Base CDC/ATSDR is involved in over 30 sites nationwide and is currently working in the Pease International Tradeport community to test the protocol for the upcoming multi-site health study. WARE -- Alan Mosher, 40, of 203 Oborne Road, who allegedly bit off a piece of another man's ear, was arraigned Wednesday in Eastern Hampshire District Court on charges of mayhem, assault and battery and malicious property destruction. The Ware resident, who had been the subject of a manhunt by police, turned himself in. The alleged crimes occurred on Feb. 7. Mosher was released on his own recognizance. His next court date, a pre-trial hearing, is scheduled on April 8, according to the Belchertown court. The police report filed with the court says the alleged victim had offered to help Mosher build a fire inside his dwelling, which was described as a "shack." The victim told police Mosher, who appeared intoxicated, slapped him. There was a struggle that ended with a portion of the other man's ear bitten off. The victim has had reconstructive surgery at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. The victim first was taken by his brother to the emergency department at Baystate Mary Lane Outpatient Center. A woman was arrested at a Cape Cod restaurant last week after allegedly assaulting a 23-year-old man who was wearing a Make America Great Again hat. East Falmouth woman Rosaine Santos, 41, was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and assault and battery at the Casa Vallarta Mexican Restaurant in Falmouth, shortly after 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15. Santos pleaded not guilty to the charges at Falmouth District Court on Wednesday and was released on her own recognizance, the Cape Cod Times reports. Bryton Turner, who filmed some of the incident and shared video online, told MassLive he went into the restaurant to eat with two friends Friday night when Santos, totally unprovoked," began to touch his hat and verbally harass him. Turner, 23, was wearing a red hat with President Donald Trumps slogan Make America Great Again, which Santos can be seen grabbing in the video from Turner. The minute I walked in she was saying stuff to me. All I said was its just a hat, I can wear it wherever I want,' Turner told MassLive. Then throughout the hour or so she kept talking to the bartender telling him to poison my drinks and stuff. She threw the hat probably three times before I took the video. Turner said restaurant staff decided to call police. When Falmouth police officers arrived to escort Santos out, she allegedly appeared drunk and tore Turners hat off once again, according to police documents obtained by the Cape Cod Times. She reportedly also use foul language to describe Turner and said the 23-year-old should not be allowed to eat at a Mexican restaurant. I think its sad that people dont know how to behave in public. Just because I dont agree with people doesnt mean Im going to be going around assaulting people, Turner told MassLive. Santos is due in court next month for a pretrial hearing, according to the Cape Cod Times. SPRINGFIELD The city is seeking proposals from artist groups and organizations to oversee and create a public mural program in the downtown Springfield cultural district, aimed at bringing more beauty, interest and excitement to the area. The city has set aside up to $25,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds this year to help pay for the mural program, which expands on mural efforts of the past two years, officials said. "Simply put, these murals bring a welcoming vibrancy and creativity to our downtown neighborhood," Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said. Proposals to administer and execute the mural program are due by March 6 at 2 p.m., at the citys Office of Procurement at City Hall. Under the program, multiple murals must be completed by an artist or artist-led team by June 30, 2019 at various sites with the need to gain permission from the owners of private property, or from the city for any city-owned properties, the guidelines state. Brian Connors, the city's deputy director of economic development, said the city hopes to have projects ready to go once the weather breaks. "Public art is another reason to get people walking and biking through the Cultural District to find these pieces," Connors said. "We received a tremendous amount of positive feedback on the Kim Carlino mural that we funded at Gifford Lock." In 2017, Carlino created a mural called "Milton Bradley Deconstructed" on the side brick wall at A.W. Gifford Locksmiths Inc., at 11 Layman St., just off Main Street. It depicts various board games and designs tied to the Milton Bradley Co., founded in Springfield in 1860. In 2018, the city awarded a mural grant to Damien Mitchell, a mural artist from Brooklyn, New York. That work is scheduled to happen by late spring, but the site has not been finalized, Connors said. Mitchell has proposed a mural to depict Springfields renowned childrens book author Theodor Dr. Seuss Geisel, who would be surrounded by some of his most famous characters, according to the mural project summary. "Mayor Sarno has been very supportive of public art and we're happy to be able to continue this program and add many more works of art to our Cultural District," Connors said. In the latest advertisement for proposals, the city states that proposers "should consider maximum visibility, beautification of its immediate surroundings, excited public interest in Springfield, and to inspire City pride in Springfield." The funds would be related to project costs such as administering the program, funding artist fees, installation costs, materials, and engineering and design expenses if needed. The city seeks multiple murals, but does not list a specific number. Proposers who are able to show committed match funding from other sources are encouraged and will be given preference, the city said. Proposals would be evaluated by a review committee and the recommended proposal will need approval from Sarno. Proposals will be ranked on factors including the quality of the project design, project visibility, the program/event theme, the proposers experience, funding, and readiness the proceed, officials said. SPRINGFIELD Following the abrupt retirement of Police Commissioner John Barbieri on Thursday, a group of city councilors called for the immediate resurrection of a five-member Police Commission to oversee the department including discipline, but the mayor said he is not budging from the current system. Eight councilors gathered on the steps of City Hall on Friday, calling on Mayor Domenic J. Sarno to make appointments to the Police Commission, in accordance with an ordinance that was approved by the council in December, including an override of the mayors veto. Barbieris retirement was announced Thursday as the Police Department is embroiled in controversies including police misconduct cases and a federal civil rights investigation. Council President Justin Hurst said that councilors recognize that there are systemic issues that are plaguing our Police Department. Councilors are also calling for a nationwide search to hire a police chief in Springfield, rather than a police commissioner to oversee day-to-day operations, as previously existed in Springfield. The Department of Justice is investigating our Police Department, the attorney general is present in the city of Springfield looking to hold officers accountable and doing the work that we should have been able to do in the city of Springfield on our own, Hurst said. In addition, we have costed our taxpaying citizens millions of dollars in settlements. Sarno said Friday the power to appoint a single police commissioner is his to make under Springfields strong mayor form of government, and he believes the councils ordinance is legally invalid. Sarno has appointed Deputy Chief Cheryl Clapprood as acting commissioner to take over for Barbieri. Councilors defended the legality of the ordinance, and some said that legal action is one of the options that will be discussed if the mayor refuses to appoint commission members. Hurst was joined by Councilors Timothy Ryan, Orlando Ramos, Marcus Williams, Kateri Walsh, Melvin Edwards, Adam Gomez and Jesse Lederman in calling for enactment of the Police Commission and nationwide search for the police chief. A Police Commission had existed in Springfield for decades until it was abolished by the former state-appointed Finance Control Board in 2005, and replaced by a single commissioner. A citizen commission adds transparency and accountability, councilors argued. Sarno said a single police commissioner is more professional and modern, and less political, along with an existing citizen hearing board that can recommend discipline. Councilors, in urging the reinstatement of the citizen commission, cited multiple cases of alleged police misconduct facing the department including a recent federal jury award of $250,000 against the city, filed by Lee Hutchins Sr. The jury found one officer responsible for using excessive force and said the city "was deliberately indifferent to the civil rights of its citizens through a policy or custom of inadequately supervising or disciplining its police officers." "While we want to work with the mayor, one thing we will not do as a body is stand idle when there are laws on the books that tell us to do otherwise," Hurst said. Ryan said he questions the legality of the mayor standing by a single commissioner system, in appointing Clapprood on an acting basis, when there is a conflicting law on the books passed by the council. He was among councilors who praised Barbieri and wished him well in retirement. But, a Police Commission allows one person, the police chief, to handle day-to-day administration and a five-person citizens commission to oversee matters such as discipline and policy, rather than put it all on one person's responsibility, Ryan said. Ramos said the mayor referred to the replacement of the police commissioner as a fresh start for the department, but questioned why a fresh start was not proposed earlier in his administration. Williams said that although Springfield does have a strong mayor form of government, no person is above the law. He was among councilors saying that legal action by the council is one consideration if the mayor does not re-enact the Police Commission. Walsh said the retirement creates an opportunity to go in a new direction and re-establish the commission. Edwards said that beyond his support of the commission and a nationwide search for a new police chief, he is urging the state Legislature to amend the Civil Service law so that it does not unfairly protect officers from discipline in cases of misconduct. The current law is flawed as there are officers that repeatedly break the rules but are back on the street, he said. One of the states top marijuana regulators is urging the other members of the Cannabis Control Commission to consider a course correction on social equity programs, citing the low rate of participation in the legal marijuana industry by minority groups. Enough talk about the equity applicants and whats going wrong, Commissioner Shaleen Title said. Its time to talk about concrete, tangible solutions moving forward. At Thursdays meeting, the board agreed to consider recommendations to help people who are currently underrepresented in the industry. Were never going to be able to do enough to make up for the harm thats been done to those communities but that doesnt mean we shouldnt try, Title said of cities and towns disproportionately affected by the war on drugs. Massachusetts state law requires that the Cannabis Control Commission work to include people from such communities as well as people with drug convictions, women, racial minorities and veterans in the legal industry. However, those groups have so far struggled to enter the industry. The Cannabis Control Commission named more than 120 economic empowerment applicants, to help people disproportionately affected by marijuana enforcement, and gave them priority in licensing. So far, just four of those businesses have actually submitted complete applications. Of the 292 license applications submitted so far, representing 150 different businesses, nine identify as women-owned and seven as minority-owned. Sixteen say they fit two or more disadvantaged business categories, which also includes businesses owned by veterans, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities. Agents, who are people registered to work at marijuana businesses, are 67 percent male and 72 percent white. The commission is just starting a social equity program, which will offer guidance and technical assistance to those with drug convictions or who live in a community disproportionately affected by drugs. So far, that program has received 137 completed applications, of which 100 are from people interested in an entrepreneurship track. But Title said the program was envisioned as a way to guide businesses through a system that is accessible. If there are still systemic barriers, Id describe the equity program as helping people cross a bridge that has not been built yet, Title said. Anecdotally, potential small business owners have complained of difficulty securing financing, negotiating terms with municipalities and finding a location. Of the nine recreational stores open so far, all are affiliated with large medical marijuana companies. Cannabis Commission Chairman Steven Hoffman said he questions whether a course correction like the one Title described is necessary. Hoffman said the commission has been making efforts to foster social equity, and it is still early in the process. Were working really hard on this issue, all of us are, Hoffman said. Its hard, its really hard But were really early in this process. Hoffman said, for example, he has been talking to banks, charitable foundations, wealthy individuals and the industry about ways to help small and minority business owners access financing. Hoffman said while he supports additional measures to ensure equity, he also worries that some people have unrealistic expectations about being able to start a business with no experience. Commissioner Britte McBride suggested that the commission needs to hire a research firm to gather data and study whether there are barriers to entry for these applicants, what they are and how to address them. Commissioners also discussed gathering data on what types of ancillary businesses are benefiting from the industry for example, carpenters or lighting experts who build grow facilities. Other recommendations include: Title proposed allowing shared use facilities, where multiple growers or product manufacturers could share space to keep their costs down. Title suggested developing a new priority status for licensing, beyond the economic empowerment designation. The commission would have to determine who that status would apply to and what it would offer. Title also suggested creating a limited vetting process before a company gets municipal approval. Currently, the commission only accepts applicants who have signed an agreement with their host community, but some communities would prefer to negotiate with a company that is already vetted. Hoffman said he will explore the possibility of asking the Legislature to create a program that would offer grants or interest-free loans to equity participants. Hoffman said there are existing programs and state agencies in Massachusetts that help inner city entrepreneurs, as well as programs in other states. I think theres a place to start, not necessarily trying to raid those programs, but more to see how those programs are structured and how they work, Hoffman said. Any proposal will need to go through thorough vetting. Some changes are likely to be considered as the Cannabis Control Commission considers updates to all the rules of the states marijuana program this spring. Commissioner Jennifer Flanagan, a former state senator from Leominster, said her biggest concern is that equity programs not be focused exclusively on Boston. She worried that, for example, many of the disproportionately affected communities are college towns, which may not want marijuana businesses around underage students. We have to start to think about social equity as the entire state, Flanagan said. What that looks like in Boston is not the same as what its going to look like in Amherst or a city out west. NORTHAMPTON Five years after Ferris Shelton visited Elmina, Ghana in West Africa a place known for its beautiful beaches as well as its role in the slave trade he still could not get the images out of his mind. Shelton, a Marine Corps veteran and Springfield resident, was haunted by the filth and smell that lingered in the dungeons where African slaves were held captive at the Elmina Castle. While I was there I was struck with the feeling that somebody in my ancestry must have gone through a place like this," Shelton said. I am a multi-generational African-American, and I am descendant of slaves and to think about my ancestors being held in a place like this hit me hard. The experience affected him so much that in 2003 he began writing a novel, Seven Full Days, which follows a man named Jason whose dreams take him on a journey into the painful history of slavery. Shelton did a short reading of his work during a Black History Month event at the VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System in Leeds Wednesday. Amber Brown, diversity co-chair for the VA, said the programs theme this year was the great migration. There poster presentations featuring information about topics ranging from the African diaspora to civil rights, from blacks in the media to historically black colleges and universities. Participants stopped at different booths to learn historical information or speak with Shelton about his inspiration for the book. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Shelton joined the Marines at 17 and spent three years enlisted before going to work for Playskool, which eventually became Milton Bradley and then Hasbro. After nearly 20 years with the company, which included a move to Springfield, Shelton left the business and he and his family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he got a job working for a company called Quality Grain. The company was trying to grow rice in the fertile African soil and I was sent to Ghana in October of 1998, he said. During his stay Shelton took a tour of the Elmina Castle, which is now recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as a World Heritage historic site. It was a life transforming experience. Since UNESCO made it a world heritage site it cannot be disturbed, so when you walk into the dungeons the smell is still overpowering, he said. Shelton came home the following summer. For years he could not shake the feeling that he needed to write a book about his experience. I tried to deny it," he said. I had no writing experience. It was a crazy thought, but I just felt like I had to get it out. Shelton spent months doing research at the Springfield Main Library learning the difference between first-, second- and third-person narration, proper sentence structure and combining nonfiction with historical fiction all while fighting his own personal demons. I have made mistakes in my life. I had a problem with alcohol and I was going through a divorce, but I found that when I was not drinking the fog would clear and pieces of the story would just come to me, he said. When he felt the revision of the book was beyond his ability he located an editor, Rochelle OGorman. It was difficult because she was just slashing sentences left and right. These are words I worked so hard to write and at first I didnt want to change anything, but after thinking about it for a few days or a week I would come to terms that the changes improved the book and I am so grateful to her, he said. In 2018, 15 years after he started writing the novel and 20 years after he visited Ghana, Shelton published the book under Levellers Press, an independent book publisher in Amherst. The book follows Jason, a businessman who is haunted by dreams of his ancestors enslaved and held captive in Africa before being transported to other parts of the world. For the book reading Shelton chose a passage where Jason finds himself in a dungeon where male slaves were held: Soon the aromatic content of the breeze wafted by, it was the ocean. This new fact disturbed him deeply. Why, he thought, would hell be so situated near the sea? The possible topographical configuration of the setup was beyond his ken. Seashores and beaches are places for holiday and vacation. This place allowed for neither rest nor relaxation. For Shelton, fiction is intermingled with a personal experience that has haunted him for more than 20 years. All I know is that something kept driving me to write, he said. His book can be purchased on Amazon or on the Levellers website. SOMERVILLE House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, on Friday announced a plan to invest $1 billion over 10 years to help cities and towns adopt climate-friendly technology. If the plan is approved by the Legislature, the money would be bonded, which means it would be borrowed, then paid back over a period of years. This realistic and practical approach will help all of our cities and towns take swift steps to address the effects of climate change, DeLeo said. DeLeo announced the new initiative at Greentown Labs in Somerville, a startup incubator for clean technology companies. DeLeo is calling the program GreenWorks, after a similar program called MassWorks, which funds local infrastructure projects. GreenWorks would involve a similar model, where cities and towns would apply for competitive grants for specific projects related to energy efficiency, clean energy and climate change resiliency. For example, the money could be used to make school buildings more efficient, support solar or energy storage projects, build electric vehicle charging stations, or make improvements to the electricity grid serving hospitals or gas stations. DeLeo said the grants will help communities build projects that they otherwise may not have money for, and they will also help create more jobs in the environmental and energy industries in Massachusetts. He said the money will not be targeted only for coastal communities. It deals with every single city and town, no matter what their needs may be, DeLeo said. There would be money for them to address their needs. Rep. Thomas Golden, D-Lowell, chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, said the proposal is about increasing the opportunities for green jobs, the green community as a whole, and diversifying our energy portfolio to make sure we are lessening the effects of carbon. Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, D-Boston, who chairs the House Committee on Ways and Means, called it a great opportunity to give our local communities from whatever part of the state the tools they need to address these serious issues were facing in front of us over the next generation. The actions by Springfield police surrounding the arrest of 48-year-old Jerry Bellamy, who was grabbed by the throat by an officer while attempting to file a complaint about a parking ticket in 2017, are now under review by the Hampden District Attorneys office. In a statement released two days after MassLives exclusive story on the circumstances surrounding Bellamys arrest, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said the incident that led to police filing a criminal complaint against Bellamy is now being investigated. The statement said the assault and battery on a police officer and resisting arrest charges filed against Bellamy were dismissed by the DAs office in district court in 2017 due to a lack of credibility in the officers narrative of the events. The officers in the case were also cleared of wrongdoing in 2017, both by a department internal investigation into Bellamys claims, and by Springfields Community Police Hearing Board. "The initial assessment made to dismiss the complaint was the right thing to do, Gulluni said. However, newly acquired evidence that has come to my attention will be reviewed by my office for criminal behavior, which I believe is required in the interests of justice." The new evidence is outside surveillance footage showing the continuing incident involving polices handling of Bellamy, which first started inside the Springfield Police Headquarters, a Hampden District Attorneys office spokesman confirmed. If those tapes did not exist then I would still be incarcerated right now, Bellamy said, upon hearing about Gullunis review of the case. The district attorneys office said the review of the incident will not negatively impact Bellamy. In the story first published by MassLive on Feb. 19, Bellamy said he walked into police headquarters on June 29, 2017 to file a complaint about a parking ticket. Bellamy said he was instead grabbed by the throat and shoved out the door by desk officer Jefferson Petrie. Surveillance video obtained by MassLive shows Petrie heading out from behind his security window and a confrontation ensued, with Petrie putting both of his hands on Petries neck to remove him from the station lobby. I did nothing that warranted that type of response from that officer, Bellamy told MassLive in an interview. MassLive has reached out to a Springfield Police Department spokesman for comment on the DAs review but the department has not yet released an official statement. The new evidence received by the district attorney, the outside surveillance video, shows Bellamy raise his arms and square off with Petrie and other officers who came rushing to the scene. Bellamy struggles with police as officers take him to the ground. The video does not show Bellamy throw any punches, a claim made by Petrie in his police report. The first shove of Bellamy is described as an attempt to guide the man toward the door, according to Petries report and an internal affairs investigation. Petrie also claimed in his report that Bellamy threw a parking ticket through the slot in the desk window and pushed up against him. The footage shows neither. The Springfield Police Department disputed Bellamys account of what happened in a statement issued to MassLive in response to the first story on the case. Officers can escort verbally or physically assaultive individuals from the lobby for the safety of other civilians. In this case, the individual was given numerous chances to walk away and was not arrested until he threw a punch," Springfield Police spokesman Ryan Walsh said in the statement. "The individual also refused any medical attention. The charges against Bellamy were dropped after his attorney obtained the video from the police department and shared it with prosecutors. Bellamy said his arrest cost him his property maintenance job and caused hardship for his family. They pretty much ruined my life, Bellamy told MassLive. "Ive lost everything since. Experts who reviewed the footage and records said the officer overacted and filed an inaccurate police report to justify his actions. Police Commissioner John Barbieri told MassLive on Tuesday that the video did not fully capture the altercation and noted that prosecutors decision to drop charges does mean that an arrest was invalid. The video of the police lobby and exterior of the building are helpful but do not show the complete interaction. An independent witness also corroborated the officers account that the individual swung at officers and resisted arrest. Camera perspective and inanimate stationary objects interfere with an accurate and complete view," Barbieri said in a statement. The department is moving forward with the implementation of body-worn cameras that will provide the officers perspective and a more accurate accounting of police/citizen encounters. Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno announced Thursday afternoon at a press conference that he had accepted Barbieris request to retire. I have accepted Police Commissioner John Barbieris retirement today, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said on Thursday. I want to take the opportunity to commend Commissioner Barbieri on his 31 years of dedicated service and the many innovative programs that he has initiated within our Police Department. Id also like to note that there has been a 45 percent reduction in overall crime in the last five years. In November, Sarno said he was negotiating an extended contract for Barbieri before his five-year agreement expired at the end of May 2019. Asked if Barbieris departure was tied to any of the department controversy, Sarno said the retirement was a mutually accepted decision. SPRINGFIELD - A former Chicopee police officer pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Thursday to a federal charge of immigration fraud. Nhac Duy Truong, 44, of East Longmeadow, admitted to submitting immigration petitions in 2008 and 2009 that claimed a Vietnamese woman was his alien fiance and they were to be married. The woman was actually the sister of Truongs common-law wife. In 2011 in Ho Chi Minh City, Truong signed a sworn affidavit for the sister, in which he claimed not to know the woman who was in fact his common-law wife and mother of his two children. Charges were filed against him in November. According to U.S. Immigration law, a U.S. citizen may petition to have a fiance allowed into the country on a visa, provided the intention is to marry within 90 days. In order for the person to be eligible for permanent resident status, the marriage has to be valid, meaning a bona fide intent to establish a life together and the marriage is not for the sole purpose of obtaining an immigration benefit. U.S. District Judge Mark Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for May 29. He could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, three years supervised released, and be fined up to $25,000, according to federal sentencing guidelines. According to terms of the plea agreement, Truong agreed to step down from the Chicopee police and never seek employment again in law enforcement. Chicopee police spokesman Michael Wilk said that Truong retired on Wednesday. He was with the Chicopee police since 2004. He was originally hired in 1998 by the Springfield police, becoming the departments first officer of Vietnamese descent. He among a group of officers laid off in 2004 due to budget cuts. A partial hunger strike said to have been underway since Feb. 15 by some 70 men detained by federal immigration officials at Suffolk County House of Correction made news this week. Outside organizations in touch with the 70 men say their strike is over abusive and unsanitary conditions and unaddressed questions over how long they can be held there by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Self-denial as a form of protest is not new - it dates back to the time of the Suffragettes and earlier - and certainly not one mainly confined to the history books. Hunger strikes are often about highlighting abusive conditions within a prison system as well as part of broader political movements toward equality and recognition of rights. It has been reported that some 1,400 people have gone on hunger strikes in 18 immigration detention facilities since May 2015. One current strike that has been drawing global attention involves nine immigrants from India being held in an ICE detention center in El Paso, Texas. Authorities there stopped forced-feeding the nine after a U.S. district judge Feb. 13 said it had to be stopped on two of the immigrants who had challenged the practice that involves the insertion of nasal tubes while the person is restrained. The United Nations human rights office had weighed in, saying the force-feeding of immigrant hunger strikers at the facility could violate the U.N. Convention Against Torture. The fact that the two young men directly involved in the judge's ruling are from India recalls the fact that it was in 1918 that Mahatma Gandhi, who engaged in non-violent protest in fighting for the country's independence from Britain and equality for the country's poorest, undertook 17 hunger strikes dating to 1918, the longest being a 21-day one in 1943 in protest against his detention without any charge by the British authorities. Suffragette Alice Paul, national chairman of the Women's Party, went on hunger strike during her seven months in jail for picketing the White House for a constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote. Paul, who began her fast Nov. 16, 1917 and was force fed, had also been on hunger strike in England where Suffragette leaders included the legendary Emmeline Pankurst. British authorities there had begun the practice of force-feeding hunger strikers after Scottish Suffragette Marion Wallace Dunlop went on hunger strike in 1909 and other arrested suffragettes began to engage in the protest. Conscientious objectors during World War I in Britain engaged in hunger strikes, and later worked to reform prisons. The use of hunger strikes in the fight for independence is often associated with the Irish whose early history included the practice of the poor fasting on the doorstep of the powerful to protest an injustice. Thomas Ashe, the Irish nationalist leader who had his execution commuted by the British government in 1916 for his part in the Easter Rising against British rule, died as a result of being force fed while on prison hunger strike on Sept. 25, 1917. He is said to be the first Irish republican prisoner to die on hunger strike. One of the most famous is Bobby Sands. Sands led the strike in the Long Kesh/Maze prison in 1981 in Northern Ireland where he was incarcerated for firearms possession. He died on the 66th day of his hunger strike at the age of 27 during a strike in which 10 men would die of fasting for the right to be recognize as political prisoners. Peter Frampton has announced plans for his first farewell tour with dates in Boston and Connecticut. Frampton will perform at the Rockland Bank Trust Pavilion on July 9 and Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT on Sept. 2. Tickets for the shows go on sale beginning Friday, March 1 at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster at ticketmaster.com and by phone at (800) 745-3000. Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin will open the show. Frampton is one rock's most iconic stars having founded the super group Humble Pie before launching a solo career that included "Frampton Comes Alive," one of the top-selling live albums of all time. As recently as 2007 the guitarist earned a Grammy Award for his instrumental offering "Fingerprints." MILWAUKEE -- Every year since 2005, Nike has released a collection of special edition Black History Month shoes in February -- starting with Air Force Ones, but eventually branching out into different sections of their brand. This year, Nike did BHM designs in their most recent editions for LeBron James, Paul George, Kevin Durant and Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving. For his part, Irving says he hopes (and believes) the brand will move away from commercializing Black History Month. I wish I didnt have a Black History Month shoe, honestly, Irving said. I mean, I celebrate Black history every single day. So Im pretty sure were going to move away from that, where its not going to be as commercialized for Black History Month shoes and our prints on it. But Im appreciative that Nike does it. But at the same time, I think that should be more individualized. Irving has been a willing participant in Nikes promotions for the Kyrie 5s, including a viral video in which he performed ridiculous side-to-side stretches that appeared impossible (Irving told MassLive the video was magic" at the time with a big smile -- conveniently, the shoes he was wearing were the Black Magic editions). Irvings shoes sell very well for Nike. If he has concerns about a special edition for Black History Month, the company will presumably be willing to listen. NORTHAMPTON A budding marijuana company hungry for expansion bought 70 acres in the Florence section of the city earlier this month. Green Growth Brands Inc. paid $700,000 on Feb. 2 for two parcels of land at Ryan Road and Burts Pit Road, according to documents filed with the Hampshire County Registry of Deeds. With headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, Green Growth Brands stock, GGB, trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange. Marijuana is legal at the federal level in Canada, but not on a federal level in the United States. The Northampton land purchase is listed under a subsidiary of Green Growth Brands called GGB Massachusetts Land LLC. The property is the former Bill Willard Inc. gravel pit. Bill Willard Inc. shut down in 2016 and liquidated its real estate holdings. The Colvest Group, of Springfield bought Bill Willards three-acre plant on King Street in 2017 for $2.25 million. The Burts Pit Road site failed to sell at auction in 2017. Green Growth Brands acquired the Northampton project in December when it bought Boston-based Just Healthy LLC. for $3.75 million in stock, according to a news release from Green Growth at the time. Just Healthy has two applications pending before the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, according to the commissions online database. One application is for a retailer and one is as a cultivator of marijuana. The retail location would be on Pleasant Street, according documents on file with the city. Prior to the sale, Just Healthy already had approvals from the city of Northampton for a 174,000-square-foot marijuana growing, processing and office building on the property, according to minutes from those meetings. The Northampton Planning Board and Zoning Board gave those approvals in August 2018. Green Growth Brands boasts on its website that it has raised more than $150 million Canadian, or $113.4 million U.S., since last year. CEO Peter Horvath has executive experience at retail brands like Victoria's Secret, DSW Shoes and American Eagle, according to the website. Other executives have worked at Bath & Body Works. Not coincidentally with those mall retail roots, Green Growth Brands says it is leasing spots in malls all over the country for its Seventh Sense CBD shop concept. There are Seventh Sense CBD shops in malls already in Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana. CBD is a product extracted from industrial hemp that is said to provide health benefits. It does not have psychoactive ingredients. Green Growth Brands is in the process of trying to take over rival Aphria. The first few months of the year has seen consolidation in the marijuana industry. In January New England Treatment Access which opened one of the first recreational marijuana shops in Massachusetts in November was sold to Surterra Wellness. Surterra Wellness is a larger company with marijuana operations in Florida, Texas, and Nevada. The suspect who shot a Boston police officer and died after exchanging gunfire with police has been identified as Kasim Kahrim, 36, according to the Boston Globe and other media. Boston Police Commissioner William Gross said two uniformed police officers stopped a vehicle in the area of Gerard Street in Roxbury around 2:20 a.m. on Friday. Police said the man in the vehicle, reportedly Kahrim, opened fire on the two responding officers. Kahrim has been identified as the suspect by The Globe, WCVB News and CBS Boston. A Boston police spokesman told MassLive on Friday the suspects identity was not yet available. Police exchanged gunfire with the suspect, and one officer was struck multiple times in the upper torso before the suspect drove off, according to Gross. Boston police said the suspect was found dead inside his vehicle at 90 George Street in Roxbury shortly after. A firearm was recovered from inside the vehicle, police said. The police officer wounded in the gunfire, who has not been identified, was transported for treatment at Boston Medical Center and is expected to survive his injuries, police said. Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins promised an independent investigation into the shooting and expressed sympathy for both the officer shot and the family of the dead suspect. Any loss of life is tragic and this mornings events on Gerard Street are no exception. I want to express my relief that the injured officer is expected to survive. I hope for his full recovery, and my thoughts are with his family at home and his brothers and sisters in law enforcement, Rollins said in a statement. She added, I also want to express my deep sadness and sympathies for the family and loved ones of the man whose life was lost. They, too, are undoubtedly in shock at circumstances beyond their control. Authorities are investigating after a motor vehicle stop in Roxbury turned into a violent exchange of gunfire between a suspect and Boston police officers. Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins asserted on Friday her investigation into the shooting would be fair. I want to assure the people of Boston and Suffolk County that I will be conducting an independent investigation into this incident and it will be full, fair, thorough, and impartial," Rollins said in a statement Friday afternoon. The suspect, reported as 36-year-old Kasim Kahrim, allegedly opened fire on two Boston police officers during a motor vehicle stop in the area of Gerard Street in Roxbury around 2:20 a.m. on Friday. Police exchanged gunfire with Kahrim, and one officer was struck multiple times in the upper torso. The police officer was transported to Boston Medical Center for treatment and is expected to survive his injuries. The suspect fled the scene in the vehicle he was driving and was later found dead inside that vehicle, at 90 George Street in Roxbury, according to Boston police. A firearm was recovered from the vehicle as well, police said. If anyone in the community has information on this incident they havent yet disclosed, they can feel safe bringing it to my attention, Rollins said in a statement. Rollins became the first black female district attorney in Massachusetts this year and is a champion of progressive criminal justice reform. The shooting on Friday marks the first case in which Rollins will investigate, as district attorney, the use of deadly force by a police officer. In a statement, Rollins expressed sympathy for the officer, his family and his fellow officers, and said she hoped he would experience a full recovery. The district attorney also shared sympathy for the family of Kahrim. I also want to express my deep sadness and sympathies for the family and loved ones of the man whose life was lost. They, too, are undoubtedly in shock at circumstances beyond their control, Rollins said. Rollins added that the investigation, and all decisions tied to it, rest exclusively with her, and that she pledges to make decisions based on fact, evidence and the law. During the 20 years before Kasim Kahrim reportedly had a standoff with Boston police that would end his life, he was in and out of jail and faced more than 40 charges in Boston courts. The Boston Globe and other media have identified Kahrim, 36, as the man who died after exchanging gunfire with police early Friday morning. Boston Police Commissioner William Gross said two uniformed police officers stopped a vehicle near Gerard Street in Roxbury around 2:20 a.m. on Friday. Police said the man in the vehicle, reportedly Kahrim, opened fire on the two responding officers. Police fired back at the suspect. One officer was hit multiple times in the upper torso before Kahrim drove off, Gross said. Boston police found Kahrim dead inside his vehicle at 90 George St. shortly afterward, according to media reports. The Boston police officer has not been identified, but is expected to survive, Gross said. Kahrim has been identified as the suspect by The Globe, WCVB News and CBS Boston. A Boston police spokesman told MassLive on Friday he did not know the suspects identity. Dating back to when he was a teenager, Kahrim battled with Boston police in Roxbury, according to court records. In 2000, Kahrim pleaded guilty in a violent carjacking. Police said the then 16-year-old used his foot and a screw driver to attack a man for the purpose of stealing his car. Kahrim pleaded guilty to three charges and spent time in MCI - Walpole, according to court records. He was also convicted that year of selling crack cocaine. After he was released Kahrim stalked and continuously violated a restraining order his former girlfriend had filed against him in Roxbury District Court. The couple shared a 2-year-old child. The pair dated for two and a half years before the woman reported violent behavior by Kahrim starting in 2007. Records show his former girlfriend and family members called 911 at least 11 times during that year, reporting that Kahrim was threatening the womans life, and slashed the tires of their cars. March 31, 2007 approximately 3 a.m. the defendant called the victim repeatedly, rang her door bell several times. The defendant was screaming outside of the victims home. The defendant threw a brick and a rusted padlock at the home causing the windows to break and damage to the siding. The defendant also damaged the victims mothers car and threatened to burn the house down, court records show. Kahrim pleaded guilty to charges related to that incident June 12, 2007. The behavior continued. On Dec. 29, 2007 undercover officers waited outside the victims house after hearing that Kahrim had slashed the tires on her mothers Jeep, according to a police report on file in Suffolk Superior Court. Kahrim was in default of 11 warrants out for his arrest. Officers watched Kahrim puncture tires on a car parked near the victims home. When they approached him, in plain clothes with their badges clearly displayed, they saw Kahrim was holding a small silver knife in his right hand with the blade locked in the open position, according to court documents. Officers ordered the suspect at gunpoint to drop the knife and get on the ground several times, as the suspect ignored the officers and remained standing with the knife in his hand, police wrote in the documents. Officers found 14 individually wrapped pieces of a substance believed to be crack cocaine when they searched the suspect. He faced several additional charges related to this incident, including possession of a class b drug with intent to distribute in a school zone. He was just 1,000 feet from an elementary school at the time of the arrest, police said. Kahrim again was sent to prison. In February 2012 then-state Rep. Carlos Henriquez wrote a letter of support on behalf of Kahrim, which was included in his case file. Henriquez in 2014 was convicted of assaulting a former girlfriend. He was sentenced to six months in jail on two assault charges. Since his release Kasim has done his best to re-integrate himself into the community. He has shown up to my office numerous times in order to work on his resume and seek employment, Henriquez wrote in the letter. I believe he is doing everything he can to get his life back on track and I hope he afforded the opportunity to continue to do so. On March 21, 2016 he ran into police again in Roxbury after he shot a gun into the air. Police said Kahrim was standing outside 12 Harlow St. in Roxbury, where he was lived for more than a decade according to court records. As he discharged a .356 Smith & Wesson magnum revolver, a neighbor - 88-year-old Matilde Semedo - arrived home and saw him holding an item in his hand. Kahrim raised his hand in the air and discharged the firearm again. Semedo heard another shot and observed smoke coming from the item in his hand. She yelled at Kahrim to stop and Kahrim shouted back and walked away, police wrote in the report. Kahrim ran from the scene and hid behind a Nissan Altima registered to his sister, where officers eventually found him and the weapon. Having been previously convicted of a violent crime and serious drug offense then-Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley marked him a Level 2 armed career criminal, according to court records. Kahrim was convicted and attempted to appeal the decision to the states Supreme Judicial Court, which denied his motion. He was released on Dec. 7, according to court records. Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins promised an independent investigation into Fridays shooting. Any loss of life is tragic and this mornings events on Gerard Street are no exception. I want to express my relief that the injured officer is expected to survive. I hope for his full recovery, and my thoughts are with his family at home and his brothers and sisters in law enforcement, Rollins said in a statement. She added, I also want to express my deep sadness and sympathies for the family and loved ones of the man whose life was lost. They, too, are undoubtedly in shock at circumstances beyond their control. A Boston police officer was shot and injured in an exchange of gunfire early Friday morning, after which a suspect was found dead, according to Boston Police Commissioner William Gross. In a press conference with media early Friday morning, Gross told reporters that several officers conducted a motor vehicle stop in the area of 102 Gerard Street in Roxbury, around 2:20 a.m., when a suspect inside the vehicle exchanged several rounds of gunfire with the officers. The suspect, described by Gross as a male in his mid-to-late 30s, then fled the scene. One Boston police officer was shot several times in the upper torso during the exchange, according to a statement by Boston police. The wounded officer was transported to Boston Medical Center for injuries that do not appear to be serious, the police department confirmed. Police officers located the suspects vehicle at 90 George Street in Roxbury, where authorities say the suspect was found dead inside the vehicle. A firearm was recovered from inside the vehicle, Boston police said. Authorities have not identified the wounded officer or suspect. The office of Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins confirmed district attorney homicide detectives are playing an active role in the investigation of the shooting. The chief of the district attorneys Homicide Unit and an assistant district attorney responded to the scene overnight, according to Suffolk County district attorney spokesperson Jake Wark. This story has been updated to reflect the most recent information. An investigation by local, state and federal authorities has led to the arrest of a 36-year-old Lawrence man and the seizure of 532 grams of fentanyl, officials said. Members of the Massachusetts State Police Gang Unit, the Lawrence Police Street Narcotics Unit and an FBI gang task force, with assistance from New Hampshire State Police, learned that Rosario Lara was trafficking fentanyl, Massachusetts State Police said. Investigators on Thursday arranged to purchase fentanyl from Lara, state police said. Troopers, officers and agents set up surveillance in the Tower Hill area of Lawrence and watched the transaction, state police said. Police then converged on Lara, who tried to run away, according to state police. However, Lara was quickly arrested. About 532 grams of fentanyl was secured as evidence, state police said. Lara is being charged with trafficking a Class A narcotic over 200 grams. At his arraignment in Lawrence District Court on Friday morning, Lara was ordered held on $500,000 bail. He is scheduled to return to court on March 20. HR 385: To elect Belongia as Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court judge for a term of 6 years, commencing July 1. Ziglar said she felt blessed, and appreciative to have been nominated. I really thank Sen. Stanley and Delegates Adams, Poindexter and Marshall, Ziglar said. Del. Danny Marshall (R-Danville), Del Charles Poindexter (R-Franklin County), Adams and Stanley comprise the delegation for the 21st district. Their vetting and recommendation was expected to complete this process. The judgeships emerged because of a new opening starting July 1 in General District Court and the retirements of Judges Bob Bushnell (in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court) and Martin F. Clark Jr. (Circuit Court). Ultimately four candidates would be elected. Brinks of Patrick County has served as General District Court judge since July 1, 2016, and now is being elevated. McGarry, an attorney in Martinsville, had been interviewed by the legislators last year when the new District Court position appeared to be available, but that position was delayed in a budget move. Martinsville-Henry County is a great place to work. Thanks to the hard work of our local governments, EDC and other partners and elected officials, we have had a number of exciting economic announcements in recent months. We are seeing growth and expansion across all business sectors meaning great career opportunities are readily available. We are also extremely fortunate to have an abundance of training and educational resources such as NCI, PHCC and others to prepare our local workforce for these career opportunities, Knight said. Martinsville and Henry County continues to grow and we are constantly taking steps to make sure we are providing our businesses with a highly skilled, job-ready workforce. We strongly encourage anyone interested in learning more about career and training opportunities to attend the expo. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. To subscribe, click here. Already a subscriber? Click here. Samsung announced its new Galaxy Buds true wireless earphones earlier this week, and theyre obviously designed for Samsungs own Galaxy phones. (As a neat trick, you can even use the upcoming Galaxy S10 to charge the Galaxy Buds.) In design and price, though, Samsung is clearly attempting to make these little guys an attractive alternative to Apples AirPodsperhaps even for iPhone users. So are they? We managed to get our hands on a pair of Galaxy Buds ahead of the March 7 release date, and I formed a few impressions of how well they work with an iPhone XS Max. In some cases, yes, they actually come out ahead. In others, theyre a reminder that the AirPods are a far greater value than we often give them credit for. Price The Galaxy Buds cost $130 while Apples AirPods cost $160. Theres no contest here. If you merely want to save money, the Galaxy Buds are the clear winners. But that doesnt mean theyre the best value. The case The Galaxy Buds case is both thicker and longer than the AirPods case. Its not a huge difference when you see them side by side on a table, but I definitely notice when I put the bigger Buds case in my pocket. The AirPods case has a definite advantage here. The Galaxy Buds case has a few advantages of its own. The biggest is that you can charge it wirelessly with any Qi-certified charger, and a small outside light informs you that the case is charging. You have to look at your iPhones widgets to see the battery level of the AirPods case, although both have a light inside the case that reports whether the earpieces themselves are charged. Leif Johnson These buds are for you. Well, maybe. Well supposedly see a new AirPods case that supports wireless charging later this year, but for now it remains in the realm of rumor. A wirelessly charging case is a definite plus for the Galaxy Buds, and I like that you can charge them with a USB-C cable if you wish. The AirPods still require Lightning cables. I admire the presentation of the Galaxy Buds in its case, but I find its a lot easier to get to the AirPods when I need them. Forgive the analogy, but removing an AirPod is as easy as pulling a cigarette from its box. Im still struggling to get a good grip on the Galaxy Buds when I remove them from the case, which makes me worry that Ill drop them if Im trying to use them on a bumpy bus ride. Overall, the Galaxy Buds case probably comes out on top here because of the wireless charging, but its a very close call. Installation and pairing Theres no contest here, at least if you plan on using the Galaxy Buds with an iPhone. Apples W1 chip makes it insanely easy to pair AirPods with your iPhone, and then it also pairs them with every other device tied to your Apple ID. You can go into your iPhones Bluetooth menu and customize them further. With an iPhone, at least, Samsungs Galaxy Buds pair like any other device. Youll get easier pairing and more customization on Samsung phones with special apps, but with an iPhone youre basically stuck using them as they come out of the box. Interaction The Galaxy Buds feature a cool tap system that lets you play or pause music after tapping a bud once. You can also tap twice to skip to the next song or tap thrice to go back to the previous one. And yes, you can even hold down a Galaxy bud to talk to Siri (which I mainly use for making calls). The problem is that, on an iPhone at least, you cant customize these taps. You can at least customize the hold down action on a Samsung phone with a special app, but on an iPhone youre largely stuck with what comes out of the box. Leif Johnson You can charge the Galaxy Buds with any wireless charger. With AirPods, you can customize the double-tap actions through the iPhones Bluetooth menu, and I personally keep mine set to Siri on the left and playing/pausing on the right. Unlike the AirPods, unfortunately, the Galaxy Buds dont briefly stop playing music if you take them out of your ears. Those last two features make the AirPods the clear winners when using an iPhone, but this is one case in which the advantage largely comes from using the proper operating system. Just as AirPods dont have all their nifty features on Android phones, we shouldnt expect that the Galaxy Buds would shine to their full potential on an iPhone. Battery life Samsung says the Galaxy Buds deliver around six hours of music streaming on a single charge, which initially looks like a big improvement over the five hours offered by the AirPods. This isnt as big of a deal as it sounds. One of the AirPods biggest advantages is that the case can deliver around 19 extra hours of power while the Galaxy Buds case only gives you seven. You can get three hours of use out of AirPods if you charge them in the case for a mere 15 minutes. To my knowledge, we havent heard a similar statement from Samsung. Leif Johnson The Galaxy Buds case closes with a snap, toobut its not as satisfyng as on the one on the AirPods. For my purposes, the AirPods are the clear winners here. I wear my AirPods every day, but I mainly wear them on my bus and sidewalk commute and while walking through the city. I almost never have them on for six hours straight. And, of course, once I put them away, they immediately start charging again. I can usually go a couple of days without having to worry about charging the case. Speaker quality The Galaxy Buds dont sound awful, but the AirPods offer a substantially better auditory experience while listening to music. Regardless of whether I was listening to Metallica, Eminem, Bach, or the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, the music coming from the Galaxy Buds lacked bass and even sounded tinny on some tracks. Favorite details in specific tracks disappeared into the noise. This remained true even when I choose different equalizer presets through Apple Music. So surprised was I by the quality, in fact, that I tried using the Galaxy Buds on a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and found the experience was much the same. Youll have a much better experience with music that doesnt have a lot of bass, but even so, its worth paying the extra $30 to get some AirPods if you care about good sound. Microphone quality The AirPods also score an easy win with their microphones when making calls. Theyre simply better. You dont have to take my word for it in this case; you can hear the difference in our video above. The difference wasnt as extreme when I used the Galaxy Buds and AirPods indoors, but it was massive outside. Fit and comfort Im one of those people with ears that seem perfectly made for the AirPods. They wont fall out even when I shake my head, and they hang so perfectly that Ill often forget Im wearing them with the music is off. The Galaxy Buds, though, come with interchangeable rubber attachments for both the ear tips and the wingtips. Youll almost certainly find an attachment thats perfect for your ears, and that alone marks an improvement over the AirPods. Leif Johnson I never really noticed until now that Apple didnt put its logo on the AirPods. Samsungs logo is understated, but it does take away from the elegance of the design. As a side benefit, the ear tips in particular allow for a good degree of passive noise cancelling because they essentially seal off your ears. The AirPods famously have nothing like that, although I personally prefer them that way, as I like being aware of cars and other hazards as Im walking the sidewalks of San Francisco. If you typically wear your earbuds at home or at the gym, this isnt as much of an issue. Still, in terms of customizing a good fit and passive noise cancelling, the Galaxy Buds have a clear advantage. Colors At the moment, at least, the Galaxy Buds have the edge. You can get them in an Apple-friendly white, but you can also get them in black. Theres also a yellow option for some countries. On the bright (or dark?) side, were supposedly getting a black case with the updated AirPods later this year. Bottom line Samsungs Galaxy Buds are a reminder of what a great job Apple did with the AirPods. These buds cost only $30 less than the AirPods, but Apples true wireless earbuds deliver much better speaker and audio quality on the iPhone, along with customizable taps, easy pairing, and a case that offers many hours of charging. The Galaxy Buds have clear advantages in fit, passive noise cancellation, a wirelessly charging case, and price, but the limitations are such that I still feel safe in recommending that you skip these and pick up the AirPods with an iPhone instead. Samsung just took the wraps off its latest Galaxy S10 phones, along with an intriguing new folding phone/tablet called the Galaxy Fold. They were all the internet could talk about on Wednesday, and with good reason: theres some legitimately cool stuff there. But none of them present the existential threat to Apple. In fact, they probably wont have a measurable impact on iPhone or iPad sales at all. The greatest threat to continued sales of Apple products is Apple, not the threat of a superior product from Samsung. Must-have features are often overestimated The general thrust of the annual Apple needs to worry about these new Samsung phones punditry goes something like this: These Samsung phones have more features for the same money! Thats not wrong. The $750 Galaxy S10e is priced like the iPhone XR, but has more storage, an OLED display, and dual rear cameras. The S10 and S10+ have more and possibly better cameras in front and back, more storage, and start at prices $100 less than the iPhone XS and XS Max. When else have Samsung flagship phones have had more features or better-sounding specs than the comparably-priced iPhones? Pretty much every year since the Galaxy S4. Whether its wireless charging, waterproofing, OLED displays, stylus support, or NFC, Samsungs top phones have often had a laundry list of features months or years before they show up in an iPhone. Samsung often hammers home that fact in its commercials, and yet iPhone sales havent suffered. Of course there are some people who are willing to jump out of the iPhone ecosystem and they land in Samsungs domain. Thats not new. But in the grand scheme of things, most iPhone users seem to want to replace their old iPhones with new iPhones, and if beating Apple to the punch on a handful of cool-looking features hasnt tipped the scales over the last five years, its not going to start now. Until theres a true competitor to the ubiquitousness of iMessage and FaceTime, Apple probably doesnt have to worry about the fact that some Android phone shipped with a feature before the iPhone. Its too early for a folding phone What about that Galaxy Fold, though? The first real big-name folding phone/tablet! Sure, its undoubtedly slick, it doesnt seem ready for the mass market just yet. The price tag alonestarting at $1,980puts it out of reach for almost everyone. It doesnt appear to solve many of the predicted problems with folding phones, either. In its folded state its too thick and tall to fit well into any but the largest pants pockets (and if youre a back-pocket person, forget it). The display aspect ratios are weird both folded and unfolded, and its not clear how well the broad array of popular apps will work with that. Samsung keeps showing off the same few apps that scale gracefully, but how well will that work with all the apps people use? Google I dont think thats the phone experience people want out of a nearly $2,000 device. Its got weird design quirks like a strange corner-notch in tablet mode, and durability remains a huge question mark. (How would a case for that thing even work? Or screen protectors?) Samsung No way is that getting in your back pocket. The Galaxy Fold is another cool piece of tech that lets Samsung proudly proclaim it was first. But Apples innovation has very rarely been about being first to market. Its about being the first to make a technology reliable, usable, and mass-producible enough to ship on over 100 million phones in a year. Thats the kind of thing that moves markets. And its too early for 5G, too Samsung also announced version of its Galaxy S10 phone for 5G networks. Its huge (6.7 inches!), expensive (no price given, but more expensive than the $1,000 Galaxy S10+), and will ship sometime in the second quarter exclusively on Verizon. That alone puts it out of reach for anyone on the nations other three big carriers. But even for Verizon customers, its going to be some time before 5G is a thing. Verizon has promised to deploy 5G in 30 cities by the end of the year. But it hasnt yet said what those cities are and hasnt given any details about pricing or how broad the coverage will be. The really fast 5G stuff will require lots of small towers spaced closely together, which means that launching 5G in a city is very likely to mean, you get 5G coverage over about ten blocks downtown, and its still 4G LTE everywhere else. Samsung 5G is going to be a big deal one day, but that day is not today. All the major carriers want to crow about their 5G deployments, but the fact is, only a tiny percentage of the countrys population is going to live or work in an area where 5G coverage is reliable until well into 2020. Youre far more likely to be connected to a solid Wi-Fi connectionmitigating the benefits of 5Gthan you are to really see those multi-gigabit speeds on your mobile network. Its good to have a phone that is future-proof, but do you really want to pay big bucks today for a first-generation 5G modem that you wont get to use for another year or two? Apples problem is pricing, not Samsung Apple needs to keep improving the iPhone, of course. From multi-camera setups and time-of-flight 3D sensors to bi-directional wireless charging and fancy software tricks like Googles Night Sight, Apple must absolutely push ever-forward. (Dont get me started about Siri.) But a features arms race with Samsung has never been Apples problem, and its not the reason iPhone sales are plateauing (or even declining). If Apple has a current problem with selling iPhones, its that the prices are too high, no matter what features they have (especially in some overseas countries). And with subsidized pricing going by the wayside, the barrier to entry is just too great. In that regard, a good enough $400 phone poses far more of a threat to Apple than Samsungs similarly-priced flagship phones. The company is transitioning to a model where iPhone upgrades are not terribly important as long as customers keep using their old iPhones. It wants people to be in Apples ecosystem so it can consume a growing array of services, and growing that base is more important that iPhone or iPad or Mac turnover rate. Still, most companies that make their money on consumer services will practically give away hardware, selling it at cost or even a loss. Lose money on the razor, make money on the blades. Apple is light-years away from that sort of pricing scheme, but is worth considering that, over time, the company may want to lower margins on hardware in order to build a bigger base for its services business. Samsung hasnt been able to build a successful ecosystem of its own, no matter how hard it has tried. The company pushes its own apps, store, interface, and features like Bixby, but consumers dont want them. They want Googles servicesMaps, Gmail, Chrome, Google Photos, and the Google Play store. Apples ambitions to grow a consumer services business can only truly be threatened by another manufacturer with a big hardware/software/services ecosystem of its own, and thats not Samsung. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) The entire force of a maritime police station in Cavite province was sacked Friday after its chief was arrested for alleged extortion from fishermen. Authorities arrested Superintendent Armandy Dimabuyo, head of the 402nd Cavite Maritime Police Station in Barangay Julugan, Tanza town as he was caught in the act of accepting P18,000 from the complainant in an entrapment operation, police said. According to a statement from the Philippine National Police (PNP), a number of motorized banca owners complained that Dimabuyo demanded 19,000 to 21,000 a month from the association of fishermen. The PNP Counter-Intelligence Task Force (CITF), which goes after erring and abusive cops, said Dimabuyo will face criminal and administrative cases. Meanwhile, the PNP Maritime Group said the entire station was relieved and replaced by a special operations unit. The CITF urged the public to report and give information on rogue cops by texting or calling these numbers: 0998-970-2286 and 0995-795-2569. South Africa: Mpumalanga puts service delivery at heart of agenda The Mpumalanga provincial government will in the 2019/20 financial year prioritise the provision of basic services as it accelerates efforts to improve the lives of its citizens. Premier Refilwe Mtshweni on Friday delivered her maiden State of the Province Address (SOPA), where she said her government had taken a conscious decision for the provision of water, sanitation, electricity and roads to take precedence over other priorities. The focus was on areas that had been neglected in the past, including but not limited to, Bushbuckridge, she said. The province has, however, over the years made significant inroads in providing the services. Today, over 85% of households in our province have access to water, leaving us with a backlog of just under 15%. We have successfully implemented 23 high impact bulk water supply projects, which have benefitted more than 158 959 households at a cost of more than R239 million, Mtshweni said. The province has in addition completed and delivered 29 water reticulation projects at a cost of R237 million. We expect 38 bulk and 39 reticulation infrastructure from MIG [Municipal Infrastructure Grant] currently under construction and seven implemented from RBIG [Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant] to be soon completed, Mtshweni said. In an effort to fast track the delivery of basic services, the province has completed a series of much needed projects. Among these, Mtshweni said, is the rehabilitation of water infrastructure in 30 villages in Bushbuckridge. The installation of 18 steel tank reservoirs in Mbombela (15) and Bushbuckridge (three) is another key project that has been completed. The government of Mpumalanga also collaborated with Glencoe Mine to build the Phola Water Pipeline in Emalahleni Local Municipality. It has also completed the Siyanqoba Water and Sewer Pipeline, also in Emalahleni. All these achievements happened despite the trying economic turbulences and setbacks that we have encountered. As government, we have always maintained an open door policy for the private sector to hold hands with us and build a strong economy that creates jobs. We will continue to engage our private sector partners with a view of forming strong partnerships and creating an enabling environment that will allow big and small business to flourish, Mtshweni said. Job creation The Premier expressed concern at the provinces rate of youth unemployment, which stands at 43.5%. [This] calls for more innovative and collaborative partnership with the social sector and the private sector to craft a strategy that will be more responsive to skills development, unemployment and economic growth, she said. The provincial unemployment rate increased from 26.6% in 2014 to 32% in 2018. The expanded unemployment rate, which includes discouraged workers, who have stopped looking for work, was 41.1% at the end of 2018 and the total number of unemployed people, according to the expanded definition, was 868 809. Despite the current unemployment challenges, it is imperative to note that from 2014, we have recorded a net job creation of 107 350 between 2014 and 2018. This is an average of 26 837 jobs per annum, achieving almost 40% of the provincial job creation target, said the Premier. Strategic Infrastructure Development Mtshweni said her government would in the upcoming financial year continue to implement the Mpumalanga Vision 2030, which provides a provincial expression of the key priorities, objectives and targets enumerated in the NDP. Through our provincial Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport (DPWRT) that acts as our implementing agent for infrastructural projects, the province has made significant progress towards the provision of an efficient, competitive and responsive economic infrastructure network, she said. During the 2018/19 financial year, the province saw construction of six boarding schools, 47 ordinary schools and two new special schools. Our continuous improvement against the national benchmark shows that there is an indelible link between the construction of educational infrastructure and the subsequent improvement in the quality of education. Most notably, the province undertook the eradication of basic services and sanitation backlog in 225 schools. In this regard, we are proud to report that 402 basic services and sanitation projects in these schools were completed, the Premier said. She said the province would continue to address the backlog of pit latrines sanitation in government schools. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2019-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Local News, Crime, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: February 22 2019 Nassau Detectives Association President John Wighau has called on the community to support his departments efforts. Gang violence has been become a greater problem on Long Island in recent years. Freeport, NY - February 22, 2019 - On Thursday, February 21, John Wighaus, President of the Nassau County Detectives Association, called on the community to support his departments efforts to protect Nassau County from gang violence. Wighaus spoke to an assembly of church leaders from Long Island and New York City at the Greater Second Baptist Churchs Baptist denominational service. In Nassau County we are currently short 45 detectives and last year we had only seven gang detectives for over 300 cases. said Wighaus. To stop gang violence, we need our budgeted allowance of detectives to be more proactive than reactive." Wighaus had previously made media appearances in Long Island and the Greater New York area to call for community support and spread regional awareness of Nassau Countys ongoing public safety crisis. Our county, said Chris Muchow, Vice President of the Nassau County Detectives Association, is in the middle of an opioid epidemic yet we only have 27 detectives in our narcotics unit. Local News, Business & Finance, Press Releases, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: February 22 2019 Event to be Held on February 28 at Suffolk County Community College. Suffolk County, NY - February 22, 2019 - Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone today announced the Suffolk County Department of Labor, Licensing and Consumer Affairs, in conjunction with the U.S. Census Bureau, will be hosting a job fair to hire for the 2020 Census. The job fair will be held on Thursday, February 28 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the Suffolk County Community College Michael J. Grant Campus in the Sagtikos Arts and Science Center. We are in full swing preparing for the 2020 Census, working to ensure we will have the most accurate count possible, said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. I encourage all residents who are currently looking for employment to stop by the job fair next week and learn about the various opportunities the census provides. The U.S. Census Bureau is recruiting thousands of people across the Country to assist with the 2020 Census count. Residents will be able to earn extra income while helping their community. The job fair offers the opportunity for residents to learn about the importance of the Census, available temporary job opportunities, and the option to apply in person. Representatives from the United States Census Bureau will be at the event to assist potential applicants with any questions they may have. Available positions include census takers, recruiting assistants, office staff, and supervisory staff. To be eligible, residents must be at least 18 years old, have a valid Social Security number, and be a U.S. citizen. Pay ranges from $17.00 - $23.00 an hour, with flexible hours, and paid training. Residents can also apply online at 2020census.gov/jobs Last month, County Executive Bellone announced the creation of the Suffolk County Complete Count Committee to ensure that all county residents are accurately counted and represented in the 2020 U.S. Census. The goal of the Countys Complete Count Committee is to maximize participation, increase the response rate and educate residents on how to respond. For the first time, the 2020 U.S. Census will allow residents to respond online, in addition to by phone or mail. Local News, Crime, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: February 22 2019 Raphael Carter of Hempstead, 31, is charged with Weapon Possession and Hindering, officials say. Hempstead, NY - February 22, 2019 - The Homicide Squad has made a second arrest in connection with a shooting that occurred on Monday, February 18, 2019 at 2:47 a.m. in The Homicide Squad has made a second arrest in connection with a shooting that occurred on Monday, February 18, 2019 at 2:47 a.m. in Hempstead According to detectives, police responded to a call for two males that had been shot in front of 100 Terrace Avenue. Both victims were transported to area hospitals with serious injuries. One victim from the above listed incident succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday, February 19 and has been identified as Matthew Gilreath, 28, of Hempstead. The Homicide Squad reports a second arrest was made on Thursday, February 21 in connection with the above incident. Raphael Carter, 31, of Hempstead is charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon 3rd Degree and Hindering Prosecution 1st Degree. Carter will be arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on Thursday, February 21, 2019. James Wilson, 35, of Brooklyn, was previously arrested on Tuesday, February 19 for the above Homicide and was charged with Murder 2nd Degree. He will be arraigned when medically cleared. Detectives request anyone with information regarding this incident to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous. Looking to stay up to date about all of the news stories and local headlines that are important to Long Islanders? We've rounded up the top coverage for all of the important topics from multiple sources around Long Island, so you can be sure you've got the most recent update on the top stories for Long Island. Have an idea for a news story? Email us at news@longisland.com Columnists Press Releases Local News, Crime, Business & Finance, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: February 22 2019 STAR Exemption Advisor and Owner Arie Gal Charged Homeowners for Simply Forwarding Basic STAR Exemption Applications To Nassau County Assessors Office. Mineola, NY - February 22, 2019 - Attorney General Letitia James today announced a settlement with STAR Exemption Advisor, YCA Corp. and its business owner Arie Gal for scamming thousands of new homeowners by charging them excessive fees to enroll in the Basic STAR Exemption Program, which is otherwise free. Taking advantage of New Yorkers by manipulating a tax exemption program created to help homeowners is illegal and immoral, said Attorney General Letitia James. We should be doing all we can to support homeowners, not prey upon them and steal their hard-earned savings. This settlement is a continued reminder that my office will pursue any individual who tries to deceive New Yorkers. Terms of the settlement include $920,000 in damages, the dissolution of STAR Exemption and YCA Corp, the recision of all consumer contracts with STAR Exemption, the cancelation of all outstanding billed/unbilled accounts, the permanent barring from offering any property tax rebate services in the State of New York, and the vacating of all small claims court judgments. The New York State School Tax Relief (STAR) Program provides a partial exemption from school property taxes for primary residences that are owner-occupied with a total household income of $500,000 or less. To receive the exemption, new homeowners must file an application with their local assessors office by January 2 each year in order for the exemption to be applied to the upcoming and subsequent years tax bills. The Attorney Generals office sued following its investigation of Mr. Gal and his business after receiving numerous complaints from homeowners who alleged that his company had substantially overcharged them for filing an otherwise free application that the homeowners had completed themselves. The Supreme Court of Nassau County found Gal and his business liable for fraudulent and deceptive business practices and false advertising, as homeowners were unaware that they were doing business with a private company, since they believed they were sending their Nassau County application forms to the County, not an intermediary. Mr. Gal used an official-sounding name like Star Exemption Advisor to scam thousands of homeowners out of tax savings that rightfully belonged to them. His company sent misleading mailers that looked like official government agency documents, tricking homeowners into signing up with them to apply for the Basic STAR exemption for a fee. The respondents used official-looking envelopes to make homeowners think that the mailers were coming from a government agency. Moreover, the company charged homeowners an exorbitant fee that was 100 percent of the total tax savings for the first year, even though applying for the Basic STAR exemption costs nothing and can be accomplished without professional help. Once homeowners were approved for the exemption, the company sent them invoices. If payment was not remitted immediately or homeowners disputed the charges, Mr. Gal sued them in Small Claims Court. Mr. Gal even sued homeowners for applications the homeowners had personally filed with the Department of Assessment. Upon receiving a Small Claims Court notice from Mr. Gal, most homeowners settled to avoid litigation. Homeowners who went to their scheduled court date were shocked to see so many other homeowners in the same predicament. A recent research study carried out by figures from the University College Cork (UCC) has found that two of every five jobs in Ireland are at high-risk of automation in the future. The report, titled Automation in Irish Towns: Whos Most at Risk, examined the impact of automation across urban areas in Ireland and identified the towns most at risk to automation. The town featured at the top of the list was Longfords Edgeworthstown. Jobs that were labeled as most at risk included office jobs, secretarial and administrative positions, process plant operators, customer service jobs and jobs in agriculture. The jobs listed as being least at risk to being automated are in the areas of teaching and education, the arts, media and culture related positions, health and social care and research and development positions. The report was conducted using 2016 Census data and local Councillor, Paul Ross, said the study was carried out by people who never even visited Edgeworthstown as he dubbed it a pie in the sky study". Cllr Paul Ross said: 'It's a bit of a pie in the sky study from a college down in Cork which I assume was based on the use of CSO figures by its authors who never even visited the town. Edgeworthstown is like any other town with industry and to say it will be hit worst than any other town of its size is questionable to say the least. The town is ideally placed on the north, south, west and east corridor with excellent road and rail facilities and with the extension of the N4 motorway we will be just an hour from Dublin." The Fine Gael local representative was also at pains to stress how Edgeworthstown was already well positioned to cash in on Ireland's improving economic well-being after funding was recently set aside for a new business hub. "It's a flash in the pan if you ask me. You are talking about automated cars coming in which could easily replace taxi drivers and lorry drivers. This, to me, is a slow news day and nothing more than a gimmicky headline." Richard McCaffrey, who is the MD of Dynamic Control Solutions Ltd, responded to the recent story, noting that using automated machines help eliminate the risk of injury claims. "We are machine builders and integrators of automation equipment for the manufacturing industry. We would deal with a lot of the multinationals and would develop, build and support automated equipment on their production lines. "Obviously with automated equipment you remove the need for a repetitive injury claim." Robots can do a job and it takes the element of risk out of doing a job. An operator can do a very repetitive task but in the manufacturing industry where you could have up to four different shift cycles, companies can reduce a lot of their manufacturing costs by utilising one robot instead of four to eight operators." he said to the Longford Leader. On news that Edgeworthstown is most at risk of job losses due to automation, Richard spoke of his surprise that areas such as Galway werent listed higher than Edgeworthstown. "I heard that alright and yes, Edgeworthstown does have a few very large employers, C&D Foods, Paul & Vincent and they would have automated lines in place but I would still have thought the likes of Shannon, Athlone and Galway with large manufacturing employers in place they would be more likely to be heavily affected." he said. These views were shared by the chair of the Edgeworthstown Traders Association and owner of The Sportsman Inn, Gerry Lynn, who described his shock at Edgeworthstown featuring so high on the list. Maybe it is because we have a couple of factories and people think they are mainly automated, I was surprised. Gerry told the Longford Leader. He noted that change is inevitable especially with advances in technology and says people should not be too surprised at the news that automation is likely to increase. He also said that he feels there are bigger issues facing the town that just robots. Towns across Ireland are changing beyond recognition, Gerry said. Whether it happens in Edgeworthstown or in Mullingar, its going to happen...Automation, that is going to happen no matter where it is. Other locals from Edgeworthstown spoke of their surprise at the town been listed as the most at-risk in the country, with many struggling to believe the news. Ceire Duffy of Duffys Supervalu reiterated her companys support to employing people. I was very shocked. said Ceire to the Leader. It is happening already, but I hope it doesnt get as far as Edgeworthstown. One local questioned what would people do if this were true, whilst another said they can't see it happening. If they replace people with robots, what will the people do, said local Karen Fox. Listen to the reaction from locals below. Featured in the vox pop below is Ceire Duffy, Sinead Flood, Julie Kelly, Karen Fox, Lisa Garry and Gerry Lynn. The Renua candidate for the Midlands North West constituency in this years EU parliamentary elections Michael ODowd launched his campaign in Drogheda on Thursday, February 21. Twice Mayor of Drogheda Town and a former member of Fine Gael, he left FG in June 2014 and joined RENUA Ireland at its inception. Commenting on the launch, Michael ODowd said; "The key pillars of my campaign are family, community & country. This includes my passion for advancing the rights and needs of people with disabilities, my strong stance on the principles of no freedom of movement and the impact a hard border will have on Ireland. "In terms of Brexit, it is crucial that the Irish Government presses ahead with plans for Irish unity as the people living along the border will not accept checkpoints, soldiers and armed forces dividing their communities. Michael ODowd went on to say; "For many years I have campaigned actively on these issues and have always tried to give a voice to those who have been kept silent. In this campaign, I want to give a voice to the silent majority who reject the current direction of this Government. "In particular I will challenge the rotten system within the HSE Intellectual disability services that plays to the tune of private service providers rather than directs resources at those that need it most. My campaign will rock that boat and if successful will sink it without trace. "I am also going to raise the continuing genocide of unborn children with Down syndrome across Europe. Governments, Ministers and MEPs have been silent on this for far too long. Being silent is being complicit. "Far better for our Health Minister Simon Harris to concentrate on this rather than wanting to deny people their democratic rights and their voice by banning protests. This will be nothing but a complete waste of valuable Garda time. I want our local Gardai to spend their working days locking up dangerous criminals, not stationed outside our hospitals. Among the other issues which Michael wishes to highlight during the campaign include the decommissioning of Sellafield nuclear power station in England and the proposed nuclear waste facility in Newry, just up the road from Louth. Commenting on this, Michael said; "Over the past few months I have been shocked and disgusted by the UK Governments approach to its nuclear policy and the devastating consequences this will have on Ireland, particularly in my constituency. The UK are ripping out Sellafield, planning a toxic nuclear dump in Newry and are tearing up the Euratom Treaty. The health consequences of these move could be catastrophic for Ireland and someone needs to stand up to the UK, because our Government certainly isnt. Michael has been a highly active campaigner for the rights of people with intellectual disabilities for many years and a board member of Ablevision Ireland, a media production and training company for people with intellectual disabilities. Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty, TD, is today attending the Longford Government Offices 25th Anniversary Celebration at Government Buildings, Ballinalee Road, Longford. The event is to mark the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the official opening of Longford Government Offices. The Minister will be unveiling a plaque in memory of deceased colleagues and friends who worked in the offices. Also read: Hundreds of local councillors in Longford for Association of Irish Local Government conference A number of Local Oireachtas members and County Councillors will be in attendance along with current staff of the Department, former staff who are now working in other Departments as well as retired staff who previously worked in the office. There are currently just over 400 Department staff working in the offices. Staff in these offices administer a number of schemes, including Disability Allowance, Carers Allowance and Carers Benefit, Invalidity Pension, Working Family Payment and a number of other illness and disability-related schemes. The Departments Intreo Centre, which serves the Longford, Rooskey, Tarmonbarry, Strokestown, Mullaghhoran, Gowna, Loughduff and Arva areas is also based here. In addition, Ordnance Survey Ireland and the Road Safety Authoritys Driver Test Centre also have offices in the building. Speaking about the Anniversary celebration, Minister Doherty said, I am delighted to attend the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the official opening of the Government Buildings here in Longford. The staff here in the Departments Centralised Schemes Office are responsible for the central administration of payments that issue to 330,000 people across the country each week, providing an essential support for some of the most vulnerable people in the State people with illnesses or disabilities, those caring for them and families on low incomes. Along with the Departments Intreo Centre, serving all Longford County and other areas, the Departments staff working in this building provide essential assistance and supports to our citizens on both a national and a local scale. I would like to acknowledge the valuable work and dedication the Department staff have shown over the last 25 years and recognise the contribution and the difference the people working in this Office have made. Front page of the Longford Leader from Friday, March 4, 1994 which featured the February 25, 1994 official opening of the Longford Government Offices A woman charged with robbing another woman as she made her way from Longford train station last November, has been granted bail subject to a number of conditions. Frances O'Brien, with addresses at 4 Cluain Ard, Ardnacassa, Longford and 59 Hillview Drive, Knockmay, Portlaoise, came before last Tuesday's District Court sitting. Among the charges included the alleged robbery of a woman at Mollaghan's Car Park, Earl Street, Longford moments after she had vacated a train at Longford Train Station. The alleged incident, which also involved two co-accused who are before the courts, resulted in the victim being dragged along the ground as she desperately tried to keep hold of her handbag and belongings. Among the alleged items stolen included personal items, a diary, two Chinese medication containers, an umbrella, phone charger and travel mug valued at 100. Inspector Padraig Jones said directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions Office (DPP) were still awaited due largely to the fact a number of co accused were allegedly involved with around 20 witness statements also being taken. She (victim) was initially set upon, he said. A number of people tried to grab her handbag but she held onto it very tightly. From the CCTV, it will be alleged the injured party was dragged along the ground as she held onto the bag. The court was further informed of how Ms O'Brien had been charged with robbing a man of almost 50 at 41 St Michael's Road, Longford the following day under Section 14 of the Criminal Justice (Theft & Fraud Offences) Act 2001. On the same date, Ms O'Brien was also charged with a Section 2 assault on a woman at Longford Shopping Centre. Defence solicitor John Quinn said his client had already been in custody for a number of months with last Tuesday's appearance being the sixth time she had come before Longford District Court over the matter. Mr Quinn, in seeking the court's approval to grant Ms O'Brien bail, insisted she would be willing to reside with her mother in Laois. In strengthening that case, Judge Hughes heard claims of how a young child of Ms O'Brien's had allegedly been the victim of a serious crime while the 23-year-old was behind bars. In view of those claims, Judge Hughes put the matter back to allow gardai investigate the allegations further. When it did return shortly before lunch, Inspector Jones admitted there had been some substance to the claims. As a consequence Judge Hughes granted Ms O'Brien bail, subject to a number of conditions. They included directions to reside at 59 Hillview Drive, Knockmay, Portlaoise, to sign on at a garda station three times weekly, to observe a curfew from 10pm to 8am, to have no contact with any co-accused parties involved in the case, to stay out of Longford town except for scheduled court appearances and to have no contact with prosecution witnesses. Ms O'Brien was remanded on bail and is due to appear back before Longford District Court on March 12 2019. The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks! Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics. The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc. The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics. The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates. Access to college recruiters and advisors its harder to line up higher education. Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family. Vote View Results ASSOCIATED PRESSJudge Brian Cogan upper right, gives instructions to jurors in the trial of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in New York in this Feb. 4 courtroom sketch. On Wednesday, El Chapos lawyers raised concerns of potential juror misconduct and said they were reviewing all available options after a juror at the drug lords trial told a news website that several jurors looked at media coverage of the case against a judges orders. Buena Vista, CO (81211) Today Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 43F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 43F. Winds light and variable. Visitors wait to enter the Supreme Court as a winter snow storm hits the nation's capital making roads perilous and closing most Federal offices and all major public school districts, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. The Supreme Court is ruling unanimously that the Constitution's ban on excessive fines applies to the states. The outcome Wednesday could help an Indiana man recover the $40,000 Land Rover police seized when they arrested him for selling about $400 worth of heroin. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi used the backdrop of a border bridge in Laredo on Friday to open her push to block President Trump's national emergency declaration, which Democrats say could re-direct nearly $520 million in military construction funds from Texas. "The president's act is lawless and does violence to our Constitution, and therefore, to our democracy," Pelosi told reporters. "Not only is he disrespecting the legislative branch and the Constitution of the United States, he is dishonoring the office in which he serves." Pelosi was joined by Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat who helped negotiate a bipartisan $1.37 billion border funding deal that averted another partial government shutdown. Trump, however, has sought some $6 billion for new border barriers and has vowed to use emergency powers to circumvent Congress and siphon money from the Pentagon. FOR SUBSCRIBERS: Democrats, led by Rep. Joaquin Castro, move to block Trumps emergency declaration The Democratic-led House plans to vote Tuesday to pass legislation opposing Trump's move, which critics say is unconstitutional. The resolution, brought by San Antonio Democrat Joaquin Castro, would then force a vote within 18 days in the Senate, where some Republicans have signaled their support. "This is a historic power grab, and it will require historic unity by members of Congress, Republican and Democrat, liberal and conservative, to counteract the president's parasitic movement," Castro, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, told reporters in a conference call Friday. Democrats have also argued that there is no "crisis" at the border, noting that border apprehensions have decreased from previous decades. A group of 16 states also filed suit to block the emergency declaration. Trump said later Friday that he would veto any measure from Congress to block his emergency declaration. Cuellar, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, released a list earlier this week of what he said are potential cuts in Texas, including $251 million to replace an Air Force hospital at Fort Bliss. The other threatened projects include construction of an Air Force dormitories, classrooms and dining facilities at Joint Base San Antonio. Cuellar also identified potential cuts to programs at Fort Hood and Red River. "After failing to convince the Government of Mexico or the U.S. Congress to pay for his ineffective wall, the president is trying to bypass constitutional authority with his 'emergency' declaration," Cuellar said. "He is taking duly appropriated funding intended for the military, law enforcement, and many other priority areas in order to follow through on his campaign promise." Pelosi accused Trump of trying to "usurp the power of Congress" to spend money. "Those in the military don't want the money taken out of their defense budget for a purpose that is clearly not a defense purpose," she said. The White House has disputed the House Democrats' list, which includes billions of dollars in unspent funds for military construction projects and programs across the nation. A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the White House is working with the Defense Department to identify sources of wall funding, but that there is no list of planned projects that might be affected "at this time." The official said the criteria will focus on lower priority, "un-awarded projects" without harming "lethality or readiness." Administration officials also have signaled that they will first tap a Treasury Department forfeiture and Pentagon counterdrug funds before they turn to military construction projects. The office of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declined to comment publicly on the potential cuts in Texas, though privately state officials say they have no reason to believe any military bases in the Lone Star State will lose money. Amid legal challenges to Trump's move, it remains unclear what, if any, congressionally-earmarked funds could be vulnerable to the president's edict at some point. Trump and many legal analysts have predicted that the lawsuits could be sent up to the U.S. Supreme Court, a process that could go on beyond the 2020 election. Though some Texas Republicans in Congress have expressed misgivings about the president's use of emergency powers to obtain wall funding, they have sought to place the blame for the impasse on Democrats. "Democrats gave the President no leeway to enact his expert-led border security plan, so I share his frustration with the position we are in now," said Houston Republican Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL. "While I'm hopeful that this option will start to address the problems at our border, I remain wary of the precedent it sets. This is simply the result of Congress not doing its job." Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, speaking recently in San Antonio, suggested that Trump is making use of powers granted to him by Congress, a formulation that some Republicans believe would not violate the separation of powers doctrine in the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress the power of the purse. "I think the president was frustrated that he didn't get everything he wanted from Congress, and he's using existing authorities that Congress has given him to get access to reprogram other funds," Cornyn said. "I regret that he thought that was necessary because we should be working together in a bipartisan basis to try to provide border security." Cornyn and Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell had previously sought to discourage the president from pursuing wall funds using emergency powers, which some say could set a precedent for future Democratic presidents to employ for gun control, climate change or health care. Under pressure, many Republicans in Texas and elsewhere have maintained a silence about Trump's funding maneuver. Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said after Trump's emergency declaration that he would want to see what the president's specific course of action would be, and what legal authorities he would cite. Cruz's Senate office did not respond to multiple requests for comment this week. On Thursday, Sammy Hagar & The Circle roared and rumbled atop the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeos famous rotating stage at the AT&T Center. The legendary Red Rocker and bandmates, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, go-to drummer Jason Bonham and longtime lead guitarist Vic Johnson came to rock hard and party in a style familiar to his fans from his stints in Montrose, Van Halen and Chickenfoot. Throw in some Led Zeppelin and one gets the picture of the rowdy night at Hagars first rodeo gig. The wall of amplifiers and speakers equaled that of an arena rock setting. The Circle play it all spanning Hagars 40-year-plus career. What we do is what were doing right now, Hagar said. Its a little history lesson. Its rock n roll old-school. But he lives in the present, too. The supergroups upcoming studio album is called Space Between, the first single is Trust Fund Baby and the band heads out on its Full Circle Jam Tour in April. I can play from every era, from Montrose to Van Halen to solo, Chickenfoot and some Led Zeppelin, Hagar told Rolling Stone magazine in 2014 when the supergroup formed. The attitude is still the same. RELATED: San Antonio was 'lookin for a good time' at Lady Antebellum concert Essentially, its hard rock tethered to the blues. He kicked things off with the riff-laden and wailing vocals of Trust Fund Baby. Johnson played with the fury and precision of the young Jimmy Page. Anthony mugged for the dozens standing in the dirt close to the stage. Theres Only One Way to Rock is a promise that the bearded, curly-haired Hagar has never broken, rocking out and refusing to grow up. The band powered through loudly. Hagar unleashed the first of stinging guitar solos as he kicked the air with his feet. I was on the beach this morning, Hagar joked. Now, Im here in San Antonio eating tacos . . . and drinking tequila. He treated the fans to later-period Van Halens Poundcake. Bonham powered the song with the same intensity his father was famous for in Led Zeppelin, sloshing the hi-hat and walloping the snare and tom-toms.. It was the perfect segue into a cover of Zeppelins early hit Good Times Bad Times. Hagar singled out Bonham, who received a deafening applause. Im happy to be here, said Hagar, joking, They told me this is a family affair. Im OK with that. Im a grandpa now. I Cant Drive 55 remains unabashedly defiant and joyful. Many screamed along to the lyrics of his signature solo hit. RELATED: San Antonio will be Prince Royce's 'first rodeo' Montroses Rock Candy from the early 1970s was part of Hagars visceral history lesson. Its hedonism is as connected to todays rap and hip-hop as it is disconnected from anything approaching #metoo. Are we having any fun yet? he asked the cheering crowd. This is my first rodeo. Finish What Ya Started took the party back to 1988 with its catchy vocal hook and syncopated electric guitar. Nostalgia fueled the screams during the sequenced piano intro for Right Now. The screams got a little louder when Hagar donned a Spurs cap. A large Texas flag made an appearance during Why Cant This Be Love. The fun meter, however, may have spiked with The Circles crowd-pleasing cover of Led Zeppelins Rock and Roll. Bonhams drumming and Johnsons guitar playing were note-perfect. He followed it with his own tribute to heavy metal noise with Heavy Metal. Fittingly, Hagar let it rip with a solo on his red Gibson Explorer electric guitar and with the howls afterward. Hagar turned Mas Tequila into a late-night, fist-pumping sing-along. They told me we have three minutes, said Hagar at the end of the night, wearing a black cowboy hat before launching into a truncated Cabo Wabo. It was obvious he wasnt ready to quit. Ill do this every year. Im throwing my hat into the ring. Hector Saldana is the curator of the Texas Music Collection at The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University. A man was fatally shot during an argument with three men Thursday afternoon on the West Side. San Antonio Police said the man was shot at about 4:15 p.m. in the 200 block of Monclava Alley, police said. SAPD spokeswoman Jennifer Rodriguez said the three men involved in the argument, one of them believed to be the shooter, ran from the scene. RELATED: S.A. police looking for person of interest in aggravated assault They were each taken into custody by police around where the shooting occurred by 5 p.m., police said. Rodriguez said the three men went to a nearby store and then approached the man in the alley. The shooter pulled out a gun and shot the victim once in the upper torso, investigators said. A weapon has not been recovered, police said First responders rushed the man to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said. The victim was in his 50s, Rodriguez said. Investigators are now examining the scene and working to determine who shot the victim. Rodriguez said all three men were acquainted with the victim and frequented the area. TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A judge has dismissed criminal charges against a Kansas water park owner and the designer of a 17-story slide on which a 10-year-old boy was decapitated in 2016. The Kansas City Star reports that Wyandotte County Judge Robert Burns found Friday that state prosecutors showed grand jurors inadmissible evidence in dismissing second-degree murder charges against Schlitterbahn owner Jeff Henry and designer John Schooley. The judge also dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against operations manager Tyler Miles. A former Texas State University student now behind bars could be home as early as next week after a federal judge in San Antonio ordered him released to his parents over the vigorous objections of FBI agents who testified he could be the countrys next mass shooter or bomber. Benjamin Bogard of New Braunfels created disturbing videos in which he embraced white supremacy, said he wanted to kill minorities and discussed obtaining a chemical substance to make a bomb, according to testimony before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Bemporad on Thursday. FBI agents contend Bogard could have engaged in mass violence had they not stepped in and arrested him earlier this month on a child pornography charge over images that were found on his cell phone. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox But the 20-year-old told FBI agents he never intended to follow through with the mass violence he discussed on his social media posts and that they were simply part of an online fantasy to gain attention and likes from followers. Federal authorities arent buying that. He said he wanted the attention, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Thompson told the judge. Thats why people go shoot up churches, to get attention. Bogard dropped out of the university on the first day of classes for the fall 2018 session and took action that could have been a forerunner for violence, Thompson said, buying a van and shotgun. At Thursdays bond hearing, Bemporad also heard from Bogards father, who said he had no idea what his son was doing. Hes a good kid, a good son, has always done well in school, testified Robbie Bogard, an Air Force veteran who now works as a civilian for the military. We always knew there was a secretive side to him, the elder Bogard told the judge. We didnt know all that that involved. Robbie Bogard said he and his wife would see to it that their son gets counseling and mental health treatment. In the end, Bemporad denied the request from the FBI and federal prosecutors to keep Bogard locked up, instead granting him unsecured bail of $75,000. The judge did include numerous restrictions including no Internet access, mental health treatment, electronic monitoring, among other conditions that will reasonably assure the safety of the community. RELATED: Child's cry for help to teacher leads to San Antonio man's sex crime arrest The judge then stayed his order until Monday as preparations are made at Bogards parents home for his release. Prosecutors could file an appeal to block his release. Bogard came to the attention of the FBI in early November after a Crime Stoppers tipster in Albany, New York, reported posts on an Instagram account and other social media from someone who appeared to be a member of the neo-Nazi group, Atomwaffen Division, an FBI counterterrorism agent testified. In one post on the Instagram account, the user is seen firing a shotgun in a wooded area with a mask of a skull covering half his face. Agents traced the Instagram account to Bogard and he agreed to turn over his cell phone, an FBI agent testified, and after analyzing its contents, agents found a trove of other videos, online chats with others and postings on other social media accounts that made the agents even more concerned. Bogards lawyer, Michael Morris, downplayed the posts and videos, noting that Bogard allegedly made nonsensical statements allegiance to Hitler while at the same time praising Allah and never followed through on any of the violent rhetoric. Morris also pointed out that Bogard has no criminal record and that none of the postings or acts other than the child porn images found in his phone was a crime. To find out more about the messages and homemade videos Bogard posted online and how he was discovered, go to expressnews.com Guillermo Contreras covers federal courts in San Antonio and international legal issues. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | gcontreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland Criminal Case Dispositions: 242nd District Court Dates: 01-01-2019 to 01-31-2019 Torey Lamont Turner: Man delivery of a controlled substance, penalty group 1, at least 1 gram, less than 4 grams convicted confinement 12 years Texas Department of Corrections Elizabeth Praise Belasco: Unauthorized use of a vehicle convicted confinement 2 years state jail, CSCD and Community Control 4 years; Credit card or debit card abuse convicted confinement 2 years state jail, CSCD and community control 4 years Jerame Paul Johnson: Driving while intoxicated, third or more offense convicted confinement 2 years Texas Department of Corrections Alexandro Apodaca: Unlawful restraint less than 17 years of age convicted confinement 18 months state jail, CSCD and community control 5 years Katarina Kanani Farias: Theft of less than $2,500, two or more previous conviction convicted confinement 6 months state jail Robert Earl Brooks, Jr.: Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon dismissed case refiled as a misdemeanor Louis Fred Gonzales: Theft of property at least $2,500, less than $30,000 convicted, confinement 4 years Texas Department of Corrections; Forgery of a financial instrument convicted confinement 12 months state jail; theft of property at least $2,500, less than $30,000 convicted confinement 4 years Texas Department of Corrections Corina Sue Gutierrez: Credit card or debit card abuse deferred CSCD and Community Control - 3 years 64th District Court Dates: 01-01-2019 to 01-31-2019 Destiny Deluna: Possession of a controlled substance with intent to delivery, penalty group 1, at least 4 grams, less than 200 grams deferred CSCD and community control 8 years Robert Sanchez Gonzales, II: Unauthorized use of a vehicle dismissed Rebecca Anita Soto: Unauthorized use of a vehicle convicted confinement 18 months Texas Department of Corrections, CSCD and Community Control 3 years; Prohibited substance in a correctional facility alcohol/drug/phone convicted confinement 4 years, Texas Youth Council, CSCD and community control, 4 years; Obstruction or Retaliation dismissed Enrique Gonzales, Jr.: Possession of a controlled substance with intent to delivery, penalty group 1, at least 4 grams, less than 200 grams convicted confinement 8 years, Texas Department of Corrections Rogelio Villalon: Possession of marijuana, more than 4 ounces, at least 5 pounds convicted confinement 6 months state jail A California couple could face life in prison after pleading guilty to starving, abusing and torturing their 12 oldest children over the course of several years, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office said Friday. David and Louise Turpin each entered guilty pleas on 14 felony counts, included one count of torture. Officials say the couple repeatedly beat, choked and tied up their children with ropes and chains in what Southern California authorities later dubbed a "House of Horrors." As part of their plea agreement, they each face sentences ranging from 25 years to life, according to the district attorney's office. The Turpins were arrested in January 2018 after one of their 13 children - a 17-year-old girl - escaped from the family's home by climbing out a window, then called 911. In addition to the torture charge, the parents also pleaded guilty to four counts of false imprisonment, six counts of cruelty to an adult dependent and three counts of willful child cruelty, authorities said. Inside the home, the children were not allowed to bathe more than once per year and were punished for washing their hands above their wrists, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said last year. Riverside County Sheriff's Detective Thomas Salisbury testified that the couple's 22-year-old son, who at one point managed to untie himself, "had been restrained with chains and ropes off and on for 6 years," according to the Los Angeles Times. Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy Manuel Campos testified that the siblings called their parents "Mother" and "Father" to resemble "the Bible days," the Times reported. The 17-year-old told investigators that David Turpin had tried to sexually abuse her. When she was 12, her father pulled her pants down and placed her on his lap. He also tried to kiss her on the mouth several times, she told investigators. "Do you want to die?" Louise Turpin asked the girl as she choked her, according to Campos' testimony. "Yes, you do. You want to die. You want to die and go to hell," the mother told her daughter, Campos said, recounting the teenager's statements. The teenager said that her mother choked her after she was caught watching a Justin Bieber video on a cellphone, the Press-Enterprise reported. Defense attorneys for David Turpin argued in court last year that he was gone during much of the abuse. The judge agreed, but he said that although Louise Turpin inflicted most of the injuries, David Turpin did nothing to stop her. A charge pertaining to the youngest of the couple's 13 children was dropped over a lack of evidence that the toddler had been physically abused, according to media reports following their arrest. Three of the siblings were chained to their beds when police arrived at the family's house in Perris in January 2018. The Turpins were unchaining two of them, an 11-year-old and a 14-year-old, as police stood at the door, Hestrin, the district attorney, told reporters. Another sibling was still chained to a bed when police entered the home. Police at the time said the children were not allowed to have toys, and that the parents would torment the children by buying them food such as apples and pumpkin pies - without permitting them to eat it. All the siblings were severely malnourished and had never been to a doctor or dentist. "About the only thing the children were allowed to do in their rooms, or chained up, was to write in journals," Hestrin said. "We now have recovered those journals, hundreds of them." Attorneys for the couple did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment on the plea agreement and sentencing, which will take place April 19. "We needed to determine whether proceeding to trial was worth having the victims testify in this case that has received worldwide media attention," Hestrin said Friday in a statement. "We decided that the victims have endured enough torture and abuse. I personally met with the victims and, rest assured, they all are relieved to know this case has been resolved. The defendants in this case essentially accepted the maximum punishment under current California law." Scandinavians are taking a hard look at their institutions as allegations of systematic money laundering rock the entire region. With Swedbank becoming the latest lender to get dragged into a dirty money scandal that's already engulfed Danske Bank, those at the top of Sweden's financial establishment are speaking out. Hans Lindblad, the director general of the Swedish National Debt Office, says the financial industry now risks losing the trust of the people. He says the consequences of that would be dire for the whole economy. Misgivings about Nordic banks have already wiped billions of dollars off their market values, with lenders in the region dragging down the entire European banking sector on Thursday. As the investigations pile up, a picture is emerging of a laundering pipeline that allowed crooks in the former Soviet Union to channel their money into the West with the help of Nordic and Baltic banks. The amounts involved are vast, and point to what may be the biggest dirty money scandal ever. "I have to say that the serial greed that over and over again pops up in the form of suspicion of dishonest and greedy behavior has to be stopped," Lindblad said in an interview in Stockholm. His office is responsible for bank resolution and restructuring in Sweden and would have to handle the fallout if a lender fails. Stefan Ingves, the governor of Sweden's Riksbank, hinted that banks operating in the Baltic region ought to have been aware that their business was at risk. "Given the history in the Baltic countries and their geographic location, one has to be aware that you're not too far away from some bad guys," he said in an interview with Swedish newswire TT on Friday. Lindblad warns that maintaining trust in the financial industry is crucial if the economy is to function well. "Banks are in the confidence business and only the suspicion of being involved in money laundering damages confidence in the banks," he said. "The stability of the banking sector may weaken if confidence in them is damaged." Swedbank, which until this week had vehemently rejected any suggestion that it was involved in the laundering scandal surrounding Danske, acknowledged on Wednesday that it also handled suspicious transactions. Those have been reported to the police, it said. The comments followed a report by SVT, the main Swedish broadcaster, which alleged that Swedbank was behind about 40 billion kronor ($4.3 billion) in illicit flows linked to Danske. Bill Browder, an investor who's made a career of chasing money launderers, said he also has evidence linking Swedbank to the Danske laundering case, and warned that the figures reported by SVT are likely to be "just the beginning." Browder, who was instrumental in bringing lawsuits against Danske, says he's planning to file a criminal complaint against Swedbank. Investors responded to the explosion of bad news by dumping Swedbank's shares. It sank 14 percent the day the allegations were made public, and almost 10 percent the following day, after Chief Executive Officer Birgitte Bonnesen failed to reassure markets during a conference call with analysts. According to Browder, he has evidence suggesting that "a good part of the Nordic banking system has been used by Russian money launderers, and neither the regulators nor the banks did anything about it for many years." Others seem to agree, and the European Banking Authority is now conducting a formal investigation into the financial supervisors in Denmark and Estonia. For Lindblad, the concern now is that the potential loss of trust in the financial system could become systemic. "Banks are in the confidence business and if they lose the market's confidence, then they lose their source of financing and that could put them in a difficult situation," he said. "This isn't just any business." He said those running the institutions suspected of wrongdoing bear a great deal of responsibility, given the fallout of their decisions. "It's a handful of people who are in the bank management teams and their decisions can affect the economy of a nation and sometimes even of a whole continent," he said. At Danske Bank, the board was quick to purge its upper ranks after conducting an internal review that revealed the vast scope of the scandal. Much of about $230 billion that flowed through a tiny branch in Estonia between 2007 and 2015 was probably suspicious in origin, the bank said. It got rid of its CEO and chairman, as well as several other managers associated with the scandal. At Swedbank, Swedish media have speculated as to whether Bonnesen can stay. For now, she says she doesn't understand the question. Lindblad says that the question of "how to stop this kind of behavior is for other authorities to deal with. But agencies tasked with ensuring stability must jointly address this." - - - Bloomberg's Frances Schwartzkopff and Hanna Hoikkala contributed. WASHINGTON - A new poll showing a potential Senate candidate in strong position to challenge an incumbent in a key state usually draws keen interest from smart strategists and analysts. But Wednesday's release of the latest Iowa Poll drew smirks and outright derision from some of the smartest people in politics, mostly because it tested out the popularity of the state's former Democratic governor, Tom Vilsack. Not surprisingly Vilsack, by a more than 2-to-1 margin, remains popular with Iowans despite last running for office in 2002, and he has not yet ruled out a race against Sen. Joni Ernst, R, next year. Which is what prompted the groans across the Internet. "Ted Strickland, Evan Bayh, Phil Bredesen," tweeted Nathan Gonzales, an independent political analyst who is editor of Inside Elections, naming three Democrats who recently lost Senate races. "But I'm sure Democrats will tell me this time will be different." Those three are part of trend in which Senate Democrats have repeatedly fallen back on the political version of an old comfortable shoe. They are usually former governors or former senators - sometimes both - who last ran for office more than a decade ago. They all started off in seemingly strong position, some in states that had drifted far away from Democrats in recent years. But one by one, over the course of the modern campaign of instant information moving across the Internet, all of them lost - most by double-digit margins. That's why, as they head into 2020, some Democrats are searching for candidates with a fresh face and interesting backgrounds that are short on legislative voting records. In the 2018 midterms House Democrats had a smashing success with dozens of first-time candidates coming from the military, intelligence agencies and prosecutor offices. Those Democrats provided a large chunk of the pickups that led to a 40-seat gain and swept the party into the House majority. Senate Democrats still defend almost all of the political veterans they recruited for races they lost, particularly someone like Bredesen, the former Tennessee governor. Despite losing by 11 percentage points, Bredesen was popular enough that he forced Republicans to spend heavily to elect Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R, including $4 million from outside GOP groups in the final week of the race. And some say it's more about the 2020 Senate map that is forcing Democrats to think creatively, given the lack of a political bench in states like North Carolina. The prototype might be Mark Kelly, 55, the former space shuttle pilot and naval aviator who is married to former representative Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. For the past eight years Kelly helped lead a gun-control group, before launching a Senate bid from Arizona earlier this month. He raised more than $1 million on the first day of his campaign. Other potential candidates include Jamie Harrison, the former state Democratic Party chairman who is trying to turn South Carolina into the first state ever with two black senators at the same time. And if Vilsack does not jump into the Iowa race, many strategists will turn to the two Democrats who just won previously-held GOP seats, Reps. Cindy Axne and Abby Finkenauer. Democrats are considering some do-over candidates, but those are newcomers who ran very strong races last year only to fall just short. Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost the Georgian gubernatorial race, has met with party officials in Washington about a Senate bid in 2020 - a courtship that also included Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., selecting her to deliver the Democratic response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address earlier this month. In early February, Schumer met with Beto O'Rourke, who is considering a challenge to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, next year and foregoing a possible presidential bid, in the wake of his 2018 campaign that just missed ousting Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Three other possible contenders are Democrats who narrowly lost House races last year: Amy McGrath, the first female Marine to fly combat missions, considering a race against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; and, if other big names pass on races in their states, J.D. Schloten of Iowa and MJ Hegar of Texas. Republicans are sure to label these candidates as retreads, losers grasping for a win, but each demonstrated an ability to raise money, generate excitement from voters and outperform expectations in difficult political terrain. Gonzales believes that is a better foundation for a modern Senate campaign than pulling someone like Vilsack, 68, out of retirement. "It's natural to go to the people who have won there before, particularly if it's a difficult state," he said in a follow-up interview. "Recovering politicians bring voting records to defend and a sense that their time has past, at a time when voters are skeptical of politicians and looking for fresh faces." Senate Republicans learned this lesson heading into 2014 when after four straight losing election cycles, they recruited a crop of relative newcomers. They picked up nine Democratic seats, claiming the majority, with just one former governor and only one GOP candidate who had served more than two terms in the House. Laws and disorder: Today's Congress is dominated by party leaders and functions as a junior partner Democrats, in reviewing recent elections, privately contend that authenticity is the most important trait for victory, pointing to three incumbents who won in what should have been very tough races last year: Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Jon Tester of Montana. When it comes to flipping seats, however, Democrats have largely done so with relative newcomers. In the last six years, they have won five seats from GOP hands: Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Doug Jones, D-Ala., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. Of those five, Hassan is the only previous statewide candidate, having won two terms as governor immediately before wining the 2016 Senate race. Duckworth was an Army helicopter pilot who lost both her legs in combat in Iraq. Jones was a former U.S. attorney who prosecuted members of the Ku Klux Klan for a previously unsolved 1963 church bombing. Voters, more and more, are turning away from the comfortable old shoe and want something fresh. "When you take a step back, it's tough not to see a trend," Gonzales said. Vatican City Cloistered inside the Vatican on Thursday, Roman Catholic Church leaders heard searing prerecorded video testimonials from abuse survivors, including one made pregnant three times by a priest who started abusing her at age 15, beat her and forced her to have abortions. "Victims need to be believed," another person pleaded by video, urging bishops and other church leaders to work with civil authorities to hold sexually deviant clerics accountable. Outside the Vatican walls, clusters of people who have suffered abuse in the Catholic Church hovered near news conferences, gave hours' worth of interviews, observed vigils and planned a Saturday march. Many expressed exasperation and little optimism that an extraordinary four-day meeting of bishops and other church leaders convened by Pope Francis to grapple with clerical child sexual abuse would lead to even basic changes. "Same old, same old," said Tim Law, president of a survivor's support group, Ending Clergy Abuse. "For six years of his papacy he has said, 'zero tolerance, zero tolerance,' " he added. "He's backed down." The scenes punctuated the enormous pressures on the pope to forcefully address priestly sexual abuse, a scourge that has for decades devastated some areas of his vast church while in others it has been utterly ignored and denied. The meeting was potentially a consequential moment for this papacy and the most visible step taken by the Vatican to impress upon bishops and other church leaders some of them still skeptical the enormity of a crisis that has shaken the faithful. Expectations for action were amplified by victims and victim advocates, who converged in Rome to apply pressure from outside the meeting which took place in a Holy See conference hall. Priest sex abuse scandals have repeatedly emerged around the world even decades after the problem first came to light in the United States, where the systemic shuffling of predatory priests from parish to parish spread abuse like a virus. A lack of forceful action by the Vatican has disheartened and disgusted many victims and their advocates, who are demanding a policy of zero tolerance and dismissal from the clerical state for abusive priests and the bishops who protect them. The issue has drastically devalued the moral authority that is the currency of the clergy and Pope Francis, who is often a lonely voice in support of migrants and the poor. As the abuse crisis has festered, critics have asked why anyone should listen to a moral leader unable, or unwilling, to clean up his own house. On Thursday, addressing the 190 Catholic Church leaders who had gathered from around the world, the pope sought to reassure his flock that "we hear the cry of the little ones asking for justice." Still, despite his acknowledgment that people "expect from us not simple and obvious condemnations, but concrete and effective measures," he offered remedies that disappointed to many victims. Instead, Francis who has said he intended the meeting to be a "catechesis," educating bishops and religious leaders so they could undergo a conversion of spirit on the severity of the crisis provided those assembled with 21 "reflection points." "They are a road map for our discussion," Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the Vatican's leading sex crimes investigator, said at a news conference. They included weighing deciding that priests and bishops found guilty of abuse should be dismissed from public ministry, but fell short of what most advocates consider zero tolerance the automatic dismissal from the clerical state. "You have to take it on a case-by-case basis," Scicluna said, promising no blanket remedies. Advocates for other victims of abuse and secrecy in the church, including for children of priests and for nuns raped by clerics, also came to Rome to meet with top officials and take advantage of the intense media interest. The meeting itself included the presidents of many of the world's bishops' conferences, men's and women's religious orders and powerful cardinals from Francis' committee of top advisers. The pope, who had initially inspired hopes for action after his election in 2013, placed himself in the ranks of abuse skeptics early last year, when he accused victims of slandering bishops during a trip to Chile. The outcry from victims was fast and furious. Criticism reached a fever pitch last summer, when the Pennsylvania attorney general released a scathing grand jury report and prelates in Francis' own hierarchy also accused him of covering up for abusers. Since last year, Francis has undergone something of a conversion on the issue, admitting errors, asking forgiveness and toughening his stance toward those who covered up the crimes. He has pushed out bishops in Chile and last week defrocked American former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. Francis called for the four-day meeting at the Vatican in September, with the apparent aim of relieving some pressure, but it also increased expectations. Some bishops have long denied that clerical sex abuse was a problem, or suggested that it existed only in the Anglo-Saxon world, or was a result of homosexuality in the church, a contention discredited by most scientific studies. HANOI, Vietnam - When President Donald Trump meets Kim Jong Un next week, North Korea's sprawling Yongbyon Nuclear Research Center will be squarely in the crosshairs. A credible offer to close the complex down has become an important benchmark for the summit's success, diplomats, officials and experts say. But it's far from clear that target can be achieved. "It's a big, big deal," said Siegfried Hecker, a leading nuclear scientist at Stanford who has visited the complex four times. "I view Yongbyon as the heart of their nuclear program." Yongbyon is home to North Korea's only three nuclear reactors and is its only source of plutonium for potential nuclear weapons. It is also believed to be the only source of tritium to build powerful thermonuclear devices. Finally, it is one site - but not the only one - at which North Korea produces highly enriched uranium capable of use in warheads, experts say. Closing Yongbyon would do nothing to reduce North Korea's current arsenal of nuclear bombs and missiles. And it remains unclear whether Kim Jong Un is prepared to surrender that arsenal. But a complete and verifiable closure of Yongbyon would significantly slow down the pace at which North Korea could build new nuclear weapons, and would be a concrete step in the direction of turning the broad principles expressed at last year's Singapore summit into measurable progress, experts and diplomats say. Expectations were raised when Kim Jong Un told his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in last September he is prepared to permanently close Yongbyon if the United States takes "corresponding measures." Last month, U.S. envoy Stephen Biegun said Kim had gone significantly further, pledging to dismantle and destroy all of North Korea's plutonium and uranium-enrichment facilities at "a complex of sites" extending beyond Yongbyon, if the United States reciprocates with measures of its own. The next question is whether the two sides can agree on those "corresponding measures." It's clear that North Korea wants sanctions relief. Yet the United States is reluctant to ease the pressure significantly. It is far from clear they will bridge that gap in Hanoi next week. Even if they do, the devil is in the details, says Melissa Hanham at the One Earth Future Foundation. "During the summit the thing that will make me most perk my ears is which parts of Yongbyon may or may not be frozen, or dismantled or suspended," she said. "I am curious about which facilities and whether they are irreversibly dismantled." The reason? We've been down this road twice before. Yongbyon, a complex of 390 buildings stretching over 3.4 square miles, is home to 10 nuclear research institutes, and three reactors:, the country's main nuclear reactor that was opened in 1986 and is the source of its plutonium for nuclear weapons, a less important research reactor built by the Soviet Union, and a new experimental Light Water Reactor that is still thought to be under final construction. The main reactor is old and was shut down in the 1990s under an agreement with the United States, only to be started up again in 2003 after the breakdown of the deal. In 2007, another deal was reached to shut down the reactor, and the cooling tower was demolished the following year. But when that deal fell apart, North Korea simply pumped in river water to cool the reactor and fired it up again. Twice bitten, three times shy. This time around the main reactor would have to be disabled quickly and irreversibly to impress anyone on the U.S. side or among its allies. In 2010, Hecker was also shown into a building at Yongbyon containing around 2,000 centrifuges to produce highly enriched uranium for weapons. Since his visit, satellite imagery shows the floor space of that building has doubled. Closing it down and surrendering or destroying the centrifuges would be an essential element of any deal. The problem is that Yongbyon is not the only place where North Korea is thought to enrich uranium to make nuclear weapons. Jeffrey Lewis, a scholar at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, identified a covert facility at Kangson, just outside Pyongyang, that has became operational in the 2000s, and says there is probably at least one more. It remains unclear whether Biegun is right to suggest that North Korea is prepared to close down all its uranium enrichment facilities. North Korea is thought to have anywhere between 20 and 60 nuclear warheads, and the current capability to produce perhaps half a dozen more every year, experts say. North Korea has never given figures on its arsenal. Thae Yong Ho, a former North Korean diplomat who defected in 2016, says the process of dismantling and inspecting Yongbyon could also take years, delaying real progress on real denuclearization. Thae told reporters that Kim Jong Un has no intention of surrendering his nuclear weapons but will extract what benefits he can by giving away things he no longer really needs. "North Korea has already produced enough material to churn out nuclear weapons," he said, adding in reference to Yongbyon: "North Korea's intention is to repaint their broken-down car and sell it to the United States." On Jan. 1, 2018, Kim Jong Un told his defense industry to "mass-produce nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles." Lewis says satellite evidence suggests that process has indeed been happening, in parallel with negotiations. Satellite images and intelligence reports suggest new liquid-fueled inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are being built at a complex at Sanumdong, on the outskirts of Pyongyang. A plant producing solid-fueled, shorter-range missiles has been expanded near the city of Hamhung, while a missile base near the Chinese border also appears to be under expansion to accommodate ICBMs, Lewis said. "Completing their deterrent and increasing their leverage - exactly what they said they'd do and what they should do," he said. "Not that I want them to do bad things, but why would they give these things up?" Nevertheless, closing Yongbyon - and allowing in international inspectors for a credible program of meaningful dismantlement - would be a big step forwards, and add significantly to the outside world's knowledge of North Korea's nuclear program, most experts say. "So when people ask me, they say 'This guy is never going to give up his nuclear weapons, he is never going to give them up," Hecker said. "I say: 'Is he going to give them up? I don't know - but it's time to find out." - - - The Washington Post's Min Joo Kim in Seoul contributed to this report. - Ever since he met Kim Jong Un in Singapore last year, President Donald Trump has shown a tendency the North Korean leader is sure to try and exploit: making unexpected concessions in one-on-one meetings. There was the December phone call with Turkey's president, when Trump surprised his own aides -- and prompted Defense Secretary Jim Mattis's resignation -- by suddenly agreeing to pull troops out of Syria. And last year's joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, when Trump all but dismissed his own intelligence community's findings on Russian hacking of the 2016 election. Heading into next week's summit with Kim in Hanoi, the president's top advisers will seek to ensure no last-minute giveaways happen this time around. But for North Korea, the president's habit of making concessions on the fly presents an opportunity that's likely to lead negotiators from Pyongyang to disregard the president's staff to focus on what he might offer. "They do look to get President Trump in a room and see what they might get out of him," said Christopher Hill, the North Korea negotiator under President George W. Bush. "If Singapore is any indication, the president seeks to want to negotiate everything himself." When the two leaders met last June in Singapore, Trump accepted a vaguely worded statement about "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." In exchange, he had already given Kim a priceless public relations victory just by agreeing to talks. Trump also extended a suspension of major joint military exercises with South Korea, even adopting North Korea's terminology on those drills -- calling them "war games" and "provocative." Kim and his team seem to be betting on a repeat. A senior Trump administration official, who asked not to be identified discussing internal deliberations, said North Korean officials have so far given little away in their meetings with the top U.S. envoy for the talks, Stephen Biegun. The official said the fear is that Kim will make an offer to Trump that sounds good at the moment, inspiring the president to sacrifice something in return that goes too far. Those fears have largely focused on the fate of about 30,000 U.S troops stationed in South Korea. Kim could seek to exploit Trump's own professed distaste for overseas deployments to extract a commitment to withdraw some or all of them as part of a deal to secure a peace agreement. The U.S. and South Korea recently concluded weeks of bruising negotiations that got President Moon Jae-in's government to increase its payments for hosting American troops, but Trump and his team have indicated they want Seoul to do more. "I could see Kim saying, 'South Korea is reluctant to pay for the troops so why don't you withdraw them?"' said David Maxwell, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former special forces colonel in South Korea. "It's most important we disabuse him of that notion that he can make a deal without the working-level foundation." Observers such as Maxwell point to a range of evidence to suggest this is North Korea's strategy. They cite a refusal to meet with Biegun for months after he was named the lead U.S. negotiator in August 2018. Biegun got his first formal meetings in January, and complex talks on an agreement from the summit got underway only recently, just a few weeks before Trump and Kim meet. And while the window to achieve anything of substance is short, that didn't stop the president from agreeing to a second summit where pressure will be high to move beyond the vague agreements from Singapore. To be sure, ever since his early real estate days, the president has believed he's the best negotiator in any room, and the intimacy of a one-on-one chat is often where he thinks he can get the best deal. Trump has said he and Kim "fell in love" last year and that North Korea has enormous economic potential under Kim. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said Thursday in an interview with NBC's "Today" show that the president and his team remain focused on the end goal of "complete denuclearization" of North Korea and that the main U.S. leverage, UN-backed sanctions, will remain in place until then. North Korea has shown a preference for Trump, with Pompeo facing a fraught trip to Pyongyang in July where North Korea issued a harsh statement after he left and then it canceled a meeting with him planned for November at the last minute. In December, North Korea's official media accused the State Department of slander "out of sheer malice" and praised Trump for availing "himself of every possible occasion to state his willingness to improve DPRK-U.S. relations. " "I don't want to get into the negotiations, what we might give up, what they might give up," Pompeo said. But when it comes to sanctions, "we won't release that pressure until such time as we're confident that we've substantially reduced that risk," he added. More generally, the administration defends Trump's negotiating style, underscoring that decades of negotiations at lower levels by previous Republican and Democratic administrations failed to produce lasting agreements. "This is a top-down approach with the chairman and the president meeting directly and that allows for a breadth of action, frankly, that if successful could fundamentally transform relations between our two countries," State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said this week. Supporters of the president's diplomacy argue that by agreeing to a second summit, Kim will also be under pressure from Pyongyang's elite to show that negotiating with Trump has been worthwhile, even if sanctions remain. They also argue that the delay in meeting Biegun may have nothing to do with the U.S. and be part of some internal power play within North Korea. "I'm guardedly optimistic on the summit," said Joseph DeTrani, former head of the National Nonproliferation Center, a part of the U.S. intelligence community. "There's so much that could be put on the table that would include true substance." In a call with reporters on Thursday, two senior administration officials, who asked not to be identified discussing plans for the summit, confirmed that the event will include a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Kim. They ruled out the idea that the U.S. was prepared to discuss reducing troop levels. That has done little to reassure critics of the president's approach. "We know who Donald trump is, we've seen two years of this, and we've seen where Kim and the North Koreans are trying to go," said Laura Rosenberger, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States who advised President Barack Obama on North Korea policy. "The question is: How do we manage the risk, how do we walk away with the least bad outcome?" --With assistance from Bloomberg's Margaret Talev, Justin Sink and Jihye Lee. El Chapo concerned about 'Googling juror' Claims of jury misconduct in the trial of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman have drawn new attention to the digital-age challenge courts face in preventing jurors from scouring media accounts or conducting their own research before rendering a verdict. It's a phenomenon that has been called the "Googling juror." "Everyone has the world at their fingertips," said Guzman defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman. "Twenty years ago, you didn't have to worry about that." Lichtman told The Associated Press Thursday that serious questions exist surrounding Guzman's conviction this month on drug-smuggling and conspiracy charges, and that he plans to ask U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan to bring in all 12 jurors and six alternates to question them about reports several flouted admonitions to avoid media accounts of the case. Associated Press On 'New York Now' This week's episode of "New York Now," the award-winning coproduction of WMHT and the Times Union, features Karen DeWitt of New York State Public Radio in conversation with state Sen. Robert Jackson on the subject of school funding and more. WMHT's Matt Ryan runs down the week's headlines, including U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer scolding federal regulators for not setting a drinking water standard for PFAS chemicals. "New York Now" airs at 7:30 p.m. Friday and midnight Sunday on WMHT Ch. 17. The American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal judge on Thursday to order the Trump administration to account for all migrant children who were separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, after a government watchdog reported that officials might have split "thousands" more children from their families than they had previously disclosed. The report, from the inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services, estimated that the separations extended beyond the 2,700-plus children identified in a class- action lawsuit over President Donald Trump's border crackdown, which drew widespread condemnation, including from Republicans. "I was shocked to hear that there were thousands who were separated," Lee Gelernt, an ACLU lawyer who represents the parents, told U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw during a hearing in San Diego, adding that they could be at risk of being "permanently orphaned." Lawyers for the Trump administration countered that other children separated at the border are probably already with their parents or close relatives, and they urged Sabraw to reject the ACLU's request. They said it would be extremely difficult to retrace the steps of all children who were separated but then released to parents or vetted sponsors. Justice Department lawyer Scott Stewart said that reuniting the 2,700-plus children, who were in federal custody when he ordered the Trump administration to find their parents, had taken eight months. Going back to a larger group, he said, would "blow the case into some other galaxy of a task." Sabraw did not immediately issue a ruling, but he had pointed questions for the government and noted that the ACLU could not have demanded the fuller accounting any earlier because the government didn't disclose how many children they had actually separated from their families. "They're not clairvoyant," Sabraw said, noting that it is critical to understand where every child went. "It's important to recognize that we're talking about human beings. Every person needs to be accounted for." The inspector general's report in January jolted lawyers who had been trying to reunify families since Sabraw ordered them to do so on June 26. Most children were separated as a result of the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy last spring. Seeking to reverse rising border crossings, officials criminally prosecuted parents and then detained them for deportation hearings. Their children, including some babies and toddlers, were sent to live in shelters overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services. Trump halted the separations on June 20 amid international outcry that it was inhumane, but it soon became clear that the government had not closely tracked the separated families and did not have a system to reunite them. Days later, Sabraw - an appointee of President George W. Bush - ordered the government to return all separated children who were still in federal custody to their parents. The ACLU said Sabraw's order did not cover children who earlier had been taken from their parents and were released from federal shelters to a legal guardian. Some children had been separated as early as July 1, 2017, under a trial run of the zero-tolerance program in El Paso, Texas. The ACLU is seeking information about all of those children and appeared in federal court hoping Sabraw would order the government to turn that information over. Government officials urged Sabraw in court filings to deny the ACLU's request, saying the children separated before his order already have been released from federal custody to a legal sponsor. Most are probably already with a parent or close relative in the United States, they said. Those children are "in a different legal position" than those covered in the ACLU lawsuit, the government argued in court documents, adding that Sabraw should not allow the ACLU to "move the goal posts at this late date." "The government has worked hard and in good faith over the last eight months to comply with the Court's orders and to facilitate the reunification process for class members," the Justice Department said in a court filing. Cmdr. Jonathan White, the public health official who organized the reunification effort at the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a recent court filing that HHS has not tried to locate separated families discharged before Sabraw's ruling for a host of reasons. White noted that most children released from federal custody during the past two years have been placed with relatives after mandatory criminal and background checks. In fiscal 2018, 86 percent of separated children were sent to a sponsor. Of those, 42 percent went to a parent and 47 percent to close relatives, while the rest went to more distant relatives or family friends. Sending government officials to immigrants' homes months later "could be traumatic to the children," White said. But the ACLU said it is concerned that some sponsors are not close relatives, arguing that the government should ensure that every child is given the chance to return to their parents. Advocates worry that some children are in the custody of relatives in the United States who do not have the money to send children home to their deported parents, forcing them to remain separated. The ACLU did not demand a fuller accounting sooner because it was not aware of the full scope of the problem. "What we didn't know is that there were potentially thousands," Gelernt said in an interview. The ACLU first filed the lawsuit a year ago, before the "zero-tolerance" policy took hold, on behalf of a mother identified in court records only as "Ms. L." She is a citizen of Congo and had been separated from her young daughter after coming to a legal port of entry to request asylum in late 2017. They were reunited in March. Weeks later, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the "zero-tolerance" policy to prosecute all adults crossing the border illegally, including those traveling with their children. Trump argued that immigrants were bringing children along as they tried to cross the U.S. border because they knew it was more likely they would be released into the United States. But critics, including Sabraw, faulted the administration for launching the unprecedented crackdown without a plan for reunifying families; the government faced huge logistical hurdles because official databases were unable to track the children. Since children could not remain in criminal jails, officials shuttled them to more than 100 shelters run by U.S. Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement, while their parents ended up in criminal courts and then U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention while they awaited deportation. The total number of separated families remains unknown in part because Sabraw did not order the government to provide a full accounting of the episode, according to the HHS inspector general report. - - - Perry reported from San Diego. A man was arrested for being asleep while a 3-year-old child under his custody was outside the home, according to Laredo police. Ricardo Alexis Hernandez, 26, was charged with child abandonment by criminal negligence. Custody records show he is out on bond. A suspected gunman shot at U.S. Border Patrol agents from across the river in Nuevo Laredo while they on patrol in west Laredo, federal authorities said Thursday. The shots were fired Sunday in the Markley Lane area, according to Border Patrol. Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, will address TAMIU students today during a guest lecture at the university. This is the first time she has visited TAMIU, and the university said she specifically indicated her desire to address students directly. TAMIU President Pablo Arenaz said this is a remarkable opportunity for all students to meet and hear from a national leader. "Opportunities like this are not afforded to most university campuses or students, and we applaud the initiative of our (Student Government Association) officers and the support provided by Congressman (Henry) Cuellar in helping to make this historic event possible," Arenaz said. Cuellar is expected to join Pelosi for the lecture. After learning that Pelosi was going to attend a campaign fundraiser in Laredo as well as WBCA events, TAMIU Student Government Association members reached out to her office to extend an invitation to TAMIU. The university said members worked closely with Cuellar and his Laredo and Washington staff to secure the event. In accordance with Pelosi's wishes, Friday's appearance is geared to students, and she is looking forward to an opportunity to address them, TAMIU said. The TAMIU Student Government Association has also extended an opportunity to attend Friday's event to Laredo College counterparts. "It is an honor and a privilege for me to invite Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Laredo," said Cuellar, a TAMIU alumnus. "And it's an even greater honor for her to have accepted to speak at my hometown university. It's not often that university students have the opportunity to interact with and hear first-hand from the speaker of the House, who exemplifies what it means to be a great leader in this country. "It is my hope that the TAMIU students who will participate in this forum are impacted by Speaker Pelosi's message." As Friday's event is dedicated to students, entry is ticketed and limited. All tickets have been distributed and additional tickets are not available. Pelosi will also be participating in a news conference with Cuellar later in the day to provide an update on legislative priorities and to discuss several topics, including border security and trade. Pelosi is expected to attend a private campaign fundraiser following the lecture. The fundraiser, held by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, will be an afternoon luncheon at the home of Eduardo Garza, CEO of Uni-Trade Forwarding. Suggested donations on the invitation range from $2,500 for a "host" to $35,000 to be in the "Speaker's Cabinet." Pelosi is also set to attend Friday evening's Caballero Cocktail Reception at TAMIU's Western Hemispheric Trade Center. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi emphasized to Texas A&M International University students on Friday the lack of danger on the border and issues such as investing more in higher education. Laredo's House Rep. Henry Cuellar asked Pelosi questions especially about border security Friday morning during a historic visit at TAMIU, which has never hosted a U.S. House speaker before. The audience, which included TAMIU, Laredo College and high school students and staff, applauded and cheered at taking in immigrants rather than heavily policing the border. Pelosi said Trump using his emergency powers to shut down the government over border wall funding was an overreach, and so she did not let him at the time deliver a State of the Union address. READ ALSO: Department of Homeland Security plans $3B barrier along border in Webb and Zapata counties "There is no emergency on the border," Pelosi said. "He said, 'I'm coming anyway (for State of the Union),' and I said, 'No, you're not.'" Cuellar also lauded Laredo for having the second largest trade port behind Long Beach, California, and asked Pelosi about Democrat's plans for trade legislation. "We know that with Mexico everyday, it was $1.3 billion of trade," Cuellar said. "My question, Madame Speaker, is what are the prospects of the House Democrats agreeing to any trade deal, what are the priorities or any changes or rewrites we want to do to (NAFTA) and how are we going to work with this administration?" Pelosi said she voted for NAFTA and "had some disappointments" with its implementation. She added House Democrats are waiting for Mexico to pass legislation that will benefit its workers so the U.S. is not exploiting them. "As we go to review it and take it into the future, we want more guarantees that workers and the environment will be protected," Pelosi said. "That there will be the enforcement in it so U.S. workers and families can benefit from it, but also the Mexican workers and families can benefit as well." Later in the event, Cuellar mentioned increased funding for higher education. House Republicans passed the PROSPER Act in 2018, which caps how much families can borrow from the government. The act does not allow students in low loan repayment programs to borrow from the government. "A Pell Grant is not all of the cost of education, but it makes a difference as to whether families can afford family members to go to college," Pelosi said. House Democrats' Aim Higher Act, proposed last year, includes investing more in student aid, protecting the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and cracking down on institutions that only offer expensive but low-quality programs. "Student loans and student debt, it's just something that has to be addressed in a very big way," Pelosi said. "In that there are considerations for how we reduce the cost of student debt, the interest on the debt and the benefits from that interest and who pays the price. The Texas Legislature is currently deadlocked - as it has in previous sessions - over ways to appropriate more state funds for public education, rather than burdening taxpayers. Pelosi said the states must do more for its universities, as well. "So speaking to the states and saying, 'When we put more money into education, we expect for you to not increase the cost for students, but lower the cost for students," Pelosi said. She also asked students to be proactive in demanding more for education and schools, and said House Democrats this coming week will bring to the floor gun safety legislation. During the Q&A session, several students inquired about taking on leadership roles as women, the impeachment process and Trump. "What would be the advice you would give to a woman in a political field hoping to run for office one day, because you're the first female speaker in the House?" a student asked. "First of all. please do," Pelosi said. A loud cheer followed her response. She told students to know why they are running and have a plan for running and what they will do for their constituents. Another student asked where Pelosi stands on a possible impeachment process for Trump. The House of Representatives has sole power to start the process, with implementation up to the speaker. Pelosi said she doesn't want to start the process because it would further divide the country. RELATED: Laredo shelter filled to capacity with migrants as court dates drag on "We'll see what happens with the Mueller report," Pelosi said. "It's also about the Southern District of New York. Nothing can be done about the President unless it's bipartisan. I get criticized for not being an advocate for impeachment, I think that's very divisive for country" TAMIU statistics graduate student Lorna Espinoza told the Laredo Morning Times after the talk that discussions on politics helps educate fellow students on the issues. "I think it's really important for these students to learn about these issues," Espinoza said. "I think not a lot of them are able to be exposed to these type of speakers. It's really important to be more aware of the situation and all the things that is happening, not only in the United States but also the state and in Laredo." Pelosi visited Laredo this weekend for the Washington Birthday Celebration event and a major fundraiser. She also spoke at the U.S.-Mexico bridge Friday afternoon. Authorities have identified the man who was critically injured in Tuesday's three-vehicle crash by the Laredo International Airport. Laredo police said that Jorge Luis Alanis, 23, was the driver of a black Nissan 350z. He was taken to a San Antonio hospital due to the severity of his injuries. He remains hospitalized there. Michelada Madness is calling all michelada masters to help determine the city's best concoction. Set for Labor Day weekend 2019, the 7th annual event is touting dozens of micheladas, food trucks, mariachis, craft beer, live lucha libre and more. Some of San Antonios hottest restaurants and bars will compete, according to the event page, mixing their finest drinks for a chance to be crowned winner. RELATED: 3rd annual Michelada Mania to take place in March The event's beneficiary, the Animal Defense League of Texas, will also be offering dog adoptions. Tickets are available for $20. The Sept. 1 event will run from 4-7 p.m. at Alamo Beer Company, event page details show. Click through the slideshow to see photos of last year's event. S. M. Chavey is a breaking news and general assignment writer. Read her on our breaking news site, mySA.com and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | sarah.chavey@express-news.net | @smchavey European Union lawmakers have agreed on the blocs first-ever emissions reduction targets for heavy-duty vehicles and a sales benchmark for zero and low-emission trucks. The deal reached between the European Parliament (EP) and the European Council earlier this week provides for a legally binding 30% CO2 reduction target for new lorries by 2030, with an intermediate target of 15% by 2025. Manufacturers will also have to ensure that zero- and low-emission vehicles represent a 2% market share of the sales of new vehicles by 2025. This provision aims to incentivise manufacturers to invest in cleaner alternatives to diesel trucks. The European Commission will also have to propose new post-2030 targets, in line with the Paris Agreement, in 2022. "The regulation now goes further than the original proposed by the European Commission and will help to reduce pollution on our roads and to improve air quality. It is shameful that some governments still put the interests of their industry before the interests of the people. In particular, Germany and some Central European Member States blocked more ambitious targets, said rapporteur, Bas Eickhout, MEP for the Netherlands and member of The Greens/European Free Alliance. Cleaner engines can create a cleaner climate and future-proof jobs. It's time for EU Member States to pull the brake on their short-sighted support for the combustion engine and instead encourage the development of greener alternatives that, in the end, will also benefit the industry", he added. The agreement will have to be formally approved first by the EPs Environment Committee and then by the European Parliament and the Council. Heavy-duty vehicles are responsible for around a quarter of CO2 emissions from road transport in the EU. Without further action, their emissions are expected to grow due to increasing road transport volumes, the EP underlined. NGO Transport & Environment (T&E), which campaigns for cleaner transport in Europe, said that while the new legislation would spark climate action and fuel savings further action would be required over the next few years. The new truck CO2 standards are excellent news for truckers and the environment. After 20 years of very little progress on fuel efficiency, truckmakers now need to start offering affordable, low-carbon trucks, enabling huge fuel savings for Europes haulage industry. But this is just a start and the standards will need to be made a lot more ambitious when they are reviewed in 2022, said Stef Cornelis, T&E's cleaner trucks officer. Image: Shutterstock.com Deep in Peru's Sacred Valley, a ceremonial Inca complex complete with a stone altar and 14 baths sits in a jungle clearing. And now, cutting-edge radar and laser scans, and on-the-ground excavations are revealing just how the Inca built and used these structures more than 500 years ago. The excavation is a thorough one; ground-penetrating radar detected the foundations of the complex, and billions of laser scans shot from an airborne drone revealed two previously unknown Inca structures hidden in the tropical forest. Moreover, excavations at the site revealed how the Inca built and used the ceremonial baths, said project researcher Mariusz Ziokowski, the head of the Center of Andean Studies at the University of Warsaw in Cusco, Peru. [In Photos: Digging Up Incan Fortresses] New radiocarbon testing suggests that the site dates back to the 15th century, before Europeans landed in the New World, Ziokowski added. The jungle towers behind the ceremonial stone complex at Chachabamba. (Image credit: Dominika Sieczkowska) Researchers have been studying the site, known as Chachabamba, since 1941, when archaeologists discovered terraces, baths and water channels that would have supplied water to the baths, according to historical background in a study by Ziokowski and his colleagues, published in November 2018 in the journal Surveys in Geophysics. That 2018 study revealed that Chachabamba was not constructed all at once, but rather in two or more building phases, according to the international team of researchers from Poland and Italy. Religious center The international team has been poring over Chachabamba since that study came out, focusing especially on the complex water system that filled its baths. Indeed, the large number of baths and channels indicates that Chachabamba was likely an important religious place for worshipping the water and fertility goddesses, the researchers said. "This was undoubtedly a site of religious ceremonial use," but probably only used by the Inca elite, and not by the common people, Ziokowski told Live Science in an email. "The most notable characteristics of the site are the presence of a sculptured sacred rock, probably a "huaca" [a revered monument], and an unusual number of baths." These baths were likely used for ritual cleansing, "a very important element especially in the various Inca ceremonies, especially during the feast of Citua," the festival of the moon, Ziokowski said. The Inca found it extremely important to wash away one's sins with water. Afterward, the bathers would discard their old clothes and wear new ones, he added. The stone baths at Chachabamba. (Image credit: Dominika Sieczkowska) The canals that delivered water to the baths were "very advanced," Dominika Sieczkowska, a doctoral student at the Andean Research Center of the University of Warsaw in Cusco, told Science in Poland. "Over time, the complex was expanded and the water supply channels changed." The source of the water, however, didn't change. This water came from a nearby waterfall. The Inca built a system of waterways made with stone blocks. The system ran partially underground, to supply this water to the ceremonial complex, the researchers said. Then, after it ran through the baths, the water traveled through another drainage system down to a river in the valley below. [In Images: The Mummy of a Murdered Incan Woman] The stone altar at Chachabamba. (Image credit: Dominika Sieczkowska) Chachabamba wasn't the only Inca complex with ritual baths. "Let us remember that the first meeting of the Spaniards with [Inca emperor] Atahuallpa, the pretender to the Inca throne, happened precisely in a place of function similar to that of Chachabamba," Ziokowski told Live Science. In that moment of the Old World and New World face-off, Atahuallpa was performing cleansing rituals at Conoc, an Inca site in Peru. But Conoc didn't have nearly as many baths as Chachabamba. In addition, Chachabamba is known for its layout the 14 baths are positioned in groups of seven on both sides of the sacred rock, Ziokowski said. Originally published on Live Science. Holy smokes! An aurora that resembles a dragon recently loomed in the skies over Iceland, and NASA scientists aren't exactly sure why it showed up when it did. A gargantuan green dragon hisses in the sky over Iceland. Either "Game of Thrones" really upped its production budget for its final season, or the sun belched a barrage of charged particles into our atmosphere again. As much as any of us would like to see a real dragon breathe flames into the winter sky, buzzkill NASA blames solar activity as usual for the writhing, "fire-breathing"- aurora that loomed over Iceland earlier this month. Auroras like this occur when some of the sun's many magnetic field lines twist together and burst, creating sunspots. Charged particles gush out of these spots and soar on the solar wind deep into space. If Earth happens to be in the way of such a stellar energy storm, the particles crash into our planet's own magnetic field and careen through our atmosphere toward the poles. Along the way, those particles interact with molecules of oxygen, nitrogen and other elements in our atmosphere to create the dazzling light show we call the aurora. [Spaced Out! 101 Astronomy Photos That Will Blow Your Mind] While auroras themselves are not an unusual sight, NASA noted that this Icelandic dragon (which also resembles evil queen Maleficent's dragon incarnation from Disney's "Sleeping Beauty") appeared at an unexpected time. "No sunspots have appeared on the Sun so far in February, making the multiple days of picturesque auroral activity this month somewhat surprising," the editors of NASA's astronomy picture of the day blog wrote on Feb. 18. Photographers Jingyi Zhang and Wang Zheng were equally surprised to see the mythical beast appear in the sky over Iceland. According to NASA, Zhang's mother was so excited by the unusual auroral activity that she ran outside with the photographers (and ended up in the foreground of Zhang's picture). And the dragon wasn't the only supernatural creature to appear in the aurora that night. "Interestingly, my partner photographed a phoenix at the same time," Zhang told Live Science in an email. Dragons weren't the only supernatural beings to haunt the skies during the light show; a picture of a phoenix aurora was snapped the same night. (Image credit: Jingyi Zhang & Wang Zheng) Originally published on Live Science. Aurora Photos: Northern Lights Dazzle in Night-Sky Images Rainbow Album: The Many Colors of The Sun Aurora Borealis: What Causes the Northern Lights and Where to See Them The field of biblical archaeology includes the study of biblical-era artifacts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, seen here. While the definition of biblical archaeology varies from scholar to scholar, it generally includes some combination of archaeology and biblical studies. The magazine "Biblical Archaeology Review" defines biblical archaeology as "A branch of archaeology dealing with the archaeology of biblical lands that informs our understanding of the bible and/or the historicity of biblical events." Other definitions include the specific geographical areas that are studied. For example, "Biblical archaeology is a subset of the larger field of Syro-Palestinian archaeology which is conducted throughout the region encompassed by modern Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria," wrote Eric Cline, a professor of classics, anthropology and history at George Washington University, in his book "Biblical Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction" (Oxford University Press, 2009). [The Holy Land: 7 Amazing Archaeological Finds] "Specifically, it is archaeology that sheds light on the stories, descriptions, and discussions in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament from the early second millennium [B.C.], the time of Abraham and the Patriarchs, through the Roman period in the early first millennium [A.D.]," Cline wrote. Some scholars extend the geographical area that biblical archaeology covers to include Egypt, Mesopotamia and Sudan. Most scholars also note how the discipline combines elements of archaeology with biblical studies. It is "a complex fascinating inquiry between two disciplines archaeology and biblical studies," wrote William Dever, professor emeritus of Judaic Studies and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Arizona, in a chapter of the book "Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future: The New Pragmatism" (Routledge, 2010). Some archaeologists prefer not to use the phrase "biblical archaeology" out of concern that it sounds unscientific. "The field of biblical archaeology suffers from a bad public image in some quarters due to the practices of scholars of decades ago," wrote Aren Maier, an archaeology professor at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, in a chapter of the book "Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future: The New Pragmatism." Maier explained that earlier scholars in the field often produced biased attempts to connect the Bible to their archaeological finds, and failed to acknowledge scenarios outside of the biblical text. Today, most biblical archaeologists agree that links between archaeological finds and the Bible need to be made cautiously, and acknowledge that the Bible is not entirely historically accurate. Major archaeological sites & findings There are many important biblical archaeology sites and artifacts, but a few are more well-recognized than others. The Dead Sea Scrolls consist of fragments from 900 manuscripts found in 12 caves near the site of Qumran in the West Bank. They contain some of the earliest known copies of the Hebrew Bible and include calendars, hymns, community rules and apocryphal (non-canonical) texts. One of the scrolls, inscribed on copper, has a list of hidden treasure. Another important biblical find is the Merneptah stele (an inscribed stone slab) also called the Israel stele. Discovered in Luxor, it contains the earliest mention of the name "Israel." Engraved around 1207 B.C., it includes a list of places in the eastern Mediterranean that the Egyptian pharaoh Merneptah claims to have conquered. The pharaoh claimed that "Israel is laid waste, his seed is no more." Megiddo was an ancient city in Israel that was occupied for 6,000 years and is mentioned numerous times in the Bible. A Greek name for the city is "Armageddon," and, according to the Book of Revelation, a great battle between the forces of good and evil will be waged at Megiddo during the end times. Another important site is the Herodium, a palace built for King Herod (who lived ca. 74 to 4 B.C.), a king appointed by Rome to rule Judea. Herod was vilified in the New Testament with stories claiming that he tried to kill baby Jesus. For decades, scholars have struggled to reconcile the biblical account of the attempted murder with the knowledge that Herod probably died before Jesus was born. [In Photos: The Controversial 'Tomb of Herod'] Another famous site is the Temple Mount (known as Haram esh-Sharif in Arabic) in Jerusalem. It is the holiest site in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam. Its religious importance along with the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict means that little archaeology work has been done there. Many mysteries There are many mysteries that biblical archaeologists are still trying to solve. For instance, did an exodus of Jews from Egypt actually occur and if so, when? And could the story of the Book of Exodus be related to the expulsion of a people called the "Hyksos" from Egypt that occurred more than 3,500 years ago? Other mysteries include determining whether or not the King David mentioned in the Bible really existed. A 2,800-year-old stele found at Tel Dan in northern Israel mentions a "House of David," suggesting that the biblical ruler may have existed. Another 2,800 year-old inscription called the Mesha stele (named after King Mesha of Moab, the person who erected it) has writing on it that some scholars believe refers to King David but this is uncertain. Also some scholars, such as Hebrew University of Jerusalem archaeology professor Yosef Garfinkel, believe that the 3,000 year-old site of Khirbet Qeiyafa, southwest of Jerusalem, may have been used by King David however, this is also uncertain. It's also unclear how powerful Israel truly was in its early days. The Hebrew Bible suggests that Israel controlled a large amount of territory with Jerusalem as an important political and spiritual center. The 3,200-year-old Merneptah stele mentions the existence of Israel but gives little information as to how much territory Israel controlled. The locations of a number of biblical sites are also ambiguous. For instance, archaeologists are not sure where the biblical city of Sodom is located. According to the Hebrew Bible, the city was destroyed by God because it had become too sinful. Some archaeologists have suggested that Sodom may be located at the archaeological site of Tell el-Hammam, in Jordan, because of the site's geographic location and archaeological evidence that it was destroyed suddenly. Recent research reveals that Tell el-Hammam and nearby areas may have been destroyed by a cosmic airburst that occurred in the region about 3,700 years ago. Biblical archaeologists are also faced with the puzzle of describing what Jesus was really like. The earliest surviving copies of the Gospels the four books of the Bible that describe the life and teachings of Jesus date to the second century A.D., about 100 years after the life of Jesus. This means it's uncertain how much of what the Gospels say is true and how much is fiction. Recent excavations at Nazareth, the city where Jesus is thought to have lived, indicate that people in Nazareth rejected Roman culture. This falls in line with biblical accounts of Nazareth being a community that followed Jewish religion and customs. The Nazareth excavations have also revealed a house that was venerated as the place where Jesus lived, but not until centuries after Jesus was presumably born. Additional resources: For the past 150 years, scientists have hotly debated a mysterious creature that lived hundreds of millions of years ago. And now, with the discovery of stunningly detailed fossils in Morocco, paleontologists have finally ID'd the bizarre life-forms. The creatures, known as stylophorans, looked like flattened and armored wall decorations that had a long arm poking off their sides. But while it was previously unclear where they fit in the animal family tree, the new study revealed that they are echinoderms, the ancient relatives of modern animals such as sea urchins, starfish, brittle stars, sea lilies, feather stars and sea cucumbers. The finding was made possible thanks to fossils with "unequivocal evidence for exceptionally preserved soft parts, both in the appendage and in the body of stylophorans," said study lead researcher Bertrand Lefebvre, a National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) researcher at the Laboratory of Geology of Lyon in France. [Photos: Trove of Marine Fossils Discovered in Morocco] The incredible fossils were unearthed during an excavation in 2014 at the Fezouata Formation, located along the edge of the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco. The excavation yielded a bounty of fossils, including about 450 stylophoran specimens, each dating to about 478 million years ago. But the researchers didn't immediately realize that some of the fossils included preserved soft tissues. "It is only when we unpacked and looked at them under the binocular [microscope], back in the laboratory in Lyon, that we could see the soft parts," Lefebvre told Live Science in an email. "Their presence and identification were then confirmed by SEM (scanning electron microscope) observations and analyses." The team of researchers who excavated the fossils from the Fezouata Formation in Morocco. (Image credit: Bertrand Lefebvre) The soft tissue finding was unprecedented. Stylophoran fossils have been found worldwide since the 1850s, allowing researchers to determine that these creatures lived from the middle Cambrian to the late Carboniferous periods, or about 510 million to 310 million years ago, when the creatures went extinct. But because soft tissues so rarely fossilize, the stylophorans were known only from their hard skeletal parts and not their squishy innards. "Their internal anatomy was not only entirely unknown, but also and mostly highly controversial," Lefebvre said. What did they look like? Stylophorans had two main parts: a core body and a weird appendage attached to it. Both the core body and the appendage were small, each about 1.2 inches (3 centimeters) long, Lefebvre said. Previously, other researchers came up with all kinds of ideas about stylophorans. From the 1850s to 1950s, most researchers thought that stylophorans were "normal" echinoderms. Their weird appendage was interpreted as the equivalent to the stem of sea lilies. Normal echinoderms have internal skeletons made of mineralized, calcitic plates (although this is extremely reduced in sea cucumbers) and so-called water vascular systems that help them move and breathe, said Peter Van Roy, a paleobiologist at Ghent University in Belgium, who was not involved with the study. Most echinoderms, including starfish, have a five-rayed symmetry. They're closely related to another invertebrate group, the acorn worms, and to vertebrates (animals with backbones). Together, echinoderms, acorn worms and vertebrates make up an overarching group known as deuterostomia, Van Roy said. [Deep-Sea Creepy-Crawlies: Images of Acorn Worms] A photo of a Thoralicystis fossil from Morocco. (Image credit: Emmanuel Robert) Then, in the early 1960s, Belgian paleontologist Georges Ubaghs noticed that the appendage was different from a stem but similar to a feeding arm, as seen in modern starfish. In the late 1960s, British paleontologist Richard Jefferies proposed an entirely different idea. He thought that the stylophoran main body was a head (holding a pharynx and brain) and that the appendage housed muscles and a notochord (a type of primitive backbone). Jefferies thought that stylophorans were the "missing link" between echinoderms and chordates (a group that includes vertebrates). In the 2000s, British paleontologist Andrew Smith suggested yet another interpretation. He said that stylophorans were probably not the "missing link" between echinoderms and vertebrates but were more likely primitive deuterostomes, filling the gap between acorn worms and echinoderms. The new discovery of the fossilized soft tissue, however, has changed everything. Researchers could test, for the first time, whether the soft tissue matched what you would expect from any of these different scenarios, Lefebvre said. Hard evidence The newfound fossils align most closely with Ubaghs' interpretation. The stylophorans' flat bodies contained intestines, and the appendage was not closed off as a stem would be and rather looked like a starfish arm. This arm contained a water vascular system that would have helped the creatures move and eat, just like the arms of starfish do, Van Roy said. Because stylophorans don't have five-rayed symmetry, they likely lost it, meaning they were more "advanced" evolutionarily than other five-rayed echinoderms, Van Roy added. "This discovery is of particular importance, because it brings to an end a 150-year-old debate about the position of these bizarre-looking fossils in the tree of life," Lefebvre said. The study is "very thorough," Van Roy said, "and I have no reservations about any of the methods used or conclusions drawn." Moreover, it highlights the importance of the well-preserved fossils of the Fezouata Formation, a place where Van Roy has previously found spectacular specimens. The study was published online in the February issue of the journal Geobios. An illustration of the stylophoran genus Thoralicystis. (Image credit: Copyright Rich Mooi/California Academy of Science) Originally published on Live Science. This cardinal is plumed in feathers that are scarlet on one side and taupe on the other. The unusual plumage pattern is a telltale sign that this bird is a gynandromorph, or half male, half female. Male cardinals are red. Female cardinals are tan. The odd bird that's been roosting outside Jeff and Shirley Caldwell's kitchen in Erie, Pennsylvania, is an even split of both. Divided down the middle like a winged black-and-white-cookie, the rare cardinal is plumed in feathers that are scarlet on its right side and taupe on its left. When Shirley Caldwell photographed the bird on a recent winter morning, she knew it was unusually beautiful. She did not realize the bird's quirks went beyond its unusual plumage, though. Ornithologists call birds like this one "bilateral gynandromorphs" meaning half the bird's body is male and the other half is female. [Image Gallery: Stunning Dual-Sex Animals] "This remarkable bird is a genuine male/female chimera," Daniel Hooper, a postdoctoral fellow at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, told National Geographic. Gynandromorphs, or "half-siders," exist in many bird, crustacean and butterfly species. According to Hooper, cardinal half-siders are especially easy to spot because male and female birds of the species display such clearly contrasting colors. So, how does a bird end up being dual-coated and dual-gendered? It involves a cocktail of chromosomes, which work slightly differently than the X and Y sex chromosomes that mammals carry. According to Hooper, female birds carry both sex chromosomes which in birds are labeled W and Z while males carry two Zs. Gynandromorphy is thought to occur when female egg cells develop with two nuclei so that one nucleus contains a single Z chromosome and the other contains a single W. When that egg is fertilized by sperm carrying two male Z chromosomes, the egg develops with both ZZ (male) and ZW (female) chromosomes. The bird then develops with half of its body containing male ZZ cells while the other half contains female ZW cells. If this chromosomal mix-up occurs early on in the animals development, before many of their cells begin to divide, it can result in the sort of perfect bilateral split seen in Caldwells cardinal friend. According to Kimberly Reece, a geneticist at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, bilateral symmetry "typically arises when the organism has between 8 and 64 cells," Reece said in 2005, following the discovery of a gynandromorph crab in the Chesapeake Bay. This is likely the case for the half-sider cardinal spotted in Pennsylvania, Hooper said. To know for sure, however, an ornithologist would have to analyze the bird's blood. If that's the case, the chimeric bird's brain would probably also be "half male" and "half female," Hooper told The New York Times. As such, it's unlikely that the bird would be able to sing a skill only developed by lusty male cardinals. Shirley Caldwell has noticed one such scarlet-plumed male trying to court the gynandromorph bird in her yard. If there is a chemistry between the two lovebirds, it's possible they could even have offspring, Hooper said. "Most gynandromorph individuals are infertile, but this one may actually be fertile as the left side is female, and only the left ovary in birds is functional," Hooper told National Geographic. Editor's Note: This story was udpated to correct the name of Shirley Caldwell's husband. It is Jeff, not John. Originally published on Live Science. THE High Court has ordered the extradition of a man who was the controlling mind behind a 20 million tax scam and who is now wanted in the UK for failing to pay a confiscation order amounting to almost 13 million. Daniel OConnell, 65, with an address at Ballybrack, Clonlara, Co Clare and Roseneath, Corbally, Co Limerick, had opposed his extradition on several grounds including delay. He also argued that to imprison him would breach his fundamental rights under the European Convention of Human Rights. It was also submitted that as O'Connell is currently indigent, or poor, he should not be surrendered to serve a penalty where a rich person would not have to do so. However, this Friday morning, in a 47-page written judgement, Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly rejected all of Mr OConnells grounds. She said: This court is satisfied that there is no basis for refusing his surrender or referring his case further to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Ms Justice Donnelly also said the High Court can only refuse to surrender someone where there is a real risk that his rights cannot be protected or were not protected in the issuing state because of a defect in the system of justice there such that it would be egregious to surrender him. Ms Justice Donnelly said: No such evidence has been put forward. Mr OConnell was convicted in Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court on August 9, 2000, for five offences of VAT evasion between August 1, 1996 and March 25, 1999. He was subsequently jailed for eight years but released in March 2003 on licence. In addition, in January 2003, Mr OConnell was also made subject to a confiscation order for almost 6 million to be paid by May 2004 - for which an additional sentence of seven years imprisonment would be imposed in default of payment. The court previously heard that, to date, 354,407.41 has been paid towards Mr O'Connell's confiscation order. It also heard that, by September 2016, this confiscation order had a balance outstanding of nearly 6 million plus accrued interest of over 5.8 million. Mr OConnell was subsequently arrested in 2017 on foot of a European Arrest Warrant issued by the UK authorities. The warrant, the High Court heard, stated that because Mr OConnell failed to pay the confiscation order in full by May 2004, his default sentence was activated and his extradition was being sought so that he could be returned to prison in order to serve this part of the overall sentence. The warrant, issued by Westminister Magistrates Court in London in 2016, outlined Mr OConnell's involvement with five companies all of which became missing traders and for all of which he was acting as the controlling mind. It stated that the five companies all failed to submit a VAT return and/or failed to account for any VAT to Her Majestys Customs & Excise during periods when their respective trading was substantial. The five missing trader companies made sales of over 119 million on which the VAT due would have been approximately 20 million from 1997 to 1999. However, the companies accounted for only 17,086.00 in VAT during the relevant period. In her written judgement today, Ms Justice Donnelly noted that the EAW stated: It is important to note that sentence in default is not ancillary, but integral to the overall sentence for the criminal offence. Ms Justice Donnelly, in her judgement, also noted that Mr OConnell had argued that to be jailed for seven years in addition to the time he has previously served was disproportionate to the crime and disproportionate in circumstances where [Mr OConnell] was indigent and unable to pay. However, Ms Justice Donnelly found: This court is quite satisfied that in the context of a multimillion point Sterling fraud of which this respondent had been convicted and in light of the value of the confiscation order itself, it is not disproportionate for such a lengthy sentence to be imposed. She also stated that Mr OConnell must have been aware that from May 2004, he was required to pay that money and he must have known that the default sentence was liable to be triggered. She said there is simply no ground whatsoever on which he could have believed that he would no longer have to serve that sentence. Ms Justice Donnelly also said she rejected a claim made by Mr OConnell that he had a ten-year-old child in the belief that he would be with her at all times, and that he and his partner would not have had her if they had known that she would be left without a father in the state in her formative years. Ms Justice Donnelly said there was no suggestion that the child will suffer in any particular way over and above that which can be expected of any children who would lose access to a parent due to imprisonment. At a previous hearing, Dr Michael Forde SC, for Mr OConnell, submitted there was a 17-year gap between his clients conviction and arrest and therefore the confiscation order was invalid because of undue delay. This breached Article 6.1 Article 8 and in particular Article 49.3 of the European Convention on Human Rights which required penalties not to be disproportionate, said Dr Forde. Dr Forde also said it was inexplicable why the UK authorities with the assistance of Irish authorities could not locate his client when his licence expired in 2007 as his client had lived openly in Clare during this time and had made no attempt to hide his identity. Dr Forde called this bureaucratic inertia at its worse. The barrister also said there was not a snowballs chance on the evidence that his client could make any payment on the confiscation amount, he said. He said: The 13 million that he is now expected to pay and the detention for failure to pay it is grossly disproportionate. The High Court today heard father-of-three Mr OConnell, who was remanded on continuing bail, will make an application to appeal the extradition order next Wednesday at 10.30am. BRUFF local, Michael Weekes, is hoping he can bring home the money when he goes to Dublin on Saturday to take part in the National Lottery Winning Streak TV game show. Michael, 75, will have the support of the community behind him as well as the support of his family. Im heading up on train with my wife and daughter. I have to be there for half ten. The rest of the team, 19 of them, will be following me up then after. Some people cant make it but they will be cheering me on from home, said Michael. The support I have had is amazing. I could fill four or five busses and bring them up with me. That's the level of support there is, he added. The Ballybricken native described the moment he discovered he had one of the winning tickets. I was watching the match in one room. It had just finished when I walked into the other room and saw my name on the TV. I had won, it was an amazing feeling, said the 75-year-old. Michael, who has four daughters and one son says the money isnt the main thing on his mind. I just want to go and have fun. At my age, the money seems a lot less important. I will probably give it out amongst the family. Put it to good use, said Michael. I do have a holiday booked already, but I go every year. To celebrate after Im taking everyone to the Red Cow for a meal on me, he added. The Bruff man is extremely popular in GAA circles and will have the support of a number of clubs that he has been involved with. I have been a PRO with the County Board. I was the selector on the All-Ireland Minor team of 1984. Ive done so many things, but I have never done this, he joked. TEAM Limerick Clean-Ups drive for five is well on target. Just three weeks after the official launch of TLC5 in Castleconnell, registrations have already exceeded the 10,000 mark. Paul OConnell, ambassador, said he was delighted to see the fantastic response from people all over the city and county yet again. It is all set-up to be another Good Friday on April 19. Wed like to thank everybody who has signed-up early and engaged their local community into action this Good Friday, said Paul, who would like to see men, women and children who have never put on the free high vis jackets and gloves before to join in TLC5. As this is the fifth year of Team Limerick Clean-Up, were hoping to celebrate that milestone by ensuring as many people as possible from all over Limerick participate, particularly those who have never done so before. Its a fantastic initiative that benefits the whole county and it would be a tribute to all the hard work done since 2015 if we could make this the biggest year yet, said Paul. Each participant this year will receive a copy of Jack McManus Limerick til We Die song, specially written following the countys epic All-Ireland final win last August. Also, currently live is a primary school Design A TLC Bottle competition. Prizes include vouchers for school equipment, while the winning designs will be printed on reusable bottles for every class member. All entries from artistic boys and girls will be on display at the Hunt Museum from Friday, March 1 to Friday, March 8 Team Limerick Clean-Up is an initiative sponsored by the JP McManus Benevolent Fund and supported by Limerick City and County Council. Endorsed by Paul OConnell, the official partners include Mr Binman, the Limerick Leader and Live 95FM. You can join the over 10,000 who have already signed up by logging onto www.teamlimerickcleanup.ie STUDENTS, staff and stakeholders at one of Limericks newest schools recently attended the first official design meeting for their ambitious school building project. The first client and design team meeting for a new school building for Mungret Community College (MCC) was held at the head office of the Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, who are the secondary schools patron. Before the meeting, MCC students, along with their principal Liam OMahoney and deputy principal Helen Ryan, got the opportunity to meet the design team to view the proposed plans for the brand new school. We have a very experienced and strong team that we have every confidence in to deliver the project on time and to the highest quality, said chairperson of the schools board of management Metropolitan Mayor Cllr Daniel Butler. With plans to increase its future numbers to 800 students, demand for places in the school has been exponential, he added. That all puts more pressure on us now to deliver a school before we outgrow our current premises. Im delighted to see the design process now begin, that we can work towards delivering a new building for MCC, Mayor Butler said. The schools principal Liam OMahoney and myself will be working very closely together on this project to ensure that we deliver it on time, the councillor added. The end of 2020 has always been our target. It's a very exciting time, said the metro mayor. Last July, it was announced that Limerick and Clare Education Training Board would be responsible for delivering the new school build for MCC. This decision was made by the then Minister for Education Richard Bruton to ensure building work on the new school would be fast tracked. MCC is currently based in a temporary premises in Mungret Woods. Preliminary enrolment numbers in primary and post-primary schools in Leitrim show 0.7 per cent increase between September 2017 and September 2018. The total number of pupils enrolled for the 2018/2019 school year in both primary and post-primary schools in Leitrim rose to 6,295, an increase of 44. This figure remains unchanged from September 2017. This compares with an increase of 0.8 per cent across the State generally. The Department of Education and Skills has published initial results on enrolments by local administrative area for September 2018 in primary and post-primary schools across Ireland. The data provides information on increases and decreases in school enrolments across the country, changes in the numbers attending schools of different ethos, as well as average school sizes. The figures demonstrate changes in the numbers of children attending schools of different ethos: Total enrolments in Catholic primary schools in Leitrim stood at 3,645 in September 2018, representing 97.8 per cent of all pupils Church of Ireland schools had enrolments of 82, representing 2.2 per cent of all pupils. Overall in Leitrim more primary schools gained than lost pupils, with 5 schools seeing an increase of 5 or more pupils, compared with 4 schools that saw a decrease of 5 or more. Small schools remain a distinctive feature of the primary education system, with 708 schools having 60 or fewer pupils enrolled for the 2018/2019 school year. These schools accounted for 22.8 per cent of all schools yet represented just 4.4 per cent of the total enrolments. The report shows that Leitrim had a higher proportion of small schools than average, with 51.4 per cent of schools having 60 pupils or fewer and with 18.9 per cent of pupils attending such schools. It also shows that the average primary school size in Leitrim is 101 pupils, below the national average of 180 pupils. Post-Primary Level At post-primary level, 2,568 pupils were enrolled in Leitrim schools in September 2018 an increase of 44 pupils, or 1.7 per cent, on September 2017. Overall, more post-primary schools gained than lost pupils, with 5 schools seeing an increase of 5 or more pupils, no school saw a decrease of 5 or more pupils. The report showed that the average post-primary school size in Leitrim is 367, below the national average of 503. At both primary and secondary level, the number of multi-denominational schools has risen. There is also a move towards larger schools in our post-primary system as enrolments increase each year. Primary Level: Total enrolments in Leitrim primary schools stood at 3,727 in September 2018, unchanged from September 2017. This compares with an increase of 0.8 per cent across the State generally. The figures demonstrate changes in the numbers of children attending schools of different ethos: Total enrolments in Catholic primary schools in Leitrim stood at 3,645 in September 2018, representing 97.8 per cent of all pupils Church of Ireland schools had enrolments of 82, representing 2.2 per cent of all pupils. Overall in Leitrim more primary schools gained than lost pupils, with 5 schools seeing an increase of 5 or more pupils, compared with 4 schools that saw a decrease of 5 or more. Small schools remain a distinctive feature of the primary education system, with 708 schools having 60 or fewer pupils enrolled for the 2018/2019 school year. These schools accounted for 22.8 per cent of all schools yet represented just 4.4 per cent of the total enrolments. The report shows that Leitrim had a higher proportion of small schools than average, with 51.4 per cent of schools having 60 pupils or fewer and with 18.9 per cent of pupils attending such schools. It also shows that the average primary school size in Leitrim is 101 pupils, below the national average of 180 pupils. The report showed that the average post-primary school size in Leitrim is 367, below the national average of 503. Leitrim Daffodil Day committee have appealed for the publics support as they prepare to take to the streets on March 22 to raise crucial funds for cancer patients. On average, 253 people in Leitrim are diagnosed with cancer annually. The Irish Cancer Societys Daffodil Day, which is proudly supported by Boots Ireland, funds crucial support services for people affected by cancer and lifesaving cancer research. Members of the public can volunteer to sell daffodils on the day, or simply buy a daffodil from local volunteers or their local Boots store. Speaking at the launch of Leitrim Daffodil Day, held in Hannons Hotel, Roscommon on Thursday night, local night nurse Ann Howard spoke about the role she plays in supporting patients during their final days. Last year 16 terminally ill cancer patients in Leitrim received 49 nights of care, allowing them to remain at home during their final days. In order to provide the night nursing service and other free supports, the Irish Cancer Society needs to raise over 4m nationally on Daffodil Day this year. Night Nurse Ann said, When I go into a family home, I am there to support the patient, and also their family members. I do my best to create a supportive and calm atmosphere at a very difficult time. Losing a loved one to cancer is heart-breaking. But Im privileged to hear afterwards from many families what a source of comfort it was to spend those precious final moments at home with their loved one. When I finish my night shift, I go home knowing I have made a difference to my patient and their family. Public support is crucial according to local organiser Chris Kelly who urged locals to show their support on Daffodil Day. People of Leitrim have always been generous in their support of Daffodil Day, but with more people being diagnosed with cancer, we need to ramp up our efforts to ensure they get the help they need. "Not only will donations fund services like night nursing, but also cancer research to help more people survive cancer. Please help us by volunteering to sell daffodils, or simply by buying a daffodil on March 22, Chris said. Over 2,000 potted daffodil plants grown by inmates in Castlerea Prison will be sold on the day along with daffodil pins. Boots Ireland is the official main sponsor of Daffodil Day and local stores will be getting involved in the fundraising efforts. Over six years Boots Ireland have raised over 1.4m for the night nursing service. Rachel Clegg, Store Manager of Boots Roscommon who attended the launch said: We are delighted to support Daffodil Day again this year and to play our part in helping families affected by cancer. Pop in store to buy a pin or add a 1 donation when making a purchase. Every euro will make a big difference in the fight against cancer. To get involved in Daffodil Day locally contact Ena 087 7381055. For more information visit www.cancer.ie/daffodilday Fianna Fail TD has said that he is very concerned that the Irish beef industry will be decimated in a no deal Brexit. Roscommon/Galway TD Eugene Murphy Deputy Murphy made his comments on foot of reports that the UK plan to open their market to South American beef in the event of a no deal Brexit. Deputy Murphy attended a meeting in Elphin Mart on Thursday night in relation to the escalating beef crisis which saw hundreds of farmers from the region turning out in force. Deputy Murphy said: The UK is Irelands largest export destination for agri-food products with exports valued at 5.2 billion in 2017. Our beef industry in particular is hugely reliant on the UK market and 48% of all our beef exports went to the UK in 2017. If in the event of a no deal Brexit, the UK opens its doors to South American beef this would be nothing short of a catastrophe for our beef industry and would have a devastating effect on farmers the length and breadth of this country. There are just over 30 days until the UK is scheduled to leave the EU and at this juncture the risk of a no deal Brexit is a very real possibility. If this comes to pass and Irish beef is forced to compete in the UK market against cheaper imports from other countries thousands of jobs will be lost. The Irish Agri-food industry has worked very hard to secure its place on the shelves in the UK and rightly has a reputation for good quality, high standard food. Every effort must be made to safeguard this industry and the hundreds of thousands of people employed in it, both directly and indirectly. "The Government therefore must ensure that sufficient contingency plans, including a financial aid package, are in place to insulate our beef and agri-food industry in as much as feasibly possible from the fall out of Brexit, concluded Deputy Murphy. A Portlaoise man charged with a number of burglaries, including stealing tools and equipment from the local parish centre and a parish-owned house, has been refused bail due to concerns that he may commit further crimes if released. At yesterday's (Thursday, February 21) district court, Keith McDonagh (20), 4 Highfield Meadows, Portlaoise, was charged with three burglaries, trespassing with intent to commit theft, and violent disorder. There was a State objection to bail. Detective Garda Michael ODonovan gave evidence that February 17, there was a break-in at Laois Sawmills, Ballymacken, Portlaoise, in which a workshop was broken into and tools to a value of 4,000 were taken. On February 16, there was a break-in at the Parish Centre, Stradbally Road, Portlaoise, and a push lawn mower and tools to a value of 400 were taken. On February 7, at 5 Dublin Road, Portlaoise, at the back of the parish centre, a window in a parish-owned house was broken and power tools to a value of 1,500 were taken. And on February 5, there was a break-in at Reliable House Furnishers, Station Road, Portlaoise, and five gas cylinders to a total value of 1,000 were taken. Det ODonovan said there was CCTV footage acquired from a number of these locations. Det ODonovan further gave evidence that on May 28, 2018, there was a violent disorder at the Mountrath Road, Portlaoise, involving seven people, with shovels, an axe handle and weight bars used. One man had half his ear bitten off and suffered facial injuries. The detective asked for a four-week adjournment for the preparation of a book of evidence on the violent disorder charge. Det ODonovan said he was of the belief that if granted bail, the accused may carry out more crimes. Defence for the accused, Mr Aonghus McCarthy made a lengthy bail application, during which he asked Det ODonovan whether a cash sum lodged by the accused would reassure the State. Absolutely not, replied Det ODonovan. Mr McCarthy said his client enjoys the presumption of innocence and he is not a flight risk. However, Judge Catherine Staines said that in her view, she was satisfied that there was a serious risk that further crimes would be committed. The judge refused bail, with the accused remanded in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court on March 7 next. Metro Manila (February 22, CNN Philippines) The Sandiganbayan First Division has acquitted former Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief retired Gen. Diomedio Villanueva of graft over a multimillion-peso refund to a U.S.-based courier company when he was head of a government office 16 years ago. The anti-graft court said Friday the prosecution failed to prove that Villanueva was guilty beyond reasonable doubt. Villanueva was accused of giving undue favor to Philpost USA when he was postmaster general of the Philippine Postal Corporation in 2013 over refunds to the New York-based company worth 53-million for "terminal dues paid for mail matters." But the Sandiganbayan said Villanueva was not liable since he acted in good faith. "Mistakes committed by a public officer are not actionable absent any clear showing that they were motivated by malice or gross negligence amounting to bad faith," the court said. Villanueva's lawyer Rey Robles welcomed the ruling. He reiterated their defense that Villanueva only based his authorization of the refund on recommendations of other Philpost officers. "There was really no gross inexcusable negligence from the very start because they took the time to study the matter," Robles told reporters after the promulgation of the ruling. "My client merely decided based on the recommendation." The case was first raffled off to the Sandiganbayan's Seventh Division but the court dismissed this, saying the information filed by the Office of the Ombudsman was defective. The Ombudsman filed the case again and was raffled off to the First Division, which continued to try the case, saying that this does not count as double jeopardy as Villanueva has not yet been arraigned. Now that he has been acquitted, Villanueva can freely leave the country without seeking court permission. The court has also ordered the release of his bail bond. The head of Failte Ireland's Ancient East initiative insists the agency is stepping up its approach to developing Laois in the tourist market. Jenny De Saulles believes the grant to Coillte to develop the Laois Offaly bike trail marks the start of this fresh approach. The Rural Regeneration & Development Fund allocation for the International Mountain Biking Project is great news for Slieve Blooms. The funding announced last week is the first step in establishing this new visitor experience. When this project is delivered, it will be a key attraction and will certainly form part of our wider work to draw more international visitors and revenue to the region through the Irelands Ancient East brand. From a tourism perspective, there are many exciting developments in the pipeline for Laois this year. Emo Court, and Timahoe Round Tower and Rock of Dunamaise are prime examples of really strong tourists assets in Laois, and our team at Failte Ireland will be working alongside key partners to really transform the visitor experiences at each of these key sites, which will help to grow the wider tourism offering in the area. At Failte Ireland, we also recognise Laois as being a great hub for festivals which have the potential to attract international visitors. With festivals motivating over 200,000 overseas visitors to come to Ireland, and contributing 108m to the economy, they are a key driver in growing visitor numbers, particularly in the off-peak seasons, when the business is most needed locally, she said. The tourism chief said Tourism Ireland has provided workshops and masterclasses alongside Laois Tourism to help Laois event organisers and festivals to target international audiences effectively, as well as working together to cross-promote and drive increased visitor numbers and revenue. She said the Gordon Bennett Irish Classic Car Run (pictured inset) has benefited from one to one mentoring from the Irelands Ancient East team and other help. This summer, for example, Failte Ireland in conjunction with Tourism Ireland is bringing travel journalists from key international markets to the Gordon Bennett Irish Classic Car Run, which will publicise the festival to audiences around the world. Our international publicity team will design bespoke itineraries to showcase this festival and the best of the region. There has been a real step-change in the way we work with organisations across Laois and we will continue to look for every opportunity to grow tourism in the region in the years ahead, said Ms De Saulles. A Fine Gael TD who is on her party's ticket to contest the next General Election in Laois Offaly want to run for a seat in the post-Brexit European Parliament elections. Fine Gael TD for Offaly, Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, is seeking the partys nomination to become an MEP in the Ireland South constituency. Laois and Offaly became part of that constituency in a shake-up late last year. Dep Corcoran Kennedy, who was demoted from a junior ministry post by Leo Varadkar, said she has accepted Fine Gaels invitation to seek the nomination. Influencing European policies is now as important as domestic policies therefore it is vital that we send experienced politicians to represent our interests in Brussels and Strasbourg. Representation is even more important at this time of change where the EU project will be navigating a new path following the departure of the United Kingdom from the EU," she said. The TD said she would use what show called her 'vast experience' as a councillor, TD and Minister to make an impact in the European Parliament to represent the Ireland South constituency in uncertain times. "We are about to enter the next phase of the Brexit withdrawal process in whatever shape that arrives. However, it will impact us and issues which are important across the towns, villages and communities of Ireland need to be at the heart of EU policy decisions," she said. My experience at EU level commenced as Chairwoman of the Oireachtas Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation where I engaged with fellow parliamentarians to share initiatives to address youth unemployment and the development of apprenticeships. As Minister of State at Department of Health, I represented Minister Simon Harris at EU Health Ministers meetings in Brussels and spoke at conferences with Health Commissioner Vytenis Andraiukaitis in relation to developing public health policy on alcohol, tobacco and sugar, Deputy Corcoran Kennedy said. She said she has always had an interest in addressing social issues, both nationally and internationally. As Vice Chair of the Oireachtas Womens Caucus. I presented at the Women Political Leaders conference on the Irish experience. As a member of the organising committee to commemorate Votail 100, I was delighted with the attendance of women parliamentarians from all over the world at our International Congress of Womens Caucuses in Dublin Castle last year." I have always been committed to the European project as it has contributed so much to the development of progressive laws that continue to have a positive impact on all of our lives. What happens in Brussels can be a driver for positive change in our local communities. This can clearly be seen as Ireland has received billions in structural funding from the EU which was crucial in the development of the country as a modern, open and advanced economy. If selected, I will be privileged to join outgoing MEPs Deirdre Clune and Sean Kelly on the Fine Gael ticket for Ireland South, she said. Fine Gael will hold their Ireland South constituency selection convention on Sunday, March 3 in Clonmel, Co Tipperary. Dep Corcoran Kennedy was selected in 2018 to run alongside Minister Charlie Flanagan in the re-united Laois Offaly constituency. The Irish Prison Service is facing a grilling from TDs over what one former minister has been described 'seismic' issues at prisons in Portlaoise and other parts of the country. Another TD claimed that the Director General of Irish prisons is not up to speed with what is going on or local prison managers are not being candid about questions TDs want to be answered. Correspondence from the Irish Prison Service was discussed on Thursday, February 21 by members of the Dail's most high-powered committee which is chaired by the Laois TD Sean Fleming. TDs raised their concerns at the Dail Public Accounts Committee following a recent meeting on spending and other issues in the service which has come to light as a result of problems raised by staff. Fianna Fail TD Marc MacSharry led calls for management to come before the committee to fully answer questions. "We need a dedicated meeting on issues that have emerged. The document that has come back falls well short of the sort of response that we need...we need a full day on the Irish Prison Service and we should not bury it within the appropriation accounts of the Department overall," said Dep MacSharry. As Chairman Deputy Fleming said prison management can be recalled but the first step to take is to letter outlining issues that are not adequately dealt with. Dep MacSharry felt urgent action is required and an administrative 'merry-go-round' would delay getting answers. "Unfortunately, what we know of the Prison Service so far is well outside the norm," he said. Dep Alan Kelly of the Labour Party said the committee has a tight schedule but agreed with Dep MacSharry's appeal. "The issues relating to the Irish Prison Service are pretty seismic. We need a session to deal with those and as soon as possible," he said. Dep MacSharry said he was conscious that the Comptroller and Auditor General might intend to start audits and the committee could assist in focusing one of those audits on the Irish Prison Service. Deputy Fleming agreed that there were questions that have not been answered but, in fairness to prison management, procedures must be followed. Dep Marc MacSharry said at least one specific aspect of the correspondence was 'not credible'. "One of the matters that was clear at the previous session was that the witnesses were not in a position to answer and they said they would convey the information to the committee, in fairness to their good intentions. "The letter states that local management was contacted and this is the answer, namely, that all vehicles are accounted for. Part of the potential issue is that with the best will in the world, the Secretary General (of the Department of Justice) is the Accounting Officer, while the head of the Prison Service in County Longford is not, perhaps, fully up to speed with what is going on and she is dependent on local management which may not be as candid as it should be in answers to certain questions," said Dep MacSharry. Dep Fleming said a meeting will be held with the Prison Service but the committee has a duty to examine the correspondence received before that meeting. The legal cost of compensation cases taken by prisoners who were injured by other prisoners in Portlaoise and other jails was more than double the amount awarded, according to the latest Comptroller and Auditor General audit of prison spending. Compensation awarded to prisoners was 492,000 in 2017 but the legal costs awarded reached 1 million, arising from 186 cases. The claims arose out of injuries and actions involving other prisoners. The total costs of such clams half of the 2.8 million spent in 2016. A total of 142 cases were brought by staff costing 2.25 million. Legal costs awarded amounted to 369,000. Civil claims from staff for injuries while on duty and other issues involving staff led to 1.14 million compensation. Legal costs incurred amounted to 369,000 arising from the 104 cases concluded. The total for such claims in 2016 was more than 2.1 million. A total of 38 claims through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal arising from injuries received by staff resulted in 742,000 worth of compensation. No legal costs were incurred. The cost was 3,000 down on the previous year. There were 37 compensation claims from the public which cost 395,000 to settle in 2017. Legal costs represented 131,000 of the bill. The bill for 2016 was 140,000. The total compo bill was 4.14 million. Legal costs totalled 1.5 million. At December 2017, the State Claims Agency recorded 2,250 claims as outstanding. Legal costs incurred by the Irish Prison Service in relation to 13 non-compensation cases amounted to 234,702. The Comptroller and Auditor General said the Irish Prison Service is involved in a number of pending legal proceedings which may generate liabilities depending on the outcome of the litigation. Any actual amount or timing of potential liabilities is uncertain. A substantial amount of cases are before the courts relating to slopping out mainly at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin. An engineer for Plainfield Township says the developer of a sewage sludge treatment facility needs to take a closer look at how the facility will affect groundwater. And without further study, the township planning commission shouldn't recommend the approval of the plant, according to township Special Environmental Legal Counsel John Embick. "My advice to the planning commission would be that you have to deny the application," he said. Two years of presentations by Synagro Technologies Inc. wrapped up Thursday and the township's panel of experts had a chance to weigh in on the proposal and list what they considered to be outstanding issues on the proposal. Synagro is seeking preliminary land development and subdivision approval for the proposed Slate Belt Heat Recovery Center at the Grand Central Sanitary Landfill, which would convert sewage sludge into Class A biosolids. The product can be used as fertilizer or fuel. It is proposed beside the Green Knight Energy Center at the landfill. The plant's sludge-drying ovens would harness excess heat created by Green Knight facility by burning landfill gas, which is primarily methane. For the plan to be approved by the township, the applicant must satisfy all zoning ordinances and the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. Synagro representatives said they have provided the information required and would like the Township Planning Commission to decide whether to recommend approving the project to the Township Board of Supervisors. Embick said Synagro has not provided environmental impact and hydrogeologic studies to prove the proposed project would not have an adverse impact on the health of the surrounding community. Synagro representatives argued that they have provided the requisite information. A former quarry that is currently permitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection as a sedimentation basin for water runoff for the landfill would serve the same purpose for the heat center. Synagro lawyer Elizabeth Witmer said the project will adhere to all DEP regulations and would obtain all necessary DEP permits for the project. Synagro has filed thousands of pages of documentation to the township regarding the project, she said. Michael Brunamonti of BCM Engineers, who the township hired to review the application, said the information provided does not address the commission's issues about potential groundwater contamination. "It is our opinion that the responses provided do not adequately address our concerns," Brunamonti said. Witmer said the ordinances do not require any additional environmental impact or hydrogeologic studies. Jason Smith of Hanover Engineering Associates, who has also been employed by the township, said the former quarry may serve a sedimentation basin but it is also a pond, which would classify it as one of the "waters of the Commonwealth," which garners additional protections. "It's a pond directly connected to groundwater," Brunamonti said. "So, I think it requires a higher level of study." The next planning commission meeting is scheduled for March 11. If Synagro does not ask for a time extension beyond March 31, the commission would likely vote whether to recommend approval. The matter would then go before supervisors. John Best is a freelance writer. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. How can President Trump be so cruel and unfeeling as to not let that American woman who went to Syria to marry an ISIS soldier come home? Suppose it were his daughter? We were all young once and made mistakes. I know I did. Hoda Muthana knows she doesnt want to bring up her son in a tent in the desert, and she realizes she was wrong. She deserves another chance, as does the ISIS woman who wants to return to England. Marlene Burkey Bethlehem A Bucks County man who admitted to the rape, murder and dismemberment of a 14-year-old girl has been taken to the hospital for high blood pressure, and his plea hearing was interrupted again. Jacob Sullivan was in the courthouse Thursday when he complained of a headache. Medical personnel rushed him to the hospital after finding his blood pressure was high. Prosecutors say Sullivan raped and killed Grace Packer in a plot with her adoptive mother. Sara Packer's lawyer says she intends to plead guilty in the case. Sullivan first entered a guilty plea on Tuesday , but was hospitalized several hours into the proceeding with high blood pressure. A winter storm closed the courthouse on Wednesday. A judge must accept Sullivans plea for it to become official. Prosecutors are seeking a death sentence. The Bethlehem Planning Commission unanimously backed Lehighs Universitys plans for a new health, sciences and technology building on East Morton Street. Thursday afternoon the commission voted 5-0 to approve Lehighs land development plans for a new 180,000-square-foot, six-story interdisciplinary research building at 124 W. Morton St., Lehigh spokeswoman Lori Friedman said Friday. It is being built on a faculty parking lot behind the Whitaker Lab. The Southside Bethlehem university is billing the project as a campus gateway that furthers Lehighs ongoing efforts to better integrate into its Southside Bethlehem neighborhood. It will also be the administrative home of Lehighs new College of Health, a key part of the schools aggressive plan to enroll 1,800 new students over seven years. It will also link to two existing research buildings, Whitaker and Sinclair labs. The building is designed to foster interdisciplinary research and break down traditional collegiate silos. Lehigh envisions it as a place where research is organized around themes, not department or colleges, Friedman said earlier this week. To do this, the design features open bench and workspace models and minimal hard walls to maximize transparency and openness and in turn foster collaboration, she said. The project was granted a zoning variance by the Bethlehem Zoning Hearing Board in July. In 2016, Lehigh President John Simon unveiled his Path to Prominence plan, outlining his vision for growing Lehighs undergraduate and graduate enrollment, attracting more leading researchers to the faculty and adding a new College of Health. Attracting all of these new students means Lehigh has a major demand for student housing that requires lots of new construction. Currently, two new dorms are being built. The fledgling College of Health is being led by inaugural dean Whitney Witt, most recently director of the Center for Maternal and Child Health Research at IBM Watson Health in North Carolina. The college is expected to open in the fall of 2020 with 15 faculty members and 100 students. The new health, science and technology building is slated to open in the fall of 2021. The new College of Health will be a novel, nonclinical college that will take full advantage of Lehighs strengths in interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial approaches to research and education, according to Lehighs website. Programs and classes will enable students to explore healthcare from a variety of perspectives, preparing them for careers in areas such as public health policy, environmental health and science, disease and disaster preparedness, health education, population health, and health economics, among many others. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatulloand Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Daily Nigerian reports that the Kano State Police Command has reportedly arrested a federal lawmaker representing Kuru/Bebeji Constituency in the House of Representatives, Abdulmumin Jibrin, over an attack on the convoy of a former governor of the state, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. According to the report, the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 1, Dan Bature, and the state Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Wakili ordered the arrest of the lawmaker after visiting the scene of the attack on Friday, February 22. READ ALSO: Elections 2019: See 14 battleground states that may be won and lost by Buhari and Atiku (list) Jibrin is allegedly said to have been taken to the Kano State Police Command headquarters in Bompai for interrogation. When the commissioner gave nod for Kwankwaso to stage the rally, Abdulmumin Kofa deliberately staged a rally at the area to deny Mr Kwankwaso passage through his village, but the crowd in Kwankwasos convoy overpowered them. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda The CP know exactly what happened. That is why he arrested the lawmaker, the Daily Nigerian report quoted a security source in the know about the matter as saying. Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the convoy of Nigerias vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, was also attacked by suspected thugs in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara state on Thursday, February 21. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read best news on Nigerias #1 news app The attack included gun-shots and resulted in many sustaining various degrees of injury. It was learnt that the incident happened at the Isale-Koko area of Ilorin. The APC governorship candidate in the state, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, condemned the alleged attack and described it as the brazen attack today in Ilorin on the convoy of the Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo by armed PDP thugs." NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We keep evolving to serve our readers better Kano man who earns 10k weekly vows to vote for Buhari - on Legit TV Source: Legit Newspaper - The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Ogun state has said that it will deploy sufficient officers for the Saturday, February 23, elections - The service said that the deployment is an effort to assist the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) in the state ahead of the polls - The spokesman of the NCS in the state, Abdullahi Maiwada, said that there would be thorough patrols in borders and checkpoints The Ogun command of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will deploy enough personnel to assist the police in the conduct of the elections on Saturday, February 23. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda Abdullahi Maiwada, the public relations officer of NCS in Ogun, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ota that the deployment of personnel was to complement the efforts of the police during the elections. According to him, there would be intensive patrols to check and man the borders as well as various checkpoints in the state. Approved routes will also be floated as usual as regard the Federal Government directives for floating of boarders, Maiwada said. PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet! He further said the command would put rigorous Intensive Anti-Smugglers Patrols in those areas to check leakages. Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Muhammed Adamu Tuesday, February 19, urged Nigerian electorate to put their fears aside and vote during the presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday, February 23. Speaking in Abuja, IGP Adamu said: "Following the postponement of the election earlier scheduled for February 16, and a subsequent review of the security situation, it became necessary for the Force to boost security in the nation." 2019 Election: New IGP Speaks Tough | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng - Less than 200 APC members showed up for the one-million-man march for President Muhammadu Buhari in Niger state - No single member of the state executive of the ruling party attended the rally - The infighting within the APC in the state may explain why many party members failed to show up There was poor turnout at the one-million-man march for President Muhammadu Buhari which held on Thursday, February 21, as less than 200 All Progressive Congress (APC) members turned out for the event. The march was organised by the Niger state chapter of the Buhari Support Organisation (BSO), Independent reports. READ ALSO: On February 23 we can remove an incumbent; just like 2015 - Atiku Legit.ng gathers that no single member of the state executive of the APC attended the rally which kicked off from the Trade Fair Complex and terminated at the BSO office. Only few women and youths participated. Journalists had been informed by the Niger state coordinator of the BSO, Alhaji Umar Shuaibu, that the group will mobilise Nigerians to vote massively for the president in the Saturday, February 23 presidential election. The march aimed to garner at least 1.5 million votes for the president in the state; however, it failed to yield desired results as many refused to turn out for the exercise. The infighting within the APC in the state may explain why many party members failed to show up at the event. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Recall that Legit.ng previously reported that the Niger state chapter of the Buhari Campaign Organisation said it had concluded arrangements to organise a one-million-man march for President Muhammadu Buhari in Minna. Ubale Kagara, coordinator, north central zone of the BCO, said the organisation would continue to promote the lofty ideals of President Buhari before Nigerians. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! Nigerian youths reveal who they want as president - on Legit TV: Source: Legit Supporters of the two main contenders in the presidential election, Muhammadu Buhari of the APC and those of Atiku Abubakar from the PDP have already begun to project victory for their respective candidates shortly after INEC released the total number of Permanent Voters Card (PVCs) collected across the country ahead of the general elections. The INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, at a press conference on Thursday, February 21, noted that a total of 72.7 million PVCs were collected across the country. READ ALSO: Breaking: 12 presidential candidates back Buhari 2 days to election The data released by the electoral commission shows that the states with the highest number of PVCs collected are: Lagos 5.5m, Kano 4.7m, Kaduna 3.6m, Katsina 3.2 million and Rivers 2.83m. Following the figures released by INEC, some Nigerians on social media have begun projecting how the data released could favour their presidential candidate in the February 23 election. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda Others are concerned that the figures of PVCs collected may point to the victory of the incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari. Read some reactions to the issue below: Meanwhile, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Thursday, February 21, said that the position of the commission on Zamfara and Rivers All Progressive Congress (APC) have not changed. Legit.ng gathered that the commission had on Wednesday, February 20, said the All Progressives Congress (APC) would not be allowed to participate in any elections except the presidential poll in Rivers and Zamfara states. Yakubus position came despite a letter written to INEC by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), asking the commission to recognise the APC in Zamfara. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: We have updated to serve you better! 2019 election: Who will win? Anambra residents speak | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng - African-American actor, Jussie Smollett, has been arrested in Chicago - Smollett was arrested after he was charged with felony disorderly conduct on Wednesday, February 21, 2019 - He is a suspect for allegedly faking being a victim of a homophobic and racial attack African-American movie star, Jussie Smollett has been arrested in Chicago. This was done shortly after he was charged with filing a false police report. The actor claimed to be a victim of a homophobic and racist attack in Chicago in January 2019. The 36-year-old claimed that he was attacked by two masked men who hurled racial slurs at him and also put a noose around his neck as they poured bleach on him. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Nigeria However, there have been doubts about his claims and he has been arrested. Smollett faces up to three years in prison or probation if found guilty. According to the Chicago Police Department spokesperson, Anthony Guglielmi, Smollett is in the custody of detectives. READ ALSO: Personal letter from the Editor-in-Chief of Legit.ng (formerly NAIJ.com) After the Empire star was charged, his lawyers released a statement revealing that Smollett "enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked", NBC News reports. Two Nigerian brothers were initially arrested in connection to the case but they have since been released without charge. It was, however, discovered that the brothers had bought the rope used in the alleged attack. Smollett had raised a storm on social media after news of the alleged attack was publicised. Many people trooped to send him goodwill messages and also preach against hate crimes. Among his sympathisers was Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh. The movie star preached that she is aware of the bible's stance on homosexuality but people should not be attacked for loving differently. HELLO! NAIJ.com (naija.ng) upgrades to Legit.ng We keep evolving to serve our readers better. Top 4 Most Influential Nigerians in the World: Nigerians in Top Positions | Legit TV Source: Legit Lahore, February 22: Amid mounting international pressure to take action against home-grown terrorists, Punjab government of Pakistan took control of all Islamic seminaries run by Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), who claimed the responsibility for the February 14 Pulwama attack. The government of Pakistans Punjab seized the JeM campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur. The move came just a day after the meeting of Pakistans National Security Committee (NSC) in Islamabad. According to reports of a Pakistan media, in the meeting decision was taken to uproot extremism from the society. Jammu And Kashmir: Two JeM Terrorists Gunned Down by Security Forces in Sopore Encounter. Yesterday, Pakistan imposed a ban on two outfits of UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed. Pakistan banned Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. Saeed is the co-founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was responsible for 26/11 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed. Pakistan's Interior Ministry on Thursday issued a press release announcing a ban on JuD and FIF. UP ATS Arrests 2 Suspected JeM Terrorists From Deoband, Days After Pulwama Attack. After the Pulwama attack which claimed lives of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, most the countries condemned Pakistan for providing safe haven to terrorists. The JeM is a Pakistan-based terror outfit having headquarters in Punjabs Bahawalpur district. The terror outfit is headed by Masood Azhar, who was set free by the Indian government in 1999 after the Hijack of Air India plane. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 22, 2019 08:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Japan is on a high alert of tsunami and earthquakes and the reason has nothing to do with any warnings from the meteorological department. A giant-sea fish is a reason for this prediction. Fishermen have caught oarfish, a deep-sea fish which is associated with disaster in Japanese mythology! Finding an oarfish is said to be a sign of doomsday and the fishermen caught not one but two of these giant fishes alive recently. Since these fishes are said to live into deep waters, they only come to the surface when there is a possibility of a natural disaster. Thus the people of Japan are on a warning of a tsunami or an earthquake. The Doomsday Clock Says We Are Just Two Minutes Away From Apocalypse! What Does it Mean and Should You Be Worried? Japan has experienced some worst disasters of tsunamis and earthquakes in the past. Yomitan fisheries cooperative association told the CNN, "The two oarfish were swimming vigorously in the nets. They looked mysterious and beautiful." These fish are called as "Ryugu no tsukai" in Japanese, which translates to "Messenger from the Sea God's Palace." It is associated with a bad omen. Japan Earthquake: Tremors Measuring 5.6 on Richter Scale Hits Hokkaido. Here's a Picture of Oarfish That is Associated With Bad Omen in Japan View this post on Instagram A post shared by (@uozuaquarium_official) on Jan 28, 2019 at 10:08pm PST While it can be dismissed as just a belief, the people of Japan have experienced the bad spell after spotting the fish in the past. In the year 2010, about a dozen on oarfish had washed up ashore the Japanese coast. In the year 2011, there was an earthquake and tsunami in Fukushima which killed about 20,000 people. Since then, the belief that spotting of an oarfish indicates natural disasters is prevalent. The scientists however, have dismissed the claim that these deep-sea fishes have anything to do with natural disasters. They said that it could be an effect of global warming that the changes in the temperature could have forced the fishes to come upward near the surface. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 22, 2019 07:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Paul Post is a freelance writer in eastern New York. He can be reached at paulpost@nycap.rr.com. Phil Gruber is the news editor at Lancaster Farming. He can be reached at 717-721-4427 or pgruber@lancasterfarming.com. Follow him @PhilLancFarming on Twitter. Missouris new medicinal marijuana law opens up treatment options for qualified patients suffering from disorders or pain that have not been successfully treated with traditional medication. While the law took effect December 6, there are still a number of procedures and regulatory issues that have not been resolved. However, individuals and businesses are eager to capitalize on the opportunity. According to the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), as of Feb. 20, the state of Missouri has already collected over $3 million in prefiling fees for marijuana cultivation, dispensaries, and manufacturing facilities. DHSS has hosted two forums, and has four more planned, to get Missourians' input on rules and regulations for the program: 5-8 p.m., Feb. 27 in Poplar Bluff - Three Rivers Community College, 2080 Tinnin Fine Arts Center 5-8 p.m., Feb. 28 in St. Louis - TBA 5-8 p.m., March 6 in Kansas City - TBA 5-8 p.m., March 7 in Springfield - Ozarks Technical Community College Video from a recent public forum is below: As DHSS finalizes the details, LakeExpo.com took a deep dive into Amendment 2, speaking with law enforcement, sponsors of the bill and legal experts on cannabis. The information below is the result of those interviews, as well as information taken from DHSS' medical marijuana FAQ page. How Can I Legally Posses Medicinal Marijuana in Missouri? The new law allows for a Qualifying Patient or a Primary Caregiver to possess medical marijuana. How Do I Become a Qualifying Patient? 1) Obtain physician certification after being diagnosed with a qualifying medical condition 2) Apply for Identification Card from DHSS How Do I Get A Physician Certification? A Physician Certification is simply documentation that a medical or osteopathic doctor believes a patient has a qualifying medical condition and would benefit from medicinal marijuana treatment. According to Amendment 2, section 1 paragraph 13 this document can be handwritten, electronic or in another commonly used format but must be signed by the physician. Patients will need to get an updated certification from their doctor each year. How Do I Get A Qualifying Patient Identification Card? Applications will be available by June 4 and can be submitted starting on July 4, 2019. The DHSS has 30 days to either approve or deny applications. The cost $25 All applications are obtained through the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. How Do I Get A Primary Caregiver Identification Card? 1) Primary caregivers must be 21 or older 2) Have significant responsibility for managing the well-being of a Qualifying Patient - section 1, part 1, paragraph 13. 3) Serve as the Primary Caregiver to no more than three Qualifying Patients 4) Apply and obtain a Primary Caregiver identification card from DHSS. Applications available by June 4, 2019 and can be submitted starting on July 4. The DHSS has 30 days to either approve or deny applications. 5) A Primary Caregiver ID costs $25 Who Can't Have Medicinal Marijuana? Current federal law prohibits licensed gun owners from using medicinal marijuana, even if it is legal in your state. More on this issue coming from LakeExpo.com soon, but in brief, a letter from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive (ATF) referenced that "Federal law, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3), prohibits any 'unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802))' from shipping, transporting, receiving, or possessing firearms or ammunition." The letter goes on to say that, "Therefore, any person who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless of whether his or her State has passed legislation authorizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes, is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance and is prohibited by Federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition." What Happens After I Apply? DHSS has the right to request applicants submit their fingerprints to the Missouri State Highway Patrol for state and federal background checks. Can I Grow Marijuana At Home? Missouri's card-carrying Qualifying Patients and Caregivers will be allowed to grow medicinal marijuana at home, with some restrictions. Amendment 2 allows a patient or caregiver with an DHSS issued Qualifying Patient Cultivation identification card to grow up to six plants in a appropriately secured facility. According to amendment language this secured facility is defined as a locked and enclosed area that ONLY the Qualifying Patient or primary caregiver can enter. Section 1, Part 7, Paragraph 9. John Payne of New Approach Missouri, said the facility needs to be covered and locked, adding that a greenhouse could be a suitable facility as long as it is covered and has a reliable lock. Qualifying Patient Cultivation ID cards cost $100 and must be renewed each year. Two Qualifying Patients with cultivation ID cards can grow up to 12 plants in the same facility. If a third person is a Primary Caregiver who also has a Qualifying Patient ID card, they can also grow on the same property allowing up to 18 medicinal marijuana plants in one place. How Does A Person Start Home Growing? Until dispensaries are selling legal marijuana seeds for cultivation there is no legal way for home or commercial growers to get seeds or starter plants into the state without violating federal law. While 33 states now allow for the medicinal use of marijuana, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) still considers it a Schedule I drug. In the eyes of the feds, marijuana has, no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. This classification means it cant cross state lines, even if state government is managing that transportation. Transporting it across state lines is also a violation of Missouri state laws, according the Missouri State Highway Patrol. MSHP says until DHSS has issued the appropriate cards law enforcement will be treating any marijuana in the state as illegal. It would be logical to assume the best way to get a crop started is to buy seeds from a legal grower or dispensary in another state; however, businesses who ship out-of-state put themselves at risk. Lewis Koski, a partner in the government consulting firm Freedman & Koski and former Director of Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division, explained, "A business could have their license revoked. The members of the company could face criminal charges. Chris Lindsey, a legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project which supports regulated marijuana nationally, agreed: "there isn't much of an option for states except to look the other way and understand that there has to be a way for regulated businesses to operate." (http://www.cpr.org/news/story/licensed-medical-marijuana-growers-must-break-law-get-first-seed) This chicken-or-egg conundrum has been widespread as states have legalized marijuana, mostly recently discussed in Oklahoma, Ohio and Maryland. What is the earliest I can buy from a Missouri Dispensary? The DHSS estimates the earliest a Qualifying Patient can purchase medicinal cannabis from a dispensary will be January 2020. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says until Department of Health has issued the appropriate cards, troopers will be treating any marijuana in the state as illegal, because it would have to have come across state lines illegally. How Much Can I Buy? DHSS can and likely will, set a maximum limit to the amount of dry marijuana a Qualified Patient can buy in a month. Legally the limit cannot be less than four ounces of the dried material. How Much Can I Carry? The DHSS can also set a limit on the amount of dried marijuana a Qualifying Patient can carry. They cannot limit it to less than a 60-day supply or eight ounces. What If I Need More Than The State Allows? Purchase and possession limits can be adjusted to accommodate a Qualifying Patient who has written certification from two separate physicians that state why they need more than is legally allowed. Without the proper certification a patient with twice as much as they are legally allowed to have could lose their identification card, pay a fine up to $2,000 and face up to one year in prison. Where will dispensaries be? And how many? DHSS can control the number of dispensary licenses issued, but by law they must allow at least 24 licenses in each Congressional district. With eight congressional districts statewide, the law allows for 192 dispensaries in Missouri. Where will marijuana-infused product making facilities be located? Amendment 2 allows for one marijuana-infused product making facility per 70,000 people in the state. Based on the last census in 2010 and population estimates in 2017, the state will need to make room for at least 4,000 cannabis-infusion operations. Can I Have Medicinal Cannabis In Missouri If I Have An Out-Of-State Medicinal ID Card? Yes and No. As of February 2019, no. Eventually an out-of-state ID card will allow a patient to buy from dispensaries within the state, meaning possession of medical marijuana grown in Missouri will be allowed. However currently there are no legally grown medicinal marijuana options available in Missouri. So if you have an out-of-state card and are carrying medicinal marijuana, law enforcement can assume you transported it into the state illegally and will treat it as such. Dispensary facilities are not permitted to sell until they have their license, which they can apply for on August 3, 2019. DHSS must approve or deny applications by December 31. Since home-grow operations are not yet legal and patients cannot legally bring marijuana into Missouri across state lines there isnt currently a legal way for an out-of-state-card holder to possess medicinal marijuana. Once I Get My Card Can I Legally Carry Weed In Other States? Not necessarily. Some states will recognize your Missouri status as a Qualified Patient, but others will not. Be sure to check regulations before trying to buy medical cannabis out-of-state in order to be in compliance with that state's laws. Can I Use It In Public? No. The new law does not allow for public use, driving, working or attempting to work while under the influence of marijuana. Can medicinal marijuana be shipped across state lines? Nope. While the herb is now legal in the state of Missouri, it is still listed as a Schedule I drug on the Controlled Substance Act with the US Drug Enforcement Administration and federal law does not allow any restricted substance to move across state lines. Who Started Amendment 2? The main sponsor for Amendment 2 was New Approach Missouri, an advocacy group with the goal of placing medical marijuana treatment in the hands of doctors, not government. [http://www.newapproachmissouri.com/] The group has a diverse array of employees, board members and advisors including campaign managers, research analysts, attorneys, change advocates, business specialists, physicians, nurses, medical and osteopathic doctors, as well as researchers and law enforcement. What Does The Amendment Consider Medicinal Marijuana? Amendment 2 definition of marijuana includes: Cannabis indica, Cannabis sativa and Cannabis ruderalis, as well as other hybrids, strains and extracted resins. The law also specifies that hemp products with less than .03 percent THC (tetreahydrocannabidnol) are not considered marijuana. Other products that are acceptable under the new law include: capsules, teas, oils, food and other infused products, vaping, topical ointments, balms, skin patches and suppositories. How Do I Start A Commercial Grow Operation? While applications for facility licenses to cultivate, manufacture, test, transport, seed-to-sale, or dispense have been available since January 2019, the DHSS wont begin to accept applications until Aug. 3, 2019. Applicants will hear from the state within 150 days of submission. Meaning, applications submitted on Aug. 3 will be approved or denied by Dec. 31, 2019. Approved licenses are valid for three years. The application fee for growing medicinal marijuana is a non-refundable $10,000 with an annual fee of $25,000. How Do I Start A Dispensary or Marijuana-Infused Manufacturing Facility? Both will require a $6,000 non-refundable application fee and a $10,000 annual fee. Just as with cultivations facilities, applications became available in January 2019. The DHSS will begin accepting applications Aug. 3. Applications will be approved or denied by Dec. 31, 2019. Approved licenses are valid for three years. IMPORTANT DATES January 5, 2019 - Facilities can pay their applications FEE, but applications won't be available June 4, 2019 - Patient applications available July 4, 2019 - Patient applications accepted for review August 3, 2019 - Medical Marijuana Identification Cards issued for first applicants. Facility license applications accepted for review. January 2020 - Approved patients buy medicinal cannabis legally from licensed distributors. What Can I Do Now? The first step to legally using marijuana for its medicinal benefits is to have your doctor certify that you are a Qualifying Patient. This physician certification must be obtained before you can apply with the state. What Are The Qualifying Medical Conditions? Cancer, Epilepsy, Glaucoma, Intractable migraines unresponsive to other treatment, A chronic medical condition that causes severe, persistent pain or persistent muscle spasms, including but not limited to those associated with multiple sclerosis, seizures, Parkinsons disease, and Tourettes syndrome, Debilitating psychiatric disorders, including, but not limited to, post-traumatic stress disorder, if diagnosed by a state licensed psychiatrist, Human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, A chronic medical condition that is normally treated with a prescription medication that could lead to physical or psychological dependence, when a physician determines that medical use of marijuana could be effective in treating that condition and would serve as a safer alternative to the prescription medication, Any terminal illness, or In the professional judgment of a physician, any other chronic, debilitating or other medical condition, including, but not limited to, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohns disease, Huntingtons disease, autism, neuropathies, sickle cell anemia, agitation of Alzheimers disease, cachexia and wasting syndrome. If you have questions about this process you can email the Department of Health and Senior Services directly at: MedicalMarijuanaInfo@health.mo.gov Rome, February 22 - The Lazio regional government has intervened after reports that an eight-year-old immunodepressed child in Rome cannot return to school since there are five pupils who have not been vaccinated in his a class, "two of whose mothers say they are against vaccinations". The boy cannot be vaccinated because he has undergone chemotherapy for leukemia. His parents have complained to the school, located in the San Giovanni area, because a reported 30% of the pupils in the school have not been vaccinated. The Lazio regional government has warned the school that it must ensure conditions for the child to have safe access to the facilities. Naples, February 22 - A 32-meter brightly colored canvas, as if it were a fresco on the roof of the Toro Farnese, greets visitors to the exhibition 'In the Volcano, Cai Guo-Qiang and Pompeii'. The exhibition by the Chinese artist, who has won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale, will be at the Naples National Archaeological Museum until May 20. There was still the smell of gunpowder on Thursday after a spectacular "explosion" on Wednesday in the Pompeii amphitheater. The works immediately 'excavated' - canvases of different sizes and copies of everyday objects from antiquity, as well as reproductions of famous MANN sculptures - just after the Pompeii performance have been spread around the museum halls, from the Farnese collection to the frescoes section, from the atrium to the mosaics, to tell of an indissoluble link between the past and present and between Eastern and Western cultures. Also on display are paintings using gunpowder that had been created in New York and at the end of the route a boat, anchored to the wall and flanked by Pompeii frescoes. "When the eruption of Vesuvius buried ancient civilization, nature created a masterpiece through catastrophe, preserving monumental heritage like a time-space capsule," Cai Guo-Qiang said. The project received organizational support from Fondazione Morra. "Thanks to the work of Cai Guo-Qiang, folklore, allusions and the power of Oriental traditions are located, overwhelming, in the halls of MANN, proving that cultural sharing is born from an analogous capacity to look at the world with a sense of curiosity of which people in ancient times spoke," museum director Paolo Giulierini said, noting that MANN also has an current exhibition on archaeology of the ancient Sichuan until March 11 that bears witness to unremitting dialogue with China. "The artist found in the culture and history of Naples and Campania new ways to realize his 'explosion paintings'," said curator Jerme Neutres. "This dialogue is seen in the set design of the exhibition, with Cai Guo-Qiang's works inside the collections, including those of Pompeii, in a sort of treasure hunt, a back and forth between the past and the present," he said. On Thursday there was an immense crowd for the "artistic explosion" that opened the exhibition in Pompeii. Rome, February 22 - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Friday that "75% of (EU) citizens are in favour of the euro" as he accepted an honorary law degree from Bologna University. "Overall European citizens appreciate the benefits of the economic integration that the European Union has produced and for years they have considered its greatest success to be the free circulation of people, goods and services, that is the single market," he said. Rome, February 22 - Migrants who were not allowed to disembark from a Coast Guard ship for several days after being rescued in the Mediterranean in August have filed two legal petitions against their treatment, not just one, a lawyer representing them said on Friday. Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini, who has spearheaded the government's tough stance on migrants, refused to let the asylum seekers off the ship during a standoff with the EU. Catania prosecutors wanted to press ahead with criminal charges against Salvini in relation to this but this week the Senate's immunity panel voted to deny permission for the case to proceed. "The aim of the petition is not to obtain damages, but to ascertain whether conduct that did not comply with the law took place," lawyer Alessandro Ferrara told a press conference. "The damages could be a symbolic amount of one euro. The important thing is that clarification is obtained on that conduct". Petitions to a Rome court and to the European Court of Human Rights have been presented by 42 migrants who were on the Diciotti. Rome, February 22 - A funding problem for the outskirts of Italian cities and towns has been solved thanks to the intervention of Premier Giuseppe Conte, Bari Mayor Antonio Decaro, the head of municipalities association ANCI, told an ANSA Forum on Friday. Decaro added that new proposed regional autonomy should not "create a financial and juridical gap" between richer northern regions and poorer southern ones. Rome, February 22 - Racism has flared up in Italy with headline-grabbing cases in Lombardy and Umbria this week that have spurred commentators to suggest the national mood is hardening against migrants. "Kill the n**ger" was scrawled on the exterior wall of a family who have adopted an African man at Melegnano near Milan earlier this week. The phrase was accompanied by a swastika. The family, who have hosted the 21-year-old Senegalese for two years, said this was not the first incident of the kind. "What is happening in so many cases today in Italy is also amplified by politicians like (Interior Minister and anti-migrant League leader Matteo) Salvini," said the mother of Bakary Dandio, Angela Bedoni, who adopted him with her husband Paolo Pozzi. "We must build bridges, not close ports," she said referring to Salvini's closing Italian ports to NGO migrant rescue ships. She also said Salvini's recent migrants and security decree "is putting many people into difficulties today. And it is a question of culture too. It is important to understand what happened in Italy before 1945 and today". Salvini replied by saying "I respect the pain of a mother, I embrace her son and I condemn all forms of racism. "And the lady should respect the demand for security and legality that is coming from Italians, that I make concrete as a minister. "Blocking migrant smugglers and their accomplices, installing CCTV cameras and expelling criminals is simply justice, it isn't racism". On Thursday, then, education officials in the central Umbria region said that they were looking into reports that a supply teacher had bullied a black pupil. The Tuttoggi.info site reported that the teacher made the boy stand in front of a window with his back to the class at a school near Foligno and said to the other children "look how ugly he is". The teacher's reported defence was that it was all part of a social experiment, and she was trying to explain the Holocaust. "We have been informed of this alleged case and we are running all the necessary checks," Antonella Iunti, the director of the regional school office, told ANSA. Education Minister Marco Bussetti said "urgent measures" would be taken and ministry sources said the teacher would be suspended. On Friday The father of the boy said "it is an episode of racism and it was not a social experiment". The boy's sister was also singled out to be mocked by the class, sources said. Talking to reporters outside the school, the father said "both my kids are ill over this". Amidst the tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama attack, Pak government banned the 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeeds Jamat-ut-Dawa (JuD) on Thursday. The decision was during the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting which was chaired by the Pak Prime Minister Imran Khan. The meeting was conducted to review the National Action Plan in detail. Hafiz Saeed is the man behind the 26/11 Mumbai Terror attacks. Earlier, he used to run Lashkar-e-Taiba which was banned by the Pakistan government and later, he formed Jamat-ut-Dawa. In a statement released by the Government of Pakistan stated that it was decided during the meeting to accelerate action against proscribed organisations. It was further decided that Jamat-ut-Dawa and Falah-e- Insaniat Foundation be notified as proscribed organizations by the Ministry of Interior, Pakistan government press release said. Read the official statement released by Pak government: Rome, February 22 - A court in the German city of Essen ruled Friday that an arrest warrant for two German managers of ThyssenKrupp charged over a fire that killed seven workers is also valid in Germany. But the pair, Harald Espenhahn and Gerald Priegnitz, have contested the ruling, filing an appeal at a court in Hamm. Last March one of several former Thyssenkrupp managers who were convicted over a fire at the company's Turin steel plant in December 2007 in which seven workers died asked for clemency from President Sergio Mattarella. Marco Pucci has been in prison since May 2016 serving a term of six years, three months. Rome, February 15 - President Sergio Mattarella on Friday received at the presidential Quirinale palace the returned French Ambassador to Italy Christian Masset who handed him a letter from French President Emmanuel Macron inviting him to pay a State visit to France. Mattarella cordially thanked Macron and accepted the invitation. Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Friday "I'm happy that the polemic is over. Now I renew the request to meet the French interior minister, with the aim of bringing back to Italy some of the 15 terrorists hiding for years in France". Masset on Friday returned to Rome after being recalled to Paris for consultations on February 7. Masset was discreetly greeted at Fiumicino Airport by French embassy staff. France recalled Masset for consultations citing unprecedented attacks by Italian government figures after Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio met with hardline members of the Yellow Vest protest movement in Paris. "Italian President (Sergio) Mattarella called (French) President (Emmanuel) Macron, they talked and they said how important the friendship between France and Italy is, how much the two countries need each other," European Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau told RTL. "We have also listened to the political leaders who let slip words and conduct that were frankly unfriendly and unacceptable show regret". Deputy Premier and Labour and Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio said Friday that his 5-Star Movement (M5S) will not have talks with violent elements among France's Yellow Vests protestors. Di Maio last week met controversial hardline Yellow Vest member Christophe Chalencon, who has called for a military coup, ahead of May's European elections. "There was some interaction with a complex reality but we don't intend to dialogue with the part that is talking about armed struggle or civil war," Di Maio said as he presented the M5S's manifesto for the European elections. In other EU news Friday, Deputy Premier and Euroskeptic League leader Matteo Salvini said Friday, after the League's economic pointsman Claudio Borghi said Rome should exit the EU if it is "still toxic" after May's European elections, that Italy has no intention of leaving the European Union. "We have no intention of leaving Europe, we want to change it, improve it bit not abandon it," said Salvini, who is also interior minister. League economy pointman Borghi said earlier Friday that Italy should consider leaving the EU if the bloc does not change radically following the May 26 European elections. "I think that this is the last chance. If, after the European elections, the same mandarins led by Germany are the ones driving the economic, social and migratory policies, for the sole benefit of Germany and to our detriment, I'll say we should leave," Borghi said. "We either manage to change it or we'll have to come out". The League MP said the EU project was a "failure" and "toxic for Italy". "If the environment remains toxic, I'll say let's get out," he said. Rome should say clearly if it wants to exit the European Union, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani said. "Let the Italian government say clearly whether it wants to leave the euro and the European Union," Tajani said on Twitter. "Too many ambiguities and ill-considered declarations only cause harm to Italy and the Italians". Rome, February 22 - Students across Italy took to the streets on Friday to protest against the new high-school graduation exam 'maturita' and the regionalization of education. "Regionalization without a national law on the right to education is an effort of the League", the ruling party together with the 5-Star Movement (M5S), and ignores lack of funding for public schools and "confirms the government's betrayal towards us", said the national coordinator of the Students' Union Giulia Biazzo. Students in cities including Rome and Milan are protesting also against a reform of the high-school graduation exam with the introduction of a new Invalsi test, the elimination of a thesis and the central role given to traineeships, Biazzo said. Messina, February 22 - Italian tax police from Messina on Friday arrested Piedmontese businessman Ezio Bigotti on suspicion of corruption. Bigotti is president of the STI management and investment group and has won numerous contracts from civil service procurement agency CONSIP. Also arrested was Massimo Gaboardi, a former petrochemicals technician for state fuels group ENI. The two men are accused of corruption in judicial acts and false statements made by a public official. Bigotti allegedly paid former Siracusa prosecutor Giancarlo Longo 20,000 euros to shelve a tax case against him. LACONIA Charles Stantons career as an opera singer paired well with his ability to write grants. He could perform in the evening and raise Photo: CTV News Police on Vancouver Island are searching for the criminals behind in a targeted shooting in Courtenay on Thursday. A man was found outside an apartment complex, bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound to the groin. He is in stable condition in hospital. No arrests have been made, but witnesses saw a blue/teal four-door Mazda and a white Chevrolet pickup speed away from the scene, CTV News reports. Investigators are asking anyone with information to come forward. with files from CTV Vancouver Island Photo: Parks Canada The mayor of Oliver would like to see a referendum held on the proposed South Okanagan national park, and is using his powers to force another council vote on the subject. At last weeks council meeting, a vote to send a letter to Parks Canada requesting a referendum failed 2 - 2 with Coun. David Mattes absent. Mayor Martin Johansen voted in favour of the motion, and using his mayors powers, is bringing the matter back for another vote on Monday. Establishing a national park reserve is definitely a hotly debated topic in the community and the feedback Ive received for the past couple weeks in a desire to revisit the motion that was defeated at the last council meeting, Johansen said Friday. Its a contentious issue and I think you really need to involve people in the community around where this national park reserve is going to be established. He said the fact that Coun. Mattes was absent during the last vote is a big reason there will be a second. Coun. Aimee Grice voted in favour of the referendum request, while Couns. Larry Schwarzenberger and Petra Veintimilla were opposed. Schwarzenberger voiced a desire to have the town stay neutral on the issue while Veintimilla wanted more information before making a final decision. Johansen said Parks Canadas outreach and public consultation on the project has been lacking, and called a referendum the right thing to do. Im very much in favour of reaching out to people and asking them what they feel, he said. A poll of residents in Oliver, Osoyoos, Keremeos and Cawston released in January showed 76 per cent of people in support of a referendum on the issue. The federal government's public consultation window on the project closes at the end of the month. Photo: The Canadian Press The defence team for Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman said Friday it will seek a new trial for the notorious drug lord in light of "misconduct" on the part of several jurors who allegedly followed media accounts of the case against the instructions of a federal judge. Defence attorney Eduardo Balarezo said in a court filing he intends to ask U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan to conduct an evidentiary hearing "to determine the extent of the misconduct." The U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn declined to comment. Guzman was convicted last week of murder conspiracy and drug-trafficking charges. He faces life in prison at his June sentencing. The filing came two days after VICE News reported that at least five jurors followed media reports and Twitter feeds during the three-month-long trial and were aware of potentially prejudicial material that had been excluded from the proceedings. Cogan regularly warned jurors to avoid reading about the case, one of the most highly publicized trials in recent memory. Guzman's attorneys said they want Cogan to quiz the jurors about their behaviour during the trial. They asked for an additional month to prepare their motion for new trial, which is due next week. One juror anonymously told VICE News that five jurors and two alternates heard about child rape allegations made against Guzman that were covered by the news media but not admitted into evidence at the trial. The juror also alleged that another member of the panel used a smartwatch to look up a news story at one point during the trial. "It's clear we have to get them back into court and get some answers about some massive misconduct," Guzman attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told The Associated Press this week. "We hope it will lead to Joaquin Guzman getting the fair trial that he deserves." Photo: The Canadian Press Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick Canada's top bureaucrat launched a vigorous defence Thursday of the government's handling of the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, bluntly declaring allegations of political interference to be false and even defamatory. Michael Wernick, clerk of the Privy Council, took opposition MPs to task for jumping on the anonymously-sourced allegations to accuse the government of obstructing justice. He also challenged former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould's assertion that solicitor-client privilege prevents her from responding to the allegations that she was improperly pressured by the Prime Minister's Office to spare the Montreal engineering giant a criminal trial on charges of corruption and bribery related to government contracts in Libya. Wernick was testifying during the first round of hearings by the House of Commons justice committee into the affair that has rocked the Liberal government, resulting in Wilson-Raybould's resignation from cabinet last week and the departure of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's principal secretary, Gerald Butts, earlier this week. The allegations first surfaced in a Globe and Mail report two weeks ago, citing unnamed sources. "I'm here to say to you that the Globe and Mail article contains errors, unfounded speculation and, in some cases, is simply defamatory," Wernick told the committee. From everything he knows, Wernick said the Prime Minister's Office handled the matter with integrity. There was vigorous debate internally about whether Wilson-Raybould should exercise a legal option to instruct the director of public prosecutions, Kathleen Roussel, to negotiate a remediation agreement with SNC-Lavalin. That agreement is a kind of plea bargain in which the company would pay restitution but not get a criminal conviction that could financially cripple the company by barring it from bidding on government contracts. Wernick said those discussions were perfectly legal and didn't cross the line into improper pressure on the attorney general, whom he noted was repeatedly assured by Trudeau that a final decision on the matter was hers alone. In essence, he said the controversy is much ado about nothing. "We are discussing lawful advocacy that the minister take a lawful decision which in the end she did not take," he told the committee, noting that the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin continues. Wernick is not a lawyer. But he said based on his decades of experience as a senior bureaucrat under multiple Liberal and Conservative governments, he doesn't believe solicitor-client privilege stops Wilson-Raybould from telling her side of the story. He said he doesn't see where she was acting as a solicitor giving advice to either the cabinet, which never discussed the matter, or the prime minister. "The prime minister said at every occasion verbally and in writing that she was the decider so she was not giving legal advice to the prime minister," he said. "She was the decider, the full and final decider." Under opposition questioning, Wernick allowed that he might not be aware of every conversation in which Wilson-Raybould may have felt pressured. He also acknowledged that she may have interpreted something that was said, including by him, as undue pressure. But if that was the case, he said there were "multiple, multiple, multiple" occasions on which Wilson-Raybould could have reported the matter to the federal ethics commissioner or to the prime minister, which she did not. Among other things, he said she could have raised the matter with the ethics commissioner in early January, when Trudeau informed her he was moving her to the veterans affairs portfolio a move Wernick denied amounted to firing or demoting her. "The fact is she was offered another seat at the table in cabinet, which is a privilege that one per cent of one per cent of one per cent of Canadians have," Wernick said. Photo: The Canadian Press Residents of Vancouver and parts of Vancouver Island are bracing for another wintry blast with Environment Canada calling for snow accumulations of between five and 15 centimetres. Snowfall warnings have been issued for parts of eastern Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. The weather office predicts North and West Vancouver as well as Metro Vancouver's northeastern municipalities could receive the heaviest dumps before the system moves through later on Friday. Avalanche Canada is maintaining a special avalanche advisory for mountains across the south coast and Vancouver Island, rating the risk as high. Avalanche Canada's website says Friday's short, intense storm could drop up to 30 centimetres of snow in the backcountry, and it won't bond well to lower levels of the snowpack. Forecasters warn that persistent slab avalanches are likely. Photo: The Canadian Press British Columbia House Speaker Darryl Plecas. Two suspended officials at British Columbia's legislature now face an independent misconduct review as well as an ongoing RCMP investigation. Members of the all-party Legislative Assembly Management Committee voted unanimously Thursday to appoint a top legal official to determine whether clerk Craig James and sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz breached their administrative duties. Lenz and James have been suspended with pay since November after members of the legislature learned of an RCMP investigation and the appointment of two special prosecutors. A 76-page report last month by Speaker Darryl Plecas outlined allegations of spending abuses by James and Lenz that included lavish foreign trips, clothing perks and topped up retirement and vacation pay outs. "I think we have a path forward," said Plecas after the committee meeting. "I'm extremely happy of the decision to have a jurist who will do an independent review. I'm assuming that's going to be a rather quick path and we'll have to see where it all lands." James and Lenz have denied any wrongdoing and responded in writing earlier to the allegations. The committee voted unanimously Thursday to publicly release a second report by Plecas that responds to James and Lenz. "The responses from Mr. James and Mr. Lenz attempt to create a contest of evidence between me and them, but that is not what this is about," says the second Plecas report. Plecas's report says his reports are supported by the accounts of more than a dozen witnesses who worked with Lenz and James at the legislature for years. "Why are these positions so lacking in accountability and oversight compared to the conduct of employees and officials working elsewhere in government?" says the report. "Why are these officers travelling all over the world like dignitaries, spending enormous amounts of money and justifying it all by their bare assurances that the events were useful?" Plecas is chairman of the eight-member, all-party committee that oversees management at the legislature, which has a budget of $83 million. The legislature's three house leaders New Democrat Mike Farnworth, Liberal Mary Polak and Green Sonia Furstenau attended a joint news conference at the end of the committee meeting. "All three parties around that table take this issue very seriously," said Farnworth. "We take the institution very seriously and we worked together to come up with a way forward." The committee also voted to appoint auditor general Carol Bellringer to conduct a full audit of the legislature's finances. The committee voted late last year to assign that work to an outsider auditor, bypassing Bellringer. Last November, the members of the legislature voted unanimously to put Lenz and James on administrative leave after learning of an RCMP investigation. Metro Manila (February 22, CNN Philippines) The bid of so-called Queen of All Media Kris Aquino to get back at her estranged business partner fell flat before the Makati prosecutor's office, which junked her complaints for qualified theft. The Makati prosecutor's office dismissed Aquino's complaints against Falcis for lacking probable cause. Aquino earlier filed 44 counts of qualified theft charges and violation of the Access Devices Regulation Act before the offices of the prosecutors of Mandaluyong, Pasig, Makati, Quezon City and Manila against Falcis. She alleged that Falcis used her production company's credit card for personal expenses totalling to 1.27 million without her consent. But the Makati prosecutor's office said there is not enough evidence to back up Aquino's claims. "No evidence was presented with regard to any agreement between Aquino and Falcis as regards the use of the subject credit card," it said in a February 10 resolution signed by Assistant City Prosecutor Paolo Barcelona. It added that since Falcis is named as the cardholder of the company credit card, he could use it subject to the terms and conditions imposed by the issuing bank. "Falcis' use of the KCAP (Kristina C. Aquino Productions) card for his personal expenditures would not make him liable for theft. He is only liable to BDO for the card transactions that he made using the card," the Makati prosecutor's office said. It also junked the charge for Falcis' alleged violation of the Access Devices Regulation Act, saying that there is no evidence which shows that he used the card with an intent to gain or defraud. Aquino's lawyer Sigfrid Fortun said they would appeal the Makati prosecutor's resolution. "The card in question was clearly owned by KCA Productions as it was embossed on the card. Falcis name was simply put there to show he was authorised to use it for KCA, not for his personal transactions," Fortun said in a statement. He also claimed that Falcis admitted that he was wrong in making the alleged purchases and even paid part of it by issuing a check to Aquino. "His admissions to wrongdoing were all submitted in evidence to the prosecutor who may have glossed over those," Fortun said. Falcis has long denied the allegations, saying that he only paid around 400,000 "to appease [Aquino] and stop her endless tirades." In a statement, Falcis' brother, Atty. Jesus Falcis, welcomed the decision of the Makati prosecutor's office, adding that Aquino's camp could freely file a motion for reconsideration. "We are delighted to hear the good news and we trust that the rest of the cases will be dismissed as other prosecutors will see that the cases rest on legal theory gone all bonkers!" Jesus said. Related: Kris Aquino files cyberlibel raps Jesus said his brother's whereabouts still could not be disclosed as he is still receiving grave threats. Nicanor previously claimed that Aquino, sister of former President Benigno Aquino III, threatened to have him killed in a phone call. Following his statement, Aquino posted on Instagram asking why a complaint for grave threat has yet to be filed against her. She has since deleted the post. CNN Philippines Correspondent Anjo Alimario contributed to this report. Currently, it is legal in the state of Montana to discriminate against someone on the basis of their gender identity or sexual orientation. A bill in the Montana Legislator is proposing to change that. House Bill 465 is proposing changes to the Montana Human Rights Act. Bill sponsor Kim Abbott, Democratic Representative from Helena, writes that this bill will protect gender identity and sexual orientation, by adding and providing a definition under the laws prohibiting discrimination. The Montana Human Rights Act currently lists the classes protected from discrimination as "race, creed, religion, color, sex, physical or mental disability, age or national origin." This bill would also add gender identity or expression and sexual orientation to that list. House Bill 465 defines gender identity or expression "as appearance, or behavior of an individual, regardless of their assigned sex at birth." Sexual orientation is defined as "an individuals romantic or sexual attraction to people of the same or different gender." This bill also adds to the 15 remaining sections of the Montana Human Rights Act. The Montana ACLU supports this bill, writing that it would "finally put to rest any doubt that it is illegal to discriminate against LGBTQ Montanans." A Wyoming man is behind held in Yellowstone County Detentions Facility after allegedly shooting at the owner of a bar in Manderson, WY on Super Bowl Sunday. Michael Verry of Ten Sheep is being charged in Big Horn County Circuit Court with Attempted Murder in the First Degree and with Aggravated Assault Battery. Prosecutors also filed in the alternative, Attempted Murder in the Second Degree charge. According to court documents, Verry went to the Hi-Way Bar at 314 Highway 20 at around 3 PM to watch the Super Bowl. Pamela Tigner who works at the bar said Verry had 6 Miller Genuine Draft beers between 3 and 9 PM, and then order 3 White Russian's and a shot of Fireball over the next hour. Tigner went on to say Verry began to act strange around 9 PM, and she told him she doesn't think he should drive home. Documents say Tigner then called owner Justin Rollins to speak with Verry, and they offered him a cabin on the property for the night. Rollins went to get Verry some Aspirin in the kitchen after Verry complained of a headache. When Rollins returned, Verry had gone outside to his pickup and Tigner said she thought he was leaving. When Rollins went outside to speak with Verry, Rollins produced a handgun and shouted "Hey Justin!" before firing several rounds at Rollins, near the doorway of the bar according to documents. Rollins said he believed that Verry was shooting at him with the intention of hitting him. Documents say Verry fired a total of seven rounds before fleeing. Officials searched for Verry towards his residence near Ten Sleep. Verry was located on February 4th, injured badly in a vehicle crash on Highway 31. Documents say he was sent to Billings for treatment of his injuries. A .380 Taurus Pistol was recovered at the scene of the accident by Deputy Davis according to documents. Documents say at least 7 rounds were fired in the building, 5 into front of the bar, and at least 2 more on the high exterior wall of the building. The door was also hit 3 times and the wall to either side was struck once. (U.S. Senate) Continuing his work to make health care more affordable for Montanans, U.S. Senator Jon Tester is spearheading legislation to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable, shed more light on drug pricing, and ensure rural hospitals get paid for the care they provide. Montanans should not be forced to break the bank to afford the medications they need, Tester said. Shining more light on the pharmaceutical industrys backroom dealings will hold them accountable for massive price hikes that have hurt folks across our state. Testers SPIKE Act forces pharmaceutical companies to publicly disclose their reasoning for any significant hikes in prescription drug prices. And his C-THRU Act would require pharmaceutical middlemen to publicly disclose their pricing agreements with drug companies, insurance companies, and pharmacies so that Montanans know exactly where their money is going when they check out at the pharmacy counter. Tester is also sponsoring the Critical Access Hospital Relief Act to ensure Montanas rural hospitals get compensated for the care they provide. Folks across Montana rely on Critical Access Hospitals for everything from basic check-ups to emergency treatments, Tester said. If these hospitals cant afford to keep the lights on because they arent being paid for their services, then thousands of families will have nowhere to turn for care. Under current law, Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) are required to certify that they expect to discharge or transfer a patient within 96 hours of admission in order to receive payment from Medicare. Testers bill would eliminate this requirement, forcing Medicare to compensate CAHs even if a patient is admitted to the hospital for more than four days. A longtime advocate for rural health, Tester has pushed to hold drug companies accountable and increase transparency within the pharmaceutical industry. Earlier this year, he reintroduced the CREATES Act to drive drug prices down and increase competition in the marketplace. And last year, he fought to reauthorize and increase funding for community health centers across the state. More information on Testers work to lower prescription drug costs can be found HERE. (U.S. Senate) U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) are introducing bipartisan legislation to ensure the countrys first responders receive full retirement benefits if they are injured on the job. The Senators First Responders Fair Return for Employees on Their Initial Retirement Earned (RETIRE) Act will help federal firefighters, law enforcement officers, Customs and Border Protection officials, and other federal employees with potentially dangerous jobs receive their full retirement benefits if they get hurt while on duty. Currently, federal public safety officers lose their early retirement benefits if they are injured on the job and return to federal service in another position. Our law enforcement officers and firefighters who risk their lives every day to keep folks safe shouldnt be punished if theyre hurt on the job, Tester said. Taking away the pensions theyve paid into for years isnt right, and this bill fixes that injustice. Communities across the country count on federal law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other public safety employees when tragedy strikes, Collins said. These brave men and women make countless sacrifices to protect our communities, and their strenuous and often dangerous occupation puts them at an increased risk of injury. Should they be injured in the line of duty, this important legislation would ensure that first responders do not lose the retirement benefits they have earned. Physically demanding federal jobs, designated 6c occupations, require mandatory retirement after 20-25 years, so these employees pay a higher percentage of their wage into their retirement accounts. If they are injured at work and unable to complete their mandatory years of service, funds that theyve paid into early retirement are eliminated, even if they return to the federal government in a non-6c position. Tester and Collins bill will allow federal public safety officers to retain their 6c retirement status when they return to the federal government after getting injured in the line of duty. They would still be able to retire after 20-25 years of federal service and will also be eligible to receive a lump sum payment of the benefits owed from their 6c retirement funds. The Fair RETIRE Act is supported by the National Federation of Federal Employees, the Federal Managers Association, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents Association, and the National Fraternal Order of Police. On behalf of the 110,000 federal employees represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees, I want to thank you for again introducing the First Responder Fair RETIRE Act. said Randy Erwin, National President of the National Federation of Federal Employees. The bill is crucial to supporting our brave Federal Firefighters and Law Enforcement Officers, who sacrifice their well-being in order to protect and serve the American people. It is unacceptable that the benefits they pay into the early retirement system are eliminated if they are injured on the job and unable to fulfill the mandatory years of service, said Renee Johnson, National President of the Federal Managers Association. Your legislation corrects this and ensures these selfless federal employees receive the benefits they have rightfully earned by answering the call of duty. Law enforcement officers and other federal public safety employees who suffer a disabling injury in the line of duty should not be penalized by the very retirement system that ought to be honoring their sacrifice and service, wrote Nathan Catura, National President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association. Thank you Senators Tester and Collins for your strong leadership on this important issue. We look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure that the Fair RETIRE Act is enacted into law as quickly as possible. The Fair RETIRE Act would help prevent injured Special Agents from losing the retirement benefits they have earned by allowing injured employees to retain their 6c retirement benefits if they return to work for the federal government, even if they cannot return to service in a position covered by 6c, said Thomas OConnor, President of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents Association. These officers were severely injured in the defense of their nation and may want to continue to work for the Federal government. They should not lose the benefits they earned from their time as a law enforcement officer because they were injured in the line of duty, said Chuck Canterbury, National President of the National Fraternal Order of Police. Your bill would allow these re-employed officers to receive the 6c retirement benefits they earned and allow them to retire after 20 years of service, just as if they were still a law enforcement officer. We are proud to support this bill. GREAT FALLSA federal judge on Thursday sentenced Donny Lynn Ferguson, of Great Falls, to 10 years and eight months in prison and five years of supervised release for conviction on distributing large quantities of meth in central Montana and on two Indian reservations, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said. Ferguson, 39, pleaded guilty in September to possession with intent to distribute meth and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris presided. Prosecutors said evidence would show that since at least November 2016, law enforcement received information that Ferguson was dealing multi-pound quantities of meth throughout the state but that her primary area was Great Falls, Lewistown, Havre and the Rocky Boys and Fort Belknap Indian Reservations. Sources also confirmed that Ferguson typically carried firearms for her protection in her drug trade. In April 2018, law enforcement seized more than 2.8 pounds of meth from a Lewistown home and learned that Ferguson had previously supplied meth to the occupants. Two months later, agents stopped Ferguson outside of Polson and found her in possession of about two pounds of meth, small amounts of heroin and cocaine, a firearm and ammunition, drug paraphernalia and more than $6,000 cash. Two pounds of meth is the equivalent of about 7,248 doses. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI. The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justices violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. A Brooklyn, New York driver apparently grew impatient with traffic and attempted to go around school buses by driving on the sidewalk, almost hitting young children yesterday (Wednesday) morning. And the whole thing was caught on camera. Surveillance video shows the driver steering onto the sidewalk around a line of school buses parked in front of a school. A group of children is exiting a school bus when the driver comes up on them on the sidewalk, very nearly hitting them. Dov Hikind, a former New York state assemblyman from Brooklyn, released the video to police with a complaint of reckless endangerment. Police are investigating the incident, and reported that they have recovered a vehicle in connection to the investigation. No arrests have been made in the case. Chelsea Powrie It's been almost four months since Greyhound bus services took their leave from communities around B.C., and while more than 80 per cent of their routes have been taken over by private companies or new provincial services, the South Okanagan-Similkameen is still feeling stranded. Manfred Bauer, mayor of Keremeos, said it is an issue of ongoing discussion amongst community mayors and local First Nations, and that they feel cut off from the coast. "It is something that is of concern to us in the Similkameen Valley because we know the people who need the service, and we also know that the handyDART service has been used more than ever before," Bauer said. A handyDART service runs three times a week from Princeton to Penticton, picking up at communities along the way. But MLA for Boundary-Similkameen Linda Larson said that's the perfect example of how the loss of daily, dependable bus services doesn't work for her constituents especially given the high number of seniors in rural B.C. who need access to large centres like Vancouver and Kelowna for medical appointments. "If you've got to go to something, you're looking at planning weeks in advance how you're going to get there and how you're going to get back, and most of the time you're going to have to overnight," Larson said. "So it's increased the cost of moving about in rural British Columbia." She said the 2019/2020 B.C. Budget, released Tuesday, has a disturbing lack of specific plans to address the gap in services in the area. The budget does include a line indicating $21 million will be spent over three years "to improve conventional bus services in over 30 communities around the province, including improvements to handyDART in both rural and urban settings," but Bauer said Similkameen leaders are left wondering whether that could apply to them. "We have not been in contact about this yet, we don't know what that means. Can we apply? Does it mean we can expand the service that is in place?" he said, adding that he and other local leaders have been brainstorming possible routes for buses to connect with coast routes through Merritt or Hope. "We want to meet with the Minister [of Transportation] again hopefully in May when the legislature sits." But even expansion to handyDART services may not be enough to address larger needs of the area. Larson said she plans to continue the fight in parliament for a permanent long-haul bus replacement, and added that other members of the rural caucus have the same concerns about their own ridings. "We're doing responses to the budget speech right now and everybody that has stood up has mentioned transportation in rural British Columbia," she said. "It's ongoing. It's not going to go away." The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure did not respond to a request to comment by publication deadline. HELENA A bill would allow NorthWestern Energy to take control of the Colstrip power plant with scaled-back regulatory oversight, and its moving through the Legislature at lightning speed. Senate Bill 278 would allow a utility to buy more ownership shares in the coal-fired Colstrip plant for a purchase price of no more than $1 per transfer. It would also allow the utility to pass along costs to ratepayers for investment, decommissioning, and cleanup at Colstrip for up to 30 years, even if the plant closes before then. I characterize Senate Bill 278 as a bill of possibilities, said David Hoffman, government affairs director for NorthWestern, during a Thursday hearing in the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee. It mandates and requires nothing. It simply provides a structural framework to allow a longer and more predictable future for the transition of Colstrip. While NorthWestern is not mentioned specifically in SB 278, Hoffman said the utility is the only entity that can avail itself of the provisions in the bill. He declined to discuss how much, if any, of the plant NorthWestern intends to buy. Sen. Tom Richmond, R-Billings, is carrying the bill. He said the Colstrip plant is a valuable asset to Montana, calling coal a more reliable energy source than wind and solar in the state. This is a relatively low-risk proposal that would take an opportunity and capitalize on it, not just for the benefit of Colstrip, but for the whole state, Richmond said. Not everyone agrees that the bill presents minimal risks. I think its important to step back and remember that the reason we regulate public utilities is to protect consumers, said Jason Brown, an attorney with the Montana Office of Consumer Counsel. This bill would turn regulation around and use it to shift risks to captive consumers. The Consumer Counsel office was created by the Montana Constitution to advocate on behalf of ratepayers and to keep monopoly utilities like NorthWestern in check. Ultimate regulatory authority of public utilities falls to the five-member Public Service Commission. SB 278, however, could curb the PSCs authority to evaluate whether NorthWestern can charge ratepayers for incurred costs of any future ownership it acquires in Colstrip. In my reading of it, it basically doesnt allow the commission to do anything as far as the costs at Colstrip are concerned, said Robin Arnold, a policy analyst for the PSC. It would essentially deregulate Colstrip generation, but still have it under a monopoly utility. The PSC did not provide an opinion on SB 278. Arnold said the PSC is waiting for amendments and that commissioners werent sure what shape the bill was going to take. Colstrip is currently co-owned by six companies. Four of those owners are located in Oregon and Washington, which are phasing out energy sourced from coal and will likely have to abandon their interests at Colstrip. NorthWestern Energy has 30 percent ownership of Colstrip Unit 4 and is the only plant owner that provides power in Montana. Falling demand for coal in the U.S. along with neighboring states planned withdrawal from Colstrip have created a heap of uncertainty for the plant. Owners of the adjoining Rosebud coal mine filed for bankruptcy late last year. Two of the plants four units must shut down by 2022 after a legal settlement with environmental groups. Lawmakers have scrambled this session for solutions to keep Colstrip viable, from resolutions that rebuke the state of Washington for blocking an international coal port to promoting state bonding of the power plant. Ann Hedges, with the Montana Environmental Information Center, called SB 278 a blank check to NorthWestern Energy. Our Public Service Commission will no longer have the discretion or authority to review the costs that NorthWestern wants to pass along to customers. It must pass those costs along to customers, thats what [the bill] says, Hedges said. And let me tell you, utilities across the country are pretty good at spending money when they think someone else is going to have to pay for it. Hedges said shes especially concerned about funding environmental cleanup at the site once the mine and coal plant are decommissioned. The Department of Environmental Quality currently pegs remediation of the sites coal ash ponds at between $400 and $700 million. The current joint owners of Colstrip are on the hook for those cleanup costs as it stands, regardless of when the plant closes, but Hedges said pollution can be hard to track. That could mean NorthWestern is ultimately responsible for bigger remedial costs in the future if it takes on more ownership. I dont know how you differentiate the contamination that was caused last year from the contamination thats going to be caused next year, Hedges said. The ash ponds have been leaking for decades. The bills supporters argued that the main costs ratepayers would absorb would be for regular operations of the plant, such as fuel, labor and maintenance. They also said acquiring additional ownership of a plant for $1 means Montana energy consumers would be getting a bargain. It is a totally new concept that you get an $800 million facility for nothing, said committee chair Sen. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip. In no way does this force West Coast owners out of Colstrip. [But] if they wanted to stay here, this discussion would not be happening. While SB 278 will likely generate further debate as it moves through the Legislature, the bill came to committee seemingly out of the dark. It was drafted on Feb. 16, introduced on Feb. 18, and had its first hearing only three days later. I cant understand why we need the bill, why NorthWestern cant negotiate whatever theyre going to negotiate and take it to the PSC, Sen. Sue Malek, D-Missoula, said during the hearing. I must say, its being rushed. No one knows what were talking about and nobody can answer any questions on the possible price consumers are going to have to pay. The Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee voted in favor of the bill 9-4. It now moves to the Senate floor. There are many things people "want" from the leaders of the community, but are these the best or right things to have or do? The community of Penticton looks to Mayor John Vassilaki, as our chief over the collective City of Penticton, councillors, staff, planners, engineers, etc. to give direction and make better decisions. One example is regarding the operation of a marina at Skaha Lake. Since a tender for a marina operator has already gone out without seeking input from the Parks Advisory Committee, and other sizeable citizens groups, ie. Save Skaha, Protect Penticton Parks, and Penticton Citizens First, I am hoping the mayor will be seeing to it that: This area at Skaha Lake is the best place for a marina operation The priority for a marina is to be safety for people, and protection of the environment, riparian and salmon development in Skaha Lake An operator could meet all the requirements from the province to have a sub-licence of occupation When applicable, that federal approval is sought I would appreciate assurance that our Chief John is taking care of all these matters. Hannah Hyland, Penticton A land owner warns that a south Caddo Parish neighborhood is on the brink of destruction, and hes blaming his neighbor for the problem. Police: Mom killed after man drives car into family of 8, then backs up and does it again Photo: Laura Allan A Kelowna woman volunteering in Haiti says she cant find a way back to Canada and she's been left to fend for herself. Ive never seen this in 12 years, said Laura Allan. We are in complete lockdown. It is going to be even more violent than the last two weeks. Violent protestors have taken to the streets demanding the resignation of President Jovenel Moise. Allan spends half the year landscaping and raising money in Kelowna so she can spend the rest of the year volunteering and helping farmers. The organization she works for is Shelters International Disaster Response, but she says shes a one-woman show. She's been going to Haiti for 12 years. Each year she brings over 10,000 packages of seeds and helps farmers all across Haiti grow and diversify their crops. I am upset because I love the Haitian people, she said. Allan has considered travelling to the airport in Port Au Prince, but says it is too dangerous. Global Affairs cant help, she said. I am on my own. In order for Allan to leave, she would need to book a private plane which would cost her over $3,000. I am a volunteer, this is beyond my pay grade, she said. I am hoping to raise enough money to get out." She said there were about 20 Canadians in the Jacmel area, some choosing to stay indoors and other trying to leave. It's too dangerous... I have to pull out, it is going to get worse before it gets better, she said. A GoFundMe fundraiser has been created to help support Allan and allow her to leave Haiti. Deadly officer-involved shooting scene in Vancouver on Tuesday night, on left. On right, photo of Clayton Joseph, provided by family. (KPTV) Photo: Contributed Tourism societies in the Okanagan are warning their members they are unaffiliated with a website sending unsolicited invoices to businesses seeking hundreds of dollars. A variety of restaurants and tourism-related businesses in the region have been receiving invoices from an unknown entity called Tourism Okanagan. Edgar Schroeder of the Shades on Main Restaurant in Penticton received one, seeking $365.40 for an annual subscription on the Tourism Okanagan website. After I reviewed the invoice, I was thinking, I dont even remember signing up for this, he said. The site appears to be operating as a directory for restaurants and activities in the region, charging $348 plus tax for an annual listing. The site, however, contains numerous long-closed restaurants suggesting few have paid to be listed. TourismOkanagan.ca contains no contact info beyond an email address, which did not respond to questions from Castanet. The site also contains numerous spelling errors, such as "Pentiction." The return address on the invoice is a PO box in Kelowna and an included GST number was not able to be verified by the federal governments online portal. On Wednesday afternoon, Travel Penticton sent out a notice to its members advising them they have no affiliation with the website nor do we endorse participation on this website. Tourism Kelowna has also sent out a similar message to its members. Travel Penticton projects manager Jo Charnock said theyve heard from multiple businesses in Penticton as well as Osoyoos that have received the unscrupulous invoices. I have no idea where it came from. We are kind of baffled, she said. I dont know if it's one of those things where they are just sending a bunch out and see if anyone bites, but it's very dodgy. She added Travel Penticton doesnt allow third-party access to its member base. Its not clear where the website acquired all the data for the more than 1,300 businesses it has listed online, or if it was scraped from other platforms such as TripAdvisor or Google. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre lists directory scams as common online, describing it as businesses receiving an invoice for a directory, publication or listing that they did not order or authorize. The anti-fraud centre recommends businesses compile a list of companies/suppliers that are typically used and give a small number of employees approval to pay bills. Nestle and other major companies have pulled their ads from YouTube after a video blogger raised concerns that pedophiles were using the platform to trade information and draw attention to clips of young girls. Auburn, IN (46706) Today Mostly cloudy in the morning with scattered thunderstorms developing later in the day. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 83F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms during the evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 68F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Rain showers in the morning with numerous thunderstorms developing in the afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 82F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely. Low 67F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Photo: Contributed Bill Carr, Director; Doug Weaving, Sargent at Arms; Diane Joly, Director; Joe Rogers, School District 22 Superintendent; Jennifer Pace, President; Sharon Balcaen, Vice President; Doug Watts, Director. The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 is helping students achieve a higher level of learning. The Vernon Legion presented School District 22 Supt. Joe Rogers with a cheque for $12,000. The funds will provide three $1,000 bursaries to the graduating students at the four Vernon high schools. The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 is committed to supporting veterans and their families. As a result, we are pleased to make this contribution to local youth, said Jennifer Pace, legion president. The legion has been providing bursaries for Vernon students for more than 10 years. Recipients of the bursaries must meet the criteria of having a current or past relative in the armed services and a financial need. Many students are faced with a financial barrier when pursuing a post-secondary education, said Rogers. We are grateful for community contributions, such as this one from the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25. We are also thankful for the support the Vernon Legion gives to our schools through other events such as our Remembrance Day assemblies and the No Stone Left Alone ceremony held at the Pleasant Valley Cemetery. School District 22 offers more than 175 different scholarships and bursaries, thanks to many community partners. The window for scholarship/bursary applications begins Feb. 25. Students should contact school councillors for more information. The biggest threat to our way of life is not climate change, but socialist. Socialism destroys the middle class, which is probably your economic class. The energy in Americas Democrat (not Democratic) party is with the socialist whose same policies have ruined Venezuela and many other places. Look at the disparity of wealth in the Democrat-run cities. Socialists take control of and centralize the basics like energy and health care but also the police, courts and military. Without a Second Amendment people are helpless as the ruling class steals billions of dollars and lives extravagantly. The 2020 Democrat hopefuls are preaching the same false promises that many tyrants have used to gain power. (Left) Hulk Hogan, Wrestling-Star. (Right) Chris Hemsworth during the closing ceremony of 66th San Sebastian Film Festival at Kursaal on September 29, 2018 in San Sebastian, Spain. **Embargo: Greenville-Spartanburg, SC-Asheville, NC** A South Carolina man is accused of rubbing hot sauce or hot peppers on his girlfriend's children, attempting to smother them and shooting one of them in the foot with a BB gun. A Wyandotte County judge has dismissed the charges against three men in the death of a young boy who died riding a water slide in Kansas City, Kansas. JOHANNESBURG, Feb 22 (Reuters) - At least 15 mining firms in South Africa have received notices of strikes to be held next week in support of colleagues at Sibanye-Stillwater who downed tools over wages and job cuts, Minerals Council South Africa said on Friday. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) has been on strike at Sibanye's bullion operations since mid-November and plans to extend the strike to its platinum mines as well as all other mines where the AMCU has members. Firms to be affected include AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Anglo American Platinum and Lonmin, whose shares fell on Thursday after it said it had received a strike notice. Sibanye-Stillwater last week said it could cut nearly 6,000 jobs at its gold mining operations, where AMCU has been on strike since mid-November over a wage dispute. Job cuts are politically sensitive in South Africa, where the jobless rate is more than 27 percent. The council, which represents the mining firms, said it was "deeply concerned" about the potential consequences of the strike particularly in the gold and platinum sectors. "It is unfathomable that AMCU would willingly call for secondary strikes in an industry that is already in jeopardy," Minerals Council Chief Executive Roger Baxter said in a statement. "Employees and their families, and indeed the country as a whole, stand to lose so much should the secondary strikes occur." The strikes add to challenges facing President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose efforts to revive an anaemic economy ahead of national elections in May have been complicated by a financial crisis at state power utility Eskom. South Africa is home to the world's biggest platinum group metals deposits and accounts for just over 90 percent of global production. The mining firms were considering the notices and vowed to "everything in their power" to prevent a strike, including legal action, the council said in the statement. (Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; editing by Jason Neely and Emelia Sithole-Matarise) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on Tuesday on a resolution aimed at stopping President Donald Trumps declaration of a national emergency to build a wall on the border with Mexico, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday. House Democrats introduced the resolution early on Friday, taking the first step to challenge Republican Trumps assertion that he could take money Congress had appropriated for other activities and use it to build the wall. Pelosi predicted the resolution would pass the Democratic-controlled House. Action would then move to the Republican-majority Senate, where the measures future is less clear. About 226 House lawmakers have joined the sponsor, Democratic U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas, in backing the legislation. The co-sponsors so far include one Republican, Representative Justin Amash of Michigan, Castro said. What the president is attempting is an unconstitutional power grab, Castro said in a conference call with reporters. He called on all members of Congress Democrats and Republicans to support the resolution terminating Trumps emergency declaration, saying it tramples on congressional authority and would set a dangerous precedent. Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress decides how taxpayer dollars are spent. The president can, however, veto spending bills. Trump declared the national emergency last week after Congress declined to fulfill his request for $5.7 billion this year to help build the wall. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer also plans to introduce such a resolution. The measure needs only a simple majority in both chambers. It will need the votes of at least four Republicans to pass the Senate, assuming all the Democrats and the two independents there back it. If both chambers pass the resolution it would then go to Trump, who would likely veto it. Overriding the veto would require a two-thirds vote of support in both chambers. Pelosi rejected Trumps argument that there is an emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border. The president of the United States is declaring a national emergency to honor an applause line in a rally, she said. If the Congress rolls over on this, the president is likely to do it again, Castro said. The issue is also in the courts. A coalition of 16 U.S. states led by California sued Trump and top members of his administration on Monday to block his decision to declare the emergency. The lawsuit said Trumps declaration was a misuse of presidential power. Congress this month appropriated $1.37 billion for building border barriers following a long battle with Trump, which included a 35-day partial government shutdown - the longest in U.S. history - when agency funding lapsed on Dec. 22. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators met on Friday to wrap up a week of talks that have seen the two sides struggle to detail how to bridge deep differences on Chinas role in global commerce. If the two sides fail to reach a deal by midnight on March 1, then their seven-month trade war could escalate. U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to raise tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion of Chinese imports into the United States. Trump will meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the Oval Office later on Friday. The two also met at the end of talks during Lius last visit to Washington in late January. A rise in tariffs would be a further blow to manufacturers struggling to deal with the disruption to their business model caused by tit-for-tat tariffs imposed in a trade war that has roiled markets and slowed global economic growth.Members of the Chinese negotiating team declined to comment on the states of the talks on Friday as they entered the offices of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer for talks. Lighthizer and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are leading the talks for the American side. Two members of the Chinese delegation, who did not give their names, told Reuters they did not know if talks would be extended beyond Friday. They are scheduled to leave for Beijing on Saturday, according to a member of staff at their hotel. Reuters reported exclusively on Wednesday that the two sides are starting to sketch out an agreement on structural issues, drafting language for six memorandums of understanding on proposed Chinese reforms. That marked the most progress the two sides have made toward a deal. But negotiators have struggled this week to agree on specific language within those memorandums to address tough U.S. demands for structural changes in Chinas economy, sources familiar with the talks have told Reuters. The memorandums would cover forced technology transfer and cyber theft, intellectual property rights, services, currency, agriculture and non-tariff barriers to trade. China has provided no details yet on how it would improve protections for the intellectual property of foreign companies operating in China, or end forced technology transfer, Ted McKinney, undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, told reporters on the sidelines of an event. Are all the answers coming that make for clarity on Were going to stop stealing intellectual property, were going to stop forcing tech transfer, were going to make structural changes? Not yet, McKinney said. But were not done yet. Trump, who has demanded concessions from both allies and rivals on trade as part of his America First policy, has said the March 1 deadline could be extended if enough progress is made. Chinese President Xi Jinping would need to undertake difficult reforms to meet U.S. demands. The United States is offering no real concessions in return, other than to remove the tariff barriers Trump has imposed to force change from China. COMPLIANCE The issues under discussion include an enforcement mechanism to ensure that China complies with any agreements. U.S. officials contend that China has previously failed to fulfill pledges to deal with American concerns on the issues at the center of the trade war. Trumps administration wants to put a mechanism in place to prevent a repeat. We wont fall into those same pitfalls, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday in an interview on Fox Business Network. They have made commitments on cyber and other things which they have simply not honored. ... If you talk to Ambassador Lighthizer or Secretary Mnuchin for even two minutes, they will tell you the heart of these discussions will surround the enforcement mechanisms, Pompeo said. ... You can fool countries, you can fool people only for so long. Of the counties that did respond, several attempted to justify the size of their fees. According to the report: "Taken as singular responses, the replies concerning costs do not seem unreasonable. It is only when viewed in contrast to other counties which were able to quickly assemble all the information at no cost do these explanations seem inadequate." * GRAPHIC-2019 asset returns:* GRAPHIC-Copper technicals:(Adds graphic, updates with closing prices) By Eric Onstad LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Copper prices climbed to their highest since July on Friday as inventories tumbled and investors bet on a U.S.-China trade deal. Optimism over a trade deal has been rising as top U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators haggle over the details of a set of agreements aimed at ending their trade war. "Copper is getting a lot of momentum from the trade talks. If we get a deal, there wouldn't be much obstacle for copper to return to the low $7,000s," said Gianclaudio Torlizzi, partner at consultancy T-Commodity in Milan. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange has broken the key level of $6,400 a tonne, which marks the upper boundary of a range that has held for the past six months, he added. "If this confirmed today on the weekly chart with a close above $6,400, it would mark the start of new bull cycle for copper." LME copper gained 1.6 percent in closing open outcry trading to $6,478 a tonne, its highest since July 4. The metal, widely used in construction and manufacturing, posted a 4.6 percent gain this week, its biggest weekly jump since the week ended Sept. 21 last year. * COPPER STOCKS: On-warrant LME copper inventories , those not earmarked for delivery, slumped by nearly half to 39,800 tonnes in one day, the lowest since August 2005, LME data showed on Friday. * ALUMINIUM: LME aluminium gained 0.4 percent to finish at a two-week high of $1,913 a tonne. Recent gains have been driven by speculators covering short positions, Alastair Munro at broker Marex Spectron said in a note. The LME net speculative short position accounted for 17.6 percent of open interest, according the Marex estimates. * ZINC: Falling LME zinc inventories, hovering at the lowest levels in more than a decade, may spur prices higher, metals strategist Michael Widmer at Bank of American Merrill Lynch said in a note. "With inventories so low, it is easier for market participants to take a dominant position, which in turn could lead to prices squeezing violently higher." * NICKEL: LME nickel climbed 1.1 percent to end at a two-week high of $12,990 a tonne after on-warrant LME inventories fell to 128,580 tonnes, the lowest since February 2013. * PRICES: Zinc gained 1.5 percent to close at $2,724 a tonne, lead added 0.4 percent to $2,075 and tin rose 0.3 percent to $21,495. * For the top stories in metals and other news, click or ($1 = 6.7221 Chinese yuan) <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Top Base and Precious Metals Analysis - GFMS LME copper breaks above key chart levels ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Additional reporting by Tom Daly in Beijing Editing by David Evans, David Goodman and Kirsten Donovan) LME price overview COMEX copper futures Base metals news All metals news All commodities news Foreign exchange rates SPEED GUIDES )) JAKARTA, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Indonesia plans to start processing its rich supplies of nickel laterite ore for use in lithium batteries on the way to becoming a global hub for producing and exporting electric vehicles (EVs) to Asia and beyond, a senior minister told Reuters. Southeast Asia's biggest economy is hoping a $4 billion Chinese-led project to produce battery-grade nickel chemicals will pay dividends by helping to attract EV production into the country. "We have to be a global player," Coordinating Maritime Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said in an interview, in which he mapped out a broader strategy to go beyond simply exporting batteries or battery chemicals. Indonesia, the second-largest car production hub in Southeast Asia after Thailand, last month announced plans to introduce a fiscal scheme that will offer tax cuts to EV battery producers and automakers, as well as preferential tariff agreements with other countries that have a high EV demand. "Of course, maybe we can export these batteries ... But then, if you build a factory here you can also supply batteries to cars produced in Indonesia," said Pandjaitan, who also oversees energy, mining and transportation. "Our strategy is we can export (EVs) to Australia because we have a trade agreement, and also to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and domestically," he said. Indonesia and Australia are expected to sign a long-awaited free trade agreement next month. Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto told a briefing to foreign correspondents on Feb. 13 that Indonesia aimed for 20 percent of vehicle production in the country to be EVs by 2025, representing 400,000 vehicles. He said investment in EV production was expected from companies in South Korea, Japan, China and Europe. The deputy minister for industry, Harjanto, also said last December that Hyundai Motor Co , the world's No.5 automaker, plans to start producing EVs in Indonesia as part of an $880 million auto investment in the country. Japan's Mitsubishi Motors announced in 2018 as well that it would partner with the Indonesian government to expand the use and availability of EVs in Indonesia. Developers started building a lithium battery project in Morowali, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, last month led by Chinese companies including battery firm GEM Co Ltd and units of lithium battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) and stainless steel-maker Tsingshan Holding Group. Analysts caution, however, on how quickly such plans can be carried out, as some of the required nickel smelter technology is complicated. (Reporting by Ed Davies and Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Tom Hogue) AUSTIN, Minn. Police say a suspect is in custody after some windows were shot out at Donkers Hometown Appliance. Austin Police Chief David McKichan says there is no ongoing threat to public safety and more information on the Friday morning incident should be released on Monday. CHARLES CITY, Iowa Police had to deal with three auto accidents in less than a half hour Thursday morning. The first happened around 10:23 am at the intersection of 11th Street and South Main Street. Charles City police say John Howe, 56 from Charles City, was driving south when he collided with the westbound vehicle driven by Jeffrey Hitchcock, 51 of Charles City. About $5,000 in damage was done to the two vehicles. Howe was cited for failure to yield the right of way. Officers also responded to an accident just outside the police department at 10:24 am. Stephanie Williams, 30 of Charles City, backed up and hit another vehicle parked in the Milwaukee Mall parking lot. Williams vehicle sustained about $1,000 in damage and police say there was about $2,000 in damage to the other vehicle, which is owned by Tracy Merfield, 70 of Marble Rock. And Charles City police say there was then a hit-and-run collision at 10:44 am at the intersection of Lane Street and North Jackson Street. Officers say a semi and trailer tried to make a left turn onto Lane Street and hit the parked pickup truck owned by Jose Gautier, 41, causing an estimated $2,500 in damage to the truck. Police say the semi driver did not stop after the accident. MASON CITY, Iowa - A new group of students are set to jump into industrial programs at North Iowa Area Community College, and they're joining a field that is seeing a need for more workers. Students from many districts around North Iowa came to the college for the National Career and Technical Education Letter Signing Day, inking to complete an agricultural or industrial technology program. NIACC was one of nearly 30 community colleges nationwide that participated in the signing day, and Thursday's event marks the first time the college has participated in it. Ian Gobeli and his parents attended today's event. The Junior from West Hancock High School is going into the welding program, and is excited about the opportunities that could come after graduation. "It's a head start, and then you get your foot in the door in many places. They get good employment right afterward and you can figure out what you're doing. They have a good hands on program and work with their students." Kennedy Reynolds from Hampton-Dumont High School is joining the diesel tech program. At a young age, she wanted to find a career that would allow her to work with her hands. "Ever since I was little, I've always worked on race cars with my Dad, and I figured I know a lot about working on automotives, so let's try something different." During a visit and tour with Sukup employees at their Sheffield facility Thursday morning, the National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons says that there is already a shortage in the workforce for some positions, and the manufacturing industry needs to recruit the next generation of workers. "There are 428,000 open positions in manufacturing across the country. When you think about that, that's a huge number of job openings with incredible career potential, incredible earnings possibilities. Over the course of the next 10 years, we're going to have to fill about 2.4 million jobs that will go unfilled if we don't have folks with the right skills." And Gobeli is noting the increase in demand. "Welding is getting more of a high demand job because the average age of a welder is 56 in the United States, so they need somebody to fill their shoes, and it's starting to pick up." Reynolds adds that she's already looking forward to her future career. "I have a job right now with Skyline Materials, so I just plan to stay with them and work in the shop." According to the Association for Career and Technical Education, graduates with technical or applied science Associate Degrees outearned graduates with a Bachelor's Degree by $2,000-$11,000. FOREST CITY, Iowa The discovery of 10 pounds of marijuana leads to a not guilty plea from a Winnebago County man. Orlando Cabrera Baez, 31 of Forest City, is charged with possession with intent to deliver marijuana, possession of marijuana, and failure to use a drug tax stamp. Law enforcement says Cabrera Baez hid 10 pounds of the drug in a Forest City apartment complex. When that was found, investigators eventually searched Cabrera Baez home and say they found more marijuana, a large sum of cash, and drug-related items. Cabrera Baez is now set to stand trial beginning April 10. ALBERT LEA, Minn. A woman is pleading not guilty to threatening her husband with a box cutter. Yolanda Eulia Renett Hulett, 44 of Albert Lea, was arrested on February 11 and charged with 2nd degree assault with a dangerous weapon. Hulett is accused of cutting up her husbands clothes with a box cutter, then chasing him with the box cutter while yelling Im going to kill you after her husband deflated an air mattress with a fork. Court documents say after her husband ran away, Hulett slashed the front tires of his car until the box cutter broke. Police say Hulett admitted to being under the influence of alcohol when she was arrested. Hulett pleaded not guilty Thursday. Her trial is due to begin on June 18. CUSTOM FORECAST: Current Conditions MORE: Maps & Radars ROAD CONDITIONS: Click Here INTERACTIVE RADAR: Click Here LIVE EYE: Tower Cams SIGN UP: KIMT News 3 Email Newsletter ALERTS: WeatherWarn WEATHER APP: iOS | Android Blizzard Warning Areas Affected: Audubon; Calhoun; Carroll; Cerro Gordo; Crawford; Emmet; Greene; Hancock; Humboldt; Kossuth; Palo Alto; Pocahontas; Sac; Webster; Winnebago; Worth; Wright NWS DesMoines (Central Iowa) ...Icy Conditions Continue this Morning... ...Blizzard Conditions Develop This Evening Through Sunday... .Freezing rain will persist until around 9 AM today for areas north of Interstate 80. Temperatures will warm enough to change some areas across central Iowa, including the Des Moines Metro, Ames, and Webster City over to rain by mid-morning. The wintry mix will persist however for northern and northwest Iowa through the day. Travel difficulties will continue for areas where freezing rain persists today. By late afternoon and evening, much colder air will change precipitation quickly over to snow from west to east across central Iowa. Snow will become heavy at times this evening with rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour likely from Omaha to Fort Dodge to Webster City. Total snowfall of 6 to 10 inches likely along this axis of heaviest snow. Strong winds will accompany the heavy snow producing blizzard conditions. Snow amounts are expected to be lighter south of this heavier axis, with generally 2 to 5 inches expected from 2 to 5 inches from Waterloo to Des Moines towards SW Iowa. Even so the combination of snow and very strong winds will make travel difficult tonight. Although snow ends, winds will continue to impact travel on Sunday. There remains some uncertainty as to where the heaviest snow band will set up Saturday afternoon and evening as the main storm crosses Iowa. A small shift in the track of the storm will greatly impact snow amounts and the extent of blizzard conditions over the region tonight. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING... ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Wintry mixed precipitation through today with light glazing expected. Snow will develop by late afternoon, becoming heavy at times this evening. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 10 inches. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph tonight and Sunday to produce Blizzard conditions. * WHERE...North and North Central Iowa. * WHEN...For the Winter Weather Advisory, until 6 PM today. For the Blizzard Warning, from 6 PM this evening to 6 PM Sunday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel may be difficult today and potentially impossible tonight and Sunday. Blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility to near zero at times Saturday night into Sunday. Strong winds could bring down tree branches and power lines. A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout conditions, making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain will cause travel difficulties. Expect slippery 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. Winter Weather Advisory Areas Affected: Audubon; Calhoun; Carroll; Cerro Gordo; Crawford; Emmet; Greene; Hancock; Humboldt; Kossuth; Palo Alto; Pocahontas; Sac; Webster; Winnebago; Worth; Wright NWS DesMoines (Central Iowa) ...Icy Conditions Continue this Morning... ...Blizzard Conditions Develop This Evening Through Sunday... .Freezing rain will persist until around 9 AM today for areas north of Interstate 80. Temperatures will warm enough to change some areas across central Iowa, including the Des Moines Metro, Ames, and Webster City over to rain by mid-morning. The wintry mix will persist however for northern and northwest Iowa through the day. Travel difficulties will continue for areas where freezing rain persists today. By late afternoon and evening, much colder air will change precipitation quickly over to snow from west to east across central Iowa. Snow will become heavy at times this evening with rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour likely from Omaha to Fort Dodge to Webster City. Total snowfall of 6 to 10 inches likely along this axis of heaviest snow. Strong winds will accompany the heavy snow producing blizzard conditions. Snow amounts are expected to be lighter south of this heavier axis, with generally 2 to 5 inches expected from 2 to 5 inches from Waterloo to Des Moines towards SW Iowa. Even so the combination of snow and very strong winds will make travel difficult tonight. Although snow ends, winds will continue to impact travel on Sunday. There remains some uncertainty as to where the heaviest snow band will set up Saturday afternoon and evening as the main storm crosses Iowa. A small shift in the track of the storm will greatly impact snow amounts and the extent of blizzard conditions over the region tonight. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING... ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Wintry mixed precipitation through today with light glazing expected. Snow will develop by late afternoon, becoming heavy at times this evening. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 10 inches. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph tonight and Sunday to produce Blizzard conditions. * WHERE...North and North Central Iowa. * WHEN...For the Winter Weather Advisory, until 6 PM today. For the Blizzard Warning, from 6 PM this evening to 6 PM Sunday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel may be difficult today and potentially impossible tonight and Sunday. Blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility to near zero at times Saturday night into Sunday. Strong winds could bring down tree branches and power lines. A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout conditions, making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain will cause travel difficulties. Expect slippery 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. Blizzard Warning Areas Affected: Boone; Cass; Franklin; Guthrie; Hamilton; Hardin NWS DesMoines (Central Iowa) ...Icy Conditions Continue this Morning... ...Blizzard Conditions Develop This Evening Through Sunday... .Freezing rain will persist until around 9 AM today for areas north of Interstate 80. Temperatures will warm enough to change some areas across central Iowa, including the Des Moines Metro, Ames, and Webster City over to rain by mid-morning. The wintry mix will persist however for northern and northwest Iowa through the day. Travel difficulties will continue for areas where freezing rain persists today. By late afternoon and evening, much colder air will change precipitation quickly over to snow from west to east across central Iowa. Snow will become heavy at times this evening with rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour likely from Omaha to Fort Dodge to Webster City. Total snowfall of 6 to 10 inches likely along this axis of heaviest snow. Strong winds will accompany the heavy snow producing blizzard conditions. Snow amounts are expected to be lighter south of this heavier axis, with generally 2 to 5 inches expected from 2 to 5 inches from Waterloo to Des Moines towards SW Iowa. Even so the combination of snow and very strong winds will make travel difficult tonight. Although snow ends, winds will continue to impact travel on Sunday. There remains some uncertainty as to where the heaviest snow band will set up Saturday afternoon and evening as the main storm crosses Iowa. A small shift in the track of the storm will greatly impact snow amounts and the extent of blizzard conditions over the region tonight. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CST THIS MORNING... ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Wintry mixed precipitation until 9 AM today. Snow to develop by 6 PM, becoming heavy heavy at times this evening. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 8 inches expected. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph tonight and Sunday will produce Blizzard Conditions. * WHERE...North Central Iowa. * WHEN...For the Winter Weather Advisory, until 9 AM today. For the Blizzard Warning, from 6 PM Saturday to 6 PM Sunday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel may be difficult today and potentially impossible tonight and Sunday. Blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility to near zero at times Saturday night into Sunday. Strong winds could bring down tree branches and power lines. A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout conditions, making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain will cause travel difficulties. Expect slippery 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. Winter Weather Advisory Areas Affected: Boone; Cass; Franklin; Guthrie; Hamilton; Hardin NWS DesMoines (Central Iowa) ...Icy Conditions Continue this Morning... ...Blizzard Conditions Develop This Evening Through Sunday... .Freezing rain will persist until around 9 AM today for areas north of Interstate 80. Temperatures will warm enough to change some areas across central Iowa, including the Des Moines Metro, Ames, and Webster City over to rain by mid-morning. The wintry mix will persist however for northern and northwest Iowa through the day. Travel difficulties will continue for areas where freezing rain persists today. By late afternoon and evening, much colder air will change precipitation quickly over to snow from west to east across central Iowa. Snow will become heavy at times this evening with rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour likely from Omaha to Fort Dodge to Webster City. Total snowfall of 6 to 10 inches likely along this axis of heaviest snow. Strong winds will accompany the heavy snow producing blizzard conditions. Snow amounts are expected to be lighter south of this heavier axis, with generally 2 to 5 inches expected from 2 to 5 inches from Waterloo to Des Moines towards SW Iowa. Even so the combination of snow and very strong winds will make travel difficult tonight. Although snow ends, winds will continue to impact travel on Sunday. There remains some uncertainty as to where the heaviest snow band will set up Saturday afternoon and evening as the main storm crosses Iowa. A small shift in the track of the storm will greatly impact snow amounts and the extent of blizzard conditions over the region tonight. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CST THIS MORNING... ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Wintry mixed precipitation until 9 AM today. Snow to develop by 6 PM, becoming heavy heavy at times this evening. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 8 inches expected. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph tonight and Sunday will produce Blizzard Conditions. * WHERE...North Central Iowa. * WHEN...For the Winter Weather Advisory, until 9 AM today. For the Blizzard Warning, from 6 PM Saturday to 6 PM Sunday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel may be difficult today and potentially impossible tonight and Sunday. Blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility to near zero at times Saturday night into Sunday. Strong winds could bring down tree branches and power lines. A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout conditions, making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain will cause travel difficulties. Expect slippery 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. Blizzard Warning Areas Affected: Chickasaw; Floyd; Howard; Mitchell NWS LaCrosse (Southwestern Wisconsin, Southeastern Minnesota, and Northeast Iowa) ...Dangerous Storm Tonight...Blizzard Conditions For Some... .A dangerous winter storm will bring heavy snow and very strong winds to the region tonight, persisting into Sunday. The worst conditions, and potentially life threatening, will be across parts of southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa where the mix of snow and wind will result in blizzard conditions. The heart of the storm moves in by early evening, transitioning from rain to snow from west to east. The heavy snow axis is currently expected to setup from around Austin and Rochester Minnesota to Medford Wisconsin. Amounts from 8 to 12 inches are possible, tapering off west and east of there. 1-2 inch per hour snowfall rates will be common tonight. Winds will be on the increase from the northwest overnight, sustained from 20 to 35 mph with gusts upwards of 45 to 50. White-out conditions are expected for open and unsheltered areas of southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa overnight through parts of Sunday. Localized white-out conditions can be expected in other wind prone areas, including ridge-tops. While the bulk of the snow will have fallen by mid morning Sunday, the strong winds will continue the dangerous conditions (blowing, drifting, severe reductions to visibilities) through the afternoon. Travel will quickly become treacherous tonight and potentially impossible for some. Road closures are likely in areas impacted by the blizzard conditions. Travel is not recommended tonight in these areas. Plan now for the wintry conditions. Adjust or cancel travel plans if possible. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CST THIS MORNING... ...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation this morning. Snow accumulations up to 1 inch and a glaze of ice possible. Blizzard conditions tonight into Sunday. Additional snow accumulations of 5 to 10 inches, higher in southeast Minnesota. Ice accumulations of a light glaze possible. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph. * WHERE...Portions of north central and northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota. * WHEN...For the Blizzard Warning, from 6 PM this evening to 6 PM CST Sunday. For the Winter Weather Advisory, until 9 AM CST this morning. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel could be very difficult. Areas of blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches. A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout conditions, making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain will cause travel difficulties. Expect slippery roads and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving. The latest road conditions for Iowa can be found on-line at 511ia.org, in Minnesota at 511mn.org, and in Wisconsin at 511wi.gov or by calling 5 1 1. Winter Weather Advisory Areas Affected: Chickasaw; Floyd; Howard; Mitchell NWS LaCrosse (Southwestern Wisconsin, Southeastern Minnesota, and Northeast Iowa) ...Dangerous Storm Tonight...Blizzard Conditions For Some... .A dangerous winter storm will bring heavy snow and very strong winds to the region tonight, persisting into Sunday. The worst conditions, and potentially life threatening, will be across parts of southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa where the mix of snow and wind will result in blizzard conditions. The heart of the storm moves in by early evening, transitioning from rain to snow from west to east. The heavy snow axis is currently expected to setup from around Austin and Rochester Minnesota to Medford Wisconsin. Amounts from 8 to 12 inches are possible, tapering off west and east of there. 1-2 inch per hour snowfall rates will be common tonight. Winds will be on the increase from the northwest overnight, sustained from 20 to 35 mph with gusts upwards of 45 to 50. White-out conditions are expected for open and unsheltered areas of southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa overnight through parts of Sunday. Localized white-out conditions can be expected in other wind prone areas, including ridge-tops. While the bulk of the snow will have fallen by mid morning Sunday, the strong winds will continue the dangerous conditions (blowing, drifting, severe reductions to visibilities) through the afternoon. Travel will quickly become treacherous tonight and potentially impossible for some. Road closures are likely in areas impacted by the blizzard conditions. Travel is not recommended tonight in these areas. Plan now for the wintry conditions. Adjust or cancel travel plans if possible. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CST THIS MORNING... ...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation this morning. Snow accumulations up to 1 inch and a glaze of ice possible. Blizzard conditions tonight into Sunday. Additional snow accumulations of 5 to 10 inches, higher in southeast Minnesota. Ice accumulations of a light glaze possible. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph. * WHERE...Portions of north central and northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota. * WHEN...For the Blizzard Warning, from 6 PM this evening to 6 PM CST Sunday. For the Winter Weather Advisory, until 9 AM CST this morning. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel could be very difficult. Areas of blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches. A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout conditions, making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain will cause travel difficulties. Expect slippery roads and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving. The latest road conditions for Iowa can be found on-line at 511ia.org, in Minnesota at 511mn.org, and in Wisconsin at 511wi.gov or by calling 5 1 1. Blizzard Warning Areas Affected: Dodge; Fillmore; Mower; Olmsted; Wabasha NWS LaCrosse (Southwestern Wisconsin, Southeastern Minnesota, and Northeast Iowa) ...Dangerous Storm Tonight...Blizzard Conditions For Some... .A dangerous winter storm will bring heavy snow and very strong winds to the region tonight, persisting into Sunday. The worst conditions, and potentially life threatening, will be across parts of southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa where the mix of snow and wind will result in blizzard conditions. The heart of the storm moves in by early evening, transitioning from rain to snow from west to east. The heavy snow axis is currently expected to setup from around Austin and Rochester Minnesota to Medford Wisconsin. Amounts from 8 to 12 inches are possible, tapering off west and east of there. 1-2 inch per hour snowfall rates will be common tonight. Winds will be on the increase from the northwest overnight, sustained from 20 to 35 mph with gusts upwards of 45 to 50. White-out conditions are expected for open and unsheltered areas of southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa overnight through parts of Sunday. Localized white-out conditions can be expected in other wind prone areas, including ridge-tops. While the bulk of the snow will have fallen by mid morning Sunday, the strong winds will continue the dangerous conditions (blowing, drifting, severe reductions to visibilities) through the afternoon. Travel will quickly become treacherous tonight and potentially impossible for some. Road closures are likely in areas impacted by the blizzard conditions. Travel is not recommended tonight in these areas. Plan now for the wintry conditions. Adjust or cancel travel plans if possible. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CST THIS MORNING... ...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation this morning. Snow accumulations up to 1 inch and a glaze of ice possible. Blizzard conditions tonight into Sunday. Additional snow accumulations of 5 to 10 inches, higher in southeast Minnesota. Ice accumulations of a light glaze possible. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph. * WHERE...Portions of north central and northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota. * WHEN...For the Blizzard Warning, from 6 PM this evening to 6 PM CST Sunday. For the Winter Weather Advisory, until 9 AM CST this morning. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel could be very difficult. Areas of blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches. A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout conditions, making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain will cause travel difficulties. Expect slippery roads and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving. The latest road conditions for Iowa can be found on-line at 511ia.org, in Minnesota at 511mn.org, and in Wisconsin at 511wi.gov or by calling 5 1 1. Winter Weather Advisory Areas Affected: Dodge; Fillmore; Mower; Olmsted; Wabasha NWS LaCrosse (Southwestern Wisconsin, Southeastern Minnesota, and Northeast Iowa) ...Dangerous Storm Tonight...Blizzard Conditions For Some... .A dangerous winter storm will bring heavy snow and very strong winds to the region tonight, persisting into Sunday. The worst conditions, and potentially life threatening, will be across parts of southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa where the mix of snow and wind will result in blizzard conditions. The heart of the storm moves in by early evening, transitioning from rain to snow from west to east. The heavy snow axis is currently expected to setup from around Austin and Rochester Minnesota to Medford Wisconsin. Amounts from 8 to 12 inches are possible, tapering off west and east of there. 1-2 inch per hour snowfall rates will be common tonight. Winds will be on the increase from the northwest overnight, sustained from 20 to 35 mph with gusts upwards of 45 to 50. White-out conditions are expected for open and unsheltered areas of southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa overnight through parts of Sunday. Localized white-out conditions can be expected in other wind prone areas, including ridge-tops. While the bulk of the snow will have fallen by mid morning Sunday, the strong winds will continue the dangerous conditions (blowing, drifting, severe reductions to visibilities) through the afternoon. Travel will quickly become treacherous tonight and potentially impossible for some. Road closures are likely in areas impacted by the blizzard conditions. Travel is not recommended tonight in these areas. Plan now for the wintry conditions. Adjust or cancel travel plans if possible. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CST THIS MORNING... ...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation this morning. Snow accumulations up to 1 inch and a glaze of ice possible. Blizzard conditions tonight into Sunday. Additional snow accumulations of 5 to 10 inches, higher in southeast Minnesota. Ice accumulations of a light glaze possible. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph. * WHERE...Portions of north central and northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota. * WHEN...For the Blizzard Warning, from 6 PM this evening to 6 PM CST Sunday. For the Winter Weather Advisory, until 9 AM CST this morning. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel could be very difficult. Areas of blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches. A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout conditions, making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain will cause travel difficulties. Expect slippery roads and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving. The latest road conditions for Iowa can be found on-line at 511ia.org, in Minnesota at 511mn.org, and in Wisconsin at 511wi.gov or by calling 5 1 1. Blizzard Warning Areas Affected: Faribault; Freeborn; Steele; Waseca NWS Minneapolis (Southern Minnesota) ...DANGEROUS WINTER STORM EXPECTED TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY... .A Winter Weather Advisory continues through Saturday morning for portions of west central Wisconsin through southeastern Minnesota, specifically along and east of a line from Blue Earth to Faribault in Minnesota, continuing to River Falls and Bloomer in Wisconsin. Snowfall accumulations of up to around 2 inches along with up to a tenth of an inch of ice accretion can be expected through Saturday morning. A stronger system is expected for Saturday night through Sunday when accumulating snow plus blowing snow will impact travel, including blizzard conditions for much of southern and western Minnesota. A Blizzard Warning is in effect Saturday evening through Sunday afternoon for most locations in Minnesota and Wisconsin south of I-94. This includes southern portions of the Twin Cities metro, away from more suburban areas. Within the Blizzard Warning, snow accumulations will range from 1 to 3 inches in the west near the South Dakota border to 6 to 8 inches along Interstate 35 and east. The snow is expected from late Saturday afternoon through the early morning hours Sunday, followed by strong winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to near 50 mph for most of the day Sunday. This could lead to whiteout conditions, making travel very difficult or impossible in the open areas of western, central, and southern Minnesota, and far western Wisconsin. A Winter Storm Warning is in effect Saturday evening through Sunday afternoon for St Croix, Barron, Rusk, Chippewa, and Eau Claire counties. Within the Winter Storm Warning, snow accumulations of 6 to 9 inches can be expected with localized higher amounts possible. The snow is expected Saturday evening through Sunday morning, followed by strong winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 40 mph for most of the day Sunday. This may produce areas of blowing and drifting snow, making travel difficult for portions of far southeastern Minnesota into west central Wisconsin. A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for the counties along I-94 for the potential of 1 to 4 inches of snow and very strong wind. Winds could gust as high as 40 to 45 mph which could lead to very low visibility and dangerous travel. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CST THIS MORNING... ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation today followed by blizzard conditions tonight and Sunday. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches and winds gusting as high as 45 to 50 mph. * WHERE...Waseca, Steele, Faribault and Freeborn Counties. * WHEN...For the Blizzard Warning, from 6 PM Saturday to 6 PM CST Sunday. For the Winter Weather Advisory, from midnight tonight to 9 AM CST Saturday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel could be very difficult or impossible Saturday night into Sunday. A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout conditions, making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain will cause travel difficulties. Expect slippery roads and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving. The latest road conditions for Minnesota can be found at 511mn.org and for Wisconsin at 511wi.gov, or by calling 5 1 1 in either state. Winter Weather Advisory Areas Affected: Faribault; Freeborn; Steele; Waseca NWS Minneapolis (Southern Minnesota) ...DANGEROUS WINTER STORM EXPECTED TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY... .A Winter Weather Advisory continues through Saturday morning for portions of west central Wisconsin through southeastern Minnesota, specifically along and east of a line from Blue Earth to Faribault in Minnesota, continuing to River Falls and Bloomer in Wisconsin. Snowfall accumulations of up to around 2 inches along with up to a tenth of an inch of ice accretion can be expected through Saturday morning. A stronger system is expected for Saturday night through Sunday when accumulating snow plus blowing snow will impact travel, including blizzard conditions for much of southern and western Minnesota. A Blizzard Warning is in effect Saturday evening through Sunday afternoon for most locations in Minnesota and Wisconsin south of I-94. This includes southern portions of the Twin Cities metro, away from more suburban areas. Within the Blizzard Warning, snow accumulations will range from 1 to 3 inches in the west near the South Dakota border to 6 to 8 inches along Interstate 35 and east. The snow is expected from late Saturday afternoon through the early morning hours Sunday, followed by strong winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to near 50 mph for most of the day Sunday. This could lead to whiteout conditions, making travel very difficult or impossible in the open areas of western, central, and southern Minnesota, and far western Wisconsin. A Winter Storm Warning is in effect Saturday evening through Sunday afternoon for St Croix, Barron, Rusk, Chippewa, and Eau Claire counties. Within the Winter Storm Warning, snow accumulations of 6 to 9 inches can be expected with localized higher amounts possible. The snow is expected Saturday evening through Sunday morning, followed by strong winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 40 mph for most of the day Sunday. This may produce areas of blowing and drifting snow, making travel difficult for portions of far southeastern Minnesota into west central Wisconsin. A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for the counties along I-94 for the potential of 1 to 4 inches of snow and very strong wind. Winds could gust as high as 40 to 45 mph which could lead to very low visibility and dangerous travel. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CST THIS MORNING... ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation today followed by blizzard conditions tonight and Sunday. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches and winds gusting as high as 45 to 50 mph. * WHERE...Waseca, Steele, Faribault and Freeborn Counties. * WHEN...For the Blizzard Warning, from 6 PM Saturday to 6 PM CST Sunday. For the Winter Weather Advisory, from midnight tonight to 9 AM CST Saturday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel could be very difficult or impossible Saturday night into Sunday. A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout conditions, making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain will cause travel difficulties. Expect slippery roads and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving. The latest road conditions for Minnesota can be found at 511mn.org and for Wisconsin at 511wi.gov, or by calling 5 1 1 in either state. ALBERT LEA, Minn. A man accused of a church break-in is pleading guilty. Kavin Earl Whelan, 64 of Albert Lea, was arrested after a window was broken at Grace Lutheran Church on September 15, 2018. Police say there is surveillance video of Whelan riding his bike and carrying a large sledge hammer. The video reportedly shows Whelan going to the area where the window was broken and then he is shown inside the church with the sledge hammer. Whelan is pleading guilty to 3rd degree burglary and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 29. There were at least nine church burglaries reported in Albert Lea in 2018. RCIS offers a 24-hour confidential hotline that serves victims of sexual assault aged 12 and older, as well as their caregivers. The hotline can be a resource for those who may not yet feel comfortable telling their caregivers about a past assault. RCIS also offers services for a person to break the news of an assault to parents in a group setting with counselors. CERRO GORDO COUNTY, Iowa - The Cerro Gordo Free Health Care Clinic is closing its doors. The organization made the announcement Friday morning. Its a bittersweet announcement for the Cerro Gordo Free Health Care Clinic. The clinic has served its mission: To provide uninsured and underinsured county residents access to free, quality, basic health care services that are culturally sensitive and non-judgmental, the clinic said in a press release. Under the guidance of a Clinic Manager, Medical Director, and volunteer health care professionals the clinic provided basic medical care while also providing necessary resources for the patients in need. Any remaining patients are getting help through the newly opened Community Health Center in Mason City. For nearly a decade, the clinic has operated with the leadership of its Board of Directors and President Amy Fleming. Fleming is grateful for all who helped make the clinic a reality, starting with when it first opened in November of 2009. From the volunteer doctors and nurses, to the everyday citizens who gave of their time to help, youve all been a blessing to the clinic and the community, says Fleming. ALBERT LEA, Minn. A woman authorities say was caught with four pounds of meth in Freeborn County is sentenced to probation. Martina Salazar, 51 of Huntington Park, California, pleaded guilty to 3rd degree drug possession. The Minnesota State Patrol says she was pulled over on June 19, 2017. Court documents state Salazar told the state troopers she was driving to Nashville with her daughter to see Taylor Swifts house and denied knowing about the methamphetamine found in her rented car. Salazar has now been sentenced to 20 years of supervised probation and must do 40 hours of community work service. CLEAR LAKE, Iowa- Craig Kramer of Dyersville spent most of Thursday looking for the perfect place to fish on Clear Lake. We caught a little perch so far and a few other small perches, he said. But since he isnt from the area, he didnt know there is an aerator on the part of Clear Lake he started drilling holes in. He feels aerators are vital to keeping fish alive during the winter months and questions why it isnt on. Its a decision that doesnt make anyone happy, said Iowa DNR Fisheries Biologist Scott Grummer. Grummer is the one who makes that tough call. He explained that it was made in late December because of the mild start to the winter. The lake didnt freeze or get snow on it until late January. When you get that think blanket of snow that starts in November and doesnt leave until March thats when we have dissolved oxygen issues, said Grummer. Scott said no one could have predicted how brutal the winter would be following the mild start but he doesnt regret his decision. Its too late to turn them back on now anyway. In winter aeration, you can actually do more damage by turning them on mid-winter, Grummer said. You can either run them from the start and dont stop or you can run them and stop. Its not something you can turn off and on. But being an experienced fisher, Kramer said they should have never been turned off in the first place. I know theres a lake over in Delaware County I go fishing and they shut their aerator off a few years back and it made a huge difference, he said. Grummer said this is the first time they have turned the aerators off in nearly a decade. He said with the tens of millions of dollars the city and state has put in to restoring Clear Lake that should also give the local body of water some resilience. While there's early evidence that the explosive rate of opioid deaths has started to slow, opioids killed more than 49,000 people in the United States in 2017, according to preliminary data. A new study reveals which part of the country has been affected the most by the ongoing epidemic. In a study of opioid deaths from 1999 to 2016, 'we found that, in general, opioid mortality is skyrocketing,' said Mathew Kiang, a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University's Center for Population Health Sciences. More specifically, the study, published Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open, found that the mortality rate from synthetic opioids in 28 states more than doubled every two years from 1999 to 2016. The District of Columbia saw the greatest increase in its opioid mortality rate, which more than tripled every year since 2013. Synthetic opioids are manmade drugs such as fentanyl, as opposed to semi-synthetic opioids such as hydrocodone and oxycodone, or natural opioids such as codeine and morphine. Fentanyl is up to 50 times more powerful than heroin, and just of a milligram can be deadly. For comparison, a standard low-dose aspirin is 81 mg. If you were to cut that tablet into 324 pieces, one of those pieces would equal milligram. 'One thing I do want to highlight is that, despite the large differences in deaths across states, there's no evidence to suggest that there's differences in use,' Kiang said. 'What we think is happening is that the heroin just continues to get more and more potent in the eastern United States, whereas heroin [in] the western United States has traditionally been this brown tar heroin. It's much harder to lace with fentanyl or other synthetic opioids.' At the national level, opioids were responsible for shaving 0.36 years off Americans' life expectancy in 2016, the study says. That's a greater loss of life than caused by guns or motor vehicle accidents. New Hampshire and West Virginia saw the biggest drops in life expectancy, of more than a year, due to opioid deaths. Montana and Oregon were the only states to see a decline in opioid deaths from 1999 to 2016. According to the report, 'emerging research ... suggests the opioid epidemic has evolved as a series of 3 intertwined but distinct epidemics, or waves, based on the types of opioids associated with mortality': 1990s-2010: Prescription painkillers 2010-present: Heroin 2013-present: Synthetic opioids Utilizing data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics and the US census, Kiang and his colleagues identified 351,630 opioid-related deaths from 1999 to 2016. Over that 18-year period, deaths from opioids increased by 455%. Men, on average, died at age 39.8, women at age 43.5. Kiang said that, if anything, the number of opioid deaths is probably underreported because synthetic opioids require additional testing by a medical examiner. He hopes testing for synthetic opioids will become standard whenever the cause of someone's death is classified as an overdose. Dr. Andrew Kolodny, the co-director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University, said, 'to talk about solutions, you have to frame the problem the right way.' To him, that means looking at the opioid crisis not as an overdose epidemic but as an addiction epidemic. 'Preventing opioid addiction is necessary for the long term, so that this crisis ultimately comes to an end. And preventing opioid addiction really means much more cautious prescribing.' Kiang agrees that there are multiple factors at work. 'We need to make treatment at least as accessible, available and affordable as heroin,' he said. 'It shouldn't be harder to get help than it is to get heroin.' Local councillors have expressed concern over any possible diminishment of Kilkennys role ahead of a deadline for submissions to the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES). Members of the Piltown Municipal District were discussing the RSES at their monthly meeting last week. Senior planner Denis Malone said it was to provide long-term regional planning in support of the implementation of the National Planning Framework (NPF). Under the plan, the country is split into three regions, and Kilkenny is in the Southern region. In the region, there are nine counties and three cities Waterford, Cork and Limerick. The regions population is around 1.6 million, and is expected to grow by about 329,000 to 2 million by 2040. After the three big cities, Kilkenny is recognised in the RSES among the large towns, which range in size (Kilkenny is the largest). Below these key towns are the smaller towns and villages, with populations of 10,000. The council has said that this should be sub-divided into towns of between 10,000 20,000, and more than 20,000, to recognise the role and function of Kilkenny and comparable towns. Mr Malone said it had become difficult for Waterford to compete at the same level as the likes of Cork. The regions cities share similar selling points, and Waterford may need something unique. He said the council saw the delivery of a multi-campus Technological University for the South East as a real game changer, while other objectives include the upgrade of the N24 and N25. Cllr Pat Dunphy said the members had been looking for road upgrades for the region for years. Noting the looming Brexit deadline, he said there were two ports close by in Belview and Rosslare, but the area was being overlooked as the road infrastructure was not good enough. Cllr Melissa O Neill said she was shocked by how low down Kilkenny has been put in this. Its not for the work of our council. We are totally being forgotten in this corner, she said. Cllr Tomas Breathnach said he thought people in the South East had a sense of South East identity within the wider region, and the plan seemed quite urban-based. Id like to see a greater emphasis on the South East aspect of it, and concentrate more on the strengths of the South East rather than being a release valve for the greater Dublin area, said the Labour Party councillor. He said the South East needed its own regional forum. He also said the March 8 deadline seemed a bit tight. Cllr Fidelis Doherty said it should be noted that while described as a town, Kilkenny had a city charter. The Southern Regional Assembly is holding a series of public consultation days on the draft RSES this month in Waterford, Cork and Limerick, but not in Kilkenny. The Southern Regional Assembly will consider all submissions made in writing on or before 5pm on Friday, March 8. Local TD Bobby Aylward has said the prospect of a no-deal Brexit is 'unthinkable' for Ireland's beef industry. Deputy Aylward was commenting following reports that the UK has plans to open their market to South American beef in the event of a no deal Brexit. "The UK is Irelands largest export destination for agri-food products with exports valued at 5.2 billion in 2017," he said. "Our beef industry in particular is hugely reliant on the UK market and 48% of all our beef exports went to the UK in 2017. If in the event of a no deal Brexit, the UK opens its doors to South American beef this would be nothing short of a catastrophe for our beef industry and would have a devastating effect on farmers the length and breadth of this country. "Beef farmers are no strangers to crisis but a no-deal Brexit will decimate the sector. There is 36 days until the UK exits the EU and no-deal is becoming increasingly likely. If this comes to pass and Irish beef is forced to compete in the UK market against cheaper imports from other countries thousands of jobs will be lost. The Fianna Fail TD said Irish beef farmers have worked very hard to secure their place on the shelves in the UK and in British restaurants. Irish beef has a hard earned and well-deserved reputation as quality, high standard food. "Every effort must be made to safeguard this industry and the hundreds of thousands of people employed in it, both directly and indirectly. The Government therefore must ensure that sufficient contingency plans, including a financial aid package, are in place to insulate our beef and agri-food industry from the fall out of Brexit, he said. At noon on Oct. 24, 1998, the 66 East Main Street station was retired and the company moved into its current quarters at 28 John Street. The company held a parade from the old station to the new one, inviting outside companies to join. At 1 p.m. that day, the new station went into service. Weather Alert ...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM PDT THURSDAY... * WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions with heat index values up to 110. * WHERE...Portions of North and North Central Idaho. Portions of Central, East Central, North Central, Northeast, and Southeast Washington. * WHEN...Until 7 PM PDT Thursday. * IMPACTS...Heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat and high humidity events. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Do not leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles. Car interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes. Take extra precautions when outside. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing. Try to limit strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Take action when you see symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. && While Marylands senators did not discuss the bill as they took their final vote, they debated the measure earlier in the week. Some senators expressed reservations about allowing an individual to make a choice of gender for an ID without providing documentation. The day our daughter Laura was killed, our family was robbed of not one, but two generations. But there will be no justice for our grandson Reid when the jury hands down its verdict in the case next month. Md. law only charges fetal homicide if the fetus is at least 24 weeks old; Reid was 14 weeks. EUGENE, Ore. -- Local fans of "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, who was recently charged with making a false police report, say they're disappointed he took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career. The black and gay star said he was attacked by two men who yelled racist and homophobic slurs, but police say that's not what happened. Smollett is now charged with a felony and had to surrender his passport and post bond to get out of jail. RELATED: 'Empire' actor charged with making false police report "To hear that he just made it up is just so frustrating and angering and disappointing because I feel like he was just a voice for people like me and to hear that he abused his power to advance his career and maybe a little pay is just sickening, Isaiah Nixon said. Isaiah Nixon is a member of the black and LGBTQ community. He said he has been a fan of Smollett since day one. "It was really cool to see some representation of people like me on TV and for him to just openly abuse his platform is so unacceptable," Nixon said. Nixon says Smolletts actions are going to have repercussions in the community. "Within the queer community of color, its going to create a lot of tension for sure as far as legitimacy of issues," Nixon said. Some also believe this is going to have a ripple effect on victims who actually go through hate crimes. "Its going to make victims second guess themselves over and over again, Nixon said. Nixon told KEZI 9 News the fact that people rallied around him initially without question was encouraging and he was one of many shocked to find out his story may not be true. "People that don't even support gay, black people were coming together to show love and support," University of Oregon student Cameron Lewis said. "To see that that was all for nothing is hurtful and disappointing more than anything." Smollett is due back in court March 14 when he is expected to enter his plea. If he's convicted, he could face up to three years in prison. 51 Shares Share Tammy Fox wanted to help after a friend took ill with a rare and difficult-to-diagnose autoimmune disorder that required many trips to the Mayo Clinic. Although Fox couldnt do anything medically, she knew there was a way to ease some of the burden of medical bills and costs associated with doctor visits. She turned to the website GoFundMe and set up a site for her friend. Youve got meals; youve got hotel stays, she said. And gas. So that all needed to be covered. Contributions came in from strangers, noted Fox, who lives in suburban Minneapolis. Its crazy cool how awesome people are and what theyre willing to give. People, when they come together, can just move mountains and I think thats awesome to see. GoFundMe, the largest online, crowdsourced fundraising platform, says contributors have raised more than $5 billion, all told, from 50 million donations in the eight years it has been in business. Setting up a GoFundMe page has also become a go-to way for people in need of help to pay their doctors and other health providers. Medical fundraisers now account for 1 in 3 of the websites campaigns, and they bring in more money than any other GoFundMe category, said GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon. In the old paradigm you would give $20 to somebody who needed help, Solomon said. In the new paradigm, youll give $20, youll share that and that could turn into 10, 20, 50 or 100 people doing that. So, the $20 could turn into hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. Stories of tragic illness and financial hardship all of them with pictures of those suffering are easy to find in GoFundMes medical section. One such case is musician Carolyn Deal, from Marshall, N.C., who lost nearly all her hearing after a traumatic brain injury. Deal has raised nearly $25,000 for alternative treatments and procedures she would like to try that her health insurance wont cover. Americans confidence that they can afford health care is slipping, said Sara Collins, an economist at the Commonwealth Fund who studies American health care concerns. Even for conventional treatments covered under most health plans, the copays and high deductibles have left many people with health insurance they cant afford to use. Her organization recently surveyed working-age Americans, asking whether they felt they had the ability to pay an unexpected medical bill of $1,000 in 30 days. Nearly half said no. We find that underinsured people are nearly as likely to report problems paying their medical bills as people who dont have any insurance, she said. And they also report not getting needed health care at rates that are nearly as high as those who are uninsured. So it shouldnt be surprising that people are raising funds through crowdsourcing, Collins said. But it really should be a deep concern for policymakers and providers. Solomon acknowledges that the challenges in understanding how health insurance works and the wide-ranging coverage landscape are driving interest in the site. Theres just a lot of cost associated with the medical space, and it has become a very important category on GoFundMe, he said. Until about a year ago, GoFundMe kept 5 percent of fundraising proceeds in addition to collecting a nearly 3 percent credit card processing fee. It still charges the credit card fee but no longer collects the 5 percent surcharge. Mark Zdechlik is a correspondent, Minnesota Public Radio. This story is part of a partnership that includes Minnesota Public Radio, NPR and Kaiser Health News. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Casey replied to one comment on his Facebook post, which garnered many comments from alumni, parents and current students: These recommendations are not bean counting decisions taken lightly. They are the product of hard examinations of the economic and cultural realities of our times. They should have been spread over a 20-year period but they weren't. We pay the price for that now in discomfort. As I cleared snow from my driveway at 6:15 a.m. Wednesday the third such effort in five days it was clear how much thinking time the job provides. My first thought was that Im tired of scooping snow. I didnt need to clear my driveway three times to get into or out of my garage, but Id rather remove 3-4 inches at a time than 10-12 inches at once. Snow mounds along my driveway are monuments to my work ethic. During repetitive activities, repetitive tunes play in my head. Sometimes I hum along. I remember singing Wednesdays selection, There Shall Be Showers of Blessing, years ago at Pleasant View Christian Church southeast of Wilcox. I remembered the refrain, Showers of blessings, showers of blessings I see. As I moved snow from here to there in my dark, quiet Kearney neighborhood, I changed the words to snowflakes of blessings I see. I thought I was clever, until I found the hymn lyrics online and learned the correct line is Showers of blessing we need. I still like my version. Each unique flake can remind me to think of something positive linked to snow. For nearly 40 years, owners of homes at the private, gated Hollister Ranch subdivision northwest of Santa Barbara have bitterly opposed efforts to provide the public with access to the ranchs 8.5 miles of coastline. In late 2017, this obstinance paid off when coastal regulators agreed to a deal in which the public was granted access to a three-quarter-mile section of beach but only to those using a surfboard, paddleboard, kayak or soft-bottom boat. There would be no regular land access to the shoreline, which is near Gaviota State Park beach. Unsurprisingly, this infuriated activists in the Gaviota Coastal Trail Alliance, who filed legal challenges to the decision on the grounds that it violated the clear intent of state laws guaranteeing public access to beach areas. And on Feb. 8, Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Colleen Sterne agreed with them, saying that Hollister Ranch officials had failed to demonstrate the deal was fair and reasonable. While Sterne refused to ratify the decision, she didnt throw it out. Instead, she laid out the steps that critics could take to have it formally repudiated by the state, starting with a lawsuit targeting the secret process that coastal regulators used to craft the settlement. The initial investigation revealed that the suspect entered the store displaying a knife. He accosted a clerk before directing the clerk toward the register and demanding money. The suspect then fled on foot eastward toward a parking lot where he entered a waiting vehicle of unknown description, according to the release. Nebraska state law requires that grand jury records be made publicly available in cases involving law enforcement officer-involved deaths. That requirement underscores the importance of keeping the public informed about law enforcement actions involving the most serious of consequences. The Nebraska State Attorney Generals Office had argued that the records should be sealed if a case was pending against an officer, but two district court judges and now the state Supreme Court have ruled otherwise, acknowledging the plain requirements under the relevant state law. The case in question involved the testimony and exhibits that grand jurors reviewed before deciding on charges against officers in connection with the June 5, 2017, death of Zachary BearHeels, an Oklahoma man suffering from mental illness. That disturbing incident rightly spurred scrutiny of police procedures and operations. State law served the public interest by requiring transparency for the grand jury materials. Omaha World-Herald Long before Yalitza Aparicio became the first indigenous woman nominated for best actress at the Oscars, she applied for a retail position at a clothing store in her hometown of Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca. She didn't get the job. Aparicio, now in the same conversations as Glenn Close and Lady Gaga, recalls the store manager's exact words: "It's your skin color." PAST WINNERS: See the past 50 (actually 51) winners for Best Actress in a gallery at the end of this story She wasn't surprised. It isn't unusual for people with indigenous features to face discrimination in Mexico. But now Aparicio, who had never acted before landing the lead role in the critically lauded "Roma," has gone from aspiring public school teacher in a city of less than 18,000 to the first indigenous woman on Vogue Mexico's cover. Fans tout her as the face of indigenous Mexico. Trolls leave racist comments on her social media. And at just 25 years old, she's wrestling with the rewards and burdens of fame. Soft-spoken and quick to smile, she says she doesn't consider herself an indigenous activist and hopes to better express herself publicly about these issues in the future. Yet when the camera turns on, she gazes straight ahead, exuding the confidence that made her on-screen character, Cleo, so effortlessly realistic. "I never liked being in front of a camera. I was a scaredy-cat, very reserved and not very social," Aparicio said in Spanish of her life before "Roma." "I never thought I would leave my hometown, but here I am." Since its release by Netflix in December, "Roma" has racked up accolades around the world, including 10 Academy Award nominations. It has also inspired innumerable features focused on Aparicio's character, Cleo, a domestic worker from Oaxaca inspired by writer-director Alfonso Cuaron's real-life childhood nanny. Cleo, who speaks a combination of Spanish and Mixtec on screen, represents the more than 2.4 million domestic workers across present-day Mexico, more than 95 percent of whom are female and from indigenous areas. The black-and-white film, set in the early 1970s, depicts the dynamic between Cleo and her employers with startling intimacy, presenting her inside and outside of the home where she lives and works. Luis Rosales, the casting director for "Roma," said Cuaron gave him only two directives as Rosales searched for their star. The first: Whoever got the role needed to physically look like the person on whom Cleo is based. Second, he said in an email, "she had to feel like her, too." "We interviewed over 3,000 women for the role of Cleo," Rosales said. "Yalitza got our attention since her very first audition." Aparicio, who auditioned at the urging of her older sister, was familiar with the role. Her mother is a domestic worker, so she easily identified with Cleo. "For some scenes, I interpreted the memories I have of my mom," she said. Aparicio had never heard of Cuaron or seen any of his films before "Roma" - let alone watched many movies growing up. The only film memories she has are kung fu scenes from the Bruce Lee movies her father loved. The only TV she remembers seeing as a kid was "Inuyasha," a Japanese anime about a schoolgirl who's transported to the social and political upheaval of the Sengoku era. "I never watched much TV as a kid because no one else looked like me on the screen," she said. Instead, like other kids in Oaxaca, one of the poorest states in Mexico, she took on the responsibility of financially contributing to her family from an early age. While she was in elementary school, she sold toys and clothes in the streets with her family. Growing up, she empowered herself by talking openly about the color of her skin, taking it as a point of pride when people on the street said, "Hola morenita!" - a common greeting that's meant to be endearing, although it translates to the brash-sounding, "Hi, dark-skinned one." "In my family, I've always had the darkest skin," she said. "I always joked with my siblings that it was because I was made of chocolate." That perseverance comes through on Aparicio's magazine covers, fan selfies and black-and-white billboards plastered on the streets of West Hollywood. On her Instagram account, where she has 1 million followers, she posts powerful handwritten letters from her fans, many of whom also have indigenous backgrounds. A few weeks before the Oscars, she posted a note written on a torn-out piece of composition paper: "Dear, Yalitza. Thank you for giving us a voice in a world where they want to silence us and make us disappear. Wishing you all the luck." Her success has brought increased attention to the 68 indigenous nations in Mexico, where up to 14 percent of the population is indigenous. "If Yalitza wins the Oscar, it will be a reminder to the entire world that indigenous people are alive and very much still existing in the world in the 21st century," says Odilia Romero, the national coordinator for Frente Indigena de Organizaciones Binacionales, an association that oversees indigenous affairs in the United States and Mexico. Not everyone has celebrated Aparicio's success. In December, when Aparicio appeared on the cover of Vogue Mexico, she faced racist vitriol in the comments section. In January, the digital news site Sin Embargo reported that a group of Mexican actresses had allegedly tried to prevent Aparicio from winning a Mexican Academy of Film Award, considered by many to be the "Mexican Oscars," because of her previous acting inexperience. The academy was quick to dismiss the claims, noting it had awarded past nominees with similar acting backgrounds. And, on Feb. 15, a video that appeared to show Sergio Goyri - a Mexican actor known for his work in soap operas - calling Aparicio a "pinche india" went viral. He has since apologized for using the phrase, which means "damned Indian." Despite these issues, Aparicio is quick to profess loyalty to her homeland, saying she is in love with Mexico and has no plans to move from Oaxaca. Up until the time of this interview, she had not received offers to work in other films. "I would love to have the opportunity to act again," she said. "I dream about having a role that makes people reflect on themselves, but nothing has presented itself yet." After the Oscars, whether she wins or loses, she's looking forward to returning home for a taste of the familiar - a big plate of her mom's spicy mole negro. And as for her activism, she's getting there. She urges those who use the derogatory term for an indigenous person in Spanish - "indio" - to think twice. "I am not an Indian," she said. "I am indigenous." Photos: The past 50 (actually 51) winners of the Best Actress Oscar Nobody has won more Oscars for a leading actress than Katharine Hepburn with four. Here's a look at the past 50 winners of the Oscar for Best Actress, actually 51 when you consider the tie in 1969. GRAND ISLAND Allegiant Air is increasing its nonstop service from Grand Island to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport from two days per week to three, the Central Nebraska Regional Airport announced in a press release Thursday. Because this route is a very popular and successful destination, the release said, Allegiant has expanded its service to operate on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The additional service started Feb. 13 and goes through April 24, and again from May 22 through Aug. 7. This additional flight will make traveling more convenient for our leisure passengers, said airport Executive Director Mike Olson. Overall, this addition will add approximately 27 percent more available seats between Grand Island and Phoenix-Mesa. In September, the airport will celebrate 10 years of air service to Phoenix-Mesa with Allegiant. Allegiant also offers twice-weekly nonstop service to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nev. In January, a total of 5,532 passengers boarded commercial flights at the Central Nebraska Regional Airport, compared to 5,281 in January 2018, the press release said. HOLDREGE Two Holdrege men were shot and killed during an apparent shooting spree Thursday in Holdrege. At 2:31 p.m. the Holdrege Police Department received a call about a shooting at a home in the 400 block of Logan Street, said Chief Dennis Damoude. Police received a report of a second shooting 2:41 p.m. at Holdrege Housing Authoritys Sunrise View Apartments at 1422 12th Ave. Since they came in a number of minutes apart we thought maybe we had two, maybe a murder-suicide (at Sunrise View) and something there, but thats not the way its shaking up right now. It appears that all these were connected, Damoude said. One man was killed in unit No. 46 at Sunrise View, and the other man was killed in unit No. 26. Sunrise View is low-income housing for disabled and elderly residents, said Capri Chapman, executive director of the Holdrege Housing Authority. The male victim at the home on the 400 block of Logan Street was taken by AirCare to CHI Health Good Samaritan in Kearney. A condition was unknown Thursday evening. LINCOLN State Sen. John Lowes efforts to protect employees against attacks at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Kearney is moving forward with a March 15 hearing at the Nebraska Legislature. However, Lowes attempt to obtain $2 million for a fence around YRTC-Kearney is jeopardized by lower than anticipated state tax receipts, he said Thursday. Tax receipts were, once again, lower than expected in January, and we have been told that anything with a fiscal note will not come out of the committees, Lowe said about the possibility of acquiring funding for the fence. That being said, the governor has told me to keep on pursuing this and to run it the full course. Lowes LB485 asks for $2 million for the fence to be appropriated from the states general fund. The Kearney senator said at the beginning of the 2019 Legislature that he was confident other lawmakers would appreciate why the fence is necessary. Several senators attended the public meetings that Lowe organized between legislative sessions so YRTC neighbors could talk about their concerns. Some Kearney residents said they are frightened for their safety when youths escape from YRTC. HOLDREGE Manuel Gomez, who is being accused of shooting three men Thursday in Holdrege and killing two of them, is being held without bond at the Phelps County Jail. Gomez, 45, of Holdrege appeared in Phelps County Court Friday afternoon where charges were formally read to him. He is charged with two counts of felony first-degree murder, one count of felony first-degree assault, three counts of use of a firearm to commit a felony, one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of felony flight to avoid arrest. Judge Tim Hoeft presented the charges to Gomez and the possible penalties if Gomez is convicted. Gomez is accused of shooting Doyle Morse, 64; Raymond Burton, 65 and David Rogers, 54, all of Holdrege, Thursday afternoon at their individual residences. Burton and Rogers died at Sunrise View where they lived. Morse, who is listed in serious condition at CHI Health Good Samaritan in Kearney, was shot at his home at 416 Logan St., but was able to call 911 for help. At a press conference Friday afternoon Holdrege Police Chief Dennis Damoude said Gomez is the lone suspect in the case. Damoude didnt elaborate on a motive for the shootings, and was unclear if there was a relationship between Gomez and his alleged victims. KEARNEY Buffalo County Community Partners is seeking volunteers to join the Buffalo County 2030 Planning Team. Several positions are available. The Buffalo County 2030 Initiative aims to develop a framework to improve residents health and wellness, according to a news release. Volunteers will meet monthly for a year to review assessment data and seek community input in prioritizing issues. The committee will release the Buffalo County 2030 Vision by fall 2020. People who have a passion to interpret data, promote wellness and engage others are encouraged to apply. The deadline is March 1. BCCPs first communitywide health assessment was done by 25 community stakeholders in 1994. Significant first accomplishments included the formation of 50 care units in Buffalo County for persons with Alzheimers disease, bringing the Goodwill Employment Center to Kearney, and launching RYDE, the first coordinated public transportation dispatch system in Nebraska. In the last decade, efforts have launched the HelpCare Clinic and Kearney Works to support uninsured and unemployed residents. This has reduced overweight and obesity rates, and alcohol and tobacco use in youth and adults; reduced youth violence, and improved access to health care for the uninsured and underinsured, the news release states. The style is fashionable, yet comfortable and casual. Sandy said she wants to sell clothing for everyday life from work to dinner. Women who dont want to travel to the boutique or who want to shop from the comfort of their homes may buy online now. The 308 Boutique launched its website 15 months ago, and Sandy now is shipping clothing from coast to coast. Sandy said she exhibits her new pieces and talks about how to style them in weekly informational videos posted to Facebook and Instagram. Other boutiques in south-central Nebraska have realized similar success. Hissy Fit Boutique About 25 miles east on Highway 6, Hissy Fit Boutique has been selling clothing and accessories in downtown Minden since 2009. Owner Natalie Janda of Minden said shes been selling her pieces online since she opened her storefront. The number of items the store sells in one style, depends on the price point, she said. The higher the price point, the fewer items they carry. The online sales, she said, have helped Hissy Fit Boutique stay viable in a town of nearly 3,000 people. You agreed to let your brother in-law borrow your pickup truck. But he refused to give it back, and that is not OK with you. He is depriving you of your personal property. You may want to file suit asking for replevin and detinue. thirty (30) days after the first publi- cation of this Notice and that, after the expiration of the said thirty (30) days, Paving Improvement District No. 2019-998 and any measures related to it, will not be subject to any further right of referendum. This Notice is first published on February 15, 2019. Copies of Ordinance No. 8325, as published in pamphlet form by authority of the City Council, are available to the public at the Office GRANTS PASS, Ore. UPDATE: Rape suspect Dillon Ritchason is now in police custody, according to an update from the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety. "With assistance from the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force and Analysts with Medford PD, Ritchason has been located and is in custody," GPDPS said. "Further details will follow once the investigation is complete. Thank you for help." In an updated statement, GPDPS said that the Task Force and the Medford Police analyst were able to provide a potential location for Ritchason. Police officers and detectives began searching the area and soon located the suspect. He was detained and then lodged at the jail on the previously named charges of Burglary 1, Rape 1, and Sodomy 1. "The department would like to thank our partner agencies for their assistance in helping to develop information that led to the arrest of this suspect," GPDPS said. "If anyone has had contact with Ritchason or has any additional information about contacts with him, please contact our investigations unit at 541-450-6260. This case is still active, additional information will be released if it becomes available or there are changes to the charges. The case will be referred to the Josephine District Attorneys Office for filing of charges." (Updated 2/22/19 at 1:35 p.m.) INITIAL REPORT: Police are asking for the public's help in locating a man believed to have broken into a Grants Pass woman's apartment and sexually assaulted her on Friday, just before 1 a.m. Dispatch received a 911 call from a 63-year-old woman living at the Riverwood Apartments at 1599 SE N Street at 12:44 a.m. The woman reported that she had been sexually assaulted by a man who had unlawfully entered her apartment. The man reportedly fled the scene a few minutes before the woman could call police, according to the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety (GPDPS). Officers searched the area after arriving on the scene, and detectives began investigating the case, but the suspect could not be found. "Through the investigation that followed, the male suspect's identity was discovered," GPDPS said. That suspect was 25-year-old Dillon Bryce Ritchason, whose last known address was in Montana. Ritchason is a sex offender registered in Billings, Montana, who was convicted of "Sexual Intercourse Without Consent" on a 3-year-old girl in 2008. GPDPS said that detectives are still on the case, but they are looking for help in locating Ritchason. He may be associated with a white 2002 Dodge 1500 truck with the Montana license plate number 341710C. Ritchason is described as being 6'1" and 140 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. According to the Montana sex offender registry, Ritchason also has "eight dots" either tattooed or scarred on his right hand. "If you see Dillon Ritchason or the vehicle, do not attempt to contact him," GPDPS said. "Please contact police immediately either via 911, or through our non-emergency number 541-450-6260." Pending charges for Ritchason include Burglary 1, Rape 1, and Sodomy 1. The victim of the attack was transported to Rogue Regional Medical Center, but her condition is unknown at this time. CAVE JUNCTION, Ore. It's been nearly six years since a hit-and-run double homicide near Cave Junction that has haunted the local community. Now the Josephine County District Attorney's office has released a full review of the Oregon State Police (OSP) investigation. The DA's office statement identified a likely suspect who was found and interviewed in January of this year. However, the statute of limitations for the crimes has passed. The story of the crash itself is a long and involved one. The DA's office said that on October 30 of 2013, just after midnight, 42-year-old Robert Calvin was walking with his girlfriend southbound on Highway 199 near milepost 30, just south of Cave Junction. At the same time, 21-year-old Jared Houston was driving with a passenger on Hwy 199 northbound. When Houston and Calvin intersected, the DA's office described a rapidly-escalating road rage incident that saw Houston get out of his vehicle and both men engaging in a protracted fight, with Houston as the apparent aggressor. The struggle eventually saw them stumble into the roadway, in the southbound lane. "Jared Houston again was on top of Robert Calvin," the DA's office said the investigation had concluded. It was at this point that both men were struck and killed by a pickup truck heading southbound on Hwy 199. "The Oregon State Police conducted an exhaustive investigation into the hit-and-run deaths of Robert Calvin and Jared Houston. No person came forward with accurate information leading to the identity of the hit and run driver," the DA's statement said. "Under Oregon law the statute of limitations for the crimes of Failure to Perform the Duties of Driver to Injured Persons and Criminally Negligent Homicide are three years. The Oregon State Police could not identify the hit and run driver prior to October 31, 2016." CLICK HERE for our story on family and friends of Jarred Houston, who have continued to look for justice in the case. It wasn't until October of 2017 that people came forward with information about a possible suspect, Jesse Scott Coley. But when police interviewed Coley, he denied being the hit-and-run driver. In December of 2018, the DA's office said that Coley's passenger at the time of the crash came forward to police and told them that Coley had accidentally struck and killed the two men as they were on the ground on Hwy 199. "The passenger told law enforcement that Jesse Scott Coley was not paying attention to the road prior to the accident," the DA's office said. "[She] told law enforcement that she and Jesse Scott Coley may have been 'making out' at the time of the accident. The passenger told law enforcement that initially she and Jesse Scott Coley did not know what it was they had hit in the road." According to this witness, Coley initially stopped his truck at the scene, but then continued driving. She told police that she had been drinking before the incident, but she did not think that Coley was intoxicated at the time. They drove back to Coley's house. In January of 2019, the DA's office said that Coley again agreed to be interviewed by police this time giving a very different story. Coley admitted to hitting something on the dark and foggy road that night, but said he had at first thought it was "garbage in the road." He said that he realized when it was too late that "it was a person." Coley then told police that he'd later returned to the scene. "Jesse Scott Coley told law enforcement that at the scene he approached a firefighter . . . and told the firefighter that he thought he hit a deer," the DA's office statement read. "[He] told law enforcement that the firefighter told him that two people had been killed. [He] told law enforcement that the firefighter did not realize that Jesse Scott Coley was saying he was involved in the accident." After that, Coley told police, he went home. He claimed that he was not, in fact, "making out" with his passenger at the time of the incident nor was he intoxicated, and he had been driving in a "normal fashion." He said that he did not see the two men until he was about a foot away from hitting them. "Jesse Scott Coleys conduct on October 30, 2013 constitutes the crime of Failure to Perform the Duties of Driver to Injured Persons. Jesse Scott Coleys conduct on October 30, 2013 possibly constituted the crime of Criminally Negligent Homicide. Under Oregon law the statute of limitations for the crimes of Failure to Perform the Duties of a Driver to Injured Persons and Criminally Negligent Homicide are three years," the DA's office concluded. "The statute of limitations for potential charges in this case expired on October 31, 2016. As a result, it is not possible for Jesse Scott Coley to be charged with crimes related to his conduct on October 30, 2013." COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - California authorities have released a decades-old photo of a suspect in the 1973 killing of an 11-year-old girl in the hopes of jogging the memory of potential witnesses. Officials in Orange County said Thursday that the photo may depict what James Neal looked like around the time Linda O'Keefe was killed. They're asking anyone who saw him around then to come forward. The photo shows a smiling Neal with bushy hair and a mustache. The 72-year-old was in court in Colorado on Thursday. A judge scheduled a Feb. 28 hearing on his extradition. Neal was arrested this week in Colorado Springs in the killing the girl in Newport Beach, California. Linda was seen July 6, 1973, walking home from summer school, and her body was found the next day. Authorities say Neal lived in Southern California in the 1970s. Westminster in those years was far different than it is today. The population in 1970 was 7,207. In the 1960s the population had increased by 17.7 percent and growth challenges and infrastructure improvements were pressing concerns. Not to be overlooked was the impact of the turbulent 1960s and the day-to-day grind of watching the Vietnam War every evening on the television in Technicolor while wondering which one of your friends was going to be next to come home dead. A large storm that came through Thursday night has caused some damage at the Country Stampede Festival Grounds. Organizers say they will be assessing the damage and whether this will delay Friday's festival schedule. Rodgers, who lives in Pikesville, said she sees herself as a problem solver who will work collaboratively with county department heads. She said she is committed to protecting the public trust and ensuring return on investment of our precious resources. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Hope is Alive staff, from left, Brian Shaw and Zach Schemmer load donated furniture into a trailer Thursday at One Harbor Church in Morehead City, which has partnered with the ministry to open a mens drug rehabilitation home in the county. (Cheryl Burke photo) Carteret County residents, like the ones who own these pictured homes in Beaufort, could face homeowners insurance policy rate increase up to 30 percent under a recent N.C. Rate Bureau filing. The last day to submit public comment on the filing is Tuesday. (Dylan Ray photo) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) Malacanang on Friday welcomed the "pained admission" of Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle about sexual abuse by the clergy as a validation of President Rodrigo Duterte's criticisms against the Catholic Church. Tagle, in a spiritual talk during the historic Vatican summit on clergy abuse scandal, said he and other religious leaders "humbly and sorrowfully admit" that they have inflicted wounds on sexual abuse victims by their lack of response to their suffering - "to the point of rejecting them and covering up the scandal to protect perpetrators and the institution." Hours after the unprecedented summit, Malacanang in a statement said Tagle's remarks were "a significant undertaking in raising awareness on child abuse committed by the members of the clergy." "This is a common theme of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte's speeches and a validation of his running criticism on the men of the cloth," Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said. Duterte has frequently attacked the Catholic Church, accusing it of corruption and abuse and mocking its practices and beliefs. He has said that he himself was molested by a priest when he was young. The President has repeatedly dared anyone to debunk his allegations and has called for reforms in the Catholic Church. Panelo on Friday said Tagle's "pained admission on the clergy's long kept secret abomination is part of the wrenching and cleansing process that the Church is undergoing." Malacanang also agreed with Pope Francis that "concrete measures" are needed to address the issue. READ: Pope calls for 'concrete measures' as summit on clergy sexual abuse begins "We remain confident that with Pope Francis at the helm, whose pontificate brought a surge of energy and fresh air into the life of the Roman Catholic Church, the spirit of reform will continue unhampered to further cleanse and rejuvenate the Church," Panelo said. Streets will be closed in downtown Annapolis Monday as the city dedicates the Guardians of the First Amendment memorial to the five people killed in the attack on the Capital Gazette newspapers three years ago. JUSTICEINFO.NET IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS Andreas Schuller Director of the International Crimes and Accountability Program at the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) There have been at least 13 trials against individuals charged with crimes committed in Syria in at least 4 European countries in the past three years. There are dozens of cases being investigated or subject to a criminal complaint, a few high-profile international arrest warrants, and significant cases against private companies. Germany is the leading country. Andreas Schuller of the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) analyses the current situation. JUSTICEINFO.NET: How do you see the current effort to use universal jurisdiction in Europe to address crimes committed in Syria? ANDREAS SCHULLER: There are different factors at play. The first is that the ICC [International Criminal Court] is not in a position to act because the United Nations Security Council has blocked any attempt to give it jurisdiction. So at the international level you can only expect very little movement such as the IIIM mechanism [The International, independent and impartial mechanism, established by the UN to gather evidence of crimes committed in Syria]. The same goes with the domestic level, where the Assad regime is still fully in power and not willing to investigate and prosecute those crimes. This is a situation a bit similar to other conflicts in the past: a deadlock at domestic and international levels. Whats new and positive is that in recent years the justice and accountability debate has often been raised by local actors, victims, affected communities, lawyers, activists who are playing a greater role in articulating their demands compared to 20 years ago. On Syria, the request for justice and accountability came very early on, at the time of the attacks on protestors in 2011 by the Assad regime. People started to document crimes, there were trainings on how to do this, and many debates on how to get to accountability. As a result, the documentation is pretty strong. Another factor is that the regime lost some power. There were lots of defectors, a lot of information coming out of the regime there was no closing of ranks like in other conflicts. Then in 2015 many Syrians came to Western Europe. And with ISIS, lots of fighters came from Europe before traveling back. That created a close relationship between Western European countries and Syria, and a strong interest in accountability questions. All of this led to the judicial processes that are going on now. What kind of cases are being brought? Is there a pattern or is it a mixed picture? The picture is fragmented, which is normal when it comes to universal jurisdiction cases. The ICC or domestic jurisdictions can take a more holistic approach, whereas many third states are more limited in their case selection. Thats what we see with Syria. On the one hand, we have cases based on opportunity because perpetrators happen to be in one or the other country, and most of these are non-state actors. You have al-Nusra, ISIS, al-Sham and Free Syrian Army cases, different non-state actors who have been part of the conflict and from which suspects happened to be found in Europe. However lately, Germany and France arrested three regime actors suspected of crimes against humanity. On the one hand, we have cases based on opportunity because perpetrators happen to be in one or the other country. Then you have a more strategic approach with arrest warrants followed by extradition requests Then you have a more strategic approach, which was requested by Syrian groups and supported by us at ECCHR and others, to build cases against high-level perpetrators, with arrest warrants followed by extradition requests, as last week by Germany to Lebanon regarding air force intelligence chief Jamil Hassan. This happened in Germany and in France through so called structural investigations, in which all kinds of evidence is secured. Other comprehensive complaints were filed in Austria and now in Sweden. This describes the landscape of universal jurisdiction with on the one hand a no safe haven approach you prosecute those you find on your territory and on the other hand what Maximo Langer calls the global enforcer approach, a more strategic way of gathering evidence for arrest warrants against high-level perpetrators, like state actors. Are judicial systems opportunistic and non-judicial actors more strategic? It depends. Political considerations often play a role in judicial systems as well. By now, there are national war crimes units and prosecutors that are being strategic; they have understood over the years the benefit and the necessity of it, in order to have a certain impact with universal jurisdiction prosecutions. They understand better that the purpose of acting on behalf of the global community is not achieved with just prosecuting whoever happens to be on your territory but rather to look at your case selection. So this is beginning to happen, but it is pushed by civil society and NGOs, as well as local actors who say: such and such case means more to us than others. In the case of Syria, prosecutions do not only target combatants. There are a couple of cases against European companies and executives. The most high-profile is the Lafarge case in France. Why is the Lafarge case so important? If you have a more holistic view of the conflict, if you see who fuels it and profits from it, you immediately look at economic actors and interests. So this has to be addressed. It goes back to the experience of the Nuremberg trials, where you had a number of follow-up trials looking into the role and responsibilities of lawyers or of industrialists. In Syria, it is important not to see it only from the perspective of sanctions breaches [Syria is under international economic sanctions] but from a complicity in crimes against humanity perspective. International courts have failed to prosecute businessmen and companies despite claims by a number of international prosecutors that they would do so. At the domestic level weve seen courts going after private, mercenary-like businessmen who had profited from conflicts. Lafarge, on the contrary, is a well-established corporation. Is it what makes a significant difference? It is different to see a well-established company in the dock than a smaller businessman. Its the first time a case like this focuses on crimes against humanity, and thats what we pushed for at ECCHR. You also dont see much European or North American governments in the dock for systematic torture, like the U.S. or the U.K. in Iraq, or for complicity in other grave crimes. Its what we refer to as double standards in international criminal law. With corporations, its a bit similar: these are huge actors, influential in Western states, and the question of double standards is clearly posed. It should always be the aim to also see what is the role of Western actors in a conflict and you often find such roles. It is different to see a well-established company in the dock than a smaller businessman. Its the first time a case like this focuses on crimes against humanity This is not to say its all equally as serious: you have to weigh it up against the systematic torture by the Assad regime. But European companies are doing business in Syria, and you have to look also at what the anti-IS coalition is doing. This has to be addressed while also being put in proper comparison with what the Syrian regime is doing. Does it reinforce the idea that domestic courts are better suited to prosecute corporate crimes than international tribunals? International courts are regulated and limited by their statutes, which are often tailored to a particular conflict. So there might be something there that makes it more difficult for prosecutors to go after Western companies. There are budget questions where pressure could be exercised. As regard to the ICC, the Statute is not perfect in terms of going after corporate actors, and indeed the court has quite a number of problems going after non military, state leaders. Corporate crimes are usually a bit more far removed from the crime scenes, with corporate actors then as secondary perpetrators. There are lots of obstacles. We hope that the Lafarge case can be an example on how to prosecute these cases, showing that domestic prosecutors do not have to limit their work to crimes relating to breaches of sanctions We hope that the Lafarge case can be an example on how to prosecute these cases, showing that domestic prosecutors do not have to limit their work to crimes relating to breaches of sanctions, that it is indeed possible to address the other serious forms of criminality that often attach to corporate activity undertaken in the context of armed conflict. In a number of cases, suspects are charged with terrorism, or membership in a terrorist organization, rather than with war crimes. Human Rights Watch said that this a tendency in all European countries, particularly with regards to the crimes in Syria and Iraq. The argument is that it is easier to prove and quicker. How do you see this tension between terrorism and war crimes charges? It might be true that its easier and quicker. The question is: what do you achieve? Whats the narrative in such a trial especially with regard to a future transitional justice perspective? Whats the crime about? Thats why we always argue that its important to include international crimes and, whenever possible, to call whats happening by its name. If an act constitutes a war crime, it needs to be addressed to show the full picture of what has happened. This cant be achieved in a case that looks only at the crime of membership of a terrorist organization. If an act constitutes a war crime such as torture, or a crime against humanity, it needs to be addressed to show the full picture of what has happened. This cant be achieved in a case that looks only at the crime of membership of a terrorist organization. And terrorism charges are laid almost exclusively against non-state actors, although many state actors commit similar crimes. ECCHR works on the same model as many today, through partnerships with groups of victims or NGOs from the Global South. Do you see the evolution from a top-down approach to bottom-up initiatives as a response to a lack of legitimacy of international models? It is important to go back to the 1970s and the 1980s and all those wars and crimes that never came before a tribunal. Was it because of the law? Was it because of the Cold War? When international justice came back in the 1990s, it was top-down, and we saw how problematic it was in terms of the broader impact of such trials within the affected societies. If you bring in people from the societies where the crimes were committed to shape the narrative, to select the cases, to report back, the legal actions will have a different and better impact in a long term transition. The Swiss NGO Civitas Maxima has a strategy focusing on one situation: Liberia. Theyve had quite a success with between 5 and 10 former Liberian warlords being prosecuted in the U.S and a number of European countries. Your organization has a much broader spectrum. How do you see the two strategies? Civitas Maxima is doing great work and the results of its focusing on one country are quite encouraging. They have been more than just lawyers for a group in Liberia; they brought a strategic element and the knowledge they have in terms of how to litigate, how to investigate, how to track people, how to talk to war crimes units. So its a very fruitful collaboration. At ECCHR, the team working on Syria is around the same size as Civitas Maxima. If we see an opportunity for impact we are in the position to invest resources in the long term and focus on a particular conflict over several years. But strength also comes from understanding developments in international justice globally, what the ICC is doing, what national war crimes units are doing, and having a good sense of where the legislation is going, and see what would be the best approach for a particular group in a particular conflict. To survey the landscape constantly, from various perspectives, continued exchanges and workshops, helps to find these windows of opportunity. A number of actors are working on crimes in Syria: the IIIM, the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA), domestic war crimes units, NGOs like yours. How efficient and how coherent is it? I think it offers opportunities. When there is only one actor, thats what you focus on and thats all you have. Syria, in this sense, is very dynamic. You have to react constantly to changes at all levels. When there is only one actor, thats what you focus on and thats all you have. Syria, in this sense, is very dynamic. You have to react constantly to changes at all levels. In 2012 we were already in a position to act swiftly. The German war crimes unit started to investigate cases in late 2011. And in 2015 when many Syrians came to Germany we were also in a position to react very quickly. At a time when governments war crimes units were probably not able to deal with a huge amount of documents coming out of Syria and protect it for future use in prosecutions, CIJA played its role. It is of great use to support investigations that need to be made by state war crimes units in the end, not private prosecutors. Then the IIIM came into play. Its another dynamic, another development that needs all the support possible. How do you assess the IIIM? Its establishment is a big first success and shows that many states will still stand up for justice. It will however take another two or three years to see what the IIIM achieved, how effective it was. You also need to see the IIIM from a long-term perspective: in ten or twenty years, has the evidence collected been used? It makes sense to evaluate every couple of years but we shouldnt underestimate the long-term impact these investigations can have. And how efficient are national war crimes units? There are huge differences. Some war crimes units cant do their job because they lack jurisdiction. There is some progress with the role of Europol and Eurojust, the EU Genocide network, and joint investigations teams. In Germany you can say that it is going quite well in the past five to six years; a lot of evidence has been secured; you have arrest warrants and a number of trials already going on; investigators are very knowledgeable. We need more states with the capacity and legislation and political will to support this at the European level. But we need more states with the capacity and legislation and political will to support this at the European level. One common feature of the cases is that they are transnational, you have evidence everywhere, you have potential victims and suspects everywhere, so you need cooperation between states to prosecute those cases. Germany is doing a lot with regards to Syria but it might also have its limits when it comes to other conflicts. The French are quite active on Syria, Sweden as well. The Dutch war crimes unit is active but has jurisdictional limits. Belgium too. Then theres very little happening in Switzerland, Austria and Spain. So there is room for improvement here, to say nothing of other countries further afield. On February 1, a U.S. District Court entered default judgment against the Syrian Arab Republic for the targeted assassination of American war correspondent Marie Colvin, as a war crime. How does this trial fit into this effort? Its part of the effort. It was a civil case. A lot of documents from CIJA were used, and what the case produced in terms of evidence is really great and is already being used in some of the European universal jurisdiction criminal cases. Furthermore, a court has ruled about who bears legal responsibility for heinous crimes. Do you see the current enthusiasm for universal jurisdiction as a symptom of the general decline of international models and the crisis of the ICC? Is Syria a telling illustration of this? We see it as a development. You no longer have the spectacular cases from the 1990s, like the Pinochets, the Milosevics. Its more low and mid-level cases. There are some high-level cases that you see in these universal jurisdiction cases but not former heads of state. This shows that certain structures and laws have been put in place over the years. It is complementary to the ICC. You no longer have the spectacular cases from the 1990s, like the Pinochets, the Milosevics. Its more low and mid-level cases. Of course the ICC has its problems, quite a few, and it has to deal with it, from the quality of investigations to the selection of cases. But national war crimes units and prosecutors have also benefitted from the exchange with ICC prosecutors and other war crimes units. Recommended reading European justice strikes on crimes in Syria What did they benefit from? In Germany, the generation of prosecutors who were in charge of these cases in the 2000s are not there anymore. Younger ones are now in and they know exactly what they are talking about because in the last twenty years, in their career and in their education, international justice was real, it was happening. This makes a huge difference compared with someone who was never educated in those developments and had just heard about the Nuremberg trials. Theres a growing community on all levels. The next one would probably be national judges where we still have quite a lack of experience in transnational cases. But there is something now in place that will not go away that easily, even if the ICC still has a lot to do to improve its approach and work. Would you say that it is less a sign of the decline of international models than the natural evolution of war crimes justice, that it goes back to the national level? It is a bit difficult with universal jurisdiction cases, because I also think that it is not really natural to have a Syrian case in a German court: it should be in a Syrian court. But as long as this is not possible, its the second or third best option. It would be better to have a holistic view of a conflict, which is lacking in universal jurisdiction cases because many states have this no safe haven approach The establishment of the ICC was important. It has been designed as a court of last resort, so some states understood that they needed to do more. It would be better to have a holistic view of a conflict, which is lacking in universal jurisdiction cases because many states have this no safe haven approach, which is a more reactive approach. The ICC had a holistic approach from the start, looking at a particular conflict situation as a whole, but it proved very limited because it did only one or two cases per conflict, if at all. So I think [the evolution] comes from many directions, but its a positive development that it goes back to the domestic level. And again, we are talking about a handful of states, so it is still very limited. A variety of Syrian warring factions are the target of current cases in Europe. Universal jurisdiction may appear as better equipped to avoid one-sided justice, but what about international responsibilities and that of powerful states? It is not enough for civil society and human rights organizations to focus only on the politically easy cases. They must strive to also bring powerful actors and states to justice for their human rights crimes. In so many cases, there are double standards at play and powerful states avoid being brought to court. Cases of systematic torture from Syria must happen, but so too must cases of torture and prisoner abuse by the U.S. and the U.K. in Guantanamo, in Iraq, and elsewhere. We must look too at what is happening in the name of countering violent extremism in northern Africa, in Yemen and elsewhere, in terms of drone strikes and other abuses by Western states. All this needs to be addressed, documented, investigated. But of course it is much more difficult to achieve this. To our knowledge, no one from the former Bush administration has ever come to Europe after leaving office. So there are things in place. One of our cases did lead to a former Guantanamo commander being summoned by a French judge. The U.S. State Department has sent travel warnings to former senior officials in the Bush administration who were involved in setting up the torture program. The CIA has travel warnings out there indicating that certain people shouldnt travel to certain countries. To our knowledge, no one from the former Bush administration has ever come to Europe after leaving office. So there are things in place. There arent big, spectacular cases, but if you address Western crimes over many years, you can also help support U.S. groups to make their claims for accountability at home and for domestic trials. The military victory of the Assad regime is almost complete now. Have you already observed that its closing the window of opportunity for accountability? Not yet. Most cases are based on evidence that is completely outside the country. So those cases can happen. The question is more: if the regime remains in power, would suspects and people subject to arrest warrants be travelling internationally and what would an extradition procedure look like? Of course it is more unlikely as long as they stay in power and this is the current state. But who knows what it will look like in three years? There is also the prospect of an important return of European fighters from territories formerly held by ISIS to their respective states of origin. Is there a risk of judicial systems being overwhelmed and asked to deal with their own nationals rather than with the other cases theyve been working on? There are already prosecutions of foreign fighters in Germany. Some units work on terrorism-related charges against non-state actors, including ISIS. There are the Yazidi cases going on, genocide cases which we shouldnt forget. This is all happening. I dont think it will be overwhelming. States are usually experienced in prosecuting counter-terrorism cases. Of course there is tension with resources. But again its more than putting people in jail because they were members of ISIS: you have to address the entire conflict and its context. That is what we hope to see over the coming years. Interviewed by Thierry Cruvellier. TORONTO, Feb. 20, 2019 /CNW/ - Guyana Goldfields Inc. (TSX:GUY) (the "Company") announces that it has received environmental authorization from the Guyanese Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") to resume construction and development work on an underground exploration decline at its Aurora Gold Mine ("Aurora") located in Guyana, South America. The mine, which has been in commercial operation as an open pit since 2016, is anticipated to transition into an eventual combined open pit and underground operation and would become the first modern underground mine developed in Guyana. "We appreciate the thorough oversight that the EPA is providing," said Perry Holloway, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Corporate Affairs. "The Company is committed to meeting the highest standards in its planning and execution of this important project and we look forward to continued co-operation with the EPA and the Government as we unlock the value of Aurora for Guyana and the Company's shareholders." The underground decline is intended for exploration and definition drilling in support of planned underground production. The Company temporarily suspended work on the underground decline in November 2018 at the request of the EPA. Today's authorization to resume operations follows the provision by the Company to the EPA of additional information concerning the application of internationally accepted codes concerning the environment, health and safety practices being proposed. The EPA also conducted a routine compliance inspection of the Aurora mine and camp facilities in December 2018. The EPA requested the Company modify some aspects of its current waste management plan, camp waste water treatment circuit and upgrade the waste oil containment facility. The Company has addressed all the matters raised by the EPA during its inspection which will be further assessed during the next site inspection. At the time of the December inspection the Company was compliant on all other environmental conditions of the operating permit. Underground Exploration Development Plan The recommencement of work on the underground decline will begin immediately. Going forward, the contractor will complete and reinforce the collar and extend the decline 200 metres to fulfil the scope of the early works phase. The Company expects this work will take approximately three months to complete once the contractor is fully mobilized. A budget of US$2.0 million has been approved for the early works phase. The Company is finalizing the review of bids received for the underground development contract with the target of final award in the second quarter of 2019. The plan is to advance the exploration decline approximately 2,500 metres and provide a platform for further underground exploration and definition drilling. The decline is intended to provide access to all principal underground mining areas, including some higher-grade zones in Mad Kiss and East Walcott which will allow us to further delineate exploration targets and potentially add mineral resources and help convert mineral resources to mineral reserves. In addition, the permit allows for test mining of up to 350,000 tonnes that could potentially provide supplemental mill feed during the development period and further unlock value at the Aurora Gold Mine. About Guyana Goldfields Inc.: Guyana Goldfields Inc. is a Canadian based mid-tier gold producer primarily focused on the exploration, development and operation of gold deposits in Guyana, South America. Forwarding-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to underground exploration decline timeline, possible conversion of mineral resources to mineral reserves and test mining. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words and phrases such as "plans," "expects," "is expected," "budget," "scheduled," "estimates," "forecasts," "intends," "anticipates," or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may," "could," "would," "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and are based on various assumptions. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the actual results of exploration activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; political instability; as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Summerville, SC (29483) Today Partly cloudy. High 89F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear skies. Slight chance of a shower late. Low around 70F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. To the editor: Well, the line is forming on the left. Democrats of all ages, genders, races, and ethnic backgrounds are all yelling, Pick me! Pick me ! And who will be the winner? Who will survive the in-fighting that is now gearing up for combat? If one enjoys political humor a rich supply is now available. And, it will grow a bit more shortly. But it is not a time for laughter. The old limbo dance asked, How low can you go? The mantra now is How left can you go? Interesting indeed! From what is already being touted, concerned Americans should take note. The very fiber and culture of this country is being threatened. The Democratic Party of yore, differed from the Republican Party, but it never threatened to attempt a cultural shift of the nation. The old guard Democrats are watching closely the demise of their influence and respect. This may be a beauty contest but there is nothing of beauty to be found. Joseph L. Kibitlewski, PhD. Cape Coral Today Rain showers in the morning with scattered thunderstorms arriving in the afternoon. High 84F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Tonight Partly cloudy. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Tomorrow A few clouds from time to time. High 88F. Winds light and variable. This is not a fabricated story that is made up by people with a secular agenda that is against us, he said, acknowledging that denominational leaders have not taken reports of abuse as seriously as they should have and that some have even ignored or silenced victims. Greear presented a list of recommendations to a meeting of Southern Baptist leaders in Nashville, Tenn. They include a call for Baptists to repent for the inaction and to address the problem of abuse seriously at their annual meeting in June. Among proposed changes are providing free training for ministry leaders, to re-examine the process of ordaining ministers and to consider removing churches that dont take steps against abuse from the convention. Southern Baptists face a different challenge in dealing with the sexual abuse problem than Catholics and many other denominations do. Baptists are proud of not having a formal church hierarchy. Although they may affiliate in associations and in the Convention, each church is autonomous. Churches make their own decisions about ordaining ministers and hiring clergy. The Supreme Court can choose to grant certiorari in June Medical Services and then agree that the Louisiana law does not conflict with WWH and uphold the circuit court's decision. Or a Supreme Court majority could in fact overrule WWH upon full consideration of the record. Indeed, the court might (and I pray does) go even further than that and reverse Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. To have appeared (even by inference) to have done this last thing by denying a stay would have been derided as a "sneak attack" on Roe. The court depends on the public's enduring respect to maintain its standing, especially on the most controversial cases. Shortcuts to long-sought and fervently desired outcomes are no way to preserve that standing. Full briefing and argument, both before the court and in the public arena, is the preferred path. And it isn't a close call. If, as I suspect, the court eventually takes and decides the Louisiana case on the merits, it will be fully briefed and argued. We will as a people then all review, along with the court, the rules of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which replaced Roe v. Wade as the true crucial case on reproductive rights, and indeed we could see it and Roe both reversed as they deserve to be. The states would thus be returned to the position they enjoyed in 1972 as sovereigns over the regulation of abortion. New York's new and radical abortion law would not be disturbed by the reversal of Casey and Roe, nor would California's state constitutional right to abortions, but Louisiana and Texas and every state would again be in charge of their laws on this deeply divisive issue. He does, however, have a day job he is reluctant to neglect. And he soon will become chair of the National Governors Association. So, he clearly is not eager to mount a losing challenge which it surely would be just to unfurl the tattered flag of recognizable Republicanism. Opposing any incumbent president is not a day at the beach, and campaigning against todays uniquely smarmy incumbent would be especially disagreeable. Hogan has, however, undergone, while governor, six rounds of chemotherapy (24 hours a day, five days a week, times six, spanning 18 weeks) to defeat an advanced and aggressive cancer (non-Hodgkins lymphoma), so has endured something almost as unpleasant as Donald Trump. Furthermore, his father, a former FBI agent and a Maryland congressman on the House Judiciary Committee in 1974, was the only Republican to vote for all three articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon. Probably for this reason he lost the 1974 Republican nomination for governor. It is unlikely that Hogan will gratify those who are offering to hold his coat while he brawls with Trump. Still, this town on the Chesapeake Bay will remain known as the incubator of something else germane to todays discontents. Avenatti said his office was retained last April by people regarding allegations of sexual assault of minors by Kelly. He said the video surfaced during a 10-month investigation. He told the AP that the person who provided the VHS tape knew both Kelly and the female in the video. Despite accusations that span decades, the singer and songwriter who rose from poverty on Chicago's South Side has retained a sizable following. He has written numerous hits for himself and other artists, including Celine Dion, Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga. His collaborators have included Jay-Z and Usher. Kelly broke into the R&B scene in 1993 with his first solo album, "12 Play," which produced such popular sex-themed songs as "Bump N' Grind" and "Your Body's Callin'." Months after those successes, the then-27-year-old Kelly faced allegations he married 15-year-old Aaliyah, the R&B star who later died in a plane crash in the Bahamas. Kelly was the lead songwriter and producer of Aaliyah's 1994 debut album. Kelly and Aaliyah never confirmed the marriage, though Vibe magazine published a copy of the purported marriage license. Court documents later obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times showed Aaliyah admitted lying about her age on the license. Jim DeRogatis, a longtime music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, played a key role in drawing the attention of law enforcement to Kelly. In 2002, he received the sex tape in the mail that was central to Kelly's 2008 trial. He turned it over to prosecutors. In 2017, DeRogatis wrote a story for BuzzFeed about the allegations Kelly was holding women against their will in Georgia. He also said he believes there is some confusion on the part of people when it comes to the word cooperate. We are cooperating with ICE, Kimbrough said. We work with them on many cases. Martin also asked if the sheriff knew of any outcomes of cases where a sheriff had been sued and if they were held liable. Forsyth County Attorney B. Gordon Watkins III joined the discussion and said, Yes, for both questions. Watkins said it has not been found to be probable cause for the detainers in some cases, because the detainers are a request to detain, not an order. Even though the county is not the one who came up with the request in the beginning, if we do detain someone and the court eventually finds that there was no probable cause for that request, counties have been held liable in that case, Watkins said. Forsyth County Commissioner Fleming El-Amin said he didnt think that asking for the signature of a judge or magistrate on a document was too much to ask. Forsyth County Commissioner Gloria Whisenhunt told Kimbrough that she was the one who requested that he and others attend the board meeting. The lawsuit alleged that the woman was a prospective tenant who met with Hatfield three different times about leasing one of his homes. In late January 2015, the woman met with Hatfield about a house and the two toured the property. Hatfield tried to grope the womans breast, the lawsuit said. Hatfield also tried to grope the womans stomach. The woman was pregnant at the time, the lawsuit said. Hatfield told the woman she had a beautiful body. The lawsuit alleged that Hatfield threatened to call countys social-services department to have her children removed from her custody if she didnt give in to his sexual advances. The woman alleged in the lawsuit that Hatfield had grabbed her breasts during earlier meetings with him and had threatened to call social-services officials. Hatfield also told the woman that his penis was not functioning properly because of a medical procedure, the lawsuit alleged. Hatfield is alleged to have told the woman that other women who have leased his homes had agreed to his sexual advances. In court papers, Hatfield has denied the allegations. He also has denied the allegations in interviews with news organizations. CLEMMONS The village of Clemmons has settled a discrimination complaint registered by two developers who wanted to build affordable housing in town. Under terms of the agreement, signed by Mayor John Wait in January, the village agreed to pay $150,000 to Legal Aid of North Carolina. In addition, each member of the council must attend fair-housing training sponsored by the N.C. Human Relations Commission for the next three years. Insurance will cover all but a $5,000 deductible, Village Manager Scott Buffkin said Wednesday. Attorney fees for the village are expected to be nominal, he said. The village has maintained that it did not discriminate against the developers, Allegra Investment Properties and Sylvan Road Partners. They approached the village in April 2015 with a rezoning request that would allow them to build an 80-unit apartment complex near Kinnamon Village off U.S. 158. The Clemmons Planning Board approved the site plan for the complex, to be called The Retreat at Clemmons. But the final say on the project fell on the village council, and it had some problems with the site plan, including a lack of a second entrance and a planned 275-foot-long, gravel fire road. Graduate student Donnecia Brown said Thursdays conversation, when the photo of Allman came to light, didnt go far enough and that it brushed over the systemic racism on campus. Sure, she can stand in front of a Confederate flag, racist traumatic memorabilia, and be forgiven, but not all groups are given that kind of leniency, said Brown, a second-year divinity student. Ultimately, we want her to resign and for administrators to be accountable for the grievances brought to them at the panel yesterday. While some students are calling for Allman to step down, she is set to step into a new position this summer as senior assistant provost and dean of university integration, the university confirmed. Effective July 1, Allman will transfer to the new role, which comes with duties that include a focus on bringing greater coherence to the array of programs and services offered to students, according to the announcement sent by Provost Rogan Kersh last fall. The announcement also detailed Allmans work at the university in expanding merit-based scholarships and leading the Unbroken Circle, Wake Forests multi-generational string band, which performs benefit concerts. The relationship between water quality and Floridas economy has never been more apparent than it is today. The lost summers of 2013, 2016, and 2018 were beyond challenging for the coastal communities situated along the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries. The countless images on social media of guacamole-like algae in our rivers and canals and piles of dead fish and other marine life scattered along our beaches do not begin to capture the very real impacts that poor water quality is having on our communities. On Sanibel Island alone, we removed more than 850,000 pounds of dead marine life from our beaches. Our local Chamber of Commerce reported lost revenue from July through December of more than $46.8 million, with lodging cancellation rates at 78 percent during the same time-period. The City of Cape Coral endured months of toxic blue-green algae blooms that clogged up canals and incited public health concerns. Other communities in Lee and Martin counties experienced similar impacts. One of the most common questions that I receive from residents, business owners, and visitors is: How could the State of Florida and our federal government allow polluted water from Lake Okeechobee to be discharged to our estuaries? The response that I often receive from water managers is: This is how the system was designed (part of the Central and Southern Florida Project) and nothing can be done until the projects outlined in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) are completed. That answer is no longer acceptable! Our communities cannot wait another 20-plus years. There is an opportunity for near-term relief to the plight of our coastal estuaries. On Feb. 5, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers kicked off a series of public scoping meetings to gather input on development of a new Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule (LORS), now referred to as the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM). LOSOM will provide operational guidance to the Army Corps on how to manage lake levels for multiple purposes, including the ecology of the lake, water supply for agricultural, urban and environmental uses, and it will establish criteria for releases to the estuaries. Lake Okeechobee discharges have the single greatest impact on water quality in our coastal estuaries during wet periods. Changes to the way the lake is managed could provide immediate relief to the coastal estuaries. The reality is, according to the current schedule, there is no single CERP project that will provide immediate relief from the harmful discharges. On the other hand, modifying the lake schedule to maintain water levels lower and providing beneficial water releases to the Caloosahatchee and other natural systems when it is needed would reduce the volume of water that must be discharged during the wet season. Some interests would like to maintain the status quo or even exacerbate the water quality problems within the lake and our coastal estuaries by holding the lake higher. They propose going back to the Water Supply and Environment (WSE) Lake Regulation Schedule-the schedule that preceded LORS 2008. This would be a huge mistake for Floridas economy, and the health, safety and welfare of the people that live, work and recreate on Lake Okeechobee and the coastal estuaries. The WSE schedule held the lake much higher than the current schedule, resulting in devastating impacts to the ecology of the lake and its water quality. It also cut off beneficial flows to the estuaries when conditions were dry, holding significantly more water in the lake for water supply. When conditions were wet, it allowed for higher releases to the coastal estuaries, compared to LORS 2008. For additional impacts see Audubon Floridas: Setting the Record Straight A Deeper Lake Okeechobee is More Dangerous, Dirtier, and Unhealthy. The Corps is proposing completion of LOSOM in 2022. The health of our communities cannot wait until 2022! The LOSOM process must be accelerated and should not be held back by the completion of the Herbert Hoover Dike repairs-especially those components of LOSOM that reduce risk to the dike by maintaining the lake lower. As part of LOSOM, the Corps should also do a thorough evaluation and modeling of each of the lake water management bands, including the Beneficial Use and Water Shortage Management bands. We must reevaluate where flows are measured in the Caloosahatchee to ensure that watershed runoff is taken into consideration when distributing flows. The new schedule must be equitable for all affected communities and stakeholders. Several public scoping meetings are planned during the next two weeks on the east coast of Florida. I encourage all affected communities to participate in the process. The deadline for providing comments to the Corps is March 31, 2019. For more information visit: www.saj.usace.army.mil/LOSOM/ Kevin Ruane is the Mayor of the City of Sanibel, President-elect of the Florida League of Mayors, and a local business owner. Mayor Ruane has served as Mayor of the City of Sanibel since 2010 and has been a member of the Sanibel City Council since February 2007. Mayor Ruane was the recipient of the prestigious Everglades Coalition James D. Webb public service award in 2016, and in 2017 was awarded the Florida League of Cities Home Rule Hero award for his efforts on water quality and home rule advocacy. Keep in mind that a floor that gets lots of direct light may change appearance over time. Dark brown, nearly black shades can also be beautiful, Rottet said. Just be aware that you may need to sweep often. Darker shades, whether in wood or ceramic tile, will also help a space feel warmer, Cardet said. Overall, Cardet suggests making conservative choices with flooring colors and styles, then getting creative with area rugs that can be replaced if your taste changes. Concrete and tile Concrete floors are trendy and can be beautiful. But over time, cracks can form, and theres little that can be done to prevent them. Some people dont mind the look, so use concrete only if cracks wont bother you. Concrete floors also dont absorb sound well. Another option is large porcelain tiles that look similar to concrete or stone. We love terrazzo instead of concrete, Touzet said. Its been around for centuries, and you can get the aggregates pretty fine, so it almost looks like a concrete floor. Due to the toxic algae blooms and red tide that has plagued the Southwest Florida area and caused an unprecedented kill of gamefish in recent months, this years LCEC United Way Fishing Tournament will be catch & release. Registration for the 23rd Annual LCEC United Way Catch & Release Tournament being held on April 13, 2019 at D&D Bait and Tackle on Matlacha is now open at www.uw.lcec.net. The registration cost before April 11 is $65 per angler and $50 per student. After April 11, registration increases to $75 and $55, respectively. A captains meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Friday, April 12, at D&D Bait and Tackle. In addition to cash and prizes being awarded, there will be a silent auction, raffle and delicious BBQ! All proceeds from this tournament go directly to the United Way of Lee, Hendry, Glades and Okeechobee counties. For additional details about the tournament, visit www.uw.lcec.net, email fish@lcec.net or call 239-656-2122. Allie Gross covers Teton County government. Originally from the Chicago area, she joined the News&Guide in 2017 after studying politics and Spanish at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. February 22, 2019 (Springdale, Arkansas) Alicia & Whitney , a sister duo based in Branson, Missouri, are releasing a new album today on iTunes and other digital distributors. The project, titled A Portrait of Worship, is an 11-song collection written by the sisters. The album is also available for purchase on the duos website. I had a vision in one of our worship services that as Gods people were worshipping Him, bursts of color were filling the air like color bombs and I felt the Lord speak This is what I see when my people worship me, said Alicia. It gave me a whole new perspective on worship and the beauty it brings the Father. Its our desire that our worship, the songs we write, and all we do in our lives will paint Him a beautiful picture that is our own unique portrait. The sisters, who grew up in a musical family, have been singing since they were young. The death of their father when the sisters were young adults rekindled a passion for songwriting as they worked through their grief by writing songs. It was during this time that the young women felt God urging them to go back to the core of who He created them to be and to help others come to know Him and the purpose He has for each person. Their debut album, "Core," is a collection of songs meant to help others reflect and heal from the inside-out through the love of Jesus. In recent years, Alicia & Whitney have toured throughout the United States, sharing their ministry of music and speaking. They also have traveled internationally to Honduras, Tanzania and Israel. In addition to writing and performing music, Whitney is an author. Her debut book, "Beauty for My Ashes, was written to help people cope with grief in a healthy way after losing a loved one. Her second book, Occupy While Waiting," is a singles guide to pursuing God, purpose and healthy relationships. To learn more about Alicia & Whitney, visit aliciaandwhitney.com, like the duo on Facebook and follow on Instagram and Twitter. Subscribe to Alicia & Whitneys YouTube channel here. ### Yes. Our bridges and roads are crumbling. No. It is too expensive. Yes but the current price tag is too high. I support it but for less money. No. States should pay for this, not the federal government. I haven't really thought about it. Vote View Results IWU Symphony Orchestra Concerto Aria Concert BLOOMINGTON, Ill. The Illinois Wesleyan Symphony Orchestra (IWSO) will host its annual Henry Charles Memorial Concerto-Aria concert on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Second Presbyterian Church in Bloomington (404 N. Prairie St.). The annual Concerto-Aria concert, which is free and open to the public, showcases the schools finest musicians alongside the IWSO. After two rounds of auditions, judges chose students who represent the talent of the School of Music. This concert will feature three IWU student soloists: Patrick Ward 20 on trombone, Shireen Hassan 20 on alto saxophone, and Crystal Muro 19 performing vocals. They will be featured in the concert, as well as a performance of Rimsky Korsakov's Scheherazade. The concert will be conducted by Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Lev Ivanov. This event is sponsored by the Alpha Lambda chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Audience members will enjoy a night of moving music, followed by a free reception hosted by Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Since its founding in 1984, the Illinois Wesleyan Symphony Orchestra has brought together students from all disciplines who share a passion for music. The ensemble has performed alongside various eminent musical personalities, including IWU alum and Grammy Award-winner Dawn Upshaw 82. The Orchestra has also performed on CBSs Sunday Morning, and participated in frequent tours throughout the United States. For more information, please contact the School of Music at (309) 556-3061. By Megan Baker 21 This Week in Review A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more. The Australian Parliament was hacked by a group based in Iran, a hitherto unknown security firm has claimed, adding that the Mabna Institute, which was backing the person or people involved, had also been implicated in attacks on the US and other Western countries. The company which made the claim, Resecurity, said the attack was part of a wave which had targeted the Five Eyes intelligence alliance: the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The attack was made public on 8 February and on Monday Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison claimed a sophisticated state actor was behind the breach. His claim was contested by an American security professional, Joseph Carson of security outfit Thycotic, on Wednesday. On Tuesday, it wasthat the attackers appeared to have used Web shells scripts that can be uploaded to a Web server to enable remote administration of a machine to effect the infiltration. Resecurity president Charles Yoo told The Wall Street Journal that the Mabna Institute was linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. But the Sydney Morning Herald, citing "top-level sources", said China, not Iran, was behind the attack. These sources termed the Mabna theory an unlikely one, adding that China remained the main suspect. As proof of his claim, Yoo showed the WSJ a database of 7354 records which had phone numbers and email addresses for Australian MPs and parliamentary staffers. It also included contact details for staff and ministerial advisers of most parties. However, he did not say from where he had obtained the material. iTWire sought to obtain more detail from Resecurity as the company had not issued a formal statement about its claims. A spokesperson said the company would issue comment soon, but nothing was received by the time of publication. Comment was also sought from the Australian Cyber Security Centre about the competing claims of attribution. The ACSC said it would respond but had not done so at the time of publication. Update, 23 February: An Australian Cyber Security Centre spokesperson said in response to a query: "Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity. "It would be too early to speculate on the specific offender our immediate focus has been on securing the networks, protecting victims and conducting ongoing investigations. "Proper and accurate attribution of a cyber incident takes time and any attribution would be done in a measured fashion. "The public can rest assured that our security and intelligence agencies have identified the malicious activity and are responding appropriately." The US$1.4 billion acquisition of AI and cyber security specialist Cylance by BlackBerry has been completed on schedule. When BlackBerry announced in November 2018 an agreement to acquire Cylance, it said the deal should close by February 2019, and it has. "Today BlackBerry took a giant step forward toward our goal of being the world's largest and most trusted AI-cybersecurity company," said BlackBerry executive chairman and chief executive John Chen. "Securing endpoints and the data that flows between them is absolutely critical in today's hyperconnected world. By adding Cylance's technology to our arsenal of cybersecurity solutions we will help enterprises intelligently connect, protect and build secure endpoints that users can trust." In particular, BlackBerry plans to use Cylance's machine learning and artificial intelligence technology to accelerate the development of the company's IoT secure communications platform BlackBerry Spark. Cylance co-founder and former chairman and chief executive Stuart McClure is now BlackBerry Cylance's president. According to the company, McClure will "continue to apply his visionary math-based approach to threat detection, prevention, and response, as well as lead the business' large team of highly-skilled engineers and data scientists that deliver trusted products and services for more than 4,000 companies around the world". Analyst firm 451 Research's research vice-president Brian Partridge said: "In this deal BlackBerry obtains advanced security technology that it can deploy within its existing platforms while also providing a complementary fit in terms of market vision and customer focus." Joy in the Journey seminar Saturday at First Christian Church in Cape First Christian Church at 2620 Country Club Blvd., in Cape Coral, is holding a one-day womens seminar called Joy in the Journey on Saturday, Feb. 23, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets include a light breakfast and hot lunch. The cost is $25 and tickets must be purchased in advance at the church. For additional information about the seminar, please call 716-517-0433. Mission Community Church to hold first service Mission Community Church will hold its first service Sunday, March 3, at 10 a.m., at Fort Myers High School, 2635 Cortez Blvd., Fort Myers, 33901. The pastor of the new church, Jordan Roe, and his wife, Bethany, have come to Southwest Florida from the Nashville, Tenn., area where they were serving as a part of a team of pastors for the past 11 years. For the past 8 years, they were campus pastors in Spring Hill, Tenn. According to the churchs website, www.mymissioncc.com, the Roes say the new church will be Gospel-centered and fully integrated with the greater Body of Christ in Lee County. And their mission simple to see people transformed by Jesus. All are welcome to attend. For additional information about the church, its services and programs, visit the website. Church of God John 3:16 to hold community yard sale The Church of God John 3:16 in North Fort Myers Is having a community get-together yard sale Saturday, Feb. 23, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Come one come all. The cost to rent table space is $15 prepay, or $25 at the door. Contact Pastor Ana LeBron for details or Kit Bracher 239-218-0911. They are looking for face painting and a donated bounce house for the kids. The Church of God is at 16521 Slater Road. Gulf Coast Church of Christ garage sale set A Huge Annual Church Garage Sale will be held Friday, March 1, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, March 2, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Gulf Coast Church of Christ, 9550 Six Mile Cypress Parkway, Fort Myers. The sale will feature furniture, clothes, tools, household goods, books, bikes, jewelry, children/ baby items and much miscellaneous. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Cash and credit cards will be accepted. For more information, call 239-936-4554. St. Katharine Drexel to host Faith in Numbers 5K Run/Walk St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church invites the public to participate in Faith in Numbers 5K Run/Walk a celebration of unity and solidarity among our Southwest Florida faith communities. In light of the recent attack on the Jewish Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the church is moved to unify the faith community in Southwest Florida, and invites all neighboring faith communities to join with the desire and commitment to heal and live in mutual respect and harmony. The Faith in Numbers 5K Run/Walk will take place Saturday, March 2, at 7 a.m., at Jaycee Park, 4215 S.E. 20th Place, Cape Coral. The run/walk will be supported by the city, with official time keeping and advertised and sponsored by supporting businesses to keep the cost of registration at a minimal to encourage families, youth groups, and serious runners to participate. For additional information, please visit faith5k.com/ The late, great Steve Irwin would have been 57 today, with Google and his wife, Terri Irwin, celebrating today with a special Google Doodle that remembers Steve's message. It's February 22, the date of famous Australian conservationist Steve Irwin's birthday! His wife, Terri Irwin, has published an official blog post at Google celebrating the date and Steve's achievements. She starts off by noting that "today's Google Doodle acknowledges the life and achievements of my husband Steve Irwin, whose efforts to protect wildlife and wild places have been recognised as the most extensive of any conservationist. "We are so proud that his legacy lives on, as that was his greatest wish. He once said, 'I dont care if Im remembered, as long as my message is remembered'. You can read the rest of her post here. Google has shared the following information about the new Steve Irwin Google Doodle here, and I've reprinted some of that below: "Todays slideshow Doodle celebrates and explores the life and legacy of wildlife conservationist and television personality Steve Irwin, who inherited a love of large reptiles early on in life and shared it with the world through his work at the Australia Zoo and his popular TV series The Crocodile Hunter. Irwin and his family dedicated their lives to the preservation and appreciation of earths wildlife and wild places. "Born in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia on this day in 1962, Irwin was raised by Lyn and Bob Irwin, who gave him an eleven-foot python for his sixth birthday. He named the snake Fred. During the early 1970s, the Irwins moved to the Sunshine Coast in the Australian State of Queensland and opened Beerwah Reptile Park. "Learning to wrestle crocodiles since the age of nine, Irwin volunteered with Queensland's East Coast Crocodile Management Program, helping to capture and relocate endangered saltwater crocodilesthe largest of all living reptilesto protect them from being harmed. He was involved in all aspects of managing his familys park, which was renamed Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, and eventually the Australia Zoo. "Soon after he took over management of the park, Irwin met his future wife Terri who was visiting the zoo. They spent their honeymoon capturing crocs, and the footage they shot became the first episode of The Crocodile Hunter, which grew into a runaway hit show seen in more than 100 countries by over 500 million people. "Thanks to the show, Irwins enthusiasm for saving endangered (and dangerous) animals quickly became as popular as his one-word catchphrase Crikey! It was also a family effort while Steve and Terri hosted the show together, their children Bindi and Robert became fixtures on the show as well. "In 2001, the Australian government awarded Irwin the Centenary Medal for a lifetime of service, and in 2004 he was nominated for Australian of the Year. Among his many accomplishments was the discovery of a new species of snapping turtle, which was named Elseya irwini in his honor. In 2018 he was also posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. "Today, Irwin's legacy lives on through his familys continued animal conservation work and with the celebration of Steve Irwin Day each November 15, an international celebration of wildlife, family, and fun including fundraising events to benefit the Australia Zoos Wildlife Warriors program." Here are two versions of the video that accompanies today's Google Doodle: Google has also shared interesting trends on wildlife and animals: Top questions about wildlife (non-pets) global, English, last seven days how many teeth do snails have? how much does a polar bear weigh? how tall are giraffes? is a gorilla a monkey? why do whales breach? how do octopus mate? is a shark a mammal? where do tigers live? where do polar bears live? when do deer shed antlers? Top questions related to endangered species - global, English, last seven days why are pandas endangered why are sea turtles endangered why are tigers endangered why are polar bears endangered what does endangered mean what is the most endangered animal in the world why are giant pandas endangered are polar bears endangered what animals are endangered why are amur leopards endangered Top searched animals and/or wildlife (non-pets) - global, English, past year Tiger Lion Bear Elephant Wolves Giraffe Peacock Octopus Shark Penguin Top questions on crocodiles - global, English, last seven days what do crocodiles eat where do crocodiles live how long do crocodiles live what is the difference between an alligator and a crocodile how fast can a crocodile run Top countries searching for crocodiles, past 12 months: Mike Pompeo: If a country adopts this and puts it in some of their critical information systems, we wont be able to share information with them." In its latest bid to make the rest of the world avoid the use of equipment from Chinese telecommunications outfit Huawei Technologies, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has told the Fox Business Network that Washington would not partner, or share information, with any country that used the Chinese firm's gear in its 5G networks. Pompeo said the reasons for this were security concerns which he did not specify. He said European and other countries needed to understand the risks of using Huawei's equipment which he did not detail and when they did, they would avoid its products. In recent days, there have been indications that both Germany and the UK are ploughing a different path. On Wednesday, the chief of Britain's National Cyber Security Centre, Ciaran Martin, told a conference in Brussels that his country was able to manage any potential security risks posed by using Huawei equipment. A day earlier, it wasthat Germany may snub the US and allow Huawei to supply gear for some parts of the country's 5G network. If a country adopts this and puts it in some of their critical information systems, we wont be able to share information with them, we wont be able to work alongside them, Pompeo told the network. Were not going to put American information at risk. The US has repeatedly said that China's National Intelligence Law makes it mandatory for companies to yield to state dictates and this meant that Huawei could be called on to spy for the government. Answering a question about this earlier in the week, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang pointed out that Article 7 of the National Intelligence Law did stipulate that "an organisation or citizen shall support, assist in and co-operate in national intelligence work in accordance with the law and keep confidential the national intelligence work that it or he knows". But, he added, the subsequent Article 8 clearly provided that "national intelligence work shall be conducted in accordance with the law, respect [for] and safeguard human rights, and protect the legal rights and interests of individuals and organisations". "I'm wondering whether those who criticise this law and make an issue out of its Article 7 have ever had a thorough and careful reading of the provisions?" Geng asked. "I hope that they will view and understand this law in a comprehensive and accurate manner instead of making one-sided and out-of-context interpretations." The US has been campaigning for nearly two years to get countries it considers allies not to use Huawei gear in their 5G rollouts. Australia and New Zealand have fallen in line, but Wellington has now indicated that the initial refusal for telco Spark to use Huawei gear is not the end of the matter. On Friday, officials with the Walker County Hospital District board announced that they have finalized a $7.8 million purchase of Huntsville Memorial Hospital. Do you feel like this is a good use of tax dollars, and is this the right direction for the struggling health care facility? You voted: Commentary Making Myanmars Constitution Democratic Illustration by Kyaw Thurien Myanmars 2008 Constitution is indisputably undemocratic, as it grants the military and its chief extraordinary power. Making it more democratic, however, is and will be for the foreseeable future an extremely difficult proposition. Having said that, unless the charter is amended in accordance with truly democratic principles, the countrys current democratic transition is unlikely to make significant progress in bringing about civil liberties, equality, regional autonomy and rule of law for all citizens. Mindful of the difficulty of its task, the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) initiated an attempt to amend the military-drafted charter by proposing the formation of a joint committee on constitutional amendment in late January. The 45-member joint committee was formed over strong objections from the military and its proxy in Parliament, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which was formed by ex-generals. The committee must submit its report on the proposed amendments to Parliament by July 17. When U Aung Kyi Nyunt, a member of the NLDs Central Executive Committee, proposed the formation of the joint committee in January, he told Parliament the Constitution needed amending as it includes undemocratic articles. He pointed out that it contains provisions that contradict one another and prevent the establishment of a democratic federal union and a genuine multi-party democratic system. He said it also fails to ensure checks and balances between the three branches of government, equal rights for all citizens, and free and fair elections. All of his arguments echoed points the NLD made in its 2015 Election Manifesto. The NLD has not drawn up a list of specific articles to be amended, preferring to give the joint committee the opportunity to conduct a chapter-by-chapter discussion of which articles are not in accord with democratic standards. In 2014, however, the NLD published a list of proposed amendments to 168 of the Constitutions 457 articles. In its introduction, the NLD described the list as incomplete, saying it comprised only significant items that could be amended without endangering the process of national harmony and reconciliation as it existed at that time, acknowledging the views of the powerful military and the elected civilian government. The implication is that the NLD believes there are more provisions that could potentially be amended. But if the items and chapters to be discussed are to be selected based on their undemocratic nature, the 168 items the party cited five years ago all remain valid candidates for amendment. Certainly, changing them all is out of the question. The NLD knows just how far it can go with this task. Even its initial attempt to form the joint committee faced strong resistance from all military appointees and USDP lawmakers in Parliament. Bearing those practical limitations in mind, the following analysis examines which parts of the Constitution the NLD is most likely to try to amend in the coming months and years, possibly before the upcoming election in 2020. The main reason the NLD selected those 168 items for amendment is because they are so clearly out of step with basic human rights and democratic principles. I have grouped the proposed amendments into three main areas, based on their ultimate aim: To reduce the role of the military and its commander-in-chief in politics, in accordance with basic human rights and democratic principles. To limit the presidents executive power in the regions and ethnic states, as well as in the judicial system To decentralize state power by granting a degree of autonomy to parliaments in the regions and states, allowing them to elect their own chief ministers and giving them greater decision-making power, rather than taking instructions from Naypyitaw. Beyond these main goals, there are some other interesting proposals such as changing the current national flag to better reflect the countrys aspirations since independence, and amending Article 432, which protects ex-ruling generals from being sued, effectively placing them above the law. The NLDs proposed amendments start with Chapter 1 and cover almost all of the charters 15 chapters. This analysis does not examine the details of every proposal made, but will touch on the main items. Rejecting the notion of qualified democracy The suggested amendments to Chapter 1 of the charterBasic Principles of the Unionare highly likely to face serious objections from military appointees and the USDP. However, they are likely to receive a warm welcome from other parties and, of course, the public. In Chapter 1, Article 6(d) says, the Unions consistent objectives are [the] flourishing of a genuine, disciplined multi-party democratic system (emphasis added). The NLD suggests getting rid of the word disciplined, reasoning that democracy doesnt need to be modified. When talking about democracy, officially or unofficially, the military, previous military regimes and ex-military officials have always used the phrase disciplined democracy. To their way of thinking, democracy is tantamount to anarchy. This kind of brainwashing is typical of military institutions in Myanmar; perhaps its common to all authoritarian countries. Article 6(f) is the main article enshrining the extraordinary privileges the military enjoys in the political sphere, enabling the Defense Services to be able to participate in the National political leadership role of the State . The NLD suggests this phrase be removed, citing another charter provision, Article 4, which reads, The sovereign power of the Union is derived from the citizens The NLD explains: One single organization ought not to permanently play a leadership role. That article specifically is one of the most unpopular articles in the Constitution among the public. . The NLD suggests this phrase be removed, citing another charter provision, Article 4, which reads, The sovereign power of the Union is derived from the citizens The NLD explains: One single organization ought not to permanently play a leadership role. That article specifically is one of the most unpopular articles in the Constitution among the public. Article 8 says: The Union is constituted by the Union system. The NLD suggests this be amended to make it clear that the countrys political system is a federal Union, as the current description, the Union system, is ill defined. The party officially aims to form a democratic federal Union; almost all ethnic political parties and armed groups endorse this policy. In a single stroke, Article 14 renders the Constitution essentially undemocratic, as it guarantees that 25 percent of the seats in all parliaments shall be held by military appointees nominated by the commander-in-chief. The NLD says this is against democratic principles, but does not seek to remove it. Instead, it suggests amending it step by step through negotiations. The NLD knows that its not practical to seek to remove it right away under the current democratic transition, in which the military still holds key political, legislative and administrative powers beyond those related to territorial defense. Obviously, the military and its powerful commander-in-chief will not accept an immediate change to this particular article under current circumstances. Amending it could take years or even decades. Holding 25 percent of the seats in all parliaments is a key political privilege for the military. It is one of the articles the NLD cant amend at the moment, and this will remain the case for the remainder of the governments current tenure, which ends in 2021. Article 17(b) guarantees the commander-in-chief extraordinary powers to nominate military personnel to positions related to defense, security and border administration in the central government, as well as in all 14 regional and state governments. The NLD proposes amending this on the grounds that it violates democratic principles, but will also proceed slowly in this area. Another very sensitive item is Article 20(c), which states that the commander-in-chief is the supreme commander of all armed forces (including the police force). The NLD proposes that the article be removed, arguing that the Police Department shouldnt be under the command of the military. Article 40(c) is a special source of concern for many people, as it essentially hands the commander-in-chief the power to stage a coup. The article states that the commander-in-chief has the right to take over and exercise State sovereign power in accord with the provisions of this Constitution if there is a state of emergency that could cause disintegration of the Union, disintegration of national solidarity or loss of sovereign power, or in the face of attempts to take power through wrongful forcible means such as an insurgency or other forms of violence. Again, the NLD does not suggest removing this article; instead, it seeks to add the phrase, In agreement with the Union Parliament before the commander-in-chief has the right to reflect the fact that sovereign power is derived from the countrys citizens. Inclusion of the phrase would unequivocally take back this extraordinary power currently wielded by the commander-in-chief. It is also in line with democratic principles. Again, however, making this change would require the commander-in-chiefs consent. Strict one-term limit for president Chapter 3Head of Stateincludes an article that has become internationally and domestically notorious. Article 59(f) was written with a specific individual in mind: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of the current government. This is just one of a score of articles targeted for change among the many interesting proposals made by the NLD in regards to this chapter. Article 59(f) bars a person whose spouse and children are foreign citizens from becoming president. The NLD suggests removing it, saying that Article 59(b) contains sufficient protections. It says the president shall be a citizen of Myanmar who was born of both parents who were born in the territory under the jurisdiction of the Union and being Myanmar Nationals. The NLD also points out that there is no such article in the constitutions of other countries, and there were no such restrictions in either of Myanmars previous constitutions approved in 1947 and 1974. The party is right to point out that this particular article targets Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was then opposition leader and under house arrest when the previous military regime drafted the Constitution in 2008. But the current military leaders and the formerly ruling USDP have shown an unwillingness to change it so far. Article 59(d) is also among those most criticized by the public. Laying out the qualifications of the president and vice presidents, it states that they shall be well acquainted with the affairs of the Union such as political, administrative, economic and military issues (emphasis added). The NLD suggests changing the word military to security in order to enable a president to be elected without such a qualification. The NLD says the existing provision, too, is against international norms. issues (emphasis added). The NLD suggests changing the word to in order to enable a president to be elected without such a qualification. The NLD says the existing provision, too, is against international norms. Article 60(b) concerns another privilege guaranteed to the military. The NLD suggests it be removed in order to reduce the role of the military in politics. The article grants not only the two houses of Parliamentthe Upper and Lower housesthe right to elect a vice president, but also requires a group of military officials appointed by the commander-in-chief to elect a third vice president. (The military candidates are always ex-generals.) The president is to be elected from among the three vice presidents. The NLD calls for the removal of the article, saying there should be only one vice president. This article is obviously intended to grant the military executive power in the government. It is of course undemocraticand intended to pave the way for a high-ranking military official to become president. This proposal made by the NLD sounds very interesting. Article 61(c) says that the president and the vice presidents shall not serve more than two terms. This is in line with international democratic norms. But the NLD goes further, suggesting that presidents serve not more than one term (five years). The NLD says such a change would prevent the revival of an authoritarian system in the country and keep incumbents from trying to hold on to power. This suggestion is clearly the product of a mentality haunted by the countrys five-decade-long military authoritarian system. Its main aim is to ensure that new leaders, even elected ones, cant hold power indefinitely, like previous ruling generals including General Ne Win, who ruled the country for 28 years (from 1962 to 1988) and Senior General Than Shwe, who ruled the country for 19 years (from 1992 to 2011). No immediate challenge to the military chiefs power to appoint lawmakers In Chapter 4Legislaturethe NLD suggests gradually removing the right granted to the commander-in-chief to nominate military officials for appointment to 25 percent of the seats in all Union, regional and state parliaments. In this chapter, most amendments suggested by the NLD relate to privileges granted to the commander-in-chief and his parliamentary appointees. Chapter 5Executiveincludes a very controversial article relating to the formation of the National Defense and Security Council (NDSC). The NLD suggests amending many clauses in this chapter in order to reduce the power of the president to grant more autonomy to parliaments and the governments of regions and ethnic states. Many observers believe that Article 201 makes the NDSC the countrys most authoritative body when it comes to making decisions when urgent issues or emergencies arise. The controversy is over its constitutionally mandated composition: It has 11 membersthe president, two vice presidents, the two house speakers of the Peoples Parliament and National Parliament, the military commander-in-chief and deputy commander in chief, and the ministers of foreign affairs, defense, home affairs and border affairs. The military/civilian ratio is six to five. Critics point out that when it comes to voting on emergency issues, the military will always have the final say. Like many, the NLD is most concerned about this, which is why its government has never called an official NDSC meeting in the three years it has been in office. Instead, during crises it has called meetings of many or all of those officials, along with additional high-ranking officials. The NLD also appears to believe that the councils composition is not appropriate politically. It suggests that two deputy house speakers be added, as the current 11 members include deputies like vice presidents and deputy commanders-in-chief. It also suggests including only one vice president. This suggestion sounds logical in terms of the ratio of vice presidents and vice commanders-in-chief. It would give the council 12 membersseven from the civilian side (comprising representatives of the government and Parliament)while the military will have only five members. This would clearly reduce the power of the military on the council. In articles 248 to 286 of this chapter, the NLDs suggested amendments involve reducing the executive power of the president in order to grant regional and state parliaments and governments a degree of autonomy. The NLD provides the clear and concise reason that regions and states must have a degree of autonomous power. The proposed changes include direct elections for the chief ministers of those regions and state governments by their respective parliaments, and giving each chief minister the power to independently form his or her own government, including deciding on the number of ministries needed. All suggestions made by the NLD in this chapter would ensure chief ministers have significant autonomy. Article 204(b) gives the president power to grant amnesty in accord with the recommendation of the NDSC. The NLD suggests modifying this to grant amnesty in accord with the recommendation of the Union Parliament and the National Defense and Security Council, saying decisions involving amnesty should include the recommendations of elected members of Parliament. Supreme Court the final arbiter During the decades of military rule, the judicial system in Myanmar was infamous for its lack of independence. Chapter 6 of the ConstitutionJudiciaryplaces the Supreme Court under military Courts-Martial in terms of legal authority: Without affecting the powers of the Constitutional Tribunal and the Courts-Martial, the Supreme Court of the Union is the highest Court of the Union. The NLD suggests making the Supreme Court unconditionally the highest court in the Union. Thus, it suggests removing the phrase, Without affecting the powers of the Constitutional Tribunal and the Courts-Martial from the above provision, making the Supreme Court truly the highest legal authority. The NLD suggests eliminating all articles from 320 to 336, which involve the Constitutional Tribunal and its formation, in order to hand all its duties to the Supreme Court. It also proposes modifying the articles to curb the presidents power over the Supreme Court. All of these suggestions are aimed at ridding the judicial system of the influence of the Courts-Martial and executive power. Chapter 7 must surely be the strangest of any included in any countrys constitution. It concerns the Defense Services, known as the Tatmadaw in Burmese. Even in Myanmar, this chapter stands out, as it had no equivalent in the countrys previous constitutions in 1947 and 1974. It appears before the chapter on citizens and their rights. This particular chapter shows that the military has become more powerful constitutionally than at any time in the countrys history. In fact, this chapter has no place in a democratic constitution, but again the NLD is not proposing to eliminate it entirely. But even a realpolitik approach may not favor it, as this is the biggest landmine in the NLDs path to reform. The NLD will face withering opposition from the military if it even suggests removing iteven though, at the end of the day, this chapter shouldnt exist. The NLD suggests amending two of the chapters eight articles. Article 338 reads: All the armed forces in the Union shall be under the command of the Defense Services. The NLD suggests having the Police Department administered by its own ministry. Currently, the department is under the Home Affairs Ministry, whose minister is an Army general appointed by the commander-in-chief. Article 339 grants the Tatmadaw absolute authority in regard to safeguarding the country, which can be interpreted as giving the commander-in-chief undiluted power in this sphere. It reads: The Defense Services shall lead in safeguarding the Union against all internal and external dangers. The NLD suggests modifying this to say, The Tatmadaw should take [responsibility for this] duty under the leadership of the head of state. The 2008 Constitution is riddled with conditions, but Chapter 8Citizens, Fundamental Rights and Duties of the Citizenshas more than its share of unnecessary conditions. The NLD highlights two articles in this chapter, relating to arrest without remand and forced labor. Article 359 says: The Union prohibits forced labor, except for hard labor [imposed] as a punishment for crime duly convicted, and duties assigned by the Union in accord with the law in the interest of the public (emphasis added). The NLD suggests doing away with forced labor in any circumstances. The issues of forced labor attracted a lot of notoriety to Myanmar under the previous military regime. (emphasis added). The NLD suggests doing away with forced labor in any circumstances. The issues of forced labor attracted a lot of notoriety to Myanmar under the previous military regime. Another unnecessary clause in this chapter, according to the NLD, is the following bolded passage in Article 376: No person shall, except in matters of precautionary measures taken for the security of the Union or prevalence of law and order, peace and tranquility in accord with the law in the interest of the public, or matters permitted according to an existing law, be held in custody for more than 24 hours without the remand of a competent magistrate (emphasis added). The NLD suggests amending this to: No person shall be held in custody for more than 24 hours without the remand of a competent magistrate. As a reason, it says the article should be in harmony with Article 21(b) of Chapter 1, Basic Principles of the Union, which reads: No citizen shall be placed in custody for more than 24 hours without the permission of a Court. A proposal by the NLD relating to Article 383 is likely to irritate the military and its proxy USDP, as it calls for the elimination of three civic duties, which were printed on the front page of every book and publication across the country under the former regimes. The article reads: Every citizen has the duty to uphold: a) non-disintegration of the Union; b) non-disintegration of national solidarity; c) perpetuation of sovereignty. The NLD suggests eliminating the entire article, saying it echoes an earlier article in the Constitution and pointing out that these are duties not only of citizens but also of the government. No immunity for the military chief, even in emergencies Chapter 11Provisions on State of Emergencywhich gives special powers to the commander-in-chief, especially during a state of emergency, contains a phrase that, in the context of this Constitution, perhaps shouldnt surprise us. Article 418 reads: Notwithstanding anything contained in the Constitution , commencing from the day of transfer of the sovereign power to the commander-in-chief of the Defense Service, it shall be deemed that the members appointed and assigned duties by approval of the relevant Hluttaws [parliaments] in accord with the Constitution (emphasis added). The NLD suggests removing the phrase in bold, saying the Constitution shall not be violated at any time and that no action is above the Constitution. , commencing from the day of transfer of the sovereign power to the commander-in-chief of the Defense Service, it shall be deemed that the members appointed and assigned duties by approval of the relevant Hluttaws [parliaments] in accord with the Constitution (emphasis added). The NLD suggests removing the phrase in bold, saying the Constitution shall not be violated at any time and that no action is above the Constitution. Article 432 of this chapter is one of the most important provisions in the charter because it protects ex-ruling generals from prosecution for wrongdoings committed in the past. It is also one of the most unpopular with the public. The article basically means No legal action shall be taken against any civilian or military service members (including the military chief), and their organizations shall not face legal consequences for their actions in times of emergency (when the military chief or NDSC is exercising sovereign power). The NLD proposes removing the clause no legal action shall be taken, claiming it is not in accord with international standards. Needless to say, the military and USDP will resist this strongly. Article 436 of Chapter 12Amendment of the Constitutionis one of the most controversial articles in the charter as its purpose is to make it difficult to make even reasonable amendments. Article 436(a) says that if it is necessary to amend a number of crucial articles (most of which privilege the military) in certain chapters, it shall be amended with the prior approval of more than seventy-five percent of all the representatives of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw [Union Parliament], after which in a nation-wide referendum only with the votes of more than half of those who are eligible to vote (emphasis added). Obtaining more than 75 percent of votes is virtually impossible, as military officials appointed by the commander-in-chief occupy 25 percent of seats in Parliament. This is quite likely the most difficult part of the constitution to change. This article, the NLD says, gives the military the upper hand at the expense of the public when it comes to amending the Constitution. The NLD adds that equality and justice are important for national reconciliation. It suggests the article be amended so that those articles it mentions can be amended with the approval of more than seventy-five percent of all elected representatives (excluding the military appointees) of the Union parliament, or by more than 50 percent of all the representatives (including military lawmakers). It seems fair but is unlikely to be accepted by the military. Uninspiring national symbol Since the Constitution was approved in 2008, many people have complained about the new national flag, which bears no resemblance to previous flags. Chapter 13 concerns the State Flag, State Seal, National Anthem and the Capital. In this chapter, the NLD only suggests replacing the flag. It points out that it is wrong to entirely do away with the previous flag, which was a source of great inspiration to the public as it was associated with the countrys successful struggle for independence. It adds that the current flag is also quite similar to the flags of some other countries. These are among the many articles the NLD is highly likely to try to amend. To get all of them amended remains a virtual impossibility for the foreseeable future, especially prior to the 2020 election, which is likely to be the NLDs tentative timeframe. But if even one of the provisions discussed above remains in the Constitution, we cant regard it as fully democratic. This analysis begs an obvious question: Why doesnt the NLD draft a new constitution, rather than try to amend so many items in the current one? Some political observers have suggested just that. But such an option is simply not possible. The military does not even accept the NLDs initiative to amend the charter; that it would entertain the notion of a new charter is out of the question. Therefore, we can safely say its not a practical solution under current political conditions. As for the NLD, it seems determined to push the issue as far as it can in the coming months with the aim of securing a significant quantity of substantive amendments. To achieve this, the NLD will need to implement, at a minimum, the following four strategies: 1) strike a balance between seeking reform and realpolitik; 2) use its majority in Parliament in a democratic manner; 3) marshal all of its public support to help it achieve its goal; and 4) coax the commander-in-chief into adjusting his political position sufficiently to accept its proposals. As it does so, the party faces one fundamental restrictionnot to engage in the kind of counterproductive activity that could provoke a military coup. That is the bottom line. Beyond that, there shouldnt be any limitations on its efforts. World India Reiterates Plan to Stop Sharing of Excess Water with PakistanMinister Muslims hold placards during a prayer meeting to pay tribute to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel who were killed after a suicide bomber rammed a car into the bus carrying them in south Kashmir last week, outside a mosque in Kolkata, India on February 20, 2019. / REUTERS NEW DELHI/ISLAMABADAn Indian government minister reiterated on Thursday the countrys plan to restrict the flow of water to Pakistan from its share of rivers, the latest effort by New Delhi to pressure its neighbor after a militant attack in Kashmir. Our government has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan, Nitin Gadkari, transport and water resources minister, said in a tweet. He added that the country would divert water from eastern rivers and supply it to its people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab states. Gadkari did not elaborate but officials from his ministry said he was re-stating decisions already taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including a dam project cleared by his cabinet last December. Officials said no new decision had been taken on Thursday. Gadkaris comments underlined New Delhis anger over an attack by a Pakistan-based militant group last week in the disputed region of Kashmir, which killed 40 paramilitary police. India has accused Pakistan of not doing enough to control such groups, while Pakistan has denied involvement. The sharing of water supplies from the Indus River and its tributaries between the two countries is regulated under the 1960 Indus Water Treaty. In recent years India has begun ambitious irrigation plans and construction of many upstream dams, saying its use of upstream water is strictly in line with the treaty. Following an attack on security forces in the Kashmir town of Uri in 2016, India began to fast-track development of some of the dam projects, escalating tensions between the arch-rivals. Pakistan has opposed some of these projects saying they violate the World Bank-mediated treaty on the sharing of the Indus waters, upon which 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture depends. On Thursday, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan authorized the countrys armed forces to hit back against India if attacked but repeated a call for an investigation into the attack in Kashmir. The incident was conceived, planned and executed indigenously, said a statement issued following a meeting of Pakistans National Security Committee, which added Pakistan was not involved in any way, means or form. Indias top military commander in Kashmir, Lieutenant-General K.J.S. Dhillon, accused Pakistans main Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency on Tuesday of controlling those behind the bombing and warned of retribution. India has long blamed Pakistan for a nearly 30-year revolt in Jammu and Kashmir, its only Muslim-majority state. Pakistan denies any involvement and has repeatedly urged New Delhi to hold talks to decide the future of the region. World China Sees Enormous Potential in Saudi Economy as Crown Prince Visits Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman walks with officials during his visit to Great Wall of China in Beijing, China on February 21, 2019. / Saudi Royal Court via Reuters BEIJINGChina sees enormous potential in Saudi Arabias economy and wants more high-tech cooperation, the Chinese governments top diplomat said, as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman began a two-day trip to Beijing. The Saudi delegation, including top executives from Aramco, arrived on Thursday on an Asia tour that has already seen the kingdom pledge investment of $20 billion in Pakistan and seek additional investment in Indias refining industry. The crown prince will meet President Xi Jinping, who has made stepping up Chinas presence in the Middle East a key foreign policy objective, despite its traditional low-key role there. Meeting Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, State Councilor Wang Yi said the main features of their ties were respect, understanding and support for each other, Chinas Foreign Ministry said in a statement late on Thursday. All countries in the world have the right to develop, and Saudi Arabia is an emerging market country with enormous potential, the ministry paraphrased Wang as saying. China supports Saudis efforts to diversify its economy and is willing to strengthen high-tech cooperation, Wang added. Saudi Aramco, the worlds top oil exporter, will sign a pact to build a refinery and petrochemical project in northeastern Liaoning province in a joint venture with Chinas defense conglomerate Norinco, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. The investments could help Saudi Arabia regain its place as the top oil exporter to China, a position Russia has held for the last three years. Saudi Aramco is set to boost market share by signing supply deals with non-state Chinese refiners. China has had to step carefully in relations with Riyadh, since Beijing also has close ties with Saudi regional foe Iran. On Wednesday, Xi told the speaker of Irans parliament that Chinas desire to develop close ties with Iran would stay unaltered, regardless of the global situation. China is also wary of criticism from Muslim countries about its camps in the heavily-Muslim far western region of Xinjiang, which the government says are for de-radicalization purposes and rights groups call internment camps. Wang said both countries face the threats of terrorism and extremism, and should strengthen cooperation to safeguard security and stability. China was not seeking to play politics in the Middle East, the widely-read state-run tabloid, the Global Times, said in an editorial on Friday. China wont be a geopolitical player in the Middle East. It has no enemies and can cooperate with all countries in the region, said the paper, published by the ruling Communist Partys official Peoples Daily. Chinas increasing influence in the Middle East comes from pure friendly cooperation. Such a partnership will be welcomed by more countries in the Middle East. Asia Top ARSA Commander Killed in Gunfight in Coxs Bazar Nurul Alam after his arrest by RAB in Kutapalong, Coxs Bazar on March 1, 2017. / RAB DHAKAA senior military commander of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), also known by its former name Harakah al-Yaqeen, was killed on Friday morning in what is being called a gunfight with the Bangladesh polices specialized unit, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), in the Teknaf sub-district of the Coxs Bazar. ARSA has not yet made any statement on the death of their commander and top arms collector, Nurul Alam. Alam is said to have been involved in, or an organizer of, a number of serious crimes committed, including murder, in the region since 2016, the most serious of which was the looting of arms from an Ansar security establishment near the Nayapara Rohingya shelter in Tekhnaf in May 2016. The commander of the Ansar battalion was murdered during the incident. Bangladeshs Ansar is a paramilitary auxiliary force under the home affairs ministry and is responsible for internal security and law enforcement. The RAB completed its investigation into the case in August 2017 and submitted the charges to the local magistrates court but the case was still pending as of the time of Alams death on Friday. RAB Battalion 7 spokesperson Mimtanur Rahman confirmed on Friday that they were carrying out a raid on a place called Damdamia located in the Teknaf sub-district at about 5 a.m. when they came under attack. In retaliation, they opened fire and one man was killed. They were preparing to commit a robbery along with others, he added. An RAB announcement stated that their operational team had exchanged fire with a group of robbers in which the top robber, the displaced Myanmar national Nurul Alam was killed. It said they seized two foreign-made pistols, two magazines and 13 bullets from the scene. In a number of videos released on social media since 2016, Nurul Alam has been seen holding a machine gun and standing beside ARSA leader Ataullah abu Ammar Jununi. The RAB pinned the 2016 arms robbery and murder on nine people, one of whom was Alam. Investigators told Dhaka-based daily newspaper New Age in August 2016 that the looted firearms and ammunition were taken to Maungdaw Township on the Myanmar side of the border by a small Maungdaw-based small extremist group. The RAB claimed that they arrested Alam in the Kutupalong area of Coxs Bazar on Feb. 28, 2017. In March the same year, acting on information given by the arrested Alam, they recovered a further six submachine guns in the same area of Bandarban. In January 2017, the two masterminds of the robberyKhairul Amin and Master Abul Kalam Azadwere arrested along with some of the looted arms and ammunition in the deep forests of Bandarban District. RABs Teknaf commander Lieutenant Mirza Shahed Mahtad said Alam had been in jail for a year until he was released on bail. Since then, he was absconding and hiding in the hilly area around Shalban and Muchini camps of Nayapara, Mirza said. He was involved in four or five recent killings inside the Rohingya camps including those of volunteers who had previously helped law enforcers to catch him. A Teknaf-Ukhia police additional superintendent Nihad Adnan Taian said they had been examining Alams records and his involvement in a number of murders. Myanmar has blamed Rohingya extremists for the Aug. 25, 2018 strike on security posts in Rakhine State which triggered a fierce army crackdown causing over 700,000 Rohingya to flee to camps in Bangladesh. Orangetheory Fitness continues growth in Southwest Florida Orangetheory Fitness, a national fitness franchise, is expanding its presence in Southwest Florida. A new location is opening at 2311 Santa Barbara Blvd., Units 106 and 107, in Cape Coral. The studio, owned by Bob and Barbara MacIntyre, held a grand opening party on Thursday, Feb. 21. Orangetheorys scientifically developed program has earned international acclaim and media attention for its proven results. On average, members burn an estimated 600-1,000 calories per workout, and the 60-minute sessions are designed to help clients burn additional calories for up to 36 hours after the workout. This is what Orangetheory Fitness calls the after burn, and its based on a physiological concept known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC. Sessions are led by experienced group personal trainers who oversee each members progress through heart-rate monitors. Area residents are invited to visit any of the five Orangetheory Fitness locations in Southwest Florida: 11600 Gladiolus Drive, Unit 317, Fort Myers. 8001 Dani Drive, Fort Myers. 7935 Airport Pulling Road, Unit 1, Naples. 1900 Tamiami Trail N, Naples. The newest location at 2311 Santa Barbara Blvd., Units 106 and 107 in Cape Coral. Call 239-218-4644 for more information. New owner directing Creative Events &?Rentals A new era is dawning for a 45-year-old Southwest Florida business. Al Mueller, the new owner of Creative Events & Rentals, has been investing money, time and energy into the company since buying it in May 2017. With his second season getting under way, hes ready to show off a fresh approach. Creative Events & Rentals now features new, cutting-edge equipment designed to make any event a rousing success. The company provides equipment and offers on-site event management for black-tie galas, fundraisers, weddings, country club events and a variety of other gatherings. Mueller and his team have 60-foot-wide, 80-foot-wide and 100-foot-wide tents for large gatherings, along with plenty of smaller tents. Clearspan, structure, art deco and a host of other tent styles are among the 750,000 square feet of tent space at Creatives disposal. The company has a litany of other rental items, from chairs and china to bounce houses, lighting, tables and much more, all geared toward helping clients plan and produce events that exceed expectations. Visit creativeevents1.com or call 239-768-6393. Spiro & Associates adds Lewis as junior account executive Spiro & Associates Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations and Brand Architecture has added Hope Lewis as a junior account executive, working with an account team to complete client services and manage Agency-wide campaigns. Born and raised in Cape Coral, Lewis graduated from Ida S. Baker High School and attended Santa Fe College in Gainesville where she studied health science. Spiro & Associates is one of Southwest Floridas largest marketing, advertising, public relations and brand architecture firms. The company serves local, regional and national clients in the fields of land development, construction, retail, residential and commercial real estate, law, marine, business, residential services and many more. Additional information can be found online at SpiroandAssociates.com or by calling 239-481-5511. Registration open for 2019 Southwest Florida Womens Business Summit March 1 Mary Van Praag, brand president of Soma Intimates, will be the keynote speaker at the 2019 Southwest Florida Womens Business Summit organized by the Lee County Economic Development Office Friday, March 1, at Florida SouthWestern State College, Building U, 8099 College Parkway, Fort Myers, FL 33919. Registration and networking will begin at 8 a.m. and the keynote presentation will start at 9:15 a.m. To register and view the full schedule of events, visit www.LeeCoEDO.eventbrite.com. The event is intended to educate and elevate women in their careers through hands-on and motivational workshop sessions. van Praag, who joined Soma Intimates in September 2017, has more than 30 years of global, multi-channel beauty industry leadership experience. The Lee County Economic Development Office provides business assistance to retain existing businesses, encourage entrepreneurship and to attract new businesses so that Lee County has a strong economy, thriving communities, and broadly-shared prosperity. For information, visit LeeCountyBusiness.com. MNMW welcomes Shufflebarger Markham Norton Mosteller Wright & Co., P.A. welcomes Nicole Shufflebarger as a tax manager with the firm. In this position, Shufflebarger works with clients to provide supportive accounting services and offers consulting services to clients in the construction industry. Shufflebarger brings more than 20 years of experience in accounting to MNMW, in both public and private accounting. Markham Norton Mosteller Wright & Co., P.A. is a public accounting and consulting firm with offices in both Fort Myers and Naples. The firm offers a wide range of services including business consulting, construction business consulting, elder services, forensic accounting, human resources consulting, litigation support, marketing and public relations consulting, mediation services, medical practice consulting, tax planning and preparation, and technology consulting. For more information, call 239-433-5554 or visit www.Markham-Norton.com. Operation Kidsafe center opening today in Cape Coral There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony today, Feb. 22, a 10 a.m., for the opening of an Operation Kidsafe location in Cape Coral at 234 Del Prado Blvd., N., Suite 2, at the Dan McGuire Allstate Insurance office. Operation Kidsafe provides biographical documents for parents featuring their childs fingerprints, photos and other important information for use during an emergency. The information provided also allows families to make plans in case an emergency occurs. The Dan McGuire Allstate office in the Cape will serve as a year-round child safety center. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For additional information about Operation Kidsafe or the grand opening, call 239-573-2088 or email danmcguire@allstate.com. News Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Drops Off UN Agenda in Geneva Next Week The Conference on Disarmament at the United Nations meets in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb. 28, 2018. / Reuters GENEVA Myanmar will be represented by a government minister at a U.N. conference in Geneva next week, and not by the countrys de facto leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, according to the latest agenda for the meeting on Thursday. Earlier on Thursday, an agenda for the Conference on Disarmament seen by Reuters showed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been criticized by the West over the governments treatment of Rohingya Muslims and other human rights concerns, was scheduled to speak at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. Two officials confirmed she was expected, raising the prospect of a possible meeting with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who is due to speak at the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday and the disarmament forum on Tuesday. But an agenda posted on the conferences website later in the day listed Kyaw Tin, Union minister for international cooperation, as the speaker from Myanmar. U.N. officials said they did not have any information about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi coming to Geneva. Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay did not respond to calls seeking comment and diplomats at Myanmars mission in Geneva were unavailable throughout the day. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is a former political prisoner who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, but her reputation has suffered badly in recent years. Her governments relations with the United Nations are tense following the Rohingya crisis. About 730,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from Myanmars Rakhine State into Bangladesh since a military crackdown in 2017 after Rohingya insurgents attacked security posts. Myanmar has banned the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, from coming to the country and Daw Aung San Suu Kyis administration has opposed raising the profile of the U.N. resident coordinator in Myanmar. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has largely shunned travel to the West since the Rohingya crisis broke but she and senior officials in her administration travel regularly within Asia. A U.N. mandated fact-finding mission said that Myanmars military carried out mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya with genocidal intent and called for generals to be prosecuted. Myanmar rejected the findings. Last year Daw Aung San Suu Kyi visited Australia, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam and Nepal. She travelled to Switzerland in 2012, visiting the Swiss government in Bern and the U.N. and the International Labor Organization in Geneva. Burma In Their Own Words: Warnings against Constitutional Reform Clockwise from top left: Ex-president U Thein Sein, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, USDP lawmaker U Thaung Aye, Brig-Gen Maung Maung, Ex-information Minister U Ye Htut, Ex-president Office Minister U Soe Thein Since the ruling National League for Democracy launched its official push to amend the undemocratic military-drafted Constitution late last month, there has been no shortage of comment on the endeavor, mostly from the military and its proxy party, the formerly ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). While they support reform in principle, they said, they disagree with the way the NLD is going about it, warning that the party is not following the amendment procedures prescribed in the charter. Even the countrys former president, ex-General U Thein Sein, who has been out of public sight for most of the past four years, broke his silence to offer his views on the reform bid. Here is what a number of key personalities ranging from the countrys military chief to a former president and ex-ministers, as well as members of the opposition USDP, had to say. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar military chief In principle, we agree with the idea of constitutional amendment. But the important point is that no amendment should harm the essence of the Constitution. Interview with Japanese news agency Asahi Shimbun on Feb. 14 in Naypyitaw. Brigadier-General Maung Maung, leader of military-appointed lawmakers in Parliament The country will face instability if any one political party amends the Constitution with only its goals in mind. Our country is in a strategic position, so it could become a battleground if the wrong position is taken. It is necessary to be aware of this. Comment to the media after the parliamentary session on Feb. 19, at which lawmakers approved the nomination of members of the joint constitutional reform committee. U Thaung Aye, USDP lawmaker The country may experience instability, as people will organize rallies in support of this or that side. Those who manage the country should consider this in advance. Whether we raise an objection or not is of no significance to this Parliament. Decisions made through a voting machine, and not with the brain, wont reflect the truth. Comment on Feb. 19 following Parliaments approval of the constitutional reform committees membership by secret vote, in which lawmakers pressed buttons to record their vote. (Reported by Standard Time Daily) U Soe Thein, USDP lawmaker and former Presidents Office minister It would be better to start with [constitutional] articles that are easy [to amend]. Democratic reform can be implemented only when you know the way forward. [Look at] the cases of Egypt and Indonesia. Egypt didnt know the way, so they failed. Implementing a democratic transition is like holding a glass; it can fall and break. Comments to the media at Parliament on Feb. 21. Former President U Thein Sein [The Constitution] took nearly 16 years of consulting, drafting and writing. If [the Constitution] is really to be amended, lawmakers in Parliament cant do it alone. How many of them are legal experts? Over 1,000 [legal experts] drafted [the 2008 Constitution] through consultation. It didnt happen easily. So, it should be amended at the appropriate time. Comment made on Feb. 15 on the sidelines of a donation ceremony at Maha Gandhayone Monastery in Mandalay. U Ye Htut, former information minister and presidential spokesperson Calling the NLDs attempt to launch constitutional reform a trap, former information minister cum presidential spokesperson U Ye Htut wrote the following on his Facebook page on Feb. 19: In my view, this move is merely a pre-2020 election tactic [by the NLD] rather than a genuine attempt at constitutional amendment. Therefore, the confrontation with the Tatmadaw and the USDP in Parliament makes NLD core supporters more active and excited. And this also makes the general public forget about the stalled peace process, the Rakhine crisis and the economic slowdown. And news about constitutional amendment makes headlines. And when the 2020 election draws near, the NLD can make the excuse that it hasnt been able to fulfill its campaign pledges because the Constitution has yet to be amended. Burma Construction of Yangons Outer Circular Road to Begin by Year End Attendees at the event for the submission of the prequalification applications for the first phase of the outer road. / Website of Myanmars Ministry of Construction YANGONMyanmars Ministry of Construction has announced it will construct two circular roads inside and outside Yangon with the assistance of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Construction of the outer road is to be divided into four phases and will start with the eastern section, according to U Kyi Zaw Myint, deputy director general of the ministrys road and bridge construction department. The eastern section will link the Thilawa Special Economic Zone in Yangons Thanlyin with Hlegu; the northern section will link Hlegu with Hlaingtharyar; the western section will link Hlaingtharyar with Dala; and the southern section will link Dala with Thanlyin. We plan to build the eastern section first. As it will be a six-lane road, the investment will be huge, he told reporters. The eastern section will be 69 kilometers long, and will include a 1.4-kilometer long bridge across the Bago River. It will have a speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour. The ring road will link Thilawa Special Economic Zone, Mingalardon Industrial Zone, the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway and Yangon International Airport. The road will be 300 feet in width. We will be able to calculate the investment amount after developing the road design. It will be implemented as a public-private partnership, said U Kyi Zaw Myint. The construction ministry has selected 10 finalists for the construction of the eastern section, and will announce the tender winner in May. Construction of the first phase is expected to begin later this year and will take three years to complete. On the list of finalists are Chinese, French, Japanese and Korea companies, Thai-Chinese joint ventures, and joint ventures between Myanmar and foreign firms. The construction ministry will invite tender for phase two later this year, said U Kyi Zaw Myint. According to JICAs 2040 master plan for Yangon, there will be an inner and outer circular road connecting strategic points around the city. The inner road will be an elevated highway, the first section of which will be 20 kilometers long and link Strand Road in downtown Yangon to Mingalardon Industrial Zone to the north via Pazundaung Township and Waizayana Road. The second section of the inner road will be built through Kha Ye Pin Road, Mingalardon Road and Kyimyindaing Road to link Strand Road and Mingalardon Industrial Zone. The plan aims to solve the notorious traffic problems in the commercial hub of Yangon where 90 percent of vehicles in entire country are driven. We are optimistic about the project. I have had to negotiate with local farmers in Hlegu [whose lands are required] for the construction. The project area will use around 50 acres of farmland, Lower House lawmaker U Thein Tan told The Irrawaddy, adding that local farmers have accepted the rate of compensation offered by the construction ministry. Burma Amid Disappearance of Villagers, Three Burned Bodies Found in N. Rakhine Villagers arrive to identify bodies at the crime scene in Mrauk-U Townships Yan Aung Pyin village on Thursday. / Supplied YANGONTwo village administrators confirmed that at least three burned bodies were discovered on Thursday, two days after a series of clashes between Myanmar Army troops and Arakan Army (AA) rebels near Yan Aung Pyin village in northern Rakhine States ancient city Mrauk-U. U Kyaw Maung Yin, village administrator of Kyauktaw Townships Kyar Net Kan village, told The Irrawaddy that four residents from his village went missing on Tuesday, the same day the AA fought with a military column for almost the whole day there. He explained that eight villagers from his village traveled to Yan Aung Pyin to buy firewood in the Ran Chaung region in upper Yan Aung Myin. A group of six people traveled in two boats along Ran Chaung Creek, while other two locals traveled by motorbike on Tuesday. The Irrawaddy spoke with two eyewitnesses who were questioned and released by Army soldiers on the outskirts of Yan Aung Myin village and safely arrived back in their village on Tuesday evening. Survivor Ma Kyi Kyi Htay recalled that she and three villagers were in the same boat, which was loaded with firewood from Ran Chaung region. She explained that two other men, Ko Aye Thein and Myo Min Zaw, took boats from her village Kyar Net Kan and met in Tha Kyaw village, where they spoke for a while. The two men decided to leave Tha Kyaw village at 1:30 pm, while Ma Kyi Kyi Htays group decided to stop there for a few hours. In the afternoon, Ma Kyi Kyi Htays boat left the village but they were stopped and told to dock by a military unit near Yan Aung Myin village. She said that a number of Army soldiers surrounded them and brought them to their commander. The villagers were surprised to see that the boat belonging to Ko Aye Thein and Myo Min Zaw was also docked there. They [the soldiers] asked us a number of questions like where we were going, and what kind of items we had on the boat, said Ma Kyi Kyi Htay. Another villager, U Than Maung, who was with Ma Kyi Kyi Htay on the same boat, recalled telling the soldiers that by about 3:30 pm they could hear no gunfire, so they decided to return to the village. They were being questioned by a commander near a tent about whether the villagers had seen any Arakan Army troops on the way when he saw a hand under a tarpaulin. He was unable to tell whether the person was alive or dead, or whether he was one of the two men from his village. When they arrived back to the village they informed the relatives of Ko Aye Thein about what they had seen. Village administrator U Kyaw Maung Yin explained that the wives of Ko Aye Thein and family members of the other two men on the motorbike, Maung Win Sein and Maung Shwe Soe, reported their disappearance to him on Tuesday. U Kyaw Maung Yin informed neighboring village administrators and the General Administrative Department (GAD) office in Kyauktaw Township of the disappearance of the villagers. He was informed that some burned corpses were found on the outskirts of Yan Aung Pyin village on Wednesday night. He gathered the relatives and wives of the missing four villagers and went there to identify the badly burned bodies on Thursday. Similarly, another villager, U Tun Hla Sein from Yan Aung Pyin, reportedly disappeared on Tuesday. U Tun Hla Seins wife Daw Ah Dar Sein had already complained that her husband had been held by the Army since Tuesday. She went alone to see her husband in a tent, where had been was tied up with a rope since the afternoon, and requested a high-ranking soldier release him. On Wednesday, she went there alone but only saw the dead bodies of her husband alongside two other strangers, but was unable to retrieve the body, as the soldiers were still there. On Thursday, about 50 villagers from two villages conducted a search but only found bodies reduced to ashes, according to the village administrator U Maung Hla Sein. He said the family members could not identify the bodies, as only a few remnants and three skulls remained at the scene. Daw Ah Dar Seins daughters and sons claimed that their fathers clothes and bag were abandoned near the scene. Daw Ah Dar Sein could not be reached for comment on Friday as she does not have a phone. Kyar Net Kan villager U Than Maung said, I dont have anything to say about this. It is done; nothing can be changed. On Wednesday, the military announced it had killed nine AA insurgents and seized one RPG, but the AA said it lost only three fighters during the clashes. The AA also announced that it had killed at least 30 Army troops in a series of clashes in Mrauk-U Township. Based on firsthand eyewitness accounts, indiscriminate shootings by Army troops in northern Rakhine State clearance operations have already killed two civilians this month. Burma AA Abducts Village Official, Police Station Chief in Chin State Than Taung village / The Irrawaddy SITTWEThe Arakan Army (AA) abducted the village administrator and the head of the police station in Than Taung village in Chin States Paletwa Township at around 3 am on Friday, according to local villagers. AA troops first brought village administrator U Cha Haw to the front of the village police station. They asked the station chief, Police Lieutenant Salai Bieber, to come out and demanded weapons from him. When Pol. Lt. Salai Bieber refused, the AA abducted him along with the village administrator, local resident U Nai Htan told The Irrawaddy. No shots were fired during the abduction, local residents said. However, at around 8 am police returned fire after hearing shots from the opposite bank of the creek on which the village is located, they said. More gunfire was heard from the same location at around noon. No one was injured in the incident, but many villagers fled out of fear for their safety, they said. Another villager, U Lwin Ai, told The Irrawaddy, They [the AA] didnt enter the police station. From outside, they told the station chief to come out, and then they abducted him. We heard gunshots from the opposite bank of the creek. We dont know if it was a clash or just warning shots. Paletwa Township police chief Police Major Tun Tun Win said only, I cant provide details. We are still working on it, he told The Irrawaddy. AA information officer U Khaing Thukha said he did not have any details about the abduction in Than Taung, but acknowledged that local AA commanders occasionally reprimand those who get in the way of implementing The Way of Rakhita, a phrase coined by the political wing of the AA, the United League for Arakan, to refer to their Arakanese nationalist movement. I still dont have information about the incident. But there may be cases in which local commanders rebuke those who get in the way of The Way of Rakhita, he told The Irrawaddy. Than Taung police station was on full alert, local residents told The Irrawaddy at noon on Friday. In December, the AA sent warning letters, each accompanied by a bullet and the official AA stamp, warning the recipients against disturbing those who are implementing the Way of Rakhita. One letter sent to the head of a local police station in Buthidaung Township warned that the AA would take decisive action against anyone who disrupted their movements. Asia Eleven Rohingya Arrested for Beating German Journalists, Bangladeshi Aides The scene of Thursdays attack on three German journalists and their local fixer by a group of Rohingya refugees at the Lambashia camp in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh. / Supplied DHAKAAt least 11 Rohingya people were arrested on Friday for allegedly beating three German television journalists and their local fixer at noon on Thursday while they were making a documentary at the Lambashia Camp in Kutupalong, in the Ukhiya sub-district of Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh. Three employees of German broadcaster ARDcameraman Gunder Stegner, 61, Stefanie Appel, 49, and Ernico Leube, 44and Bangladeshi fixer Mohammad Shihabuddin were beaten and had to seek treatment at a nearby hospital. A police constable and the driver of the microbus carrying the foreign nationals were also injured in the incident. Shihabuddin, who also works as the head of production at Bangladeshi private television channel Boishaki, filed a complaint with the Ukhia police station, leading to the arrest of 11 Rohingya people. They were sent to court on Friday. Kazi Dider Ul Alam, the court inspector at Coxs Bazar district headquarters, said the Judicial Magistrates Court sent all of the 11 Rohingya to jail. German Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Fahrenhollz said in a tweet on Friday that, It happened because of a misunderstanding. They are well and safe now. Coxs Bazar Police Superintendent ABM Masud Hossain said that six persons including four journalists were injured when a Rohingya mob attacked them at Lombashia, part of the Kutupalong Rohingya camp, in the afternoon. The journalists were working on a documentary film for German national television when they were attacked, the police official said. Law enforcement officials rescued them and took them to a local hospital. The Rohingya mob also damaged their vehicle and camera. Police officials later recovered the Germans missing mobile phones, electronic equipment and other items that reportedly went missing during the attack. Rezaul Karim, who is in charge of the Kutupalong camp, said the journalists were filming a segment for their documentary on the Rohingya crisis when they picked up two minor girls aged about 8 to 10 in their micro-bus in order to give them new clothes. At one stage, the girls started crying, the officials said. Some Rohingya suspected the girls were being trafficked and led an attack on the foreigners, injuring them all. The police constable was injured seriously. The mob also damaged the micro-bus, witnesses said. Meanwhile, in a statement, the newly formed Rohingya organization Rohingya Refugee Committee, Bangladesh, stated on Friday that We Rohingya in Coxs district, Bangladesh Camps, are extremely concerned [about] the attack on journalists. The statement reads, On February 21, at 12:30 pm, three foreigners known as German Journalists took two Rohingya children with their vehicle from camp 4 to Camp 1 E. The Rohingya community assumed that the children were being trafficked, as it has happened frequently in camps. People asked the driver and interpreter why the children had been taken with them but they did not explain well to the people. So, some emotional persons suspected them of being [traffickers] and protested against trafficking, it reads. We are extremely sorry [about] the attack on the journalists, which happened because of a misunderstanding. Therefore, we would kindly request that Bangladesh government, NGOs, and agencies to be calm on this issue; we are also providing awareness to people to [remain] calm in future situations. This is not the communitys fault only, but [shows the] need for more security inside the camps. It will be better if the government deploys more security, the statement reads. We would like to have more engagement between the community, NGOs, and authorities about security issues inside the camps, it concludes. Business Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Pitches Investors on Rakhine State State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi arrives at the Rakhine State Investment Fair in Ngapali, Thandwe Township, Rakhine State, on Friday. / Reuters NGAPALI, Rakhine State State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday invited responsible and sustainable investors from home and abroad to back projects in Rakhine State and help one of Myanmars poorest and most troubled regions turn a corner. Speaking in the beach resort town of Ngapali at the states first ever investment fair which is running with the tag line Rakhine is open for business to the world she said she and her government recognized the grave challenges they were facing. The state counselor said her government was doing all it could to meet the areas security and humanitarian needs, in line with the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, which had been led by the late U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. While doing so, she added, we have to address economic issues in Rakhine, that we may achieve the progress and development needed to sustain stability and prosperity. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said her administration has made the rule of law and sustainable development in Rakhine a priority from the beginning. But she added that much of the states potential remained untapped. For too long the international communitys attention has been focused narrowly on negative aspects related to problems in north Rakhine rather than on the larger picture that shows the immense potential of this state [for] peace and development, she said. Every kyat spent by this government, every dollar disbursed by our development partners and every dollar invested by the private sector is a vote of confidence in the resilience and potential of Rakhine and its people, she added. The Rakhine State Investment Fair follows the Invest Myanmar Summit in Naypyitaw in January, the governments first move to reverse a significant decline in foreign direct investment (FDI) over the past two years. Facing an ongoing civil war and a tarnished international image following the Rakhine crisis, the government is desperately seeking more FDI in hopes of achieving peace through economic development. The government is running the fair in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Japan External Trade Organization. Before the event, South Korean Ambassador Lee Sang-hwa said his country was also in strong support, with a particular interest in the states fishery and tourism sectors. More than 200 people are attending from Myanmar and 10 other countries, mainly Japan, South Korea and Thailand. The fair is focusing on three major areas: agriculture, livestock and fisheries; tourism; and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Rakhines state government showcased six priority projects: the Kyaetaw-Mingan project, which includes a port, trade zone, apartments, supermarket and a SME zone in Sittwe, the state capital; construction of a new airport in Mrauk-U; the upgrade of Ngapali Airport; an eco-tourism project on Man Aung Island; the Ponnagyun industrial project in Sittwe; and a new city project in Mrauk-U. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said special economic zones managed with efficiency and probity can stimulate growth, create jobs, spark offshoot industries and renew hope for communities. She assures investors that such projects would open the way for homegrown Rakhine firms and SMEs in their supply chains. Most important of all, we must ensure that the benefits obtained from these and other projects are shared equitably amongst all communities, she said. Rakhine is one of Myanmars poorest states despite occupying a western coastline rich in natural resources, oil and gas in particular. Sixty-nine percent of the population lives in poverty. Many lack access to public services and struggle with poor infrastructure, unemployment, meager living conditions and a lack of legal support. We would like to focus on foreign and domestic investment which, when made with imagination and foresight and implemented with responsibility and dedication, could play a crucial role in putting Rakhines development trajectory on track, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said. Rakhine hosts the western terminus of a Chinese-owned pipeline that has been carrying oil and natural gas across Myanmar from the Bay of Bengal to Chinas Yunnan Province since 2010. Amid Western rebuke of Myanmar over its handling of the Rakhine crisis, China also inked a framework agreement with the government for the Kyaukphyu Deep Sea Port last November. The port will give China access to the Bay of Bengal and enhance its regional connectivity as part of Beijings Belt and Road Initiative. Since the National League for Democracy took power in 2016, the government has made several economic reforms. Following the outbreak of the Rakhine crisis in late 2017, however, foreign investment has declined significantly, most of all from the West. Last year, FDI dropped to its lowest level since 2013. Rakhine State has had an especially hard time attracting interest. At the Invest Myanmar Summit last month, Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations U Thaung Tun pushed investors to invest in Rakhine instead of blaming and shaming the country. He told them the violence had affected only three of the states 17 townships and that the rest of Rakhine was safe to invest in. The Rakhine government itself is also making efforts to attract investors to the peaceful south of the state, according to U Kyaw Aye Thein, its minister of finance, revenue, planning and economy. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi presented potential investors with a long list of sectors open for business: ecotourism, agriculture, livestock breeding, aquaculture and forestry, manufacturing, textiles and garment manufacturing, power generation and distribution, education, health care, infrastructure, real estate and oil and gas. Adding a note of caution, she added, I am confident that all of you understand well the necessity to ensure that investments do not aggravate a fragile environment already vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change. I mentioned earlier the potential for aquaculture in Rakhine. But we would wish to avoid the unchecked expansion of commercial fishery projects that could degrade our precious mangrove stock. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said Myanmars economy was projected to grow 6.2 percent in 2018-2019 and that the growth was spread across all sectors but driven to a large extent by energy and private enterprise. Michelle Williamson was considering opening a franchise when she retired from being a paramedic, but the long-time Cape Coral resident had a requirement. An active DIY-er, she wanted something she could be creative with. Then Williamson found an opportunity to open a Buff City Soap store in Cape Coral. And soon Fort Myers and Cape Coral residents will no longer have to drive to Naples to get their hands on their favorite brightly-colored soaps. The plant-based soap makery and retail shop will open its doors in Cape Coral in mid-March. This is the first of four Buff City Soap stores the mother-daughters team plans to open and franchise, with a second Cape Coral location being planned for next year, and potential locations in Fort Myers to follow. Buff City Soap has 14 shops open in five states with 20 additional locations in various stages of development. The other Southwest Florida location is in the heart of Downtown Naples at 304 Ninth Street North. Williamson and founder Brad Kellum have mutual friends who own the Naples location. Williamson helped them design the interior and stayed on for training and to help with the products. She said she chose to open in Cape Coral first because she knows the town really well. Buff City Soaps is unlike other soap stores because patrons can watch the soap theyre purchasing being made right before their eyes. The name makery is a play on words think bakery. All soaps are plant-based and made with coconut, olive and palm oils. Williamson said the makery is similar to Coney Island where the saltwater taffy is made right in front of you. We have nothing to hide because you can come in and see everything, she said. Even places that have products similar to ours have factories that make it. Nothing thats shipped here is already made. The only things in our storeroom are some containers and a work desk. Everything else is on the floor. The Southern-based lifestyle brand aims to change the way people buy their everyday soap by providing plant-based alternatives. Located at 1715 Cape Coral Parkway, the new shop is owned and operated by Williamson and her two daughters, Samantha Wuthrich and Abbey Williamson. Buff City Soap is unlike any other brand out there, said Williamson in a news release. With both a retail shop and manufacturer under one roof, our customers can customize soaps and see each product being handcrafted by employees in store; creating an interactive and engaging experience for customers from the moment they walk into the store to when they use their soap at home. Williamson spent the majority of her career in a very different industry. She worked for 25 years as a battalion chief and paramedic. In fact, Kellum was Williamsons paramedic trainee. Shortly after Kellum graduated from training, Williamson responded to a paramedic call for a severely injured motor vehicle accident. It was Kellums daughter. It is very full-circle as I was Brads mentor as a paramedic and he is now my mentor in business, she said. Weve kept in touch all these years and our mutual friends opened a shop in Naples. I went to help out with the opening and knew I had to be a part of what Brad has created. Founded in 2013, Buff City Soap began when Kellum discovered that his everyday store-bought soap was full of cow fat and other synthetic materials. Kellum, along with his girlfriend and cofounder of Buff City Soap, Jennifer Ziemianin, a registered nurse, began experimenting with a plant-based alternative in their garage. Williamson said it only takes six seconds for substances to absorb into your skin. Chemicals like sulfates, artificial detergents and parabens can cause irritation, trigger allergies and have other unpleasant side effects. Putting the word cow fat on soaps would turn you off right away, Williamson said. Ours are animal-free and made with plants. Buff City Soap offers traditional soap bars, a mens care product line, plant-based laundry detergent, pet care products and other accessories. Customers can also customize their products. The shop will host birthday parties, bachelorette nights and other events. Theyve also launched a subscription box service. Williamsons favorite product is the bar soap. She also likes that you can put whatever scent you like in any other product. If you like magnolia in bar soap, we can put it in the shower oil, she said. If youre having a bridal shower or other type of themed party, Bar City Soap can make the soap in whatever colors you want to match your special color theme. Bar City Soap is more than a soap store, Williamson says. Its an interactive event for friends and family to enjoy. There are also kids parties where they can make bath bombs. I really want to stress that its an event you can watch, Williamson said. Come in and participate, have a class or book a party. We have nothing to hide. We will tell you every single ingredient in there and well customize it as much as the customer wants. Williamson wants Buff City Soap to become a member of the Cape Coral community, like she is. (Buff City Soap founder) Brad wants to make sure people opening the stores believe in the product and want to be part of the community the store is in, she said. Hes pretty picky about who he chooses to run a franchise. Thankfully for him, it didnt take much to convince Williamson. She was hooked right away. And its just good for you. The products just sell themselves, she said. When you smell them, you get hooked. The store will open at 1715 Cape Coral Parkway, in the same shopping center as Lobster Lady. Nuns have always been second class citizens in the Church, writes Alison OConnor The Catholic Churchs prolonged, painful and highly political response to the abuse of children by its priests has not only served it well in dealing with this issue, but also means that when another one comes along, were suffering too much scandal fatigue to pay enough attention. This must be why reports that nuns all over the world have been sexually abused by priests and even bishops seems to have received such a low key response, although many people did seem surprised. Theres a twisted logic there, though. These women, while not quite as vulnerable as young children, were the next rung on the ladder in terms of defencelessness, seeing a priest as being next to God and seeing a womans role in the Church as far inferior to that of a man. The issue, of course, is not a new one. In fact an Irish nun, Sr Maura ODonoghue, submitted a report to the Vatican a quarter of a century ago on the abuse of nuns by priests. Surprise, surprise that report never saw the light of day. The rape and abuse of children took precedence as the Church began a decades long game of cat and mouse on the issue. They obfuscated and delayed as to the extent of the problem, or indeed just wilfully ignored concrete reports of abuse, but acted to protect the abusers. Nuns have always been second class citizens in the Church and even describing them as such appears to give them considerably more status than they were ever accorded. In Ireland, more recent times have brought us mixed attitudes towards nuns given their roles in the horrific treatment of children in industrial schools, their running of mother and baby homes and subsequent adoptions, and even more recently their control of maternity hospitals. But as the work of Sr ODonoghue, a medical missionary from Co Clare, who worked for a number of years as Aids co-ordinator for the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development (Cafod) highlights, no story has just one side. Irish Times journalist Joe Humphreys wrote a book in 2010 on the work of Irish priests and nuns around the world entitled Gods Entrepreneurs: How Irish Missionaries Tried to Change the World. He featured Sr Maura and told of how in 1994, she had conducted a groundbreaking inquiry into priests alleged sexual abuse of nuns in more than 20 countries. The nun, who spent almost 50 years working in Africa, briefed the then prefect of the Vaticans congregation for the religious life on what her report contained. At that time it was reported that then-Vatican spokesman Dr Joaquin Navarro-Valls acknowledged that the problem is known about but insisted it was restricted to a certain geographical area (understood to mean Africa). All told, including that report, and since then, there have been reports of nuns having abortions, giving birth to the children of priests who raped them, nuns being deliberately used for sex by priests to avoid contracting Aids (in Africa) and nuns being victimised for attempting to report the abuse. The incidences of abuse continue to this day. The reports of abuse of nuns not just by priests, but also bishops, have centred in Africa, America, Latin America, and more recently India. Roll forward a quarter of a century. Pope Francis, on the recent flight back to Rome from the Middle East, surprised the Vatican press corps by answering a question on the issue by saying the Church has faced a persistent problem of sexual abuse of nuns. This was his first time publicly addressing the issue. It is true. There are some priests and also bishops who have done it. I think it is still going on because something does not stop just because you have become aware of it. A former German nun, Doris Wagner, who says she was raped as a 24-year-old by the male superior of the convent where she lived, and also says a high ranking Vatican priest made sexual advances on her several years ago during confession, describes Sr Maura as her hero. Would the Roman Curia have acted appropriately 25 years ago many nuns would not have had to suffer, myself included, she says. Wagner is involved in the Voices of Faith group remember that conference in Rome last year on International Womens Day that had to be moved out of the Vatican because former President Mary McAleese was speaking? The group held a further meeting in Rome towards the end of last year, influenced by the #MeToo movement, where Wagner and two other women told stories of their abuse. They convened in Rome again this week ahead of the meeting of senior church clerics from around the world called together by Pope Francis for an apparently landmark summit on the Churchs response to the sexual abuse crisis. Talk about Groundhog Day. Of course the Pope will be surrounded by many of those who protected the perpetrators, failed to inform the police and often rewarded the abusers with promotion. What will not surround him are women. It appears that the men who rule the Church would rather see it die, at least in certain countries the next few years are going to bring more and more stories of Irish parishes without a priest than welcome women as equals who are just as entitled to be priests. In her recent speech to the We are Church group, minister Josepha Madigan asked what kind of example is being shown to our young girls. We want to tell them that the world values who they are but we dont even do this in their own parish. Yes, we say, to our daughters, you can be an altar girl but dont get too ahead of yourself, you will never be a priest. Even if you feel that God has called you, you are forbidden. That vocation is only for a man. You are not welcome here. You are not welcome here because you are female. We value you but only in certain roles, oh and yes we do still want you to keep the faith alive for future generations. This sort of attitude has an impact on the whole community and makes the Church weaker, she added. The minister is correct. The logic of all of this is that the current position also makes women weaker within the Church and more vulnerable to the type of abuse that is now coming to light. A number of priests have realised over the decades that to abuse a nun, far lower down on the Churchs food chain, is almost an entitlement, and not something that they will be punished for doing. In fact, evidence has shown that the individual nun was frequently punished if she spoke up. While the cases of abuse we have heard about are in places far from here, there can surely be no doubt but that the abuse of nuns in Irish convents by priests also went on. Its only a matter of time before this emerges. How much sexual scandal can one Church take? Well, it seems we are about to find out. In part two of a series on the 75th anniversary of the American Note, Ryle Dwyer sees that some diplomats were more in tune with their missions than others During the Second World War, David K. Bruce was based in London as head of European operations of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). He visited Dublin on behalf of the OSS in 1943. He later went on to become one of the most famous American diplomats of the post-war period serving as US ambassador to West Germany, to France, and to the UK, before being appointed in 1970 to head the American delegation at the Vietnam peace talks in Paris. He was in Paris in October 1970 when I wrote to him, asking why he visited Dublin in 1943. He explained, in reply, that US minister to Ireland David Gray was concerned about any possible liaison between the OSS and Irish officials. He went on to describe Gray in glowing terms that really hinted of damning him with irrelevant praise. After describing him as a fine man, and a great authority on foxhunting and sport, about which he had written delightfully and authoritatively, Bruce added, pointedly, that Gray had no previous familiarity with secret intelligence activities, and was somewhat suspicious of them. If you can locate Spike Marlin, Bruce continued, I think you would find him especially knowledgeable about the affairs in which you are interested. It seemed like an endorsement of Marlin as a valuable source. Marlin, who was born and reared in New York of Jewish heritage, had studied at Trinity College, Dublin, from 1929 until 1932. He then returned to the US and went to work for the federal government. The OSS initially selected him to serve under the cover of an economic adviser to David Gray. Following his arrival in Dublin in September 1942, one of Marlins first tasks was to determine the sympathies of Irish politicians. He reported that most of the Fianna Fail deputies sympathised with the Allies, with the exception of Dan Breen, Tom McEllistrim, and Patrick J. Little, who was the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs. As the report was being sent to Washington in the diplomatic pouch, Gray insisted on reading it. Then he demanded to know Marlins source for the assessment of Little. Marlin reluctantly identified his source as Erskine Childers, a junior minister in the Irish government. They had been friends while Marlin was at Trinity. Three days after telling Gray, Marlin was aghast at being told by Childers that Gray had protested to de Valera about Little and went gone on to commit the appalling indiscretion of naming Childers as the source of this information. Realising that Marlin was an OSS agent, the Irish offered to have Military Intelligence (G2) co-operate directly with him, as it had already been liaising for years with Cecil Liddell of MI5, the British Intelligence agency. Gray strenuously objected. He was opposed to any such liaison, so that was why David Bruce came over from London to check out the offer and agreed. Marlin was then put in direct contact with G2 and was told to work around the clock obtaining all available information including information on German submarines, Axis agents, and persons communicating with Germans in Eire. I felt the Irish security arrangement were satisfactory from my contacts with the Irish Government, he said. For the Irish, it was a matter of principle and self-interest to remain neutral but within that stance to do everything possible to see that this neutrality was not used to the disadvantage of the Allies.There was no longer any need for Marlins cover as an advisor. I was relieved of my assignment under Gray, he told me. He wanted me out also, so we were at last in perfect agreement on one point. It was decided that Marlin would leave Ireland on April 30, 1943, but the information he was receiving proved so valuable that the OSS decided to move him only to London, from where he could return almost monthly for further consultations with Joe Walshe and G2, which regularly forwarded reports to him in London in the Irish diplomatic bag. Walshe was so co-operative that Marlin suggested the Irish would possibly use their diplomats on the continent to collect information for the OSS. Carter Nicholas, the head of the Eire Desk at OSS headquarters in Washington DC, visited Dublin with Marlin to explore this possibility on September 25, 1943. I wished to sound out the possibility of Irish help, including particularly, the possibility of our receiving information from Irish diplomatic sources, Nicholas told Walshe. de Valera approved, so Walshe acceded to the request. He agreed not only to transmit to the Irish charge daffaires in Berlin a request for information on the political situation in Germany at the top, but also to ask other Irish diplomats suitable questions which we might in the future originate, according to Nicholas. In the following weeks, Marlin supplied questions to Walshe for the respective Irish representatives in Berlin, Rome, and Vichy. Walshe asked the questions of the respective diplomats, and then forwarded their replies to Marlin. In effect, Irish diplomats were being used as US spies. In early 1943, John D Kearney, the Canadian High Commissioner to Ireland, noted that the Irish had been so helpful that he felt de Valera might even provide bases to the Allies if US president Franklin D Roosevelt asked for them. John Maffey, the British representatives to Ireland, liked the idea, and he went to London to discuss the matter. In the absence of British prime minister Winston Churchill, Maffey met with the deputy prime minister, Clement Attlee, who noted that neither military, nor naval authorities had mentioned Irish bases for some time. Attlee informed foreign secretary Anthony Eden on March 5, 1943, that he would oppose taking any chance of de Valera complying with such a request, lest Britain become obliged to defend Ireland, as this would probably be more trouble than the facilities were worth. The British belittled the value of Irish bases, while the Allies were in the midst of their gravest crisis in the Atlantic. The Admiralty later noted: The Germans never came so near to disrupting communication between the New World and the Old as in the first 20 days of March, 1943. Ervin R. Spike Marlin, the first OSS agent sent to Ireland Shortly afterwards, the OSS appointed its third agent to Ireland, Martin S. Quigley, who was the only one who was not detected as an agent by the Irish. After the publication of my 1978 book, Irish Neutrality and the USA, 1939-1947, Quigley informed me that he had further intelligence information in which I would be interested. We corresponded and he provided a secret history of the OSSs operations in Ireland during the war, written by Carter Nicholas. Quigley had personally been recruited by William J. Donovan, the director of the OSS, to serve in Ireland. Quigley arrived on May 25, l943, under the cover of a representative of an American film distributor, which allowed him to travel extensively about the country, visiting cinemas. His mission was primarily to observe, rather than to go digging for secret information. He quickly realised Irish authorities were favourably disposed towards the Allies. The Irish Governments position in World War II was a peculiar form of neutrality, he wrote. Openly, the position was that of pretending neutrality in the classic sense. Actually it was a neutrality against the Axis and for the Allies. It was so obvious that Quigley found Grays attitude baffling. He never knew what was really going on, or if he did, he refused to accept the truth, Quigley wrote. While in Ireland, Quigley became friendly with Emmet Dalton, the supervisor of the Paramount film distributing branches in Britain and Ireland. As an advisor to Michael Collins during treaty negotiations in 1921, Dalton had been personally involved in talks between Collins and Churchill. During the Treaty negotiations in October 1921, Churchill was giving Collins and Dalton hell over some truce violations. Collins asked Dalton if they had any answer. No, Dalton replied. Suddenly, as Churchill ranted on, Collins slammed his fist on the table and shouted: For Christ sake, get to the point! Churchill stared in shocked disbelief. At that point, Collins and Dalton burst out laughing, and Churchill started laughing, too, and that was the end of the matter. The Irish were so helpful to the Americans that Quigley thought it might be persuaded into handing over Irish bases, and he had Dalton enquire. Dalton reported that the British Imperial General Staff was happy with the situation and wanted no change. Leave things as they are, was their view. He made it clear that the leave things came from the very top, according to Quigley, who presumed that Dalton had raised the issue with Churchill directly or indirectly. Gray took up the idea of asking de Valera for bases. Unlike Maffey and Kearney, Gray was convinced that de Valera would reject the request, and he therefore saw it as a way of discrediting the Irish leader in American eyes by having him formally reject a request for help. If the Taoiseach later tried to caused Anglo-American difficulties over the partition issue, they could undermine him by accusing him of refusing vital help during the war. Roosevelt and Churchill liked the idea, but British and American service leaders argued that de Valera had been so helpful that he might provide the bases, which would be a liability to the war effort. In the circumstances, the idea was abandoned, but Gray went on to suggest that Roosevelt just ask for the removal of the Axis diplomats from Dublin, on the grounds they were an espionage threat to the forthcoming Allied invasion of Europe. Although all the OSS agents sent to Ireland were happy with the Irish situation, especially with the assistance afforded by Joe Walshe, Gray was far from content. He believed that he had better sources than the OSS. He had already reported to President Roosevelt that he was told on November 8, 1941, that Walshe was a leading quisling, and that Walshe is hand in glove with the German Minister. Gray sent Roosevelt the transcript of this advice, which he, literally, thought was from out of this world. He believed his informant was the ghost of the late Arthur J. Balfour, who as chief secretary for Ireland from 1887 to 1891 had lived in the same Phoenix Park house where Gray was living. A strong believer in spiritualism, Gray was holding seances, with the writing medium Geraldine Cummins, a Cork woman who would go into a kind of trance and write messages, supposedly from the spirit world. Gray thought this was more reliable than the OSS. For a brief period in late 1943, after the OSS got hold of some alarming information, it did question its own judgement. Fritz Kolbe, a German working out of the foreign office in Berlin, handed the OSS some 1,600 documents in Switzerland. From the American standpoint, the most alarming information was that vice president Henry Wallace had been talking indiscreetly to his brother-in-law, a Swiss diplomat, who had been passing on the information to Berne, where it was falling into German hands. As a result, Roosevelt replaced Wallace on the 1944 ticket with Harry S. Truman, who became president before the end of the war. Arthur J. Balfour, whose ghost David Gray believed was a better intelligence source than the OSS From the Irish standpoint, Kolbes documents were equally alarming, at least initially. General William J Donovan, head of the OSS, informed Roosevelt that a great deal of information pertaining to Allied activities in England and Ulster comes from the German embassy in Dublin. The legation, which is heavily staffed, has succeeded in infiltrating agents into England. German diplomats in Dublin had identified 600 air installations in England. It looked to me at first as though there was a serious leak from Eire, Carter Nicholas noted. When the OSS shared this with MI5, the British explained the reports from Dublin were part of a deception plan. MI5 had been feeding misinformation to the German legation. The material was buried in a wealth of accurate information that the Germans already knew. When MI5 explained the situation, OSS leaders realised the Irish security situation was even better than previously thought. As MI5 was effectively using the German diplomats in Dublin, it did not desire their expulsion. The OSS also had reservations, but it knew the request was just a political ploy, so it did not interfere. Gray delivered Roosevelts request on February 21, 1944. It was soon leaked to the press. The note was published shortly before St Patricks Day, igniting a firestorm of criticism of Ireland in the American press. Call for St Patrick! exclaimed a Dallas Morning News editorial. The snakes are back in Ireland. The Atlanta Constitution was hysterical as it complained that Ireland had been so notoriously loose in dealing with the Axis legations that thousands and thousands of American soldiers will die because of the Irish position. Despite Irish vigilance, The New York Times warned, the German legation might pass on information that would endanger the lives of many thousands of Allied soldiers, including many of Irish descent. Amidst this hysterical coverage, de Valera was depicted as indifferent to the Allies plight. Joe Walshe visited London and protested vigorously to J. Russell Forgan, who was acting head of European operations for the OSS in David Bruces temporary absence. Although I agreed with him completely, Forgan wrote to me in 1970, I had to say that if we told the actual facts, all of the wonderful work that his intelligence services had been doing with the Allies would be ruined. He saw the point immediately. The Irish had provided some very useful co-operation on intelligence matters, Forgan assured me. In general, despite the American news media, he emphasised, the Irish worked with us on intelligence matters almost as if they were our allies. They have never received the credit due them. Walshe proposed that the US station agents in Ireland to keep in constant touch with Irish authorities on the problems, to receive reports from them, and to make recommendations for improving methods of surveillance. Gray opposed this. It could be used as a political means of wiping off the record the stigma of de Valeras refusal to dismiss the Axis diplomats, he warned Roosevelt on April 14. The OSS decided to station Ed Lawler in Dublin for the rest of the war. The co-operation and information we received from the Irish was every bit as extensive and helpful as it would have been if Ireland had been a full partner with us in the war effort, Lawler assured me. When the State Department considered a follow-up note, General William Donovan intervened. He informed the president about the secret Irish intelligence co-operation. The co-operation in intelligence matters offered and given by the Irish has been very full, Donovan stressed, adding that help from Irish diplomats on the continent had important potential. The second note was therefore scrapped. de Valeras international image was seriously damaged, but his governments standing was enhanced at home. Fianna Fail had lost its Dail majority in June 1943. de Valera called a snap election, and won a record overall majority in May 1944. Although the rest of the world may have been deceived into believing Ireland was indifferent to Nazi menace, de Valera had given all the help possible, short of war. The Allies did not want Ireland in the war, so he could not have been more helpful. Paul McLauchlan reports from London Fashion Week on the designer who stole the show: Simone Rocha the most important name in Irish fashion. If theres one thing to know about Irish fashion in 2019, its that Simone Rocha is the most important name in the mix. The Dublin-born designer has secured a place for herself amongst the highest ranking designers at London Fashion Week. She is part of a new establishment of designers who have attracted the international press and buyers to London in the 2010s. Rocha presented her Autumn/Winter 2019 collection at London Fashion Week last Saturday evening. In the grand enclaves of the Royal Academy of Arts, her fan base or acolytes, depending on your viewpoint - gathered around to watch women including the actress Chloe Sevigny, as well as former models Lily Cole and Marie Sophie Wilson taking to the runway in starry procession of delicate tulle dresses, body casings, and spiderweb detailing. Simone Rochas collection on the catwalk at London Fashion Week. Simone Rocha is the daughter of John Rocha, the Irish-Hong Kong designer who charmed the fashion industry in the 1980s. Rocha suspended his own venture a few years ago but helps Simone with business planning. She studied fashion design at the National College of Art & Design before progressing to the MA Womenswear programme in the hallowed halls of Londons Central Saint Martins. Years after graduating, Rocha has built an exponentially growing business and shes nailed a feminine whimsy that exudes a vulnerable ethereality and boasts darkly romantic qualities. Along the way, Rocha has received recognition and awards from the international fashion press, making her show one of the most popular tickets at London Fashion Week. In 2016, she was honoured with the Womenswear Designer of the Year award. Her approach connects with women because of its honesty: Past themes have included the sensory experience of the first few weeks of pregnancy; a sombre, postpartum poetry; the strength and fragility of being a woman today; amongst a whole host of references to her Irish upbringing and her Hong Kong heritage Holy Communion dresses, funerary lace; and now, an exploration of femaleness through the ages. The inspiration for AW19 began with the artist Louise Bourgeois, whose work she has long admired. The spider-web pattern, for example, was a loose interpretation of Bourgeois Spider sculpture, something the artist related to motherhood a recurring theme in Rochas work. Similarly, the tactility referenced Bourgeois material sculptures. And those vinyl coats with rounded shoulders? Perhaps a nod to Bourgeois interest in fetishism. The most striking look was a gold sequined full-skirted dress, recognisably Rocha in silhouette, but such unabashed glamour has never hit her runway before. Ditto the icy shades of blue and bulbous skirts. This subtle progression is essential for the designer who has built a career on a signature aesthetic. One doesnt come to a Simone Rocha show expecting to question fashion as we have come to know it or to come away with a sense of new world order: one exits a Simone Rocha show with a greater understanding of the designers psyche and her musings on femaleness. What distinguishes Rocha from her contemporaries is a compelling sense of self-awareness but also an awareness of those around her. Now, more than ever, fashion is in dire need of emotion or else its just stuff. Rocha, for one, provides it by the bucketload. The response from the fashion press was unanimous. Words cannot describe how beautiful it was, said one. The pictures dont do it justice, chimed another. With two flagship stores in London and New York, as well as a host of other stockists globally, Rochas only Irish stockist is Havana in Donnybrook, Co Dublin. Nikki Creedon, founder and buying director of Havana, said: We are huge fans of Simone and have built a huge fan base for her beautiful clothes. There is now a very well-priced side to the collection. But its the special pieces that create the excitement. Thankfully, we sell the collection really well and have stocked it from day one were currently are experiencing our best season sell-through yet. Were incredibly excited for next season. Shes my personal favourite designer which makes it easier to sell, she says, adding: her jewellery is now also really big so there is a price point to have something of Simone for everyone. What a delight. Meet the Irish stars of London Fashion Week As well as Simone Rocha, there were plenty of names flying the flag for Irish fashion. The star of the show was Richard Malone from Wexford bright and early on Monday morning. Malones main focus is sustainability, working with organic and recycled fabrics. Inspired by a childs party, retro paper plates informed the prints; the colours borrowed inspiration from bad, mum lipstick and street party flags. Once again, he delighted his audience. Also on Monday morning, Dublins Paul Costelloe did what he did best occasion-dressing with a 1960s sensibility. Sharon Wauchob from Fermanagh presented mens and womens in an intimate appointment-only format. Jonathan Anderson, the Derryman behind JW Anderson, delivered another exceptional mens and womens show. Earlier in the weekend, Natalie B Coleman, from Monaghan launched a collaboration with the United Nationals Population Fund which commemorated the 25th anniversary of womens sexual and reproductive health as a right. Katie Ann McGuigan, Newry, was inspired by female Japanese biker gangs, called Bosozoku. Her palette was an explosion of colour and print. It was an entirely new direction for me, she said. Kerryman Colin Horgan, whose designs have caught the eye of Lady Gaga, was the last show of LFW. His theatrical pieces evoked the artwork of John Chamberlain, taking cues from car parts. Last but not least, she mightnt be a designer but Irish stylist Celestine Cooney was responsible for executing the visions of top designers Simone Rocha and Preen by Thornton Bregazzi. In most cases, its the stylist who creates what you what you see on the runway. Her talent is unmistakable. To echo the words of Katie Ann McGuigan, I think its going to be a good year for Irish design. IN this cold weather butter can be hard to spread even when kept out of the fridge, so we often use more than we mean to. A spreadable butter in the fridge can be useful, especially when kids start making their own sandwiches. But which product tastes most like butter and which is the simplest with the least additives? Block butter Block butter is made from dairy cream or milk churned to remove the buttermilk. It usually has nothing but salt added. This makes it ideal for baking, and butter spreads are no substitute, so keep block butter in the fridge for that. Butter is a good source of vitamin A, and also D and E which are fat soluble and so need fat to help their absorption by the body. Some spices need a little fat for their absorption too, including turmeric (which also needs black pepper). Beta carotene is found in a variety of fruits and vegetables, and is converted to vitamin A in the presence of fat, so butter will help absorption. Good for eye, skin, thyroid and gastro-intestinal health, butter has a lot going for it. Of course, we dont need a lot of any kind of butter for our quota of fat-soluble vitamins. On average about three dessertspoons of fats per day should be calculated with the hidden fats in most meat (even lean) and fish and in confectionary and convenience foods. We will look at the terrific range of artisan butters another time. Connaught Gold Softer Butter 454g, 3.30 Pasteurised cream has 2% salt added, whipped to creaminess, which is easy to use from the fridge. No additives. Not too salty, tasters liked this and the price. Made in Ireland. Score: 8.7 Connaught Gold half-fat butter 454g 1.59 We looked at this alternative to the softer butter version to contrast its ingredients. Half the milk fat is replaced by water and milk protein, along with added vitamins A,D,E. There is also added lactic acid, potassium sorbate as preservative, beta carotene for colour, not in the brands full fat version. Tasters didnt notice any difference, and one said she would prefer this less fat version, even with additives. Salt 1.1%. Made in Ireland. Score: 7 Kerrygold Softer Salted butter 500g 3.99 A natural taste was not surprising as there is just cream here, with 1.8% salt as in block butter. The natural texture coming from the churning process was comforting like regular butter for which this brand is famous. Score: 8.5 Marks & Spencer Softer Butter 500g 5.50 From a wide range of spreads, tasters liked this close version to block butter with just 1.8% salt added. Free from additives, the churning action makes it smooth and easily spread straight from the fridge. Not cheap, though. Score: 8 Aldi Kilkeely Spreadable butter 454g 2.09 Much softer than most samples, with an oily texture which most tasters didnt favour. Produced in Ireland, it has 63% butter with 29% rapeseed oil, water and 1.4% salt. Otherwise, no additives. Score: 6.25 Pure Live Free Sunflower spread 500g 1.90 We tried this to see how a dairy free spread would taste and tasters were not won over. Water is top of the ingredients list with 35% sunflower oil and then a mix of palm and linseed oils, added flavouring, Vitamins E, A, D and B12. The benefits of less saturated fat is much debated, and this product did not encourage tasters to discover more. Salt 0.75% is low. Score: 5 Dairygold Softer 454g 3.49 Tastier than other samples which have added oil, this one has 26% rapeseed oil. Glad to see no other additives. Tasters liked the slightly saltier flavour, despite at 1.4% being slightly lower than others. The texture was quite glossy and less natural than others, but tasters didnt object. Straight from the fridge, it wasnt very soft, but easy to scoop and warm up. Score: 7.25 Dairymaid Premium 454g 1.99 Made in Cork, this has added rapeseed and palm oils, noting that the Green Palm sustainability organisation is supported. Its not clear what Blended spread 64% on the carton means. There are no percentages of each oil given, nor the percentage of cream. 1.8% salt is not noticeable as the oils overtake the flavour and the texture is very oily. There are also light and buttery versions in the brand. Score: 6.75 Having those tricky talks can be good for your relationship with your child, an expert tells Lisa Salmon. ITS natural to want to protect young children from hearing about or seeing the bad stuff that goes on in the world and which can sometimes even occur within our own families. But its not always possible to avoid childrens questions about unpleasant issues, be that death and destruction in the news, or arguments, illness, or death within the family. And while it can be tempting to try to gloss over the issue, especially if the child is very young, Dr Shauna Tominey, author of new book Creating Compassionate Kids: Essential Conversations To Have With Young Children, says tackling the tough stuff is often good for the parent-child relationship. As parents of young children, we can often find ourselves caught off guard by childrens question. Children sometimes bring up tough topics before we feel ready to address them, but tackling these tough conversations gives us a chance to let children know that its OK for them to come to us about anything, she says. Tominey, an assistant professor of practice and parenting education specialist at Oregon State University, notes that as they get older, children will seek information from friends, other adults, or the internet. While its normal for them to grow increasingly independent, its also important they know they can turn to their parents at any time. When children are young, we can make sure they learn to trust us to be there to talk about anything, she says. We often talk with our children about conversation topics that come up in our daily lives, but we can do more than that. We can be proactive and bring up topics that help children build skills to face challenges in the future, and help them understand the challenges others have, to build their understanding and empathy. She suggests these 10 strategies for tackling tough topics with young children. 1. Address their immediate worries and fears Reassure children theyre safe, or that youll always do your best to keep them safe. Help children regain a sense of control by talking about things they can think, say and do to manage feelings now and to help others who might be worried or afraid too. 2. Use a non-judgemental tone How we talk about a topic shapes how children feel about it, explains Tominey. Children dont always have the stigmas that we do about topics like race, gender or mental health, and we can help them have open conversations if we stretch ourselves to do the same. Set a tone that fosters childrens natural curiosity, and help them feel comfortable speaking openly without fear of punishment or shame. 3. Learn what your child knows Hearing what your child knows about a topic can help you decide where it might be best to start. Understanding what your childs thinking about, and what questions they have, can help you ease fears and clear up misunderstandings. 4. Share your feelings Let your child know all feelings are OK and that you have feelings too. Set an example by sharing your feelings with your child and encourage them to share their feelings when theyre ready. You and your child probably have many different feelings about a topic, and they may not be the same as one anothers. Talk about what you can do to express those feelings in a helpful way. 5. Talk outside of emotionally charged moments Comfort your child during emotional moments, but come back to the topic at a time when youre both calm. When you or your child feel triggered stressed, angry, or frustrated it can be challenging to think clearly, speak calmly, and make good choices, says Tominey. 6. Teach children coping skills Think about the information and skills your child needs to cope with a situation or make good choices if a challenging issue arises in the future. Encourage them to think about what they can do, who they can talk to, and things that happen that might make it hard to make good decisions. 7. Be creative about what you call a conversation Conversations with children happen in many different ways, including while running errands, during bath time, over family meals, in the car, and more. Sometimes its easier to talk about a challenging topic while doing another activity together. 8. Have conversations repeatedly Children learn through repetition. Having conversations more than once will help them learn different sides of a topic. In addition, what children are able to remember and understand will change over time. 9. Give yourself the chance to try again There may be times when a conversation doesnt happen the way youd like it to. Step back, reflect on how you can approach the topic differently next time, and give yourself the chance to try again. 10. Learn from your child As you and your child have conversations, listen to and learn from one another. You may be surprised by the insights your child has to offer. Tominey adds: One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is a listening ear, and the knowledge they have someone they can turn to, no matter what. Tackling tough conversation topics is one way to give them just that. - Creating Compassionate Kids: Essential Conversations To Have With Young Children, by Shauna Tominey is published by WW Norton, 16.25, plus p&p. One of the victims of a retired surgeon who groped seven boys over a period of 30 years has told a court he was given a life sentence of pain. Michael Shine (aged 86) of Ballsbridge, Dublin, had denied 12 charges of indecent assault and one charge of sexual assault committed during medical examinations at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth and at two private clinics in Drogheda on dates between 1971 and 1992. On day 17 of the trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, a jury of two women and eight men returned guilty verdicts, having deliberated for just over six hours. Reading his victim impact statement today in court, Patrick Cusack (aged 56), who waived his right to anonymity, said Shine had handed him a life sentence of pain, hurt, anguish and shame. Mr Cusack told the court he had not had a proper night's sleep in 45 years until the guilty verdict was announced two weeks ago. He said that having received the justice he has wanted since 1974, he could now truly say that what happened was not his fault. A second man who also read his own victim impact statement aloud said that Shine had no understanding of what he had done. The man said he does not trust many people as a result of the abuse he suffered. I am aware that under a facade, people can have evil motives. He (Shine) taught me that, the man said. Detective Garda Seamus Nolan told Cathleen Noctor SC, prosecuting, that Shine indecently assaulted six boys aged between 11 and 15 on dates ranging from 1971 to 1988. He said the sole count of sexual assault related to an incident in 1992 when the injured party was aged 16. Det. Gda Nolan said that during the trial, a medical expert gave evidence that there was no medical basis for the behaviour described by the seven men. Shine has three previous convictions for indecent assault relating to two complainants who were both aged 15 in 1975; he was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment for these in late 2017. These convictions are currently under appeal. Hugh Hartnett SC, defending, said his client was attacked on the steps of the courthouse today and a liquid was thrown at him. He said that Shine's health is precarious and that a prison sentence would have a profound impact on a man of his age. Mr Hartnett said that Shine faced the prospect of dying in prison without the comfort of his friends and family. He asked the judge to consider not imposing a custodial sentence and asked that he take into account that the cases occurred a long time ago. Judge Martin Nolan remanded Shine on continuing bail and adjourned the matter for sentencing to next Monday. A violent burglar used as muscle to intimidate another man must wait to hear whether his sentence will be increased, on foot of an appeal by prosecutors. Donal OHara (aged 26), of Glin Park, Coolock, Dublin 17, pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to assaulting John Roche, causing him harm, at The Towers, Garter Lane, Saggart, County Dublin on June 9, 2015. He also admitted falsely imprisoning Martin Byrne at Rathcoole and Saggart on the same date. The false imprisonment of Lisa Byrne and another person at The Towers, Garter Lane, Saggart, on the same date had been taken into consideration. CCTV footage captured the moment five men including OHara dragged Mr Roche from his house and assaulted him on the ground by kicking and punching him. He was sentenced to four years imprisonment with the final two suspended, by Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding at the three-judge court, on July 31, 2018. The Director of Public Prosecutions is seeking a review of OHaras sentence on grounds that it was unduly lenient. Counsel for the DPP, Shane Costelloe SC, characterised the offence as a gang of thugs accosting a man to take him out of his house. He submitted that the starting point of four years was too low and the suspension of the final two years was erroneous. Mr Costelloe accepted that while other parties to the incident were executives, OHara was muscle. Dessie O'Hare (aged 62), of Slate Rock Road, Newtownhamilton, County Armagh, has also pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Roche, causing him harm, and falsely imprisoning Mr Byrne on the same occasion. OHare is awaiting sentence for the offence. Declan Duffy (aged 44) of Hannover Street West in Dublin, also pleaded guilty to the same offences and was sentenced to six years imprisonment on January 29, 2018. Daniel Kane (aged 29), of Hollycourt in Ballybrack, County Dublin, also pleaded guilty to the same offences and was sentenced to five years imprisonment with the final year suspended on April 27, 2018. Counsel for OHara, Michael OHiggins SC, said his client pleaded guilty promptly. He said there was good reason why guilty pleas were given elevated status in the Special Criminal Court. Persons who appear before the Special Criminal Court often dont even recognise the court, he said. Mr OHiggins submitted to the Court of Appeal today that the sentence imposed on the godfather of the incident, Declan Duffy, was capped at six years. Another participant got five years. There was a huge distinction between Mr OHara and those two participants, Mr OHiggins submitted. President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham, who sat with Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, said the court would reserve its judgment. In 2013, OHara was one of seven men who travelled from Dublin in convoy in order to commit a burglary at the home of a family in a cul de sac, in a rural area outside Killenaule, south Tipperary. He was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment with the final seven years suspended for his role in the raid. Plans for the construction of more than 170 homes on the outskirts of Midleton, Co Cork, by one of the countrys largest housebuilders, have been refused planning permission. An Bord Pleanala has rejected the proposed 120 houses and 56 apartments, in two blocks, at Maple Woods, in Ballinacurra, as premature. The board cited inadequate sewage treatment facilities in the east Cork town, despite Irish Water claiming the development could be facilitated. An Bord Pleanala claimed there is a lack of capacity at the existing wastewater treatment plant in Midleton, and uncertainty around the delivery of a pump station and rising main to divert sewage from the plant at Midleton to one in Carrigtwohill. Because of the inadequate wastewater infrastructure serving the site, An Bord Pleanala said the proposed development would be premature. The board said allowing the development in the absence of improved sewage capacity would be prejudicial to public health. Glenveagh Properties, a public company listed on the Dublin and London stock exchanges, had applied to An Bord Pleanala for seven-year planning permission for the Maple Woods project, under the fast-track process for developments of more than 100 residential units. The company is headed by Namas former head of asset management and former estate agent, John Mulcahy. A report by an inspector with An Bord Pleanala showed the board considered that documentation submitted by Glenveagh, during a pre-application consultation, did not constitute a reasonable basis for an application to be made. At a meeting in November, councillors from the east Cork municipal district had welcomed the principle of the development and the mix of house types. However, they also raised concern about traffic and a lack of amenities in the area. Cork County Council recommended that planning permission be granted, because the development would complete the existing estate (and would help achieve the target population for Midleton), but it recommended changes to the apartments, as they appeared bulky and do not contribute in a positive manner to the character of the area. The local authority recommended restricting occupation of the development until adequate sewage facilities were in place. Irish Water claimed a planned network extension, including the pump station linking the treatment facilities at Midleton and Carrigtwohill, was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021. In recommending the refusal of planning permission, the inspector said a key issue was that the land acquisition for the pump station, which might require compulsory purchase orders, had not yet begun. Glenveagh has 800 homes under construction nationwide. A Naval Service Chief Petty Officer has just received an award for saving the life of a drowning man 13 years ago, little knowing back then that he'd go on to prevent thousands more from perishing at sea. Chief Petty Officer Ruairi de Barra was only nominated for the award recently, even though the incident took place in Cobh on June 2, 2006. It was his first rescue, but since then he picked up another similar award on behalf of the crew of the Naval Service flagship LE Eithne for helping to save more than 3,000 migrants from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. The award for the rescue in 2006 was presented to Ruairi by Minister for Rural and Community Development Michel Ring, Ray Wickham of Irish Water Safety and Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Defence Paul Kehoe. Ruairi was close to Kennedy Pier, Cobh, when a group of teenagers shouted for help after seeing a young man struggling in the water. Ruairi sprang into action, fashioning a sling from a rope located up the quay, securing it to a fence and lowering it down to the man in the water. Once secured, Ruairi lifted him onto the quay and to safety. The man, who was in his late teens, made a full recovery. Ruairi was part of the first Naval Service crew which in 2015 volunteered to go and help the Italians rescue hapless migrants who were being sent across the Mediterranean Sea in deathtrap vessels by people-smuggling gangs based in Libya. "We were the first Naval Service ship to take part in Operation Pontus and I accepted a similar award to the one I just got on behalf of all her crew. We saved nearly 3,600 people on that first mission. I have also served on Operation Sophia in the Mediterranean Sea. Between the two operations the Naval Service has saved more than 18,000 people," Ruairi said. He has served in the navy for the past 22 years. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has denied he is attempting to block Billy Kelleher from contesting the upcoming European elections. Given Mr Kellehers popularity within the parliamentary, there has been some annoyance expressed by TDs and senators at Mr Martins perceived attempts to deny him from running. The party looks set to run two candidates in Ireland South and Cork councillor Seamus McGrath, brother of party finance spokesman Michael, has also declared his intention to stand. Gorey councillor Malcolm Byrne has signalled a desire to run. Despite long-standing tension between Mr Martin and Michael McGrath, it appears the two camps in Cork South-Central are united in their desire to deny Mr Kelleher. Speaking yesterday ahead of his partys ard fheis, Mr Martin said he is looking to secure three MEP seats and appeared to row back on comments 24 hours earlier that Mr Kellehers election to Europe would damage the party. I am not against anyone, particularly including people like Billy Kelleher. Letters have gone out about the convention on Ireland South so I will not be enforcing a view, he said. Earlier this week, he said the party cannot win a second seat in Cork North-Central without Billy Kelleher on the ticket. Party bosses yesterday issued notice for nominations for the Ireland South convention and delegates have been informed nominations will close on March 6. Mr Kelleher made no comment when contacted by the Irish Examiner. It was also confirmed that Offaly-based TD Barry Cowen has ruled himself out of contesting the convention, as had been speculated. and it is looking increasingly likely that Kilkenny TD John McGuinness will also not contest a seat on the ticket. Mr Martin did concede that while Fianna Fail was successful in the 2014 local elections, the party did take its eye off the ball when it came to the Europeans. He said he was fully aware of anger within the party at the continued support for the Government but Brexit trumped all other concerns. He said he felt the general election will take place in early 2020. We will not be going into power with Sinn Fein. The electorate can give us any result. Our preference is to go into power with smaller parties and we will campaign on that basis, he said. Former junior health minister and Fine Gael TD, Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, is to seek an MEP seat in the Ireland South constituency, having been asked by the Taoiseach to do so. Ms Corcoran Kennedy was demoted by Leo Varadkar when he took office but the Taoiseach now seems to think she will be a good candidate to run alongside current MEPs Sean Kelly and Deirdre Clune. With Britain leaving the European Union, Ireland is to get two additional seats one in Dublin and one in Ireland South. As a result, the desire of the party to add a candidate in Leinster is considerable as a counterbalance to the two other candidates who are based in Cork and Kerry. The invitation of the party to ask Ms Corcoran Kennedy to contest seems to put an end to speculation that Waterford TD John Deasy would be included on the ticket. Mr Deasy had examined the possibility of running for Europe but it is believed he will not be going forward to selection convention. Mr Deasy is currently the Government's special envoy to Washington and appears to want to remain in national politics. Responding to the news, Ms Corcoran Kennedy said she is privileged and honoured to accept Fine Gaels invitation to seek the nomination. I have always been committed to the European project as it has contributed so much to the development of progressive laws that continue to have a positive impact on all of our lives. "What happens in Brussels can be a driver for positive change in our local communities. "This can clearly be seen as Ireland has received billions in structural funding from the EU which was crucial in the development of the country as a modern, open and advanced economy, she said. If selected, I will be privileged to join outgoing MEPs Deirdre Clune and Sean Kelly on the Fine Gael ticket for Ireland South, she said. Fine Gael will hold its Ireland South constituency selection convention on Sunday, March 3 in Clonmel, County Tipperary. Elsewhere, the party looks set to select former Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald as one of its candidates for the Dublin constituency, with Senator Neale Richmond also being linked with a run for Europe. A man who pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in one of largest puppy farm rescues ever were sentenced to three years in prison, while his wife was given a suspended sentence. James and Jennifer Kavanagh, the parents of five children, from Raheenleigh, Myshall, Co Carlow had pleaded guilty in October 2018 to 30 charges each having initially faced 240 charges a piece. Mr Kavanagh was convicted under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 of causing or permitting animal cruelty contrary to section 12 and failing to protect the welfare of an animal contrary to section 11 at Carlow Circuit Criminal Court. Mrs Kavanagh, who claimed to have solely dealt with a separate business known as, Canine Ireland, pleaded guilty to permitting animal cruelty and failing to protect the welfare of an animal of the same Act of which she received a 12 month suspended sentence. In passing judgement Judge John McCourt said: Words fail me in to describe the photographs shown in this court. This is the most extraordinary cases I have ever dealt with. It is extraordinary to find that a man coming from farming stock (should do something like this) and become involved in such a crime. You allowed yourself and farm to become a dumping ground for animals from others. The scene meeting the ISPCA and gardai on that day was something like a biblical (account) Im taking into account his early guilty plea, his co-operation with authorities, have saved the court service time and expense. I believe that you were not born into this world an evil person to cause harm to animals but you were motivated by profit in a bid to make a living. But I have to impose a judicial sentence of three years and to pay 35,000 in expenses incurred by the ISPCA. Mr Kavanagh was banned from keeping animals for the rest of his life. He made no reaction up sentencing. Judge McCourt said of Mrs Kavangh, who broke down upon sentencing said: I find it difficult to credit that you did not know something was wrong (at the farm). It would not see in removing you from your children so Im imposing a 12-month suspended sentence and you are not allowed to have dogs for 15 years. You are not a bad person. Judge McCourt slammed the use of social media by some members of the public. There is a growing number of anonymous keyboard warriors who are spreading half truths, misinformation and involve bullying tactics. They will undermine the rule of law itself. This does not suit any purpose. The couple faced sentences of up to five years imprisonment and fines of up to 250,000 or both under the 2013 Act. Following sentencing, the judge had to call for order in the court as animal welfare activists cheered and clapped his decision. The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) worked tirelessly to rescue 340 dogs and 11 horses from the premises over the subsequent nine days with the assistance of its affiliated member organisations and other rescue organisations. The dogs removed included Cocker Spaniels, Shih Tzus, Bichons, Terriers, Retrievers, Chihuahuas, Pugs, Labradors, Beagles, Pomeranians, Rottweilers, Salukis, German Shepherds, Siberian Huskies, Lurchers and numerous other breeds. The case was initiated after the ISPCA after Welfare Inspectors and gardai carried out a joint raid of the premises on April 14, 2015. Linda Martin, animal welfare activist pictured at Carlow Court after James Kavanagh got a sentence of three years for animal cruelty. Picture Dylan Vaughan. Carlow County Council and the Department of Agriculture were called in and the local authority served the breeder with the first ever closure notice under the Dog Breeding Establishment Act 2010. The scale of the rescue is the largest the ISPCA had ever carried out. Garda Caitriona Dennehy from Carlow Garda Station gave evidence in court of attending the premises of Mr Kavanagh with a search warrant. There she found numerous dead animals, including dogs, sheep and carcasses of dead horses. Mr Kavanagh was cautioned twice by Gda Dennehy and on the second occasion a number of questions were put to him. He was asked did he own the animals, where did he get them, did he have the correct documentation, did they have passports, were they microchipped and where were the dogs destined for? she explained He replied, I dont know, Im saying nothing, Im not saying nothing. I can look after the dog like. He claimed that he was holding the dogs which were due to be transported to the UK to rescue centres. Gda Dennehy told the court that Mr Kavanagh agreed to the removal of all living animals from his premises. She also recounted that Department of Agriculture Veterinary Inspector John Cushen had to euthanise all the horses including mares, fillies and geldings, due to them being too weak and malnourished to survive. Prosecution Counsel Mr Conor ODoherty SC told the court that Gda Dennehy had noted that the animals had to, live in absolute squalor in several pens, sheds and barns both on Mr Kavanaghs property and that of Sheila Kavanagh his sister. Many had no water, were living in stalls full of feces, were feeding off dead horses and dogs, many dogs were living in cages with one another not giving them any room, there was no ventilation, with many infected with lice and worms. The vets on site also pointed out that the condition of the dogs and dead horses posed serious public health concerns and transmittable diseases. They also informed the ISPCA and gardai that there were more animals on the property than what was permitted under the Dog Breeders Establishment Act. Department Veterinary Inspector Cushen attended the farm on several days after gardai, the ISPCA and Co Council officials entered the premises. He found the horses to have a deteriorating and very bad condition. Three horses then had to be euthanised. All of the animal carcasses were subsequently removed from the property. The court was shown 10 minute long graphic footage of the animals found on the farm by Gda Dennehy with many in the public gallery taking audible gasps, with some breaking down in tears and having to leave upon the dogs seen to be eating horse carcasses. Prosecution Counsel further told the court that Mr and Mrs Kavanagh were both arrested on July 27, 2015 and each interviewed three times. A statement from Gda Dennehy and read out to court by Mr OConnor said: Mr Kavanagh admitted that he was not a registered puppy farm, but was a licensed dog breeding establishment and was cleared to run in by Carlow Co Council in 2014. The defendant did not agree that the animals were in a bad condition but some could be better looked after. Mr Kavanagh said he contacted the knackers yard every week to remove animals. This was denied by Ned Deane who said he had only been on the farm three times since the Foot and Mouth outbreak in March 2001. But when called to remove the carcasses from Mr Kavanaghs land after the raid by authorities he took two and half tonnes weight of dead animals away. The defendant also claimed that he and his sister were licensed by the Department of Agriculture and Carlow Co Council to run the establishment and that he was never paid for any of the dogs or horses with his expenses only catered for. Hazel Alder (left) from Navan and Eddie O Connor from Carlow ,animal welfare activists pictured at Carlow Court after James Kavanagh got a sentence of three years for animal cruelty. Picture Dylan Vaughan. When Mrs Kavanagh, was interviewed she said she was only responsible for the administration, registering of animals and feeding them, while her husband looked after breeding. She denied seeing any dead dogs or other animals when providing them with feed. Her name was not on the breeding licence owned by that of her husband and sister-in-law. Four dogs and three horses were subsequently euthanised. The court heard that some of the puppies were only a few-days-old and over 20 female dogs were nursing or heavily pregnant. The dogs were suffering from untreated injuries, chronic skin, eye and teeth problems, and many had infected paws from living in urine sodden straw. Many of dogs had heavily matted fur which needed to be completely clipped. Most of the animals were transported to the charitys National Animal Centre in Longford, some were brought to their Equine Rescue Centre in Cork, and others were transferred to welfare groups across the country who offered their assistance. 'He should be shot' In cross-examination by Defence Counsel Colman Cody SC, it was put to Gda Dennehy that Mr Kavanagh did not impede authorities gaining access to his property and that the defendant, could not keep up with looking after the animals and that his wife was having heart troubles. Mr Cody informed the court that Mrs Kavanagh was the subject of online abuse and harassment of a vulgar nature as where some of her children. It was also claimed that some social media postings said: Mr Kavanagh should have his head cut off and someone should get a gun and he should be shot. It was also heard that Mrs Kavanagh had nothing to do with the breeding of the animals and that the dogs had become too much for her husband and that he was doing his best. Defence Counsel said that harassment, the shining of lights at their home during nighttime and having their computers hacked has continued over the years since the raid. As result Mrs Kavanagh, and her mother-in-law were affected badly from the stress of the raid and court case and that a heart condition was exacerbated. The court was also told by Mr Cody that a TV3 broadcast crew were also on the scene when the raid was being carried out which then was made into a documentary and shown prior to any court hearing. In addressing Judge McCourt Mr Cody said: My client is remorseful for what occurred and that he knows and accepts the severe consequences. The reality this (case) is grim and inexcusable. He is extremely chastened. This is a case of animal neglect and borderline cruelty. He (Mr Kavanagh) was reckless and negligent but he has a number of health issues he was trying to deal with such as excess drinking, has high blood pressure and is suffering from depression as a consequence of the case. The introduction of animal passports in 2014 all became too much for him when dealing with relevant authorities. The trial by media and social media has had a huge emotional and psychological impact not only him but on his children, aged from 19 to 12 years of age. The court was also told that Mr Kavanagh had several previous convictions for attempting to make false pretences, furnishing of false documentation, attempting to defraud the Department of Agriculture of 16,000 old Irish punts in 2001 and of drink driving. A new material developed by Irish scientists could increase the battery life of an average smartphone by more than 300%. An ink-based nanomaterial called Mxenes could see the average mobile phone battery life increase from 10 hours of talk-time to up to 40 hours. Gardai are appealing to the public for help finding a missing Dublin teenager. Alannah Corrigan, who is 16 years old, was last seen in Dun Laoghaire yesterday afternoon. Alannah is described as being 4 7, of slight build and with black hair. When last seen she was wearing a black hooded top, green and black leggings and runners. Anyone who has seen Alannah or who can assist in locating her is asked to contact Dun Laoghaire Garda Station, the Garda Confidential Telephone Line or any Garda Station. Fewer than 1,000 new homes were built in the entire province of Munster last year under social housing delivery programmes. The figures, compiled by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, include direct builds by local authorities, homes built by approved housing bodies (AHBs) and social houses built as part of private schemes under Part V of the Planning and Development Act, which determines up to 10% of a private development must be made available for social housing. In total, 4,811 houses were categorised under all build by the department last year, though this figure includes 560 vacant social housing units so-called voids that were returned to use. This means that just 4,251 new houses were added to the social housing stock nationally. Of these, 2,022 were built directly by local authorities and a further 1,388 by AHBs. The remaining 841 were delivered via Part V. In Munster, the seven local authorities delivered just 968 houses in total. Just two of the seven authorities Clare County Council and Cork County Council hit their new build target. Clare County Council had been tasked with building just 29 homes in 2018. They built 43, including 41 which were built by AHBs. Cork County Council built 269 having been set a target of 235. Cork City Council delivered 242 of their 249, including 126 AHBs, while Limerick City and County Council built 112 of the 153 they been asked to build. Tipperary (34 out of 50), Waterford (149 out of 165) and Kerry (119 out of 140) all missed their targets. All local authorities were deemed to have exceeded 90% of their overall annual social housing delivery target under the Rebuilding Ireland scheme for 2018, according to the figures issued by the Department of Housing. The remaining units delivered were done via the return of voids, leased properties and the support of tenancies through HAP and rent supplement. Commenting on the figures Focus Irelands advocacy manager Roughan MacNamara described the figures as unacceptable. It is even worse when you consider how low the actual targets were for building in each county. The social housing targets need to be far more ambitious, he said. Paul Sheehan, campaigns and communications manager at Cork Simon, said: While any increase in the number of social housing builds is most welcome, its not happening fast enough or at a rate that will put a serious dent in the number of people on social housing waiting lists or stuck in emergency accommodation, he said. In Cork city and county, for example, there were 6,627 households on the social housing waiting list. The national figure is 71,858. The current rate of social housing builds will have a minimal impact on that figure. Mr Sheehan criticised the reliance on private sector solutions. Of the 25,469 social housing tenancies supported last year, fewer than 5,000 were in local authority built homes. More than 17,000 were in HAP tenancies in the private market. There is an over-reliance on the private rented sector to provide social or affordable housing, he added. Farmers in crisis are set to get a much-needed boost in emergency funds with a decision by the EU today that State-aid grants can be increased up to 25,000. The Government will also unveil legislation for its emergency measures to protect Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit. This will start its long passage through the Dail next week. The coalitions omnibus bill crosses nine government departments and is made up of 15 parts. The legislation will help protect Irish citizens, support businesses and jobs, and secure access to services and products, according to the Government. Areas covered under the legislation include facilitating continued access to cross border health services, measures to support vulnerable firms, securing the all-island electricity market, and enabling the ongoing availability of grants and insurance products. The legislation will also allow for the continued payout of dozens of welfare payments both here and in Britain for citizens from either country. There are also measures to ensure bus and rail services continue across the border. The laws will begin their passage in the Dail next week with the house set to sit until 11pm on several nights. The bill will move to report and final stage in the Dail the following week before entering the Seanad on the week of March 11. Government figures have said this allows for a two-week sitting period afterwards if there are any problems before the measures are signed into law by the Brexit deadline of March 29. Figures provided to Fianna Fail last night, though, throw into question preparations for Brexit. While the Government has pledged to employ an extra 400 customs officials by the end of March, figures received by FFs Michael McGrath show just 230 have been hired so far. Furthermore, pressure is mounting for a new deal ahead of another Westminster vote in Britain next week, with British negotiators again seeking yesterday to put a time limit on the Irish backstop. However, amid concerns about Brexit, new EU rules will increase the maximum amount that member states can use to support farmers in crisis without the need for prior approval from the European Commission. In some cases, agriculture commissioner Phil Hogan will say, State aid provided to farmers can be increased by as much as 66%, rising from 15,000 to 20,000 and even up to 25,000. The EU will also announce that it has approved State aid of 5.75m to help finance Carbery Food Ingredients for its West Cork dairy operations. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) President Rodrigo Duterte assured the newly-sworn-in members of the Bangsamoro transition government that their region's resources will remain theirs alone. Duterte, who led the oath taking ceremony of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Friday in Malacanang, told his fellow Mindanaoans that they will not be deprived of these resources. "Violence visited us every now and then. I hope that we can end this. And I assure you that there is one contentious issue.. about your resources, it's all yours," the President told the members of the BTA, which will serve as the interim government of the region until 2022. "Nobody... it belongs to the Mindanaoans. Do not be afraid that you will be deprived of these rich whatever. It will always benefit the Mindanaoan and that it is the purpose why we're here. We do away with greed, we do away with oppression," he added. Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim was officially appointed as the interim chief minister of the transition authority. The transition body, as mandated by the law, comprises of representatives from different sectors including indigenous communities, youth, women, settler communities, as well as traditional leaders. Challenge for the new region Duterte hopes the ratification of the Bangsamoro law will lead to a more peaceful, conducive environment for all Mindanaoans-regardless of their religious or ethnic groups. The chief executive also posted a challenge for the new leaders of the autonomous region. "As you lead this new region towards a brighter tomorrow, I ask you to never waver in your commitment to build an institution that is founded on the rule of law," Duterte said. "I am glad we have finally reached its endpoint. My only hope is we put to rest the bitter memories of the past so we can build a better region that is bound not by ethnic or religious affiliations, but by common aspiration for peaceful coexistence among our fellow Filipinos." The President likewise remained positive that the enactment of the measure will be a step forward to finally ending violence in the south. "Most of all, we would like to see an end to violence that has rocked Mindanao and cost so many lives for nothing." The BTA will have legislative and executive powers during the transition period. While the national government will retain its powers over constitutional and national matters such as foreign affairs and defense, the Bangsamoro government will meanwhile have exclusive control over budgeting, justice, agriculture, human rights and tourism, among others. Education, health and delivery of basic social services are expected to be some of the priority legislation of the Bangsamoro leadership. The new region will cover the areas in the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (except Isabela City, Basilan), Cotabato City, and 63 North Cotabato barangays (villages) which petitioned for inclusion. READ: The Bangsamoro Organic Law: Everything you need to know Any British threats to favour imported Brazilian beef over Irish meat will be countered by significant EU and State aid supports, the Government has said. Warnings by the UK of significant tariffs on Irish beef in the event of a no-deal Brexit were raised in the Dail yesterday. But the Government said EU support would aid farmers hit by changes. Fianna Fails Dara Calleary raised concerns about reports from the UK that Britain is prepared to favour Brazilian beef over Irish with tariffs and quotas. It is believed UK food and rural affairs secretary Michael Gove may, in a bid to protect British farmers, introduce a system of quotas to allow certain products in without tariffs. Such a new system could apply to products like poultry and beef and would benefit massive producers, such as Brazil, at Irelands expense. We all know and accept that there is no comparison between the quality of our beef and beef from countries such as Brazil, said Mr Calleary. That will not make any difference on the supermarket shelves of Britain, if their produce comes in on a tariff-free basis, compared to ours. He also said agriculture, and specifically the beef industry here, was already under great pressure, with prices at an all-time low. But the Government was maintaining an attitude of it will be all right on the night, claimed the opposition spokesman. Tanaiste Simon Coveney responded that the Cabinet was more than aware of threats to the sector. Of the 130,000 farming families in Ireland, some 100,000 were involved in beef production, the Dail heard. When it comes to agriculture, beef is the most important issue, said Mr Coveney. While the Department of Agriculture had looked at a worst-case scenario with Brexit, the Government has sought help from Brussels. Agriculture Commissioner, Phil Hogan, has told the Government that farmers will be given aid during a Brexit transition period, Mr Coveney told the Dail. If it comes to it, this Government will not be found wanting to support and work with this sector through a very difficult period, should a no-deal Brexit materialise. That will involve a significant amount of money and a relaxation of the State-aid rules that allows us to be able to support the vulnerable sectors through the consequences of a no-deal Brexit, said the Tanaiste. Mr Coveney also disagreed that Britain could, in a no-deal scenario, distinguish countries with regards to WTO tariffs. If they [Britain] were to do that under WTO rules, they would not be able to apply a different tariff system or quota system to Ireland or to the EU, as they would be to other parts of the world. The only thing that would then differentiate Irish beef from beef from other parts of the world would be quality restrictions, which, of course, are a factor. Mr Coveney also ruled out setting up a standalone department in charge of only agriculture and food. Replying to questions from Independent Cork TD Michael Collins, about the beef crisis, the Tanaiste said contingency plans were under way, in general, for agriculture. A "peanut patch" applied to the skin improved tolerance of the popular snack in children allergic to the seed, with more than a third able to tolerate the equivalent of one to four peanuts after 12 months. Paediatric allergist Dr Aideen Byrne described the outcome of the clinical trial as another step in the treatment of peanut allergy where previously we had nothing at all. More than 350 peanut-allergic children aged 4-11 were recruited to the multicentre, international trial, with two Irish sites involved - Cork University Hospital and Our Ladys Childrens Hospital, Crumlin. The children had to apply a specially designed patch to their skin every day for a year. The patch either contained peanut or a placebo. At the end of the year, 35.3% of the 238 children who were given the peanut patch had increased their tolerance level. Dr Byrne, principal investigator at the National Clinical Research Centre (NCRC), said statistically, they would have hoped that more children had responded positively to the patch, but the hope is more will respond over the next few years. The bottom line is at one year of application, there was a significant number of children who could tolerate the equivalent of one to four peanuts, she said. The findings, published today in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, mark further progress in seeking successful treatments for peanut allergy. Last November, an oral immunotherapy was hailed as a gamechanger following a successful clinical trial, in which children in Cork took part. Jonathan Hourihane, principal investigator at the INFANT centre and professor of paediatrics and child health at University College Cork, said while the treatment, AR101, was not a cure, it was a means of controlling the allergy and of offering people real safety. Half of the children who took part in the trial could subsequently tolerate a single dose of approximately three to four peanuts, increasing their ability to cope with accidental exposure. Dr Byrne said the benefit of the skin patch is that it is safe and well tolerated. It is anticipated that it will play an important role in the treatment of peanut allergy in the future. Further studies are being carried out that will give us more information on the benefits of the patch, she said. The product is not licensed for use outside of a research setting. Dr Byrne said peanut allergy is the most common persistent food allergy and has a huge impact on the lives of affected children and their families. Treatment options are needed, she said. An estimated 20,000 people in Ireland have a peanut allergy. Accidentally ingesting a peanut can, in some cases, cause severe anaphylactic shock and even death. Of particular concern are foodstuffs where peanut content may not be obvious, such as satay sauces and confectionary, Dr Byrne said. The research in Ireland was funded by Childrens Medical and Research Foundation (CMRF) Crumlin. Frits Potgieter has been appointed as general manager of the 5-star Muckross Park Hotel & Spa in Killarney, part of the iNua Collection. He brings 20 years experience, having started out in a variety of roles with luxury UK properties, including the 4-star Brands Hatch Thistle Hotel, the Radisson Edwardian Hotels group, the Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel and the Milestone Hotel & Apartments, London. In 2012, he joined The Doyle Collection as hotel manager at The Marylebone Hotel, and then became GM of The Kensington Hotel. He moved to Ireland in 2016 as GM of the Imperial Hotel in Cork. Born in Namibia, he grew up in South Africa. He holds a BComm and a degree in Strategic Management from University of Johannesburg. Kieran Murphy has been appointed to serve on the first ever statutory advisory committee in Ireland to support monitoring of Irelands implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Originally from Cork, he is currently the quality and risk manager in the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital. He also lectures in Law on the Diploma in Disability Studies in UCC. He is a registered nurse in intellectual disability and his qualifications include law, quality in healthcare and a masters degree in social policy. Eleven members, mostly people with disabilities, have been appointed to the committee by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. The committee will monitor Irelands implementation of the UN Convention; it held its first formal meeting this week. It has a mandate to hold the State to account on the rights of people with disabilities. Mandy Gabriel has been appointed as sales and marketing manager for the Imperial Hotel, Cork, a member of the Flynn Hotels group. She has worked in hospitality for the past 15 years, notably in sales and marketing roles with Kinsale Hotel and Spa, Rochestown Park Hotel, Clifden Station House and The Gleneagle Group, including The Brehon, INEC and The Gleneagle. Mandy holds a degree in Business Science and Marketing from UL. The Imperial Hotel invested 400,000 in refurbishment upgrades in 2018. Other Flynn Hotels properties include the Old Ground, Ennis; Newpark Hotel, Kilkenny; and The Park Hotel, Dungarvan. John ONeill has been appointed as senior manager at BSIs Cybersecurity and Information Resilience centre in Sandyford, Dublin. He will lead cybersecurity and information resilience projects, business development and thought leadership. He brings 14 years experience in environmental management, tech, internet service delivery and software development. He joins from Retail in Motion, where he was head of technical operations. A graduate of IT Tallaght, he holds a BSc in IT Management as well as CISSP, CISA and ITIL certifications. His cybersecurity experience includes PCI DSS, ISO/IEC 27001, risk assessment, data protection and compliance. Chris Upton has been appointed as CEO of advertising agency Havas Dublin. He replaces Bob Coggins, who is to pursue other opportunities after five years heading up the agency. Upton has also worked in advertising with Des OMeara & Partners and McConnells. A co-founder and shareholder of Boys + Girls, he left the agency in 2018 to do an MBA at UCD Smurfit Business School. He currently chairs The Marketing Society. Over the past two decades, his clients have included Ulster Bank, Barnardos, Britvic, BMW/MINI, Danone, Dulux, Tesco, Unilever, AIB, C&C and Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard. In his spare time, he lectures at Dublins School of Marketing. Prof Marco Colonna, MD, has been appointed to the scientific advisory board of Inflazome, which develops orally available drugs to address unmet needs in inflammatory diseases. His team discovered Triggering Receptors Expressed on Myeloid cells (TREM), key regulators of the innate immune response. He is investigating TREMs link to Alzheimers Disease at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, where he is Professor of Pathology and Immunology. Born in Parma, Italy, he has published over 80 studies in peer-reviewed journals. Inflazome is preparing to advance its lead product candidates into clinical studies later this year. More than 200 new jobs are being created in Sligo. GW Plastics is expanding its advanced manufacturing operations as part of a 5.7m investment. The jobs are in the areas of production, quality, regulatory, and engineering. The US company established its first Europen location in Europe when it purchased Avenue Mould Solutions in 2017 and it is now growing its operation. The project is supported by the Government through IDA Ireland. Making the jobs announcement, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: "Under the Governments national development plan, Project Ireland 2040, Sligo is recognised as a major regional centre and a driver of economic development. "The Government is investing in the North West region through major infrastructure projects like the new N4, because we want to secure a pipeline of jobs and investment into the future. That is Project Ireland in action. "The creation of 200 new jobs by GW Plastics is great news for the company, its staff and prospective employees and is further evidence that Sligo is a great place in which to invest, work and live." Brenan Riehl, GW Plastics President and CEO, added: "Avenue has brought to GW Plastics a highly-skilled manufacturing workforce, an award-winning mould-building company, and a growing medical device contract manufacturing business that has been successfully serving Ireland and the broader European market for over 30 years. "GW Plastics is delighted to build on Avenues success as Irelands premier mouldmaker with this expansion of advanced injection moulding, and look forward to better serving our customers on a global basis." Earlier today it was announced that health-tech firm IQVIA are to Read More: So thats Friday nearly wrapped up. Here are some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening. TO INFORM Omnibus Bill: The Government's Brexit Omnibus Bill: Here we have all the main points you need to get you caught up to speed with the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2019. Jail for Puppy farmer: The man at the centre of one of Ireland's largest ever puppy farm rescues has been jailed for three years. James Kavanagh and his wife and Jennifer, from Raheenleigh, Myshall, Co Carlow had pleaded guilty in October 2018 to 30 charges each having initially faced 240 charges a piece. Ireland lags behind rest of EU: Ireland was ranked 11th out of the EU15 in terms of progress towards just society, equitable economy and clean environment- among the lowest of our nearest neighbours. Alesha MacPhail murder: 16-year-old Aaron Campbell has been unmasked as the killer of six-year-old schoolgirl Alesha MacPhail. U-20 Six Nations: Brace from Craig Casey sees Ireland U20s to victory in Italy. Shannon starlet Craig Casey touched down twice as the unbeaten Ireland Under-20s efficiently dispatched Italy 34-14 in Rieti to stay top of the U-20 Six Nations table. TO ENGAGE Readers' blog: Students from Schull Community School, Co Cork, have their say: Problem of plastics must be urgently addressed. Zebra's stripes are no fly zone: How the zebra got its stripes is not only a just-so story, but an object of scientific inquiry. New research suggests that stripes help zebras evade biting flies and the deadly diseases they carry. TO ENTERTAIN Gin-credible news: Kerry gin named the best in the world, as Dingle Original Gin was awarded Overall Best in World at the ceremony last night. From Dublin to Broadway?: Irish girl 'chances her arm' to get Tony award-winning Broadway producer to see her musical. The 21-year-old Lauryn paid for the producer's flights and accommodation hoping he will come on board with it. MOST READ SO FAR TODAY Rita Ring: Rita Ring, wife of Cork GAA legend Christy, passed away yesterday. The couple had been married for 17 years before his death in 1979. February 22, 2019 (Investorideas.com Newswire) The embassies of Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway held the Smart Cities #ThinkNordic event in Medellin to share best practices with the public and private sector of the city. ACI Medellin organized the call and articulated local organizations for the realization of this meeting. The event was attended by experts and companies from the four countries, who presented the opportunities for cooperation and investment in Medellin The embassies of Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway held the Smart Cities #ThinkNordic event in Medellin to share best practices with the public and private sector of the city. ACI Medellin organized the call and articulated local organizations for the realization of this meeting. Experts and companies from the four countries attended the event and presented the opportunities for cooperation and investment in Medellin. From left to right: Mogens Pedersen, Ambassador of Denmark; Catalina Restrepo Carvajal, Executive Director ACI Medellin; Tommy Stromberg, Ambassador of Sweden; and Jarmo Kuuttila, Ambassador of Finland. The director of ACI Medellin, Catalina Restrepo, lead the opening act in the Smart Cities #ThinkNordic. This event sought to generate spaces for exchange Nordic knowledge and experiences from different approaches: sustainability, environment, mobility, energy, innovation, and technology. The best practices exposed by this board, respond to what diplomats and experts call Nordic thinking, a cultural model they have developed to analyze reality from cooperation and the creation of solutions for the challenges of life in the city. The panelists aimed their presentations to culture and stressed that the Nordic way obeys to factors such as flexibility, prioritization, generation of incentives, equity, inclusion, and cooperation between the academia and the public and private sectors. These factors, rooted in the four countries, have made it possible to make progress which are global referents for smart cities. Why Nordic Smart Cities chose Medellin? The ambassadors agree that Medellin has made great progress as a smart city and has taken significant steps towards improving the quality of life of citizens, which is why it fits in with the Nordic governments' knowledge sharing objective. In the words of the Finnish ambassador, Jarmo Kuuttila "by holding this meeting, we hope to promote a collaboration work between Medellin and our Nordic companies, public and private administration." In addition, from a more human perspective, their purpose is to make people's dreams come true and contribute to the creation of cities designed for the realization of their life projects. ACI Medellin celebrates these spaces of knowledge with Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway, and reaffirms its commitment to take actions that lead to opportunities for the city and improve the quality of life of its inhabitants. Information for journalists: Karen Ramirez Jaramillo / Senior Communications Professional /kramirez@acimedellin.org / 3203430 ext 128 Sandra Milena Ospina D'Alleman / Director of Communications /sospina@acimedellin.org / +57 3185285705 TechSectorStocks.com - investing ideas in tech stocks - mobile payments, social media, AI and Robotics, Drone Stocks, GPS, Internet of Things (IoT) Like Tech Stocks? View our Tech Stocks Directory Get News Alerts on Tech Stocks More Info: This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire - a global digital news source for investors and business leaders 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. 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Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp | BY Ricki Green | Following the world premiere of Zia Mandviwallas Chefs Table: Asma Khan at the Berlin film festival last week, season six of the Netflix original hit series is available starting Friday, February 22, PST. A co-production with FINCH, Mandviwalla is the series first director from outside the USA with Jimena Murray as field producer of the episode with Zia, (and also line producer in the Mashama Bailey episode shot in Savannah and New York). Says David Gelb, series creator: Zias background directing commercials and short film is different to the documentary training of many of the shows other directors. She came at the project with a whole different angle on the visual narrative, bringing a surprising and unique tone to her episode. Her shot choice, edit pace and story structure are just fantastic. The episode continues a trend in the series away from profiling the most highly awarded chefs in the world, to telling the stories of the most interesting chefs in the world. In India, when a girl is born there are no celebrations, no fireworks. The tradition of dowry means a girl is a burden to her family and a second daughter is considered a curse. Khan has spent her life trying to shed this stigma and prove her worth as a second daughter. Khans kitchen is staffed entirely by women who have little to no professional training. Today, her restaurant the Darjeeling Express is a place for all women to grow and elevate themselves. Says Corey Esse, executive producer and managing director, FINCH: Although the project took Zia and Jimmy out of the commercials rotation for several months, we saw it as a fantastic opportunity. Theyve both come back with new skill sets for storytelling, and a whole range of new techniques for capturing incredible food photography. Other chefs in the series are: Mashama Bailey of The Grey in Savannah (named Eaters Restaurant of the Year in 2017); Sean Brock, who is redefining southern food; and Dario Cecchini, a butcher from Italy. A trailer for the Asma Khan episode will be available on Zias showreel from Monday. For Zias reel / availability, please contact Corey Esse at: corey@finchcompany.com. (Pictured: FINCHs Zia Mandviwalla and Jimena Murray on set in India) Vancouver, British Columbia - February 22, 2019 (Newsfile Corp.) (Investorideas.com Newswire) Fremont Gold Ltd. (TSXV: FRE) (FSE: FR2) (OTC Pink: USTDF) ("Fremont" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has discovered several gold-in-soils anomalies that coincide with intersecting multiple faults at the Roberts Creek project, located within the Gold Bar district, Eureka County, Nevada. Roberts Creek consists of 170 unpatented mining claims, covering approximately 1,400 hectares directly south of McEwen Mining's Gold Bar project. Figure 1 shows the location of Fremont's claim blocks (purple) in relation to McEwen Mining's Gold Bar project areas (blue). "We are very encouraged by the recent magnetic and soil survey results at Roberts Creek," said Clay Newton, Fremont's Vice President of Exploration. "The geophysical and geochemical anomalies coincide with the intersections of multiple faults projected from the range. The location of these anomalies at the intersection of multiple faults, and within sight of satellite gold deposits in the range, is reminiscent of Pipeline." Figure 1. Roberts Creek in a regional geologic and property framework Roberts Creek is located on shallow pediment immediately south of the Roberts Mountains, on a gravity high intersected by multiple probable faults projected from the range; Fremont completed a ground magnetic survey late last year (see September 12, 2018, news release) which outlines prospective linear magnetic low zones that coincide with the projected fault intersections on the west side of the project area. Magnetic low areas often reflect "magnetite destruction" caused by acidic mineralizing fluids; The recent soil survey has returned anomalous gold and pathfinder elements defining anomalies in the fault intersection area on the west side of the project area and also along Roberts Creek on the east side of the project area (see Figure 2). The soil anomaly on the east side follows along Roberts Creek, which is probably controlled by a NNE fault. The NNE fault intersects a NE-trending fault that projects out of McEwen's Gold Bar South resource area into the range. This is an excellent structural trap for mineralization and represents a compelling drill target. Figure 2. Gold in soils in relation to projected faults from the range and Roberts Creek Exploration update Fremont has completed the reverse circulation drill program at the Gold Bar project (see the February 6, 2019, news release) and the samples are currently being prepared for shipping. The results will be reported as soon as they have been received and approved. Due to extreme winter weather conditions in northern Nevada, the Company has elected not to proceed with the planned 500-metre diamond drill program at Gold Canyon at this time (see the February 6, 2019, news release). Fremont believes that this is a prudent decision not only from a health and safety standpoint but also from a budgetary perspective. The Company is actively monitoring the conditions at Gold Canyon and will provide investors with further updates regarding its drilling plans at Gold Canyon. Background of the Gold Bar District Fremont's Gold Bar and Gold Canyon projects are both former mines in the Gold Bar District, Eureka County, Nevada, an active mining district within the Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend. The district contains several Carlin-style sediment-hosted gold deposits, including McEwen Mining Inc.'s ("McEwen") Gold Bar project, which is scheduled to begin production in Q1 2019. Fremont's Gold Bar and Gold Canyon projects are adjacent (west) and immediately north of McEwen's Gold Bar project. While McEwen's project and Fremont's project share the same name, the historic Gold Bar mine is held by Fremont. McEwen's project comprises four of the five satellite pits to the historic Gold Bar mine, whereas Fremont controls the remaining satellite pit, Gold Canyon. Fremont's Gold Bar project encompasses the historic Gold Bar mine, which produced 286,354 ounces of gold from 1986 to 1994 (1), and the Millsite deposit, which hosts a historic resource of 147,000 ounces of gold (1.62 Mt @ 2.57 g/t gold) (1,2). Millsite is believed to be a faulted offset of the historic Gold Bar mine and is located to the northwest of the open pit. Gold Canyon is adjacent to and directly northwest of McEwen's project, approximately 800 metres from McEwen's Gold Ridge deposit. Gold Canyon produced approximately 41,000 ounces of gold from 1990-1994(1) and a stockpile of previously mined ore still exists at site. Description of methodology Soil samples were taken at 120-metre intervals along E-W lines 300 metres apart. The samples were analyzed by the ionic leach method of ALS Global analytical laboratory in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The data presented here were smoothed by using a 5-point moving average along the soil lines and gridded by a kriging method. Qualified person The content of this news release was reviewed by Maury C. Newton, III, Fremont's V.P. Exploration, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Fremont Gold Fremont's mine-finding management team has assembled a portfolio of high-quality gold projects in Nevada with the goal of making a new discovery. Fremont's Gold Bar and Gold Canyon are past producing gold mines adjacent to McEwen's Gold Bar project, where mine construction is underway. Other projects include North Carlin, Goldrun, Hurricane, and Roberts Creek. We are aligned with our shareholders: Insiders own approximately 20% of Fremont. On behalf of the Board of Directors, "Blaine Monaghan" CEO Telephone: +1 604-676-5664 Email: blaine@fremontgold.net www.fremontgold.net 1 Internal report, Atlas Precious Metals, Mines, Dec 13, 1995, prepared by Pincock, Allen & Holt, 2 McEwen Mining website: www.mcewenmining.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward looking statements Certain statements and information contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable U.S. securities laws and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, which are referred to collectively as "forward-looking statements". The United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for certain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements and information regarding possible events, conditions or results of operations that are based upon assumptions about future economic conditions and courses of action. All statements and information other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "seek", "expect", "anticipate", "budget", "plan", "estimate", "continue", "forecast", "intend", "believe", "predict", "potential", "target", "may", "could", "would", "might", "will", "hope", "will be", "expected" and similar words or phrases (including negative variations) suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward-looking statements in this and other press releases include but are not limited to statements and information regarding plans to drill Gold Canyon. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Fremont undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this press release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law. More Info: This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire - a global digital news source for investors and business leaders 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 investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. 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. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions. More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ and tickertagstocknews.com Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp Vancouver, British Columbia - February 21, 2019 (Newsfile Corp.) (Investorideas.com Newswire) Great Bear Resources (TSXV: GBR) (the "Company" or "Great Bear"), today reported drill results from the Dixie Hinge Zone ("DHZ") at its 100% owned Dixie Project in the Red Lake District of Ontario. Great Bear has discovered one of the widest near-surface occurrences of veining and alteration hosting high-grade gold reported on the project to date, and has also successfully extended the Hinge Zone at depth. Highlights of current results include: Drill hole DHZ-023 intersected a 42-metre-wide (138 feet - approximate true width) zone of increased hyrdrothermal alteration, sulphide mineralization and multiple quartz veins hosting significant gold mineralization from 121 to 158 metres vertical depth, approximately 50 metres to the west of previously reported Hinge Zone drill holes. Gold-bearing vein intercepts from DHZ-023 include 3.40 metres of 31.60 g/t gold, which includes 1.75 metres of 61.05 g/t gold, and 2.80 metres of 9.91 g/t gold, which includes 1.50 metres of 17.88 g/t gold. A summary of drill results is provided in Table 1. Hole DHZ-017 was drilled as a significant 50 metres down-plunge step-out from the deepest previous Hinge Zone drilling. It intersected 1.50 metres of 28.01 g/t gold including 0.50 metres of 80.44 g/t gold. This hole extends the down-plunge depth of the Hinge Zone to 281 metres. All (100%) of the 38 drill holes completed by Great Bear along 330 metres of strike length of the Hinge Zone that has been drilled to date have intersected gold mineralization. 22 of 38 drill holes (58%) have intersected intervals containing greater than 10 g/t gold. Chris Taylor, President and CEO of Great Bear said, "We continue to be surprised by the strength and scale of the gold system at Dixie. Our latest drilling shows the Hinge Zone vein and alteration system swells to 138 feet (42 metres) in approximate true width, includes individual veins over 45 feet (14 metres) in width, and contains multiple gold-bearing veins in 4 of the latest 8 drill holes. We will continue to drill to extend the strike length, depth, and number of gold zones at the Dixie Hinge through 2019 and 2020. In addition, a second drill rig is now operational and will test a number of new targets across the property that the Company feels have strong potential to host new gold discoveries." Table 1: Most recent results from Hinge Zone drilling. Multiple gold veins were intercepted in 4 of 8 drill holes. * width is determined to be 90-95% of true width based on intersection points of the drill hole intercept with the geological model and oriented drill core data An additional drill hole, DHZ-019 was drilled off plunge of the primary mineralization to test for additional parallel zones and intersected a massive basalt unit with anomalous gold values of up to 0.28 g/t gold. The new discovery of the thickened near surface vein zone demonstrates the "South Limb" and Hinge Zones form one continuous vein set. The Hinge Zone name will be retained going forward. Apparently continuous, gold-bearing quartz veins swell and narrow, as well as merge and divide along the 330 metres strike length of the Hinge Zone vein system drilled to date. An updated cross section of the Hinge and Dixie Limb Zone is provided in Figure 1. An updated long section through the Hinge Zone is provided in Figure 2. An image of core boxes from the vein zone is shown in Figure 3. Figure 1: Cross section of Hinge Zone (left) and Dixie Limb Zone (right) showing drill results to-date. New results highlighted in yellow. Great Bear is currently undertaking a fully-funded 30,000 metre, approximately 150 drill hole program that is expected to continue through 2019 and 2020. A second drill rig was added to the project in early February 2019 to accelerate this work and is now drilling additional gold targets. Options Grant The Company also reports it has granted an aggregate of 500,000 stock options to employees, directors, consultants and advisors of the Company, exercisable at $3.72 per share for a period of five years. The options are subject to a four month hold period. Figure 2: Long section through the DHZ as drilled to-date showing currently reported drill results. New results highlighted in yellow. Figure 3: Image of the total vein zone in DHZ-023. Down-hole metre marker blocks are shown overlain on the core boxes. About Great Bear The Dixie property is located approximately 15 minutes' drive along Highway 105 from downtown Red Lake, Ontario. The Red Lake mining district has produced over 30,000,000 ounces of gold and is one of the premier mining districts in Canada, benefitting from major active mining operations including the Red Lake Gold Mine of Goldcorp Inc., plus modern infrastructure and a skilled workforce. The Dixie property covers a drill and geophysically defined 10-kilometre gold mineralized structure similar to that hosting other producing gold mines in the district. In addition, Great Bear is also earning a 100% royalty-free interest in its West Madsen properties which total 3,860 hectares and are contiguous with Pure Gold Mining Inc.'s Madsen property. All of Great Bear's Red Lake projects are accessible year-round through existing roads. Drill core is logged and sampled in a secure core storage facility located in Red Lake Ontario. Core samples from the program are cut in half, using a diamond cutting saw, and are sent to SGS Canada Inc. in Red Lake, Ontario, and Activation Laboratories in Ancaster Ontario, both of which are accredited mineral analysis laboratories, for analysis. All samples are analyzed for gold using standard Fire Assay-AA techniques. Samples returning over 3.0 g/t gold are analyzed utilizing standard Fire Assay-Gravimetric methods. Selected samples with visible gold are also analyzed with a standard 1kg metallic screen fire assay. Certified gold reference standards, blanks and field duplicates are routinely inserted into the sample stream, as part of Great Bear's quality control/quality assurance program (QAQC). No QAQC issues were noted with the results reported herein. Mr. R. Bob Singh, P.Geo, Director and VP Exploration, and Ms. Andrea Diakow P.Geo, Exploration Manager for Great Bear are the Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the accuracy of technical information contained in this news release. For further information please contact Mr. Chris Taylor, P.Geo, President and CEO at 604-646-8354, or Mr. Knox Henderson, Investor Relations, at 604-551-2360. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Chris Taylor" Chris Taylor, President and CEO Inquiries: Tel: 604-646-8354 Fax: 604-646-4526 info@greatbearresources.ca www.greatbearresources.ca Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This new release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors discussed in the management discussion and analysis section of our interim and most recent annual financial statement or other reports and filings with the TSX Venture Exchange and applicable Canadian securities regulations. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements. We seek safe harbor More Info: This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire - a global digital news source for investors and business leaders 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 investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. 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. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions. More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ and tickertagstocknews.com Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information February 22, 2019 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Three of the most important metals surged on Wednesday due to a signal from the US President that he may not escalate the trade war with China. Gold hit a 10-month high just shy of $1,350 an ounce, copper was the highest its been for seven month, trading at $2.92 a pound, and iron ore extended earlier gains at $88 a tonne. Trump reportedly said he could extend the March 1 deadline for raising US tariffs on Chinese imports if the two sides are making good progress on reaching a deal on the nearly one-year-old dispute. "I can't tell you exactly about timing," BBC News quoted the President saying, when asked how likely it would be for the US to increase the duty on $200 billion worth of Chinese products from 10% to 25%. "The date is not a magical date because a lot of things are happening," he added, presumably referring to trade talks in Washington this week. The China-US trade war started with import duties on aluminum and steel. Justifying the tariffs on national security grounds, the 25% tax on steel and 10% on aluminum were aimed at China for dumping cheap product into the States, thus lowering the prices of those metals and hurting American steel and aluminum producers. While China was the obvious target, the steel and aluminum tariffs also wrapped in the EU, Mexico and Canada. Tariffs are a blunt instrument in the toolbox of protectionist measures all countries have when negotiating trade agreements. There are other, more subtle ways of protecting local industries and keeping foreign companies out or at bay. In the mining business we call this resource nationalism. It has been a prevailing theme especially over the last few years as countries experience wider inequality, social unrest and often unsustainable levels of debt. Tapping a wealthy foreign mining company for more profits, or just expropriating the mine and kicking the company out, is often seen as the easiest way to fix a cash crunch, while at the same time appealing to nationalist sentiment. As we know, nationalism and "populism" have become more and more prevalent - the election of Trump in 2016 being the ultimate expression of populism, despite Trump, the billionaire real estate tycoon, being the antithesis of the "everyman (or woman)" most populists go for. While resource nationalism is among the worst things a mining company can encounter when investing in a foreign country (just ask Crystallex which fought Venezuela for years over a 2008 decision to expropriate its Las Cristinas gold project, finally winning a $1 billion settlement), it can also have an impact on metals fundamentals. If enough supply is taken out of the market due to government-imposed restrictions, prices of those metals will rise. For example Indonesia's 2014 ban on unprocessed ore exports helped support nickel and bauxite prices, which also tumbled when the ban was relaxed in 2017. In the Philippines, the government of hard-line President Rodrigo Duterte closed 23 mines in 2017, causing the nickel price to climb. Like Indonesia, the southeast Asian nation blocked the export of unprocessed minerals - preferring to process locally - but went further by banning mining in watersheds and forcing companies to seek legislative approval before operating. Philippines is the world's top nickel ore supplier but mining contributes less than 1% to GDP, prompting Duterte to go after mining companies for not paying enough taxes, especially those that cause environmental damage. This article will take a deep dive into resource nationalism and how recent examples of state-imposed strong-arming could exacerbate already tight supplies of gold, copper and zinc, and potentially impact rare earths and lithium. But first, a primer on resource nationalism. What is it exactly? Country risk + security of supply = resource nationalism Access to raw materials at competitive prices has become essential to the functioning of all industrialized economies. As we move forward, developing and developed countries will, with their massive population booms and necessary upgrades of worn-out infrastructure, continue to place extraordinary demands on their ability to access and distribute the planet's natural resources. Threats to the access and distribution of these commodities include: Political instability of supplier countries The manipulation of supplies The competition over supplies Attacks on supply infrastructure Accidents and natural disasters Climate change Accessing a sustainable, secure, supply of raw materials is a number one priority for all countries. Increasingly we are seeing countries ensuring their own industries have first rights of access to internally produced commodities and looking for such privileged access from other countries. Numerous countries are taking steps to safeguard their own supply by: Stopping or slowing the export of natural resources Shutting down traditional supply markets Buying companies for their deposits Project finance tied to off-take agreements Resource nationalism is the tendency of people and governments to assert control, for strategic and economic reasons, over natural resources located on their territory. Traditionally the major benefits for developing countries (from their natural resource endowment) have come in the form of: Employment/wages Government revenues - taxes, royalties or dividends There can also be indirect benefits such as knowledge and technology transfers. Foreign investments can involve infrastructure spending, sometimes on a massive scale, like electricity, water supplies, roads, railways, bridges and ports. Today many governments are looking at other ways to get more money from miners. Ernst & Young says governments have gone beyond taxation in getting more out of the mining sector with a wave of requirements such as mandated beneficiation/export levies and limits on foreign ownership. Mandated beneficiation/export levies - Governments are imposing steep new export levies on unrefined ores to force mining companies into domestic ore processing. Minerals processed in-country capture more of the value chain as the products achieve higher prices Increasing state ownership - Miners are easy targets because mining is a long-term investment and one that is especially capital intensive mines are also immobile, so miners are at the mercy of the countries in which they operate. Outright seizure of assets happens using the twin excuses of historical injustice and environmental or contractual misdeeds. There is no compensation offered and no recourse. Gold The mined supply of gold is shrinking as most of the "low-hanging fruit" has been mined and the rest is either in remote locations or buried deep in the earth, meaning higher extraction costs. 2016 was the first year that mine production fell since 2008. In spring 2018 the World Gold Council in its annual gold trends report said that total gold supply slipped in 2017 to 4,398 tonnes a drop of 4% from 2016. Mine production was about the same as last year, 3,268.7 tonnes, but recycled gold fell 10% to 1,160 tonnes. Key gold producers that saw drops in 2017 were China and Tanzania. Tanzania is a country to watch as far as resource nationalism goes - although in this case, the company being targeted has only itself to blame. In 2017 the government of the East African country banned the export of unprocessed minerals after Acacia Mining, a subsidiary of Barrick Gold, was discovered trying to export copper and gold concentrates valued at over 10 times the amount declared. Acacia was later hit with a $190 billion tax bill. The company of which Barrick holds a 63% stake, has also been charged with money laundering and corruption. The two parties just settled the dispute with measures that include a $300 million payment to resolve tax claims. For Barrick it was no small matter. Acacia accounts for roughly 10% of the gold mining giant's production. Tanzania also raised royalty rates, published local content regulations stipulating that mining companies must allow for an indigenous Tanzanian company' to have at least 5% ownership of a project before it is eligible for new mining licences, Mining Weekly reported. South Africa was once the leading gold producing country but it has since slipped to eighth spot in the world, as the country's mines get depleted and production costs mount, with companies forced to mine deeper. South Africa's Mponeng mine is the deepest in the world, at 2.5 miles underground. Strikes often disrupt supply but global miners in South Africa face another bogeyman: the threat of mines nationalization. A hot topic among the youth wing of the African National Congress back in 2010-11, nationalization is high on the agenda of the radical leftist party, Economic Freedom Fighters. In its recently released party manifesto, the EEF says it will nationalize all mines by 2023 if elected this year, along with banks and other strategic sectors of the economy. The party would also expropriate land without compensation. Copper As we wrote in The coming copper crunch, by 2035, without major new mines up and running to replace the ore that is being depleted from existing copper mines, we are looking at a 15-million-tonne supply deficit by 2035. Four to six million tonnes of added capacity are needed by 2025. Copper grades have declined about 25% in Chile in the last decade - highlighting the urgent need for grassroots exploration to arrest the trend. Finally, some of the world's largest copper mines are slashing production, thus feeding into the supply deficit thesis that is predicted to push the copper price back up over three dollars a pound. Since the start of the year, copper has risen 10%. Along with strikes and bad weather that cause "force majeure" (temporary halting of operations), resource nationalism is another factor affecting the copper market. Take the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), Africa's biggest copper producer. Last year DRC President Joseph Kabila signed a law amending the 2002 Mining Code. The new code increased gold and copper royalties by a respective 1% and 1.5%, and designated cobalt - of which DRC is the world's leading supplier - a strategic metal. Royalties on cobalt production were hiked by a factor of five, from 2% to 10%. Africa's second biggest copper producer, Zambia, has also been pressing the resource nationalism button. An attempt in 2015 to increase royalties backfired when companies warned of mine closure and thousands of lost jobs. A more strategic approach has been to audit mining companies in order to extract more tax revenue. First Quantum Minerals, which through a subsidiary owns and operates Kansanshi, Africa's largest copper mine, received a bill for $7.9 billion. Mining companies are also being made to transport 30% of their exports by rail, in order to use local railways which have poor infrastructure. Effective Jan. 1, royalties increased by 1.5% across the board, and will rise to 10% if the copper price goes above $7,500 a tonne, Bloomberg said. Over in southeast Asia, the countries to watch are Indonesia and Papua New Guinea (PNG), along with the Philippines with its erratic President Duterte. The autonomous region of Bougainville hosts the Panguna mine, one of the world's largest open-pit copper operations before a 1989 civil war closed it down. Panguna once accounted for 44% of Papua New Guinea's GDP. Changes to Bougainville's mining act that would have allowed a new company to restart the mine were recently rejected in a vote, MINING.com reported. In Indonesia, control of Grasberg, the world's second largest copper mine, changed last September when Freeport McMoRan and Rio Tinto agreed to transfer majority ownership to state-owned mining PT Indonesia Asahn Aluminum (Inalum). Freeport had been fighting for years with the Indonesian government over control of the mine. In 2017 Grasberg operations were halted for over a month due to a ban on concentrate exports, which together with a strike at BHP's Escondida mine in Chile, helped copper prices rise. Now the Grasberg mine is facing uncertainty over its export permit which expired on Feb. 15. According to Reuters, PT Freeport Indonesia, a unit of US-based Freeport McMoRan, has not yet obtained a new permit, and for the time being is shipping its concentrate to a local smelter. Indonesia is also forecasting a precipitous drop in copper concentrate exports, from 1.2 million tonnes in 2018 to just 200,000 tonnes this year. Zinc The International Lead and Zinc Study Group predicts the zinc market will be in a deficit position of 72,000 tonnes in 2019. BMI Research noted in June 2018 that refiners, particularly in China, will have a hard time securing zinc concentrate, due to zinc mine production curtailments in 2015-16 (eg. Rampura Aguchain India, Antamin and Iscaycruz in Peru as well as by Glencore and Nyrstar). For example tightened environmental standards to deal with choking air pollution meant that Zijin Mining cut 8.2% of its zinc production in 2017. Chinese smelters rely heavily on imported zinc ore. In 2017 China's refined zinc production was at its lowest in two years due to problems acquiring zinc concentrate. For more read our Plunging zinc inventories have zinc bulls ready to run Will the supply materialize? Two of the three largest zinc mines are in Peru, and another top 10 zinc mine is in Bolivia, where President Evo Morales has shown propensity towards radical anti-resource extraction moves like nationalizing the natural gas industry in 2006. While Peru recently elected a more pro-mining government, the country is impoverished compared to its Latin American peers and always prone to anti-mining forces. The Toronto Star reminds us that former Cajamarca governor Gregoria Santos marched alongside protesters that opposed projects, and that "Development plans worth billions of dollars remained stalled in several regions due to local opposition." Rare earths In 2009 the Chinese government placed quotas on its rare earths, resulting in a 40% drop in exports. Beijing said it had to implement quotas to protect the environment from rare earth mining waste, but critics saw them as naked protectionism. A year later, an international incident sent rare earth oxide prices into the stratosphere. In September 2010 a Japanese naval vessel interdicted a Chinese fishing boat near the Senkaku Islands, which Japan and China both claim ownership of, and detained the captain. The Chinese decided to ban all rare earth exports to Japan, then an industrial powerhouse and China's largest REE customer. The rare earths market panicked, and within months, all of the rare earth oxides gained in price. For more read our How the US lost the plot on rare earths With China controlling 95% of the rare earths market, either through mining or processing, the country is in a unique position to influence oxide prices of the 17 elements in the periodic table, used in a bevy of industrial and military applications. In October we got a reminder of that, when the Chinese government announced it was cutting rare earth separation and smelting by 36% for the second half of 2018. Manufacturers reportedly were scouring the globe for alternative supplies, with the threat of price hikes looming. The only other non-Chinese rare earths processor is also facing uncertainty. Lynas Corp's facility in Malaysia was informed in November that it would need to undergo an environmental review by the newly elected government. The six-year-old plant faced intense opposition from locals before it opened over concerns about how it would handle radioactive waste. Lithium The "lithium triangle" straddling Bolivia, Chile and Argentina contains three-quarters of the world's lithium reserves. Chile is currently the second largest producer of the main ingredient of lithium-ion batteries installed in electric vehicles, behind only Australia, home to the Greenbushes hard rock lithium and tantalum mine owned by Talison Lithium. Argentina mines just under half of Chile's lithium volume. While Chile will undoubtedly play a major role in shipping lithium carbonate and hydroxide to electric vehicle battery makers - for the time being anyway, the center of the world's lithium production has hit a roadblock. SQM and US-based Albemarle share the same salar (brine lithium deposit), the sprawling Salar de Atacama. The number one and two lithium giants for years have blamed each other for over-exploiting their water rights in the Atacama, where they operate just 12 miles apart. The Chilean government, fearing a water shortage, has slapped restrictions on water use in the salar. We know that higher production of Chilean lithium won't be coming from Albemarle, which also runs the only lithium mine in the United States, Silver Peak in Nevada. In October, the Chilean government said Albemarle failed to live up to a 2016 contract. The country's nuclear regulator then refused to increase the company's lithium production quota. Adding insult to injury, Chile's environmental authority turned down a license it needed to build a US$584 million processing plant - effectively hamstringing the company's expansion plans. With the government restricting lithium production, Chile's position as a major lithium producer appears to be in doubt. China doesn't produce much lithium, about 3,000 tonnes compared to Australia's 18,700 and Chile's 14,100; the United States has just one lithium brine operation, the Silver Peak Mine in Nevada, but it's been operating since the 1960s and its grades are said to be declining. Australia's current and future lithium mines all have offtake agreements assigned. This is setting the lithium market up for a possible supply crunch in the coming years, if ever-increasing demand for lithium used in electric batteries and consumer electronics outpaces output. We know that supply from new mines failed to reach expectations from 2012 to 2016; the major lithium miners despite their best efforts to double production in four years, were unable to do so. We also know that Chile is using all the government levers it can pull to keep a cap on what it considers to be a strategic national resource. In neighboring Argentina, mining companies are reluctant to invest despite pro-business President Mauricio Macri being elected in 2015 - overturning 12 years of leftist rule during which the government imposed a 5% tax on mining exports and banned foreign companies from sending profits home. In September 2018 Macri's government imposed a 12% export tax amid economic turmoil, including a 90% devaluation of the peso against the US dollar in six months. Given that the United States is 70% reliant on lithium imports, can North American electric vehicle battery manufacturers and automakers really depend on Chile and Argentina for their lithium? Conclusion Country risk is always an unknown quantity that is difficult to quantify for investors looking to take a position in a junior mining company. We have shown that resource nationalism in all its forms can be a real headache for global or country-specific miners; of course we need to acknowledge that mining companies also have a responsibility for upholding local laws including environmental regulations and labor rights. Working closely with the host government can ensure a stable, predictable flow of metal and shareholder returns. Failing to meet their expectations can bring on a tsunami of problems that could seriously impair or bankrupt a company. There are numerous historical examples of the latter. We've also seen examples where government-mandated restrictions have moved metals markets - such as when China imposed restrictions on rare earth exports, leading to a spike in rare earth oxide prices; when the Philippines closed nickel mines, hiking the nickel price; and when Indonesia's ban on concentrate exports helped support the copper price. Resource nationalism is the black swan that nobody sees coming, but a knowledge of past actions will go a long way towards predicting might happen in the future, thereby guiding investment decisions. Richard (Rick) Mills aheadoftheherd.com Ahead of the Herd is on Twitter Ahead of the Herd is now on FaceBook Ahead of the Herd is now on YouTube Legal Notice / Disclaimer 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. Richard Mills has based this document on information obtained from sources he believes to be reliable but which has not been independently verified. Richard Mills makes no guarantee, representation or warranty and accepts no responsibility or liability as to its accuracy or completeness. Expressions of opinion are those of Richard Mills only and are subject to change without notice. Richard Mills assumes no warranty, liability or guarantee for the current relevance, correctness or completeness of any information provided within this Report and will not be held liable for the consequence of reliance upon any opinion or statement contained herein or any omission. Furthermore, I, Richard Mills, assume no liability for any direct or indirect loss or damage or, in particular, for lost profit, which you may incur as a result of the use and existence of the information provided within this Report. More Info: This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire - a global digital news source for investors and business leaders 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. 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Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp American Express has seen strong tailwinds, thanks to a healthy global economy. It's probably best known by consumers for its credit and charge cards. As such, it's almost always compared to rivals Visa and MasterCard. Unlike these two competitors, American Express is both the payment processor and issuer of its credit cards. While this could open up bigger profits if members spend more, it also exposes American Express to more significant risks if the economy turns sour. The company has been shaped by a series of mergers and acquisitions that have resulted in some of its most successful subsidiaries. This short article outlines some of the key facts about the company as well as some of the company's most important subsidiaries that help shape it into what it is today. Key Takeaways American Express aims to enhance its services and encourage people to use its cards more frequently by making acquisitions. American Express Travel Related Services is the immediate parent of both of the company's card-issuing banks. American Express Bank and American Express Centurion Bank are both wholly-owned subsidiaries of American Express. Accertify is a global fraud prevention company that was purchased by American Express in 2010. AMEX Assurance Company acts as the insurance underwriter for travel insurance and other insurance products. American Express: An Overview Founded: 1850 Headquarters: New York City Market Capitalization (as of Mar. 31, 2020): $69 billion American Express (AXP) is an American financial and travel services corporation with operations in more than 130 countries. Its primary products include charge cards, credit cards, financial services, and travel-related services like traveler's checks. The company, commonly referred to as Amex, markets these products to consumers, business owners, and corporations across the globe. Founded in 1850, the company is the world's largest payment card company by purchase volume with more than $1 trillion in total global spending billed with more than 60 million cards in circulation. The company reported net income of $6.8 billion on revenue of $43.5 billion for the 2019 fiscal year. The company's executive team is made up of: Stephen Squeri, chair and chief executive officer (CEO) Jeffrey Campbell, chief financial officer (CFO) Marc Gordon, executive vice president and chief information officer (CIO) Mohammed Badi, chief strategy officer Amex's Acquisition Strategy The main strategy behind American Express acquisitions is to enhance its services for existing card members to facilitate the ease of use of its products. It also aims to encourage people to use their cards more frequently. American Express purchased U.K. fin-tech startup Cake Technologies in March 2018 for just over $13 million. Cake provides a service allowing restaurant-goers to pay a bill more easily. American Express indicated its plans to integrate Cake technologies into its platform to provide members with an enhanced service. American Express will likely continue to acquire additional companies in order to further extend its reach as a financial services megacompany. As a major financial services company, American Express makes frequent acquisitions of smaller businesses, many of which are integrated into its broad platform of products and services. In January 2019, American Express announced its intent to acquire Pocket Concierge, a restaurant reservation platform targeting businesses in Japan for an undisclosed amount. American Express owns dozens of subsidiary companies, most of which are organized to carry out its business operations in foreign countries. Its most important subsidiaries include two card-issuing banks and several financial services firms based in the United States. American Express TRS American Express Travel Related Services Company, or TRS, is the company's principal operating subsidiary and operates in the specialty finance sector. As such, it is the immediate parent of both of the company's card-issuing banks. TRS is treated as a financial holding company, meaning that the Federal Reserve has jurisdiction to supervise and examine its practices. While TRS contributes to American Express's business ventures in a variety of ways, the company is primarily responsible for providing personnel, facilities, systems, and other operational resources to various American Express branches and subsidiary companies. As a result, TRS is the direct or indirect owner of most of American Express's legal entities. The primary source of revenue for TRS is American Express's discount revenue or the amount earned on transactions with merchants holding card acceptance agreements used to facilitate transactions with cardholders of American Express credit cards. TRS also earns revenue through card fees, travel commissions, and more. American Express Bank American Express Bank (FSB) is a federal savings bank headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Express. The bank issues charge cards and credit cards for small businesses under the American Express Open brand. American Express Open cards and associated services are targeted at firms with up to $10 million in annual revenue and fewer than 100 employees. On the consumer side, American Express Bank issues a variety of charge cards and credit cards under the American Express brand, including co-branded cards with American Express partners. American Express Bank also offers savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs) to consumers across the country under the American Express Personal Savings brand. Accounts are only available onlinethe bank does not operate any retail locations. American Express Bank also accepts deposits through third-party brokerage partners. American Express Bank was founded in 2000 and acquired by American Express National Bank in April 2018. American Express Centurion Bank American Express Centurion Bank is the second major insured depository institution for American Express. The Utah-chartered industrial bank is also headquartered in Salt Lake City. Centurion Bank issues a variety of consumer charge cards and credit cards under the American Express brand. American Express Centurion Bank also accepts deposits through third-party brokerage partners. The bank does not operate any retail locations and is wholly owned by American Express. Accertify Accertify is a global fraud prevention company with offices in Illinois, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The firm offers a range of technologies and tools used to prevent online payment fraud. They're also used to manage the risk associated with card-not-present transactions. Its customers include e-commerce companies across the globe, including the likes of StubHub, Inc., JetBlue Airways (JBLU), 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS) and Urban Outfitters (URBN). Accertify is a subsidiary of American Express Travel Related Services Company. Accertify's products are compatible with payment networks used to make online purchases around the world, including all major credit cards and online payment providers such as PayPal (PYPL). The company offers fraud management, chargeback management, data analysis, and payment gateway products that can be combined to provide payment solutions delivered via a hosted software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. Accertify also offers managed service options under which e-commerce merchants can outsource the fraud management process to Accertify's staff of analysts. Founded in 2007, Accertify was purchased by American Express in 2010 for approximately $150 million and is now a wholly-owned subsidiary. AMEX Assurance Company AMEX Assurance Company acts as the insurance underwriter for travel insurance and other insurance products marketed and sold by American Express companies. It also underwrites certain insurance benefits provided to American Express charge card and credit card holders including car rental loss and damage protection, extended warranty protection, product purchase protection, and travel accident insurance. The company does not have any retail operations. This company was founded in 1973 as the American Automobile Insurance Company of Illinois but changed its name in 1986. Since September of 2007, it has operated as a subsidiary of American Express. Kentuckys bourbon industry teamed with leaders of Mothers Against Drunk Driving on Wednesday to promote legislation aimed at reducing drunken driving by increasing the use of a device that block vehicles from starting if the driver isnt sober. The bill advancing through the General Assembly was touted as a life saver by leaders of MADD and the Kentucky Distillers Association at a Capitol event. Later on Wednesday, the measure won 34-0 passage in the state Senate. The goal of the bills supporters is to expand use of ignition interlock devices by making them available to first-time DUI offenders. Kentuckys existing interlock law makes the devices available to repeat offenders and drivers caught with extremely high blood alcohol concentrations. Republican Sen. Whitney Westerfield, the bills lead sponsor, said Wednesday that use of the devices remains low among DUI offenders, even while the risk of drunken driving remains ever present. In 2017, Kentucky had about 24,500 DUIs, he said. If we had equipped more drivers with ignition interlock devices, we wouldnt have nearly as many DUIs, we wouldnt have nearly as many crashes or fatalities, he said before the Senate vote. The bill sailed through the Senate with little debate and now heads to the House. An ignition interlock, about the size of a cell phone, is wired into the ignition system of a vehicle. Drivers must blow into the devices in order to start their vehicles. If drivers have measurable amounts of alcohol in their system, the vehicles wont start. The bills supporters include the states distillers, county prosecutors and MADD, the nations best-known advocacy group against drunken driving. It includes incentives aimed at steering more DUI offenders into using the devices. Offenders opting against having the devices installed in their vehicles would face longer license suspensions. The bill also includes a compliance provision intended to make sure offenders stay sober. Users would have to demonstrate several months of sobriety. KDA President Eric Gregory said Wednesday that the measure would take more drunken drivers off the roads and save lives. He said the bill would provide the accountability needed for DUI offenders to change their behavior. There is no reason today that anybody should ever get behind (the wheel of) a vehicle after drinking, he said at the Capitol event. There are too many safe-ride options that you dont have to drink and drive. Gregory said his group last year reached out to Westerfield, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to work on strengthening the ignition interlock law. The result is the bill now winding through the legislature. Gregory was joined at the statehouse event by Helen Witty, national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Strengthening the interlock law is a recognition that many DUI offenders continue to drive in violation of their license suspensions, she said. We know we can no longer take away a license and hope for the best, she said. Ignition interlocks are the only technology we have today that separates the drinker from the car. Thirty-two states have laws similar to the measure Kentucky lawmakers are considering, she said. ___ The legislation is Senate Bill 85. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation Kentucky The U.S. Supreme Court will not revive a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a black man shot to death by a white police officer in Mississippi. Antwun Ronnie Shumpert was killed in June 2016 in Tupelo. In November 2017, U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock dismissed the Shumpert familys lawsuit without a trial. She wrote the law was clear that the officer and the city could not be found liable for damages in Shumperts death. In September, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Aycocks ruling. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court let the appeals court ruling stand. Federal and state prosecutors ruled out criminal charges against officer Tyler Cook, despite claims by Shumperts relatives that the shooting was unjustified. Cook says he shot as Shumpert punched him. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits USA Law Enforcement Mississippi The United States, Canada and Mexico are coordinating efforts to prevent the arrival of a highly contagious swine disease that has swept through Chinas hog herd and parts of Europe, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Thursday. The disease, African swine fever, can cause death for hogs in just two days. China, home to the worlds largest hog herd, has reported more than 100 cases of the disease in 27 provinces and regions since last August. Efforts to contain the fever have disrupted Chinese pork supplies. The virus has spread to Chinas neighbor, Vietnam. Eastern Europe has suffered an outbreak and Belgium has found the virus in wild boar. If it were to reach the United States, swine fever could curb shipments in the $6.5 billion export market for American pork at a time when the industry is already reeling from the impact of trade disputes with China and Mexico. Sharing the long borders that we do both on the north and south, its important that we function together as one, Perdue said at the U.S. Department of Agricultures annual outlook forum, where he shared a stage with Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Mexicos Secretary of Agriculture Victor Villalobos Arambula. All the things that go on in a very mobile world today will only increase the likelihood of things transferring from one nation to another, Perdue said. We are committing even further, based on the most recent African swine fever, to up our game. MacAulay said Canada has taken steps including raising fines for those caught illegally importing meat. This type of thing is so vitally important because it takes one (case) to cost us billions of dollars, MacAulay said. I hope we can deal with this issue not after it comes, but before it comes. Smithfield Foods, the worlds biggest pork producer and a division of Chinas WH Group, has increased safety procedures at U.S. farms, while U.S. hog farmers are leaving animal-feed ingredients imported from China in storage in an attempt to keep the disease out. Though not harmful to humans, there is no vaccine for the disease and transmission can occur in many ways, including direct contact between animals, through contaminated food and by people contaminated with the virus traveling from one place to another. News of the spread of the disease in Asia has lifted CME Group lean hog futures at times, as traders consider the potential for improved U.S. pork exports to China. The USDAs chief economist, Robert Johansson, said prospects for U.S. pork producers to export more to Asia to compensate for hogs culled due to the disease may be overstated. Johansson said plentiful supply in the United States would push hog prices down 7.5 percent in 2019. Producers in the United States are very efficient at producing pigs, and they are producing a lot of them right now, he said. (Reporting by Julie Ingwersen Editing by Simon Webb and Phil Berlowitz) Topics USA Agribusiness China Canada Mexico A suburban Chicago plant that sterilizes medical instruments with a chemical believed to be cancer causing has been shut by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The state EPA issued a seal order for Sterigenics U.S. in Willowbrook. The agency said the order was issued because air sampling by Willowbrook officials and the U.S. EPA consistently found high outdoor ambient levels of ethylene oxide. Federal regulators consider the gas a carcinogen. Former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Republican DuPage County States Attorney Robert Berlin filed suit last year claiming the Sterigenics plant was a public health-risk nuisance. Sterigenics in the past has said ethylene oxide is the only process to sterilize medical instruments that is federally approved. In a statement late Friday, the company called the IEPAs action indefensible. The company sought an emergency order to reopen, but a federal judge has refused the request. In seeking an emergency order to reopen, Sterigenics attorney Gerard Kelly on Feb. 20 told U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly the plants shutdown is causing a crisis for its customers. He said medical supply companies will be in a lurch without Sterigenics products because it will take them months to find a new place to get what they need. Illinois EPA attorney Steve Sylvester called ethylene oxide a known human carcinogen. Sylvester added environmental data obtained Feb. 19 were alarming due to fugitive emissions. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics USA Pollution Illinois Nationwide Insurance has more than doubled the number of Des Moines job cuts it announced last fall. Nationwide said in November that about 80 workers in Des Moines would lose their jobs as part of a company effort to eliminate about 1,100 positions across the country around 3.6 percent of its workforce. The company issued 191 layoff notices this month, however. Nationwide spokesman Joe Case told The Des Moines Register that, as weve continued to implement our business plans, we are realizing a larger impact in Des Moines than what we originally shared in November. Nationwide has said it is taking advantage of new technologies as it positions the organization for long-term success and growth. Related: Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Talent Iowa | BY Ricki Green | The One Club for Creativity, the worlds foremost non-profit organization recognizing creative excellence in advertising and design, has today announced its global Portfolio Night 2019 will take place in Melbourne on May 22, 2019. Host, location and other details for the event will be finalized shortly. The club has already confirmed hosts in 19 cities to participate and is seeking agencies, schools and creative organizations in other locations worldwide to participate (host details available here). Hosts for the 19 confirmed cities to date are AlmapBBDO (Sao Paulo); Arnold (Boston); B&W (Beirut, Dubai); BETC (Paris); Brokaw (Cleveland); Circulo de Creativos (Buenos Aires); Clube Criativos de Portugal (Lisbon); Edelman (Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco); TBWA\Groupe (Lyon); The One Club for Creativity-Cairo chapter (Cairo) and Lanfranco/Cordova (Lima). Hosts for Shanghai, Beijing and Melbourne will be finalized shortly, followed soon by additional cities. Long recognized as the worlds largest advertising portfolio review program, Portfolio Night is a fast-paced evening of advice, networking and recruitment that takes place in dozens of cities all across the globe on the same date to help the next generation of creative talent entering the industry. Since starting in 2003, Portfolio Night has happened in 70 cities across 45 countries, where 8,751 portfolios have been reviewed. Portfolio Night is an important event in advertising because it serves as the gateway for young talent to enter the industry, enabling the best of the present hundreds of renowned international creative directors to meet and mentor the leaders of the future in industry hubs around the world. It has also become a crucial tool for agencies in recruiting top young talent, providing a platform for recognition from local industry peers, and giving agencies a place on the global stage as the ad world tunes in to this one-of-a-kind event. The program also includes Portfolio Night All-Stars, where each city host selects one young creative in their market with the best portfolio. These lucky All-Stars are flown to New York from around the world to work for a week as a team on a creative assignment for a major global brand. Says Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club for Creativity: Portfolio Night is a unique global event that serves as a high-visibility opportunity for agencies and creative directors to give back to the industry by guiding the earliest steps of future copywriters, art directors and technologists. We are very grateful to all the agencies and organizations who have already confirmed to make this important global event possible so far and look forward to hearing from others who want to host Portfolio Night to their market. In addition to this years hosts, past Portfolio Night city hosts include Ogilvy, DDB, McCann, BBDO, J. Walter Thompson, CP+B, Jung von Matt, Sid Lee, Perfect Fools, Whyness Worldwide, Perth Advertising & Design Club, Chicago Portfolio School, ADCN Netherlands and others. Tickets for young creatives interested in attending Portfolio Night 2019 will be available in April, after all city hosts are determined. Chinas banking and insurance regulator said on Friday it will extend its control of Anbang Insurance Group Co. Ltd. for one year to Feb. 22, 2020. The regulator will maintain the stable operation of Anbang and protect the interests of all relevant parties, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said in a statement on its website. The Chinese government took control of Anbang in February last year, part of a sweeping campaign to reduce financial risk. The former chairman of Anbang, Wu Xiaohui, was later sentenced to 18 years in prison by a Chinese court. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) Related: Topics China A former site manager for a temporary staffing agency in New Jersey has been sentenced to prison for stealing $190,000 from the agency. Xiomara Jovel, 47, of Roselle, N.J., was sentenced to three years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Joseph P. Donohue in Union County. Jovel pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2018, to second-degree theft by deception. She must pay full restitution to the former employer. Deputy Attorney General Derek Miller prosecuted Jovel, and Deputy Attorney General Alyssa Bloom handled the sentencing for the Division of Criminal Justice. Jovel was indicted as the result of an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau and the Clark Police Department. Jovel was formerly employed as an onsite manager for the temporary staffing agency, which provides temporary employees to various businesses in New Jersey. As an onsite manager, Jovel was based at a warehouse of one of the agencys major clients and handled the payroll for the temporary employees who worked at the warehouse. One option by which employees of the temporary staffing agency are paid is through pre-paid debit cards, or cash cards, which do not require a bank account. Funds placed on the cash card by the employer can be withdrawn by the employee from any ATM. The investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice revealed that Jovel fabricated wages for six individuals who no longer worked for the agency. She diverted the fictitious wages to cash cards in the employees names and then withdrew the funds for her personal use. Jovel stole $190,000 from the temporary staffing agency between 2014 and 2016. Dishonest employees like Jovel cause significant losses for businesses, which ultimately have a detrimental impact on commerce, employment and consumers, said New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in an news release issued by his office. We are committed to aggressively investigating and prosecuting white collar crime. Detective Mark Byrnes, Detective Katelyn Sake Prata, and Deputy Attorney General Derek Miller investigated and prosecuted the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau, under the supervision of Deputy Bureau Chief Mark Kurzawa and Bureau Chief Julia Glass. Detective Alejandro Yanes of the Clark Police Department assisted in the investigation. Source: New Jersey Office of the Attorney General Topics Fraud Commercial Lines Business Insurance New Jersey Baltimore has filed a lawsuit against the agrochemical giant Monsanto and two other companies, accusing them of polluting city waterways and stormwater. The legal effort focuses on PCBs, the industrial chemicals that have long accumulated in animals, plants and people around the globe. Baltimore alleges Monsanto knew its PCB chemicals were toxic and didnt degrade in nature. Baltimore Solicitor Andre Davis says Marylands biggest city intends to hold corporations accountable for cleaning up their toxic messes. In a Tuesday statement, Baltimore said its lawsuit is the first of its kind on the East Coast and the 15th nationally. Places such as San Diego and Seattle have filed similar suits. Monsanto says it believes that Baltimores complaint is without merit. The company stopped producing PCBs more than 40 years ago. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Pollution Chemicals Pie Insurance has announced that it has expanded into four new states. The insurer has begun selling workers compensation insurance to small businesses in Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, and New Mexico. The expansion comes after Pie Insurances launch in five states in January and nine states last year. A typical case of sextortion investigated by BBR Services involves an email from someone claiming to have accessed the recipients work computer and found the addresses of pornographic websites they have viewed. The sender says they have simultaneously recorded footage of the recipient as they watched these sites using their webcam, and threatens to share the files with their email contacts if demands are not met. The good news is, these messages in 2018 proved to be hoaxes. There is no sign yet that the targets of sextortion are anything other than random, and it often turns out that no data has been compromised, noted Beazley. It added, however, that if email recipients in fact engaged in inappropriate behaviour using their work computer, they could fall victim to extortion. Demands for cryptocurrency range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. BBR Services is seeing sextortion emails being sent to individuals in multiple countries, including the UK, and across different industry sectors, from SME to large business, said international breach response manager Helen Nuttall, who recommends alerting the companys IT department if the email came from the business email domain. These emails are convincing as they often appear to come from within the individuals own email account, she explained. This immediately makes the recipient believe that the account has been compromised. Combine this with the fear of potentially humiliating content being distributed to your friends/family/colleagues, it is easy to see why people are lured into paying the bribe. BBR Services head Katherine Keefe, for her part, urges employers to treat BEC seriously. She said organizations need to ensure that the workforce is aware of practical measures to protect their data as well of ways to reduce the instances of compromises escalating into a more serious cyber incident. We are exploring ways to enhance business service models, Greenberg said. We have gone through an exploration process and decided to make changes to the way we deliver our service and claims in customer services. Liberty Mutual has two call centers in its New Castle location one handling auto and home policy changes and one that handles auto and home policy claims. The two call centers account for 420 of the 620 total New Castle employees, Greenberg told The New Castle News. Those two groups are transitioning into a virtual environment. They will work from home. Sixty-eight of the layoffs will come from the call centers, the News reported. The other 68 layoffs will come from the offices central billing unit. The New Castle Office will continue to house 130 employees until it is sold, Greenberg said. There is no timeline to move anyone out of that office, he said. At the end of the day, the building may sell and we may decide to lease back part of the building. There is no predetermined outcome for those employees. They will continue to do their daily jobs as they do every day. Jason Doyle Cook, 44, filed a claim with American Family Insurance in June 2018, saying that his truck had been damaged when he collided with a wooden post and a semi tire in the middle of the freeway. Cook reported that the crash caused damage to the bed of the truck and the rear brakes. He also claimed that he was towing a trailer, which he said was damaged so severely it was no longer operable. American Family conducted a social media search while investigating the claim, according to ABC 4. The insurer allegedly found a photo that showed that the truck had the same damage Cook reported in his claim eight months prior to the supposed accident. Further photographic evidence showed that the damage had been done to the vehicle before Cook even purchased it, ABC 4 reported. Cook was booked and released at Utah County Jail. On behalf of the board of directors and the executive committee, and on my own personal behalf, I would like to thank Victor Peignet wholeheartedly for his immense contribution to the SCOR group over the past 35 years, commented SCOR chairman and chief executive Denis Kessler, who expressed the groups warmest thanks to the 62-year-old. I salute his visionary leadership, his great intelligence, his exceptional work ethic, and his strong passion for reinsurance, which have positioned SCOR Global P&C in the top tier of the industry. Victors career path has been exemplary in every way. Meanwhile Conoscente, who will also become part of the groups executive committee, came onboard more than a decade ago as chief underwriting officer for the Americas at SCOR Global P&C. His experience includes spending time as an AON Benfield reinsurance broker in London and Paris as well as global head of property at AXA Re. I am very pleased that Jean-Paul Conoscente is taking the reins of the SCOR Global P&C division, said Kessler. Jean-Paul joined the group in 2008 in New York, where he headed SCOR Global P&Cs North American business, before taking charge of all reinsurance business across the division. The SCOR boss added: With his deputy CEO Laurent Rousseau, I know that Jean-Paul will continue Victor Peignets work successfully, while bringing his own vision to the SCOR Global P&C division and the wider group. The move comes after Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez invited the insurance industry to invest in the governments massive infrastructure program that aims to further develop the economy, which has been one of the fastest-growing in the region for the past few years. This circular is aimed at encouraging insurers to invest in domestic infrastructure projects to boost our economy and to reap the benefits of portfolio diversification and higher returns, Funa said. Insurers can take advantage of investing their assets in infrastructure projects to aid them in improving their revenue that would address their compliance with the statutory net worth requirements under the Insurance Code. Insurance companies can invest in projects in a number of roles such as proponents, financiers, or sponsors, or as operation and maintenance contractors, as long as they meet the capital requirements and receive approval from the IC. The PDP includes transportation projects, such as roads, railways, airports, and seaports. It also covers non-transportation infrastructure such as environmental and solid waste management related facilities, as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation projects. | BY Ricki Green | This Valentines Day Queensland Health together with MediaCom, asked young people which unhealthy relationship will they end? Queensland was invited to celebrate this Valentines Day with a Break Up. The End your unhealthy relationships activation, led by MediaCom, was held at Reddacliff Brisbaneencouraging Queenslanders to make a pledge by breaking up with one of their unhealthy habits. Whether its deep-fried food, soft drinks, or simply too much screen time, Valentines Day provided the perfect time to show some self-love and break up with an unhealthy relationship. Over summer, Queensland Health launched the End your unhealthy relationships campaign on cinema, digital and social platforms. Thursdays event was a joint venture between WPP agencies MediaCom, Maverick and PPR. The team worked as one seamless group to encourage Queenslanders to reflect on their own unhealthy habits and consider ending just one. The activation was centred around showing Queenslanders that small changes can add up to a big change, and for people to see how good they can feel. This was done through Queenslanders making a pledge in exchange for a range of healthy giveaways from fresh apples, healthy popcorn, nuts and tea, as well as a choice of adventure activities such as kayaking and SUPing, and ultimately go into the running for the major prize of a dinner for two or a tandem bike. PPR arranged for local radio star Matty Acton to promote and host the event and implemented a specialist strategic PR approach that included engagement with key government stakeholders. Maverick managed event logistics, production and sourced renowned street artist Kiel Tillman. Throughout the day, activation staff unearthed the reasons behind the break up stories and Tillman creatively interpreted the pledges into a gigantic mural. MediaCom Beyond Advertising, MediaComs specialist content division, created the idea and oversaw the entire operation, handling the content production, turning around the story in under 24 hours. Over the weekend, MediaCom implemented a content distribution strategy sharing the story across YouTube encouraging more Queenslanders to make their pledge and enter an online competition. Over the course of the entire day, the activation attracted more than 383 pledges and the content was viewed by more than 155,000 Queenslanders. Says Katherine Williams, managing director, MediaCom Brisbane: Were in a privileged position at WPPAUZ to provide Queensland Government with a diverse and dedicated team of experts in government advertising. This engaging stunt showcases the bravery and boldness of Queensland Health to go in a different direction on such an iconic day. The teams collaborated brilliantly from ideation to execution, culminating in a full-service offering across creative, activation, PR and media. Woodbridge, VA (22192) Today Considerable clouds early. Some decrease in clouds later in the day. High near 90F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A mostly clear sky. Low 72F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. The Latest from Barchart Sign up to receive your Watchlist or Portfolio sent to you by email up to 4 times a day; available at market open, mid-day, market close or end-of-day. Premier Members can also receive the results of custom Screeners - alerting to price or trend changes during and after each trading day. Sign up for a risk-free 30-day Barchart Premier trial. There are so many different ways that you can hug a person. Obviously, each type of hug is going to have a little different meaning to it,... From the Open-Publishing Calendar From the Open-Publishing Newswire Indybay Feature Publish to Newswire Add an Event Day of Remembrance: Japanese Americans Recall WWII Incarceration by Text: R.R. Photos: Chris Cassell Friday Feb 22nd, 2019 5:07 AM Immigration issues of today parallel the Japanese American experience during WWII, when families were removed from their homes on the U.S. West Coast to distant locations and incarcerated. Racism was, and is, at the core of both. The 39th annual Day of Remembrance on February 17th featured reminiscence, music, and a march through historic San Jose Japantown that was also a protest of Trump's National Emergency, announced two days earlier. Photos by Chris Cassell, Pro-Bono Photo, please credit the photographer. As a child, Chizu Omori was incarcerated in the Poston camp on the Colorado River Indian Reservation in Arizona during WWII. She shared her remembrance from a podium in the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin on the 77th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066, commemorated by Japanese Americans with events on both U.S. coasts and even in the midwest. Attorney Don Tamaki gave insight on Fred Korematsus legal challenge to his incarceration during that war. Tamaki served on the legal team that reopened the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case. Korematsu was exonerated in 1983, based on a ruling that the U.S. government had lied in accusing Japanese Americans of threatening American security. Tamaki called Trumps National Emergency unconstitutional. A candle-lighting ceremony, with one candle for each of the ten incarceration camps, preceded a march in the neighborhood adjacent the Buddhist temple, with its backdrop of historic buildings. San Jose Japantown is one of the last three Japantowns in the United States, the others being in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Japantown in San Jose is the most authentic in that it wasnt largely torn down and rebuilt. Many of the earliest buildings still remain; here photographer Chris Cassell captures marchers passing by some of those historic places. On the far right are small buildings representing Topaz, in Utah, and Jerome, located in southeastern Arkansas. Jerome was the last camp to open and the first to close. Tule Lake is an example of the U.S. government's abuse of power against people who dared to speak out against the injustice of their incarceration. It was where inmates deemed disloyal from both Hawai'i and California were held near the California-Oregon border. Gila River, in AZ, held over 13,000 inmates. Among the oldest businesses in San Jose Japantown is the Kogura Company, a store started by Kohei Kogura in 1934. As of 2017 it was still being run by his family. The Shanghai Building seen here is a reminder that our Japantown here in the South Bay was built on the site of a Chinatown, reflecting waves of immigration. Opened in 1964, Kay's Shiseido was one of the first Shiseido cosmetics stores on the United States mainland. Grocery store Dobashi opened in San Jose's Japantown in 1912. Three generations of the Dobashi family operated the grocery through the 20th Century until competitive pressures from large corporate grocery chain store Nijiya Market forced the Dobashis to close in 2006. Nijiya has corporate headquarters in Torrance, California. New stores have replaced original ones, and most of the historic buildings have had face lifts. Japanese Americans, Allies Say Never Again is Now by Text: R.R. Photos: Jack Owicki Friday Feb 22nd, 2019 3:28 AM On February 17th, members of the greater San Jose Japanese American community commemorated the anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which led to the incarceration of 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent during World War II. At the same time they protested the National Emergency Trump announced two days earlier in order to build his wall on the Mexico-U.S. border. Allies from the South Bay peace activist community joined with those gathered in the local Japantown, one of only three left in the United States. Jack Owicki, Pro-Bono Photo. Please credit the photographer if you use these photos. It was full house in the San Jose Buddhist Church gym where over 400 people listened to speakers including Masao Suzuki, professor at Skyline College. Suzuki spoke of the similarities of immigrants from Japan starting in the late 1800s and Central American refugees today. He said the World War II concentration camps were created in a climate of race prejudice and a failure of political leadership, the same situation we find ourselves in now. He added that, The yellow peril of a hundred or more years ago has been replaced by a brown peril today. Teresa Castellanos, who is the coordinator of Santa Clara Countys Immigrant Relations and Integration services, said that Japanese Americans have a keen understanding of the plight of immigrants today because of the experience of incarceration, until recently euphemistically referred to as "internment", during WW II. A candle-lighting ceremony preceded a march in the surrounding neighborhood with its backdrop of historic buildings. Nihonmachi, Japantown, is located just a few blocks north of downtown San Jose. It was founded around 1890, when Japanese immigrants came to the Santa Clara Valley to do farm work, as a place providing comfort and safety from prevailing anti-Asian racism. Canadian graphite producer Nouveau Monde Graphite has signed a binding offtake agreement with international trading house Traxys for the marketing of its output of flake graphite for the next seven years. Nouveau Monde will supply 200 tonnes per year of flake graphite for the first two years of the agreement. A Pakistani Kashmiri walks past a bus for the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar service parked on a street, in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan's controlled Kashmir, on Feb. 19, 2019 following a shutdown of the bus service connecting the cities. (Sajjad Qayyum/AFP/Getty Images) Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris arrives to have lunch with Rev. Al Sharpton at Sylvia's Restaurant in Harlem, Feb. 21, 2019 in New York City. In other news, Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican descent, has been slammed by her father for saying that she smoked marijuana in her younger years and supports it becoming legalized. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Nikki Haley, the Indian American former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has returned to The Original Six Foundation as its board chair. (originalsixfoundation.org photo) Founded by Indian American Piyush Hari, the San Francisco, Calif.-based Dilli Labs, which specializes in the development of voice assistants, has been selected by the city of Henderson, Nevada, to develop an Alexa virtual assistant for its residents. (Piyush Hari/LinkedIn photo) In a shocking incident, an untrained female driver rammed a new car through the glass doors of a car showroom. YouTube The incident took place in Mandi Himachal Pradesh and the woman allegedly lost control of the accelerator. Watch the video below: As seen in the video, the woman got into an Elite i20 car, placed in the middle Grand i10 and i20. Just as she started the car, she lost control and raced the car through the doors. The car crashed into another vehicle parked outside after speeding out of the showroom. In the video, another woman standing right outside the showroom narrowly escapes. The woman, who has not been identified, now owes nearly Rs 4 Lakh in damages - nearly half the price of the car she had wanted to buy, reports Mail Online. According to reports, no one was injured in the incident. Main tujhe dekh lunga. We either been on the receiving end of this statement, said it ourselves or even overheard it. It's a generously used statement in India when it comes to any fight between people. It can be said it does have the intended effect sometimes since it angers people and escalates any situation. But Gujarat High Court, in a recent judgment refused to accept that main tujhe dekh lunga is an expression of criminal intimidation or threat. According to TOI, the High Court announced the judgment while hearing a case. Gujarat High Court/Economic Times An FIR was filed against a lawyer named Mohammad Mohsin Chhalotiya from Sabarkantha district of Gujarat, who was imprisoned in 2017 for threatening police by saying main sab ko dekh lunga. Chhalotiya had gone to meet his client at a police station, where the police objected to him talking to his client. This led to a heated argument between the police and the lawyer. Later, the cops registered an FIR against Chhalotiya. Justice AS Supehia in the order stated that the threat must cause alarm in the mind of the victim, and 'I will see you' cannot be considered criminal intimidation. He added, no such feature emerged in the present case. Chhalotiya's arrest was reportedly wrong on the part of the policemen who are said to have interfered with the lawyer's functioning. Delhi police are doing a good job in investigating a crime, but they are not alone in solving a criminal case. So, lets take a minute to thank Babu and Babe, Delhi Polices most reliable investigators. No, they are not humans, but dog siblings! Babu is a five-year-old Labrador retriever who is the countrys best tracking canine, while his sister Babe is among the best in explosives detection in the country. TOI Babu had won a gold medal at the All India Police Duty Meet 2018 among the tracking dogs while Babe bagged the bronze medal in explosives detection. Babu, also became an internet sensation after his photograph went viral on the social media when he took part in the 72nd Raising Day Parade of the Delhi Police last Saturday. Delhi Police Dog Squad won the Gold medal in tracking event at 61st All India Police Duty Meet -2018 held in Chennai pic.twitter.com/vJuvdQyVHi Dipendra Kumar (@dipendrakumar03) March 15, 2018 These two are the best we have. Babus job is to track killers and suspects of heinous crimes while Babe is the best when it comes to tracing explosives and sanitising VIP areas before a major event. While Babu visits the most grievous crime spots, his sister is busy throughout the Republic Day, securing premises. She leads the dog squad that sanitises routes for the Prime Minister, the President, and other VVIP dignitaries, sub-inspector Dharam Veer, in-charge of the Delhi Police dog squad, said. We have been encouraging their handlers to train them for competitions. These dogs have a very good pedigree and are an asset for Delhi Police, said Madhur Verma, DCP, PRO. Our award winning canine ! Won the All India trophy and adjudged as the best tracker dog of the country. Specially trained at Indian Army Remount and Veterinary Corps, Meerut ! pic.twitter.com/p64HwAeqxB Madhur Verma (@IPSMadhurVerma) February 21, 2019 They were sent for training when they were six months old. Babus training lasted for 36 weeks while Babe was trained for 24 weeks to sniff out narcotics and explosives. They also have monthly tests and midterm examination which they have to pass before they are deployed as police canines, their handler, head constable Vishal Singh, said. Babe can sniff out suspicious substances buried even one foot underground. Babu can track a suspect up to a distance of three kilometers, Singh said. Babu and Babe- Twitter Born on April 27, 2014, the duo came to the Delhi Police in 2016 from Meerut Cantonment, after completing their training at the Border Security Forcess (BSF) Training Centre for dogs in Tekanpur, Madhya Pradesh. Comment Policy Calaveras Enterprise does not actively monitor comments. However, staff does read through to assess reader interest. When abusive or foul language is used or directed toward other commenters, those comments will be deleted. If a commenter continues to use such language, that person will be blocked from commenting. We wish to foster a community of communication and a sharing of ideas, and we truly value readers' input. India has still not recovered from the pain and agony of losing 49 CRPF jawans, who were martyred in one of the deadliest attacks in Jammu and Kashmir after Uri attack of September 18, 2016. India lost its 49 men after a Jaish terrorist rammed his explosive-laden SUV into one of the buses in the CRPF convoy at Awantipora town of Pulwama district on February 14. While 49 men lost their lives, there are still many who are currently fighting for their lives. ANI After the attack, people tried to pay their respects to the soldiers in the best way they could manage. And this textile mill in Gujarats Surat tried its best too. The mill manufactured a batch of sarees that were printed with photos of CRPF jawans martyred in Pulwama. Gujarat: Annapurna Industries Pvt Ltd, a textile mill in Surat, has manufactured a batch of sarees as a tribute to CRPF jawans who lost their lives in #PulwamaAttack. Mills' Director says, "We will donate the entire profit earned, to the families of the martyred jawans." (21.02) pic.twitter.com/uXTJDPm7pA ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2019 Annapurna Industries Pvt Ltd. is planning to donate all the profits to the families of the martyred CRPF jawans as a mark of tribute, reports ANI. ANI Speaking about the unique tribute to the CRPF jawans, Manish, Director of the mill told ANI, "We've portrayed the strength of our defence in these sarees. We've shown jawans' strength, new tanks, Tejas and others. The response has been good. We're getting orders from across the country. We'll donate the entire profit to families of the jawans." Manish, Director of the mill: We've portrayed strength of our defence in these sarees. We've shown jawans' strength, new tanks, Tejas and others. The response has been good. We're getting orders from across the country. We'll donate the entire profit to families of the jawans. pic.twitter.com/XHqwDaSBjB ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2019 Earlier this week, a man from Sridungarpur, Bikaner tattooed the names of 71 martyred soldiers including the 49 CRPF jawans who were martyred on February 14, 2019. Earlier this week, China's state-run news agency Xinhua debuted a new news anchor on their team, by the name of Xin Xiaomeng. Her career path is interesting because she's never been a journalist before. She's never been anything else for that matter. That's because Xin is not a real person. She's in fact an artificial intelligence-powered news anchor, built by Xinhua in collaboration with search engine Sogou. And though she's the first female AI news anchor, she's not the first of her kind overall. Last November, we talked about two other IA news anchors debuted by Xinhua, the first ever in the world. Both male anchors, they were trained to deliver news reports in both English and Chinese on the agency's website. Xin will now join them, making her debut during the upcoming Chinese legislature meetings in March. All the AI have progressed from the simple piece to cameras they were doing earlier. Xinhua and Sogou now say they can stand and talk simultaneously as well. China's Xinhua News Agency on Tuesday unveiled the worlds first female #AI news anchor, Xin Xiaomeng, who will make her professional debut during the upcoming meetings of the country's national legislature and top political advisory body #TwoSessions pic.twitter.com/9gGDpfwfil People's Daily, China (@PDChina) February 20, 2019 The news agency says the AI can anchors can "work 24 hours a day (obviously) on its official website and various social media platforms, reducing news production costs and improving efficiency." Since their debut in November, the first two have presented about 3,400 news reports over 10,000 minutes. Also Read: Chinese State News Agency Has AI Anchor To Read English News Bulletins And 'He' Looks Real! It's just another example of how AI is taking over jobs previously done by humans, making us redundant, and why we need to diversify. Days after the deadly Pulwama attack carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammad based in Pakistan, Hafiz Saeeds Jamat-ut-Dawa has been banned by the country. Hafiz Saeed is the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind. The decision was taken in the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan to review the National Action Plan in detail. He formed Jamat-ut-Dawa after Lashkar-e-Taiba was banned by the Pakistan government. "It was decided during the meeting to accelerate action against proscribed organizations. It was further decided that Jamat-ut-Dawa and Falah-e- Insaniat Foundation be notified as proscribed organizations by the Ministry of Interior," a statement by Government of Pakistan said. As the tensions between India and Pakistan have heightened following the terror attack in Pulwama that killed 40 CRPF personnel, Pakistan PM Imran Khan chaired a key meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) during which the countrys security situation was discussed. The decision is a culmination of a series of events, starting from February 14, when India came down heavily on Pakistan following the attack. Pakistan drew condemnation from across the world and India decided to withdraw the 'Most Favoured Nation' status given to Pakistan and curb trade ties. Taapsee Pannu is one classy woman. She speaks more with her actions and thats what people love about her. Indiatimes met the Manmarziyaan actress for an interaction on her upcoming film Badla along with Amitabh Bachchan at Red Chillies' Office. Twitter Looking gorgeous in a white shirt paired with brown bell bottoms and donning spectacles, Taapsee had her geek mode on. Instagram She was elated to work with Mr. Bachchan all over again after Pink and said she has become even more confident. But the highlight of the interview was her revelation about taking revenge with an ex-boyfriend. Twitter Yes. Taapsee whos next film is Badla, said she too has taken a Badla in real life, she revealed, When I was dating a boy in school he broke up with me by giving 10th board excuse, I felt very bad at that time. After two years, he started flirting with me online and I came to know he was already dating someone but was still flirting with me, so I took the print out of the entire chat and sent it to the girl who he was dating. Twitter The actress doesnt have any regrets of doing the same. In fact, she excused herself by saying bachpan mai yahi sab toh karte hai hum. Twitter Taapse has a lot of hopes from Badla, says the film will leave the audiences amazed. Badla is directed by Sujoy Ghosh and we just cannot contain our excitement to watch the film. The countdown has begun! In just a few days, we will witness the 91st Academy Awards 2019. Every year, most of us look forward to the Oscars. Okay maybe not! But then it wont be wrong to say that this award ceremony does provide a lot of fodder for us to have a meme fest for at least a week. Apart from the amazing speeches, performances and red carpet looks, Oscars unintentionally makes way for giggle-worthy memes, almost every year without fail. giphy While the ceremony itself is known to be predictable, sometimes it does take us by a surprise. Therefore, ahead of this years much-awaited Academy Awards ceremony we decided to take a walk down memory lane and raise a toast to all such awkward/funny moments that kept us entertained for a long time. Scroll! 1. Jennifer Lawrence - the name is enough twitter J Law is probably the only celebrity who never fails to entertain us. She might not be a presenter, a winner or a nominee every year but she gets the spotlight every single time. Why you ask? Well, her adorable, goofy nature makes her shine bright like a diamond! And when she doesnt charm us with that she makes sure that she trips, jumps over the seats or carry her drink all around. I dont think one can ever get over her awkward fall before she went up on the stage to receive her best actress trophy in 2013. Without further ado, here are pictures for your perusal. twitter twitter we heart it 2. Angelina Jolies leg twitter At the 84th Academy Awards red carpet, Angelina Jolie did make a fashionable appearance in a strapless black Versace gown but what caught everyones fancy was her pose! The dress had a thigh-high split revealing her leg and the internet found it so amusing that soon after, it presented its own version of her pose. It became a fad in no time and more than the ceremony, Jolie became the most talked-about topic. In fact, it also led to the discovery of a new slang - Leg-bombing. twitter 3. Scarlett Johansson and John Travoltas super awkward picture agencies Back in 2015, at the 87th Academy Awards ceremony, John Travolta bagged the title of Creep of the Oscars. The Pulp Fiction actor made headlines for all the wrong reasons. It was when he put his arm around actress Scarlett Johanssons waist and tried to give her an unrequited peck! The photo which was clicked at a wrong time went on to become viral. Whats more it also inspired a lot of toe-curling memes. reddit That particular picture gained so much momentum that Johansson had to give a statement in one of her interviews. She said, 'The image that is circulating is an unfortunate still-frame from a live-action encounter that was very sweet and totally welcome. That still photo does not reflect what preceded and followed if you see the moment live. 4. John Travolta acting creepy again and this time with Idina Menzel on the stage! In 2014, Travolta became a laughing stock when he flubbed actress Idina Menzels name. While John Travolta and his antics are never ending, no one anticipated that he would goof up with the same person twice and that too in a row. Following the name flub, the very next year Travolta was mocked massively both online and offline for pawing at Menzels face while presenting an award together. Dont believe us? Check it out for yourself: bustle 5. Nicole Kidmans new way of clapping like a seal twitter Nicole Kidman left millions of people scratching their heads after she demonstrated an odd way of clapping at the 2017 Oscars. When she stood up to give a round of applause to a winner, most of the people didnt even register who won for they were busy decoding why Kidman clapped the way she did. The clapping was so awkward that people discussed about it extensively for weeks. So much so, that Nicole Kidman finally had to clear the air in an interview. It was really awkward, she admitted during an Australian radio interview. I was like, I wanna clap, I dont wanna not be clapping thatd be worse, right? Like Why isnt Nicole clapping? So therefore Im clapping but it was really difficult because I had a huge ring on that was not mine but it was absolutely gorgeous and I was terrified of damaging it. Well, diamond ring or not, we are not forgetting that clap anytime soon. 6. Neil Patrick Harris stripping down to his undies on the stage variety Well, lets just say 2015 was a phenomenal year for meme lovers as it had more than one funny moment. As if J Laws fall, Travoltas creepiness wasnt enough our very own Neil Patrick Harris aka Barney Stinson ended walking on the stage in his pair of tighty-whitties. Yes, you read that right! In a bid to enact the movie Birdmans underwear scene, he took this bold step. Once the deed was done, people were too stunned to notice the parody part of the sketch. Well, it sure was a ballsy move for NPH, to say the least. 7. Sacha Baron Cohen dressing up as The Dictator only to sprinkle ashes on a host! youtube Back in 2012, the year that the movie The Dictator released, there were a lot of talks about actor Sacha Baron Cohen being banned from attending the Oscars for he had threatened to come dressed up as his character from the film. Putting a rest to all such rumours, he did appear on the red carpet only to be escorted out. Why you ask? Well, he took the stunt way too far. Not only did Cohen come dressed up as General Aladeen but also carried out a publicity stunt that went wrong. The British comedian in full character claimed to be carrying the ashes of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. While talking to host Ryan Secrest, he then said that it was Kim's dying wish "to be sprinkled over the red carpet and over Halle Berry's chest". A second later, he tipped the urn all over the host which covered his tux in white dust. In just a few seconds, he was rescued out of the venue by security guards. Well, talk about comedy gone wrong. 8. Ben Stiller came dressed up in Navi inspired garb from Avatar youtube Ben Stiller took his presenting job way too seriously in 2010s Oscar ceremony. In charge of presenting the Best Make Up Award, Stiller walked out on the stage in full Avatar get up, much to the amusement of the A-list audience. He then went on to poke fun at the movie which was snubbed at the ceremony that year. Rest assured he did secure one of the top slots in the best cameos of Oscars history. 9. Angelina Jolies cringey PDA with her brother twitter Wait, before you start cussing, we are NOT making this up! In what sounds like a bizarre parallel world, Angelina Jolie took everyone by a surprise when she walked the red carpet with her brother James Haven only to kiss him on the mouth in full public glory in 2000. It fueled incest rumours even more, when she said that she is so in love with her brother in her acceptance speech. The rumour mills even suggested that this episode drove a wedge between Jolie and her former husband Brad Pitt. 10. Ellen DeGeneres Pizza Delivery in the middle of the Oscars ceremony twitter Well, A-lister or not, hunger pangs can make people go crazy. In 2014s Oscars ceremony, host Ellen DeGeneres ordered free pizza for hungry Hollywood biggies. The comedienne and talk show star ushered a delivery man from Big Mama's & Papa's Pizzeria into the Dolby Theatre and then urged the audience to pay the tip. As per reports, the pizza delivery guy ended up taking home more than 1000 dollars as tip. 11. Last but not the least, the much-talked about star-studded selfie twitter Right after pizza, Ellen DeGeneres went down the stage only to click the most star-studded selfie ever. At the 90th Academy Awards ceremony , Ellen squeezed Jared Leto, Jennifer Lawrence, Channing Tatum, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Bradley Cooper, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyongo, Angelina Jolie and Lupitas Brother Junior apart from herself in one frame to click one helluva selfie. Posting it on Twitter, she wrote If only Bradley's arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars. To say that it shattered the most retweeted photo record on twitter would be an understatement. The 91st Academy Awards will take place this Sunday in Los Angeles. Star kids stay in the limelight all the time but the attention that Taimur Ali Khan hogs, it's bizarre and different. From clicking him at the playground to taking his airport shots, it was revealed that Taimur's pictures are in high demand and photographers get paid a bomb for them. Taimur Ali Khan is already a household name thanks to the constant media attention on the two-year-old but mother Kareena Kapoor Khan says the scrutiny is sometimes too much. Twitter The actor said while she and husband Saif Ali Khan dont believe in stopping the paparazzi from clicking pictures of their son, the media should be a little more responsible. When asked how does she look at the massive popularity of Taimur, Kareena told PTI, Agencies We view it as something socially irresponsible because we have been such good parents, we havent shied away, we never hid Taimurs face. In Hollywood, they dont allow childrens faces to come (publish). But because Saif and I took the modern approach, we cant do that. The 38-year-old actor said both Saif and her dont want to to cover Taimurs face when they are out as it will probably scar him more. He would think what is happening? I dont want him to grow up in that fear. I want him to grow up and fly, thats what parents want their children to do. I cant keep him away. However, Kareena added that media should handle it all with a little bit more responsibility should be there because he is a child. Instagram That would be nice from the media. I have never stopped them. But the constant attention, scrutiny (isnt good). Hopefully hes going to be a cool kid like his parents, be more interested in music and sports. Thats what we want." Kareena said she has become a lot more responsible after becoming a mother and feels her life now revolves around Taimur. Instagram Its important for mothers to have the knowledge of vaccination, they have to get the child immunised. Its important for mothers to have more knowledge because for a newborn infant, they are taking that responsibility. Thats why my life is in Taimurs hands because everythings about him. I hope people understand that and take it in a positive way, she added. She said, We view it as something socially irresponsible because we have been such good parents, we havent shied away, we never hid Taimurs face. In Hollywood, they dont allow childrens faces to come (publish). But because Saif and I took the modern approach, we cant do that. Well, there are multiple stories and anecdotes that have been revealed by the cast and crew of the film that prove that there is a lot that went behind making this over-ambitious film a reality-and a beautiful one at that. Read on! Instead of shying away from the media, both Farhan and Shibani are very comfortable in posing for media and they made an official confirmation on the same when they arrived at DeepVeer reception in Mumbai holding hands. Dhairya was last seen as Captain Sartaj Singh Chandok in Vicky Kaushal and Yami Gautam starrer recent blockbuster Uri. Set in Kashmir, the romantic-drama film is produced by Salma Khan, Khetani and Ashwin Varde and it is slated to release on March 29. "Kabir Singh", directed by Sandeep Vanga, is a remake of his own directorial Telugu language film "Arjun Reddy" (2017). Jointly produced by Cine1 Studios and T-Series, the film stars Shahid and Kiara Advani in the lead. It releases on June 21. If Elizabeth Warren, often referred to by me as Pocahontas, did this commercial from Bighorn or Wounded Knee instead of her kitchen, with her husband dressed in full Indian garb, it would have been a smash! pic.twitter.com/D5KWr8EPan Trump's reference to Wounded Knee evokes the dark history of suppression of indigenous religions The Conversation President Trump evoked the Wounded Knee massacre in a recent tweet. He was reacting to an Instagram video that Sen. Elizabeth Warren posted on New Years Eve. Theres been considerable criticism of the presidents inaccurate portrayal of Native American history, including from members of his own party. Two Republican senators from South Dakota, Mike Rounds and John Thune, spoke out against the tweet. Wounded Knee is among the worst massacres in Native American history. It was also one of the most violent examples of the repression of indigenous religion in American history. The Wounded Knee cemetery on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Photo: Hamner_Fotos Religious suppression Religion historian Tisa Wenger explains that before the 20th century, many Americans believed that indigenous practices were by definition savage, superstitious and coercive. They did not consider them to be religion. In part because of this belief, the U.S. government decided not to recognize Native Americans as citizens of sovereign governments in the 19th century, but as colonial subjects. In 1883, the Department of Interior enacted the first Indian Religious Crimes Code making the practice of Native American religions illegal. These codes remained in place until 1934. In response, Wenger writes, some Native American groups tried to convince government agents that their gatherings were places of prayer and worship similar to Christian churches. Others claimed that their gathering were social, not religious. But this kind of masking of religious practices did not stop the U.S. government from using violence to suppress these Native American ceremonies. In 1890, the U.S. military shot and killed hundreds of unarmed men, women and children at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in an effort to suppress a Native American religious ceremony called the ghost dance. Historian Louis Warren explains that the ghost dance developed as a religious practice in the late 19th century after Native Americans witnessed the devastating environmental change of their homelands from American settlement. The dance envisioned a return to their unspoiled natural world. The U.S. military, however, viewed it differently. They believed the Native Americans at Wounded Knee were gathering for war. Wounded Knee survivors, Dewey Beard, left and James Pipe-on-Head, right, meet John Collier in Washington D.C., 1938. The government (Bureau of Indian Affairs) offered to pay $1,000 to each person who survived the massacre. No comment.pic.twitter.com/fsMfYsbDYZ Native American Photos (@NativeAmPhotos) January 13, 2019 The darkest moment The U.S. government changed its policies of openly suppressing indigenous religions in 1934. But it would take another 44 years before the U.S. fully committed to protect and preserve religious rights of American Indians through the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978. As a Native American scholar of religion and environment history, I agree with Republican Sen. Mike Rounds the Wounded Knee massacre should never be used as a punchline. Rosalyn R. LaPier is an Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at The University of Montana. She is an award winning Indigenous writer and ethnobotanist with a BA in physics and PhD in environmental history. Rosalyn studies the intersection of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) learned from elders and the academic study of environmental history and religion. Rosalyn is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana and Metis. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Join the Conversation Judge stymies corporate case against Dakota Access Pipeline fighters By Talli NaumanNative Sun News Today Health & Environment Editor BISMARCK, N. D. A federal judge here dismissed all charges in the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) builders racketeering suit against Greenpeace International and pipeline fighters on February 14. Justice has been served, Greenpeace USA General Counsel Tom Wetterer proclaimed. This is a huge victory not just for Greenpeace but for anyone and everyone who has ever stood up against powerful corporate interests, he said in a written statement. A spokesperson for the plaintiff, Fortune 500 company Energy Transfer Equity, (formerly Energy Transfer Partners) expressed disappointment, but vowed to pursue the case in North Dakota state courts. North Dakota U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson ruled that the plaintiff could not prove its claims that the environmental groups support of the native struggle against the private construction project constituted violation of the RICO Act. Native Nations Rise RICO is the acronym for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a federal law designed to combat organized crime in the United States. RICO is a unique cause of action that is concerned with eradicating organized long-term habitual criminal activity, Wilson said. While there is a common purpose among defendants they all oppose the DAPL there is no ongoing organization, no continuing unit, and no ascertainable structure, he concluded. This is far short of what is needed to establish a RICO enterprise. Absolved by the decision, along with Greenpeace, were alleged Red Warrior Camp media figures Krystal Two Bulls and Ruby Montoya. Earlier in the same civil suit, the judge had dismissed similar charges the company pressed against pipeline opponents Earth First! and BankTrack. The landmark decision puts to rest the last of DAPL majority-owner Energy Transfers federal claims in what defense lawyers termed a SLAPP suit a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. The decision to dismiss this lawsuit sends a strong message to all companies trying to silence civil society with baseless cases, Greenpeace said in the wake of the dismissal. Donating to people whose cause you support does not create a RICO enterprise. The $1-billion lawsuit filed in August 2017 alleged defendants were providing hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund an international terrorist, drug-smuggling RICO enterprise" aimed at stopping pipeline construction. Contact Talli Nauman at talli.nauman@gmail.com Copyright permission Native Sun News Today Join the Conversation 16 states file lawsuit against Trumps national emergency; Arizona isnt one of them Cronkite News PHOENIX Sixteen states have filed suit against President Donald Trumps national emergency declaration last week, but Arizona isnt among them. The attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Michigan filed a complaint on Monday opposing the national emergency declaration, which the president declared after Congress refused to fully fund his request for barriers along the southern border. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is leading the state lawsuit, which comes on the heels of lawsuits filed last week by several activist groups. Texas is the only other of the four border states that did not join the suit. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich did not respond to a request for comment. Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) represents district along US border with Mexico. He opposes a physical wall along border, calling it the most expensive and least effective way of doing border security. Calls for border security based on technology instead. #ECWS19 @HurdOnTheHill pic.twitter.com/FleLvJcGFW indianz.com (@indianz) February 12, 2019 After reaching an agreement on a spending bill to avoid another government shutdown, Trump announced that $6.6 billion in military and drug-interdiction funds would be made available to build a border wall, which has been his key campaign promise. Such use would divert counter-drug programming funds directed to the states, and military construction funds to be spent in the states, the 16 plaintiffs assert. Rep. Tom OHalleran, D-Ariz., has said the funding would consist of $3.5 million from the Pentagons military construction fund, $2.5 billion from the Pentagons drug interdiction initiative and $600 million from the Department of Treasurys drug-forfeiture program. Gil Kerlikowske was commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection from 2014 to 2017, and is a fellow at the Baker Institute Mexico Center, specializing in border issues. He said he does not see an emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border. Well, we know that the drugs, especially marijuana seizures, along the border have gone down for a pretty good number of years, he said. We also know that the people arent attempting to evade the Border Patrol, theyre people that essentially turn themselves into the Border Patrol trying to make a claim of credible fear. While working in the Obama administration, Kerlikowske said, CBP processed 68,000 unaccompanied children at the U.S. -Mexico border. They were able to handle that, and theres really no reason that they shouldnt be able to handle this also, he said. Kerlikowske also said increased technology use by CBP officials has led to a safer border. The technology, I think, has been far more effective at reducing the numbers though then a barrier than a wall. A main point of contention involving the construction of a physical barrier is how it would be paid for. (2/2) I support @POTUSs goal, which is to further fund border security. I will continue to study the emergency declaration and additional funding proposal to ensure it increases border security while not adversely impacting our military. Martha McSally (@SenMcSallyAZ) February 16, 2019 In a tweet Friday, Sen. Martha McSally , R-Ariz., publicly addressed the concern over cuts to military funding in Arizona. I support @POTUSs goal, which is to further fund border security, McSally said . I will continue to study the emergency declaration and additional funding proposal to ensure it increases border security while not adversely impacting our military. Gov. Doug Ducey apparently doesnt share that concern. He tweeted his support for the president on Friday, saying, Arizona has watched for decades as Washington has failed to prioritize border security. Its unfortunate it has come to this rather than Congress doing its job. But action is needed. I support President Trumps plan to secure our border. The Department of Justice has not publicly commented on the lawsuits. This story originally appeared on Cronkite News and is published via a Creative Commons license . Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University Note: Thumbnail photo of concertina wire along the top and at the base of the steel fence in Nogales, Arizona, by Delia Johnson / Cronkite News Join the Conversation Conex Banninger has appointed of two new regional technical sales managers. Lisa Cox (pictured) has joined the company with responsibility for driving brand awareness and growth in the Midlands, with Tom Dowdeswell taking up his role for London and East Anglia. Dan Wild, Business Unit Director for Conex Banninger in the UK & Ireland, said: Conex Banninger has a fantastic reputation for our range of compression, solder ring and end-feed solutions, but theres still a massive opportunity for us to increase our share within the press-fit market for our range of innovative and high quality >B< Press solutions. As a business, we are extremely ambitious to achieve this and the appointment of Lisa and Tom further strengthens this, highlighting our commitment to bringing the right people into the business. They both bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and contacts within the HVAC sector and I wish them every success in their roles. Cox brings over 20 years expertise to her role, starting out her professional career as a plumber before working in sales and specification roles for a number of manufacturers in the HVAC industry. Prior to joining Conex Banninger, Dowdeswell spent over a decade working as an engineer and project manager; planning, installing and commissioning commercial and industrial HVAC systems. Cox commented: Our key objective is to maintain and develop relationships with existing customers and drive growth with potential customers, from distributors and merchants, to contractors, consultants and specifiers. To achieve this not only do we need to drive brand awareness and successfully demonstrate the benefits of our range of press-fit solutions to the market, but we also need to continue to convert the market away from hot works to press-fit technology, which is growing in popularity in the sector. We are really looking forward to the challenge. The humanitarian and political crisis in Venezuela took a turn for the worse with the deaths of indigenous activists, who were killed when soldiers opened fire on them on Friday morning, according to news reports. The activists were from Kumarakapay, an indigenous Pemon community near the border of Venezuela and Brazil. According to the reports, the community had set up a checkpoint in their village in hopes of ensuring that humanitarian aid -- an effort being coordinated by the United States -- could enter Venezuela safely. WHEELS UP : Another plane transporting @USAID food & medical supplies is on its way to #Colombia, where we are pre-positioning aid for the people of #Venezuela #EstamosUnidosVE pic.twitter.com/0bQq8cannG Mark Green (@USAIDMarkGreen) February 22, 2019 The soldiers, who were sent to the region by disputed President Nicolas Maduro to stop the incoming shipments, instead opened fire on the people gathered at the checkpoint. The Washington Post identified the victims as Zorayda Rodriguez and Rolando Garcia. Other news outlets said upwards of 15 people were also injured. The United States condemns the killings, attacks, and the hundreds of arbitrary detentions that have taken place in Venezuela, a State Department spokesperson told The Post. We stand with the victims families in demanding justice and accountability. President Donald Trump has played a role in the political aspect of the crisis by refusing to recognize Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela. He instead endorsed opposition leader Juan Guaido and other nations have since followed suit. In a Spanish language post on Twitter on Friday, Guaido said the incident in Kumarakapay won't "go unpunished." He accused officials aligned with Maduro of committing "repression" and "murder" in the Pemon community. Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams is traveling to the region to help deliver the humanitarian supplies. They supplies were shipped to Colombia from Florida, according to the State Department The Trump administration said the aid was being delivered "in response to Interim President Guaidos request" for assistance. Read More on the Story Join the Conversation By Acee Agoyo With one figure forced out of Washington under a cloud, the official tapped by Donald Trump to run the Department of the Interior is promising a new era of relations with Indian Country. In his first remarks to the National Congress of American Indians since being named by the president, Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt said he was pulling the plug on a controversial proposal that would have made it more difficult for tribes to restore their homelands . After a prominent chairwoman who served at the department during the Obama era interjected during the speech, he declared the Fee-to-Trust Regulations (25 CFR 151) dead. I have no interest in modifying our 151 regulations unless you want them changed so we are not going to go forward with that matter," Bernhardt told tribal leaders last Wednesday during NCAI's winter session in D.C. Bernhardt also said he wasn't going to impose a reorganization on the agencies at Interior that serve Indian Country. Tribes had already voiced widespread objections to the proposal, which would have dramatically changed the way they work with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education by moving them to a new "unified" regional system throughout the entire department. "As we listened, it was clear enough that you did not want to be part of that unified region, and you're not," Bernhardt said . "So the BIA and the BIE regions have remained intact and I can assure you that they will remain intact as we move forward with any plans to improve the Department of the Interior." "Our current regional structure will remain intact," Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney , who oversees the BIA and the BIE, reinforced in remarks to NCAI after Bernhardt spoke. Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt says the reorganization of the Department of the Interior will not change the regions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education. I can assure you that they will remain intact. #ECWS19 @DOIDepSec pic.twitter.com/I4tZbuHhRH indianz.com (@indianz) February 13, 2019 The land-into-trust regulations and the reorganization were among the policy disasters that NCAI President Jefferson Keel singled out in the 17th annual State of Indian Nations earlier in the week. Though Bernhardt did not watch the speech in person, two officials from Interior were in the audience, and they heard the strong rebuke of the decisions being made at their department during the tenure of former Secretary Ryan Zinke, who resigned after facing questions about his ethics. "The federal government's policy for tribal lands needs to put the interests of tribal nations first -- and no one else's," Keel asserted. The land-into-trust process was authorized by Congress after the failures of the disastrous allotment period , during which tribes lost 90 million acres , often through shady actions. The 151 proposal that was initiated under Zinke's watch would have made it all but impossible to correct those mistakes, critics said. Of the reorganization, which Zinke announced on his first day of the job , Keel called it "rushed and ill-conceived." He said it was largely developed "without tribal input and against our declared wishes." "This effort has featured alarming changes made with no consultation or explanation," said Keel, who also serves as lieutenant governor of the Chickasaw Nation Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt is dropping a controversial land-into-trust proposal that tribes have opposed. I have no interest in modifying our 151 regulations unless you want them changed so we are not going to go forward with that matter. #ECWS19 @DOIDepSec pic.twitter.com/TahtDINtjx indianz.com (@indianz) February 13, 2019 In spite of Bernhardt's apparent concessions, Indian Country leaders remain wary of an administration where they have seen few positive gains and one in which the White House has severely stumbled with its outreach. Will Micklin, a vice president of the Tlingit and Haida Tribes , said he was "very happy" to hear about the death of the 151 proposal but he insisted on holding Interior accountable to the promise received at the meeting. "Well make sure we follow up on that," responded Keel, who noted that he was already planning to meet with Bernhardt to discuss a wide range of Indian Country's priorities and concerns. "He's given me his word that we will do everything we can to get things accomplished," Keel added. Micklin further pointed out that Bernhardt was silent on a major issue affecting tribes in Alaska. Without consultation or advance notice, Interior last June put a stop to the land-into-trust process in the state pending further review. The BIA has since held consultation and listening sessions -- including some attended by Sweeney, who is the first Alaska Native woman to serve as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs -- to gather input on the issue. Eight months later, Micklin said the hold has morphed into an unwanted "moratorium" that was imposed on tribes without their consent. "They tell us that they have not stopped processing fee-to-trust applications for Alaska tribes but if you never finish, it's the equivalent of a moratorium," Micklin said of the Trump administration's ongoing review , which has already included 12 sessions, with even more being held next month before the close of the comment period on March 15. "They're just not doing it," Micklin said of the lack of action on pending homeland applications in Alaska, where tribes were denied the ability to participate for decades. "We see no progress." WOW. A day after hailing the "historic" addition of an Alaska Native to the team, the Trump administration has withdrawn -- pending "further review" -- an Obama-era legal opinion that affirmed the rights of tribes in Alaska to restore their homelands https://t.co/q89IVhGRpi pic.twitter.com/1i4KrcDMRo indianz.com (@indianz) June 29, 2018 Talk of a land-into-trust moratorium revives old wounds that Indian Country suffered during the George W. Bush era. Tribes saw a virtual halt to their applications in what they saw as punishment for the Cobell trust fund lawsuit One senior official eventually admitted the department wasn't eager to acquire more trust lands because of Cobell and other trust-related litigation . That person -- Jim Cason -- has since returned to Interior to serve the Trump administration in the same role as Associate Deputy Secretary. Many leaders and advocates felt that the proposed 151 regulations, along with other efforts to restrict new trust land acquisitions , showed that Indian Country was once again being punished for the government's sins. The chief of the Mohegan Tribe last summer told Cason point blank that he was exhibiting signs of "Cobell PTSD ," a phrase that some Indian law and policy figures have been using to describe their dealings with the Trump team Chief Lynn Malerba of Mohegan Tribe tells top Trump administration official: Dont let Cobell PTSD flavor this discussion#NCAIMY17 pic.twitter.com/t0tzwPVsHY indianz.com (@indianz) June 13, 2017 But as Bernhardt disclosed that he checked into a hospital emergency room in the hours before his speech last week, he insisted that he has not fallen victim to the same syndrome. Despite the acrimony of Cobell and other trust matters , he said he viewed his prior tenure at Interior as valuable. "It was difficult time for the relationship between the office of the Secretary of the Interior and the NCAI," Bernhardt said. He didn't outright mention that the Bush team effectively boycotted the nation's largest inter-tribal organization for several months after trust reform talks broke down. "However, it was an extremely educational time for me," Bernhardt added, saying that he was able to learn directly from tribal leaders about the federal government's trust and treaty responsibilities Besides tribal leaders, he said Neal McCaleb , who resigned as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs after coming under a cloud for his role in Cobell , and Ross Swimmer , who served as Special Trustee for American Indians despite having an extremely poor reputation in Indian Country , were influential figures to him. But even though NCAI President Keel didn't have too many kind words for Interior during the State of Indian Nations, Bernhardt said he wasn't going to hold the rebuke against anyone,. He promised he would still be able to work with the organization, and with tribes, even if he comes under fire. "I am very comfortable doing both," he said. "I want to be a partner with you ... and I want you to hold me accountable." "Because when I give you my word, it's real," Bernhardt said to applause. For now, Bernhardt is serving double duty at Interior -- as Deputy Secretary and as "acting" Secretary. Before he can assume the top role at the department, he must be confirmed by the Senate The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has yet to announce a confirmation hearing for Bernhardt. But he already has one prominent and powerful member on his side. I strongly support David Bernhardt to serve as the next Secretary of the Interior," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who chairs the committee. She also spoke to NCAI last Wednesday but did not discuss the nomination during her remarks. "He already has helped the department accomplish a great deal for Alaska and the nation, both as deputy secretary and as acting secretary, and he is more than capable of leading on a permanent basis," said Murkowski. "I will schedule a hearing and seek to move his nomination forward as expeditiously as possible. But Democrats, like tribal leaders, are concerned. Sen. Tom Udall (D-New Mexico), who serves as vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs , said Bernhardt's record on tribal issues has been negative. "On many of the most critical matters facing the Interior Department from tribal sovereignty, to conservation and protection of public land, to the fate of endangered wildlife and ecosystems I fear things could go from bad to worse under new leadership," said Udall. He addressed NCAI last Tuesday Join the Conversation Related Stories 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. Jun. 21A fire tore through a massive Outer Banks home on Father's Day, leaving dozens displaced in the popular tourist destination, officials said. Facebook user Sheila Foster Davies said it was about 4 a.m. Sunday when she woke up to someone pounding at her door and telling her to evacuate. Video she posted online shows flames leaping from a nearby home in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. ... Alley then went on a mission in Africa for a year, and eight years ago he began Mission 217 Church in Kannapolis. About a year ago, he left that position, thinking he was going to leave ministry altogether. But, as he said, God called him back. And he felt drawn to starting a church community in what he called the 44th most unreached place in all of North Carolina, according to statistics gathered by the Baptist Church: the area near Weddington Hills Elementary School. In a lot of ways, the location made sense. Alleys children go to the school, his wife is a substitute teacher there and they live in the neighborhood. Its also one of the fastest-growing areas in Concord. And Alley settled on the name Sojourner because of a reference in the Bible to the people on this earth as travelers. The idea is if we really believe what we believe, then were really just traveling, he said. This is our temporary place of residence. Were trying to live differently because theres a home that were trying to get to. And that idea forms the cornerstone of what Sojourner Church is all about. Many students are interested in becoming firefighters, and we are excited to partner with the college to help students get a head start on that career while they are still in high school, said Moody. We look forward to seeing further expansion in the Career & College Promise program as more parents and students become aware of what very well may be the best kept secret to getting ahead while still in high school. The community should appreciate the work that is being done in the school systems to promote our goal of increasing educational attainment in our community, said Spalding. I also hope that students will continue to attract more and more young people to come directly to Rowan-Cabarrus out of high school to further their education. Sir Gerry Grimstone is stepping down as chairman of Barclays investment banking and international arm (Matt Crossick/PA) Sir Gerry Grimstone, chairman of Barclays investment banking and international arm, is to step down from his position at the end of the month. Sir Gerry had been viewed as a potential successor to group chairman John MacFarlane after he joined the board of the Barclays group as deputy chairman in 2016. Mr MacFarlane is to be replaced by Rothschild & Co veteran Nigel Higgins who will also succeed Sir Gerry as chairman of Barclays Bank from March 1. Mr Higgins will assume chairmanship of Barclays group following the banks annual general meeting on May 2. Expand Close Sir Gerry Grimstone recently also stepped down as chairman of Standard Life Aberdeen (Standard Life/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sir Gerry Grimstone recently also stepped down as chairman of Standard Life Aberdeen (Standard Life/PA) Sir Gerry said: After 20 years sitting on the boards of a number of listed companies, and having recently stepped down from the chairmanship of Standard Life Aberdeen, it is an appropriate moment for a change. He said he will concentrate on his public sector activities in the UK and his work with consultancy Deloitte in Europe, as well as his activities in the Gulf, India, China and the Asia-Pacific. There will doubtless be many other exciting public and private opportunities to pursue. I'm leaving Barclays in very good shape and I wish it very well for the futureSir Gerry Grimstone Im leaving Barclays in very good shape and I wish it very well for the future. Mr McFarlane said: Sir Gerry has made an important contribution to Barclays, initially as group deputy chairman and later as chairman of Barclays Bank where he oversaw the establishment of the subsidiary board and governance arrangements, as well as being a senior colleague on the group board. Chief executive Jes Staley said: I am deeply grateful to him for the support and counsel he has provided me personally, as well as for his immense contribution to the turnaround of our corporate and investment bank in particular. He has been a great steward of Barclays during his time on the board and I wish him huge success in his future endeavours. Expand Close Barclays chief executive Jes Staley paid tribute to Sir Gerry Grimstones immense contribution to the company (Debra Hurford Brown/Barclays/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Barclays chief executive Jes Staley paid tribute to Sir Gerry Grimstones immense contribution to the company (Debra Hurford Brown/Barclays/PA) Barclays is currently under pressure from activist investor Edward Bramson, who is muscling his way on to the board, calling for the lender to curtail its investment arm and increase returns for investors. Mr Bramsons investment vehicle Sherborne Investors through which the New York-based investor has built a 5.5% stake has submitted a resolution to Barclays to be considered at the May AGM to be appointed to the board of directors. Nancy Pelosi has said that the House will vote in the coming days on a resolution rejecting Donald Trump's national emergency declaration, while encouraging fellow Democrats to support the effort as they try to stop the president's push to expand efforts to build a barrier along the US-Mexico border. In a letter, the California Democrat said Mr Trump's declaration "undermines the separation of powers and Congress' power of the purse, a power exclusively reserved by the text of the Constitution to the first branch of government, the Legislative branch, a branch co-equal to the Executive." By invoking a national emergency, Mr Trump is claiming authority to shift federal funds appropriated by Congress for other purposes to be spent instead on his border wall. Ms Pelosi announced that the House would move "swiftly" to pass a disapproval resolution written by Texan Democrat Joaquin Castro, although she did not specify an exact date and indicated that it would move through a House committee before coming to the floor. "All members take an oath of office to support and defend the Constitution," Ms Pelosi wrote. "The president's decision to go outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process violates the Constitution and must be terminated." Ms Pelosi's announcement formalises a strategy House Democrats settled on several days ago. Democratic leaders had been anticipating Mr Trump's emergency declaration for weeks and had been working quietly behind the scenes on a two-pronged approach that would include passing a disapproval resolution to put Republicans on record on the matter - then eventually suing or joining with a lawsuit challenging the declaration in court. House committee chairmen, including Judiciary chief and New York Democrat Jerry Nadler, also anticipate holding hearings on Mr Trump's decision. The resolution is expected to sail through the Democratic-controlled House. Its fate in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-to-47 advantage, is less certain. Maine's Republican senator Susan Collins became the first member of her party to say publicly that she would vote to reject Mr Trump's emergency declaration. At an event in her home state, she said Mr Trump's move is of "dubious constitutionality" and pledged to support a "clean" resolution opposing it. Mr Castro's resolution is one page long, exercising authority reserved by Congress under the 1976 National Emergencies Act. Under that law, a disapproval measure filed in either congressional chamber is entitled to expedited consideration. The House, with a sizeable Democratic majority and Ms Pelosi's announcement of support, is all but certain to pass the measure. While the resolution would need only a simple majority to pass the Senate, it is unclear how many Republican senators would actually rebuke Mr Trump by supporting it. Indeed, some of the party's critics who said it would be a bad idea for Mr Trump to get the funding without Congress have silenced their pushback - or even reversed course entirely - after the president's decision to ignore their advice. Should the measure pass the Senate, Trump officials have already told surrogates he will veto the bill. Congress is unlikely to have the numbers to override that veto. The bigger threat to Mr Trump's declaration is the courts. A group of states led by Democratic governors have filed suit against the administration, while other groups - representing border landowners and other parties who could be affected by the border wall or the shifting of appropriated funds to pay for it - are either preparing lawsuits or have filed them already. Democratic lawmakers are expected to aggressively defend Congress' constitutional power to appropriate money in the courts, arguing that Mr Trump cannot unilaterally shift other resources to a project that lawmakers have otherwise refused to fund. Independent News Service Police in Florida have charged the owner of NFL team the New England Patriots with soliciting prostitution. Officers said they have videotape of Robert Kraft paying for a sex act inside an illicit massage parlour. Jupiter police told reporters that the 77-year-old Kraft has not been arrested. A warrant will be issued and his lawyers will be notified. The charge comes amid a widespread crackdown on sex trafficking in the area surrounding Palm Beach County. About 200 arrest warrants have been issued in recent days and more are expected. The Patriots won the Super Bowl earlier this month in Atlanta, defeating the Los Angeles Rams in the showpiece match. A spokesman for Kraft categorically denied that he engaged in any illegal activity. Expand Close Robert Kraft has been charged with solicitation of prostitution (Steven Senne/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Robert Kraft has been charged with solicitation of prostitution (Steven Senne/AP) The statement added: Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further. Jupiter police chief Daniel Kerr said he was shocked to learn that Kraft, who is reportedly worth six billion dollars (4.6 billion) was paying for sex inside a massage parlour, the Orchids of Asia Day Spa. We are as equally stunned as everyone else, Kerr said. The Palm Beach County state attorneys office, which would prosecute the case, had no comment. Kraft lives in Massachusetts and has a home in the Palm Beach area. He is a frequent guest of President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club. Though a Democrat, he is friendly with Mr Trump. Krafts wife Myra Hiatt Kraft died in 2011. He has been dating 39-year-old actress, Ricki Noel Lander, since 2012. The NFL did not immediately respond to a message Friday seeking comment. Under league policy, players, owners, coaches and other employees can be punished for conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the NFL. Ownership and club or league management have traditionally been held to a higher standard and will be subject to more significant discipline when violations of personal conduct policy occur, the policy says. Most people charged for the first time for soliciting a prostitute in Florida are allowed to enter a diversion programme, said lawyer David Weinstein, a former prosecutor. Kraft would probably have to perform 100 hours of community service and pay to attend an educational programme about the negative effects of prostitution and human trafficking, he said. Vero Beach police Chief David Currey, whose agency has been involved in the investigation, told reporters earlier this week that the prostitutes were victims who have been trapped into the trade. These girls are there all day long, into the evening. They cant leave and they are performing sex acts, Mr Currey said, according to TCPalm. Some of them may tell us theyre OK, but theyre not. Kraft, who made his initial fortune through a packaging company, was a Patriots season ticket owner when he purchased the teams previous stadium in 1988, then used his leverage to buy the team in 1994 to keep if from moving to St Louis. Shareholders are to vote on proposed changes to the terms of their holdings in Monzo (Monzo/PA) Monzo has been drawn into fresh controversy over its crowdfunding model, with shareholders in the challenger bank facing an overhaul to the terms of their investment. The changes, put forward by equity fundraising site Crowdcube, are subject to an online poll sent out this week which gives shareholders one month to respond. Under the new terms, Crowdcube would be able to charge investors fees for handling transactions and sell their shares without prior consultation. Monzo shares are held in trust by a Crowdcube nominee company on behalf of investors who participated in its three crowdfunding rounds. The vote is only for shareholders from the first and second round, as investors in the most recent round which raised over 20 million are already signed up to the new terms. We have been working closely with Monzo to give all investors equal nominee terms, should they collectively want it.Luke Lang Crowdcube proposes to add a new clause stating that it may charge investors a fee for the provision of its services from time to time. Posting publicly on the online Monzo forum, a spokesman for Crowdcube said this would not be applicable in normal circumstances but could be used in special situations. This means that in exceptional circumstances we could deduct money from proceeds we receive to distribute to shareholders, for example, charging an international transaction fee in the event of an exit for an international investor. It could mean Crowdcube would take a cut of shareholder returns in exchange for handling the transfer of shares in the event that the company is sold or goes public. Monzo has been mooted as a candidate for stock market flotation after it became a tech unicorn with a valuation of 1 billion US dollars (770 million) last year. It has also been touted as an acquisition target for big banks. Investors have expressed concern that the new terms mean they may not be consulted about the sale of their shares in the event of such an exit. Crowdcubes representative said on the forum: If there is a potential sale of the whole company, or there is an opportunity for investors to sell some of their shares, we will always seek to ask Monzo investors to vote on the matter. If there is a sale that is clearly in the best interests of shareholders, and which depended on a very quick execution, then we would not want to prevent that transaction from happening, or for Monzo investors to miss out on the opportunity. The right of existing shareholders to buy new shares before an offer is opened more widely could also be affected under the new terms. The proposal would give Crowdcube the ability to waive pre-emption rights if it is deemed to be in the best interests of investors as a whole. Luke Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube, said: Investors from Monzos first two crowdfunding campaigns have the opportunity to vote on proposed changes to the nominee terms which would make them consistent with investors from the December campaign. We have been working closely with Monzo to give all investors equal nominee terms, should they collectively want it, following updates to Crowdcubes terms made in between their last two campaigns. The poll relating to the decision is open for responses until March 18. It is not the first time Monzos crowdfunding has been the subject of controversy. In November it emerged that the bank was allowing customers to go up to 1,000 into their overdraft in order to participate in the latest fundraising. Metro, Starling and ClearBank have won a share of a fund aimed at boosting competition in the business banking sector. The challenger banks have won a grant worth a combined 280 million from the Royal Bank of Scotlands capability and innovation fund that forms part of its alternative remedies package. Metro won the largest share of the first pool of the grant with 120 million, followed by digital-only bank Starling with 100 million and then 60 million for ClearBank, which applied for the grant with partner Tide. Further grants for other pools of the fund will be awarded later this year. It will help us bring much needed competition to the underserved SME hotspots in the north, while investing in our digital capabilities and creating new jobsCraig Donaldson, Metro Bank RBSs 775 million alternative remedies package is part of conditions attached to its 45 billion Government bailout at the height of the financial crisis and the cash is being distributed by the Banking Competition Remedies (BCR) body. The 425 million capability and innovation fund is aimed at helping bidders develop their current account, lending and payments offerings for business customers. Godfrey Cromwell, BCRs chairman, said: These awards seek to increase competition in the business banking market and to improve the financial products and services available to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). Craig Donaldson, chief executive of Metro said the grant will help the bank accelerate our plans to revolutionise banking for SMEs. It will help us bring much needed competition to the underserved SME hotspots in the north, while investing in our digital capabilities and creating new jobs. This is the opportunity to bring new technology and a new approach to the sectorAnne Boden, Starling Metro being awarded the largest share of the grant comes at a contentions time for the bank after it revealed that its miscalculated the risk weighting on commercial loans. To correct the mistake, Metro needs to raise over 300 million according to analysts, which would risk diluting its share capital. Meanwhile, Starling has pledged to use its grant to create nearly 400 new jobs in the UK and to invest 94.8 million of its own money to bolster its offering to SME customers. It said that will make 913 million of balance sheet lending available to SME customers by the end of 2023 and that it aims to capture 6.7% of the business banking market within five years. Anne Boden, Starlings founder and boss, said the grant will accelerate our ability to reshape the SME banking market. Starling will deliver an advanced fully-digital offering that connects SMEs with the financial solutions they need to thrive. This is the opportunity to bring new technology and a new approach to the sector. ClearBank, the first clearing bank to launch in Britain for 250 years, teamed up with SME specialist platform Tide to apply for the grant. Tides chief executive Oliver Prill said the grant will help the company grow market share and that it will match the grant with further investment of its own. In December, eleven banks, including Starling, Monzo and TSB, won a share of a separate 350 million incentivised switching scheme, which encourages SME customers to ditch their RBS account for rival banks. The RBS package is intended to boost competition in the banking sector, but Stuart Chalmers, head of UK commercial banking at consultancy Accenture, doubts that the fund actually will because many SMEs are reluctant to switch lenders. With strong customer loyalty and unconvincing switching incentives, the RBS remedies packages goal to disrupt the market looks currently unachievable. Growing demand for digital services may present an opportunity for challengers to begin to assert themselves, but crucially, customers want these services from their existing trusted providers. This reluctance to switch however, doesnt mean leading banks should stop working to improve their services. Banks need to keep up with the pace of change and those that invest in the day-to-day experience of customers, capitalising on demand for digital and traditional services, stand the best chance of solidifying customer loyalty and retaining their market share. Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's president, ordered the border with Brazil to be closed and said he was considering doing the same with Colombia as US aid stacked up on both frontiers last night. Mr Maduro dismissed efforts to deliver basic food and medicine as a "provocation" as opposition groups headed to the border to carry aid packages through in defiance of the regime. Juan Guaido, the opposition leader now recognised as Venezuela's legitimate president by 52 countries, was heading to the frontier with Colombia in a motorcade last night personally to oversee the aid delivery. Political analysts say Saturday's border showdown is less about solving Venezuela's needs and more about testing the military's loyalty towards Mr Maduro and the socialist regime by daring it to turn the aid away. On Wednesday, Mr Maduro's socialist administration said it had closed the country's maritime border with the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire, after Curacao's government said it would help store aid destined for Venezuela. Mr Guaido was due to arrive across the border from Cucuta, the Colombian city that has become a focal point for the standoff, with pallets of aid mounting up and a concert organised by Richard Branson due to take place today. Residents already feeling the strain of hosting tens of thousands of Venezuelan refugees are concerned about the show's safety and its provocative location on the Tienditas bridge that connects the two hostile countries. Mr Branson has said that he hopes 250,000 people will attend the free concert. Residents fear the planned delivery of humanitarian aid had made the already-tense city yet more fraught. Hundreds of French students have taken to the streets of Paris to call for more action to fight climate change. The move came a day after a similar march in Brussels. Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish schoolgirl who is being hailed as her generations voice on climate change, joined the Paris march on Friday. Expand Close Protesters take to the streets of the French capital (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Protesters take to the streets of the French capital (AP) Young protesters marched in a carnival atmosphere, chanting slogans against global warming. Activist Morgane De Walst, 21, said: We defend our world, we defend our future and the system and the world we would like to live in. Thomas Mulliez, 22, added: We continue polluting, big companies discharge junk in our atmosphere, and we are aware of the Arctic melt So something must be done. Sex abuse survivor Alessandro Battaglia, right, is hugged by survivor and founding member of the ECA (Ending Clergy Abuse), Denise Buchanan, during a twilight vigil prayer near Castle Sant' Angelo, in Rome, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) Pope Francis promised that concrete action against child sexual abuse by priests would result from a conference he opened on Thursday, with one cardinal acknowledging that the Church had to fight "the enemy within". Francis convened Catholic leaders from around the world for the four-day meeting to address the scandal that has ravaged the Church's credibility in the United States - where it has paid billions of dollars in settlements - Ireland, Chile, Australia, and elsewhere over the last three decades. His opening remarks appeared aimed at countering scepticism among victims who said the meeting looked like a public relations exercise. "Faced with the scourge of sexual abuse committed by men of the Church against minors, I wanted to reach out to you," Francis told the assembled bishops and heads of religious orders. He asked them to "listen to the cry of the little ones who are seeking justice". Expand Close Pope Francis arrives for the opening of the second day of a Vatican's conference on dealing with sex abuse by priests, at the Vatican, Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. (Giuseppe Lami/Pool Photo via AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pope Francis arrives for the opening of the second day of a Vatican's conference on dealing with sex abuse by priests, at the Vatican, Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. (Giuseppe Lami/Pool Photo via AP) Francis, opening the conference of nearly 200 participants in a Vatican auditorium, added that victims deserve "concrete and efficient measures" and not mere condemnations. Victims were mixed in their response, with some expressing cautious optimism and others saying it was too little, too late. Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogota said the damage was home-grown, in large part because bishops had closeted themselves in a clerical mentality and some thought they could act with impunity. "The first enemies are within us, among us bishops and priests and consecrated persons who have not lived up to our vocation. We have to recognise that the enemy is within," he said. The pope and the participants watched a video of five victims, most of whom wished to remain anonymous, telling painful stories of abuse and cover-up. "From the age of 15 I had sexual relations with a priest. This lasted for 13 years. I got pregnant three times and he made me have an abortion three times, quite simply because he did not want to use condoms or contraceptives," a woman said. Expand Close People gather during a twilight vigil prayer of the victims of sex abuse near Castle Sant' Angelo, in Rome, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp People gather during a twilight vigil prayer of the victims of sex abuse near Castle Sant' Angelo, in Rome, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) "MURDERERS OF THE FAITH" Juan Carlos Cruz, a Chilean, said on the video that when he reported abuse to religious authorities he was treated as a liar and an enemy of the Church. "You are the physicians of the soul and yet, with rare exceptions, you have been transformed - in some cases - into murderers of the soul, into murderers of the faith. What a terrible contradiction," he said. Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines broke into tears as he read a keynote speech that acknowledged: "Wounds have been inflicted by us, the bishops, on the victims". A list of 21 "reflection points" written by the pope was handed out. The first was that each diocese should have a "practical handbook" on steps to be taken when cases emerge. They included actions such as informing civil authorities of substantial accusations in compliance with local law and making sure non-clerics are involved in Church investigations of abuse. "Putting together a handbook after all this time is laughable," said Peter Isely, who was abused by a priest as a boy and now heads the advocacy group Ending Clergy Abuse. Most of the 21 points are already practiced in countries like the United States. In Ireland, the sexual abuse scandal shattered the power of the Church which four decades ago dominated society. In the past four years, voters approved abortion and gay marriage, defying the Vatican. In Chile, all of the country's bishops offered their resignations to the pope last year over a widespread cover-up. Francis accepted seven of the resignations and dismissed two others from the priesthood. A report by a grand jury in Pennsylvania last year revealed that priests had sexually abused about 1,000 people over seven decades in that U.S. state alone. Before the conference started, some victims' groups said the event was an attempt to cleanse the image of the 1.3 billion-member Church. But Anne Barrett-Doyle of bishopaccountablity.org, which tracks abuse cases around the world, said she was pleasantly surprised by the pope's opening remarks. "They said this was going to just be a teaching session, but he is now talking about concrete measures. That's good, but let's see how it ends up," she told Reuters. President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia is militarily ready for a Cuban Missile-style crisis if the United States is foolish enough to want one and that his country currently has the edge when it comes to a first nuclear strike. The Cuban Missile Crisis erupted in 1962 when Moscow responded to a US missile deployment in Turkey by sending ballistic missiles to Cuba, sparking a stand-off that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. More than five decades on, tensions are rising again over Russian fears that the United States might deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe as a landmark Cold war-era arms control treaty unravels. Mr Putin's comments, made to Russian media late on Wednesday, follow his warning that Moscow will match any US move to deploy new missiles closer to Russia by stationing its own missiles closer to the United States or by deploying faster missiles or both. Mr Putin fleshed out his warning in detail for the first time, saying Russia could deploy hypersonic missiles on ships and submarines which could lurk outside US territorial waters if Washington now moved to deploy intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe. "[We're talking about] naval delivery vehicles: submarines or surface ships. And we can put them, given the speed and range [of our missiles]... in neutral waters. Plus they are not stationary, they move and they will have to find them," Mr Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript. "You work it out. Mach nine [the speed of the missiles] and over 1,000 km [their range]." The US State Department dismissed Mr Putin's earlier warning as propaganda, saying it was designed to divert attention from what Washington alleges are Moscow's violations of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The pact, which banned Russia and the United States from stationing short- and intermediate-range, land-based missiles in Europe, is in its death throes, raising the prospect of a new arms race between Washington and Moscow. Mr Putin has said he does not want an arms race with the United States, but that he would have no choice but to act if Washington deployed new missiles in Europe, some of which he says would be able to strike Moscow within 10-12 minutes. Mr Putin said his naval response to such a move would mean Russia could strike the United States faster than US missiles deployed in Europe could hit Moscow because the flight time would be shorter. "It [the calculation] would not be in their favour, at least as things stand today. That's for sure," said Mr Putin. Relations between Moscow and Washington were strained, he added, but the tensions were not comparable to those of the Cuban Missile Crisis. "They [the tensions] are not a reason to ratchet up confrontation to the levels of the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960s. In any case that's not what we want," said Mr Putin. "If someone wants that, well OK they are welcome. I have set out today what that would mean. Let them count [the missile flight times]." "We know how to do this and we will implement these plans immediately, as soon as the corresponding threats to us become a reality." Washington said earlier this month it was suspending its obligations under the 1987 INF treaty because of what it said were Moscow's violations, starting the process of quitting it and untying its hands to develop new missiles. Reuters Photo issued by Police Scotland of Aaron Campbell, who can now be identified as the 16-year-old who abducted, raped and murdered six-year-old Alesha MacPhail The 16-year-old boy who raped and murdered Alesha MacPhail can be identified as Aaron Campbell after a judge allowed his name to be reported. The body of the six-year-old was found in woods on the Isle of Bute on July 2 last year, hours after she was reported missing from the house her father shared with his parents and partner on the island. A jury at the High Court in Glasgow took three hours to find the teenager guilty unanimously on Thursday, following a nine-day trial. He could not previously be identified because he is under 18 but judge Lord Matthews on Friday ruled he can be named after considering an application from media outlets. Expand Close Tears: Georgina Lochrane leaves court in Glasgow after a boy (16) was found guilty of the murder and rape of her daughter Alesha. Photo: PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tears: Georgina Lochrane leaves court in Glasgow after a boy (16) was found guilty of the murder and rape of her daughter Alesha. Photo: PA He said: "I can't think of a case in recent times that has attracted such revulsion. "I intend to grant the application. The press may name the accused and publish images of him." Expand Close Alesha MacPhail. Photo: PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Alesha MacPhail. Photo: PA On Thursday, Lord Matthews told Campbell he had committed some of the "wickedest, most evil crimes this court has ever heard". Campbell took Alesha from the bed where she was sleeping and inflicted horrific injuries on her before dumping her body in woodland. Read More During the trial pathologist John Williams told the court Alesha had 117 separate injuries, and a post-mortem examination he conducted indicated she had died from "significant and forceful pressure to her neck and face". He agreed the injuries to her private parts were "catastrophic" - more severe than any he had ever seen before - and were at least partially inflicted while she was still alive. The trial heard Alesha was days into her summer holiday on the island with father Robert MacPhail, 26, and grandparents Angela King and Calum MacPhail when she was snatched by Campbell, who tried to blame her father's girlfriend Toni McLachlan, 18, for the crime. Campbell's semen was found on the schoolgirl, and he claimed Ms McLachlan must have planted it there after the pair had sex. Prosecutor Iain McSporran QC said he hoped the guilty verdict would remove any doubt Ms McLachlan could have been involved. After the trial, the schoolgirl's family spoke of their heartbreak at losing Alesha. Her mother Georgina Lochrane, said: "Words cannot express just how devastated I am to have lost my beautiful, happy, smiley wee girl. "I am glad that the boy who did this has finally been brought to justice and that he will not be able to inflict the pain on another family that he has done to mine. "Alesha, I love you so much, my wee pal. I will miss you forever." The MacPhail family said: "We can't believe that we will never see our wee angel Alesha again. We miss her so much. "We hope that the boy who took her from us is jailed for a long time because of what he has done to our family. "Alesha may be gone from our lives but she will always be in our hearts." Whether we have two of them on the field, all three of them on the field, well get creative and have some fun with it," defensive coordinator Joe Barry said. UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has criticised the decision to strip Shamima Begum of her British citizenship and said she should be permitted to return to the UK to face questioning. Home Secretary Sajid Javid made the move after the teenager, who fled London aged 15 to join Isil's self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria, said she wanted to return to the UK with her newborn son. The Labour leader criticised Mr Javid's action as "very extreme" after diplomatic tensions broke out, with Bangladesh denying the 19-year-old had citizenship in the nation she has never visited. Mr Corbyn told ITV News: "She obviously has, in my view, a right to return to Britain. "On that return she must obviously face a lot of questions about everything she has done and at that point any action may or may not be taken. "But I think the idea of stripping somebody of their citizenship when they were born in Britain is a very extreme manoeuvre indeed. "Indeed, I questioned the right of the home secretary to have these powers when the original law was brought in by Theresa May when she was home secretary." Meanwhile, the Begum family's lawyer Tasnime Akunjee called for Mr Javid to explain what steps could be taken to deliver her days-old son to the UK from the Syrian refugee camp where they are staying without documentation. "Given Sajid Javid has confirmed the child is British we want to know what practical steps can be taken in these circumstances," the lawyer said. Ms Begum's parents would be happy to take the boy, he said, but it is not yet known whether she would allow him to travel without her. Mr Javid has defended his move and insisted he would not leave an individual stateless - which is illegal under international law - after Bangladesh denied she had citizenship there. A statement from the nation's foreign affairs minister Shahriar Alam also said there is "no question" Ms Begum, who is of Bangladeshi heritage, could enter the country. Mr Javid's move came amid heated debate over whether the teenager should be able to return to the UK after she was found in a Syrian refugee camp with the terror group's reign nearly over. The Muslim Council of Britain has warned Mr Javid's move heightens fears of "a two-tiered citizenship scheme, sets a dangerous precedent and demonstrates an abdication of responsibility". Tears: Georgina Lochrane leaves court in Glasgow after a boy (16) was found guilty of the murder and rape of her daughter Alesha. Photo: PA A 16-year-old boy has been found guilty of abducting, raping and murdering a six-year-old schoolgirl in Scotland. A jury at the High Court in Glasgow took three hours to deliver a unanimous verdict in the nine-day trial. The boy cannot be named due to his age. Alesha MacPhail's body was found in woods on the Isle of Bute on July 2 last year, hours after she was reported missing from the house her father shared with his parents and partner, where the schoolgirl was staying for part of the school holidays. Judge Lord Matthews told the boy he had committed some of the "wickedest, most evil crimes this court has ever heard". He deferred sentence until March 21. As the accused was led downstairs a man in the public gallery shouted "evil" and another said "f***ing scumbag". In a statement issued by Police Scotland, Alesha's family said: "We can't believe that we will never see our wee angel Alesha again. We miss her so much. "We hope that the boy who took her from us is jailed for a long time because of what he has done to our family. "Alesha may be gone from our lives but she will always be in our hearts." Her mother, Georgina Lochrane, said: "Words cannot express just how devastated I am to have lost my beautiful, happy, smiley wee girl. "I am glad that the boy who did this has finally been brought to justice and he will not be able to inflict the pain on another family that he has done to mine. "Alesha, I love you so much, my wee pal. I will miss you forever." Pathologist John Williams told the court Alesha had 117 separate injuries, and a post-mortem examination he conducted indicated she had died from "significant and forceful pressure to her neck and face". He agreed the injuries to her private parts were "catastrophic" - more severe than any he had seen before - and were at least partially inflicted while she was still alive. Giving evidence, the accused said he had "never met Alesha MacPhail in person" and denied abducting, raping and murdering her. Asked if he had "brutalised" her, he said: "It's not me, absolutely not. I would never do something like that." Questioned if his DNA was all over her because he murdered and raped her, he said: "No." A forensic scientist told the court DNA matching the accused was found on Alesha's body and clothes, with some samples at odds of a billion to one of being his. The teenager had lodged a special defence of incrimination, blaming Toni McLachlan, the partner of Alesha's father Robert - or Rab - MacPhail. The court heard the couple used to sell cannabis to the accused. Giving evidence earlier, Ms McLachlan denied being responsible for the schoolgirl's death, saying she "loved" her. Alesha was to spend three weeks on the Isle of Bute at her grandparents' home. Three days into her stay, she was as "high as a kite" as she returned from a party clutching a balloon and, like most young children, took some persuading to go to bed. It was the last time her family saw her alive. In the early hours of Monday, July 2, an intruder crept into her room, took the child from her bed and subjected her to a horrific sexual assault. Her naked body was found in nearby woodland the next day, her pink polka-dot pyjama shorts and white vest a short distance away. The crime shocked the community to the core on the small island in the Firth of Clyde where many people did not even feel the need to lock their doors. There was further disbelief that a local teenager would be charged with Alesha's rape and murder, a 16-year-old boy who would then try to blame her father's live-in girlfriend for the killing. The nine-day trial heard evidence from Alesha's 26-year-old father and from her grandparents Calum MacPhail and Angela King, who described their last hours with the youngster. Jurors heard from Ms McLachlan (18), who said she loved Alesha "to pieces" and had only found out she was being incriminated a few days before she gave evidence. Last came the evidence of the smartly turned-out and composed accused, who told the court Ms McLachlan could have been "fantasising about killing Alesha for months" after defence suggestions she was jealous of the child and felt threatened by the attention Mr MacPhail paid his daughter. The intensive work of crime scene examiners, forensic experts and detectives told a different story. Canadas Saputo has announced a 975 million takeover of Cathedral City and Clover owner Dairy Crest. Under the terms of the deal, Dairy Crest investors will receive 620p per share in cash, an 11.7% premium on Thursdays closing price. The Dairy Crest board is unanimously recommending the all-cash offer. If the deal is backed by investors, the combined groups headquarters will be located at Saputos head office in Montreal, Quebec. The management of UK operations will continue to be based in Surrey, England. The board is unanimously recommending this all-cash offer by Saputo to buy Dairy Crest at an attractive premium, which represents compelling value for Dairy Crest shareholdersStephen Alexander, chairman of Dairy Crest Saputo chairman and chief executive Lino Saputo Jr said: Dairy Crest is an attractive platform for Saputo and fits well within our growth strategy. We believe that under Saputo ownership, Dairy Crest will be able to accelerate its long-term growth and business development potential and provide benefits to Dairy Crests employees and stakeholders. This recommended offer represents a compelling opportunity for Dairy Crest shareholders, providing immediate value certainty. Saputo one of the biggest dairy processors in the world has grown recently through a series of acquisitions and the firm said its takeover of Dairy Crest is motivated by a desire to increase its international presence and enter the UK market. It would mark the Canadian companys first foray into Europe and it wants to accelerate Dairy Crests growth plans. Saputo added that it does not envisage any material change to the research and development functions of Dairy Crest, nor does it intend to dispose of any material part of the groups operations. Stephen Alexander, chairman of Dairy Crest, said: The board is unanimously recommending this all-cash offer by Saputo to buy Dairy Crest at an attractive premium, which represents compelling value for Dairy Crest shareholders. Dairy Crest is a leading UK dairy company and the proud manufacturer of Cathedral City, the largest UK cheese brand. Saputo is one of the top 10 dairy processors in the world. Both companies have built strong positions in the cheese sectors in their respective home markets. The acquisition should enable Dairy Crest to benefit from Saputos global expertise and strong financial position to fulfil and accelerate its growth ambitions. Rescuers in Estonia trying to save a dog from a freezing river were given quite a surprise when the canine turned out to be a wild wolf. Robin Sillamae and Rando Kartsepp had been working on the nearby Sindi dam when they saw the young male in distress in the Parnu river. They pulled the wolf from the icy water and into their car to warm up, before calling the Estonian Union for the Protection of Animals (EUPA) who told them to take it to a local clinic. We had to carry him over the slope. He weighed a fair bit, Mr Kartsepp told Estonian outlet Postimees. He was calm, slept on my legs. When I wanted to stretch them, he raised his head for a moment. The EUPA said the wolf had hypotension due to the cold and so needed swift treatment, but the cold also meant the wild animal was docile while in its rescuers car. Luckily everything turned out well as the wolf was nurtured in the clinic and after specialists of the Environmental Agency put the GPS on the wolf, the wolf was released to the wild, the EUPA said. We are so happy for the outcome of the story and wish to thank all the participants, especially these two men who rescued the wolf and the doctors of the clinic who were not afraid to treat and nurture the wild animal. Westlife star Markus Feehily is engaged. Taking to Instagram to share the happy news with his 127,000 followers, he wrote, "2019 has been so amazing to me so far and its only getting started! I wanted to be the first to say it... #engaged". The caption accompanied two photos, one of two glasses of wine, a ring box, and a hand wearing a ring, and the second of Markus and his boyfriend walking on a beach in the Maldives. The post also includes a video of their stunning lodgings and another hand wearing a ring. Markus (38), who has managed to keep the identity of his fiance secret, was previously engaged to British fashion photographer Kevin McDaid, but they split in 2011. Career-wise he is currently gearing up for Westlife's comeback world tour. Expand Close PIC Markus Feehily/Instagram / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp PIC Markus Feehily/Instagram Along with Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne, and Kian Egan he recently released a new track, written by Ed Sheeran, with another in the offing. They have also recorded a new album and will play two dates at Croke Park this summer. On Tuesday night, March 28, 2017, the British prime minister signed Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to trigger the Brexit process of withdrawing from the EU.That's nearly 660 days ago. Since that momentous decision, the British government has achieved little or nothing to move the Brexit process forward. On the contrary, Brexit has proved to be a long and problematic gestation. Over the same gestation period, any elephant cow impregnated at the same time as Brexit was first triggered would have delivered her calf by now. But as the clock ticks down to a breach birth, the Brexit gestation period is more likely to be the same as a chipmunk's - 31 days. Theresa May must now be hoping that the Brexit process is also more like a chipmunk than an elephant, in more ways than one. It is tempting to speculate that she is hoping that the British people will have the memory of a chipmunk and not of an elephant. In this, at least, she could very well be right. Furthermore, Theresa May will also soon discover one of the big differences between the British and the Irish people. Specifically, in relation to historic problems in Anglo-Irish relations - the British could never remember, and the Irish could never forget. Unfortunately, Brexit is likely to render this condition an awful lot worse. Brendan Dunleavy, Killeshandra, Co Cavan IFPA is working tirelessly to meet need for abortion care Dr Brendan O'Shea's experiences as a GP providing abortion care in the first weeks of the new service are familiar to the Irish Family Planning Association's (IFPA) frontline staff ('How to keep abortion numbers down? Free contraception and better education', Irish Independent, February 20). It's important we make one correction: the IFPA did not "hold out for extra funding for ultrasound services". We began taking appointments for our abortion care service in the first week of January. Though we do not currently have ultrasound facilities, we hope we will be able to provide scans in future. But for now our doctors face the same obstacles Dr O'Shea mentions when it comes to ultrasound referrals; indeed, we refer our clients to the same HSE-mandated scanning service as GPs. Our doctors, nurses, receptionists and pregnancy counsellors work tirelessly to meet the need for abortion care. We are responding to calls from women and girls from all parts of Ireland, while maintaining the quality of the IFPA's other sexual and reproductive healthcare services. We are committed to continuous improvement in our services, including by organising training for our staff which was delivered by experts from the World Health Organisation. Dr O'Shea rightly highlights the need to prioritise free access to contraception and improvements in sexuality education. This week marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the IFPA's first clinic. Niall Behan, Chief Executive Irish Family Planning Association Why ruling the roost isn't always child's play at home Sinead Moriarty's article ('The mother and father of all debates', Irish Independent, February 21), with reference to 'Parent 1', 'Parent 2' and the possible pecking order involved therein, reminded me of the man who proclaimed, "I'm the boss in our house, and my wife has given me permission to say so". Tom Gilsenan, Beaumont, Dublin 9 Bruton should be clear on timing in the Harris debate Richard Bruton said that Fianna Fail has done the right thing in the no-confidence vote against Simon Harris, in the interest of the country. So is he saying that Mr Harris should actually go as Health Minister, but not now because of Brexit? Is this the way to run a Government? A Leavy, Sutton, Dublin 13 Helpful suggestions on how to get the best out of that 175m Just imagine what you could do with 175m ...build a storeroom in a children's hospital. P Moynihan, Address with editor I'm very concerned that the winner of the 175m EuroMillions jackpot might not have a Cork background and could encounter difficulty in knowing how to cope with such an amount. But, being from Cork, I am available to take their windfall issue on board as if it was my own. Robert Sullivan, Bantry, Co Cork 'Admitting to "Brexit fatigue" last night, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he was no longer optimistic that a deal could be done.' Photo: Getty Images The Dublin ballad collector Frank Harte wrote: "Those in power write the history, while those who suffer write the songs." The final verses of the 'Brexit Lament' have yet to be written, but its discordant notes already grate. George Orwell believed the most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history. Brexit seems to have done precisely this. The decades of peace in Europe which Britain made such sacrifices to secure are taken for granted. The economic war between our islands has also been forgotten along with its hardship. We should remind ourselves that when Fianna Fail swept to power in 1932, Eamon de Valera rolled up his sleeves and cut the "land annuities" and ended the Oath to the King, for good measure, in 1933. Before long, Britain reacted; the cutting of the money was something they could not countenance - whatever about taking the snub to the king on the chin. So a 20pc tariff was slapped on trade with the Free State. This effectively meant Irish beef was no longer on the menu in Britain or the North. Not one to turn the other cheek, Dev hit back with a tariff in the opposite direction. This effectively was the flea biting the elephant, but when the elephant decided to bite back there was real penury and the economy shrivelled up. We found ourselves bereft of coal and steel as the Empire struck back. Today, things are more evenly matched given that we have 26 of our EU partners standing alongside us. Yet we could be facing tariffs of between 40-50pc. The UK is the biggest market for Irish food exports, accounting for 4.5bn. The threat of flooding the market with cheap Brazilian beef would be a disaster for our farmers. The dairy industry also fears for the worst. A destructive free-for-all, targeting imports and exports, will cost jobs and wipe out livelihoods. It will plunge us back into the pit of recession we have spent the last decade trying to escape. This country was crippled by de Valera's "burn everything British except their coal" lunacy. Finally, after five years, in 1938 the two countries signed an agreement to end the trade war. But the damage was incalculable. Today's peace and prosperity is rooted in the solidarity of a union which is now being dismissed by blind Brexiteers who have no compunction in visiting chaos on a bloc in which the UK once thrived. Admitting to "Brexit fatigue" last night, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he was no longer optimistic that a deal could be done. Mr Juncker said the UK withdrawal from the EU without a deal would have "terrible economic and social consequences". And so indeed it would. If in the Bible confrontations between giants and minnows end fortuitously for the latter, in the unholy theatre of trade wars outcomes are far less providential. Maybe house-hunting can be fun. No, really. In a buoyant but not over-inflated market, in which the banks are doling out tracker mortgages like vodka jelly shots at spring break party, it could be a real blast. In Ireland, though, it's just stressful and fraught, as my other half and I discovered a few years ago. But, a bit like childbirth, your memories of all those 'Wacky Races' Saturday dashes across the city, guided only by a meticulously planned spreadsheet of open viewings and a rising sense of panic, seem to magically disappear when you finally secure a house. I say this because it's the only possible explanation for me offering to chauffeur a friend to some viewings last Saturday. And it didn't take long for the bad memories to come flooding back. We arrived very early at the first viewing, a one-bed cottage in the south inner city "in need of some work", having panicked and overestimated how long it would take to get there. An anxious 20-minute wait ensued as we watched a slew of prospective buyers form an informal queue at the door. Once the agent arrived and we'd all squeezed into the property - which was so tiny I felt like a commuter trying to wedge myself onto a Tokyo subway train - we sized up the other viewers. Why was that woman tapping that wall? What are they whispering to the agent? Does anyone else have the cash needed to transform this ramshackle abode into the Instagram-worthy crash pad we'd spied on AirBnB that morning? My friend - whose budget, if she's lucky, might get her on the very lowest rung of the Dublin property ladder - certainly didn't, so we slipped out quietly and moved on to the next viewing, and the next and the next... You tend to see the same faces again and again when house-hunting. During our search, it was a mixture of singles, couples or those with young families. But last weekend it was all women, mainly viewing alone. I said as much to my friend. "Yeah, they're all like me: single women in their 30s. Rarely couples and never single blokes." "Where are the single men?" I asked. "At the higher end of the payscale," she deadpanned, before sighing loudly. It was at that moment I offered to take her out again. Like I said, house-hunting can be fun, but definitely not if you're a single woman in your 30s. Oscars swag bag goes down the pan The Oscars are on this Sunday and while it's still not clear if there'll be a host, we know there will be winners and losers. But even those who don't bag a statuette will not be walking away empty-handed. Stuffed full of $100,000 worth of goodies - including an exclusive trip to the Galapagos Islands and dinner cooked by a celebrity chef - this year's swag bag will go a long way in tending to those wounded egos. But a quick perusal of the contents reveals some truly bizarre 'gifts'. These include a Peta spy pen for discreetly reporting on-set animal abuse and an 18-minute session with a phobia relief expert. My personal favourite, though, is a $20 Mr Poop emoji toilet plunger. Well, I guess most celebrities are full of sh**e. Going vegan? It's not eggsactly my thing... As a former vegetarian, I'm surprised at my steely resolve in the face of the recent rise of veganism. No amount of articles about the joys of a beetroot burger haemorrhaging on your plate or the authentic tang of vegan cheese will turn me off meat. More likely to sway me was the news this week that a teenager managed to hatch a duckling from a supermarket egg. Certainly food for thought. If you want to launch a book about gay priests, the backdrop of the Pope meeting in an unprecedented gathering with the world's bishops to push accountability and transparency is an alluring prospect. And so it was in Rome this week that Frederic Martel launched 'In the Closet of the Vatican' to an eager press in town to cover the Papal meeting. Subtitled 'Power, homosexuality, hypocrisy' it has the perfect mix of intrigue and innuendo, including an allegation that some 80pc of priests who work in the Vatican are gay. Set beside that, two conservative cardinals who are long-time critics of Pope Francis used the occasion to warn against what they described as "the plague of the homosexual agenda" within Catholicism. They suspect Francis's more welcoming style as being a prelude to giving the shop away on a whole host of issues. The spectre of homosexuality amongst the clergy looms large here in Rome. On the one hand, openly gay people like Mr Martel lament the fact that priests who are gay don't come out and own up to their sexuality. On the other hand, Cardinals Burke and Brandmuller see homosexual priests as the tip of the iceberg in a corrupt Church and are determined to hunt them down and run them out. It's been popular in conservative circles for decades now, particularly in the US, to blame the abuse crisis in Catholicism on "the gays". The fact, the theory goes, that most reported cases of abuse by priests were allegations of sexual misconduct with boys shows this is first and foremost a problem with homosexual clergy. Cheerleaders of the theory merrily ignore the inconvenient truth that most abuse involved boys because traditionally priests had more contact with boys whether it be altar servers, via single-sex schools or male-only organisations like scouting or boys' sodalities. After all, it was only in 1992 that the Vatican lifted the ban and permitted girls to become altar servers for the first time - and some parishes ignored this for years. But, hey, don't let the truth get in the way of a good stitch-up. Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh - who is in Rome for this week's meeting - is dismissive of the simplistic thesis that would lay the blame at the feet of gay priests. Speaking of his experiences of meeting both male and female survivors of abuse, he told me this week: "With young women, or women who were abused as young girls, what do we tell them? Do we tell them it was heterosexuality?" Whether the survivor was male or female, "it was the very same dynamics of deviance, of deceit, of cover-up, that happened", he insists. He's not alone. Victims and survivors of abuse have given the theory equally short shrift. "To make this link between homosexuality and paedophilia is absolutely immoral, it is unconscionable and has to stop," according to Peter Isely, a survivor and founding member of the survivor's group SNAP. Phil Saviano, who runs an advocacy group called BishopAccountability, told reporters at the Vatican yesterday that he felt "there has been a lot of scapegoating of homosexual men as being child predators". To lay the blame for the abuse of children on homosexuality "tells me that they really don't understand" the problem and have made a claim "that is not based on any source of reality". What is a reality is that the issue of clerical sexual abuse is the latest front in a war that began when Pope Francis was elected almost six years ago. Shortly after he took office, the Pope was asked about gay priests and answered simply, if a gay priest seeks the Lord sincerely "who am I to judge?" Voices on the extreme right immediately rejected that open attitude and have been on a battle footing ever since, with gay priests as enemy No 1. Ultras who for all intents and purposes ignored the issue of abuse for decades suddenly became the Church's most trenchant critics and were determined that something must be done about homosexuality in the ranks. Forgive me if their concern for those who have been abused rings more than a little hollow. Of course, it's long been known that a high proportion of priests are gay - certainly considerably higher than the prevalence of homosexuality in the wider community. Why is this the case? Well, it's a complex question that I'm not qualified to answer, but the fact is some ultra-conservatives have long referenced this as the root of all evil in the Church. But as any expert worth his or her salt will tell you, the abuse of children is a deviance that has nothing whatsoever to do with sexual orientation. Of course, that won't stop the crusaders trying to target gay priests in their witch hunt to find an easy answer to the abuse crisis within the Catholic Church and get back to business as usual. Meanwhile, those priests who are gay continue to selflessly serve their parishes and communities all around the world in tandem with their straight colleagues with an energy often bordering on the heroic. I know many priests who are gay in Irish parishes who live their priesthood in an exemplary way and they are as hurt as they are angry at the insinuation that being born gay means they present a risk to children. Their reaction when they hear such claims by those in leadership within the Church? According to one I spoke to this week, "a strong stomach and a weak smile". So long as the scapegoating of gay priests continues, it will prevent the Church facing the reality of the fact that child sexual abuse is like a cancer that consumes everything it touches. Thankfully, if this week's meeting in Rome is anything to go by, it is increasingly a marginal view and saner voices will win the day. NITI Aayog member and former DRDO Chief Dr. V K Saraswat releases the 8th edition of 'Brahmand World Defence Update 2019'. Also present on the occasion, Dr. Sudhir K Mishra, CEO & MD, BrahMos Aerospace and Praveen Pathak, CGM (Mkt. Prom. & Export), BrahMos. BENGALURU (BNS): NITI Aayog member and former DRDO Chief Dr. V K Saraswat on 21st February 2019 released the eighth edition of global military yearbook Brahmand World Defence Update 2019 at the BrahMos Aerospace pavilion during Aero India 2019. The yearbook was released in the presence of Dr. Sudhir K Mishra, DS & DG (BrahMos), DRDO and CEO & MD of BrahMos Aerospace, who has penned the Foreword for the book. In its latest edition, the yearbook an initiative of India-Russia JV entity BrahMos Aerospace has made an exclusive inclusion of Air & Missile Defence Systems of six powerful nations, namely China, India, Israel, Japan, Russia and the USA in addition to the comprehensive coverage of military data of 113 countries worldwide. Air Defence Systems and Missile Defence Systems have become highly critical strategic assets for powerful militaries across the world in the 21st century. From ensuring strategic stability to containing escalation of a potential military conflict and even defeating the enemy if necessary, such systems have come to occupy centre-stage in present times. Brahmand World Defence Update 2019 has listed in detail about such advanced weapons and related systems possessed by few powerful nations in the world. Besides, it has provided incisive, comprehensive and up-to-date facts, figures and data on the armed forces of 113 countries worldwide with the objective to give a comprehensive assessment of the present-day global military order. The yearbook has covered each countrys overall military capability by listing its existing weapons' inventory, ongoing/ future arms procurement plans and annual defence spending besides detailing important political & defence personnel along with the countrys core conflict areas. It has also provided detailed strategic information on 33 leading countries selected from each continent/region with key focus on their geopolitical importance, strategic relations, threat perception, defence capabilities and defence budget trends. Like all its previous editions, Brahmand World Defence Update 2019 promises to be a vital source of reference for the armed forces and defence establishments and also for the global arms manufacturers, research institutions, academia, think-tanks, Captains of industries and even for the general readers keen to know about latest global military developments and trends. The yearbook is published by Pentagon Press. Paradise found: Central America has thousands of 'away from it all' beaches like this one in Honduras Having emerged from the cloud forest at Mombacho Volcano Nature Reserve, our Nicaraguan guide Eric disappears with a promise to return soon with something worth seeing. After a few minutes rustling among dense foliage, he does, carrying a long green leaf. Perched on the end of it, eyes bulging, is a startled-looking red-eyed tree frog. The sticky orange pads on his webbed feet are spread wide. He sits still as a mouse trap for a moment, allowing us to marvel at the flashes of electric blue and yellow along his kermit green body, before springing from the leaf. He travels through the air stretched like a hand giving a high five, before disappearing back into the forest. That brief encounter, and walking around the crater of the extinct volcano gave us a good idea of Nicaragua's incredible and diverse ecosystem. Almost 1,400m above sea level, the national park is home to 50 species of mammals, 174 species of birds, 30 species of reptiles and amphibians and 750 species of flora. There is no getting away from nature here - from the amazing views of the famous Lake Nicaragua (at 65km long and 25km wide it's the biggest in Central America) to its islands and lagoons, rainforests and wildlife. It's up to you how you want to see it, but if you have a head for heights zip-lining is one option. Near the small coastal town of San Juan del Sur is Da' Flying Frog Canopy Tour. Here they will put you in a very unflattering harness and take you deep into the forest to zip through the tree tops at speed along a distance of 2.5km and about 50m above the ground. The longest line is 328m. By the time you have progressed to this you may have stopped screaming for long enough to enjoy the stunning views below. A boat is a more relaxing option, and a good way to explore Las Isletas de Granada on Lake Nicaragua. The abundance of secluded small islands were formed when Mombacho Volcano erupted thousands of years ago. Today, they are home to cormorants, herons, parrots, hawks, vultures, and the filthy rich. Probably the most spectacular site to see near Lake Nicaragua is Masaya Volcano. It's as awe inspiring as nature gets. Leaning over its vast smouldering crater is like looking into a witch's cauldron. Nothing can really prepare you for the sight of the fiery lava churning below. No wonder the Spaniards who invaded Nicaragua nicknamed it "the mouth of hell". Nicaragua's cities are interesting too. It's a country with a hairy history - as recently as 1979 the left-wing Sandinista party overthrew the president, putting an end to decades of dictatorship. In the capital Managua, the Palacio Nacional was one of the buildings taken by the Sandinistas, and Tiscapa National Park is home to a famous statue of Sandino, the guerilla leader who gave the party its name. Granada and Leon (Nicaragua's second city) are both preserved in colonial times, with their crumbling but charming buildings and cobbled streets. But for all the interest its cities offer, nothing can compete with Nicaragua's natural wonders. As wild as Nicaragua is, it started to feel like a Disneyland once we arrived in Honduras. Honduras is a rough diamond and, not quite everywhere is ready for the tourism its economy so desperately needs. Its tropical climate means it has two distinct seasons, dry from November to April and rainy from May through October. "Rainy" is a euphemism here. The skies often turn from blue and cloudless to a menacing bruised grey in a matter of minutes, and when the heavens open you think you might get washed away. We arrive in a rainstorm, but the terrible visibility didn't seem to bother our driver Alexis, who frequently overtook up to six cars and motorbikes at once while rounding a corner. When the rain stopped and the clouds cleared, I got my first glimpse of Honduras's majestic mountains, covered with a thick fur of green trees and topped with a ring of fluffy white clouds. We headed for the northern coast, which borders the Caribbean Sea. Using Tela as a base we explored the Laguna de los Micos, famous for wildlife and birdwatching, and then headed way off the beaten track to the home of the Garifuna people in the small village of Miami. The Garifuna maintain a traditional way of life, living in simple huts on the beach, catching their food and occasionally allowing voyeuristic tourists to visit and nose around. They'll cook you a simple meal of fish, plantain and rice and beans, take you on a trip into the mangroves to spot monkeys and birds, but mainly ignore you. The beach they live on is beautiful, but slightly spoilt by litter. A building that used to be a visitor centre is dilapidated and deserted. On a small fishing boat heading towards the jaw-dropping Parque Nacional Jeanette Kawas, you see what a paradise-in-parts Honduras really is. The park, only accessible by sea, is surrounded by crystal waters. We land on a soft sandy white beach and take a short hike through the dense rainforest, where not-too-far-in-the-distance is one of the spots where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed. Our last days in Honduras were spent around La Ceiba - the main launching point to reach The Bay Islands and Pico Bonito National Parks. The area is surrounded by lush jungle, mountains and sandy white beaches. At dusk, we kayaked on a lagoon, paddling past mangroves and watching for low-flying bats. Our last excursion was by open air train to Refugio de vida Silvestre Cuero y Salado, the battered tram built illegally by the US back when Honduras was a banana republic. Today, it mainly transports people and occasionally some heavily armed guards. It would be remiss to talk about Honduras's natural beauty and not mention one thing that is painfully obvious almost everywhere you go - poverty. It might be less apparent in the more tourist-trodden parts, but in many places seeing barefoot children, piles of litter, kids selling fruit at petrol stations when they should be at school, old men in fields drenched with sweat and people living in shacks reminds us that Hondurans live hard lives and reap little reward for their labour. Yet whilst it is true that many areas of Honduras suffer from poverty and underdevelopment, many of them are completely reliant on tourism and the funds brought in by international travellers. It's why it is crucial for Honduras that we keep supporting tourism in the country and encourage people to travel there. We never felt unsafe, and weeks after returning home, Honduras was the one place that kept coming back to my mind. The affluence of (parts of) Panama City felt strange after Honduras. Downtown Panama has all the traffic, fancy hotels and shiny skyscrapers you'd expect from an international centre of commerce, but there's a lot more to it than its big banks. Take a 30 minute walk from downtown along the water and you get to the old city - rundown, ramshackle, romantic and well worth exploring. The Casco Viejo (also called Casco Antigo) is lined with apartments with colourful wooden shutters, flower boxes and washing hanging from their windows. Relaxed by day, it comes alive at night. The best thing to do is find a restaurant or bar (try Tantalo) with a good rooftop terrace and take in the amazing twinkly view over the water. But don't be distracted by Panama city, as a country Panama has as many natural gems as its Central American neighbours. A very short flight away is the Chiriqui Highlands and the beautiful town of Boquete, with both rainforest and coffee plantations to explore. Finca Lerida is a stunning coffee plantation where you can take a guided tour to see how the plants are grown and then taste the beans. You can stay on the plantation overnight, but whatever you do don't leave without getting a slice of passion fruit cake from the cafe. It's one of the best things I've ever eaten. Among Panama's many greatest hits is the Boquete Tree Trek, a hike into the rainforest which leads to a series of long hanging bridges. Walking along them, high off the ground, you get up close and personal with the trees and a breathtaking aerial view. At Gamboa rainforest they've gone one step further and built an aerial tram tour. It takes you (slowly) about 280ft from the forest floor through dense undergrowth up into the canopy giving you the opportunity to spot birds, butterflies, sloths and white-faced capuchin monkeys on the way. The next, and the last of a 12-day trip across three countries, began with a short journey on the Gatun river in a dugout canoe. Our driver is one of the Embera Quera Community. His skin is the colour of mahogany, his hair jet black and he is wearing nothing but a very short beaded wrap. His friend, who sits silently at the back of the boat, is almost completely covered in temporary tattoos, painted on with ink made from a tree. We arrive at their small hillside home and are greeted by a line of women, old and young, all wrapped in bright fabric and with flowers in their hair and all singing. The men stand opposite them playing instruments and when they are finished they approach us in single file and shake our hands one by one. Over the course of the day the leader of the tribe patiently answers our questions and guides us along a trail to show us the plants they use for medicine. They dance and cook for us, and offer us tattoos which fade after two weeks. Luckily the memories don't. Getting there Expand Close Katy at the Embera Quera Community on the Gatun river in Panama / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Katy at the Embera Quera Community on the Gatun river in Panama Katy at the Embera Quera Community on the Gatun river in Panama Katy flew from London Heathrow to Miami International with American Airlines, and from Miami International onwards to Managua airport, Nicaragua; San Pedro Sula airport, Honduras; and Panama City airport, Panama. Return flights with American Airlines via Tocumen International airport, Panama, and Miami International. For more information on multi-destination travel in Central America visit www.visitcentroamerica.com/ Take three: Top attractions Parque Nacional Jeannette Kawas Expand Close Parque Nacional Jeannette Kawas / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Parque Nacional Jeannette Kawas Located outside Tela on the Caribbean coast, this jaw-dropping natural paradise is only accessible by boat. Surrounded by sparkling blue water, its made up of sandy beaches, tropical forest, lagoons and rivers. Its named after Honduran environmental activist Jeannette Kawas. Her attempts to preserve the flora and fauna from being destroyed by money-making palm plantations is probably what led to her murder in 1995. Masaya Volcano Expand Close Masaya Volcano / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Masaya Volcano Nothing can quite prepare you for the sights at Masaya in Nicaragua. After a steep uphill drive, you disembark on the edge of an enormous smouldering crater, and peer over to see lava boiling right below you. Its like looking into a giant witchs cauldron. The Masaya Volcano has erupted several times, with the Spanish invaders aptly naming it La Boca del Infierno, meaning the mouth of hell. Casco Viejo Expand Close Casco Viejo / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Casco Viejo This romantically ramshackle district is the historic centre of Panama City and far more interesting than the downtown area with all its high rise skyscrapers inhabited by bankers. Quiet during the day, Cascos narrow streets come alive when the sun goes down. Head to one of the many bars and restaurants with roof terraces and balconies for a seriously impressive view of the city lit up at night. The UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has downgraded its travel advice to Nicaragua, no longer warning against all but essential travel to the country. Essentially off limits to tourists since April 2018, the Central American country is now open for business - and there are plenty of good reasons to go - soaring volcanoes, lush highlands and sparkling beaches are just a few of the attractions. 1. Sled down a volcano Expand Close A girl boarding her way down a black rock volcano. PA Photo/thinkstockphotos. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A girl boarding her way down a black rock volcano. PA Photo/thinkstockphotos. There are 19 volcanoes in Nicaragua, and although there's still life in several of the fiery devils, many have hiking routes. Cerro Negro is Central America's youngest and is famous for its lava dunes. From the summit, views stretch to the Nicaraguan highlands and Pacific Ocean. Ash boarding on the slopes is a speedy option to get down. 2. Surf and party Surfers from all over the world head to San Juan del Sur to ride Pacific waves. But even if you aren't a pro, there are plenty of surf schools lining the beach. Unsurprisingly, the town also has a raucous party scene. 3. Admire colonial architecture Expand Close Grenada City. PA Photo/thinkstockphotos. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Grenada City. PA Photo/thinkstockphotos. A cluster of cobbled streets and colourful buildings, Granada is Central America's oldest continually inhabited city, making it a key tourist attraction. On the shores of Lake Nicaragua, at the foot of the Mombacho volcano, it's less than a one-hour drive from capital city Managua. 4. Snorkel with nurse sharks The Corn Islands are a magnet for wildlife enthusiasts, who come to snorkel or dive on reefs teeming with parrotfish, nurse sharks, rays and sea anemones. There are even anchors and other items of ship debris left by pirates who passed through these Caribbean waters in the 17th century. 5. Taste divine chocolate Nicaragua produces some excellent coffee and cocoa, mainly grown in the hills around Jinotega. Head to Matagalpa to find out about the art of chocolate making; El Castillo del Cacao (The Cocoa Castle) uses cocoa grown by local farmers and offers tours to tourists, explaining the production process. Get there Expand Close Concepcion volcano and Ometepe island. PA Photo/thinkstockphotos. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Concepcion volcano and Ometepe island. PA Photo/thinkstockphotos. Delta (delta.com) offers a limited service between Atlanta and Managua. See also copaair.com. Journey Latin America (journeylatinamerica.co.uk) offers a 10-day Signature Nicaragua: Fire, Water and Revolution, visiting colonial cities, Granada and Leon, Ometepe Island with its twin volcanoes, Rio San Juan and the fortress of El Castillo. The price is from 2,141/2,463pp, including flights, transfers, B&B hotels and excursions. NB: As of publication, Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs still advises against non-essential travel to Nicaragua. The UK's FCO advises visitors to exercise a high degree of caution. Check latest advice before travel. It is a midweek evening towards the end of September, and the rain is bucketing down on Dublin's south inner city. The normally vibrant Dawson Street is largely devoid of pedestrians, but a young man with a box on his back doesn't seem to mind. He is one of an estimated 400 riders who have helped to put the international food-delivery company Deliveroo on the map in Ireland. And he appears happy that the inclement conditions look set to stay for the night. "Business has been really good tonight," he says, emerging from a restaurant with a new order. "People are staying in, and are maybe in the mood to treat themselves. You're also more likely to be tipped because they see you turning up at their door soaking wet and they feel sorry for you." His mood is enhanced yet further because this particular order is for an apartment building near the Google HQ and he can cycle there in "six minutes flat". The more orders he gets on a typical three to four-hour shift, the more money he makes. Later that night, when his shift is over, he's not quite as upbeat. "You caught me on a good night," he says over the phone. "There are times where you'd be twiddling your thumbs - orders would be slow to come in to you and you'd be looking at all this time that you were making yourself available to Deliveroo and you weren't being paid. "We used to get paid a flat rate per hour, plus a euro for each delivery we did, but then they changed it to a situation where you only got paid per delivery. To be honest, I think I'm making more money on this new set-up than I was, but I hate the principle of it. I was going to walk away, but I like being out and about. I spend enough time studying and in college." As with most Deliveroo riders - past and present - who agree to speak to Review, this DIT student does not want to give his name. Another, a former rider - or 'delivery consultant', as Deliveroo like to refer to the couriers they use - has a blunt appraisal for the business models of many on-demand app firms like as Deliveroo. "Yes, we're largely young people who are either in college or just out of it, but that doesn't mean we should be f***ed over when it comes to employment rights. No matter what way you look at it, we're employees in all but name and entitlements. "All the talk is about how great it is to have flexible working hours, but we don't get paid if we have a fall off our bikes and can't work a shift the next day, for instance. You can't get sick when you're employed on this kind of model because if you do, there'll be no money coming in." Deliveroo is part of what has become known as the 'gig economy'. Originally coined at the height of the recession in 2009, it refers to the freelance economy, in which workers support themselves with a variety of part-time jobs that do not provide traditional benefits such as sick leave or pensions. Rather than employ staff the conventional way, many of the new breed of start-ups use a workforce of self-employed contractors. Deliveroo began life in London in 2013 and has become nothing short of a sensation. The idea is remarkably simple - provide a courier service to restaurants who normally don't offer food delivery. It was made possible because of technological advancements that allow customers to place orders in real time on their smartphones. Founded by former investment banker Will Shu and ex-software developer Greg Orlowski, the company took in 166m in revenue in the 12 months up to July of this year. Investors are queuing up for a piece of the action, and in August it secured a staggering $250m of funding from hedge fund Bridgepoint. One of its investors is an Irishman, Dylan Collins of Hoxton Ventures, who has, to date, pumped 22m into the venture. It launched in Ireland in July 2015 and it has been reported that it has enjoyed 25pc month-on-month growth in that time. At present, it says it is partnering with 400 restaurants in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Belfast. "Riders engage with us as freelance contractors," says a Deliveroo Ireland spokesperson, "allowing them to work flexibly, often around other commitments, such as additional work, studies or family. As such, riders tell us that flexibility is the aspect of the work they value most. "In Dublin city centre, riders work with us on a fee-per-delivery payment system designed to increase this flexibility even more. Through this system, riders log in and ride whenever they want and for as long as they choose. We share daily insight reports with all riders, highlighting when we expect to be the busiest - such as evenings and weekends - providing visibility of the best times to maximise fees in line with their availability." Outside of Dublin, cyclists are paid 6.50 per hour, plus 1 per delivery - the very rate their city counterparts enjoyed until April. The company's decision to introduce a pay-per-delivery system was originally trialled in Brighton, but its introduction in London lead to a one-day strike from Deliveroo riders angered at what they thought to be an attempt to make them work below the minimum wage. And, around the same time, couriers protested outside the offices of a new venture, UberEats, and chanted, "We are people, not Uber's tools!" For some, the unrest in London was the first time that on-demand apps suffered overwhelmingly negative publicity. Up to that point, Uber, Just Eat, Deliveroo et al were more often seen as shining beacons of this age of ultimate convenience. Want a quick solution to mounting laundry? Just ZipJet it. How about a cleaner for your home? Get on the Hassle app pronto. "These companies are not doing anything new," says Michael Taft of the Unite trade union. "They're taking existing industries and delivering them in what they see as a more efficient way, but it's the person on the bottom of the rung that's getting squeezed most." Taft says on-demand companies are "creating a process of bogus self-employment", where staff are not hired as employees, but rather sub-contractors with virtually no rights. "They're expected to work for these companies but don't get sick leave or holiday pay or any of the social protection benefits," he says. "It's all about reducing costs for the employer, and what it's also doing is driving down working conditions to the point where we're returning to 'piecework' employment and zero-hour contracts." He points out that last year his union took a successful case against the construction giant JJ Rhatigan on the grounds that bricklayers working on a building site in Dublin were essentially making just 5 per hour due to the subcontracting system they were working in. The court recommended that the firm pay 100,000, to be divided among the 14 striking workers. "Unfortunately, subcontracting is rife in the construction sector at the moment," he says, "and there's far more at stake than just poor pay. Workers often don't know when they're going to get shifts. Sometimes, their contracts aren't worth the paper they're written on." It's a view echoed by Joe O'Regan of the Independent Workers Union. "Low-paid contract workers are some of the most vulnerable people in our society," he says. "And they tend to be the very people who aren't unionised. The nature of their works means that they're isolated from other people doing the same kind of role." O'Regan points out that it's not just the on-demand app companies that are pioneering such labour practices. "Sub-contracting out roles that would have been filled by staff members in the past has, worryingly, become very common." It was the IWU's British counterpart that helped organise the Deliveroo strike in August, and much of its concern was centred around productivity pressures that riders felt under thanks to the 'algorithmic management' tools employed by firms at the vanguard of the gig economy. Deliveroo's algorithm monitors riders' shift activities and sends them personalised 'service level assessments' on such detail as average time to accept orders, to travel to the restaurant, to the customer and so on. Riders typically have 30 seconds to accept an order, or risk being unassigned. Deliveroo believe such a response time is necessary to fulfil their stated objective of ensuring customers have their food within half an hour of placing an order. Uber drivers are also subject to algorithmic control. They choose when they work, but once they log on to the app, they have less than 20 seconds to respond to 'trip requests' routed to them. They are not told the customer's destination until they have picked them up (similarly, Deliveroo riders don't know the location they have to deliver to until they collect food at the restaurant). Uber drivers who miss three requests in a row are logged out automatically for two minutes, and the failure to accept is logged and sent to them in weekly reports. For many, Uber epitomises the gig economy. Originally a tiny San Franciscan start-up, it moved into the big time in 2011 during downtime at the Web Summit in Dublin, when co-founder Travis Kalanick convinced investor Shervin Pishevar that Uber could be a behemoth following a meeting at Bruxelles pub. It was an encounter that led to a $38m investment and today the firm is valued at $50bn, and has more than one million drivers on its books worldwide. It has transformed the short-hop travel industry globally - but not in Ireland, as would-be drivers here have to be holders of taxi licences - but Uber has found itself fighting employment-relations cases around the globe. In the UK, court cases have been taken against the company on the grounds that it has 'deactivated' the employment of drivers who fall below a certain customer rating (out of five). In one case, an email was read out to court which illustrated the Big Brother-like hold these algorithms can have on de facto employees. "We will continue to monitor your rating every 50 trips and will email you if we see your rating for your past 50 trips falls below 4.6." While such personalised data might feel like a very modern concept, it has its roots in a practice that was popularised in blue-collar America in the early 20th Century. Frederick Taylor was an industrialist who made his fortune in the steel industry. Frustrated about inefficiencies he saw on the factory floor, he devised a system in which every labour task was evaluated and the optimum time for its completion was worked out. "This task," he wrote in 1911, "specifies not only what is to be done but how it is to be done and the exact time allowed for doing it." Workers were subsequently timed and those who consistently failed to work as efficiently as Taylor's 'Scientific Management' timings had dictated risked losing their jobs. Unsurprisingly, productivity in his factories shot up immediately and they were soon adopted throughout the US. Taylor's legacy lives on in some of the world's most profitable companies. Amazon warehouse workers use handheld devices that give them step-by-step instructions on where to walk and what to pick from the shelves when they get there, all the while measuring their 'pick rate' in real time. "Algorithms are providing a degree of control and oversight that even the most hardened Taylorists could never have dreamt of," Jeremias Prassl, Oxford University law professor, told the Financial Times last month. While on-demand apps might be leading the way, it's clear that an algorithmic approach is on the way to the high street, too, especially now that the technology is getting smarter all the time. One Silicon Valley start-up, Percolata, has built a complex algorithm which monitors each employee's 'shopper yield' or, in plain-speak, which staff members generate most sales. It's being used by a number of retailers in the US, and those employees who do best are rewarded with extra shifts. All-powerful apps aren't just having an effect on workers on the group: they can also disrupt traditional industries, as taxi drivers found out in cities like London and Paris once Uber took hold. "The task-based apps are really hurting businesses like mine," says the owner of a small Dublin cleaning company. "When Hassle came along, we lost customers virtually overnight. They're offering a service for an hourly rate we just can't sustain - it's a race to the bottom, really. How low can you go? And they've made it so user-friendly too -a cleaner is just a tap of your phone away." Hassle - billed by some as 'Uber for cleaners' - charges customers 13.90 per hour for the services of its 'trusted cleaners' and its independent contractors receive 11 per hour. The company was founded by Irish woman Jules Coleman in 2011 and she became a multimillionaire just four years later when it was sold to a German rival for 32m. Impressive as Coleman's success is, it's in the ha'penny place when viewed alongside that of another Irish entrepreneur, Oisin Hanrahan. The Dubliner also saw a gap in the market for house-cleaning services and DIY, and his Handy app has been a big hit in the US, where he has been based since his days at the Harvard Business School. The company is now valued at $500m. Hanrahan had originally cut his teeth as a property developer in Eastern Europe while still at Trinity College Dublin. Twenty-year-old Offaly native Tom Pywell is also studying at Trinity and he believes a Computer Science degree will hold a myriad of possibilities for his future. He has an entrepreneurial spirit, having co-founded LaunchBox - a "crowdfunding platform for up-and-coming musicians" - and he is also getting to see, hands-on, just how the Deliveroo model works. "I've cycled for Deliveroo for almost a year," he says, "and I really like it. I'd cover about 50km in a three-hour shift and I've worked out that I average 14.80, including tips, per hour. That's more money than I've got in other part-time jobs I've done." He knows it's a casual job that will help sustain his college years, not a career. But others who have worn the Deliveroo box on their back believe this casualisation of work is just the start. "My parents' generation took it for granted that they could get secure, pensionable jobs if they wanted," says the young rider who Review first met on a rainy Dawson Street. "But while, of course, there are still jobs like that to be had, there are far less of them. That's very obvious now. You might work your butt off in college, but you could still be facing unpaid internships and then a lifetime of one short-term contract after the next. "We're told we're the lucky generation who can set our own hours and enjoy all this flexibility. "I just hope my peers realise that there's a hell of a price to pay for that." Appy to be of service UBER The daddy of the lot, this ride-hailing app and its keenly priced fares have had a seismic effect on the taxi industry in several countries. Estimated to be worth $50bn, it has more than one million drivers across the globe. A food delivery offshoot, UberEats, was launched in the UK this summer. DELIVEROO Its USP is couriering food from restaurants who don't normally offer a delivery service. It's enjoyed phenomenal growth in its three years in operation, and has 20,000 self-employed riders in 12 countries. Roughly 400 couriers currently service the Irish operation. HASSLE Co-founded by Irish entrepreneur Jules Coleman (below), the so-called 'Uber for cleaners' was bought by a German rival for 32m last year. It offers a house-cleaning service starting at 13.90 - a price many of its smaller, more traditional competitors struggle to match. Expand Close Jules Coleman / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jules Coleman TASKRABBIT Ever dreamed of a service that enables you to outsource errands and small jobs to a team of 'helpers' who come and do them for you? This app might just be what you're looking for - and the company says it takes great care in conducting background checks on prospective helpers. ZIPJET If washing, drying and ironing your clothes is too onerous a task, this German-founded app can come to your rescue. Linking in with a network of laundrettes and dry cleaners, your dirty garments are laundered and pressed and returned to you within 48 hours. BUYMIE An Irish-owned app for on-demand groceries. You can order goods from a selection of local stores and have them delivered by what the firm dubs 'a personal shopper' in one hour. It is, Buymie claims, "convenience as it should be". Liam LaHart & Elliot Hughes of Dingle Original Gin pictured with awards for 'World's Best Gin' and 'World's Best London Dry Gin' category. An Irish-produced gin has been crowned the best in the world at a prestigious awards ceremony in London. Dingle Original Gin pipped more than 400 gins from around the world to scoop the top accolade at the World Gin Awards on Thursday night. Elliott Hughes, a partner at Dingle Original Gin and son of the late publican Oliver Hughes, said "this is an incredibly proud moment". The 25-year-old followed in the footsteps of his father by graduating with a law degree and then moving into the brewing business. "We didn't expect to win the overall prize so it was a real shock, but yeah, nice one," Mr Hughes told Independent.ie. "I'm sure my dad would be very proud. The Dingle Original Gin hasn't changed since it launched in 2012 and is the same recipe that my dad, Liam and Peter put together seven years ago." The drink, which is produced in The Dingle Whiskey Distillery outside the Kerry town of the same name, also claimed the top award in the London Dry Gin category. "I've been getting lots of phonecalls and texts. I think everyone in Ireland knows Dingle Gin but now this award will help it gain a bit more credibility around the world, especially with people in the United States and further afield." Expand Close Carene Lecaille from Normandy pictured in the Merchant OSheas Bar enjoying a Dingle Gin Photo: Kyran O'Brien / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Carene Lecaille from Normandy pictured in the Merchant OSheas Bar enjoying a Dingle Gin Photo: Kyran O'Brien Mr Hughes, from Fairview, Dublin, started to work with the Porterhouse Brewing Company immediately after he left Dublin City University, where he graduated with an honours degree in law. "I worked in the family business through school and college and I've always been involved in some respect. Me and my sister are buzzing today, it's a nice vindication for the hard work. "We had a couple of pints on Thursday night in the Porterhouse in London to celebrate and I'm sure we'll be having a few gin and tonics this evening," he added. His father, Oliver Hughes, who died in July 2016 at the age of 57, is founder of the Porterhouse pub chain and is credited with introducing "craft beer" to Ireland along with his cousin and long-term business partner Liam LaHart. They also founded the Dingle Whiskey Distillery in Co Kerry, which was the first purpose-built distillery to open in Ireland in two centuries. According to figures by the Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (AFBI), the Irish gin market is seeing an explosion of producers with more than 50 brands and 20 gin producers launching in recent years. Some 12 new brands launched last year. Dingle Gin says it was one of only two gins being produced in Ireland when it started in 2012. "Hopefully a few people can try some Dingle Original gin this weekend," Mr Hughes said. Keep smiling: Canadian Phil OConnor, who lives in Dublin, and his son Stephen (2) keep up their spirits at the airport after his flight was delayed. Photo: Mark Condren In Ireland you don't need a licence or qualifications to fly a drone. You simply need to register it with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA). It's a bit like getting a dog licence, but cheaper. But because registering them is a manual process online after you buy the drone, it's a fair bet many people never bother. So while the IAA says there are more than 11,000 drones in Ireland, the real figure is probably much higher. Besides, you only strictly have to register your drone if it weighs over 1kg. The potential for catastrophic damage from a 500 consumer toy is very real. We don't yet know what the effects, for example, of a drone getting into an airplane's engine would be. Today's typical consumer drone has a range of up to 4km from its remote controller. Almost all such drones now have powerful video cameras onboard, with live footage beamed back to the user's smartphone or tablet. So you don't need to be looking up in the sky to fly it, observable by patrolling police. You can steer it while being out of sight, hidden behind a bush, a house, or anything else, several kilometres away. In the Gatwick incident last December, police suggested the Gatwick drone was not a consumer model. But that doesn't mean a consumer drone could not cause damage or disruption. The lead detective in the Regency Hotel murder investigation felt he was under "massive pressure" in relation to the case, according to an informed source. Detective Superintendent Colm Fox, who was found dead in tragic circumstances last year, was said to be concerned about the level of support he was receiving and also in relation to the strength of the evidence against suspect Patrick Hutch. The revelation comes as calls mount for a fuller explanation of the reasons for the collapse of the trial of Mr Hutch on Wednesday. A number of politicians have suggested the DPP should provide an explanation to the family of murder victim David Byrne. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris is expected to face questions on the trial during a meeting with the Policing Authority next week. A Garda review to determine what lessons can be learned has been requested by Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan. A separate inquiry into the death of Det Supt Fox by the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) could also shed further light on the circumstances leading up to the collapse of the trial. Expand Close Entrance: Raiders disguised as gardai armed with AK47 assault rifles enter the front door of the Regency Hotel / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Entrance: Raiders disguised as gardai armed with AK47 assault rifles enter the front door of the Regency Hotel It is believed notes written by the late detective are to be requested by the Gsoc team. The trial was adjourned for a lengthy period while the circumstances surrounding his death were investigated by gardai. No foul play was suspected and the matter was treated as a personal tragedy. "Colm Fox was an excellent investigator but he was feeling massive pressure in relation to the Regency," an informed source said. "He was concerned about support and the robustness of the evidence against Patrick Hutch. He didn't want to let the Byrne family or his colleagues down, and this added to the pressure he was under." Mr Byrne's murder was part of the vicious Hutch-Kinahan gangland feud, which has claimed the lives of 18 people. His mother Sadie said the family received "no reason, no explanation" for the decision to discontinue the trial. Counsel for the DPP explained in court that the decision related to the death of Det Supt Fox, which meant it was "not in a position to lead evidence on a range of evidential issues". It is believed the "evidential issues" related to defence concerns over the manner in which Mr Hutch was identified as a suspect. However, this was not clarified in court. During the early stages of the trial, it emerged two gardai identified Mr Hutch as the gunman photographed leaving the murder scene wearing a woman's wig. They said they identified him independently of each other, but the defence suggested they were in each other's company. This prompted a denial from the prosecution that there had been collusion. The court heard an estimated 500 gardai were asked to look at the photograph but these were the only two who identified Mr Hutch. Following legal argument, the court ruled the identification evidence was admissible, but the defence was told it could revisit the issue later in the trial. On February 7 last year the trial was delayed when the defence sought copies of emails between four gardai to see if they had been in contact with each other regarding their statements. Three days later, Det Supt Fox was found dead at Ballymun garda station. It is understood he left behind correspondence in which he said he made a "grave error of judgment". Fianna Fail justice spokesman Jim O'Callaghan said the DPP could explain to the family of Mr Byrne why the trial did not continue. He told the Irish Independent the Garda Commissioner should also provide to the Policing Authority the information that came to light since the trial was adjourned. "These steps could be taken even if it is not possible to put that information into the public domain," said Mr O'Callaghan. "I am conscious that because of the circumstances of the death of Det Supt Fox and out of respect for his family, it may not be possible to put all relevant information into the public domain." Labour justice spokesman Sean Sherlock said that while investigative processes had to be respected, "the public do need answers, given in public, as to what happened". "Both the Policing Authority and the Gsoc investigation have to yield answers including why the prosecution did not proceed." In a statement, Mr Flanagan said relatives of victims of crime can ask the DPP for reasons for a decision not to prosecute. However, it is unclear if this also applies in cases where charges are withdrawn during a trial. A query to the Office of the DPP was not responded to. The escalating cost of the new National Children's Hospital was not revealed in official documents supplied to Fianna Fail during Confidence and Supply talks - even after the 1.4bn construction price was confirmed. Teams from Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, backed up by Department of Health officials who were sources of healthcare information, met over a number of weeks in November. The behind-the-scenes meetings were part of negotiations on a new Confidence and Supply deal to determine if Fianna Fail would continue to support the Government. It is only in recent weeks, as controversy raged over the cost, that it was confirmed Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe and Health Minister Simon Harris were told on November 9 by the development board building the new hospital about the 1.4bn construction bill. But there is no mention of this being passed on to Fianna Fail at the time. This is despite meetings taking place between the two sets of teams later in November. Newly released documents shared by the two teams, who spent six weeks discussing a range of policies over various Government departments, show only one reference to project in the context of Slaintecare. This brief one-line reference arises in a section relating to the 200m allocation in the last Budget to support Slaintecare strategy. It states there was "additional funding for care redesign and the National Children's Hospital". It has emerged in recent weeks that Mr Harris was told of a 191m overrun and 200m fee from contractor BAM in August last year. Around 61m of this fee was paid. Top level Department of Health officials were concerned about the rising bill in the following months. By November 9, it was 450m more costly than expected. The documents shared between both parties in the Confidence and Supply talks before the deal was concluded in mid-December show the Fianna Fail team concentrated strongly on pressing issues which would be highlighted by constituents. They included hospital waiting lists, delays in access to therapists, gaps in mental health services as well as problems with the recruitment and retention of staff. They also spent time on the trolley crisis, the provision of more hospital beds and the shortage of respite places for people with disability. Department of Health Secretary General Jim Breslin, who sought information from colleagues on November 1, said he had to attend Confidence and Supply talks the following day and needed briefing notes. The topics covered were mental health services, disability assessments, adult day services, elderly care supports, bed capacity, waiting list funding, insurance costs, Slaintecare implementation and the effect of Hiqa inspections on nursing homes. The list has no reference to capital spending or the hospital. A week later civil servants returned and gave another list of areas which led to more demands for information. They included the ability of the National Treatment Purchase Fund to reduce waiting lists, more accurate figures on speech and language therapists, up to date waiting lists for home care and respite places. Meanwhile the Public Accounts Committee is to call board members of the National Children's Hospital and Department of Health officials for further questioning over issues with the hospital. Tanaiste Simon Coveney (right) and Minister of State for European Affairs Helen McEntee at a press conference at Government Buildings in Dublin. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA Wire EMERGENCY legislation designed to protect cross-border health services, benefits payments and transport links in the event of a crash-out Brexit has been published by the government this morning. Tanaiste Simon Coveney said the omnibus bill is the result of an enormous amount of work to "prepare our country for the worst kind of Brexit". The government hope to have it passed in the next three weeks so that it's in place before Britain is due to leave the EU at the end of March. There are still hopes that the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement between British Prime Minister Theresa May's government and the EU will be passed by the House of Commons. Mr Coveney said he hopes the legislation published today "proves redundant" and he hopes its provisions are never needed. He said: "My only desire is to see this legislation sit on the shelf." Measures included in the Bill are: *A provision for cross-border health services including reimbursement arrangements to be maintained *Giving Enterprise Ireland extra powers to support business through investment, loans and grants *Protection of the Single Electricity Market *The continuance of student grant arrangements between the Ireland and the UK *Modification of income tax, capital tax, corporation tax and stamp duty to ensure continuity for businesses and citizens *The continuance of benefits payments between both jurisdictions *Protection of cross-border bus services. Mr Coveney said that a no-deal Brexit would be a "lose, lose, lose" situation for Ireland, Britain and the EU. In relation to the new legislation he said: "We cannot offset all of the damage that it will do but we are doing everything we can". Mr Coveney also said: "I don't believe a no-deal will happen but we have to plan for it just in case." He acknowledged that the annual St Patrick's Day international promotional blitz by ministers - including Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's visit to the White House - could be hit if issues relating to Brexit arise while they are scattered around the world. The Irish Independent revealed today that ministers have been put on notice to cut their trips short if they need to return home to attend a special Cabinet meeting or help the legislation get over the line in Leinster House. Mr Coveney said he believed it was "unlikely" that Mr Varadkar's meeting with US President Donald Trump would be affected but couldn't rule it out. He said: "you can't rule anything out with Brexit". In a statement today in response to the bill, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: "Our focus remains on the UK ratifying the Withdrawal Agreement... "We are doing all we can to avoid a no-deal scenario, but we need to be ready in case it does happen". "This special law enables us to mitigate against some of the worst effects of no-deal by protecting citizens' rights, security, and facilitating extra supports for vulnerable businesses and employers." The EU Commission's move on state aid rules governing the agriculture sector will enable the Government to increase the maximum amount it can use to support farmers without prior Commission approval. On Friday, the Commission also approved a specific Irish state aid application which will allow a Co Cork cheese company to receive state aid funding to diversify its business away from reliance on the UK market. Carbery Food Ingredients Ltd, which works with 1,260 farmers, currently produces Cheddar cheese, principally for British consumers. The 5.75m state aid boost will support the company as it shifts to the production of Mozzarella cheese with the aim of finding new buyers. The Government's Omnibus Bill, known as the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill, is made up of 15 parts and was prepared by nine ministers. The proposed laws cover a wide range of areas and focuses on protecting Irish citizens' rights, supporting businesses and jobs, healthcare, transport, education and energy. The Bill will be debated in the Dail next week and then in committees the following week, before being debated in the upper chamber, the Seanad. President Michael D Higgins will sign it into law if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. An internet imagery. BENGALURU (PTI): Aerospace company Boeing Thursday held discussions with its partners, Mahindra Defence Systems (MDS) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), on the proposed F/A-18 Super Hornet 'Make in India' plan. The partners are developing comprehensive plans to set-up a new 'factory of the future' to manufacture Super Hornet locally, Boeing said after the discussions at the Aero India air show at the Yelahanka air base here. The program is expected to work with several Indian suppliers to grow a thriving defense aerospace base which could accelerate other programs, a company statement said. The facility will create a world-class, highly trained aerospace workforce, it said. The public-private partnership is intended to bring Boeing, HAL and MDS' global scale and supply chain, its best-in-industry precision manufacturing processes, as well as experience in designing and optimising aerospace production facilities to expand India's aerospace ecosystem and help realise the 'Make in India' vision. Boeing's Super Hornet is a proven platform that offers the fighter of the future for India networked, survivable and reliable, the statement said. Introduced in 2007, the F/A-18 Super Hornet is the world's preeminent carrier capable aircraft and best suited for India's naval fighter requirements designed from day one for carrier operations, according to Boeing. The Super Hornet is highly capable across the full mission spectrum for the Indian Air Force and is a true multi-role aircraft, able to perform virtually every mission in the tactical spectrum, it said. In addition, Boeing also laid out at Aero India its future defence plans proposing the KC-46A aerial refueler, AH-64E Apache attack helicopter, additional P-8 long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine aircraft, and the twin-engine Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft. Boeing also highlighted its growing services, sustainment and training footprint in India which is delivering exceptional operational capability and readiness for current platforms at a competitive cost structure, another release from the company said. The P-8I and C-17 operated by the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force have high mission readiness rates of >85%, as a result of this commitment. For the soon-to-be-inducted AH-64E Apaches and CH-47F(I) Chinooks, the first batch of Indian Air Force pilots have been undergoing training in the United States, it said. Boeing also plans to establish rotor craft training and support capabilities in India as deliveries commence this year, it said. Boeing also shared its success on 'Make in India', highlighting the contributions of its 160+ suppliers that provide parts and assemblies covering aerostructures, wire harness, composites, forgings, avionics mission systems, and ground support equipment for some of its most advanced defence platforms. Boeing also highlighted the deliveries of the first batch of AH-64 Apache fuselages by Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited, the Joint Venture with Tata Advanced Systems Limited, which is the sole-producer of fuselages globally. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) The Department of Foreign Affairs has yet to issue an official statement on reports the Philippine's Acting Ambassador to Germany has been summoned by the German Foreign Ministry to explain the tweets of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Boy Locsin. Meanwhile, Locsin has been actively replying to netizens asking him about it on Twitter. On his own account, Locsin responded to a netizen who asked for his comment on the issue. "Rich, coming from one of those who did not just comment on it but perpetrated it," the nation's top diplomat said. Rich, coming from one of those who did not just comment on it but perpetrated it. https://t.co/yiwTZ20O6h Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) February 22, 2019 The netizen had messaged to Locsin a tweet from the verified account of German journalist Arnd Henze that read: "Philippine's acting Ambassador has been summoned by the German Foreign Ministry. It has been made very clear that the remarks of @teddyboylocsin were totally unacceptable." UPDATE: Philippines acting Ambassador has been summoned by Germanys Foreign Ministry. It has been made very clear that the remarks by @teddyboylocsin were totally unacceptable. https://t.co/KiRZxDgrIm Arnd Henze (@arndhenze) February 21, 2019 Henze also posted on his account several screenshots of Locsin's past tweets comparing the administration's anti-drug campaign to the actions of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. Lillibeth Pono is listed in the Embassy of the Philippines Berlin website as the Charge D' Affaires or acting ambassador. Reacting to another netizen who tweeted a report on the Philippine envoy in Berlin being summoned, Locsin tweeted: "Yes, what now? Berlin embassy is handling it; I already told them to tell the German Foreign Ministry to send the German ambassador to me because I'd rather finish my own fights than have others do it," Locsin said, ending his statement with a homophobic slur. Yes, what now? Berlin embassy is handling it; I already told them to tell the German Foreign Ministry to send the German ambassador to me because I'd rather finish my own fights than have others do it. So, ano nayon, bakla? Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) February 22, 2019 This was not the first time that Locsin stirred controversy over his tweets about Hitler. READ: Teddyboy Locsin: I'll be more careful with my tweets CNN Philippines has yet to get a response to its request for comment from the DFA on the issue outside of Locsin's off-the-cuff remarks on social media. Reporters have also requested a transcript of Henze's interview with Locsin. Patients from the Republic will still be able to get reimbursed hospital care in Northern Ireland and Britain after Brexit. Hospitals in both Northern Ireland and the rest of UK will continue to be available post-Brexit to waiting list patients from here who are increasingly availing of the EU scheme which reimburses the cost of their cross-border treatment. Health Minister Simon Harris will today unveil proposed legislation which will aim to ensure hospitals in both regions can remain accessible to patients from the Republic who travel for operations and specialist care under the EU cross-border directive. It is part of the 17-piece "omnibus Bill" which the Government is bringing forward in legislation and statutory instruments in a range of areas relating to changes in the laws that will need to be in place post-Brexit. It was feared that once the North and mainland UK left the EU that patients using the cross-border directive from the Republic would have to travel to other member states, coping with longer journeys and a foreign language. The scheme has become a growing safety valve for patients who face long delays on hospital waiting lists here for treatment. The cost to the HSE for reimbursing patients under the scheme was 4.4m in 2017, but this jumped to 11.8m covering nearly 4,000 patients. The increase in interest has meant the HSE office has had to draft in more staff. The new post-Brexit solution, agreed with the Office of the Attorney General, will involve two main steps. The first is to put in place enabling primary legislation to give the minister powers to make such orders as may be necessary to encompass the continued provision of existing elements of healthcare between Ireland and the UK. The next stage is to draft detailed regulations which will ensure healthcare can be delivered to the same broad categories of people for whom it is currently provided and reimbursed. Others to benefit will be eligible patients in the Republic who need to access the separate EU Treatment Abroad Scheme, which qualifies them for medical care abroad which is not available here. The proposed legislation can also cover the healthcare entitlements for UK contributory pensioners living here as well as groups such as staff posted to Ireland, visitors and students. The effect of the changes will be to mirror the existing schemes which allow for reciprocal healthcare access to continue. Most patients who have availed of the cross-border directive so far have had treatments such as hip operations and cataract surgery. There has also been a significant number having orthodontic treatment. A spokesman for Charter Medical in Dublin, which arranges for patients from the Republic to avail of the scheme in Oaklands Hospital in Manchester, said growing numbers of people are using it as a way of getting off long waiting lists for procedures like joint replacements. Kingsbridge Hospital in Belfast has also seen a rise in patients from the Republic, including people who travelled in buses arranged by TDs such as Kerry Independent Michael Healy-Rae. A spokesperson for the Department of Health said that while ratification of the Brexit withdrawal agreement is still the Government's priority "we will continue our preparations for all scenarios". A woman who this week received a letter for a hospital appointment - ten months after she found a lump on her breast - has said she'd "probably be dead" if she hadn't sought private treatment. Mother-of-three Angela Dobbs Gordon, from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, discovered a lump on April 27, 2018 after returning from a trip with friends. This week, she received a letter from University Hospital Waterford, dated February 19, 2019 asking if "you still need to attend for your initial out patient consultation", adding "we regret that it has not been possible to provide you with an appointment date as of yet". Ms Gordon (38) recently finished chemotherapy and said she "nearly got sick" when the letter from UHW arrived in the post. Expand Close Angela Dobbs Gordon / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Angela Dobbs Gordon She said she probably could have died or the cancer would have spread to other areas if she relied on the public health system. Speaking to Independent.ie, she described what unfolded the week she found the lump. "I immediately rang the local care doctor and was advised to go to her GP the next morning. Following an examination, he then sent a referral letter to University Hospital Waterford to arrange an appointment at the Breast Care Department." After days of hearing nothing, Ms Gordon phoned the hospital and was told the earliest appointment might be May 23, but "there was no guarantee". The lump started to grow bigger and she still had no confirmation of an appointment. "That Friday, I completely lost the head and googled breast cancer. When I did, a number for a doctor in Dublin came up on the search, so I rang it. His wife answered the phone and I explained everything that had happened and how I was losing sleep," Ms Gordon said. The doctor asked for a referral letter and arranged an appointment at the Hermitage Medical Clinic, a private hospital. The fee was 100, which was like "gold dust" to Ms Gordon at the time as she had just split from her partner. "He told me I was in trouble and organised for me to come up for an ultrasound and mammogram, which cost 350. I had to borrow the money... my three kids need me and I knew I had to try and fight this." By now, the tumour had grown to 5cm and Ms Gordon was informed she would need a biopsy, which could cost 1,200 in the Hermitage Clinic. "I would have needed a loan to pay for it but I managed to get put back onto the public system and attended St James's Hospital in Dublin," she said. "I lost my hair, my eyebrows... and then to have gone through all this and to only get a letter now about a possible consultation, it's so frustrating. "It's bad enough finding a lump, without not knowing whether you're going to get an appointment at a hospital or not. "If I hadn't went to that doctor in Dublin, I'd be in a different predicament... I'd probably be dead." Ms Gordon shared the letter from University Hospital Waterford on Facebook and says she has been inundated with messages from other cancer sufferers who received similar correspondence. A HSE spokesperson said they were sorry to hear about Ms Gordon's experience, but "cannot comment on individual cases." "When a client or family makes personal information public, this does not relieve the HSE of its duty to preserve/uphold client confidentiality at all times. A member of a patient's medical team however will be happy to discuss any aspect of a clients care directly with them or their family members." A mother of three who has just completed chemotherapy and radiation only received a HSE hospital appointment letter this week - 10 months after she decided to pay for private treatment. Angela Dobbs Gordon (38) said she'd "probably be dead" if she hadn't paid after she found a lump on her breast. Ms Gordon, from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford discovered it on April 27, 2018 after returning from a trip with friends. This week, she received a letter from University Hospital Waterford, dated February 19, 2019 asking if she "still needed to attend for your initial out patient consultation", adding "we regret that it has not been possible to provide you with an appointment date as of yet". Ms Gordon (38) recently finished chemotherapy and said she "nearly got sick" when the letter from UHW arrived in the post. She said she probably could have died or the cancer would have spread to other areas if she relied on the public health system. Speaking to the independent.ie, she described what unfolded the week she found the lump. "I immediately rang the local care doctor and was advised to go to her GP the next morning. Following an examination, he then sent a referral letter to University Hospital Waterford to arrange an appointment at the breastcare department." After days of hearing nothing, Ms Gordon phoned the hospital and was told the earliest appointment might be May 23, but "there was no guarantee". "That Friday, I completely lost the head and googled breast cancer. When I did, a number for a doctor in Dublin came up on the search, so I rang it. His wife answered and I explained everything that had happened and how I was losing sleep," Ms Gordon said. The doctor asked for a referral letter and arranged an appointment at the Hermitage Medical Clinic, a private hospital. The fee was 100, which was like "gold dust" to Ms Gordon at the time as she had just split from her partner. "He told me I was in trouble and organised for me to come up for an ultrasound and mammogram, which cost 350. I had to borrow the money... I knew I had to try and fight this." By now, the tumour had grown to 5cm and Ms Gordon was informed she would need a biopsy, which could cost 1,200. "I would have needed a loan to pay for it but I managed to get put back onto the public system and attended St James's Hospital in Dublin," she said. "I lost my hair, my eyebrows... and then to have gone through all this and to only get a letter now about a possible consultation, it's so frustrating. If I hadn't went to that doctor in Dublin, I'd be in a different predicament... I'd probably be dead." Ms Gordon shared the letter online and says she has been inundated with messages from others who received similar correspondence. A HSE spokesperson said they were sorry to hear about Ms Gordon's experience, but could not comment on individual cases. "When a client or family makes personal information public, this does not relieve the HSE of its duty to preserve/uphold client confidentiality at all times," they said. Alert: Airport police at a site popular with plane spotters after a drone sighting at Dublin Airport. Photo: PA Wire Gardai are investigating after an alleged sighting of a drone by a pilot at Dublin Airport caused flights to be suspended yesterday morning. It is understood the alleged drone has not been located and no arrests have yet been made. The drone was spotted over the airfield shortly before 11.30am, with flights subsequently suspended by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) for 30 minutes until the runways were deemed safe. Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) spokeswoman Siobhan O'Donnell said a number of planes were kept in a holding pattern, while two were diverted during the period. "The decision to suspend flight operations is not taken lightly, it's taken purely for safety reasons. A drone sighting is extremely serious," Ms O'Donnell said. "The pilot has seen the drone on the airfield while taxiing for take-off, so he got in touch with the Irish Aviation Authority and they took the decision to suspend flight operations, as per the protocol in place. "That was just after 11.30am. Flights were holding in the holding pattern, two flights were diverted, to Belfast and to Shannon." She added the DAA will be reviewing the incident with gardai. It is illegal to fly a drone within 5km of Dublin Airport and the DAA has signs up around this area to highlight this. All drones which weigh more than 1kg must be registered with the IAA. A Garda spokesman said: "Gardai are investigating the alleged sighting of a drone around the area at Dublin Airport. The matter is under investigation and there are no arrests." Transport Minister Shane Ross said "we've done what's prudent" by temporarily suspending flights from Dublin Airport over a drone sighting. Mr Ross described the incident as "a matter of concern" but said the fact the airport reopened swiftly was "encouraging". "The existing arrangements are in fact that the safety of passengers will be most important, our priority, and that's why the airport's been closed," he said. Mr Ross said the threat risk group on drones will be sitting again next week. He added: "We're as prepared as we can be." However, Mr Ross was criticised by Opposition TD Robert Troy over the issue. The Fianna Fail transport spokesman said the situation "could have been more chaotic". "Minister Ross's previous comments that the likelihood of a drone attack in Ireland was 'low' clearly shows his lack of understanding of the seriousness of the issue," Mr Troy said. "Following the drone sightings at Gatwick Airport, he was at pains to stress that the regulatory provisions in place in Ireland, which control and restrict the use of drones, were stronger than those of the UK." In January, Mr Ross called a special meeting of the National Civil Aviation Threat and Risk Group to advise him on the recent incidents in the UK and their implication for Irish airports. In hiding: Gardai suggested Patrick Hutch leave the State when they gave him security advice Patrick Hutch is staying in a safe house in south Armagh after he was cleared of all charges in the Regency Hotel murder, gardai believe. The 26-year-old dramatically walked free from court on Wednesday and was picked up on a motorbike by his father Patsy Hutch. It is believed Patrick Hutch fled across the Border and is staying in a house with close friend James 'Mago' Gately. The case against Hutch collapsed after counsel for the DPP said the death of lead investigator Det Supt Colm Fox meant it was "not in a position to lead evidence on a range of evidential issues". Gately is the same criminal Hutch was arrested with in a major undercover operation in Dublin before he was charged with the murder of Kinahan cartel figure David Byrne in the ill-fated trial. Hutch has no previous criminal convictions and the only time he was ever arrested before the Regency Hotel arrest was for withholding information for an incident in which he was allegedly shot as part of a claimed Kinahan cartel punishment shooting in 2014. Hutch was never charged with any offence stemming from this incident. Expand Close Distraught: Sadie Byrne, the mother of David Byrne, outside the Special Criminal Court at the CCJ in Dublin. Picture: Collins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Distraught: Sadie Byrne, the mother of David Byrne, outside the Special Criminal Court at the CCJ in Dublin. Picture: Collins Officers suggested to Hutch that he should consider leaving the country when they visited him in jail earlier this week to give him security advice. The Irish Independent previously revealed that a Garda alert had been issued after his associate Gately returned to Ireland despite ongoing pressure from the Kinahan cartel. Gately enjoyed a lengthy holiday abroad, which included trips to Singapore and China as well as stopovers in the Middle East, before returning to Dublin in mid-January. Having spent Christmas and the New Year abroad, the Hutch associate returned to Ireland on Sunday afternoon, arriving on a flight from a Chinese city. However, despite landing in Dublin, gardai believe Gately returned to his safe house in Northern Ireland where he has been staying. Such is the threat to Gately's life that a Garda bulletin was issued ahead of his return, notifying officers across the city that a "significant" target of the Kinahan cartel was due back. Members of the Hutch gang are also being monitored by PSNI detectives on suspicion that they are continuing to run their criminal enterprise in the North. Police officers have placed a number of high-profile Hutch gang figures under surveillance, including Gately. PSNI officers have been liaising with gardai and suspect the Hutch gang are involved in criminality in Northern Ireland despite being under constant threat from the Kinahan cartel. Gately has survived two credible attempts on his life, including a foiled conspiracy in April 2017 and a shooting the following month. In November, Estonian national Imre Arakas was jailed for six and a half years for his involvement in the plot to murder Gately. A woman has been found not guilty of abducting her own child by bringing him to the UK. In a "a very unusual prosecution" at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee, the jury heard that the mother defied a family law court guardianship order that allowed her child's father access. She was arrested in the UK in July 2018 and has remained in custody since, she was extradited to Ireland in November. She has been in custody for eight months and refused bail. The man was given custody and would not allow her to have any contact. She told the couple their marriage was "arranged" in their home country when she was 17. They moved to Kerry in 2002, where he found work in the hotel industry. Their child was born in Kerry in 2007. The woman said that she lived in fear of her husband from the start of their marriage and sought shelter in the womens refuge on five different occasions and was granted custody of the child. She had said her husband beat her while she was breastfeeding. He was also alleged to have kept her child benefit and would not allow her to contact home. She admitted taking the child, who was under the age of 16, out of the country at Dublin Airport on June 13 2016, without the consent of the father or of a District Court in Kerry. She claimed that she never intended to stay away and she did not realise she needed the courts consent. They separated in 2013 and lived in different towns in Kerry. In 2014 he divorced her without informing her but said they both wanted a divorce. The man told how he believed the problems with his wife were family issues and she should not have gone to the womens refuge or the gardai. He also wanted to know what it was she was saying to the GP, but she would not tell him. He denies bullying or abusing her and said her bruises noted by gardai in 2009 arose from herself banging into walls, the man said she made up stories for the womens refuge and the gardai. Dean Kelly, barrister for the woman, asked him if he was familiar the Irish saying about the woman who walked into doors, and he said he was not. He also denied resenting her taking a part-time job, which she has said she had to give up because of his attitude. The woman obtained a Safety order under the Domestic Violence Act in 2009, and a barring order in 2014 Detective Garda Brian Mackey said in evidence for the prosecution. The man was charged with breaches of the safety order but she did not wish to give evidence in court, the garda said. Judge Thomas E ODonnell told the jury today that this was a most unusual prosecution and the first such prosecution he has ever dealt with. He asked them to put aside their emotions in a case full of emotion and also put aside cultural issues and any sympathy about the fact the woman has been in custody since July and not seen her son. Judge O'Donnell said that credibility was at the heart of the case. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty, unanimously after deliberating for an hour of 1 hour and 19 minutes. The woman who had clutched a prayer book and a handkerchief throughout cried when the verdict was delivered. She thanked the judge, and the prison officers, and in tears she thanked and hugged her legal team. She said the womens refuge would help her and she hoped she would soon see her son. Rosie Gannon said she was delighted that justice had been done Rosie Gannon said she was delighted that justice had been done A woman has won a refund from a shoe shop over a pair of sandals she claimed smelled so bad after being worn that they were unfit for purpose. Ecco Distributors Ltd at The Pavilions Shopping Centre in Swords had refused to refund Rosie Gannon, claiming the 100 shoes had undergone "undue wear and tear" and were "very well worn". However, ruling in favour of Ms Gannon, Judge Dermot Dempsey told the shop's assistant manager the way Ms Gannon had been treated "was very shabby". Ms Gannon, of Ardilaun, Portmarnock, said she is delighted "justice has been done" after she won her small claims court case against the shop. She had told Swords District Court that she bought the sandals last April 9 to wear during a holiday to Canada the following July. "I didn't wear the sandals until July when I went on holidays," she said. "After 10 days of wearing them they were emitting a dreadful odour." Ms Gannon said that after she had returned from her holiday, she went back to the shop with the shoes on August 21 and a shop assistant cleaned one of the sandals for her. "It was better, but I wasn't happy and was referred to a regional manager," said Ms Gannon. She claimed the regional manager told her the sandals had undergone "undue wear and tear" and a refund could not be offered. Ms Gannon claimed the sandals were "not of marketable quality and not fit for purpose". The judge ruled in her favour and ordered the shoe shop to refund her 100. Saibhe O'Connor (inset) has settled legal actions against the Rotunda Hospital over the care provided to her mother before her birth A 13-year-old girl is to receive lifelong 610,000 annual payments under a High Court action against the Rotunda Hospital over the care provided to her mother before her birth. Saibhe OConnor's is the first case to come before the courts which has been finalised with life-long payments. The young girl, who has already received interim settlement payments totalling 2.94million, is the first to accept the life-long periodic payments, which means an amount will be paid out annually for her care and needs. The settlement of Saibhe's case in 2012 was without an admission of liability. Expand Close Eddie O'Connor and Michelle Farrell - parents of Saibhe O'Connor, pictured leaving the Four Courts Pic: Collins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Eddie O'Connor and Michelle Farrell - parents of Saibhe O'Connor, pictured leaving the Four Courts Pic: Collins Approving the final settlement in the form of periodic payments of 610,000 annually for Saibhe's lifetime, the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, said it was the first case where a family had availed of the new legislation allowing for periodic payments. He said he was satisfied it was an appropriate case in which to make a periodic payment order. He said Saibhe had demonstrated herself to be somewhat of a warrior and he thanked her parents Michelle and Eddie for the care they have given their daughter. The judge said he was taking in to account Saibhes parents were happy with the periodic payments. Mr Justice Kelly said he was satisfied the periodic payment order was in Saibhes best interests to ensure she has all she requires for her lifetime care. He added it was a wise decision in Saibhes case to go for periodic payments and he was sure her parents are delighted it was their last time to come to the Four Courts in relation to their daughters case. Saibhe O'Connor, Croftwood Green, Ballyfermot, Dublin had through her mother Michelle Farrell sued the Rotunda Hospital, Parnell Square, Dublin over the circumstances of her birth on November 7, 2005. Expand Close Saibhe O'Connor, who was the subject of a High Court action Pic: Collins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Saibhe O'Connor, who was the subject of a High Court action Pic: Collins It was claimed there was alleged negligence and an alleged breach of its duty of care towards Saibhe in the treatment and management of her mother's pregnancy. The Rotunda had denied all claims. Ms Farrell, it was claimed had gone to her GP and the doctor fearing the onset of pre-eclampsia had she had been referred to the Rotunda Hospital as an emergency admission. In hospital on November 2, 2005, Ms Farrell was diagnosed with pre-eclamptic toxaemia. It was claimed that despite objections from her family, she was discharged on November 6, to be reviewed two days later. The following day Ms Farrell's condition worsened. An ambulance was called but en route Ms Farrell suffered an eclamptic seizure, and had to be brought to the nearest city hospital for an emergency cesarean section. In court today, Saibhes counsel Aongus O Brolchain SC said the O'Connors had intended to go for a final lump sum payment but given the way she has improved it was decided to accept a periodic payment. He said the legal team felt it was more prudent to take the periodic payment. He said they thought it was an appropriate case to consider a PPO order. He said Saibhe can smile and has been on holiday in Spain and loves the heat. He said her parents have been giving Saibhe significant and dedicated care. Counsel said Saibhe's parents are happy with the settlement and prefer to be confident that funds will be available for the rest of their daughters life. One of the 340 dogs removed from appalling conditions by ISPCA One of the 340 dogs removed from appalling conditions by ISPCA One of the 340 dogs removed from appalling conditions by ISPCA James Kavanagh pictured after being sentenced to 3 years in prison for animal cruelty Picture Dylan Vaughan Gardai and animal welfare officers who inspected a dog breeding premises found a number of dead dogs and horses, dogs feeding on the carcasses of horses and horses unable to walk because they were stuck in a mixture of mud and faeces, a court has heard. The evidence was given in a case against a Co Carlow couple which was described as "extraordinary" by circuit court Judge James McCourt and "grim and inexcusable" by counsel for one of the defendants. James Kavanagh (48) was given a three-year prison term after pleading guilty to 30 counts of causing or allowing animal cruelty on his property at Raheenleigh, Myshall, Co Carlow in April of 2015. The charges related to 63 different animals. He was disqualified from owning horses or dogs for life. His wife, Jennifer Kavanagh, was given a 12-month suspended sentence after she admitted 30 counts of allowing animal cruelty on the property, relating to 15 specific animals. She was banned from owning dogs or horses for five years. Expand Close One of the 340 dogs removed from appalling conditions by ISPCA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp One of the 340 dogs removed from appalling conditions by ISPCA The prison sentence for Mr Kavanagh was greeted by loud applause in the courtroom from dozens of animal rights campaigners who listened to the evidence throughout the day. A crowd outside the courthouse cheered as the defendant was driven away afterwards in a prison van. Activists present for this hearing and previous hearings relating to the case included Eurovision song contest winner Linda Martin, while TDs Clare Daly and Maureen O'Sullivan attended on an earlier date. The court heard that 340 dogs and 11 horses had to be removed from the property after garda and welfare inspections and four horses and 20 dogs had to be euthanised because they were in such poor health. ISPCA chief inspector Conor Dowling described the conditions found on the property as "quite shocking" and "deplorable" for the dogs and horses present. "It's 20 years I've been in this job and never before or since have I come across anything like this in terms of dog welfare specifically, the scale and severity was way above anything I've ever dealt with," he told the court. Video footage detailing some of the conditions found by the gardai and ISPCA were shown in court, in which could be clearly seen emaciated dogs, dead animals and dogs feeding from horse carcasses. Expand Close One of the 340 dogs removed from appalling conditions by ISPCA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp One of the 340 dogs removed from appalling conditions by ISPCA Some present in the courtroom became upset while watching the video. Garda Kathryna Denehy told the court that, during the inspection on April 14 of 2015, which lasted for almost 12 hours, they found dogs eating the spinal remains of another animal; faeces in kennels which hadn't been removed; dead dogs which hadn't been removed or disposed of; a number of dead horses; a "strong and bad smell" in one shed; "absolute squalor" in a shed containing 68 dogs in stalls; "extremely scared" dogs; dogs "eating and fighting over" a decomposed horse carcass; spaniels with bone parts from horses in their mouths; and horses which weren't moving because they were "stuck in a mixture of faeces and muck". A report by Carlow County Council found that the conditions on the land presented "a serious biohazard" both to the animals present and also to humans because of the danger of infection and the presence nearby of a water treatment plant. James Kavanagh accepted at the time that "I know I did wrong," the court heard. Expand Close One of the 340 dogs removed from appalling conditions by ISPCA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp One of the 340 dogs removed from appalling conditions by ISPCA He told the authorities that he had been breeding puppies some years ago but, at the time of the inspection, had been accepting animals from other dog-breeders around the country, for export to the UK. "From February of this year, my wife had a heart problem and it all got on top of me," the defendant said in 2015. The court heard that a TV3 crew was present at the time of the inspection and its footage formed part of a documentary some weeks later. Since then the couple had been subjected to social media vilification, including death threats against them and verbal abuse of their five children. Colman Cody SC, for James Kavanagh, said the reality of the case was "grim" and "inexcusable" but suggested that his client was guilty of "neglect rather than overt cruelty". He expressed remorse on his client's behalf as did Roisin Lacey SC, for Jennifer Kavanagh, who said her client told gardai that the dogs were her husband's responsibility. Judge McCourt said the case was an "extraordinary" one and said "words fail me to describe what those pictures depict as to the conditions of those unfortunate animals". The scene which greeted the gardai and inspectors that day was "like something biblical," he said. The judge also criticised "keyboard warriors" for launching online, anonymous, campaigns and spreading information, mis-information and half-truths. As well as giving James Kavanagh a prison sentence, he ordered him to pay 35,000 towards the ISPCA's costs for removing, treating and re-homing the animals. What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 814-368-3173 or email nfinnerty@oleantimesherald.com. A DECISION was made to remove a body from a farm tank because the pathologist indicated to gardai that he was not willing to travel to the scene, the 'love rival' trial has heard. Superintendent Patrick O'Callaghan told the trial that they did not rush into a decision to take the body of Bobby Ryan from a run-off tank at the farm at Fawnagowan, Co Tipperary. Expand Close Patrick Quirke and his wife Imelda. Photo: Collins Courts / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Patrick Quirke and his wife Imelda. Photo: Collins Courts However then deputy State Pathologist Dr Khalid Jabber indicated to gardai that he was not willing to travel to the scene. "That's why the decision made to remove the body," said Super O'Callaghan. Patrick Quirke (50) of Breanshamore, Co Tipperary has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Bobby Ryan, a truck driver and part-time DJ known as Mr Moonlight on a date between June 3 2011 and April 2011. Under cross-examination by Lorcan Staines SC for the Defence, he said they had contacted the pathologist and also the Forensic Bureau in Dublin and discussed their course of action. Later, a decision was made to take the lid off the tank in order to bring the body out of the tank in 'the best possible condition.' He told the trial that when the body was taken out and laid on plastic sheeting on the ground, he realised that one of the arms had become detached from the body. He was not sure if this had happened in the tank or in the process of removal. Asked by Mr Staines if he was satisfied that he would do things the same way again, Super O'Callaghan said he would. Everything at the scene had been discussed and there had been no rush, he said. The body had been found at 1.30pm and was taken out "well after 6 o'clock," he said. "It wasn't as if we rushed into the recovery of the body - we didn't. We took the best options open to us at the time." Asked about the discovery of the ladies' hair clip in the tank, Super O'Callaghan agreed that it had been amongst a number of items recovered from the tank, including buttons and 'a number of bits and pieces.' "I didn't take any measure or heed to it, to be honest with you," he said. None of the 'bits and pieces' were of any 'major interest,' he said, adding that he did not think he had a reference to a hairclip anywhere in his notes. All four of the Lowry sisters had grown up on the farm, he told the trial, saying "the clip could have washed in there from the milking parlour" or the Lowry family "could have been using the tank for rubbish over the years." A photograph of the milking parlour was up on the screen in the court, zooming in on the gully where the water had collected. Mr Staines put it to the garda that it was a normal sized gully. Asking about the breaking of the concrete lid of the tank at the scene, Mr Staines put it to Super O'Callaghan that in over 1,000 pages of the book of Evidence, there had been no mention of the lid cracking. The garda said photographs had been supplied to the DPP office and were available in court.. "There's nobody hiding the fact that the lid broke," he said, adding: "It's there for everybody to see." Put to him that it had been 'one of the most significant events of the day,' Super O'Callaghan replied: "The most significant event of the day was the body being found at Fawnagowan, not the lid being broken." Asked if there was not surprise and shock that the lid had broken he said, "To me it wasn't because I didn't note it. It wasn't a stand up moment of shock and horror. You just got on with it," he said. "Let's keep going here. That's the way you do your business. We had a job in hand to get the body out of the tank in the best possible condition. That was the job in hand." Superintendent O'Callaghan was asked about a conversation he had with Dr Jabbar the following day, May 1 2013, when the post mortem was conducted. Dr Jabbar found multiple injuries that could have resulted from "an accident, traffic collision or serious assault." Mr Staines put it to him that he had given certain instructions to other garda members and told them that as far as he was concerned, the body was found naked and possibly, therefore, died in the house and that the house should be examined properly to assess for any blood spatter. They also agreed to keep an eye out for vehicles, given the findings of the post mortem. Put to him that the house had been decorated between 2011 and 2013, Superintendent O'Callaghan said he had no real recollection of this being discussed and said he could not stand over whether Mary Lowry's house had been redecorated during this time or not. He was also asked about a mention in his notes of Mary Lowry's son, Tommy, with a note that it was 'unusual she putting Tommy out of house' and to 'interview Tommy Lowry ASAP.' Superintendent O'Callaghan said they were aware that Tommy Lowry was not present in the house on the night of June 2 2011, saying that it would have triggered an inquiry to 'bottom out' the fact of whether Tommy was out of the house that night. "It would've been Mary saying 'Tommy wasn't here'," he explained. Michael Staines put it to Super O'Callaghan that he took it that gardai had made an effort to secure Dr Jabbar's attendance at the trial and asked: "Is it correct to say he is refusing to attend?" "I don't know is he refusing to attend," he replied, saying he did not know what the present position was but thought he might not be available. He also said he was aware that a peer review by pathologists, Professor Marie Cassidy, Michael Curtis and Linda Mulligan had been sought of Dr Jabbar's findings. The witness is giving evidence in the trial of Mr Quirke (50) of Breanshamore, Co Tipperary who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Bobby Ryan, a part-time DJ going by the name Mr Moonlight. Mr Ryan went missing on June 3, 2011 after leaving his girlfriend Mary Lowry's home at about 6.30am and his body was found in an underground run-off tank on the farm owned by Ms Lowry and leased by the accused at Fawnagown, Tipperary in April 2013. The prosecution claims that Mr Quirke murdered Mr Ryan so he could rekindle an affair with Ms Lowry (52). The case continues A four-year-old child, injured when only at 20 weeks gestation in her mothers womb, has been awarded 45,000 damages for personal injury resulting from an accident in a Tesco store. Barrister David K. McGrath, counsel for Siwan Stewart who is now just three months short of her fifth birthday, told Judge Eoin Garavan in the Circuit Civil Court that the unborn baby girl was injured when her mother collided with her shopping trolley that stopped suddenly on a Tesco travellator. Mr McGrath, who appeared with Sean Miller of Crowley Miller Solicitors, said Siwans mother, Elaine Stewart, banged against her own shopping trolley when it stopped without warning on the travellator in Tescos at the Bloomfield Shopping Centre, Lower Georges Street, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, in February 2013. Judge Garavan said the injury of an unborn child in a shopping accident was a most unusual case and one which he had not been aware of having previously come before the court. Mr McGrath said that when Siwan was born in May 2013 she was found to have been suffering with haemolytic disease of the newborn, a type of jaundice and had to be treated in a special unit for just under a week. He said a medical expert had related Siwans condition to the travellator accident in Tescos and following the initiation of a claim on her daughters behalf by Ms Elaine Stewart, of Claremont Road, Sandymount, Dublin, the Tesco store had proffered a settlement of 45,000 to Siwan. Counsel told the court that Ms Stewarts daughter Adelaide, who was three at the time and had fallen and injured her head on the travellator, had been offered a settlement by Tescos of 28,000 and he was recommending acceptance of both offers to the court. Mr McGrath said that the girls mother had not made any claim against Tescos on her own behalf but only on behalf of her children. Judge Garavan said the offers in both cases were very good and he approved both settlements. While such a case is practically unknown to the Irish courts, in April 2018 a 23-months-old boy, who had not been conceived when his little sister was killed in a hit-and-run in Dublins Phoenix Park in 2015, was awarded grief money in the Circuit Civil Court for her death. Marcel Siatka was born in May 2016, a year and 47 days after his sister Vanessa died in what a trial judge described as the worst case of dangerous driving he had ever heard of. Vanessas dad, Lukasz Siatka, told Judge Terence OSullivan in 2018 that the Injuries Board had assessed damages of 42,777 to be divided between Vanessas surviving family, including the cost of her funeral. Mr Siatka had taken a claim on behalf of members of his family, including Marcel. Judge OSullivan said it was not a particularly nice exercise to have to divide money between members of the family but felt it would be appropriate to mark the fact that Marcel would undoubtedly make inquiries in the future about his sister and would experience grief for her loss. He awarded Marcel 1,500. Victims of hit-and-run cases are eligible for compensation through a special fund set up under the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988 called the Solatium Fund more commonly known as tear money. In August 2014 Scottish Judge Lord Woolman granted a bereavement or loss of society award of 14.000 to a grandchild of a man killed in a road traffic accident. The grandchild had not been born at the date of death of his grandfather. In the opening scenes of Mimi Leders On the Basis of Sex, a small, neat woman walks across the Harvard campus through a crowd of swaggering, Brylcreemed young men. Its 1956, and shes here to study the law, one of just nine females in a class of almost 500. Before the day is out, the facultys Dean (Sam Waterston, who these days seems to specialise in playing smug, entitled baddies) will ask her what right she has to take the place of the man who would have gained admission otherwise. Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Felicity Jones) will end up rising to the very top of her profession, becoming a much loved (and loathed, depending on your politics) Supreme Court Judge. But as this brisk and ambitious biopic makes clear, getting there wasnt easy. Ruth turns out to be a brilliant student, quick and thorough, and also finds love in the dashing shape of Marty Ginsburg (Armie Hammer), an equally promising student who will later become a renowned tax lawyer. While still at college they marry, have a daughter, and when Marty falls ill Ruth takes on his studies as well as her own. Shes a remarkable talent, but while Marty glides into a top job after graduation, Ruth quickly finds that no one wants to hire female lawyers. So, for a time, instead of practising, she teaches, lecturing student at Rutgers and wishing she was at the legal coalface. Then, in 1970, Marty brings to her attention a case that will change everything. A Colorado man named Charles Moritz (Chris Mulkey) had to hire a nurse to help him look after his ailing mother at home, but has been denied a government grant routinely awarded to women and widows because hes unmarried, and a man. The usual victims of sexual discrimination are women, as Ruth knows all too well, but she and Marty cleverly realise that this case might be the Trojan Horse that undermines the whole notion of discrimination on the basis of sex. To do this shell have to convince an all-male panel of judges at the Colorado Court of Appeals, and faces condescension at every turn. The dyed-in-the-wool misogynists are one thing, but even Mel Wulf (Justin Theroux) the radical civil liberties lawyer she teams up with, refuses to take Ruth seriously, and undermines her constantly. Meanwhile shell have to overcome a bad case of stage fright and deliver the killer constitutional speech that might just win this landmark case. The real Ms. Bader Ginsburg is a force of nature, dubbed the Notorious RBG by her admirers: the only thing she found factually wrong about this biopic is the suggestion that she was momentarily stuck for words when she first stood up to address the court for the first time. Not a bit of it, according to her. Still, a little poetic licence is surely permissible in a film that does such a thorough job of explaining the complex legal ins and outs of the Moritz case. And if Felicity Jones sparky RBG is the star of this show, On the Basis of Sex is also the story of a truly exceptional couple. Marty Ginsburg was a man ahead of his time, who supported his wifes ambitions and cooked, cleaned and looked after the kids while she began her conquest of the American legal system. Armie Hammers Marty is a relaxed and reassuring background presence, a devoted husband who never seems for one moment to doubt his wifes ability to take on the entire legal system and win. Kathy Bates turns up as Dorothy Kenyon, a veteran attorney and campaigner who gives Ruth some stern advice, having tackled sexual discrimination herself and failed. And Jack Reynor plays an arrogant young lawyer in an ill-fitting suit whos determined to disprove the merits of Ruths argument. Theres nothing particularly cinematic about Mimi Leders film, which has the look of a decently made TV mini-series. But it evokes well an era when misogyny was so omnipresent it went unnoticed, and celebrates the dogged heroism of a woman who changed the world. Struggling heroically with RBGs Brooklyn twang, Felicity Jones gives an unfussy portrayal of a determined and undeterrable woman, whose success is partly due to her unshakable partnership with Marty. And in a year where such ordinary films as Bohemian Rhapsody and Black Panther have thrived in the awards season, On the Basis of Sex is unlucky not to have earned a few Oscar nominations of its own. (12A, 120mins) Read More Also releasing this week: Read More Read More Chris ODowd has predicted a lot of British people will be looking for Irish passports after Brexit (Ian West/PA) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Chris O'Dowd, Glenn Close and Aidan Gillen attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Chris O'Dowd speaks onstage at Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) Chris ODowd has predicted a lot of British people will be looking for Irish passports after Brexit. The Irish comedian and actor, 39, is best known for starring in Channel 4 sitcom The IT Crowd and said Britons will travel to Ireland with their tails between their legs when the UK leaves the European Union. The current date for the departure is March 29. Speaking at the Oscar Wilde Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday, where he was among the honourees, ODowd told the Press Association: I think were going to have a lot more British people in the country, coming with their tails between their legs looking for passports. He added: What a mess you have made of it. ODowd, 39, shot to fame after appearing in Channel 4 comedy The IT Crowd, which first aired in 2006. He has since gone on to appear in a string of Hollywood films, both in comedies such as Bridesmaids and dramas including Mollys Game. 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 Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Irish and international stars attend US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards Close SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Aidan Gillen and Camille O'Sullivan attend the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Aidan Gillen and Camille O'Sullivan attend the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Allen Leech and Jessica Blair Herman attend the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Eoin Macken attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Glenn Close attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Eoin Macken attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Glenn Close and daughter Annie Starke attend the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Kathy Griffin attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Annie Starke attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Chris O'Dowd speaks onstage at Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Carl Austin, Chris O'Dowd and Tara Flynn attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Chris O'Dowd and J.J. Abrams attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Allen Leech and Aidan Gillen attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Allen Leech, Aidan Gillen and J.J. Abrams attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Allen Leech and Kelly Condon attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Peter Devlin attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Sarah Bolger attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Sarah Bolger attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Sarah Bolger attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Jason O'Mara attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Victoria Smurfit attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Victoria Smurfit attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Taran Killam attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Don O'Neill and Pascal Guillermie attend the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Glenn Close and Melissa McCarthy attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Jason O'Mara attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Aidan Gillen attends Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Glenn Close attends Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Wunmi Mosaku attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Chris O'Dowd, Glenn Close and Aidan Gillen attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Melissa McCarthy and Glenn Close attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Glenn Close and Annie Maude Starke attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Melissa McCarthy, Glenn Close and JJ Abrams attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Nora-Jane Noone attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Nora-Jane Noone attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Chris O'Dowd attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Chris O'Dowd, Glenn Close and Aidan Gillen attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Melissa McCarthy and Glenn Close attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Glenn Close and Annie Maude Starke attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Melissa McCarthy, Glenn Close and JJ Abrams attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Nora-Jane Noone attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Nora-Jane Noone attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Chris O'Dowd attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Kathy Griffin and Chloe Dykstra attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 at on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Chris O'Dowd attends the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Chloe Dykstra attends Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 at on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Don O'Neil and Pascal Guilermie attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 at on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: John Magaro attends Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 at on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: JJ Abrams and Katie McGrath attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 at on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Hylda Queally attends Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 at on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Carl Austin and Tara Flynn attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 at on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: John Magaro attends Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 at on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Melissa McCarthy attends Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 at on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Chris O'Dowd and Dawn O'Porter attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 at on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Kerry Condon attends Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 at on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: John Magaro and Finn Wittrock attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 at on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Sarah Bolger and Don O'Neill attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2019 at on February 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance ) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp SANTA MONICA, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Aidan Gillen and Camille O'Sullivan attend the US-Ireland Alliance 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards at Bad Robot on February 21, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images) His next project is sitcom State Of The Union, alongside Rosamund Pike. ODowd said he enjoys switching between comedy and drama but hinted he was looking forward to more lighthearted roles. He said: Ive never thought about it like that in terms of type of actor, youre just an actor. For a long time comedy jobs were the ones that I got, that was why I was a comedy actor. Expand Close Glenn Close was among the honourees at the Oscar Wilde Awards in Los Angeles (Jonathan Brady/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Glenn Close was among the honourees at the Oscar Wilde Awards in Los Angeles (Jonathan Brady/PA) I ended up doing a bit more drama. I love flipping in and out of both, I love comedy, making people laugh is the most glorious thing in the world. If anything, I want to do a bit more of that, I havent done any, really, for about three or four years. The Oscar Wilde Awards, held by the US-Ireland Alliance, recognise the contributions of Irish people in film, television and music, as well as those with a connection to Ireland. Expand Close Game Of Thrones star Aidan Gillen was honoured at the Oscar Wilde Awards (Matt Crossick/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Game Of Thrones star Aidan Gillen was honoured at the Oscar Wilde Awards (Matt Crossick/PA) Alongside ODowd, Oscar-nominated star of The Wife Glenn Close and Game Of Thrones star Aidan Gillen were also honoured. Close is up for best actress at the 91st Academy Awards on Sunday, in a category also containing British actress Olivia Colman. US star Close said awards season, which has seen her pick up wins at the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards, has been incredible. She said: Im feeling really wonderful, Ive gone to some wonderful events, Ive seen a lot of friends, Ive been buoyed along by this great feeling of love and gratitude. Its been incredible. The Oscar Wilde Awards, named in honour of the 19th century Irish novelist and poet, were held at JJ Abramss Bad Robot offices. Lets rewind a year, shall we? On January 7, 2018, the 75th Golden Globe Awards were in full swing at the Beverly Hilton in California, when Natalie Portman decided to remind those in attendance and, indeed, viewers at home that something was amiss in the Best Director category. Presenting the award alongside Ron Howard, Portman announced: And here are the all-male nominees. Cue a Twitter meltdown. It was a brilliant moment, and one that cut right to the heart of a problem that has plagued Hollywood for decades. Fast-forward a month or so, and at the 90th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Frances McDormand devotes her winners speech for Best Actress to her female nominees. Not just the actresses, mind but every woman in the room who had received an Oscar nomination in 2018. McDormand asked each of her fellow, female film-makers to stand with her in solidarity and support, at a time when Hollywood was undergoing the mother of all revolutions. If felt like a seminal moment, but 12 months later, did the powers-that-be get the message? A quick glance at the film-makers nominated for Best Director at the 91st Academy Awards this weekend would suggest the answer is an emphatic no. Theres Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman), Pawel Pawlikowski (Cold War), Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite), Alfonso Cuaron (Roma) and Adam McKay (Vice). Yep, Ive noticed it, too: theyre all dudes. Now, its at this point that some people might tell me that this is just the way it is. The best film-makers get all the awards. Gender, race, profile and status have nothing to do with it. But Im afraid youd be 100pc wrong, especially in a year where some of the best films released in cinemas were directed by women. Whats barmier still, is the fact that, since 1929 the year of the first Oscars ceremony just five women have been nominated for Best Director: Lina Wertmuller, in 1977, for Seven Beauties; Jane Campion, in 1994, for The Piano; Sofia Coppola, in 2004, for Lost in Translation; Kathryn Bigelow, in 2010, for The Hurt Locker, and Greta Gerwig, in 2018, for Lady Bird. Bigelow remains the only woman to have won a Best Director Oscar. So if female directors were responsible for some of the best films released in cinemas in the last 12 months, why isnt this reflected in this years nominations? For the record, here are five I believe were worthy of making this years list of nominees for best director. Nadine Labaki Capernaum This week, the triumphant Capernaum finally lands in Irish cinemas. A beautiful, heartbreaking drama of rare quality and depth, it tells the story of a 12-year-old Lebanese boy who, after being arrested and imprisoned for assault, decides to sue his parents for bringing him into the world. Read More Its a complicated set-up, but one that is handled with great skill and compassion by Lebanese actress and film-maker, Nadine Labaki, who wrote and directed the film. Capernaum which received a 15-minute standing ovation at Cannes, where it took home the Jury Prize last summer is currently in the running for Best Foreign Language Film at Sundays Oscars. If it wins, Labaki takes home the trophy and that would be incredible. But wouldnt it have made sense to nominate Labaki in the Best Director category, too? I certainly think so. Debra Granik Leave No Trace Last June, writer/director, Debra Granik (the Oscar-nominated film-maker behind 2010s Winters Bone), delivered one of the finest pictures of 2018: the outstanding, Leave No Trace. The always reliable, Ben Foster, starred alongside newcomer, Thomasin McKenzie (a star in the making), as Will (an Iraq War veteran, suffering from severe PTSD) and 13-year-old Tom, a father and daughter living off the grid, in a vast nature park, near Portland, Oregon. Alas, after a lengthy spell in the wilderness, the familys idyllic life together comes crashing down, when the authorities intervene. Social services question Wills suitability as a father, and the two are placed in social housing. Things take a turn for the worse when Will makes a plan to escape. Read More A beguiling and universally-acclaimed adaptation of the Peter Rock novel, My Abandonment, Leave No Trace is a bit of a slow-burner; a subtle, yet powerful story, expertly-crafted and wonderfully acted. It was one of the best reviewed films of 2018 (it holds a rare approval rating of 100pc on Rotten Tomatoes), and Granik presents herself as a storyteller like no other. In short, it is a gorgeous, unforgettable piece of cinema. That it wasnt nominated for a single Oscar is simply baffling. Desiree Akhavan The Miseducation of Cameron Post The Miseducation of Cameron Post is the first of two films released in the last six months concerning an American teenager, whose parents enrol them in gay conversion therapy (the other, Joel Edgertons Boy Erased, is currently playing in Irish cinemas). Directed and co-written by Desiree Akhavan, The Miseducation (an adaptation of Emily M Danforths 2012 novel) stars the excellent Chloe Grace Moretz as the titular Cameron, a young American teen whose guardians sign her up for a gay conversion program, after she is caught in a romantic entanglement with another girl. Yes, it can be a difficult watch, but Akhavan mines both warmth and humour from the trickiest of premises (think John Hughes territory, with a heavy dose of social-realism), making the most of a low budget, and delivering a sharp, sympathetic and moving, coming-of-age story. Again, reviews were ecstatic that it hasnt received nominations for writing, directing or even acting, is a complete mystery. Marielle Heller Can You Ever Forgive Me? The glorious Can You Ever Forgive Me? is currently nominated for three Oscars: Best Actress for Melissa McCarthy, Best Supporting Actor for Richard E Grant, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty. Thats a tremendous haul, for sure but the bloody film didnt direct itself, you know. Heller does a wonderful job with the true story of New York biographer, Lee Israel who, after falling on hard times, began forging letters by deceased writers and playwrights, and selling them on to enthusiastic buyers who believed that they were the real deal. Read More Israel (portrayed by McCarthy who is a revelation) did it all with the help of her drinking buddy, a charismatic drug dealer by the name of Jack Hock (Grant at the peak of his powers), and Hellers rich and textured offering is as much a playful, two-handed crime caper, as it is a gritty and tender drama. Heller plays a blinder behind the camera, with a rich and provocative recreation of early-Nineties New York. The tone is perfect, and its her strong yet steady direction that helped McCarthy and Grant to deliver the performances of their careers. She should have received a nomination for Best Director there is no question about it. Lynne Ramsay You Were Never Really Here Theres no doubt in my mind that Scotlands Lynne Ramsay (Ratcatcher, We Need to Talk About Kevin) should be in the running this weekend for her mesmerising psychological thriller, You Were Never Really Here. Starring a hammer-wielding Joaquin Phoenix, as a dishevelled war veteran with severe PTSD, who carves out a cold and violent living, rescuing trafficked children from their captors, Ramsays film (based on the Jonathan Ames novel, with a lean and effective screenplay by Ramsay). Read More You Were Never Really Here is, essentially, Joaquin Phoenixs Taxi Driver, and brutal and unforgiving, though it may be was one of the best releases of 2018. Lynne Ramsay should have been nominated for Best Director. Simple as. Game Of Thrones star Aidan Gillen revealed he would make sure his used scripts were destroyed (Ian West/PA) Game Of Thrones star Aidan Gillen has revealed he would shred his scripts from the show in order to prevent spoilers from leaking. The Irish actor appeared in the HBO fantasy epic series for seven seasons, playing the scheming Lord Petyr Littlefinger Baelish. Producers of the global hit are notoriously meticulous when it comes to preventing leaks and Gillen, who previously starred in gritty crime drama The Wire, said he would ensure his used scripts were illegible if they ever fell into the wrong hands. Expand Close Aidan Gillen has revealed how he would dispose of his scripts while starring in Game Of Thrones (Matt Crossick/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Aidan Gillen has revealed how he would dispose of his scripts while starring in Game Of Thrones (Matt Crossick/PA) He told the Press Association: Ive always been quite diligent about shredding scripts as soon as theyre done. Going way back to when I worked on The Wire. They had a shredding machine in the office, it was the first time I was ever conscious of that, it was before social media so it wasnt such a big deal. But they were ahead of their time. They were saying, when youre finished with these scripts, come into the office and shred them because we dont want people knowing whats going to happen. So its always been part of my system. Once youre finished, destroy it. I dont tell members of my family whats happening in scripts or if Im going to be part of some major plot point, I keep it from everyone. Dublin-born Gillen, 50, was a major presence in Game Of Thrones, first appearing in 2011 when the show began. Expand Close Aidan Gillen played Lord Petyr Baelish in Game Of Thrones (Aaron Chown/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Aidan Gillen played Lord Petyr Baelish in Game Of Thrones (Aaron Chown/PA) Despite his lengthy stint on the programme, he does not know how it ends and has not asked any of his former co-stars ahead of the eighth and final seasons arrival in April. He said: I dont know how its going to finish but I am as excited as the rest of us. I honestly have no idea and friends who I would be in contact with who are still involved, I wouldnt ask them and they wouldnt tell me anyway. And Id rather not know, but Im looking forward to it. As well as his TV roles, Gillen has also appeared on the big screen, including a part as a CIA agent in The Dark Knight Rises. But he is perhaps best known for his role as Lord Baelish in the hugely popular Game Of Thrones, which has millions of fans around the world. He said fans still call him by the name of the character in the street. He said: Thats not gone away and it wont. People still greet you on the street by your character name. Im not looking to either forget it or remember it for the rest of my life. If its something as widely seen as that, itll stay in the ether for a while and eventually something else will come along and eventually no-one will know who you are, or care. Its going to be great. QANTAS Airways will start the ball rolling on replacing its domestic fleet, including 75 Boeing 737s, toward the end of this year with a decision on the type and number of aircraft expected in 2020, its Irish chief executive has said. The Australian carriers move will launch yet another contest between Airbus and Boeing to supply the Australian carrier. Qantas headed by Dubliner Alan Joyce, pictured expects to completely recover higher fuel costs this fiscal year due to strong demand for air travel, even after rising oil prices dented first-half profit. Reuters Adrian sits down with a German artificial intelligence expert to talk about why Europe isnt doing AI right. In particular, Dr Stefan Heumann argues that member states and the European Union need to start taking AI seriously as a concerted effort if Europe is to compete with China and the US. Dr Heumann is a member of the management board of Stiftung Neue Verantwortung (SNV), a non-profit think tank working at the intersection of technology and public policy in Germany. Adrian spoke to him at the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin. Thousands of people have lost money in an elaborate scam that is sweeping the country, prompting a warning from gardai and banks to consumers. Fraudsters posing as workers from telecoms company Eir ring people to tell them their broadband is going to be cut off the next day unless they allow remote access to their PC. Once the scammers get access, they steal passwords and use these to take money from bank accounts. It is understood customers of every bank have been hit, with some people losing thousands of euro. Gardai and the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland issued a warning advising consumers to be on alert for the phone scam. They said the caller attempts to trick people into revealing banking or card details and codes from card readers to access consumers' online banking and make fraudulent payments. Expand Close Niamh Davenport: Fraud expert warned consumers of scamming risks / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Niamh Davenport: Fraud expert warned consumers of scamming risks People may be asked to allow the caller to take remote control of their computer. However, this could allow the fraudster to show consumers fraudulent screens. The callers are highly organised and will be able to transfer those targeted to their "supervisor". They sound genuine, gardai said. Detective Superintendent Gerard Walsh of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau stressed: "If you have received a suspicious call, hang up, and phone the company the person is purporting to be from directly yourself. "Do not use a number given to you by the caller and make sure you hear a dial tone before making the call. If you are concerned that you may have fallen victim to a scam, contact your local garda station and also your bank." Niamh Davenport of the banks' FraudSmart programme said the callers try to rush people into a decision and are effective at making people feel foolish if they do not follow their instructions. She revealed that every bank in the country had indicated that consumers have been hit by the scam. It is understood some people have lost hundreds of euro, with others losing thousands. Ms Davenport said: "Always be wary of any unexpected calls or texts, especially those asking for personal details or payments. "Never give your financial or personal information in order to release money, refund fees, or access to your computer." She said people are often too embarrassed to report to gardai if they have been scammed, but it is important to report each instance of fraud. Consumers have also been advised to contact any utility company claiming to be ringing them about a fault. A spokesman for Eir said the scam was affecting all broadband providers, not just it. The spokesman added that it generally does not telephone individual homes or businesses to indicate there is a fault. Asked about the acknowledged difficulty getting Eir to answer calls, the spokesman said call wait times have been improving. "If people are using our name, there is nothing we can do about it. "Report it to the gardai," he said. Separate research conducted last year by information technology business Datapac found approximately 182,000 Irish people had been duped into disclosing personal information by cyber-criminals. It said millennials were more likely to fall victim to scams. A YouGov survey, commissioned by Google, found that three out of four Irish internet users have been targeted by online scams. The Department of Finance has advertised for a new member to sit on the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac), which has emerged as a major critic of overspending by Minister Paschal Donohoe. The council is a statutory body that oversees national and EU fiscal rules and is charged with validating the Governments economic forecasts. In its latest report it said that Mr Donohoe was not doing enough to control spending, citing overruns in the health budget which had resulted in the State using up much of the room generated by a surge in company tax receipts. Ifac is made up of five council members who must each be an experienced, senior economist, plus a small full-time staff. Council members serve for four-year terms. Dr Ide Kearney, an economist at the Dutch central bank, is due to step down when her term ends in March. Taxi booking app mytaxi is set to go through another rebrand later this year as Daimler launches a new ride-hailing venture with BMW. Daimler is the majority shareholder of mytaxi, which was previously known in Ireland as Hailo prior to a merger and rebrand early 2017. The carmarker has now announced a joint ride-hailing, parking and electric car charging business with fellow German giant BMW. It is expected that the firms will invest more than 1bn to expand the joint venture in a bid to compete with Uber and similar tech firms. mytaxi said that it will be changing its name to FREE NOW but "there will be no change to the mytaxi service and app" at a unconfirmed date this year. Users of the app are being advised that there will be no tech changes and no impact on customer data as a result of the merger. "Your current mytaxi app will become the FREE NOW app later this year with a simple app update. We will let you know via email when the rebrand to FREE NOW is taking place," it said. mytaxi Ireland said that the rebrand will allow the company to further develop its reach and tech expertise, with plans to expand into rural areas in the pipeline. The two German brands will both hold 50pc in the new business, which will combine Daimler's Car2Go car-sharing brand with BMW's DriveNow, ParkNow and ChargeNow units. The five strands of the new venture are REACH NOW, a smartphone-based route management and booking service, CHARGE NOW for electric car charging, PARK NOW for parking services SHARE NOW for car-sharing, and FREE NOW for taxi ride-hailing. None of these companies - aside from FREE NOW - will be operating in Ireland. Alan Fox was appointed as mytaxi's general manager for Ireland last March, succeeding Tim Arnold who moved to Renault Nissan. Former Irish Life & Permanent (IL&P) chief executive Denis Casey has lost his Supreme Court appeal against his conviction for a 7.2bn conspiracy to mask the true financial state of Anglo Irish Bank, shortly before its collapse a decade ago. Casey was jailed for two years and nine months in July 2016 after being found guilty of a conspiracy to defraud. The case revolved around a series of transactions between the two financial institutions which gave the impression deposits at Anglo were 7.2bn larger than was actually the case during the financial year ending September 30, 2008. His co-accused, Anglo executives John Bowe and Willie McAteer, were also jailed for their part in the conspiracy. Although he has completed his jail term, Casey mounted two successive challenges to his conviction. An appeal to the Court of Appeal was rejected in June 2017, but the Supreme Court agreed to hear a further appeal on the basis Casey had raised a point of general public importance in relation to whether a defence of "officially induced error" should have been available to him. The trial judge found it could not be used as a defence and could only be used in seeking to mitigate a sentence. In his appeal, Casey argued he should have been allowed to mount such a defence, claiming the regulator was aware of the transactions and that they were encouraged as part of a "green jersey agenda", where Irish banks supported each other. Yesterday, a five-judge Supreme Court rejected Casey's appeal. Mr Justice Peter Charleton said there was nothing in evidence before the trial judge which would have enabled a plea of officially induced error to succeed. "The trial judge was correct in ruling out any mention of any such defence before the jury," he said. The other four judges on the court agreed with Mr Justice Charleton's ruling and, accordingly, the appeal was dismissed. Lawyers for Casey claimed the financial regulator "raised no quibble" about the transactions when Anglo's interim financial results were published in December 2008. But in his ruling, Mr Justice Charleton pointed out that Casey had testified he did not ask the regulator for advice in advance of the transactions. The judge said that for defence of officially induced error, an accused must prove he went in good faith to seek legal advice from the authorities on the lawfulness of a proposed transaction. What the authorities advise in response must also be specific and unequivocally authorise what was proposed. Fears are mounting that Ireland's lucrative cross-Border dairy trade is next in the firing line under a no-deal Brexit scenario. The multi-billion-euro agri-industry has warned the "stakes are very high" in the case of a hard Brexit, with potential tariffs or quotas. The Irish beef industry is facing a massive threat as it emerged the British plan to use quotas to allow in cheaper meat from Brazil without tariffs. But the dairy sector estimates that for just cheddar alone, the tariff threat is about 155m, and about 400m on overall exports to the UK. It comes as the Government pledged to support the agri-food sector and beef processors while farmers fear low-price sellers such as Brazil or New Zealand will move into the vital UK market. Conor Mulvihill, from Dairy Industry Ireland, warned: "With less than 900 hours remaining to the proposed Brexit day, it is vital a resolution is reached and a strong backstop protecting dairy trade and regulations on the island of Ireland is maintained." The Department of Agriculture has estimated the cost of potential tariffs for the sector as a whole is 1.7bn, based on Irish agri-food exports to the UK of 4.8bn in 2016. UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove this week warned of onerous tariffs on produce flowing in to the UK to protect British farmers. However, in addition it is understood there would be 'tariff rate quotas' that could potentially mean low-cost producers such as meat giant Brazil would gain a foothold in the valuable UK market. Tanaiste Simon Coveney pledged the EU Commission will bail out Ireland's beef industry if a no-deal Brexit sparks an agri-food trade war. Mr Coveney said the commission had "made it very clear" that it would "support and protect" the vulnerable Irish agriculture industry if Britain crashes out of the EU without a trade deal. The Tanaiste was responding to questions in the Dail from Fianna Fail deputy leader Dara Calleary, who raised the threat to the beef industry and said beef farmers already feeling the impact of Brexit are "hugely angry" over the Government's "inaction". He accused the Government of taking a "it will be alright on the night" approach to Brexit. There are also widespread concerns over the impact of the cross-Border trade that sees milk, sheep, cattle and pigs travel from the North for processing on a daily basis. Mr Mulvihill said the UK government needs to appreciate the severe economic, social and environmental damage on the island of Ireland as a whole from the implication of tariffs. Separately, EU Commissioner Phil Hogan has said that a swift agreement on the EU's budget post-2020 is essential to ensure continuity in farm payments. Agriculture MEPs announced that they will only vote on the legislation for the next Common Agricultural Policy in April, so the next European Parliament will have the final say. Under plans for the EU's budget for 2021-2027, farmers would receive around 232bn in direct support, a drop of more than 30bn from the current seven-year budget. Social Democrats Co-Leader Catherine Murphy has asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan, if she will begin the process of making the Land Commission records available in the context of the Decade of Centenaries. Catherine Murphy emphasised the historical and cultural importance of these records and urged the Minister to look at making them available to help shape the discussions underway about our evolution as a Republic over the last century. Catherine Murphy has previously indicated to the Minister that these records have a particular significance given the decade of centenaries and the commemorations currently underway. This vast trove of up to eight million individual records form an integral part of helping us understand our past and for those with a particular interest in genealogy and social history they are can be a key research source to unlock many outstanding questions regarding our past and how that has shaped our present and indeed, future. "The records exist within the Department of Agriculture and I have asked the Minister to initiate a dialogue with the Department with a view to making these records publicly available in this State, the counterparts of which are readily available publicly in Northern Ireland, she said. Mniister for Agriculture, Michael Creed has said that there are no immediate plans to make the 8 million or so former Irish land Commission (ILC) records generally available to the public for research purposes or otherwise, as they are still working documents. "My officials regularly access these records to service queries from the public relating to current and past transactions and for the full completion of the work of the former ILC. Owners and purchasers of land and their personal or legal representatives are allowed access to and copies of relevant documents/maps," he said. Since 2008, over 14,300 search and retrieval cases have been completed by the seven full time staff currently based at the Records Storage facility in Portlaoise. Minister Creed saod his Department is mindful of the public interest in obtaining access to the vast repository of former ILC documents held. However, he said wider access will be a matter for consideration when the completion of the work of the former ILC is at a more advanced stage. "Furthermore the records which are available in paper format only are fragile, some dating back as far as the early 1800's and are an irreplaceable resource should they get damaged. "In order to maintain them, it is essential that they are handled and stored appropriately. Opening up access to these files cannot be considered until appropriate measures are undertaken to minimise potential damage from routine handling," he said. Dublin City Council gave the plan the go-ahead last month but the plans have now been on hold after eight appeals. Stock Image Plans by Iput to demolish the IDA global HQ at Wilton Place and construct a seven-storey development in its place are facing strong local opposition. Dublin City Council gave the plan the go-ahead last month but the plans have now been on hold after eight appeals, including one from An Taisce, have been lodged against the decision at An Bord Pleanala. Iput is the largest domestic owner of prime office buildings in Dublin's central business district and currently has net assets of 2.4bn. The Pembroke Rd Residents' Association is one of the parties opposing the Wilton plan to accommodate between 3,500 to 4,000 workers. They state that recent office block developments have already brought 3,000 office workers into the Upper Baggot Street area. The residents state that it does not make sense to further aggravate the traffic congestion, and the pressure on schools and creches from working parents by imposing thousands more office workers in this part of Dublin. The Residents Association also says that in recent years, Baggot Street has had a number of office developments 'plonked' down without consideration of the cumulative effect on the local neighbourhood. An Taisce states that the proposed development involves an excessive level of intervention into the historic triangular green park, Wilton Square. However, the city council gave the plan the go-ahead after concluding that the proposed development will upgrade one of the most prominent locations in the city. The planner recommending approval stated that the proposal exhibits a distinctive contemporary design which will make a positive contribution to the Dublin's urban fabric. After almost 35 years at Wilton Place, the IDA is relocating its global HQ to Three Park Place on Upper Hatch Street in Dublin 2. Iput's architects, Henry J Lyons, state that the proposed scheme will create a socially vibrant hub and an economically viable highly sustainable group of buildings which will improve the civic nature of this important part of the city. The plan includes restaurants, gym and coffee shop along with a public square. The architects state that "overall, this is a highly intelligent and carefully considered redevelopment" pointing out that the existing buildings to be demolished are outdated. Iput is to spend 4m on pubic realm work for the scheme. LinkedIn, which has its EMEA HQ at the adjoining Wilton Place, wrote a letter of support to Dublin City Council in favour of the development. The Government has received EU backing to open the purse strings to help businesses at risk from Brexit. The EU has moved to relax stringent state aid rules as Britain threatens the dairy and beef sectors with trade war tariffs and a hard Border is imminent. In an unprecedented development, the makers of Dubliner cheddar cheese will be the first company in Europe to benefit from approval to get state support to ride out the effects of Brexit, the Irish Independent has learned. It sets a precedent and will be watched closely across the EU. The Cork-based Carbery Group is understood to have secured EU pre-approval to receive 6m from Enterprise Ireland as part of a larger 65m investment without being seen to breach state aid rules. The money will fund diversification of the business, including finding alternatives to the UK market. Almost half of Irish cheddar is exported to the UK. There is no suggestion Carbery requires a rescue or is in any financial difficulty. However, winning approval to take on Enterprise Ireland investment will help the company shift production into mozzarella. The cap for grant aids for farms will rise from 15,000 to 25,000 over three years under the new package. EU state aid rules restrict government investment in companies and are heavily policed by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, due to the risk of creating an uneven playing field for firms from different member states. The approval for Carbery is a major coup for Business Minister Heather Humphreys and EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan. Owned by four farmers' co-operatives, Carbery has 600 employees, eight plants and is active in 50 countries with sales in 2017 of 417m. British Prime Minister Theresa May mounted a charm offensive yesterday in a bid to win over Remain-supporting Tory MPs who are considering quitting the party amid concerns she could be about to lose her fragile majority. The prime minister invited Justine Greening and Philip Lee to Downing Street for talks after both warned they were prepared to quit over Brexit. Downing Street is now said to be on "resignation watch" as just five more resignations would be enough to collapse the prime minister's working majority. Meanwhile, it emerged last night that a group of 100 moderate Tory MPs has warned British Prime Minister Theresa May that they are prepared to rebel against her government if she fails to deliver a Brexit deal. A letter leaked to 'The Daily Telegraph' said that 'numerous' members of the group had become 'deeply troubled' at the prospect of a no-deal Brexit. They are prepared to support votes to take no-deal off the table and to delay the deadline for Brexit. The development came as Mrs May wrote to three former Tory MPs who defected to join a new independent group, saying: "I do not accept the picture you paint of our party." Mrs May appeared to acknowledge concerns about "Blukip" in local constituencies, saying associations must ensure "people who are joining support the values of the Conservative Party". However, she said she did not accept claims by the defectors that the Conservative Party's problems were comparable to the way that Jeremy Corbyn had "allowed the poison of anti-Semitism to go unchecked". On Wednesday, three Tory MPs, Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen and Sarah Wollaston, became the first to resign and join a breakaway group demanding a second Brexit referendum. They said the party had been "subsumed" by "purple momentum" and criticised the prime minister for her "dismal failure" to stand up to Eurosceptic Tory MPs. Ms Greening, the former education secretary, was invited to a meeting in Downing Street yesterday afternoon after she said she was staying in the Conservative Party "for the moment". In a radio interview yesterday, she warned the Tories would no longer be a credible force if they simply became known as the "Brexit party". Asked whether she would join the new Independent Group of MPs, she told BBC Radio 4's 'Today' programme: "It is something that I have considered, but I have reached a different conclusion for the moment." However, she suggested if the prime minister took Britain out of the EU in a no-deal Brexit, she would leave. "I don't think I would be able to stay part of a party that was simply a Brexit party that had crashed us out of the European Union," she said. She said that despite repeatedly asking for a meeting with the prime minister, she had not been given one. Within minutes of the interview, she received an invitation from Downing Street and yesterday afternoon had a "frank" discussion with the prime minister. Mr Lee, who resigned as a justice minister over the party's Brexit policy, was also called to Downing Street. He said it was his first meeting with the prime minister since last year. He said: "This is the first and only time I have had a one-on-one conversation with the prime minister since my resignation last June. I want to stay and fight for the party." AGRICULTURE Minister Michael Creed admitted he is now "more worried" about a hard or no-deal Brexit as he vowed Ireland's multi-billion Euro agriculture and fisheries will be protected at all costs from "the madness of a UK crash out" from the EU. Mr Creed acknowledged that some people have interpreted a potential UK move on cheap Brazilian beef imports as an attempt to increase pressure on Ireland via its critical agri-food sector. However, he warned that while such issues as tariffs were entirely a matter for the UK authorities, the Government would ensure Ireland's domestic agricultural and fisheries sectors were protected. "I am probably more worried now than I was. Because the clock is ticking. We have 36 days or so to go," he said. "So I am more worried than I was. But I still remain hopeful because logic would dictate that the UK should not leave without a deal. But we are prepared for all eventualities." The Cork TD was the first Government minister to warn in 2016 that there was absolutely no upside to Brexit for Ireland. "Look, agriculture and fisheries are our biggest indigenous industries," he said. "We are not going to allow the Brexit madness to derail that engine of economic development in rural Ireland." "That is not going to happen under this Government's watch. So whatever the resources are necessary either at EU level or from an Exchequer level, they will be provided to get us through this." Read More "What the critical issue is in the context of Brexit is to keep our product on the supermarket shelves while we get to a situation where we negotiate a future trading relationship." "Now that future trading relationship may not be as good as what we currently have." "But the critical thing in the madness of a (UK) crash out that we keep our product on their shelves and support our primary producers through that period by direct supports to those people." He said Ireland would not face Brexit standing alone as was clear from measures already unveiled in Brussels by the European Commission. "If you even look at today's Commission announcement on State aid rules - there has been a significant easing of regulations on State aid," he said. "We have had two very significant indications of the Commissioner's willingness (to help Ireland), "Obviously, it will be a partnership between the EU and State aid contributions that will deal with whatever the fall out will be." Mr Creed acknowledged that some have viewed the UK's hints at a Brazilian beef trade deal as an attempt to increase pressure on Ireland to soften its stance on the so-called 'back stop' guarantee over the Northern Ireland border. "The application of tariffs is a domestic competence for the UK Government," he said. "I am aware of that (Brazilian beef) interpretation of what is happening in the UK." "The critical thing for us is to hold our nerve now. Whatever the UK does, we can deal with it." "If they decided to apply tariffs. Mind you, if they apply no tariffs it could be equally damaging." "Probably the optimum for us would be a TRQ - a tariff free quota. This would retain the current standards of production, which are EU standards, that would not be a perfect solution because it would allow over a period of time an increase in volume of product from other countries to displace us. But it would not have an immediate impact." Mr Creed insisted that Ireland was well aware of the consequences of Brexit for the agriculture-food sector which is uniquely exposed to the UK market. "We are ready - we have already modelled all of those scenarios in terms of appropriate responses." "It will be a combination of State aid assistance to the industry and a combination of existing provisions under the EU Common Market organisations such as aid to private storage, intervention, direct financial assistance to companies that are re-profiling their production systems (for after Brexit)." Bank of Ireland has launched a 2bn Brexit fund. The aim of the initiative is to help businesses around Ireland prepare for the UK's departure from the European Union. Over the coming months the bank will also run a series of nationwide events for small and medium businesses. This follows on from the bank's decision last month to increase its unsecured foreign exchange facility to 50m from 20m in order to meet demands from business customers. The facility is designed to help firms manage Fx risk and retain certainty on cash flow and profit margins. Back of Ireland said that despite the potential risks posed by Brexit, firms are also identifying opportunities for investment and growth both at home and abroad. "This fund will provide the necessary support to implement those plans," Gavin Kelly, CEO of Retail at Bank of Ireland, said. "Our team is working closely with customers to provide the most suitable financing options for their unique circumstances, when and if required," he added. FORMER junior minister Marcella Corcoran Kennedy has announced her intention to run for a European Parliament seat. Offaly TD Ms Corcoran Kennedy is making a bid to be on the Fine Gael ticket for the Ireland South Constituency. She joins sitting MEPs Deirdre Clune and Sean Kelly in seeking the party's nomination. The constituency is being extended to include Laois and Offaly due to boundary changes being brought in for the elections in May. It's understood that Fine Gael intends to run three candidates in the constituency. Other potential nominees have until Wednesday to put their names forward with the selection convention due to take place on Sunday March 3. Ms Corcoran Kennedy said: "Influencing European policies is now as important as domestic policies therefore it is vital that we send experienced politicians to represent our interests in Brussels and Strasbourg." She said representation in the European Parliament is important at a time of change due to Brexit. She said the next phase of the British withdrawal from the EU "will impact us and issues which are important across the towns, villages and communities of Ireland need to be at the heart of EU policy decisions." She pledged to use the experience she has gained as a councillor, TD and minister to make an impact as an MEP. She highlighted her interest in social issues, both nationally and internationally including campaigning to combat the practice of female genital mutilation. Ms Corcoran Kennedy was appointed as junior health minister by former Taoiseach Enda Kenny. She supported Simon Coveney in the Fine Gael leadership race and lost her ministerial role when Leo Varadkar became Taoiseach. Fine Gael holds its selection convention for the Midlands/North-West constituency this evening. Sitting MEP Mairead McGuinness and former Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh are both expected to be selected as candidates. The decision of home secretary Sajid Javid to strip former Isis mother Shamima Begum of her British citizenship is evidently motivated by his wish to be seen along with Theresa May as tough and proactive amid the chaos and uncertainties of Brexit. The decision is probably illegal, given that Begum does not have a Bangladesh passport, but by the time the case works its way through the courts, the gesture will have served its turn. The frenzy over the Begum story is partly impelled by the medias desperation to report something other than Brexit. But taking away Begums right to a British passport is only the latest in a series of bizarre gestures by ministers designed to give the impression of a government in control at home and abroad, though the weirdness of its actions suggests one that is rattled and does not know where it is going. Sending the giant aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth to disputed waters off China has a fine Britain rules the waves feel to it. Defence minister Gavin Williamson says it is a display of hard power and lethality. Except we do not rule the waves anywhere much and certainly not in the South China Sea, and to pretend otherwise gives a very large hostage to fortune. There is even an ominous echo here, which probably passed Williamson by, of a spectacularly ill-judged bit of gesture strategy. Churchill sent the warships Prince of Wales and Repulse to the far east to serve as a veiled threat to deter Japanese aggression. Both vessels were promptly sunk by Japanese aircraft and their fate should have served as a warning to any power that bluffs without thinking through what will happen if that bluff is called. The Chinese were never likely to react militarily to vague threats, but they did cancel trade talks with chancellor Philip Hammond. It was a curious moment to irritate a country with the worlds second largest economy just weeks before a post-Brexit Britain will be looking for new markets. Car manufacturers cutting UK jobs Show all 5 1 /5 Car manufacturers cutting UK jobs Car manufacturers cutting UK jobs Jaguar Land Rover Britain's largest automotive manufacturer announced in January that it plans to cut 4500 jobs from its 40,000 workforce Getty Car manufacturers cutting UK jobs Nissan The Japanese car company announced early in February that it would no longer be making the new X-trail model at its Sunderland factory Getty Car manufacturers cutting UK jobs Honda Honda has announced that it is planning to close its Swindon plant with the loss of 3,500 jobs PA Car manufacturers cutting UK jobs Michelin Michelin announced in November that it will close its Dundee tyre factory which employs over 800 people by 2020 PA Car manufacturers cutting UK jobs Schaeffler Shchaeffler's Llanelli plant is to close by the end of 2019. The company provides automotive and and industrial parts worldwide and the Llanelli plant employs over 200 people. Juergen Ziegler, chief executive for Europe, said that while Brexit was not the only factor, it has "brought forward" the decision to relocate Google A few days later, Japan got a taste of Britains new ill-timed steeliness with foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt and international trade secretary Liam Fox causing offence in Tokyo by writing a letter telling the Japanese that time is of the essence when it comes to a new Anglo-Japanese trade deal and that both sides should show flexibility. The Japanese reportedly came close to stopping the trade talks in which they are visibly aware of having a stronger hand in dealing with Britain than when it was an EU member. Anger towards Britain in Beijing and Tokyo will pass away if there are no more provocations, but a peculiar precedent is being set. Britain is already a weaker power because of Brexit and will have to learn the diplomatic language that goes with its new status as a lesser power. The problem in dealing with China and Japan is similar to that in negotiating with the EU: the Brexiteer programme, in so far as they had one, supposed that the EU needed Britain more than Britain needs the EU, though everything that has happened since 2016 shows the opposite to be case. The negative impact of dealing with the rest of the world through belligerent but empty gestures is so obvious that it can only be intended to befuddle a domestic audience. Foreign policy ends at the waters edge is a cynical American political saying which means that foreign policy is really always about domestic politics. Yet even this does not quite explain the sheer ineptitude of the governments attempts to project strength in all directions. The prime example of this was the 14m contract with Seaborne Freight to provide ships to carry cargo between Ramsgate and Ostend in the event of a no-deal Brexit, despite the fact that the company had no ships or experience of operating them. The contract has now been cancelled after an Irish company backing it pulled out. Nevertheless, the hiring of the ghost ferry ships was extraordinary, even by the horrendous track record of transport secretary Chris Grayling. The exceptional level of incompetence at the top of government catches one by surprise because every cabinet in history has been accused by opponents of unexampled stupidity. Deriding such failings has been so much the province of pub bores that sensible people switch off when they hear it. But Theresa Mays cabinet seems to surpass all its predecessors in the extent of the gap between what is said and what is done. This may be explained by the chasm between what Brexit was supposed to deliver and what it will be, a gap that can only be bridged by wishful thinking or outright lies. The personality of Theresa May must have a lot to do with this. I first noticed the disconnect between her words and deeds when, as Home Secretary, she was making sympathetic and intelligent speeches about mental illness. She went on doing so after she moved to Downing Street, but the number of hospital beds for those suffering from severe psychosis kept on shrinking and patients were increasingly transferred to hospitals hundreds of miles from their families who were their main support. There were 5,800 deaths by suicide in the UK in the last year for which figures are available, making it the leading form of death for young people between 18 and 34. And how did May respond to these grim figures? Unsurprisingly, for those who had come to know her style, she made the useless gestures by appointing a minister for suicide prevention. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Some have interpreted the current crisis as a failure of the British political class as a whole. I am wary of this argument because it spreads the blame for disastrous policies too widely, which is highly convenient for the much smaller group who are really responsible. I remember a Japanese prime minister getting good marks for repentance in 2012 for saying the whole Japanese establishment was responsible for the Fukushima disaster, his audience failing to note that this let individuals off the hook apart from sharing in the general guilt. The problem is perhaps less with pro-Brexit politicians than with the press that has sold a fantasy picture of Britain to half the population who are convinced that their country is far more important than it is. Travelling around Britain in the last few weeks, I have been struck by the conviction of Leave voters that the Germans will always want to sell their cars here and the French will want to sell their cheese to them whatever happens. People are deaf to the idea that the balance of power is very much against them. Fortunately, it turns out that the real threat to Britain is Shamima Begum and her infant baby and that, at least, the government knows how to deal with. It's not every day you find yourself lying on a freezing military runway at 7 o'clock in the morning. I dont take breaking the law lightly, so why did we decide to climb a three-metre barbed-wire fence to break into the Kleine Brogel Air Base in Belgium where the country stores US bombs? There are 15,000 nuclear bombs still in circulation in the world and about 20 nuclear bombs are still present at the Kleine Brogel military base. The UKs own arsenal is an estimated 215 nuclear warheads, each of which is far more deadly than the first nuclear bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. Whilst figures will not muster much emotional response from many of us, perhaps the human cost of nuclear warfare will. This is a quote from Fujio Torikoshi, 86, who survived Hiroshima: I was told that I had until about age 20 to live. Yet here I am seven decades later, aged 86. All I want to do is forget, but the prominent keloid scar on my neck is a daily reminder of the atomic bomb. We cannot continue to sacrifice precious lives to warfare. All I can do is pray earnestly, relentlessly for world peace. I have been a peace activist since I joined the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament at the age of 16 and was inspired by the Greenham Common Womens Peace Camp which was close to my home and which I visited as a teenager. My reasons for supporting unilateral nuclear disarmament have always been consistent: I find it fundamentally unethical for any state to hold hideously destructive weapons and threaten to use them merely to reinforce their power in the world. Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Show all 10 1 /10 Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian MPs burnt a US flag in parliament after Donald Trump announced America's withdrawal from the nuclear deal. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal US President Donald Trump displays a presidential memorandum after announcing his intent to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House. Reuters Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Some Iranian MPs reacted after Trumps decision by shouting 'death to America'. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian lawmakers prepare to burn two pieces of papers representing the US flag and the nuclear deal. AP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran said it will hold talks with signatories to the nuclear deal after Trump's decision to withdraw from the accord, which it branded "psychological warfare". AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Several Iranian MPs stood chanting in the Tehran parliament. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian MPs burning a US flag AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal President Hassan Rouhani addressed the nation in a televised speech in Tehran. He said he'd send his foreign minister to negotiate with countries remaining in the nuclear deal after Trump's decision to pull America from the deal, warning he otherwise would restart enriching uranium "in the next weeks." Iranian Presidency Office via AP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran's press condemned Trump's withdrawal from a multi-party nuclear deal but was divided over whether Tehran should react with patience or withdraw itself. AFP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Trump announced the US withdrawal from what he called the "defective" multinational nuclear deal with Iran, and said Washington would reinstate sanctions against the Islamic republic. AFP/Getty But even if you believe that multilateral disarmament is the best approach as many of our politicians claim to then you do at least need to act on that belief. The European Parliament passed a motion in October 2016 in support of the UN-sponsored Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which has already been signed by EU member Austria and 20 other countries, while 50 more are on their way to signing. This is multilateral disarmament in action, supported by a campaign that was rewarded with the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. So why aren't our politicians ensuring that the UK is signed up? Why is there so little debate about the Treaty that most British people have never even heard of it? Aside from the deeply unethical nature of a nuclear security policy, the big world powers are behind the times. The modern-day threats come from asymmetric and cyber warfare for which nuclear weapons have no relevance. With Russian attempts to destabilise our democracy and four people I represent in the South West poisoned with nerve agent by Russian agents one of whom sadly died it is clear that our so-called defence policy is wholly misguided. So it has never been more urgent to review our approach to defence policy. The decision by president Trump to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, risking a new arms race, just adds to the urgency. The real debate we hope to provoke through this action at the air base is about what a genuine 21st century security policy would look like. A positive contribution to this debate is already being made by Rethinking Security , a network of organisations, academics and activists working together for security based on justice, cooperation and sustainability. They are asking what really makes us safe in the world, and how we can counter the power of the arms trade to ensure that we spend as much money on peace-building as on buying weapons. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The ludicrous posturing of our defence secretary Gavin Williamson, with his suggestions about establishing new military bases for Global Britain in the Caribbean and the Far East is designed to shore up his position in his own party rather than providing peace and security for the country. In a democracy it is our right to debate how our taxes are spent to ensure our safety and to underpin peace in the world. If our action at the base this week has helped to focus attention on the real possibility of nuclear disarmament and a defence policy focusing on genuine security, then the cold and uncomfortable morning I spent there was well worth it. Molly Scott Cato is Green MEP for the South West of England There was a sharp spike in the number of plane crashes in 2018 compared to 2017, according to new data from the aviation trade body. Figures from the International Air Transport Association (Iata) showed there were 62 air accidents last year, up from 46 in 2017. When looking at fatal accidents, the number jumped to 11, from 6 in 2017. In total, 523 people died in plane crashes in 2018, a sharp rise from 19 in 2017. However, on average, a passenger would need to fly every day for 241 years to be in with a chance of crashing, according to Iata. The biggest air tragedy of 2018 was the 29 October Lion Air crash, when 189 passengers and crew died when a Boeing 737 Max jet went down shortly after leaving Indonesian capital Jakarta. World's safest airlines 2019 Show all 19 1 /19 World's safest airlines 2019 World's safest airlines 2019 Eva Air Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Austrian Airlines Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 KLM Getty World's safest airlines 2019 Qatar Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Lufthansa Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Hawaiian Airlines Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Alaska Airlines Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 SAS Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Finnair Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Emirates Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Cathay Pacific Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 British Airways Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Singapore Airlines Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 All Nippon Airways Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Air New Zealand Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Swiss Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 American Airlines Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 United Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Virgin Atlantic and Australia Getty Images Crashes in Russia, Cuba, Iran and Nepal also contributed to the 2018 accident rate. According to Iata data, the all accident rate was 1.35, the equivalent of one accident for every 740,000 flights, a decline compared to 2017s record performance of 1.11. But in the long term, it was an improvement on the rate of 1.79 over the past five years. The 2018 rate for major jet accidents was 0.19, or the equivalent of one major accident for every 5.4 million flights. This was a decline on 2017's rate of 0.12, but an improvement over the past five years. Despite the rise in air accidents last year, Iata said that air travel was getting safer in the long term, countering that 2017 was an extraordinary year for air safety. Last year some 4.3 billion passengers flew safely on 46.1 million flights. 2018 was not the extraordinary year that 2017 was. However, flying is safe, and the data tell us that it is getting safer, said Alexandre de Juniac, IATAs director general and CEO. Flying continues to be the safest form of long distance travel the world has ever known. Based on the data, on average, a passenger could take a flight every day for 241 years before experiencing an accident with one fatality on board. We remain committed to the goal of having every flight takeoff and land safely, said de Juniac. Why must we travel to Manchester or Gatwick to get the best deals on flights and holidays? wonders David Wilson, a reader from the West Midlands. Why should we be disincentivised from using our local airport? You can see his point. In a correctly calibrated world, a flight or package holiday from Gatwick to, say, the Greek island of Corfu, would always be slightly cheaper than one from Birmingham (BHX), because of the added distance from the Midlands airport. Similarly, Manchester departures to Greece would be more expensive than from Birmingham. For a flight in the opposite direction, say to Belfast, the converse would apply. But rarely does it work like that. The price of a plane ticket or a package holiday from a particular airport depends on a range of forces, of which distance is only one. The bill for fuel relative to other departure points is, of course, important: Edinburgh is 325 miles further from Paris than is Heathrow. Yet airport-specific costs such as handling fees immediately come into play. The additional fuel costs from the Scottish capital are offset by much lower airport charges at EDI than LHR. The main determinants of price are passenger demand and the supply of departures, and by extension the amount of competition. Gatwick and Manchester are seen as the key holiday airports, each with a large catchment area. Airlines such as easyJet, Jet2, Thomas Cook Airlines and TUI have their largest bases of operation at one or the other. They know that demand is robust, and respond by allocating assets. World's safest airlines 2019 Show all 19 1 /19 World's safest airlines 2019 World's safest airlines 2019 Eva Air Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Austrian Airlines Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 KLM Getty World's safest airlines 2019 Qatar Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Lufthansa Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Hawaiian Airlines Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Alaska Airlines Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 SAS Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Finnair Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Emirates Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Cathay Pacific Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 British Airways Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Singapore Airlines Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 All Nippon Airways Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Air New Zealand Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Swiss Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 American Airlines Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 United Getty Images World's safest airlines 2019 Virgin Atlantic and Australia Getty Images BHX, of course, is right in the middle of a big population base, stretching from Rugby via Coventry and Birmingham itself to Wolverhampton. Oxford and Leicester are other important cities within easy reach of the main Midlands airport. Monarch had a big base at Birmingham before its sad demise, and it is an important hub for Flybe. But airlines and tour operators have evidence that the market is strongest year-round or season-through from Gatwick and Manchester, and these airports therefore get the most attention in terms of aircraft and crew. One attempt to make Birmingham the hub for a budget airline, MyTravelLite, did not end profitably. Having said that, in any other country an airport like Birminghams for a city of that size would be seen as a credit to the region with a good spread of European destinations and services to key hubs including Istanbul and Dubai. When Thomas Cook chose to restart flights to Tunisia, the first departure was from Birmingham. Arguably, for any new destination Birmingham is the place to start because travel firms can then identify with some fairly basic postcode analysis where demand is strongest. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events When I am assessing the holiday market (or seeking a cheap flight, especially in peak season), I will search all the major UK airports. Sometimes Birmingham pops up with better deals than any other airport. Sometimes nearby East Midlands or Luton, or another provincial airport such as Bristol or Newcastle, is ahead. But often Manchester or Gatwick have the lowest prices and widest choice. The best strategy for David Wilson and the millions of other travellers for whom the ideal airport is BHX is to use the place paying the higher fares and package prices. It wont take long for the big operators to notice, and they will pile in with capacity to take advantage of the strong demand. In time, Birmingham might become the natural airport for travellers from the Midlands and beyond. But only if people decide to buy and fly local. The US will leave a small peace keeping force of 200 troops in Syria for an unspecified amount of time, reversing an order by Donald Trump for a full withdrawal. The president abruptly announced in December that all of the 2,000 US troops stationed in the country would leave, declaring that Isis had been defeated. The decision shocked officials within Mr Trumps own administration, who argued that it would leave Americas Kurdish allies on the ground vulnerable, and that Isis was not yet truly finished. Mr Trump now appears to have reconsidered the plan, opting for a residual and largely symbolic force to remain in the country. A small peace keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for period of time, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Thursday, offering no more detail. Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Show all 14 1 /14 Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Men who fled the last Isis-held area of Syria line up to be questioned by American and Kurdish intelligence officials Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate A young girl pulls her belongings after arriving Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate An SDF fighter hands out bread to women and children after they arrive Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Sita Ghazzar, 70, after fleeing from the last Isis-held territory in Syria Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate A family from Russia who recently fled the last Isis-held area of Syria Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Richard Hall/The Independent Syria at war: Fleeing the caliphate Richard Hall/The Independent The reversal was welcomed by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Washingtons ally in the fight against Isis in Syria. The group is on the verge of capturing the last Isis-held territory in Syria, but it warned at the time that US support was essential for ensuring the terror groups complete defeat. Abdulkarim Omar, co-chair of foreign relations of the political wing of the SDF told The Independent that the decision has been received positively. This decision may encourage other European states, particularly our partners in the international coalition against terrorism, to keep forces in the region, he added. The US withdrawal had raised the prospect that Turkey would follow through on a promise to cross the border to attack the SDF, which it views as a terrorist group. Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has repeatedly threatened to cross into Syria to set up a safe zone, ostensibly to protect its borders. But the presence of US forces had acted as a deterrent to a conflict between the two US allies. Mr Trump reportedly spoke with Mr Erdogan on Thursday. On Syria, the two presidents agreed to continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone, the White House said in a statement about the call. One of the most vocal critics of the withdrawal was Republican senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Mr Graham applauded the presidents change of heart on Thursday. This will ensure Isis does not return and Iran does not fill the vacuum that would have been left if we completely withdrew. This also ensures Turkey and SDF elements that helped us defeat Isis will not go into conflict, he said in a statement. Recommended Syrian Kurds fear more upheaval as US troops plan withdrawal Mr Trump announced the decision to withdraw on Twitter in December, writing: We have defeated Isis in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump presidency. The announcement prompted the resignation of defence secretary Jim Mattis, and the head of the anti-Isis coalition, Brett McGurk. Since then, the SDF have continued battling Isis in its last holdout in the eastern Deir ez-Zor province. The caliphate has been reduced to a few dozen tents in the village of Baghouz, but a few hundred fighters are holding an unknown number of civilians and refusing to surrender. The SDF said it would try to evacuate the last of the civilians in Isis territory on Friday before launching an attack. If we succeed in evacuating all the civilians, at any moment we will take the decision to storm Baghouz or force the terrorists to surrender, the groups spokesperson, Mustafa Bali said. Human Rights Watch has expressed concern that not enough care is being taken to protect civilians fleeing the area. It said in a report released Friday that the town had been destroyed by almost constant artillery and air strikes. Civilians leaving Baghouz is a relief but it should not obscure the fact that this battle appears to have been waged without sufficient consideration to their wellbeing, said Nadim Houry, terrorism/counterterrorism program director at the rights group. Just because they may be families of Isis members or sympathised with them does not take away their protected status. Two sisters from Saudi Arabia say they were intercepted at Hong Kong airport by the kingdom's diplomats en route to Australia, in the latest case of Saudi women fleeing the country to escape alleged repression. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is visiting Beijing on a tour of Asia just a month after a Saudi woman hit global headlines by barricading herself in a Bangkok airport hotel to avoid being sent home to her family. These brave, young, intelligent women have been living in fear, in hiding and in legal limbo in Hong Kong, not knowing what their future holds, their lawyer, Michael Vidler, said in a statement on Thursday. They hoped to find a third country place of safety as soon as possible, he added. The pair, who have renounced their Muslim faith, arrived in the Chinese territory in September 2018 after fleeing a family holiday in Sri Lanka and had booked a connecting flight to Australia, Mr Vidler said. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty But the sisters, aged 18 and 20, whose identity Mr Vidler did not reveal, were intercepted by officials during their stopover in the Asian financial hub, before they managed to escape and enter the city as visitors, he said. The women, who have been in hiding in the former British colony for the last five months, told the lawyer their connecting flight to Australia was cancelled and the officials tried to put them on a flight to the Saudi capital of Riyadh. Mr Vidler said the sisters learnt that the officials who intercepted them were Saudi Arabia's consul general and vice consul general in Hong Kong, but did not explain how they came by the information. The Saudi consulate in Hong Kong did not respond to a request from Reuters for comment on Friday. We fled our home to ensure our safety, the women said in the statement. We hope that we can be given asylum in a country which recognises women's rights and treats them as equals. We dream of being in a safe place where we can be normal young women, free from violence and oppression. Since September, the sisters have changed location 13 times, fearing for their safety, Mr Vidler said. In November, the Hong Kong Immigration Department told them their Saudi passports had been invalidated and they could only stay in the city until 28 February. Police in Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, said only that they had received a report from two expatriate women and were investigating, but did not elaborate. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The Hong Kong Immigration Department said it would not comment on individual cases. The incident, and the January case of the barricaded 18-year-old, since granted asylum in Canada, spotlights Saudi Arabia's strict social rules that require women to secure travel permission from a male guardian, which rights groups say can leave them trapped as prisoners of abusive families. Riyadh is facing unusually intense scrutiny from its Western allies over the killing of a journalist at its Istanbul consulate in October and over the humanitarian consequences of its war in Yemen. Reuters The brother of a leading Saudi womens rights campaigner who is allegedly being tortured and sexually harassed in prison is fearful her treatment could be worsening. Loujain al-Hathloul, who defied the kingdoms recently overturned ban on female drivers, was arrested in May 2018 along with 10 other womens rights activists in Saudi Arabia. The 29-year-old campaigners family and Human Rights Watch have alleged in recent months that she and other female detainees have been tortured and sexually harassed in jail. Ms al-Hathloul has told her parents she has been held in solitary confinement, beaten, waterboarded, given electric shocks, sexually harassed and threatened with rape and murder. Walid al-Hathloul, her 31-year-old brother, said the family had tried to contact a number of government bodies about his sisters detainment but they had been given no clear information. I am worried about her because we are not getting any official response. It is possible that it could be getting worse, he said. The lack of transparency has raised many red flags about justice and the rule of law. Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit Show all 10 1 /10 Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit Street protests greeted Mohammed Bin Salman during his visit to Tunisia AFP/Getty Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit A mural depicting Mohammed Bin Salman washing his hands of blood Simon Speakman Cordall Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit A protester holds a banner accusing Mohammed Bin Salman of being a war criminal AP Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit Protesters pass down Habib Bourguiba avenue in Tunis Simon Speakman Cordall Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit A Tunisian man holds up a cartoon that depicts Donald Trump assisting Mohammed Bin Salman in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi AP Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit A poster depicting a war ravaged Yemeni child Simon Speakman Cordall Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit Protesters hold up saws in reference to the reportedly gruesome manner in which Jamal Khashoggi was disposed of AFP/Getty Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit Protesters pass down Habib Bourguiba avenue in Tunis Simon Speakman Cordall Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit Protesters chant slogans as they move down Habib Bourguiba avenue in Tunis Reuters Tunisians protest against Saudi Crown Prince's visit Protesters pass down Habib Bourguiba avenue in Tunis Simon Speakman Cordall He said the family did not know where the activist, who was ranked third in 2015s list of most powerful Arab women in the world, was for a month after she was initially arrested last May. Mr al-Hathloul, who lives in Ontario in Canada, said at first he thought she would simply be questioned and then released, and he initially remained totally oblivious to allegations of mistreatment. We never thought there would be brutal treatment and torture, he said. We did not know all this madness until November of last year and then she started to share everything with my parents. They saw that her hands were shaking, they saw the signs of torture the burns and bruises on her legs. He said his sister says she has been whipped, beaten, electrocuted in a chair and harassed on a frequent basis with masked men sometimes waking her up in the middle of the night to shout threats. She has also told her family she has been forced to endure verbal sexual abuse and sexual harassment at the hands of her torturers. One of the interrogators put his legs on my sisters legs like you would put your legs on the table. He was smoking and puffing in front of her face, said Mr al-Hathloul. His comments come after the European parliament on Thursday urged Saudi Arabia to release womens rights campaigners from prisons. They also called for the country to abolish its male guardianship system, under which women have to seek permission from their guardian on issues such as getting married. Saud al-Qahtani, a former top adviser of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is alleged to have been present during at least one of Ms al-Hathlouls interrogation sessions. Qahtani was supervising the torture. He said, We will rape you, we will kill you, we will cut you in pieces and put you in the sewage system to her sometime last summer, her brother said. Saudi prosecutors allege Mr al-Qahtani played a major role in the events that led to Jamal Khashoggis killing in the kingdoms Istanbul consulate last October. The former royal court communications chief, a powerful adviser, was removed from his post after Riyadh pinned the blame for the murder of the Washington Post columnist on him and other high-ranking officials. Qahtani was said to be dismissed because of Khashoggi but it doesnt seem that he was really dismissed. He was dismissed officially but it looks like he is still running the media and the trolls on Twitter, Mr al-Hathloul said. He said his sister submitted a complaint about her torture and conditions when she was in Dhahban prison, a maximum security jail near Jeddah, but the complaint did not go through. Mr al-Hathloul said she had submitted another complaint in al-Hair prison, near the capital of Riyadh, where she is currently being held. Mr al-Hathloul said the complaint was filed early this month but the administration has yet to issue a reference number which it needs in order to process the grievance. He said a delegation from the governmental body Saudi Human Rights Commission had gone to visit her after reports were published about her torture. Mr al-Hathloul said: They asked her to write her testimony about the torture. When she finished writing it, she asked the three people, Will you protect me? They said they could not. She ripped up the paper and cried because she felt it was useless. He explained he could not return to Saudi Arabia because he and his family had been banned from travelling outside of the country adding there was no legal basis for the ban. I would love to go back and contribute to the country but why would I go back to Saudi Arabia if I cant leave? he said. His sister, who appeared alongside the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, at the One Young World summit in Ottawa in 2016 for young leaders, peacefully campaigned alongside other activists for years to allow women the right to drive. The University of British Columbia graduate has been arrested and released several times for defying the driving ban. In 2014 she was detained when she attempted to drive across the border from the United Arab Emirates. Ms al-Hathloul served 73 days at a juvenile detention centre as a result and documented many of her experiences on Twitter. She was one of the first women to run for a seat on a municipal council in 2015 but lost. The official Saudi Press Agency has said the womens rights defenders were accused of suspicious contact with foreign entities. Riyadh has previously denied allegations of torture after the publication of an initial Human Rights Watch report alleging the abuse in November. The kingdom of Saudi Arabias judiciary system does not condone, promote or allow the use of torture, a Saudi official said. Anyone, whether male or female, being investigated is going through the standard judiciary process led by the public prosecution while being held for questioning, which does not in any way rely on torture either physical, sexual or psychological. On a visit to Washington DC earlier this month, Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir said Saudi authorities were looking into allegations of mistreatment. He defended the womens imprisonment and accused them of being a threat to national security. When Loujain was arrested we preferred not to appear on media because we thought that being silent would solve the problem. It actually made it worse, her brother said. A representative for the Saudi government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Walid al-Hathlouls allegations. The British terror suspect known as Jihadi Jack says he wants to come home to the UK five years after running away to Syria. Oxford-born Jack Letts, who is being held in a Kurdish prison accused of being a member of Isis, told ITV News that he is missing his mother, pasties and episodes of Doctor Who. If the UK accepted me then Id go back to the UK, its my home. But I dont think thats going to happen, he said. No one really cares. It comes after Isis bride Shamima Begum, a former London schoolgirl who left the UK for Syria aged 15, also appealed to be allowed to return with her newborn son. She was stripped of her British citizenship on Tuesday. While Mr Letts holds dual nationality through his Canadian father John Letts and British mother Sally Lane, he has not received a reply from either nations officials. Timeline of the Isis caliphate Show all 19 1 /19 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Timeline of the Isis caliphate ISIS began as a group by the merging of extremist organisations ISI and al-Nusra in 2013. Following clashes, Syrian rebels captured the ISIS headquarters in Aleppo in January 2014 (pictured) AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate in Mosul on 27 June 2014 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis conquered the Kurdish towns of Sinjar and Zumar in August 2014, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Pictured are a group of Yazidi Kurds who have fled Rex Timeline of the Isis caliphate On September 2 2014 Isis released a video depicting the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff. On September 13 they released another video showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines Timeline of the Isis caliphate The US launched its first airstrikes against Isis in Syria on 23 September 2014. Here Lt Gen William C Mayville Jnr speaks about the bombing campaign in the wake of the first strikes Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis militants sit atop a hill planted with their flag in the Syrian town of Kobani on 6 October 2014. They had been advancing on Kobani since mid-September and by now was in control of the citys entrance and exit points AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Residents of the border village of Alizar keep guard day and night as they wait in fear of mortar fire from Isis who have occupied the nearby city of Kobani Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Smoke rises following a US airstrike on Kobani, 28 October 2014 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate YPG fighters raise a flag as they reclaim Kobani on 26 January 2015 VOA Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on 20 May 2015. This image show the city from above days after its capture by Isis Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces are stationed on a hill above the town of Sinjar as smoke rises following US airstrikes on 12 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces enter Sinjar after seizing it from Isis control on 13 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi government forces make the victory sign as they retake the city of Fallujah from ISIS on 26 June 2016 Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi forces battle with Isis for the city of Mosul on 30 June 2017 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of the Iraqi federal police raise flags in Mosul on 8 July 2017. On the following day, Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi declares victory over Isis in Mosul Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim Square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria in January 2019 They were among the last civilians to be living in the ISIS caliphate, by this time reduced to just two small villages in Syrias Deir ez-Zor Richard Hall/The Independent Timeline of the Isis caliphate Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate, on Saturday 26 January 2019 Richard Hall/The Independent Mr Letts travelled to Syria after dropping out of school aged 18, in 2014. The Muslim convert first travelled to Jordan and learned Arabic before moving on through Kuwait and Iraq. He ended up living on the Oxford Street of Raqqa and claimed that seeing children killed by coalition air raids led him to welcome the 2015 Paris terror attacks that left 130 people dead Jack Letts, seen here in Isis-controlled Tabqa in 2016, denies he ever joined or fought on behalf of the militant organisation To be honest at the time I thought it was a good thing, he told ITV News security editor Rohit Kachroo. Genuinely, at the time, we had this idea that when youre living in Raqqa getting bombed every five minutes by coalition jets and you see... literally, Ive seen children burnt alive. Asked about the Bataclan concert victims he said: At the time, you have this sort of and this is what war does to you you have this idea of why shouldnt it happen to them? But then I realised, they have nothing to do with it. Mr Letts was captured by the Kurdish-led YPG as he tried to leave Syria and has spent the last two years in a Kurdish prison. Censored letters from his family, delivered by the Red Cross, are his only contact to his homeland. Asked what he missed about life in the UK, he said: I miss people mostly. I miss my mum. I know that sounds a bit toddler-ish. He added: Even if I could just see my mum... I would like just a phone call, I dont know if Britain can do that for me here, but Id like just a phone call to my mum its been two years. If I could make a request. Im probably not in a position to make requests. Thats it all, really. I miss my mum. What else do I miss? I miss pasties. Its not really English sort of Scottish, isnt it? I miss pasties. And Doctor Who. Sounds a bit stupid thats all. He said he has never seen his son from his marriage to an Iraqi woman and is unaware of her present location, but hopes that the women and children held in Kurdish camps will be allowed to return home. The women who are in the camps, theres kids who die in the camps, he said. If I have to stay here two more years Im not trying to make myself seem like some sort of hero if I have to stay here for two more years and they have to take back the women in the camps, I dont mind. But it feels a bit ridiculous now if my request is anything, is that they change this policy, they do something here. However he remained pessimistic of his chances of being brought back to Britain or taken in by Canada. I dont think Im going to be given... back to Britain, for example... or some Canadian official is going to come and help me because like I said no one really cares, he said. Asked if he felt British or Canadian, he said: I feel British. Im British. My dads Canadian. If the UK accepted me then Id go back to the UK, its my home. But I dont think thats going to happen. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events A Home Office spokesperson told ITV News: In recent days the home secretary has clearly stated that his priority is the safety and security of Britain and the people who live here. In order to protect this country, he has the power to deprive someone of their British citizenship where it would not render them stateless. We do not comment on individual cases, but any decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on all available evidence and not taken lightly. Mr Letts parents face a trial in the UK over claims they funded terrorism by sending their son money. The couple deny the charge and insist their son went to Syria to help refugees. Accusations by Israels acting foreign minister that Poles collaborated with the Nazis in the Holocaust are the words of a radical extremist, Polands prime minister said, as a bitter diplomatic row between the two former allies deepened. Mateusz Morawiecki was due to join the leaders of Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia known as the Visegrad group at a two-day event hosted by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week. But the Polish leader pulled out of a summit over Israels acting foreign minister Yisrael Katzs comments which he denounced as racist insults and unbelievable. Mr Katz had told a local TV channel in Israel that every Pole suckled antisemitism out of their mothers breast, sparking uproar in Warsaw. His comments were preceded by a statement from Mr Netanyahu who also said that Poles had worked with the Nazis. I have no problem with someone mentioning the fact that during the cruel, evil, dehumanising war there were individual criminals in my nation obviously there were, just as in every other nation, Mr Morawiecki told left-leaning paper Haaretz on Friday. 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 But when you use these stereotypes that every Pole suckled anti-Semitism out of their mothers breast its nothing short of racism, he added. He described his reaction to Mr Katzs comments, saying it seemed totally unbelievable. Such words could be used by a radical extremist, but not by a foreign minister, he added. The collapse of the Visegrad summit dealt a stinging blow to Mr Netanyahu who had been hoping to shore up support abroad ahead of elections slated for 9 April. Mr Netanyahu and his ruling Likud Party had been favourite to win but are now floundering in the polls, with the rightwing leader campaigning for re-election under the shadow of possible indictment on graft charges. The European summit, which Mr Netanyahus government had long touted, was replaced with a series of bilateral meetings and Mr Morawiecki sent his foreign minister in his place. In a bid to patch up ties, Mr Netanyahu clarified his own statement saying he did not mean the entire nation but rather individual Poles. But Mr Morawiecki said the explanation was not well received in Poland. Instead relations have continued to sour. On Tuesday, Polish deputy foreign minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek said that Warsaw was still waiting for Israels government to apologise for the shameful, scandalous and slanderous statements, which require an unequivocal and definite reaction. A day later, after the request remained unanswered, US ambassador to Warsaw Georgette Mosbacher weighed in urging Mr Katz to apologise to Poland. She said the partnership between the two countries was too important for the wider region to be damaged by rhetoric. During the Haaretz interview, Mr Morawiecki defended Poland, arguing that although antisemitism existed, it was marginal in the country. He also pointed to a joint statement he signed with Mr Netanyahu in June that included a section denouncing antisemitism and antipolonism. He also defended wartime Poland saying collaborating with Germany was never an official position. The wartime Underground Polish State persecuted all those who were denouncing Jews, sentenced them to death and executed them, he said. A person helping Jews faced death penalty at the hands of the Germans. It was a brave act to do so. Still, tens of thousands of Poles, perhaps even more, were helping their Jewish brethren, he added. A spokesperson for Mr Netanyahu told The Independent declined to comment. Three construction workers rescued what they thought was a dog trapped on a frozen river in Estonia - only to discover it was actually a young wolf. The group spotted the animal struggling to escape the icy water near the southwestern city of Parnu when they arrived to carry out dredging work at the Sindu dam. They cleared a 100-metre path through the ice before pulling it from the water, wrapping it in a towel and driving it to a nearby veterinary clinic. He was calm, slept on my legs, one of the men, Rando Kartsepp, told the Estonian newspaper Postimees. When I wanted to stretch them, he raised his head for a moment. While they and the veterinary staff had suspicions about the true nature of their new friend, the truth was only confirmed when a local hunter saw it at the clinic. Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures Show all 28 1 /28 Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures US Getty Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures US A composite image of the eclipse over LA AP Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures Hungary The moon fully shadowed by the Earth is seen above the castle of Salgo during a total lunar eclipse near Salgotarjan EPA Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures UK A blood moon, set to be the last of its kind for two years, rising over Huddersfield PA Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures Turkey Full moon rises over Duzce province of Turkey Anadolu Agency/Getty Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures Belgium The moon is seen beside a quadriga on the top of the Cinquantenaire arch Reuters Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures Belarus The "super blood wolf moon" is seen behind an Orthodox church Reuters Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures Germany Reuters Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures France Lunar eclipse behind the Tours's cathedral AFP/Getty Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures UK The "super blood wolf moon" is seen in partial eclipse in the skies behind the London Eye Reuters Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures Sweden A total lunar eclipse is pictured with the buildning Turning Torso in front, in Malmo EPA Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures Argentina Crowds gather at the planetarium as they wait for the lunar eclipse in Buenos Aires EPA Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures Germany A view of the lunar eclipse over the cross on top of the Elizabeth Church in Nuremberg EPA Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures US A total lunar eclipse and supermoon is seen over ancient Native American petroglyphs Getty Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures France The "super blood wolf moon" is seen during a total lunar eclipse under a monument in Marseille Reuters Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures Portugal People watch the sunset from the top of a hill as the full moon rises behind them in Lisbon AP Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures UAE The moon over the stadium ahead of the AFC Asian Cup match between Iran and Oman at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi Getty Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures UK The first full moon of 2019 rises off the shore of Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales Reuters Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia The so-called Super Blood Wolf Moon rises over the cross of the orthodox church Holy Mary Perybleptos in the city of Ohrid EPA Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures UK A blood moon, set to be the last of its kind for two years, rises above the 'Maritime Prowess' by Albert Hemstock Hodge on on the western end pavilion of Hull Guildhall ahead of the Lunar Eclipse PA Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures PA Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures Belgium A view of the lunar eclipse pictured in Jubilee Park EPA Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures UK The moon waxing gibbous silhouettes a weather vane in north London EPA Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures UK The blood moon appears to the side of Craven Cottage as Fulham play Tottenham in their Premier League match. A total lunar eclipse is set to take place in the early hours of Monday morning, garnishing a reddish colour to the lunar surface AFP/Getty Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures Belgium A composite image of the eclipse over Brussels Reuters Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures Chile The moon is seen during a total lunar eclipse Reuters Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures France Super Blood Wolf Moon behind the Tours's cathedral AFP/Getty Super blood wolf moon totally eclipses the sun: in pictures UAE A full moon is seen over the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al-Ain following the AFC Asian Cup match between Thailand and China AFP/Getty The wolf, believed to be around one-year-old, was treated for severe hypothermia and shock and given parasite control drugs. He was released into the wild on Thursday with a GPS tracker fitted in a nice yellow collar, according to the Terveks Clinic. The workers appeared unfazed by the discovery, although they doubted they would have managed to handle a full-grown wolf. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The experience was new. We hope he will be fine, said Mr Kartsepp. Pope Francis has promised that "concrete action" will be taken against child sexual abuse by Catholic priests during an extraordinary summit of bishops in Rome. The pope convened Catholic leaders from around the world for the four-day meeting to address the scandals that have ravaged the church's credibility in the US, Ireland, Chile, Australia, and elsewhere over the last three decades. His opening remarks appeared aimed at countering scepticism among victims who said the meeting looked like a public relations exercise. Faced with the scourge of sexual abuse committed by men of the church against minors, I wanted to reach out to you, Pope Francis told the assembled bishops and heads of religious orders. He asked them to listen to the cry of the little ones who are seeking justice. 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 Pope Francis, opening the conference of nearly 200 participants in a Vatican auditorium, added that victims deserve concrete and efficient measures and not mere condemnations. Victims were mixed in their response, with some expressing cautious optimism and others saying it was too little, too late. Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogota said the damage was home-grown, in large part because bishops had closeted themselves in a clerical mentality and some thought they could act with impunity. The first enemies are within us, among us bishops and priests and consecrated persons who have not lived up to our vocation, he said We have to recognise that the enemy is within. The pope and the participants watched a video of five victims, most of whom wished to remain anonymous, telling painful stories of abuse and cover-up. From the age of 15 I had sexual relations with a priest, a woman said. "This lasted for 13 years. I got pregnant three times and he made me have an abortion three times, quite simply because he did not want to use condoms or contraceptives. Recommended Pope admits child abuse has driven young people away from Catholicism Juan Carlos Cruz, a Chilean, said on the video that when he reported abuse to religious authorities he was treated as a liar and an enemy of the Church. You are the physicians of the soul and yet, with rare exceptions, you have been transformed in some cases into murderers of the soul, into murderers of the faith, he said. What a terrible contradiction. Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines broke into tears as he read a keynote speech that acknowledged: Wounds have been inflicted by us, the bishops, on the victims. A list of 21 reflection points written by the pope was handed out. The first was that each diocese should have a practical handbook on steps to be taken when cases emerge. They included actions such as informing civil authorities of substantial accusations in compliance with local law and making sure non-clerics are involved in church investigations of abuse. Putting together a handbook after all this time is laughable, said Peter Isely, who was abused by a priest as a boy and now heads the advocacy group Ending Clergy Abuse. Most of the 21 points are already practiced in countries like the United States. In Ireland, the sexual abuse scandal shattered the power of the Church which four decades ago dominated society. In the past four years, voters approved abortion and gay marriage, defying the Vatican. In Chile, all of the country's bishops offered their resignations to the pope last year over a widespread cover-up. Pope Francis accepted seven of the resignations and dismissed two others from the priesthood. A report by a grand jury in Pennsylvania last year revealed that priests had sexually abused about 1,000 people over seven decades in that US state alone. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Before the conference started, some victims' groups said the event was an attempt to cleanse the image of the 1.3 billion-member Church. But Anne Barrett-Doyle of bishopaccountablity.org, which tracks abuse cases around the world, said she was pleasantly surprised by the pope's opening remarks. They said this was going to just be a teaching session, but he is now talking about concrete measures. That's good, but let's see how it ends up, she told Reuters. Reuters Incest between siblings and necrophilia should be legalised, a branch of the Swedish Liberal People's Party has argued. The Stockholm branch of the party's youth wing (LUF) voted on the controversial motion at its annual meeting on Sunday. It called for the repeal of several laws to make consensual sex between brothers and sisters aged over 15 legal, as well as allowing people to "bequeath" their bodies for intercourse after death without fearing the perpetrator would be prosecuted. The political party's youth wing voted on the motion at a meeting in Stockholm (Getty Images) Cecilia Johnsson, president of LUF Stockholm, told Aftonbladet counter-incest legislation amounted to morality law, adding: These laws protect no one right now. I understand that [incest] can be considered unusual and disgusting, but the law cannot stem from it being disgusting. The LUF also voted to support the legalisation of sexual acts with a corpse, on the condition that the person consented while they were still alive. Ms Johnsson said: You should get to decide what happens to your body after you die, and if it happens to be that someone wants to bequeath their body to a museum or for research, or if they want to bequeath to someone for sex, then it should be okay. The central Liberal People's Party disagreed, however, with spokesperson Adam Alfredsson telling Expressen the proposals were nothing like the mother party endorses. Incest is and should remain illegal, he added. We think it will continue to be illegal to use a dead mans body in [a sexual] way. Meanwhile, a former Swedish Liberal MP, Carl B Hamilton, took to Facebook to dismiss the youth wing's proposals as a publicity stunt concocted by "nitwits". National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Show all 27 1 /27 National Geographic Traveller Photography competition National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Hong Kong - Cities "Tropical Storm Barijat was just passing over Hong Kong, bringing with it this crepuscular ray that brightened up a part of Kowloon" - Tse Yuk Wai Tse Yuk Wai National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Singapore - Cities "This was taken at the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore. Its an amazing place, offering breathtaking views of downtown, with people frolicking in the infinity pool in the foreground" - Robert Huberman Robert Huberman National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Kyoto, Japan - People "This 17-year-old girl has been training to become a geisha for the past two years. Until she qualifies, she wears half-painted lips, signalling to her clientele that shes still learning" - Sharon Kynaston Sharon Kynaston National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Kolkata, India - Cities "A taxi driver leans against his yellow Ambassador cab one of the icons of the city reading a newspaper before the day begins" - Annapurna Mellor Annapurna Mellor National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Alaska, USA - Nature "Heavy snow fell one night during my visit to the city of Homer. As I lay in the snow to capture shots of bald eagles, two began squabbling, sending the fresh white powder flying" - Julia Wainwright Julia Wainwright National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Kandy Central Market, Sri Lanka - Food "Everything in a busy market feels magnified all your senses are pushed to the limit presenting an abundance of photographic opportunities" Pablo Borrego National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Marrakesh, Morocco - People "One of the owners of a fabric boutique in Marrakech showed us this almost apocalyptic scene of a worker dyeing wool - it was dirty, hot and a pungent smell filled the air" - Justin Cliffe Justin Cliffe National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Mount Mikeno, Democratic Republic of Congo - Nature "Some of the worlds last mountain gorillas live on the slopes of Mount Mikeno. This is a female from the Humba family, a habituated group that lives near Virungas Bukima station" - Daniel Burton Daniel Burton National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Leh, India - Food "I was walking through the streets of Leh a town in the Indian region of Ladakh when I saw two workers at this bakery, churning out bread from an oven. It felt like an authentic moment in the life of the town" - Marco Anfossi Marco Anfossi National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Skiathos, Greece - Food "This was taken outside a taverna while I was watching fishermen hang octopus out to dry. For me, the image perfectly captures how people live on Skiathos slow and steady, but with love for what they do" - David Fargher David Fargher National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Kampala, Uganda - People "During summer, I visited a village in the Kampala District. I dont know the name of the boy who curiously looked through a hole in the door at me, but suddenly he was there, his eye perfectly framed by the wooden structure" - Mikael Molander Mikael Molander National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Yosemite Valey, USA - Nature "I took this image on a day off from climbing in Yosemite Valley. I spotted two climbers* approaching El Cap Tower it looked like they were lost in a sea of granite" - Alex Palmer *Climbers can just about be spotted in the bottom left of the image Alex Palmer National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Wrangel Island, Russia - Portfolio "The buildings at Doubtful Harbour are decaying slowly. The rangers who work here are tasked with protecting the wildlife in this federally protected nature sanctuary" - Claire Waring Claire Waring National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Wrangel Island, Russia - Portfolio "The buildings at Doubtful Harbour are decaying slowly. The rangers who work here are tasked with protecting the wildlife in this federally protected nature sanctuary" - Claire Waring Claire Waring National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Wrangel Island, Russia - Portfolio "The buildings at Doubtful Harbour are decaying slowly. The rangers who work here are tasked with protecting the wildlife in this federally protected nature sanctuary" - Claire Waring Claire Waring National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Wrangel Island, Russia - Portfolio "The buildings at Doubtful Harbour are decaying slowly. The rangers who work here are tasked with protecting the wildlife in this federally protected nature sanctuary" - Claire Waring Claire Waring National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Wrangel Island, Russia - Portfolio "The buildings at Doubtful Harbour are decaying slowly. The rangers who work here are tasked with protecting the wildlife in this federally protected nature sanctuary" - Claire Waring Claire Waring National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Marrakesh, Morocco - Portfolio "Navigating the narrow streets of the Medina in Marrakech, the local people and their everyday lives are fascinating to watch, with a mix of buyers, sellers, musicians and observers on every corner" - Mick Ryan Mick Ryan National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Marrakesh, Morocco - Portfolio "Navigating the narrow streets of the Medina in Marrakech, the local people and their everyday lives are fascinating to watch, with a mix of buyers, sellers, musicians and observers on every corner" - Mick Ryan Mick Ryan National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Marrakesh, Morocco - Portfolio "Navigating the narrow streets of the Medina in Marrakech, the local people and their everyday lives are fascinating to watch, with a mix of buyers, sellers, musicians and observers on every corner" - Mick Ryan Mick Ryan National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Marrakesh, Morocco - Portfolio "Navigating the narrow streets of the Medina in Marrakech, the local people and their everyday lives are fascinating to watch, with a mix of buyers, sellers, musicians and observers on every corner" - Mick Ryan Mick Ryan National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Marrakesh, Morocco - Portfolio "Navigating the narrow streets of the Medina in Marrakech, the local people and their everyday lives are fascinating to watch, with a mix of buyers, sellers, musicians and observers on every corner" - Mick Ryan Mick Ryan National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Pengzhen, Chengdu, Sichuan, China - Portfolio "Deep in the western suburbs of Sichuan's capital Chengdu, lies Peng Zhen, a town barely touched by the hands of time, and where the shadow of Chairman Mao and his Cultural Revolution still looms large" - Simon Urwin Simon Urwin National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Pengzhen, Chengdu, Sichuan, China - Portfolio Original Communist propaganda featuring Chairman Mao's trademark beneficent smile. Simon Urwin National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Pengzhen, Chengdu, Sichuan, China - Portfolio Qingyuan Xu, Pengzhen's traditional medicine practitioner in his doctor's 'surgery'. Qingyuan, 78, began studying traditional medicine at the age of eight under the tutelage of Master Liu, one of the physicians to Chiang Kai-shek, the former Chinese leader who was ousted by the Communists and forced to flee to Taiwan. Simon Urwin National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Pengzhen, Chengdu, Sichuan, China - Portfolio The town barber awaits customers in his 'salon' Simon Urwin National Geographic Traveller Photography competition Pengzhen, Chengdu, Sichuan, China - Portfolio Lunchtime in the restaurant 'A Heavenly Table', a former Communist canteen which served free food to workers. Simon Urwin The Independent has contacted Ms Johnsson for a response. It is not the first time similar proposals have been raised in Europe. In 2014, the German Ethics Council also called for an end to the criminalisation of incest between siblings, after examining the case of a man who was jailed for having four children with his sister. The council argued that the risk of disability in children was not sufficient to warrant a law putting couples in tragic situations, and that decriminalising incest would not fuel the spread of the very rare practice. The majority of the German Ethics Council is of the opinion that it is not appropriate for a criminal law to preserve a social taboo, a statement said. A spokeswoman for Angela Merkel's CDU party dismissed the possibility of abolishing criminal punishment at the time. A man who ploughed a stolen car into crowds in Melbourne, killing six people, has been jailed for life. James Gargasoulas, 29, will spend at least the next 44 years behind bars for what a judge described as one of the worst examples of mass murder in Australian history. He was in a drug-induced psychosis when he drove into pedestrians in the busy Bourke Street Mall, injuring dozens, in January 2017. A three-month-old baby who was thrown 20ft from his buggy and a 10-year-old girl were among those killed. Gargasoulas showed little emotion was he was jailed at Victoria states Supreme Court on Friday in a room filled with the families of his victims. 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 Your actions were both callous and cowardly, judge Mark Weinberg told him. You have shown no genuine remorse. The judge described in detail the terrifying rampage, noting each victim killed as well as those left with broken bones, head injuries, internal bleeding and other lasting damage. You left a trail of destruction, Mr Weinberg said. The horror of what you did has profoundly impacted the lives of those who were present that day. The court had earlier heard from grieving relatives, including the brother of 25-year-old Japanese victim Yosuke Kanno. Junpei Kanno said the pain of losing his sibling would last for the rest of his life. Gargasoulas, who has treatment-resistant paranoid schizophrenia, was found fit to stand trial despite experiencing delusions. Recommended Man found guilty of Melbourne attack that killed six people In a letter read out in court, he stressed he was not evil and blamed government oppression for the murders. He said he believed he was the Messiah and was acting on the wishes of God on the day of the rampage, but was in a bad headspace and had not intended to kill. Mr Weinberg has previously ruled Gargasoulas could not use mental impairment as a defence because his psychosis and delusions at the time of the rampage were drug-induced. Gargasoulas was found guilty of six murders and 27 counts of reckless conduct endangering life in November 2018. He had been using drugs and committing crimes in the weeks before the attack and was on bail. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Mr Weinberg noted Gargasoulas was meant to face court on the day of the massacre. Police had been following the stolen Holden Commodore for some of its journey into central Melbourne before the deadly rampage. Your crimes have had a shattering effect on countless lives, the judge told Gargasoulas. He will be eligible to apply for release in 2063, when he is 73. George Halvagis, an ambassador for not-for-profit organisation Crime Stoppers Victoria, said he thinks Gargasoulas should die in jail. He should never, ever, get out of there, he told reporters after the sentencing hearing. More than one million tons of sludge are to be dumped close to the Great Barrier Reef after authorities in Australia approved plans to discard industrial dredge spoil. Sediment scooped up from the sea floor during maintenance work at nearby Hay Point Port will be ditched under a permit granted by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). Dumping dredged sludge into world heritage waters treats our reef like a rubbish tip, said Larissa Waters, a senator for The Greens party. The plans have been approved barely a week after warnings that filthy water from recent floods in Queensland could cause irreparable damage to the reef by blocking sunlight and preventing photosynthesis which the coral relies on to survive. Although sludge dumping in the area is largely illegal, a loophole in the ban it does not cover the discarding of waste created during port maintenance work means the new permit can be granted. Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Show all 20 1 /20 Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Months after scientists warned that it is at greater risk than ever, the Great Barrier Reef is facing a new challenge: dirty water. AFP/Getty Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Run-off from the recent floods in Australia is spreading out from the coast with the potential to smother the fragile reef. Matt Curnock / Reuters Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef The floodwater is thick with sediment from the shore and scientists fear that this may block out the sun, preventing photosynthesis for the algae that the coral relies on to survive. AFP/Getty Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Dr Frederieke Koon from the Australian Institute of Marine Science however, has told the BBC that the floodwater contains nutrients that have boosted algae growth in some areas, turning the water "a thick blanket of green". Matt Curnock / Reuters Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Despite such benefits in some areas, the fear is that the floodwater will contain pesticides that could prove extremely damaging and due to a lack of wind, it isn't dispersing. Matt Curnock / Reuters Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Dr Koon added that "a bit of wind and wave action can break the plumes up quite quickly, but we have literally had no wind so they're just sitting there hanging". Matt Curnock / Reuters Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Fears over the future of the reef have been building in recent years, with the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration forecasting in October 2018 that the entire 130,000 miles square system is at high risk of bleaching. Matt Curnock / Reuters Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef These aerial photos show the murky water spreading across the reef. Matt Curnock / Reuters Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef AFP/Getty Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Reuters Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Matt Curnock / Reuters Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Matt Curnock / Reuters Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Matt Curnock / Reuters Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef AFP/Getty Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Matt Curnock / Reuters Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Matt Curnock / Reuters Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Matt Curnock / Reuters Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Matt Curnock / Reuters Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Matt Curnock / Reuters Dirty water threatens the Great Barrier Reef Matt Curnock / Reuters Government policy needs to change to ban all offshore dumping, so GBRMPA is not allowed to permit the reefs waters to be used as a cheaper alternative to treating the sludge and disposing of it safely onshore, Ms Waters told The Guardian. Recommended Great Barrier Reef at threat from dirty water due to recent floods But North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation, which runs Hay Point, said such action caused little environmental damage. Just like roads, shipping channels require maintenance to keep ports operating effectively, the corporation said in a statement posted online. Maintenance dredging involves relocating sediment which travels along the coast and accumulates over the years where our shipping operation occurs. Under threat: the world's reef-building corals. Figures from statista.com (Independent) Importantly, our assessment reports have found the risks to protected areas including the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and sensitive habitats are predominantly low with some temporary short-term impacts to [some bottom-dwelling] habitat possible. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The permits allow for the long-term sustainable management of maintenance dredging and will safeguard the efficient operations of one of Australias most critical trading ports. The Chinese government blocked 17.5 million would-be plane passengers from buying tickets last year as a punishment for offences including the failure to pay fines, it emerged. Some 5.5 million people were also barred from travelling by train under a controversial social credit system which the ruling Communist Party claims will improve public behaviour. The penalties are part of efforts by president Xi Jinpings government to use data-processing and other technology to tighten control on society. Human rights activists warn the system is too rigid and may lead to people being unfairly blacklisted without their knowledge, while US vice-president Mike Pence last year denounced it as an Orwellian system premised on controlling virtually every facet of human life. Authorities have experimented with social credit in parts of China since 2014. Points are deducted for breaking the law, but also, in some areas, for offences as minor as walking a dog without a lead. 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 Offences punished last year also included false advertising and violating drug safety rules, said Chinas National Public Credit Information Centre. It gave no details of how many people live in areas with social credit systems. Social credit is one facet of efforts by the ruling party to take advantage of increased computing power, artificial intelligence and other technology to track and control the Chinese public. In 2000 the police ministry launched an initiative dubbed Golden Shield to build a nationwide digital network to track individuals. The ruling party is spending heavily to roll out facial recognition systems, and human rights activists say people in Muslim and other areas with high ethnic minority populations have been compelled to give blood samples for a genetic database. Those systems rely heavily on foreign technology, which has prompted criticism of US and European suppliers for enabling human rights abuses. This week Massachusetts-based company Thermo Fisher Scientific said it would no longer sell or service genetic sequencers in the Muslim-majority region of Xinjiang following criticism of their use for surveillance. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events It also emerged this week that a Chinese company had been tracking the movements of 2.5 million people in the province, using police checkpoints and security cameras to record location data in a system allegedly designed to keep tabs on Muslims. More than one million Uighurs, Kazakhs and other Islamic minorities in Xinjiang have been detained in re-education camps, according to the UN. The government insists the camps are vocational training centres designed to rid the region of extremism, but former inmates have allegedly been tortured, forced to consume pork and alcohol, and ordered to renounce their religion. China censored a TV report about its detention of more than a million Uighur Muslims in re-education camps by suddenly cutting off the broadcast, according to a BBC reporter. Stephen McDonell filmed the moment the World Service Newsday programme went off air as he began to speak about the treatment of the Turkic ethnic minority in the northwestern Xinjiang province. Mr McDonell, the BBCs China correspondent, said a similar thing happened the previous day during discussion of the same issue. We can pretty much predict the subjects when they will cut the feed and recently coverage of Xinjiangs mass re-education camps has been just such a subject, he said. China has come under increasing international pressure over the camps, which it calls vocational training centres and claims are part of a campaign against terrorism and religious extremism. Earlier this month Turkey called for the closure of the concentration camps and described the treatment of Chinas Turkic Muslim population as a great cause of shame for humanity. Mr McDonells report had focused on the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to China for talks with President Xi Jinping. After going on air at 7am to file his account of the trip, he decided to record the 8am replay. The video shows his TV in China going blank as he says: One thing he might be expected by some in Muslim countries to raise would be the question of the camps in the far west of China. Theres up to... Mr McDonell tweeted: Heres the moment Chinas censors pull the BBC World TV feed this morning as Im speaking about the visiting crown prince of Saudi Arabia and the possibility of him raising the mass extra-judicial detention camps holding many hundreds of thousands of ethnic Uighurs. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events However another replay an hour later was not affected and ran straight through. Maybe they were off making a cup of tea or fell asleep next to the big red censor button, Mr McDonell said. At least one person has been shot dead by Venezuelan security forces during a clash on the border with Brazil, according to local officials. Another dozen people were injured after troops opened fire in the eastern town of Kumarakapay on Friday, according to doctors and witnesses. Gran Sabana mayor Emilio Gonzalez identified the woman who was killed as Zoraida Rodriguez, a member of an indigenous community. The mayor said members of the Pemon indigenous group clashed with the Venezuela National Guard and the army, who were moving tanks to the border. Mr Gonzalez claimed the soldiers fired rubber bullets and teargas. Some members of the areas indigenous community have expressed their support for the oppositions plans to bring in foreign aid over the border this weekend, despite the objection of President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government Show all 18 1 /18 Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government Protesters clash with the Bolivarian National Police during a demonstration against the government of the Venezuela and president Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on 23 January 2019 EPA Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government Demonstrators cheer as Venezuela's National Assembly head Juan Guaido declares himself the country's "acting president" at a rally in Caracas AFP/Getty Images Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government Opposition supporters take part in a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government REUTERS Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government Opposition supporters take part in a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas REUTERS Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government Juan Guaido, head of Venezuela's opposition-run congress, declares himself interim president of the nation until elections can be held during a rally in Caracas demanding leader Nicolas Maduro's resignation AP Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government Opposition supporters carry letters to form the word "Democracy" while taking part in a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government REUTERS Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government Police watch over marching anti-government protesters in Caracas EPA Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government A vehicle is overturned as opposition demonstrators block a road during a protest against the Venezuelan government AFP/Getty Images Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government A National Police officer fires rubber bullets during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas REUTERS Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government A demonstrator throws back a gas canister while clashing with security forces during a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas REUTERS Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government Security forces look on after clashing with opposition supporters participating in a rally against Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro's government REUTERS Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government Demonstrators during a protest against the government of Nicolas Maduro at Plaza Altamira in Caracas Getty Images Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government Demonstrators during a protest against the government of Nicolas Maduro at Plaza Altamira in Caracas Getty Images Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government EPA Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government AFP/Getty Images Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government The remains of a statue of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez is seen hanging from a pedestrian bridge after it was destroyed in San Felix, Venezuela REUTERS Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government Riot police on motorcycles clash with opposition demonstrators during protests in Caracas AFP/Getty Images Venezuela protests: thousands rally against government Supporters celebrate Juan Guaido declaration that he is Venezuelan president EPA The embattled president closed his countrys border with Brazil late on Thursday amid an escalating standoff over allowing aid from the US to enter the country. Some Venezuelans crossed over into the Brazilian border city of Pacaraima, near Kumarakapay, to stock up on supplies shortly before the border was shut, according to Brazilian media. Brazilian authorities are reportedly still moving humanitarian aid to the countrys northern border with Venezuela. On Friday Brazils airforce sent a plane with food and medicine to Boa Vista in the northern state of Roraima. These will end up in Pacaraima, according to Associated Press. En route to Richard Bransons Venezuela Aid Live across the border in Colombia (Getty) Mr Maduro said he was also considering shuttering the border with neighbouring Colombia. The opposition has vowed to move aid from the US and other nations over the border from Colombia on Saturday. Earlier on Friday, an opposition lawmaker travelling across Venezuela in an attempt to collect the humanitarian aid at the Colombian border said somebody threw two large rocks at a bus in her caravan. Mariela Magallanes of the opposition-controlled National Assembly said the pre-dawn incident was a direct attack that left a backup driver injured. Ms Magallanes said the rocks went through the windshield on the passenger side. She said the driver was being treated for injuries. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Duelling concerts near the border between Venezuela-Colombia border are set to take place later on Friday. Richard Branson is sponsoring a Live Aid-style concert featuring dozens of musicians including rock star Juanes in Colombia, while Mr Maduros socialist government is promising a three-day festival dubbed Hands Off Venezuela on the other. The eyes of the world will be on Venezuela, opposition politician David Smolansky said. Six hundred tons of aid, largely donated by the US, has been sitting for two weeks in a storage facility at the Tienditas International Bridge, close to where Mr Bransons concert will be held. Mr Maduro denies that any crisis exists, insisting the aid is a ploy by the Trump administration to overthrow his government. His military has placed a large tanker and two containers in the middle of the Tienditas bridge to block any supplies getting across. Additional reporting by agencies Close Donald Trump brags out unemployment figures during African American History Month event House Democrats have filed their resolution of disapproval challenging Donald Trumps decision to call a national emergency in order to build a wall on the US southern border with Mexico. While the president has claimed there is a "crisis" of illegal immigration in the United States, Democrats have questioned his motives and noted that Mr Trump himself has suggested that he did not need to declare the emergency. The president on Thursday touted the contributions of African Americans during an event to honour Black History Month. Meanwhile Ahmed Ali Muthana, the father of Alabama Isis bride Hoda Muthana, announced he is suing the administration for its unlawful attempt to rescind her citizenship and block a return to the US. Lawyers have told The Independent that an executive effort to revoke citizenship amounts to the act of an "authoritarian". In Syria, the US has rowed back on its decision for a full withdrawal of troops following the apparent defeat of the Islamist militants and will now leave around 200 soldiers behind to safeguard the region. Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Show all 20 1 /20 Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Donald Trump's Cabinet Donald Trump's Cabinet is one the richest in American history, filled with billionaires, conservatives and several career politicians. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mike Pence US Vice President Mike Pence has defended Donald Trump throughout his presidency while walking a fine line to avoid any public involvement in major scandals. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mike Pompeo Secretary of State Mike Pompeo replaced Donald Trump's previous appointment to the post, Rex Tillerson, and has led talks with North Korea in establishing high-profile summits between the president and Kim Jong Un. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Wilbur Ross Secretary of Commerce Wibur Ross raised controversy when he was accused of falsely claiming to have sold stock in a bank and violated a government ethics agreement. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Lighthizer US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has been a fixture in Donald Trump's ongoing trade spat with China. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet William Barr Attorney General William Barr replaced Jeff Sessions as the nation's top cop in early 2019 and has refused to commit to recusing himself from the Russia probe despite an unsolicited memo he sent to the Justice Department decrying the investigation. EPA Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Rick Perry Energy Secretary Rick Perry has held his post throughout Donald Trump's presidency despite previously undermining the need for the agency he now leads in past public statements. Ken Shipp / United States Department of Energy Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Betsy DeVos Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also held her post throughout the presidency, despite major backlash to her apparent undermining of the nationwide public school system and advocacy for charter programmes. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Steven Mnuchin Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has faced numerous controversies throughout his tenure as the head of Treasury, including costing taxpayers at least a million dollars in travel expenses. AP Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Wilkie Veterans Affairs secretary Robert Wilkie was appointed after Donald Trump's White House doctor Ronny Jackson withdrew over allegations he provided prescription drugs to patients without prescriptions. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet David Bernhardt Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt took office in January 2019 after the resignation of Ryan Zinke after previously serving as Zinke's deputy. Before taking office Bernhardt worked for many years as a solicitor for the Department of the Interior. Tami Heilemann / United States Department of the Interior Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Elaine Chao Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has held her post throughout the presidency and has mostly avoided controversy, despite a report claiming her office has been in frequent coordination with her husband's, Mitch McConnell. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Kevin McAleenan Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan took over from Kirstjen Nielsen after she resigned in April 2019. He previously worked as the executive director of the executive director of the Office of Anti Terrorism in the Customs and Border Protection agency United States Customs and Border Protection Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Ben Carson Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson was appointed shortly after Donald Trump took office and raised controversy over an exorbitant furnishing bill for his office. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Gina Haspel CIA Director Gina Haspel was appointed in 2018 and faced backlash surrounding her oversight of Guantanamo Bay. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Dan Coats Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats could be the next person to leave Donald Trump's administration over his refuting the president's claims surrounding ISIS. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Sonny Perdue Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been dogged by ethics questions throughout his tenure and faced controversy when emails showed the agency appeared willing to eagerly work with lobbyists under his leadership. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Alex Azar Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is a former pharmaceutical lobbyist and former drug company executive. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mick Mulvaney Acting Chief of Staff and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has described himself as one of the most conservative officials in the White House. EPA Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Wilkie Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie has spent his career on Capitol Hill serving in various roles in foreign affairs and defence. He holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force Reserve. Gene Russell / United States Department of Veterans Affairs Mr Trump on Friday weighed in on several issues, including the charges brought against his friend and billionaire owner of the New England Patriots Robert Kraft over prostitution allegations. He called those charges "shocking", but noted that Mr Kraft had denied the charges against him. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The president also suggested that he might extend a deadline for trade negotiations with China, saying that the negotiators have been having success. Next week, Mr Trump is scheduled to travel to Vietnam for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, where he and his administration say that they hope he can build on the previous summit with Mr Kim last year in Singapore. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load Up to a third of the $6.7bn (5.2bn) in Pentagon funds Donald Trump has identified to spend on a US-Mexico border wall has already been spent, officials have revealed. During his emergency powers declaration last month, the US president announced he would divert billions of dollars from other Department of Defense projects towards the wall, in order to circumvent Congress. It included $3.6bn (2.8bn) in unspent military construction money, as well as $2.5bn (1.9bn) in counterdrug funds and $600m (462m) from an asset forfeiture account the latter two not dependent on the emergency delaration. But a spokesperson for the House appropriations committee told the Congressional Quartely (CQ) magazine that only $85m (65m) remains in the counterdrug account, wiping out more than $2.4bn Mr Trump intended for the wall. In order to recoup that money, the Pentagon is planning to redirect money from other programmes in order to bring the counterdrug account back up to $2.5bn, so that Mr Trump can then move it again into border wall funding. The Department would need to reprogramme additional funding into the account to reach the up to $2.5 billion that may be required for border security support, Defense Department spokesman Christopher Sherwood told CQ. Any repurposing of funds by the Pentagon, however, would require authorisation from the leaders of the four congressional committees which oversee the department. Peter Viscolsky, Democratic chair of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, said in a statement he would refuse any request to repurpose Pentagon money for a wall. Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Show all 20 1 /20 Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Donald Trump's Cabinet Donald Trump's Cabinet is one the richest in American history, filled with billionaires, conservatives and several career politicians. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mike Pence US Vice President Mike Pence has defended Donald Trump throughout his presidency while walking a fine line to avoid any public involvement in major scandals. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mike Pompeo Secretary of State Mike Pompeo replaced Donald Trump's previous appointment to the post, Rex Tillerson, and has led talks with North Korea in establishing high-profile summits between the president and Kim Jong Un. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Wilbur Ross Secretary of Commerce Wibur Ross raised controversy when he was accused of falsely claiming to have sold stock in a bank and violated a government ethics agreement. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Lighthizer US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has been a fixture in Donald Trump's ongoing trade spat with China. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet William Barr Attorney General William Barr replaced Jeff Sessions as the nation's top cop in early 2019 and has refused to commit to recusing himself from the Russia probe despite an unsolicited memo he sent to the Justice Department decrying the investigation. EPA Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Rick Perry Energy Secretary Rick Perry has held his post throughout Donald Trump's presidency despite previously undermining the need for the agency he now leads in past public statements. Ken Shipp / United States Department of Energy Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Betsy DeVos Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also held her post throughout the presidency, despite major backlash to her apparent undermining of the nationwide public school system and advocacy for charter programmes. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Steven Mnuchin Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has faced numerous controversies throughout his tenure as the head of Treasury, including costing taxpayers at least a million dollars in travel expenses. AP Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Wilkie Veterans Affairs secretary Robert Wilkie was appointed after Donald Trump's White House doctor Ronny Jackson withdrew over allegations he provided prescription drugs to patients without prescriptions. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet David Bernhardt Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt took office in January 2019 after the resignation of Ryan Zinke after previously serving as Zinke's deputy. Before taking office Bernhardt worked for many years as a solicitor for the Department of the Interior. Tami Heilemann / United States Department of the Interior Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Elaine Chao Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has held her post throughout the presidency and has mostly avoided controversy, despite a report claiming her office has been in frequent coordination with her husband's, Mitch McConnell. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Kevin McAleenan Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan took over from Kirstjen Nielsen after she resigned in April 2019. He previously worked as the executive director of the executive director of the Office of Anti Terrorism in the Customs and Border Protection agency United States Customs and Border Protection Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Ben Carson Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson was appointed shortly after Donald Trump took office and raised controversy over an exorbitant furnishing bill for his office. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Gina Haspel CIA Director Gina Haspel was appointed in 2018 and faced backlash surrounding her oversight of Guantanamo Bay. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Dan Coats Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats could be the next person to leave Donald Trump's administration over his refuting the president's claims surrounding ISIS. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Sonny Perdue Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been dogged by ethics questions throughout his tenure and faced controversy when emails showed the agency appeared willing to eagerly work with lobbyists under his leadership. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Alex Azar Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is a former pharmaceutical lobbyist and former drug company executive. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mick Mulvaney Acting Chief of Staff and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has described himself as one of the most conservative officials in the White House. EPA Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Wilkie Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie has spent his career on Capitol Hill serving in various roles in foreign affairs and defence. He holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force Reserve. Gene Russell / United States Department of Veterans Affairs I am adamantly opposed to the use of any funds provided by Congress to the Department of Defense for the unauthorized construction of a wall on the Southwest border, he said. I and the other members of the House appropriations committee will carefully examine each element of the presidents proposal and the serious jurisdictional and constitutional concerns that it raises. The White House earlier this week announced it was moving forward with its wall plans, though in the face of lawsuits challenging the presidents declaration, officials told CNN they planned to only use funds from the counterdrugs programme and the Treasury Departments asset forfeiture fund. The White House has been contacted for comment. Roger Stone a former advisor to Donald Trump has been gagged by a judge after he admitted posting an image on social media that showed her next to a set of cross-hairs. The 66-year-old veteran political operative and celebrated enforcer of dirty drinks, told the judge he acted in error when he posted the image. He asked her not to alter his bail conditions relating to charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller, saying: I am kicking myself over my own stupidity. But federal judge Amy Berman Jackson, deciding what sanction should be imposed on Mr Stone, said she was not taken in by his appeals. She said he would pose a danger to others in the case unless she modified the terms of his release to include the gag order. While she decided he did not need to go to jail, she warned him he would be sent there if he broke the rules again. Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Show all 20 1 /20 Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Donald Trump's Cabinet Donald Trump's Cabinet is one the richest in American history, filled with billionaires, conservatives and several career politicians. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mike Pence US Vice President Mike Pence has defended Donald Trump throughout his presidency while walking a fine line to avoid any public involvement in major scandals. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mike Pompeo Secretary of State Mike Pompeo replaced Donald Trump's previous appointment to the post, Rex Tillerson, and has led talks with North Korea in establishing high-profile summits between the president and Kim Jong Un. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Wilbur Ross Secretary of Commerce Wibur Ross raised controversy when he was accused of falsely claiming to have sold stock in a bank and violated a government ethics agreement. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Lighthizer US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has been a fixture in Donald Trump's ongoing trade spat with China. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet William Barr Attorney General William Barr replaced Jeff Sessions as the nation's top cop in early 2019 and has refused to commit to recusing himself from the Russia probe despite an unsolicited memo he sent to the Justice Department decrying the investigation. EPA Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Rick Perry Energy Secretary Rick Perry has held his post throughout Donald Trump's presidency despite previously undermining the need for the agency he now leads in past public statements. Ken Shipp / United States Department of Energy Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Betsy DeVos Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also held her post throughout the presidency, despite major backlash to her apparent undermining of the nationwide public school system and advocacy for charter programmes. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Steven Mnuchin Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has faced numerous controversies throughout his tenure as the head of Treasury, including costing taxpayers at least a million dollars in travel expenses. AP Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Wilkie Veterans Affairs secretary Robert Wilkie was appointed after Donald Trump's White House doctor Ronny Jackson withdrew over allegations he provided prescription drugs to patients without prescriptions. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet David Bernhardt Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt took office in January 2019 after the resignation of Ryan Zinke after previously serving as Zinke's deputy. Before taking office Bernhardt worked for many years as a solicitor for the Department of the Interior. Tami Heilemann / United States Department of the Interior Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Elaine Chao Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has held her post throughout the presidency and has mostly avoided controversy, despite a report claiming her office has been in frequent coordination with her husband's, Mitch McConnell. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Kevin McAleenan Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan took over from Kirstjen Nielsen after she resigned in April 2019. He previously worked as the executive director of the executive director of the Office of Anti Terrorism in the Customs and Border Protection agency United States Customs and Border Protection Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Ben Carson Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson was appointed shortly after Donald Trump took office and raised controversy over an exorbitant furnishing bill for his office. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Gina Haspel CIA Director Gina Haspel was appointed in 2018 and faced backlash surrounding her oversight of Guantanamo Bay. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Dan Coats Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats could be the next person to leave Donald Trump's administration over his refuting the president's claims surrounding ISIS. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Sonny Perdue Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been dogged by ethics questions throughout his tenure and faced controversy when emails showed the agency appeared willing to eagerly work with lobbyists under his leadership. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Alex Azar Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is a former pharmaceutical lobbyist and former drug company executive. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mick Mulvaney Acting Chief of Staff and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has described himself as one of the most conservative officials in the White House. EPA Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Wilkie Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie has spent his career on Capitol Hill serving in various roles in foreign affairs and defence. He holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force Reserve. Gene Russell / United States Department of Veterans Affairs So no, Mr Stone, Im not giving you another chance. I have serious doubts about whether youve learned any lesson at all. The man said to have invented the phrase rat-f***ing in relation to political skullduggery, was obliged to appear before Ms Jackson when he was arrested last month by FBI agents after being indicted by Mr Muellers team with seven charges. He has denied allegations that he lied to congress and obstructed the House of Representatives intelligence committees investigation of Russias alleged interference in the 2016 election, and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. When he secured $250,000 bail over the charges, one of the conditions was that he not talk about the case. Roger Stone arrives at court to face a Tuesday morning arraignment Yet, Mr Stone has made numerous media appearances since his arrest. Reuters said that last week, Ms Jackson prohibited Mr Stone or his lawyers from speaking with the news media or making statements near the federal courthouse about the case, in order to reduce the risk of tainting the jury pool and harming his right to a fair trial. But just days later, he posted a photograph of Ms Jackson next to the image that looked like crosshairs. He later took down that version and reposted it without the crosshairs, before taking down the post a second time. How hard was it to come up with a photo that didnt have the crosshairs in the corner? Ms Jackson asked Mr Stone, the news agency said. Mr Stone said he had asked a volunteer to provide him with a photo and said he did not review it ahead of time. I didnt even recognise it was crosshairs ... Until it was brought to my attention by a reporter. A new vote has been ordered in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District after the republican in the race admitted his lead over his democratic opponent was tainted by ballot-tampering conducted by operatives working for is campaign. The new vote was approved unanimously by the state's board of elections on Thursday after several days of evidentiary hearings in which witnesses said that operatives hired by the campaign of Mark Harris conducted illegal door-to-door ballot harvesting in violation of state law. Mr Harris, who had previously pushed back on the notion that his victory came as a result of any voter fraud, agreed on Thursday that his 905-vote lead over Democrat Dan McCready may have been impacted by that tampering. He urged the board to approve a new election, which has not been given a date. "Through the testimony I listened to over the past three days, I believe a new election should be called, Mr Harris told the board on Thursday. Its become clear to me that the publics confidence in the 9th District seat general election has been undermined to an extent that a new election is warranted." His democratic opponent cheered the board's decision on Twitter. North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law Show all 14 1 /14 North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law Gender neutral signs are posted in the 21C Museum Hotel public restrooms on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law The "We Are Not This" slogan is posted at the entrances to Bull McCabes Irish Pub on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law Museum manager Jeff Bell adheres informative backing to gender neutral signs in the 21C Museum Hotel public restrooms on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law A unisex sign and the "We Are Not This" slogan are outside a bathroom at Bull McCabes Irish Pub on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law A gender neutral sign is posted outside a bathrooms at Oval Park Grill on May 11, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law Gender neutral signs are posted in the 21C Museum Hotel public restrooms on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law Unisex signs hang outside bathrooms at Toast Paninoteca on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law A unisex sign and the "We Are Not This" slogan are outside a bathroom at Bull McCabes Irish Pub on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law A private women's bathroom is offered at Bull McCabes Irish Pub on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law Gender neutral signs are posted in the 21C Museum Hotel public restrooms on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law A unisex sign and the "We Are Not This" slogan are outside a bathroom at Bull McCabes Irish Pub on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law A private men's bathroom is offered at Bull McCabes Irish Pub on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law A unisex sign and the "We Are Not This" slogan are outside a bathroom at Bull McCabes Irish Pub on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty Today was a great step forward for democracy in North Carolina, Mr McCready wrote. He continued, calling for justice for voters from the moment the first voice was silenced by election fraud. The boards decision could mean that the seat which is the last to be decided in the state from the 2018 midterm elections could be left open for months. The attorney for the election board is preparing to review laws for new primaries and a general election, and will then submit a plan to the board for final approval. There were about 280,000 votes cast in November in the district, which includes several counties and the city of Charlotte. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The state has refused to certify the original results, which put Mr Harris ahead by 905 votes, noting that a political operative working for Mr Harris, Leslie McCrae Dowless, may have tampered with mail-in ballots. Mr Harris has claimed he was not aware of the ballot harvesting at the time. No criminal charges have been filed so far in the case. The Associated Press contributed to this report David and Louise Turpin have pleaded guilty to several counts of torture, dependent adult abuse, child endangerment, and false imprisonment. The plea deal, announced on Friday by prosecutors, means the two will avoid trial for the torture, imprisonment, and starvation of 12 of their 13 children in their California home. The court set a sentencing hearing for April 14, when the couple could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison for the 14 crimes they both have now admitted to. The pleas mark the latest in a case that shocked the United States, when authorities discovered 12 of the couple's 13 children in January of last year. Some were shackled to beds when discovered, and police said they were rarely allowed to leave the home. Several were malnourished and severely abused. Of the 13 children, only the youngest a 2-year-old did not appear to be starved or mistreated. The oldest of the 13 children was 29-years-old. Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents Show all 15 1 /15 Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents David and Louise Turpin with their 13 children who were being held captive by their parents in the family home in Perris, California. Facebook Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin speaks during a press conference announcing charges against David Turpin and Louise Turpin in relation to their 13 malnourished children found chained in their home, in Riverside. The two parents were charged with multiple counts of Child abuse, torture, abuse of dependent adults and false imprisonment and could face close to 100 years to life in prison if convicted. EPA Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents The home of David Allen and Louise Anna Turpin, where some of their children were bound with chains and padlocks. Reuters Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents David Allen Turpin poses for a mugshot after being arrested. Riverside County Sheriffs Department via Getty Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents One of the captives, a 17-year-old girl, escaped over the weekend and notified the Riverside Sheriffs Department. Facebook/David-Louise Turpin Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents Perris residents watch as media gather in front of Turpin family home. The Sheriff's deparmtent said "the parents were unable to immediately provide a logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner." AFP/Getty Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents The children were found in dark and foul-smelling surroundings and "The victims appeared to be malnourished and very dirty, the department said. Facebook/David-Louise Turpin Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents Neighbours stand outside the home. Getty Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents Louise Anna Turpin poses for a mugshot after being arrested. Not all of their victims were children: of the 13 victims, seven were between the age of 18 and 29, according to the Sheriff's Department. Riverside County Sheriffs Department via Getty Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents David and Louise Turpin in 2015. Authorities arrested them on torture and child endangerment charges, setting bail at $9m (6.5m) apiece. Facebook/David-Louise Turpin Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents David Turpin and Louise Turpin appear in court for their arraignment in Riverside Reuters Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents David Allen Turpin and his wife, Louise Anna Turpin celebrate a renewal of their wedding vows with Elvis impersonator Kent Ripley in Las Vegas in 2011 A Elvis Chapel via AP Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents David Allen Turpin appears in court for his arraignment in Riverside. Prosecutors filed 12 counts of torture, seven counts of dependent adult abuse, six counts of child abuse and 12 counts of false imprisonment against Turpin and his wife, Louise Anna Turpin. The Press-Enterprise via AP Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents Neighbour Liza Tozier, and her son, Avery Sanchez, 6, drop off his large "Teddy" as a gift for the children. AP Turpin family: 13 siblings who were held captive by their parents Louise Turpin appears in court for her arraignment in Riverside. Authorities say the abuse left the children malnourished, undersized and with cognitive impairments. Reuters One of the children, at age 12, is the weight of an average 7-year-old, District Attorney Mike Hestrin, who said the couple would spend the rest of their lives in prison after their court appearance this week, said soon after the abuse was discovered. "The 29-year-old female victim weighs 82 pounds. Prosecutors said that, although the children were found in severely neglected states, the family dogs were well groomed and in healthy condition. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The Turpin family was discovered after one of the children, a 17-year-old, escaped from the home and called police Ive never been out. I dont go out much," the teen told emergency dispatch, according to a recording of the phone call. I cant breathe because of how dirty the house is, the teen is heard saying in the recording. We dont take baths. I dont know if we need to go to the doctor. The children were all said to be receiving therapy and care in the months following their rescue. The adult children were receiving musical care, and one was learning guitar. They said through a representative about a month before their plea deal that they are not bitter for their treatment, and that they are focused on healing. A "Trump Place" sign is to come down from a New York building's facade for the second time in four months, after condominium owners at 120 Riverside Boulevard voted to have the name removed. The building's condominium board announced the decision on Thursday, according to an email to building owners obtained by The Washington Post. The email said that, after a vote of the building's condo owners, the tally was about 55 per cent in favour of removing the large sign over their front door. "Accordingly, arrangements are being made to have the 'Trump Place' signage removed from the building facade," the email said. It was not clear when the sign would actually come down. The decision follows a similar one by condominium owners at 200 Riverside Boulevard, a few blocks north, in October. Both buildings sit on the former site of a rail yard on the Upper West Side that Donald Trump helped develop in the 1990s. The area was named Trump Place in his honour, and six buildings once bore signs with that name. Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Show all 20 1 /20 Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Donald Trump's Cabinet Donald Trump's Cabinet is one the richest in American history, filled with billionaires, conservatives and several career politicians. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mike Pence US Vice President Mike Pence has defended Donald Trump throughout his presidency while walking a fine line to avoid any public involvement in major scandals. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mike Pompeo Secretary of State Mike Pompeo replaced Donald Trump's previous appointment to the post, Rex Tillerson, and has led talks with North Korea in establishing high-profile summits between the president and Kim Jong Un. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Wilbur Ross Secretary of Commerce Wibur Ross raised controversy when he was accused of falsely claiming to have sold stock in a bank and violated a government ethics agreement. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Lighthizer US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has been a fixture in Donald Trump's ongoing trade spat with China. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet William Barr Attorney General William Barr replaced Jeff Sessions as the nation's top cop in early 2019 and has refused to commit to recusing himself from the Russia probe despite an unsolicited memo he sent to the Justice Department decrying the investigation. EPA Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Rick Perry Energy Secretary Rick Perry has held his post throughout Donald Trump's presidency despite previously undermining the need for the agency he now leads in past public statements. Ken Shipp / United States Department of Energy Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Betsy DeVos Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also held her post throughout the presidency, despite major backlash to her apparent undermining of the nationwide public school system and advocacy for charter programmes. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Steven Mnuchin Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has faced numerous controversies throughout his tenure as the head of Treasury, including costing taxpayers at least a million dollars in travel expenses. AP Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Wilkie Veterans Affairs secretary Robert Wilkie was appointed after Donald Trump's White House doctor Ronny Jackson withdrew over allegations he provided prescription drugs to patients without prescriptions. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet David Bernhardt Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt took office in January 2019 after the resignation of Ryan Zinke after previously serving as Zinke's deputy. Before taking office Bernhardt worked for many years as a solicitor for the Department of the Interior. Tami Heilemann / United States Department of the Interior Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Elaine Chao Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has held her post throughout the presidency and has mostly avoided controversy, despite a report claiming her office has been in frequent coordination with her husband's, Mitch McConnell. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Kevin McAleenan Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan took over from Kirstjen Nielsen after she resigned in April 2019. He previously worked as the executive director of the executive director of the Office of Anti Terrorism in the Customs and Border Protection agency United States Customs and Border Protection Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Ben Carson Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson was appointed shortly after Donald Trump took office and raised controversy over an exorbitant furnishing bill for his office. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Gina Haspel CIA Director Gina Haspel was appointed in 2018 and faced backlash surrounding her oversight of Guantanamo Bay. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Dan Coats Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats could be the next person to leave Donald Trump's administration over his refuting the president's claims surrounding ISIS. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Sonny Perdue Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been dogged by ethics questions throughout his tenure and faced controversy when emails showed the agency appeared willing to eagerly work with lobbyists under his leadership. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Alex Azar Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is a former pharmaceutical lobbyist and former drug company executive. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mick Mulvaney Acting Chief of Staff and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has described himself as one of the most conservative officials in the White House. EPA Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Wilkie Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie has spent his career on Capitol Hill serving in various roles in foreign affairs and defence. He holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force Reserve. Gene Russell / United States Department of Veterans Affairs Since election day 2016, the owners of five buildings have decided to remove it a stark demonstration of Mr Trump's unpopularity in the city that gave him his start, and which he still calls home. Equity Residential, an apartment company that owns three nearby buildings, took down Mr Trump's name just after the election. Then the condo owners at 200 Riverside facing legal warnings from the Trump Organisation went to court, and persuaded a state judge to rule that the Trump Organisation could not stop them from removing their own signs. The loss of the Trump name at 120 Riverside will not cost Mr Trump's company any revenue. The company does not manage the building or derive any ongoing licensing revenue from its use of the Trump name. The Trump Organisation did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent on Thursday afternoon. Mr Trump still owns his businesses, although he has shifted day-to-day control to his eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump. Since Mr Trump's election, his political career has alienated some of his old customers in left-leaning big cities and foreign countries. Recommended Trump global warming panel will include climate change denier In that time, the small Trump hotel empire has become smaller: Trump hotels in Panama City, Toronto and New York's SoHo neighbourhood have removed the president's name. The company had planned to expand into dozens of US cities with new lines of lower-cost hotels. But last week, Eric Trump announced he was shelving that plan, saying politically driven criticism and media scrutiny had made it impossible. In Manhattan, Mr Trump's name now adorns 11 condo buildings. The research firm CityRealty found that the price of condos in those buildings measured in dollars per square foot began to decrease in 2016, and continued to drop in 2018. Using that metric, Trump buildings once commanded a premium above other Manhattan buildings, but now the price per square foot that units in Trump buildings sell for is below average. "Trump buildings have not performed as well as the rest of the market over the past 18 months," said Daniel Levy, CityRealty president. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Mr Levy said that it's difficult to determine the exact cause of the price depreciation but that "the data certainly suggests kind of a negative correlation between [the prices] and the presidency since he took office." Now, the last building with a "Trump Place" sign will be the one at 220 Riverside. In 2016, that building's board rejected a name change, citing the potential for litigation and the cost of removing the sign, according to the Los Angeles Times. The board at 220 Riverside did not immediately return a calls for comment on Thursday. Washington Post An activist fighting against plans to build a gas pipeline through a town in Mexico was shot dead three days before a public vote on the project was due to take place. Samir Flores Soberanes, 30, who was also a community radio producer, was gunned down on his doorstep in central Morelos around 5am on Wednesday. The state government said a murder investigation was underway, and that so far there is no indication that the murder is related to an upcoming referendum on the Morelos Comprehensive Project. However the environmental group The Peoples Front in Defence of the Land and Water for the states of Morelos, Puebla and Tlaxcala (FPDTA), to which Mr Flores belonged, suspects the two events are connected. Local communities have spent years fighting against the project which could see two thermoelectric plants, a gas pipeline to supply the plant with natural gas from Tlaxcala state, and an aqueduct built. Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures Federal workers and contractors rally against the partial federal government shutdown Getty Images Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures The US Capitol on the first morning of a partial government shutdown in Washington EPA Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures Federal workers and contractors rally against the partial federal government shutdown Getty Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures President Trump speaks with children who called the North American Aerospace Defense Command Santa tracker in the State Dining Room of the White House. He earlier in the day, tweeted that he was 'all alone in the White House' waiting for Democrats to make a deal on border security EPA Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures Furloughed federal workers pick up free food at a pop-up store of Kraft Heinz Getty Images Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures Hundreds of federal workers and contractors rally against the partial federal government shutdown Getty Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures Reuters Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures From left, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Dick Durbin and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi walk to speak to reporters after meeting with President Donald Trump about border security in the Situation Room of the White House. Trump declared he could keep parts of the government shut down for "months or even years" as he and Democratic leaders failed in a second closed-door meeting to resolve his demand for billions of dollars for a border wall with Mexico Evan Vucci AP Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures Federal workers and contractors rally against the partial federal government shutdown Getty Images Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures A sign alerts visitors to the closure of the National Archives on the fifth day of a partial government shutdown EPA Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures Hundreds of federal workers and contractors rally against the partial federal government shutdown Getty Images Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures Visitors read signs announcing the closure of the White House Visitor Center EPA Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures President Donald Trump speaks during a round-table discussion on border security and safe communities with State, local, and community leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House Getty Images Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures A sign alerts visitors to the closure of the White House Visitor Center on the first day of a partial government shutdown EPA Trump shuts down US government over Mexico border wall in pictures Furloughed federal workers show their IDs for entering a pop-up store of Kraft Heinz Getty Images The mostly indigenous communities around the Popocatepetl volcano, including Mr Flores town of Amilcingo, fear it will affect their health, safety and water supply. Mexicos national electric company is behind the project, which has been under consideration since at least 2011. FPDTA said that a day before his death, Mr Flores had attended a public forum about the project and challenged government representatives statements. The group said Mr Flores had been threatened a number of times since 2012. The activist group also claimed that on the day of his murder, two vehicles parked outside Mr Flores' home and the people inside called to the activist before shooting him on his doorstep when he came out. The funeral procession of Samir Flores Soberanes, a Mexican activist gunned down outside his home on 20 February 2019 (REUTERS) Following his death earlier this week, the organisation also said it had warned Mexico president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in a letter that pushing ahead with the referendum on the project could lead to violence in the area. Mr Lopez Obrador condemned Mr Flores murder as vile and cowardly but said the public vote would go ahead as planned. Im very sorry about the murder, he said. The consultation we have to continue because it is a process that was already agreed to. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The government confirmed Mr Flores was shot in the doorway to his home and later died at a nearby hospital. Officials say a murder investigation is underway and that they knew of a high number of criminal groups operating in the area. Mr Lopez Obrador has used referendums to let the public decide on other large projects in the past. One conducted before he took office resulted in the cancellation of Mexico Citys new international airport. Another gave a green light to the presidents preferred project, a Maya train that would connect the resorts of Cancun and Tulum with ruins in Palenque and other spots on the Yucatan Peninsula. Additional reporting by AP A man who allegedly ploughed his car into a pregnant mother and her family after her husband asked him to stop smoking, has been charged with murder, police said. Melissa DeLoatch was standing with her six children outside a shop in Garnerville, New York, when she was struck by Jason Mendez. Mendez, had been smoking near them, when her husband Sean DeLoatch asked him to move away. After the pair got into an argument, Mendez got into his car and drove into the family, before reversing 20 feet and ploughing into them for a second time, police said. Ms DeLoatch, 32, whose family said was pregnant, was killed. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty She put herself between the car and some of her children as she pushed the others out of the way, her brother said. Her husband and their six children, who ranged in age from 10 months to 10 years old, were injured but are all expected to survive, police said. Im feeling angry, hurt, upset, every emotion there is, her brother James Christopher said. Shes a hero, she protected the kids. Mendez, 35, has been charged with murder, attempted murder, menacing, criminal possession of a weapon and resisting arrest, police said. He pleaded not guilty. Recommended Three infants among five people stabbed at New York day care centre It was a senseless, tragic incident, said Captain Martin Lund of the Haverstraw Police Department. The argument between Mendez and Sean DeLoatch, 35, began with a fight over cigarette smoke, the police said. It was possibly the catalyst that set it off, Capt Lund said. After the white 2003 Infiniti with Texas license plates ploughed into the family, it crashed into the convenience store, shattering the window, police said. Mendez was still in his car when police arrived. When officers attempted to arrest him, police said, he threatened them with a razor blade. An officer used a Taser on Mendez after repeatedly ordering him to drop the razor blade, according to court documents. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events After the attack, the DeLoatch family was taken to a hospital in Nyack, where Melissa DeLoatch died. Three of the children have been moved to a larger hospital, Westchester Medical Centre, because of their injuries, which are serious but not life-threatening, police said. . Even before the attack, it had not been an easy year for the family. Melissa DeLoatch wrote on Facebook in August that she and her children had been living in a family shelter and had just raised enough money for a security deposit on a new apartment. Mr Christopher said things had recently gotten better for the family. She was a sister, a wife, a mother, he said. She was a loyal, great, all-around person. She would give to anyone. Melissa DeLoatchs cousin, Adrienne Rodriguez, writing on a GoFundMe page, said she had died heroically trying to save her family. Melissa did what any mother would have done and tried to protect her children, Ms Rodriguez wrote. Melissa was full of love, smiles, life and so much more. All of us are going to miss you. The New York Times The US secretary of state has indicated America will refuse to share information with the UK if it decides to use Huawei technology in sensitive areas of infrastructure. Mike Pompeo has said the US, which is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing group alongside Britain, would not be able to pool its findings with countries that decide to use Huawei equipment for fear it would not be secure. It comes after the US accused the company, which is the biggest supplier of mobile network technology in the world, of working for the Chinese government and developing the ability to spy on people. According to Reuters, Mr Pompeo told Fox Business Network on Thursday: If a country adopts this and puts it in some of their critical information systems, we wont be able to share information with them, we wont be able to work alongside them. Were not going to put American information at risk. Samsung claims breakthrough in 5G mobile broadband: Download films in a second with 100 times faster smartphones Show all 2 1 /2 Samsung claims breakthrough in 5G mobile broadband: Download films in a second with 100 times faster smartphones Samsung claims breakthrough in 5G mobile broadband: Download films in a second with 100 times faster smartphones samsung.jpg Getty Images Samsung claims breakthrough in 5G mobile broadband: Download films in a second with 100 times faster smartphones samsung-reu.jpg Reuters Huawei is a leading supplier of the equipment that underpins the fifth generation of mobile networks which will soon be rolled out across the world. 5G is 100 times faster than 4G and will enable billions more devices from cars, to gadgets, to traffic lights to connect and share data. In August, US president Donald Trump banned government officials from using Huawei devices and those made by ZTE, another Chinese company. Tensions have escalated between the two countries since the arrest of Huawei finance chief Meng Wanzhou in Canada on 1 December at the request of the US government. (Fox News (Fox News) The US is pursuing criminal charges against Huawei and Ms Meng, daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei, including money laundering, bank fraud and stealing trade secrets. Both Huawei and Ms Meng deny any wrongdoing. Huawei last year surpassed Apple to become the worlds second-largest smartphone manufacturer behind Samsung. Critics of the US claim that its motive in attacking Huawei is not because it is a genuine security threat but because it is a rival in a crucial sector of the world economy in which America has enjoyed unrivalled supremacy for decades. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British defence and security think tank, said in a report that it would be at best naive, at worst irresponsible to allow Huawei to provide 5G services in the UK. However cybersecurity bosses recently concluded any risk posed by the Chinese technology to the UKs telecoms infrastructure could be contained. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said on Monday that it could mitigate any potential spying risks. Australia and New Zealand have already blocked or banned Huawei from involvement in their 5G networks, and Canada is reviewing the potential threat posed by the companys products. Huaweis president Ryan Ding has denied the firm has any links to Chinese spying operations. In a letter to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee this month, he insisted the firm was not involved with such practices. The Independent has contacted Huawei for comment. A 7.5-magnitude earthquake has struck Ecuador, near the countrys border with Peru The epicentre of the quake was in a sparsely populated area 139 miles (224km) southeast of the city of Ambato. It originated struck at a depth of 82 miles (132km) at at 5.17am local time (10.17am UK time) on Friday. The ground was felt to shake for a good 30 seconds in Cuenca, a city 157 miles (253km) from the epicentre of the quake, according to a witness report on the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre website. Another, from the town of Nulti, 141 miles (228kmn) west of the epicentre, said: Strong rattling of our windows woke us up. Continued for quite some time. Outside, trees and power lines were swaying. Our dog was scared. The quake was also felt in the Ecuadorean capital, Quito, and the coastal city of Guayaquil. There was no risk of a tsunami being triggered, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said, and there were no initial reports of casualties or damage. 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 Perus official geophysics institute said it registered two aftershocks of 6.1 and 6.6 magnitude in the 30 minutes that followed the first quake. Ecuadors president Lenin Moreno the earthquakes were felt all over the country but that early reports dont show major damage. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake which shook a central area of the Ecuadorean coast on April 2016 killed more than 700 people, destroyed hundreds of houses and caused losses worth more than 2.2bn. Tourists visiting Botswana could be allowed to shoot elephants under government plans looking at lifting a five-year-old ban on big-game hunting. Ministers in the country home to a third of all Africas elephants say regular but limited culling should also be made legal again in a bid to curb what they call a growing conflict between humans and wildlife. Lawmakers claim the 130,000 elephants there have caused increasing problems for small-scale farmers and rural villages as their numbers have grown following 2014s hunting ban. They say thousands of the animals have started to range into areas traditionally free from them. We recommend a legal framework that will enable the growth of a safari hunting industry and manage the countrys elephant population within the historic range, said government minister Frans Van Der Westhuizen, who has chaired a cabinet committee looking into the issue. But opponents say the countrys tourism one of its biggest economic sectors has grown as a result of the ban and that reversing the legislation would damage democratic Botswanas international reputation for conservation. Wildlife photographer of the year Show all 26 1 /26 Wildlife photographer of the year Wildlife photographer of the year A polar bear's struggle - Highly Commended Justins whole body pained as he watched this starving polar bear at an abandoned hunter's camp, in the Canadian Arctic, slowly heave itself up to standing. With little, and thinning, ice to move around on, the bear is unable to search for food. Justin Hofman / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Curious Encounter - Shortlisted Cristobal Serrano, Spain. Any close encounter with an animal in the vast wilderness of Antarctica happens by chance, so Cristobal was thrilled by this spontaneous meeting with a crabeater seal off of Cuverville Island, Antarctic Peninsula. These curious creatures are protected and, with few predators, thrive. Cristobal Serrano / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Bond of brothers - Winner David Lloyd, New Zealand / UK. These two adult males, probably brothers, greeted and rubbed faces for 30 seconds before settling down. Most people never have the opportunity to witness such animal sentience, and David was honoured to have experienced and captured such a moment.The picture was taken in Ndutu, Serengeti, Tanzania. David Lloyd / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Fox meets fox - Highly Commended Matthew Maran, UK. Matthew has been photographing foxes close to his home in north London for over a year and ever since spotting this street art had dreamt of capturing this image. After countless hours and many failed attempts his persistence paid off. Matthew Maran / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Three Kings - Highly Commended Wim Van Den Heever, South Africa. Wim came across these king penguins on a beach in the Falkland Islands just as the sun was rising. They were caught up in a fascinating mating behaviour the two males were constantly moving around the female using their flippers to fend the other off. Wim Van Den Heever / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year One toy, three dogs - Highly Commended Bence Mate, Hungary. While adult African wild dogs are merciless killers, their pups are extremely cute and play all day long. Bence photographed these brothers in Mkuze, South Africa they all wanted to play with the leg of an impala and were trying to drag it in three different directions! Bence Mate / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Clam Close-up - Shortlisted David Barrio, Spain. This macro-shot of an iridescent clam was taken in the Southern Red Sea, Marsa Alam, Egypt. These clams spend their lives embedded amongst stony corals, where they nest and grow. It took David some time to approach the clam, fearing it would sense his movements and snap shut! David Barrio / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year The Orphaned Beaver - Shortlisted Suzi Eszterhas, United States. A one-month-old orphaned North American beaver kit is held by a caretaker at the Sarvey Wildlife Care Center in Arlington, Washington. Luckily it was paired with a female beaver who took on the role of mother and they were later released into the wild. Suzi Eszterhas / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Ice and Water - Shortlisted Audun Lie Dahl, Norway. The Brasvellbreen glacier moves southwards from one of the ice caps covering the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway. Where it meets the sea, the glacier wall is so high that only the waterfalls are visible, so Audun used a drone to capture this unique perspective Audun Lie Dahl / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Teenager - Shortlisted Franco Banfi, Switzerland. Franco was free diving off Dominica in the Caribbean Sea when he witnessed this young male sperm whale trying to copulate with a female. Unfortunately for him her calf was always in the way and the frisky male had to continually chase off the troublesome calf. Franco Banfi / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Resting Mountain Gorilla - Shortlisted David Lloyd. The baby gorilla clung to its mother whilst keeping a curious eye on David. He had been trekking in South Bwindi, Uganda, whenhe came across the whole family. Following them, they then stopped in a small clearing to relax and groom each other. David Lloyd / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Painted Waterfall - Shorltisted Eduardo Blanco Mendizabal, Spain. When the sun beams through a hole in the rock at the foot of the La Foradada waterfall, Catalonia, Spain, it creates a beautiful pool of light. The rays appear to paint the spray of the waterfall and create a truly magical picture. Eduardo Blanco Mendizabal / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year The Extraction - Shortlisted Konstantin Shatenev, Russia. Every winter, hundreds of Steller's sea eagles migrate from Russia, to the relatively ice-free northeastern coast of Hokkaido, Japan. They hunt for fish among the ices floes and also scavenge, following the fishing boats to feed on any discards. Konstantin took his image from a boat as the eagles retrieved a dead fish thrown onto the ice. Konstantin Shatenev / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Shy - Shortlisted Pedro Carrillo, Spain. The mesmerizing pattern of a beaded sand anemone beautifully frames a juvenile Clarkii clownfish in Lembehstrait, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Known as a 'nursery' anemone, it is often a temporary home for young clownfish until they find a more suitable host anemone for adulthood. Pedro Carrillo / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Red, Silver and Black - Shortlisted TinMan Lee, USA. Tin was fortunate enough to be told about a fox den in Washington State, North America, which was home to a family of red, black and silver foxes. After days of waiting for good weather he was finally rewarded with this touching moment. Tin Man Lee / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Isolated - Shortlisted Anna Henly, UK. Snapped from a helicopter, this isolated tree stands in a cultivated field on the edge of a tropical forest on Kauai, Hawaii. The manmade straight lines of the ploughed furrows are interrupted beautifully by natures more unruly wild pattern of tree branches. Anna Henly / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Sound Asleep - Shortlisted Tony Wu, USA. This adult humpback whale balanced in mid-water, headon and sound asleep was photographed in Vavau, Kingdom of Tonga. The faint stream of bubbles, visible at the top, is coming from the whales two blowholes and was, in this instance, indicative of an extremely relaxed state. Tony Wu / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year All That Remains - Shortlisted Phil Jones, UK. A male orca had beached itself about a week before Phils visit to Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands. Despite its huge size the shifting sands had almost covered the whole carcass and scavengers, such as this striated caracara, had started to move in. Phil Jones / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Ambush - Shortlisted Federico Veronesi, Kenya. On a hot morning at the Chitake Springs, in Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe, Federico watched as an old lioness descended from the top of the riverbank. Shed been lying in wait to ambush any passing animals visiting a nearby waterhole further along the riverbed. Federico Veronesi / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Gliding - Shortlisted Christian Vizl, Mexico. With conditions of perfect visibility and beautiful sunlight, Christian took this portrait of a nurse shark gliding through the ocean off the coast of Bimini in the Bahamas. Typically these sharks are found near sandy bottoms where they rest, so its rare to see them swimming. Christian Vizl / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Otherworldly - Shortlisted A school of Munk's devil ray were feeding on plankton at night off the coast of Isla Espiritu Santo in Baja California, Mexico. Franco used the underwater lights from his boat and a long exposure to create this otherworldly image. Franco Banfi / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year The Bats Wake - Shortlisted Antonio Leiva Sanchez, Spain. After several months of field research into a little colony of greater mouse-eared bats in Sucs, Lleida, Spain, Antonio managed to capture this bat mid-flight. He used a technique of high speed photography with flashes combined with continuous light to create the wake. Antonio Leiva Sanchez / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Under the Snow - Shortlisted Audren Morel, France. Unafraid of the snowy blizzard, this squirrel came to visit Audren as he was taking photographs of birds in the small Jura village of Les Fourgs, France. Impressed by the squirrels endurance, he made it the subject of the shoot. Audren Morel / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Unique Bill - Shortlisted Rob Blanken, The Netherlands. The pied avocet has a unique and delicate bill, which it sweeps like a scythe, as it sifts for food in shallow brackish water. This stunning portrait was taken from a hide in the northern province of Friesland in The Netherlands. Rob Blanken / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year Family Portrait - Shortlisted Connor Stefanison, Canada. A great grey owl and her chicks sit in their nest in the broken top of a Douglas fir tree in Kamloops, Canada. They looked towards Connor only twice as he watched them during the nesting season from a tree hide 50 feet (15 metres) up. Connor Stefanison / Natural History Museum Wildlife photographer of the year A dog jumps to catch a disc during a dog frisbee competition in Poznan via REUTERS The committees report which also suggests the closure of some wildlife migratory routes was handed in to president Mokgweetsi Masisi on Thursday. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events He said: I can promise you and the nation that we will consider it. A white paper will follow and it will be shared with the public. If needs be, we will give an opportunity to parliament to also interrogate it, and also allow them the space to intervene before we make a final determination. Labour MP Ian Austin has become the latest MP to quit the broken party in protest over its handling of antisemitism. The Dudley North MP is the ninth politician to resign from Labour over the direction of the party in recent days, but said he has no plans to join the newly formed Independent Group. Mr Austin, who is the adopted child of Jewish refugees, has frequently attacked Jeremy Corbyn over antisemitism, and was embroiled in a heated row with Labour chair Ian Lavery last year over the partys code of conduct on anti-Jewish hate. The Labour Party has been my life, so this has been the hardest decision I have ever had to take, but I have to be honest and the truth is that I have become ashamed of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn, he told his local newspaper, the Express & Star. He added: I am appalled at the offence and distress Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party have caused to Jewish people. Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Show all 12 1 /12 Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Change UK Details on the individual MPs are in the following photos Reuters Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Heidi Allen Anti-Brexit MP for South Cambridgeshire resigned from the Conservative party on February 20 PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Chuka Umunna MP for Streatham since 2010 and prominent People's Vote supporter PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Anna Soubry The prominent anti-Brexit MP for Broxtowe resigned from the Conservative party on February 20 PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Luciana Berger MP for Liverpool Wavertree since 2010, resigned from the Labour Party over bullying and anti-semitism PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Sarah Wollaston Anti-Brexit MP for Totnes resigned from the Conservative party on February 20 PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Joan Ryan MP for Enfield North resigned from the Labour party on February 19 citing its tolerance of a "culture of anti-Jewish racism" PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Ann Coffey MP for Stockport since 1992 Chris McAndrew / UK Parliament Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Gavin Shuker MP for Luton South since 2010 Getty Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Chris Leslie MP for Nottingham East since 2010 PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Mike Gapes MP for Ilford South since 1992 PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Angela Smith MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge since 2010 It is terrible that a culture of extremism, antisemitism and intolerance is driving out good MPs and decent people who have committed their life to mainstream politics. The hard truth is that the party is tougher on the people complaining about antisemitism than it is on the antisemites. Mr Austin, who has been an MP since 2005, said he believed Labour had completely changed under Mr Corbyns leadership. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The hard left is now in charge of the party, theyre going to get rid of lots of decent mainstream MPs and I just cant see how it can return to the mainstream party that won elections and changed the country for the better, he said. The 53-year-old said he had not spoken to the Independent Group, which consists of eight Labour MPs and former Tories Anna Soubry, Sarah Wollaston and Heidi Allen. I think the Labour Party is broken and clearly things have to change, but thats not what today is about, and Ive not talked to them about that, he said. Deputy leader Tom Watson expressed his sadness at Mr Austins departure. He said: I did not want him to go, not just because he is a friend, but because Labour needs people of his experience, calibre and passion if we are to win. There is no point in denying that his departure is a serious blow to my party. His resignation ends a week of turmoil in British politics that we all must reflect on. Both Labour and the Tories have been braced for fresh defections after a turbulent week, with Mr Austin among those tipped as likely to jump ship. However, the Independent Groups anti-Brexit stance is at odds with Mr Austins views. He was one of three Labour MPs to vote for Theresa Mays Brexit deal during the meaningful vote in January. Mr Corbyn has called on the Labour quitters to do the decent and democratic thing and submit to by-elections in their constituencies. A Labour Party spokesperson said: We regret that Ian Austin has left the Labour Party. He was elected as a Labour MP and so the democratic thing is to resign his seat and let the people of Dudley decide who should represent them. Ex-Labour minister Chuka Umunna is the "obvious" person to lead the newly formed breakaway group of MPs, according to two Conservative defectors. Heidi Allen and Anna Soubry both indicated they would back the Streatham MP to head up the Independent Group, a political collective made up of 11 disenchanted Labour and Conservative MPs. Mr Umunna was among seven Labour politicians who dramatically resigned from their party on Monday in protest at Jeremy Corbyn's leadership on both Brexit and antisemitism. Their numbers swelled to 11 when they were joined by Joan Ryan, another ex-Labour MP, and three Conservatives - Ms Soubry, Ms Allen and Sarah Wollaston, the respected health committee chairman. South Cambridgeshire MP Ms Allen told The Telegraph it was obvious for all to see that Mr Umunna was the clear candidate and he was most capable of getting the best out of that group. In a separate interview, she said he had brought them together and indicated that other "incredibly sympathetic" colleagues may soon be joining the new group. She told Good Morning Britain: "My view right now is that Chuka has brought us together. "But like any leader in business, politics, it needs to be the best person to get the best out of that team. "And given that we're still going to have other colleagues come and join us I don't think we can say who that leader's going to be until we know the range of people that are going to be in our group." Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events During an LBC phone-in, Ms Soubry, the outspoken MP for Broxstowe, read out an endorsement from a listener which said Chuka for PM, to which she responded: Oh, theres a good idea. Mr Umunna said the group were not a political party "at this stage" when questioned on their policies. He said: "I think for all of us we were deeply, deeply unhappy in the parties that we were at. Just walking off the field would have been a cop out. "We thought actually as members of parliament we've got mandate, we're in a position to provide people with an alternative, whether that's a party or a movement, we're clear that we want to provide people with an alternative." Both Labour and the Conservatives are braced for fresh defections in the coming days, amid warnings both sides could see resignations over Brexit. Dudley North MP Ian Austin resigned from Labour on Friday morning in protest over antisemitism, but said he had no plans to join the Independent Group. Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament Show all 20 1 /20 Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament Brexit supporters outside parliament PA Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament An anti-Brexit protester adjusts her pro-EU wig AFP/Getty Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament A message to Jeremy Corbyn in support of a peoples vote Getty Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament A mock Titanic captained by Theresa May heads towards an iceberg in a stunt by campaigning group Avaaz AP Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament Anti-Brexit protesters outside parliament PA Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament Protesters of opposing sides are in close contact outside of parliament PA Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament Paintings of Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn Getty Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage speaks to the media at the protests outside parliament Reuters Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament A pro-Brexit protester in Parliament Square Getty Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament Opposing protesters share the space outside parliament Getty Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament An anti-Brexit protester holds EU balloons outside parliament Reuters Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament Anti-Brexit protesters stand on Westminster Bridge PA Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage speaks to the media at the protests outside parliament Reuters Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament Anti-Brexit protesters demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament EPA Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament A pro-Brexit protester sets up outside parliament Reuters Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament An Avaaz campaigner holds a Peoples Vote life float Reuters Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament A demonstrator holds a sign advocating a no-deal Brexit outside parliament AFP/Getty Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament An anti-Brexit protester waves an EU flag on Westminster Bridge PA Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament Protesters of opposing sides demonstrate outside parliament AFP/Getty Brexit deal vote: Opposing groups of protesters gather by parliament Protesters of opposing sides stand near parliament Reuters Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said his party would not field candidates against any Independent Group MPs who trigger by-elections in their constituencies. He told i: "It wouldn't make a great deal of sense to be at each other's throats when we have the Tory Party increasingly under the control of the militant far right and the Labour Party under the control of the Corbynites." Close Countdown to Brexit: How many days left until Britain leaves the EU? John McDonnell has insisted that Labour is moving towards supporting a second referendum as the party seeks to stem the flow of defections over Brexit. The shadow chancellor spoke out at the end of a dramatic week when 8 Labour MPs and 3 Tories broke away to form the Independent Group, in protest at the leadership of both parties. Dudley North MP Ian Austin became the ninth MP to quit Labour on Friday over its handling of antisemitism allegations - but he said he had no plans to join the breakaway group. Meanwhile, Theresa May has been warned she faces a major Tory rebellion unless she takes a no-deal Brexit off the table ahead of another set of key votes on the UKs withdrawal from the European Union. See below for live updates Please allow a moment for the live stream to load A personal trainer who set up a fitness class for Muslim women has been bombarded with racist abuse and death threats from Tommy Robinson supporters after the far-right activist attacked her on his Instagram page. Bianca Jade, a 30-year-old personal trainer from Nottingham, said she had been inundated with vitriolic abuse since Robinson shared the flyer for her fitness classes for women on Monday. Ms Jade, who is a fitness instructor at Pure Gym, said she has been getting around 250 calls a day and people had even been trying to FaceTime her. She said: Its one after the other. Its not even just the calls. Im getting text messages. Im getting people messaging me on Facebook and Instagram and on WhatsApp. People have been FaceTiming me but not showing their face. They want to see what I look like. I answer but I dont show my face. Posters for the classes have been up for the past three weeks (Bianca Jade) She said she had been branded a P***, b***h and a slew of other slurs with other callers using the N-word when she told them she was not a Muslim herself. I put the poster up for the classes three weeks ago, she said. The next day my car tyres got slashed when I was outside leafleting for them. I went back to my car a few times so they could have seen me. It has made me feel paranoid and worried. When I leave work, there could be anyone there. If they are carrying a weapon to slash my tyres what are they capable of? She said a man had called last night to tell her to watch her back and the high volume of abusive phone calls were making it difficult for her to talk to her own customers. Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Show all 16 1 /16 Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey A Tommy Robinson supporter in London after former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson left the Old Bailey where his contempt of court case was adjourned PA Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey A Tommy Robinson supporter outside the Old Bailey in London where the former English Defence League (EDL) leader is accused of contempt of court PA Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Tommy Robinson supporters outside the Old Bailey in London before former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson arrives accused of contempt of court PA Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Supporters of far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson demonstrate outside the Old Bailey Getty Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Supporters of far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson demonstrate outside the Old Bailey Getty Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Supporters of former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson protest at the Old Bailey Courthouse EPA Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Supporters of former English Defence League leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, or 'Tommy Robinson', who was jailed for contempt of court in May and later released, wait for him to arrive at the Old Bailey to attend a court hearing Reuters Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Supporters of far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson demonstrate outside the Old Bailey Getty Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Tommy Robinson arrives for his hearing at the Old Bailey Reuters Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Supporters of far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson demonstrate outside the Old Bailey Getty Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Supporters of far-right spokeseman Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, AKA Tommy Robinson, the former leader of the right-wing EDL (English Defence League) wave flags as they demonstrate outsise The Old Bailey AFP/Getty Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Supporters of far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson demonstrate outside the Old Bailey EPA Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey EPA Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey Robinson gestures to supporters from inside the Old Bailey AFP/Getty Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey AFP/Getty Tommy Robinson supporters protest outside the Old Bailey EPA They have been calling me racist names and saying that I should go back to my country. Im British. I was born here. Im not Muslim. Ive had death threats. Ms Jade added. The fitness instructor, who has been working at the gym for three years, said she decided to set up the classes because she noticed Muslim women were feeling uncomfortable doing certain exercises in front of men in the gym. Sometimes I feel self-conscious working out as you can have a lot of guys staring. I understand from a female view how it would feel, but on top of that, if you are Muslim it can be more difficult, she added. Recommended Tommy Robinson boasts about scoring drugs in newly emerged video Im doing these classes so women can take off their hijab and feel comfortable while working out. But people are seeing all the stuff going on the media about the Muslim girl Shamima Begum and they are stereotyping Muslim people. They are very ignorant. Ms Jade, who said the classes had always been open to any women who wished to attend, blamed Robinson for the abuse she had received, noting that the calls only started coming through after he shared the flyer. She said she had reported the abuse to the police and they had been really supportive about her case. This comes after a rape charity was bombarded with racist abuse from supporters of Robinson, founder of the English Defence League, earlier in the week after a photo of its flyer offering support to victims from ethnic minorities was posted on social media. A photo of a Rape Crisis pamphlet aimed at black, Asian and minority ethnic women was posted on Robinsons Facebook page with the caption: I guess its ok to rape white women then? Recommended Tommy Robinson Australia tour postponed because visa not granted The Wycombe, Chiltern and South Bucks Rape Crisis centre received hundreds of abusive phone calls and messages after the post appeared on the far-right activists Facebook page, the charity said. The organisation was forced to call the police after it received overtly racist communications. Katie Russell, spokesperson for Rape Crisis England and Wales, said the service provision for all victims and survivors of sexual violence was significantly disrupted. Robinson, an anti-Islam activist whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is Ukips official adviser on grooming gangs. His extensive criminal record includes convictions for violence, drug possession, public order offences, mortgage fraud and entering the US under a false passport. Asked to respond to the allegations, Robinson told The Independent: You are fake news. Representatives for Pure Gym have been contacted for comment. Shamima Begums family have said they were shocked and appalled at the vile comments the Isis bride has made since re-emerging into the public eye but pleaded for Sajid Javids help to bring her infant son to Britain. The teenagers sister, Renu, wrote to the home secretary on Thursday to say the family planned to challenge his decision to strip Ms Begum of her British citizenship and that her potential return was a matter for our British courts to decide. Family members said they had lost the now-19-year-old to a murderous and misogynistic cult that had exploited her and fundamentally damaged her, leading to the sickening comments she has made in recent interviews, including the suggestion that the Manchester Arena bombing was justified. Renu Begums letter said: As a family man yourself, we hope you will understand that we, as her family cannot simply abandon her. We have a duty to her, and a duty to hope that as she was groomed into what she has become, she can equally be helped back into the sister I knew, and daughter my parents bore. Timeline of the Isis caliphate Show all 19 1 /19 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Timeline of the Isis caliphate ISIS began as a group by the merging of extremist organisations ISI and al-Nusra in 2013. Following clashes, Syrian rebels captured the ISIS headquarters in Aleppo in January 2014 (pictured) AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate in Mosul on 27 June 2014 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis conquered the Kurdish towns of Sinjar and Zumar in August 2014, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Pictured are a group of Yazidi Kurds who have fled Rex Timeline of the Isis caliphate On September 2 2014 Isis released a video depicting the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff. On September 13 they released another video showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines Timeline of the Isis caliphate The US launched its first airstrikes against Isis in Syria on 23 September 2014. Here Lt Gen William C Mayville Jnr speaks about the bombing campaign in the wake of the first strikes Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis militants sit atop a hill planted with their flag in the Syrian town of Kobani on 6 October 2014. They had been advancing on Kobani since mid-September and by now was in control of the citys entrance and exit points AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Residents of the border village of Alizar keep guard day and night as they wait in fear of mortar fire from Isis who have occupied the nearby city of Kobani Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Smoke rises following a US airstrike on Kobani, 28 October 2014 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate YPG fighters raise a flag as they reclaim Kobani on 26 January 2015 VOA Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on 20 May 2015. This image show the city from above days after its capture by Isis Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces are stationed on a hill above the town of Sinjar as smoke rises following US airstrikes on 12 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces enter Sinjar after seizing it from Isis control on 13 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi government forces make the victory sign as they retake the city of Fallujah from ISIS on 26 June 2016 Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi forces battle with Isis for the city of Mosul on 30 June 2017 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of the Iraqi federal police raise flags in Mosul on 8 July 2017. On the following day, Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi declares victory over Isis in Mosul Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim Square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria in January 2019 They were among the last civilians to be living in the ISIS caliphate, by this time reduced to just two small villages in Syrias Deir ez-Zor Richard Hall/The Independent Timeline of the Isis caliphate Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate, on Saturday 26 January 2019 Richard Hall/The Independent It added: We were pleased to learn from your comments in the Commons that you recognise my nephew, Shamimas son, as a British citizen. As a family, we ask now how we can assist you in bringing my nephew home to us. In all of this debacle, he is the one true innocent and should not lose the privilege of being raised in the safety of this country. It came after Jeremy Corbyn said Ms Begum should be repatriated to the UK, four years after she left aged 15 to join Isis. The Labour leader criticised Mr Javids decision to strip her citizenship as very extreme, adding: She obviously has, in my view, a right to return to Britain. On that return she must obviously face a lot of questions about everything she has done and at that point any action may or may not be taken. The Begum familys lawyer, Tasnime Akunjee, has also called on Mr Javid to explain what steps could be taken to bring Ms Begums son to Britain. The home secretary has been accused of making Ms Begum stateless after Bangladesh, where her parents were born, said there was no question of her being allowed to enter the country. Shahriar Alam, Bangladeshs foreign minister, said its government was deeply concerned that [Ms Begum] has been erroneously identified as a holder of dual citizenship. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Ms Begum is one of 150 people stripped of their UK citizenship for the public good since 2010. Additional reporting by PA Rural churches are no longer obliged to hold Sunday services after the Church of England (CofE) voted to change canon law. Previously, all parish churches had to host a weekly service on the Sabbath, under strictures dating to 1603 that were written into modern canon law in the 1960s. But decades of falling church attendance and dwindling religious observance have left some priests looking after up to 20 rural churches making it impossible to hold a Sunday service in every one. Such groupings are known as multi-parish benefices. The CofEs general synod approved the change by a vote of 20 bishops to zero, 92 clergy to zero and 118 laity in favour, two against and one abstention. African churches boom in Londons backstreets Show all 20 1 /20 African churches boom in Londons backstreets African churches boom in Londons backstreets Worshippers sing as they offer thanksgiving during Sunday service at the New Jerusalem Parish, a celestial Christian church. It is based in a former warehouse in the New Cross area of south London, just off the Old Kent Road. The service, which lasts for several hours, is attended by worshippers mainly of Nigerian descent who travel from all over London Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets The Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim & Seraphim was founded by Moses Orimolade Tunolase in 1925 in Nigeria, and is attended by worshippers of Nigerian descent who come from all over the UK for services Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets Worshippers pray during a Good Friday church service at the Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim & Seraphim Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets Members of the Apostles Of Muchinjikwa Christian church pray at Basildon Sporting Village prior to a mass baptism (Jorodhani) Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets People walk near the seafront as members of the Apostles of Muchinjikwa worship before a mass baptism on the beachfront on Southend-on-Sea Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets Young members of the Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim & Seraphim take a break as they prepare to parade through the street to celebrate their annual Thanksgiving Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets Senior members of the Apostles Of Muchinjikwa Christian church baptise members on the beachfront on Southend-on-Sea Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets Members of the Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim & Seraphim parade through the street to celebrate their annual Thanksgiving in Elephant and Castle Pictures by Simon Dawson/Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets Members of the youth church perform in a knife crime play during a Good Friday performance at the House of Praise church in London Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets Members of the Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim & Seraphim parade through the street to celebrate their annual Thanksgiving in Elephant and Castle Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets Worshippers dance during Super Sunday service at the House of Praise church. The church, formerly a theatre and bingo hall, is one of the biggest in south London. The services, mainly attended by those of Nigerian descent, are recorded using television cameras and can hold several thousand worshippers Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets Senior members of the Apostles Of Muchinjikwa Christian church leave the sea after leading a mass baptism, or Jorodhani Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets Worshippers bless a vehicle to keep it safe after a member of the congregation had a revelation during Sunday service at the Celestial Church of Christ Grace of God Parish in Southwark, southeast London Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets Members of the Apostles Of Muchinjikwa Christian church pray outside the Basildon Sporting Village Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets Worshippers take photos after Super Sunday service at the House of Praise church in Camberwell, southeast London Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets Worshippers greet each other following a night-time Christmas Eve service at the Celestial Church of Christ in Elephant and Castle, southeast London Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets A pedestrian walks past the Holy Ghost Zone church on the Old Kent Road in London Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets A woman prays after being baptised by senior members of the Apostles Of Muchinjikwa Christian church during a mass baptism (Jorodhani) on the beachfront on Southend-on-Sea Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets A worshipper kneels on the floor as she prays during a Sunday service at the House of Praise church in Camberwell Reuters African churches boom in Londons backstreets Senior members of the Apostles Of Muchinjikwa Christian church baptise members in Southend-on-Sea Reuters The proposal was first made by the Bishop of Willesden, the Rt Rev Pete Broadbent in 2016, the head of a task force charged with simplifying the way the church functions, which was formed in 2014. The task force aims to bring forward proposals for simplifying the process of the Church of England. According to figures published in 2016, 71 per cent of parishes contained multiple churches in 2011, compared with 17 per cent in 1960. Following the vote, Rev Broadbent said: Youre meant to get a dispensation from the bishop, this just changes the rules to make it easier for people to do what theyre already doing. It stops the bureaucracy. Under canonical requirements, every priest was required to hold a morning and evening prayer and a communion service, every Sunday in every church they looked after. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Rev Broadbent said: That doesnt happen. This is tidying up what does happen. This was just one [amendment] where we said, out of date, doesnt work, were operating differently in the countryside now therefore lets find a way of making it work. When asked if the decision would affect elderly churchgoers in rural locations, who may have to travel further to attend a service, Rev Broadbent said: No, because at the moment this is already regularised and its already happening. If youve got 20 churches, youve got a pattern of services on a Sunday where you say, Well well have a communion over there on the first Sunday, and communion over there on the second Sunday ... this is just making that clear. Additional reporting by PA A 12-year-old girl brought a room of adults close to tears this week when she read out a letter about the impact of immigration controls against her father. Imagine waking up at 5am to flashing lights and a very loud banging noise at the door, she said. Imagine seeing 20 to 30 men rushing into your home just for one man. Having to say bye to my dad when hes in handcuffs just hurts my heart. Its like immigration doesnt want my family to succeed. During a meeting at the Jamaican High Commission, the child surrounded by her three sisters, the youngest just a toddler, and mother delivered a moving testimony that shed light on the impact of immigration control on families. One second after Brexit, all 40 of the EUs trade deals will be rolled over and replaced with UK-specific versions. Or at least thats what we were told by Liam Fox in 2017. The confidence beaming from the international trade secretary as he set off on his world tour to convince governments to do business with global Britain was notably absent this week. With little to show for his efforts, Fox was forced into an embarrassing climbdown, finally conceding that many of those trade deals had no chance of being ratified by 29 March. Its not every day you get to rock a flat cap and give a Trotsky turn of phrase to the BBC News from Luton. But Markus Keaney, chair of Luton South Constituency Labour Party, managed it all this week, when he discussed his recently departed ex-comrade Gavin Shuker, the constituencys MP. Keaney looked forward to the day when the defector to the Independent Group would be consigned to the dustbin of history and annihilated by an official Labour candidate at a by-election. His words were uttered with the cold rage of a man who knows his local party committee procedure and is prepared to use it in the cause of passionate new members enthused by the promise of a break from neoliberalism as he described the post-Jeremy Corbyn intake in his September Morning Star article, written after a no-confidence vote taken by party members against Shuker was carried. But, to refer to the context in which Trotsky popularised the dustbin of history line, who here were the doomed Mensheviks, and who the 1917 Bolsheviks arising to greet the new post-Capitalist dawn? As the Independent Group went cross-party with the arrival of three defecting Conservatives, were we witnessing the start of something like Emmanuel Macrons French En Marche! movement? Or would Keaney still get his annihilation moment? Energy provider Solarplicity has been banned from taking on new customers due to its poor switching process and customer service. Regulator Ofgem has imposed a three-month ban on the company, which will only be lifted if the firm significantly improves. The watchdog said Solarplicitys customer service has been poor for a number of months. Between March and September last year there was an unacceptably high proportion of calls abandoned and unacceptably long call waiting times, Ofgem said. Although call handling has improved, the regulator said it has not seen the required improvements elsewhere. Solar powered bulbs light the way in the developing world Show all 3 1 /3 Solar powered bulbs light the way in the developing world Solar powered bulbs light the way in the developing world 502961.bin Cheyenne Ellis Solar powered bulbs light the way in the developing world 502962.bin Nokero Solar powered bulbs light the way in the developing world 502963.bin Nokero Measures Ofgem has recommended include ensuring customer contact channels are improved, managed and maintained, with queries and issues being resolved in a timely manner, and making sure the switching process goes smoothly, with switches completed within the required timescales. Mary Starks, executive director of consumers and markets at Ofgem, said: We have taken action against Solarplicity to protect its customers from experiencing further detriment. Solarplicity must get its house in order and provide a level of service that its customers expect. If not, Ofgem will take the necessary steps to ensure customers are further protected and will take the relevant action needed to do this, which may result in its licence being revoked. On Friday, Alex Neill, Which? managing director of home services, said: Solarplicity finished rock bottom in our annual energy satisfaction survey, with scores of customers complaining about appalling customer service over the phone and online so its right that the regulator is stepping in. As millions of energy customers brace themselves for yet another eye-watering set of price hikes, this should also serve as a warning to all firms letting their customers down with shoddy service, billing and payment problems or poor complaints handling that they need to up their game. A Solarplicity spokesperson said: We are committed to meeting the expectations of every single Solarplicity customer, but Ofgems decision, which was made on old historical data, disregards the vast improvements that we have made to our customer service. In November, Which? rated us as the fastest energy company to respond to customer calls thanks to substantial additional investment in our staff and IT systems. This investment has also significantly strengthened our account switching service, and the vast majority of our customers are able to switch their accounts well within the 21 day limit. A restaurant has apologised after a social media post joking about the drug fentanyl being served as a brunch special was deemed offensive. Over the weekend, Yuzu, a pub and restaurant in Lakewood, Ohio, shared a photo to Instagram stories of a bag of fentanyl pills with the caption: New brunch special? Sat & Sun. The post also included a sticker of the Cap n Crunch mascot that read: Oops! All Fentanyl. Shortly after uploading the photo, people began to criticise the restaurant on social media. Screenshot from Yuzu Lakewoods IG story. Not at all cool, one person wrote. Making a joke of the opioid crisis is never funny ever. Addiction: What gets us hooked? Show all 2 1 /2 Addiction: What gets us hooked? Addiction: What gets us hooked? 633967.bin PA Addiction: What gets us hooked? 633968.bin Rex Features According to Cleveland.com, restaurant owner Dave Bumba initially ignored the backlash before addressing the controversy on Facebook three days later. In a lengthy post to the restaurants Facebook page, Bumba apologised - while referencing a generational gap of humour. First, its never our intention to cause any malicious offense, and for that I do genuinely apologise for, the post reads. Theres a generational gap of humour; our target demo is 21 to 34. Younger generations have developed a different sense of humour that is more abstract, surreal, and darker than previous generations. Recommended FDA approves opioid painkiller up to 10 times stronger than fentanyl Bumba then acknowledged that it could be easy for me to blame this simply on an overly-politically-correct culture, but that the constructive criticism made him think retrospectively about our social media content choices. The post goes on to hypothesise about what point cryptic humour as a coping mechanism can become toxic - and whether there are alternative solutions. Bumba concluded the post promising that this does not mean a sterile boring sanitation of our social content, but that he would now be reviewing content to ensure it carries our unique voice with a more positive message. The response to the apology has been mixed, with some people disagreeing with the restaurants decision to apologise and others suggesting that the apology wasnt sincere enough. Rather than sincerely apologising for your offensive posts (which personally are not clever or funny and were in very poor taste), you backpeddle and still try to place blame on those you offended by implying they aren't young or hip enough to get the joke, one person wrote. According to the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), in 2017, Ohio was among the top five states with the highest rates of opioid-related overdose deaths. And in 2017, of the 4,854 recorded opioid-related deaths in Ohio, fentanyl was responsible for 75 per cent, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The Independent has contacted Yuzu for comment. Bim Afolami MP is to become the first father in British parliamentary history to vote by proxy while on paternity leave. The Conservative MP, who represents Hitchin and Harpenden in parliament, announced on Twitter and Facebook on Thursday 21 February that he would be taking time off from work following the birth of his third child. Over the coming days, and Im not entirely sure when because thats not how these things work, my wife will be having our third baby, Mr Afolami said in a video. He stated that the whole family are over the moon delighted about their new arrival, especially his two sons. Mr Afolami continued, saying that hes going to be taking a couple of weeks off for paternity leave to help support his wife throughout the tough, tough nights and to take their sons to school and nursery. Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Show all 12 1 /12 Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Change UK Details on the individual MPs are in the following photos Reuters Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Heidi Allen Anti-Brexit MP for South Cambridgeshire resigned from the Conservative party on February 20 PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Chuka Umunna MP for Streatham since 2010 and prominent People's Vote supporter PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Anna Soubry The prominent anti-Brexit MP for Broxtowe resigned from the Conservative party on February 20 PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Luciana Berger MP for Liverpool Wavertree since 2010, resigned from the Labour Party over bullying and anti-semitism PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Sarah Wollaston Anti-Brexit MP for Totnes resigned from the Conservative party on February 20 PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Joan Ryan MP for Enfield North resigned from the Labour party on February 19 citing its tolerance of a "culture of anti-Jewish racism" PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Ann Coffey MP for Stockport since 1992 Chris McAndrew / UK Parliament Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Gavin Shuker MP for Luton South since 2010 Getty Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Chris Leslie MP for Nottingham East since 2010 PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Mike Gapes MP for Ilford South since 1992 PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Angela Smith MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge since 2010 But I do believe that I will be the first father in British parliamentary history to ever be able to vote by proxy so that I can satisfy my obligations to you to be your member of parliament and to vote here on important pieces of legislation, the politician added, addressing his constituents directly. On 28 January, the government announced the launch of its proxy voting scheme to allow new mothers, new fathers and adoptive parents to vote by proxy in parliament. Through the scheme, those entitled to a proxy vote can name any member of parliament who is eligible to vote in divisions to carry their proxy vote. Recommended Increasing number of fathers want access to paternity leave The scheme was launched following a recent call to allow pregnant MPs to be allowed to vote by proxy in parliament. The issue was raised after Labour MP Tulip Siddiq opted to delay the birth of her child by caesarean so that she could vote down Theresa Mays Brexit deal. Mr Afolami believes fathers shouldnt feel deterred from taking paternity leave. Its about saying you can be busy and ambitious and take paternity leave, he told Sky News. The MP will still be taking on case work while on paternity leave and will be available remotely to respond to enquiries. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events A study conducted in June 2018 by the mens division of toiletry company Dove and gender equality organisation Promundo found that an increasing number of men want access to paternity leave. According to the research, almost two thirds of fathers said that they had quit their jobs or would consider quitting so that they could help care for their child in the weeks and month following the birth. More than 60 per cent of men also said they would consider taking a lower paid role to enable them to take paternity leave. Nasa-funded scientists have developed a new kind of DNA-like structure that can store and transmit information and could lead to new ways of finding alien life. The breakthrough discovery suggests there might be alternative, unimagined forms of DNA-based life as we know it on Earth. Life on other worlds might be built using different molecular systems of the kind the researchers developed in the lab, Nasa experts have suggested. The new molecular system will allow scientists who are looking for life elsewhere in the universe to re-think what they are actually looking for, researchers said. DNA is a complex molecule that allows the genetic information that makes us who we are to be stored and then transmitted. That information is passed from parent to offspring in every living thing on Earth, and allows life to grow and thrive. It is made up of four different ingredients, which scientists refer to as nucleotide and are common across all life on our planet. But they might vary elsewhere in the universe, the new research suggests. 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 Imagining forms of life that might use different structures and developing ways of detecting them is a central part of Nasa's work. The new project that has not only envisioned but created such a molecule. Life detection is an increasingly important goal of NASAs planetary science missions, and this new work will help us to develop effective instruments and experiments that will expand the scope of what we look for, said Lori Glaze, acting director of NASAs Planetary Science Division. Recommended European Space Agency announces name of brand new Mars rover The new research saw scientists create a new kind of molecule system that functions like DNA, but has an important difference. Instead of the usual four ingredients, it contains eight. It has all of the four that are found in life on Earth: adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. But it has four extra, synthetic ones, that mimic the structures of the ingredients found in regular DNA. The researchers call the new creation "hachimoji DNA hachi means eight in Japanese, and moji means letter. It functions the same as our DNA, meeting the same requirements that allow it to store and transmit information. That has meant that the kinds of molecules that might be storing information in life on alien worlds could be similarly different. It suggests that life could structure itself in different ways than it does on Earth, at the most fundamental level meaning that environments Earth-bound life could never live in might be teeming with unimagined life forms. Incorporating a broader understanding of what is possible in our instrument design and mission concepts will result in a more inclusive and, therefore, more effective search for life beyond Earth, said Mary Voytek, senior scientist for Astrobiology at NASA Headquarters. The Japanese space agency has successfully landed a space probe on an asteroid nearly 200 million miles away, it has said. The spacecraft named Hayabusa 2, after a falcon will now start scrabbling around on the planet looking for clues about the origins of life. Landing the spacecraft was so difficult that engineers had already delayed its earlier attempt in October. It has proven difficult to find a suitable spot on the asteroid, which is named Ryugu and measures just 900 meters across. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said on Friday Hayabusa 2 fired a small projectile into the surface of Ryugu to collect particles scientists hope the spacecraft will bring back to Earth for analysis. "We may have caused some worry due to the delay but we carried out our plan flawlessly over the past four months to bring it to a successful landing," project manager Yuichi Tsuda told a news conference. 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 "It landed in the best circumstances among the scenarios we envisioned," he said. It is the second Japanese spacecraft to land on an asteroid after Hayabusa touched down on a near-Earth asteroid named Itokawa in 2005. It was the first to bring asteroid dust back to Earth, although not as much as hoped. Recommended Japanese space agency to land spacecraft on asteroid Asteroids are believed to have formed at the dawn of the solar system and scientists say Ryugu may contain organic matter that may have contributed to life on Earth. JAXA's plan is for Hayabusa 2 to lift off Ryugu and touch back down up to three times. It blasted off in December 2014 and is scheduled to return to Earth at the end of 2020. Additional reporting by agencies The Earth's atmosphere is far bigger than we had realised, scientists have announced. The outermost part of our atmosphere reaches nearly twice as far as the Moon and is about 50 times as big as our own planet, new research has shown. The Moon flies through Earths atmosphere, says Igor Baliukin of Russias Space Research Institute, lead author of the paper presenting the results. We were not aware of it until we dusted off observations made over two decades ago by the SOHO spacecraft. At the boundary of own atmosphere and outer space, there is a cloud of hydrogen atoms that scientists refer to as the geocorona. One of the instruments on the SOHO spacecraft found the signature of that border, allowing it to detect exactly where it is. That can only be done at certain times, and the new research is the result of fortunate timing that allowed the spacecraft to spot the edge. 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 The new research could allow scientists to better look for other planets like ours, with hydrogen in their atmosphere and where water vapour is often seen closer to the surface. Scientists famously captured stunning images of the geocorona around Earth in pictures that were taken using the first ever telescope places on the Moon, which arrived with Apollo 16 astronauts in 1972. But scientists didn't know that they themselves were still wrapped in the edges of the geocorona. The extra source of hydrogen laying far out from Earth is not enough to allow space exploration, or to support any kind of human life. Down here, it would be referred to as a vacuum. But fortunately those particles do not pose any threat for anyone interacting with them, such as future space travellers that hope to journey to orbit around the Moon. There is also ultraviolet radiation associated to the geocorona, as the hydrogen atoms scatter sunlight in all directions, but the impact on astronauts in lunar orbit would be negligible compared to the main source of radiation -- the Sun, says Jean-Loup Bertaux, co-author and former principal investigator of SWAN, the instrument that made the founding. But it could get in the way of future observations around the Moon, the researchers caution. Space telescopes observing the sky in ultraviolet wavelengths to study the chemical composition of stars and galaxies would need to take this into account, adds Jean-Loup. Nintendo of America has a new boss: Bowser. The aptly named executive long-standing Nintendo executive Doug Bowser, rather than the huge and spiky turtle-like creature will take over from Reggie Fils-Aime. Mr Fils-Aime has been at Nintendo of America for more than 15 years, and spent nearly 13 as its boss. He will leave in April, Nintendo announced. He will be succeeded by Mr Bowser, whose name has somewhat overshadowed the rest of the announcement. Mr Bowser currently serves as senior vice president of sales and marketing. With a name like Bowser, who better to hold the keys to the Nintendo castle? Mr Fils-Aime said in a video announcing the change, which was posted to Twitter. 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 Mr Fils-Aime has been one of the most prominent of Nintendo's executives, helping to introduce consoles including the most recent Switch. Nintendo owns a part of my heart forever, Mr Fils-Aime said in a statement. Its a part that is filled with gratitude for the incredibly talented people Ive worked with, for the opportunity to represent such a wonderful brand, and most of all, to feel like a member of the worlds most positive and enduring gamer community. "As I look forward to departing in both good health and good humour, this is not game over for me, but instead leveling up to more time with my wife, family and friends. Mr Bowser said he was looking forward to taking over the new role. It has been my great fortune to work with and be mentored by Reggie for four years at Nintendo of America, he said in a statement. And rest assured, we will continue to build on his work to evolve and expand our brand, furthering Nintendos global mission of creating smiles. There are millions more of those to come. BORDERLAND BEAT The Most Extensive and Reliable Source of Information Related to the Mexican Drugs Cartels. You will not find this level of coverage anywhere else, join us! Send information, pictures or videos, you remain 100% anonymous. Envia fotos, videos, notas, enlaces o informacion todo 100% Anonimo. General Mail Box: borderlandbeat@gmail.com Want to be a contributor or citizen reporter for Borderland Beat? We love to have you in our team, send us an email! WARNING: Posts may contain strong violent material, discretion is advised. COMMENTS: We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. When it comes to fashion month, designers know all too well that creativity knows no bounds. Whether it's enlisting the help of renowned makeup artists Pat McGrath and Charlotte Tilbury,or hairstylists including names such as Sam McKnight and Diors go-to expert Guido Palau, the inspiration behind a runway collection can be interpreted in a variety of ways to best showcase a designer's vision. This may explain then why several designers, including Guccis creative director Alessandro Micheles and Ashish Gupta of eponymous brand Ashish have threaded the seams of their creative thought process from the outset with their show invitations. From Grecian masks to drug prescriptions, here are the best show invitations at fashion month autumn/winter 2019. Gucci Ahead of creative director Alessandro Micheles show, guests received invitations in the form of a papier-mache mask of the head of Hermaphroditus. Better yet, the invites were delivered in a museological crate. Celebrities on the front row at Milan Fashion Week Show all 12 1 /12 Celebrities on the front row at Milan Fashion Week Celebrities on the front row at Milan Fashion Week Actor Michelle Monaghan attends the Salvatore Ferragamo show on Saturday. Getty Images for Salvatore Ferra Celebrities on the front row at Milan Fashion Week Model Lottie Moss sat alongside actors Suki Waterhouse and Gabriella Wilde and Lady Amelia Windsor at the Salvatore Ferragamo show. Getty Images for Salvatore Ferra Celebrities on the front row at Milan Fashion Week Millie Bobby Brown The British actress posed at the Moncler show. AFP/Getty Images Celebrities on the front row at Milan Fashion Week Sinead Burke The British Vogue contributing editor stunned in red at Gucci. Getty Images for Gucci Celebrities on the front row at Milan Fashion Week Andrew Garfield The actor was seen attending the Gucci runway show. Getty Images for Gucci Celebrities on the front row at Milan Fashion Week Francois-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek Pinault The businessman and actor were seen posing for photos ahead of the Gucci presentation. Getty Images for Gucci Celebrities on the front row at Milan Fashion Week Saoirse Ronan The Oscar-nominated star arrived at the Gucci show in a pair of bright red trousers. Getty Images for Gucci Celebrities on the front row at Milan Fashion Week Joan Smalls The model showed off her statuesque physique at the Moncler show. Getty Images for Moncler Celebrities on the front row at Milan Fashion Week Bryan Boy The Filipino fashion blogger posed for the cameras ahead of the Gucci show. Getty Images for Gucci Celebrities on the front row at Milan Fashion Week Lucy Boynton The actor was seen head-to-toe in Gucci at the luxury Italian brand's runway show. Getty Images for Gucci Celebrities on the front row at Milan Fashion Week Florence and Benjamin Clementine The couple contrasted each other's brightly-coloured outfits perfectly before the Gucci show. Getty Images for Gucci Celebrities on the front row at Milan Fashion Week Gia Coppola The film director teamed her muted brown-toned outfit with a splash of colour thanks to the addition of a bubblegum-pink bag at Gucci. Getty Images for Gucci Hemaphroditus, the child of mythical Ancient Greek gods Hermes and Aphrodite, is widely believed to have been intersex (a person whose characteristics are not either all typically male or all typically female at birth). The mythological character is a fitting symbol for the brand. Since Michele joined the fashion house in 2002, he has regularly championed unisex collections that destroy traditional notions of gender. Last year, he told i-D: My idea of masculinity is beauty, and if you want to be beautiful you can be beautiful the way you want. It doesn't mean you're not a man or a woman." An accompanying description to the mask explained the invitation represents exhibition and concealment, manifestation and protection, vanity and modesty. New York Times fashion critic Vanessa Friedman posted a photograph of the invitation on Twitter and wrote in the caption: Seriously, this is the @gucci show invite. I have to walk around all day carrying a plaster mask, because it does not come close to fitting in well, anything. Talk about weird. Bridget Foley Executive Editor of WWD tweeted: Guccis mask, a cut between visible and invisible. And a little creepy when the hotel porter brings it to your door. With the show, clarity? Fendi To mark the late Karl Lagerfelds last collection at the Italian fashion brand, Fendi placed cards on attendees seats featuring the date the designer passed away (19 February) alongside his signature. The show notes for the autumn/winter 2019/2020 collection also noted several references to Lagerfeld including pointed shirt collars and the use of his curling Karligraphy FF logo that appeared on cabochon buttons and intarsia fur. Silvia Venturini Fendi, the granddaughter of Fendi's founders and creative director for accessories, menswear, and children, added an additional tribute to the German-born visionary, penning a heart-warming message on the cards. The bond between Karl Lagerfeld and Fendi is fashions longest love story, one that will continue to touch our lives for years to come, she wrote. I am profoundly saddened by his passing and deeply touched by his constant care and perseverance until the very end. When he called just a few days before the shoot, his only thoughts were the richness and beauty of the collection. Its a true testament to his character. He shall be so missed. Ashish In the lead up to the designers autumn/winter 2019 show at London Fashion Week, he sent out invitation in the form of a doctors drug prescription. Prescribing attendees with a dose of sequins for six months, the invitation read: Sequins 5mm. Warning do not swallow prolonged use may cause addiction. Common side effects user may experience feelings of euphoria. In lieu of a doctors signature, Ashish signed his name with a love heart above the letter I in his name. Newly released photos from Cambridge Universitys Collection of Aerial Photography show the extent to which Britain has changed in the years since the end of the Second World War. The collection is the result of aerial survey campaigns started by RAF veteran JK St Joseph in 1947. A keen historian, Joseph was convinced that aerial photography would be useful in discovering and analysing archaeological sites, so he instructed RAF pilots to take photographs during routine flights around the country. The collection now holds almost 500,000 images, of which around 80,000 have been digitised and are available to view on the University of Cambridges digital library. Professor Martin Millett says that the collection lets you travel back in time to a Britain that no longer exists. The Cambridge archaeologist adds that anyone can go to Google Earth and look at modern satellite imagery - but this is an historical Google Earth. Here The Independent has collected some of the best from the online collection in the gallery above. Bond 25 may be delayed again, but the forthcoming film has an official working title. Subscribers to Production Weekly noticed in a new update listing that the next 007 outing will shoot under the title Shatterhand. According to the listing, the films shoot will begin on 6 April in Londons Pinewood Studios before heading to Matera in Italy. The working title matches the one revealed in reports from August 2017. The same report claimed that the new film which will be Daniel Craigs last stand as the British spy would be based on the 2001 novel Never Dream of Dying by Raymond Benson. 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Show all 47 1 /47 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination American Psycho (2000) Starring future Oscar-winner Christian Bale, Mary Harrons adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel in which the Vice star plays the psychopathic Patrick Bateman - didnt receive a single nomination. Rex Features 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Before Sunrise (1995) While the final two chapters of Richard Linklaters Before trilogy earned screenplay nominations, the film that introduced the world to future married couple Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) was criminally overlooked. Columbia Pictures 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Big Heat (1953) Fritz Lang had a number of films overlooked by the Academy; this noir, starring Glenn Ford, Lee Marvin and and Gloria Grahame, was one of them. Columbia Pictures 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Big Lebowski (1998) The Academys generosity to the Coen brothers peaked when No Country for Old Men beat There Will Be Blood in one of the ceremonys closest Best Picture races of all time. It remains surprising that one of their few films to evade any nominations is this endlessly quotable mistaken identity comedy starring Jeff Bridges as The Dude. PolyGram Filmed Entertainment 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Blow Out (1981) Brian De Palma doesnt exactly make films in the hope of winning award, but his political thriller - based on Michelangelo Antonionis Blow Up would have deserved any Oscar it was nominated for. Filmways Pictures 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Breathless (1960) Breathless' failure to receive a nomination is proof that the Oscars cant be trusted. Despite being one of the most studied films in the world, Jean Luc-Godards French masterpiece has an Academy Award tally of zero. Films Around The World 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Bringing Up Baby (1938) The Academy rewarded many notable screwball comedies, though this Howard Hawks-directed standout starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn - whod go on to hold the record for most wins - wasn't one of them. Courtesy of BFI 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Don't Look Now (1973) Nicolas Roeg, who directed this Venice-set chiller, is one of the most unfairly overlooked directors in Oscars history. Rex Features 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Donnie Darko (2004) Richard Kellys science-fiction mind-bender, which made a star of Jake Gyllenhaal, was a festival favourite upon its debut in 2004. Many expected a screenplay nomination to manifest. Rex Features 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) It wouldnt be until the 1990s that western films found favour with the Academy. It was ironically thanks to Unforgiven, a film directed by Clint Eastwood whose career flourished after starring in this Sergio Leone film that many consider to be the genres peak. 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination La haine (1995) Mathieu Kassovitzs black-and-white drama translated in English as Hate follows three young friends and their struggles living in the suburbs of Paris. 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Halloween (1978) The Academy may not be frothing at the mouth to nominate horror films, but do have previous (see: The Exorcist and The Silence of the Lamb), which makes the absence of John Carpenters influential Halloween a glaring oversight. Aquarius Releasing 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Harold and Maude (1971) This offbeat romantic drama was a critical and commercial flop at the time of release, which probably accounts for its lack of Oscar nominations. Today, though, its cult following ensures it remains in good favour with film fans. Paramount Pictures 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Heat (1995) On paper, the big screen union of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Michael Manns cop drama was a shoo-in for awards, but no Oscar nominations manifested. Warner Bros 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination His Girl Friday (1940) Yet another Howard Hawks screwball comedy starring Cary Grant that criminally failed to secure a single Oscar nomination. L/Columbia/Koba/Rex/Shutterstock 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Insomnia (2002) While falling short of Christopher Nolans best, modest drama Insomnia made years before Batman Begins had enough strong performances (Al Pacino, Robin Wiliams, Hilary Swank) to warrant acting nominations. Alas, it received none. Warner Bros Pictures 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Local Hero (1983) Bill Forsyths beloved comedy-drama follows the mishaps of an American man sent to buy up a Scottish village where the oil company he works for wants to build a refinery. Forsyth won the Bafta for Best Director, but the film received no such love from the Academy. 20th Century Fox 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination M (1931) Youd be mistaken for thinking the M stands for masterpiece in Fritz Langs German drama that follows the manhunt for a serial killer - not that the Academy agreed. 20th Century Fox 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination A Man Escaped (1956) Robert Bressons adaptation of Andre Devignys memoirs charts the French Resistance members time as prisoner of the Germans during World War II, and is even more enthralling considering Bresson himself was held captive years before. Gaumont Film Company 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Margaret (2011) Kenneth Lonergan would go on to win an Oscar for Manchester but he Sea, but Margaret - his three-hour plus drama featuring a searing performance from Anna Paquin - failed to secure a single nomination. Fox Searchlight Pictures 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination In the Mood for Love (2000) Wong Kar-wai set the benchmark for romance in film with his acclaimed Hong Kong drama following a man and woman (Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung) who develop feelings for one another after suspecting their respective spouses of having an affair together. defd Deutscher Fernsehdienst 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The King of Comedy (1982) It may have taken him decades to win an Oscar, but the Academy has rarely balked at nominating Martin Scorsese films especially for films starring Robert De Niro. The King of Comedy was an exception. 20th Century Fox 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Long Goodbye (1973) Robert Altmans superior thriller stars Elliott Gould as Raymond Chandlers private investigator Philip Marlowe in one of the directors most entertaining films. The director would go on to be the recipient of the Honorary Award in 2006. 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Man With Two Brains (1983) He may have hosted several times, but Steve Martin has never been nominated for an Oscar. One film he deserved recognition for was Carl Reiner's 1983 sci-fi comedy, The Man with Two Brains. Warner Bros. 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination A Matter of Life and Death (1946) The Academy Film Archive may have preserved A Matter of Life and Death in 1999, but voters failed to recognise the Powell & Pressburgers fantasy-romance at the time of its release in 1946. Eagle-Lion Films 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Mean Streets (1973) It may not be credited as his debut, but Mean Streets is very much the first true Martin Scorsese film. The director would go on to win a belated Oscar for The Departed in 2007, but hed have to wait until 1975 for his first nomination (Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore). Warner Bros 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Melancholia (2011) No Lars von Trier film has ever been nominated for Best Picture, though Dancer in the Dark came close (it settled for a Best Original Song nomination). He came close with Melancholia, but ultimately, the drama didn't get Canal+ 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Miller's Crossing (1990) Despite being revered as a Coen brothers favourite, not to mention its notable performances from Gabriel Byrne and Albert Finney, Millers Crossing is one of few Coen brother films not to receive a single Oscar nomination. 20th Century Fox 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Once Upon a Time in America (1984) Though it's by no means a masterpiece, its staggering to think that Sergio Leones gangster epic - starring Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci - didnt acquire any Oscar nominations (the film's music was disqualified from consideration after Warner Bros accidentally omitted the composer's name from the opening credits when trimming the films lengthy running time for its American release). Warner Bros 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Paterson (2016) Critics assumed Jim Jarmuschs Paterson would have been a shoo-in for awards recognition - most notably in the Best Actor category, thanks to a quietly fantastic performance from Adam Driver - but no such luck. Amazon Studios 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Paths of Glory (1957) Stanley Kubrick never won Best Director despite being nominated four times. One of his films that didnt make the Oscars cut in any category was his black-and-white anti-war film, Paths of Glory. United Artists 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Play Misty for Me (1971) Clint Eastwood would go onto become something of an Oscar darling thanks to Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby and Mystic River, but his directorial debut was ignored by the Academy. Univeral Pictures/Courtesy of Getty Images 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Reservoir Dogs (1992) Reservoir Dogs may not touch Quentin Tarantinos best, but it remains a surprise that the filmmakers debut didnt get recognised in the screenplay category, at least. Miramax Films 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Rider (2018) Of all the 2018 films to be snubbed at this years Oscars, Chloe Zhaos drama - which stars a real-life rodeo cowboy and his family - smacks as the most unfair. Sony Pictures Classics 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Searchers (1956) The role of Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards might be considered John Waynes best role, but the Academy didnt agree: he would win his sole Oscar for True Grit in 1970. Warner Bros 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Shining (1980) Another Kubrick film that was completely ignored by the Academy is the directors Stephen King adaptation, The Shining. Today, its considered one of his finest works as well as being one of the most revered horror films of all time. Warner Bros 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Shop Around the Corner (1953) It may have endured as one of the best loved romcoms of all time, but it has zero Oscar nominations to its name. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Still Walking (2008) Japanese director Hirokazo Kore-eda's portrait of a family over roughly 24 hours as they commemorate the death of the eldest son was a glaring oversight by the Academy. IFC Films 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Swingers Before he became Disney's go to, Jon Favreau (Iron Man, The Jungle Book and the forthcoming live-action Lion King) wrote this independent film about the lives of single, unemployed actors living in Hollywood, California during the 1990s swing revival. Rex Features 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination This Is England (2006 The 2007 ceremony would have been far better had Shane Meadows' coming-of-drama been in contention for awards. Optimum Releasing 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Three Kings (1999) The Academy deemed Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle worthy of nominations, but not David O Russells Three Kings, which remains one of his greatest films to this day. Warner Bros Pictures 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Tokyo Story (1953) Tokyo Story is deemed Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu's masterpiece and was named Sight & Sound's best film of all time in 2012. Rex Features 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Touch of Evil (1958) Orson Welles' classic noir wasn't as well loved at the time of release as it is today. BFI 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Tyrannosaur (2011) Olivia Colman may be in contention for Best Actress at this years ceremony, but the fact she failed to earn a nomination (or Bafta, for that matter) for her role in Paddy Considines hard-hitting drama Tyrannosaur is one of the biggest oversights in awards history. StudioCanal UK 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Walkabout (1971) Another exceptional achievement in filmmaking from Nicolas Roeg that somehow failed to receive any Oscar nominations. 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination You Were Never Really Here (2018) Notch it down to bad timing, but Lynne Ramsays You Were Never Really Here - starring Joaquin Phoenix - is a sensational piece of work worthy of reward. Amazon Studio 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Zodiac (2007) Three years later, David Fincher would go head-to-head with The King Speech's Tom Hooper for The Social Network. In truth, serial killer drama Zodiac is every bit as good as the Facebook drama. Warner Bros Pictures Reports also suggested Bond could face a blind villain, although director Cary Joji Fukunagas film is expected to go down a different route. The films journey so far has been a tumultuous one. In September 2018, Fukunaga replaced Danny Boyle as director and re-wrote his script, which had reportedly ruffled up feathers with producers. Shatterhand is the alias used by Blofeld who was played in the last Bond film, Spectre, by Christoph Waltz in the You Only Live Twice novel. While obviously hesitant to reveal any details not least because the script is not yet complete Fukunaga has confirmed one rather big point: the new film will bring things full circle for Craig by continuing the arc first presented in Casino Royale, his first outing as 007. Never Dream of Dying sees Bond start a relationship with Tylyn Mignonne, a film star whose husband is connected to The Union, a recurring crime organisation within the 007 novel series. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Bond 25 will be released on 8 April 2020. Companies are full of ambitious people willing to do anything to please people in power. Sometimes it's in order to advance their careers and harm, without remorse, the lives of anyone who gets in their way. Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford at age 19 to start Theranos which folded last September. This blood testing company--which claimed it could perform 1,000 blood tests from a single drop of blood--wiped out $900 million in investor money and endangered the lives of eight million people who used its service, according to a Vanity Fair interview with Bad Blood author John Carreyrou. Billy McFarland is a 27-year-old serving a six year prison sentence which began last October after he pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud in raising $26 million from investors for the Fyre Festival -- an over-hyped music festival in the Bahamas which was canceled on its first day, according to Business Insider. I'm not an expert and cannot diagnose a psychopath. I'm not saying Elizabeth Holmes and Billy McFarland are psychopaths. Could their leadership styles and actions be categorized as psychopathic? University of Alabama researcher Peter Harms certainly thinks so. His colleague, Karen Landay, is less certain. What Is a Psychopath? Here's how to tell if your boss is a psychopath. As Landay told me in a February 20 interview, employees should look for the following behaviors: Bullying. "Look for a pattern of aggressive actions, frequently targeted at specific individuals until they quit." Lack of empathy. "An inability to understand or empathize when people are hurting or vulnerable. Think of the boss who punishes workers for taking time off to attend a funeral for a parent or interact with a new-born child." Volatility. "If a boss is extremely hostile one day and then chummy towards you the next, then they really don't understand how their behavior can negatively impact others and how such hostility can 'stick' with people even after it is over." The line between a corporate jerk--someone who excels at kissing up and kicking down--and a psychopath is pretty clear. If you hurt other people and break the law without a tinge of remorse, you are over the line to psychopath. How prevalent are psychopaths in the C-Suite? A 2016 study found that 21 percent of CEOs are psychopaths, compared to 1 percent in the general population, according to a 2016 paper in Crime Psychology Review. (Note: The paper has actually since been retracted, due to plagiarism claims.) More recently, a 2018 study by Harms and Landay found that psychopathic CEOs are only slightly more common than they are in the general population--3 percent to 1 percent. Harms thinks that Holmes demonstrated psychopathic traits, at least based on accounts he's read in the media. As he recently told me: "A willingness to and comfort with deceiving others to meet her own ends, aggressive bullying behavior towards subordinates, manipulativeness with regards to investors and professors she interacted with, and her lack of concern for the well-being of the people who used her faulty products and were given inaccurate diagnoses. What's maybe worse is that she enlisted so many people in her actions. She normalized deceitful behavior in her organization and corrupted those around her." Landay wasn't willing to go that far, saying, "The fact that Theranos was so successful under her leadership for so long points to her as a potential outlier." How to Keep Psychopaths From Becoming CEOs If you're on a company's board, you can do something to stop psychopaths from becoming CEOs. If you're a CEO, you can do something to prevent hiring psychopaths as employees and leaders. Harms suggests four questions to constantly ask: Do they produce high turnover? "If the people who work directly with them have or are quitting at abnormally high rates, then you most likely have an abuse problem." Do peers and subordinates report abusive conduct? "Talk to their current subordinates and peers who must cope with the psychopathic behavior." Do they mistreat treat powerless people? "Take them to a place where they can interact with people who have little power. We call this the 'see-how-they-treat-the-waiter test.' If they are rude, dismissive, hostile, and seek revenge for perceived slights, that is the real them." Do they lie on their re placeholder sume? " Finally, do a very, very close check of what they say about themselves in their resume. Psychopaths are more than willing to lie about their credentials and will even argue if you challenge them with falsehoods that you find." Wilfred Pinfold is not an arrogant guy. But who would have blamed him if, after 23 years at Intel, he considered Silicon Valley's primacy a given? Then, in 2015, he and three partners launched Urban Systems, a Portland, Oregon-based integrator of smart-city technologies. They had a choice: Work solely with tech firms and cities in the U.S., or go where the action was. For Urban Systems, the action was in Europe and Asia. Cities there were older, less car-centric, and more open to alternative transportation. The company partnered with startups in Portugal and the U.K. to develop technology that plots routes for buses, rail, rental bikes, and rideshares. In Hong Kong, the company worked with another startup, in which it holds a minority stake, to investigate deploying autonomous vehicles in a nightlife-starved corporate park. Entrepreneurs overseas "were developing technologies with different priorities for solving problems," says Pinfold. "Understanding those priorities was very helpful." Silicon Valley remains the polestar of global innovation. But founders everywhere now speak its language, know its secrets, and tussle for its money and talent. U.S. companies can--must--try to beat them. But they can also join them. If American business and political leaders are getting twitchy about U.S. competitiveness, it is less because we're falling behind than because others are catching up. According to a report from the Center for American Entrepreneurship, 14 of the 20 top contributing cities to global VC growth are outside the U.S. Places like South Korea, Japan, and Germany spend more than we do on R&D as a percentage of GDP. "Many countries are progressing from imitation to innovation. That's where the big threat to--and opportunities for--the U.S. will be," says Donna Kelley, a professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College. And, according to Babson's Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, even the poorest countries have more opportunity-driven entrepreneurs than those who are driven by necessity. And these days, U.S. immigration policy greets immigrant founders with obstacle courses rather than red carpets. That, despite the fact that 55 percent of U.S. startups valued at $1 billion or more include immigrant founders, and 76 percent of patents awarded to top universities have involved at least one foreign-born inventor. Meanwhile, a growing number of countries tempt them with special visas or even automatic residency--including our neighbors just north of the border. "The conversation has largely been about the U.S.," says Skip Newberry, CEO of the Technology Association of Oregon, which helps domestic companies identify opportunities in global startup hubs. But, he adds, "you have got companies springing up in some of these other markets that are possibly better, and more competitive, than some of the startups coming out of the U.S." For example, even Siri--from what is arguably America's most innovative company--sounds positively inhuman compared with the emotionally responsive digital assistants developed by Soul Machines in New Zealand. The world's top 62 startup hubs account for nearly 90 percent of total VC activity. 61 percent of them are outside the U.S. Source: Center for American Entrepreneurship With other countries catching up, the U.S. must do more, particularly in critical industries like A.I. But foreign entrepreneurs needn't be the enemy. They offer U.S. companies access to ideas, talent, and diverse perspectives. Startup Genome, which studies and supports entrepreneurship (and partners with Inc. on various editorial projects), found that one key contributing factor to entrepreneurial success is connections to peers in global innovation hubs. Domestic ecosystems are enriched when members import ideas and experiences from innovators abroad. Won't they steal your IP? There is a risk that some may. But others have tasty IP of their own to share, says Doc Parghi, a partner at Philadelphia-based SRI Capital, which provides capital for companies with both U.S. and Indian connections. SRI recently matched a U.S. drone services startup with an early-stage Indian company "that has a bit of IP that works very well with their offering," says Parghi. This brings benefits to both businesses, he adds: "They can jointly attack big government contracts." It's worth remembering that the U.S. can't claim the mantle of Startup Nation. It belongs to Israel, home to Tel Aviv, the city with the world's highest per-capita concentration of startups. Founders there are often seeking a good collaboration. Trade organizations in several U.S. states are happy to oblige. In 2017, tech entrepreneur Leib Bolel launched the Arizona Israel Technology Alliance. Among other things, it introduces founders working in key sectors like biotech, agtech, and cybersecurity. Israel is tiny, so its startup activity is densely concentrated. Consequently, Bolel says, "being able to find the right innovation fit is easier there than in some areas of the U.S." Still, we can't be complacent about the rise of the global rest. "My concern, from a U.S. perspective, is the loss of foreign talent, which has played a major role in U.S. startups for decades," says Ian Hathaway, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and research director at the Center for American Entrepreneurship. "On the margins, we might lose our most precious asset as markets overseas develop more." The U.S. must be vigilant about protecting its lead. But all agree: Innovation is not a zero-sum game. Diversity research tells us that smart people with different backgrounds and frames of reference can make one another better. Nine-year-old Pinterest is gearing up for its public market debut. The San Francisco-based startup known for its virtual bulletin board has filed confidential paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering, The Wall Street Journal reports. The company is looking at a $12 billion valuation in a late-June IPO, according to the report. It is the latest unicorn startup planning to join the public markets this year, alongside ride-hailing companies Lyft and Uber, both of which filed confidential IPO documents last December. Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann co-founded the company alongside Evan Sharp and Paul Sciarra in 2010. The trio launched the business to help people share and discover images of things they enjoy. Silbermann brought tech experience from a brief stint at Google while Sharp, whose background is in architecture, contributed to the product design. Sciarra, who attended Yale with Silbermann, left the company in 2012 to become an entrepreneur-in-residence at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Pinterest's 250 million monthly users post everything from inspiration for dream weddings and interior design ideas to food recipes. While the company is frequently lumped in with social media companies like Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest has sought to distinguish itself as a "visual discovery engine" rather than a social network. "For a long time, we had this complex where I thought I really need to make [Pinterest] as much like the iconic companies as possible," CEO Silbermann told attendees at a dinner last April organized by VC firm Village Global. "I would've earlier celebrated the things that made our company weird, because those ended up actually being the things that make it special and successful." Special Envoy To Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Carr Travels to Jerusalem Washington, DC - Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Elan Carr traveled to Jerusalem February 20-21. SEAS Carr will meet with Israeli government officials and members of civil society. He will also deliver remarks to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem. SNMG1 Completes Dynamic Guard Bergen, Norway - Naval forces from Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1), commanded by U.S. Rear Adm. Edward Cashman completed a ten-day NATO Allied Maritime Command led exercise Dynamic Guard 2019 off the coast of Norway, February 15. Dynamic Guard is a NATO exercise, executed concurrently with Norwegian led exercise Task Group 19-1 and designed to build and maintain proficiency in maritime electronic warfare and anti-submarine warfare. This exercise allowed NATO allies to train together in advanced anti-submarine warfare tactics, said German Lt. Cmdr. Jan Schroder, SNMG1 Staff anti-submarine warfare officer. We tested new tactics and equipment with our assets, which enhanced our skills by learning through integration how our equipment works together. Dynamic Guard provided SNMG1 the opportunity to engage in realistic maritime training, which presented various electronic warfare and anti-submarine warfare scenarios in a challenging environment. Our interaction with the allied units went extremely well, said Cryptologic Technician (Technical) 1st Class Tyler Hagberg of the US Navy, lead electronic warfare supervisor for the SNMG1 flagship guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107). All units were highly professional and came prepared, going above and beyond what was asked of them. During certain exercises they even requested additional training beyond what was planned out, Hagberg said. The exercise demonstrated the ability of allied forces to quickly integrate to accomplish NATO directed missions and involved assets, such as, maritime patrol aircraft, submarines, helicopters, and naval ships. Participating forces came from Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, and the United States. Dynamic Guard provided a balanced program of exercises, rising in complexity, aimed at challenging the operators in a very complex training environment, said Cashman. All the participating units did a fantastic job. We really came together as a team, maximized the training opportunities, and ultimately strengthened the skills that are critical to our effectiveness as an alliance. SNMG1 is composed of the U.S. flagship guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107), the German navy replenishment tanker FGS Spessart (A 1442), and the Polish guided-missile frigate ORP General K. Pulaski (FrR 272). The group is one of four standing maritime task groups composed of ships from various Allied countries. These task groups form the core maritime capability of NATOs Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF). They provide a continuous maritime capability to execute NATO missions across the spectrum of operations, demonstrate solidarity, and strengthen diplomatic and professional links among allied naval forces. Vice President Mike Pence to Travel to Colombia Washington, DC - At the invitation of the President of Colombia Ivan Duque, Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Bogota, Colombia on behalf of President Donald Trump on Monday, February 25th to voice the United States unwavering support for interim President Juan Guaido and highlight the Venezuelan peoples fight for democracy over dictatorship. In Colombia, the Vice President will deliver remarks at a meeting of the Lima Group focused on addressing the tragic humanitarian and security crises unfolding in Venezuela and ongoing U.S. efforts to deliver aid to the country. While there, he will meet with Colombian President Ivan Duque, a proven leader on this issue, and other officials from the Western Hemisphere to define concrete steps that support the Venezuelan people and a transition to democracy. The Vice President will state plainly that the time has come for Nicolas Maduro to step aside. He will also meet with Venezuelan families who have fled Maduros regime. The struggle in Venezuela is between dictatorship and democracy, and freedom has the momentum. Juan Guaido is the only legitimate leader of Venezuela, and its time for Nicolas Maduro to go. The United States is proud to join the Lima Group and other global partners to marshal our resources, provide much needed humanitarian relief, and stand together with the people of Venezuela until democracy and freedom are fully restored. Alyssa Farah, Press Secretary for Vice President Pence. This trip will be Vice President Pences fifth trip to Latin America as Vice President. In his previous trips, Vice President Pence has met with Venezuelans who have fled their country to escape the Maduro regime to hear their personal stories firsthand. Additional details about the Vice Presidents trip are forthcoming. Additional Information: On January 23rd the United States was the first country to recognize Juan Guaido as the Interim President of Venezuela, and the National Assembly as the only legitimate branch of government duly elected by the Venezuelan people. On January 24th , Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged $20 million in humanitarian aid for Venezuela- the aid was the first step in helping Interim President Guaido in providing benefits to the Venezuelan people On January 28th, President Trump designated the Venezuelan state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA) under Executive Order 13850, essentially blocking all exports, imports and financial dealings with the Venezuelan oil sector, except those explicitly permitted by the Department of Treasury licenses. (VP Tweet) On January 29, Vice President Pence met with Carlos Vecchio, Ambassador of Venezuela to the United States, Julio Borges, Ambassador of Venezuela to the Lima Group, and other Venezuelan officials to express the strong support of the United States for the Venezuelan National Assembly and the government of President Juan Guaido (Readout). On February 1st, the Vice President traveled to Miami FL, where he participated in a roundtable discussion with Venezuelan exiles and community leaders including families, political prisoners and former elected officials who were forced to flee Venezuela due to political persecution. The Vice President and the Second Lady listened to their stories and their continuing efforts working to restore freedom and democracy in Venezuela (Remarks). On February 13, the President of Colombia, Ivan Duque met with President Trump at the White House (Statements). On February 18th, the Trump administration announced new sanctions targeting five high-profile figures in the Maduro regime and security service (Press Release) (VP Tweet) Last week, the Interim President Juan Guaido called upon volunteers to cross the border from Cucuta to Venezuela on February 23rd with humanitarian aid sent by the United State to help the people of Venezuela. This comes a month after the Venezuelan people marched in fight for freedom across the country and recognized Juan Guaido as their Interim President. Vice President Pence After Touring an Opportunity Zone Columbia, South Carolina - Vice President Pence After Touring an Opportunity Zone: THE VICE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.) Record must have skipped. (Laughter.) Thank you, all. Thank you for the warm welcome. Please be seated. It is a real joy to be with each and every one of you. And to Bishop Freeman, and to all of the wonderful people at the Meeting Place Church he told me 19 years ago he had a Bible and a barstool and three people, and now you are transforming this community for your members and for everyone in [northeast] Columbia. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you so much. Were just so inspired by the example of the Meeting Place Church. And I want to thank you all for coming out today. Thanks for coming out and helping us all collectively celebrate what Columbia and what South Carolina are doing in partnership with local businesses, in partnership with this great ministry, and in partnership with leaders at the state and local level. Its truly inspiring. And Im here with some of my favorite people. Chief among them is my wife of 33 years. Shes a Marine Corps mom. Shes an advocate for military families and spouses all across the nation. And she actually teaches art at a Christian school. Bishop, my wife, Karen Pence, is with us today, the Second Lady of the United States. (Applause.) She had to be here. And its also a real joy I think you can probably tell from the way we talk about each other the bond that I have come to share with your senator. I first met him when he was a state legislator and I had made my way down to South Carolina. I sensed his quality. I sensed his integrity and his faith from the first time that we spoke. Little did I know that we would serve together in the United States House of Representatives. And you can imagine how inspired I was to see him take his role and be reelected as the junior senator for the great state of South Carolina. Would you stand up and join me in thanking Senator Tim Scott for his presence and his great leadership? (Applause.) I can honestly say I was for Tim Scott before it was cool. (Laughter.) And I hope you people in South Carolina know that his leadership inspires not only people all across this state, not only in Washington, D.C., but all across the nation. And were all grateful for your support for him. And as we get started today speaking of friends of mine, let me bring greetings from another friend of mine. The Senator and I spoke to him on the way here, and he was excited to hear that we were coming to see one of the Opportunity Zones that he signed into law become a reality. I bring greetings from a great champion of opportunity for every American, the 45th President of the United States of America, President Donald Trump. (Applause.) I was excited to be here with you today, and particularly to be here this month, to see the way this community is pulling together the extraordinary entrepreneurial energy thats gathered here, the way your political leadership at the national level has rallied around making new opportunities available for people all across northeastern Columbia. And its also meaningful to be here, in this community, particularly since its Black History Month. Its a month, each and every year, where Americans pause to celebrate the extraordinary accomplishments and contributions of African Americans to the life of this nation, from business to the arts, to sciences, to politics, to armed forces, to law enforcement, and every field and endeavor. As President Trump said in issuing his proclamation this year, and I quote, The examples of heroism, patriotism, and enterprise of African Americans throughout our history have given people of all backgrounds courage, confidence, and faith to pursue their dreams. And we celebrate Black History Month with all of you. (Applause.) And in this time, its incredibly exciting to be here not only, Bishop, to see the growth in this community, but to see a growing American economy. Its inspiring to think that, since Election Day 2016, businesses large and small have created 5.3 million new jobs all across the United States. Wages are rising at a faster pace than any time in decades. Theyre growing fastest for blue-collar workers across the country. And in this rising economy, in just two years, nearly 5 million Americans have lifted themselves off food stamps. This economy is growing. (Applause.) And its the result of the energy of our people and the policies weve advanced. And South Carolina is no exception to this boom. South Carolina has added nearly 80,000 jobs over the last two years, and South Carolina is now enjoying the lowest unemployment rate in the history of the great state of South Carolina. (Applause.) And it is incredible to see it. But as Senator Scott knows, and I expect many of you appreciate, its been a result of not of good timing, but its been a result of good policies from the outset of this administration, under President Trumps leadership, with your senators strong support. Weve been cutting taxes, rolling back regulation, unleashing American energy, negotiating better and fairer trade deals, opening up opportunities for American exports as never before. And in the midst of all of those reforms, we passed legislation that included what has come to be known as Opportunity Zones thats expanding opportunities here in northeast Columbia and all across America. And Senator Tim Scott was the champion of this transformational reform. (Applause.) Its true. One of the things Senator Scott and I bonded on early on is our affinity for a guy by the name of Jack Kemp, who was a mentor of mine. And he actually was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the first Bush administration. And it was then that he first began to talk about this concept. But your senator managed to bring it to the floor of the United States Senate. And when tax reform rolled through the Congress of the United States historic tax reform I mean to tell you, he was in there every step of the way making sure that when tax reform would come, that it would benefit every American and every community. And, Senator Tim Scott, this community, this state, and this nation are in your debt. Thank you so much. (Applause.) Opportunity Zones those of you not fully aware are areas of the country that for too long have been left behind. Many of the nearly 35 million Americans who live in these places still struggle to find work, to make ends meet. Tim and I were talking on the way here of a time that we had both traveled to Philadelphia. We were there for a conference. We were both members of Congress, and but we were in inner-city Philadelphia, and so we made a time to stop by a local ministry a homeless shelter. And Ill just never forget the conversation that I had with an African American man, about my age. I remember he looked at me, and he said, Mike, you know, its just not like it was when you and I were growing up. And I said, Well, how do you mean? And he just looked he looked at me and he just said, Well, you know, when I was growing up, he said, sure, there were some people that didnt want to work, but you could always find a job if you wanted one. But he looked at me and he said in 2010, he looked at me and said, Theres just no jobs. He said, Young people today are faced with a lack of opportunity, not a lack of will. And I have to tell you, we reflected on that experience. And to see the progress that weve been making in our economy, broadly, but also in this transformational idea of Opportunity Zones, its all about making sure that, as the American economy expands, its going to expand for every American. And thats exactly what weve done here. This program encourages private new investment in areas that start business, rebuild infrastructure, unlock hidden potential. And not like I need to tell the people of this area anything about that, because the men and women of this great congregation and businesses in the area have come together for one of the very first Opportunity Zones to roll out in America since this legislation was signed into law. And after 11 years of abandonment, the Capital 8 theater is a reality. And its creating jobs and opportunity and energy in this growing community. (Applause.) I mean, it is amazing to me, Bishop, to think about think about what youve accomplished here. And the leaders of this church saw that potential and saw the opportunity to put people to work, but also to create a magnet a magnet for more investment in this area, bringing people into the community and bringing new businesses into the community, and rebuilding it bigger and better than ever before. The truth is, Opportunity Zones help address unique needs by forming partnerships between the federal government with regard to tax benefits, state and local leaders, and local investors to create that incentive that makes it even more possible for people to invest at the point of the need. As President Trump said just a few months ago, when he established what came to be known as the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council which is going to be coordinating efforts and identifying Opportunity Zones all across the country as the President said, and I quote, No citizen will be forgotten, no community will be ignoredno American will be left on the sidelines. We must unlock the potential of all our people, not just some of our people. And thats what Opportunity Zones are doing right here in Columbia. (Applause.) The generosity and the dedication, the ingenuity, the entrepreneurial spirit and not only of Bishop Freeman and this great congregation, but of the businesses that are represented here is truly inspiring. You know, one of my wife Karens favorite verses is that verse that speaks about how the Lord says He waits in Heaven, ready to pour out blessings to pour out blessings on His people, until you wont have room enough to take it all in. And I truly do believe, looking at whats happening here, looking at this spectacular facility and the banquet facility, and the theaters that have come together, and looking at the businesses that are coming back to this region, that those blessings have just begun just begun for northeast Columbia. And the truth is, after years of a neighborhood thats been struggling, and because of the vision that Senator Scott brought here, because of the ingenuity and determination of this great community, youre all coming back. But I know theres one other reason that I leave here with a tremendous amount of confidence and enthusiasm about what Ive seen, and thats because not only do you have the business acumen to bring this region of northeast Columbia back, not only do you have public officials that understand how to create incentives that will create jobs and opportunities for every American in every community, not only do you have the strong public support, but also its evident to me everywhere Ive gone, since I arrived here at this place, is the faith of the people in this community. It radiates from everybody Ive spoken to. (Applause.) And its deeply inspiring. And the truth is, you know, unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. And I know that you all are building on a foundation of faith here. And its on that foundation that, throughout our nations history, its always been on that solid foundation that weve been able to bring people together to bring people together around the point of the need to ensure that opportunities and blessings reach everyone in our community. And so I want to thank you for your inspiring example. Mr. Freeman, I want to thank you for your warm hospitality today and for the inspirational example of the Meeting Place Church. Senator Scott, I want to thank you for your tenacious advocacy of Opportunity Zones as we debated tax reform just a few years ago. And lastly, I just want to thank all of you here across the Columbia community and across South Carolina who are gathered here to really celebrate what is great, great progress. But I think its just the beginning, because I really do believe that with the strong leadership of President Trump, Senator Scott, and your other representatives in both parties in Washington, D.C. championing policies that create opportunities for all; with your strong state and local leadership; with this great business community with such large hearts and generous spirits; and with a community of faith; and with Gods help, the best days for northeast Columbia, for South Carolina, and America are yet to come. And theyll be days of opportunity for all. Thank you very much. God bless you. And God bless America. (Applause.) Imperial Valley News Center English Language Teacher in China Sentenced to Prison for Distribution of Child Pornography Milwaukee, Wisconsin - A previously convicted child pornography offender was sentenced yesterday to 96 months in prison followed by seven years of supervised release for distributing child pornography. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Krueger for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Special Agent in Charge R. Justin Tolomeo of the FBIs Milwaukee Field Office, made the announcement. Christopher Eklund, 47, formerly an English language teacher in China, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman of the Eastern District of Wisconsin on Nov. 2, 2018 to one count of distribution of child pornography. According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, between approximately Dec. 2014 and July 2015, Eklund advertised and shared thousands of images of child pornography, which was discovered during an undercover investigation into the distribution of child pornography over an internet file-sharing network. Eklund also used the network to write detailed, sexualized blog posts discussing his affinity for child pornography. FBI agents in Milwaukee reviewed these postings and downloaded several child pornography files that Eklund was sharing over the network. During the investigation, the FBI learned that Eklund was a U.S. citizen who was living in Wuhan, China, teaching English classes to children. The FBI then provided investigative information to Chinese authorities. In Oct. 2016, after conducting their own investigation, Chinese authorities charged and convicted Eklund for child pornography offenses. In May of 2018, after Eklund was released from prison in China, he was deported to the United States for prosecution. The case was investigated by the FBI Milwaukee Crimes Against Children Task Force, including participants from the Milwaukee Police Department, West Allis Police Department, Sheboygan County Sheriffs Department, and Milwaukee County Sherriff Department, with the cooperation of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and Public Security Bureau. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Ralph Paradiso of the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin W. Proctor of the Eastern District of Wisconsin. This investigation was a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. Imperial Valley News Center Miami Medical Clinic Owner Pleads Guilty to Health Care Fraud Scheme Miami, Florida - A Miami, Florida-area medical clinic owner pleaded guilty today for her role in a scheme to defraud Medicare by submitting fraudulent billings from the clinic and by supplying patients to three home health agencies that submitted fraudulent bills for home health services. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBIs Miami Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and Special Agent in Charge Brian Swain of the U.S. Secret Services (USSS) Miami Field Office made the announcement. Juliette Anais Tamayo, 53, of Miami, pleaded guilty to count two of a superseding indictment charging her with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Tamayo previously pleaded guilty to count one of the superseding indictment, charging a conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks and to defraud the United States. Her sentencing has been scheduled for April 30, 2019 by U.S. District Judge Cecelia Altonaga of the Southern District of Florida, who accepted both pleas. Tamayo owned Sunshine Medical Care Group Inc. (Sunshine), a medical clinic in Miami. According to admissions made as part of her separate pleas to the health care fraud and kickback conspiracies, Tamayo solicited and accepted kickbacks from patient recruiters and from the owners of several Miami-area home health agencies in exchange for providing prescriptions for home health services to patients at Sunshine. The prescriptions, in turn, were used by the home health agencies to bill Medicare for home health services purportedly provided to Medicare beneficiaries. Tamayo paid a portion of the kickbacks she received from the home health agencies to physicians who worked at Sunshine to induce them to write the fraudulent prescriptions, she admitted. The superseding indictment alleged that the losses to Medicare as a result of the scheme were approximately $3.7 million. The principals of the home health agencies and one of the Sunshine physicians who wrote fraudulent prescriptions previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud in separate matters. The case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and the U.S. Secret Service. Trial Attorneys Adam G. Yoffie and Gary A. Winters of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. The Criminal Divisions Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 14 strike forces operating in 23 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion. Imperial Valley News Center United States Joins False Claims Act Lawsuit Against Arriva Medical LLC and Alere Inc. Washington, DC - The United States has intervened in a False Claims Act case alleging that Arriva Medical LLC (Arriva) and its parent Alere Inc. (Alere) submitted or caused false claims to the Medicare program for medically unnecessary glucometers and paid kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries in the form of free glucometers and copayment waivers, the Justice Department announced today. Additionally, the government has informed the court that it is adding Ted Albin, a reimbursement consultant for Arriva, as an additional defendant in the action. Arriva is a mail-order diabetic testing supply company based in Coral Springs, Florida, which, at one point, had operations in Antioch, Tennessee. Alere is a large medical device company based in Waltham, Massachusetts, which acquired Arriva in 2011. Both Arriva and Alere were acquired by Abbott Laboratories in September 2017, after the alleged conduct occurred. In October 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revoked Arrivas billing number for billing Medicare for durable medical equipment that was shipped more than fourteen days after a beneficiarys death. Arriva subsequently stopped operating in December 2017. The False Claims Act lawsuit alleges, among other things, that Arriva, with the oversight and approval of Alere, offered free upgrades of glucometers to Medicare beneficiaries. Because Arriva required all new customers to receive a new meter, regardless of whether they already had a functioning meter, Arriva allegedly routinely submitted false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary meters. Arriva also allegedly made no meaningful effort to collect copayments from beneficiaries for the meters or diabetic testing supplies subsequently purchased from Arriva for use in connection with the meters. The waiver of patient copays or provision of other benefits to induce patients to purchase a companys items or services is prohibited by the Anti-Kickback Statute. We will seek to hold accountable health care providers that attempt to profit by providing illegal inducements and by billing for unnecessary items, said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt for the Department of Justices Civil Division. We will continue to take appropriate legal measures to protect Medicare funds and to ensure a fiscally sound program that can serve all of our senior citizens. When medical equipment companies scheme to enrich themselves by unlawfully increasing the sales volume of durable medical equipment, they place our federal health care programs in jeopardy, said U.S. Attorney Cochran. The restrictions imposed by federal statutes exist to prevent improper practices, including providing unnecessary medical equipment and billing Medicare for it. We will continue to enforce the laws that protect the integrity of federal health care programs. Medicare rules bar payment for medically unnecessary services and supplies, said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. Such schemes only benefit suppliers billing for products that patients neither want nor need. The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and to receive a share of any recovery. The act permits the United States to intervene and take over responsibility for litigating these cases, as it has done here in part. A defendant who violates the act is subject to three times the governments losses, plus applicable penalties. This case is being handled by the Justice Departments Civil Division and the United States Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, with assistance from the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. The case is captioned United States ex rel. Goodman v. Arriva Medical LLC; Alere, Inc., Case No. 3:13-cv-00760 (M.D. Tenn.). The claims in which the United States has intervened are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. Imperial Valley News Center FTC to law violators: Dont bank on bankruptcy Washington, DC - A recent ruling by a Florida Bankruptcy Judge sheds light on a tenacious team within the FTCs Bureau of Consumer Protection. But first, lets set the time machine to 2008 when the FTC entered into a settlement with BlueHippo, a computer financing company that pitched electronics to consumers with less than perfect credit, bad credit, no credit. The FTC sued BlueHippo for a host of illegal practices, many related to the companys refund policies. The defendants settled that case, agreeing to pay as much as $5 million in consumer redress. But just a year later, the FTC went back to court, alleging that BlueHippo was already in violation of the order because it didnt clearly disclose the terms of its refund policy. According to the FTC, rather than giving consumers their money back, BlueHippo purported to offer store credit, but failed to disclose that major strings were attached. Consumer didnt learn about the onerous policies until they tried to use their credit, only to have BlueHippo tell them theyd have to shell out more cash first. As a result, more than 55,000 people paid money to BlueHippo, but got nothing in return. The trial judge granted the FTCs contempt motion against the corporate defendants and BlueHippo CEO Joseph Rensin, but entered a remedy of only $609,000. After the FTC appealed, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed and remanded the matter to the trial court, which entered a judgment against Mr. Rensin for $13.4 million, the financial harm the court determined that consumers suffered as a result of the scheme. Mr. Rensin refused to pay the contempt judgment, and according to the FTC, he tried to evade it by filing for bankruptcy. Thats when the FTCs bankruptcy team stepped in. At a trial before the Bankruptcy Judge, Mr. Rensin argued (among other things) that he was unaware of certain aspects of his companys refund policies and that his in-house counsel had been responsible for them testimony the Court expressly rejected as not credible. Mr. Rensin also claimed that the $13.4 million he owed was dischargeable in bankruptcy. The FTC disagreed, citing a provision in the law that a debt is not discharged to the extent obtained by . . . false pretenses, a false representation, or actual fraud . . . . The Bankruptcy Judge held, What constitutes false pretenses in the context of 523(a)(2)(A) has been defined as implied misrepresentations or conduct intended to create and foster a false impression. Youll want to read the Memorandum Opinion for the details, but the Court concluded that consumers relied on what BlueHippo told them, which was fatally misleading and amounted to fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment. The FTCs bankruptcy team also argued that an additional provision applied: 523(a)(6), which does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt . . . for willful and malicious injury by the debtor to another entity or to the property of another entity. The Bankruptcy Judge concluded that the FTC met its burden in proving that Mr. Rensins conduct was wrongful and without just cause and thus was malicious within the meaning of 523(a)(6). Mr. Rensin used BlueHippo to create a series of transactions aimed at defrauding consumers for the purpose of filling the coffers of BlueHippo. There was nothing defensible about his actions. Whats more, the Court ruled, Based on the credible evidence admitted in this case, not only did Mr. Rensin go along with this fraud, but he was at the helm of and guided BlueHippo in its every action in connection with this fraud. The Court put it this way: As the captain of the ship, with not only direct oversight but regular operational involvement in every aspect of the business relevant to this fraud, and with full knowledge of the financial benefits reaped from the fraud, at a time when BlueHippo was otherwise cash strapped, there is no doubt that Mr. Rensin orchestrated the entire affair. The effect of the ruling is that the FTC may proceed in its efforts to recover money for consumers injured by BlueHippos practices. But even at this intermediate stage, the case offers two important reminders: 1) Its unwise for companies and corporate officers to assume that bankruptcy will necessarily shield them from the financial consequences of their illegal conduct toward consumers; and 2) If its necessary to follow a defendant to Bankruptcy Court to protect consumers interests, the FTC has an experienced team ready to go there. Imperial Valley News Center President Trump Is Committed to Achieving Transformational Peace for the United States, the Korean Peninsula, and the World Washington, DC - "As part of a bold new diplomacy, we continue our historic push for peace on the Korean Peninsula." A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY: President Donald J. Trump is committed to achieving a bright and secure future for all people on the Korean Peninsula and across the world. On February 27 and 28, 2019, President Donald J. Trump will meet with Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) Chairman Kim Jong Un for a second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam. This summit aims to make further progress on the commitments the two leaders made in Singapore: transformed relations, a lasting and stable peace, and the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The President has made clear that should North Korea follow through on its commitment to complete denuclearization, we will work to ensure there are economic development options. The United States and partners are prepared to explore how to mobilize investment, improve infrastructure, enhance food security, and more in the DPRK. Robust economic development under Chairman Kim is at the core of President Trumps vision for a bright future for United StatesDPRK relations. HISTORIC RESULTS: President Trumps historic negotiations with Chairman Kim are already producing results. In June 2018, President Trump met with Chairman Kim, marking the first in-person meeting between the leaders of the two countries. Since President Trumps Singapore summit with Chairman Kim, relations between the United States and DPRK have reached new heights. North Korea has not conducted a nuclear weapons or missile test in more than 400 days, and has committed to the dismantlement of plutonium and uranium enrichment facilities. Chairman Kim has reaffirmed his commitment to complete denuclearization, including in his New Years speech. Thanks to President Trumps leadership, Americans are no longer detained in North Korea. North Korea has returned remains of Americans who died during the Korean War, and we are working to return more. A PUSH FOR PEACE: President Trump is working to build coalitions and achieve real progress on North Korea. (The Center Square) There are a few more weeks for landlords and their tenants in Illinois who havent paid rent because of the eviction moratorium to apply for some of more than $1.5 billion in rental assistance, but not every situation is eligible.The Illinois Housing Development Authori The Interim General Secretary of the Journalists Workers Union of Tanzania (JOWUTA), Comrade Timothy Kitundu, died on Tuesday, 19 February, in Dar es Salaam. Kitundu was said to be sick for some time. He was very much instrumental in the revival of the journalists union in Tanzania. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) wants to honour his memory and sends condolences to his friends and family. JOWUTA said that Comrade Timothy Kitundu will be remembered as a very humble man who was dedicated to helping other people, especially the young journalists. His efforts helped journalists in Tanzania to reorganise and strengthen their union. The General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Anthony Bellanger, noted that the IFJ had recognised the significant role that Kitundu had played since 2014 in helping to revitalise the union, following the deregistration of the Tanzania Union of Journalists (TUJ). On behalf of the IFJ we would like to extend our sincere condolences to the family of Timothy Kitundu, the members of JOWUTA and all media community in Tanzania. The President of the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), Alsadiq Ibrahim Alrizagi, said that Timothy Kitundu was a committed journalist and trade unionist who wanted the very best for his colleagues and had demonstrated this through his consistent struggle to ensure that JOWUTA is registered to look into the welfare of journalists in Tanzania. Comrade Timothy Kitundu was buried on Thursday 21 February in Dar es Salaam. May his soul rest in perfect peace. International Falls, MN (56649) Today Variable clouds with thunderstorms, especially in the afternoon. High 77F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) The camp of Senator Leila de Lima wants the court to take a second look at former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Chief Rafael Ragos-and to reinstate the latter as one of the accused in the drug trafficking case. This, after retired Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group General Benjamin Magalong on Friday said the former BuCor officer was involved in extorting and receiving "payola" from high profile inmates. The Justice Department in 2017 dropped Ragos from the drug case, where De Lima is also accused. Magalong, who was presented as the first witness of the prosecution, also answered in the negative when asked if the detained solon had "integrity issues" during its intelligence gathering - and if her name had cropped up as having links to drugs. "Masaya kami sa testimonya ni General Magalong kasi siya na mismo ang nag-validate na walang kinalaman si Senator De Lima sa illegal drug trading sa loob ng National Bilibid Prison," De Lima's lawyer Filibon Tacardon said. [Translation: We're happy with the testimony of General Magalong because he himself validated that Senator De Lima had no links with the illegal drug trading inside the National Bilibid Prison.] De Lima is entering her second year in detention following the administration's drug charges against her. Human rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International on Friday called on the Philippine government to drop the "politically motivated" charges against the senator. CNN Philippines Correspondent Anjo Alimario contributed to this report. Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email circulation2@journalnet.com for help creating one. Tracie Montgomery measures the diameter of the evergreen tree stump that the city of Inkom is demanding her family remove because it's allegedly in the right-of-way along Rapid Creek Road. The Montgomerys cut down the tree this past December hoping that would be enough to satisfy the city, but Inkom is still pursuing legal action against the family. Community Information If you would like to submit an upcoming event or community announcement, please contact our staff at 208-232-4161 or send an email to cjohnson@journalnet.com. We will also accept news from local clubs and engagement, wedding and anniversary announcements. 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If you don't have an email associated with your account email circulation@idahopress.com for help creating one. Suspected Pittsfield Arsonist Arraigned PITTSFIELD, Mass. A man accused of setting fires in four places in September was arraigned in Berkshire Superior Court on Tuesday. Phillip Jordan is facing four counts of burning a dwelling house. He was ordered by Judge John Agostini to be held without bail. Jordan is being represented by Attorney Rinaldo Del Gallo. The charges originated from fires allegedly intentionally set on September 22, 2018 . That evening there were four fires started - the largest at Jordan's home on Appleton Avenue. The other firsts were reported on Fort Hill Avenue, Ridge Avenue, and then on Brown Street. No one was injured in any of the blazes. Police later identified Jordan as a suspect but he had fled the area. He was arrested at the Canadian border by U.S. Customers and Border Patrol agents at the Highgate Port of Entry in Vermont two days later without incident. Jordan was charged in Vermont on a fugitive from justice charge and was later extradited back to Massachusetts. The 59-year old is now being held pending a dangerousness hearing. The PledgeMusic Debacle [Iain Baker of Jesus Jones] In this piece Iain Baker breaks down the dismal PledgeMusic situation, reflecting on how the current crisis is reminiscent of similar incidents in the history of the music industry, as well as speculating on the somewhat bleak future of the platform. ________________________________ Guest post by Iain Baker of Jesus Jones from Music Technology Policy [Used by permission of the artist. This post is from a series of tweets by Iain Baker of Jesus Jones regarding both their experience being cut off by PledgeMusic and also the implications for the larger music business.] The music business is fond of winning battles, and losing wars. The best example I can think of is squashing Napster that victory was anything but it didnt hold back the tide of downloads, it merely hastened the rise of streaming. Above all, it entrenched a generational shift in attitude towards the ownership and transference of digital content. So when the Pledge disaster began to unfold, my first thought was the battle in front of me. How could I get back the thousands of pounds I was owed? How could Pledge survive, so that I could release more music, in the future, and replicate the successful campaigns wed created thus far? But, as time passed, my emphasis shifted to the bigger picture, and the war, not the battle. This was driven by one realisation: what if it happened again? If the site is saved, whats to stop Pledge just doing it again? Whats to stop them getting another load of money in, and just losing it again? What could stop that? And the answer, sadly not that much. I wanted Pledge to be saved but the chances arent high. Theyve apparently got unsustainable debts, huge liabilities, and a board of directors who are at best incompetent, and at worst could possibly be open to allegations of dishonestly and fraudulent mismanagement of funds. Companies like Pledge are held hostage by VC cash from investors. These investors dont seem to care whether a struggling songwriter gets a chance to put out a great new record they just want their investment back, with a profit on top. And I get that thats how business works. But VC cash is flung around in the hope of finding the next big thing and that need for success comes with a greater need to gamble, and a corresponding disregard for consequences. People poured a lot of money into Pledge, so that Pledge could go out and get more money. The artistic endeavours that were at the core of Pledge became secondary to the pure profit that could be leveraged. Im think this hope that investors would see returns is what was driving Pledges doomed efforts to grow, exponentially. I cant help but think that investing in something like a charity would have been regulated more tightly, ensuring that funds raised were managed effectively, that plans would be in place to ensure realistic growth, whilst still allowing benefactors to be rewarded. This wouldnt be an issue, if Pledge were selling biscuits, for example. Trying to sell a great new biscuit, and become the biggest and best biscuit retailer in the world. But Pledge was operating in the same way as a Bank, or a building society [or credit union]. They were the custodians of peoples hopes and dreams. In the same way that a bank would take the shoebox of money from under your bed, and say dont worry, when you need this, well be there for you. But Pledge werent there, for anyone. People trusted Pledge, and Pledge didnt show any of that trust, in return. The Banking system is held together by trust, and by confidence. But since the financial crisis, its been vitally important to underpin that confidence with safeguards, and structures which ensure that banks are protected from contagion and shock to ensure that poor choices cannot threaten peoples trust and security. And this is what needs to happen if were going to save Pledge. We need to think about saving the idea of it, and not necessarily the site itself. For marginalised, struggling artists or for those who just need to have hope, when traditional lines of business seem closed a site that offers a way to promote themselves effectively is a godsend. But the trust which should have kept this system afloat was torpedoed by the very people who were charged with protecting it. We simply cant let that happen again. We need the business model, but we dont need the people who ran that business into the ground. We need a new structure where top-down investment is replaced by community, trust and transparency, growing from the ground, upwards. We need financial safeguards, and guidelines to make sure everyone in the supply chain is protected. The old model was quick, and easy some of that simplicity may be lost. Consumer law, and contractual obligations may hamper initial progress, and make the path longer to travel. But if were to try and maintain the vital business model weve all come to rely on, then we owe it to ourselves to try and make it work. When it comes to actually defining this new plan well, I dont have the answers. I wish I did. All I know is that if we stick together, and share our communal knowledge, passion, and commitment, well get there. So I dont really know whats next. If anyone can suggest a way forward, or a way to start putting this into action, Id love to talk further. You know where I am. Share on: An SVP of HR truly 'walks the talk' when it comes to lifelong learning 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. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. With all the discussion around the crisis in public education and issues with school finance, its easy to forget that higher education in Texas is facing its own deep challenges. While Texas has greatly improved access to higher education for more students, that access has come at a steep price. Consider the following: Enrollment in higher education has skyrocketed, growing by more than 50 percent over the last two decades. Texas universities and colleges are now more diverse than at any time in our history. Unfortunately, funding to universities and colleges has not kept up with this growth. In much the same way that state government has relied on local property taxes to fund public education, Texas has used tuition to cover the cost of higher education. From 2000 to 2014, overall state spending in higher education dropped $3,900 per student, while tuition increased by $3,200. In 1984, more than half of college funding was provided by the state; today, the number is less than one-third, with the states flagship institutions Texas A&M University and the University of Texas receiving 22 percent and 13 percent, respectively, of funding from the state. As tuition increases and more students from modest means access higher education, the need for student loans has increased. Nationally, student loans are now the second largest form of consumer debt with over $1.5 trillion owed. In Texas, more than 55 percent of all students have outstanding loans, with the average student owing $26,824. While underfunding is a significant problem, it is by no means the only issue affecting higher education. Because of deficiencies in the K-12 system, an increasing number of students arrive on Texas campuses requiring remedial education. On many campuses, the number of students who are deemed not college ready is greater than 75 percent of a freshman class. These students often require several semesters of academic intervention, increasing the cost of their education and making graduating in six years difficult. While the statewide six-year graduation rate is climbing (to more than 60 percent in 2018), at many universities, thousands of students are left behind. For our state to continue to prosper, quality higher education must remain a priority. While general increases in state funding are important, there are many needed structural reforms that can also help improve access, lower costs and increase the quality of higher education in Texas. To build a better higher education system, Texas needs to build on its assets while embracing innovation. Texas public universities are largely organized into six large systems of schools, with a small number of unaffiliated universities. These systems were intended to help defray costs by creating a platform to share services, technology and funding. The problem, however, is that many continue to operate as autonomous units, increasing costs and reducing efficiencies. By adopting reforms such as uniform hiring processes, a unified procurement system and a tiered admissions system that better differentiates schools as teaching-oriented vs. research-oriented (like what the California university systems have developed), a streamlined and efficient college system can be created. This approach would reduce administrative and operational costs at individual colleges and end the duplication of key services that add millions in cost. Texas community colleges also play a key role in a modern higher education system. They remain the most efficient and cost-effective way to deliver higher education in Texas. With a combination of workforce training, associate degree programs and remedial education, community colleges are a key link in the higher education chain. Increasing access and opportunity is critical, and Texas still has far too many portions of the state not in a community college district. Making community college as affordable as possible must be a priority for state leaders. Texas should look to adopt successful models such as Tennessees program known as Tennessee Reconnect, which guarantees free community college to all the states resident adults without an advanced degree. Finally, remedial education, which is occurring throughout higher education, should be exclusive to community colleges, resulting in better efficiencies and cost savings for students and institutions alike. Community colleges are simply better at graduation, and student outcome data indicate that at-risk students who begin at the community college level perform better at four-year institutions. A stronger community college system means a stronger Texas. For Texas to remain strong and vital, it needs educated citizens. The current higher education system isnt enough to deal with the changing realities of our state. Texas needs more investment in higher education, but it also needs a better approach that leverages the resources we have to their highest. Aiyer is an assistant professor of political science and public administration in the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University. He is co-host of the weekly podcast "Party Politics" on Houston Public Media. When a journalist for the Illinois Baptist newspaper reported in 2002 on a Baptist pastor who had sexually assaulted two teenage girls in his church, one apparently just 13 years old, he received a furious reprimand. Glenn L. Akins, then running the Illinois Baptist State Association, offered a bizarre objection: that writing about one pastor who committed sex crimes was unfair because that ignores many others who have done the same thing. Akins cited several other prominent churches where the same sort of sexual misconduct has occurred recently in our state. In the end, the Baptists ousted the journalist, Michael W. Leathers, while the pastor who had committed the crimes, Leslie Mason, received a seven-year prison sentence and then, as a registered sex offender, returned to the pulpit at a series of Baptist churches nearby. So Leathers is no longer a journalist, and Mason remained a pastor. That saga was cited in a searing investigation by the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News that found that the Southern Baptist Convention repeatedly tolerated sexual assaults by clergymen and church volunteers. The Chronicle found 380 credible cases of church leaders and volunteers engaging in sexual misconduct, with the victims sometimes shunned by churches, urged to forgive abusers or advised to get abortions. Some victims as young as 3 were molested or raped inside pastors studies and Sunday school classrooms, the Chronicle reported. Leathers told me he is glad he wrote the 2002 article, even if it cost him his career. He expressed frustration at Southern Baptist priorities: The church leadership would expel a church that appointed a woman as senior pastor, even as it accepted sexual predators. The indifference to criminal behavior is an echo of what has been unearthed in the Roman Catholic Church over the decades. The latest sickening revelations are of priests getting away with raping nuns and with assaulting deaf students. These new scandals provoke fresh nausea at the hypocrisy of religious blowhards like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson who thundered at the immorality of gay people even as their own Southern Baptist network tolerated child rape. I suspect its no accident that these crimes emerged in denominations that do not ordain women and that relegate them to second-class status. If God is male, Mary Daly, the feminist theologian, wrote, then the male is God. The result may be threefold: an entitled male clergy, women and girls taught to be submissive in church, and a lack of accountability and oversight. Its complicated, of course, for many of the Catholic victims were boys, but there does seem to have been an element of elevating male clergy members on a pedestal in a way that made them omnipotent and unaccountable. Underneath it all is this patriarchy that goes back millennia, Serene Jones, the president of Union Theological Seminary, told me, noting the commonality of the Catholic and Southern Baptist churches: They both have very masculine understandings of God and have a structure where men are considered the closest representatives of God. The paradox is that Jesus and the early Christian church seem to have been very open to women. The only person in the New Testament who wins an argument with Jesus is an unnamed woman who begs him to heal her daughter (Mark 7:24-30 and Matthew 15:21-28). The Gospel of Mary, a Gnostic text from the early second century, suggests that Jesus entrusted Mary Magdalene to provide religious instruction to his disciples. But then conventional hierarchies asserted themselves, and women were mostly barred from religious leadership. After the Chronicles investigation, the Southern Baptists have promised greater training and more background checks, but whats needed above all is accountability and equality. Prohibiting women from the highest ranks of formal leadership fosters a fundamentally toxic masculinity, Jonathan L. Walton, the Plummer professor of Christian morals at Harvard, told me. Baptist women have been ready to be heard for a century. I know because my great-grandfather John Howard Shakespeare was the leader of Baptists in Britain from 1898 to 1924 and practiced his sermons on his wife. When she once insisted that she had something else to do, he locked her in an upstairs room. My great-grandmother Amy, wearing a long dress, then climbed out an upper window and onto a tree branch, and finally clambered down the tree to the ground. Perhaps inspired by such a strong woman, Shakespeare favored the ordination of women. That women are not yet permitted to take their proper share in the life and work of our churches is, to our thinking, a relic of barbarism, he wrote in 1901. So much has changed for women since then, yet even today a majority of religious women still belong to denominations that do not ordain women. And as long as inequality is baked into faith, as long as men of God are unaccountable, then sexual assaults will continue. The problem is not just wayward pastors and priests. Rather it is structural, an inequality and masculine conception of God that empowers rapists. And, perhaps, embarrasses God. Kristof is a New York Times columnist. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol planners were in Laredo this week to begin assessing where to place a wall within our South Texas community. At a State of the Border address on Feb. 1, Felix Chavez, interim chief for the U.S. Border Patrol Laredo sector, presented information to justify the 171 river miles of wall construction being requested for Webb and Zapata counties. CBP believes that a permanent, impermeable barrier is necessary to meet its goal of operational control. To our dismay, we learned that of those 171 river miles, CBP wants the heart of Laredos urban center for the wall. This is a position with which we fiercely disagree. This area includes downtown, the Laredo College campus, densely populated middle-and-low income residential areas, and prime parks, trails and habitat for recreation, kayaking, and birding, which have made Laredo and the lower Rio Grande Valley a major destination for eco-tourists. Historical data on illegal apprehensions clearly indicate that there is no urgent, or even impending, border crisis. The data shows that apprehensions for Laredo and the entire Southwest border , in 2017, were at an all-time low similar to the early-1970s. The 2018 statistics reached one-fourth of their peak in 2000. As for illegal drug seizures, Border Patrol data show that more than 90 percent occur at the ports of entry. Meanwhile, our government has waived every regulation for wall construction on our biodiverse vega (river floodplain), dismantling protections that directly impact the security of Laredos only source of drinking water, which we share with 6 million people up and down the Rio Grande. In waiving the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Air Act, Solid Waste Disposal Act and at least 20 other environmental laws, the Trump administration threatens the health and safety of millions of Americans and Mexicans who live along the banks of this river. Todays border situation is complicated by the changing demographics of immigration. In the past, migrants were overwhelmingly single males from Mexico. Today, 78 percent are from countries other than Mexico, and family units and unaccompanied minors now make up 60 percent of illegal apprehensions. Contributing factors include: violence and poverty in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador propelling migrants northward to legally seek asylum; an overloaded court system; and detention policies that complicate crossings at legal points of entry, creating incentives to cross between the ports. This is a dramatic shift in migration patterns, which Border Patrol facilities arent designed to handle. We therefore urge our congressional leaders to budget zero dollars toward the wall so that security dollars are better spent on more urgent and pressing measures such as increasing staff and upgrading technology at our ports of entry. The consequences of constructing a wall in Laredos urban center would devastate our landscape, ecology, cultural heritage and quality of life. Flooding could significantly increase in our lower-lying sister city, creating a wreckage whose risk will not even be addressed because of the dismissal of construction regulations. Hundreds of species of wildlife rely on river access for their survival. Relocating millions of dollars worth of city infrastructure located near the rivers edge illustrates real world costs of implementation. To imperil this natural landmark and American Heritage River which is the sole source of drinking water for millions of people with an unjustifiable wall for political posturing is an outrage. Laredo is an historic community in the South Texas borderlands. Its lifeblood, the Rio Grande, has always been its No. 1 asset since our communitys founding 264 years ago in 1755. We cannot support this wall, especially when the Border Patrols own data contradict its conception, and the historically low apprehension rates clearly show there is no border crisis. Cigarroa and Cortez are board president and executive director, respectively, of the Rio Grande International Study Center, founded in 1994, an environmental advocacy group based in Laredo. As someone who voted for President Trump, I find myself constantly defensive and frustrated at the many allegations that Trump supporters are racists. That defensiveness is always amplified whenever news agencies cover stories that perpetuate that perception while ignoring any mention of stories that contradict it. The ever-evolving news story of Jussie Smollett is one such example. After Smollett claimed he was assaulted on January 29 by two men who yelled racist and anti-gay slurs and shouted, This is MAGA country, every news agency in the country covered the story. I wouldnt expect anything less; an attack on such a high-profile individual is newsworthy. But Im ashamed to admit that my initial reaction was not one of empathy for Smollett. Instead, I immediately felt defensive on behalf of Trump supporters, who I knew would take the heat for someone elses heinous actions. Then, last Saturday, when I saw CNN first report that Smollett had allegedly orchestrated the attack himself, my immediate reaction was not one of relief on behalf of African-Americans, but of vindication and a collective hallelujah and amen for Trump supporters everywhere. The fact that I saw both revelations of such a terrible news story through partisan lenses is a tragic revelation indeed. But it gets worse. In the week since, as Chicago police pursued the investigation, Smollett has gone from victim to suspect to being arrested yesterday morning. The story has continued to dominate the headlines, and no group of people has relished each new detail more than Trump supporters. I understand that. Being accused even just by political association to such a crime and then declared innocent is cause for celebration. But such vindication has brought out the worst in many. I started to see that when I read through the comments section of a TMZ report that Smollett denied orchestrating the attack: Monkey see, monkey do, monkey poured bleach and a noose on you read one. I know this country can never rid itself of the coloreds but can we at least get rid of the gay ones read another. Someone with the username Harambe with a profile picture of a gorilla wearing a MAGA hat wrote: Blacks are so incredibly unappreciative of all whites have done for them. We took them out of their mud huts, gave them a free ship ride to America, put actual roofs over their heads, fed them, put them to work on our farms ... then they whine about their freedom and toss aside their responsibilities. Now they're faking hate crimes and living off of the EBT benefits our taxes pay them. Sad. Which led to another comment: Yea ship all those ungrateful blacks back to Africa. And so on. Many of the worst comments added hashtags or additional commentary supporting Trump. I was sickened when I read through them, and even more so when I found dozens of similar comments almost everywhere I saw the story. It was especially troubling to contemplate as I realized that most major news outlets still filter comments and require approval before publishing them, meaning the comments I was reading were probably only a small percentage of the overall ones people were trying to post. All week long, Ive read dozens of posts about Smollett on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook from right-leaning sites and influencers, and Ive taken special note of the comments on each one to see whether there is a similar pattern of racism. I found awful evidence of it in every instance. I generally believe that the comments section is where trolls go to die, but in repeated examples like these, how could I not be alarmed by what I was reading? Such comments represent sincere beliefs, dangerous desires and deep-seeded racism. Im not suggesting that a significant number of Trump supporters are racists. Id still adamantly argue otherwise. Even if the attack on Smollett had happened the way he described, the actions of two disturbed individuals would in no way represent the attitudes or beliefs of the masses. Similarly, even though Ive now noted hundreds of blatantly racist comments as this story has unfolded, such responses are comparatively minuscule when you consider that 63 million Americans voted for Trump, and that nearly all of them, like me, would probably be shocked and horrified to read such words. Painting Trump supporters with a broad brush needs to stop and has needed to stop for some time. In fact, the only Democratic presidential candidate who has a chance of defeating Trump in 2020 will be the one who disavows that rhetoric completely and learns to understand and not condemn. But even if racists among Trump supporters are few and far between, their presence in any political party disturbs me greatly. Before I discovered these hundreds of comments in dozens of places, I sincerely believed that racism in America was, for the most part, a part of our past. A terrible piece of our history that we were distancing ourselves from each passing year. That statement will feel like willful ignorance to many. But I believe that acknowledging the problem and admitting my own ignorance, here, could help people like me evolve through constructive conversations with others. I grew up in Utah, one of the whitest states in America. From kindergarten through high school, I knew only three black people. Someone like me simply does not encounter evidence of racism in my everyday life. Sure, I see reports of racism in the news, but most examples appear one-sided and politically motivated. So its incredibly difficult to penetrate the belief system of someone like me, to help me see something like race relations differently. The sheer quantity and vitriol of the aforementioned comments is the most compelling thing Ive seen with my own eyes to convince me how alive and widespread racism still is in America today. When all is said and done, if Smollett orchestrated the attack, his actions should be condemned unequivocally, and he should be held responsible. If guilty, hes done far more harm to race relations than good. But we can also always learn from even the worst of circumstances, and I celebrate the fact that my own eyes are open wider than theyve ever been about the prevalence of racism. In order to fix a problem, we must first acknowledge it exists. I, for one, am finally willing to do so. Smolletts attack may well have been a hoax, but racist reactions and responses to it have been real indeed. Austin is a small business owner and writer from Orem, Utah. J. William Fulbright, the late U.S. senator from Arkansas from 1945-1974, titled his book about presidents misleading Americans into the Vietnam War quagmire, The Arrogance of Power. Political arrogance on a smaller scale often isnt noticed, which is why Texans should pay close attention to legislation sponsored by the state-senator wife of Attorney General Ken Paxton that very well could be written for his benefit. The attorney general narrowly won re-election in November, so some people may have forgotten that he is still under a 2015 indictment in Texas on two counts of first-degree felony securities fraud and a third-degree felony charge of selling securities without a license. Maybe the publics short memory was what state Sen. Angela Paxton was counting on when she filed a bill Friday that would dilute the very law her husband is accused of breaking. Of course, she swears thats not true. Her husbands legal problems include his involvement with a defunct computer hardware company called Servergy Inc., which from 2009-2013 raised $26 million in private securities to develop what it claimed was a revolutionary new data storage server. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Ken Paxton raised $840,000 for Servergy but never disclosed to investors that he was being compensated to recruit them. A federal judge in Texas dismissed the SEC complaint in 2017, concluding Paxton had no fiduciary responsibility or plausible legal duty to disclose his compensation arrangement with the friends, law firm clients and business associates he persuaded to invest in Servergy, which eventually folded. The court also pointed out, however, that it wasnt its job to prescribe liability based on moral considerations. That brings us back to Sen. Paxtons bill, which appears to have been introduced without any regard to morality as well. The legislation would create within the attorney generals office a new program called a regulatory sandbox, which would allow approved individuals to market innovative financial products or services without obtaining a license, registration, or other regulatory authorization. Sure sounds like what her husband is accused of doing illegally, but the senator insists she didnt discuss the bill with the attorney general before filing it. She says the legislation has nothing to do with the pending state charge against him. That may be hard for you to believe, but that has nothing to do with the purpose of the bill. People in my district brought this bill to me, she said. That may be so, but her moral compass should have told her that even if the bill has merit she was the wrong person to sponsor it with her husband currently under indictment. The AG doesnt win any points either for disavowing any knowledge of the bill before it was filed. Both claims are hard to believe, given the high stakes of the pending court case for both Paxtons. Its true that the legislation would not retroactively apply to the states accusations against Ken Paxton. However, Texas Tech law professor Dwight McDonald explained to the Chronicle that Paxtons lawyers could try to argue that prosecuting their client for an act no longer considered illegal would be a waste of taxpayer money. Ken Paxtons trial has been repeatedly postponed. It was transferred from Collin County to Harris County in 2017, but a dispute over how much special prosecutors should be paid has delayed setting a court date. Even if the attorney general is exonerated, his apparent ethical lapse has put a stain on his office that has gotten darker with the appearance of conniving by his wife. Only arrogance allows the attorney general to present himself as worthy to be the states top law enforcement officer while these criminal allegations remain unresolved. Voters may have chosen to give Ken Paxton the benefit of the doubt, but that doesnt mean he hasnt done anything wrong. Neither should he be proud that his wife, a guidance counselor at a Christian school, has in her first two months as a state senator been accused of an ethical breach by sponsoring a bill that seems designed at least in part to help her husband escape conviction. Ethics matter. Appearances matter. The people voters trust to be their leaders are expected to know that. Its arrogance when they act like they dont care. TILDEN When notification arrived from the Texas Secretary of States office last month that more than 95,000 people who might not be U.S. citizens had registered to vote in Texas, and possibly cast illegal ballots, the news landed in this sparsely populated South Texas community with all the disruptive force of a light morning mist. We sent a letter to her, and she came by the elections office and proved she was a naturalized citizen, McMullen County Attorney Kimberly Kreider-Dusek said of the single person who was flagged. I understand it was a big deal in other places. County elections clerk Kendra Mergele confirmed the investigation had wiped clear the entire list of McMullens suspect voters a woman who had acquired her drivers license with a green card and become naturalized about five years ago. It wasnt uncomfortable or anything, Mergele recalled. She totally understood. It was a very small to-do. If anything, it was a smaller to-do in Shackelford County. Officials didnt need even to contact the single person on the Secretary of States list of suspicious voters in the north Texas county of 3,300 residents, said county attorney Colton Johnson. We all know her and her husband, he said, adding by way of proof: They came here from England, and theyve been here a long time. If were going to build a wall between here and England, Johnson said, we better get after it. The Secretary of States advisory that tens of thousands of non-citizens may have cast votes generated powerful political waves that rolled through the states major population centers. In the capital, Attorney General Ken Paxton immediately relabeled the list a VOTER FRAUD ALERT. Within days, local elections officials in larger communities were reporting that a cursory examination of the list revealed many of those on it were easily identifiable as legal citizens many of them people whod been naturalized after obtaining a Texas drivers license with temporary papers. Civil rights activists mobilized protests against what was seen as an act of intimidation. In San Antonio, a federal judge this week heard testimony from advocates seeking to block the states investigation. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Deeply divided In other parts of the state, however, the news produced barely a ripple one more reminder that, as with most issues electoral, Texas remains a deeply divided state. For every million-resident county (Harris, Dallas, Bexar, Travis, Tarrant) struggling to untangle the meaning and political motives of the Secretary of States advisory, officials in rural jurisdictions the majority of Texas counties greeted the news with a resounding shrug. According to the Secretary of States list of questionable voters, more than half of all Texas counties had 25 or fewer suspect voters each. We only had three, said Jasper County elections clerk Diana South, laughing. So we actually havent done anything. Fifteen counties registered zero. A dozen had only a single person who had ended up on the red-flag list by obtaining a Texas driver license prior to becoming a naturalized citizen, then registered to vote. First I hear of it, said Bill Ballard, county attorney of Kent County, where a single voter was flagged. But we know everybody here. And I can tell you that nobody who isnt a citizen voted. Much of the non-issue, of course, has to do with size. Kent County has just over 600 registered voters. Jim Hogg County, in far South Texas, where the Secretary of State flagged three suspicious voters, has about 4,000. If there were registered voters who werent citizens, wed know who they were, said County and District Clerk Zonia Morales. In the shale region Here in McMullen County, 703 residents are registered to vote a demographic oddity as the latest official population estimate hovers at about the same number. County Judge James Teal explained many people who have moved out of the area continue to list McMullen County as their home for voting and tax purposes, skewing the census and voter tallies. Related: 30 groups ask Texas Democrats to block confirmation of embattled secretary of state Besides that, Mergele, the elections clerk, said the population shifts regularly, ebbing and flowing with the economic tides of oil and gas. With a severe shortage of residential housing, the county, which sits squarely in the Eagle Ford shale play, is dotted with settlements of small worker units. In 2017, McMullen achieved brief notoriety when, thanks to a flood of drilling royalties, its residents were declared the richest in the country. Its average per-capita earnings of more than $300,000 edged Teton County home of Jackson, Wyoming and Manhattan. In many ways, the fracking boom has taxed the small community. Kreider-Dusek said the justice of the peace court can get overwhelmed whenever police set up a station to snag oversize and overweight equipment trucks that rumble down TX-16 and TX-72, which divide the county into quadrants. On River Street in Tilden, Wheelers Mercantile offers free tea for anyone who can demonstrate he has been victimized by a traffic ticket. While the new wealth hasnt added much surface glitter to the community, it has paid invisible dividends. For the past three years, the county has purchased a policy to cover every resident who might need an emergency helicopter evacuation. There is free garbage collection. Many residents are 4th-, 5th-and 6th-generation a yes, mam, no mam sort of community, Kreider-Dusek said. An election, or convening a jury pool of registered voters, can feel like a combination family and school reunion. Its funny to watch when the judge asks whos related, she said. Everybody gets to visit and catch up. Not much drama Perhaps contributing to officials non-alarm about a single potentially illegal (but in reality, not) voter is that, while providing an opportunity for socializing, elections in McMullen County tend to be short of drama. As a body, McMullens voters arent especially divided. Republican Ted Cruz won 90 percent of the vote in the race for the U.S. Senate against Democratic challenger Beto ORourke. Last years Democratic primary brought out a total of 17 voters. Mergele said state races dont attract much interest. Local elections, meanwhile, are almost always unopposed. Mergele said the last local election that was actually contested was the 2016 sheriffs race. Prior to that, it was in 2010, when Teal was elected judge. Since then, his campaigns have been casual. I know most people here, he said. President Donald Trump on Thursday gave a full-throttled endorsement of U.S. Senator John Cornyns re-election, giving Cornyn yet more protection from a potential Republican primary challenge in 2020. Senator John Cornyn has done an outstanding job for the people of Texas, Trump wrote on Twitter on Thursday. He is strong on Crime, the Border, the Second Amendment and loves our Military and Vets. John has my complete and total endorsement. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Cornyn, who is seeking his fourth term in the Senate, had already won other important endorsements from key Texas officials including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Combined with Trumps, the endorsements send a clear message to potential GOP challengers that Cornyn will have backing from three figures that are widely popular in the Texas GOP. No big name Republicans or Democrats have announced plans to challenge Cornyn in 2020 so far. Kin Man Hui, Staff photographer / San Antonio Express-News Cornyn had little trouble in his last three campaigns. TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox. Sign up at HoustonChronicle.com More Information Cornyn's Senate track record U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has been in the U.S. Senate since 2002. 2002 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY John Cornyn 77 percent Bruce Rusty Lang 8 percent Doug G. Deffenbaugh 7 percent Dudley F. Mooney 5 percent Lawrence Cranberg 3 percent 2002 GENERAL ELECTION John Cornyn, R, 55 percent Ron Kirk, D, 43 percent 2008 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY John Cornyn 81 percent Larry Kilgore 19 percent 2008 GENERAL ELECTION John Cornyn, R, 55 percent Richard J. (Rick) Noriega, D, 43 percent 2014 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY John Cornyn 59 percent Steve Stockman 19 percent Dwayne Stovall 11 percent Linda Vega 4 percent Ken Cope 3 percent Chris Mapp 2 percent Reid Reasor 2 percent Curt Cleaver 1 percent 2014 GENERAL ELECTION John Cornyn, R, 62 percent David M. Alameel, D, 34 percent See More Collapse During a stop in Austin on Thursday, Cornyn said he asked for Trumps endorsement. Well, I did ask him for it and I appreciate his support, Cornyn said after an event promoting the U.S. Armys Futures Command based in Austin. Cornyn repeated that Republicans have to be careful about being complacent. He said the 2018 election cycle showed that Republicans have to do a better job campaigning in a state that has been changing. ONLY ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Cornyn faces new threats in 2020 re-election bid Obviously we know that 2020 is going to be another challenging election, Cornyn, 67, said. The endorsement comes just a day after Cornyn sent out a fundraising email to his supporters that warned the Democrat Beto ORourke could run against him. While most of the speculation has centered on ORourke running for the White House, Cornyn said ORourke reportedly met with U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, a sign that ORourke could be considering another Senate campaign. ORourke lost to Cruz in 2018, but by less than 3 percent of the vote. It was the closest U.S. Senate race in Texas since 1978. WASHINGTON House Democrats organized by Joaquin Castro of San Antonio plan to file a resolution Friday seeking to block President Donald Trumps national emergency declaration, the presidents effort to bypass Congress and free up billions of dollars to finance the wall along the Mexican border. The Democrats resolution may be destined to fail, given the presidents veto power. But the matter likely will turn up the heat in the debate over the wall and pressure Republicans in Congress, many of whom are wary about the presidents move, to take a stand. Trump issued the declaration to access billions of dollars beyond what Congress has authorized to start erecting border barriers. Congress approved a massive spending bill last week providing nearly $1.4 billion to build 55 miles of border barriers in Texas' Rio Grande Valley while preventing a renewed government shutdown. That measure represented a rejection of Trump's demand for $5.7 billion to construct more than 200 miles. In addition to declaring a national emergency, the president invoked authorities that he says enable him to tap into an additional $6.6 billion for wall building. That money would be transferred from a federal asset forfeiture fund, Defense Department anti-drug efforts and a military construction fund. Federal officials have not said which projects would be affected. Castro, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, outlined plans to begin moving the resolution in a Dear Colleague letter to House Democrats in which he described how the National Emergencies Act spelled out the process for Congress to terminate a presidents declaration. Thursday, a Democratic aide said that 221 Democrats had agreed to co-sponsor the resolution. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., pressed colleagues to sign on to Castros effort, arguing that Trumps declaration undermines the separation of powers and Congresss power of the purse. The presidents decision to go outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process violates the Constitution and must be terminated, she wrote. The GOP-run Senate is required to take up the resolution once it passes the House. The Senate conceivably could pass the resolution, despite Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells assertion that he supports the presidents emergency declaration. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Wednesday she would back the resolution, the first Republican to publicly state support for it. Three more GOP senators would need to vote with Democrats for the resolution to win initial approval. But it seemed unlikely Thursday that lawmakers in either chamber could muster a two-thirds majority to override a presidential veto. On HoustonChronicle.com: Top Texans in Congress spar over Trumps tax returns Once a resolution of disapproval is introduced, the law says it must be assigned to a committee, which has 15 calendar days to send it to the full chamber. The House parliamentarian has assigned Castro's measure to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. That chamber then has three calendar days to vote on it, but that timing could be shortened. Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a joint statement last week that lawmakers will use "every remedy available" to defend Congress' powers, including the courts. Earlier this week, 16 states filed a suit challenging Trump's national emergency declaration. Led by California, the states include Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Virginia. Speaking Tuesday about the suit, Trump said he expected to do "very well" in the case and said he had an "absolute right" to make the declaration. Staff writer Bill Lambrecht contributed to this report, which contains material from the Associated Press. The Border Patrol agent told Sara Caal that she was taking her 5-year-old daughter to get a cookie and would bring her right back. She never did. Like many Central American parents fleeing poverty and violence, the Guatemalan mother trekked to the Texas border last summer, hoping to ask for asylum. The 20-year-old said she had been raped twice and beaten so hard that her teeth were knocked out. Her assailants mocked her indigenous Mayan heritage, saying, you Qeqchi people are like dogs, according to a sworn affidavit filed in her asylum case. By the time Caal crossed the Rio Grande near Brownsville last May, President Donald Trumps administration was at the height of enforcing its zero tolerance policy of prosecuting parents for crossing the border illegally and placing their children in shelters. In June, Trump rescinded the policy and U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw ruled that more than 2,600 separated children must be reunited with their parents. But Caal, whose daughter had been released to her husband in Houston days before the judges order, was not included. She remained imprisoned for nine months in the South Texas Detention Center, barely evading deportation. On Thursday, after months of legal advocacy, the mother was tearfully reunited with her daughter Alida at Houstons George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The girl wore brown boots and had her hair in high pig tails as she gave her mother an enormous pale blue plush Mickey Mouse. The two hugged tightly, and through a translator, Caal said she was overjoyed. I never thought I would see my daughter again, she said. Caals case is one of possibly thousands in which children were separated from their parents under Trumps policy and resettled with relatives or other so-called sponsors before Sabraws June 26 order, according to a report last month by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. On Thursday, lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union argued to Sabraw that such families should be included in the legal class and the government forced to reunify them. The scope of the problem is larger than plaintiffs or the Court previously knew, the ACLU said in legal filings this month. The administration has said it would be too burdensome to find separated children who were released before the ruling went into effect. For much of the policys duration, the government lacked a systematic way to track families after they had been separated, with parents transferred into the custody of the Department of Homeland Security and their children sent to shelters run by Health and Human Services. To find the children covered by Sabraws order, government employees in some cases had to comb through paperwork by hand. We dont know exactly how many children were separated and theres no question (the governments) complete lack of tracking makes it complicated and is outrageous, irresponsible, and frankly, criminally negligent, said Michelle Brane, director of migrant rights at the Women's Refugee Commission and part of the steering committee that helped find families covered by Sabraws order. She acknowledged that it would be difficult and expensive to locate children who had been separated and released from federal custody before the judges ruling. In some cases, they might be better off with relatives or family friends. But she said the process needed to be completed to ensure that. Its labor intensive, but frankly you separated them one by one, she said. Now you need to put them together. Caals case shows again how families slipped through the cracks before and after Sabraw blocked one of the presidents most controversial policies. It began as a pilot in the El Paso sector in July 2017, according to the Inspector General report months before the administration announced it in April 2018. The Houston Chronicle first reported about the El Paso program in November 2017, though federal officials at the time denied its existence. But Sabraws order only applied to separated children who remained in federal custody June 26. Advocates have warned that an unknown number of separated children, such as Caals daughter, had likely been released to relatives, and that many of their parents had probably been deported before Sabraws ruling. When Border Patrol agents apprehended Caal and her daughter near Brownsville on May 30, they first told her they wouldnt separate them, according to an affidavit filed in her asylum case. The governments justification for separating families was that parents were charged criminally and children are not allowed in prison. But in Caals case, records indicate she was never prosecuted for the illegal entry misdemeanor, meaningshe should have immediately been reunified with her daughter unless there were concerns that she posed a danger. Caal had no criminal record and had never before been in the United States. A Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman declined to comment. Angela Dodge, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Texas, said she couldnt explain why the mother wasnt charged. Public defenders and advocates who worked in the Rio Grande Valley at the time, but were not authorized to speak publicly, said indigenous speakers like Caal often avoided charges if prosecutors had concerns about their ability to understand their case. But such concerns didnt appear to extend to Caals interview with an asylum officer, who spoke to her by phone. She told the officer that she didnt understand Spanish well, according to her affidavit and an interview transcript. I didnt understand a lot of his questions, she said. Also because I was traumatized after having been separated from my 5-year-old daughter, I was unable to tell the officer all the reasons I left Guatemala. The officer found Caal didnt have a credible fear of returning to Guatemala based on any of the grounds for asylum: persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Caals case was reviewed by Judge Robert Powell, who denies about 83 percent of all asylum cases, compared to a national denial rate of 58 percent, according to federal data analyzed by Syracuse Universitys Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. When her account through a Qeqchi court translator differed from her interview with the asylum officer, she said the judge told her she was lying and denied her appeal. By August, Caals husband in Houston was desperate. He had left their village in Guatemala years ago to come to the United States and support his family. He hardly knew his daughter. Caal had become so depressed that she asked federal authorities to deport her. Kathrine Russell, an attorney with the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, or RAICES, a legal advocacy group, reviewed her case. Through a Qeqchi translator, Caal told Russell gang members harassed her at the store where she sold tortillas. She said they may have targeted her because they knew her husband was in the United States and wanted to extort her for money. They beat her in front of her daughter and said they were going to kill her, according to her affidavit. Police told her they would only take a report if she paid. They told me that Qeqchi people are worthless, Caal said. A few months later, the same gang members raped her in front of her daughter. They kept asking her for money. Caal said she couldnt seek help from her family because her father had been physically abusive. Many of those details including the rape and harassment on account of her ethnicity did not make it into her initial asylum screening or her hearing with the judge, her attorney said. She believes the language barrier played a significant role. Russell submitted an appeal to the Houston asylum office, which was denied. In November, she said officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement tried to force Caal to sign a deportation order in Spanish, even though she told them she mainly speaks Qeqchi. The agency didnt immediately respond to the allegations. In February, Russells request for reconsideration was upheld. She said Caal was the last of the mothers separated from their children under Trumps zero tolerance policy to leave the South Texas Detention Center this week. The attorney said Caals case showcases inequalities in the immigration system. Arbitrary distinctions have caused really lasting trauma for some of these families and huge disparities in how their cases were treated, Russell said. In the eight months since Sabraw demanded the reunification of separated children, the federal government has separated at least another 245 children from their parents, in part by claiming the adults are a danger to them, according to ACLU filings Wednesday. The Texas Civil Rights Project, an advocacy group, on Thursday released a report identifying 272 cases of family separation involving children under the age of 18 in McAllen alone. The report included 38 parents or legal guardians who were separated from their minor children; the rest were sibling or other relatives not covered under Sabraws order. One of the separations is a Salvadoran father of two who was accused of MS-13 ties, even though he denied the claims, has no criminal record, and his family and previous employer have vouched for his support. His case is ongoing in a Washington D.C. federal court, where advocates have submitted legal filings that he may have been confused with another Salvadoran man who is accused of gang ties and carries the same last name. lomi.kriel@chron.com Imprisoned for two weeks inside a cold, vacant factory in Piedras Negras, with armed Mexican police blocking their exit, many in the latest caravan of Central American migrants had begun to despair. Only several hundred with humanitarian visas granted by the Mexican government were allowed to leave the fenced property, but they could not seek asylum at the nearby Eagle Pass port of entry as they had hoped. New concertina wire lined the bridge where Customs and Border Protection agents in riot gear turned them away, and hundreds more Border Patrol agents and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers parked their vehicles along the Rio Grande, powering their headlights onto the Mexican side at night. Federal customs agents were processing only about a dozen asylum seekers a day, though as many as 1,600 sought placement on a Mexican-run waiting list with 300 people already on it.Riots erupted in the shelter and some with humanitarian visas were trying to go elsewhere as the situation teetered on chaos. People are becoming desperate, said Obed Cuellar, a Dominican missionary helping the citys effort to shelter migrants. After Congress allocated only $1.4 billion for about 55 miles of fencing at the border, President Donald Trump on Friday issued an emergency declaration to build his wall, citing an invasion. Overall apprehensions at the border are at historic lows, but the number of migrant families requesting asylum has surged to record levels. The presidents signature campaign promise has forced two government shutdowns in the name of border security, but immigrant advocates say the administration has done more to block access to the U.S. southern border than any barrier concrete or steel. Trump has overseen a radical shift from decades of American policy toward asylum seekers, and this small city 150 miles west of San Antonio is the latest front line. The situation, which advocates called a manufactured humanitarian crisis, reached new urgency with reports that the administration was considering expanding to Eagle Pass a formal plan forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for up to a year as their protection claims are made in U.S. immigration courts. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Katie Waldman declined to comment. Known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, the initiative has operated since last month as a limited pilot at the San Diego port of entry, even as troubling questions remain about how it works and whether it is legal. The U.S. government recently returned the first children to Tijuana under the policy, although the Mexican government previously said it would not accept minors. The American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups filed a federal lawsuit Thursday in San Francisco to block the initiative, arguing the 11 Central American plaintiffs fled horrendous violence only to be sent back to Mexico, where they now fear for their lives. The Trump administration is forcibly returning asylum seekers to danger, said Judy Rabinovitz, deputy director of the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project, in a statement. Once again, the administration is breaking the law in order to deter asylum seekers from seeking safety in the United States. Even without that policy, advocates say the Trump administration since last summer has effectively kept many asylum seekers in Mexico by slowing the number processed to a relative trickle at many ports of entry. Federal agents now guard the dividing line on international bridges, preventing migrants from touching American soil, where they are legally entitled to request protection. Instead they have been forced to wait for weeks, even months, on the Mexican side, in an ad hoc process coordinated largely by Mexican government and humanitarian officials and sometimes marred by allegations of corruption. Litigation alleging that asylum seekers have been turned back illegally is ongoing and a Customs and Border Protection spokesman declined to comment as a result, citing the agencys policy on pending lawsuits. The agency has said the number of asylum seekers it processes depends on each ports capacity and factors including the medical needs of migrants and enforcement actions. Federal statistics show that the number of migrants processed at ports of entry for being inadmissible, a category which usually means they are seeking asylum, fell 26 percent from 2016 to about 204,300 last year. The White House has also sought to make it almost impossible for migrants crossing illegally between ports of entry to gain asylum, though that attempt was halted in December by a California federal judge. When you look at the whole picture of what the Trump administration is trying to do at the southern border it would effectively shut down asylum, said Sarah Pierce, an analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C. Their policies are very effectively building a wall. For decades, since the 1980 Refugee Act codified protections for asylum seekers into U.S. law, those fleeing persecution have been able to seek help at ports of entry or even after crossing illegally. Migrants were given an initial screening to determine if they faced a credible fear of returning home based on one of the protected grounds of asylum persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group and imprisoned or released until they could fight their asylum cases in the civil immigration courts. Critics say many who are freed dont show up for their court dates. Faced with a sudden surge of Haitian asylum seekers in San Diego in 2016, President Barack Obamas administration began making that group wait in Mexico. Haitis National Migration Institute and its humanitarian arm, Grupo Beta, developed an appointment system for Haitians seeking asylum interviews, though the initiative was largely phased out once the influx ended. After Trump took office, Customs and Border Protection agents began routinely turning back asylum seekers at ports of entry, according to a lawsuit filed in 2017 by the American Immigration Council and other advocacy groups. Federal officials falsely told migrants that Trump had ended asylum or coerced them into signing forms giving up their protections by threatening to take away their children. Sometimes they used physical force, in one case dragging an asylum seeker and her child back to the Mexican side, according to the suit. U.S. customs officials began working closely with Mexican counterparts to limit how many asylum seekers can approach a port of entry at one time, according to emails obtained during litigation. By the summer of 2018, as the Trump administration announced its zero tolerance policy of prosecuting parents for crossing illegally and removing their children, a more systematic practice of limiting asylum seekers spread across the border. Fearing they would lose their children if they entered illegally, hundreds of migrants camped out on international bridges, where they waited for days in blazing temperatures to secure their spot in line. Customs agents set up structures at the international boundary on pedestrian bridges, blocking migrants from U.S. soil. They stopped preventing people on U.S. territory from asking for asylum and did something legally murkier, which a lot of people still say is illegal, and just dont let you step foot on U.S. territory, said Stephanie Leutert, director of the Mexico Security Initiative at the University of Texas at Austin. From Tijuana all the way to Matamoros, this became kind of the standard response. The Department of Homeland Securitys Office of Inspector General found the administration publicly encouraged asylum seekers to seek help at ports of entry even as they were metering how many could cross, spurring an increase in migrants entering illegally and requesting protection. The number of families processed at ports of entry on the southern border plummeted from about 6,300 in April to fewer than 4,000 a month between June and September, according to reports by Human Rights First and the Washington Office on Latin America, two advocacy groups. Most of these migrants typically are asylum-seekers. Between October and January, an average of about 4,400 families have been processed a month, federal statistics show. Meanwhile, the number of families crossing illegally increased nearly each month since April, almost tripling to a record 27,507 in December. Customs agents have repeatedly said they can only allow in as many asylum seekers as they can process. But that number has dropped dramatically across the southern border since last summer, to about 10 migrants a day in Brownsville, two in Laredo, and several dozen in El Paso, Leutert said. Thats what makes us a little skeptical of the processing argument since the port hasnt changed, said Joanna Williams of the Kino Border Institute in Nogales, a Mexican town near Arizona, where officers now process only about 10 asylum seekers a day. During previous surges, officers were transferred from elsewhere and migrants were screened for asylum using Skype,said Gil Kerlikowske, who led Customs and Border Protection under Obama. Figure out how to adjust so you can process more people, he said. There are ways to do that using temporary assignments and technology. Beginning last summer, Mexican officials also began forcing migrants from their side of international bridges, often transferring them to shelters. A waiting list system modeled on Tijuana sprang up haphazardly along the border. But how it is run, who runs it, and what it takes to be processed depends on where migrants have landed, and human rights advocates said the impediments and unequal access to asylum concern them. In Matamoros, across from Brownsville, the waiting list is kept by Mexican immigration officials, but migrants have told advocates they must sometimes pay up to a $400 unofficial fee to get on it. Mexicos National Migration Institute could not be reached for comment. The Rev. Scott Moore of the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, its governing body, recently visited about 40 asylum seekers in a fenced encampment on the Matamoros side of the bridge. He said one family had been there for two weeks. They fled Honduras after the 15-year-old daughter was raped and her attackers burned down their house when they discovered she was pregnant. Her 11-month-old daughter is ill and the mother unable to breastfeed, so they are feeding the baby Gatorade. Moore said the family told him they could not afford the payment Mexican officials were requesting to expedite their names on the list and were advised it would be four months before they could reach the port and request asylum. By not allowing them to even present themselves at the port of entry and make their case, we are manufacturing an artificial human crisis literally in eyeshot across the river from our own nation and forcing people into sometimes worse situations than what they fled, Moore said. In neighboring Reynosa, known as Mexicos migrant kidnapping capital, access to the international bridges is controlled by drug cartels and there are allegations that immigration officials deport Central American migrants from the bridge unless they pay a bribe, Leutert and others said. In Juarez, across from El Paso, asylum seekers are transported to a shelter. Its officials run a waiting list, scrawling each migrants number on their forearm in black marker. The dysfunction of the unofficial list system and the danger of many Texas border cities raises questions about how a policy forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico could work here. Tamaulipas, which abuts much of Texas, is Mexicos only northern border state to carry the U.S. State Departments most serious travel warning, a status it shares with Afghanistan and North Korea. In Piedras Negras, arguably the safest Mexican city along the Texas border, migrants from the caravan waited to be freed from the factory. Alex, 20, declined to give his last name but said by telephone that he previously held a form of U.S. protection for young immigrants known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. He lived in Indiana for 14 years until he said he was deported to El Salvador, for unclear reasons, shortly after Trump took office. Alex, his partner, and their 9-month-old baby joined the caravan to Texas this month, but have been detained since reaching the border. He said Mexican police separated some men from women and children in the shelter after scuffles with police broke out. People have no access to medical care, he said. Everybody here is sick, he said. U.S. aid groups have not been allowed inside. Cuellar, the Mexican shelter official, said the city planned to shutter the camp soon. Migrants with humanitarian visas would be sent by bus wherever they wanted to go in Mexico, where they could work for a year, and those not granted the status would be deported. Many planned to try their luck at other ports of entry. This is a small city, Cuellar said. It doesnt have the capacity to sustain this. Some migrants were taking their chances at the river. Federal agents rescued several who nearly drowned trying to cross, knowing perhaps that they would be processed immediately for asylum on the U.S. side and, if they had young children, likely released. lomi.kriel@chron.com A rooftop shooter killed two men and wounded two more people in what authorities called an ambush Thursday afternoon in east Houston, according to authorities. The suspect opened fire on a car packed with people who met another group to settle a fight in the 12700 block of Eastbrook Drive around 4:45 p.m., police said. The weapon used in the attack was an AR-15-styled weapon, Chief Art Acevedo said at a press conference. It was equipped with a 30-round clip. "A member of the other party was lying in wait. The suspect was on the rooftop of a house that was flooded out, during what I assume was Harvey," Acevedo said. GANG WAR IN HOUSTON? Acevedo vows a crack down. Details at HoustonChronicle.com The spray of gunfire struck four people in the Northshore area. An 18-year-old man was found dead at the scene, while a 21-year-old man died at a hospital. A third person in critical condition was undergoing surgery. An 18-year-old woman was struck in the knee, according to police. The youngest person among the two feuding groups was believed to be 17. "That coward shot these young people like they were deer," Acevedo said. A description of the suspect was not immediately available. NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. Enrollment growth is contributing to an acute housing shortage at Prairie View A&M University, a recurring problem thats prompting disputes over which students deserve priority for on-campus accommodation. After protests from students and parents, administrators this week suspended recently announced plans to house first-year students in a portion of a residence hall now occupied primarily by juniors and seniors. But the broader housing problem, on a campus with only enough beds for about half of its students, continues to be a challenge. For me, it was made clearer than ever that many students feel that their concerns about these persistent issues have been minimized or disregarded, Timonthy Sams, the vice president of student affairs, wrote in a letter to the Prairie View community Tuesday. Prairie View A&M, a historically black university 45 miles northwest of Houston, lies in a rural area with a limited stock of off-campus housing. Finding habitation for its growing student body has been a problem intermittently for years. Prairie View reached its highest enrollment a total of 9,516 students in fall 2018, an increase of more than 1,200 students, or 15 percent, from fall 2015. A total of 4,366 beds, roughly 46 percent of fall enrollment, are available on-campus for students, according to a university spokeswoman. David Allen, the mayor of the town of Prairie View, said he first learned about problems with student housing in the 1990s. It made the news, said Allen, who was living in Los Angeles at the time. I was like, Wow. (Growing enrollment) was a good problem to have, but in my mind it was bad because it hadnt been actively acted on in the city. Its not as though we didnt have space. Recent graduate Keeawnya Cole, 22, who is from California, said she first experienced the universitys housing crisis during her junior year in fall 2016, when she was homeless for around six weeks. At the time, many students were pushed off-campus due to what she says was an overflow. Cole and some of her friends resorted to keeping their luggage in their cars and shacked up with friends on-campus, even though this violated university rules, she said. We were are a tight knit-community, and were going to help each other out, Cole said, but being without stable housing was tough. We made it work for the first couple of the weeks, said Cole, who eventually secured off-campus housing. That same year, the university offered to shuttle at least 100 students to hotels in Cypress and Hempstead because of an overflow, said Yolanda Bevill, assistant to the university president. The current controversy began Feb. 15, when Sams sent a letter to the university community saying first-year students would receive priority for on-campus housing. Portions of residence halls that primarily house upperclassmen would now accommodate incoming students, the letter stated. Sams letter cited University of Nevada at Reno research showing that first- and second-year students living on campus earned a higher grade point average and were more likely to enroll the following year than those living off-campus. He said an off-campus office initiative would be launched to replicate components for on-campus living, and he directed potentially displaced students to the universitys online directory for off-campus housing. Sams plan quickly faced resistance. At a town hall meeting Monday, students expressed concerns that students beyond their first year would be displaced due to high enrollment, according to Angel Butler, a sophomore architecture major. We dont have anywhere to go, Butler said. Students took to social media, some using the hashtag #pantherswithouthomes and #PVTownhall to express their displeasure. They just spent ($61 million) for a new stadium, but didnt implement housing, said Cole, the recent graduate. Butler created a Change.org petition addressed to university President Ruth Simmons in hopes of accumulating 5,000 signatures to amplify students voices and express their concerns. More than 4,500 people had signed as of Friday morning, with many vocalizing their anger in the comment section. As a parent I have been simmering on this all weekend, Jamala Thomas wrote, adding that the surrounding area of Prairie View doesnt have diverse housing options. She added that if her daughter had to move off-campus, I will be forced to have her look at transfer opportunities at TAMU! Butler said a protest was planned, but was canceled after Sams responded in another letter Tuesday evening. I want you to know that I heard your concerns and have decided to suspend plans to utilize a portion of University Square for first-year housing next year, Sams wrote, adding that he had learned more about students concerns regarding housing, transportation for off-campus students and financial aid issues. Sams also announced plans to launch a taskforce, to include students, to help devise a housing strategy. Bevill, the university spokeswoman, said students may have misunderstood the extent of possible displacement caused by shifting residence halls to first-year students: We werent talking about a large population, she said. Still, Sams retraction of his changes was seen as a victory for students, said Butler. Even so, We still have a lot of work to do, she said. The universitys location in the small town of Prairie View, with a 2017 population of about 6,400, limits choices for off-campus housing. Schools in urban areas often have more options in surrounding neighborhoods, said David Houck, managing director of the higher education practice at real estate services firm JLL. A university can play a pivotal role in establishing housing demands and pricing expectations, even off campus, through decisions on how much to invest in on-campus housing, Houck said. Most available homes in Prairie View are rented to students by older couples in the community, Cole said, and other facilities students where students live are usually older, according to Mayor Allen. Lack of transportation the one university shuttle that runs off campus is often late and crime in neighboring areas also have been deterrents, according to Butler and Cole. A private, off-campus development, Panther Hill Apartments, was not complete when classes began in fall 2018, and some students were offered delayed leases. In January, Sams stated that he would establish an on-campus housing office, with the universitys housing coordinator already working to alleviate students ongoing issues with Panther Hill, which included mold, water damage and rooms in need of repairs. Bevill says the demand for on-campus housing varies every year. You can project, but I dont think you can accurately predict from semester to semester how many students will demand housing, she said. Some progress is being made. Bevill said the university plans to open a new, 540-bed on-campus facility in 2020. The university will also work on solutions to transportation issues mentioned by students at the town hall meeting. The university has also hired someone to oversee and manage enrollment. Mayor Allen said some off-campus developments are in the works as well. One project, scheduled to be completed in fall 2020, will include about 300 student rooms and surrounding retail businesses, restaurants and townhomes. Cole said students are not dissatisfied with Prairie View A&M as a whole. We love our school, which is why were so passionate about whats going on, Cole said. brittany.britto@chron.com There's a hole new look about Samsung's Galaxy S10. The camera on Samsung's new flagship smartphone literally punches right through the screen, doing away with the need for borders, notches or other weird cutouts. There's a fingerprint reader in the screen, too, hidden behind the pixels. Flip the screen over and it becomes a wireless charging station for headphones - or a friend's dying phone battery. I got to spend a little time with the $750-and-up S10 ahead of its unveiling Wednesday, an annual ritual that's become as much about marketing upgrades as showcasing new technology. Samsung's goal: make other smartphones look dated. And it accomplished that - with new details for the Galaxy Fold, its flip phone that opens up to the size of a 7.3-inch tablet. It arrives in April for an eyebrow-raising $1,980. But in the meantime, the S10 succeeds at making a statement. Samsung hasn't ever had Apple's luxury sensibility, even though this year's model is available in high-end ceramic finishes at prices well over $1,000. Samsung's advantage is hardware engineering - doing awesomely strange things with screens and squeezing more tech into less space. That punch-hole screen is a statement: Look what we can do. Many phones now have two cameras on the back, so the S10 comes with up to four. The S10 packs more processing power than some gaming laptops. And its battery weighs in at up to 4,500 mAh, one of the largest I've seen in a flagship phone. The question is whether any of these hardware evolutions are enough to reignite a smartphone market that's as mature as a "Friends" rerun. People are holding on to phones for three, four or five years now, and with good reason. Old Samsung and Apple phones hold up pretty well, and the tech giants haven't done a great job of addressing more fundamental concerns, like uncrackable screens and distracting, privacy-invading software. Come April, the Galaxy Fold promises to offer a phone that's both more comfortable to carry, and offers a big surface to watch video or do work. It's a technological accomplishment, but it has challenges as a product. Apps from Google, Microsoft and others have been tweaked to let you start on the smaller exterior display and open up into tablet mode to continue working. That interior screen also lets you run up to three apps at once. For everyone not interested in spending $2,000 on a smartphone, Samsung's strategy is making S10 at many sizes, and prices. There are enough variations to overwhelm Goldilocks: - The S10 e is the $750 entry-level option, priced to compete with Apple's iPhone XR. It measures 5.8 inches on the diagonal, and cuts a few corners such as a fingerprint reader that's built into the side power button. - The S10 is the $900 standard option, measuring 6.1 inches and comes with three back cameras. (More on them below.) - The S10 + costs $1,000,and measures 6.4 inches. It adds a second front-facing camera. - The S10 5G measures 6.7 inches, supports next-generation networks (that have yet to arrive most places) and adds a fourth camera on the back. Its price hasn't been announced and it won't arrive until some point later in the year. Samsung's biggest innovations are in the screen. Forget the notch that Apple uses to hide front cameras - Samsung laser cut circles for its front-facing cameras. The usable screen goes pretty much all the way to the edge on all four sides, so Samsung can finally declare victory in its decade-long war on phone bezels. The biggest reason to celebrate is the triumphant return of the fingerprint reader. To go for a full-screen design, Samsung banished the reader to the back of the phone in 2017; Apple got rid of it entirely for FaceID. But on the S10 and S10 +, the fingerprint reader comes back on front where it belongs, buried inside the screen with no visible button. Samsung's Chinese rivals did this trick first, but Samsung's version uses some ultrasonic tech that should be more reliable. (Just note, if you like screen protectors, you'll need a special compatible one.) Apple and Samsung fans with undoubtedly bicker over whether a fingerprint reader or FaceID is a superior way to unlock a phone. I conducted a few unlocking duels, and it was a tie. There are two other hardware evolutions worth noting: Samsung hid a tech inside the phone to make you a better friend. Switch on a wireless powershare mode, and the phone will charge any other Qi-charging compatible devices you put on top of it - even iPhones. And on the back of the phone, there are so many cameras it's starting to look like spider eyes. All of the models have one lens for standard shots and another for extra-wide-angle shots. The S10 and S10 + add a third lens for zoom shots. The S10 5G coming later adds one more on the back and the front, both to measure depth. Now that Samsung phones have all those lenses and sensors, what is it doing with all that data? Not as much as I'd hope. The S10 + comes with an extra depth camera on its front, but the phone still can't read your face to unlock securely. (Samsung used to include an iris reader on the front, but dropped it this year.) What I found missing from Samsung's Galaxy lineup was discussion of what rivals like Apple and Google say is one of the next big things in tech: augmented reality. That's the ability for phones to scan the depth of the world around them, and overlay digital information on to of the physical world. Only the S10 5G model comes with Samsung's 3-D depth camera on the back, which it says allows the phone to measure physical spaces and add blurry depth effects to video. It highlights the biggest problem with Samsung's pitch: software. The S10 will sport Samsung's redesigned "One UI" interface which looked much more elegant than its predecessors. Yet Samsung's artificial intelligence assistant Bixby remains an also-ran. And the competition is proving software and services can be more important than hardware tricks. Google's Pixel phone has gained a toehold in the market for its tightly integrated AI Assistant, faster Android updates, and software-driven camera features such as Night Sight. Apple is locking in loyal customers with a growing array of services like Apple Music and, expected soon, news and video subscriptions. The S10 is available for preorder Feb. 21 and in stores March 8. Naturalists have traveled to the Serengeti in Kenya and Tanzania for decades to have the thrill of witnessing the great migration. But another spectacle rivals that African experience in America: In Nebraska, each spring a massive flock of sandhill cranes feasts on corn along the banks of the Platte River as a stopover on their migratory journey to Canada, Alaska or Siberia. These cranes have been gathering in this part of the world for more than 10,000 years, making this particular birding ritual one of the most ancient. They generally seek wide-open prairies, fields or marshes and gravitate toward the tundra in the extreme North. English anthropologist Jane Goodall has described the sandhill-crane migration in Nebraska as one of the worlds 10 best wildlife spectacles, and certainly Americas finest. After hearing so much about the states seasonal birding event, I decided to travel there with my husband to see if the experience lived up to the hype. We flew into Omaha, rented a car and drove a few hours past acres of cornfields that gleamed like rose-gold along the highway. We checked into our hotel in Kearney, a city where a lot of birders stay during migration season, then rose the next morning well before dawn to make the sunrise tour at the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary in the town of Gibbon, about 20 minutes away. (Another viewing spot, the Crane Trust Nature Center in Grand Island, protects a special type of wetland within the Central Platte River Valley called a wet meadow, with restricted drainage.) If you go GETTING THERE If you choose to fly into Kearney, close to the birding action, be prepared to make at least one connection. A more inexpensive option is to fly to Omaha and drive to Kearney. Peak birding season starts at the end of February and lasts until early April. WHERE TO STAY Crane Trust Legacy Cottages: 9325 South Alda, Wood River; 308-382-1820. These cabins at Wild Rose Ranch in south-central Nebraska put you in the thick of the birding action. Since it's private land, visitors must to book a VIP Crane viewing experience. Days Inn by Wyndham Grand Island: 2620 N. Diers, Grand Island; 308-384-5006. The 58-room property offers a "Crane Viewing" rate of about $80 per night. Burchell's White Hill Farmhouse Inn: 1578 30 Road, Minden; 308-832-1323. Stay on a working farm and watch the birds up close at this inn near Rowe Sanctuary. Rates from $120. WHERE TO EAT/DRINK Alley Rose: 2013 Central, Kearney; 308-234-1261. An elegant restaurant with lunch specials and craft beer, including those brewed in the state by Zipline Brewery. Starters from $7. Everest Fusion Indian & Nepalese Cuisine: 5012 3rd Ave., Kearney; 308-455-8001. An exotic find combining Nepali and Indian cuisine - popular dishes include a mixed kebab platter. Entrees from $10. WHAT TO DO Museum of Nebraska Art (MONA): 2401 Central, Kearney; 308-865-8559. The stunning Neoclassical building celebrates the history of local artists, with a permanent collection of over 6,000 works. Admission is free. Buffalo Records: 19 E. 21st, Kearney; 308-224-2290. Shop offers an impressive collection of old-school vinyl. See More Collapse Our 10-person group walked a slim gravel path toward our wooden blind that stood like a Spartan silhouette in the pitch dark. As soon as we entered, we could hear the feasting cranes along the river banks. Sanctuary director Bill Taddicken explained that the cranes congregate on the Platte because they are attracted to corn, and levels have so far remained healthy. Weve been working for 45 years to maintain the water in the river, to keep a wide channel, he said, noting the river is very shallow and varies in depth, from 1 inch to 20 feet in the middle. Cranes like a wide, shallow channel because they can see predators, ideally with sandbars that serve as perches so they can eat unencumbered. At that delicate hour of the morning, with a canopy of moonlit fog around us, we couldnt see the birds clearly but heard their distinct cries. It was a wash of symphonic trills, a constant blanket of murmuring guttural sounds. A few birds, with their slender, stalklike legs, descended on the prairie as the sun gradually rose. It was hard to gloss over how elegant they were almost balletlike in their grace flitting from place to place to eat to satiety. When dawn broke, I saw a sweeping flock flying toward the river from the horizon, in a sudden rush reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcocks The Birds but far less menacing. Suddenly, cranes began to descend on the river from all corners as the sunlight filled the blinds and warmed our frigid hands. Some danced with their bluish-gray frames, and I was informed that youngsters observe adults dance and fine-tune their own performance as they grow. Though sandhill cranes are found in other parts of the United States during migration season including in Colorado and Texas the greatest concentration is found in Nebraska along the Platte River. Weve seen over 27,000 cranes in six weeks, said Taddicken, and the estimate is that we get around 60,000 (during peak season). In 2018, Nebraska was home to over 660,000 sandhill cranes during the year. Some visitors dont even go to the blinds to see them, choosing instead to drive gravel roads to stand on the bridge at Fort Kearney. Because of growing interest, visitors must now use a separate parking area and walk up to the bridge. This dovetails with an increased fascination with the sport of birding in the country: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports an uptick to 45 million bird-watchers in America, contributing nearly $80 billion to the economy (this includes purchasing trips and equipment). In response, several hotels and resorts have hired naturalists and ornithologists to craft special guided tours for visitors to help them understand birds better. Each March, some 20,000 sandhill cranes stop for more than two months in the San Luis valley in south-central Colorado. That state also recently completed a birding resource, with 54 trails that helps visitors spot everything from prairie chickens, mountain plovers to grouse. In the Alta ski area in Utah, a free Birding on Skis program is offered seasonally starting in December, pairing skiers in search of feathered friends with a trusted guide. Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., has a resident falconer, Joe Roy III, who has implemented sessions teaching guests what roles birds of prey play in ecology. In Nebraska, Dusty Trails Outdoor Outfitters has launched a two-hour bus tour to responsibly view the sandhill-crane migration in the North Platte area, including educational seminars about the cranes and binoculars to view from a safe distance. Noah Strycker, an author and bird-watcher who set the worldwide Big Year record observing 6,042 of the worlds estimated 10,400 species in an uninterrupted journey says that though he personally has yet to experience the sandhill-crane migration along the Platte River, it is amazing. I hope to see it one day, he said. Visitors to Nebraska during the peak birding season dont just get to spot cranes. There are a lot of bald eagles around, said Taddicken, as well as Harrier and red-tailed hawks, tree sparrows, geese and duck. Rowe Sanctuary will debut brand-new and more spacious blinds in 2020, and the state celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Union Pacific transcontinental railroad this year. Now, when friends ask me if Nebraska is worth a visit during birding season, I dont think twice. Run, dont walk, I tell them. Charu Suri is a freelance travel writer. Email: travel@chron.com. This article has been updated to reflect that the Serengeti is in both Kenya and Tanzania. Xem them ... Tin bai cuoi cung Khong con du lieu e load On a recent lunch visit to CorkScrew BBQ in Spring, my dining companions and I marveled at the spread of smoked meats arranged on the heaping trays before us. Owners Will and Nichole Buckman are famous for their tray artistry and are experts at extracting maximum visual value to complement the flavors and textures of their world-class barbecue. Inevitably, the glorious spread of brisket, pork ribs, turkey, sausage and pulled pork was launched out into the ether of social media for everyone to admire. The Instagram post received the requisite number of likes and comments. Then a curious comment was made along the lines of, Wheres the cobbler? Never mind the bevy of meats and sides; someone wanted to know about the dessert. And indeed, each member of our party ordered his own portion of peach cobbler, located just out of camera range. This represents the natural progression of the ongoing craft-barbecue movement. It started on the smoker with exquisitely cooked meats. Then, side dishes became a focus of quality and creativity. Now desserts have joined the party. BARBECUE BONANZA: International teams are making waves at the Houston Rodeo cook-off Harlem Road Texas BBQ 9823 Harlem Road, Richmond harlemroadtexasbbq.com See More Collapse Nichole Buckmans peach cobbler is something of a cult favorite among Houston-area barbecue fans. The buttery, crunchy crust combines with the soft, sweet peaches for the ultimate finale and foil to the smoky, rich meats. Certainly, desserts have always played a role in Texas barbecue. If the Texas trinity of meats is brisket, pork ribs and sausage, and the trinity of side dishes is beans, potato salad and coleslaw, then the trinity of desserts is cobbler, pecan pie and banana pudding. Cobbler, of course, comes in an array of flavors: cherry, peach, blueberry, rhubarb. Recipes and ingredients are diverse and open to interpretation by the aspiring barbecue-joint pastry chef. Other desserts, such as pecan pie, are more tradition-bound. Sure, Ive seen versions with chocolate and bourbon, sometimes called derby pie. But the classic Texas version is pie crust, a sweet, syrupy filling and lots of pecans, either chopped or whole. That sweet filling is usually the biggest point of contention. Do you use Karos corn syrup or Steens pure cane syrup? Im good with either. And when it comes to chopped or whole pecans, I always go for whole. Fortunately, Houstonians have easy access to some of the best pecan pies in the state. The Goode Co. Brazos Bottom Pecan Pie is one of my favorites, and whole pies are easy to acquire either on the companys website (goodecompany.com) or at one of the restaurants. Try this at home: An amazing recipe for Maximum Pecan Pie If youre looking for a craft-style pecan pie, head over to Harlem Road Texas BBQ in Richmond. Chef and pitmaster Ara Malekian makes both the crust and cane-sugar syrup from scratch. For the cane syrup, he combines cane-sugar juice, granulated cane sugar and water, then uses a thick-bottomed pot and heat diffuser to reduce the mixture into a thick syrup. Though it may sound overly sweet, Malekians scratch-made version actually uses 30 to 45 percent less sugar than bottled corn or cane syrup. The recipe results in an exemplary pecan pie that balances the subtle sweetness of the filling with the mellow nuttiness of the pecans. Banana pudding has also gotten the star treatment. Misty Roegels bourbon banana pudding at Roegels Barbecue Co. is one of the best versions in the city. A new entry into the craft-dessert repertoire is chocolate, thanks to the efforts of the chocolate-making wizards at Tejas Chocolate & Barbecue in Tomball. Co-owner Michelle Holland oversees the bean-to-bar operation that produces everything from scratch, starting with cocoa beans that are roasted, ground, refined, tempered and finally molded into bars. Back at CorkScrew BBQ, we all dutifully devoured the selection of smoked meats before us. But in a way, it was all just a prelude to that glorious peach cobbler. J.C. Reid is the Chronicle's barbecue columnist. He also is the co-host of BBQ State of Mind, a podcast covering barbecue news from Texas and around the world, and co-founder of the Houston Barbecue Festival. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook, or send barbecue tips and questions to jcreid@jcreidtx.com. Imagine for a moment being the only white kid in a Beaumont blues club in the 1950s. Then consider being that kid, and also with the glowing hair and skin of albinism. Johnny Winters career spanned more than 50 years, remarkable considering he died in 2014 at age 70. The entirety of his music was a primal howl of an outsider howling at the gate. Just listen to Muddy Waters Mannish Boy, the 1977 version that Winter produced - the kind of recording that can loosen your teeth if you dont keep them clenched. Waters had enjoyed some renown thanks to the Brits who loved the blues, but The London Muddy Waters Sessions from 1972 sounded like a low spark of well-heeled boys. Winter felt the blues like a guy who spent his childhood treated horribly. So he took a song Waters recorded in 1955 and upped the catharsis. The instrumentation peaks and crashes. Waters vocal crescendos and dips into a carnal murmur. And throughout, Winter punctuates the songs with the iconic YEAH and WOOO exclamations that turned the song into a seedy bar scene soundtrack for 40 years of cinema. The Beaumont blues The path for Winter, who would have turned 75 on Saturday, followed that of a red-line, red-eyed, late-night drive. And it was full of twists and turns, switchbacks and the occasional dead mans curve. Consider this: His first album, released in 1968, was titled The Progressive Blues Experiment, and his last two were titled Roots and Step Back. Its as if he told the story of his life and art with just a few album titles. He learned his trade in Beaumont watching his blues heroes from Chicago and Texas. He found his own voice in that howling midnight serenade, fusing the blues with the psychedelic sounds of the 60s. And then - as his days ran out - he went back to the music that made him. That offered him safe haven when he was that outsider among outsiders: An albino kid in Beaumont who only loved the blues. Winter had been in ill health for years when he died in a hotel in Switzerland in 2014. Obviously he was there for a blues festival. Blues and life were synonymous to him. And death never felt too terribly far away. Between his complexion and his always skeletal frame, Winter always presented as a man kept alive by his art, as taxing as playing the blues could be. Yes, it began with a ukulele It all started in Beaumont, where he was, fortunately, urged to put down the clarinet, an instrument that would have opened up a very different trail head for John Dawson Winter III. Winters overbite prompted his dentist to urge him to try a different instrument, so he chose the ukulele, learning songs by the Everly Brothers. And while that sibling duos heavenly harmonies sound miles away from the music Winter would discover and absorb, the darkness and melancholy in their music was a portal. And for the perceived politesse, Phil Everlys right hand could wreck a guitar with its rigid down strokes. But Winter became a teen and found the blues, partially due to rebellion that comes with the age and partly because he could mail cash to Shreveport and Nashville and in exchange receive a clutch of 45s. He knew then he loved the blues. I bought every blues record I could find, he told me in 2011. Instead of looking for anything specific, I just bought everything there was. The live wire sound of Chicago blues called to him more than the big brassy bandstand blues popular in Texas in the 50s. His father was from Mississippi, after all. So Winter picked up a guitar and didnt let go. He cut some sides, but they didnt do much. Never could get a hit on him, the late and notorious producer Huey P. Meaux told me years ago. But I knew hed do fine. He was too good to not do fine. Missing out on Woodstock The Progressive Blues Experiment was mostly notable for drawing attention to Winters grand talents, and it sounds fine today. Johnny Winter, his second album, was a better re-introduction. From go, the opener Im Yours and Im Hers cleared a path for him to follow. Winters voice wasnt like that of his heroes. He had to push it harder, manufacture a bit of growl. He couldnt settle comfortably into a ballad, ever. But the slide lines he played on the song suggested he knew how fast he could push the train without pulling a Casey Jones. Not that he wouldnt ever derail. But that would come later. He torched his way through a set at Woodstock that shouldve done for him what Santas set did for that band. Poor advice from management meant he didnt appear on the soundtrack or in the film, and a ground-shaking set was unheard for decades. Those who saw Winter in the day describe something different than the albums, which were nevertheless spirited affairs. Admirer Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top referred to Winter as playing with something extra, something very out there in both presentation and performance. So long the outsider, Winter built a shell out of the blues and retreated inside it. Musical trends come and go swiftly, but largely he avoided those trends and stuck to his shell over the years. It would come with isolation and addiction and gradually indifference, as he saw his audience dwindle. But a new manager saw fit to right things. He got Winter cleaned up, and sent him back. Not to any progressive blues experimentation but what came before that. The sounds that captured his attention when he was a kid putting money in the mail, hoping to get a pile of 45s in return. Songs that reached from Texas to Mississippi, by the likes of T-Bone Walker, Elmore James and Jimmy Reed. Roots and Step Back made for a proud last chapter for Winter. They were a fitting epilogue for a player who attained the reverence of the elders hed adored when he was a kid. Hed transformed from the upstart who revered Further On Up the Road to the guy who sowed what hed reaped: An affinity for blues that became a life lived playing the blues. He never attained pop stardom, but theres no reason to believe he ever wanted that. The outsider had been welcomed inside. andrew.dansby@chron.com Scott McClelland isnt usually the one in his family to buy groceries. Now that I do commercials, it takes me a long time to get through a store, said the president of San Antonio-based grocery chain H-E-B. People will say, Hey, the H-E-B guy! If somebody wants to stop and talk, I'll always talk to them. Not that he has much time for shopping these days. Last summer, McClelland presided over the debut of the companys first two-story Houston supermarket. That location, in Bellaire, was followed by a second double-decker store that opened last month in the Heights. Two more are under construction one in Meyerland and the other off Washington Avenue. The stores are generally laid out with parking, curbside grocery pickup and pharmacy on the first floor, with the second-floor housing everything else. Each store has or will have original artwork created by Texas artists for shoppers to enjoy while riding up the escalator. Looped In podcast: H-E-B bets on Meyerland Texas Inc. recently sat down with McClelland, recently named 2019 chair of the Greater Houston Partnership, to talk about the grocery business, multi-level stores and an experiment that flopped at the companys Galleria-area location. Q: What went into determining how H-E-B designs its multilevel stores? A: We travel all over the U.S. looking at other places. We go in with stopwatches and look at the differences between travelators (moving sidewalks), elevators and escalators. I thought the escalator would create somewhat of a hassle to have to go up, although one of the things we learned was now youre parking closer to the store. You arent having to park out and walk up. So, we said the store has to be more interesting. As people go up the escalator we dont want them thinking, I have to go up an escalator. What if we hang art over the escalator? So, in each store well go through and work with local artists and have them bid on a concept. Q: Were there other lessons? A: One of the unanticipated positive consequences of a store on stilts is when it rains your car doesnt get wet. I was at our Bellaire store a couple weeks ago and it was pouring, and our store was super busy. Usually when it rains people dont go to the store because you dont want to get wet. Q: H-E-B has gotten pushback on some its new urban stores from residents fearing they would change the character of their neighborhood. How do you deal with that? A: There are three examples -- the Alabama and Dunlavy store, San Felipe and Fountain View store and the Heights store -- where you can incorporate iconic architecture or store design that speaks to the spirit of the people who live in the area. As a result, the store becomes more relatable and it becomes a gravitational pull. As opposed to when you cookie cutter. Q: Whats that process like? A: When we opened Alabama and Dunlavy we let the community give us input and vote on what design they liked best, similarly to when we did this store. We held five or six community meetings, showed what we were thinking and asked for input. One of the things I remember hearing was, You dont have enough bike racks, because this is going to be a commuter store. We got that. ARTFUL: H-E-B lobs a new weapon in the grocery wars: Art Q: Do you always reach out to the community? A: In some areas we go through and do individual home visits. If youre going into an area where people look different demographically, meaning ethnically, culturally and financially, than the people who normally program our stores, we go in to study the customers. A piece of that is going into their homes, looking in their cupboards and refrigerators and asking them about what they had for dinner last night. If we program stores based on what we eat, we miss a lot. There are nuances. Q: That seems like it could be complicated. A: City by city, and within a city, we merchandize our stores quite a bit differently. Even two stores as close as the Alabama and Dunlavy store and the Buffalo Speedway store a mile-and-a-half away have distinct differences in how theyre shopped. One store shops with families and one store shops mostly with people that dont have kids. That creates differences in the types of products that we merchandize within the stores. Q: How do those home visits work? A: We have a customer research department that will find customers willing to have us come in and visit with them. We pay them a stipend to come in. Its amazing at how honest people are and how willing they are to talk to you. Its really some of the best days I spend. When I go into a home of someone who earns $30,000 or less, I typically leave with so much respect and so much empathy for what its like to be poor. You can tell how much money someone has by what kind of milk they have, if their orange juice is made from concentrate. You know where they bought their meat based on if its wrapped in brown paper. Then you begin to ask questions and youre able to get into their attitudes. And it may or may not be fact, but their perceptions are reality. Q: What are some of the things youve learned? A: If youre poor and you have $20 in your hand, people are looking at package price vs. price per pound. You probably want to price your fruits and vegetables by each vs. by the pound, because if you put four apples in a bag and theyre four for a dollar, you know youve got $19 left. And if theyre $1.29 a pound and you put four all apples in you dont know how much money you have left. You learn these things as you go. Q: H-E-B put a restaurant in its San Felipe and Fountain View store, but it didnt last long. What happened? A: The food was really good. The challenge was, you dont sit at home with your wife and go, Honey I want to take you someplace really special. Let's go to H-E-B for dinner, even though the food was great. And so therein lies the challenge. Where do customers give us permission to play? And that's what you have to look at because it really doesnt matter how good the food is. IN THE HEIGHTS: H-E-B makes good on Heights store promise Q: So, what did you do with the space? A: We're going to bring coffee there. Well actually grind beans in that location. We believe that the customer will give us permission to do coffee and light meals in a bigger way than a full-service operation. Q: Youre constantly studying food trends in other markets. What do you think the next big thing is for grocery store food? A: Anything that is convenient is what we're going to continue to see. Whats the first convenient item you can remember? The first one I remember was grated cheese. When I was a little boy my mom would hand me the brick of cheddar and a grater and I would grate the cheese. And then you think about today. Some of them kind of go off the deep end a little bit, but think about cut melon. You can buy a whole watermelon for $4.98. We'll cut a watermelon for you, give you a third of one and you'll pay $9.98. People will gladly do it. It's a convenience-based culture. People are time starved and crave convenience in what they do. It knows no bounds. nancy.sarnoff@chron.com twitter.com/nsarnoff Paul Takahashi contributed. Unidentified gunmen attacked Anadarko Petroleum contractors - killing one and injuring several others - in two separate incidents late Thursday near its liquefied natural gas project in northern Mozambique. The attacks are the first ones to target The Woodlands-based Anadarko since suspected Islamic militants launched an insurgency in the East African nation in late 2017. Anadarko said the first attack with about 15 masked men was on a convoy of contractors to the planned, multibillion-dollar LNG export terminal. Several people were injured during the raid, but none were killed. The second attack was on a private airstrip Anadarko is building near the terminal. One contract worker with the Portuguese firm Gabriel Couto was killed. "The safety, security and well-being of our people is always the top priority, and therefore, the construction site remains on lockdown, and we will not discuss specific security measures," Anadarko said in a prepared statement. "We are still working to gather information and continue to actively monitor the situation." The incident is "very significant" and may signal a shift in tactics by the insurgents, according to Eric Morier-Genoud, a senior lecturer at Queens University Belfast and an expert on Mozambiques history. FUEL FIX: Where Houston's energy sector gets its news. Sign up for the daily newsletter at HoustonChronicle.com. Anadarko has recently announced a slew of new LNG sales contracts its inked with Asian buyers, giving the Mozambique LNG project a total of 9.5 million metric tons of LNG sales a year in signed contracts, lifting Anadarko over the 8 million ton threshold by which the company said it wanted to reach before authorizing construction. Anadarko has said it plans to authorize moving forward on construction of the multibillion-dollar project during the first half of this year. But Anadarko declined to comment further when asked if these attacks could impact the timing. The Mozambique LNG project is located in Palma, near the Tanzanian border, where more than 100 people have been killed in an insurgency thats also destroyed hundreds of homes. Up to now, the suspected Islamist militants have mainly targeted coastal villages and the government. Last month, the company published an advertisement in a local newspaper asking for vehicles with armor heavy enough to stop AK-47 bullets. "In order to ensure readiness for operations, there is an immediate need" for the vehicles, Anadarko said in the ad. Bloomberg News contributed to this report. Robert Bradley Jr. was Enron chairman Ken Lays speechwriter and from his perch, he had an unusual view of the shenanigans taking place at the company that was once Houstons most revered. He witnessed the flawed management, the bad decisions and the situational ethics that wrecked the company that once climbed to No. 5 on the Fortune 500. Enron collapsed and filed for bankruptcy in 2001, throwing Bradley and thousands of other employees out of work and turning the once valuable stock options into worthless pieces of paper. Several former Enron executives were sent to prison for their roles in the fraud. Lay died before he was sentenced. Bradley has written a new book, his third on Enron, titled Enron Ascending: The Forgotten Years 1984-1996. Its 786 pages and published by Wiley. Bradley recently spoke with the Chronicle. Edited excerpts follow. Q: Why are we still interested in Enron 17 years after the company collapsed? A: Enron remains the most scrutinized and debated event in modern corporate history. Type business scandals in Google and Enron comes up. Q: When people say Enron scandal, what is that short for? A: Fooling people about the true picture of a company. That good things arent really happening. Q: Looking back, what went wrong? A: Enron should have gone bankrupt at least one or two years before it did. The company was launching businesses that were not viable. One was an retail energy business that wasnt a good fit for Enron which, until then, specialized on wholesale power. And it made some international investments that didnt go well, like infrastructure gas and electricity investments in India. The two divisions that Enron was founded on - pipelines and oil and gas - did very well. Q: What is the lingering lesson from Enron? A: The company didnt make mid-course corrections when it saw that new business ventures were not working like selling broadband and water. The company was trying to create markets. They were all failures. It was all an effort to keep up the momentum of the stock. Wall Street believed Enron and kept pouring money into it. But it turns out were all better off being realistic than inventing our own reality. Q: Was it all hype? A: We all bought into the hype. Were there people who were suspicious? There were a number of them. Some quietly left. There was a lot of whispering from the higher ups that there were some serious problems. Q: How did the company keep up a veneer of profitability ? A: So much of what Enron did was legal so it wasnt prosecutable fraud. But Ken Lay was a master of strategic deceit like not sharing important information, providing half truths, taking contradictory positions at the same time and putting image over reality. Q: What can business leaders learn from Enron? A: Its a slippery slope when you make a deviation from best practices. It creates a dependency to keep making bad decisions. When Ken Lay joined Enron in 1984, Ken said he wanted all travel business to go to his sister who, along with him, owned a travel business. Later, board members would use the company plane to fly places. Then in 1999, the board gave Andy Fastow an ethics code waiver to make deals with Enron personally, deals that took Enrons bad investments off the balance sheet and did special deals to enrich himself. The board agreed. There was also a lot of hype. Enron was making so much trading that if the market lost confidence, Enron could enter into a death spiral. Deception become a way of life as time went on. Q: How much of this was due to Ken Lays management? A: Ken Lay is the common denominator to the whole Enron story. He had never failed. He had an incredible ego. He was a risk taker extraordinaire. I dont think Lay was criminally liable. Others were. Criminality is when you know when you sign a statement that you know the numbers are wrong. Lay was turning into the figurehead of Enron. If he thought Arthur Andersen, Enrons accounting firm, and Vinson & Elkins, Enrons law firm, had signed off on things, everything was okay. Q: When did you realize something was wrong? A: I was learning it in real time. We had people in the public relations department and even Ken Lay finding out about Enron from outside news reports. This was news to them. lynn.sixel@chron.com twitter.com/lmsixel The human brain operates by naming things and then creating stories to put them in context. Companies, politicians and individuals spend a lot of effort trying to define themselves. After all, we are the heroes of our own stories, and we use logos, slogans, clothing and other signifiers to signal our identity. We also want to defend ourselves from enemies, competitors and critics who would define us, or our company, harshly. If we allow others to assign our label, we can lose friends, customers, status and money. One of the most potent, amorphous and misused labels lately is socialism. Accusations that something or someone is socialist can mislead people and policymakers, particularly in health care. On HoustonChronicle.com: Drug company graft not only driver of health care costs The primary definition of socialism, according to Merriam-Websters dictionary, is any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods. Democratic socialists advocate collective or governmental ownership because they believe elected representatives should control vital services and goods. When correctly applied, the services or products benefit everyone, not just a few rich people. The United States has several socialist programs, including Social Security and Medicare. Past American leaders determined that only the government could be trusted to guarantee the elderly a retirement income and affordable health care. Conservatives condemned both programs when Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson signed them into law. But let a politician try to roll them back and see how quickly the American voter will replace him or her. Democratic politicians are talking a lot these days about Medicare for All. Details of the proposal vary, though, depending on who is doing the talking. If Medicare for All means an end to private insurance and the federal government employing most doctors and owning most hospitals, that is socialized medicine. The National Health Services in the United Kingdom is a classic example. Not all European systems, though, qualify as socialist. In Germany, doctors and hospitals are private. The government requires residents and employers to purchase basic health insurance from non-profit companies. Groups representing care providers negotiate reimbursement rates with state government officials. Residents can pay extra for more luxurious benefits if they wish. The German system is far more expensive per person than in the United Kingdom. But the German system is half the cost of the U.S. system and offers a more practical model for Medicare for All. These alternatives aim to make health care more affordable and accessible. But medical societies, hospital organizations and pharmaceutical companies will call them socialized medicine because they do not want to lose their outsized profits from a system rigged to bill patients as much as they can pay. On HoustonChronicle.com: Health care prices should be based on costs, not need Old timers can remember the Soviet Union, the battle against Communism and the dangers of true socialism. In Africa, I saw government-owned companies become perches for political patronage and job protection rather than thriving enterprises focused on meeting customer needs. Venezuela provides a stunning example of what happens when an elected government seizes private companies. But there are plenty of examples of taking a middle ground. Liberals point to the Nordic Model, found in Norway, Denmark and other countries. These citizens have chosen to make quality of life of equal importance to corporate profits. But they are far from socialist because the government does not own the means of production and distribution of goods. The government does guarantee access to the ballot box, universal health care, generous social services and worker participation in corporate decision making through strong unions. Everyone pays higher taxes, especially the wealthy. Nordic model nations rank high for healthy populations, per capita income, worker productivity and personal happiness. They rank low for poverty, income inequality, racial injustice and disparities in health and education. Polling shows that younger Americans are attracted to so-called socialist candidates because they are fed up with their government prioritizing corporations over people. This is not just a liberal phenomenon. President Donald Trump campaigned on fixing a rigged system that hurt average Americans while benefitting the elite. He also promised to overhaul the health care system. Wanting a fairer form of capitalism is not socialism. Those who bandy that word about willy-nilly are intellectually dishonest. Chris Tomlinson writes commentary about business, economics and policy. chris.tomlinson@ chron.com twitter.com/cltomlinson Sarah Hirsch was teaching a second-period art class at Manvel High School in November when she felt as if the room was spinning. It was unnerving enough that she went to the school nurses office to lie down and soon felt better. But when she stood, the dizziness came back. The cause of Hirschs symptom was never determined, but the doctor who saw her the next day quickly discovered fluid in her ears, a common cause of dizziness that usually requires no immediate treatment. Yet, by the time she left the Montrose Emergency Center, a free-standing emergency room, Hirsch had accumulated more than $15,000 in charges that included two CAT scans, an electrocardiogram, two urine tests, blood work, and an IV of saline solution to prevent dehydration even though she was told she was not dehydrated. She now owes $13,794.49 because insurance covered less than 10 percent of the charges since it was out-of-network. Hirschs staggering bill raises many familiar and troubling questions about medical care and costs, including the proliferation of excess tests and procedures, the uncertainty of insurance coverage and the responsibilities of providers to clearly disclose network affiliations and potential charges faced by patients. It also highlights a twist in the impenetrable maze of medical billing in the United States, one that patients rarely know about, much less how to fight back. About one-fourth, or $3,500 of Hirschs nearly $14,000 bill was the facility fee, an overhead charge imposed by emergency rooms and hospitals for just walking in the door. Attached to the fee was a five-digit code, used in billing to describe the severity of the condition and scope of treatment. Those codes can spell the difference between paying a few hundred dollars or many thousands on top of bills for doctors and treatment. Montrose Emergency Center, part of the SignatureCare chain of free-standing emergency rooms, rated Hirschs visit at the highest level of severity, typical of life-threatening conditions. She was never given a diagnosis or explanation for the extensive testing. She got a potassium tablet and some motion-sickness medicine and told to go home and rest. This is a total scam, said Hirsch, who has challenged the charges and is awaiting a decision from her insurer. If I felt like my life was threatened I would have gone to a hospital. I thought I was going to urgent care. I guess they figured weve got all of these toys, lets use them. Ending in 5 Dr. R. Joe Ybarra, the legislative liaison for SignatureCare, said he did not find the tests ordered or coding unusual. In emergencies, he said, we have to think of all possibilities. In the coding used to determine facility fees, its the last number that matters. The higher the number, the higher the charges. In Texas, the average facility price allowed by insurers for a low to moderately severe condition a 99282 code was $436 in 2016, according to Health Care Cost Institute, a research group that examined 1.4 million insured trips to Texas emergency rooms. It more than triples to an average of $1,411 if the visit was coded a 99285, the highest level. Texas has the highest average cost of level 5 facility fees in the nation. On HoustonChronicle.com: Despite law to force clarity, confusion over free-standing ERs persist These days, higher severity codes are appearing more frequently, according to internal insurance claims data and a review of dozens of patient bills by the Houston Chronicle. That, in turn, can lead to significantly higher prices billed to insurers, which ultimately, can get passed to unsuspecting patients. An analysis of claims by UnitedHealthCare, the nations largest health insurer, found the use of the two highest facility fee codes rose 50 percent in the past decade, translating into a $1.5 billion increase in the countrys overall health care costs, said Tracey Lempner, a spokeswoman for the insurer. Similarly, the Health Care Cost Institute, which gathers its data from insurers, found the amount spent for emergency room visits nearly doubled between 2009 and 2016. Prices rose across severity codes, but climbed fastest in the highest designations, said John Hargraves, a researcher at Health Care Cost Institute. In Texas, the increase of high severity codes mostly came from free-standing emergency rooms, analysts said. The phenomenon of fully-equipped emergency rooms often tucked into retail centers got its start in Houston about a decade ago. Between 2015 and 2017, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, the states largest insurer, had a 49.9 percent jump in the use of the two highest severity codes at free-standing emergency rooms, said Dr. Robert Morrow, president of the insurers Houston and Southeast Texas office. The emergency medicine industry, however, says the statistics are misleading. They argue that any increase in higher severity codes is a result of people arriving sicker and in need high-level treatment, sometimes after delaying care because of high-deductible insurance plans. Those with less serious ailments or injuries go elsewhere, such as urgent care clinics or their doctors offices, say free-standing industry officials. You can only code what is in the chart, said Rhonda Sandel, CEO of Texas Emergency Care Centers, a network of four free-standing emergency rooms in the state and a board member of the industrys trade association. She rejected any suggestion of over-treatment or manipulation of the codes for higher reimbursement, a practice known as up-coding. Sometimes life-threatening conditions masquerade as something common. In one case, she said, a sore throat turned out to be a peritonsilar abscess that required emergency surgery. The number of emergency room visits, however, is essentially unchanged. If patients were now seeking emergency care only for serious conditions, the number of visits would drop, analysts said. Since the population of insured people is not changing, said Hargraves, the researcher for HCCI, the only logical explanation is a change in how things are being coded. The free-standing emergency industry responds that more aging, sicker patients who need higher level care have offset the decline in lower-coded visits. Jack Hoadley, research professor emeritus at Georgetown Universitys Health Policy Institute, said it can be tricky to prove up-coding because of the discretion built into the system. The final determination of a facility fee code is based, in part, on the treating physicians documentation in the medical chart. No one wants to second-guess doctors or risk under-treating patients, he said, but a fine line runs between being thorough and trying to squeeze the highest level of severity out of a situation. Wonders of Super Glue In January 2018, Richard Kelley tried to step over his sprawled Labrador retriever just as the dog stood up. The Tomball construction manager went tumbling into the corner of a granite countertop, opening a cut to his temple. Kelley, 63, was in pain and bleeding, but not hurt badly. He applied some do-it-yourself doctoring to the wound and closed it with Super Glue. He wasnt disoriented and did not feel nauseous. Still, his wife, Maxine, was worried about infection. Two days later, Kelley agreed to have the cut checked. He couldnt get an appointment with his doctor, so he tried the Memorial Hermann Convenient Care Center nearby. He didnt know anything about it, but the receptionist promised no waiting. On HoustonChronicle.com: Texas allows Blue Cross Blue Shield to deny payments for some out-of-network ER visits A few minutes later, the doctor felt along Kelleys eye socket and cheekbone and declared nothing broken. He asked Kelley about concussion warning signs. Richard, I dont think stitches are going to help you any, Kelley said the doctor told him. The nurse applied a few Steri-strips across the cut and Kelley was done. The whole deal, from walking in to walking out, took about 20 minutes, he said. In March, the couple got a bill from Memorial Hermann. They owed $1,188.75 for the facility fee described as emergency care. The charge was later reduced by $361, leaving a balance of $827.37 because the deductible had not been met. He repeatedly requested an itemized bill but did not receive one. When he later asked, he was told the facility fee was coded a 3 for moderate severity. Coding guidelines suggest such a designation includes treatment for head injury without neurological symptom. Kelley calls that a stretch. It makes you wonder what they would call a 1 or 2, he said. I feel like Im subsidizing their overhead. Memorial Hermann declined to comment of Kelleys case, citing privacy, but said in a statement, Memorial Hermann makes every effort to correctly code visit levels and strives to ensure its billing practices are fair, equitable and accurate. Cracking down Ken Janda, CEO of Houston insurer Community Health Choice, said facility claims coded moderate to severe jumped nearly 25 percent between 2015 and 2017. The easiest thing for insurance companies would be to just pay those claims, Janda said, but that would mean premiums go up for all of us. Many health plans are heightening scrutiny on emergency room claims, Janda said, raising the temperature in the long-running fight between insurers and providers over reimbursement. The emergency medicine industry has pushed back hard, accusing insurers of denying claims capriciously and trying to undercut doctors. Insurance companies are systematically denying emergency room visits where any reasonable person would agree (the treatment decisions) are medically necessary, said Dr. Derek Guillory, medical director of The Emergency Clinic La Vernia, about 25 miles from San Antonio. They win when they sit on the money. Others in the industry say insurers are increasingly and unfairly denying facility reimbursements. Last month, the Texas Association of Freestanding Emergency Centers bought a double-page ad in the Houston Chronicle that accused insurers of steering patients away from the emergency care they need. Patients, meanwhile, dont know at whom to be mad. They only know they are getting socked. Too late What Philip McCraw needed was a tetanus shot after poking himself in the arm with a rusty nail while doing yard work last summer. What he got was a bill for nearly $1,900. The San Antonio teacher didnt have a regular doctor. He thought about going to the Mission Trail Baptist Hospital emergency room, but he figured the wait would be too long and expensive for something so minor. He called a walk-in place called Baptist Emergency Hospital and was told to come in. On HoustonChronicle.com: Patients squeezed in feud between doctors and insurance companies He said the first words out of his mouth were: Can you check my insurance to see what my coverage is? He had Aetna. The woman at the front desk said it was against policy to provide such information before treatment, he said. He asked someone else who also would not confirm coverage. Only after he went into a treatment room was he told he owed a $200 co-pay for emergency room services. McCraw, incredulous, said he wanted to refuse service and leave. OK, he said he was told, but were going to charge you anyway because you came back. Right then I knew I was in a pickle, he said. A physicians assistant glanced briefly at the wound. He got his shot, a prescription for an antibiotic, and left. The bill for the vaccine was $63.70 and another $97.99 to have it administered. The facility fee was $1,706.19 and coded a level 3. The thing that gets me is I told them why I was there, said McCraw. Why didnt they explain from the beginning that this wasnt the best place for me to go? The facility is part of the Baptist Health System, which has a partnership with of Emerus Holdings, a private developer of micro-hospitals with locations in Texas and other states. The owner of the facility, Emerus, is transparent about the fact that the facilities we manage are hospital-based emergency departments, and services are billed accordingly, Baptist said in a statement. It added a puncture wound requiring a vaccination and antibiotic therapy will generally be coded a level 3 charge, at a minimum. As for McCraw, he only found out later that a tetanus shot at Walgreens with insurance would have cost him nothing. jenny.deam@chron.com twitter.com/jenny_deam Stefflon Don's already known in the U.K. but she's making her rounds in America these days. Under the Quality Control umbrella, she released her debut album, Secure last year. However, it looks like she's getting ready to make more noise this year. She comes through with a new track alongside Kojo Funds titled, "Take Off." Stefflon Don and Kojo Funds join forces on their new track, "Take Off." The collaboration between the two was produced by Rymez. The two rappers deliver a high-energy banger. Stefflon proves why she's one of the hottest emcees out of the U.K. while Kojo Funds' melodic delivery comes through on the hook. It's a fiery collaboration by the two. We're excited to hear what both artists have up their sleeves this year. Quotable Lyrics Anyhow this bitch slip like Nipples on Ms. Janet Whole squad gettin' robbed like Kim did in Paris London back to Brum Brum where mi come from From Jamaica to Kingston dat ah mi island The Pittsburgh Steelers have officially opened up the phones lines for teams looking to make an offer for All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown. Like Brown, the Steelers also have a few preferences regarding how they'd like things to shake out this offseason. Reasonably enough, the organization does not want to trade Brown within the division, meaning AFC North rivals - Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns - are out of the question, according to a report by ESPN. Additionally, ESPN reports that Pittsburgh views the New England Patriots as a "no-trade zone." Preferably, the Steelers hope they can find a trade partner in the NFC, which should be encouraging for Brown, who has made it clear he wants to play for the San Francisco 49ers. Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler: Nipsey Hussle falling in G-Love with Lauren London is undeniably a feel-good moment for "the culture." Ignore everything you think you know about Nispey for just a moment because he and London didn't link up as result of the Crenshaw rapper pulling all the stops at a stoplight, his windows peeled. Nope, it was far less glamorous than we'd all like to believe. London and Hussle both shared accounts of how they meet, with both parties agreeing on all card - likely because they were together when the interview went down. Apparently, London and Nipsey were connected through a mutual friend via DM. In fact, it was London who received the first notice from this roving 3rd party. Our stories are very different, I did not slide into his DMs. My homeboy did..." she openly stated in the GQ interview. But as Nipsey Hussle would have it, Lauren's sequence begins a little later in the timeline. For Nipsey, the seeds were planted when he noticed Lauren London's name among the hundreds of patrons who bought the scarce Crenshaw LP. As the story goes, Jay-Z wound up buying the first 100 copies put into production, with other 900 flying off "shelves" shortly thereafter. Upon discovering London's name in the sales' records, Hussle promptly found out the actress had begun tracking his movements on social media, so naturally, he followed suit. Who would have thought an unorthodox sales pitch would prove this persuasive on an interpersonal level. 'Hablemos de PrEP' Campaign in Puerto Vallarta Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico - Last week, in the presence of national and international personalities, Solidaridad Ed Thomas AC (SETAC) presented the campaign "Let's talk about PrEP," which aims to educate the general population and, above all, to promote awareness of the medical treatment that helps to prevent the transmission of HIV among the most vulnerable groups. PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) is a medical treatment that helps to prevent the acquisition of HIV, focused on the populations most exposed to the virus, as part of a combined prevention strategy, along with the use of condoms, medical monitoring, and periodic tests. Prof. Francisco Javier Arjona, Director of SETAC, welcomed personalities from the health sector, local government, educational centers, and civil society. Among them were the ImPrEP teams from Brazil and Mexico City, led by Dr. Brenda Hoagland and Dr. Galileo Vargas respectively. (The "ImPrEP" project is an initiative funded by UNITAID of the United Nations.) Prof. Arjona spoke of the challenges that arise when implementing a program of this type in a city like Puerto Vallarta because of the high mobility (both national and foreign people) the city has. Currently, the protocol has 83 PrEP users, and it's planned to reach approximately 300 users by the end of this year, of which 80% are Mexican users. In this same line, Mr. Victor Galicia, CEO of CHECCOS (the Humanitarian Committee of Shared Effort Against AIDS), gave a summary of the project in Guadalajara, and also spoke of the importance of correctly choosing the critical populations for the different protocols. Also, Dr. Luis Alberto Ruiz, who is the technical secretary of COESIDA (the Council for the Prevention of HIV - AIDS) in Jalisco, stressed the state's support for civil associations and combined prevention programs, highlighting community collaboration and pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis, along with plans to prevent other types of sexually transmitted diseases. The session ended with Dr. Hamid Vega, Co-Principal Investigator of the ImPrEP project, giving a summary of the ImPrEP project in Brazil, Peru, and Mexico. There are approximately 3,800 people currently participating in the program in Latin America's thirty-one implementation sites, six of which are in Mexico. At the actual launch of the campaign, Prof. Arjona showed videos, posters, and graphics to promote PrEP to the general public. These materials can be accessed through the hablemosdeprep.com webpage. Located at Aldanaca 178 4A & 4B, in the Colonia Versalles of neighborhood of Puerto Vallarta, SETAC is a non-profit community and wellness center whose mission is to reduce HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in the greater Banderas Bay region through education, detection and prevention. Free counseling, testing, treatments and referrals for HIV and other sexual transmitted illness are just some of the free services SETAC provides to the entire population, without prejudice or discrimination. For more information, follow SETAC on Facebook, visit the website, call (322) 224-1974 or email contacto(at)setac.com.mx. This morning, Jussie Smollett was taken into police custody and formally charged in one of the most absurd stories of the year so far. He reportedly planned out the hate crime that he reported to the police because he was unhappy with the salary he was getting from his Empire role. The new story adds up to what previous reports wrote about Jussie taking on a smaller role on the show, staging this to change the studio's mind. Fox is still deciding what to do with Smollett after his arrest but as of now, he's become the laughing stock of the internet. According to TMZ, the actor was in contact with the two Nigerian brothers who attacked him via text message before the incident, asking for their help. Jerod Harris/Getty Images The publication states that Jussie sent a text to the Osundairo brothers that read: "Might need your help on the low. You around to meet up and talk face to face?" That message was sent on January 25, which is three days after the threatening letter was received on the Empire set. On the same day, Jussie and Abel met to discuss how they would stage the attack. It was at this point that Ola was notified of the plans. Police say that Smollett gave the brothers $100 to purchase all the necessary props: gasoline to pour on him (which was later switched to bleach), a noose, and the MAGA caps. The three of them scouted locations around Chicago on January 27, which is also when Jussie gave them a $3,500 check to play out the act. The check was deposited on the next day and a phone call between Jussie and Abel took place on January 29 to plan out the timing. On the 30th, the brothers took a flight to Nigeria. This entire situation is so wild. What are your thoughts on the new timeline additions? Scott Olson/Getty Images Jordan Brand's Spring 2019 sneaker lineup continues to reveal itself, and it appears that there are several different Air Jordan 11 Lows in the works. In fact, sneaker source @Zsneakerheadz reports that at least two separate "Snakeskin" low-top 11s will be releasing this year. In addition the recently unveiled "Navy Snakeskin" colorway, a "Light Bone" rendition is also on tap to release on June 1 for $185. Check out the latest batch of images in the IG post embedded below. Along with the Snakeskin Air Jordan 11 Lows, it is also being reported that an "Orange Trance" colorway will release in women's sizes. Those kicks, also rumored to release in the Spring of 2019, feature a white leather upper accompanied by the traditional patent leather detailing in a bright orange hue. On top of that, word is already out that the iconic "Bred" Air Jordan 11 will be releasing during the 2019 Holiday season, following in the footsteps of the Concords that dropped at the end of December. Check out some additional photos in the IG posts embedded below. Performance 22 February 2019 HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee The Canadian hotel industry recorded mostly positive year-over-year results in the three key performance metrics during the week of 10-16 February 2019, according to data from STR. Advertisements In comparison with the week of 11-17 February 2018, the industry reported the following: Occupancy: +1.5% to 59.4% Average daily rate (ADR): +1.4% to CAD149.12 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +3.0% to CAD88.57 Among the provinces and territories, Nova Scotia reported the only double-digit increases in occupancy (+10.5% to 53.4%) and RevPAR (+12.6% to CAD67.51). Quebec posted the highest jump in ADR (+5.1% to CAD158.07) and the second-largest rises in occupancy (+4.3% to 66.4%) and RevPAR (+9.5% to CAD104.97). The Northwest Territories experienced the only double-digit decline in occupancy (-15.5% to 80.4%), which resulted in the steepest drop in RevPAR (-13.8% to CAD135.71). Alberta registered the largest decrease in ADR (-5.1% to CAD132.37). New Brunswick saw the only other double-digit drop in RevPAR (-10.0% to CAD56.33), due primarily to the second-largest decline in occupancy (-9.6% to 47.5%). Performance 22 February 2019 HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee The U.S. hotel industry reported positive year-over-year results in the three key performance metrics during the week of 10-16 February 2019, according to data from STR. Advertisements In comparison with the week of 11-17 February 2018, the industry recorded the following: Occupancy: +0.7% to 63.5% Average daily rate (ADR): +2.7% to US$131.99 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +3.4% to US$83.88 Among the Top 25 Markets, San Francisco/San Mateo, California, registered the largest increase in RevPAR (+62.2% to US$267.60), due to the largest lift in ADR (+51.7% to US$312.71) and the second-highest rise in occupancy (+6.9% to 85.6%). STR analysts attribute continued performance growth in the market to returned group business related to the reopened Moscone Center. Nashville, Tennessee, experienced the largest jump in occupancy (+8.0% to 74.1%). Seattle, Washington, posted the second-highest increases in ADR (+15.1% to US$150.81) and RevPAR (+18.4% to US$104.20). Super Bowl LIII host, Atlanta, Georgia, reported the third-largest increase in ADR (+12.2% to US$122.59), which resulted in the third-highest rise in RevPAR (+17.9% to US$87.99). Overall, 14 of the Top 25 Markets registered an increase in RevPAR. San Diego, California, saw the steepest declines in occupancy (-4.1% to 77.9%) and RevPAR (-7.8% to US$130.69). Los Angeles/Long Beach, California, posted the largest drop in ADR (-5.0% to US$187.28). Download STR's weekly U.S. hotel review. Press Release 22 February 2019 EDINBURGH, Scotland - In response to consumer demand, Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian has announced a new concierge offering called 'Book Master,' which is now available for guests at the iconic Edinburgh hotel. Advertisements Whether it is recommending celebrated Edinburgh novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or sharing exclusive lists of hidden gem bookshops, the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh Book Masters will have a story to tell. The concierge team will be on hand to recommend local tales personalised to each guest's interests, provide recommendations for the best book shops in the area and will arrange for any book to be placed on guests' bedsides each day upon request. A recent global study of luxury travellers conducted by Hilton1 highlighted a surprising reliance on concierges, with nearly one-third of leisure travellers stating that they plan little to none of their trip prior to their arrival. An additional 47 percent reported they intentionally leave some details of their trip unplanned until they arrive at their hotel. In response to guests and their travel aspirations, a survey of 2,000 luxury consumers2 found that nearly one in five travellers (19 percent) wanted to experience the services of a 'Book Master' concierge when they travelled. Personal Concierges work to create flawless experiences by tailoring guests' stays to their exact specifications - which now includes the ability to call upon the Book Master in order to find the perfect read. "For today's luxury travellers, providing personalised and tailored services is key to delivering truly unforgettable experiences. We are delighted to trial these new service offerings in response to widespread consumer demand," said Dino Michael, global head, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts. To try out the latest concierge services, and for more information about Waldorf Astoria, visit waldorfastoria.com. 1Hilton partnered with a third-party research firm, Survata, to survey nearly 1,500 luxury consumers over the age of 25 in eight countries. 2Waldorf Astoria partnered with third party research firm One Poll to survey 2,000 luxury consumers over the age of 22 in the UK About Live Unforgettable Earlier this year, Waldorf Astoria announced the debut of the 'Live Unforgettable' campaign - a bold repositioning of the brand to highlight Waldorf Astoria's unique experience and deepen connections with today's luxury travellers. Backed by extensive consumer insights, the campaign pairs the brand's legacy with an unexpected, playful take on True Waldorf Service. Press Release 22 February 2019 Magnuson Worldwide's global hotel brand is proud to announce the addition of the Hotel Francis located in Saint Francisville to the collection. Advertisements Hotel Francis is only a short drive from Baton Rouge. It's just 2 miles from the Myrtles Plantation museum and 5 miles from the Audubon State. Guests enjoy convenient access to The Bluffs Country Club at 7.8 miles away and many local dining options. Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (BTR) is 31 minutes away by car. The pet-friendly Hotel Francis welcomes guests in cozy rooms, with free wireless internet access, phones with free local calls, and cable TV. Enjoy free breakfast each morning and free parking. Take a dip in the outdoor pool in warm weather. Guests staying at the hotel Monday-Thursday are welcomed to a complimentary dinner. Please ask the front desk about the details. Thomas Magnuson, CEO of Magnuson Worldwide says: "We are delighted to be welcoming the team at the Hotel Francis to the Magnuson family." Appointment 22 February 2019 A seasoned veteran of the Hyatt family, Castrillon brings more than 30 years of hospitality experience to the resort. In his new role, he will be responsible for leading all resort operations with a focus on service, guest relations, revenue and profits. He will also collaborate with local partners on initiatives that will further enhance the cultural experiences offered at the resort. Castrillon began his career with Hyatt in 1984, and has held many leadership roles at Hyatt Regency properties across the United States. Most recently, he was general manager at Hyatt Regency Miami, and additionally served as an active member of the Greater Miami & The Beaches Hotel Association, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association. He was awarded "2011 General Manager of the Year" for Hyatt North America's small hotel category in recognition of his exceptional leadership and contributions to the hospitality industry. Castrillon earned his Bachelor's degree in business administration and management from Florida International University. He now lives in Aruba with his wife Diana, and looks forward to learning more about the island, its culture and the wonderful people who call it home. Pipeline 22 February 2019 Hilton Rome Eur - La Lama is due to open in 2020 with direct access to the Roma Convention Centre - "La Nuvola". Construction is underway on the new build hotel, which includes 439 guest rooms within an architecturally distinctive structure known as "La Lama" (The Blade). Hilton Rome Eur - La Lama is in Rome's Eur district, in the south of the city. The neighbourhood has undergone extensive redevelopment in recent years and is a vibrant business hub with large corporate headquarters situated in the area, such as Poste Italiane, Eni and ACEA. The hotel will have direct access via a concourse to Rome's foremost conference venue. Named La Nuvola (The Cloud) after the unique shape of the property - which was designed by Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas - the Roma Convention Centre is the largest in Rome and can host events of nearly 8,000 delegates in its main ballroom. An all-day dining restaurant and lobby bar will be situated on the hotel's ground floor, while a destination restaurant is set to be the area's leading eatery when it opens on the property's 15th floor. The hotel will also include an executive lounge and business and fitness centres. Pipeline 22 February 2019 EJF Capital LLC ("EJF"), a global alternative asset management firm, announced today that it has joined Tidewater Capital and Graves Hospitality to develop Marriott International's new Moxy hotel in the Uptown neighborhood of Oakland, California. Uptown Oakland qualifies as an "Opportunity Zone" under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 ("TCJA") and offers investors attractive tax benefits to create economic growth. The planned Moxy hotel, which is slated to open in 2021, consists of 173 rooms and targets millennial travelers who are increasingly drawn to Oakland's energetic urban environment. EJF Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Neal Wilson said, "This is exactly the type of investment the Opportunity Zone program is intended to generate. And we are pleased to support the greater Oakland community through the development of this exciting hotel concept, which is expected to bring 50 permanent jobs to downtown. Along with our partners, Tidewater and Graves Hospitality, we believe that this is the right time to invest in Oakland, a dynamic, expanding city that welcomes growth capital." The Oakland Moxy Hotel The Moxy hotel will be one of the first new hotel developments in downtown Oakland in many years. The hotel will benefit the community in many ways besides creating jobs such as locally sourcing food and beverage resources and sourcing local art for the lobby area. Additionally, the street-level amenity space will be programmed with regular events and exhibits weekly, drawing primarily upon local artists, musicians, performers and other neighborhood businesses. The project will engage the broader community and make a meaningful contribution to an already eclectic neighborhood, providing environmental, economic and cultural benefit for local businesses, individuals and visitors. With all the problems we have trying to renovate schools in Maryland and provide for a better education for our kids, why are we using casino money to support horse racing? Does the racing industry donate a portion of their profits back to Maryland that could be used for education? I think we need to rearrange our priorities in Maryland. Upgrade schools before racetracks. Keith Rhoades | Reporter-Times MORGAN COUNTY One candidate from the 2018 General Election paid his $50 fine at the Morgan County Election Board meeting Thursday morning. Paul Prather told Morgan County Clerk Stephanie Elliott he did make a mistake and filed his report one day late. I had it in my truck but forgot to drop it off, he said. Under Indiana Law, the county election board has the authority to issue fines for candidates who file their reports late. The fines may run up to $50 per day for each day the report is late. The maximum a candidate can be fined is $1,000. Former city councilman Board chairperson Becky Waymire was absent from Thursday mornings meeting, but board members Elliott and Tammy Parker discussed the problem with former Martinsville Councilman Jeff Price. Price ran for the council and won. He failed to file his Candidates Statement of Organization and was late filing his Report of Receipts and Expenditures Pre Election Report, which was due Oct. 15, 2015. At the time, the board fined him $100 for failing to file his organization report and $1,000 for the receipts and expenditures report. Elliott said the board needs to make a decision take Price to small claims court, or go to the prosecutor. Parker said it would be better if the full board made that decision. She suggested waiting until Waymire was able to attend the meeting before a decision is make. Elliott agreed and the matter was tabled until the next meeting. Primary ballot The board decided to shorter the prevoting time. For Martinsville voters, pre-voting will begin two weeks before the May 7 primary. In addition to voting on weekdays, the polls will be open on the two Saturdays before the election. In Mooresville, prevoting will begin one week before the primary. The polls will also be open on the two Saturdays before the election. Elliott said based on the number of people who voted in the last city primary, that should be enough time for residents to vote. Also, Elliott said there is only one Democratic candidate who filed for the May primary. Tom Wallace has filed to run for the Martinsville Mayors position. Elliott said under the law, they do not need a ballot only for him in the primary. Wallace will be on the November ballot. Those who want to vote Democratic will be able to get a certificate showing they showed up to vote. Elliott said the Democratic Party has until the first of July to fill their ballot for the November election. The board reviewed the candidates organizational reports. All candidates are required to fill out a report, called a CFA-1, when they file for office. The report lists the candidates name, address, phone, party affiliation, and post they are running for. The report also has information about the candidates committee, bank affiliation, and who the treasurer is for the candidate. The report must be signed by the committee chairperson, if any, and the candidate. The board approved all submitted reports. Complaint noted Elliott gave board members a copy of a complaint from a Camby resident that was filed with the Indiana Election Committee. The resident was displeased with a mailing that came to her home that attacked Democratic former Senator Joe Donnelly. The person called it a blatantly misleading political attack on the former senator. According to the complaint, the election committee determined the ad was legal because it contained the name of the organization that paid for it. Elliott wanted board members to know the committee had looked into the matter. The board adjourned, and at this time, no further meeting has been scheduled. Bloomington, IN (47401) Today Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. High 88F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Mainly clear skies. Low around 70F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Ernest Rollins The Herald-Times Several community leaders last month urged Indiana Senate lawmakers to pass a hate crimes bill this session. But the Senate bill passed this week no longer has language on protecting certain groups. It also removed language concerning law enforcement being trained to recognize, investigate and report bias- motivated crimes. This has many, including local leaders and the bills authors, asking what is the point of a hate crimes bill without protections for those vulnerable groups? It doesnt do the job, state Sen. Mark Stoops, D-Bloomington, said on Friday. It doesnt make the statement that these groups in Indiana can expect our support and protection from discrimination and hate crimes that are based solely on, for instance, the color of someones skin or sexual identity. As the bill heads to the House for consideration, local leaders are figuring out their next move in order to get hate crimes legislation passed this session. The local chamber and other government leaders in the community sent a letter to the Senate in January urging lawmakers to pass a hate crimes bill. Representatives with the chamber of commerce, city council and clerk, mayor's office, Monroe County Council and the Monroe County Board of Commissioners specifically called for hate crime legislation that would allow judges to increase sentencing when it has been determined that a crime has been motivated by bias against a victims characteristics that include, but are not limited to, their race, religion, color, sex, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, housing status or status as a veteran, in that letter. Erin Predmore, president and CEO of the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, said Friday she is talking with those who signed the letter to decide what next steps should be taken. Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton said removing those protected classes keeps Indiana on the shameful list of five states without hate crime laws. We exhort the House to reject the Senates disingenuous bill and propose one that fully supports human rights, Hamilton, one of the signatories, said in a statement. Stoops said passing a hate crimes bill without protections for certain groups reflects badly on the state. Stoops said many Republicans are afraid to go against the religious right, which opposes such a bill. He said lawmakers were targeted by that group after reversing course on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act which increased protections for those exercising their religious freedom but was viewed as a way for businesses to discriminate under the guise of religious freedom. The controversial law was later amended to explicitly state it cannot be used for such purposes. That reversal cost some Republicans their seats, Stoops said. Thats what they are afraid of, Stoops said. This vote (Thursday) was an easy way out. Not everyone is disappointed with the state Senates decision to remove those groups as part of the bill. Robert Hall, Indiana Conservative Alliance leader and a Monroe County resident, said he supports the bill that passed the Senate on Thursday. Hall, along with other conservative leaders, have pushed back on Indiana passing a hate crime law. Its a big improvement over the original bill which was unconstitutional, Hall said. I didnt think a bill was necessary, but SB12 that passed the Senate is acceptable. Hall said the bill that passed the Senate updates state code to reflect the Indiana Supreme Court decision in the Witmer v. State case, where a 17-year-old black man was murdered in a bias crime. In 2003, the court ruled that judges can use bias identified as part of a crime to increase prison sentences. Other supporters of the bill, such as state Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, says it protects Hoosiers while following the Indiana Constitution. An overwhelming majority of the Senate believed that SB 12, as amended, provided the broadest legal protection for all Hoosiers in accordance with Article 1, Section 23, of the Indiana Constitution, which states, The General Assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or class of citizens, privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizens, Koch said in a statement. The legislation passed Thursday allows judges to enhance a prison term when the underlying crime is motivated by bias but strips out the protected groups. Click here to find out where to get a COVID-19 vaccine or test. To find out how many local residents have been vaccinated for COVID-19, click here. Use the map to find numbers for individual counties. Find detailed statistics about COVID-19 tests, cases and deaths by county and for the state as a whole on the Indiana State Department of Health's online dashboard. Sorry, Baltimore Sun, your editorial, School budget woes hit the suburbs; how will Hogan respond? (Feb. 19), has a major flaw. Maryland is already a very high tax state and there is not unlimited money that Gov. Larry Hogan can make magically appear to give to schools. Even though Governor Hogan is a devout believer in the importance of good schools, there is only so much that he can do in raising taxes before they become onerous. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) A fire broke out at the Bureau of Customs building in Manila late Friday, then quickly engulfed the building, officials said. The bureau's spokesperson Dino Austria confirmed to CNN Philippines that the BoC's Port of Manila building is on fire. "Yes, (a) very big fire. We might lose the building," Austria told CNN Philippines. He added that key Customs officials have arrived at the scene. The Bureau of Customs is currently the center of several drugs smuggling cases, including billions of pesos worth of shabu shipment that allegedly passed through the agency as magnetic lifters. This is a developing story, please refresh for more updates. Lima, OH (45805) Today Partly cloudy. Isolated thunderstorms possible. High 88F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Low 71F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Mayor Catherine Pugh is right to fight back. Redeveloping the Pimlico track grounds and the surrounding communities is not a fantasy. The Maryland Stadium Authoritys report should not be ignored. Theirs is a creative, achievable idea that aims to tie the fortunes of the community and racing together in a forward-looking way that could be immensely beneficial to all concerned. We should seriously commit ourselves to keeping the Preakness in Baltimore and seizing on this chance of a lifetime to rebuild the Pimlico and Park Heights communities and successfully tackle and combat the problems of poverty and crime. I am committed. At The Phipps Center for the Arts: Feb. 23 and on Although the end of life can be a heartbreaking time of loss for families, it can also be a time of unparalleled richness for those who are able to be present to their loved one in the final weeks, days and hours of life. Our efforts as doctors, nurses and fellow human beings should be to support persons with terminal illness and their families at this time, not abandon them by assisting in their suicide. Please be aware that Cache Valley Publishing does not endorse, and is not responsible for alleged employment offers in the comments. Recommended for you Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Kevin Opsahl is a staff writer and features editor at The Herald Journal. He can be reached at 435-752-2121 ext. 1016 or by email at kopsahl@hjnews.com Please be aware that Cache Valley Publishing does not endorse, and is not responsible for alleged employment offers in the comments. Lethal diseases have ravaged militaries across the millennia. Enemy No. 1: poor sanitation. IN MOST OF THE ERAS RECORDED BY MILITARY HISTORY, it was a reliable truism that an army could lose more men to disease than to the lethal efforts of its enemies. Diseases, particularly those of the insect-borne or water-specific types, have been responsible for untold millions of deaths in militaries across the millennia. Ironically, armies ravaged by disease have usually carried the seeds of their destruction with them in the form of poor field sanitation habits. After all, a sufficiently provisioned army of 10,000 men could produce about four tons of fecal waste every day; without adequate latrine facilities carefully situated away from water sources and field kitchens, it would only be a matter of time before debilitating, deadly diseases began rampaging through the ranks. In light of this, there is good reason to argue that the humble latrine was every bit as important to the waging of a successful military campaign as were good artillery, logistic support, sufficient ammunition, and well-trained troops. Today in the U.S. Army, protecting soldiers from disease vectors is such a command priority that field sanitation doctrine is taught and enforced at all levels of military training and in every unit. Effective sanitation policies are a fairly modern development, however, gaining official acceptance and emphasis only after the inexcusable losses of the Civil War and Spanish-American War. Military traditionalists stubbornly resisted change. While medical officers argued for improved sanitation practices, tactical commanders did not always share their concerns or understand the relevant science, often with drastic consequences. As a military surgeon who served as a sanitary commissioner in the British Army in India wrote in 1868, The recommendations of Medical Officers did not always meet with the attention they now do. For the British Army, the dangers of such willful disregard were demonstrated all too clearly during the Crimean Waraccording to official sources, it lost 25 times as many men to disease as to enemy action during that conflict. The importance of a reliable water supply and efficient field sanitation have always been recognized, to varying degrees, and no commander worth his rank has ever willfully ignored those necessities, especially if his army occupied a static position. Without proper precautions, a force that was stationary for more than a few days was at great risk of decimation from disease. The presence of too many men in a limited space could quickly turn a military encampment into a pestilential fever-zone, and no one disputed that. In the centuries before germ theory finally gained acceptance, however, the problems that inevitably developed when good sanitation was ignored were not as clearly understood. The greatest threats were cholera, typhus (after it made its first appearance around 1450), cryptosporidiosis, and dysentery in both its amoebic and bacillary forms. Cautionary examples of the threat arising from poor sanitation abounded. Nearly a third of the population of Athens reportedly died of typhoid over a six-year period beginning in 430 BCE, an epidemic that brought down the state. Henry Vs famous victory at Agincourt in 1415 was all the more noteworthy because dysentery had killed or invalided as much as a fifth of his army during the earlier siege of Harfleur. Dysentery was such a recurring problem in siege warfare during the medieval period that it was called the siege disease, or the bloody flux, and it was rightly feared for its high mortality rate. In fact, Henry V himself died of the disease following the Siege of Meaux in 1422. More often than not, trench latrines were the only way to go in World War I. (Bridgeman Images) Coming into the modern era, as many as two-thirds of all deaths during the American Civil War were caused by disease rather than battle. The most lethal disease among some segments of the military population was the soldiers age-old nemesis of diarrhea, which accounted for up to a fifth of all noncombat deaths. The Spanish-American War marked a notorious nadir in the history of the U.S. Armydeaths from disease in the training camps eclipsed actual combat deaths nearly seven to one. Unchecked disease has always been the great destroyer of armies, and most instances of disease in military situations originated from the prosaic problem of how to deal with human waste. SOLDIERS THEMSELVES HAVE ALWAYS DISCUSSED THIS ASPECT OF WARFARE with more direct and unembellished language than have most historians. Soldiers are accustomed to rough living, but this facet of military life mattered because of how much it often added to their miseries. What was usually a simple and private function in normal life became, in combat conditions, a difficult, very public, and sometimes extremely dangerous activity. Soldiers cursed it, laughed about it, made coarse jokes about it, and even wrote poems about it, but no one ever forgot what it was like to live for weeks or months without a serviceable latrine. In soldier narratives from 1800 to 1945, the topic arises in all eras, in all armies, in every conflict. The Italian Campaign of World War II was notorious for hard combat in rugged conditions. Monte Cassino was a terrible place to fight. Rocky terrain prevented the digging of fighting positions or trenches below ground level; the only cover that could be constructed was in the form of sangars, fortified positions made from walls of rock and stones. Even these were shelters of dubious efficacy, since German artillery had registered the approaches to the mountain so accurately that daylight movement was impossible without drawing immediate and effective fire. We were many times better off than the battalion directly facing the monastery, where throwing the contents of his lavatory tin out of the back of his sangar earned many a man a hail of mortar bombs, a British soldier of the Irish Guards who fought at Monte Cassino remembered. Just try sharing a rock hole about the size of two coffins with three others, then, in a prone position, lower your costume and fill a small tin held in the hand. The stink of excrement competed with the smell of death in every position. Bowels will not wait for nightfall. In frontline conditions where artillery and direct small-arms fire were constant threats, a man who left his hole or trench to relieve himself might not live long enough to pull his trousers back up. As a British NCO noted in his sector of trench in France in 1915, to get upin daylight would be, well, asking for the Huns to put daylight into one. Men quickly got over their inhibitions or suffered the fate of the narrator in Kiplings poem, The Refined Man: I was of delicate mind. I stepped aside for my needs, / Disdaining the common office. I was seen from afar and killed. A British lieutenant in the Devonshire Regiment, who fought in the muddy horror of Passchendaele in 1917, described the wretched and inadvertently egalitarian conditions of living for weeks in a hole in the ground with other men. If, for instance, you wanted to urinate and otherwise, he said, there was an empty bully beef tin kept on the side of the hole, so you had to do it in front of all your men [and] then chuck the contents, but not the tin, over the back. In Passchendaeles primitive conditions, where the combatants lived in mud-filled shell-holes (it was impossible to dig conventional trenches in the water-logged ground), men could not leave their positions when they were racked by attacks of diarrhea. Soldiers defecated in their bully beef tins and threw the liquid waste over the rim of their hole. The men were hardened, but the life was terrible, the Devonshire lieutenant remembered. Another extra chore was that lime had to be spread on the back of the posts because open excreta was being chucked out and if you didnt put down lime then when you came crawling out youd be covered in it. Diarrhea was rampant in the British ranks, most often because drinking water had been fouled by any number of contaminants. The battlefields of World War I, in fact, were a nightmare for potable water. Units went into the trenches in rotation, and for the days or weeks that they were on the lines the only water resupply they received was what could be sent forward to them under cover of darkness. When that failed, they drank whatever water was at hand. That was always an option of last resort, but desperation would brook no fastidiousness. The water we had to drink, one soldier wrote in his diary when he was fighting in the vicinity of Hill 60, was from a stagnant pond, the drainings from the ditches. That was bad enough, he remembered, but there was an even worse postscript. A few days later he wrote, We discovered a dead pig in our water pond. British soldiers pose in front of a filling station for clean water in World War I. (National Library of Scotland) The monthslong fighting on the Somme in 1916 made simple things hard when it came to logistics and hard things sometimes nearly impossible. There was only one place in the Somme where drinking water could be obtained, an Australian soldier named Hugh Knyvett wrote. The Germansmade it very difficult for us to get at it by shelling continually. They had the exact range, and it was only in the hour before dawn that one could get near the wells without meeting certain death. Knyvett did not relish the prospect of dodging German artillery fire to get water, but there was no real alternative. Of course, there was plenty of other water filling every hole around, he remembered, but this was not only thick with mud but had the germs of gas gangrene, and one knows not how many other diseases besides. (Also known as clostridial myonecrosis, gas gangrene is a bacteria-caused infection that gives off a foul-smelling gas in the afflicted tissue, hence the name.) Another man who had fought at Passchendaele recalled its muddy horror years afterward: We were so thirsty that we actually drank water out of shell-holes, and God knows what a shell-hole contains. It could hold anythingvery often parts of a human body. But we were so thirsty we drank it cold and without boiling it, because you couldnt get a fire very often. Even in conditions as difficult as the trenches of World War I, armies tried to push rations and water forward to the men in the lines, but many British soldiers complained that although tea was sent forward every day, it came in two-gallon petrol cans, each carrying with it its own malady. Well, those tins were baked, boiledeverything was done to thembut whenever you put a hot substance in them you still got petrol oozing out, and that gave the men violent diarrhea, one soldier wrote. But they had to drink it because it was the only hot drink they had. For the men on the line, it was just one more element of misery in a situation that quickly exceeded all known bounds of misery. Still, some men found a bleak humor in their gasoline-tainted water. There was a standing joke, another British soldier recalled, that if you were out there long enough you could tell the difference in taste as to whether the water came in a British Petroleum or a Shell can. AS VITAL AS CLEAN WATER IS TO AN ARMYS HEALTH, most militaries as late as the early 20th century still failed to adequately provide dedicated containers for water resupply. The problems inherent in contaminated water were clearly identified and understood, but for whatever reason there was little standardized military response to the issue, even during World War II. U.S. Marines fighting in the sweltering heat and dust of Peleliu in the Palau Islands suffered the same physical ailments as had their predecessors at Passchendaele when water came in five-gallon cans that had previously held diesel fuel. No amount of cleaning and no method of scouring ever seemed to completely rid the cans of the fuel residue, and desperately dehydrated men drank the contaminated water knowing it would make them violently ill. Owing to the lack of foresight on the part of the logistics and supply chain, they had no other choice. The prevalence of diarrhea in the field made proper latrine facilities all the more crucial, but in forward positions those essential stations were almost never adequate, either in terms of sanitation or security. Even rear areas of the front were not entirely safe if they were still within range of the enemys gunsartillery shells made no concessions for those moments when a man might be indisposed by a call of nature. A British officer recalled seeing a random German shell score a direct hit on the officers latrine in the artillery lines in France in 1915. I was shocked to see a man still sitting there on the throne, and I thought he must be dead, he wrote. I ran as hard as I could and arrived to find [him] up and adjusting his trousers. He said with a grin, It was lucky that the shell came when it did as I was feeling a bit constipated. It was not the first time shellfire could have been said to have loosened a mans bowels, but in that case, it at least happened in a convenient setting. Ernst Junger, who commanded an infantry company in the German army during World War I, described the latrine that was positioned behind his units trench as being particularly vulnerable to enemy fire. At times, he wrote, stray bullets from all directions seemed to have arranged a rendezvous for themselves at the latrine, so that we were often compelled to flee, holding a newspaper and trousers at half-mast. And for all that, it seemed not to have occurred to anyone to move this indispensable facility to a place of greater safety. The height of battle is, of course, an especially bad time to be stricken with diarrhea. During the Battle of Talavera in the Peninsular War in 1809, with both sides heavily engaged and the fighting well underway, a British officer found himself in just such a situation. As the commander of an artillery battery under heavy fire, he felt he could not go to the rear to relieve himself lest his men think he was trying to escape the ferocious cannonade of the French guns. Rather than going behind his battery, then, he deliberately walked a hundred yards or so in front of the brigade, and disembarrassing himself of part of his clothing, yielded to the irresistible necessity of the case, after readjusting his dress, and calmly putting on his sword and sash, he returned leisurely to his post. The transaction excited a great deal of mirth, notwithstanding the heat of the action. His insouciance solicited no small amount of admiration, as did the fact that he somehow survived. THE ADVENT OF MECHANIZED WARFARE ADDED ITS OWN COMPLICATIONS to the requirements of human physiology. Tanks, after all, do not have toilets. As a New Zealand tank commander recalled of the fighting in Italy in 1943, It was difficult to sort of carry out the demands of nature when you were in the tank all day, and so when you thought you [were] required to do something you put a shell up the spout, shoot off at something, wait until the shell case cooled down, and then you used it for a toilet and you put it out through the little hatch. The disease vectors of bacteria and vermin were exacerbated when a static battlefield was sweltering in hot weather. The fighting at Gallipoli in 1915 was never marked by the mud and cold that other campaigns of that war were notorious for; rather, it was a hellish environment of heat and dust and fliesflies on a biblical scale, reminiscent of the fourth plague of Egypt. The fliesthe result of the human excrement and rotting corpses that littered the contested battlegroundcovered everything: the ground, equipment, food, and the men themselves. One of the biggest curses was flies, one soldier said of Gallipoli. Millions and millions of flies. The whole side of the trench used to be one black swarming mass. Anything you opened, like a tin of bully, would be swarming with flies.They were all around your mouth and on any cuts or sores that youd got, which then turned septic. There were more flies on the [Gallipoli] Peninsula than there was sand on the shore, and they fought us persistently for every atom of food, another Australian soldier wrote. Getting a meal was a hard days work, for all the time you had to fight away the swarms, and no matter how quick you were with your fork, you rarely got a mouthful that hadnt been well walked over, and it didnt do to think where those flies had been walking just previously. The flies laid eggs, which quickly hatched into maggots that infested the floors of the trenches where rotting corpses were covered by only an inch or two of dirt. We lived in a headquarters of maggotspale, wriggling, stinking, blasted things, another soldier wrote. Another soldier who endured Gallipoli wrote: Maggots are falling into the trench now. They are not the squashy yellow ones; they are big brown hairy ones. Four men use a beachside latrine at Gallipolis Anzac Cove in 1915. (Australian War Memorial) The flies feeding on decomposing corpses and human excrement spread a virulent form of diarrhea that troops called the Gallipoli Trots or the Gallipoli Gallop. As more and more men came down with dysentery, the slit latrines, already inadequate and overused, became a stinking horror. If youd looked in the latrines youd have been sickened, a British soldier said. Youd think people had parted with their stomach or their insides. It was awful. Soldiers who fought the jungle campaigns in Burma, the Philippines, New Guinea, and other battlefields of the Pacific Theater in World War II were frequently ravaged by malaria, dengue fever, and other mosquito-borne diseases, but they also suffered from the full range of gastrointestinal ailments such as amoebic dysentery and cholera. When possible, sick men were sent to the rear, but in some situations medical evacuation was simply not an option. It was not an uncommon thing to see wasted, exhausted men still carrying their weapons and still in the fight, but with the seats cut out of their uniform trousers because they were stricken with nearly uncontrollable diarrhea. Similar expedients were adopted in the previous century during the retreat of Napoleons Grande Armee from Moscow in 1812. The extreme cold of the Russian winter made the act of defecation extremely difficult, so men resorted to cutting open the seams of the backs of their trousers in order to be able to defecate without having to lower their breeches. Those who did not adopt this expediency sometimes found themselves in a terrible predicament. Men who walked to the side of the road and unbuttoned their pants in order to answer the call of nature, a frequent one since many of them had diarrhea, would find to their horror that they were unable to button them up again, Adam Zamoyski writes in 1812: Napoleons Fatal March on Moscow, his masterful account of the campaign. A French officer remembered seeing several soldiers and officers who could not button themselves up because of their freezing fingers. I myself helped to dress and button up one of these unfortunates, who was weeping like a child, he wrote. German soldiers on the Eastern Front in World War II also found that the normally simple act of relieving oneself could be almost impossibly difficult in Russias bitter cold. Frost-numbed fingers could barely manipulate buttons, even partially divesting oneself of the necessary layers of clothing that kept one from freezing to death made every bowel movement an exhausting process, and exposed flesh froze unbelievably quickly. That reality continues to this day in certain climates, and more than one modern soldier, after months in the field, has listed a flushable toilet in a warm room as one of lifes greatest luxuries. RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF FIELD SANITATION, modern armies at the end of the 19th century began standardizing their health doctrines to address the need for proper latrine facilities. In 1918 the U.S. Army admonished its officers that any commander who does not give this subject the proper attention must necessarily be a failure. To that end, direction was given on the construction and use of latrine facilities in a variety of tactical environments. These ranged from the simple straddle trench to temporary box latrines with burn-out pits intended for longer use, as well as more permanent facilities designed to serve a large encampment. The danger of cross-contamination by flies and the risks to water sources was clearly understood, and much of the medical guidance was directed at controlling those specific risks. These measures were largely effective and when coupled with the advent of antibiotics were directly responsible for the decline in disease-related deaths during the wars of the 20th century. Yet officially mandated and medically prescribed practices were often not possible in the maelstrom of the battlefield, and in those situations soldiers simply endured as best they could. The great military campaigns of history have succeeded or failed for many reasons, but often overlooked in all the important details of strategy, logistics, maneuver, and battle there remain the mundane but absolutely vital necessities of clean water and well-planned latrines. Armies that ignored those two essentials frequently found they had created an adversary more dangerous than any enemy that faced them across the field. MHQ John A. Haymond is the author of Soldiers: A Global History of the Fighting Man, 18001945 (Stackpole Books, 2018), from which this article is adapted. This article appears in the Spring 2019 issue (Vol. 31, No. 3) of MHQThe Quarterly Journal of Military History with the headline: The Waste of War 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! Crossing Facts [Re. Many Waters to Cross, by James F. Byrne Jr., March 2019:] The famous painting by Emanuel Leutze, Washington Crossing the Delaware, on P. 22, contains many flaws: 1) The flag with the 13 stars and stripes did not exist until the summer of 1778; 2) the uniforms are German, not American; 3) Washington could not have stood up in the boat, as it would have flipped over; and 4) with all those men and horses in the boats, they all would have sunk before leaving the shoreline. Larry Bossone Berwyn, Pa. Editor responds: Likely for reasons of aesthetics and scale, the boat at the center of Leutzes painting is far smaller than the high-walled, double-ended Durham boat Washington is thought to have used that Christmas night of 1776. Washington would have been able to safely stand in one of those 40- to 60-foot decked vessels, which could transport up to 18 tonsplenty of capacity for horses and artillery. Leutze would have needed a second canvas to take in such a spectacle. His depiction of the motley American uniforms, particularly Washingtons, is thought to be accurate. WWI Relics I very much enjoyed your article World War Relics in the November 2018 issue. My grandfather was a lend-lease doctor to the British army and served in a field hospital in France. I have the several souvenirs that he brought back, including some of those in your article. They include: a Mills bomb grenade (deactivated); a Pickelhaube; a German flare pistol; two German Mauser bayonets; an Iron Cross 1st Class; my grandfathers brass British compass; his dog tags; his commission certificate; his World War I Victory Medal with campaign bars; a British tankers leather and chain mail mask as you depicted; his canteen with cover; and both of the trench daggers you depicted. He operated on many soldiers who had inhaled phosgene gas and exhaled it in his face while he was working on them. Over time he got enough of it in him that he went into a coma and was placed in a tent for the dying. He woke up two days later and was sent to Scotland for recovery, then home to Nebraska. He sent home a duffel bag with six Luger pistols and nine German binoculars, but all that arrived home was the duffel bag. All the lung specialists said he might live for five years on his one remaining lung if he moved to a high and drier climate, so he and family moved to Fort Collins, Colo. He ultimately outlived all those specialists and died in 1979 at the age of 100. Col. Lowell P. Little Jr. U.S. Air Force Reserve (Ret.) Albuquerque, N.M. Aleutians Thank you for the article Aleutian Battleground [January 2019]. I am embarrassed to admit that I knew nothing of the ground battle fought in the Aleutians. I read a number of books about the Battle of Midway, and all of them mention the Japanese Aleutian campaign solely as a failed diversionary attack to try to draw American carriers away from their real objective of Midway Island. The story of the Aleutian operation typically ended there. Kirk Carroll Colorado Springs, Colo. Braddocks Defeat I was intrigued to see your article Braddocks Defeat, 1755, by James F. Byrne Jr., November 2018. I own an 1899 copy of Captain Jack, the Scout; or The Indian Wars About Old Fort Duquesne, a historical novel by Charles McKnight. It goes into great detail about Braddocks very slow progress, his dismissal of the colonial scouts who probably would have prevented disaster, and the battle itself. Two items of special note: The ground Braddock was crossing was heavily forested and cut by three ravines. They were well hidden, and the French and their Indian allies hid in them. British survivors said the musket fire seemed to come right out of the ground. Many British officers were shot down, yet Col. George Washington was not hit. Years later an Indian whod been there said he and others had shot at Washington but never hit him. He said he and the other Indians concluded the Great Spirit had plans for this man and stopped shooting at him. Thank you for your fine publication. Robert Winter Boulder, Colo. Send letters to Editor, Military History, HistoryNet, 1919 Gallows Road, Suite 400, Vienna, VA 22182-4038 or via email. Please include name, address and phone number. In 1812 President James Madison entered the United States into an unpopular war stemming from Europes ongoing Napoleonic wars. A year earlier the British had instituted a naval blockade off U.S. ports to choke off trade to France, in the process seizing American ships and impressing U.S. citizens into the Royal Navy. As fighting ensued on the East Coast and along the Canadian border, Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson of the Tennessee militia emerged as a Southern frontier hero after battling an insurrection of Creek Indians backed by the British and Spanish. The future presidents legendary grit earned him the nickname Old Hickory among his soldiers, while Indian opponents knew him less affectionately as Sharp Knife and Pointed Arrow. Conflict in the Southern theater of the War of 1812 centered on growing unrest between white settlers and increasingly dispossessed Indians. The focal point was the Creek Nationone of the recognized Five Civilized Tribes, along with the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws and Seminoles. The Creeks were concentrated along the Coosa, Tallapoosa, Alabama and Chattahoochee rivers of Mississippi Territory (present-day Alabama and Georgia) and had grown dependent on trade with Britain, Spain and the United States. In 1811 Shawnee leader Tecumseh visited the Creeks and encouraged them to resist U.S. encroachment (he did, and two years later he died fighting the Americans in Upper Canada). The eastern group of Lower Creeks ignored such incitement and cooperated with the United States. But on Aug. 30, 1813, renegade Upper Creeks (known as the Red Sticks, for their war clubs) stormed Fort Mims on the lower Alabama River, overran its 265-man garrison, massacred more than 250 settlers and Lower Creeks, then destroyed surrounding farms and ranches, killing livestock and destroying crops. In response Jackson led 2,500 militia troops into Creek territory, defeating the Red Sticks at Tallushatchee and Talladega that November. Encumbered by supply problems and desertions, Jackson didnt follow up until January 1814, when he drove off superior Creek forces at Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek. Resuming his offensive in March, he made straight for the Upper Creeks main camp at Horseshoe Bend on the Tallapoosa River. There the Red Sticksnumbering some 1,000 warriors and 350 women and children led by Chief Menawahad built a 5- to 8-foot-high breastwork of logs across the neck of land enclosed by the river. On March 27 Jackson prepared to launch an all-out assault with his reconstituted force of 2,000 Tennessee militiamen, 700 troops of the U.S. Armys 39th Infantry, under Col. John Williams, and some 600 Cherokee and Lower Creek allies. At 6:30 a.m. Jackson divided his army. Brig. Gen. John Coffee led a force of 700 mounted Tennesseans and the allied Indian warriors across the Tallapoosa to surround the village, while Jackson opened a two-hour bombardment with his two cannons and readied the 2,000 remaining men for a frontal assault. Around noon the allied warriors from the adjacent banks used the Red Sticks own canoes to cross the river and attack the village from the rear. Noting the small-arms fire, Jackson then sent the regulars of the 39th Infantry on a bayonet charge, led by Williams and accompanied by young Lt. Sam Houston, the future founder of Texas. As the attackers poured across the river and over the Creek breastwork, the battle became a slaughter, as Coffees men and Indian allies killed scores of fleeing Red Sticks. The fighting went on until nightfall. Jacksons casualties were 49 killed and 154 wounded (many mortally), while his force killed more than 800 Red Stick warriors557 counted on the field, an estimated 250 shot as they sought to swim the river. Though badly wounded, Menawa managed to flee and remained prominent in Creek society. Following their defeat at Horseshoe Bend, surviving warriors signed the Treaty of Fort Jackson on Aug. 9, 1814. Under its terms they were forbidden to trade directly with Britain and Spain and forced to cede more than 23 million acres to the United States, virtually half of which comprises present-day Alabama, which joined the Union in 1819. To commemorate Jacksons 1814 victory, Congress in 1956 authorized the creation of 2,040-acre Horseshoe Bend National Military Park [nps.gov/hobe], which President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into being in 1959. Today, the visitor center presents a 23-minute introductory video explaining the battle and its consequences and showcases interpretive exhibits and period artifacts, while visitors can tour the battlefield along the park road. Pakistans Interior Ministry on Friday announced that the Punjab government had taken control of a campus in Bahawalpur that is reportedly the headquarters of Jaesh-e-Mohammad. But the announcement on the website of the Press Information Department, or PID, was deleted in less than an hour. This was the first time in years that the campus, about 430 km from Lahore, had been acknowledged to be the headquarters of the JeM, the terror group run by Masood Azhar that had claimed responsibility for bombing a CRPF bus in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama last week that killed 40 soldiers. Two tweets by PID, Pakistan governments media arm, which did not link the campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah to the Jaish were not deleted. Pakistans Dawn News later reported that the interior ministry had issued a fresh statement, claiming that the Bahawalpur complex was purely a madressah and Jamia Masjid (central mosque) where scores of orphans and students from underprivileged families are receiving religious and worldly education. There was no fresh explanation why the government had taken over the complex. Also Read | How Masood Azhar is waging war on India The initial statement had underlined that the government had taken control of the complex in line with the decision of the National Security Committee meeting held yesterday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan. It was as a follow-up to this meeting that the government yesterday reinstated the ban on Hafiz Saeeds Jamaat-ut-Dawah (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation. Pakistan had taken over centres and offices of the JuD soon after the 2008 Mumbai attacks in a similar manner but the restrictions were eased within months. There has been mounting pressure on Islamabad again to demonstrate that it is acting against terror. Also Read | Pakistan has shown no interest in addressing terror concerns India has pledged a response to the Pulwama attack and dismissed Khans earlier offer to aid investigations into the attack and to take action if New Delhi provides actionable intelligence. First Prime Minister Imran Khan, and today the Pakistan Army, has vowed to full spectrum response if New Delhi carried out any attack. The National Security Committee too had noted that the government did not have anything to do with the Pulwama terror attack and announced that the armed forces had been authorised to respond decisively and comprehensively to any aggression or misadventure by India. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Chinas President Xi Jinping on Friday and bagged a $10-billion oil deal, pressing on with his diplomatic charm offensive in Asia following a global outcry over the Khashoggi killing. Mohammed arrived in Beijing on Thursday following visits to Pakistan and India, showing the world that his country still has allies after the grisly murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdoms Istanbul consulate. China is a good friend and partner to Saudi Arabia, Xi told Mohammed in a meeting in the Great Hall of the People. Saudi Arabias relations with China can be traced back a very long time in the past, the crown prince said. Over such a long period of exchanges with China, we have never experienced any problems with China. He met with Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng earlier on Friday. Is the crown princes tour symbolic of Saudi Arabias pivot to the East? Yes, Najah al-Otaibi, a senior analyst at the pro-Saudi think-tank Arabia Foundation, told AFP. Riyadh wants to strengthen alliances in Asia -- especially now with the continuing fallout with the United States over Khashoggis murder and other issues, and attempts by the EU to put Riyadh on a blacklist over money laundering allegations. Khashoggi, a fierce critic of the prince, was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October, a murder that tarnished the image of the kingdom and of the crown prince in particular. Read more| Dream of a safe place: Saudi sisters in Hong Kong after fleeing family Riyadh initially denied the murder, then gave several conflicting accounts of Khashoggis death, and now claims he was killed in an unauthorised operation that did not involve Mohammed. The murder sparked global indignation, with US lawmakers pushing for Washington to distance itself from the crown prince, but the White House has maintained close relations with Riyadh, a major ally in the Middle East. Separately, the European Commission wants to add Saudi Arabia to a money-laundering blacklist of governments that do too little to thwart the financing of terrorism and organised crime. But China is looking to strengthen its economic ties with the kingdom, as Beijing pursues its ambitious Belt and Road trade infrastructure initiative, while Riyadh rolls out Saudi Vision 2030 -- the crown princes major programme to diversify the national economy away from oil. Mohammed told the Chinese President they could join the two projects to realise more progress and jointly confront challenges. Vice Premier Han suggested during his meeting with the crown prince that the two countries deepen partnerships in energy, infrastructure construction, finance, and high-tech. Trade and security Riyadhs national oil giant Saudi Aramco said it had signed an agreement to form a Saudi-Chinese joint venture -- worth more than $10 billion -- to develop a refining and petrochemical complex in northeastern Liaoning province. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority also announced the signing of 35 non-binding memorandums of understanding, including deals related to energy, mining, transportation and e-commerce. China is Saudi Arabias largest trading partner. As the kingdom diversifies its non-oil economy, it needs a variety of other investors with technical expertise, including the Chinese, Otaibi said. China steadfastly supports Saudi Arabia pushing a diversification of its economy and societal reforms, Xi told Mohammed, according to state broadcaster CCTV, adding he supported the hard work the kingdom has undertaken to promote stability and safety at home. National security is a potential area of cooperation between the Gulf state and China. The two countries should boost partnerships in counterterrorism and law enforcement, and exchange experience on combating extremism, Han said in his meeting with Mohammed, according to a report by the official Chinese news agency Xinhua. The Saudis said they firmly supported Beijings efforts to keep the country secure, and opposed interference by external forces in Chinas internal affairs, Xinhua added, paraphrasing remarks by the crown prince. Riyadh has remained silent over Chinas treatment of Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities in the far-western region of Xinjiang. Up to one million Uighurs and other minorities are being held in internment camps in Xinjiang as part of a draconian anti-terror and anti-separatist campaign, according to estimates cited by a UN panel. China has the right to take anti-terrorism and de-extremization measures to safeguard national security, Mohammed told Xi, according to CCTV. Saudi Arabia respects and supports it and is willing to strengthen cooperation with China, he said. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) Our president, who recently said we probably would be at war with North Korea had he not been elected, took this occasion to deliver a gratuitous slap at his predecessor in the Oval Office, observing of the prize: "I'll probably never get it, but that's OK. They gave it to Obama. He didn't even know what he got it for. He was there for about 15 seconds and he got the Nobel Prize." Pakistan will respond to any attack by India with full force, the armys spokesman said on Friday, amid heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours over Kashmir. Major General Asif Ghafoor was speaking a week after a Pakistani-based militant group claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb attack that killed 40 Indian paramilitary policemen in the Himalayan region disputed between India and Pakistan. Indias top military commander in the region has alleged Pakistans main Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency was involved. We have no intention to initiate war, but we will respond with full force to full spectrum threat that would surprise you, Ghafoor told reporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Dont mess with Pakistan. The armys response came two days after Prime Minister Imran Khan urged India to share any actionable evidence, offering full cooperation in investigating the blast. He also offered talks with India on all issues, including terrorism, which India has always sought as a pre-requisite to any dialogue between the two arch-rivals. India and Pakistan have fought two wars since independence in 1947 over Kashmir, which both the countries claim entirely. Ghafoor also reiterated the talks offer. Kashmir is a regional issue, he said. Let us talk about it. Let us resolve it. India blames Pakistani Islamist militant groups for infiltrating into its part of Kashmir to fuel an insurgency and help separatist movements. Washington and Delhi allege that the Pakistani army nurtures the militants to use them as a foreign policy tools to expand power in neighbouring India and Afghanistan. The army denies that. One such group is Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which India blamed for attacks in Mumbai in 2008 which killed 166 people, saying its founder, Hafiz Saeed, was the mastermind. The United States has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his conviction over the Mumbai attacks. Pakistan has put him under house arrest several times and banned his Islamist groups, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), which the United States and the United Nations say are terrorist fronts for the LeT. Islamabad reinstated the ban on the groups yet again on Thursday, but Saeed remains free, allowed to roam the country and make public speeches and give sermons. Read more| Pakistan slipped on timelines to curb terror financing: Global watchdog FATF Tremors continued to jolt the corridors of power on Friday with Ian Austin becoming the ninth party MP to resign within a week, using the uncertainty surrounding Brexit to make the move on the ground of lack of confidence in the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. Austin, MP from Dudley North in the west Midlands, came down heavily on Corbyn and the partys record on dealing with anti-semitism, but said he would not join the newly formed Independent Group comprising eight former Labour MPs and three Conservative MPs. Prime Minister Theresa May was bracing for another Brexit-related crucial week. After failing to secure new concessions from EU leaders in Brussels, she is to face another meaningful vote on her Plan B on Wednesday, with little progress on the basics to change minds. Read more| Fresh Brexit jolt in British politics as three ruling MPs quit May has been warned that several of her cabinet members and party MPs would revolt if the government veers towards leaving the European Union on March 29 without an agreement. She has so far offered MPs the choice between her controversial deal and a no-deal exit. A no-deal exit is considered more debilitating to Britains economy that has already seen a downturn in GDP since the 2016 referendum. Government departments, businesses and individuals have been stockpiling medicines, goods and other material, anticipating severe problems in a no-deal situation. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said after meeting May, If no-deal were to happen, and I cannot exclude this, this would have terrible economic and social consequences in Britain and on the continent, so my efforts are oriented in a way that the worst can be avoided. Pakistani authorities on Friday took over a complex in Punjab province that functioned as headquarters of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) against the backdrop of growing international pressure for action against the banned group that claimed the Pulwama terror attack. Reports of the takeover came in after Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa visited the Line of Control (LoC) amid mounting tensions with India following the February 14 attack that killed 40 Indian troops. Pakistan is a peace-loving country but we will not be intimidated or coerced. Any aggression or misadventure shall be paid back in same coin, Bajwa was quoted as saying in an army statement. Bajwa reviewed the state of preparedness along the LoC and lauded the morale of troops, chief military spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said. Read more| Taken control of campus reported to be Jaish HQ, says Pakistan. Then hits delete The takeover of the JeM complex was announced through a statement posted on the website of the Press Information Department (PID), the Pakistan governments media arm. The statement quoted an interior ministry spokesman as saying: The government of Punjab has taken over the control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, reportedly the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammad, and appointed an administrator to manage its affairs. He said the action was in line with a decision made on Thursday at the National Security Committee meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had ordered action against banned groups. Read: How Masood Azhar is waging war on India The spokesman said the campus has a faculty of 70 teachers and 600 students. The Punjab police is providing security and protection to the campus, he added. However, the statement was subsequently removed from the PID website. Another statement issued by the interior ministry spokesman said the complex is purely a madrassah and jamia masjid (central mosque) where scores of orphans and students from underprivileged families receive education. The action came on a day when the Financial Action Task Force named JeM and Lashkar-e-Taiba among terror groups whose financing Pakistan has failed to curb. FATF condemned the Pulwama terror attack. On Thursday, the UN Security Council named JeM in a resolution condemning the attack and called on all countries to cooperate with India to bring its perpetrators and sponsors to justice. Also Read: Masood Azhar was rattled by slap from army man: Interrogator Congress commitment that you will get special status: Rahul Gandhi Today I went to the most holy place in the state. It was an honour for me to go there. It was an honour to get the love and affection of the people. It is my commitment, Congress commitment and Indias commitment that you will get special status, says Rahul Gandhi. Prime Minister of India should be ashamed of himself after our boys were killed: Rahul Gandhi The Prime Minister of India should be ashamed of himself after our boys were killed. He should be ashamed of not giving the people Andhra Pradesh of what they deserve. You do not have to worry about special status to Andhra Pradesh. PM was making a film on himself when 40 soldiers died: Rahul Gandhi When 40-odd CRPF jawans were martyred, the Prime Minister of India, who calls himself a nationalist, was sitting in a national park and getting a movie made on him. Even three and half hours after the youngsters were killed, the Prime Minister posed in front of cameras, laughed in front of cameras and smiled before the cameras for a film on him. He did not feel the pain of the youngsters who sacrificed their lives. Making a movie and smiling was more important to him. These are the type of people who call themselves nationalists. They do not have the feeling, enough respect towards 40 people who died and thought to help them, says Rahul Gandhi. If Congress makes a commitment, that is going to be fulfilled: Rahul Gandhi In every speech in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, I told the people that loans of farmers would be waived within 10 days. I am proud to tell you, it took two days to waive the loans of farmers in these states. Be confident and remember, if Congress makes a commitment, that is going to be fulfilled, says Rahul Gandhi. PM Narendra Modi cannot waive loans of poor farmers: Rahul Gandhi Mr Modi can forgive Rs 3.5 lakh crore loans given to big people, but he cannot waive loans of poor farmers, says Rahul Gandhi. Whatever we said, we implemented it: Rahul Gandhi You have broken promises, you have spoken lies. Whatever we said, we implemented it. If the land is not used within five years, itis taken back and given back to farmers. We waived 70,000 crore loans of farmers, says Congress president Rahul Gandhi. None of the schemes by PM was implemented: Rahul Gandhi The Prime Minister told the people that he will put 15 lakh rupees in every single account. He also told the people of Andhra Pradesh, two crore youth will be given jobs. He said farmers would get the right price for their produce. Make In India, Stand up India, Start-up India. But none of them was implemented. Every statement of Modi was a lie, says Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi promises special status to Andhra Pradesh if voted to power I want to make it very clear to every single person in AP and every single person in India that when the Congress party comes to power in Delhi, no force in this world can prevent Congress party from giving special category status to Andhra Pradesh, says Rahul Gandhi. If a commitment has been made, it will be fulfilled no matter what: Rahul Gandhi Commitment to Andhra Pradesh was made not only by the Prime Minister of India but also by every single Indian. And when the Prime Minister speaks, India speaks. The Prime Minister has promised special status to Andhra Pradesh. If a commitment has been made, it will be fulfilled no matter what, says Rahul Gandhi. People of Andhra Pradesh were committed special category status: Rahul Gandhi If one doesnt have commitment in his words, there is no meaning. People of Andhra Pradesh were committed special category status and they were not committed this by just any person. It was not some random person. The Prime Minister is not just a person, he is not just a human being. He is the voice of over a billion people, says Rhaul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi reaches public rally venue at Taraka Rama Stadium at Sri Venkateshwara University Rahul Gandhi reaches public rally venue at Taraka Rama Stadium at Sri Venkateshwara University. Earlier, he garlanded the statue of Jyoti Rao Phule at the Phule Circle and took part in the procession of the party workers demanding Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh. Rahul Gandhi to address public meeting Andhra Pradesh Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will Friday address a public meeting in Andhra Pradesh. He will first offer prayers at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala and will later address a rally. Stepping up the campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday promised full statehood to Delhi in two years if the party won all seven seats. Kejriwal also said he would get every family a house to live in the city if his party won the general elections in the city. Speaking at two public meetings on Thursday, the chief minister also criticised the Congress for not accepting AAPs repeated offers for an alliance in Delhi to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Across India, votes against the BJP should not be divided at any cost. Even in Delhi, there should only be one candidate against the BJP. We have got tired of repeatedly telling the Congress that there should be an alliance between them and the AAP. But, the intentions of the Congress do not appear to be good, said Kejriwal at a meeting held in east Delhis Gandhi Nagar. He said the Congress is trying to weaken regional parties in not just Delhi but also in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit, however, said she was never approached by Kejriwal to forge an alliance. He has not spoken to us. He does not know what he is saying. The AAP has reached the stage of frustration, Dikshit, a three-time chief minister of Delhi, said. At a second gathering in north Delhis Azadpur, Kejriwal made a strong pitch for full statehood by promising to give Delhi the status in two months of winning all seven parliamentary seats. Ten years from the day Delhi is given the status of full statehood, I will give every Delhiite a concrete house to live in. This time do not vote to elect the Prime Minister. Vote to get full statehood for Delhi, he said. The AAP has renewed its demand for full statehood after the Supreme Court on February 14 referred the issue of transfer and posting of bureaucrats to a larger bench. The AAP convener also criticised the Centre for not running its housing agency, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), efficiently. He also sought control over the Delhi Police to ensure womens safety and improve the citys law and order situation. The BJP criticised Kejriwal for his U-Turn on his ties with the Congress and asked why he was so keen for an alliance when he had initiated a movement against the same party. Kejriwal is the king of U-Turns and Congress the mother of corruption. The people of Delhi very well understand it. They will give a fitting reply, said Manoj Tiwari, Delhi BJP chief. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Kejriwal is on a spree to inaugurate development works in unauthorised colonies a flagship programme of the AAP government. The CM on Thursday inaugurated development works in four unauthorised colonies of Gandhi Nagar assembly constituency. A total of 181 lanes of 9.30 kilometres would be constructed under the project in these colonies. The total length of the drains to be constructed is 6.10 kilometres, while about one lakh residents are likely to benefit from the project. (With inputs from PTI) Also read| On Kejriwals comment on alliance with Congress for 2019, Sheila Dikshit makes a point The Uttar Pradesh Anti Terrorist Squad on Friday claimed to have busted a terror module of Jaish-e-Mohammed and arrested two suspected terrorists in a midnight raid conducted at Deoband in Saharanpur district of the state. Director General of Police OP Singh said the raid was conducted after receiving specific input about their activities. The detained men are from Jammu and Kashmir, the DGP said adding that they are in 20-25 years age group. Yesterday after inputs two suspected terrorists were caught from Saharanpur by our ATS wing. They are linked to JeM and both are from Kashmir. Shahnawaz is from Kulgam and Aqib is from Pulwama. Two weapons and live cartridges seized, Singh said. The DGP further said, Of the two Shahnawaz is said to be a grenade expert. We will seek transit remand and investigate when they came here from Kashmir and who is funding them and what was their target. We are in touch with Jammu and Kashmir police. The raid was conducted as part of an investigation based on intelligence inputs to the ATS. Uttar Pradesh DGP OP Singh confirmed that one Jaish-e-Mohammed operative was picked up during the raid. He said the ATS acted only after verifying the intelligence inputs received by the police. UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said it is a message to the enemies of the nation. UP ATS has arrested two suspected JeM terrorists from Saharanpur and recovered arms and incriminating material from them. This is a message to the enemies of the nation that terrorists will not be able to hide anymore, news agency ANI quoted Maurya as saying. Singh said the ATS has recovered video clips and messages from their mobiles, which would be sent for forensic examination. A press statement released by UP police said Shahnawaz hails from Kulgam in Jammu and Kashmir and is an active member of terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed. Police said he was in Deoban to recruit youths for his organisation. Aqib is from Pulwama in south Kashmir and was also trying to find new recruits for Jaish-e-Mohammed, the police said. Police said the ATS received input from an alert student, who informed about some youths staying at Deobad without taking admission in any course and trying to find recruits for Jaish-e-Mohammed. A team of ATS raided their rooms and recovered pistols and live cartridges among other articles. DGP Singh refused to comment whether the arrests are linked to last weeks Pulwama terror attack killing at least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans. He said, This is under investigation. We will give you information when it is over. Singh also said it is yet to be ascertained if the two suspected terrorists came to Deoband before or after Pulwama terror attack. The raids were conducted with the help from Jammu and Kashmir police, the UP police said in its statement. As the wait continued for France to introduce a motion to add Jaish-e-Mohammad founder Masood Azhar to a list of UN-designated terrorists, the security council on Thursday condemned the Pulwama attack in the strongest terms and called for holding accountable sponsors of terrorism. Thursdays condemnation was in a standard United Nations Security Council format that the body has issued for every terrorist strike it has condemned, allowing changes only to factor in country names, places and those responsible, Where an entity claimed responsibility credibly, the press statements name them, not otherwise. Watch | Trying to get Masood Azhar on UN sanction list for two years: French Ambassador It was not out of the ordinary for the statement to name JeM, which had claimed responsibility, and it merely acknowledged it as is the practice. The condemnation was not different from others issued before (click link to access UNSC statements: https://www.un.org/press/en/content/security-council). Also read: US asks Pakistan to freeze without delay the funds of designated terror groups, supports actions against JeM The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in over 40 Indian paramilitary forces dead and dozens wounded on February 14, 2019, for which Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has claimed responsibility, the most powerful UN body said in a statement. The UNSC statement was approved unanimously by its permanent and non-permanent members, including China. It contains specific language that India had proposed via partner countries, including the naming of JeM and bring the perpetrators of the Pulwama attack to justice. At least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers were killed on February 14 in Pulwama in the worst suicide bombing in Kashmir by JeM, proscribed as a terror group since 2001 by the United Nations. France is expected to move a proposal, along with the United States and the United Kingdom, to declare Azhar a terrorist subject to UNSC sanctions under Resolution 1267, which includes JeM, the outfit he founded. His designation has been blocked by China on the behalf of Pakistan, which hosts and shelters JeM, Lashkar-e-Taiba and other terrorist outfits, and uses them to advance its foreign policy objectives. The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Government of India and all other relevant authorities in this regard, the UNSC said in its press statement. And, it added, that the body reiterates that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed. They reaffirm the need for all states to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts. The Pulwama statement had not been posted on the UN website till late in the evening, causing some concern and confusion, and the UN media office sent earlier comments when contacted for a copy of the statement. The statement was later uploaded on the site. The ministry of external affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar beat them to it with a tweet with comments, erasing those concerns. Pakistan comes under international pressure to act against terrorists & terror groups operating from areas under its control & to take action against those responsible for Pulwama attack. UNSC strongly condemns cowardly suicide bombing in #Pulwama by JeM, he wrote. The resolution came despite Pakistans efforts to pre-empt any such action by the world body. Pakistans foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi wrote a letter to UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres on Monday, four days after the attack, asking for intervention in anticipation of retaliatory action by India. It is with a sense of urgency that I draw your attention to the deteriorating security situation in our region resulting from the threat of use of force against Pakistan by India, Qureshi wrote. The condemnation by the UNSC also comes just a day after Pakistans Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi met top UN leaders, including Guterres and the Security Council president Anatolio Ndong Mba, briefing them about the escalating tensions in the region in the wake of the Pulwama attack. The UNSC condemnation is a blow to Pakistan, coming on top of being named by the United States in multiple statements since the attack last Thursday, pointing directly to its complicity because of its support for terrorist groups operating from its soil across both the eastern border with India and across the one on its west, in Afghanistan. Frances proposal at the UN to ban the head of JeM, when moved, will be fourth such bid at the UN in the past ten years. In 2009 and 2016, India moved the UNs Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the airbase in Pathankot in January 2016. India was joined by the P3 nations, the US, the UK and France, in the 2016 proposal. In 2017 also, these P3 countries moved a similar proposal at the UN. However, China, using its veto power, has always blocked the proposal from being adopted by the UN. Prime Minister Narendra Modi exhorted the international community on Friday to unite and fight against terrorism during his visit to South Korea, where he held talks with President Moon Jae-in. PM Modi said the global community must act beyond talks in the wake of Pulwama terror attack, in which at least 40 Indian soldiers were killed last week. The time has come for the global community to act beyond talks at this moment and to unite and fight against terrorism, said PM Modi in Seoul on the second and final day of his visit to South Korea. South Korea extended its support to India in combating terrorism. The two leaders condemned terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. I express my gratitude to President Moon for his condolences on Pulwama Attack and support against terror. We are committed to strengthen the bilateral and international cooperation against terrorism, the prime minister said. Also Read | US asks Pakistan to freeze without delay the funds of designated terror groups, supports actions against JeM India has reached out to the global community in the aftermath of the worst terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir in decades to mount pressure on Pakistan to act against terror groups operating on its soil. Pakistan-based outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack, which targeted a convoy of Central Reserve Police Force carrying more than 2,500 jawans. On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed a resolution condemning the Pulwama attack in strongest terms. The UNSC statement mentioned the name of Jaish-e-Mohammed. The UNSC resolution was unanimously adopted by all its members including China, which has been shielding Jaish chief Masood Azhar from being declared a global terrorist by the UN body. Also Read | India on its way to become USD 5 trillion economy soon, says PM Narendra Modi in Seoul In Seoul, the Union home ministry and South Korean national police agency signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts. Earlier, PM Modi and President Moon held productive talks on trade, defence and security. External affairs ministrys spokesperson Raveesh Kumar posted a tweet saying, PM @narendramodi & Korean President @moonriver365 held constructive talks on enhancing cooperation in trade & investment, defence & security, energy, space, Start-Ups and people-to-people exchanges. PM Modi said South Korea is an important partner in Indias economic transformation. Our trade and investment are growing, he said. I will prove in court that any failure of memory on my part was without intent and would be immaterial, he told ABC News after he was arrested on Jan. 25. I am human and I did make some errors but theyre errors that would be inconsequential within the scope of this investigation. A tea seller in Odishas Bhubaneswar is offering tea and coffee at a discounted rate to anyone who is ready to shout the slogan of Pakistan Murdabad or Down With Pakistan to create a sense of nationalism after the Pulwama attack. Sarbeswar Patra, who runs a tea stall in Mancheswar area of the city, is offering tea and coffee at Rs 2 and Rs 3 respectively to his customers for saying Pakistan Murdabad. Anyone who shouts Pakistan Murdabad will get a cup of tea at Rs 2 and coffee at Rs 3. Pakistan is behind all terror activities in India. I want to create a sense of nationalism among the citizens, said Patra. At least 40 Central Reserve Police Force soldiers were killed in Pulwama on February 14 in the worst suicide bombing in Kashmir, an attack claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, proscribed as a terror group since 2002 by the United Nations. Patra claimed a lot of his customers are shouting the slogan. Similarly, a chicken shop owner in Chhattisgarhs Jagdalpur is offering a discount of Rs 10 on leg pieces for the Pakistan Murdabad slogan and a restaurant in Navi Mumbai is also giving a 15% discount for the same. Meanwhile, the demand for the sacking of Biju Janata Dal MLA Debasish Samantray seems to be increasing after a video of his alleged manhandling of the relatives of a CRPF soldier, who was killed in Pulwama attack, after a Pakistani television news channel telecast the video. Azad News on Thursday aired a news bulletin with the clip of the BJD MLA shoving and pushing the uncle of CRPF soldier Manoj Behera mocking the concern of Indian politicians for the killed personnel. Azad News aired the clip that was put on the Hindustan Times website on February 19. The incident allegedly happened during the Beheras last rites at his native village of Ratanpur in Cuttack district on February 17. Thirty-three-year-old Behera was among the CRPF soldiers killed in the terrorist attack in Pulwama. Though Samantray earlier apologised for his action, saying it was not intentional, the call for stronger action against the MLA increased soon after the Pakistani channel aired the clip. Former BJD leader Damodar Rout demanded the arrest of Samantray, saying he has brought infamy to Odisha. Despite apologies, blogger Abhijit Iyer was sent to jail for making anti-Odisha remarks. So why should Debasish Samantray be spared? Due to him, Odisha got a bad name outside the state, he said. Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party also criticised the ruling partys legislator. The way the BJD MLA misbehaved and manhandled with the martyrs kin is totally shameful. This shows the real identity of Biju Janata Dal and the party should apologise for such an insult, Congress spokesperson Satya Prakash said. The video clearly shows that the MLA is pushing the kin of the martyr and it speaks volumes about his character. The MLA should be immediately arrested for his actions, BJP leader Lekhashree Samantsinghar said. Responding to the criticisms, Samantray reiterated on Friday that he only made Beheras relative sit after he pushed Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram during the guard of honour. I had no intention of hurting anyones feelings, said Samantaray. At the time of its launch in 2005, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) promised to fight poverty in four ways. First, the programmes rights-based guarantee would ensure that any rural household facing crises could insure themselves against shocks by accessing wage-work whenever they needed support. Second, its self-targeting mechanism would ensure the programme was pro-poor, as well-off individuals would not want to participate in laborious public works. Third, the programmes minimum wage guarantee would allow workers to negotiate better wages with private employers. And finally, the local assets built through MGNREGS, such as irrigation facilities, could improve income as well as productivity. Has MGNREGS fulfilled its promise? The answer in a country as large and diverse as India is, unsurprisingly, mixed. More than a decade in its existence, the programmes reach and scale remain impressive with nearly 51 million beneficiary households in 2017 generating 2,342 million person-days of employment, and expenditures at 0.3% of the GDP. Most studies also show that participation in the scheme favours poor households, and helps alleviate poverty and distress during crises. In 2017, 53.5% of those provided employment through the programme were women while 39.1% belonged to Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). Studies also show that the programme helped improve rural wages where it was implemented well. But weak administrative capacity has stymied its impact. According to administrative data for 2017, the nine poorest states whose poverty rates are higher than the national poverty rate account for only 32% of the total employment generated. Paradoxically, MGNREGS performance has been weaker in poorer states such as Bihar, where it is needed the most, a 2012 World Bank study found. Evaluations in Bihar and Rajasthan showed that weak local implementation dampened the programmes poverty effects despite effective targeting. As the graph shows, a household in the poorest decile is four times less likely to participate in the scheme in Bihar than in Andhra Pradesh (13% against 55%). Strikingly, participation in the scheme in the poorest decile in Bihar is about the same as programme participation in the richest decile in Andhra Pradesh (12%). Most states also struggle to pay beneficiaries on time. In October 2017, the Supreme Court of India expressed concerns on the delays in MGNREGS wage payments. Major complaints include non-issuance of dated receipts, non-payment of unemployment allowance, incomplete payment of wages, and delayed payments. The last has been attributed to inadequate and slow fund releases, and challenges imposed by technology. Addressing delays is essential to ensure that intended benefits of the programme are not undermined. Given the mixed track record of MGNREGSs ability to provide insurance to workers, there are many who question the rationale of schemes existence itself. They point out that the programme is too complex, cumbersome and ambitious to implement, and suggest simpler transfer schemes. There is expanding political interest in exploring basic-income support schemes, which guarantee fixed cash transfer to every person. Drives to open bank accounts under the Jan Dhan Yojana), the system of Aadhaar, combined with near-ubiquitous mobile technology have paved the way for making such a scheme a feasible option in the future. Credible implementation is a must How does the impact of MGNREGS compare to the potential impact of a universal basic income based on the same aggregate budget? Evidence suggests that public works can yield stronger welfare impacts than basic income transfers provided citizen demand for works is honoured with immediate supply of employment, and assets so generated are of high value. But, neither of these requirements can be achieved without a strong and capable panchayat machinery. While the policy framework for ensuring flexibility in creating durable and locally valuable assets is in place, credible implementation requires gram panchayats to define and plan their local shelf of works. Activists suggest that ensuring all household demands for work are honoured may require one labour-intensive public work to be open in each panchayat throughout the year. These are costly investments in enhancing the capability of the programmes delivery chain. It bears repeating that MGNREGS aims not only at providing insurance, but also enhancing local productivity, rural wages, citizen voice and empowerment through rights and decentralised governance. For the scheme to meet its transformational promise, it needs heavier and sustained investment in local government and administrative capacities. MGNREGS was one of the first programmes to allocate large-scale management powers and finances to panchayats with minimum of 50% of the funds executed by the gram panchayat. Evidence suggests that the responsibility of MGNREGS implementation raised stakes in local village-level elections. On the flip side, evidence from states such as AP and West Bengal shows that MGNREGS gave new resources to local clientelistic networks. To many, the challenge of reforming Indias welfare administration seemed insurmountable given its paternalism, politics and corruption. Through making work a justiciable act, MGNREGS has been successful in conceptualising and forging a new compact between the administration, local political leadership and citizens. The scheme incentivised much needed policy and administrative focus on empowering panchayats and reforming the front-line welfare bureaucracy. This part of the programmes ambitious agenda remains critical and unfinished. (Shrayana Bhattacharya is a Senior Economist at the World Bank; Rinku Murgai is a Lead Economist at the World Bank ; Clement Imbert is Assistant Professor at the University of Warwick) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said terrorism and climate change were the biggest challenges being faced by the world and that these can be overcome by implementing the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi who espoused the cause of humanity. Modi, who is on a two-day visit to South Korea, was speaking while unveiling a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the Yonsei University in Seoul. Today, the humanity across the world is facing two serious problems one is terrorism and second is climate change. If we look at the life of Mahatma Gandhi, we can find solutions to both these problems. If we look at his life, ideals and advice, we can find a path forward, he said. Addressing the Indian diaspora, Modi said India is on the way to becoming a $5 trillion economy soon and hoped it will be among the worlds top three economies in the next 15 years. Addressing the Indian diaspora here, Prime Minister Modi recounted the steps taken in recent years, including initiatives like the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Bank initiative, to take India on the path of growth. It is our endeavour that India finds a place in the top three economies of the world in one-and-a-half decade. In Korea, you people not only celebrate all Indian festivals like Holi, Diwali, Baisakhi but you also involve your Korean friends in celebrations. Now Indian restaurants have started finding place in Korean cities. Indian dishes are also being included in the menu here. Even Korean people have started knowing what is the meaning of a particular Indian dish, Modi said. Indias pride has increased due to the hard work and discipline of 30 million overseas Indians, he said, adding that overseas Indians are recognised as law-abiding citizens. He said that Gandhis teachings become even more relevant at a time when the world is suffering from various challenges. There was a special place in the heart of Gandhi for environment... In his memory, we will plant 150 saplings in Korea, he said. Modi said that Indias ever-growing ties with South Korea has always been strong and becoming even stronger. The Telangana government on Friday announced a waiver of all crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh taken by farmers before December 11, when the results of state assembly elections were declared and vaulted the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to power for a second successive term in Indias youngest state. Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who also holds finance portfolio unveiled the waiver, which he promised in his election campaign, in a vote-on-account he presented in the assembly. Redeeming our promise, we are proposing to waive all agriculture term loans up to Rs 1 lakh outstanding as on December 11, 2018. An amount of Rs 6,000 crore has been proposed in the budget, Rao, also known as KCR, said. KCR said he was presenting a vote-on-account because the Bhartiya Janata Party-led Union government had on February 1 announced an interim budget before general elections later this year. A vote-on-account is a provision that enables the government to withdraw money from the state treasury to take care of expenses until the electoral process. The TRS government will present a full budget after the Centre unveils its own fiscal package after the elections, KCR said. Political analyst and Osmania University professor K Nageshwar said there was no reason to call it a vote-on-account just because there was no clarity on devolution of funds from the Centre. The state government can make a tentative estimate of central devolutions based on the last years allocations. After all, the new Finance Commission has not made any recommendations. Only reason I can guess is that KCR wants to put off implementation of schemes on the pretext of the Lok Sabha elections, he said. The total outlay in the budget was Rs1.82 lakh crore. Revenue expenditure was Rs 1,316 lakh crore and capital expenditure Rs 32,815 crore. The estimated revenue surplus in 2019-20 would be Rs 6,564 crore and fiscal deficit Rs 27,749 crore, which is 2.81% of gross state domestic product (GSDP). The states revenue for 2019-20 was estimated at Rs 94,776 crore, in comparison with a revised estimate of 2018-19 at Rs 72,777 crore. KCR made a budgetary allocation of 20,107 crore for agriculture. For the Rythu Bandhu (friend of the farmer) scheme, which is aimed at providing financial assistance to farmers before every cropping season, the allocation was raised from 4,000 to 5,000 per acre per season, as promised before the elections. An amount of Rs 12,000 crore has been allocated for the scheme. The CM announced an increase in pensions for senior citizens under the Aasara scheme from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,016 per month. And the age limit for old-age pensions has also been reduced from 65 to 57 years. For differently abled persons, the monthly pension was increased from Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,016. Swami Hansdevacharya, a key figure associated with the Ram temple movement, died on Friday in a road accident in Uttar Pradeshs Unnao district. Three of his associates traveling with him were injured in the accident. They were admitted to a community health centre in Bangarmau. The accident took place early in the morning near Devkhari village of Ganj Moradabad on Agra-Lucknow expressway. The seer was heading to Haridwar from Prayagraj (Allahabad). The driver is said to have slept while driving the SUV, which crashed into the truck ahead. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and BJP president Amit Shah condoled the demise of Hansdevacharya, who was the leader of the Bairagis campaigning for construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya at the site where Babri Masjid existed. The mosque was demolished in December 1992 by karsevaks (volunteers) who had gathered in the UP town following a call given by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party to push for construction of a Ram temple there. The VHP and the BJP have maintained that it was the place where Lord Ram was born. The Supreme Court is hearing the title suit in the matter after a judgment of the Allahabad High Court was challenged before it. The high court, in 2010, ruled that the disputed land should be divided into three equal parts among three parties including the one representing Ram Lalla. Hans Devacharya was an influential seer, who also headed an all-India body of saints. The Supreme Court has listed the plea that sought a review its verdict rejecting the demand for a probe into the Rafale fighter jet deal on February 26, according to news agency ANI. The Supreme Court had earlier refused to order a probe on the deal to procure 36 Rafale jets from France at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore, saying there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process of the Centre. The fresh application for perjury accuses central government employees of giving false evidence. Referring to the CAGs audit of the deal, the plea mentions that there had been no CAG report at the time of the verdict. The government misled the court into relying on a non-existent fact/report as the basis of its observation on pricing in the judgement, it alleged. That the information came to public domain after the courts judgement shows that the government misled the court on various counts and the basis of the judgement of the court is more than one untruth submitted by the government and suppression of pertinent information, the petition said. Opposition Congress has been relentlessly attacking the Narendra Modi government, accusing it and businessman Anil Ambani of corruption in the deal. Both the government and Ambani have denied the allegations. On allegations of that Ambanis inexperienced Reliance Defence was favoured over state-run aircraft maker HAL, the court had said it found no reason for interference in the choice of offset partner. It also did not find any material to show commercial favouritism or that due process was not followed. The Supreme Court on Friday directed all states and union territories to ensure that Kashmiris, particularly students, feel secure, amid reports from several parts of the country that they were being targeted over the February 14 terror attack in Pulwama where 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were killed. Students from Kashmir bore the brunt of the backlash that followed the attack, with hundreds fleeing cities such as Dehradun and Ambala after being threatened by right-wing activists who, in some cases, resorted to physical intimidation and forced landlords to evict the victims. Chief secretaries and heads of police in all states must take prompt action to prevent incidents of assault, threat, social boycott and such other egregious acts against the Kashmiris including students... and other minorities, the bench, including Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, said in the order. Attorney general KK Venugopal told the court the Union government issued advisories to all states over the issue previously, but the judges ask the counsel to reiterate the directive. Late on Friday, the MHA issued a directive reiterating an order on February 16 for Kashmiris to be ensured security across country. On February 14, Pulwama resident and JeM operative Adil Ahmad Dar detonated a car bomb next to a CRPF bus, leading to the deaths of all on-board. The incident, the deadliest attack on security forces in the Jammu and Kashmir region in three decades of insurgency, triggered anger across the country, prompting protest marches and angry demonstrations against JeM and Pakistan, the country where it is based. Kashmiri students and businesses were targeted in several states, while at some places, police booked some Kashmiris for anti-India social media posts allegedly praising the attack. Earlier this week, a Pakistani prisoner was killed after a brawl in a prison in Jaipur, but jail authorities said it may not be linked to Pulwama. The top court said nodal officers must be appointed to look into complaints of persecution and attacks against people from Kashmir and other minorities, reviving a system that had been put into place to combat growing incidents of mob lynching last year. Heeding to a requests by the petitioners advocate Colin Gonsalves, the court ordered the government to give wide publicity to the contact details and helpline numbers linked to the nodal officers appointed in each state or Union Territory. The court fixed February 28 to hear the matter again and issued notice to 11 states Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Punjab and Maharashtra after specific incidents were brought to notice. The petitioners also referred to tweets by Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy, who endorsed a call to boycott everything Kashmiri. Kashmirs former chief ministers and arch-rivals Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti welcomed the Supreme Courts order. Relieved about the SC order to ensure Kashmiri students based outside J&K are not harassed or face social boycott. Shameful that the honourable judiciary took decisive action where others conveniently turned a blind eye, Mufti, the chief of the Peoples Democratic Party, tweeted. Grateful to Supreme Court for doing what our elected leadership in Delhi should have been doing. The union HRD (Human Resource Development) minister (Prakash Javadekar) was busy living in denial and (Meghalaya) Governor (Tathagata Roy) was busy issuing threats. Thank goodness the SC stepped in, Abdullah, the vice president of the National Conference, also said in a tweet. Union minister Javadekar had drawn flak for saying on Wednesday that no Kashmiri was facing threats. On Friday, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Sambit Patra, when asked about governor Roys comments, said Kashmir is an inseparable part of India and Kashmiris are like brothers and sisters to other Indians. I am directed to say that the Government is concerned at the reports of incidents of assaults and harassment against residents of Jammu & Kashmir... State governments and Union territory administrations and the nodal officers appointed by them are once again advised to take all necessary steps to prevent any act of assault, threat, intimidation, social boycott etc... said the letter signed by Beena Yadav, director, department of J&K affairs of MHA. In a related development, another bench of the Supreme Court sought a response from the Centre on a plea by the Jammu and Kashmir government to transfer seven Pakistani undertrials from the state to Delhis Tihar jail over fears that they may be indoctrinating and brainwashing other vulnerable inmates to join militancy. The seven prisoners are lodged in separate jails across Jammu and Kashmir. According to the state counsel, the prisoners are said to be a part of terror organisations such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba. The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the central government and 11 states, seeking their response on a plea for its intervention to prevent the alleged attacks on Kashmiri students after last weeks terror attack in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama. The notice has been issued to Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). The court said the Union home ministry will issue advisories to all the state governments to ensure the protection of Kashmiris in their respective states. It asked the chiefs of the state police to ensure the safety of Kashmiris. Incidents of assaults and harassment of Kashmiris have been reported from various parts of the country after a 22-year-old Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist rammed his car packed with explosives into a CRPF convoy killing 40 personnel on February 14. Also read: Hotel in Agra says no rooms for Kashmiris after Pulwama attack Several Kashmiri students have been arrested and suspended from their colleges for alleged anti-national activities across India. Some have even alleged they were harassed and asked by their landlords to vacate accommodations, fearing attacks on their properties after the strike in Pulwama. Also read: Kashmiri shawl vendor thrashed in Bengal, viral video creates panic in Valley Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday launched a fresh attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over reported shooting for a documentary film on the day Pulwama attack happened. Gandhi said 40 soldiers were killed in a terror attack but the nationalist prime minister was sitting in a national park smiling for the camera. Gandhi alleged that PM Modi did not cut short his programme to inquire about the Pulwama terror attack and express solidarity with the families of the martyrs. He said, Today in India, there are some people who call themselves nationalists but when 40 of our CRPF jawans were martyredWhen the blood was still flowing, the Prime Minister of India, who calls himself a nationalist was sitting in a national park getting a movie made of himself. Gandhi was referring to reported shooting of a movie on PM Modi in the Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand. The Congress had raised the issue on Thursday seeking to know from PM Modi what he was doing for more than two hours after terrorists attacked a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir. At least 40 jawans were killed in the terror attack, which was the worst in Kashmir Valley in decades. Gandhi, at his Andhra Pradesh rally, said, For three and a half hours after our youngsters were killed, the prime minister posed in front of cameras, smiled for the cameras laughed for the cameras and made a movie of himself. Gandhi was speaking at a public meeting in Andhra Pradeshs Tirupati, where he alleged PM Modi breaking every promise he had made in the run up to 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Mr Narendra Modi promised that he will give Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh for 10 years. In that same speech he probably told that he will put Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of every person. He also promised 2 crore jobs to youthEvery single statement of his is a lie, said Gandhi. He promised to give Andhra Pradesh special category status if the Congress is voted to power in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. No force in this world will stop the Congress party from giving special status to Andhra Pradesh if we are voted to power, he said. Gandhi also talked about his partys promises made in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan assembly elections last year. He said the Congress party promised loan waiver for farmers within 10 days of being voted to power. It did not take us 10 days, we did it within two days, Gandhi said. Earlier, Gandhi trekked nearly 10 km-long steep stairway to offer prayers at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala. Today I went to the most holy place in the state. It was an honour for me to go there, he later told the public rally. Days after actor Rajinikanth asked his supporters to vote for a party capable of resolving Tamil Nadus water crisis, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)s mouthpiece Namadhu Amma on Friday claimed that this was an endorsement of the AIADMK-BJP coalition. Rajinikanth had on Sunday declared that his Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM), a fan-based association which is likely to be converted as a political party, would not contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Asserting that RMMs goal was to be ready for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, he also asked his followers to choose a party that is capable of solving Tamil Nadu water crisis. Reacting to this, AIADMKs Namadhu Amma claimed that Rajini was speaking about AIADMK-BJP-PMK combine. Though the Cauvery issue has been there for a long time, the Cauvery Water Management Board was constituted only during the regime of the BJP in the Centre and AIADMK in the state, the column under the title Kaala Vottu Kazhagathuke (Kaalas vote is only for AIADMK) read. Of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in TN, the AIADMK has allotted seven to PMK and five to BJP. It has also given the lone seat in Puducherry to NR Congress headed by former Puducherry CM N Rengaswamy, who is an NDA ally. The column further said that the Union Government is ready to allocate 90% of the project cost for linking Cauvery-Vaikai-Kundaru rivers in Tamil Nadu. The BJP government has also assured linking Godavari river with Cauvery through Krishna river. They have also promised to bear 90% cost for linking Cauvery, Vaikai and Kundaru rivers in the state. So, it is clear that Rajinikanths statement says that the AIADMK-BJP alliance is an able front to resolve the water crisis in TN, said the piece. The article goes onto add that, It is unnecessary to find meaning with an Oxford dictionary for Rajinis statement. It clearly indicates that the star wants his supporters to vote for the AIADMK-BJP-PMK alliance. Rajinikanth meets Vijayakanth, says nothing political Hours after the article came out, Rajinikanth met DMDK chief Vijayakanth at his house. While DMDK is allegedly unhappy with the seat-sharing talks with AIADMK-BJP combine, Rajinis visit created speculation whether it had some political undertones. Reacting to questions from media, Rajinikanth said the meeting was purely apolitical. When I was under treatment a few years ago, Vijayakanth was the first one to meet and enquire about my health. Since Vijayakanth has returned from the USA after completing medical treatment, I just visited to inquire about his health. We have not spoken anything politically, Rajini told the media. Without directly responding to Namadhu Ammas article he said, RMM will not support anyone in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. However, former minister and AIADMK spokesperson, S Vaigaichelvan said that the actors earlier statements were an indication of his support to the AIADMK-BJP alliance. DMK-Congress alliance has not resolved the TNs water issues. It is only AIADMK and BJP which formed the Cauvery Water Management Board. Also, we are working towards linking rivers for sorting our water problems. So, it is clear that Rajini is speaking about us. He may have his own compulsions on why he is not saying it openly, but people understand his backing for us, said Vaigaichelvan. Hogan has said that during his second term, he planned to get more involved with national politics as vice president of the national governors group. Hes also been granting more interviews with national media outlets, after generally turning down those requests in his first term. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday started a visit to the famous hill shrine in Tirumala before launching his partys campaign in Andhra Pradesh for the forthcoming Lok Sabha election this summer with a rally in the temple town. Rahul Gandhi left for Alipiri, the foothills of Tirumala, in a convoy of cars. From Alipiri, he climbed up the seven hills on foot to reach the temple town to offer prayers to Lord Venkateshwara. It is Gandhis maiden visit to Tirumala as the Congress president. Rahul Gandhi landed at Tirupati International Airport at Renigunta in a special aircraft at 11am along with his nephew Raihan Vadra. The former chief minister of combined Andhra Pradesh N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Congress MP T Subbarami Reddy, former lawmaker Chinta Mohan and several other senior Congress leaders accorded a rousing welcome to the Congress president. After having the darshan of the Lord, Rahul Gandhi would return to Tirupati by road and garland the statue of anti-caste activist Jyotirao Phule in the heart of the town. From there, he would go in a procession up to Taraka Rama Stadium in Sri Venkateshwara University campus, where he would address a rally. The Tirupati rally is a culmination of week-long Pratyeka Hoda Bharosa Yatra, a tour of the party leaders to assure the people about granting the special category status to Andhra Pradesh. It was at this same venue where Narendra Modi had announced in April 2014 that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would grant the special category status for a period of ten years to the state if is elected. After becoming the Prime Minister, Modi completely ignored his promise and rejected the special category status to AP, president of Congress state unit N Raghuveera Reddy said. From the present rally, Rahul would send a message across to the people of the state that the Congress, if voted to power, would fulfil its promise on special category status, as resolved in the Congress Working Committee, Reddy said. Gandhi is also expected to raise several other issues including the recent terrorist attack on CRPF soldiers in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama on February 14. On February 24, with the click of a mouse that will initiate millions of cash transfers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the governments ambitious income-transfer scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), at a farmers rally in Uttar Pradeshs Gorakhpur, according to agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh. The event will be streamed live in every block, an administrative zone within a district, of the country, Singh added. At least 20 million small cultivators are likely to receive the first tranche of ~2,000 each directly into their accounts. The cash transfers will continue for several days after the launch, the minister said, as states continue to send farmers data to a centralised portal through which the money will be credited into savings accounts. The cash-transfer scheme for small and marginal farmers ahead of a general elections, Indias first, is a major populist step by the Modi government to offset a challenging spell of rural crisis brought on by unprofitable sales of farm commodities. The agriculture ministry is gearing up for a widely publicised event, with programmes being organised by Krishi Vigyan Kendras, a network of farm advisory centres in every district. Agriculture minister Singh has written to state chief ministers, chief secretaries and top bureaucrats in charge of agriculture to organise functions just ahead of the PMs launch. These countrywide programmes should be organised so that farmers enthusiasm and confidence get a boost, according to the letter reviewed by HT. The scheme offers ~6,000 as an annual cash transfer to small and marginal farmers in three instalments of ~2,000 each. The scheme will go by land ownership on official records as on February 1, 2019. Of a total of 140 million land holdings in the country, 120 million, or 86%, are below two hectares; the owners of these land parcels will qualify for the cash transfer because they are counted as small and marginal farmers. The agriculture ministry is working overtime to coordinate with states to ensure that more and more farmers data are verified and fed into a centralised portal that runs on a so-called public finance management system. Each beneficiary household will be identified by states, and a farmers name, bank account and their savings account IFSC code a unique 11-digit number, are necessary for online transfers. The budget has allotted ~20,000 crore for the scheme during 2018-19, which is now held by the agriculture ministry, a government official said on condition of anonymity. On validation of farmers data by banks, the amounts will get transferred after automatic instruction to banks. The allocation in 2019-2020 is ~75,000 crore. The actual number of beneficiaries who will get the money on February 24 may vary because banks are continuously scanning and detecting anomalies, such as improper account details. For instance, on February 18, details of nearly five million farmers sent by states were fed into the PM-KISAN portal. Of this, bank details of 0.8 million were found to be incorrect. On February 19, details of another 6 million farmers were received, of which 1 million were faulty. Farmers whose details are incorrect will receive their instalments after correction of these details, the official said. Pakistans chief military spokesman said on Friday that the countrys armed forces were prepared to respond to any action India takes in reprisal for the February 14 suicide car bombing that killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir. We are not preparing for war but we are preparing for response and whatever response is needed, we have prepared for it, Asif Ghafoor, the director general of Inter-Services Public Relations, said at a press conference. He added: Should you (India) initiate any reaction first, you would never be able to surprise us...we will surprise you. Responsibility for the suicide car bomb attack on a bus carrying CRPF troopers, part of a large paramilitary convoy on its way from Jammu to Srinagar, was claimed by the Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammed group, ratcheting up tensions between India and Pakistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the Indian armed forces would avenge the attack at a time and place of their choosing. Ghafoor said the Pakistani military was capable of responding to a full spectrum threat and warned: I hope you (India) get (the message) and do not mess with Pakistan. Ghafoor repeated claims that Pakistan was not involved in the Pulwama attack. India began showering Pakistan with accusations immediately after the attack without sparing a moment to think, and without any evidence in hand, he said. From the Line of Control onwards, Indian security forces have layered defences, he said, explaining that there were layered lines of defence, one after another. The Pulwama attack happened miles away from the LoC. The explosives that were employed were being used by the administration and security forces in (J&K), it didnt go there from Pakistan, Ghafoor said. The car that was used was also local [to Kashmir]. It did not go there from Pakistan. The Kerala High Court on Friday ordered Youth Congress state president Dean Kuriakose to pay compensation for damages caused during the flash shutdown, called by his organisation last Monday in the wake of killing of two of its workers in north Keralas Kasargode. The high court had taken a suo motu case against the statewide shutdown called by the Youth Congress, considering it contempt of court and violation of its January 3 order. Last month, the court had banned flash hartals (strike) and ordered they can be declared only after giving a prior notice of seven days. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy also directed the police to make him an accused in all cases registered in connection with damaging public property during the hartal (strike). It also ordered the United Democratic Front [a Congress-led opposition alliance] leaders in Kasargode to pay compensation to all who suffered damages on the hartal day. The Youth Congress had called a statewide hartal on Monday in protest against the killing of two activists, Kripesh and Sharth Lal, allegedly by a group of Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers. The court also decided to appoint a commission to fix the compensation amount for losses caused to the public during the shutdown. The court will hear the case again on March 5 and asked Kuriakose to appear in person again. During the hearing, Kuriakose told the court that he was not aware of the high court ban on flash shutdowns. Kuriakose said he will talk to legal experts and senior leaders and submit a report to the court on the next hearing date. ...It was an emotional decision and we had no intention to flout the court order... he said. While hearing the contempt plea, the government counsel wanted the court to consider the January 3 shutdown (protesting against the entry of two women in temple) called by the Sabarimala Karma Samiti, an apex body spearheading the agitation. The court said it will consider it during the next hearing. Pakistan is the epicentre of terrorism with a long list of outlawed organisations, including the latest to be banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and the country abets and aids almost half of the proscribed groups in India, according to official documents. Pakistans National Counter Terrorism Authority (NCTA) has so far declared 69 terrorist organisations as banned. However, it has turned a blind eye to major militant groups such as the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and the Al Badr operating in Jammu and Kashmir, the documents state. On Thursday, Pakistan banned the 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and its charity wing Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, amid intense global pressure to rein in the militant groups following the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. The JuDs network includes 300 seminaries and schools, hospitals, a publishing house and ambulance service. The two groups have about 50,000 volunteers and hundreds of other paid workers, as per officials. According to the NCTA, a sizeable number of the organisations, declared as outlawed by Pakistan, are based in Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Documents of the Indian Home Ministry state that almost half of Indias total 41 banned terrorist groups are either based in Pakistan or their leadership are based in the neighbouring country or the organisations are sponsored by Pakistan. Such groups include the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-E-Taiba, Hizb-Ul-Mujahideen, Harkat-Ul-Mujahideen, Al Badr, Dukhtaran-E-Millat, Babbar Khalsa International, Khalistan Commando Force and International Sikh Youth Federation. The NCTA started declaring organisations as proscribed in 2001, by banning Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). The LeJ is based in Pakistan with limited operations in Afghanistan. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (Afghanistan), Balochistan Republican Army, Balochistan Liberation Front, Lashkar-e-Balochistan, Balochistan Liberation United Front, Tanzeem Naujawana-e-Ahle Sunnat, Gilgit, Anjuman-e- Imamia Gilgit Baltistan and Muslim Students Organization (MSO) Gilgit are among the banned organisations, as per NCTA documents. The few others are the Abdullah Azam Brigade (Lebanon, Syria and Arabian Peninsula), East Turkemenistan Islamic Movement (Turkey, Afghanistan), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (Uzbekistan) and Islamic Jihad Union (Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Germany). Two groups -- the Ghulaman-e-Sahaba and the Maymar Trust -- have been under the scanner of the Pakistan government while another, Al-Akhtar Trust, has been declared a proscribed organisation under a UN Security Council resolution. The Hafiz Saeed-led JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which also is responsible for carrying out the Mumbai attack that killed 166 people. It was declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014. Even through JeM, responsible for the Pulwama terror attack, and LeT, responsible for the 26/11 attack, were banned by Pakistan, founders of both the terrorist groups -- Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed respectively -- are roaming freely in Pakistan. Union minister Nitin Gadkari has said the final decision to stop river water flowing to Pakistan through Jammu and Kashmir will be taken at the level of the prime minister. In an interview to news agency ANI, Gadkari talked about the spirit in which former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru signed the Indus Waters Treaty with then Pakistan President Ayub Khan. He said by supporting terrorism, Pakistan has destroyed the spirit in which Pandit Nehru gave Pakistan the right to use water of three rivers flowing through India. When this agreement was signed by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Ayub Khan, it was done to build the spirit of harmony and cooperation between the two countriesIn the spirit of elder brother Pt Nehru gave water of these rivers to themNow Pakistan has eroded that harmonythe kind of relationship we haveespecially by terrorism and support to terrorism, Pakistan has destroyed the spirit (that was there in at the time of signing of the Indus Waters Treatment), Gadkari told ANI. Earlier on Thursday, Gadkari had talked about stopping the flow of water from Indias share to Pakistan to pressurise the country from stopping support to terrorism and improve availability of water in Indian rivers. His comments have come a week after the Pulwama terror attack killing at least 40 jawans. The Union minister said, There is anger among people. They want that not even a drop of water should be allowed to go to Pakistan. However, to take such a decision is not in the jurisdiction of my department. The decision will be taken at the level of the Government of India, the prime minister. India and Pakistan signed the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960. The treaty categorised six rivers, namely, the Indus, the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej into Western and Eastern rivers. India is allowed to use waters of Eastern rivers - the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej, while Pakistan got control over the rest. Gadkari also suggested punitive action against Pakistan for its continued support to terror. I have asked my department to prepare a technical design to figure out at which places we can stop flow of water of their share to Pakistan. If they continue to support terrorism and terrorists, then maintaining a good relation with them in the name of humanity does not make any sense, said the minister. Pakistan must stop terror else we will stop water flowing to Pakistan irrespective of the money it requires to build such projects, and Pakistan will be responsible for this step, he said reiterating, But this decision cant be taken at the level of my department. Gadkari, who is the minister for water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation, said under the Indus Waters Treaty, India is entitled to use 33 million metric feet (mmf) water in the three rivers but we have used only 31 mmf of its share. We have decided that we will use rest of the quota of water in India. We will build three dams for the purpose. The cabinet has given its approval for that, he said. The minister talked about Shahpur Kandi project that is being constructed on the Ravi. This project will generate electricity and water will be used in Jammu and Kashmir. Excess water will be directed to Punjab, he said adding, The second is Ujh multipurpose projectThe third is Second Ravi-Beas Link below Ujh. We will stop water of our share from flowing to Pakistan and divert them to Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. India and Pakistan have offered different interpretations of the Indus Waters Treaty with Islamabad raising objections to developmental projects on the rivers through Jammu and Kashmir. Gadkari has raised the pitch against Pakistan over river water sharing following the Pulwama terror attack. Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility for the attack but Prime Minister Imran Khan in a televised statement appeared to ignore the claim. Imran Khan sought evidence from India proving involvement of any Pakistani group behind the attack in Jammu and Kashmir. Civil society organisations have expressed shock at the Supreme Court order directing 17 states to evict an estimated one million tribal and other households living in forests after their claims on the right to live in forests were rejected under the Forest Rights Act (FRA). While some non-government organisations on Thursday urged the top court to withdraw the order till a proper rehabilitation policy is drawn up, others welcomed the order saying the law had resulted in fragmentation of forest land. The National Alliance of Peoples Movement (NAPM), on behalf of around 20 civil society leaders including former National Advisory Council member Aruna Roy, said it was outraged at the order. The implementation of the order will result in a situation similar to what happened in 2002 when homes of forest dwellers were burnt following directions by the inspector general of forests to evict them, an NAPM statement said. Beacon of hope It said the Forest Rights Act, despite its limitations, had been a beacon of hope for millions of forest-dependent people and the order would turn the wheel backwards. It will create chaos on the ground and will result in sounding a death knell to the historic FRA, the statement added. VA Ramesh Nathan, general secretary, National Dalit Movement For Justice (NDMJ), sought to know why the order was issued without putting in place a proper relocation plan for the poor forest dwellers. He urged the court to withdraw the order and asked the tribal affairs ministry to immediately intervene in the matter to prevent harassment of the poor and deprived. Praveen Bhargav of Wildlife First, a non-government organisation working for animal welfare, welcomed the order. In a statement on behalf of the petitioners, Bhargav said the SC was at present focusing only on recovery of forest land from bogus claimants. In other words, it has not directed any action in its 13.02.2019 order against lakhs of claimants who have been granted titles over a whopping 72.23 lakh hectares of forest land as per the September 2018 official statement of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), the statement read. It added that after the enactment of the FRA, around 72,000 sq km of forest land had been converted to individual and community ownership. Loss of forests Apart from loss of forests, granting such wide-ranging rights in scattered parcels of forest land is causing deleterious impact in the form of habitat fragmentation or breaking up of large forest blocks into smaller pieces, the statement read. Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo member Brinda Karat sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding an ordinance to protect all adivasis (tribals) and traditional forest dwellers from eviction. If this is not done, it will be virtual declaration of war against adivasis. It is highly regrettable that the counsel arguing for the central government was absent from the court on the crucial date. This betrayal of the rights of adivasis was the culmination of the connivance of the ministry concerned with the petitioners, she claimed. The Karnataka high court on Friday ordered an interim stay on investigations against BJP state president, BS Yeddyurappa, in connection with an audio clip released earlier this month. Yeddyurappa, a former chief minister, was purportedly recorded trying to entice a Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs son at a government guest house in Devdurga in Raichur on February 8. Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy released the clip claiming it was proof of the BJPs attempts to topple the JD(S)-Congress government in the state. An FIR was lodged on February 13 based on a complaint by JD(S) MLA Nagangouda Kandkurs son Sharanagouda that Yeddyurappa allegedly offered him 10 crore to get his father to resign from the assembly. On Friday, justice PGM Patil of the Kalaburagi bench of the high court ordered the interim stay on a petition by Yeddyurappa challenging the FIR. Yeddyurappas lawyer Sanjay Kulkarni said no further development could take place in the case. We had sought quashing of the FIR against Yeddyurappa. In the interim prayer, we sought a stay on any proceedings based on the FIR. This was granted by the judge, he said. Kulkarni said Yeddyurappa had sought quashing of the FIR as Kumaraswamy had admitted in public that he asked Sharanagouda to attend the meeting and record it, a claim the chief minister has denied previously. Additionally, Kulkarni said, sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act had been invoked incorrectly. Even if we are to assume that Yeddyurappa offered to pay Rs 10 crore to Sharangouda, in the clip it is said to be towards election expenses. This cannot be considered a bribe, and even on this ground we have sought for the FIR to be quashed, he said The audio clip had stirred much controversy and ensured that the state budget was passed without any opposition, as the BJP was caught off guard by the release of the clip. During the budget session, it was claimed that Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar was paid a bribe of 50 crore to make him accept resignations of MLAs. Yeddyurappa had initially dismissed the clip as mimicry, but he later admitted in the assembly that he had spoken to Sharanagouda. The state government had decided to form a special investigation team, which the BJP had opposed. However, till Friday, no SIT had been named to probe the matter. State home minister MB Patil could not be contacted despite attempts. Gujarat, Kerala, and Chandigarh have topped the Union human resource development (HRD) ministrys first Performance Grading Index eating of the school education systems. The index has been finalised on the basis of 70 parameters ranging from quality of education to infrastructure. Gujarat, Kerala, and Chandigarh topped the index with scores ranging from 801 to 850 points out of an aggregate of 1,000. Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu followed the top three with scores between 751 and 800 points. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, HP, Karnataka, MP, Odisha and Uttarakhand scored between 700 and 750 points. Daman and Diu and Maharashtra, Mizoram, Puducherry, Sikkim, and Telangana followed them on the list. Bihar, Jharkhand, J&K, Manipur, Tripura, UP, West Bengal, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands scored in 601-650 range. Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Nagaland are at the bottom of the index with scores between 551 and 600. An HRD ministry official said the first-ever exercise was carried out to have the focus to key aspects in crucial school education segment. During PM Modis reviews of school education, several decisions to improve the quality of learning, assessing the performance of states and Union Territories were taken. The ministry is also exploring ways of linking funding to bringing about improvement. In this background, the school education department decided to prepare a performance grading index to assess how the states were doing, another official said. It utilised the data states have provided about public and private schools for the index. It also utilised the findings of National Achievement Survey, the National Council for Education Research and Training has carried out to measure how students are learning in classrooms across the country. The government expects social media platforms to not show any bias, follow the norms laid down in the Constitution, and refrain from abusing the data of Indians to influence the upcoming general election, senior minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Friday. The minister for electronics and information technology (and also law) added: Any abuse of the data of Indians for collateral purpose to influence the election will not be appreciated. Let social media companies know this. Prasads comments come at a time when Twitter is fighting charges of a perceived bias against right-wing handles on the micro-blogging platform. Earlier this month, Bharatiya Janata Party supporters alleged that Twitter was biased against them. A senior Twitter executive, Colin Cromwell, is meeting a parliamentary panel in this context on February 25. The panel on information technology has also summoned executives of Facebook and its units WhatsApp and Instagram to appear before it next month, as it seeks to check fake news and hate speech and curb political bias on social media ahead of the general election. We thank the Parliamentary Committee for its invitation to hear Twitters views on Safeguarding citizen rights on social/online news media platforms. These are issues for all Internet services globally. Colin Crowell, Global Vice President of Public Policy for Twitter, will meet with the Committee on Monday, Twitter said in a statement Friday. The parliamentary committee on information technology earlier this month summoned Twitters chief executive officer Jack Dorsey to appear before it after declining to meet company representatives who didnt have the authority to make decisions. The panel expressed concern over how algorithms are channelised in India, and also sought to know the details about the funding of advertisements that appear on the platform, a person familiar with the discussions said. The committee, headed by Anurag Thakur, an MP from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has asked Facebook and its units to send their CEO or member of global team with decisionmaking authority to represent them at a March 6 meeting, said a person aware of the development, requesting anonymity. Facebook, its messaging service WhatApp and photo sharing site Instagram said they had no immediate comments to offer. Prasad said people can use social media to express their views, but there should not be a bias on the platform. If any foreign agency or country will be using data of Indian to influence the election, that will not be acceptable. According to a second person familiar with the situation, the parliamentary panel will also seek the opinion of the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) on whether these platforms qualify as media companies and can be brought under the ambit of laws applicable to media. MIB officials have not been asked to appear before the panel, but they will be asked to submit their response going forward. The panel needs clarity, the second person said on condition of anonymity. Social media platforms claim they are intermediaries and not media companies. Social Media platforms need to take stringent measures to check the spread of fake news, hate speech and address concerns of election interference globally, the panel is learnt to have told Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp. The government is working on a strategy to enforce campaign silence on social media 48 hours before polls, as suggested by the parliamentary panel on IT. The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) is considering several options, including regulation through local internet service providers and voluntary compliance by social media platforms, two officials with direct knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity, according to the report. In a statement released on February 7, it said ads referencing political gures, political parties and elections on the social networking site in India will now carry disclaimers about who published and paid for the it. Facebook also said that from February 21, only advertisers who have the required authorisations and disclosed who is responsible for an ad will be allowed to run political ads in India. In a separate statement on Thursday, Twitter said it had set up a an internal cross functional elections group in its efforts to protect the integrity of the electoral process in the country. Compared to the Indian user bases of Facebook (300 million) and its messaging app WhatsApp (over 230 million), Twitters Indian base of around 35 million is small, but it counts the countrys most influential people, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among its users. Political groups campaigning on Twitter in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls have to register with the social media platform as part of tougher advertising rules, designed to protect elections from foreign interference. Guidelines for Indian political advertisers include a registration certificate by the Election Commission of India for political parties. Individuals or candidates contesting elections who want to publish ads on Twitter will need a government ID and receipt of nomination and notice of scrutiny. Miller and Kramers bills would create an Alcohol, Tobacco and Motor Fuel Commission to oversee a field enforcement division thats currently part of the comptrollers office. The commission would also be charged with educating people about the dangers of alcohol, requiring better labeling of alcohol content, studying other states alcohol laws and developing a public health impact statement for proposed changes to state alcohol laws. Ever since he met Kim Jong Un in Singapore last year, President Donald Trump has shown a tendency the North Korean leader is sure to try and exploit: making unexpected concessions in one-on-one meetings. There was the December phone call with Turkeys president, when Trump surprised his own aides -- and prompted Defense Secretary Jim Mattiss resignation -- by suddenly agreeing to pull troops out of Syria. And last years joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, when Trump all but dismissed his own intelligence communitys findings on Russian hacking of the 2016 election. Heading into next weeks summit with Kim in Hanoi, the presidents top advisers will seek to ensure no last-minute giveaways happen this time around. But for North Korea, the presidents habit of making concessions on the fly presents an opportunity thats likely to lead negotiators from Pyongyang to disregard the presidents staff to focus on what he might offer. They do look to get President Trump in a room and see what they might get out of him, said Christopher Hill, the North Korea negotiator under President George W. Bush. If Singapore is any indication, the president seeks to want to negotiate everything himself. When the two leaders met last June in Singapore, Trump accepted a vaguely worded statement about complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In exchange, he had already given Kim a priceless public relations victory just by agreeing to talks. Trump also extended a suspension of major joint military exercises with South Korea, even adopting North Koreas terminology on those drills -- calling them war games and provocative. Kim and his team seem to be betting on a repeat. A senior Trump administration official, who asked not to be identified discussing internal deliberations, said North Korean officials have so far given little away in their meetings with the top U.S. envoy for the talks, Stephen Biegun. The official said the fear is that Kim will make an offer to Trump that sounds good at the moment, inspiring the president to sacrifice something in return that goes too far. Those fears have largely focused on the fate of about 30,000 U.S troops stationed in South Korea. Kim could seek to exploit Trumps own professed distaste for overseas deployments to extract a commitment to withdraw some or all of them as part of a deal to secure a peace agreement. Read More: Spies and Satellites -- Analyzing North Korea s Economy Isnt Easy The U.S. and South Korea recently concluded weeks of bruising negotiations that got President Moon Jae-ins government to increase its payments for hosting American troops, but Trump and his team have indicated they want Seoul to do more. I could see Kim saying, South Korea is reluctant to pay for the troops so why dont you withdraw them? said David Maxwell, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former special forces colonel in South Korea. Its most important we disabuse him of that notion that he can make a deal without the working-level foundation. Observers such as Maxwell point to a range of evidence to suggest this is North Koreas strategy. They cite a refusal to meet with Biegun for months after he was named the lead U.S. negotiator in August 2018. Biegun got his first formal meetings in January, and complex talks on an agreement from the summit got underway only recently, just a few weeks before Trump and Kim meet. And while the window to achieve anything of substance is short, that didnt stop the president from agreeing to a second summit where pressure will be high to move beyond the vague agreements from Singapore. To be sure, ever since his early real estate days, the president has believed hes the best negotiator in any room, and the intimacy of a one-on-one chat is often where he thinks he can get the best deal. Trump has said he and Kim fell in love last year and that North Korea has enormous economic potential under Kim. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said Thursday in an interview with NBCs Today show that the president and his team remain focused on the end goal of complete denuclearization of North Korea and that the main U.S. leverage, UN-backed sanctions, will remain in place until then. I dont want to get into the negotiations, what we might give up, what they might give up, Pompeo said. But when it comes to sanctions, we wont release that pressure until such time as were confident that weve substantially reduced that risk, he added. More generally, the administration defends Trumps negotiating style, underscoring that decades of negotiations at lower levels by previous Republican and Democratic administrations failed to produce lasting agreements. This is a top-down approach with the chairman and the president meeting directly and that allows for a breadth of action, frankly, that if successful could fundamentally transform relations between our two countries, State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said this week. Guardedly Optimistic Supporters of the presidents diplomacy argue that by agreeing to a second summit, Kim will also be under pressure from Pyongyangs elite to show that negotiating with Trump has been worthwhile, even if sanctions remain. They also argue that the delay in meeting Biegun may have nothing to do with the U.S. and be part of some internal power play within North Korea. Im guardedly optimistic on the summit, said Joseph DeTrani, former head of the National Nonproliferation Center, a part of the U.S. intelligence community. Theres so much that could be put on the table that would include true substance. In a call with reporters on Thursday, two senior administration officials, who asked not to be identified discussing plans for the summit, confirmed that the event will include a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Kim. They ruled out the idea that the U.S. was prepared to discuss reducing troop levels. That has done little to reassure critics of the presidents approach. We know who Donald trump is, weve seen two years of this, and weve seen where Kim and the North Koreans are trying to go, said Laura Rosenberger, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States who advised President Barack Obama on North Korea policy. The question is: How do we manage the risk, how do we walk away with the least bad outcome? What do you do you do if a goose is plump beyond reason, wont lay eggs and needs too much feed? Cook it, I guess. And thats what the British Crown did to Wajid Ali Shah, the last king of Awadh, who ascended the throne as a 25-year-old in 1847 and was dethroned nine years later in 1856, a year before the first war of Indian Independence broke out. The British said this was done because he lived and ate like a king and did little else, thus overlooking his military reforms, his attempts at administration which the East India Company did its best to thwart, and his immense popularity with his subjects. Packed off to Metiyaburj, about four miles south of Calcutta, the ousted king was joined by his prime minister, some of his wives, musicians and officials. His chefs attended to this displaced court as best as they could. They prepared their masters banquets with the lavishness of his days as monarch, so that when he sat for his meals, he would remember Lucknow as his great romance and not the painful reality of its passing. If five kilogrammes of lamb mince was used to make a single kofta when he had been the king, they were not going to scale down, when he was no longer one. Wajid Ali shah during his days in exile in Metiyaburj, a Calcutta suburb, wearing his trademark kurta with part of his chest exposed. His descendants say it was an expression of his heart being open to his subjects. (Arijit Sen/HT Photo) But how do you claim, centuries later, that one of Indias most famous ex-royal is your old man and that you are the sole inheritor of the royal cuisine he helped found? Wajid Ali Shahs descendants Manzilat Fatima, 51, and Fatima Mirza, 45, of Calcutta are doing that, courtesy the documents of political pensions of their families on the one hand, and by cooking his food, on the other. Team Manzilat and Team Fatima, both say they are the real thing. *** Family recipes are a cooks real estate. Wajid Ali Shahs descendants face the problem of plenty. At the time of his death, the king had 250 wives and 42 children so no family recipe matches the other. The British also made sure that after the kings death in 1887, his days in exile would go undocumented. On Fatima Mirzas table: Kachhe Tikia ke Kebab, Mutton biryani, Nargisi Kofta. Mirza is a great-great grandchild of the last king of Awadh. (Arijit Sen/HT Photo) His successors and his subjects were left with nothing, says Wasif Hussain, the manager of the kings mausoleum in Metiyaburj. Ive heard that in Chartwell House [the country home of a former British premier, Winston Churchill], his kitchen with its tea-kettle, his flour bin, the utensil rack and the weighing machine have been left intact. Its a museum. A law graduate, Manzilat Fatima, is from the ruling line. Her father, Kaukub Meerza, a former Reader of the Aligarh Muslim University, is the grandson of Birjis Qadr, the son of Begum Hazrat Mahal and Wajid Ali Shah. Birjis was crowned king by Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar during 1857 as Wajid Ali Shah was by then in Calcutta. Birjis met his death in 1893 after dinner at a relatives home in Metiyaburj. This was not the first time that poisoning had killed an Awadhi royal, Sudipta Mitra, author of Pearl by the River, a book on Wajid Ali Shahs exile, points out. Royal biographies mention a consort sending the king paan as a token of her love during their better days and the king not putting it past her to lace its leaves with poison when those days were over. The murder of Birjis and its memory have stayed with the family for over 120 years. It has seeped into Manzilats remembrances of her childhood home (My paternal grandmother would always check the food before it was served to family members), and explains her impatience with proof-seekers. Ever since she launched a pop-up restaurant of Awadhi cuisine in 2014 and a home dining service, Manzilats, in 2018 in Calcutta, there are some set questions she has had to answer. Do I have monogrammed table-mats from Wajid Alis time? Did I inherit a recipe book? No, I didnt! Birjis murder snapped our links with the other branches of the family. His wife escaped from Metiyaburj to Calcutta. And besides, my great-great-grandmother, Hazrat Mahal, was a queen who was fighting the British, not writing cookbooks. For a while, I made this my FB status, says Manzilat cheekily while adding finishing touches to an order of Ghutwaan Kebab (made of mashed meat marinated with papaya) that a delivery man from Swiggy is waiting for her to complete, besides the mandatory biryani. Manzilat makes a good mutton biryani, but with mustard oil to keep it non-greasy and light; Fatima Mirza, a school principal (she is of the line of Wajid Ali Shahs principal consort, Khas Mahal) and her husband Shahanshah Mirza (his father Wasif Mirza is another great grandson of Wajid Ali Shah) consider the leaving out of ghee an overturning of the basic biryani rule-book. Both families, however, have more in common than they think. While Manzilats cooking displays her control in colour, sense of proportion and spicing so integral to Awadhi cooking, Fatima, too, has considerable domain knowledge. Since 2018, she has been working on a cookbook penning family recipes such as the Kachhe Tikia ke Kebab. This is the only Awadhi kebab in which sattu is added and it was a Wajid Ali Shah favourite, she says. To neutralise the heat of meat and to make it easily digestible, hakeems advised chefs to add sattu (ground Bengal gram) as the king aged. The trend seems to have been to keep things light and fragrant. Shahanshah Mirza, another descendant of Wajid Ali Shah, with a family heirloom - a ceramic bowl. Such bowls were common in royal households. Their contents were checked by food inspectors before they were placed before the nawab. They had a special coating which would crack if the food had poison, says Mirza. (Arijit Sen/HT Photo) Shahanshah Mirza, a government official and heritage enthusiast, elaborates on the difference between Awadhi and Mughlai cuisine. Unlike Mughlai, ours has no overdose of mace or cardamom or dry fruits. We say about Urdu, Urdu aap ke zubaan pe hamla nahin karta hai, speaking it, does no assault to your tongue Likewise, Awadhi food plays on understatement. It is big on presentation though. Any aspiration to cheffy-ness of the standard of the former royal house of Awadh has to get the food styling right. Wajid Alis descendants also make great allowances for a master chefs ego. It was not uncommon in the heyday of the king to have his chefs refuse to cook for any other branch of the family. Some of the chefs even announced during the time of seeking employment that they were not going to expand their expertise! That is, the maker of dal would remain a dal specialist throughout his life. A biryani cook would touch nothing else. *** The Sibtainabad Imambara, the mausoleum of Wajid Ali Shah and his son Birjis Qadr at Metiayaburj. Birjid was declared king in the absence of his father by the sepoys during 1857 and his kingship was acknowledged by the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar. (Arijit Sen/HT Photo) In Metiyaburj, Guddu, a grandson of Puttan, a descendant of one of Wajid Ali Shahs great chefs, drops by at the Shahi Imambara, for a chat. He talks of a dish that has the sound of one made in Awadhs hoary past. There are few with the stomach and liver of Wajid Ali Shah to digest dishes like a meat mutanjan (a rice dish) now, Guddu says. But Nawabi biryani, and yes, with the potato, is everywhere. Do kings thus prepare the future food of the people? The rich trying out the pleasures that the masses will eventually grasp is something historian Fernand Braudel has elaborated upon in his works. Rows of biryani shops of various prices line the road on either side of the kings mausoleum. Jameson Inn, a branch of Shiraz [an old Calcutta eatery], began to make a Murgh Hazrat Mahal in 2011, informs Hussain, the Imambara manager. But there is a piece of information doing the rounds he would like to correct. The potato was added to the biryani because of its exotic value. It was a new vegetable in the market introduced by the Portuguese, says Hussain. Both Fatimas back this view. According to Abdul Halim Sharars Guzishta Lucknow, considered to be the go-to book for any information on Wajid Ali Shahs exile, the king spent Rs 24,000 on a pair of silk-winged pigeons, Rs 11,000 on a pair of white peacocks and approximately Rs 9,000 a month on food for some animals in his zoo in Metiyaburj. If a man could afford so much, he could certainly add more meat to his biryani and not bulk it up with potatoes, suggests Fatima Mirza. The king would presumably also not risk his social prestige. At the evening concerts in the then resplendent Sultan Khana that had all the splendour of his palaces in Lucknow, when the Calcutta elite would visit, with thumri, there was biryani and it had potatoes. Surely Wajid Ali Shah would not have a dish served that had hard times written all over it. (L-R) Mohammad Sulaiman Qadr Meerza with his grandfather, Kaukab Meerza, the great grandson of Wajid Ali Shah and Begum Hazrat Mahal, and his father, Kamran Meerza. (Arijit Sen/HT Photo) *** Mohammad Sulaiman Qadr Meerza, 9, in a yellow tee and jeans is following the discussion on food and music, and the Awadh royal family closely. When he was six, his father Kamran (Manzilats brother), a businessman, disclosed his antecedents. He told his friends in between classes at school that he belonged to a royal family. His friends asked: Which one? Sulaiman said he was the fifth generation of Wajid Ali Shah and Begum Hazrat Mahal. They did not believe him. Next year, when he is 10, Sulaiman has plans to grow bigger. And then he will try to convince them. He says he must give it one last try. An encounter broke out between militants and security forces in Sopore township of Jammu and Kashmirs Baramulla district on Friday morning, police said. Acting on specific input, the security personnel launched a cordon and search operation in the Warpora area of Sopore, they said. Also read| UNSC statement condemns heinous and cowardly Pulwama attack, names Jaish A senior official said the search operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired at the search party of the security men, who then returned fire. The exchange of fire was on and further details were awaited, he added. The government came in for some kind words from Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi on Friday over the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. If at all there was a delay, it was on the part of the collegium and not the Union of India, Gogoi said, hearing a petition by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), a non-government organisation (NGO). The three-member collegium that appoints high court judges is headed by the CJI. Disagreeing with the contention of CPIL that the government had been sitting on recommendations made by the collegium to appoint high court judges, the CJI, on a bench with justice Sanjiv Khanna, observed: How can you say that? Appointment are happening, some of the names are pending with the collegium. As the Chief Justice, I am telling you that whatever is pending is mostly before the collegium. There are almost 70-80 proposals pending before the Supreme Court collegium and hardly 27 before the government. These observations assume significance in the backdrop of the fact that the judiciary has generally blamed the government for dragging its feet on fresh appointments to high courts. Two years ago, then CJI TS Thakur had broken down, requesting the government to clear proposals for judicial appointments to high courts where 434 posts against the sanctioned strength of 1,056 still remained vacant on a war footing. According to the figures of the law ministry, as on Feburary 1, 2019, the vacancies in high courts stood at 400 posts against a sanctioned strength of 1,079. CPIL, in its petition, argued that the Centre was blocking the process of appointment and sought suitable directions to the government to comply with the recommendations made since 2016. During the hearing, when CPILs Prashant Bhushan insisted, the CJI said: We dont want to say anything more right now. He said appointments were taking place regularly and posted the matter for a hearing after six weeks. Filed in 2018, CPILs petition alleges that the Centre has deliberately held up appointment of judges despite the fact that recommendations made by the collegium are binding on the government. Various constitution bench judgements of 1993, 1998 and the 2016 National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) case have been cited in the petition to assert that the collegium and CJI are supreme when it comes to appointment and transfer of judges. Despite binding judicial directions, the Centre, it said, continues to sit over files and this reflects a virtual breakdown of the consultative process, thereby diminishing, if not destroying the primacy of the Chief Justice of India. The picture that emerges reflects an extremely sorry state of affairs with regard to appointments and transfers of Judges to the higher Judiciary thereby seriously eroding the Independence of the Judiciary and violating the Basic Structure of the Constitution, the NGO has said. The Uttar Pradesh police have dropped sedition charges against 14 Aligarh Muslim University students , citing lack of evidence, according to a senior police officer. On February 12, the students were booked for sedition on the complaint of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) district president Mukesh Lodhi, who had alleged that he was assaulted by some students who also raised pro-Pakistan slogans. The BJYM is the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling party at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh. Senior superintendent of police Akash Kulhari said on Friday the charges were dropped three days ago as there was no evidence to support them. He said there was no videographic proof or any other evidence to support the claim that anti-India or pro-Pakistan slogans were raised by these youth during the clash between two student groups at University Circle on February 12. The clashes appeared to have been triggered by reports that All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi was visiting the campus. The BJYM had demanded that the Owaisis visit should be banned. There was also an altercation between some AMU students and a television news channel crew that had come to cover the anticipated visit, which never took place. Earlier, the Aligarh Muslim University Teachers Association (AMUTA) had condemned the violence on the campus and sought strict restrictions on entry of outsiders to the university. In what could serve as a defence of the government over appointment of judges in high courts, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Friday said the collegium has not been able to clear the proposals faster. CJI Gogoi said while 27 files are pending with the government, more than 70 are with the collegium that has to make the recommendation to the Centre for appointment of judges in high courts. Appointment of high court judges is being speedily cleared by the government. Only 27 recommendations for appointment of high court judges are pending with the Centre. The collegium is yet to decide on 70-80 proposals, news agency ANI quoted CJI Gogoi as telling to senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for the petitioner. The petition was filed by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), the Centre for PIL seeking speedy clearance of the names of lawyers and judges for the appointment in various high courts. Its we who have not been able to clear the proposals for appointment of HC judges. As CJI I am telling you that appointments are taking place much faster now, CJI Gogoi told Prashant Bhushan, according to ANI. The government has faced severe criticism in public over delay in appointment of judges in the high courts. The appointment of judges in the higher courts was also a bone contention between the Centre and the Supreme Court, which, in 2015, struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act passed by Parliament. The legislation was passed to replace the collegium system comprising senior Supreme Court judges for the appointment of judges. With vacancies rising in various courts, the government faced criticism from opposition and the legal experts who alleged that the Centre was deliberately delaying the appointment of judges. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a Prime Time Minister, alleging that he was busy in a photo session even three hours after news of the Pulwama terror attack broke. Gandhi tweeted Modis photos to back his claim, though the Centres ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the images posted by the opposition leader were taken in the morning of February 14, hours before a suicide bomber attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in the afternoon and killed 40 personnel. A pained nation and the families of the martyrs were going through a sea of emotion, while the PM was smiling at a photo shoot on a river, Gandhi tweeted in Hindi, referring to Modis photo session at a lake in Uttarakhand. The BJP was quick to reply. Rahul Ji, India is tired of your fake news. Stop sharing photos from that morning to shamelessly mislead the nation. Maybe you knew in advance of the attack, but people of India got to know in the evening. Try a better stunt next time, where sacrifice of soldiers isnt involved, the party posted on Twitter. Continuing with its broadside against the government, Gandhis party stressed that the Prime Minister must answer what he was doing in the first two hours after the deadliest attack on security forces in the Kashmir Valley. The Congress also alleged that Modi was either completely oblivious to the incident or insensitive. Citing DD News footage, the opposition party said the PM addressed a rally in Uttarakhand at 5:10pm over phone. At a press conference, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said, So, the Pulwama attack takes place at 03:10 pm. The Prime Minister addresses a rally at 05:10 pm and to the best of our knowledge, the Prime Minister does not mention a word about the Pulwama attack. He also accused the government of trying to package high-octane jingoism to subterfuge national security failures in the wake of the terror strike. Hitting back at the Congress, the BJP said some political parties were not standing with the country for petty politics when nations across the world backed India after the Pulwama attack. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra dismissed as lies the Congresss claim that Modi was completely oblivious to the strike or insensitive as he continued with his prior engagements. On Thursday, too, the Congress cited media reports to allege that Modi continued shooting for a film at Corbett on February 14 for self propagation. The BJP dubbed the allegations as shameful and rejected the charges, saying the opposition party exposed its true colours after keeping a facade of standing with security forces and the government in the immediate aftermath the terror strike. Separately, at an event in Tamil Nadu, BJP president Amit Shah Friday asserted the blood shed by Indian soldiers in terror will not go in vain. Addressing party workers, Shah also said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had a zero tolerance towards terrorism. The Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on Friday resumed their search for the five soldiers trapped after an avalanche on Wednesday near a post along the border with China in Himachal Pradeshs Kinnaur district. The soldiers of the 7th Jammu and Kashmir Rifles were a part of a 16-member patrolling party of the army and ITBP personnel which was hit the avalanche near Shipki La village on Wednesday morning. They had gone towards the Shipki La border post from Namagya on Wednesday to repair a damaged water supply line when the avalanche hit them around 11am. Ten men escaped but the rest were trapped in the mound of snow. One of them, identified as havaldar Rakesh Kumar from Bilaspur, was rescued but he succumbed to his injuries in the civil hospital in Pooh. Those who went missing are naik Videsh Chand, rifleman Govind Bahadur Chatri, rifleman Rajesh Rishi, rifleman Arjun Kumar and rifleman Nitin Rana. Snow and rain on Thursday had repeatedly hampered the rescue operations launched in Namgia Dogri. Operations resumed in the morning. There are nearly 200 persons from the army, ITBP and Himachal police searching for the missing jawans, Poohs additional district magistrate pooh Shiv Mohan. Mohan said the body of Rakesh Kumar would be flown to his village Ghumarpur in Bilaspur district in a helicopter. The main road connecting Pooh was blocked due to the avalanche at Tinku nullah. Himachal shares 260km of porous border with China. Of the total border length, 140km lies along Kinnaur and 80km of the border is along Lahaul and Spiti districts. The international border is jointly manned by the army and ITBP. BJP president Amit Shah on Friday set an ambitious target to win more than 35 seats for the ruling alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu, where the Bharatiya Janata Party and the All India Anna Dravda Munnetra Kazhagam have joined hands for the parliamentary elections. I am sure we will win more than 35 seats in Tamil Nadu in the upcoming elections, said Shah while addressing a rally of booth-level BJP workers in Tamil Nadus Ramanathapuram. The BJP is in alliance with the AIADMK and the PMK for the Lok Sabha polls. The BJP is contesting five Lok Sabha seats as part of the alliance four in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry. The AIADMK, the senior alliance partner in the state, is likely to contest 28 Lok Sabha seats. The third constituent PMK has been given seven Lok Sabha seats to contest in the upcoming general elections. Shah asked the BJP workers to work for the alliance on all 40 Lok Sabha seats. We are not only contesting five seats. We are contesting all 40 Lok Sabha seats. Whether the candidates are contesting on the tickets of AIADMK or the PMK, they all are contesting the polls to make Narendra Modi the prime minister in 2019, the BJP president said at the Shakti Kendra Pramukh Sammelan. Also Read | BJP invokes Amma as AIADMK walks back into NDA, seals poll pact Shah targeted the opposition alliance of the Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam saying they stand for corruption and can do no good to the state or the country. He alleged that scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore were engineered by the Congress and the DMK when they were in power. Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a hardworking leader who works for 18 out of 24 hours a day, Shah said the electing him as the prime minister again is a necessity for the country not only for the BJP. The BJP had won one Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu in 2014 parliamentary elections. Its alliance partner, the PMK had won the other seat for the NDA five years ago. The AIADMK, then led by Late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, had swept the last Lok Sabha polls winning 37 of 39 seats in the state. The DMK and the Congress had failed to win a single seat. Also Read | DMKs MK Stalin announces Tamil Nadu poll pact, Congress gets 10 seats In 2019, the DMK and Congress announced their seat sharing arrangement in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Puduchery earlier this week. The Congress will contest 10 Lok Sabha seats including the lone Puducherry seat. It is not yet clear how many seats the DMK will contest in the Lok Sabha polls. The party is in talks with the CPI, the CPI(M), the MDMK of Vaiko and the Indian Muslim League. The DMK, however, is expected to contest 25 to 28 seats. Gurugram A 28-year-old sanitation worker at a private school in Sector 70 was arrested for the rape of a three-and-a-half-year-old girl in the schools toilet, the police said on Thursday. The suspect had allegedly taken the girl, a kindergarten student, to the toilet and sexually assaulted her, said Mukesh Kumar, station house officer of Badshahpur police station. An FIR was registered under Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on Thursday morning and the accused was arrested from the school. On Monday, the suspect, who has been working at the school for the last six years, took the girl to the toilet during the school hours, the police said. The girl went to her house and complained to her mother of pain in her private parts and the mother applied an ointment, the station house officer said. As the pain persisted, the parents talked to her to find out the cause of the pain. Naming him, the girl told her parents that the uncle is bad. This (Thursday) morning, the parents went to the school and confronted the school authorities about the incident, the SHO said. The school authorities then informed the police and handed over the suspect. The police said that the girls medical examination has been conducted and her mothers statement was recorded before a city magistrate under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). We are still trying to get more details about the incident. A lady police officer and a child protection officer from the child welfare committee are talking to the girl, the SHO said. The police said that they are investigating whether there was a lapse from the school authorities in providing security to the student. The suspect is a native of Uttar Pradesh and his wife also used to work in the school as a sanitation worker, the police said. Cases filed under the POCSO Act in the city increased from 140 in 2017 to 181 cases (till December 28) in 2018. James Cabezas investigated public corruption for three decades in the Office of the Maryland State Prosecutor before retiring two years ago. And he did it while going blind and even after he lost his sight. His memoir, Eyes of Justice, details some of the best public corruption cases. More than a year after the environment ministrys regional office concluded that a plot of land where more than 7,000 trees were felled for a group housing project being developed by Bharti Land Limited in Faridabad was a deemed forest, the environment ministry has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday that the area is in fact not a forest. The ministrys U-turn has left activists in Haryana puzzled. NGT was hearing a petition against the Haryana government for permitting the felling of more than 7,000 trees, including mesquite and axlewood (dhau), to make way for a group housing colony in Sarai Khwaja village in Faridabad. One of the main contentions of the plea filed by Lt Col (Retd) Sarvadaman Singh Oberoi through advocate Ritwick Dutta was that Haryana government was in violation of the Supreme Court orders as per the TN Godavarman and Lafarge judgments pertaining to forest issues in 1996 and 2011 respectively. Those judgments said that irrespective of whether an area is a forest as per revenue records, it will be covered by the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, and cannot be used for any non-forestry activity without the Centres permission if it meets the dictionary meaning of the word forest. On Thursday, the union environment ministry in an affidavit said: It has been confirmed that this land is neither part of Aravali Plantation Project nor of Aravali notificationthe ministry agrees with the averment of the state government that the land measuring 52.85 acres is not a forest land for the purpose of the Forest Conservation Act (1980). This submission contradicts the ministrys own regional offices August 2017 inquiry report which stated that the area in question has dense vegetation and is to be treated as a forest as per the dictionary meaning of the word. As per felling permission dated June 23, 2017, about 38,941 number of trees existed on the spot, indicating that 1846 number of trees existed per ha. The density was very high. As per vegetation status, the stand of Haryana forest department to treat the land as deemed forest seems to be justified, the inquiry report concluded. The environment ministry in Thursdays affidavit, however, put the onus on Haryana. The ministry recommended that the definition of the Aravalis in the environment ministrys 1992 notification (which was meant only for Gurugram in Haryana and Alwar in Rajasthan) also be used to delineate Aravalis in the entire National Capital Region. But this hasnt been done by Haryana government yet. It is the responsibility of the state government (Haryana) to identify forests, Aravali range, and other features in the Natural Conservation Zone or NCZ (where development activity is restricted)...; the state government should immediately identify forest outside the recorded forest (area) as per the dictionary meaning, the affidavit added. Haryana is the state with the lowest forest cover in the country, at 3.59%. The environment ministrys stance is significant because the Haryana government has been dragging its feet on both finalising NCZ areas and has also recently proposed amending the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), a move which will open up more land for real estate development. The amendment involves excluding tracts of land included in the final development plans or town improvement plans from the ambit of PLPA. This development could affect the Aravalis, catchments of the Badhkal, Surajkund and Damadama lakes, and other forest areas in the state. The Haryana government is also yet to identify forests as per dictionary meaning of the word in the state. The NGT on Thursday did not pass any orders based on the environment ministry affidavit but only observed that the affidavit may not have looked in detail at the regional offices inquiry report. The court today rightly observed that the environment ministry has discussed the stand of the state government but not discussed the findings of the enquiry report of its own regional office. The regional office report concludes that the area in question had around 39000 trees and stems, indicating a high density of trees, with moderate to dense forest cover, said Chetan Agarwal, a Gurugram-based environmental activist. The land in question belongs to Ajay Enterprises Limited, which has entered into an agreement with Bharti Land Limited for the development of the project. The matter has been deferred to February 28 so I will not be able to comment on it, said SK Sayal, CEO, Bharti Realty Limited, of which Bharti Land Limited is a part. Sanjiv Ailawadi, lawyer representing Ajay Enterprises Limited said, In our interactions, Haryana government and the Centre have maintained that this is not forest. If it was a forest we would have to apply for a forest clearance first before we could get an environmental clearance. What is the Sarai Khwaja land case? In May 2017, Bharti Land Limited sought permission from the Faridabad divisional forest officer to fell trees on a 52-acre plot it acquired for a group housing society project in Sarai Khwaja village in Faridabad. Sarai Khwaja is recorded as gair mumkin pahaar (uncultivable land), which is protected under the Aravali Notification, 1992. In 2015, Faridabad forest department disallowed felling of these trees because gair mumkin pahars conservation status was yet to be decided. Going against the forest departments order, Haryana additional chief secretary issued a letter on June 22, 2017, directing the department to grant the developer approval. After around 7,000 mesquite and dhau trees were felled, activists approached NGT in June contending that the land is a forest. Gucci, one of the worlds top designer brands, is drawing attention on social media for its new vintage sneakers that most of us would simply describe as dirty. The Italian luxury label described its off-white sneakers as vintage and old school, with an allover distressed effect, on their official website, gucci.com. And thats nowhere near the most shocking thing about the latest Gucci sneakers. Theres also the price tag: $790 to $890. Yes, between Rs 56,200 to Rs 63,300, approximately. Ironically, Guccis site also includes strict instructions as to the care of its pre-distressed sneakers, such as how to clean and store them to help maintain the shoes shape and colour. These Gucci sneakers for women cost $890 and come complete with intentional scuff marks. (Gucci) Mens version of these distressed sneakers are priced at $870 (Rs 61,870) and womens version, are available for $790 and $890 (Rs 56,200 and Rs 63,300, respectively). For men, the exorbitant dirty sneakers come in four design and colour variations with stripes on the side and a vintage Gucci logo. While the womens shoes are off-white and appear to have a battered look and scuff marks. Selling the sneakers, from Guccis cruise 2019 collection complete with intentional scuff marks for that price has raised eyebrows online, where many just could not get over the cost. As you might imagine, many on Twitter expressed their opinions and confusion, with many saying it seemed a bit ridiculous to purchase a pair of worn-looking sneakers for that much money. Here are some Twitter reactions to Guccis latest sneakers design: What do you make of these "dirty" trainers Gucci are selling for a mere 615? Bargain, right?! #jeremyvine pic.twitter.com/ONqNUxgl7T Jeremy Vine On 5 (@JeremyVineOn5) February 13, 2019 Gucci is selling dirty sneakers with scuff marks for nearly $900 .. excuse me while I go look up STUPID RICH in the dictionary. https://t.co/blt7des8iz #HTownRush #KHOU11 pic.twitter.com/aMs2j6gDbK Doug Delony (@DougDelonyKHOU) February 13, 2019 I really dont get these Gucci dirty sneaker trend bysamiiryan (@thesamiiryan) January 11, 2018 Gucci is literally selling a sneaker for $800 that looks like its dirty.... I wanna know who is paying for that Erica (@Ericaneverland) February 5, 2019 why would u let ur gucci sneakers get as dirty as this oh my god pic.twitter.com/EXVaDUtOhD iris (@chromegens) August 21, 2018 Its not the first time Gucci has courted controversy over a design. In February itself, the Italian brand was widely criticised for selling a black knit that was accused of racial overtones. The $890 black jumper with a high neckline featured a printed pair of red lips that some believed was reminiscent of blackface. Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele said he took full accountability for the unintended racist garment and said the furore caused him the greatest grief. The blackface jumper has since been pulled from sale. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter Fendi paid understated tribute Thursday to Karl Lagerfeld, who died this week and was the Rome-based fashion houses creative director for 54 years. The fashion house said in notes for its Milan Fashion Week show that the Fall/Winter 2019-2020 collection is the final collection designed by Karl Lagerfeld, representing a lifetime of dedication and creation from 1965 until today. Reproductions of five of Lagerfelds sketches accompanied the notes, summing up the looks. A small card came printed with his signature and the Fendi F that had a heart forming the cross-stroke. The date of the designers death was on the back: 19-02-2019. A video recorded before his death showed Lagerfeld being asked to draw himself as he appeared on his first day at Fendi. Well, thats prehistoric, the designer said. In the 1960s, we didnt hold back. His personal Fendi preview look: a Cerruti hat over his long hair, dark sunglasses, a printed Lavalliere tie, a yellow-and-red English hunting jacket in Scottish tweed, French-style culottes and a bag that he had found in Milan. That was my style. Disreputable, the late designer told the camera in French. Models Bella Hadid, left, and Gigi Hadid, second from left, wear creations as part of the Fendi women's Fall-Winter 2019-2020 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) (AP) LAGERFELDS FENDI FINALE Karl Lagerfelds grand finale at Fendi emulated the designers signature style, with striking high collars and the models wearing ponytails at the nape. The opening look featured a huge bow tie and a double-breasted jacket with white accents, worn with a mini-skirt showing off Fendi tights. That look was elaborated on to show the same jacket as a long overcoat, then paired with wide-legged pleated trousers with white stripe accents. A neat, point-collared shirt buttoned to the top unified the outfits. . A series of wide-pleated skirts in shiny finishes or sheers, as well as structured dresses with pagoda shoulders, pointy collars and cinched waists feminized the collection. Coats were luxurious furs with the elegant double-F logo in cursive - known as Lagerfelds curling Karligraphy - and laser-cut leather with zippers that opened the sleeves and the back. Shiny leather coats were shaped like capes and had open-zip arms and fur collars. Beyond neutral tones, Lagerfeld included flashes of daffodil yellow, seafoam green and tangerine. The looks were finished with fur riding caps, the Fendi Peekaboo bag with perforated detailing or the updated Baguette bag with a multi-strap harness. Gigi Hadid closed the show in a diaphanous mango dress with a snug Fendi-logoed bodysuit. A big bow floated on the back. Model Gigi Hadid wears a creation as part of the Fendi women's Fall-Winter 2019-2020 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb.21, 2019. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) (AP) FENDIS PUBLIC FAREWELL Silvia Venturini Fendi, who was a child when Lagerfeld joined Fendi and revolutionized fur at her familys fashion house, thanked the fashion crowd and took a bow, then clenched her fists and stepped backstage. A screen descended: Backstage was kept private. Venturini Fendi in a note said the bond between Lagerfeld and Fendi is fashions longest love story. When we called just a few days before the show, his only thoughts were on the richness and the beauty of the collection, she wrote. Its a true testament to his character. He shall be so missed. MAX MARA CELEBRATES THE POLITICS OF GLAMOR Max Mara dedicated its collection to the boss lady, a nod to the women who have strode to power in their luxury outerwear and business attire. The show title, the politics of glamor, was also a not-so-hidden reference to the brick-red Fire Coat that U.S. House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi wore to a White House showdown with President Donald Trump. A flurry of social media attention prompted the fashion house to reissue the high-neck coat. Most of the looks in the latest collection for next fall and winter were for serious day dressing, with a focus on short skirts or longer versions that appeared cut from trousers, but with deep slits to show off knee-high, faux croc boots. Outwear varied from ankle-length sleeveless coats with oversized pockets and to poncho coats with furry collars. Zips and pockets gave a sense of utility. Max Mara punctuated its trademark neutral monotones with trios of colors and prints, opening the show with identical mini-skirt, business looks in an emerald green, sky blue and canary yellow. The outfits were topped with large, enveloping alpaca cardigans. Wools mixed with technical fabrics, leathers and fur for contemporary styling. Neutral monotones in ivory, camel and caramel toast gave way to animal prints and heritage prints with heart motifs. Accessories included an innovative bag that draped around the neck like a scarf and incorporated two compartments on each end, or a small clutch attached to the body with a harness. Eva Herzigova closed the show with a black mini with the slightest golden sheen, worn with a black granite textured coat that was mined from the depths of fashion. Kaia Gerber rocked a layered off-white look with a rich, furry overcoat and single-button suit coat. Model Kaia Gerber wears a creation as part of the Fendi women's Fall-Winter 2019-2020 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb.21, 2019. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) (AP) EMPORIO ARMANI FOR EVERY AGE Emporio Armani is Giorgio Armanis line for youthful dressers, but the designer sent an older model down the runway to emphasize that age is not the defining measure. For this collection, shapely legs certainly were. The looks included shorts that looked like skirts, or mini dresses with swinging hemlines. Armani included a low kitten heel on booties or knee-high evening sock boots, because the low heel gave a sense of freedom. He said a faux crocodile jacket could give an older woman an edgier touch at a price tag not out of this world. The Emporio Armani freestyle styling included a sweatshirt with a new gold-embossed EA logo pairs with fluid, elegant trousers. An off-shoulder jumpsuit with a deconstructed jacket top projected a day-to-evening derring-do. Pretty dresses were paired with latex-effect leggings. For Armani, the limits of fashion are defined by good taste. The collection included a series of red looks, perhaps a tribute to the growing Chinese market. Red, along with black and white, resets everything you see around, that is so much, too much, Armani said. PRADA EXPLORES LOVE AND WAR Pradas collection for next fall and winter explores the dichotomy between war and romance, the tug between better and baser impulses. The collection veers from military looks in Loden textiles with combat boots but softened with furry backpacks to romantic styles with dresses strewn with floral appliques or layered with lace accents. It is about romance, but romance and fear, the designer said after the show. In the sense that the two forces I feel at the moment are fear and danger, but at the same time romance is the solution. So these are pieces of love stories, introducing good in a world that has a lot of bad. THE PRICE IS RIGHT AT MOSCHINO Jeremy Scott staged a tongue-in-cheek Moschino game show to show off his collection of slinky dresses and gold lame on women with 1970s bouffants. The collection fully embraced the early television era, with handbags shaped as TV dinners, toothpaste tubes and champagne bottles, reflecting the reality of home cuisine, a major TV-era advertising force and the millionaire dreams of the television audience. Models shimmied up against a red Ferrari, a grandfather clock, kitchen appliances and a La-Z-Boy recliner -- the latter of which boasted price tags below most present-day luxury brand apparel. Scott basked in the irony, taking a star turn under a shower of big gold confetti. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter The admission process for post-graduate (PG) medical and dental courses in the state will begin from February 25, almost a month after the results of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) were declared on January 31. The delay was owing to the lack of clarity in implementation of reservations for the Maratha and economically weaker section (EWS). While the state government is yet to issue guidelines on the two quotas, the state common entrance test (CET) cell decided to begin the candidate registration process to meet the Supreme Courts April 5 deadline to issue the first list of college allotments. The CET cell has also received the state-wide NEET-PG ranking list of candidates from Medical Council of India (MCI), clearing another hurdle in way of admissions. The cell said it would incorporate the impending guidelines whenever the state issues them. We have formed a committee of officials to prepare the admission brochure and will conduct the admissions according to the document. Whenever the government issues any directives, we will change the process accordingly, said Anand Rayate, commissioner, CET cell. While the state general administration department, on February 12, issued a government resolution (GR) about implementing the 10% EWS quota, introduced by the Centre, the medical education and research department will take another day or two to issue specific guidelines for medical and dental admissions. The file related to the reservation is still under consideration. The guidelines will be issued in a couple of days or even earlier, said a government official. The CET cell, for the first time, has also decided to allow candidates to confirm their admissions and pay their fees at 12 designated SETU centres across the state, instead of visiting individual colleges. The fees will have to be paid in the form of a bank demand draft or through an online gateway, although the cell is still exploring the viability of the online payment system. The payments will be made after the physical verification of their documents at these centres. The candidates no longer have to visit a college to cancel their admission. They will be able to do so at the SETU centres. Earlier, if candidates wanted to cancel their admission or apply somewhere else, the colleges would refuse to return their documents and the fees. Hence, we decided to collect the fee centrally, so that it can be returned immediately after the cancellation. The centralised cancellation system will make it easier for students to get their fees and documents back, said Rayate. However, the parents are concerned about the delay in the admission process. We have faced similar issues in the past. The candidates are hassled as they dont get much time to fill the form and confirm their admissions, said Mahendra Chaudhari, parent of an MBBS student. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Intelligence Bureau has invited applications for 318 vacancies for recruitments on various posts. Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, has invited applications for 318 vacancies for recruitments on various posts. The posts invited for the recruitment include assistant security officer (ASO), assistant centeral intelligence officer (ACIO), junior intelligence officer, senior research officer and many other. Candidates willing to apply for the IB Recruitment can visit the official website for the official notification once it is uploaded. Candidates having an engineering degree (bachelors) in various streams, graduation degree in any subject, master degree in physics, master degree in statistics, accounts or 12th pass with relevant experience can apply for the posts. There are various posts that require different set of skill, experience and education qualification to get into the intelligence bureau of India. Education qualifications for IB recruitment 2019 Deputy Director/Tech: Bachelors degree in Engineering (BE or BTech or BSc(Engg)] from a recognised university/institute. Streams- Electronics or Electronics and Communication or Electronics and Telecommunications; or Associate Membership of Institute of Engineers (AMIE) in Electronics and Communications Engineering; or Graduate ship awarded by Associate Membership of Institute of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (AMIETE) in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering; or Master of Science in Physics with Electronics or Telecommunications; or Bachelor Degree in Engineering [B.E or B.Tech or B.Sc(Engg)] awarded by a recognized University in the fields of Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Technology, Computer Science & Engineering, information Technology or Software Engineering; or Master of Computer Applications (MCA) after three years Bachelor of Science in Physics; or Master of Science (Information Technology) or Master of Science (Computer Science/Computer Application) or Master of Science (Software) from a recognized University/Institute Senior Accounts Officer: Bachelors degree from a recognised university/institute. Senior Research Officer: Masters degree in Economics/Statistics/Business Administration/Management or Commerce. Security Officer (Technical): Degree in Electrical/Electronics/Communications Engineering or MSc in Physics or Chemistry from a recognised university/institution Junior Intelligence Officer-ll/Tech: Class 12 pass with Mathematics and Physics with two years Industrial Training Course from a recognized Institute in Radio Technician, Electronics, Electronics and Communication. Intelligence Bureau (IB) Recruitment 2019: How to apply Candidates who fulfil the above mentioned conditions of eligibility can submit their applications to their employers, who will forward the same along with the required papers/documents to the Joint Deputy Director/G. Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, 35 S.P. Marg, Bapu Dham, New Delhi-21 within 60 days from the date of issuance of the circular. Details of required documents can be found in the official notification of MHA IB once it is uploaded. Academic pressure from parents, short concentration span, anxiety and stress, are among the major issues students are raising on the toll-free helpline of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) from across the country. A total of 87 counsellors based in India and abroad have been answering queries of students appearing in the Class 10 and 12 board exams kicked off on February 15. Officials at the CBSE said that while most of the inquiries they are receiving are about exam related stress and anxiety; some students are also sharing issues with their parents. Aspirants are majorly calling on the toll-free to seek advice on how to overcome exam related stress and anxiety, how to increase the concentration span and what to do in the last few days before the exams. We have also received calls wherein the aspirants have sought guidance on how to deal with the academic pressure their parents are putting on them, said a senior official. The counsellors, who are principals and trained psychological counsellors at the CBSE affiliated schools, are also reaching out to the parents of students. There have been some instances when out counsellors have called the parents and advised them not to put excessive exam pressure on their children, the official said. As per the data shared by the board, between February 1 and February 15, as many as 1,356 calls were received on their helpline numbers. Out of these calls, 619 were made for psychological counselling, CBSE Senior Public Relations Officer Rama Sharma, said. Officials said that this year the counsellors have received more calls from class 10 board aspirants in comparison to those appearing in class 12 board examination. Around 780 calls have been received from class 10 board aspirants. Most of these calls are made by male aspirants. The class 10 students are more anxious about the boards because they appear for any such exam for the first time in their student life, said the official. The board has witnessed considerable drop in the number of personalised calls this time around because of the introduction of Interactive Voice Response (IVR) service. This year we have received only 1,356 personalised calls during the first 15 days of the counselling session in comparison to the last years tally of 4,400. However, the number of calls received on the IVR system are as high as 7,000 as of now, Sharma said. The CBSE has introduce the facility of IVR on toll free number (1800 11 8004) on which students, parents and stakeholders can obtain pre-recorded information on tackling board exams which includes tips for better preparation, time and stress management. The IVR system was included to help those students who dont feel comfortable to openly discussing their issues on telephonic conversations with the counsellors. We have received overwhelming response on the service, Sharma said. Among the states, highest number of calls has been received from Delhi and NCR as of now. Some parents of children appearing in the CBSE board examination from Delhi said that they have preferred IVR service over personalised call. We do not get an opportunity to speak to the counsellors for long over personalized calls. But on the IVR we can listen to the pre-recorded advice for as many times as we can, said Shreya Singh, parent of a class 10th student. The visit of the crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) of Saudi Arabia to Pakistan and India in quick succession was always going to present a tricky situation. The attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Pulwama by a suicide bomber affiliated to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) just multiplied the problems. In the event, we have two joint statements in which the crown prince seems to be taking contradictory positions to please his two hosts. In Islamabad, MBS endorsed Pakistani prime minister Imran Khans efforts at dialogue with India. He also counselled against politicisation of the UN regime for designating terrorists a statement implicitly criticising Indias efforts to get JeM chief Masood Azhar sanctioned. In New Delhi, on the other hand, MBS condemned the Pulwama attack in the strongest terms, renounced the use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy, and agreed on the need for creation of conditions necessary for resumption of the comprehensive dialogue between India and Pakistan. Many in India have expressed disappointment as the joint statement released in New Delhi does not hold Pakistan responsible for Pulwama attack and does not name JeM. The red carpet India rolled out for MBS, the sceptics argue, did not bear fruit. This newspaper had already warned that India should not expect convergence with Saudi Arabia on Pakistan and Afghanistan. Saudi Arabia remains important to India for a number of reasons: energy imports; welfare of expatriate Indians; remittances; investments; trade; counter-terrorism; and maritime security. These issues will remain important long after the Pulwama crisis is over. The Narendra Modi government did well not to succumb to the anger of the moment and put an important bilateral relationship with Saudi Arabia in jeopardy. Moreover, MBS visits to Islamabad and New Delhi were decided well in advance. His agenda certainly did not include playing a mediator between India and Pakistan following the attack in Pulwama. Saudi Arabias minister of state for foreign affairs Adel Al-Jubeir did clarify this much on Wednesday. Pakistan, however, being the weaker power in the subcontinental dyad, is desperately looking for a third party intervention. So far, it has been unsuccessful. As the stronger and more confident power, India should not look for external help at every step in order to mend Pakistans behaviour. India asks other countries to de-hyphenate itself from Pakistan. It, too, should not look at all other relationships through the lens of Pakistan. A 24-year-old sweeper was arrested from west Delhis Dwarka for allegedly raping and assaulting his minor sister for nearly three years, police said Thursday. The man had also impregnated his sister last September and then given her abortion pills, the 17-year-old girl has told police. Stating that the crime was reported after the residents of a Dwarka flat, where the girl recently filled in for her mother as a domestic help, noticed injuries on her body and enquired about it, police said they have arrested the man and booked him for rape under sections of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The man works as a sweeper at a private bank in Dwarka. Until three years ago, he lived only with his mother. Three years ago, he brought his 14-year-old sister to Delhi on the pretext of getting her admitted to a school. He did get her enrolled, but had been raping her all these years, said a senior police officer. When the girl resisted the abuse, the man would allegedly beat her her badly, leaving her with visible injuries. Last September, the girl became pregnant. When she told her mother about change in her biological behaviour, the woman asked her to approach her brother for medicines. The accused man gave her abortion pills, said the investigator. However, the police are unsure whether the siblings mother was aware of the abuse. We havent found any evidence against her so far, but we are investigating, said the officer. The pregnancy, meanwhile, forced the girl to drop out of school. Last week, police said, she started working as a domestic help at a residential flat in Dwarka since her mother had gone to her village in Bihar. The employer noticed injuries on her body and asked her about it. The girl was first hesitant, but then revealed it all. The employer then roped in an NGO which helped the girl approach the police, said the officer. Ys husband beat her senseless when he found out that she had been raped by three men in the fields where she had been working. Then he threw her out of the house and told her to go back to her parents. I had done nothing wrong. I was just trying to earn a living, she says. When M managed to escape from three male captors, who told her they had bought her for Rs 2 lakh, her family barred her from seeing her kids. That was in 2016. Just two out of an estimated 15,000 women and men who have taken part in what is perhaps the worlds largest and longest march of rape survivors, Y and M are finally at the end of a two-month, 10,000 km journey covering 200 districts in 24 states. Along the way, they have met police, judges, doctors, administrators, students, lawyers, teachers. They want to change the way you see them. They want to end the silence that continues to shroud survivors of sexual assault. In our recounting of rapes attendant horrors, we might hear about the lonely fight for justice the callous police, the insensitive doctors but we almost never talk about hostile families. First, we have to prove we were raped. In open court, we have to face our rapists and lawyers ask us how we were raped, what they did, says Y. Then, our own families dont want to have anything to do with us. Everyone says, compromise, keep quiet. Its the family that imposes silence on rape survivors because of a misplaced sense of shame. Its the family that pulls young girls out of school or forces them into early marriage when they are raped. Nearly 95% of rape cases are never reported, says Ashif Shaikh, convenor of the Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan that has organised the march. Despite the under reporting, crime data shows 106 rapes reported every day in 2016. The conviction rate for the same year was just 18.9%. Now that the march is over, Shaikh wants to focus on not just better implementation of the law, but a shift in culture and mindset towards attitudes. Among the marchers is a familiar face. It is the 55-year-old Bhanwari Devi whose gang rape in 1992 and subsequent acquittal of the men who raped her by a lower court judge on the grounds that the rape could not have happened as upper caste men could not have touched a lower caste woman, led to a national uproar. From Bhanwari Devi springs the Vishaka guidelines and the subsequent laws against sexual harassment at the workplace. Bhanwaris own case has dragged on in the courts four of the five accused men have died of natural causes as her appeal languishes in the Rajasthan High Court. But she has no regrets. I spoke up, she says, yellow odhni on her head. Its because of me that all these girls are speaking up now. Namita Bhandare writes on social issues The views expressed are personal Since the Pulwama terror attack, I have argued that this is an inflection point. We should get set for everything to change. I have expected dramatic shifts both in Indias internal policy in the Kashmir Valley and in its external response to Pakistan. A calibrated military response whether in the form of escalated fire power at the Line of Control, covert action, or the use of air power are all firmly on the table as options. An act of war by Pakistans Deep State, which Pulwama clearly is, certainly demands an appropriate hit back. This is not war-mongering; it is justice. We need a more nuanced debate on our domestic Kashmir policy. Certain changes were overdue. The withdrawal of security cover to the separatists of the Hurriyat Conference is one such move. Over the years, there has been a befuddling monetary cultivation of secessionists by intelligence agencies. Former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief AS Dulat formally outed this when he argued that corrupting someone with money is better than killing them. His approach may have made sense in the years when the back channel was open and both militants and separatists were open to dialogue. Or because Pakistan-backed terrorists assassinated Abdul Gani Lone of the Hurriyat Conference and wiped out an entire faction of the Hizbul Mujahideen for daring to talk to Delhi. Now the separatists have become unyielding and unwilling to participate in any sort of talks. So the context to provide them government security evaporates. But should that logic apply to mainstream Kashmiri politicians or political workers who not just commit their allegiance to India, but risk their lives to take part in the electoral process? Shouldnt this decision be based strictly on threat assessments? Arent we surrendering to the Pakistani script by treating all Kashmiris as the adversary? We must understand that a significant shift has taken place in Kashmir since the 2016 elimination of Burhan Wani, who advocated for a caliphate in the Valley. Apart from Pakistans Great Game and a global pan-Islamist influence, a senior police officer identified two other reasons for the spike in local militancy: Social media and response from the rest of India. Social media has provided a perceived glory factor and an environment of competitive extremism has fomented the local turmoil. The ill-conceived alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) only heightened extremes. Islamism and Hindutva have also fed off each other. As separatists steadily become marginalised by terrorists, the challenge for the Kashmir police the hardiest and bravest in the world has been how to counter militant violence but contain civilian casualties. This was especially difficult after the emergence of the phenomenon of the upper buddy. This refers to men who were ready to join militant groups but did not possess weapons. Many of the encounters immediately after 2016 saw civilian attacks on guard posts for the looting of weapons, even during active encounters. Kashmirs top policeman, SP Pani, the youngest-ever to hold the post, quietly introduced small changes. Bodies of those killed in encounters were to be properly zipped in covers and not paraded. At post-mortems of killed terrorists, no photographs were to be taken or distributed. Sometimes, he personally attended to phone calls from angry relatives of militants demanding the body and surprised them with his controlled civility. Then he turned his attention to dismantling the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Between 2016 and 2019, 90 JeM cadres were killed; 55 of these were in 2018 alone. At the same time, during 67 encounters with terror groups in 2018, the police brought the civilian casualties down significantly. Where previously civilians encircling encounter sites could lead to at least two civilians dying in every encounter with militants, the police managed to contain the number at 29 in 2018. This could explain why JeM was desperate to prove its presence in the Valley. The police have now turned their attention to the states courts. After all Masood Azhar is free today because despite being in a Jammu prison for five years, we did not convict him. The state police have pushed back against routine paroles and granting of bail and the failure to convict a single significant terrorist. Recently, they fought to have bail cancelled to Asiya Andrabi of the Dukhtaran-e-Millat a female separatist seen to have close links with both the Lashkar-e-taiba and the JeM. These are the battles we must focus on internally. We should learn from the local police how to be hardy and compassionate at the same time. Or from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which, in its greatest moment of loss and mounrning, set up a Madadgar helpline for Kashmiri students. To smear all Kashmiris as the Meghalaya Governor has done without any public admonishment from the Modi government is not just wrong; it only helps Pakistan. Be tough with Islamabad and be smart and sensitive with Kashmiris. Barkha Dutt is an award-winning journalist and author The views expressed are personal The Howard County Historical Society is holding ameeting on Feb. 24 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Miller Branch library. The meeting is open to current and potential members. The guest speaker is Massachusetts Representative Josh Cutter who will discuss the Mobtown Massacre of 1812. The societys next Lunch Date with History will be held on March 1. Shawn Herne, executive director of the Babe Ruth Birthplace, will discuss Babe Ruththe Babe You Didnt Know. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. at the Museum of Howard County History on Court Avenue. The society is again offering a variety of tours, including Walk this Way, Haunted History and the Spirits Pub Tours. Go to hchsmd.org to sign up. The seat sharing arrangement in the grand alliance in Bihar led by RJD-Congress combine has apparently got stuck over disagreements on several seats among allies with the RJD, being a senior partner in the combination, playing hardball in negotiations to keep its stocks high in the Lok Sabha polls. Sources in the GA said the seat adjustment talks having gained pace in last few days between RJD and Congress have so far remained inconclusive on two points. This, despite RJDs senior leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav having met AICC president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday. Leaders said the first major hitch on seat adjustment is lack of understanding among allies, especially RJD and Congress on number of seats to be contested by the partners. While the Congress is eyeing a larger pie of seats in the alliance having demanded 19 seats in initial seat talks, RJD is not ready to allot more than 10 seats to them. The reasoning is the GAs seat adjustment should be stitched keeping in mind the winnability and social justice combination quotient in mind. The RJD is a senior partner in the alliance and has to take along all allies including RLSP, HAM(S), Lokantrik Janata Dal and Left parties. We should have a respectable seat sharing deal so that all allies have nothing to complain, said, senior RJD leader and former MP, Jagdanand Singh. Second factor of roadblock in seat adjustments is said to be the differences between RJD and Congress poll managers on the Darbhanga, Sheohar , Munger and Madhepura seats as these constituencies are being demanded by the grand old party, a proposition the RJD leaders are not comfortable with. Insiders in the GA said the Congress wants Darbhanga parliamentary seat for newly inducted sitting MP Kriti Azad, a dissident BJP leader who joined the national party after switching sides. The RJD leadership is not ready to comply with the demand, arguing the seat has been a traditional RJD stronghold represented previously by former union minister MAA Fatmi. The RJD is keen on fielding partys senior MLA Abdul Bari Siddiqui or new ally in the GA, Mukesh Sahni, who has floated his own outfit Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP). Sahni claims to have a big base among Sahnis, fishermen community, in Bihar belonging to the extremely backward castes. Similiarly, the Sheohar parliamentary seat is also a bone of contention among the two major partners with Congress eyeing the seat to field former MP Lovely Anand, wife of don turned politician Anand Mohan. Lovely had joined the Congress in January this year. On its part, the RJD has apprised the Congress how the Sheohar seat was partys stronghold as the RJD was second runners up in the 2014 parliamentary polls. Another disputed seat is the Munger parliamentary constituency where Congress has evinced interest in fielding criminal-turned- politician Anant Singh with RJD not open to the idea. There are also speculations that sitting Madhepura MP and chief of JAP ( Jan Adhikar Party) Pappu Yadav is seeking re-election as a GA candidate even as RJD senior leaders claim the seat would go to veteran socialist and chief of Loktantrik Janata Dal, Sharad Yadav. Sources said RJD has also staked claim on Supaul seat, currently held by Ranjeet Ranjan of Congress. The Congress wants Shoehar, Darbhanga , Munger and other few seats for upper caste candidates knowing well how it could impact the RJDs own vote base among backward classes and minorities. We cannot just give away the seats for the sake of alliance and hurt our own electoral base, which backs us and our allies in the name of social justice championed long by RJD chief Lalu Prasad, said, a senior RJD leader, wishing not to be quoted. Though RJD is working hard to remove the hurdles for an amicable seat adjustment deal, its top brass is said to be playing hardball in negotiations risking even the possibility of the alliance breaking up in case Congress walks out. RJD leaders claim the Congress having contested lok Sabha polls alone in 2009 had not been able to win good number of seats though it hurt the RJDs poll stocks equally. Congress contesting alone in Bihar in the forthcoming elections would only hurt the BJP led NDA and not the RJD led coalition as the backwards and minorities are with us, said another RJD leader, claiming the party cannot give in to the pressure of Congress poll managers for higher number of seats. The RJD contested 27 seats in 2014 lok sabha and we are ready to give away some seats to accommodate other allies. The Congress having contested 13 seats including Tariq Anwar should also leave few seats, he added. That apart, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhis assertive stand of being allotted higher number of seats than Congress has further complicated matters as Manjhi, having a track record of switching sides, could dump the GA, sources said. RJD has promised Manjhi only one seat, Gaya whereas the HAM(S) chief wants to contest Jehanabad as well, a seat considered another RJD stronghold. RJDs national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP, Manoj Jha said the seat adjustments in the GA would be completed within a weeks time. We hope to finalise it within next one week, he said. HIGHLIGHTS: SEAT Sharing blues in GA. # Seat sharing arrangement talks in Grand Alliance ( GA) has remained inconclusive so far as RJD and Congress are yet to finalise the number of seats to be contested by each partner. RJD is keen on giving Congress only 10 seats whereas Congress poll managers have demanded 19 seats/ # Differences have cropped up between RJD-Congress on seat to seat adjustment. While Congress is eyeing Sheohar, Darbhanga and Munger, RJD does not want to give these seats. RJD claims these seats have partys higher electoral base. # HAM(S) chief and former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi is unhappy with RJD for not being given two seats, Gaya and Jehanabad. RJD has only promised him Gaya. Manjhi is now talking tough , demanding higher number of seats than Congress. # RLSP and left partners including CPI-ML(Liberation) may get good number of seats, RLSP could get four seats including Karakat, Motihari and Ujiarpur while ML could get Ara and Siwan. CPMs demand for Ujiarpur seat is still undecided. CPI may not get Begusarai seat as RJD is keen on fielding senior leader Tanvir Hassan. Congress state president Madan Mohan Jha said the final talks on seat sharing with RJD and other allies would begin shortly and all issues involving seat adjustment would be settled amicably with an eye on handing over a crushing defeat to the BJP led NDA on all 40 lok sabha seats in Bihar. HAM(S) chief and former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said his party had a much bigger base than that was being made out in their case and the party would not settle down anything less than a honourable seat share. I am in the Grand alliance and talks on seat adjustment is still going on. Nothing is finalised as yet and we are confident of being given our due share , he said. Manjhi , having already met Tejashwi and Congress national president Rahul Gandhi, is scheduled to meet RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Saturday this week. Total No of Seats: 40 In 2014: RJD contested --27 Congress Contested-12 Katihar sitting MP, Tariq Anwar, formerly with NCP, is now with Congress. That makes 13 for Congress The third iteration of the action-comedy franchise, Dabangg, is all set to go on floors with the lead actors Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha getting back together for the film. Dabangg 3 will be about how Salmans character Chulbul Pandey turned into the person that he is. A Mumbai Mirror report quoted Dabangg producer Arbaaz Khan as saying, We start shooting in the first week of April in Maheshwar and later move to Wai and Mumbai. Arbaaz had turned director with Dabangg 2 and Prabhudeva will direct the third part. Also read: Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha attend friends wedding reception before beginning work on Dabangg 3. See pics It also quoted a source as saying, The team has also conducted a recce in Jaipur recently where a song was being planned, but a final call on that sequence is yet to be taken. Director Prabhudheva is currently busy with Street Dancer with Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor in London. Once he returns to India in mid-March, the Dabangg 3 team will begin prep for the shoot. Sonu Sood played the antagonist in Dabangg and Prakash Raj was the villain in Dabangg 2. Kannada actor Sudeep will step in for the antagonists role in Dabangg 3, the tabloid reported. Also read: Has Sara Ali Khan moved out of mother Amrita Singhs home? Heres the actors reply Salman Khan is currently working on Ali Abbas Zafars period drama, Bharat, where he will be seen opposite Katrina Kaif. Sonakshi, on the other hand, is shooting in Punjab with rapper Badshah and Varun Sharma for Shilpi Dasguptas film. The duo will then come together for Da-Bangg dance tour in Dubai in March, before beginning Dabangg 3 shoot. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Saif Ali Khan is currently looking forward to the second season of the hit web series Sacred Games and has a few more interesting projects in his kitty. The actor will now be seen wielding a sword in his next film Taanaji -- while Saif will be seen as Bhan Singh, Ajay plays the 17th century Maratha military leader Tanaji Malusare in the period drama. Calling Taanaji his first epic-style story, Saif shared how he is happy to be back with Ajay after their last film together, Omkara in 2006. The Tashan actor recently told Mumbai Mirror in an interview, Ajay is someone I look up to as an actor and a movie star. Hes a low-profile guy with a strong sense of family, is committed to his work and guards his privacy. Hes successful, with just the right amount of exposure at the right time. Thats how Id like to see myself too. However, he refuses to call his character the antagonist but instead calls it a lovely role. He said in the same interview, These definitions dont mean anything. Udaybhan Singh Rathod, a great warrior who works as a mercenary for the Mughals, is not your regular baddie but doomed Shakespearean hero who ends up on the other side. Even in Amar Katha comics he comes across as a cool dude, the kind Johnny Depp has brought to the screen. Also read: Saif Ali Khan on son Taimur: Unfortunately, I live with the biggest internet star and I get clicked often Besides Taanaji, Saif is also working on another period revenge drama titled Hunter and claims that he has never pushed himself so hard. He is also keen to work in Go Goa Gone 2 but revealed that the film is currently facing some rights issue. The actor has also confirmed doing a horror comedy titled Bhoot Police and his home production Jawani Janeman, a slice-of-life film about a dysfunctional family. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Saif Ali Khan is aware of how big a star his son Taimur is and doesnt mind taking him out for walks under the prying eyes of the paparazzi. While he doesnt care about his own looks off the camera, he knows that his son is the biggest internet star. In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, Saif spoke about how he expects Taimur to grow up as a humble human being and know the worth of what hes got. Talking about Taimurs popularity, the actor said, Unfortunately, I live with the biggest internet star, Taimur Ali Khan, so the paparazzi is always parked outside and I get clicked often. If you ask my two-year-old son where the media is, he will point out of the window. However, the actor hopes that the little one will develop humility as he grows up. The actor calls him fortunate to be born a Pataudi and wants him to more conscious and conscientious than him. He claimed to have not realised the worth of being privileged enough to get the chance to go to Winchester College and get work in film industry when there were more talented people than him Hoping to nurture him the right way, the actor said in the interview, During the day, hes waddling around the house, but in the evening, when I dim the lights, light the candles, put on some music, hes happy to sit quietly with Kareena and me, drinking his milk, soaking in the ambience. As a parent I can only nurture him. Saif has just returned to Mumbai with Taimur and Kareena after spending some quality time with his mother Sharmila Tagore at their Pataudi Palace in Gurgaon. Also read: Deepika Padukones comment on husband Ranveer Singhs crazy dance video is bang on. Watch video Saif Ali Khan is currently working on the second season of the hit web series Sacred Games. He will return as Inspector Sartaj Singh, who is on his way to unravel the entire story of gangster Ganesh Gaitonde, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The show is expected to arrive around July this year. Follow @htshowbiz for more Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonass high-profile wedding and reception may have been over but the celebrity couple is always in limelight. The couple attended Game of Thrones star Sophie Turners birthday party on February 21 and pictures and videos form the celebration are all over the internet now. Sophie turned 23 on Thursday. In videos and pictures from the bash, we see Priyanka and Nick taking part in the celebrations. Priyanka is simply dressed in a black sweater, pair of jeans and heels while Nick is casually attired in a pair of white trousers, T-shirt and brown jacket. Watch: Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas at Sophie Turners birthday party Priyanka took to Instagram to wish Sophie and hoped to see as a bride soon. To one of the most beautiful, fun people Ive known. Happy birthday @sophiet you are loved! I cant wait to see you as a bride. You will be stunning! Have a brilliant year love.. #jsisters 4eva! @joejonas you r the most thoughtful! Last night was epic. In fact, Nick took to Instagram and wished Sophie via an Instagram story. He wrote: Happy birthday @sophiet youre such a rockstar! Love you! In another video clip Priyanka can be seen standing with husband Nick, while to her right is socialite Paris Hilton. They seem to be bonding well. Also read: Deepika Padukones comment on husband Ranveer Singhs crazy dance video is bang on. Watch video In another video, shared by Joe, Sophie smiles at the camera when the spotlight is on her and then quickly moves on to capture the moves of a professional dancer, swaying to music. Sophie can be seen sporting a tiny golden dress with a pair of golden sandals. Meanwhile, on the work front, Priyanka is busy promoting her new Hollywood film, Isnt It Romantic where she co-stars with Liam Hemsworth and Rebel Wilson. She was also in news when some on social media thought she was pregnant after seeing, what many thought, to be a baby bump. The actors mother, Madhu Chopra, however, blamed it on bad angle of the camera, squashing all such rumour. She told Mid-Day, The outfit was nice. She looked like that only in some pictures, the rest were fine. Blame it on the camera angle! Follow @htshowbiz for more The Ministry of Human Resource Development has turned down a request by Delhis Jamia Millia Islamia to confer an honorary doctorate degree on Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, saying the actor has already received one from a different university, according to an RTI response. Shah Rukh, who is a former student of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), had given his consent to the proposal of an honorary degree. The varsity sent a request for the same to Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry last year. JMI wrote to HRD for conferring Honoris Causa to Shah Rukh Khan. The HRD did not agree as he has already been conferred the degree by Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANNU) in 2016, Jamia Millia Islamia said in response to a RTI query by The Indian Express. HRD officials, when contacted, said there are no fixed rules regarding awarding of such degrees multiple time, but the practice is usually discouraged. The actor was a masters student of JMIs mass communication research centre, but he could not appear for his final year exam due to shortage of attendance. Bollywood actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar and girlfriend Shibani Dandekar seem to be celebrating their first anniversary via their latest social media posts. The couple is currently holidaying at a Mexico beach from where they shared the new photo. Farhan and Shibani have shared the same picture - a loved-up image of the duo and wrote alongside, Three Six Five. While Farhan accompanied it with an emoji of a trophy, Shibani put up emojis of gun and heart. Neither Farhan nor Shibani have confirmed their relationship officially but the duo does not shy away from sharing pictures full of love and romance on Instagram. I feel a picture speaks a thousand words. When I post a picture, people can see clearly. I dont think I need to write captions, pictures show everything clearly., Shibani had earlier said when asked about her relationship with Farhan. Also read: Katrina Kaif chooses to fly when she cannot walk due to ankle injury. Watch her workout video Farhan divorced his wife of 16 years and celebrity hairstylist Adhuna Bhabani in 2016. This is to announce that we, Adhuna and Farhan, have mutually and amicably decided to separate. Our children remain our priority and it is immensely important to us, as responsible parents, that they be protected from unwarranted speculation and public glare. We sincerely request that we are given the privacy that is required at this time to move forward in a dignified manner, the couple announced the divorce in a joint statement. Farhan and Adhuna have two daughters - Shakya and Akira. Follow @htshowbiz for more The Madhya Pradesh government will need about 6,000 acres of land to accommodate one lakh cows and its progeny as proposed by chief minister Kamal Nath, state government officials said on Friday. There are about seven lakh stray cows in the state and the state government plans to develop 1,000 cow shelters to provide home to one lakh of them initially. The Congress in its manifesto in the run-up to the state assembly elections had promised a cow shelter for every panchayat in the state. According to the proposal of the panchayati raj department, each cow shelter will be built on one acre of land to house 1,000 cows and will have five acres of land for grazing. If we have to provide shelter to all stray cows in the state, we will need 42,000 acres of land as per the norms decided for setting up 1,000 cow shelters, said a government official familiar with the discussion on the subject. The official said the department has started looking for land to set up of 1,000 cow shelters, announced in the interim budget this year. However, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed that there was not enough land to set up these cow shelters as the Digvijaya Singh government in 2003 introduced a policy to reduce grazing land to 2% from 5% to allocate land to landless people, resulting in cattle in villages being deprived of grazing land. Leader of Opposition in state assembly and BJPs, Gopal Bharagava, said, There is hardly any land available at panchayats since Digvijaya Singh government reduced grazing land norms for villages. The government also knows it well. Hence, the governments only intention is to keep the issue alive till Lok Sabha polls for Congresss political gains. Animal husbandry minister, Lakhan Singh Yadav, said, Unlike BJP which talks of cows just for political gains, the Congress government is committed to opening goshalas (cow shelters). It has already started the initiative and results will be there for all to see. The then BJP government had fixed a meagre amount of Rs 4.50 per cow for expenses in cow shelter. The Congress government has increased the amount to Rs 20 per cow. According to some, an apology which comes 100 years after the incident is mere tokenism . Countless reasons have been given not to apologise, for instance : the Jallianwala Bagh massacre apology should have come in 1919 itself , when the issue was discussed in the British Parliament. Or it should have been offered when the Queen visited the Bagh in 1997. Or, whose feelings will an apology assuage , when both those who suffered and those who perpetuated the oppression upon them, are no more? These are commonly quoted arguments, but they fall flat when one examines the circumstances which existed in Punjab in 1919, and the shocking cruelties which continued even after the killings. It is clear that those who have not apologised may not be aware of the truth of what happened 100 years ago. Nor are they aware that the narrative, being increasingly told from the Indian perspective, is very disturbing. The UK should apologise because its government had at one time reduced the people of Punjab to the status of slaveswho could be humiliated to force the realisation upon them that they were an inferior race and could not be the equal of the British in any way. This was despite the fact that Punjabis had demonstrated their loyalty by giving the most number of soldiers to fight in World War I. One of the reasons for a poor understanding of the tragedy is that immediately after the massacre, many of the official documents were suppressed, and official hearings were held in camera. Then, to make matters worse, all the government documents, correspondence and private papers till 1947 were taken back to the UK, just before independence. This meant that unless Indian scholars had the resources to work to gather all the material, it would be difficult to get access to evidence which could put Britain in the dock . Consequently, most literature published in the UK around the massacre focused on one man, Brigadier General Reginald Dyer. The Empire was able to systematically dismiss the killings as a misjudgment on his part. Even then, justifications were given for Dyers actions and this old narrative continues in the new books coming out the UK during this centenary year. Indeed there is a constant attempt to whitewash and recently a British TV channel actually asked me if there was a Raj nostalgia in India! It is obvious from the documentary evidence which has emerged in the past few decades that the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was a planned murder of innocents. Apart from the horrific killings and their cover up, the impact of the massacre on the economy and social fabric of Amritsar and many of the cities of undivided Punjab also needs to be considered. Many urban centres were destroyed for decades. Thousands of households were left without an earning male member, as a majority of those who were massacred and others who were imprisoned and tortured, were still young. This led to a destruction of Amritsars thriving economy and arrested the growth of the educated middle class. Punjab was where the Lieutenant Governor Sir Michael ODwyer unleashed his particularly cruel brand of Martial Law punishments following the massacre in order to suppress any so-called rebellion. Due to the prevalent racist attitude at the time, we know the names of the handful of British who died in the troubles of 1919, but we still do not have a complete list of all the thousands of Indians killed. . Not just for the massacre, the British must apologise for allowing so many of their British subjects to be obliterated so ruthlessly in 1919. And finally, the UK should apologise as India is now an equal partner, fast becoming a super power, with a strong sense of dignity. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre may have been a part of the overall repressive colonialism existing at the time, but it is an extremely important symbol, as it brought momentum to the freedom struggle. One can only urge the UK to acknowledge that this new self-reliant India has a deep wound which needs to be recognised. Kishwar Desai is an award winning author and columnist. Her new book, Jallianwala Bagh, 1919, The Real Story, has just been published The views expressed are personal Another slave meal, called the Passover Meal among Christians and Jews, and celebrated by Jesus at the Last Supper, is the essential act of worship among Christians and Jews, his statement said. In the Passover meal Jews and Christians remember being slaves in Egypt for 400 years and being freed by God. A slave meal remembers that people were slaves in our nation's history, and were freed by God and the demands of universal justice and freedom. Later, as we ate lunch, I looked around the room at the restaurant and wondered how many people sitting there knew the story of polio and its many effects. In 1944, people fearing polio rode through towns in cars or trains with the windows completely rolled up. Swimming pools were completely drained in many towns during the summer because the fear of the disease being transmitted through water. Fear remained palpable because polio could strike anyone at any time, but it especially affected children, and parents feared their kids were next. By the 1950s, it was the most dreaded infectious disease in the country. Following the war, several doctors, most notably Jonas Salk and Albert Sabine worked on different vaccines to combat the poliomyelitis virus. The Salk vaccine trials began in 1954 and became the largest public health experiment in history. Over a million school children participated in the trials. These "polio pioneers" were either given the test vaccine or a placebo. Records of test progress were kept on IBM punch cards making the trials one of the first medical evaluations to be recorded on computers. On April 12, 1955 - ten years to the day of FDRs death at Warm Springs, Georgia - a place he had personally bought in order to help rehabilitate polio patients - the results of the Salk trials were announced. The vaccine proved reliable. The Pittsburgh Gazette simply wrote, Polio is Conquered. Other newspapers recorded church bells ringing in their communities and individuals weeping openly. Most people heard the results of the trials on the radio. My dad was eight years old. A bipartisan group of state House legislators is making another attempt at banning the use of cellphones and other wireless communication devices while driving. House Bill 144, submitted Thursday, is titled Hands Free NC. Among the four primary sponsors is Rep. Jon Hardister, R-Guilford. The legislation would prohibit the use of a wireless device in the drivers hand or being supported by the drivers body. The bill would not allow a driver to watch a video or movie on a wireless device, or communicate via video. The legislation incorporates the prohibition of texting by all drivers that became law in 2009. Current North Carolina law bans cellphone use by drivers under age 18 and school bus drivers. No state bans the use of cellphones for all drivers. HB144 would allow motorists age 18 and older to use a wireless device if it is affixed, mounted or installed in the vehicle and can begin, answer and end a call with a single button push. It would allow for the use of a cellphones GPS as long as the address was entered before operating the vehicle. A Maiden woman will spend at least four years in prison for solicitation to commit a sexual offense with a child, according to a press release from 36th District Attorney Scott Reillys office. Amy Norris Branch, 38, pleaded guilty to three counts of the charge in Catawba County Superior Court on Thursday. Branch, who was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Daniel Kuehnert of Burke County, will also have to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life and submit to lifetime satellite-based monitoring. Her sentence will run concurrent with a 2017 Davie County conviction that is set to expire in January 2020, the release states. Branch and a co-defendant admitted to drugging a 10-year-old female victim with Benadryl and touching her inappropriately, according to the release. The co-defendant, Jamie Merritt, also admitted to engaging in oral sex with the child. These events occurred on three separate occasions in September 2010. Merritt will spend 20 to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of first-degree statutory sex offense in Catawba County in January. There is no easy fix, and while I am very pleased with the progress that has been made, Id hate to see us start sliding in the other direction, he stated, referring to a return to the years when deputies and teachers had salary freezes, did not get their steps and fell behind their colleagues in other jurisdictions. ****************** MID-MONTH MADNESS WINNERS GRAND PRIZE WINNER - Roxanne Cruz BLOG WINNER: Melanie Backus Individual Winners: Nancy: Amazon Gift Card: Connie Ruggles Contest #2 (not sure of prize): Marilyn Ridgeway Naomi: Ebook of Love Coward and swag: Darla Fillmore Catherine: Reader's choice of Destiny Series book: Deb Allard Vicki: Anonymous Bride: Darla Fillmore Mutiny of the Heart: Marilyn Ridgeway Linda: Ebook of Gold Rush Bride Hannah: Avis Powers Ebook of Gold Rush Bride Hannah: Nancy Costello ***************** GIVEAWAY RULES Winners must leave their email address and will be notified by email and the winne r s name will be anno unced in the days comments. No one under 18 can enter our giveaways. No purchase is necessary. All winners have one week to claim their prize. USA shipping only. Offer void where prohibited. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Offer a personal message of sympathy... By sharing a fond memory or writing a kind tribute, you will be providing a comforting keepsake to those in mourning. If you have an existing account with this site, you may log in with that below. Otherwise, you can create an account by clicking on the Log in button below, and then register to create your account. (JNS)Its a familiar refrain. Critics of Israel arent content to merely bash the policies of the government of the Jewish state. As part of their indictment, they allege that Israeli politics is conducted in a racial manner. The accusations start with claims that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used racist rhetoric against Arab voters in 2015. The latest charge has been lodged against Netanyahus principle opponent in this years election, former Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff General Benny Gantz. He is accused of basing his successful campaign rollout on his military record during which he led the countrys counter-attacks against Hamas terrorists in Gaza. In what one Palestinian advocate writing in The Forward claimed is a reverse beauty contest, the vote in the Middle Easts only democracy was portrayed as being largely driven by celebrating the killing, abuse, impoverishment and incitement against Palestinians. It bemoaned ads that are glorifying killing Palestinians, destroying our homes, mocking our way of life... and holding up our murderers as patriots. But there are two things that are deeply wrong about this argument. One is that it took Netanyahus comments out of context and mischaracterizes the ads run by Gantz, as well as some Likud Knesset members like former Shin Bet head Avi Dichter. Its also wrong because those who throw around largely inaccurate charges about Israeli racism seem to have no interest in the incontrovertible proof that anti-Semitism from the Palestinian Authority and Hamas spews forth on a daily basis from their official organs and educational system. What they broadcast, publish and teach is objectively hateful in a way that Israeli statements lambasted by critics are not. It is also directly linked to acts of violence, such as the horrific murder of an Israeli teenager last week. That killer has now admitted not only to the crime, but pointedly told the Israeli police that he had nationalist motives in seeking out a Jewish girl for rape and murder. Its no use trying to pretend that such heinous acts are not encouraged and rewarded by mainstream Palestinian society. As for evidence of Israeli racism, lets concede that the Jewish state has its share of louts, hotheads and yes, haters. But such people are not lauded as heroes or role models. They are generally condemned and face prosecution if they translate their vile talk into unlawful action. The evidence for Netanyahus racism is based on a single comment he made during last-minute campaign stops on election day in 2015 in which he said: The right-wing government is in danger. Arab voters are coming out in droves to the polls. Left-wing organizations are busing them out. That sounds bad, and it is. It earned Netanyahu condemnation from Israeli Arabs, as well as President Barack Obama. The prime minister subsequently apologized. But appearances notwithstanding, all he was pointing out was that if his base of voters didnt turn out, the Joint List of Arab parties would earn a larger share of the vote and block the creation of a Likud-led government. Moreover, he was also not wrong about European NGOs intervening in the election and seeking to bolster the vote of the Arab coalition, which is split between supporters of Hamas and secular factions that also want to see the Jewish state eliminated. Seeking to offset their influence is reasonable, not proof of racism, even if Netanyahu chose his words badly. As for the ads by Gantz and Dichter, the claims in The Forward that their boasts about their role in fighting terrorists were racist is risible. Dichter has nothing to apologize for in speaking of his part in taking out Hamas killers like Yahya Ayyash and Ahmad Jabari. The same is true about Gantzs command of a 2014 counter-offensive against Hamas terror. Claiming that it is offensive for him to speak of the price Hamas was made to pay is as ridiculous as it would have been to assert that it was in bad taste for Gen. Dwight Eisenhower to campaign for president of the United States in 1952 on the strength of his actions as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces that defeated Nazi Germany. But the difference here is that while genuine racism exists in Israelas it does in any other society of imperfect human beingsto claim that the government promotes hate is a bold-faced lie. To the contrary, classic anti-Semitic tropes and blood libels are a staple of the Palestinian Authoritys official press, broadcast media and education system. The same is true of the Hamas government of Gaza. Moreover, the P.A. continues, despite threats of aid cutoffs from the United States, to pay salaries and pensions to imprisoned terrorists and their families. This reflects a consensus within Palestinian society that those who commit acts of violence against Jews and Israelis are role models and heroes to be celebrated, rather than to be shunned. Will it be any different for the murderer of Ori Ansbacher, a teenager from the settlement of Tekoa who was doing national service for her country? The Israeli media has reported that the murderer is affiliated with Hamas and said he wanted to be a martyr. Unfortunately, nothing that has happened up until now gives us much hope that most Palestinians will treat the death of a Jewish teenager as anything other than a victory for their cause, no matter how egregious the crime. Neither Israel nor its citizens are perfect. But friends of Israel can be proud of the efforts of the Israel Defense Forces to spare innocent lives even when it means that sometimes terrorists might escape. Moreover, its political system, however flawed it might be, rests on democratic principles that ensure that Israeli Arabs are equal before the law and have rights to representation unknown elsewhere in the region. Those who wish to talk about racism should point their barbs at Palestinian leaders who bear personal responsibility for creating an environment in which nationalist murders like that of Ansbacher are made possible, not at Israel. Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNSJewish News Syndicate. Follow him on Twitter at: @jonathans_tobin. NEW YORK (JTA)Rep. Ilhan Omar picked a funny week to tweet about the power of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Last week, the Senate passed a bill that targets the boycott Israel movement. The 77-23 vote was a nice win for AIPAC, which backed it, but also held some worrying news for the pro-Israel lobby. While Republicans were nearly unanimous in their support, Democrats were mostly split: 25 for and 22 against. Even if you were able to erase AIPAC from the picture, its not clear how much the landscape would change. Israel is a pretty easy sell in the United States. Jews vote and donate to political campaigns out of proportion to their numbers. Evangelical Christians are more uncritical than Jews in their support for Israel. Americans as a whole are more likely to see their values reflected in Israels robust if flawed democracy than among the dictatorships, monarchies and theocracies that surround it. The vote on the boycott bill raises the possibility that those factors cannot be taken for granted, as a resistance to pro-Israel messaging is growing on the left. In a pair of notorious tweets this weekend, Omar leapfrogged these complexities to offer a simple explanation for U.S. policymaking on Israel: Its all about the Benjaminsin other words, money. When pressed by the Forwards opinion editor, Batya Ungar-Sargon, to explain who she thinks is paying American politicians to be pro-Israel, the first-term congresswoman from Minnesota replied AIPAC! Critics were quick to point out that she was wrong on facts (AIPAC is not a political action committee and does not spend money on political campaigns) and appeared to dip into an age-old trope about Jewish money and influence. Dan Shapiro, the U.S. ambassador to Israel under Obama, tweeted that her outrageous comments equating politicians support for Israel with being bought off by American Jewish money are a vile anti-Semitic trope. Combined with her past comments about Israel, including the notion that its government has hypnotized the world, few were willing to give the Muslim-American lawmaker the benefit of the doubt. Ill try. Lets say, as her supporters suggested, that her comments were merely about the influence of money in politics. Its undeniable that AIPAC exerts enormous influence in politics. It doesnt give money directly to politicians, but it serves as a force multiplier: Its rhetorical support for a candidate is a signal to Jewish PACs and individual donors across the country to back his or her campaign. Although AIPAC spends far less than mega-lobbies like the NRA, politicians looking to signal their own pro-Israel bona fides to potential voters and donors attend its annual conference and participate in its tours to Israel. And honestly, money plays an outsize influence in American politics. Its fair game to talk about a system that allows NRA, Big Pharma, the energy sector, Wall Street and hundreds of other lobbies to push their own interests over policies that perhaps the majority of Americans consider sensible. And Twitter can be a lousy place to debate Middle East policy and campaign finance. Maybe if pressed, Omar might offer more than a one-wordor, actually, one-acronymsummary of what she thinks is wrong with U.S. Mideast policymaking. But in invoking AIPAC! as a metonym for the influence of money in politics was a minefield, and the idea that she doesnt know that by now is implausible. Rather it looks like she is happy to bait her critics, even if it means ignoring how her words will be taken as dog whistles. You can plead innocence the first time you say something offensive or play with a stereotype, I suppose. Keep doing it and it looks like a feature, not a bug. Ill concede that it is a little about the Benjamins. Political power is expressed in America through money, and supporters of Israel have been supportive and strategic in deploying their resources. But it is not only about the money, and saying otherwise is what gets you into bigoted territory. The pro-Israel lobby isnt hypnotizing anybody. Nor is it bribing them to betray their own beliefs. It supports sympathetic candidates as any good interest group would, and ignores those it doesnt see as friends. You know, like Emilys List. Or MoveOn.org. Or any of the interest groups that donated thousands to Omars own congressional campaign. I doubt Omar would say her views line up with, for example, the Service Employees International Union only because they donated to her campaign. The Democratic candidates who voted against the anti-BDS bill didnt wake up from an AIPAC-induced trance. They looked at a changing electoral landscape and felt they would gain more by opposing the bill than voting for it. Thats politics. Yes, money distorts the calculus. Our politics and country would probably be better off if campaigning wasnt a never-ending money chase. But Omars insistence that but for the grace of AIPAC politicians would take her side on Palestine is uninformed and reductionary. Maybe thats not anti-Semitism, but it is nothing to be proud of. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media. Andrew Silow-Carroll is editor in chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. This is part 4 of a four-part series. While ultimately the Israeli voters will make their choice on April 9, there are any number of external factors that could influence the elections outcome, including things like a war and increased terror, the anticipated Trump Peace Plan, diplomatic achievements including high profile state visits, and countries moving their embassies could play significant factors, among others. As the incumbent, Netanyahu has the benefit of making and hosting international state visits between now and the election. Its anticipated he will do so, something hes very good at, and from which he will derive the benefits of the achievements that go with them including trade, tourism, diplomacy, and more. A few well-timed visits of heads of state to Israel (look toward Brazil and possibly an Arab leader) would underscore Netanyahu to be the statesman he is often credited as. If a few more countries move their embassies to Jerusalem, this will be celebrated as a major achievement, again scoring points for Netanyahu. It will be hard for any other political party to counter this. Its not uncommon preceding an election to see a rise in terrorism where terror groups try to flex their muscle. This is as much related to Israeli domestic considerations as it is internal fighting and posturing among themselves. Its also how terror groups assert their relevance and control over the populations they dominate. Specifically, fighting between respective Palestinian Arab terror groups Fatah and Hamas could also spill over and lead to Israel getting hit. The irony in this is that if they truly wanted peace they would refrain from terror because a rise in terror will typically see a tilt to the right in terms of the election. And its the Israeli left that is considered more likely to go out of its way to make peace, at least as part of its platform and campaign. Security threats in Lebanon, Syria, and from Iran in particular could explode and lead to an all-out war, even if on a small scale. Likely that would tip the balance to the right. But if there were to be something cataclysmic, it could go the other way. The ultimate game changer would be the appearance of a serious Palestinian Arab leader ready to sit down and make peace. While its less likely that peace will break out than war will break out, were that to happen, it would put Netanyahu, as the presumptive winner, on the spot to respond in kind. That could alienate the more right-wing parties and faction within Likud, and put a wind in the sail of the center-left parties who tend to be viewed as pro-peace at the expense of defense. Other things to look for: There is an interesting theory that the April 2019 election will become an Israeli version of midterm elections as in the U.S. The thinking goes that a 2019 vote is just a warm up for a 2020 vote. There are a few reasons why this might be the case. If President Trump unveils his peace plan after the next government is formed, this could trigger new elections because certain likely partners in the new government will protest and or quit the coalition. If that happens, and unless Netanyahu would be able to bring center-left parties into a new coalition to form a majority without elections, that could be inevitable. If the Trump Peace Plan were truly embraced by the Arab world, it might be hard for the center-left parties to stay out of the government and pass up a true chance for peace even with their animosity toward Netanyahu. Netanyahus possible indictment could also play a factor. There are many steps. First the attorney general would need to recommend an indictment. Then the prime minister would have time to have a hearing to confront the accusations and accusers, and only then a determination as to whether an indictment would be made. Presumably much of this would take place after the April election. Depending on the outcome and the nature of the charges against Netanyahu, there could be a demand that he resign. This could be part of a plea deal with the attorney general, by popular demand by the nation, or a simple vote of no confidence where the coalition he puts together falls apart. In any case, if Netanyahu falls, there could be another election in 2020 both for his successor in the Likud party (several presumptive candidates are waiting to step in) and within the country. What to Pray For: First, I encourage you to pray that no matter the nastiness or the outcome, Israels enemies wont be emboldened and feel theres an opportunity to increase terror or engage in an all-out war. Please pray that Israels security, and resolve to confront its enemies remain strong. Please pray that political divisiveness will not be worse than before, and that it will not create or widen rifts that already exist politically, and throughout Israeli society. Pray that a government will be formed, and its leaders will be called and inspired by God to lead and serve, and have the capacities to do so. Pray that He who governs the universe will enable the right people to serve at a time such as this. Pray that God will continue and strengthen His divine protection over Israel as he has done since Abraham answered His call, both to keep Israel secure and to affirm His dominion in the world. Pray that as unlikely as it was that 600,000 Jews in 1948 were able to form a country that thrives today with nearly 9 million, through His covering of Israel those who do not know Him will come to learn and worship His greatness. Finally, please pray for the Arab and Lebanese people in particular. Pray that their leaders and the terrorists who have hijacked their societies are inspired to do good for their people and stop making the destruction of Israel their raison detre. Pray that God will change their hearts, both that they should know Him, and that they should bless His chosen people. And pray that if there is another war and Israel needs to respond in a devastating way to eliminate the storehouses of weapons hidden among civilian homes, schools, and mosques, that at least the outcome of this will be peace, as devastating as it may be. Pray that those who live above or next to these weapons will get out in time and even guide Israel to destroy the weapons and leave as many civilians unharmed as possible. As complicated and even nasty as Israels election season is, the biblical significance is no less so. This is all about Gods restoration of the Jewish people to the Land He deeded Abraham and his decedents. Jonathan Feldstein was born and educated in the U.S. and immigrated to Israel in 2004. He is married and the father of six and became a grandfather in 2018. Throughout his life and career, he has been blessed by the calling to fellowship with Christian supporters of Israel and serve as a bridge between Jews and Christians. He shares insights and experiences of living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel, writing for prominent Christian and conservative web sites and appearing on many Christian TV and radio programs. He is the president of Run for Zion and the Genesis 123 Foundation. He can be reached at firstpersonisrael@gmail.com and via http://www.runforzion.com. (JNS)Freshman Congresswoman Ilhan Omar from Minnesota is only part of the story of the colonialist settling of anti-Semitism in the highest echelons of the American democratic power system. Her financial support from CAIR, an unindicted co-conspirator in a terror financing trial, a group she raised money for, is readily available for those who seek information. And theyve begun right now generating financial support for her 2020 campaign. Her disingenuous disguising of her BDS support was published. Her obvious anti-Semitism is not new. But there is another part to her story. Jews. No, not the Jews she has targeted. Not the Jews she has besmirched. Not the Jews she has placed in the cross-hairs in a gross intersectionality of hatred with the white supremacists, whose belief in Jewish money she had justified. No, the Jews who support her and identify with her agenda. Mostly on social-media platforms, but in mainstream media outlets as well, Jews have been trying to extend her support, justify her spew and ratchet up the anti-Semitic poison. Thats right. Jews. Their ideological political stance is one that plays on anti-Semitic tropes even more than Omar. Even Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recognized it, tweeting that shes: inspired by Jewish leadership who brought her in, not push her out, to heal. In this interim summary, some of the social-media conversation reacting to Omars anti-Semitism can be found but there is much more. Let me make some selections. Here is a tweet from Jewish Voice for Peace: We #standwithIlhan and appreciate her response to the impact of word choices but it isnt really about words here, its about all of our abilities to critique @aipac. As JVPs Executive Director @rvilkomerson said earlier... Lobbies influence politics, I dont think thats controversial to say. Sure, lobbies influence politics, but Omar tweeted that they bought the votes of politicians. That attracted (and this is the danger) a response such as this: Hear, hear. Courage to critique pro-occupation, in the hope of finding peace is not anti-Israel, its pro HUMAN RIGHTS. Human rights is part of the equation, but so, too, is human rights for Jews. Arab terror that killed Jews began long before any supposed illegal occupation. Jews have a right to live in peace and security. JVP hyped it higher, subsequently tweeting: Amid ongoing attempts to smear @IlhanMN as antisemitic & attacks against her fueled by racism & Islamophobia, were reflecting on this quote from the #TorahOfAngelaDavis: Antisemitism and racism are historically linked. Calling up one unleashes the other. No smear is there but an actual classic anti-Semitic theme was expressed by Omar but JVP Jews are out-Omaring Omar. And finally, JVP let loose with this: ... now progressive Dems like Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are challenging this bipartisan commitment to an apartheid state. Playing the apartheid card, by Jews, is simply heinous. They know it is not true, but they push it as part of their progressive agenda. IfNotNow was also quite active fomenting anti-Israel attitudes. In one, they wrote: Presidential hopefuls are going against AIPAC, especially when they legislate peoples speech when criticizing Israel. Only a few years ago, this wouldve been unthinkableour movements are transforming the political landscape, and were not stopping. How can they be happy at a transformation that is morally corrupting the American political landscape while messaging untruths about Israel? These are also Jews who delight in making things worse for Jews. Take Ady Barkan who, responding to an IfNotNow tweet, wrote in a thread to strengthen the link between Jews and money: AIPAC is a central pillar of the occupation. Without Congressional support, the Likud/anti-Palestine/pro-occupation project would be radically undermined. AIPAC is the anchor of that support, and its money and Sheldon Adelsons money are indispensable to the work. AIPAC supports a two-state solution, by the way. Barkan, who tragically suffers from ALS, holds Israeli citizenship in addition to being an American. And dont skip Simone Zimmerman. Mainstream Jewish media also joined in. The Forward granted guest op-ed space to Peter Feld who opined that No, Ilhan Omar Is Not Anti-Semitic For Calling Out AIPAC. Feld, unidentified in The Forward, has had a Twitter account suspended for his language and, from the snippets I saw, I can guess due to his anti-Semitism. On Dec. 1, he tweeted that the Israel Anti-Boycott Act is a racist law. He has been hosted at the vicious anti-Zionist website Mondoweiss. Haaretz quoted him on May 3, 2016: BDS activist Peter Feld, a writer for the pro-BDS website Mondoweiss, [wrote] that Israel totally meets the definition of apartheid under international law, 2 sets of laws for 2 ethnicities. Just what you boycotted in the 80s. Feld was corresponding with Steve Van Zandt of the E-Street Band, trying, unsuccessfully, to halt Bruce Springsteen from appearing in Israel. And there is the other Peter. Professor Beinart. He tied his own brand of whataboutism with a misrepresentation of the reality in Judea and Samaria, writing in The Forward. ...if were going to demand that politicians apologize for any hint of association with bigotry, lets not stop with Ilhan Omar. Lets hold her critics to the same standard. Establishing two legal systems in the same territoryone for Jews and one for Palestinians, as Israel does in the West Bankis bigotry. Guaranteeing Jews in the West Bank citizenship, due process, free movement and the right to vote for the government that controls their lives while denying those rights to their Palestinian neighbors is bigotry. Its a far more tangible form of bigotry than Omars flirtation with anti-Semitic tropes. Of course, there are two legal systems. Thats international law. Does Beinart want Israel to contravene international law? Article 43 of the Geneva Convention makes it clear: The authority of the legitimate power having in fact passed into the hands of the occupant, the latter shall respect [...] the laws in force in the country. Israel must preserve the previous legal system. Of course, since the system that existed in 1967 was itself of an illegal occupier, Hashemite Jordan, Beinart would be hard put to deny that the true legal system in force guaranteed the Jewish right to close settlement by Jews on the land as Article 6 of the 1922 League of Nations decision states. But beyond such details, what Beinart is doing is being willing to tolerate a high level of anti-Israelism by Omar as long as she cleans up her anti-Semitism. That would be OK for him. Omar need be combated. But be on the lookout for her Jews. Yisrael Medad is an American-born Israeli journalist and commentator. WASHINGTON (JTA)AIPAC sounded relieved by the substantive Democratic backing in the Senate this week for a controversial pro-Israel bill initiated by Republicans. The Strengthening Americas Security in the Middle East Act (S.1), which the American Israel Public Affairs Committee said contains critical pro-Israel provisions, passed 77-23, earning yeas from every Republican but one, Rand Paul of Kentucky. It codifies $38 billion in defense assistance to Israel and provides legal cover to states that target the boycott Israel movement. These provisionscontained in one of the first major bipartisan bills adopted by the Senate this yearpledge security assistance to Israel and clarify that state and local governments have the right to counter boycotts of Israel, AIPAC explained. Not only that, the bipartisan numbers were good: Of 47 senators in the Democratic caucus, 25 voted for the measure to 22 against. The exceptions, however, were notable: Of the seven Senate Democrats who have declared for the presidency or seem poised to, six voted no. Only Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota voted yes. JTA asked all seven for explanations, and five sent replies. Klobuchars staff said she was caught up in hearings, and the office of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., never responded. The five no voters based their opposition to what has been called an anti-BDS bill on free speech concerns about its anti-boycott element, which would provide federal protections for states penalizing boycotters. Some emphasized their support for the other components of the bill, including the defense assistance for Israel, as well as sanctions targeting Syrias Assad regime and the reinforcement of the alliance with Jordan. Cory Booker of New Jersey: I have a strong and lengthy record of opposing efforts to boycott Israel, as evidenced by my cosponsorship of S. 720, the Israel Anti-Boycott Act. However, this specific piece of legislation contains provisions that raise serious First Amendment concerns, and thats why I voted against it. I drafted an amendment to help address these widely-held concerns, but there was no amendment process offered to allow for this bill to be improved. There are ways to combat BDS without compromising free speech, and this bill as it currently stands plainly misses the mark. Sherrod Brown of Ohio: I strongly support additional security cooperation with Israel and Jordan, and holding the Assad regime accountable. However, recent court cases in Kansas and Arizona have raised First Amendment concerns with state laws, therefore, I believe we need to pause on enacting federal legislation while the issue is still pending in court. Kamala Harris of California: Senator Harris strongly supports security assistance to strengthen Israels ability to defend itself. She has traveled to Israel where she saw the importance of U.S.-Israeli security cooperation firsthand. She opposed S.1 out of concern that it could limit Americans First Amendment rights. Bernie Sanders of Vermont: While I do not support the BDS movement, we must defend every Americans constitutional right to engage in political activity. It is clear to me that this bill would violate Americans First Amendment rights. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts: I oppose the boycott. But I think penalizing free speech activity violates our Constitution, so I oppose this bill. So why were the presidential contenders more likely to vote against the kind of bill that pro-Israel typesand a majority of their party colleaguesusually see as a slam dunk? The Republicans want to paint them as soft on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel, although they all oppose BDSas a few said so directly. The anti-Israel left said their votes prove their side is winning. Indeed, polls and various developments have indicated that a growing portion of the Democratic baseespecially progressivesis increasingly critical of the Netanyahu government and vocal in opposing priorities of the pro-Israel lobby. Here are some other possible motives: Fundraising for statewide office vs. fundraising for nationwide office: Presidential campaigns, particularly among Democrats, rely increasingly on small donations from individuals (remember Sanders boasting about his $27 average donation in the 2016 campaign?). An individual motivated to click on donate is likelier to be a partisan, and less sympathetic to a candidate who signed on to a bill initiated by the opposite party. Notably, grassroots Democratic groups, including the hugely influential MoveOn, oppose the anti-BDS bills. Senate campaigns remain more susceptible to issue-driven donors and political action committees who favor lawmakers who cross partisan lines, in order to turn favored bills into law. The ACLU: The American Civil Liberties Union is an influential voice among Democrats, and it has made killing the anti-BDS bills a top priority, which helps embed the message among activists and donors watching the presidential campaign. Gillibrand, notably, did a 180 last year after ACLU representations on a separate anti-BDS bill. The group remains formally non-partisan, however, and will not establish affiliated political action committees or endorse candidates, which diminishes its influence in Senate races. The vision thing: Presidential candidates are under greater pressure to come up with a coherent overall vision, and their opponents will eagerly seek inconsistencies. Democratic candidates will be all about speech freedoms in the face of a president who has unrelentingly attacked the media, and the appearance of penalizing boycotts will not be a good look. Its true that consistency counts in Senate races as well but within a narrower spectrum. Consider two of the Democrats who voted yea, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Gary Peters of Michigan: Both are in states where campaigns have focused mostly on job creation. A free speech inconsistency wont resonate as much. A version of this post first appeared in The Tell, Ron Kampeas weekly newsletter on Jewish news from Washington. ACT for America Central Florida Chapter is hosting a panel discussion on Political Islam and Western Culture on Wednesday evening, Feb. 27 at 6:30 p.m. The event will be held at Fellowship Church, 5340 Red Bug Lake Road in Winter Springs. Panelists Pastor Roger Diaz, Dr. Jonathan Matusitz and Rev. Bruce Lieske will explore political Islams challenges adjusting to the economic and cultural power of a dominant West, and what issues are confronting Islamic governance and our constitutional republic in the modern globalized world. Following the panel discussion there will be ample time for questions and answers. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Robert Dodrill, 321-217-6407. ACT for America is the nations largest grassroots national security organization in America, founded in 2007 by Brigitte Gabriel, who is one of the leading terrorism experts in the world providing information and analysis on the rise of global Islamic terrorism. Mississippi House passes bill banning boycott of Israel By Marcy Oster (JTA)The Mississippi House of Representatives passed a bill that would prevent the state from doing business with companies that boycott Israel. Following the 88-10 vote last week in the lower house of the state Legislature, the measure moves to the Senate. It prevents the state retirement system, treasury and any state government entity from investing in a company that boycotts Israel. The bill calls on the state to develop the list of boycotting companies. Existing investments as of July 1, 2020, would have to be sold within 120 days after the list is published, though exceptions can be made for investments the state determines are necessary. At least 27 states have legislation banning boycotts of Israel, though some are facing legal challenges. Mom of Jewish Parkland victim pens heartbreaking letter to daughter By Josefin Dolsten (JTA)The mother of a 14-year-old Jewish girl killed in the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, last year has penned a heartbreaking letter to her daughter. Lori Alhadeff posted the letter to her daughter Alyssa on a website created to honor her memory. Alyssa was among the 17 people killed on Feb. 14, 2018 at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School by a teenage gunman who once attended the school. Her mothers letter included references to the familys Jewish background. 17 beautiful people we, as a community, needed to bury, Alhadeff wrote. You were the first. The next day, Rabbi Gutnick presided and hundreds of people came from all over the country. If you remember from Bat Mitzvah classes, shivas last seven days when a loved one dies. In those seven days, I got so many hugs from people who loved you. Spanish filmmaker calls to boycott Israel at national film awards ceremony By Cnaan Liphshiz MADRID (JTA)A filmmaker who won a Spanish national film award for a documentary about Gaza called during his acceptance speech for a boycott of Israel, which he called an apartheid state. Director Julio Perez del Campo, whose Gaza, a Look into the Eyes of Barbarism, won the 2019 Goya Award for best documentary film, the equivalent of an Academy Award. No to Israel and the Eurovision, long live the fight of the Palestinian people, he said in his speech Thursday. Israel will host the Eurovision Song Contest in May after winning last years contest. Del Campo also said We should not legitimize countries that violate systematically human rights, we must not be complicit in Israeli apartheid. Israels embassy in Spain called the speech a discourse of hate. Holland allows Palestine as place of birth for people born before 1948 By Cnaan Liphshiz (JTA)The Dutch government will allow people who are not Israeli citizens but were born in pre-state Israel before 1948 to register their place of birth as Palestine on official documents. The move, which the government said does not constitute any recognition of Palestinian statehood, was announced last week by the Dutch state secretary for interior affairs, Raymond Knops, the Volkskrant daily reported. The report said that the Dutch government decided on the move to prevent being sued at the European Court of Justice. It used to list unknown country as the place of birth for people who may now be registered as born in Palestine. The ministry declined requests by people born in the British Mandate over Palestine before 1948 to list the state of Palestine as their place of birth, citing how the Netherlands and the rest of the European Union with the exception of Sweden do not recognize Palestine as a country. Anti-Semitic acts in France rose by 74 percent in 2018 By Marcy Oster (JTA)Anti-Semitic acts in France rose by 74 percent last year. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said Monday night that the total of reported acts of anti-Semitism was 541 in 2018, up from 311 in 2017, according to local reports. The latest incident occurred on Monday, when a tree planted in the Paris suburb of Sainte-Genevieve-du-Bois in memory of Ilan Halimi, a young man who in 2006 was kidnapped and tortured because a gang thought his Jewish family had a lot of money to pay ransom, was chopped down. The incident followed a number of swastikas and anti-Semitic epithets being painted around the city in recent days, including on a local bagel shop. Castaner on Monday night in Sainte-Genevieve-du-Bois near the memorial to Halimi, said that anti-Semitism is spreading like poison, and that the government will fight it. He called anti-Semitism an attack against hope. Nestle denies report it is in talks to distribute Israels popular peanut snack Bamba in US By Josefin Dolsten (JTA)Bamba lovers, some bad news: Nestle apparently isnt in talks to distribute the Israeli snack in the U.S. The Israeli news site CTech reported earlier this month that Osem, Bambas manufacturer, was negotiating with the food giant over the puffed peanut nosh wildly popular in Israel. Osem will continue to work diligently on marketing Bamba in North America through its U.S. subsidiary Osem USA, Nestle spokeswoman Caroline Bietry told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an email. Osem is not negotiating with Nestle over Bambas distribution. But be of good cheer: While Nestle would have provided wider distribution, Bamba is still available in a range of major stores, including Trader Joes and Target, as well as on Amazon. Some fans point to a study suggesting that feeding Bamba to kids from an early age may prevent peanut allergies. Osem USA did not respond to JTAs requests for comment. Posters calling for destruction of Israeli Apartheid Forces hung outside Tufts Hillel By Marcy Oster (JTA)Two dozen posters that are being called anti-Semitic were hung outside the Hillel center at Tufts University in suburban Boston. The posters discovered Tuesday contained cartoons depicting militarized pigs, with at least one showing the pigs holding guns and calling for the destruction of the Israeli Apartheid Forces and Amerikkan Pigs Which Fund it. Many of the images date to the 1960s and the Black Panther Party, and originally they were meant to disparage American military imperialism and the police state, The Associated Press reported. Some of the posters were hung on the windows of the Granoff Family Hillel Center with the images facing inward. No other campus buildings were targeted, according to a statement released by Tufts Hillel. The derogatory images and symbolism in these posters were profoundly disturbing and hurtful to those targeted and to others in our community, Tufts President Tony Monaco said in a statement that was sent by email to the Tufts community, according to the Tufts Daily student newspaper. Recognizing these posters impact on our campus climate, we will fully investigate this matter and follow up appropriately on the results of that investigation. Violent anti-Semitic attacks soared 60 percent in Germany in 2018 By Toby Axelrod (JTA)Anti-Semitic crimes rose by 10 percent in Germany in 2018, with a 60 percent increase in violent crimes, spurring the main Jewish umbrella group there to call for a stronger commitment from police and politicians. The Central Council of Jews was reacting to a report from the German parliament, the Bundestag, released to the Tagesspiegel newspaper and reported Wednesday. The latest numbers are not yet official but they reflect a trend, and thats alarming, the councils president, Josef Schuster, said in a statement. What Jews had already felt subjectively has been confirmed by the statistics. In previous reports, authorities have indicated that most perpetrators have right-wing extremist backgrounds. Nationwide, there were 1,646 anti-Semitic crimes registered in 2018, up from 1,504 the previous year. Of these, 62 were violent attacks, up from 37 in 2017. According to the Tagesspiegel, 43 people were injured in anti-Semitic attacks last year. A total of 857 suspects were identified, but there was only evidence for 19 arrests. The numbers were delivered, as in past years, to Bundestag Vice President Petra Pau of the Left Party, who has submitted a formal request for national statistics on anti-Semitic crimes for about two decades. They could change slightly after all 16 German states submit finalized statistics. Virginia legislature candidate apologizes for anti-Israel and anti-Semitic social media posts By Marcy Oster (JTA)A Democratic candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates who describes himself as a second-generation Palestinian refugee has apologized for anti-Semitic and anti-Israel social media posts. This slander campaign is using five-year-old Facebook posts from my impassioned college days, posts that upon my reflection and with the blessing of time, I sincerely regret and apologize for, Ibraheem Samirah said in a statement dated Friday. I am so sorry that my ill-chosen words added to the pain of the Jewish community, and I seek your understanding and compassion as I prove to you our common humanity. Please do not let those who seek divide us use these words out of context of time and place to accomplish their hateful goals. The posts were first published on Thursday by the conservative website Big League Politics. Samirah, a Chicago native who is Muslim, said that sending money to Israel is worse than sending money to the Ku Klux Klan and that the late Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would burn in hell upon his death. He also accused Israeli teenagers of using Tinder to cover up the murders in their names. Samira, a dentist, is running in a special election on Feb. 19 to fill a vacated seat. He has advocated on social media for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel and was the co-founder of American Universitys Jewish Voice for Peace chapter, which backs BDS. He also was a member of the traditionally Jewish Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity at the university. The news about Samirah comes as Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam works to overcome a blackface scandal. El Al announces new direct flight to Orlando (JNS)Israels El Al Airlines announced on Tuesday that it will be serving a new destination in the United States, conducting direct flights between Tel Aviv and Orlando, Fla., starting in the summer. The announcement was made at the IMTM International Tourism Exhibition in Tel Aviv, according to a report in Globes. Flights will land once a week at Orlando International Airport starting in July, utilizing 787 Dreamliners and Boeing 777 airliners, and will fly on Tuesdays after midnight from Tel Aviv to Orlando, returning on Tuesdays from Orlando at 11:30 a.m. El Al will kick off the new route with tickets starting at $1,000 each. The airlines recently opened routes to Las Vegas and San Francisco. Israel has recently benefited from additional airlines bringing passengers to Tel Aviv, including Rwanda Air and Sun dOr from Tel Aviv to Tokyo. Alitalia also announced new direct flights from Tel Aviv to Milan, Rome and Athens. On Jan. 29, Floridas state cabinet officially recognized Jerusalem as the eternal and undivided capital of the State of Israel. Florida is Israels 13th-largest trade partner worldwide and one of 33 U.S. states holding cooperative economic agreements with Israel. Palestinians call on Arab countries to skip Mideast summit in Warsaw (JNS)The Palestinian Authority urged Arab nations on Monday to skip or downgrade their presence at this weeks summit in Warsaw concerning the Middle East, as P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas traveled to Saudi Arabia to talk about the dangers facing the Palestinian cause. Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad Malki told the Voice of Palestine that the Palestinians view the Warsaw conference as a plot against the Palestinian cause. The summit, which the Palestinians were not invited to, is seeking, among numerous issues, to combat the Iranian threat and solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Known as The Ministerial Conference to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East, it will consist of U.S. and Israeli officials, as well as the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain. Meanwhile, Abbas will meet Saudi King Salman regarding the current political situation and the dangers facing the Palestinian cause, especially Jerusalem, announced the Palestinian leaders office. The visit is a continuation of the communication between the two leaderships under difficult international circumstances, as well as attempts to terminate the Palestinian cause, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, quoting the Palestinian ambassador in Saudi Arabia. Guaido seeks to restore ties between Venezuela and Israel (JNS)Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidorecognized by numerous countries, including the United States and Israel as its interim leader amid pushback against Socialist leader Nicolas Madurosaid he is looking to renew the ties with Israel that his country ceased a decade ago to align itself with the Palestinians. I am very happy to announce that the process of stabilizing relations with Israel is in full swing, Guaido told Israel Hayom. It is very important for us. We will renew ties, later we will announce the appointment of an ambassador to Israel, and we really hope an ambassador from Israel will come to us. When asked by the outlet if the embassy would be in Jerusalem, Guaido said it is one of the subjects we are talking about. I will declare the resumption of ties and the site of the embassy at the proper time. Many members of the Venezuelan Jewish community have fled the increasing poverty and anti-Semitism prevalent in the country, having moved to Israel and other countries. Concerning the existing community there, Guaido said: There are many Venezuelans in Israel and many Jews in Venezuela. This [Jewish] community is very active and prosperous, one which has contributed greatly to our society. I assume they are happy we are renewing ties with Israel. Rescue dog rewarded for finding bodies of Israeli sisters missing in Argentina By JTA staff BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA)A German shepherd received a cash reward offered by an Israeli family for finding the bodies of two sisters who were missing in Argentina for two weeks. The women were the mother and aunt of an Israeli man being charged with homicide in their deaths. Ruca and her trainer, Ayelen Castro, received the more than $1,300 reward on Friday at the Sociedad Israelita de Beneficencia Jewish center in Mendoza, in the northwest of the country. The money will go to the School of Canine Training of Mendoza, or Escam. Several local Jewish leaders attended the ceremony. She did find our sisters, alerted the police and earned the reward we offered. Ruca is a German shepherd and doesnt have much use for cash, therefore we have decided to reward her organization, Escam, the family said. The family also presented Castro with a personal cash reward for the excellent job of training of Roca, and for helping to bring some closure to our families, now that we can bring them to eternal rest in peace, side by side, in their family home of Israel. It is not the first complex case that the dog has helped solve. In 2009, Ruca found the body of a missing child near a river in Lujan, and has been involved in several other successful search and rescue operations. The bodies of Dr. Lily Pereg, 54, an associate professor of microbiology at the University of New England in Australia, and her sister, Pyrhia Sarusi, 63, were found on Jan. 26 buried under debris in the home of Sarusis son, Gil Pereg, in Mendoza province, in the northwest of the country. The sisters, who had been traveling in Argentina, had not been heard from since Jan. 12. Their bodies arrived in Israel over the weekend and were taken for additional forensic exams. Pereg was charged in Argentina with homicide in the death of his aunt and aggravated homicide in the death of his mother. Malloy said her typical quarterly water bill was about $150 to $160 under the previous owner. She said tenants bills have ranged, under the new owner, from $150 to $390. The property receives water from Harford County and then bills the residents for usage, according to Malloy. (JNS)The United States is expected to recognize a Palestinian state with its capital in eastern Jerusalem as part of its highly anticipated peace plan to solve the 70-year-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an informed source hearing from top Trump administration officials told JNS. The so-called deal of the century, which is expected to be released after Israels elections on April 9, will include U.S. recognition of Palestine with contingencies, according to the source, who was not provided the specifics behind the conditions. The capital of the Palestinian state will consist of remote parts of eastern Jerusalem, said the source. The Palestinians have claimed that sector of the city as the capital of a future state, a position supported by most countries. But Israel considers the entire city, including its eastern part, to be the Jewish states undivided capital. The Trump administration officially recognized Jerusalem as Israels capital in December 2017, in addition to relocating the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv the following May. However, the move by Trump did not recognize any boundaries of Jerusalem, which the president said would be resolved through negotiations. It also maintained the status quo for the holy sites in the city. Additionally, the peace plan includes official U.S. recognition of large Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria, according to the source, who did not know which ones. The rumored plan has been finalized, and U.S. President Trump has been briefed on its contents, reported Fox News on Sunday. [It] is between 175 and 200 pages, and fewer than five people have access to the complete document, added the news network. The plan is done... [the president] is happy with the parameters of the deal, a senior administration official told the outlet. A closely guarded secret The aforementioned plan mirrors what has been previously speculated. Barak Ravid of Israels Channel 13 reported last month, citing a U.S. source, that the proposal will include the formation of a Palestinian state in around 90 percent of the West Bank with part of eastern Jerusalem as its capital, while western Jerusalem would be Israels capital. The United States would also call for neighborhoods outside Judea and Samaria not to be extended and that towns deemed illegal by Israeli law shall be evacuated, according to Ravids source. That report also said that its source claimed that the Palestinian state would be constructed on land more than twice the size of Areas A and B, which are currently controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Additionally, the Channel 13 report said that the Western Wall, the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives would remain under Israeli control, but with administrative cooperation with the Palestinians. U.S. special envoy Jason Greenblatt refuted that report: While I respect @BarakRavid, his report on Israels Ch. 13 is not accurate. Speculation about the content of the plan is not helpful. Very few people on the planet know what is in it... for now..., he tweeted. Over the coming period, unnamed sources will peddle narratives to the media & others based on motivations that are far from pure. Peddling false, distorted or biased stories to the media is irresponsible & harmful to the process. Israelis & Palestinians deserve better... he added. I highly recommend that people listen only to official statements directly from [the president], [U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman], [White House senior adviser] Jared Kushner or me about the plan. Jason D. Greenblatt (@jdgreenblatt45) January 16, 2019 Kushner will give an update on the Trump administrations peace proposal between the Israelis and the Palestinians as part of a discussion, hosted by former Norwegian Foreign Minister Brge Brende, at this weeks Warsaw conference on the Middle East. In a few weeks, Kushner will reportedly travel throughout the Middle East to promote the plan. On his trip to the Middle East, Kushner is expected to discuss with Arab officials the economic parts of the peace plan, which will entail huge investment in the Palestinian economymainly in Gaza, reported Axios. U.S. officials say Kushner will ask the Gulf states to contribute to the economic plan, but that he is not planning to discuss details from the political components of the plan during his tour of the region. A U.S. State Department official told JNS, The administration continues to place a high priority on achieving a lasting and comprehensive peace that offers a brighter future to both Israel and the Palestinians. We intend to release the presidents vision when the administration concludes that we have maximized its potential for acceptance, execution and implementation. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Nonetheless, it is far from certain the Palestinians will accept any peace plan, considering steps the Trump administration has taken to put them in a weaker position heading into the final phases of this process, Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JNS. The Trump peace plan remains a closely guarded secret, he said. The op-sec has been remarkable and has prevented bursts of outrage from extremists on either side. For this, Jason Greenblatt and Jared Kushner deserve credit. One thing we do know about the plan: The initial steps have infuriated the Palestinian leadership, continued Schanzer. The move of the embassy to Jerusalem, the defunding of UNRWA, the closing of the PLO office in Washington and the legislation to cut funding to the Palestinians in response to terror financeall of these moves have put the Palestinians in a weaker position heading into the final phases of this process. Finally, he noted, whatever the Palestinians are offered now will likely be significantly less than what they have been offered in the past. But they will also likely be offered more in terms of economic inducements. This economic plan will give them a chance to build something to benefit their people in the long term. It is unclear, however, whether the Palestinians leadership will accept the offer without political and symbolic concessions as well. WASHINGTON (JTA)President Donald Trump called on Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., to resign from Congress for what he said was her anti-Semitism. Its terrible what she said and I think she should either resign from Congress, or she should certainly resign from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Trump told reporters on Tuesday. What she said is so deep-seated in her heart that her lame apology, and thats what it was, it was lame and she didnt mean a word of it, was just not appropriate. I think she should resign from Congress. Omar, in her first term in the Congress, said Sunday on Twitter that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee pays lawmakers to be pro-Israel. After condemnations from Republicans and Democrats, including the Democratic leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, she said she unequivocally apologized after speaking with Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes. Omar recently apologized for a 2012 tweet in which she accused Israel of hypnotizing the world, acknowledging that she had unwittingly echoed anti-Semitic themes. Republicans are pressuring the House Democratic leadership to remove her from the influential Foreign Affairs Committee, noting that Republicans removed Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, from committees after he questioned why it was taboo to embrace white supremacy. King also apologized, but Trump did not call for his resignation. King was an early backer of Trumps candidacy. Critics of the president noted that he has not apologized for various comments they described as bigoted. In the past he has drawn fire for calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States, for saying a judge could not be impartial because of his Hispanic ethnicity, and, as recently as Saturday, mocking Democratic president candidate Elizabeth Warrens claim to Native American ancestry by seeming to invoke the Trail of Tears. Mr. President, Congresswoman @IlhanMN apologized for using an anti-Semitic trope and demonstrated leadership, Chelsea Clinton said on Twitter. Chelsea Clinton was among the first Democrats to call on Omar to apologize. (JNS)-The Jewish National Fund was left scrambling to apologize to the son of a former Japanese diplomat who saved the lives of approximately 6,000 Jews during the Holocaust, after a memorial grove of trees planted in his honor was flattened to make way for apartment buildings in Beit Shemesh without any notification. Trees were planted in memory and in honor of Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese "Oskar Schindler," who violated orders from his government to issue thousands of visas from Lithuania to Japan. Schindler saved 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. Sugihara issued handwritten visas for thousands of Jews-primarily students of the Mir yeshivah-until the last moment, making a rare decision to disregard orders to the contrary from his superiors. Witnesses said that he continued to issue visas from the train from which he departed Lithuania when the consulate was closed in 1940, even issuing and throwing them out of the windows at the desperate Jewish crowd as the train pulled away. He gave his official consulate stamp to a refugee to forge more visas after he left. Sugihara was honored as a "Righteous Among the Nations" in 1985. In 1986, the Jewish National Fund planted a memorial orchard outside Beit Shemesh with a plaque reading "In appreciation of the humane and courageous actions that saved 5,000 Jews from World War II." Too ill to attend the dedication ceremony, Sugihara died several months later at the age of 86. However, his son Nobuki Sugihara arrived in Israel last month to find the memorial after getting reports from Japanese visitors that they could not locate it. Upon searching the site, he realized that the grove had been unceremoniously flattened, and that an apartment project stood in its place. The younger Sugihara penned a letter expressing his incredulity and disappointment to the Jewish National Fund, saying the memorial was probably "turned into trash by an unfeeling bulldozer," and that the move dishonored the Japanese people who had supported the erection of the memorial. JNF replied with an apology, explaining that the city of Beit Shemesh had tremendously expanded since the memorial was put in place, and that it has rendered the spot "not fit for use a memorial." The organization vowed to make things right by planting a new memorial orchard somewhere else in Israel. In late January, Nobuki Sugihara took part in a ceremony honoring the heroism of his father at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum, hosted by the Jewish educational organization Limmud FSU, the branch of Limmud dedicated to Jews of the former Soviet Union. It was during this trip that he discovered that his father's memorial had been destroyed. David Brown speaks at the annual conference of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs in Washington, D.C., Feb. 10, 2019. Brown co-chaired a committee examining the Jewish community relations field. WASHINGTON (JTA)-An increase in anti-Semitism, an intensification of anti-Israel activity and decades of neglect have created a crisis in the Jewish community relations field, according to the umbrella group for Jewish public policy organizations, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. In reports published this week at its annual Washington meeting, the group urged a radical shift among its constituent Jewish community relations councils, which advocate for Jewish issues on behalf of the Jewish community at the local level. The shift would mean engaging with other ethnic and civic groups and more assertively including Jewish voices in broader conversations about bias, Israel and a range of other issues where Jewish communities have led in the past. The JCPA wants constituents to contribute toward nearly doubling its existing budget with hopes of training a new cadre of Jewish outreach officials across the country. "The Jewish community does not have the network of relationships it did with other communities and leaders it did 30 or 40 years ago," David Brown, the co-chairman of a JCPA task force that spent a year presenting the report, said Sunday. "We absolutely need them." Brown also referred to reports of a rise in anti-Semitic attacks and an increase in anti-Israel activity on campuses. "It's become politically OK to say things that were certainly amped down for a generation or two," he said. The four-day annual conference, which ran from Saturday to Tuesday, drew some 250 professionals and volunteers. The sessions reflected the range of policy issues being dealt with at the local level by CRCs, often in coalitions, including criminal justice reform, immigration, #MeToo, the social safety net and the boycott Israel movement. The report undergirding Brown's remarks, and a panel after he delivered them, painted a dire picture of the decline of the prominence of the Jewish voice in such issues. It blamed a number of factors, including the widening divide between Israel and the Diaspora, the disenchantment of millennials with the norms of their elders, and the difficulties inherent in an essentially liberal U.S. Jewish community grappling with the emergence of anti-Semitism on the left as well as the right. The reports identified the decline of the Jewish community relations council. Such councils flourished in the years following World War II when the devastation an ocean away spurred American Jewish leaders to create a system that sought to include Jews at the forefront of framing public policy. Its success can be seen in the preeminence of Jews in the civil rights movement, the proliferation of Jewish lawmakers and the fact that Americans remain overwhelmingly pro-Israel. That success ate its own, one of the several reports released at the conference posits: "Following the Oslo Process," the peace talks Israel and the Palestinians launched in 1993, "and the resolution of the plight of Soviet Jewry, areas of the community relations field experienced a decline." "The U.S. Jewish community shifted its focus to internal challenges of Jewish education and identity with the belief that peace could be achieved, anti-Semitism was declining, and oppressed Jewish communities were now free," it continues. "Although some community relations organizations and initiatives in larger communities flourished, much of the field lost resources and attention from the U.S. Jewish community." These and other trends "are limiting the effectiveness of community relations organizations and initiatives." Community relations councils in major cities remain robust, JCPA officials said, but among the 125 affiliated with the umbrella, many are staffed by one person or manned by volunteers. That creates a vacuum, said Gidi Grinstein, the founder of Reut, the Israel-based strategy think tank that issued one the reports. When crises demand responses, like the controversy over the Woman's March, or a movement to counter perceived police discrimination, Jewish voices are lacking. "This country is so big, the communities are so diverse, the issues are so different, the only way to contain what we're talking about here"-the rise of anti-Semitism and of anti-Israel activism-"is a network of local organizations that have the talent, the methodology and the technology," Grinstein said in a briefing for reporters. At the annual meeting, and at a board meeting last month, the JCPA lay and professional leadership launched a pitch based on the Reut report to donors and constituent community relations councils to raise $1.6 million-almost doubling its existing $1.8 million budget-to hire officials to make up for the gap. Part of the plan would be to make the larger and more robust councils hubs that would assist the smaller ones in their regions. In the reports, and at the conference, JCPA officials acknowledged two additional obstacles to reviving a robust Jewish presence in community affairs: an Israeli government that has trended rightward, and with its actions has alienated liberals, and the disruptive politics of the moment. There was much talk at the conference of the need to broaden the capacity for criticism of Israel while continuing to delegitimize calls to bring an end to Israel as a Jewish state. "Let's be honest that when acting as advocates to engage liberals with Israel, the current government's policies can make for a really bad client," Jeremy Burton, the executive director of Boston's JCRC, said during a panel. "Which requires moral clarity about our absolutes like delegitimization of Israel's existence and nuance about criticism." Melanie Gorelick, JCPA's senior vice president, said the JCPA would have to make the case to the disaffected that the best arena to advance favored policies, in a Jewish setting, was the local JCRC. "We are the only organizations that come together and tackle day-to-day issues" with the right and the left at the table, she said. Jewish Academy of Orlando second-graders raised $961 in a Fun Run to benefit a Habitat for Humanity house. The students later visited the house and presented the check to the organization. The annual program at JAO begins with a cross-curricular study of economics. Students learn about the three basic human needs: food, clothing, and shelter, while also learning the differences between a want and a need. They build their own model houses and conduct a Fun Run to raise money to support Habitat for Humanity. After completion of their studies, students visited a construction site for a Habitat for Humanity house; they asked many questions and learned more about the basics of homebuilding and inspection while conducting mock-inspections of the home. They applied mathematics concepts, such as fraction measurement, and money concepts. Students concluded their visit by visiting the completed house that last year's second-grade class supported. They met the homeowner, toured the finished house, and were able to see the new homeowner's appreciation for her family's home. To conclude the trip, JAO students presented Hal George, president and co-founder of the Winter Park affiliate of Habitat for Humanity, with a check for $961. "It is always wonderful and uplifting to have the second graders come out and visit the Habitat sites. We are all so impressed and grateful for the donation that the students gave to Habitat. It is through gifts like this that we are able to continue to provide affordable housing opportunities for needy families. I really look forward to seeing Jewish Academy students each year and hope that we are able to continue the tradition. I am so appreciative of all of the support that Jewish Academy of Orlando has given our Habitat affiliate through the years," stated George. "We are grateful for our partnership with Habitat for Humanity and the opportunity for learning it gives our students. The program not only brings to life the lessons in the classroom such as budgeting and the benefits of decent housing but also the importance of supporting those in need," said Alan Rusonik, head of school. "We are committed to giving all of our students even more opportunities, lessons, and resources to change the world." Jewish Academy of Orlando serves Central Florida students of all faiths from grades kindergarten through fifth. The school delivers a whole-child education fostering academic excellence and character education rooted in Jewish values. Jewish Academy of Orlando is accredited by the Florida Council of Independent Schools. Beginning in the fall of 2019, the school will offer a transitional kindergarten. To learn more about Jewish Academy of Orlando, please visit: jewishacademyorlando.org or follow the school on Facebook facebook.com/JewishAcademyOrlando. (JNS)In response to U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omars latest anti-Semitic tweets, some groups have already called for official action against her by the U.S. House of Representatives, similar to that against Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) over his remarks on white nationalism. On Sunday, Omar accused the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the largest pro-Israel lobbying organization, of paying members of Congress to back Israel. Anti-Semitism in any form is unacceptable, and its shocking to hear a Member of Congress invoke the anti-Semitic trope of Jewish money, said Rep. Elliot Engel, in a statement Monday. Engel is also the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which Omar sits on. Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Elaine Luria (D-Va.) called on House Democratic leadership to condemn Omar. As Members of Congress, we are deeply alarmed by recent rhetoric from certain members within our Caucus, including just last night, that has disparaged some members and called into question their loyalty to our nation, they said in a letter. We urge you to join us in calling on each member of our Caucus to unite against anti-Semitism and hateful tropes and stereotypes. In recent weeks, we have had conversations with multiple members of our Caucus who share our concerns about this rhetoric; we have also raised these concerns with Democratic leadership, they added. We must speak out when any MemberDemocrat or Republicanuses harmful tropes and stereotypes, levels accusations of dual loyalty, or makes reckless statements like those yesterday. House Democratic leadership responded and labeled Omars anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israels supporters as deeply offensive and called on her to immediately apologize for these hurtful comments, but fell short of calling for her to be censured. Anti-Semitism must be called out, confronted and condemned whenever it is encountered, without exception, said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Majority Whip James Clyburn, Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Lujan, Caucus chairman Hakeem Jeffries and Caucus vice chair Katherine Clark in a statement. We are and will always be strong supporters of Israel in Congress because we understand that our support is based on shared values and strategic interests, they continued. Legitimate criticism of Israels policies is protected by the values of free speech and democratic debate that the United States and Israel share. As Democrats and as Americans, the entire Congress must be fully engaged in denouncing and rejecting all forms of hatred, racism, prejudice and discrimination wherever they are encountered, they added. Groups such as the Anti-Defamation League, Democratic Majority for Israel, the Jewish Democratic Council of America, the Zionist Organization of America and Bnai Brith condemned Omars latest anti-Semitic remarks. We call on the House leadership to take immediate action, so that the message is clear: Anti-Semitism will not be tolerated, said ADL CEO and national director Jonathan Greenblatt. Unfortunately, making insensitive statements toward the Jewish community is not new for Rep. Omar, he continued. These tweets are part of a disturbing pattern of behavior that must end. The congresswoman needs to understand that these comments promote dangerous stereotypes and are hurtful to her Jewish constituents and Jewish Americans throughout the country. The ZOA called for punitive action against Omar. These tweets below from Rep. Ilhan Omar, along with several comments that she has made over the years, are pure, unadulterated, evil, frighteningly dangerous anti-Semitism, said ZOA national president Mort Klein. The Zionist Organization of America calls on House Democrat leadership to (i) immediately remove Rep. Omar from her committee assignments; and (ii) call an immediate vote on Rep. Lee Zeldins H.Res 72, rejecting anti-Israel and anti-Semitic hatred in the United States and around the world, he continued. We call on the House leadership to publicly rebuke Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) for her anti-Semitic tweets implying pro-Israel lawmakers are paid by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, said Bnai Brith international president Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Dan Mariaschin. Members of Congress are pro-Israel because the constituents they represent, like Americans across the country, overwhelmingly support the Jewish state. Her anti-Israel stance is merely political cover for her anti-Semitic beliefs, they added. Mark Mellman, president and CEO of Democratic Majority for Israel, said: Congresswoman Ilhan Omars recent statement reveals both woeful ignorance and flagrant bigotry. Americas long-standing support for Israel reflects shared interests, shared values and the wishes of the majority the American people. He added that by suggesting pro-Israel views are paid for, Congresswoman Omar has driven headlong into the gutter, slandering Americas pro-Israel community and the vast majority of her colleagues of both parties, in the House and the Senate, who back a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. Rep. Ilhan Omars decision to publicly repeat an anti-Semitic trope suggesting that Jewish money is directly correlated with political influence is deeply offensive and painful, said JDCA executive director Halie Soifer. At a time when anti-Semitism is increasing at home and abroad, it is vital that members of Congress speak out against bigotry in all its forms, and not repeat hateful conspiracy theories and tropes targeting any one religious or ethnic group. We have repeatedly condemned [U.S. President] Donald Trump and other Republicans for condoning and encouraging anti-Semitism, as well as other forms of discrimination, and we hold all public officials to the same standard. On Monday afternoon, Omar apologized: Anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes. My intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole. We have to step back and think through criticism, just as I expect people to hear me when others attack me for my identity, she continued. This is why I unequivocally apologize. At the same time, I reaffirm the problematic role of lobbyists in our politics, whether it be AIPAC, the NRA or the fossil fuel industry, added the congresswoman. Its gone on too long and we must be willing to address it. With the growing popularity of "The Samuel Project," a heartwarming story that re-connects three generations of family, the film is returning to Florida theaters for an encore release March 1, 2019 at many more venues. To encourage families to attend the film together, two grandkids under the age of 14 can attend for free when accompanied by a grandparent. Theaters in the Orlando/Daytona area include: Regal Pointe Orlando 20, Regal Oviedo Mall 22, and Regal Pavillion 14 in Port Orange. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Marc Fusco and starring multiple Emmy and Tony award winning actor, Hal Linden ("Barney Miller," Broadway's "The Rothchilds") as a grandfather who will speak nothing of his past, and popular Disney star Ryan Ochoa (Robert Zemeckis' "A Christmas Carol," Disney's "Pair of Kings") as his grandson, with co-star Michael B. Silver ("Seabiscuit"), as a hard working single dad-"The Samuel Project" reveals a universal story of how discovering the past through art can bring a family back together. Orphaned at eight years old when he lost his entire family at the hands of Nazi captors, Samuel Bergman (Linden), has refused to speak about his childhood his entire life. His saving grace was a young German woman named Uma, who found him and took him in after he was shot for trespassing on her family's farm near Hanover, Germany. The story unfolds when his grandson Eli (Ochoa), who dreams of becoming a professional artist, pleads for Samuel to share his story for a high school art project. Hesitant at first, Samuel finally gives in when Eli offers to work at his dry-cleaning business for free in exchange for his grandfather's story, and for the first time, the family gets to know and understand each other. For theaters and tickets: https://thesamuelprojectmovie.com/home/ The Samuel Project is rated PG-13. 1 hour 32 minutes. (JTA)I was the hairy Jewish monkey in a sea of blond kids. Thats not Seth Rogen or Jonah Hillits Sarah Silverman talking about her upbringing in Bedford, New Hampshire, on an upcoming episode of Finding Your Roots, the celebrity genealogy show on PBS. Bedford, the comedian explains, was not exactly a very Jewish community. My feeling of being Jewish came from my being the only Jew, Silverman tells host Henry Louis Gates Jr. We [her family] had no religion, but because I had this kind of intuition, when I went to any friends house I made sure their parents knew I was not scary. You learn to ingratiate yourself, to be non-threatening, to be funny. As a comedian, you become funny as a survival skilllike the fat kid who makes fat jokes before others do. Silvermans sense of Jewish otherness wasnt the only thing that fueled her comic tendenciesher parents divorced when she was 7. My other sisters were crying and upset. I was thrilled, and they kept saying, She doesnt understand, the comic recalls. And I kept thinking, Whats not to understand? Are you going to continue to fight? Wake me up in the middle of the night screaming? No? Great. Perhaps because she is part of a crowded hour shared with fellow comics Seth Meyers and Tig Notaro in the episode that aired Feb. 19, the viewer learns little about Silvermans immediate family, such as her parents or any of her four siblingsincluding sister Susan, a prominent activist Reform rabbi living in Israel. Instead, the episode focuses on her maternal grandparents, Golde and Herman Halpin. [Golde] was a monster, Silverman said. Herman, on the other hand, was a funny and apparently stabilizing influence in her life. He was born Hyman Cohen in Seattle, but apparently changed his name at Goldes insistence. She didnt want people to know they were Jewish, Silverman surmises. Meyers segment may surprise a few viewers. Many assume the Saturday Night Live alum and current NBC late night host is Jewish because of his nameand his punim. He does not consider himself a member of the tribe, though he was presumably aware of his Jewish antecedents on his paternal side. After all, they are noted on his Wikipedia page. (In addition, his wife has Holocaust survivor grandparents.) In the episode, Meyers discovers that his Jewish great-great-grandfather was born Maier Tracianski in Lithuania. When his sonSeths great-grandfather Morrisimmigrated to the U.S., he changed his surname to Meyers. Its a move for which Seth is extremely grateful: He says hes not sure Late Night with Seth Tracianski would work. Morris moved to Pittsburgh, where he prospered and built a home that his descendants still live in. From Meyers reactions, its not clear how much of this information is new to him or whether he or his father are in touch with that branch of the family. The shows staff was able to trace the maternal side of his family to 16th-century England. In the episode of the show that aired Feb. 12, former House Speaker Paul Ryan discovered that hes 3 percent Ashkenazi Jewthe equivalent of a third great-grandfather being Jewish. He touted the finding back in August, which must have been around the time his segment was filmed. Ryans response on the show: Thats very cool. (JTA)-A Hasidic cantor and a jaded community college biology teacher don't seem like two individuals who would be fast friends. In "To Dust," the debut film from director Shawn Snyder, they make a hilarious team. The odd couple plot is not all lighthearted though. For Snyder, 37, how to deal with the loss of a loved one is the core of the film. "I watched my mom lose her mom about five years before I lost my own mom," Snyder said in a telephone interview. He recalls seeing "the value she [his mother] found in mourning in the Jewish way." When his mother died, he also found comfort in Jewish tradition, but yearned for more. For a year he accompanied his father once or twice a week to say the Kaddish prayer for her and found the ritual "incredibly wise"-but somehow insufficient for his emotional needs. "I believe grief is idiosyncratic and depends on the relationship between the people who are lost and the people who survive," Snyder said. A similar crisis faces the film's main protagonist, Shmuel, the cantor, following the death of his wife, Rivkah. Shmuel has done everything Judaism requires of him: He's rended his coat, sat shiva, observed shloshim (the 30-day mourning period). But none of it makes him whole. "I fear for her," he says. "I fear her soul is suffering." Behind his angst is a dictum from Ecclesiastes: "Then the dust will return to the earth as it was and the spirit unto God who gave it." He feels the latter cannot occur until the former is complete-and has no idea how long that takes. Only when her body has completely decomposed and her soul risen, he feels, can he cease worrying about her. To get answers his rabbi can't provide, the cantor commits haredi blasphemy-he turns to science. By chance, he winds up consulting Albert, the biology teacher and nebbish who wears his divorced wife's bathrobe around the house. Albert reluctantly teaches reluctant students in a dead-end job where no one respects him, so he reluctantly joins in Shmuel's search for answers. In the role, Matthew Broderick ably reprises his bumbling, get-along schtick that has become a staple of his acting resume. Shmuel is portrayed by Geza Rohrig, a Modern Orthodox Jew best known for starring in the Hungarian film "Son of Saul," which won the Oscar for best foreign language film. Rohrig makes plausible the wide shifts in mood from absurdist comedy (to study the process of bodily decay, they steal and suffocate a pig) to painful moments (for instance, when Shmuel's young children can't figure out what's wrong with their father). It makes for a film of intriguing contrasts: religion and science, humor and sadness. And it's all handled with grace and aplomb in an impressive debut for Snyder, who followed the old adage "write what you know." "I am Shmuel and my writing partner [Jason Begue] is Albert," he said. This is an exaggeration-Snyder isn't haredi-but he was well versed in Jewish practice and tradition. Snyder grew up in South Florida, attended a Jewish elementary day school, was a bar mitzvah and then was confirmed. He also majored in religion at Harvard. Having grown up in "a strong Jewish community, a bubble almost," he suddenly found himself "studying at a liberal arts institution in a pluralistic department." Not surprisingly, his Judaism waxed and waned. The waning was in part spurred by his mom's death, and he felt the Jewish strictures of mourning were restricting. Snyder had an extraordinarily close relationship with his mother, and mourning didn't end in seven-, 30- or 365-day periods. "I'm still in mourning 10 years later," he said. In his research, Snyder found kabbalistic suggestions that support the Ecclesiastes dictum. It maintains that decomposition purifies the soul, which lingers over the physical remains, sometimes painfully so, until the process is completed. "I never felt comfortable at my mother's grave. I never felt I was communing with her there," he said. Snyder prefers to remember his mother as she lived, the woman who refused to allow him to cancel a trip to Australia when she was first diagnosed with cancer. "The thing I carry and cherish about Judaism is this intense humanism, the idea of discussion, of questioning, the idea of two Jews and three opinions," Snyder said. "And for me art is a form of religious engagement." It is through the art of filmmaking that Snyder further engaged his grief: The film is dedicated to his mother. He is constantly reminded of her when he looks at his 4-year-old daughter. "I see my mom in her," he said. "And it's amazing how the tradition and culture come rushing back through her." "Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of World War II," includes 18 tracks composed by Jews in the Soviet Union and Ukraine. BOSTON (JTA)-In the despair of the Soviet Union's fierce World War II battles against the Nazis, a 42-year-old Jewish man from Odessa wrote a song in Yiddish poking fun at Hitler's failures to seize control of Ukraine's coal and oil resources. "On the High Mountain," written by Veli Shargorodskii about the war experience in 1943-44, ends with the words "Germany is in trouble, Hitler is kaput!" The satirical song was among hundreds collected during the war by Moisei Beregovsky (1892-1961), a Russian-Jewish ethnomusicologist and Yiddish scholar. Beregovsky led a team of colleagues and volunteers for the Kiev Cabinet for Jewish Culture, a department of the Ukrainian Academy of Science. Beregovsky and his colleague Ruvim Lerner (1912-1972), planned to publish an anthology of the collected songs, a continuation of Beregovsky's earlier groundbreaking work preserving Jewish folk songs and Yiddish and klezmer music. But after the war, their hope was dealt the cruel blow of Stalin's vicious anti-Semitism. In 1950, Beregovsky was arrested, convicted of Jewish nationalism and jailed for five years. Soviet authorities confiscated his monumental collection of music during the war years, and he and Lerner died believing their work had been destroyed. Now, following an unimaginable series of unlikely events, these rare and revealing songs, presumed lost to history, were rediscovered and have been brought back to life in "Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of World War II" (Six Degrees Records). The recording has been nominated for a Grammy Award, among five finalists in the world music category. The winners will be announced on Feb. 10 in a live broadcast from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. "Yiddish Glory" is among the fewer than a handful of Yiddish-language recordings to have been honored by the Recording Academy. The Klezmatics scored a Grammy in 2007 for best contemporary/world music album; at the time, awards in world music were divided between traditional and contemporary. In 1982, the Klezmorim were nominated for best ethnic album. "Yiddish Glory" represents a multi-year, ambitious undertaking led by Anna Shternshis, a professor and scholar of Soviet and Yiddish culture at the University of Toronto, and Pavel Lion, a Russian-born musician and scholar of Yiddish literature who goes by the pseudonym Psoy Korolenko. Produced by Dan Rosenberg, the music was arranged by Sergei Erdenko, acclaimed as Russia's greatest living Roma violinist. They gathered an all-star band including Juno Award-winning vocalist Sophie Milman, a Jewish jazz performer based in Canada who was born in Russia. The recording, hailed on scores of best of 2018 album lists, includes 18 tracks. The extensive liner notes include lyrics for all the songs in English and Russian translation, as well as fascinating background material and archival images. Jews from all walks of life wrote the first-person lyrics-from Jewish Red Army soldiers and refugees to victims and survivors of Ukrainian ghettos. They ring with defiance, revenge, love, hope and Jewish humor. Shternshis was stunned by the Grammy nomination. "Given the whole history, where it all started, ...it's unbelievable," she told JTA in a phone interview. It is an extraordinary tribute to Beregovsky and his colleagues, who risked their lives and suffered consequences for their dedication to Jewish culture and memory, said Shternshis, the director of the University of Toronto's Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies. Shternshis learned about the material by chance in the early 2000s, when she was doing research at the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine in Kiev, where librarians discovered Beregovsky's collection in unmarked boxes in the 1990s. She recognized the find as a historical and cultural treasure trove. "I was shocked on so many levels," said Shternshis, recalling when she delved into thousands of pages of yellowed, sometimes tattered paper with typed or handwritten lyrics. Steeped in the history of Russian Holocaust literature and music of the region, she was incredulous that she didn't recognize a single song. The songs were notably distinct from music from Vilna, Warsaw and Lodz, with references to Stalin and the Soviet Union. "The music had no parallels," Shternshis said. Only about 10 percent of the songs included musical notation. Some referenced or gave hints of popular tunes of the times. After Korolenko immersed himself in the material, a process he described as "musical archaeology," he took a leap of faith to compose or adapt melodies, sometimes drawing on popular or folk music. "On the High Mountain," the first song, leads with the soulful call of David Buchbinder's trumpet. The lyrics are a nod to an old Yiddish counting riddle; Korolenko's lively melody recalls that famous folk tune. Several songs offer ground-level, vivid descriptions of the massacres in Babi Yar, Tulchin and Pechora in Ukraine. "Mames Gruv" (My Mother's Grave) is a child mourning the death of his mother sung by Isaac Rosenberg, Shternshis' son, who was 11 at the time of the recording. He is beyond thrilled that he'll be attending the Grammys, said Shternshis, who has to miss the ceremony. The fifth cut, "Mayn Pulemyot" (My Machine Gun), describes a Jewish soldier's pride at using his machine gun to kill German soldiers. "Shelakhmones Hitlern" (Purim Gifts for Hitler) strikes a lighter note in comparing Hitler with Haman, the villain of the Jewish holiday of Purim. Milman brings smooth, sultry vocals to "Kazakhstan," a cabaret-style ode of gratitude to the land where a quarter-million Jewish refugees survived. It's the only song on the album in which Erdenko composed a new tune, combining Roma, Yiddish and Romanian styles. The song is deeply personal for Milman, whose grandmother survived as a Soviet Jewish refugee in Kazakhstan, and for Erdenko, as a tribute to the Roma who were also victims of the Holocaust. Rosenberg, the project's producer, often thinks about the composers who took pen to paper, many of whom were killed during the Holocaust. "They felt it was important to try to share their personal stories, their warnings against fascism, and their dreams for a better future in the faint hope that these stories would someday be heard," he wrote in an email. At a very basic level, we need to ask whether it is necessary, wise, and fair for our state to mandate the same starting wage, statewide for all jobs and all employees. For example, should we demand as a matter of state law that an 18-year-old high school student living at home in rural Wicomico County busing tables on weekends for spending money must be paid the same income as an 18-year-old construction laborer enduring the high costs of living on her own in urban Montgomery County? Uniontown, PA (15401) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low 69F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. About 45 percent of LGBTQ students felt unsafe at school because of their gender expression, and more than a third missed at least one day of school in the previous month because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable. Nearly a fifth of these students reported that they felt they had to change schools because of the negative experiences. Matthew Umstead mumstead@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. A former Shepherd University student is accused of having sexual relationships with two teenagers while completing her student teaching last year. Rachel Jubilee Grizzle, 23, of Pious Ridge Road, Berkeley Springs, W.Va., allegedly had sexual relationships with a 13-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy between September and December, records said. The 16-year-old boy was a student at Spring Mills High School, where Grizzle was a student teacher. The 13-year-old boy was not, but had a connection to the school. Grizzle was to graduate from the university in December following a six-week teaching period at Spring Mills High School and a subsequent assignment at Tomahawk Intermediate School, according to a complaint filed Police Cpl. J.D. See. The high school assignment ended in October, records said. Shepherd University spokeswoman Valerie Owens wrote in an email Thursday that Grizzle is no longer a student at the college. Grizzle removed herself from the student teaching placement when the allegations surfaced, according to Berkeley County Schools. Those completing student teaching are placed in classrooms upon the universitys request and the school district does not select or employ them, according to Berkeley County Schools. Grizzle was charged with two counts each of soliciting a minor via computer, use of obscene matter with intent to seduce minor, third-degree sexual assault with a person younger than 16, and distribution or exhibition of sexually explicit material involving minor. She also was charged with one count of sexual abuse by a person in a position of trust to a child, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. She was released from custody after bail was posted on a $75,000 bond. She is due to appear in magistrate court for a preliminary hearing on March 6, records said. See began investigating the allegations involving the 13-year-old student on Dec. 11 through a referral from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Child Protective Services, according to court records. The trooper was alerted of the relationship involving the 16-year-old student on Jan. 11, records said. The allegations involving the 13-year-old were discovered by the boys father after Grizzles six-week teaching period at the high school ended on Oct. 19, according to court records. The teen told authorities that he met Grizzle at the high school in September and conversations between them continued via the Instagram social media application, records said. The student indicated that his relationship with Grizzle intensified in October when sexual contact first occurred, records said. The boy recounted other instances when she came to his home and told authorities that they shared explicit photographs with each other, records said. The 16-year-old student told authorities that sexual contact with Grizzle occurred in September in the course of meeting her a couple of times at Poor House Farm Park for hikes, records said. The teen also indicated that his relationship with Grizzle also intensified as they communicated via Instagram, records said. Matthew Umstead mumstead@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. A Martinsburg man charged in connection with the carjacking death of an 86-year-old Martinsburg woman last year was indicted on Thursday by a Berkeley County grand jury on charges of first-degree robbery, murder and assault during the commission of a felony, according to circuit court records. Adam Lee Domer, 36, who was being held in Eastern Regional Jail Thursday night, is charged in connection with the Sept. 2 carjacking that authorities said resulted in the death of Joan Marian Staubs of Martinsburg five days later. Domer, who has become paralyzed since his arrest due to a medical condition, is accused of taking the victims 2001 Chevrolet Cavilier, two credit cards and drivers license during the robbery in the 100 block of State Circle, according to court records. Officers were told that Staubs sustained a head injury during the incident, court records said. Staubs car later was found at 655 1/2 Faulkner Ave. in Martinsburg and Domer subsequently was found hiding in an upstairs closet in the home, court records said. In a statement to police, Domer has admitted to driving the stolen car, but denied stealing it or injuring Staubs, records said. Woman indicted in death of daughter Grand jurors on Monday also indicted a Gerrardstown, W.Va.-area woman on charges of murder, attempted murder, malicious assault and use or presentation of a firearm during commission of a felony in connection with allegations that she fatally shot and stabbed her 8-year-old daughter and wounded her 11-year-old daughter on Sept. 20. Julie Ann Orellana, 46, who was being held in Eastern Regional Jail Thursday night, allegedly told police that she intended to kill both of her children, then take her own life. The youngest child was found dead at 291 Tall Pine Lane in the Glenwood Forest subdivision southwest of Martinsburg. Her older sister was shot in the leg during the incident in the split-level ranch-style home where their mother lived. Detained by police about 16 hours after the shooting, Orellana was found with a steak knife, a Taurus 9mm semiautomatic pistol and a blood-stained, six-page letter outlining her reasons for shooting the children, court records said. Man indicted in store shooting, robbery Also indicted this week by the grand jury were Clyde S. Patterson III, 59, of Martinsburg on charges of first-degree robbery, attempted murder, assault during the commission of a felony and use or presentation of a firearm during commission of a felony in connection with the December shooting of Lupitas Grocery store owner Guadalupe Bustillos. Bustillos, who survived the incident at her business, has been treated for facial-area injuries that she suffered in incident at the small grocery business in the heart of downtown Martinsburg between East Burke and East Martin streets. Patterson, who was being held in Eastern Jail Thursday night, was arrested by police within hours of the Dec. 12 incident in which he is accused of taking $175 from the victims business, records said. An indictment merely indicates that a defendant is believed to have committed a crime. Jennifer Fitch waynesboro@herald-mail.com HARRISBURG, Pa. Witnesses started testifying Thursday in the first of seven scheduled days of evidentiary hearings about Transource Energys proposal for new overhead electric transmission lines on two routes in Pennsylvania. The hearings are being conducted before administrative law judges in Harrisburg. Testimony will be used by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission as it considers whether to green-light the project. The first person to offer comment was Allan Stine, a Chambersburg resident who voiced concern about the projects proximity to a school cross-country trail and Falling Spring Creek. Its a very delicate creek, he said. A Herald-Mail Media reporter listened to testimony via teleconference. The next witnesses answered attorneys questions about the cost estimates and formulas used in studies supporting the project. They were asked about what alternate routes were considered. Transource was hired by PJM Interconnection, which directs the operation of the regions electrical grid, to construct the project. Estimated to cost about $320 million, it totals 45 miles in the following two sections: A 16-mile segment from a new substation in York County, Pa., to a substation in Harford County, Md. A 29-mile run from a new substation near Interstate 81 south of Shippensburg, Pa., to the Ringgold substation near Smithsburg, Md. The Franklin County portion of the proposal would affect roughly 95 land owners. The utility company has proposed installing monopoles on rights-of-way it said would not affect the agricultural uses of many of those properties, although some land owners have strongly disagreed with that assessment in public comments and testimony before various courts. Of the 29 miles on the west route involving Franklin County, 12 miles would parallel existing infrastructure, according to testimony from Barry Baker, of the engineering firm AECOM. Those designing the project considered two alternative routes before settling on the proposal currently before the Public Utility Commission, Baker said. A lawyer representing Stop Transource Franklin County, a group opposed to the project, questioned Baker about the 230-kilovolt lines proximity to Falling Spring Elementary School. Baker said the lines are about 700 feet from the school in that section and cannot be shifted too much because of the school building and houses nearby. As far as natural resources, the proposed route (we chose) would impact the least number, he said. PJM Interconnection estimates benefit savings of $866 million and more reliable electric service if the project is developed. Witnesses said the lines could be in service by November 2020. Jennifer Fitch waynesboro@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. The Greater Waynesboro Chamber of Commerce will return to the local high school Saturday with its annual business expo in conjunction with Waynesboro Lions Clubs pancake and sausage breakfast. The expo will feature a kidz zone with activities, balloon art and McGruff the Crime Dog. About 70 businesses, nonprofit organizations and political candidates are signed up to interact with visitors to the expo. Chamber Executive Director Jackie Mowen praised the Lions Club for its charitable contributions to the community and recommended visitors not only purchase breakfast, but also buy the brooms being sold by the Lions. The breakfast has been a staple in the community, and many look forward to it every year, she said. We appreciate their continued service and commitment to our community. The expo will have a bingo card game in which people who visit booths can win gift cards and event tickets. Mowen said visitors can not only interact with representatives of well-established businesses, but also meet new businesspeople like those from Black Sheep Designs and Enjoy Every Moment. Attendees can buy tickets to the Chambers Nite at the Races fundraiser, Mainstreet Waynesboro Inc.s Chocolate Extravaganza and the community concert associations events. We have an awesome town that we should be proud of, and its important to stay connected, Mowen said. Most parking is behind the school, although handicapped parking is closer to Second Street in the former courtyard. Buchanan Automotive will provide a shuttle service. GREENBELT The U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant spent hours on end planning a wide-scale domestic terrorist attack, even logging in at his work computer on the job at headquarters to study the manifestos and heinous paths of mass shooters, prosecutors say. He researched how to carry out sniper attacks, they contend, and whether rifle scopes were illegal. And all the while, investigators assert, he was amassing a cache of weapons as he ruminated about attacks on politicians and journalists. Joyce F. Nowell jnowell@herald-mail.com GREENCASTLE, Pa. An upgrade might not be enough for Antrim Townships wastewater treatment plant. With consistent precipitation and a growing township, Public Works Director Roger Nowell said the facility might instead need expansion. Nowell recently told the board of supervisors that he was ready to pitch the idea to the Antrim Township Municipal Authority, which meets Monday. Given recent plant performance, as related to constant precipitation ... and potential for growth in the township, Im going to be recommending to the ATMA a full plant expansion for the project, Nowell said. ATMA has been working on the design of a plant upgrade, which carries a potential $8 million price. The plant was originally constructed in 1978, and there were major modifications in 1998 and an upgrade in 2015. The plant has been under a corrective action plan with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection with limits on how many new connections can be made to the system each year. Officials have said the plant is holding its own in meeting state standards, but an upgrade is necessary. A 1999 UV system at the plant was recently upgraded at a cost of $1.3 million. Nowell said it is performing well. The rest of the plant, however, is reaching its 20-year life expectancy from the 1998 upgrade. Chad Murray, a supervisor who also serves on the ATMA, is not surprised by Nowells latest assessment. It would provide more capacity, but also provide the ability to treat current loads that are coming through not just from sewer, but from infiltration and storm water, which is where our real issues are at this point, Murray said. It would allow us to have longer retention times for the water to flow. If we kept current levels because of the rain, we could get over our nitrogen limits. That would cause fines and potentially puts us back into a corrective action plan and limits any new connections that we would have. Nowell is closely watching nitrogen levels after some concerning numbers during the past three months. The nitrogen year runs through September. We did really well January through October, even though we had extra water with the precipitation, but you can only hold your own for so long, Nowell said. The last few months arent giving a very good forecast for the year. Given that and growth is why Im pushing for the plant expansion rather than a plant upgrade. Murray said the potential for township growth would be a whole new issue in the discussion, and until he sees possible costs, he cant say if expansion is the way to go. Im in favor of being able to treat everything that we have coming through, Murray said. With the target constantly moving to make more stringent limits, current treatment levels are not going to cut it without any more flow coming through. Harry Nogle hnogle@herald-mail.com Keedysville Scouts to hold spaghetti dinner Boy Scout Troop 51 of Keedysville will hold a spaghetti dinner fundraiser from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Keedysville Community Center, 40 Mt. Vernon Drive. Dine in or use curbside takeout. The meal will include pasta and sauce, meatballs and garlic bread. Desserts will be available by donation. The cost is $8 for adults. $5 for ages 5 and younger, $8 for curbside takeout. Call or text 504-813-0531 to place a to-go order. Proceeds will benefit the scout troop for summer camp and other activities. Fire company plans potpie dinner The Potomac Valley Fire Co., at 2202 Dargan School Road in Dargan will hold a potpie dinner from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday. A donation of $8 will buy a dinner of chicken, ham, or ham and bean potpie with a homemade roll, tea or coffee. Doors open at 3:30 p.m. If the snow emergency plan is in effect for Washington County, the dinner will be canceled. Salvation Army offers one-hour tours Capt. Jimmy Taylor, commanding officer of The Salvation Army, will give one-hour tours, during which those interested in the work of The Salvation Army in Hagerstown and Washington County can learn about the services and ministries offered. The tours will be at noon on Wednesdays, March 20, April 10, June 19, July 17, Aug. 21, Sept. 18, Oct. 16, Nov. 20 and Dec. 11. RSVP to Gaela Shoop at 301-733-2440, ext. 203, if you would like to attend. Fire company to hold soup, sandwich sale The Community Volunteer Fire Co. of District 12, at 18002 Tilghmanton Road in Fairplay, will hold a soup, sandwich and bake sale March 2 from 11 a.m. until the food is sold out. Homemade soups, country ham and pulled-pork sandwiches, steamers and hot dogs will be available. In addition, a wide assortment of pies, cakes, cookies, candy and snacks made by members will be available to eat in or carry out. To order soup by the quart, call no later than Friday. Quarts will be sold after 1 p.m. March 2, only if supplies last. Call 301-733-6873 to place an order. Benevola UMC hosting dinner Benevola United Methodist Church, at 19925 Benevola Church Road in Boonsboro will hold an oyster, turkey and ham dinner from noon to 5 p.m. March 2. The menu will include fried oysters, ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, sauerkraut, corn, green beans, desserts, coffee, iced tea and lemonade. The cost is $20 for adults, $10 for those ages 6 to 12. Those younger than 6 may eat for free. St. Pauls to serve pancake supper St. Pauls Episcopal Church, 209 W. Main St. in Sharpsburg, is hosting a Shrove Tuesday pancake supper from 5 to 7 p.m. March 5. Regular and blueberry pancakes with sausage will be served. All are welcome. There is no cost, but donations will be accepted. Share your news Information concerning churches, clubs, schools, organizations and activities in the Sharpsburg/Keedysville area may be submitted to Harry Nogle by phone at 301-730-1767 or emailed to umterp72@gmail.com. Don Aines daines@herald-mail.com A Hagerstown woman and a Williamsport man are charged with involuntary manslaughter in the 2018 fentanyl overdose death of a Montgomery County woman found unresponsive in a vehicle stopped on Interstate 70. Joenna M. Nicewarner and Michael Wayne OHaver Jr. were indicted last week by a Washington County grand jury in connection with the death of Tara Chantelle Blackwood, according to court records. Blackwood died Sept. 18, 2018, of fentanyl intoxication, Assistant States Attorney Michele Hansen said after Thursdays circuit court bond hearings for Nicewarner and OHaver. That was five days after law enforcement observed a car driven erratically, then slowing to a stop on eastbound Interstate 70, Hansen said. Blackwood was unresponsive when emergency medical personnel arrived at the scene, Hansen said. Blackwood responded briefly to treatment at the scene and was taken to the hospital, where her condition deteriorated. Washington County Circuit Judge Brett R. Wilson denied bond for both Nicewarner and OHaver. Maryland State Police investigated the case. The defendant is known to be a drug dealer, Hansen said of the 33-year-old Nicewarner at her bond hearing. Online court records show that Nicewarner was convicted of criminal conspiracy to distribute heroin in 2016, for which she received a five-year suspended sentence. Hansen said Nicewarner, of the 1700 block of West Washington Street, supplied the fentanyl to the 31-year-old OHaver, who in turn provided it to Blackwood. Hansen described OHaver, of Lappans Road, as the intermediary. OHaver was friends with Blackwood for a number of years, Hansen said later. Nicewarner and OHaver also were indicted on charges of distribution of fentanyl, possession of fentanyl and reckless endangerment. Assistant Public Defender Thomas Tamm asked Wilson to set a reasonable bond for Nicewarner, noting she has lived at the same address for 25 years and is not a flight risk. Wilson said distribution of fentanyl is not a violent crime under Maryland law, but called it one of the most deadly types of offenses in Maryland and nationwide. He said drug overdoses killed more than 2,000 people in Maryland in the past year. Tamm asked for a bond for OHaver, noting he is employed, has a college education, and no serious criminal record. This story was updated at 9:20 p.m. Feb. 21, 2019, to correct a reference to the vehicle being stopped on Interstate 70. Don Aines daines@herald-mail.com Police detectives last week staged a photo of a pretend beating as they worked to arrest a man accused of hiring someone to commit the crime. The photo of a man beaten and bound with duct tape was supposed to be proof of purchase that a home invasion was committed, as requested as part of an agreement for the crime. The Washington County Sheriffs Office said Chad Eason Frobouck, 39, of no fixed address, tried to hire someone to break into his sisters home, tie up her husband and beat him. The sheriffs office got involved after Froboucks sister contacted them on Feb. 15 and told them about the plot. A detective asked the woman to put him in touch with the man who warned her. Frobouck was charged with soliciting a home invasion, soliciting an assault, criminal conspiracy and other offenses. District Court Judge Mark D. Thomas ordered him held without bond Tuesday during a hearing. The same day the sheriffs office heard from Froboucks sister, the detective arranged for the man to contact Frobouck and tell him he knew someone willing to commit the burglary, the document said. The man gave the detective Froboucks number and the detective started a text conversation, posing as a willing criminal. Frobouck texted the detective, offering money for the job, and telling him he could steal shotguns, rifles and other valuables in the Sharpsburg-area house, according to the charging document. Frobouck added that he needed proof of purchase a picture of the victim duct-taped would be sufficient. Also deliver the message loud and clear they owe a lot of money and if you help me collect this money later Im cutting you in on a percentage, Frobouck texted. The detective and another investigator got in touch with the intended victim and he agreed to the ruse, the document said. The man was duct-taped and made to look as if his face was injured. The photos were texted to Frobouck with the added message that the detective and an accomplice got the victim to hand over $5,000. Frobouck wanted to split the $5,000. They exchanged more email messages. He arranged for the detectives to bring the money to a location on South Potomac Street for him to pick up, the document said. The detectives put a bag of scrap paper in a trash can. Frobouck came to the the dead drop and picked it up, the document said. The detective then texted Frobouck telling him he picked up the wrong package and they arranged to meet. Frobouck was arrested at the intersection of South Potomac Street and Garlinger Avenue. Police also seized his cellphone containing the text conversations with police. In 2017, Frobouck was charged with trying to extort money from his sister, but in January, was found not competent to stand trial. However, he was not present in court and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. C.J. Lovelace cj.lovelace@herald-mail.com Hagerstown officials appear poised to annex more than 100 acres on the citys eastern edge, despite lingering opposition from public and private landowners. A majority of the five-member city council said Thursday they would vote to finalize the annexation at this Tuesdays meeting. Sometimes, this process includes an annexation agreement, where parties vet out or add additional agreements that are associated with development, said Councilman Kristin Aleshire, who supports the measure. In this case, theres no development, so its a fairly simple process. Councilmen Lew Metzner and Austin Heffernan also said they would be prepared to approve the annexation. But if a majority wants to delay the decision, they wouldnt be opposed to that either. I think everybody on [the] council wants to see it go forward, Heffernan said. I would prefer to see it go forward with all parties feeling like theyre part of the solution and plan. Councilwomen Emily Keller and Shelley McIntire did not return phone messages seeking comment Thursday. Meritus Health, the owner of the largest piece about 78 acres of the 101-acre tract, has opposed the proposal over zoning changes and lack of advance consent, among other issues. Washington County, which owns an 11-acre stormwater-management facility within the Meritus property, also has raised concerns, again over zoning differences between the two jurisdictions but also future road-maintenance responsibilities. The remaining portion, about 12 acres known as Foggy Bottom Farm, is owned by the city. The county Board of Commissioners has twice delayed votes on express approval for the annexation. Without it, the land would maintain county zoning and development would be prohibited for five years if uses are substantially different than what the county authorizes. However, Aleshire reiterated at Tuesdays council meeting that zoning and infrastructure are separate issues that can be resolved independently. This process doesnt require these two bodies to agree on unrelated items, he said. This is merely a change in jurisdictional boundary. With no pending projects on the Meritus property, the chances zoning could impact future development there would be remote, a city official told council members Tuesday. Stephen Bockmiller, the citys development planner and zoning administrator, said the two zoning districts the citys Industrial-Mixed Use (I-MU) and the countys Office, Research and Industry (ORI) overlap in about 80 percent of permitted uses. In a letter of support, the Maryland Office of Planning wrote that the two zones are substantially the same, he said. Phone and email messages for Jason Divelbiss, a local land-use attorney who has represented Meritus in the matter, were not returned Wednesday or Thursday. On the infrastructure issue, staff-level conversations between city and county officials have been ongoing for an agreement that spells out each jurisdictions responsibilities for the planned bridge over the Antietam Creek and the extension of Professional Boulevard. In a phone interview Monday, County Administrator Robert Slocum said he expects productive discussions to lead to a compromise between the two governmental bodies. The document is expected to be presented to elected officials in March. Asked to elaborate, Slocum said theres been talk that the county could handle more upfront construction costs for the Antietam Creek bridge, in exchange for the city considering a reasonable approach for perpetual maintenance as more annexations occur. The discussion was encouraging and it looks like we can move together with coordination and collaboration, he said. Slocum said construction of the bridge is slated to begin this summer and will take more than two years to complete. The road extension would follow in the year or two after. The ultimate goal for the county, Slocum said, continues to be establishing clear ownership boundaries and development requirements for future users of land in the area, specifically within the proposed Mt. Aetna Technology Park. The 150-acre park, between Hagerstown Community College and Meritus Medical Center, is being marketed for high-tech businesses. Officials view the project as a job generator that could infuse millions into the local economy. When the park attracts tenants, additional annexations would be necessary to extend utilities, so city officials decided to get out front by annexing land between the current city boundary and the park. We need to be proactive and it has to be an urgency felt at all levels, by the city, county and state, Mayor Bob Bruchey said. These lands need to be developed for high-tech companies. The Herald-Mail ANNAPOLIS The brew-haha between Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot and legislators trying to remove alcohol regulation from his office escalated Thursday as both sides conducted news conferences in which they claimed the high road. Franchot said the task force headed by Hagerstown attorney Bruce Poole that studied alcohol regulations last fall found no fault with his offices field inspections or enforcement. Therefore, an effort to take that responsibility from his office was reckless, costly and unnecessary, Franchot said. And worse. Its political retribution at the behest of economic interests that want to protect their market share, he said. Since the task force was created through legislation the Maryland General Assembly passed last year Franchot has said it was because of his support for the small craft-brewing industry. He contends it has angered powerful lawmakers he accuses of being influenced by lobbyists for big businesses. Franchot cited a report from the states Bureau of Revenue Estimates that estimated the change could cost taxpayers nearly $50 million over the next five years. The report also describes how removing regulation from the comptrollers office would strip access to sensitive tax information, which is fundamental to its enforcement power. It cited potential disruption of tobacco enforcement policies that could jeopardize hundreds of millions of dollars in tobacco settlement money over the five years. Jeff Kelly, the director of the Field Enforcement Division in the comptrollers office, emphasized that no one has criticized the work of his division. This legislation seems like a solution in search of a problem, Kelly said. But proponents of the legislation, sponsored by Sen. Ben Kramer, D-Montgomery, and Del. Warren Miller, R-Howard/Carroll, said the issue is not the quality of enforcement. We found that the field enforcement division is doing a good job, Poole said. They say its the need to emphasize health, safety and welfare issues related to alcohol. Other states have gone forward and adopted whats called a health in all policies assessment, which is lacking in Maryland, Poole said. Maryland, by a study that was published in the American Journal for Preventive Medicine, was ranked in the second to last category for effective policies that can help to deal with alcohol issues. The Maryland Department of Health tracks alcohol-related deaths. Poole noted that from 2007 through 2017, that number went up nearly 300 percent. That, he said, was the most damning part of the indictment for Maryland for him. Its not as though this is a question in search of a problem. We did recommend to establish a new separate agency in charge of regulating and enforcing alcohol, tobacco and motor fuels in Maryland and related public-health considerations, he added. Its nothing against the comptroller. Its just the comptroller, by definition, is a tax collector. His people dont have a focus in public health considerations. And you can notice from the actions of the past 10 or 12 years, thats not been the focus of the comptrollers office relative to alcohol, he said. Its understandable. But we can make a substantial difference if we draw on the expertise of public health officials, and put them in charge of what reasonable policy should be. Kramer called Franchots estimate of the cost for the new agency fiction that we have heard coming out of the comptrollers office. Legislative analysts estimate the change would cost $4 million in the first year, and $700,000 or more for the next four. The bill is scheduled for hearing Friday in the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee. The Associated Press contributed to this story. About 3:30 p.m., two other victims were found at a hospital with gunshot wounds. One, 27-year-old Justin Forney, died, and the second, a 27-year-old woman whom police did not identify, was being treated for her injuries, police said. Police believe both were in the 5100 block of Charlgrove Ave., in the citys Central Park Heights neighborhood, when they were shot. They then drove to the hospital, police said. Provo West Co-op Building The Provo West Co-op building at 466 W. Center St. was built in 1866 and was remodeled in 1890, according to the National Register of Historic Places. The Provo West Co-op was housed in that building until 1892, when the co-op failed. Since that time, the building has housed several businesses, and today it is home to Foxglove Flowers. Smoot Drug Building The Smoot Drug Building was originally part of the First National Bank Building on the corner of University Avenue and Center Street. The bank was torn down and a new building was built in 1904. However, the west portion of the building remained at 10 W. Center St. and housed Smoot Drug, according to the National Register of Historic Places. The building was home to the Provo location of the Sweet Tooth Fairy until fall 2018 when that location closed. Union Block Building According to the National Register of Historic Places, this property originally belonged to Brigham Young, but after his death the property was given to former Provo mayor A.O. Smoot. The building at 32 W. Center St. was originally built in 1889 as two identical halves with a wall between the two on the first floor. The first business was Irvine and Barney Dry Goods, and it later housed The New York Clothing Co. and The Hansen Catering Co. Today, ComedySportz calls the Union Block building home. Taylor Brothers Furniture Company Building According to the National Register of Historic Places, this building at 250 W. Center St. was built from 3 buildings, all of which housed the Taylor Brothers Co., that underwent rebuilds to be unified. The property originally was home to George Taylors furniture business, which was started in 1866. When he divorced his wife in 1890, the business was transferred to his wife Eliza Nichols and their sons Thomas and Arthur. Thomas Taylor started a jewelry business in 1885 and in 1889, he built a two-story building just east of his fathers furniture store, according to the Provo Landmarks Commission. In 1890, after taking control of Taylor Brothers Furniture Company, Taylor built a new three-story building at the location of his fathers old furniture store. In 1902, the addition to the east was replaced by a new three-story addition to match the building built in 1890. In 1910, a third three-story building was built to the west, and the buildings were combined into unified structure, according to the National Register of Historic Places. In the 1970s, the building was home to Continental Plaza, a mini mall and Stevens Henager College. Today, the building is home to a Google Fiber Space. Excelsior Building The Excelsior building was built in 1890. at 42 W. Center St. One of the longest-run businesses in the building was Sutton Cafe, according to the Provo Landmark Commission. It closed in the late 1950s. Today, the building is home to Osaka Japanese Restaurant and Bruges Waffles and Frites. Davis Millinery Building Henry W. Davis built this building at 198 W. Center St. in 1890 to house his business The H.W. David Millinery Co., where they made womens hats. The original building also housed a dressmaking shop in the back, according to the National Register of Historic Places. The Davises lived in the upper floor of the building, with their 11 children. The building has housed many businesses over the years including the Bird Palace and Hookah Collection. Today it is home to Fruta Crush Mexican Snacks. Hines Building Originally built in 1885, this building at 104 W. Center St. was built to house a drug store and saloon called The Palace, which was owned by Russel S. Hines. The second floor was rebuilt in 1893 to be a rooming house, and the building was rebuilt in 1890 to its current state. The drug store eventually became known as Hedquist Drug Store, Ivans Drug Stone Drug, Sanitary Cafe Cozy Cafe and Provo Pharmacy, according to the National Register of Historic Places. The I.O.O.F of Provo, the first fraternal order in Provo, had their hall on the second floor, and in 1905, the Vienna Cafe opened in the former saloon area. Today the building is home to Whats Hot Clothing Boutique. Gates-Snow Building Built in 1890, the Gates-Snow Building at 43 E. Center St., in Provo was one of the first built downtown. J.F. Gates and Moroni Snow became business partners and opened the Gates-Snow Furniture Company, according to the National Register of Historic Places. Gates left the business in 1902 to go on a Latter-day Saint mission, and the business was taken over by Snow and renamed the M. Snow Furniture Company. The building was taken over in 1907 by former Provo mayor William M. Roylance in 1907, to house his fruit, produce and fruit packing company, which was the largest in the valley at the time. When it was built, it had a stamped metal front that was delivered in 1890 from St. Louis. Today, the building is home to Enlighten Bakery and Cafe. Knight Block The Knight Block Building, one of two twin buildings on the north corners of University Avenue and Center Street, is an iconic structure in Provo. It was built in 1900 for local mining magnate and businessman Jesse Knight, to house his financial headquarters. But while the building still bears his name, the Knight family has long since ceased doing business there, according to the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the Knight Block rents spaces to several local businesses at 1 E. Center St., including Kelly Larson Studios, Vance Hawkins Design, Jacobson Construction, Gandolfo's Deli, Silk Scientific, Inc., Justin Hackworth Studios and REMS Inc., among others. Southworth Block Building The Southworth Block at 110 W. Center St. was originally built in 1900 by Henry L. Southworth. It housed four businesses with a public hall on the second floor, according to the National Register of Historic Places. Historically, its provided a home to multiple businesses including restaurants, meat markets, vision centers, a mens store, a restaurant, a dance hall and rental rooms. According to the Utah State Historical Society, the building was restored in 1990, and today is home to Southworth Hall, a wedding reception and corporate event hall. Avenue Block Avenue Block building at 43 N. University Ave. was built in 1902 for R.R. Irvine and Son Dry Goods, which occupied the lower flow. The upper floor was home to dentists Charles Snyder and James Irvine, according to the National Register of Historic Places. The building has been reworked over the years, but still shows many of the original elements intact. In 1965, an addition was added in the rear of the building and in 1966, the building was extensively remodeled inside. Today the building is home to Rockwell Ice Cream Company and Ivie. Provo Meat & Packing Co. Building The Provo Meat & Packing Co. Building at 65 N. University Ave. was built in 1902, as the meat packing company was organized, according to the National Register of Historic Places. Today it is home to Danburry Barber Shop, Andrew Beesley Studio and Design, Perfectly Suited by Garth and Something Borrowed Bridal Rentals. Loose Block This building at 19 N. University Ave. was completed in 1902 by Charles E. Loose to house his offices. He was the vice-president of the Provo Commercial and Savings Bank and the Farrer Brothers Co. Dry Goods store, which stood on either side of this building, according to the National Register of Historic Places. The building was later known as the Express Building and the Grand Central Building. It also housed the Provo Drug Company for many years until it became home to the Bullock and Losee Jewelry Store in the 1960s. First National Bank Building This iconic building at 4 W. Center St., was originally built to house the First National Bank, later known as the Provo Commercial and Savings Bank, according to the National Register of Historic Places The building, however, was replaced by a new one in 1904. This building had the same architect as the Knight Block Richard C. Watkins. Over the years, many businesses have called this building home, including Los Hermanos which was located on the ground floor until it moved in 2011. Today the building is home to The Bell Room. U.S. Marines take their positions during advanced cold-weather training at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Bridgeport, Calif. After 17 years of war against Taliban and al-Qaida-linked insurgents, the military is shifting its focus to better prepare for great-power competition with Russia and China, and against unpredictable foes such as North Korea and Iran. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) If you think things need to change, come join our ranks and be a catalyst for change and help us change it, Harrison said. That will be one message youll see and hear me bring to you, to put before the congregations. Because thats the best marketing tool, when youre a pastor and you say, God has told me to tell you to go be a Baltimore police officer. WISE, Va.A Wise County grand jury indictment accuses a state prison inmate of attempting to kill a corrections officer and assaulting two others. Keith Dwane McDuffie has been indicted on one count of attempted capital murder, two counts of assault and battery on a corrections officer and one count of possession of an unauthorized weapon by inmate. He faces life in prison on the attempted murder charge. On Dec. 2, 2018, McDuffie was incarcerated in the Red Onion State Prison in Pound. Following the alleged attack, McDuffie was transferred to Wallens Ridge State Prison in Big Stone Gap, where he is currently being held. Because it is a pending case at this time, I cannot specifically comment about any of the facts of the case or whether the officers were injured as a result of the alleged attack, said Wise County Commonwealths Attorney Chuck Slemp. McDuffie is currently incarcerated following a 2008 conviction in Colonial Heights, Virginia. He was sentenced on 22 charges stemming from robberies at three businesses, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Lawson died due to injuries sustained in the crash, the report adds. Mark Nagi, a TDOT spokesman, said the landslide resulted in a long-term road closure. Geotechnical engineers were on scene Thursday to assess the slope, he added. Slides were also reported in Southwest Virginia, according to Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Michelle Earl. A slide near mile marker 36.3 on Interstate 81 in Chilhowie did not impact traffic, Earl said. The slide, which was contained primarily to the shoulder, was cleared from the roadway by 8:45 a.m. Thursday. We will monitor the shoulder area where the slide is located and will make repairs early next week, Earl said. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Another slide was reported early Thursday along state Route 83 in the Clintwood area of Dickenson County. The small slide was cleared by 8:30 a.m., Earl said. Elsewhere in Dickenson County, a section of state Route 648, between Clintwood and Coeburn, was also damaged due to a slide. Photographs of the roadway show half of the pavement collapsed and blocked by orange cones. In Coeburn, authorities continue to monitor a hazardous materials incident along High Street that resulted from heavy rainfall. A Frizzell official told the Bristol Herald Courier on Thursday that miscommunication led to the wage differences. Frizzell Construction is the general contractor on the Morristown project and as such, has full responsibility to see that the proper Davis-Bacon pay rates are used on this project, said Sherie M. Horton, vice president of Frizzell. One subcontractor was discovered to have paid the rates as stated in the specification books prepared by the engineering firm of record for the project. Horton said the subcontractor requested clarification of the rates, received no reply and paid the rates in the specification book. In some instances, the rates were lower than required, she said. The investigation found that Frizzell paid employees as general laborers. But the workers performed more skilled labor and should have been paid as concrete finishers, ironworkers and carpenters, which require a higher rate of pay, the release states. Frizzell also failed to record and pay required rates to employees who worked in multiple positions for which different rates applied, according to the release. Horton said there were multiple sections of the job that required different rates and many of those fell into rates that matched the specification book. Prosecutors had tried to convict Carter on an array of crimes including two murders and 10 attempted murders saying he went on a shooting rampage over three days in December 2017 that left two men dead and several others wounded. During trial, they presented DNA evidence that put the weapons in Carters hands. They matched bullets from the bodies to the guns. They played for jurors Carters recorded interview with police; he discusses his war on drugs. Anderson, IN (46016) Today Partly cloudy early with thunderstorms becoming likely during the afternoon. High 86F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Variably cloudy with scattered thunderstorms. Low 71F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Greenville, TX (75401) Today Thunderstorms - some may contain locally heavy rain, especially in the morning. High 89F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms in the evening. Partly cloudy skies overnight. Low 72F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. DeLeonardo said in a news release: Parents are always asking, How do I know whether my child is using drugs? In response we have created this unique approach so parents can leave that evening knowing what subtle signs of drug use may be in their childs room right under their nose. Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email customercare@heraldandnews.com for help creating one. A taxi driver who bit off part of a man's ear in "a vicious and violent assault" must complete 180 hours of community service within 12 months in lieu of a prison term. Lawrence Doyle (51) was introduced to his victim, Christopher Darcy, by the barman in a Dublin city centre pub where they both had been drinking, though Mr Darcy had recognised Doyle. Jumped Gda Fergus Grant told Maddie Grant, prosecuting, that a short time later a row broke out between the two men and words were exchanged before Doyle jumped on Mr Darcy and "gave him a dig to the side of the head". Doyle then locked on to Mr Darcy's ear, biting it, before the victim fell to the ground where the assault continued. Judge Melanie Greally said it was clear it was a "drink-fuelled" incident, but that Doyle had been particularly out of control. In sentencing, she acknow- ledged that Doyle had no previous convictions, co-operated with gardai and had 1,000 as compensation. Doyle, of Stapolin Lawns, Baldoyle, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting Mr Darcy causing him harm at Mullet's Bar on Amiens Street on May 15, 2017. Gda Grant said the victim later told gardai that he was struck "dozens of times" in the chest while he attempted to protect his face. Staff at the pub ultimately broke up the fight and Mr Darcy called an ambulance. He was taken to the Mater Hospital where he was treated in the emergency department. Nasty A medical report said Mr Darcy had tissue loss of 3cm from his ear and would be left with a permanent scar. Judge Greally said Doyle had left his victim with "a nasty injury of a permanent nature". "He subjected him to a vicious and violent assault," she said, before adding that it seemed the incident was "out of character" for Doyle. The accused claimed he had felt threatened by Mr Darcy but accepted he should have walked away. Tara Maguire, defending, said Doyle had money in court as "a form of restitution". Our officers are asked to do a very dangerous job, theyre asked to deal with a lot of high-risk individuals, DeLeonardo, who testified as both the Carroll County States Attorney and as president of Maryland States Attorneys Association, told the Senate Judicial Proceedings committee Thursday. We are in situations where we see, at times as prosecutors, felony assault of police officers and literally theyve been released by the commissioner before the officer is out of the hospital. Rosie Gannon won her case for a refund from Ecco after proving in court the sandals were unfit for purpose A woman has won a refund from a shoe shop over a pair of sandals she claimed smelled so bad after being worn that they were unfit for purpose. Ecco Distributors Ltd at The Pavilions Shopping Centre in Swords had refused to refund Rosie Gannon, claiming the 100 shoes had undergone "undue wear and tear" and were "very well worn". However, ruling in favour of Ms Gannon, Judge Dermot Dempsey told the shop's assist- ant manager that the way Ms Gannon had been treated "was very shabby". Odour Ms Gannon, of Ardilaun, Portmarnock, said she is delighted "justice has been done" after she won her small claims court case against the shop. She had told Swords District Court that she bought the sandals last April 9 to wear during a holiday to Canada the following July. "I didn't wear the sandals until July when I went on holidays," she said. "After 10 days of wearing them they were emitting a dreadful odour. I couldn't wear them any more." Ms Gannon said that after she had returned from her holiday, she went back to the shop with the shoes on August 21 and a shop assistant cleaned one of the sandals for her. "It was better, but I wasn't happy and was referred to a regional manager," said Ms Gannon. She claimed the regional manager told her the sandals had undergone "undue wear and tear" and a refund could not be offered. However, Ms Gannon told the court: "I only wore them for 10 days. I was then advised I should have been using an anti-bacterial spray, but the regional manager said I didn't need to, just to wash the sandals with soap and water." She then said the regional manager offered her a can of the anti-bacterial spray. "It was an insult - as I was told I didn't need it," she said. She claimed the sandals were "not of marketable quality and not fit for purpose". "They are supposed to be durable outdoor sandals," she added. "The website did not advise how to care for them, and the smell was so bad I couldn't wear them after 10 days." Ciara Keating, the assistant manager of the Swords store, claimed Ms Gannon brought the sandals to her first. "They were very well worn and they were not cleaned," said Ms Keating. "I told the manager straight away who took the sandal and cleaned it to show her how products can be used to clean and maintain them. I couldn't smell anything." Ms Keating added that there was sand and grass embedded into the Velcro straps on the sandals and said she offered Ms Gannon 50pc off "as a gesture of goodwill", which Ms Gannon did not accept. When Judge Dempsey pointed out that the issue was the smell of the sandals, Ms Keating replied: "Feet do give off natural sweat odours in a warm climate." Refund On inspecting the sandals, Judge Dempsey said he did not see how they were "well worn" as the Ecco logo is "clearly visible on the insole". "They are not well worn," he said. The judge ruled in favour of Ms Gannon and ordered the shoe shop to refund her 100. "It is a very shabby way Ecco dealt with Ms Gannon for the sake of 100. It's very shabby to treat customers like this," he added. Ms Gannon said: "I feel justice has been done. I did feel intimidated by the staff, and it shouldn't have come to this." The EU is set to spend hundreds of billions of euro to combat climate change, says Jean-Claude Juncker. The European Commission president was responding to Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager who has inspired a global movement of children against global warming. Speaking in Brussels alongside Ms Thunberg (16), Mr Juncker said: "In the next financial period, from 2021 to 2027, every fourth euro spent within the EU budget will go towards action to mitigate climate change." Ms Thunberg was in Brussels to join a seventh week of demonstrations by Belgian children protesting against global warming. More than 10,000 children across the country skipped school to join the protests. Some carried banners that said, "Stop denying the Earth is dying". Ms Thunberg said young people around the world wanted politicians to heed the warnings of scientists. "Unite behind the science, that is our demand," she told the European Economic and Social Committee. "Talk to the scientists, listen to them." Mr Juncker criticised US President Donald Trump for suggesting climate change was "invented" and "ideological". "Mr Trump and his friends believe that climate change is something that has just been invented and its an ideological concept, but ... something dangerous is already under way." In 2017, Mr Trump said it was his intention to withdraw from the Paris Accord, an agreement to combat climate change. Quit However, he cannot quit the deal until after nest year's presidential election. The Paris Accord aims to limit the global temperature rise to less than 2C and prevent damaging levels of global warming, which scientists say would limit water availability, alter coastlines and undermine human health. Ms Thunberg said the protests were designed to focus the minds of politicians on a UN conference next year when countries need to present new plans for more ambitious greenhouse gas emissions cuts. Transport Minister Shane Ross has ruled out the move over fears of years of disruption. Photo: Arthur Carron Transport Minister Shane Ross has said a plan to reroute the MetroLink through part of the southside is out of the question because of "undue" disruption to Luas services. The metro had been expected to run between Swords and Sandyford. However, a potential closure of the Luas Green Line for four years appears to have ended those particular plans. The proposal would involve bringing the metro underground at Ranelagh. Unacceptable Mr Ross was so alarmed at the proposal that he sought a crisis meeting with the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Transport Infrastructure Ireland. Speaking at a Tourism Ireland event yesterday, he said such a plan was out of the question. "The Government and I will not countenance the situation where there is a closure of a major infrastructural project. It would be for a long period of time," he said. "The idea that we could close a vein or an artery into a major city for four years is completely and utterly unacceptable or for two years is unacceptable. "I won't countenance any project which comes up with a proposal which inconveniences commuters to that extent or any extent. It won't be happening." Mr Ross told the Dail last night that a revised plan by the NTA would be published soon and it would address concerns raised during the first consultation on the MetroLink. "The NTA will then hold a new public consultation on the preferred route when published. After this a decision on the final route will be made and then this will be submitted to An Bord Pleanala, at which stage statutory consultation periods will take place. "That's the way it works and it works in that way for a very, very good reason." Earlier this week, the Rethink MetroLink group said it was concerned at the delays in publishing the review of the project. Sensible "We believe the sensible way forward is to start with the northside link from the airport. The southside route is new and clearly needs a full rethink based on public feedback to date," it said in a statement. Fine Gael TD Noel Rock said the project should be split into two to avoid any further delays. "Let the consultation begin, and let's get started with this project," he said. "The northside needs it, and the link between the city centre and the airport." Lady luck has smiled again on the north Dublin shop that sold the winning 175m EuroMillions ticket after a customer scooped 500 on a scratch card on Wednesday night. On the same day that Reilly's in The Naul was celebrating selling the biggest ever lottery winning ticket in the country, a Kerryman who thought he'd chance his luck was quids-in when he bought a 5 All Cash scratch card. "He was going to or coming from the airport, I think, and he said he'd chance his arm. It's incredible," said shop owner Les Reilly. The lucky customer's more modest win came at 8.50pm, just 10 minutes before the shop was due to close. Reilly's could well be one of the luckiest shops in the country. "Twenty-eight years ago, we sold an Irish Lotto winning ticket with a prize of IR800,000," said Les. "And the shop's own syndicate for the local community won 25,000 six years ago. "Our own syndicate had a 38 winner on the same night the local syndicate won the 170m. The word spread that we'd won the jackpot - in reality, we got about 38c each. It just wasn't our turn for the big one. "One of the Lottery people told us the chances of winning the EuroMillions jackpot was 700 million to one, so the chances of a shop in a small village selling the ticket is amazing. "We're delighted. I sold the winning ticket myself, and I can tell you that the winners won't be foolish. They are sensible people." The jackpot winners are the extended Rogers family who had formed a siblings syndicate of seven people, but they'll pull other members of the family into that syndicate before they collect their winnings. They have family spread across north Dublin and Meath but none of them was contactable yesterday, with rumours that they were staying in hotels and contemplating what they would do in the coming weeks. It emerged on Wednesday that the ticketholder of the family syndicate "didn't sleep a wink" the night they won, and hid the ticket under the mattress. The large family are originally from The Naul in north Co Dublin - but also live in areas of Duleek and Bellewstown in Meath. Unbelievable It is understood they met with National Lottery bosses and deposited the ticket in a safe and stayed in Dublin hotel on Wednesday night. They say the life-changing winnings will be spread around the family - but insisted they do not want their lives to dramatically change. "This is unbelievable. It will take us some time to get our heads around this win. We are a very close family. We meet every week and we take holidays together. This is a dream come true," one said. Inside Reilly's, sales assistant Martina White said there had been brisk sales in tickets since the win was announced. "There are people coming from everywhere to buy them," said Martina from behind the machine that now proudly boasts a sign that says 'Luckiest Shop in Europe'. "I'm delighted for the winners," said shopper Cora Moore. "If I won, I'd take a holiday and think about what I would do." Rena Rowe, from Ballyboughal, said the win was great for The Naul area. "I'd go to New York again if I won it. I wouldn't move from Ballyboughal. I love it here. I might put an extension on the house and get new windows." Jackie McGrane said the winners were quiet and sensible people and would handle the win well. One man who knew exactly what he would do if he won such a huge jackpot was Mick McManus. "I've been fitting tyres for years and I'd quit in the morning and get rid of the kids," he said jokingly as he nodded toward his son Michael. "I'd probably have to pay them off." A pensioner accused of exaggerating an insurance claim for injuries absconded from court on the day the civil action was due to be heard. Winnifred Lawrence (69), who has been charged with deception, left the court when gardai spoke to her after the insurance company became suspicious, it is alleged. A judge has now decided the deception case is too serious to be dealt with at Blanchards-town District Court and has adjourned it. Lawrence intends to plead guilty to the charge, said Matthew Kenny, defending. She will be sent to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Lawrence, of Moorfield Grove, Clondalkin, is charged with dishonestly by deception inducing a woman to do an act "to wit, believe you were another woman", with the intention of making gain. The offence is alleged to have happened at the Blackrock Clinic, Rock Road, Blackrock, on December 7, 2017. The Director of Public Prosecutions had consented to the case being dealt with at district court level subject to jurisdiction being considered. Doctor A summary of the case had been given on an earlier date, and Judge Paula Murphy had asked for more details. Gda Sgt Maria Callaghan clarified that while the court had heard previously that Lawrence had left the clinic without seeing a doctor, she in fact had kept the appointment, which had been set up by the insurance company. A report was compiled and, following this, the insurance company became suspicious and contacted gardai. A garda had attended the civil court for the hearing of Lawrence's claim and spoken to her, said Sgt Callaghan. The garda knew her as Lawrence, but she gave another name, which was the name on the claim. Lawrence had "absconded from court" that day, said Sgt Callaghan. Judge Murphy refused juris- diction to deal with the case. Mr Kenny said that the case could be sent forward to the circuit court on a signed plea of guilty on the next date, March 7. A judge has set a $100,000 (88,000) bond for Empire actor Jussie Smollett, who is accused of staging an attack against himself in Chicago last month. The 36-year-old actor said little other than giving his name at the beginning of yesterday's hearing. The actor's attorney asked Cook County Judge John Fitzgerald Lyke Jr to release Smollett on his own recognisance. However, the judge said that would be inappropriate. Police allege that Smollett hired two brothers to help stage an attack on him late last month in downtown Chicago. He told police two masked men beat him and hurled racist and homophobic slurs during the attack. Prosecutors say Smollett gave detailed instructions to two brothers who helped him to stage the alleged attack. These included giving them specific slurs to yell and to drape a rope around his neck. Assistant State Attorney Risa Lanier said at a news conference that Smollett even pointed out to the brothers a specific surveillance camera he thought would capture footage of the January 29 incident. Police say the camera was pointed another way during the staged attack. Smollett is charged with felony disorderly conduct. Threatening Police allege he hired the two brothers to help stage the attack, which he described to police as racist and homophobic in nature. Smollett, who is gay and black, turned himself in at the police central booking office yesterday morning. At a news conference later, Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson said Smollett "took advantage of the anger of racism to promote his career". He added that before the alleged attack, the actor sent a racist and homophobic threatening letter to himself at the Fox studio lot where he works. Supt Johnson said Smollett was dissatisfied with his salary. Questions about Smollett's account were raised with reports that he had not fully co-operated with police after telling authorities he had been attacked. Then detectives in a city bristling with surveillance cameras could find no video of the supposed assault. A brain damaged girl of 13 has had her High Court action against the Rotunda Hospital settled over the care provided to her mother before her birth. Saibhe O'Connor is to get an annual payout of 610,000 for life in the first court case finalised with lifelong payments. Saibhe has already received interim settlement payments totalling 2.94m. Warrior The case settlement was without an admission of liability. President of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, was satisfied it was an appropriate case in which to make a periodic payment order. He said Saibhe had demonstrated herself to be "somewhat of a warrior" and thanked her parents, Michelle and Eddie, for the care they have given their daughter. He added that he took into account that they were happy with the periodic payments. He also said he was satisfied the periodic payments order was in Saibhe's best interests. The judge called it a wise decision to go for periodic payments and said he was sure her parents are delighted it was their last time to come to the Four Courts in relation to their daughter's case. Saibhe, of Croftwood Green, Ballyfermot, Dublin, through her mother, Michelle Farrell, sued the Rotunda over the circumstances of her birth on November 7, 2005. It was claimed there was negligence and breach of its duty of care towards Saibhe in the treatment and management of her mother's pregnancy. The Rotunda had denied all claims. Ms Farrell, it was claimed, had gone to her GP, and the doctor feared the onset of pre-eclampsia. She was referred to the Rotunda in Dublin as an emergency admission. In the hospital, on November 2, 2005, she was diagnosed with pre-eclamptic toxaemia. It was claimed that despite objections from her family, she was discharged on November 6. The following day, Ms Farrell suffered an eclamptic seizure and had to have an emergency caesarean section. Yesterday, Saibhe's counsel, Aongus O'Brolchain, said the parents had intended to go for a final lump sum payment but given the way she has improved, it was decided to accept a periodic payment. While its not unusual for jury verdicts to be overturned, that more typically happens on appeal. Norman, however, is the judge who presided over the civil trial. After the jury ruled in favor of the family, Baltimore County requested a Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict, or JNOV for the Latin phrase from which it is derived. It allows judges to overrule verdicts that they think no reasonable jury could have reached such as if the facts of the case dont support it. South Africa: Hand up for Mpumalanga informal traders The competitiveness of informal traders will receive a boost with the Department of Small Business Development set to hand over tools and equipment to informal business owners in Mpumalanga. Minister Lindiwe Zulu, MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Sikhumbuzo Kholwane and Nkomazi Local Municipality mayor Johan Mkhatshwa are expected to hand over equipment to 138 informal business owners on Saturday. The department said the handover of business tools and equipment is part of its Informal and Micro Enterprise Development Programme (IMEDP), which strives to accelerate the growth of informal and micro enterprises by improving their competitiveness and sustainability to become formal businesses and partake in the mainstream economy. It is imperative that we improve our support to informal traders, with a sole focus of enabling them to be competitive and sustainable. This is the sector that creates more jobs and directly helps to reduce poverty, said Zulu on Friday. In the 2019 State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Cyril Ramaphosa committed to significantly expand the Small Business Incubation Programme, which provides budding entrepreneurs with physical space, infrastructure and shared services, access to specialised knowledge, market linkages, training in the use of new technologies and access to finance. The IMEDP Programme is a catalytic instrument with a potential to improve efficiency and productivity, which may lead to profitability. The ultimate objective is to see evolution of informal businesses into formal medium-sized businesses that will participate meaningfully in global value chains. Saturdays handover is scheduled to get underway at Kamhlushwa Stadium in Malelane at 10am. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2019-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. HUNTINGTON - Following a lengthy executive session reviewing recommendations from the ad hoc committee and the president, the Marshall University Board of Governors on Thursday narrowly voted to keep the name Jenkins Hall but place a plaque or display inside the building condemning bigotry and recognizing the lasting effect of slavery on society. Quite frankly, our overall debt capacity is fairly constrained now, and we have to make some tough decisions. If we want things, we have to pay for them. If we dont want to pay for them, we have to make some cuts, Quirk said. Free access for current print subscribers As a home delivery subscriber, you get free unlimited digital access to premium content on HenryHerald.com, including local news, local sports, obituaries, legal notices, local features, and the e-edition. All you need is your print subscription account number and your last name. Don't know your subscription number? Email access@henryherald.com with your delivery address. Activate your account now. AUTHOR and broadcaster Michael Portillo visited Henley to learn more about how important the railway and River Thames is to Henley. It was for his Great British Railway Journeys series on BBC 2 and the episode was shown on Tuesday. Portillo, who was wearing a green striped blazer and armed with a copy of the old railway guide, Bradshaws Handbook, travelled from the start of the branch line at Twyford. He said: According to my Bradshaws timetable you could reach Henley-on-Thames from London a century ago by train in just over an hour, opening up its river playground to city dwellers. The first [rowing] race between Oxford and Cambridge was held there in 1829 and the first of its world famous regattas 10 years later, becoming royal in 1851. On arriving in Henley, he said it was time to mess about in boats and put on a boater. Portillo added: In Henley, it really is all about the river and you dont have to be an oarsman to enjoy it. He then walked down Thames Side where he was met by Jonathan Hobbs, the fifth generation of his family to own the boat hire company Hobbs of Henley. The pair then went on the river in a slipper launch. Portillo asked what was so special about the river in Henley and Mr Hobbs replied: Its one of the only places on the upper Thames where you can go down a nearly two-mile straight bit, which is why the Boat Race started here before it moved to Putney. Of course all the people running pubs and hotels were up in arms because there was a massive increase in trade from the Boat Race being held here. They said we need to have races here to get visitors to watch rowing so they can fill our bars, our pubs and our shops. The branch line opened in in 1859 and brought huge numbers of visitors to the town. Mr Hobbs said: There was a real boom then of people wanting to get out on the river in punts and skiffs. You could walk across the regatta course without touching the water. Health and safety nightmare, as you can imagine. Portillo spent the night at Leander Club, which he described as a privilege before having a look round and adding: I am in awe. The following morning he continued his journey to Cookham. William Henry "Bill" Hinebauch of Havre/Dearborn, age 77, passed away peacefully with his wife, Linda by his side on February 18, 2019, at Northern Montana Care Center. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 2, 2019, at 2:00 p.m. at Fifth Avenue Christian Church with luncheon to follow. Memorials in Bill's name may be made to the First Lutheran Church Radio Fund, Dearborn Fire Department or the charity of the donor's choice. Holland and Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with services and arrangements. Please visit Bill's online memorial page and leave a message of condolence for his family at http://www.hollandbonine.com. Bill was born to Martha (Miller) and Walter Hinebauch on December 11, 1941 in Eastend, SK, Canada. The family moved to Montana in 1943 where Bill lived and farmed until 2011 when he retired. Bill graduated from Havre High School in 1959. He later married Karen Ulven in 1963 and they had two sons, Lyle and Mike, whom he was very proud. The couple later divorced. In 1996, he married his soulmate and best friend, Linda Cline Wagner. After his retirement he and Linda moved to Dearborn to live on the river. They enjoyed traveling to many places and entertaining at their house on the river. He loved belonging to Friday Night Club and the great friends he made. They spent winters in Yuma, AZ, until last year when Bill's health failed, and they could no longer travel. Bill was diagnosed with multiple myeloma cancer in January of 2011 and fought a courageous battle; never complaining of his pain or misfortune of having cancer. Bill enjoyed farming, playing cards and spending time with family and friends. He was always ready to lend a helping hand and was active in the community serving on many boards over the years. His smile lit up the room and his laughter warmed the soul. A great and kind man he was and he will be missed by many. He is preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Walter and Roy; sisters, Dorothy and Velma; stepson, Sean Figarelle; and his dog, Daisy Duke. Bill is survived by wife, Linda of Dearborn; sons, Lyle (Caryn) of Scottsbluff, NE and Mike of Havre; special extended family, Rachel (Tom) McKay of Columbia Falls; grandchildren, Jared and Ashtyn of Scottsbluff and Ian of Kalispell; great-grandson, Gavin; sisters, Gladys Klundt of Whitefish and Linda Hinebauch of Great Falls; and numerous nieces and nephews. A gathering of friends and family will be held Saturday evening, March 2, 2019, at 6:00 p.m. at the Palace Bar in Havre. HELENA (AP) - The Latest on harassment allegations within the Montana Legislature (all times local): 12:55 p.m. Montana's former House speaker has identified a lawmaker from Box Elder as the man who sent harassing text messages to another legislator in 2017. Austin Knudsen said today that Democratic Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy voluntarily resigned as chairman of the State-Tribal Relations Interim Committee last year before he could strip Windy Boy of the position as punishment. A call from the Havre Daily News to Windy Boy at 12:55 p.m. went to voice mail, which the service said was full an... A Blaine County commissioner said during North Central Montana Transit Transits Advisory Committee Annual Meeting Thursday that although Blaine County still supports the system, they have lost hope in receiving a new stop in Harlem. We wish we could have that stop, Commissioner Dolores Plumage said. We have given up on it, we have lost hope, we are not going to ask any more. You have got all your answers, all your rules, thank you, we understand. The anti-poverty nonprofit Opportunity Link Inc. started North Central Montana Transit in 2009. Since then, it has started lines... Out our way, Charlie on Jet and me on Doc loved to ride the Tiger Ridge and work cows. But only in the good weather. Come February when the Alberta Clippers rage and the cows are calving, we were well content to stay inside and let other roam the back country, There is nothing fun or romantic about pulling calves in a minus 40 degree blizzard at 3 a.m. February is calving season and also one of the harshest months on the Hi-Line of Montana. But it can also be one of the most glorious for more than a few times, after a bad-tempered clipper comes through dumping snow and temperatures, th... Kailee Calnan scores a mango after learning the proper way to cut the fruit Thursday at Havre Middle School in Havre. Calnan said she hopes to share some of what she learned with her husband. Tucked away in the home economics room of Havre Middle School, a small group congregated Thursday night to practice proper knife skills. Jasmine Carbajal, Hill County family and consumer sciences extension agent for Montana State University, led a class of four in a handful of lessons on different knife skills as part of Havre Public Schools' Community Education Program. Carbajal said the two most crucial aspects of safely and effectively using kitchen knives is keeping a sharp blade and maintaining control of the knife at all times. "Using a knife with a dull blade is one of the worst... By Emily Mayer Thrift was still being touted by the federal government as we were still paying bills and helping out hungry and desperate Europeans in the aftermath of World War I. Headlines such as NONE TOO POOR TO HAVE A PART, Every American Citizen Should Join Movement to Help Nation Finish War Job. JOIN SAVING SOCIETY. They Furnish Definite Agency to Promote Americanism and Crystalize Habit of Thrift-Furnish Stimulant for Sale of Securities were found in newspapers across the country. No amount was too small, according to the articles found in the Feb. 22, 1919 edition of The Hav... Editor: I see Kami, our vice-president, is finally going to go to the border after In a statement, States Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said she authorized an arrest (of Thomas) that night (of the crash) based on the results of the breath test and the circumstances of the crash. She did not comment on his past cases. Published on 2019/02/21 | Source The final episode of the SBS drama "The Last Empress" was broadcast on the 21st in which Lee Hyeok (Shin Sung-rok) and Na Wang-sik (Choi Jin-hyuk ) die and the Queen (Sin Eun-kyung) and Seo Kang-hee (Yoon So-yi) are sentenced to death. Advertisement Oh Sunny (Jang Nara) woke up a week after the bomb incient. Lee Hyeok told her Na Wang-sik was framed as the bomber, but he'd already died with the bomb. The Queen didn't know this and opened a seARCH for him while framing Lee Hyeok for drugs and murder. Lee Hyeok knew that Na Wang-sik had prevented mass casualties by taking the bomb with him and decided to avenge his death. The queen assumed Na Wang-sik was going to do something and ordered the drug factory to be burnt down. She would test drugs on people and when they overdosed, she would drown them in the sea of Chunggeumdo. Lee Hyeok disguised himself as Na Wang-sik in bandages. Min Yoo-ra was there too with the antidote. She stabbed Mr. Pyo with a poison shot and Sunny asked him for the Queen's secret if he wanted to live, but he claimed he didn't know. Then he tried to attack her from behind but Min Yoo-ra got in his way and fell to the ground. Min Yoo-ra said to Sunny, "Don't misunderstand. I didn't try to save you. I got my revenge and I got my punishment for what I did. Don't be thankful and don't be sorry", and died. Lee Hyeok who saved people from the factory, was cornered. The Queen, who thought he was Na Wang-sik, shot him. When she found out it was Lee Hyeok, she was terrified. Before he closed his eyes, Lee Hyeok said to Oh Sunny, "I thought I wouldn't be able to see you one last time. I'm sorry I wasn't a good emperor or a good husband. I wish we had met on different terms. Thanks for marrying me. I love you". The Queen and Seo Kang-hee (Yoon So-yi) didn't know the police were listening and argued, airing each others' dirty laundry. In the end, the Queen was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and others while, Seo Kang-hee was charged with the murders of Queen So-hyun, and the attempted murders of Kang Joo-seung (Yoo Gun) and Lee Yoon (Oh Seung-yoon). Oh Sunny told them they got what they deserved and the Queen said, "I should have killed you first". The two were sentenced to death. Oh Sunny held a press conference and said, "There is no value in the Imperial Family anymore. As of this moment, I give up all the rights of the Imperial Family and any member of it who has committed crime will pay the price. Matters of abolishment will be announced through the Board of Inspection". A year later, Oh Sunny was living an ordinary life with Ah-ri (Oh Ah-rin). The Imperial Palace became a museum and Min Yoo-ra, who was thought to be dead, was alive although the blow to the head had rendered her quite dull. She was happily living with Dong-sik (Oh Han-gyeol). The Queen still thought the Imperial Palace was hers and led a poor prison life being bullied by others. "The Last Empress" is the story of a musical actress who marries into the Imperial Family, but fights authority and power when the Queen Mother is murdered and brings down the Imperial Family. The drama was known for its dramatics, a combination of writer Kim Soon-ok and director Joo Dong-min. It was in the popular ranks with an average viewing percentage of 17.9%, but the continuous rape, kidnap, murder and the boring storyline towards the end were too much for the viewers. When the drama made a decision to extend four more episodes, Choi Jin-hyuk declined to participate. The final episodes of the drama ended with 14.1% and 16.5%. However, the ending wasn't all that satisfactory. Meanwhile, "Big Issue" starring Joo Jin-mo and Han Ye-seul comes out on the 6th of March. Haiti - News : Zapping... Former soldiers ready to collaborate with the PNH On Wednesday, former demobilized soldiers of the Haitian Armed Forces (FADH) faced with the socio-political crisis and rising insecurity in the country, accused the radical opposition of inciting the population to violence and say to themselves ready to cooperate with the National Police of Haiti (PNH) to restore order to the country. National Carnival, the Mayor of Gonaives pessimistic Thursday, on the air of a radio, Neil Latortue, the Mayor of Gonaives, said he was pessimistic about the realization of the National Carnival scheduled this year in his city given the political situation and insecurity in the country. He affirmed that nevertheless the discussions continued with the Carnival Committee in order to fix a position on the realization or not of these festivities in Gonaives. More than 4 billion losses Gary Bodeau, President of the Chamber of Deputies, estimates the losses in the economic sector during the days of violence to countries to more than 4 billion gourdes. Among the decisions to be taken, he pleads for the cancellation of aid to carnivals throughout the country, the liberalization of the oil trade, the cancellation of the subsidy granted each year to the Electricity of Haiti, among others.... Resumption of Haitian evictions in the Bahamas On Thursday, Hubert Minnis, Prime Minister of the Bahamas, announced the resumption of repatriation of Haitians in irregular migration temporarily suspended Sunday, February 17, explaining "The situation in Haiti has improved and we are in talks with our embassy, which will open its doors again Friday, February 22 so that we can resume repatriation." NOTICE : Passports ready in French Guiana The Consulate of Haiti in French Guiana informs the members of the Haitian community concerned that the passports of December 2018 are available at the Consulate. Thank you for returning your receipts and old passports for the recoveries during office hours: Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm and Saturday from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. France maintain are warning to avoid travel to Haiti Thursday, the Quai d'Orsay said speaking about the situation in Haiti "[...] Despite the lull noted in recent days, the situation remains uncertain and tense in the main cities of the country. Demonstrations can resume at any time. It is recommended to postpone travel to Haiti until further notice." HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - FLASH : Not a transfer but an extraction of the members of commando Wednesday, February 20, following the return to the United States under the protection of FBI agent, of 7 foreigners https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26991-haiti-flash-the-7-foreign-oof-commandos-have-left-haiti-without-handcuffs-for-the-usa.html heavily armed, arrested Sunday, February 17 in Port-au-Prince https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26963-haiti-flash-a-mysterious-commando-of-heavily-armed-foreigners-arrested-in-port-au-prince.html , reactions and speculation are multiplying both at the level of the observers, of the justice and the political opposition ... This return to the United States, which raises many questions, "has been coordinated with the Haitian authorities," said a spokesman for the State Department. Moreover, a note from the Minister of Justice Jean Roody Aly addressed to the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ) confirms this coordination "[...] I want to inform you that I authorized the procedure of transfer to the United States of US citizens and permanent residents, a total of seven people to meet charges of illegal transport of arms from the United States on Haitian territory." However, Jude Charles Faustin, the adviser to President Jovenel Moise asserts that the President was not informed of this decision as Pascal Adrien Spokesperson who indicates that Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant was not aware of the situation and that the Prime Minister was awaiting explanations from the Minister of Justice. However, Jude Charles Faustin, the adviser to President Jovenel Moise asserts that the President was not informed of this decision as Pascal Adrien Spokesperson who indicates that Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant was not aware of the situation and that the Prime Minister was awaiting explanations from the Minister of Justice. Let's be clear these 7 foreigners, including 5 Americans: Talon R Burton, Kent Leland Kroeker (former Navy), Christopher Mark MC Kinley (formerly SEALS Navy), Christopher M. Osman (former SEALS Navy) and Dustin Daniel Porte as well as 2 foreigners having US permanent residence: Bajagic Danilo (Serb) and Vlade Jankovic (Serb) can not have been the subject of a prisoner transfer procedure, as these 7 men were neither convicted nor incarcerated in Haiti where they were under custody at the time of the FBI's intervention. Referring to the document entitled "Prisoner Transfer Information for Americans Incarcerated Abroad" emanates from the United States Department of Justice, Criminal Division, International Prisoner Transfer Unit, it is clearly explained how a prisoner can be transferred to the USA. "The International Prisoner Transfer Program, which is authorized by federal law and international treaties, is administered by the United States Department of Justice. An American prisoner is not eligible for transfer to the United States until he has been convicted and sentenced by the foreign country and the conviction and sentence are final (i.e. no pending appeals or other legal challenges to the sentence). Once that has occurred, the prisoner can initiate the application process" stipulates the document, which specifies "One of the most important requirements is that the sentencing country, the receiving country and the prisoner must all consent to the transfer. Another requirement is that dual criminality must exist, which means that the crime in the sentencing country is also a crime in the receiving country." Sources close to the negotiations between the two countries have suggested that the intervention of the American Government would have decided following the statements of the Prime Minister Jean Henry Ceant during an interview with CNN, which had qualified these men as "mercenaries" and "terrorists" causing the US Government's concern about the security of its citizens in Haiti, given the risk of politicization of this case by opponents of the ruling power while the country is in the middle of a socio-socio-political crisis since two weeks... In summary, this departure for the least rapid of these men from the hands of Haitian justice is more like an extraction, which does not say its name ... While waiting to learn more about the reason for the presence of these men on the territory of Haiti. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26991-haiti-flash-the-7-foreign-oof-commandos-have-left-haiti-without-handcuffs-for-the-usa.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26981-haiti-flash-mess-at-the-palace-around-the-commandos-of-foreigners-arrested-at-pap.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26972-haiti-flash-the-mystery-remains-around-the-mission-of-the-commando-of-foreigners-arrested-to-pap.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26963-haiti-flash-a-mysterious-commando-of-heavily-armed-foreigners-arrested-in-port-au-prince.html SL/ HaitiLibre Have any questions? Please give us a call at 520-625-5511 MOSS POINT, Miss. -- A change is coming to Moss Point and violent offenders have been placed on notice, according to U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst. Were here today to announce a new initiative on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Jackson County and specifically and right here where you sit in the City of Moss Point, Hurst said. Were excited to partner with the Moss Point Police Department, Sheriffs Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Explosives and Firearms (ATF). We want to make sure Moss Point and is one of the safest cities on the coast. Hurst, the FBI and ATF employed Project EJECT (Empower Jackson Expel Crime Together) in Jackson after numbers showed the Capital City was one of the deadliest in the country. After one year of employing this operation, Hurst reported at Thursdays press conference violent crime fell seven percent in the city. Now, Hurst is looking to employ those same tactics across the Mississippi Gulf Coast, with specific emphasis on Moss Point. After a rash of robberies and violent crimes, specifically last years home invasion of a Super Bowl Party, Mayor Mario King called for an end to the tortuous violence. As Chief Brandon Ashley told me just yesterday, he can always use more help -- he can always use more cooperation and he will not turn away folks that want to help his city, Hurst said. Project EJECT is expanding to Moss Point, providing the city with more collaboration between law enforcement officials, additional prosecutors and newer perspectives to combat crime. EJECT has expanded into Hattiesburg and now means, Empower Justice Expel Crime Together. According to Hurst, for the first time, the U.S. Attorneys Office is assigning a federal prosecutor to specifically prosecute violent crime in Moss Point. Local police will receive federal training and the prosecutor will be conduct meetings with local branches of law enforcement, in conjunction with the U.S. Attorneys Office to remain abreast of what is happening, and actions taken to reduce crime in the city. We want everyone to know we will do everything necessary to reduce violent crime in this city, Ashley said. Last year was the most violent year I have seen in my 18 years as an officer here and I am looking for every opportunity to reduce crime and bring those who are not law-abiding citizens to justice. William McCrary, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the ATF Bureau stationed in New Orleans attended Thursdays press conference and had a very clear message for those committing violent crime in Moss Point. ATF wants to send a very strong message to those people and groups who choose to commit violent gun crimes in the Jackson County area -- we will focus on you, will work to identify, arrest and prosecute all violent gun offenders, McCrary said. We are determined to keep them away from their community and we are excited to continue our partnership into the Jackson County/Moss Point area. Because federal jurisdiction is limited to local violent crimes, the type of crimes prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office include carjackings, theft of businesses, drugs, illegal possession of firearms and the Hobbs Act. While violent crime is the focus of law enforcement officials, cases such as Laleon Marquis Smothers, who was 18 years old and high school aged when he robbed Quick Stop convenience store in Escatawpa. King and Ashley were asked what type of initiatives were put in place to keep teenagers and children from following in similar paths. According to Hurst, Project EJECT also has an initiative within it called the LEAD" (Legal Enrichment and Decision Making) program. Per Hurst, law enforcement officials go into schools, Boys & Girls Club and afterschool programs and they teach students about choices they make and consequences that could follow and the people close to them it could affect. The City of Moss Point has enacted cultural competence training for officers, we have reading programs for our students, internship programs, and partnering with the school district and police department to work on keeping our children from traveling down the wrong paths, King said. Contrary to most Western civilization artworks, Europe after the Rain II tells its story from right to left or more precisely, from east to west. The rock formations on the right are hollow, twisted, desiccated, littered with animal skulls. The nude figure of a woman next to a bull, Shell said, alludes to the mythological story of the rape of Europa by Zeus, who took the form of a bull for the assault. Europa was also the mother of King Minos, who confined the Minotaur to the labyrinth. Samsung introduced the Galaxy S10 5G at its Unpacked Event. This is the biggest device of the series with more cameras, and, of course, with full 5G support both for mmWave and sub-6GHz networks. The phone will see gigabit speeds only in select countries, and Samsung announced a short list of the first places in Europe to get the new handset. They are France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Samsung Galaxy S10 5G To have a proper 5G connectivity, your carrier has to play along as well - not all networks will support the full capabilities of the new generation. True 5G will be experienced at eight operators: Deutsche Telekom, EE, Orange, Sunrise, Swisscom, TIM, Telefonica, and Vodafone. While some CEOs plainly said they are glad to be working with Samsung on this project, there are some details on the availability in the UK. According to Marc Allera, CEO of BTs Consumer Division, 5G will be launched across 16 UK cities this year to provide the fastest and most reliable connection. The Galaxy S10 5G will be released in the spring in these six countries (eight, if we count the United States and Australia), but Samsung is keeping the pricing a secret for now. Source At every stage of my journey as a startup founder, Ive sought advice from mentors, industry experts and other entrepreneurs. Whether my aim was to gain insight into the unfamiliar market I was entering or obtain guidance on growing a business and building a team, I was always -- still am -- a big believer in hearing what others have to say. Related: 5 Pieces of Common Startup Advice That Do More Harm Than Good There is, however, a caveat here, because the key to seeking advice is knowing when to ignore a suggestion that goes against what your gut instinct is saying. Doing that is not always easy, though in some cases for me it was easy, because the guidance was so obviously misguided that it was easy to ignore. Here are the five worst startup tips I heard and the (hopefully, good) advice I can offer on knowing when you can rule out those tips for your business. 1. "Customers wont buy what youre selling." When youre trying to disrupt an industry or do something unique, so-called experts love telling you why it wont work. When Jeff Bezos was trying to raise funds for Amazon in the mid-'90s, he met with a lot of resistance from people who simply couldnt imagine people shopping online. In fact, one of the first questions many investors asked him was Whats 'the internet'? During the early days of my beverage company, I met with an executive at Coca-Cola to discuss my idea and get some advice. After explaining that Hint beverages were deliberately sweetener-free as a way of helping people drink more water and be healthier, he insisted that Americans love 'sweet.' As he was talking, I realized that his perspective was completely skewed by his experience of selling sodas. He simply could not believe that the problem I was trying to solve existed or that a significant number of people shared my desire to be healthier. The lesson: Dont let industry incumbents or otherwise out-of-touch experts tell you that you wont succeed. The only people who can answer that question definitively are potential and existing customers themselves. 2. "You need industry experience." If youre disrupting a market or taking on a major established player, it often helps to not have too many preconceived ideas about how things should be done. Elon Musk has a software background and made it big with fintech service, Paypal. His car company,Tesla, has been even more disruptive, playing a major role in transforming the automobile industry as it shifts toward electric-powered vehicles that are increasingly more like computers on wheels. Before Hint, I had no beverage industry experience and was often told that my company wouldnt succeed unless I hired people with insider knowledge to help me. Yet every time I recruited anyone with a background in the soda business, to help with industry-specific challenges like product development or distribution, I found myself constantly battling that person's natural instinct to do things the traditional way. Conversely, my best employees have been the ones who are first and foremost passionate about the problem were solving and driven by the thought of taking on the large incumbents. You can train people on how to sell beverages, but it's much harder to teach them how to think differently. The lesson: Unless you teach people to think differently, youll end up going down well-trodden paths until your business is just another of the also-rans and not a trailblazing new leader. 3. "Your product must be perfect before you can launch." Many successful tech companies work off the foundational idea of building the plane while youre flying it. They start by getting off the ground with a minimum viable product that solves a basic user need. Then they add new features and performance enhancements through regular software updates. Related: Battle-Tested Startup Advice From 6 Awesome Entrepreneurs I like that approach: True, my companys first beverages didnt have a long shelf life because I was determined not to use preservatives. Yet while this limited the number of retailers willing to stock our products, it didnt stop us from going to the market to see if customers wanted what we had to sell. At the same time, we continued working until we came up with an innovative solution to the shelf-life issue. The lesson: Your product or service doesnt need to be perfect. It just needs to solve a problem effectively and gain a foothold in the market. "Good enough" is always better than "too late." 4. "Fake it 'til you make it." Asked which attribute leaders need most to succeed when big changes are happening, Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell said, I would place my bet on curiosity. Curious people are not afraid to ask even the most basic questions to expand their knowledge, even if that makes them look ignorant or naive. When you lack industry experience, its often tempting to pretend you know more than you do in meetings with investors, suppliers and partners. This is just another way of ensuring you merely join the status quo instead of becoming a unique and outstanding presence. Every supplier told me that the only way to solve our products shelf-life issue was to use preservatives. As an industry newbie,I could have taken the easy path and agreed, pretending I understood the reasons behind what they said. Instead, I used my ignorance as an excuse to ask the most basic questions, which probably made me look extremely green. But there was a silver lining there: My back-to-basics approach helped one of my suppliers rethink its standard processes and come up with an alternative approach its tech people hadnt considered before. The lesson: If you fake it til you make it, youll be too concerned with fitting in to ever challenge the way things are done. Remain curious and youll stay on the fast track to learning and success. 5. "You cant focus on anything else." Growing a new business is a constant battle and often a losing one: 50 percent of startups fail in first four years, according to government statistics. Youll put in long hours and often feel it necessary to do nothing else but work on and think about your business. And thats the pathway to burnout. Yet, when I started out, a number of people told me that Id have to sacrifice all other aspects of my life if I wanted my business to succeed. Not true, I found out. In fact, its important to look after yourself as well as your company. You need to exercise and eat well, spend time with your family and friends and have other interests, whether that means sports, the arts or a hobby. If you follow me on social media, you will know that I spend every morning taking my two dogs on a hike. Its my own way of clearing my head and focusing in on the present. The lesson: Being a rounded person is an important attribute for any leader. Your business will demand a lot of your attention, but it shouldnt exhaust all of your time and energy. Tips are optional. Its hard to distinguish between good and bad advice, especially when it comes from people who have your best intentions at heart. In certain circumstances, you may benefit from listening to experts, bringing in those with industry experience, developing a "perfect product," faking a little knowledge and being singularly focused. Related: 'The Lean Startup' Author Shares His Latest Advice But overall the key is to trust your instincts and believe in yourself and your mission. That will be your ultimate guide along the road to success. Related: The 5 Worst Tips I Received When Starting My Business Starting a Small Business? This $20 Class Will Teach You How to Help It Thrive. Get Exclusive Access to Silicon Valley Trailblazers for Less Than $20 Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Google is celebrating the late "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin with a Doodle to be released Feb. 22. The tech giant has put together a slideshow of illustrations showing the Australian wildlife conservationist exploring the great outdoors, holding a crocodile and hanging out with his wife Terri and kids Bindi and Robert. "Today's Google Doodle acknowledges the life and achievements of my husband Steve Irwin, whose efforts to protect wildlife and wild places have been recognized as the most extensive of any conservationist," wrote Irwin's wife, Terri, in a blog post for Google. Irwin died in September 2006 when stingray barb went through his chest during filming for a documentary project. Irwin would have been 57 on Friday, which also marks Australia's National Wildlife Day. Over the course of his life, Irwin found worldwide fame as an enthusiastic conservationist. His passion for wildlife started as a child when he would help out at his parents' roadside wildlife park in Queensland. It was there that he met Terri, and the pair married in her hometown of Eugene, Oregon, in 1992. Instead of a honeymoon, the newlyweds traveled back to Australia to try and save a crocodile that was being hunted by a poacher, according to Terri Irwin. The couple went on to film the nature documentary series "The Crocodile Hunter" together, which ran from 1996 to 2004. Their shared love for animals continued through the years and even after Steve Irwin's death the family continue his conservationist legacy, looking after 1,200 animals at a center called Australia Zoo. BRIDGEPORT - A subpoena issued to the city by federal authorities shows a grand jury in New Haven is actively probing possible municipal corruption. The Feb. 4 subpoena obtained by Connecticut Hearst Media seeks city records from Jan. 1, 2015, to Nov. 8, 2018, which includes both the final year of former Mayor Bill Finchs administration as well Mayor Joe Ganims tenure in office, which began December 2015. The subpoena demanded all documents, emails, voice mails, receipts, invoices and other communications regarding scrap metal sales by the city Department of Public Facilities, which allegedly created an off-budget fund from those sales. U.S. Attorney John Durham also sought records regarding Vaz Quality Works and Seaview Equipment Sales and Rentals, which received no bid contracts from the city. Luis and Jose Vaz own both companies. Records were also demanded regarding G. Pic and Sons Construction Company, which also received no bid contracts from the city. Rowena White, a spokeswoman for Mayor Joe Ganim, said the city has investigated the scrap metal sales and taken action regarding the issue. We will continue to fully cooperate, and provide information as it is requested, or as information comes to our attention, White said. Everyone has an obligation to cooperate with law enforcement, White said. There is no gray area here." These matters have been taken seriously, and have led to the City Attorneys Office hiring an independent consultant from Guidepost Solutions to review policies and procedures and make recommendations upon completion of their audit. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, a similar grand jury indicted Ganim for racketeering, extortion and bribery. Ganim was convicted in federal court and served seven years in prison. Fallen officials So far, former Public Facilities Deputy Director Jose Tiago, a politically connected restaurateur and owner of various construction and real estate companies, has been fired over the questionable scrap metal sales. Jose DeMoura, Tiagos first cousin, was also fired from his job managing recycling for the department. Public Facilities Director John Ricci was stripped of two weeks pay and two weeks of vacation time. A third employee, Luis Burgos, who works in public facilities parks division, received "coaching and counseling." The scrap metal scandal was triggered by an anonymous letter to the City Council last fall. The writer alleged that public facilities employees under Ricci and Tiago had, against city policies, sold more than $25,000 worth of scrap metal for cash over two years. Rather than turning money over to the finance department, they allegedly placed the proceeds in a "scam" account for "special events." The city launched an internal civil review and the FBI opened a criminal investigation. The subpoena specifically instructs the city to not include documents related to its internal investigation in responding to the grand jury. The recent subpoena notes the demanded records are "due before the federal grand jury sitting in New Haven" by Feb. 12. Referring to scrap metal sales, the subpoena asks the city to "please provide any and all documents, record, and communications related to the sale of the city of Bridgeports scrap metal. This includes reports, complains, contracts, agreements, bids, invoices, receipts, payments, records of meetings, emails, text message, voice mails and other correspondence." Identical language is used to request documents related to the three companies also under investigation by the FBI and Grand Jury. In 2014, Tiago sold a .8 acre, vacant lot at 1581 Seaview Avenue, and property on nearby Crescent Street, to the Vaz family. City records show he received $740,000 more than his purchase price for the sale. For years, Tiago used the 1581 Seaview Avenue property as the physical and mailing address for two of his companies, Citywide Properties and Tiago Construction. Business records maintained by the secretary of states office were suddenly brought up to date last week and the address for Citywide Properties was changed to property Tiago owns on Herkimer Street. That change came after Tiago received questions about using the vacant Seaview Avenue land as the address for his companies. The secretary of states office said listing false information on a state business registration form is a Class A misdemeanor. bcummings@ctpost.com Staff writer Ken Dixon contributed to this report. The Frederick Douglass High School staff member who was shot in the building two weeks ago said Friday that there was inadequate security in place on the day he was injured. (Kim Hairston / Baltimore Sun video) NEW HAVEN Frank Harris III calls it simply the 400th, but he knows many will not know what hes referring to. So Harris, a journalism professor at Southern Connecticut State University, is doing what he can to promote the anniversary of the first enslaved Africans to set foot in Great Britains American colonies, 257 years later. I dont want it to pass without some type of recognition, some type of observation, said Harris, who led off a lecture series and is involved in planning more events at Southern for later this year. My whole mission has been really to bring awareness of it and to get people involved in doing something about it. Harris said the general understanding that the first Africans were brought to Jamestown, Virginia, is incorrect. They actually landed at Point Comfort, now part of the city of Hampton, at the mouth of the James River. Theres a marker noting that 20 and odd Africans were captured from the Portuguese ship, the Sao Joao Bautista, whose crew thought they were capturing goods bound for Mexico. They were traded to the Virginia colonists in exchange for foodstuffs, reads the marker near the spot. Some people thought they came from somewhere else where they were enslaved, but they were from Africa, specifically the Portuguese colony of Angola, said Harris, who has had his own ancestry documented and found that he is partially descended from an Angolan tribe, the Kimbundu, as well as from the Ibo of Nigeria. The ship was coming from Angola and it was intended to go to Mexico and apparently this English ship just wanted to take what they thought were just goods and cargo, Harris said. Veracruz, Mexico, the Sao Joao Bautistas destination, was one of the largest slave ports in the Western Hemisphere, he said. According to project1619.org, when the ship, the White Lion, arrived at Point Comfort, it was met by John Rolfe, famous for marrying Pocahontas, who died in 1617. He was the secretary of the Virginia Company, and was responsible for keeping England involved in what was going on in the colonies, Harris said. Rolfe wrote that the captain of the White Lion brought not anything but 20 and odd Africans, according to project1619. Somewhere along the way, Jamestown was named as the first place where enslaved Africans landed in the 13 colonies. Ive always said Jamestown because thats what the history books had said, Harris said. But additional research revealed the site as Point Comfort, and theres even a possibility that Africans had landed here before 1619. One researcher found a census that said there were Africans in the 1619 census, he said. Theres always going to be new discoveries and new information thats going to come up. The 400th anniversary, commemorated in Hampton on Aug. 20 as Landing Day, while a key date in American history, is not the clear-cut beginning of slavery in the United States, said Siobhan Carter-David, an associate professor of history at Southern. This is the introduction of people of African descent to Protestant British North America, she said. In that early colonial period, slavery wasnt as rigidly tied into peoples African descent as it was in the coming decades. Besides the slavery that existed in Spanish-ruled colonies such as Mexico and Florida before 1619, the status of Africans in the British North American colonies wasnt well defined at first, she said. Africans werent all enslaved who came here, and some white people were treated as slaves, said Carter-David, herself a descendant of slaves. Attaching slavery to African people solely and exclusively wasnt something that happened right away. She said colonies began to define slavery over the coming decades, colony by colony. Maryland, for example, passed a law in 1664 defining all blacks and their descendants as well as any freeborne English women who married enslaved blacks as slaves in perpetuity. Only Africans are slaves Carter-David said a turning point occurred in 1676 known as Bacons Rebellion, led by plantation owner Nathaniel Bacon against the government of Gov. William Berkeley, largely because of economic oppression and attacks by Indians on his property. Bacon led a mixed-race force against Berkeley, burning Jamestown, but the uprising failed when Bacon died, according to facinghistory.org. As a result, however the people of power in the colonies decided to attach slavery solely to people of African descent, Carter-David said. But while in 1619, It was not what it would become afterward where black equals slave or slave equals African, according to Harris, I would consider them to still be Africans who were brought here to be slaves, based on the writings of Rolfe and John Smith, leader of the Jamestown settlers. The blacks who landed at Point Comfort were on their way to Mexico to be sold as slaves, Harris pointed out. This is the one [event] that has been clearly documented, he said. This is what we have to go by in terms of recorded arrival of the Africans, something thats documented. While Harris doesnt use the word celebrate to describe the 400th anniversary, he understands why some do. Ive had people make a logical argument for celebration, not that they were enslaved but that they survived, he said. And that we blacks as people are descendants and all those who came after them have endured a lot. I want to recognize that group, but I also wanted to extend [the recognition to] those whove come after them and those Africans who were born in slavery, lived in slavery and died never having tasted freedom, never having breathed the air of liberty, Harris said. Trauma in Africa, America The story of slavery is not just of whites forcing Africans into shackles and treating them as less than human. Its also the story of Africans kidnapping others and selling them to the slave traders. Its important to understand the trauma that these Africans endured not just in America but in Africa, Harris said. In Barracoon: The Story of the Last Black Cargo, published last year, novelist Zora Neale Hurston (Their Eyes Were Watching God) wrote about her interview with Cudjo Lewis, the last living person who had been brought to the United States as a slave, 50 years after the trade was banned. He talked about what happened in Africa, how he was captured and the brutality of his fellow Africans, how they were involved in the slave trade, Harris said. Hurston, who died in 1960, realizes that whites bought us and kept us enslaved and did all these things, but what stuck in her craw was that her African brothers and sisters had sold them into slavery: People looking for glory and greed and how that drives slavery. They saw this as a business. Harris has a visual aid he uses to demonstrate how blacks were treated by their owners: a jar with nail holes in the top. When Ive given talks, Ive used the analogy of fireflies, he said. As a boy, wed capture as many fireflies as we could to suit our purposes. Then, when the lights went out, wed open the jar and [wed] pour it on the ground. Ive compared those fireflies to Africans and the jar to the jar of slavery. Their lives did not matter beyond being slaves and what they could produce. I look at slavery as being something where it dehumanized people and that their lives really did not matter, Harris said. They got the worst food to eat, they had no protection from cruelty. Women had no right to say no Cruel things were done to them, and when slavery ended although the chains were gone, figuratively speaking and literally speaking, they were set free with nothing. No other group has come to America where they were forced to endure labor where they were not compensated and had everyone against them. While Quakers and fellow abolitionists opposed slavery, even most religion was used to justify slavery, Harris said. The arrival of African slaves in 1619 began a 400-year history of racism that America is still dealing with today. Racism has endured despite the Civil War, in which 620,000 soldiers died to end slavery, the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution, Supreme Court rulings to end school segregation and the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts of the 1960s. Even though it was Crispus Attucks, a mixed-race man, who is thought to be the first to die in the Boston Massacre of 1770, which led to the Revolutionary War, Harris said, We have today where people question the patriotism of black people who are fighting for the same rights as everybody else, the right to be treated fairly. Time to stand up While the 400th anniversary is a reminder of how far America has come, Harris said,I think its important that the good people of America stand up and do not allow people to bring back the terrible yesterday. When Barack Obama was elected president, It was the proudest time I felt to be American, Harris said. There are times I have not felt fully American. While he thought he would never see a black president and my parents certainly didnt think theyd see it, he said Its like were now fighting for what we thought we had already overcome, and now I have to tell my younger daughters that there are people who will not like you or respect you because of the color of their skin. At 9 and 10, Harris daughters have already experienced racism from a playmate, Harris said. Calling President Donald Trump unquestionably a racist, Harris said, When I see Make America Great hats or caps, I see the Confederate flag; I see the swastika. I see the potential for all that that represents, all the bad that that represents in terms of how people want to disrespect and treat people in a way that they would not want to be treated. He said the climate in the United States invites those with racist views to express them. Racism is like alcoholism, and if you are trying to kick your drinking habit, you usually want to stay away from alcohol and places where theres alcohol and temptation, Harris said. However, if alcoholism is everywhere you go and life is one big bar, theres more opportunities to indulge. Its difficult to not have racist views about black people if its reinforced by family or friends and people dont speak up about it, he said. Looking back to the 20 and odd Africans who landed at Point Comfort on or about Aug. 20, 1619, Harris said, These were people. They had lives, they had families they left behind, they had a life. They didnt know what was coming to them. I think that we should never forget those first Africans who were brought here as slaves, that they were human beings that had lives and that their descendants today are human beings that have lives that need to be respected by everybody. That includes fellow African Americans. We need to respect their lives as well, Harris said. Im thankful for the fact that those who came before me were able to endure, to withstand or to keep moving forward, to keep living, because theyre the reason that I and millions of their descendants are here in America today. edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382. Guys, I am gonna be perfectly honest, wrote Katie Bower, a mother of five and mommy blogger with over 52,000 Instagram followers. Instagram never liked my Munchkin, and it killed me inside. His photos never got as many likes. Never got comments. From a statistical point of view, he wasnt as popular with everyone out there. Related: Learning From Kevin Hart's Social Media Mistakes It was the sixth birthday of Bowers Munchkin, a.k.a. her son, and as many mothers now do, she marked the occasion by writing a long social media tribute to everything she loved about her child. But she also used the post to lament the fact that her photos of him weren't getting as many likes as those of her other children. I want to believe that it wasnt him .. that it was on me," she fretted. "My insufficiency caused this statistical deficit because obviously my Munch should get ALL the love, and squinty eyes are totally adorable." Bowers post went viral after hundreds comments lodged negative feedback about Bower's assessing her child's appeal based on likes received. Though she later deleted the post, the incident highlighted just how far social media has come from its original, humbler purpose: to connect friends and family. Nowadays, moms like Bower arent just posting family photos to share their lives -- theyre doing it for money. The new influencer marketing industry is expected to grow to a $10 billion dollar industry by 2020, according to Mediakix. And that means that that old promise of connecting people has evolved into a toxic, commercialized landscape that seems to have forgotten what it's supposed to be about. Here are the four main factors that have caused this toxic environment: 1. Social media has become a marketplace first. Facebook is a prime example of a social network that has become more about quantity and commercialization rather than a place to connect with friends and family. While the platforms actual viewership has slowed considerably in recent years, its ad revenue actually jumped by 42 percent in early 2018, demonstrating the companys aptitude for making money over its aptitude to forge connections. Facebook has been acquiring other popular social networks only to see their founders quit shortly thereafter. An example: The co-founder of WhatsApp left over data privacy clashes, after Facebook pushed it to change its terms of service to give the larger social network access to WhatsApp users phone numbers and to look into advertising. Similarly, both Instagram founders quit this year after tensions with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg mounted over the direction of the app. Reportedly, they wanted to keep Instagram independent from Facebook, while Zuckerberg wanted to further integrate the app into his platform. Related: How Humans Relate to Social Media He hasn't stopped his efforts: As Facebook shares continue to fall due to slow user growth, Zuckerberg has been searching for ways to continue monetizing the platform through other social app acquisitions, rather than making fixes to Facebook that will keep users engaged and active. 2. Commoditizing social status via likes is detrimental to mental health. Multiple studies have shown that the psychological effects of likes, comments and shares are proving detrimental to the mental health of the general population. One study reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that liking more posts was tied to worse mental and physical health and decreased life satisfaction, while another study by the University of Copenhagen found that many people suffer from Facebook envy, the concept of being jealous of friends activities on social media. The design of Facebook in particular has caused what researchers have called a context collapse, where users are locked into a single persona by the platform. This occurs despite sociologists' agreement that we have, and display, different aspects of our identities depending on what contextual situation were in -- when were at work versus at a bar. The single persona we create on Facebook has led us to self-edit what we share, to create the perfect version of that public persona, another factor leading to Facebook envy, and a reason many people are actually buying followers on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. This has created a market for commoditizing social connections even further, while skewing the perception of popularity on social media and starting the vicious cycle of Facebook envy once again. 3. Personal data is being bought and sold to the highest bidder. Third-party data brokers, or companies that buy and sell information on customers, have become massively influential in the era of big data. For social media platforms, which capture large amounts of data, these transactions present an enormous new stream of revenue. Most social media users dont understand the value of their personal data, and its become more common to accidentally expose themselves to malicious activity. Facebook users, in particular, were outraged when the third-party data firm Cambridge Analytica got its hands on personal data for as many as 87 million Facebook users -- without their permission. While that breach was the the most publicized one, there have been additional breaches since then. However, even these security breaches havent changed much about how users participate in social networks. According to a Chicago Tribune writer, experts have said "that many users are either ambivalent toward data privacy or dont understand what theyve given up by agreeing to the terms of service in order to create an account. And, if these privacy breaches don't end, users can only expect steeper consequences in the future. 4. Users are being forced into a sensationalized publishing media environment Todays social publishing environment rewards sensationalized content, thereby damaging healthy relationships online. These platforms reward "engagement" by highlighting highly liked posts more prominently in newsfeeds, accustomizing social media users to attempting to post that sensationalized content themselves. This attention-seeking behavior has left people vulnerable to dangerous propaganda and influence campaigns. Last year, teenagers infamously filmed themselves ingesting Tide Pods in attempts to gain more attention and followers, while, more seriously, Russian government operatives posted political proganda on Facebook that reached 126 million Americans before the 2016 election. The platform is also being taken to task for allowing hate speech from extremist politicians in Myanmar, which later contributed to the genocide of the Rohingya people. What was once a seemingly harmless platform, then, has now evolved into a powerful machine that, due to confusing hate speech and privacy policies, has set dangerous precedents for the future of social media. The next generation of social networks will overcome these toxic influences By now, we all know that the current social media system is broken. Healthy personal relationships are being drowned out by social media flare-ups with the news (real and fake), sensationalized posts and a commoditized environment that values money over genuine connections. A social media exodus may be coming. A recent Pew survey said that one in four Americans polled had deleted Facebook from their phones in 2018, while 42 percent said theyd stopped using Facebook at all for several weeks or more in the previous year. Now, new questions abound: As people do start leaving big networks like Facebook and Twitter, what will they do next? Have they become so exhausted from the toxicity that theyll quit social media completely, or will they turn to alternative networks -- and if so, what will they look for there? Clearly, people need a space to privately share their lives with their inner circles, while leaving the general media posts right where they belong -- in social media. Related: Facebook Admits Using Two-Factor Phone Numbers to Target Ads If theres anything social media has taught us, its that people do still enjoy being connected. Once we move our personal relationships away from social media to networks that truly value privacy, we may eliminate the current toxic social media environment and get back to the basics. Related: Can an Artist ever be an Entrepreneur? 5 Ways European Companies Use B2B Influencer Marketing 4 Reasons Why Social Media Has Become So Toxic and What to Look for Next Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved GREENWICH Plans for a new synagogue in downtown Greenwich and a new location for Greenwich Academys preschool and day-care program got the green-light Thursday night from the town but with conditions attached. The town Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved plans from Chabad Lubavitch of Greenwich to build a new synagogue and preschool at 226 and 230 Mason St. as well as at 16 Havemeyer Place. But it also required Chabad to reduce the size of the new building and preserve the entire structure of the historic Greenwich Armory, instead of part of it as was proposed. Additionally, the commission placed restrictions on where cars could enter and exit and required that it operate within town parking regulations. Commission members agreed that these conditions satisfied their concerns about traffic, parking and how the new synagogue and school would fit in with the neighborhood, particularly when it came to preserving the armory. But Chabad now must determine whether it can accommodate those conditions in its plans. Originally, it had proposed a 20,913-square-foot building, but with the conditions, it would get only about 14,000 square feet. Thomas Heagney, the attorney representing Chabad, called the approval a cautiously positive step in the right direction and said he will meet with the synagogues leaders, the projects building committee and architects. It will take more work with the commission before were where we need to be before we can build the new synagogue, Heagney told nearly 50 Chabad supporters after the decision was made. If the entire Armory was preserved, the commission might allow a larger structure, he said. Further discussions will be held with the commission, and another site plan will be submitted. As we start to digest this decision, we will formulate a plan moving forward, Heagney said. We will develop a plan that will work for everyone. The commission cited saving the armory and parking concerns for the conditions. The commissions Acting Chair Margarita Alban credited Chabad for its work to address the towns concerns, but she said the parking issue bothered her throughout the process. If they could just meet our basic standards, I would be comfortable with this, Alban said. Neighbors and other residents had also expressed their worries about parking and retaining the neighborhoods character. Commission member Peter Levy was among those who focused on the armory, saying the synagogues plans were a renovation, not a restoration. Preserving a portion of it is certainly worthwhile, but I feel it doesnt go far enough, Levy said. Doing something to preserve a building doesnt mean youre doing enough to preserve a building. Conditions were also set with the approval of Greenwich Academys plan to move of its preschool and day-care program. The program known as the Cowan Center would move off the campus of the all-girls private school at 200 N. Maple Ave. to two parcels at 96 and 100 Maple Ave. Those parcels will be combined into one, to house the program as well as have three residential units for school faculty. Those properties had only been residential and had a previous historical overlay designation on them. The conditions placed by the commission call for changes in the on-site parking and call for additional landscaping to better preserve neighborhood character. More significantly, it cut the number of students in the Cowan Center program from 60 to 50 and restricted it to the children of faculty and staff at Greenwich Academy and Brunswick School. Currently, the program is also open to the siblings of enrolled older students. The proposal will also need a further endorsement from the towns Historic District Commission to move forward. Greenwich Academys Head of School Molly King said she was willing to accept the compromise and do all they could to be good neighbors. We were obviously listening to every word and always would support where the commission lands, King said after the vote. I think they worked very hard to try and balance all concerns, as we have. The Greenwich Academy move is part of an overall plan to modernize the campus. The school is limited by floor area ratio restrictions on how much can be build on its existing campus. As part of the modernization efforts, it will be using its main campus to focus on Grades 1 through 12. The Cowan Center is being moved in order to free up space for that. The current Cowan Center is outdated, King said last month. Its not an ideal space for this program. Relocating the Cowan Center provides an opportunity to both better address the learning needs for early childhood development and it allows us to leverage current (floor area ratio) on our main campus. That was something that really came out of our master campus plan. The overall modernization plan for Greenwich Academy, is still being looked at by the Planning and Zoning Commission. It is set to be discussed further at a future meeting. kborsuk@greenwichtime.com HARTFORD A former city resident was convicted Thursday in the case of a 2003 cold case murder in Hartford, according to the State of Connecticut Department of Criminal Justice Rafael Felo Ortiz, 40, former Hartford resident, was found guilty by a jury after a trail in Hartford Superior Court of the killing of Benjamin Benji Baez. The state Department of Criminal Justice said Baez was fatally shot by Ortiz on June 11, 2003, while sitting in a car parked on Main Street in Hartford. Nine local players finished in the overall rankings of a number of events at the six-day Presidents Day Regional that ended this past Monday in Cromwell. By day and event, they were: Thursday: Frances Schneider-Sandy De Martino, ninth, Stratified Pairs, A; Monster Knockout 1, Rich De Martino, third. Saturday: Sandy De Martino, fourth, and Steve Becker, fourteenth, Stratified Pairs, A; Cindy Lyall, second, Afternoon 299er Pairs, B; Cindy Lyall-Kathryn Walker, fourth, Morning 299er Pairs. Sunday: Anne Maletta, seventh, Afternoon Super Point Pairs, A; Rufus Cole-Silvia Szanto, first, Evening Super Point Pairs, B; Rich De Martino, third, and Steve Becker, sixth, A/X Swiss, A. Monday: Rufus Cole-Silvia Szanto, second, Stratified Swiss, C. Todays quiz: Here is another in the current series of quizzes on interpreting your partners bids. In the following problem, you are presented with an auction accompanied by three hands, only one of which could actually fit the bids your partner has made. Applying the principles of standard bidding, which of the three hands do you think partner has? The bidding: You-1C; Partner-1H; You-1NT; Partner-2C. Partner could hold: a) S Q64 H KQ1074 D 6 C AQ93 b) S 8 H A9765 D Q42 C 7543 c) S QJ3 H AJ102 D 94 C K1054 Answer: Partner is attempting to sign off in two of your first-bid suit. Hand b), with its six high-card points and singleton spade, is ideal for the two club bid, while hands a) and c) are both too strong for such a discouraging action. With hand a), partner would jump to three clubs at his second turn to force you to continue bidding toward game, although it would be unclear to him at this point whether the best game was in clubs, hearts, or notrump - that would be determined by what you bid next. And with hand c), partners best choice would be to raise to two notrump, inviting you to carry on to three notrump or to pass with a minimum. The weeks duplicate results: Greenwich YWCA weekly open duplicate: North-South, 1. Joanne Kuebler-Hollister Sturges, 2. Betsy and Michael Grant; East-West, 1. Linda Munger-Sonia Kingshott, 2. Kathryn Payne-Mary Sue Saltsman. Central Greenwich Bridge Club, 2/15: North-South, 1. Doris Erdman-James Chung, 2. Joyce Beach-Lolly Raphael, 3. Dave Babson-Dorothy Bellafiore; East-West, 1. Gail Gallagher-Pam Kelly, 2. Barbara Bellafiore-Holly Pastula, 3. Bob Driessen-Dean Goss. Greensburg, IN (47240) Today Mostly sunny skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear. Low near 70F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar is criticized for her tweet about AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) as anti-Semitic. Semites, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, speak Semitic languages, including Hebrew, Arabic and other Middle East languages. While anti-Semitism describes prejudice against Jews, other Semites are subject to similar prejudices. Omar wasnt criticizing Jews or Muslims. Shes a member of Congress in the worlds largest arms producer, the U.S. Our defense industry represents more than half of our annual budget. Our largest military weapons partner is Israel. Its her job to help determine U.S. funding priorities. If she thinks important domestic priorities are not funded because of the huge defense budget, she should speak up. If she thinks Congress is influenced by the millions of dollars annually from AIPAC to congressional delegations, she should speak up. If she thinks of better ways to promote U.S. commitments to world peace and stability than militarization of selected allies, she should say so. Thats not anti-Semitism. Get tough on anti-vaxxers Four years ago, North Carolina lawmakers considered closing a loophole allowing parents to declare a religious exemption to vaccinations without showing evidence of their faith. It was a smart step to protect families from the misinformed irresponsibility of anti-vaccination parents, but lawmakers backed down in the face of small but furious protests. Since then, the number of N.C. families declaring religious exemptions has continued to rise. Not coincidentally, our state has endured chicken pox outbreaks in 2016, 2017 and 2018, including one last November that afflicted 36 students at an Asheville school with a high concentration of vaccine exemptions. Now, with a measles outbreak raging along the border of Washington State and Oregon plus 200 cases confirmed in New York since October lawmakers here have more reminders of the potential cost of inaction. Its time to get tougher about vaccinations in North Carolina, not only by eliminating the religious exemption loophole, but by taking additional steps to make sure parents dont game the rules. Currently, North Carolina statute requires vaccinations for measles, mumps and other diseases for children attending day care, K-12 schools, and colleges and universities. Instead, Trump has made the wrong move once again, declaring a national emergency, despite warnings from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other Republicans that it could provoke a backlash from within his own party. His order will face an immediate court challenge, which means he wont be able to spend the emergency funds anytime soon, if at all. And if he prevails in court, it will be a disaster for the cause of limited government. If Trump can declare a national emergency to build a border wall Congress refused to fund, then the power of the president to override Congress power of the purse will be virtually unlimited. As Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., pointed out, a future liberal president could declare climate change a national emergency. Or, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., suggested, a Democratic president could one day declare the epidemic of gun violence in America a national emergency. Board members want to be able to control when school starts and ends. The state requires the districts normal calendar start no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end no later than the Friday closest to June 11. If they could start school earlier in August, Carr said, it would be much easier to have first semester exams before winter break. Exams now come right after winter break, which is unpopular with some families and educators. Garretts son, state Sen. Michael Garrett, D-Guilford, and state Sen. Gladys Robinson, DGuilford, co-sponsored a bill filed Thursday that, if passed, would let Guilford County Schools set the districts school year and require that first semester exams be given before winter break. For this academic year only, school board members are asking lawmakers to come up with a one-time local legislative bill that would waive the states 1,025 instructional hour requirement without a reduction in pay for staff. The district had to cancel classes for several storms this academic year, including Hurricane Florence, Tropical Storm Michael and a major December snowstorm. If they miss more days for weather and dont make them up, Carr said, its possible some employees could lose pay. Dawkins said it might take a year for Bennett to become a TRACS candidate, the first step to full membership. She said she has asked the group to expedite the process. Next steps As Bennett gears up for a court fight and a TRACS visit, it's also deciding what to do with the money it raised. Dawkins said the college plans to use it "in the way it was intended to be used": for student scholarships, student programs and daily operations; for the college's reserve fund; and to pay down the college's debt. Next week, Bennett plans to reach out to prospective students and let them know that the college remains open and accredited. "Our goal is to restore the campus back to normal and to provide confidence in the women that we're here for them and continue to meet with them as needed," Dawkins said. "But really, (we want) to get back to normal." Watch video of Bennett College's Friday night press conference: Reactions Reactions to Friday's announcement that Bennett College has lost its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges: While CBD is generally believed to be safe, very little research has been conducted on its medical benefits because cannabis has long been prohibited at the federal level. Because hemp is often mistaken for marijuana, Capt. Michael Terry with the Greensboro Police Departments narcotics division advises anyone who buys hemp-related products to keep the packaging. It would be very helpful if they have that in their possession, Terry said. We recently sent notifications to all of the patrol officers to be cautious while investigating crimes that appear to be marijuana in nature. Hemp has a long history as fiber for clothing, rope and paper. Cultivation was once extensive in the South, where it grows well in warm weather. In the early 20th century, the plants popularity declined. By 1970, the Controlled Substances Act banned the cultivation and use of marijuana and hemp. Hemps comeback started in 2014 when the Federal Farm Bill reintroduced it through state-approved programs. North Carolina signed a pilot program into law in 2015. Now, products ranging from body lotions to bath salts made from hemp are popping up on store shelves. Other jurors told Hall they feared for their safety after they said a man dressed head-to-toe in red the color of the Bloods followed them from a parking deck to the courthouse. One juror was so frightened Hall dismissed her from the panel. At various times throughout the trial, jurors said they felt intimidated by the extra and visible security around them, the intimidation from possible gang members and even the stares from Slade. Hall later limited public access to the courtroom to just eight people divided evenly between the defense and prosecution. Outside the courtroom, Hall had deputies checking drivers' licenses, banning anyone flagged as a known gang member from entering and arresting anyone with a warrant for their arrest. Hall said Friday that he did not take moving the trial lightly and ensured that Rockingham County's jury pool had a similar demographic makeup as Guilford County's. Hall said that he also chose Rockingham because it has a newer, nicer courthouse and was contiguous to Guilford. He did not feel Forsyth or Alamance counties would be any safer. Rockingham County has a secure parking area for jurors with an entrance to the courthouse, Hall said. Both Valentin's attorney, Dolly Manion, and Guilford County Assistant District Attorney Kelly Thompson agreed with the venue change. Contact Danielle Battaglia at 336-373-4476 and follow @dbattagliaNR on Twitter. Since the town where my 90-year-old cousin, Margaret Selden, lives is in the southwest corner of Mississippi, her mantra could be, The code of the West. More succinctly, it could be, She who dies with the largest Avon collection wins. Succinct but not appropriate. This long-widowed cousin carries her own church key. She would give an Avon goodie away rather than be charged with pride, fame or glory. If she must be labeled, she is a giver instead of a taker. Ask the folks at the nursing home where she has led weekly devotional services for many years. Ask an adult son who is paralyzed and permanently disabled from a West Coast work accident; she cares for him several weeks of each year. Ask a handicapped grandson, who cant wait to get to his grandmothers house each day after his special education classes. That said, it cannot be denied that my cousins Avon collection is world class. Although her home was built after the Civil War, many of the homes along her street are vintage antebellum. The town itself was deemed by Union Gen. Ulysses Grant as Too pretty to burn. The Pennsylvania Assembly purchased an elaborately carved chair in 1779 to replace one destroyed during the British occupation of the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) during the winter of 1777-1778. George Washington sat in the original chair when he was president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The original is on display in Independence Hall. It is known as the Rising Sun chair because of Benjamin Franklins hopeful observation about the symbol carved on the headrest. As the conventions work closed, Franklin announced: I have often in the course of the session looked at that sun behind the president without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting: but now at length I have the happiness to know it is a rising sun and not a setting sun. I was in Philadelphia and saw the chair in Independence Hall. I was humbled to think of the man who sat in this chair and thought of how the weight of the world had been thrust on Washingtons shoulders, but yet he accepted the challenge with wisdom, grace and dignity, much to our favor. KURE BEACH Twenty feet below the surface of a natural spring, Lydia Byrd finds herself eyes wide open, blowing heart-shaped kisses, fulfilling her dreams. Byrd is a mountain girl living in a mermaids world, and loving it. Her underwater odyssey began in the shadow of North Carolinas highest peak; and will soon land her, shimmering tail and all, in a magical adventure at the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher in early March. Byrd, 23, grew up in Burnsville, far from the typical mermaid hot spots. She was surrounded by supportive family and a close-knit, farming community. She found comfort in wooded hikes, snow and knowing everyone in town. Now she creates magical memories and mesmerizes strangers, young and old, carrying on a Florida tradition dating back to 1947. Byrd and her enchanting siren sisters perform live, underwater shows as the famous Weeki Wachee Mermaids. However, as with any tale worthy of retelling, Bryds peak to lagoon journey isnt without its rocky shoals and soul-searching. As an infant, Byrd was diagnosed with a form of liver cancer. She endured invasive surgery and chemotherapy. She triumphed over the disease and has little memory of the battle. Yet, it shaped her in many ways. Ford Motor is investigating possible concerns in its emission testing procedures. Kim Pittel, group vice president, Sustainability, Environment & Safety Engineering, said that in September, employees raised a concern through regarding the analytical modeling that is part of Fords US fuel economy and emissions compliance process. Ford said that as a result of the concern, it has taken a number of actions. Specifically: Ford has hired an outside firm to conduct an investigation into the vehicle road load specifications used in its testing and applications to certify emissions and fuel economy. Road load is a vehicle-specific resistance level used in vehicle dynamometer testing, including for fuel economy ratings and emissions certifications. Road load is established through engineering models that are validated through vehicle testing, including physical track tests referred to as coastdown testing. Ford has retained independent industry technical experts as part of the investigation team. It is also hiring an independent lab to conduct further coastdown testing as part of the investigation. Ford also is evaluating potential changes to its road-load modeling process, including engineering, technical and governance components. Ford voluntarily shared these potential concerns with Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board officials. The investigation and potential concerns do not involve the use of defeat devices in Ford products. At this time, theres been no determination that this affects Fords fuel economy labels or emissions certifications. Ford said that it will work with regulators and the independent lab to complete a technical review. As part of our review, it has identified potential concerns with how it calculates road load. The first vehicle under evaluation is the 2019 Ranger; Ford is assessing additional vehicles as well. The Tesla Model 3 and Chrysler 300 are among the six cars that can no longer be Recommended by Consumer Reports (CR) due to declining reliability, the organization announced at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Predicted reliability is a key element in CRs Overall Score, which is calculated by combining a vehicles performance in the organizations road tests; reliability and owner satisfaction ratings drawn from CRs exclusive Auto Survey; the inclusion of blind spot warning and frontal crash prevention systems with pedestrian detection; and, if available, results from government and insurance-industry crash tests. Only vehicles with the highest Overall Scores in their category earn the distinction of CR Recommended. Declining reliability caused the Overall Scores of these vehicles to fall below that threshold. The Dodge Charger, Acura RDX, BMW 5 Series, and Volkswagen Tiguan also lost their CR Recommendation. CR obtains its reliability data from its Annual Auto Reliability Survey that is typically sent to CR members each spring. The results of the spring 2018 survey were released this past October. However, CR collected additional auto reliability data during the summer of 2018 from car owners who did not respond to the initial survey, and updated reliability scores for its Annual Auto Issue and Autos Spotlight, based on information on about 500,000 vehicles. CRs Predicted Reliability rating is based on the models recent history, provided the model hasnt been significantly redesigned for the current model year. For a brand new or redesigned model, or one with insufficient data, CR makes a prediction based on the manufacturers track record, history of the previous generation, or similar models that shared the same components. Tesla Model 3 owners told CR that problem areas included loose body trim and glass defects. With the Chrysler 300, it was problems with the in-car electronics and transmission. These reliability issues contributed to both brands tumbling eleven spots in CRs latest Car Brand Rankings, which reveals which brands make the best cars. Overall Scores for all 33 brands included in Consumer Reports 2019 Brand Report Card are available in CRs Annual Auto Issue or by visiting CRs 2019 Autos Spotlight online at http://www.CR.org/spotlight. Three other vehicles can now be Recommended by CR because of improved reliability. They are the BMW X3, Genesis G90, and Lincoln Nautilus (which used to be the Lincoln MKX). Consumer Reports buys all its test cars anonymously from dealers and does not accept free samples from automakers for any of its ratings or evaluations. CR conducts a battery of tests on every vehicle it evaluates, including braking, handling, comfort, convenience, safety, and fuel economy. Roughly 6,000 miles of general driving and evaluations are racked up on each car during the testing process. Mumbai (AsiaNews) - The Archdiocese of Mumbai released an official statement in response to an article published yesterday on the BBC. According to the article, Card. Oswald Gracias admitted that he had not managed to deal effectively and diligently with a case of sexual abuse of a child by a priest of the archdiocese. According to the article, the Cardinal was more interested in leaving for Rome, than offering help and support to the victim and advising the authorities. The archdiocese note gives a step by step reconstruction of these events dating back to 2015. Among other things, it makes public the names of the various protagonists, including that of the accused priest, while the BBC article did not mention any of them. This alone is evidence that the archdiocese has no interest in covering up the affair. The statement also underlines that "many attempts have been made to reach out to the victim's family, but they have refused any help". Here is the full text of the official response of the archdiocese of Mumbai to the BBC report on the case of Fr. Johnson. In the case of Fr. Johnson, when a family friend of the victims family phoned the Cardinals Secretary on November 30, 2015 afternoon and requested for an appointment with the Cardinal, it was immediately granted. The Cardinal met the victim, the parents of the victim and the family friend, who alleged that Fr. Johnson had sexually abused the child. The Cardinal tried to console the parents. The Cardinal was to leave for Rome that same night. After the complainants left, the Cardinal at once phoned up Fr. Johnson and informed him of the allegations made against him, and although Fr. Johnson denied the allegations, the Cardinal removed him from office immediately and told him that he was not even allowed to celebrate Mass the next morning. Fr. Johnson wanted to meet the Cardinal personally, but the Cardinal told him that he was leaving for Rome in a couple of hours and to meet Bishop John Rodrigues instead. Immediately, after speaking to Fr. Johnson, the Cardinal phoned up Bishop John Rodrigues and asked him to keep in touch with the family and to start an inquiry. He then left for Rome. Early next morning, as soon as he reached Rome, the Cardinal phoned up Bishop John to inquire with him regarding the case and about informing the police. At that time, Bishop John told the Cardinal that the police had already been informed by the family the previous night. On his return from Rome, the Cardinal made an appointment with a counsellor to counsel the victim, but he was told by Bishop John Rodrigues that the family had said that the government authorities were making arrangements for a counsellor. Medical assistance is always given by the Archdiocese to the needy parishioners - in fact, a Corpus Fund has been specifically started by the Archdiocese for this purpose. As regards the victim, Fr. Lancy Pinto, the then Dean of Kurla deanery, had spoken to victims father, over the phone and specifically told him that if the family needed any help they could straightaway approach the Archbishops House. He also visited the victims home along with an animator from the parish and met the father of the victim (the mother and the children had gone to visit their relatives). Even on that occasion Fr. Lancy asked the victims father if in any way they could be of help to him or the child, but he was told that there was no need. Fr. Lancy also told the father, at that time, that in case the boy needed any medical help or counselling, he could get in touch with him (Fr. Lancy). The victims father thanked Fr. Lancy and told him that, at present, they did not need any help. Many other attempts were made to reach out to the victim but the family declined any help. Subsequently, the Cardinal tried on many occasions to reach out to the family and the victim, but they refused to meet the Cardinal. The Cardinal understands their pain and is ready to give all assistance. In Rakhine, soldiers fired indiscriminately hitting Ma Ye Ye Soe, 18, in the face. A four-year-old girl was also injured in the incident. In northern Shan, soldiers gunned down Mai Aike Zaup, 17, who was running away from a checkpoint thinking the armed men were rebels. Yangon (AsiaNews) - As fighting continues in various parts of Myanmar, the death of two teenagers has sparked outrage in public opinion. Ma Ye Ye Soe, 18, and Mai Aike Zaup, 17, are the latest victims of ethnic conflict in Rakhine and Shan states. Both were shot by the military, albeit under different circumstances. Currently, Myanmar troops are fighting the Buddhist rebels of the Arakan Army (AA) in northern Rakhine State as well as the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in northern Shan State, where the armed group is fighting for the self-determination of the Ta'ang ethnic group. Ma Ye Ye Soe died two days ago at her home in Myin Hpu, a village in Rathedaung Township (Rakhine), when she was struck in the face by a bullet. Myin Hpu village administrator U Moe Kaung said that at about 10 oclock on Wednesday, about 40 soldiers took up positions in the village. At around 11.30 am, a mine exploded near the village. Although no one was hurt, the blast prompted the troops to randomly shoot into the village, sending locals fleeing to safer locations. I witnessed with my own eyes that Army soldiers were the only armed group shooting at the homes, U Moe Kaung said. A four-year-old girl, Ma Kay Thi Soe, was also injured in the shooting. The Army unit fired at the village for almost one hour. Afterwards, soldiers rounded up 100 men from the community and held them for several hours. In the late afternoon, all were let go except for two. Ma Ye Ye Soe's death came two days after that of Mai Aike Zaup, in Okk Mann Lee, a village in Kutkai Township (Shan). The 17-year-old man was returning from a pagoda festival with a friend when they ran into a group of soldiers, the Ta'ang Women's Organisation (WTO) said. There are no eyewitnesses, but local officials and Mai Aike Zaup's family said that the soldiers opened fire as the teens ran away. The two friends thought that the armed men were TNLA rebels, a group operating in the region. Mai Aike Zaup was hit several times before collapsing to the ground, whilst his friend managed to escape. The young mans family said the soldiers realised their mistake and apologised for killing their son and paid them 2 million kyat (,311) in compensation. TWO is now considering how to take legal action against the military for the teens death but will consult with the family to determine its wishes. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) A local hospital has partnered with an international healthcare provider for a program aimed at providing Filipino nurses with jobs at home while waiting for their U.S. visa. Under the deal, U.S.-based Shearwater Health will refer Filipino nurses up for employment in the U.S. for a job at Asian Hospital and Medical Center (AHMC) in Muntinlupa City. "The wait for a visa to work in the United States for a Filipino nurse can take 2-4 years. Nurses often choose to work abroad (in the Middle East, for example) while waiting for a visa, which may require leaving their children and spouse in the Philippines," AHMC said in a statement. In many case, it said, Filipino nurses refuse to disclose their departure for the U.S. to their employers "until the last possible moment, causing hospitals to scramble to fill positions." This issue will be addressed by the program by notifying AHMC "many months in advance" about the nurses' departure, the hospital said. "Asian Hospital, Shearwater Health, and the nurse will coordinate for the same goal: provide outstanding nursing care in the Philippines without disruption, and empower nurses inclined to work in the U.S. to reach their dream of a career in a U.S. hospital," it said. AHMC said the program will provide nurses with "an alternative to remain in the Philippines while still developing nursing skills." On a wider scale, the program will allow AHMC to help the country in managing the migration of nurses abroad, it added. AHMC is a quaternary hospital, or a medical institution providing highly specialized service, accredited by the Joint Commission International, a global accrediting body for health care organizations. It is part of the Metro Pacific Hospital Group, the largest private hospital group managed by Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, the local unit of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Group. Submit An Obituary Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death. Go to form Goshen, IN (46526) Today Showers early then scattered thunderstorms developing later in the day. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 83F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms in the evening, then cloudy with rain likely later at night. Low 67F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. In January daily rations were cut from 550 to 300 grams per person per day. In 2018, food production was 4.95 million tonnes, 503,000 less than in 2017. North Korea blames UN sanctions for negatively impacting its agricultural sector. A second Trump-Kim summit is set for five days from now, centred on economics and denuclearisation. New York (AsiaNews/Agencies) North Korea has warned that it is facing a food shortfall of 1.4 million tonnes in 2019 and has been forced to almost halve rations, blaming high temperatures, drought, floods and United Nations sanctions. The North Korean mission to the United Nations released a memo to the world body ahead of a second summit next week between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi (Vietnam) on 27-28 February following the historic Singapore agreement eight months ago. According to observers, the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and North Koreas economic development will be at the centre of the talks between the two leaders. The UN Security Council unanimously imposed sanctions on North Korea in 2006 in a bid to choke off funding for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. North Korea blames sanctions for restricting the delivery of farming materials and hindering fuel supply for the agricultural sector. "The DPRK government calls on international organizations to urgently respond to addressing the food situation," read the North Korean memo. It goes on to say that local food production last year was 4.951 million tonnes, 503,000 tonnes less than in 2017. The United Nations confirmed these figures as official government data provided at the end of January. The month before, North Korea admitted shortages in agricultural production. North Korean authorities said it would import 200,000 tonnes of food and produce about 400,000 tonnes of early crops, but that it would still be left with a gap and that from January it would cut daily rations from 550 grams to 300 grams per person. UN officials and aid groups in North Korea are consulting with the government to "further understand the impact of the food security situation on the most vulnerable people in order to take early action to address their humanitarian needs," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday. SUBIACO, February 22, 2019 - West African Resources Ltd. (ASX and TSXV:WAF) ("WAF" or the "Company") advises that it has applied for a voluntary de-listing of its ordinary shares ("shares") from trading on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV"). TSXV has subsequently confirmed that the Company's shares will be de-listed and therefore no longer traded on the TSXV after close of trading on Friday, 8 March 2019. No change will occur to the quotation and trading of WAF shares on the Australian Securities Exchange ("ASX") and its shares will remain available for trading on the ASX under the code WAF. Reasons for de-listing The decision to de-list is due to several factors, including the limited trading volume of WAF's shares on the TSXV over a sustained period of time. Over a 12 month period to mid-February 2019, 85% of its shares that were traded occurred on the ASX. Furthermore average daily volumes of shares traded on ASX in the last six months were 500k compared to 90k on the TSXV. In addition, only approximately 9.5% of WAF's shares are held on the Canadian share register. As a result, the Board considers the regulatory and other costs associated with maintaining the TSXV listing cannot continue to be justified. Implications of the delisting for shareholders on the Canadian share register In order to trade their shares on the ASX, Canadian registered and beneficial shareholders will need to have their shareholdings moved to the Australian share register. After the de-listing date of 8 March 2019 and until a movement of shares to the Australian register is effected, shareholders on the Canadian register and beneficial shareholders holding their securities through a Canadian Depository for Securities (CDS') participant/broker will not be able to trade their shares on the ASX and their shareholdings will remain on the Canadian share register until the automatic closure of the register occurs. The Company's Canadian share register will, however, remain open until 30 April 2019, in order to enable shareholders and CDS participants currently on the Canadian share register to request, if they wish, to have their shares issued to a broker/nominee within CHESS, the Australian clearing and settlement system. If CDS participants or shareholders on the Canadian register have not requested to have their shares moved to an Australian broker/nominee within CHESS by 30 April 2019 their holding, will be automatically moved to an Issuer Sponsored holding on the Australian share register and they will be sent an Issuer Sponsored holding statement from the Australian Registrar. Once this occurs, these shareholders will be able to sell their shares on ASX by quoting their Securityholder Reference Number (SRN) to their broker. Canadian share certificates previously issued will become null and void at such time. Shareholders whose shares are already held on the Australian share register need to take no action. Process to request the removal of shares from Canada to Australia prior to the closure of the Canadian share register CDS participants, or those with shares held by a broker within CDS, who wish to have their shares moved over to the Australian share register and issued to a broker/nominee within CHESS should arrange for the CDS participant or broker to complete and submit either a Computershare xSettle Electronic Instruction' or a Register Removal Request Canada to Australia' form to Computershare Investor Services Inc. ("Computershare Canada"), the Company's Canadian transfer agent. Registered shareholders with Canadian share certificates who wish to have their shares held with a CHESS broker/nominee will need to open an account with a CHESS broker/nominee and complete a Register Removal Request Canada to Australia' form and submit it to Computershare Canada, together with the original Canadian share certificate(s) and a Stock Transfer Form, duly medallion guaranteed. The Canada to Australia Removal Form is available from: https://www-us.computershare.com/Investor/help/PrintableForms?cc=ca&lang=en Shareholders are encouraged to contact Computershare Canada for more information about the Register Removal Process from Canada to Australia by telephone : 1-866-277-2086 or by email to: globaltransactionteam@computershare.com Canadian Reporting Update WAF is a reporting issuer in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario and this will not change following de-listing from TSXV. WAF is now a "designated foreign issuer" pursuant to National Instrument 71-102 Continuous Disclosure and Other Exemptions Relating to Foreign Issuers ("NI 71-102"). In line with WAF's commitment to reduce costs, WAF will not file interim and annual management discussion and analysis and annual information forms as it is not required to do so under the disclosure requirements of Australia. WAF will satisfy its Canadian securities legislation requirements relating to continuous disclosure by complying with the disclosure requirements of Australia. Under Australian disclosure requirements, WAF will file interim six-month and annual audited financial results within the time limits prescribed by Australian securities legislation and the ASX Listing Rules. WAF will continue to satisfy its other Canadian continuous disclosure requirements by complying with the disclosure requirements of Australia as permitted by NI 71-102. For further information contact: Richard Hyde Managing Director Ph: + 61 8 9481 7344 Email: info@westafricanresources.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: West African Resources Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/536455/West-African-Resources-Announces-Voluntary-De-Listing-from-TSX-V TSX- V: MKO /THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISSEMINATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR UNITED STATES PERSONS/ TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2019 - Mako Mining Corp. (TSX-V:MKO) ("Mako" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it is undertaking a non?brokered private placement to raise up to a maximum of CAD$4,500,000 through the issuance of approximately 30,000,000 shares of the Company (the "Offering Shares") at a price of CAD$0.15 per Offering Share (the "Offering"). The Offering is being made in accordance with the provisions of the existing security holder prospectus exemption available under OSC Rule 45?501 ? Ontario Prospectus and Registration Exemptions and equivalent provisions of other applicable securities laws (the "Existing Shareholder Exemption"). The Existing Shareholder Exemption is not available in Newfoundland and Labrador. Subject to the foregoing, the Offering will permit participation of existing shareholders of the Company who held shares of the Company as of February 21, 2019 (the "Record Date") and who continue to hold shares of the Company as of the closing date of the Offering. To participate in reliance on the Existing Shareholder Exemption, shareholders will be required to represent in writing certain requirements of the Existing Shareholder Exemption, including that they were as of the Record Date and continue to be as of the closing date, a shareholder of the Company, and that they are purchasing the Offering Shares as principal for their own account. The aggregate acquisition cost to a shareholder relying on the Existing Shareholder Exemption cannot exceed CAD$15,000 in the 12?month period immediately preceding the closing date of the Offering, unless that shareholder has obtained advice regarding suitability of the investment from a registered investment dealer in the shareholder's jurisdiction. The minimum subscription amount for shareholders relying on the Existing Shareholder Exemption is CAD$5,000. The Offering will remain open until 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on March 4, 2019 (the "Expiry Time"). If you are an existing shareholder of the Company as of the Record Date and are interested in participating in the Offering, you or your registered investment dealer should contact the Company to obtain a copy of the subscription agreement for the Offering by email at kbullock@makominingcorp.com. Requests should be received by no later than 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on February 27, 2019, so that a duly completed subscription agreement can be received by the Company at or before the Expiry Time. Following the Expiry Time, the Company will notify each subscriber who has provided a subscription agreement with their allocation and instructions on timing and completion of subscription documents and delivery of funds. If subscriptions received exceed the Offering Shares, the Offering Shares to be sold under the Offering will be allocated pro rata amongst all subscribers qualifying under the Existing Shareholder Exemption in proportion to the number of the Offering Shares subscribed for by each subscriber under the Offering. The Company does not propose to increase the size of the Offering. Wexford Capital LP ("Wexford"), an insider of the Company, currently owns or controls, through two private funds managed by Wexford (Wexford Spectrum Trading Limited and Wexford Catalyst Trading Limited), 105,414,678 common shares of the Company (representing 37.20% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company). Pursuant to the terms of an Investor Rights Agreement (the "Investor Rights Agreement") between Wexford and the Company dated November 9, 2018, Wexford has the right to participate in the Offering to maintain its pro rata equity ownership interest in the Company. Wexford has agreed to exercise its right and participate in the Offering in order to maintain its pro rata interest. The subscription for Offered Shares by Wexford will be a "related party" transaction" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101") by virtue of Wexford being a "control person" of Mako Mining. The private placement to Wexford is exempt from the formal valuation requirements of MI 61-101 pursuant to section 5.5(b) thereof and is exempt from the minority shareholder approval requirements pursuant to section 5.7(1)(a) thereof. The proposed principal uses of proceeds of the Offering are to fund ongoing exploration programs (including diamond drilling) at los Conchitas in Nicaragua (~ 45%), ongoing detailed Engineering for the San Albino gold project in Nicaragua (~ 25%), first phase exploration at La Trinidad in Mexico (~ 10%) and for working capital and general corporate purposes (~ 20%). Completion of the Offering is subject to a number of conditions, including the satisfaction of any regulatory requirements and receipt of the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"). The completion of the Offering is expected to occur on or about March 8, 2019. Investors participating in the Offering will receive the Offering Shares in certificated form to facilitate the inclusion of required restrictive legends. In accordance with United States securities legislation, the Offering Shares will be subject to resale restrictions pursuant to a 'distribution compliance period' (as defined in Regulation S under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended) of one year from the date the Offering Shares are issued. Concurrently, in accordance with applicable Canadian securities legislation, the Offering Shares will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day from the date the Offering Shares are issued. This news release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and such securities may not be offered or sold within the United States absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from U.S. registration requirements. Hedging transactions involving the Shares may not be conducted unless in compliance with the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended. About Mako Mining Corp. Mako Mining is a publicly listed gold mining, development and exploration firm. It operates the producing La Trinidad open-pit, heap leach gold mine in Sinaloa State, Mexico and is developing its San Albino gold project in Nuevo Segovia, Nicaragua. Mako's primary objective is to bring San Albino into production quickly and efficiently, while continuing exploration of prospective targets in both Mexico and Nicaragua. Currently, Mako is exploring for gold and silver mineralization on more than 60,200 hectares (602 km2) land holdings in Sinaloa State, Mexico and on 13,771 hectares (138 km2) at the San Albino-Murra and El Jicaro properties, both in Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua. The Corona de Oro Gold Belt, approximately 3 kilometres wide by 23 kilometres long, contains hundreds of historical mines and workings and spans the entirety of the Company's Nicaragua land package. Forward?Looking Statements This news release contains "forward?looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward?looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including, without limitation, statements related to the closing of the Offering, the receipt of regulatory approval in respect of the Offering and the use of proceeds received from the Offering. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of factors and assumptions made by management and considered reasonable at the time such statements are made, and forward?looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward?looking statements. Such risk factors include but are not limited to, the Company not obtaining final approval of the TSXV for the Offering and those factors disclosed in the Company's current Management's Discussion and Analysis as well as other public disclosure documents, available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward?looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward?looking statements will prove to be accurate. The forward-looking statements contained herein are presented for the purposes of assisting investors in understanding the Company's plans, objectives and goals and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward?looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward?looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Mako Mining Corp. In his State of the Union address, President Trump, who is admittedly not given to eloquent or self-reflective musings, voiced an odd phrase that seemed both rather strange and rather perceptive. Great nations, he said, do not wage endless wars. Now of course, there have been long wars across history, but even the infamous Hundred Years War in Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries was waged only by minor French and English claimants to the thrones. Truly powerful nations supposedly move swiftly to resolve wars. The way, in fact, we have not. The strangest thing in our country today is that virtually no one talks about our seemingly eternal and too often unnecessary wars, which boast neither tactics nor strategy. Even stranger is that, so far, none of our eager candidates for the presidency has even mentioned them. Since Vietnam, we have turned our faces innocently away from the fact that we have lost virtually every war we have engaged in after the Korean War (and that was only a tie). In fact, only now are such secrets beginning to seep out in public and press journals. Democrats are also trying to avoid the appearance of a rush to judgment that could lead to the ouster of the only African-American in statewide office as Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring, both white, remain in office after admitting to wearing blackface as young men. Tyson, a California professor, has accused Fairfax of forcing her to perform oral sex in a Boston hotel room in 2004. Watson has accused Fairfax of raping her while the two were students at Duke University in 2000. Fairfax has said both encounters were consensual and has refused to resign. He has repeatedly professed his innocence, saying he was being smeared when it appeared he would ascend to the governorship given the calls for Northam's resignation over the racist photo that appeared in his medical school yearbook. If Northam, Fairfax and Herring were to resign at the same time, Cox would become governor. Watson and Tyson have called for the General Assembly to hold hearings to allow them to testify. Both have also expressed some willingness to participate in potential investigations by law enforcement in Massachusetts and North Carolina. Sitting in a chair first occupied by former president James Madison, U.S. Rep. Denver Riggleman was in awe of his newly earned position in the House chamber to represent Virginias 230-year-old 5th District. When he was sworn in on Jan. 3, the occasion sent little bumps rising up his arms. It really was a goosebump-inducing moment to be sworn in on the floor, one of the highlights of my life, said Riggleman, a Republican, sitting back in his chair Thursday in his Danville office. In the seven weeks since his first day on the job, the fresh-faced representative hit the ground hard and hasnt stopped running as hes tried to learn and adjust to the inner workings of Congress and Washington politics. When asked if he still got goosebumps while sitting in his chair, he laughed heartily and said, I think the goosebumps now have been medicated by stress and chaos. Rigglemans run for the House of Representatives in 2018 was his first serious attempt at entering the realm of public office, aside from a few weeks spent running for governor in 2017. He ran against another political newcomer, Democrat Leslie Cockburn, and won with nine-point margin in a historically red district. Danville City Councils vote Tuesday night to establish its land-bank entity was not legal because it didnt follow proper procedure. Council did not advertise and hold a public hearing before voting on the matter, so the city must go back and vote again on it after officially letting residents know about the agenda item and giving them a chance to speak out on it March 19, said City Manager Ken Larking. Danville Public Information Officer Arnold Hendrix called and told the Danville Register & Bee of the improper vote Thursday afternoon. We want to make this right, Hendrix said. We want to follow the steps that are required to offer citizens a chance to come before council and voice their opinions. Larking said a citizen contacted a city official about the violation Wednesday. According to state law, establishment of the Danville Neighborhood Development Corporation as the citys land-bank entity required a public hearing. The violation was an oversight and was not intentional, he said. We want to adhere to proper procedure, Larking said. When it was brought to our attention, we immediately took steps necessary to correct it. City Attorney Clarke Whitfield did not return messages for this story. A multi-denominational religious organization will host its signature Celebrate concert on Sunday at The Tabernacle in Danville. The South Side Region Celebration a group with more than 60 members from 27 regional churches will perform an evening of praise and worship music starting at 5 p.m. Sunday. Its free and open to the public. Songs and music, including Show Me Your Ways, are selected the groups musicians not only for their own personal praise and worship but songs that will life up our guests in attendance to bring them to a closer relationship with their God, according to a news release. Members come together with the hope of fostering unity in the Danville area by having various church members worship together side-by-side. Their vision is to be a catalyst for a spiritual community awakening. The Tabernacle is located at 1978 South Boston Road in Danville. To become a part of this group, either instrumentally or vocally, contact Donald Nodtvedt at (434) 728-1194. R. Hutchings Hutch Vernon will speak this week at The Wednesday Club. Vernon is a long-time student of the investment and business approach of Warren Buffett, the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, and has attended the annual Berkshire shareholders meeting for more than 30 years. Vernon, a native of Danville, is a partner of Brown Advisory and a portfolio manager for Brown Advisorys Flexible Equity Strategy and the co-manager for the Brown Advisory Flexible Equity Fund. Prior to joining the firm, Vernon was the chief investment officer and portfolio manager for Alex Brown Investment Management. He also held a portfolio manager and research analyst positions with T. Rowe Price Associates, Legg Mason and Wachovia Bank. Vernon is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member and a past president of the Baltimore Security Analysts Society. He is a graduate of George Washington High School and the University of Virginia. He is the son of the late Melvin C. Vernon Jr., a former J.C. Bradford & Co. financial advisor. His mother is Jean Harper Vernon. He resides in Baltimore, Maryland, with his wife Susan. He is the father of a son and two daughters. The club will meet at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday. Its free and open to the public. CHINESE auto giant SAIC Motor is extending its Antipodean reach across the Tasman, announcing this week that the factory had taken over the importation and distribution of MG Motor vehicles in New Zealand from the independent British Motor Distributors. To come under the umbrella of SAIC Motor Australia and New Zealand, the Kiwi operation will see the recently updated MG3 light hatchback and all-new ZS compact crossover launch later this year, joining the GS mid-size SUV. In announcing the move, SAIC Motor Australia/NZ chief executive Peter Cao said: In studying the market in depth, we see New Zealand as the perfect fit for MG. As a global brand, MG has evolved to today stand for great value, impressive design and high-quality manufacture and we anticipate it will appeal to New Zealand customers. The company has appointed Anthony MacLean as business manager for MG Motor in New Zealand, who is based in Auckland and was previously national sales manager (vans) for Mercedes-Benz New Zealand. Mr MacLean will work alongside the Australian-based SAIC/MG team, including marketing director Danny Lenartic and product planning manager Pavel Meck. Anthony brings with him a wealth of experience, and will work to expand our dealer network, Mr Cao said. We have a strong focus on building trust, and creating jobs in the local market, engaging experienced, enthusiastic retail partners to represent MG in New Zealand. Mr Cao also acknowledged the role played by Christchurch-headquartered British Motor Distributors (BMD) led by managing director John Fairhall which took on MG distribution in 2016 and has been operating MG dealerships on both the north and south island. SAIC is preparing to open new dealerships in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington, with up to 10 outlets operating across both islands in its first wave of network development under factory control. The MG marque is going through a powerful transition, Mr Cao said. I would like to thank John Fairhall and British Motor Distributors for their professionalism and stewardship of the brand in recent years. MG Motors successful relaunch in Australia in 2016, and the Chinese manufacturers desire to extend the reach of its export markets, are clearly behind its expansion across to New Zealand. Still trading on its strong British heritage, but with models built in China, MG had a false start locally under previous independent distributor Longwell Motor back in 2013, before SAIC Motor set up the new factory operation three years later, based in Woolloomooloo, Sydney. The company has targeted a three per cent market share in Australia within a decade of its relaunch equivalent to around 34,000 sales based on the industrys 2018 results and last year posted 3007 sales, up from just 600 the previous year and marking a 401 per cent increase. It also recorded 503 sales in January and now has 29 dealerships operating across Australia, with its model range spanning MG3, ZS, GS and the MG6 Plus small/medium liftback backed by a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. The company with offer five-year/unlimited cover in New Zealand. The Road to Recovery podcast series Saudi Arabia is turning east because of difficult relations with the West, following the Jamal Khashoggi murder. The two countries plan to build an oil refinery and a petrochemical plan in Liaoning. Riyadh is silent over the fate of the Uyghurs. Beijing (AsiaNews) Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) met today with Chinese President Xi Jinping, reiterating a relationship that "traced back a very long time in the past" in which "we have never experienced any problems. The Crown Prince arrived yesterday, after visiting Pakistan and India. Their foreign ministers, Adel Al Jubeir and Wang Yi, noted the two countries shared a common purpose on the economy, the fight against terrorism and non-interference. China will continue its Belt and Road Initiative (the New Silk Road), bringing in Saudi Arabia, which in turn is committed to its Saudi Vision 2030, a programme spurred by MbS to modernise and diversify the economy. To smooth cooperation, Saudi oil company Aramco signed a US$ 10 billion deal to build an oil refinery and petrochemical plant in Liaoning. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority also announced the signing of 35 non-binding memorandums of understanding, including deals related to energy, mining, transportation and e-commerce. However, the two sides have remained silent about the fight against terrorism. Saudi Arabia is suspected of supporting many extremist groups in the world. Out of friendship with China, Riyadh has never condemned Beijings violence against the Uyghurs. At least a million Muslim Turkic Uighurs are being held in forced labour camps in Xinjiang. Both countries reiterated the principle of non-interference in a countrys internal affairs by outside forces. For China it is clear the reference is the US and the trade war that is causing problems for its economy. For Saudi Arabia, the United States is also a problem because of the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an incident MbS wants to put behind him. The crown prince is suspected of being the instigator of the killing. For its part, Europe wants to put Saudi Arabia on the money laundering black list for doing too little to curb financing of terrorist groups and organised crime. According to some observers, MbSs visit in the East is designed to counter anti-Saudi headwinds in the West. He is seemingly trying to make Saudi Arabia Chinas preferred oil partner, a role currently held by Russia. At the same time, Riyadh is trying to develop alliances to isolate or contain Iran. However, just the day before MbSs arrival in Beijing, Xi met with Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani. EU warns UK chances of no-deal Brexit have risen Iran Press TV Thu Feb 21, 2019 03:36PM The deputy head of the European Commission has warned that the risk for Britain leaving the bloc in a disorderly manner at the end of March has increased significantly despite efforts by London to secure a divorce deal signed in November. European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans said Thursday that Britain would certainly crash out of the EU unless political factions in the country could agree on an alternative mechanism. "The risk of leaving without a deal has increased," said Timmermans, adding that his fear in the last couple of weeks had increased that Britain "might crash out even if they don't want to". The EU official said Brussels was willing to help Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal go through the British parliament. However, he said those pressing the EU to remove a clause in the deal dedicated to the future of the Irish border were deeply wrong to think that the bloc would compromise on the rights of its member Ireland. British lawmakers rejected May's deal on January 15, mainly out of concerns that Britain would become indefinitely trapped in EU rules after Brexit because of the so-called Irish backstop clause. May has since then sought to persuade the EU into giving new concessions on the backstop, a policy which is meant to avoid a return if a hard border between Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland. Timmermans said it would be impossible for Britain to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland while pursuing different EU and UK economic rules, urging the pro-Brexit lawmakers who have been critical of the backstop to end their "pipe dream". May has repeatedly asked lawmakers in the House of Commons to unite behind her deal or face the prospect of a disorderly Brexit, a scenario which experts believe could have huge economic implications for the UK. UK-China ties hurt by defense secretary's threats: Chancellor Iran Press TV Thu Feb 21, 2019 05:55PM Britain's Chancellor of Exchequer Philip Hammond has criticized the country's defense chief for irritating China with a series of military threats, saying London should adopt a milder tone vis-a-vis Beijing as it seeks better economic ties with the Chinese after Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. Hammond said on Thursday that Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson had caused problems in UK-China relations by vowing to send an aircraft carrier to the South China Sea, where China is involved in a territorial dispute with several countries in the region. Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Hammond admitted Williamson's comments had caused the Chinese to call off planned trade talks with the UK. "It's a complex relationship and it hasn't been made simpler by Chinese concerns about Royal Navy deployments in the South China Sea," said Hammond. The finance minister said he was "disappointed that the Chinese have reacted in the way that they have". Sources close to Williamson have insisted that that his speech last week about the use of "lethal" force against countries that "flout international law" had been approved by Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff and the National Security Adviser. That comes amid criticism about the British government's ambiguous policy when it comes to dealing with China. London has been desperate to broaden its cooperation with the world's second largest economy in a bid to offset the shocks of living the EU at the end of March. However, the government has also been accused of trying to please the United States by countering China's rising influence in the South China Sea region. Hammond said London was supposed to be careful in its way of handling China of it wanted better economic cooperation with Beijing in future. "I think that it is very important that we manage this relationship with China very carefully," he said. Britain and Germany: an alliance of values Speech by the Foreign Secretary to the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Berlin. 20 February 2019 Introduction I'm delighted to have this opportunity to speak here at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. There are moments in history that remind us that we are all part of something greater than ourselves. As I landed at Tegel Airport this morning, I thought of one such moment. Seventy years ago, the people of this city were engaged in a daily struggle to keep West Berlin alive through Stalin's blockade. The skies above Berlin were filled with British and American aircraft laden with fuel, food and medicine, landing or taking off every 45 seconds, day and night. For 11 months, pilots who had previously dropped bombs on Berlin mounted the greatest humanitarian airlift in history, delivering 2.3 million tons of supplies. At first, Berlin did not have enough runways to receive the inflow. So the people of Berlin built Tegel Airport with their own hands, taking only 90 days to construct what was then the longest runway in Europe. Our countries were just a few years away from a devastating war. And yet we were united. United by shared values. And united in opposition to those who sought to destroy them. The people of Berlin overcame their ordeal, transforming this city into what President Kennedy later called a "defended island of freedom". Then, thirty years ago this year, Berlin ceased to be an island when the Wall came down. As the crowds surged through Brandenburg Gate in 1989, Berlin and its people reminded us never to take liberty for granted. Those events show that some values transcend individuals, nations or groups of nations. And indeed transcend Brexit too - however absorbing or challenging that may seem. Alliance of Values For whatever treaties or organisations our two countries may join or leave, our friendship is based on something infinitely more important and durable. Britain and Germany cherish the same freedoms, defend the same values, respect the same fundamental laws and face the same dangers. We are bound together not simply by institutions, but by the beliefs that inspired the creation of those institutions: democracy, openness and equality before the law regardless of race, class, gender or sexuality. Karl Popper, the Austrian-born philosopher, defined the distinctive quality of an open society in these words: "We ought to be proud that we do not have one idea but many ideas, good ones and bad ones; that we do not have a single belief: not one religion but many, good ones and bad ones.It is not the unity of an idea but the diversity of our many ideas, of which the West may be proud: the pluralism of its ideas." More than anything else, Britain and Germany believe in pluralism as the best way of releasing the nobility of the human spirit. There is nothing new about this. We shared these ideals in 1972 before Britain joined the European Economic Community. And we will continue to share them in 2019 when we leave the European Union. Because as I said in my response to the wonderful letter written to The Times last month by Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Prof. Dr Norbert Lammert and other distinguished Germans, Britain is not going anywhere. We are not relocating our island to the far side of the world. Our two countries may no longer be bound by the structures of the European Union, but we will remain part of a wider alliance, an alliance of values. Nations united not solely by institutions but by beliefs: in freedom, the rule of law and human rights. An alliance that doesn't just believe in those ideals but is willing to defend them, as demonstrated by my predecessor, Ernest Bevin, when he helped to establish NATO. Success of the rules-based system He was part of the generation of humane and far-sighted leaders, including Konrad Adenauer, who built an assembly of rules and institutions including the United Nations, the World Bank and what became the World Trade Organisation to create an era defined not by bloodshed but by peace and prosperity. The goals of the world order that emerged after 1945 were summarised by the former Mayor of Berlin and Chancellor of Germany, Willy Brandt, who said: "I re-emphasise my faith in the universal principles of general international law.They found binding expression in the principles of the United Nations Charter: sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-violence, the right of self-determination." By any objective measure, that international order has been remarkably successful. Despite the bloodshed in Syria and elsewhere, the number of conflict-related deaths as a proportion of the global population fell by an astonishing 80 percent between 1984 and 2016. Relative peace has allowed millions to raise themselves from destitution. When I was born, half of humanity lived in absolute poverty; today, it is less than 10%. Life expectancy has shot up and since 2000 alone 1.1 billion people have been connected to electricity for the first time. The rules-based system is not some cynical construct designed solely to protect the interests of the West. Nor will the biggest losers be in the West if it is allowed to crumble. So when people ask what will Britain's role in the world be after Brexit, I say this: We will put to work the remarkable array of connections across the globe that history has given the United Kingdom. Whether through our European friends, our Atlantic allies or the Commonwealth family, we will seek to bind the democracies of the world together. Only if we are joined together by an invisible chain or thread of shared values will we be strong enough to withstand the challenges we face. And strong enough to uphold an international order that has served humanity so well. Threats to rules-based system Right now it would be an enormous mistake if Europe were to allow Brexit and other internal challenges to make us introspective. Because when we look inwards, our adversaries sense an opportunity. Russia has broken the prohibition on acquiring territory by force by redrawing a European frontier and annexing 10,000 square miles of Ukraine. Having taken Crimea, Russia then deployed troops and tanks in eastern Ukraine, igniting a conflict that has claimed nearly 11,000 lives and driven 2.3 million people from their homes. At the same time the global ban on the use of chemical weapons, dating back almost a century to 1925, has been violated time and again in Syria - and even on the soil of my own country. Meanwhile the onward march of democracy that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall has come to a halt and started to go into reverse. In the 2 decades after 1989, there were 29 new democracies. This century it has been different: last week Freedom House reported that 2018 was the 13th successive year of decline for political rights and civil liberties around the world. We must never assume that the arc of history will automatically bend towards democracy and liberalism. Wise decisions made by a generation of leaders in the last century shaped the world as we know it. The question is whether this generation of leaders will do the same? Anglo-German co-operation Hence the overriding importance of Britain and Germany working side-by-side. There is much to celebrate. Together we are preserving the Iran nuclear agreement, keeping Iran free of nuclear weapons and the world safer as a result; together we are resisting the evil of chemical weapons, from Salisbury to Syria, ensuring the price is always too high for countries to use these terrible weapons; together we are upholding the Paris Climate Change Treaty, ensuring future generations will not pay the price of our prosperity today; together we are working for lasting peace in the Western Balkans; indeed on my first day as Foreign Secretary I met Chancellor Merkel at a summit in London to discuss that very issue. Chancellor Merkel approached me and said, "Congratulations, if that's the right word". At the same time, our security services and police are cooperating silently and tirelessly to guard our citizens and our European friends from terrorism and organised crime. Our diplomats are training side-by-side; only last week, 76 British and German diplomats were attending joint classes in the Foreign Office in London. Our soldiers are serving together in Afghanistan, where yours are the second biggest contribution to the NATO mission. Our soldiers are also protecting NATO's Eastern borders, where UK troops comprise the single largest component of the "enhanced forward presence" in Poland and the Baltic states. Some in Germany have seen our decision to leave the EU as a retreat: a retreat from the global stage and from common European security interests. Nothing could be further from the truth. Britain remains the only European nation to meet the UN and NATO targets of spending 0.7 percent of national income on aid, 2 percent of GDP on defence and 20 percent of our defence budget on capital. The Prime Minister has restated that Britain's commitment to the defence of Europe is immovable and unconditional. And I'm delighted that Germany has been elected to serve on the Security Council; later today, Heiko Maas and I will discuss how our missions in New York can best cooperate on areas of common interest, including Libya and Darfur. The UK-EU partnership So at a time when the global balance of wealth and power is changing with remarkable speed - perhaps faster than ever before - we must not allow Brexit to be all-consuming. That means an orderly departure from the EU is of paramount importance. Of course when you leave a club you cannot enjoy all its benefits. And nor will we: after Brexit, the UK will no longer be part of the councils of the EU. We will no longer have a say or vote in European directives or laws. But nor - if we are to stand together against common threats - can Britain ever be just another "third country". The future partnership that Britain seeks to build with the EU starts with the belief that our security is indivisible. The Political Declaration sets out a vision of the closest relationship in foreign policy the EU has ever had with another country, something that Chancellor Merkel herself has emphasised. It states that where and when our interests converge as they often will - Britain and the EU will "combine efforts" to the "greatest effect, including in times of crisis". We must also maintain the closest economic partnership, consistent with the spirit of the British referendum and the integrity of the single market. The flow of trade between Britain and the EU amounts to one of the biggest economic relationships in the world. In 2017, total trade between the UK and the other 27 members of the EU came to 615 billion [Euros 695 billion]. This is a colossal figure, about 8% bigger than the EU's trade with China and 12 percent higher than trade between China and the United States. Millions of jobs on both sides of the Channel depend on this flow of commerce so everyone has an interest in ensuring that it continues to flourish. There are those who say that strategic and security partnerships can continue unaffected by economic relationships. We must remember the lesson of history: trading relations have always been the first link between countries, and they act as the foundation of all other relations. So none of us should have any doubt that failing to secure a ratified Withdrawal Agreement between Britain and the EU would be deeply damaging, politically as well as economically. In the vital weeks ahead, standing back and hoping that Brexit solves itself will not be enough. The stakes are just too high: we must all do what we can to ensure such a deal is reached. Last Saturday, Chancellor Merkel delivered a powerful defence of what she called the "classic" world order. She urged all countries to "put yourself in the other's shoes" and "see whether we can get win-win solutions together". I would urge our European friends to approach this crucial stage of the Brexit negotiations in that spirit. Because in the future, we do not want historians to puzzle over our actions and ask themselves how it was that Europe failed to achieve an amicable change in its relationship with Britain a friend and ally in every possible sense and thereby inflicted grave and avoidable damage to our continent at exactly the moment when the world order was under threat from other directions. Now is the hour for the generous and far-sighted leadership of which Chancellor Merkel spoke. If we are to secure the future of a world order that has allowed our countries to enjoy the peace and prosperity that eluded our ancestors if we are to avoid, in Chancellor Merkel's phrase,falling "apart into pieces of a puzzle" - then achieving a smooth and orderly Brexit is profoundly necessary. Conclusion It would not be right to end this speech without an apposite quote from Konrad Adenauer, a towering figure in the history of the Federal Republic and the CDU, in whose honour this Foundation is named. He once said: "Wenn die anderen glauben, man ist am Ende, so muss man erst richtig anfangen." ("when others think we've reached the end, that's when we've got to really begin"). The UK's departure from the EU is the end of one phase of our relationship. But it's the beginning of another, and we are determined to remain the best of friends. So let me finish by returning to that letter written by Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and other distinguished Germans to the Times. The signatories were generous to Britain. So let me say in response, Britain shares the same admiration and warmth for the people of Germany, for your moral courage, your tolerance and magnanimity, and for your towering achievement in building a nation that is, at once, a model democracy and the economic powerhouse of Europe. When 2.1 million Berliners were blockaded and besieged 70 years ago, they could not be sure they would withstand the ordeal and eventually triumph. They survived because of their courage and resilience, supported by the resolute action of friends who shared their ideals and were determined not to abandon this city. Those friends did not come to Berlin's support because of treaties or formal unions. They acted because of something more powerful, though less tangible: the values that united them, just as values unite us today. Those values remain constant whatever else changes. Let us remember that as we do our duty in the critical few weeks ahead. Turkey censures draft European report on Ankara's accession to EU Iran Press TV Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:13AM Turkey has denounced as "unacceptable" a draft report by a key European Parliament committee that calls for the suspension of negotiations with Ankara for accession to the European Union (EU). In a draft advisory report, the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee called on the European Commission and EU member states to formally suspend years-long accession talks with Turkey, citing numerous alleged human rights violations in the country as well as the conduct of its judiciary system. The report is expected to be voted on by the entire European Parliament in mid-March. "The call in the draft report which is not legally binding and bears only the status of an advisory decision to officially suspend our country's accession negotiations with the EU is absolutely unacceptable," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement on Wednesday. Aksoy said the draft report exemplified the 28-member bloc's biased attitude toward Turkey, adding that Ankara would push for its amendment. "We expect the necessary changes to be made for a more realistic, unbiased, and encouraging final report, which will be accepted in March at the European Parliament's general assembly," the official said, stressing that, "Only such a report will be taken into consideration by our country." The draft advisory report censured Ankara for allegedly undermining human rights and civil liberties, also accusing the Turkish government of influencing the judiciary and engaging in territorial disputes with neighboring countries. Committee members said that such policies, in combination with changes in the country's governing system, had made Turkey's accession to the EU impossible at this stage. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested in October last year that the EU was being insincere in its accession talks with Turkey. Relations between Turkey and the EU have been strained for several years, especially after the July 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan, which Ankara says was masterminded by US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen. The EU has often criticized the crackdown and alleged attacks on freedom of speech in the wake of the botched putsch, in which tens of thousands of people, including journalists, were arrested. Ankara, in return, has accused Brussels of being inattentive to the security threats faced by Turkey. The Turkish government has also rejected any offer of partnership with the EU that falls short of full membership. Ankara Refutes Reports on al-Nusra Leader Finding Shelter in Turkey - Source Sputnik News 14:54 21.02.2019 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ankara rejects reports claiming that Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group, outlawed in Russia) was currently on Turkish soil, a diplomatic source told Sputnik on Thursday. "A report published on February 19 by a number of media outlets claimed that the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist organization, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, was transported to Turkey after being injured in an explosion in Syria. This allegation is unfounded," the source said. On Tuesday, media reports emerged that the leader of the terrorist group had received a shrapnel wound to the head and was in coma at a Turkish hospital near the Syrian border. On December 11, al-Watan newspaper reported that the criminal court of Damascus had issued the death penalty in absentia to the leaders of several terrorist groups, including al-Julani. Sputnik US-backed SDF hands over to Iraq 130 Daesh terrorists captured in Syria Iran Press TV Thu Feb 21, 2019 05:29PM The so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have handed over more than a hundred Iraqi members of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, who had been captured in neighboring Syria, to Iraqi government forces. The spokesman for Iraq's Joint Operations Command, Brigadier General Yahya Rasoul, told AFP on Thursday that Iraqi security forces had received 130 Iraqi Daesh militants from the SDF. "They used to fight in Iraq but when the battles were over they went to Syria where they were captured by SDF forces during recent fighting," he added. Naim al-Kaood, the head of the security department in Iraq's western province of Anbar, also said the 130 Daesh Takfiris handed over were "wanted" by the Baghdad government. A commander of Iraqi voluntary fighters from the pro-government Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) better known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha'abi said the extremists were all Iraqi nationals and were handed over to authorities, including members of military intelligence. Other groups will be handed over to Iraq, including families of the militants, the commander, who declined to be named, said. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that around 150 Daesh militants and their family members had been handed over to Iraq. It said the relatives were taken from the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz to Iraq in trucks belonging to the US-led coalition and covered tightly with tarps. SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali, however, dismissed Iraq's claims. "We deny this information part and parcel," he said. The Observatory announced on Saturday that SDF forces had captured Daesh's last remaining enclave in eastern Syria. The group stated the last few hundred terrorists, many of them foreigners, had surrendered in the past two days to the US-backed Kurdish-led forces. It said some militants may still be hiding in underground tunnels. On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said that he was concerned about developments in Syria, where Daesh terrorists have lost their last stronghold on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, and are fleeing in droves towards desert areas in Iraq's western province of Anbar. by Shafique Khokhar Nicknamed Little Einstein for his intelligence, 14-year-old Haroon Masih, helps his mother collect rags to pay for his studies. His attacker, a Muslim pupil, was arrested. Karachi (AsiaNews) - Haroon Masih, a 14-year-old Christian boy, was stabbed by a Muslim classmate who was jealous of his good grades. At his school, the teenager is known as Little Einstein for his intelligence and dedication to his studies. To pay for his education and not burden his very poor family, he collects rags together with his mother. Taken urgently to Jinnah Hospital in Karachi after the attack, doctors had to remove a kidney to save his life. The National Justice and Peace Commission of Karachi (NCJP) has offered legal aid to the Masih family. The incident took place last Sunday, but the dispute that triggered the violence goes back a few days. Both the boys, Haroon Masih and Muhammad Majid, both fourth graders, attend the Government Mohammadi School in Sultanabad. Last Friday, Majid, jealous of his fellow pupils great grades, stole a book from him. Haroon told the teacher and the latter, instead of protecting the Muslim pupil as is often the case in Pakistan, he scolded him for his deed. Hurt in his pride, Majid organised a beating for the Christian boy with some friends. Sunday evening, the five other boys surrounded Haroon and viciously beat him. Majid then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the stomach puncturing his kidney. After the attack, the victim was left wounded on the ground. Some passers-by, who took him to the hospital, saved his life. Although alive, Haroon suffered serious injuries and will not be able to help his mother for some time. Police arrested the attacker. Now Irfan Masih, the father, says we want justice for our son. We do not want to see him suffer anymore. He is the only one helping his mother and thus supports our whole family." Blast hits minibus carrying oil workers in eastern Syria; 20 killed Iran Press TV Thu Feb 21, 2019 06:58PM Nearly two dozen people have lost their lives and a number of others sustained injuries when a powerful bomb explosion struck a minibus carrying workers employed in a major oil facility in Syria's eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a car rigged with explosives was detonated remotely in the town of al-Shuhayl, close to an oil field, which serves as a base for the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Britain-based group added that six members of the Kurdish-led SDF were also killed as they escorted the workers. Activists with relatives in the area said many of the young men in the blown-up minibus had come from work in the nearby al-Omar field. Video footage published on social media networks purportedly showed bodies lying on the ground following the attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, but it bears the hallmark of attacks carried out by the Daesh Takfiri terror group. Earlier, the observatory reported that around 150 Daesh terrorists and their family members had been handed over to Iraq. It said the relatives were taken from the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz to Iraq in trucks belonging to the US-led coalition purportedly fighting Daesh. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said on Tuesday that he was concerned about developments in neighboring Syria, where Daesh terrorists have lost their last stronghold on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, and are fleeing in droves towards desert areas in Iraq's western province of Anbar. Massive car bomb in Syria's Afrin Also on Thursday, several people suffered injuries when a massive blast hit Syria's Kurdish-populated northwestern city of Afrin. The explosion occurred as a car bomb was detonated near Dirsem Hospital following a military parade by members of the so-called Free Syrian Army, according to the observatory. The London-based observatory added that some of the injured were in critical condition. Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the country. China, Saudi Arabia Try to Walk Together Amid Hurdles By Saibal Dasgupta February 21, 2019 Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Beijing on Thursday for a two-day visit to boost the country's international image sullied by the recent killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and to enhance economic ties. But the path to better ties between Saudi Arabia and China is riddled with political hurdles. China has spent the last few days assuring Iran, Saudi Arabia's political rival, that the Crown Prince's visit would not affect its approach to the Middle East. Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on Wednesday that his resolve to develop a comprehensive strategic partnership with Iran will remain unchanged. Saudi Arabia, a Sunni country, and Iran where most people belong to the Shia Muslim sect, have been engaged in a long standing struggle for influence in the Middle East. For Beijing, it's a delicate balancing act between Saudi Arabia, which is seen as a close ally of the U.S., and Iran, which is openly critical of Washington. "China has been good at keeping a kind of subtle balance between Iran and Saudi Arabia," Jean-Pierre Cabestan, professor of politics at the Hong Kong Baptist University said. Beijing needs support from both wealthy Muslim nations at a time when it is engaged in a trade war with the U.S. and a major slowdown in its economy. It also needs Saudi support for the Belt and Road program, which has not yet made much of a mark west of Pakistan. Mutual concerns Beijing's own relationship with Riyadh has not been very smooth. "The relationship [of China] with Saudi Arabia has never been easy," Cabestan said. One issue is Iran. "The other issue [between China and Saudi Arabia] is more religious because it has to do with the restrictions imposed on the Chinese Muslims in China. Not only the Uighur but also the Hui people in Ningxia," he said. The Saudi leadership has to worry about its image in the Muslim world and close association with China involves some risks. But China has its own worries about engaging too closely with Saudi Arabia. "China is very worried about any kind of Wahabi influence on its Muslims. And that has always been a kind of objective limitation to any kind of friendship or close cooperation and understanding between the two countries," Cabestan said. The Saudi Crown Prince introduced a new element to this delicate relationship by emerging as an investment rival in Pakistan, which is the showcase country for China's prestigious Belt and Road program. He announced a $20 billion investment in Pakistan, half of which will go to building an oil refinery in Gwadar next to a Chinese built port in the coastal city. Though the investment would boost the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), part of the Belt and Road program, it could also be a matter of concern for Beijing. "In practice, a major additional investor in or close to Gwadar should represent a boost for CPEC but Beijing will be a little politically wary nonetheless," said Andrew Small, author of "China-Pakistan axis: Asia's new geopolitics." "For Pakistan, it does represent a gentle rebalancing away from dependency on China, which some on the Pakistani side think had grown excessive even if China will remain a critically important partner," he said. But Imtiaz Gul, executive director of the Islamabad-based Center for Research & Security Studies, does not agree, The latest investment comes after consultations between China, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to further develop CPEC, he said. "Multilateral or bilateral relations are not defined by faith and ideologies. They are determined by economic interests, " Gul said. Economic dimensions The Saudi prince also offered to invest $100 billion in different projects across India. This is significant because India has been reluctant to adopt the Belt and Road program and accept Chinese investment offers related to it. The large scale Saudi entry into India's investment market would reduce New Delhi's need for Chinese money. Though political aspects may pose problems, China and Saudi Arabia are expected to make some breakthroughs in economic areas. There is an attempt to combine Saudi Vision 2030 with China's Belt and Road program. Saudi Vision 2030 aims at diversifying the country from an oil-based economy to one that is a producer of exportable goods and services. "Although Washington remains its most important strategic partner, Riyadh seems to be preparing for a post-oil era, by enhancing its cooperation with other countries, which it hopes can bring about more chances to deepen cooperation with emerging economies, so as to improve its ability to withstand economic and political risks by putting its eggs in different baskets," said Niu Song, a researcher in Middle East studies at Shanghai International Studies University. China hopes to win more oil projects like the Yanbu refinery in Saudi Arabia while Riyadh wants to attract Chinese investment in infrastructure construction, housing, and tourism development. American's Detention Potentially Decisive Moment for Russia, Trade Groups Say By Pete Cobus February 21, 2019 Last week's shocking detention of one of Russia's most renowned and publicly visible American entrepreneurs not only caught fellow foreign investors off guard, it may have prompted a moment of national reckoning about how Moscow handles investor relations, say both Kremlin-aligned and international trade groups. Baring Vostok founder Michael Calvey's arrest Feb. 15 on charges of fraud stemming from a lengthy legal dispute with Russia's Orient Express Bank sparked widespread speculation about whether the days of unbridled "reiderstvo" aggressive Kremlin-backed asset raids and corporate takeovers synonymous with Yukos, Russneft, Bashneft, Stolichnaya Vodka and VKontakte were a thing of the past, or whether, perhaps, Calvey had actually committed a crime. A recent Moscow court decision to extend Calvey's detention without trial for a minimum of two months on the grounds that his release poses a flight risk, along with indications that he's been denied consular access in violation of the 1966 Vienna Convention, doesn't bode well for professionals such as Aleksander Khurudzhi, who has been tasked by the state with rehabilitating Russia's image as a secure place to invest. 'This is a shock' "From my point of view, what happened is in complete contradiction with statements of a Russian president who, from all rostrums, has expressed the same unchanging viewpoint: that Russia is open for investments and that Russia will do its best to attract and safeguard both Russian and foreign investments," Khurudzhi, deputy ombudsman for the Kremlin office of business ethics, told VOA. "This is a shock," he added. "It undermines all the work being conducted by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives. All the work that has been done for the last seven to eight years aimed at improving the investment climate. It undermines trust in the system as such ... (and our entire) team isn't sleeping at night. Without any exaggeration, the work is being carried out for 24 hours. This is a challenge for all of us, for our whole team." Indeed, during his annual State of the Nation address before Russia's Federal Assembly on Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin, who has been faced with record-low approval ratings, even made a fairly explicit reference to Calvey's detention. "To achieve ... great (economic) objectives, we must get rid of everything that limits the freedom and initiative of enterprise," Putin said. "Honest businesses should not live in fear of being prosecuted of criminal or even administrative punishment." Putin, who met Calvey multiple times since the American arrived in Russia in the mid-1990s, has said he had no foreknowledge of Calvey's arrest, and that despite his repeated calls to keep commercial disputes and litigation from culminating in spurious charges against foreign investors, he has no direct influence over how Russian courts render their verdicts. Vocal Kremlin critics, such as Hermitage Capital co-founder Bill Browder, are deeply skeptical of these claims. "The arrest of Mike Calvey in Moscow should be the final straw that Russia is an entirely corrupt and (uninvestable) country," Browder said in a tweet Friday. "Of all the people I knew in Moscow, Mike played by their rules, kept his head down and never criticized the government." Browder was denied entry into Russia in 2005 after his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, began investigating governmental misconduct and corruption in response to suspicious tax evasion charges brought against Hermitage by Russia's Interior Ministry. Magnitsky died under suspicious circumstances in Russian custody in 2009. Seen as a ploy For someone like Browder, it would seem Putin's claim of political impotence in the face of a fully independent judiciary, despite copious historical evidence to the contrary, is nothing more than a cynical public relations ploy meant to portray Russia as a nation of procedural law, while denying justice and consular access to the very foreigners who fastidiously try to abide it. Even prominent Putin allies, such as Russia's ex-finance minister Alexei Kudrin, have sounded the alarm, calling Calvey's arrest an "economic emergency." For U.S. citizen Alexis O. Rodzianko, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia and a longtime Moscow resident, the initial shock of Calvey's detention might, however ironically, reveal a longer-term opportunity to recalibrate Russia's ties with foreign investors. "Sure, at this point it's damaging. It certainly makes every one of us who were here thinking about, 'Well, you know, how far is it from me to his prison cell?'" he told VOA. "But I think it could be a defining issue for the business climate here. It could be the beginning of a bad streak, or it could be the signal for Russia to actually take some positive action." Rodzianko, who's convinced the charges against Calvey are without legal merit, said he's personally convinced the arrest stemmed from "a commercial dispute in the usual sense," and that "people who set it up were not expecting the resonance that it (has) received." Asked if he thought Calvey's arrest could be in any way politically motivated, he said he was convinced it was not. "But then I think, in the circumstances, it can't but be political, just because of the current state of affairs, because of the current state of relations," Rodzianko said. "It's just too easy to make that connection, which I don't think is a proper connection, but I don't see how it can be avoided. Two possible outcomes "I think it's a symptom of a problem that Russia has, and Russia has to deal with," he added. "It could (have one of) two outcomes." One, he said, is that Calvey's arrest will come to signify a continuation of a malevolently corrupt practice that Russian and foreign investors have come to "face on an endemic basis." Or, "it might actually be a mistake which leads to significant reform, which might improve the situation for both foreigners and Russians investing in Russia," Rodzianko said. A spokeswoman for the Moscow district court said that Calvey, who was detained along with other members of the firm on suspicion of stealing $37.5 million (2.5 billion rubles), faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Pete Cobus is VOA's acting Moscow correspondent. Russian Navy vessels capable of firing 40 Zircon missiles on U.S. military targets People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 16:21, February 21, 2019 MOSCOW, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Navy vessels can fire 40 hypersonic cruise Zircon missiles at a time and successfully hit U.S. military control centers, Russian retired Rear Adm. Vsevolod Khmyrov said Thursday. The Zircon could reach targets 500 kilometers (311 miles) away in five minutes, Khmyrov was quoted as saying by the Sputnik news agency. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his address to Russia's Federal Assembly that the advanced hypersonic Zircon would have a speed of 9 Mach (11,000 kph or 6,900 mph) and a flight range of over 1,000 kilometers. "Such a hypersonic system as Zircon penetrates practically any air defense and missile defense system," Khmyrov said. "There is no protection from it." Putin pledges to increase social spending, strengthen defense in annual address People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 09:54, February 21, 2019 MOSCOW, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his annual address to the parliament Wednesday that the government will boost expenditures on national projects concerning social development and beef up its military might to protect the country against external threat. The 90-minute state-of-the-nation speech at the Federal Assembly, Putin's 15th appearance of this kind, touched upon a wide range of issues from economic and demographic challenges to foreign and defense policies. IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE The preliminary results of the implementation of Russia's national projects should be summed up in 2020, Putin said. "This year people should feel real change for the better. It is on the basis of their opinion and assessments at the beginning of next year that we will evaluate the first results of our work on the national projects," Putin said in his annual address to the Russian Federal Assembly. The government will then draw appropriate conclusions about the work quality and performance at all levels of executive power, he added. Currently, the Russian government has completed the stage of outlining tools for achieving these long-term strategic goals and work to achieve the goals has to begin immediately, Putin said. "Putin demonstrates continuity," Director General of the Center for Political Information Alexey Mukhin told Xinhua. "In the previous address in March 2018, he formulated and set strategic goals and objectives, and in this address he developed and presented a 'road map' of solutions to social and economic problems." According to Putin, the national projects are designed to improve the quality of life for all Russian citizens, which can only be achieved by "generating a momentum in Russia's development." In particular, Putin noted that in Russia there are about 19 million people living below the poverty line, adding that combating poverty has become an urgent issue. He proposed establishing a mechanism of social contracts in certain regions to provide assistance for people with low incomes, such as helping people find jobs as well as providing financial resources and training programs to improve their skills. "It is estimated that more than 9 million people will be able to benefit from these support measures over a five-year period," Putin said. Meanwhile, Putin warned that Russia has entered an extremely challenging period in terms of demographics as the birth rate is declining. But he said that the Russian government has come up with a package of measures to support families, including increasing maternity subsidiaries and allowances for nurses, reducing tax burdens for families and lowering mortgages rates. According to the president, Russia will return to natural population growth by late 2023 to early 2024. "Putin gave quite strong therapeutic guidelines that our macroeconomic system is very stable, that there is money, and now it is important to spend it wisely to solve not only strategic tasks such as a technological breakthrough, but also very specific targeted assistance to different population groups," Mukhin said. "He did not speak about 'giving people fish', but about 'giving people a fishing rod' so that they could catch fish themselves," he added. STRENGTHENING DEFENSE CAPACITY In his annual address, Putin also reiterated Russia's stance on missile deployment. He underlined that Russia does not intend to be the first to place missiles in Europe but will develop its defense capacities and take reciprocal measures if the United States does so. "Russia will be forced to create and deploy weapons that can be used not only against areas, from which a direct threat will emanate, but also against the centers making decisions on the use of missile systems that threaten us," Putin said. Speaking about the intention of the United States to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, Putin said that Washington has been violating the benchmark disarmament deal. He said that Washington's launching intermediate-range missiles under the guise of "target missiles" and deploying launchers in Romania and Poland will dramatically aggravate the situation in the field of international security and create a serious threat for Russia. Russia therefore will be forced to respond both with "mirrored and asymmetric actions," he said. Putin stressed that Russia wants peace with all countries, including the United States, but it will develop its military might to protect itself against any threat. "All our work aimed at increasing our defense capacity has the only goal -- to guarantee the security of our country and our citizens so that nobody would dare not only think about an aggression but even about trying to use pressure methods on our country," Putin said. He said that Russia wants to have full-fledged, equal and friendly relations with the United States, but some people at the top in Washington are still obsessed with the idea of exclusivity and superiority over the rest of the world. He suggested that these people should first calculate "the reach and the speed of our prospective weapons" before making decisions that could seriously threaten Russia. Russian experts said that Putin's remarks sent a clear message to the West warning against any provocation. "In the context of the growth of the NATO budgets, this is precisely what is intended to cool the ardor of those who are ready to try to ensure their leadership, their global hegemony with the help of making all sorts of adventurous decisions," said Dmitry Novikov, First Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma, the lower house of the parliament. "Russia has something to answer in the event of an external threat. And those politicians who are now taking decisions to threaten Russia in the most direct way should clearly understand this and figure out the consequences. Otherwise, the consequences will be catastrophic," Mukhin said. Pakistani PM Authorizes Army to Respond to 'Any Aggression' by India By Ayaz Gul February 21, 2019 Pakistan's prime minister, Imran Khan, has authorized his military forces to immediately respond to "any aggression" against the country by India, officials said Thursday. The move underscored a dangerous escalation in tensions between the two nuclear-armed rival nations in the wake of last week's deadly car bombing of an Indian paramilitary convoy in the disputed Kashmir region. A Pakistan-based militant group known as Jaish-e-Mohammad has reportedly claimed responsibly for the violence that killed more than 40 security forces in Pulwama district. New Delhi has vowed to punish Islamabad for sheltering the militants, saying the Indian army chief has been given a "free hand" to take whatever action was required. Pakistan rejects Indian charges of playing a role in the February 13 attack and maintains the militant group has long been outlawed as part of counter-extremism measures. The Indian military threat has fueled mutual tensions and prompted Khan to convene an emergency meeting Thursday of top civilian and military leaders to assess the situation, officials said. "The prime minister authorized armed forces of Pakistan to respond decisively and comprehensively to any aggression or misadventure by India," according to a statement issued after the National Security Committee meeting. The forum, it noted, again cautioned India against linking the Pakistani state to what it said was a condemnable incident and reiterated Islamabad's offer of cooperation in investigating it. "We expect India to positively respond to the offers. Based on the investigation or any tangible evidence provided, state of Pakistan shall take action against anyone found using our soil," the statement said. India has severed already-limited trade links with Pakistan and suspended the only bus service for divided Kashmiri families in the Himalayan region, which has caused two of the three wars between the two countries. New Delhi and Islamabad have equipped their militaries with nuclear weapons since they last went to war in 1971, raising fears another conflict could escalate into a nuclear exchange. A separate statement issued by the Pakistani Interior Minister said that the NSC meeting also decided to ban two controversial Islamic charities linked to the radical cleric, Hafiz Saeed, who India accuses of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The charities, known as Jamaat-ud-Dawa (Jud) and Falah-e-Inasaniyat Foundation (FIF), are allegedly fronts for the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (Let) that New Delhi says was behind the three-day carnage in the Indian financial capital, which left 166 people dead, including Americans. Until now, the two groups had been placed on a government terror watch list. The move is being seen as an attempt to defuse tensions with India, though there was no immediate response from New Delhi. Washington has offered $10 million for bringing to justice Saeed for the Mumbai attacks. Saeed lives freely in Pakistan because authorities say there is no solid evidence linking him to Mumbai attacks. The U.S. has already outlawed LeT along with JuD and FIF as foreign terrorist organizations. India has severed already-limited trade links with Pakistan and suspended the only bus service for divided Kashmiri families in the Himalayan region, which has caused two of the three wars between the two countries. New Delhi and Islamabad have equipped their militaries with nuclear weapons since they last went to war in 1971, raising fears another conflict could escalate into a nuclear exchange. Nazarbaev Sacks Kazakh Government Over Low Living Standards, Economic Failures By RFE/RL's Kazakh Service February 21, 2019 Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev has dismissed the government, citing its failure to raise living standards and diversify the economy away from the energy sector. "In many areas of the economy, despite the adoption of many laws and government decisions, positive changes have not been achieved," Nazarbaev said in a statement on the presidential website on February 21. The long-ruling president cited the government's failure to raise real incomes for Kazakhs, to boost employment opportunities, or to improve living standards in a country that enjoys vast energy resources. He also said small- and medium-sized businesses have not become a driving force for the Central Asian country's economic growth as had been hoped. The move comes amid growing protests across the country about living conditions for Kazakhs that were sparked by the deaths of five children of a single family when their home in Astana burned down. The tragedy occurred while both parents were working overnight shifts to make ends meet. The decision to sack the government marks the end of 55-year-old Bakytzhan Sagintaev's premiership, which started in 2016. An order on the presidential website said Deputy Prime Minister Askar Mamin, 53, had been appointed as acting prime minister until a new government can be formed. Ahead of Nazarbaev's address, Mamin called in a statement for a "more aggressive and proactive" policy to help the country boost its exports. Nazarbaev said he would propose "a number of measures to strengthen social welfare and people's quality of life" at a conference of his Nur Otan party on February 27, adding that "considerable funds" would be allocated to pay for the measures. The 78-year-old president has been in power in energy-rich Kazakhstan since before the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Rights activists and critics say he has suppressed dissent, prolonged his time in office through undemocratic votes, and used the levers of power to neutralize potential political opponents. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakh-government- resigns-nazarbaev/29783173.html Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. Foreign military bases not welcome in Iraq, national security advisor says Iran Press TV Thu Feb 21, 2019 10:28AM Iraqi National Security Adviser Falih al-Fayyadh says the Baghdad government is vehemently opposed to the presence of foreign military bases on its territory. "We will not accept any foreign military bases -- or foreign ground forces -- in Iraq," Fayyadh said in a statement released on Wednesday. He added that exceptions, however, could be made for advisors and instructors working upon an official request from the Iraqi government. Fayyadh further highlighted that the advisors "provide our forces with logistics and training within the context of the ongoing fight against Daesh (Takfiri terrorist group)." On February 12, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi told acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan in Baghdad that his country will accept no foreign military bases on its soil, just as it will not take dictates from outsiders. Abdul-Mahdi said Iraq-US relations must be based on the "basic agreements" existing between the two sides, which merely deal with fighting terrorism and training Iraqi forces, and "nothing else." Iraq makes "independent" decisions and will not be influenced by foreign pressure or dictates, he noted, reiterating Baghdad's objection to the presence of foreign military bases on Iraqi territory. Abdul-Mahdi also hailed Iraq's achievements in restoring stability after defeating Daesh terrorist group, and urged international support for the ongoing reconstruction process. The remarks came a day after Iraq's two leading Shia parliamentary coalitions of Sairoon (Marching Towards Reform) and al-Fatah (Conquest) renewed their calls for the withdrawal of American forces from the Arab country. Calls have grown in Iraq for the pullout of American forces since last December, when President Donald Trump made an unannounced visit to al-Asad Air Base in the western Iraqi province of Anbar. The trip sparked a wave of condemnations from Iraqi political leaders, with some of them demanding the swift expulsion of US troops. Leading a coalition of their allies, American soldiers were deployed to Iraq in 2014, when the Takfiri Daesh terror group unleashed a campaign of destruction in the Arab country. Numerous reports, however, have attested that the US-led military operations have largely spared the terrorists, and instead claimed hundreds of civilian lives and inflicted considerable damage on Iraqi critical infrastructure. Former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi declared the end of military operations against Daesh in the country on December 9, 2017. On July 10 that year, he had formally declared victory over Daesh in the strategic northern city of Mosul, which served as the terrorists' main urban stronghold in Iraq. Iraqi intelligence forces nab over dozen French Daesh terrorists inside Syria Iran Press TV Thu Feb 21, 2019 03:41PM Iraqi government forces have arrested more than a dozen French citizens over their membership in the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group during a counter-terrorism operation in neighboring Syria. "The Iraqi national intelligence service arrested 13 French nationals, including leaders of Daesh group, during a security operation inside Syria," an Iraqi intelligence source told Arabic-language al-Forat news agency on condition of anonymity on Thursday. Iraqi Army Chief of Staff General Othman al-Ghanimi said on Wednesday that 24 Daesh extremists, who had infiltrated from neighboring Syria, were captured in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh. Ghanimi added that four of those captured were high-ranking leaders of the terror group. He stressed the need to take precautionary measures to maintain security in the provincial capital city of Mosul, located some 400 kilometers north of the capital Baghdad, and other areas in the province. On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said he was concerned about developments in Syria, where Daesh terrorists have lost their last stronghold on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River and are fleeing in droves towards desert areas in Iraq's Anbar. As foreign-backed militancy erupted in Syria, thousands of people streamed toward the Arab country from around the world to fight alongside militants there, with a particularly strong influx from European countries, including France. Foreign nationals could buy budget tourist flights to Turkey and then sneak across the border. As many as 1,910 French citizens joined Daesh, according to statistics from the Soufan Center, a US-based think tank, The Washington Post reported. France has been exploring how to return its nationals who fought alongside Daesh and their families seeking to return from combat zones in Iraq and Syria, as well as those who surrendered and are in detention. France is a leading member of the US-led coalition, purportedly fighting Daesh in Syria. Iraq dismantles largest Daesh cell Separately on Thursday, Iraqi media outlets reported that the national intelligence service had "dismantled the largest Daesh cell tasked with funding the terrorist group" several days ago. The reports said the disbanded cell members were tracked down in several countries, and that some of them were Iraqis. The Iraqi detainees reportedly had millions of US dollars in their possession, and used the money in investment projects to conceal their sponsorship for Daesh's acts of terror. Former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi declared the end of military operations against Daesh in the country on December 9, 2017. On July 10 that year, he had formally declared victory over Daesh in the strategic northern city of Mosul, which served as the terrorists' main urban stronghold in Iraq. In the run-up to Mosul's liberation, Iraqi army soldiers and voluntary fighters from the pro-government Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) better known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha'abi had made sweeping gains against Daesh. Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January 2017 after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19 last year. Iran FM warns Israel about its 'dangerous' adventurism Iran Press TV Thu Feb 21, 2019 03:11AM Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has warned the Israeli regime that its "dangerous" adventurism with its bombing campaign in Syria could result in a military conflict in the region. "There is adventurism on Israel's side, and adventurism is always dangerous," Zarif said in an interview with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper published on Wednesday. Iran is in Syria at the invitation of the Syrian government, while Israel is violating Lebanese and Syrian air space, as well as international law, Zarif said. Asked about the possibility of a military conflict between Iran and Israel, he said he does not see that coming, adding, "but we cannot exclude the possibility." In his earlier remarks at the Munich Security Conference, Zarif had accused Israel of looking for war and warned that its actions and those of the United States were increasing the chances of a clash in the region. In an interview with NBC News during his visit to Munich, Zarif also warned the US and its allies that it would be "suicidal" to go to a war with Iran. He said the "same gang" behind the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 were "at it again" in pushing for war with Iran. "I'm not saying [US] President [Donald] Trump's administration, I'm saying people in President Trump's administration are trying to create the same eventually and I believe they will fail," the Iranian foreign minister said. "But I think at the end of the day, some sense will prevail and people will find out that it's suicidal to engage in a war with Iran." On February 13, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a short video recorded on the sidelines of an anti-Iran meeting in Warsaw, Poland, that the event "is an open meeting with representatives of leading Arab countries that are sitting down together with Israel in order to advance the common interest of war with Iran." Last month, Netanyahu had threatened that Tel Aviv complements the US' economic pressures on Iran with its own actions "at the military level." Trump "is acting against Iran at the economic level and we here in Israel are acting against Iran at the military level," Netanyahu said in an address to Israeli military cadets. By military actions, Netanyahu apparently meant airstrikes against what Israel calls Iranian positions in Syria. Damascus says the attacks are part of Israel's efforts to prop up terrorists in the face of army advances. Netanyahu says the Tel Aviv regime's forces have carried out hundreds of attacks in Syria over the past several years and will ramp up its fight following the planned withdrawal of US troops from the country. His comments came after Trump said in January Iran "can do what they want" in Syria following his decision to withdraw US troops operating there, a move that sparked consternation in Israel. "Iran is no longer the same country," Trump said. "Iran is pulling people out of Syria. They can do what they want there, frankly, but they're pulling people out. They're pulling people out of Yemen. Iran wants to survive now," he claimed. Iran has been offering advisory military assistance to the Syrian government in its counter-terrorism battle at the request of Damascus. The US, Israel, France, Britain and their regional allies such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey and Qatar, instead, have been sponsoring terrorists in Syria since 2011 which has left the Arab country in ruins. The Archbishop of Mumbai, accused yesterday by the BBC of superficiality against some abuses, calls on bishops to work in a collegial and synodal manner. No bishop can say: This abuse does not concern me. To favor "fraternal correction", "intercultural communication", "speed of information exchange" to "elaborate opinions and start discussions". What the Church is experiencing is useful for the world. Face the persecution together. Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The problem of sexual abuse that has caused pain in victims and crises in the Church, requires all concerned to follow "the path of collegiality and synodality", with collaboration between bishops and the laity, Card. Oswald Gracias said today. The Archbishop of Mumbai, gave the first presentation of the morning on the second day of the meeting on "Protection of minors in the Church" under way in the Vatican. Yesterday - with the reports of the Card. Tagle and Msgr. Scicluna - underlined "transparency", listening to victims, communication; today relations are dedicated to "accountability". In his presentation, Card. Gracias - who yesterday was unjustly accused by the BBC of superficiality towards a case of abuse - highlighted first of all the need that all decisions concerning cases of abuse involve "lay people, men and women", who are often given "an insignificant role" . At the same time he stressed that the bishops must communicate the facts, how the issue is being dealt with, the responsibilities, even if the cases do not take place in their specific dioceses: " The point is clear. No bishop may say to himself, This problem of abuse in the Church does not concern me, because things are different in my part of the world. We are each responsible for the whole church. We hold accountability and responsibility together. We extend our concern beyond our local Church to embrace all the churches with which we are in communion. In expressing this collegiality, "fraternal correction", "intercultural communication", "speed for the exchange of information" to "form opinions and start discussions" takes on great importance. Card. Gracias demonstrated that collegiality helps to imbue courage to collaborate with civil authorities, according to local laws: " Although the Church is not an agent of the state, the Church recognises the legitimate authority of civil law and the state. Therefore, the Church cooperates with civil authorities in these matters to bring justice to survivors and to the civil order ". Collegiality is even more important when " when there are antagonistic relations between the Church and the state or, even more dramatically, when the state persecutes or stands ready to persecute the Church. These kinds of circumstances underscore the importance of collegiality. Only in a network of strong relationships among the bishops and the local Churches working together can the Church navigate the turbulent waters of Church-state conflict and, at the same time, appropriately address the crime of sexual abuse." Recalling that abuse " a pervasive and sad reality across all sectors of life ", the cardinal suggested that " ou of this particularly challenging moment in the life of the Church, we again in a collegial contextcan draw on and develop resources which can be of great service to a larger world. The grace of this moment can actually be our ability to serve a great need in the world from our experience in the Church." FM Spox: US should revive lost trust IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Feb 21, IRNA -- Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi says the US should revive the lost trust. Speaking in a meeting with the chief editor and editorial board of Chinese Global Times Daily on Wednesday, Qasemi made the remarks in reaction to the US President Donald Trump's claim of interest in talking with Tehran. 'The US does not want serious talks and should firstly revive the lost trust,' said Qasemi. He went on to say, 'Iran decides based on the principle of independence and national interests and Tehran's policies do not depend on the view of global powers.' Commenting on the ongoing tension in Tehran-Washington relations, Qasemi said, 'Problems have not been caused by Iran and their root cause is unfair sanctions imposed on our country by the US contrary to international regulations and after its leaving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and violating the resolution 2231.' He added, 'If the US moves one step forward today, it will take the second step tomorrow; global developments testify the US' unending desire; so, one cannot submit to Washington's demands.' He recalled that the world is fed up with the US' unilateralism. 'Resistance of China, Russia and Europe to the US at least politically should be taken one step forward, showing that world conditions have changed compared to the past.' As for Iran's resistance against Washington's policies, Qasemi said, 'Firstly, we should defend our independence and border integrity. Furthermore, such factors as Iran's background image of Washington policies; Washington's wrong policies on Middle East, including Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and Yemen; its support for Tel Aviv and its support for extremism in the region; its help for armament of certain regional states and collection of policies, which have resulted in such cases as Taliban, al-Qaeda and Daesh (ISIS), will make resistance against the US policies justifiable.' As for impact of the US sanctions, Qasemi said, 'Our people experienced such conditions in the past too and are seriously sensitive over their independence. We can skip the crisis and overcome sanctions. Also, we are monitoring countries' stances in the periods and will judge on them in the future. Sanctions conditions will not persist and eventually, Iran has the power to make the US understand that it can rectify its record and recognize Iran as an independent state.' 1420**1424 US destablizes NPT by illegally, unilaterally leaving JCPOA: Russia FM IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Moscow, Feb 21, IRNA -- US destabilized the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by withdrawing from Iranian nuclear deal, known also as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Russian foreign minister said. Sergey Lavrov made the remarks in a ceremony held to commemorate the death anniversary of former Russian diplomat Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin. The US weakened NPT by exiting the JCPOA and endangered the agreements reached about Iranian nuclear program, he added. The official said the US' measures could increase tension in region. The US president announced early May that Washington would pull out of Iran nuclear deal and reinstate sanctions, which had been lifted under the accord. The first round of the sanctions snapped back into place in August, with the second round, targeting the energy and oil sectors, took effect on November 5. This is while other signatories to the deal (i.e. Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia) have thus far criticized Washington's unilateral move and repeatedly renewed their commitment to the deal. 9191**1420 Commander vows IRGC revenge on Takfiris for deadly terrorist attack IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Sari, Feb 21, IRNA -- Commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that Iran will take its soldiers' revenge on Takfiri mercenaries in Pakistan following their deadly terrorist attack on the IRGC southeast of Iran recently. Major General Qasem Soleimani said in a local ceremony that Takfiri terrorist elements, backed by Saudi Arabia, caused troubles for all the neighbors, including India, Afghanistan and other countries, due to taking hostile actions in Pakistan soil and Pakistan should understand it well. Iran is a reliable neighbor for Pakistan and will not threaten the country, said Soleimani, adding that however, 'we will take harsh revenge on the Takfiri mercenaries, whose hands are stained with blood of our youth.' A suicide attack on a bus, carrying the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel, martyred 27 and wounded 13 others in southeastern Iran on February 12. A terrorist group, so-called Jeish al-Adl, affiliated to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the incident. 9191**1420 Top Indian Court to Review its Earlier Judgement on $8.7 Billion Rafale Deal Sputnik News 13:42 21.02.2019(updated 16:46 21.02.2019) In December last year, the Supreme Court of India, while hearing a number of petitions alleging irregularities in the deal, virtually vindicated Narendra Modi government's insistence that due process was followed in finalising the $8.7 billion deal with France. In a major twist in the controversial deal pertaining to purchase of Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF), India's apex court on Thursday agreed to bring forward the date for the review of its earlier judgement. "We will do something for the listing of the case as a bench is to be constituted for it," the ANI news agency quoted Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi as telling petitioner Prashant Bhushan in the Supreme Court, without giving a specific date for the hearing. The review petition was filed after the country's apex auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), found that the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) had rejected Rafale for non-compliance of Air Staff Quality Requirements (ASQR) prescribed in the tender. The audit report noted deficiencies at all stages of the technical evaluation. "M/s Dassault Aviation (DA) was allowed to bring about enhancements of 14 parameters which, ultimately was to cost over 'XX' million . Hence M/s DA was treated preferentially. The firm attributed these modifications to the unique requirements of the IAF and called them Indian Specific Enhancements (ISEs)," the audit report, which was tabled in the parliament on 13 December, reads. "However, auditors noted that the Indian requirements, while they might not have been available in Rafale, were not unique because most of these features were available in the other five aircraft that were evaluated. For instance, Helmet Mounted Display 62 was available in all modern fighter aircraft including Eurofighter," it adds. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the deal in 2015, a year before the new defence procurement policy came into force. Dassault Aviation presented its much-discussed Rafale Jets in the Bangalore Aero India Show this week. Not Withstanding the legal hearings, on Wednesday, Dassault Aviation once again denied any wrongdoing in the deal and said that the first fighter jet to be delivered to the IAF in next six months. "There is no scandal in the Rafale deal. We are going to deliver 36 aircraft. If the Government of India wants more aircraft, we will be pleased to deliver," Eric Trappier, Dassault Aviation CEO, told reporters in Bengaluru. Sputnik Trump-Kim Summit Seen Unlikely to Touch on Human Rights By Christy Lee February 21, 2019 North Korea's human rights issues are likely to be sidelined at the upcoming second summit between Washington and Pyongyang, according to experts, but a top U.N. rights official hopes progress is made on the subject. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi Feb. 27-28, with hopes of making progress on denuclearization following vague outcomes reached at the historic first summit in Singapore in June. Trump said he mentioned North Korea's human rights issues at the first summit, but some observers criticized him for what they saw as shrugging off Pyongyang's human rights record while meeting with Kim. Tomas Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in North Korea, stressed that it is important "North Korea meets and starts a dialogue" with U.N. officials, and said he hoped Trump would raise the subject of human rights at the summit. "What I would like to see coming from the summit in the upcoming month is concrete and tangible results in regards to the engagement of North Korea with my office," Quintana told VOA's Korean service last week. "And that would be the starting point, the starting point to then address substantive issues on North Korea." Not a security threat Other experts, however, say human rights are unlikely to be on the summit agenda because North Korea's violations of international norms do not directly threaten U.S. security. Ken Gause, director of the International Affairs Group at the Center for Naval Analyses, said, "If the United States is planning on going in there and trying to make some headway on denuclearization, they will probably not say anything about human rights, or keep it to a minimum." Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said human rights were unlikely to be discussed because the subject "does not impact the U.S., its allies, and other [countries] of Northeast Asia in anything like the existential threat of missile and/or nuclear attack." Some experts also warn that bringing up human rights with North Korea in the early stages of negotiations on denuclearization will be counterproductive. "If [Trump] wants to get anything done with North Korea, he probably shouldn't bring it up, because North Korea will recoil against any attempts to lecture them on human rights," said Gause. John Feffer, director of Foreign Policy in Focus, agreed, saying, "I believe if the United States wants to get a deal on North Korea's nuclear program, it should stick to talking about national security questions." 'Code' for regime change Manning said mentioning human rights to North Korea, which "terrorizes its citizens to maintain order and social control," will be seen as "a code word for regime change." Quintana agreed, adding, "North Korea has seen the issue of human rights for decades as an issue used for political purposes, an issue used to change the system of North Korea." Experts said human rights would most likely be brought up in the future if there were improvements in North Korea's relationships with the U.S. and the international community. "Human rights needs to be solved as an organic process as North Korea evolves its relationship with the outside world," said Gause. "So you have to hope that human rights will come along with North Korea becoming a much more responsible nation and treating its citizens with more respect as it becomes a nation that interacts with the outside world." Manning said, "I suspect if we move forward with U.S.-[North Korea] normalization talks, human rights will have to be addressed in that process." Don't wait, some say Human rights activists, however, think the U.S. should not wait to raise the issue with North Korea. Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, said, "Waiting until the establishment of liaison offices, or even the establishment of diplomatic relations with North Korea, will be akin to capitulation on the human rights front." The U.S. may set up a liaison office in Pyongyang, CNN recently reported, and the U.S. agreed to establish "new relations with North Korea" in the joint statement issued at the Singapore summit. If the U.S. does not bring up human rights at the upcoming summit, Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, thinks it will send a message "giving Kim the green light to continue his horrific repression of the North Korean people." Quintana pointed to various North Korean human rights violations, including the denial of freedom of the press, religion and expression. He added that among more severe abuses such as forced labor, the most critical issue to address is North Korea's treatment of political prisoners. "I publicly urged North Korea to release all the political prisoners who are being detained in North Korea in those camps which are closed to any kind of [international] monitoring," said Quintana. Scarlatoui said North Korea must grant U.N. human rights officers access to its political prison camps for "the ultimate goal" of "the full, final, verifiable dismantlement of North Korea's prison camp system." Approximately 120,000 people are estimated to be held in political prison camps, subject to torture and forced labor. Resolution in Congress U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway, a Texas Republican, introduced a resolution this month calling for North Korea to dismantle its labor camps. The resolution also calls on the international community to issue targeted sanctions on North Korean officials responsible for committing crimes against humanity. Quintana stressed that improving its record on human rights will be crucial if North Korea wants to develop its economy. He said, "The international community starting this process of engagement with North Korea needs to understand that one of the partners in the agreement will be a country with this kind of political prison camps, and that cannot be accepted." Feffer also thinks North Korea needs to address its human rights conditions if it wants to open up its economy. "At a certain point North Korea will find that the scale of human rights abuses will prove to be a deterrent to outside investment participation in multilateral institutions, perhaps even bilateral trade," said Feffer. "That's when the government will have to make some hard choices about the direction of its internal policies." Pompeo: No North Korea Sanctions Relief Until Nuclear Threat Reduced By Ken Bredemeier February 21, 2019 The U.S. does not intend to ease its economic sanctions against North Korea until it is confident Pyongyang has "substantially reduced" the threat it poses as a nuclear-armed country, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday. "The American people should know we have the toughest economic sanctions that have ever been placed on North Korea, and we won't release that pressure until such time as we're confident we've substantially reduced that risk," the top U.S. diplomat told NBC's Today show. His comments came a week ahead of President Donald Trump's second summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi. Pompeo said he is "very hopeful" Kim "will fulfill the promises that he made in Singapore last year" at the first U.S.-North Korea summit for Pyongyang's "complete denuclearization." The pact after the Singapore summit, however, did not spell out how and when North Korea would disarm, and U.S. intelligence reports suggest Kim has not moved to destroy his nuclear arsenal. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told a congressional panel last month that North Korea "has halted its provocative behavior" by refraining from missile tests and nuclear tests for more than a year. "As well, Kim Jong Un continues to demonstrate openness to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Coats said. Despite the end to testing, Coats said, "We currently assess that North Korea will seek to retain its [weapons of mass destruction] capabilities, and is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities." "Our assessment is bolstered by our observations of some activity that is inconsistent with full denuclearization," he added. Coats said the North Korean leader and the rest of the country's rulers "view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival." The recent assessment is at sharp odds with Trump's boast after returning to Washington after the June Singapore summit: "Just landed - a long trip, but everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office. There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea." Pompeo said denuclearization is "what we have to get for the American people. We have to reduce the threat of a nuclear-armed North Korea. And then in turn, we can work on peace and security on the peninsula and a brighter future for the North Korean people." Pompeo said he hopes Trump and Kim will take a "truly historic step forward" at their meeting in the Vietnamese capital. US to Require N Korea to Fully Declare Nuclear Capabilities - Senior Official Sputnik News 19:18 21.02.2019 WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States will eventually require North Korea to provide a full declaration of its nuclear capabilities, and Washington is optimistic that Pyongyang will meet this demand before the end of the denuclearization process, a US senior administration official told reporters on Thursday. "Eventually we are going to need a full declaration in order to complete a process of denuclearization. I expect that will come well before the end [of the denuclearization process]," the official told reporters during a briefing on the upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un. According to the official, the United States is not discussing with North Korea the possibility of withdrawing its troops from the Korean Peninsula. "Withdrawing is not the subject of the discussion," the official told reporters during a press briefing. The United States believes that North Korea can be fully denuclearized, the official added. "The reason why we engage [in negotiations] is because we believe there is a possibility," the officials told reporters during a press briefing. Trump and Kim will hold their second summit in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on February 27-28. The situation on the Korean Peninsula has seen a significant improvement since last year after Kim boosted ties with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and held a historic summit with Trump in June. The first US-North Korean summit in Singapore resulted in an agreement stipulating that Pyongyang would make efforts to promote the complete denuclearization of the peninsula in exchange for the United States and South Korea freezing their military drills. Sputnik Trump vaguely offers sanctions relief for North Korea Iran Press TV Thu Feb 21, 2019 09:40AM US President Donald Trump says he may offer North Korea relief from harsh sanctions provided that Pyongyang takes "meaningful" steps toward denuclearization, ahead of a meeting between him and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. While Trump is yet to meet Kim for the summit their second in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on February 27-28, he also signaled during a press conference at the White House on Wednesday that he was already thinking of holding a third meeting with the North Korean leader too. The US president said he and Kim had made a lot of progress but "that doesn't mean this will be the last meeting by any chance," adding that he "wouldn't be surprised to see something works out." Trump and Kim initially had an acrimonious relationship, calling each other names and threatening military action against their countries, but since their first meeting in June last year, that relationship has apparently changed. Trump stressed on Wednesday that he now had "a good relationship" with the North Korean leader; and back in January, Kim stressed that he believed in Trump's "positive way of thinking." Trump also said that he did not think Pyongyang was reluctant to denuclearize, even though North Korea has said it wants concrete reciprocal measures by the US before it proceeds with any more measures than it has already unilaterally taken toward denuclearization. In their first meeting, Trump and Kim broadly agreed to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. But, while North Korea had already taken several measures to show its goodwill, subsequent diplomacy was sluggish as the US refused to offer sanctions relief. Trump said such relief could be provided on a condition that he only vaguely spoke about. "I don't think they're reluctant; I think they want to do something. We'll see what happens," Trump said, adding, "The sanctions are on in full. I haven't taken sanctions off, as you know. I'd love to be able to, but in order to do that, we have to do something that's meaningful on the other side." On Tuesday, Trump said that he had urged Pyongyang to "ultimately" terminate its nuclear program but added that he was pressing no time schedule for that scenario if the North stuck to a freeze in nuclear and ballistic missile testing that has been unilaterally in place since 2017. Trump's envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, is now in Hanoi to finalize preparations for the summit and is expected to hold talks with his counterpart Kim Hyok-chol, who arrived in the Vietnamese capital on Wednesday. Earlier this month, Biegun held three days of talks in the North Korean capital. After he returned to the US, he said that the talks had been "productive" but also said that there was "hard work to do" before the Hanoi summit. UN allows North Korean officials to travel to Vietnam Separately on Wednesday, Reuters reported that Vietnam had requested the United Nations Security Council to grant North Korean officials 12 of whom are subject to a global travel ban and asset freeze an exemption to travel to Vietnam. The Security Council sanctions committee approved the travel of a North Korean delegation to Hanoi for the summit and preparation but it was not clear if any of the 12 North Koreans would travel to Vietnam. The White House insists that harsh UN and US sanctions must remain in place until Pyongyang completely abandons its nuclear program, while Kim wants them immediately lifted. Former military chief of staff sentenced to life imprisonment People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 15:59, February 21, 2019 A military court on Wednesday convicted Fang Fenghui, former chief of staff of China's Central Military Commission Joint Staff Department, on three accounts of crime and sentenced him to life imprisonment according to law. Fang was found guilty on accepting and offering bribes, as well as holding a huge amount of property from unidentified sources, according to the court ruling. He was also deprived of his political rights for life and had his personal properties confiscated, the document said. The illicit money and properties confiscated will be turned over to the state coffers. China's top anti-graft agencies investigate 68 centrally-administrated officials Global Times Source:Xinhua Published: 2019/2/21 8:17:20 The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Supervisory Commission investigated 68 centrally-administrated officials in 2018. Among them, 15 officials have been transferred to judicial organs for suspected crimes, according to a report delivered at the third plenary session of the 19th CCDI of the CPC on Jan. 11. The report was made public on Wednesday. Since the 19th CPC National Congress, more than 5,000 Party members involved with wrongdoing have surrendered themselves to disciplinary authorities, said the report. Second report of the day dedicated to "accountability" (having to give an account) to the meeting on "Protection of minors in the Church". The cardinal represents a Church, that of the United States, long struck by accusations of abuse and the silence of the hierarchy. He himself is suspected of silence on the McCarrick case. Structural, legal and institutional reform is necessary. Vatican City (AsiaNews) - A "growing mistrust in our leadership, not to mention the outrage of our people ": these are the effects caused by " little care given to abused children, or even worse, when it is covered up to protect the abuser or the institution, noted by Card. Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, president of the Commission for the Protection of Minors of the United States Episcopal Conference. The cardinal's speech is the second of the day dedicated to "accountability" in the meeting on the "Protection of minors in the Church" under way in the Vatican. Card. Cupich is the representative of a Church that has long been hit by accusations of abuse and by the silence of the hierarchy. The cardinal himself was often accused of being a party because he was a collaborator and friend of the former Card. Theodore McCarrick, now dismissed from the clerical state, and having kept silent for years on his pedophile and homosexual tendencies exercised on minors and seminarians. And perhaps the annotation of the report refers to McCarrick which says: " This past year has taught us that the systematic failures in holding clerics of all rank responsible are due in large measure to flaws in the way we interact and communicate with each other in the college of bishops in union with the successor of Peter. ". Card. Cupich calls for a "structural, legal and institutional reform" of the Church. First of all this implies a "a perpetual stance of radical listening to comprehend the deadening experience of those who have been sexually abused by clergy", putting aside "the institutional distance and the relational blinders". Then the laity, especially parents, must be integrated into the community's commitment: "Every member of the Church has an essential role in helping the Church to eliminate the horrific reality of clergy sexual abuse. In large part it is the witness of the laity, especially mothers and fathers with great love for the Church, who have pointed out movingly and forcefully how gravely incompatible the commission, cover-up and toleration of clergy sexual abuse is with the very meaning and essence of the Church. ". And again: "we as bishops and religious superiors have often been blinded to the scope and damage of sexual abuse of minors. The parents are witnessing to dual realities that must be pursued in our church today: an unceasing effort to eradicate clergy sexual abuse in the church, and a rejection of the clerical culture which so often bred that abuse." To really know how to "render accountable", accompaniment is above all necessary: "Each instance of a survivor approaching the Church, whether he or she is seeking solace or justice, retribution or peace, is an invitation for the Church to genuinely be Pieta, marked with tenderness and empathy." Finally, the Cardinal suggests that "specific institutional and legal structures" should be implemented, especially "in cases involving the bishops' misconduct and their improper handling of cases of pedophilia". Japanese Probe Hayabusa2 Touches Down on Ryugu Asteroid Sputnik News 03:14 22.02.2019 TOKYO (Sputnik) - Japanese asteroid explorer Hayabusa2 landed on the surface of asteroid Ryugu for collecting samples and bringing them back to Earth, a live broadcast conducted by Japanese space agency JAXA showed on Friday. The asteroid is currently around 300 million kilometres (186 million miles) away from Earth. Scientists say that the samples, which the Japanese probe will try to collect, may shed light on how the Solar System was created and how life appeared on Earth. Hayabusa2 was launched in December 2014, and is expected to stay on the asteroid for a period of 18 months before its scheduled return to Earth in 2020. The Hayabusa2 mission has cost the agency roughly $260 million, according to AFP. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the spacecraft after a long period of extensive planning, it also recreated an asteroid and bullet that it has to shoot into the rock to collect samples on Earth for relevant experiments. Sputnik BeiDou Navigation System completed first outbound trip, eyeing promotion in global markets People's Daily Online (People's Daily Overseas New Media) 11:30, February 21, 2019 Chinese cargo ship Rongda Changsha equipped with terminal products of BeiDou Navigation Satellite System arrived at Brunei recently after embarking from Luojing Port in Shanghai, marking the first successful application of BeiDou terminal products and unveiling the ambition of promoting BeiDou products to the international market. The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is a Chinese-developed satellite navigation system, consisting of three satellites, which since 2000, has started to offer navigation services for users in China and neighboring regions. The deployment of BeiDou-3 was completed in late 2018, with the aim of providing navigation services for countries and regions along the Belt and Road. The Shanghai-Brunei trip was a trial for not only examining BeiDou-3's capacity, but for learning the users' experience and needs. The data collected from the trip has been thoroughly analyzed and applied for updating and prioritizing the marine navigation system, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), manufacturer of the Beidou terminal product on the ship. It is expected that more services are to come with internet and voice calls in BeiDou Navigation System for further exploring various industrial application scenarios and protecting Chinese outbound routes. Pompeo: American-Born Islamic State Woman Is Not US Citizen By Ken Bredemeier February 21, 2019 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo contended Thursday that an American-born woman who defected to the Islamic State terrorist group is not a U.S. citizen and should not be allowed to return home from Syria because her father was a Yemeni diplomat. President Donald Trump said he ordered Pompeo to not let the woman, Hoda Muthana, return to the U.S., even though her lawyer says she is willing to face U.S. prosecution for willingly going to Syria and using social media to praise the killings of Westerners. "She may have been born here," Pompeo told NBC's "Today" show. "She is not a U.S. citizen, nor is she entitled to U.S. citizenship." He contended that the 24-year-old woman, now with a child born in a relationship with one of her three jihadist husbands, is not an American citizen because of her father's diplomatic status. But Muthana's lawyer is telling U.S. news outlets that the father had ended his diplomatic service "months and months" before his daughter was born in the eastern U.S. state of New Jersey in 1994, thus making her an American citizen. The lawyer, Hassan Shibly, told CNN that Muthana "should have known better" than to leave her home in the southern state of Alabama in 2014 without her parents' knowledge to head to Syria to embrace Islamic State. Shibly said she immediately was locked up with 200 other women and told she would not be released unless she married one of the IS fighters. Muthana posted on Twitter a picture of herself and three other women appearing to burn their Western passports, including an American one. Now, however, with territory held by IS dwindling fast, Muthana has renounced extremism and wants to return home to confront any criminal charges that could be lodged against her. "To say that I regret my past words, any pain that I caused my family, and any concerns I would cause my country would be hard for me to really express properly," she said in a handwritten note to her lawyer. Shibly said, "She wants to face our legal system." Standing in the way is Trump. "I have instructed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and he fully agrees, not to allow Hoda Muthana back into the Country!" he said Wednesday on Twitter. The U.S. normally grants citizenship to anyone who is "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States, which would exclude the children of diplomats such as Muthana, if indeed Muthana's father was a diplomat at the time of her birth. Muthana's lawyer said, "We cannot get to a point where we simply strip citizenship from those who break the law. That's not what America is about. We have one of the greatest legal systems in the world, and we have to abide by it." Trump has attacked European allies that have not taken back hundreds of IS prisoners caught in Syria, where Trump plans to withdraw U.S. troops. By comparison, relatively few Americans have embraced radical Islam. The Counter Extremism Project at George Washington University has identified 64 Americans who joined IS in Syria or Iraq. Europe is debating the nationality of some extremists. Britain recently revoked the citizenship of Shamina Begum, who like Muthana traveled to Syria and wants to return to her country of birth. London asserted that because of her heritage she was entitled to Bangladeshi citizenship, but the Dhaka government Wednesday denied that she was eligible, leaving her effectively stateless. Why Tajikistan Is Fighting To Bring Its Islamic State Widows Back Home By Farangis Najibullah, Mumin Ahmadi February 21, 2019 DUSHANBE -- With Islamic State (IS) fighters on the verge of defeat in their last stronghold in Syria, hundreds of foreign women and children, the family members of the militants, have ended up in refugee camps in the war-torn country's northeast. Among them are at least 50 Tajiks. With debate raging in the United Kingdom and the United States about the possible return of young women who joined Islamic State and now want to come home, Tajikistan is taking a firm stance: the government believes the only way to prevent future security threats is to bring home the jihadists and their families, especially the children. Tajikistan's Foreign Ministry announced on February 12 that it will take all the necessary measures to make sure no Tajik child is left in Syria or Iraq. "We are trying to repatriate all our citizens from Syria. First of all, we want to bring back the children," Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin told reporters at a February 12 press briefing in Dushanbe. Tajikistan has also secured a deal with Iraqi authorities to facilitate the return of more than 90 Tajik children, most of whom live with their mothers in Iraqi jails. The Tajik authorities say most of the women were taken to Syria by their husbands. "We reached an agreement with Baghdad that we'll pay a $400 fine per person instead of the $2,500 fine Iraq [usually] chargesfor illegally crossing their border," the minister said. Many of the incarcerated women fled the fighting in Syria for Iraq. The Tajik government has assigned its ambassador to Kuwait and Iraq, Zubaidullo Zubaidzoda, to organize the return of the women and children. Zubaidzoda told RFE/RL that he has established contacts with "all sides involved" -- the Syrian authorities and international aid agencies, as well as the Kurdish-led forces who control some of the areas -- to discuss access to the Tajik nationals in refugee camps. The Foreign Ministry's announcement immediately "spread as the best news ever" among Tajiks in a sprawling refugee camp on the outskirts of the northeastern Syrian town of Al-Hawl, says Tahmina Odinaeva, an IS widow from Tajikistan. Odinaeva, 36, who lives in a tent with her two children, says she has written to the Tajik authorities pleading for help. "I want to go back home," Odinaeva says, adding that she wants to be reunited with her parents and brother, whom she stays in contact with via the WhatsApp messaging service. Odinaeva insists she "made a mistake" by listening to her husband who she says tricked her into coming to Syria in 2015. She met her husband, an ethnic Uyghur from China, in a Chinese bazaar in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, where he worked. The couple went on to marry and have two children before her husband convinced Odinaeva to move abroad. "I am not here by choice. My husband deceived me. He brought us to Syria. Then he was killed," she says, speaking by phone from the refugee camp. Odinaeva didn't give any further details. Authorities in Dushanbe and Odinaeva's family in her native town of Hamadoni in southern Tajikistan confirm her account that she left Tajikistan with her husband and children more than three years ago. Ambassador Zubaidzoda says he is planning to meet Tajik nationals like Odinaeva, stranded in refugee camps along with their children. The diplomat already has experience in organizing the repatriation of Tajik nationals: He played a key role in bringing back six Tajik IS orphans from Iraq last year. Zubaidzoda says there are 92 Tajik children and 43 women Tajikistan wants to bring home from Iraq. Some of the children live in refugee camps, but most are in prisons with their mothers serving jail sentences for the crime of belonging to an extremist group. Some of them have been sentenced to death. According to Iraqi law, the repatriation of the minors requires written permission from at least one of the parents and an Iraqi court order. At the February 12 press briefing, Tajik Foreign Minister Muhriddin told reporters that the ministry believes most of the fathers have been killed. The foreign minister says the "biggest challenge" is the refusal of some of the Tajik mothers in Iraq and Syria to send their children back to Tajikistan. Some of them argue that they don't have any relatives in Tajikistan willing to look after their children. In a few cases, some mothers insist they don't want their children to be raised in secular Tajikistan, the Foreign Ministry said. Tajikistan's repatriation efforts come as Islamic State militants, besieged by Kurdish-led forces, are fighting to retain their last piece of territory in Syria, in and around the village of Baghuz, which is close to the border with Iraq. The question of what to do about foreign IS fighters and their family members captured by the Kurdish-led forces has created a major headache for governments in their home countries. According to a report by the London-based International Centre for the Study of Radicalization, more than 40,000 foreign citizens joined Islamic State in Iraq and Syria between 2013 and 2018. U.S. President Donald Trump has urged European nations to repatriate their nationals from Syria to stand trial at home. Different countries, fearing the potential security threats the former jihadi fighters pose, have employed different methods to deal with IS returnees, ranging from prosecution and imprisonment to rehabilitation and reintegration into society. In the European Union, returnees face criminal investigation and sometimes prosecution. In Belgium, returning members of Islamic State can be sent to secure units for rehabilitation. And according to a European Parliament report, the French government allows its citizens to be prosecuted in France or Syria, providing they get a fair trial. Tajikistan's desire to bring its foreign citizens home has its roots in the country's experience with civil war in the 1990s and its aftermath. Then, dozens of Tajik refugee children ended up in militant training camps in Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan. At the height of the IS successes in Syria and Iraq in 2015, Tajikistan offered an amnesty to its nationals who voluntarily returned from the conflict zone and renounced violence. More than 100 people returned to Tajikistan, before and under the amnesty, and reintegrated into society, albeit under the watchful eyes of the authorities. Some of them now take part in state-sponsored campaigns against extremism. Former fighters often appear on state television, giving interviews about IS atrocities they say they witnessed in Iraq and Syria. Some of those who returned were convicted of being mercenaries or being involved in recruiting fighters for IS. Not everyone, however, is happy about their return, fearing some of the returnees still hold on to their extremist ideology. "We never know for sure what was the real reason they came back. We can't be sure they really deradicalize," said a university lecturer in Dushanbe who wished to remain anonymous because he is personally familiar with some of the cases of the returnees. Although there are no official barriers for the returnees to work or study, there is no rehabilitation process for those who spent time in IS-controlled territory. "As of yet, we have not seen any attacks by former foreign fighters" in Tajikistan, but the absence of the rehabilitation programs "could create problems for the family members and society more generally in the long term," says Edward Lemon, a fellow at the Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security in Washington, D.C. "What may be more threatening in the longer term is the fact that [Islamic State] has now dissipated and traveling to Syria is now all but impossible, [so] more Tajiks may be inspired to carry out attacks at home," Lemon says. "All of the drivers that caused a small number to fight abroad -- injustice, marginalization, repression -- still exist. Young people will seek new ways to express this frustration, sometimes using violence," Lemon told RFE/RL. The authorities say some 1,900 Tajik nationals left for Syria and Iraq to join IS since 2014 and that nearly 500 of them are believed to have been killed. Some have returned. The fate of the rest is unknown. Written and reported by Farangis Najibullah with additional reporting by RFE/RL Tajik Service correspondent Mumin Ahmadi Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/why-tajikistan- is-fighting-to-bring-its-islamic-state- widows-back-home/29782787.html Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. House moving 'swiftly' to end Trump's border wall emergency declaration Iran Press TV Thu Feb 21, 2019 03:23AM The US House of Representatives is to introduce a resolution to block the national emergency declaration issued by President Donald Trump to raise funds for a Mexican border wall. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is throwing her weight behind the legislative effort, urging House colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this first formal step to counter Trump and squeeze Republicans on the border wall. Democrats will introduce the resolution of disapproval on Friday after Trump's declaration was published in the Federal Register this week. "I write to invite all Members of Congress to cosponsor Congressman Joaquin Castro's privileged resolution to terminate this emergency declaration," Pelosi wrote in a letter sent to both Democrats and Republicans on Wednesday night. She noted that the House will "move swiftly to pass this bill." "The President's decision to go outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process violates the Constitution and must be terminated." "We have a solemn responsibility to uphold the Constitution, and defend our system of checks and balances against the President's assault," she wrote. Democrats are also expected to file a lawsuit to halt Trump's effort to circumvent Congress to build his border wall. The resolution could set up a vote by the full House by mid-March and then move to the Republican-controlled Senate. The resolution needs a two-thirds vote in both chambers to override Trump's veto. It will automatically receive a vote on the Senate floor, forcing Republicans in both chambers to take a stand on Trump's use of executive power, which some GOP lawmakers have already harshly criticized. Republican senators facing tough re-election fights next year in competitive states like Arizona, Colorado and North Carolina would have to take stances that could risk dividing the GOP's pro-Trump and more moderate voters. Moderate Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Wednesday she would back a resolution blocking the emergency declaration, making her the first Republican to publicly state her support for the effort to thwart the emergency. With Republicans holding a 53-47 majority, three more GOP senators would need to vote with Democrats for the resolution to win initial approval. The measure aims at preventing Trump from funding his signature campaign pledge through money allocated to the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Housing and Urban Development or the Army Corps of Engineers. Funding for the wall has led to a budget impasse and an ongoing dispute over border security. In order to get the funding, Trump declared a national emergency at the border on Friday in an attempt to circumvent US Congress. US May Be Denied Extradition Request for Mozambican Suspect By Amancio Vilanculos, Joad Jose Santarita February 21, 2019 South Africa plans to hand over Mozambique's former finance minister, Manuel Chang, to his own government and not to the United States, which seeks Chang's extradition for alleged financial crimes, according to a South African official. Chang, 63, is scheduled for an extradition hearing Tuesday in Johannesburg. He has been jailed there since he was arrested Dec. 29 while preparing to fly to Dubai. He faces competing U.S. and Mozambican extradition requests for his alleged role in a $2 billion secret loan scandal that nearly bankrupted Mozambique and ensnared at least 18 individuals on both sides of the Atlantic. South Africa's foreign minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, told the country's Daily Maverick newspaper in an interview published Thursday that her government had agreed to extradite Chang to face charges in Mozambique. "We're sending him to Mozambique to be tried. And we believe that is the easiest thing for everybody," she said. A U.S. grand jury indictment filed Dec. 19 accuses Chang and six others of money laundering, fraud and bribery. It says they created false maritime projects, including a tuna fishing fleet and surveillance ships to patrol the southern African country's long coastline. It says they sold the Mozambican loans to American investors and used U.S. banking institutions to transfer funds. Mozambique's government has accused Chang of personally embezzling at least $12 million while he was finance minister, from 2005 to 2015. The $2 billion in secret loans came to light in a 2016 audit. Chang denies any impropriety. Push for U.S. Some inside Mozambique say the case should be tried in the United States, contending it will be prosecuted more aggressively. Jose Manteigas, spokesman for opposition Renamo party, says that if Chang is extradited to Mozambique "nothing will happen." "The only interest of the authorities," he added, "is to protect Frelimo," the ruling party, ahead of presidential, legislative and provincial elections in October. The Budget Monitoring Group, a coalition of Mozambican civil society groups, said in a statement that it "believes that the U.S.-initiated process is an opportunity for Mozambicans to get full disclosure on the illegal debts and recover all costs incurred as a result of illegal and immoral conduct by international bankers, contractors, public officials, their relatives and collaborators in Mozambique." It added that the group believes such prosecution "will serve as a deterrent for corrupt activities in Mozambique and beyond." "No one trusts Mozambique's justice institutions," said Jorge Matine, a spokesman for the coalition. Another arrest The fraud case has created additional ripples. Earlier this week, authorities arrested Ndambi Guebuza, the son of former president Armando Guebuza, in connection with the case. Chang remains in custody after South African Magistrate Sagra Subroven ruled last week against allowing him to go free on bail, saying, "It would not be in the interest of justice." Mark LaMet of VOA's investigative unit contributed to this report. Venezuela's Maduro Shuts Down Border with Brazil to Stop Aid By VOA News February 21, 2019 Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has shut down the country's border with Brazil and threatens to do the same with Colombia to try to stop foreign aid from crossing into the country. A warehouse filled with tons of food, medicine and other aid primarily from the United States is sitting in warehouses on the Colombian side of a bridge to Venezuela. Maduro says Venezuela is not a nation of "beggars" and vows to refuse the aid, which he considers the vanguard of a U.S. invasion. Maduro has sent Venezuelan soldiers to various border crossings. Opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim President Juan Guaido has vowed to get the aid through on Saturday, despite the threat of military force. It is unclear how he plans to do that. But Guaido and his supporters have mobilized thousands of volunteers including doctors, nurses and ordinary citizens to help. Meanwhile, a group of Venezuelan lawmakers clashed with soldiers outside Caracas as they tried to drive a truck through a highway roadblock on their way to the Colombian border. The soldiers fired tear gas when some of the lawmakers got out and tried to move the barriers. They demanded to know why the soldiers "support this insolence while the people die of hunger." "Pretending that humanitarian aid is not going to reach the people of Venezuela is an act of cruelty," said Delsa Solorzano, deputy head of the National Assembly. "We know that these soldiers are passing the same need as all the people of Venezuela." As head of the opposition-led National Assembly, Guaido invoked the constitution to declare himself interim president after saying Maduro's re-election last year was a sham. The United States was the first to recognize Guaido as Venezuelan president, followed by about 50 other nations. Maduro has offered to meet with Guaido, but is refusing to step down or call for early elections. The collapse in global energy prices, corruption and failed socialist policies have left oil-rich Venezuela's economy in shambles. More than 3 million people have fled the country and its severe shortages of food, fuel and basic goods. South Sudan Rebels Say They Are Investigating Sexual Abuse Accusations By Onen Walter Solomon February 21, 2019 A South Sudanese rebel group says it is investigating accusations in a United Nations report that the group's fighters committed rape and sexual violence against civilians. Col. Lam Paul Gabriel, deputy military spokesman for the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO), said the group will punish anyone found guilty of committing such violations. "There is a committee being inspected by our chairman to investigate those alleged incidents that took place. In case we find any one responsible for those atrocities, he or she will be held responsible immediately" Gabriel told VOA's South Sudan in Focus. The report, released by the U.N. human rights office last week, accused both rebel and government forces of rape and sexual violence against women and girls, some as young as eight, in South Sudan's northern Unity Region. The U.N. said at least 175 women and girls were victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence during the latter third of 2018, and said the actual number of victims was likely much higher. It said the acts may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang, spokesman for South Sudan People's Defense Force, said he is yet to see the report but doubts it contains anything new. "I think it is the same old wine which is just put in a new bottle. The same thing they have been talking about a, b, c, d, e. But when we get down to ground, we normally find all the accusations to be untrue," he told VOA. He said government investigators looked into the U.N. report. "They went on the ground and tried to correlate what was released and compared with the results on the ground, and we have discovered it was a pile of lies," he said. Accountability The U.N. report concluded that there are reasonable grounds that warring parties in South Sudan have committed atrocities that could lead to charges of war crimes "The Commission has been able to identify several commanders from the SPLA, both factions of the SPLA-IO, and other armed groups, as well as two governors of states and a country commissioner, in relation to whom there are reasonable grounds to believe that they exercised command or superior responsibility at the time that the violations and alleged crimes occurred," the report said. Gabriel said his group will ensure that any of its soldiers found guilty of the alleged atrocities will be held accountable. "Whoever is responsible for doing anything wrong, if he is brought up and he's found guilty, yes, he can be judged by the court, and he can be indicted if he has to be indicted. You cannot go against the law." The U.N. human rights investigating body said the South Sudan government has taken no real steps toward accountability. The African Union Commission recommended the formation of a "hybrid court" for South Sudan that would focus on high-profile and high-level perpetrators of atrocities. The U.N. report said the formation of the courts has stalled, due to a lack of political will from the government. John Tanza contributed to this report. Arab Media Report Uncertain First Steps in Redeployment Agreement in Yemen's Hodeida Region By Edward Yeranian February 21, 2019 Arab media is reporting that both the Saudi-led coalition and forces loyal to the Houthi militia group are starting to implement a redeployment agreement worked out by mediators in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, last December. Witnesses, however, say that they have not detected significant movement of forces. Arab media reported scattered clashes in parts of Yemen Thursday, despite some reports that the warring sides had begun to implement a U.N.-sponsored redeployment in and around the Yemeni port city of Hodeida. Optimism about the Hodeida agreement during a presentation by U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths to the Security Council several days ago created fresh hope about jump-starting the stalled plan for the country's largest port and lifeline to the capital, Sana'a. "Since I last talked to you a few weeks ago, we have made some significant progress in the implementation of the agreements reached in Stockholm toward the latter part of year," said Griffiths. "The parties have now confirmed to Lt. Gen. Michael Lolesgard and to me their agreement for the first phase of the Hodeida redeployment plan." Despite the official optimism, a spokesman for Yemen's internationally recognized government of President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi told Arab media that his side would not start redeploying until the Houthi militia group evacuated the two smaller ports of Salif and Ras Aissa. He says that the process of the government pullout (from its forward positions at) Kilometer 8 won't start until the first steps of the (Stockholm) agreement begin and the Houthi militiamen remove land mines and withdraw their forces from the ports of Ras Aissa and Salif. Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV reported that the U.N. has given the Houthis four days to withdraw from Ras Aissa and Salif and that Saudi-coalition forces would begin pulling back from parts of Hodeida that they control after the initial Houthi withdrawal. The TV channel indicated that the Houthis would have another 11 days to evacuate the port of Hodeida. Ali Shaabi, a spokesman for the Houthis, told al-Hurra TV that some analysts in the capital, Sana'a, (now under Houthi control) were "skeptical" about implementing the agreement. He says that there remain many obstacles on the ground before implementing the (Hodeida) agreement and that there are a number of issues still pending that should normally have preceded the pullout, including a cease-fire, which has not completely taken effect in order to allow the redeployment to begin. Hilal Khashan, who teaches political science at the American University of Beirut, tells VOA that there has been an escalation of the conflict in Yemen in recent days, which does not bode well for a pullback in Hodeida. "The rising military activity does not suggest that the two sides are about to reach terms or that the Houthis are going to pull out (from Hodeida)," said Khashan. "The Houthis are on the offensive on the border with Saudi Arabia. In recent days they have captured mountainsides ... hills on the Saudi side of the border. Saudi media reports say at least 16 (Saudi) soldiers were killed last week. This is the largest casualty toll (for the Saudis) since the beginning of the war." Khashan argues that the Warsaw Conference on Iran (last week) "has complicated matters in Yemen" and that Tehran has been using its clout in Yemen with the Houthis whom they support to express their displeasure with the outcome of the international meeting in Poland. Agreement on new peace deal 'only one step' on challenging road ahead for Central African Republic, says UN envoy 21 February 2019 - Despite the recent signing of a recent peace deal between the Government of the Central African Republic (CAR) and 14 armed groups "we should not forget that the situation in the country remains serious," a senior UN envoy told the Security Council on Thursday. "The signing of the Global Agreement for Peace and National Reconciliation on 6 February is the culmination of a long process," said Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, the Secretary-General's Special Representative and Head of the UN mission in CAR. In his final briefing to the Council, Mr. Onanga-Anyanga recalled that after a difficult transition, new legitimate and democratic institutions were installed on March 30, 2016. "Central Africans have come a long way, and despite numerous challengesthey deserve our admiration and encouragement," he added. Since conflict began in CAR in 2012, due to fighting between the mostly Christian anti-Balaka militia and the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition, thousands of civilians have been killed and two out of three people in the small Central African Nation have become dependent on humanitarian aid. "While we are right to welcome the fact that our multifaceted efforts have allowed this important political advance in the Central African Republic, we must remain vigilant because the situation remains serious," said the UN envoy, adding: "The unbearable fate of displaced people and refugees, as well as scenes of senseless violence and the many victims [are a nagging reminder] of this." Mr. Onanga-Anyanga stressed that the signing of the peace deal was a "necessary and decisive step, certainly, but only one step. The hardest thing is indeed to come. The real test will be in the full and good faith implementation of the agreement," he explained. With that in mind, he called on all stakeholders to scrupulously honor the commitments they have made under the agreement and not to betray the confidence placed in them by the Central African people and all those who accompanied them in throughout the peace process. "The country today has the opportunity to open a new page full of promise and that turns its back, definitely, to a painful story," said Mr. Onanga-Anyanga, and he urged the parties to always pursue dialogue to sustain the new political and social consensus put forward by the February 6 agreement. The UN envoy said the role of the guarantors, especially neighboring countries and the region, and that of the facilitators will be decisive for the full realization of the accord. He welcomed the joint initiative of the United Nations and the African Union to hold a meeting of the International Support Group at CAR on Friday 22 February. Mr. Onanga-Anyanga said that the support of the Security Council, the countries of the region and the wider international community remain essential for the successful implementation of the peace agreement. Finally, he saluted the sacrifice of peacekeepers who were killed in CAR. "These peacekeepers gave their lives to help assist, protect and comfort the Central African people and support the country's young democratic institutions when threatened," he said. This was Mr. Onanga-Anyanga's last briefing to the Security Council as Special Representative for CAR. Heading up the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) since August 2015, Mr. Onanga-Anyanga will be succeeded by Mankeur Ndiaye, of Senegal. by Vladimir Rozanskij Despite the worst fears, the transition is taking place in a non-violent way. The exodus is decided by the parish assembly. But there are attempts at state interference. The question of monasteries and places of pilgrimage, a reference point for Orthodox and Catholics. So far in 10 dioceses, only two have passed to Kiev: Vinnitsa and Odessa. Moscow (AsiaNews) - One month after the delivery of the autochthonous Tomos, it is estimated that around 300 Russian parishes have passed to the jurisdiction of the new Ukrainian autocephalous Church. At first glance this is a limited percentage: 2.5% of all the infrastructures of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine, counting also the monasteries, the dioceses and the synodal administrations. But considering the long times of ecclesiastical structures, it is a rather high percentage: in just one month the passage was four times higher than the previous five years, that is, starting from the anti-Russian "revolution" of Majdan, with calls for change. Although fears of violence were widespread, the process appears to be rather peaceful. According to the Ukrainian legislation, the general assembly of each individual parish is the one that decides the status of the community: it is the meeting of the actual members of the local church, not a generic gathering of the inhabitants of a village or a neighborhood. Over the years, the Ukrainian government has also been criticized for the desire to unify the laws regulating the internal life of religious communities, without distinguishing the different confessions and memberships. Even the European Community - of which the new Ukraine aspires to become a member - has criticized this, and many local communities have announced that they will in future present appeals to the European Court against these rules. Among Protestants, the community assembly meets according to a rigid classification of members, while in the statutes of the Orthodox parishes the criteria of belonging appear more elastic. There are the parishioners aged 18 and over, who profess to be Orthodox and who have never been convicted of civil or ecclesiastical crimes. Some statutes include regular attendance of liturgical celebrations, or the declaration of approval by the parish priest. These variable formulas often allow the inclusion among the assembly so-called "tourists", external to the community of believers, who according to the circumstances vote in favor or against the passage of the community to another jurisdiction. In many statutes there is the rule that the assembly is valid if the majority (50% + 1) of the members of the community participate in it, and the passage of jurisdiction requires two thirds of the votes; based on these percentages, the number of "tourists" needed is calculated. The functioning of the ecclesiastical structure, the autocephalous and the Russians is not limited to the parish administration: the law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations" foresees the existence of other structures such as monasteries, synodal districts, missions and dioceses. Even these can decide the passage of jurisdiction between the various orthodox obediences. Before the Tomos there were at least four, today there are substantially two, but with various small dissident organizations, especially at the local level. The most delicate and significant structures are the monasteries, which gather large numbers of faithful and pilgrims, starting from the two Lavre (sets of several monasteries) of the Kiev and Pochaevsk Caves. These have masses of devotees from both the competing jurisdictions, and even the Greek Catholics, who leave considerable offers for rites and souvenirs. Both the patriarch emeritus Filaret (Denisenko) and the new metropolitan of Kiev Epifanyj (Dumenko) have declared on several occasions that they expect the passage of the Lavre and the monasteries to the autocephalous Church, for which the assembly of the monks or the permission of the higher authorities is necessary. There is also the possibility of a state intervention, since the land is owned by the Ukrainian state: it could dissolve the leases and usufruct contracts and requisition the monasteries, to assign them to another jurisdiction. However, the most desirable objects are the dioceses, whose administrations enjoy ample tax exemptions. In this case the passage is decided by the bishop, with the permission of the metropolitan and the meeting of the diocesan clergy, but here the legislation is very imprecise. So far, of the 10 dioceses that had announced they want to move to Kiev, only two have passed, those of Vinnitsa with metropolitan Simeon and Odessa, and in a personal capacity Metropolitan Aleksandr (Drabinko), who was vicar of Metropolitan Onufrij (head of Russian jurisdiction). The metropolitan diocese of Vinnitsa is now under legal dispute, as Onufrij has appointed a substitute for the "traitor" Simeon. The pressures and reciprocal manipulations between Russian Orthodox and Ukrainians are taking place in various forms, but so far there have been no striking cases of mutual violence, as was feared. In many parishes, the faithful are waiting to see the outcome of the neighbors' assemblies, before deciding to organize their passage, and even the priests use different orientation tactics of their parishioners. The new Ukrainian Church will have to try to avoid the monopolistic temptations, sustained by local administrations, really leaving to the people the decision on such an important issue for the future of the country and of the whole Orthodox Church. US Does Not Want Venezuela to Be 'Cuban Puppet State' - Pompeo Sputnik News 17:31 21.02.2019(updated 17:35 21.02.2019) WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States does not want Venezuela to be a "Cuban puppet state," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview on 21 February. "We do not want this to be a Cuban puppet state in Venezuela", US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told NBC News. Pompeo noted that Washington aims to deliver humanitarian aid to Venezuela in the coming days. "This weekend, we will attempt to deliver hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid. We hope we can get it across the border", he stressed. The statements come amid the tense humanitarian aid situation in Venezuela. The United States has been stockpiling humanitarian aid on the Colombian border. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido announced that US supplies would be delivered to the country on 23 February. President Nicolas Maduro, however, refused to allow the aid into the country, blasting it as a conspiracy to topple his government. The situation in crisis-torn Venezuela escalated on 23 January when Guaido declared himself interim president, disputing Maduro's reelection. The United States and its allies almost immediately recognised Guaido as the president. Russia, China, Mexico, among other nations, voiced support for Maduro, who, in turn, accused Washington of orchestrating a coup. Sputnik Venezuela Doesn't Need to Ask Russia For Military Assistance - Caracas Sputnik News 19:31 21.02.2019(updated 20:11 21.02.2019) The US has been stockpiling humanitarian aid on the Colombian border. However, President Nicolas Maduro, refused to allow the aid into the country, blasting it as a ploy to topple his government. Venezuela does not need to ask Russia for military assistance as Caracas is able to defend itself, Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto told Sputnik on Thursday. "Venezuela has all the capabilities to guarantee peace. And we have all the capabilities to ensure that no aggression will happen. We do not need any military support, because we are fully prepared to guarantee peace to our people," Pinto said when asked whether Caracas planned to seek military assistance from Russia. The official also noted that the senior political and military management of Venezuela are constantly observing the situation in the state. Commenting on the border issue, Yvan Gil Pinto stated that he had no information regarding its closure, adding that it is fully operational and working in accordance with the system that guarantees international security. According to Pinto, if a terror threat occurs along the border with Columbia, Caracas will take adequate measures. The official's comments come after on Saturday three US Air Force (USAF) planes carrying humanitarian cargo destined for Venezuela arrived in the Colombian border city of Cucuta. The Venezuelan government, headed by President Nicolas Maduro, has so so far refused to accept the aid the United States has delivered to neighbouring Colombia, blasting it as a ploy to topple his government. The situation in crisis-torn Venezuela escalated on 23 January when opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president, disputing President Nicolas Maduro's re-election. Guaido was almost immediately recognized by the United States and its allies. Russia, China, Mexico, among other nations, voiced support for Maduro, who, in turn, accused Washington of orchestrating a coup. Sputnik Venezuela to Close Border With Brazil, May Do the Same With Colombia - Maduro Sputnik News 20:06 21.02.2019(updated 21:48 21.02.2019) Earlier in the day, an ally of Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed president Juan Guaido said as quoted by Reuters that the opposition head would personally accompany a humanitarian aid convoy that arrived from the US in the Colombian border town of Cucuta last week. According to Deputy Russian Envoy to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky, the US is preparing an "outrageous" provocation on the border between Colombia and Venezuela. The statement comes moments after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said during televised comments that Venezuela would close the border with Brazil and was considering closing the border with Colombia. "From February 21, the land border with Brazil will be completely closed until the new announcement," Maduro said in a speech. According to the president, the humanitarian aid that is being kept in the Colombian town of Cucuta was a "provocation". Earlier in the day, Mark Green, the administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said as quoted by FOX News that the US "must open the humanitarian channel, no matter what." Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has warned that the US and its allies were using "the pretext of delivering humanitarian aid" to try to "destroy the independence and sovereignty of the country." Caracas would not allow such aid into the country, Maduro said, saying the country was coping with its difficulties and that US 'concerns' over Venezuela's humanitarian crisis were "fabricated by Washington over the last four years to justify intervening in our country." Besides closing the border with Brazil, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said the day before that the Latin American country would close the border with neighboring island nations, suspend air traffic and revise their diplomatic ties. Sputnik EU States Begin Selection Process For New European Prosecutor By RFE/RL February 21, 2019 In a first move to choose the head of a future European public prosecutor's office for financial crimes, ambassadors of 22 EU states have held a secret ballot that was reportedly won by French candidate Jean-Francois Bohnert, followed by former Romanian anti-corruption prosecutor Laura Koevesi, and Germany's Andres Ritter. The ballots cast by the 22 countries that chose to join the upcoming anticorruption structure was secret, but according to diplomats speaking to Politico.eu under the condition of anonymity, Bohnert got 50 points, while Koevesi and Ritter got 29 points each. The vote was an "indicative" one, according to the diplomats, and marked the beginning of a complicated process of selection. The candidates were chosen based on an initial February 14 recommendation by a selection panel, which placed Koevesi as the front-runner due to "outstanding achievements both as a leader and as a manager" of Romania's National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA). Koevesi was dismissed by the government last year in what critics say was a move to prevent the DNA from convicting senior members of the governing alliance. Koevesi has been widely praised by the EU for her results in fighting graft in one of the bloc's most corrupt countries. The February 20 vote could be followed by other "indicative" votes before negotiations will start in several EU committees ahead of a final vote in the European Parliament. The move came amid an escalating dispute between the European Union and Romania, with the bloc asking Bucharest for clarification after the government imposed measures that critics say will exert more political control over the judiciary. Romania, which currently holds the EU's rotating six-month presidency, needs to "very urgently put the reform process back on track" and abstain "from steps which reverse progress" in fighting corruption, European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said on February 20. The bloc was "following with great concern the latest developments concerning the rule of law in Romania," Schinas added. Written by Eugen Tomiuc, with reporting by Politico.eu, G4media.ro, and Digi24live.ro Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-states-begin -selection-process-for-new-european -prosecutor/29782529.html Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. Aoun rejects US claims about Hezbollah's clout on Lebanon govt. Iran Press TV Thu Feb 21, 2019 05:51AM Lebanese President Michel Aoun has strongly dismissed latest allegations by the US ambassador to the Arab country that the Hezbollah resistance movement is now wielding more influence on the Beirut government. "This is the US vision and it contradicts with reality. Hezbollah has maintained the same political presence it had in the previous government, and it is not true that its influence over Lebanon is increasing," Aoun said on Wednesday evening. He added, "What some political circles say in this regard is mere bickering. At the security level, they even say that Hezbollah has influence in the South and the Bekaa (Valley). This is while there is no authority higher than that of the army and security forces, which recently carried out major operations in the region and beefed up security and stability." On Tuesday, Ambassador Elizabeth Richard met with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, and voiced Washington's concern over Hezbollah's "growing role in the Cabinet." Hezbollah "continues to make its own national security decisions - decisions that endanger the rest of the country," she claimed. On February 4, the Hezbollah secretary general flatly rejected allegations by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his movement is in control of the Lebanese government, stressing the new administration belongs to all political factions participating in it. The Israeli premier is "provoking the United States, European countries and the [Persian] Gulf states against the Lebanese government, claiming that it is controlled by Hezbollah. Such false claims have serious international repercussions," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said as he addressed his supporters via a televised speech broadcast live from Beirut. Nasrallah underscored that the new Lebanese government consists of various political parties, and that Hezbollah is just one of them. In response to certain media reports that the new health minister is a member of Hezbollah, Nasrallah pointed out that Jamil Jabak, who is a doctor by profession, is solely close to the resistance movement, but not a member of it. Lebanon announced the formation of a government on January 31, ending over eight months of wrangling amid fears of a major economic collapse. Lebanon has one of the largest public debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio in the world. The figure stands at around 150 percent, and much of it has been accumulated through the cost of servicing existing debt. The economy has suffered from years of low growth. Lebanese Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil told Arabic-language al-Akhbar daily newspaper last month that his ministry was "preparing a financial correction plan including restructuring of public debt" which was needed to spare Lebanon "dramatic developments." "The public debt cannot continue in this way," Khalil said. Details of the plan had not been revealed to anyone, he pointed out. Maduro warns US against aggression, says Venezuela possesses advanced weapons Iran Press TV Thu Feb 21, 2019 02:37PM President Nicolas Maduro warns the US against carrying out the threat of military action in Venezuela, saying the country's armed forces are in possession of advanced weaponry supplied by Russia and China, and stand fully ready to face any act of aggression with the help of millions of paramilitaries. In an interview with Iran's Spanish-language Hispan TV, Maduro said the Caracas government takes Washington's military threats seriously and is already making preparations "to protect our borders and territorial integrity." "We recently held five days of maneuvers. Venezuela is also in possession of advanced military equipment, which it has received via China and Russia. We have upgraded our entire military and expanded our popular paramilitary forces, whose numbers will reach two million by April," the president added. Political tensions have been running high in the South American country since late January, when Western-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido abruptly declared himself "interim president" of Venezuela in an attempt to dispute last year's re-election of Maduro. The US and a number of its Latin American allies rushed to recognize Guaido. Several European countries also followed suit after Caracas dismissed an ultimatum they had set for a new presidential vote. In the other camp, Russia, China, Iran, Turkey and Cuba, among others, have voiced support for Maduro in the face of what Caracas views as a US-directed coup bid. The United Nations has also said it will only cooperate with the elected government. After recognizing Guaido, Trump threatened that military intervention in Venezuela was an "option" to support Guaido. In what Maduro condemned as an "almost Nazi-style" speech in Miami on February 19, Trump appealed directly to the Venezuelan military to abandon their support for Maduro, threatening that those who continued to back the Caracas government were risking their own future and lives. In the interview, Maduro rejected the possibility of the military turning against the Venezuelan government and said "our armed forces act in unison when it comes to morality, doctrine and strategy. They abide by the Constitution." Elsewhere in the interview, the Venezuelan head of state slammed Washington for slapping sanctions on the country's national petroleum company, PDVSA, in a bid to speed up the exit of the elected government, which relies heavily on crude exports for its revenues.The bans have been designed to funnel income from the country's largest revenue generator into the hands of Guaido. Maduro said the oil sanctions "will be to the detriment of the United States itself," because the Americans will have to buy lower-quality oil at a higher price from other parts of the world. The sanctions, he added, "would cause certain problems for us, but we will overcome these conditions. Be sure that Venezuela will sell its oil in the international markets and we will receive the income in time." "I personally tell you that I am working on reviving and forming a new PDVSA, about which I will issue an important statement in the coming days," Maduro said. Maduro also blasted Trump for adopting an "extremist, unwise and improper" position against Venezuela. America's president wants to bring Venezuela to its knees, said Maduro, adding that his main concern is not "democracy" or "humanitarian crisis," but he has an eye on the country's wealth and rich energy resources. Maduro outlined the measures taken by his administration to alleviate the nation's economic problems, saying that the top priority is to decrease the unemployment rate. "Venezuela will move on from all these acts of aggression. We will teach them a big lesson and promote our political, economic and social life," Maduro said, adding, "The battle is to protect not only Venezuela, but also independence, dignity, humanity and international law." The Venezuelan president went on to say, "The era for coups d'etat and invasionmust come to an end. The 19th and 20th centuries are over. The current century is no time for neo-imperialism and slavery." Warning to Europe He also denounced the European Union's bias in favor of the Venezuelan opposition, saying the 28-nation bloc is making a "fundamental mistake" in dealing with the Latin American state. Europe only "listens to the rightist (opposition) and believes all their lies," Maduro added, advising the European countries to "lend an ear to the truth." The Union blindly follows the US in its aggressive approach towards Venezuela, said the president, warning that the Europeans will have blood on their hands if Venezuela comes under attack "as it happened in Iraq, Libya and Syria." Feb. 21, 2019 News By Jim Garamone Defense.gov NATO Admiral Discusses Complex Security Environment, Results of Trident Juncture WASHINGTON -- Europeans view Russia as the greatest threat they face, but China has made inroads, and threats from violent extremism and ungoverned spaces in the Middle East and Africa complicate an already complex security environment, the commander of NATO's Allied Joint Force Command Naples said last week. Navy Adm. James G. Foggo III, who also serves as commander of Naval Forces Europe and Naval Forces Africa, spoke to reporters traveling with Acting Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan at the Munich Security Conference. The annual conference gives military and security leaders from around the world a chance to discuss issues -- both on the record and behind the scenes. "The security environment today is complex and dynamic," Foggo said. "As highlighted in the 2018 National Defense Strategy, the United States is in a great power competition with Russia and China. Russia is using force to change the internationally recognized borders of sovereign nations and to challenge international laws and norms. Through dialogue and solidarity within the alliance, I am optimistic we can achieve a more stable Euro-Atlantic region." Russian actions in invading Georgia in 2008, illegally annexing Crimea and fomenting war in Eastern Ukraine are a challenge to the one-time goal of a Europe "free, whole and at peace," the admiral said. Russia also has increased tensions with the Baltic republics, propped up the Bashar Assad regime in Syria and violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty, he noted. "Russia's lone nuclear saber-rattling demonstrates they are more committed to escalation dominance than escalation avoidance," Foggo said. Ensuring Security in the Atlantic The United States and NATO had to respond to this situation, and at the last NATO summit in Brussels, alliance leaders established the Allied Joint Force Command in Norfolk, Virginia, to help ensure allied security in the Atlantic. This is needed, Foggo said, because Russia is sending more capable submarines back into the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The admiral said six Kilo-class Russian submarines are in the Black Sea and eastern Mediterranean now. These are new craft that are much quieter and more capable than their predecessors, he explained. "The U.S. submarine force is still the quietest, most lethal and most capable, but the Russians see this as an area they can challenge the West, and they are investing in the capability," he said. The U.S. Navy re-established U.S. 2nd Fleet partly in response to Russian actions. Russia has invested enormous sums in building naval capabilities. Concrete responses include basing P-8 anti-submarine warfare maritime patrol aircraft in Sigonella, Italy. The command also is working with Iceland to upgrade the infrastructure at Naval Air Station Keflavik, where Navy P-8s will operate on a rotational basis. "NATO also launched the 'Four 30s' initiative to reinvigorate a culture of readiness and ensure the alliance can employ 30 squadrons, 30 ships and 30 battalions within 30 days or less," Fogo said. Exercise Trident Juncture In October and November, Foggo commanded NATO's Exercise Trident Juncture in and around Norway. All NATO nations and Finland and Sweden participated in the exercise. It was the largest NATO exercise since the Cold War, with more than 50,000 troops, 250 aircraft, 70 ships and 10,000 rolling or tracked vehicles. The exercise also included a demonstrating of the Navy's new dynamic force employment strategy. The USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group joined Exercise Trident Juncture, and became the first aircraft carrier operating north of the Arctic Circle since 1987. The exercise highlighted the alliance's ability to respond to Russian provocations, the admiral said, calling it "deterrence in action." "A mantra with Trident Juncture is 'deter, defend and dialogue,'" he said. "The exercise was deterrence on its own. It showed Russia that NATO will act together in an Article 5 operation." Article 5 of NATO's founding document states that an attack on one NATO ally is considered an attack on all. One outgrowth of the exercise is that logistics should be considered a domain of warfare as much as land, sea, air, cyber and space, Foggo said. "People have said, 'That's not a domain; logistics is just something you do,' he added. "But ask Alexander the Great about that. He said that 'if I lose the battle, the first person I will slay will be the logistician.'" Movement of people, equipment, information and capabilities are crucial to the fight, and this needs further study, the admiral said. China's Actions China is an immediate problem for Foggo's counterparts in the Indo-Pacific region, but the country is trying to work its influence in Europe as well. The Chinese "One Belt, One Road" strategy forms the basis behind Chinese moves, and it is a long-term strategy that will take generations to employ. "They go places where we go, and where we don't go, they fill in the seams," Foggo said. In Africa, China established a base in the strategic nation of Djibouti, very near the American facility at Camp Lemonnier. Chinese leaders and diplomats visit African nations constantly, and they are investing in ports all around the continent. In Djibouti, Chinese personnel were lasing U.S. aircraft as they landed. After vociferous protests, the dangerous provocation stopped. If China wants to be a great power, it needs to behave maturely, Foggo said. "NATO continues to be the most successful alliance in history, and we celebrate our 70th year in April," the admiral said. "NATO has been and will continue to be the cornerstone of European defense and transatlantic security. We share the common goal of preventing conflict, and preserving peace and freedom for our people." 3D printing across Army enhancing logistics By Devon L. Suits, Army News Service February 21, 2019 FORT MEADE, Md. -- As 3D printing increases both in the field and at depots, the Army's Center of Excellence for Additive and Advanced Manufacturing is slated to reach initial operating capability this year at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois. Lt. Gen. Aundre Piggee, the Army's deputy chief of staff, G-4, outlined the Army's current 3D printing capabilities at the 2019 Military Additive Manufacturing Summit and Technology Showcase Feb. 6, in Tampa, Florida. At the summit, defense, academia, and industry officials were privy to the latest additive manufacturing technologies, event officials said. The Army will leverage these improved 3D printing capabilities to bolster equipment readiness and reduce logistics burdens, Piggee said. The forum served as an opportunity to hear from military leaders and subject-matter experts on the future of additive manufacturing to support warfighter readiness and achieve operational effectiveness. SAVING OPERATIONAL DAYS Back in December 2017, Army G-4 released an executive order allowing commanders in the field to invest up to $10,000 of their operating budgets in 3D printers, software, and training, Piggee said. 3D printing technology "enables our Soldiers to explore and implement creative solutions to problems we can only imagine, but they live with on a daily basis," he said. "We wanted to give them flexibility and the power to innovate." In Korea, for example, Soldiers identified a fire-suppression cap degradation issue, impacting their fleet of Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles known as MRAPs. These caps protect the fire extinguisher nozzles, housed in the MRAP's wheel wells, and blow off when the fire extinguishing system activates. "There are 20 caps per vehicle. Without them it makes the MRAPS non-mission capable," Piggee said. "Soldiers put an order in October for replacements -- estimated delivery: five months later." "Without the caps, Soldier safety would be an issue. We do not need to add any extra risk to Soldiers," he added. In turn, Soldiers in Korea turned to 3D printing technology and requested engineering support from the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. The team in Korea went on to produce 284 fire-suppression caps, which are currently in use until replacements arrive, the general said. "We fixed a readiness problem with our MRAPs. It was only a small cap that was the issue, and we 3D printed a fix for it. Just 1,472 non-mission-capable days saved -- for about $2.50 per part -- and some creative thinking." FUTURE CHALLENGES While the Army has seen success through its additive manufacturing processes, there are several key challenges the military must face before moving forward, Piggee said. For example, intellectual property rights could restrict the Army's authority to reverse engineer a part, or produce a component locally, he said. "Almost everything we use in the field is designed by contractors, using federal dollars," Piggee said. "This is more legal, than technical. IP is an important issue as we modernize, and we will work with industry to find solutions." Cybersecurity is another concern moving forward, he added. The additive manufacturing community employs a digital library of 3-D printed parts, called the "Repository for Additive Parts for Tactical and Operational Readiness," or RAPTOR. As Soldiers or engineers produce parts, they put the blueprint in the system. "The repository now has more than 140 certified parts, and it is growing," Piggee said. "We don't want adversaries to get into our files and download our spare parts. Or to make counterfeit parts that are engineered to fail," he added. "And we do not want internal flaws in the printing that could degrade our weapon systems." Aside from their cybersecurity concerns, the Army needs to find a way to certify and standardize all 3D printed parts and materials, to meet a product's predetermined safety standards. "This takes a lot of labor, and there is a price tag on that, but this is crucial for Soldier safety," Piggee said. In spite of all the challenges, combining innovative thinking with today's technology will help the Army evolve and prepare the force for combat against a near-peer threat, he said. "Logistics will be contested in every domain. We need every innovation to set a theater and sustain Soldiers in future missions -- whether it is artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles dropping off supplies, or a 3-D printer at the point of need," Piggee said. Venezuela's Health Care System Continues Downward Spiral By Lisa Schlein February 21, 2019 U.N. and international health agencies say Venezuela's health care crisis is causing a rise in infectious diseases and the re-emergence of illnesses such as malaria and tuberculosis, once considered vanquished. The World Health Organization (WHO) blames Venezuela's complex political and socio-economic situation for the virtual collapse of the country's health care system. It says the system is under stress because of a shortage of doctors and nurses who have left the country, as well as a lack of medical supplies and other factors. WHO spokesman Tarek Jasarevic says this is having an adverse impact on many essential programs, including those related to disease prevention and control. He told VOA immunizing children against killer diseases has been a major casualty of the deteriorating health services in the country. He said the first recent case of measles in the country was reported in July 2017. Since then, he said, there have been nearly 6,400 confirmed cases, including 76 deaths. Jasarevic said a similar situation has arisen with diphtheria, and that an outbreak of the disease in July 2016 lasted until January of this year, causing more than 2,500 cases and 270 deaths. "That is why there was a push for vaccination, and as a result of a concerted effort to halt the measles outbreak between April and December 2018, more than 8 million children between the ages of six months and 15 years were vaccinated against measles, and 4.8 million children between the ages of seven and 15 years were vaccinated against diphtheria," Jasarevic said. WHO reports malaria cases in Venezuela have increased significantly over the past three years, nearly tripling from over 136,000 in 2015 to more than 400,000 cases in 2017. It attributes this rise to the migration of people infected in the mining areas of Bolivar state into other areas of the country, as well as a shortage of antimalarial drugs. Jasarevic said the WHO is supporting 23 hospitals, training health personnel and preventing infectious diseases. He said about 50 tons of supplies and medicines have been distributed across all hospitals. More than 3 million Venezuelans have fled to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil to escape what is considered the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere. Poisoned Bulgarian Arms Dealer Suggests Attackers Had Help Inside Bulgaria By Boris Mitov February 21, 2019 SOFIA -- Emil Gebrev, a Bulgarian businessman who fell into a coma in April 2015 with symptoms of severe poisoning, says he believes whoever was involved in the attack against him had help from inside Bulgaria. Gebrev, a veteran of the Bulgarian arms industry, survived the poisoning, as did his son and a company executive who were treated for similar symptoms. The case bears hallmarks of the attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, who were poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in 2018. The British-based open-source investigation group Bellingcat said on February 14 that Denis Vyacheslavovich Sergeyev, a high-ranking military intelligence officer and a graduate of Russia's Military Diplomatic Academy, arrived in Bulgaria just days before Gebrev fell ill. The investigative group says Sergeyev used an alias while in Bulgaria. Bellingcat said Sergeyev is also suspected of being involved in the attack against the Skripals in Salisbury, having arrived in Britain two days before they were poisoned. "External support is extremely important and powerful, but without any internal cooperation there is no way [the attack] can happen," Gebrev told RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service on February 20. "The more I personally analyze what has happened so far, however cruel and ugly it sounds, it is the result of an extremely thoughtful, purposeful and consistent war on me, the company I lead and, analyzing the whole situation, on the companies in defense sector," Gebrev said. An initial investigation into Gebrev's poisoning found traces of the highly toxic insecticide chlorpyrifos in his coffee and food at his home -- but no substance banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention such as Novichok. Little else, however, was discovered and no one was punished for the attack. The Kremlin has disputed the findings of the new Bellingcat investigation implicating it in Gebrev's poisoning. 'Close Partnership' British and Bulgarian officials, however, said earlier in February that the case has been reopened and that the two countries have been "closely" coordinating their efforts for "several months." "We are working in a joint team and a close partnership, and we are going to find out the facts in this case," U.K. Ambassador to Bulgaria Emma Hopkins told reporters in Sofia on February 11. While Gebrev did not name Russia specifically as a co-conspirator in the attack against him, he told RFE/RL that reports of a Russian agent's involvement don't surprise him. "It's not even a coincidence. It's overlapping interests, which are even stronger," Gebrev said, noting that it appears to indicate Moscow was involved in some way. The Bulgarian arms dealer also criticized local investigators in Bulgaria, noting that the case was reopened only after pressure exerted by Britain because of the possible link between the attacks in Sofia and Salisbury. "When the state wants to investigate, then it can. And when it doesn't want to, well, here it is 2019, four years later, and only now are they trying to understand what happened," Gebrev said. Skripal and his daughter also survived after weeks in critical condition. But Dawn Sturgess, a British national who authorities said came in contact with the poison after her boyfriend found a fake perfume bottle containing it, died in July 2018. British authorities have charged that two Russian men, identified by Bellingcat as agents of Russia's GRU intelligence services, carried out the Salisbury attack. However, they have not identified a third suspect. Bellingcat has acknowledged that it's "unclear what [Sergeyev's] role may have been, if any, in the preparation and execution of the poisoning operation." Moscow has denied involvement in the poisoning of the Skripals using the highly toxic nerve-agent Novichok, which led to a series of sanctions against Russia by the West and tit-for-tat diplomatic actions. Two men who British police say traveled under the aliases Ruslan Boshirov and Aleksandr Petrov and have ties to Russian military intelligence, have denied involvement. They say they are traveling vitamin salesmen who visited Salisbury to view its cathedral spire. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/poisoned- bulgarian-gebrev-attackers-skripal- inside-help/29783402.html Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. A statement said the birth mother, Milica Djurdjic, and baby, reportedly a boy named Igor, were doing fine. Belgrade: Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabics partner gave a birth to a baby boy on Wednesday, her office said, heralding it as a historic event although the conservative country does not legally recognise same-sex marriages or partnerships. Ana Brnabic is one of the first Prime Ministers whose partner has given birth while in office... and the first in the world in a same-sex couple, her media office said in a statement. A statement said the birth mother, Milica Djurdjic, and baby, reportedly a boy named Igor, were doing fine. The delivery went well and both the mother and baby are doing fine, it added. Ms Brnabic, 43, became one of the few openly gay government leaders in the world when she came to power in June 2017. But she has not been a vocal advocate of LGBT issues in a country where homophobia is widespread. Ms Djurdjic, who works as a doctor, became pregnant though artificial insemination. She and Ms Brnabic met at a gay bar in the capital, Belgrade. Thu Thursday 90 /63 Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 90s and lows in the low 60s. Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives prestigious Seoul Peace Prize for 2018 in South Korea. Seoul: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday was awarded the Seoul Peace Prize in South Korea. After receiving the award, PM Modi said, "This award does not belong to me personally but to the people of India, the success that India has achieved in the last 5 years, powered by the skill of 1.3 billion people." PM Modi quoted a portion of the 1988 Olympics Theme Song, as it captures the hopeful spirit for a better tomorrow for all -- 'Hand in hand, we stand, all across the land, we can make this world, a better place in which to live'. In his speech at the award ceremony, Modi further stated, "I am honoured that this award is being conferred to me in the year that we celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi." The Indian Prime Minister will be conferred with the Seoul Peace Prize was announced by the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation in October last year in recognition of his dedicated service to international cooperation, global growth, and human development. On the second of the visit to South Korea, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held constructive talks on Friday on enhancing bilateral cooperation in key areas including trade, investment, defence and security. Modi, who is on a two-day visit to South Korea to strengthen India's strategic ties with the country, was accorded an official reception at the Blue House, the executive office and official residence of the South Korean President here. He also met First lady Kim Jung-sook. Addressing the media after the "productive talks" with President Moon, Prime Minister Modi said that South Korea is an important partner in India's economic transformation. Our trade and investment are growing, he said. PM @narendramodi & Korean President @moonriver365 held constructive talks on enhancing cooperation in trade & investment, defence & security, energy, space, Start-Ups and people-to-people exchanges, said Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tributes to Korean soldiers at the National Cemetery here. "Honouring the heroes. PM @narendramodi laid a wreath at the National Cemetery of the Republic of Korea that entombs remains of 165000 martyrs and paid homage to the fallen soldiers," tweeted MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. Immediately after, the Prime Minister reached the Blue House which is the Korean Presidential Office where he received a ceremonial welcome. He is also scheduled to have a meeting with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, who had visited India in July 2018. Mayor of Gimhae gifted a Bodhi tree sapling to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a mark of close ties between India and South Korea. On Thursday, the Prime Minister unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Yonsei Univesity. Before embarking on a two-day visit, the Prime Minister described South Korea as a valued friend with which India shares special strategic partnership initiatives such as Make in India, StartUp India and Clean India. This is the Prime Minister's second visit to the Republic of Korea after his state visit in May 2015. People below age 20 or above 50 more susceptible to fake news: IAMAI News oi-Priyanka Dua There's only a small percentage of people who actually are in the business of spreading and sharing messages as part of propaganda. People below the age of 20 or those above the age of 50 are most susceptible to be swayed by fake news, as per the new report shared by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Factly. The report -- Countering Misinformation (Fake News) in India, surveyed 891 respondents, along with structured interviews of 30 interviewees from the Technology & Internet Service Providers, Government officials, Law Enforcement, Media & Influencers, Fact Checkers, Academia Political Parties. According to the report, most people use social network platforms to connect with friends and families. As the age of the respondents increased, 'Friends or Friend Groups' and groups based on political/social/cultural beliefs of the person was chosen by a greater proportion of respondents as their main source of information on social media. Many respondents also expressed a lack of trust over conventional media (with suggestions of them being corrupted or paid media) and thus their faith in contents shared by common people over social media. On the other hand, there's only a small percentage of people who actually are in the business of spreading and sharing messages as part of propaganda. According to the report it might be directly related to their bias, revenue generation and easy access to technology. A large majority of people share and spread unverified information because of the availability of the information they have. These are driven by the social groups which they are a part of. The extent of information verification is limited by cellular data and digital literacy. IAMAI stated that the issue of fake news has attained prominence in recent times. Despite the fact that social media only host user-generated content, these platforms are wrongly being targeted for the spread of fake news. The digital industry is concerned about this growing menace, and the association believes studies like this will help evolve our understanding of disinformation and thereby help tackle the challenge. 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 Ranveer Singh is the new face of Redmi Note 7 News oi-Vivek Redmi Note 7 will launch on the 28th of February Xiaomi was one of those brands, which became famous via the word of mouth marketing. Now, Ranveer Singh is the new face of the upcoming Redmi Note 7, which is all set to launch in India on the 28th of February. Ranveer Singh has released a new video on his Facebook page, promoting and teasing the features of the Redmi Note 7. The Redmi Note 7 has undergone a significant design overhaul compared to the Redmi Note 6 Pro or the Redmi Note 5 Pro. Redmi Note 7 specifications The Redmi Note 7 comes with a 6.3-inch IPS LCD screen with FHD+ resolution, which is also the first Redmi smartphone to launch in India with a water-drop notch. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC powers the smartphone with at least 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage, and the smartphone is also available in 4 GB RAM and 64 GB of internal storage. The smartphone has a dual camera set up at the back with a 48 MP Samsung ISOCELL GM-1 sensor with a 5 MP depth sensor. On the front, the device has a 13 MP selfie camera with 1080p video recording capability. The Redmi Note 7 is also the best looking Redmi smartphone with an all-glass unibody design with a premium finish. The smartphone does feature dual SIM card slots with support for 4G LTE and VoLTE on both the slots. The Redmi Note 7 has a massive 4000 mAh Li-ion battery with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 support with a dedicated 3.5mm headphone jack. The smartphone runs on Android 9 Pie with custom MIUI 10 skin on the top. The base variant of the Redmi Note 7 retails in China for 999 Yuan, and the same is expected to launch in India for Rs 10,999 or Rs 11,999, and the 4 GB RAM model will cost 13,999 or Rs 14,999, making it one of the most affordable smartphones with Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC. 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 OnePlus 5G smartphone tipped to be launched in Q2 2019 News oi-Karan Sharma OnePlus 5G smartphone all set to launch by June this year and the company is going to showcase the prototype at MWC 2019. Popular premium smartphone maker OnePlus has announced that its upcoming 5G smartphone will be first sold in Finland in the second quarter of 2019. The company has also joined hands with Elisa which is Finland's top mobile service provider. According to the company, Elisa will be the first-ever operator in the world to launch the 5G network commercially. The company claimed that Elisa is the first ever network provider which is going to work with OnePlus. OnePlus co-founder, Carl Pei also talked about the upcoming 5G device during MWC in June 2018. Later he confirmed its strategy at the Qualcomm 4G/5G summit in October. During the last few months, it has been cleared that the company will launch a standalone 5G enabled models and that will not be OnePlus 7. The company also hinted that the 5G phone will be $200 to $300 higher than its current models. OnlePlus has also confirmed that it will demonstrate the prototype of the 5G device in partnership with Qualcomm at MWC 2019 which is going to held in Barcelona next week. The company has also indicated that gaming is going to be the key demonstration of the upcoming smartphone. Moreover, it has been also reported that the chipmaker Qualcomm is also planning to showcase its own 5G modems and cellular equipment at the upcoming event with a live 5G network. So let's see what else we are going to witness next week at MWC 2019. Source Best Mobiles in India Nokia 6.2 unlikely to be launched at MWC 2019 News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Nokia 6.2 launch could be delayed. HMD Global has slated to host an event at MWC 2019 on February 24 to launch a slew of devices including its flagship Nokia 9 PureView. Recently, we came across speculations that the company might also take the wraps off the Nokia 6.2 as well at the upcoming event. As per fresh information from the Twitter user, Nokia_anew, which has been spilling the beans about upcoming Nokia smartphones has claimed that there are increased chances for the Nokia 6.2 to miss the MWC 2019. Previously, this device was speculated to be unveiled alongside the Nokia 9 PureView. The tweet goes on stating that the reason is that the company wants to concentrate on the flagship smartphone. Four Nokia smartphones were expected This information appears to contradict what we came across recently. Yesterday, it was stated by the reliable tipster Ishan Agarwal that the company is in plans to take the wraps off four new smartphones. These were claimed to be the Nokia 9 PureView, Nokia 3.2, Nokia 1 Plus and Nokia 4.2 It was also speculated that the company is in plans to launch the flagship device along with mid-range offerings. If the latest information is to go by, then we can expect the Nokia 6.2 to arrive sometime later. But an exact time frame of when we can expect the same is yet to be known. Nokia 6.2 rumors Going by the previous reports, the Nokia 6.2 is likely to be the first smartphone from the company to feature a punch-hole display. It is believed to flaunt a 6.2-inch display with a FHD+ resolution. Instead of a notch, it is said to have the display hole to provide room for the selfie camera. It is also believed to be launched with a Snapdragon 632 SoC paired with 4GB/6GB RAM. The device is likely to have a dual camera module at its rear with the ZEISS optics and OZO audio. 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 Gillette, WY (82718) Today Mixed clouds and sun with scattered thunderstorms. High 72F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low 52F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Mamuka Khazaradze quits TBC bank, does not sell the TBC Bank share - GeorgianJournal Pakistan will most likely stay on the grey list of The Financial Action task force, that helps stop terror financing. New Delhi: Pakistan will most likely stay on the grey list of The Financial Action task force, that helps stop terror financing among a host of other objectives, sources told NDTV. India pushed hard for Pakistan to stay on that list after the terror attacks in Pulwama which killed 44 CRPF jawans, the worst in almost three decades. Being on this list will make it extremely difficult for Pakistan to get loans from international lending institutes namely the IMF. A meeting scheduled in Paris with 38 countries at the FATF, the body urged Pakistan to swiftly complete its action plan, mainly with timelines of May 2019. Review of Pakistans commitment to combat terror-financing will be done in June and late October this year. Failing to comply with the standards asked and expected, the country could even be blacklisted. Pakistan was trying hard to be removed from the grey list which they found a position in June last year. A senior intelligence officer said a dossier, which nails the culpability of Pakistan in the Pulwama attack, will be handed to FATF. Through this dossier, India wants to expose its neighbour and its links to terrorism and cross-border violence. India also wants to call attention to Pakistani agencies providing funding to terror groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, which claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack. Getting blacklisted at the FATF will have insurmountable repercussions for Pakistan. The country will be regarded non co-operative globally and help from lenders like The International Monetary Fund, The World Bank, Asian Development Bank and European Union will be hard to get by. All this at the back of reeling under a huge debt burden, Prime Minister Imran Khan has been going around in search of bail packages. Saudi Arabia and UAE have promised aid and investments into the country. The IMF too assured Khan that they would stand by his country in times of need. Getting blacklisted would make Pakistans chances of coming out of the financial turmoil more difficult and progress and vision to reform the country will take a major blow. (With inputs from NDTV) Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021. Education top story Milton School Board meeting cut short by lawyer recommendation MILTON A member of the Milton School Board believes other board members have been discussing an ongoing investigation against advice from the boards attorney. Board Clerk Karen Hall said Thursday night during a special board meeting that other board members have been communicating with each other and with parties involved in an investigation of the districts handling of stipends. The school districts legal counsel has advised the board and district administrators not to discuss the investigation with anyone until it is completed. Thursday nights agenda called for the board to convene in closed session for discussion on administrator employment and administrator/employee compensation. It is unclear what specifically the closed session was intended to address, but board members indicated it was related to the ongoing investigation. Shana Lewis, attorney for the school district, advised the board not to discuss the content of the investigation Thursday night because it could open the district to liability. Board member Diamond McKenna made a motion immediately after the meeting was called to order to adjourn the meeting based on a recommendation from Lewis. The motion was seconded by Joe Martin, but before a vote Hall announced she has firsthand knowledge that board members have been discussing the investigation despite having been told not to. District Administrative Assistant Kim Krause said Hall requested the meeting. Board member Brian Kvapil said he was surprised to hear what Hall said and found the content of the claim disturbing. Kvapil disagreed with Lewis and believed the public has the right to know about concerns from the board on the investigation. Board President Tom Westrick said he did not want to go against the advice of legal counsel. If we are not going to heed legal counsel, why even have them? Westrick said. That is a good question, Tom, Hall said. Board member Joe Martin agreed with Kvapil that the public had the right to information on the investigation but did not feel he was prepared to discuss the investigation with the board because he knows very little. Westrick, McKenna, Martin and Don Vruwink voted to adjourn the meeting. Kvapil, Hall and Mike Pierce voted against. The investigation into the handling of administrative stipends and board policy compliance began Tuesday with Attorney Lori Lubinsky at the helm. Lewis said Thursday night she believes the investigation will likely be finished in about a week. EMC Insurance, the districts liability insurance carrier, will cover costs for the investigation according to district policy, Lewis said. The board voted Feb. 11 to hire an outside firm to investigate allegations that $30,500 in stipends were given to district employees without school board approval. Kvapil informed The Gazette and other media outlets Feb. 8 about the stipends given in November to District Administrator Tim Schigur, Director of Administrative Operations Jerry Schuetz and IT specialist Michael Gouvion. Kvapil said they were not approved by the board or allocated in the 2018-19 budget. Board policy says all payments made outside the budget must be approved by the school board. Documents provided to The Gazette show board President Tom Westrick signed a recommendation for Schigur to receive $10,500 as a temporary pay increase due to a doctorate earned by Schigur in May 2018. Westrick took responsibility for approving Schigurs stipend at the Feb. 11 board meeting. Earlier, Gadkari said that India has decided to 'stop' flow of its share of water to Pakistan from rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty. Imran Khan said, Pakistan did not see Gadkari's statement as worrisome in context with the IWT. (Photo: PTI) Islamabad: Pakistan is not concerned over India's plan to stop the flow of its share of water to Pakistan from the Ravi, Sutlej and Beas rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty, a top official said. The response came hours after Union minister Nitin Gadkari said in New Delhi that India has decided to "stop" the flow of its share of water to Pakistan from rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) after the ghastly Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. Talking to Dawn on Thursday, secretary of Pakistan's Ministry of Water Resources Khawaja Shumail said: We have neither concern nor objection if India diverts water of eastern rivers and supplies it to its people or uses it for other purposes, as the IWT allows it to do so. He said Pakistan did not see Gadkari's statement as worrisome in context with the IWT. Actually India wants to construct Shahpurkandi dam at the Ravi basin. This project is abandoned since 1995. Now they (India) want to construct this in a bid to use its own share of water that goes unutilized and finally flows to Pakistan. So if they want to use this whether through storing it, through the construction of this dam or any other way for their people, they can do as we have nothing to do with it. But we will definitely express our concerns and raise objections strongly if they use or divert waters of western rivers (Chenab, Indus, Jhelum) on which our right to use prevails, Shumail said. According to Pakistan's Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Mehr Ali Shah, as the IWT has already given a right to India in 1960 to use the water of eastern rivers, it is now up to it to do so or not. Whether they diverted and used their unutilized share of eastern rivers' waters in 1960, we had no problem. They want to do it now, we have no problem. And if they don't want to use this, we have no issue, Shah said. He said the planned Shahpurkandi dam was actually the stage-2 of the Ranjit Sagar dam. Though this project will also generate power, it will be used for irrigation purposes, he said. While commenting about the proposed visit of Indian experts (India's commissioner for Indus waters) to Kotri Barrage (in Sindh province) keeping in view the tension between the two countries after the Pulwama attack, Shah said: Let's see what happens in this regard. But we hope for the best. A three-member delegation of Pakistani experts headed by Shah completed its general tour of inspection (from Jan 28 to Feb 1) to various hydropower projects 1,000MW Pakal Dul, 48MW Lower Kalnai, 850MW Ratley and 900MW Baglihar dam at Chenab Basin in India. Besides, India, a couple of days before the Pulwama attack, also shared the design data of its three planned run-of-the-river hydropower schemes with Pakistan under the IWT. These included Balti Kalan, Kalaroos and Tamasha hydropower projects which are planned to be constructed at Balti Kalan Nullah and Kalaroos Nullah at the Jhelum basin and Tamasha, a sub-tributary of the Indus river, respectively. The reiteration to stop the flow of Indus water to Pakistan comes amid mounting Indo-Pak tension over the Pulwama terror strike that has triggered demands for action against the neighboring country. India has already decided to revoke the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan and mounted a diplomatic offensive to isolate it in the international community. There were demands to stop the flow of India's share of Indus water to Pakistan after the Uri terror attack in 2016. Under the Indus Water Treaty signed in 1960, the waters of the western rivers -- the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab -- was given to Pakistan and those of the eastern rivers -- the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej -- to India. Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here. If you have any information that could help apprehend suspects in this case, feel free to call Oregon State Police Dispatch at 1-800-442-0776 or the Turn in Poachers (TIP) hotline at 1-800-452-7888 and leave information for Senior Trooper Jim Andrews. Information that helps lead to a conviction could result in a cash reward. And while cash is nice, there's satisfaction in seeing a poacher brought to justice in part because of the message it sends to these crooks: You can get caught. ROSES to you, if you're willing to engage in a little bit of Oscar prognosticating. Sunday's "Think Too Much" column will predict the winners in all 24 Academy Award categories, from best picture all the way down to the categories that actually determine who wins the Oscar pool, such as live-action short. ("Marguerite" is favored, but "Skin" could close the gap.) In a typical year, the column might get anywhere from 17 to 20 categories correct. But maybe you can do better than that. Email your Oscar picks to mike.mcinally@lee.net. (Entries must be emailed by 5 p.m. Sunday, when the ceremony begins, but you can wait to examine our picks when the column is posted online at about 5:15 a.m. Sunday.) The Benton County Republican Women will meet on Monday, Feb. 25 to hear Hyatt Lytle, Ward 3 councilor, speak on the proposed urban renewal district in South Corvallis. The proposal is on the March 12 ballot in Corvallis. Lytle's ward includes South Corvallis. The meeting starts at 11 a.m. at the New China Buffet, 1720 NW Ninth St. in Corvallis, and the speakers will begin at 11:30. The theme is Hearts and Valentines, and the meeting will include a raffle drawing for a free lunch. The trial of a man accused of murdering a Russian woman and leaving her body alongside a logging road in Alsea will be delayed. The four-week trial for William Chase Hargrove was scheduled nearly a year ago to start April 1, but Hargroves attorneys filed a motion late in January asking for more time to prepare his defense. He faces a charge of murder, in addition to a charge of identity theft and two counts of second degree theft related to the crime. Lawyers in the case met Thursday in Benton County Circuit Court before Judge Matthew Donohue for the purpose of rescheduling the four-week long trial. However, Deputy District Attorney Amie Matusko asked if the trial could be rescheduled by email, since she has a large witness list she needs to make sure will be available for the trial, including out-of-county experts and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents. Donohue lectured Mutusko for not being ready for the hearing, saying she was wasting the courts time. Donohue said hed scheduled the half-hour hearing and brought in all the parties involved, including Hargrove, who remains in custody, specifically so they could all find time on the calendar for the long trial. However, Donohue said the trail could be rescheduled by email. If they are willing to ignore so many legal requirements, he said in an email to the newspaper, why should we believe they are doing anything that even roughly resembles science? Budkie, whose organization has called for an end to all experimentation on animals, called the practice scientifically and ethically flawed because it disregards physiological differences between animals and humans and overlooks the suffering of nonhuman test subjects. Animals are sentient beings who can feel pain, suffer from stress and express emotions, he said. These things must not be ignored. SAEN sent a letter to OSU President Ed Ray calling for an internal investigation into the noncompliant surgeries and a permanent ban on the faculty member and student involved in the procedures. Clark said no such steps were being contemplated by OSU officials. While I am not able to talk about the specifics of this matter involving employees or students, we are confident that this matter has been appropriately evaluated, dealt with and fully concluded, he said. According to the most recent annual report on the USDA website, Oregon State University held 230 animals in fiscal year 2015 for teaching, research, experimental or testing purposes. The tally included six dogs, 24 guinea pigs, four hamsters, 34 sheep, eight pigs and 154 animals described as other farm animals. Reporter Bennett Hall can be reached at 541-758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter at @bennetthallgt. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 4 Angry 2 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. An Albany man was accused of attempted murder and other crimes for an alleged home invasion robbery where a resident was shot in the neck, according to court proceedings on Thursday afternoon. Duane Strader, 54, also was charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and tampering with physical evidence in Linn County Circuit Court. The crimes were reported at 12:51 a.m. on Feb. 2 in the 1000 block of 18th Avenue Southeast in Albany. Prosecutor Richard Wijers asked for $100,000 bail in the case, saying that Strader had convictions for crimes including second-degree kidnapping and first-degree burglary. Those cases were from the early 1990s in Benton County, according to Oregons online court database. Defense attorney Michael Landry, handling the session of videoconference arraignments from the Linn County Jail, asked for a conditional release for Strader, adding that Strader said he hadnt been in trouble in 20 years. Judge Michael Wynhausen set Straders bail at $150,000, citing the nature of the allegations. Erik Moeller was appointed as defense attorney in the case, and the next hearing was scheduled for March 11. The victim of the shooting is a 22-year-old man. In the immediate aftermath, he was taken to a local hospital where he was listed in critical, but stable condition. Kyle Odegard can be reached at kyle.odegard@lee.net, 541-812-6077 or via Twitter @KyleOdegard. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 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. SALEM After three hours of testimony Thursday afternoon before the Oregon Transportation Commission, a proposal to build an intermodal transloading facility near Millersburg appeared to hold an advantage over a similar project proposed near Brooks. But commission members want to ensure that their questions have been answered adequately before deciding whether to invest $25 million in one of the projects. (Also on the table is a similar project in the eastern Oregon community of Nyssa, with a $26 million price tag.) As consultant Dan Smith of the Tioga Group noted, the Millersburg project is a few yards ahead in what could be a very long race. Smith and Frank Harder represented the Tioga Group, which provided consulting services to the commission about all three projects. The group has more than 40 years of experience in trucking, shipping and rail issues. Tony Hyde, chairman of the Dedicated Projects Final Review Committee, said that a month ago the group selected the Millersburg project with the caveat that if sponsors couldn't answer questions about its economic viability, no mid-valley project should be selected. That committee forwarded its recommendations to the commission. Anthem is the latest online multiplayer RPG developed by BioWare and published by EA. As you progress through the story, youll eventually be tasked with finding a crafting material to continue. Heres how to get Corium in Anthem for the Shield of Dawn. After clearing out your Tomb trials in the story, youll need to craft the shield mentioned above. One of the crafting materials required is called Corium, which is a rare resource that can only be dropped by Titans. How to find and get Corium in Anthem? Method #1: Finding Titans Unfortunately, these Corium-dropping Titans spawn randomly in Anthems game world, which means that you wont be able to find them as easily. However, there is a particular spawn point that you can try your luck in. Start a Freeplay expedition to explore the world, then check your map and head to the Great Falls Canyon area. There is usually a Titan hanging out around here, and while it does have a massive health pool, you should be able to take it down quickly by staying in the air and attacking from afar. If youre having trouble, consider bringing a squad in with you. After killing the Titan, youll be able to harvest some Corium, which will allow you to make the Shield of Dawn. If the Titan isnt there, its possible that other players might have killed it, so just reset the instance by spawning in again and try your luck. Method #2: Starting the Triple Threat Mission As an alternative to the first method, you can try the Triple Threat mission that requires you to fight several Titans. This is the best method to recover Corium, but it is also the most difficult depending on your loadout. We recommend using a well-established team. Here is what to do: Step 1: Get the shield and talk to Matthias at Fort Tarsis. He will give you the mission to hunt for some Titans who will also leave the Corium. Get the shield and talk to Matthias at Fort Tarsis. He will give you the mission to hunt for some Titans who will also leave the Corium. Step 2: Take part in these missions and, although the Titans are different, always remember not to get too close and attack them from a distance. Take part in these missions and, although the Titans are different, always remember not to get too close and attack them from a distance. Step 3: After obtaining sufficient Corium, you can create your Shield of Dawn for the continuation of the story. Thats all you need to know about how to get Corium in Anthem. Galveston, TX (77553) Today Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. High 87F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms. Low 78F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Events for Faith Focus should be submitted at least two weeks in advance. Rick Cousins can be reached at rick.cousins@galvnews.com News Officials have no plans to review no-knock procedure Weeks after four Houston police officers executing a no-knock warrant were wounded and two civilians were killed, that citys police chief is requiring officers to get his personal approval before signing off on the controversial raids. But despite the increased publicity about no-knock warrants, which allow officers to enter a home without knocking or announcing their presence, several Galveston County law enforcement agencies said they had no plans to re-evaluate the practice. We have no plans to change policy at this time, said Kelly Williamson, spokesman for the League City Police Department. No-knock warrants are a widespread, although often criticized policy in national law enforcement. More than 81 civilians and 13 police officers died during such raids between 2010 and 2016, according to a New York Times investigation. The practice is also used in Galveston County, officials have said. No-knock warrants can be a critical tool to ensure officer safety and should be sought when justified by the facts, District Attorney Jack Roady said. We do not seek them in every case. However, when there is a sufficient basis to believe that officer safety will be at risk when executing a warrant, then we will work with law enforcement to seek judicial approval for the issuance of a no-knock warrant. The district attorneys office does not track specifically how many warrants are issued each year, Roady said. But one such no-knock warrant was issued when an officer shot and killed a man in May 2018 in League City. A League City police officer shot and killed Roger Fortner, 49, when SWAT team members encountered him holding a samurai-style sword, which he refused to put down, police said. Officers entered Fortners home on Morningside Drive that morning in response to an investigation into reports of drugs and weapons being sold at the residence, police said. A judge issued that search warrant not in connection to Fortner, but his stepson, Brandon Wilson, 20, of League City, officials said. Police arrested Wilson at the scene and prosecutors later charged him with possession of marijuana and one count of possession of a controlled substance for less than 1 gram of THC investigators detected at the scene, according to a probable cause affidavit. Wilson on July 25 was sentenced to four years in prison for violating deferred probation of a 2017 charge of tampering with physical evidence, court records show. He also pleaded guilty to the possession of a controlled substance charge and prosecutors dismissed the possession of marijuana charge, court records show. League City police officer Matt Maggiolino fired the fatal shot, but has not been charged in the shooting and authorities have not said whether the shooting has been considered by a grand jury. Galveston County officials said they didnt have plans to review policy on no-knock warrants several days after Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said he or a designee would have to approve seeking such warrants in the future. That came after a Jan. 28 raid led to the deaths of Dennis Tuttle, 59, and Rhogena Nicholas, 58, who lived in a home officers raided, according to The Associated Press. Four officers were shot in the gunfight and another was injured but not shot. Officer Gerald Goines, who prepared the search warrant, is accused of lying in an affidavit to justify storming the house without warning, according to The Associated Press. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg on Wednesday announced her office would review more than 1,400 criminal cases that involved Goines, a 30-year department veteran. There have been six fatal officer-involved shootings in two years in Galveston County. Modi addresses Indian diaspora on visit to South Korea. PM Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in after unveiling the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the Yonsei University in Seoul on Thursday. (Photo: PTI) Seoul: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India is on the way to becoming a $5 trillion economy soon and hoped that the country would be among the worlds top three econom-ies in the next 15 years. Addressing the Indian diaspora here, the Prime Minister recounted several steps taken by his government in recent years, including several new initiatives like the Goods and Services Tax (GST), MUDRA initiative, to take India on a forward trajectory. He said that India is the worlds fastest-growing major economy. Today, Indias economy is on the 6th position and it will not take time to reach the 5th spot, Mr Modi said. It is our endeavour that India finds a place in the top three economies of the world in one-and-a-half decade, the Prime Minister said. In Korea, you people not only celebrate all Indian festivals like Holi, Diwali, Baisakhi but you also involve your Korean friends in celebrations. Now Indian restaurants have started finding place in Korean cities. Indian dishes are also being included in the menu here. Even Korean people have started knowing what is the meaning of a particular Indian dish, he said. Mr Modi said that Indian movies are becoming increasingly popular in Korea. Now we can also hear the voice of Kabaddi-Kabaddi among the Korean children. In 2018, Korean team won Kabaddis silver medal in the Asian Games. I congratulate all the Korean people for this feat, he said. I have already said that only one person can be the ambassador (Raajdoot) but every Indian, regardless of the place he lives in, is the countrys representative (Raashtradoot). You are all Indias ambassador, the Prime Minister said. Indias pride has increased due to the hard work and discipline of 30 million overseas Indians, he said. Gainesville, TX (76240) Today Mostly cloudy early. Scattered thunderstorms developing later in the day. High 88F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms. Low 71F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Fort Wayne, IN (46808) Today Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms developing in the afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 84F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms in the evening, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low around 70F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. No More Mat-Su to present second annual event to turn the tide of domestic violence Have any questions? Please give us a call at 907-352-2250 It added Pakistan has sincerely offered investigation of the incident and dialogue on the issue of terrorism among other disputed issues with India. Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday authorised the military to respond decisively and comprehensively to any aggression or misadventure by India, but also banned the 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and its charity wing Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation. A spokesman of the interior ministry said that the decision to ban JuD and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation was taken during a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) chaired by PM Khan at his office on Thursday. It was decided during the meeting to accelerate action against proscribed organisations, the spokesperson said in a statement. But Prime Minister Khan also struck an aggressive pose and said that the Pakistan government was determined to demonstrate that it is capable of protecting its people and authorised the armed forces to respond decisively and comprehensively to any aggression or misadventure by India. This is a new Pakistan and we are determined to demonstrate to our people that the state is capable of protecting them, Mr Khan was quoted as saying by the Radio Pakistan. The move comes amidst heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack that killed 49 CRPF soldiers, and intense global pressure on Pakistan to rein in the terror groups. Days after the terror strike by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror group in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama district, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said security forces have been given free hand to avenge the dastardly act. Pakistans top civilian and military leadership said that Pakistan is not involved in any way, means or form in Pulwama incident and it was conceived, planned and executed indigenously, according to a statement issued after the NSC meeting. It added Pakistan has sincerely offered investigation of the incident and dialogue on the issue of terrorism among other disputed issues with India. We expect India to positively respond to these offers, it said, adding that based on the investigation or any tangible evidence provided, Pakistan shall take action against anyone found using its soil. The NSC urged the global community to play its part in resolving the Kashmir issue. The decision to ban JuD and its charity wing has been taken just a day ahead of the concluding session of the Financial Action Task Force meeting in Paris. According to sources, India has intensified its efforts to get Pakistan blacklisted by the watchdog after the Pulwama attack, for not cracking down on terror financing. In a video message on Tuesday, Mr Khan assured India that he would act against the perpetrators of the Pulwama terror attack if New Delhi shares actionable intelligence, but warned against any revenge retaliatory action. India rubbished Mr Khans comments, saying disclaiming Pakistans link with terrorist attacks is an oft-repeated excuse by the nerve centre of terrorism. In a statement, the ministry of external affairs in New Delhi on Tuesday said India was not surprised that Mr Khan refused to acknowledge the attack on Indias security forces in Pulwama as an act of terrorism, adding his offer to investigate the attack if provided proof is a lame excuse. Ahead of the NSC meeting on Thursday, Prime Minister Khan and Army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa held a one-on-one meeting during which they discussed regions security situation. The meeting was attended by Army chief General Bajwa, services chiefs, heads of intelligence agencies, security officials and federal and state ministers for finance, defence, foreign affairs and interior. Mr Khan also directed both the interior ministry and the security institutions to immediately accelerate actions on ground to ensure that militancy and extremism are routed from the society and the country. Need answers to simple immigration questions The questions are very simple, but the answers are not as simple as they should be. Do you support open borders and illegal immigration or do you support a strong border policy and legal immigration? Try asking this question to many politicians and you get so much double-talk that its impossible to understand them. Do you think anyone crossing the border illegally should be, at least, detained? Do you support legal immigration that involves going through a process that was legally enacted by Congress? Do you support the enforcement of our laws that are on the books, or do you support a policy of enforcing only the laws you agree with? Simple, straightforward questions. Why cant politicians come out and say what they believe? Are they afraid to alienate their base? We have tens of thousands of Americans living in terrible conditions, yet we fund those coming here illegally. School systems, welfare programs, and medical facilities are being stretched to their limits by illegal immigration. THE MOST pressing issue facing the General Assembly during this years short session, which ends Saturday, was conforming Virginias tax laws to the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to prevent a massive and unanticipated state income tax hike. This time, state legislators did not disappoint. The budget and tax package they passed on Feb. 12 will return close to $1 billion to Virginia taxpayers over the next two fiscal years. And because the package was passed as emergency legislation, it went into effect as soon as Gov. Ralph Northam signed it. This means that in October, individuals who filed state income tax returns will receive a $110 rebate, and married couples filing jointly will receive a $220 rebate. That this significant bipartisan accomplishment was largely overshadowed by the racial and sexual scandals that engulfed all three of the commonwealths top elected statewide officials does not diminish its importance to Virginia taxpayers. The pro-Equal Rights Amendment protester who was being held in the Richmond jail without bond after exposing herself in a protest is being released, according to her attorney. A magistrate set bond at $700 for Michelle Renay Sutherland, 45, of Brooklyn, N.Y., after she exposed her breast during a bit of performance art on Monday in which she and another activist mimicked the Virginia seal. But Judge Lawrence B. Cann III on Tuesday, during a video arraignment, ordered her held without bond. Richmond Commonwealths Attorney Michael Herring and Sutherlands lawyer, David Baugh, requested she be released on a promise to return for her March 21 court date. The judge apologized in a court hearing on Thursday, Baugh said, saying he didnt have the back story and only had paperwork showing the charge of indecent exposure when he ordered Sutherland to be held without bond. In a phone interview after her release, Sutherland, an artist who goes by the name Sister Leona, said her video bail hearing on Tuesday was over in a minute. The judge asked if she had an address in Virginia, and she said she didnt. A public defender then told her she was being held without bond. I was really confused, she said. The public hearing is looming for the proposed 500-megawatt solar facility in the western part of Spotsylvania County. The Board of Supervisors public hearing, for three special-use permits, is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. The hearing will be held at Spotsylvania High School because of the expected large crowd. The countys Planning Commission was forced to hold its meetings on the three special-use permits at the Marshall Center to accommodate the crowds. If the supervisors hearing resembles past meetings on the contentious proposal, it will be a long night, with the applicant, Utah-based Sustainable Power Group, and residents who live near the site dueling to convince the supervisors to side with them. Supervisor Gary Skinner, who told the board earlier this month he cant attend the hearing because of a planned family trip, said there is too much information for him to make a decision anytime soon. Im not ready for a vote, he said in an interview last week. This is the biggest project, I think, Spotsylvania will ever have. Fellow Supervisor David Ross agreed, adding in an email that Skinners absence would preclude the board from voting. But that appears to be a secondary issue. That option is no longer available under the new legislation. Spotsylvania, Caroline and King George have waivers for this school year that allowed them to open in early August, but the new bill could affect when Stafford and Fredericksburg schools can open. The Stafford School Board approved a start date of Aug. 12 for the 201920 school year, but the division does not have a waiver for this year, Superintendent Scott Kizner said. We have to submit a waiver when the state allows us for next year. That usually occurs over the summer, Kizner said. However, this new bill can change this. That is what we are trying to get clarification on from our General Assembly members. The Fredericksburg School Board voted in November to ask the General Assembly for a waiver allowing school to start Aug. 12 or 19 this fall. At the time, Superintendent David Melton told board members that he expected the state to approve the waiver because all the surrounding school systems will be starting classes before Labor Day next year. WASHINGTON - A former police officer with the District of Columbia Metro system who is imprisoned for trying to help the Islamic State will get a new sentencing after an appeals court vacated two of his convictions. Nicholas Young remains guilty of the most serious charge against him. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit found there was not enough evidence to show that his obfuscation in interviews with federal agents was criminal. Young, who converted to Islam in 2006, was under FBI surveillance for years before his 2016 arrest. Twice he traveled to Libya to fight with anti-government rebels there. He was ultimately caught in a sting operation after sending gift cards to someone he believed had joined the Islamic State. When Young told agents that "Mo" had not gone to Syria, authorities thought he was trying to hinder their investigation. But he could not be charged with lying to the FBI, because he had actually told the truth. The man Young thought was an Islamic militant was actually an informant who never went further than Turkey and was then impersonated by an FBI agent in the U.S. The Polish government is considering excluding Huawei equipment from its future 5G network. Huawei denies allegations that its technology could be used for spying. If Poland excludes Chinese tech giant Huawei from 5G development it would cause difficulties and possibly delay the network rollout, the chief executive of the Polish unit of T-Mobile said on Thursday. If you exclude a market leader, and Huawei is a market leader in new technology, and knowing that you have almost all operators having Huawei equipment, this will bring some difficulties, this is clear. This could end up in a delay, Andreas Maierhofer, CEO of T-Mobile Polska, told a news conference. The Polish government is considering excluding Huawei equipment from its future 5G network over concerns first raised in the United States that Huawei technology could be equipped with back doors to allow access by the Chinese government, sources told Reuters in January. Huawei denies allegations that its technology could be used for spying. Keep the conversation about local news & events going by joining us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Recent updates from The News-Post and also from News-Post staff members are compiled below. We welcome your letters and columns! Use the button below to send us your thoughts. Remember: Letters must include your real name, town of residence and daytime phone number, which we use for verification. We do not accept anonymous letters or letters written under a pseudonym. Letters should be no more than about 400 words. Those of no more than 200 to 300 words are more likely to be published. Submit Green Motion Locations Receive Prestigious Rentalcars.com Customer Favourite Awards for 2018 February 22, 2019 // Franchising.com // Green Motion has today announced that once again three of their franchisees have been awarded Rentalcars.com Customer Favourite Awards. The awards recognise the car rental companies who have received the best reviews from Rentalcars customers during the course of the year. Green Motion St Maarten's Princess Juliana International Airport location, Green Motion Serbia's Belgrade location, and Green Motion Finland's Rovaniemi location all picked up these prestigious awards for services in the last year. Green Motion CEO and Founder Richard Lowden said, Rentalcars is a very important Green Motion partner and we are delighted that our mutual customers have rated their car hire experience with Green Motion so highly at these locations. We are particularly proud of our St Maarten franchise, who have worked extremely hard to recover from the devastating hurricane that decimated much of the island including the airport in 2017. Well done to them, and to Green Motion Serbia and Green Motion Finland, for their commitment and dedication to providing the very best in customer service and experience; we are honoured to have them as part of the Green Motion family." As well as Princess Juliana Airport, Green Motion St Maarten also operates at Grand Case Esperance Airport. Green Motion Serbia operates locations in Belgrade Airport and Downtown, as well as Nis Airport. And Green Motion Finland now operates over 20 locations, including Rovaniemi, Helsinki, Tampere, Kuopio, Kemi, and Lisalmi. For more information on car hire from Green Motion in Finland, Serbia, St Maarten and around the world, visit www.greenmotion.com. About Green Motion International Established in 2007 by UK entrepreneur Richard Lowden, Green Motion Car and Van hire offers its customers - both leisure and business - the opportunity to enjoy great value vehicle rental, while helping to reduce the impact of global CO2 emissions associated with road travel. Green Motion International now offers its award winning, low cost and environmentally responsible service in more than 40 countries. The company marked its 10th anniversary of successful operation in 2017, servicing close to 850,000 reservations across the 400 locations within its global network. For more information, visit https://greenmotion.com/ Media Contacts: Ed Lowcock | Neil Bayley For Green Motion International E. elowcock@goodrelations.co.uk M. +44 (0) 7392 106 900 SOURCE Green Motion International ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Kashmiris have presented themselves as scapegoats in the confrontation between the military and their dream of a promised homeland. Delhi gets its political climate, and its seasons from its northwestern and northeastern borders. The British built the capital in 1912 in order to establish their sovereignty all over India, and to be closer to Shimla, the summer capital of the Raj. Yet the people of Delhi, inheriting all the venom of the past, have always remained loyal to the city, with its duststorms from Rajasthans Thar desert, and the cold winds that blow in from the Himalayas, and the view of the Terai as a silver line in the clouds, that greets them when they fly back from the Northeast. Delhites are least sympathetic to or intimidated by terrorists. The call to arms made to college students and to the unemployed, whether in Jammu and Kashmir, or in Assam, or in Jharkhand, or in the various states of the Northeast leaves the migrant worker in Delhi baffled. The rural population moves to Delhi for work, and in slum settlements and instant housing prefabricated by noveau riche magnates, they quickly make their living, for the wages are better than where they lived earlier. When luck runs out, they return to their villages for brief periods to recuperate, but they are back as soon as they get employment in the city. The paramilitary forces who risk their lives in the border areas are people who see serving their country as an honorable profession. They are not mercenaries. They come from farming families, and thousands compete for one post, which also represents gainful employment. It involves repayment of debts, education for their children, and the hardwon gains of having gone to the courts to settle the pensions payable to them. The paramilitary is part of the grid operations of the Army, police and state and Central representatives, who discuss the mode of operation, in places where civil war is imminent. Needless to say, citizens forums are always active on behalf of the people who are being monitored. Wherever rape or injury has been committed, there is immediate reporting by journalists. The documentation of war crimes are part of the occupational obligations of many human rights outfits who make this data available. The military and police represent the coercive arms of the State, and is under the jurisdiction of Parliament and the judiciary. The idea of democracy is therefore legally represented by the constitutional impetus of keeping institutions alive. Each of the 44-plus men who were killed in the IED blast in Pulwama on February 14 had obligations to their families, which they had set aside to return to duty. What were their thoughts as they set out on a new assignment? Was it a job like any other, to drive out into the cold and lose their lives in a fraction of a moment? The tragedy was something the nation experienced sorrowfully, so soon after Republic Day. One of the soldiers killed came from Lakkidi village in Wayanad, Kerala. Its an obscure village where there is a Sita temple for it is believed it was here that Luv and Kush were born, and that she was absorbed into the earth. These legends are what the Indian subcontinent is always composed of, where extra-terrestrial time and local time converge. The soldier had hoped to retire from the CRPF in two years, and focus on his children. His brother told a journalist that they were sorry to lose him, but proud that he had died for his country. In these deaths, the nation comes together, because the sacrifice that soldiers make for their country are expressions of how they represent their love for the country as being the sole goal, in their possible martyrdom. Kashmiris have presented themselves as scapegoats in the confrontation between the military and their dream of a promised homeland. The pellet injuries that Kashmiri children have been blinded with become the most terrible evidence of how the nation state sees certain forms of warfare as legitimate in the context of civil war. How can human rights activists deal with the infiltration of terrorists among Kashmiri civilians? India has a political sensibility which while not trying to get back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, will not give up Jammu, Ladakh and the Kashmir Valley. There is no possibility of any further severance of the subcontinent. Kashmiri schoolchildren doing the Central board exams know that the idea of the homeland is tied inextricably with the nation. Pakistan becomes an ally of Saudi Arabia, and of China, when it requires aid. Kashmiris are to be found in every nook and corner of India, either as merchants or as refugees. The problem of borders cannot be solved by expressing enmity with neighbouring countries, whether it is China or Pakistan. The first step towards healing is for the presentation of occupational rights to defence personnel, along with the line of duty which premises that citizens cannot be treated as if they are enemies. The unholy alliance that terrorists have with anybody who provides them with guns and money is something that cannot be condoned. In this rapidly developing topic, we aim to provide you with the ability to share your experiences, questions and news with us. Simply choose one of the options below and your story may be featured in this section. Learn More Essential Businesses Share Your Story Ask Questions Submit News Subscribe Authority Brands Welcomes the Clockwork Brands into its Family Addition doubles Authority Brands overall system revenue to over $1 billion February 22, 2019 // Franchising.com // New York and Columbia, Maryland - Authority Brands, a leading home services franchising platform backed by funds advised by Apax Partners, announced today the acquisition of Clockwork, Inc., and certain of its affiliates (Clockwork) from Direct Energy Group, a subsidiary of Centrica plc. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2019. The acquisition is the third home services add-on for Authority Brands since the company was acquired by funds advised by Apax Partners in September 2018. Established in 1999, Clockwork delivers critical home services through three leading plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) providers across the United States. Its household-name brands - Benjamin Franklin Plumbing (Benjamin Franklin), Mister Sparky electric, and One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning (One Hour) - are all rated among the best-in-class in their respective categories. Authority Brands is the parent company to leading home services brands The Cleaning Authority, Homewatch CareGivers, Americas Swimming Pool Company and Mosquito Squad which operate across the residential cleaning, at-home care, swimming pool repair and maintenance, and pest control services sectors respectively. Authority Brands supports individual franchisee growth by providing strong marketing, technology and operational support. Rob Weddle, CEO of Authority Brands, said: The addition of the Clockwork group of brands is an important and significant step in the evolution of Authority Brands. All three brands are market-leading franchises within their respective industries and their addition to our portfolio doubles our overall system revenue to over $1 billion. This scale allows us to further strengthen each of our brands systems and continue down the path of becoming the home services franchisor of choice for both business owners and consumers. Ashish Karandikar, Partner at Apax Partners, said: We are delighted to support Authority Brands in this transformational acquisition. The Clockwork brands operate in attractive markets and will bring scale and diversification to Authority Brands platform. We anticipate substantial benefits for both businesses from cross-selling and collaboration across marketing, technology and operational support. Bruce Stewart, president of Direct Energy Home North America said: The decision for this sale reflects our goals to focus and simplify our channels to customers and to own our own brands. Authority Brands is a good home for Clockwork and the franchise owners and customers will see no difference in our service delivery as we conclude this transaction. About Authority Brands Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, Authority Brands, LLC is the parent company of four leading home service franchisors, The Cleaning Authority, Homewatch CareGivers, Americas Swimming Pool Company and Mosquito Squad. Together, these brands provide recurring home services through more than 550 franchise locations in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Kenya and Indonesia. Authority Brands is dedicated to supporting individual franchisee growth through providing strong marketing, technology and operational support. About Apax Partners Apax Partners is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 40-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of c.$50 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech & Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For more information see: www.apax.com. Media Contacts: For Authority Brands Nikki Rode Fish Consulting +1 954-893-9150 nrode@fish-consulting.com For Apax Partners Andrew Kenny Global Media Apax +44 20 7 872 6371 andrew.kenny@apax.com Todd Fogarty USA Media Kekst +1 212-521 4854 todd.fogarty@kekst.com Matthew Goodman / James Madsen UK Media Greenbrook +44 20 7952 2000 apax@greenbrookpr.com SOURCE Authority Brands, LLC ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus ENOREE, SC (FOX Carolina)- Deputies with the Spartanburg County sheriff's office say they found two juveniles in a residence that was in "extreme disarray" when they arrested a woman for meth possession on Monday. ASHEVILLE, NC (FOX Carolina)- The North Carolina Department of Public Safety says that the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice is searching for an offender that was serving part of his sentence outside of prison In this file photo, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) delivers remarks on the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center on July 25, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Planes are seen here on the tarmac at McCarran International Airport. The government began its retaliation against Pakistan by withdrawing the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status of Pakistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was instrumental in creating a war hysteria in the country after the Pulwama terrorist attack on February 14 when he declared that the time for talks with Pakistan is over, and now action will be taken. However, in his recent public speeches at Hazaribagh on February 17 and in Varanasi on February 19, he has refrained from mentioning terrorism, Pakistan or the fire (of revenge) burning in his heart. Instead, he was back to his old campaign mantra of sabka saath, sabka vikas. There are clear indications of an attempt by the government to de-escalate the anger and hysteria generated after the Pulwama terrorist strike. This is at least partly conditioned by clear indications from the international community that it does not want to see a military conflict erupting between India and Pakistan. The government began its retaliation against Pakistan by withdrawing the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status of Pakistan. This would give it the freedom to impose punitive duties on imports from Pakistan. It has now decided to starve Pakistan of water by fully utilising the unutilsed share of the waters of the three eastern rivers allocated to India under the Indus Waters Treaty. This would reduce the flow of waters in the three eastern rivers of the Indus Basin the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej while keeping India within the parameters of the Indus Water Treaty. But it would reduce Pakistans water supply from these rivers during the lean season. This is nothing new really, and had been announced by Prime Minister Modi in 2016 itself, as well as declaring that blood and water cannot flow together after the terrorist attack on the Army camp in Uri. These measures are certainly better than war, though they would hurt ordinary Pakistani businessmen and farmers rather than terrorist groups operating from Pakistan with the facilitation of the Army and the ISI. However, these steps represent a significantly different response from the imposition of punitive military measures. The governments rethink on the initial military bravado is also visible in the India-Saudi Arabia joint statement issued on Wednesday night after the day-long visit of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to India, soon after his visit to Pakistan. It praises the efforts of Prime Minister Modi to forge friendly relations with Pakistan since May 2014 and then talks of India and Saudi Arabia agreeing on the need for creation of conditions necessary for resumption of comprehensive dialogue between India and Pakistan. US President Donald Trump has also said that it would be wonderful if India and Pakistan got along once again underlining that he does not support a military conflict. He could do little else at a time when he needs Pakistans help to extricate the United States and its military forces from Afghanistan and bring the Taliban to the negotiating table. Though the world kept silent when surgical strikes were carried out against Pakistan in 2016, there is no guarantee that it will look away again if war flares up after the latest outrage. The international situation has changed considerably since then. When Uri took place, the US did not need Pakistani facilitation in Afghanistan with such urgency as it does now. At that time the US had advised then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to condemn the Uri terrorist attack, though he did not do it. When India attacked some Pakistani forward posts, once again the US played a moderating role and prevented Pakistan from retaliating in fact Pakistan claimed that the surgical strikes had not taken place. If India were to strike against Pakistan in todays circumstances, enacting the same shadow play again neither can it count on US help nor on a tame response from Pakistan. These are some of the reasons why the Narendra Modi government has to find a diplomatic route and sell it to the public which is baying for blood. The anger they have unleashed is not going to be assuaged by boycotting Kashmir goods or harassing Kashmiri students studying in various parts of the country. Nor would harsher measures against Kashmiris suffice. The government has to demonstrate that it has brought Pakistan to heel. Prime Minister Modi must know that there is nothing like an immaculate war. Inevitably there would be casualties and he cannot afford to send body bags of soldiers across India on the eve of the general election. As elections are in the offing, the loss of soldiers lives could be seen as the cost to the people of a cynical government hell-bent on its re-election. Therefore, for domestic reasons too, a military option against Pakistan does not seem to be politically prudent. While inimical forces like Jaish-e-Mohammad were bound to take advantage of the worsening situation in Kashmir, it was also the Narendra Modi government's compulsion to divert public reaction towards Pakistan after Pulwama. Otherwise the terrorist attack would be read as the failure of its Kashmir policy. As the buck stops only with the Prime Minister's Office, the government had to deflect attention away from its policy failures. However, New Delhi will always be forced to play a weak hand against Islamabad, unless the people of Kashmir can see clear advantage in their relationship within India. Much as Pakistan may try to derail the process of reconciliation and dialogue with the Kashmiris, unless the Central government engages with them politically nothing will ever change on the ground. With the international and domestic situation forcing it to go on the back foot, the Modi governments biggest worry would be what to do if another terrorist strike were to take place in J&K before the polls. That is why it is wrong to conclude as some political pundits have done that the Pulwama terrorist attack has given PM Modi the trigger to take a clear shot at re-election. His aggressive statements might yet come to haunt him in the election campaign and indeed in the election itself. The international community could provide him with an honourable exit. The ban imposed by Pakistan on Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniyat, two orgnaisations associated with Hafiz Saeed (Jaish-e-Mohammad is already officially banned), may be the beginning of such a resolution. Please either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. SATSUMA, Ala. (WALA) -- The suspect accused of gunning down a man in Satsuma is now back in Mobile County after being captured Friday afternoon in Baldwin County. The suspect, 28-year-old Michael Fletcher, was captured by agents with the United States Marshalls Fugitive Task Force in Baldwin County on Friday, February 22. Police had been searching for Michael Fletcher for hours after a shooting Thursday night on Northgate Drive. We got our first look at Fletcher, the accused shooter in handcuffs as he was led into Satsuma Police headquarters. There's no greater crime then taking the life of another human being, we take that with the most seriousness, said Chief Clint Harrell at Satsuma Police. Fletcher was quickly brought back to Mobile County, less than three hours after announcing his arrest. We got some information that led us to a residence in Baldwin County where we were able to take the offender into custody without incident, Chief Harrell said. The manhunt for Fletcher started Thursday night. Police said they found the victim 26-year-old David Beck-Shank shot, he was taken to University Hospital where he died. A lot of us worked without sleep to make sure that we get this very dangerous individual into custody, Chief Harrell said. Investigators said the shooting happened at Fletcher's home. We are told the victim and the suspect knew each other. He is well known to the law enforcement community in Satsuma, Chief Harrell said. Obviously nothing to this scale, but he is a convicted felon. At this point it is unclear what sparked this deadly shooting. I've been asked when the last homicide in Satsuma occurred and I do not know, it's been that long ago, Chief Harrell said. It is a very very rare occurrence. Fletcher was booked into Metro Jail just before 8 p.m. on Friday. MOBILE, Ala. -- Construction on the future USS Canberra -- a littoral combat shipto be built for the U.S. Navy by Austal USA in Mobile -- began today/ Dave Growden, native Australian, LCS program director and a 30-year member of Austal USAs team, had the honor of pushing the button to start the router that cut the first piece of aluminum, signalling start of construction for the 15th Independence-variant littoral combat ship. LCS 30 will be the second U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name USS Canberra in honor of Australias capital city. In 1943, the first USS Canberra joined the U.S. Navy, serving with distinction in the Pacific in World War II, the Cuban Missile Crisis blockade and the Vietnam War. Its a privilege to be building a U.S. Navy combat ship named for the capital of Australia, the birthplace of Austal USAs parent organization, said Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle for a news release. The Independence-variant LCS will play a prominent role in the safety and security of the Pacific as our ships deploy forward this year and for years to come. Austal USA has delivered nine littoral combat ships to the U.S. Navy, while six are currently under construction (LCS 20-30) and four are awaiting the start of construction following LCS 30. LCS is a highly maneuverable, lethal and adaptable ship designed to support focused mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare missions. The State's Democratic Caucus stopped in Mobile Thursday evening for a town hall meeting. It's a part of a statewide tour, where State Representatives are gathering in major cities throughout the state to talk with their constituents. It's an effort to hear their concerns ahead of this year's regular legislative session that begins on March 5. Representatives Barbara Drummond, Adline Clarke, Sam Jones, and Napoleon Bracy spoke to dozens of Mobile County residents in Williamson High School auditorium. "Its important for them to be here, its important for them to speak out, its important for us to hear them. When they come out, it helps to keep us on our toes and that's a good thing," said Representative Adline Clarke. Some of the hot topics discussed were education, crime, and infrastructure. "I am always concerned with education of course because I consider education a big part of our lives," said Sabrina Mass. Lawmakers agree education is important going into this session but one of the biggest talkers is a possible gas tax. The bill hasn't been completed yet, but the extra money it could generate would go to infrastructure improvements throughout the state. The concern for residents is the effect it could have on their bottom line at the pumps. That's something lawmakers will have to keep in mind during discussion of it and when voting on it. "We have a gas tax infrastructure bill that's coming up. We haven't seen that bill yet but if that bill was to pass we want to make sure that our students have infrastructure projects and we bring some of that money back home to our districts," Bracy explained. Bracy said two other bills are important going into this session. He said, one lawmaker is proposing an equal pay bill and he's proposing a bill to increase minimum wage in Mobile County. More than any other retailer, Kohl's (NYSE:KSS) is arguably doing the most to change how we think about department stores in a bid to stave off the threat of irrelevance that's overtaken much of bricks-and-mortar retailing. In just the last two years alone, Kohl's has launched the following initiatives to transform its stores into a different kind of retailing experience: Partnered with Amazon.com to create store-in-store boutiques to sell Alexa-enabled devices. to create store-in-store boutiques to sell Alexa-enabled devices. Agreed to serve as an Amazon package return center for items bought on the e-commerce website. Convinced Under Armor to sell its sportswear in its stores, an outlet that had never been tried before. to sell its sportswear in its stores, an outlet that had never been tried before. Made a decisive move to separate itself further from shopping malls, closing four more mall-based stores this year, but opening four smaller stand-alone locations (most Kohl's stores are not in malls). Shrank the available floor space of some of its larger stores and used the unused square footage in 10 of them to allow discount supermarket chain Aldi to rent out the space. The latest example of this re-imagination of the department store is its partnering with WW, the new name of Weight Watchers International, to install weight-loss studios in its stores. Check out the latest Kohl's earnings call transcript. An idea as old as time The department store really hasn't changed much since 150 years ago, when Harry Selfridge largely created the shopping experience we know today: stores featuring a number defined spaces devoted to a particular category; employees helping customers make a purchase; so-called "bargain basements"; and marketing stores through advertising. We can also thank Selfridge for the phrases "the customer is always right" and "only xx days until Christmas!" While the stores themselves have barely changed, the habits of consumers have greatly evolved, which explains why the department store and, by extension the shopping malls they anchor, stand on the edge of extinction. There's perhaps no greater irony for the retail industry than Amazon taking over the Rolling Acres Mall in Akron, Ohio, that closed in 2013 to redevelop it into a 695,000-square-foot distribution facility for its e-commerce site. Retailers have been slow to change, to understand the new dynamic of how consumers want to shop, and that is leading to their demise. Are you experienced? Although today we hear more about "experiential" shopping -- a largely meaningless catchphrase a number of retailers have latched onto to separate them from the competition even though there is no one definition for what it means -- we see companies expressing it in odd ways. Last month, Foot Locker opened its first "power store" in the Detroit area that is intended to serve as a "hub for local sneaker culture, art, music and sport." It also has "activation space" for people or product launches, like the Adidas AM4DET sneaker, a graffiti-covered shoe supposedly inspired by the city. Samsung will open its three "experiential retail locations," its first true physical stores ever -- that look like a typical Apple store -- where you can test out all of the electronics maker's gear. Nordstrom opened three Local stores that sell everything but what a customer presumably goes to Nordstrom for (clothes), while high-end furniture chain West Elm opened a half-dozen hotels to subtly sell its products. Staying within its core competency Rather than going so far afield, Kohl's seems to be providing consumers with actual new ways to think about what it means to go to one of its stores by playing to its strength and leveraging its physical store space. It's not running away from the fact that it's a retailer, but rather giving customers more reasons and benefits to see Kohl's as a destination. Former J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson sought to remake the troubled retailer into something similar, though he was fired before he could turn his ideas into reality. Not every Kohl's location will have each of these opportunities, nor will all of them will work. But as the retailer continues to explore the boundaries of what makes a customer want to come to shop and stay, we'll likely see these ideas and more expand into more locations. While other retailers also experimented with having outside retailers take up residence in their stores, Kohl's could be the one that redefines what it means to be a department store by innovating in ways that are meaningful to its customers and its bottom line. 25 May 2021 --- Transparency is at the core of an initiative from Cargill, which has conducted a comprehensive Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of its EverSweet stevia sweetener. It... Read More 01 Nov 2019 --- This week, in a bid to tackle food waste, Costa Coffee expanded its partnership with Too Good To Go, the worlds largest food waste fighting app, from nine to... Read More The Indus river system has a total drainage area exceeding 11,165,000 sq km After the Uri incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: Blood and water cannot flow together. Now the BJPs PM-in-waiting Nitin Gadkari has chipped in by saying that India will cut off water to Pakistan. This must be music to the shakha crowd, but it is far from reality. By implication Mr Gadkari was repeating the old threat that India would retaliate, this time for Pulwama, by turning off the spigots of the three western rivers of the Indus basin that flow unhindered into Pakistan and sustains most of its agriculture and power generation. The truth is that the flow of blood can be stopped, but water will continue to flow. The Indus river system has a total drainage area exceeding 11,165,000 sq km. It is the 21st largest river in the world in terms of annual flow. It is also Pakistans sole means of sustenance. The British had constructed a complex canal system to irrigate the Punjab region of Pakistan. Partition left a large part of this infrastructure in Pakistan, but the headwork dams remained in India, fuelling much insecurity among the Punjabi landowning elite in that country. The World Bank brokered the Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan after many years of intense negotiations to allocate the waters of the Indus river basin. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President Ayub Khan signed the treaty in Karachi on September 19, 1960. According to the IWT, control over the three eastern rivers the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej was given to India, while control over the three western rivers the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum to Pakistan. Since Pakistans rivers flow through India first, the treaty allowed India to use them for irrigation, transport and power generation, while laying down precise regulations for India building projects along the way. The treaty was a result of Pakistani fears that, since the source rivers of the Indus basin were in India, it could potentially create droughts and famines in Pakistan, especially at times of war. Since the ratification of the treaty in 1960, India and Pakistan have fought three wars, but the flow of water as per the treaty was not hampered even for a single day. On the face of it the pact is seen as generous to Pakistan as it gives the lower riparian state 80 per cent of the water of the western rivers. But the reality is that IWT makes a virtue of a necessity, as it is the geography of the region that decides this rather than any altruism. The main Kashmir Valley is just 100 km wide at its maximum and 15,520.30 sq km in area. While the Himalayas divide the Kashmir Valley from Ladakh, the Pir Panjal range, which encloses the Valley from the west and the south, separates it from the great plains of northern India. This picturesque and densely settled Valley has an average height of 1,850 meters above sea level but the surrounding Pir Panjal range has an average elevation of 5,000 meters. Thus, the Pir Panjal range stands between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country and is an insurmountable barrier that precludes the transfer of water anywhere else. And neither do the contours of the Kashmir Valley allow for more waters to be stored in any part of it. Since the waters cannot be stored or used by diversion elsewhere, it has to keep flowing into Pakistan. Of the three western rivers given to Pakistan, the Indus, which debouches from Indian territory near Kargil, then flows almost entirely in Pakistan-controlled territory. The Jhelum originates near Verinag near Anantnag, and meanders for over 200 km in the Kashmir Valley before it enters Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. After flowing through Srinagar, it fills up the Wular Lake and then traverses past Baramulla and Uri into PoK. The hydel projects constructed on it supply most of the electricity to the Valley. The Chenab, also known as the Chandrabhaga, originates in Lahaul Spiti in Himachal Pradesh and flows through the Jammu region into the plains of Pakistani Punjab. The catchment area of the Chenab is elongated and narrow and is mostly in India. But the Chenab runs through deep valleys and the river drops by as much as 24 meters per km, imposing physical constraints and huge economic costs on harnessing it. The three eastern rivers allocated to India by the IWT are the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej. These waters sustain agriculture in Punjab and to some extent Haryana, and are substantially used. What enters Pakistan is usually just enough to keep the stream flushed. But nevertheless Pakistan has from time to time blamed India for its floods to the sudden and deliberate release of storage gates. Despite this, the IWT has worked exceedingly well for both countries, and both are loathe to disturb it. Even when India and Pakistan went to war in 1965, 1971 and over Kargil in 1999, the waters flowed without interruption. The fact is that the IWT works because it suits both countries by making a virtue of the geography. The Pulwama incident has fuelled much anger within India and the Narendra Modi government, which rode to power promising to deter Pakistani-origin terrorism in India by threatening retribution is now hard pressed to deliver. After Uri, it discovered that there is a wide yawning gap between promise and reality. The PMs pre-election speeches are now being played back to him to taunt him. The Modi government is flailing for options short of the use of arms. Thus, the somewhat exasperated suggestion seemingly made by the Modi government that it would take a relook at the treaty. It can take a relook it till kingdom come, but the reality remains the same. As Dr Shakil Ahmad Romshoo, head of earth sciences at the geology and geophysics department of the University of Kashmir, recently said: Let us assume we stop the water supply for the sake of argument. Where would the water go? We do not have infrastructure to store this water. We have not built dams in J&K where we can store the water. And being a mountainous state, unlike Tamil Nadu or Karnataka, you cannot move water to another state. So you cannot stop the water technically. 23 Oct 2017 --- Earlier this month, a special kind of sliced apple went on sale at select US supermarkets, and thanks to CSIRO research these apples wont turn brown when... Read More Yes, it's the right time No, the state should have waited a while longer The economy should have been reopened a long time ago Vote View Results Samsung started taking pre-orders for the Galaxy S10 and S10+ smartphones in India today. Now Airtel has announced that 128GB and 512GB versions of the Galaxy S10 and 128GB version of the S10+ will be available for order on its online Store at a down payment of Rs. 9,099, Rs. 13,809 and Rs. 15,799, respectively with 24 monthly instalments of Rs. 2,999 for 128GB and Rs. 3,499 for 512GB. This comes to a total of Rs. 81,075 for 2 years including the plan for S10 128GB, Rs. 97,785 for S10 512GB and Rs. 87,775 for S10+ 128GB. You can check out more details on Airtel Store. Samsung has pre-booking offers for the Galaxy S10 and S10+ smartphones. All Pre-booking customers will be eligible for getting a Galaxy Watch at Rs 9,999 or the new Galaxy Buds at Rs 2,999. Pre-booking starts today, February 22, 2019, to March 5, 2019. Shipping of the devices will start from March 6. Shashwat Sharma, Chief Brand Officer & Chief Marketing Officer, Bharti Airtel said: We are pleased to add the Samsung Galaxy S10 range of devices on our store and offer a wider choice of 4G smartphones to customers. We continue to be committed to build a strong partner ecosystem with an aim to enable more and more customers to conveniently upgrade to premium smartphones at affordable prices. With our built-in plans, customers can unlock the true potential of the new Samsung Galaxy smartphones on our network. Light the company behind the L16 camera, and leader in advanced computational imaging has announced that is has signed an agreement with Sony Semiconductor Solutions to jointly work on development and marketing of multi-image sensor solutions. The agreement allows Light to use and recommend to its customers and partners, Sonys image sensors built in Lights computational imaging solutions and reference designs. These new reference designs combine Lights multi-camera technology together with Sonys image sensors to create new multi-camera applications. This solution will begin with the introduction of smartphones with four or more cameras. Dave Grannan, CEO, and co-founder, Light said: Sony is the recognized quality and market share leader in image sensors and we are thrilled to partner with them. We are entering an entirely new era of intelligent imaging applications that will transform smartphones, autonomous vehicles, and security systems. With Sonys world-class image sensors, we can introduce new innovations in the multi-camera imaging space. Hank Ochi, president of Component Solutions Business Division, Sony Electronics Inc said: We are excited to be working with Light and driving multi-sensor-based products and solutions into the market. Light and its technology are transforming how devices see the world. This new partnership will allow us to work together to evolve and speed up the design of todays multi-image sensor enabled connected devices. Starting today, our jointly developed reference designs will help our smartphone OEMs to quickly and easily enhance the imaging capability of multi-camera enabled smartphones. Source Ministers say they will fulfil demands within 3 months. Mumbai: Following the assurance of state ministers to look into their demands, the agitating farmers called off their strike on late Thursday evening at Nashik. Water resources minister Girish Mahajan and tourism minister Jaykumar Rawal held talks with the farmers and promised them that all their demands would be fulfilled within three months. The talks were positive. We assured the farmers that we would apprise the chief minister about their demands and will try to fulfil them in a period of three months, said Mr Mahajan. Thousands of farmers from 23 districts across the state were expected to reach Mumbai on February 27, when the State Assembly Session will be under way. They had began marching to the state capital in a repeat of last years Long March. The 180-km protest march was organised by the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM). Farmers have demanded a blanket loan waiver from the state government. They also want waters of the west flowing rivers to be diverted towards Marathwada and north Maharashtra so that farmlands in their region come under irrigation. Other demands include implementation of recommendations of Swaminathan Commission and the transfer of forestland to the farmers who are cultivating on it. The Kisan Long March led by Dr Ajit Nawale was also organised last year in March during the budget session. The All India Kisan Sabha claimed the state government has not fulfilled its promises to farmers after the protest march last year. Mr Navale said, We are feeling betrayed by the state. A year has passed, but the state is yet to fulfil its promises. Hence the march is being held. Fake news haunted the masses yet again after Pulwama. Survey reveals the youth is most susceptible to viral videos. Army personnel and relatives shoulder the coffin of Army jawan Naik Sandeep Kaliraman, who died after succumbing to injuries sustained during the encounter with militants following Pulwama terror attack. As CRPF mourns its dead in Pulwama, it also fights fake news that says it was all done to spread hatred. A screenshot showing a post claiming 13 sniffer dogs died in the Pulwama is fake. Yes you got it right. It has now has taken the form of fake news and now it is worse than ever. A video went viral on Facebook and WhatsApp wherein an explosion of a convoy from a CCTV footage claiming to be a clip of the Pulwama explosion. It was classified as fake. A few days later, another troll did the rounds stating 13 sniper dogs also died with the 49 soldiers on social media platforms. This is most certainly not the first time that fake news pertaining to the armed forces is being circulated. A recent study by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has found that people below the age of 20 or those above the age of 50 are most susceptible to be swayed by fake news. Fake shots and videos that went viral: The incidents of fake news in India have sky rocketed in the last three to four years so to say. There have been various incidents of mob lynching simply due to the circulation of fake WhatsApp messages. Social media platforms have been inundated with a barrage of misinformation as emotions ran high following the devastating attack on a Central Police Reserve Force (CRPF) convoy that claimed the lives of 40 jawans at Pulwama in Jammu & Kashmir on February 14. BOOM tracked down multiple misleading and dangerous social media posts, falsely claiming to provide information on the Pulwama attack. Heres a partial list. An old unverified video of massive explosion has been widely shared as a footage of the Pulwama attack. The 28-second long video, possibly a CCTV capture of the street, which was shaken by a large intensity explosion, documents a convoy of three vehicles passing through a deserted road. In its detailed report BOOM has said: At the 11 second mark, a huge explosion occurs, impacting the camera, which was mounted at a distance, capturing it. The video is being circulated as that from the deadly attack in Pulwama. BOOM ran a reverse image search of several frames from the video and found out that it is originally of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), packed in one of the trucks passing the convoy near Camp Taji in Iraq. The video was uploaded by multiple YouTube users as early as April 2008. The dateline of the CCTV video, at the time of filming the explosion is that of 9/2/ 2007. This is not the first time Indians have been victimised of such videos. While Facebook along with government agencies worldover is trying to clamp down heavily on fake news, the agenda continues. Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly said, Were not gonna let people plan violence or attack each other or do bad things. Within this, those principles have real trade-offs and real tug on each other. In this case, we feel like our responsibility is to prevent hoaxes from going viral and being widely distributed. Talking on the subject, cyber security expert Pavan Duggal argues that the main problem is India does not have an anti-fake news regulation or law. We dont even have a definition of what constitutes as fake news, he adds on the current scenario of the fake news fiasco. He referred to the Oxford University study in July 2018 on study on computational propaganda predicting that the instances of fake news are to skyrocket in the years to come. He further adds the IT Act (2000) is inadequate to deal with the ongoing fiasco of fake news. When asked about whether there is an organization to look into the reporting and tackling the issue of fake news, he says, In India, there is no one agency to report. He adds, When I look at the NCRB, they have not found any data and figures related to fake news. He is hopeful the situation can be curbed soon though. We would need to inculcate cyber education in our school curriculum from the first standard itself, he says, adding, There is a need to come up with campaigns in cooperation with the stakeholders in schools and colleges involving parents.Unless theres a social awareness, such agenda cannot be stopped. Geneva, NY (14456) Today Considerable clouds early. Some decrease in clouds later in the day. Hot. High 94F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Some clouds early will give way to generally clear conditions overnight. Low 73F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. worth paying multiplex prices for worth a look, but wait for DVD, unless your favorite actor is in it give it a miss my reaction under consideration my reaction under gag order for now not yet seen by me WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will leave 'a small peacekeeping group' of 200 American troops in Syria for a period of time after a U.S. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will leave "a small peacekeeping group" of 200 American troops in Syria for a period of time after a U.S. pullout, the White House said on Thursday. President Donald Trump in December ordered a withdrawal of the 2,000 American troops in Syria on the defeat of the last remnants of the Islamic State militancy there. But he has been under pressure from some advisers to adjust his policy to ensure the protection of Kurdish forces who supported the fight against Islamic State and who might now be threatened by Turkey. A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a brief statement. The decision was announced after Trump spoke by phone to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. A White House statement said that the two leaders agreed, regarding Syria, to "continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone." They noted that acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Joseph Dunford would be hosting their Turkish counterparts in Washington this week for further talks, the White House said. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Peter Cooney) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and North Korea will seek a common understanding of what denuclearisation means when President Donald Trump presses Kim Jong Un next week to give up all of the North's nuclear weapons, U.S. officials said on Thursday By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and North Korea will seek a common understanding of what denuclearisation means when President Donald Trump presses Kim Jong Un next week to give up all of the North's nuclear weapons, U.S. officials said on Thursday. Trump and Kim are set to meet in Vietnam for their second summit in an effort to thaw relations between the former foes and reduce one of the world's biggest nuclear threats. U.S. officials have downplayed expectations for the meeting, and Trump has made clear he does not expect it to be his last with Kim, a dictator he once derided as "little rocket man" but now considers a partner with whom he can work. Critics have said Trump gave Kim too much simply by meeting with him in Singapore last year. That criticism may be levied again for the Vietnam summit. But the U.S. officials said the United States remained focused on getting the North Korean leader to denuclearize, even if he had not made that decision himself so far. "I don't know if North Korea has made the choice yet to denuclearize, but the reason why we're engaged in this is because we believe there is a possibility," one official said. The two sides have not agreed previously on what denuclearisation means. Kim agreed in Singapore to work towards the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, which could be taken to include removal of the U.S. nuclear umbrella for South Korea and nuclear-capable forces, while the United States has been demanding that North Korea give up all of its nuclear and missile programs. It is ultimately about the denuclearisation of North Korea. That was what was agreed between the two sides and that is the overriding goal that President Trump is seeking to achieve with this summit. This is an important step towards that ultimate goal," the official said. He said the United States would press for a freeze on all weapons of mass destruction and missile programs and a "roadmap" to set expectations for negotiations. The two sides are not discussing the removal of U.S. troops from South Korea, however. The United States keeps some 28,500 troops in South Korea. Asked whether Trump was open to withdrawing all U.S. troops from the Korean peninsula for a peace treaty that would formally end the war, a second official said that was "not the subject of discussions." The officials noted that punishing U.S. sanctions would remain in place to give North Korea an incentive to move. Trump's national security adviser John Bolton is travelling to South Korea for consultations with South Korean officials ahead of the Hanoi summit, a senior White House official said. U.S. special representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun is already there, negotiating with North Korean officials ahead of the summit. The two sides are seeking to build the goals outlined in a joint statement from the Singapore meeting to recast relations between the United States and North Korea, establish peace on the peninsula, denuclearize, and return the remains of those missing or killed in action during the Korean War. (Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom and Susan Heavey; Editing by James Dalgleish) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Katharine Jackson GREENBELT, Md. (Reuters) - A U.S By Katharine Jackson GREENBELT, Md. (Reuters) - A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant accused of amassing a cache of weapons and plotting to attack Democratic politicians and journalists was ordered held for two weeks on Thursday while federal prosecutors consider charging him with more crimes. Chris Hasson, 49, appeared in a burgundy jumpsuit but did not speak during a brief hearing in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland. Prosecutors said the charges already filed against him are "just the tip of the iceberg." "There is an intent to murder innocent civilians," U.S. Attorney Jennifer Sykes told Judge Charles Day. Hasson is described by federal prosecutors as a "domestic terrorist" and self-described white supremacist who had a list of potential targets including House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and MSNBC television host Joe Scarborough. Hassan also searched the internet for where members of Congress live, and which public figures had security details, prosecutors said. Public defender Julie Stelzig, representing Hasson, pointed to his military service as evidence of his character. She said Hasson's gun collection was not extraordinarily large, and that he should not be held accountable for writing disturbing emails which he ultimately did not send. "We are not yet a country that criminalises people for their thoughts," Stelzig said. In a draft email from June 2017 cited by prosecutors, Hasson wrote: "I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth. I think a plague would be most successful but how do I acquire the needed/ Spanish flu, botulism, anthrax not sure yet but will find something." Hasson was assigned to the Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington and lives in Silver Spring, Maryland. He was arrested on Friday on weapons and drugs charges. The Coast Guard has confirmed an active duty member was arrested after a probe by its own investigators, the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice, but said it was offering no further details because of the ongoing investigation. Prosecutors said 15 guns and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition were found at Hasson's residence. They also said he studied a manifesto by Norwegian far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who in July 2011 killed eight people in downtown Oslo with a car bomb and then shot dead 69 people, many of them teenagers, at a Labour Party camp. According to prosecutors, Hassan had also been studying manifestos by "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski and Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui. (Reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Daniel Wallis and James Dalgleish) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call on Thursday to carry out the U.S. military withdrawal from Syria in line with their mutual interests, Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency said. ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call on Thursday to carry out the U.S. military withdrawal from Syria in line with their mutual interests, Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency said. Erdogan and Trump also discussed latest developments in Syria and agreed to support a political resolution to the conflict, Anadolu said, adding that the two leaders also agreed to improve economic ties between Ankara and Washington. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by James Dalgleish) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call on Thursday to carry out the U.S. military withdrawal from Syria in line with their mutual interests, Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency said. ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call on Thursday to carry out the U.S. military withdrawal from Syria in line with their mutual interests, Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency said. In December, Trump confounded his own national security team with a surprise decision to withdraw all 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, declaring that Islamic State had been defeated there. Erdogan previously said that uncertainty remained over the U.S. withdrawal from Syria, adding there was talk of the pullout taking place in April or May. During their phone call, Erdogan and Trump agreed that the U.S. withdrawal from Syria should not damage the mutual goals of Ankara and Washington, Anadolu said. Turkey wants to set up a safe zone with logistical support from allies and says it should be cleared of the U.S.-backed Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara views as a terrorist organisation linked with Kurdish militants on its own soil. Erdogan and Trump also discussed bilateral relations and the latest developments in Syria, Anadolu said, adding that the two agreed to support a political resolution to the Syria conflict. Erdogan reaffirmed Turkey's desire to maintain close ties with the United States in the phone call and the two leaders agreed to improve bilateral economic ties, Anadolu said. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by James Dalgleish and Peter Cooney) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Congress alleges that either PM was completely oblivious to the incident or insensitive. The BJP has dubbed the Congress's allegations as 'shameful' and rejected the charges, saying the opposition party exposed its 'true colours' after it kept a 'facade' of standing with security forces and the government following the terror strike. (Photo: ANI/Twitter) New Delhi: Stepping up its attack on Narendra Modi, the Congress said Friday the prime minister must say what he was doing in the initial two hours after the Pulwama terror strike and alleged that he was either "completely oblivious" to the incident or "insensitive". The opposition also alleged, citing DD News footage, that the prime minister addressed a rally in Uttarakhand at 5:10 pm via phone. The BJP has dubbed the Congress's allegations as "shameful" and rejected the charges, saying the opposition party exposed its "true colors" after it kept a "facade" of standing with security forces and the government following the terror strike. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari, at a press conference, said the prime minister not only addressed the press conference but continued with a photoshoot at the Corbett National Park in the hours following the Pulwama terror strike in which 40 CRPF jawans died after a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the paramilitary force's convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. The Congress on Thursday had cited media reports to allege that Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued shooting for a film in the Corbett National Park on February 14 for "self-propagation", and stayed put till evening despite the Pulwama terror attack in the afternoon that day. "We want to ask the prime minister what was he doing between 3:10-5:10 pm, when you address a public rally in Uttarakhand through a mobile phone," Tewari asked. The prime minister addressed the rally and did not speak on Pulwama, he said. "Either the prime minister was completely oblivious, or the prime minister was insensitive. Either the prime minister did not know for two hours that a terror attack has taken place or the prime minister knew and was completely nonchalant about it," Tewari said. In both these situations, the prime minister needs to answer for those two hours, he said, adding that both the scenarios do not auger well for the country. "These leaks, peeks, and squeaks -- source-based reports which pliable journalists lap up these days -- that is not the way the nation states should function," Tewari said. "Mr prime minister we will not let you and your government get away by playing with the security of the Indian nation," he said. He accused the government of trying to "package high-octane jingoism to subterfuge national security failures" and said if the prime minister was "incommunicado" hours after the attack then it was a matter of grave concern, especially for a nuclear nation, as it could have serious consequences. Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel also attacked the government over the issue, saying it was a matter of grave concern that Prime Minister Modi was "incommunicado at the time of an attack on the nation's sovereignty". Amrullah Saleh, a former Afghan intelligence chief, explains to Praveen Swami why talking to Taliban bring lasting peace to the war-torn south Asian nation Afghanistan vice-presidential candidate Amrullah Saleh, who until January 19 was the interior minister, doesnt think that the latest US-Taliban attempts at peace will yield results. The Taliban are controlled by Pakistan and do not represent Afghanistan or the wishes of its people, says the 46-year-old. An agreement on a ceasefire wont be a big surprise. The issue will be the shape the settlement takes and how the constitution fairs, Saleh says, referring to reports in the media that the US and the Taliban have agreed on a framework for a future accord to end the 17-year-old Afghan war. For an honourable agreement and lasting peace, the solution will have to involve all stakeholders and not just the whims of the Taliban or their handlers in Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence, says Saleh. A known opponent of the Taliban and Pakistan, the former Afghan intelligence chief recently told the BBC that Afghanistan would be a very proud partner but would not be subdued by Islamabad. "We are too, too heavy for you to punch," he said. The Afghans want the republic to stay and for that, the constitution has to be honoured or it will unleash chaos. It was for the United States to decide if it will be on the side of the Afghan Republic or play the role of a facilitator? Saleh is wary of repeating the mistakes that followed the Soviet withdrawal. We came out of ashes of the anti-Soviet war but werent given a chance to rebuild. There were and still are so many strings pushing and pulling us. The mistakes should not be repeated, Saleh, who was part of Ahmad Shah Massouds Northern Alliance, told Firstpost in an email interview. He doesnt want to guess the reason for the US initiating talks with the Taliban, attributing it to super power behaviour, which can be contradictory. But a super power, he says, also has the ability to manage contradictions, stay strong in the midst of pulls and pushes and also safeguard its own interest. We have influence over our own country and our focus is to get our act together, not get swayed by external factors, says Saleh, who quit as the interior minister to be part of President Ashraf Ghanis election team. The presidential election is now scheduled for July 20. The constitution is the foundation of the Republic. Its legitimacy, government and the Republic is not a leased out piece of equipment to be withdrawn. Our legitimacy comes from genes of the Afghan nation. It is in the veins of our political life and will stay on. Our domestic consensus determines our legitimacy, he says. What about the Taliban? The Taliban, Saleh says, will die one way or the other. They will die fighting or die making peace because they are not ready to embrace change. The only thing which can save them is accepting the new reality in Afghanistan. It is not 1990s. The new Afghanistan has rejected the Taliban and will reject them again. Taliban chief Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada is neither a revolutionary nor visionary. He is a dummy the ISI uses to conceal its own hand. The hand that fights is the Pakistani army. The Taliban leadership are dummies to deceive us all, he says. He sees the Taliban as medieval -- they may have modern weapons but they are not compatible with mainstream politics. They are not built for political competition. They are built to demolish the barriers of the Afghan nationalism and pave the way for illegitimate influence of the ISI, he says. That also explains their opposition to democracy and fear of joining the pluralistic republic. So, should they be given a habitat and contained or modernised? Their incorporation should be carefully designed. That is what perhaps our Western allies will find frustrating to design and implement. One of the biggest enemies of the West is its impatience, Saleh says. Saleh, who as the interior minister worked closely with the armed forces insists that Afghanistan, and the world, needs them. To him, the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces are a valuable and a formidable partner in global security, in fight against terrorism and radical jihadists, who are a threat to other countries as well. He is upset over allies cutting aid and says Afghan forces are not receivers of charity. They reciprocate with their blood and lives A governed Afghanistan is cheaper than a non-governed one. Pakistans ISI and its army are his biggest concerns. They see a democratic Afghanistan as a threat to its stability. A democratic Afghanistan, they think, will inspire the marginalised ethnic groups in Pakistan to demand more rights, he says. Pakistan is a resilient player in the region. While it has copied the script of a manipulative imperial power when it comes to Afghanistan, it doesnt have the resources, strength and the end-game vision. Even if they do manage to subdue us partially for a while, they will go door to door asking for donations to subsidise their clients in power Pakistans Afghanistan policy is nothing but a zero-sum game of death and destruction, says Salah. He is not in favour of New Delhi talking to the Taliban, as is being suggested by a section in the Indian foreign policy establishment so that the country is not left out of the Afghanistan peace process in which it is a stakeholder. It will an indignity for a principled power like India to talk to the dummies of the ISI, he says. What makes India formidable is its brand as an uncompromising power on matters of values, principles and dignity. India shouldnt compromise its brand. It has won by standing firm and will prevail again and again, he says. It will be a shock to see a nation of more than one billion people shaking hands with hijackers, kidnappers, terrorists and criminals. No. Dont do it. China downplays UNSC statement on Pulwama Attack, says the mention of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) was only in general terms and does not represent a judgment on the terror attack Beijing: China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC), Friday sought to downplay the scathing statement issued by the powerful organ of the world body naming Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) in the Pulwama terror attack, saying the mention of the Pakistan-based outfit was only in "general terms" and "does not represent a judgment". Over 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based JeM in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on 14 February, sparking outrage in the country. The UNSC on Thursday strongly condemned the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack. "The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir, which left 40 Indian paramilitary forces dead and dozens wounded on 14 February, 2019, for which Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility," it said in a statement. Asked about the statement highlighting the role of JeM claiming the responsibility of the Pulwama attack, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters that Beijing was closely following the developments related to the terror incident. "Yesterday, the UN Security Council issued a press statement that mentioned that a particular organisation but only in general terms. It does not represent a judgment on the attack," Geng said. His remarks were seen as an attempt by China, without whose endorsement the UNSC statement could not have been released, aimed at placating its close ally Pakistan and play down the indictment of the JeM. China has been repeatedly blocking India and several other countries' efforts to bring about a global ban on JeM chief Masood Azhar in the UN's anti-terror 1267 committee. While China's endorsement of the UNSC statement was reflection of wariness on the part of Beijing to repeatedly defend JeM in the UN body, which casts a shadow on its relations with India, observers say it is to be seen what stand Beijing would take when France moves its resolution seeking to list Azhar as a global terrorist in the UN. France, also a permanent member of the UNSC, has officially announced that it would move a resolution soon in the 1267 committee seeking Azhar's listing. Since 2016, China has consistently blocked moves first by India and later by the US, the UK and France to designate Azhar as a global terrorist by putting repeated technical holds. In his response on Friday Geng said that "China also noted that the Pakistani government showed readiness to cooperate with India on the investigation and that it is also ready to resolve differences with India through dialogue". "China hopes all parties will work to find the truth about this attack. We hope Pakistan and India will engage in dialogue to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability," he said. The UN statement also underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these "reprehensible acts of terrorism" accountable and bring them to justice". The UN condemnation came a day after Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi met top UN leaders including with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to brief them about the escalating tensions in the region in the wake of the Pulwama attack. Pope Francis opened a landmark sex abuse prevention summit Thursday by offering senior Catholic leaders 21 proposals to punish predators and keep children safe, warning that the faithful are demanding concrete action and not just words. Vatican City: Pope Francis opened a landmark sex abuse prevention summit Thursday by offering senior Catholic leaders 21 proposals to punish predators and keep children safe, warning that the faithful are demanding concrete action and not just words. The tone for the high stakes, four-day summit was set at the start, with victims from five continents Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and North America telling the bishops of the trauma of their abuse and the additional pain the church's indifference caused them. "Listen to the cry of the young, who want justice," Francis told the gathering of 190 leaders of bishops conferences and religious orders. "The holy people of God are watching and expect not just simple and obvious condemnations, but efficient and concrete measures to be established." More than 30 years after the scandal first erupted in Ireland and Australia, and 20 years after it hit the US, bishops and Catholic officials in many parts of Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia still either deny that clergy sex abuse exists in their regions or play down the problem. Francis, the first Latin American pope, called the summit after he himself botched a well-known sex abuse cover-up case in Chile last year and the scandal reignited in the US. With his own papacy and the Catholic hierarchy at large facing a credibility crisis, Francis has now vowed to chart a new course and is bringing the rest of the church leadership along with him. The summit is meant as a tutorial for church leaders around the globe to learn the importance of preventing sex abuse in their churches, tending to victims and investigating the crimes when they occur. The Vatican's onetime sex crimes prosecutor delivered a step-by-step lesson Thursday on how to conduct an investigation under canon law, citing the example of Pope Benedict XVI, who turned the Vatican around on the issue two decades ago. Calling for a conversion from a culture of silence to a "culture of disclosure," Archbishop Charles Scicluna told bishops they should cooperate with civil law enforcement investigations and announce decisions about predators to their communities once cases have been decided. He said victims had the right to damages from the church and that bishops should consider using lay experts to help guide them during abuse investigations. The people of God "should come to know us as friends of their safety and that of their children and youth," he said. "We will protect them at all cost. We will lay down our lives for the flocks entrusted to us." Finally, Scicluna warned them that it was a "grave sin" to withhold information from the Vatican about candidates for bishops a reference to the recent scandal of the now-defrocked former American cardinal, Theodore McCarrick. It was apparently an open secret in some church circles that McCarrick slept with young seminarians. He was defrocked last week by Francis after a Vatican trial found credible reports that he abused minors as well as adults. Francis offered a path of reform going forward, handing out a 21-point set of proposals for the church to consider including some that would require changes to canon law. He called for specific protocols to handle accusations against bishops, in yet another reference to the McCarrick scandal. He suggested protocols to govern the transfers of seminarians or priests to prevent predators from moving freely to unsuspecting communities. One idea called for raising the minimum age for marriage to 16 while another suggested a basic handbook showing bishops how to investigate cases. Abuse survivors have turned out in droves in Rome to demand accountability and transparency from church leaders and assert that the time of sex abuse cover-ups is over. "The question is this: Why should the church be allowed to handle the pedophile question? The question of pedophilia is not a question of religion, it is (a question of) crime," Francesco Zanardi, head of the main victims advocacy group in Italy Rete L'Abuso, or Abuse Network, told a news conference in the Italian parliament. Inside the summit hall Thursday, the church leaders heard five videotaped testimonies from victims about their abuse and cruel treatment from an indifferent hierarchy. One woman from Africa told the summit that the priest who began raping her at 15 forced her to have three abortions over the following 13 years. "He gave me everything I wanted when I accepted to have sex; otherwise he would beat me," she said. The victims' names were not released to protect their privacy, but Chilean survivor Juan Carlos Cruz confirmed he provided a video. "You are the physicians of the soul and yet, with rare exceptions, you have been transformed in some cases into murderers of the soul, into murderers of the faith," Cruz said in his testimony. Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle choked up as he responded to such testimony, telling the bishops that the wounds they had inflicted on the faithful through their negligence and indifference recalled the wounds of Christ on the cross. In the keynote speech, he demanded bishops and superiors no longer turn a blind eye to the harm caused by clergy abuse and cover-ups. "Our lack of response to the suffering of victims, yes even to the point of rejecting them and covering up the scandal to protect perpetrators and the institution, has injured our people," Tagle said. The result, he said, had left a "deep wound in our relationship with those we are sent to serve." The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), in a meeting in Paris on Friday, said that Pakistan will continue to remain on the 'grey list' even as India pushed for its neighbour to be blacklisted for alleged terror-funding after a terror attack which claimed the lives of at least 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir last week. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), in a meeting in Paris on Friday, said that Pakistan will continue to remain on the 'grey list' even as India pushed for its neighbour to be blacklisted for alleged terror-funding after a terror attack which claimed the lives of over 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir last week. The inter-governmental body aims to stop terror financing, among other objectives. In a statement after the conclusion of the week-long meetings, the FATF said, "Given the limited progress on action plan items due in January 2019, the FATF urges Pakistan to swiftly complete its action plan particularly those with timelines of May 2019. Pakistan does not demonstrate a proper understanding of the risk posed by terrorist groups Al Qaeda, Jamat-ud-Dawa, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and persons affiliated with the Taliban. Pakistan should continue to work on implementing its action plan to address its strategic deficiencies." Remaining on the grey list makes it tough for Pakistan to get loans from international lending agencies like the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and European Union. The decision to keep Pakistan in the grey list came after a slew of meetings of the 38 member nations, during which India had made its case against Pakistan's lack of compliance in tackling terror funding. The FATF also issued Pakistan with a deadline of October 2019 to meet its commitment to crack down on terror financing, after which a review will decide if the Prime Minister Imran Khan-led country is to get blacklisted or not. According to reports, Pakistan was placed in the grey list in June 2018. Marshall Billingslea, president of the FATF, said that "multiple meetings" had been held with delegations from Pakistan and a high-level commitment of "identifying and investigating the widest range of terror funding activities" had been issued by the country. "They understood what they were committing to, and we expect that the deadline for the same will be met," Billingslea said. "In the case of Pakistan, a number of important and systemic deficiencies were identified and a high-level commitment to fix those deficiencies was made and an action plan was agreed upon by all. Time is ticking, and we expect that the Government of Pakistan will honour its commitment to the cause as all member nations are expected to do," he asserted in a media briefing on Friday. NDTV quoted an intelligence official last week as saying, "A dossier, nailing the culpability of Pakistan in the terror attack in Pulwama will be given to the FATF," adding that India was intending to "expose" Pakistan's links with terrorism. In June 2018, Pakistan made a similar commitment with the FATF and the Asia Pacific Group to tackle such deficiencies, News18 reported. To avoid being blacklisted in October this year, it had committed that law enforcement agencies are identifying and investigating the widest range of terror funding activities and that terror funding investigations and prosecutions target designated persons and entities, and persons and entities acting on behalf of or at the direction of the designated persons or entities", according to the report. After the Pulwama attack on 14 February, India has sought to isolate cash-strapped Pakistan on international platforms. India highlighted its neighbour's "complicity" in the incident during the FATF meetings, saying Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad had taken responsibility for the attack. With inputs from agencies North Korea has asked United Nations aid agencies for help to address a looming food crisis after figures forecast a sharp drop in crop production for this year, a UN spokesman has said. United Nations: North Korea has asked United Nations aid agencies for help to address a looming food crisis after figures forecast a sharp drop in crop production for this year, a UN spokesman has said. Pyongyang has told the United Nations that it is facing a shortfall of 1.4 million tons in food production this year, including crops of rice, wheat, potato and soybean. "The government has requested assistance from international humanitarian organisations present in the country to address the impact of the food security situation," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. UN agencies are holding talks with Pyongyang "to take early action in order to address humanitarian needs," he said. Some 10.5 million North Koreans, or 41 per cent of the population, are in need of food aid, according to UN figures. The appeal from the government came ahead of a summit next week between President Donald Trump and leader Kim Jong-un to agree on steps toward ending Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missiles program. North Korea is demanding an easing of international sanctions after it halted its nuclear and missile tests and to build trust with the United States in the diplomatic dialogue. During a first summit in Singapore last year, North Korea agreed to work toward the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula but there has been no concrete step to dismantle its weapons program. The United Nations maintains that maximum pressure from sanctions will remain in place until North Korea has completely scrapped its military arsenal. By Gabriella Borter (Reuters) - Republican Mark Harris asked North Carolina's elections board on Thursday to order a new election in his congressional race, saying evidence from an investigation into possible ballot fraud had undermined confidence in the vote. The request came as a surprise, as for months Harris had said he should be declared the victor in the 9th Congressional District after he led Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes out of 282,717 ballots cast on Nov By Gabriella Borter (Reuters) - Republican Mark Harris asked North Carolina's elections board on Thursday to order a new election in his congressional race, saying evidence from an investigation into possible ballot fraud had undermined confidence in the vote. The request came as a surprise, as for months Harris had said he should be declared the victor in the 9th Congressional District after he led Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes out of 282,717 ballots cast on Nov. 6. Elections officials, however, had refused to certify him as the winner due to allegations of irregularities in the vote. "Through the testimony I've listened to over the past three days, I believe a new election should be called," Harris said at a hearing in Raleigh. "It's become clear to me that the public's confidence in the 9th district seat general election has been undermined to an extent that a new election is warranted." Harris' request came on the fourth day of a hearing into whether his campaign benefited from what state investigators called illegal election manipulation by political consultant Leslie McCrae Dowless. Earlier on Thursday, Harris said he had known Dowless was going door to door on the candidate's behalf to help voters obtain absentee ballots, a process that is legal. Harris said Dowless assured him he would not collect the ballots from the voters, which would violate state law. But residents of at least two counties in the district said Dowless and his paid workers collected incomplete absentee ballots and, in some instances, falsely signed as witnesses and filled in votes for contests left blank, according to testimony at the hearing. Kim Strach, executive director of the state's election board, earlier this week called the operation a "coordinated, unlawful and substantially resourced absentee ballot scheme." According to text messages Harris' attorneys turned over to the board on Thursday, Harris sought a meeting with Dowless when he learned that Dowless had led a successful absentee ballot program for Republican candidate Todd Johnson during a 2016 congressional primary election. In those messages to a Bladen County judge, Harris asked about "the guy whose absentee ballot project for Johnson could have put me in the US House this term, had I known, and he had been helping us." Harris campaign officials have said they did not pay Dowless to do anything illegal, and Dowless has maintained his innocence. (Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Dan Grebler and James Dalgleish) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Gabriella Borter (Reuters) - North Carolina's elections board on Thursday unanimously ordered a new election for a U.S. House seat after officials said corruption surrounding absentee ballots tainted the results of last November's vote By Gabriella Borter (Reuters) - North Carolina's elections board on Thursday unanimously ordered a new election for a U.S. House seat after officials said corruption surrounding absentee ballots tainted the results of last November's vote. The bipartisan board's 5-0 decision came after Republican candidate Mark Harris requested a new vote, telling the panel that evidence of possible ballot fraud had undermined confidence in the election. In the televised hearing, board members said "corruption" and the "absolute mess with the absentee ballots" had cast doubt on the fairness of the contest and voters deserved a fresh election. Harris' request for a new vote came as a surprise. For months, he had said he should be declared the victor in the 9th Congressional District after he led Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes out of 282,717 ballots cast on Nov. 6. Elections officials, however, had refused to certify him as the winner due to allegations of irregularities in the vote. "Through the testimony I've listened to over the past three days, I believe a new election should be called," Harris said at a hearing in Raleigh. "It's become clear to me that the public's confidence in the 9th district seat general election has been undermined to an extent that a new election is warranted." Harris' statement came on the fourth day of a hearing on whether his campaign benefited from what state investigators called illegal election manipulation by political consultant Leslie McCrae Dowless. Earlier on Thursday, Harris said he had known Dowless was going door to door on the candidate's behalf to help voters obtain absentee ballots, a process that is legal. Harris said Dowless assured him he would not collect the ballots from the voters, which would violate state law. But residents of at least two counties in the district said Dowless and his paid workers collected incomplete absentee ballots and, in some instances, falsely signed as witnesses and filled in votes for contests left blank, according to testimony at the hearing. Kim Strach, executive director of the state's election board, earlier this week called the operation a "coordinated, unlawful and substantially resourced absentee ballot scheme." According to text messages Harris' attorneys turned over to the board on Thursday, Harris sought a meeting with Dowless when he learned that Dowless had led a successful absentee ballot program for Republican candidate Todd Johnson during a 2016 congressional primary election. In those messages to a Bladen County judge, Harris asked about "the guy whose absentee ballot project for Johnson could have put me in the US House this term, had I known, and he had been helping us." Harris campaign officials have said they did not pay Dowless to do anything illegal, and Dowless has maintained his innocence. (Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Dan Grebler and James Dalgleish) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Guaido set out in a convoy of vehicles to personally pick up US aid being stockpiled on the other side of the Colombian border, defying Maduro's military to stop him. Caracas: President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the closure of Venezuela's border with Brazil in an increasingly fraught power struggle with Juan Guaido, the opposition leader spearheading efforts to bring humanitarian aid into the country despite a military blockade. Guaido set out in a convoy of vehicles to personally pick up US aid being stockpiled on the other side of the Colombian border, defying Maduro's military to stop him. Recognised as interim president by more than 50 countries, he left the capital Caracas for the Colombian border in a convoy of several vehicles for the 900-kilometre (560-mile) trip. Embattled Maduro has dismissed Guaido's humanitarian caravan as a "cheap show" and slammed aid as a precursor for a US military intervention in the oil-rich but crippled Latin American country. The 35-year-old leader of the Venezuelan legislature proclaimed himself acting president 23 January and wants to oust Maduro, set up a transitional government and hold new elections. A separate caravan of buses and trucks containing opposition lawmakers had earlier left eastern Caracas bound for the border. Several of the trucks were stopped by security forces and their drivers forced to get out, but the rest of the caravan was allowed to continue, lawmakers said. "We know that the regime is going to put all obstacles to prevent us from reaching the border, but nothing is stopping us, we are going to continue," said opposition lawmaker Yanet Fermin. Guaido scored important symbolic boosts Thursday as 11 Venezuelan diplomats based in the US declared their support for him. Hugo Carvajal, a retired general and former military intelligence chief to Hugo Chavez, also recognized the opposition leader and called upon the armed forces to break from Maduro. Elsewhere, Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra received Guaido-appointed ambassador Carlos Scull, Peru's state agency Andina reported. Signalling his growing disquiet, Maduro announced Thursday that the border with Brazil - which along with Colombia is one of the main potential avenues for aid delivery - would be "completely and absolutely" closed from 8.00 pm (local time) until further notice. But Maria Teresa Belandria, Guaido's designated ambassador in Brazil said 100 tons of food, medicines and emergency kits were waiting to be trucked from Boa Vista to Pacaraima on the Venezuelan border. Maduro also warned Thursday he was considering "a total closure of the border with Colombia" to Venezuela's west. He has already ordered the military to barricade a major border bridge to prevent supplies from entering the country from Cucuta, Colombia, where tons of humanitarian aid are being stockpiled, most of it from the United States. Meanwhile, Maduro - mirroring Guaido's move in an attempt to show his socialist government was able to look after its people - ordered a shipment of thousands of food boxes to be distributed to the needy along the Colombian border. He also announced on Thursday the arrival of another 7.5 tons of medicine and medical supplies from Russia. Shipments of food and medicine for the crisis-stricken population have become a key focus of the power struggle between Maduro and Guaido. Guaido, who says 3,00,000 people could die without an influx of aid, says he aims to rally a million volunteers to start bringing it in by Saturday. It remained unclear how he proposed to do so if the blockade continues, but experts have pointed to the notoriously porous 2,200 kilometer (1,360-mile) border, which is perforated by well-worn drug trafficking and contraband routes. Guaido said the planned entry points for aid were the Brazilian and Colombian borders, the island of Curacao and the seaports of Puerto Cabello and La Guaira. Venezuela's vice-president Delcy Rodriguez said the government was shutting down air and sea links between Curacao and Venezuela. However, Carlos Faria, one of the leaders of a group of Venezuelans organising aid shipments via Curacao, told AFP a plane carrying 50 tons of food and medicine was expected from Miami on Thursday and would be loaded onto a Venezuela-bound ship on Friday. Underlining the swell of international support for Guaido, British entrepreneur Richard Branson plans to hold a pro-aid concert just inside Colombia on Friday, while Maduro's government stages a rival concert on its side of the border, around 1,000 feet (300 meters) away. Meanwhile, the White House said Vice-President Mike Pence would visit neighbouring Colombia on Monday in a show of support for Guaido. The US has repeatedly said "all options," including military, are on the table. But Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao dismissed US threats of military intervention in Venezuela as "premature" and said it "wouldn't make sense." "I think they're more in the realm of rhetoric than action," Mourao said of the threats in an interview with AFP. US president Donald Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen will finally surface before the country's high powered Congress committees starting next Tuesday and dish out dirt on the chief occupant of the White House in what promises to make for remarkable television moments even by the parallel reality standards of the Trump era US president Donald Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen will finally surface before the country's high powered Congress committees starting next Tuesday and dish out dirt on the chief occupant of the White House in what promises to make for remarkable television moments even by the parallel reality standards of the Trump era. Not very often in American history have we seen the former lawyer of the US president testifying under oath to the Congress. Besides the fact that the Cohen testimony will be first-rate theater, it will be an exorcism for Cohen; a tell-all that hopes to rip the current White House reputation to shreds. Michael Cohen's Senate interview Tuesday will be behind closed doors and will kick off a week of congressional appearances. Cohen is already scheduled to testify publicly before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday and then behind closed doors again on Thursday to the House intelligence committee. Cohen was scheduled to speak to the three committees earlier this month, but rescheduled all of those appearances for different reasons. He said he needed to recover from surgery and also was concerned about threats to his family from Trump and the president's attorney spokesman, Rudy Giuliani. Cohen has cooperated with special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Cohen was sentenced in December to three years in prison after pleading guilty to lying to both intelligence committees in 2017 and to campaign finance violations. His sentence will begin in May. Cohen told lawmakers in 2017 that he had abandoned a Trump business proposal in Moscow in January 2016, but he later acknowledged he continued pursuing it for months after that. He also pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations for his involvement in payments to a former Playboy model and porn actress who had alleged affairs with Trump. Trump denies the allegations. Cohen has directly implicated Trump in a series of campaign finance violations in 2016, saying that the then-Republican nominee for president, known in court documents as "Individual 1" told him to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to two women, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, to keep them quiet about affairs he had with them in the 2000s. Michael Cohen was Donald Trump's lawyer but not the way it is commonly understood - Cohen was the deal guy for the Trump empire, the knockoff version, the US president's keeper of secrets and second in that department only to the Trump brood of children from various marriages. "This is the beginning of the end for this president. Cohen is deeply hurt and angry and therefore dangerous", says at least one person who has met with Cohen in the last month. Much of the storyboard is well known. Michael Cohen says wants to shine a light on the darkest alleys of Trumpworld. The White House will paint him as a liar and by the time the dust settles, it will be time for Cohen to serve jail time. Despite the du jour flavour, the Cohen testimony comes close to the John Dean moment from the Nixon era. John Dean, Richard Nixons White House counsel, testified against Nixon during the Watergate hearings and broke with Nixon before the last days of that presidency. Michael Cohen was much more involved in the day to day activities of Donald Trump and much higher in the food chain than John Dean ever was in the Nixonian org chart. Michael Cohen has testified in Congress earlier but those details were kept under wraps by Republicans before Democrats stormed back to power in the midterms and took the House majority. Cohen's is merely an early testimony in a long parade of similar ones we'll see all year. Cohen's lawyers have said he is ready to give a "full and credible account" of working for Trump, which is shorthand for running the dirty tricks department. What Michael Cohen is going to say under oath beginning 26 February is what we are missing so far, despite all of the disparate Mueller filings: What really happened? How involved was Trump in dealings with Russian operatives offering dirt on Hillary Clinton? Was he detail-oriented or disorganized? "He's going to talk about what it was like working with a man (Trump) who has no ethics whatsoever and lies", Cohen confidante and advisor Lanny Davis said on MSNBC. Former Trump organization staffers are saying Trump has lost all his leverage and facing the same troubles in court that he used to put his opponents through - run them dry with long drawn court cases. What Michael Cohen is going to say to the Congress is as big as the Mueller report simply because we dont know how much of the Mueller report will finally be available to the American public and the world. Cohen is a central witness in the Russia probe investigations and was directed by Trump to have direct contact with the Russians. Cohen has also spent more than 70 hours briefing Robert Mueller's investigators. For someone who said he'd "take a bullet for Donald Trump", Cohen has turned the gun on the US president. By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - Some 3,000 teachers in Oakland, California, walked off the job on Thursday in a contract dispute over salaries, class size and a proposal to close two dozen schools, the latest in a series of strikes by U.S. By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - Some 3,000 teachers in Oakland, California, walked off the job on Thursday in a contract dispute over salaries, class size and a proposal to close two dozen schools, the latest in a series of strikes by U.S. educators that began last year. The Oakland Unified School District vowed to keep schools open during the strike, saying it will use central office employees, principals and temporary emergency teachers to conduct classes for the district's 37,000 students. The teachers' chief demands include a 12 percent pay raise, reductions in class sizes and the hiring of more support staff such as nurses, school psychologists and guidance counsellors. The union also is opposing a plan presented by Oakland's school superintendent in November to close as many as 24 of the district's schools. Union officials said the proposal follows a pattern of shutting down public schools and converting most of them to private, independently run non-district "charter schools." Such moves in the past, the union says, have drawn state funding away from the district while leaving its public schools shouldering the bulk of higher-cost special education classes. HEART AND SOUL "Students, this is a fight for your education," union president Keith Brown said in a video on Twitter. "This fight is for the heart and soul of public education in Oakland." The Oakland Education Association, the union representing the city's teachers, has been negotiating for two years with the district. The walkout in Oakland began as teachers across West Virginia returned to school after ending a two-day strike they had called to oppose an expansion of charter schools there, clearing the way for classes to resume for about 270,000 students statewide. West Virginia educators, among the lowest-paid in the nation, sparked a wave of U.S. teachers' strikes last year when they walked off the job to demand higher pay. That nine-day strike ended after West Virginia agreed to a 5 percent raise. Statewide teacher strikes last year also occurred in Arizona, Kentucky and Oklahoma. Teachers in Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest school district, walked off the job for six class days in January in a strike over many of the same issues raised in Oakland. A teachers strike in Denver was settled last week, ending a labour dispute that centred on demands for higher pay and a more predictable wage structure. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Bill Tarrant amd Tom Brown) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. A cartoon in Greater Kashmir newspaper showing a Sikh man in a boat holding out a hand to a drowning Kashmiri has gone viral on social media. Srinagar: Amid the wave of gratitude in the Valley for the Sikhs who came to the rescue of Kashmiri trad-ers, labourers and students in distress in different parts of the country after the Pulwama terror attack, hotels and other business concerns here have offered huge discounts and even free stay to the members of the community. Since Tuesday evening, social media platforms and also some vernacular newspapers have carried announcements of apart from free hotel stays and discounts on purchase of merchandise free admissions to educational institutions and English-speaking courses and free medical check-ups and discounts on medicine for Sikh patients. In the event of Khalsa Aids humanitarian outreach extended to Kashmiris in distress post-Pulwama episode, Shaheen Super Bazar, Budgam extends extra 6% discount to Sikh community customers. This offer is valid for 6 months from today (February 20). Remem-ber: The language of heart is mankinds common language, reads one such announcement. Another post annou-nces If any Sikh family wants to admit its ward in SBM High School, Kanispora no fee will be charged from it up to 10th Class. A local lawyer Hilal Ahmed Dar wrote on his Facebook timeline If any Sikh br-other needs a legal assistance, I will provide him free assistance till disposal of the case. A cartoon in Greater Kashmir newspaper sh-owing a Sikh man in a boat holding out a hand to a drowning Kashmiri has gone viral on social media. Over the past three days, many of over four thousand Kashmiri trad-ers, students and worke-rs allegedly hounded out of various places across the country in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack were escorted back home by the volunteers of Khalsa Aid, an international NGO of Sikhs, with the aim to provide humanitarian aid in disaster areas and civil conflict zones around the world. These people have said that they were given shelter and food at various Gurudwaras after they were evicted from their private accommodations or thrown out of hostels in reprisal to the killing of 49 CRPF in the Pulwama attack. Gurpreet Singh, head of Khalsa Aid in India, has said that the UK-based NGO decided to offer help to distressed Kashmiris after coming across disturbing videos of harassment and calls for help from the victims. He said that Khalsa Aid was able to evacuate more than 300 such students who were studying in Uttrakhand and Haryana safely to the Valley via Chandigarh and Jammu. Jagmohan Singh Raina, chairman of All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC), a representative organisation of the J&K Sikhs, said that the community helped the Kashmiris in distress as it did not want the repetition of the 1984 carnage. He asked the people of the country especially those living in the Northern states to give up hatred against the Kashmiris. We urge the people to maintain communal harmony and brotherhood at every cost. The people who visited Kashmir in the recent past as tourists should take the initiative and come up as ambassadors of peace, he said adding It is highly unfortunate that Kashmiris are being targeted in different parts of the country for no fault of theirs. Many Kashmiri traders and students who have returned here said that some people from the majority Hindu community also helped them. I was protected from a mob by three men from the majority community one of whom tried to pacify it by saying his Muhammad lives in our temple and our Ram in his mosque, said Muhammad Aslam, a trader from Srinagars Nawa Kadal locality who was running a handicrafts shop in Haryana but had to abandon it and return home in the face threat to my life. Metro Manila (February 22, CNN Philippines) A business group said smaller enterprises will be having difficulty in implementing the new law extending paid maternity leave from 60 to 105 days. "It's a law that we'll try to implement although a lot of our small companies are unhappy. We have to remember that 99.6 percent of our enterprises are micro, small and medium," Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) President Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. told CNN Philippines' New Day. Oritz-Luis said these businesses are already having trouble as is, "marginally operating" and facing closures. President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law extending the maternity leave, which was hailed by politicians and labor groups as a win for women. The Malacanang warned companies yesterday against gender discrimination, saying that businesses which refuse to hire women following the law's enactment will be held accountable under anti-discrimination laws. ECOP earlier cautioned that the bill may not be totally beneficial for women as companies may shy away from hiring them in the long run. Ortiz-Luis said it would be hard for the government to monitor violators of anti-discrimination regulations. "If somebody's hiring and there are choices, he will not say that he's hiring because of that. So of course, it cannot be monitored," he said. However, he said ECOP will just try to "live with it" and encourage companies to adjust to the new law. Meanwhile, obstetrics-gynecologist Venus Jo-Anne Olivar told CNN Philippines that on average, mothers need at least six weeks to recover after giving birth. But there are times when complications arise after delivery, such as hypertension, diabetes or postpartum depression, which would require more time for women to recuperate before bouncing back to work. "Iba kasi if they develop maternal complications after giving birth. May tendency 'di makapunta sa work, may tendency 'di maging efficient, they had to undergo procedures and diagnostic tests. 'Yun magiging burden," Olivar said. [Translation: It's different if they develop maternal complications after giving birth. There's a tendency that they can't go to work, there's a tendency that they won't be efficient, they have to undergo procedures and diagnostic tests. That would be a burden.] But more than recovery from the birthing process, she said a three and a half month leave would be most beneficial to strengthen the bond between mother and baby. "Mas matutuuanan ng pansin o maalagaan maiging mga anak nila. It will lead to reduced mortality rate," Olivar said. "Mas matutukan baby mo eh. Longer time makikita mo ano needs niya, kung inubo man siya." [Translation: They would be able to give more attention or to care for their children. It will lead to reduced mortality rate You'd be able to focus on your baby. You'll have more time to see their needs, like if they get a cough.] This story has been updated to include expert opinion from OB GYN Venus Jo-Anne Olivar. CNN Philippines Multi-platform Writer Xave Gregorio and CNN Philippines Correspondent Carolyn Bonquin contributed to this report. Islamic State looked close to defeat in its last enclave in eastern Syria on Wednesday as civilians poured out and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said the remaining jihadists wanted to fight to the death. Near Baghouz: Islamic State looked close to defeat in its last enclave in eastern Syria on Wednesday as civilians poured out and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said the remaining jihadists wanted to fight to the death. More than 2,000 civilians left the village of Baghouz in a convoy of dozens of trucks. Coalition warplanes could be seen overhead and the sounds of intermittent gunbattles could be heard from the area, which is completely surrounded by the SDF. "The terrorists are entrenched inside, still betting on ending it militarily," said Mustafa Bali, head of the SDF media office. "Our forces said from the start that they have two options: Unconditional surrender or for the battle to continue until its end." The US-led coalition said "the most hardened Islamic State fighters remain in Baghouz". The village at the Iraqi border is the last scrap of ground left to the Islamic State in the Euphrates valley region that became its final major stronghold in Iraq and Syria after a series of catastrophic defeats in 2017. Taking it will nudge the eight-year-old Syrian war towards a new phase, with US president Donald Trump having pledged to withdraw American troops, leaving a security vacuum that other powers would seek to fill. The SDF could not be certain if some Islamic State fighters had left Baghouz with the civilians, Bali said, adding security forces were checking the identities of everyone leaving. Civillians The SDF was working to evacuate some remaining civilians in Baghouz, he said. "We can't storm Baghouz before confirming all civilians have been evacuated." SDF fighters, with troops of the US-led coalition against Islamic State, waited at a position on Baghouz's outskirts to question the evacuees and record their names, a Reuters witness said. Its fall marks a big moment in the group's trajectory, from winning control over vast territories in 2014 and proclaiming the creation of a caliphate to rule over Muslims, to its stubborn demise under concerted military assault. Few believe the capture of Baghouz will end Islamic State's threat: Some fighters still hold out in the central Syrian desert and it has managed to stage repeated guerrilla attacks in areas where its territorial rule was ended. However, it will heighten attention on the promised withdrawal of some 2,000 US troops who have deployed into Syria during the fight against Islamic State, and with it the fate of the Kurdish-led region that the US presence has helped to secure. Trump on Saturday tweeted: "We are pulling back after 100% Caliphate victory." Fate of Kurdish-held zone in the balance Turkey has repeatedly threatened an incursion because it sees the Kurdish YPG militia, which spearheads the SDF, as a terrorist group inseparable from the PKK which has waged a three-decade insurgency inside its own borders. Facing this prospect, the YPG in December invited the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad to take over the westernmost part of its territory, around the city of Manbij, and seeks broader negotiations with him over the area it holds. The SDF on Monday called for 1,000-1,500 international forces to remain in Syria to ensure that Islamic State's territorial defeat is lasting. The head of US army Central Command, General Joseph Votel, said he was still carrying out Trump's withdrawal order. Among the many civilians who have left Baghouz in recent days are families of Islamic State fighters, including some foreigners who went to Iraq and Syria to join its caliphate. The SDF has complained that Western countries are reluctant to take back such people, who are seen at home as a security threat but might be hard to legally prosecute. On Wednesday, Britain stripped citizenship from one of them, 19-year Shamima Begum, who ran away to join Islamic State as a schoolgirl in 2015. Both the SDF and US officials have said the presence of civilians in Islamic State's last pocket at Baghouz, targeted by air strikes again on Tuesday night, has slowed their advance. During years of steady retreats, Islamic State has honed its tactics of street fighting sheltering among civilians, digging tunnels and laying innumerable mines and booby traps. Reuters photographs have shown one part of the remaining Islamic State pocket, where fighters and civilians were gathered among scattered tents and vehicles on the edge of a village. Many civilians who have previously escaped the group's rule, including some of the thousands of Yazidis in Iraq kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery, still suffer trauma long afterwards. 'A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time,' White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement after the call between the two leaders Washington: The Trump administration will leave 200 US troops in Syria to act as a "small peacekeeping group", the White House has announced following President Donald Trump's order for a "full" withdrawal of the American military from the war-torn country. The White House announced the decision on Thursday after Trump spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the phone. "A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement after the call between the two leaders. In December, Trump abruptly declared victory against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria and announced that the more than 2,000 US troops in Syria would be withdrawn immediately. The president ordered staff to execute the "full" and "rapid" withdrawal of US military from Syria, declaring that the US had defeated ISIS. The administration has since changed its timeline and said that it will seek a withdrawal of most troops by the end of April. Trump's surprise decision prompted the resignation of former Defense Secretary James Mattis and the president has since received strong pushback from lawmakers who worry the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Kurdish forces who helped in the fight against ISIS would be threatened by Turkey without US protection. According to a White House readout of the call, the two leaders underscored the importance of the bilateral relationship and discussed a number of issues including Syria and trade. "On Syria, the two Presidents agreed to continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone," the White House said. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Joseph Dunford will be hosting their Turkish counterparts in Washington this week for further talks. Senator Lindsay Graham praised Trump for his decision to leave 200 American troops in Syria as part of an international stabilising force. "This will ensure IS does not return and Iran does not fill the vacuum that would have been left if we completely withdrew. This also ensures Turkey and SDF elements that helped us defeat ISIS will not go into conflict," Graham said. Currently, the US has some 2,000 troops in Syria. The US troop withdrawal has left America's Kurdish allies vulnerable to an attack from Turkey. Ankara views the Kurdish forces as terrorists aligned with insurgents inside Turkey. Last month, Trump threatened to "devastate" Turkey economically if the NATO-allied nation attacks US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria following the US pullout and also urged the Kurds not to "provoke" Ankara. Ground troops first arrived in Syria in autumn 2015 when then-President Barack Obama sent in a small number of special forces to train and advise YPG fighters. A peaceful uprising against the president of Syria President Bashar al-Assad seven years ago turned into a full-scale civil war. The conflict has left more than 3,50,000 people dead, devastated cities and drawn in other countries. Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, two leaders who met for the first time in Singapore last June, are due to hold talks in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on 27-28 February. Washington: US President Donald Trump will have a one-on-one meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their summit in Vietnam next week, a US official said Thursday. The two leaders, who met for the first time in Singapore last June, are due to hold talks in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi on 27-28 February. Trump is seeking to persuade the North Korean leader to abandon his nuclear arsenal. A US official said next week's meeting would be "similar in format to what we saw last June in Singapore... there will be an opportunity for the two leaders to see one another one-on-one" before holding meetings with their respective teams. Stephen Biegun, the US special envoy to Pyongyang, is already in Hanoi holding talks with his North Korean counterpart Kim Hyok Chol. US officials have declined to speculate on what elements might be included in a joint statement at the end of the meeting. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un must make a "meaningful" gesture if he wants to see sanctions lifted, US president Donald Trump said Wednesday ahead of a second summit between the two men. "The sanctions are on in full. I haven't taken sanctions off," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I'd love to be able to, but in order to do that, we have to do something that's meaningful on the other side." Trump and Kim are due to meet in Hanoi next week to discuss progress on the issue of North Korea's nuclear programme since they first met in Singapore last year. "Chairman Kim and I have a very good relationship. I wouldn't be surprised to see something work out," Trump said, without providing further details. Trump reiterated his view that North Korea has "great" potential for economic development and suggested the Vietnam summit would not be the last. At their landmark meeting in Singapore last year, the US and North Korean leaders produced a vaguely worded document in which Kim pledged to work toward "the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula." Pulwama attack: Pakistan govt has taken control of a madrasa, reportedly headquarters of terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad, in Punjab province's Bahawalpur area Pakistan has taken control of a madrasa in Punjab province's Bahawalpur area, which is said to be the headquarters of terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad. The Pakistan-based terror group has claimed responsibility for the recent Pulwama terror attack which killed over 40 jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jammu and Kashmir. The Government of Punjab has taken over the control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur: Spokesman of the Ministry of Interior Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) February 22, 2019 Pakistan's Information Department confirmed the takeover of the madrasa on its official website as well as tweeted it. "The government of Punjab has taken over the control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, reportedly the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammad and appointed an administrator to manage its affairs," a spokesman of the Ministry of Interior said according to the release. The action, the Pakistan Information Department tweeted, was taken in line with the decision of the National Security Committee meeting held on Thursday under the chairmanship of Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan. The spokesman further added that the campus has a faculty of 70 teachers and currently 600 students are studying in it. The Punjab police is providing security and protection to the campus, he added. While China was trying to water down the UNSC statement on Pulwama, Pakistan worked against issuance of any statement. Pakistan's Permanent Representative at the UN Maleeha Lodhi even met the president of Security Council, but her efforts did not bear any fruit, they said. New Delhi: China's lone opposition in the 15-member UN Security Council to any mention of terrorism resulted in a delay of nearly one week in issuance of a statement by the powerful body on the dastardly Pulwama terror attack, official sources said on Friday. However, the US assiduously worked as "pen holder" making various adjustments to get the approval by all other members of the council, the sources said. While China was trying to water down the UNSC statement on Pulwama, Pakistan worked against issuance of any statement. Pakistan's Permanent Representative at the UN Maleeha Lodhi even met the president of Security Council, but her efforts did not bear any fruit, they said. The UN Security Council comprising 15 permanent and non-permanent members on Thursday condemned in the "strongest terms" the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack perpetrated by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) on 14 February. Sharing details of diplomatic wranglings on the matter, the sources said the UNSC statement on Pulwama was to be issued on the evening of 15 February but China repeatedly sought extension of timing. China requested extension till 18 February when 14 member countries were ready to issue it on 15 February itself," they said, adding China broke "silence" procedure two times, suggesting multiple amendments aiming to "derail" the effort. Even after UNSC condemned the Pulwama strike as "terrorism" China continued to oppose any mention of terrorism in the statement, said a person familiar with the diplomatic parleys on the issue at the UN headquarters. However, notwithstanding hectic Chinese and Pakistani efforts, the UNSC agreed to issue the first statement in its history regarding an attack on Indian troops in Jammu and Kashmir, the sources said. India has mounted a diplomatic offensive to isolate Pakistan in the international community for its support to terror groups and cross border terrorism. Official sources said the UNSC statement contained specific language proposed by India through its partner countries including naming of JeM, and calling for bringing the perpetrators of the crime to justice. In the statement, the UNSC also reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security and underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. The UNSC also urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant security council resolutions, to cooperate actively with India and all other relevant authorities to bring perpetrators of the Pulwama attack to justice. It also reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed. BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - Riot police briefly clashed with pro-independence Catalan protesters in Barcelona on Thursday while other activists burned tyres and blocked highways across northeast Spain as part of a day of protests against the trial of 12 separatist leaders. A total of 28 people, including twelve police officers, were wounded and four people were arrested, police said BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - Riot police briefly clashed with pro-independence Catalan protesters in Barcelona on Thursday while other activists burned tyres and blocked highways across northeast Spain as part of a day of protests against the trial of 12 separatist leaders. A total of 28 people, including twelve police officers, were wounded and four people were arrested, police said. Near the Plaza Catalonia railway station in downtown Barcelona, police in riot gear used batons against a large group of mostly young protesters after a few of them hurled stones at the police. One group of protesters disrupted underground city trains by sitting on tracks. Protesters chanted "Independence, independence" and "Get out, occupation troops" in Catalan at the police. Earlier in the day, protesters set fire to piles of tyres to block some 11 highways. Police said roads had been reopened. Members of local groups, working under the name Committees for the Defence of the Republic (CDRs), have staged periodic protests across Catalonia since separatist leaders were arrested after the Catalan parliament declared independence for the region in October 2017. Twelve of the leaders went on trial in Madrid this month over the failed independence bid that triggered Spain's biggest political crisis in decades. Thursday's protests included marches held by supporters of civil groups Omnium and the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) at midday, and a bigger march planned for the evening. The organizers also called a strike although it was not yet clear how far that was observed. Former ANC leader Jordi Sanchez and the ex-head of Omnium, Jordi Cuixart, were in the dock on Thursday in a trial that is expected to last for at least three months. The defendants face charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds, which they all deny. The 2017 independence declaration, which followed a referendum conducted by Catalan authorities in defiance of a judicial ban, angered some in the region and many people in the rest of Spain. The then conservative government in Madrid responded by imposing direct rule and then calling regional elections. The secessionists retained a slim majority in the Catalan assembly. (Reporting by Pilar Suarez and Jordi Rubio; Writing by Paul Day and Andrei Khalip; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Frances Kerry) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Industry experts have noted recently that China appeared to be delaying customs clearances for Australian coking coal used in steel-making, but a report late on Thursday that Dalian Ports had specifically banned Australian coal shipments sent the Aussie dollar plunging Sydney: Canberra played down on Friday reports a major Chinese port had banned coal imports from Australia, amid fears worsening diplomatic tensions were damaging the nations' crucial trading relationship. Industry experts have noted recently that China appeared to be delaying customs clearances for Australian coking coal used in steel-making, but a report late on Thursday that Dalian Ports had specifically banned Australian coal shipments sent the Aussie dollar plunging. China is Australia's biggest trading partner and coal is the resources-rich country's most valuable export. Australian officials were unable on Friday to confirm the import ban, initially reported by Reuters, and said the country's ambassador in Beijing was seeking clarification. But Treasurer Josh Frydenberg played down the reports, insisting no coal import ban had been put in place and suggesting the offloading slowdown was related to "testing systems" that have been imposed on imports in the past. "Our ambassador will be making enquiries, but the two-way trading relationship works strongly in Australia's favour," he said, adding that no-one should "jump to conclusions" after this week's media reports. There is speculation about whether the Dalian move is about addressing domestic pressures, or retribution over Canberra's decision to ban Chinese communications giant Huawei's 5G equipment over security risks. Canberra and Beijing have sparred diplomatically in recent months over the 5G ban, China's growing drive to increase its influence in the Pacific and the expulsion of a Chinese billionaire who donated to local political parties. Central bank governor Philip Lowe said Friday it would be "concerning" if the diplomatic spats were spilling into the trading arena, but added that it would be prudent to "wait and see" what the motivations behind the Chinese actions were. Lowe, echoing analysts, said it was also important to note that the current amount of coal reportedly blocked by Dalian was small. China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Chinese customs were "conducting risk detection and analysis work on imported coal to ensure their safety and quality." "The objective of this is to better protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese importers and to protect the environment," he said. Coal shipped from Australia to Dalian Ports accounts for about 10 per cent of Australia's exports of the commodity to China, and only two per cent of overall exports. "If that's all we're talking about, the blocking of a couple of months of coal exports, then that's not going to derail the Australian economy," The Australian quoted Lowe as telling a parliamentary hearing in Sydney. Westpac senior currency strategist Sean Callow told AFP that while the Australian dollar dropped by one percent to 70.90 US cents late Thursday following the initial coal ban reports, the market was calmer early Friday. "Those knee-jerk headlines of 'Australia's number-one export destination has a ban on Australia's number-one export' were enough to knock the Aussie lower," Callow said. "Some of the nerves have maybe calmed a bit once the details become a bit clearer of the relatively small scale (of the ban)." By M.B. By M.B. Pell and Deborah Nelson NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Armys private landlords committed this week to providing military families greater say and safer homes, endorsing a military blueprint that aims to reduce hazards in base housing and give tenants a stronger voice when problems arise. Executives from seven real estate companies, which manage some 87,000 Army housing units at more than 40 bases, pledged a series of reforms following a Pentagon meeting earlier this week with the Armys three senior leaders Secretary Mark Esper, Chief of Staff Mark Milley and Sergeant Major Daniel Dailey. The landlords agreed to add staffing and become more responsive to housing concerns by setting up online tracking systems for service requests. They also endorsed a military-proposed tenant bill of rights that will allow families to withhold rent while preventing the private housing companies from charging fees when families receive poor service. Those steps, announced Thursday by the Army, signal the latest action to follow a Reuters series, Ambushed at Home, that exposed serious housing hazards at bases nationwide. In one story, the news agency described how military families lack basic tenant protections in disputes with their landlords over vermin, mould and other hazards. Local inspectors generally lack enforcement authority on military bases, and base command staff said they had limited power to intervene under the companies 50-year contracts. For many families, withholding rent wasnt a ready option, because their monthly housing stipends go directly to the companies. Read the story, Mice, Mold and Landlords at: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-military-contractors The situation is unacceptable, and we are failing our Soldiers and their families by not providing the quality housing they deserve, top Army leaders wrote in a letter last week to senior commanders at bases across the globe. On Thursday, company officials said they have already enacted some changes and continue to work with the military branches on related reforms at their installations. We are aligned with our Army, Navy and Air Force partners and actively working with each of them to identify opportunities to improve privatised military housing, landlord Balfour Beatty wrote to Reuters. Hunt Military Communities, another major military landlord, is working to ensure we are providing the best possible housing for Americas Service Members and their families, company President John Ehle said through a spokesperson. We share the Army's commitment to making things better for soldiers and their families, echoed Jarl Bliss, President and CEO of Lincoln Military Housing, through a spokesperson. The fine print of the landlord reform plan such as under which circumstances residents can withhold rent, and how the provisions will be enforced has yet to be ironed out. Its likely the Army and its private industry partners will have to renegotiate some aspects of their contracts. (Editing by Ronnie Greene) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. tech2 News Staff When the now-famous Chinese scientist He Jiankui modified the DNA of human embryos and ultimately helped bring three genetically-modified human babies into the world, his intentions were (reportedly) to make them immune to HIV. However, researchers familiar with the nuances of gene editing and CRISPR, the technology used by Jiankui believe that the 'targetted' changes he made may have consequences that are unpredictable. The CCR5 gene that Jiankui modified to give the babies immunity to HIV has a primary role in HIV susceptibility. However, a new study published in the journal Cell this week shows that it also has effects on the brain in mice. Specifically, the mice that had their genes tweaked performed a lot better in cognitive tests. The gene is also linked with how people recover after a stroke, apart from the fact that it could boost the children's academic success later in life, a report in the MIT Technology Review said. This essentially means that the first humans with a genetically-enhanced advantage to their cognition and memory could already be among us. Did editing the CCR5 gene have the same effects in the babies from Jiankui's experiment? "The answer is likely yes, it did affect their brains," Alcino Silva, one of the neuroscientists in the study from University of California, told MIT Tech. "The simplest interpretation is that those mutations will probably have an impact on cognitive function in the twins." Multiple experts in genetics and ethics voiced their protest against Jiankui's (illegal) actions after news of his study first broke in December 2018. He was later sacked from his research position at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China for having conducted his experiments without the necessary approvals and permissions. Silva sides with other experts that believe Jiankui shouldn't have conducted the study at all. This, because there's currently no way to predict the effects it can have on the children when they grow older. "Could it be conceivable that at one point in the future we could increase the average IQ of the population? I would not be a scientist if I said no," Silva told MIT Tech. "The work in mice demonstrates the answer may be yes. But mice are not people. We simply dont know what the consequences will be in mucking around. We are not ready for it yet." tech2 News Staff YouTube has come under fire for allowing videos which exploit young children to thrive on the platform and also for the enormous number of predatory comments that are floating on these videos. The video-streaming website has been taking steps to take down such accounts and content. Over the years, YouTube has pulled down paedophilic content in response to the concerns raised by creators, users and advertisers on the platform. The company has now terminated more than 400 channels and has disabled comments on tens of millions of videos. Commentator Philip DeFranco had published a video yesterday evening shedding light on the YouTube controversy to which the YouTube's creator outreach team responded by detailing the actions taken by the platform. UPDATE: @YouTube @YTCreators left a comment and provided an update on what theyve done to combat horrible people on the site in the last 48 hours. TLDR: Disabled comments on tens of millions of videos. Terminated over 400 channels. Reported illegal comments to law enforcement. pic.twitter.com/zFHFfkX9FD Philip DeFranco (@PhillyD) February 21, 2019 YouTube stated that "all of us at YouTube are working incredibly hard to root out horrible behaviour on our platform...There is more to be done and we are continuing to grow our team in order to keep people safe." The company has also been taking up such nasty comments and accounts to law enforcement, which it has to do in compliance with the US federal law. DeFranco in his video noted that this may not be YouTube problem so much as it is the problem of the current online domain. DeFranco says in his video, "Which, again, is why its important that instead of saying, YouTube allows this and theyre happy about it because once again that is an insane argument the best thing we can do is report disgusting monsters as we would anywhere else on the internet. Earlier this week, Matt Watson, a YouTuber, posted a 20-minute clip on the platform, which details how comments on the video streaming website are being used to identify "soft-core paedophilia rings on YouTube". The same was also confirmed by a lot of Reddit users. This video too gained widespread attention. Since the videos came out companies such as AT&T, Epic Games, Nestle and Disney have pulled down ads from YouTube and other companies like Grammarly and Peloton have asked YouTube to investigate further as per The Verge. YouTube has been fighting this issue since years now and it has also put down some community guidelines to specifically address the exploitation of children in videos in 2017. Also, it has given advertisers more authority over the placement of ads. Abdullah said that he would like to encourage governor Satya Pal Malik to reconsider the decision. Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and leader of National Conference Omar Abdullah on Thursday termed the governments move to withdraw or downgrade the security of mainstream political leaders and activists regressive and retrograde and said that his party would move court if the decision is not revisited. Withdrawal of security of leaders is a regressive step. It is the duty of the state to provide security to its people. If anything happens, they will be held responsible for it, he said at a press conference here. Earlier in a tweet, the former chief minister said, Withdrawal of security to mainstream political workers & office bearers is a retrograde step that will only weaken political activity in the Valley. This is regardless of the fact that no one from @JKNC_ has had their security withdrawn in yesterdays list. Elaborating on his viewpoint, he said that the security has been withdrawn also from mainstream politicians, particularly at a time when the Central government wants maximum participation in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. My concern is about the withdrawal of security to mainstream political operators. On the one hand, you are telling us that we have to be prepared for Parliament and the Assembly elections. On the other hand, you are telling us that we no longer deserve the protection of the state, he added. Mr Abdullah said that mainstream political parties should be encouraged to step up their activities and build greater contact with people. He said that he had no doubt that this step has been taken without taking into consideration the inputs from Central and state intelligence agencies which can only mean its been done for political purposes and there is an element of pick and choose at play here. Mr Abdullah said that he would like to encourage governor Satya Pal Malik to reconsider the decision. If it is not revisited we will approach the courts and ask them to intervene, he said. As for the security of separatists also being withdrawn, he said that the successive governments including those led by the Congress and the BJP had allotted them security. The state government had on Wednesday anno-unced withdrawing or downgrading the security cover of 18 separatist leaders and 155 other political persons saying it was wastage of the states otherwise scarce resources. A spokesman of states home department had said in winter capital Jammu, It was felt that providing security to these separatist leaders is a wastage of scarce state resources which could be better utilised elsewhere. Among the separatist leaders whose security has been downgraded or completely withdrawn are Aga Syed Hassan, Moulvi Abbas Ansari and Aga Syed Abul Hussain. This is in addition to the four separation leaders including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq whose security was withdrawn on Sunday, the spokesman had said. Moulvi Ansari had in the wake of the governments withdrawing the security cover provided to his colleague Mirwaiz Umar made a formal request to the authorities that his security too may be withdrawn as I dont need it. The home department spokesman had also said that in addition to this the security of 155 political persons and activists, who did not require the security provided to them based on their threat assessment and their activities, has also been withdrawn. These include Shah Faesal, who resigned from the IAS recently and Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, the youth leader of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). According to the government, through this measure over 1,000 police personnel and over 100 vehicles are freed to do regular police work. The move comes days after home minister Rajnath Singh had, during his visit to Srinagar, said that the security given to people getting funds from Pakistan and its intelligence agency ISI should be reviewed. Some elements in Jammu and Kashmir have links with the ISI and terrorist organisations. Their security should be reviewed, he had said after reviewing security in the aftermath of the February 14 suicide attack near here in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed and several others injured. Nimish Sawant 14 February 2019 at 3:30 PM IST: A convoy of 78 vehicles were transporting around 2,500 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans from Jammu to Srinagar on National Highway 44. An SUV which is said to have been loaded with 350 kg of explosives, driven by jihadist Adil Ahmed Dar, drove a VBIED (vehicle-based improvised explosive device) into the middle of the convoy and blew himself up, killing around 40 jawans on the spot. The death toll has now risen to 49. The attack was followed by a video released by terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed claiming responsibility for the dastardly attack. Casualties of this magnitude, especially ones involving terrorist organisations based in Pakistan, are hot button topics in India. No sooner had the country come to terms with the colossal loss of the lives of our jawans than calls of war-mongering started to be heard on many news media outlets as well as on social media platforms. On 15 February, I received a forward which showed a photo of Congress president Rahul Gandhi standing beside what looked like an obviously photoshopped image of the Pulwama attack bomber Adil Ahmed Dar. I promptly pointed that out and after a quick Google search, sent this link on the group to tell the members that this was fake news. Then another day, there was some video that was shared in another group which claimed to show CCTV footage from the Pulwama attack. Again a quick Google search revealed that this was a car bomb attack in Syria. These forwards were followed by patriotic spiels of how we must call for war on Pakistan. Of course, such hyper-nationalist messages are also being shared on Twitter and Facebook, but one social media platform which is ubiquitous, where these kind of messages are getting the maximum shares and is again in the news for all the wrong reasons is WhatsApp. Its not even been a year since we came to learn how the spread of fake news on WhatsApp could have played an instrumental role in the lynching of innocent citizens. Of course, the mob lynching was more of a law and enforcement problem than merely that of WhatsApp being used to spread the fake messages, but the messaging platform was definitely weaponised in a way during those mob lynchings. WhatsApp announced scores of measures since then, yet here we are again. Whats happening on WhatsApp Journalist Kunal Purohit in his investigative news story on Firstpost spoke about the kind of messages being generated within closed groups for circulation on WhatsApp. An investigation reveals that political WhatsApp groups, run by sympathisers and workers of political parties, saw a flood of disinformation within hours of the attack. From systematic warmongering through similar messages in multiple groups calling for nuclear strikes to circulating fake videos of Congress workers chanting Pakistan zindabad, WhatsApp groups are abuzz with hyper-nationalistic text, videos, photos and memes, says Purohit in the story. But how easy is it, really, to get into these politically motivated groups whose only mission is to bombard the WhatsApp universe with fake propaganda? Purohit said that getting into these WhatsApp groups can happen in multiple ways. You can either get invited to be part of these groups. Sometimes you may get links to join other groups within one group or the admin himself may share links to other like-minded groups, said Purohit, thereby ensuring more people are privy to the propaganda machinery. Purohit said that a lot of political parties even ask their ground level cadre to make groups of people who are within their localities so that WhatsApp forwards can be easily disseminated. Some even have a dedicated party member at the local party office to only make new WhatsApp groups with new members. Dr Shakuntala Banaji and Ramnath Bhat of the London School of Economics who are working on the WhatsApp Vigilantes project team have also discovered certain peculiarities of the system under which such groups operate. According to their preliminary findings, irrespective of the forwarding limit, those making and circulating hateful misinformation and propaganda in India have not been curbed. There are organised circuits of fake news. Although some of these are by unaffiliated citizens, most come with affiliation to the positions of the Indian far right, groups within groups, who are finding creative ways of getting their fake images and hate-speech out to a wider, willing audience made credulous by strong ideological leanings towards the ruling party and its political views, says Banaji. A quick run through such forwards will bring forth aspects of hyper-nationalism, patriotism, showing hate towards the minority communities and the deafening calls for going to war with Pakistan. Its not just limited to WhatsApp. Sometimes you see the same material showing up on Twitter or Facebook and thats when you know a concerted effort is being put to make a message go viral, said Purohit. The messages arent limited to the English language either. A lot of the groups Purohit used for his investigation had people communicating in Hindi as a majority of these groups were run by political sympathisers or leaders. And thanks to WhatsApp being the medium of choice to stay in touch with your loved ones abroad, the hate is being shared among the NRI community as well. On 16 February, I got a message from a friend based in the US featuring CCTV footage of vehicles going on a highway and after 10 secs, a bomb blows up. The video was framed within a box which read Pulwama Martyrs on top with a crying emoji. My friend told me this was a message being circulated among his Indian friends' group in the US. While the video was real, the place wasnt Pulwama but Iraq. You can clearly see a desert landscape, but anyone who hasnt read enough about the Pulwama attacks could have easily fallen for it. What should I do if I get fake WhatsApp forwards? Every group we are part of has some or the other member who will be sharing these kinds of messages without verification. Its not like such messages are forwarded by people who wouldnt know any better. Most of the time, our well-educated friends and relatives also get emotionally charged and think that sending such forwards amounts to showing their patriotic side. So long as the admin of the group does not kick out such members, the only way to stop the spread of any message which is inciting hatred or misinformation is to either (a) call out the member for sharing what looks like fake information, with maybe a link to an article online busting the so-called patriotic forward or (b) block that member or (c) just leave the group. Being an Indian, you will most likely be part of a couple of Family groups at least. Leaving those groups comes with its own set of headaches and a lot of elderly family members also fall into this trap of being hyper-patriotic. Whats the way out, then? For starters, we can at least start a dialogue with said family members. Want some help in how to go about it? Well, WhatsApp itself is promoting advertisements (which are a first globally) which try to explain the harm of forwarding misinformation. It may not be easy in a public group, but with family and friends, one can at least try. But we are all part of some groups where we may know only some people on that group, and may or may not know the admin. For whatever reasons, you may not want to exit these groups but at the same time are sick and tired of fake news being shared here. Its as though some members on these groups have an agenda to spread hate. Is there a legal way out of this? According to Section 79 of the IT Act, intermediaries such as WhatsApp have to remove illegal content from their platforms within 36 hours of being informed of the same by a court order. If there is no court order, WhatsApp may take its own time to take action. The safe harbour protection under the intermediary liability laws exempts WhatsApp from being held accountable for content generated by its users. For now. But in the case of most WhatsApp groups, getting a court order isnt practical. Cyberlaw expert Asheeta Regidi says, For a person receiving or viewing such content on WhatsApp, he or she should inform the group administrator (since in some jurisdictions they are being held liable if they do not act); and depending on the severity of the content, also file a complaint with the nearest police station. Yes, if a message or forward is inciting hate, spreading fake news, inciting violent actions or trying to defame someone, it can also be brought to the notice of the police who can then act on it depending on the nature of the offence, says Regidi. If you are planning to go down that route, ensure you have the screenshots of the discriminatory content which can act as evidence in the later stage of investigations. Is the WhatsApp limit on the number of forwards helping matters? Short answer: Not really. WhatsApp has limited the number of people you can forward the message to, at a time, five people or groups. But that clearly does not seem to be working if the instant spread of propaganda-ridden forwards, which were being circulated within a few hours of the terror attack in Kashmir, are any indication. So, even if someone forwarded a fake message to five groups which can have around 256 members each that forward could theoretically reach around 1280 people. Still, there is no doubt that WhatsApp has done us all a favour by limiting the number of forwards one can send at a time to five. This policy which WhatsApp started in India last year, has now been applied globally. Mishi Chaudhary, co-founder of SFLC and managing partner at Mishi Chaudhary & Associates feels that WhatsApp and its parent Facebook need to do a lot more to contain the spread of misinformation. There needs to be an infusion of serious effort and resources. Flagging of content, removal of reported content must become easier and swifter. Having said that, we as users must also be careful in believing what is forwarded to us and not let emotions guide our thinking, said Chaudhary. According to New Delhi-based policy and technology columnist Prasanto K Roy, while it does slow down the velocity of the replication of messages, there is no material difference to the spread of messages, fake or otherwise. As for slowing down political parties or other organised entities, there is very little impact, because such organisations also create, use and leverage WhatsApp groups to the hilt. Typically, a political party would have hundreds of WhatsApp groups, each with 200+ people, and with 10-20 groups given to each individual who can easily spread a message to 20 groups, five at a time, within a minute or two. Those groups, in turn, spread to other groups, and within an hour you have the message reaching several million people in geometric progression, said Roy. Roy feels that policies to tackle or slow down fake news on WhatsApp have not really been effective, but he acknowledges that its a difficult problem to solve and platforms such as WhatsApp need to study these problems and find solutions even though WhatsApp has safe harbour protection. Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) is one of the institutions in India which has partnered with WhatsApp to train community leaders on using the platform correctly and to not fall for misinformation. According to deputy manager of communications at DEF, Udita Chaturvedi, the 5-forward limit is working to some extent in curbing the spread of misinformation. Among the participants that DEF has trained in its workshops, Chaturvedi says that around 40.4 percent of the participants on whom data has been collected feel that the forwarding limit has restricted the messages they send or receive. According to DEF, the issues arise in smaller towns where digital literacy is needed as police officers do not understand encryption and there is little understanding of how one can profit from misinformation and fake news. WhatsApp has to understand that spreading disinformation works in different ways. Especially in the Indian context where certain messages are engineered to engage you emotionally, said Purohit. He spoke of how some messages had call-to-action requests such as Make #BoycottKashmir trend or other such instructions. At times you may be asked to change your display photo on WhatsApp to show solidarity. These requests may seem harmless on the surface, but its an intelligent way to subtly perpetrate a false narrative, says Purohit. According to a WhatsApp India spokesperson, its efforts to limit forwards are working in India. We care deeply about the safety of our users. To help keep WhatsApp safe, we deploy advanced machine learning technology to ban accounts attempting to send bulk or automated messages, including those that send misinformation or other politically motivated content. You can read more in our white paper. We also make it easy to block or report a user in just one tap and use that feedback to ban accounts engaging in abuse, said the WhatsApp India spokesperson. The price to pay: Loss of encryption WhatsApp is a versatile messaging platform that has certainly been revolutionary as far as private communication goes. In an age when we were paying heavy SMS fees to communicate with our loved ones, WhatsApp came as a breath of fresh air, letting us do away with SMSing altogether. Over the years, it has added more features such as audio and video calling. Having 200 million odd users in India is no mean feat, and this makes it all the more difficult to leave this platform as most of your family and friends are here. But when WhatsApps popularity is used for spreading hate and violence, it just makes the case stronger for those who are demanding its end-to-end encryption (e-2-e) be taken off. As it is, there have been demands from MeiTY to hold the platforms responsible for incorporating pro-active measures to prevent the spread of misinformation. WhatsApp, which offers e-2-e encryption, has no way of knowing the content of messages shared by its users. The sub-text then for apps such as WhatsApp or Telegram, which use e-2-e encryption, is this: get rid of the encryption. This would be a disaster for user privacy. If e-2-e is broken then WhatsApp will most likely exit India because that would destroy their credibility as a messaging platform and moreover, it is the end for WhatsApp as a fintech service the main revenue model for which they are awaiting a license. It also sets a precedent for governments to ask for and get more access to other encrypted platforms. In general, it would be a body blow to privacy, says Bhat. We have many precedents of surveillance systems from history East Germany, for one. In the current scenario one just has to look at China and how online surveillance is par for the course there with every major technology company mandated to provide the Chinese government a back door entry. The argument by our government for breaking encryption, which revolves around preventing terrorist attacks and protecting national security, also doesnt mean much when we see how much hate is spewed on platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, which are open to the public. So many users on Twitter are openly threatening women, but we dont see any action being taken against them. Recently, journalist Barkha Dutt tweeted her experience of how she has been hounded by miscreants on Twitter and WhatsApp, and instead of helping her, Twitter blocked her account. I had close to 1000 abusive messages and calls in a Cordinated and violent mob attack. These included a message to shoot me, a nude photo, many sexually abusive messages. I outed the men who did this. Twitter locked me till many of the details were taken down. I wroe this to them pic.twitter.com/XRyx9xbjcV barkha dutt (@BDUTT) February 19, 2019 It really is worth asking, How much has the government cracked down on fake news or misinformation given that they can see exactly which accounts are up to mischief? In India, we feel the answer is clear: almost the only accounts which are being censored are those that appear to be critical of the government or of its allies, says Banaji. The aftermath of the Pulwama terror attacks has again punched holes in WhatsApps defences on its India strategy working. While its not the only platform which is being used to spread falsities, it is one that has the most active user base. With the general elections coming up in two months, it will be another trial by fire for beleaguered WhatsApp and its parent Facebook. Reuters AT&T Inc pulled all its advertising from Alphabet Incs YouTube for the second time in two years after a magazine reported the platform displayed ads next to videos that showed the exploitation of children. Until Google can protect our brand from offensive content of any kind, we are removing all advertising from YouTube, an AT&T spokesman said in a statement on 21 February. The move comes just one month after the US wireless carrier announced it would resume buying advertising on YouTube, after a nearly two-year boycott of the platform. The previous boycott was also due to concerns that its ads could run on videos featuring hate speech or other disturbing material. The report by Wired magazine that commercials had run alongside offensive videos and comments also prompted food and beverage maker Nestle SA to pause advertising on YouTube earlier this week. YouTube said it had removed some of the content, which violated its policies against child endangerment, nudity and other behaviours it considers inappropriate. YouTube added that it disabled comments on tens of millions of videos that include minors. Theres more to be done, and we continue to work to improve and catch abuse more quickly, YouTube said in a statement. YouTube derives most of its revenue from advertising, and it has been one of Googles fastest-growing units as consumers spend an increasing amount of time watching videos online. Google does not specify its revenue from YouTube. Advertising research firm EMarketer estimates YouTube will net $11.4 billion in worldwide revenue in 2019 after accounting for revenue shared with content producers. According to CMIEs figures as of January 2019, unemployment in Chhattisgarh stands at 7.7 percent, 0.4 per cent higher than Indias. Editor's note: This is part of a multi-article series on the jobs crisis in the three states crucial to Lok Sabha election 2019: Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Pratibha Yadav, 36, wakes up at 4.30 in the morning so she can get her two children aged 12 and 6 years ready for school and leave for work in time. I have to reach my school by 9.30 a.m, she says. Pratibha is an anganwadi worker at Rotary Nagar in Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh. She earns a salary of Rs. 5000 per month. She is an MA in Hindi literature. Anganwadis are state-run childcare centres where children up to six years of age are enrolled. These centres are expected to extend supplementary nutrition, informal pre-school education and health check-ups to counter malnutrition among kids. And the anganwadi workers are responsible for its execution. From 9.30 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon is a long and gruelling day with the kids, says Pratibha, soaking the sweat from her forehead with her pink saree. Besides, we ensure the government schemes are executed on the ground by running from pillar to post. We update voter lists. We do everything that the government employees do. Yet, we are only paid Rs 5000 a month. What can you get in that amount? Even the groceries and food cost more. Pratibha is one of the 75,000 anganwadi workers in Chhattisgarh wanting to get off the contractual job, and get regularised on a government payroll. It has been their demand for years. My husband has a private job, says Pratibha. He earns Rs 10,000 per month. What about the women who have lost their husbands or the ones alive are drunkards? Chandrakanta Vermas husband died in an accident 12 years back. Since then, she has looked after their now 16-year old son on her own by working as an anganwadi worker in Raipur. I will retire in 14 years, says the 46-year-old Verma. What do I get at the end of a service that lasted for decades? A retirement certificate. Because we are not government employees, we are not entitled to any post-retirement benefits. How am I supposed to look after myself after retirement with no pension or provident fund? In March 2018, about 25,000 anganwadi workers staged a protest for 50 days in Raipur, demanding that their minimum wage be in line with the seventh pay commission, which is Rs 18,000 a month. But the former Women and Child Development Minister of Chhattisgarh told us to quit our jobs if we were not happy with them, says Pratibha, adding, They know there are no jobs available. They know we are desperate. The District Employment Centre in Raipur is bustling on a mid-February afternoon. Candidates mostly aged between 18 and 30 years line up to register themselves. Officers explain that those looking for government jobs need to submit their marksheets and obtain a registration number. That number is to be filled in an application at the time of a job opening. By the end of January 2019, only in the district of Raipur, over 96,000 candidates have registered, and are on the lookout for a job. More than 46,000 of those are women. One of them is Chandra Sahu, 29, sitting on the steps of the centre at 1 in the afternoon, waiting for his number since 10 in the morning. I am preparing for an administrative post, says Sahu, who lives in Raipur with five roommates, where they share a rent of Rs. 3,600 per month. But every year, the vacancies are not more than 250-300 and the applicants are over 70,000. If the government jobs are hard to come by, the private ones are not exactly a dime a dozen. In Raipur division, which consists of five districts Mahasamund, Baloda Bazar, Raipur, Gariaband and Dhamtari there are 34 government-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), which offer around 20 different courses like those for welders, fitters, electricians and so on. Those who pass out of the ITIs mainly take up technical work in various industries. According to the statistics of the Joint Director of Raipur Division, 8,655 students have passed out of these ITIs since June 2015. Out of these, 2,340 have received any kind of placement. Union leaders and activists say even the ones who get jobs start off with a salary of 6-8 thousand rupees. Most of the industries depend on contractors to hire labourers, says Kaladas Dahriya, a union leader based in Bhilai 40 kilometers from Raipur. The labourers often come from outside the state, and locals end up getting sidelined. According to CMIEs figures as of January 2019, Chhattisgarhs unemployment stands at 7.7 percent, 0.4 per cent higher than Indias. When CMIE did a detailed research between May and August 2018, it found that 26 percent of Chhattisgarhs youth aged between 20 and 29 were unemployed. On the whole, the lack of options ensures that the ones hired on contractual basis cannot abandon their employment, howsoever inadequate it may be. Along with the 75,000 anganwadi workers, over 50,000 teachers, or shiksha karmi, are also sailing in the same boat. Shiksha Karmis are teachers appointed on honorarium basis by local panchayat bodies. They are not entitled to government benefits of pension or post-retirement benefits until they are part of the education department. The shiksha karmis start their salaries at Rs 12,000 per month, while the teachers on government payroll start off with around Rs 25,000. As a parting shot, former chief minister Raman Singh, in July 2018, merged over one lakh teachers into the education department out of the total school teachers (2.25 lakhs) in the state, but left out around 50,000. It was a demand which had been made for 15 years. Both teachers and anganwadi workers, who form a major workforce for the state government, say the Congress in Opposition would extend support to their demands, but the party has not walked the talk since it formed the government. In December 2018, the Congress swept the state with 68 Assembly seats out of 90, displacing Raman Singhs 15-year-old regime. With Lok Sabha elections around the corner, they say the anganwadi workers and teachers are a bit disillusioned with the new government for not immediately reassuring the workforce. In the 2014 general elections, the BJP had won 10 out of the 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh. This time, the Congress is looking to turn the tables, riding the wave of Assembly elections. Virendra Dubey, an activist who has been mobilising teachers to stage protests for their rights, says the new government would have to reassure the teachers by actively making certain changes. More than 22,000 posts of headmasters in primary schools are lying vacant, he says. 15,000 posts of professors in middle school and high school are vacant. Most of those posts are of teachers for English and mathematics. This intensifies the anger of those who are unemployed. In the meantime, Teacher Eligibility Tests are being held regularly since 2015. Candidates spend their time and effort on passing the test that is required to qualify for the job of a teacher, says Dubey. But the vacancies have not opened up since 2013. First Person Around 1.75 lakh teachers in Chhattisgarh have been asking to get regularised for years. Teachers, or shiksha karmis as they are called locally, are appointed on honorarium basis by panchayat bodies. They are not government employees until they are merged in the education department, which means the government schemes and post retirement benefits elude them. As a parting shot, former Chief Minister Raman Singh, in July 2018, merged over one lakh teachers into education department, but left out around 50,000 of them. In Chhattisgarh, the unemployment rate stands at 7.7 percent, 0.4 percent higher than Indias, according to CMIEs figures as of January 2019. When CMIE did a detailed research between May and August 2018, it found that 26 percent of Chhattisgarhs youth aged 20-29 were unemployed. At The District Employment Centre in Raipur, by the end of January 2019, over 96,000 candidates have registered, and are on the lookout for a government job only in the district of Raipur. Lack of options ensures the ones hired on contractual basis cannot abandon their employment, howsoever inadequate it may be. Madhuri Mrige, 38, from the Ghikudiya village of Rajnandgaon, lost her 35-year old husband, a teacher, in June 2015. And because he was a shiksha karmi, and not on government payroll, she didn't get any security afterwards. She explains what she has been through after his sudden death. How did he die? My husband, Chandresh Kumar, died of an attack in June 2015. He was only 35. He had been a teacher since 2002. But he wasnt regularised on a government payroll. He was a shiksha karmi, so I am not entitled to any compensation or benefits. What are the benefits you would have received if he had been a regularised teacher? I only received Rs. 25,000 ex-gratia as compensation. Shiksha karmis do not get insurance or medical allowance. I would have gotten a government job if he had been on government payroll. Now if I need a job, I would have to pass the Teachers Eligibility Test and do a two-year Diploma in Education, which is what everyone else has to do. How is it different and how is it compensation? It would have helped a long way if I had received a job. I have two kids aged 15 and 11 I need to look after. They are currently studying in government school. But I need to educate them further. My father, who is a retired foreman, has shifted to Chhattisgarh to help me. We are originally from Rajasthan. Currently, our home is sustained by my fathers pension. My in-laws have abandoned me altogether. There are 2000 women like me in Chhattisgarh, who have lost their husbands that worked as shiksha karmis. Around 40 of us met the current chief minister Bhupesh Baghel a few days back. Have you met the all state governments? What has been their attitude?We met former Chief Minister Raman Singh several times. He once told us that the partners of those who died after 2016 would get compensation like the ones on government payroll do. When we asked him why only after 2016, he reneged on the whole announcement. I have been running from pillar to post since 2015. My village is on border of Madhya Pradesh. Every time I come to Raipur for an agitation or to meet the ministers, I have to shell out money from my own pocket to travel over 100 kilometers. When in opposition, Congress would extend support. They assured us our demands would be met. Now that Congress is in power, they are not as firm on their promise. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, when we met him, curtly told us it has only been a month since we came to power. Let me work. Shutting out the Congress from the deal is a monstrously bad and immature idea, authored, if the scuttlebutt is to be taken seriously, by BSP boss Mayawati. It appears that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) have reached a final seat-sharing deal in Uttar Pradesh. By its terms, the former will contest 38 seats and the latter 37. Ajit Singhs Rashtriya Lok Dal gets three seats in the Jat-dominated western part of the state. The Congress has not been admitted to the high table, though the alliance will not field candidates in Amethi and Rae Bareli seats, traditionally contested by Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. Shutting out the Congress from the deal is a monstrously bad and immature idea, authored, if the scuttlebutt is to be taken seriously, by BSP boss Mayawati, who has had more than one occasion to excoriate the grand old party, likening it to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BSP may have its own compulsions, relating mainly to protecting its Dalit social and electoral base. But as the 2004 election results showed six of the Congress does not equal half a dozen of the BJP. Before getting into substantive arguments, lets take a look at what happened in Uttar Pradesh in 2014. The BSP got 19.6 percent of the vote, which translated into zero seats. The Dalit (Scheduled Caste) percentage of the population of the state is around 20 percent, of which the partys core social constituency, the Jatavs, comprise 9 percent. The Congress got 7.5 percent of the vote; on the basis of collateral evidence, it can be conjectured that these votes came from the upper castes and Muslims. Further, the BSP, RLD and SP together polled just under 33 percent of the votes. The Congress vote would raise that to just over 40 percent, in comparison to the BJP and Apna Dals 43.3 percent, though the latter got only 1 percent, which translated into two seats. The Congress participation in the alliance could be crucial. Mayawati and SP chief Akhilesh Yadavs refusal to recognise that is unfortunate and could critically affect outcomes in a number of constituencies. But the logic of including the Congress goes beyond the existing numbers. First, it is obvious that a united front, including the Congress, was successful in wresting three Lok Sabha seats from the BJP first Gorakhpur and Phulpur, then Kairana in by-elections last year, despite the fact that the first-mentioned constituency was Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanaths pocket borough, won by him five times. Homespun wisdom has it that if it isnt broken, dont mend it. The consequences of the alliances gratuitous repair job could be chastening. BSP and SP leaders could argue that the Congress was less than accommodative in the run-up to and the aftermath of the Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. That might be true to an extent, but, clearly, Mayawati didnt take the negotiations particularly seriously either. In any case, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has since shown a much more flexible, accommodative and realistic approach, which the Uttar Pradesh alliance should have taken cognisance of. Rahuls decision to let state units negotiate local alliances betokens the new approach. Then there is the Priyanka Gandhi Vadra factor. There is no real need to celebrate her formal entry into Uttar Pradesh politics as some kind of new dawn for the Congress, because the state organisation is in shambles and, the truth be told, she has little experience in managing the nitty-gritty of campaigning and all the appurtenances that need to be fixed in connection with running an electoral project. There is not just enough evidence to pronounce any kind of judgement. Comparisons with Indira Gandhi are hardly anything to go by. That having been said, there is enough evidence that Priyankas appointment as general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh has enthused both party cadres and voters, in a general sense. And, it is precisely the fact that Priyanka is an unknown quantity that could play in her favour. Clearly, it has been criminally unwise of the alliance to summarily jettison the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, while, Akhilesh, at least, is willing to play footsie with it at the national level. In this connection, it would perhaps be relevant to mention that though the Dalit vote has remained with Mayawati, if any party can at all splinter it, it will be the BJP. The BSP boss needs all the help she can get, she only needs to junk her overly suspicious frames of reference. If the Congress is in any position to claim a share of any vote bloc, it will be the Muslim vote, which at 19+ percent, will be critical. Mayawati and Akhilesh may reckon that they have it sewn up, but that may not be the case given the likelihood that the Muslims will vote for whichever party they think will be able to defeat the BJP. On that count, too, having the Congress onside would be useful. Finally, we come to the Pulwama attack. The fact is that the BJPs conduct before and after the attack was first incompetent, then cynical. There was an intelligence failure and the surreal decision to send out a mammoth convoy, which was a sitting duck. After the event, unlike the Opposition, the ruling party kept up with its election campaign, while urging others to refrain from politicizing the issue. But the question is whether all that will cut any ice with the voters. The BJP is way and away more adept at manipulation than any other party. And it will spare no effort to milk the human tragedy and project itself as the only formation that can address security concerns with a strong prime minister at the helm especially if it gets a single-party mandate as opposed to a mandate for a disparate Opposition. With the elections almost upon us, not many will ponder the statistics that show infiltration, attacks and fatalities have all risen under the current dispensation, never mind the governments much-hyped surgical strikes. It is thus absolutely vital for all parties seeking to consign the BJP to the margins to speak in one voice. Will that purpose be served if the members of a still putative national alliance behave as the BSP and SP have done? There is still time for the Uttar Pradesh heavyweights to ponder this question. The dread that thousands of members of the Matua community feel in West Bengal stems from the implementation of the NRC in Assam. Editor's note: A network of 60 reporters set off across India to test the idea of development as it is experienced on the ground. Their brief: Use your mobile phone to record the impact of 120 key policy decisions on everyday life; what works, what doesn't and why; what can be done better and what should be done differently. Their findings straight and raw from the ground will be combined in this series, Election on the Go, over a course of 100 days. Read more articles from the series here *** Thakurnagar: Mihir Mondal (42), currently a tea seller, came with his family from Bangladesh's Khulna to Thakurnagar in 1991. A Hindu of the Matua sect, he fears a BJP victory would leave him, and many others like him, facing an uncertain future. "I have been living in India since 1991 and I still have not got any official ID, said Mondal. My son has got an Aadhaar card but my wife and I do not have any identity cards. We feel quite threatened to see the current political scenario in the country. The dread that Mondal, and thousands of other Matuas like him feel, stems from the implementation of the NRC in Assam, an exercise that, several BJP leaders say, needs to be held in Bengal too. Mihirs relatives in Assam were left out of the NRCs first draft, like many other Matuas in the state. It will be a very stressful time for families like ours, he said on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit in January to kick off the 2019 election campaign in the state. That Modi chose this small town on the Bangladesh border, that also happens to be the headquarters of the Matua Mahasangha, is telling. It shows his intention to take on the TMC and Mamata Banerjee, long considered the "protectors" of the Matua community. The sect, comprising members of the Namasudra caste, was founded by social reformer Harichand Thakur in Bangladesh in the late 1800s. His grandson Pramatha Ranjan established the sect's headquarters at Thakurnagar. The Matuas first started moving into West Bengal in the 1940s. They formed the Matua Sangha in North 24 Parganas in West Bengal and spread out to South 24 Parganas, Dinajpur, Nadia, Cooch Behar and Malda, and parts of the North East. Many still have relatives in Bangladesh and they essentially remain a refugee community even after living in India for many decades. Matuas in Bengal are mostly involved in unskilled and unorganised labour. Krishnapada Mondal, who works as a rickshaw puller, says, "I came here alone, and had no one with me from my family. My wife hails from Bangaon. My wife and children could get their IDs showing her paternal side's ID proofs and I was left out. Now, my family fears that if the NRC is implemented, I will have to leave this country." The same fear haunts Shakti Panda, whose wife and children have voter IDs, but he doesn't. The BJP leaders of Thakurnagar had reached out to them and said there will be no deportation and gave other assurances before Modis visit. Panda was told that the Matuas will get incentives, Modi would help the Matuas get citizenship, and he would give the Matua guru Guruchand Thakur ( a descendent of Harichand Thakur) a Bharat Ratna. He said, "So we all rushed to hear him. However, to our disappointment, he said nothing in the community's favour." Govinda Chandra Ghatak, a former school teacher and Matua activist, explained, "The Matuas who came to India were tortured in communal riots in Bangladesh, and in such a situation, you dont stop to think of first collecting documents like birth certificates or IDs and then take refuge. There would be approximately 75,000 people who dont have voter rights in Shukiapur, Thakurnagar and Ichapur I and II. Even in Thakurnagar, 40 percent of the Matuas don't have IDs, as per my research. The problem the Matuas confront to acquire a voter ID is the linkage voter rule. "If the father is an Indian voter, then you may become a voter, said Ghatak. Many don't have proper documentation. If someone has an Aadhaar number, he/she may not have a ration card; if someone else has a ration card, he/she may not have an Aadhaar number. Now what do you do? You call all these lakhs of people infiltrators?" Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee has been particularly helpful to the Matuas, claim the people of the community. She flagged off a project to give Thakurnagar its very own university, the Harichand Guruchand Thakur University named after the sects founder and his son. When Mamata Banerjee was railway minister, Thakurnagar got its only railway station. Concrete roads were built. Further, Banerjee put funds into a number of devotional activities of the Matuas, helped the community get better educational infrastructure, with Thakurnagar recently getting a government college. Given the Matua communitys support for Banerjee, the BJP sought to push the argument that only one family, the descendants of the founder of the Matua sect, are getting all the political mileage. Earlier, Matua godmother Binapani Devi (Guruchand Thakurs wife) had helped Mamata Banerjee enter the Mahasangha and in 2009, she made Banerjee the chief patron of the All India Matua Mahasangha. Consequently, a splinter group of the Matua Mahasangh has emerged that is more right-leaning and not as sympathetic to the TMC. Dilip Ghosh, BJP West Bengal state president said, "If anyone ever has used Matuas as a vote bank, it is Mamata Banerjee. The BJP wants NRC in Bengal in order to make the lives of people better". In BJPs calculations is also the fact the Matuas, the second largest Scheduled Caste community in the state, are an influential voting segment in about 74 Assembly segments. Modis BJP sabha was obviously an attempt to weaken the support for the TMC, and downplay this refugee-versus-infiltrator argument. Saikat Halder, a member of the All India Matua Mahasangha, said, "Didi has promised that she won't let a single Matua be evicted and we believe her. My children don't have IDs yet. Many Matuas are scared. Modi came and increased our fear. It was perhaps to assuage these fears that Modi decided to focus on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Thakurnagar; a tactical move to balance the kind of anger caused because of NRC, which he completely omitted to bring up. The prime minister said, After independence, many people stayed where they were. But after being tortured, they left and came back to India. They had to as Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis and Christians have nowhere else to go but India. And thats why we are bringing the citizenship law. I urge the Trinamool to support it in Parliament. My brothers and sisters here need it. Will this move be helpful for the BJP to tone down the desperation about NRC? Santanu Thakur, leader of the BJP-aligned faction of the Matua Mahasangha said, "Why not? Modiji's hard work is reflecting in our country's development. We have written to the state BJP leadership about our Matua brothers whose names were excluded from the NRC list of Assam. We have been assured that no Matua will be sent away. And now, Modiji also spoke of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. I believe if this bill is passed, many Matuas will be able to acquire voter IDs and citizenship." Mihir Mondal, however, rejected this claim and said, "If the BJP was here to help people like us, then why in the first place would they want to come up with a policy like this, which would leave so many people stateless? These are all poll gimmicks." Meanwhile, in PR Thakur Colony, the 50 makeshift houses that are home to many Matuas were either locked or vacant, their residents gone to see what Modi had to say. It looked like a ghost colony until we met Kanchan Samaddar. "Sobai khichuri khete gache (all of them have gone to join the feast), she said, explaining the deserted look. We asked her why she did not go. She shot back, "What will happen? I have no faith. I heard Modi came by helicopter. My son and his family have gone to the ground. They said they will bring some khichdi for me. No cooking for the day, she said with a smile on her face. (The author is a Kolkata-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.) What Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have been doing while the Jaish-e-Mohammad engineered the suicide attack that killed 42 Central Reserve Police Force soldiers in Pulwama on 14 February, has given birth to a Twitter battle between Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and the Bharatiya Janata Party. What Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have been doing while the Jaish-e-Mohammad engineered the suicide attack that killed over 40 Central Reserve Police Force soldiers in Pulwama on 14 February, has given birth to a pitched Twitter battle involving Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Congress social media in-charge Divya Spandana and the official Twitter handles of the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party. At a media interaction on Thursday, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala had said Modi had been shooting for a documentary at the Jim Corbett National Park on the afternoon when the suicide attack took place. The photographs of Modi from that day, which were displayed by Surjewala, were tweeted by Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday. Calling Modi the "prime time minister," Rahul said the prime minister had continued shooting for the film three hours after news of the Pulwama terror strike came in. Using the hashtag #PhotoShootSarkar, Rahul sought to highlight how Modi was seemingly oblivious while "there was an ocean of pain in the country's hearts." Within an hour of Rahul's tweet, the official handle of the BJP had tweeted that the photos were "from that morning" (and therefore could not be used to prove that Modi was shooting during the afternoon attack) and accused Rahul of peddling fake news. The tweet also, even more damningly, said Rahul may have known of the attack in "advance." Rahul Ji, India is tired of your fake news. Stop sharing photos from that morning to shamelessly mislead the nation. Maybe you knew in advance of the attack but people of India got to know in the evening. Try a better stunt next time, where sacrifice of soldiers isnt involved. https://t.co/qiAhUKrNdg BJP (@BJP4India) February 22, 2019 Congress social media in-charge Divya Spandana was quick to ask BJP make up its own mind and cited discrepancies in the weather of that morning and the claim that the photos were from that time. "This is what happens when you lie, you cant keep track of it. Make up your mind BJP was there bad weather or not? Was he informed or not? 'Cos if this is morning then you're caught lying with your pants down," she tweeted. She also wrote on how no national mourning was declared. Tragic truth is whether he knew in time or not, he didnt even declare national mourning that speaks volume of the man. Also he continued to campaign, kept the martyrs family waiting for hours. Didnt condemn the attacks on Kashmiris. The irony, he went to collect a peace award! Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) February 22, 2019 The Congress' official Twitter handle too got involved and pointed the BJP to a news article. Nice try, but the only one pulling stunts was Modiji during his photoshoot - which took place from 2:30 to 4:30pm (at this point he knew about the attacks) - & then at a rally where he didn't even bother addressing the Pulwama attack. #PhotoShootSarkar https://t.co/nfPsocUtsL https://t.co/8xE7PnAbwl Congress (@INCIndia) February 22, 2019 At Thursday's press meet, Surjewala had suggested that Modi's shoot was for "self propagation". He also claimed the prime minister had continued to "have tea and samosas at seven o'clock in a PWD guest house when every single Indian household didn't eat food (that day)". On 14 February, Modi was in Uttarakhand for multiple events. News of the Pulwama attack began coming in by 3.30 pm. In the wake of the Congress accusation, a senior government official told Economic Times that an "aggrieved Prime Minister cancelled his rally in Rudrapur and held multiple review meetings in Uttarakhand" after learning of the attack. "It was on the way from Corbett to Rudrapur around 4 pm that news of the attack first trickled in. Modi was angry about being informed late," he said. By 6.48 pm, he had tweeted his first reaction to the attack. With inputs from PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi was shooting for a documentary on the afternoon of Pulwama on 14 February, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was shooting for a documentary at Jim Corbett National Park on the afternoon when a suicide bomber killed 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama on 14 February, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a media interaction on Thursday. Displaying pictures of Modi from the national park and detailing his itinerary, Surjewala said that Pulwama attack was reported around 3.10 pm on 14 February. Citing news reports, he said that Modi was in Jim Corbett till 6.30 pm and exited from the Dhangarhi gate at 6.40 pm, having made no statement on the dastardly attacks till then. "When the country was mourning the loss of lives of jawans in the Pulwama attack, Narendra Modi was busy shooting a film till the evening. Is there any Prime Minister in the world like this?" Surjewala said. He further said that Modi was at the Ramnagar PWD guest house for tea at 7.10 pm, accounting for four hours of silence on the Pulwama attack at his end. The Congress spokesperson also hit out at BJP chief Amit Shah politicisation of terrorism, when the latter said in Assams Lakhimpur that the sacrifices of the slain CRPF jawans will not go in vain with the BJP government at the Centre. He further said that questions must be asked about the gross intelligence failure of the government, questioning the priorities of the prime minister who has gone on a tour of South Africa instead of tackling terrorism. Surjewala also lashed out at Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Alphons Kannanthanam for posting a selfie on Facebook with the dead body of a CRPF jawan who lost his life in the Pulwama attack. Alphons visited Havildar Vasantha Kumar VVs home in Kerala and laid a wreath on his coffin. The Union minister, however, later said that it was not a selfie and someone else have clicked it even asking the Kerala DGP to investigate into the matter. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said that the appointment of Lt Gen DS Hooda to the national security police panel is significant. It is a belated and grudging recognition and acceptance of the surgical strikes of 2016 with which the General was intrinsically associated, he said. Yesterday the Congress President announced the appointment of Lieutenant General DS Hooda (Retd) and a committee headed by him to advise the Party on National Security Policy. Lieutenant General Hooda is an experienced and distinguished former officer of the Indian Army. I have not the least doubt that he would give very valuable advice to the grand old Party. The appointment of General Hooda is significant. It is a belated and grudging recognition and acceptance of the surgical strikes of 2016 with which the General was intrinsically associated. I am sure the Head of the Advisory Panel would educate the Party leaders that the surgical strikes were no routine step which had been taken several times in the past, but a significant first for India. The Party which has ruled the country for over half a century should need to be educated on national security concerns is somewhat intriguing. I am sure amongst the various advices that experts will render to the Congress President on strategic issues, a few basic points would be essential. I am enumerating some of the basic points which are integrally connected to consistency on the issue of national security: Do not give an impression to the world that India is divided on how to fight terrorism. When the world is rallying around India, the Opposition in India should not be striking a discordant note. Do not trivialise a serious national concern on terrorism as has been done by the Congress Spokespersons in the past two days. Next time if extremists and separatists raise slogans on how to break India (the JNU incident), no one from mainstream parties should pay a supporting visit to them. There is no freedom of speech to advocate a breakup of India. Do not encourage indiscriminate illegal immigration into India and block steps which are taken to stop it. It hurts national security. Our Armed forces are amongst the most professional organisations which have served this country exceedingly well. They work under civilian command and maintain an arms length distance from the internal politics of the country. Politicians of any shade of opinion should not get into slanging match with any of the services personnel or their Chief. The Chief of a Force cant be described as a Sadak ka Goonda . When security personnel fight the terrorists and make sacrifices (e.g. Batla House), do not legitimise terrorism by standing shoulder to shoulder with the terrorists and call the war against terror as a fake encounter. When our intelligence agencies conduct anti-insurgency operations along with the security forces (e.g. Ishrat Jahan case), do not let lose investigative agencies on the intelligence and security network of India. To serve petty political gains, do not politicise defence procurement on false and imaginary facts. It hurts defence preparedness. I am sure there would be many serious inputs relating to the security strategy that experts would give to the Congress Party. Ordinary patriotic Indians who do not have the benefit of strategic inputs, would also know the response to the above points. This article first appeared on Arun Jaitley's official Facebook page. It has not been edited for content or style by Firstpost staff. In an apparent attack on the BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday alleged that efforts were on to introduce an 'inhuman' religion in the country on the basis of divisive politics. Kolkata: In an apparent attack on the BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday alleged that efforts were on to introduce an "inhuman" religion in the country on the basis of divisive politics. Banerjee, without directly naming it, accused the saffron party of trying to impose its choice of food, clothing and religion on the people and then deciding who would stay in the country and who would be thrown out. "They are trying to create an inhuman religion based on their belief and decide who are going to stay in the country and who will leave. They are deciding in which language people will speak, what the people will eat and wear. They are trying to change the history of the country," she said at a programme on the International Mother Language Day. "If some people are trying to implement one law as per their will, we will not let them do so. We don't support this theory of divisive politics...," she said. Banerjee urged people not to pay heed to provocations meant to create differences among them and stay united. "United India is what we want. Let's think and speak about unity.... There must not be any divide and rule policy," she said. Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress chief, said she does not believe in the politics of dividing people on the basis of their religion, caste and creed. The chief minister also criticised the threats that a Kashmiri medical practitioner in Kolkata received following the Pulwama terror attack. "We cannot ask a Kashmiri shawl trader to leave because an incident had happened. How audacious they are to order one doctor who is practising here for more than 20 years to leave for one single incident," she said. She asked people to use their mother tongue to protest the move to divide the country. Earlier in the day, Banerjee urged people to respect all languages, but take pride in their mother tongue. "Best wishes to all on International Mother Language Day. Respect all languages but take pride in your mother tongue," she tweeted. International Mother Language Day is observed around the world on 21 February to promote awareness on linguistic and cultural diversity. In December 2018, Anupriya Patel who is the Minister of State for health and family welfare in the BJP cabinet had said that the BJP was not giving due respect to its smaller allies. New Delhi: Apna Dal (Sonelal) convener and minister of state in Modi cabinet Anupriya Patel on Thursday said that her party will now be free to choose its own path as the BJP leadership was not displaying any interest in resolving her party's issues. Speaking to media persons, Patel said, "We were facing some problems with the BJP and we had shared it with their party's top leaders. We had given them time till 20 February to resolve the issues but none of the problems were solved. This shows that BJP has no concern for its allies and is not interested in them and hence Apna Dal (S) is now free to choose its own path." Apna Dal national president Ashish Patel, however, said the party is very much part of NDA as of now and the future course will be decided by the end of February after a meeting of party office bearers. "We are part of NDA. We had some issues with Uttar Pradesh BJP, which we had raised in front of the central leadership. However, no action has been taken in that regard. Today we have decided that a meeting of core committee of our party will be convened on February, 28 and the future course will be decided," Patel told ANI. He also added that Apna Dal does not have any conflict with BJP on the seat-sharing issue. "We honestly want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to get re-elected. But for that the UP BJP has to change its attitude. If our demands are met, we will strongly support the NDA in 2019 elections," he said. On the issues between Apna Dal and Uttar Pradesh government, he said, "We had demanded that our party workers be given positions in different corporations of the state. They have made around 300 such appointments but none of our workers were given the opportunity." He also said that Apna Dal is not in talks with any other party for an alliance in upcoming Lok Sabha elections. In December last year, Anupriya Patel who is the Minister of State for health and family welfare had said that the BJP was not giving due respect to its smaller allies. "BJP should learn from its recent losses. The SP-BSP alliance is a challenge for us. My party president has already expressed the party's view and I stand by it," Patel had said last year on 31 December. Apna Dal had contested 2014 Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the BJP winning two seats Mirzapur and Pratapgarh. JD(U) is a strong NDA constituent in Bihar and his stand on the issue of Article 370 may cause uneasiness in the political circles here. Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday said that scraping of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir was not possible as there is provision for it in the Constitution. His statement comes at a time when there is public outrage in the country over the Pulwama attack in which forty CRPF soldiers were martyred a week earlier. I am not favour of scrapping of Article 370 because there is a provision in the Constitution. But at the same time I also would like to say that the government must take all necessary measures to wipe out terrorism in the country, Mr Kumar said on the sidelines of an event in Patna. Mr Kumar also welcomed the Centres decision to withdraw security cover of separatist leaders. JD(U) is a strong NDA constituent in Bihar and his stand on the issue of article 370 may cause uneasiness in the political circles here. His statement on the issue came after Union Minister and senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh made a strong pitch for the removal of article 370. The prevailing mood in the country is to avenge the Pulwama attack and the government is taking all necessary measures to combat terrorism. The government will not allow any kind of anti-national activities in the country, Union Minister Giriraj Singh said. Amit Shah took potshots and attacked the proposed 'mahagathbandhan' of Opposition parties and said if it comes to power, there will be a new prime minister on each day of the week. Palakkad: BJP president Amit Shah on Friday took potshots and attacked the proposed "mahagathbandhan" of Opposition parties and said if it comes to power, there will be a new prime minister on each day of the week. Addressing party workers, Shah said the 'grand alliance' was not good for the country. The mahagathbandhan was just a "front of the corrupt people to grab power" and does not have any ideology, leader or programme, Shah, who was in Palakkad to review his party's poll preparedness for the Lok Sabha elections, said. Taking potshots at the proposed Opposition front, Shah said every day of the week, there would be a new prime minister, if they came to power. "I will tell you who will become the prime minister if the Opposition comes to power. On Monday, Akhilesh Yadav will be the prime minister, on Tuesday it will be Mayawati. Wednesday will be for Chandrababu Naidu and Thursday for Deve Gowda and Mamata Banerjee will the prime minister on Friday. On Saturday it will be DMK leader M K Stalin. On Sunday, since it is a holiday, there will no prime minister," Shah said. He said the 2019 election was important for the BJP as it would return to power, and expressed hope that there would be MPs from Kerala to be part of the central government. "This poll is important to the country as well. Rahul Gandhi was eager to form a mahagathbandhan. This is not good for the country. This mahagathbandhan doesn't have any ideology, leader or programme. This is just a front of the corrupt to grab power," Shah said. Do the people need a "leader or a dealer?" he asked. "The Opposition just has dealers, but BJP has got a leader Narendra Modi, one who can lead this country," he said. Claiming that the prime minister was a workaholic and puts in 18 hours of work each day for the country, Shah said there was no corruption allegation against Modi. "He is the most popular and respected leader of the world. He is working hard to make the country a world leader," Shah said. Shah also attacked the ruling CPM-led LDF in Kerala and the UDF opposition spearheaded by the Congress. "When the LDF comes to power, there is violence and during UDF regime, there is corruption and both fronts help cover each others mistakes. But if the BJP-led NDA comes to power all the corrupt will be put behind bars," he said. Attacking the left government, he said the "Communist party has become extinct in the world. That's the situation of the Congress party in the country. NDA is planning a big win in the state," Shah said. He also asked the people of Kerala to give an opportunity to the Narendra Modi government to make the state the best in the country. "People of Kerala have been alternatively electing the ruling CPM-led LDF and Congress-headed UDF. Give a chance to Narendra Modi. We will make Kerala the number 1 state in the country," he said. Shah also wanted Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to explain what the two previous UPA governments have done for Kerala. "I want to ask Rahul baba what the Congress has done for Kerala. The UPA government ruled for ten years. During the UPA regime, Rs 45,392 crore was spent for the state. But the Modi government had allocated over Rs 198,00 crore in five years, despite not having a single MP from Kerala," he said. This is four times more than what the UPA government had done, he said. Besides this amount, various projects worth Rs 59,000 crore had been allotted to the state. Lashing out at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, he said, "Pinarayi Vijayan comes to Delhi and asks Prime Minister what we have given to the state. I don't have any obligation to answer Vijayan, but my obligation is towards the people of the state," Shah said. The BJP government has given four times more assistance to the state government, he said and alleged that the Left government in Kerala had been creating hindrances on various projects sanctioned by the Centre. "The state government has delayed land acquisition for Kanjikode Railway factory and AIIMS projects," he said. Shah alleged the state government has been delaying these projects out of fear that if these become a reality, it might enhance the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shah also alleged that Vijayan was "playing politics" and stalling the state's development. Hitting out at the ruling CPM on the Sabarimala issue, the BJP chief said the state govenrment has been "cheating" crores of Ayyappa devotees and denying them justice. "This would only result in "unsettling the foundation of the communist party in the state," Shah said. He alleged the LDF government has not yet removed the loudspeakers from mosques despite the Supreme Court verdict. "The LDF government has been stating that they were bound by the Supreme Court verdict (on the Sabarimala issue). However, the top court has also said that no loudspeakers can be used in mosques. From how many mosques have you removed the loudspeakers. Have you implemented that Supreme Court verdict?" Shah asked. "The atheist communists have tried to deny justice to the believers," he said. The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad, Friday, arrested two suspected Jaish-e-Mohammad operative from the state's Deoband town in Saharanpur district, home to the famous Darul Uloom Islamic University. The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad, Friday, detained two suspected Jaish-e-Mohammad operative from the state's Deoband town in Saharanpur district, home to the famous Darul Uloom Islamic University. The police has secured their two-day remand from the Lucknow ATS court. The Uttar Pradesh ATS has nabbed two Jaish terrorist Shahnawaz Ahmed Teli, who is originally a resident of Kulgam in south Kashmir and Aqib Ahmed Mallik from Pulwama. It is alleged that the duo was living Deoband, posing as students of the Deoband institute, to brainwash and recruit young Islamic students to join militancy in Kashmir. The duo, however, failed to show any document proving that they were registered students of the Islamic studies institute. Speaking to the press, Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police, OP Singh said that the police recovered two weapons and live cartridges from their possession, apart from large quantities of jehadi literature, and videos and photographs glorifying militants. Singh said that the police investigation will continue primarily on four counts that how long they have been living in Saharanpur, if they managed to recruit in youths, where was the funding for their mission coming from, and what was their target in Uttar Pradesh. "Of the two, Shahnawaz is said to be a grenade expert. We will investigate when they came here from Kashmir and who is funding them and what was their target. We are in touch with the Jammu and Kashmir Police," the Uttar Pradesh DGP said. The crackdown on JeM overground workers and operatives was scaled up after the 14 February attack on a Central Reserve Police Force convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. JeM, which is an anti-India terrorist group based in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack on the CRPF convoy. In Jammu and Kashmir too, the security forces have initiated a crackdown on JeM militants in the Valley. On Friday, the security forces gunned down another JeM operative in Barammulla when a search party was fired upon by the holed up militant. The security forces were conducting a search operation based on specific intelligence inputs. On Monday, security forces had gunned down the mastermind of the Pulwama terror attack along with two other terrorists of the group in an encounter. However, the forces lost a Major-rank Indian Army officer and four other security personnel in the gun battle. The slain soldiers were identified as Major VS Dhondial, Havaldar Sheo Ram and Sepoys Hari Singh and Ajay Kumar. A head constable of the police was also killed. A civilian also died in the gunfight, though the troops had urged local residents to stay indoors for their safety. Deputy Inspector General of Police, South Kashmir, Amit Kumar, was also injured in the gunbattle between militants and security forces in Pinglana area of the district. Brigadier Harbir Singh of 12 Sector Rashtriya Rifles, a Lieutenant colonel, a Captain and a sub-inspector were also injured. With inputs from PTI In a strong show of international solidarity and support for India, the UNSC on Thursday condemned the 'heinous and cowardly' Pulwama terror attack. United Nations: In a strong show of international solidarity and support for India, the UN Security Council comprising 15 nations, including China, on Thursday condemned in the "strongest terms" the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack perpetrated by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pulwama and stressed on the need to hold organisers and financiers of such "reprehensible acts" accountable and bring them to justice. Significantly, the press statement, issued by the UN body, names the Pakistan-based terror group headed by Masood Azhar. The UNSC, which includes China as a veto-wielding permanent member that in the past has blocked India's bids in the Security Council Sanctions committee to designate Azhar as a global terrorist, also called on the global community to "cooperate actively" with the Indian government in holding the organisers and sponsors of such attacks accountable. "The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in over 40 Indian paramilitary forces dead and dozens wounded on 14 February, 2019, for which Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility," the UNSC press statement on the 'Suicide Bombing in Jammu and Kashmir' said. "The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Government of India and all other relevant authorities in this regard," it said. The UNSC members expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the Indian people and the government, and wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured. "The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security," the statement said. The members also reiterated that any "acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed". The condemnation by the UNSC comes just a day after Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi met top UN leaders, including with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council President Anatolio Ndong Mba, briefing them about the escalating tensions in the region in the wake of the Pulwama attack. In a major boost to India's efforts to get Azhar on the list of global terrorists, France is expected to soon move a proposal at the UN to ban the head of the group. The proposal, when moved, will be the fourth such bid at the UN in past 10 years. In 2009 and 2016, India moved the UN's Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of attack on the air base in Pathankot in January 2016. India was joined by the P3 nations the US, the UK and France in the 2016 proposal. In 2017 also, these P3 countries moved a similar proposal at the UN. However, China, using its veto power, has always blocked the proposal from being adopted by the UN. Guterres too had strongly condemned the terror attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed when a suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden vehicle into a CRPF bus, and called for those behind the attack to be brought to justice. On Wednesday, Guterres again reiterated his strong condemnation of the Pulwama attack, stressing that it is essential there be accountability under international law and perpetrators of terrorist acts be brought swiftly to justice. "The Secretary-General has been following with great concern the situation in South Asia. He reiterates his strong condemnation of the terrorist attack against Indian security forces in Pulwama" in Jammu and Kashmir and the subsequent violence, a statement issued by his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric had said. He said it is "essential that there be accountability under international law and the perpetrators of terrorist acts be brought swiftly to justice". At the same time, Guterres "urgently" appealed to the governments of both India and Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure the situation does not further deteriorate. "It is the belief of the Secretary-General that all difficult challenges can be resolved peacefully and satisfactorily through meaningful mutual engagement," the statement added. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet had also strongly condemned the suicide bomb attack and called on authorities to bring those responsible to justice. "The High Commissioner strongly condemns the suicide bomb attack against Indian security forces in Pulwama...and calls on authorities to bring those responsible to justice," Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), had said in Geneva on Tuesday. In a show of international solidarity and support for India, the UN Security Council comprising 15 nations, including China, on Thursday condemned in the 'strongest terms' the 'heinous and cowardly' terror attack perpetrated by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed In a show of international solidarity and support for India, the UN Security Council comprising 15 nations, including China, on Thursday condemned in the "strongest terms" the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack perpetrated by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pulwama and stressed on the need to hold organisers and financiers of such "reprehensible acts" accountable and bring them to justice. Significantly, the press statement, issued by the UN body, names the Pakistan-based terror group headed by Masood Azhar. The following is the text of the statement issued by the UNSC: UN Security Council Press Statement on the Suicide Bombing in Jammu and Kashmir The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in over 40 Indian paramilitary forces dead and dozens wounded on 14 February, 2019, for which Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility. The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the Indian people and the government of India, and wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured. The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Government of India and all other relevant authorities in this regard. The members of the Security Council reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed. They reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts. With inputs from PTI A native of Yadadri Bhongir district, Goverdhan is survived by his wife and two children. We received information that on Tuesday late night, two persons barged into the gas station store where Goverdhan was alone and opened fire on him, Madhusudan told ANI. Hyderabad: A man from Telangana was allegedly shot dead in Florida in the United States by unidentified gunmen, late on Tuesday night (local time). 45-year-old Kotha Goverdhan Reddy had moved to Florida seven years ago and worked there as a manager at a store, according to Madhusudan Reddy, the brother of the victim. A native of Yadadri Bhongir district, Goverdhan is survived by his wife and two children. We received information that on Tuesday late night, two persons barged into the gas station store where Goverdhan was alone and opened fire on him, Madhusudan told ANI. Kotha Sreeya, daughter of the deceased told ANI: Yesterday morning we received information from USA that my father was shot dead in the store he was working in. They said that the incident happened the day before yesterday (US time) and a few persons came into the store in which he was working as a manager and demanded money following which he was shot. The family has also sought the government's help to bring back the mortal remains of the deceased to India. Paving the way for a CBI investigation into an alleged fake encounter between Maoists and security forces in 2015 in which 12 innocent people were killed in Jharkhand, the Supreme Court Friday dismissed the state's appeal against an investigation by the central agency. New Delhi: Paving the way for a CBI investigation into an alleged fake encounter between Maoists and security forces in 2015 in which 12 innocent people were killed in Jharkhand, the Supreme Court Friday dismissed the state's appeal against an investigation by the central agency. The Jharkhand High Court had on 22 October, 2018 ordered a CBI probe into the alleged fake encounter, observing that the shoddy police investigation in the case has been eroding the people's faith. The probe was ordered by the high court on a plea by Jawahar Yadav, father of para teacher Uday Yadav who was among those killed in the 'fake encounter' at Bakoria in Satbarwa block of Palamu district on 8 June, 2015. While hearing the appeal filed by the Jharkhand government against the high court's order, a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna said, "We are not inclined to entertain this petition. Dismissed." The Jharkhand government had challenged the high court order, saying it was an operation of the CRPF's CoBRA unit and district police and claiming there was no wrongdoing. The high court in its verdict had said that the probe by the state CID was not moving in the right direction as disclosed from the facts available in the case. It had said that the shoddy investigation by the CID was eroding the people's faith in the system, which should be restored by the transferring the case to the CBI. Before the high court, Yadav had sought a CBI probe into the case alleging that police had killed 12 innocent people after branding them Maoists in a stage-managed encounter. He had also claimed that the none of the victims of the encounter had any criminal background. The encounter had created a furore in the state as former CID additional director general of police had written a letter to the chief minister, governor and Union home ministry accusing the state DGP DK Pandey of scuttling the probe in the case. Rao, who was later shunted out from the case, had alleged that Pandey has asked him to go slow in the investigation The counsel for the three men convicted in the Shakti Mills gangrape case in Mumbai raised questions before the Bombay High Court on the legal soundness of IPC Section 376 (E) under which they were awarded the death sentence in 2014 Mumbai: The counsel for the three men convicted in the Shakti Mills gangrape case in Mumbai raised questions before the Bombay High Court Friday on the legal soundness of Section 376 (E) of the Indian Penal Code under which they were awarded the death sentence in 2014. Advocate Yug Chaudhry, representing the death row convicts Vijay Jadhav, Kasim Bengali and Salim Ansari, told the court the legislature had brought in several provisions of the Criminal Law Amendment Act that provides for, among other things, harsher punishment for rape, in "haste". Chaudhry questioned the idea behind Section 376 (E) that provides for the death sentence for a repeat offender of rape. He said while the section for enhanced punishment was introduced in the IPC through the Act, the legislature had failed to introduce a well-laid out procedure in the CrPC for the implementation of the new IPC section. "For instance, while the section provides that a person who has previously been convicted for the offence of rape can be awarded the enhanced sentence of death penalty in case of repeat offence, it does not clarify how much minimum time there must exist between the two offences or the conviction date of both the offences," Chaudhry argued. "In the present case, the sessions court convicted the accused in two separate cases of rape committed a month apart. But the conviction in both the cases was awarded within a day from each other," he argued. Chaudhry argued that no provision of law must be implemented arbitrarily and the law mandated the CrPC lay down the procedure for implementing all penal provisions. He also cited previous judgments of the Supreme Court and some Law Commission reports that prescribed enhanced punishment for repeat offenders only after ascertaining the possibility of their reform after their first sentence. A bench of Justices BP Dharamadhikari and Revati Mohite-Dere is conducting the final hearing on the writ petitions filed by the three convicts challenging the death sentence awarded to them under IPC Section 376 (E). In April 2014, a Mumbai court had found five persons guilty in the 2013 gangrape case. One of them, Siraj Khan, was sentenced to life imprisonment, while a second person, a minor, was sent to a correctional facility. Jadhav, Bengali and Ansari were sentenced to death under the then newly-introduced Section 376 (E) since they had also been convicted in a previous case of gangrape. The three, however, moved the high court soon after their conviction, challenging the constitutional validity of the law under which they were sentenced to death for a repeat offence. The petitioners challenged the sessions court order allowing the prosecution to invoke the IPC Section 376 (E) when the trial was already underway. They also challenged the constitutional validity of this section, brought in by the Union government after the infamous 2012 Delhi gangrape case. In March 2013, the Union government amended the rape laws in the country, introducing several stringent provisions, including Section 376 (E). This section says if a person, who has been previously convicted for rape under the IPC Section 376, is subsequently found guilty in a similar offence, the courts can sentence him to imprisonment for the rest of his life, or, even award the death penalty. On 19 March, 2014, the three petitioners were convicted for raping a city-based telephone operator. The next day, they were convicted for raping a photojournalist in the premises of defunct Shakti Mills in Mumbai. Both crimes had been committed in 2013 within a month from each other. While the sessions court was scheduled to begin arguments on their sentence, the Maharashtra government moved an application seeking framing of an additional charge under Section 376 (E) since they had also been convicted in another case of rape. The sessions court found merit in the submissions of the prosecution and in April 2014, awarded the maximum punishment of death to the three petitioners, noting they were repeat offenders. While the state government filed a petition in the high court seeking that the death sentence be ratified, the three convicts filed pleas in the high court challenging the constitutional validity of the Indian Penal Code section under which they were awarded the punishment. The Central Government is likely to begin its arguments in the case Wednesday. An encounter broke out between militants and security forces in Sopore township of Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district on Friday morning. Acting on specific input, the security personnel launched a cordon and search operation in the Warpora area of Sopore, according to reports. An encounter broke out between militants and security forces in Sopore township of Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district on Friday morning, and one militant was killed in the gunfight, reports said. The 10-hour-long encounter is still underway and security forces have taken special precautions to prevent locals from pelting stones, CNN-News18 reported. Acting on specific input, the security personnel had launched a cordon and search operation in the Warpora area of Sopore on Thursday night. #Visuals: Encounter underway between terrorists and security forces in Warpora area of Sopore in Baramulla district. (Visuals deferred by unspecified time) #JammuAndKashmir pic.twitter.com/rN3Xb3ldCg ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2019 A senior official said the search operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired at the search party of the security men. The exchange of fire was on and further details were awaited, he added. On Monday, security forces had gunned down the mastermind of the Pulwama terror attack along with two other terrorists of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in an encounter in which a Major and four other security personnel were also killed. Deputy Inspector General of Police, South Kashmir, Amit Kumar, was also injured in the gunbattle between militants and security forces in Pinglana area of the district. According to police officials, militants fired upon an army patrol in the area late on Sunday night, following which they sneaked into a residential locality. The army men chased them, leading to an encounter. With inputs from agencies The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the eviction of around 10 lakh families of forest-dwelling tribal communities in at least 16 states The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the eviction of around 10 lakh families of forest-dwelling tribal communities in at least 16 states. The order came in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed to challenge of the Forest Rights Act of 2006, which empowered traditional forest dwellers to "access, manage, and govern" forests within their villages. According to reports, the verdict came over the state governments' rejection of the claims over forest land of around 11 lakh families. The petition demanded that those whose claims were rejected be evicted. The apex court also asked 21 states to apprise it about the action taken over the eviction, PTI reported. A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra was dealing with a batch of petitions on the issue that were filed in the apex court over a period since 2006. The states that have come under the scanner of the top court are: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Manipur. The court also said that if there was any difficulty in implementing the latest order, the states have to approach it with the details about issues. It has asked chief secretaries of these states to file their respective affidavits by 12 July and posted the matter for hearing on 24 July. In case the eviction is not carried out, as aforesaid, the matter would be viewed seriously by this court, the order reportedly said. Adivasi rights groups allege neglect from Centre However, several Adivasi rights groups have alleged that the Centre's lawyer, who was to present its defence of the Act, was absent on 13 February, the day of the final hearing. The central and state governments also "failed to react and give viable solutions" when the matter was taken up in court, reports said. A report by The News Minute said, "The Centre not jumping on board to defend the Act has made the preponderance of tribals and other traditional forest dwellers more vulnerable and denied them their rights, thus defeating the very purpose of this legislation. "Several activists have pointed to the inaction from the forest department officials in granting forest rights to these tribal and forest dwellers, issuing land rights documents and other identity cards." Opposition slams Centre over order On 14 February, Congress president Rahul Gandhi slammed the Centre over the case and said that the ruling BJP "remained a silent spectator" in the Supreme Court while the Act was being challenged. "It is indicating its intentions to drive out lakhs of tribals and poor farmers from the forests," he said. The CPM on Thursday also demanded that the Centre issue an ordinance to protect all tribals and traditional forest dwellers after the Supreme Court order. "In the wake of the Supreme Court order for eviction of over one million Adivasis and traditional forest dwellers from land in their occupation, the politburo of the CPM demands that the Modi government should, without any further delay, issue an ordinance to protect all Adivasis and traditional forest dwellers from eviction," the statement from the party claimed. The party in a statement claimed the Adivasis were being "punished" for no fault of theirs but because of the "utter failure" of Central and state governments to implement the law. "According to the latest figures in December 2018, of a total of 42.19 lakh claims received across the country, only 18.89 lakh or just over 40 percent claims have been accepted," the party said. "The rejections are often arbitrary, against the recommendations of the gram sabha and driven by lobbies who want to handover the forests to private parties and businesses. Lakhs of appeals are pending against the rejection," the statement said. "This betrayal of the rights of Adivasis was the culmination of the connivance of the ministry concerned with the petitioners. Many of the petitioners in the case are retired officers of the Forest department. At no point in these years did the legal representatives of your government take a strong position in court in defence of the rights of Adivasis and traditional forest dwellers," Brinda Karat, politburo member, wrote. With inputs from PTI Tight security arrangements were put in place for Rahul Gandhi's visit to the Lord Venkateswara shrine at Tirumala near Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati. He was in the temple for about 20 minutes. Tirupati: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday offered prayers at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala near Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati. He was accompanied by his nephew Raihan Vadra, son of Priyanka Gandhi and Robert Vadra ANI reported. On his arrival at the temple main entrance, Gandhi was accorded a warm welcome by the hill temple management. After quickly trekking the nearly 10 kilometre-long stairway leading to the ancient hill shrine, the Congress chief paid obeisance to the presiding deity of Lord Venkateswara, a temple official told PTI. It took about two hours for Gandhi to reach the sacred hills, the official said. After his spiritual trek from the foot of the hill at Alipiri in Tirupati in the afternoon, the Congress president made a brief halt at a heavily guarded Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams guest house on the hill and later visited the shrine, the official said. After prayers, Gandhi was offered sacred silk cloth, prasadam, and a holy memento, the temple official said. He was in the temple for about 20 minutes. Tight security arrangements were put in place on the hills and all through the route leading to the hill shrine. Later, Rahul Gandhi left the hills to address a rally at Sri Venkateswara University Stadium in Tirupati. With inputs from PTI Sources also made it clear that the Saudis did not intend on mediating between India and Pakistan. India has always maintained that it is open to a dialogue with Pakistan but only in an atmosphere free from terror. New Delhi: With eyebrows being raised on why there was a reference to an Indo-Pak dialogue process in a joint statement with a third country (in this case Saudi Arabia), government sources on Thursday said it was important for the Saudi side to acknowledge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken several decisions (earlier in his tenure) to reach out to Pakistan. Government sources also cited the Indo-Saudi joint statement issued la-te on Wednesday night to say it (the statement) was clear that Saudi Arabia feels that any issue bet-ween India and Pakistan must be discussed in an Indo-Pak bilateral pro-cess. Sources also made it clear that the Saudis did not intend on mediating between India and Pakistan. As already reported, the Indo-Saudi joint statement had said, The two sides stressed the importance of regional stability and good neighbouring relations. His Royal Highness (Saudi Crown Prince Moham-med bin Salman) appreciated consistent efforts made by PM Modi since May 2014 including the Prime Ministers personal initiatives to have friendly relations with Pakistan. In this context, both sides agreed on the need for creation of conditions necessary for the resumption of the comprehensive dialogue between India and Pakistan. It was seen a clear reference to Mr Modis invitation to the then Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif to attend the swearing-in ceremony in May 2014, and also Mr Modis brief visit to Pakistan in December 2015. India has always maintained that it is open to a dialogue with Pakistan but only in an atmosphere free from terror. Sources also pointed to the fact that the Saudis had shown sensitivity to Indias position on the menace of terrorism even though the joint statement had not indicted Pakistan for it. Sources also said the Saudi side understood Indias position on J&K. The joint statement issued by the two sides had said, The Prime Minister and His Royal Highness condemned in the strongest terms, the recent terrorist attack on Indian security forces on 14 February, 2019 in Pulwama in Jammu & Kashmir. Both sides called on all states to reject the use of terrorism against other countries; dismantle terrorism infrastructures where they happen to exist and to cut off any kind of support and financing to the terrorists perpetrating terrorism from all territories against other states; and bring perpetrators of acts of terrorism to justice. It had added, the two sides also noted the need for concerted action by the international community against terrorism including through early adoption of the UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism and underlined the importance of comprehensive sanctioning of terrorists and their organisations by the UN Both sides called up on all countries to renounce the use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy. Government sources also made it clear that New Delhi was happy over the announcement of the Saudi Crown Prince to invest in the areas of energy, refining, petrochemicals, infrastructure, agriculture, minerals and mining, manufacturing, education and health potentially worth in excess of $100 billion. After a request from Mr Modi, Saudi Arabia had also decided to increase the quota for Indian Haj pilgrims to two lakh from the current 1.75 lakh pilgrims. Riyadh also ordered the release of 850 Indian prisoners lodged in Saudi jails. In fact, sources said the issuing of the joint statement on Wednesday was delayed till Wednesday night as the Saudis wanted some data on the number of Indian prisoners in Saudi jails. Once the data was procured and the Saudi decision incorporated in the joint statement, it was released, sources said. The two sides had also inked five pacts in the spheres of investment, tourism, housing and broadcasting and had also decided to establish a Strategic Partnership Council besides instituting a comprehensive security dialogue at the NSA-level as well as setting up a Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism. Pakistan, it has been reported, is prepping its forces, war logistics on its frontiers for fears of retaliation Five days after the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, in a televised address, had said how he hopes "better sense will prevail" in the Indian side even as he warned of retaliation in the face of military action by India. Days before that, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reiterated how the "sacrifice of jawans would not go in vain" and that the neighbouring country should remember that this is a "new India" a counter to Khan's "Naya Pakistan". India has so far raised customs duty to 200 percent for goods imported from Pakistan following the carnage, in which 40 CRPF men were killed, revoked the Most Favoured Nation status given to Pakistan, launched a diplomatic offensive to isolate the neighbouring country in the international community and 'threatened' of not allowing excess water of three eastern rivers to flow into Pakistan. With general elections just around the corner and anti-Pakistan rhetoric sweeping the nation, Modi and security officials have been under immense pressure to exact jaw-breaking revenge. But amidst these veiled warnings of a war cry, is Pakistan already readying itself up for an offensive from India? The Dawn has reported that Pakistan's National Security Committee (NSC) held a meeting on Thursday with Khan to discuss "geo-strategic" and "national security environment" in the light of Pulwama. The report also mentions that the NSC has given "formal authorisation to its armed forces to respond decisively and comprehensively to any aggression or misadventure by India". Pakistan, it has been reported, is prepping its forces and war logistics on its frontiers in fear of retaliation. According to a report by The Times of India, Pakistan army based in Quetta Cantonment had written to its Jilani Hospital on 20 February for arrangements and a plan for medical support in view of the possibility of a war. The letter goes like this: "In case of emergency war on the eastern front, Quetta logistics area is expected to receive injured soldiers from civil and military hospitals of Sindh and Punjab. After initial medical treatment, these soldiers are planned to be shifted from military and civil public sector to the civil hospital in Balochistan till the period of availability of beds in CMHs (civil military hospitals)". The letter further mentions that local administrations in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) have asked residents to take "safe routes" during the commute, avoid congregation and to build bunkers "immediately". It also said that people should avoid unnecessary lighting at night. On Friday, Major General Asif Ghafoor, Director General - Inter Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) of the Pakistani military said the country has a "right to respond to war threats from India". "We are a sovereign state. We are not preparing for war. It's you (India) who is sending war threats," he said. Some days ago, home minister Rajnath Singh was quoted by Aaj Tak as saying that if Pakistan was ready for war, India is "not behind". Similarly, Lieutenant General Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon, who is General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, had on Tuesday said if anyone picks up a gun against India he or she would be killed. India has 12 lakh active duty personnel in the army and a total force strength of 21 lakh. In comparison, the Pakistani army numbers 6.5 lakh active duty personnel and a total strength of 11.5 lakh. A report in The National Interest mentions that the smaller Pakistani army also has fewer offensive forces capable of attacking India head-on. The report states that the Pakistani army is only in a position to launch "small local offensives" to occupy favourable terrain. However, Pakistan "cannot hope" of terminating a ground war on its own terms. No wonder then that, for all its war cry and rapid preparations, Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had also called on the United Nations to rein in India and calm the tense situation. In a letter to the secretary general of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, on Monday, Qureshi had written that it was with a sense of urgency that I draw your attention to the deteriorating security situation in our region resulting from the threat of use of force against Pakistan by India. This comes after Governor Satya Pal Maliks administration came under fire from government employees and political parties who accused it of being partisan in handling the violence, which included stones being pelted at flats. The authorities in Jammu have cracked down on WhatsApp groups and arrested those that allegedly burned scores of vehicles during the protests triggered by the death of 42 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in the 14 February terror attack. This comes after Governor Satya Pal Maliks administration came under fire from government employees and political parties who accused it of being partisan in handling the violence, which included stones being pelted at flats. The Jammu Deputy Commissioner has directed those creating and running WhatsApp groups to immediately enable message uploading status to only admins can send messages, register with their nearest police stations, and report any content that could disturb regional and religious sentiments to the police. While the ban on sending messages in WhatsApp groups will remain in force till 28 February, the registration of WhatsApp and Facebook groups has to be done by 23 February. Inspector General of Police Jammu, MK Sinha, said arrests have been made regarding the vehicles that were torched. We are still identifying their roles but they were very much presentat the places of disturbance, he said. He added that police were investigating whether the violence in Jammu was well organised. The police have released the photographs of three people who raised 'anti-India' slogans on 11 February outside a college in Jammu and asked the public to help trace them. Right-wing groups in the region claimed violence erupted at the protest march after some groups chanted 'pro-Pakistan' slogans. Jammu deputy commissioner Ramesh Kumar said the curfew has been relaxed and people can register social networking groups with the police. Jammu residents accused the forces deployed after the protests of failing to prevent the torching of scores of vehicles and attacks on Kashmiris and their homes. Former minister and senior PDP leader Chaudhary Zulfikar Ali said, Precautions should have been taken to prevent violence. I think the action was not prompt, the preparedness of the administration was lacking, he said. The violence has also fractured relations between two communities, with some political leaders saying it could be used by the saffron party to garner votes during the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. In the aftermath of the violence, some groups have sought the "checking" of the settlement of outsiders in Jammu to arrest the change in its demography. However, Zulfikar said Gujjars need to be settled permanently. There is a tribal policy all over India and in order to preserve the tribal culture. Gujjars need to be settled at one place. The tribals have to be treated equally, like in other parts of country, and not be discriminated against on the basis of their religion. Pakistan's secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources Khawaja Shumail said: We have neither concern nor objection if India diverts water of eastern rivers and supplies it to its people or uses it for other purposes, as the IWT allows it to do so. Islamabad: Pakistan is not concerned over India's plan to stop the flow of its share of water to Pakistan from the Ravi, Sutlej and Beas rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty, a top official said. The response came hours after Union minister Nitin Gadkari said in New Delhi that India has decided to "stop" the flow of its share of water to Pakistan from rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) after the ghastly Pulwama terror attack in which 42 CRPF personnel were killed. Talking to Dawn on Thursday, secretary of Pakistan's Ministry of Water Resources Khawaja Shumail said: We have neither concern nor objection if India diverts water of eastern rivers and supplies it to its people or uses it for other purposes, as the IWT allows it to do so. He said Pakistan did not see Gadkari's statement as worrisome in context with the IWT. Actually India wants to construct Shahpurkandi dam at the Ravi basin. This project is abandoned since 1995. Now they (India) want to construct this in a bid to use its own share of water that goes unutilised and finally flows to Pakistan. So if they want to use this whether through storing it, through the construction of this dam or any other way for their people, they can do as we have nothing to do with it. But we will definitely express our concerns and raise objections strongly if they use or divert waters of western rivers (Chenab, Indus, Jhelum) on which our right to use prevails, Shumail said. According to Pakistan's Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Mehr Ali Shah, as the IWT has already given a right to India in 1960 to use the water of eastern rivers, it is now up to it to do so or not. Whether they diverted and used their unutilised share of eastern rivers' waters in 1960, we had no problem. They want to do it now, we have no problem. And if they don't want to use this, we have no issue, Shah said. He said the planned Shahpurkandi dam was actually the stage-2 of the Ranjit Sagar dam. Though this project will also generate power, it will be used for irrigation purposes, he said. While commenting about the proposed visit of Indian experts (India's commissioner for Indus waters) to Kotri Barrage (in Sindh province) keeping in view the tension between the two countries after the Pulwama attack, Shah said: Let's see what happens in this regard. But we hope for the best. A three-member delegation of Pakistani experts headed by Shah completed its general tour of inspection (from 28 January to 1 February) to various hydropower projects 1,000MW Pakal Dul, 48MW Lower Kalnai, 850MW Ratlay and 900MW Baglihar dam at Chenab Basin in India. Besides, India, a couple of days before the Pulwama attack, also shared the design data of its three planned run-of-the-river hydropower schemes with Pakistan under the IWT. These included Balti Kalan, Kalaroos and Tamasha hydropower projects which are planned to be constructed at Balti Kalan Nullah and Kalaroos Nullah at the Jhelum basin and Tamasha, a sub-tributary of the Indus river, respectively. The reiteration to stop the flow of Indus water to Pakistan comes amid mounting Indo-Pak tension over the Pulwama terror strike that has triggered demands for action against the neighbouring country. India has already decided to revoke the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan and mounted a diplomatic offensive to isolate it in the international community. There were demands to stop flow of India's share of Indus water to Pakistan after the Uri terror attack in 2016. Under the Indus Water Treaty signed in 1960, the waters of the western rivers the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab was given to Pakistan and those of the eastern rivers the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej to India. Against an already vibrant backdrop of the outrage against the Pulwama attack, Union minister of water resources Nitin Gadkari on Thursday added the declaration that water of three eastern rivers flowing into Pakistan will be diverted to the Yamuna river, causing concern as to whether the historic Indus Waters Treaty would be broken. Against the noisy backdrop of the outrage against the Pulwama attack, Union minister of water resources Nitin Gadkari on Thursday added the declaration that water of three eastern rivers flowing into Pakistan will be diverted to the Yamuna river, causing immediate ripples of concern as to whether India would break the terms of the historic Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). According to the treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, India has full rights over the waters of three eastern rivers Ravi, Beas and Sutlej whereas, waters of three western rivers Indus, Jhelum and Chenab go to Pakistan. All six rivers are part of the Indus system. In the charged nationalistic and distinctly anti-Pakistan rhetoric that has followed the attack, neither India's prime time news channels nor its social media citizens could be blamed for construing Gadkari's tweet to have meant that India was planning to cut off water supply that was in some way essential to Pakistan. That without the supply of this water, which Gadkari promised would now be supplied to "our people" in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, Pakistan would suffer enough for revenge to be exacted on the nation. India had revoked the "most favoured nation" status it had once granted to Pakistan and has mounted a diplomatic offensive to isolate it in the international community, surely it would now place rocks on a river? However, that was not the case. Neither was India going to break an integral treaty nor were the rivers in Pakistan's portion going to run dry because of India. Neeta Prasad, ADG of Water Resource, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation spoke to ANI to clear up the confusion: "The government has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. This is not a new decision. He is simply reiterating what he has always said." Explaining further, Prasad said Gadkari was not talking about diverting Pakistan's share of Indus water but had only repeated his earlier stand of not allowing excess water from India's share to flow into Pakistan. India, an upper riparian state, would only find a way to use the unutilised water from the three eastern rivers that had until now flowed into Pakistan. The Indus Waters Treaty would be upheld. Unbroken in 60 years The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered with the help of the World Bank and signed between Field Marshal Ayub Khan and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, is one of the few agreements that both countries have upheld, over 60 years, three wars, countless skirmishes and boiling tension. For all their scuffles over terror, these two countries have never fought a water war. This unusual equanimity is credited to the careful brokering of the terms of the treaty. Disputes that have emerged have been solved in the courts. Notably, it recognises that since Pakistan's rivers receive more water flow from India, India should be allowed to use the western rivers' water for limited irrigation use and also for power generation, domestic, industrial and non-consumptive uses such as navigation, floating of property and fish culture. A telling paragraph in the treaty, which sums up why Gadkari's threat is not a damaging one to the Indus Waters Treaty is: "Each Party agrees that any Non-Consumptive Use made by it shall be so made as not to materially change, on account of such use, the flow in any channel to the prejudice of the uses on that channel by the other Party under the provisions of this Treaty. In executing any scheme of flood protection or flood control each Party will avoid, as far as practicable, any material damage to the other Party, and any such scheme carried out by India on the Western Rivers shall not involve any use of water or any storage in addition to that provided under Article III," the treaty importantly declares. In the know and unbothered Talking to Dawn on Thursday, secretary of Pakistan's Ministry of Water Resources Khawaja Shumail said Pakistan was neither concerned and nor would it object to India diverting water of the eastern rivers. "Actually India wants to construct the Shahpurkandi dam at the Ravi basin. This project has been abandoned since 1995. Now they (India) want to construct it in a bid to use their own share of water that goes unutilised and finally flows to Pakistan. So if they want to store it or construct this dam, we will have nothing to do with it," Shumail said. He did, however, add that Pakistan would indeed object should alterations be made to the western rivers' flow of water. Shumail was right. In a follow-up tweet to his popular announcement on Thursday, Gadkari had nearly echoed the Pakistani official. "The construction of a dam has started at Shahpur-Kandi on Ravi river. Moreover, Ujh project will store our share of water for use in J&K and the balance water will flow from the second Ravi-Beas link to provide water to other basin states," he had tweeted. The treaty also allows India to build hydropower projects in the Indus river system, including the western rivers meant exclusively for Pakistan's usage. "...with respect to the use by India of the waters of the western rivers for the generation of hydro-electric power under the provisions of Article III (2) (d) and, subject to the provisions of this Annexure, such use shall be unrestricted: Provided that the design, construction and operation of new hydro-electric plants which are incorporated in a Storage Work (as defined in Annexure E) shall be governed by the relevant provisions of Annexure E. (sic)" Pakistan is well aware of the modalities of Gadkari's plan with respect to the western rivers. As recently as 1 February, a three-member delegation of experts from the country, headed by Pakistan's Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Mehr Ali Shah had completed a general tour of inspection of various hydropower projects being built at the Cheban basin of India, including the 1,000 megawatt Pakal Dul, the 48 megawatt Lower Kalnai, the 850 megawatt Ratlay and the 900 megawatt Baglihar dam. A couple of days before the Pulwama attack, India had shared the design data of the Balti Kalan and Kalaroos projects on the Jhelum basin and the Tamasha hydropower project on a tributary of the Indus. Both the projects will take place on "western" rivers, the waters of which are to be used by Pakistan, and follow the regulations prescribed in the Treaty for construction on Pakistan's rivers by India for the purposes of generating hydroelectric power. Reason for worry On Friday, Gadkari furthered his resolve (first raised after the Uri attack by Pakistan in 2016) to stop the water from flowing into Pakistan. "We will spend the requisite money to build dams. We do not want even a single drop of water to reach Pakistan," the minister said. Speaking to ANI, he said that he had already directed his department to prepare a report on how to block "other water resources" from flowing into the neighbouring country. However, should this resolve ever extend to three of Pakistan's rivers, a veritable blow would be dealt to the backbone of Pakistan's agricultural economy, which is the livelihood of its entire labour force. It is only then that Pakistan has reason to worry. The three western rivers contribute water to nearly 77 percent of the country's population. Scholars have often spoken on how the entire country can be destroyed in a single sweep, should the water flow of the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum ever be stopped. The Indus region's role in contributing to Pakistan's hydroelectric power projects is crucial and friendship with India is the most cost-effective way of ensuring that this role is maintained. Pakistan is already crippled by economic disadvantage and would likely not be able to withstand an onslaught on its most vital lifeline. However, faltering on the conditions of the agreement would also mean inviting a variety of global censure that India would stagger under. Basking in the glow of even China joining hands with the United Nations Security Council in condemning the Pulwama attack, India too would not wish to stand against the global powers that be. Especially since it is these powers which it hopes to utilise in its offensive against Pakistan. For now, the Indus Waters Treaty remains untouched. Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day visit to South Korea to strengthen India's strategic ties with the country, was accorded an official reception at the Blue House, the executive office and residence of South Korean president Moon Jae-in at Seoul. Seoul: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held "productive talks" on Friday on enhancing bilateral cooperation in key areas including trade, investment, defence and security. Modi, who is on a two-day visit to South Korea to strengthen India's strategic ties with the country, was accorded an official reception at the Blue House, the executive office and official residence of the South Korean President at Seoul. He also met First Lady Kim Jung-sook. Addressing the media after the "productive talks" with President Moon, Prime Minister Modi said that South Korea is an important partner in India's economic transformation. "Our trade and investment are growing," he said. "PM Narendra Modi and Korean president Moon Jae-in held constructive talks on enhancing cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security, energy, space, start-ups and people-to-people exchanges, tweeted Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs. He also tweeted that seven documents were signed or exchanged, including on "cooperation in media, start-ups and police among others." Modi is visiting South Korea on the invitation of President Moon Jae-in. This is his second visit to the Republic of Korea since 2015 and second summit meeting with Moon Jae-in. After unveiling Mahatma Gandhi's bust, the prime minister met the mayor of South Korean city Gimhae and gifted him a Bodhi tree sapling as a mark of close ties between the two countries. In a strong push to the bilateral relations between India and South Korea, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his two-day visit, held 'constructive' talks with President Moon Jae-in on Friday on enhancing cooperation in key areas including trade, investment, defence, and security. In a strong push to the bilateral relations between India and South Korea, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his two-day visit, held "constructive" talks with President Moon Jae-in on Friday on enhancing cooperation in key areas including trade, investment, defence, and security. As the latest effort to strengthen the ties between the South Asian countries, Modi, after his meeting with Moon, said that South Korea is an important partner in India's economic transformation and made a fresh pitch for a united fight against terrorism in the region. Modi's comments against terrorism came a week after a terror attack on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in the death of 40 personnel. I express my gratitude to Moon for his condolences and support on the last week's Pulwama attack and support against terror. We are committed towards strengthening our bilateral and multilateral cooperation against terrorism. An MoU signed between India's home ministry and South Korea's National Police Agency today will further take forward our counter-terrorism cooperation, Modi said. The leaders also reiterated their commitment to increasing bilateral trade to at least $50 billion by 2030. "In India's economic transformation, we consider Korea as a valuable partner. Our trade and investment relations are growing. Today, President Moon and I have repeated our commitment to increasing our bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030. In sectors like infrastructure, port development, marine and food processing, start-ups and small and medium enterprises, we agree to increase our cooperation, the prime minister said. Modi was also conferred with the Seoul Peace Prize for 2018 on Friday for his contribution to international cooperation and fostering global economic growth. 'Act East' promise in 2015 On his visit to the Republic in 2015, then newly elected as the prime minister, Modi had asserted that there had been enough of the 'Look East' policy and that it was time for India to "act East", which he promised would happen under his government. The 'Look East' term was first coined by PV Narasimha Rao government in the 1990s. The two countries had signed at least seven agreements which included an avoidance of double taxation and formalising consultations between National Security Councils of the two nations. On his visit, Modi had also appealed to the Indian diaspora to increase investments in India and said that he wanted to make India "a manufacturing hub using the world's best technology". An MoU was also signed between the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea for the cooperation in electric power development and "new energy industries". The Indian Express reported, "The agreement envisages cooperation in areas such as renewable energy, smart grids and power information and technology, transmission and distribution of electric power, energy efficiency and storage system." With a focus on economic ties between the two countries, Modi had also conducted meetings with South Korea's largest conglomerates, including Hyundai, Samsung and LG. "All three manufacturing giants operate plants in India where they enjoy sizeable shares of the vast consumer market for cars, smartphones and home appliances," a report by Hindustan Times said, adding,"Modi is looking to secure promises of bigger investments as part of his "Make In India" initiative, aimed at fostering the nation's relatively weak manufacturing sector." Media reports around Modi's 2015 visit suggested that the Centre was "hoping to secure" at least $10 million in "soft loans" for infrastructure projects. Modi's inclusion of the country in his three-nation visit including China and Mongolia was seen as an indicator of the significance attached to the bilateral relation with Seoul for the important role the country could play in the prime minister's flagship programme, 'Make in India'. Greater cooperation was expected in areas like shipbuilding and rail infrastructure. Modi also visited South Korea in 2007 as Gujarat chief minister. The Democrat had reported in 2015, that "ties" between the two countries had been established on the state level in addition to cooperation at the national level. "...Meanwhile, Hyderabad has signed a sister city agreement with Suwon in South Korea," the report said. The report also said that South Korea's democracy was an important element that had gained New Delhi's favour. "First, South Korea is a democracy, and one that has made tremendous progress with its infrastructure, technology, and economy. In a 2013 speech, before he became prime minister, Modi referred to that progress. South Korea also gained independence at the same time. It is the size of Gujarat. Now, in this short span, it is among the developed nations. Such a small country hosts Olympics. Through sports, it has established a position in the world," the report said. South Korea and India together, were also wary of the increasing proximity that North Korea and Pakistan had displayed at the time. Reiteration of strong ties in 2019 During Modi's visit on Friday, at least six MoUs were signed, which indicated the bilateral relations moving away from conventional economic cooperation towards new-age economic elements like start-ups, and also towards the defence sector. A release by the MEA said an MoU was signed "to promote collaboration among Start-ups and to set up of a Korea Start-up Centre (KSC) in India to commercialise ideas, technologies and designs of Startup companies." Another was signed between the Korean National Police Agency and the MHA on combating transnational crime and developing police cooperation. The statement said, "To enhance cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries and combat trans-border and international crimes." With inputs from agencies The Saudi Crown Princes visit to New Delhi was historic, but perhaps only for the frankness with which Mohammed bin Salman never even pretended he was on the same page as India with respect to Pakistan The Saudi Crown Princes visit to New Delhi was historic, but perhaps only for the frankness with which Mohammed bin Salman never even pretended he was on the same page as India with respect to Pakistan. MBS, as the Crown Prince is known, courteously stood by and listened as Prime Minister Narendra Modi made reference to the Valentines Day Pulwama attack. But for his part, MBS spoke only in vague terms about India and Saudi Arabias shared concerns on terrorism. In choosing not to join the dots, or to allow any explicit link to be made in his presence between Pulwama and Pakistan, the man who will be king of Saudi Arabia when his 83-year-old father passes sent a message. It is instructive and goes as follows: India and Saudi Arabia can certainly have a strategic partnership, as its being called. But there must be acceptance that its terms are circumscribed by a previous, long-term relationship. Dont expect monogamy or fidelity. Its complicated. But really, how could it be otherwise? Pakistan, the worlds only Muslim nuclear state, has deep ties with Saudi Arabia going back decades. Islamabad helped fight the 1979 siege of Meccas Grand Mosque; stationed military forces in Saudi Arabia during the Iran-Iraq war; collaborated with Riyadh in support of the mujahideen in 1980s Afghanistan; trained Saudi pilots and soldiers; and roughly this time last year, sent 1,000 troops to Saudi Arabia to add to the 1,600 already there. For the past two years, retired Pakistani army chief Raheel Sharif has headed the Islamic Military Coalition against Terrorism, which is run out of Riyadh. In return for Pakistani military help at strategic moments, the Saudis have provided direct financial aid. In Pakistan, just before visiting India, MBS signed investment deals worth up to $20 billion. In October, Saudi Arabia gave Pakistan a $6 billion loan to keep its ailing economy afloat. As Pakistans Prime Minister Imran Khan said in his first speech after winning the July election, Saudi Arabia is a friend who has always stood by us in difficult times. But it was in May 1998 that the Saudis made their most crucial and significant offer to Pakistan. With the promise of 50,000 barrels of free oil a day to offset the effect of expected Western economic sanctions, Saudi Arabia gave Pakistan the nerve to proceed with nuclear tests in response to those of India. With that, Riyadh changed the dynamic in South Asia and enabled Pakistan to assume outsized importance in the Muslim world. Pakistans status as a nuclear power is enormously important to Saudi Arabia. Yoked together by religious faith as well as their own, very real national needs, nuclear-armed Pakistan gives Saudi Arabia heart, nerve and sinew. There is a mutual understanding Pakistan will spring to Saudi Arabias defence in the event of any threat to the House of Saud and Muslim holy sites. According to Yoel Guzansky, formerly in Israels national security council and now a researcher at Tel Avivs Institute for National Security Studies, Pakistan seems to have granted a nuclear umbrella to Saudi Arabia. That symbiotic relationship will continue at least until one of the parties finds it needless and constraining. Might it be the point at which Saudi Arabia itself acquires nuclear capability? This is a worrying prospect in terms of nuclear non-proliferation, but it no longer seems far-fetched. A new report released by Democratic members of the US House of Representatives shows that some within the Trump administration have been pushing for the export of nuclear weapons technology to Saudi Arabia. While that is controversial and still no more than a nebulous plan to circumvent US policymaking processes on nuclear exports, there is no telling what might happen, if and when it does. In essence then, it is Saudi First policies that direct Riyadhs reckoning of how to deal with Pakistan and India. Right now, it is a transactional three-way equation. In India, MBS simply reiterated the terms of the deal. It really was a historic visit in that it was a page out of a textbook, simply reprising the way things have been for quite some time. The author is an international affairs columnist based in London The prime minister, who was on a two-day visit to South Korea, received the Seoul Peace Prize on Friday for his contribution to international co-operation and global growth. New Delhi: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, while congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi for receiving the Seoul Peace Prize, questioned his silence over the "vicious attacks" on Kashmiris throughout the country. The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister has also criticised Meghalaya governor Tathagat Roy for giving a call to "boycott Kashmiris". Mufti tweeted, Congratulations to the prime minister on winning the Seoul Peace Prize. But sir, back home in India we are still waiting for you to denounce the vicious attacks on Kashmiris throughout the country. But what hope does one have when even a governor can make incendiary comments and get away with it? The prime minister, who was on a two-day visit to South Korea, received the Seoul Peace Prize on Friday for his contribution to international co-operation and global growth. Since the 14 February Pulwama attack, in which around 40 CRPF personnel were martyred in a suicide attack, tensions have escalated between India and Pakistan. Pakistan-based and -backed terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad has claimed the responsibility of the attack. Mehbooba has since held that Pakistan and Imran Khan should be given one more chance to investigate the incident and take action. BJP and PDP were alliance partners in Jammu and Kashmir for three years before BJP chose to break away from the alliance citing PDP's soft corner for the separatists in the Valley. Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court's directive to 11 states to take 'prompt' action to prevent incidents of threat, assault and social boycott of Kashmiris in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack. Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court's directive to 11 states to take "prompt" action to prevent incidents of threat, assault and social boycott of Kashmiris in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack. Seeking a response from the states, the apex court directed their chief secretaries and director generals of police to take "prompt" and necessary action to prevent such incidents from happening. "Relieved about the SC order to ensure Kashmiri students based outside J&K are not harassed or face social boycott. Shameful that the honourable judiciary took decisive action where others conveniently turned a blind eye," PDP chief Mehbooba wrote on Twitter. National Conference vice-president Abdullah added that he was grateful to the Supreme Court for doing what the government at the Centre should have done. "Grateful to the Hon Supreme Court of India for doing what our elected leadership in Delhi should have been doing. The union HRD minister was busy living in denial & a Governor was busy issuing threats. Thank goodness the Hon SC stepped in," Abdullah said in a tweet. The chief secretaries and DGPs of Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand, and the Delhi Police commissioner have been directed by the apex court to prevent incidents of "threat, assault and social boycott" of Kashmiris, including students. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also directed that the police officers, who were earlier appointed as nodal officers to deal with lynching incidents, would now be responsible to deal with cases of assaults on Kashmiris. The bench was hearing a plea of Tariq Adeeb seeking a direction to the Centre and the states to prevent incidents of assaults, threats and social boycott of Kashmiris in the wake of the 14 February Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. For eight days in 1999 the world watched in horror as hijackers diverted an Indian Airlines flight to Afghanistan and held the passengers hostage, the drama ending only when Delhi agreed to release three Kashmiri militants. For eight days in 1999 the world watched in horror as hijackers diverted an Indian Airlines flight to Afghanistan and held the passengers hostage, the drama ending only when Delhi agreed to release three Kashmiri militants. Nearly 20 years later, India is still paying the price for that decision. One of the militants freed was Masood Azhar, who later went on to found Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the militant group which claimed responsibility this month for the deadliest attack in three decades in Kashmir. More than 40 Indian paramilitaries were killed in the suicide blast on 14 February, kindling a fresh diplomatic crisis between nuclear-armed arch-rivals India and Pakistan. JeM is based in Pakistan, one of several anti-Indian militant groups fighting in Kashmir which are officially banned in the country, but which are alleged to be used by Islamabad as proxies in India. Azhar, also, is believed to be in Pakistan but his exact whereabouts remain shrouded in mystery. He was born the son of an elementary school teacher in Punjab province in 1968, according to Amir Rana, a security analyst who has carried out extensive research on Pakistani militant groups. The US Treasury Department website still gives Azhar's home address as a location in the province's Bahawalpur district. Azhar entered Jammu and Kashmir on a Portuguese passport, security officials there told AFP, and established contact with numerous militant groups. At the peak of the insurgency in the early 1990s, one retired official told AFP, he had not yet picked up arms. A common figure in the streets of Srinagar, he was known for his fiery speeches, and for mediating between the many groups flocking to the insurgency. "His greatest value for the militant groups was as a motivator and recruiter, but more significantly he displayed a good capacity to reconcile their differences," the official told AFP. Azhar was detained by Indian authorities on terrorism charges in 1994. He reportedly bragged to his jailers that they would not be able to keep him in custody. At one point, another security official told AFP, he and other militants dug an escape tunnel. When the moment came, Azhar insisted on going first. "But he got stuck in the narrow tunnel because of his bulky physique and the whole attempt was thwarted," the official said. He remained in prison until the Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu to New Delhi was hijacked on Christmas Eve in 1999 and eventually landed in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, at the time under Taliban rule. One of the hijackers, Ibrahim Athar, was reported to be Azhar's younger brother. 'Lack of evidence' Azhar reportedly met with Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and Taliban founder Mullah Mohammed Omar in Afghanistan after he was freed, said Rana. He formed JeM in 2000, Rana said. Just a year later, JeM was blamed for a brazen attack on the Indian parliament in which militants killed 10 people, and which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war. Azhar was detained and placed under house arrest. But a court in the Punjab provincial capital of Lahore ordered his release in 2002, citing "lack of evidence". As homegrown Pakistani militant groups turned their guns on the state after 9/11, Rana said Azhar was one of the few who kept a low profile. The group struck again in 2016, with Delhi blaming them for an infamous attack on a military base in Jammu and Kashmir that left seven soldiers dead and once more sent tensions spiralling. Azhar was again taken into "protective custody", but never formally charged. His whereabouts remained a mystery for months, with speculation he was being kept under house arrest in Bahawalpur. Last July he addressed supporters in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Occupied Kashmir, by telephone from an undisclosed location, claiming he had hundreds of militants ready to fight to the death. The speech prompted Indian authorities to tighten security at airports in anticipation of another hijacking. Azhar, meanwhile, has not been directly heard from since. Chinese wall Azhar's JeM is banned by the United Nations, India and Pakistan, and listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation. But the man himself has never been declared a terrorist. Delhi and others have tried multiple times to get the UN Security Council to declare Azhar a global terrorist, including in 2016 and 2017. The move has been blocked each time by Pakistan's ally China, however despite its own fears of domestic Islamist militancy. Diplomats told AFP this week that, in response to the rising tensions, France, Britain and the United States were considering a new push at the Security Council to place Azhar on the UN terror list -- but once more face opposition by China. The train to Statue of Unity will have a seven-night and eight-day tour package beginning on March 4 from Chandigarh, ministry said. Railways will run a special train for tourists visiting the Statue of Unity in Gujarat. (Photo: File) New Delhi: Railways will run a special train for tourists visiting the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, five months after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a statement from the ministry said. The train, which will be run under the government's Bharat Darshan scheme, will have a seven-night and eight-day tour package beginning March 4 from Chandigarh, ministry further said. The journey will also cover pilgrimage sites like Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga near Indore, MP, Shirdi Sai Baba Darshan, Trimbakeshwar in Nashik, Maharashtra, and Ghrishneshwar Jyotirlinga in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Priced at Rs 7,560 per person, the tour package has multiple boarding and de-boarding stations viz Chandigarh, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat, Delhi Cantt, Rewari, Alwar and Jaipur, the statement said. "The package has been designed to pay tribute to the Iron Man of India, Shri Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The train will halt at Vadodara station and passengers will be taken to the Statue of Unity by buses," it said. The Statue of Unity is situated on the river island called Sadhu Bet in front of the Narmada Dam in Gujarat. It is the world's tallest statue at a height of 182 metres. The package includes the train journey in non-AC sleeper class, hall or dormitory accommodation at places of night stay, morning freshen up, road transportation, pure vegetarian meals, sightseeing as per the itinerary by non-AC vehicles, services of the tour manager, according to the statement. The 182-metre tall Statue of Unity at Kevadia Colony in Narmada district has become a major attraction for the tourists after it was opened to public last year. It had made a collection of Rs 1.26 crore within three days since November 8. By December, the daily footfall had reached 30,000, according to the state government. From a 'snubbed' handshake to strongly worded arguments against each other, the hearing at The Hague was peppered with some tense moments. Here's a roundup. In the aftermath of the Pulwama attack, India and Pakistan crossed swords during the hearing of the Kulbhushan Jadhav case at The Hague. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), is holding a public hearing of the case of Jadhav, a retired naval officer who is lodged in a Pakistani prison on charges of being a "spy". Pakistan claims that its security forces arrested Jadhav in the restive Balochistan province in 2016 after he reportedly entered from Iran. India has, however, maintained that the retired naval officer was abducted in Iran, where he had business interests after retiring from the navy. The verbal submissions made during the hearings left little doubt that representatives of both countries were also addressing the domestic audience in their respective countries, as the media remained glued to the subject. From a "snubbed" handshake to strongly-worded arguments against each other, the hearing at The Hague was peppered with some tense moments. Here's a roundup. Day 1 Even before the day's proceedings could begin, what made headlines was an apparent snub by India to Pakistan. Plastered on newspaper front pages was MEA joint secretary Deepak Mittal ignoring a handshake offered by a Pakistani official, and responding with a "namaste" instead. The first day of the hearing was for India to make its point, explaining why the ICJ should direct Pakistan to retry Jadhav in a civilian court and grant him consular access. Indian counsel Harish Salve used some strong terminology to make his point. Calling the military court trial of Jadhav, "farcical", Salve accused Pakistan of knowingly, wilfully and brazenly flouting the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Salve claimed that the way Pakistan's military courts function will fail to satisfy "even the minimum standard of due process" "India seeks relief in declaring that the trial by the military court in Pakistan hopelessly fails to satisfy even the minimum standards of due process... A foreign detainee also has a right to life but Pakistan has sentenced 161 civilians to death in their military courts in opaque proceedings in the last two years." Salve also claimed that the entire charade of arresting Jadhav and then portraying him as an Indian spy was nothing but propaganda. "Pakistan has in custody an Indian national who has been publicly portrayed to be a terrorist and Indian agent creating unrest in Balochistan...," he said, adding that there is no doubt that Pakistan was using this as a propaganda tool. Salve said Pakistan filed the FIR almost a month after the arrest of Jadhav and did not share even a "shred of credible evidence" against him. He claimed that in a clear violation of Vienna Convention, Pakistan detained the Indian citizen and did not notify the Indian government until three months after his arrest. Salve further claimed that Jadhav did not get any lawyer during his trial. He also said that Pakistan was embarrassed to disclose the charges against Jadhav. Day 2 Pakistan on Tuesday responded to India with equal fervour, insisting that Jadhav was an Indian Navy officer who infiltrated in Pakistan on R&AW's bidding to create unrest and kill innocent Pakistani citizens. Khawar Qureshi, the lawyer representing Pakistani side, argued in a heated, and often personal presentation that repeatedly referenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused India of engaging in "political theatre," "grandstanding," and presenting its case in "bad faith." "These are proceedings launched for political theatre, making a claim for relief that is unsustainable and that should be dismissed," he told judges. Qureshi also alleged that Jadhav was an "instrument of India's official policy of terror". On the question of granting consular access, Qureshi said that "a decision regarding Jadhav's nationality has not yet been made" and "India did not state whether he is Kulbushan Jadhav or Hussain Mubarak Patel." "How can India demand consular access when it did not confirm Jadhav's nationality?" he questioned. Jadhav was alleged to have been caught in possession of a fake passport stating his identity as Hussain Mubarak Patel. India has admitted to this, however, it stated that this was not a crime of such a magnitude that he could be sentenced to death. "Just because he carries such a passport, it doesn't mean he was there to carry out terror activities," Salve answered back. Day 3 On the third day, India got a chance to reply to Pakistan's rebuttal. First up, it slammed Pakistan for lowering the level of arguments by resorting to highly personal and abusive remarks. "The language echoed in this court... perhaps this court may lay down some red lines. The transcript is peppered with words such as shameless, nonsense, disgraceful, arrogant... India takes exception to being addressed in this fashion in an international court. Indian culture prevents me from using similar language... "Humpty-Dumpty has no place in this court," Salve said, insisting that criticism of a sovereign state must be in a language consistent with its dignity. Salve said that the judicial review process available to Jadhav in Pakistan was hopelessly insufficient, while Islamabad was basing its case entirely on claims around a fake passport and an "extracted confession." Slamming the Pakistani side for whipping up rhetoric rather than countering facts with evidence, Salve said that India hammered on facts while Pakistan hammered on a proverbial table. Using a quote popular in courtroom parlance, Salve said, "When you are strong on law you hammer the law, when you are strong on facts you hammer the facts and when you are strong on neither, you hammer the table... Pakistan has hammered the proverbial table. India has hammered facts". Salve invoked the 26/11 Mumbai attacks to highlight that Pakistan doesn't walk the talk when it comes to conducting fair trials. "Jadhavs trial was completed in six months? Four months? How many weeks?...Now with reference to the Mumbai attacks...call them non-state actors, but should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why cant we complete that trial?... What has happened to the 150 people killed in Mumbai? Nothing." Salve also invoked the trial of 26/11 attack convict Ajmal Kasab to make a point about a fair judicial process. In Kasab's case, he was caught red-handed by brave police officers in the heart of Mumbai; the Supreme Court of India examined materials on record first-hand since it was a case of death sentence. This is called review, he said. Answering Pakistan's claim that India never clarified on Jadhav's nationality, Salve said that unlike Pakistan, India never denies the nationality of its citizens in another country. This was perhaps a veiled dig at Pakistan regularly refusing to accept Pakistani terrorists killed or captured by Indian security forces. Salve said that Indian nationals are not the kind whose nationality needs to be denied. He said, "Jadhav has become a pawn in Pakistan's tool to divert international scrutiny from itself," adding that Pakistan is used as a safe haven by UN-proscribed terrorist entities like al-Qaeda, LeT, JeM, Haqqani Network, and individuals like JuD chief Hafiz Saeed and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Day 4 The final day of the hearing is customarily given to the respondent in the case. Since it was India that approached the ICJ, Pakistan presented arguments on Thursday. Making final submissions, Qureshi said, "India's claim for relief must be dismissed or declared inadmissible... India's claim for relief (in the Jadhav case) remains as far-fetched now as it was then (8 May, 2017)," he told the judges in his concluding remarks. Closing the arguments, Pakistan's Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan said, "India seeks relief which it cannot claim from this court." Khan assured the court that the process of judicial review in Pakistan is robust and Jadhav can avail it if he chooses. "Jadhav has been charged with terrorism for which an FIR has been registered with the police, which is a civilian agency. The military court has sufficient proof of espionage and the said military court, on the available evidence and the judicial confession, proceeded to convict him. Although he was given the option of going for a judicial review, he has refused to do so," Khan told the court. On the question of consular access, Khan merely said, "surely (it) was not allowed for good reason... specially for the reason that commander Jadhav was involved in espionage." After his submission, ICJ top judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf adjourned the hearing and said a date for the judgment would be announced later. With inputs from International Court of Justice website and PTI Three BJP MLAs were marshalled out of the Delhi Assembly on the first day of the Budget Session on Friday for interrupting Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's address with their protests over the AAP government's 'delay' in sanctioning prosecution in the JNU sedition case. New Delhi: Three BJP MLAs were marshalled out of the Delhi Assembly on the first day of the Budget Session on Friday for interrupting Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's address with their protests over the AAP government's "delay" in sanctioning prosecution in the JNU sedition case. Speaker Ram Niwas Goel tried to reason with the legislators, saying the LG's address is not a part of proceedings of the House, but they did not relent. The three MLAs Leader of the House Vijender Gupta, OP Sharma and Jagdish Pradhan went to the well of the House after which Goel ordered them to be marshalled out. Gupta charged the government with "delaying" the sanction for prosecution of accused in JNU sedition case. In January, Delhi Police filed a charge sheet against former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar and others in the sedition case registered in 2016. Former JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were also charged with allegedly shouting anti-India slogans during an event on the university campus on 9 February, 2016 to commemorate the hanging of Parliament-attack mastermind Afzal Guru. Delhi Police has sought permission from the city government for prosecution in the case. This is still pending. The Madras High Court made it clear on Friday that there is no impediment for the Justice A Arumugasamy Commission to continue its inquiry into the circumstances that led to the hospitalisation and subsequent death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa Chennai: The Madras High Court made it clear on Friday that there is no impediment for the Justice A Arumugasamy Commission to continue its inquiry into the circumstances that led to the hospitalisation and subsequent death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa. A division bench of Justice R Subbiah and Justice Krishnan Ramasamy made the observation while adjourning to 1 March the hearing of pleas by Apollo Hospitals seeking an interim stay on the proceedings relating to the medical treatment provided to Jayalalithaa. When the pleas came up for hearing, senior counsel for the hospital, PS Raman, submitted that the petitioner needed some more time to file a reply with supporting typed sets to the counter filed by the commission. Objecting to the request, senior counsel for the commission, ARL Sundaresan, informed the court that they are ready for arguments and that no additional time should be given to the petitioner. Recording this, the bench adjourned the plea and said there was no impediment for the commission to proceed further with the inquiry. In the last hearing, the commission had opposed the plea of Apollo Hospitals assailing its powers and submitted that the terms of reference cover the medical treatment provided to the former chief minister also. The commission was constituted for inquiring into the circumstances and situation leading to the hospitalisation of Jayalalithaa on 22 September, 2016, and subsequent treatment provided to her till her demise on 5 December, 2016. It is the duty of the commission to inquire into all the aspects of treatment in terms of the reference, commission secretary S Komala said through a counter affidavit. She said the commission has almost completed the inquiry. Jammu and Kashmir government's standing counsel Shoeb Alam said terrorists belonging to various organisations need to be shifted out of Jammu jail as they were involved in the indoctrination of local prisoners. New Delhi: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking the transfer of seven Pakistani terrorists from Jammu prison to Tihar Jail on grounds that they were allegedly indoctrinating local prisoners. A bench of Justices LN Rao and MR Shah sought a response from Centre and the Delhi government on the plea. Jammu and Kashmir government's standing counsel Shoeb Alam said terrorists belonging to various organisations need to be shifted out of Jammu jail as they were involved in the indoctrination of local prisoners. If not Tihar, they can be shifted to other high-security prisons in Haryana and Punjab, he said. To this, the bench said it will hear the matter and asked Alam to ensure that a copy of the notice is served to the seven terrorists also. A day after the Pulwama attack on 14 February in which 40 CRPF personnel were martyred, the Jammu and Kashmir government had moved the apex court to shift a Lashkar-E-Taiba terrorist, Zahid Farooq, out of Jammu jail. Farooq was arrested by security forces while trying to cross the border security fence on 19 May, 2016. The state government had said intelligence inputs received indicated that militants belonging to terror outfits like Jaish-e-Muhammad and LeT are indoctrinating the minds of other inmates lodged in the prison. It was reliably learnt that the prisoner and other individuals have considerable local support and it cannot be ruled out that they may be receiving information, resources as well as other help to carry out terrorist-related activities, the state government added. The state also sought shifting of the trial to Delhi saying it apprehends that transporting the militant to court and back to prison poses a threat to escorting policemen and common public. Alam had cited an example of an attack on a police party in 2018 when policemen were killed and a Pakistani terrorist prisoner was freed from custody while on a hospital visit. Farooq's transfer from his current prison in Jammu and Kashmir to a high-security prison outside the state is in the interest of national security, the government had said. "Foreign prisoners like the private respondent are radicalising and brainwashing local Kashmiri youth in prison. There is a concentration of prisoners with similar backgrounds and linkages to terrorist organizations in local prisons in the State of Jammu and Kashmir," it had said. The effect of such radicalisation is that the brainwashed local youth who are inmates with these prisoners are spreading the menace of terrorism and creating sympathisers by influencing, mobilizing against the state, it said. Modi has to address arguably the toughest strategic problem any leader of a nuclear-armed state has faced: hit another nuclear-weapon state to deter it from patronising terrorism. Early one summer morning in 2008, a battered Toyota turned into the street leading to the Indian embassy in Kabul, metamorphosing into a giant wave of searing, white light. Fifty-eight people were killed and 141 injured. Inside hours, Western intelligence services were listening in as Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate officers inside Pakistan congratulated the perpetrators. Talk-talk is better than fight-fight, national security adviser M.K. Narayanan said, but it hasnt worked. I think we need to pay back in the same coin. The Research and Analysis Wing began a quiet dialogue with Afghanistans Riyasat-e Amniyat-e Milli, or the National Directorate of Security, on building assets to target Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. Fearing bomb-for-bomb strikes would escalate terrorism, Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs government shot down the idea. Keep your hands in your pockets, a senior R&AW official stationed in Kabul recalls being told and that was that. PMs challenge Four years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi rode to power, in part, on the back of growing outrage over Indias inability to punish terrorism. They did nothing, he said, assailing Manmohan Singhs flabby response to the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Indians died, and they did nothing. Talk to Pakistan in Pakistans language, he went on, because it wont learn lessons until then. In 2016, Modi delivered on the promise, launching across-Line of Control strikes to punish the killings of Indian soldiers in Uri. Last month, though, amid escalating violence in Kashmir, Modi warned it would be a big mistake to imagine Pakistan would now start behaving a warning that turned out to be prophetic. The Prime Minister now has to address arguably the toughest strategic problem any leader of a nuclear-armed state has faced: hit another nuclear-weapon state to deter it from patronising terrorism, knowing that missteps could spark an economically-devastating war, even an apocalyptic nuclear showdown. Anaemic spies Led by the dour career intelligence officer R Kumar, R&AWs offensive operations against Pakistan have expanded in recent years and have grown in scale under Modi. From the assassination of Lashkar chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeeds security boss, Khalid Bashar, in 2013, R&AW is believed to have penetrated several Jaish-e-Mohammeds cross-border attack plans, and escalated the tit-for-tat arming of Baloch nationalists. National security adviser Ajit Doval, earlier an intelligence officer, publicly made the case for covert warfare before he assumed office. But Indias capacities are nowhere near the levels that might deter Pakistans intelligence services and their jihadist allies. Unlike Israels Mossad or the Central Intelligence Agency, R&AW has never succeeded in assassinating a single jihadist leader. Institutional anaemia has corroded the capacities of Indias intelligence services. Though no official data is available, two officials told Firstpost the organisation was an estimated 5,000 people short of sanctioned strength130 at key executive positions such as under secretaries and deputy secretaries. In March 2013, minister of state for home R.P.N. Singh told Parliament the Intelligence Bureau had 18,795 personnel on its rolls against a sanctioned strength of 26,867. Even though additional hiring has been sanctioned, IBs New Delhi training facility can handle only 700 personnel a year, barely covering attrition from retirement. Hiring into R&AWs organic cadre, the Research and Analysis Service, was frozen from 2004-2005 to 2009-2010. Bulk recruitment is needed but a debate rages on whether these should be through Union Public Service Commission-run examinations or campus recruitment. Faced with allegations of corruption in hiring from the 1980s, R&AW also retreated into a bureaucratic shell, denying itself the services of the armies of regional and language experts on whom intelligence services heavily depend. In recent years, R&AW has had to position personnel with no language experience to stations in West Asia and Afghanistan. It has no station in Istanbul, the transit hub for jihadists heading to Syria. Large-scale inflows of mid-career Indian Police Service officers, many with no intelligence or language expertise, have degraded the organisation further. Even worse, they laid the ground for bruising battles between the IPS and the RAS. Since 2014, at least 13 senior officials who held operational posts have been removed from R&AWall from the RAS. In one controversial 2018 case, Ashwini Sharma, responsible for bringing back fugitive Lashkar jihadist Abdul Karim Tunda, was removed from service in the interest of the security of the state in spite of having been awarded Indias highest intelligence medal. R&AWs rise and fall R&AW wasnt always like this. In 1971, it was the key to Indias triumphequipping and training insurgents; working with fractious allies. Establishment 22, operating under the command of Maj Gen Surjit Singh Uban, carried out a secret war in what is now Bangladesh, using Tibetan troops trained by the CIA to fight the US-equipped Pakistani forces. Later, Establishment 22 personnel aided Sikkims accession to India, trained Tamil terrorists, and even armed rebels operating against the pro-China regime in Myanmar. From the early 1980s, Khalistan terrorists began receiving weapons and arms from the ISI. Rajiv Gandhi ordered retaliation. R&AW set up two covert groups, charged with hitting back at Khalistani terror attack on Indias cities in Lahore or Karachi. The role of our covert action capability in putting an end to the ISIs interference in Punjab, former R&AW officer B. Raman wrote in 2002, by making such interference prohibitively costly is little known. R&AW also served as a channel for crisis resolution. After the 1987 India-Pakistan crisis, chief A.N. Verma and ISI Director-General Hamid Gul met to discuss limitations for Pakistans support for Khalistani groups, a negotiation brokered by the then-Jordanian Crown Prince, Hasan bin-Talal. Prime Minister I.K. Gujral, though, ended R&AWs offensive operations against Pakistanarguing tit-for-tat terrorism locked India into an unproductive cycle of violence. His predecessor, P.V. Narasimha Rao, wound up R&AWs eastern operations, concerned with the risks for the China-India relationship. The informal war Indias lack of covert muscle isnt new. In 1947, imperial Britain stripped the assets of Indias covert arsenal as it left. The senior-most British Indian police officer in the Intelligence Bureau, Qurban Ali Khan, left for Pakistan with some sensitive files departing British officials had neglected to destroy. The Intelligence Bureau, Lieutenant-General L.P. Sen recorded, was reduced to a tragicomic state of helplessness, possessing nothing but empty racks and cupboards. The Military Intelligence Directorate in Delhi didnt even have a map of J&K to make sense of the first radio intercepts signalling the beginning of the war of 1947-48. Faced with a larger and infinitely better-resourced neighbour, Pakistan knew it could not compete in conventional military terms. From 1947, Pakistan engaged India in what prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru called an informal war sponsoring terrorist groups in both Kashmir and the Northeast. Kashmir was, from the outset, a key stage for Pakistans efforts. Major-General Akbar Khan, the officer who commanded Pakistans offensive operations in 1947-1948, provided plans for a 500-man covert force to target unguarded bridges, isolated wires and unprotected transport. Khans memoirs claim Malik Feroz Khan Noon, who took over as Pakistans prime minister in 1957, made these plans under the command of a police officer, Mian Anwar Ali. In 1951, a covert group was held on charges of carrying out multiple attacks across the street. The group, police records allege, was commanded by Abbas Ali Shah, the superintendent of police in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department in Rawalpindi and Major Asghar Ali Shah, a military officer based in Pakistan-administered Kashmirs Hillan. Then in 1964, it threw its weight behind what came to be known to Indian counter-intelligence as the Master Cell, a covert group founded by Mian Ghulam Sarwar, Bashir Ahmad Kitchloo and Zafar-ul-Islam. Their activities seem familiar even today: one key operative, Hayat Mir, tried and executed a woman for her supposed promiscuity, the first instance of a jihadi court being held in Jammu and Kashmir. India, secure in the belief of its conventional military superiority, did little to develop retaliatory covert capacities. It wasnt until the countrys humiliating defeat by China in 1962 that the need for a professional foreign intelligence service was appreciatedand inside three decades, the lessons were forgotten. Failing to rebuild Indias covert forces now could have serious consequences. Pakistans militarykey to the US exit-strategy from Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabias efforts to contain Iranbelieve they have the international heft to be safe from Indian retaliation. That means more terrorism in, and outside, Kashmir but the use of conventional military tools to deter it is expensive, and fraught with risk. Landing one blow, or two, will achieve nothing, says a senior R&AW official. We need a sustained policy to secure deterrence that will have to run for years, across governments. Modi, like his predecessor back in 2008, has a weapon at hand that ought be able to do just that but, for decades, its been allowed to rust, perhaps to a point that is beyond repair. The Calculus of Revenge Twitter experts have been baying for blood, but meting out retribution on Pakistan is not as simple as they make it out to be Cross-LoC Strikes PM Narendra Modis 2016 surgical strikes expanded on an Indian Army practice of hitting back across the Line of Control after terrorist attacks. Perhaps more important, they were for the first time made public. But now, the strategy faces several problems. First, the Line of Control is snowboundmaking quick in-and-out infantry operations hard. Second, the snow means there will be few terrorist targets near the LoC until late spring. Third, the Pakistan Army now anticipates such strikes. Fourth, and most important, the 2016 strikes were a tactical success but a strategic failure: Pakistan pushed in numbers of fidayeen into Kashmir right after. Air & Missile Strikes The government could use the air force assets or missiles. The Indian Air Force is confident it can deliverbut counter-terrorism experts are sceptical. In 1998, the US fired missiles into Afghanistan, seeking to avenge bombings that killed 224 people. In all, 75 missiles, priced at $1.5 million each, killed a mere six jihadists. Moreover, Pakistan could hit back at Indian infrastructure in range of the border that is much more expensive than tent-and-donkey-cart training camps. Large-scale collateral damage is also likely. Conventional Military Strikes Wars are won with cash, not just lives. India has long shied away from war, which would set back its real strategic goal: sustaining economic growth fast enough to counter China. Ever since 1987, there has also been a fear of nuclear escalation. Indias 150-odd nuclear warheads would obliterate Pakistanbut its similar-sized arsenal would kill a 100 million Indians, and leave large parts of the country uninhabitable. Moreover, the Indian Army just doesnt have the teeth in terms of weapons to ensure a quick victory. Low Grade Attrition Following the 2001 Jaish-e-Mohammed strike on Indias Parliament, Indian forces stayed mobilised on the borders for months, in what most commentators have described as a fiasco. Except, it wasnt: in 2002, a ceasefire went into force on the Line of Control, and Pakistan quietly shut off the terror tap. In Kashmir, fatalities and gunfights fell to near-zero levels by 2010. Why? Operation Parakram, as it was called, involved huge costs: 1,874 military casualties, and around $3 billion, without an actual war. But the crisis was also expensive for Pakistanand General Pervez Musharraf was persuaded he couldnt afford the bill. It worked, for a while. The army has been taking help of the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, a laboratory under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), to map avalanche-prone areas. The armed forces across the borders are not the only threat that the Indian Army faces. It has a bigger enemy the avalanche. For soldiers posted at high altitudes and in mountainous terrains, an increasing number of avalanches has become a real challenge. One jawan of the Indian Army's Jammu and Kashmir Rifles unit died and five others were trapped in a fresh avalanche on the India-China border in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district on Wednesday, officials said. In February 2016, 10 soldiers died when an avalanche hit an Army camp in the hostile Siachen glacier. The 10 soldiers were buried under nearly 30 feet of snow when the avalanche hit the Sonam post of the Army, at an altitude of around 20,000 feet. One of them, Lance Naik Hanamanthapa Koppad, was found alive. He had been trapped under the snow for nearly six days. The Lance Naik later succumbed to a multi-organ failure at the Army Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi. In January 2017, as many as 20 soldiers died in avalanches in Gurez and Machchal sectors. In December 2017, three soldiers and an Army porter were killed while two soldiers went missing in two avalanches that hit north Kashmir's Kupwara and Bandipora districts. Whereas in February 2018, three soldiers were killed and another injured after an avalanche in the Machil sector in north Kashmir's Kupwara district. Earlier, an avalanche in 2014 at Dalang, had killed two soldiers belonging to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). According to reports, about 300 avalanches take place every year in the Kargil region alone, resulting in not only army casualties but also causing damage to important tactical defence operations along the Line of Control (LoC). In the Dras region alone, there are about 80 to 100 avalanches every year which cause immense damage to military infrastructure along the LoC. The avalanches also block important routes to the posts. As many as 150 army roads get blocked due to avalanches every year, an Economics Times' report stated. Since 1984, when India first occupied the icy heights of Kargil, till 2016, about 1,000 soldiers died on the glacier, as per official records. Only 220 of them were felled by enemy bullets. An Indian Army Major, Nisheet Dogra, lost his life in a snow blizzard in North Sikkim while he was on his way to deployment in a tank regiment on Saturday. Dogra, who was commanding an independent tank squadron, was hit by an avalanche on the Tibetan plateau in North Sikkim and later, his body was found under five to six inches of snow. According to the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority, the state receives heavy snowfall in the higher altitude regions all through the year, especially during the winter months, from January to March. The snow line ranges from 20,000 feet in the north to 16,000 feet in the south and the region has reported frequent avalanche incidents. Most of the time, the victims have been army personnel patrolling the high posts, mountain climbers and tourists. Many of these regions are remote and lack proper communication channels which further aggravate the situation. Retired Colonel N Kumar, who is also called the "Siachen Saviour", had told ANI that the army has an operational requirement to patrol the glaciers. Not doing so would allow Pakistan to occupy the Indian side of Siachen pickets. "Now, once you go out to patrol, and if it starts snowing and you sit and rest for a moment, an avalanche will get triggered. A patrol usually takes about 10 days. This is an operational risk which we have to take," the retired colonel said. "There are many kinds of avalanche: fresh snow avalanches, ice avalanches, and so on. Avalanches are very dangerous for patrolling parties because they can only wait for a couple of hours, when it is always advised to wait for 48 hours after a snowfall. Two hours is the minimum we do...If a patrolling party is setting out, they have to carry on once they are given a task even if it is very dangerous for them," he added. In the military, Colonel Kumar said, they have indicators to tell when an avalanche has caused damage to a troop. Avalanche rods are also used to probe and find out where the casualty is. "But the safest method is the use of avalanche dogs. What 100 men can do in 100 yards, these dogs can do it in few minutes. Their sniffing power is strong," he said. Colonel Kumar said officers are trained at High Altitude Warfare School which has special classes on avalanche and instructs every battalion as to what kind of precautions are taken in the event of an avalanche. "But it all depends on operational requirement, as you cannot wait. There are problems with the Army that way; they cannot wait for three days. We have more than half of the Himalayas and our borders are always on the Himalayas and we have to deploy there," he stated, adding that despite having such precautionary teams, it is difficult to for the patrol teams to ascertain the possibility of an avalanche. "If there are layers of snow caused by first snowfall, second snowfall and so on and if water from the top layer percolates down, then the surface we walk on will become slippery. Avalanches can happen as a result of that as well. Normally avalanche study teams dig a pit to find how many layers were there and what are the conditions of those layers. But I am afraid patrols cannot do that and if they are given a task to go from one place to another, they have to do it," he said. Meanwhile, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said in an interview with PTI that global warming, ecological changes and heavy shelling by Pakistani troops are triggering avalanches in places such as Jammu and Kashmir, which had until now not reported such instances. He blamed Pakistani ceasefire violations and the use of heavy weapons to shell Indian military posts and villages. "Many times, it affects the soil and loosens it up. When there is a heavy snowfall on such loose soil and if there is a slope, it triggers the danger of an avalanche," Rawat had said. The army usually withdraws troops from places at risk of avalanches, but that cannot be done in positions vulnerable to insurgency. The army, however, has been taking the help of the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, a laboratory under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), to map avalanche-prone areas. Apart from this, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed the world's lightest insulating material and also high-powered search and rescue beacon technologies that save the lives of Indian soldiers serving on the world's highest battleground. Despite upgrades, Indian soldiers still wear very heavy clothes, but scientists at ISRO have developed an ultra-lightweight material that acts as an effective insulator. Another game changer could be their handheld "search and rescue" radio signal emitter device that can be detected by satellites which can in turn help in an effective pinpoint of the location of soldiers lost or buried in avalanches, The Indian Express reported. Another measure is the avalanche mitigation wall, which is made of stone and is about five feet high. It is placed in layers around a post and takes the impact of an oncoming avalanche. The army also does not allow snow to accumulate at an avalanche-prone area, so it artificially triggers avalanches from safe distances by firing at the accumulated snow. Plans are also in place to use an avalanche bag system (ABS) that inflates like a balloon and ensures that the soldier wearing it can "float" over the avalanche, says the Economics Times report. Meanwhile, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in a reply in the Lok Sabha had said, "Indian Army soldiers deployed in extremely harsh terrain and weather conditions are suitably equipped and properly trained to undertake operational challenges and carry out their mandated tasks." Admitting that climate change in high altitude areas was having an impact on soldiers stationed there, the government told the Lok Sabha that the adverse impact is visible in form of avalanches and cold injuries. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre had said that special clothing and training is being provided to soldiers to mitigate the impact. "High Altitude Army Bases have been created over the years after due reconnaissance and detailed evaluation of the terrain conditions," Bhamre said. "The adverse impact of climate change is in the form of avalanches, cold injuries like frostbite and chilblains, snow slides and scarcity of water," he said. The Minister said adequate safety precautions are exercised by the ground troops at such Army bases. "Special extra-cold climate clothing and survival training against avalanches are also provided. Special medical care is provided to troops located in such inhospitable terrain," he had stated in the Parliament. Nitin Gadkari said that he has directed his department to prepare a report on how India can block other water resources from flowing into Pakistan. New Delhi: A day after India decided to stop the flow of water of three rivers into Pakistan, Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said he has directed his department to prepare a report on how to block other water resources from flowing into the neighbouring country. "We do not want even a single drop of water to reach Pakistan," he told ANI in an exclusive interview. Gadkari, who was flying to Nagpur from New Delhi, said that he has directed his department to prepare a report on how India can block other water resources from flowing into Pakistan. He did not elaborate. Amidst anger over the Pulwama terror attack, India had on Thursday decided to stop its share of water of three rivers Ravi, Beas and Sutlej from flowing into Pakistan. As per the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, India has full rights over the waters of eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas and Sutlej). In return, India had to let western rivers Indus, Chenab and Jhelum flow unrestricted to Pakistan. Under it, India could use the waters of western rivers as well, but only in a non-consumptive manner. It could use it for domestic purposes, and even for irrigation and hydropower production, but only in the manner specified in the treaty. Gadkari told ANI that the government will do everything possible to block the flow of water into Pakistan. "We will spend the requisite money to build dams in order to stop the flow of river waters to Pakistan. We will divert water from the eastern rivers and supply it to the people of Jammu and Kashmir," the minister said. "The Centre has given approval for the construction of three dams. Shahpur-Kandi will be built on Ravi river in Srinagar. The second is the Ujh multipurpose project and the third one is the second Ravi-Beas Link. The water stored in these dams will be supplied to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Punjab," he said. Gadkari had tweeted on Thursday, "Under the leadership of Narendra Modi, Our government has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab." "Construction of the dam has started at Shahpur-Kandi on Ravi river. Moreover, UJH project will store our share of water for use in J&K and the balance water will flow from 2nd Ravi-BEAS Link to provide water to other basin states. All the above projects are declared as the national projects, he had said in another tweet. His announcement came at a time when India is exploring options to "punish" Pakistan for the Pulwama terror attack of February 14 in which 42 CRPF personnel were killed. The suicide bomb attack was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit. Amid tensions following the 14 February Pulwama attack, the Pakistani military on Friday said that the country wasn't preparing for a war with India, but it has a 'right to respond to war threats'. Amid tensions following the 14 February Pulwama attack, the Pakistani military on Friday said that the country wasn't preparing for a war with India, but it has a "right to respond to war threats". "We are a sovereign state. We're not preparing for war. It's you (India) who is sending war threats. We're not preparing for initiating a war but we have a right to respond to the war threats from your side," Major General Asif Ghafoor, Director General - Inter Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) said at a press conference. The Pakistani military said that India will never be able to "surprise" it. "We do not wish to go into war, but please be rest assured should you initiate any aggression, you shall never be able to surprise us. Pakistan Armed Forces shall never be surprised by you. But let me assure you, we shall surprise you. Because you initiate, we shall also dominate the escalation ladder. Never think that due to our commitment elsewhere, we will lack capacity," Ghafoor said. He added: "We have the will and the determination, the ways and means to reach our desired end state. We can respond to full spectrum threat and I hope you get this message and don't mess with Pakistan." On the situation in India following the Pulwama attack, Ghafoor backed Prime Minister Imran Khan's remarks that India needed "deep introspection" to realise why people on its side of Kashmir had "lost the fear of death" "You need instropection as to why the Kashmiris are responding to your practice of violence with violence of such level. You are the world's largest democracy. Two countries which have democracy cannot go to war. You are a secular state then why should such occasions arise by which the sentiments of the minorities are hurt? What happened to the Muslims and Kashmiris after the Pulwama attack is not what being secular is," Ghafoor said. Referring to former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of "espionage and terrorism" after a closed trial in April 2017, he said, "If you want peace and progress, then don't send Kulbhushans to our country, or lose out on opportunities that will result in your development." He further added, "There are two senior Pakistan army officials under military custody on the charges of espionage. Army chief (Qamar Javed Bajwa) has ordered their court martial. It is in process. Both are individual cases, there is no link between the two cases." At least 40 CRPF jawans were killed in a terror strike by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on 14 February, sparking outrage in the country, with many saying the attack should be avenged. After the incident, massive protests and candlelight marches were held in different parts of the country against the attack and curfew was imposed in Jammu following violence during demonstrations. Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday that the "time will come" when people's sentiments and expectations will have "fulfilment". With inputs from PTI On 30 January, Vivek Doval had recorded his statement before the court, saying all allegations levelled by The Caravan and later repeated by Jairam Ramesh at a press conference were 'baseless' and 'false' and damaged his reputation in the eyes of family members and professional colleagues New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday reserved its order on whether to summon Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, The Caravan magazine and its reporter as accused in a defamation plea filed by NSA Ajit Doval's son Vivek against the magazine. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal said it will pass the order on 2 March on whether to summon them as accused in the plea. Vivek, in his complaint, had said the magazine and Ramesh had attempted to "deliberately malign and defame" him to "settle scores with his father". The Caravan had alleged that Vivek Doval, "runs a hedge fund in the Cayman Islands" which is "an established tax haven". According to the complaint, Ramesh had held a press conference on 17 January reiterating the "baseless and unfounded facts" as narrated in the article. On 30 January, Vivek had recorded his statement before the court, saying all allegations levelled by the magazine and later repeated by Ramesh at a press conference were "baseless" and "false" and damaged his reputation in the eyes of family members and professional colleagues. In the wake of the attack on Kashmiri students after the Pulwama incident, the UGC on Friday wrote to vice-chancellors of varsities across the country to ensure their safety on campus and to maintain peace and harmony New Delhi: In the wake of the attack on Kashmiri students after the Pulwama incident, the University Grants Commission (UGC) on Friday wrote to vice-chancellors of varsities across the country to ensure their safety on campus and to maintain peace and harmony. The UGC was directed by the Human Resource Development Ministry to issue an advisory to all the universities to ensure that the security of Kashmiri students is not compromised. "In the context of reports being received through various media regarding the safety of students from Kashmir studying in various higher educational institutions, all universities and colleges affiliated to them are advised to ensure the safety and protection of the students on the campus. They may keep a watch on the situation and seek the support of law and order machinery in case of any untoward incident," the UGC letter said. The letter also requested the vice-chancellors "to look into the matter personally for the safety of the students and maintaining peace and harmony in universities/colleges". The letter comes two days after Kashmiri students studying in a college in Yavatmal in Maharashtra were attacked and threatened allegedly by members of Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14 when a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus. A common minimum programme will be drafted soon by opposition, sources said. Pulwama attack, its political significance will be discussed. On February 13, Banerjee was present in the meeting of opposition parties at NCP leader Sharad Pawar's residence. (Photo: ANI) Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee will attend the next opposition meet scheduled to be held at Mohali in Punjab on February 26, party sources said. "Our party chief will take part in the opposition meet on Feb 26," a senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader told PTI on Wednesday night. On February 13, Banerjee was also present in the meeting of opposition parties at NCP leader Sharad Pawar's residence. Moving forward on a united anti-BJP front for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, top opposition leaders, including Banerjee and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had met in New Delhi on February 13 and agreed to work together to prepare a common minimum programme to oust the Modi government and consider forging a pre-poll alliance. Banerjee, one of the prime movers behind the effort to cobble together an anti-BJP alliance, had organised a mega rally of opposition parties in Kolkata on January 19. A common minimum programme will be drafted soon by a group of opposition leaders, sources said. Pulwama attack and its political significance will be discussed, they added. Family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on Thursday alleged that certain sections in the country are trying to prove that Gumnami Baba was the nationalist leader himself and urged the Centre to release all Intelligence Bureau files. Kolkata: Family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on Thursday alleged that a "sinister campaign" is on by certain sections in the country to prove that "Gumnami Baba" was the nationalist leader himself and urged the Centre to release all Intelligence Bureau (IB) files on the recluse. Claiming that it is a "criminal offense" to term "Gumnami Baba" as Netaji in disguise without any documentary or photographic evidence to support it, BJP leader and Bose's grand nephew Chandra Kumar Bose said the Centre must also start an inquiry to find out who are supporting such false campaigns against Bose. "There has been an on-going sinister campaign to dishonour Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose as being one "Gumnami Baba of Faizabad" who reportedly lived in Uttar Pradesh since the 1950s for over three decades. The fact is Gumanmi Baba was not Netaji," Chandra Kumar Bose, who is also the BJP state unit vice-president told a press conference here. The "sinister campaign" is an attempt to damage the image and legacy of Netaji in the eyes of the present and future generations, he said and demanded that the Intelligence Bureau files on Gumnami Baba be declassified to bring out the truth. "That the so-called 'Gumnami Baba', who reportedly died in 1985 leaving his teeth among his trunk load of personal belongings, was not Netaji was established in a scientific DNA test," Chandra Bose said. Doctored photographs of Netaji as Gumnami Baba were being circulated online to establish the propaganda, he added. Gumnami Baba was a reclusive sadhu and his identity is unknown even 34 years after his death. The nationalist leader, who was among the foremost Independence movement leaders, had commanded the Indian National Army and had reportedly died in an aircrash at Taihoku airport on 18 August, 1945. This was not accepted by some members of his family. According to a Home Ministry notification, an officer of the rank corresponding to that of the lowest rank of members of the Assam Rifles has been given these powers under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). New Delhi: Assam Rifles personnel have been empowered by the central government to arrest anyone and search a place without warrant in northeastern states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram. According to a Home Ministry notification, "an officer of the rank corresponding to that of the lowest rank of members of the Assam Rifles" has been given these powers under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Assam Rifles personnel will exercise these powers and discharge their duties "under sub-section(1) of section 41, sections 47, 48, 49, 51, 53, 54, 149, 150, 151 and 152 of the CrPC within the local limits of the area comprised within the border districts of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram", the notification said. Section 41 of the CrPC states that any police officer may, without an order from a magistrate and without a warrant, arrest any person. Section 47 gives powers for search of place entered by person sought to be arrested. Section 48 says a police officer may, for the purpose of arresting without warrant any person whom he is authorised to arrest, pursue such person into any place in India. According to Section 49, the person arrested shall not be subjected to more restraint than is necessary to prevent his escape. The Assam Rifles is the leading counter-insurgency force in the North East. It also guards the sensitive India-Myanmar border. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, which is operational in some parts of the Northeast, also gives similar powers to the Army operating in the region. The Assam government, in August 2018, had extended the application of the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, (AFSPA) terming the entire state a "disturbed area" for another six months, as a "precautionary measure to maintain order during the ongoing National Register for Citizens (NRC)", reports said. This is the third such extension of the Act by the state government in 30 years. The Act gives special rights and immunity to security forces in carrying out various operations in "disturbed" areas. The Supreme Court sought responses from the central government, the Delhi police chief and the director generals of police of 11 states on a plea seeking its intervention to prevent alleged attacks on Kashmiri students in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack on 14 February. The Supreme Court issued notices to the central government and 11 states and sought their response on a plea seeking its intervention to prevent alleged threats on Kashmiri students in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack on 14 February. Hearing the public interest litigation (PIL), the apex court asked government-appointed nodal officers (usually senior police officers) to take steps to prevent acts of intimidation, threat, assault and social boycott of Kashmiris, including students, reported Bar and Bench. The court also asked the Delhi police commissioner, along with the chief secretaries and DGPs of Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand to take "prompt" and necessary action to prevent such incidents. Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves appeared on behalf of petitioner Tariq Adeeb and asked the Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, for an order similar to what was issued by the apex court in the lynching case. Condemning the rising incidents of lynching cases in India, the Supreme Court had, in 2018, instructed Parliament to come up with a new law which would deal with such offences. Gonsalves claimed that 10 more incidents of assaults have taken place in various states after filing of the petition. Attorney general KK Venugopal said on behalf of the government, that the situation was a "human problem". He informed the court that the phone numbers of the government-appointed nodal officers entrusted with ensuring the safety of Kashmiri students will be circulated, reported CNN-News18. "The Centre has already issued advisory to all states and Union Territories on 17 February but we can't tell the states about their specific actions that can be taken in such cases because law and order is a state subject," the AG added. The court announced next Wednesday as the date of the next hearing. A bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Justice LN Rao and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, on Thursday took note of Gonsalves' submission that the plea needed to be heard urgently as it relates to the safety and security of students. "The extremist groups have led vigilante mob attacks across the country to enforce nationalism by leaders of various groups who claim to promote and instigated hate crimes," the petition had said. National Conference leader and one of the vocal critics of the attacks on Kashmiris across the country, Omar Abdullah, tweeted in thanks. Grateful to the Hon Supreme Court of India for doing what our elected leadership in Delhi should have been doing. The Union HRD minister was busy living in denial & a Governor was busy issuing threats. Thank goodness the Hon SC stepped in. Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 22, 2019 Reports and widely shared videos of the harassment faced by Kashmiri students and traders had began circulating close on the heels of the attack which killed 42 CRPF jawans. A group of local residents and fringe activists had allegedly surrounded a girls' hostel in the Uttarakhand capital of Dehradun and demanded that its owner "throw them out". More Kashmiri youths studying in the town had alleged that they were being asked by their landlords to vacate accommodations fearing attacks on their properties. The Uttarakhand Police, however, had issued an alert urging citizens to not believe in "rumours". Home Minister Rajnath Singh had assured an all-party meeting of doing the needful for the protection of the Kashmiri students and people. Shortly afterwards, the Centre had asked all states to ensure the safety of Kashmiris. With inputs from PTI The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields. The latest move to review work authorisation for certain categories of H-1B foreign work visas is unlikely to impact Indian techies at least for now. The White House has formally received the proposed changes in the existing regulations. It will carry out its review of the proposed regulation, take inputs from various agencies, before taking a final call. The entire process could take from a few weeks to several months. US President Donald Trump who campaigned on an "America First" platform of favouring Americans for hiring has remained true to his promise by putting in jeopardy jobs and lives of IT professionals from across the world. The fate of 90,000 spouses is in a delicate balance until then, of which a majority are Indian professionals. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields. Under the H-1B visa programme, US-based companies hire highly skilled foreign workers, up to a maximum of 85,000 a year. Of these 65,000 are hired from abroad and 20,000 from foreign nationals studying in the US. The Indian IT sector received around 16 percent of the 65,000 visas issued last year. The sector gets over 80 percent of its revenues from the US and Europe while the remaining comes from Asia and the domestic market. Who will be impacted The proposed change will impact those who are on low paid jobs and work at places like departmental stores, for instance. The move could hurt body shops that misuse the system, industry veteran TV Mohandas Pai said. The spouses of highly educated tech professionals from India (only they get the opportunity to work abroad) usually have spouses who are equally or more qualified. "President Trump says there are enough talented people available in the US, which is not the case. There is an enormous shortage of people," said Pai. Indian nationals are in demand in the US because of the skills they have, said an IT analyst. The Indian IT industry is a net creator of jobs in the US and supports nearly half a million jobs in the US, in addition to which Indians work with 75 percent of Fortune 500 companies. A lot of them being US companies, we help them grow and create jobs in the US, the sector specialist said. Monster, a global online employment solution quoted a survey on its site on talent shortage in the US. According to IT outsourcer Harvey Nash and auditing firm KPMG's CIO survey 2018 conducted with over 3,000 technology leaders, 65 percent said that hiring challenges are hurting the industry, against 59 percent the previous year. The demand for talented professionals is a long-standing need in the US, emphasised Pai. The issue, said Pai, is that no one wants to 'fight' with Trump on this issue. With hiring locally being made mandatory in the US, many Indian IT firms have started hiring locally but this has started to erode margins, he said. Primarily, because wages are higher as mandated by the employment rules in the US. Nasscom, the IT industry body said earlier that to the extent US policy makes it more difficult and costlier for global IT service companies to provide their expertise in the US, it will weaken the US companies that depend on them to help fill their skills gaps. Contrary to what is intended, this action could put US jobs at risk and create pressure to send more IT work abroad, rather than performing it in the US, Nasscom pointed out, in the context of the Trump government's proposal in December for H-1B visa seeking firms to electronically register their petitions in advance. Trump is looking at the low-hanging fruit, said Kris Laxmikanth, chairman and managing director, The Head Hunters India - a CXO-level hiring firm. He said that those spouses working at low-cost jobs may be impacted where a local can be hired. However, large US companies like Google, for instance, are expanding to India and hiring Indians here. "A H-1B visa is a lottery anyway and is not a guarantee of a permanent stay in the US. Organisations don't want lotteries and rather have clear policies that do not disrupt businesses," he pointed out. It is too early to say how the proposed latest move by the Trump government will impact Indian IT professionals in the US though. Harish HV, sector specialist, said there is already a large population in the US working on a dependent visa. "Will this newly proposed move impact them or is it only for new applicants? Those who have been living in the US for some time now would face disruptions in their lives if this rule applies to them as they have been working and taking care of their families on two incomes to buy a house, car, provide for their children's education, etc. As far as the rule applying to new applicants, it would be up to them to agree to go on an overseas assignment if the new rule comes to force. Maybe then many won't like to opt for US assignments. That would mean best talent in India would not be available for work in the US," he said. Indians who have taken US citizenship after going to work there on H-1B visas will be the happiest with the Trump administration, says Lakshmikanth. "After working for a few years with the Indian software firms and getting US citizenship, they have preferred to work as contract labour as it fetches them $150-$200 per hour. They will be happy with the Hire American policy of Trump," he said. With inputs from agencies WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that if he sees progress being made in trade talks with China, he may be inclined to extend negotiations beyond a March 1 deadline, and suggested it was likely the globe's two largest economies would be able to make a deal. Washington and Beijing are engaged in negotiations intended to ease trade tensions ahead of that deadline, at which point the United States had initially planned to increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25 percent from 10 percent. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that if he sees progress being made in trade talks with China, he may be inclined to extend negotiations beyond a March 1 deadline, and suggested it was likely the globe's two largest economies would be able to make a deal. Washington and Beijing are engaged in negotiations intended to ease trade tensions ahead of that deadline, at which point the United States had initially planned to increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25 percent from 10 percent. But Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that because of the progress being made, this week's round of negotiations had been extended. He added that if the two countries reached a deal, tariffs would not need to rise. Trump said he expects to meet China's leader, Xi Jinping, soon, and the biggest trade decisions would be made between the two leaders, though he left open the possibility that he and Xi would not work out the final points. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the two countries had concluded a strong agreement on currency. (Reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Leslie Adler and James Dalgleish) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Reliance Communications said it is confident of raising the remaining about Rs 200 crore for payment to Ericsson New Delhi: A day after it faced Supreme Court heat over non-payment of dues to Ericsson, Reliance Communications on Thursday sought urgent approval from its lenders for release of about Rs 260 crore lying in its bank account, directly to the Swedish telecom gear maker. Reliance Communications in a statement said that it is confident of raising the remaining about Rs 200 crore for payment to Ericsson, in order to ensure that the entire amount gets paid well within the four weeks timeline set by the apex court. The latest move assumes significance as the Supreme Court (SC) Wednesday held Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani and two others guilty of contempt of court for violating its order by not paying dues of Rs 550 crore to Ericsson. The court said they would face a three-month jail term if Rs 453 crore was not paid to the telecom equipment maker in four weeks. "Reliance Communications group has requested urgent approval from its lenders to release approximately Rs 260 crore received from Income Tax refunds, lying in its bank account, directly to Ericsson," a Reliance Communications Limited spokesperson said in a statement. The permission of lenders is crucial for the beleaguered firm, which had decided to implement debt resolution plans through NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) framework, making lender's go ahead necessary for such payments, explained an industry observer. The RCom spokesperson further said that a sum of Rs 118 crore has already been deposited with the apex court. "RCom is confident of raising the balance approximately Rs 200 crore for payment to Ericsson, in order to ensure that the entire Rs 550 crore, plus interest thereon, stands paid to Ericsson, well within the time of four weeks allowed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court," the spokesperson added. RCom likely to sell stake to Nippon Meanwhile, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Capital Thursday said it has invited Nippon Life Insurance to acquire up to 42.88 percent, which is its entire stake, in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Ltd (RNAM). The Supreme Court Wednesday held that the RCom chairman as well as Reliance Telecom chairman Satish Seth and Reliance Infratel chairperson Chhaya Virani breached the undertaking given to the apex court and related orders. The apex court said Ambani and the others will have to purge contempt by paying Rs 453 crore to Ericsson in four weeks. A bench comprising Justices R F Nariman and Vineet Saran said if the 'contemnors' failed to make the payments within the specified period, they will undergo a jail term of three months. The apex court also directed Reliance Communication, Reliance Telecommunication and Reliance Infratel to deposit Rs 1 crore each in four weeks to the apex court registry. If not, the chairpersons of these companies will have to undergo additional jail term of one month. It also directed that Rs 118 crore already deposited by Reliance Group in the apex court registry be disbursed to Ericsson within a week. The bench said the three Reliance companies did not adhere to the 120 days deadline and 60 days extra given by the apex court to pay the Rs 550 crore to Ericsson. It said the undertakings given in the court were false to the knowledge of the court and affected the administration of justice. On 13 February, the apex court had reserved its judgement when Ericsson India alleged that the Reliance Group has money to invest in the Rafale jet deal but was unable to clear its Rs 550 crore dues, a charge vehemently denied by the Anil Ambani-led company. Ericsson India, which signed a seven-year deal in 2014 to operate and manage RCom's nationwide telecom network, alleged that it had not been paid the outstanding dues and challenged the debt-ridden firm (RCom has a staggering Rs 46,000 crore debt) before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. A source said that in order to raise the rest of the amount that is required to be paid to Ericsson, RCom could look at sale of its real estate assets in Delhi and Mumbai, as also urge Reliance Jio to speed up payments for the past Fibre and MCN (media convergence nodes) deals, where the said infrastructure has already been transferred. Hospitality firm OYO on Friday said it has entered into a joint venture (JV) with Yahoo Japan Corporation to make a foray into the housing rental market in Japan, targeting the young population New Delhi: Hospitality firm OYO on Friday said it has entered into a joint venture (JV) with Yahoo Japan Corporation to make a foray into the housing rental market in Japan, targeting the young population. Through the JV, named as OYO Technology & Hospitality Company, Japan, OYO will bring its housing rental product from India -- OYO Living -- rechristened as OYO LIFE to Japan from March 2019, OYO said in a statement. "Japanese entrepreneur and former Japan market leader for Handy and Booking.com, Hiro Katsuse, has been appointed as the CEO of the newly formed joint venture company," it added. OYO LIFE will target the young and growing population of Japan, starting with students and young professionals, the statement said. "This new entity will be focused on creating unique living experiences for the Japanese citizens, students, and young professionals, looking for good quality affordable accommodations, starting with our fully managed homes brand - OYO LIFE," OYO Hotels and Homes CEO and founder Ritesh Agarwal said. OYO is already the most preferred brand in the budget to mid-segment hospitality space in several markets like India and China, where its operational expertise in identifying, transforming and managing properties has helped the company gain significant momentum, and it is certain that it will deliver great value in the Japanese market, he added. Expressing similar sentiments, Yahoo Japan CEO Kentaro Kawabe said the company is really happy to partner with OYO through this joint venture. "With our local know-how, online distribution network and marketing support, OYO LIFE will soon emerge as the most preferred abode for the Japanese citizens and visitors in the country," he added. OYO currently has over 13,000 franchised or leased hotels and over 6,000 homes in its network. TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump has never mentioned currencies when discussing trade with Japan TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump has never mentioned currencies when discussing trade with Japan. Aso, speaking to reporters, said Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have agreed that currencies would be discussed between each country's finance ministry. Aso spoke in response to a question about media reports that the United States had requested a provision on yuan stability in trade talks with China and how that could affect Japan's trade talks with the United States. (Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic arm of IT major Infosys, on Friday said it has been alerted about certain entities collecting money claiming to represent the foundation, and appealed to public not to fall prey to such attempts New Delhi: Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic arm of IT major Infosys, on Friday said it has been alerted about certain entities collecting money claiming to represent the foundation, and appealed to public not to fall prey to such attempts. "It (the foundation) has been alerted about some individuals and groups engaged in collecting money from unsuspecting members of public, traders and other business entities claiming to represent the Infosys Foundation, and that the said contributions will go for the philanthropic activities of the foundation," Infosys said in a regulatory filing. It added that it also has copies of appeals for funds that have been typed on a fake letterhead of the foundation and bear forged signatures of Infosys Foundation Chairperson Sudha Murty. "Infosys Foundation is shocked by these activities. Infosys Foundation neither requests for nor accepts donations for its activities...The Foundation uses its own funds for all its projects and programmes," it said. It appealed to members of the public "not to fall prey to such conmen who seem to have mastered the art of extracting money from people by inventing stories linked to Infosys Foundation". It also requested the public to alert police and write to the foundation if they have information about such fraudsters. Top sources told this newspaper that Ms Vadra was in regular touch with BSP supremo Mayawati and some arrangement can be worked out soon. An official document signed by BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav was released which gave the break-up of the seats each party would contest. (Photo: File) New Delhi: The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party on Thursday announced that they would field candidates from 37 and 38 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh respectively, leaving three for the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and the two Gandhi family bastions of Amethi and Rae Bareli for the Congress. However, SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav expressed his displeasure with the alliance, questioning why SP chief and his son Akhilesh Yadav had agreed to give half the seats to the BSP. An official document signed by BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav was released which gave the break-up of the seats each party would contest. The seats that SP would contest include Kairana, Moradabad, Sambhal, Rampur, Mainpuri, Firozabad, Badaun, Bareilly, Lucknow, Etawah, Kanpur, Kannauj, Jhansi, Banda, Allahabad, Kaushambi, Phulpur, Faizabad, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Varanasi and Mirzapur. The BSP will field candidates from Saharanpur, Bijnor, Nagina, Aligarh, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Dhaurahara, Sitapur, Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Kaiserganj, Basti, Salempur, Jaunpur, Bhadohi and Deoria, among other constituencies. Earlier the two parties had said that they would fight 38 seats each, leaving four for others, which would have effectively meant that the RLD gets to fight only on two seats. However, RLD chief Jayant Chowdhary had held a series of meetings with Mr Yadav following which SP has given one seats from it own quota to the RLD. There was no clarity, however, on whether the Nishad Party, which has been asking for one seat, would be further accommodated within the SP quota. Speculation was rife that they might have a seat arrangement with Congress. Sources said that the Congress, which was left high and dry by the two regional parties, and hit back by appointing Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia as general secretaries in-charge of East and West UP, might end up having a tactical seat adjustment with the SP-BSP alliance in the Awadh region. Top sources told this newspaper that Ms Vadra was in regular touch with BSP supremo Mayawati and some arrangement can be worked out soon. However, one person not enthused about the alliance was SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav. Expressing unhappiness over the pact, he questioned why SP had given half the seats to Ms Mayawatis party. Addressing party workers at the SP headquarters in Lucknow, he said, When I led the party, I had distributed tickets 14 month in advance. We then made the government. The BJP is ahead in campaigning, he added and asked Akhilesh to quickly name his partys candidates. Look, so far, the tickets have not been decided. If he cant decide, then ask me, I will distribute tickets, he said. Asking party workers to approach him directly if they sought tickets to contest the parliamentary polls, he said, How many of you have given applications to me? Nobody. Then how will you get the ticket? Akhilesh will give the ticket, but I can change it. Akhilesh Yadav, 45, was out of earshot. He had come to greet his father at the party office lawns, but left well before his father started speaking. A few days earlier, in his remarks on the last day of the Budget session, the senior Yadav had created a stir by saying that he wished Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns to power. Airbnb, which commenced operations in India in 2016, currently has 45,000 listings on its platform New Delhi: Online accommodation platform major Airbnb Friday said India is one of the fastest-growing emerging markets for the company as it unveiled its 'Plus Homes' range in India. The company, which commenced operations in India in 2016, currently has 45,000 listings on its platform. "Fastest-growing markets for Airbnb are emerging markets and India is one of them. India is one of the fastest-growing emerging markets for the company," Airbnb co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Nathan Blecharczyk told PTI. India is an important business opportunity for Aibnb as it has a huge population and a huge number of millennials, young people, he added. The company has also introduced its new range of 'Plus Homes' in India. Currently, these are available in over 41 cities across the globe. All of them are verified for quality, comfort and design, Blecharczyk said. "We would be inviting about 4,500 super hosts to participate in the process of joining the new range," he added. Emphasising the growth potential for the company in India, Blecharczyk said tourism in the emerging markets is growing at twice the rate of the rest of the world which is a promising opportunity for Airbnb in India. About the segments of the business growth, he said: "Domestic market is growing very fast, at over 78 percent over the last year for Airbnb in India. So, that is the fastest-growing segment for us." The company expects the domestic market to continue to grow well and it expects many more years to maintain this growth rate, he added. "Business travel is another focus area for the Airbnb in India. Currently, we have about 6,500 companies in India who have signed with Airbnb for business travel. So, there is a lot of traction here," Blecharczyk said. India is well on its way to becoming one of the new 'centres of influence' in global tourism. With more than one million Indians having travelled with Airbnb globally in 2018 and a whopping 115 percent increase in Indian listings over the past year, it is no surprise that India is a key market for the company, Airbnb said in a statement. Set to become the world's third-largest economy by 2030, India will inevitably play a crucial role in bringing Airbnb's mission -- to have 1 billion belonging to the platform in the next decade -- to fruition, it added. Founded in 2008, Airbnb accommodation marketplace offers access to around 5 million homes in more than 191 countries, from apartments and villas to castles, treehouses and B&Bs. By Philip Blenkinsop BUCHAREST (Reuters) - France expressed reservations on Friday about proposed trade negotiations with the United States, diplomats said, while other EU countries supported talks with Washington that could ward off punitive U.S. tariffs on European cars. The European Commission has asked the EU's 28 countries to approve two negotiating mandates so that formal talks can begin, with many aware that U.S By Philip Blenkinsop BUCHAREST (Reuters) - France expressed reservations on Friday about proposed trade negotiations with the United States, diplomats said, while other EU countries supported talks with Washington that could ward off punitive U.S. tariffs on European cars. The European Commission has asked the EU's 28 countries to approve two negotiating mandates so that formal talks can begin, with many aware that U.S. President Donald Trump may hit EU car imports with duties if they wait too long. Diplomats say Germany, whose exports of cars and parts to the United States are worth more than half the EU total, wants to press ahead. But France, with very few U.S. car exports, is reluctant to move before the European Parliament election in May, convinced that dealing with Trump is not a vote winner. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said it made sense to wait for a vote in the European Parliament on the issue in March, but then move quickly -- a matter of weeks, not months. "There were a few countries that needed to still have a little discussion internally, but while we are waiting for the European Parliament to vote, I think there are still two weeks to do that," she said. French junior minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne earlier said that Friday's meeting in Bucharest of national ministers responsible for trade was merely the first political discussion, with more perhaps to come. EU diplomats said France wanted to postpone a decision until after the European Parliament election in May, but was starting to understand that this would test Trump's patience too far. They added that French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel would seek to resolve the impasse before or during an EU summit on March 21-22. EU EYES CARS, U.S. WANTS FARM PRODUCTS German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said he was not aiming to "rush something through". His Austrian counterpart Margarete Schramboeck was more forthright. "I expect from all the countries to give a mandate to the Commission... and not hold back because my car industry, maybe in France or one other country, is not as affected as much as in another country," she said. The United States and Europe ended a stand-off of several months last July, when Trump agreed to hold off on car tariffs while the two sides looked to improve trade ties. They committed, among other things, to work towards removing tariffs on "non-auto industrial goods". The EU is looking now to start negotiations on tariff reductions, possibly including cars, as well as a separate set of talks on making it easier for companies to clear their products for sale on both sides of the Atlantic. Industrial good tariffs are already low, at around 4 percent. However, the Commission has said that removing them would boost EU exports to the United States by 8 percent and U.S. exports to the European Union by 9 percent by 2033. The United States has a wide-ranging wish list, including comprehensive agricultural market access. EU unwillingness to include farm products could set it on a collision course with Washington. ($1 = 0.8828 euros) (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; additional reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels; Editing by Toby Chopra) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Sources said the transaction could help clear around 40% of Reliance Capital's outstanding debt worth Rs 18,000 crore New Delhi: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Capital (RCap) on Thursday said it has invited Nippon Life Insurance to acquire its entire 42.88 percent stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management (RNAM). Japan's Nippon Life Insurance already holds 42.88 percent stake in RNAM. "Reliance Capital has invited its partner, Nippon Life Insurance, to make an offer to acquire up to 42.88 percent stake held by Reliance Capital in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management," Reliance Capital said in a regulatory filing. The company said it would make further announcements at the appropriate time. As per BSE data, as on 31 December, 2018, Reliance Capital held 42.9 percent stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management. Sources said the transaction could help clear around 40 percent of Reliance Capital's outstanding debt worth Rs 18,000 crore. The transaction price is likely to be at a significant premium to the current market price, as it would also involve control premium, they added. The proposed share sale would also trigger the requirement of open offer to be made for 26 per cent stake in the company. According to the sources, once the transaction goes through, the company would become the largest wholly foreign-owned mutual fund in India. Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group companies have been trying to monetise some of their assets and bring down the debt significantly. The Supreme Court on Wednesday held RCom Chairman Anil Ambani and two others guilty of contempt of court for violating its order by not paying dues of Rs 550 crore to Ericsson, and said they faced a three-month jail term if Rs 453 crore was not paid to Ericsson in four weeks. The apex court said Ambani and the others will have to purge contempt by paying Rs 453 crore to Ericsson in four weeks. Boeing's Super Hornet is a proven platform that offers the fighter of the future for India networked, survivable and reliable, the statement said. Bengaluru: Aerospace company Boeing on Thursday held discussions with its partners, Mahindra Defence Systems (MDS) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), on the proposed F/A-18 Super Hornet 'Make in India' plan. The partners are developing comprehensive plans to set-up a new 'factory of the future' to manufacture Super Hornet locally, Boeing said after the discussions at the Aero India air show at the Yelahanka air base here. The programme is expected to work with several Indian suppliers to grow a thriving defense aerospace base which could accelerate other programmes, a company statement said. The facility will create a world-class, highly trained aerospace workforce, it said. The public-private partnership is intended to bring Boeing, HAL and MDS' global scale and supply chain, its best-in-industry precision manufacturing processes, as well as experience in designing and optimising aerospace production facilities to expand India's aerospace ecosystem and help realise the 'Make in India' vision. Boeing's Super Hornet is a proven platform that offers the fighter of the future for India networked, survivable and reliable, the statement said. Introduced in 2007, the F/A-18 Super Hornet is the world's preeminent carrier capable aircraft and best suited for India's naval fighter requirements designed from day one for carrier operations, according to Boeing. The Super Hornet is highly capable across the full mission spectrum for the Indian Air Force and is a true multi-role aircraft, able to perform virtually every mission in the tactical spectrum, it said. In addition, Boeing also laid out at Aero India its future defence plans proposing the KC-46A aerial refueler, AH-64E Apache attack helicopter, additional P-8 long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine aircraft, and the twin-engine Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW and C) aircraft. Boeing also highlighted its growing services, sustainment and training footprint in India which is delivering exceptional operational capability and readiness for current platforms at a competitive cost structure, another release from the company said. The P-8I and C-17 operated by the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force (IAF) have high mission readiness rates of >85%, as a result of this commitment. For the soon-to-be-inducted AH-64E Apaches and CH-47F(I) Chinooks, the first batch of Indian Air Force pilots have been undergoing training in the United States, it said. Boeing also plans to establish rotor craft training and support capabilities in India as deliveries commence this year, it said. Boeing also shared its success on 'Make in India', highlighting the contributions of its 160+ suppliers that provide parts and assemblies covering aerostructures, wire harness, composites, forgings, avionics mission systems, and ground support equipment for some of its most advanced defence platforms. Boeing also highlighted the deliveries of the first batch of AH-64 Apache fuselages by Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited, the Joint Venture with Tata Advanced Systems Limited, which is the sole-producer of fuselages globally. CARLSBAD, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2019 / Patriot Scientific Corporation (OTC PINK: PTSC) today announced its intention to petition the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for a rehearing en banc, stemming from litigation originating in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California that alleged infringement of Patriot's '336 patent against multiple defendants. About Patriot Scientific Corporation Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, Patriot Scientific Corporation is the co-owner of the Moore Microprocessor Patent Portfolio. For more information on PTSC, visit www.ptsc.com. About the MMP Portfolio The MMP Portfolio includes US patents as well as their European and Japanese counterparts, which cover techniques that enable higher performance and lower cost designs essential to consumer and commercial digital systems ranging from PCs, cell phones and portable music players to communications infrastructure, medical equipment and automobiles. Safe Harbor Statement: Statements herein which are not purely historical, including statements regarding Patriot Scientific Corporation's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, representations, projections, plans or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties relating to the future of our MMP joint-venture and the licensing and litigation strategies employed by the joint venture. It is important to note that the company's actual results could differ materially from those in any such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with the effect of changing economic conditions, trends in the products markets, variations in the company's cash flow, market acceptance risks, patent litigation, technical development risks, and seasonality. Our business could be affected by a number of other factors, including the risk factors listed from time to time in the company's SEC reports including, but not limited to, the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the periods ended November 30, 2018, and the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended May 31, 2018. The company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained herein. Contact: Patriot Scientific Corp 760-795-8517 SOURCE: Patriot Scientific Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/536444/Patriot-Scientific-Corporation-Litigation-Update 22ndFebruary 2019 Panther Metals PLC ("Panther" or the "Company") Panther corporate presentation available on its website The board of Panther Metals Plc (NEX:PALM) is pleased to announce a new corporate presentation is available to view on the Company's website - https://www.panthermetals.co.uk/investors/presentation. Darren Hazelwood, CEO "It's with great pleasure that I present to the market, via our website, the latest Panther corporate presentation. We have worked diligently to create the foundations to allow the Company to thrive, and we look forward to growing the Company well into 2019 and beyond". The directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement. For further information on the Company visit www.panthermetals.co.uk or contact: Panther Metals PLC info@panthermetals.co.uk Darren Hazelwood Chief Executive Officer + 44 (0)7971 957 685 Mitchell Smith Chief Operating Officer + 1 (604) 209 6678 Mark Anwyl Guy Miller Peterhouse Capital Ltd (NEX Exchange Corporate Adviser) +44 (0) 7469 0930 Panther Metals plc (NEX: PALM) Panther, the London NEX Exchange Growth Market listed investor in strategic natural resource opportunities, is focused on generating shareholder value through advancing high-quality exploration opportunities in stable and mining friendly jurisdictions. The board has demonstrated capability in taking projects from early grassroots stage through the development curve to production, with a combined 40 years' experience in the mineral exploration and mining finance sectors. Regulatory News: Tikehau Capital (Paris:TKO) and Exane BNP Paribas have signed a new liquidity contract on 19 February 2019 Tikehau Capital (Paris:TKO) and Exane BNP Paribas signed a new liquidity contract on 19 February 2019. This new contract was signed following the changes in regulations on liquidity contracts and complies with AMF decision no. 2018-01 of 2 July 2018 (the "AMF Decision"), applicable from 1 January 2019. The new liquidity contract with an effective date of 1 January 2019 replaces the previous liquidity contract signed with Exane BNP Paribas in effect since 7 March 2017. The trading platform on which transactions under the liquidity contract will be performed is Euronext Paris. Pursuant to the provisions of the liquidity contract, it is stipulated that the following situations or conditions will lead to its suspension or cancellation. The execution of the liquidity contract shall be suspended under the conditions indicated in article 5 of the AMF Decision. It may also be suspended on Tikehau Capital's request and for the period that it specifies. The liquidity contract may be cancelled under the following conditions: at any time by Tikehau Capital, without notice; by Exane BNP Paribas with one month's notice. The resources (in cash or securities) allocated to the liquidity contract are those indicated at 31 December 2018 in credit to the liquidity account, as stipulated by the release, "Half-year report on the TIKEHAU liquidity contract signed with EXANE BNP PARIBAS", to which had been added on 21 February 2019 an additional cash contribution of 300,000 euros. This additional contribution allows the liquidity contract's resources to be better matched with the stock market capitalisation and the aim of promoting share liquidity and regular trading. In accordance with the authorisation given by the General Shareholders' Meeting of Tikehau Capital on 25 May 2018, the maximum unit purchase price per share in respect of the liquidity contract is 40. About Tikehau Capital: Tikehau Capital is an alternative asset management and investment group with 15.9 bn of assets under management (as at 30 September 2018) and shareholders' equity of 2.3 bn (as at 30 June 2018). The Group invests in various asset classes (private debt, real estate, private equity and liquid strategies), including through its asset management subsidiary Tikehau IM, on behalf of institutional and private investors. Controlled by its managers, alongside leading institutional partners, Tikehau Capital employs 260 staff (as at 30 September 2018) across its Paris, London, Brussels, Madrid, Milan, New York, Seoul and Singapore offices. Tikehau Capital is listed on the regulated market of Euronext Paris, Compartment A (ISIN code: FR0013230612; Ticker: TKO.FP) www.tikehaucapital.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190222005014/en/ Contacts: Press Contacts: Tikehau Capital: Julien Sanson +44 20 3821 1001 Finsbury: Arnaud Salla Charles O'Brien +44 207 251 3801 press@tikehaucapital.com Shareholders and Investors Contact: Louis Igonet +33 1 40 06 11 11 shareholders@tikehaucapital.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. Bermuda February 22, 2019 The investor call Wednesday February 20, was well attended. About 300 shareholders/investors. This is a high turnout; 43 % of shareholders/investors joined from USA, 36% in total from Norway and from the UK and the balance from other countries. NAT has about 100,000 shareholders. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts. The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "will," "may," "should," "expect," "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the tanker market, as a result of changes in OPEC's petroleum production levels and worldwide oil consumption and storage, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the prospectus and related prospectus supplement, our Annual Report on Form 20-F, and our reports on Form 6-K. Contacts: Gary J. Wolfe Seward & Kissel LLP New York, USA Tel: +1 212 574 1223 Bjrn Giver, CFO Nordic American Tankers Limited Tel: +1 888 755 8391 or +47 91 35 00 91 Herbjrn Hansson, Chairman & CEO Nordic American Tankers Limited Tel: +1 866 805 9504 or +47 90 14 62 91 Press Release (PDF) (http://hugin.info/201/R/2236205/880578.pdf) This announcement is distributed by West Corporation on behalf of West Corporation clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: Nordic American Tankers Limited via Globenewswire SpendEdge, a well-known procurement intelligence solution provider, has announced the completion of their latest supply chain management study for a plumbing supply store The report highlights how the lack of a robust supply chain strategy can impact supply chain management negatively. It also gives a comprehensive overview of different supply chain functions such as operations and logistics which are vital for streamlining the processes associated with supply chain management. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190222005316/en/ Supply chain management study for a plumbing supply store. (Graphic: Business Wire) Despite high investment in infrastructure and the rise in disposable income offering immense opportunities, companies in the plumbing industry are facing some major roadblocks. They are facing difficulties in decreasing operational costs and streamlining supply chain management processes. Therefore, it has become crucial for companies to monitor their supply chain activities and synchronize supply with market demand to measure their global performance. According to the procurement experts at SpendEdge, "Companies must streamline their functions such as purchasing, operations, logistics, resource management, and information overflow to improve customer relationship and minimize operational costs." The Business Problem: The client is a leading plumbing wholesaler in the United States with over 70 branch operations. The changing market dynamics were consistently increasing supply chain costs for the company,making it difficult for them to identify suppliers. This was also making it difficult for the client to identify and predict product demand and supply. Hence, the client wanted to leverage SpendEdge's expertise and enhance their supply chain management efficiency by implementing new processes and policies. If inaccurate demand planning is impacting supply chain management for your organization as well, talk to our experts and know how our experts can guide you with best supply chain management solutions. The Solution Offered:With the aid of supply chain management solutions provided by experts at SpendEdge, the client gained a holistic overview of global supply capabilities. This aided the client to identify capable suppliers and achieve supplier diversification. Furthermore, it helped the client to ensure quality and compliance across the entire supply chain and implement new processes. As a result, the plumbing supply store obtained better ROI and increased sales substantially. Want to know how allocating resources at the right time can optimize production and reduce costs. Request a free proposal today SpendEdge's supply chain management solutions helped the client to: Increase sales and achieve better ROI. Gain a better understanding of global supply capabilities. Wonder how supply chain management can increase sales and improve ROI for your organization? Request a free demo and know how supply chain management solutions can assist you. SpendEdge's supply chain management solutions also offered predictive insights on: Implementing new processes and policies. Enhancing quality and compliance across the supply chain. Read the complete article to know more: https://www.spendedge.com/casestudy/supply-chain-management-plumbing-supplier-industry About SpendEdge: SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions. Request free proposal to know more, https://www.spendedge.com/request-free-proposal View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190222005316/en/ Contacts: SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager US: +1 630 984 7340 UK: +44 148 459 9299 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us Water resources minister Nitin Gadkari tweeted to convey the governments decision to stop Indias share of the water going to Pakistan. New Delhi: India decided on Thursday to stop the flow of its share of water to Pakistan from rivers under the Indus Water Treaty, a move seen as an immediate fallout of the deadly terrorist attack in Pulwama, Kashmir, that killed 49 paramilitary personnel. Water resources minister Nitin Gadkari tweeted to convey the governments decision to stop Indias share of the water going to Pakistan. But the actual implementation of the decision may take up to six years as dams as high as 100 metres will have to be built to stop such flow, officials said, insisting the decision was in no way a violation of the treaty. Under the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, the waters of the western rivers Indus, Jhelum and Chenab were given to Pakistan and those of the eastern rivers Ravi, Beas and Sutlej to India. Indias share of the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej river waters came to 33 million acres feet (MAF). While about 95 per cent of water is being used in the country after the construction of three main dams across the rivers, close to five per cent water or 1.6 MAF would flow to Pakistan. To gain access to this water, India is now building more dams which will be completed in six years, officials said. Another official said the decision was taken two months back. Water to Pakistan from the three rivers has been flowing for 60 years, while the country needs it to meet the needs of its citizens, they said, insisting the stopping of its share of water from going to Pakistan is in no way a violation of the treaty. Under the leadership of Honble PM Sri @narendramodiji, Our Govt has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert the water from eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, Mr Gadkari said in a tweet. He added: The construction of a dam has started at Shahpur-Kandi on Ravi river. Moreover, UJH project will store our share of water for use in J&K and the balance water will flow from 2nd Ravi-BEAS Link to provide water to other basin states. Mr Gadkaris tweets come barely a week after the gruesome Pulwama attack on February 14 in which as many as 49 CRPF personnel were killed as a terrorist rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a bus carrying them. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2019) - MAX RESOURCE CORP. (TSXV: MXR) (OTC Pink: MXROF) (FSE: M1D1) ("MAX" or the "Company") is pleased to report it has completed a Long Wave InfraRed (LWIR) survey over an area of 1,000 sq. km within the Company's 1,757 sq. km "Choco Gold Bearing Conglomerate Project", located 100km SW of Medellin, Colombia. Exploration Update The Company expects to receive the interpreted LWIR survey results next week. The survey encompasses or is adjacent to Compania Minera Choco Pacifico historic production of 742,308 ounces of gold and 769,049 ounces of platinum and includes the previously identified 36 sq. km area of gold bearing conglomerates. The survey also encompasses Agencia Nacional de Minera ("ANM") hydrocarbon drill hole Choco-1-ST-P which identified conglomerate units through the upper 500 metres of the drill hole. Source: R.J. Fletcher and Associates (2011) Review of Gold and Platinum Exploration and Production in Choco Province Colombia Part 3. Private Report for Condoto Platinum Ltd.) Brett Matich, MAX's President and CEO, commented: "While the exploration to date appears to suggest a possible link between overlying Choco Pacific production and underlying gold bearing conglomerates, the objective of the LWIR survey is to survey the remainder of the 1,000 sq. km historical production area for similar LWIR responses to the previously defined 36 sq. km area." Continuing research in the region of the initial conglomerate discoveries has outlined an area of approximately 1000 sq. km. This area is defined largely by the historical production from Compania Minera Choco Pacifico. MAX has been locating and testing the hard rock conglomerates beneath the areas of the historic production, working on an exploration model where the presence of gold in the overlying alluvial is a potential indicator of gold in the underlying conglomerates. The centre of the areas of historic production and the recorded production from these areas is shown on the accompanying map. In addition, an ANM hole drilled for hydrocarbons in the northern end of the 1000 sq. km area appears to have intersected zones of conglomerates through the top 500 metres according to the summary of drill log for hole Choco-1-ST-P. None of the conglomerate was sampled for gold as the target was deeper hydrocarbons. Figure 1 To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3834/42987_9cf50be7e42d2b7b_002full.jpg MAX conducted the Long Wave InfraRed (LWIR) survey over the 1000 sq. km to see if a correlation between the conglomerate outcropping and the areas of historic production exists. LWIR analysis, through proprietary processing of Aster satellite data, has the ability to map or identify, through reflectance spectroscopy against a set of known standards, mineral distribution over extremely large areas covered by vegetation and shallow cover. The ground-penetrating nature of infrared radiation in the long wave bands allows viewing of mineral spectra in the first 30 to 60 centimetres of the earth's surface through dense vegetation. The Choco Gold Bearing Conglomerate Project MAX has 100% ownership of 82 and 50% of 7 mineral license applications, totaling over 1,757 sq. km located within Choco Department approximately 100km SW of the city of Medellin, Colombia. Compania Minera del Choco Pacifico ("Choco Pacific") produced 1.5 million ounces of surface gold and 1.0 million ounces of surface platinum from the "Choco District" between 1906 to 1990, largely limited to an average depth of 8 meters or less. MAX's Choco Gold Project covers or is adjacent to much of Choco Pacific's historic exploration and production areas. Choco Pacific historic reports indicate the hard rock conglomerates underlying the surface production areas are gold-bearing, extensive, shallow and generally flat lying with thicknesses from a few metres to 20 metres. Source: R.J. Fletcher and Associates (2011) Review of Gold and Platinum Exploration and Production in Choco Province Colombia Part 3. Private Report for Condoto Platinum Ltd.) MAX cautions investors it has yet to verify the historic information. Tim Henneberry, P. Geo (British Columbia), a member of the Max Resource Corp. Advisory Board, is the qualified person who has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release on behalf of the Company. About MAX Resource Corp. MAX Resource Corp.'s focus is to explore and consolidate gold and platinum group mineral assets in the richly endowed Choco mineral district of Colombia. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF MAX RESOURCE CORP. "Brett Matich" Brett Matich, CEO and President For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.maxresource.com or the Company's profile at www.SEDAR.com If you would like to be added to MAX Resources' news distribution list, please send your email address to info@maxresources.com For more information contact: Brett Matich, CEO and President Tel: (+1) 604 365-1522 info@maxresource.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed as "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements pertaining to completion of the Transaction and any approvals required in connection with the Acquisition. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guaranteeing of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include: changes in market conditions, unsuccessful exploration results, changes in the price of commodities (particularly copper), unanticipated changes in key management personnel and general social, economic or geo-political conditions. Mining exploration and development is an inherently risky business. Accordingly, the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be from time to time by the Company or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/42987 Nokia and CMCC set a new industry benchmark for AI-enabled edge cloud performance in a live 5G (NSA) network with successful field trial of VR gaming application As the first equipement vendor to join the O-RAN Alliance, which fosters an open RAN ecosystem, Nokia worked closely with the China Mobile Research Institute (CMRI) to research and test artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning techniques in 5G use cases The Nokia commercial-ready 5G base station, AirScale, and its leading CU/DU split cloud RAN architecture successfully used an AI-powered edge cloud to ensure quality of experience (QoE) for a live VR gaming experience. 22 February 2019 Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced the successful field trial of its Cloud RAN architecture on CMCC's live 5G NSA network. Using the Nokia 5G commercial-ready AirScale base station, Nokia and China Mobile Research Institute (CMRI) successfully trialed a VR gaming application based on an AI-powered cloud RAN edge computing platform. This was the first successful test of the AI-enabled edge cloud for ensuring an extreme 5G user experience and proves the commercial readiness of the Nokia Cloud RAN split CU/DU architecture for 5G networks. As commercial 5G networks prepare to roll out around the world, the CMCC field trials on their live 5G NSA network in Shanghai are a critical test bed for vendors of 5G equipment. As a founding member of the O-RAN alliance, CMCC's research arm, CMRI, has been driving to set industry norms and benchmarks for 5G performances. Nokia is the first vendor to join the alliance and has been working closely with CMRI on the design of it 5G field trials. At the recent tests, Nokia and CMCC successfully completed the cloud RAN field trials with its open RAN CU/DU split architecture. Using the Nokia AirScale base station, the companies also successfully tested the AI machine learning related functions over O-RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) architecture, including the Nokia AI deep learning inference functionality and communication interface for AI model deployment and management. The Nokia ML algorithms were successful at responding to test-induced network contention issues with automatic, accurate and near-real-time response to ensure QoE for live VR gamers. The test proves the commercial readiness of the Nokia cloud RAN technology, which will enable operators to have the capability of radio networks to respond autonomously to application requirements, which is a potential new service mode. Huang Yuhong, Deputy Director of China Mobile Research Institute, said: "China Mobile has put effort into the AI-assisting RAN network technology. With the help of big data and machine learning applying to the 5G network, we are pleased to provide great services' experience to our customers in the Shanghai area. In the field trial with our partner Nokia, we proved the availability of the Cloud RAN infrastructure and the benefit of the RIC to ensure service experience under the O-RAN architecture which is an important step towards commercial use." Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said: "As our customers worldwide gear up for 5G, we are ready to support with our end to end 5G portfolio. The CMCC 5G field trials were an important opportunity to test our open Cloud RAN architecture on a live 5G network and demonstrate how our AI-enabled edge cloud performs in extreme real-time use case such as VR. Our partnership with China Mobile proves the commercial readiness of our Cloud RAN solutions across technologies." About Nokia We create the technology to connect the world. We develop and deliver the industry's only end-to-end portfolio of network equipment, software, services and licensing that is available globally. Our customers include communications service providers whose combined networks support 5.7 billion subscriptions, as well as enterprises in the private and public sector that use our network portfolio to increase productivity and enrich lives. Through our research teams, including the world-renowned Nokia Bell Labs, we are leading the world to adopt end-to-end 5G networks that are faster, more secure and capable of revolutionizing lives, economies and societies. Nokia adheres to the highest ethical business standards as we create technology with social purpose, quality and integrity. nokia.com (https://www.nokia.com/) Media Inquiries Corporate Communications Phone: +358 10 448 4900 E-mail: press.services@nokia.com (mailto:press.services@nokia.com) Nokia Shanghai Bell Media Relations Carol Ling Phone: +86 18616388716 E-mail: yi.a.ling@nokia-sbell.com (mailto:yi.a.ling@nokia-sbell.com) This announcement is distributed by West Corporation on behalf of West Corporation clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: NOKIA via Globenewswire VANCOUVER. BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2019 / EastWest Bioscience (the "Company" or "EastWest") (TSX.V: EAST) announces it will be attending the Canadian Health Foods Association (CHFA) West Tradeshow at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, BC on February 23rd - 24th from 10AM to 5PM at Exhibit #414. The Company will be featuring promos and taste samplings of their new Chewy Goodness Granola Bars which are available for purchase and in stores now under the Earth's Menu brand. Also being introduced is the Company's new HempBeauti Shampoo and Conditioner hair care, the first of a series of premium ultra-clean body care products under the Company's ChanvreHemp brand. These new body care products will be available for general purchase by buyers in April. "The Company is looking forward to launching our newest products at the CHFA, one the premier natural health product shows in Canada," says Rodney Gelineau, CEO of EastWest Bioscience. "There are so many interesting natural food developments. Our foundational Hemp ingredient continues to receive a great deal of interest from potential partners. They are telling us they like that we continue growing a solid base of consumer products. We are looking forward to meeting with our current and potential new distributor partners, along with the many retailers that attend the show looking for new and innovative products." CHFA West is being held at the Vancouver Convention Centre, West Building, Vancouver, BC - 1055 Canada Place Vancouver BC. About EastWest BioScience Group EastWest Bioscience is a seed-to-sale organization that offers nutraceutical manufacturing and premium hemp-based consumer goods and sells them through national distributors such as Mondou and Purity Distributors, as well as Eastwest's own 27 Sangster's branded retail stores, one of Canada's oldest and most respected natural health chains. Since it was founded in 2016, EastWest continues to grow as a high-quality producer, manufacturer and distributor of multiple lines of premium hemp products. EastWest is strategically positioned in mainstream consumer markets with wholistic natural products and has developed distribution channels into mainstream stores and markets in Canada. The Company has a Health Canada licensed, GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) certified manufacturing facility and produces premium brands offering natural products for a preventive care lifestyle. EastWest consumer product lines are divided into four distinct brands: 1) Natural Advancement - natural biopharmaceutical health supplements; 2) Earth's Menu - all-natural hemp superfoods; 3) Natural Pet Science - pet food and pet supplements; and 4) ChanvreHemp - all-natural health and beauty products. The organization will continue to focus on ongoing development of innovative, hemp-based consumer products through advanced science with clean, natural ingredients to complement its current product offerings. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS EASTWEST BIOSCIENCE GROUP "Rodney Gelineau" Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Director 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. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the terms and conditions of the Acquisition. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; and delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. SOURCE: EastWest Bioscience View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/536404/EastWest-Bioscience-Attends-CHFA-West-Natural-Health-Product-Show-to-Introduce-its-Newest-Hemp-based-Food-and-Body-Care-Products The latest in a series of corporate venturing (CV) studies from IESE Business School examines how much autonomy CV units need to create the most impact IESE Business School in collaboration with consultancy firm BeRepublic released today a new study on how companies can best maximise the impact from corporate venturing the increasingly popular practice of large firms collaborating with start-ups in an effort to increase innovation. The study Open Innovation: Balancing the autonomy and impact of your corporate venturing unit, is based on over 120 interviews with chief innovation officers and those in related roles in the United States, Europe and Asia and from companies such as BMW, Disney, Orange and Samsung. It sheds light on how companies can not only maximize the innovation produced by their CV units, but also the value they generate for the parent company. M Julia Prats, Professor of Entrepreneurship at IESE Business School and co-author of the study says: "Innovation for innovation's sake is not enough. This study provides a practical framework for how firms can maximize the effectiveness of their cv units not only in terms of the type of innovation generated, but also the extent to which a mind-set favorable to innovation has been enhanced in the parent company, and whether the innovations have been adopted by the firm." According to the study's authors, to maximize effectiveness it is crucial to balance the amount of structural autonomy that CV units have from the parent company. But getting the right mix of autonomy, control and integration between a firm and its CV units is an ongoing challenge. To do so, they identified a framework of variables that each company should consider, grouped into four main areas: Leadership: To what degree does the executive committee participate in the unit's decision-making, and how much time elapses between reporting cycles? Distance: How far is the unit from headquarters? This considers both physical and legal distance. Budget: How dependent is the cost center on headquarters? How much is required for them to break even? Incentives: How is the unit director evaluated and compensated? The study found that the keys to success were: Designing an incentive framework that is focused on value integration as well as agility. This helps companies focus on the value generated by corporate venturing, instead of innovating for innovation's sake. Ensuring an independent cost center for the CV unit Considering a longer time span between reporting cycles Choosing the physical location of units according to the degree of internal autonomy that can be given to the unit and to the level of internal capability for integrating external innovation into the company. Open Innovation: Balancing the autonomy and impact of your corporate venturing unit is authored by professor M Julia Prats and Josemaria Siota of IESE Business School and Isabel Martinez-Monche and Yair Martinez of BeRepublic. It is the latest in a series of studies from IESE Business School, one of the world's top business schools, that provides practical, research backed guides for how large firms can best approach corporate venturing. The next study in the series will be released during MWC Barcelona and the 4YFN conference, where IESE is organizing a number of sessions on corporate venturing and innovation. For more view: https://mediaroom.iese.edu/iese-business-school-to-take-part-in-mwc-barcelona/ To view the complete study, please go to: https://www.ieseinsight.com/doc.aspx?id=2167&ar=16&idi=2 -------------- End -------------- About IESE Business School The 2018-2019 academic year marks the 60-year anniversary of IESE Business School, which is the graduate business school of the University of Navarra. Founded in 1958, the school is one of the world's most international business schools, with campuses in Barcelona, Madrid, Munich, New York and Sao Paulo. Consistently ranked within the top ten worldwide, IESE Business School has pioneered business education in Europe since its founding. For sixty years, IESE has sought to develop business leaders with solid business skills, a global mind-set and a desire to make a positive impact on society. The school distinguishes itself in its general-management approach, extensive use of the case method, international outreach, and emphasis on placing people at the heart of managerial decision-making. In the last four years, IESE has positioned itself as number 1 in the world for Executive Education programs, according to the Financial Times ranking. www.iese.edu View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190222005254/en/ Contacts: Mallory Dees International Communications IESE Business School +34 912113197 mdees@iese.edu Lenovo unveils its ThinkSystem SE350 edge server, the first of a family of edge servers to come from the firm Lenovo highlights new IoT solutions in video security and surveillance through its partnership with Pivot3 and Future-Ready Retail Store Infrastructure through its partnership with Scale Computing Lenovo showcases a Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) platform along with Wind, WizR, Vertiv and Intel hosting VR applications at the edge Part of Lenovo's co-chair mission in O-RAN, Lenovo demonstrates a first 5G virtualized O-RAN solution providing flexibility and efficiency to Communication Service Providers including China Mobile Lenovo showcases next generation composable infrastructure using Intel Rack Scale Design in a joint innovation partnership with Orange Next week at MWC Barcelona, Lenovo Data Center Group (DCG) will showcase continued investments in its solutions supporting IoT and edge computing as part of its IoT growth plan over the next few years. Building on the momentum of its fifth consecutive quarter of profit growth, Lenovo DCG is building a portfolio that takes infrastructure to where the data is, whether that be in the traditional data center, in the cloud or increasingly, at the edge. Today, around 10 percent of enterprise-generated data is created and processed outside a traditional centralized data center or cloud. By 2022, Gartner predicts this figure will reach 75 percent. This migration is driving increased concerns around data privacy, security and regulations coupled with challenges of latency, bandwidth and downtime. Lenovo is addressing these challenges by creating a broad portfolio of edge computing offerings that address the different ways that customers want to deploy edge computing solutions for IoT use cases. At MWC Barcelona, Lenovo will unveil the ThinkSystem SE350, an edge server that is just slightly larger than a ThinkPad. This purpose-built server will come to market this summer and is half the width and significantly shorter than a traditional server, making it ideal for deployment in tight spaces. It can be mounted on a wall, stacked on a shelf or mounted in a rack. The ThinkSystem SE350 puts increased processing power, storage and network closer to where data is generated, allowing actions resulting from the analysis of that data to take place more quickly. Since these edge servers are typically deployed outside of secure data centers, they include technology that encrypts the data stored on the device if it is tampered with, only enabling authorized users to access it. In addition, the server will support both Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity. "There is tremendous opportunity to help customers realize the power that edge computing can bring to their organizations," said Kirk Skaugen, Executive Vice President, Lenovo and President of Lenovo Data Center Group. "We've made significant focused investments in our IoT and Telco offerings over the past year with several strategic partners, enabling connectivity from edge to data center. We are committed to supporting industry open source initiatives, including the Open RAN, and Lenovo looks forward to co-chairing the Open RAN (O-RAN) Cloudification and Orchestration groups." For customers who want pre-integrated and validated IoT solutions for simplified deployment and accelerated digital transformation, Lenovo has partnered with the industry to bring expertise to support edge computing use cases: Lenovo teams up with Pivot3 to drive smart city capabilities. Lenovo demonstrates its commitment to Video- and Security-based solutions powered by Pivot3 with live demos and customer examples at MWC Barcelona. As governments and organizations adopt the next generation of edge computing to help protect people, increase efficiency and avoid loss, Lenovo and Pivot3 are working together to support mission-critical smart city and safe campus deployments across multiple sectors. In collaboration with SecureTech, a leading integrator of video security solutions, Lenovo and Pivot3 helped a leading Middle East hospitality customer secure their sprawling hotel complex meeting their mission critical requirements for resilience, security and manageability. Together, they delivered a successful security solution, efficiently capturing and managing their security video data. The project reduces risk of data loss, system failure and lowers cost of acquisition and ownership, while reducing their need for advanced technical skills. Lenovo demonstrates its commitment to Video- and Security-based solutions powered by Pivot3 with live demos and customer examples at MWC Barcelona. As governments and organizations adopt the next generation of edge computing to help protect people, increase efficiency and avoid loss, Lenovo and Pivot3 are working together to support mission-critical smart city and safe campus deployments across multiple sectors. In collaboration with SecureTech, a leading integrator of video security solutions, Lenovo and Pivot3 helped a leading Middle East hospitality customer secure their sprawling hotel complex meeting their mission critical requirements for resilience, security and manageability. Together, they delivered a successful security solution, efficiently capturing and managing their security video data. The project reduces risk of data loss, system failure and lowers cost of acquisition and ownership, while reducing their need for advanced technical skills. Lenovo reveals its Future-Ready Retail Store Infrastructure solution in partnership with Scale Computing, enabling retail customers to deploy mini data centers that offer enterprise-class IT infrastructure at the edge of their networks. Ahold Delhaize, an international food retail group headquartered in Zaandam, Netherlands, operates supermarkets and e-commerce businesses across 6,700+ stores in 11 countries, serving over 50 million customers each week. Delhaize wanted to reduce time spent deploying and managing edge IT infrastructure and needed a solution that could host traditional and IoT applications on the same hardware. With the combined solution, Delhaize found the stability, support, cost savings, simplicity and optimized security needed to modernize its stores with IoT for optimizing freezing, heating and the customer experience. Ahold Delhaize, an international food retail group headquartered in Zaandam, Netherlands, operates supermarkets and e-commerce businesses across 6,700+ stores in 11 countries, serving over 50 million customers each week. Delhaize wanted to reduce time spent deploying and managing edge IT infrastructure and needed a solution that could host traditional and IoT applications on the same hardware. With the combined solution, Delhaize found the stability, support, cost savings, simplicity and optimized security needed to modernize its stores with IoT for optimizing freezing, heating and the customer experience. Lenovo is working closely with VMware on Project Dimension, which will dramatically simplify the delivery of infrastructure-as-a-service to on-premise locations including at the edge. A pilot program is underway with several customers with the aim of providing a commercially available offering that will extend VMware Cloud to deliver a software-defined data-center (SDDC) in a hyper-converged appliance as-a-service for enterprise customers. A pilot program is underway with several customers with the aim of providing a commercially available offering that will extend VMware Cloud to deliver a software-defined data-center (SDDC) in a hyper-converged appliance as-a-service for enterprise customers. Lenovo partners with select visionary ISVs and CoSPs to validate unique use cases, enabling CoSPs to roll out new monetizable services. Lenovo's Communication Service Provider (CoSP) strategy is aligned with the new emerging areas like Multi-Access Edge computing (MEC) and C-RAN. Partnering with China Mobile, Intel and Baicells, Lenovo demonstrates the first 5G O-RAN virtualized solution providing increased flexibility to CoSP. Lenovo's Communication Service Provider (CoSP) strategy is aligned with the new emerging areas like Multi-Access Edge computing (MEC) and C-RAN. Partnering with China Mobile, Intel and Baicells, Lenovo demonstrates the first 5G O-RAN virtualized solution providing increased flexibility to CoSP. Focused on our customer experience and solving relevant use cases, Lenovo and Orange established a Joint Innovation Partnership focused on hardware composability using Intel Rack Scale Design (RSD). The main focus area of the joint research is maximizing energy, performance and cost efficiencies by pooling abstracting hardware resources, such as FPGA, GPU, and SmartNICs in edge deployment environments. Demonstrations of Lenovo's IoT and edge solutions can be seen at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 25 February 28 at the Lenovo Showcase in Hall 3, Space 3N30. For more information, visit www.lenovo.com/mwc or www.lenovo.com/datacenterevents About Lenovo Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a US$45 billion Fortune Global 500 company and a global technology leader in driving Intelligent Transformation through smart devices and infrastructure that create the best user experience. Lenovo manufactures one of the world's widest portfolios of connected products, including smartphones (Motorola), tablets, PCs (ThinkPad, Yoga, Lenovo Legion) and workstations as well as AR/VR devices and smart home/office solutions. Lenovo's data center solutions (ThinkSystem, ThinkAgile) are creating the capacity and computing power for the connections that are changing business and society. Lenovo works to inspire the difference in everyone and build a smarter future where everyone thrives. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Weibo, read about the latest news via our Storyhub, or visit our website at http://www.lenovo.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190222005251/en/ Contacts: Zeno Group Sarah Erman LenovoWWcorp@zenogroup.com John Moore, 215-207-1271 JOHN.MOORE@zenogroup.com TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2019 / Rockcliff Metals Corporation ("Rockcliff") (TSX-V: RCLF) (FRANKFURT: RO0, WKN: A2H60G) is pleased to announce a reorganization transaction involving a financing led by Greenstone Resources II LP ("Greenstone") and a transfer of significant assets from Norvista Capital Corporation (TSX-V: NVV) ("Norvista"). This transformative event will reorganize Rockcliff into a well-capitalized resource company with a strong shareholder base enabling Rockcliff to undertake a major mineral exploration and mine development program over the next several years in the prolific Flin Flon - Snow Lake base metals mining camp in Manitoba. This transaction (the "Transaction") is a reverse take-over for the purposes of the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V"). The Board of Directors of each of Rockcliff and Norvista unanimously support the Transaction. As at the date of this announcement, 36.8% of Rockcliff shareholders and 53% of Norvista shareholders have provided irrevocable undertakings and consents to vote in support of the Transaction. The Transaction is expected to close in April 2019. Transaction Overview The financing and asset acquisition will create a well-capitalized base metals focused developer and explorer with high-grade deposits, a significant land package of highly prospective exploration ground and access to concentrate production facilities. Manitoba is one of the most permitting-friendly jurisdictions in Canada. Should the economic viability and technical feasibility of the projects be established, the Transaction may allow Rockcliff to execute a "Hub and Spoke" development strategy from a centralized milling facility and transition into a copper-focused producer with low capital costs to production. Upon completion of the Transaction, the assets comprising the Hub and Spoke strategy are as follows: Talbot Option Agreement : Rockcliff will receive an earn-in option to acquire a minimum 51% ownership interest in the Talbot Property. The Property hosts the Talbot copper deposit, a high-grade 4.2M tonne National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (" NI 43-101 ") Inferred mineral resource grading 1.61% Cu, 1.4% Zn, 1.77 g/t Au and 27.96 g/t Ag (the " Talbot Report ") as disclosed in the Rockcliff Press Release dated January 19, 2018. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. : Rockcliff will receive an earn-in option to acquire a minimum 51% ownership interest in the Talbot Property. The Property hosts the Talbot copper deposit, a high-grade 4.2M tonne National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (" ") Inferred mineral resource grading 1.61% Cu, 1.4% Zn, 1.77 g/t Au and 27.96 g/t Ag (the " ") as disclosed in the Rockcliff Press Release dated January 19, 2018. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Tower Property : Rockcliff will acquire a 100% ownership interest in the Tower Property, including the Tower deposit, a high-grade 1.08M tonne NI 43-101 Indicated mineral resource grading 3.73% Cu, 1.05% Zn, 0.55 g/t Au and 17.28 g/t Ag plus a 1.25M tonne NI 43-101 Inferred mineral resource grading 2.0% Cu, 1.02% Zn, 0.27 g/t Au and 9.78 g/t Ag (the " Tower Report ") as disclosed in the Rockcliff Press Release dated March 30, 2015. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. : Rockcliff will acquire a 100% ownership interest in the Tower Property, including the Tower deposit, a high-grade 1.08M tonne NI 43-101 Indicated mineral resource grading 3.73% Cu, 1.05% Zn, 0.55 g/t Au and 17.28 g/t Ag plus a 1.25M tonne NI 43-101 Inferred mineral resource grading 2.0% Cu, 1.02% Zn, 0.27 g/t Au and 9.78 g/t Ag (the " ") as disclosed in the Rockcliff Press Release dated March 30, 2015. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Rail Property : Rockcliff currently owns a 100% ownership interest in the Rail Property, hosting the Rail deposit, a high grade 822,000 tonnes NI 43-101 Indicated mineral resource grading 3.04% Cu, 0.99% Zn, 0.7 g/t Au and 9.3 g/t Ag as disclosed in the Rockcliff Press Release dated July 24, 2018. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. : Rockcliff currently owns a 100% ownership interest in the Rail Property, hosting the Rail deposit, a high grade 822,000 tonnes NI 43-101 Indicated mineral resource grading 3.04% Cu, 0.99% Zn, 0.7 g/t Au and 9.3 g/t Ag as disclosed in the Rockcliff Press Release dated July 24, 2018. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Historical Deposits : Rockcliff currently owns 6 additional historical underexplored base metal deposits, all open along strike and at depth with significant growth potential. : Rockcliff currently owns 6 additional historical underexplored base metal deposits, all open along strike and at depth with significant growth potential. Bucko mill lease : Rockcliff will acquire a 7-year processing lease of the Bucko mill and tailing storage facilities, at the Bucko Lake Mine, near Wabowden, Manitoba. : Rockcliff will acquire a 7-year processing lease of the Bucko mill and tailing storage facilities, at the Bucko Lake Mine, near Wabowden, Manitoba. Dominant land position, currently held by Rockcliff, of 4,000 square kilometres in the prolific Flin Flon - Snow Lake greenstone belt, home to the largest Paleoproterozoic Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) district in the world. The Talbot Report is currently filed on the SEDAR profile for Rockcliff and the Tower Report is currently filed on the SEDAR profile for Former Rockcliff (as defined below). The mineral resource estimate relating to the Talbot Property is viewed as current. The mineral resource estimate relating to the Tower Property is not viewed as current and will be updated. Rockcliff will be calling an Annual and Special Meeting of the shareholders of Rockcliff (the "Meeting") for mid April 2019 to seek approval to the Transaction. Full particulars of the Transaction will be included in the management information circular (the "Management Information Circular") mailed to shareholders in respect of the Meeting. Further particulars of the timing of the annual meeting will be provided in a subsequent press release. Trading in the shares of Rockcliff will remain halted until final regulatory approval is obtained to the Transaction. Red Cloud Klondike Strike Inc. has been engaged by the Board of Directors of Rockcliff, pursuant to an engagement letter dated February 8, 2019, to prepare an opinion as to the fairness, from a financial point of view, of the Transaction to the shareholders of Rockcliff (the "Fairness Opinion"). Further particulars of the Fairness Opinion will be provided in due course. The Fairness Opinion will be disclosed in and included with the Management Information Circular. Upon the completion of the Transaction, the board of directors of Rockcliff will initially consist of five (5) members, being Ken Lapierre on behalf of Rockcliff, Mark Sawyer on behalf of Greenstone, Don Christie on behalf of Norvista, and two other independent non-executive directors to be announced prior to the closing of the Transaction. There will also be further announcements on senior officers of Rockcliff to be appointed upon completion of the Transaction. Ken Lapierre, President and CEO of Rockcliff, commented: "This is a transformational moment in Rockcliff's 13-year history. Gaining the confidence of private equity firm Greenstone, a leased mill and the advanced-stage Talbot and Tower copper assets from Norvista is a testament to their vision of growth and confidence in Rockcliff's ability to succeed in this well-endowed mineral belt. We will now have the support of our partners, our shareholders and our investors to unlock the full potential of our extensive property portfolio. We look forward to completing this transaction and commencing exploration." Don Christie, the President and CEO of Norvista, commented: "Norvista has spent a considerable amount of time and effort over the last several years assembling its Manitoba asset portfolio and working with a number of groups to find the optimal mix of both operating and financial partners. We are convinced that Rockcliff and Greenstone have the vision and the resources to unlock significant value in our key assets and in Rockcliff's extensive portfolio of more advanced and early stage exploration properties. Manitoba is a top-tier global mining jurisdiction and we are very enthusiastic about the prospects of Rockcliff becoming a base metals producer. The Transaction unquestionably provides the right combination of organization, stewardship, financial support and expertise to make this a successful venture." Mark Sawyer, a Senior Partner and a co-founder of Greenstone, commented: "Greenstone is delighted to be a cornerstone investor in Rockcliff. We have confidence in the potential of Rockcliff and the ability of management to undertake mineral development in the Province of Manitoba. Our goal is to make Rockcliff a significant base metal development and production company." Flow-Through Financing, Greenstone Investment & Additional Financing In connection with the Transaction and as part of the reorganization effort, Greenstone will fund US$15,000,000 of a total equity financing package of up to $30,000,000 organized as follows: Flow-through Financing . Rockcliff will undertake a flow-through equity financing of approximately $19,862,600 (the "FT Financing" ) consisting of approximately 82,760,833 common shares of Rockcliff that qualify as flow-through shares (the " FT Shares ") for purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the " Tax Act ") priced at $0.24 per FT Share. The FT Shares are part of a donation arrangement structured by PearTree Securities Inc. Greenstone will acquire the 82,760,833 shares indirectly through the donation arrangement at $0.15 per share for a total cost of approximately $12,414,126 (the " Greenstone Commitment "), with the flow-through investors retaining the tax benefits of the flow-through share structure. . Rockcliff will undertake a flow-through equity financing of approximately (the ) consisting of approximately 82,760,833 common shares of Rockcliff that qualify as flow-through shares (the " ") for purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the " ") priced at $0.24 per FT Share. The FT Shares are part of a donation arrangement structured by PearTree Securities Inc. Greenstone will acquire the 82,760,833 shares indirectly through the donation arrangement at $0.15 per share for a total cost of approximately $12,414,126 (the " "), with the flow-through investors retaining the tax benefits of the flow-through share structure. Greenstone Investment . Greenstone will complete a hard dollar equity financing of approximately $7,472,875 consisting of approximately 49,819,167 common shares of Rockcliff priced at $0.15 per share (the " Greenstone Subscription "). . Greenstone will complete a hard dollar equity financing of approximately consisting of approximately 49,819,167 common shares of Rockcliff priced at $0.15 per share (the " "). Additional Financing . Concurrently with the Greenstone Subscription and the Greenstone Commitment, Rockcliff intends to complete an additional best efforts financing of up to $2,601,500 (the "Additional Financing") from existing shareholders of Rockcliff (see heading "Existing Shareholder Offering" below) and third party accredited investors. The Additional Financing will comprise a $1,601,500 hard dollar financing consisting of Rockcliff common shares ("Rockcliff Shares") priced at $0.15 per share and a $1,000,000 flow-through financing consisting of common shares of Rockcliff that qualify as flow-through shares for purposes of the Tax Act (the "Additional FT Shares") priced at $0.20 per Additional FT Share. Red Cloud Klondike Strike Inc. will act as a finder in respect of the Additional Financing. The Greenstone Subscription and the Additional Financing will proceed by way of an offering of subscription receipts of Rockcliff (each, a "Subscription Receipt") issued at a price of $0.15 per regular Subscription Receipt and at a price of $0.20 per flow-through Subscription Receipt. Release of the funds to be held in escrow pursuant to the Subscription Receipts financings will be conditional upon receipt of Rockcliff shareholder approval to the Transaction, the closing of the Asset Acquisition (referred to below) and regulatory approval to listing the shares issued pursuant to the Transactions (the "Conditions"). Upon satisfaction of the Conditions, each Subscription Receipt will, for no additional consideration, be automatically exercised into one Rockcliff Share. Rockcliff will use the proceeds of the FT Financing, the Greenstone Subscription and the Additional Financing to: Complete infill drilling and a pre-feasibility study to potentially advance the Talbot project to a construction decision; Complete infill drilling and a pre-feasibility study to potentially advance the Tower project to a construction decision; Complete 95km of drilling across the Talbot, Tower, Rail, Bur, Freebeth, Lon, Morgan, Pen, Tramping and Copperman properties and targets identified across the SLS#1 to SLS#5 properties; and General working capital in accordance with a work program and budget agreed upon between Rockcliff, Norvista and Greenstone. Proceeds from the sale of the FT Shares and the Additional FT Shares will be used by Rockcliff over the period ending December 31, 2020 for exploration activities that will qualify as "Canadian Exploration Expenses" (within the meaning of the Tax Act). Pursuant to an investor rights agreement between Rockcliff and Greenstone dated February 20, 2019, into which the parties have entered in connection with the Greenstone Commitment and the Greenstone Subscription, Greenstone shall be granted certain investor rights for as long as Greenstone holds at least 10% of issued and outstanding Rockcliff Shares including: (i) the right to participate in future offerings of securities of Rockcliff (each an "Offering") so as to maintain Greenstone's pre-Offering ownership percentage in Rockcliff; (ii) the right to nominate a representative to Rockcliff's project steering committee in respect of Rockcliff mineral exploration properties; (iii) the right to nominate one member of the board of directors of Rockcliff; and (iv) a right to nominate customers in respect of off-take arrangements for production from Rockcliff's properties. Asset Acquisition Rockcliff has entered into asset purchase agreements with Norvista and Akuna Minerals Inc. ("Akuna"), a private company 80% of whose common shares are held by Norvista. Pursuant to the agreement with Norvista, Rockcliff will acquire: i) 100% of Norvista's interest in an option agreement with Hudbay Minerals Inc. (the "Talbot Option Agreement") granting Rockcliff an option to earn a minimum 51% interest in the Talbot Property in central Manitoba (the "Talbot Property"); and, ii) 100% of Norvista's interest in a lease agreement with CaNickel Mining Limited providing for a lease of the mill and auxiliary facilities at the Bucko Lake Mine near Wabowden, in central Manitoba (the "Bucko Mill Lease"). Pursuant to the agreement with Akuna, Rockcliff will acquire a 100% interest in certain mining claims located in central Manitoba, known as the Tower Property (the "Tower Property"), which is located approximately 40 kilometres east of the Talbot Property. As consideration for the acquisition of the respective interests in the Talbot Option Agreement, the Bucko Mill Lease and the Tower Property (collectively, the "Asset Acquisition"), Rockcliff has agreed to issue to Norvista and Akuna a total of 88,386,667 Rockcliff Shares (the "Asset Acquisition Shares") at a deemed price of $0.15 per share for aggregate consideration of $13,258,000. History of the Tower Property and the Talbot Property The Tower Property Pursuant to an agreement dated February 21, 2008 between Pure Nickel Inc. and Rockcliff Resources Inc. ("Former Rockcliff"), the predecessor of Rockcliff, Former Rockcliff acquired an option to earn a 70% interest in the Tower Property in consideration for the expenditure of $4 million. Former Rockcliff earned a 50% interest in the Tower Property after spending $2 million on the property and Former Rockcliff and Pure Nickel entered into a joint venture agreement dated March 26, 2012, as amended, with respect to the further exploration and development of the Tower Property. Former Rockcliff had the option to earn a further 20% interest in the Tower Property for the expenditure of a further $2 million. In January 2013, Former Rockcliff commissioned and received the Tower Report. In 2014, Former Rockcliff earned its 70% interest in the Tower Property. In June of 2015, Former Rockcliff sold its 70% interest in the Tower Property to Akuna pursuant to the terms of an agreement dated April 10, 2015 (the "Tower Purchase Agreement") that required completion of certain milestones for Akuna to earn its further interest in the Tower Property from Former Rockcliff. Akuna acquired a 30% interest from Pure Nickel pursuant to an agreement dated April 10, 2015 in consideration for a cash payment of $1 million to Pure Nickel and a further payment of $500,000 in the event that the property achieved nameplate production. Pursuant to the Tower Purchase Agreement, as amended, Akuna earned a further 14% interest in the Tower property from Rockcliff. Rockcliff is acquiring an aggregate 44% interest in the Tower Property from Akuna to hold a 100% interest in the Tower Property pursuant to the terms of the Transaction. The Talbot Property Pursuant to the Talbot Option Agreement dated April 14, 2014 between Former Rockcliff and a predecessor of Hudbay Minerals Inc., Former Rockcliff acquired the option to earn a 51% working interest in the Talbot Property by expending an aggregate of $6,120,000 over six years. Rockcliff had incurred expenditures sufficient to satisfy the first four years of expenditures under the Talbot Agreement plus all but approximately $205,000 of the 5th years expenditure by the spring of 2018. The expenditures required for the sixth year were $2,270,000. Pursuant to an agreement dated May 3, 2018 between Rockcliff and Norvista (the "Talbot Purchase Agreement"), Rockcliff assigned the rights and obligations under the Talbot Option Agreement to Norvista in consideration for the payment of $200,000 in cash, the commitment to spend $205,710.69 on the Talbot Property prior to April 14, 2019 and with certain other consideration to be paid in respect of the commencement of construction at the Tower Property. Norvista is assigning all of its rights and obligations in the Talbot Option Agreement back to Rockcliff and Rockcliff is releasing Norvista from its remaining obligations under the Talbot Purchase Agreement pursuant to the Transaction. Existing Shareholder Offering The Additional Financing will be open to participation by existing shareholders of Rockcliff (the "Existing Shareholder Offering") resident in Canada as of the record date of February 5, 2019 (the "Record Date"). The Existing Shareholder Offering consists of up to $450,000 of the Additional Financing or 3,000,000 common shares priced at $0.15 per share. The Existing Shareholder Offering will be open for a period of up to twenty-one (21) days , expiring on the earlier of March 15, 2019 and the closing of the Additional Financing. There is no minimum offering. The maximum offering for existing shareholders is $450,000. All securities issued pursuant to the Existing Shareholder Offering are subject to a statutory four month hold period and regulatory approval. The Existing Shareholder Offering will proceed by way of an offering of subscription receipts of Rockcliff (each, a "Subscription Receipt") issued at a price of $0.15 per regular Subscription Receipt. Upon satisfaction of the Conditions, each Subscription Receipt will, for no additional consideration, be automatically exercised into one Rockcliff Share. The Company intends to use the proceeds raised from the Existing Shareholder Offering for general working capital. The Existing Shareholder Offering is open to all existing shareholders of Rockcliff resident in Canada until the earlier of March 15, 2019 and the closing of the Additional Financing. Shareholders interested in participating in the Existing Shareholder Offering should contact, or have their registered broker contact, Bill Johnstone, Corporate Secretary of Rockcliff, at bjohnstone@grllp.com or (416) 865-6605 to obtain a copy of the subscription agreement for Subscription Receipts. Requests should be received by no later than March 11, 2019 so that subscription agreements can be signed and funds can be received by Rockcliff by no later than March 13, 2019 . In the existing shareholder subscription agreements, subscribers will be required to represent that they held common shares of Rockcliff on the Record Date and will continue to hold common shares on closing, indicate the total number of Subscription Receipts they wish to subscribe for at the price of $0.15 per Subscription Receipt and provide funds (certified cheque or wire transfer) for the purchase of the Subscription Receipts. The Existing Shareholder Offering is being allocated to existing shareholder subscribers on a "first come, first served" basis wherein the subscribers who are first to submit a completed subscription agreement and pay the corresponding subscription proceeds will be accepted up until the maximum amount of the Existing Shareholder Offering is reached. The sale of the Subscription Receipts will remain open until the earlier of March 15, 2019 and the full subscription for the Additional Financing. In the event that there is an over-subscription for Subscription Receipts as at March 13, 2019, subscriptions will be adjusted pro rata (in proportion to the aggregate amount of cleared funds received) to reduce the Existing Shareholder Offering to a maximum of $450,000 for Subscription Receipts. Although the Existing Shareholder Offering is not being offered pro rata, all shareholders of Rockcliff effective as of the Record Date will be treated equally. However, Rockcliff reserves the right not to accept subscription amounts of less than $1,800 (12,000 Subscription Receipts) in respect of Subscription Receipts to avoid disproportionate administrative costs. Rockcliff is using other available exemptions to place the Additional Financing. The Existing Shareholder Offering is being made under Ontario Securities Commission Rule 45-501 - Ontario Prospectus and Registration Exemptions relating to distributions to existing security holders and under Multilateral CSA Notice 45-313 - Prospectus Exemption for Distributions to Existing Security Holders and the legislation adopted pursuant thereto in other jurisdictions in Canada, as well as under other applicable exemptions without issuing a prospectus. The existing shareholder exemption limits a shareholder to a maximum investment of $15,000 in a 12-month period for all investments made under this exemption unless the shareholder has obtained advice regarding the suitability of the investment from a person registered as an investment dealer, in which case the investment can exceed $15,000. Transaction Approval These transactions including the release of funds pursuant to the Subscription Receipts are conditional on the completion of the Transaction and the receipt of requisite shareholder and stock exchange approvals, including the approval by shareholders of Rockcliff of the change of control of Rockcliff resulting from the completion of the Transaction, and the approval of the shareholders of Norvista of the asset sales. Securities issued pursuant to the FT Financing, the Greenstone Subscription and the Additional Financing will be subject to a statutory four month and one day hold period from the closing of the Subscription Receipts financings. Securities issued pursuant to the FT Financing and the Asset Acquisition will be subject to a statutory four month and one day hold period from the Closing of the Transaction. The Asset Acquisition Shares and the shares acquired by Greenstone pursuant to the Greenstone Commitment and the Greenstone Subscription shall be subject to escrow in accordance with the terms of National Policy 46-201 - Escrow for Initial Public Offerings, to be released on the basis that Rockcliff is deemed to be an emerging issuer as defined therein. The Transaction which qualifies as a "reverse take-over" under the policies of the TSX-V, will be subject to TSX-V approval. Rockcliff is arm's length to Greenstone. Rockcliff and Norvista are "non-arm's length parties" as Bruce Durham and Donald Christie serve on the respective boards of directors of both Rockcliff and Norvista. Rockcliff will require shareholder approval of the Transaction pursuant to the policies of the TSX-V, as Greenstone and Norvista will both become "control persons" of Rockcliff on closing. Rockcliff will apply to the TSX-V for a waiver from the requirement to engage a sponsor with respect to the Transaction; however, there is no assurance that a waiver will be granted. Rockcliff intends to include any additional information regarding sponsorship in a subsequent press release. The Transaction is also subject to satisfaction of certain other closing conditions customary in transactions of this nature. Interim CFO Rockcliff also wishes to announce that its CFO Daniel Crandall has resigned. Mr. Aamer Siddiqui has been appointed Interim CFO, subject to regulatory approval, pending completion of the Transaction when Rockcliff will appoint a permanent CFO. Mr. Siddiqui is a Manager of Financial Reporting at Marrelli Support Services Inc. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Chartered Accountant (CPA, CA) who began his career working in public accounting with one of Ontario's largest external audit firms. He has 7 years of experience providing financial and management advisory, budgeting, and tax services to a wide range of clients. He has extensive experience helping fast growing companies manage their regulatory reporting requirements as well as providing valuable insight to aid in management's strategic decisions. Full details of the Transaction will be included in the management information circular of Rockcliff to be mailed to its shareholders and posted on www.sedar.com. It is anticipated that the meeting of Rockcliff shareholders and the closing will take place by the end of April 2019. Bruce Durham, P.Geo., Chairman of the board of Rockcliff and Ken Lapierre, P. Geo., President & CEO of Rockcliff both Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, are responsible for the scientific and technical data presented herein and have reviewed, prepared and approved this press release. About Rockcliff Rockcliff is a Canadian resource exploration company focused on base metals, gold and royalties in the Snow Lake area of Manitoba, Canada. Rockcliff is the largest junior landholder in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake greenstone belt which is home to the largest Paleoproterozoic VMS district (copper, gold, zinc, silver) in the world and also contains gold mines and deposits. Its extensive portfolio of properties totals over 4,000 square kilometres. It includes 9 of the highest-grade undeveloped VMS deposits and 5 lode-gold properties including the historic Rex-Laguna gold mine, Manitoba's first and highest-grade gold mine. About Greenstone Greenstone is a private equity fund specializing in the mining and metals sector with approximately US$430 million in committed long-term capital. With more than 100 years collective experience, predominantly fulfilling senior roles within mining companies, financial institutions and principal investing, Greenstone understands the sector, its value drivers and inherent risks. As such Greenstone is able to make long term investments which better aligns itself to management decision making. About Norvista Norvista is a resource-based merchant bank with an investment portfolio of four core investments located in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Norvista's investee companies have projects located in excellent mining jurisdictions and are involved in both base and precious metals exploration and development. Norvista holds significant equity ownership positions in its investee companies and is actively involved in the management of these companies through a combination of senior officer positions and/or board representation. The investee company projects represent a balance between later stage exploration and pre-production projects and are self-financing. Norvista maintains and increases its ownership positions in its core holdings through participation in issuer financings as well as share acquisitions in the open market. Early Warning Reports Assuming the completion of the Asset Acquisition, Norvista, Akuna and Norvista Capital 1 Limited Partnership which previously jointly beneficially controlled 4,761,904 Rockcliff Shares, or approximately 1.5% of the issued and outstanding Rockcliff Shares, will have acquired an additional 88,386,667 Rockcliff Shares or approximately 28.0% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Rockcliff for an aggregate value of $13,258,000. Assuming the completion of the Greenstone Subscription and the Greenstone Commitment, Greenstone, which previously owned no Rockcliff Shares, will have acquired 132,580,000 Rockcliff Shares or approximately 42.0% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Rockcliff for the aggregate value of $US15 million. Each of Norvista, Akuna and Greenstone will be acquiring the securities of Rockcliff as part of the Transaction and for investment purposes, the completion of which is subject to, among other things approval of the shareholders of Rockcliff. Depending on market and other conditions, each of Norvista, Akuna and Greenstone may from time to time in the future increase or decrease their respective ownership, control or direction over the Rockcliff securities as circumstances warrant. For the purposes of this notice, the Head Office of each of Norvista and Akuna is 141 Adelaide St. West, Suite 1660, Toronto, Ontario M5H 3L5; and the Head Office of Greenstone is East Wing, Trafalgar Court Les Banques, St Peter Port, Guernsey. In satisfaction of the requirements of the National Instrument 62-104 - Take-Over Bids And Issuer Bids and National Instrument 62-103 - The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues, Early Warning Reports in respect of acquisition of Rockcliff Shares by Norvista and Akuna and by Greenstone will be filed under Rockcliff's SEDAR Profile at www.sedar.com. TSX-V Approvals Completion of the transactions described herein is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, TSX-V acceptance and shareholder approval for both Rockcliff and Norvista. Where applicable, the transactions described herein cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the transactions described herein will be completed as proposed or at all. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the transactions described herein, any information released or received with respect to the transactions described herein may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of Rockcliff should be considered highly speculative. The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. For further information, please contact: Rockcliff Metals Corporation CHF Capital Markets Ken Lapierre, P. Geo Cathy Hume, CEO President & CEO Off: (416) 868-1079 ext. 231 Cell: (647) 678-3879 cathy@chfir.com Off: (416) 644-1752 ken@rockcliffmetals.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "is expected", "scheduled", "estimates", "pending", "intends", "plans", "forecasts", "targets", or "hopes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "will", "should" "might", "will be taken", or "occur" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the closing of the Transaction, anticipated exploration and development of Rockcliff's Manitoba properties, satisfaction of closing conditions for the Transaction and Additional Financing approval of the TSX-V, approval by the shareholders of Rockcliff and the potential for exploration. This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results of Rockcliff to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward-looking. Although Rockcliff believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Rockcliff does not undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with 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 news release. SOURCE: Rockcliff Metals Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/536327/Rockcliff-Metals-Corporation-Announces-Financing-of-up-to-30-Million-and-Asset-Acquisition-to-Become-a-Leading-Manitoba-Base-Metal-Exploration-and-Development-Company-with-a-Cornerstone-Investment-by-Greenstone-Resources-II-LP New service launched in response to HMRC's drive to prevent abuse of R&D tax relief scheme BRISTOL, England, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ForrestBrown, the UK's largest specialist R&D tax credit consultancy, has launched a new enquiry support service in response to HMRC's move to prevent abuse of the Government's research and development (R&D) tax relief scheme for SMEs. The new support service is aimed at businesses, accountants or specialist advisers facing an HMRC enquiry having already submitted an R&D tax credit claim. The move comes in response to HMRC taking steps to combat fraudulent claims and make it even clearer what information it expects to receive in support of R&D tax credit claims. Talking about the need to introduce this new specialist service, Jenny Tragner, director at R&D tax credit consultancy ForrestBrown and member of HMRC's R&D consultative committee, commented: "R&D tax credits are a valuable source of funding that helps businesses to grow and prosper. They are vitally important to driving business innovation. "The last six months have seen a seismic shift in HMRC's approach to R&D tax credits following reports that it had identified and prevented 300m of fraud linked to a R&D tax credit claim. The Government has also announced that it will be reintroducing the PAYE and NIC cap on the SME payable credit that was abolished in 2012, introduced a new online service and has also provided new software guidance. Given HMRC's significant efforts to ensure high standards and consistency, businesses and advisers alike may face a claim being challenged where before it was not. We're therefore ready to engage with businesses who may need our support." Jenny concluded: "We've previously provided this service to several businesses on an ad hoc basis but wanted to formalise this service to ensure that the incentive achieves its purpose. We understand that anyone facing an HMRC enquiry may feel at risk, and that's why we are offering our considerable specialist technical expertise to provide peace of mind at a time of considerable stress. Furthermore, our long-standing relationship with HMRC means we benefit from policy-level insights, meaning that we know exactly what HMRC are looking for in support of R&D tax credit claims." Passionate about helping innovative businesses grow and providing growth fuel to the UK economy, ForrestBrown's new service will see a dedicated team of experts review R&D tax credit claims prepared by others. They will initially carry out a thorough review of the potential client's R&D tax credit claim(s) and the correspondence they have received from HMRC. If they deem the claim to be legitimate, they will guide the business through the enquiry process until a satisfactory resolution is reached. Unlike its end-to-end R&D tax credit claim service, ForrestBrown charges a time and materials-based fee for its new enquiry support service. The enquiry support service is one of the consultancy services that ForrestBrown offers businesses, accountants or specialist advisers. ForrestBrown, R&D Tax Credit Consultancy ForrestBrown is the UK's largest specialist R&D tax credit consultancy. Our award-winning 98-strong team of qualified chartered tax advisers, accountants, lawyers, industry sector specialists and former HMRC inspectors help innovative businesses grow. We were named 'best independent consultancy firm' at The Taxation Awards 2018. We advise more than 150 companies a month and last year we delivered more than 100m for our clients. https://forrestbrown.co.uk/ ARLINGTON, Virginia, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Venture Global LNG, Inc. announces that the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued the Order Granting Authorizations under Sections 3 and 7 of the Natural Gas Act for the company's Venture Global Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility and associated TransCameron Pipeline in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. "With our FERC order in hand and our project contracted with binding 20-year sale and purchase agreements (SPAs) with Shell, BP, Edison S.p.A., Galp, Repsol and PGNiG, we plan to immediately commence construction activities in Louisiana in close coordination with FERC and other agencies," Co-CEOs Bob Pender and Mike Sabel jointly stated. "This milestone is the culmination of years of effort, and we are proud of the excellent work done by our regulatory, environmental, legal and engineering teams. We are excited to begin construction of our Calcasieu Pass project and deliver low-cost LNG to our global customers in 2022." The 10 MTPA nameplate Calcasieu Pass facility will employ a comprehensive process solution from GE Oil & Gas, LLC, part of Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE) that utilizes mid-scale, modular, factory-fabricated liquefaction trains. Venture Global has executed an integrated turnkey EPC contract with Kiewit to design, engineer, construct, commission, test and guarantee the Calcasieu Pass facility. The company is also developing the 20 MTPA nameplate Plaquemines LNG export facility and associated Gator Express Pipeline in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. The Plaquemines LNG facility received its draft Environmental Impact Statement on November 13, 2018 and expects to receive its final Environmental Impact Statement on May 3, 2019, according to the Notice of Schedule for Environmental Review issued by FERC on August 31, 2018. FERC has established a 90-day Federal Authorization Decision Deadline of August 1, 2019. Plaquemines LNG has executed a binding 20-year SPA with PGNiG. About Venture Global LNG Venture Global LNG is a long-term, low-cost provider of LNG to be supplied from resource rich North American natural gas basins. Venture Global LNG's liquefaction process system will employ a highly efficient and reliable suite of products supplied by BHGE. Venture Global LNG is developing both the 10 MTPA Venture Global Calcasieu Pass facility (on an approximately 1,000-acre site located at the intersection of the Calcasieu Ship Channel and the Gulf of Mexico) and the 20 MTPA Venture Global Plaquemines LNG facility (on an approximately 630-acre site in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, 30 miles south of New Orleans on the Mississippi River). Venture Global has raised $855 million of capital to-date to support the development of its projects. More can be found at www.venturegloballng.com. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/825434/VENTURE_GLOBAL_LNG_INC___Logo.jpg The "Biological Evaluation of Medical Devices" conference has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Key guidance on how to use the ISO 10993 series of standards and successfully apply a risk management approach to the biological evaluation of medical devices. New for 2019 The ISO 10993 series of standards covering biological evaluation of medical devices is well established and regulatory authorities worldwide expect compliance. In Europe compliance with the standards will be the easiest way to meet the relevant essential product safety requirements of the Medical Device Regulation. Understanding a risk management approach to biological evaluation is essential. This seminar will provide key guidance on how to use the standards and successfully apply a risk management approach to the biological evaluation of medical devices. There will be plenty of time for interactive discussion with experts in this field. This seminar will be of importance to those in the medical device industry from the following departments: Regulatory affairs R&D Product safety/toxicology Analytical chemistry Risk assessment and risk management Materials research and evaluation It will be of particular interest to Regulatory Authorities, Notified Bodies and CROs regulating or supporting the medical device industry Agenda Programme Day One General principles of biological risk management Differences between toxicology and medical device toxicology The risk management process according to ISO 14971:2019 How does ISO 10993 relate to ISO 14971? Explanation of structure and core contents of ISO 10993:2018 Understanding the requirements of ISO 10993-1:2018 How to navigate through the standard and find applicable sections What have we learned from the development of ISO 10993 over the years? Interactive session: Hazardous situations Reviewing existing data Identifying applicable end points Compiling relevant data Characterising toxicological hazard from literature review Using data on prior use Gap analysis determining the sufficiency of existing datasets Developing a Biological Evaluation Plan Materials characterisation Physical and chemical characterisation Qualitative vs quantitative evaluation of materials Establishing whether additional chemical characterisation is necessary Quantification of extractables and leachables Limitations of chemical characterisation techniques Understand the requirements goalposts moving with 10993-18:2019 Biological equivalence what is it and when is it achieved? Interactive session: Evaluating chemical data Programme Day Two Quantitative toxicological risk assessment (QTRA) Identifying situations in need of QTRA Use of ISO 10993-17:2002 and alternative approaches Principles of toxicological risk assessment The Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) Identification of constituents of concern Structure activity software Risk assessments for constituents, extractables and leachables Biological testing When is biological testing necessary? Identifying uncertainties In-vitro vs in-vivo testing When is in-vitro testing necessary? How to leverage in-vitro results Examining ISO 10993-2 animal welfare requirements Taking account of the strengths and weaknesses of in-vivo tests Developing a test plan Interactive session: Gap analysis Risk assessment and control Information needed for a risk assessment Criteria for risk acceptability Risk reduction strategies Judging whether the data is sufficient Biological Evaluation Reports Interactive session: Risk reduction Risk review Post-market surveillance data and the biological evaluation profile Importance of the feedback loop High-profile issues found after CE marking what lessons can be learned? Interactive session: Risk review Q A discussion Summary and conclusions For more information about this conference visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/33rg82/2day_seminar?w=4 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190222005196/en/ Contacts: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 Related Topics: Medical Devices ROCKVILLE, Maryland, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Straddle carriers or straddle trucks, are used as freight handling equipment which follows a straddling process to carry freight load. The purpose of this cargo handling system is to unload and load without the inclusion of forklifts or cranes. Growth in sea-borne activities merged with significant rise in containerized trade worldwide are driving the straddle carrier market to greater heights. In order to record vital changes in the concerned market, Fact.MR has published a new study titled "Straddle Carrier Market Forecast, Trend Analysis & Competition Tracking - Global Market insights 2018 to 2028", which helps in analyzing the opportunities and market trends expected to hamper the global straddle carriers market in the coming years. This study is a usefulness data source which delivers well-researched data focusing at market revenue, market share, CAGR and other crucial parameters to judge the actual growth of the straddle carriers market. According to Fact.MR, the demand for straddle carrier is likely to expand at a constant pace offering growth at 4.5% CAGR in terms of value during the assessment period, 2018-2028. This report further predicts that close to 700 units of straddle carriers are expected to be sold by 2028-end, which showcases effective development in the global straddle carriers market. Request For Sample Report- https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=1585 As the report proceeds, readers can acquire knowledge focusing on the geographical presence of straddle carriers. The study highlights that emerging countries in the Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) like China and India are estimated to present lucrative opportunities for renowned manufacturers. Furthermore, escalating port infrastructure as well as the container industry in the mentioned countries are powering growth of the straddle carrier market across the APEJ region. In statistical terms, sales of straddle carrier in APEJ is estimated to surpass US$ 25 Mn by end of 2028, as per FACT.MR study. Rising Adoption of Automated Terminals to Motivate Demand for Straddle Carrier The expansion of automation across numerous industries is quite evident and its pace across the shipping sector has turned seriously impressive. There has been a substantial traction towards automated terminals due to the requirement for efficient operation and high productivity. Furthermore, automated solutions have proven usefulness in the container terminal space in order to resolve challenges tackled by larger ships apropos of operative containerization. The incorporation of automated terminals helps in reducing the waiting and turnaround times for ships, which is majorly enhancing their adoption across chief ports at the global level. Browse Full Report on Straddle Carrier Market with in-depth TOC- https://www.factmr.com/report/1585/straddle-carrier-market Environmental Concerns Inspire the Adoption of Electric Straddle Carriers The incorporation of electric straddle carriers is likely to grow as a result of stringent environment regulations. Number of manufacturers of straddle carriers have started to comply with the norms framed against NOx and CO2 levels, thereby leading to the development of electric straddle carrier variants which deliver increased operational efficiency as well as enable cost savings. Surprisingly, the increased demand for hybrid straddle carrier is projected to gain significant stride during the forecast period, since they possess a regenerative energy system which is maintenance free. The final section of the report discourse the competitive landscape that focuses on the main players operating in the global straddle carrier market. Different competitive intelligence factors as SWOT analysis, product portfolio analysis, market shares, innovations and strategies have been implemented to highlight the competitive setting prevalent in the target market. Some of the primary players mentioned in the report include Kalmar Inc., Leibherr International AG, Konecrane Oyj, Isoloader Australia Pty Ltd, Mobicon System Pty Ltd, Combilift Ltd and Cimolai Technology S.p.A. Ask Our Industry Expert for more detail on report- https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=AE&rep_id=1585 Popular Automotive Market Reports from Fact.MR Automotive Radar Market- The global automotive radar market holds impressive growth prospects in the foreseeable future and the roughly US$ 2 Bn automotive radar market revenue is predicted to reach the value beyond US$ 7 Bn over 2017-2022. Automotive Gesture Recognition Market- The dominance of the touch-based gesture recognition systems in the automotive gesture recognition market against the backdrop of a prominent end-user sentiment for touch-based technologies. Automotive Turbochargers Market- Engine downsizing has been considered as one of the most lucrative aspects in the automotive turbochargers market. The rising popularity of engine downsizing is pushing the growth of automotive turbochargers market. About Fact.MR Fact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports. Contact Us Rohit Bhisey Fact.MR 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 United States Email: sales@factmr.com Web: https://www.factmr.com/ Surjewala also accused BJP president Amit Shah of politicisation of terrorism in his speech in Assam on Sunday. New Delhi: Ratcheting up the debate on Pulwama, Congress on Thursday announced setting up of a task force on national security, led by Lt Gen D.S. Hooda (Retd) of surgical strike fame, even as it attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for continuing with shooting a film in the Corbett National Park on February 14, despite the Pulwama attack taking place in the afternoon that day. Lt Gen Hooda (Retd) had commanded over the surgical strikes against militants in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir post Uri. He has since said that the constant hype of surgical strikes was unwarranted and had cautioned against its politicisation. Congress sources said that at a meeting with top party leaders this morning, Congress president Rahul Gandhi also asked workers to visit as many household who have lost lives in the Pulwama massacre as they could. Launching a parallel attack on the Prime Minister, for his propaganda and publicity, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said: In his hunger for power, the prime minister has forgotten raj dharma. Mr Surjewala gave a timeline of events claiming the terror attack happened at 3.10 pm on February 14 with the Congress reacting to it at 5.15 pm, but the Prime Minister continued to shoot a film for Discovery Channel for self propagation in the Corbett National Park in Ramnagar. The Prime Minister continues to have tea, samosas at seven oclock at government expense in a PWD guesthouse when every single Indian household didnt have food, he alleged. Mr Surjewala also accused BJP president Amit Shah of politicisation of terrorism in his speech in Assam on Sunday. At a public rally in Assams Lakhimpur district, Mr Shah had said the sacrifices of the 40 CRPF personnel will not go in vain as there is a BJP government at the Centre now and it, unlike the previous Congress dispensation, will not compromise on any security issue. Can such a conduct be expected from the prime minister of a country. The prime minister should have been chairing the cabinet committee on security immediately and should have taken action, instead of shooting films, he said. The Congress spokesperson also slammed Mr Modi for receiving Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the airport and asked whether according a grand welcome to those who praised Pakistans anti-terror efforts was his way of remembering the Pulwama attack victims. Hitting back, the BJP said that after maintaining a facade of standing with the government and the armed forces, the Congress has shown its true colours and the contents of the opposition partys spokesperson and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan bears a striking resemblance. Accusing the Congress of seeking to weaken the morale of the armed forces at a time when the whole world is firmly standing with India, Union law minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said despite the canards spread by the opposition, the nation has faith in Mr Modis ability to secure the country and well his leadership. Targetting the Congress for its shameful attack on the Prime Minister, Mr Prasad said that on the day Pulwama attack took place, Mr Modi was in Uttarakhand on a scheduled official programme related to tiger conservation. Was the Congress aware of the Pulwama attack? We were not aware, said Mr Prasad CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --According to the new market research report "Feed Yeast Market by Type (Probiotic Yeast, Brewer's Yeast, Specialty Yeast, and Yeast Derivatives), Livestock (Cattle, Swine, Poultry, Aquatic Animals, and Pets), Genus (Saccharomyces spp. and Kluyveromyces spp.), and Region - Global Forecast to 2023", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Feed Yeast Market is projected to reach USD 2.1 billion by 2023, from USD 1.7 billion in 2018, at a CAGR of 5.27% during the forecast period. The market is driven by factors such as ban on the use of antibiotics in feed and increasing use of yeast as a nutritional supplement for livestock. Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=108142106 The use of yeast derivatives for feed production is projected to remain high during the forecast period. Beta-glucans, nucleotides, and mannooligosaccharides are the major yeast derivatives that exhibit efficient pathogen binding capacity, which restricts the growth of pathogens in the animal body. In addition, beta-glucans are the type of yeast derivatives that trigger the immune response in the animal body. The health benefits associated with the use of yeast derivatives as a feed additive increases its demand in the feed industry. Thus, the yeast derivative segment is projected to record the highest CAGR from 2018 to 2023. Browse in-depth TOC on "Feed Yeast Market" 149 - Tables 43 - Figures 187 - Pages The Saccharomyces Spp. segment is estimated to dominate the feed yeast market in 2018. Saccharomyces Spp. such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces boulardii are majorly used for yeast production and is used as one of the most important ingredients in feed. With the increasing demand for natural growth promoters for animals, the preference for Saccharomyces Spp. has increased as it is considered to be one of the best sources for nutritional yeast. The Saccharomyces Spp. segment accounted for the highest share in the feed yeast market in 2017 and witnessed high demand for use in feed yeast production. Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=108142106 With the introduction of stringent regulations, Europe is estimated to dominate the feed yeast market in 2018. The feed yeast market in Europe is driven by the introduction of stringent regulations pertaining to the use of antibiotics in feed. Increasing awareness about the benefits of feed yeast is projected to contribute to the market growth. The high demand for quality and nutrient-rich feed in the European countries has led to the high demand for feed yeast among farmers. Moreover, the European legislators are also concerned about food and animal safety and thus have implemented many safety laws for the same. With high concerns related to animal health, the EU government has put a ban on the use of antibiotic growth promoters in feed due to its negative impact on animal health as well as on the health of human consumers. For the replacement of those antibiotics, naturally-sourced feed ingredients that have antibiotic properties such as feed yeast were developed by manufacturers. This report includes a study of the development strategies of leading companies. The scope of this report includes a detailed study of feed yeast manufacturers such as Associated British Foods PLC. (UK), Archer Daniels Midland Company (US), Alltech Inc. (US), Cargill (US), Lesaffre (France), Angel Yeast Co. Ltd. (China), and Lallemand Inc. (Canada). Browse Adjacent Markets: Feed and Animal Nutrition Market Research Reports & Consulting 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 7500 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, "Knowledge Store" 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. Shelly Singh MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/feed-yeast-market.asp Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com ALBANY, New York, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The vendor landscape of the global structural health monitoring market is highly competitive in nature, notes Transparency Market Research. The quest for growth among predominant players has intensified the competition within the market. Owing to this the market endows a tremendous growth opportunity. The global structural health monitoring market consists of several prominent players. Some of the key players in the global structural health monitoring market are Kinemetrics, COWI A/S, Wiss, CTL Group, OSMOS Group, and Elstner Associates. A market study conducted by Transparency Market Research (TMR) forecasts the growth pattern of the global market for structural health monitoring between 2017 and 2025. The report states that global structural health monitoring market will touch a valuation of US$4.09 mn by 2025-end rising at a whooping CAGR of 10.09%. The market was noted at US$1.57 mn in 2016. Get PDF Brochure for Research Insights at: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=11180 On the basis of geographical standpoint, North America is anticipated to dominant the global structural health monitoring market during the forecast period. The structural health monitoring market in the region is likely to rise at a 10.49% CAGR from 2017 to 2025. Aging infrastructure such as bridges, tunnels, and power plants are key drivers of the market. On the basis of connectivity, the global structural market can be segmented as wired and wireless. At present, wireless segment contributes the most to the revenue. This is mainly because of the low cost of wireless sensors. Request a Sample of Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=11180 Ongoing Construction Activity across Globe Fuels Growth The construction industry across the globe is growing at a fast speed. The urbanization rate has broken all previous records. It has increased the demand of health monitoring systems. This is a good sign for growth in the global structural health monitoring devices. Apart from this, the rising demand of robust and reliable infrastructure has bolster growth in the global structural health monitoring market. Moreover, structural health monitoring systems has become a necessity for residential, industrial, and commercial sectors. Owing to this, the structural health monitoring market is expected to rise on an account of a large number of constructional advancement across the globe. Request For Discount On This Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=11180 Growing Tourism Industry to Uptake Growth The construction regulatory bodies across the globe are taking concrete efforts to effectuate the safety of new buildings in their respective regions. This mandates the use of health monitoring systems in the constructional industry. The global structural health monitoring device is projected to rise on count of mandate government policy. Furthermore, the increase demand to protect historical monuments and heritage across the globe is giving a push to the global structural health monitoring market. This is mainly due to growing tourism industry and a rise in the disposable income of people across the globe. Request for Customization Report at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=CR&rep_id=11180 The review is based on TMR' report titled, "Structural Health Monitoring Market (Solution - Software, Hardware, and Services; Connectivity - Wired and Wireless; Application - Civil (Brides, Dams, and Tunnels) and Aviation) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025." Global Structural Health Monitoring market is segmented as below: Solution Software Hardware Services Connectivity Wired Wireless Application Civil Bridges Dams Tunnels Aviation Others Geography North America The U.S. Canada Rest of North America Europe The U.K Germany France Rest of Europe Asia Pacific (APAC) China Japan India Rest of APAC Middle East and Africa (MEA) GCC Countries South Africa Rest of MEA South America Brazil Rest of South America Browse More IT & Telecom Market Research Reports Popular Research Reports by TMR: Augmented Analytics Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/augmented-analytics-market.html - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/augmented-analytics-market.html Delivery Robots Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/delivery-robots-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/delivery-robots-market.html Business Analytics Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/business-analytics-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/business-analytics-market.html Internet of Everything (IoE) Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/internet-of-everything-market.html About Us Transparency Market Research is a next-generation market intelligence provider, offering fact-based solutions to business leaders, consultants, and strategy professionals. Our reports are single-point solutions for businesses to grow, evolve, and mature. Our real-time data collection methods along with ability to track more than one million high growth niche products are aligned with your aims. The detailed and proprietary statistical models used by our analysts offer insights for making right decision in the shortest span of time. For organizations that require specific but comprehensive information we offer customized solutions through adhoc reports. These requests are delivered with the perfect combination of right sense of fact-oriented problem solving methodologies and leveraging existing data repositories. TMR believes that unison of solutions for clients-specific problems with right methodology of research is the key to help enterprises reach right decision. Contact Mr. Rohit Bhisey 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: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Research Blog: https://tmrblog.com/ 22 February 2019 Early Equity PLC ("Early Equity" or "the Company") Investment in Mei Home Sdn. Bhd Early Equity Plc (NEX: EEQP), is a proactive investment company focused on making investments in early-staged companies which exhibits the potential to generate recurring income streams. The Company is pleased to announce that it has acquired 60 units of fully paid up share capital of MEI Home Sdn. Bhd. ("MEI Home"), representing 60% of its issued share capital. The total consideration for this investment is One Million Five Hundred Thousand Ringgit Malaysia (RM1,500,000), which is approximately 281,955. MEI Home is an e-commerce platform involved in online and offline businesses of all kind of household, health, beauty, food and beverages products. Strategic marketing and advertising through various channels are implemented to large target potential customers locally and within South East Asia region. MEI Home started trading in July 2017 and has achieved a turnover of Ringgit Malaysia (RM) 1,954,318 (approximately 367,353) with a net profit before tax of Ringgit Malaysia 509,475 (approximately 95,766) in audited results for its year ending 30thJune 2018. MEI Home is wholly owned by Michael Dieh Siew Huat ("Michael Dieh" or the "Seller"), he is also a shareholder of Early Equity, holding approximately 6,12% of the share capital of the Company. The Seller will continue to work with the business and has provided certain undertakings on revenue for the next two years. The Seller has committed to provide Early Equity a profit guarantee that MEI Home will generate RM500,000-00 per annum net profit before tax over the next two financial years. If it is not the case, the Seller will be liable for the difference. Early Equity Chief Executive Edwin Chua Siew Lian said "This acquisition continues to build on the Company's exposure to online sales of consumer goods into South East Asia. The Directors believe that the Sales and Profit in this year is a strong indication of success for MEI Home". The directors of Early Equity Plc accept responsibility for this announcement. For further information please contact: Greg Collier Tel: +44 7830 182501 NEX CORPORATE ADVISER: Alexander David Securities Limited David Scott - Corporate Finance James Dewhurst - Corporate Broking Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7448 9820 http://www.ad-securities.com 49 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4N 4SA The European Investment Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares The European Investment Trust plc ("the Company") The Company announces that on 21 February 2019 it purchased the following number of its ordinary shares of 25 pence each on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. Ordinary Shares: Date of purchase: 21 February 2019 Number of ordinary shares purchased: 12,500 Lowest price per share 808p Highest price per share 808p The Company intends to cancel the purchased shares. Following the above transaction, the Company has 40,840,269 ordinary shares in issue. Each of the Company's shares carries one vote. Accordingly, the total number of voting rights of the Company is 40,840,269. 22 February 2019 LEI: 213800QNN9EHZ4SC1R12 Enquiries: Kenneth J Greig Edinburgh Partners AIFM Limited Tel: 0131 270 3800 The Company's registered office address is: Beaufort House 51 New North Road Exeter EX4 4EP Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2019) - TransCanna Holdings Inc. (CSE:TCAN) (FSE: TH8) ("TransCanna" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the execution of an LOI to lease a new 15,000 square foot facility currently under construction with a completion date of April 30th in Adelanto, CA. This multi-faceted facility is intended to be one of four strategically located satellite facilities located throughout California. The Adelanto facility will serve the densely populated southern California marketplace with industrial scale production, distribution and transportation capabilities. Pursuant to the non-binding LOI, the lease will have a five year term at a monthly leasing rate of $225.00 sq ft commencing in May, 2019. "Our mandate is to build and operate a high margin enterprise by owning our own branded products, and control all aspects in the ecosystem. Being in escrow for one of the largest vertically integrated, cannabis focused facilities in the US, which will serve as our hub, and now with an LOI on a satellite facility puts us squarely in the center to deliver on our mandate," states Jim Pakulis, CEO of TransCanna. "The Adelanto facility is a key component in our overall strategy as it will allow certain value-added products to be packaged closer to key strategic sale points thus facilitating better margins and adding shareholder value. The facility also meets our strict leasing metrics. As a result, we're confident this facility will produce premium products with significant sales velocity," states Mr. Pakulis. Over the past twelve months the company's third party mergers and acquisitions firm has contacted over six hundred licensed California cannabis entities on behalf of the Company. Consequently, the Company has performed due diligence on sixty licensed, branded entities. Due to its strict acquisition metrics, it is currently pursuing advanced due diligence on only four of those entities. In other news, the Company has agreed to issue to the vendor an aggregate of 1,200,000 share purchase warrants (each a "Warrant"), conditional upon the Company completing the acquisition of the Property. Each Warrant will be exercisable to acquire a common share of the Company at an exercise price of $2.60 per share for a five year period from the date of issuance. The Warrants will vest in equal quarterly portions over the initial 24 months of the five year term. About Transcanna Holdings Inc. TransCanna Holdings Inc. is a Canadian based company providing branding, transportation and distribution services, through its wholly-owned California subsidiaries, to a range of industries including the cannabis marketplace. For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.transcanna.com or email the Company at info@transcanna.com. On behalf of the Board of Directors James Pakulis President and Chief Executive Officer Telephone: (604) 609-6199 The information in this news release includes certain information and statements about management's view of future events, expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward looking statements. These statements are based upon assumptions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Because of these risks and uncertainties and as a result of a variety of factors, the actual results, expectations, achievements or performance may differ materially from those anticipated and indicated by these forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to: the expected purchase of the facility, the terms of the facility acquisition, the expected leasing rates of the satellite facility and commencement of the leasing term, the ability of the Company to secure financing and the acquisition of appropriate licenses for its facilities. Any number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements as well as future results. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that the expectations of any forward looking statements will prove to be correct. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward looking statements or otherwise. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/42990 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2019 / The International Blockchain Fund is a world-class investment institution that has long been committed to promoting the development of blockchain technology. It is also the earliest and largest blockchain special fund in the world. The fund's founding team consists of a group of top technology bulls at Silicon Valley and veteran investment experts in Wall Street. Since its founding in 2010, it has attracted a large number of high-end talent who are world-class elite and has famous enterprises background. International blockchain fund has now set up offices or research centers in the frontier areas of blockchain technology such as Silicon Valley, New York, London, Berlin, Sydney, Tokyo and Seoul. As one of the earliest investment institutions in the world that recognizes blockchain technology and philosophy and focuses on this market, the International Blockchain Fund has been in- depth understanding of industry and market, tracking the latest technologies in real time, and keeping in touch with the top blockchain R&D team in the past 8 years. Unlike traditional funds that support a single project, the International Blockchain Fund hopes to cover the whole industry and help high-quality blockchain projects around the world. Therefore, the International Blockchain Fund was initially positioned as the parent fund of the investment blockchain special fund (fund of fund). With in-depth understanding of markets, technologies and teams, the fund has invested a lot of effort in the inspection of the investment teams of the industry, then elect the most comprehensive investment institutions which fit our concept to invest large capital. By investing in excellent special blockchain fund, the International Blockchain Fund indirectly holds nearly one-third of the world's top 100 market capitalization of the head of the project as well as a large number of very promising new projects. The fund upholds the idea of building a better world with more fairness (with the distribution of resources) and more decentralization (decentralization of information transfer), and establishes a ternary investment logic based on 'technology, demand, and team'. It prudently and firmly practices the strategic direction of value investment. Therefore, the first limited partners who have long-term cooperation with the International Blockchain Fund have accumulated hundreds of times of investment income. It is precisely because of the excellent investment performance of the international blockchain fund that it has attracted more and more top global consortiums. Up to now, the fund's global management scale has exceeded 10 billion US dollars, and no investment institutions have voluntarily withdrawn up until now. With the development of blockchain technology entering the tenth year, the International Blockchain Fund that has been immersed in this track for eight years believes that the R&D and investment of blockchain projects are entering a critical transitional stage. The virtual high asset prices are returning to rational. Rigorous and conservative market sentiment is accelerating the elimination of not good projects or technologies. High-frequency exposure and promotion are increasing the public's awareness and acceptance of the blockchain. Therefore, the International Blockchain Fund, which was relatively low-key among the public, took the initiative to assume greater social responsibility after following its own concept and making achievements in the investment field. As a result, the International Blockchain Fund has launched two major programs: Millions of Scientific Research Laboratories and the Millionaire Club. The fund believes that the next step in the development of blockchain technology is inseparable from high-end technology development teams and a large number of technology users. Therefore, the fund has proposed the above plans for these two groups of people. 'Millions of Scientific Research Laboratories' will establish cooperative research projects with the world's top prestigious computer labs. Each project has a research budget of 10 million dollars. It is funded by the International Blockchain Fund and has reached cooperation intention with many top universities around the world, including Ivy League Universities.The direction of cooperation includes but is not limited to personal information privacy protection, more economical value transmission mode and so on. As for the 'Millionaire Club' project which covers more people, the fund hopes to build a bridge between the blockchain world and the average users. Technology which cannot be accept by users is worthless, and those users who miss the technology will lose a better world. Therefore, the International Blockchain Fund, which has cooperated with hundreds of head blockchain projects, hopes to promote those projects to more users, and achieve a million-scale community size; at the same time, it hopes to let early users not only embrace the new technology, but also benefit from it and get millions of assets. For the fund, this community will not only be an important entry for projects, but also help to achieve large-scale profitability. It is also a 'special partner' who supports the fund and shares huge profits. The club has designed a variety of motivators to attract users to join the "Millionaire Club". Users will become official members of the club after making enough contributions for the community. When we gather together, the club will eventually become an unprecedented million-level active community. The huge scale effect will better promote the development of quality projects, enabling the fund and club members to jointly mobilize the blockchain market of 100 billion dollars. In order to promote the rapid start of the Millionaire Club and stimulate more people's curiosity about blockchain technology, the fund has launched the first community building game - "Millionaire", and welcomes you to join! Company: International Blockchain Fund Contact Person: Rene Rochon Website: http://www.iibfs.com E-mail: service@iibfs.com International Blockchain FundView source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/536392/International-Blockchain-Fund-A-FOF-With-a-Long-Term-Commitment-to-the-Value-of-Blockchain-Field Vernon, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 21, 2019) - True Leaf Medicine International Ltd. (CSE: MJ) (OTCQB: TRLFF) (FSE: TLA) ("True Leaf" or the "Company"), a leading global cannabis and hemp wellness brand for pets, announced today that the Company has closed its previously announced convertible security financing for gross proceeds of $4,500,000. About True Leaf True Leaf is a leading global cannabis and hemp wellness brand for pets. Inspired by the unconditional love our pets give us every day, we return that love through our wellness pet products which help maintain and protect the natural vitality of our pet companions. "Return the Love" is the purpose that drives our business and is at the heart of our values to bring happiness to pets and their owners. www.trueleaf.com About The Lind Partners The Lind Partners is a New York-based institutional fund manager focused on small- and mid-cap companies listed in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the UK focused on high-growth sectors such as mining, oil and gas, biotech, and technology. Lind has completed over 70 direct investments for more than $850 million in total value and has an established reputation as a flexible and supportive capital partner to investee companies. www.thelindpartners.com For more information: Media Contact Paul Sullivan Director, Public Relations Paul@trueleaf.com O: 604-685-4742 M: 604-603-7358 Investor Contact Kevin Bottomley (Canada) Director and Corporate Relations Kevin@trueleaf.com M: 778-389-9933 Joe Green (US) Edison Advisors jgreen@edisongroup.com O: 646-653-7030 M: 917-575-7089 Follow True Leaf twitter.com/trueleafpet facebook.com/trueleafpet instagram.com/trueleafpet To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/42982 La pubblicazione di contributi, approfondimenti, articoli e in genere di tutte le opere dottrinarie e di commento (ivi comprese le news) presenti su Filodiritto e stata concessa (e richiesta) dai rispettivi autori, titolari di tutti i diritti morali e patrimoniali ai sensi della legge sul diritto d'autore e sui diritti connessi (Legge 633/1941). La riproduzione ed ogni altra forma di diffusione al pubblico delle predette opere (anche in parte), in difetto di autorizzazione dell'autore, e punita a norma degli articoli 171, 171-bis, 171-ter, 174-bis e 174-ter della menzionata Legge 633/1941. E consentito scaricare, prendere visione, estrarre copia o stampare i documenti pubblicati su Filodiritto nella sezione Dottrina per ragioni esclusivamente personali, a scopo informativo-culturale e non commerciale, esclusa ogni modifica o alterazione. Sono parimenti consentite le citazioni a titolo di cronaca, studio, critica o recensione, purche accompagnate dal nome dell'autore dell'articolo e dall'indicazione della fonte, ad esempio: Luca Martini, La discrezionalita del sanitario nella qualificazione di reato perseguibile d'ufficio ai fini dell'obbligo di referto ex. art 365 cod. pen., in "Filodiritto" (https://www.filodiritto.com), con relativo collegamento ipertestuale. Se l'autore non e altrimenti indicato i diritti sono di Inforomatica S.r.l. e la riproduzione e vietata senza il consenso esplicito della stessa. E sempre gradita la comunicazione del testo, telematico o cartaceo, ove e avvenuta la citazione. Rating: 3.5 /5 Star Cast: RJ Balaji, Priya Anand, Nanjil Sampath, J K Rithesh, Ananth Vaidyanathan Director: Prabhu There have been quite a few satirical movies made on the present politics where a few have hit the bull's eye while a few ended up missing it. Most of the time, the audience tends to give a thumbs up as a string of references, leaders and political parties have been shown in a comical way, which offers a quick lease of laughter therapy. RJ Balaji's LKG is the latest flick to join the bandwagon. After the super successful trailer and promo cuts, will LKG continue its successful run in the theatres as well?Lalgudi Karupaiah Gandhi alias LKG (RJ Balaji) is shown to be chief minister of the present day who is all set to be sworn in for the position. The story begins from here when he gets shot and the flashback episode unfolds. Hailing from a small town of Lalgudi, LKG starts his life as a councillor who aspires to become the Chief Minister of the state. Though one cannot pen down a sturdy storyline of the movie, it can be deemed as a lengthy video with a collection of satirical and hilarious political jibes. We do see LKG adoring Amaidhipadai Sathyaraj and Mudhalvan Raghuvaran. He doesn't stop there, he goes on and displays his admiration towards Vijay Mallya as well. LKG wins the councillor seat through emotions and a superficial approach, which is far from idealism. His quest in politics continues even further where he employs a corporate firm headed by Priya Anand to assist him in gauging the public pulse and sentiments for his political journey. This provides him visibility in the state-level political circles and helps him catch the eye of Bhojappan, the deputy CM who runs the state in the absence of the present CM who is hospitalized with a severe medical condition. These proceedings make LKG the talk of the town. Soon after the passing away of the CM, Bhojappan fields LKG in the ex-CM's constituency and it comes to be a daunting task for the rising politician as he is pitted against Ramaraj Pandian (JK Ritheesh), the party's own member who is powerful and holds the constituency as his strong fort. There are a lot of references right from the Marina protest, Memorial drama, IPL jibe, Bigg Boss references to the hospitalization of the Chief Minister. Thala-Thalapathy fight and YouTube reviewers ensure a quick connect with the young audience. LKG is without doubt, an effortless one-man show by RJ Balaji. He delivers dialogues and expressions with ease while he has also donned the role of a co-writer. Priya Anand fills in the place of the female lead and is decent. KR Prabhu's direction is laudable with the major highlight of the movie being its crisp run-time, which doesn't overdo anything. Final Verdict Highly Entertaining and a fun-filled political satirical movie. Go, grab your tickets. Kartik Aaryan & Kriti Sanon Promote Luka Chuppi | Filmibeat Kriti Sanon Looked Absolutely Beautiful At Luka Chuppi Promotions Kriti Sanon looked absolutely beautiful while promoting her upcoming movie Luka Chuppi on Friday evening. Kriti was wearing a black button down dress for the event, her hair slicked back in a tight low bun. Her large silver hoop earrings added glamour to her outfit. But Kriti gave her outfit a casual twist by teaming her dress with a pair of classic white sneakers. Kartik Aaryan Strikes A Luka Chuppi Pose Kartik Aaryan also looked very handsome during a promotional event for Luka Chuppi today. He was wearing a white graphic sweatshirt with denims and a pair of black sneakers. He gave the Luka Chuppi pose while being snapped by the photographers. Kartik was snapped at the Mumbai airport yesterday. Not One To Not Have A Little Fun! Not one to stop himself from having a little fun, Kartik got a little cheeky at the promotions and looked over a security guard's shoulder as he was busy with his phone! Luka Chuppi Releases On March 1st Luka Chuppi is a movie which has a quirky take on live in relationships. The trailer promises lots of laughter and the audiences are quite excited for the movie's release. Luka Chuppi is set to hit the theatres on March 1st. Kriti Is Not Nervous About The Film Talking about audience's response to the trailer, Kriti had said in an interview with Times Of India, "I am always nervous when my film is releasing. But this time, I am happy as well as excited because the audience is connecting with the concept." She added, "They are liking the whole concept of the film. So I want to see how they actually react while watching the film. I feel this is one such film where I want to go to Gaiety cinema to see how the audience is reacting to the film." Kartik Is Pumped Too Kartik too is pumped about the movie. Speaking to Times Now, Kartik had said, "Luka Chuppi was one script that I really loved. It is a content driven film which has a commercial aspect to it. We are happy that the trailer has got a good response and there is positivity around the film." Total Dhamaal, is a rehash of his earlier films, and, so, has virtually nothing new to offer. Rating: Cast: Ajay Devgn, Madhuri Dixit, Arshad Warsi, Javed Jaffrey, Anil Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh, Sanjay Mishra Director: Indra Kumar Johnny Lever, we are all aware that comedy as a cinematic endeavor is the toughest, more so, if the writers don't have anything to chew on. Indra Kumar's third franchise, Total Dhamaal, is a rehash of his earlier films, and, so, has virtually nothing new to offer. It's the same old film made with some fresh faces and largely old timers reprising the same roles they had earlier played. And, as it turns out, the third in the series pales significantly in comparison when it comes to its writing and execution. There are as many as five pairs of characters (Kapoor & Dixit; Jaffrey & Warsi; Devgun & Mishra; Irani & Patkar; Deshmukh & Tripathy, besides a host of other talents like Manjrekar and Johny Lever) all of whom neither have any interesting bits to define their buffoonery, nor do they add any value with their screen roles. Barring a few scenes featuring Dixit and Kapoor as a bickering couple who have filed for divorce, there is nothing that has any semblance of cinema, let alone a comedy. But my problem with the film is not its flimsy premise; nor the sameness of the action: its poor and tacky production. Even if it werent anything fresh in terms of its storyline, there could have been something by way of madness and craziness for the laughs to continue- if only writers Ved Prakash, Paritosh Painter and Bunty Rathore as well as director Indra Kumar had let their imagination soar creatively to come up with some funny one-liners. At least. Instead, some dialogues offend you. Barring Jaffrey and Warsi and occasionally Lever, everyone crashes through the outer limits of bad taste in this wildly outrageous collection of comedy sketches. Also, as a few of this year's Bollywood releases have been, this one also makes an attempt at being a propaganda film for the ruling party, albeit rather feebly. In one scene, a character screams how there was one Gujarati (with the obvious reference to the Father of the Nation) who did India proud, in this day and age too, another Gujju (no prizes for guessing who) is making the Americans eat pizza! If you don't get the joke, neither did I! As Guddu (Ajay Devgun) and Jonny (Sanjay Mishra) get double-crossed of their illegal booty by their own colleague Daddu a scam begins when another corrupt man, police commissioner (Boman Irani) strikes a deal to legalize money that has been rendered rubbish after demonetisation in 2017. For a change, there is no 5,000 crore empire that one is so accustomed to seeing in Bollywood masala films, but a much lesser booty Rs 50-crore loot that gets hidden in a zoo. Needless to add, all the characters have the sole intention of finding the cash stashed away in the midst of some wild animals at Omkar Zoo in a place called Janakpur. After claiming their supremacy, the five pairs agree to distribute the ill-begotten money equally,, and thus, begin a chase to reach the zoo at the earliest in different modes of transport. At times, this 129-minute comedy cannot completely escape the indignity of co-starring some computer generated animals to prevent director Kumar's worst attempts at slapstick comedy. The outcome is a series of annoying escapades by the stars all of whom seem completely ill-at-ease mouthing inane stuff or masquerading as serious actors perfecting their act of buffoonery. At a time when nearly all of us receive and forward jokes and videos on WhatsApp on a daily basis, one would expect a silver screen experience to include some sparkle to this limp script and have interesting gags. Resultantly, all actors possibly must have died a little inside as their purported laugh fests are rejected outright by viewers. They all act indifferently and make the film look all the more stale. So shamelessly mindless is the entire plot! Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category Fethiye is bracing itself for a visit by President Recep Tayyp Erdogan later this afternoon as campaigning for the upcoming local elections gathers pace. The president is expected to attend a rally in the late afternoon after speaking at other events around the Mugla region. His objective will be to whip up support among local voters for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) before the nation goes to the polls for local elections on Sunday, March 31. The names for all those hoping to be selected for all 12 political parties across the country had to be submitted to election councils earlier this week (February 19). However, the full list of chosen candidates wont be announced until next Sunday (March 3). Electing mayors Turkeys 30 city municipalities will be electing mayors while smaller districts will also choose theirs. The elections will also decide who sits on the smaller city councils. More rural regions also choose their muktars and members of their own elder councils. The different ballots are signified by different-coloured papers. White ballot papers are for electing city mayors; orange ones for provincial general councils; blue ones for district mayors; and yellow ones for city council members. Each voter then places their completed papers into a single envelope which is then placed in the ballot box. When to vote Polling opens at different times with 32 municipalities voting between 7am and 4pm on March 31. However, at the moment, Mugla is scheduled to vote a little later, between 8am and 5pm. As ever, the serving of alcohol is prohibited on election day. Counting starts immediately, with the first results expected from the middle of the evening onwards. The parties vying for votes are: Justice and Development Party (AK Party); Republican Peoples Party (CHP); Nationalist Movement Party (MHP); Good (IYI) Party; Peoples Democratic Party (HDP); Independent Turkey Party (BTP); Grand Unity Party (BBP); Democrat Party (DP); Democratic Left Party (DSP); Saadet (Felicity) Party; Communal Democracy Party (TDP); and Patriotic (Vatan) Party. Road closures Road closures across Fethiye today are as follows; closed at 8pm last night were: Ataturk Street (the interchange between Koprubas junction and the Palm junction) Cars Street (between Kandonmezler and the Kavsag interchange) Muzaffer Dontlu Street (between Sadi Berkmen Street and Inonu Boulevard) Gaffar Okan Street Koprubas 138. Street (in front of the Chamber of Commerce) Cahit Gunduz Street Pursahbey Street 501/1 Street (in front of the Orka Hotel) 97. and 101. Street where a no parking or stopping zone will be imposed. Closed from noon today are: Hungry past 11pm? These late-night destinations have the cure. No good night out ends without a little extra overindulgence, whether it be a greasy smashed burger, a plate of loaded fries or even a slice of pizza. Here, were sharing our favorite late-night eats in Columbia, Missouri, including must-try spots and their signature dishes. Caddy Shack Ca Va El Pueblito Harrys Bar & Tables Lews Grill and Bar Mission Taco Joint Panchos Mexican Food Tiki Taco Town Topic-Crossroads Arts District Westport Cafe & Bar Winstead's Natalie Torres Gallagher Natalie Torres Gallagher is a writer. Shes never met a carb she didnt like. Follow Natalie Torres Gallagher Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. 2020 was a year marked by hardships and challenges, but the Fauquier community has proven resilient. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you for your continued support, wed like to offer all our subscribers -- new or returning -- 4 WEEKS FREE DIGITAL AND PRINT ACCESS. We understand the importance of working to keep our community strong and connected. As we move forward together into 2021, it will take commitment, communication, creativity, and a strong connection with those who are most affected by the stories we cover. We are dedicated to providing the reliable, local journalism you have come to expect. We are committed to serving you with renewed energy and growing resources. Let the Fauquier Times be your community companion throughout 2021, and for many years to come. Dairy Crest, the UK dairy company behind products such as Cathedral City cheddar, has agreed to be bought by Canadian company Saputo in a deal worth just under 1bn. Both companies have announced an agreement on Friday (22 February) on the terms of a cash acquisition by which Saputo will acquire Dairy Crest. One of the biggest dairy processors in the world, Montreal-based Saputo will pay 620p a share, valuing Dairy Crest at 975m. Headquartered in the UK, Dairy Crest is a large dairy company which manufactures and markets cheese, butters, spreads and oils under leading British brands, such as Cathedral City, Clover, Country Life and Frylight. Dairy Crest employs approximately 1,100 people in seven locations across the country. For the year ended March 31, 2018, Dairy Crest had revenues of approximately 456.8 million and profit after tax for the period of approximately 149.5 million. The deal will enable Saputo to expand its international presence and enter the UK market by acquiring and investing in a 'well-established and successful industry player', a statement read. Dairy Crest confirmed that 'virtually' all its 1,100 UK-based jobs will remain. Scottish farmers have been reminded that the hedge cutting ban comes into place on 1 March as the bird nesting and rearing season begins. From 1 March until the 31 August a closed period comes into force that places a ban on cutting and trimming hedges and trees due to cross-compliance requirements. A hedge or tree may be trimmed from 1 August if it is in a field which will be sown with oilseed rape, temporary grass or another crop subject to prior written consent of Scottish Ministers, where the hedge or tree is adjacent to the field being sown. The only other exception to this rule is for road safety where a hedge or tree overhangs a road, surfaced track or a footpath which may obstruct or interfere with the passage or view of vehicles, pedestrians or horse riders, or the obstruction of light from a public lamp. NFU Scotland said that before undertaking trimming in August under this exemption, farmers must check the full length of the hedge for nesting birds. If active nests are found, trimming must be delayed until all birds have fledged. NFU Scotland Combinable Crops Chairman, Ian Sands said: The hedge cutting ban coming into force is yet another example of where farmers are protecting and encouraging wildlife within the countryside. Last year Scottish farmers maintained over 1,329 miles of hedges as part of Greening measures and the growth in numbers of bird species, such as corn-buntings and curlews, is recognition of this. Farmers and crofters have always been custodians of the countryside and by enabling nesting birds the sanctuary of Scottish hedgerows, farmers are once again actively encouraging a wide variety of habitats for a number of species. The rule change in 2018 which allows hedges and trees to be trimmed in August where oilseed rape or grass is being sown was a decision made by Scottish government after repeated lobbying from NFU Scotland. An MP has warned that an EU crackdown on a commonly-used pesticide may have unintended consequences for farmers. Conservative MP for Gordon, Colin Clark said it highlights the need for the UK to set its own pesticide policy once the UK leaves the EU. Mr Clark, who has experience in the food and drink sector, was speaking following a session of Westminsters delegated legislation committee on Thursday (21 February). A ban on neonicotinoids, insecticides used by farmers to kill pests, was agreed by the EU last year in an attempt to protect bees and butterflies. However, there have since been concerns raised by beekeepers that the measure has back-fired with pests including flea beetles flourishing and damaging crops. The delegated legislation committee was discussing plant protection products at the meeting on Thursday. Speaking afterwards, Mr Clark said that pesticide control must be 'based on facts not a perceived risk'. The EUs decision to ban neonicotinoids has two detrimental outcomes. First other contact chemicals have to be used in higher volumes we know kills all insects and secondly the increase in nuisance insects destroying flowering crops, he said. We should embrace the opportunity to set our own policies or we risk being left unable to grow valuable crops. With a different climate, we can be very specific about policy design. Used as a seed treatment neonicotinoids are buried under the ground, have relatively short efficacy and are in allegedly minuscule concentrations in the flowers when the bees are pollinating. Although one theory suggested that Katrina found her pairing with Varun Dhawan to be incongruous, the reason is different. Several theories are being put forward as to why Katrina Kaif opted out of her dance film Street Dancer 3D with Varun Dhawan. The official reason given was the dates for Street Dancer 3D were clashing with the dates of Bharat, the film that Katrina is doing with Salman Khan. It was also whispered that Katrina found her pairing with Varun Dhawan to be incongruous and opted out as she looked older than Varun on screen. This is the height of sexist absurdity as Katrina has comfortably been seen with Varuns contemporaries Siddharth Malhotra and Aditya Roy Kapur in Baar Baar Dekho and Fitoor. Turns out, there is a more valid reason for Katrinas exeunt. Her sister Isabelle is doing a dance-based film titled Time To Dance, co-starring Sooraj Pancholi, which will release around the same time as Street Dancer 3D. Katrina didnt want her own dance film with Varun to come out at around the same time as her sisters. There would have been comparisons and she wanted to avoid that. This is why she opted out of her dance film with Varun, says the informed source. I guess Katrinas time to dance would be later. He further said no government of any country has given any solid evidence suggesting security concerns with Huawei's equipment. In his address to the Munich Security Conference last Saturday US Vice-President Mike Pence also raised the issue of Huawei, repeating the US assertion that it posed a threat because of a Chinese law requiring telecom companies to share information with the government. It wasn't quite the briefing that I got about them (Huawei). Britain can handle the security risks involved with using mobile networks made by China's Huawei, the cybersecurity chief said Wednesday, adding to a growing debate among countries on whether the company should be banned, as the USA wants. Large amounts of money and resources are at stake as Huawei is deeply involved in European telecoms networks. Pressure from the United States on its allies, including the UK, to dump Huawei has increased in recent months. The Chinese government has denied it would demand access to Huawei's technology for spying, and the company has said it would refuse such a request. Britain is a particularly appealing target for interference as a close U.S. ally with a large Chinese ethnic community and an open, advanced economy, Parton said. Tension and speculation concerning Ottawa's coming decision on 5G have been heightened by the December arrest of Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, in Vancouver following a request from USA authorities and the subsequent detention of two Canadians by China on security grounds. UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), an arm of the UK's GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) foreign intelligence agency responsible for detecting and dealing with cyber threats, has drafted a report against arguments for banning Huawei's 5G technology from its networks, according to a BBC report this week. "Some politicians have turned either 5G or cyber security into political or ideological discussions, which I believe are not sustainable". USA officials believe that the technology could one day be used by Chinese intelligence for spying. Chennai: Chinese consumer electronics major Huawei said it has not received any notification from government departments over issues surrounding security. Britain is a key battleground for Huawei in its campaign to resist US pressure in Europe. "The approach that the GCSB takes and what the legislation. sets out is agnostic about country, agnostic about company and ownership". Other operators in Europe, including Britain's BT and France's Orange, have already removed Huawei's equipment or taken steps to limit its future use. "We must have higher standards of cyber security across the entire telecommunications sector", Martin said. Top British cybersecurity officials are reportedly confident they can manage any risks from Huawei's telecommunications equipment, but a report published Wednesday by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a top security think tank, said that would be a mistake. But he insisted the NCSC is closely monitoring Huawei and said it would not give the all-clear unless there is sufficient evidence. The report cited "two people familiar with the conclusion", who had been reached by the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Growing maize under film could provide farmers with benefits worth more than 200 per hectare compared to conventional methods. The improved nutritional value of maize silage grown under a plastic film cover outweighs the increased growing costs, according to agricultural suppliers Wynnstay. The total additional fixed and variable costs of growing maize under film amount to approximately 300/ha compared to conventionally grown maize. However, the increased nutritional value equates to around 520/ha more than conventionally grown maize. Once growing costs have been taken into consideration, this delivers a net gain of around 200/ha, the company said. Dr Simon Pope, Wynnstay crop protection manager, explained that there are also agronomic benefits of growing maize in this way. When maize is sown under biodegradable and photodegradable film it creates a microclimate, warming the soil and increasing the soil temperature to above 10C, which is the base temperature required for germination and growth, he said. The film reduces moisture loss and by warming the soil the availability of nutrients is improved. The result is quick establishment and greater root development and the more favourable growing conditions ultimately go on to provide higher yields of DM and starch in early maturing crops. Dr Pope said an early harvest also provides an opportunity to get a catch crop in the ground shortly afterwards. This not only helps improve soil condition, but also provides valuable additional feed. Its been particularly crucial this season off the back of a difficult year for forage production. 'Benefits of investment' For Welsh dairy farmer Rowland George, growing maize under film has played a key role in maintaining his high yielding herd. Weve grown maize this way on and off since 1994 and have always seen the benefits of the investment, he said. In 2018, Mr George grew 45ha of maize under film to form part of the total mixed ration (TMR) for his 1,600-head dairy herd. Not only are we able to get the crop off sooner, weve also seen increased starch content at 35%, and higher DM yields per acre, providing a safety net for bad maize growing years where maize under film still reaches maturity, added Mr George. Weve seen a significant increase in both milk yields and herd fertility compared to if we werent feeding maize forage, wed have to buy-in alternative feed to supply the required energy. This would be much less cost-effective than growing maize under film, and we certainly see the value when we review our feed costs, he added. A farmer has criticised 'irresponsible' dog owners after dozens of her sheep were 'ripped to shreds' by two dogs. Two Hungarian Visla dogs attacked and killed and injured around 25 sheep near Darwen Tower, Lancashire, on Sunday 17 February. A police spokesman said: "It is believed that one of the dogs appeared to have recently had puppies as its nipples were enlarged. "Neither dog had collars on and appeared to be a darker chestnut colour than a standard Visla. They were seemingly well fed and quite large in appearance." The farmer, Caroline Cochran, has now used social media to urge the public to keep dogs under control. On her post, which has been shared over 1,000 times, she said 'irresponsible dog owners have a lot to answer for'. She said: "Has anyone any information regarding two visla dogs this morning which have kindly ripped some of our sheep to shreds! "Dog should not have been in this field, there is no right of way! "Keep your dogs on a lead near farmers' fields, as if farming isn't hard enough!" Caroline told Lancashire Live that she estimates the incident may cost around 3,000 due to vet bills and loss of stock. Anyone who has any information should contact the police on 101 and quote log number LC-2019-0217-0530 or email jon.hulton@lancashire.pnn.police.uk. A Dutch egg farmers' leader has warned British producers about the potential dangers of switching to cage-free production. All major retailers in the UK and some leading food manufacturers have committed to moving away from using cage eggs by 2025 following pressure from animal welfare campaigners. Egg producers have been calling for greater clarity from retailers about what will replace the birds currently in enriched colony units, although Tesco has said that the supermarket would buy barn as a value product. In the Netherlands, a similar switch happened some years ago and Eric Hubers, the chairman of the egg farmers' association in the Netherlands, has warned that Dutch producers experienced some severe difficulties in the early years after the switch. He warned British producers that they may initially end up with more barn eggs than the market could absorb. "More than 60 per cent of our eggs are barn," said Mr Hubers at the annual NFU conference in Birmingham. "I think you have less than one per cent. We had a very fast development in 2004. "The biggest supermarket, Albert Heijn, decided to stop selling cage eggs. Then all the other supermarkets did it in one year's time also, so in 2005 you could not buy cage eggs in the Netherlands." 'Too fast' Mr Hubers said producers had to switch to barn production very quickly and, he said, the switch initially proved too much for the market, which could not accommodate all the barn eggs being produced. "Poultry farmers really turned over from cage to barn very fast. It was actually too fast," he said. "The production of barn eggs was too big in the years 2006, 2007 and 2008. The people that remained with cage farms had the best margins initially." The Netherlands is a big exporter of eggs. The country's layer flock amounts to 34 million birds and the country is 300 per cent self-sufficient, creating a huge surplus. However, the surplus in the Netherlands is equal to the shortage in Germany, where many of the country's eggs are sold. Eric Hubers said the German market was very important for Dutch egg farmers. However, the German market could not initially absorb all the new barn eggs being produced in the Netherlands. "Now we can completely provide for the German market, but we had some very nasty years," he said. "I understand that you are now doing the switch from cage to barn. "This is a big issue in the beginning. When you turn over too quickly, in the beginning you will have too much. The market will not accept all these more expensive eggs." Cage free UK The commitment to move to cage-free in the UK started in the summer of 2016, when Tesco announced that it would stop sourcing cage eggs by 2025. This followed the success of an online petition started by a 14-year-old girl from Sheffield. She initially targeted Tesco with a call to stop selling cage eggs. The petition went viral. After Tesco announced that it would move away from cage eggs, other retailers, including Asda, Morrisons and the discounters Aldi and Lidl, also made cage-free declarations. Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose had already stopped selling eggs from cages some years ago. Since then, Morrisons, Britain's fourth biggest supermarket, has announced that it will bring forward the date by which it intends to go cage-free to 2022. In the United Kingdom more than half of shell eggs sold in retail are now produced in free range units and free range is continuing to drive growth in consumption. Demand for eggs Rose Keen, client manager with consumer analysts Kantar Worldpanel, told the conference that demand for eggs was growing by 4.2 per cent in volume and by 4.7 per cent in value. This growth was being largely driven by demand for free range eggs. Organic eggs were growing by 15 per cent, she said, although from a very small base. Thomas Wornhham, the NFU's poultry board chairman, said that the last year had been very challenging in the poultry sector. Banham Poultry and Blackdown Hills had disappeared, there had been problems with the increased supply of free range eggs - free range has been running into oversupply in the UK with the expansion of the national flock, and there had also been a large increase in feed prices, he said. "Feed prices are usually represented in a feed ratchet with retailers but for some reason it has not quite worked this time round," he said. "The industry has absorbed a lot of that cost." Dozens of pregnant Welsh mule ewes have been stolen from a farm in north Powys. Dyfed-Powys Police are appealing for more information after 46 ewes were stolen by livestock rustlers in the Llanfechain area. Police have now asked farmers and the public to remain vigilant, check and secure the gates to land containing livestock and report any suspicious activity. Powys - 46 Welsh mule ewes (pregnant) have recently been stolen from enclosed farm ground in the Llanfechain area, North Powys. Any info? Tel: 101 @MuleWelsh @DPPLlanfyllin @WelshpoolPolice pic.twitter.com/oDh5M6Q89I Rural Crime Team: Dyfed-Powys Police (@DPruralpolicing) February 21, 2019 It follows news of a high profile incident where rustlers stole more than 140 sheep, including some from a 15-year-old boy, in what was said to have been an 'organised' theft. The incident happened Rossett, near Wrexham in North Wales on 28 January 2019, with the police calling it the single biggest theft in its five years of operating. Anyone with any relevant information that can help this investigation, are urged to contact the police by telephoning 101 or alternatively Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800555111. WILMINGTON, Del. Corteva Agriscience, the agriculture division of DowDuPont, and MS Technologies are launching Enlist E3 soybeans, a triple-stack herbicide tolerant soybean, for 2019 planting in the United States. The seeds are available through Corteva Agriscience seed brands as well as through regional licensees. Corteva Agriscience Chief Executive Officer-Elect James C. Collins Jr. said the new soybeans incorporate advanced herbicide tolerance and enable the use of Enlist One and Enlist Duo herbicides. Jointly developed by Dow AgroSciences and MS Technologies, Enlist E3 soybeans provide tolerance to new 2,4-D choline in Enlist Duo and Enlist One herbicides, as well as glyphosate and glufosinate herbicides. Enlist Duo herbicide is a combination of new 2,4-D choline and glyphosate, a blend for control of broadleaf and grass weeds. Enlist One herbicide is a 2,4-D choline product offering broadleaf weed control with greater tank-mix flexibility, including the ability to tank mix with qualified glufosinate products. Farmers can apply Enlist herbicides in burn down through post-emergence in conjunction with Enlist E3 soybeans. An additional benefit of Enlist E3 soybeans is no plant-back window after a burn-down application of Enlist herbicides. Corteva officials also said the Enlist herbicides have near-zero volatility and reduced potential for physical drift. Enlist E3 soybeans are approved for cultivation in the U.S., Canada and Brazil. Enlist E3 soybeans have received import authorization in importing countries including China and the Philippines. Enlist E3 soybeans should now be managed through standard grain handling practices in the U.S. for products containing biotechnology traits. Availability Enlist E3 soybeans will be available in commercial quantities across all Corteva Agriscience brands in 2020, including the flagship Pioneer brand, as well as from Stine Seed Company and Merschman Seed Company. Corteva Agriscience and MS Technologies also plan to broadly license Enlist E3 soybean technology, and are in discussions with more than 100 seed brands. The company predicts Enlist E3 soybeans will be planted on more than 10 percent of U.S. and Canada soybean acres in 2020. BLOOMINGTON, Ill. Cori Lee, of Marysville, Ohio, has been named the Ohio state winner of the 2019 GROWMARK essay contest for FFA members. The theme of the contest was What does the future of agriculture look like to you, and what skills will you need to play a part in it? In her contest entry, Lee said: This technology is the future of agriculture, but the next generation will need the skills to be able to connect with the public that has been disconnected from their farming roots. Advocating for agriculture is going to be crucial for the support of consumers. Lee is a student at Marysville High School and a member of the Marysville FFA chapter. Lee will receive a $500 award from GROWMARK at the Ohio FFA State Convention in Columbus in May. The Marysville FFA chapter will also receive a $300 award in honor of her accomplishment. Four state runners-up will each receive a $125 award. The runners-up and their FFA chapters are: Nora Beresik, Fort Loramie-UVCC FFA; Jerilyn Garrett, Peebles FFA; Erin Green, Carrollton FFA; and Rose Zeedyk, Fairview FFA. Lees Essay Trying to manage an irrepressible Mother Nature has been an age-old battle going on since what seems like the beginning of time. But just as our phones have become smart, so has the technology used for agriculture, making it easier to be more efficient with current resources. Robots, drones, computers, and GIS have had their purposes transformed through reimagining and enhancement for agricultural use. However, living in a health-conscious society could impede the progress toward increasing production by 70 percent. The immense challenge of feeding over 9 billion people by 2050 is one that will have to be faced with the breakthrough of new technology and the cooperation of the public. Pieces of valuable technology, robots and drones, have already been implemented with successful results in reducing the amount of human labor. Just recently, a driverless tractor has been released by Case IH that will be able to run a planter on its own. It has a sensor system that recognizes obstacles and can slow down or stop, avoiding damage. Other companies have developed technology that allows the farmer to oversee the tractor and take over the operation from a video monitor, even if they are miles away. From the sky, drones are able to get a birds eye view. Today, these unmanned aerial vehicles have been used for crop scouting, monitoring crop health, yield, plant stress, drought and other tasks. This robotics system and drones will allow farmers to save time by letting them spend less time in the field and more time managing other aspects. The amount of resources needed has also been reduced with the help of GIS. Geographic information systems transformed farming when they first came out by allowing farmers to track where they have already been. Now, new features are being added. High-density soil sampling has made it easy to find the mineral content and porosity so it is possible to predict fertility across a field. Tracking water movement has been achieved using contour mapping. Other detectors on application equipment can measure moisture levels and nutrient content before and after fertilizer has been applied, increasing efficiency. Unlike other up and coming technologies, it focuses on using less to make more: fewer pesticides, fewer herbicides, less fuel and less ground. This technology is the future of agriculture, but the next generation will need the skills to be able to connect with the public that has been disconnected from their farming roots. Advocating for agriculture is going to be crucial for the support of consumers. Todays future agriculturists need to take on roles of educators for the public for where their food comes from and how it is grown. Transparency is going to be a key element as consumers need to gain confidence that their food is safe as well as sustainable. Technology has revolutionized agriculture, but the bridge between consumers and farmers will need to undergo the same process as we feed 9 billion. Cori Lee, Marysville FFA Shah Rukh Khan was a masters student of Jamias AJK Mass Communication Research Centre from 1988-90. Mumbai: The HRD Ministry has denied a request from Jamia Millia Islamia to award an honorary doctorate to Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan. The Indian Express' reported the ministry refused to give the degree to the former student of the university, saying it would not be in order as he had already received a similar one from the Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU). There is, however, no bar on such practice. As per the report, the HRD Ministry sent a letter to the university on April 11, stating: It has been observed that Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad has already conferred Honorary degree on Shri Shahrukh Khan in December 2016. Therefore, a view has been taken that two doctorate degrees for the same person would not be in order. The Higher Education Secretary R Subrahmanyam stated, Since 2014, there has not been any instance where the same person has been awarded an honorary doctorate in more than one central university. Whenever there is a recommendation of the Executive Committee seeking approval for awarding an honorary doctorate, we check whether the same person has been awarded the same honour by another central university; and whether there is any conflict of interest, he added. SRK was a masters student of Jamias AJK Mass Communication Research Centre from 1988-90. However, he couldnt appear for his final year exams due to shortage of attendance. Wall Street analysts have given iShares MSCI United Kingdom 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 iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. Michael Cummo / Hearst Connecticut Media STAMFORD A former clerk at a music store in the Stamford Town Center mall pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing over $20,000 from her employer by fraudulently processing refunds of the same CD box set collections and other items over and over again and pocketing the cash. After making the plea to a felony charge of first-degree larceny, former FYE cashier Rishay Prescott, 32, of High Street, can avoid prison if she returns to court in mid April with $7,000 in cash, according to the terms of her plea agreement. If not, a Stamford judge will be free to sentence her to up to five years in prison, according to the deal outlined in court by Supervisory Assistant States Attorney Paul Ferencek. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a mega trade agreement being negotiated by 10 ASEAN countries. Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said a successful conclusion of RCEP will help deal with the challenges of global trade in terms of increasing trade tensions and protectionism. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: India on Thursday called upon all the members of RCEP, a proposed mega trade deal, to work concertedly towards early conclusion of the agreement to boost economic ties. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a mega trade agreement being negotiated by 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) and their six free trade pact partners - India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said a successful conclusion of RCEP will help deal with the challenges of global trade in terms of increasing trade tensions and protectionism. "India is constructively engaged in RCEP negotiations and the country believes that ASEAN will remain central to the economic integration of the Indo-Pacific region through RCEP," he said. "As negotiations are intensifying, members are now engaged in bilateral pairing to achieve mutually satisfactory and balanced outcome keeping in view each other's sensitivities and aspirations," the minister said. The minister was speaking at the inauguration of the fourth India-ASEAN Export and Summit 2019 here. He said that as directed by the leaders of the 16 countries, "we should all work concertedly towards early conclusion of RCEP and create a win-win situation for the greater prosperity of the people of the region". Negotiations for the mega-trade deal RCEP need more rounds of talks to sort out issues pertaining to goods and services, Prabhu had said Tuesday. The agreement aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights. The talks are stretched as the member countries have yet to agree on major issues including finalising the number of goods on which duties would be eliminated. Speaking at the event, Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said all the members need to work together to conclude the negotiations this year. Sharing similar views, Cambodian Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak also said the agreement is important and "I hope to see this concluding this year". Further, Prabhu urged the ASEAN members to engage in the review of free trade agreement with India to resolve implementation issues being faced by business of either side. The bilateral trade between India and ASEAN increased from USD 65 billion in 2015-16 to USD 81.33 billion in 2017-18. Stringer is a 1-year-old male coonhound, American English mix dog that is ready to find his forever home. He can live in a single-family home, and wants to live with kids over 10 years old. Stringer has not had much experience with cats or dogs, but is willing to consider sharing his home with a furry friend. Stringer is calm, but has his moments of energy that require exercise every day. He is a great dog with lots of potential, and needs a family with general dog experience. To learn more about Stringer, visit the Westport Adoption Center at 455 Post Road East, Westport, CT 06880, or call 203-227-4137. FAIRFIELD Chocolate was the biggest story at the Pequot Library as it hosted the popular 14th annual Kids Candy Making Workshop. Dozens of children attended the workshop, held Feb. 11 in the librarys auditorium, as they poured melted milk chocolate into playful molds and created gift boxes and Valentines Day cards using a sea of red, pink and white construction paper, ribbons, confetti, foam stickers, shape cutters, markers and their imaginations. Held each year in celebration of Valentines Day and in an effort, to bring the community together approximately 100 children in kindergarten through eighth grade participated in the event. The library required a $5 materials fee and registration. This is the 14th year, its a Pequot library tradition based on bringing the community together around our shared love of love on Valentines Day, said childrens libarian Jane Manners. Its turned into one of my favorite programs here for the kids. Theyre just so happy and are so proud of themselves, especially once they have completed the candy making process. They are also well rewarded at the end. This event originated as the brainchild of beloved childrens librarian Susan Ei, who came up with the idea 14 years ago and it has since become one of our favorite events, Manners said. The children receive a candy mold and a squeeze bottle of melted chocolate and they get right to work. While the candy hardens on an outside table, the children decorate gift boxes and create Valentines Day cards for a family member or friend so its also a nice opportunity for children to experience the joy that comes from gift-giving. Its an old-fashioned good time and a chance to put your cell phone down and be with your family and mingle with other community members. Library Education Coordinator Jean Kaul said, Pequot Librarys candy-making event has been a well-loved Valentines Day tradition. Its a joy to see so many members of the community come together with family and friends to share in the fun of making chocolates and valentines for their loved ones. Were delighted to see many of our patrons return to the event year after year and were so happy to welcome many newcomers this year as well. The library hosts six big programs each year, which bring the community together, Kaul said. The last one we had was a holiday caroling party which literally brings about 500-600 people together in this auditorium, its fantastic. It makes you feel like its home seeing so many familiar faces and library members. Its the sweetest annual tradition around town, said resident Erin Russell, who brought her to children to the event. Hallmark has nothing on this event, we never miss it. Library volunteer Lisa Lane agreed, saying, This is a wonderful community activity, people are really having a great time. The librarys next big event is the 13th annual Easter Egg Roll on the Great Lawn for children ages 2-12 on April 20 at 10 a.m. The event is free and open to the public. Children can meet the Easter Bunny, color eggs and visit the rabbit Blossom as well. Visit www.pequotlibrary.org for information. Bits of improvement were seen in public schools across the state in the 2017-18 school year, and not just because of high test scores. The states Next Generation Accountability indexes released Friday show an upswing in the number of students improving in their own math and reading performance from one year to the next, taking more college level courses, graduating on time and taking an art course before they leave high school. Combined, the states 968 schools pulled a score of 74.9 out of 100 on an index developed by the state and approved by the U.S. Department of Education. That compares to a statewide score of 73.2 score in 2016-17. Most local districts helped in the effort, showing overall, incremental improvement from one year to the next. To outgoing Education Commissioner Dianna R. Wentzell it signals a move in the right direction. We will continue our push to build on this momentum, Wentzell said in a written statement. To Ajit Gopalakrishnan, chief performance officer for the state Department of Education, it signals something more. A big takeaway for me is that if we prioritize at the state level, it can actually make a difference, Gopalakrishnan said, speaking with reporters on Thursday. When the state puts a focus on Advanced Placement courses and even helped some students pay for them, index results show that districts and schools responded. The massive data release includes a top down list of districts by score and a top 10 lists of schools. Fairfields Riverfield School is on the top ten list. Fairfield Superintendent of Schools Toni Jones said she is thrilled. Fairfield administrators, teachers, and staff continue to work hard on behalf of all our students, Jones said. However, a score is not the total picture of what makes a great school. The joy of learning is important, too, Jones said. Trumbull Schools Superintendent Gary Cialfi, whose district pulled an overall index of 85.1, said he is extremely proud of students and staff in all Trumbull Public Schools. The accountability index from the State Department of Education is comprehensive and testament to the Trumbull goal of providing healthy learning environments, said Cialfi. The state release includes a list of 130 Schools of Distinction based on achievement or growth. Of them, 43 schools come from so-called alliance districts where needs are high. One or more schools from Bridgeport, Derby, Fairfield, Milford, Monroe, Oxford, Shelton and Trumbull made that list. Also released were a list of 36 so-called turnaround schools that have been the lowest performing for three years running. Bridgeport has seven schools on that list. And there is a list of 20 focus schools, meaning academic growth among high needs students is consistently out of step with the state. The Bridgeport Military Academy is on that list. So is Derby Middle School. Although designed to satisfy the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, state officials say they do not submit the full index to the feds but rather pieces of it including schools on the turnaround and focus lists. More Information 2018 Schools of Distinction The state recognized 160 schools statewide that have high performance and high growth, overall or in specific areas. In our region, those schools include: School Why recognized Bryant School, Bridgeport High growth in reading high needs students Bradley School, Derby High growth in math, all student and high needs students Holland Hill, Fairfield High growth all students in reading, high needs students in math Sherman School, Fairfield High performance and high growth Jennings School, Fairfield High performance Osborn Hill, Fairfield High growth, all students, in math Orchard Hills, Milford High growth all students, in math Monroe Elementary High growth all students and high need students, in reading Fawn Hollow Elementary High growth all students and high need students, in reading Oxford Center School High growth, high needs students in math Elizabeth Shelton School High growth, all students and high needs, math Sunnyside, Shelton High growth all students and high needs, reading Longhill, Shelton High growth, all students and high needs, math Booth Hill, Shelton High performance and high growth Booth Hill, Trumbull High performance and high growth all students in reading Middlebrook, Trumbull High performance and high growth all students in reading Daniels Farm, Trumbull High growth, all students in reading Tashua, Trumbull High Performance Source: State Department of Education See More Collapse Right now, the only consequence for schools at the bottom is the potential for more help from the state. Some may get more resources by joining the Commissioners Network. Credit for growth In place for four years now, the index takes a more holistic view of student performance. The index combines 12 measures and judges them against goals set by the state. In addition to scores, and graduation rates, the index factors in absenteeism, physical fitness, how many students go onto college, and for the past three years, how much students improve over time. Of all the measures, academic growth counts the most, state officials said. There are so many variables that schools and districts with identical index scores can have very different profiles based on where their strengths lie, state officials said. What has principals like Mario Ciccarini at Bradley School in Derby excited about the system is not the incremental climb but rather the recognition his students get, no matter where they are, when they show improvement. It recognizes student growth, he said. In the past, if students didnt reach proficiency targets, you didnt see it in the paper. Under the new system, Bradley School made the states list of distinction by virtue of high growth in math, for all students and high needs students. Team Bradley worked very hard, Ciccarini, a former math teacher said. The school started putting the same type of focus on math that is given to literacy. Students rotate through math lessons like they do literacy circles. There were focus groups and workshops to boost instruction. A fair reflection In Shelton, Schools Superintendent Chris Clouet called the results a fair representation of how he sees the district. Overall, the district scored an 80.1, up from 76.37 the year before. It is more of how we, as practitioners see the work, Clouet said. Though not in agreement with all the indicators used by the state, Clouet said they reflect of the work teachers and students do. The overall index is important, said Vicky White, Sheltons supervisor of literacy, but so is each component. Each tells a different story about work we are doing, White said In Shelton, four schools Elizabeth Shelton, Sunnyside, Long Hill and Booth Hill made the Distinction list for high growth and or high performance. Based on past performance, Shelton adjusted how teacher time was organized at one school to focus on math. The strategy, Clouet said, paid off. One indicator that remains a challenge for Shelton and other districts continues to be chronic absenteeism. It was one the few areas where there was slippage statewide in 2017-18, with more students absent from class at least 10 percent of the time. Also declining slightly, statewide was post-secondary entrance and physical fitness. The boost in college and career readiness came by more students taking Advanced Placement and other courses that can earn them college credit in high school. The percentage of high school juniors and seniors in those course rose from 67.6 percent in 2015-16 to 74.8 percent in 2017-18. lclambeck@ctpost.com; twitter/lclambeck STAMFORD Last year set records for the number of women taking seats in the U.S. Congress. The same is true for governors offices and state legislatures. Today the mayors of some of the nations major metropolises Baltimore, Atlanta, New Orleans, Seattle, Las Vegas are women. Stamford is woefully off pace. The city, which has been around for 378 years, has never elected a woman as mayor. In fact, only four Stamford women have ever run for mayor; the last was 28 years ago. Women now govern 10 Connecticut cities with populations of at least 30,000, including New Haven, Stratford, New Britain, Bristol and Groton. Three other cities Norwalk, Bridgeport and Hartford have at least one female mayor in their histories. Beyond women, Stamford has never elected any member of a minority group, except for Julius Wilensky, who was Jewish, in 1969. All the rest have been white Christian men, even though Stamford has been ethnically diverse for many generations. Whats going on? Not the time I won every election for my seat on the Board of Representatives I was always the highest vote-getter in the city but when I ran for mayor, it didnt translate, said Sandy Goldstein, the last woman to seek the seat in 1991. I was told by a number of people that it was not the time for a woman. Ten years earlier, Goldstein became the first female president of the Board of Representatives, the citys 40-member lawmaking body. I broke considerable ground for that, she said. I remember we had to change the board rules to read he/she when they referred to the president, because everything was he, he, he. After a decade as board president, Goldstein felt she was ready for a mayoral run, inspired by other womens strides. Connecticut elected Ella Grasso, the first woman in the United States to win a governors seat of her own accord, in 1975. And New Yorker Geraldine Ferraro was the Democratic nominee for vice president of the United States in 1984. Goldstein knew other women whod attempted to win Stamfords top post. The late Lillian Filardo, an accountant long active in city politics, was the first woman to run in 1973. Filardo lost then and on her second try in 1975. The late Pobie Johnston, a World War II veteran, executive aide to Mayor Fred Lenz in the 1970s, and a powerhouse on government and civic agencies that tackled the most pressing issues of the day, ran and lost three times, finally in 1988. The late Lynn Laitman, who served as a city representative, member of the Board of Finance, and civic leader for causes such as affordable housing and school desegregation, tried and failed in 1981 and again in 1983. Goldstein, though, felt she had a shot in 1991. Dannel Malloy, who would go on to become Stamfords longest-serving mayor and a two-term Connecticut governor, was her campaign manager. I knew Lynn and Pobie. They were both so qualified, but they couldnt get past the primary, Goldstein said of her fellow Democrats. I had a primary, and I won in a landslide. In the general election I raised and spent more than anybody until that time $150,000. And it didnt matter. In a city dominated by Democrats, she lost to a Republican, Stanley Esposito. A womans place Goldstein said ethnic groups dominant in city politics at the time were very male-dominated. Many believed a womans place was in the home, she said. She had two other strikes against her, Goldstein said. Shes a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., not Stamford, and shes Jewish. Stamfords 1991 race for mayor was very close, but no cigar, Goldstein said. After I lost, I knew I could never run again because I couldnt change my sex or my religion, and I felt both those things played into my defeat. She believed, though, that a woman would become mayor within a few years. It didnt happen. Will to run Not many other women were actively engaged in wanting to run, Goldstein said. Two women were particularly deserving, she said: fellow Democrats Carmen Domonkos, who served 13 years on the Board of Representatives, including six as president; and Mary Lou Rinaldi, who has spent decades as a member of the Board of Representatives and Board of Finance, including terms as president of the first and chairwoman of the second. Rinaldi still serves on the finance board. Domonkos said she and many women worked hard on Goldsteins mayoral campaign. It was not a foregone conclusion that women could run, Domonkos said. There was always a consciousness of what a woman needs to do to win. I dont think we found the answer. Domonkos whose challenger in her bid for Board of Representatives president was David Martin, now in his second term as mayor said she never developed a desire to run for the citys top elected post. I saw Sandy work so hard, and so many women worked really hard to support her. It was like Hillary Clinton running for president in 2016 we just couldnt believe Sandy lost, Domonkos said. After you put all that effort in and lose, its really dispiriting. Over before it begins Its difficult to say why no woman has given it a try since Goldstein, Domonkos said. Political leadership in the city has been pretty male-dominated, she said. It may be that theres a kind of role-playing that still goes on, she said. Its strange. Having a woman run is not discussed. The partys selection system has become closed, Rinaldi said. I wanted to run when (Martin) was running for the first time in 2013, but the nomination was pretty much sewn up by February, even though the party usually does endorsements in June or July, Rinaldi said. The late Bill Callion, who if he had been successful would have been the citys first black mayor, also was interested in running that year, Rinaldi said. Bill and I were just out of the process. It had already been worked out (Martin) had all the party votes, Rinaldi said. It was a little odd that it was all sewn up so early. But Josh Fedeli, who was a member of the Democratic City Committee at the time, and now is chairman, said selection of the mayoral nominee for the 2013 election was the most inclusive hes seen. The process began over a year prior to the election, with a straw poll done for the first time ever, Fedeli said. The poll included close to a dozen candidates who indicated their desire to run and measure their political support. Candidate interviews and the poll produced a clear picture of the candidates with the most support, Fedeli said. All candidates, regardless of gender, race or demographic, were included in the process. He pointed out that for years the DCC was chaired by a woman. The late Ellen Camhi ran the party from 1983 to 2011. Ellen was an extremely powerful voice in politics, not just in Stamford, but in the state and the country. She was a consistent voice for women candidates, he said. Half the DCC members now are women, he said, and we welcome any candidate who would like to run and serve the city. Rinaldi said shes not sure that women get a fair shot. There are many gifted women who could do an excellent job in these offices, she said. But the race is over before the gate is open. Goldstein, who for 26 years has been president of the Downtown Special Services District, which transformed the citys core, said real changes for women began only in the last decade, and the country has a long way to go. The Center for American Women and Politics reports that, even though women make up more than half the U.S. population, they occupy about a quarter of elected offices. Despite the strides of the 2018 election, for example, women now fill nine of 50 governors seats. Change would be good, Goldstein said. I guess I was a little before my time, she said. I couldnt break through the mindset. acarella@stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2296. FAIRFIELD Republican legislators know they dont have the votes to kill a proposed toll system, so theyre hoping to get residents to help fuel the anti-toll movement. If a meeting in Fairfield on Thursday night is any indication, the road to tolls is going to be an uphill climb for Connecticut lawmakers. The information session was organized by Republican legislators, and while it was presented as a non-partisan discussion, the content was decidedly anti-toll. All of the panelists opposed the idea of adding toll gantries to the states highways. Under a plan unveiled by Gov. Ned Lamont Wednesday, Connecticut would add 53 toll locations on Interstates 84, 91, and 95, and Merritt and Wilbur Cross parkways. Organizers of the meeting characterized tolls as crippling for the trucking industry, and as burdensome to Connecticut residents, who they say will feel the economic brunt of the system by having to pay the premium of higher-cost delivery while also paying the tolls themselves. State Rep. Laura Devlin, R-Fairfield, said right now is not the time for tolls. At this point, our state has absolutely no credibility and no trust with the money that weve given so far, she said, describing the toll plan as a money grab. Lamont says his tolling plan would raise $800 million a year and would include at least 30-percent discounts for Connecticut residents, in comparison to out-of-state commuters. But Devlin and other panelists pointed out that the majority of the funds will come from Connecticut residents. She said the original toll proposal presented to the states Transportation Committee a few years ago predicted that Connecticut residents would account for 75 percent of the tolls. When a newer study came out, that number dropped to 60. Lamonts budget proposal on Wednesday reduced that figure to as low as 50 percent. You have a right to be skeptical, Devlin said to the audience of about 40 people. Any way you slice it, Connecticut residents will pay the majority of revenue. And if you add the gas tax to that, its over $1 billion from Connecticut residents alone. The 53 tolling locations proposed by Lamont are considerably lower than the 82 gantries presented in a state DOT study last November. The study itself states it is not intended to be interpreted as a recommended toll system, but rather as a tool for preliminary planning purposes. Nonetheless, a physical copy of the 82-gantry map was displayed right at the entrance to the meeting. Devlin said the map should be taken seriously. There was a lot of rigor and a lot of thoughtfulness that was put into building this map by the consultants the DOT hired, she said. John Lynch, senior vice president of industry affairs for the American Trucking Association, Inc., said tolls are the worst way to raise revenue. It is extremely inefficient, said Lynch, one of the panelists. The state will lose anywhere from 12 to 30 cents on every dollar collected. He was referring to the administrative costs of the toll system, as well as the upkeep of the technology. Lynch said one argument he hears often is that Connecticut is the only state without tolls along the East Coast. You should be proud of that, he said. Panelist Joe Sculley, president of the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut, said the cost of tolls would have a compound effect on residents. Its going to cost the store more to get (goods) there because of (tolls), he said. People are going to pay tolls on the way to the store. Theyre going to pay higher prices at the store because of the tolls that (truckers) paid to get to the store. Lynch added that trucks will seek alternate routes to avoid paying. Your local roads are going to crumble, he said, adding that 80,000-pound tractor-trailers will instead drive on residential streets. You give them a financial incentive to get off the highway and get on the local road, and thats just bad policy. Democratic leaders have shown support for tolls as a way to raise funds to better tackle infrastructure upgrades. Connecticut has 334 bridges rated in poor condition, with nearly a third built prior to 1950. On Metro-North Railroads New Haven Line, the busiest commuter railroad in the country, 76 percent of rail bridges were built before 1940. Devlin and state Sen. Henri Martin, R-Bristol, who both serve on the states Transportation Committee, spent a portion of the meeting presenting a Republican-backed plan called Prioritize Progress to support infrastructure work without the need of tolls. Their solution involves money from three sources: $700 million from the general obligation bond, $750 million from additional special tax bonding for new and ongoing transportation improvements, and another $730 million or so from federal funding. All in all, they say the state could operate with a yearly $2 billion transportation fund to fix roads, bridges and railways. Lamont was clear in his address to the General Assembly on Wednesday that he would not accept a plan built on bonding. We cannot borrow our way out of this mess, he said. Jill Kelly, a Fairfield resident and a Republican, is not opposed to tolls, and said the Prioritize Progress proposal would still not be enough to fund major projects such as the reconstruction of the Hartford Viaduct and the Mixmaster Bridge in Waterbury. Nobody wants tolls, but we do want to pay for our obligations, she told the panelists. This is the impasse I think were in now. Devlin said that for some of those larger projects, the state is getting federal money, but she agreed with Kellys assessment that work needs to be done. No doubt, our infrastructure needs work, she said. Our bridges, our roads are in dire condition. Bill Llewellyn, a Fairfield resident and owner of a small printing company, suggested truckers in the room organize a convoy of trucks to go through residential areas in Westport, Norwalk, and Greenwich. Just give them a feel of what the pain may be, he said. Until people can actually see and feel it, then they might say maybe this is not a good idea. Devlin said she and others will organize more meetings about tolls across the state. ignacio.laguarda@hearstmediact.com BRIDGEPORT - After stealing hundreds of toys meant for children at Christmas time, police said, Infinite Seven offered the goods for sale from a minivan on the citys East Side. I got Legos, I got skate boards, I got brand-new toys that Im trying to sell, police said the Stamford man yelled to passersby. On Thursday afternoon, the 42-year-old Seven, who is charged with third-degree burglary, second-degree larceny, third-degree larceny and criminal trover, was ordered held in lieu of $25,000 bond by a Superior Court judge. On Dec. 1, police were called to the Greater Bridgeport Christian Fellowship on Boston Avenue. The pastor, Eric Torres, told officers someone had broken into a half-dozen storage pods behind the church that contained nearly 1,000 toys that church parishioners had collected for Toys for Tots, that were to go to children in the city. After the theft, more donations were solicited and a Toys for Tots giveaway was held. Police said that after the theft they received reports of a man in a maroon minivan hawking brand-new toys to people in the citys East Side. One man said he had come out of a social hall on Hallet Street and was hailed by a man who pointed out his minivan packed with toys and offered him a deal. Another resident said the van had pulled up to him while he was doing work on the outside of his home. Still other residents told police they had seen the minivan packed with toys outside a local gas station. Police said they approached the owner of the Citgo gas station on Reservoir Avenue who they said admitted buying toys from the van. The gas station owner said Seven had offered him all the toys in the van for $300 but he ended up negotiated him down for $150. He told me the toys werent stolen, police said the gas station owner told them. Re: El Chapo found guilty on all counts, faces life, Feb. 13: El Chapo, a notorious Mexican drug lord recently found guilty in a New York court, earned $14 billion during his career by smuggling up to 200 tons of drugs across the U.S. border. Were told that he did it via an array of yachts, speedboats, long-range fishing boats, airplanes, cargo trains, semi-submersible submarines, tractor-trailers filled with frozen meat and cans of jalapenos and yet another tunnel (hidden under a pool table in Agua Prieta, Mexico.) El Chapos organization must be thrilled beyond words at the presidents insistence on a wall as a supposed deterrent rather than on more effective methods of surveillance, detection and interception. A wall is the go-ahead signal for them: business as usual. Jean Durel Not sad, not ironic Re: Oh, the wall irony, Your Turn, Feb. 18: Unbelievable! This letter claims its sad and ironic that Americans cheered the demise of the Berlin Wall as the communist Soviet Union disintegrated, yet some support a wall on the U.S. southern border. Neither wall has anything to do with the other. To be clear: Communism bad; border security good. Glenn Pollick The color of water In the 60s, my family went shopping at Sears in Corpus Christi. The two water fountains were labeled White and Colored. At that age I thought it meant colored water, so I ran to it, stepped up and started drinking from it. Surprise! It was just plain water, but when mom turned and caught me, she had a fit. When she explained later, I asked what the difference was between that and the ice-water can (with one cup for all of us) that all four kids and the hands working for us drank from every day? In hindsight, I believe it was because Sears was a public place. I am 63 now, and I dont believe my family was or is racist. I pray for all. Ted Jolley The Alamo Colleges Districts plan to provide tuition free community college courses to graduating high school seniors could be a game changer for Bexar County students It could also provide a major boost to the economy of a community where only 33 percent of adults have an associate degree or higher. The program, which has been dubbed the Alamo Promise, has the potential to significantly increase the college-going rate, elevate the education level of the workforce, reduce generational poverty and allow for social mobility among those being held back by income stagnation. READ ALSO: San Antonio ISD's dual credit program gets $1.5 million donation A college education is a great equalizer and plays a major role in leveling the playing field, but the cost of higher education continue to be a major obstacle for many students. Many cash-poor, middle-class families find themselves with few options. Financial aid is readily available for those on the lower rungs of the economic ladder, but many students find they cant qualify based on family income even though they cant scrape together tuition money. Income would not be a factor in qualifying for the free tuition under the Alamo Promise program. Bexar County graduating seniors would receive up to three years or 60 credit hours of free college tuition. Thats the equivalent of an associate degree if a student meets all core curriculum requirements. In addition, students would have to maintain a 2.0 grade point average and complete at least 18 credit hours, about six classes, each academic year, among other requirements. Tuition at the Alamo Colleges runs about $1,200 a semester for a student taking a full course load. By comparison, the cost of tuition and fees at the University of Texas at San Antonio is about $5,000 a semester. The Alamo Colleges District is still working on the funding and is seeking financial support from the private and public sectors. A steering committee has been formed to explore revenue streams. Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff have voiced their support for the program as they well should. A better educated workforce keeps municipal and county government costs down. Gainfully employed residents are less likely to be dependent on government social and medical services or end up in the criminal justice system. The free tuition program merits support at all levels. It is a wise investment in the future of Bexar County. OnExpressNews.com: Alamo Colleges seeks funding to offer San Antonio-area grads free tuition The Alamo Promise program will be phased in over two school years, starting in the fall, and have an estimated annual operating tab of $13 million when it is fully launched. The first phase of the program would include 25 high schools in Bexar County with the lowest-income student populations. It is estimated about 70 percent of the approximately 9,400 seniors in those schools would take advantage of the program. The second phase of the program would launch in the 2020-2021 school year and include the remaining 18 traditional public high schools in Bexar County. The college-going rate varies among Bexar County school districts and ranged from a low of 36 percent at Edgewood ISD to 55 percent at Alamo Heights ISD two years ago. Data collected on 2014 gradates indicate that after graduation, one-third of Bexar County high school seniors headed straight into the workforce into retail and hospitality industry jobs with a median income of about $10,000. They could be doing so much better. Welcome to The Beto Show! Running for president aint no spelling bee. The top job doesnt always go to the smartest person on the ballot. If it did, Adlai Stevenson, Jerry Brown, Al Gore, Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton would have all ended up in the White House. They didnt. Because they couldnt perform. You see, running for president is performance art. And the goal is to capture the publics imagination. Bill Clinton played the saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show. George W. Bush would work a crowd by speaking Spanish and grabbing peoples cellphones to chat up whomever was on the other end of the line. Barack Obama practically changed his official address to Iowa and became a fixture at every picnic, festival and barbecue in the state. A former reality star, President Donald Trump puts on shows nonstop. What Trump promises vs. what Trump delivers takes a back seat to how Trump performs. Its the show that the audience comes to see. This is how things work especially now when so many things compete for our attention. Republican or Democrat, it makes no difference. If you want my vote, put on a show. Robert Francis ORourke a cultural enigma who goes by Beto while trying to woo Latino voters back home in West Texas but went by Robert at prep school and an Ivy League university understands this reality. When Trump visited El Paso recently to push the idea that there is a national emergency on the border, the commander in chief set out to convince people that one of the safest cities in America was actually one of the most dangerous until a border barrier was built. None of that is true. But since his days selling real estate in Manhattan, Trump has never let the truth interfere with a good pitch. The P.T. Barnum of Fifth Avenue used to attempt to convince people that Trump Tower had 10 more floors than it really did. Trump doesnt just sell the steak or the sizzle. He can get by with just selling you the mere thought of a steak. Thats a gift, folks. ORourke knows this gift. At the same time as Trumps border rally, the Enigma put on his own show with a counterprotest. Sensing that the anti-Trump media would devour an alternate narrative, ORourke gave them one. Walls do not save lives, he told supporters. Walls end lives. Hmm. Really? How? The soundbite did not come with an explanation. Still, The Beto Show worked. Just like The Trump Show did. Though Trump probably won on the basis of crowd size, ORourke who says hell soon announce whether hes running for president in 2020 got an ego boost when the president called attention to the counterprotest in his remarks. Im a little surprised that ORourke figured out this game. Watch him speak, and youll see that this guy is never going to make the honor roll. In January, when the former congressman was asked about immigration by the Washington Post, he treated the topic as if it were advanced calculus. Asked what we should do about visa overstays, ORourke said: I dont know. Right. Because growing up in El Paso and representing it for six years in Congress, when would a guy have a chance to think about immigration? ORourke meandered his way through an answer before declaring that the issue is something that we should be debating. This is his standard line with the thorniest subjects: Let Americans argue and figure it out, and theyll eventually do the right thing. Imagine if John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson did that same thing with civil rights. The Enigma actually seems to consider this outsourcing of leadership to be an enlightened approach instead of what it is: a cowardly one. When asked by the Post why he doesnt have firm stances, ORourke said: The genius is we can nonviolently resolve our differences, though I wont get to my version of perfect or I, working with you, will get to something better than what we have today. Funny. If theres one word I dont associate with ORourke, its genius. ruben@rubennavarrette.com A few weeks after former San Antonio mayor and former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro announced his candidacy for president, the Democrat spoke with Religion News Service in January to discuss how his Catholicism intersects with his family, his heritage and his politics. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. When you made your official announcement for president, you did it in Plaza Guadalupe, across from our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church and you mentioned your baptism. What about that image is important to you? I had my announcement at the heart of the west side of San Antonio, where I grew up. The Our Lady of Guadalupe Church was really where my story started on the west side of the city, because I was baptized there, I grew up not far from there and went to school close to there. I wanted my announcement to present to the American people who I am, and my family and I had been Catholic for generations. I cant say that I go to church as much as Id like, but I grew up Catholic, got married in the Catholic Church. My children have been baptized in the Catholic Church and my son currently goes to a Catholic learning center that my daughter previously went to. So its been a part of our lives. How do you remember your faith as a part of your childhood and your rearing? I grew up going to church, sometimes more often than in other times in my life. I went to one year of Catholic school. I grew up with a grandmother who used to go to church and wear a veil like women would a couple of generations ago. And I grew up with religious imagery all around. When I spoke at the DNC a few years ago, I talked about when my brother and I would leave the house to go to school in the morning, my grandmother would say, Que Dios los bendiga. May God bless you. So the Catholic faith has never been far from my life. At the same time, I dont want to give people the impression that I go to Mass every Sunday, but it is a part of who I am, for sure. You often mention your grandmother, who came to the United States as an orphan immigrant. Does it speak to the intermingling of a Mexican-American identity and a Catholic identity? The Catholic Church, in many ways, was a refuge for a generation of Mexican immigrants who came to places like Texas and lived a tough life. Certainly my grandmother grew up in a lower-income household and they struggled with a lot. For women and for people of color, those are very difficult times. And the Catholic Church provided a sense of place and belonging and also a hope a faith that things would get better. My mother went to 13 straight years well actually, more than that I guess 16 straight years of Catholic school because she went through 12 and then she went to a Catholic University, Our Lady of the Lake University. But to me, what has always attracted me to the Catholic faith is the social justice aspect of it, and the vision that I articulated for the country (in my announcement speech) very much is in keeping with the social justice component of the Catholic faith, of caring for the poor, of understanding that everybody counts in our society, of trying to do what all of us can to sacrifice together so that we can lift everybody up. So in that way, I think it was fitting to be there right next to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Youve vocally opposed President Trumps proposed border wall and his family separation policy, all while calling for the protection of Dreamers. Do you also find resonance in the Catholic faith for your positions regarding the border? Oh, absolutely. In the Catholic faith and many other faiths and even people who do not subscribe to a faith Ive always seen a common denominator of Im treating everyone humanely. And theres no better example of where weve gone astray than the family separation policy that this administration ramped up last year or over the last couple of years. So Ive been pleased to hear Pope Francis speak out against those kinds of policies. His is an important voice, just like I know that other religious leaders, faith leaders, have spoken out. Im glad to see that. Ill answer a question you havent asked: Obviously the issue of religion and politics is one that over the last 40 years has been principally dominated by the right, and Im not quite sure why that is. But there are a lot of people of faith on the left as well, many of whom Ive met over the years. My mother at one time was a part of that Network, the Catholic social justice lobbying group. You have supported same-sex marriage and abortion rights. How do you reconcile that with your faith? I separate any one faith or belief system from the responsibility that one has in public service to represent everyone. I recognize that I do have those disagreements (with the pope), but I also recognize that if Im president of the United States I need to serve everybody in the country. And I also have just a personal belief in support of members of the LGBTQ community I believe in their equality and also support a womans right to choose. I believe that those things are sound public policy. In an address at the American Academy of Religion Conference shortly after Trump was elected, you called on religious academics and faith leaders to show light during his administration. Do you think faith groups have done that? They always do. Especially now, when I believe we have an administration that has taken us in the wrong direction in terms of how people should be treated and violated the tenets of many faiths. But people of faith always have a role, and always should play an important role in helping to shape the future of our country. What are the challenges that we have ahead? What we have now, what well have in years to come, is to forge a common sense of purpose in this country. And I believe that that common sense of purpose should be to lift up every single human being by investing in their education, invest in their health care, investing in their ability to retire and respecting everyone. And people of faith are preaching that and practicing that all the time. Finally, is there anything you think people miss in discussions of religion and politics? I think there is a tendency to associate faith with only the right, with only conservatives in the press and media and that couldnt be further from the truth. Except for, of course, folks who write about religion and cover that more in depth. But I mean, just in the mainstream media, theres a tendency to identify faith with conservatives, and there are many progressives who are also people of faith that I wish that more attention were spent on, on how they see the world as well. Jack Jenkins is a national reporter for Religion News Service. AUSTIN Almost every month, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announces hes used a deal-closing fund to entice a new company to Texas, bringing with it the promise of hundreds, even thousands, of jobs. But the deals dont always live up to the hype. Private companies have been able to quietly renegotiate the terms later, delaying hiring deadlines or counting jobs at subsidiaries toward their goals, according to a new study of the Texas Enterprise Fund. The changes go unannounced, meaning companies can dial back their commitments with little public scrutiny, said the studys co-author Nathan Jensen, a government professor at the University of Texas at Austin who shared public records he had gathered about the fund with Hearst Newspapers. Theres something concerning just about the fact these arent transparent, he said. If we want to make decisions about these incentives, we want to know theres not any bait-and-switch going on. The findings come as Abbott is asking lawmakers to replenish the Texas Enterprise Fund among the largest of its kind in the county to $150 million in the next two-year state budget. While Abbott has taken steps to strengthen oversight of the fund, he has also continued the practice of renegotiating awards, the public records show. There have been at least 20 such amendments since he took office in 2015, including six last year. Details about the changes, however, are limited. Unlike some other states and the city of Austin that post the corporate incentive contracts and amendments online, the governors office does not. Whats more, the study said several companies have challenged the release of those documents, delaying their disclosure or potentially blocking it. Texas Take: Get the latest news on Texas politics sent directly to your inbox every weekday A debate is raging nationwide over economic incentive programs, particularly after Amazon's recent decision to halt a new headquarters in New York amid protest over the government's promise of $2.8 billion in incentives. At least 27 states have adopted plans to regularly evaluate their tax incentive programs, according to the The Pew Charitable Trusts, which tracks it. Texas approved its own review process in 2015, a year after a scathing audit found the Texas Enterprise Fund under Gov. Rick Perrys leadership had given out millions of dollars to businesses that never formally applied. The Economic Incentive Oversight Board summed up its findings about the enterprise fund in a few paragraphs. By the boards assessment, the program is a high value incentive with an efficient application process and adequate procedures to penalize companies that fail to meet goals. The two recommendations included reducing timelines to decide on an award and working more closely with local partners on compliance. Adam Millsap, Assistant Director of the Hilton Center at Florida State University, reviewed the report and called it pretty sparse because he said it lacked data or any audit of the jobs created. By comparison, a recent 90-page review in Florida surveyed businesses about the incentive programs and analyzed jobs and wage growth that resulted. Board member Adriana Cruz, President of the Greater San Marcos Partnership, said the groups task wasnt to do an economic impact study, but rather review whether the process is working. We felt the process is in a good place, she said. Abbott has collected $3.8M in payments, penalties The enterprise fund was formed in 2003 to entice companies considering a new project to come to Texas. In exchange for a financial incentive, the companies commit to invest capital and create a certain numbers of jobs that pay above-average wages in the counties to which they expand. The deals are in addition to any tax incentives offered by local governments where the firms place their plants and offices. Both Perry and Abbott have touted the fund as a key tool for spurring job growth in Texas. The governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker must sign off on an award, though its not clear whether all three have a say in amendments. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and former House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, did not return a request for comment. The majority of amendments reviewed in the study most completed during Perrys time in office made it easier for companies to meet their targets, Jensen said. Some changes were negotiated right before a business faced a potential clawback that could have forced them to give Texas a refund, he said. Companies that lowered their hiring targets also received a reduction in their award, but the cuts werent always proportional, the study found. Since taking office in 2015, Abbott has reformed the awards process, giving money to companies once theyve met targets, not from the start. During his first term, Abbott inked over 30 agreements, records show, but just four of the companies have received funds to date. One of them also had to pay a clawback. Corrigan OSB, L.L.C. given a third of its $1.1 million award so far to create 165 manufacturing jobs in Polk County was forced to pay a clawback of $101,625. The company, which doesnt have any contract amendment, said unforeseen construction and regulatory delays had postponed the start-up of its new facility. In total, Abbotts office has collected over $3.8 million in penalties and termination payments since 2017, according to a recent report. For subscribers: Gov. Abbott answers Speaker Straus concerns over enterprise fund Under Governor Abbotts leadership, the Texas Enterprise Fund has been revamped to include additional transparency and protection for the taxpayers, Abbott spokesman John Wittman said in a statement, adding that Abbott has made changes strengthening contracts, and requiring companies to meet their job targets each year prior to receiving their annual disbursement. Dale Craymer, President of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, said awards by the Texas Enterprise Fund have become more scrutinized, almost too much so. I think we need to assess whether weve gone overboard, he said. The annual reporting requirements are very, very labor intensive. Extending deadlines, redefining job creation Details for all contract amendments are not publicly available, but records show Abbott has allowed some companies to renegotiate their awards. Athenahealth awarded $5 million in 2014 to create 607 jobs delayed a hiring deadline by three months, records show. The company also had to pay a clawback of $22,570, though it is unclear whether its related to that change. Hanger, Inc. and Flexsteel Pipeline Technologies awarded a combined $2.1 million to create over 300 new jobs negotiated amendments to count jobs created at subsidiaries and affiliates toward its hiring targets, the records show. The governors office didnt answer specific questions about the amendments. But Wittman said before the governors office will consider a negotiation, companies must comply with the agreement for at least one year and pay any penalties they owe. If companies want to amend their award, the jobs created must be located at the project facility, he said. Flexsteel and Athenahealth didnt respond to a request for comment. Hanger, Inc. didnt answer specific questions about how jobs were split among subsidiaries, but said the project was successfully completed in 2017 with verification from the governors office. Still, Jensen, who is broadly critical of economic incentives, called amendments to count employees at affiliates problematic. It makes it really easy for you to comply, especially if youre a big company with lots of operations, Jensen said. In one example the study highlights, Comerica won a $3.5 million award to move its headquarters to Dallas and create 200 jobs in financial services. The company later renegotiated its award in 2012 to count jobs created with subsidiaries and 15 executive officers who would relocate to Texas, making it easier to meet average wage requirements, the study said. In a statement, Comerica didnt address the amendment, but said it had met commitments outlined in the agreement. Business groups say renegotiation is needed in cases where changing economic conditions or unforeseen events, such a natural disaster, affect a companys plans for growth. Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. awarded $1.2 million to create 300 jobs requested a two-year delay in its hiring schedule in 2013 due to unforeseen circumstances that ultimately delayed the project, a spokeswoman said. The company received its full award last July. The goal of this project was to create jobs and that remained Continentals intention, the spokeswoman said in a statement. amorris@express-news.net Benjamin Bogard of New Braunfels allegedly created disturbing videos in which he embraced white supremacy, said he wanted to kill minorities and discussed obtaining a chemical substance to make a bomb. FBI agents contend he could have been this countrys next mass shooter or bomber had they not stepped in and arrested him earlier this month on a child pornography charge over images that were found in his cell phone. But the 20-year-old former Texas State University student claims he never intended to follow through with the mass violence he allegedly discussed on his social media posts and that they were simply part of an online fantasy to gain attention and likes from followers. On Express-News.com: Scooter company has two executives running for City Council Bogard could be out of jail early next week after a federal judge late Thursday ordered him released to home detention in the custody of his parents. U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Bemporad denied a request from the FBI and federal prosecutors to keep Bogard locked up without bond as a danger to the community. The judge granting him unsecured bail of $75,000 but ordered a raft of restrictions including no Internet access, mental health treatment, electronic monitoring, among other conditions that will reasonably assure the safety of the community. The judge then stayed his order until Monday as preparations are made at Bogards parents home for his release. Prosecutors are mulling an appeal that could block the release. Bogard, the son of an Air Force veteran, came to the attention of the FBI in early November after someone contacted Crime Stoppers in Albany, New York, to alert authorities to disturbing posts on an Instagram account and other social media, FBI counterterrorism agents testified at Bogards bond hearing Thursday. Special agent Kristina Spindel said the tipster provided screenshots to the Instagram posts and the account appeared to belong to a member of the neo-Nazi group, Atomwaffen Division in part because he was doing salutes to Adolf Hitler and wearing a mask of a skull that covered half his face. In one post on the Instagram account, the user is seen shooting a shotgun in a wooded area with the mask. The Instagram user appeared to live in a van and be nomadic, according to information the tipster provided, the agent said. The (tipster) expressed concern this individual was planning a bombing or other terrorist attack, Spindel testified. Other posts linked to the Instagram account to other social media posts and they expressed suicidal ideations, remorse for dropping out of college and a statement that he no longer wanted to shoot up a school, along with a story of where to buy a precursor for explosives, Spindel said. A Twitter user later linked to Bogard also responded in a discussion over firearm parts that his favorite is the part that kills 30 babies per trigger pull, Spindel testified. Agents traced the Instagram account to Bogard in Texas, and when they questioned him about the posts, he acknowledged making them and owning the other social media accounts. Benjamin explained this was all an online persona and he had no intent to do mass violence, Spindel testified. Spindel and agent Russel Doran testified that Bogard agreed to turn over his cell phone, and after analyzing its contents, agents found a trove of other videos, online chats with others and postings on other social media accounts that made the agents even more concerned. In Bogards Internet browsing history, another counterterrorrism agent testified, investigators found searches for buildings to bomb phrase; for Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who shot and killed nine African American worshipers at a church in South Carolina in 2015; and for how to build a gun, among others. Several photos of Roof were saved on Bogards cell phone. The videos described by the Crime Stoppers tipster were also found, along with a homemade video of Bogard burning a document he claimed was the constitution ; chats with someone else in which Bogard talked about buying a new gun, ammunition and going ham on the state capitol, according to one agent. One video also showed him racking the shotgun and talking about shooting minorities whom he made derogatory comments about, according to the agents. The agent also said the phone contained numerous videos of violence and gore, including hangings, beheadings and summary executions in the Middle East. Bogards father told the agents his son was majoring in two engineering specialties at Texas State, but dropped out as the fall 2018 semester began. In October, Bogards parents reported him missing to police and hired a private investigator to track him down. He had traveled to Dallas to buy a van and a shotgun the one he was seen shooting on the Instagram video. His father turned it over to agents, testimony showed. One video posted to Snapchat showed Bogard discussing how to live in a van. Eventually, Bogard returned home after the PI located him. Bogard was not charged for any of his posts or for the violence-related videos. He is charged with receipt and possession of child pornography for items in his phone that included an 18-second clip of a man performing a graphic sexual act with a young girl. Bogards lawyer, Michael Morris, downplayed the posts and videos, noting that Bogard allegedly made nonsensical statements allegiance to Hitler while at the same time praising Allah. He argued that his client was simply an edgelord, someone who acts edgy, risque, offensive or shocking to gain attention and likes. And Morris said his client never followed through on any of the violent rhetoric. Morris urged the judge to set a bond. He argued that his client has no criminal record and that none of the postings or acts other than the child porn images found in his phone was a crime. Bogards father, Air Force veteran Robbie Bogard, surmised that some of his sons behavior might be a result of Benjamin Bogards belief that he wasnt living up to his parents expectations. For instance, Robbie Bogard testified, he and his wife had told their son that he could live in their home so long as he had a job or was going to college. When the younger Bogard stopped doing both, he disappeared for that short period in October. But Robbie Bogard said his son, an Eagle Scout, lately wanted to join the Air Force, and that he knows Benjamin is not violent because he had told him that he didnt want a job where he would have to kill people. Hes a good kid, a good son, has always done well in school, Robbie Bogard, testified. Thats the Benjamin I know. The Benjamin here, we heard edge(lord), thats what Im seeing from what I heard today. We always knew there was a secretive side to him, the elder Bogard added. We didnt know all that that involved. Robbie Bogard said he and his wife would see to it that their son get counseling and mental health treatment if released. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Thompson argued that Benjamin Bogard could get treatment behind bars and urged the judge to keep him detained. Thompson said his posts show threats of violence against every minority I can think of, adding that it goes beyond disturbing. He can say, Its not me, its only an online fantasy, but its his reality, Thompson told the judge. The hateful propaganda that hes putting out there is disturbing. Thompson added that the younger Bogard had a fascination and admiration for Roof, and Bogards actions including buying a van and shotgun appeared to be a buildup for mass violence. He said he wanted the attention, Thompson argued. Thats why people go shoot up churches, to get attention. Guillermo Contreras covers federal courts in San Antonio and international legal issues. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | gcontreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland San Antonio municipal elections are nonpartisan affairs, so we wont see any council candidates running this year as Democrats or Republicans. But we will have a slate running on the Blue Duck ticket. Two young executives with Blue Duck Scooters, the San Antonio-based startup competing in the hyper-competitive electric scooter market, are simultaneously campaigning for City Council seats. Trevor Whitney, Blue Ducks regional director of government relations, is challenging District 7 incumbent Ana Sandoval. Farooq FH Malik, the companys chief strategy officer, is hoping to unseat Shirley Gonzales in District 5. Both of these Blue Duck reps filed to run last Friday, the day after the City Council tightened up e-scooter regulations in the city for the remainder of a six-month pilot program which ends April 19. In the coming months, the council will grapple with how best to manage the e-scooter phenomenon, which either is a transportation godsend or an obnoxious safety menace, depending on which side of the handlebar youre on. Seven companies and more than 14,000 e-scooters currently are permitted in San Antonio, and the council could decide to scale back both those numbers after the expiration of the pilot program. Whitney, 33, is a San Antonio native who attended MacArthur High School. He subsequently served four years in the Marine Corps, including an eight-month stint in Iraq in 2006. Malik is a former investment officer at the North American Development Bank. He has two bachelors degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and a masters in Economics from the University of London. He didnt respond to an interview request for this column. Whitney said both he and Malik want to see the council move in a more business friendly direction, but added theyre not necessarily running to impact city policies on e-scooters. Mr. Malik and I are friends. We do both have roles with Blue Duck Scooters, Whitney said. But its not a coordinated thing. I think both of us share some of the concerns about actual leadership in the city and actually asking questions. A lot of these things go through council that should be controversial, that should be talked through and fought through, but theyre not. Theyre simply passed without any questions. In particular, Whitney has criticized the councils 2018 passage of a mandated paid sick leave ordinance, saying it not only was an example of municipal overreach but also a wasted effort, because council members knew the measure likely would be struck down either by the court system or the state Legislature. He also faulted city leaders for allowing contract negotiations with the firefighters union to break down for four years. Whitney has proposed the city slash 1 percent (approximately $5 million) of its nonpublic-safety general fund budget and allow the public to decide (possibly by referendum) how that money should be re-appropriated. Whitney also advocates a homestead exemption for all military veterans in San Antonio. Whitney spent nearly two years as a budget analyst for the Texas Legislative Budget Board and served last year as a public information officer for the city of San Antonio. He said he left the city job with the intention of focusing on his own public relations firm, but then got an offer from Blue Duck. Blue Duck, which has its headquarters based at the Pearl, has taken a slow and steady business approach, gauging market interest by watching the response to bigger companies such as Bird and Lime. It also has tried to stake a claim for its scooters as the safest on the market. In a recent interview on the San Antonio Express-News Puro Politics podcast, Blue Duck rep Casey Whittington said his company is committed to safety and some of these other companies might be just more committed to market share or space on the corner. Blue Duck is permitted for only 100 e-scooters in San Antonio, but Whitney said the company hopes to expand to 15 cities by the end of this year. If Whitney and Malik filed to run for the City Council because they want to bolster the e-scooter industry in San Antonio, their opponents make for curious targets. Both Sandoval and Gonzales have been supportive of e-scooters and Gonzales is such a proponent of the industry that she cast last weeks lone council vote against the new regulations, because she considered them too restrictive. Besides, Blue Duck reps have been highly amenable to regulations of their industry, most likely because they view the safety issue as one thats beneficial to their cause. Blue Ducks bigger concern would have to be the possibility of a council push later this year to reduce the number of permitted e-scooter operators in San Antonio and the question of whether Blue Duck would make the final cut. Whitney and Malik could be valuable advocates for the company at City Hall. Whitney insisted, however, that if elected, he will leave Blue Duck for the duration of his council tenure. When asked to explain what motivated him to run, Whitney said its only natural that individuals involved in a cutting-edge business would feel the pull of politics. Our company is in a disruptive kind of industry that is completely trying to revolutionize how we look at transportation, he said. So naturally the people who are attracted to work here also feel that we should completely revolutionize the way we look at how government works. I think we share that in common. Whitney added: I think both of us are just in that younger generation thats emerging. Sitting by and kind of being disappointed isnt enough. We have to step in and take hold of it. Nothings going to change if we dont change it. Gilbert Garcia is a columnist covering the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470 Express-News file photo A San Antonio man who confessed to being a serial killer has been sentenced to two life terms in the rape and strangulation deaths of five women, ranging in age from 15 to 46. Johnny Joe Avalos, 32, pleaded guilty to two counts of capital murder. Four charter operators have asked the Texas Education Agency to let them open new schools in the San Antonio area, with ambitions of enrolling thousands of students within the next five years. Paperwork submitted to the agency during the most recent application period is listed as under review. If approved, the charter networks plan to open in the 2020-21 school year. The applications come as traditional public school districts are increasingly voicing frustration with the growth of charter schools for contributing to their reduced state funding by eating into their enrollment. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio educators brief Cornyn on college counseling grant One network, Flex High School of Texas, or FLEX-TX, will target opportunity youth, a group described as 16-to-24-year-olds who have not graduated from high school, are not in school, and are not working, who it plans to serve with flexible learning, according to its application. Texas First Education Foundation, whose board includes former Edgewood Independent School District superintendent Jimmy Vasquez, is hoping to launch FLEX-TX to expand Learn4Life schools now run by Lifelong Learning Administrative Corporation, or LLAC, in California, Michigan and Ohio. It anticipates enrolling 650 high school students in its first year at two campuses, or Learning Centers, one in San Antonio and another in Austin, with a proposal to ultimately open seven centers in the two cities, with about 600 students at each center. The networks superintendent is Caprice Young, a former Los Angeles School Board president and former CEO of the charter network Magnolia Public Schools. If approved, FLEX-TXs San Antonio center would be located in the South/Central part of the city, according to the application. Prelude Preparatory Inc. has applied to open a kindergarten through eighth grade campus within San Antonio Independent School Districts boundaries, in Zip code 78210 or 78223. An application by Lauren Lewis, a fellow at the Boston-based Building Excellent Schools, which trains aspiring charter school operators, outlined a plan that includes a strong Social and Emotional Learning component, and extended school days. The school anticipates 144 kindergarten and first grade students in its first year starting in August, and growing to more than 600 students in five years as new grades are added each year. On Express-News.com: Reagan senior glad he didn't give up on sport Another Building Excellent Schools fellow, Stephanie Hall Powell, has applied to open San Antonio Preparatory Charter School within Judson ISD for fifth through 12th graders. If approved, the schools education plan includes using a team-teaching model in middle school, and restorative practices to reduce suspensions and improve school culture. Powell, a former teacher and assistant principal at IDEA Public Schools in San Antonio, wrote in the application that the school aims to start with about 170 students and grow to more than 1,300. The Gathering Place, a proposed K-8 charter school, aims to bring together three historically divided neighborhoods and two socioeconomic worlds, with students from Zip codes in North East, San Antonio, Northside and Edgewood ISDs. The application calls for daily arts education, social-emotional learning and a project-based approach. Its founders, Joanna Klekowicz and Ryan York, have worked with charter and public schools in Tennessee and are fellows at San Antonios City Education Partners, according to their application. The school would start with 378 students and growing to 1,458. Prelude, Gathering Place and San Antonio Preps applications list among their financial backers Choose to Succeed, a coalition that invited a cohort of influential charter networks to locate in San Antonio several years ago and helped fund their arrival and expansion. The recent spate of applications also include as backers the Brackenridge Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation and City Education Partners, also prominent in supporting local charter schools. On Express-News.com: Scooter company has two executives running for City Council The new applications, submitted to TEA in its Generation 24 cycle, do not include organizations with existing charters seeking amendments to expand, such as IDEA Public Schools and Great Hearts Texas, which submitted letters to local school districts notifying them of expansion plans. Charter advocates have pointed to the need for more choices for parents, especially those living in neighborhoods served by struggling or low-performing traditional public campuses. Superintendents of the citys two largest traditional school districts, Brian Woods at Northside ISD and Brian Gottardy at North East ISD, last fall called for a community conversation about the impact of charter schools growth. School districts that lose students to charters lose state funding that is based on enrollment, but face fixed expenses for staffing and transportation, creating budget problems and fewer resources for students who remain, they said. In the past week, board members in South San Antonio and Judson ISDs have blamed the growth of charter schools for some of their enrollment and financial woes. Statewide, more than 270,000 students attend 675 charter school campuses, according to the Texas Charter Schools Association. LTeitz@express-news.net Rating: A solid neighborhood option If you lived in San Antonio in your 20s, chances are you spent a good chunk of those formative years shooting pool and downing pitchers of beer at Bombay Bicycle Club near Brackenridge Park. It opened in 1973, back when there were horse stables and riding trails across the street and skyrides zipping over the San Antonio Zoo. The bar is an odd mix of vintage signs and couches with retro booths and modern cocktails. A steady lunch rush of workers in heels and ties and families taking a zoo break gives way to the throngs of 20-somethings you remember in the evening. The world around Bombay may be different, but over almost 50 years, it feels like little has changed inside. But you have, of course. And now that youre all grown up, its time to explore what else the venerable bar has to offer. Best burger: The burgers here all feature a thin beef patty that cooked up firm but not hard, and theyre constructed upside-down, with the lettuce on the bottom topped by a slice of tomato, white onion, pickles and then the patty and cheese just under the top of the toasted sesame bun. The chili cheeseburger ($9.95) is no exception. On ExpressNews.com: 52 Weeks of Burgers: The Lords Kitchen Bombay Bicycle Club Location: 3506 N. St. Mary's St., 210-737-241; online: bombaybicycleclubsa.com Hours: 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Monday-Sunday. Kitchen open 11 a.m.-10 pm Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 pm Sunday. See More Collapse The chili a spicy though otherwise underseasoned example of the Texas classic comes served in a cup on the side, so its up to you how messy to make your burger. We added it all, and the chili heat was the perfect accessory to this burger ensemble. Other burgers: The cheeseburger with American cheese is your basic, classic cheeseburger ($9.50). Its better than it has to be for a place known more for its happy hours and drinks, but thats about where its ambition ends. The jalapeno burger ($9.95) featured a mountain of spicy pickled jalapenos on top of the patty and extra cheese. The snap and spice from the peppers brought definite spark to this burger, and it was a toss-up between this one and the chili cheeseburger for best. The Luxe Veggie Burger ($10.50) features a truly delicious patty with plenty of mushroom and veggie flavor. But then that strong foundation got lost under layers of Swiss cheese, more mushrooms and a mound of raw avocado that left the toppling result unwieldy and too bland. On ExpressNews.com: 52 Weeks of Burgers: Orderup Fried sides: The burgers each come with a choice of fresh-cut fries or chips, or with tater tots for 75 cents more. Save your money and pick the chips. Thick-cut but shatteringly crisp and dusted with chili powder, they were knockouts. The fries were heavy and soggy, but the tater tots were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, just as they should be. Mavericks: A shockingly good chocolate pots de creme is among the dessert options. Thick, rich and not too sweet, this tasty little treasure is one to savor. Another thing to savor is a cocktail from the full bar. The Mango Tito ($8) is a good choice. Served in a martini glass with ice chips floating along the surface, its like a good martini with a nicely tart mango kick. Emily Spicer is the features and food editor for the San Antonio Express-News. Find her Emilys Easy Entertaining column on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com, or read her other coverage on our free site, mySA.com. | espicer@express-news.net | Twitter: @Spiced1 | Instagram: @emilyspicersa Seguin-based heavy-equipment maker Alamo Group said Thursday its acquiring Dutch Power Co., a privately held equipment manufacturer in the Netherlands that last year did about $45 million in sales. Neither company disclosed the purchase price. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter. This is a mature, well-managed company with excellent products that complement Alamos existing line of equipment, Alamo Group CEO Ron Robinson said in a statement. This acquisition enhances our platform growth by increasing both our product portfolio and our capabilities in the European market. Alamo Group has been building its product line of industrial and agricultural equipment, as well as its market reach. In the last two years, the company has bought companies in Canada, Virginia and Brazil, and announced plans for a $15-million facility for its Super Products vacuum trucks operation in Mukwonago, Wisc. Founded in 1969, Alamo Group now employs about 3,440 workers, and, as of Sept. 30, operated 26 plants in North America, Europe, Australia and Brazil. RELATED: Seguin-based Alamo Group buys Canadian snow machine company Its products include truck- and tractor-mounted mowing machines, street sweepers, snow blowers, excavators, vacuum trucks, agricultural equipment and related after-market products and services. Third-quarter results showed record income of $23.5 million on sales of $257.6 million. Company officials attributed the strong earnings to the recovery in agricultural markets and softening of the strong U.S. dollar that had dragged down foreign sales. Shares closed at $93.89 Thursday, up $1.19. Company leaders said purchases of three companies in 2017 Santa Izabel, a Brazil-based agricultural implement and trailer producer; Old Dominion Brush Co., a Richmond, Virginia-based maker of street sweeper replacement brooms and leaf vacuum equipment, and R.P.M. Tech, a Quebec, Canada-based producer of snow removal equipment were expected to strengthen earnings for 2018. RELATED: Bank regulators take action against USAA Bank We continue to actively pursue additional acquisition opportunities that complement our strategic growth initiatives, Robinson said in the companys 2017 annual report. Dutch Power specializes in landscaping machines and attachments under brand names including Herder, Conver, Roberine, Votex and Precision Makers. Its managing director, Peter Mouthaan, will continue in the post after completion of the transaction. Lynn Brezosky is a San Antonio-based staff writer covering trade, agriculture and the economy. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | lbrezosky@express-news.net | Twitter: @lbrezosky Friday, February 22, 2019 The next Albuquerque Death Cafe will be held Sunday, March 24, 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Fifth Floor Lounge at Manzano del Sol Village, 5201 Roma NE, Albuquerque. This is located just south of Lomas Blvd. and just west of San Mateo Blvd. To RSVP, email a note to Gail [at] AGoodGoodbye.com. Lola, the ABQ Death Cafe mascot, with tulips The objective of the Death Cafe is To increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives. Its all about an interesting, unstructured conversation open and free-flowing with no specific agenda. The Death Cafe concept was started in the United Kingdom by Jon Underwood. He was influenced by the ideas of Swiss sociologist Bernard Crettaz, who started holding Cafe Mortel events in France and Switzerland. At these events, people come together in a relaxed, confidential and safe setting to discuss death, drink tea (or your favorite beverage) and eat delicious cake or cookies. Learn more about the Death Cafe movement. Here is the schedule of upcoming Sunday afternoon Albuquerque Death Cafes for 2019. All are scheduled from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Manzano del Sol Village in the Fifth Floor Lounge. Sunday afternoon Death Cafes will be held on April 28; May 19; June 30; July 21; August 25; September 22; October 20; November 24; and December 15, 2019. Join the Albuquerque Death Cafe Meetup group to be kept apprised of upcoming events. Click here to go to the Meetup page. Share this: Welcome to the News Release Wire Selection Control Panel. Instant News Wire CBI Realised Sales Miss Weighs on GBP, Retail Sales Remain Languid While Brexit remains the key driver of Pound Sterling (GBP/) exchange rates for the foreseeable, Fridays release of the latest Confederation of British Industry (CBI) distributive trades survey findings printed a miss and prompting the GBP to drift lower against both the Euro (EUR/) and (USD/$). At the time of writing, the Pound-to-Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate was last seen at 1.1478, down 0.22% for the session and drifting towards the lower bound of the range which has dominated the cross for the majority of the week. The Pound-to-Dollar (GBPUSD) x-rate was last seen at $1.30215, down 0.1% from the session open and threatening a downside break of the weekly range. Despite the recent trimming of gains, the Pound-to-Dollar (GBPUSD) remains on track to break the run of three consecutive weeks of declines with the x-rate currently up over 1% from the weekly open. In contrast to a forecasted rebound into higher sales volume territory, the CBI realised sales index for retail and wholesale trade printed a static 0, indicative of nil change to the volume of sales versus the anticipated rebound to +4 confirming a subdued start to 2019. #CBI survey points to lacklustre #retail sales in February but #retailers surprisingly upbeat about sales prospects for March. Investment intentions in sector weakest for 7 years https://t.co/NLIuNKYpdr via @CBItweets Howard Archer (@HowardArcherUK) February 22, 2019 According to the CBI, the results of the survey indicated a second successive month of no growth in terms of sales at the retail level. Providing supplementary commentary, CBI head of economic intelligence, Anna Leach, noted a sluggish start to the year The High Street has seen a slow start to the year, with year-on-year sales volumes unchanged again this month. Although real earnings growth is higher, consumer confidence has been ebbing away, keeping a lid on demand. Leach went on to add that political uncertainty had curbed investment in the sector with a need for Brexit clarity lest conditions worsen, Retail investment plans have taken a hit this quarter, falling to their weakest since 2012. Until politicians can agree a deal that commands a majority in parliament, is acceptable to the EU and protects our economy, business despair will deepen. A deal must be negotiated, and no-deal averted. Forward looking gauges picked up with sales volumes expected to increase sharply in the year-to-March and growth expectations at their highest levels since October 2015. Despite an optimistic outlook, Leach highlighted the weighing impact of pared investment intentions and declining employment, Conditions for retailers nonetheless remain challenging. Investment intentions for the year ahead deteriorated further, to their weakest since February 2012. Meanwhile, employment in the sector was reported to have fallen in the year to Februarythe ninth consecutive quarterly survey showing a declineand at a quicker pace than reported in November. Employment is expected to continue falling in the year to March. German Economic Growth Stalls and Businesses Turn Pessimistic Following Thursdays mixed purchasing managers index (PMI) releases for the Eurozone, Fridays session saw the early morning final German gross domestic product (GDP, q/q) release print in line with earlier estimates at 0%, representing nil growth. Given market pricing based on the preliminary release, the market impact was muted with the Pound to the Euro rate dipping slightly to 1.1488, down 0.11%. The start of the European session, coinciding with the German Ifo Business Climate release however saw the GBP depreciate further against the single currency with the GBPEUR last seen dipping to 1.1482. Worrying news on #German #economy as #Ifo business confidence index falls for 6th month running in Feb: index down to 98.5, down from 99.3 in January & the lowest since December 2014. Current conditions index down to 103.4 (104.5); business expectations index down to 93.8 (94.3) Howard Archer (@HowardArcherUK) February 22, 2019 From the Destatis GDP release, German economic growth has stalled. Looking back at economic development over the course of 2018, the release noted two distinct short-term phases, there were two different phases of short-term economic development in Germany in 2018. In the first half of 2018, the GDP had increased, by 0.4% in the first quarter and 0.5% in the second quarter. In the third quarter, however, the GDP was down 0.2%. The latest German Ifo business climate figures saw a miss, with the index deteriorating further and printing a 98.5, dropping 0.6 points in contrast to an anticipated 0.1 decline from 99.1 to 99.0 From the release Disquiet is growing among German businesses. The ifo Business Climate Index fell from 101.0 points in December to 99.1 points in January, dropping to its lowest level since February 2016. Companies assessed their current business situation slightly less favourably The release added that business expectations also deteriorated sharply and turned pessimistic for the first time since December 2012. The German economy is experiencing a downturn. According to the release, the indexes for manufacturing, services, trade and construction all registered declines in terms of future expectations with most also registering a decrease in assessments of the current business operating conditions. Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have identified an unexpected contributor to rheumatoid arthritis that may help explain the painful flare-ups associated with the disease. The discovery points to a potential new treatment for the autoimmune disorder and may also allow the use of a simple blood test to detect people at elevated risk for developing the condition. The promising discovery is among the first to emerge from the School of Medicine's new affiliation with Inova Health, a collaboration that aims to make medical breakthroughs and advance the battle against disease. In this case, the arthritis discovery originated in the lab of UVA's Kodi Ravichandran, PhD, and was facilitated by combining his team's resources and expertise with that of Inova researcher Thomas Conrads, PhD, through a THRIV UVA-Inova seed grant. Understanding Rheumatoid Arthritis The new findings about rheumatoid arthritis came in an unexpected fashion. Sanja Arandjelovic, PhD, a research scientist in the Ravichandran group, was seeking to better understand what causes the inflammation associated with inflammatory arthritis when she noted that deleting a gene called ELMO1 alleviated arthritis symptoms in mice. This was particularly surprising because Arandjelovic and Ravichandran initially thought that loss of ELMO1 would result in increased inflammation. "This was a complete surprise to us initially," recalled Ravichandran, chairman of UVA's Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology. "I love those kinds of results, because they tell us that, first, we did not fully comprehend the scientific problem when we began exploring it, and, second, such unexpected results challenge us to think in a different way. Given that rheumatoid arthritis affects millions of people worldwide, we felt the need to understand this observation better." Digging deeper into the unusual outcome, the researchers determined that ELMO1 promotes inflammation via their function in white blood cells called neutrophils. Ravichandran described neutrophils as the body's "first line of defense" because they sense and respond to potential threats. "Normally they are good for us, against many bacterial infections," he said. "But also there are many times when they produce a lot of friendly fire that is quite damaging to the tissues - when they hang around too long or there are too many neutrophils coming in - in this case, infiltrating into the joints during arthritis." The researchers also discovered that there is a natural variation in the ELMO1 gene that can prompt neutrophils to become more mobile and have the potential to invade the joints in greater numbers and induce inflammation. (The potential blood test would detect this variation.) Here things take a particularly cool turn: Normally, doctors are reluctant to try to block the effect of genes like ELMO1 in people, because such genes can play diverse roles in the body. But Ravichandran believes that ELMO1 is different. "ELMO1 partners with very specific set of proteins only in the neutrophils but not in other cells types we tested," he said. "So, presumably, you may be able to affect only a select cell type." This latter result came about from a collaborative study where Conrads' group at Inova performed sophisticated analysis of ELMO1 proteomic partners in neutrophils, many of which also have previously known links to human arthritis. This provided further validation for the role of ELMO1 in rheumatoid arthritis. Encouragingly, blocking ELMO1 in lab mice alleviated arthritis inflammation without causing other problems, Ravichandran noted. His laboratory is now seeking to identify drugs that could inhibit the function of ELMO1 and is also designing a test for the variation (also called polymorphism) in the ELMO1 gene. "This is another example of how fundamental basic research can lead to novel discoveries on clinically relevant problems that affect a large number of people," Ravichandran said. ### Rheumatoid Arthritis Findings Published The researchers have published their findings in the scientific journal Nature Immunology. The research team consisted of Arandjelovic, Justin S.A. Perry, Christopher D. Lucas, Kristen K. Penberthy, Tae-Hyoun Kim, Ming Zhou, Dorian A. Rosen, Tzu-Ying Chuang, Alexandra M. Bettina, Laura S. Shankman, Amanda H. Cohen, Alban Gaultier, Conrads, Minsoo Kim, Michael R. Elliott and Ravichandran. The work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R35GM122542, MH096484, P01HL120840, HD07498 and AI114554; the Center for Cell Clearance at the UVA School of Medicine; the THRIV UVA-Inova seed grant; Mark Foundation Fellowship through the Cancer Research Institute; and the Odysseus Award from FWO, Belgium. Additional support was provided by the Philip S. Magaram Esq. Research Award from the Arthritis Foundation. An international team of scientists and conservationists has announced the finding of what many consider to be the 'holy grail' of bee discoveries - Wallace's giant bee. The bee (Megachile pluto) is the world's largest, with a wingspan more than six centimetres (2.5 inches). Despite its conspicuous size, the bee has been lost to science since 1981. In January, a search team that set out to find and photograph Wallace's giant bee successfully rediscovered the species in the North Moluccas, an island group in Indonesia. The find resurrects hope that more of the region's forests still harbour this very rare species. The discovery was announced today. A member of the team, Honorary Professor Simon Robson from the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney, said: "Amid such a well-documented global decline in insect diversity it's wonderful to discover that this iconic species is still hanging on." Dr Robson and Dr Glen Chilton, an honorary professor at Saint Mary's University in Canada, joined with Eli Wyman from Princeton University and Clay Bolt, a conservation photographer from Montana, to successfully rediscover this bee. The team was supported by Global Wildlife Conservation, an Austin, Texas, based organisation that runs a Search for Lost Species program. "It was absolutely breathtaking to see this 'flying bulldog' of an insect that we weren't sure existed anymore," said Clay Bolt, a natural history photographer specialising in bees, who took the first photos and video of the species alive after spending years researching the right habitat with collaborator and team member, Eli Wyman from Princeton University. "To see how beautiful and big the species is in real life, to hear the sound of its giant wings thrumming as it flew past my head, was just incredible. My dream is to now use this rediscovery to elevate this bee to a symbol of conservation in this part of Indonesia." The female giant bee makes her nest in active arboreal termite mounds, using her large mandibles to collect sticky tree resin to line the nest and protect it from invading termites. In hot and humid conditions, and sometimes during torrential downpours, the team observed dozens of termite mounds over the course of the search. It wasn't until the last day of a five-day stop in an area of interest that the team found a single female Wallace's giant bee living in an arboreal termites' nest in a tree about 2.5 metres off the ground. The bee is named after Alfred Russel Wallace, the co-discoverer alongside Charles Darwin of the theory of evolution through natural selection. Wallace, a British entomologist, discovered the giant bee exploring the Indonesian island of Bacan. He described the female bee, which is about the length a human thumb, as "a large black wasp-like insect, with immense jaws like a stag-beetle". The bee wasn't seen again until 1981, when entomologist Adam Messer rediscovered it on three Indonesian islands and was able to observe some of its behaviour, including how it uses its mandibles to gather resin and wood for its nests. Since then, other teams have looked for the bee, with no luck. "Messer's rediscovery gave us some insight, but we still know next to nothing about this extraordinary insect," said Mr Wyman. "I hope this rediscovery will spark research that will give us a deeper understanding of this unique bee and inform any future efforts to protect it from extinction." Although little is known about the bee, the species depends on primary lowland forest for resin and the nests of tree-dwelling termites, Mr Bolt said. In Indonesia, forest destruction for agriculture, however, threatens the habitat for this species and many others. Between 2001 and 2017, Indonesia lost 15 percent of its tree cover, according to Global Forest Watch. The team has already started conversations with Indonesian collaborators to look for Wallace's giant bee in other locations - with the hope of eventually working together to develop a plan to strengthen conservation measures for the bee. A documentary film, In Search of the Giant Bee is now being produced by Vanessa Dylyn of Matter of Fact Media, in association with Glen Chilton. ### View a video about the discovery at this link Photos and video: Wallace's Giant Bee, lost to science since 1981, is the world's largest bee. (Photo by Clay Bolt) Download photos and video Honorary Professor Simon Robson from the School of Life and Environmental Sciences also holds an adjunct professorial position with CQUniversity. Media enquiries University of Sydney: Media adviser: Marcus Strom marcus.strom@sydney.edu.au +61 423 982 485 Honorary Professor Simon Robson +61 411 160 805 CQUniversity: Jocelyn Sticklen j.sticklen@cqu.edu.au +61 418 212 763 Global Wildlife Conservation: Lindsay Renick Mayer lrenickmayer@globalwildlife.org +1 202 422 4671 WASHINGTON--CEO Update has selected Endocrine Society CEO Barbara Byrd Keenan, FASAE, CAE, as its Professional Society CEO of the Year. CEO Update, the publication that covers the association sector, announced the winners of its Association Leadership Awards Tuesday. The awards shine a spotlight on executives who exemplify best practices in association leadership. Keenan has led the Society through the process of developing and implementing a new strategic plan, expanding global leadership in education and advocacy, and repositioning its suite of publications to raise visibility. Under her leadership, the Society has won 15 awards for education, program development, communications, and diversity. "Barbara's vision has been instrumental in promoting the Society and guiding our recent strategic plan," said Society President Susan J. Mandel, M.D., M.P.H. "Her innovative thinking has led to identifying new opportunities to serve our members, who are endocrine researchers and clinicians around the world." Keenan has found new ways for the organization to promote public health, including as a member of the Diabetes Disaster Response Coalition, the diabetes community's hurricane relief organization launched by the American Diabetes Association, JDRF and Insulin for Life in August 2017. The coalition members banded together to provide critical diabetes supplies to regions affected by numerous storms, including Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Keenan rallied the staff to raise money for Insulin for Life, a key supplier, and answer calls to a hotline to identify needs in affected areas. The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) recognized the coalition with its top honor, the Summit Power of A Award. The Association Leadership Awards recognized Keenan for her innovative and ingenious leadership, as well as the ways the Society's work is making a difference. She and the other winners will be recognized at an award luncheon in October. "I'm truly honored to be recognized by the Association Leadership Awards," Keenan said. "Our members envision a world where their scientific breakthroughs and high-quality clinical care have a meaningful impact on chronic medical conditions such as diabetes and obesity. I am proud to be their partner in achieving these goals." Keenan has more than 30 years of CEO experience. Prior to joining the Society in 2014, Keenan served in a CEO role for the Institute of Food Technologists and Feeding Tomorrow, the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals International and Community Associations Institute. Upon her departure from HFTPI, she was made an Honorary Member, and CAI and the National Board of Certification for Community Association Managers created the Barbara Byrd Keenan Award in her honor and named her as the first recipient. In 2013, IFT & Feeding Tomorrow established the Barbara Byrd Keenan Scholarship Fund to support the academic achievement of IFT student members. Keenan is a Charter Fellow of the American Society of Association Executives and the recipient of the ASAE Key Award--the highest honor in association management--and the 12th woman to receive it since its creation in 1960. She holds BS and MS degrees from Old Dominion University in Virginia, where she was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award. ### Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions. Opioid-related deaths nationwide jumped fourfold in the last two decades, and the epidemic has made major inroads in the Eastern states, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Harvard University and the University of Toronto. "Although opioid-related mortality has been stereotyped as a rural, low-income phenomenon concentrated among Appalachian or Midwestern states, it has spread rapidly, particularly among the Eastern states," the study said. The researchers found the highest rates of opioid-related deaths occurred in eight states: Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire and Ohio. Two states, Florida and Pennsylvania, had opioid-related mortality rates that were doubling every two years. The mortality rate from opioids has increased the fastest in the District of Columbia, more than tripling every year since 2013, the researchers found. The study's findings will be published Feb. 22 in JAMA Network Open. Mathew Kiang, ScD, a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford, is the lead author. The senior author is Monica Alexander, PhD, assistant professor of sociology and statistical sciences at the University of Toronto. 'More potent than they expected' Synthetic opioid deaths now outnumber heroin deaths, which suggests synthetics, such as as fentanyl, have contaminated the production process of other illegal drugs, like cocaine and methamphetamines, and is no longer limited to heroin, Kiang said. "People aren't aware their drugs are laced and more potent than they expected, putting them at higher risk of overdose," Kiang said. The research, which is based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Census, suggests the opioid epidemic has evolved as three waves, based on the types of opioids associated with mortality: The first wave of opioid-related deaths, from the 1990s until about 2010, was associated with prescription painkillers. The second wave, from 2010 until recently, was associated with a large increase in heroin-related deaths. The third and current wave, which began around 2013, involves a rapid increase in deaths associated with illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids, such as tramadol and fentanyl. "The evolution has also seen a wider range of populations being affected, with the spread of the epidemic from rural to urban areas and considerable increases in opioid-related mortality observed in the black population," the study says. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that African-Americans experienced the largest increase in opioid overdose deaths among any racial group from 2016 to 2017, with a 26 percent surge. "The identification and characterization of opioid 'hot spots' -- in terms of both high mortality rates and increasing trends in mortality -- may allow for better-targeted policies that address the current state of the epidemic and the needs of the population," the researchers wrote. States are trying to combat the epidemic by enacting policies, such as restricting the supply of prescription painkillers and expanding treatment and access to the overdose-reversing drug naloxone. "Treating opioid use disorder should be our top priority to curb the problem," Kiang said. "Similarly, we have the ability to counteract the effects of an overdose. These lifesaving drugs should be easily accessible and widely available." ### Another Stanford co-author of the work was Sanjay Basu, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and of health research and policy. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant DP2MD010478). Stanford's departments of Medicine and of Health Research and Policy also supported the study. The epidemic levels of physicians reporting burnout dropped modestly in 2017, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, the Mayo Clinic and the American Medical Association. "Physicians remain at increased risk for burnout relative to workers in other fields, but there is some good news," said Tait Shanafelt, MD, director of Stanford's WellMD Center and a national leader in the movement to improve physician well-being. "For the first time, we're seeing improvement in the prevalence of burnout symptoms in physicians nationally." Burnout decreased and satisfaction with work-life integration improved between 2014 and 2017, according to the study. Still, levels of burnout remain markedly higher than in other fields. About 44 percent of physicians reported at least one symptom of burnout, and only about 43 percent reported satisfaction with their work-life integration, which was less than in 2011. The study will be published online Feb. 22 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Shanafelt, who is also a professor of hematology and the Jeanie and Stew Ritchie Professor, is the lead author. Lotte Dyrbye, MD, co-director of the Mayo Clinic physician well-being program, is the senior author. Shanafelt first conducted studies on physician well-being almost two decades ago. Over the years, research uncovered evidence of growing distress and cynicism among physicians due, in part, to spending more time on clerical work at the expense of time spent with patients. Increasing workloads and regulations contributed to high levels of emotional exhaustion and job dissatisfaction. Physicians were leaving their jobs, and their suicide levels were markedly higher than those of other professionals. Still, the studies weren't being taken seriously enough, Shanafelt said. "Anytime a study came out on physician burnout, people would say, 'Well that's true for all workers. Everybody is stressed out; doctors are no different,'" he said. "There was a need for an ongoing, nationwide study that would compare physicians with other workers in the United States." Third in series of national studies In 2011, while he was at the Mayo Clinic, Shanafelt joined forces with other researchers and the American Medical Association to publish the first of what would be an ongoing series of national studies to measure changes in burnout levels among physicians at three-year intervals. This is the third study in the series; the previous two were conducted in 2011 and 2014. Those studies found that symptoms of burnout were markedly more common in physicians than in workers in other professions, even after adjusting for work hours and other characteristics. To conduct the current study, researchers sent surveys to a nationwide sampling of physicians and workers in other fields. Among physicians, 5,445, or about 17 percent, completed the survey. Of these, 43.9 percent reported at least one symptom of burnout in 2017, compared with 54.4 percent in 2014 and 45.8 percent in 2011. Symptoms of burnout among workers in other fields remained the same -- about 28 percent. The improvement from 2014 to 2017 in symptoms indicating burnout were not seen among physicians in all specialties, the study reported. Levels among certain specialties, including general surgery and obstetrics and gynecology, failed to show any significant reduction in 2017. Also, the proportion of physicians screening positive for depression showed a modest but steady increase in the three studies: 38.2 percent in 2011, 39.8 percent in 2014 and 41.7 percent in 2017. The researchers could only speculate about what may have contributed to the decrease in burnout levels in 2017. One possibility is that a large number of burned-out physicians left the workforce, so they were no longer included in the study. Another possibility is that 2014 may have been a particularly challenging time for physicians due to consolidation of hospitals and medical groups, a number of new regulatory factors, and increased administrative burdens. But Shanafelt is hopeful that growing national efforts by government agencies, professional organizations and medical institutions to improve working conditions for physicians may be making a difference. "Over the last couple of years, we have begun to think about the well-being of health care professionals through the lens of the system and practice environment rather than through the lens of personal resilience. There are now large-scale national efforts, as well as efforts at the institutional level in many organizations, to reduce physician burnout and promote physician well-being," Shanafelt said. "We can't say for certain, but it's looking like those efforts may be starting to make a difference." ### Mickey Trockel, MD, PhD, clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford, was a co-author of the study. Funding for the study was provided by the Stanford WellMD Center, the AMA and the Mayo Clinic Department of Medicine Program on Physician Well-Being. Stanford's Department of Medicine also supported the work. Print media contact: Mandy Erickson at (650) 723-7628 (merickso@stanford.edu) Broadcast media contact: Margarita Gallardo at (650) 723-7897 (mjgallardo@stanford.edu) Fact: About 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, 75 percent of plant and animal species went extinct, including the dinosaurs (except those that evolved into birds). Fact: About 66 million years ago, an enormous asteroid or comet hit the Earth near what is now Chicxulub, Mexico, throwing rock, dust and water vapor into the atmosphere. Fact: About 66 million years ago, a massive volcano erupted lavas in India that are now called the Deccan Traps, burying much of the subcontinent under more than 11,000 feet of basalt (lava rock) and pouring poisonous gases into the atmosphere. Princeton geoscientists Blair Schoene and Gerta Keller led an international team of researchers who have assembled the first high-resolution timeline for the eruptions in India's Deccan Traps. Their research appears in the Feb. 22 issue of the journal Science. "Everyone has heard that the dinosaurs died from an asteroid hitting the Earth," said Schoene, an associate professor of geosciences. "What many people don't realize is that there have been many other mass extinctions in the last 500 million years, and many of them coincide with large volcanic outpourings" from the massive volcanoes known as flood basalts or large igneous provinces. Keller, a professor of geosciences, has argued for decades that the eruption of the Deccan Traps caused the dinosaur mass extinction. In 2013, she, Schoene, and his students began trying to find the ages of the thick layers of lava, which were known to be about the right age but had never been precisely dated. Schoene uses several techniques for geochronology, the science of assigning ages to rocks. The most famous geochronology technique, usually called "carbon dating," uses the decay rate of radioactive carbon-14 to find fossils ages. That works for plants or animals that are a few thousand years old, making it useful for archaeology but not for 66-million-year-old basalt. For rocks from around the time of the mass extinction, geoscientists have a few choices of naturally radioactive materials. Uranium-lead geochronology yields very precise ages, but minerals containing uranium rarely occur in basalt, the rock that makes up the massive lava flows; uranium-bearing zircon is more often found in explosive eruptions from Mount St. Helens-type volcanoes, which have a more silica-rich chemistry. The researchers were aware that the odds were stacked against them. "I don't think that any of us anticipated that our first trip to the Deccan Traps would lead to the type of dataset that we were able to produce," said Mike Eddy of the Class of 2011, now a postdoctoral research associate in geosciences and a co-author on the Science paper. For the first few days, the researchers gathered samples of coarse-grained basalts, trying unsuccessfully to find uranium-bearing minerals. Then came a stroke of luck. "During our first week in India, we found a high-silica ash bed between two basalt flows, and it got our gears turning," Eddy said. The researchers knew that silica-rich volcanic ash could easily contain the tiny zircon crystals that preserve radioactive uranium. "The real breakthrough came a day or two later, when Blair realized that the fossil soils may have also collected this type of ash in small amounts," Eddy said. In other words, instead of focusing on the lava flows themselves, the researchers shifted their focus to the zircon crystals found in the layers of ash in soil between the lava beds. By precisely dating zircons that were deposited before and after the Deccan Traps lava flows, they could tightly constrain when the volcano must have erupted. Over three field seasons, the researchers gathered samples from more than a hundred sites and shipped them back to the lab at Princeton. "It is always entertaining when we ship samples at the end of the trip," said Eddy. "This frequently involves a full day, starting with finding cardboard boxes that have enough structural integrity to make it back to the USA, packing said boxes, a visit to the post office to pick up the necessary forms and have the boxes inspected, a visit to a cloth shop to buy canvas, a visit to a tailor to have the boxes sewn into canvas bags, traveling around town to numerous ATMs to collect enough cash to ship the boxes internationally, and a final few hours of paperwork and stamps to get the boxes out the door. In total, the entire process can take up to 12 hours." Of the 141 sample sites, 24 yielded uranium-bearing zircon crystals, which allowed the research team to conclude that the Deccan Traps erupted in four distinct pulses, each time belching enormous volumes of sulfur and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The thousands of tons of lava would have killed anything living nearby, but the gases reached around the world. Sulfurous gases can cool the atmosphere in the short term, while carbon dioxide warms it in the long term. When volcanoes release enormous volumes of both, "these can lead to climate swings between warm and cold periods that make it really hard for life on Earth," said Schoene. To determine how big an effect it would have had, they needed to constrain the timing of the eruptions: Tons of carbon dioxide erupted in a hundred years will have very different effects than the same volume outgassed over the course of a million years. Of the four eruption pulses, two took place before the mass extinctions, with the second beginning only tens of thousands of years before the Chicxulub impact -- a geologically short amount of time. "The first two pulses ... correspond with a period of time where climate fluctuated from cold to hot to cold again, and many scientists think this indicated an initial disruption to the climate that may have contributed to the mass extinction event," said Schoene. "Our data show that maybe the second pulse could have played an important role in the extinction itself because it happened right before it." Keller is more definitive in her conclusions: "Deccan volcanism is the most likely cause of the dinosaur mass extinction," she said. "The Chicxulub impact may have contributed to their demise, though the timing and environmental effects of this impact still remain to be determined." "In general, I think this paper is significant and interesting," said Pincelli Hull, an assistant professor of geology and geophysics at Yale who was not involved in this research and who has argued against the role of the volcano in the mass extinction. "The paper is a huge advance in timing the [Deccan Traps] eruptions, but how that relates to the timing of outgassing is still a major question that needs to be resolved to figure out exactly what the relevant roles of volcanism and impact were." The researchers will continue to tease apart the effects of the one-two punch of the Deccan Traps eruptions and the planet-shaking impactor, said Eddy. "Regardless, it seems like the end-Cretaceous was a terrible time to be on Earth." ### "U-Pb constraints on pulsed eruption of the Deccan Traps across the end-Cretaceous mass extinction" by Blair Schoene; Michael Eddy, of the Class of 2011; Kyle Samperton, a 2017 graduate alumnus; Brenhin Keller, a 2016 graduate alumnus; Gerta Keller; Thierry Adatte and Syed Khadri appears in the Feb. 22 issue of Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.aau2422). Field and labwork was supported by NSF grant EAR-1454430 and by the Princeton Department of Geosciences Scott Fund. In addition to the authors, field researchers in India also included then-undergraduates Preston Kemeny of the Class of 2015 and Maricela Coronado of the Class of 2018 and then-graduate student Jahnavi Punekar, a 2016 graduate alumna. People around the world paint their walls different colors, buy plants to spruce up their interiors and engage in a variety of other beautifying techniques to personalize their homes, which inspired a team of researchers to study about 50,000 living rooms across the globe. In a study that used artificial intelligence to analyze design elements, such as artwork and wall colors, in pictures of living rooms posted to Airbnb, a popular home rental website, the researchers found that people tended to follow cultural trends when they decorated their interiors. In the United States, where the researchers had economic data from the U.S. Census, they also found that people across socioeconomic lines put similar efforts into interior decoration. "We were interested in seeing how other cultures decorated," said Clio Andris, assistant professor of geography, Penn State and an Institute for CyberScience associate. "We see maps of the world and wonder, 'What's it like living there,' but we don't really know what it's like to be in people's living rooms and in their houses. This was like people around the world inviting us into their homes." The team examined living room decor in 107 cities on six continents and in neighborhoods across six U.S. cities. Certain regions seemed to have similar taste in interior design, said Xi Liu, doctoral student in geography, Penn State and lead author of the study. In some cases, the way those cultures decorated their living rooms matched the researchers' expectations, he added. "There were a lot of vibrant colors in India and Morocco, for example," said Liu. "And, of course, that wasn't a big surprise -- we had an idea that this might be the case before we started the study, but we weren't sure whether that would be true or not." In Europe, North America and South America, people tended to display more books, according to the researchers. Living rooms in Europe, especially Italy, featured a lot of wall art, which matched their expectations. However, the researchers, who published their findings in the current issue of EPJ Data Science, were surprised when some cultures bucked the way their living spaces are commonly portrayed on travel television shows and in travel brochures. "We thought it was interesting that we found a lot of indoor plants in cold areas, especially in Scandinavia," said Andris. "We originally thought that there would be more indoor plants in warm areas because they would be inexpensive things to have there, but that wasn't the case. We were also surprised that a lot of the island cultures were a little more austere than we had initially thought. They didn't use as bright of colors. Interiors in places, like Fiji and the Caribbean, for example, were very clean-looking." In the United States, the researchers did not find a significant difference in the presence of decorative elements across neighborhoods with varying incomes, unemployment rates, educational attainment, residential property value and racial diversity. They suggest this indicates that Americans take similar efforts in personalizing their homes. Because the task of going through a million images to note multiple decorative elements would be too time-consuming for the researchers, the team used deep learning, a type of artificial intelligence, to detect decorative items, such as wall art, plants, books and paint colors, in the pictures. Human trainers initially picked out decorative elements in pictures to program the computer to recognize the decorations, then the computer could pick out and classify these features on its own. "The term for this is transfer learning, but it's a two-step process," said Liu. "The first step is to classify the images into categories, such as living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and also outdoor space. Then, we use object detection. The program will draw boxes around objects in the rooms, like wall art and books, and then the program counts how many of those objects we have in each image." The researchers analyzed only living rooms in homes because these rooms most likely represent the property owners' tastes and not just how they market their homes on the rental website. "In those websites you have a lot of pictures of bedrooms -- and because they are renting bedrooms out, we thought there might be some bias because the owner would want to decorate it in a certain way to appeal to guests," said Liu. "But, we thought the living room would be more objective because the owner lives there and probably uses the space all the time." The researchers used an application program interface -- or API -- that allowed them to access large amounts of publicly available data, including images, on Airbnb. They collected about a million geolocated images of interior spaces from the site. Andris said that the study is also unique because it may represent new ways for machine learning techniques to study cultural phenomena. In the future, the researchers might look at other online photo hubs, such as Craigslist, to better target natural decorative tastes. They may also train the computer program to detect styles of artwork, or other meaningful objects, such as flags, pictures of world leaders or historical emblems. ### Liu and Andris also worked with Zixuan Huang, graduate assistant in geography, University of Utah, and Sohrab Rahimi, doctoral student in architecture, Penn State. A new study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers found that U.S.-based patient advocacy organizations received a disproportionate amount of contributions made by the world's 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in 2016. The study assessed contributions to patient advocacy groups in seven countries and the United Kingdom and found that U.S.-based patient advocacy organizations received 74 percent of total contributions in 2016, or an estimated $88 million dollars. Patient advocacy organizations are nonprofit groups that focus on specific medical conditions. They are found in almost every industrialized country and seek to raise awareness, lobby for research and treatment options as well as provide patient and caregiver education, advocacy and support services. The study was published online February 21, 2019 in the American Journal of Public Health. "Patient advocacy groups have an important role when they testify in Congress, at the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and other government agencies," says senior co-author Gerard Anderson, PhD, professor in the Bloomberg School's Department of Health Policy and Management. "It is important for policymakers to understand the funding sources for these organizations." The report reveals a patchwork of disclosure levels among countries, with only six of the 10 drug companies disclosing their financial donations to U.S.-based patient advocacy organizations in 2016. This disclosure gap suggests that the total amount of contributions to U.S.-based patient groups was even higher, as four companies did not disclose their U.S. contributions. In contrast, the study found that all 10 companies disclosed their 2016 financial transactions to patient advocacy organizations in France, Germany and the United Kingdom, which encourage or require such disclosure. The authors say the findings underscore the importance of transparency given the growing role of patient advocacy groups, particularly in the U.S., and recommend moving to greater disclosure, either voluntary or regulatory. "Patient advocacy groups have grown exponentially in the last 10 years, but the magnitude of pharmaceutical industry funding to them across countries has not been measured before," says So-Yeon Kang, MPH, MBA, lead study author and research associate in the Bloomberg School's Department of Health Policy and Management. "Patient advocacy organizations are supposed to represent their constituents' interests. Transparency is critical to avoid conflict of interests." For their study, the researchers identified the world's 10 largest pharmaceutical companies based on total global revenue in 2016: Pfizer, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi, Merck, AbbVie, Amgen, Gilead, Janssen and GlaxoSmithKline. Together they accounted for 41 percent of pharmaceutical industry revenue that year. The study authors then researched disclosures for contributions from these 10 companies to patient advocacy groups based in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the U.S. The researchers collected financial information from pharmaceutical websites, funding reports and other public-facing documentation, such as annual reports. In France, Germany and the United Kingdom, where all 10 pharmaceutical companies disclosed financial contributions to patient groups, the researchers note that in addition to robust regulatory frameworks, information about disclosures was easily accessible and content was consistent. Other countries, including the United States, had varying amounts of disclosed information available. The researchers report that they encountered several barriers with data collection in the U.S., including different reporting styles and mixed information with various types of grants. The six companies that disclosed contributions to U.S. groups contributed $120 million in patient advocacy funding to the study countries--$88 million to U.S. groups and $32 million to groups in the remaining six countries and the U.K. Researchers also wanted to understand the relationship between patient advocacy groups and the pharmaceutical market in the respective countries. The researchers did not find any association between companies' contributions to a country's patient advocacy groups and the country's population, pharmaceutical revenue or GDP. "If financial support to patient advocacy organizations is really about patient education, you would expect the funding to be the same in each country," says Anderson. "This analysis shows that there's no correlation and something more than patient education influences the level of patient advocacy organization support in a country." The disproportionate amount of funding to U.S. patient advocacy organizations and unregulated financial disclosures highlight the importance of establishing reporting guidelines. "Legislative actions, such as expanding the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, would insure universal disclosure compliance," says Kang. "But as an intermediary step, the industry should consider adopting a voluntary disclosure requirement at the trade association level. They already have it in Europe. Why not in the U.S.?" Increased transparency, the authors say, would help address potential conflicts of interest associated with the pharmaceutical industry's support. "The U.S. has one of the most robust drug regulation processes," explains Anderson. "It is often the first country to adopt prescription drugs and therefore has a significant influence on a product's performance in a global market. Regulation is important because these groups can be influenced by the money they receive from drug companies." ### This study was supported by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. "Pharmaceutical Companies Support US Patient-Advocacy Organizations: An International Context" was written by So-Yeon Kang, MPH, MBA, Ge Bai, PhD, CPA, Laura Karas, MD, MPH, and Gerard F. Anderson, PhD. SINGAPORE, 19 February 2019 - Many adolescent students sleep less than the recommended duration of 8-10 hours a night. It is unclear; however, whether short night sleep combined with an afternoon nap is as good as having the same amount of sleep continuously during the night without a nap. Researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School have demonstrated for the first time that different sleep schedules with the same total sleep opportunity over 24 hours may have dissimilar effects on cognition and glucose levels. This is the first study to gather experimental evidence on the notion that 'what may be appropriate sleep for one health goal may not be for another'. The handful of studies that examined split sleep schedules with normal total sleep duration in working-age adults found that both schedules yield comparable brain performance. However, no study has looked at the impact of such schedules on brain function and glucose levels together, especially when total sleep is shorter than optimal. The latter is important because of links between short sleep and risk for diabetes. The researchers measured cognitive performance and glucose levels following a standardized load in students, aged 15-19 years, during two simulated school weeks with short sleep on school days and recovery sleep on weekends. On school days, these students received either continuous sleep of 6.5 hours at night or split sleep (night sleep of 5 hours plus a 1.5-hour afternoon nap). "We undertook this study after students who were advised on good sleep habits asked if they could split up their sleep across the day and night, instead of having a main sleep period at night," said Prof. Michael Chee, Director of the Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Professor of Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders Programme, Duke-NUS Medical School and one of the study's senior authors. "We found that compared to being able to sleep 9 hours a night, having only 6.5 hours to sleep in 24 hours degrades performance and mood. Interestingly, under conditions of sleep restriction, students in the split sleep group exhibited better alertness, vigilance, working memory and mood than their counterparts who slept 6.5 hours continuously. This finding is remarkable as the measured total sleep duration over 24 hours was actually less in the former group", Prof. Chee added. However, for glucose tolerance, the continuous schedule appeared to be better. "While 6.5 hours of night sleep did not affect glucose levels, the split sleep group demonstrated a greater increase in blood glucose levels to the standardized glucose load in both simulated school weeks," noted Dr. Joshua Gooley, Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders Programme, Principal Investigator at the Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke-NUS Medical School and the senior co-author of this study. Although further studies are necessary to see if this finding translates to a higher risk of diabetes later in life, the current findings indicate that beyond sleep duration, different sleep schedules can affect different facets of health and function in directions that are not immediately clear. Professor Patrick Casey, Senior Vice Dean of Research, Duke-NUS Medical School, commented, "Recent sleep surveys show that Singaporeans are among the world's most sleep deprived people. This is the latest in a series of studies from a team of researchers from the Neuroscience and Behavioural Disorders Programme and Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience that have provided valuable insights into the importance of good sleep." ### This work is published in SLEEP, a leading journal that reports novel findings in sleep research. A team of researchers led by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health Professor Mary Beth Terry, PhD, evaluated four commonly used breast cancer prediction models and found that family-history-based models perform better than non-family-history based models, even for women at average or below-average risk of breast cancer. The study is the largest independent analysis to validate four widely used models of breast cancer risk and has the longest prospective follow-up data available to date. The findings are published online in The Lancet Oncology. Dr. Terry and colleagues used the Breast Cancer Prospective Family Study Cohort composed of 18,856 women from Australia, Canada, and the U.S. without breast cancer, between March 1992 and June 2011. Women between the ages of 20 to 70 were selected for the study who had no previous history of bilateral prophylactic mastectomy or ovarian cancer, and whose family history of breast cancer was available. The researchers calculated 10-year risk scores for the final cohort of 15,732 women, comparing four breast cancer risk models which all vary in how they use information regarding multi-generational and genetic information as well as non-genetic information: the Breast and Ovarian Analysis of Disease Incidence and Carrier Estimation Algorithm model (BOADICEA), BRCAPRO, the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool (BCRAT), and the International Breast Cancer Intervention Study model (IBIS). A second analysis was conducted to compare the performance of the models after 10 years based on the mutation status of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. The results showed that the BOADICIA and IBIS models which have multigenerational family history data were more accurate in predicting breast cancer risk than the other models. This held true even for women without a family history of breast and without BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. The other two models BRCAPRO and BCRAT models did not perform as well overall and in women under 50 years of age. The BCRAT model was well-calibrated in women over 50 years who were not known to carry deleterious mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Of the 15,732 eligible women, 4 percent were diagnosed with breast cancer during the median follow-up of 11-plus years. "Our study, which was enriched based on family history, was large enough to evaluate model performance across the full spectrum of absolute risk, including women with the highest risk of cancer in whom accurate prediction is especially important," said Dr. Terry, who is a Professor of Epidemiology at the Columbia Mailman School, and the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. "Independent validation is particularly important to understand the utility of these models across different settings." Breast cancer risk models are used to help inform decisions about primary prevention and increasingly, in screening programs, including when women should have mammographies. There are several different models to assess breast cancer risk, and they vary in how they take into account family history and genetics. "Mathematical models can help estimate a woman's future risk of breast cancer. There are several available, but it is uncertain which models are the most appropriate ones to use. These findings might help provide better guidance to women with their decision-making on breast cancer screening strategies," says Dr. Robert MacInnis, who is a Senior Research Fellow in the Cancer Epidemiology and Intelligence Division at the Cancer Council, Victoria Australia and co-led the analyses with Dr. Terry. "Our findings suggest that all women would benefit from risk assessment that involves collection of detailed family histories, and that risk models would be improved by inclusion of family history information including ages at diagnoses and types of cancer," said Dr. Terry. ### Co-authors and their affiliated institutions can be found in the paper, "10-year Performance of Four Models of Breast Cancer Risk: A Validation Study." Here is the post-embargo link to include in articles: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(18)30902-1/fulltext The study was supported by U.S. National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, Victorian Breast Cancer Research Consortium, Cancer Australia, National Breast Cancer Foundation, Queensland Cancer Fund, Cancer Councils of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia, and the Cancer Foundation of Western Australia. Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health A team of scientists led by Prof. LI Ming of the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, found widespread allomaternal nursing behavior in nursing others' offspring in an Old World monkey, the golden snub-nosed monkey. The findings were published in an article entitled "Routine allomaternal nursing in a free-ranging Old World monkey" in Science Advances on Feb. 20. The evolution of lactation in metatherian and eutherian mammals has resulted in a large degree of nutritional and developmental dependency between a female and her offspring. Milk production is energetically costly for mothers since they need to synthesize and provide nutrients, hormones, vitamins, and immune compounds. Therefore, lactating females should be reluctant to invest time or energy in nursing others' offspring. While regular allomaternal nursing has been documented in a number of rodent and carnivore species, as well as in some prosimians, New World monkeys and humans, it is not common in Old World monkeys and apes. Based on more than eight years of field observation of infants and their mothers at Shennongjia National Park, Central China, as well as analysis of the monkeys' reproductive histories, the study provides the first evidence of regular allomaternal nursing in golden snub-nosed monkeys (Fig. 1) and expands the taxonomic distribution of this behavior in primates to Old World monkeys. The study found that most infants of golden snub-nosed monkeys were allonursed by one or two additional adult females besides the biological mother. Allomaternal nursing was largely confined to the first three months of the infant's life, and mainly practiced by related females who reciprocally nursed each other's offspring. Therefore, the study supports kin selection and reciprocity hypotheses and provides an evolutionary explanation for allomaternal nursing in golden snub-nosed monkeys (Fig. 2). In contrast, the study provides no support for the misdirected parental care hypothesis, which had previously been used to explain allomaternal nursing in primates. The current study shows that allomaternal nursing enhanced infant survivorship and did not have a negative impact on the future reproductive success of the allonursers. Therefore, considering that similar social and ecological traits typify all primate species that practice allomaternal nursing (including humans), the researchers have proposed that allomaternal nursing might have arisen through natural selection since heavy postnatal energy requirements and harsh or unpredictable environmental conditions placed a premium on shared provisioning. The current study also shows that reciprocity and relatedness play a significant role in the maintenance of allomaternal nursing in these primates. The researchers observed that mothers permit other females to take their infants as early as their first day of life and let them carry and groom their infants. These female bonds may be mediated through kinship and common residence in the same social unit, as well as other forms of social behavior (e.g., grooming) that promote a set of affiliative and permissive relationships, which are key to the infant-mother-allomaternal caregiver relationship. Such relationships are also crucial in human social interactions. Therefore, the study expands the taxonomic distribution of allomaternal nursing and provides fresh insights into possible factors driving the evolution of allomaternal nursing behavior in primates, including humans. ### PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- Political action committees (PACs) affiliated with physician organizations contribute more money to political candidates who oppose evidence-based policies to reduce firearm-related injuries than to those who support such policies, a new study found. This pattern of giving is inconsistent with advocacy efforts by many individual physicians and organizations in support of the policies, the researchers said. "Doctors can -- and should -- lead efforts to prevent firearm violence," said study co-author Dr. Jeremiah Schuur, chair of emergency medicine at Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School. "Yet we found that the PACs affiliated with the doctors who provide frontline care for victims of gun violence contribute to candidates who are blocking evidence-based firearm safety policies. If the organized political giving of these organizations doesn't match their stated public health goals, they undermine the moral authority and scientific credibility they draw upon when advocating for policy change." Indirectly, such contributions hinder the health and safety of patients, Schuur added. The findings were published on Feb. 22, in the journal JAMA Network Open. Physician professional organizations and individual doctors have recently called attention to firearm-related injuries in multiple forums, from #ThisIsOurLane tweets to policy recommendations published in 2015 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, an academic journal -- deemed a Call to Action. To conduct the study, Schuur and his two co-authors analyzed campaign contributions from the 25 largest physician organization-affiliated PACs in the U.S. to determine whether their support for political candidates aligned with their established positions on firearm safety regulations. The authors reviewed the candidates' voting records on a U.S. Senate amendment (SA 4750) or co-sponsorship of a U.S. House of Representatives resolution (HR 1217), two legislative efforts that sought to expand background checks for firearm purchases. The analysis found that the majority of physician-affiliated PACs provided more money to Congressional candidates who, during the 2016 election cycle, opposed increased background checks -- which the study said are an evidence-based policy shown to reduce rates of suicide, homicide and accidental firearm injury. That financial support is contrary to many of the societies' policy recommendations, said Schuur, who is also the physician-in-chief for emergency medicine at Rhode Island Hospital. They researchers also evaluated candidates' National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) letter-grade ratings. The NRA-PVF is a PAC that ranks political candidates based on their support for the NRA's mission, including opposition to expanding background checks and imposing limits on assault weapons. Most candidates receive either an "A" or "F" rating. "We were surprised to find that there was a pattern across the largest PACs affiliated with physician professional organizations -- they gave more money and to a greater number of Congressional candidates who voted against background checks and were rated A by the NRA," said Hannah Decker, a medical student at Emory University's School of Medicine and study co-author. "This pattern held true even for physician groups that publicly endorsed evidence-based policies to reduce firearm injury." The study found that 20 of 25 physician-affiliated PACs, including the American Medical Association, American College of Emergency Physicians and American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, contributed more money to U.S. Senate incumbents who voted against SA 4750 than to those who voted for it. Additionally, 24 PACs contributed more to House incumbents who did not co-sponsor HR 1217. In total, the 25 PACs contributed an additional $500,000 to Senate candidates who voted against SA 4750 and an additional $2.8 million to House candidates who did not co-sponsor HR 1217. Twenty-one PACs contributed more money to candidates rated A by the NRA, and 24 contributed to a greater proportion of A-rated candidates by the NRA than candidates not rated A. Physician-affiliated PACs gave nearly $1.5 million more to A-rated candidates by the NRA than to those with other ratings. Among the nine PACs whose affiliated organizations endorsed the policy recommendations laid out in the 2015 call to action, eight supported a greater proportion of NRA A-rated candidates. All 16 PACs affiliated with organizations that have not publicly endorsed the call to action supported a greater proportion of NRA A-rated candidates. "The #ThisIsOurLane movement has highlighted that many physicians are willing to publicly speak out on Twitter and in the press against the NRA and in favor of evidence-based policies to reduce firearm violence," Schuur said. "We aren't suggesting that these groups actively sought to support candidates that are against evidence-based firearms policies. Rather, our study shows that these physician PACs haven't made candidates' stance on firearms policy an issue they consider. "The question going forward is if physicians can change their organizations' PACs contribution criteria, so NRA A-rated candidates no longer get the majority of physicians' political dollars," he added. ### In addition to Schuur and Decker, Olesya Baker, a Statistician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, was also involved in the research. The team received no external funding for the study. Enid, OK (73701) Today Thunderstorms likely in the morning. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. High 78F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms during the evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Low around 65F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Cheryl Davis Bruce, 79, of Athens, passed away peacefully Thursday, June 24, 2021, at Athens-Limestone Hospital surrounded by her family. Mrs. Bruce was born July 26, 1941, in Limestone County to Arch Davs and Aurelia Glanton Davis. She is preceded in death by her parents; and her husband, P New Members Appointed to the Isle of Man Arts Council Sharon Walker The Isle of Man Arts Council has welcomed three new Council members, who were elected to post at the end of 2018. Sharon Walker, Benjamin Heath and Peter Greenhill will take up the positions, and will replace outgoing council members, David Wertheim, Alex Brindley and Juan Moore. The Isle of Man Arts Council was set up over 50 years ago to support the work of local amateurs and professionals as well as visiting artists. It funds many organisations and offers advice and information to hundreds of people every year, encouraging and enabling participation and development in all aspects of the arts. All three new members have now attended their first meetings. Membership of the Arts Council is voluntary. Abortion services date announced Minister for Health and Social Care David Ashford has announced at the February sitting of Tynwald the details of when Manx abortion will be able to take place. Manx women will be able to request an abortion within the first 14 weeks of pregnancy from Friday 24th May. Currently, abortions can only be carried out if a woman is raped or because of concerns about mental health. Elkhart, IN (46516) Today Rain showers in the morning with scattered thunderstorms arriving in the afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 83F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms during the evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Low 68F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Sao Paulo, Feb 22 (efe-epa).- Cuba's recent decision to pull out of a program that supplies doctors to poor and remote areas of Brazil has provided a chance for some Brazilians who studied medicine in foreign countries to work in their homeland. In November, the Cuban government withdrew 8,332 doctors who had been working in Brazil as part of the "Mais Medicos" (More Doctors) program, making that decision after newly elected Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro questioned those physicians' qualifications and demanded changes to their contracts. Bolsonaro's administration responded by launching a recruiting process to replace the departing doctors. Nearly all of the More Doctors positions were filled by Brazilians trained in the country, but 1,397 spots remained available and offered hope for citizens who studied abroad but had not been able to practice medicine in their homeland because they have had difficulty validating their credentials. Clismagna Leal is a Brazilian who studied medicine at the Interamerican Open University in Buenos Aires, where she has lived since 2011. On Feb. 13, she secured a position in the More Doctors program, an opportunity she describes as "a miracle." The program was launched in March 2013 to ensure the provision of medical services in poor and remote areas of Brazil where many Brazilian doctors do not want to work. Doctors affiliated with the program, however, also work in Sao Paulo and other large cities. During the recruiting process, the 1,397 remaining positions were filled in just 40 minutes. That meant nearly 3,000 others who cleared the first hurdles in the process were left out, including another Brazilian and former fellow medical school student of Leal's, Fabio Albino. "The position in Alto Rio Solimoes (a medical-care unit for indigenous communities in the Amazon region) disappeared right before my eyes," said Albino, who added that he still hopes to return to Brazil. The Association of Brazilian Doctors Trained Abroad, which Leal leads, says that around 20,000 Brazilian doctors have completed their studies abroad, mainly in Argentina and Bolivia, while 60,000 others are currently undergoing training in other countries. Albino and Leal blame this phenomenon on the difficulty in gaining admission to a Brazilian medical school, noting that typically there are 150-200 applicants for every spot in a public university and students must wait three or four years to enter. In private universities, students must pay at least 5,000 reais ($1,330) a month, while in countries such as Argentina and Bolivia the monthly cost is only around 1,800 reais, Albino said. After graduation, most of the doctors aspire to return to their homeland but have found it difficult to do so in recent years. Leal says she is happy to have secured a position through the More Doctors program because she will be closer to her family. But she said that her service in the program will only last three years and afterward she still will not be regarded as a fully qualified doctor. She and Albino are therefore hopeful that a new revalidation exam will be held so they can return home for good. "It's my country. It's my roots," Albino said. Effingham, IL (62401) Today Thunderstorms likely. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 84F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely in the evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms later on. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. When the Los Angeles Unified School District decided to relight the match of protest last month, teachers across the nation also caught flame. Denver. West Virginia. Oakland, Calif. In the past year, teacher strikes have reemerged as an effective tool to answer the long-standing demands of frustrated educators who need better pay, improved facilities, and more resources for high-need schools. During these strikes, much of the attention has been given to the most visible people in our schools: teachers, parents, and vocal and well-performing students. However, working as a special education paraprofessional for a public elementary school in South Los Angeles, I know that students of color, particularly those with disabilities, hardly ever get consideration when major decisions like these are made. During the LAUSD strike, just a third of the districts 600,000 students showed up to school on the strikes first day. Students and families were forced to find all sorts of creative ways to facilitate learning, including taking advantage of free entry to museums and zoos, teaching classes at home, or rallying with teachers. Though the strike produced historic wins for teachers, it did not come without significant drawbacks for students whose voices have been historically suppressed in our schools." For low-income students and students with disabilities at high-need schools, many of those options were not feasible. Instead, non-credentialed school staff such as myselfalong with sanitation workers, office personnel, and yard and recreational supportworked tirelessly to keep schools running for students in attendance. I saw the strikes impact on the day-to-day experience of these students in high-need schools, even well after the strike has ended. Though the strike produced historic wins for teachers, it did not come without significant drawbacks for students whose voices have been historically suppressed in our schools: students of color, particularly black boys, with disabilities. On January 14, the first day of the strike, droves of 4th, 5th, and 6th graders noisily filled our schools auditorium for programming. This was standard protocol at many schools, but it was nearly impossible for our administrator to redirect the childrens attention to schoolwork amidst the mass confusion that both students and staff were experiencing. One student with whom I work closely, a boisterous and excitable 11-year-old black boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, paced up and down the auditorium floor. As he greeted friends and danced to pass time, a school administrator ferociously snapped at him to leave the auditorium. Stunned, the student (along with some nervous staff like me) waited for clarification. Where would he go? All classrooms serving this age group at our school remained locked during the strike. It was raining outside. The school administrator told him he could keep himself occupied by walking around the school. It was clear to me that the administrator, overwhelmed and with little support, made an exceptionally bad call. The students entire grade level was inside the auditorium with the only available credentialed staff. But what some might excuse as a temporary lapse in judgment was unfortunately all too common during the strike for students like him. Although most administrators meant well, a general lack of understanding about the biased ways schools see children of color and students with disabilities created a hostile space for many children during the strike. Since resources were more scarce than usual during the strike, students in our school who were already considered defiant were now being chastised for little more than showing up. Many of their key advocatesthe teachers who are more skilled in supporting their needswere on the picket lines. I watched as students were sent home for arbitrary and vague reasons or assigned mandatory escorts to the bathroom and class. In one case, the police were even called in to deal with a classroom infraction for a kindergarten student. The encounter left a young black boy screaming and crying in our school halls. See Also: Discipline Disparities Grow for Students of Color I am proud to have witnessed the work of teachers during the Los Angeles strike. However, I cannot be proud of the way many of our schools resort to punishing and policing our students, particularly disabled children of color. Although the strike is over for my city, we have no way of knowing the far-reaching effects it will have on students sense of safety and trust in their schools. So other school districts contemplating these types of strikes must ask: Are our strides coming at the expense of our most marginalized students? There is no perfect solution, but there are a few ways schools can better prepare for demonstrations involving teachers. Teachers must collectively consider the broader impact of leaving disadvantaged students in classrooms without them and strategize how they can work with others inside their school to protect students. Schools can proactively train administration along with other school staff, such as assistants and recreational providers, on how they may unconsciously pathologize disability and nonwhiteness. Teachers and teachers unions can also train parents, particularly those in vulnerable and under-resourced areas, to know their rights and ensure their children are not mistreated or neglected. And once strikes are over, teachers and other school staff can intentionally tend to students whose needs might have been overlooked. Let us not forget that teacher strikes have a greater potential to harm children who are people of color, poor, and live with a disability. A giant bee the size of an adult thumb was found alive for the first time in nearly 40 years, The New York Times reported Thursday. The sighting, by a team of wildlife conservationists this January, proves that the world's largest bee had not gone extinct since it was last documented by scientists 38 years ago, though its habitat in a group of Indonesian islands called the North Moluccas is threatened by deforestation. The team recorded the bee on photo and video for the first time. "It was absolutely breathtaking to see this 'flying bulldog' of an insect that we weren't sure existed any more," conservation photographer Clay Bolt, who took the first pictures of the living female bee, said, according to The Guardian. "To actually see how beautiful and big the species is in life, to hear the sound of its giant wings thrumming as it flew past my head, was just incredible." Wallace's Giant Bee, scientific name Megachile pluto, was made known to Western science by Alfred Russel Wallace, an English entomologist who worked with Charles Darwin on the theory of evolution. Wallace documented the bee, which now bears his name, on an expedition in 1859, according to The New York Times. The bee was next seen by scientists more than 100 years later when entomologist Adam Messer observed multiple Wallace's Giant Bees in 1981 and took specimens back to museums in New York and London. Messer noted that they use their large jaws to scrape wood and tree resin into balls to make stronger nests. There have been several other attempts to document the bee, but none have proven successful until now. "I personally know of at least five attempts to find the bee," Bolt told The New York Times. This particular attempt was partly funded by the group Global Wildlife Conservation, which is searching for 25 lost species including the bee and the Fernandina Galapagos Tortoise, which was sighted for the first time in more than 100 years this Sunday. The scientists involved with the search were partly concerned that announcing the bee's survival would bring it to the attention of collectors, and, because of this, decided not to announce exactly what island they found it on. Last year, a specimen of the insect was sold on eBay for $9,100. "If you can get that much money for an insect, that encourages people to go and find them," team member and University of Sydney biologist Dr. Simon Robson told The New York Times. However, the team agreed that making the announcement opened up important conservation opportunities. "We know that putting the news out about this rediscovery could seem like a big risk given the demand, but the reality is that unscrupulous collectors already know that the bee is out there," Global Wildlife Conservation biologist Robin Moore said, according to The Guardian. "By making the bee a world-famous flagship for conservation we are confident that the species has a brighter future than if we just let it quietly be collected into oblivion." The region of Indonesia where the bees are found lost seven percent of its forest from 2001 to 2017, according to Global Forest Watch data reported by The New York Times. "Amid such a well-documented global decline in insect diversity it's wonderful to discover that this iconic species is still hanging on," Robson said in a University of Sydney press release February 22 is the birthday of conservationist and beloved TV personality "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, who would have been 57 years old today. Irwin's life was tragically cut short when the barb from a stingray went through his chest while he was filming in 2006, but his legacy of loving and protecting wildlife lives on, most recently in a Google Doodle today honoring his birthday. "Today's Google Doodle acknowledges the life and achievements of my husband Steve Irwin, whose efforts to protect wildlife and wild places have been recognised as the most extensive of any conservationist," his wife Dr. Terri Irwin wrote in a guest blog post for Google. "We are so proud that his legacy lives on, as that was his greatest wish. He once said, 'I don't care if I'm remembered, as long as my message is remembered.'" The doodle shows images of Irwin interacting with his beloved crocodiles and spending time with his wife Terri and their children Bindi and Robert. The last image shows Terri, Bindi and Robert continuing to run the Australia Zoo that the couple had expanded from the small, roadside Beerwah Reptile Park opened by Irwin's parents in the 1970s. Irwin was born in 1962 in Upper Fern Tree Gully, Victoria, Australia but spent most of his childhood and adolescence in Queensland, where he learned to care for wildlife at his parents' park. Terri met him in 1991 when she went to visit the park and was impressed by Irwin's passion for the crocodiles, who he fed from inside their enclosures. In the blog post, Terri paints a picture of a couple equally devoted to wildlife and each other. She shares the dramatic story of how the couple's famous Crocodile Hunter show was born immediately following their wedding: "Steve and I married in June 1992 in my grandmother's church in Eugene, Oregon. Afterward, we received a phone call about a poacher trying to kill a large crocodile in North Queensland, so instead of a honeymoon, Steve and I went to Australia to save the croc before the bad guys got him. We invited a film crew to come along and document our efforts. Although we didn't arrive in time to save the crocodile, we did save his mate. She was a beautiful girl, not quite 10 feet long. We didn't know it at the time, but this would turn out to be the very first episode of "The Crocodile Hunter" and the beginning of a 14-year adventure, filming in locations across Australia and around the world." The crocodile hunter - Pilot Episode part 1 www.youtube.com Some criticized the Crocodile Hunter show for relying too heavily on stunts, Vox noted, including one scene in which Irwin fed a crocodile while holding his baby son. Irwin was also investigated, but never charged, for filming too close to humpback whales and penguins. However, his conservation efforts were both sincere and impressive. His Wildlife Warriors, still run by Terri, purchased hundreds of square miles to protect wildlife and now works to save animals like Sumatran tigers, koalas and Cambodian elephants. The Australia Zoo now protects 1,200 animals on almost 1,000 acres, and includes a Wildlife Hospital that has treated 82,000 animals it has later returned to their natural habitats, Terri said in her blog post. "My job, my mission, the reason I've been put onto this planet, is to save wildlife," Irwin said, according to Vox. Clearly, Google thinks that's a mission worth honoring. By Julia Conley Sixteen-year-old climate action leader Greta Thunberg stood alongside European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker Thursday in Brussels as he indicatedafter weeks of climate strikes around the world inspired by the Swedish teenagerthat the European Union has heard the demands of young people and pledged a quarter of $1 trillion budget over the next seven years to address the crisis of a rapidly heating planet. In the financial period beginning in 2021, Juncker said, the EU will devote a quarter of its budget to solving the crisis. "Every fourth euro spent within the EU budget will go towards action to mitigate climate change," Juncker said. The plan will spend billions over seven years, according to Reuters. Juncker's comments came at the Civil Society for rEUnaissance event in Brussels, where Thunberg doubled down on her consistent message that politicians must take serious strides to stop the climate crisis and protect the Earth for future generationsand that the EU must double its target of cutting greenhouse gases by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2030. "This target is not sufficient to protect the future for children growing up today. If the EU is to make its fair contribution to stay within the carbon budget for the 2C limit then it needs a minimum of 80 percent reduction by 2030, and that includes aviation and shipping," Thunberg told political and business leaders. "There is simply not enough time to wait for us to grow up and become the ones in charge." Juncker was among those who praised the tireless advocacy of Thunberg and others of her generation, hundreds of thousands of whom have captured the attention of the worldand their governmentsby staging weekly climate strikes since December. "I am glad to see that young people are taking to the streets in Europe to raise visibility of the issue of climate change," the Commission president said. Supporters of the climate strike movementwhich Thunberg began last year with a one-person strike at the Swedish Parliament, and which has grown into a global movement with students all over the world planning eventsalso gave Thunberg credit for leading the pressure campaign. As Juncker was announcing the proposal, more than 12,000 students were marching through Brussels and other Belgian cities once again, demanding that political leaders take seriously the warning of climate scientists and experts, who say if carbon emissions aren't cut drastically, humans will not be able to keep the warming of the globe under 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2030. If urgent action is not taken, they warn, the result will include disastrous sea level rise, more extreme weather events, increasing humanitarian crises, species loss, threatened water supplies and untold economic costs. "Unite behind the science, that is our demand," Thunberg told a plenary session of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) Thursday. Correction: A previous version of this article stated that the EU chief pledged $1 trillion to curb climate threat. The language in this article has been updated to state that the EU chief has pledged a quarter of a trillion. Reposted with permission from our media associate Common Dreams. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in April 2018 proposed relaxing standards related to how it assesses the effects of exposure to low levels of toxic chemicals on public health. Now, correspondence obtained by the LA Times revealed just how deeply involved industry lobbyists and a controversial, industry-funded toxicologist were in drafting the federal agency's proposal to scrap its current, protective approach to regulating toxin exposure. The proposed change came just two weeks after a top EPA official contacted toxicologist Ed Calabrese, whose claim that low doses of carcinogens and radiation are healthy stressors akin to physical exercise that activate the body's repair mechanisms has been panned by more mainstream researchers. "I wanted to check to see if you might have some time in the next couple of days for a quick call to discuss a couple of items " EPA deputy assistant administrator Clint Woods wrote to Calabrese. The EPA's proposed regulation, signed by then-Administrator Scott Pruitt and published in the U.S. Government's Federal Register, copied Calabrese's recommendations to Woods almost verbatim. Calabrese, who was also quoted in the EPA's press release for the proposal, celebrated the announcement in an email to former coal and tobacco lobbyist Steve Milloy, who served on President Donald Trump's EPA transition team. "This is a major big time victory," Calabrese wrote. Milloy, who is also a Fox News commentator, replied that it was "YUGE." The EPA's proposal is a departure from its long-time "linear no-threshold" approach to regulating the study of toxins: once a substance is found to be harmful at one level, the danger applies at all levels. In other words, there can be no safe level of radiation exposure. Calabrese argues this approach is overly cautious and a financial detriment to industry. The new rule would require that regulators look at "various threshold models across the exposure range" for pollutants. Low doses of otherwise toxic chemicals can be beneficial to human health in specific clinical situations, the LA Times noted, but experiments have produced mixed results and experts say it would be a risk to apply the findings to regulation for the general public. "There is no way to control the dose a person gets from an industrial or agricultural chemical," David Jacobs, a professor of public health at the University of Minnesota, told the newspaper. "It's not being doled out in pills and monitored by a physician who can lower it if the patient isn't responding well." The EPA has not announced a date for when it will make a decision on the rule proposal. Health experts believe that if the EPA does adopt the rule, it could lead to wholesale changes to the agency's standards for regulating toxic waste, pesticides, and air and water quality. "Industry has been pushing for this for a long time," George Washington University professor of environmental and occupational health David Michaels told the LA Times. "Not just the chemical industry, but the radiation and tobacco industries too." Calabrese has long been connected to these industries and has received funding from tobacco firm R.J. Reynolds, Dow Chemical, Exxon Mobil and others, the LA Times reported. Calabrese's role in the EPA's proposal illustrates how the Trump administration has pursued environmental policy recommendations from industry lobbyists based on research running counter to mainstream science. According to the LA Times, Calabrese first emailed Milloy about whether it would be possible to get the EPA to abandon the linear no-threshold model in September 2017, not even nine months after Trump was sworn into office. 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The curriculum is designed for students with any level of experience or previous knowledge. Choose the program that's right for you. Learn More. Way back in the dark ages in May 2011 (about 2,345 Internet years ago) I wrote a column about Net neutrality, which was in court at the time. For those of you who are not sure, "Net neutrality" is short for "Internet neutrality" or "network neutrality." The concept addresses user access to the Internet, and the debate around Net neutrality centers on whether Internet service providers can limit, tier, block or otherwise affect Internet performance. Because Net neutrality is a law established by the Federal Communications Commission, and three of the five commissioners are determined by presidential appointment, the FCC tends to shift course each time a new political party enters the White House. When President Trump took office, his Republican appointees were the ones who decided to repeal the 2015 Obama administration's Net neutrality rules adopted in December 2017. In short, the answer to the question of whether there will be a federal Net neutrality law is really a matter of the politics du jour. What Has Happened Since the 2017 Repeal Thirty states have considered new laws creating state Net neutrality laws, and at this time nine states have enacted Net neutrality laws, including California, New York, Rhode Island and Washington. Last year, California enacted its state Net neutrality law. According to The New York Times, the California law " is meant to protect consumers from attempts by telecom companies to charge extra or suppress access for some websites. The legislation is also intended to protect start-ups that could not compete with bigger websites that team with telecom companies for greater exposure to Internet users." " that California's Net neutrality law was illegal because Congress granted the federal government, through the F.C.C., the sole authority to create rules for broadband Internet providers. States do not regulate interstate commerce -- the federal government does Once again the California legislature has enacted an extreme and illegal state law attempting to frustrate federal policy." 22 States Sued the FCC Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Department of Justice sued California to block its newly introduced law guaranteeing full and equal access to the Internet. As reported by The New York Times, Attorney General Jeff Sessions claimedSo a critical lawsuit has been brought to challenge California's Net neutrality law. To make things more interesting, 22 state attorneys general, backed by notable Internet companies Reddit, Vimeo, Mozilla and Etsy, have sued the FCC over its repeal of the federal Net neutrality law. The position of the state attorneys general is that the FCC's actions constitute an unconstitutional preemption of state authority to introduce their own Net neutrality laws. The case currently is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Although oral arguments were heard earlier this month, many legal observers believe that the case will languish in the court system and that it could be several years before a definitive outcome is reached. However, if the FCC loses in court, then it may be forced to revise its approach to avoid further challenges. Since the current U.S. Congress is split between the two major political parties, it is highly unlikely that a new Net neutrality bill will be forthcoming any time soon -- but who knows? How Net Neutrality Affects You and Your Business It is anyone's guess as to how Net neutrality may or may not affect online businesses in the future. There are two theories on the impact of Net neutrality. The side of the fence you land on likely will depend on your political leanings. For those of you who tend to lean more to the left, the argument goes something like this: The Internet should provide free, equal access to all. Net neutrality is essential to ensuring a fair environment for competition, particularly to allow smaller or new businesses to enter the online marketplace on equal footing. Without Net neutrality rules in place, the current behemoth Internet providers have free rein to manipulate the market by driving customers toward proprietary or partner services to their benefit, and to competitors' and average users' detriment. This will stifle competition. If you tend to lean more to the right -- or if you are an Internet service provider like Comcast, AT&T or Verizon -- the argument goes something along these lines: The Internet should not be controlled by the government. Federal regulations require federal policing and enforcement, which will allow the government to investigate and test ISPs' data, thereby opening the door to new data privacy risks. Government regulations tend to be driven by the agendas of large, wealthy companies, such that they end up hampering the free market system, leading to decreased competition in the marketplace. Generally speaking, regulations tend to act as barriers to entry into the marketplace. The only way to ensure that the ISP monopolies do not control the Internet 10 to 15 years from now is to foster competition in a deregulated, free market economy. This position is further supported by the 1996 Telecommunications Act (passed with a Democrat in the White House), which states that "It is the policy of the United States to preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that presently exists for the Internet and other interactive computer services, unfettered by Federal or State regulation." Guesses and Conclusions Who knows where we are headed with Net neutrality? One thing is certain: We may never see an end to the debate because of the raw politics. However, given the increasing dependence on more bandwidth for Internet usage by everyone reading this column, does it make sense to let this issue be pushed back and forth based on political winds? Peter Vogel has been an ECT News Network columnist since 2010. His focus is on technology and the law. Vogel is Of Counsel at Foley Gardere, Foley & Lardner LLP, and focuses on cybersecurity, privacy and information management. He tries lawsuits and negotiates cloud contracts dealing with e-commerce, ERP and the Internet. Before practicing law, he received a master's in computer science and was a mainframe programmer. His blog covers IT and Internet topics. Email Peter. Chelsea Hilliard has been an ECT News Network columnist since 2019. As an associate at Foley Gardere, Foley & Lardner LLP, she focuses her business litigation practice on trade secret noncompetition and securities enforcement. She also helps clients with complex electronic discovery disputes and has been recognized as Texas Rising Star attorney by Texas Monthly, and a Top Lawyer under 40 by D Magazine. Email Chelsea. Decode Your Future with an Online Computer Science Degree from Drexel Drexel University's online computer science programs are designed to prepare you for work on the cutting edge of technology. The curriculum is designed for students with any level of experience or previous knowledge. Choose the program that's right for you. Learn More. Facebook on Monday began rolling out a new feature that's bound to charm the political activists among its users. Called "Community Actions," it lets Facebook members create an action page where they can describe what they'd like done, and set up a button that like-minded members can click to show their support, TechCrunch reported Sunday. The page will show the government agencies and officials notified about the action, as well as the number of its supporters. When you support an action, you'll be able to see any of your friends who also support it, but no other names except the tagged public officials and agencies. Action pages also have discussion feeds, where people can leave comments, create fundraisers and organize Facebook Events or Call Your Rep campaigns. The feature will be rolled out gradually so that all Facebook members won't have immediate access to it. It will be limited initially to the United States. No Tagging Trump Facebook is trying to keep Community Actions focused on getting government to act so it won't be as freewheeling as some petition sites on the Web, wrote TechCrunch's Josh Constine. Change.org, for example, has petitions that range from urging Maroon 5 against performing at the Super Bowl to docking congressional pay during government shutdowns, to removing Holocaust denial pages from Facebook, to providing air conditioning for UPS drivers. Facebook also aims to tamp down controversy by blocking Community Actions activists from tagging President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence as targets for their petitions. Some sample Community Actions cited by Constine, who got a sneak peek at the feature, included a Colorado group calling for the governor to put a moratorium on oil and gas drilling, citizens asking for a performing arts center, and a Philadelphia neighborhood association requesting that the city put in crosswalks near the library. Going Viral Narrow or not, petitions arising in Community Actions probably have a better chance of capturing lots of eyeballs than competing petition sites. "Facebook activity has a lot better chance of going viral than a number of these do-gooder sites and would have a higher profile," said John Carroll, a media analyst for WBUR in Boston. "A Facebook user has 2 billion people as a potential audience," he told TechNewsWorld. "Change.org is a very active site, but it doesn't get a critical mass behind its petitions all that often and relies on the mainstream media to give it an extra boost." The media will play a role in the success of Community Actions petitions, maintained Karen North, director of the Annenberg Online Communities program at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. "The question is whether the media will deem Facebook petitions as newsworthy. If they do, then they become more relevant because they get broader attention," she told TechNewsWorld. "It's like Donald Trump's tweets," North added. "Most people don't see them on Twitter. They read them in the news." Staying Relevant Facebook's motives behind Community Actions may be more than the social network trying to be a good citizen. "Facebook is always in search for the next feature that will make them or keep them relevant," North said. "Right now, one of the things that's energizing to people around the country and around the world is political dispute," she continued. "We have a very polarized situation right now, and people are engaged in passionate political discussions. So it's not a surprise that Facebook would take that social activity and turn it into a Facebook feature," said North. For Facebook, everything is about public relations and marketing, maintained Carroll. "This Community Actions feature ticks both those boxes They're trying to look like good citizens and do good in the community, but this is a marketing gold mine for Facebook," he said. "They're going to know something that you're dedicated to. That's powerful information for their business, which is selling their users." Sandberg's Political DNA In addition to Community Actions, Facebook has launched a number of civic-minded projects in the past, such as Town Hall and Candidate Info. Town Hall gives Facebook members a convenient way to locate, follow and contact their local, state and federal government officials. Candidate Info offers thousands of vertical videos. Candidates look their constituents straight in the camera's eye and talk about themselves, their top policy priorities, and their biggest goal if they win office. "When you look at some of the things that have been rolled out in the last couple of years, they speak to Sheryl Sandberg's political DNA," North said. Facebook COO Sandberg worked in the administration of President Bill Clinton as chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. She was rumored to be a potential running mate for Hillary Clinton. "Facebook seems to be drawn to political activities and features. I don't know if it comes from user data or from Sheryl Sandberg, and maybe Mark Zuckerberg," said North. However, "Facebook needs to remember what draws people to Facebook is to share experiences and photos with friends and family, so it needs to be careful not to turn it into a hostile community," she cautioned. An Infrastructure for Community Community Actions appears to be part of a pledge made by Facebook two years ago to develop the social infrastructure for community. "For the past decade, Facebook has focused on connecting friends and families," wrote CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a 6,000-word manifesto posted on the social network. "With that foundation, our next focus will be developing the social infrastructure for community -- for supporting us, for keeping us safe, for informing us, for civic engagement, and for inclusion of all," he added. "Our job at Facebook is to help people make the greatest positive impact while mitigating areas where technology and social media can contribute to divisiveness and isolation. Facebook is a work in progress, and we are dedicated to learning and improving," Zuckerberg maintained. "We may not have the power to create the world we want immediately, but we can all start working on the long term today," he added. "In times like these, the most important thing we at Facebook can do is develop the social infrastructure to give people the power to build a global community that works for all of us." John P. Mello Jr. has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, IT issues, privacy, e-commerce, social media, artificial intelligence, big data and consumer electronics. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including the Boston Business Journal, the Boston Phoenix, Megapixel.Net and Government Security News. Email John. Enterprise IT Lead Generation Services Fuel Your Pipeline. Close More Deals. Our full-service marketing programs deliver sales-ready leads. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee! Learn more. This winter has been very rough on Google Fiber, Alphabet's high-speed Internet service. An overabundance of snow, ice and water have caused service outages. Why do these issues not seem to hamper competitors? The latest news is that the service is leaving Louisville, supposedly due to a faulty installation process. Why not correct the faults? What is the real problem at Google Fiber? Traditional competition starts with the local phone and cable television companies. That category includes large companies like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Charter, as well as loads of smaller players. Google Fiber started several years ago when Alphabet became impatient. It wanted to make faster Internet widely available. So, it entered the market space, posing a threat to the traditional providers. Google was not in the service business at the time, as I noted back then. It offered search, mobile with Android, and an assortment of other businesses, but not services. I believed that Google simply wanted to put pressure on the existing competitors to speed their progress. Entering the service business was a completely new and different business model for the company. That's why I figured it was simply trying to act as a catalyst, and as soon as competitors cranked up their speeds, Google Fiber would fade into the sunset. However, something different happened. Although many competitors are now blazingly fast, having increased their speeds several times over, Google Fiber has not gone away. Snail's Pace Expansion When Google Fiber launched, I figured that if the goal was to become a serious competitor, the company would bring its existing brand relationship and value, and really crank it up. I expected to see an incredible growth engine ignite -- if that was the case. Nothing like that happened. Instead, Google Fiber has been advancing at a snail's pace, which is not very Google-like. This limited activity has been damaging to the Google brand over time. Today, we simply do not know what to expect. Alphabet has made absolutely no sense with its weak Google Fiber activity over the last several years. The big broadband players are still local phone companies and cable TV companies. The next step may be wireless with 5G coming. What Is Alphabet's Plan? Over the last several years, Alphabet's Google Fiber objectives have been hazy. In the early years, cities were lining up hoping to be next in line for the service. They saw it as a way of gaining a competitive advantage over other cities, drawing business activity and jobs. However, in the years since that initial flurry of interest, the Google Fiber talk has died down. It appears that Google Fiber is falling off the radar. This winter's service outages due to ice and water have created ill will among users, which is further damaging to the Google brand. Now, it is pulling out of Louisville. The reason, according to the company, is that it made a mistake when installing fiber around the city. It had crews cut the road to lay the fiber. Then they filled it with rubber to seal the wound. The rubber apparently gave way after a while, and wires now are poking up into streets. Instead of fixing the mess the bad installation created by reinstalling the fiber the right way and continuing to build in the city, the company decided to pull out. That is a slap in the face to Louisville, and it's something that may haunt Google for years to come, further damaging its master brand. Looking at Google Fiber in light of these mistakes, one has to wonder if the company bit off more than it could chew. Where Is the Real Google? If Google had entered the space and then pulled out quickly when competitors got fast enough, it would have looked brilliant and heroic. Instead, the company is starting to look like the gang who couldn't shoot straight. These self-inflicted wounds are really a shame. I really like Google, so this is hard for me to say. However, every powerful company has home runs and strikeouts, and this latest error is a whopper. So, what's next for Google Fiber? Your guess is as good as mine. Google's history includes a mixture of wins and losses. Either Google Fiber has caused enough brand damage and the company will exit the business, or it will continue. If it continues, it should pull out the stops and become a winning competitor in the broadband space. However, if it hasn't done that yet, I don't think it will start now. Google Fiber is very unlike the go-getting, rapidly growing company we think of when we think of the Google master brand. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ECT News Network. Jeff Kagan has been an ECT News Network columnist since 2010. His focus is on the wireless and telecom industries. He is an independent analyst, consultant and speaker. Email Jeff. Decode Your Future with an Online Computer Science Degree from Drexel Drexel University's online computer science programs are designed to prepare you for work on the cutting edge of technology. The curriculum is designed for students with any level of experience or previous knowledge. Choose the program that's right for you. Learn More. Many faithful Facebook users had the rug pulled out from under them during the last year. Both Sheryl Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg appeared before the U.S. Congress and spilled the beans on how the company had betrayed its members. I don't think the company's leaders realized that Facebook was doing the wrong thing until recently. Now they have a five-point fix-it-plan. Will it work? And will it win back users' trust? Facebook COO Shery Sandberg discussed the five-point plan at the Digital Life Design Conference in Munich last week. She said Facebook's executives understand the deep responsibilities they have, and that they need to stop the abuse more quickly. She acknowledged that they need to do a better job protecting user data. Clarity Must Come First While declaring that they now understand the issues sounds good, it really does not seem that Facebook's leaders have a full picture in their sights -- not yet anyway. Unless and until they can widen the scope of their lens and see all the real and deep problems, these issues will continue to bite them, time-and-time again going forward. Protecting user data is an important point. Protecting users from bad marketing is an important point. Protecting society from fake news and outsider influence is an important point. There are many more important points that need to be considered. The real fix will come when Facebook executives understand all the issues. They must understand what the company is evolving into, and its place in the world, before it's too late. If not, they will simply be treating the cough without curing the cold. Historical Perspective To clarify the current problems, it's necessary to pull back the camera for a longer-term, historic perspective on Facebook, social media and societal evolution. That is the perspective every social media company should seek in order to be successful going forward. Social media is growing as an industry, but for companies that fail to protect user data, the hammer will come down. They must prevent fake news, or the hammer will come down. They must exercise fairness instead of choosing political sides, or the hammer will come down. If a social media company does not clean up its own act, trust and satisfaction will evaporate, and customers will walk away. Even if that doesn't happen, the U.S. Congress will step in, set rules, and dictate the company's future -- that is something every firm wants to avoid. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has been conducting an investigation into Facebook and there has been speculation that it may consider imposing a record fine. Another hammer. This type of threat will continue to grow unless and until Facebook straightens up its act. Five-Point Fix-It Plan Facebook's five-point plan, according to Sandberg: Investing in safety and security Protecting against election interference Cracking down on fake accounts and fake news Making sure people can control their own information Increasing transparency at the company This plan is a great first step, but in order for transformation to occur, Facebook must take its place in the world seriously. It must protect all users, regardless of whether they are Democrats or Republicans, liberals or conservatives. No side is always right or wrong. Everyone's personal and private information should stay private. Everyone's posts must be treated equally -- something that apparently has not been happening. Many of Facebook's current list of problems could have been prevented. Facebook's Place Facebook must give its users the respect they deserve. Not doing so is abusive. As Facebook's leaders now see, their past behavior has led to a significant and serious backlash that they now must address. Wouldn't it have been better to have done things the right way from the start? Sandberg said Facebook is more determined than ever to keep people safe. That is good. However, that is not enough. Facebook needs to understand its place in the world before it can fix everything that has gone wrong during the years of ignoring it. Facebook created the problems it now must confront. I am happy to see that its senior executives appear to be taking this issue seriously. I want them to succeed. However, they must pull off the blinders and widen their vision. There are many different views in the world, and every one of them deserves the same level of respect, dignity and visibility. That's a tall order for individuals, but that's what it will take to right this ship. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ECT News Network. Jeff Kagan has been an ECT News Network columnist since 2010. His focus is on the wireless and telecom industries. He is an independent analyst, consultant and speaker. Email Jeff. If you're interested in submitting a Letter to the Editor, click here. Submit Stay up to date and informed on everything that is happening at Eastern Kentucky University! Subscribe to the Eastern Progress newsletter for free today and support student media at EKU! Contact: J.P. Duffy or Joshua Arnold, (866) FRC-NEWS or (866)-372-6397 WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2019 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Department of Health and Human Services announced today finalized regulations for the Title X family planning program that reinstates President Ronald Reagan's "Protect Life Rule" which protects the integrity of the program by preventing the "co-location" of federally funded family planning clinics with abortion clinics. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins commented: "President Trump's HHS is taking a major step toward the ultimate goal of ending taxpayers' forced partnership with the abortion industry. The finalized 'protect life rule' draws a bright line between abortion and family planning programs -- just as the federal law requires and the Supreme Court has upheld. "It's a shame that the federal Title X family planning program has been co-mingled with abortion ever since President Bill Clinton issued regulations not only removing the wall of separation President Reagan issued, but even illegally requiring groups to refer for abortion. The result is that Planned Parenthood -- an organization that's been under criminal investigation for selling baby body parts -- gets roughly $60 million per year through what has become a slush fund for the abortion giant. "Planned Parenthood and other abortion centers will now have to choose between dropping their abortion services from any location that gets Title X dollars and moving those abortion operations offsite. Either way, this will loosen the group's hold on tens of millions of tax dollars. "This announcement follows a strong statement by the president in which he committed to veto any legislation that weakens federal policy on abortion. President Trump has been persistent in fulfilling his pro-life campaign promises including ensuring that taxpayers are not in a forced partnership with the abortion industry," concluded Perkins. Where are the best places to shop? Who gives the best haircut? Who cooks the best burger? Join our readers in selecting the "Best of Windham." Make your picks! Readers Survey As our valued readers, we want to hear from you. Please take a moment to fill out the survey below. - Thank you, Eastern Arizona Courier Click Here This International Womens Day, Im celebrating entrepreneurship. You might ask why after all, male startup founders far outnumber female. But look a little deeper, and youll see some interesting data: the gender split amongst Australian millennial entrepreneurs and business owners is even (according to a 2017 NAB white paper). And there are many good reasons why more and more women are attracted to entrepreneurship as an alternative to the traditional corporate career path. Lets start with the fact that entrepreneurship gives you control of your own destiny whether you fail or succeed, its on your own terms, not because of gender biases which may exist in some corporate cultures. If you are successful, its a ticket to financial freedom and security. This is important, particularly as a disproportionate percentage of women dont have adequate savings for retirement. Interestingly, female entrepreneurs in a Centre for Entrepreneurs/Barclays study take home twice as much pay as men surveyed. This compares very favourably to the undisputed gender pay gap amongst leaders in the corporate world. Entrepreneurs have the freedom to choose their own hours and grow their business at their own pace. This flexibility is priceless for many women, particularly those who are mothers to young children. While things are changing, with big companies increasingly making flexibility a core part of their Employer Value Proposition, we are still in an era where its easier to get flexibility as an entrepreneur than as an employee. Many women dont want to choose between work and family, they want to experience the fulfilment of both. Its a juggling act, but women seem to be innately good at multi-tasking and juggling in fluid environments. And it just so happens that this talent is highly beneficial in a startup, where there are no set job descriptions, everyone has to pitch in and wear a variety of hats. On the whole, I find women care deeply about values. As an entrepreneur, you get to create a value system that drives the culture of your business. You also have the freedom to pick clients and partners who share your values. One of the best parts about entrepreneurship is that there are no barriers to entry anyone can come up with an idea and give it a crack. Where women entrepreneurs face an ongoing battle is in the fundraising department there is an entrenched bias towards backing male founders within the investor community. At the same time, Government grants are freely available to all, supporting entrepreneurs regardless of gender in growing their business globally and innovating through targeted research and development. There are grants which are exclusive to women as well. Not to mention a plethora of business award programs exclusive to women Telstra Business Womens Awards, Women in Digital and AFR Women of Influence, just to name a few. Role models are essential to encouraging more women into entrepreneurship. For my part, Im showing my daughter that its possible to run a great business and be a great Mum. And I know there are hundreds of thousands of other women doing the same. Lets raise a glass to them all this International Womens Day. About the author Sharon Melamed, Managing Director, Matchboard Digital entrepreneur Sharon Melamed gave up her high-flying corporate career in search of a web development company who could turn her business vision into a reality. The idea was to create an online business matching service, which Sharon refers to as online dating for the business world. We save people time and money in sourcing their perfect match suppliers. Just enter your needs, and get matched, she said. Unlike other marketplaces and search engines, Matchboard pre-screens all our suppliers and only highly rated companies make it into our ecosystem. Screening includes reference checks, demos/site visits and research, thus reducing the risk for our buyers. This is a unique selling point which not even Google, LinkedIn, freelancer.com or Airtasker can compete with. Founded in September 2012, Matchboard has grown significantly over the past six years with double-digit in profits six years in a row. The business has also expanded to the United Kingdom through a licensing model. However, despite Matchboards success, it hasnt been without challenges. The biggest challenge was finding a company to develop the matching platform Id spec-ed out in a cost-effective fashion. I had resigned from my high-flying corporate role, spec in hand, and started combing through search engines to find the right web development company to turn my vision into reality. she said. Seven out of 10 vendors I contacted never returned my inquiry, two clearly didnt understand my brief, and one was way outside my budget. It was pure fate that I had planned a holiday in the Startup Nation (Israel), where I came across an entrepreneurial 20-person software development company, who offered to develop the Matchboard platform at cost and in exchange for the rights to use the source code in the domestic Israeli market. As a lean startup, it was an offer I couldnt refuse and it proved the best decision I could have made. The Israeli vendor has been reliable, high quality and responsive to my needs, and I continue to partner with them today. Prior to Matchboard, Sharon lived and worked in five continents including New York and San Francisco and has more than 25 years experience in sales, service and outsourcing. Sharon also speaks several languages and is an accredited Japanese and German translator. She is also a multiple award-winning entrepreneur and in 2018 was named Suncorp Innovator of the Year and was one of Australias Top 10 Woman Entrepreneurs. Sharon is passionate about supporting other women in business. She says although there are biases against women when it comes to raising capital, there is in many ways a level playing field in the entrepreneurial world, with men and women receiving tremendous support from the Government. Theres nothing about being female thats inhibited my progress. In fact, I think the scales are really starting to balance for the better. If we look at millennial entrepreneurs and business owners, the gender balance is actually even (according to a white paper published by NAB in 2017)! That is a very promising sign for the next generation, which I think we should be talking more about, she said. Sharon said the best part about being her own boss was the flexibility in working hours and less stress. Starting a business is like starting from a blank sheet of paper where you get to write the rules so theres no legacy boys club culture, no inflexible working hours, you define the values and policies that make sense to you as a woman. Sharons tips and advice for other startups: Make sure you have the right support structures in place to help you get through the tough times Pick the right time in your life for a startup, when you can afford to absorb some financial risk Sales and marketing skills are key to success. If you dont have them, maybe you need a Co-Founder who does! Make sure customers actually want or need the product or service you are developing. Dont make assumptions listen, test and learn. Naming a business can also prove challenging but for Sharon it was a no brainer. I come from a family of board game lovers I was a competitive Scrabble player and my father an international chess master, hence the board in Matchboard. The business at its heart is about matching, so Matchboard was born. "We never had so much data at our disposal for predictive models and risk analyses, which is making us so much better at understanding and predicting outcomes and risks, said Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok at the closure of the 4th Planetary Security Conference in The Hague, the Netherlands on 20 February. The conference built new momentum to get the hard military community and the green climate community together to de-risk conflicts and prevent new conflicts to break out. Stakeholders from four hotspot regions Mali, Iraq, Lake Chad and the Caribbean - that have been selected by the Planetary Security Initiative (PSI), had come to The Hague and discussed their progress decreasing the tension, in numerous sessions with military, diplomats, scientists and climate experts. Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stef Blok, spoke of the need for early warning systems to be able to intervene in time and prevent conflicts. Early warning, early action Minister Blok stressed the need for early warning and early action. He specially mentioned the development of a new early-warning tool that is currently being tested in Mali. "By using big data and local input, they will be able to predict where a mix of water stress and political, economic and social factors can lead to conflict", said Dutch minister Blok. "Prevention, of course, is always better than cure. But we cant avert every disaster. So we do need to improve preparedness and resilience as well". Blok also mentioned the progress at Lake Chad where a group of experts from inside and outside the region has been drafting a roadmap for action to improve the lives of the people living in this region. The roadmap covers very practical and meaningful issues, such as access to markets, water management and basic services. Former Dutch chief of staff Tom Middendorp, known as the green general, who will chair a new network of senior military leaders on climate and security. Green general A new International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS) was announced at the conference. Tom Middendorp, former Chief of Defence for the Netherlands, will chair this standing network of senior military leaders that will produce an annual World Climate and Security Report. Middendorp told he had become known as the green general, following his interventions to declare climate change a threat to global security. His ideas on the linkage between climate change and security is based on experiences from the war in Afghanistan. He recalled a hard-won battle to take over territory controlled by the Taliban during a stint in Afghanistan. The US-led coalition forces won, only to watch the territory taken back by the Taliban soon thereafter. "It took us a year to figure out what the problem was a fight between groups over water." he said. "We brought water engineers and solved the problem. And the Taliban left." Nada Majdalani of EcoPeace talked about a bold water-energy plan crossing borders between Palestine, Jordan and Israel. She invited the private sector to step in. Role of the private sector One of the sessions focused on the role of the private sector to de-risk water disputes in the Middle East. Nada Majdalani of EcoPeace disclosed a revolutionary water-energy plan that enables Israel to build desalination plants and deliver fresh water to Palestine and Jordan. In return, the plan foresees Jordan to build large solar stations and deliver electricity to Israel. Majdalani invited the private sector to step in. "We are studying five locations to cross the border and we want to proof the concept in a pilot to show the barriers between the countries can be over won." Her organisation made some calculations, showing there is a good business case. Ramy Boujawdeh, deputy general manager of Berytech advocated to moblize the private sector as it bring in the necessary change. Long term water strategies It was noted that despite the fact that water is scares in the Middle East, governments have hardly developed long term water strategies. And if there is a strategy, it is hard for the governments to stick to the goals of these strategies. The private sector is already involved in the Middle East but only in activities without financial risks. According to Ramy Boujawdeh, deputy general manager of Berytech, a Lebanese initiative that provides support and growth to innovative and passionate entrepreneurs, solutions are far from easy as water and crises are tightly connected. "The position of the government is quite weak so donors often work directly with NGOs", Boujawdeh continued. "It is essential to make the connection with the private sector. It is my firm belief that in our region, the private sector must be involved in mobilising change to reduce the risk of an even bigger water crisis". Read an extensive report on the whole conference on the website of PSI. Read also on this website High level representatives sign The Hague Declaration for concerted action on climate security, 13 December 2017 Stockholm World Water Week 2017: Many reasons for conflicts, water shortage is one of them, 30 August 2017 Planetary security conference: Eruption of armed conflicts cannot be linked to water scarcity, 12 December 2016 More information Planetary Security Initiative c/o Clingendael +31 70 324 53 84 www.planetarysecurityinitiative.org Introduction of the Water, Peace and Security Partnership that is designing new tools and services to identify water shortage-related security risks. The North East Ambulance Service station in Dundalk is among nine stations that have been impacted by a "crisis" in staffing numbers, according to Louth TD Declan Breathnach. I raised the matter when I was made aware of a situation whereby staff were unable to respond to calls due to a lack of staff and a lack of vehicles being available", the local TD said in a statement to the Democrat. He continued: "For instance, on Wednesday night, within the nine stations in the north east a total of 22 staff should have been rostered for duty. Unfortunately, there were only 12 and in most cases they were rostered on a single person basis. "Stations affected last night included those in Drogheda, Ardee, Virginia, Monaghan, Castleblayney and Dundalk. One staff member cannot man or take out an ambulance except to act as first responder in the event of a cardiac arrest." According to Deputy Breathnach the problem has been ongoing for some time now. This problem began approximately eight months ago, when management informed the staff in Monaghan and Castleblayney stations that new rosters were to be introduced without delay bringing six new staff in total to the region." Deputy Breathnach added: "However, in November management then said they had never agreed to six new staff and instead appointed two to Monaghan and two to Castleblayney. New rosters were eventually agreed and put into place. The rosters have become operational but no new staff have been provided to populate these rosters. "It has been described to me as like putting an amount of orange cordial into a larger amount of water. It might look all right but it does not taste the same. The service now has the same staff attempting to fill a bigger roster. They were already short staffed beforehand so this has added greatly to this serious problem. I also highlighted the problem of the lack of an ambulance in Castleblayney. The new roster came with the understanding by staff that an ambulance would be provided to complete the roster. Staff were recently told that this ambulance is now not available and that they should use the ambulances they have. While the Minister gave assurances in relation to additional staff, I did not receive a commitment in relation to additional vehicles. I will continue to monitor this situation and will pursue the issue of the necessity for an additional ambulance vehicle. Lynda Bannon and her partner Eamon Murphy are the proud parents of two-year-old Zoe Murphy. Dundalk people raised 100,000 to send Zoe to the US for surgery What's Zoe's favourite thing about Dundalk? Without a doubt Dundalk FC, or her boys as she calls them. What would your perfect day in the local area be and why? Breakfast in Ma Bradys and then a trip to Aura swimming pool with Zoe to work her muscles in the water. What would you like to change about Dundalk? The reputation Dundalk has to people outside of the town. What annoys you about the town? The Longwalk area that used to be the hub of activity seems very vacant. Id love to see it get more life put into it and the Carroll Village area rejuvenated. What plans do you have for the rest of the year? Confirmation in March and then well be spending a lot of time doing physio to build Zoe up for surgery and pray that we get to the U.S before the year is out. How would you describe Dundalk people? AMAZING. Loyal, generous and extremely supportive! What local amenities could Dundalk do with? We lack special needs facilities such as hydrotherapy and hippo therapy, these activities are major for a lot of different needs, and if we lived in Meath these services would be readily available to us. What's your favourite story you've heard about Dundalk? The Zoe Murphy Appeal meets the food McLoughlin cup. From such a tragic sad story a group of Roberts friends could change a young girls life. Favourite place for a drink in town? The Rumhouse, never had a bad experience, and also the Townhouse for pre-drink cocktail and dinner. What's your favourite Dundalk slang/phrase? CMON THE TOWN! (Had to say this or else Zoe would be annoyed!) Do you think Dundalk people are generous? When a family from the biggest county in Ireland advised us to prepare for at least 18 months of fundraising, the people of Dundalk proved them wrong as we achieved it in five months. This speaks volumes about when one of Dundalk's own needs help, everyone gets behind them. Not only are Dundalk people generous, but they are also absolutely amazing. The heart of Dundalk makes every other town small. We are probably the proudest and most blessed parents to raise our children in Dundalk right now and we will always be so grateful to The Town. Heidi Rice, daughter of award-winning Dundalk engineer, Peter Rice (1935-1992) will attend a special event at the exhibition honouring his life and works, When an Engineer Imagines at County Museum Dundalk, Roden Place, Jocelyn Street, Dundalk, on Wednesday, February 27 at 8pm. Born in Dundalk, Peter Rice worked on many of the most iconic architectural constructions in the second half of the 20th century, including the Sydney Opera House, Lloyds of London inside-out building, and the inverted pyramid at the Louvre in Paris. Rice also worked as a structural engineer on transport hubs such as Charles De Gaulle TGV station in France, Kansai International Airport in Japan and Stansted Airport in the UK. He was awarded the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) shortly before his death in 1992. When an Engineer Imagines features scale models of Rices works constructed by students from DIT. The exhibition also explores the life of Rice through a short video, photos and reproductions of his own notes and sketches, and includes a special building area where young visitors can make their own creations from LEGO. Mr Walsh said: Peter Rice is one of Irelands greatest ever engineers and best kept secrets. He played a key role in the development of some of the worlds most well-known buildings and County Museum Dundalk is delighted to bring the story of this remarkable Dundalk native to the town. We hope that this exhibition goes some way to give him the profile his legacy deserves. We look forward to welcoming Heidi Rice to the exhibition and to hearing her first-hand account on the life and work of her father. When an Engineer Imagines received funding from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Brexit. It's an issue that is to the forefront of many people's minds living in border areas such as Dundalk. But business-owners operating in border areas during such uncertain times are under a different level of pressure. Managing Director at Carlingford Ferry, Paul O'Sullivan told the Democrat about the hopes and fears he has for his booming business as the countdown to Brexit rapidly approaches. Mr O'Sullivan explains: Brexit is one of the most worrying topics of discussion for our business at the moment. We literally cross the border every day. The uncertainty of makes it all the more difficult. All private businesses operating in border areas such as Carlingford need to adapt and change their business models depending on the outcome. We hope that we can adapt and change, but there is a lot of uncertainty. Brexit is now six weeks away and we are no more wiser what it will look like. He continues: To give you a practical example - we now have 25 tour bus companies who intend to connect with Carlingford ferry to create an itinerary based on trips to the Cooley and Mourne mountains areas. Last summer we were working with just one tour operator. "The prospect of a hard border has naturally created some concerns regarding the logistics of how the busses will cross the border. Will they have to stop at terminals? We would like to know so that we could enquire with passport control a day ahead and get passengers pre-cleared. Were trying to think of solutions that will cause the least disruption to our customers and make their journeys as smooth as possible. In terms of support or guidance for business owners operating near the border, the Carlingford Ferry Managing Director says there has been nothing: We've had no contact from anyone at a Government level. No one has any answers yet. If we had some answers we could start working towards a solution, but the way things are we will just have to adapt. It won't be pleasant for anyone. "The local business owner says he is trying to remain positive: We're trying to draw some positives outcomes from a largely negative situation. A hard border would certainly interfere with our operations, but border checking infrastructure would also exist on roads and motorways. We hope that people will see the benefits of crossing the border on a ferry as opposed to in a car. And people routinely have to travel to different countries and would have to pass through security but in Ireland, we're all so used to passing the border into the north and a hard deal Brexit is seen as a step backwards. I think that the natural beauty of the Cooley Peninsula and Carlingford Lough will mean that we have continued interest in the area. Mr O'Sullivan echoes the sentiments of other business owners in the area: The discourse is the same for businesses in the area. It is most certainly a concern, but we are busy here building our commuter business. We bring a lot of tradesmen to work. Since we started operating in summer 2017 we've seen farmers from Northern Ireland renting land in the Cooley Peninisula. They use us all the time to travel across with tractors and transport potatoes. We operate from 10am to 7pm on the hour from the Greenore side. In the summer we'll be operating from 8am to 10pm and we're planning a second vessel for the summer months. We're just planning on going ahead with everything. Despite the uncertainty people just carry on. Duncan, OK (73533) Today Thunderstorms likely in the morning. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 81F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms during the evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Spain: Vox, 'stop rescue ops in Strait of Gibraltar' Far-right party, 'do not encourage trafficking networks' (ANSAmed) - MADRID, FEBRUARY 22 - Far-right party Vox has asked the regional assembly of Andalusia to prevent the maritime rescue agency, which responds to the infrastructure ministry, from taking part in migrant rescue operations in the Strait of Gibraltar to avoid ''increasingly encouraging human traffickers in setting base in North Africa''. The measure was requested in the commission of the presidency of Andalusia's chamber by Vox's MP for Almeria, Luz Belinda Rodriguez, according to online newspaper El Confidencial. Rescue operations, the MP said, ''help human trafficking networks be increasingly active'' in the Maghreb region. According to the spokesman of the far-right party, which supports the government of the Popular Party and Ciudadanos in the region, Alejandro Hernandez, ''we are not talking about suspending rescue operations in the open sea but to end fake rescue operations in Morocco's territorial waters''. In statements to the media, Hernandez claimed that such operations take place after ''slave mafias set the date, place and hour to carry out the rescue'' operations. Interventions by Spanish vessels thus end up ''encouraging this illegal activity'', the spokesman claimed. In a statement, Vox said that 809 migrants died off the coasts of Andalusia in 2018, compared to 224 in 2017, ''a number that increased by over 250%''. The group urged Spanish State aid to focus on ''the countries of origin of migrants''. According to a report on European southern borders presented last week by the Asociacion Pro Derechos Humanos de Andalusia (Apdha), a total of 1,064 people drowned or were reported missing at sea in 2018 as they were attempting to reach Spain's coast along the western Mediterranean route. The victims were four times more numerous than the previous year. For its part the maritime rescue agency, since the start of this year, has stopped publishing on social media the number of migrants it has rescued off Spain's coast after growing criticism for its humanitarian action ''mostly from Vox supporters'', wrote El Confidencial. (ANSAmed). Get out of there! she said. I thought again about the news, realizing I also hadnt seen it that morning. This has just been decided, I thought, then frowned. The signs didnt look new. About that time, I passed a business named Covington Pecan and read their sign: We buy, sell, and crack pecans. As it turns out, every 10 feet of Covington County, Alabama, has a pecan tree. Jenny will tell you her juvenile drug dealers are devoted entrepreneurs. Theyd have spotted the first sign and jumped onto the next street corner, waving their crack packets, shouting, Buy, sell, crack. Right HERE! In short order, the Covington County sheriff would have had them in the back of a cruiser. Theyd scream at their lawyer, Innocent misunderstanding! Jenny hears that a lot. No doubt, some 3,000 years ago, a nation of people shouted those same words at God. They were just as guilty. It seems the Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenanta gold-covered, wooden chest holding Moses stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. Two angels of gold rested on top of the chest, facing one another. Many patients, Handal explained, have multiple mental disorders that are interrelated, called comorbidity, which can often be overlooked at time-crunched doctor visits. You may be missing comorbid conditions that the patients may have because they come for the main problem lets say depression, he said. You go through the symptoms and you decide they have depression and give them the medicine. But, what if they have bipolar disorder? Most bipolar patients come depressed. They dont come when theyre manic. CliniCom can probe for bipolar disorder using the software and intricate set of criteria. Adult services at Dothan Behavioral see 48 new patients every week. With an influx of patients making appointments to see mental health care professionals, Handal said it was important for him to find a way to better serve patients without wasting valuable time. I have always been interested in technology, he said. I figured out we didnt have a way to collect as much information as we really need to be able to serve the patients in a mental health setting in a better way. After the federal government shutdown caused a long delay, six local service agencies and the Dothan Downtown Redevelopment Authority could receive federal funds soon. The Dothan City Commission could approve the appropriation of Community Development Block Grant funding to the organizations during its Tuesday meeting. Two delays both on the federal government side prevented the commission from finalizing subrecipient agreements with the Wiregrass Habitat for Humanity, Hawk-Houston Youth Enrichment Center, Alfred Saliba Family Services, The Exchange Center for Child Abuse Prevention, the Boys and Girls Club of the Wiregrass, the DDRA and Girls, Inc. until now. The first delay an error was not realized until mid- to late November. Once the Department of Housing and Urban Development discovered the mistake, it began to process the citys grant applications but did not finish them before the shutdown began on Dec. 22. It would have been before the holidays, but we got a double-whammy, Dothan Planning Director Todd McDonald said. Cities can use CDBG funds to improve housing and economic conditions for those in low- and moderate-income areas. Cities can utilize the funds themselves or provide them to service agencies who aid those areas that qualify for CDBG funds. The board will decide next month which support staff to cut and what to rename Dothan High School, among other things. All work sessions and meetings are open to the public. The board is holding a specially-called meeting on Monday Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. at Beverlye Magnet School. Attend to show your support, tell your concerns, or just to stay in the know. The Houston County School Board is having an all-day retreat to hammer out plans for the coming school year. Theyll be discussing important topics like which school schedule will benefit the children and help the system with expenses in the coming year, in which they expect to have more students to serve. That will take place Tuesday, Feb. 26, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Houston County Chamber of Commerce. It is open to the public. Flu update For the past couple of weeks, I have been updating you on the flu outbreak. Although, if you have children in school or leave your house for work, you probably know that its not getting any better. Youve probably heard of a friend, family member, co-worker or a friend of a friend battling the disease if you havent been doing so yourself. You are not alone. Every region in Alabama is now experiencing significant influenza activity, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. There is a different level of craziness grabbing the headlines today. Even those who like him have to admit President Trump is different. We see Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters spew verbiage that makes about as much sense as a second grader or me explaining trigonometry. Bernie Sanders wants the country to go to hell in a hand basket, and amazingly he has some followers drinking the Kool-Aid. (I guess Im a bit off because I still dont know what exactly a hand basket is.) Level 5 crazy is new New York Congressional rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (aka ACO), but her loopiness has even scared off people from her own party, so I expect her burnout to be faster than a shooting star as soon as someone who can walk and chew gum simultaneously goes against her when her term expires. However, it is New York, so I had a dream, just like Dr. King, Cooper said. I wanted to be in a position so I could represent and help our community. Cooper, a freshman at Alabama State when he first met King, was in Montgomery during the Civil Rights Movement to further his education on advice from his father. My dad asked did I want to sacrifice four years and get an education or would I rather just sacrifice the rest of my life, Cooper said. I told him I wanted to get an education. Another thing Daddy told me while I was in Montgomery, he said, Now I know they have the demonstrations. I dont know whats going on, but if you break in jail, you better break out because I aint coming (to get you). So I never ended up in jail. Cooper did participate in many of the mass meetings and demonstrations. Pay and display charges in Ballyshannon have been abolished following a long-running campaign by local businesses and councillors. A public consultation on the issue closed last month without any submissions being received following a council motion to amend the bylaws. Cllr Seamus Maguire, who was making his first appearance as a councillor, said he was concerned that the loss of parking charges is going to take 6,000 out of the pot. And that is going to affect Donegal town and Ballybofey and I would raise caution about that, he said. Is removing it really going to help businesses, removing the pay and display. Cllr Barry O'Neill (FG) said it was a momentous day for Ballyshannon with the parking charges being abolished. He added that it is absolutely bonkers to say the 6,000 would have been a loss. He said there was no business case for parking charges in Ballyshannon as the income from the charges was 6,000 a year but the costs to the council were 35,000. While there used to be more income before the bypass, for the last seven or eight years no one wanted the parking charge in Ballyshannon, he said. From the consultations that I have had with the business chamber and the local people, it is universal. He said towns of a similarly like Dungloe have an Aldi, a Lidl and a SuperValu and never had car parking charges. No doubt about it - everyone in Ballyshannon will be happy with it, he said. A motion calling for the abolition of the changes went back five years, he added. He said there is a resilient group of business people who are working hard as a community. They are the people who asked for car parking charges to be scrapped. The working people in Ballyshannon. The Irish Heart Foundation has teamed up with parkrun in a six-week initiative to get the local communities in Donegal moving. People interested in getting active are welcome to attend their free, local parkrun event each week, to walk at their own pace. Parkrun events take place in Buncrana, Dungloe, Falcarragh and Letterkenny and are free, safe and easy to take part in alongside your local community. People looking to get active can take up the Irish Heart Foundations Move More Walking Challenge; a six-week challenge to allow people achieve physical activity guidelines and walk a 5km route at their own pace with the goal of completing a parkrun walk. Each week, participants will be encouraged to increase their step count, increase the distance they walk as well as introduce some mobility, stretching and strength exercises. Video demonstrations and heart health information will be shared in the weekly parkrun e-zine and parkrun volunteers will be provided with the opportunity for free CPR training. Janis Morrissey, Head of Health Promotion, Information and Training at the Irish Heart Foundation said: "The Irish Heart Foundation has a long-standing commitment to promoting walking through the Sli na Slainte programme, with mapped and measured walking routes throughout Ireland and Walking Leader Training for those wishing to lead a walking group in their community or workplace. We are delighted to team up with parkrun to encourage more people in Donegal to walk at parkrun events and will assist people with information on healthy eating, physical activity and heart health. Country Manager,Matt Shields, at parkrun Ireland said: By teaming up with the Irish Heart Foundation, we are delighted to get more people walking and assist them with video demonstrations and heart health information along the way. Volunteers will have the opportunity to access free CPR training and help protect the lives of our members. On Saturday March 2, the Irish Heart Foundation is encouraging everyone to join their nearby parkrun event and walk for both health and leisure. Register for parkrun at www.parkrun.ie/register, choose #IrishHearts as your club and print the barcode before turning up to walk with your local community. Regular physical activity can improve your wellbeing as well as reducing your risk of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke. Make walking part of your life with your local community. St Josephs Community Hospitalin Stranorlar and Ramelton Community Hospital are set to receive no additional funding in 2019. That's according to Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher who also has fears that the planned development at Lifford Community Hospital may also be under threat. Deputy Gallagher said his fears are based on responses he received this week from the department of health and the HSE. Only last November, after much debate and lobbying for St Josephs and Ramelton Community Hospitals, an agreed plan and route forward was signed up to by all interested parties," Deputy Gallagher said. It now transpires after a sequence of questioning by me that the Department of Health and the HSE have confirmed that no additional new funding was to be provided and that the planned improvements for these hospitals must be funded from the existing capital fund. Secondly, it now also transpires that the current capital plan is to be cut by 100 million in 2019, and thereafter cut each year for the next three years in order to pay for the over spend on the National Childrens Hospital." He said there are also potential knock-on consequences for the strategy agreed for Lifford Community Hospital. Concerned I am concerned regarding the agreement which was reached for St Josephs Community Hospital and Ramelton Community Hospital. No new funding was ever approved for the revised plan which was agreed in November 2018. As confirmed by the Health Minister the existing Capital Plan is going to subjected to massive cuts over the next three to four years. Sensex, Nifty end a rangebound session flat; metal stocks outperform Market Close: Benchmark indices ended flat on Friday after trading in narrow range throughout the day. The Sensex was down 26.87 points at 35871.48, while Nifty was up 1.80 points at 10791.70. About 1602 shares have advanced, 906 shares declined, and 148 shares are unchanged. IOC, HPCL, JSW Steel, Vedanta and Yes Bank were the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers include Kotak Mahindra Bank, GAIL, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Cipla. Among the sectors, except energy and bank all other sectoral indices ended in green. Suzlon Energy gains 22%: Shares of Suzlon Energy rose more than 22 percent on the back of report that Danish firm may buy controlling stake in the company. Danish firm Vestas is in talks with Suzlon to buy a controlling stake in the company, reports CNBC-TV18, quoting sources. Market Update: Benchmark indices continue to trade in narrow range with Nifty able to hold 10,750 level. At 14:14 hrs IST, the Sensex is down 19.92 points at 35878.43, while Nifty is down 3.40 points at 10786.50. Credit Suisse on Eicher Motors: The research house maintained neutral call on the stock with target at Rs 21,800 per share. According to firm, the state-wise trends is not too encouraging and within domestic motorcycles, company lost share in almost all the states in Q3. GMR to develop new airport: Shares of GMR Infrastructure gained 2 percent intraday Friday after company signed concession agreement to develop a new international airport at Greece. GMR Airports, a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure along with Greek partner TERNA Group has signed the concession agreement to develop a new international airport of Heraklion at Crete, Greece. Buzzing: Shares of Dynamatic Technologies rose 5.5 percent in the early trade on Friday as company signed a MoU with SAAB Technologies. The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SAAB Technologies with an intent to explore future joint opportunities in commercial and defence related work, including Gripen fighter aircraft. Bharat Electronics gains 2%: Shares rose as much as 2 percent in early trade after signing an MoU with Nagpur-based JSR Dynamics. "The MoU aims at leveraging the individual design and manufacturing capabilities of BEL and JSR to develop weapons and light weight cruise missiles," BEL said in a statement. Market Opens: Benchmark indices opened flat with negative bias on Friday with Nifty holding above 10,750 level. At 09:17 hrs IST, the Sensex is down 36.45 points at 35861.90, while Nifty was down 15.10 points at 10774.80. About 400 shares have advanced, 347 shares declined, and 38 shares are unchanged. Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, HUL, BPCL, HPCL, IOC, HDFC Bank are the top gainers in the morning, while losers is Kotak Mahindra Bank. Market at pre-open: Benchmark indices are flat in the pre-opening trade with Nifty holding above 10,750 level. At 09:02 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 43.31 points or 0.12% at 35,941.66, and the Nifty down 1.40 points or 0.01% at 10,788.50. Kotak Mahindra Bank down 2 percent and Jet Airways is up 1 percent. Market Headstart: Nifty likely to open lower; Jindal Steel, Bajaj Finance among 3 stocks to buy Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat to negative opening for the broader index in India, a fall of 19 points or 0.18 percent. Nifty futures were trading around 10,794-level on the Singaporean Exchange. ING Mauritius to sell stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank: ING Group is looking to sell around 1.20 percent stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank worth over Rs 2,800 crore via block deal, according to a report by The Economic Times. ING Mauritius Investments held about 3 percent stake, or 5,84,53,476 shares, in Kotak Mahindra Bank as of December 31, 2018, shows BSE data. Wall Street ends lower: Weak economic reports pressured US stocks on Thursday after the market's recent run of gains, and a drop in healthcare shares added to the bearish momentum. SGX Nifty: Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat opening for the broader index in India, a fall of 19.50 points or 0.18 percent. Nifty futures were trading around 10,794-level on the Singaporean Exchange. Asian markets trade lower: Shares in Asia were flat in early trade on Friday following a fall on Wall Street, with a deteriorating global economic outlook outweighing more signs of progress in trade talks between China and the United States. Dozens arrested in Temple Mount unrest in Jerusalem For 'inciting violence' and attempts to cross police cordon (ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, FEBRUARY 22 - Tension ran high on Friday morning in Jerusalem amid tight security in the area around Temple Mount. Local sources say that the point of highest friction was on the eastern side of Temple Mount near the Golden Gate, also known as the 'Gate of Mercy' (Bab el-Rahme in Arabic and Shaar ha-Rahamim in Hebrew), where an Israeli police spokesman said that 60 people had been arrested since Thursday. The arrests were made, he said, for ''inciting violence'' and trying to push through barriers set up by the police. Appeals for mobilizing to support 'Bab el-Rahme' had been made in recent days by both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas leaders. According to the Jerusalem Post, the ''controversy started when the Islamic Wakf attempted unauthorized construction and excavations at the ancient Golden Gate''. It added that the ''dispute focused on a passageway of gates and a stairway leading to a hall that had been closed by Israeli authorities for years and was reopened on Friday by Muslim religious officials. The hall is located a short distance from Al-Aqsa mosque itself.'' (ANSAmed). BEL launches straight-from-the-air drinking water generator Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) on Thursday unveiled its new product, the Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG), an innovative solution to meet the ever-increasing need for drinking water worldwide. Chief of the Army Staff General Bipin Rawat, launched the AWG in the presence of BEL chairman and managing director MV Gowtama on the sidelines of Aero India 2019 in Bangalore on Thursday. BEL's Atmospheric Water Generator can be used to generate water straight from the humidity present in the atmosphere. With groundwater, the main source of drinking water, depleting at alarming and unsustainable rates and the search for alternate water sources continues, drinking water is expected to become the most precious commodity on the planet. BEL's Atmospheric Water Generator employs a novel technology to extract water from the humidity present in the atmosphere and purify it. It uses heat exchange for condensing the atmospheric moisture to produce pure, safe and clean potable water. The AWG comes with a mineralisation unit, which is used to add minerals which are required to make the water potable. The AWG is configurable in static and mobile (vehicular) versions and is available in 30 litres/day, 100 litres/day, 500 litres/day and 1,000 litres/day capacities. The Atmospheric Water Generator can be used to provide drinking water in community centres and public places like health care centres, schools, colleges, offices, railway stations, bus stands, airports, sea ports, off-shore oil rigs, military establishments, remote field areas and remote establishments and residential complexes. The Atmospheric Water Generator is being manufactured by BEL in collaboration with CSIR-IICT and MAITHRI, a start-up company based in Hyderabad. It is on display at the BEL stall at Hall-E at Aero India 2019. BEL has, as part of the Government of India's Start-up India Initiative, extending its support to start-up companies. Suresh Prabhu dedicates 1,000-cr commerce ministry projects to nation Union minister of commerce and industry and civil aviation Suresh Prabhu today dedicated to the nation Rs1,000-crore worth of projects of the ministry of commerce and industry through video conferencing in New Delhi. The projects were inaugurated in 7 states and 2 union territories across the country. The commerce minister inaugurated skilling Common Facility Centre (CFC) in Udupi, Karnataka and laid the foundation stone on CFC in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. He inaugurated two spices parks in Kota, Rajasthan and Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh. He also inaugurated the National Institute of Design (NID) campus in Jorhat, Assam and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. IIFT campus was inaugurated at Kolkata, West Bengal and Maidangarhi near Delhi and Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) in Banur, Chandigarh. The minister said the CFC in Udupi for traditional jewellery manufacture in South India will be able to produce world class talent in gem and jewellery business for around 1,200 jewellery units in an around Udupi. The CFC in Udupi has been established by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India (GJEPC). The Coimbatore CFC has the capacity to train 50, 000 people in the unique jewellery manufacture like Kundan, Meenakari, Bidri, temple jewellery, filigree and Jadau jewellery. The gem and jewellery business in India is a $42 billion industry employing over 5 million people and it contributes 7 per cent of Indias total GDP. India is the largest diamond cutting and polishing centre in the world and 14 out of 15 diamonds set in jewellery worldwide are processed in India. India is the 5th largest jewellery exporter in the world. The minister said the establishment of spices parks is a major initiative of the commerce ministry to help farmers to get better returns for their produce and to ensure the quality of spices for exports. The elimination of intermediaries in the supply chain due to direct linkages facilitated by the parks will ensure better prices for the farmers, the minister informed. India is the largest producer and exporter of spices in the world. India produces more than 65 spices out of the 109 spices listed by ISO. Currently, India is holding significant share of 48 per cent in quantity and 43 per cent in value of the global spice trade. At present there is need for improved linkages between spice producers, processes and food processing industry and the spices parks will function as a nodal point for development of the spices industry. The parks will provide common infrastructure facilities for both post-harvest and processing operation of spices. The parks will facilitate both forward and backward integration. Both the spices parks have facilities for cleaning, grading and packing at par with international standards. Prabhu said that for India to transform itself to a confident and prosperous nation the ministry of commerce and industry is working tirelessly to improve skilling in various sectors so that India becomes a part of global value and supply chains. Design today is an integral part of any product and for the multitude of superior handmade products fashioned by Indias artisans designs of international standards will be a game changer for them, he said, adding that the NID campus in Jorhat, Assam, will now open up the world to the highly skilled artisans especially women who produce high quality handmade products in the North East region of the country. While inaugurating the IIFT campus in Kolkata and Bhopal the minister said for India to remain in a leading position there is an urgent need to reshape our education landscape and to prepare a new generation that will be capable of rising to the challenges of a rapidly changing world and also remain competitive globally. The IIFT campus in Kolkata offers full time MBA course with specific focus on international business actives leading to policy inputs, research activities, teaching and training for the development of eastern and north-eastern region. The campus has recently set up a centre for North Eastern studies. The Banur, FDDI. campus at Chandigarh has been established with the total expenditure of Rs100 crore, funded by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) of the commerce ministry. This is one of the 12 campuses of FDDI in the country. The campus has state-of-the-art centres for imparting quality education in footwear technology and management, fashion design, leather goods and accessories design and manufacturing and retail management. The campus is equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure, world class laboratories and Wi-Fi. UNSC statement names Jaish in Pulwama terror attack, China opposes it: report The United Nations Security Council on Thursday issued a statement condemning the suicide bombing in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed, and named Jaish-e-Mohammed, the Pakistan-based terror group which claimed responsibility for the attack, despite China's best efforts to stall it, NDTV has reported. The UN Security Council condemns "in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in over 40 Indian paramilitary forces dead and dozens wounded on February 14, 2019, for which Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility," the statement says. "All states must, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, cooperate actively with the Government of India and all other relevant authorities in this regard," the statement adds. The NDTV report citing sources said China repeatedly tried to block the statement from being issued. China did not want a reference to Jaish-e-Mohammed and wanted a reference to what it calls "India-administered Kashmir". They also objected to the portion on "urging all states to cooperate actively with the Government of India". China, an "all weather" ally of Pakistan, had expressed "deep sympathies" to the families of the 40 CRPF men. In fact, in a condolence message to foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi had said that his country "resolutely opposes and strongly condemns all forms of terrorism", but without naming Pakistan or its terror offshoots. China has over the years used its veto power to scuttle a move by India at the UN to put Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Masood Azhar on a global terror list. India to stop its share of water flowing to Pakistan The union cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday decided to block the flow of Indias share of the waters of the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej to Pakistan and instead improve availability of river water in Kashmir and adjoining Punjab, union minister for water resources Nitin Gadkari said. Earlier, addressing BJP workers during partys national executive meet at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on 12 January, Gadkari said the government will build projects on three rivers to divert water flowing into Pakistan, in order to improve availability of water in the Yamuna. He said the government is working on a project to divert water from three rivers flowing into Pakistan from India. He said both the countries hold the right to use water flowing in three rivers each under the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960. But India has not utilised river waters it is permitted to use under the agreement, he added. After formation of India and Pakistan, India and Pakistan got the right to use waters in three rivers each. The water from our three rivers is going to Pakistan. Now, we are planning to build a project and divert the water from these three rivers into the Yamuna. Once this happens, Yamuna will have more water, news agency ANI quoted Nitin Gadkari as saying at a public event in Bhagalpur, in Uttar Pradesh, on Wednesday. On Thursday evening, Gadkari took to Twitter to say that all the three projects have been declared as national projects. Under the leadership of Honble PM Sri @narendramodi ji, Our Govt. has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, the minister for water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation wrote on the microblogging site. The construction of dam has started at Shahpur - Kandi on Ravi river. Moreover, UJH project will store our share of water for use in J&K and the balance water will flow from 2nd Ravi-BEAS Link to provide water to other basin states, Gadkari said in another tweet. Gadkaris comment could be part of India plans to mount pressure on Pakistan in the wake of a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama last week. At least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans were killed in the attack, for which Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility. India revoked the most favoured nation (MFN) status accorded to Pakistan in 1996 and also hiked tariff on imports from Pakistan by 200 per cent. As per the Indus Waters Treaty, subject to certain conditions, India has the right to use water flowing in eastern rivers, namely, the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej while Pakistan controls the right to use water in western rivers, namely, the Indus, the Jhelum and the Chenab. His love affair with construction began through a life of hard knocks growing up in the Cook Islands. A stutter meant that he wouldnt talk much, instead opting to sit in his bedroom to draw and make things. His most memorable project? An architectural playhouse for his toy soldiers. Young Horstmans found his lifes calling here and its inspiration would soon follow. Elements of primitive arts paired with geometric shapes and patterns is a signature of Dion Horstmans steel sculptures. What is often interpreted by the public as movement in static form, the origins of his designs actually cast a little deeper. During his New Zealand schooling years Horstmans was surrounded by maraes the tribal meeting houses of Maori communities. These house surfaces were adorned with patterns to create an endless succession of diamonds and triangles set in red, black and white. All of it was geometric and repetitive whether it was on buildings or on the tribes peoples clothing. Today elements of that same geometric pattern is instilled in every Dion Horstmans piece. Metal is one of the more difficult materials to work with in art but its never deterred this artist. Steel will always be his paint to canvas and its here that Horstmans intricately shapes each piece through elongation, shortening, flattening and stretching. There are no computers, no team of metal workers. Just one solo vision, two bare hands and some tools to help birth the organic detail through an explosion of heat and sparks. The artists dedication to this old craft means that each piece is unique, captivating and organic. This is the world of Dion Horstmans and its all he knows. Its all he wants. And its a discipline hell be practicing for the rest of his life. NAPLES - Safeguarding the sea by feeding the Mediterranean is the objective behind the 2019 edition of the Med Cooking Congress, the itinerant event that focuses on Mediterranean food to promote responsible consumption and typical products, highlighting the need to protect ecosystems and to follow European rules in the fishing sector. The event scheduled on March 24-25 in Castellammare di Stabia will be attended by award-winning chefs from all over Italy. ''The ingredients to feed the Mediterranean are culinary culture, gastronomic tradition, the respect of the environment and preservation of the sea'', said Luisa Del Sorbo, the creator of the Med Cooking congress. ''We will bring these themes to the Mediterranean coasts. After previous editions in Spain and Croatia, in the fall we will be travelling to Greece to then return to Sicily'' with chefs from 10 Mediterranean countries as guests who will be travelling ''to the Strait of Messina, Taormina and Etna in Sicily''. Water and fishing are the focus of 2019. The event will concentrate on the water resources of Italian coasts with specific marketing projects to invest in the preservation of such resources through research institutes, associations and specialized companies. This edition will also vie to launch the candidature of 28 local springs as a Unesco world heritage site. Funds will also be raised for projects promoted by the association Mare Vivo and the environment ministry. Local and national art and environmental associations, cooking schools from the area and from regions across Italy, the sector's producers and operators and high schools have been involved. Projects are already underway at institutes that train students to work in the hotel and restaurant business in southern Italy. After the event near Naples, the Med Cooking Congress will be in Venice on September 30, in Taormina on October 28 and in Greece on October 1. Photo by Lawrence Monis/trueONE Group [enlarge] One of the properties that sold is The Metro 112. It was developed in two phases between 2008 and 2018, and has 374 units in three buildings. This is Phase II, at 288 111th Ave. N.E. Apollo Global Management, Inc. is a private equity firm specializing investments in credit, private equity and real estate markets. The firm's private equity investments include traditional buyouts, recapitalization, distressed buyouts and debt investments in real estate, corporate partner buyouts, distressed asset, corporate carve-outs, middle market, growth capital, turnaround, bridge, corporate restructuring, special situation, acquisition, and industry consolidation transactions. The firm provides its services to endowment and sovereign wealth funds, as well as other institutional and individual investors. It manages client focused portfolios. The firm launches and manages hedge funds for its clients. It also manages real estate funds and private equity funds for its clients. The firm invests in the fixed income and alternative investment markets across the globe. Its fixed income investments include income-oriented senior loans, bonds, collateralized loan obligations, structured credit, opportunistic credit, non-performing loans, distressed debt, mezzanine debt, and value oriented fixed income securities. The firm seeks to invest in chemicals, commodities, consumer and retail, oil and gas, metals, mining, agriculture, commodities, distribution and transportation, financial and business services, manufacturing and industrial, media distribution, cable, entertainment and leisure, telecom, technology, natural resources, energy, packaging and materials, and satellite and wireless industries. It seeks to invest in companies based in across North America with a focus on United States, and Europe. The firm also makes investments outside North America, primarily in Western Europe and Asia. It employs a combination of contrarian, value, and distressed strategies to make its investments. The firm seeks to make investments in the range of $10 million and $1.5 billion. The firm seeks to invest in companies with Enterprise value between $200 million to $2.5 billion. The firm conducts an in-house research to create its investment portfolio. It seeks to acquire minority and majority positions in its portfolio companies. The firm was formally know as Apollo Global Management, LLC. Apollo Global Management, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in New York, New York with additional offices in North America, Asia and Europe Read More (ANSA) - Rome, February 22 - Students across Italy took to the streets on Friday to protest against the new high-school graduation exam 'maturita' and the regionalization of education. "Regionalization without a national law on the right to education is an effort of the League", the ruling party together with the 5-Star Movement (M5S), and ignores lack of funding for public schools and "confirms the government's betrayal towards us", said the national coordinator of the Students' Union Giulia Biazzo. Students in cities including Rome and Milan are protesting also against a reform of the high-school graduation exam with the introduction of a new Invalsi test, the elimination of a thesis and the central role given to traineeships, Biazzo said. Matson, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides ocean transportation and logistics services. The company's Ocean Transportation segment offers ocean freight transportation services to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam, as well as to other island economies in Micronesia. It primarily transports dry containers of mixed commodities, refrigerated commodities, packaged foods and beverages, building materials, automobiles, and household goods; livestock; seafood; general sustenance cargo; and garments, footwear, e-commerce, and other retail merchandise. This segment also operates an expedited service from China to Long Beach, California, and various islands in the South Pacific, as well as Okinawa, Japan; and provides container stevedoring, refrigerated cargo services, inland transportation, container equipment maintenance, and other terminal services to ocean carriers on the Hawaiian islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai, as well as in the Alaska locations of Anchorage, Kodiak, and Dutch Harbor. In addition, the company offers vessel management and container transshipment services. Its Logistics segment provides multimodal transportation brokerage services, including domestic and international rail intermodal, long-haul and regional highway trucking, specialized hauling, flat-bed and project, less-than-truckload, and expedited freight services; less-than-container load consolidation and freight forwarding services; warehousing and distribution services; supply chain management services, and non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) freight forwarding services. The company serves the U.S. military, freight forwarders, retailers, consumer goods, automobile manufacturers, and other customers. The company was formerly known as Alexander & Baldwin Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Matson, Inc. in June 2012. The company was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. Read More (ANSA) - Rome, February 22 - Racism has flared up in Italy with headline-grabbing cases in Lombardy and Umbria this week that have spurred commentators to suggest the national mood is hardening against migrants. "Kill the n**ger" was scrawled on the exterior wall of a family who have adopted an African man at Melegnano near Milan earlier this week. The phrase was accompanied by a swastika. The family, who have hosted the 21-year-old Senegalese for two years, said this was not the first incident of the kind. "What is happening in so many cases today in Italy is also amplified by politicians like (Interior Minister and anti-migrant League leader Matteo) Salvini," said the mother of Bakary Dandio, Angela Bedoni, who adopted him with her husband Paolo Pozzi. "We must build bridges, not close ports," she said referring to Salvini's closing Italian ports to NGO migrant rescue ships. She also said Salvini's recent migrants and security decree "is putting many people into difficulties today. And it is a question of culture too. It is important to understand what happened in Italy before 1945 and today". Salvini replied by saying "I respect the pain of a mother, I embrace her son and I condemn all forms of racism. "And the lady should respect the demand for security and legality that is coming from Italians, that I make concrete as a minister. "Blocking migrant smugglers and their accomplices, installing CCTV cameras and expelling criminals is simply justice, it isn't racism". On Thursday, then, education officials in the central Umbria region said that they were looking into reports that a supply teacher had bullied a black pupil. The Tuttoggi.info site reported that the teacher made the boy stand in front of a window with his back to the class at a school near Foligno and said to the other children "look how ugly he is". The teacher's reported defence was that it was all part of a social experiment, and she was trying to explain the Holocaust. "We have been informed of this alleged case and we are running all the necessary checks," Antonella Iunti, the director of the regional school office, told ANSA. Education Minister Marco Bussetti said "urgent measures" would be taken and ministry sources said the teacher would be suspended. On Friday The father of the boy said "it is an episode of racism and it was not a social experiment". The boy's sister was also singled out to be mocked by the class, sources said. Talking to reporters outside the school, the father said "both my kids are ill over this". Intrepid Potash, Inc. produces and sells potash and langbeinite products in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Potash, Trio, and Oilfield Solutions. The Potash segment offers muriate of potash or potassium chloride for use as a fertilizer input in the agricultural market; as a component in drilling and fracturing fluids for oil and gas wells, as well as an input to other industrial processes in the industrial market; and as a nutrient supplement in the animal feed market. The Trio segment provides Trio, a specialty fertilizer that delivers potassium, sulfate, and magnesium in a single particle. The Oilfield Solutions segment sells water for use in the oil and gas services industry; and offers potassium chloride real-time mixing services on location for hydraulic fracturing operations and trucking services. The company offers salt for use in animal feeds, industrial applications, pool salts, and treatment of roads and walkways; magnesium chloride for use in the deicing and dedusting of roads; brines for well development and completion activities in the oil and gas industry; and metal recovery salt, a combination of potash and salt to enhance the recovery of aluminum in the aluminum recycling processing facilities. Intrepid Potash, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is based in Denver, Colorado. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Accenture: 2nd Road, 2nd Road Pty Ltd., ?What If!, ?What If! China Holdings Ltd, ?What If! Holdings Limited, ?What If! Innovation Singapore Holdings Pte, ?What If! Limited, ?What If! Shanghai Co. Ltd, ?What If! USA LLC, ACN Consulting Co Ltd, AD Dialeto Agencia de Publicidade SA, AD.Dialeto (Digital Agency acquired by Accenture), AGS Business and Technology Services Limited, ASM Research Inc., ASM Research LLC, ATAN, Accenture (Beijing) Mobile Technology Co Ltd, Accenture (Botswana) (Proprietary) Limited, Accenture (China) Co Ltd, Accenture (Shenzhen) Technology Co. Ltd., Accenture (South Africa) (Proprietary) Limited, Accenture (South Africa) Pty Limited, Accenture (UK) Ltd, Accenture 2 Business Process Services S.A., Accenture 2 LLC, Accenture A/S, Accenture AB, Accenture AG, Accenture AS, Accenture Africa Pty Ltd, Accenture Australia Holding B.V., Accenture Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, Accenture Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture Azerbaijan Ltd, Accenture BPM Operations Support Services S.A., Accenture BPM S.C.R.L., Accenture BV, Accenture Branch Holdings B.V., Accenture Bulgaria EOOD, Accenture Business Services for Utilities Inc, Accenture Business Services of British Columbia Limited Partnership, Accenture Business and Technology Services LLC, Accenture C.A, Accenture CAS GmbH, Accenture Canada Holdings Inc., Accenture Capital DAC, Accenture Capital Inc, Accenture Central Europe B.V., Accenture Chile Asesorias y Servicios Ltda, Accenture Cloud Services GmbH, Accenture Cloud Software Solutions Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions LLC, Accenture Cloud Solutions Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Co Ltd, Accenture Co Ltd., Accenture Communications Infrastructure Solutions Ltd, Accenture Company Ltd, Accenture Consulting Services Ltd Tanzania, Accenture Consultores de Gestao S.A., Accenture Consultoria de Industria e Consumo Ltda, Accenture Consultoria de Recursos Naturais Ltda, Accenture Credit Services LLC, Accenture Customer Services Distribution SAS, Accenture Customer Services Limited, Accenture Danismanlik Limited Sirketi, Accenture Defined Benefit Pension Plan Trustees Ltd, Accenture Defined Contribution Pension Plan Trustees Ltd, Accenture Delivery Poland sp. z o.o., Accenture Dienstleistungen GmbH, Accenture Digital France Holdings SA, Accenture Digital Holdings GmbH, Accenture East Africa Limited, Accenture Ecuador S.A., Accenture Egypt LLC, Accenture Enterprise Development (Shanghai) Co Ltd., Accenture Federal Services LLC, Accenture Finance (Gibraltar) III Ltd, Accenture Finance GmbH, Accenture Finance GmbH in liquidation, Accenture Finance II GmbH, Accenture Finance II GmbH in liquidation, Accenture Finance II Ltd, Accenture Finance Limited, Accenture Finance and Accounting BPO Services S.p.A., Accenture Finance and Accounting Services Srl, Accenture Flex LLC, Accenture GP LLC, Accenture Ghana Limited, Accenture Global Holdings Ltd., Accenture Global Services Ltd, Accenture Global Solutions Ltd, Accenture GmbH, Accenture HR Services Ltd, Accenture HR Services S.p.A., Accenture Healthcare Processing Inc., Accenture Holding GmbH, Accenture Holding GmbH & Co. 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Ltd., Accenture Technology Solutions (Thailand) Co. Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions - Solucoes Informaticas Integradas, Accenture Technology Solutions - Solucoes Informaticas Integradas S.A., Accenture Technology Solutions GmbH, Accenture Technology Solutions Oy, Accenture Technology Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions S.A. de C.V., Accenture Technology Solutions SAS, Accenture Technology Solutions SRL, Accenture Technology Solutions Sdn. Bhd., Accenture Technology Solutions Slovakia s.r.o., Accenture Technology Ventures BV, Accenture Technology Ventures S.P.R.L., Accenture Uruguay SRL, Accenture Vietnam Co., Accenture Vietnam Co. 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Ltd., Avanade (Thailand) Co Ltd, Avanade Asia Pte Ltd, Avanade Australia Pty Ltd, Avanade Belgium SPRL, Avanade Canada Inc., Avanade Denmark A/S, Avanade Denmark ApS, Avanade Deutschland GmbH, Avanade Europe Holdings Ltd, Avanade Europe Services Ltd, Avanade Federal Services LLC, Avanade Finland Oy, Avanade France SAS, Avanade GZ Computer Technology Development Co. Ltd. (SH), Avanade Guangzhou, Avanade Holdings LLC, Avanade Hong Kong Ltd, Avanade International Corporation, Avanade Ireland Limited, Avanade Italy SRL, Avanade KK, Avanade Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avanade Netherlands BV, Avanade Norway AS, Avanade Poland Sp. z o.o., Avanade Poland Sp. z.o.o., Avanade Schweiz GmbH, Avanade South Africa, Avanade South Africa Pty Ltd, Avanade Spain SL, Avanade Sweden AB, Avanade UK Ltd, Avanade do Brasil Limitada, Avanade Osterreich GmbH, AvantBiz Consulting Limited, Avenai, Axia Ltd., BABCN LLC, BCT Solutions, BCT Solutions Pty Ltd, BPO Servicos Administrativos Ltda, BRIDGE Energy Group, Beacon Consulting Group Inc., Beijing Genesis Interactive Technology Co. Ltd., Boomerang Pharmaceutical Communications, Boomerang Pharmaceuticals Communications Ireland Limited, Bow & Arrow, Brand Learning, Brand Learning Group Limited, Brand Learning LLC, Brand Learning Ltd, Brand Learning Partners Limited, Brand Learning Pte Limited, Bridge Energy Group LLC, Brightstep AB, Byte Prophecy, CAS, CRMWaypoint, CadenceQuest Inc., Capable Marketer Limited, Capgemini - North American health practice, Capital Consultancy Services Inc., Certus Solutions Consulting Services Ltd, Certus Solutions Ltd, ChangeTrack Research Pty Ltd., Chaotic Moon Studios, Chengdu Mensa Advertising Co. Ltd., Cimation, Cimation UK Limited, Cirruseo, Cirruseo SAS, Clarity Insights, Clearhead, Clearhead Group, Clearhead Group LLC, ClientHouse GmbH, Cloud Sherpas, Cloud Sherpas (GA) LLC, Cloud Sherpas (SN) (PTE.) Limited, Cloud Sherpas New Zealand Ltd., Cloud Talent Limited, Cloudsherpas, Cloudsherpas Inc., Codagenic Pty. Ltd., Computer Research and Telecommunications LLC, Concrete Desenvolvimento de Sistemas Ltda., Concrete Solutions, Concrete Solutions Ltda., Context Information Security, Coritel S.A., Corliant Inc., CreativeDrive, CustomerWorks Europe SL, Cutting Edge Solutions Ltd, D5 Global Holdings LLC, DAZ Systems Inc, DAZ Systems LLC, DAZSI Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd., DMA Solutions Limited, Davies Consulting, DayNine Consulting, DayNine Consulting (Australia) PTY LTD, DayNine Consulting (Deutschland) GmbH, DayNine Consulting (New Zealand) Limited, DayNine Consulting France SAS, DayNine Consulting Japan K.K., DayNine Consulting LLC, Declarative Holdings, Declarative Holdings LLC, Defense Point Security, Deja vu Security, Design Strategy and Research de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Designaffairs LLC, Digiplug S.A.S., Digiplug SAS, Digital Consulting & Software Services LLC, Droga5, Droga5 LLC, Droga5 Studios LLC, Droga5 UK Ltd., Duck Creek Technologies, Duck Creek Technologies LLC, Deja Vu Security LLC, ESR Labs, Elcurator SAS, Enaxis Consulting, Enaxis Consulting L.P., End-to-End Analytics, Energuia Web, Energuia Web S.A., Energy Management Brokers Ltd., Energy Quote Private Ltd., EnergyQuote JHA, EnergyQuote JHA Ltd., EnergyQuote Trading Ltd., Enimbos, Enkitec, Enterprise System Partners, Enterprise System Partners B.V. , Enterprise System Partners Bilisim Danismanlik Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Enterprise System Partners Global Corporation, Enterprise System Partners Limited, Enterprise System Partners PR LLC, Enterprise System Partners S.A.S., Epylon, Evopro Group, Exactside Limited, Fairway Technologies Inc, Fairway Technologies LLC, Filmproduction ApS, First Annapolis Consulting, First Annapolis Consulting Inc., First Annapolis Consulting LLC, First Annapolis International, Fjord, Focus Group Europe, Focus Group Europe Limited, Formicary, Formicary Holdings Limited, Formicary Limited, FusionX, FutureMove Automotive, Gapso Servicos de Informatica Ltda., Genfour, Genfour Limited, George Group Consulting L.P., Gestalt LLC, Gestion Altima Canada Inc., Global Public Firm S.L., GlobalView SAS, GoodFilm GmbH Filmproduktion Stuttgart, H.B. Maynard and Co. Inc., Hagberg Consulting Group, Hangzhou Aiyunzhe Technology Co. Ltd., Happen, Hjaltelin Stahl, Hjaltelin Stahl K/S, Hytracc Consulting AS, Hytracc Consulting Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Hytracc Consulting UK Limited, Hytracc Holding AS, I-Faber S.p.A., IBB Consulting, IMJ Corp, IMJ Corporation, INCAD, INSITUM, IT One Company Limited, ITBS Servicios Bancarios de Tecnologia de la Informacion SL, Icon Integration, Imagine Broadband (USA) Ltd, Imagine Broadband USA LLC, Imaginea Inc, Industrie&Co, Infoman AG, Infoman Schweiz AG, Informatica de Euskadi S.L., Infusion Development Inc., Infusion Development UK Limited, InfusionDev LLC, Innoveer Solutions India Pvt Ltd, Insitum Consultoria Argentina SRL, Insitum Consultoria Brasil LTDA, Insitum Consultoria Colombia SAS, Insitum Consultoria Europa SL, Insitum Consultoria Peru SAC, Insitum Consultoria S.A. de C.V., Intrepid, Intrigo Systems Inc, Intrigo Systems India Pvt. Limited, Intrigo Systems LLC, Inventor Advertisement (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inventor Technology Limited, InvestTech, Investtech Systems Consulting LLC, Javelin Group, Javelin Group (Bulgaria) EOOD, Javelin Group Limited (UK), Javelin Group SASU, K Comms Group Limited, KCS.net AG, KCS.net AG West, KCS.net Deutschland GmbH, KCS.net Holding AG, KCS.net Osterreich GmbH, Kaper Communications Limited, Karma Communications Debtco Limited, Karma Communications Group Limited, Karma Communications Holdings Limited, Karmarama, Karmarama Comms Limited, Karmarama Limited, Knowledge Rules Inc., Knowledgent, Knowledgent Group LLC, Kogentix, Kogentix LLC, Kogentix Ltd, Kogentix Singapore Pte. Ltd, Kogentix Technologies Private Limited, Kolle Rebbe, Kolle Rebbe GmbH, Kream Comms Limited, Kunstmaan, Kunstmaan NV, Kurt Salmon, Kurt Salmon Canada LTD, Kurt Salmon UKI, Kurt Salmon UKI Ltd., Kurt Salmon US LLC, LINKBYNET, LabAnswer, LabAnswer Government, LemonXL Limited, Logistics Market Place Limited (UK), Loud & Clear Creative Pty Ltd, MAXIM Systems Inc., MCG US Holdings LLC, Mackevision CG Technology and Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Mackevision Corporation, Mackevision Japan Co. Ltd., Mackevision Korea Ltd, Mackevision Medien Design, Mackevision Medien Design GmbH, Mackevision Singapore Pte. Ltd., Mackevision UK Ltd, Maglan, Maglan Information Defense Technologies Research Ltd., Maihiro, Matter, Matter Llc, Maud Corp Pty Limited, Maxamine International, Media Audits Ltd., Media Hive, Mediasenz Pty Ltd., Meredith Specialty LLC, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing Corporation, Meridian Informed Purchasing Ltd., Mindtribe, Mindtribe Product Engineering LLC, MobGen, MobGen Technology S.L, Moonrise NV, Mortgage Cadence, Mortgage Cadence an Accenture Company, Most Champion Ltd, Mudano, N3 LLC, NBS Marketing Inc., NYTEC, Nanjing Demeng Advertising Co. Ltd., Nashco Consulting, NaviSys Inc., Neo Metrics Analytics S.L., Neo Metrics Chile, Neo Metrics Chile S.A., New Content, New Content Chile SpA, New Content Editora e Produtora Ltda., New Energy Aborda, New Energy Associates Ltd, New Energy Group, New Energy S.r.l., NewsPage, NewsPage (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, NewsPage China Ltd., NewsPage Pte Ltd, Nice Agency Limited, Northstream, Northstream AB, Northstream Holding AB, OCTO Technology, OPS Rules Management Consultants, Octagon Research Solutions Inc., Octo Technology LTDA, Octo Technology Pty Ltd, Octo Technology SA, Octo Technology SPRL, Octoman SAS, Odgaard ApS, Olikka, Operaciones Accenture S.A. de C.V., OpusLine, Orbium, Orbium Consulting Ltd, Orbium GmbH, Orbium Holding AG, Orbium Inc., Orbium International AG, Orbium International sp. z o.o., Orbium Licences AG, Orbium Limited, Orbium Pte. Ltd., Orbium Pty Ltd, Orbium Services sp. z o.o., Orbium Sarl, Origin Digital, PCO Innovation, PCO Innovation Canada Inc., PCO Innovation EURL, PIXO PUNCH Limited, PLM Systems S.r.l, POC Holdings, PRION GmbH, PT Accenture, PT Asta Catur Indra, PT Kogentix Teknologi Indonesia, Pach Invest SARL, Pach Invest SAS, PacificLink Group, PacificLink iMedia Ltd., Paja Finanssipalvelut Oy, Parker Fitzgerald Inc, Parker Fitzgerald Inc., Parker Fitzgerald International Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Limited, Parker Fitzgerald PTY Ltd, Parker Fitzgerald Services Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Solutions Limited, Partners Technology Mexico Holdings BV, Pecaso Ltd., Pegasus Production K/S, Perseroan Terbatas. Accenture, Phase One Consulting Group, Pillar Technology, Pollux, Pragsis Bidoop, Pragsis Bidoop UK Ltd, Pragsis Technologies S.L, PrimeQ, PrimeQ Australia Pty Ltd, PrimeQ Ltd, PrimeQ NZ Pty Ltd, Procurian Germany GmbH, Procurian Inc., Procurian International I LLC, Procurian International II LLC, Procurian LLC, Procurian Singapore Pte. Ltd., Procurian Switzerland GmbH, Procurian USA LLC, Proquire LLC, PureApps Ltd., Qi Jie Beijing Information Technologies Co Ltd, Radiant Services, Radiant Services LLC, Random Walk Computing Inc., Reactive Media Limited, Reactive Media Pty Ltd., Real Protect, Realworld OO Systems Ltd., Redcore, Redcore (Asia) Pte Ltd, Redcore (India) Private Limited (India), Redcore (New Zealand) Limited, Redcore Group Holdings Pty Ltd, Redcore Pty Ltd, Renacentis IT Services, Revolutionary Security, RiskControl, Rothco, Rothco Holdings Designated Activity Company, Rothco Unlimited Company, S.C. EnergyQuote S.r.l., S3 TV Technology Limited, S3 TV Technology Ltd., SALT Solutions GmbH, SEC Servizi, SEC Servizi S.p.A., SOPIA Corp., Sagacious Consultants, Sagacious Consultants LLC, Sanchez Capital Services Pvt Ltd, Schlumberger Business Consulting, Seabury Airline Planning Group, Seabury Aviation & Aerospace (UK) Limited, Seabury Aviation & Aerospace Asia (Hong Kong) Limited, Seabury Aviation Consulting LLC, Seabury Cargo Advisory B.V., Seabury Consulting, Seabury Corporate Advisors LLC, Seabury Human Capital LLC, Seabury Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Seabury Structured Finance LLC, Search Technologies BPO, Search Technologies BPO Inc., Search Technologies GmbH, Search Technologies International LLC, Search Technologies LATAM, Search Technologies LATAM S.A., Search Technologies LLC, Search Technologies Limited, Sente Partners LLC, Sentelis, Servicios Tecnicos de Programacion Accenture S.C., Shackleton, Shackleton Barcelona S.L., Shackleton Chile S.A., Shackleton Madrid S.L., Shackleton S.A., Shanghai Baiyue Advertising Co. Ltd., Shun Zhe Technology Development Co. Ltd., Silveo, Simian Pty Limited, SinnerSchrader AG, SinnerSchrader Commerce GmbH, SinnerSchrader Content GmbH, SinnerSchrader Deutschland GmbH, SinnerSchrader Praha s.r.o., SinnerSchrader Swipe GmbH, Sinnerschrader, Sistemes Consulting S.L., Solutions IQ, Solutions IQ LLC, SolutionsIQ, SolutionsIQ India Consulting Services Private Limited, Storm Digital, Storm Digital B.V., Structure Consulting Group, Structure Consulting Group LLC, Sutter Mills, Systor AG, TQuila Limited (UK), Tadata Creative Unlimited Company, Tara Insurance DAC, Tara Risk DAC, TargetST8, TargetST8 Consulting LLC, Tech - Avanade Portugal Unipessoal Lda, Tecnilogica Ecosistemas S.A., Tecnilogica Ltd., Tecnilogica, The Brand Learning Partners Limited, The Callisto Integration Corporation, The Monkeys, The Monkeys Pty Limited, The Myrtle Group, Total Logistics, Total Logistics Supply Chain Consultants Limited, Tquila, Troop Studios Pty Ltd, VanBerlo, Verax Solutions, Verax Solutions Corporation, Vertical Retail Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd., Vertical Retail Consulting Hong Kong, Vertical Retail Consulting Hong Kong Ltd., Vertical Retail Consulting Ltd., Vivere Brasil Servicos e Solucoes SA, Vivere Brasil Solucoes De Credito Ltda., Weblinc Pty Ltd, Wire Stone, Wire Stone LLC, Wire Stone Sarl, Wolox, Yesler, Zag, Zenta, Zenta Global Philippines, Zenta Global Philippines Inc., Zenta Mortgage Services LLC, Zenta Recoveries Inc, Zenta US Holdings Inc., Zielpuls, Zielpuls (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zielpuls GmbH, avVenta, designaffairs, designaffairs Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., designaffairs GmbH, designaffairs group China Co. Ltd., dgroup, i4C Analytics, iDefense, and solid-serVision.com GmbH. Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus Overview The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus is a flagship smartphone by the South Korean giant which was launched ahead of the MWC 2019 event in February. The phone is a powerhouse and offers an excellent performance. It has a sleek design, a beautiful screen, excellent camera and offer unparalleled performance. Samsung has seen excellent sales of the Galaxy S10 series due to the excellent features and performance it offers. Display The stylish Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus has a curved 6.4-inch quad-HD+ Super AMOLED display with 1,440 x 3,040 pixels resolution and a pixel density of 526 PPI. The aspect ratio of the display is 19:9 and the screen is protected by a Gorilla Glass v6 against bumps and scratches. The phone has sleek dimensions of 157.6 x 74.1 x 7.8 mm (6.20 x 2.92 x 0.31 in) and weighs 175 grams. It has an IP68 dust/water proof body which the company claims can withstand up to 1.5m water for 30 mins. The phone is available in a wide range of colours including Prism White, Prism Black, Prism Green, Prism Blue, Canary Yellow, Flamingo Pink, Ceramic Black, Ceramic White, and Cardinal Red. Camera On the camera department, the Galaxy S10 Plus has a 12MP + 12MP + 16MP triple rear lenses that clicks beautiful and detailed images. The phone has a Telephoto Camera for amazing zoom possibilities, a Wide-angle Camera and an Ultra-Wide Camera for panoramic landscapes. It has a dual front camera setup of 10MP and 8MP shooters, for clicking amazing picture-perfect selfies. Performance Under the hood, the device is powered by two dual-core and a quad-core processor with Exynos 9 Octa 9820. It has a Mali-G76 MP12 and an 8GB RAM which allows it to handle all tasks with ease. It comes with support for Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified). The phone runs on Android 9.0 (Pie) with One UI on top. It has a Fingerprint (under display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, heart rate, and SpO2. Battery and Storage The Galaxy S10 Plus has 512GB ROM which provides ample space to keep the files and data of the users. The phones memory is expandable by another 512GB via a microSD card, which is a huge plus. The Galaxy S10 Plus stocks a 4,100mAh Li-ion battery with fast charging and wireless charging. Connectivity options included in the device are 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth v5.0, NFC, USB Type C, A-GPS and Glonass provided. (ANSA) - Rome, February 22 - The government is preparing to allocate 10 million euros to a fund to overcome the crisis in the milk and cheese market, according to the draft of a decree that ANSA has seen. Dairy farmers have dumped milk in the streets on several occasions in recent weeks as part of protests against plummeting prices. The government has pledged to help them. + compare By Digit Desk | 02-Aug-2016 Official Website : Brainwavz Release Date: 01 Aug, 2016 Market Status : LAUNCHED LAUNCHED CLOSE Design Brainwavz XFit XF-200 1,899 Buy Now 1,899 Store Available atStore see all prices > Digit Rating 65 out of 100 Read Full Review Market Status : LAUNCHED Release Date : 01 Aug, 2016 Official Website : Brainwavz Digit Rating 65 out of 100 Key Specs NA NA NA NA 1,899 (onwards) Store Available atStore Price : set price drop alert > Current Best Price of Brainwavz XFit XF-200 is 1899 X Enter your email & we will notify you the instant price drops Send latest launches, News, Best Deals once a week Allow notifications to get our latest updates Digit Rating Digit Rating 65 Design details Design 70 Design 70 performance details performance 58 performance 58 Value for money details Value for money 62 Value for money 62 feature details feature 75 feature 75 X Brainwavz XFit XF-200 1899 | Buy Now prices in india Merchant Name Availability price go to store Out of Stock 1,899 Buy Now Brainwavz XFit XF-200 Specifications OnePlus Community Sale is live now Up to 4000* off with HDFC bank cards | Special Price Coupons | Up to Rs. 5000 Exchange bonus Click here to know more Brainwavz XFit XF-200 Brief Description Brainwavz XFit XF-200 Price in India updated on 2nd Aug 2016 Brainwavz XFit XF-200 01 Aug, 2016 Brainwavz XFit XF-200 Brainwavz XFit XF-200 Rs.1899, Brainwavz XFit XF-200 Rs.1899 , . Brainwavz XFit XF-200 Amazon Brainwavz XFIT XF-200 In-Ear Sport Earbuds Noise Isolating Earphones Stereo Headphones Remote & Micr... 1,899 Digit Desk Email Digit Desk Samsung Galaxy S10 128GB was launched in March 2019 & runs on Android 9.0 OS. The Smartphone is available in more than three color options i.e.Prism White, Prism Black, Prism Green, Prism Blue, Canary Yellow, Flamingo Pink & has a built in fingerprint sensor as the primary security feature, along with the host of connectivity options in terms of 3G, 4G, GPS, Wifi, NFC Bluetooth capabilities. Priced at Rs. 66900 the phone is available with 128GB of internal storage. The Smartphone is powered by 2.7 GHz Octa core Exynos 9820 Octa (8 nm) Processor. A 8GB of RAM ensures phone runs smoothly even the most memory intensive applications & still shows no signs of lag. 128GB of internal storage can be expanded to 512GB via a microSD card. The Phone comes with a large 3400 mAh battery to support it's 6.1 inch screen with Dynamic AMOLED display having a resolution of 1440 x 2040 at 550 ppi. The screen is also protected by a durable Scratch Resistant glass. Samsung Galaxy S10 128GB boasts of dual primary camera of 12 + 12 + 16 megapixel and 10 megapixel front Camera. It also supports Face Detection and high dynamic range(HDR) imaging. Highlights: Realme has announced that it will launch the Realme 3 on March 4 in India. The company posted an image on its official Twitter handle a few hours after Realme CEO Madhav Sheth uploaded an image showing a spec comparison between the MediaTek Helio P70 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, detailing the advantages of the former. The tweet is being seen as a teaser suggesting that the upcoming Realme 3 could sport the MediaTek Helio P70 SoC under the hood. The tweet, which is now deleted, comes a day after company teased a dual-camera system by posting an image from its official Twitter handle. The image also showed the diamond design on the back. Realme 3 will be companys second phone after the Realme U1 to be powered by a MediaTek processor. Now coming back to comparison, the image shows that the Helio P70 chipset has lower power consumption in heavy games, faster CPU performance and faster downloads. The Helio P70 is built on the 12nm process compared to the 14nm of the Snapdragon 660. Unfortunately, there is no further information available on the handset, however, it is expected that the phone could be priced similar to the its predecessors. Recently, Sheth teased the upcoming smartphone on Twitter by writing, Realme 1+ Realme 2 = Best Power and Best Style in the same segment. Realme 3 teasers are strategically popping up when Xioami is aggressively promoting its upcoming budget Redmi Note 7 smartphone in the country. In January, a report said that the company Realme could launch the Realme 3 by the end of the first quarter. Sheth had reportedly said that the company is working on making its upcoming phone different from the Realme 2. The executive also refuted the idea of launching a phone with a triple camera setup or a punch-hole screen. He said that the company is working on a handset with a 48MP sensor. There is no clarity whether the Realme 3 will have the 48MP sensor on not. In comparison, Xiaomi has been teasing the Redmi Note 7 with 48MP camera as its USP. Xiaomi is preparing to launch its budget Redmi Note 7 smartphone on February 28 in the country. The phone is already launched in China and recently, it was teased on Flipkart. The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC and the latest processor comparison could be seen as Realmes dig against its competitor. Related Read: Xiaomi Mi 9 X Alita Edition to launch on February 24 at MWC Highlights: YouTube deletes 400 channels, disables comments on millions of videos. The comments were sexually offensive towards children. Some companies have either pulled or postponed their advertising spending from YouTube. In a bid to protect kids from pedophiles on the platform, YouTube has terminated as many as 400 channels, disabled comments on tens of millions of videos and has reported illegal comments to law enforcement. The action was in response to a video that was published by YouTuber Matt Watson (aka MattsWhatitis). In the video, he showed how some deviant people were posting sexually offensive comments on certain videos that were being monetised. In the video, MattsWhatitis showed how some people were time stamping specific scenes that sexualized the child or children in the video. The videos arent pornographic in nature, however, the comments sections on the videos are filled with predatory comments and videos targeting young children. (Watch Below) Over the past 48 hours I have discovered a wormhole into a soft-core pedophilia ring on Youtube. Youtubes recommended algorithm is facilitating pedophiles ability to connect with each-other, trade contact info, and link to actual CP in the comments. I can consistently get access to it from vanilla, never-before-used Youtube accounts via innocuous videos in less than ten minutes, in sometimes less than five clicks.. Additionally, I have video evidence that these videos are being monetized, Watson said in the description of the video he posted on YouTube. He alleged that YouTube is facilitating this behaviour and called upon the company to do something. In response, YouTube appreciated the YouTuber for raising awareness of this with fans and left a comment to provide an update on what theyve done to combat horrible people on the site in 48 hours. ...you realise all of us at YouTube are working incredibly hard to root out horrible behaviour on our platform, the company said. Meanwhile, companies like Walt Disney Co, and Nestle reportedly pulled its advertising spending from YouTube, after Watson posted the video. Some of the videos involved ran next to ads placed by Disney and Nestle. Bloomberg reports that video game maker Epic Games and German packaged food giant Dr. August Oetker KG had also postponed YouTube spending after their ads were shown to play before the videos. In 2017, Johanna Wright, Vice President of Product Management at YouTube, posted a blog in which she detailed the steps taken by the video hosting platform to protect families on YouTube and YouTube Kids. Out of a number of steps taken to keep offensive content off the platform, YouTube said that it would remove ads from inappropriate videos targeting families as well as block inappropriate comments on videos featuring minors in objectionable light. Related Report: YouTube to start banning dangerous challenges and prank videos Recently, Samsung has launched three flagship devices under its Galaxy S lineup - Samsung Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10, and the Galaxy S10+. The cheapest device of the lot is the Galaxy S10e, which is launched at a starting price of Rs 55,900. On the other hand, the Xiaomi has also launched its Mi 9 in China on Wednesday, which is a successor to the Xiaomi Mi 8. So, lets see which device among these two would win the battle when it comes to hardware at least on paper? Display The Samsung Galaxy S10e features a 5.8-inch FHD+ Infinity-O display, which means that it has a small punch hole cut out at the front for a selfie camera instead of a notch. On the other side, the Xiaomi Mi 9 features a 6.39-inch Samsung AMOLED display that offers a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels. Performance The Samsung Galaxy S10e is powered by an Exynos 9820 octa-core processor, which is paired with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal memory that is expandable to up to 512GB via a microSD card. On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi 9 is backed by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 octa-core processor, which is coupled with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal memory that is not expandable. Cameras One of the key highlights of the Xiaomi Mi 9 is its triple 48MP + 16MP + 12MP camera setup on the back. At the front, the phone consists of a 20MP sensor for clicking selfies. The Samsung Galaxy S10e has a dual 12MP + 16MP camera set up on the back along with a 10MP sensor on the front. The Samsung Galaxy S10e is now available for pre-order in India till March 5. The phone is available for Rs 55,900 and those who will pre-book the device are also eligible for cashback of Rs 6,000 on making payment via an HDFC bank credit or debit card. On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi 9 has launched in China at CNY 3,999 (appx Rs 31,800). The phone is expected to appear in India very soon. EXCLUSIVE: Kay Kay Menon To Feature In Netflixs New Web Series The web content space has been churning out some real rich stories for the public to cherish. Netflix has been a revolution of sorts. And not to forget the other web content platforms that have steadily proliferated and have in turn raised up the bars much higher. Every platform has been trying to outdo the other in terms of the quality of the tale showcased. Now there is another big revelation. A source close to Netflix revealed, Fine and restrained actor Kay Kay Menon has been signed up for Netflixs next grim web series. The series will again see Kay Kay displaying his mettle as a serious actor. The series is being produced by Colosceum Media Pvt Ltd. The title of the web series is still being kept under wraps but we would surely break it to you in a day or two. We tried to get in touch with Netflix but they remained unavailable till the time of filing the story. For more on this, keep a close tab on Desimartini.com SALT LAKE CITY A proposal seeking to provide an attorney for each child and teen facing criminal charges in Utah's juvenile court system has cleared another hurdle at the Utah Capitol. A legislative panel unanimously approved the measure Friday, over concerns of some who said it goes too far in forcing lawyers to attend hearings for young clients even after they are sentenced. In more populous counties like Salt Lake, many judges already appoint an attorney for each youth. But in more rural areas with fewer resources, children as young as 8 or 9 years old sometimes appear alone before a judge, said sponsor Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross. "Their parents can't stand up and speak for them because they're not licensed as attorneys," he told members of the House Judiciary Committee. "That is the status quo in Utah." Under SB32, each child or teen in the juvenile system would automatically be assigned an attorney a move Utah already requires for those facing felonies, but not lesser misdemeanors. The bill would allow youths to later forgo the defender and represent themselves, or their families could hire a different attorney, Weiler said. And if a court finds a family can pay and afford the legal bills, it will send an invoice much like a hospital would, he said. If the already-overwhelmed public defenders aren't required to go to a hearing, Weiler said, he fears they may fail to spot potential "red flags" in write-ups on the child's progress and "the kids might fall through the cracks." Kane County Attorney Rob Van Dyke sees it differently. He told the panel the measure would codify best practices that don't apply to review hearings after sentencing, or when a young person faces a relatively minor tobacco citation. "We don't object to children having attorneys. We object to the state having to pay for it," he said. Pam Vickrey, executive director of Utah Juvenile Defender Attorneys, said youngsters can't be expected to represent themselves adequately in the proceedings, which can be extremely intimidating for them. Even at court dates following sentencing, they can sometimes be ordered to spend more time in custody, she said. "Those kids still need representation." Craig Hall, R-West Valley City, said the issue is among the top 10 most important measures lawmakers will consider this year. He called it a "bill that we need to pass this session." About 1,500 youths now face misdemeanor charges in Utah, according to the Utah Indigent Defense Commission. The additional cost of defending them under the measure would be about $725,000 per year. The bill advances to the full House. SALT LAKE CITY An Arkansas lawmaker proposed a bill this week that he thinks might help schools improve their reading scores, according to television station KTHV. Rep. Alan Clarks proposed bill would limit some of a districts funding that falls under the National School Lunch state categorical funding if overall reading readiness is below 70 percent for students in third to 10th grade, according to KTHV. According to KATV, the fund is designed to close achievement gaps. Districts that fail to increase reading readiness over a period of one year would be required to have employees with certification to teach complete the states reading initiative program. If the district does not improve in two years, it would receive lower level funding and would be at risk of getting program funding cut altogether if it failed in the third year. According to the Arkansas NSL State Categorical Funding and Expenditures Report, the national lunch program should not be confused with the federal National School Lunch Act program. The state funding is money distributed to school districts based on the concentration of poverty in their student populations, according to KTHV. It is a secondary funding mechanism thats determined by how many kids you have on free and reduced lunch, Clark, R-Lonsdale, Ark., told KTHV. Its just unfortunate thats what (the program) is called. The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program providing free or low-cost lunches to children each school day. It was established under the National School Lunch Act signed by President Harry Truman, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to KATV, the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance has verified that the bill does not affect school lunches, but the group is still not supporting it. "The money is used oftentimes for one-on-one tutoring," AHRA Executive Director Kathy Webb told KATV. "It's used for extra instructional time. It's used for outreach works or school nurses. This bill could cut back on some of that money if these kids are not reading ready or measuring up on certain criteria that he wants to impose." Clark said he thinks the bill is necessary as other reading programs in the state of Arkansas have only increased performance by 10 to 20 percent, according to KTHV. He says the bill does not punish a district that is stuck at a certain level, only a district with decreased performance. According to KTHV, the bill was sent to the Senate committee on education Wednesday. A fiscal impact statement for the bill will be required before a decision can be reached by lawmakers. Correction: This article has been updated to provide more information on the National School Lunch state categorical funding program. A previous version incorrectly stated that the bill "would cut lunch funding for schools struggling with reading." SALT LAKE CITY The House voted without discussion 50-20 to approve changes made in a radioactive waste bill dealing with the potential storage of depleted uranium in Utah. HB220 by Rep. Carl Albrecht, R-Richfield, now goes to Gov. Gary Herbert for his signature, although critics are asking him to veto the measure. That appears unlikely, given a statement issued by his office. As with all legislation, we will scrutinize the bill before signing, but the governor believes that his major concerns have been addressed," said Paul Edwards, Herbert's deputy chief of staff. The Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah, or HEAL Utah, held a protest at the state Capitol Friday, asserting that the bill paves the way for the state to accept "hotter" material beyond low-level radioactive waste, or waste in the class A category. Jessica Reimer, HEAL Utah policy associate, said the law would classify depleted uranium as it comes in as class A waste, but over time it increases in radioactivity. She said the law also allows blending, which could allow class B and C waste, and changes waste classification to dose limits, which is more subjective. "Allowing depleted uranium to be stored at EnergySolutions Clive facility means that the state is creating a radioactive site forever," Reimer said. The Senate sponsor of the bill, Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, said that assertion is not true. "It does not approve depleted uranium to be disposed of in Utah," Sandall told his colleagues this week. "Finally, it does not open the doors to class B and C waste." EnergySolutions is seeking to dispose of the nation's stockpile of depleted uranium, a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process, and a material so dense it is used by the military for coating tanks and as a shield in radiation therapy. Depleted uranium, however, is a unique waste stream because as it decays it grows hotter over time a characteristic critics say makes it unsuitable for disposal at EnergySolutions' Clive facility in Tooele County. Steven Nelson, geology professor at Brigham Young University, said the half-life of depleted uranium will not lose radioactivity in a few centuries, the half-life is 4.5 billion years. He said eventually it will get out and be dispersed into the environment. "Depleted uranium requires deep burial," Nelson said. Nelson has also studied Lake Bonneville, and said uranium is quite soluble in alkaline water, which would be a problem if the lake system rises. "I wonder, if the legislators that passed this bill really understood depleted uranium, how they could in good conscience vote in favor of it," Nelson said. Sandall, however, urged his colleagues to base their vote on the "science" not emotion. EnergySolutions has been going through an extensive review process with the Utah Department of Environmental Quality to determine site suitability for the material that includes modeling how the disposal site would perform in deep geologic time. At the protest, Ashley Soltysiak, director of the Utah chapter of the Sierra Club, questioned the timing of the bill with the incomplete review process. She said decisions on depleted uranium should be made after the outcome of the assessment. "They know that depleted uranium will not remain class A waste and will eventually exceed class C standards. They know that bringing it here will violate our current state laws, so instead theyre seeking to change those state laws at the eleventh hour and thats fundamentally wrong," Soltysiak said. Sandall said the bill does not eliminate the requirement for review and it still requires the division director to approve the disposal. Changes in the bill also require the U.S. Department of Energy to provide stewardship of the site in perpetuity. Reimer said the language of the bill has improved as it progressed through the Legislature, but HEAL Utah still has a number of issues with the bill. She called it another "small chip away" at the state's nuclear waste policies. After the rally, attendees delivered more than 1,000 postcards from citizens asking Herbert to veto the bill. Contributing: Emily Ashcraft SALT LAKE CITY A dramatic early morning crash that caused a semitrailer hauling gas to ignite on I-15 closing the freeway for hours prompted troopers Friday to again warn drivers to always stay focused on the road. "You never know when an accident's going to happen around you. It could be 1:30 in the morning or 12 in the afternoon. You've just got to be vigilant about your surroundings and driving in a safe manner," Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Danny Allen urged. The crash happened about 1:30 a.m. The UHP said a 17-year-old was driving a Honda Civic when he swerved across all lanes of traffic from the far right to the far left, then back to the right side where he hit a concrete barrier, propelling the Honda into the path of an oncoming semitrailer. The semi carrying 7,000 gallons of gas and 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel rolled, caught fire and was soon fully engulfed, according to the UHP. Both drivers escaped their vehicles and were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries. The driver of the semitrailer, Spencer Powell, 41, of Bountiful, was taken as a precaution. The driver of the Honda, Gabriel Guenther, of Cedar Hills, suffered cuts and bruises, mainly to his face. What caused the teen to leave his lane remained under investigation Friday. Cleanup of the accident created a sticky situation for emergency crews. "You could see the smoke for miles. Even in the dark, the flames were extremely large. The public, when they stopped in front of that crash, the flames were extremely close. We tried to get them back as soon as we could," Allen recalled. He said as fuel started to cover the freeway, troopers had to move traffic the wrong way in order to get drivers to the nearest off-ramp. "With the truck catching on fire, especially with spilled fuels and combustibles, it makes it a lot harder because you're not able to get close to the area," Allen said. The freeway was shut down between 400 South and 2100 South for about five hours as crews from multiple jurisdictions dealt with the inferno. By 6 a.m., the southbound I-15 collector ramp was reopened. A portion of I-15 remained closed for most of the day Friday. Utah Department of Transportation spokesman John Gleason said three lanes on southbound I-15 near 1700 South suffered extensive damage and crews spent most of the day repairing them. While UDOT crews were on the scene, the storm drain on I-15 actually ignited because of the diesel fuel that had leaked out of the tanker, Gleason said. About 500 gallons of fuel leaked, according to troopers. "I just learned that our UDOT crews must repair 12 to 13 concrete panels and replace 333 feet of concrete barrier. We will also assess damage to the drainage system caused by an explosion when gas from the tanker leaked into the pipes," Gleason said on Twitter. Allen said the explosion caused the whole roadway to shake. Though the crash caused quite a mess, the lieutenant said it was lucky both drivers were able to walk away from the crash. Both were wearing seat belts, he said, which contributed to them escaping with minor injuries. In January 2018, a semi hauling two tankers carrying 9,000 gallons of gasoline and 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel caught fire on southbound I-15 near 8000 South. That incident forced UDOT to close the road overnight to repair the damage the fire had caused. (ANSA) - Rome, February 22 - The completion of the Turin-Lyon high-speed rail (TAV) link has not been stopped but the project has merely been "revised with the aim of bringing the project to completion," Deputy Premier, Interior Minister and League party leader Matteo Salvini said on Italian TV Friday. Salvini is in favour of completing the TAV while his government ally, the 5-Star Movement (M5S) of Deputy Premier and Labour and Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio is against it. The M5S is pointing to a cost/benefit analysis commissioned by the government which has said the project spells a loss of 7-8 billion euros. "There is no block on the TAV," Salvini said on Mattino 5. "There is only a revision of the project with the goal of taking the project to completion. "I'm doing and I will do everything possible to make sure the TAV is completed, the project can be revised and money can be saved, but the train pollutes less and costs less than cars. "The building work was already stopped and I hope it gets back up running as soon as possible". The House on Thursday approved a motion from the M5S and the League committing the government to "wholly rediscuss the Turin-Lyon high-speed rail (TAV) line project, applying the accord between Italy and France". A tussle between the government coalition partners over the controversial rail link has been going on for months now. The M5S has long been against the project and its calls for the project to be ditched have increased after the new report commissioned by the transport ministry said it has a negative cost-benefit balance of seven to eight billion euros. Salvini reiterated on Thursday that he thinks it should go ahead. "The aim is to revise the project, save where it is possible to save, and move forward," Salvini said. But Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Manlio Di Stefano of the M5S said the project should be terminated. "It's a project that would cause the Italian people to lose seven billion euros," he said. "As far as we are concerned, it should be stopped completely". Transport Minister Dario Toninelli said Thursday the M5S would find a solution on the TAV with the League "at most in two weeks". "At most in two weeks time we will communicate the solution. We'll find a solution with our government allies," he said. Toninelli added: "Enough talking about the TAV. The citizens want to hear about so many other projects". European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Thursday that it was up to France and Italy to decide whether to press ahead with the TAV. "It's a decision that the two republics, France and Italy, must take," Juncker told reporters. "We'll see who wins". SALT LAKE CITY Amid recent calls for more moral education in public schools, Noah Webster Academy in Orem, Utah, has something to say: Come see what we're doing. The charter school's curriculum is built around principles espoused by the late Stephen R. Covey, whose character-based "The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People," became a global phenomenon. The school's goals include fostering moral virtue and conscience in students. While the word "moral" has become a linguistic landmine in the U.S., causing some schools to opt for "character" education instead, the need for instruction that goes beyond language, science and math is getting renewed attention. The interest is driven by the polemics of an increasingly divided nation and the decline in participation in religious institutions that for centuries were the primary source of moral instruction outside of the home. Some have argued that many parents aren't even teaching morals anymore. The late cultural critic Allan Bloom wrote that many American parents have lost control over their childrens moral education at a time when no one else is seriously concerned with it. And in The New York Times recently, a writer admitted that her children don't know what sin is. Is it time for schools to step up? Some people say yes. Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Drexel University dean and professor Paula Marantz Cohen called for "Kant in kindergarten," arguing that an ethical framework proposed by German philosopher Immanuel Kant, taught in public schools, could help a nation hobbled by "a profound lack of moral rigor." And Chester E. Finn Jr. of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute wrote recently that moral education in schools is necessary "because of manifest failures in the public and semi-public squares: with honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness, both on the part of elected officials and in the small venues where we observe an excess of selfishness, cheating, laziness, and willingness to be a burden on others." The challenges to moral education include concern about the separation of church and state, and the pressure of more demands on teachers already struggling to meet existing standards. Even parents who agree in principle may question whose morals are being taught. Efforts to allow schools to offer classes in the Bible, as introduced recently in Kentucky and Virginia and endorsed by President Donald Trump, have met criticism from not only the American Civil Liberties Union, but some Christians. Moral instruction can include the Bible and other sacred texts, but it's not necessary, as schools like Noah Webster Academy have shown. A recent report on character education in Utah gives a glimpse into how it could be done. Numerous states introducing Bible Literacy classes, giving students the option of studying the Bible. Starting to make a turn back? Great! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2019 'Central to our work' In 2004, the Utah Legislature passed a law establishing requirements for civic and character education, to include instruction on honesty, integrity, morality and civility; respect for parents, home and family; and the dignity and necessity of honest labor. In its most recent report on what Utah schools are doing, the state Board of Education identified several schools with noteworthy programs, including Maeser Preparatory Academy in Lindon, which employs "Socratic Seminars" to explore classic Roman virtues including honesty, integrity, morality, civility, duty, honor, diligence and service. Also recognized is Noah Webster Academy, a charter school with 540 students in Orem, where every month students focus on a different "habit" espoused by Covey, and each grade focuses on a different value throughout the year. Kindergartners, for example, are learning about the importance of conscience, while fourth-graders explore moral virtue, and fifth-graders, patriotism, said academic coordinator Staci Madsen. The students share what they learn at a weekly school meeting and also at a values assembly at the end of the school year. Charter schools typically have more leeway to delve into character-based programs, whereas traditional public schools are more hesitant to delve into programs that could cause controversy. But, in fact, it's difficult to teach any subject without confronting moral issues, said Robert Austin, social studies specialist for the state Board of Education in Utah and co-author of the annual report on civic and character education. If youre going to figure out how to split the atom in a science class, you also have to think about whether you should, right? If youre going to say, 'oh, we can genetically modify human embryos so they can be resistant to cancer,' well, we still have to think about whether thats a good idea or not, Austin said. Teachers also help mold the character of students apart from instruction, as in nudging them to pick up litter or discouraging bullying. "The reality is, building character is central to our work, and a lot is such a given in how we operate in schools that it's hard to separate the dancer from the dance. Where does one start, and where does one end?" How we fail In presenting a report on school safety commissioned after the 2018 shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, federal officials said "our country's moral fabric needs more threads of love, empathy and connection." The report's first recommendation on how to achieve this: character education. Marvin W. Berkowitz, co-director of the Center for Character and Citizenship at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, developed one of the character education frameworks that the federal report recommends. PRIMED is an acronym for six components of a strong program: prioritization, relationships, intrinsic motivation, modeling, empowerment and developmental pedagogy. Berkowitz, who travels internationally to teach educators and policymakers how to implement character education, said the United States is failing on job one: prioritization. "In Singapore, it is an authentic priority. In the United Arab Emirates, theyre trying to make it as an authentic priority. In the U.S., its some distant back-burner thing. We talk about it politically, and maybe if theres a little bit of money left over, we might put it there, but probably not. And no policymaker is going to be out there arguing for it to be a lead priority for funding," he said. Berkowitz said the United States has become a marketplace culture where everything is commodified. Because they're not fiscal assets, children and their education are easy to overlook, but the lack of moral education early in life is the root of serious problems later. Violence and racism aren't addressed by laws or changes in policy, he said. "It's human goodness that we have to be concerned about." The 'moral' landmine Matt Osber is a software developer in Framingham, Massachusetts, who, about a decade ago, started thinking about the moral lessons of historical events. As a hobby, he developed a website called My Moral Compass where people could read accounts of historical events as diverse as the Cuban missile crisis and former president Bill Clintons relationship with Monica Lewinsky and even watch videos and vote on the most important moral lessons of the events. When Osber offered the program, free of charge, to local high schools, and started recruiting interns, the response was less than enthusiastic. He believes that part of the problem was that the website and its offerings weren't sophisticated enough (unlike iCivics, the company he works for now), but he also noticed resistance to the word moral. Osber himself is not religious and sees the word "moral" as representative of simply distinctions between right and wrong, values that all people share. Not everybody sees it that way. Its a landmine, he says. Now 'moral' and 'ethical' is all in the eye of the beholder, and teachers have to step so carefully in these areas because it can be perceived as bias one way or the other. Berkowitz agrees that educators have to be careful in the words they choose. Theres no non-controversial language for this. Schools have tried a variety of terms that are more neutral such as social emotional learning but as soon as you get into it and people see youre talking about human goodness, they tend to panic. The panic is about the fear of the unknown and fear that you are going to be imposing an ethical system that is incompatible with mine, that youre going to be indoctrinating my kids different from the moral vision I want them to have. To get around that, he recommends that educators downplay the language, while being very clear about what it is intended. Another way is to partner with people, simply say to people who have trepidations about it, We dont want to violate your faith-based ethic or your family ethic, or your cultural ethic. Would you join us in the planning and development of this initiative to ensure that we dont do anything thats anathema to the way you think and the way you want your kids to think. Once involved, its rare that anyone objects, and most character-based programs come to five core values that everyone shares: respect, accountability, caring, compassion and fairness. Do more, do better Richard Weissbourd, a senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Kennedy School of Government in Boston, is co-director of a program called Making Caring Common, which helps educators and parents raise compassionate children and conducts research to reduce the harms and biases that can act as barriers to their empathy and moral growth. Weissbourd observes that many schools have character education programs, but some are superficial and lack accountability. As a result, they have no measurable effect on childrens lives. A few schools do it really well, he said, but in many, The programs arent central. Theyre not at the core of schools. Theyre not deep. And theres no real monitoring or tracking or continuous improvement. In addition to making character education part of the culture of a culture, other changes could expand the value and reach of such instruction. For example, Making Caring Common has worked with about 200 colleges and universities to ensure that they consider character when evaluating a student for admission. When a student's character counts as much as grades or extracurricular activities, and when colleges look at whether students are "ethically engaged," secondary schools might place more emphasis on moral education. Too often, parents blame the school, the school blames the parents, and the schools and parents blame the lack of community institutions. Richard Weissbourd, a senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education Weissbourd and his colleagues are also working to develop a rubric that teachers could use to assess a student's progress in caring about others. Weissbourd, who is 61, notes that when he was in elementary school, his report card noted his progress in categories such as "plays well with others" and "is courteous." Some schools still assess qualities like that, but for those that don't, such measurements could help, by letting parents know how their children are doing in these areas, and encouraging children to try harder in these areas. Ultimately, the moral education of children calls for all hands on deck, working together, he said. "What's going on in the big picture here is that schools are spending less time on ethical character, fewer people are involved in religious institutions, and parents are spending less time on ethical character." "Too often, parents blame the school, the school blames the parents, and the schools and parents blame the lack of community institutions. We even have data that shows some parents think other parents are the problem," Weissbourd said. "So the case we're trying to make is, everybody has to do more and do better and be more thoughtful about this," he said. "You can't wait for other people to do this." And while acknowledging that teachers are under tremendous pressure meeting academic goals set by their states, Austin, at the Board of Education in Utah, said schools must remember their ultimate goal. Public educations central mission is not really to educate great workers, not primarily to create, for example, scientists or engineers or mathematicians or historians. Its to help nurture people who are going to be civically engaged, the guardians of democracies for generations to come." SALT LAKE CITY Although the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network is in favor of legislation raising the age for purchasing tobacco to 21, they used the annual Cancer Action Day to lobby against a bill that would do just that. Why? Because the network says it penalizes youth, it could keep other counties and cities from passing their own tobacco laws and it would be phased in over two years. We would love a bill we could support, so we are hopeful that he will make some changes, said the network's Brook Carlisle. "We just want to do it the right way the first time." She said she would rather take the time to make HB324 a good bill, even if it means the legislation takes another year. Carlisle said she is meeting Friday with the bill's sponsor, Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy. "With HB324 its punishing the youth instead of punishing the tobacco industry who is irresponsibly targeting them, as well as the retailers who are selling to them," said Jen Tischler, grassroots manager for the network. She said addiction should not be shamed or criminalized, especially for youth. If youth get in trouble while they are building who they are as a person, they could define themselves as thugs or criminals. "This is not about smokers, this is about protecting youth from having access to these addictive materials that the tobacco industry is pushing," Tischler said. According to Tischler, 800 youth in Utah each year become daily smokers, and vaping is especially a problem for youth because they have more access to it and it's easier to hide from parents. Jordan Osborne was part of an anti-tobacco youth group in Utah County and helped change laws to make parks tobacco free. But when he was 18, a friend a few years older bought him a vape pen and he became a smoker. He still vapes and occasionally smokes cigarettes. He said he doesn't feel like he is addicted, but he gets aggravated when he hasn't smoked. "If they had the smoking age at 21 back then it would have made it even harder for me to even get (tobacco)," Osborne said. He said if he had never started using tobacco he would be a lot healthier and wouldn't have to have something to help him relax. Cedar Hills and Lehi both passed ordinances in the last few weeks raising the age to buy tobacco to 21. But opponents to HB324 say language in the bill could stop other cities from making changes to local tobacco laws. SALT LAKE CITY Stericycle will close its North Salt Lake medical waste incinerators after deciding to abandon a planned move to Tooele County as part of a negotiated settlement with the state of Utah. The Utah Division of Air Quality agreed to waive half of a $2.3 million fine in 2015 if the company agreed to locate its incineration operations to a more remote section of the state away from residential populations. Stericycle had three years to complete the move from North Salt Lake once all regulatory permits were issued and it had the approval of the governor. But company spokesman Jennifer Koenig said Thursday the planned 40-acre parcel to serve as the new site for twin incinerators proved unworkable. "The challenges with water became too costly to make this economically feasible in the long term," she said. Koenig said Stericycle notified the air quality and solid waste divisions with the Utah Department of Environmental Quality of its decision to abandon the Tooele County site on Wednesday. "We will keep our transportation piece in North Salt Lake," she added, so its metropolitan base of customers will still have an avenue for disposal of waste that is trucked out of state. Koenig said the company has 10 incinerator units in six locations, with the closest that could be served through long haul trucking situated in Kansas City, Kansas. Bryce Bird, director of the Utah Division of Air Quality, said Thursday it was too early to comment on the implications of Stericycle's decision regarding enforcement of the settlement agreement's provisions. "The settlement is a two-party agreement. We will need to work together to agree on the terms now that the underlying understanding has changed. We have not yet completed those discussions, so I can't comment about the final implications of their decision at this time," he said. Koenig, however, said she does not believe Stericycle risks an imposition of the entire fine because of the decision to not relocate to Tooele County. "The fine was dependent upon us closing the (North Salt Lake) facility once all the (state and local) permits had been issued. We intend to be compliant with the agreement." Stericycle incinerates medical waste that includes pathological streams, trace chemotherapy and nonhazardous pharmaceutical waste from clients such as hospitals and nursing homes. The Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah, an environmental advocacy group that has long opposed Stericycle, issued a statement Thursday supporting the decision. "Given Stericycle's troubling history here in Utah, their contribution to the Wasatch Fronts air pollution problems and Tooele Countys already excessive hazardous waste activity, its appropriate for this company to move its operations elsewhere, Dr. Scott Williams, the group's executive director, said in the statement. We believe that Utah should maintain its focus on attracting clean businesses and jobs and not rely on hazardous industries to sustain its economic growth. North Salt Lake residents and clean air activists for years pushed to get the incineration facility to leave the neighborhoods built up around it. That push gained momentum after the state issued its highest monetary fine in history against the company for air pollution-related violations. Regulators first suspected irregularities in late 2011 and throughout 2012 during a series of three stack tests to determine the level and nature of pollutants released from the plant. Tests are supposed to be conducted at the maximum production or combustion rate and reflect normal, operational variances. According to the division, the company first attempted to blame a flawed laboratory analysis for tests that were in violation of emission limits. After the division obtained additional information, it found that a Dec. 27-28, 2011, stack test exceeded levels for hazardous pollutants, as well as nitrogen oxides, or highly reactive gases. Regulators also said they believed the company's logs were manipulated to show compliance with operating conditions. Koenig said the company was disappointed it could not make the Tooele County location work. "It was disappointing to put in this much effort and not be able to move the project forward." SALT LAKE CITY Three measures that could invoke significant reforms to Utah water law and the state constitution continue to percolate with controversy that could once again derail their progress. The two bills, SB17 and HB31, as well as HJR001, will be heard Friday morning in the House Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environmental Quality Committee. On Thursday, the Utah League of Cities and Towns sent out an action alert based on information the organization had indicating possible "negative" revisions might surface at the meeting related to Sen. Ralph Okerlund's bill on extraterritorial jurisdiction, or SB17. The measure by Okerlund, R-Monroe, proposes to retool a law on the books since 1915 that grants extraterritorial jurisdiction to cities of the first class, like Salt Lake City and Provo, to manage an entire watershed even if it falls outside their municipal boundaries. Other cities can exercise water protections 15 miles from the point of diversion and 300 feet on either side of the stream or river. In a legislative briefing to a coalition of community councils earlier this year, attorney Nathan Bracken described the three-sentence law as a "Frankenstein document," because of its rambling ambiguity. Extraterritorial jurisdiction, in one sense, gives rise to complaints by smaller cities or water districts that would like that same type of regulatory power, he said. American Fork, one of his clients, expressed concern a couple of years ago over development and activity in American Fork Canyon because of a spring that supplies some of its water. It wanted to extend protections beyond its boundaries to the canyon. On the flip side, Bracken said critics worry extraterritorial jurisdiction is a powerful land use tool. "It does have the ability to impact properties," he said. "There's concern there is authority there and could be greatly abused." Officials from Wasatch and Duchesne counties expressed concerns in the past that Salt Lake City could exercise its water muscle into the so-called Wasatch Back via the connectivity of watersheds. Some lawmakers, too, have worried about potential recreational restrictions could be invoked at water supply reservoirs. Okerlund's bill proposes to require written agreements if a first class city wants to exercise extra-jurisdictional authority outside of its county boundaries with cities and counties where the source water is, a public hearing and public notification to state water authorities. Rep. Kim Coleman, R-West Jordan, who is sponsoring HB31, said she thinks Okerlund's bill is a "big step toward mitigation of extraterritorial jurisdiction," but she questions if there will ever be a way to fully address concerns by non-residents. "Where we find disenfranchisement is in customers who have no say in representative government, where there are land use impositions with no recourse," she said. She said she remains critical of land use authority of "no bounds," that governs recreation and other activities in the Wasatch Canyons via a Salt Lake City watershed ordinance in place for decades. "You can't have a picnic on your own property," she said. "There is a permitting process for that. What we see currently are land use restrictions that exceed protections by the (state) and EPA." Beyond the issue of extraterritorial jurisdiction, non-residents being served by a water provider also lack recourse to hold people accountable, Coleman noted. About a dozen homes in a rural area of the county are in White City, but get Sandy City water, which was contaminated with excess fluoride due to a malfunctioning pump. Although the White City water district opted out of adding fluoride to the water, these homes were part of a different district acquired by Sandy City years ago. "They have no say about the fluoride, they have no say in the water quality," she said. The water reform measures surfaced in the 2018 legislative session, but were punted to specialized study committees over last summer to try to eke out compromise legislation to solve gaps or ambiguities in the law dealing with surplus water contracts, water service areas, the state constitution and other areas of conflict. Laura Briefer, director of the Salt Lake City Division of Public Utilities, said she was disappointed to learn about efforts to change the extraterritorial bill. "We went to the table in good faith to come up with some solutions everybody could agree on," she said. Briefer also disputed Coleman's assertion on the watershed ordinance regulation of picnicking. "I am not sure where that came from." Coleman cited a section of city code which prohibits picnics in unapproved places. SALT LAKE CITY After years living outside the state, Moira Jackson-Drage moved back to Utah to be able to better spoil her three grandchildren and be closer to family. But pain from fibromyalgia and other conditions is holding her back. Medications that would help her myriad symptoms would cost hundreds of dollars each month, even with insurance and a lower dose than what she needs. Without it, she says she does what she can to live a barely normal life. "I deal with the pain. I deal with the neuropathy. I do what I can," Jackson-Drage, of Magna, told the Deseret News. She's tried more affordable substitutes and they haven't worked or bring on even worse side effects. "I feel like I've become a drug cabinet," the 50-year-old said, adding that the runaround only adds to her anxiety and depression issues. The financial strain also doesn't help. Federal documents show that pharmaceutical giant Pfizer increased the price of Lyrica the drug Jackson-Drage needs to adequately control her pain by 145 percent from 2009 to 2015, with an increase of 19.3 percent in 2017. She feels there's no reason for it. "We went without a lot of things trying to afford the medications over the years," Jackson-Drage said, adding that she just wants it to be "more doable." "What else can I do," she said. "I just wish they could make it affordable for everyone." Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, has been trying to plant the seed for Utah to become the first state in the nation to implement a wholesale drug importation program. He believes bringing large quantities of certain drugs across the border from Canada will drive prices down and forge better competition in the market here. "Rising spending on prescription drugs is putting a strain on a lot of people," he told the Utah House Business and Labor Committee on Thursday. Thurston proposes HB267 , the Prescription Drug Affordability Act, that he says will help "reduce the burden of prescription drug costs on taxpayers and families." He's asking his colleagues at the Capitol to ask the federal government for permission to get the ball rolling, since federal statute already allows for it. "We don't live close to any borders," Thurston said, adding it would cost a lot for individuals to go to Canada or Mexico for the medications themselves, though the Public Employees Health Plan has already been sending people to Tijuana for certain really expensive drugs at a fraction of the cost that they're available to patients in the states. "The United States buys 40 percent of drugs in production. We're their best customer," Thurston said. "Why isn't the best customer getting the best price?" Global business and marketing strategies for pharmaceutical manufacturers are not disclosed, so it remains largely unknown why other countries, such as Canada, pay less for the same drugs. "We think there is another, better way," said Dana Malick, senior director of health policy for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade association representing 38 biopharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies in the country. She said importing drugs could disrupt the United States' tightly regulated supply chain. Malick said other methods, including rebates at the point-of-sale for many drugs sold in the U.S., "could lower patient cost without jeopardizing health and safety." She said savings could come at a cost to patients if the deal goes through. A drug regimen that extended her own father's life, she said, for three years after a stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis did not become available for use in Canada until well after he had died in America. Malick also said medication approval processes and price controls are negotiated differently throughout the world, contributing to a wide range in drug prices. Having something available that could help, but is out of reach, nearly paralyzes Jackson-Drage. She said it's unfortunate that she has to go without. "There are thousands of us who face the same choices to buy our prescriptions or live," she said. Jackson-Drage and her husband, who were married later in life, have more income now than when they were each raising their families separately, and they still have to pass on the expensive drugs that would most likely make it so she could hold down a job and function more normally as a member of society. The back pain is so bad some days that she can't sit or stand. Mostly, on those days, she just tries to sleep the pain away. "I wouldn't wish it on my own worst enemy," she said of the condition she's had for more than 30 years. "I never know if it is going to be good day or a bad day, though, I don't have good days any more." It took decades for doctors to nail down an official diagnosis, what with the migraines and arthritis-like illnesses that have popped up; and establishing with a provider and getting on a good treatment regimen, she said, takes years. She said it's "really crappy" that good health is so out of reach. "There are days that I don't function, period," Jackson-Drage said. Her two cats have provided endless emotional support. She moved from Chicago in November, as her husband's son just had another baby. She'd love to have the energy to have them over for dinner and establish relationships with the kids. Jackson-Drage started speaking out because she couldn't do much else. Thurston's bill would "help Utah patients avoid making the difficult decision to afford their life-saving drugs or skip doses," said Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, a national patient advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., which spoke out on Utah's efforts Thursday. "Since Big Pharma insists on gouging Americans, we should all be able to import safe bargains from abroad," the organization's founder, David Mitchell, said. New competition created by importing drugs, he said, would put pressure on U.S. drug manufacturers to lower their prices. Committee members questioned liability and whether regulations are already in place at the federal level. But Thurston said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would legally have to sign off on the import of any medications, making it, unquestionably, a safe and reliable option. "The FDA is not going to approve a process that is not safe," he said. A "long list" of potential imports, Thurston said, contains mostly drugs used to treat symptoms of multiple sclerosis and arthritis. It would not include opioids or biologics. Thurston estimates the state would save $100 million on prescriptions for public employees alone, depending on the types and quantities of drugs brought into the state. "It saves everybody money, except the pharmaceutical companies, apparently," he said. The bill remains in control of the committee, as time ran out on Thursday and the routine meeting was adjourned without a decision. SALT LAKE CITY Turns out, arid southern Utah was once a lush, prehistoric delta and the hunting grounds of a mule-deer-sized predecessor to the well-known 10-ton apex predator, Tyrannosaurus rex. Details of the oldest Cretaceous Tyrannosaur species yet discovered in North America were published Thursday in the journal Communications Biologyby North Carolina State University paleontologist, and University of Utah graduate, Lindsay Zanno. Moros intrepidus "harbinger of doom" according to Zanno's paper, is 96 million years old and helps fill in a sizeable gap in the fossil record from the 80-million-year-old giant made famous by movies like "Jurassic Park" to evidence of much earlier related species' dating back 150 million years. While scientists believe T. rex rose to become the alpha predator of the late Cretaceous period, for the 6-foot, 170-pound moros roaming Emery County back in the day, things were much different. "With a lethal combination of bone-crunching bite forces, stereoscopic vision, rapid growth rates, and colossal size, tyrant dinosaurs reigned uncontested for 15 million years leading up to the end-Cretaceous extinction but it wasnt always that way, Zanno said in a statement. Early in their evolution, tyrannosaurs hunted in the shadows of archaic lineages such as allosaurs that were already established at the top of the food chain. The 70 million year gap in the fossil record for North American tyrannosaurs has left scientists scratching their heads about how the now-infamous tyrant dinosaur evolved to surpass and dominate other predators of the time. Zanno chose her Utah site specifically because of its fossil evidence from this missing era and has been working in the area for over a decade. She's also had a previous discovery from a nearby site of a giant meat-eating dinosaur called Siats meekerorum_._ Zanno said while her latest discovery was a diminutive creature for the times, it already had a combination of traits that would help propel it up the ladder of dominance. Moros was lightweight and exceptionally fast, Zanno said. These adaptations, together with advanced sensory capabilities, are the mark of a formidable predator. It could easily have run down prey, while avoiding confrontation with the top predators of the day." Although the earliest Cretaceous tyrannosaurs were small, their predatory specializations meant that they were primed to take advantage of new opportunities when warming temperatures, rising sea-level and shrinking ranges restructured ecosystems at the beginning of the late Cretaceous. We now know it took them less than 15 million years to rise to power. SALT LAKE CITY The Utah Senate on Thursday lauded a student from West High School for his heroic action and bravery in saving a stranger's life. On Tuesday, Felix Ortiz was talking on the phone with a friend while driving home when out of the corner of his eye he saw a wrecked car upside down on the 600 North bridge over I-15. "I'm like, there's no way this is happening!" the West High School student said later Tuesday. "I honestly decided to just jump into action because I saw everyone standing around." Ortiz, 17, pulled over and rushed to the car. "I looked through the passenger side and I see the man unconscious in the driver's side," Ortiz said. Ortiz unbuckled the driver's seatbelt and scrambled to get him out of the car. "I drag out his legs first because they were stuck in there," Ortiz said. "It was kind of difficult. He was a bigger man. It was difficult to bring him out, but I was able to grab him by the belt and just drag him out of the car." Ortiz said someone else helped him lay the man on the concrete. "I saw that he was pretty purple," Ortiz said. "He had some foam coming out of his mouth, so I realized he wasn't breathing and I checked for a pulse and there was nothing. I decided I was going to have to begin doing chest compressions on him. I did for about 45 seconds I was going constantly and I was getting kind of nervous I wasn't going to be able to bring him back, and after about a minute or so he started coughing, and I felt super relieved." Ortiz said the man stopped breathing once more, but he continued the compressions on him and then waited until first responders arrived. "They asked who did chest compressions originally, and I told them I did, and they just said, 'Good job,'" Ortiz said. "I feel like I just did what needed to be done." The teen said he subsequently received a message from one of the man's siblings. "Through Facebook, they messaged me saying that I saved his life," Ortiz said. "It's like a relief off your chest knowing that you saved someone's life. It's crazy." Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Nick Street said late Tuesday the man was in surgery for a heart problem and actually suffered no injuries from the crash. According to Street, the prognosis was good pending the procedure. Ortiz's actions "for sure" helped to save the man's life, Street said. Another West High classmate also stopped to help, according to Ortiz. Ortiz said he had taken a CPR course once and also had learned about it in school a couple of times, but was never expecting to use the training in an emergency situation. "My parents always come home every day, you know," Ortiz said. "It's just crazy knowing that, like, I was able to help someone see their family member one more time." MAGNA Two top-of-mind issues for Rep. Chris Stewart riled up one of his constituents attending a midday town hall meeting at a Magna eatery Thursday. About 20 people gathered at Nonna's Pizzeria to hear and in at least one case confront the four-term Republican who started the discussion with his views on the hot-button topics of abortion and socialism. The town hall in Magna was the ninth of 11 meetings Stewart held throughout the 2nd Congressional District over three days ending Thursday night in Farmington. Stewart expressed support for legislation that would mandate medical care for any infant born alive after an attempted abortion procedure. He said he couldn't imagine anyone voting against it should the bill make it to the House floor. "I think most Americans are shocked by the idea that you wouldn't give life-sustaining medical treatment to a child that is laying on a table," he said. That's where West Valley resident Amanda Martinez jumped into the discussion, questioning how often doctors perform late-term abortions other than when the mother's life is in danger. "It needs be allowed for the women that needs it and that should be the decision of her, her family and her doctor," she said. "If that's my child, I should have the choice to not watch that child suffer." Stewart said he was surprised at Martinez's position. He asked her if she would support a bill that requires medical care for a child born alive in a botched abortion. "It depends on the situation," Martinez said. "I can't believe it's a depends on the situation," Stewart replied. "If the child is alive, the situation is you'd save that child's life. How in the world could it be anything other than that?" After a prolonged back-and-forth between between the two, Stewart and Martinez said there is nothing the other one could say to persuade them to think differently. Stewart supporter Lynda Cox said after the meeting it's "unconscionable to not provide medical care for a human being that is living and breathing outside the womb." Cox, of North Salt Lake, said Martinez didn't seem to know that several people have survived botched abortions and are now speaking about it as adults. Unruffled by the abortion debate with Martinez, Stewart moved on to his views on socialism. Last week, he announced the formation of the Anti-Socialism Caucus to combat what he sees as a growing socialist movement in the country. "If you support the Green New Deal, you are proposing an absolute socialist society where the government would have control over our transportation, our health care, the home that you live in, how you get to work and any number of other things," the congressman said. The Green New Deal is a Democratic proposal for the federal government to wean the United States from fossil fuels and curb greenhouse gas emissions across the economy. It also aims to guarantee new high-paying jobs in clean energy industries. The resolution is nonbinding and would not become law even if Congress approves it. Martinez, who attended the meeting with her neighbor Thomas Vigil, jumped on that issue as well, arguing with Stewart over costs in a government-run health care system. "I think that you're completely wrong. I think you're using a lot of propaganda," she told Stewart. Others, most of whom agreed with Stewart, tried to shut down Martinez, asking her not to "hijack" the conversation and saying she was "unteachable." Outside the restaurant, Martinez said Stewart doesn't understand that "social democracy" encompasses socialism and capitalism, and "it's a wonderful way to live and the fact that he calls it socialism and tried to demonize it is wrong, it's a farce. He doesn't want do anything but take the word and make it scary." Tattoo artist A. W. Storm Anderson, who owns Art on You Studio next door to the pizza restaurant, thanked Stewart for his stance on socialism. Anderson said some might perceive that because he's an artist, he would lean toward that idea. He said he recognizes that if he wants to sell his art, he needs to be a capitalist. Government could use some reforms, Anderson, said "but the answer is not socialism at all. We need capitalism. That's part of what makes this such a neat country, that's part of what allows business owners like myself to grow and flourish in this country and achieve what people still call the American dream." Editors note: The following is a transcript of the episode. It's been edited for clarity. Boyd Matheson: Public education remains a major concern for the vast majority of Americans. Some call for massive federal investments, others for strict local control. Few recognize that what is truly needed is not the destruction of public education, but the transformation of public education with an eye toward individualization. Every kid down every street in America should have the opportunity to learn in a way that unlocks his or her potential. A discussion on the future of education on this episode of Therefore, What? Therefore, What? is a weekly podcast that breaks down the news while breaking down barriers, challenges you and the status quo, explores timely topics and timeless principles and leaves you confident to face what's next. I'm Boyd Matheson, opinion editor for the Deseret News and this is Therefore, What? Christine Cook is the director of education policy at Sutherland Institute. She worked as an English teacher at a public school and in a residential treatment center prior to becoming an attorney. Christine, I always appreciate your view on education. Thanks for joining us on Therefore, What? Christine Cook: Boyd, thanks for having me. BM: All right, so the big battle always is about dollars and cents, it seems like, and whether that's happening at a state level or at the national level, everyone's saying more money, more money, more money. What do you say? CC: Yeah, I think that education should focus more on ideas than just money. And you're exactly right, especially in Utah, we high center on funds. We often talk about per pupil spending as if it's the most important metric. And we know that actually, there's not a strong correlation at all, if any, between per pupil spending and student outcomes. So really part of my effort is to refocus the conversation on ideas and really kind of pushing us to be a little bit more creative in the policy space so that we're meeting students needs. BM: It seems to me like we do this per pupil spending, how many kids are in the classroom and we're spending a lot of time on the sort of the checklist items, the butts in seat category. How much time are they spending in the seat in the classroom? You know, what are the teachers doing? What are the buildings like, you know, all of those kinds of things that seem to be light years away from, what does this student need? How can we best meet the needs of each of the students? CC: Exactly. And I mean, so there has been a shift from sort of an inputs conversation to an outcomes conversation, and that really is the right one to have. An outcome is that each student has access to whatever education makes sense for them, that they can reach their God-given potential. In every student out there is really an individual first that has unique strengths, weaknesses, callings in life and that ought to be the aim of whatever we do in public education. BM: I remember hearing one time, and we've talked about this in the past, about this old model of treating everyone the same, teaching to the average or teaching to the lowest common denominator. The old story of the Air Force pilots and how they took the measurements of all the pilots in the Air Force, and then they built this new aircraft to those dimensions, only to see that the performance was down. There was no accountability. There was all kinds of frustration from the people who were learning how to fly, from the instructors, from the administrators. And of course what they realized was there was no average size, nobody matched the average. And we see that in education as well. There is no average student. So how do we not teach to the average? How do we teach to the uniqueness? CC: And I think that it's important to recognize, I think a lot of teachers inherently understand that. They do recognize because they are on the ground, in the trenches with the students. They see those unique gifts and talents and interests. So often, though, I think that the system does kind of hold us back a little bit. We really are aimed at meeting everyone's needs in sort of a general sense, you know, kind of this average that you're discussing. So I think part of the problem is that we need to allow space for innovation in public education. BM: It's really interesting to me. I think you hit this right on Christine in saying that the teachers do inherently get it, that's why they are a teacher, to make a difference for an individual child, and so often we put so many barriers in the way to them actually doing that as opposed to teaching to a test or, you know, doing all of the checklist kinds of things. And I think our teachers do an amazing job. I remember seeing a sign in the teachers lounge once that said, "we the overworked and underpaid have done so much for so long. For we've taught the unwilling for the uncaring for the unlearned for so long that we we now believe we can do absolutely anything but nothing." And I think that's a lot of times how our teachers feel, but they do have that natural instinct that there is a better way to do this. CC: Absolutely. And, you know, honestly, Utah is moving forward in some important ways, with something called competency-based education. Sometimes states will call it mastery-based education that really is switching from seat time and attendance, to what you know. So rather than getting credit for sitting in a semester for three and a half months, you get credit as soon as you can demonstrate that you understand that concept. So that does allow some students to zoom through, and perhaps that's the right thing for them, let them continue on. And others that might mean that they need to stay with something for a little longer before they understand it. And that honestly is a better approach rather than slapping a C or D on that person's transcript and moving them on. What does that signify to anyone? BM: Yeah, that's an interesting concept. We're so quick to slap a letter grade because of really an artificial time constraint. When you look at the life of an individual or even if you just look at their career in the workforce, you know, just because it took them an extra three months to figure out calculus or how to diagram a sentence that shouldn't follow them for the rest of their lives. CC: Yeah, absolutely. And this conversation about competency-based is actually bleeding over into even licensing. Rather than saying, OK, once you have 1,000 hours in this profession, then you're good to go. We're saying, hey, if you can demonstrate competency before then, so be it. If it takes more than 1,000 hours, we've ought to wait before you're out there practicing that service for somebody. So I think that it's the right conversation to have. And again, we're focusing on the individual, what they need and what they're able to do. BM: I think you also raised an important point, Christine, when you talk about what is the best path for the student. I know we have a lot of great innovation in higher education here in the state of Utah. Utah Valley does some very unique things in terms of having both the traditional curriculum but also having the vocational piece to it. What else are you seeing or what are you hoping that can be done to help students prepare to maximize whatever learning path they choose? CC: I think choice really ought to be at the center of all these discussions, right? So if you really do believe that everybody's unique, then you need to give them as many options as possible. So actually, in a lot of ways higher ed is kind of leading this charge. Western Governors University is a fully competency-based approach to higher ed. I think there's a really important discussion happening right now in the legislative session about apprenticeships. Rep. Mike Winder is actually running a bill that would create a commissioner over apprenticeships. So we have a commissioner over higher ed, a commissioner over u-tech. So this kind of technical vocational space which does often include apprenticeships, but just a very small percentage. So what this would do is create a commissioner role for apprenticeships and really kind of giving some credibility to that path and saying, Hey, you know, there are multiple pathways to career readiness rather than just a college degree. BM: Yeah, I love the idea of the apprenticeship programs. I think that's such a lost thing in our society today. And there are so many who would benefit. I actually remember Sen. Mike Lee talking to people who were about ready to graduate law school and I'll never forget. We're down at BYU and this student who had you know, taken the bar and was already sworn in and he was so proud. And so he stands up, and he asked Sen. Lee a question. So what is the advice? I'm just graduating, I'm just ready to go, what should I be ready for? And Sen. Lee paused for a moment, and he said, What you need to know is that all of your schooling and all of your law school hours, and taking all of these tests, that prepares you to become a really good apprentice at a law firm. And this poor kid was just so deflated. But then he realized that was an important message, that it wasn't just the learning that took place in the classroom and on campus. And in the library. It was going to be what he continued to learn, this lifelong learning is really the test. And sometimes I wonder, Christine, are we really teeing people up for lifelong learning? Or are we just getting them to the end of the high school checklist or the college checklist? And so we can say, here's your degree, you know, go forth. You're on your own. Send us a postcard. CC: Yeah, I hope that we're able to do both. But really, I think a skill set we are teaching is sort of a checklist mentality. To the point about law school, because I've had this experience, I have seen that it's very true. You get done and you really don't have that skills base that you need to actually go be a practicing lawyer, which is why a lot of states including Utah have created this mandatory mentoring component now. So as soon as you get licensed you have to work with an attorney for a year, and so that idea of working with a mentor, having sort of that apprenticeship type of relationship, I think people are starting to recognize that's what you really need. People need that one-on-one learning. They need the question-answer, the instant feedback rather than just taking the test because the bar exam really doesn't show that you're going to be a good lawyer, necessarily, but you do need that relationship piece as well. BM: So how do we juggle all of that? You mentioned Western Governors University and the great work that Scott Pulsipher is doing over there to again, do things in innovative ways. What other innovations are you seeing? Because I know that there are a ton of teachers out there and administrators as well who are doing very creative things probably under the radar or off the grid. But what else do you see out there in terms of what some good innovation that's happening in education? CC: I think that actually what's happening in the legislature right now, there's a bill called scholarships for special needs students. And it really is this idea that's starting to grow, that you can let students have kind of an a la carte version of education. So this bill in particular would allow students to access a scholarship funded through private donations of individuals or corporations who get a tax credit for doing so. And through that scholarship, they can purchase a wide range of educational options. So it could be private school tuition, it could be textbooks, it could be educational therapy, special needs therapies, it could be norm-referenced exams, whatever that would look like. So this shift of saying, Hey, whatever the student needs, let them purchase that or access that I think is the right model that we need to go towards and I think more and more people are having this conversation because they realized that it is what's necessary. BM: I know you've done some work and some research down in Arizona with some of the unique things that are happening. I was down in Arizona last week. And Gov. Rob Ducey is really leading some fascinating innovation there in Arizona. Tell us some of your experience there had to mostly do with special needs students, but some great ideas and some great outcomes. CC: Arizona has a program called the empowerment scholarship account program. And so the general policy that this is called an educational savings account. We're not talking about 529 OK. This is a K through 12, fully funded by the state server program. And what they do instead of sending the funds that would normally go to that student's school, their district design school, it goes into an account and the parents can then use those funds to purchase a range of state-approved list of educational products, services, programs, whatever. So Arizona was the very first to adopt this policy, there are six states that have it. Utah does not have something that I think Utah should adopt eventually. But it allowed these families, and I saw four or five different families, how it changed their life, how it changed their family's life. As you mentioned, we met several that had special needs students, and it allowed them to do small things that the parents are so excited about, write their name, count to 10, speak, you know, we actually met a boy who used horse therapy to gain some physical skills and that should all be part of the education if that's what he needs. Arizona's is pretty expansive. So it's not just students with special needs. They have it for students of active military parents. That's a group right there. And I'm also a military brat. My dad served in the Air Force. And so while there's some great teachers that we had access to it also some very fragmented experience. You know, you go from one school doing it a certain way to another school doing it another way. One of my siblings struggled with dyslexia. If you have a problem like that, it's really hard to get traction. That transition is really rough. So the idea there is to give this sort of a la carte version to these families as well. Arizona also offers it to students in D and F schools. That kind of highlights the importance of being able to grade schools and see where schools are maybe deficient. Students that live on Native American reservations, just a broad range. They're really trying to find those students that we can agree, yes, they have unique needs, they deserve these kind of options. Ultimately, I believe all of us are unique enough to deserve that kind of option. BM: Yeah, because you could see even scenarios where if you had someone who was a budding concert pianist, where suddenly their days are very different in terms of, you know, attending actual classes, they're off doing performances and touring and so on. But you could see the range, that it's not just about those with abilities that are challenged with. Those with great ability could also access that kind of tailoring again to help everyone maximize their potential. CC: Absolutely. That's such a good point. Because oftentimes we do focus on those who maybe need some remediation. And absolutely, they deserve the agenda. But those who could just, you know, shoot for the stars and move forward with some unique talent, whether it's a piano or whatever. Absolutely, they should have that opportunity. BM: Are there other areas around the country that you're seeing that are having some success in terms of innovation or some of those positive outcomes? CC: Yes. Florida is doing something similar to what Arizona is doing, competency-based education is growing nationwide. In terms of the teacher profession, we're seeing something called opportunity culture. This exists I think largely kind of on the East Coast. But the idea here is to create career ladders within the classroom. So currently, if you're a teacher, and you want to make more money, or you want to progress somehow, typically you go into administration, right. And that's kind of a loss right. There are different skill sets from being a teacher to being kind of the administrative lead. And so a lot of people have recognized that we kind of bleed out some of the best skills over into administration and instead creating this, this sort of teacher-leader role where they can mentor other teachers that might be new or struggling, and they get extra pay for doing that. That's something that I think is growing, that conversation, how can we increase these opportunities while letting them stay in the classroom. And so we've had some of these discussions in Utah, but I think it's definitely something to revisit. BM: You know, being able to get a teacher to passionately teach what they love. I mean, that's the real key. And I think so often we shackle those teachers or we get them so pigeonholed, or chasing so many shiny objects. I feel for teachers because they feel like they're teaching to this test or that test or this outcome or that outcome when if they taught what they love, and probably the reason they got into teaching in the first place, that the outcomes would be better and the impact would be higher in terms of students. I remember sitting down with David McCullough, you know, great historian, and he described this teacher, this random teacher, almost accidental teacher that just changed his world. You know, he was at Columbia. He was an English major. He hated history. I mean, think David McCullough, you know, hated history. And he walked into this class that he had to have to graduate. And it wasn't even a real teacher, it was a graduate assistant. And that graduate assistant got up and said, OK, in this history class, the thing you need to know is that I'm never going to ask you about a date, a location, an event. And David McCullough said, it was like someone just blew the windows open with fresh air. And suddenly history became not a list of dates and times and locations. But it became this never-ending source of ideas and principles to be explored. And I know that most teachers get into teaching to do that. How do we create an environment where we can get more teachers like that in more of our classrooms? CC: Well, I mean, you hit on a couple of really interesting points there. One in that story, that professor, that teacher, wasn't necessarily on the track to become a teacher, right? Just had this God-given ability to teach. And this has actually been a discussion here in Utah, can there be multiple routes to licensure? I certainly think that there can be. I think sometimes too many come from a different background, perhaps that's where we find innovation in the teaching profession, right. They have a different take on how to train other people. And so I think that's something we need to revisit very often. I think the response there is that, you know, you need to do it one way, it maybe takes away from the other teachers. I don't think that at all, I think that reaching students is the goal of all teachers, no matter who's reaching. Yeah, and so that's kind of the way forward there. BM: So create a different kind of abundance mentality. I think so often, administrators and teachers are all you know, it's the scarce resources, which is like grabbing on to every little possible dollar and every possible little operation that comes their way where I think there are plenty, if we just start pushing out and allowing, as you said, Christine, to let the innovation happen, especially at the local level, to let that innovation go. And of course, you can have accountability if it's not working. But having that opportunity to innovate and involve parents and do things in a different way, I think is really where we have to get. CC: Absolutely. Another point to innovation, I think sometimes it makes people nervous, right. That term because it almost sounds like it's an experiment that we're just going to try something random, especially if you're experimenting with our kids. So as we talked about research-based ideas, and that's valid, I want research-based ideas, but we have to recognize that there is a limitation with that, right. Research-based ideas are limited to those ideas that already exist. So we need to make space for other ideas for us to even have them out there and take a look at them as well. So I really think that just in general we need as a shift in mindset that's a little willing to look at these creative options. BM: As we come down the homestretch, the last thing we always do on Therefore, What? is to ask, Therefore, What? So as people have been listening here, part of my takeaway from today is that one, there are great teachers everywhere out there. We need to make sure they're empowered and have the resources to go, but that we also have to innovate and really get to that teaching to the uniqueness of the individual. Everything should be taught not to the average or to the lowest common denominator, but to the uniqueness of each child. As people have been listening Christina for the last 20 minutes. what's the takeaway? What's your Therefore, What? What do you hope people will think different? What do you hope people will do different as a result of listening to this podcast today? CC: I hope that they'll ask for more from education. So whether you're a parent saying, Hey, what are my options? I hope that they are speaking with their administration, with their teachers. What else can I give my students? I hope they're speaking with their state legislator. I want to preach the good word about state government. Because lots of times I think people think that everything important is happening at the federal level. I work a lot in state government, you can actually have quite an impact and your voice can can actually reach more ears and have greater impact. So speak with your legislators about education policies that are coming down the pike. Have a voice. Ask for more options. BM: All right Christine Cook, thanks so much for joining us on Therefore, What? today. CC: Thank you. Boyd. BM: Remember, after the story is told, after the principle is presented, after the discussion and debate have been had, the question for all of us is Therefore, What? Don't miss an episode. Subscribe to this podcast on Apple podcast or wherever you're listening today and be sure to rate this episode and leave us a review. Follow us on desertnews.com/tw and subscribe to our newsletter. This is Boyd Matheson, opinion editor for the Deseret News. Thanks for engaging with us on Therefore, What? Find and subscribe to this and other podcasts from the Deseret News at DeseretNews.com/Podcasts_. Or find us on_ iTunes_,_ Google Play or wherever you listen to podcasts. SALT LAKE CITY In a letter shared by friends on social media, the husband of a woman rescued last week when their cabin exploded into flames recounted her miraculous rescue and what's happened since. On Feb. 15, Lori Walker, her kids and their friends had just arrived at the family's cabin in Timber Lakes, which is just east of Heber City. Walker smelled gas and told the children to stay in the car, according to the letter written by the woman's husband, Kelly Walker. Shortly after Lori Walker went in to check on the cabin, it exploded, firefighters said. "Fire, smoke, and debris surrounded the van. My oldest attempted to back the van up the driveway but the tires just spun on the ice. The explosion passed and she yelled for the others to call 911 and run to the neighbors house," Kelly Walker wrote. The girl then tried to get into the cabin but couldn't find a way in, Walker said, and a neighbor ran up behind her and sent her running to his house to get an ax. "She did so and brought it back to him as fast as her legs could carry her," according to the letter. Two other neighbors showed up to help. The three men got into the home and heard Walker yelling for help. "They couldnt reach her from where they were so they pulled out, ran to the back of the cabin and broke through a burning wall to find the kindest, most charitable woman I have ever known burning and crushed by large beams," Kelly Walker said. The men pulled beams off of the trapped woman and carried her out. Soon after, "the building fell to the floor," the letter describes. "Honestly if we wouldn't have been there, the fire department wouldn't have been able to get to her," Mark Pierce, one of those neighbors, said last week. "I think it was like literally in the nick of time." As they escaped the intense heat of the fire, the neighbors carried her through deep snow and to an ambulance. Walker said his wife was taken to Heber Hospital and later flown to University of Utah Hospital, where she remained as of Thursday. "She arrived with all her vital organs functioning well. She has had a couple scares since but is currently stable and improving. Everyone that knows her, knows how strong of a woman she is. Her strength is on constant display as she fights for her life," Walker said. She has undergone multiple surgeries, he said, and will need more. But Walker has "read every text and felt the prayers and fasting of the hundreds if not thousands of people," he said, thanking people for their support. "I have had the wonderful opportunity to speak with all three of Loris heroes that rescued her from the cabin. They are obviously incredible men. I cant wait for the day when Lori is able to embrace them and they are able to see what an amazing woman they saved!" he wrote. Walker also described the "tender mercies and miracles" involved in his wife's rescue and those that the family has experienced during their trial, including that Lori Walker had no damage to her internal organs after the fire. Friends of the family took to social media to share their support. "Lori has brought meals when weve been sick or had babies, meals that would feed our family for a month and were wrapped in jokes and puns and words of encouragement. Shes shuttled my kids all over Utah and been a supportive friend and cheerleader. Lori is one of a kind," one woman wrote. "I have been a grateful recipient of Loris kindness, love and service. I want to show my love and support in return," another wrote. "When I grow up I want to be like my friend and neighbor Lori Rigby Walker. Since moving to Springville two years ago she has always made me feel so loved when I had done nothing to deserve it. She reached her hand out to me in friendship when I hardly knew anyone," one woman said. Friends have created a hashtag, #lightsforlori, to encourage others to keep the family in their prayers. (ANSA) - Rome, February 22 - Italy's highest court of appeal, the supreme Court of Cassation, on Thursday night handed down a term of five years and 10 months in jail for former Lombardy governor Roberto Formigoni in a corruption case involving Milan's Maugeri private clinic and the northern city's San Raffaele Hospital. The former Berlusconi ally is expected to go to jail on Friday. The prosecutor general had asked for a term of seven and a half years, the maximum, to be upheld. "There was an imposing corruptive bartering," said Prosecutor General Luigi Birritteri. The maximum term should be upheld, he said, "considering (Formigoni's) role and the mass of corruption, which leave it hard to imagine an affair of a similar gravity". Formigoni has always maintained his innocence. SALT LAKE CITY Utah students of limited means would pay no tuition or fees for four semesters to attend state colleges, universities and technical colleges under HB260, which passed the Utah House of Representatives Thursday by a vote of 69-3. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Derrin Owens, R-Fountain Green, creates the Access Utah Promise Scholarship Program. The scholarship program would be patterned after existing initiatives at Weber State University and Salt Lake Community College that cover costs of tuition and general student fees where federal financial aid falls short for low-income students who take full academic loads. HB260 would extend the needs-based scholarship statewide. An earlier version of the bill envisioned phasing out funding for the state-funded, merit-based Regents' Scholarship and channel the resources toward this initiative, Owens said. The Regents' Scholarship, for instance, encourages Utah high school students to prepare for college academically and financially. After some pushback, the bill would maintain state merit scholarship programs and fund Access Utah Promise Scholarships. Moving forward, the Regents Scholarship would only cover tuition and fees, Owens said. "State financial aid should not be a cash award," he said. Access Utah Promise Scholarship Program would be only available to students who attend state institutions. SALT LAKE CITY Sen. Mitt Romney's first report to the Utah Legislature since taking office earned applause from Republican and Democratic caucuses Thursday except from Senate Democrats. The six-member caucus never heard from Romney or Reps. Chris Stewart and John Curtis, the other Republican members of Utah's congressional delegation who came to Capitol Hill to deliver their annual update to lawmakers. "We have an open caucus. They can come in anytime they want," Senate Minority Leader Karen Mayne, D-West Valley City, said. "They chose not to, obviously. I'm sorry about that." She said the Senate minority staff was not told the delegation members were coming. On Tuesday, the caucus warmly welcomed the only Democrat representing Utah in Congress, Rep. Ben McAdams, D-Utah, as he made his rounds. Romney or Curtis weren't asked to come to the caucus, according to their staffs. Stewart was on a "strict schedule," his spokeswoman Madison Shupe said, and is "working on arranging a time for him to come and address them in the near future." In past years, Utah's two senators and four U.S. House members all spoke annually from the state House and Senate floors to deliver the required update, taking questions from lawmakers. That changed when the House decided the reports should be made instead during midday party caucus meetings, apparently to preserve more time to debate bills. This year, the Senate gave delegation members the option to come to caucuses. In the House GOP caucus, Romney told Utah lawmakers he was surprised at the "great deal of friendship and respect that comes across the aisle" in Washington, D.C., but also the "lack of communication between parties." Utah's junior senator spoke of the positioning and posturing that goes on in Congress. "The only way something is going to get passed in Washington is if both sides consider it a victory," he said. He said he was "all ears," and urged his fellow Republicans to feel free to reach out to him "if there are things that need to be done for our state that you hear about, you care about." At the House Democratic caucus, Romney reminded Democrats that when he served as governor of Massachusetts, that state's Legislature was dominated by Democrats. He said he learned that nothing happens until the parties work together. Senate Republicans close their caucuses. Curtis made House Republicans laugh when he asked them to imagine what it would be like if President Donald Trump were governor. "Every day you wake up and say, 'What has the governor done today?'" the 3rd District congressman said. ''That's my life, but I love it." He also spoke of bipartisanship, saying the news media only highlights dysfunction, "not when we're working well together." During his speech to the House GOP caucus, Stewart compared the Utah Legislature to Congress, where it can take years to advance legislation. "It's so fun to watch you guys and see how much you get done in 45 days," he said. The 2nd District congressman also expressed concern about the rise of socialism. "I'm shocked about we're having conversations about whether the future of our country is socialist," Stewart said. He recently created the congressional anti-socialism caucus. At an evening town hall meeting in West Jordan, Romney fielded questions from about 50 residents on a wide range of issues ranging from tax cuts and health care to veterans benefits and the president. "When the Mueller probe is totally finished, do you believe, as I do, that this nation owes an apology to Donald Trump?" asked one man, referring to the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian influence on the 2016 presidential election. Romney said the probe, which has resulted in indictments or guilty pleas of 34 people and three companies, isn't focused on Trump, and he hopes the final conclusion will be "in all this smoke there was no fire." But Romney referred to his own presidential campaign to make a point that the Mueller investigation isn't superfluous. "Do you know how many contacts we had with Russians during my campaign? Zero," Romney said. "If a Russian had contacted me or a member of my campaign we would have reported it immediately to the FBI. We would not have met with them. We would not have sat down and asked, 'What can you give us?' (Trump's campaign) made some of those mistakes and part of that led to the sense that that ought to be looked at." Two other residents who not supporters of Trump questioned the senator on whether he had changed his attitude toward the president since Romney had called Trump a fraud and a phony during the 2016 campaign. Romney stuck to the answer he's given since he ran for the Senate that he would support the president on policies he agreed with and speak out where he disagreed. The week Romney took office he wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that Trump hadn't "risen to the mantle of his office." An Associated Press poll released in November found nearly two-thirds of Utah voters said they would like Romney to stand up to Trump (64 percent), compared with fewer who would like to see him support Trump (36 percent). Among Romney voters, half said they would want him to stand up to Trump, and half preferred he support Trump. Contributing: Emily Ashcraft SALT LAKE CITY Fewer than 5 percent of Utah teens were using tobacco products prior to the advent of electronic cigarettes, which one lawmaker said was proof that the state was "winning the war on tobacco." E-cigarettes, however, have enticed young minds at "alarming" rates, said Rep. Jen Dailey-Provost, D-Salt Lake City. She said at least 11 percent of eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders now report getting a daily nicotine fix via vaping and at least 30 percent have tried it, according to Utah Department of Health data. "It is safe to say that nicotine is the gateway drug for our state," she said. "Nicotine primes the brain for addiction." Dailey-Provost proposes, with HB274, that manufacturers of electronic cigarette cartridges know exactly what they're doing, particularly by creating and marketing popular fruit- and candy-flavored nicotine cartridges. "The argument can be made that adults like sweet flavors as well but Utah has a long history of making tightly controlled products kind of inconvenient to adults in order to protect access to children," the lawmaker said. Her bill aims to do just that put flavors like "Gummy Bear, Captain Crunch and Strawberry Daquiri" out of reach at convenience stores and other mixed-retail outlets across the state. Instead, such products, which Dailey-Provost said are aiming to get kids hooked, would only be available at specialty shops where proper licensing is obtained and practices are regulated. And while tobacco products are not legal to be sold to people under age 19 throughout Utah, limiting the points of sale, Dailey-Provost said, would lessen the amount of potentially harmful products making its way into young hands. "It's like giving candy to a baby," said Dr. Sarah Woolsey, a Salt Lake family physician. "Unregulated access to e-cigarettes puts Utah youth at risk of experimentation of high-risk substances." Woolsey said the state needs to ensure that kids know e-cigarettes aren't safe, despite tricky marketing. Industry representatives told members of the Utah House Business and Labor Committee on Thursday that removing the products from one point of sale doesn't eliminate the problem, as existing law prevents youth from having access to nicotine-containing products at all, said Dave Davis, president of the Utah Retail Merchants Association. "We all like things that taste good, these are not specifically sold for the youth," he said. "If any youth is getting access to this, it's a problem." DeAnn Kettenring, health commissioner with the Utah PTA, said kids are typically getting e-cigarette products from older teens and young adults who can purchase it legally. Getting it from a convenience store, she said, is much easier than finding an authorized specialty shop, which by Utah law, are more restricted in their location placement. Park City Vapor Co. owner Beau Maxon said he'd rather see better enforcement of existing laws than have new restrictions placed on his mixed-retail shop. "The real issue needs to be actually putting in severe penalties on minors themselves," he said. "If somebody of age is legally coming into my shop and distributing to a minor, that's their problem. It's not mine." Utah Department of Health Director Dr. Joseph Miner said flavors definitely entice more people to try e-cigarettes, as 80 percent of teens recently surveyed said they started smoking by using flavored nicotine products. The potential addiction resulting from electronic cigarettes, he said, is "a serious issue." "Quitting nicotine is a very difficult thing to do," Dailey-Provost said, adding that studies show that up to 10 attempts is often necessary for successful cessation. "I'm perfectly happy with adults making their own decisions and using substances that abuse their bodies, but, this is to protect kids," she said. Dailey-Provost said she would prefer banning the flavored products altogether, but since that's a bill that wouldn't pass, she's fighting for what can. The committee approved HB274 on Thursday and sent it to the House for further discussion and voting. SALT LAKE CITY Police say a Wyoming convict who went to Adult Probation and Parole to see if he could be supervised in Utah, only to learn he had outstanding warrants in Utah, became extremely combative while being arrested. Kevin Scott Peterson, 47, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of 10 counts of assault on a police officer and escape from custody. On Tuesday, Peterson, who had been convicted in Wyoming for an undisclosed violent crime, went to the Adult Probation and Parole office to inquire about transferring his probation supervision, according to a jail report. While talking to Peterson, officers discovered he had two outstanding warrants in Utah, the report states, for assault and possession of a dangerous weapon. Over the next several minutes, Peterson then went from becoming "upset and yelling" to being "enraged" when informed he was being arrested and was placed in handcuffs, the report states. "He stood up and attempted to leave multiple times. I loudly told him to stop doing this. He claimed he was overheating. I removed his coat and placed a large box fan facing him. He then shook his head and made the glasses on his head fall to the ground. He began yelling and repeatedly stomped on his glasses," the officer wrote. Peterson then "intentionally slammed his forehead" onto a desk and yelled, "I am going to shoot all you pigs," according to the report. Peterson "charged" at agents standing in the doorway, causing a struggle and forcing one officer to deploy his Taser on Peterson, the report states. "As soon as the Taser stopped, Peterson repeatedly kicked at my face but came short of striking me. Agents had to hold him on the ground for over 16 minutes while waiting for medical to arrive and clear him. He continued to fight with us and refused to be compliant." Peterson allegedly told one agent, I will choke the red off your beard. Peterson later told another agent that he would kick her in the face," according to the report. Peterson also said he was "under the influence of meth and reefer," the report states. SALT LAKE CITY The Utah House of Representatives on Thursday voted 45-27 to pass school safety legislation created in the aftermath of the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, 2018. The latest version of HB120, sponsored by Rep. Ray Ward, R-Bountiful, is intended to enhance students' physical and emotional safety through initiatives to hire more support personnel and add safety improvement to schools. The bill envisions spending $30 million ongoing to help school districts and charter schools hire mental health professionals and other support personnel and some $67 million in one-time funds for structural safety measures, which could include vestibule doors or software that enable schools to easily report threats or active incidents. The Legislatures Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee has prioritized funding for both purposes. Although a majority of House members supported the bill, some raised concerns about students identified by school-based threat assessment teams. Theres parts of this that worry me about whether were trying to predict bad behavior before bad behavior or threatening behavior has occurred, said Rep. Cory Maloy, R-Lehi. Ward said great care went into drafting the bill to ensure were not just going to look at someones characteristics and predict what (they're) going to do." But what we are going to do is look at their behavior. So if theres a behavior thats a threat, we are going to look at that and make our best response to it. Rep. Joel Briscoe, D-Salt Lake City, spoke in support of the bill. In particular, he said he appreciated language that asks schools to establish committees to use evidence-based approaches to improve school climate and address bullying. If we focus so much on the violence, which were all concerned about, and we dont focus on the antecedent issues, then were just trying to clean up water thats been spilled on the table by mopping up the floor. We need to tip the glass up and we need to clean up whats on the table and then go clean up whats on the floor, Briscoe said. Rep. Kim Coleman, R-West Jordan, questioned whether the bill established minimum standards for the physical safety of schools. It does not. Part of that is because of all the different discussions weve had. Our schools are in so many different places with what they need, it did not seem possible to come up with a standard that made sense, Ward said. Coleman continued, So this distribution of funding, which is no small amount, could result in ongoing disparity between levels of physical safety of schools? Ward replied: I think it will improve physical safety in all of our schools. In the end, school safety depends on many things out of our control, such as the strength of families, students mental health, how students treat one another and the strength, kindness and resourcefulness of our schoolteachers and administrators, Ward said. But HB120 is an important step forward, he said. It will help us understand better how our students and schools are doing. It will get resources where they are needed. It will continue over time to provide the best evidence how we should structure our system to help our students ,and I hope to have your support, Ward said. The bill moves to the Senate for its consideration. State Rep. Susan Duckworth went through her annual windmill-tilting exercise Wednesday, trying to get fellow lawmakers to support her bill to make all feminine hygiene products, diapers and similar items exempt from sales taxes in Utah. The Democrat from Magna has carried this bill unsuccessfully for four years now. On Wednesday, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee listened politely, then voted to hold the bill, effectively killing it once more. This time, however, the reason given was that everyone is waiting on a huge tax-overhaul bill to emerge from somewhere deep within the marbled walls of the State Capitol. About that, two things may be observed. First, tax exemptions will be with us always. Not only that, good reasons to enact them will be with us, as well. When lawmakers talk about tax reform as a heavy lift, this is part of what they mean. Duckworth and those who spoke in favor of her bill were loaded with compelling arguments. Strongest among these? The tax break would help people buy diapers no small thing in one of the most diaper-friendly states in the nation. Were trying to make this a little more friendly to the young families and our seniors on a fixed income, Duckworth told the committee, reminding them that virtually everyone, even males as infants, benefit from these products at some point in their lives. Who doesnt want to help struggling young families save a few cents? And, as Duckworth reminded fellow lawmakers, they probably would quickly reinvest those cents in some other product for the little ones. The only downside, of course, is that each exemption leaves fewer products to make up for the tax revenue lost. Gov. Gary Herbert is fond of saying transactions subject to sales taxes have shrunk from 70 percent to only 40 percent over the last four decades, hence the need for reform. State lawmakers apparently have granted 88 such exemptions through the years. Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, briefed Democrats on reform efforts last Tuesday and expressed a desire to remove 16 of them, although he wasnt specific. But you can bet each one, like a boulder whose top alone is visible, comes with a host of heavy reasons not to be removed. Some may even come with a team of lobbyists ready for battle. Heavy lifting, indeed. The second observation is: Where the heck is this reform bill, anyway? Wednesday was the official halfway point in the 2019 session. Utahs Legislature is not for the slow of foot. The constitution requires it to meet no more than 45 working days per year in regular session. An out-of-state lobbyist told me he was almost gasping for breath during the first week. People were passing bills on the first day, he said with wonder. If such a fast pace produces any casualties, these generally are among the public. If a detailed tax bill emerges soon, enough time remains for hearings, protests and a full public airing. If lawmakers wait too much longer, they risk having to ram something through without that. We know the general idea. Lawmakers have talked about taxing a lot more items, especially services. That would bring in enough revenue to lower the sales tax rate, effectively giving everyone a break (except those buying the aforementioned services, of course). Some also have talked about income tax reform. But questions abound. Which services would be on the list? So far, politicians have mentioned things like haircuts, Uber rides, limousine services and lawn care. Coincidentally, these all are things working-class people do to get by. Less clear is whether it would extend to attorney services, real estate or things wealthier people do. Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake, said Wednesday the one thing he hears most from his constituents is, Dont tax my haircut. Do it without enough time for public involvement and the scraggly could revolt. Then there is the question of money. Revenue projections arent looking as good in February as they were late last year. Fillmore said the governors stated desire to get the state sales tax rate down to 1.75 percent is unrealistic because it would require $100 billion in new revenue from taxing services, etc. The 2019 legislative session may be remembered for two things changing a voter-approved Medicaid initiative and tax reform. The first left a bad taste in a lot of mouths. The second could double that bitterness if its rushed. At worst, it could inadvertently create an underground economy of rebel service providers who dont want to collect taxes. Despite the fast pace of 45-day lawmaking, this is one worth taking slowly. Denton, TX (76205) Today Mostly cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms mainly before midnight. Low 73F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. (ANSA) - Rome, February 22 - Italy's highest court of appeal, the supreme Court of Cassation, on Thursday night handed down a term of five years and 10 months in jail for former Lombardy governor Roberto Formigoni in a corruption case involving Milan's Maugeri private clinic and the northern city's San Raffaele Hospital. The jailing order for the former Berlusconi ally was signed don Friday morning and Formigoni went to jail at Bollate near Milan. However, Formigoni's defence lawyers applied for him to be granted house arrest. The prosecutor general had asked for a term of seven and a half years, the maximum, to be upheld. "There was an imposing corruptive bartering," said Prosecutor General Luigi Birritteri. The maximum term should be upheld, he said, "considering (Formigoni's) role and the mass of corruption, which leave it hard to imagine an affair of a similar gravity". Formigoni has always maintained his innocence. In this file photo, President Donald Trump walks with Saudi King Salman during a welcome ceremony at the Royal Terminal of King Khalid International Airport in May 2017. editorial Is Aqua looking to sink the Chester Water deal? Town hall New U.S. Rep. holds first town hall meeting at Widener featured Courts Lawyer accused of ripping off clients claims no memory The Delaware County Advocacy & Resource Organization, formerly the ARC of Delaware County, is preparing for its annual signature fundraising event, The Giving Hands Gala, 7-11 p.m. Friday, March 15 at The Oaks Ballroom in Glenolden. Making up baskets for a raffle are, left to right, Christine Shearon, the organizations adult advocate, Domenic Tribuiani, longtime member and Vince Smith, social/recreation coordinator. To purchase tickets, visit www.delcoadvocacy.org/. The Supreme Court on Friday ordered chief secretary and police heads of all states and Union Territories to take "prompt and necessary actions" to prevent attack, threat, intimidation, or social boycott of Kashmiris after the February 14 Pulwama attack which claimed lives of 49 security personnel. A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna issued notice to the states of Punjab, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and others on a petition filed by advocate Tariq Adeeb. The court directed that the nodal officers appointed in terms of the apex court's judgement of July 14, 2018 with regard to mob lynching will act as nodal officer to prevent any act of violence against Kashmiris and Kashmiri students or other minorities. "It would be given wide publicity in all states so that all acts of assault, threat, intimidation or social boycott can be brought into notice for actions. Advisory already issued be retreated from time to time," the bench said. Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, said, it is the human problem. The Union government has already taken steps. Nodal officers have already been appointed in all states, advisory has been issued on February 16. Telephone numbers have also been given. It was done as Kashmiri students were vulnerable. Nodal officers were appointed after the February 14 incident of Pulwama attack. He said the Intelligence secretary met him last evening, he said he was in touch with DGPs of all states. Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that over the last two days, two new incidents had happened in Punjab and Maharashtra. "I seek an order as happened in mob lynching case," he said. "What is the immediate order that you want," the bench asked him. "I want a nodal officer, so that any aggrieved person can make a call," he responded. The court issued notice to the Centre and as many as 11 states, seeking their response on the petition seeking steps to prevent any such incidents. The court decided to hear the matter on Wednesday. In his plea, the petitioner-advocate, Adeeb sought directions to the Centre and other state governments to "take steps to prevent threat, assaults, violent attack, social boycott, ostracism, eviction and other coercive acts by groups and mobs against Kashmiri and other minorities, particularly in the wake of terrorist attack of February 14." He also sought a direction to head of educational institutions to take steps to protect life and dignity of Kashmiri and other minority students. The petitioner said a nodal officer should be appointed in every state and each district to prevent any act of violence and prosecute those involved into it. He said a website should be created to list the incidents and action taken on those matters. The petitioner said a helpline should also be created. Among other things, the petitioner cited Meghalaya governor Tathagat Roy's tweet asking for boycott of Kashmiri products. The sisters aged 20 and 18, whose representatives say they suffered violent abuse, fled to Hong Kong in September from a family holiday in Sri Lanka and were planning to fly on to Australia. (Representational Image) Victoria City: Two young Saudi sisters in Hong Kong said on Thursday they had been intercepted by kingdom officials at the citys airport while attempting to escape to Australia, in the latest case of women fleeing the ultra-conservative country. The pair, who have adopted the aliases Reem and Rawan, said they had renounced Islam and fear the death penalty if forced to return to Saudi Arabia. The sisters aged 20 and 18, whose representatives say they suffered violent abuse, fled to Hong Kong in September from a family holiday in Sri Lanka and were planning to fly on to Australia. But they say they were obstructed by Saudi officials and have been living in hiding in the Chinese city for nearly six months. We fled our home to ensure our safety. We hope that we can be given asylum in a country which recognises womens rights and treats them as equals, the pair said in the statement shared by prominent lawyer Michael Vidler. The case has emerged a month after 18-year-old Saudi woman Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun drew global attention with her dramatic escape from an allegedly abusive family, gaining refugee status in Canada last month. Justice Centre Hong Kong, a migrants rights group aiding Reem and Rawan, said the sisters had also fled gender-based violence. According to the lawyers statement, they were intercepted during their stopover by unknown men who took their passports and tried to deceive the sisters into boarding a flight back to Saudi Arabia. They later learned one of the men was Saudi Arabias consul general in Hong Kong, and that their onward flight booking had been cancelled, it added. The Saudi consulate in Hong Kong did not respond to requests for comment. After failing to board a second flight and fearing they were about to be forcibly abducted, the sisters say they left Hong Kong airport to enter the city as visitors. They have been forced to change locations 13 times for fear of their safety, their statement said, after police reportedly tried to take them to meet with male relatives and Saudi officials. We dream of being in a safe place where we can be normal young women, free from violence and oppression, the sisters said. Seoul: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday was awarded the Seoul Peace Prize in South Korea. After receiving the award, PM Modi said, "This award does not belong to me personally but to the people of India, the success that India has achieved in the last 5 years, powered by the skill of 1.3 billion people." PM Modi quoted a portion of the 1988 Olympics Theme Song, as it captures the hopeful spirit for a better tomorrow for all -- 'Hand in hand, we stand, all across the land, we can make this world, a better place in which to live'. In his speech at the award ceremony, Modi further stated, "I am honoured that this award is being conferred to me in the year that we celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi." The Indian Prime Minister will be conferred with the Seoul Peace Prize was announced by the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation in October last year in recognition of his dedicated service to international cooperation, global growth, and human development. On the second of the visit to South Korea, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held constructive talks on Friday on enhancing bilateral cooperation in key areas including trade, investment, defence and security. Modi, who is on a two-day visit to South Korea to strengthen India's strategic ties with the country, was accorded an official reception at the Blue House, the executive office and official residence of the South Korean President here. He also met First lady Kim Jung-sook. Addressing the media after the "productive talks" with President Moon, Prime Minister Modi said that South Korea is an important partner in India's economic transformation. Our trade and investment are growing, he said. PM @narendramodi & Korean President @moonriver365 held constructive talks on enhancing cooperation in trade & investment, defence & security, energy, space, Start-Ups and people-to-people exchanges, said Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tributes to Korean soldiers at the National Cemetery here. "Honouring the heroes. PM @narendramodi laid a wreath at the National Cemetery of the Republic of Korea that entombs remains of 165000 martyrs and paid homage to the fallen soldiers," tweeted MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. Immediately after, the Prime Minister reached the Blue House which is the Korean Presidential Office where he received a ceremonial welcome. He is also scheduled to have a meeting with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, who had visited India in July 2018. Mayor of Gimhae gifted a Bodhi tree sapling to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a mark of close ties between India and South Korea. On Thursday, the Prime Minister unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Yonsei Univesity. Before embarking on a two-day visit, the Prime Minister described South Korea as a valued friend with which India shares special strategic partnership initiatives such as Make in India, StartUp India and Clean India. This is the Prime Minister's second visit to the Republic of Korea after his state visit in May 2015. The talks were held at the Blue House, the official residence-cum-office of the South Korean President, where he received given a ceremonial welcome. (Photo: AP) Seoul: India and South Korea on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help strengthen counter-terrorism cooperation between the two countries, a week after the Pulwama terror attack that left 40 CRPF personnel dead. The MoU was inked in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in after the two sides held delegation-level talks. "I express my gratitude to President Moon for his condolences on the Pulwama attack and support against terror. The MoU signed between the two countries today will further take forward our counter-terrorism agenda," Modi said after a joint statement was issued by the two countries. The Prime Minister, who is a two-day visit to South Korea, said to boost bilateral cooperation in defense production, a roadmap has been agreed to by the two sides on defense technology and co-production. "The defense sector is an important part of our growing partnership with South Korea. An example of this is the induction of K-9 Vajra artillery guns in the Indian Army," he said on the concluding day of his visit. The first batch of South Korean-made K-9 self-propelled howitzers was delivered to the Army last year. The induction of 100 long-range guns is expected to be completed by November 2020. Modi said that the combination of India's Act East Policy and South Korea's New Southern Policy is giving a platform to strengthen the special strategic partnership between the two countries. "India's vision on Indo-Pacific is a special emphasis on ASEAN's centrality and shared prosperity," he said. Both the leaders held talks on enhancing cooperation in key areas such as trade and investment, defense and security, energy, space, start-ups, and people-to-people exchanges, according to External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. The talks were held at the Blue House, the official residence-cum-office of the South Korean President, where he received given a ceremonial welcome. Earlier, the Prime Minister paid tributes to Korean soldiers at the National Cemetery here. On the Seoul Peace Prize, which will be presented to him later in the day, Modi said he would accept the honor not as a personal achievement, but on the behalf of the people of both India and South Korea as a symbol of goodwill and affection. The Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation had in October last year announced that Modi will be conferred with the honor in recognition of his dedicated service to international cooperation, global growth, and human development. Modi had arrived in Seoul on Thursday morning with the aim of strengthening the special strategic partnership between South Korea and India and boosting bilateral trade and cultural ties. This is the Prime Minister's second visit to South Korea after his state visit in May 2015. Caracas: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered the closure of Venezuelas border with Brazil on Thursday in an increasingly fraught power struggle with Juan Guaido, the Opposition leader spearheading efforts to bring humanitarian aid into the country despite a military blockade. Guaido set out in a convoy of vehicles to personally pick up US aid being stockpiled on the other side of the Colombian border, defying Maduros military to stop him. Recognised as interim president by more than 50 countries, he left the capital Caracas for the Colombian border in a convoy of several vehicles for the 900-km trip. Embattled Maduro has dismissed Guaidos humanitarian caravan as a cheap show and slammed aid as a precursor for a US military intervention in the oil-rich but crippled Latin American country. A separate caravan of buses and trucks containing opposition lawmakers had earlier left eastern Caracas bound for the border. Several of the trucks were stopped by security forces and their drivers forced to get out, but the rest of the caravan was allowed to continue, lawmakers said. We know that the regime is going to put all obstacles to prevent us from reaching the border, but nothing is stopping us, we are going to continue, said Opposition lawmaker Yanet Fermin. Guaido scored important symbolic boosts on Thursday as 11 Venezuelan diplomats based in the US declared their support for him. Hugo Carvajal, a retired general and former military intelligence chief to Hugo Chavez, also recognised the Opposition leader and called upon the armed forces to break from Maduro. Signaling his growing disquiet, Maduro announced Thursday that the border with Brazil would be completely and absolutely closed from 8:00 pm (0000 GMT). United Nations: The powerful UN Security Council has strongly condemned the "heinous and cowardly" Pulwama terror attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed and underlined the need to hold perpetrators of these "reprehensible acts" of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. Forty Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country. "The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir, which left 40 Indian paramilitary forces dead and dozens wounded on February 14, 2019, for which Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility," the UN Security Council said in a statement on the 'Suicide Bombing in Jammu and Kashmir' on Thursday. The powerful UN organ, which includes five permanent members China, France, Russia, UK and the US "underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice", it said. The top UN body urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions to cooperate actively with the government of India and all other relevant authorities. The press statement is highly significant as China, a permanent member of the Council, has in the past repeatedly blocked India's bids in the Security Council Sanctions Committee to designate JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. "A statement with many firsts takes more time than expected. In complex diplomatic situations, however, it is better to be late than never," India's permanent representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin tweeted on the UNSC statement. On whether China raised any objections to the statement, sources told PTI here that drafting the statement was a "prolonged process" and was issued after "prolonged discussions". The members of the Security Council also expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the Indian people and the government of India, and wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured. "The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security," it said. The Council also reiterated that "any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed". The UNSC reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts, it said. The condemnation by the UN organ comes a day after Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi met top UN leaders including with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council President Anatolio Ndong Mba of Equatorial Guinea, briefing them about the escalating tensions in the region in the wake of the Pulwama attack. In a major boost to India's efforts to get Azhar on the list of global terrorists, France is expected to soon move a proposal in the Sanctions Committee to ban the head of the UN-proscribed group. The proposal, when moved, will be fourth such bid at the UN in past 10 years. In 2009, India moved by itself a proposal to designate Azhar. This was followed in 2016 when India moved the proposal with the P3 - the US, the UK and France in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of attack on the air base in Pathankot in January, 2016. In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, China always blocked the proposal from being adopted by the UN. Guterres too had strongly condemned the terror attack and called for those behind the attack to be brought to justice. On Wednesday, he again reiterated his strong condemnation of the terrorist attack, stressing that it is essential that there be accountability under international law and perpetrators of terrorist acts be brought swiftly to justice. "The Secretary-General has been following with great concern the situation in South Asia. He reiterates his strong condemnation of the terrorist attack against Indian security forces in Pulwama," a statement issued by his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric had said. At the same time, the Secretary-General "urgently" appealed to the Governments of both India and Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure the situation does not further deteriorate. "It is the belief of the Secretary-General that all difficult challenges can be resolved peacefully and satisfactorily through meaningful mutual engagement," it said. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet had also strongly condemned the attack and called on authorities to bring those responsible to justice. "The High Commissioner strongly condemns the suicide bomb attack against Indian security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on 14 February and calls on authorities to bring those responsible to justice," Spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Rupert Colville had said in Geneva Tuesday. Washington has been demanding that North Korea give up a nuclear weapons program that threatens the United States. (Photo:File) United Nations: North Korea has warned that it is facing a food shortfall of some 1.4 million tons in 2019 and has been forced to almost halve rations, blaming high temperatures, drought, floods and United Nations sanctions in a memo seen by Reuters on Thursday. The release of the undated two-page memo by the North Korean mission to the United Nations comes ahead of a second summit next week between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Washington has been demanding that North Korea give up a nuclear weapons program that threatens the United States, while North Korea has been seeking a lifting of punishing sanctions, a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War and security guarantees. The 15-member UN Security Council has unanimously boosted sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in a bid to choke off funding for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. "The DPRK government calls on international organizations to urgently respond to addressing the food situation," read the North Korean memo, which the country's U.N. mission described as a follow-up to joint assessment with the World Food Programme between November 26 and December 7, 2018. WFP declined to comment. The official name for North Korea is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The memo said North Korea's food production last year was 4.951 million tons, 503,000 tons down on 2017. The United Nations confirmed these figures as official government data provided at the end of January and said North Korea's food production included rice, wheat, potatoes and soy beans. North Korea said it would import 200,000 tons of food and produce about 400,000 tons of early crops, but that it would still be left with a gap and from January would cut daily rations to 300 grams (10.5 ounces) per person from 550 grams. UN officials and aid groups in North Korea were consulting the government to "further understand the impact of the food security situation on the most vulnerable people in order to take early action to address their humanitarian needs," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday. He said the United Nations and aid groups were only able to help one third of six million people estimated to be in need last year due to a lack of funding. A UN appeal for $111 million in 2018 was only a quarter funded, Dujarric said. The United Nations estimates a total of 10.3 million people - almost half the population - are in need and some 41 percent of North Koreans are undernourished, Dujarric said. Along with extreme weather, the North Korean memo also blames UN sanctions for restricting the delivery of farming materials and hindering fuel supply for the agricultural sector. US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun said earlier this month the United States had eased rules on humanitarian assistance to North Korea and was working to clear a backlog of UN approvals. Benjamin Silberstein, co-editor of North Korean Economy Watch and an associate scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said the harvest had been bad but there was no sign of an emergency. "Of course it's at least partially about the sanctions," Silberstein said. "Just look at the way the letter is worded. They want to make it sound like sanctions equals starvation so the U.S. should really be benevolent and give them up," he said. Humanitarian aid nearly ground to a halt in 2018 as the United States stepped up enforcement of UN sanctions, even though the Security Council North Korea sanctions committee has said sanctions "are not intended to have adverse humanitarian consequences for the civilian population." "While Security Council sanctions clearly exempt humanitarian activities, there have been unintended consequences on humanitarian operations," Dujarric said. Margareta Wahlstrom, president of the Swedish Red Cross, told Reuters after a trip to North Korea in November that, as far as the areas in which they operated were concerned, the maze harvest was only 65 percent of what should be normal due to the combination of an influenza outbreak, a heat wave and a typhoon. Russia is considering sending 50,000 tonnes of wheat in humanitarian aid to North Korea to help it cope with natural disasters, the Interfax news agency cited senior Russian lawmaker Konstantin Kosachev as saying last week. Kim Young-hee, a North Korean defector and an expert on the North Korean economy at Korea Development Bank in Seoul, did not think the memo was asking for food. "The memo seems like a message saying 'although U.N. sanctions do not affect people's lives directly, they affect the whole economy and people's livelihoods are getting worse. So wouldn't it be good if sanctions were eased?'," she said. To steal the credentials to a premium account on an adult-content website, cybercriminals distribute malware through botnets: chains of bots or devices infected with malware capable of downloading additional malware depending on the goals of the botnet master. The number of users attacked by malware out to steal premium access login data to popular adult websites more than doubled in a year, rising from around 50,000 users in 2017 to 110,000 users in 2018. In all, more than 850,000 attacks were detected. This growth was accompanied by more offers of stolen credential for sale on dark web markets and an increase in the number of malware families launching attacks. These and other findings are unveiled in Kaspersky Lab's report on threats to users of adult websites in 2018. To steal the credentials to a premium account on an adult-content website, cybercriminals distribute malware through botnets: chains of bots or devices infected with malware capable of downloading additional malware depending on the goals of the botnet master. In the case of credential stealing threats, these botnets are usually formed by versions of known Banking Trojans that were repurposed to attack users of adult websites. They intercept their victims data traffic and redirect them to fake web pages that mirror the authentic adult site the user is attempting to visit, capturing the credentials when the user tries to log in to their premium account. Such an approach is increasingly popular among cybercriminals and usually leads to victims personal information being exposed and used by criminals. In addition, a victim can sometimes find themselves locked out of accounts for which they could be paying a subscription of 150$ USD per year. According to Kaspersky Labs researchers, the rising number of users facing such malware is matched by its intensified productivity. The number of porn-related attacks by these programs increased almost three-fold: from 307,868 attacks in 2017 to 850,000 in 2018. Such an increase could be linked to a rise in the number of malware families distributed by botnets to hunt for porn login credentials. In 2018, Kaspersky Lab experts uncovered 22 variations of bots distributing five families of Banking Trojans for such attacks: Betabot, Gozi, and Panda also known to target users of popular e-commerce brands - along with Jimy, and Ramnit. The last two, like Gozi are new to porn login attacks. In 2017, 27 variations of bots distributed just three malware families, Betabot, Neverquest, and Panda. The increase in attacks was accompanied by a rise in the number of offers related to stolen credentials on dark web markets: the research shows that in 2018 the number of unique offers for porn website premium access credentials doubled to reach more than 10,000, compared to around 5,000 in 2017. The price, however, remained the same around 5-10$ for each account. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. You can download the free e-book version of Earth from the official NASA website. It is difficult to capture and then collate the immense beauty of our planet in a single book. However, NASAs latest interactive book has been able to do just that, giving us earthlings a look into how the planet looks from the outer space. The space agency has released a new 168-page book titled Earth, which is a collection of some of the most beautiful and dramatic images captured by Earth-observing satellites. The book is available in hardcover, e-book, and is also available online with interactive features. The book covers the Earth in 69 images, highlighting all the elements of our home planets atmosphere with short explanations of the science behind each image. You can download the free e-book version of Earth from the official NASA website, while the interactive version is available on NASAs Earth Observatory website. If you are a collector of physical prints, you can buy the hardcover for USD 53. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Liang spoke to reporters after the Chinese telecommunications company said it would increase Canadian research and development investment by 15 per cent this year and add 200 R&D jobs, expanding its workforce by 20 per cent. (Photo: AP) Huawei Chairman Liang Hua said on Thursday the company is committed to increasing investment in Canada despite the arrest of its chief financial officer by Canadian police at the request of the United States last December. Liang spoke to reporters after the Chinese telecommunications company said it would increase Canadian research and development investment by 15 per cent this year and add 200 R&D jobs, expanding its workforce by 20 per cent. We wont change our approach on R&D investments and well continue to step up our investment in R&D in Canada, Liang said. We would like to work further with the telecom operators. Meng Wanzhou, the companys CFO and also the daughter of its founder, Ren Zhengfei, has been charged with bank and wire fraud in violation of American sanctions against Iran. Liang said he believed the arrest of a senior executive on such charges was not common and rare, adding that he could not say the charges were not politically driven. Meng is fighting a US extradition request. I hope that she can be freed and that she can reunite with her family, but Im not a lawyer so I cannot comment on the substance of the case, he said. After Meng was detained, China arrested two Canadians on national security grounds, and a Chinese court later sentenced to death a Canadian man who previously had only been jailed for drug smuggling. Liang said that the current relationship between China and Canada is not ideal. We are aware that there are some problems which need to be solved between the two countries, he said. Canada is considering whether to allow Huawei to supply equipment to 5G networks, the latest generation of cellular mobile communications. Some Canadian allies have imposed restrictions, citing the risk of espionage. Liang said that he hoped any decision would be based on the merits of the companys technology rather than other factors. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Late last week, Redditor Matt Watson highlighted how YouTubes recommendation algorithm redirected to inappropriate videos, featuring women and in some instances, exploitative clips of children. After reports emerged about YouTube overlooking the loopholes that allow pedophiles to abuse the platform to network through comments on innocuous videos, some of the top brands are reportedly backtracking from advertising on the Google-owned platform. Major companies, including Nestle, Epic, Disney and McDonalds announced that they have put on hold their advertising on YouTube. The companies have called on the company to resolve the issue, TechCrunch reported. Late last week, Redditor Matt Watson highlighted how YouTubes recommendation algorithm redirected to inappropriate videos, featuring women and in some instances, exploitative clips of children. Some videos also features inappropriate comments by pedophiles with timestamps that indicated children in compromising positions in videos. YouTube has stressed that it has reported the abusive comments to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The company is taking further steps against child exploitation, including more experts to sift out inappropriate content. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was instrumental in creating a war hysteria in the country after the Pulwama terrorist attack on February 14 when he declared that the time for talks with Pakistan is over, and now action will be taken. However, in his recent public speeches at Hazaribagh on February 17 and in Varanasi on February 19, he has refrained from mentioning terrorism, Pakistan or the fire (of revenge) burning in his heart. Instead, he was back to his old campaign mantra of sabka saath, sabka vikas. There are clear indications of an attempt by the government to de-escalate the anger and hysteria generated after the Pulwama terrorist strike. This is at least partly conditioned by clear indications from the international community that it does not want to see a military conflict erupting between India and Pakistan. The government began its retaliation against Pakistan by withdrawing the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status of Pakistan. This would give it the freedom to impose punitive duties on imports from Pakistan. It has now decided to starve Pakistan of water by fully utilising the unutilsed share of the waters of the three eastern rivers allocated to India under the Indus Waters Treaty. This would reduce the flow of waters in the three eastern rivers of the Indus Basin the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej while keeping India within the parameters of the Indus Water Treaty. But it would reduce Pakistans water supply from these rivers during the lean season. This is nothing new really, and had been announced by Prime Minister Modi in 2016 itself, as well as declaring that blood and water cannot flow together after the terrorist attack on the Army camp in Uri. These measures are certainly better than war, though they would hurt ordinary Pakistani businessmen and farmers rather than terrorist groups operating from Pakistan with the facilitation of the Army and the ISI. However, these steps represent a significantly different response from the imposition of punitive military measures. The governments rethink on the initial military bravado is also visible in the India-Saudi Arabia joint statement issued on Wednesday night after the day-long visit of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to India, soon after his visit to Pakistan. It praises the efforts of Prime Minister Modi to forge friendly relations with Pakistan since May 2014 and then talks of India and Saudi Arabia agreeing on the need for creation of conditions necessary for resumption of comprehensive dialogue between India and Pakistan. US President Donald Trump has also said that it would be wonderful if India and Pakistan got along once again underlining that he does not support a military conflict. He could do little else at a time when he needs Pakistans help to extricate the United States and its military forces from Afghanistan and bring the Taliban to the negotiating table. Though the world kept silent when surgical strikes were carried out against Pakistan in 2016, there is no guarantee that it will look away again if war flares up after the latest outrage. The international situation has changed considerably since then. When Uri took place, the US did not need Pakistani facilitation in Afghanistan with such urgency as it does now. At that time the US had advised then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to condemn the Uri terrorist attack, though he did not do it. When India attacked some Pakistani forward posts, once again the US played a moderating role and prevented Pakistan from retaliating in fact Pakistan claimed that the surgical strikes had not taken place. If India were to strike against Pakistan in todays circumstances, enacting the same shadow play again neither can it count on US help nor on a tame response from Pakistan. These are some of the reasons why the Narendra Modi government has to find a diplomatic route and sell it to the public which is baying for blood. The anger they have unleashed is not going to be assuaged by boycotting Kashmir goods or harassing Kashmiri students studying in various parts of the country. Nor would harsher measures against Kashmiris suffice. The government has to demonstrate that it has brought Pakistan to heel. Prime Minister Modi must know that there is nothing like an immaculate war. Inevitably there would be casualties and he cannot afford to send body bags of soldiers across India on the eve of the general election. As elections are in the offing, the loss of soldiers lives could be seen as the cost to the people of a cynical government hell-bent on its re-election. Therefore, for domestic reasons too, a military option against Pakistan does not seem to be politically prudent. While inimical forces like Jaish-e-Mohammad were bound to take advantage of the worsening situation in Kashmir, it was also the Narendra Modi government's compulsion to divert public reaction towards Pakistan after Pulwama. Otherwise the terrorist attack would be read as the failure of its Kashmir policy. As the buck stops only with the Prime Minister's Office, the government had to deflect attention away from its policy failures. However, New Delhi will always be forced to play a weak hand against Islamabad, unless the people of Kashmir can see clear advantage in their relationship within India. Much as Pakistan may try to derail the process of reconciliation and dialogue with the Kashmiris, unless the Central government engages with them politically nothing will ever change on the ground. With the international and domestic situation forcing it to go on the back foot, the Modi governments biggest worry would be what to do if another terrorist strike were to take place in J&K before the polls. That is why it is wrong to conclude as some political pundits have done that the Pulwama terrorist attack has given PM Modi the trigger to take a clear shot at re-election. His aggressive statements might yet come to haunt him in the election campaign and indeed in the election itself. The international community could provide him with an honourable exit. The ban imposed by Pakistan on Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniyat, two orgnaisations associated with Hafiz Saeed (Jaish-e-Mohammad is already officially banned), may be the beginning of such a resolution. Hyderabad: Giving priority to agriculture, irrigation and welfare, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday introduced a vote-on-account Budget in the Assembly with a total outlay of Rs 1, 82, 017 crore for the financial year 2019-20. Of this revenue expenditure is Rs 1,31,629 crore and the capital expenditure is 32, 815 crore. While the revenue surplus is estimated at Rs 6,564 crore, the fiscal deficit is expected to be Rs 27,749 crore which works out to 2.81 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Produce (GSDP). Maintaining that the Budget will ensure the balanced development of all sections, Mr Rao said that the States Own Tax Revenue for 2019-20 is estimated at Rs 94,776 crore compared to the 2018-19 figure of Rs 72,777 crore. He said this year the transfers from the Centre were likely to dip to Rs 22,835 crore from Rs 28,042 crore in 2018-19. In the accounts presented for 2018-19, the total expenditure as certified by the Accountant General, was Rs 1,43,133 crore and the revenue receipts were at Rs 88,824 crore and expenditure on revenue account was Rs 85,365 crore. The revenue surplus was Rs 3,459 crore while the capital expenditure was Rs 23,902 crore. Mr Rao told the House that the Pragati Paddu (development account) proposed is Rs 1, 07,302 crore while the Nirvahana Paddu (governance account) is Rs 74,715 crore. He said as per the revised estimate, the total expenditure for 2018-19 was estimated at Rs 1,651,857 crore of which Rs 1,19,027 was for revenue expenditure with Rs 28,053 crore spent on capital expenditure. The estimated revenue surplus on revenue account was Rs 353 crore. The Chief Minister said after formation of the state, the growth rate more than doubled to 10.6 per cent in 2018-19 and this is indisputable proof that his government has done a lot more in the very short period of less than five years in putting the economy on a higher growth trajectory. Claiming that the TRS government was not deterred by the initial crisis in the power, farming, and industrial sectors, and also the slow pace of the economy, Mr Rao said, We started our difficult and challenging journey of rebuilding and reinventing Telangana. He said that the average annual GSDP growth rate of Telangana region at constant prices in the combined state was barely 4.2 per cent in the two years (2012-13 and 2013-14) immediately preceding the formation of the new state, as compared with the national average of 5.9 per cent. He maintained that the GSDP growth at current prices had improved from 14.2 per cent in 2016-17 to 14.3 per cent in 2017-18 and with this trend, the state was estimated to grow at 15 per cent in 2018-19 as against the national growth average of 12.3 per cent. The chief minister assured the House, While continuing all development and welfare schemes, the government proposes to introduce new schemes as per the promises made during the elections. Telangana is growing by leaps and bounds in its States Own Tax Revenue in comparison with others. The average SOTR growth rate in the first four years after formation was 17.71 per cent, catapulting Telangana state to the number one position in the country, he said. He claimed that prudent fiscal management and clamp down on corruption were the main reasons for the phenomenal growth. He also claimed that Telangana state again leads the country in capital expenditure as a proportion of total expenditure and in 2016-17, capital expenditure was pegged at 28.2 per cent. Citing an example of effective utilisation of funds by Telangana state, he said, In undivided AP, the total capital expenditure in 23 districts, from 2004-05 to 2014, was Rs 1,29,683 crore. The capital expenditure incurred on Telangana region was only Rs 54,052 crore during the same period. But within a short period of four-and-a-half years from 2014 to 2019, the capital expenditure stands at Rs 1,68,913 crore. This is a symbol of progress. Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has joined the club of Chief Ministers who have introduced the Budget in state Assemblies by themselves rather than leaving it to the finance ministers to do so. Mr Rao is the fifth Chief Minister to present the annual Budget for the year 2019-20. Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kum-araswamy and Chhatti-sgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel presented Budgets on February 8 in their respective Asse-mblies. Goa Chief Mini-ster Manohar Parrikar introduced the Budget on January 30 and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur introduced Budget on Febru-ary 9. Mr Rao presented the TS Budget on Friday. In the past also, several Chief Ministers have introduced the Budgets in their respective state Assemblies. In erstwhile Andhra pradesh, the first Chief Minister Mr Bejawada Gopal Reddy, introduced the the 1956-57 Budget and the 1957-58 Budget. Later, Mr Kasu Brahmananda Reddy, Mr Nedurumalli Janardhan Reddy and Mr K. Rosaiah as Chief Ministers holding the finance portfolio introduced the Budgets. In Kerala, UP and Rajasthan too, the CMs have presented the Budgets in the past. Palakkad: BJP president Amit Shah has asked the Kerala voters to give the BJP a chance as an alternative to the LDF and the UDF which were practising adjustment politics to cover up their corruption. The LDF government has been selectively implementing the Supreme Court orders on matters of faith, he said addressing the party workers at the Kotta Maidan here on Friday evening. The meeting was held as a part of working out the party strategy for the general elections in the state. Referring to the Sabarimala issue, he asked, why is it that the government is keen on implementing court orders regarding only one religion? Nearly 2,000 people who took part in the Sabarimala protest are in jail and 30,000 people are facing cases over the SC verdict,he said. Citing the Supreme Court restrictions on using loudspeakers at places of worship, he asked in how many mosques the government had implemented the order. He also said that while the 13th financial commission had allotted Rs 45,393 crore for Kerala during the UPA rule, as much as Rs 1.98 lakh crore was given by the BJP-led NDA government. The NDA government allotted so much funds though there is no BJP Lok Sabha MP from Kerala. It has to be noted that during the UPA regime, there were a handful of Union ministers from Kerala, he said. PTI adds: Shah took potshots and attacked the proposed Mahagathbandhan of opposition parties and said if it comes to power, there will be a new prime minister on each day of the week. He said the grand alliance was not good for the country. The mahagathbandhan was just a front of the corrupt people to grab power and does not have any ideology, leader or programme, Shah said. I will tell you who will become the Prime Minister if the Opposition comes to power. On Monday, Akhilesh Yadav will be the Prime Minister, on Tuesday it will be Mayawati. Wednesday will be for Chandrababu Naidu and Thursday for Deve Gowda and Mamata Banerjee will the Prime Minister on Friday. On Saturday it will be DMK leader M. K. Stalin. On Sunday, since it is a holiday, there will no Prime Minister," Shah said. Gadkari, who was flying to Nagpur from here, said that he has directed his department to prepare a report on how India can block other water resources from flowing into Pakistan. He did not elaborate. (Photo: ANI) New Delhi: A day after India decided to stop the flow of water of three rivers into Pakistan, Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said that he has directed his department to prepare a report on how to block other water resources from flowing into the neighbouring country. "We do not want even a single drop of water to reach Pakistan," he told ANI in an exclusive interview. Gadkari, who was flying to Nagpur from here, said that he has directed his department to prepare a report on how India can block other water resources from flowing into Pakistan. He did not elaborate. Amidst anger over the Pulwama terror attack, India had on Thursday decided to stop its share of water of three rivers Ravi, Beas and Sutlej from flowing into Pakistan. As per the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, India has full rights over the waters of eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas and Sutlej). In return, India had to let western rivers Indus, Chenab and Jhelum flow unrestricted to Pakistan. Under it, India could use the waters of western rivers as well, but only in a non-consumptive manner. It could use it for domestic purposes, and even for irrigation and hydropower production, but only in the manner specified in the treaty. Gadkari told ANI that the government will do everything possible to block the flow of water into Pakistan. "We will spend the requisite money to build dams in order to stop the flow of river waters to Pakistan. We will divert water from the eastern rivers and supply it to the people of Jammu and Kashmir," the minister said. "The Centre has given approval for the construction of three dams. Shahpur- Kandi will be built on Ravi river in Srinagar. The second is the Ujh multipurpose project and the third one is the second Ravi-Beas Link. The water stored in these dams will be supplied to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Punjab," he said. Gadkari had tweeted on Thursday, Under the leadership of Hon'ble PM Sri @narendramodi ji, Our Govt. has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. The construction of dam has started at Shahpur-Kandi on Ravi river. Moreover, UJH project will store our share of water for use in J&K and the balance water will flow from 2nd Ravi-BEAS Link to provide water to other basin state. All the above projects are declared as the national projects, he had said in another Tweet. His announcement came at a time when India is exploring options to "punish" Pakistan for the Pulwama terror attack of February 14 in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. The suicide bomb attack was claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit. Swamy had moved his application in a pending petition of the Federation of Indian Airlines challenging the flying license granted to AirAsia. (Photo: File) New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Friday filed two applications for AirAsia case in Delhi High Court, one to seek a status report from CBI and ED and second to stay the international operations of AirAsia. Delhi High Court has asked respondents to file their response to the application and the matter has been fixed for March 29. In October last year, Swamy had moved Delhi's Patiala House court for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a status report in the AirAsia matter. There are allegations against AirAsia India for lobbying while trying to get an international flying license by manipulating policies and violating of foreign investment rules. Swamy had moved his application in a pending petition of the Federation of Indian Airlines challenging the flying license granted to AirAsia. "This matter was started in 2012 when the UPA government decided that they will let foreign airlines invest in existing Indian airlines. Ratan Tata who does not have an airline misused this provision to donate money as foreign direct investment to AirAsia and got AirAsia to start a joint venture with TATA in India. Then he called an airline from Singapore also. This is against government policy," Swamy told ANI. On February 13, Banerjee was present in the meeting of opposition parties at NCP leader Sharad Pawar's residence. (Photo: ANI) Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee will attend the next opposition meet scheduled to be held at Mohali in Punjab on February 26, party sources said. "Our party chief will take part in the opposition meet on Feb 26," a senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader told PTI on Wednesday night. On February 13, Banerjee was also present in the meeting of opposition parties at NCP leader Sharad Pawar's residence. Moving forward on a united anti-BJP front for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, top opposition leaders, including Banerjee and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had met in New Delhi on February 13 and agreed to work together to prepare a common minimum programme to oust the Modi government and consider forging a pre-poll alliance. Banerjee, one of the prime movers behind the effort to cobble together an anti-BJP alliance, had organised a mega rally of opposition parties in Kolkata on January 19. A common minimum programme will be drafted soon by a group of opposition leaders, sources said. Pulwama attack and its political significance will be discussed, they added. A total of 40 CRPF personnel were killed and five injured on February 14 in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. (Representational Image) New Delhi: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has increased the number of its personnel in Kashmir following the terror attack in Pulwama to ensure the safety of train passengers and to protect railway property, a senior official of the force said. A total of 40 CRPF personnel were killed and five injured on February 14 in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir when a Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district. "We had a meeting with the Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday where the decision was taken to increase the presence of RPF in the region," said RPF DG Arun Kumar. "The chairman railway board also had a detailed security briefing with all zonal and divisional RPF officers on the security of railways. It was decided that a company of RPF will be sent to Kashmir for additional security," he said. While four companies of the RPF are stationed in Kashmir, one more, with 125 personnel, will be airlifted from Jammu to the area, he added. The RPF has also upgraded its all India security helpline number 182 to provide a single point access to rail users in distress. We had fought the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars, said Dr. Chiran-jeevi Kolluru, a veteran. We are not just ex-servicemen but war veterans. (Representational Image) Hyderabad: Veterans of the 1962 war have appealed to the state government to include medical benefits for war veterans in the ensuing state Budget. We had fought the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars, said Dr. Chiran-jeevi Kolluru, a veteran. We are not just ex-servicemen but war veterans. At Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir, 44 CRPF jawans were martyred. The whole nation rose as one man and expressed condolences. We also join our citizenry in this regard. How-ever, we had physically fought Pakistan in pitc-hed battles in 1965 and 1971. Many of our brothers in arms were either martyred or injured. Only a few survived. According to the government of India records there are only 610 surviving war veterans in India. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday directed that the nodal officers appointed in 11 states should take necessary steps to prevent acts of violence, discrimination and other coercive acts against Kashmiris and other minorities in the wake of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack. A bench of chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna gave this direction after the attorney general K.K. Venugopal informed the court that the Centre had already issued advisories to the states to take necessary steps to ensure the safety of Kashmiri students and nodal officers had also been put in place. The bench asked the Centre that the appointment of these nodal officers will be given wide publicity by the ministry of home affairs so that all acts of assault, intimidation, social boycott and threat can be brought to the attention. The bench in its order said We have also gone through the advisories issued by the home ministry to the chief secretaries and the DGPs of all states. These advisories already issued shall be reiterated from time to time. The chief secretaries, the DGPs and the police commissioner of Delhi are directed to take prompt and necessary action to prevent all incidents of threat, ass-ault, social boycott and other coercive acts in the aftermath of the terrorist attack of Februa-ry 14, the bench added. The chief secretaries and director generals of police of Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Chhat-tisgarh and Uttarakha-nd were asked to take immediate steps. Senior counsel Colin Gonsalves, appearing for advocate Tariq Adeeb brought to the notice of the court that the incidents of attack on Kashmiris was taking place and these incidents must be stopped. Mr Venugopal said that even before the said terrorist act, Kashmiri students were found to be vulnerable in the rest of the country and the government of India found it necessary to extend protection. "Nodal officers have been appointed in all states and UTs and there names and numbers are available. This list was updated in 2018...besides, necessary advisories have been issued. Steps have been taken by the Home Ministry particularly in respect of students residing outside of J & K and grievances can be reported on a specific number, he added. The bench also directed that police officers, who were earlier appointed as nodal officers to deal with incidents of mob lynching, would now be responsible to deal with cases of alleged assault on Kashmiris. The PIL by advocate Tariq Adeeb alleged that students from Kashmir Valley are being attacked at different educational institutions across the country after the Pulwama terror attack and authorities concerned should be directed to take actions to stop such assaults. Forty CRPF personnel were killed in south Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, in a terror attack allegedly carried out by banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed The petition gave details of attacks on people from Kashmir in different parts of the country. The petitioner has prayed for steps to be taken to prevent such attacks, threats, social boycott, ostracism, evictions and other coercive acts committed by groups and mobs against Kashmiris and other minorities. Specifically, the petition prays for directions to be issued to heads of institutions including educational institutions to take steps to protect the lives of Kashmiris. The petition also prays for prosecution of persons indulging in hate speech. Bengaluru: Congress President Rahul Gandhi will kick off the campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Haveri in North Karnataka during the first or second week of March. As a prelude to this, Mr Rahul has convened a meeting of state leaders during the first week of March to work out the party strategy. In fact, the Congress president was to hold the Haveri rally on March 4 but put it off to March 9 on account of Shivaratri celebrations. Haveri has been strategically selected since it is the gateway to the Mumbai-Karnataka region and also a BJP stronghold. The Congress party has not won this Lok Sabha seat for many years. Party sources told Deccan Chronicle that after the Haveri rally, many rallies had been planned across the state. The state leaders have been asked to make this rally successful since it would be the first rally to be addressed by Mr Gandhi for the coming Lok Sabha elections. Meanwhile, KPCC President Dinesh Gundurao held a meeting to work out the strategy for the LS polls. He has appointed three secretaries for each assembly constituency to drum up support for the party. Learning a lesson from the BJP, the Congress has decided to strengthen its booth level committees and be in touch with every household in the constituency to woo them to the Congress party. They had been asked to highlight the failures of the BJP led NDA government in the last five years and the effective functioning of the Congress as a responsible opposition party in the Lok Sabha by exposing major scams like Rafale and the deteriorating law and order situation across the nation. Party workers have been instructed to campaign among people about the poor handling of the Kashmir issue resulting in an increase in incidents like Pulwama. Meanwhile, AICC general secretary and in-charge of Karnataka affairs K.C. Venugopal held a closed door meeting with senior leaders to elicit their opinion on having an alliance with the JD(S) in the coming LS polls. A majority of them felt they should not succumb to the pressure of the JD(S) during seat sharing talks as it is vital for the party to protect its existence in the state. They clearly stated that all those seats currently held by the Congress should not be given to the JD(S) at any cost. Besides, both Mandya and Hassan seats should be fought by the Congress party because it has the capacity to win these two seats, the leaders felt. Mr Venugopal reportedly promised to convey their feeling to Mr Rahul Gandhi during the meeting to be held to finalise seat allocation. Lahore: Bowing down to intense international pressure to rein in militant groups operating from its soil, the Pakistan government on Friday took over the administrative control of the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the terror outfit which claimed responsibility for the deadly Pulwama suicide attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir. The move came a day after the powerful UN Security Council comprising 15 nations, including Pakistans key ally China, named Jaish in a statement condemning in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly terror attack perpetrated by Pakistan-based JeM in Pulwama and stressed on the need to hold organisers and financiers of such reprehensible acts accountable and bring them to justice. The Punjab government has taken over the control of the JeM headquarters in Bahawalpur, Pakistans information minister Fawad Chaudhry said. The government of Punjab has taken over the control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhan-allah in Bahawalpur, allegedly the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammad, and appointed an administrator to manage its affairs, the minister said. The campus has a faculty of 70 teachers and currently 600 students were studying in it, a statement issued by the interior ministry said. Pakistan interior ministry said that the Punjab police is providing security and protection to the campus. The crackdown on Jaish has been taken in line with the decision of the National Security Committee meeting held on Thursday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan, it said. Bhopal: C-7, Civil Lines, Professor Colony is a famous address, but, the spacious government bungalow, ironically, is still waiting for its VIP occupant. The palatial bungalow was earlier allotted to minister for external affairs Sushma Swaraj by state government as a member of parliament from Madhya Pradesh. Former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan eyed the government quarters allotted to Ms Swaraj. Sources close to Mr Chouhan said that he had even hired a vastu (ancient Indian science of architecture) expert from Delhi to have a look at the particularly bungalow on the aspect of its vastu and later decided not to shift to it after finding some flaws in its construction. He chose to shift to another government bungalow. Later, the Civil Lines bungalow was allotted to state finance minister Tarun Bhanot, who also declined to stay in it for the similar reason. He shifted to the government bungalow allotted earlier to former director general of police (DGP) of MP Rishi Kumar Shukla in Char Imli area here. Mr Shukla has recently vacated his bungalow after being appointed director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Now, the Civil Lines bungalow famous for its beautifully designed landscape is still waiting for its VIP occupant. Bengaluru: State BJP chief, B S Yeddyurappa can breathe easy for the time being with the high court passing an interim order on Friday temporarily staying police investigation into the case registered against him for allegedly attempting to bribe a JDS) MLA. The BJP leader is in the dock over an audio tape released by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, which allegedly features him asking Gurmitkal MLA, Nagangouda Kandakurs son, Sharangouda to persuade his father to defect to his party. After the government ordered an inquiry by a Special Investigation into the matter, Mr Sharangouda Kandakur filed a case against Mr Yeddyurappa, Devadurga MLA, Shivangouda Naik, Hassan MLA, Preethangowda and media advisor to Mr Yeddyurappa, M B Maramkal, claiming they had offered him Rs 10 crore towards election expenses in return for ensuring the defection of his father to the BJP. Mr Yeddyurappa responded by filing a petition before the high court on Tuesday for quashing the case registered against him and three others. Justice P G M Patil, who heard the petition on Wednesday, in an interim order on Friday stayed further proceedings in the case till he gave his final orders. The court also issued a notice to Mr Sharangouda asking him to appear before it. Senior Counsel, C V Nagesh, appearing for Mr Yeddyurappa, claimed the charges against him were false and politically motivated. Mr Yeddyurappa said he was happy with the courts decision. I always had faith in God and the courts and believed that justice would prevail and now it has. Some people filed the case against me out of vindictive politics. Now I can freely focus on the Lok Sabha elections. KOCHI: Youth Congress state president Dean Kuriakose will have to cough up the cost of the damage suffered by the public on account of the state-wide hartal called on Monday by the organisation protesting against the murder of two Youth Congress activists in Kasargod. The High Court on Friday directed the authorities concerned to collect the amount equivalent to the total losses incurred by various sections of society from Mr Kuriakose. Strongly criticising the culture of hartal, the court observed that the same punishment would be applicable to former DGP T.P. Senkumar, K.P. Sasikala and other leaders of Sabarimala Karma Samiti for the losses suffered in the state due to the hartal called by the Samiti on January 3 on the Sabarimala issue. Taking into account the fact that the United Democratic Front called the hartal in Kasargod district on Monday, the court said that the losses in the district should be collected from UDF district chairman M.C. Kamarruddin and convener Govindan Nair. In addition to the recovery of losses, cases should be registered against Mr. Kuriakose and the office-bearers of UDF in Kasargod for calling the hartal. The court came down heavily on hartal in the wake of political parties giving scant regard to the repeated directives of the court on the matter. The court said a special commission will be appointed to ascertain the total losses in the hartal and the same amount should be collected from the leaders. The report submitted by the state government stated that the KSRTC had alone suffered a loss of Rs 1.35 lakh on account of the Youth Congress hartal. The government said that other losses were still being estimated. It also stated that the losses should be recovered from those who called the hartal. Considering the intense difficulties faced by the people due to the frequent hartals in the state, the court has issued guidelines for calling hartals. A minimum of seven-day notice should be given before calling a hartal. In the case of Kasargod incident, the state-wide hartal was called by the Youth Congress leader on February 18 through a Facebook post on the night of February 17. The High Court has initiated the action against Mr. Kuriakose and others following a petition filed in the court citing the violation of the court order. Mr. Kuriakose has sought extension of time for filing a reply to the contempt of court petition against him and the court has posted the case for further hearing on March 6. It slapped the hartal cost on him while hearing other petitions connected with the hartal. The court criticised Mr. Kuriakose and observed that as a person who has studied LLB, he should be aware of law. The counsel for Mr. Kuriakose said his client has only completed LLB and was not practising as a lawyer. According to the Railway Police, a team of 14 men boarded the Telangana Express in Delhi on Tuesday to report to headquarters in Secunderabad. (Representational Image) Hyderabad: A CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) jawan from Jammu & Kashmir travelling to Hyderabad was reported missing by his commanding officer on Friday. According to the Railway Police, a team of 14 men boarded the Telangana Express in Delhi on Tuesday to report to headquarters in Secunderabad. They were to join the newly raised 246 Battalion in Ranga Reddy district. They travelled in different compartments. Saldeep Kumar was found to be missing when the train reached Secunderabad. A missing person case has been registered. Saldeep, 40, is a resident of Swankha village in Ramgarh, in the Samba district of Jammu & Kashmir. He was last seen wearing a blue tee-shirt and brown pants. Secunderabad GRP Superintendent of Police G. Ashok Kumar said, The team reached Secunderabad at 8:30 pm on Wednesday and Saldeep was missing. The team started searching at all possible places but in vain. Any information can be shared on 9908700054, 944627514 and 040-27700568. They then went on to report for duty to their CRPF camp here and on Friday lodged a missing complaint with the Railway Police. The complaint was given by Arjun Dubey, the ASI of Party Commander Force of 246 Battalion, CRPF, who also alleged that Saldeep had a habit of consuming alcohol. We have verified about the alcohol part and we have requested all the Station House Officers of Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra states to verify the details of the man and also asked them to inform us if any suspicious body was found with any particulars tallying with that of Mr Kumar, the official Mr Ashok Kumar said. Chennai: The DMK held its first phase of talks with MDMK and VCK on seat sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha election and finalised the deal with another ally the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which was allotted one seat on Friday. On Wednesday, the DMK and Congress had sealed a seat sharing accord for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, a day after the BJP entered into electoral pact with the ruling AIADMK. The AIADMK's alliance also includes the PMK and talks were on with few other parties to firm up the alliance. As per the agreement with the DMK, the Congress would contest from 9 out of 39 seats in TN besides the lone Lok Sabha constituency in Puducherry. The leaders of CPI, CPI (M) and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) had talks with the seat-sharing committee of the DMK. On Friday, the DMK engaged the MDMK and VCK leaders in talks. "The talks have been held cordially. We have conveyed our views to the DMK (seat-sharing committee) leaders who assured to consider and take them up with their leadership. We hope to hear the good news soon," Ganeshmurthy, MDMK treasurer said emerging from the discussions at DMK State headquarters - Anna Arivalayam. Asked how many seats his party had sought to contest, he replied, "the leaders of both the parties will decide and announce soon." AMMK to finalise alliance in a week: T. T. V. Dhinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) will finalise its alliance for the Lok Sabha polls in a week. Speaking to reporters here on Friday, Mr Dhinakaran said the AMMK would contest in 38 Lok Sabha seats. The party has already decided the candidates to be nominated for the constituencies. "We are holding talks with two parties and will announce it after February 28. The parties that we ally with will be those which cannot be criticised by the people," he said. Brushing aside speculations that AMMK is in talks with Vijayakanth's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), Mr. Dhinakaran ruled out any scope for his party to align with the DMDK. "I am careful not to be an opportunist or not be someone who talks one thing first and then changes into something else later," he said. He took a dig at the DMDK leader saying Vijayakanth who had once opposed putting up pictures of the then Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa in the Assembly, is negotiating with the AIADMK for an alliance. Railways will run a special train for tourists visiting the Statue of Unity in Gujarat. (Photo: File) New Delhi: Railways will run a special train for tourists visiting the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, five months after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a statement from the ministry said. The train, which will be run under the government's Bharat Darshan scheme, will have a seven-night and eight-day tour package beginning March 4 from Chandigarh, ministry further said. The journey will also cover pilgrimage sites like Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga near Indore, MP, Shirdi Sai Baba Darshan, Trimbakeshwar in Nashik, Maharashtra, and Ghrishneshwar Jyotirlinga in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Priced at Rs 7,560 per person, the tour package has multiple boarding and de-boarding stations viz Chandigarh, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat, Delhi Cantt, Rewari, Alwar and Jaipur, the statement said. "The package has been designed to pay tribute to the Iron Man of India, Shri Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The train will halt at Vadodara station and passengers will be taken to the Statue of Unity by buses," it said. The Statue of Unity is situated on the river island called Sadhu Bet in front of the Narmada Dam in Gujarat. It is the world's tallest statue at a height of 182 metres. The package includes the train journey in non-AC sleeper class, hall or dormitory accommodation at places of night stay, morning freshen up, road transportation, pure vegetarian meals, sightseeing as per the itinerary by non-AC vehicles, services of the tour manager, according to the statement. The 182-metre tall Statue of Unity at Kevadia Colony in Narmada district has become a major attraction for the tourists after it was opened to public last year. It had made a collection of Rs 1.26 crore within three days since November 8. By December, the daily footfall had reached 30,000, according to the state government. A huge number of iPhones, smartwatches, USB chips, storage devices, camera lens and cigarettes worth Rs 1.1 crore were also seized. (Photo: Representational) Chennai: A total of 17.9 kg of gold worth Rs 6.24 crore has been seized and six people have been arrested in this connection, directorate of revenue intelligence officials said here Friday. Acting on information that some foreign origin gold was being smuggled into the country, a search conducted Thursday at the city airport yielded the precious metal, the officials said. The gold was concealed in domestic appliances and gadgets by passengers, they said. Also, a huge number of iPhones, smartwatches, USB chips, storage devices, camera lens and cigarettes worth Rs 1.1 crore were seized, a DRI press release said. During the operation, Indian and foreign currencies valued at Rs 33 lakh were seized from the passengers who admitted that the sales proceeds would be remitted to them through hawala channels, the release said. Investigations revealed that the gang was working in co-ordination with a mastermind in Malaysia who would identify passengers returning to India from Dubai, Malaysia, and Singapore, and ask them to carry the appliances and gadgets for monetary gain, it said. Three automobiles used to carry the smuggled goods from the airport were also seized, the release said. The six arrested, including the mastermind and his aide, his close relative and two individuals, the release said. In a separate incident, 5.72 kg of gold valued at Rs 1.97 crore concealed in one of the seats of an aircraft which arrived here from an overseas destination were confiscated. In another incident, 1.13 kg of gold worth Rs 37.41 lakh that was smuggled in from Malaysia was seized at the Tiruchirapalli airport and the mastermind arrested, the release added. Milan: Fendi paid understated tribute Thursday to Karl Lagerfeld. The fashion house said in notes for its Milan Fashion Week show that the Fall/Winter 2019-2020 collection is the final collection designed by Karl Lagerfeld, representing a lifetime of dedication and creation from 1965 until today. Reproductions of five of Lagerfelds sketches accompanied the notes, summing up the looks. A small card came printed with his signature and the Fendi F that had a heart forming the cross-stroke. The date of the designers death was on the back: 19-02-2019. A video recorded before his death showed Lagerfeld being asked to draw himself as he appeared on his first day at Fendi. Well, thats prehistoric, the designer said. In the 1960s, we didnt hold back. His personal Fendi preview look: a Cerruti hat over his long hair, dark sunglasses, a printed Lavalliere tie, a yellow-and-red English hunting jacket in Scottish tweed, French-style culottes and a bag that he had found in Milan. That was my style. Disreputable, the late designer told the camera in French. Karl Lagerfelds grand finale at Fendi emulated the designers signature style, with striking high collars and the models wearing ponytails at the nape. The opening look featured a huge bow tie and a double-breasted jacket with white accents, worn with a mini-skirt showing off Fendi tights. That look was elaborated on to show the same jacket as a long overcoat, and then paired with wide-legged pleated trousers with white stripe accents. A neat, point-collared shirt buttoned to the top unified the outfits. . A series of wide-pleated skirts in shiny finishes or sheers, as well as structured dresses with pagoda shoulders, pointy collars and cinched waists feminised the collection. Coats were luxurious furs with the elegant double-F logo in cursive, known as Lagerfelds curling Karligraphy and laser-cut leather with zippers that opened the sleeves and the back. Shiny leather coats were shaped like capes and had open-zip arms and fur collars. Beyond neutral tones, Lagerfeld included flashes of daffodil yellow, seafoam green and tangerine. The looks were finished with fur riding caps, the Fendi Peekaboo bag with perforated detailing or the updated Baguette bag with a multi-strap harness. Gigi Hadid closed the show in a diaphanous mango dress with a snug Fendi-logoed bodysuit. A big bow floated on the back. Silvia Venturini Fendi, who was a child when Lagerfeld joined Fendi and revolutionised fur at her familys fashion house, thanked the fashion crowd and took a bow, then clenched her fists and stepped backstage. A screen descended: Backstage was kept private. Venturini Fendi in a note said the bond between Lagerfeld and Fendi is fashions longest love story. When we called just a few days before the show, his only thoughts were on the richness and the beauty of the collection, she wrote. Its a true testament to his character. He shall be so missed. Telugu and Tamil cinema actress Anjali is currently shooting in Visakhapatnam for a Telugu film. According to a source, Balaji is directing the movie, and an upcoming actor, Adith Arun, is going to play the male lead opposite Anjali in this film. The unit has been in Vishakhapatnam for the past few days. Theyve already shot a few key scenes there, reports a source. This film could be the sequel to Anjalis earlier film Geethanjali, added the source. But who knows? The makers have also roped in the versatile character artiste, Brahmaji, for a key role. Perhaps Brahmaji will be playing a cameo in this film. He did participate in its shooting in Vizag for two days, added the source. Anjali Anjalis last Telugu film, Chitrangadha (directed by Ashok) released a couple of years ago, after which she got busy with her subsequent Tamil projects. We await Anjalis performance in this breezy entertainer. A prolific director of Telugu cinema, Kodi Ramakrishna, passed away on Friday afternoon at a private hospital in Hyderabad. The director had not been feeling well for a few days when on Thursday, his family members had to rush him to a private hospital in Gachibowli. Eventually, Ramakrishna succumbed to his illness on Friday afternoon. The filmmaker has been one of the most popular directors of Telugu cinema. He has directed over a hundred films, spanning various genres including socio-fantasy, socio-political, family and action. Ramakrishna has also displayed some of the best performances as an actor in the history of Tollywood. Kodi Ramakrishna with Chiranjeevi (centre) and Gollapudi Maruthi Rao (right) on the sets of Intlo Ramayya Veedhilo Krishnayya. Born and raised in Palakollu, Andhra Pradesh, Ramakrishna joined the industry as an assistant director to Dasari Narayana Rao, who also hails from the same village. He made his debut as a director with the film Intlo Ramayya Veedhilo Krishnayya (1982) that stars none other than Chiranjeevi. The film rocked the box-office, after which Ramakrishna never looked back. Some of his best works include Tharangini, Mukkupudaka, Ahuthi, Thalmbralu, Bharath Bandh, Ankusam, Mangammagari Manavadu, Satruvu, Ammoru, Muddula Mamayya, Devi Putrudu, Anji, Police Brothers, Devi, Devullu, Arundhathi and many more! Ramakrishna has worked with almost every actor in the industry. He worked actively for over 40 years and about 15 films directed by him alone released every year. He was also a man who dared to look past commercial cinema and target social subjects in his films. Ankusam, Police Brothers, Bharath Bandh, Ahuti and 20 Sathabdam are a few examples of his socially relevant works. His film Ankusam, which made Rajasekhar a star, also portrays him a cop in it. The cops character was so effectively portrayed in this film, that it has continued to inspire the police force till date! At this point of time, what matters to me is a good hit which will change my fortunes, remarks Sonia Agarwal who was once a A-Lister actress in Tamil cinema. The actress, known for her power packed performances, went into oblivion due to personal problems in married life. She is back with a renewed vigour with an array of movies including Vishals Ayogya, Arun Vijays Thadam and a couple of other language films. Significantly, in Thanimai, a female-centric film, she essays the lead in the role of a mother who is a Sri Lankan refugee in India in search of her long lost child. DC caught up with her on the sets of Ayogya during a break. I am playing doctor in Ayogya. It is the same extended cameo and yet an important one, as I did in the original Telugu titled Temper. It is basically about a sensational murder and being a doctor she is one of those mainly involved who would have done the post-mortem. We are shooting the court sequence today, which is the climax as people await an important judgment, she says. Sonia starts with the scene of the days shoot. Ayogya has Vishal and Rashi Khanna in the lead and directed by Venkat Mohan. She was all smiles talking about Vishal. Even though I have only five days of shoot, we all moved like a family. Vishal is a warm person and down to earth. On Arun Vijay starrer Thadam, directed by Maghizh Tirumeni where her role is crucial in driving the story, she says, Magizh is one director whos creating a style, he is very classy. I was a little apprehensive before signing the project because the character arc was so heavy! She is a girl who goes through a lot of sensitive things in life and how she handles them forms the rest. After I shot my portions, the way he had conceived and extracted the work from me, it was astonishing. I thanked god that I didnt let it go out of my hands. It is a strong role and I am looking forward to it. Sonia anticipates that Thanimai will give her the necessary break. I am playing the lead. Its an emotional thriller. It is a poignant tale of a Sri Lankan refugee mother portrayed by me coming in search of her long lost child. Shivaraman, a lawyer whos passionate about films, is directing it. The film will showcase the nature of men from various walks of life. Are you happy with the phase you are in now, with the kind of roles you are being offered? If you had asked me a few years back I would have said no. At this point of time its fine. Even though I am around here attending functions, parties or award events, many ask me this question - Are you still acting? Perhaps it was because of the backseat that I took in between for three years when I had personal problems. And the marriage tag that was an issue with filmmakers at that point of time also marred my career. And I guess, filmmakers are more open now. She quickly adds, I am separated and single today. People are still in that frame of mind. Right now, what matters to me is a good hit, which will change the equation. Sonia is also into web series, which seems to be the order of the day. Yes, I am part of a very big project, which I am not supposed to talk about. Is that our former late CM Jayalalithaas biopic which Gautham Vasudev Menon? We ask and her reply was only a friendly smile. The Kadhal Konden actress kitty is full with films including one in Kannada with Ravichandran, and a couple of Malayalam flicks. Sonchiriya is all set to release on March 1. Mumbai: Leaving no stone unturned in the promotions, the makers have opted for a never before strategy as the cast who essay the rustic and ruthless dacoit on the screen will meet the real 'Daaku' (dacoit) of Chambal. Inching closer to release, the makers are promoting the film in full swing. After intriguing the audience with sneak peeks in the film, the team of Sonchiriya will visit Chambal to meet the real Daaku ahead of release. Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey and Abhishek Chaubey will be heading soon to Kanpur to meet the Real Dacoits. Sonchiriya promises to be a power packed action film giving a glimpse of the glorious years if dacoits in central India. The Movie is shot in the valleys of Madhya Pradesh. Inspired by real-life stories and shot in real locations, Sonchiriya has been making the right noise generating anticipation amongst the audience. Starring Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar, Manoj Bajpayee, Ranvir Shorey, and Ashutosh Rana in lead roles, Sonchiriya presents tale set in the years of dacoits. Recently the film is in legal trouble as it has been slammed with a legal notice by a Gwalior-based NGO. Sonchiriya is all set to release in the upcoming month. The cast and crew are on a promotional spree and are promoting the film on social media as well as through events and promotional activities. Directed by Abhishek Chaubey who has earlier presented 'Udta Punjab' and 'Ishiqiya', 'Sonchiriya' presents a rooted tale set in Chambal. Produced by Ronnie Screwvala's RSVP, The movie is slated to release on 1st March 2019. Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said a successful conclusion of RCEP will help deal with the challenges of global trade in terms of increasing trade tensions and protectionism. (Phot: File) New Delhi: India on Thursday called upon all the members of RCEP, a proposed mega trade deal, to work concertedly towards early conclusion of the agreement to boost economic ties. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a mega trade agreement being negotiated by 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) and their six free trade pact partners - India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said a successful conclusion of RCEP will help deal with the challenges of global trade in terms of increasing trade tensions and protectionism. "India is constructively engaged in RCEP negotiations and the country believes that ASEAN will remain central to the economic integration of the Indo-Pacific region through RCEP," he said. "As negotiations are intensifying, members are now engaged in bilateral pairing to achieve mutually satisfactory and balanced outcome keeping in view each other's sensitivities and aspirations," the minister said. The minister was speaking at the inauguration of the fourth India-ASEAN Export and Summit 2019 here. He said that as directed by the leaders of the 16 countries, "we should all work concertedly towards early conclusion of RCEP and create a win-win situation for the greater prosperity of the people of the region". Negotiations for the mega-trade deal RCEP need more rounds of talks to sort out issues pertaining to goods and services, Prabhu had said Tuesday. The agreement aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights. The talks are stretched as the member countries have yet to agree on major issues including finalising the number of goods on which duties would be eliminated. Speaking at the event, Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said all the members need to work together to conclude the negotiations this year. Sharing similar views, Cambodian Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak also said the agreement is important and "I hope to see this concluding this year". Further, Prabhu urged the ASEAN members to engage in the review of free trade agreement with India to resolve implementation issues being faced by business of either side. The bilateral trade between India and ASEAN increased from USD 65 billion in 2015-16 to USD 81.33 billion in 2017-18. The repository will help put a check on illicit deposit-taking activities that dupe the poor and the financially illiterate of their hard-earned savings. (Photo: File) New Delhi: Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar on Friday said the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Scheme Ordinance promulgated by the President will help create a central repository of all the registered entities that can take deposits. The repository will help put a check on illicit deposit-taking activities that dupe the poor and the financially illiterate of their hard-earned savings, he said. President Ram Nath Kovind Thursday promulgated the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Scheme Ordinance. "The Ordinance makes it absolutely necessary for everyone to register before taking a deposit and creating a central repository of all the registered entities which can take deposits. So, whosoever are not registered are not regulated entities," he said at an event organised by Egrow here. From now on, there is a complete ban on unregulated deposit and anyone promoting this will be punishable, he said. "It also says you cannot dupe anybody as an agent or even as advertisement, you cannot give face to that scheme which is not regulated by any agency," he added. The Lok Sabha passed the Bill to this effect on the last day of the budget session by a voice-vote, but the legislation could not get the approval of the Rajya Sabha. Earlier this week, the Cabinet has requested the President of India for promulgation of the Unregulated Deposit Schemes Ordinance, 2019. The legislation contains a substantive banning clause which bans deposit takers from promoting, operating, issuing advertisements or accepting deposits in any unregulated deposit scheme. "No deposit taker shall directly or indirectly promote, operate, issue any advertisement soliciting participation or enrolment in or accept deposits in pursuance of an unregulated deposit scheme," the Ordinance said. The law also proposes to create three different types of offences -- running of unregulated deposit schemes, fraudulent default in regulated deposit schemes, and wrongful inducement in relation to unregulated deposit schemes. The Ordinance also provides for severe punishment ranging from 1 year to 10 years and pecuniary fines ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 50 crore to act as deterrent. It also has adequate provisions for disgorgement or repayment of deposits in cases where such schemes nonetheless manage to raise deposits illegally. The law provides for attachment of properties or assets and subsequent realisation of assets for repayment to depositors. Clear-cut timelines have been provided for attachment of property and restitution to depositors. It also enables creation of an online central database for collection and sharing of information on deposit-taking activities in the country. Being a comprehensive union law, it adopts best practices from state laws, while entrusting the primary responsibility of implementing the provisions of the legislation to the state governments. Most of the Micro Small Medium scale Enterprises (MSMEs) may have embraced the easier norms and relaxations provided to the start-ups by the union government, despite the easier norms there lays a voice that still opposes the norms, and relaxations provided by the government, after it revised the disputed anti-abuse provision in the Income Tax Act, 2012 also called angel tax, reported the Financial Express. No exit point The only doubt that lies within the stakeholders is why were those startups, which had received tax notices were not taken into consideration. A survey conducted by PE, VC body Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (IVCA) and community social media platform LocalCircles during early February, showed above 2100 i.e 73 per cent established start-ups that increased angel funding (pre or post 2011) received one or above one angel tax notification from the income tax department, the Financial Express reported. The notification does not cover start-ups which are already caught up in assessment litigation. Thousands of start-ups are currently struggling with demand notices, Alok Mittal, Co-founder, Indian Angel Network and CEO & Co-founder Indifi told the Financial Express. Piyush Jain, CEO of Mumbai-based crowd-funding platform ImpactGuru stated, It is still unclear about what is going to happen to those startups that already are currently in active litigation under various sections and what the implication of those rulings is. Major other choices The startups besides expanding the meaning of startups from current 7 years after its establishment or registration till 10 years have embraced the move, but it raises eyebrows over its linking to the turnover. This indicates if a startup generates turnover above Rs 100 crore for any fiscal year after its establishment or setup despite being under 10 years, it wouldnt be called a startup. Medikabazaar (online medical supplies and equipment startup) CEO Vivek Tiwari explained, A realistic view of the market size is imperative for gauging startups potential and for the turnover assessment. While extending definition from 7 to 10 years may be beneficial for a section of the startups, those with a high growth curve, or ones addressing a larger market size, may not be able to leverage it favourably, Various voices advised to attract profitability as tax exemption criterion rather than the turnover or time after registration. For example Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder and CEO at PayNearby (that permits local retailers to use digital financial services through its app) suggested a 125 per cent weighted tax exemption by the government to startups which are profitable with a minimum of Rs 5 crore per annum. Bajaj added, This will help startups to function with viability as a key driver. If the government can incentivize for viability, you will appreciate that investors or public funds can be optimally utilized beyond cash burn in cash backs. Cut the Tax Even after the government revised the norms, the startups are hoping that the angel tax be scrapped off entirely as last month multiple industry bodies counting in Nasscom, IVCA, TiE Global, and IAN had suggested the same in a letter to the finance minister Arun Jaitley and commerce minister Suresh Prabhu. Harshal Kamdar, VC sector council member, IVCA, and partner at PwC, stated, At the outset, the law taxing infusion into companies should be abolished. Srikanth Ganesan, Founder at Singapore and Chennai-based edtech startup LittleMore Innovations, expressed, The taxes should have never been there in the first place. Entrepreneurs go through a tough process for raising capital and any taxes on that will kill the startup ecosystem. Mr Ganesan further added, the taxability of the origination of the investors funds should be addressed by the investors and not by the start-ups. Earlier this month, the Financial Express citing sources reported, scrapping angel tax has remained out of the question for the government. So scrapping the angel tax isnt an option. Despite the current issues, starts-ups like pee-to-peer (P2P) lending site RupeeCircle are aiming to maximise the best out of the new rules to bring in extra capital from other sources. Abhishek Gandhi, Co-founder & CFO/CTO at RupeeCircle stated, After new rules, we are planning to raise approximately Rs 20 crores. With the exemption limit raised, we expect more corporate to be looking out for avenues of investment, which is a positive sign for the entire start-up ecosystem. RupeeCircle, which is funded by Mahindra Finance recently joined hands with TATA AIG General Insurance Company to provide insurance cover against accidental death and permanent total disability, the Financial Express reported. (With agency inputs) Sebi initiated investigation after it received complaint alleging irregularities in the amalgamation of TAAL with its wholly owned subsidiary TAAL Technologies Pvt Ltd (TTPL). (Photo: File) New Delhi: Markets regulator Sebi on Thursday imposed a total fine of Rs 6 lakh on Taneja Aerospace and Aviation Ltd (TAAL) and two senior company officials for disclosure lapses regarding acquisition of a wholly-owned subsidiary. The two officials are Salil Taneja and B R Taneja who were the company's chairman and non-executive director, respectively, at the time of violation, Sebi said. Sebi initiated investigation after it received complaint alleging irregularities in the amalgamation of TAAL with its wholly owned subsidiary TAAL Technologies Pvt Ltd (TTPL). During the investigation, the regulator observed that with respect to investment in TTPL, Taneja Aerospace only disclosed on July 30, 2009 that TTPL has become its wholly owned subsidiary even when it had acquired 50 per cent shares on two occasions, March 19 and July 15, 2009. Besides, it also did not disclosed about its advancement of Rs 9.7 crore in installments to TTPL. "The allegation that TAAL and its board of directors had failed to disclose material transactions to BSE and shareholders...stands established," Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said. By not making disclosures, the entities violated listing norms and Securities Contract Regulation Act (SCRA), the regulator noted. Accordingly, a fine of Rs 5 lakh was imposed on Taneja Aerospace and Rs 1 lakh on Salil Taneja and B R Taneja to be paid jointly and severally. The Lok Sabha passed the Bill to this effect on the last day of the budget session by a voice-vote, but the legislation could not get the approval of the Rajya Sabha. (Photo: File) New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday promulgated the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Scheme Ordinance which seek to curb the menace of ponzi schemes and make such unregulated deposit scheme punishable. The Ordinance will help put a check on illicit deposit taking activities like Saradha scam and Rose Valley chit fund scam in the country that dupe poor and the financially illiterate of their hard earned savings. The Lok Sabha passed the Bill to this effect on the last day of the budget session by a voice-vote, but the legislation could not get the approval of the Rajya Sabha. Earlier this week, the Cabinet has requested the President of India for promulgation of the Unregulated Deposit Schemes Ordinance, 2019. The legislation contains a substantive banning clause which bans deposit takers from promoting, operating, issuing advertisements or accepting deposits in any unregulated deposit scheme. "No deposit taker shall directly or indirectly promote, operate issue any advertisement soliciting participation or enrolment in or accept deposits in pursuance of an unregulated deposit scheme," the Ordinance said. The law also proposes to create three different types of offences -- running of unregulated deposit schemes, fraudulent default in regulated deposit schemes, and wrongful inducement in relation to unregulated deposit schemes. The Ordinance also provides for severe punishment ranging from 1 year to 10 years and pecuniary fines ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 50 crore to act as deterrent. It too has adequate provisions for disgorgement or repayment of deposits in cases where such schemes nonetheless manage to raise deposits illegally. The law provides for attachment of properties or assets and subsequent realisation of assets for repayment to depositors. Clear-cut timelines have been provided for attachment of property and restitution to depositors. It also enables creation of an online central database for collection and sharing of information on deposit-taking activities in the country. Being a comprehensive union law, it adopts best practices from state laws, while entrusting the primary responsibility of implementing the provisions of the legislation to the state governments. Last month, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said that the CBI has lodged about 166 cases in the last four years related to chit funds and multi-crore scams, with the maximum in West Bengal and Odisha. As per information provided by RBI, during the period between July 2014 and May 2018, 978 cases of unauthorised schemes were discussed in State Level Coordination Committee (SLCC) meetings in various states/UTs and were forwarded to the respective regulators/law enforcement agencies in the states. A large number of such instances have been reported from the eastern part of the country. Subsequently, the Finance Minister in the Budget 2017-18 had announced that the draft bill to curtail the menace of illicit deposit schemes had been placed in the public domain and would be introduced shortly after its finalisation. The latest ordinance has been promulgated with effect from Thursday, according to the official gazette. (Photo: File) New Delhi: The government has re-promulgated an ordinance to amend the companies law that seeks to plug critical gaps in corporate governance and compliance framework as well as improve the ease of doing business in the country. On Tuesday, the Cabinet cleared the proposal to promulgate the Companies (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2019. A bill to replace the Companies (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, that was promulgated in November could not be passed during the last session of the current Parliament. The latest ordinance has been promulgated with effect from Thursday, according to the official gazette. "The amendments have been brought in to address the need to impose civil liability for technical and procedural defaults of a minor nature," the government said on Tuesday. Further, the changes have been made to plug gaps in the corporate governance and enforcement framework covering a wide range of issues. As many as 16 minor offences have been re-categorised as "purely civil defaults" which would help de-clog special courts. Besides, certain routine functions from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) would be transferred to the central government. These include dealing with applications for change of financial year and conversion from public to private companies. New Delhi: The government has done a lot to improve governance in the banking sector which is beginning to contribute again, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said on Friday. "We had inherited a banking sector which was kaput (broken) with Rs 10.5 lakh crore of non-performing assets (NPAs). We had to struggle a lot to overcome the crisis," he said. Kumar said the banking sector will now go on a different footing as the country needs a few large banks which can compete globally. However, the cost of capital remains high. "The banking sector remains fragmented which makes the cost of capital quite high. This makes it difficult for our companies to compete. The cost of capital in this country must be brought down." Kumar said India's economy is on a solid foundation and the macro-economic situation is better than ever before. That is the basis of GDP growth rate of over 7 per cent. "The delivery of government is far better than before," he said. The Niti Aayog Vice Chairman called for setting up a national debt office as announced in the 2014 Union Budget. It will be able to pay more attention and help the government in bringing down the cost of debt, he said. The victim just needs to furnish a screenshot of the message along with the mobile number and e-mail it to ccaddn-dot@nic.in. (Representional Image) New Delhi: People can now file a complaint with the Department of Telecom (DoT) against offensive messages received on WhatsApp, an official said on Friday. The victim just needs to furnish a screenshot of the message along with the mobile number and e-mail it to ccaddn-dot@nic.in. "If anyone is receiving abusive/offensive/death threats/ vulgar whatsapp messages ,please send screen shots of the message along with the mobile numbers at ccaddn-dot@nic.in "We will take it up with the telecom operators and police heads for necessary action," DoT Controller Communications Ashish Joshi tweeted. The move comes following many public figures, including journalists, complaining of receiving abusive and threatening messages. The DoT, in an order on February 19, had said that licence conditions bar carriage of objectionable, obscene or unauthorised content in any form on the network. The order directed all telecom service providers to take immediate action against their customers for sending such messages as it is also a violation of customer declaration in the customer application form. Manipal Global Education Services (MaGE), Indias largest education services group has been awarded the title Mobile Learning Company of the year, at the EdTech Review Summit 2019 at a recently held event. Manipal Globals EduNxt team receiving .the mobile Learning Company of the Year. Speaking on the occasion Balaji Sankaran, Head, Consumer Technology, Manipal Global Education Services, said, MaGE has successfully amalgamated technology and digital content to deliver optimised learning outcomes for professionals to achieve their true potential. Our state of the art EduNxt app has been designed grounds-up to bring a mobile-first immersive learning experience to our customers. We are honoured to have received the award as it is a testimony of our commitment towards technical excellence of our products. The award was presented to the company that successfully demonstrated exceptional performance in unleashing the potential of Mobile Learning. MaGEs EduNxt mobile app is focused on delivering learning outcomes in universities (Kasturba Medical College, School of Management, MAHE Dubai, Sikkim Manipal University Distance Education), academies (Manipal Academy of Banking and Financial Services) and corporates (HDFC Life, State Bank of India) through innovations around gamification (tournaments, challenges), chatbot, social learning (Social sharing, like/dislike, trending content). EduNxt delivers mobile-first learning experience to hundreds of thousands of learners around the globe. EdTech awards are presented as a part of the EdTech Review Summit, an annual event bringing together all stakeholders in the EdTech space. EdTech Review Summit explores forward-looking themes with a motive to educate the attendees on both the Indian and global educational technology landscape. Sessions and Panel discussions focussing on mapping and meeting future demand for technology in education, the state and growth of EdTech in India, Asia and beyond. About Manipal Global Education Services Manipal Global Education Services (MaGE) is a leading education service provider from India which operates university campuses and colleges in Dubai, Antigua, Nepal and Malaysia. In India, MaGE offers corporate training through Manipal Global Academies, assessment through MeritTrac, vocational training through Manipal City & Guilds and professional certification through Manipal ProLearn. MaGE has trained close to 100,000 corporate and professional learners for the banking, IT and data science industries, and does over five million assessments annually. Disclaimer: This article has not been edited by Deccan Chronicle and is taken from a syndicated feed. Photos: NewsVoir. Introduced in 2007, the Super Hornet is the worlds leading fighter aircraft, highly capable across the full mission spectrum and continually evolving to outpace future threats. (Photo: File) Bengaluru: Aerospace major Boeing on Thursday announced a public-private partnership with government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and diversified Indian multinational Mahindra to produce next-generation F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters in a new factory-of-the-future in India. Sunil Velagapudi, Acting President of Boeing India, presented company plans for Make in India and offered advanced capabilities to Indian armed forces at the on-going Aero India 2019. He said the partnership with HAL and Mahindra will create jobs, industrial capacity, and a globally competitive Indian supply chain. "With multi-role capabilities, advanced technologies, growth potential and low-acquisition and sustainment costs, the combat-proven F/A-18 is a clear choice for the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force," he said. Introduced in 2007, the Super Hornet is the worlds leading fighter aircraft, highly capable across the full mission spectrum and continually evolving to outpace future threats. In addition, Boeing laid out its future defence plans proposing the KC-46A aerial refueler, AH-64E Apache attack helicopter, additional P-8 long-range maritime reconnaissance, and anti-submarine aircraft, and the twin-engine Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft. Boeing also highlighted its growing services, sustainment and training footprint in India which is delivering exceptional operational capability and readiness for current platforms at a competitive cost structure. The P-8I and C-17 operated by the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force have high mission readiness rates of more than 85 per cent, as a result of this commitment. For the soon-to-be-inducted AH-64E Apaches and CH-47F(I) Chinooks, the first batch of Indian Air Force pilots have been undergoing training in the United States. Boeing also plans to establish rotorcraft training and support capabilities in India as deliveries commence this year. Boeing also shared its success on Make in India, highlighting the contributions of its over 160 suppliers that provide parts and assemblies covering aerostructures, wire harness, composites, forgings, avionics mission systems, and ground support equipment for some of Boeings most advanced defence platforms. Further, Boeing highlighted the deliveries of the first batch of AH-64 Apache fuselages by Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited, the joint venture with Tata Advanced Systems Limited, which is the sole-producer of fuselages globally. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription and are still unable to access our content, please link your digital account to your print subscription If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Ryan Speedo Green has blazed an astounding trail leading from a challenging early life to the great opera stages of the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Salzburg Festival, and the Vienna State Opera. Despite a hard beginning and a stint with juvenile detention at the age of 12, Green graduated with music degrees from Hartt School of Music and Florida State University. Recognition came quickly for the young bass-baritone after his 2011 win at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. After David Bergner wrote of Green and his inspirational win in The New York Times, HarperCollins expressed interest in publishing his biography, Sing for Your Life: A Story of Race, Music, and Family. Even the book has garnered rave reviews. Publishers Weekly called it gripping and inspiring, and soprano Renee Fleming described it as absolutely riveting. DARIEN From the doorstep of Bob Montlicks Post Road store, the space appears like an ordinary furniture shop. Rows of unfinished wooden chairs, chests and dressers line the storeroom stacked high, obstructing the view of whats behind the furniture and where most of the stores activity takes place. A sign reading Firearms Dept hangs above a doorway leading to a thriving business at the store since the mid-60s. The room is filled with boxes of ammo and handguns in display cases. Rifles line the walls behind a counter where employees help customers, most of whom are greeted by their first name. In the middle of it all, Montlick, 80, who walks with a noticeable limp, surveys the scene. Montlick has owned the store since 1954, but the products hes sold over the years have often changed. Bobs began when Montlick, then an 18-year-old recent graduate of Darien High School, took over a business repairing Venetian blinds where he had been working for the previous two years. It just evolved, he said. It went from the Venetian blinds and furniture finishing, to selling the furniture, to decorative products, including old antique firearms. Montlick grew up shooting as a Darien Boy Scout, but didnt have plans to distribute weapons until he was approached in the mid-1960s when a local seller gave up his license. One day, a friend of mine came in that was a Darien policeman with a guy from the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) when Darien Sport Shop was giving up their gun business, Montlick said. The guy from the ATF said, Well, I can hook you up with your license to sell modern firearms if you want. So thats where it started, around 1966 or 1967. Montlick has been selling guns ever since and is the sole distributor of firearms in Darien at a time when the national debate over gun control is broiling. Montlick suffered a stroke last year and has ceded control of the firearms department to Hunter Tassitano, his employee of 10 years. Tassitano, 30, grew up in Weston and, like Montlick, established an early relationship with shooting. I grew up in a family that hunted and fished and did outdoor stuff, so I was always into the sport of it as a kid, Tassitano said. I dont hunt much anymore, but my family still does. My grandparents on both sides were Italian, so you can imagine they hunted everything they could eat. Tassitano said business has recently increased with many fearing potential law changes after the presidential election. Concern over terrorist attacks and mass shootings have also contributed to a nationwide uptick in the amount of pistol permits issued over the past several years, according to a National Rifle Association spokeswoman. The NRA reported a 59 percent increase in attendance at their basic pistol training classes between 2011 and 2014. In Connecticut, and around the country, Americans see that their government cant always protect them, NFA spokeswoman Catherine Mortensen said. People are buying firearms and seeking concealed carry permits in record numbers because they want to be able to protect themselves and their families. Darien Chief of Police Duane Lovello told the Board of Selectmen at a meeting earlier this month that his department has seen a fairly large increase in the number of pistol permits we are issuing over the past couple of years. Darien is on pace for a record number of gun permit applications this year with 73 issued through June. The department issued only 43 in all of 2011 and 75 in 2013. In each of the past two years, 99 were issued. In Stamford, residents are obtaining permits this year at a faster rate than they did in 2013, when applications spiked across Connecticut in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shootings. The number, which was below 400 in each of the past two years, is also on pace to reach an all-time high. There have been 380 permits issued in Stamford through just the first six months of the year. Statewide numbers tell a similar story. So far this year, 16,000 people have received pistol permits, compared to 25,000 in all of 2013. But for the man who learned to shoot in Troop 53, the increase in sales has as much to do with a surging interest in guns for sport than in response to recent tragedies. More people want to have a gun at home I guess, Montlick said. And over the years, more people target shoot and found out its a good sport and have fun doing it. Staff writer Nelson Oliveira contributed to this story. justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1 Sattenapalli Janasena Chalks Out Unique Plan For Voters:- Janasena Chief Pawan Kalyan announced that his party would be contesting across all the constituencies of Andhra Pradesh in association with CPI and CPM in the upcoming Assembly and Parliament polls. Janasena Sattenapalli leaders along with CPI and CPM leaders stepped out with a unique plan to educate all the voters and people across the constituency. Janasena leaders interacted with various people with the program 'Talking while drinking Tea'. They explained about the importance of vote and requested everyone to utilize their vote in the upcoming elections. To build a strong society against cast, creed, and religion, one has to utilize and cast their vote revealed Janasena Guntur co-ordinator Dileep Byra. Janasena conducted massive rallies in Sattenapalli. Along with Dileep Byra, Gadde Chalamayya, N Venu Gopal, S Subramanyam and other leaders participated in the event. Several locals interacted with the leaders while drinking tea. Janasena leaders also had a detailed discussion about the major problems the people have been facing in the constituency. This unique event received exceptional response and the locals lauded the efforts of Dileep Byra and his team. (Image source from: Greatandhra.com) YSRCP Claims 59 Lakh Fake Votes In AP:- The election fever is all over now across the country and Andhra Pradesh is gearing up for Assembly along with the Parliament polls that are scheduled to take place during April / May this year. TDP and YSRCP are set for a tough battle in Andhra Pradesh and YSRCP yesterday listed over 59 lakh fake votes in the state. The Election Commission team visited Andhra Pradesh to audit the voters list in the state and YSRCP made these allegations targeting TDP in the state. YSRCP stated that 16% (59 lakh) of the votes are fake among the 3.69 crore votes listed. They may be invalid, fake or duplicate claimed YSRCP during a press conference. YSRCP released a detailed survey with the list of these fake voters in the state. YSRCP also said that there are 20 lakh people who are holding votes in both AP and Telangana. YSRCP Legal Cell President P Sudhakar Reddy filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the High Court asking EC to rectify these errors. The High Court of Andhra Pradesh asked the Election Commission to intervene into the matter and issue a clarification on the same. It is becoming more and more apparent that a phenomenon which has been dubbed as the "Mandela Effect" reveals apparent efforts of human elites with alien interests to experiment with and also to manipulate the fabric of reality. The apparent moving of the Statue of Liberty from Ellis Island to someplace now called "Liberty Island" manifests the continued "experiments". Ellis Island was where the Statute of Liberty had welcomed new immigrants coming to America. The moving of the Statute of Liberty as the place where it has inspired immigrants into the liberties and freedoms that America has traditionally reveals an apparent fascistic agenda behind the so-called "Mandela Effect". Watch the above video for more insights. Please register or log in to keep reading Stay logged in to skip the surveys. What the administration really needs to do is expand and improve facilities for processing, caring for and, when necessary, housing these asylum seekers. But Trump doesn't care about doing the right thing, or even the necessary thing. He cares only about being able to claim he is following through on his vicious anti-immigration rhetoric, which brands Mexican would-be migrants as "rapists" and Central Americans as members of the MS-13 street gang. Trump had two years in which Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate and could not convince Congress to give him funding for a wall. He decided to make it an issue only after Democrats won the power to say no. The president's negotiating strategy pitching tantrums, walking away from the table, venting on Twitter, provoking the longest partial government shutdown in history was never going to work. You might think he'd have learned something about how Washington works by now, but you would be wrong. Since there obviously is no legitimate emergency, Trump's declaration and the shifting of resources from duly authorized projects to the wall will surely be challenged in court. It is possible, if not likely, that any actual construction will be held up indefinitely. "We can offer no conviction. We can offer no real action," Aird said. "And we will have taken all parties involved through a political exercise that in the end could actually cause more harm than good." The process should be handled by law enforcement, Aird said, not by "individuals who will be on the ballot in November." Del. Lee Carter, D-Manassas, disagreed, saying the General Assembly should respect the wishes of the accusers and shouldn't force them to go to the police. "Survivors of sexual assault are and should be entitled to choose whichever legal venue they desire to seek justice," Carter said. Carter, who said he was once raped and chose not to go to the police, said on Twitter that a Democratic colleague approached him after his speech, wagged a finger in his face and said: "You know you're wrong." Carter was visibly angry on the House floor after the alleged comment, exclaiming: "How dare she!" Carter has previously tweeted that he did not report the alleged assault "because I did not expect any justice as a male survivor of rape by an intimate partner." Bomb technicians from several local, state and federal agencies were recently called on to dispose of 24 Revolutionary War explosives that were discovered at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Richmond police shared the details of the discovery and disposal in a Facebook post on Friday morning. The post said museum conservators discovered one explosive black powder core from a Revolutionary War hand grenade and requested the assistance of the Richmond police bomb squad. In the next two days, four more explosives were discovered. In all, 24 explosives were found black powder cores from 22 hand grenades and two cannonballs that came from a British ship named "The Betsy." The ship sank during the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 and was excavated in 1989. Bomb technicians from Richmond Police, Virginia State Police, Henrico County Police, ATF and the FBI spent three days with museum conservators sorting through 128 boxes containing 4,000 artifacts and 10,000 musket balls. The Facebook post said no one knew about the explosives because the items had been mislabeled. The 24 explosives were taken off site and disposed of. Police said "the operation went off without a hitch." This calendar, published every Saturday, lists special events of a religious nature. Because of space constraints, notices about regular worship services cannot be included. Items intended for publication, including an address and phone number, should be faxed to (434) 978-7252; mailed to Worship Calendar, The Daily Progress, P.O. Box 9030, Charlottesville, VA 22906; or emailed to ewood@dailyprogress.com. Material must be received by 4 p.m. the Wednesday prior to publication. WestRock Company manufactures and sells paper and packaging solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company operates through Corrugated Packaging and Consumer Packaging segments. The Corrugated Packaging segment produces containerboards, corrugated sheets, corrugated packaging, and preprinted linerboards for sale to consumer and industrial products manufacturers, and corrugated box manufacturers. It also provides structural and graphic design, engineering services and custom, and automated packaging machines; offers a machinery solution that creates pouches to replace single-use plastics, including bubble mailers; distributes corrugated packaging materials and other specialty packaging products, including stretch films, void fills, carton sealing tapes, and other specialty tapes; operates recycling facilities that collect, sort, grade, and bale recovered paper; and provides lithographic laminated packaging products, as well as contract packing services. The Consumer Packaging segment manufactures and sells folding cartons that are used to package food, paper, beverages, dairy products, tobacco, confectionery, health and beauty, other household consumer, and commercial and industrial products; and express mail packages for the overnight courier industry. It also offers inserts and labels, as well as rigid packaging and other printed packaging products, such as transaction cards, brochures, product literature, marketing materials, and grower tags and plant stakes for the horticultural market; and secondary packages and paperboard packaging for over-the-counter and prescription drugs. In addition, this segment manufactures and sells solid fiber and corrugated partitions, and die-cut paperboard components principally to glass container manufacturers, producers of beer, food, wine, spirits, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, and the automotive industry. WestRock Company is based in Atlanta, Georgia. Read More Some people binge watch Netflix Huluor HBO shows. And some people turn their downtime into cash. James made $2,275 in just 19 minutesall thanks to something called The 15 Minute Workday. The average trade makes 12% in just 5 days (factoring winners and losers) which is out of this world. WEC Energy Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. The company operates through six segments: Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure, and Corporate and Other. It generates and distributes electricity from coal, natural gas, oil, hydroelectric, wind, solar, and biomass sources; provides electric transmission services; offers retail natural gas distribution services; transports natural gas; and generates, distributes, and sells steam. As of December 31, 2020, it operated approximately 36,100 miles of overhead distribution lines and 34,900 miles of underground distribution cables, as well as 450 electric distribution substations and 507,900 line transformers; 50,300 miles of natural gas distribution mains; 1,100 miles of natural gas transmission mains; 2.3 million natural gas lateral services; 500 natural gas distribution and transmission gate stations; and 68.2 billion cubic feet of working gas capacities in underground natural gas storage fields. The company was formerly known as Wisconsin Energy Corporation and changed its name to WEC Energy Group, Inc. in June 2015. WEC Energy Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Read More Since 2016, Teeka Tiwari has trumped the stock market. His investment recommendations have each averaged 281%. Thats 17 times the S&P. And 112 times the average investor, according to JPMorgan! However, one investment Teeka just uncovered could top them all It involves former President Biden, billions of dollars, several large banks, and a super-rich family. As well as a MAJOR potential upgrade to our credit cards. Teeka, who ended up correctly picking the last investment of the decade, is declaring this his top pick for the 2020s. The Clorox Company manufactures and markets consumer and professional products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Health and Wellness, Household, Lifestyle, and International. The company offers laundry additives, including bleach products under the Clorox brand, as well as Clorox 2 stain fighter and color booster; home care products primarily under the Clorox, Scentiva, Formula 409, Liquid-Plumr, Pine-Sol, S.O.S, and Tilex brands; naturally derived products under the Green Works brand; professional cleaning, disinfecting, and food service products under the CloroxPro, Clorox Healthcare, and Clorox Total 360 brands; professional food service products under the Hidden Valley brand; and vitamins, minerals, and supplement products under the RenewLife, Rainbow Light, Natural Vitality, NeoCell, and Stop Aging Now brands. It also provides grilling products under the Kingsford and Match Light brands; bags and wraps under the Glad brand; and cat litter products under the Fresh Step, Scoop Away, and Ever Clean brands. In addition, the company offers dressings and sauces primarily under the Hidden Valley brand; water-filtration systems and filters under the Brita brand; and natural personal care products under the Burt's Bees brand. Further, it markets its products under the Ayudin, Clorinda, and Poett brands. The company sells its products primarily through mass retailers, grocery outlets, warehouse clubs, dollar stores, home hardware centers, third-party and owned e-commerce channels, military stores, and distributors, as well as a direct sales force. Clorox has a collaboration partnership with Cleveland Clinic and the CDC Foundation. The Clorox Company was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in Oakland, California. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Danaher: AB SCIEX, AB Sciex Germany GmbH, AB Sciex LLC, AB Sciex LP, AB Sciex Pte Ltd., Accu-Sort Systems, Acme Cleveland Corporation, Advanced Vision Technology, American Precision Industries, Applied Biosystems, Applitek NV, Aquatic Infomatics ULC, Aquatic Informatics, Armstrong Tools, BC Distribution BV, Beckman Coulter, Beckman Coulter Australia Pty Ltd, Beckman Coulter Biotechnology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Beckman Coulter Biyomedikal Urunler Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited [irketi], Beckman Coulter Canada LP, Beckman Coulter Commercial Enterprise (China) Co. Ltd., Beckman Coulter France S.A.S., Beckman Coulter G.m.b.H., Beckman Coulter Genomics Inc., Beckman Coulter Hong Kong Limited, Beckman Coulter Inc., Beckman Coulter India Private Limited, Beckman Coulter International SA, Beckman Coulter International Shanghai Trading Co., Beckman Coulter Ireland Inc., Beckman Coulter K.K., Beckman Coulter Korea Ltd., Beckman Coulter Laboratory Systems (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Beckman Coulter Limited Liability Company, Beckman Coulter Mishima KK, Beckman Coulter Nederland B.V., Beckman Coulter Nippon GK, Beckman Coulter S.L.U., Beckman Coulter Saudi Arabia Co.Ltd., Beckman Coulter Srl, Beckman Coulter Taiwan Inc., Beckman Coulter United Kingdom Limited, Beckman Coulter de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Beckman Coulter do Brasil Ltda., Beckman Finance ApS, Beckman Holdings Ltd., BioTector Analytical Systems Ltd, Biosafe S.A., Blue Software LLC, Cepheid, Cepheid AB, Cepheid Europe SAS, Cepheid GmbH, Cepheid HBDC SAS, Cepheid UK Ltd., ChemTreat, ChemTreat Inc., ChemTreat International Inc., Cispus Hong Kong Holding Limited, Cytiva, Cytiva BioProcess R&D AB, Cytiva Biotechnology (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Cytiva Biotechnology (Hang Zhou) Co. Ltd., Cytiva Europe GmbH, Cytiva Sweden AB, Cytiva Sweden Holding AB, DH Europe Finance II Sarl, DH Europe Finance Sarl, DH Holding Italia SRL, DH Japan Finance Sarl, DH Life Sciences LLC, DH Netherlands BV, DH Technologies Development Pte Ltd., DHKAB Company AB, DTIL Ireland Holdings Ltd., Danaher (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Danaher Hong Kong Limited, Danaher Medical ApS, Delta Consolidated Industries, Devicore Medical Products Inc., Easco Hand Tools, Esko, Esko BV, Esko Finance BV, Esko Graphics BV, Esko Software BV, FHAB Company AB, Fluke, G. Lufft Mess- und Regeltechnik GmbH, GE Biopharma, Gelman Sciences Inc., Gendex, Genetix Group, Gilbarco Veeder Root, Gilzoni Ltd., Global Life Sciences Solutions Austria GmbH & Co. KG, Global Life Sciences Solutions Germany GmbH, Global Life Sciences Solutions Korea Ltd., Global Life Sciences Solutions Manufacturing UK Ltd, Global Life Sciences Solutions New Zealand, Global Life Sciences Solutions Operations UK Ltd, Global Life Sciences Solutions Singapore Pte Ltd, Global Life Sciences Solutions USA LLC, Global Life Sciences Technologies (Shanghai) Co Ltd., Global Life Sciences Technologies Japan KK, Hach Company, Hach Lange Finance GmbH, Hach Lange GmbH, Hach Lange Sarl, Hach Sales & Services Canada LP, Hach Ultra Japan KK, Hach Water Quality Analytical Instru. (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., HemoCue AB, HyClone Laboratories LLC, Hybritech Incorporated, Hyclone Life Sciences Solutions India Private Limited, IDBS Group, IRIS International, Imaging Sciences International, Immunotech SAS, Immunotech Sro, Intabio LLC, Integrated DNA Technologies, Integrated DNA Technologies BVBA, Integrated DNA Technologies Inc., Integrated DNA Technologies Pte. Ltd., Iris International Inc., Joslyn Holding Company LLC, KVHG GmbH, KaVo, KaVo Kerr, Kaltenbach & Voigt, Keithley Instruments, Kipp & Zonen BV, Kollmorgen, Labcyte Inc., Laetus, Leica Biosystems Imaging Inc., Leica Biosystems Melbourne Pty Ltd, Leica Biosystems Newcastle Limited, Leica Biosystems Nussloch GmbH, Leica Biosystems Richmond Inc., Leica Instruments (Singapore) Pte Limited, Leica Microsystems, Leica Microsystems (UK) Limited, Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH, Leica Microsystems Cambridge Limited, Leica Microsystems IR GmbH, Leica Microsystems Inc., Leica Microsystems Limited, Leica Microsystems Ltd. Shanghai, Leica Mikrosysteme Vertrieb GmbH, Life Sciences Holdings France SAS*, Lifschultz Industries, Linx Printing Technologies, Linx Printing Technologies Limited, MDS Analytical Technologies, Marconi Data Systems, McCrometer Inc., Microtest, Molecular Devices, Molecular Devices (Austria) GmbH, Molecular Devices LLC, Navman Wireless, Navman Wireless OEM Solutions, Nihon Pall Ltd., Nihon Pall Manufacturing Limited, Nobel Biocare, OTT Hydromet Corp, Pall, Pall (Canada) ULC, Pall (China) Co. Ltd., Pall (Schweiz) GmbH, Pall Aeropower Corporation, Pall Artelis BVBA, Pall Asia Holdings Inc., Pall Australia Pty. Ltd., Pall Austria Filter Ges.m.b.h, Pall Corporation, Pall Europe Limited, Pall Filtersystems GmbH, Pall Filtration Pte. Ltd., Pall Filtration and Separations Group Inc., Pall France SAS, Pall GmbH, Pall India Pvt. Ltd., Pall International Sarl, Pall Italia Srl, Pall Korea Ltd., Pall Life Sciences Belgium BV, Pall Life Sciences Puerto Rico LLC, Pall Manufacturing UK Limited, Pall Medistad BV, Pall Netherlands BV Irish Branch, Pall Technology UK Limited, PaloDEX, Pantone LLC, Pelton & Crane, Phenomenex, Phenomenex Inc., QHC Ireland Finance Limited, Radiometer, Radiometer Basel AG, Radiometer K.K., Radiometer Medical ApS, Radiometer Medical Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Radiometer Turku Oy, Raytek, Reytek Corporation, SH Switzerland Finance Sarl, Sea-Bird Electronics Inc., SenDx Medical Inc., Shanghai AB Sciex Analytical Instrument Trading Co. Ltd., Sutron, Sybron Dental Specialties, TCIL Ireland Finance Ltd., Tektronix, Thomson Industries, Tianjin Bonna-Agela Technologies Co. Ltd., Trojan Technologies, Trojan Technologies Group ULC, VSS Monitoring, Videojet Do Brasil Comercio de Equipamentos Para Codificacao Industrial Ltda., Videojet Technologies (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Videojet Technologies Europe B.V., Videojet Technologies Inc., Viridor Waste Management Limited, Vision Systems Limited, Willett International, X-Ray Optical Systems Inc., X-Rite, X-Rite Europe GmbH, X-Rite Incorporated, X-Rite Switzerland GmbH, XOS, Yukon Hong Kong Holding Limited, and Zhuhai S.E.Z. Videojet Electronics Ltd.. Dunelm Group plc engages in the retail of homewares in the United Kingdom. The company offers furniture for bedroom, living room, dining room, and office; sofas and chairs; bean bags; bed frames, mattresses, divan beds and bases, and headboards, as well as kids beds; and bedding products, such as bed linens, duvets, pillows, protectors, and baby and kids beddings. It also provides curtains, and poles and tracks; blinds; rugs, runners, and door mats; mirrors; cushion pads, covers; throws; seat pads; pictures and frames, wallpapers, and accessories; lighting products, including ceiling and wall lights, lamp shades, floor and table lamps, and outdoor lights; kitchen products, such as cooking, dining, utility, and electrical products; and storage products for home, clothes, and kitchen, as well as travel and luggage products. In addition, the company offers towels and bathmats, bathroom accessories, and bathroom furniture; kids accessories and toys, and nursery furniture and products, as well as travel, safety, and wellbeing products; garden furniture and storage, and garden dAcor products; and Christmas trees and lights, wreaths and garlands, baubles and tree decoration, and novelty products. It operates 173 superstores and 2 distribution centers, as well as sells its products through an online store at dunelm.com. Dunelm Group plc was founded in 1979 and is based in Syston, the United Kingdom. Read More Do You Trade Options? (Ad) 10 million people started trading in 2020 alone... But most people arent even aware of the five secrets to making winning trades... Get the list of all five now. Coeur Mining, Inc. explores for, develops, produces, and sells precious metals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, silver, zinc, and lead properties. It holds 100% interests in the Palmarejo gold and silver mine covering an area of approximately 67,296 net acres located in the State of Chihuahua in Northern Mexico; the Rochester silver and gold mine that covers an area of approximately 17,044 net acres situated in northwestern Nevada; the Kensington gold mine comprising 12,336 net acres located to the north of Juneau, Alaska; the Wharf gold mine covering an area of approximately 7,852 net acres situated in the northern Black Hills of western South Dakota; and the Silvertip silver-zinc-lead mine comprising 98,834 net acres located in northern British Columbia, Canada. The company also owns interests in the Crown and Sterling projects located in southern Nevada; and the La Preciosa project located in Mexico. It markets and sells its concentrates to third-party refiners, smelters, and off-take customers. The company was formerly known as Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation and changed its name to Coeur Mining, Inc. in May 2013. Coeur Mining, Inc. was incorporated in 1928 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of The Sherwin-Williams: Acquire Sourcing LLC, CTS National Corporation, Comex North America Inc., Compania Sherwin-Williams S.A. de C.V., Contract Transportation Systems Co., Deep Pride Limited, Dongguan Lilly Paint Industries Ltd, Duron, EPS (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., EPS B.V., EPS Polidrox Industria e Comercio de Resinas Ltda, Geocel Holdings, Geocel Limited, Guangdong Valspar Paints Manufacturing Co Ltd., Guangdong Yuegang Dadi Paints Company Limited, Guardsman Australia Pty Limited, Guardsman Industries Limited, Inver East Med S.A., Inver France SAS, Inver GmbH, Inver Industrial Coating SRL, Inver Polska Spoka Z O.O, Inver Spa, Invercolor Bologna Srl, Invercolor Ltd, Invercolor Roma Srl, Invercolor Torino Srl, Invercolor Toscana Srl, Isocoat Tintas e Vernizes Ltda, Isva Vernici Srl, Jiangsu Pulanna Coating Co. Ltd., Leighs Paints, M.A. Bruder & Sons, Omega Specialty Products & Services LLC, Oy Sherwin-Williams Finland Ab, PT Sherwin-Williams Indonesia, PT Valspar Indonesia, Paint Sundry Brands, Pinturas Condor S.A., Pinturas Industriales S.A., Plasti-Kote Co. Inc., Plasti-kote Limited, Productos Quimicos y Pinturas S.A. de C.V., Quest Automotive Products UK Limited, Quetzal Pinturas S.A. de C.V., Resin Surfaces Limited, Ronseal (Ireland) Limited, SWIMC LLC, SWIPCO Sherwin Williams do Brasil Propriedade, Sayerlack, Sherwin Williams Colombia S.A.S., Sherwin-Williams (Australia) Pty. Ltd., Sherwin-Williams (Belize) Limited, Sherwin-Williams (Caribbean) N.V., Sherwin-Williams (Ireland) Limited, Sherwin-Williams (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Sherwin-Williams (Nantong) Company Limited, Sherwin-Williams (S) Pte. Ltd., Sherwin-Williams (Shanghai) Limited, Sherwin-Williams (South China) Co. Ltd., Sherwin-Williams (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Sherwin-Williams (Vietnam) Limited, Sherwin-Williams (West Indies) Limited, Sherwin-Williams Argentina I.y C.S.A., Sherwin-Williams Aruba VBA, Sherwin-Williams Automotive Mexico S.de R.L.de C.V., Sherwin-Williams Balkan S.R.L., Sherwin-Williams Bel, Sherwin-Williams Benelux NV, Sherwin-Williams Canada Inc., Sherwin-Williams Cayman Islands Limited, Sherwin-Williams Chile S.A., Sherwin-Williams Coatings India Private Limited, Sherwin-Williams Coatings S.a r.l., Sherwin-Williams Czech Republic spol. s r.o, Sherwin-Williams Denmark A/S, Sherwin-Williams Deutschland GmbH, Sherwin-Williams Diversified Brands (Australia) Pty Ltd, Sherwin-Williams Diversified Brands Limited, Sherwin-Williams France Finishes SAS, Sherwin-Williams Italy S.r.l., Sherwin-Williams Luxembourg Investment Management Company S.a r.l., Sherwin-Williams Norway AS, Sherwin-Williams Paints Limited Liability Company, Sherwin-Williams Peru S.R.L., Sherwin-Williams Pinturas de Venezuela S.A., Sherwin-Williams Poland Sp. z o.o, Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings, Sherwin-Williams Realty Holdings Inc., Sherwin-Williams Services (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Sherwin-Williams Spain Coatings S.L., Sherwin-Williams Sweden AB, Sherwin-Williams Uruguay S.A., Sherwin-Williams do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., Spanyc Paints Joint Stock Company, Syntema I Vaggeryd AB, TOB Becker Acroma Ukraine, Taiwan Valspar Co. Ltd., The Sherwin-Williams Acceptance Corporation, The Sherwin-Williams Headquarters Company, The Sherwin-Williams Manufacturing Company, The Sherwin-Williams US Licensing Company, The Valspar (Asia) Corporation Limited, The Valspar (Australia) Corporation Pty. Ltd., The Valspar (Finland) Corporation Oy, The Valspar (France) Corporation S.A.S., The Valspar (France) Research Corporation SAS, The Valspar (Germany) GmbH, The Valspar (Malaysia) Corporation Sdn Bhd, The Valspar (Nantes) Corporation S.A.S., The Valspar (Singapore) Corporation Pte. Ltd, The Valspar (South Africa) Corporation (Pty) Ltd, The Valspar (Spain) Corporation S.R.L., The Valspar (Switzerland) Corporation AG, The Valspar (Thailand) Corporation Ltd., The Valspar (UK) Corporation Limited, The Valspar (Vietnam) Corporation Ltd., The Valspar Corporation, The Valspar Corporation Limitada, UAB Sherwin-Williams Baltic, Valspar (India) Coatings Corporation Private Limited, Valspar (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Valspar (Uruguay) Corporation S.A., Valspar (WPC) Pty Ltd, Valspar Aries Coatings S. de R.L. de C.V., Valspar Automotive (UK) Corporation Limited, Valspar Automotive Australia Pty Limited, Valspar B.V., Valspar Coatings (Guangdong) Co. Ltd., Valspar Coatings (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Valspar Coatings (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, Valspar D.o.o Beograd, Valspar Inc., Valspar Industries (Ireland) Ltd., Valspar Industries (Italy) S.r.l., Valspar Industries GmbH, Valspar LLC, Valspar Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Valspar Paint (Australia) Pty Ltd, Valspar Paint (NZ) Limited, Valspar Powder Coatings Limited, Valspar Rock Company Limited, Valspar Specialty Paints LLC, Vantaco Oy, and ZAO Sherwin-Williams. The following companies are subsidiares of Exxon Mobil: AKG Marketing Company Limited, Aera Energy LLC, Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company, Ampolex (Cepu) Pte Ltd, Ancon Insurance Company Inc., Barnett Gathering LLC, Barzan Gas Company Limited, Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Celtic Exploration Ltd., Coral FLNG S.A., Cross Timbers Energy LLC, Ellora Energy Inc., Esmeroon Oil Transporta Imperial Oil Limited, Esso (Thailand) Public Company Limited, Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd, Esso Deutschland GmbH, Esso Erdgas Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 15) Limited, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 17) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Angola (Overseas) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Chad Inc., Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Offshore East) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, Esso Exploration and Production UK Limited, Esso Global Investments Ltd., Esso Italiana S.r.l., Esso Nederland B.V., Esso Norge AS, Esso Petroleum Company Limited, Esso Raffinage, Esso Societe Anonyme Francaise, Exxo Holdings Inc., Exxon Azerbaijan Limited, Exxon Chemical Arabia Inc., Exxon International Finance Company, Exxon Luxembourg Holdings LLC, Exxon Mobile Bay Limited Partnership, Exxon Neftegas Limited, Exxon Overseas Corporation, Exxon Overseas Investment Corporation, ExxonMobil (China) Investment Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil (Taicang) Petroleum Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil Abu Dhabi Offshore Petroleum Company Limited, ExxonMobil Alaska Production Inc., ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd, ExxonMobil B Resources Company, ExxonMobil Capital Finance Company, ExxonMobil Capital Netherlands B.V., ExxonMobil Central Europe Holding GmbH, ExxonMobil Cepu Limited, ExxonMobil Chemical France, ExxonMobil Chemical Gulf Coast Investments LLC, ExxonMobil Chemical Holland B.V., ExxonMobil Chemical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil China Petroleum & Petrochemical Company Limited, ExxonMobil Development Africa B.V., ExxonMobil Development Company, ExxonMobil Egypt (S.A.E.), ExxonMobil Exploracao Brasil Ltda., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway AS, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Tanzania Limited, ExxonMobil Finance Company Limited, ExxonMobil Financial Investment Company Limited, ExxonMobil France Holding SAS, ExxonMobil Gas Marketing Europe Limited, ExxonMobil General Finance Company, ExxonMobil Global Services Company, ExxonMobil Golden Pass Surety LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Company Holland LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Norway AS, ExxonMobil Hong Kong Limited, ExxonMobil International Services SARL, ExxonMobil Iraq Limited, ExxonMobil Italiana Gas S.r.l., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc., ExxonMobil LNG Services B.V., ExxonMobil Lubricants Trading Company, ExxonMobil Oil Corporation, ExxonMobil PNG Limited, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical BVBA, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical Holdings Inc., ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, ExxonMobil Production Deutschland GmbH, ExxonMobil Production Norway Inc., ExxonMobil Qatargas (II) Limited, ExxonMobil Qatargas Inc., ExxonMobil Ras Laffan (III) Limited, ExxonMobil Rasgas Inc., ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, ExxonMobil Russia Kara Sea Holdings B.V., ExxonMobil Sales and Supply LLC, ExxonMobil Technology Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Funding Ltd., Fujian Refining & Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Golden Pass LNG Terminal Investments LLC, Golden Pass LNG Terminal LLC, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures LLC, Imperial Oil Limited, Imperial Oil Resources Limited, Imperial Oil Resources N.W.T. Limited, Imperial Oil/Petroliere Imperiale, Infineum Italia s.r.I., Infineum Singapore Pte. Ltd., InterOil Corporation, Jurong Aromatics Corporation Pte Ltd, MPM Lubricants, Marine Well Containment Company LLC, Mobil Australia Resources Company Pty Limited, Mobil California Exploration & Producing Asset Company, Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company, Mobil Chemical Products International Inc., Mobil Corporation, Mobil Equatorial Guinea Inc., Mobil Erdgas Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Mobil Exploration & Producing Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil International Petroleum Corporation, Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil Oil Exploration & Producing Southeast Inc., Mobil Oil New Zealand Limited, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Mobil Producing Texas & New Mexico Inc., Mobil SerLimited, Mobil Venezolana De Petroleos Inc., Mobil Yanbu Petrochemical Company Inc., Mobil Yanbu Refining Company Inc., Mountain Gathering LLC, Mozambique Rovuma Venture S.p.A., Palmetto Transoceanic LLC, Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas Global Company LDC, Permian Express Partners LLC, Phillips Exploration LLC, Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (II), SPI Limited, Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Company Ltd., Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical Co., SeaRiver Maritime Inc., South Hook LNG Terminal Company Limited, Tengizchevroil LLP, Terminale GNL Adriatico S.r.l, Trend Gathering & Treating LLC, Wolverine Pipe Line Company, XH LLC, XTO Delaware Basin LLC, XTO Energy Canada, XTO Energy Inc., and XTO Holdings LLC. Many Canadians may be wondering about what has happened to the shine that once characterized Justin Trudeau when he had promised a new "Sunny Ways" era in Canadian politics. Indeed, when Justin Trudeau had quickly rolled back former Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to cut back Veterans Affairs Offices in Atlantic Canada, many Canadians began to look forward to a continued progressive policy direction in fulfillment of electoral promises. Mr. Trudeau's promises included electoral reform toward some form of proportional representation system. Little did we know that Mr Trudeau's early days in Office was apparently a massive public relations stunt to mask what more and more Canadians are starting to now notice is simply another unprincipled corrupt Liberal following in the footsteps of other so-called Liberals like Ontario's former Premier Kathleen Wynne, Quebec's former Premier Phillipe Couillard and former Prime Minister Jean Chretien. It was the progressive wing of the Liberal Party that had been rebuffing since former Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier the U.S. agenda to Americanize Canada. And it was the progressive wing of the Liberal Party which pushed through with legislation to make Canada a welcoming place for all new immigrants and it was us progressive Liberals who had kept our promise under former Prime Minister Trudeau to repatriate our Constitution toward the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. And rest assured, if we, were still in charge of the Liberal Party instead of the crooks who occupy Liberal party governance today, we would had pushed through with a rejuvenated electoral system for Canada if that's what we said we would do. Justin Trudeau's utter manipulative posturing that he would not sell-out Canada's dairy farmers to Donald Trump's agenda just before caving in on the so-called "USMCA" might best show the utter lack of integrity which characterizes Mr Trudeau. Whereas us former progressive Liberals sought to champion the values that Canadians identify as "Canadian Liberalism" the current federal party seeks out hand-outs from affluent Canadians who Justin Trudeau seeks to serve in the name of an American-dominated and so-called "Free Trade" pact which corrupts not just Liberal politicians but also the politicians of other parties that all seek to pander to largely U.S. Big Business interests at the expense of integrity in politics. After then federal Liberal opposition and former Prime Minister lost the "Free Trade" election in 1988, Jean Chretien who had been treacherously undercutting our anti-Free Trade campaign, began to push out all John Turner [second photo above] Liberal idealists. Indeed, reportedly former Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau had endorsed John Turner as Liberal leader, because he knew that Chretien would sell-out and essentially destroy the Liberal party's ideals. As it tuns out, it appears that Pierre Elliot Trudeau was right. You might wonder what is going on with the Liberal Party anyways? What's with all these corrupt Liberals from coast to coast seeking to sell us sex appeal and "sunny ways" over political substance and integrity?My insights come from being a Liberal Party insider since the 1980's.The federal Liberal Party as Canadians know as the political party that has sought to embrace certain values that we like to equate with "Canadian Liberalism" essentially died in 1988. That was the year when I was part of the Kaplan campaign in North York which was part of a concerted effort to stop then neo-Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney from passing the North American Free Trade Agreement. (NAFTA).We 'true' Liberals tried to regroup in 1993 under Mel Hurtig's National Party, but in-fighting between Mel Hurtig and a financial backer resulted in that party becoming defunct.Liberal Party idealists eventually tried to regroup in the early 2000's under former Liberal Party cabinet member Paul Helleyer who led the Canadian Action Party to continue to oppose the ignored ravages of "free trade" against Canada's social fabric and sovereignty. But CAP lacked the media coverage to get widespread support as a result of efforts mainstream media to cover up the Liberal Party's transformation,When us idealists were essentially kicked-out of the Liberal Party, we were essentially replaced by the kind of corrupt fake Liberals which now run the party and apparently control Justin Trudeau like one of their puppets.When us idealists controlled the Liberal Party, we sought to defend principles supported by the majority of Canadians which made us so successful federally.These principles include defending equal opportunities for all Canadians based upon the affirmation of social justice, Canadian sovereignty, human rights, and constitutional freedoms while seeking to be as fiscally responsible as possible.When John Turner had been Prime Minister in the mid-1980's, I only saw one homeless person on a regular basis who used to stand around St George and Bloor Street who kept asking for a "dime, or a nickel and a quarter" and he didn't look destitute at all and was relatively well dressed and didn't seem to be lacking in access to food.Back then Toronto, Ottawa and most other Canadian cities had far less poverty as far as areas of social despair and there were no news reports at waiting lines at Canadian hospitals or gun crime. By contrast, homelessness and other social problems has continued to proliferate under Justin Trudeau and it's not because of a lack of money. Indeed, Mr. Trudeau seems to have a lot of money for corporate welfare schemes to help out oil companies with pipeline bailouts but comparatively little it seems to redress the plight of "ordinary Canadians" ad former NDP leader Ed Broadbent used to say.Canadians need to realize that the Liberal Party today is a bunch of self-serving and corrupt individuals who are fronts for Big Business in Canada. These corrupt interests are simply seeking to use the Liberal Party name to invoke a nostalgia which has nothing to do with the modus operandi of the corrupt egos who now run so-called "Liberal Parties" across Canada. Chubb Limited provides insurance and reinsurance products worldwide. The company's North America Commercial P&C Insurance segment offers commercial property, casualty, workers' compensation, package policies, risk management, financial lines, marine, construction, environmental, medical, cyber risk, surety, and excess casualty; and group accident and health insurance to large, middle market, and small commercial businesses. Its North America Personal P&C Insurance segment provides affluent and high net worth individuals and families with homeowners, automobile and collector cars, valuable articles, personal and excess liability, travel insurance, and recreational marine insurance and services. The company's North America Agricultural Insurance segment offers multiple peril crop and crop-hail insurance; and coverage for farm and ranch property, and commercial agriculture products. Its Overseas General Insurance segment provides coverage for traditional commercial property and casualty; specialty categories, such as financial lines, marine, energy, aviation, political risk, and construction risk; and group accident and health, and traditional and specialty personal lines for corporations, middle markets, and small customers through retail brokers, agents, and other channels. The company's Global Reinsurance segment offers traditional and specialty reinsurance under the Chubb Tempest Re brand to property and casualty companies. Its Life Insurance segment provides protection and savings products comprising whole life, endowment plans, individual term life, group term life, medical and health, personal accident, credit life, universal life, and unit linked contracts. Chubb has collaboration with Marsh to secure insurance coverage for the COVAX no-fault compensation program. The company was formerly known as ACE Limited and changed its name to Chubb Limited in January 2016. Chubb Limited was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Read More Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Aeronautics Systems, Defense Systems, Mission Systems, and Space Systems. The Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems for strategic and tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions; and long-range strike aircraft systems, tactical fighter aircrafts, and airborne battle management systems. The Defense Systems segment offers weapon and mission systems for the U.S. military and civilian agency customers. Its principal products and services include integrated battle management systems, weapons systems, information technology services, and intelligence operations. This segment provides command and control and weapons systems, including munitions and missiles; precision strike weapons; propulsion, such as air-breathing systems; and gun systems and precision munitions. It also offers life cycle service and support for software, weapons systems, and aircraft; security services, including information and cyber operations; intelligence analysis and support; and IT infrastructure, such as cloud. The Mission Systems segment offers command, control, communications, and computers ISR systems; radar, electro-optical/infrared, and acoustic sensors; electronic warfare systems; communications and network systems; processing systems; navigation; and maritime power, propulsion, and payload launch systems. This segment also provides airborne sensors and networks; cyber and intelligence mission solutions; maritime/land systems and sensors; and navigation, targeting, and survivability solutions. The Space Systems segment offers satellites and payloads; ground systems; missile defense systems and interceptors; launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; and strategic missiles. Northrop Grumman Corporation was founded in 1939 and is based in Falls Church, Virginia. Read More Sempra Energy operates as an energy-services holding company in the United States and internationally. The company's San Diego Gas & Electric Company segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity; and supplies natural gas. It offers electric services to approximately 3.7 million population and natural gas services to approximately 3.4 million population that covers 4,100 square miles. Its Southern California Gas Company segment owns and operates a natural gas distribution, transmission, and storage system that supplies natural gas to a population of approximately 22 million covering an area of 24,000 square miles. The company's Sempra Texas Utilities segment is involved in the regulated transmission and distribution of electricity serving 3.7 million homes and businesses, and operation of 139,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines. Its transmission system includes 18,127 circuit miles of transmission lines, 336 transmission stations, and 806 distribution substations; distribution system comprises 121,129 miles of overhead and underground lines; and 63 miles of electric transmission lines. Its Sempra Mexico segment develops, owns, operates, or holds interests in natural gas, electric, liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquid petroleum gas (LPG), ethane, and liquid fuels infrastructure; and purchases LNG, and purchases and sells natural gas. This segment operates natural-gas-fired, and wind and solar power generation facilities. Its assets/facilities consist of 1,850 miles of natural gas transmission pipelines, 15 compressor stations, and 139 miles of ethane pipelines; and 2,729 miles of natural gas distribution pipelines. The company's Sempra LNG segment develops and builds natural gas liquefaction export facilities; holds an interest in a facility for the export of LNG; owns and operates natural gas pipelines; and buys, sells, and transports natural gas. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Diego, California. Read More 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 CenterPoint Energy, Inc. operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through Electric, Natural Gas, and Midstream Investments segments. The Electric segment includes electric transmission and distribution services to electric customers and electric generation assets, as well as assets in the wholesale power market. The Natural Gas segment provides natural gas distribution services, as well as home appliance maintenance and repair services to customers in Minnesota; and home repair protection plans to natural gas customers in Texas and Louisiana through a third party. This segment also sells regulated intrastate natural gas, as well as natural gas transportation and storage services for residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation customers. The Midstream Investments segment provides natural gas and crude oil gathering, and natural gas processing services to its producer customers, as well as crude oil, condensate, and produced water gathering services to its producer and refiner customers; and interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline transportation and storage services to its producer, power plant, local distribution company, and industrial end-user customers. As of December 31, 2020, it served approximately 2.6 million metered customers; owned 239 substation sites with a total installed rated transformer capacity of 69,915 megavolt amperes; operated approximately 99,000 linear miles of natural gas distribution mains, as well as 77,000 linear miles of natural gas transmission mains; and owned and operated 264 miles of intrastate pipeline in Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Read More Shocking but true, it has been recently discovered that a whole lot of Texans are drinking water contaminated by a herbicide, this is disheartening news, but ignorance has always been very expensive, it is time to learn about this water poisoning. According to Natural News, Atrazine is the usual and most common pesticide found in drinking water and surface water. In fact, it is one of the top two pesticides used in the United States second to glyphosate, which is found in Monsantos Roundup, another widely used weed killer in the United States. Asa weed killer, atrazine is used in industrial or large scale farming operations as well as combinations intended for home use. Atrazine is everywhere and at the moment, millions of Texans are ignorantly drinking water contaminated with this toxic chemical. The frequency of atrazine in drinking water has been recorded for years. A 2007 report from the city of Austins Watershed Protection and Development Review Department said atrazine was definitely a problem. Twelve years later, in this year 2019, the problem still remains. Health organizations such as the Environmental Working Group, have been calling out the Environmental Protection Agency for their delinquency to take proper action. The European Union banned the use of atrazine in 2003, thats 16 years ago, because of its ability to contaminate drinking water and cause health problems. A report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) demonstrated that 472 water sheds across the state had at least one sample test positive for the toxic weed killer. Irrefutably, across the country, at least 30 million Americans are drinking water poisoned by the herbicide. Texas Tribune reports, Comparing the test results submitted by water utilities to state environmental regulators to those from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington, D.C.- based Environmental Working Group concluded that water utilities are testing for atrazine at the times when they are not being used by farmers the growing season typically lasts late spring and early summer and also appear to be lowballing their numbers. The group is calling for updates to federal drinking water standards. In the studies of humans and animals, atrazine has been found to harm the reproductive system and fragment the nerve and hormone systems, affecting ones brain, behavior and crucial hormones such as estrogen, testosterone, and dopamine. Even a recent study from the University of Texas found that maternal exposure to atrazine could result in modest but consistent genital deformations in male children. In reports made by Environmental factsheets, atrazine enters the environment through farm fields when they are improperly stored or mixed previous to application. Most studies of health consequences due to exposure to atrazine can result in skin or eye irritation as well as skin allergies. Drinking water contaminated by this chemical over a long period of time may damage the liver, kidneys, eyes and spleen. There is no evidence that this herbicide causes cancer in humans, but it has been linked to tumors in rats and mice. The following companies are subsidiares of Dominion Energy: 96WI 8me LLC, Alamo Solar LLC, Align RNG Grady Road LLC, Align RNG LLC, Align RNG North Carolina LLC, Align RNG Utah LLC, Align RNG Utah-Milford LLC, Align RNG Virginia LLC, Align RNG Virginia-Waverly LLC, Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC, Azalea Solar LLC, BrightSuite Distributed Solar Holdings Inc., BrightSuite Home LLC, BrightSuite Inc., BrightSuite Solar LLC, Buckingham Solar I LLC, CEA Americus LLC, CEA Clovis LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Colorado LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Georgia LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Nevada LLC, CEA Dairy RNG New Mexico LLC, CEA Greely LLC, CEA Mason LLC, CID Solar LLC, CNG Coal Company, CNG Power Services Corporation, Carolina Gas Transmission Corporation, Catalina Solar 2 LLC, Clean Energy Asset USA LLC, Clean Energy Enterprises Inc., Clipperton Holdings LLC, Consolidated Natural Gas Company, Correctional Solar LLC, Cottonwood Solar LLC, Cove Point GP Holding Company LLC, Cove Point LNG Limited, DE Fluvanna Solar LLC, DE Hanover Solar LLC, DE King William Solar LLC, DE Powhatan Solar LLC, Dairy RNG Holdings LLC, Dominion ACP Holding Inc., Dominion Alternative Energy Holdings Inc., Dominion Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC, Dominion Bridgeport Fuel Cell LLC, Dominion Brine LLC, Dominion Capital Inc., Dominion Cogen WV Inc., Dominion Cove Point Inc., Dominion Cove Point LLC, Dominion Energy BTM Inc., Dominion Energy Carolina Gas Services Inc., Dominion Energy Carolina Gas Transmission LLC, Dominion Energy Cove Point LNG LP, Dominion Energy Field Services Inc., Dominion Energy Fuel Services Inc., Dominion Energy Gas Distribution LLC, Dominion Energy Gas Holdings LLC, Dominion Energy Generation Marketing Inc., Dominion Energy Inc., Dominion Energy Kewaunee Inc., Dominion Energy Marketplace LLC, Dominion Energy Midstream GP LLC, Dominion Energy Midstream Partners LP, Dominion Energy Nuclear Connecticut Inc., Dominion Energy Overthrust Pipeline LLC, Dominion Energy Payroll Company Inc., Dominion Energy Questar Corporation, Dominion Energy Questar Pipeline LLC, Dominion Energy Questar Pipeline Services Inc., Dominion Energy RNG Holdings II Inc., Dominion Energy RNG Holdings Inc., Dominion Energy Services Inc., Dominion Energy Smart Home LLC, Dominion Energy Solar CA LLC, Dominion Energy Solutions Inc., Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc., Dominion Energy Southeast Services Inc., Dominion Energy Technical Solutions Inc., Dominion Energy Technologies II Inc., Dominion Energy Technologies Inc., Dominion Energy Terminal Company Inc., Dominion Energy Transmission Inc., Dominion Energy Wexpro Services Company, Dominion Equipment III Inc., Dominion Equipment Inc., Dominion Fairless Hills Inc., Dominion Fowler Ridge Wind LLC, Dominion Gas Projects Company LLC, Dominion Gathering & Processing Inc., Dominion Gathering?& Processing Inc., Dominion Generation Inc., Dominion Greenbrier Inc., Dominion High Voltage Holdings Inc., Dominion High Voltage MidAtlantic Inc., Dominion Investments Inc., Dominion Iroquois Inc., Dominion Keystone Pipeline Holdings Inc., Dominion Keystone Pipeline LLC, Dominion MLP Holding Company II Inc., Dominion MLP Holding Company II LLC, Dominion MLP Holding Company III Inc., Dominion MLP Holding Company LLC, Dominion Modular LNG Holdings Inc., Dominion Mt. Storm Wind LLC, Dominion North Star Generation Inc., Dominion Nuclear Projects Inc., Dominion Oklahoma Texas Exploration & Production Inc., Dominion Oklahoma Texas Exploration?& Production Inc., Dominion Person Inc., Dominion Privatization Florida LLC, Dominion Privatization Georgia LLC, Dominion Privatization Holdings Inc., Dominion Privatization Kentucky LLC, Dominion Privatization South Carolina LLC, Dominion Privatization Texas LLC, Dominion Privatization Virginia LLC, Dominion Products and Services Inc., Dominion Projects Services Inc., Dominion Resources Capital Trust III, Dominion Retail Gas Holdings Inc., Dominion Solar Construction and Maintenance LLC, Dominion Solar Gen-Tie LLC, Dominion Solar Holdings I LLC, Dominion Solar Holdings II LLC, Dominion Solar Holdings III LLC, Dominion Solar Holdings IV LLC, Dominion Solar Projects A Inc., Dominion Solar Projects B Inc., Dominion Solar Projects C Inc., Dominion Solar Projects D Inc., Dominion Solar Projects I Inc., Dominion Solar Projects II Inc., Dominion Solar Projects III Inc., Dominion Solar Projects IV Inc., Dominion Solar Projects V Inc., Dominion Solar Projects VI Inc., Dominion Solar Projects VII Inc., Dominion Solar Services Inc., Dominion Solar?Gen-Tie ?LLC, Dominion State Line LLC, Dominion Voltage Inc., Dominion Wholesale Inc., Dominion Wind Development LLC, Dominion Wind Projects Inc., Eagle Holdco Solar LLC, Eagle Solar LLC, Eastern Shore Solar LLC, Enterprise Solar LLC, Escalante Solar I LLC, Escalante Solar II LLC, Escalante Solar III LLC, Farmington Properties Inc., Four Brothers Solar LLC, Fremont Farm LLC, Granite Mountain Holdings LLC, Granite Mountain Solar East LLC, Granite Mountain Solar West LLC, Greenbrier Marketing Company LLC, Greenbrier Pipeline Company LLC, Greensville County Solar Project LLC, Hecate Energy Cherrydale LLC, Hecate Energy Clarke County LLC, Hope Gas Inc., Imperial Valley Solar Company (IVSC) 2 LLC, Indy Solar Development LLC, Indy Solar I LLC, Indy Solar II LLC, Indy Solar III LLC, Innovative Solar 37 LLC, Iron Springs Holdings LLC, Iron Springs Solar LLC, Iroquois GP Holding Company LLC, Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas, Maricopa West Solar PV LLC, Moffett Solar 1 LLC, Moorings Farm 2 LLC, Mulberry Farm LLC, Mustang Solar LLC, NE Hub Partners L.L.C., NE Hub Partners L.P., NiCHe Storage Solutions LLC, Niche LNG LLC, North Star Generation LLC, PSNC Blue Ridge Corporation, PSNC Cardinal Pipeline Company, PSNC Southgate LLC, Pavant Solar LLC, Phone House, Pikeville Farm LLC, Prairie Fork Wind Farm LLC, Public Service Company of North Carolina Incorporated, QPC Holding Company, QPC Holding Company LLC, Questar Corporation, Questar Energy Services Inc., Questar Field Services LLC, Questar Gas Company, Questar InfoComm Inc., Questar Southern Trails Pipeline Company, Questar White River Hub LLC, RE Adams East LLC, RE Camelot LLC, RE Columbia LLC, RE Columbia LLC, RE Columbia Two LLC, RE Kansas LLC, RE Kent South LLC, RE Old River One LLC, Rev LNG SSL BC LLC, Richland Solar Center LLC, Ridgeland Solar Farm I LLC, SBL Holdco LLC, SCANA, SCANA Communications Holdings Inc., SCANA Corporate Security Services Inc., SCANA Energy Marketing Inc., SCANA Energy Marketing LLC, SCANA Pharmacy LLC, SCANA Services Inc., SRFI LLC, Sappony Solar LLC, Scana Corporation, Scott-II Solar LLC, Scott-II?Solar LLC, Seabrook Solar LLC, Selmer Farm LLC, Siler Solar LLC, Somers Solar Center LLC, South Carolina Electric?& Gas Company, South Carolina Fuel Company Inc., South Carolina Generating Company Inc., Southampton Solar LLC, Summit Farms Solar LLC, TA - Acacia LLC, TA ? Acacia LLC, TWE Myrtle Solar Project LLC, The East Ohio Gas Company, Tioga Properties LLC, Tredegar Solar Fund I LLC, VP Property Inc., Virginia Electric And Power Company, Virginia Power Fuel Corporation, Virginia Power Nuclear Services Company, Virginia Power Services Energy Corp. Inc., Virginia Power Services LLC, Virginia Solar 2017 Projects LLC, Wakefield Solar LLC, Wexpro Company, Wexpro Development Company, Wexpro II Company, Wilkinson Solar LLC, Wrangler Retail Gas Holdings LLC, and roquois GP Holding Company LLC. Lloyds Banking Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of banking and financial services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates through three segments: Retail; Commercial Banking; and Insurance and Wealth. The Retail segment offers a range of financial service products, including current accounts, savings accounts, mortgages, motor finance, unsecured loans, leasing solutions, credit cards, and other financial services to personal and small business customers. The Commercial Banking segment provides lending, transactional banking, working capital management, risk management, and debt capital market services to small and medium-sized entities, corporates, and financial institutions. The Insurance and Wealth segment offers life, home, and car insurance products; and pension, investment, and wealth management products and services. It also provides digital and mobile banking, and telephone services, as well as advisory services for savings, investments, and planning for retirement. The company offers its products and services under the Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Scottish Widows, MBNA, Schroders Personal Wealth, Black Horse, Lex Autolease, Birmingham Midshires, LDC, IWeb, and Agricultural Mortgage Corporation brands. Lloyds Banking Group plc was founded in 1695 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Read More Wall Street analysts have given Invesco Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt 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 Invesco Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. Genpact Limited provides business process outsourcing and information technology (IT) services North and Latin America, India, rest of Asia, and Europe. It operates in three segments: Banking, Capital Markets and Insurance; Consumer Goods, Retail, Life Sciences and Healthcare; and High Tech, Manufacturing and Services. The company's finance and accounting services include accounts payable, such as document management, invoice processing, approval and resolution management, and travel and expense processing; invoice-to-cash services, including customer master data management, credit and contract management, fulfillment, billing, collections, and dispute management services; record to report services comprising accounting, treasury, tax, product cost accounting, and closing and reporting services; financial planning and analysis consisting of budgeting, forecasting, and business performance reporting; and enterprise risk and compliance services, including operational risks and controls. It also provides supply chain design, planning, inventory optimization, transportation and logistics management, and after-sales services; sourcing and procurement services comprising direct and indirect strategic sourcing, category management, spend analytics, procurement operation, master data management, and other procurement and supply chain advisory services; and sales and commercial services in the lead-to-quote, quote-to-order, and customer service areas. In addition, the company offers IT services, which include end-user computing support, infrastructure management, application production support, and database management services; and transformation services that include digital solutions, consulting services, and analytics services and solutions. It serves banking, capital market, insurance, consumer goods, retail, life science, healthcare, high tech, and manufacturing and service industries. Genpact Limited was founded in 1997 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. Read More Ingersoll Rand Inc. provides various mission-critical air, fluid, energy, specialty vehicle and medical technologies in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through four segments: Industrial Technologies and Services; Precision and Science Technologies; Specialty Vehicle Technologies; and High Pressure Solutions segments. The company offers air and gas compression, vacuum and blower products, fluid transfer and management equipment, loading systems, power tools and lifting equipment, displacement pumps, liquid and precision syringe pumps, and compressors, as well as as well as aftermarket parts, consumables, and services. It also designs, manufactures, and markets golf, utility, and consumer low-speed vehicles, as well as integrated systems. The company's products are used in medical, laboratory, industrial manufacturing, water and wastewater, chemical processing, drilling, hydraulic fracturing, well servicing applications, precision irrigation, energy, food and beverage, agriculture, and automated liquid handling end-markets, as well as various manufacturing, industrial facilities applications, and other activities. It serves to various industries and sectors. The company sells its products through an integrated network of direct sales representatives and independent distributors under the Ingersoll Rand, Gardner Denver, Club Car, CompAir, Nash, Elmo Rietschle, Robuschi, Thomas, Milton Roy, ARO, Emco Wheaton, and Runtech Systems brands. The company was formerly known as Gardner Denver Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Ingersoll Rand Inc. in March 2020. Ingersoll Rand Inc. was founded in 1859 and is based in Davidson, North Carolina. Read More Loews Corporation provides commercial property and casualty insurance in the United States and internationally. The company offers specialty insurance products, such as management and professional liability, and other coverage products; surety and fidelity bonds; property insurance products that include property, marine, and boiler and machinery coverages; and casualty insurance products, such as workers' compensation, general and product liability, and commercial auto and umbrella coverages. It also provides loss-sensitive insurance programs; and warranty, risk management, information, and claims administration services. The company markets its insurance products and services through independent agents, brokers, and managing general underwriters. In addition, the company is involved in the transportation and storage of natural gas and natural gas liquids(NGLs), and hydrocarbons through natural gas pipelines covering approximately 13,650 miles of interconnected pipelines; 455 miles of NGL pipelines in Louisiana and Texas; 14 underground storage fields with an aggregate gas capacity of approximately 213 billion cubic feet of natural gas; and seven salt dome caverns and related brine infrastructure for providing brine supply services. Further, the company operates a chain of 27 hotels; and develops, manufactures, and markets a range of extrusion blow-molded and injection molded plastic containers for customers in the pharmaceutical, dairy, household chemicals, food/nutraceuticals, industrial/specialty chemicals, and water and beverage/juice segments, as well as manufactures commodity and differentiated plastic resins from recycled plastic materials. Loews Corporation was incorporated in 1969 and is headquartered in New York, New York. Read More Legend Who Bought Amazon In 1998 Says: Now Is The Time (Ad) Wall street legend Chris Rowe says theres a huge stock market event looming - and hes revealing his #1 pick for free. Click here to find out more. The outlook for the global economy has darkened, said The World Bank in its Global Economic Prospects, released in January. The Bank said global growth will decline from 3% in 2018 to 2.9% in 2019 and 2.8% in 2020-21. The IMF, in its World Economic Outlook, forecast global growth will fall to 3.5% in 2019, from 3.7% in 2018. The US economy is predicted to slowdown from 2.7% in 2018, to 2.5% in 2019 and 1.8% in 2020. In the same month, the Chinese government announced that economic growth this year will be 6.6%, well below the average growth rate of above 8% witnessed in the past fifteen years. The doomsayers also predict declining growth rates in Europe, from 1.8% in 2018, to 1.7% in 2019 and 1.6% in 2020. What does the global economic slowdown mean for African economies? Answer: when the big economies sneeze, Africa catches a cold. The slowdown will have three impacts: 1) reduced demand for commodities (natural resource exports); 2) decline in capital inflows, Foreign Direct Investment mainly; and 3) lower income from remittances and tourism. For instance, China is now Africas single largest trading partner, importing 86% of the continents oil, gas and minerals. The impact of Chinas slowdown on Africa was already evident in 2015, when Chinese growth began to taper off. One example is Zambia. A quarter of the countrys copper exports go to China. The decline in demand from China led to production cuts and loss of 6,000 jobs in the Copperbelt. Another example is Congo Republic, where petroleum makes up two-thirds of exports. Over half goes to China. Production decreased by 7% when the Chinese economy slowed. Just for illustration, 79% of the total foreign exchange earnings in the resource-rich countries come from commodity exports; and 46% of total fiscal revenues come from taxing commodity-related transactions. While we have known for long that the problem is limited economic diversification, the export baskets remain concentrated along few commodities. The average export concentration index among the commodity-exporting economies is still 0.63 (the index takes a value between 0 and 1, a value of 1 indicating that only a single product is exported). In countries that depend less on natural resource exports, a fall in remittances, that usually accompany a global slowdown, weakens the capacity of households to weather the storm. In the extreme case, families may even sell their productive assets, land and livestock, making them a lot more vulnerable. A similar impact is expected when incomes from tourism decline. Job losses in the service sector and reduced foreign exchange earnings are typical outcomes. If foreign investment delines, the unemployment rates will rise in the face of 20 million entrants into the labour market every year. Less skilled and poorer workers are often the first to be laid off when economic downturns kick in. Studies show that this group is also the last to get employed after economies bounce back. Children are also the first victims when crisis hitthey are taken out of school, child labour increases, and their nutritional intake is reduced. Economic downturns are also known to worsen inequality. Richer households often withstand losses of income by drawing down savings or through bank borrowing. Poor families often lack savings or cannot access financial services easily, thus widening the welfare gap between the two groups. If global growth continues to slowdown, policymakers may explore external borrowing. However, this is unlikely in many countries where the debt-to-GDP ratio is rising. The ratio went up by 20% since 2012currently averaging 57% for sub-Saharan Africa. Concessional lending will also be hard to come by given the slowdown among donors. Most likely, governments will be forced to cut back public expenditure. Often, such cuts fall on the social sectorhealth, education and social transfers that protect poor households. The above outlooks may seem unduly pessimistic, but we shouldnt rule out that more people will fall into poverty or fail to escape poverty if the predicted global slowdowns this year and next were to hold true. The question is: Are we prepared to fend off the potential impacts from decelerating SDG performance? The following companies are subsidiares of The Procter & Gamble: "Procter & Gamble Services" LLC, "Procter & Gamble" LLC, Agile Pursuits, Agile Pursuits Franchising, Arbora, Arbora & Ausonia, Arborinvest, Billie, Braun (Shanghai) Co., Braun GmbH, Braun-Gillette Immobilien GmbH & Co. KG, Celtic Insurance Company, Compania Procter & Gamble Mexico, Compania Quimica S.A., Corporativo Procter & Gamble, Cosmetic Products Pty. Ltd., Detergent Products B.V., Detergent Products SARL, Detergenti S.A., Eurocos Cosmetic GmbH, FPG Oleochemicals Sdn. Bhd., Fameccanica Data S.p.A., Fameccanica Industria e Comercio Do Brasil LTDA., Fameccanica Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Fater S.p.A., Fountain Square Music Publishing Co., Gillette (China) Ltd., Gillette (Shanghai) Ltd., Gillette Aesop Ltd., Gillette Australia Pty. Ltd., Gillette Canada Holdings, Gillette Commercial Operations North America, Gillette Diversified Operations Pvt. Ltd., Gillette Egypt S.A.E., Gillette Group UK Ltd, Gillette Gruppe Deutschland GmbH & Co. oHG, Gillette Holding Company LLC, Gillette Holding GmbH, Gillette India Limited, Gillette Industries Ltd., Gillette International B.V., Gillette Latin America Holding B.V., Gillette Management LLC, Gillette Nova Scotia Company, Gillette Pakistan Limited, Gillette Poland International Sp. z.o.o., Gillette Poland S.A., Gillette U.K. Limited, Gillette del Uruguay, Giorgio Beverly Hills Inc., Hyginett KFT, Industries Marocaines Modernes SA, LLC "Procter & Gamble Novomoskovsk", LLL "Procter & Gamble Distributorskaya Compania", Laboratorios Vicks, Liberty Street Music Publishing Company, Limited Liability Company 'Procter & Gamble Trading Ukraine', Limited Liability Company with foreign investments Procter & and Gamble Ukraine, MDVIP, MERCK KGAA NPV, Marcvenca Inversiones, Modern Industries Company - Dammam, Modern Products Company - Jeddah, New Chapter, New Chapter Canada Inc., Olay LLC, Oral-B Laboratories, P&G Distribution Morocco SAS, P&G Hair Care Holding, P&G Industrial Peru S.R.L., P&G Innovation Godo Kaisha, P&G Israel M.D.O. Ltd., P&G K.K., P&G Northeast Asia Pte. Ltd., P&G Prestige Godo Kaisha, P&G Prestige Service GmbH, P&G South African Trading (Pty.) Ltd., PGT Health Care (Zhejiang) Limited, PGT Healthcare LLP, PPI ZAO, PT Procter & Gamble Home Products Indonesia, PT Procter & Gamble Operations Indonesia, Phase II Holdings Corporation, Procter & Gamble (Chengdu) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (China) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (China) Sales Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble (East Africa) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Egypt) Manufacturing Company, Procter & Gamble (Enterprise Fund) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Consumer Products Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Enterprise Management Service Company Limited, Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Health & Beauty Care) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Jiangsu) Ltd. China, Procter & Gamble (L&CP) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Procter & Gamble (Manufacturing) Ireland Limited, Procter & Gamble (Shanghai) International Trade Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Acquisition GmbH, Procter & Gamble Administration GmbH, Procter & Gamble Algeria EURL, Procter & Gamble Amazon Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Amiens S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Argentina SRL, Procter & Gamble Asia Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Australia Proprietary Limited, Procter & Gamble Azerbaijan Services LLC, Procter & Gamble Bangladesh Private Ltd., Procter & Gamble Blois S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Brazil Holdings B.V., Procter & Gamble Bulgaria EOOD, Procter & Gamble Business Services Canada Company, Procter & Gamble Canada Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Chile , Procter & Gamble Chile Limitada, Procter & Gamble Colombia Ltda., Procter & Gamble Commercial LLC, Procter & Gamble Commercial de Cuba S.A., Procter & Gamble Czech Republic s.r.o., Procter & Gamble DS Polska Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Danmark ApS, Procter & Gamble Detergent (Beijing) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Deuttschland GmbH, Procter & Gamble Distributing (Philippines) Inc., Procter & Gamble Distributing New Zealand Limited, Procter & Gamble Distribution Company (Europe) BVBA, Procter & Gamble Distribution S.R.L., Procter & Gamble Eastern Europe, Procter & Gamble Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Procter & Gamble Egypt, Procter & Gamble Egypt Distribution, Procter & Gamble Egypt Holding, Procter & Gamble Egypt Supplies, Procter & Gamble Energy Company LLC, Procter & Gamble Espana, Procter & Gamble Europe SA, Procter & Gamble Export Operations SARL, Procter & Gamble Exportadora e Importadora Ltda., Procter & Gamble Exports, Procter & Gamble Fabricacao e Comercio Ltda., Procter & Gamble Far East, Procter & Gamble Finance (U.K.) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Finance Holding Ltd., Procter & Gamble Finance Management S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Financial Investments LLP, Procter & Gamble Financial Services Ltd., Procter & Gamble Financial Services S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Finland OY, Procter & Gamble France S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH, Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH & Co. Operations oHG, Procter & Gamble GmbH, Procter & Gamble Grundstucks-und Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG, Procter & Gamble Gulf FZE, Procter & Gamble Hair Care, Procter & Gamble Hellas Ltd., Procter & Gamble Holding (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Holding France S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Holding GmbH, Procter & Gamble Holding S.r.l., Procter & Gamble Holdings (UK) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Home Products Private Limited, Procter & Gamble Hong Kong Limited, Procter & Gamble Hungary Wholesale Trading Partnership (KKT), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care Limited, Procter & Gamble Inc., Procter & Gamble India Holdings, Procter & Gamble Indochina Limited Company, Procter & Gamble Industrial - 2012 C.A., Procter & Gamble Industrial Colombia Ltda., Procter & Gamble Industrial S.C.A., Procter & Gamble Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Costa Rica, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Guatemala, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Panama, Procter & Gamble International Operations Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble International Operations SA, Procter & Gamble International Operations SA-ROHQ, Procter & Gamble International S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Investment Company (UK) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Investment GmbH, Procter & Gamble Italia, Procter & Gamble Japan K.K., Procter & Gamble Kazakhstan Distribution LLP, Procter & Gamble Kazakhstan LLP, Procter & Gamble Korea, Procter & Gamble Korea S&D Co., Procter & Gamble Lanka Private Ltd. Sri Lanka, Procter & Gamble Leasing LLC, Procter & Gamble Levant S.A.L., Procter & Gamble Limited, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Berlin GmbH, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing GmbH, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing SA (Pty) Ltd, Procter & Gamble Marketing Romania SRL, Procter & Gamble Marketing and Services doo, Procter & Gamble Maroc SA, Procter & Gamble Mataro, Procter & Gamble Mexico Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Mexico Inc., Procter & Gamble Middle East FZE, Procter & Gamble Nederland B.V., Procter & Gamble Netherlands Investments B.V., Procter & Gamble Netherlands Services B.V., Procter & Gamble Nigeria Limited, Procter & Gamble Nordic, Procter & Gamble Norge AS, Procter & Gamble Operations Polska Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Overseas India B.V., Procter & Gamble Overseas Ltd., Procter & Gamble Pakistan (Private) Limited, Procter & Gamble Partnership LLP, Procter & Gamble Peru S.R.L., Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals France SAS, Procter & Gamble Philippines, Procter & Gamble Polska Sp. z o.o, Procter & Gamble Portugal - Produtos De Consumo, Procter & Gamble Product Supply (U.K.) Limited U.K., Procter & Gamble Production GmbH, Procter & Gamble Productions, Procter & Gamble Productos de Consumo, Procter & Gamble RHD, Procter & Gamble RSC Regional Service Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Retail Services BVBA, Procter & Gamble S.r.l., Procter & Gamble SA (Pty) Ltd, Procter & Gamble Satis ve Dagitim Ltd. Sti., Procter & Gamble Seine S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Service GmbH, Procter & Gamble Services (Switzerland) SA, Procter & Gamble Services Company N.V., Procter & Gamble Services Ltd., Procter & Gamble Share Incentive Plan Trustee Ltd., Procter & Gamble South America Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Spol. s.r.o. (Ltd.), Procter & Gamble Sports and Social Club Ltd., Procter & Gamble Sverige AB, Procter & Gamble Switzerland SARL, Procter & Gamble Taiwan Limited, Procter & Gamble Taiwan Sales Company Limited, Procter & Gamble Technical Centres Limited, Procter & Gamble Technology (Beijing) Co., Procter & Gamble Trading (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Tuketim Mallari Sanayii A.S., Procter & Gamble UK, Procter & Gamble UK Group Holdings Ltd, Procter & Gamble UK Parent Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Universal Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Verwaltungs GmbH, Procter & Gamble Vietnam, Procter & Gamble d.o.o. za trgovinu, Procter & Gamble de Venezuela S.C.A., Procter & Gamble de Venezuela S.R.L., Procter & Gamble do Brasil S/A, Procter & Gamble do Brazil, Procter & Gamble do Nordeste S/A, Procter & Gamble-Rakona s.r.o., Progam Realty & Development Corporation, Redmond Products, Richardson-Vicks Real Estate Inc., Richardson-Vicks do Brasil Quimica e Farmaceutica Ltda, Riverfront Music Publishing Co., Rosemount LLC, SPD Development Company Limited, SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH, Scannon S.A.S., Series Acquisition B.V., Shulton, Surfac S.R.L., Sycamore Productions, TAOS - FL, TAOS Retail, Tambrands Inc., Temple Trees Impex & Investment Private Limited, The Art of Shaving - FL, The Dover Wipes Company, The Gillette Company, The Gillette Company LLC, The Gillette co., The Procter & Gamble Distributing LLC, The Procter & Gamble GBS Company, The Procter & Gamble Global Finance Company, The Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Company, The Procter & Gamble Paper Products Company, The Procter & Gamble U.S. Business Services Company, This is L., US CD LLC, Vidal Sassoon (Shanghai) Academy, Vidal Sassoon Co., WEBA Betriebsrenten-Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Walker & Company Brands, and iMFLUX Inc.. Delta Air Lines, Inc. provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Salt Lake City, as well as coastal hub positions in Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, and Seattle; and international network centered on hubs and market presence in Amsterdam, London-Heathrow, Mexico City, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, and Seoul-Incheon. The company sells its tickets through various distribution channels, including delta.com and the Fly Delta app, reservations, online travel agencies, traditional brick and mortar, and other agencies. It also provides aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul services; and vacation packages to third-party consumers, as well as aircraft charters, and management and programs. The company operates through a fleet of approximately 1,100 aircraft. Delta Air Lines, Inc. was founded in 1924 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. Read More Since 2016, Teeka Tiwari has trumped the stock market. His investment recommendations have each averaged 281%. Thats 17 times the S&P. And 112 times the average investor, according to JPMorgan! However, one investment Teeka just uncovered could top them all It involves former President Biden, billions of dollars, several large banks, and a super-rich family. As well as a MAJOR potential upgrade to our credit cards. Teeka, who ended up correctly picking the last investment of the decade, is declaring this his top pick for the 2020s. Kinder Morgan, Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. The company operates through Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, Terminals, and CO2 segments. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment owns and operates interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline, and underground storage systems; natural gas gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities; natural gas liquids fractionation facilities and transportation systems; and liquefied natural gas liquefaction and storage facilities. The Products Pipelines segment owns and operates refined petroleum products, and crude oil and condensate pipelines; and associated product terminals and petroleum pipeline transmix facilities. The Terminals segment owns and/or operates liquids and bulk terminals that stores and handles various commodities, including gasoline, diesel fuel, chemicals, ethanol, metals, and petroleum coke; and owns tankers. The CO2 segment produces, transports, and markets CO2 to recovery and production crude oil from mature oil fields; and owns interests in/or operates oil fields and gasoline processing plants, as well as operates a crude oil pipeline system in West Texas. It owns and operates approximately 83,000 miles of pipelines and 144 terminals. The company was formerly known as Kinder Morgan Holdco LLC and changed its name to Kinder Morgan, Inc. in February 2011. Kinder Morgan, Inc. was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Read More In parts 1 (see here) & 2 (see here), we explored how insurance carriers are managing the disruptive process of Connected Claims transformation, and how this is taking shape with respect to current and future levels of investment. We now turn to the future, examining which technologies insurance carriers will rely on to make Connected Claims a reality. Digital, Data, Claims Technology and AI all look set to be prioritized by carriers worldwide (all four being key components of any Connected Claims strategy) but as we have seen, much investment has already taken place in these areas. As the technology matures, we can expect to see divergences in the routes taken, reflecting the differences in various markets and progress to date. Accordingly, our research found some interesting differences between North America and Europe, regarding the technologies each will prioritize over the coming decade. Although insurers on both sides of the Atlantic will be investing heavily in AI over this period, European carriers placed AI as their number one priority, with Claims Systems and Data taking precedence in North America. This reflects significant differences between the two markets; North American carriers often cite the influence of brokers who make it difficult to form relationships with (and by extension, acquire the data of), their end customers. In Europe, the relationship between insurers and customers is more direct and so the flow of customer information and interaction is largely unencumbered. Thus, European carriers are now able to focus on the insights they can derive from that data using AI systems, while their North American counterparts are more concerned with having the foundations of data and claims systems in place first. This is borne out by the fact that over the next five to 10 years, North American carriers will look to invest in AI and Automation much more heavily than in Europe, but only once issues around data infrastructure are resolved. Download Insurance Nexus Connected Claims Report 2019 for more on the future of Connected Claims development, including: for more on the future of Connected Claims development, including: The core technologies upon which Connected Claims transformation will be built/predicated, and how this differs in North American and European markets The effects of introducing AI on the workforce: just how many jobs may be lost to AI (hint: its fewer than you may think) Investment trends in the short and long-term: how will investment levels change over time, and what does this suggest about current priorities for insurance carriers? With core technologies in place, where will carriers turn for long-term success? Download the Connected Claims Report 2019 here Third Annual Connected Claims USA Summit 2019, taking place June 5-6, at the Marriott Marquis Chicago Hotel, Chicago. Welcoming over 750 senior attendees, Connected Claims USA is the worlds largest gathering for claims executives striving for efficient, customer-centric claims processing. More information can be found on the website This report was produced in conjunction with Insurance Nexus upcoming, taking place June 5-6, at the. Welcoming over 750 senior attendees, Connected Claims USA is the worlds largest gathering for claims executives striving for efficient, customer-centric claims processing. More information can be found on the I hope you enjoy the report! Mariana The following companies are subsidiares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.: 2235158 Alberta Limited, A.J. Amer Agency, AHC Digital LLC, AIX Limited, AJG Coal LLC, AJG Financial Services LLC, AJG Meadows LLC, AJG North America ULC, AJG RCF LLC, AJGRMS of Louisiana LLC, ARM RE Ltda., AVIATION INSURANCE SERVICES, AVRECO, Ace IRM Insurance Broking Group, Acumus Holdings Limited, Acumus Interco Limited, Acumus Ltd, Adams & Associates International, Adaptive Marketing LLC, Adco General Corporation, Advanced Benefit Advisors, Aequus Trade Credit, Affinity Marketing Group, Ahrold Fay Rosenberg, Aires Consulting Group, Alesco Risk Management Services Limited, Alize Limited, Allied Claims Administration Inc., Alternative Market Specialists, Altman & Cronin Benefit Consultants, American Freedom Carriers Inc., American Security Services Corp., American Wholesalers Underwriting Ltd, Andrew-Anthony Insurance Agency, Anthony Hodges Consulting Limited, Antrobus Investments Limited, AquaSurance, Argentis, Argentis Financial Group Limited, Argentis Financial Management Limited, Argus Benefits, Armstrong/Robitaille/Riegle, Artex (SAC) Limited, Artex Cedar Hill, Artex Corporate Services (Malta) Limited, Artex Corporate Services Limited, Artex Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Holdings (Malta) Limited, Artex Insurance (Guernsey) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance (Tennessee) PCCIC Inc., Artex Insurance Brokers (Malta) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance ICC Limited, Artex Intermediaries Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Bermuda) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Cayman) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Guernsey) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (International) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Malta) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (UK) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions Inc., Arthur J Gallagher (Norway) Holdings AS, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AUS) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Illinois), Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Insurance Brokers of California Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher (Aus) Pty Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Bermuda) Holding Partnership, Arthur J. Gallagher (Life Solutions) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (U.S.) LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Asesoria S.A.C., Arthur J. Gallagher Australasia Holdings Pty Ltd., Arthur J. Gallagher Brokerage & Risk Management Services LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Broking (NZ) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Financial Services Professionals Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Group Quebec ULC, Arthur J. Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Latin America LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Management (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Real Estate Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services (Hawaii) Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services of Utah Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher School Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Service Company LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Services (UK) Ltd, Ashmore & Associates Insurance Agency, Atlantic Risk Management Corp., Atrex Insurance (Cayman) SPC Limited, Avantek Pty Ltd, Axe Insurance PCC Limited, BIS Insurance Services, Baker - Tillys employment benefits solutions, Ballard Benefit Works, Bankers Financial Benefits, Barmore Insurance Agency, Behnke & Co. Inc., Bellisle Pty Ltd, Belmont Associates Consultants, Belmont Insurance Holdings Limited, Belmont International, Belmont International Limited, Benefit Development Group, Benefit Management Group, BenefitLink Resource Group, Benefits Planning & Insurance Agency, Benefits Unlimited, Bennett & Shade Co., Bergvall Marine, Bergvall Marine A.S., Besselman & Little Agency, Big Savings Insurance Agency Inc., Blenheim Park Ltd, Blenheim Park Services Limited, Blue Holdings Pty Ltd, Blue Horizon Insurance Services, Blue Water Benefits, BluePeak Advisors, Blueleaf Consulting Pty Ltd., Bluewater Incorporated Cell Insurance Company, Bollinger Inc., Bollinger Insurance Services Inc., Bowen Miclette Britt & Merry of Arkansas Inc., Brendis & Brendis, Brim AB, Broker Benefit Services, Brokerage Professionals, Brown Hobbs & McMurray Insurance, Bultman/Bell Associates Inc., Burkwald & Associates, Burns-Fazzi Brock & Associates, Bushong Insurance Associates, C&B Consulting Group, CGM Gallagher Insruance Brokers (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited, CJM Solutions Inc., CMA Solutions LLC, Cairnstone Financial, California Insurance Center, Capital Bauer Insurance Agency, Capitol Benefits Group, Capsicum CRLA LLP, Capsicum Re Brasil Participacoes Ltda, Capsicum Re Latin America Corretora De Resseguros Ltda, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Bermuda Limited, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Miami Inc., Carefree Marketing Inc., Carpenter Cammack & Associates, Cashan & Co., Castle Insurance Associates, Centennial Insurance Agency, Charity First Insurance Services Inc., Charles Allen Agency, Charter Lakes Insurance Agency, Chris Schroeder Insurance, Christie-Phoenix, Cintran Claims Canada Limited, Classic Insurance Services, Cleaveland Insurance Group, Cohen & Lord Insurance Brokers, Cohn Financial Group, Coleman Group Holdings Limited, Coleman Holdings Limited, College and University Scholastic Excess Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Commercial Insurance Brokers, Complete Benefit Alliance, Complete Financial Balance, Complete Financial Balance Pty Ltd, Consolidated Casualty Specialties LLC, Construction Risk Solutions, Contego Underwriting Limited, Contego Underwriting Ltd, Continental Excess & Surplus, Convergence Risk Services Ltd, Copper Mountain Assurance Inc., Cornwall & Stevens Co., Corporate Benefit Advisors, Corporate Life Consultants, Countrywide Accident Assistance Limited, Coverdell & Company Inc., Coverdell Canada Corporation, Cowles and Connell, Craig M. Ferguson & Co., Crist Elliott Machette Insurance Services, Crombie Lockwood (NZ) Limited, Davis-Poston & Associates, Denman Consulting Services, Detlefs Johnson & Partners, DiBrina Group, Dickinson & Associates, Discount Development Services L.L.C., Discovery Benefit Solutions, Dodson-Bateman & Co., Donald P. Pipino Co. Ltd., E. S. Susanin Inc., EHE Holdings LLC, EHS Holdings Limited, Elantis Premium Funding (NZ) Limited, Elantis Premium Funding Limited, Elite Benefits Insurance Marketing Services, Employee Benefits Analysis Corp., Employee Benefits of The Carolinas, Encore Insurance & Bonding, Everett James, Evolution Risk Services Limited, Evolution Technology Services Limited, Evolution Underwriting Group, Evolution Underwriting Group Limited, Evolution Underwriting Limited, Excel Insurance Services, FYI Direct Canada Corporation, FYI Direct LLC, Farallone Pacific Insurance Services, Fenchurch Faris Limited, Fidelity Benefits & Insurance Services, Financial Profiles Inc., Finergy Solutions Pty Ltd, First Agency, First Iowa Insurance Agency, First Premium Inc., First Premium Insurance Group, Fish & Schulkamp, Fishermans Insurance Services, Foley Healthcare Limited, Fortress Financial Solutions Pty Ltd, Fortress Insurance LLC, Foundation Strategies, Fox Lawson & Associates, Franklin-Case Agency LLC, Fraser MacAndrew Ryan Limited, Friary Intermediate Limited, Fuller & O'Brien, G.S. Chapman & Associates Insurance Brokers, G.S. Levine Insurance Services, GBS (Australia) Holdings Pty Ltd, GBS Administrators Inc., GBS Insurance and Financial Services Inc., GBS Retirement Services Inc., GBS Specialty Markets LLC, GGB Finance 1 Limited, GGB Finance 2 Limited, GGB Finance 3 Limited, GGB Finance 4 Limited, GPL Assurance, GPL Assurance Inc., Gabor Insurance Services, Gale Smith & Co. Inc., Gallagher (Bermuda) Insurance Solutions Ltd., Gallagher - Grace/Mayer Insurance Agency, Gallagher Bassett Aires Inc., Gallagher Bassett Canada Inc., Gallagher Bassett Insurance Services Ltd., Gallagher Bassett International Ltd., Gallagher Bassett NZ Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Inc. , Gallagher Bassett Services Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Workers Compensation Victoria Pty Ltd., Gallagher Benefit Services (Canada) Group Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services (Holdings) Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services Management Company Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Pty Ltd, Gallagher Benefits Consulting Limited, Gallagher Bomford Couch Wilson, Gallagher Burgess, Gallagher Canada Acquisition Corporation, Gallagher Caribbean Group Limited, Gallagher Clean Energy LLC, Gallagher Communications Limited, Gallagher Community Clinic RPG LLC, Gallagher Consulting Ltda, Gallagher Corporate Services LLC, Gallagher Coyle, Gallagher CyberRisk, Gallagher Energy Risk Services Inc., Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC, Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Bermuda Company Limited, Gallagher Holdings Four (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Three (UK) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (Barbados) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Kitts & Nevis) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Lucia) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Vincent) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers Jamaica Limited, Gallagher International Cash Management s.r.l., Gallagher International Holdings (US) Inc., Gallagher Investment Advisors LLC, Gallagher Inwest Group, Gallagher Koster, Gallagher Lambert Group, Gallagher Madison Risk & Insurance Services, Gallagher Mauritius Holdings, Gallagher Mississippi Brokerage LLC, Gallagher RE Colombia Ltda Corredores de Reaseguros SA, Gallagher Risk & Reward Limited, Gallagher Risk Group LLC, Gallagher Risk Placements Pty Ltd, Gallagher SKS, Gallagher Service Center LLP, Gallagher-Tarantino, Galtney Group, Game Day Insurance Inc., Gardner & White Corp., Gardner Marine Agency, Garza Long Group, Gatehouse Consulting Limited, Gault Armstrong Kemble Pty Ltd, Gault Armstrong SARL, Giles Group, Giles Holdings Limited, Giles Insurance Brokers, Gillis Ellis & Baker Inc., Goodman Insurance Agency, Grandy Pratt Co., Greenseed Alternative Mangaers Platform Ltd, Grossman & Associates, Group Benefits of Arkansas, Group Insurance Associates, Gruppo Marcucci, HLG Holdings Limited, HMG-PCMS Limited, HPF Investments LLC, HR Owen Insurance Services Limited, Hagan Newkirk Financial Services, Hagedorn & Company, Hardman & Howell Benefits, Harlequin Insurance PCC Limited, Hartstein Associates Inc., Healthcare Professionals Purchasing Group LLC, Healthcare Risk Solutions, Heath Lambert Group Ltd., Heath Lambert Limited, Heath Lambert Overseas Limited, Heiser Insurance Agency, Henderson Phillips Fine Arts Insurance, Herbruck Alder & Co., Heritage Insurance Brokers (CI) Limited, Hesse & Partner AG, Hesse Consulting, Hexagon ICC Limited, Hexagon Insurance PCC Limited, Hill Chesson & Woody, Hogan Insurance Services, Home & Travel Limited, Honour Point Limited, Horseshoe Corporate Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services USA Inc., Horseshoe ILS Services UK Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Advisors US LLC, Horseshoe Insurance Advisory Ltd., Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings US Inc., Horseshoe Management (Gibraltar) Limited, Horseshoe Management (Ireland) Ltd, Horseshoe Management Ltd., Horseshoe PCC Limited, Horseshoe Re Limited, Horseshoe Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Services (Pty) Ltd, Horton Insurance Agency, Housing Authorities Services Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Human Resource Management Systems, I-Protect Underwriting Pty Ltd, IBIS Advisors, IBS Reinsurance Singapore Pte Ltd, ILS Fund Services Ltd., ISG International, ITI Solutions, Igloo Insurance PCC Limited, Independent Benefit Services, Independent Fiduciary Services, Ink Underwriting Agencies Limited, InsSync Group Pty Ltd, Inspire Underwriting Limited, Instrat Insurance Brokers, Instrat Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd, Instrat Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Insurance Acquisitions Holdings Limited, Insurance Associates Inc., Insurance Dialogue Limited, Insurance Dialogue Ltd., Insurance Plans Agency, Insurance Plus Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Insurance Point, Insurance Risk Managers of Missouri Inc., Insure My Villa Limited, Insure Pty Ltd, Integrated Healthcare Strategies, InterNational Insurance Group, InterPacific Underwriting Agencies, Intermountain Financial Benefits, Interstate Insurance Underwriters, JPGAC LLC, James F. Reda & Associates, James R. Weir Insurance Agency, Jenkins and Associates, Joe E. Martin Inc., John P. Woods Co. Inc., Jones Brown, Jones Brown Group Inc., Jones Brown Insurance Solutions Inc., Joseph Distel, Joseph James & Associates Insurance Agency, Just Landlords Insurance Services Ltd, KDC Associates, KRW Insurance Agency, Kahl Insurance Services, Kaler Carney Liffler & Co. Inc., Kane Group - Insurance Management Operations, Kelly Financial, Kent Kent & Tingle and RBS, Keyser Benefits Corp., Kingspark Enterprises Pty Ltd, L&R Benefits, LSG Insurance Partners, Learn About Money Limited, Lewis & Associates Insurance Brokers, Leystone Insurance & Financial, Life Plans Unlimited, Lincoln Financial Management, Longfellow Financial, Lucas Fettes Limited, Lucas Fettes and Partners Limited, Lutgert Insurance, MA Underwriting Pty Ltd, MDM Insurance Associates, MG Advanced Coal Technologies-1 LLC, MGA Insurance Services, MRS Holdings Ltd., Madison Scott & Associates, Managed Healthcare Solutions, Mannequin Insurance PCC Limited, Marchetti Robertson & Brickell Insurance, Marine Insurance Service, Martin Gordon & Jones Inc., McDowall Associates Human Resource Consultants, McIntyre Risk Management, McLean Insurance Agency, McNeary, McPherson Benefits Group, McRory & Co., Mecacem Insurance SPC Ltd, MedInsights Inc., Melton Insurance Associates, Memberworks Canada LLC, Merit Insurance, Metcom Excess, Metzler Bros. Insurance, Meyers-Reynolds & Associates, Mid America Group, Midwest Surety Services, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers Limited, Mike Henry Insurance Funding Limited, Miller Buettner & Parrott, Miller-Harrison Insurance Services, Milne Alexander Pty Ltd, Minvielle & Chastanet Insurance Brokers, Monument Insurance (NZ) Limited, Monument Llc, Monument Premium Funding Limited, Mortgage Insurance Agency, Murphy Consultants, Mutual Insurance Services, NationAir Aviation Insurance, National Administration Co., National Ethics Association, National Transportation Adjusters, Nelson/Monarch Insurance Services, Nicoud Insurance Services, NiiS/Apex Group Holdings, Nonprofit Insurance Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Noraxis Capital Corp, Nordic Forsakring & Riskhantering AB, North Alabama Insurance, Nourse Insurance Brokers, O'Gorman & Young, OAMPS (UK) Limited, OAMPS Gault Armstrong Pty Ltd, OAMPS Limited, OAMPS Special Risks Ltd, Offshore Market Placements Limited, Optimum Talent, Orb Financial Services, Orb Financial Services Limited, Osprey Insurance Brokers Limited, Oval Group, Oval Healthcare Limited, Oval Insurance Broking Limited, Oval Limited, Oval Management Services Limited, Oxygen Insurance Managers, P2 Group, PEN Insurance Management Advisors Ltd, PT IBS Insurance Broking Service, Pacific Insurance Agency, Palmer Atlantic Insurance, Palmer Atlantic Insurance Ltd, Palmer Atlantic Risk Services Ltd., Park Row Associates, Parkstar Enterprises Pty Ltd, Parmia Pty Ltd, PartnerSource, Pastel Holding (NZ) Company, Pastel Holdings Pty Limited, Pastel Purchaser (NZ) Limited, Pastel Purchaser Pty Limited, Pavey Group Holdings (UK) Limited, Pavey Group Holdings Limited, Pavey Group Limited, Pearson Dunn Insurance Inc., Pen Underwriting Canada Limited, Pen Underwriting Group Pty. Ltd., Pen Underwriting Limited, Pen Underwriting Pty Ltd, Persing Dyckman & Toynbee Inc., Personal Advice Services Pty Ltd, Petty Burton Associates, Pointer Insurance Agency, Portmore Insurance Brokers (Wilshire) Limited, Portmore Insurance Brokers Limited, Potter-Holden & Co., Powell Insurance Agency, Premier Insurance Services Inc., Premier Risk Services, Premium Finance Corporation, Preston-Patterson, ProSource Financial, Professional Agents Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Professional Claims Managers, Proinova AB, Proinova Agency AB, Pronto California Agency LLC, Pronto California General Agency LLC, Pronto Florida Claims LLC, Pronto Florida General Agency LLC, Pronto Franchise LLC, Pronto General Agency Ltd, Pronto General Agency Management LLC, Pronto Holdco Inc., Pronto Holding California LLC, Pronto Holding Florida LLC, Pronto Insurance Agency of Laredo Inc., Pronto Premium Finance LLC, Property & Commercial Ltd., Property Insurance Initatives Limited, Property and Commercial Limited, Protected Insurance Company, Protection Plan Association Inc., Protek Group Limited, Providium Consulting Group, Ptarmigan Underwriting Agency Limited, Ptarmigan Underwriting UK Limited, Purple Bridge Claims Management Limited, Purple Bridge Finance Limited, Purple Bridge Group Limited, Purple Bridge Investments Limited, Purple Bridge Online Services Limited, Purple Bridge Publishing Limited, Quantum Underwriting Solutions Limited, Quillco 226 Limited, Quillco 227 Limited, R. L. Youngdahl & Associates, R.G. Speno Inc., R.W. Scobie, RA Rossborough (Guernsey) Ltd., RA Rossborough (Insurance Brokers) Ltd, REGENCY Group inc., RGA Referencing Limited, RGA Underwriting Limited, RIL Administrators (Guernsey) Ltd., RJ Dutton Inc., RSM Insurance Services Limited, Reassurance Holdings Inc., Rebholz Insurance Agency, Reid Manson Ltd., Reimbursement Services, Rentguard Limited, Reward Management Limited, Reynolds & Rodar Insurance Group, Riley & Associates, Rio 587 Limited, Rio 588 Limited, Risk & Reward Group, Risk Management Partners Limited, Risk Placement Services Inc., Risk Planners, Risk Services (NW) Limited, Risk Services (NW) Ltd., Risk Solutions Group Limited, Robert A. Schneider Agency, Robert Keith & Associates, Roberts & Roberts Insurance Service, Robinson-Adams Insurance, Rossborough Healthcare International Ltd, Rossborough Insurance (IOM) Ltd., Rossborough Insurance Services Ltd. (Jersey), S. A. Freerks & Associates, SEG Insurance Ltd, SGB-NIA Insurance Brokers, SHILLING Ltd, SKANCO International, SMERI AB, SRS Underwriting Pty Ltd, Secure Enterprises Pty Ltd, Securitas Re, Sellers Group, Sentinel Indemnity LLC, Septagon Insurance PCC Limited, Shuford Insurance Agency, Sigma II Insurance Agency, Sinclair Billard and Weld Limited, Sobieski & Bradley, Solid Benefit Guidance, Spanjers Insurance Agency, Spataro Insurance Agency, Specialised Broking Associates, Specialty Risk, Stackhouse Poland, Stackhouse Poland Bidco Limited, Stackhouse Poland Group Limited, Stackhouse Poland Holdings Limited, Stackhouse Poland Midco Limited, Stackouse Poland Limited, Stanton Group, Stark Johnson & Stinson Inc., Steel Agency, Strata Solicitors Ltd, Strategic Health Plans Corp., Strathearn Insurance Brokers, Strathearn Insurance Brokers (Qld) Trading Trust, Strathern Insurance Group Pty Ltd, Strathern Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Strathern Unit Trust, Strong Financial Resources, Summit Insurance Group, Sunday and Associates, Sunderland Insurance Services, Super Advice Corporate Services Pty Ltd, Taylor Benefits, Texas Insurance Agency, Texas Insurance Managers, The BeneTex Group, The Buchholz Planning, The Chapman Group, The Commonwealth Consulting Group, The Daniels Group Inc., The EHE Group LLC, The EHE Insurance Agency LLC, The Eagle Insurance Agency LLC, The Eriksen Group, The Forker Company, The Gleason Agency, The Great Lakes Agency, The HR Group, The Hawk Agency, The Human Capital Group, The Lance Group, The Levitt/Kristan Co., The MW Bagnall Company, The Old Greenwich Consulting Group, The Parks Johnson Agency, The Plus Companies Inc., The Presidio Group, The Producers Choice, The Rains Group, The Splinter Group, The Titan Group, The Treiber Group, The Woodsmall Companies Inc., Title & Covenant Brokers Ltd., Title Investments Limited, Tom Sherwin Insurance Agency, Total Reward Group, Total Rewards Group (Holdings) Limited, Towle Agency, Transwestern, Tri-State General Insurance Agency, Triad Insurance Agency, Triad USA, Tribeca Strategic Advisors, Trinder & Norwood, Trip Mate, Trissel Graham & Toole, Tropp & Co., Tudor Risk Services, Tyloma Holdings Limited, Uni-Care Inc., Unison Inc., Universico Group, Unoccupied Direct Limited, V2V Holdings LLC, VEBA Service Group, Vasek Insurance Services Limited, Velo ACU LLC, Velo Holdings Inc., Verbag AG., Vertrue LLC, Victory Insurance Agency, Vincent L. Braband Insurance, Vital Benefits, Voluntary Benefits Solutions, W. E. Kingsley Co. Inc., WM. W. George & Associates, Walker Taylor Agency, Welling Associates, Wesfarmers Insurance - Insurance Brokerage Operations, Western Benefit Solutions, White & Company Insurance, Whitehaven Insurance Group, William Gallagher Associates Insurance Brokers, William H. Connolly & Co., Williams Insurance Agency Inc., Williams-Manny Insurance Group, Winn & Company Insurance Brokers, Wischmeyer Benefit Partners, Woodbrook Underwriting Agencies, Woods & Grooms, WorkCare Northwest, Worksite Communications, Y. S. Liedman & Associates, YOA Capsicum Reinsurance Broker Limited, Zenor Limited, Zuber Insurance Agency, and e3 Financial. The following companies are subsidiares of UnitedHealth Group: 1031387 B.C. Unlimited Liability Company, 1070715 B.C. Unlimited Liability Company, 1st Avenue Pharmacy Inc., 310 Canyon Medical, 310 Canyon Medical LLC, 4C MSO LLC, 4C Medical Group PLC, 5995 Minnetonka LLC, ABCO International Holdings LLC, ACN Group IPA of New York, ACN Group IPA of New York Inc., ACN Group of California, ACN Group of California Inc., AHJV, AHJV MSO, AHN Accontable Care Organization LLC, AHN Central Services LLC, AHN Target Holdings LLC, AMIL International, AMIL International S.a.r.l., APS Assistencia Personalizada a Saude Ltda., ARC Infusion, ASC Holdings of New Jersey LLC, ASC Network LLC, ASI Global, ASI Global LLC, Access Administrators Inc., Access HealthSource Administrators Inc., Access HealthSource Inc., Access I.V., Administradora Clinica La Colina S.A.S., Administradora Country S.A., Administradora Medica Centromed S.A., Advanced Care, Advanced Care Pharmacy, Advanced Pharma Inc., Advanced Surgery Center of Clifton LLC, Advanced Surgical Hospital LLC, Advantage Care Network Inc., Advocate Condell Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Advocate Sherman Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Advocate Southwest Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Advocate-SCA Partners LLC, Alere Health, Alere Health Improvement Company, Alere Healthcare of Illinois, Alere Wellbeing, Alere Wellology, Alere of New York, Aliansalud Entidad Promotora de Salud S.A., All Savers Insurance Company, All Savers Life Insurance Company of California, Alliance Surgical Center LLC, Aloha Surgical Center LLC, Ambient Healthcare, Ambient Healthcare Inc., Ambient Healthcare of Central Florida, Ambient Healthcare of Georgia, Ambient Healthcare of Northeast Florida, Ambient Healthcare of S. Florida, Ambient Healthcare of West Florida, Ambient Holdings, Ambient Holdings Inc., Ambient Nursing Services, AmeriChoice, AmeriChoice Corporation, AmeriChoice Health Services, AmeriChoice of Connecticut, AmeriChoice of New Jersey, AmeriChoice of New Jersey Inc., American Health Network of Indiana Care Organization LLC, American Health Network of Indiana II LLC, American Health Network of Indiana LLC, American Health Network of Ohio Care Organization LLC, American Health Network of Ohio II LLC, American Health Network of Ohio LLC, Amico Saude Ltda., Amil, Amil Assistencia Medica Internacional S.A., Amil Lifesciences Participacoes Ltda., Antelope Valley Surgery Center L.P., Analisis Clinicos ML S.A.C., Apothecary Holdings Inc., Apothecary Shop of Phoenix Inc., AppleCare Medical Management, AppleCare Medical Management LLC, Aquitania Chilean Holding SpA, Arise Physician Group, Arizona Physicians IPA, Arizona Physicians IPA Inc., AssuranceRx, AssuranceRx LLC, Athens ASC Holdings LLC, Audax Health Solutions, Audax Health Solutions LLC, Austin Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., Avella Patient Access Program Inc., Avella Specialty Pharmacy, Avella of Austin Inc., Avella of Columbus Inc., Avella of Deer Valley Inc., Avella of Denver Inc., Avella of Gilbert Inc., Avella of Las Vegas II Inc., Avella of Orlando Inc., Avella of Phoenix III Inc., Avella of Sacramento Inc., Avella of Scottsdale Inc., Avella of St. Louis Inc., Avella of Tampa LLC, Avella of Tucson II Inc., Avella of Tucson Inc., Aveta Arizona, Aveta Health Solutions Inc., Aveta Inc., Aveta Kansas City, Aveta Tennessee, AxelaCare Health Solutions, AxelaCare Intermediate Holdings, AxelaCare Intermediate Holdings LLC, AxelaCare LLC, B.R.A.S.S. Partnership in Commendam, Banmedica Colombia SpA, Banmedica Internacional SpA, Banmedica S.A., Beach Surgical Holdings III LLC, Behavioral Healthcare Options, Behavioral Healthcare Options Inc., Belleville Surgical Center Ltd. an Illinois Limited Partnership, Benefit Administration for the Self Employed L.L.C., Benefitter Insurance Solutions Inc., Birmingham Outpatient Surgical Center LLC, Blackstone Valley Surgicare GP LLC, Blue Ridge GP LLC, Bordeaux (Barbados) Holdings I SRL, Bordeaux (Barbados) Holdings II SRL, Bordeaux (Barbados) Holdings III SRL, Bordeaux Holding SpA, Bordeaux International Holdings Inc., Bordeaux UK Holdings I Limited, Bordeaux UK Holdings II Limited, Bordeaux UK Holdings III Limited, Bosque Medical Center Ltda., Brandon Ambulatory Surgery Center LC, BriovaRx, BriovaRx, BriovaRx Infusion Services, BriovaRx Infusion Services 102 LLC, BriovaRx Infusion Services 200 Inc., BriovaRx Infusion Services 204 Inc., BriovaRx Infusion Services 209 Inc., BriovaRx Infusion Services 305 LLC, BriovaRx Infusion Services 402 LLC, BriovaRx Infusion Services Inc., BriovaRx Specialty LLC, BriovaRx of California, BriovaRx of California Inc., BriovaRx of Florida, BriovaRx of Florida Inc., BriovaRx of Georgia, BriovaRx of Georgia LLC, BriovaRx of Hawaii, BriovaRx of Indiana, BriovaRx of Louisiana, BriovaRx of Louisiana L.L.C., BriovaRx of Maine, BriovaRx of Maine Inc., BriovaRx of Massachusetts, BriovaRx of Massachusetts LLC, BriovaRx of Nevada, BriovaRx of New York, BriovaRx of New York Inc., BriovaRx of Texas, BriovaRx of Texas Inc., CDC Holdings Colombia S.A.S., CLISA Clinica de Santo Antonio S.A., CMO Centro Medico de Oftalmologia S/S Ltda., CMS Central de Manipulacao e Servicos Farmaceuticos S.A., CNIC Health Solutions Inc., COI Participacoes S.A., COI Clinicas Oncologicas Integradas S.A., Cabin Enterprises LLC, Cabin Holdings LLC, California MedTrans Network IPA LLC, California MedTrans Network MSO LLC, California Medical Group Insurance Company Risk Retention Group, Camp Hill-SCA Centers LLC, Capital City Medical Group L.L.C., Cardio Management, Cardio Management Inc., Care Improvement Plus Group Management, Care Improvement Plus Group Management LLC, Care Improvement Plus South Central Insurance Company, Care Improvement Plus Wisconsin Insurance Company, Care Improvement Plus of Texas Insurance Company, Casa de Saude Santa Therezinha Ltda., Casa de Saude Santa Therezinha S.A., Castle Rock SurgiCenter LLC, Catalyst360, Catalyst360 LLC, Catamaran Finance (Ireland) Unlimited Company, Catamaran Health Solutions, Catamaran Holdings I, Catamaran IPA III, Catamaran Mail, Catamaran PBM of Illinois II, Catamaran PBM of Puerto Rico, Catamaran PD of Pennsylvania, Catamaran PD of Puerto Rico, Catamaran Rebate Management, Catamaran S.a.r.l., Catamaran Senior Services, Catamaran of Pennsylvania, Cedar Park Surgery Center LLC, Cemed Care - Empressa de Atendimento Clinico Geral Ltda., Cemed Care Empresa de Atendimento Clinico Geral Ltda., Central Indiana Care Organization LLC, Central Ohio Care Organization LLC, Central de Compras SpA, CentriHealth Corporation, CentriHealth UK Limited, CentrifyHealth LLC, Centro Medico Hospitalar Pitangueiras Ltda., Centro Medico Odontologico Americano S.A.C., Centro Medico PJ Ltda., Centro de Entrenamiento en Reanimacion y Prevencion Limitada (CERP), Centro de Servicios Compartidos Banmedica S.A., Centromed Quilpue S.A., Centros Medicos y Dentales Multimed Ltda., Centurion Casualty Company, Channel Islands Surgicenter L.P., Channel Islands Surgicenter Properties LLC, Charleston Surgery Properties LLC, Charlotte-SC LLC, Childrens Surgery Center LLC, ChinaGate (Hong Kong) Limited, ChinaGate Company Limited, Citrus Regional Surgery Center L.P., Clinica Oftalmologica Danilo de Castro Sociedade Simples, Clinical Partners of Colorado Springs LLC, Clinica Alameda S.A., Clinica Bio Bio S.A., Clinica Ciudad del Mar S.A., Clinica Davila y Servicios Medicos S.A., Clinica Medico Cirurgica de Santa Tecla S.A., Clinica San Borja (La Esperanza del Peru S.A.), Clinica San Felipe S.A., Clinica Santa Maria S.A., Clinica Sanchez Ferrer S.A., Clinica Vespucio S.A., Clinica del Country S.A., Coachella Valley Physicians of PrimeCare, Coachella Valley Physicians of PrimeCare Inc., Coalition For Advanced Pharmacy Services, Coalition for Advanced Pharmacy Services Inc., Coastal Physicians Management Inc., Collaborative Care Holdings, Collaborative Care Holdings LLC, Collaborative Care Services, Collaborative Care Services Inc., Collaborative Care Solutions, Collaborative Realty, Collaborative Realty LLC, Colmedica Medicina Prepagada, Colonial Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Colorado Innovative Physician Solutions Inc., Colorado Springs Surgery Center Ltd., Comfort Care Transportation, Comfort Care Transportation LLC, Commonwealth Administrators, Connecticut Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Connecticut Surgery Properties LLC, Connecticut Surgical Center LLC, Connextions, Connextions HCI, Constructora e Inmobiliaria Magapoq S.A., Consumer Wellness Solutions Inc., Country Scan Ltda., Crescent Drug Corp., Cypress Care, Cypress Care Inc., DBP Services of New York IPA, DBP Services of New York IPA Inc., DTC Surgery Center LLC, DWIC of Tampa Bay, DWIC of Tampa Bay Inc., DaVita Magan Management Inc., Danbury Surgical Center L.P., Day-Op Surgery Consulting Company, Day-Op Surgery Consulting Company LLC, Definity Health, Dental Benefit Providers, Dental Benefit Providers Inc., Dental Benefit Providers of California, Dental Benefit Providers of California Inc., Dental Benefit Providers of Illinois, Dental Benefit Providers of Illinois Inc., Derry Surgical Center LLC, Diagnostico Ecotomografico Centromed Ltda., Diasnostico por Imagenes Centromed Ltda., Dilab Medicina Nuclear Ltda., Diplomat Pharmacy, Distance Learning Network, Distance Learning Network Inc., Doctor + S.A.C., Dry Creek Surgery Center LLC, Dublin Surgery Center LLC, Duncan Printing Services, Duncan Printing Services LLC, E Street Endoscopy LLC, ELG FZE, EP Campus I, EP Campus I LLC, East Brunswick Surgery Center LLC, Electronic Network Systems, Electronic Network Systems Inc., Elual Participacoes S.A., Empire Physician Management Company, Empire Physician Management Company LLC, Employers Health Choice PPO Inc., Empremedica S. A., Endoscopy Center Affiliates Inc., Enterprise Life Insurance Company, Equian, Equian LLC, Equian Parent Corp., Esho Empresa de Servicos Hospitalares S.A., Etho Empresa de Tecnologia Hospitalar Ltda., Evercare Collaborative Solutions, Evercare Collaborative Solutions Inc., Everett MSO Inc., Excellion Servicos Biomedicos Ltda., Excellion Servicos Biomedicos S.A., Excelsior Insurance Brokerage Inc., Executive Health Resources, Executive Health Resources Inc., Executive Surgery Center LLC, Eye Clinic Oftalmologia Clinico Cirurgica e Diagnostico Ltda., FMG Holdings, FMG Holdings LLC, FOR HEALTH OF ARIZONA, Family Health Care Services, Family Home Hospice, Family Home Hospice Inc., First Rx Specialty & Mail Services, Florida MedTrans Network LLC, Florida MedTrans Network MSO LLC, For Health, For Health Inc., For Health of Arizona Inc., Fortified Provider Network Inc., Fortify Technologies Asia LLC, Fortify Technologies LLC, Foundation Financial Services Inc., Franklin Surgical Center LLC, Freedom Life Insurance Company of America, Freeway Surgicenter of Houston LLC, Frontier MEDEX Limited, Frontier Medex Tanzania Limited, FrontierMEDEX, FrontierMEDEX (RMS), FrontierMEDEX (RMS) Inc., FrontierMEDEX Government Services, FrontierMEDEX Government Services LLC, FrontierMEDEX Inc., FrontierMEDEX Kenya Limited, FrontierMEDEX US, FrontierMEDEX US Inc., Fundacion Banmedica, GRANTS PASS SURGERY CENTER LLC, Gadsden Surgery Center LLC, Gadsden Surgery Center Ltd., Gainesville Surgery Center L.P., Gainesville Surgery Properties LLC, Genoa, Genoa Healthcare Inc., Genoa Healthcare LLC, Genoa QoL Wholesale LLC, Genoa Technology (Canada) Inc., Genoa Technology Inc., Genoa Telepsychiatry Inc., Genoa of Arkansas LLC, Glenwood Surgical Center L.P., Glenwood-SC Inc., Golden Outlook, Golden Outlook Inc., Golden Rule Financial Corporation, Golden Rule Insurance Company, Golden Triangle Surgicenter L.P., Grapevine Finance LLC, Greater Hartford ASC LLC, Grove Place Surgery Center L.L.C., Guardian Health Systems Limited Partnership, H&W Indemnity (SPC), H&W Indemnity (SPC) Ltd., H.I. Investments Holding Company LLC, HCP ACO California LLC, HCP ACO Nevada LLC, HCentive Technology India Private Limited, HMI NewCo LLC, Harken Health Insurance Company, Hayes-Strub LLC, Health Business Systems, Health Care-ONE Insurance Agency Inc., Health Inventures Employment Solutions LLC, Health Inventures LLC, Health Net Insurance of New York, Health Net Services (Bermuda) Ltd., Health Plan of Nevada, Health Plan of Nevada Inc., Health Technology Analysts Pty Limited, HealthAllies, HealthAllies Inc., HealthCare Partners ASC-LB LLC, HealthCare Partners Management Services California LLC, HealthCare Partners RE LLC, HealthFirst IPA Inc., HealthMarkets Group Inc., HealthMarkets Inc., HealthMarkets Insurance Agency Inc., HealthMarkets LLC, HealthMarkets NewCo Inc., HealthMarkets Services Inc., HealthSCOPE Holdings Inc., HealthScope Benefits Inc., Healthcare Partners Plan of Nevada Inc., Healthcare Solutions Inc., Heartland Heart and Vascular LLC, Help S.A., Help Service S.A., Highlands Ranch Healthcare, Highlands Ranch Healthcare LLC, Home Care I.V. of Bend, Home Infusion With Heart, Home Medical S.A., Hospice Inspiris Holdings, Hospice Inspiris Holdings Inc., Hospitais Associados de Pernambuco Ltda., Hospital Alvorada de Taguatinga Ltda., Hospital Ana Costa S.A., Hospital Maternidade Promater Ltda., Hospital Samaritano de Sao Paulo Ltda., Hospital Santa Helena S.A., Hospital de Clinicas de Jacarepagua Ltda., Humedica, Humedica Inc., Hygeia Corporation, Hygeia Corporation (Canada), Hygeia Corporation (DE), Hygeia Corporation (Ontario), INOV8 Surgical at Memorial City LLC, INSPIRIS of New York IPA, INSPIRIS of New York Management, INSPIRIS of New York Management Inc., INSPIRIS of Texas Physician Group, IRX Financing I LLC, Illinois Independent Care Network, Imed Star Servicos de Desempenho Organizacional Ltda., Impel Consulting Experts, Impel Consulting Experts L.L.C., Impel Management Services L.L.C., Indian River Surgery Center Ltd., Indian River Surgery Properties LLC, Indiana Care Organization LLC, Infusource, Ingram & Associates, Ingram & Associates LLC, Inmobiliaria Apoquindo 3001 S.A., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo 3600 Ltda., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo S.A., Inmobiliaria Clinica Santa Maria S.A., Inmobiliaria Vinamed Ltda., Inmobiliaria e Inversiones Alameda S.A., Inspiris, Inspiris Inc., Inspiris Services Company, Inspiris of Tennessee, Instituto do Radium de Cammpinas Ltda, International Psychological Services Pty Limited, Inversiones Clinicas Santa Maria S.A., Isapre Banmedica S.A., Isapre Vida Tres S.A., Johnston Surgicare L.P., Joliet Surgery Center Limited Partnership, LHI, Laboratorio ROE S.A., Laboratorios Medicos Amed Quilpue S.A., LifePrint Health, LifePrint Health Inc., LifeStyles Marketing Group Inc., LifeWell Ltd. Co., Lifeprint Accountable Care Organization, Lifeprint Accountable Care Organization LLC, Lifeprint East, Lifeprint East Inc., Logistics Health Inc., Lotten-Eyes Oftalmologia Clinica e Cirurgica Ltda., Louisville S.C. Ltd., Louisville-SC Properties Inc., Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center at Oakbrook Inc., Lusiadas - Parcerias Cascais S.A., Lusiadas A.C.E., Lusiadas S.A., Lusiadas SGPS S.A., MAMSI Insurance Resources, MAMSI Life and Health Insurance Company, MD Ops, MD Ops Inc., MD-Individual Practice Association, MD-Individual Practice Association Inc., ME AHS UC LLC, MEDEX Insurance Services, MEDEX Insurance Services Inc., MGH/SCA LLC, MHC Real Estate Holdings, MHC Real Estate Holdings LLC, MIAMI SURGERY CENTER LLC, MSLA Management LLC, MXMD Centros De Cancer, Mamoeco Mamografia e Ecografia Centro de Diagnostico, Managed Physical Network, Managed Physical Network Inc., March Holdings, March Holdings Inc., March Vision Care, March Vision Care Inc., Marin Surgery Holdings Inc., Maryland Ambulatory Centers, Maryland-SCA Centers LLC, Massachusetts Assurance Company Ltd. PIC, Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center LLC, Mat-Rx Development, Mat-Rx Fort Worth GP, MedExpress Development, MedExpress Development LLC, MedExpress Urgent Care Alabama LLC, MedExpress Urgent Care Inc. - Ohio, MedExpress Urgent Care Maine Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care New Hampshire Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care of Boynton Beach, MedExpress Urgent Care of Boynton Beach LLC, MedSynergies, MedSynergies LLC, MedSynergies North Texas, Medalliance Net Ltda, Medalliance Net Ltda., Medica Health Plans of Florida, Medica Health Plans of Florida Inc., Medica HealthCare Plans, Medica HealthCare Plans Inc., Medical Clinic of North Texas PLLC, Medical Hilfe S.A., Medical Preparatory School of Allied Health, Medical Support Los Angeles Inc., Medical Surgical Centers of America Inc., Medical Transportation Services, Medical Transportation Services LLC, Medication Management Systems Inc., Melbourne Surgery Center LLC, Memorial City Holdings LLC, Memorial City Partners LLC, Memphis-SC LLC, Memphis-SP LLC, Mesquite Liberty LLC, Metro I Stone Management, Metropolitan Medical Partners LLC, Metropolitan Medical Transportation IPA LLC, Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of Tennessee, Midwest Center for Day Surgery LLC, Mile High SurgiCenter LLC, Mississippi Surgery Holdings LLC, Mississippi Surgical Center Limited Partnership, Mobile Medical Professionals, Modern Medical Inc., Monarch Management Services, Monarch Management Services Inc., Montgomery Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Mountain View Medical Group LLC, Mt. Pleasant Surgery Center L.P., Multiangio Ltda., Muskogee Surgical Investors LLC, Mustang Razorback Holdings, Mustang Razorback Holdings Inc., My Wellness Solutions LLC, NAMM Holdings, NAMM Holdings Inc., NSC Fayetteville LLC, NSC Greensboro LLC, NSC Lancaster LLC, NSC Seattle Inc., NSC Upland LLC, Nashville-SCA Surgery Centers Inc., National Foundation Life Insurance Company, National MedTrans LLC, National Pacific Dental, National Pacific Dental Inc., National Surgery Centers LLC, Neighborhood Health Partnership, Neighborhood Health Partnership Inc., Netwerkes, Netwerkes LLC, Nevada Medical Services LLC, Nevada Pacific Dental, New Orleans Regional Physician Hospital Organization L.L.C., New West Physicians Inc., Newton Holdings LLC, North American Medical Management - Illinois, North American Medical Management California, North American Medical Management California Inc., North Puget Sound Center for Sleep Disorders LLC, North Puget Sound Oncology Equipment Leasing Company LLC, Northern Nevada Health Network, Northern Nevada Health Network Inc., Northern Rockies Surgicenter Inc., Northwest Surgicare LLC, Northwest Surgicare Ltd., Nutritional/Parenteral Home Care, Nutritional/Parenteral Home Care of Huntsville, OC Cardiology Practice Partners LLC, OSB Tecnologia e Servicos de Suporte Ltda., Omesa S.A., OmniClaim LLC, Oncocare S.A.C., OneNet PPO, OneNet PPO LLC, Optimum Choice, Optimum Choice Inc., Optum, Optum Bank, Optum Bank Inc., Optum Biometrics, Optum Biometrics Inc., Optum Care Inc., Optum Care Services Company, Optum Clinical Services, Optum Clinics Holdings, Optum Clinics Holdings Inc., Optum Clinics Intermediate Holdings, Optum Clinics Intermediate Holdings Inc., Optum Digital Health Holdings LLC, Optum Finance (Ireland) Unlimited Company, Optum Global Finance (Ireland) Unlimited Company, Optum Global Solutions (India) Private Limited, Optum Global Solutions (Philippines), Optum Global Solutions (Philippines) Inc., Optum Global Solutions International B.V., Optum Government Solutions, Optum Government Solutions Inc., Optum Growth Partners LLC, Optum Health & Technology (Australia) Pty Ltd, Optum Health & Technology (Hong Kong) Limited, Optum Health & Technology (India) Private Limited, Optum Health & Technology (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Optum Health & Technology (UK) Limited, Optum Health & Technology (US), Optum Health & Technology (US) LLC, Optum Health & Technology FZ-LLC, Optum Health & Technology Holdings (US), Optum Health & Technology Holdings (US) Inc., Optum Health & Technology Servicos do Brasil Ltda., Optum Health Services (Canada) Ltd., Optum Health Solutions (Australia) Pty Ltd, Optum Health Solutions (UK) Limited, Optum Health and Technology FZ-LLC, Optum Healthcare of Illinois, Optum Healthcare of Illinois Inc., Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services, Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services LLC, Optum Inc., Optum Infusion Services 100 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 101 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 103 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 201 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 202 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 203 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 205 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 206 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 207 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 208 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 301 LP, Optum Infusion Services 302 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 308 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 401 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 403 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 404 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 501 Inc., Optum Insurance of Ohio, Optum Insurance of Ohio Inc., Optum Labs, Optum Labs Dimensions, Optum Labs Dimensions Inc., Optum Labs Inc., Optum Labs International (UK) Ltd., Optum Life Sciences (Canada) Inc., Optum Management Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Optum Management Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Optum Networks of New Jersey Inc., Optum Nevada Accountable Care Organization LLC, Optum Operations (Ireland) Unlimited Company, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care Inc., Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Pennsylvania, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Pennsylvania Inc., Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Texas, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Texas Inc., Optum Perks LLC, Optum Pharmacy 701 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 702 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 703 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 705 LLC, Optum Public Sector Solutions, Optum Public Sector Solutions Inc., Optum Rocket, Optum Rocket Inc., Optum Senior Services LLC, Optum Services, Optum Services (Ireland) Limited, Optum Services (Puerto Rico) LLC, Optum Services Inc., Optum Solutions UK Holdings Limited, Optum Solutions do Brasil Tecnologia e Servicos de Suporte Ltda., Optum Technology, Optum Technology LLC, Optum UK Solutions Group Limited, Optum Women's and Children's Health, Optum Women's and Children's Health LLC, Optum of New York Inc., Optum360, Optum360 LLC, Optum360 Services, Optum360 Services Inc., Optum360 Solutions LLC, OptumCare ACO Florida LLC, OptumCare ACO Holdings LLC, OptumCare ACO New Mexico LLC, OptumCare Clinical Trials LLC, OptumCare Colorado ASC LLC, OptumCare Colorado LLC, OptumCare Colorado Springs LLC, OptumCare Endoscopy Center New Mexico LLC, OptumCare Florida CI LLC, OptumCare Florida LLC, OptumCare Health Plan of California Inc., OptumCare Holdings Colorado LLC, OptumCare Holdings LLC, OptumCare Holdings New Mexico LLC, OptumCare Management LLC, OptumCare New Mexico LLC, OptumCare New York IPA Inc., OptumCare South Florida LLC, OptumHealth Care Solutions, OptumHealth Care Solutions LLC, OptumHealth Financial Services, OptumHealth Financial Services Inc., OptumHealth Holdings, OptumHealth Holdings LLC, OptumHealth International B.V., OptumInsight, OptumInsight Holdings, OptumInsight Holdings LLC, OptumInsight Inc., OptumInsight India Private Limited, OptumInsight Life Sciences, OptumInsight Life Sciences Inc., OptumRx, OptumRx Administrative Services, OptumRx Administrative Services LLC, OptumRx Discount Card Services, OptumRx Discount Card Services LLC, OptumRx Group Holdings, OptumRx Group Holdings Inc., OptumRx Health Solutions LLC, OptumRx Holdings, OptumRx Holdings I LLC, OptumRx Holdings LLC, OptumRx Home Delivery of Illinois, OptumRx Home Delivery of Ohio, OptumRx Home Delivery of Ohio LLC, OptumRx IPA III Inc., OptumRx Inc., OptumRx NY IPA, OptumRx NY IPA Inc., OptumRx PBM of Illinois, OptumRx PBM of Illinois Inc., OptumRx PBM of Maryland, OptumRx PBM of Maryland LLC, OptumRx PBM of Pennsylvania, OptumRx PBM of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumRx PBM of Puerto Rico LLC, OptumRx PBM of Wisconsin, OptumRx PBM of Wisconsin LLC, OptumRx PD of Maryland, OptumRx PD of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumRx Pharmacy, OptumRx Pharmacy Inc., OptumRx Pharmacy of Nevada, OptumRx Pharmacy of Nevada Inc., OptumRx of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumServe Technology Services Inc., Orlando Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., OrthoNet Holdings, OrthoNet Holdings Inc., OrthoNet LLC, OrthoNet New York IPA, OrthoNet New York IPA Inc., OrthoNet Services, OrthoNet Services Inc., OrthoNet West, OrthoNet West Inc., OrthoNet of the Mid-Atlantic, OrthoNet of the South, OrthoNet of the South Inc., Ovations, Ovations Inc., Oxford Benefit Management, Oxford Benefit Management Inc., Oxford Health Insurance, Oxford Health Insurance Inc., Oxford Health Plans (CT), Oxford Health Plans (CT) Inc., Oxford Health Plans (NJ), Oxford Health Plans (NJ) Inc., Oxford Health Plans (NY), Oxford Health Plans (NY) Inc., Oxford Health Plans LLC, P2 Lower Acquisition, P2P Link LLC, PCCCV, PCCCV Inc., PCN DE Corp., PHC Subsidiary Holdings, PHC Subsidiary Holdings LLC, PHYS Holding Corp., PHYSICIANS DAY SURGERY CENTER LLC, PMI Acquisition, PMI Acquisition LLC, PMSI, PMSI Holdco II, PMSI Holdings, PMSI Holdings LLC, PMSI LLC, PMSI Settlement Solutions, PMSI Settlement Solutions LLC, POMCO Inc., POMCO Network Inc., PPH Holdings LLC, PacifiCare Health Systems, PacifiCare Life Assurance Company, PacifiCare Life and Health Insurance Company, PacifiCare of Arizona, PacifiCare of Arizona Inc., PacifiCare of Colorado, PacifiCare of Colorado Inc., PacifiCare of Nevada, PacifiCare of Nevada Inc., Pacific Casualty Company Inc., Pacifico S.A. Entidad Prestadora de Salud, Paoli Ambulatory Surgery Center, Paoli Surgery Center L.P., Parkway Surgery Center LLC, Pasteur Plaza Surgery Center GP Inc., PatientsLikeMe, PatientsLikeMe LLC, Patrimonio Autonomo Nueva Clinica - PANC., Payment Resolution Services, Payment Resolution Services LLC, Peoples Health, Peoples Health Inc., Pharmaceutical Care Network, Pharmacy Review Services, Pharmacy Software Holdco Inc., PhyServe Holdings, Physician Alliance of the Rockies LLC, Physician Care Partners, Physicians Health Choice of Texas, Physicians Health Choice of Texas LLC, Physicians Health Plan of Maryland, Physicians Health Plan of Maryland Inc., Physicians Plaza Holdings LLC, Plano de Saude Ana Costa Ltda., Plus One Health Management Puerto Rico, Plus One Health Management Puerto Rico Inc., Plus One Holdings, Plus One Holdings Inc., Polar II Fundo de Investimento em Participacoes, Polar II Fundo de Investimento em Participacoes Multiestrategia, Polo Holdco, Polo Holdco LLC, Pomerado Outpatient Surgical Center Inc., Pomerado Outpatient Surgical Center L.P., Precision Dialing Services Inc., Preferred Care Partners, Preferred Care Partners Holding, Preferred Care Partners Holding Corp., Preferred Care Partners Inc., Preferred Care Partners Medical Group, Preferred Care Partners Medical Group Inc., Premier Choice ACO, Premier Choice ACO Inc., Premier Surgery Center of Louisville L.P., Prime Health, Prime Health Inc., PrimeCare Medical Network, PrimeCare Medical Network Inc., PrimeCare of Citrus Valley, PrimeCare of Citrus Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Corona, PrimeCare of Corona Inc., PrimeCare of Hemet Valley, PrimeCare of Hemet Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Inland Valley, PrimeCare of Inland Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Moreno Valley, PrimeCare of Moreno Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Redlands, PrimeCare of Redlands Inc., PrimeCare of Riverside, PrimeCare of Riverside Inc., PrimeCare of San Bernardino, PrimeCare of San Bernardino Inc., PrimeCare of Sun City, PrimeCare of Sun City Inc., PrimeCare of Temecula, PrimeCare of Temecula Inc., ProHEALTH Fitness of Lake Success, ProHEALTH Fitness of Lake Success LLC, ProHEALTH Medical Management LLC, ProHealth Medical Management, ProHealth Physicians, ProHealth Physicians ACO, ProHealth Physicians ACO LLC, ProHealth Physicians Inc., ProHealth Proton Center Management, ProHealth Proton Center Management LLC, Procura Management, Procura Management Inc., Progressive Enterprises Holdings, Progressive Enterprises Holdings Inc., Progressive Medical, Progressive Medical LLC, Progressive Solutions, Promotora Country S.A., Pronetics Health Care Group, Pronounced Health Solutions Inc., Prosemedic S.A.C., Prospero Management Services LLC, Pueblo-SCA Surgery Center LLC, Pulse Platform LLC, QoL Acquisition Holdings Corp., Quality Software Services, QuarterMaster Newco LLC, R&H Family Fitness Unlimited LLC, Rally Health, Rally Health Inc., Real Appeal Inc., Recaudacion y Cobranzas Honodav Ltda., Redlands Ambulatory Surgery Center, Redlands-SCA Surgery Centers Inc., Reliant MSO LLC, Research Surgical Center LLC, River Valley ASC LLC, Riverside Electronic Healthcare Resources Inc., Riverside Medical Management, Riverside Medical Management LLC, Riverside Surgical Center of Meadowlands LLC, Riverside Surgical Center of Newark LLC, Rocky Mountain Health Maintenance Organization Incorporated, Rocky Mountain HealthCare Options Inc., SC Affiliates LLC, SCA Alaska Surgery Center inc., SCA Athens LLC, SCA Austin Holdings LLC, SCA BOSC Holdings LLC, SCA California Surgical Holdings LLC, SCA Capital LLC, SCA Cedar Park Holdings LLC, SCA Clifton LLC, SCA Danbury Surgical Center LLC, SCA Development LLC, SCA EHSC Holdings LLC, SCA EWASC Holdings LLC, SCA Hays Holdings LLC, SCA Heartland Holdings LLC, SCA HoldCo Inc., SCA Holding Company Inc., SCA Holdings Inc., SCA IEC Holdings LLC, SCA Indiana Holdings LLC, SCA Nashville ASC LLC, SCA Pacific Holdings Inc., SCA Pennsylvania Holdings LLC, SCA Premier Surgery Center of Louisville LLC, SCA ROCS Holdings LLC, SCA Rockledge JV LLC, SCA SSC Holdings LLC, SCA SSSC Holdings LLC, SCA Sage Medical LLC, SCA Sage Medical MSO LLC, SCA Southwestern PA LLC, SCA Specialists of Florida LLC, SCA Stonegate Holdings LLC, SCA Surgery Center of Cullman LLC, SCA Surgery Holdings LLC, SCA Surgery Partners LLC, SCA Surgicare of Laguna Hills LLC, SCA Teammate Support Network, SCA eCode Solutions Private Limited, SCA of Clarksville Inc., SCA-Albuquerque Surgery Properties Inc., SCA-Alliance LLC, SCA-Anne Arundel LLC, SCA-Applecare Partners LLC, SCA-Bethesda LLC, SCA-Blue Ridge LLC, SCA-Bonita Springs LLC, SCA-Brandon LLC, SCA-Castle Rock LLC, SCA-Central Florida LLC, SCA-Charleston LLC, SCA-Chatham LLC, SCA-Chevy Chase LLC, SCA-Citrus Inc., SCA-Colorado Springs LLC, SCA-Connecticut Partners LLC, SCA-DRY CREEK LLC, SCA-Davenport LLC, SCA-Denver LLC, SCA-Denver Physicians Holdings LLC, SCA-Derry LLC, SCA-Doral LLC, SCA-Downey LLC, SCA-Dublin LLC, SCA-Encinitas Inc., SCA-Eugene Inc., SCA-First Coast LLC, SCA-Florence LLC, SCA-Fort Collins Inc., SCA-Fort Walton Inc., SCA-Franklin LLC, SCA-Frederick LLC, SCA-Freeway Holdings LLC, SCA-Ft. Myers LLC, SCA-GRANTS PASS LLC, SCA-Gainesville LLC, SCA-Gladiolus LLC, SCA-Grove Place LLC, SCA-Hagerstown LLC, SCA-Hamden LLC, SCA-Hilton Head LLC, SCA-Honolulu LLC, SCA-Houston Executive LLC, SCA-IT Holdings LLC, SCA-Illinois LLC, SCA-JPM Holdings LLC, SCA-Kissing Camels Holdings LLC, SCA-MC VBP Inc., SCA-Main Street LLC, SCA-Marina del Rey LLC, SCA-Mecklenburg Development Corp., SCA-Memorial City LLC, SCA-Merritt LLC, SCA-Midlands LLC, SCA-Midway Management LLC, SCA-Mobile LLC, SCA-Mokena LLC, SCA-Mokena Properties LLC, SCA-Morris County LLC, SCA-Mt. Pleasant LLC, SCA-ND VBP Inc., SCA-Naperville LLC, SCA-Naples LLC, SCA-New Jersey LLC, SCA-Newport Beach LLC, SCA-Northeast Georgia Health LLC, SCA-PORTLAND LLC, SCA-Palm Beach LLC, SCA-Palm Beach MSO Holdings LLC, SCA-Paoli LLC, SCA-Phoenix LLC, SCA-Pocono LLC, SCA-Practice Partners Holdings LLC, SCA-River Valley LLC, SCA-Riverside LLC, SCA-Riverside Partners LLC, SCA-Rockville LLC, SCA-Sacred Heart Holdings LLC, SCA-San Diego Inc., SCA-San Luis Obispo LLC, SCA-Sand Lake LLC, SCA-Santa Rosa Inc., SCA-Shelby Development Corp., SCA-Somerset LLC, SCA-South Jersey LLC, SCA-Sparta LLC, SCA-Spartanburg Holdings LLC, SCA-St. Louis LLC, SCA-St. Lucie LLC, SCA-SurgiCare LLC, SCA-Swiftpath LLC, SCA-VERTA LLC, SCA-Wake Forest LLC, SCA-Western Connecticut LLC, SCA-Westover Hills LLC, SCA-Wilmington LLC, SCA-Wilson LLC, SCA-Winchester LLC, SCA-Winter Park Inc., SCA-Woodlands Holdings LLC, SCAI Holdings LLC, SCP Specialty Infusion, SCP Specialty Infusion LLC, SHC Atlanta LLC, SHC Austin Inc., SHC Hawthorn Inc., SHC Melbourne Inc., SPINETRACK 20/20 Inc., SRPS LLC, SXC Comet, Sacred Heart ASC LLC, Saden S.A., Salem Surgery Center LLC, Salveo Specialty Pharmacy, Salveo Specialty Pharmacy Inc., Sand Lake SurgiCenter LLC, Santa Cruz Endoscopy Center LLC, Santa Helena Assistencia Medica S.A., Santos Administracao e Participacoes S.A., Savvysherpa Administrative Services LLC, Savvysherpa Asia Inc., Savvysherpa LLC, Scanner Centromed S.A., ScripNet, ScriptSwitch Limited, Seisa Servicos Integrados de Saude Ltda., Senate Street Surgery Center LLC, Senior Benefits L.L.C., Senior Care Partners, Serquinox Holdings LLC, Serquinox LLC, Servicios Integrados de Salud Ltda., Servicios Medicos Amed Quilpue S.A., Servicios Medicos Bio Bio Limitada, Servicios Medicos Ciudad del Mar Ltda., Servicios Medicos Santa Maria Limitada, Servicios Medicos Vespucio Ltda., Servicios de Entrenamiento en Competencias Clinicas Ltda., SharedClarity LLC, Shelby Surgery Properties Inc., Sierra Health Services, Sierra Health Services Inc, Sierra Health Services Inc., Sierra Health and Life Insurance Company, Sierra Health and Life Insurance Company Inc., Sierra Health-Care Options, Sierra Health-Care Options Inc., Sierra Home Medical Products, Sierra Home Medical Products Inc., Sierra Nevada Administrators, Sierra Nevada Administrators Inc., Sirona Infusion, Sistema de Administracion Hospitalaria S.A.C., Small Business Insurance Advisors Inc., Sobam Centro Medico Hospitalar S.A., Sociedad Editorial para la Ciencia Limitada., Sociedad de Inversiones Santa Maria S.A., Somerset Outpatient Surgery L.L.C., Southwest Medical Associates, Southwest Medical Associates Inc., Southwest Michigan Health Network Inc., Southwest Surgery Center LLC, Southwest Surgical Center of Bakersfield L.P., Space Coast Surgical Center Ltd., Specialists in Urology Surgery Center LLC, Specialized Pharmaceuticals Inc., Specialty Benefits, Specialty Benefits LLC, Spectera, Spectera Inc., Spectera of New York IPA, Spectera of New York IPA Inc., Spotlite, Spotlite Inc., St. Cloud Surgical Center LLC, StoneRiver P2P Link, StoneRiver Pharmacy Solutions, Stonegate Surgery Center L.P., Streamlines Health LLC, Summit Home Infusion, SunSurgery LLC, Surgery Center Holding LLC, Surgery Center at Cherry Creek LLC, Surgery Center at Kissing Camels LLC, Surgery Center of Boca Raton Inc., Surgery Center of Clarksville L.P., Surgery Center of Colorado Springs LLC, Surgery Center of Des Moines LLC, Surgery Center of Easton LLC, Surgery Center of Ellicott City Inc., Surgery Center of Louisville LLC, Surgery Center of Maui LLC, Surgery Center of Muskogee LLC, Surgery Center of Rockville L.L.C., Surgery Center of Southern Pines LLC, Surgery Center of Spokane LLC, Surgery Center of Summerlin LLC, Surgery Center of The Woodlands LLC, Surgery Center of Vero Beach Inc., Surgery Center of Wilmington LLC, Surgery Center of Wilmington Properties LLC, Surgery Centers of Des Moines Ltd. an Iowa Limited Partnership, Surgery Centers-West Holdings LLC, Surgical Care Affiliates, Surgical Care Affiliates LLC, Surgical Care Affiliates Political Action Committee, Surgical Care Partners of Melbourne LLC, Surgical Center of South Jersey Limited Partnership, Surgical Center of Tuscaloosa Holdings LLC, Surgical Health LLC, Surgical Health of Orlando LLC, Surgical Hospital Holdings of Oklahoma LLC, Surgicare LLC, Surgicare of Belleville LLC, Surgicare of Jackson LLC, Surgicare of Joliet Inc., Surgicare of La Veta Inc., Surgicare of Minneapolis LLC, Surgicare of Mobile LLC, Surgicare of Oceanside Inc., Surgicare of Owensboro LLC, Surgicare of Salem LLC, Surgicenters of Southern California Inc., Symphonix Health Holdings, Symphonix Health Holdings LLC, Symphonix Health Insurance, Symphonix Health Insurance Inc., THE SURGICAL CENTER OF THE TREASURE COAST L.L.C., TeamMD Holdings Inc., TeamMD Iowa Inc., TeamMD Physicians of Texas Inc., TeamUP Insurance Services Inc., Tecnologias de Informacion en Salud S.A., The Advisory Board (Chile) SpA, The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company, The Lewin Group, The Lewin Group Inc., The Magan Medical Group, The Outpatient Surgery Center of Hilton Head LLC, The Polyclinic MSO LLC, Thomas Johnson Surgery Center LLC, Thousand Oaks Endoscopy Center LLC, Three Rivers Holdings, Three Rivers Holdings Inc., Three Rivers Surgical Care L.P., Tmesys, Tmesys LLC, Topimagem Diagnostico por Imagem Ltda., Touchpoint Health Plan, Trails Edge Surgery Center LLC, Travel Express Incorporated, TriMed LLC, Trinity Infusion, Trio Motion LLC, Tucson Arizona Surgical Center LLC, U.S. Behavioral Health Plan, U.S. Behavioral Health Plan California, UHC Finance (Ireland) Unlimited Company, UHC Global Health Services BC Ltd., UHC International Services, UHC International Services Inc., UHC of California, UHCG Holdings (Ireland) Limited, UHCG Services (Ireland) Limited, UHCG FZE, UHG Brasil Participacoes S.A., UHIC Holdings, UHIC Holdings Inc., UICI Funding Corp. 2, UMR, UMR Inc., USHEALTH Academy Inc., USHEALTH Administrators LLC, USHEALTH Advisors L.L.C., USHEALTH Career Agency Inc., USHEALTH Funding Inc., USHEALTH Group Inc., USMD Administrative Services, USMD Administrative Services L.L.C., USMD Affiliated Services, USMD CT (Mo), USMD Cancer Treatment Centers, USMD Cancer Treatment Centers GP, USMD Diagnostic Services, USMD Holdings, USMD Holdings Inc., USMD Inc., USMD PPM, USMD PPM LLC, USMD of Arlington GP, Ultima Rx, Unidad Medica Diagnostico S.A., Unimerica Insurance Company, Unimerica Life Insurance Company of New York, Unison Administrative Services, Unison Health Plan of Delaware, Unison Health Plan of Delaware Inc., United Behavioral Health, United Behavioral Health of New York I.P.A., United Behavioral Health of New York I.P.A. Inc., United Group Reinsurance Inc., United Health Foundation, United HealthCare, United HealthCare Services Inc., United Management Services Inc., United Resource Networks IPA of New York, United Resource Networks IPA of New York Inc., UnitedHealth Advisors, UnitedHealth Advisors LLC, UnitedHealth Group Finance Inc., UnitedHealth Group Global Healthcare Services Limited, UnitedHealth Group Global Services, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, UnitedHealth Group Information Services Private Limited, UnitedHealth Group International Finance (Ireland) Unlimited Company, UnitedHealth Group International GP, UnitedHealth Group International L.P., UnitedHealth International, UnitedHealth International Inc., UnitedHealth Military & Veterans Services, UnitedHealth Military & Veterans Services LLC, UnitedHealth UK Limited, UnitedHealthcare, UnitedHealthcare Benefits Plan of California, UnitedHealthcare Benefits of Texas, UnitedHealthcare Benefits of Texas Inc., UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of California, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of California Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Georgia, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Georgia Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Ohio, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Ohio Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas L.L.C., UnitedHealthcare Consulting & Assistance Service (Beijing) Co., UnitedHealthcare Consulting & Assistance Service (Beijing) Co. Ltd., UnitedHealthcare Europe S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare Europe S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare Global Canada Limited, UnitedHealthcare Global Medical (UK) Limited, UnitedHealthcare Inc., UnitedHealthcare India Private Limited, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of Illinois, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of the River Valley, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Designated Activity Company, UnitedHealthcare Integrated Services, UnitedHealthcare Integrated Services Inc., UnitedHealthcare International Asia, UnitedHealthcare International Asia LLC, UnitedHealthcare International I B.V., UnitedHealthcare International I S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare International II B.V., UnitedHealthcare International II S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International II S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare International III B.V., UnitedHealthcare International III S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International III S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare International IV S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International IV S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare International V S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VI S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VII S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VIII S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International X S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance Company, UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley, UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley Inc., UnitedHealthcare Service LLC, UnitedHealthcare Services Company of the River Valley, UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits, UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits LLC, UnitedHealthcare of Alabama, UnitedHealthcare of Alabama Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Arizona, UnitedHealthcare of Arizona Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Arkansas, UnitedHealthcare of Arkansas Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Colorado, UnitedHealthcare of Colorado Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Florida, UnitedHealthcare of Florida Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Georgia, UnitedHealthcare of Georgia Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Illinois, UnitedHealthcare of Illinois Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Kentucky, UnitedHealthcare of Kentucky Ltd., UnitedHealthcare of Louisiana, UnitedHealthcare of Louisiana Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi, UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New England, UnitedHealthcare of New England Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New Mexico, UnitedHealthcare of New Mexico Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New York, UnitedHealthcare of New York Inc., UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina, UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Ohio, UnitedHealthcare of Ohio Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Oklahoma, UnitedHealthcare of Oklahoma Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Oregon, UnitedHealthcare of Oregon Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Pennsylvania, UnitedHealthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., UnitedHealthcare of South Carolina Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Texas, UnitedHealthcare of Texas Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Utah, UnitedHealthcare of Utah Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Washington, UnitedHealthcare of Washington Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin, UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic, UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Midlands, UnitedHealthcare of the Midlands Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Midwest, UnitedHealthcare of the Midwest Inc., UpFront Insurance Agency LLC, Upland Holdings LLC, Upland Outpatient Surgical Center L.P., Urgent Care Holdings, Urgent Care Holdings Inc., Urgent Care MSO, Urgent Care MSO LLC, Urology Associates of North Texas, Urology Associates of North Texas P.L.L.C., VERTA MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC, Valley Hospital L.L.C., Valley Physicians Network, Valley Physicians Network Inc., Vida Tres Internacional S.A., Vidaintegra S.A., Vivify Health Canada Inc., Vivify Health Inc., WESTMED Practice Partners LLC, Wauwatosa Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Wauwatosa Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Wayland Square Surgicare Acquisition L.P., Wayland Square Surgicare GP Inc., WebInsure Benefits LLC, WellMed Medical Management, WellMed Medical Management Inc., WellMed Medical Management of Florida, WellMed Medical Management of Florida Inc., WellMed Networks DFW, West Coast Endoscopy Holdings LLC, Western Connecticut Orthopedic Surgical Center LLC, WillowB Labs LLC, Wilmington ASC LLC, Winchester Endoscopy LLC, Winter Park LLC, XLHealth Corporation, XLHealth Corporation India Private Limited, Your Health Options Insurance Services, Your Health Options Insurance Services Inc., Your Partner in Health Services, divvyDOSE, eCode Solutions LLC, gethealthinsurance.com Agency Inc., hCentive Inc., inPharmative, inPharmative Inc., and ppoONE. Better Than Meme Stocks? (5 Secrets Revealed) (Ad) Retail traders have poured $1.27 BILLION into meme stocks in just two weeks... Some have made a killing... but most are getting wiped out. Trading legend Bryan Bottarelli just revealed five secrets to make consistent money in the market. Click Here to Claim Your Copy (No Credit Card Required... Limited Time Only) Picking the right investment of the decade can transform your life Microsoft in the 80sAmazon in the 90sApple in the 2000sBitcoin in 2016... Any one of these could have made you a millionaire many times over. Today, the Wall Street legend who picked the last investment of the decade Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. The company is involved in oil and gas refining, marketing, and bulk selling activities. It produces conventional, premium, and reformulated gasolines; gasoline meeting the specifications of the California Air Resources Board (CARB); diesel fuels, low-sulfur and ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuels; CARB diesel; other distillates; jet fuels; blendstocks; lube oils and natural gas liquids; and asphalts, petrochemicals, lubricants, and other refined petroleum products. As of December 31, 2020, the company owned 15 petroleum refineries with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.2 million barrels per day. It sells its refined products through wholesale rack and bulk markets; and through approximately 7,000 outlets under the Valero, Beacon, Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock, Ultramar, and Texaco brands. The company also produces and sells ethanol, dry distiller grains, syrup, and inedible corn oil primarily to refiners and gasoline blenders, as well as to animal feed customers. It owns and operates 13 ethanol plants with a combined ethanol production capacity of approximately 1.69 billion gallons per year. In addition, the company owns and operates crude oil and refined petroleum products pipelines, terminals, tanks, marine docks, truck rack bays, and other logistics assets. Further, it owns and operates a plant that processes animal fats, used cooking oils, and other vegetable oils into renewable diesel. The company was formerly known as Valero Refining and Marketing Company and changed its name to Valero Energy Corporation in August 1997. Valero Energy Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Read More Since 2016, Teeka Tiwari has trumped the stock market. His investment recommendations have each averaged 281%. Thats 17 times the S&P. And 112 times the average investor, according to JPMorgan! However, one investment Teeka just uncovered could top them all It involves former President Biden, billions of dollars, several large banks, and a super-rich family. As well as a MAJOR potential upgrade to our credit cards. Teeka, who ended up correctly picking the last investment of the decade, is declaring this his top pick for the 2020s. National Bank Holdings Corporation operates as the bank holding company for NBH Bank that provides various banking products and financial services to commercial, business, and consumer clients in the United States. It offers deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts, including fixed-rate and fixed maturity time deposits. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans and leases, such as working capital loans, equipment loans, lender finance loans, food and agriculture loans, government and non-profit loans, owner occupied commercial real estate loans, and other commercial loans and leases; non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans consisting of loans on commercial properties, such as office buildings, warehouse/distribution buildings, multi-family, hospitality, and retail buildings; small business administration loans to support manufacturers, distributors, and service providers; term loans, line of credits, and real estate secured loans; residential real estate loans; and consumer loans. In addition, it offers treasury management solutions comprising online and mobile banking, commercial credit card, wire transfer, automated clearing house, electronic bill payment, lock box, remote deposit capture, merchant processing, cash vault, controlled disbursements, and fraud prevention services, as well as other auxiliary services, including account reconciliation, collections, repurchase accounts, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts. As of February 24, 2021, the company operated through a network of 89 banking centers located in Colorado, the greater Kansas City region, New Mexico, Utah, and Texas. It also operates 128 ATMs. The company was formerly known as NBH Holdings Corp. and changed its name to National Bank Holdings Corporation in March 2012. National Bank Holdings Corporation was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Read More Finance PhD: Move your money BEFORE June 30th (Ad) The clock just started on the biggest financial event in 20 years. And the next months could decide your wealth in 2021. Heres what to do now. Since 2016, Teeka Tiwari has trumped the stock market. His investment recommendations have each averaged 281%. Thats 17 times the S&P. And 112 times the average investor, according to JPMorgan! However, one investment Teeka just uncovered could top them all It involves former President Biden, billions of dollars, several large banks, and a super-rich family. As well as a MAJOR potential upgrade to our credit cards. Teeka, who ended up correctly picking the last investment of the decade, is declaring this his top pick for the 2020s. GoDaddy Inc. engages in the design and development of cloud-based technology products in the United States and internationally. The company provides domain name registration product that enables to engage customers at the initial stage of establishing a digital identity. It also offers shared Website hosting products that provide various applications and products such as web analytics, SSL certificates, and WordPress; Website hosting on virtual private servers and virtual dedicated servers products, which allows customers to select the server configuration suited for their applications, requirements, and growth; managed hosting products to set up, monitor, maintain, secure, and patch software and servers for customers; and security products, a suite of tools designed to help secure customers' online presence. In addition, the company provides presence products, such as Websites + Marketing, a do-it-yourself mobile-optimized online tool that enables customers to build websites and e-commerce enabled online stores; online appointments and store capabilities that allows customers to transact business directly on their websites; and a range of marketing tools and services designed to help businesses acquire and engage customers, and create content, as well as search engine optimization that helps customers get their websites found on search sites; and social media management services. Further, it offers business application products, such as Microsoft Office 365, email accounts, email marketing, and Internet-based telephony services. The company serves small businesses, individuals, organizations, developers, designers, and domain investors. GoDaddy Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Read More 5 Ways to Win at Trading (Ad) More people are trading options... But most are doing it wrong... and LOSING money. Former Chicago Board Options Exchange trader reveals five secrets you MUST know before putting a penny in the market... Get the list of all five now. It is time to wander to Ukraine. I have my new passport and now I need to take both, the old one with a visa and the new one, to the Russian consulate in Ukraine. It will be as always interesting to cross the border, since I get to see how Ukraine treats people as they travel. Last time it was really atrocious I hope Kiev has gotten a bit of common sense back, but I seriously doubt it.not with elections coming up. It should be interesting to see the Yulia supporters running around. I have been there and seen that Got my train tickets: Yes, I 90% of the time travel by train. Yes, it confuses Russians as much as Americans. But it really is the best way to travel around Russia and you get to see real Russian society and that is cool to say the least (Remember I say, Moscow is not Russia. and I know) Therefore, March 2nd, 2019 I take off from Moscow and get to go play in Kiev, Ukraine I get to retire one more passport full of stamps for a dozen countries. A old passport (If you use it!) is history for its owner. Dont use it? Then you have history of being stuck in the mud, as they say. Mine is nice and full. If I did not have to renew my passport, I would have had to get more pages put in it I realized today that I have four passports now as history of my travels It has been a warm winter. Okay, it is by Russian standards. About every ten years we have a warm winter here. Okay, I know, the snow is flying today, it is -12 below and the wind is whipping the snot out of everyone and mothers have ropes tied to their kids and fly them like a kite to school And it is Spring Timereally it is Thought you would find this interesting.Frozen Putin Putin is a traditional leader and he does a good job to honor the traditions of Russia which is a great country Trump is correct many times, yet he is also a typical ignorant American: But now you know how far behind the US is in normal technology world wide and you understand that we have been trying to stifle the competition by illegal means (Par Huawei, ex) I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind. There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 21 2019 . Now for the continuation of the above .something that is so obviously the future. I want the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies. We must always be the leader in everything we do, especially when it comes to the very exciting world of technology! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 21 2019 . The USA should have been doing just that 50 years ago. Instead of taking the quick buck and running amuck. That is what happens when you spend all your time playing war games and not working on investing inside the country Sad really My thought: Now the USA will have to copy steal Chinese tech to get caught up! Will we badmouth ourselves for doing just that? Trump really is between a rock and a hard place, but that is American politics and that sucks. Trump either cleans out the scum and or becomes the scum also. Looks like scum is winning WtR Dril-Quip, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, sells, and services engineered drilling and production equipment for use in deepwater, harsh environment, and severe service applications worldwide. The company's principal products include subsea and surface wellheads, subsea and surface production trees, mudline hanger systems, specialty connectors and associated pipes, drilling and production riser systems, liner hangers, wellhead connectors, diverters, and safety valves, as well as downhole tools. It also provides technical advisory services, and rework and reconditioning services, as well as rental and purchase of running tools for use in the installation and retrieval of its products; and downhole tools comprise of liner hangers, production packers, safety valves, and specialty downhole tools that are used to hang-off and seal casing into a previously installed casing string in the well bore. The company's products are used to explore for oil and gas from offshore drilling rigs, such as floating rigs and jack-up rigs; and for drilling and production of oil and gas wells on offshore platforms, tension leg platforms, and Spars, as well as moored vessels, such as floating production, storage, and offloading monohull moored vessels. It sells its products directly through its sales personnel, independent sales agents, and representatives to integrated, independent, and foreign national oil and gas companies, as well as drilling contractors, and engineering and construction companies. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Read More Wall Street Legend Who Picked Bitcoin in 2016 Shares #1 Pick for the 2020s (Ad) Picking the right investment of the decade can transform your life Microsoft in the 80sAmazon in the 90sApple in the 2000sBitcoin in 2016... Any one of these could have made you a millionaire many times over. Today, the Wall Street legend who picked the last investment of the decade The answer will surprise you. To Any American Who Owns a Cell Phone (Ad) If you own a cell phone, then mobile service providers hope you never get to see this video that could soon go viral. His experiment could strike a bad chord with mobile phone companies. But youve got to see what this man discovered and what it means for phone users in the weeks ahead. Click here to see this video before it's removed 20 hours ago | June 26th | 2021 6:00 AM What to Do When Your Portfolio Bores You: Go Skydiving Instead You're allocated, diversified and saving 10% or more for retirement. You (or your robo-advisor) have the rebalancing thing down pat. But you're a little bored. Life isn't all that exciting. And when Bobby next door makes money in some obscure cryptocurrency, you might feel a little, well, put out. Your returns aren't 400% like his. And so, you look into tweaking your portfolio. Man Who Picked Tesla, Bitcoin Makes Next Pick of the Decade" (Ad) Picking the right investment of the decade can transform your life Today, the Wall Street legend who picked the last investment of the decade months (even years) before his peers will finally reveal his new #1 pick for the 2020s. Its not 5G, artificial intelligence, EVs, or clean energy. The answer will surprise you. Click To See This #1 Pick. National Bank Holdings Corporation operates as the bank holding company for NBH Bank that provides various banking products and financial services to commercial, business, and consumer clients in the United States. It offers deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts, including fixed-rate and fixed maturity time deposits. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans and leases, such as working capital loans, equipment loans, lender finance loans, food and agriculture loans, government and non-profit loans, owner occupied commercial real estate loans, and other commercial loans and leases; non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans consisting of loans on commercial properties, such as office buildings, warehouse/distribution buildings, multi-family, hospitality, and retail buildings; small business administration loans to support manufacturers, distributors, and service providers; term loans, line of credits, and real estate secured loans; residential real estate loans; and consumer loans. In addition, it offers treasury management solutions comprising online and mobile banking, commercial credit card, wire transfer, automated clearing house, electronic bill payment, lock box, remote deposit capture, merchant processing, cash vault, controlled disbursements, and fraud prevention services, as well as other auxiliary services, including account reconciliation, collections, repurchase accounts, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts. As of February 24, 2021, the company operated through a network of 89 banking centers located in Colorado, the greater Kansas City region, New Mexico, Utah, and Texas. It also operates 128 ATMs. The company was formerly known as NBH Holdings Corp. and changed its name to National Bank Holdings Corporation in March 2012. National Bank Holdings Corporation was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Eastman Chemical: BP - Aviation Turbine Oil Business, CP Films Vertriebs GmbH, Commonwealth Laminating & Coating (Hong Kong) Limited, Commonwealth Laminating & Coating Inc, Crown Operations International LLC, Dynaloy, Eastman Administracion S.A. de C.V., Eastman Chemical (Barbados) SRL, Eastman Chemical (China) Co. Ltd., Eastman Chemical (China) Co. Ltd. - Guangzhou Branch, Eastman Chemical (China) Co. Ltd. - JingAn Branch, Eastman Chemical (Gibraltar) Limited, Eastman Chemical (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Eastman Chemical (PPU) Pte. Ltd., Eastman Chemical AMI GmbH, Eastman Chemical AMI LLC, Eastman Chemical AP Holdings B.V., Eastman Chemical Adhesives (Hong Kong) Limited, Eastman Chemical Advanced Materials B.V., Eastman Chemical Argentina S.R.L., Eastman Chemical Asia Pacific Pte Ltd-Indonesia Rep Office, Eastman Chemical Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Eastman Chemical Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. - Vietnam Representative Office, Eastman Chemical Australia Pty LTD - New Zealand Branch, Eastman Chemical Australia Pty. Ltd., Eastman Chemical B.V., Eastman Chemical B.V. - Czech Republic Representative Office, Eastman Chemical B.V. - Denmark Branch, Eastman Chemical B.V. - Filiale Italiana, Eastman Chemical B.V. - France Branch, Eastman Chemical B.V. - Hungarian Commercial Representative Office, Eastman Chemical B.V. - Poland Representative Office, Eastman Chemical B.V. - South Africa Representative Office, Eastman Chemical B.V. Taiwan Branch, Eastman Chemical B.V. The Hague Zug Branch, Eastman Chemical Canada Inc., Eastman Chemical Company Investments Inc., Eastman Chemical EMEA B.V., Eastman Chemical Europe Middle East and Africa LLC, Eastman Chemical Europe S.a.r.l., Eastman Chemical Fibers IP GmbH, Eastman Chemical Fibers IP LLC, Eastman Chemical Finance B.V., Eastman Chemical Finance CN S.a.r.l., Eastman Chemical Finance EUR S.a.r.l., Eastman Chemical Finance GBP S.a.r.l., Eastman Chemical Finance SGD S.a.r.l., Eastman Chemical Finance USD S.a.r.l., Eastman Chemical Financial Corporation, Eastman Chemical GDL S.a.r.l., Eastman Chemical Germany Holdings GmbH & Co. KG, Eastman Chemical Germany Management GmbH & Co. KG, Eastman Chemical Germany Verwaltungs-GmbH, Eastman Chemical Global Holdings LLC, Eastman Chemical Global Holdings S.a.r.l., Eastman Chemical GmbH, Eastman Chemical HK Limited, Eastman Chemical Holdings do Brasil Ltda., Eastman Chemical Hong Kong B.V., Eastman Chemical Iberica S.L., Eastman Chemical India Private Limited, Eastman Chemical Intermediates (Hong Kong) Limited, Eastman Chemical International GmbH, Eastman Chemical International Holdings B.V., Eastman Chemical International LP LLC, Eastman Chemical Japan Ltd., Eastman Chemical Korea B.V., Eastman Chemical Korea Ltd., Eastman Chemical Latin America Inc., Eastman Chemical Ltd., Eastman Chemical Ltd. - Australia Branch, Eastman Chemical Ltd. - Singapore Branch, Eastman Chemical Ltd. - Taiwan Branch, Eastman Chemical Luxembourg Finance S.a.r.l., Eastman Chemical Luxembourg Holdings 1 LLC, Eastman Chemical Luxembourg Holdings 1 S.a.r.l., Eastman Chemical Luxembourg Holdings 2 S.a.r.l., Eastman Chemical Luxembourg Holdings LLC, Eastman Chemical Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Eastman Chemical Malaysia B.V., Eastman Chemical Middelburg B.V., Eastman Chemical Netherlands Limited, Eastman Chemical Products Singapore Pte. Ltd., Eastman Chemical Regional UK, Eastman Chemical Resins Inc., Eastman Chemical S.C.S., Eastman Chemical Singapore Pte. Ltd., Eastman Chemical Switzerland GmbH, Eastman Chemical Technology BVBA, Eastman Chemical Texas City Inc., Eastman Chemical US Finance LLC, Eastman Chemical Uruapan S.A. de C.V., Eastman Chemical Workington Limited, Eastman Chemical do Brasil Ltda., Eastman Cogen Management L.L.C., Eastman Cogeneration L.P., Eastman Company UK Limited, Eastman Fibers Korea Limited, Eastman Fibers Singapore Pte. Ltd., Eastman Foundation, Eastman Global Holdings Inc., Eastman International Holdings LLC, Eastman International Management Company, Eastman Italia S.r.l., Eastman Kimya Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Eastman LAR Distribucion S. de R.L. de C.V., Eastman Mazzucchelli Hong Kong Limited, Eastman Mazzucchelli Plastics (Shenzhen) Company Limited, Eastman Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., Eastman Spain L.L.C., Eastman Specialties Corporation, Eastman Specialties Holdings Corporation, Eastman Specialties OU, Eastman Specialties S.a.r.l., Eastman Specialties Wuhan Youji Chemical Co. Ltd, Eastman de Argentina SRL, Ecuataminco S.A., Flexsys America L.P., Flexsys America LLC, Flexsys Chemicals (M) Sdn Bhd, Flexsys K.K., Flexsys Rubber Chemicals Limited, Flexsys Verkauf GmbH, Flexsys Verkauf GmbH - France Branch, Flexsys Verwaltungs- und Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Genovique Specialties Corporation, HDK Industries Inc., Holston Defense Corporation, Huper Optik (GP) L.L.C., Huper Optik International Pte. Ltd., Huper Optik U.S.A. L.P., Industriepark Nienburg GmbH, Kingsport Hotel L.L.C., Knowlton Technologies LLC, Monchem International LLC, Mustang Pipeline Company, Nanjing Yangzi Eastman Chemical Ltd, Novomatrix Inc., Novomatrix International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Qilu Eastman Specialty Chemicals Ltd, S E Investment LLC, Sakra Hyco Pte. Ltd., Sakra Island Carbon Dioxide Pte Ltd, Scandiflex do Brasil Ltda., Solchem LLC, Solchem Netherlands C.V., Solutia (Thailand) Ltd., Solutia Brasil Ltda., Solutia Canada Inc., Solutia Chemicals France S.a.r.l., Solutia Chemicals India Private Limited, Solutia Chemicals India Private Limited - Branch, Solutia Deutschland GmbH, Solutia Europe BVBA - Portugal Representative Office, Solutia Europe BVBA - Russia Representative Office, Solutia Europe SPRL/BVBA, Solutia Greater China LLC, Solutia Hong Kong Limited, Solutia Inc., Solutia International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Solutia Italia S.r.l., Solutia Japan Limited, Solutia Performance Products (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Solutia Performance Products Solutions Ltd., Solutia Singapore Pte. Ltd., Solutia Solar GmbH, Solutia Therminol Co. Ltd. Suzhou, Solutia Tlaxcala S.A. de C.V., Solutia UK Holdings Limited, Solutia UK Investments Limited, Solutia UK Limited, Solutia Venezuela S.R.L., Southwall Europe GmbH, Southwall Insulating Glass LLC, Southwall Technologies Inc., St. Gabriel CC Company LLC, Sterling Chemicals Inc, SunTek Australia Pty. Ltd., SunTek Films Canada Inc., SunTek UK Limited, TX Energy LLC, Taminco Argentina S.A., Taminco BVBA, Taminco BVBA - France Rep Office, Taminco BVBA - Hungarian Commercial Representative Office, Taminco BVBA - Oficina de Representacion en Espana, Taminco BVBA - The Philippines, Taminco Chile S.p.A, Taminco Choline Chloride (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Taminco Corporation, Taminco Finland Oy, Taminco Germany GmbH, Taminco Global Chemical LLC, Taminco Group BVBA, Taminco Group Holdings S.a.r.l., Taminco Holding Netherlands B.V., Taminco Intermediate LLC, Taminco Italia S.r.l., Taminco Limitada, Taminco Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Taminco US LLC, Taminco Uruguay S.A., Taminco de Guatemala S.A., Taminco de Honduras S.A. de C.V., Taminco do Brasil Comercio e Industria de Aminas Ltda., Taminco do Brasil Produtos Quimicos Ltda., Te An Ling Tian (Nanjing) Fine Chemical Co. Ltd., TetraVitae Bioscience, V-Kool International Pte. Ltd., and Yixing Taminco Feed Additives Co. Ltd.. Russia on Friday accused the United States of using aid deliveries to Venezuela as a ploy to carry out military action against President Nicolas Maduros Government. A dangerous provocation, instigated and led by Washington, is planned for February 23, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, pointing to efforts by opposition leader Juan Guaido to pick up US aid being stockpiled on the Colombian border. Guaidos plans to try to bring the aid across the border are aimed at provoking clashes, she said, to provide a convenient pretext for conducting military action. Russia is a key supporter of Maduros government and has repeatedly accused Washington of trying to carry out a coup in Venezuela. On Thursday, Guaido set out in a convoy to collect US-supplied food and medicine stockpiled in Colombia, vowing to bring in the aid by Saturday. Maduro has closed the border with Brazil to prevent the entry of aid and the military has beefed up security at the Colombian border. Zakharova alleged that the US had moved special forces and military equipment closer to Venezuelan territory and was considering large-scale weapons purchases to arm the opposition. Noting that it had been five years since the Ukrainian revolution that ousted a Russian-backed leader which Moscow has accused the US of orchestrating Zakharova said Washington was preparing for more regime change in Venezuela. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti Friday said she was glad that the allies of the BJP were speaking up against the "injustice" being meted out to Kashmiri people in the wake of the Pulwama attack, but criticised the silence of others over the issue. "Glad that allies of BJP like @HarsimratBadal_ from Akali Dal are speaking up against the injustice thats being meted out to innocent Kashmiris. The ones still in denial are living in a rabbit hole secluded from reality (sic)," Mehbooba wrote on Twitter. In another tweet, Mehbooba, while congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi on winning the Seoul Peace Prize, said people were waiting for him to denounce the "vicious attacks" on Kashmiris in many parts of the country. "Congratulations to the PM on winning the Seoul Peace prize. But sir, back home in India we are still waiting for you to denounce the vicious attacks on Kashmiris throughout the country. But what hope does one have when even a Guv (governor) can make incendiary comments & get away with it? (sic)" she said. "Sir the people from J&K are also your people. They have paid a heavy price and suffered immensely. What is your mann ki baat on them being harassed and punished for something they aren't responsible for?" the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said. Meanwhile, Mehbooba's predecessor Omar Abdullah also criticised the prime minister's silence over the attacks on Kashmiris. "The Akali Dal has spoken, the Shiv Sena surprised us all by publicly rebuking people threatening Kashmiris in Maharashtra, Nitish Kumar ji has opposed talk of revoking Art370 (Article 370). These are all major allies of PM Modi. What has Modi ji said? Nothing! So much for "sub ka saath......"," Omar wrote on Twitter. City-County Leaders Discuss Possible TIF Project By West Kentucky Star Staff PADUCAH - The Paducah City Commission and McCracken County Fiscal Court held a joint called meeting Tuesday night that included a public hearing on a proposed Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Development Plan for downtown and the riverfront area.The meeting in Paducah's City Hall included a presentation from Casey Bolton of Commonwealth Economics Group, who gave a general overview of TIF projects, then spoke specifically about the potential TIF in Paducah. After he answered questions from city and county leaders, the public hearing allowed any citizens to ask additional questions or make comments.A local government can create a development area, and once it's approved by the state, any increase in future taxes in the developed area (the increment) is re-invested for future improvement projects in the area.An impact analysis by Commonwealth Economics looked at a potential TIF project that would include approximately 315 acres of downtown Paducah and the riverfront (see map photo). A portion of the Impact Analysis states, The City of Paducah will be working with various developers to complete the project in Paducah through a mixture of public and private investment. The aim is to redevelop and connect vacant properties in the downtown area to Paducahs riverfront, while also developing the necessary public infrastructure and new supportive uses on a handful of adjacent lots that are build ready. This will attract and support a greater level of density and vertical development throughout the City which will spur additional event and business activity.A TIF district does not change the way property or businesses are taxed or how taxes are collected. First, the baseline tax revenue - the amount of taxes currently collected - is calculated on the applicable properties in the district when the TIF is created. Once public and private projects are implemented, the generated tax revenue that exceeds the baseline is reinvested in the district for infrastructure improvements like utilities, parks, roadways, or parking, just to name a few.Bolton told city and county leaders, "it's just a matter of tracking where taxes were in that area previously, where they are after the project, and using that lift to finance the project."The taxes that can be used for reinvestment include state sales tax, property tax, individual income tax, and corporate tax in addition to local property and payroll taxes.During the question and answer period, Judge Executive Craig Clymer emphasized, This is not an increase in tax rates. There is no part of this thats a tax increase. Plus, we get to keep X-amount of revenue that would be going to the State.City Commissioner Sandra Wilson said, This is really to promote development. Thats the bottom line, to promote private development.City Commissioner Gerald Watkins added, Its an opportunity to have development in this area and to create jobs.The city and county are looking at a mixed-use TIF district, which must meet at least three of seven qualifying conditions in state law. A project in downtown Paducah could qualify based on the following three characteristics: 1) a substantial loss of commercial activity has occurred; 2) public improvements and public infrastructure are inadequate; and 3) there is a combination of factors that substantially impairs growth and economic development of the area. Also for a mixed-use TIF, there must be capital investment between $20 and $200 million.Based on the anticipated projects for a TIF in downtown Paducah, Commonwealth Economics calculated that the total project would cost $156 million with $99 million of that amount from private development. Anticipated projects could include riverfront enhancements, conversion of the former Showroom Lounge into event space, new restaurants and retail, residential housing, additional hotel rooms, redeveloped manufacturing space, art house/theater, parking, and various other infrastructure improvements. Commonwealth Economics estimates that the additional tax revenue that could be collected over a 20-year period if these projects come to fruition (the increment) could total nearly $94 million.City Manager Jim Arndt added that he's had a lot of experience with TIFs, since there were four of them in Effingham, Illinois, where he last worked, and they do, "a bang up job help racking up development."Arndt said, "When you talk to developers, they do inquire, 'do you have a TIF?' That's part of their equation, they're looking at what public infrastructure is going to be necessary for their project. When we require them to do those development projects, basically, it offsets some of their development costs, which in turn, once they make that investment into your community, generates the increment. It's a really good program, it's a marketing tool, it's a positive thing for the community. I'm very excited about it."Both government bodies discussed entertaining resolutions in support of developing a TIF District in downtown Paducah at their upcoming meetings. Looking ahead, the next steps would include the approval of an interlocal cooperation agreement between the two governments, the approval of a TIF ordinance, and an application to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.To watch the entire meeting, including the public hearing, click play below (courtesy of the city of Paducah): A day long workshop on NAAC was held on the premises of the Yodh Singh Namdhari Mahila College in Daltonganj on Friday. VC of the Nilamber pitamber university S N Singh and pro vice chancellor of the same university Pawan Kumar Poddar graced the occasion. The host Mahila Colleges professor in charge Mohini Gupta and her trusted hand in NAAC Vibha Pandey and their team had organized this workshop. VC S N Singh said, NAAC evaluation is now a must. It cannot be done away with but I am too saddened to say our college heads are just not getting this point any seriously and are not up for this NAAC evaluation as a result I am to face a lot of embarrassments in the meetings that are held in Raj Bhavan Ranchi where I am asked to explain as to why the track record of NP university is so dismal on the count of colleges not evaluated by NAAC so far. He said, Our track record is 25 per cent, while other universities here have a track record of 75 per cent. This is too serious a matter and I am left in the lurch by my own team. The VC added further, This workshop is a kind of ringing the alarm bells to the college heads not to sleep over this as it will have far reaching consequences of it even grant stoppage from the UGC. Pro Vice Chancellor Pawan Kumar Poddar who is the chairman of the NAAC Peer Team said in todays time evaluation of colleges is too essential as higher education has become a serious victim of crass commercialism as he drawing a statistical comparison said when India was made free then this country had 20 universities and 496 colleges which is now 800 universities and number of colleges 30,000 in the country. Poddar said This number of universities and colleges will outnumber any other country but when it comes to prime academic activity or research performance our countrys universities are to cut a sorry figure as none of the universities and the colleges of our country are nowhere on the list of 250 worlds best colleges. NAAC is a ladder by which our colleges can try to compete with other colleges globally reiterated Poddar. Sources said there are in all 21 colleges under this nP university out of which 5 are constituent colleges including dEgree college Manika, 6 permanent affiliated colleges and 10 affiliated colleges. Poddar said evaluation by NAAC is a must for all these three categories of the colleges constituent, permanent affiliated and affiliated colleges and there is no escape from this. Advising college heads Poddar said, It is time now for them to move forward for NAAC evaluation than to sulk in the past. State Government wants two most important formalities of NAAC evaluation to be ready and in order by this March end said VC for which state higher, technical education and skill development department has convened a meeting of all colleges in Ranchi on February 27 added VC. Maintaining that the process of terminating the membership of Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Dakha MLA HS Phoolka was on, Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rana KP Singh on Friday said that the MLAs could always move the court in case they are dissatisfied. Both Khaira and Phoolka, elected MLAs on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ticket, has resigned from the party. While Phoolka had also submitted his resignation from the Vidhan Sabha, AAP has submitted a plea to disqualify Khaira from the House who had floated hos own party, Punjabi Ekta Party (PEP). Besides, AAP's another MLA from Jaiton Master Baldev Singh had also resigned from the party and joined Khaira's PEP. Other than that, six other legislators have revolted against AAP's central leadership. Responding to the issue raised by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA Parminder Singh Dhindsa regarding the "status" of MLAs who have resigned from AAP or rebelled against it, the Speaker informed the House that the process is going on in case of both the MLAs. "Phoolka has been issued summons for February 21, and I have told him that his resignation is not in proper format, and he is insisting that it is in right format. Now, he is seeking legal opinion on the same," said Rana KP while informing the House. Regarding Khaira, he said that notices through registered letters were sent to him, "but every time, it was not accepted saying that he was not available or something. Now, we have no other option available than publication". The Speaker said that notices to Khaira would soon be published in the newspapers, after which the next course of action would be taken. Intervening, SAD MLA Bikram Majithia said that the question here is of massive exploitation of official machinery as lakhs of are being spent on these members by way of houses, vehicles, other allowances. On this, the Speaker pointed that it was his jurisdiction, and upon him to decide about the action in the matter. "If you are still dissatisfied, the doors of courts are open," he told Majithia. Vidhan Sabha has issued showcause notices to Khaira under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, asking why he shouldnt be disqualified from the Assembly, and all has not been accepted by the leader. The reply was due to be received in 15 days. It has been learnt that to avoid disqualification, neither Khaira is available in person to accepot the notice, nor he had allowed his staff and family members to accept the same on his behalf. The notice had been issued to Khaira after Bholath resident Harsimran Singh and AAP MLA and the Leader of Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema asked the Speaker, through their separate representations, for Khairas disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India. Cheema had stated that Khaira had voluntarily given up AAP's primary membership and floated his own political outfit Punjabi Ekta Party. He had quit AAP on January 6, six months after he was ousted from the post of the Leader of Opposition of the Punjab Assembly. However, he had not resigned as MLA and had dared the AAP to get him disqualified. Facing split, AAP seems to be moving closer to lose the coveted post of the principal opposition party less than two years after it pushed Punjabs decade-long rulers SAD-BJP to the third spot. AAP's three MLAs, Phoolka, Khaira, and Master Baldev, have resigned from the party which becomes the main opposition party in 117-member House by bagging 20 seats during 2017 state assembly polls. In case, the Khaira and Master Baldev were disqualified, and Phoolkas resignation be accepted, AAPs tally would come down to 17, just two above SADs 15 seats. What may worry AAP is the fact that Khaira, who has recently floated PEP, enjoys the support of six sitting AAP MLAs. Out of these, Master Baldev has already resigned from AAP, Kharar MLA Kanwar Sandhu has been placed under suspension for speaking against the party and the high command, but has not resigned from the party. Besides, Nazar Singh Manshahia, Pirmal Singh, Jagdev Singh Kamalu and Jagga Hissowal are openly supporting Khaira, though AAPs state leadership has all along been claiming that they would soon return to the party fold. In such a situation, SAD is keeping an eye on very development to at least regain the position of principal opposition party in the state. SAD had many times raised the issue of disqualifying AAP MLAs while citing relevant articles of the Constitution. As per the tenth schedule of the Constitution, any legislative member who voluntarily gave up membership of the political party he represents shall be disqualified from being a member of the legislative body. As per Articles 102 (2) and 191 (2) of the tenth schedule, giving up the primary membership of a political party by a legislative member amounted to defection. The flip-flop by Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav has left the partys rank and file red faced as his statement could benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party and embarrass son and present SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. On Thursday, Mulayam Singh Yadav had publicly rebuked his son for the partys alliance with Bahujan Samaj Party and earlier in the Lok Sabha, he had wished Narendra Modi to become Prime Minister for a second term. SP leaders dismissed the argument that Mulayam was making such utterances as his memory was fading due to age. They said the Yadav chieftain was restless with his marginalisation not only within the party he founded but also in politics both at the state and national levels. Netaji is avenging his marginalisation in a party that he raised from scratch 27 years back. Netajis statements have caused enough consternation within the party, leaving the office-bearers in a state of discomfort, the SP leader commented. On the last day of the 16th Lok Sabha on February 13, the SP patriarch not only blessed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a second term in office but also admitted in the House that the entire opposition put together was not in a position to cobble up a majority. On Thursday, the veteran politician told SP workers at the party headquarters on Vikramaditya Marg in Lucknow that people inside are out to finish the party. Continuing his tirade against his son, Mulayam Singh Yadav said that the party had already lost the battle at the hustings as the SP had ceded 38 seats to Mayawatis BSP, three to Rashtriya Lok Dal and two to Congress. Close aides of Mulayam Senior said that Netaji has not forgotten the humiliation heaped on him in the winter of 2016, when his son and then Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav literally showed him the door by dethroning him as SP chief. He has turned old but he still has the same political acumen that he is famous for. Netaji was also upset at being completely ignored during the pre-alliance talks with the BSP as a result of which he had minimal say in seat allocation discussions between the two parties, said the Mulayam loyalist. A former minister said that Yadav Seniors public outbursts were also because he wanted to have a say in, at least, the ticket distribution process of Samajwadi Party. The latest big incident-the terror attack on Indian soldiers in Kashmir has continued to guide the sentimental expressions and actions of many across the nation. It is only natural for the people to feel angry and even frustrated after such an attack which one veteran general debating on a prominent news channel opined was akin to a slap on our face by the enemy. The martyrdom of soldiers in the terror attack elicited nationalist fervour and anti-Pakistan sentiments among the general public. Some of the reactions are natural and also good in a way while some reactions could be termed illogical and not practically patriotic at all. However, this made one muse on the concept and sentiment of patriotism. A few days after the terror attack, one was at a place in Dehradun where citizens approach one of the four pillars of democracy. While at the parking near where a destitute man lives in an abandoned and dilapidated official quarter I was appreciating the scene of him deferring his lunch to give milk to a lactating bitch when a group of professionals involved with one of the pillars of democracy took out a protest march. They were raising slogans against Pakistan and shouting Bharat Mata ki Jai, Vande Mataram and so on. Conversing with the gent fallen on hard times, one asked him why he was not marching along with those raising nationalistic slogans like others who were carried in the wave of emotions. His reply was, After this march, these fellows raising patriotic slogans are going to continue taking bribes and even subvert the laws. Whats the point of them raising patriotic slogans if their actions continue to actually damage the nation and its people? The dictionary defines patriotism as the quality of being patriotic: devotion to and vigorous support to ones country. However, with emotions being inflamed by situations and politics the general public ends up doing deeds they think are righteous but which in reality contribute little to the intended aim of national welfare. Mind you, it is very good and also required that citizens feel for the nation and its interests. But, the view should not be narrow if one is actually serious about attaining the stated objective. To understand this, one must comprehend some facts and rise above fallacies. One of the often quoted sentences is that soldiers risk their lives on the borders away from their families so that the rest of the Indians may sleep peacefully at night. I beg to differ, because I believe that the braves do not do their bit only to ensure that we sleep well at night. Their risk taking and sacrifices are also to ensure that we as citizens do our bit, work hard and honestly in the interest of the nation. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the first vice president and second president of India had observed, Nationalism is a political religion which stirs the hearts and wills of men and rouses them to service and self sacrifice in a way that no purely religious movements have done in recent times. Vivekananda had said, The soil of India is my highest heaven; the good of India is my good. However, such sentiments appear to be missing in action when one views a lot of what the general public is doing in response to the terror attack. Simply taking out marches, lighting candles, raising slogans praising the nation and deriding the enemy are little more than lip service if actions dont match the sentiments expressed. The inflammatory messages on social media, armchair activism probably to compensate for utter hypocrisy and other such modes of expression have evidently done little good for society and nation. We as citizens need to understand that it is not the army alone which is responsible for protecting the nation and that enemies of the nation are not always foreigners and stereotypical. Our actions that are detrimental to the nation, its environment and society are no less damaging than the actions of an enemy nation though the degree of damage may vary. The more dangerous enemies are the ones eating us from inside, while pretending to be doing the opposite. And this does not mean the usual shifting of blame on the system and politicians because nobody has stopped the citizens from using their minds and discharging their responsibilities. It is true that Pakistan has been acting like an enemy but it is also true that we need to know and act against the other real enemies too. The enemies of the nation arent always persons-they also include the corruption, the hypocrisy, disdain for the law and many such practices that continue to hold us back from achieving our actual potential as a nation and society. Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) was conferred the FICCI Corporate Social Responsibility Awards for Women Empowerment at the 17th edition of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) CSR summit and awards held at New Delhi Thursday. The JSPL won this prestigious award for its innovative and high impact women empowerment programmes, implemented by the Companys CSR Arm JSPL Foundation, across its operational areas in India. JSPL director and the co-chairperson of the JSPL Foundation, Shallu Jindal received the award from Union Minister of Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu. Upon receiving the Award Shallu Jindal, said The JSPL Foundation strongly believes that Women are the fulcrum of holistic improvement in the lives of families and the prime mover of development of the nation. Our multidimensional women empowerment programmes are being implemented across the country, covering more than 6 lakh women enhancing their quality of life and decision making power. The JSPL Foundation has been executing multidimensional development programmes in the areas of health, education, skill building, livelihood promotion and sports, enhancing the quality of life of more than 6.4 lakh women on sustainable basis in Angul, Keonjhar and Sundergarh districts of Odisha, Ramgarh and West Singhbhum districts of Jharkhand and Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh and other parts of India. Indore district Panchayat will be the first Jila panchayat of Madhya Pradesh which will be directly connected to all the 312 gram panchayats of Indore district through optical fiber cables. The optical fibre cables are spread by BSNL which will provide high speed internet connectivity to the user. Indore district panchayat CEO Neha Meena told The Pioneer that now the Indore district panchayat CEO will directly have a video conferencing with all the village panchayats Sarpanch sachiv and the villagers and can hear to the problems of villagers directly on the video chatting, besides these at a time around 4 panchayats can be inter-connected and video conferencing can be done with all the four panchayats simultaneously. The Jansunvai which is conducted at the gram panchayat level will be directly monitored at the district panchayat headquarter and also the complainant villager can directly see and talk to the CEO on video conference. Like all other government offices the gram panchayats should be open from 10.30 am to 5.30 am which will be directly monitored by the zila panchayat headquarter. Till date, 109 gram panchayats of Indore district panchayat area including all the tehsils of Indore district have been connected by optical fiber network internet system and recently as a trial run Indore district panchayat CEO Neha Meena had a conversation will the villagers of Zhalaria gram panchayat area in presence of sarpanch and sachiv of gram panchayat and discussed with them about the pension schemes of beneficiaries, release of death certificates and pending cases in the gram panchayats. CEO Indore district Panchayat Neha Meena told that till the end of this month all the 312 gram Panchayats will be connected to the optical fiber internet service and video conferencing will be functional. The Orissa High Court on Friday rejected the bail plea of NGO Good News India Managing Director (MD) Fayaz Rehman in connection with sexual harassment at a shelter home in Beltikiri in Dhenkanal district. Besides, the court also turned down the bail application of NGO assistant director Udit Lima. Both Rehman and Udit were arrested in December 2018 for allegedly sexually exploiting girl inmates at the shelter home run by the Good News India at Beltikiri. Rehman, the prime accused in the case, had moved the High Court seeking bail on December 19 following his arrest by the Dhenkanal Sadar Police based on a complaint lodged by District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Anuradha Goswami. Sources said the shelter home was being operated for the last two years without registration under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. State health minister T.S. Singhdeo on Friday announced in the state assembly that a combat team would be constituted and a special vaccination drive would be launched in order to check the deadly swine flu disease in the state. He was answering to the call attention motion moved by Congress legislator Kunwar Nishad and BJP legislators Shivratan Sharma and Ajay Chandrakar. The minister also announced in the state assembly of taking help of women health workers Mitanins in combating swine flu, which has spread its tentacles in certain parts of the state. In the assembly the minister also confirmed that seven of the patients in the state died of swine flu, which includes Joint Director Health Mahendra Janghel. On a question raised by former chief minister and JCC (J) legislator Ajit Jogi, he further informed that 3322 vaccines of swine flu were available in the state which would be administered to the legislators too as they come in contact of so many people. The International Mother Tongue Day was observed by the DAVians of Pokhariput on Thursday with an aim to rekindle the importance of mother tongues as the carriers of culture and tradition. On the occasion, School Principal Dr Sujata, senior supervisor Sitikantha Pati and teachers lighted lamps to pay homage to the martyred CRPF Jawans followed by song Aye Mere Watan ki Logon and poem Victors Vengeance by Dr Lipsa Mishra. A one minute silence was also observed. In order to celebrate Unity in Diversity and Multilingualism of Mother India, teachers in different languages delivered speeches. The principal urged that multilingualism and mother tongues play pivotal role in unifying all in the single thread of love. DAV Institutions, Odisha Zone-I, regional director Dr KC Satapathy and school managing committee chairman Madan Mohan Panda sent their encouraging words. Among others, Narottam Sarangi, Subhranshu Mohan Dash, Jharana Mishra, Bijay Kumar Panda, Sanjay Sahoo, Sujata Mohanty and Rajashree Tarangini were present. Students in Maoist-hit villages in Jhumra forest area of Bokaro who had lived under constant threat of extremism are now building their academic future using the libraries provided by the 26th Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) fighting the left wing extremism. After making several villages free from Maoist activities in Jhumra forest, the CRPF 26th battalion has come up with library facilities in Upgraded Middle School, Dania of Bermo Sub Division. All students of middle school, Dania are benefited with this library. CRPF 26th battalion commandant Akhilesh Kumar Singh said they have spent around Rs 50,000 for library. Books on school syllabus, competitive examinations, story, novel, moral education, big personalities etc have been provided at Dania middle schoo of library. School rooms were converted into library room while furniture, solar light and other well-furnished atmosphere were provided for students, the commandant said. The library was inaugurated on Thursday at Utkramit middle school,Dania in Jhumra hill. School teachers and students were hopeful for better education with the modern library in the campus. Students of around 150 to 250 in school from over five nearby villages are benefited with each of library, added Singh. Students in villages of Dania, Tilaya, Mohra, Chandwa, were afraid of attending classes earlier due to rampant Maoist violence till around two years back. After restoration of peace in these villages, the CRPF started paying attention on village students academic future. Haryana Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma on Friday said that a woman college will be opened in the name of martyr Kiran Shekhawat in Prithla area and the State Government would also consider opening a University in Mewat. Lieutenant Kiran Shekhawat was the first Indian woman officer to martyr in the line of duty. The woman Naval officer had martyred in a Dornier crash off the Goa coast in the year 2015. During the question hour, INLD MLAs Zakir Hussain (MLA Nuh) and Naseem Ahmad (MLA Ferozepur Jhirka) had raised a demand of construction of a University in Mewat and also, reminded the State Government of its announcement to open a College in the name of martyr Kiran Shekhawat. The MLAs also assured to provide land from village panchayat for the construction of the University. 7.76 lakh BPL families in Haryana There are a total of 7,76,771 BPL (below poverty line) families in rural areas of Haryana. This included over 4.02 lakh BPL families belonging to Schedule Caste category, over 2.43 families belonging to Backward Class category and over 1.30 lakh belonging to general category as on December 2018, the State Government informed the Haryana Assembly in a written reply. Rs 1140.98 cr compensation given to farmers Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister, OP Dhankar informed the House that under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Rs 1140.98 crore was given as compensation to 5.98 lakh farmers. In reply to a question, Dhankar also said that during 2017-18, a premium of Rs 208.98 crore has been collected from the farmers under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, whereas Rs 849.73 crore was disbursed as compensation amount to farmers. Scholarship disbursal delayed due to linking Aadhaar card Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma informed the House that during the academic session of 2018-19, the State Government has distributed a sum of about Rs 106.39 crore as scholarship to the students of Government schools from class 1 to 12, belonging to Scheduled Caste and soon it would be distributed to the remaining students. On delay in disbursing of scholarship, he said that scholarship is being linked to Aadhar card so as to bring pace and transparency in the work. Ambala city Civil Hospital to be upgraded Health Minister Anil Vij said that Civil Hospital of Ambala city will be upgraded to 300 bedded hospital for which an administrative approval of Rs 64.71 crore has been accorded. At present, this hospital is 200 bedded and keeping in view the needs of the patients, it is being upgraded to 300 bedded, Vij said in a written reply. Chief Minister Kamal Nath while inaugurating the Jai Kisan Fasal Wrin Maafi Yojana in Namli of Ratlam district handed over documents of loan waiver worth Rs 134 crore to over 40,000 farmers. Nath said that the loan of 50 lakh farmers of the state will be waived off under the scheme. He further stated that we have set a target to make the farmers economically strong and the government will make every possible effort in this direction. Besides, Nath mentioned that the new government is in favour of day to day and weekly development and will not leave it to years. We are moving ahead with the same policy, he added. The Chief Minister said that we had promised that the loans of the farmers will be waived off and the promise has been fulfilled within the stipulated time. The new government has accomplished a unique task by waiving off the loans of the farmers in such a big number. Kamal Nath stated that how to develop the agriculture sector in a planned manner is a big challenge before us and the Government believes that the state cannot be developed till we make the farmers happy and prosperous. The Chief Minister further mentioned that besides making the farmers economically strong, we also set a goal to give employment to unemployed youth in large number in the state. He said that we will eradicate the unemployment by fetching massive industrial investment in the state. Nath said that the new government does not believe in announcements, it believes in work. We have decided that we will not defer any work for years; we will lay a new foundation of daily and weekly development so that people should feel change and the state could be developed rapidly. While inaugurating the Jai Kisan Fasal Wrin Maafi Yojana, Nath handed over a certificate of loan waiver worth Rs 1.95 lakh to Babulal Bhairulal Rathore of Namli village. Rathore became the first beneficiary of the scheme in the state. Loans worth over Rs 134 crore of more than 40,000 farmers were waived off in the programme. The Chief Minister distributed certificates of loan waiver as a token to few farmers during the programme. The Chief Minister laid foundation of 30 construction works worth Rs 197 crore of various departments during his Ratlams visit. He said that no compromise will be tolerated in development. Minister for Farmers Welfare and Agriculture Development Sachin Yadav said that today the Chief Minister is accomplishing his promise made to the farmers for waiving loan upto Rs 2 lakh. He mentioned that a process of depositing amount in the bank accounts of the farmers has already begun. The farmers have been empowered with self-verification facility under the scheme. Given Saudi Arabias own priorities and strategic roadmap imperatives, Pakistan will remain a preferred ally as long as it does not harm Saudi interests directly Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad-bin Salman (MbS) is touring the three most important capitals beyond Washington, DC, in his post-Khashoggi phase. The Western capitals were ultimately not amused by MbS ingrained feudal instincts in carrying out the rash internal purge, laffaire Khashoggi and other unwarranted military interventions, after the initial hoopla surrounding the ostensible modernisation drive by the real power behind the throne. His initially feted socio-economic promises of Vision 2030 and steps to liberalise and reform the society were soon undone by reports of increased human rights violations and clumsy interventions in Syria, Yemen and Qatar as also a purported kidnapping of the Lebanese Prime Minister! However, the crude and brutal assassination of Saudi dissenter Jamal Khashoggi, attributed directly to the recklessness of the young Prince himself, was the last straw for the Western nations in condemning MbS openly. His style of management by intimidation, coercion and buying out became obvious as indeed his deep-rooted insecurities and ambition that saw him systematically neutralise all opposition. Recent international opprobrium has led to heightened insecurities and the Saudis have, therefore, made a deliberate outreach towards the alternative global platform of the East as they hope to enhance their economic and geo-political stability with two of their top three export markets, namely China, the biggest, and India, the third biggest revenue generator. However, his pit-stop at Islamabad was, perhaps, the most significant for it addressed the perennial and foremost fear in the minds of the Saudi Royal family regime change. Historically, Saudi Arabias closest Muslim ally, Pakistan has been the trusted go-to nation for managing all internal and external threats to the vulnerable House of Saud. The role of the Pakistan Armys Special Services Group (SSG) in overcoming the seizure of the Grand Mosque at Mecca in 1979 typified both the sort of domestic challenges that beset the rule of the Saud family as indeed the faith reposed on Pakistani soldiers. In the 1970s and 1980s, up to 20,000 Pakistani soldiers were said to be deployed within Saudi Arabia to protect its sensitive spots. With the sixth largest military in the world, reasonable combat-exposure and even nuclear capabilities on Pakistans side, the Saudi-Pakistan relationship became more symbiotic, logical and mutually-gratifying. Custodianship of the two holiest mosques and as the ready investor in all domestic urgencies of Pakistan led a former Pakistani Ambassador to Saudi Arabia to famously state that the security of Saudi Arabia was a personal matter. It is often claimed that the Saudis had even secretly funded the Pakistani nuclear programme as it allowed them the plausible option of deniability as also ensured the requisite protection via Pakistan in the face of growing threats from its sectarian-nemesis, Iran and also states like Saddams Iraq and Israel. The Saudi funding of the Pakistan-controlled Afghan mujahideen in the 1980s and 1990s is a matter of recorded fact. Today, a leaner Pakistani contingent in the form of advisors, trainers and even combat soldiers, ensures the continuity of this crucial comfort-factor for both nations. Deteriorating relationship with the US and parallel growing proximity of both nations with the alternate power centre of China is yet another matter of strategic option and convergence. The influence that the Saudis can wield on the Pakistani state and also its powerful military was in full display when the Saudi brokered release and exit for the deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the 1999 military coup by the then Pakistani General, Pervez Musharraf. Later, the Saudis were able to rope in the just-retired Pakistani Chief of Army, General Raheel Sharif, to head the controversial 41-nation Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Alliance (IMCTA), based out of Riyadh without General Raheel Sharif completing the mandatory two-year cool-off period required before accepting any international assignment. There was a minor bump in the relationship with Pakistan shying away from committing its military forces in Saudi Arabias misguided war in Yemen, owing to sectarian implications within the tinderbox of Pakistan itself. Soon, security desperation for the Saudis and the dire economic desperation for Pakistanis ensured that the two nations perpetuate and strengthen the umbilical cord of quid pro quo. Expectedly, Pakistan pulled out all stops to roll out the red carpet for MbS and he did not disappoint his hosts with a slew of $20 billion investments for cash-strapped Pakistanis. More pertinently, the loaded statement, suggesting the dissuasion of politicising the UN listing regime, when India was in the midst of making international efforts to name and shame Jaish-e-Mohammads Masood Azhar, did not go unnoticed in New Delhi. Maturity, gravitas and nuanced diplomacy is not a known MbS strength, and particularly at this moment of vulnerability for himself, he would be driven by the urge to buy out Pakistani guarantees for securing the Kingdoms worst nightmare regime change. No other country of the 41 nation IMCTA grouping has either the quantity or quality of readily-deployable military or is as deeply indebted to Saudi Arabia for its own economic survival (2.5 million Pakistani work in Saudi Arabia) as the Pakistanis affording a win-win solution for both by deepening ties. Imran Khans charm offensives elicited a candid and spontaneous, Consider me Pakistans Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, from MbS. Therefore, given Saudi Arabias own priorities and strategic roadmap imperatives, Pakistan will remain a preferred ally that will always benefit from a deliberate overlook for any of its misdemeanours as long as they do not harm Saudi Arabian interests directly. India shares common ground with Saudi Arabia on religious extremism (finally) and on organisations like the Islamic State (IS) or Al Qaeda though a similar aversion and clamp-down on the subcontinental extremist bodies like the Jaish-e-Mohammad or even the Pakistan-sponsored Taliban, may not be as forthcoming. On the contrary, equity with the likes of the Afghan Taliban may actually give Saudi Arabia counter-leverage against the US in its battle of wits. Diminishing the Pakistani establishment, especially its military, would be perceived to be extremely counter-productive to Saudi interests, as it risks portents of regime-change in Saudi Arabia a nightmare that Pakistan willy-nilly guarantees against. (The writer is former Lt Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry) While the UNSC has named JeM in its resolution, it should follow up by curtailing funds to Pakistan-based terror outfits Given that China has always obliged its puppet state of Pakistan in the past and blocked any anti-terror resolution against groups that use the territory of Indias western neighbour to launch a constant stream of small attacks on our country, it was telling that even it was forced into approving the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution. With trade talks with the United States stalled and Chinas economy feeling the heat due to the Trump Administrations talks on that front, China finally gave up its blatant hypocrisy and approved this resolution. One must not forget that despite Chinas covert support for Islamist terrorists in Pakistan, that country has been brutalising its Islamic minority in its north-west region. The Uighurs in particular have been incarcerated in mass camps, which according to scant reports from that region, are akin to Nazi Germanys concentration camps. Unfortunately, JeM chief, Masood Azhar, while able to indoctrinate youths into killing themselves, does not quite comprehend the concept of irony of being protected by a country whose policy towards his Muslim brethren, whom he claims to be fighting for, is so frighteningly barbaric. But even if China condemns the attack on Indian paramilitary forces, albeit indirectly through a UNSC resolution, it will not change Pakistans behaviour. As long as funds continue to flow into Pakistan from Saudi Arabia, China and even Western powers, which are desperate for peace in Afghanistan, can do little. The Pakistani meddling has left its western neighbour poverty-stricken and under-developed yet flush with weapons. The US and the European Union through their central banks must do more to block the routes of terror fundings. The United States Treasury Department, for example, claims jurisdiction whenever the US dollar is used in bribes or terror and following the 9/11 attacks has done a lot to clean out the global banking system of terror funding and money laundering. Yet, much more needs to be done to clean up the system. In India as well, despite digitisation and the impact of demonetisation, money-laundering continues to grease the wheels of the terrorist machine in Kashmir. It is likely that the authorities are aware of how the system works, often through seemingly legitimate businesses. They have to crack down on these. While cutting the money machine will not completely stop terrorism in the Valley, it can dramatically aid the situation because indoctrination only goes so far. Without money, terror activities also dry up. This is similar to the methods used by the Israelis in combating terror. While the Government has acted against wanton sources of foreign money coming into India, which earlier had little or no accountability, it has dawdled in cracking down on those who fund Kashmiri separatists. And this has to stop now. Had the post-modernists bothered to look beneath the meta-narratives of 20th century revolutions, they would not have come up with a naive account Eleventh February, 2019, marked the 40th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, which is also remembered as an Islamic revolution by some historians. But was it? Not according to celebrated American journalist and author Mark Bowden. In a November 18, 2009 piece for the Wall Street Journal, Bowden wrote that the movement which ousted the Shah dictatorship was primarily a nationalist one. He added that many of those, who took part in the commotion, were not motivated by the desire to establish a theocracy, but a desire to cast off authoritarianism. Bowden is not the only prominent writer to hold this view. This assessment first emerged in 1982 in the book, Iran Since the Revolution, written by the late professor of politics Sepehr Zabih. Writing just three years after the revolution, Zabih said that the revolution was driven by a wide coalition of anti-Shah forces, which included democrats, liberals, secular-nationalists, communists, socialists and Islamists. According to Zabih, after the Shah dictatorship collapsed in January 1979, there was a power grab among various groups that worked in unison during the revolution. However, some historians continued to explain the revolution as Islamic. While dealing with the immediate pre-revolution scenario, however, even they agree that multiple forces, advocating a diverse range of ideologies, were involved during the upheaval. They agree upon the point that Irans senior religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini was the most widely accepted figure of authority during the revolution even by those who hold the claim that the clergy hijacked the revolution. But foreign affairs expert Robin Wright in her book The Last Great Revolution wrote that even though many secular, liberal and even some Leftist forces agreed to accept Khomeini as the revolutions central figure, they did so to keep the movement intact and, more so, because they believed Khomeini did not have any overt political ambitions. Just before leaving for Tehran from Paris (where he had been in exile) Khomeini told the French daily, Le Monde, that it was not his intent to make religious leaders run the Government. Whats more, as Bowden notes in his 2006 book, Guests of the Ayatollah, on his return to Iran after the Shahs fall, the Ayatollah retired to his home in Qom after agreeing to form an interim set-up of secular technocrats led by the anti-Shah liberal-democrat Mehdi Bazargan. According to Wright, just a year after the revolution, Khomeini decreed that no cleric was allowed to run in Irans first post-revolution elections in 1980, even though he had already declared Iran to be an Islamic republic. A centre-right liberal, Syed Banisadar, won the election, attracting 75.6 per cent of the popular vote. The candidate of the Islamic Republican Party, which was pushing for an entirely theocratic set-up, bagged just 3.35 per cent. But by 1981, Khomeini was being hassled by the clerics to dismiss Banisadar because he was acting against the clergy. In June 1981, after realising that he had lost Khomeinis backing, Banisadar managed to escape abroad. Political scientist John Limbert, in his book, Iran: At War With History, wrote that Iran was ravaged by violence between various groups that had taken part in the revolution. After Banisadars escape, the nationalist and liberal groups were systematically eliminated by pro-Khomeini Islamic militias. The Leftist outfits picked up arms to push back the influence of the clerics. But after ordering a purge in Irans universities, which had been hotbeds of Leftist student agitation during the revolution, the emerging Islamic regime went all out against the Leftists. By December 1983, the pro-Khomeini Islamic Republican Party had managed to grab absolute power and turn Iran into a theocracy. The irony of it all is that many clerics were some of the last to join the movement against the Shah. One important commentator of the revolution who called it Islamic was the famous post-modernist French philosopher Michel Foucault. But in the book, Foucault and the Iran Revolution, Jennet Afary and KB Anderson wrote that, in his post-modernist pursuit of challenging the idea of materialistic rationale, Foucault fell for the seductions of militant Islam. They wrote that in his search for political spirituality, he ended up romanticising an idea which was totalitarian in nature. It was Foucaults romanticised reading of the Iranian revolution which made most post-modernists claim that Irans revolution was unique in the context of 20th century revolutions because it was religious in character. But since post-modernism often gets caught up in attacking grand narratives as an end product alone, it often fails to investigate the more complex historicity of events and forces which are present beneath the meta-narratives. For example, to Foucault, in an era of communist revolutions, the Iranian revolution was unique because it was driven by political spirituality. This was a naive account. The Iranian Revolution actually unfolded like most 20th-century revolutions did different forces holding differing (even opposing) ideologies coming together to uproot a common enemy and then competing with each other in a grab for power. Had the post-modernists bothered to look beneath the meta-narratives of 20th century revolutions, they would not have ignored the following facts: The October 1917 Bolshevik/communist revolution in Russia was the outcome of a more broad-based revolution in February 1917 in which revolutionary and democratic groups of various shades of left Russian nationalists and urban middle-class groups collaborated to overthrow the Tsar. The hard-left group (the Bolsheviks) led by Marxist ideologue Vladimir Lenin, grabbed power in late 1917 through a coup detat. Lenin wasnt even present during the February revolution. He returned to Russia from exile in Switzerland in April 1917. The 1949 Communist revolution in China emerged during a tussle between Mao Tse Tungs communists and Chinese nationalists. Both had collaborated to oust the occupying Japanese forces during World War II. But in the post-War conflict for power between the two, the communists managed to grab power. The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood collaborated with secular Egyptian nationalists during the 1952 uprising in Egypt which overthrew the Egyptian monarchy. In the post-1952 tussle between the two, the nationalists managed to oust the Brotherhood from the equation. The 1959 Cuban revolution was a nationalist uprising. It wasnt until two years later, in 1961, that Fidel Castro after consolidating his power declared that his was a communist regime. During the 1979 Nicaraguan revolution, the communist Sandinistas were overtly supported by that countrys Catholic priests. The post-modernists in their haste to declare the Iranian Revolution unique not only ignored the uniform patterns of 20th-century revolutions, but they also missed the political spirituality present in the Nicaraguan revolution and the 1952 Egyptian uprising. Whats more, to challenge the whole idea of the meta-narrative, they eventually created their own meta-narrative, by declaring the revolution in Iran as Islamic. (Courtesy: The Dawn) Delhis latest tourist attraction, comprising the replicas of the Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramid of Giza, Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Christ the Redeemer statue of Rio de Janeiro, Romes Colosseum and Statute of Liberty is now opened to the public. Lauding the efforts of the South delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), the Union Home Minister said that the development of this park will provide a boost to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. He said that it is time to move forward towards waste to wealth. The SDMC has not only utilised waste piled up at landfill sites but has contributed substantially in containing air pollution, he said. The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal said that this park is itself a wonder. He appreciated the development of waste to wonder park and underlined the need for putting in place a proper mechanism of maintenance. A senior SDMC official said that the seven replicas are made of 150 tonnes of scraps of automobile parts and other metal waste like fans, rods, iron sheets, nut-bolts, bicycle and bike parts and age-old appliances. The replicas have been fabricated artistically and the park has been commissioned in six months, he said. To avoid the rush of visitors, the civic body has decided to charge Rs 50 for adults and Rs 25 for children (3-12 years) as an entry fee. However, senior citizens and children of corporation-run schools will not be charged any amount. In order to light the park, the SDMC has installed solar trees and rooftop panels that will generate 50 KW powers. The surplus power will be sold to the power distribution companies to earn revenue, the official said. Highlighting the steps taken to manage solid waste, SDMC Commissioner, Dr Puneet Kumar Goel said that the SDMC will achieve 100 per cent target of waste processing in the next year. The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has honoured Praveen Pathak, Chief General Manager (Mkt. Promotion & Export) & Corporate IT HoD, BrahMos Aerospace, with a state order signed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for his invaluable contribution in strengthening defence cooperation between India and Russia UD Choubey, Director General, SCOPE delivered special address at the 10th Empower Solar program and 4th Solar Urja Puraskar 2019 held on Friday. UD Choubey said that non-conventional energy is key to developing economy. Talking about the challenges in solar energy sector, Choubey said that land is the biggest issue particularly in rural areas and awareness should be created by joining hands to promote solar energy sector. DG, SCOPE further added that R&D is another aspect that needs attention to cut imports of solar panels Punjab National Bank MD and CEO Sunil Mehta has been awarded Top Rankers Excellence Award for Entreprenuerial Path-breaker at 20th National Management Summit organised by Top Rankers Management Consultants. The award was given by VSK Sood, President Top Rankers Management Club and Sandeep Marwah, President AAFT Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of Civil Aviation inaugurated and laid the Foundation Stone for the various infrastructure development projects for Eight AAI Airports through Video Link on Friday. These Airports include Trivandrum, Calicut Airport in Kerala; Mangaluru Airport in Karnataka. Madurai Airport in Tamil Nadu; Rupsi Airport in Assam; Jaipur Airport in Rajasthan, Amritsar Airport in Punjab, Imphal Airport in Manipur As we mourn the 40 CRPF soldiers killed in the suicide car-bomb attack in Pulwama, it is important to show respect for the deeply personal nature of all such loss. However, the public nature of the attack a terrorist one, probably aided by forces in neighboring Pakistan also evokes loud political commentary. Mourning the Pulwama loss should not allow our politicians to make a spectacle of it. (Photo: Reuters) The party in power indulges in some necessary chest-thumping and name-calling; the parties in Opposition indulge in some inevitable finger-pointing and name-calling. Various political commentators jump out of their air-conditioned offices and explain it all with reference to Pakistani intrigue, Indian political failures, Chinese jockeying, etc. It is in this context that I write this piece, hesitatingly, for to talk publicly about a great personal loss is to demean it to some extent. And yet, it has to be done. For there is also always the need to talk sensibly about any tragedy that has a public dimension. In order to talk sensibly about the tragedy in Pulwama, one has to talk of another terrorist strike this time, on the other side of Pakistan. It took place around the same time on the Iran-Pakistan border 27 Iranian soldiers were killed in a suicide-strike that is said to involve a Pakistani. Like the Indian authorities in the case of Pulwama, the Islamist (Shia) Iranian authorities blamed it on the instigation of Islamist (Sunni) forces in Pakistan and the Pakistani secret service. Around the time India was laying its martyrs to rest, Iran was reeling under a similar suicide bombing tragedy. (Photo: AP) In both cases, there were grounds for pointing an accusing finger at actors in Pakistan, a country where certain forces have achieved the ability to bend governmental authority to their will. Islamist, feudal and other forces, not least a military secret service fed on decades of US support, have their own agendas in Pakistan. This is partly the result of the faulty religious rationale behind the creation of that nation, and partly the legacy of General Zia. There are forces in Pakistan which do not represent the decent Pakistani citizen which have turned that nation into a hotbed of fanaticism, feudalism and authoritarianism, and these forces would love to see India become a mirror image of what they have made Pakistan. General Zia: A good reminder of the damage that one man can do. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) To say so is not to absolve Indian politicians of their share of blame in failing to resolve the genuine problems of the Kashmiri people. Instead, it is to ask yourself this question when something like the Pulwama attack takes place, do its perpetuators and backers not realise that it will only strengthen those forces on the Hindutva fringe that resemble them the most? Of course they do. And that is what they want, for their ideological world is divided into Islam versus all the rest. Every action that makes this paranoid ideological world become more real is welcome to such Islamists. But even this is not sufficient to understand what happened in Pulwama. For that, we need to refer to another news event from roughly the same week Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to European nations, demanding that they take back about 1,000 Islamic State (IS) combatants, now held prisoner by Americans and their allies in Syria and Iraq, even as the last bastion of IS collapsed in the Middle East. Take back? Yes, take back, because these imprisoned IS fighters come from developed European nations; they have European passports. Now, the question is this: if there are about a thousand such IS combatants, guess how many must also come from Asian nations, such as Pakistan and Afghanistan? And the next question: where will they be going as the IS jihadis disperse from the fallen Caliphate? I am certain US intelligence sources know that with the Caliphate of the IS collapsing in Syria-Iraq, there will be an exodus of trained jihadists to neighbouring lands. These jihadis will need to be contained or redeployed. It appears that one possibility is to redeploy them against Iran, using the extant Shia-Sunni rivalry, which in any case played a major role in the Syrian and Iraqi conflicts (and continues to devastate Yemen). The current US rhetoric against Iran, urged by its two best friends, Israel and Saudi Arabia, makes this clear. As these trained, defeated ISIS fighters exit Syria, where will they be released? (Photo: Reuters) Obviously, the redeployment will involve the usual official and semi-official actors in Pakistan, actors which the US services have patronised since at least as far back as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. And just as obviously, the US led by a President who thinks that Nepal is a state of India is unlikely to realize, or even care, if these Pakistani actors redeploy the jihadists against India as well. The strong condemnation of the Pulwama attack by USA so facetiously being touted by the media does not essentially change all this, and it wont, unless the US shows a far better understanding of what is happening in the region. For that, it will have to think independently of its best friends, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Trumped: Hardly an inspiring or reassuring leader. (Photo: AP/file) In short, the terror strike in Iran might be closely related to the terror strike in India. But the solution to this is not to point a convenient finger at China (another American bugbear) or wave swords at a dysfunctional political Pakistan. Instead, India, as a regional power with global standing, needs to work out a full regional strategy involving like-minded people in all these countries, and particularly Iran, with which India shares a history, culture and languages. Persian, after all, is a sister language of Sanskrit. This strategy has to be pan-regional, and largely shorn of US influence, because the US has a very limited understanding of Islamic politics in the entire region and its interests do not coincide with those of India. To start with, India needs to co-ordinate Iran and China (which, despite its Pakistani connections, is increasingly vulnerable to Islamist insurgency) into a multi-national discussion, instead of resting happy with easy US condemnation of the Pulwama attack. Above all, India has to resist being used as a pawn in the confused American attempt to punish either Iran or China. Also read: Pulwama Terror Attack: Fight Pakistan, but fight these internal battles too A huge Russian flag was draped over scaffolding at Salisbury Cathedral on Sunday nearly a year on from the Novichok attack in the city. Workmen were spotted removing the flag on Sunday morning after it was reportedly hung overnight. The stunt was branded a slap in the face after former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok on March 4 last year. Jo Broom, Conservative councillor for the St Martins and Cathedral Ward, said: My initial reaction was just one of shock and sadness that someone would choose to do this at any time, but particularly as were leading up to the first anniversary of the incident and the city is very much trying to be positive. Residents will just be very upset, its just a little bit of a slap in the face. After the flag was removed, Salisbury MP John Glen said: Thankfully it has been removed now what a stupid stunt mocking the serious events sadly experienced in Salisbury last year. A Russian flag draped across scaffolding at Salisbury Cathedral on February 17 (Chris Maple/PA) Thankfully it has been removed now - what a stupid stunt - mocking the serious events sadly experienced in Salisbury last year https://t.co/eDUBFhuOT4 John Glen MP (@JohnGlenUK) February 17, 2019 Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after she came into contact with a perfume container used to carry the Novichok on June 30. A police inquiry found the two agents from the Russian secret service, the GRU, carried out the attack. Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov travelled from Russia to Salisbury, in Wiltshire, via London before spraying the nerve agent on Sergei Skripals front door. The Dean of Salisbury, the Very Reverend Nicholas Papadopulos, said: This was a remarkably stupid thing to do and makes light of the huge personal tragedies involved, and the damage done to the city by the unprecedented nerve agent attacks on Salisbury last year. A Wiltshire Police spokeswoman said: We are aware of this matter and inquiries are ongoing. It is not a police matter at the moment. Sinn Fein are set to meet police after it emerged the service failed to disclose significant information relating to a notorious loyalist mass shooting. Police Ombudsman Michael Maguire found that significant, sensitive information around the incident at a bookmakers in south Belfast was not made available to his investigators. Five people were killed on February 5 1992, when members of the Loyalist Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) opened fire on the Sean Graham bookmakers shop on the lower Ormeau Road. Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman Dr Michael Maguire. (PA Archive) Dr Maguires office said the material has opened new lines of inquiry in its investigation into the Ormeau Road shootings, as well as activities of loyalist paramilitaries in the north west between 1988 and 1994, and its probe into the murder of teenager Damien Walsh at a coal depot in west Belfast in 1993. PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Stephen Martin apologised on behalf of the police and said they never sought to withhold the information from the ombudsman investigators, putting the incident down to human error. PSNI Deputy Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Martin apologised on behalf of the organisation for failing to disclose information to the Police Ombudsman about a notorious Loyalist shooting. (Rebecca Black/PA) On Monday, Sinn Fein leader Mary-Lou McDonald and deputy leader Michelle ONeill are set to meet relatives of victims affected, the ombudsman and officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Mrs McDonald described the incident as appalling and unacceptable. Many see these latest revelations as further evidence that the cover-up of the role of British State forces in the conflict in Ireland is systemic, she said. Confidence in policing is at its lowest level for many years. Action is needed. Billy McManus (left) and Tommy Duffin, whose fathers William and Jack were both killed in the Sean Graham shooting on Ormeau Road on February 5 1992. On Saturday, Time for Truth campaigners, including family members of those killed in the Ormeau Road shooting, took to the streets of Belfast to call for legacy mechanisms to be put in place. They highlighted demands for the implementation of the mechanisms negotiated in the Stormont House Agreement, adequate funding of legacy inquests, and of the Police Ombudsmans office to allow it to complete outstanding historical investigations. Speaking ahead of her partys meetings on Monday, Mrs McDonald also called for the legacy structure to be implemented. The British government must immediately provide funding to the Lord Chief Justice for legacy inquests and adequate funding to the Ombudsmans Office to properly discharge its duties without further hindrance to its investigations, she said. It is most important to remember that it is the families of the victims who are being let down once again. We will be speaking to families of the victims of the Ormeau Road bookies killings and other families hurt by this latest sickening blow. These families have been waiting 27 years for truth and justice. A body has been found in the search for missing man Allan Burns, who disappeared in January. Police said the body was discovered in the water at Castle Semple Loch in Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, shortly before 9am on Sunday. Formal identification of the body has yet to take place but the family of Allan Burns has been told of the discovery. A police search was launched for Mr Burns after he went missing on January 18. The 71-year-old dementia sufferer was last seen on the cycle path at Kilbarchan, heading towards Lochwinnoch. Police Scotland said officers were called to the loch at 8.55am, where the body was was recovered. The family of Allan Burns with Sergeant Barry McNaught (Police Scotland/PA) There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death but a post-mortem examination will be carried out to establish the cause of death. A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal. On Monday, Mr Burns family issued a plea for help to find him following his completely out of character disappearance and thanked the police and local community for their efforts in the search. Sinn Feins deputy leader has told supporters that it is time to make partition history. Michelle ONeill was speaking at a commemoration event for former party councillor John Davey in Lavey, Co Londonderry. Mr Davey was shot dead by Loyalist terrorists in 1989. Ms ONeill paid tribute to him as a patriot. .@moneillsf As I stand in front of you today and we remember the life and commitment of John Davey, let me leave you with this thought. The Good Friday Agreement gave all of our people the opportunity and choice to decide our future together. pic.twitter.com/UwzQHtKozn Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) February 17, 2019 In her speech to the gathering a day after Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster accused Sinn Fein of blocking the restoration of devolution, Ms ONeill said her party wants to see the removal of the major obstacles. If the DUP or anyone else wish to exercise political power in government in the north of Ireland now or in the future, then the cost is to embrace a rights-based society and openness, transparency and equal partnership government, which works for everyone, she said. Sinn Fein deputy leader Michelle ONeill has told supporters that it is time to make partition history. (Liam McBurney/PA) Sinn Fein wants to see the removal of the major obstacles to restoring the political institutions, an end to the denial of rights and the DUPs financial scandals, and the full implementation of the Good Friday and subsequent agreements. We want an Assembly which operates differently from what has gone before, to usher in a new kind of politics, which is progressive, respectful, and has integrity. We will not be part of an unjust government. There will be no return to the status quo. Ms ONeill went on to say it is time to talk about the future of the island of Ireland. We are now in the midst of what is the most defining period politically, economically and constitutionally since the Good Friday Agreement 21 years ago, she said. It is time to talk about the future of our island and people together. And it is time to render the British border in Ireland permanently invisible and to make the partition of this country history. Police are hunting the abhorrent individuals who shot a man in a targeted attack. A 29-year-old man is being treated in hospital after shots were fired in the Springburn area of Glasgow on Saturday. Medics have described his condition as serious but stable. Police believe two men in a red Audi estate car approached the victim in Dykemuir Street at about 11.15am. They then made off at speed down nearby Craigenbay Street. The passenger in the Audi is described by Police Scotland as being a man in his late 30s, who was clean shaven and wearing a dark tammy hat and a dark hoody. Police Scotland said the shooting in Glasgow was `targeted (Joe Giddens/PA) There is no description of the driver at this time. Detective Inspector Jim Bradley from Greater Glasgow CID said: This targeted attack was carried out in a residential street in broad daylight and the men responsible not only endangered the life of the victim, but other members of the public in the surrounding area. It is absolutely vital that we trace these abhorrent individuals and we would urge anyone with information that could assist our inquiries to come forward. He appealed for information, urging the public: If you were in the vicinity of Dykemuir Street yesterday around 11.15am and noticed a red Audi estate, or anything at all suspicious, please get in touch. We also believe that the vehicle involved may have been in the area in the days prior to the shooting taking place. If you think you may have seen a red Audi estate earlier this week it is important that you let us know. Police Scotland will be carrying out additional patrols in the area to provide reassurance to members of the public, he added. Climate demonstrators blocked roads outside London Fashion Week on Sunday to protest against the unsustainable industry. More than 100 campaigners joined the Extinction Rebellion groups disruption march as they urged fashion brands to tackle a global ecological emergency. Demonstrations began when a small crowd rallied outside Victoria Beckhams morning event at the Tate Britain and blocked Fashion Week cars travelling to the show. One of our swarms blocking the road outside London Fashion Week! #ExtinctionRebellion #LFW pic.twitter.com/PDVkWue98t Extinction Rebellion (@ExtinctionR) February 17, 2019 A larger group then moved to the events main venue at The Strand, in central London, where they blocked several roads carrying a banner with the message rebel for life. Nuala Gathercole Lam, from Extinction Rebellion, said: We ask the fashion industry, who do you want to listen to, the youth and the future, or the words of our current Prime Minister, whose Government is criminally neglecting the UKs agreed responsibilities under the Paris agreement in the face of the ecological emergency? Now it is time for the fashion industry to hear the call of the youth. Protesters demanded a more sustainable fashion industry (Yui Mok/PA) Protester Lucas Spencer, 17, who travelled to London from Leeds, said: I feel like its everyones problem. The world is being killed, we know it is, its not just dying, there are people killing it and if nobody speaks about it nothing is going to change. The fashion industry creates a lot of pollution and the chemicals they use create a lot of waste. Leaflets handed out by the group said the protest was a campaign against the catastrophic consequences of inaction. Climate change activists blocked roads during the demo (Yui Mok/PA) Fashion fans at the show also said they supported an end to fast fashion and throwaway culture. Speaking outside the main venue, Tatiana Phillips, 34, a personal stylist visiting the show, said: Im sure there should be something done, theres a reason, but I dont think they should go crazy about it. Just yesterday at the festival and today they have been talking about sustainable fashion and how its important to move that way. Student Holly Cudby, 21, who was also visiting, added: I think it does need to be more sustainable, fast fashion, even though I buy into it. Runaway schoolgirl Shamima Begum has claimed she was just a housewife when she left Britain to join Islamic State (IS) in Syria and does not regret her decision. Ms Begum, who has given birth to a baby boy, accepted she may have made a mistake but told Sky News that living under IS had made her stronger, tougher. The 19-year-old said she had been attracted to go to Syria after seeing news and videos on the internet which emphasised the role of family, adding that her biggest priority now was her son. But she admitted she knew the group was carrying out beheadings and executions before she left, adding that she was OK with it at first. Asked if she felt she made a mistake travelling to Syria, she said: In a way, yes, but I dont regret it because its changed me as a person. Its made me stronger, tougher, you know. I married my husband, I wouldnt have found someone like him back in the UK. I had my kids, I did have a good time there. Its just that then things got harder and I couldnt take it any more and I had to leave. Ms Begum was speaking next to her newborn son, who she said she had named after her previous son who died, in accordance with her husbands wishes. Shamima Begum fears her baby will be taken away from her (Metropolitan Police/PA) The teenager was one of three schoolgirls, along with Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase, from Bethnal Green Academy who left the UK to travel to Syria in February 2015. She told The Times last week while heavily pregnant that she wishes to bring up her baby in the UK, and her family have begged for her to be shown mercy and to be allowed to return to east London. She said she felt a lot of people should have sympathy for me as she did not know what she was getting into when she left the UK, before acknowledging that it would be really hard to be rehabilitated into British society. She said: It would be really hard, everything I have been through. Im still kind of in the mentality of planes over my head and having the emergency backpack and starving and all these things. It would be a really big shock to go back to the UK and start a life again. When it was put to her that people in Britain may have concerns about the views she may still have about IS, she said: Thats something they have to question me about before they take my child away, I guess. Asked to respond to comments that she could be potentially very dangerous if she returned, she said: They dont have any evidence against me doing anything dangerous, when I went to Syria I was just a housewife, the entire four years I stayed at home, took care of my husband, took care of my kids, I never did anything I never made propaganda, I never encouraged people to come to Syria. They dont really have proof that I did anything that is dangerous. Ms Begum said no British consulate officials had met or spoken to her, only journalists. Earlier on Sunday, Ms Begums family revealed they had been told she had given birth. In a statement released through their lawyer they said: We, the family of Shamima Begum, have been informed that Shamima has given birth to her child, we understand that both she and the baby are in good health. As yet we have not had direct contact with Shamima, we are hoping to establish communications with her soon so that we can verify the above. The lawyer, Tasnime Akunjee, later confirmed: Its a boy. CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Chinese-Australian billionaire Chau Chak Wing was awarded 280,000 Australian dollars ($200,000) in damages on Friday by an Australian judge who ruled he was defamed by a media report that insinuated he bribed a former United Nations general assembly president. The businessman, philanthropist and generous political donor sued Fairfax Media and journalist John Garnaut over an online story published in October 2015 under the headline: "Are Chau Chak Wing's circles of influence in Australia-China ties built on hot air?" Garnaut later became a China analyst who was commissioned by the Australian government to write a classified report that found the Chinese Communist Party for a decade had tried to influence Australian policy, compromise political parties and gain access to all levels of government. The report led to Parliament passing laws last year forbidding covert foreign interference in domestic politics and making industrial espionage for a foreign power a crime. The laws created a diplomatic rift with China. Federal Court judge Michael Wigney found the Fairfax Media article contained three defamatory meanings - that Chau bribed former U.N. General Assembly president John Ashe, was part of a plot to bribe Ashe and acted in so seriously wrong a manner as to deserve extradition to the United States on criminal charges. Chau welcomed the decision, saying his faith in the Australian legal system had been vindicated. He said in a statement that he would donate the damages awarded to charity. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers, formerly owned by Fairfax Media, which merged in December with a television network to become Australian media giant Nine, said in a statement that the ruling would be appealed. The judge found the article went beyond simply conveying a suspicion that Chau had bribed Ashe. "Rather, by a combination of disparagement, insinuation and suggestion, it effectively imputed guilt," Wigney said. Australian government lawmaker Andrew Hastie last year repeated in Parliament the accusation that Chau had conspired to bribe Ashe. But because Hastie made the accusation in Parliament, he cannot be sued for defamation. Nor can any media organization be sued for reporting anything that is said in Parliament. Hastie told Parliament that Chau was the real estate developer referred to in an unsealed U.S. indictment as "CC-3," which is short for the third co-conspirator. Chau allegedly arranged to pay $200,000 in 2013 to Ashe to attend a conference in China, plus $25,000 for the travel expenses of Ashe's entourage. Hastie told Parliament that during a visit to the United States a month earlier, U.S. officials confirmed to him that the 63-year-old Chinese-Australian dual citizen was CC-3. In Beijing, a foreign ministry spokesman said at the time the accusation was "purely fabricated out of thin air and not worth refuting." The alleged go-between for Chau and Ashe, U.S. citizen Sheri Yan, was sentenced in 2016 in the U.S. District Court in New York to 20 months in prison. Yan pleaded guilty to a bribery charge. Ashe had died weeks earlier in an accident in his New York home. The 61-year-old Antiguan diplomat had been waiting to stand trial after pleading not guilty to a tax charge related to the case. SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) - Costa Rica prosecutors have raided the local headquarters of Scotiabank as part of an investigation into purported bribes paid by the Brazilian company Odebrecht to Peruvian former President Alejandro Toledo. Prosecutors say in a statement that the action sought to find information it requested from the bank four times in 2018 but was denied. Scotiabank said Thursday that it has cooperated with authorities and will continue to do so. Toledo was president from 2001 to 2006. Peruvian prosecutors accuse him of taking $20 million in bribes from Odebrecht in exchange for approval to build a road between Brazil and his country. He has denied wrongdoing. Peru has been seeking his extradition from the United States. A woman and her boyfriend who were stationed with the US Army in South Korea conspired to kill her husband via Snapchat messages, in a life-insurance murder plot, police say. Kemia Hassel, 22, and Jeremy Cuellar, 24, pleaded not guilty in the December 31 killing of US Army Sergeant Tyrone Hassel III, on Wednesday. The 23-year-old was ambushed outside his family's home in St Joseph, Michigan, suffering multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the head, an autopsy revealed. Both of the accused and the victim were soldiers based in Fort Stewart, Georgia. Kemia Hassel (left), 22, and Jeremy Cuellar (right), 24, pleaded not guilty to murdering Kemia's husband, Tyrone Hassel III, on December 31, in a Michigan court on Wednesday Army Sgt Tyrone Hassel III, 23, was visiting his family for the holidays when he was shot multiple times around 11:10 pm on New Year's Eve near 2086 Colfax Avenue in St Joseph Township In sworn testimony, Township Police Officer Mike Lanier alleges that Kemia told police in a signed statement that she spent months meticulously planning her husband's assassination, because he was becoming a burden on her romantic fling Cuellar. Kemia and Tyrone married in 2016 and had one child together, a one-year-old boy. Police say Kemia told them she was unhappy in her marriage, but didn't want to divorce him as she'd no longer be an eligible beneficiary to his life insurance policy. From there, corresponding with Cuellar via Snapchat as they were both deployed in South Korea, the pair allegedly discussed ways in which to remove Tyrone from the picture permanently, it is claimed. Police say that Kemia (seen left with Tyrone, and right) told them she was unhappy in her marriage, but didn't want to divorce him as she'd no longer be a beneficiary of his life insurance policy Determined to press on with her romantic fling with Cuellar, investigators say Kemia corresponded with the other defendant on Snapchat for several months, meticulously planning her husband's murder, while she was stationed in South Korea Cuellar's (pictured) attorney, Edwin Johnson, says it will be 'hard' to link his client to the murder, because nobody saw him at the scene Prosecutors allege the pair used the app to exchange ideas under the belief the temporary nature of the messages would make it difficult for police to trace. Army Specialist Jaquan Hamilton and Army Corporal Tatanya Butler testified that they were aware of Kemia Hassel and Cuellar's affair and their plan. Edwin Johnson, Cuellar's lawyer, said it would be hard to pin the shooting on his client. 'No one saw him at the scene. He was going to give up on this. He wasn't going to do it. There were several other suspects,' Johnson said. Kaitlin Locke, Kemia's lawyer, said her client shouldn't be charged with first-degree murder because she didn't pull the trigger. But Judge Schrock said there was enough evidence to prove she aided and abetted the murder. Sgt Hassel was found to be 'gravely injured' with multiple gunshot wounds, when police arrived at the Michigan home. He was pronounced dead in hospital shortly afterwards A member of the victim's family is pictured listening during a preliminary exam for co-defendants Jeremy Cuellar, 24, and Kemia Hassel, 22, at the Berrien County Courthouse in St. Joseph, Michigan on Wednesday, February 20 St. Joseph Township Police Officer Mike Lanier (above), testified that Kemia told police in a signed statement that she spent months meticulously planning her husband's assassination Sgt Hassel, who was an active duty military member, was shot multiple times around 11:10 pm on New Year's Eve outside 2086 Colfax Avenue in St Joseph Township. His father, Tyrone Hassel Jr, said his son was leaving a family party and on his way to take his wife a plate of food when he was gunned down. 'He came back out the house and somebody shot him,' His father, Hassel Jr told WWMT at the time. 'I don't know if somebody followed him.' Upon arrival, officers found Sgt Hassel 'gravely injured' with multiple gunshot wounds, according to the police department. He was treated at the scene and rushed to Spectrum Lakeland Hospital where he was pronounced dead a shortly afterwards. After Wednesday's hearing, Hassel Jr said it was it was incredibly overwhelming to hear details of the murder plot that allegedly led to the death of his son. 'It's hard to take it in without crying,' he said. MADRID (AP) - The 2020 Spanish Vuelta will start with three stages in the Netherlands. Organizers say the race's 75th edition will begin with stages in the provinces of Utrecht and North Brabant, with riders going through 34 Dutch municipalities in three days. More than 400 kilometers (248 miles) of the Grand Tour event will be in Dutch territory before the riders return to Spain. The 2009 edition of the Vuelta also started in the Netherlands. The announcement was made Wednesday in the Dutch town of Breda. This year's race will have stages going through France and Andorra. British rider Simon Yates is the defending Spanish Vuelta champion. ___ More AP sports: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. (AP) - Some work-release inmates made a Valentine's Day rescue when a Florida couple accidentally locked their baby inside their SUV. Pasco County Sheriff's Office spokesman Kevin Doll told WFLA-TV the parents could not afford a locksmith, and the father intended to break a window. That's when a crew of trusties working nearby in their black-and-white striped uniforms offered to help. They helped pry open the front door just enough for one inmate to use a coat hanger to push a button that unlocked the SUV. The baby's mother, Shadow Lantry, told WPEC-TV the infant was "just sitting there happy" throughout Thursday's ordeal. Sheriff Chris Nocco told WZVN-TV the trusties "want to do the right thing in life." ___ This story corrects throughout to trusties, not trustees YOLA, Nigeria (AP) - Ask worshippers at St. Charles Catholic Church what they want most from Nigeria's presidential election, and the answer is peace. "We don't want any more bloodshed in Nigeria," said Everistus Suburu, vice chairman of the church in the northern state of Kano. "We are tired of (Islamic extremist group) Boko Haram." The presidential campaign has been largely free of the religious pressures that marked the 2015 vote when Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim northerner, defeated a Christian president from the south who had grown unpopular over his failure to control Boko Haram. Now, with the leading candidates both northern Muslims, the Christian vote may be decisive in sweeping the incumbent from power for the second time in as many elections in Africa's most populous country. Nigeria's 190 million people are divided almost equally between Christians mainly in the south and Muslims, like Buhari and his opponent Atiku Abubakar, who dominate in the north. Across northern Nigeria, where street scenes are rich with Islamic customs and mosques, people of different faiths have co-existed over the decades, even joining forces in recent years to fight Boko Haram, which opposes a secular Nigeria. An altar boy swings the thurible of incense during a morning service at the Saint Charles Catholic Church, the site of a 2014 bomb attack blamed on Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, in the predominantly-Christian neighborhood of Sabon Gari in Kano, northern Nigeria Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. With the leading contenders both northern Muslims, Nigeria's presidential contest has been largely free of the religious pressures that marked the 2015 vote, but the Christian vote is bound to be decisive in a race that could sweep the incumbent out of power. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Yet religious tensions remain even in an election that offers no clear sectarian choice, underscoring the pervasive influence of faith in Nigerian politics. It's not certain which of the top two candidates Christian voters will support, or if they will vote as a bloc. In a bit of last-minute drama, the electoral commission decided early Saturday, just hours before polls were to open, to postpone the election until Feb. 23. The commission's chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, cited "very trying circumstances" in logistics for the balloting, including bad weather affecting flights and fires at three commission offices in an apparent attempt "to sabotage our preparations." The delay has deepened the sense of mistrust and frustration some northern Christians feel toward Buhari's government. "The major problem we have in this country is that our leaders don't have the fear of God," said Murna Samuel, a schoolteacher in Yola, capital of the northern state of Adamawa, complaining about the postponement. "We are in a mess. It's like they don't want to do this election." Over the years, in an informal system known as zoning, Nigeria's presidency has tended to rotate: A Muslim from the north is succeeded by a Christian from the south. This is widely seen as key to holding the country together. The incumbent Buhari, a Muslim, took over from Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian. Now Buhari is seeking a second term, and his chief opponent is Muslim. The rotation to a Christian could come after a second term for Buhari. Both Buhari and Abubakar have Christian running mates, in keeping with tradition. Without legal backing, however, the rotational system essentially relies on the goodwill of the politicians of the day. "I am concerned," said the Rev. Maurice Kwairanga of the Catholic Secretariat in Yola. "If the Muslims are given a platform where there are no checks and balances, they want to turn the whole country to Islam. If you want to build a chapel, the process you have to go through is very difficult. And even if you complete the process you may not get the chapel." In Yola and other northern towns, killings allegedly undertaken by Muslim herders from the Fulani ethnic group have alarmed Christians, especially when no suspects are arrested. Abubakar is expected to perform well among Christian voters in some central states, such as Plateau and Kaduna, where the problem of marauding herders is severe, said Sylvester Akhaine, professor of political science at Lagos State University. "The issue of herdsman disturbs the Christians," said Godswill Sambo, a barman in Yola who is a member of the Lutheran Church. "For me, I will support a person who will bring peace to Nigeria and who is opposed to discrimination. You can see that Nigeria is disunited." Other Christians in Yola strongly support Abubakar, noting that his companies, including a major hotel and a university, employ hundreds of people across the religious divide. "Atiku may be Muslim, but he has opened up more job opportunities for everyone in this place," said Sunday Abraham, a spaghetti salesman with the Dangote Group. "At least there is a sign of job creation for all in him." ___ Associated Press journalists Sam Olukoya in Lagos and Josphat Kasire in Kano contributed. ___ Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa An usher and other churchgoers pray at the Living Faith church in the predominantly-Christian neighbourhood of Sabon Gari in Kano, northern Nigeria Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. With the leading contenders for the Presidency both northern Muslims, Nigeria's presidential contest has been largely free of the religious pressures that marked the 2015 vote, but the Christian vote is bound to be decisive in a race that could sweep the incumbent out of power. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Churchgoers leave after a morning service at the Saint Charles Catholic Church, the site of a 2014 bomb attack blamed on Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, in the predominantly-Christian neighborhood of Sabon Gari in Kano, northern Nigeria Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. With the leading contenders both northern Muslims, Nigeria's presidential contest has been largely free of the religious pressures that marked the 2015 vote, but the Christian vote is bound to be decisive in a race that could sweep the incumbent out of power. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) The son of one of the choristers stands with the choir during a morning service at the Saint Charles Catholic Church, the site of a 2014 bomb attack blamed on Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, in the predominantly-Christian neighborhood of Sabon Gari in Kano, northern Nigeria Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. With the leading contenders both northern Muslims, Nigeria's presidential contest has been largely free of the religious pressures that marked the 2015 vote, but the Christian vote is bound to be decisive in a race that could sweep the incumbent out of power. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Churchgoers pray during a morning service at the Saint Charles Catholic Church, the site of a 2014 bomb attack blamed on Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, in the predominantly-Christian neighborhood of Sabon Gari in Kano, northern Nigeria Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. With the leading contenders both northern Muslims, Nigeria's presidential contest has been largely free of the religious pressures that marked the 2015 vote, but the Christian vote is bound to be decisive in a race that could sweep the incumbent out of power. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Churchgoers prepare to take communion at a morning service at the Saint Charles Catholic Church, the site of a 2014 bomb attack blamed on Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, in the predominantly-Christian neighborhood of Sabon Gari in Kano, northern Nigeria Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. With the leading contenders both northern Muslims, Nigeria's presidential contest has been largely free of the religious pressures that marked the 2015 vote, but the Christian vote is bound to be decisive in a race that could sweep the incumbent out of power. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Churchgoers pray during a morning service at the Saint Charles Catholic Church, the site of a 2014 bomb attack blamed on Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, in the predominantly-Christian neighborhood of Sabon Gari in Kano, northern Nigeria Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. With the leading contenders both northern Muslims, Nigeria's presidential contest has been largely free of the religious pressures that marked the 2015 vote, but the Christian vote is bound to be decisive in a race that could sweep the incumbent out of power. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) A young member of the congregation looks at her mother during a morning service at the Saint Charles Catholic Church, the site of a 2014 bomb attack blamed on Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, in the predominantly-Christian neighborhood of Sabon Gari in Kano, northern Nigeria Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. With the leading contenders both northern Muslims, Nigeria's presidential contest has been largely free of the religious pressures that marked the 2015 vote, but the Christian vote is bound to be decisive in a race that could sweep the incumbent out of power. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Churchgoers pray and anoint their foreheads with oil at the Living Faith church in the predominantly-Christian neighbourhood of Sabon Gari in Kano, northern Nigeria, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. With the leading contenders for the Presidency both northern Muslims, Nigeria's presidential contest has been largely free of the religious pressures that marked the 2015 vote, but the Christian vote is bound to be decisive in a race that could sweep the incumbent out of power. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) An usher and other churchgoers pray at the Living Faith church in the predominantly-Christian neighbourhood of Sabon Gari in Kano, northern Nigeria Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. With the leading contenders for the Presidency both northern Muslims, Nigeria's presidential contest has been largely free of the religious pressures that marked the 2015 vote, but the Christian vote is bound to be decisive in a race that could sweep the incumbent out of power. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Churchgoers pray at the Living Faith church in the predominantly-Christian neighborhood of Sabon Gari in Kano, northern Nigeria Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. With the leading contenders for the Presidency both northern Muslims, Nigeria's presidential contest has been largely free of the religious pressures that marked the 2015 vote, but the Christian vote is bound to be decisive in a race that could sweep the incumbent out of power. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Rev. Father Maurice Kwairanga, pray during a mass at St Charles Catholic Church, in Ngurore, Nigeria, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. Nigeria's top candidates on Saturday condemned the last -minute decision to delay the presidential election until Feb. 23, blaming each other but appealing to Africa's largest democracy for calm. (AP Photo/ Sunday Alamba) Rev. Father Maurice Kwairanga, centre, bless parishioner during a mass at St Charles Catholic Church, in Ngurore, Nigeria, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. Nigeria's top candidates on Saturday condemned the last -minute decision to delay the presidential election until Feb. 23, blaming each other but appealing to Africa's largest democracy for calm. (AP Photo/ Sunday Alamba) Nigerian women take communion at St Charles Catholic Church, during a mass in Ngurore , Nigeria, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. Nigeria's top candidates on Saturday condemned the surprise last-minute decision to delay the presidential election for a week until Feb. 23, blaming each other but appealing to Africa's largest democracy for calm. (AP Photo/ Sunday Alamba) People pray at St Charles Catholic Church, during a mass in Ngurore , Nigeria, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. Nigeria's top candidates on Saturday condemned the surprise last-minute decision to delay the presidential election for a week until Feb. 23, blaming each other but appealing to Africa's largest democracy for calm. (AP Photo/ Sunday Alamba) Rev. Father Maurice Kwairanga, left, prepares for a mass at St Charles Catholic Church, in Ngurore, Nigeria Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/ Sunday Alamba) Nigerian women sing, at St Charles Catholic Church, during a mass in Ngurore , Nigeria, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. Nigeria's top candidates on Saturday condemned the surprise last-minute decision to delay the presidential election for a week until Feb. 23, blaming each other but appealing to Africa's largest democracy for calm. (AP Photo/ Sunday Alamba) DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa was in the forefront of a national effort to reduce partisanship in the courts nearly 50 years ago when it decided to stop electing judges and instead rely on nominations by a panel of citizens and lawyers. In all, about three dozen states adopted similar systems aimed at emphasizing legal expertise over politics. But now Republicans who control the governor's office and the Legislature say it's time to give politicians greater control. House and Senate leaders are moving to change how judges are chosen after being repeatedly frustrated by court rulings on topics like gay marriage and abortion. "Over the last 20 years there's been more and more judicial activism where the Supreme Court justices are trying to legislate from the bench," Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver said days before the legislative session began. The Iowa proposal appears to be part of a national effort in conservative states to bring the courts into sync with the other branches of GOP-led government. Iowa is among at least four states where Republican lawmakers are trying to lessen the role of attorneys on judicial nominating panels, a move that some critics say could lessen public faith in the judiciary. "It makes it increasingly difficult for the public to view judges as anything but politicians in robes...," said Douglas Keith, a counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School. "They need to serve as a check on other branches, and to appear that way in the public's eyes." FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2018, file photo, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds delivers her inaugural address in Des Moines, Iowa. Nearly 50 years after Iowa moved to reduce partisanship in its court system, Republicans who control the governor's office and the Legislature say it's time to give politicians greater control. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File) The Iowa proposal would allow legislative leaders rather than lawyers to select attorneys for a state panel that nominates judges for the Iowa Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. The governor, who also appoints members to the panel, chooses judges from among the finalists provided by the panel. Iowa created its system in 1962, when voters amended the state constitution. Iowa legislative leaders say the change is a way to give power to elected officials rather than private attorneys, but key supporters initially acknowledged the plan was born from frustration at court rulings, starting with a 2009 decision that legalized gay marriage. "It's just a matter of accumulation of dozens and dozens and dozens of activist rulings from the court," said Whitver. In Alaska and Wyoming, Republican legislators have submitted bills that would require state Senate confirmation of lawyers named to panels by other attorneys. In Missouri, a proposed constitutional amendment could allow the governor to appoint judges without relying on an independent commission that offers a list of candidates. Susanne DiPietro, executive director of the Alaska Judicial Council, said she's "at a loss to explain why the system needs to be changed" in her state. The council, comprised of lawyers and other citizens, screens and nominates judicial applicants to the governor. DiPietro noted that when Alaska's constitution was written in the late 1950s, the framers considered requiring legislative approval of lawyers named to the panel but rejected the idea. "The sentiment that won the day was that requiring legislative confirmation of the lawyers would inject too much political partisan politics into the process," she said. Wyoming Sen. Larry Hicks said his measure was also introduced to counter the influence of liberal lawyers in judicial nominations but that it is on hold while other legal system changes are implemented. Iowa's commission is comprised of 17 members and overseen by a state Supreme Court justice. The spots are split between lawyers elected by other attorneys and citizens appointed by the governor. All of those named by the governor are Republicans, and of the lawyers, five are Democrats, two are Republicans and one is an independent. House Speaker Linda Upmeyer said the process "doesn't have much accountability because you have attorneys selecting attorneys who select judges." When asked if the change would be perceived as a partisan move, Gov. Kim Reynolds said, "Let's not make it about that. Let's make sure we're representing all Iowans. I think that's what they're trying to do." However, the influential Christian conservative group The Family Leader, said the goal is to curb liberal rulings. Chuck Hurley, a lobbyist for the organization, said laws passed by the Legislature have been undone by "activist" judges that he says have declared a right to abortion in Iowa and redefined marriage. Tom Levis, president of the Iowa State Bar Association, denied that lawyers have stacked the Iowa courts with liberal judges, noting that there are twice as many Republicans as Democrats on the nominating council. "We don't want a governor or legislature stacking the commissions with people who have a particular political agenda," Levis said. "That's not right." If the new system is approved as expected, the new process would immediately take effect and result in Republicans naming 12 of 16 available positions - eight by the governor and the others appointed by the majority and minority leaders of each legislative chamber. ___ Follow Scott McFetridge on Twitter: https://twitter.com/smcfetridge Follow David Pitt: https://twitter.com/DavePitt FILE - In this Jan. 10, 2019, file photo, Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver speaks during The Associated Press' annual Iowa legislative seminar at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa. Nearly 50 years after Iowa moved to reduce partisanship in its court system, Republicans who control the governor's office and the Legislature say it's time to give politicians greater control. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File) SANAA, Yemen (AP) - U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths arrived on Sunday in the capital, Sanaa, to discuss the "complex situation" in and around the key port city of Hodeida, Yemeni security officials said. The Houthi rebels said their leader, Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, met with Griffiths to discuss the implementation of peace deals from December talks with Yemen's internationally recognized government. In Sweden in December, the two sides agreed to confidence-building measures, including to a cease-fire in Hodeida and the exchange of thousands of prisoners. But the implementation of those deals has been slow and marred by violence. Separately, Yemeni security officials said a bout of fighting between Houthi rebels and tribal fighters in the northern province of Hajjah has killed more than 85 combatants in the past two days. The officials said weeks of fighting has displaced dozens of families from the Hajour tribe in the Kushar district in Hajjah. They say the tribe sought help from the Saudi-led coalition backing the internationally recognized government in the fight against the Houthis. The coalition bombed the rebels who sieged the district, the officials said. FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019 file photo, United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths, center, and President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Peter Maurer, participate in a new round of talks by Yemen's warring parties in Amman, Jordan. Yemeni security officials said sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, that Griffiths arrived in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, to discuss the "complex situation" in and around the key port city of Hodeida. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh, File) The officials spoke anonymously as they weren't authorized to brief journalists. Yemen, the poorest Arab country, plunged into civil war in 2014, when the Iran-backed rebels captured the capital, Sanaa. The Saudi-led coalition intervened a year later. The fighting has taken a terrible toll on civilians, with thousands killed amid a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Millions suffer from food and medical care shortages and the country has been pushed to the brink of famine. Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un pose for the cameras at their first summit on June 12, 2018 in Singapore Convinced he has forged a budding friendship with Kim Jong Un, President Donald Trump frequently boasts that he has made history with the North Korean leader. But Trump's contention that he is a masterful negotiator will be put to a test during his second summit with Kim on February 27-28 in Hanoi as the world waits to see if he can deliver concrete results. Trump has hailed his "great chemistry" with Kim and voiced delight at "beautiful letters" from the totalitarian leader 30 years his junior. Trump points out that North Korea has not tested a nuclear bomb or long-range missile in more than a year and says he has saved the world from a devastating war -- a feat for which, he is not shy to say, he believes he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. But North Korea's nuclear program remains intact and the Kim dynasty, which has reigned with an iron fist for six decades, is skilled at the art of biding time. The most atypical of US presidents, Trump has taken a path rejected by his predecessors -- negotiating face-to-face with the leader of the reclusive regime. And the real estate mogul believes that his style -- direct and brash -- can succeed where years of diplomatic drudgework with Pyongyang have failed. - 'No rush,' says Trump - Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un take a stroll during their Singapore summit Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said that Trump had laid the groundwork for the "possibility of progress," even if the prospects remain uncertain. "A combination of fear and pain, combined with hope for a better future, may be just the right juxtaposition of sentiments to have instilled in Kim's mind," O'Hanlon said. "Whether through design or chance, or a bit of both, Trump managed to achieve this mix by 2018," he said. Trump himself has stayed evasive on what he hopes to achieve in Hanoi, which follows up the historic first summit between the two leaders in Singapore in June. "I think that North Korea and Chairman Kim have some very positive things in mind, and we'll soon find out," Trump told reporters on Tuesday. "But I'm in no rush. There's no testing. As long as there's not testing, I'm in no rush," he said. The two countries remain divided on the very meaning of denuclearization, with the United States wanting North Korea to give up its arsenal and Pyongyang supporting a more general end to nuclear weapons in the region. What if months or even years go by and North Korea gives up nothing significant? "I think Trump is calculating that he can run out the clock at least until the end of his first term with this strategy," said Vipin Narang, an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "A lot may depend on what Hanoi yields," he said. - Eye on 2020, or beyond? - Painter Tran Lam Binh works on portraits of Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un at a Hanoi cafe ahead of their summit For Christopher Green, an expert on Korea at the International Crisis Group, the issue of the calendar is central. Trump faces re-election next year and has already touted North Korea as an achievement, telling Americans after the Singapore summit that they can "sleep well tonight!" "The major concern is that Trump may be too keen to bring about something that looks to naive, glimpsing eyes like a foreign policy achievement, and won't do the essential legwork to ensure that a durable agreement is reached," Green said. "Something that looks like an achievement during his time in office may not have the necessary durability to radically alter the face of Northeast Asia," Green said. "We need to look beyond November 2020 and toward 2030 or 2040. Only then will we know." And with heads of state personally conducting the diplomacy, there may be little recourse if a new crisis erupts. North Korean troops pay tribute to late leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang Little more than a year ago, relations were in crisis and the two leaders were trading insults in an extraordinary personal way, with Trump calling Kim "little rocket man" and North Korean media branding Trump the "mentally deranged US dotard." Trump, who now respectfully addresses the young leader as "Chairman Kim," may seize on any symbolic show to prove his diplomacy is working, such as a North Korean offer to destroy -- again -- part of its key Yongbyon nuclear complex. "The risk is if Kim decides this unilateral testing moratorium -- because it's not in writing -- no longer works for him," Narang said. "Then there is no diplomatic exit ramp." The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea on February 8, 2019. A giant submarine deal between France and Australia is the latest sign of deepening relations between the two countries, which are being driven together by mutual concern about China and Britain's changing role in the world, analysts say. Australia announced last week that it had finalised a Aus$50 billion ($35 billion) deal to buy 12 attack-class submarines from the Naval Group consortium, partly owned by the French state. The contract had been under discussion for years -- a preliminary deal was signed in 2016 -- but the final signature capped a period of intense diplomatic activity propelled by French President Emmanuel Macron. "France and Australia have entered a completely new phase. We've never been this close," Australia's ambassador to France, Brendan Berne, told AFP. "It's more than a contract; it's a partnership based on trust. Through this project the French are entrusting us with key elements of sovereignty." Although ties between Paris and Canberra were improving even before Macron's election in 2017, Berne said the 41-year-old leader "sees Australia through new eyes". Macron made his first official visit to Australia in May last year, when he proposed strengthening the axis of democracies between India, Australia and France in what was billed as a major foreign policy speech. Underpinning the relationship is a concern about the future of the Indo-Pacific region which stretches from the east coast of Africa to the west coast of the Americas, and includes the disputed territories of the East and South China Seas. As Admiral Phil Davidson, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said in January during a speech in India, "the future for prosperity -- not only for the United States, but all nations of the region -- is resident in the Indo-Pacific." It hosts vital international trade routes and abundant natural resources, which many nations have an interest in claiming -- above all regional superpower China. - Setting a precedent - France has a major stake through its colonial-era Pacific territories -- French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Reunion, Mayotte, and Wallis and Futuna -- which are home to more than 1.6 million citizens. Because of the scattered territories, France possesses the world's largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EZZ) of nearly nine million square kilometres (3.5 million square miles). As Berne points out, France's biggest maritime border in the world is with Australia, and the capital of New Caledonia can be reached by just a two-hour flight from Brisbane. Both nations have also been alarmed by increased Chinese assertiveness, particularly in the South China Sea, where Beijing is building up its military presence in a bid to claim the strategic seaway as its own, analysts say. "For France, because it has the largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world, respect for the law of the sea isn't an abstract concept," said Philippe Errera, an advisor at the French foreign ministry. "If the law of the sea is not respected today in the China Sea, it will be threatened tomorrow in the Arctic, in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Indian Ocean," he said. Apart from Australia and India, France has also been trying to beef up ties with Malaysia and Singapore, and plans to soon deploy its aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, to the Indian Ocean. - High stakes - For Australia, France's renewed interest in the region under Macron is welcome support at a time when US commitment to the region under President Donald Trump is increasingly questioned. "China is the biggest challenge for Australian foreign policy," Michael Fullilove, executive director of the Lowy Institute, an Australian foreign policy think tank, said at a recent conference in Paris. "How do we give a strong message to China -- we know China doesn't respect weakness -- without ruining a relation that is unavoidable, forever?" he asked. Australia and France, he said, are "beneficiaries of a rules-based order" which together they can try to uphold. Australia is also reassessing its relationships in Europe in light of Britain's decision to leave the European Union. London's tortuous negotiations to leave the bloc have sapped its diplomatic energies, while Britain increasingly lacks the defence manufacturing capabilities that France has retained. "The UK has lowered its international ambitions," said Fullilove, adding that "France is a global power with global power-projection capacity." Maaike Okano-Heijmans, a senior research fellow at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations, noted that France and Britain are the only European nations with a significant military presence in Asia. But she says there are worries that France under Macron might overstep. "France is up for it, but I think some Europeans are worried to see the French go there alone, too fast, or too strongly, at the risk of compromising relations with China," she said. But the French task force to the Indian Ocean will include ships from Australia, Britain, Denmark, Portugal and the United States, according to the chiefs of staff deputy spokesman Colonel Guillaume Thomas. Homophobia is entrenched in many parts of Africa. In 2014, anti-gay campaigners rallied in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after the country's Constitutional Court annulled a law toughening penalties for same-sex relations Kenya's High Court will decide Friday whether to scrap colonial-era laws which criminalise homosexuality, in a ruling that could reverberate around Africa. Convictions under the decades-old laws are rare, but gay activists say the legislation -- which carries long jail terms for sexual acts deemed "against the order of nature" -- is unconstitutional and fuels homophobic persecution. A three-judge bench will deliver the ruling following petitions filed by rights organisations in 2016, and which are being contested by a Christian organisation. Kenya's anti-gay legislation is reflected in more than half of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa where laws, often vague, punish same-sex contact or relationships. Activists believe the court has a chance to blaze a trail on a continent where homophobia is virulent in many communities. "These crimes are considered felonies... very, very violent dangerous crimes to society," said Eric Gitari, the co-founder of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Council (NGLHRC), one of the petitioners. A section of Kenya's penal code states that anyone who has "carnal knowledge... against the order of nature" can be imprisoned for 14 years. Another provides for a five-year jail term for "indecent practices between males". "The law specifies 'in public or private' which essentially allows police to enter our bedrooms to investigate these crimes," said Gitari. - 'Unconstitutional' - Imani Kimiri of the NGLHRC's legal team, told AFP her office dealt with 15 prosecutions under the laws in 2018, but cannot recall the last conviction -- slamming the process as "just a frustrating endeavour". The petitioners argue that under Kenya's 2010 constitution every person is said to be equal before the law -- a protection directly contradicted by the disputed sections of the penal code. Freedom: Fiona Thabatha (left) and Shakira Leota, finalists in the Miss Gay RSA competition at the Durban Pride Festival, South Africa Those who are blackmailed, evicted, fired, expelled from school, or assaulted over their sexual orientation, are unable to access justice because it means "confessing to a crime", said Gitari. He pointed to court decisions last year as cause for optimism. In March, the High Court banned forced anal testing of men suspected of being gay. And in September, a court ruled that "Rafiki" (friend), a film about a lesbian love affair which was the first Kenyan movie to be shown at the Cannes film festival, could be screened domestically for seven days after its initial banning. The court's decision Friday could have repercussions for the rest of Africa, where several countries are facing challenges to similar legislation. Mozambique struck down anti-gay laws in 2015, and Angola decriminalised homosexuality in January. Botswana is expected to hear a case against its laws in March. - 'The West made a mistake' - Charles Kanjama, the lawyer for an association of Catholics, Protestants and Evangelicals fighting the decriminalisation, claimed the vast majority of Kenyans oppose "gay behaviour". "We believe very strongly that gay behaviour is a moral perversion, a sexual perversion. We believe it is behaviour which is harmful to the individual, to the family," he told AFP. Twenty-eight sub-Saharan countries have anti-homosexuality laws, according to Human Rights Watch "For Western minds, the question is why should you bother, if what I do doesn't harm you. For us, we understand we are inter-connected people." He said the "bedroom is not an inviolable sanctum" and compared homosexuality to crimes such as bestiality, child rape, and incest. Even if the laws are scrapped, the West and humankind as a whole will eventually "realise they made a mistake" in embracing homosexuality, said Kanjama, comparing this to slavery or Hitler's ideas of "racial superiority". "It is not a question of whether with time our culture will change, it may, but it is a question of what is right." Kanjama said that no matter the outcome Friday: "I am confident that whichever side loses is likely to file an appeal." Israeli policemen detain a member of the Abu Asab family as he protested their eviction by the police from the house they lived in for decades, in the Old City of Jerusalem, on February 17, 2019 Israeli police on Sunday evicted a Palestinian family from their home in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, after the supreme court ruled Jewish claimants were the rightful owners. An AFP photographer said residents of the neighbourhood in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem scuffled with police, who stood guard as about a dozen Israeli settlers took possession of the large building. A police spokesman said two people were detained. "They disturbed police activities," he told AFP but could not say if they were subsequently released. Rania Abu Asab, who lived in the house with her husband, their children and his aunt, stood weeping outside as the settlers raised the Israeli flag on the roof. "We live there, it's my house, it's my whole life," she said. "They took everything." She said the family was compelled to leave behind all its furniture and belongings. Ir Amim, an Israeli watchdog group which monitors settlement activity in Jerusalem, reported on February 3 that the Abu Asab family had been served an eviction notice ordering them to vacate the property by February 12. It said family members had lived there since the 1960s. Israeli NGO Peace Now said the home originally belonged to a Jewish family which fled during the 1948 war which accompanied Israel's foundation. East Jerusalem was occupied during that conflict by Jordan until the 1967 Six-Day War, when it was seized by Israel and subsequently annexed, moves never recognised by the international community. The Abu Asab family lived until 1948 in a neighbourhood it fled before eventually moving to the home in question. Peace Now said in a statement Sunday that under an Israeli law passed in 1950 Palestinians cannot return to homes they fled in 1948. A 1970 act, however, decreed that property in east Jerusalem abandoned by Jewish owners could be reclaimed. "The court granted the settlers the house and the Abu Asab family became refugees for the second time," Peace Now said. A child carries corrugated metal from the site of a reported airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemeni capital Sanaa in January The US is still supporting the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen, an American army general told AFP Sunday, days after lawmakers voted to end involvement in Riyadh's war effort. The US continues to "provide support to the coalition, in particular to help them... be discriminative in targeting and to minimise the risk of civilian causalities", said Major General David C. Hill, deputy commander of US Army Central. The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to direct President Donald Trump to end within 30 days all participation in hostilities "in or affecting Yemen", where Washington supports the Saudi-led coalition against Iran-backed Huthi rebels. The US has been providing bombs and other weapons, as well as intelligence support, to the coalition, but announced in November it was ending refuelling of Saudi warplanes. The World Health Organisation says some 10,000 people have been killed since the coalition intervened in 2015, but rights groups state the death toll could be five times as high. The White House maintains close relations with Riyadh, but the gruesome murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi's Istanbul consulate in October has been followed by lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle increasingly pushing back. Should the Senate pass the resolution on Yemen, it could force Trump to issue the first veto of his tenure. In other comments to AFP on the sidelines of a military exhibition in Abu Dhabi, Hill said US Central Command remains focused on fighting Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group in the Middle East. "I believe that the end of the physical caliphate doesn't mean the end of ISIS" he said, using an alternative acronym for IS. "We will continue to work closely with our partners across the region here to do just that." The US is set to pull its soldiers out of Syria after allied Kurdish-led forces capture IS' last holdout in the war-torn country, nearly five years after the jihadists proclaimed a "caliphate" across large swathes of the country and neighbouring Iraq. In December Trump shocked allies when he announced he would withdraw all 2,000 US troops from Syria because IS had already been "beaten". The withdrawal plan is set to be accelerated after a victory announcement. "We are conducting a withdrawal from Syria... but I am confident that we remain postured to continue fighting against ISIS," Hill told AFP. Streets were empty in Lagos following disappointment and anger at the last-minute poll cancellation Nigerians on Sunday counted the cost of the last-minute postponement of presidential elections, with predictions the delay could lose the country billions of dollars. The streets of Lagos, the country's sprawling commercial hub of more than 20 million people, were empty following disappointment and anger at the last-minute decision. Some 84 million people were registered to vote for a new president and parliament on Saturday until the Independent National Electoral Commission announced a one-week delay. The two main candidates -- President Muhammadu Buhari and Atiku Abubakar -- both called for calm, as INEC prepared to address logistical issues that hampered their preparations. Despite the billions of dollars earned in oil revenue, most Nigerians live in poverty and travelling to their home towns and villages to vote is a financial sacrifice for many. Most businesses shut down on Friday to allow employees to leave before movement restrictions were imposed throughout Saturday. Airports and land borders were also closed. Analysts predict ed that fewer people would make the trip again next week, which would make turn-out low. - Financial hit - The director-general of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Muda Yusuf, estimated financial losses from the election delay at some $1.5 billion. "The cost to the economy of the postponement of the election is horrendous," he was quoted as saying in the Sunday Vanguard newspaper. "The economy was on partial shutdown the day before (Friday), and total shut-down on Saturday for the elections." he added. Economist Bismark Rewane, however, said the most important cost was to Nigeria's reputation. "Investors' confidence will be eroded," he said. In the long term, when indirect costs were taken into account, the delay might cost the equivalent of 2.0 to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product. In currency terms, he assessed the possible cost of the delay at "about $9 billion to $10 billion". Social media was used meanwhile to organise collections for street vendors who had bought perishable items to sell to voters that often wait in long lines. The amount ultimately raised was unlikely to make much difference to tens of millions of people who live on less than $1.90 a day. INEC announced the delay at 2:45 am on Saturday, just over five hours before the nearly 120,000 polling units were due open across the country. Yakubu said a combination of factors, including last-minute legal challenges to candidacies, bad weather and sabotage hampered the distribution of election materials. Ballot boxes and other items, including voter card readers, were destroyed in three fires at three separate INEC offices in central and southeastern states in the last two weeks. He explained that organising elections in Africa's most populous nation of some 190 million people was an "enormous undertaking" and "operational challenges" were expected. The election body took "full responsiblity", he said but denied there had been any political interference. - Previous delays - The election is the sixth to be held in the 20 years since Nigeria returned to civilian rule after decades of military government. But the delay is also not a first: in 2011, the date of general elections was pushed back twice, and notably even after voting had started. Yakubu's predecessor as INEC chairman made the "emergency" decision after it emerged that many polling units had no election materials. Violence that erupted after the election, which was won by Goodluck Jonathan, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), killed more than 1,000 across the country. In 2015, a six-week delay was announced one week before the scheduled vote. INEC said it acted on military advice because of fighting against Boko Haram in the northeast. A leading Nigerian civil society group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, on Sunday blamed successive governments for the repeated election delays. It said there was an "increasing tendency to postpone elections... over the years" and that it would look at taking legal action against those responsible. There have been calls online for Yakubu to resign as INEC chairman but SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare said that was a "blatant attempt by politicians to scapegoat the electoral commission" rather than the root causes. In 2011, leading human rights lawyer Femi Falana said of that year's delay: "It is frustrating and disappointing. This is evidence of the collapse of state institutions." Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu have argued about the Holocaust before Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has cancelled a visit to Israel for a high-level summit, a government spokesperson told AFP on Sunday, after uproar in Poland over reported comments by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu about the Poles and the Holocaust. Netanyahu -- who was initially quoted in Haaretz newspaper as saying that "The Poles collaborated with the Nazis" -- has been condemned in Poland for appearing to accuse all Polish people of cooperating with Germany during World War II. Warsaw has long been at pains to point out that Poland, which was occupied by Nazi Germany, could not have and did not collaborate in the Holocaust although individual Poles may have done so. The Israeli prime minister's office has said Netanyahu did not implicate all Poles in the Holocaust. It insisted that Netanyahu was "misquoted" in Haaretz and other publications that reported different versions of the quote. "Netanyahu spoke of Poles and not the Polish people or the country of Poland," a statement read. Morawiecki will no longer attend the Visegrad Group summit, a diplomatic meeting of central European nations, in Jerusalem this week. "Prime Minister Morawiecki told Prime Minister Netanyahu in a telephone call that Poland will be represented at the summit by Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz," government spokesperson Joanna Kopcinska said. "Questions about the historical truth and sacrifice that Poland paid during the Second World War have a fundamental value for Poland," she added. Netanyahu was in Warsaw last week for a two-day summit on the Middle East, co-hosted by Poland and the United States, which focused on isolating Iran while building Arab-Israeli ties. The fresh controversy in Polish-Israeli ties comes after last year's row over a Polish law that made it illegal to accuse the Polish nation or state of complicity in Nazi German crimes. After protests from Israel and the US, Poland amended the law to remove the possibility of fines or a prison sentence. Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II and lost six million citizens including three million Jews. A handout picture provided by Iran's presidency on February 17, 2019, shows Hassan Rouhani (dressed in black) during the unveiling of the country's first semi-heavy submarine at Bandar Abbas naval base Iran on Sunday launched a new locally-made submarine capable of firing cruise missiles, state TV said, in the country's latest show of military might at a time of heightened tensions with the US. The launch ceremony, led by President Hassan Rouhani, took place in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. "Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is fully self-reliant on land, air and sea," Rouhani said. "Our defensive power is meant to defend our interests and we have never sought to attack any country," he added. Named the Fateh (Farsi for 'Conqueror'), Fars news agency said the new submarine is Iran's first in the semi-heavy category, filling a gap between the light Ghadir class and the heavy Kilo class submarines that the country possesses. Fars said the near 600-tonne underwater vessel is equipped with torpedoes and naval mines in addition to cruise missiles, and can operate more than 200 metres below sea level for up to 35 days. The US withdrew from a 2015 multilateral nuclear deal with Iran in May 2018 and re-imposed biting unilateral sanctions later last year. Iran's Revolutionary Guards on February 7 unveiled a new ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles), according to the elite unit's official media agency Sepah News. The surface-to-surface missile -- called Dezful -- is an upgrade on the older Zolfaghar model that had a range of 700 kilometres, aerospace commander Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said. Rouhani said on Sunday that "pressure by enemies, the (Iran-Iraq) war and sanctions" were incentives for Tehran to be self-reliant in its defence industry. "Maybe we would not have this motivation to industrialise our defence sector," he said, if Iran could just buy the weaponry it needed. Iran's top military brass and cabinet ministers attended the ceremony. Azima Shakoor is accused of aiding former Maldivian leader Abdulla Yameen's efforts to steal millions of dollars from government coffers Prosectors in the Maldives on Sunday charged a top aide of former strongman leader Abdulla Yameen with embezzling millions of dollars from the tropical tourist paradise. The charges against high-profile former justice minister Azima Shakoor come days after Yameen was hit with his own indictment on graft charges after his shock election loss last year. Maldivian police had earlier announced they had evidence linking Yameen and Shakoor to the theft of millions from the country. She is accused of aiding Yameen's efforts to steal millions of dollars from government coffers. Shakoor was charged with two counts of being an accessory to embezzlement and providing false statements to investigators, court officials said. Yameen, who came to power in 2013 and jailed many of his opponents or forced them into exile, had been summoned to the Criminal Court Sunday to formally receive his indictment. He instead sent a junior lawyer to receive the document on his behalf, officials said, adding that a date for his trial had not been set. Authorities believe millions of dollars could be stashed abroad and have said talks are underway with foreign entities to repatriate any cash found. The criminal court has already frozen Yameen's local bank accounts holding about $6.5 million, a decision the former leader has appealed. There was no immediate comment from Yameen or Shakoor. Yameen, who came to power in 2013 and jailed many of his opponents or forced them into exile, has also been accused of receiving close to $1.5 million in illicit payments during his failed bid for re-election. The country's monetary authority lodged a police complaint over alleged donations made into a private account held by Yameen in the run-up to the polls. More than 30 festival organisers are meeting at NSW parliament to discuss the government's proposed licensing regime, with one attendee claiming the scheme "comes across as a form of punishment". Industry leaders attending Monday morning's meeting include representatives from the cancelled Psyfari and Mountain Sounds music festivals. "This meeting is a chance for our voices to be heard and added to the many voices calling for the licensing scheme to be scrapped, and a more thoughtful approach be taken in creating event rules and guidelines," Steve Demian from Psyfari told AAP in a statement. "The new event licensing scheme has been created with little involvement from people in the festival industry. "(It) almost comes across as a form of punishment for events which don't sit right with certain authorities." Monday's "crisis" talks are being hosted by NSW Greens MP Cate Faehrmann and independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich. Premier Gladys Berejiklian's new licensing system is due to start in March, with interim measures currently in place for summer festivals deemed high risk. Almost 33,800 people, including many prominent bands and music festival organisers, have signed a petition letter that warns "music lovers, your music is under attack" from Ms Berejiklian. The letter demands the government convene a music roundtable to review regulation affecting live music, be more transparent on policing and medical bills, and work with the industry to keep festivals safe. Mr Demian says the final form of the licensing scheme will make or break his festival. If smaller events are taken into consideration, "then we will simply be priced out by the added costs", he insists. Five people aged between 19 to 23 have died from suspected drug overdoses at NSW festivals since mid-September. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been accused of playing politics over the Queensland floods as he turns his attention away from endangered pandas to dead cattle. While federal Labor pledged $1.3 million a year for another five years to keep Wang Wang and Fu Ni in Adelaide if it wins government, Mr Morrison didn't bat an eyelid. "I have been talking to (Premier) Steven Marshall about this, but I'll simply say this: My priority at the moment actually - with all due respect to people in South Australia and pandas - is cattle lying dead on properties in north Queensland," Mr Morrison said. "That's where my focus is right now. If the Labor Party wants to focus on pandas, that's fine, I'm focused on dead cattle on the ground in north Queensland." After hoping the coalition would match Sunday's announcement, Senator Penny Wong went on the attack saying Mr Morrison was politicising the disaster. "It's appalling that Mr Morrison is playing politics with the terrible floods in Queensland. We all stand with those affected by these disasters and he knows that," she said. "If he actually listened to South Australians he might understand why (the) announcement matters to our community and to our tourism industry." The agreement between the federal government and Zoos SA's to keep the pair is due to expire in November and the window for a baby this year has shut, prompting calls for an extension. Adelaide is the only zoo in Australasia to host giant pandas and one of 22 worldwide. Queensland's inland sea of floodwater is slowly receding as the graziers and farmers take stock of the massive scale of devastation. Conservative estimates reveal more than 500,000 cattle have died, along with 30,000 sheep. The cost to the cattle industry alone is expected to exceed $1 billion. Alongside the cattle industry, the Insurance Council of Australia said there had been more than 15,500 claims lodged with losses to about $606 million. That figure is expected to continue to rise as graziers return home in coming days. The worst of the flooding still grips the Gulf of Carpentaria, but the waters are dropping by the hour. Carpentaria Deputy Mayor Craig Young said the water levels were falling "pretty quickly". "It's faster than we expected," he said. "It's still boggy and wet, you can't get anywhere yet. We need things to dry out." Frustrated graziers have not yet been able to return to their properties and the full cost of the devastation could take weeks to count. Nine shires across Queensland are disaster-declared and AgForce boss Michael Guerin says it's still too early to quantify stock losses. "It has affected around 800 producers in a 13 million hectare band across north-west Queensland - an area twice the size of Tassie," Mr Guerin told AAP. "At this stage, we are still well within the crisis and producers are focused on saving any of their herds which remain alive, getting them out of mud and water, providing them with fodder and medical attention. "We are looking at stock losses at half a billion dollars; add the costs to replace farm infrastructures like fencing, dams, pumps and equipment and the immediate cost would be over a billion dollars." He warned the industry had been dealt a devastating blow and it would take years for many to recover. Meanwhile Victoria will lend a hand to the clean-up, sending 28 people on Monday to the flood-ravaged area as the first of four seven-day rotations planned. She's making sure her children are getting the best in education. And Angelina Jolie proved on trend as she was spotted taking her eldest son Maddox, 17, on a university tour during a visit to New York City on Friday. The Malificent star, 43, sported an elegant grey overcoat and chic Yves Saint Laurent handbag while accompanying her eldest child at New York University. Doting mom: Angelina Jolie, 43, proved on trend as she was spotted taking her eldest son Maddox, 17, on a university tour during a visit to New York City on Friday Daring to impress, the mother of six stomped the Big Apple streets in a pair of black heels as she sported a set retro shades to frame her flawless face. She kept her trademark brunette tresses long and loose as they cascaded over her shoulders and added a dab of berry to her plump lips. In November, Angelina traveled to South Korea on an official visit as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee Special Envoy and set aside time to explore the country's institutions of higher learning with Maddox. The star also has close ties with Cambodia. Elegance: The Malificent star sported an elegant grey overcoat and chic Yves Saint Laurent handbag while accompanying her eldest child at New York University The actress history with Camobodia - where Maddox was born - began in 2000 when she filmed the hit Tomb Raider on location. She returned two years later to adopt Maddox. The following year, she opened a foundation in Cambodia, now called the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation). The ex of Brad Pitt was also inspired by the country to make her Golden Globe nominated movie, First They Killed My Father. Impressive: Daring to impress, the mother of six stomped the Big Apple streets in a pair of black heels as she sported a set retro shades to frame her flawless face Hair story: She kept her trademark brunette tresses long and loose as they cascaded over her shoulders and added a dab of berry to her plump lips Based on Cambodia human rights activist Luong Ungs memoir, First They Killed My Father documents her experience as a young girl under the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge. She spoke to Vanity Fair in 2017 about her first visit to Cambodia. 'I found a people who were so kind and warm and open, and, yes, very complex. You go there, and you see the families come out with their blanket and their picnic to watch a sunset,' she explained. Angelina has five other children she shares with ex Brad Pitt as well - son Pax, 14, daughters Zahara, 13, and Shiloh, 12, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 10. Her gang: Angelina is pictured with children Shiloh, Zahara, Maddox and Pax as well as artist Prune Nourry at the opening night of MoMA's Doc Fortnight Premiere Her attorney has denied it's anything more than friendship. But photos of Teresa Giudice, 46, on her Miami vacation over the weekend enjoying the company of Blake Schreck, 26, paint an intriguing picture. On Saturday night the Real Housewives of New Jersey star could be seen holding hands with Blake while leaving an upscale venue in a long black gown. Just friends? Teresa Giudice held hands with younger man Blake Schreck during her trip to Miami over the weekend Inside they could be seen chatting intimately with Teresa, 46, beaming a big smile and giggling now and again. Eyewitnesses say the duo met up at the swanky Coral Gables Country Club and left with friends at about 11.30pm. They were then seen disappearing together inside the SLS LUX hotel before reemerging 30 minutes later and hopping in an Uber together. A day earlier Teresa and Blake were seen enjoying some beach time together and could be seen exchanging flirty glances while reclining on sun loungers at the Delano South Beach. Intimate: Inside the Coral Gables Country Club the duo could be seen chatting and flirting while both dressed up to the nines in cocktail attire Say cheese! They even appeared to pose for a photo together Teresa's lawyer denied they were more than friends saying 'The photos show one of those friends helping Teresa out of the venue and to her car. She had some wine and she was wearing heels.' This time the mother-of-four showed off her sensational figure in a black plunging swimsuit and striped cover-up. The reality star's husband Joe Giudice is in jail serving time for bankruptcy fraud and would definitely not be happy to see with these photos. Blake, who has dabbled in real estate, lives in Totowa, New Jersey, just nine miles from Teresa's mansion. According to his LinkedIn page, he is now the Global Strategy & Business Development Manager at VectraCor - where his father and uncle are also employed. 'They've been dating a while,' a source told InTouch. Joined at the hip: A day earlier the duo went to the beach together Teresa's companion showed off his buff body in some black and white shorts during their beach outing Us Weekly reports that they were seen together as far back as New Year's Eve, where Teresa was 'aggressively flirting' with Blake. Over the weekend an onlooker told the magazine Teresa and Blake 'looked really into each other,' as they spent time chilling at the beach, enjoying some of the Miami nightlife and shopping together. It comes after rumors that Teresa, 46, wants to divorce her husband of 19 years if he is deported back to Italy following his jail term. But Teresa's attorney James Leonard Jr. has denied the relationship is anything more than friends, telling People on Wednesday: 'Teresa was in Miami for a charity event with a large group of friends, both men and women, Us Weekly reports that the duo were spotted together as far back as New Year's Eve, where Teresa was 'aggressively flirting' with Blake Flirting up a storm: Teresa couldn't seem to get enough of the former realtor 'The photos show one of those friends helping Teresa out of the venue and to her car. She had some wine and she was wearing heels.' 'That's the real story, There is no cheating, no divorce,' he added. Joe, 46, is serving a 41-month prison sentence for fraud and a judge has ordered his deportation back to Italy when he is released in March. During a Real Housewives reunion show yet to air, Teresa hinted that the couple would split if Joe - who never obtained American citizenship - is forced to leave the country. 'The only lawyers Teresa is talking to are her husband's immigration lawyers and those conversations are about bringing Joe home where he belongs' Teresa's lawyer said this month slamming reports she's been speaking to a divorce lawyer According to his LinkedIn page, he is now the Global Strategy & Business Development Manager at VectraCor - where his father and uncle are also employed. But the mother-of-four's attorney was quick to shoot down the claims after rumors Teresa was already speaking to divorce lawyers. 'The only lawyers Teresa is talking to are her husband's immigration lawyers and those conversations are about bringing Joe home where he belongs. Nobody is talking about getting divorced,' Leonard Jr. said. 'Joe Giudice is a fighter and he wants to come home. His lawyers are putting up a hell of a fight in an effort to make that happen.' The couple are parents to four daughters; Gia, 18, Gabriella, 15, Milania, 14 and Audriana, 10. Teresa also served a little over 11 months in prison for her part in the scheme and was released in December 2015. She is an iconic supermodel who has posed for countless campaigns. And Candice Swanepoel looked sensational as she put on a racy display to walk the star-studded Versace catwalk during Milan Fashion Week on Friday. The Victoria's Secret model, 30, showcased her toned figure in a tiny black bra embellished with gold buckled belts. Wow: Candice Swanepoel looked sensational as she put on a racy display to walk the star-studded Versace catwalk during Milan Fashion Week on Friday She teamed the item of clothing with a high-waisted silk skirt with a daring slit on the left leg. Candice accessorised her look with a pair of black sheer tights and Versace patent leather heels with an ankle strap and gold brooch on the toe. The stunning supermodel styled her blonde locks into a dishevelled sweptback hairdo, she added a slick of catwalk-ready make-up. Stunning: The Victoria's Secret model, 30, showcased her toned figure in a tiny black bra embellished with gold buckled belts Details: She teamed the item of clothing with a high-waisted silk skirt with a daring slit on the left leg Candice joined the likes of Kendall Jenner, Gigi and Bella Hadid, Kaia Gerber and Stella Maxwell on the star-studded catwalk. Away from her modelling duties, the supermodel is also a mother-of-two who shares sons Ariel, eight-months-old, and Anaca, two, with her ex-fiance, Brazilian model Hermann Nicoli, 36. The couple met in Paris when she was 17 and he was 23 and got engaged in August 2015 but reportedly parted ways in November. Gorgeous: The stunning supermodel styled her blonde locks into a dishevelled sweptback hairdo, she added a slick of catwalk-ready make-up Meanwhile, Candice previously admitted that raising two young children is 'pretty intense' - but it's also an experience she's relishing. The model revealed the secrets to her pre-show preparations, saying she combines a strict fitness regime with the everyday stresses of parenting. She quipped: 'Taking care of two kids will get you in shape real quick.' She is set to star opposite Bruce Willis in action movie Trauma Center. But before heading to the set, Nicky Whelan stepped out for a glamorous night out at the Cadillac Oscar Week Celebration in Los Angeles on Thursday. The 37-year-old actress stunned at the event, held at the at Chateau Marmont, in a red figure-hugging dress from Tre by Tre by designer Natalie Ratabesi. Red hot! Australian actress Nicky Whelan (pictured) stepped out in a body hugging dress for the Cadillac Oscar Week Celebration in Los Angeles on Thursday The long-sleeved frock, which featured a cheeky split at the calves, showcased the actor's enviable physique. Nicky wore matching sandal heels and accessorised her look with a silver box clutch and chandelier earrings. The actor's choice of makeup was just as arresting and consisted of a bold smokey eye with lashings of mascara, smoky bronze eye shadow, and glossy lips. Racy! The 37-year-old actress stunned at the event, held at the at Chateau Marmont, in a red figure-hugging dress The shape of things: The long-sleeved frock, which featured a cheeky split at the calves, showcased the actor's enviable physique To complete her chic look, the former soap star wore her short blonde locks styled in voluminous waves. Nicky's night out comes after she announced she would be starring opposite Bruce Willis in a new movie called Trauma Center. She shared the big news with her fans on Instagram, writing: 'New movie Trauma Center alongside the legend Bruce Willis! Very excited!' The former Neighbours star will play the character of Madison, opposite Willis, 63, as Lt. Wakes in the action film, and principal photography begins in February in Miami. Glamour: The actor's choice of makeup was just as arresting and consisted of a bold smokey eye with lashings of mascara, smoky bronze eye shadow, and glossy lips The role is an interesting choice for Nicky, as late last year the former soap star said she wanted to pursue more comedy roles in Hollywood. The slender blonde recently told the The Daily Telegraph: 'There's more competition than ever before even though there's much more content.' 'I'd like to do a bit more comedy, I've steered a lot more towards drama lately, I don't know why, so I would really like to get back to comedy... it's so much fun.' After a successful night hosting an Italian feast at the South Beach Food & Wine Festival, Giada de Laurentiis is treating herself to another day at the beach. The Food Network star hit the beach in Miami on Friday in a plunging ruby bathing suit, white shorts, and sheer blouse. Giada, 48, was also seen in a second white bikini later that same day with her 10-year-old daughter Jade. Life's a beach! Giada de Laurentiis hit the beach in Miami on Friday in a plunging ruby bathing suit, white shorts, and sheer blouse Heavenly: The star was also spotted in a white bikini top during an outing with her daughter Jade First, Giada enjoyed some 'me time', laying back on the sand after a splash in the water. The Everyday Italian host flashed a bright smile while milling about barefoot on the sand. In between lounging on the beach and taking in the sights, the star cooled down a bit with a refreshing splash in the water. Giada looked content as she dipped her toes into the water for a brief yet rejuvenating dip. Making waves: The Food Network star enjoyed a refreshing splash in the water as she dipped her toes into the surf Just kicking it! In between splashing about in the water, Giada laid back on the sand Fun in the sun: Giada enjoyed a Friday stroll with her daughter It won't be long until Giada will be back in the spotlight as part of the food festival, but until then, the star has been making the most of her time relaxing in South Beach. She was also spotted later that day with her daughter Jade. This time the chef wore a white bikini top and a shimmering 'Sole' hat. The girls have been busy at the beach lately, and were seen soaking up the sun together on Thursday. Beautiful in blue! On Thursday, Giada enjoyed some quality mother-daughter time on the beach with her 10-year-old daughter Jade Giada was set to host a dinner later that night, but treated herself to a relaxing afternoon playing around in the waves with her little girl first. The chef looked absolutely incredible in a plunging blue bathing suit that showed off her fabulous bikini body. The star has quite the presence at this year's South Beach Food & Wine Festival. Making a splash! All eyes were on Giada and her plunging blue bathing suit The star hosted the Thursday night event, Barilla's Italian Bites on the Beach, where guests feasted on Italian cuisine. On Saturday, Giada will also be hosting a sold-out dinner at Los Fuegos by Francis Mallmann, which will feature a menu curated by the Everyday Italian star herself. An acclaimed chef and cookbook author, Giada is best known as the host of Giada In Italy, Giada At Home, Everyday Italian, and Food Network Star. She shares daughter Jade with her ex-husband Todd Thompson, who she was married to from 2003 to 2015. Catching some rays: The Giada At Home host guided her daughter out of the cool water She took both New York and London Fashion Week's by storm. And once again working her magic, Irina Shayk took to the runway in a sensational Versace gown during the Milan show on Friday afternoon. The model, 33, had all eyes on her as she strutted down the catwalk in the cowl neck slip dress, which perfectly clung to her incredible physique. Show-stopping! Irina Shayk took to the runway in a sensational Versace gown during the Milan show on Friday afternoon Her sultry dress was decorated with a Versace patterned body chain, which crossed over her bust and also featured on the straps of her gown, before winding around her neck. She teamed her dress with a pair of barely-there black heels with a metallic gold insole, as she led the way down the star-studded catwalk. The Victoria Secret's model was joined on the catwalk by a host of other famous faces, including Bella and Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Kaia Gerber. Glam: The model, 33, had all eyes on her as she strutted down the catwalk in the cowl neck slip dress, which perfectly clung to her incredible physique Kendall, 23, teased a glimpse of her bare breasts beneath the sheer lace panels of her risque blazer when she joined forces with the Hadid sisters Gigi and Bella. While she dared to go braless, the Keeping Up With The Kardashian star perfectly framed her cleavage with a long golden chain embellished with deep blue sapphires. Gigi looked equally ravishing in the procession of star-studded models as she slipped into a high-low hem dress which put her legs on exhibition for the fashion show. Stunning: Irina later posed with Donatella Versace after walking the star-studded catwalk Hot to trot: Saucy sheer panels also featured on Kendall's trousers to flash a sneak peek at her naked skin and complemented her racy jacket's lace detailing over her breasts Slave to style: A golden chain slung around her waist gave the dress form and displayed every inch of Gigi's supermodel shape as she turned heads from the spotlight of the runway Sexily wearing one strap off her shoulder, the model offered a titillating glance at her cleavage as she exposed her bra while she prowled down the catwalk with fierce confidence. Bella was twinning with Kendall on the catwalk when she donned the very same pair of racy tights but she styled out the look differently with a plush leather jacket adorned with seven statement golden buttons. The brunette Hadid sister emphasised her seemingly endless legs with a microscopic minidress, edged with a lace hem and fastened together with safety pins for a sultry vibe. Hours earlier Irina, looked incredible in a Versace patterned shirt and skirt combination, which she teamed with a pair of black biker ankle boots and sunglasses as she arrived at the presentation. Double take! Bella was twinning with Kendall on the catwalk when she donned the very same pair of racy tights and emphasised her seemingly endless legs with a microscopic minidress, edged with a lace hem Stunning: Irina, looked incredible in a Versace patterned shirt and skirt combination, which she teamed with a pair of black biker ankle boots and sunglasses Star-studded: The model was stepping out for the Autumn/Winter 2019/20 presentation during Milan Fashion Week as she joined Irina Shayk who wore a Versace patterned outfit Dinner time: Following her runway jaunt Irina joined her model pals at the Versace dinner This way! The model held hands with a pal as they sauntered out of the taxi and on to dinner Sexy: Irina wore the same catwalk look she sported during the show to sit down for dinner V-ery stylish: Irina clipped her chestnut locks back with a letter V shaped clip Dramatic scenes were unfolding at Toronto City Hall on Thursday as filming for season three of The Handmaid's Tale continued. Elisabeth Moss, clad in the handmaid uniform of red dress, cloak and white bonnet, screamed while being pulled along by some of her fellow handmaids. Tensions were high at one point when she could be seen pushing one of the women over a ledge while yelling in her face. Coming soon: Elisabeth Moss is pictured during a dramatic day of filming for season 3 of The Handmaid's Tale in Toronto The shock ending of season two saw June aka Offred turning down the opportunity to leave Gilead so she could instead keep searching for her oldest daughter Hannah who was kidnapped by the regime. Resistance is the theme of the new series, with the focus on June's struggle against the repressive regime of Gilead, Hulu said in a release. Other characters will be forced to take a stand as well, with 'blessed be the fight' the guiding prayer for rebels. Hulu also promised 'startling reunions' and betrayals in the upcoming season. Trouble ahead: Moss was seen fighting with a fellow handmaid as tensions rose between the women Distraught: The actress, who plays June aka Offred, was seen being pulled along by some of her fellow handmaids Resistance: The dystopian drama will debut three new episodes on Wednesday, June 5, streaming service Hulu said. Other episodes will follow on subsequent Wednesdays The series is based on Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel of the same name. Its cast includes Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Alexis Bledel, Ann Dowd and Samira Wiley. Gilead is a patriarchal society, with only men having access to education and holding political positions. Women are regarded as second-class citizens as they cannot hold property or be employed, and must submit to the authority of men. Saga continues: Season 3 will pick up after Offred's shock decision to stay in Gilead when she had the opportunity to escape The dystopian drama will debut three new episodes on Wednesday, June 5, streaming service Hulu said. Other episodes will follow on subsequent Wednesdays. Moss' character ominously warned America to 'wake up' in the first preview unveiled during CBS' Super Bowl LIII broadcast earlier this month. The 30-second teaser appropriately sampled the 1984 Ronald Reagan re-election campaign ad 'Prouder, Stronger, Better.' Cold in Canada: The 36-year-old actress kept warm in a grey coat in-between scenes 'It's morning again in America,' the narrator said. 'Today, more women will go to work than ever before in our country's history. This year, dozens of children will be born to happy and health families. It's morning again.' 'She is staying to fight to save all the children of Gilead,' Moss told THR in July. 'It's bigger than her now. It's bigger than her and Holly and Hannah. It's all about the sons and especially daughters of Gilead, and fighting for their lives. Seeing the Martha network and the commander have opened her eyes. She is no longer alone. She has an army, and she's going to fight back.' The trailer ended with June back in her subservient red Handmaid's robe pushing back against the totalitarian regime. Camaraderie: Elisabeth chatted with a co-star when cameras weren't rolling Offset, whose real name is Kiari Kendrell Cephus, made his debut as a solo artist with the release of his new album Father of 4. The 27-year-old rapper had the full support of his on-again wife Cardi B at the party for the album release as she shared videos of the soiree on social media Thursday night. Cardi and Offset recently split for a short time amid rumors that the Migos rapper had cheated on his wife. Debut: Cardi B and Offset celebrated the debut of his solo album Thursday night as the rapper said he is sorry again to his wife for cheating rumors on a track off of Father of 4 Cardi took inspiration from old Hollywood glamour for her party look and rocked smooth coiffed girls, dramatic makeup and a sparkling red ensemble. Both the Bronx native and her husband took to social media to encourage fans to download the new album when it was released. On the track Don't Lose Me off of Father of 4, Offset begins by playing audio from a December 14 Instagram video where he apologized to the Be Careful rapper and begged for forgiveness. The audio began: 'And I apologize, you know what I'm sayin'? Breaking your heart, breaking our promise, breaking God's promise, and being a, a, selfish and messed up husband, you know what I'm sayin'? I'm, I'm tryn- I'm tryna be a better person. I wanna get this off' Support: Despite their turmoil, Offset had his on-again wife Cardi B in his corner at the party for the album release as she shared videos of the soiree on social media Style: Cardi took inspiration from old Hollywood glamour for her party look and rocked smooth coiffed girls, dramatic makeup and a sparkling red ensemble Listen up! Cardi and Offset took to social media to encourage fans to download the album Offset originally posted the video for his birthday saying that the only thing he wanted was 'to get my wife back.' The hip hop star was rumored to have had an affair with a mistress named Summer Bunni - a rumor that Offset denied, though he admitted he 'entertained it' and 'embarrassed' Cardi. Offset went on in the track to reference the seven-month-old baby girl he shares with his wife, Kulture, as well as Cardi's warnings for him to stay faithful. Personal: On the track Don't Lose Me off of Father of 4, Offset begins by playing audio from a December 14 Instagram video where he apologized to the Be Careful rapper and begged for forgiveness Rumor has it: The hip hop star was rumored to have had an affair with a mistress named Summer Bunni 'KK, all beauty / When I'm lookin' down at her, it's you and me /She told me, "Don't lose me" (Don't lose me) / She told me, "Don't lose me" (Don't lose me) She told me, "Don't lose me"' The couple recently reconciled and Cardi was proudly promoting her husband's solo work last night. Inside the party, the Grammy winner showed off the decor which was family focused and featured giant photos of Offset with his four children. Party! Hoards of friends turned out to support Offset at his release party in Atlanta Parents night out! The couple was seen partying it up while they had an adult evening away from baby Kulture Wow! A smashed lime green car as an art installation outside of the venue in reference to an accident that Offset survived last spring Offset is the father to sons Jordan, nine, and Kody, three, and daughter Kalea, three, from previous relationships as well as Kulture. The album cover features the Georgia native stylized as royalty with his four kids surrounding him on a throne. Blown up photos from the cover shoot were prominently featured as part of the decor at the release party for the rapper's very personal album. Father of 4: Offset is the father to sons Jordan, nine, and Kody, three, and daughter Kalea, three, from previous relationships as well as Kulture Personal: The album and the party were very personal for Offset Dynasty: Offset and his four children are stylized as a royal family on the cover for the album The release party was held at 595 North in Atlanta and featured a smashed lime green car as an art installation outside of the venue in reference to an accident that Offset survived last spring. Don't Lose Me wasn't the only track that was dripping with innuendo about the couple's marital problems and Offset's subsequent shame. North Star, After Dark and Clout all contained veiled and more overt references to the cheating scandal that played out in the media. Sorry: Don't Lose Me wasn't the only track that was dripping with innuendo about the couple's marital problems and Offset's subsequent shame Denials: The rapper has denied the rumors that he had an affair but admitted he entertained the idea and did things he shouldn't At home: Cardi took to Insta at the end of the night and told fans she was suffering from a migraine Oh no! While Cardi was filming the selfie video she caught her husband passing gas in the background, causing her to giggle Before heading to the party, the mother of one took to Instagram to share a rare video of daughter Kulture giggling while tracks from Father of 4 played in the background. After the couple got home and headed to bed, Cardi was filming selfie video when she caught her husband passing gas in the background, causing her to giggle. The star then complained that she was suffering from a migraine. Clark Gable's grandson has died at the age of 30. Clark Gable III was found unresponsive in his bed at his family home in Texas by his fiancee on Friday morning. His mother Tracy Scheff, who was married to John Clark Gable - Clark Gable's son, says his death is a mystery, but revealed that the Cheaters host had suffered from drug addiction for years. He had no known prior health conditions. 'I have no idea why he died or how he died,' Scheff, told DailyMail.com. 'But through the years he has struggled with addiction. I dont know if that took his life, but I know that wasnt what he wanted to do.' Scheff, 56, said she discovered her son was dead on Friday morning when his fiancee Summer and mother of his 18-month-old daughter called in hysterics. 'Its really horrible. We still dont know what happened,' she said. 'His girlfriend, who hes been living with for six years, was the one that found him unconscious. Im still in shock.' Clark Gable's grandson was found unresponsive in his dead Friday and was later pronounced dead, aged 30 His mother Tracy Scheff, who was married to John Clark Gable - Clark Gable's son, says his death is a mystery, but revealed that the Cheaters host had suffered from drug addiction for years. She is pictured above with her son who is holding his daughter She shared the devastating news on Instagram, however the cause of death is not clear Gable III was the only grandson to Hollywood legend Clark Gable, pictured above in the American classic Gone With The Wind Scheff revealed that Gable had sought therapy for addiction in the past, and several members of his family had struggled with drug abuse. She said her marriage with Clark's father, John Clark Gable, ended over his addiction problems, and that John's brother died from an overdose aged 27. The bereaved mother also revealed Clark's three siblings have had issues with drugs. 'My current husband, weve been together 27 years, and hes 32 years sober. Its a struggle that is real,' she said. 'I have four children, all of them have struggled,' Scheff added. 'I have two younger boys with my current husband, Jason. I think one of thems fine, he just likes to party, but the baby has struggled. Hes got a year sober, hes 17 and doing great. 'I have a daughter thats seven months pregnant. Shes doing great now, but shes struggled too.' A colleague of the late 30-year-old also told DailyMail.com that Gable had used drugs. Bobby Goldstein, Cheaters creator and show Executive Producer, said that he was aware Gable took drugs but said it never affected his work. While its true I have heard from others that Clark indulged in drugs, of the many years, almost a decade Ive known him I never saw him on drugs,' he said. Clark was a beautiful boy, he was a beautiful soul. He was the spitting image of his grandfather on screen and Ive never thought of him other than the most earnest, kind, loving friend and its been a great pleasure to work with him. He was a great colleague and a great host on Cheaters. Spitting image: He was the only grandson of the famed American actor Clark Gable who was known as 'The King of Hollywood' and starred in classics like Gone with the Wind, Mogambo and Call of the Wild. Clark Gable pictured left and Clark III pictured right His parents: Actor John Clark Gable pictured left in 2008. His second wife Tracy Yarro Scheff pictured right Clark and his fiancee Summer are parents to 17-month old daughter Shore, pictured here Goldstein, 59, of Dallas, Texas says he spoke to Gable regularly and said he was still hosting Cheaters. The show had been on a two year hiatus but was in pre-production with Gable involved. I talked to him three or four days ago via email and we were supposed to get together soon. The show is in production. But Goldstein, who said he is shocked by the death, says he has no clue how he died. He added: He was a beautiful boy with a lot of friends and I just wake up one day and hes gone, thats that. Gable's mother described her son as an 'amazing, very compassionate, sensitive guy', and said that he was overjoyed to be a father to his 18-month-old daughter, Shore. 'He really just wanted to be a dad to his daughter, so much,' Scheff said. 'When his girlfriend got pregnant, there was nothing more important for him than being there for the birth of his daughter. Thats all that mattered to him. 'I saw a sweet boy who loved his little girl. Its funny cos I never could picture him being a dad. He was 63 with these giant hands, he was just a big dude. But he had such a sweet soul and was so tender with her, he would do anything for her. Thats all that was important to him. His mother Scheff also took to Instagram Friday, writing: 'It is with an extremely heavy heart we say goodbye to my beautiful son Clark' Gable was an aspiring actor who hosted the reality show Cheaters for the 13th and 14th season Gable was a model and followed his grandfather's footsteps as an aspiring actor. He is pictured above in a photo his ex shared to Instagram looking much like his famous grandfather 'Shes only one and a half, so I dont know how much shell remember. But we have lots of video and photos.' Scheff said Gable had a strained relationship with his father, who she divorced over his drug addiction when Gable was just one year old. 'Addiction ruined our marriage. I wasnt going to have it, so I took my kids,' she said. 'Clark was one and Kayley was three. I tried as much as I could to help John, but you cant help them unless they want to help themselves. I wasnt going to have any of it, so thats when I left him. 'I hope that John can make it to the funeral. But he has basically distanced himself from the family. My daughter Kayley and I reached out to him, made calls to make sure that he knew, but I never heard anything back. 'He lives in Malibu, I think he lives a very private life. I dont think Clark and him had a great relationship,' she said. 'I think they spoke to each other once in a while. 'Ive been divorced from John since 1989. John has struggled with addiction, and I think that caused a wedge. I wish him the best because hes a good guy, but I havent spoken to him for probably eight to ten years.' Scheff added that she didn't pin responsibility for Gable's previous addiction problems on anyone but her son. 'I dont blame anybody. I think addiction is nobodys fault but the addicts. Its a disease, it takes over, and no matter how hard you want them to change the only person that has that power is them. They have to fight for it,' she said. The bereaved mother said that Gable had just begun working on a documentary about his Hollywood royalty grandfather, and had been planning to meet a producer in Los Angeles on Monday. 'He was working on doing a documentary on his grandfather. The producer was planning on coming here in three days to have a meeting. The documentary was going to be about finding out who Clark Gable was as a human being, rather than a movie star. Theres not that many people left from that era. I think they were just going to try and dig deep, see what they could find out about him,' she said. Though the family, having discovered Gable's death just hours ago, have not made any funeral plans, Scheff said that her son might be buried next to her father, with whom he was very close. 'He absolutely adored my father. He was basically my sons father,' she told DailyMail.com 'My dad died two years ago. Who knows, maybe hell be next to him.' Scheff also posted a sweet tribute to Instagram Friday, writing: 'It is with an extremely heavy heart we say goodbye to my beautiful son Clark. He passed this morning. I will always be next to you my beautiful son. Mom.' Ex Heather Chadwell said: 'We were battling our own addiction issues and it was too much' Ex Heather also took to Instagram and wrote: 'I am so saddened to hear of the sudden death of my ex boyfriend & beautiful soul Clark Gable III.' She shared the above snap of them His ex-girlfriend Heather Chadwell also spoke out to pay tribute to her former lover and spoke of his addiction. She told Radar Online: 'We were together on-and-off for several years and during that time we went through a lot. Clark would disappear for days on end. 'With the disappearing and not knowing what he was doing took a toll on our relationship. 'We were battling our own addiction issues and it was too much.' Heather also shared that after they split she got a call to say he was in hospital after being stabbed in the lung. She said: 'His lung got infected and collapsed. 'He had a surgery at the time and it was just so hard on him and It was hard to watch him suffer.' She also took to Instagram and wrote: 'I am so saddened to hear of the sudden death of my ex boyfriend & beautiful soul Clark Gable III. 'Only 30 years old, way too soon to leave this earth. You will forever have a place in my heart. Prayers to your family and little baby. Rest In Peace Clark.' His sister Kayley Gable revealed he was found unresponsive on Friday morning adding: 'I'm so sorry we couldn't save you my heart is broken and shattered RIP' His sister Kayley shared this picture following his passing on Friday He was the only grandson of the famed actor who was fondly known as 'The King of Hollywood' and starred in classics like Gone with the Wind, Mogambo, and Call of the Wild. Gable was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead at 9.11am on Friday morning at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. The Dallas County Medical Examiner is waiting for Gable's body to arrive, and an autopsy is scheduled for Saturday. Gable's sister Kayley lamented his death on Facebook on Friday. 'My brother was found unresponsive this morning by his fiance and didn't wake up .. I LOVE YOU CLARKIE I'm so sorry we couldn't save you my heart is broken and shattered RIP,' she wrote. Gable followed his Hollywood legend grandfather's footsteps and pursued acting as a career saying: 'Acting in films - It's in my blood, and I really want to do it just like my grandfather'. Clark Gable pictured above in front of a painting of his grandfather in Gone With The Wind He started his modeling career at the age of five and went on to work with big companies like Prada, Chrome Hearts, Converse and Disney. He's best known for hosting the reality show Cheaters from season 13 to 14. When he took the job he said: 'Acting in films - It's in my blood, and I really want to do it just like my grandfather.' 'But I don't want to be compared to him in any way because I am different. I just happen to be born into these great circumstances, so I feel it gives me a great opportunity for what I want to do,' he added. Aside from Cheaters, he was in the film Looking in Clarissa and just wrapped up a movie called Heckle, which is currently in post-production. He was filming for movie called Sunset at Dawn at the time of his death. Gable's fifth wife Kay Williams (seen above) gave birth to the star's only son John Clark Gable, Gable III's father Gable III was born in Santa Monica and raised in the San Fernando Valley and Malibu. He never attended college but completed an eight week course in filmmaking at the New York Film Academy. He once said he always tried to live up to his family name. Kay and Clark are pictured above in 1957 Gable and his fiancee Summer are parents to a girl named Shore LaRae Gable, who was born in September 2017. Grandfather William Clark Gable was a Hollywood legend and Oscar-winning actor. He died in 1960 at the age of 59 and Gable III was his only grandson. Gable's fifth wife Kay Williams gave birth to the star's only son John Clark Gable, Gable III's father. Gable III was born in Santa Monica and raised in the San Fernando Valley and Malibu. He never attended college but completed an eight week course in filmmaking at the New York Film Academy. He once said he always tried to live up to his family name. On his Instagram page he shared this old photo partying with Paris Hilton. It's not clear if the two were friends 'The name means a lot to me. It opened a lot of doors. It also carries a lot of expectations. I want to create a new legacy for my family because I feel the ball got dropped by a generation. I want to pick it back up and do what I can with it,' he said to the Hollywood Reporter in 2012. Gable made headlines in 2011 after he was arrested for shining a green laser pointer at a Los Angeles Police helicopter as it flew 800 feet over Hollywood. He pled guilty and was sentenced to 10 days in jail for the incident, of which he served six. He later revealed he was given the laser pointer as a Christmas gift from his mother and was playing with it when he targeted the helicopter and got in trouble. 'It was a big misunderstanding. It was unfortunate it happened. I learned it is very dangerous. Now I'm happy I am able to set an example, and hopefully people will learn from what happened to me,' he said. On his personal website he said when he was off camera he enjoyed spending time with his family, surfing, skateboarding, fishing, photography, and drone videography. North West is entering the family business and has scored her first magazine cover at just five years old. Kim Kardashian proudly posted the cover, as well as the interior shots, for North's WWD issue on social media Friday. Treating the images like Kim does all her photos, she added a carefully chosen filter for the cover to match her Instagram aesthetic, to the dismay of some of her followers. Filtered: Kim Kardashian gushed over daughter North's first magazine cover as she shared the images on social media but told fans she 'toned down' the colors to match her own Instagram aesthetic The mogul then included the original, more vibrant shots and covers in the swipe-thru. Kim was positively gushing over her eldest child's first big modeling gig. 'My most stylish and beautiful baby girl North shot her 1st cover for @WWD!!!!' Slide me The difference: The original cover was vibrant and bright with bold primary colors, in Kim's version all the hues are toned down and muted Kim gushed: 'My most stylish and beautiful baby girl North shot her 1st cover for @WWD!!!!' The proud momma continued: 'She loves fashion & beauty and has so much fun doing this!' North appears to take after her mom as she was precious and confident, striking different poses in the shots. The WWD cover is bold with a bright yellow background, pink text and the Kindergartner in a peach outfit. 'She loves fashion & beauty and has so much fun doing this!' Kim, however, added a filter to mute the colors so that the post didn't stick out on her thoughtfully curated social media page. Anticipating that haters would sling insults at her for modifying the shot, the KKW beauty owner tried to nip and controversy in the bud. 'I toned down the color of the cover just to blend in with my IG feed,' she explained in the caption. 'so don't repost this front cover but swipe to see the original and more pics from the shoot!' Still, commenters came for the reality star for the photo editing. Getting ahead: Anticipating that haters would sling insults at Kim for filtering the cover, the KKW beauty owner tried to nip and controversy in the bud 'You quite literally took the vibrance out of your child so it would match you,' one user wrote. 'This is quite probably the most vain thing I have ever seen.' Others seemed see the fun in the shoot, making comments in jest to Kim about her daughter coming for her crown. 'KIM!!! You better find something else! Cause North is gonna take your job!' one fan joked. 'I toned down the color of the cover just to blend in with my IG feed,' she explained in the caption. 'so don't repost this front cover but swipe to see the original and more pics from the shoot!' Another added: 'Who fresher than North? Nobody.' Kanye and Kim's eldest rocked Harajuku inspired looks for the spread and was styled for the shoot by Kardashian herself. Rocking high pig tails in the images, the little girl played dress up in a futuristic purple shining crop top and purple pants with spunky purple eyeliner. Trolls: Still, commenters came for the reality star for the photo editing At one point, Kim had the stylist knot North's pigtails into two space buns, which were a hit among Kim's fans. The Kardashian-West heiress had a costume change into a sheer peach toned cover-up over a white dress with a matching sheer jacket, thin red sunglasses and glittering rainbow combat boots. North smiled broadly for the camera, did her best Tyra Banks 'smize' and posed flashing a peace sign and even holding Japanese parasols in several images. Momager 2.0: Kim not only promoted North's new cover she also served as her daughter's stylist on the shoot The prestigious fashion industry magazine revealed their February Beauty Inc. cover on Friday which displayed North as the face of the next generation of style and influence. 'Without a public Instagram or YouTube channel of her own, she's too young to fully understand what a digital footprint is. And yet, hers is already wildly popular,' a snippet from the piece read. 'West, whether she knows it or not, is at the forefront of a generation that is highly connected, engaged with fashion and beauty and individualistic in style.' Nicki Minaj is kicking off her world tour with powerful visuals. The 36-year-old hitmaker dropped a series of new photos and a 60 second clip for the song Parallel To None on Friday to the amazement of her fans. Minaj is both beauty and brawn in the video as she steps into a fairy tale world where she plays the warrior and the princess. Debut: Nicki Minaj kicked off her world tour with a visually stunning teaser clip for Parallel to None which she released on Friday The Pinkprint star shared shots on social media where she channeled Rapunzel in an extra-long wavy blonde wig. Minaj is seated in a vibrantly colored meadow surrounded by hundreds of flowers while wearing an ethereal, albeit cleavage bearing, tulle gown. In the video she paints a scene of a glossy fairy tale where she prepares to vanquish a scorpion-like villain as a sword wielding warrior, in order to save the damsel in distress. The metaphor of being her own hero was not lost on her followers who flooded the star's comments section with praise for the visual imagery. Amazing: The 36-year-old hitmaker dropped a fairy tale inspired series of new photos and a 60 second clip Once upon a time: The Pinkprint star shared shots on social media where she channeled Rapunzel in an extra-long wavy blonde wig Glam! Nicki donned a dramatic tulle gown that showcased her ample cleavage 'I want this on replay on my headstone when I die,' one fan commented. 'I dont even know wat to say its so beautiful Im speechless,' another added. While a third summed up the majority of the sentiments: 'The Visuals are insane' In her warrior mode, Nicki is fierce with a massive sword and a Roman inspired helmet while showcasing her famous curves in some sultry armor. Costume change: Nicki is fierce with a massive sword and a Roman inspired helmet while showcasing her famous curves in some sultry armor Warrior: In the video, the rapper prepares to vanquish a scorpion-like villain Support: The metaphor of being her own hero was not lost on her followers who flooded the star's comments section on Instagram The one minute clip cuts off abruptly so it appears there is likely more to come. The Anaconda rapper released the images and the clip as she kicked off her Nicki WRLD Tour in Munich on Thursday night. The tour take the mogul throughout Europe until the end of March and ends in Thailand at the start of April. The hip hop icon recently pulled out of a later performance in June at the BET Experience and severed ties with the network. 'I want this on replay on my headstone when I die,' one fan commented. Teaser: The one minute clip cuts off abruptly so it appears there is likely more to come Nicki was not pleased to see BET tweet congratulatory messages about her enemy Cardi B while using Minaj's lyrics from MotorSport. 'Young Money will no longer be apart of the BET Experience or award show,' she wrote. 'Summer Tour dates dropping soon.' The night before, BET tweeted 'Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj is being dragged by her lacefront' with an article congratulating Cardi B on her historic win as the first female to receive Best Rap Album at the Grammys on Sunday night. Performer: The Nicki WRLD Tour takes the mogul throughout Europe until the end of March Drama: The hip hop star recently pulled out of a performance in June at the BET Experience and severed ties with the network Angry: Nicki was furious with BET after they used her lyrics to congratulate Cardi B on her Grammy win and then dragged Minaj in a savage tweet Despite the savage tweet at the Barbie Tingz hitmaker, the network claimed to remain team Nicki and apologized. 'BET loves Nicki Minaj. We have supported her from the very beginning of her career and will continue to do so moving forward,' the cable network told TMZ in a statement. 'Unfortunately the respect we have for Nicki was violated by this post that should never have been written. The post does not reflect how we feel about Nicki. And further does not reflect our company values. We deeply apologize for the hurt, disappointment and confusion that this post has caused. We are committed to doing everything we can to address the situation.' The site for the BET Experience is still promoting Nicki as a performer. Vicky Pattison is reportedly set to face a court battle with her love rat ex, John Noble. The Sun claims her former fiance, 31, is demanding a cash sum after moving out of the house they bought together as he wants his share of the money he invested. However, John is said to have stopped paying his half of the mortgage after he moved out of the property, which Vicky, also 31, now lives in on her own. Battling on: Vicky Pattison is 'set to face a court battle with ex John Noble after he reportedly rejected her offer to buy him out of her mortgage'... (which she claims he stopped paying) A source said: 'Vicky and John bought the house together a year ago, and both paid into the mortgage and to decorate it' (pictured in January 2018) A source told the site: 'Vicky and John bought the house together a year ago, and both paid into the mortgage and to decorate it. 'But when he packed up and moved out after the split, he stopped the payments. Now, hes demanding way more money than he ever paid into the house from Vicky, saying its what hes owed. 'Shes desperate to cut all ties with him and wants to keep the house, so has made him a very generous offer. But hes rejected it and asked for a huge amount of money.' A source said: 'When he moved out after the split, he stopped the payments. Now, hes demanding more money than he ever paid into the house, saying its what hes owed' The Sun also reported that John, who works in the amusement park industry, has reportedly said he will take Vicky to court to get the money. A source also told MailOnline: 'Vicky wants this all over with and just feels that John is being entirely unreasonable with his requests. She feels shes been very fair with all things considered.' A family law expert told MailOnline: 'Mr Noble should have continued to pay half of the mortgage. The starting point of division is 50:50 of everything but that can be different if there are children or income disparities. 'In the absence of a co-habitation agreement, they will split joint assets, ie houses which they jointly own, without being married, he has no right to her income. He is very unlikely to get more than 50%.' MailOnline has contacted a spokesperson for Vicky Pattison for comment. Vicky documented her split from John on reality show, Vicky Pattison: The Break-Up, after he was pictured getting cosy with other women in Dubai in November. She's now in the early stages of dating former TOWIE star Ercan Ramadan and is trying her best to move on from John. Speaking to MailOnline previously, she said: 'I don't think about him anymore. I don't know that man. He's rang me a couple of times since. Unfortunately we own a house together... 'He's very keen to get the money out of this house and have his ring back and just wanting to move on with his life. I think the ring is cursed, mate... 'I haven't wanted to see him, it's still very raw and very sore and the thought of sitting down with him to discuss our financials is making me very anxious and very stressed. I don't think I'm ready for that.' When asked about her wedding plans and if she had put any deposits down, Vicky pushed: 'Luckily for us we were at the cusp of doing things, we had a lucky escape... 'We owned the house in Newcastle for a year together. It's my house now and I kicked him out the day I found out.' He is a successful presenter who is known for his glowing tan. But Rylan Clark-Neal suffered an unfortunate fake tan fail as he appeared on Friday's episode of This Morning. The co-host, 30, cracked up as he showed off an orange streaky two-tone hand on the show, revealing a viewer had pointed out the blunder. Oh dear: Rylan Clark-Neal suffered an unfortunate fake tan fail as he appeared on Friday's episode of This Morning Not a fan: The co-host, 30, cracked up as he showed off an orange streaky two-tone hand on the show, revealing a viewer had pointed out the blunder He said: 'I just had a tweet. I had a bit of a nightmare last night. I knew I was doing this and I completely forgot and I decided to have a little tan-up. 'You know, the sun's coming up. So someone's just tweeted my tan hand.' The former X Factor star then held his hand up to show a clear line of fake tan on his palm as co-host Rochelle Humes looked on in disbelief She said: 'Oh!' as he flipped his hand and said: 'Hello Barbados. Hello Dagenham.' Fail: He said: 'I just had a tweet. I had a bit of a nightmare last night. I knew I was doing this and I completely forgot and I decided to have a little tan-up' Oh no: The former X Factor star then held his hand up to show a clear line of fake tan on his palm as co-host Rochelle Humes looked on in disbelief The beauty retorted: 'This is the shot I like, that one right there' as the camera zoomed in. Rylan them whimsically responded: 'Like Basildon on the beach. So thank you for to the lovely viewer who noticed that, screenshotted it and put a filter over it to make it worse.' Back in November, Rylan reiterated how upset the cancellation of Big Brother has left him in an exclusive interview with MailOnline. He said:'My brain just doesn't understand that it's not coming back. To me, I can't understand that I have presented it for the last time. It's going to be majorly missed. Here he is: She said: 'Oh!' as he flipped his hand and said: 'Hello Barbados. Hello Dagenham' 'And trust me, I am doing everything I can do in my power to get it back.' To Rylan, the show was not just a job; after his stint on The X Factor in 2012 he entered CBB in January 2013 and won it. Soon after, he was brought back to present BOTS for both the civilian and celebrity versions of the show, consequently meeting his now-husband Dan Neal, who was a housemate that summer in civilian BB. 'I can't imagine Big Brother not being around. It has shaped my life. I am really in a world of denial about this. I want it back. Many people do.' Kim Kardashian's daughter North West has landed her first cover shoot as she follows in the footsteps of her mother. The eldest child of the reality star and Kanye West is lauded for her 'distinct fashion sense and eye for make-up by WWD Beauty Inc, for which North has also posed for a fashion shoot. The publication says of the five-year-old: 'Here, she poses for her first solo cover. Her distinct fashion sense belies her age, and lately, so does her eye for makeup.' Move aside, Mommy! North West, 5, is lauded for her 'distinct fashion sense and eye for make-up' as she lands her first magazine cover Just like Kim: The publication says of the five-year-old: 'Here, she poses for her first solo cover. Her distinct fashion sense belies her age, and lately, so does her eye for makeup' Proud mom Kim re-posted the images on her Instagram page, writing: 'My most stylish and beautiful baby girl North shot her 1st cover for @wwd !!!! 'She loves fashion & beauty and has so much fun doing this! * I toned down the color of the cover just to blend in with my IG feed so dont repost this front cover but swipe to see the original and more pics from the shoot! 'Hair- @chrisappleton1 Eyeliner- @maryphillips Styling- @kimkardashian @jucophoto.' In the images, North wears pink eye make-up, just weeks after Kim, 38, responded to criticism about her daughter wearing red lipstick. Colourful: In the images, North wears pink eye make-up, just weeks after Kim, 38, responded to criticism about her daughter wearing red lipstick Read all about it: The February issue of WWD Beauty Inc is out now Kim, who was releasing the lipstick, had hit back, saying: 'She picked it though! Its a special occasion!' Speaking previously of North's love for cosmetics in an interview with Refinery 29, recently Kim argued that while she lets her daughter experiment, she wants to make sure her use of make-up is 'appropriate' too. The star argued: 'I don't think she should wear lashes or too dark of a lipstick. I want her to express herself, but I want her to be appropriate too.' Kim continued: 'I already know North is into make-up for sure... when companies send make-up and I have a lot, I'll give it to her.' Interesting: The pictures of North accompanies a piece on exploring Generations Z and Alpha and their impact on the global beauty industry 'My most stylish and beautiful baby girl!': Proud mom Kim re-posted the images on her Instagram page alongside a sweet caption The pictures of North accompany a piece on exploring Generations Z and Alpha and their impact on the global beauty industry. The term Generation Alpha applies to children born between 2011 and 2025. Generation X or Gen X is the demographic unit given to those preceding the Millennials. Appearing on the magazine's first solo cover, North West, part of Generation Alpha was photographed by JUCO to represent what will become the largest generation by 2025. The publication writes: 'She embodies the upcoming youthquake, having captivated the digital realm with her cross-generational appeal.' A youthquake is 'a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people.' The February issue of WWD Beauty Inc is out now Advertisement She's a Hollywood sensation who's known for her incredible sense of style. And Salma Hayek, 52, looked chic in an all-black ensemble as she stepped out on Friday with her mini-me daughter Valentina Paloma, 11, to attend the star-studded Bottega Veneta catwalk show in Milan, Italy. The Grown Ups actress oozed sophistication in a textured leather pencil skirt, which she teamed with a sleek black polo neck. Like mother, like daughter: Salma Hayek, 52, looked chic in an all-black ensemble as she stepped out on Friday with her mini-me daughter Valentina Paloma, 11, to attend the star-studded Bottega Veneta catwalk show in Milan, Italy Salma looked impressive in the eye-catching skirt which flattered her fantastic figure, while her sweater clung elegantly to her famous curves. Bringing a showbiz edge to her look, the American model accessorised with a long chunky gold chain necklace and dangling statement earrings. The Wild Wild West star styled her brunette locks up with an effortless bun atop her head and shielded her eyes with a pair of glamorous oversized shades. Adding a light twist to her otherwise all-black ensemble, the mother-of-one strutted along in off-white pointed sling-back stilettos. Glam: The Grown Ups actress oozed sophistication in a textured leather pencil skirt and a sleek black polo neck Designer duds: Salma carried her belongings in a 2,095 Bottega Veneta grab bag, made of the designer's iconic handwoven intrecciato leather Sensational: Salma looked impressive in the eye-catching skirt which flattered her fantastic figure, while her sweater clung elegantly to her famous curves Stylish pair: Salma's fashion mogul husband Francois-Henri Pinault, who is the CEO of fashion brand Kering, was also at the fashion show Salma carried her belongings in a 2,095 Bottega Veneta grab bag, made of the designer's iconic handwoven intrecciato leather. In contrast to her mother's all-black ensemble, Valentina looked effortlessly fashionable in a long-sleeved burgundy knit dress. Salma's daughter teamed her simple frock with a pair of 750 chunky black Gucci trainers and and 895 cross-body bag from Bottega Veneta. Salma's fashion mogul husband Francois-Henri Pinault, who is the CEO of fashion brand Kering, was also at the fashion show. The businessman looked dapper in a blue suit with a subtle blue check, which he paired with a dark grey T-shirt and smart black shoes. The look of love: The businessman looked dapper in a blue suit with a subtle blue check, which he paired with a dark grey T-shirt and smart black shoes Walk that way: Olivia Palermo, 32, stood out in an eclectic ensemble, finished off with a pair of quirky sunglasses Stylish: Irina Shayk, 33, (L) looked typically stylish in a leather trench coat and matching handbag, while Olivia Palermo (R) wore black leather shorts with black tights with a colour-block jacket Stunning: Irina hid her eyes behind a pair of dark designer shades as she posed for some snaps Salma and her husband Francois-Henri began their relationship in 2006 and were engaged less than a year later. The actress gave birth to their daughter Valentina, now 11, in September 2007 in Los Angeles. The pair wed in Paris on Valentine's Day in 2009, they put on a second wedding ceremony in Venice in April of the same year. Salma also shares a stepdaughter, Mathilde Pinault, 18, and stepsons Augustin Evangelista, 12, and Francois Pinault, 21, with her husband. A small contingent of U.S. troops will remain in Syria following President Donald Trump's order for a "full" withdrawal of the American military from the country, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said. "A small peace keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for (a) period of time," CNN cited Sanders as saying. In December, Trump ordered staff to execute the "full" and "rapid" withdrawal of U.S. military from Syria, declaring that the U.S. had defeated ISIS. The U.S. currently has more than 2,000 troops in Syria. Baptiste star Talisa Garcia revealed on Friday that she wasn't given roles in the past because she casting directors felt she 'wasn't transgender enough'. The Chilean-born English star, who plays Kim Vogel in the BBC miniseries, was making an appearance on Lorraine to talk about her role and career as a transgender actress when she made the candid admission. Speaking with Christine Lampard, she said of starting out: 'When I graduated in 2004 I wasn't getting the jobs because they kept saying I wasn't transgender enough. Honest: Baptiste star Talisa Garcia revealed on Friday that she wasn't given roles in the past because she 'wasn't transgender enough', as the actress spoke candidly about her transition 'It was like a compliment but at the same time I still wanted to work, whenever I watched the programmes back it was usually a guy playing it with a wig.' Going on to give a specific example, Talisa continued: 'I remember I went for an audition with The Bill, [and] they said "we could never cast you as a transgender because you wouldn't get the sympathy", now everything has moved on and there's been an outbreak really.' The Doctors star also discussed her family life, and admitted that her 'parents knew before [her]' that she was transgender. Discussion: The star, who plays Kim Vogel in the BBC miniseries (pictured), was making an appearance on Lorraine to talk about her role and career as a transgender actress Example: Talisa continued, 'I remember I went for an audition with The Bill, [and] they said "we could never cast you as a transgender because you wouldn't get the sympathy" 'My dad always said since you were three years old we knew,' she explained. 'I remember asking my mum and dad why I hated having my hair cut, they would explain to me that you're a little boy. 'You know, it did become a problem for me especially when you reach 11, 12 years old, it was a huge problem for me. So much so that I didn't want to exist anymore, until I found out it had a name, what I had had a name. 'I think whenever you're real, or somebody tells you what it is, you somehow feel better. They told me you are transsexual and I thought there was a light at the end of the tunnel for me, immediately. 'The fact that I wanted to be an actor, I wanted to be a woman, so those are the two things I wanted to do, and I've achieved them, I've managed to do them as best as I possibly can.' Supportive: The Doctors star also discussed her family life, and admitted that her 'parents knew before [her]' that she was transgender. Candid: Discussing how she felt before realising she was transgender, she said: 'It was a huge problem for me. So much so that I didn't want to exist anymore, until I found out what I had had a name' Talisa also discussed how parents can support their children who may wish to transition in an empowering manner, as she added: 'To talk to somebody you really do need to talk about it, and parents have to be a little bit understanding with their children. 'When I was 16 I remember by dad saying to me you will make the most beautiful woman, this was a man you never expected to be like that. 'I think you've got to listen to your child, be aware, be alert of what you're doing. Maybe see a psychologist, someone that they can talk to.' Advice: Talisa also discussed how parents can support their children, as she added: 'To talk to somebody you really do need to talk about it, and parents have to be a little bit understanding' Baptiste is a spin-off to The Missing, and sees detective Julien Baptiste who helps the Dutch police in their search for a missing sex worker in Amsterdam, prompting him to uncover a complex web of deceit and lies. Of the story, Talisa told Christine: 'When I read the first two episodes, I fell in love with the character. She's not the nicest person, [but] the fact that she is transgender and so am I so that for me is very, very important. Who better to do it than someone who has gone through it.' Stacey Solomon's beau Joe Swash has left fans in hysterics just hours after she announced her pregnancy on Friday, as he revealed a blog had mistaken them for Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. Taking to Instagram on Friday, the presenter shared a screen-grab of a blog post about their exciting news, but pointed out that the preview picture had been replaced with one of the Hollywood couple. Stacey took to Instagram on Friday to announce that she and Joe were expecting their first child together, her third child overall and his second, as she shared a snap of their ultrasound. Oops! Stacey Solomon's beau Joe Swash has left fans in hysterics just hours after she announced her pregnancy on Friday, as he posted an unfortunate gaffe Awkward! Joe shared a blog post of a story around Stacey's pregnancy announcement, but the photo was instead of Kim Kardashian and Kanya West In the social media post, Joe shared a grab of the blog post which revealed the news that Stacey was expecting. However the title seemed to be mixed up with the recent news that Kim and Kanye will welcome their fourth child as the picture was instead of the reality TV pair. Joe playfully captioned the post: 'I cant put my finger on it!! This dont seem right? Lol.' The post was soon inundated with comments from fans who loved the hilarious error, while others simply congratulated the pair on their happy news. Real deal: Of course Kim and Kanye are also expecting their fourth child via. surrogate, but the mix-up still left many fans in hysterics Funny: Joe's followers rushed to comment on the post about the mix-up, while others congratulated him and Stacey on their happy news Stacey took to Instagram on Friday morning to announce that she was expecting her first child with boyfriend Joe - her third overall. Sharing a snap of her ultrasound, she added a caption reading: 'Every time I go to write anything I sob so... what he said'. In Joe's announcement he posted a shot of expectant Stacey curled up on the sofa as he penned: 'Have been driving myself mad thinking that shes bored senseless of me and cant stand to be awake for longer than 10 minutes of my company... Happy days! Stacey took to Instagram to Friday to announce that she and Joe were expecting their first child together, her third and his second overall Delighted: The couple's news comes just weeks after the duo moved in together following their widely-discussed and publicised three year romance 'So you can imagine my delight to find out that she still loves me and my company very much shes just been growing a baby... 'I cant begin to describe how happy we are to be able to share this wonderful news... Weve been so blessed with 3 incredible children that weve had the privilege of raising... 'We are forever grateful to have the chance to become parents to another wonderful child... Its all overwhelming and emotional and we couldnt be happier right now.' The happy news comes just weeks after the duo moved in together following their widely-discussed and publicised three year romance. Courtney Love has left a heartbreaking comment underneath a picture of the late Kurt Cobain. The Hole frontwoman, 54, who was married to the Nirvana star until his death in 1994, proved emotional on what would have been his 52nd birthday. 'So beautiful... seeing the bones in his face. I never get tired of this one,' Courtney commented under a striking black and white snap of Cobain, shot by famed photographer Mark Seliger. 'So beautiful': Courtney Love, 54, has left a heartwarming comment underneath a picture of the late Kurt Cobain on what would have been his 52nd birthday Love married Kurt on February 24, 1992, on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. They were married until the rocker's tragic death by suicide on April 5, 1994. The Lithium hitmaker died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in their Seattle home. The couple share a daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, 26. Courtney was married to James Moreland prior to meeting Kurt, and has since dated but hasn't remarried since the death of her second husband. Relationship: Love married Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain on February 24, 1992, on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii Tragic: They were married until the rocker's tragic death by suicide on April 5, 1994. The Lithium hitmaker died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in their Seattle home In February, she paid tribute to her late husband on what would have been his 51st birthday when she freely expressed how much she missed him. She emotionally wrote: 'God I miss you.' Meanwhile, speaking previously as part of the Liberatum Women In Creativity series in London, as reported by DazedDigital, Courtney spoke of her work with band Hole, who last split in 2012 after a two-year reunion. Family: The couple share a daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, 26 (Pictured 1993) While she's very proud of her work with the group, she is unsure they will reunite again. She said: 'I would say Im really proud of Hole... 'I would say Hole was a really good band, it might still be because I cant remember why I broke it up and we all still get along then why not stick it back together its more lucrative to stick it back together... 'If we put something new out thats relevant, but if its not new and relevant it doesnt really interest me... Ellen Page claims she was pressured to wear 'dresses and heels' by industry professionals to hide the fact that she is gay. The 32-year-old actress has alleged that Hollywood bosses 'distinctly told her' not to reveal her sexuality when she first rose to prominence. Speaking about her decision to ignore the advice, Ellen now talks to NET-A-PORTERs digital magazine PorterEdit about how much she loves being married to dancer Emma Portner, five years after coming out. Speaking out: Ellen Page speaks to Porter Edit this month about her sexuality She explained: 'I was distinctly told, by people in the industry, when I started to become known: "People cannot know you're gay." 'And I was pressured forced, in many cases to always wear dresses and heels for events and photo shoots 'As if lesbians don't wear dresses and heels. But I will never let anyone put me in anything I feel uncomfortable in ever again.' Cute couple: Emma Portner and Ellen Page have been married since 2018 Ellen was 20 when she first fell in love with a woman, but it was around the same time as her success of 2007 film Juno. It wasn't until she was 26 that she came out during a conference for LGBTQ campaign Time to Thrive, declaring that she was 'tired of hiding'. Ellen continued: 'I remember being in my early 20s and really believing it was impossible for me to come out. 'But, over time, with more representation, hearts and minds have been changed. It doesn't happen quickly enough and it hasn't happened enough, particularly for the most marginalized in the community. But things have got better.' Cover star: The Hollywood actress accuses bosses of asking her to hide her sexuality The Tales Of The City star married Canadian choreographer Emma last year and now says she's happier than ever. 'I'm so in love,' she added. 'I love being married. I'll be walking my dog, and I start talking to people, and I end up telling them about my wife and making them look at our Instagram. I'm that person.' In 2017, Ellen alleged that director Brett Ratner outed her as a lesbian and said degrading things about women Speaking in a lengthy statement on Facebook, Ellen revealed: 'This public, aggressive outing left me with long standing feelings of shame, one of the most destructive results of homophobia.' To see the full interview with Ellen Page read PorterEdit and/or download the Net-A-Porter app for iPhone, iPad and Android. The genre of synth-pop has deep roots in the late-70s/early-80s with iconic acts including Depeche Mode, New Order, and a more recent resurgence with Toro y Moi and Robyn. And now I Am Boleyn is staking her claim in the scene. The London-based artist made her United States concert debut in front of a star-studded crowd in Los Angeles on Monday. Dazzling: I Am Boleyn made her United States concert debut in front of a star-studded crowd in Los Angeles on Monday I Am Boleyn shimmered in a metallic silver top and trousers combination at The Peppermint Club as she performed tracks her catalog including new single Too Much. The LA hotspot was not only filled with record executives but also celebrities including the likes of husband to former first daughter Chelsea Clinton and American investor Marc Mezvinsky. Million Dollar Listing New York's William McLarnon and E! News personality Jason Kennedy were also in attendance. Talent: The London-based artist shimmered in a metallic silver top and trousers combination at The Peppermint Club as she performed tracks her catalog including new single Too Much Newcomer: She had the crowd on their feet as she performed her futuristic synth-pop tunes Hitting all the right notes: No doubt she is staking her claim in the scene Quite the night: The LA hotspot was not only filled with record executives but also plenty of celebrities What a night! The concert was a showcase in up-and-coming musical acts as I Am Boleyn was supported by Jodi Mash, LOU, Luke Burr, and Azra The concert was a showcase in up-and-coming musical acts as I Am Boleyn was supported by Jodi Mash, LOU, Luke Burr, and Azra. The artist not only dazzled with her musical ability but also quite literally as she commanded attention in a shiny silver ensemble. Her blonde locks were worn down and tucked behind her ear to show off her natural, complementary make-up which was topped off with colorful glitter around the forehead and eyes. She also had glitter on the palms of her hands. Coast-to-coast: Million Dollar Listing New York's William McLarnon (left) was one of the many stars in attendance I Am Boleyn's recently released single Too Much is reminiscent of a new wave 80s tune with a much more darker, futuristic tone. Describing the single, the artist said: 'Too Much is about being too drunk on a night out, but also about having too much of a bad person, someone who makes you drink because they undermine your confidence. 'Sometimes we have "Too Much" to cover up feelings we subconsciously don't want to have to deal with, but then in that state there be an epiphany about why, or who, makes you are feel a certain way.' Stunning: The artist not only dazzled with her musical ability but also quite literally as she commanded attention in a shiny silver ensemble Simple: Her blonde locks were worn down and tucked behind her ear to show off her natural, complementary make-up Details: Her look was topped off with colorful glitter around the forehead and eyes I Am Boleyn worked on the single with Swedish-based music production collective FMLY STHLM. She spends most of her time between London and Stockholm to work on her music. I Am Boleyn lists her influences as Robyn, Goldfrapp, Mo, and MS MR as 'her take on electro-pop brims with hints of neon lit 80's Berlin bars with a futuristic twist of Blade Runner.' Everywhere: She also had glitter on the palms of her hands Making moves: I Am Boleyn's recently released single Too Much is reminiscent of a new wave 80s tune with a much more darker, futuristic tone Opening up: Of her new single, I Am Boleyn said: : 'Too Much is about being too drunk on a night out, but also about having too much of a bad person, someone who makes you drink because they undermine your confidence' She is a true citizen of the world as she grew up in St. Petersburg, Russia before going on to study history at Oxford University. No matter where she was located on the globe, music was always there as she has been writing songs and singing in bands from an early age. I Am Boleyn is not only making waves in the music industry but also in fashion as New York-based label La Ligne invited her to be their brand ambassador this month. Stylish: I Am Boleyn is not only making waves in the music industry but also in fashion as New York-based label La Ligne invited her to be their brand ambassador this month She was a 'mane attraction' at Thursday afternoon's Moschino show. But Irina Shayk took a break from the runway to attend Tod's show at Milan Fashion Week on Friday. The 33-year-old looked typically stylish in a leather trench coat and matching handbag as she arrived with a front row ticket. Glam arrival: Irina Shayk attended the Tod's show at Milan Fashion Week on Friday morning Never off-duty, Irina modelled the classic Tod's loafers, needing no additional heel height to make a graceful entrance. She also carried the brand's 'bag of the season' - the D Styling handbag - which was the perfect accompaniment to her top-to-toe Tod's ensemble. The catwalk star paired the flat shoes with flared black trousers and a black shirt worn underneath her jacket. She even tipped a pair of tinted shades on her nose while she posed in front of the cameras outside the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Milan. Graceful: The catwalk star carried off a pair of flat loafers with her black trouser look Catwalk queen: The brunette opted for a low-key look in black trousers and loafers Dazzling: Irina was working her magic for Moschino on Thursday as she took to the catwalk for their AW19/20 show during Milan Fashion Week The previous day, Irina had taken centre stage on the runway for Moschino's MFW show. With giant backcombed hair, the Russian superstar was the 'mane event' at the Autumn/Winter 2019/20 presentation. Her slender curves were on display in a casino-inspired maxi dress which was adorned with a colourful slot machine print. Making her arrival: She was acting as a front row guest instead of walking on the catwalk Shady lady: Irina hid her eyes behind a pair of dark designer shades as she posed for some snaps A-list attendee: Irina took a break from the runway to be an observer for the morning Wearing the trends: Irina wore a leather trench with her patterned handbag Model of the moment: The mum-of-one was flying solo at the event Attendees: Olivia Palermo attended the catwalk event with Johannes Huebi Leather look: Olivia wore black leather shorts with black tights Power couple: Salma Hayek arrived with her fashion mogul husband Francois-Henri Pinault, who is the CEO of fashion brand Kering Fashion friends: Salma arrived with her beloved daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault The notoriously private mum-of-one recently spoke about why she chooses to keep her relationship with Hollywood star Bradley Cooper out of the spotlight. Talking to Glamour UK, the model explained: 'I have a lot of friends who share a lot of their personal life on Instagram or social media, very publicly. 'I admire it and I think it's great -- but I think it's all about personal choice because my work requires me to be out there, I just decided my personal life will be quiet. 'That's why it's called personal, because it's something for you and your family, and I feel happy with it.' Catwalk queens: The brown leather trench was a big feature of the catwalk show This season's looks: Leopard print was a strong theme, as well as colourful leather looks Colour pop: One look was top to toe red, from handbag to winter boots She was dropped as the Today show last year. But Sylvia Jeffreys has made a triumphant return to prime time television with her first report on A Current Affair. The Channel Nine journalist appeared on the current affairs program on Friday interviewing Australian model Madeline Stuart, 22, who has Down syndrome. She's back in prime time! Sylvia Jeffreys (pictured) is left choked up during emotional report after making her first TV appearance on A Current Affair following departure from Today Show And it was emotional for Sylvia, 32, who got choked up and seemed on the verge of tears as Madeline's mother Rosanne Stuart recounted the model's surgery. Madeline had to have surgery due to heart failure, and it was her mother's job to explain that to her. 'I was put that decision for her where I had to make because I can't explain to her you're scared now, "Darling I know 'but if you don't have it, in five years time, you could be dead,"' Rosanne said of the difficult conversation. Tough: Sylvia got choked up and seemed on the verge of tears as Rosanne Stuart recounted her model daughter Madeline Stuart's surgery. Pictured: Madeline (right) and Rosanne Stuart Hearing the moving tale, Sylvia was visible shaken, had tears in her eyes, and appeared choked up as she nodded in agreement. Earlier on Friday, Sylvia shared a clip of the interview and some behind the scenes photos to social media and revealed how proud she was of her report. 'So pleased to share this story tonight on @ACurrentAffair9. Maddy's tenacity will impress & inspire,' Sylvia captioned the clip. Good work! Earlier on Friday, Sylvia shared a clip of the interview and some behind the scenes photos to social media and revealed how proud she was of her report 'You may have seen Madeline on catwalks around the world, but the Brisbane model has just faced the fight of her life. I'm happy to say she's fitter, happier and healthier than ever. And today she's putting me through my paces,' she says in the clip. Earlier this month, Channel Nine confirmed that Sylvia was moving to A Current Affair after being dropped as the Today show's newsreader, last year. The network said the blonde reporter will be redeployed across 'several departments' in 2019. Proud! 'So pleased to share this story tonight on @ACurrentAffair9. Maddy's tenacity will impress & inspire,' Sylvia captioned the clip A Nine spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: 'Sylvia is working on some projects close to her heart across several departments, including A Current Affair.' Sylvia acknowledged her departure from the Today show in a formal statement issued by Channel Nine last year. 'I've loved and embraced every minute of my Today show chapter and I'm thrilled to sink my teeth into a brand new project,' she said. 'Opportunity often knocks when you least expect it and I'm ready to dive right in to what's ahead of me.' The Chainsmokers are one of the biggest acts in the world. So when they heard about the supposedly luxurious Fyre Festival in late 2016, they wanted in. Speaking to Smallzy's Surgery on the Nova 969 radio network, member Alex Pall said: 'What's crazy is they killed it on the marketing. I was even sold on it.' 'It was like Bella Hadid was going to be your best friend if you bought a ticket!' The Chainsmokers (pictured) reveal they almost fell for the Fyre Festival... and had begged their manager to but them on the bill before it 'all went south' (Andrew Taggart is R and L, Alex Pall) Alex admits what sucked him in was the advertising, which featured supermodels including Bella Hadid. 'I was like you have Bella Hadid, it looked like she was gonna be your best friend if you just bought a ticket,' he said, laughing. The musician even tried to get his band on the bill, revealing: 'I definitely sent a message to my manager and agent when it started rolling before things went south.' 'Like what's the deal, are we going to get an offer for this festival?' Speaking out: Member Alex Pall said: 'What's crazy is they killed it on the marketing. I was even sold on it. I was like you have Bella Hadid, it looked like she was gonna be your best friend if you just bought a ticket'! Pictured: Bella Hadid They were keen: The musician even tried to get his band on the bill, revealing: 'I definitely sent a message to my manager and agent when it started rolling before things went south. Like whats the deal, are we going to get an offer for this festival?' Alex also has some thoughts on what the festival could have done better, telling the radio show: 'Housing is where they went wrong. If they had hotel rooms but then it wouldn't have been the vibe.' The Bahamas festival backed by a host of A-list models and with packages costing up to $13,000 dramatically fell apart in April 2017. The homepage for the festival, co-organised by rapper Ja Rule, featured a host of top models including Emily Ratajkowski, Bella Hadid, Alessandra Ambrosio, Hailey Baldwin and Joan Smalls relaxing on the beach and swimming through crystal clear waters. A-list guests: The Bahamas festival backed by a host of A-list models and with packages costing up to $13,000 dramatically fell apart in April 2017 Oh no! In reality guests arrived on the island to find the site half-finished, their luggage missing Hungry? The promised gourmet cuisine replaced by cheese sandwiches and soggy lettuce Festival used celebrity influencers from around the world to push the luxury getaway in the Bahamas to wealthy millennials as a once in a lifetime experience. In reality guests arrived on the island to find the site half-finished, their luggage missing, and the promised gourmet cuisine replaced by cheese sandwiches and soggy lettuce. Organiser Billy McFarland had no experience of organizing such an event and vastly underestimated the cost and the logistics involved. McFarland was jailed for six years for fraud in 2018 and ordered to pay back $28 million to more than a hundred investors. Coronation Street could see a shock death next week, as killer Clayton Hibbs will stab his mum Shona Ramsey amid his dramatic escape from prison. In an interview with The Sun, actor Callum Harrison teased that the 'evil' criminal will take his mum hostage in a desperate bid to escape unnoticed, making it touch and go as to whether Shona (Julia Goulding) will survive. Viewers have recently seen Shona reconnect with her son against boyfriend David's wishes, as he plots to escape from prison after being jailed for Kylie Platt's death. Tense: Coronation Street could see a shock death next week, as killer Clayton Hibbs will stab his mum Shona amid his dramatic escape from prison Speaking about the dark new storyline, Callum explained that Shona's attempts to help her son see sense got badly wrong, when he takes her hostage in exchange for 10,000 and a car so he can go on the run. He said: 'He takes her hostage and they share an intimate moment, they share a hug and she thinks she's got through to him so Clayton drops the knife. 'And then a little thing happens and she makes a run for it. And that's when he's like no way, you've betrayed me, this is unbelievable, really shocked, he can't believe it, now he's even more scared, she really got into his head at this point and he's just like no way have you betrayed me.' Explosive: Actor Callum Harrison - who plays Clayton - told The Sun that the dramatic scenes will play out as he tries to escape from prison Near-death: Spoiler snaps have shown Shona covered in blood following the confrontation, hinting that she could be fighting for her life As Shona is taken hostage, spoiler snaps have revealed that she will be left covered in blood following her ordeal at Clayton's hand, sparking fear among fans as to whether she will survive. Callum went onto reveal that he was never expected to return to Corrie following Kylie's death, but couldn't be happier to reprise his role in the soap. 'I was supposed to just be playing being a nasty piece of work, killed Kylie, and that again, that was me done at the time. So to have all this happen is really good, really grateful for it to be.' Goes wrong: Shona reached out to her son in recent weeks as he plotted his escape from prison, though it seems her good intentions will go terribly wrong Clayton's return to the soap after 18 months had been teased by showrunner Iain MacLeod late last year, as he hinted it would cause tension in Shona's relationship with David. He told Digital Spy: 'We've got a story where Clayton will rear his ugly, criminal head. He throws a massive spanner in the works for David and he tries to embroil Shona in a plot to smuggle drugs into prison. 'It becomes a story about Shona and her son and throws into question David and Shona's relationship. Clayton has been locked up and it provides the biggest challenge to David and Shona's relationship since the Josh story.' Coronation Street continues on Friday 22nd February at 7:30pm and 8:30pm on ITV. Alex Perry has posted a touching tribute to the late Charlotte Dawson on the fifth anniversary of her death. The fashion designer urged people to treat other with more kindness in an obvious reference to Charlotte's long battle against cyber bullying, after she committed suicide. 'Five years ago we lost our gorgeous Charlotte,' the 56-year-old wrote on Instagram on Friday. 'Five years ago we lost our gorgeous Charlotte': Alex Perry (L) has posted a touching tribute to the late Charlotte Dawson (R) on the fifth anniversary of her death 'In her honour be kind to everyone, you never know their struggle. Make sure the people you love are okay. Look behind the smile.' Charlotte was found dead in her Woolloomooloo home on February 22, 2014. Her death was later ruled a suicide. This isn't the first time that Alex has lashed out at cyber bullies on social media, with the designer slamming online 'trolls' in a post last year. 'Look behind the smile': The fashion designer urged people to treat other with more kindness in an obvious reference to Charlotte's long battle against cyber bullying Speaking to 9Honey last year, he explained: 'I've been thinking lots about Charlotte, she would have turned 52 on April 8, and the injustice of her death fuels me.' Alex forged an incredibly close bond with the late TV host, who suffered from a history of depression and was the victim of persistent cyber bullies. With Charlotte in mind, the Australian TV personality said that he was ready to take his anti-cyber bullying campaign to the next level. 'In her honour be kind to everyone, you never know their struggle. Make sure the people you love are okay. Look behind the smile,' he wrote He told the online publication that he was planning to engage lawyers and to chat to the police about how to 'track IP addresses on social media.' 'They need to be arrested and charged. They need to be listed with a criminal record,' Alex told 9Honey. If you or anyone around you are struggling and/or seeking support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636. The size of Russias shadow economy was equal to 20% of the GDP in 2018, according to the Rosfinmonitoring state financial watchdog. The watchdog recorded 20.7 trillion rubles ($315.9 billion) in undeclared imports and income taxes, as well as under-the-table salaries and other suspicious transactions, last year, the RBC news website reported. That amounts to a little under 20% of Russias 103.6 trillion ruble GDP, the news outlet added. The value of the shadow economy rose slightly from 2017, when it was estimated at 18.9 trillion rubles. Meanwhile, in 2016, the shadow economy was estimated as having a value of 24.3 trillion rubles, or 28% of GDP. The 20.7 trillion ruble shadow economy last year was bigger than the 18 trillion rubles allocated to total federal budget spending in 2019. According to the Rosfinmonitoring report, almost 15 million Russians worked off the books in 2018 with a total illicit payroll of around 11 trillion rubles. The professor at the department of the stock market and investments at the Higher School of Economics, Alexander Abramov, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, explained that the size of the shadow economy was reduced by creating favorable conditions for access to the white economy. "Those who are engaged in self-employment have been given the opportunity to be officially registered without being subject to special sanctions," he noted. In addition, according to the expert, repressive measures were taken against the shadow economy. "The banks were put in charge of ensuring that people did not launder money. It had some effect," Alexander Abramov said. "The third factor is that in recent years people's incomes have declined. Unfavorable for business measures have been implemented, for example, the professor at the department of the stock market and investments at the Higher School of Economics said. The fact that the share of the shadow economy in Russia is higher compared with some developed and some emerging markets was explained by the expert with the fact that Russia is more attentive to accounting for this sector. "That is, the figures of 20-23% are a bit overstated. What will happen in the future? I do not see any serious prerequisites for reducing this indicator, because those who are engaged in the gray sector have not so much incentive to enter the white economy," Alexander Abramov concluded. The advisor on macroeconomics to the CEO of the 'Opening-Broker' brokerage house, economist Sergey Hestanov in the first place noted that it is simply impossible to measure the volume of the shadow economy with high accuracy. "Second, most of the goods and services offered by participants in the shadow economy are usually focused on individuals," the expert said. At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that a drop in real disposable incomes of citizens was recorded in Russia in the last five years, so the very possibility of individuals using goods and services from the shadow economy is declining. As a result, the shadow economy is also slowly shrinking," Sergey Khestanov explained. Speaking about how significant the current volume of the Russian shadow economy is, he noted that it is more correct to focus on the number in percentage terms in this matter. "For such countries as Russia, this is a rather average figure. As a rule, the higher the incomes of citizens, the smaller the shadow economy's share, and vice versa," the advisor on macroeconomics to the CEO of the 'Opening-Broker' brokerage house said. In addition, he suggested that we should expect a slow decline in the share of the shadow economy in the future. "This is well contributed by the processes of digitalization, non-cash payments, toughening of control. But this is an area where any changes are quite slow," Sergey Hestanov concluded. Kim Kardashian stepped out in simple style Thursday before heading on a road trip with embattled sister Khloe Kardashian. The 38-year-old reality star was spotted wearing a long cream coat while heading to husband Kanye West's office in Calabasas, California. The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star donned a tight grey top and white pants underneath. Simple style: Kim Kardashian covered up in a long plain cream coat Thursday while visiting Kanye West's office in Calabasas, California ahead of a road trip with embattled sister Khloe Kim completed her outfit with clear high heels and had her dark hair pulled back into a low knot. The mother of three accentuated her natural beauty with eye makeup, contoured cheeks and lipstick. Kim later took to social media to share a video clip taking the side of Khloe, 34, after she split from Tristan Thompson, 27, after he was reportedly caught with Kylie Jenner's best friend Jordyn Woods. She was in the backseat with Khloe's best friend Malika Haqq while Khloe was spotted in the front for the girls trip. Reality star: The 38-year-old reality star wore a grey top and white pants underneath her coat Showing support: Kim later was spotted on a road trip with Khloe and her best friend Malika Haqq Kim and Malika excitedly sang along to Nivea's Don't Mess With My Man. 'Don't mess with my man, I'ma be the one to break it to ya,' the girls recited off the lyrics by Nivea and Jagged Edge. 'Here's a little advice for you, find your own man.' Khloe was shown slumped in the front seat wearing a fuzzy pink sweater. Song choice: Malika and Kim excitedly sang along to Nivea's Don't Mess With My Man after Khloe split with boyfriend Tristan Thompson amid reports he hooked up with Jordyn Woods Kim earlier went on the defense for her heartbroken sister when she responded to a Twitter user bashing Khloe for attending a PrettyLittleThing event on Wednesday night. She quipped back that 'a single mom has to work too boo,' adding 'would you prefer she lose the money too?' Kim continued: 'This was a professional commitment planned far in advance and you better believe she is not waiting on anyone to pay her bills or provide for her daughter. PERIOD!!!!' Front seat: Khloe who was dealing with yet another heartbreak was shown in the front seat in a pink sweater Kate Hudson attended the opening night of the Takashi Murakami's GYATEI exhibit - featuring 30 new works - at the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills on Thursday. The 39-year-old Oscar nominee - who relies on stylist Sophie Lopez - mixed brown patterns with a men's plaid blazer over a floral maxi-dress, heels, sheer scarf, and oversized clutch. The Fabletics co-founder's street sighting came after news she'll receive the Courage Award at the Women's Cancer Research Fund's An Unforgettable Evening gala happening February 28 - according to THR. Out and about: Kate Hudson attended the opening night of the Takashi Murakami's GYATEI exhibit - featuring 30 new works - at the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills on Thursday Also spotted at the art show was the 57-year-old man of the hour - Murakami - sporting floral shorts of his own design, as well as 12-time Grammy winner Pharrell Williams. Earlier that same day, Kate - who boasts 10.4M Instagram/Facebook followers - posted a 'laid back' snap of her four-month-old daughter Rani Rose with her musician babydaddy Danny Fujikawa. Hudson is rumored to be engaged to the 32-year-old Lightwave Records founder, whom she originally met in 2002 through his stepsisters Erin & Sara Foster. The Pretty Fun author also has a 14-year-old son Ryder with her ex-husband, Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson; as well as a seven-year-old son Bingham with ex-fiance, Muse frontman Matt Bellamy. Bundled: The 39-year-old Oscar nominee mixed brown patterns with a men's plaid blazer over a floral maxi-dress, heels, sheer scarf, and oversized clutch Happening February 28! The Fabletics co-founder's street sighting came after news she'll receive the Courage Award at the Women's Cancer Research Fund gala Floral shorts of his own design! Also spotted at the art show was the 57-year-old man of the hour - Murakami (L) as well as 12-time Grammy winner Pharrell Williams (R) 'I raise and will continue to raise my children, both my boys and girl to feel free to be exactly who they want to be. To feel confident in their life choices and feel loved and supported no matter what,' the Marshall actress clarified in a January 28 post. 'Me saying a "genderless approach" was a way of refocusing the conversation in a direction that could exist outside of the female stereotype. It just felt a little antiquated to me. 'Not all girls want to be a princess, some want to be king and that's fine by me...I just try to raise my kids to be good people with the best tools to face this big crazy world.' Squeee! Earlier that same day, Kate posted a 'laid back' snap of her four-month-old daughter Rani Rose with her musician babydaddy Danny Fujikawa Her other half: Hudson is rumored to be engaged to the 32-year-old Lightwave Records founder, whom she originally met in 2002 through his stepsisters Erin & Sara Foster (pictured February 9) Blended brood: The Pretty Fun author also has a 14-year-old son Ryder with her ex-husband, Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson; as well as a seven-year-old son Bingham with ex- fiance, Muse frontman Matt Bellamy (pictured January 2) Speaking of parenting, Kate's famous mother Goldie Hawn spent Thursday cooking up 'Gogo's bone broth recipe' at home. The 73-year-old Oscar winner did not seem in love with the flavor of her soup containing chicken feet, which she bought from Chinatown, but she still praised the health benefits. Career-wise, Hudson shaved her head to play a sober drug dealer taking care of her autistic sister (Maddie Ziegler) in Sia Furler's directorial debut, Music, which is due out later this year. In the kitchen: Speaking of parenting, Kate's famous mother Goldie Hawn spent Thursday cooking up 'Gogo's bone broth recipe' at home 'It needs salt': The 73-year-old Oscar winner did not seem in love with the flavor of her soup containing chicken feet, which she bought from Chinatown 'I think it might be good,' the Australian 43-year-old told Rolling Stone in August. 'It's not exceptional yet...I'm a little bit ashamed I couldn't make it exceptional. That was my dream, to make the first movie an exceptional work. But what are you gonna do? I'm only human.' The nine-time Grammy nominee's big-screen musical co-written by Dallas Clayton also features Leslie Odom, Jr., Hector Elizondo, and Tig Notaro. How to Get Away with Murder co-stars Charlie Weber and Liza Weil have split. Weber, who plays Frank Delfino on the ABC show, confirmed the news in a statement to People on Thursday. Charlie and Liza, who portrays Bonnie Winterbottom on the legal drama, had been dating for over two years. The latest: Charlie Weber, 40, and Liza Weil, 41, have ceased dating after more than two years as a couple. The former couple was snapped in Toronto in June of 2016 'Liza and I share an amazing relationship rooted in love and respect,' the Jefferson City, Missouri native, 40, told the magazine. ' 'That relationship has found it's way back to the great friendship we've always had.' The actor, who had a small role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the early 00s, said he and Liza, 41, 'will continue to support each other and will always love working together.' A rep for Charlie told the magazine in 2017 that the pair began their relationship in the summer of 2016. On the move: The co-stars (pictured in LA last June) said they 'will continue to support each other and will always love working together' At the time, they were coming off their respective divorces to former spouses Paul Adelstein and Giselle Weber. Charlie opened up about the relationship with Weil in July of 2017 while appearing on the podcast Allegedly with Theo Von & Matthew Cole Weiss, saying that their devotion to their craft was a common bond. 'We're very like-minded when it comes to our approach to acting,' he explained. Lights, camera, action! The stars are mainstays on the Shonda Rhimes drama, which has been on the air for five years 'We're two actors who are very dedicated to what they do and have a very easy time separating who we are and who we are as characters.' The show, which is produced by Shonda Rhimes, stars Viola Davis and also features Aja Naomi King, Billy Brown and Jack Falahee. How to Get Away with Murder airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC. Advertisement The 2019 Hollywood For Science Gala, which supports UCLA's Institute of the Environment & Sustainability, took place on Thursday night in Los Angeles. And leading the red carpet for the star studded gala was Adriana Lima, who stunned in a black and neon green gown that showcased her long, toned legs. The 37-year-old model hit the carpet alongside Courteney Cox in a plunging suit and Jasmine Tookes in a patterned white and gold gown with a corset accent. Incredible: Adriana Lima (L) led the carpet on Thursday night for the 2019 Hollywood For Science Gala in Los Angeles; she was joined by Courteney Cox (C) and Jasmine Tookes (R) Adriana hit the carpet at the event, which took place at a private Bel Air estate, in a bold number that featured a cut-out in center. The ruffled number had embellishments along the neckline and torso with a ruffled hemline; she rocked sheer black heels and a matching small clutch. Adriana, who sported bright red polish, pulled her dark brunette hair back into a slick bun with cat eye liner and nude lipstick. The former Victoria's Secret Angel donned diamond earrings for a pop of sparkle to round out her statement ensemble. Beauty: Adriana, 37, hit the carpet at the event, which took place at a private Bel Air estate, in a bold number that featured a cut-out in center Striking: The ruffled number had embellishments along the neckline and torso with a ruffled hemline; she rocked sheer black heels and a matching small clutch Courteney flaunted her cleavage in a plunging look that consisted of a lace bodysuit beneath a matching black blazer and trousers. The 54-year-old former Friends star rocked velvet heels in black with a coordinating handbag that featured gold accents. The movie star, who attended the gala with her beau rocker Johnny McDaid, donned a long, gold necklace with her brunette tresses parted down the middle and in loose waves; she added pink lipstick on her pout with smokey eye makeup. Looking amazing: Courteney flaunted her cleavage in a plunging look that consisted of a lace bodysuit beneath a matching black blazer and trousers Beaming: The 54-year-old former Friends star rocked velvet heels in black with a coordinating handbag that featured gold accents Happiness: The movie star, who attended the gala with her beau rocker Johnny McDaid, donned a long, gold necklace with her brunette tresses parted down the middle and in loose waves; she added pink lipstick on her pout with smokey eye makeup Close: Johnny is part of Snow Patrol, a Northern Irish rock band that formed in 1994 So in love: Courteney and Johnny, 42, first started dating in late 2013; they split in November 2015 after a year-long engagement but reunited the following year in May Jasmine was an absolute vision in her cream August Getty gown, which featured one lace long-sleeve, a high-neckline and silver circles all over; the gorgeous frock had a corset cut-out that showed a hint of her cleavage. The beautiful Victoria's Secret model, 28, wore her brunette locks back into a low bun with diamond hoop earrings; she rocked mauve lipstick and smokey eye makeup. Gisele, who is being honored alongside Barbra Streisand at the gala, looked incredible in a one-shouldered white gown that featured a cape off one sleeve. The 38-year-old supermodel paired the fitted gown with gold statement earrings with a mirrored clutch and Veronica Lake-inspired waves; she sported nude pink glossed lips with copper eye shadow on her lids beneath defined brows. The cover girl hit the red carpet with her husband Tom Brady, who looked dapper in his suit and tie. Tom, 41, won his sixth Super Bowl with the New England Patriots just weeks ago in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Incredible beauty: Jasmine was an absolute vision in her cream August Getty gown, which featured one lace long-sleeve, a high-neckline and silver circles all over; the gorgeous frock had a corset cut-out that showed a hint of her cleavage What a woman: The beautiful Victoria's Secret model, 28, wore her brunette locks back into a low bun with diamond hoop earrings; she rocked mauve lipstick and smokey eye makeup Goddess: Gisele, who is being honored alongside Barbra Streisand at the gala, looked incredible in a one-shouldered white gown that featured a cape off one sleeve Peace: The 38-year-old supermodel paired the fitted gown with gold statement earrings with a mirrored clutch and Veronica Lake-inspired waves; she sported nude pink glossed lips with copper eye shadow on her lids beneath defined brows Having so much fun: The cover girl hit the red carpet with her husband Tom Brady, who looked dapper in his suit and tie Taylor Hill hit the carpet in a gold and black jumpsuit; the Victoria's Secret Angel chose a strapless number that had a large bow at her waist with a silver embellishment. The 22-year-old model's one-piece had gold flared bottoms with a black pointed heels; Taylor wore her brunette locks loose with kohl lined lids. Isabeli Fonatana, 35, wowed in her cut-out black velvet black dress that showcased her cleavage, midriff and legs; she added light blue pumps with chunky gold earrings. Nina Dobrev, who previously starred in The Vampire Diaries, wore a low-cut navy Cushnie dress that had sequins along her neckline and torso. Glamorous: Taylor Hill hit the carpet in a gold and black jumpsuit; the Victoria's Secret Angel chose a strapless number that had a large bow at her waist with a silver embellishment Sultry: Isabeli Fonatana, 35, wowed in her cut-out black velvet black dress that showcased her cleavage, midriff and legs; she added light blue pumps with chunky gold earrings Chic: Nina Dobrev, who previously starred in The Vampire Diaries, wore a low-cut navy Cushnie dress that had sequins along her neckline and torso Good times: Josh Brolin posed with his stunning wife Katheryn Boyd at the gala on Thursday night Sizzling: Josie Redmond turned heads in her sheer black sequined frock with strappy heels in the same hue Va va voom: Josie Marie Canseco looked gorgeous in her red sequin form-fitting gown with black heels while dripping in diamond jewelry by Lark & Berry Stylish: Alina Baikova chose mesh leggings with black heels and a blazer dress for the event Happy: Petra Nemcova, 39, and her beau Benjamin Larretche posed on the carpet together Wow: Rosanna Arquette (L), Julia Jones (C) and Donna Karan (R) opted to wear black at the event Lovely: Sofia Milo chose a fitted black dress with strappy silver heels Elegant: Fernanda Liz donned a strapless white gown with a stunning diamond necklace Dapper: Gerard Butler suited up in a black blazer with trousers and a bow tie, adding a button up shirt in white So sweet: Robin Thicke arrived with his son Julian, age 8 Grinning ear to ear: Rosanna Arquette and Todd Morgan pictured Staying warm: Andy Garcia sported a heavy coat with a plaid scarf Arrival: Rebecca De Mornay and Anjelica Huston pictured Cool: Cee-Lo Green rocked a diamond necklace while posing alongside Shani James Essence held its annual Black Women in Hollywood Awards on Thursday. And Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer was among the famous faces who attended the star-studded luncheon held in Beverly Hills. The 46-year-old was on trend in a gray midi dress paired with a matching leather jacket. Star-studded luncheon: Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer was among the famous faces who attended the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards on Thursday in Beverly Hills After working steadily in film and television for 15 years, Spencer's breakthrough came with her role in the 2011 film The Help. She won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her performance as a maid in 1960s America. She went on to receive two further Oscar nominations in the same category - for the 2016 biopic Hidden Figures and for her role in 2018's best picture winner The Shape Of Water. Stylish: The 46-year-old was on trend in a gray midi dress paired with a matching leather jacket Acclaimed actress: After working steadily in film and television for 15 years, Spencer's breakthrough came with her role in the 2011 film The Help Awards: She won an Oscar for her role as a maid in 1960s America in The Help (pictured) and received Oscar nominations for 2016's Hidden Figures and 2018's The Shape Of Water Meanwhile, Spencer is gearing up for the release of her next movie - the horror thriller Ma. The project reunited her with The Help director Tate Taylor and it co-stars Allison Janney, Luke Evans, Missi Pyle, Juliette Lewis and newcomer Diana Silvers. Spencer plays Sue Ann, known as Ma, who lives alone in a small town. When a group of high schoolers ask her to buy them alcohol, not only does she oblige; she also invites them to use the basement of her home to party in as logn as they abide by a certain set of rules. At first, the kids have a blast. But as they gradually decide something isn't quite right and decide to stop hanging out in the basement, things take a disturbing turn. Ma is set to open in theatres on May 31. Today show weather presenter Steve Jacobs and his ex-wife Rose split in 2018. But Rose is well and truly moving on, celebrating her 40th birthday by enjoying a romantic holiday with her new boyfriend, Matt Shir, on Friday. Taking to Instagram from Qantas' first-class lounge at Sydney airport, the mother-of-two wrote: 'I suddenly feel as though I'm exactly where I need to be in life.' 'I'm exactly where I need to be in life': Today show weatherman Steve Jacob's ex-wife Rose (right) went on a romantic holiday with her new partner Matt Shir (left) for her 40th birthday on Friday Rose appeared to start the party early, as the lovebirds relaxed in the lounge before their flight to Bali. 'Were kicking off my Bali celebrations with bubbles in the lounge,' she said, as she held up a glass of Champagne for the photo. The TV presenter looked relaxed in a wide-brimmed hat and low-cut striped top. Matt was seen at the table in a navy T-shirt, as he sipped from his glass. 'Were kicking off my Bali celebrations with bubbles in the lounge': Rose celebrated her 40th birthday by enjoying a romantic holiday to Bali with her new beau, sharing photos from Qantas' first-class lounge at Sydney airport It's official! Rose (left) confirmed in October that she had moved on with new boyfriend Matt (right), sharing a string of loved-up selfies with her self-described 'viking man' Rose struck up the new romance with Matt following her separation from ex-husband, Steve, 51, last year. After a brief relationship with Canadian commando, Dylan Nash, Rose confirmed in October that she had moved on with new boyfriend Matt, sharing a string of loved-up selfies with her self-described 'viking man.' Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia in October, a close friend of the mother-of-two confirmed the blossoming relationship, sharing: 'Yes, they are super happy!' Hot mama! Rose shares two daughters - Isabella, seven, and Francesca, five - with ex husband Steve. The couple relocated to Vanuatu in mid-2017, in what friends reportedly said was a 'last-ditch attempt' to save their marriage. They split less than a year later Rose and Today show weatherman Steve are both settling back into their separate lives in Sydney after returning from Vanuatu following their devastating split. The couple relocated to Vanuatu with their two daughters, Isabella, seven, and Francesca, five, in mid-2017, in what friends reportedly said was a 'last-ditch attempt' to save their marriage. In November, Steve revealed to WHO magazine that he sees their daughters every two weeks and loves spending time with them. He also admitted that since his separation he had been dealt 'a few curveballs'. In December, Rose purchased a $1.56million property in Sydney's affluent beachside suburb, Bronte, Tracy Tutor worked her magic for a client as James Harris and David Parnes faced a steep challenge on Thursday's episode of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles. The 43-year-old real estate agent rushed to help friend and client Cathy after selling her a home in West Hollywood. Cathy's deal was contingent on selling her old Pasadena home, but she fired the local broker. Clock ticking: Tracy Tutor stepped in to sell a $2.85 million home for a client on deadline during Thursday's episode of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles She asked Tracy to take over with only 60 days to strike a deal to complete her purchase of the West Hollywood house. Tracy decided to set the price for Cathy's three-bedroom home at $2,850,000. An open house hosted by Tracy and her assistant Erika gained some interest, but Tracy admitted she was a 'little uneasy' about the lack of feedback. Tracy later during a meeting with an assistant revealed they received an offer for $2,850,000 but it was contingent on the buyer selling their home. Family business: James Harris and David Parnes were looking for a development opportunity for David's older brother Michael 'I can't risk it,' Tracy said while resting her hopes on agent Heather who also had an interested buyer. Heather said that her client wanted to make a full price, all-cash offer, but the buyers were in Berlin and wouldn't be there during the entire escrow period. Tracy admitted she was 'nervous' and worried the deal would fall through since the buyers had no 'emotional connection' with the home. Emergency call: Tracy dropped everything after learning that Cathy needed her help Contingency deal: Cathy bought a home in West Hollywood with Tracy as the agent that was contingent on selling her old Pasadena house Local broker: Cathy revealed that she fired her local broker and needed to sell her Pasadena house Stepping in: Tracy agreed to take over the listing and quickly arranged for an open house Heather tracked them down quickly and they countered with a best and final offer of $2,865,000 with a seven-day short close. Tracy was satisfied that they were serious and accepted the offer along with its $77,625 commission. She later took Cathy to her new home in West Hollywood where a red ribbon was draped across the front door. Selling points: The real estate agent talked to brokers and agents at the open house Grand house: Tracy opened the doors to the Grand house with a price of $2,850,000 Nice touches: The house featured exquisite wall paper Higher price: Tracy sought a higher price from a buyer to make sure it was a solid offer Tracy secured the services of Erika The Real Estate Witch to bless the new home. 'Cathy is the most spiritual person I know,' said Tracy who arranged the ritual to 'cleanse' the home for her client. The ceremony included Cathy holding a crystal and telling everyone that she was 'grateful' for all the support and love. 'It wasn't like a real estate transaction,' Cathy said. Nice touch: A red ribbon was placed across the door of Cathy's new home in West Hollywood House blessing: Cathy was overjoyed as Tracy arranged for a ritual to 'cleanse' her new home She's good: Tracy went above and beyond for her client with a red ribbon and cleansing ceremony Tracy wished her 'many years of love and joy' in her new home and then called for some champagne for everybody. The episode titled Brother Dearest opened with David Parnes welcoming his older brother Michael who was looking for a real estate development opportunity. David and his business partner James Harris admitted that growing up they both looked up to Michael who also is a brain cancer survivor. Parnes brother: The episode opened with David Parnes looking for a development opportunity for his older brother Michael Family affair: David revealed that he looked up to his older brother Michael growing up and didn't want to disappoint him Michael told his brother that he had a budget of $5 to $10 million to invest between himself and investors from Hong Kong. He dismissed a $5,250,000 property with three-bedrooms and two-bathrooms. 'An investor looks for one word. Value. This doesn't represent that to me,' Michael said. Nice views: Michael was shown a $5.25 million property that didn't impress him One word: James and David were told by Michael that he was looking for 'value' They later took him to a home for sale in the Beverly Hills Flats with a listing price of $5,995,000 'This is not a good deal to look at for me,' said Michael who revealed that he had an even larger budget. David and James then took it up a notch and brought Michael to an estate in the Holmby Hills area with a listing price of $22 million. Bigger budget: Michael revealed that he had a bigger budget after dismissing another $6 million property in the Beverly Hills Flats Famous house: David and James took Michael to see a $22 million home for sale in the Holmby Hills area Huge lot: The property for sale was on a 1.7 acre lot 'This is the best neighborhood in the whole of Los Angeles,' said James who pointed out the home was featured in the 1981 movie Mommie Dearest. David said the potential resale price could reach as high as $100 million and Michael said he was sold. He arranged for one of his investors to see the 1.7-acre property. The mystery investor upon touring the property said he wasn't interested in a remodel and started pointing out where scenes were shot for Mommie Dearest. Mystery investor: A mystery investor knew all about Mommie Dearest Old movie: Mommie Dearest was released in 1981 and the mystery investor said it was about a mother who was 'really tough' on her daughter Good question: The mystery investor also asked about neighboring properties He asked about neighboring property and David said the 1.3-acre Playboy Mansion property next door had been on and off the market. 'What we want to do here, I need both properties,' the investor said. The episode also showed Josh Flagg working with his partner Bobby as they sold units at a new condo building in West Hollywood. Next door: James and David were shocked when the investor said he wanted the neighboring Playboy Mansion property as well Bobby held an open house to drum up interest as Josh focused on sales. They sold seven of the 14 units quickly and met with agent Ina whose client was interested in a unit that was already sold. Josh offered up the unit above it with the same floorplan and was looking for $1,550,000. New condominiums: Bobby and his partner Josh Flagg geared up to sell 14 units at a new condominium complex Coming soon: The 14 units had a sell-out value of $30 million Sleek design: One of the units had a listing price of $2 million Ina talked to her client and got a final offer of $1,540,000 that Josh quickly accepted. 'She's the best,' Josh said. Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles will return next week on Bravo. Quick sales: Josh Flagg and Bobby sold seven units quickly after an open house For sale: Another unit had a listing price of $1,650,000 He regularly supports animal charities and even takes his beloved pet dogs on holiday. And Simon Cowell reportedly 'broke down in tears' during a very emotional Britain's Got Talent audition involving a hero police dog, who was 'almost stabbed to death while saving his handler's life'. According to reports, the head judge, 59, was apparently left moved after the canine performed a magic trick with PC Dave Wardell. Upsetting: Simon Cowell reportedly 'broke down in tears' during a very emotional Britain's Got Talent audition involving a hero police dog, who was 'almost stabbed to death' During the audition, the hero police dog's story was revealed in a series of pictures taken from his attack in 2016 and his inspirational road to recovery, reports the Mirror. A source told the publication that Simon said: 'If I had a golden buzzer left I would give it to you... 'When I hear about animal cruelty, especially dogs, it upsets me. A dog will literally give up its life for you... Finns beautiful, I love him.' MailOnline has contacted ITV for comment. Hero: According to reports, the head judge, 59, was apparently left moved after the canine performed a magic trick with PC Dave Wardell (pictured together) In the past, PC Dave Wardell has shared the police dog's, called Finn, heroic and inspirational story. Wardell said that Finn saved his life when a robbery suspect they were pursuing turned on them with a knife in 2016. Finn suffered serious stab wounds to the chest and head but did not let go until reinforcements arrived, and was initially thought unlikely to survive. Moving: During the audition, the hero police dog's story was revealed in a series of pictures taken from his attack in 2016 and his inspirational road to recovery, reports the Mirror The suspect was charged with ABH in relation to wounds to PC Wardells hand but faced only criminal damage charges over the injuries to Finn. With the police officer going on to create Finns Law, which has passed its third reading in the Commons - to give service animals greater protection from attacks. In February, Finn joined PC Dave Wardell in the public gallery in the House of Commons to see the Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Bill move a step closer to becoming law. Jenna Dewan has been hard at work as executive producer on the web series Step Up: High Water, alongside ex-husband Channing Tatum. In promotion of the upcoming season two premiere, Dewan slipped the dancing shoes back on for a dance-off with star Jade Chynoweth. The video comes on the same day that the former Mrs. Tatum decided to get a little pampering at a Los Angeles salon. Pampering: Jenna Dewan enjoyed a day at the salon in Los Angeles on Thursday The 38-year old actress looked casual-chic in a black floral print dress and black knee-high boots for the afternoon jaunt. For added flare and warmth, she covered up with a cropped black leather jacket as she carried a dark grey bag, and shielded her eyes from the sun with a pair of Sunday Somewhere shades. And on this day, after a brutal schedule of training and dancing, she came out of the salon with her brown tresses looking sleek and flowing just past her shoulders, with a center part. Stepping out in style: The actress looked casual-chic in a black floral print dress, black leather cropped jacket and black knee-high boots, adding a pair of Sunday Somewhere sunglasses Dewan was also in work mode for her Step Up series on Thursday. She shared a choreographed video on Instagram of her and Chynoweth doing the same moves while dressed identically in ripped denim jeans and a black crop top with black fishnet. In honor of @stepupseries season 2, i put the dancing shoes back on and danced with the star @jadebug98! 2 step up girls, one video,' she wrote in the caption. 'I found Jade a long time ago and have always thought she was amazing and SO FIERCE we had a blast shooting this and dancing to @kylehanagami choreography.' She concluded with: 'Let me know what you think.' Get down on it: Dewan shared an Instagram video of her with Step Up: High Water star Jade Chynoweth doing a choreographed dance as a season two promo Getting cute: The two ladies took selfies on the set, wearing cropped tops and fishnet Laying down some moves: The two ladies danced to the song Taki Taki by DJ Snake featuring Selena Gomez, Ozuna and Cardi B The two ladies danced to the song Takiu Taki by DJ Snake featuring Selena Gomez, Ozuna and Cardi B. The Step Up: High water series streams on @YouTube Premium. Along with Chynoweth, the online series stars Eric Graise, Lauryn McClain, Petrice Jones, Marcus Mitchell and Carlito Olivero, along with notable names such as Naya Rivera, Ne-Yo and Faizon Love lending their celebrity as well. Season two premieres March 20, 2019. She finally found love again in September last year following her heartbreaking split from her long-term beau Joey Corry. And Sophie Kasaei looked happy holding hands with Jay as they arrived at the Vype x House of Holland Event at Manchester's Menagerie bar on Thursday. The Geordie Shore star, 29, marched her legs in a turtleneck minidress and heels as she ambled along with her new love in the dimly lit city streets. As they didn't leave each other's side, the couple were the picture of true love as they wandered into the venue hand-in-hand. Feeling the freeze of nine degrees, Sophie zipped up a PVC jacket over her minidress but she hoisted it in at the waist with a belt to accentuate her figure. Love Islanders Ellie Brown, who reportedly had a secret boob job recently, and Kendall Rae Knight joined forces with scantily-clad Olivia Attwood. So chilly: Feeling the freeze of nine degrees, Sophie zipped up a PVC jacket over her minidress but she hoisted it in at the waist with a belt to accentuate her figure Sophie and Jay have been swept up in a whirlwind romance after they made their feelings public in September last year. The reality star has finally put her heartache from Joel behind her as she moves on with her new handsome boyfriend. Sophie did enjoy a brief dalliance with co-star Alex MacPherson while shooting scenes for Geordie Shore in Australia. Looking cosy: As they didn't leave each other's side, the couple were the picture of true love as they wandered into the venue hand-in-hand The reality star laid bare her pain after Joel ended their six-year romance in an interview back in December 2017 with new! magazine. She told the glossy magazine at the time: 'He was like "I don't know what it is, Soph, but I just don't think it's going to work". 'He said there wasn't anyone else, but went "I just don't think that me and you will have a future because it's just not what I want and I know you do. You want to settle down, and it's understandable, but it's just not for me and it's not what I want".' Russian authorities are consistently combating shadow economy, Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, when commenting on RBCs report suggesting that the countrys grey economy exceeded 20 trillion rubles ($304.8 bln) last year, according to the Federal Financial Monitoring Service. Combating shadow economy requires "consistent work," TASS cited the spokesman as saying. Peskov added that "it is fulfilled both through law enforcement bodies, special departments, and the government." She might have wowed on stage but it was Dua Lipa's handsome father who stole the show at the Brit Awards last night. Hunky Dukagjin Lipa, something of a rock star in his native Kosovo, turned heads at the 02 Arena in London and even had host Jack Whitehall gushing over his 'silver fox' looks. Whitehall drew laughs by begging Dukagjin to swap places with his own father, although the proud parent was happy for the attention to remain on his award winning daughter Dua, who snapped up the Best Single prize for One Kiss. And it wasn't just the funnyman who noticed his smouldering presence at the Brit Awards table, as dozens flocked to social media to purr over the Kosovar Albanian's good looks. 'DILF': She might have wowed on stage but it was Dua Lipa's handsome father who stole the show at the Brit Awards last night. Hunky Dukagjin Lipa (centre), something of a rock star in his native Kosovo, turned heads at the 02 Arena in London Whitehall drew laughs by begging Dukagjin to swap places with his own father, although the proud parent was happy for the attention to remain on his award winning daughter Dua, who snapped up the Best Single prize for One Kiss And it wasn't just the funnyman who noticed his smouldering presence at the Brit Awards table, as dozens flocked to social media to purr over the Kosovar Albanian's good looks The discovery of the 'DILF' also prompted a hurried trawl through his social media for fans, who found Dukagjin's Instagram. which reached 178,000 followers in the aftermath of the award show The former musician also founded his own music festival in his native land, in a bid to change any lingering false perceptions of Kosovo as being war torn and unwelcoming Fans said on Twitter: @Insociancer: 'My bf just wanted to inform me about Dua Lipa's dad being a snack #zaddydom #zadom' @annamriereddie: 'Did you see Dua Lipa's dad? He's such a DILF!' @BiniPW: 'Still lusting over Dua Lipa's dad this morning #SilverFox #BritsAwards2019.' @CharlieJMua: 'Dua Lipa's dad being thanked for just being there and being attractive was probs the funniest Jack has been tonight.' @unofficialzara: 'Dua Lipa's dad was really the highlight of the show #brits2019.' @RoisinMcDermott: 'Best breakthrough act of #Brits2019: Dua Lipa's dad.' The Sunny Hill festival, held in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, had his daughter headline with support from rapper Action Bronson and tropical house duo Bondax The discovery of the 'DILF' also prompted a hurried trawl through his social media for fans who found Dukagjin's personal Instagram account - which reached 178,000 followers in the aftermath of the award show. The former musician also founded his own music festival in his native land, in a bid to change any lingering false perceptions of Kosovo as being war torn and unwelcoming. The Sunny Hill festival, held in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, had his daughter headline with support from rapper Action Bronson and tropical house duo Bondax. 'We want to give people a sense of belonging, of European living and the idea that we are part of Europe,' Dukagjin told the Observer ahead of its opening. 'This is the greatest way to promote Kosovo as a peace-loving and music-loving country that welcomes all our neighbours and all visitors who want to have fun.' Mahershala Ali, star of Green Book, a film about the friendship between classical pianist Dr Donald Shirley and an Italian chauffeur and bouncer called Tony Vallelonga (aka Tony Lip), was chuffed to be given a garment the musician often wore when performing. It must be from West Africa, said Mr Ali, as he examined the woollen, robe-style coat that Michiel Kappeyne, the executor of Dr Shirleys estate, had given him in a rear section of Wolfgang Pucks Spago in Beverly Hills on Wednesday night. The restaurant was the scene of a soiree, hosted by Universal Pictures and Focus Features, for their Oscar-nominated films that, in addition to Green Book, included BlacKkKlansman, First Man and Mary Queen Of Scots. Ron Meyer, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini and Jeff Shell (left to right) attend a pre-Oscar celebration for Academy Award nominees The colours suggest its probably from Nigeria, Green Books costume designer Betsy Heimann observed, looking at the robes rustic colouring. I concurred not really having a clue, I must admit; but because I remembered my father wore similar shades in his coronation gown. Ali said that his own father had bequeathed him robes of a similar hue. The actor, who won a supporting Oscar for Moonlight in 2017, is nominated for his portrayal of Dr Shirley. His co-star Viggo Mortensen has a best actor citation for his Tony Lip. Alis strongest rival for the trophy is Richard E. Grant, who has been having the time of his life since being nominated for playing the forgers accomplice in Can You Ever Forgive Me? I rather overstuffed myself with the delicate cones filled with tuna tartare and caviar, and slices of chicken pizza. But if people are kind enough to pass it around, watchyagonna do? Watch out for... Alex Kingston is back on stage with a bang. She can be seen in Josh Harmans hot-button drama Admissions at Trafalgar Studios from February 28. And now I bring news that she will play the central role of the reviled Dr Stockmann, unfairly labelled An Enemy Of The People by politicians and locals opposing her warnings (yes, there has been a gender swap) that the towns spa waters are poisoned. Alex Kingston (pictured) is back on stage with a bang. She can be seen in Josh Harmans hot-button drama Admissions at Trafalgar Studios from February 28 Director Adam Penford is using an updated version of Rebecca Lenkiewiczs 2008 adaptation of Henrik Ibsens play, penned for the Arcola Theatre. His production will run at the Nottingham Playhouse from September 13. The plays title has been misappropriated by the blond bombshell in the White House to attack those American news organisations who have been holding him to account. It was also used by this newspaper, unfairly in my opinion, to bludgeon our law lords. The U.S. President is due to visit the UK this year. Perhaps he might be diverted to Nottingham to see Kingston explain, very clearly, what the words actually mean. Nicholas Hoult and Joe Alwyn who, as the dandified gents in Film4 and Fox Searchlight gem The Favourite, will be perambulating the red carpet together on Sunday as they make their way into the Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood and Highland Center. Im hearing terrific things about Hoults performance as Grand Duke Peter opposite Elle Fanning as Catherine in the Hulu TV drama The Great. Its the work of Tony McNamara, who co-wrote The Favourite with Deborah Davis. After doing the school run and 'the washing', actress Olivia Colman is heading to Hollywood for Sunday's Oscar ceremony. The star is this close to winning the best actress Academy Award for her sublime portrayal of Queen Anne in director Yorgos Lanthimos's dark comedy The Favourite. Having conversed with many members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who vote for the Oscars, the Golden statuette will go to Colman or to classy Glenn Close, nominated (for the seventh time) for her brilliant exploration of a neglected spouse in The Wife. Olivia Colman (pictured earlier this month) is close to winning the best actress Academy Award for her sublime portrayal of Queen Anne in director Yorgos Lanthimos's dark comedy The Favourite The Favourite stars Olivia Colman as Queen Anne (above), and could see 45-year-old take home a best 'actress in a leading role' gong at the Oscars It's her fourth tilt at the 'actress in a leading role' trophy the other times being for Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons and Albert Nobbs. (The other nominations were for supporting roles.) Several voters noted that Ms Close might not have another shot at Oscar, so they should reward her now. We'll know when actors Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell open the envelope on Sunday. I keep thinking of the moment when I saw Colman in Paddy Considine's powerful movie Tyrannosaur at the Sundance Film Festival eight years ago. It made me grasp how magnificent she can be. During the whole awards season, the actress has been filming the third season of The Crown, in which she plays our beloved current monarch. She has now finished shooting and, as she told me a while back: 'I'll be doing the school run and the washing . . . there'll be piles of it!' During the whole awards season, the actress (pictured with Tobias Menzies) has been filming the third season of The Crown, in which she plays our beloved current monarch Season three, which ends at the time of the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977, will be streamed on Netflix in November. Well before then, Colman will be back in front of the cameras playing Elizabeth for the fourth series, in which she goes head to head with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who will be portrayed by Gillian Anderson. So whatever happens on Sunday, Olivia Colman still rules. If Alfonso Cuaron's Roma wins best picture, or any of the other ten awards it's up for, it will mark a historic shift in the film industry. The masterpiece, streamed on Netflix and launched in some mainstream cinemas, is part of the rapid evolution of motion pictures. The very fact that Netflix and partner Participant Media garnered those ten nominations is a triumph in itself. This image released by Netflix shows a scene from the film 'Roma,' by filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron. (Carlos Somonte/Netflix via AP) Will busy Lupita fall for James Bond's charms? 007 producer Barbara Broccoli and Cary Joji Fukunaga, director of Bond 25, have been wooing Lupita Nyong'o to join Daniel Craig in the next adventure in the Ian Fleming franchise that's now in pre-production. It's a fact that they want the actress, who won an Oscar for Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave and plays Wakandan spy Nakia in Ryan Coogler's box-office and cultural phenomenon Black Panther a best picture Oscar contender on Sunday. But whether she is available remains to be seen. 007 producer Barbara Broccoli and Cary Joji Fukunaga, director of Bond 25, have been wooing Lupita Nyong'o (pictured) to join Daniel Craig in the next adventure That Marvel movie has catapulted her way up Hollywood's A-list. Before that, she was already a force, thanks to the aforementioned films and because of her delicious turn as Maz Kanata in the Star Wars pictures. She's back in Episode IX, which Disney is planning to release in December. Plus, she's generated heaps of attention with the trailer for Jordan Peele's eerie Us, out next month. I mentioned a rumour about Emma Stone being in Bond 25 and an executive out here dismissed it as nonsense. But when I ran Lupita's name past the same person, the response was: 'How the hell do you know about that?!' Nothing is confirmed. Scott Z. Burns has been reworking an earlier script by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, but the last I heard he's only halfway through it. Meanwhile, as I reported last year, Ralph Fiennes, Lea Seydoux, Naomie Harris (maybe with an expanded Moneypenny role) and Ben Whishaw are on their marks, ready to head back into Bond world. She becomes shamed Fox News chief Roger Ailes' wife Elizabeth for the new TV series biopic. And Sienna Miller altered her appearance for the part when she filmed scenes for The Loudest Voice In The Room in Downtown, Manhattan on Thursday. Prosthetic jowls and heavy make-up aided the actress, 37, in masking her natural visage as she slipped into the heels of Elizabeth on set. Double take! Sienna Miller looked unrecognisable as she transformed into Roger Ailes' wife Elizabeth for new series The Loudest Voice In The Room on Thursday The Loudest Voice In The Room is an eight-part series which will focus around the disgraced Fox News chief's fall after he was accused of sexual harassment. A sash embellished with glistening rhinestones accentuated Sienna's enviable shape when she slipped into a lace sapphire dress. Sienna, who is playing the on-screen wife to Russell Crowe's Roger Ailes, sashayed out in her little heels which were decorated with bows. Dramatic difference: Prosthetic jowls and heavy make-up aided the actress, 37, in masking her natural visage as she slipped into the heels of Elizabeth on set (R) Beyond beautiful in blue: A sash embellished with glistening rhinestones accentuated Sienna's enviable shape when she slipped into a lace sapphire dress Forest Hills, Queens is one of the hot locations selected for the Showtime series set where Russell and Sienna were spotted filming outside a property. Cameras started rolling in New York City back in November for the biopic based on the book with the same name The Loudest Voice In The Room. As well as Sienna and Russell, a whole galaxy of stars have been hired to pull off the epic eight-part television series including Simon McBurney as Rupert Murdoch. Worlds away: Sienna altered her appearance for the part when she filmed scenes for The Loudest Voice In The Room (R) Pictured: The golden-haired actress becomes shamed Fox News chief Roger Ailes' wife Elizabeth for the new TV series biopic Naomi Watts will take on the role of former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson while Seth MacFarlane will portray former Fox News spokesperson Brian Lewis. Annabelle Wallis, Aleska Palladino and David Whalen will also join the star-studded cast on their project. Showtime's new limited series will tell the story of the last decade of Ailes' life, including his fall from Fox after a slew of women accused him of sexual harassment. The drama will explore how the Fox News founder fought to push the network to the top, after employees including anchor Gretchen made accusations against him. Strutting her stuff: Sienna, who is playing the on-screen wife to Russell Crowe's Roger Ailes, sashayed out in her little heels which were decorated with bows Shooting scenes: The Loudest Voice In The Room is an eight-part series which will focus around the disgraced Fox News chief's fall after he was accused of sexual harassment It will also include flashbacks to defining events in Ailes' life and will be told through multiple points of view to give a number of characters a voice. Showtime Networks president and CEO David Nevins told Variety of the project: 'In many ways, the collision between the media and politics has come to define the world we live in today. 'We've seen this phenomenon depicted on screen as far back as the story of Charles Foster Kane, and it finds contemporary embodiment in the rise and fall of Roger Ailes.' Rashomon style:It will also include flashbacks to defining events in Ailes' life and will be told through multiple points of view to give a number of characters a voice Influential men: Showtime Networks president and CEO David Nevins told Variety of the project: 'In many ways, the collision between the media and politics has come to define the world we live in today Russell could be seen on set in his tuxedo and full Ailes makeup. The prosthetics and makeup made the already thickset actor into the hulking figure of the former political operative. The Gladiator star was almost unrecognizable behind his bald head, jowls and double chin. His limited series isn't even the only work examining the former toxic workplace at Fox News. Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie, and Nicole Kidman are all set to star in an as-yet untitled film about the women Ailes allegedly harassed. That film's version of the Fox News head is played by 3rd Rock From The Sun star John Lithgow. Making an impression: Russell could be seen on set in his tuxedo and full Ailes makeup Bulking up: The prosthetics and makeup made the already thickset actor into the hulking figure of the former political operative There was tension brewing during the final episode of Spencer, Vogue and Baby Too as she revealed her desire to move back to Ireland. Yet Vogue Williams looked in high spirits as she attended an event in Dublin on Thursday, where she was marking the announcement of Tipperary-based cider company Magners as the Official sponsor for The Cheltenham Gold Cup. Looking effortlessly chic for the event, the 33-year-old presenter teamed a cropped jumper with a leather mini skirt. Loving life: Vogue Williams looked in high spirits as she attended an event in Dublin on Thursday, where she was marking the announcement of Tipperary-based cider company Magners as the Official sponsor for The Cheltenham Gold Cup Showcasing her lean legs, the mini featured zip detailing across the front, whilst she kept warm in the chill by donning a pair of sheer polka dot tights. Putting a casual spin on the outfit, she teamed her skirt with a cropped cream jumper that sheathed her sensational frame. Vogue finished off the look with a pair of heeled ankle boots, whilst her glossy golden locks were styled in loose waves. Vogue was not seen with her husband Spencer Matthews on the night, who has gone from party-loving playboy to doting family man in just a couple of years. Leggy lady! Looking effortlessly chic for the event, the 33-year-old presenter teamed a cropped jumper with a leather mini skirt Vogue recently admitted that she cannot take any credit for 'taming' her husband as she discussed their relationship. Speaking to Fabulous Magazine, the model claimed that Spencer's transformation from a woman-loving party boy to doting dad and husband was simply due to him 'growing up'. She said: 'Taming Spencer wasnt anything to do with me. He had already grown up and was ready for a relationship. Ready for this kind of relationship.' Cream of the crop! Putting a casual spin on the outfit, she teamed her skirt with a cropped cream jumper that sheathed her sensational frame However, despite Spencer having changed of his own accord, Vogue also confessed that she was initially wary of entering a romance with the reality star due to his playboy reputation. She said: I was like, Right, I need to go for somebody whos really nice because I cant be hurt again. 'That was on top of the way I was feeling [mentally]. So I fought it. The whole time in Austria I was saying: Were not going out with each other when we get back to London, were better as friends. Blonde bombshell! Vogue finished off the look with a pair of heeled ankle boots, whilst her glossy golden locks were styled in loose waves The Irish star also revealed how parenthood has changed the dynamics of their relationship, saying their relationship is 'stronger and better.' Vogue and Spencer first met in 2017 in Austria, on the set of Channel 4 reality show The Jump. They tied the knot in June 2018 following Spencer's romantic February proposal in which Spencer popped the big question on stage during a production of The Lion King. Transgender activist and Hollywood writer, producer and director Janet Mock is getting divorced. On Thursday, TheBlast.com reported the 35-year-old Hawaii native has filed for divorce from photographer Aaron Tredwell. The couple tied the knot in Maui in 2015. Over: Hollywood producer and director Janet Mock has filed for divorce from photographer Aaron Tredwell whom she wed in late 2015. The couple are pictured in April 2018 The website said that, according to the documents filed Wednesday, Mock is citing 'irreconcilable differences' as the reason for the end of the marriage. Mock and Tredwell first met in 2009 and he proposed in December 2014. Their wedding was featured on Brides.com in November 2015. Getting a divorce: The 35-year-old writer and transgender activist has cited 'irreconcilable differences' as the reason for the end of the marriage, according to TheBlast.com Mock made headlines when she became the first transgender woman of color to write, produce and direct a TV series after being hired by Ryan Murphy to work on his FX series Pose in 2018. She is also the author of two best-selling memoirs - Redefining Realness, published in 2014, and Surpassing Certainty, published in 2017. On Thursday, it was announced that Mock has been named the 2019 Harvard University Artist of the Year. She will receive the Harvard Foundations arts medal on March 9 during the annual Cultural Rhythms festival on the Ivy League university's campus in Boston. Villain bride Ines Basic has caused concern for her welfare after going silent on social media for almost a week. And Married At First Sight co-star Martha Kalifatidis has revealed it's been 'hard' to watch the 28-year-old struggle with the public backlash. 'She's copping it really really bad at the moment,' she told Nova 100's Chrissie, Sam & Browny on Friday. 'She's copping it really bad!' Married At First Sight's Martha Kalifatidis (left) revealed co-star Ines Basic (right) is struggling with public backlash 'It's hard as a friend to see one of your friends (go through this), Martha, 30, said. While participants on Married At First Sight regularly post on Instagram to promote the show, Ines hasn't updated her account since Sunday. The legal assistant's social media blackout comes as her 'affair' with Elizabeth Sobinoff's 'husband' Sam Ball heats up on Married At First Sight. Claims: A source told Woman's Day that Ines has 'cut herself off' from her friends and the rest of the MAFS cast and is 'living like a recluse in her Brisbane home'. The insider added: 'She has lost about 12 kilos since filming finished - and she was tiny to begin with It also follows recent reports that she isn't coping with the viewer backlash that has come from her on screen antics. A source told Woman's Day that Ines has 'cut herself off' from her friends and the rest of the MAFS cast and is 'living like a recluse in her Brisbane home'. The insider added: 'She has lost about 12 kilos since filming finished - and she was tiny to begin with. Everyone's really worried about her.' Scandal: The legal assistant's social media blackout comes as her 'affair' with Elizabeth Sobinoff's 'husband' Sam Ball (pictured) heats up on Married At First Sight A spokesperson for MAFS' production company, Endemol Shine Australia, told the publication: 'The health and safety of our participants is always our first priority. Psychological support is readily available.' On the most recent episode of Married At First Sight, Ines confessed that she was 'falling' for Sam and suggested that they leave the show together to start a relationship in the real world. However, a preview for Sunday's commitment ceremony suggests that Sam could dump the brunette just like he dumped Elizabeth. 'I don't want to have dodged one bullet for another bullet,' Sam admitted to producers. It's been a good day for Kendra Wilkinson. The 33-year-old star was snapped Thursday with a huge smile as she went for a workout in a surprisingly snowy Calabasas, California, amid news that her divorce to Hank Baskett has been finalized. Kendra wore a dark grey hooded sweatshirt and black leggings with her hair pulled back as she prepared to workout in the luxe locale, where snow was falling amid wintry weather in Southern California. The latest: Kendra Wilkinson, 33, as snapped Thursday with a huge smile as she went for a workout in a surprisingly snowy Calabasas, California, amid news that her divorce to Hank Baskett has been finalized She commented on the weather - and specifically nothing else - in a series of tweets Thursday. She wrote, 'I have absolutely nothing to say right now. Ummm ok bye ... Ok now I have something to say.... ITS SNOWING IN CALABASAS.' Insiders told E! News that a Los Angeles County judge put the final touches on the split, which Kendra filed for in April of 2018. The former Playboy Mansion resident filed for divorce from Hank Baskett on the grounds of irreconcilable differences, listing New Year's Day 2018 as their separation date. Both the San Diego native and the former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver requested joint legal and physical custody of children Hank IV, nine, and Alijah, four. The former husband and wife looked cordial as they were snapped with both kids at a park on Tuesday in Los Angeles, where they taught Alijah to ride a bicycle. Out and about: Kendra wore a dark grey hooded sweatshirt and black leggings as she prepared to workout in the luxe locale Winter wonderland: Kendra was later seen after a gym session Amazed: She was all smiles as it was snowing in Calabasas Way back when: Kendra and Hank were snapped with their kids Hank IV, nine, and Alijah, four, in Anaheim, California in February of 2018 In October, Wilkinson tweeted that she had completed signing divorce papers, adding that she felt satisfied in knowing she did everything she could to salvage the marriage, which began in 2009 when they exchanged vows at her one-time residence, the Playboy Mansion. 'Brutal. I gave it all i got. Truly did. Im beyond proud of myself!! Fought to save til the last second. Oh well. Life goes on. Bye lol.' Coy: The reality star commented on the weather - and specifically nothing else - in a series of tweets Thursday According to TMZ, the pair last month issued new papers to the court after previous mistakes in two other filings had held up the process. The Girls Next Door seems to be enjoying the single life these days, taking to Twitter on Valentine's Day to explain to her fans that she didn't feel like she was missing out on anything. She wrote, 'No man, no love, no sex, no flowers and I'm f***ing happppy. What the flying f***. It is possible.' He won his first ever BRIT Award after years of nominations. And Calvin Harris decided to celebrate his accolade with girlfriend Aarika Wolf with a luxury meal at Benares Michelin Star Indian restaurant in Mayfair, London, on Thursday. The musician, 35, tried to keep a low profile as he enjoyed a date night with his stunning model girlfriend, 24. Date night: Calvin Harris decided to celebrate his accolade with girlfriend Aarika Wolf with a luxury meal at Benares Michelin Star Indian restaurant in Mayfair, London, on Thursday Calvin cut a casual figure in a pair of black skinny jeans with a belt and a beige knitted jumper. He completed his look with a black padded jacket and matching coloured platform trainers. Meanwhile, Aarika looked effortlessly chic in an all-black ensemble of skinny jeans, a high-neck jumper and a tailored coat. Celebrations: The musician, 35, tried to keep a low profile as he enjoyed a date night with his stunning model girlfriend, 24 Casual:Calvin cut a casual figure in a pair of black skinny jeans with a belt and a beige knitted jumper Details: He completed his look with a black padded jacket and matching coloured platform trainers She completed her date night look with a pair of stylish pointed ankle boots with a low heel. Aarika styled her curly raven locks into a sleek sweptback hairdo, she left the front strands loose and she added a slick of make-up. Despite having dated on/off for many years, Calvin and Aarika enjoyed a rare night out to enjoy some quality time together. Chic: Meanwhile, Aarika looked effortlessly chic in an all-black ensemble of skinny jeans, a high-neck jumper and a tailored coat Work it: She completed her date night look with a pair of stylish pointed ankle boots with a low heel Glamorous: Aarika styled her curly raven locks into a sleek sweptback hairdo, she left the front strands loose and she added a slick of make-up Two's company: The duo enjoyed a rare outing together as they celebrated Calvin's BRIT win On Wednesday night, the Scottish DJ bagged his first ever BRIT Award for Producer of the Year before going on to also win British Single of the Year for his track 'One Kiss' which features Dua Lipa. Calvin and The 1975 were the big winners at the BRIT Awards, each taking home two prizes. As for his love life, the hunk and Aarika go way back because they dated for seven months in 2015 before the DJ dumped the model to date Taylor Swift. Sweet: Despite having dated on/off for many years, Calvin and Aarika enjoyed a rare night out to enjoy some quality time together Impressive: On Wednesday night, the DJ bagged his first ever BRIT Award for Producer of the Year before going on to also win British Single of the Year for his track with Dua Lipa The musician first set his sights on the Shake It Off hitmaker after they met at the BRIT Awards, the same event years later Calvin attended with Aarika on Wednesday. How Deep Is Your Love hitmaker Calvin romanced Taylor for 15 months before the couple called it quits on their love in June 2016. The Story Of Us hitmaker was soon spotted with actor Tom Hiddleston but their PDA-fest was short-lived and now Taylor is dating Joe Alwyn. Outspoken legal assistant Ines Basic has been branded as one of the worst 'villains' in Married At First Sight's six season history. And on Friday, MAFS star Martha Kalifatidis revealed what the 'bride from hell' is really like behind the scenes of the controversial Channel Nine show. Speaking to Nova 100s Chrissie, Sam & Browny, Martha explained: 'She says it how it is, she is raw, she's like a straight shooter.' Scroll down for video 'You see only one per cent!' Married At First Sight's Martha Kalifatidis (left) reveals what 'villain' Ines Basic (right) is REALLY like behind the scenes of the controversial Channel Nine show However, the makeup artist said she thought the backlash and trolling of Ines was unfair: 'It's hard as a friend to see one of your friends copping it really bad.' 'You guys do not see, you see one per cent. Days of filming are 16 hours, you see maybe half an hour of that.' Jumping to the Bosnian beauty's defence, she said: 'Ines is actually like a really sweet and warm and caring girl, she's actually really sensitive. 'It's shocking she doesn't come across like that whatsoever. Ines has actually got a sweet, nice, caring side.' Claiming that it has come down to editing, Martha admitted: 'Her fight with Bronson, I have had fights like that with Michael (her TV husband), which are never shown. I have had my moments, and I have done that as well.' She's a sweet, warm and caring girl, she's actually really sensitive': Martha said she found it 'shocking' that she hasn't been portrayed like that on screen Defender and friend: Martha (left) has defended Married At First Sight 'villain' Ines (right) from the beginning of the show, and insists they are still friends This isn't the first time that the Greek bombshell has stuck by the bride, passionately defending her friend online and labeling her a 'queen' for her outspoken attitude. In a Now To Love interview two weeks ago, Martha insisted that there's more to Ines than the fiery antics viewers have seen on screen. 'Deep down in her heart of hearts, [Ines] is the sweetest, most caring and beautiful girl,' the 30-year-old said. 'Queen Ines is about to tell us what youre all thinking but not saying!' Martha called the brunette a 'queen' and praising her outspoken attitude 'Ines is the sweetest, most caring and beautiful girl': Martha has repeatedly defended Ines, with the pair striking up a friendship on the very first episode of season six (pictured) Martha went on to say that Ines and her 'husband' Bronson Norrish 'aren't right for each other' and that Ines was correct to be disgusted by his eyebrow ring. 'You take every single girl from 2019 and put her at an altar and if that person has an eyebrow ring... and it's not even a cool eyebrow ring,' she laughed. Ines left her groom speechless after she demanded that he remove his eyebrow ring just moments after meeting him at the altar during their wedding episode. 'It's not even a cool eyebrow ring!' Martha said that Ines and her 'husband' Bronson Norrish 'aren't right for each other' and that Ines was right to be disgusted by his eyebrow ring However, it was her foul-mouthed meltdown during her Port Douglas honeymoon that shocked Australia. During a parasailing expedition, Ines snapped at Bronson after he jokingly asked the tour operator: 'So, any deaths due to parasailing?' 'Are you f**king serious? What sort of dumb a**e f**king question is that? Jesus help me!' she raged. 'What sort of dumb a**e f**king question is that?' During a parasailing expedition, Ines snapped at Bronson after he jokingly asked the tour operator if there had been 'any deaths' Furious: When Bronson encouraged her to 'breathe deeper', Ines furiously responded: 'I just need you to shut the f**k up right now. I need you to shut up.' She added: 'The less talking you do, it's going to be better for me... like I'm trying to decompose and de-stress.' When Bronson encouraged her to 'breathe deeper', Ines furiously responded: 'I just need you to shut the f**k up right now. I need you to shut up.' Getting more and more angry, she screamed: 'When I tell you to shut the f**k up, I mean shut the f**k up!' Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7pm on Channel Nine Theres some hope for positive dynamic in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, Deputy Director for Policy Support Service at OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre Charles Lonsdale said during the winter session of the OSCE Parlamentary Assembly in Vienna. "We follow the developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict dealt by the Minsk Group with great interest, more recently, with some hope for positive dynamic following the regular meetings of foreign ministers and informal meetings between President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan," he stressed. Noting the commitments of the parties to concrete measures to prepare their populations for peace, Lonsdale expressed readiness to support if the parties are interested. "But we are not directly involved in the work of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs," he recalled. A somewhat ridiculous series of events unraveled during Thursday night's Emmerdale - eventually leading to the character Rhona Goskirk learning she couldn't have children. Yet the rigmarole she had to go through to learn about this was, according to viewers, laughable. Soap fans watched the veterinarian [played by Zoe Henry] get impaled after a flying hay-bale landed on her thanks to her boyfriend, Pete Barton [Anthony Quinlan], smashing a tractor, without brakes, into the barn. Rho-no! A somewhat ridiculous series of events unraveled during Thursday night's Emmerdale featuring Rhona Goskirk Wheely-bad! Pete Barton [Anthony Quinlan] smashed a tractor, which didn't have any brakes, into the barn Rhona was seen on one side of the hay-bales, calling Pete, who was careening the farmyard vehicle toward the outhouse. She called him, unaware he was outside, which he answered. Before she could utter a word, Pete dropped his phone in order to swerve away from Matty Barton [Ash Palmisciano] who was strolling into the path of the tractor with a wheelbarrow. Pete tried to stop the tractor - but, adding to the inconvenience, it had been signed off that morning at a MOT, despite the brakes not actually working. The vehicle ended up smashing through the barn wall, into the towering bales, which fell onto Rhona, knocking her backwards. Last call? Soap fans watched the veterinarian [played by Zoe Henry] get impaled after a flying hay-bale landed on her Call me, maybe? Rhona called Pete, unaware he was outside Bumper to bumper: Pete was careening the farmyard vehicle toward the outhouse Spiky! The vehicle ended up smashing through the barn wall She landed on a metal spike and started to bleed profusely, her phone flying out of her hand and out of reach. In a bizarre move, Pete and Matty decided that was an apt time to pop the kettle on, clearly shaken by the incident. Unaware Pete's girlfriend had suffered at the hands of the brake-less tractor, the duo headed inside for a brew. Only when Pete put two-and-two together over the beverage did he dash back out to the barn to discover Rhona, unconscious, potentially bleeding to death. Baled over! The tractor smashed into the towering bales, which fell onto Rhona, knocking her backwards M[n]OT: Pete tried to stop the tractor - but, adding to the inconvenience, it had been signed off that morning at a MOT, despite the brakes not actually working A roll in the hay: She fell backwards, unbeknownst to Pete that he had mowed his lover down Do not operate! The tractor was abandoned by the wall, as the men went off to calm down Chucking bales aside, Pete demanded Matty call an ambulance, wrapping his shirt around Rhona's wound and instructing her not to fall asleep 'yet'. Viewers had various problems with the disaster sequence. One was preoccupied by the fact that the stunt-woman who was evidently enlisted to play Rhona during the accident had different colour hair. They tweeted: 'Hey Props Dept... you could have got the right colour wig for Rhona!' Alone: She landed on a metal spike and started to bleed profusely Emergency contact: Rhona's phone went flying out of her hand and out of reach Nasty: Rhona was left unconscious, potentially bleeding to death Another didn't buy the fact that Pete was unaware where Rhona was. They typed: 'Hang on - didnt Pete & Matty know Rhona was at the farm? Also why didnt they check the damage behind the haystacks?' Another added: 'If Pete knew Rhona was in the barn, why didn't he check after the crash, also, nobody notice her car was still there? No?' Someone else asked: 'Wouldnt Matty have seen Rhona whilst walking around with his wheelbarrow?!?' The fact that Rhona was bleeding also confused many, with the spike she landed on being out of shot when she landed on it. 'I dont get why Rhonas bleeding!' one person despaired, while another posted: 'Hay bales are heavy so I get why shes unconscious, but it didnt look like the tractor hit her. It just looked like several hay bales fell on her from the tractor crashing into the barn!' Tea break: In a bizarre move, Pete and Matty decided that was an apt time to pop the kettle on, clearly shaken by the incident. Unaware Pete's girlfriend had suffered at the hands of the brake-less tractor, the duo headed inside for a brew Baling her out: Only when Pete put two-and-two together over the beverage did he dash back out to the barn to discover Trauma: She survived to see the second episode of the night, but had to be rushed into surgery - which she got through fine. Sadly for Rhona and Pete however, they were told the doctors had unearthed extensive fibroids in Rhona's womb Someone else asked: 'Where did that gate come from under Rhona?' She survived to see the second episode of the night, but had to be rushed into surgery - which she got through fine. Sadly for Rhona and Pete however, they were told the doctors had unearthed extensive fibroids in Rhona's womb and that she might have to have a hysterectomy. The episode saw the pair reeling from the news that they may not be able to have children together. Emmerdale continues on Friday at 7PM on ITV. Khloe Kardashian was blindsided by news father of her child Tristan Thompson cheated on her with family friend Jordyn Woods over the weekend. But despite the drama currently rocking her personal life, the 34-year-old reality star put on a brave face while visiting brother in law Kanye West at his Calabasas, California office on Thursday. Khloe outing came amid reports that Jordyn, Kylie Jenner's now-estranged best friend, has been trying her hardest to reach out and make things 'right' with the entire Kardashian family. Poker face: Khloe Kardashian appeared calm and composed when out in Calabasas, California amid the latest cheating scandal with father of her child Tristan Thompson During her outing the mother-of-one topped off simple workout attire with a bubblegum pink faux fur coat and slouchy brown thigh-high boots. Though most of her face was hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses, Khloe didn't appear distressed. And while Kardashian seemed to be calm, Jordyn is said to be 'really distraught' about the situation. 'Jordyn has been trying to reach out to Khloe and Kylie everyone else in the family to apologize,' as source told People. 'She wants to apologize and make everything right.' Warm and fuzzy: During her outing the mother-of-one topped off simple workout attire with a bubblegum pink faux fur coat and slouchy brown thigh-high boots Under the radar: Though most of her face was hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses, Khloe didn't appear distressed Apparently, the curve model 'knows she made a mistake' and is 'completely remorseful' about allegedly 'making out' with Khloe's on-off partner Tristan Thompson on Sunday night. 'She's completely remorseful. She spent the whole night crying with her mom and sister,' an insider said of Jordyn. Still, Woods has yet to publicly comment on the matter. Contrite: Apparently, the curve model 'knows she made a mistake' and is 'completely remorseful' about allegedly 'making out' with Tristan Thompson on Sunday night Khloe, however, made her feelings clear on Tuesday when she unfollowed the 21-year-old curve model on Instagram. But while most of the Kardashian kin are ready to kick Woods to the curb, sources are saying the matter is much more complicated for youngest sister Kylie, who has been best friends with Jordyn since high school. 'For Kylie, it's much more difficult. She has basically lost part of her world,' another source told People. 'She is very, very upset. She always trusted Jordyn with everything.' Advertisement A winter storm that swept through the Southwest brought snowfall to parts of California, Nevada and Arizona for the first time in decades and even forced some schools to close. Snow fell in the Santa Monica Mountains above the Malibu coast, according to the National Weather Service. Snowfall also dusted casino marquees on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada and coated large areas of desert northeast of Los Angeles, temporarily halting traffic on various state routes. Coastal and valley residents in California saw about a quarter of an inch of rain with the current winter storm. The rare weather event also brought record amounts of snow to Arizona as some schools, government offices, airports and roads closed Thursday due to freezing temperatures. Curtis Lewis and Deann Lewis, along with their two children have fun in freshly fallen snow on Thursday along Highway 2 above Wrightwood, just east of Los Angeles A cold storm system brought rain and snow to parts of California and Nevada for the first time in decades and even forced some schools to close. Snow falls on a street in L.A. on Thursday A man takes a picture of a small snowman at the 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas' sign along the Las Vegas Strip, Thursday Snow sticking on a stop sign on top of Haven Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga, California, just east of Los Angeles on Thursday The Clark County School District in southern Nevada, the nation's fifth-largest, is canceling classes Friday because of the weather. In northern Arizona, schools, government offices, airports and roads were expected to be closed for a second day as the storm tapers off. Residents in northern Arizona will be digging out from what the National Weather Service characterized as 'not your average' storm. 'It is by no means over for us,' said meteorologist Mark Stubblefield in Flagstaff. 'It's still dangerous to travel.' Snowfall at the Flagstaff airport broke an all-time daily record set more than a century ago. The airport had 31.6ins (80.3cm) of snow as of Thursday evening and had to shut down its only runway earlier in the day because of zero visibility. The record set in 1915 was 31ins (78.7cm). Clark County school officials say classes for roughly 320,000 students will be canceled due to the possibility of freezing temperatures making roads unsafe for buses. McCarran International Airport spokeswoman Christine Crews said she tallied about 100 flight cancellations because of snow and ice. The storm has brought the first significant snowfall at the airport in a decade with 0.8 inches (2cm) by Thursday afternoon. The National Weather Service in Las Vegas tweeted in response to its counterpart in Flagstaff that the 0.5ins (1.27cm) of snow recorded there broke its previous record of zero. The rare snowfall at low levels in Nevada prompted revelers to erect a snowman near the famous 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas' sign. In northern Arizona, schools, government offices, airports and roads were expected to be closed for a second day as the storm tapers off. A dusting of snow covers an area along the Las Vegas Strip, Thursday. A winter storm is expected to drop up to 3 inches (8 centimeters) of snow on Las Vegas' southern and western outskirts while other parts of the metro area will get rain mixed with snow Liz Scales sticks her hand out to feel falling snow in Rancho Cucamonga, California as snow fell in the Sunshine State for the first time in decades and coated large areas of desert northeast of Los Angeles This photo provided by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department shows a snow covered entrance sign to Joshua Tree National Park on Thursday The snow began late Wednesday and didn't let up Thursday, falling at 3 to 4 inches an hour in parts of Arizona. The National Weather Service said that rate will fall by about half Friday. Officials will turn their concerns to local streets that didn't get plowed, overburdened roofs and freezing temperatures expected into the weekend. Authorities closed portions of the main routes from Las Vegas to Los Angeles and Phoenix because of snow, ice and limited visibility. Several roads across Arizona, including portions of Interstate 40 west of Kingman and northbound Interstate 17 from Camp Verde to Flagstaff, were closed. The Arizona Department of Public Safety said no one died or was seriously injured in the more than 250 calls it handled in the northern portion of the state. The cities of Flagstaff and Prescott, and Coconino County declared emergencies. Officials said snow plows struggled to keep routes clear and there was 'significant concern' about the weight on rooftops. Crazy! Heather Locklear and Jerry O'connell were just a couple of the celebrities marveling at the snow in LA on Thursday. It's the first time the city has seen snow in 57 years Snow fell in the Santa Monica Mountains above the Malibu coast, (pictured), according to the National Weather Service Lights shining from the peak of the Luxor casino in Las Vegas reflect off rare snowfall along The Strip Libby McClellan, of the San Francisco Bay Area, takes a selfie with her father Kevin at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, west of Las Vegas Valentina Gonzalez, 7, laughs after falling during a snowball fight with her family at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation, west of Las Vegas. In the background is her father Omar Gonzalez and her brother Omar J Officials in California and Nevada had also been worried about dangerous driving conditions on mountain roads and highways due to the snow levels. Celebrities took to Instagram to share their reaction as it snowed in Los Angeles on Thursday for the first time in decades. National Park Service rangers in the Santa Monica Mountains posted photos of snow-capped Sandstone Peak with the caption: 'Guess where in LA is this? The Angeles National Forest? Baldy? Nope. The Sierras? Mount Whitney? The Cascades? Try again. 'Can you believe it snowed in the #santamonicamountains today! Yay!.' Earlier, the storm coated large areas of desert northeast of Los Angeles, temporarily halting traffic on various state routes. Heather Locklear, Jerry O'Connell and Kylie Jenner were just a few of the stars who documented the rare conditions as southern California experienced the rare cold snap. According to a report by the LA Times, the last time it snowed in Los Angeles was in January 1962.' 'It is snowing in Calabasas right now, OK, Calabasas, California. Where the Kardashians live. Where Jordyn used to live,' Jerry joked as he checked out the snow outside his home Look! The Jerry Maguire star looked up at the sky before pointing to snowflakes which had landed on his car Heather Locklear stepped outside her property while holding her pup Mister in her arms. The former Melrose Place actress held out her hand as she said: 'It's snowing! Mister, it's your first snow!' A woman behind the camera joked that she should make a snow angel and response Heather started waving her arms. Meanwhile, Jerry O'Connell hilariously referenced the Khloe and Tristan scandal in his Instagram video while surveying the wintry conditions outside his home. He exclaimed: 'It is snowing in Calabasas right now, OK, Calabasas, California. Where the Kardashians live. Where Jordyn used to live,' The Jerry Maguire star looked up at the sky and held his hand out before pointing to snowflakes which had landed on his car. 'Look at this. Snow, not hail, snow. That's bird poop... but snow, it is snowing in Calabasas, crazy.' Kylie Jenner was out and about in Calbasas too, and documented the snow falling on her arm. The 21-year-old makeup mogul, who appears to have replaced BFF Jordyn Woods with pal Heather Sanders in the wake of reports that Jordyn hooked up with Khloe's boyfriend Tristan Thompson, said 'It's literally snowing in Calabasas'. A train rolls along the snow covered hills in the Cajon Pass near Highway 138 in Phelan, California Mountains are blanketed with snow as traffic makes its way slowly through Cajon Pass on the I-15 near Hwy 138 in Phelan 'It's literally snowing in Calbasas': Kylie Jenner was out with pal Heather Sanders when the duo were shocked to see flakes falling on their sleeves Kylie filmed snowflakes falling on Heather's arm before filming the same on her jacket sleeve as she kept warm in a fluffy brown coat. 'This is crazy' she added. Reality star Kendra Wilkinson interrupted her workout to film some of the snowfall as she exclaimed: 'It's snowing in Calabasas, holy sh**, I've never seen this!' The conditions are extremely rare in Los Angeles which usually experiences mild winters with almost year-round sunshine. As well as snow, hail and thunderstorms were forecast for Thursday with three inches of snow estimated to fall in mountain areas above 2,500 feet north of the city. Framed by a Joshua tree, Nancy Knapp visits Red Rock National Conservation Area after a winter storm dropped several inches of snow Thursday Morgan Baggs shovels the driveway at his home in Flagstaff, Arizona, on Thursday. Schools across northern Arizona canceled classes and some government offices decided to close amid a winter storm that's expected to dump heavy snow Richard Henn runs a snow blower down the sidewalk outside his home in Flagstaff, Arizona, on Thursday A car drives down Route 66 in Flagstaff, Arizona, on Thursday, Febuary 21 after record snowfall in the region Snow day! Kendra Wilkinson was another celebrity that filmed the unusual occurrence 'This is probably the coldest storm system I've seen in my time in California,' said meteorologist David Sweet told the LA Times. 'We've had cold mornings and freeze conditions, but I don't remember seeing anything quite this cold.' The weather service reported the first significant snowfall at McCarran International Airport in a decade with 0.8 inches (2 centimeters) falling by Thursday afternoon. 'We don't have snowplows,' airport spokeswoman Christine Crews said as she tallied about 100 flight cancellations because of snow and ice. 'But we have airfield maintenance vehicles and sweepers ready to go.' On the casino-lined Las Vegas Strip, the snow was fleeting, melting faster than a bad gambler's luck. 'We expected cold, but not snow,' tourist Lila de Guerrero said after taking a photo at the Las Vegas sign wearing a puffer coat and hat. Taylor Killian puts snow chains on the vehicle he's driving during a trip to Flagstaff, Arizona, on Thursday Frank Van Buren, the manager of a travel center, gives direction to semi-truck drivers who are pulling off Interstate 40 in Bellemont, Arizona, on Thursday No way! Over in Malibu Brody Jenner documented snow and hail falling on his car De Guerrero, who is visiting from El Salvador, said it was the first time she had ever seen snow. German tourist Daniela Huber said she was surprised that her vacation to the desert wasn't much of an escape from winter. 'We thought it was strange because we came from Germany, where it snows all the time,' she said. Outside the city, authorities closed portions of the main routes from Las Vegas to Los Angeles and Phoenix because of snow, ice and limited visibility. Former Married At First Sight star Tracey Jewel has hinted that a SECOND 'affair' could rock the current season of the hit show. Speaking exclusively with Daily Mail Australia on Thursday, the 35-year-old stated: 'There's been some rumours going around about Mike [Gunner] and Jessika [Power]!' Tracey's comments came on the same day that former MAFS stars Davina Rankin and Dean Wells also hinted that more infidelities might play out on screen, suggesting that they may have some inside information. 'There's been rumours about Mike and Jessika!' Former Married At First Sight bride Tracey Jewel has hinted that a SECOND 'affair' will rock the current season of the show On the current season of MAFS, stars Ines Basic and Sam Ball have already engaged in a steamy 'affair'. And speaking with Daily Mail Australia on Thursday, Tracey said that further betrayal is certainly not out of the equation. 'It will be interesting to see if another couple swap is on the cards,' the brunette told Daily Mail Australia, after referencing 'rumours' about Mike and Jessika. Does she know something we don't? Tracey has said that further betrayal is certainly not out of the equation On the show, Mike is 'married' to Heidi Latcham, while Jessika has been matched with Mick Gould. However, both relationships are currently under strain and Tracey says that Mike and Jessika appear to be a more natural fit together. 'It definitely seems that Jessika would be more Mike's type on a more superficial level,' she explained. 'It will be interesting to see if another couple swap is on the cards': Tracey claims there are rumours about Jessika (left) and Mike (right) She then exclaimed: 'It will be interesting to see if another couple swap is on the cards, but I hope not because I don't want to see Heidi's heart broken!' It's unclear whether Tracey and other former MAFS stars have any inside information about what takes place in this season. But it is certainly interesting that Tracey's comment echo those of Davina and Dean. Earlier on Tuesday, the two told KIIS FM Kyle and Jackie O show that they believe another bombshell is on the MAFS horizon. 'I reckon they've got a big surprise coming,' Dean said. 'I think they're blowing us into this false sense of security and that they're going to have a big plot twist coming up.' Inside information? Last year's stars Dean and Davina (both pictured) also claimed there was was a 'big plot twist' coming up 'I know for a fact that there is a plot twist,' Davina added. 'I'm not telling you guys anything. You'll just have to watch like the rest of us.' Dean refused to spill the beans, telling the hosts: 'Can't really talk about it, but I've heard rumours. I just know that producers always have something up their sleeve.' However, it's possible that Jessika may also be eyeing off someone else on the series. A synopsis of next Wednesday night's episode, published in TV guides, stated: 'The two new couples attend their first dinner party and surprise the group. Jess has her eye on another husband and his wife isn't too happy about it.' Ryanair has been hit with a 3million (2.6million) fine over its cabin baggage policy. The low-cost airline was slapped with the penalty by Italy's antitrust authority in relation to its new cabin baggage rules, introduced late last year. Wizz Air was also hit with a fine, worth 1million (870,000). Ryanair has been hit with a 3million (2.6million) fine over its cabin baggage policy Both airlines allow passengers to bring small bags into the cabin free of charge, but only if they can be stowed under the seat in front of them. Larger bags of up to 10kg require a luggage fee, or a fee-paying priority boarding pass. Last August, when Ryanair announced its new cabin bag policy, the Italian anti-trust agency warned the airline and Wizz Air to suspend their policies, claiming that they misled customers. The Italian regulator described hand luggage as an 'essential' item for passengers, adding that its price should be included in the cost of a plane ticket. It also added that the new Ryanair policy could result in unfair commercial practice, as it distorts the final price of the ticket. Wizz Air has been hit with a fine worth 1million (870,000) However, Ryanair rejected the warning and brought the new policy into effect in November. The Italian regulator said that most passengers expected to travel with a larger carry-on bag, and that by imposing an extra payment of between 5 (4.36) and 25 (21), the airlines were raising ticket prices in a 'non-transparent' manner. Ryanair said at the time that 'for safety reasons, most short-haul aircraft cannot accommodate two carry-on bags for each customer'. Regarding the fine, Ryanair said: 'We will immediately appeal this decision. There is no basis for a competition authority to issue a decision that relates to air safety, customer convenience or punctuality. Our baggage policy is transparent and beneficial to consumers.' Wizz Air said: 'Wizz Air's baggage policy fully complies with the law, we will therefore be requesting a judicial review of the Italian Competition Authority's ruling immediately. 'Our transparent baggage policy guarantees every passenger can take one piece of hand luggage on board for free, whilst also providing over 50 different paid-for options ensuring that passengers only need to pay for the additional services they require.' Meanwhile, it was announced earlier this month that the airline's chief, Michael O'Leary, had committed himself to Ryanair for another five years. It was revealed that, under a new group structure, Mr O'Leary will oversee the company's four airline subsidiaries. Advertisement Frank Andre Soma, 43, is more than a wolf handler. He's the alpha male who leads the pack. Frank was my friendly guide at Langedrag Nature Park in the snowy countryside of Tunhovd, a three-hour drive north west of Oslo. He's been a predator specialist for 21 years and also works with bears, lynx and Arctic foxes. On a freezing Norwegian morning I trudged through the snow with Frank to a wolf enclosure, excited to see the beasts for myself. Scroll down for video Frank Andre Soma has been a predator specialist for 21 years. He's pictured here with wolves at Langedrag Nature Park in the snowy countryside of Tunhovd Mouth to mouth: A wolf eats a meatball out of Frank's mouth without leaving a scratch at Langedrag Nature Park. Frank raised the wolves since they were pups and needed constant care. He slept with them to keep them warm and fed them every three hours 'I feel so lucky to have a relationship with these amazing animals and see them everyday,' Frank said. He shares a tender moment with a wolf from his pack at Langedrag Nature Park Frank casually entered the wolf enclosure with nothing but a tray of meat. 'Wait here,' he said. Two grey wolves named Varg and Irgas gracefully slinked through the snow to Frank and looked at him like they had known him since they were born - which they had. Frank laid the meat tray down and crouched over it, pretending to eat. Varg and Irgas patiently waited by either side for him to finish, seemingly content with eating his leftover scraps. Frank began raising them when they were eight-day-old pups and needed constant care. What big teeth you have! Frank pretends to eat and the wolves wait for him to finish while snarling at each other at Langedrag Park. Frank thinks wolves get a bad reputation from fairy tales and popular myths. He likes to educate people about their softer side Frank worked at Langedrag for 19 years and has worked at the Bear Park for the past two. There are currently three wolves at Bear Park - Frank can enter their enclosure to feed them but is still building up their trust For the first six weeks Frank would sleep with them to keep them warm and feed them every three hours. It was important to make 'first contact' so they would get used to him, he said. 'I feel so lucky to have a relationship with these amazing animals and see them everyday,' he said. The wolves treated Frank with the respect they'd give to the leader of the pack, played with him and even let him pick them up and carry them around. Frank raised four wolves during his 19 years working at Langedrag Nature Park but two of them, Ask and Embla, passed away leaving behind the younger wolves, Varg and Irgas. Pack mentality: Frank sits with Varg when he was a puppy and Embla, a female wolf who once attacked him. Varg, Irgas and the late Ask came to his rescue when she attacked him at Langedrag Need a lift? Frank carries a wolf over his shoulder. They typically weigh 32-59 kilograms. This photo was taken at Langedrag Nature Park Frank said he had had a few close calls with the wolves. On one occasion Embla attacked him in the enclosure - but three others from the pack protected him. 'They are just like normal puppies but they grow very fast. By six months they reach mature size,' he said. Varg and Irgas are 'socialised' wolves who are fussy about the humans they interact with - only Frank and the Langedrag owner Tuva Thorson can enter their enclosure. I was allowed in another enclosure that belongs to 'wild' wolves where visitors can feed the grey beasts. We sat on a circle of logs and Frank howled to call the wolves. The wolves howled back. Three wolves appeared one by one and cautiously approached until we were surrounded by the pack. They circled around us as if they were sizing up their meal. Frank assured us that they were more scared of us than we were of them. I doubted it. We threw out frozen meatballs and the wolves would timidly approach to quickly grab their snack. Frank told us not to stand up or make any sudden movements since it would scare them away. Closer and closer: Shive fed wild wolves frozen meatballs at Langedrag Nature Park. He writes: 'We locked eyes a few times - both scared of each other' Frank pets a wolf at Langedrag Nature Park. 'Dogs are our most popular pet. These are their ancestors, the first dogs,' Frank said. Frank said raising wolves is similar to raising dogs except they grow much faster. A wolf can reach mature size in six months The Eurasian Grey Wolf Two wolves from the Bear Park in Norway Also known as the common wolf Typically 76 centimetres tall at the shoulder Weigh 32 59 kilograms Range from Western Europe, Scandinavia to Russia, China, Mongolia and the Himalayas Advertisement I gradually threw the meatballs closer to me until the wolves came within a metre of where I was sitting. I locked eyes with the wolves a few times and was surprised by how cautious they were around us humans. Maybe looks can be deceiving. Frank has now been working for two years as a predator specialist at the Bear Park, a two-hour drive north west of Oslo. 'I was offered a good job in the Bear Park and saw the necessity of my aging to take it,' he said. The park has a three-hectare enclosure for the wolves to roam that Frank describes as 'the best in the world'. He is able to enter the enclosure and is working to build up the trust of the three wolves there but they are very shy like the 'wild' wolves at Langedrag. The closest he has come to them is three metres. But he will never have the same relationship with them as he does with Varg and Irgas since he didn't raise them. He still visits Varg and Irgas at Langedrag and only lives one hour away. 'I can see my wolves at any time in the few years they have left. And it's like they understand because they are happy when they see me,' Frank said. Frank likes to educate people about wolves to change their view of them as aggressive killers. 'Dogs are our most popular pet. These are their ancestors, the first dogs,' he said. It is rare to see wild wolves in Norway since the estimated population of 59-66 is restricted to a 'wolf zone' in the south east. The Norwegian government approved the killing of 42 wolves during the annual winter hunt in 2017-18. Advertisement Bringing a touch of the great outdoors inside, this kooky home in America is adorned with eye-catching pieces of wooden sculpture. The two-bedroom, five-bathroom property, located at 2700 N in Ashfield, Oregon, is currently on the market for $7.6million after its owners spend several years lovingly building it from scratch. From the outside, the 8,880 square foot home looks pretty standard but on walking inside, the place features an eclectic mix of lumber, from branches seemingly growing out of the walls to tree trunks propping up breakfast counters. Bringing a touch of the great outdoors inside, this kooky home in America is adorned with eye-catching pieces of wooden sculpture The two-bedroom property, located at 2700 N in Ashfield, Oregon, is currently on the market for $7.6million after its owners spend several years lovingly building it from scratch. Above, one of the two bedrooms From the outside, the 8,880 square foot home looks pretty standard, but on walking inside the place features an eclectic mix of lumber, from branches seemingly growing out of the walls to tree trunks propping up breakfast counters At the entrance to the home, arched front doors are framed by tree sculptures, with their branches extending out support the porch structure. The grand mahogany front doors double up as pieces of art. Crafted by a local artist and done in a traditional Native American style, both the outer and inner doors depict animals of the region including salmon, coyotes and eagles. Stepping inside the one-of-a-kind home, there is a foyer with a granite floor and a blue tiled ceiling said to be reminiscent of 'the open sky'. One of the bathrooms features polished stone counter tops and stunning views out of the window The stair banisters feature intricate carvings, with a bird and a fish welcoming dwellers up to the first floor There are rock planters in the house, with foliage adding a splash of colour The hallway features an unusual light sculpture (left), while the fireplace in the living room is also unique (right) A Jacuzzi bath looks out over the rolling countryside (left) and there is a swimming pool housed in a conservatory area (right) Completed in 2016, the property was apparently designed to represent and pay respect to the land surrounding it Venturing forward, the sandy granite tiling gives way to a custom-designed hardwood floor that is made to look like flowing water. The stair banisters also feature intricate carvings, with a bird and a fish welcoming dwellers up to the first floor. In the kitchen, tree trunks support an over-sized granite island and in the dining room, the walls and ceilings are filled with preserved trees that look like they're still growing. Adding to the kookiness, there are a number of windows in the house that are in the shape of clouds. Completed in 2016, the property was apparently designed to represent and pay respect to the land surrounding it. It is said to be the perfect spot for nature-lovers and sits on 700 acres of land. Other on site amenities include a hot tub, swimming pool, a barbecue area and a detached garage with space for one vehicle. A real estate agent who is marketing the property via Zillow said: 'This home is not only intended to honour nature in its design, it is also intended to function in harmony with nature.' In the dining room, the walls and ceilings are filled with preserved trees that are seemingly still growing. Some of the windows are in the shape of clouds and trees in a further reference to nature The house would be the perfect place for entertaining, with lots of space to host guests In the hallway, sandy granite tiles give way to a custom-designed hardwood floor that is made to look like flowing water A real estate agent who is marketing the property via Zillow said: 'This home is not only intended to honor nature in its design, it is also intended to function in harmony with nature' At the entrance to the home, arched front doors are framed by tree sculptures, with their branches extending out support the structure. The front doors themselves are a grand mahogany piece of art crafted by a local artist Advertisement Boasting exotic wallpaper and a plaster monkey swinging from one of the doors, a swanky hotel suite in London promises to transport guests to the colourful world of Rudyard Kipling. Brown's Hotel in Mayfair is where Kipling penned parts of the Jungle Book and it has a rather fabulous suite in honour of the British writer. The 1,665 square foot Kipling Suite - which costs from 6,000 a night with breakfast included - comprises of a large king size bedroom, a spacious living room area and a stunning master bathroom clad with Italian marble. Boasting exotic wallpaper and a plaster monkey swinging from one of the doors, a swanky hotel suite in London promises to transport guests to the colourful world of famed author Rudyard Kipling Brown's Hotel in Mayfair is where Kipling penned some of the Jungle Book and it has a rather fabulous suite in honour of the British writer The 1,665 square foot Kipling Suite - which costs from 6,000 a night with breakfast included - boasts a large king size bedroom, a spacious living room area and a stunning master bathroom clad with Italian marble Touches have been made to remind visitors of Kipling. For instance, in the living room there is a statue of an elephant and the pillow cases feature a colourful jungle-like print. Topping things off, there is a letter written by the author in 1919 hanging on the wall of the grand entrance way. Olga Polizzi, the director of design at Brown's Hotel, says the suite features a mix of new and old furniture harking back to the colonial era. There is a letter written by the author in 1919 hanging on the wall of the grand entrance way Kipling spent many of his final days living at Brown's and finished writing the Jungle Book there. In 1936, he was found slumped over his desk at the hotel, stricken by a perforated ulcer that soon killed him Touches have been made to remind visitors of Kipling. For instance, in the living room there is a statue of an elephant and the pillow cases feature a colourful jungle-like print In the living room, there is original wooden panelling juxtaposed with contemporary artworks. And antique sideboards sit alongside slick glass-topped coffee tables. Along with dazzling interiors, other perks of the suite include a walk-in wardrobe and two bathrooms. On the gadget front, there is high speed WiFi, a Nespresso machine and an international adaptor with USB sockets. As a guest staying in the suite, complementary airport transfers are included with a plush Bentley to set the tone. A bottle of Ruinart champagne is also thrown in, so visitors can kick their stay off in style and they can indulge in two 30 minute treatments in the hotel's spa. Kipling spent many of his final days living at Brown's and finished writing the Jungle Book there. In 1936, he was found slumped over his desk at the hotel, stricken by a perforated ulcer that soon killed him. Brown's Hotel opened its doors in 1837 and has been owned by Rocco Forte Hotels since 2003. Over the years, the luxury guesthouse has hosted a range of famous figures. Along with Kipling, former guests include president Theodore Roosevelt, British imperialist Cecil Rhodes and author Agatha Christie. In the living room, there is original wooden panelling juxtaposed with contemporary artworks. And antique sideboards sit alongside slick glass-topped coffee tables The bedroom features views over a quaint street in Mayfair and trees on a small balcony area Along with dazzling interiors, other perks of the suite include a walk-in wardrobe and two bathrooms. On the gadget front, there is high speed WiFi, a Nespresso machine and an international adaptor with USB sockets As a guest staying in the suite, complementary airport transfers are included with a plush Bentley to set the tone. A bottle of Ruinart champagne is also thrown in, so visitors can kick off their stay in style There are hints of nature around the suite, with these prints of fern leaves being an example Brown's Hotel opened its doors in 1837 and has been owned by Rocco Forte Hotels since 2003 Over the years, the luxury guesthouse has hosted a range of famous figures. Along with Kipling, former guests include president Theodore Roosevelt, British imperialist Cecil Rhodes and author Agatha Christie Facebook has been covertly collecting deeply personal information from a number of popular apps, often without users' knowledge. At least 11 popular apps have been sending the data to Facebook, including period-tracking app Flo Period & Ovulation Tracker, real estate app Realtor, and Instant Heart Rate: HR Monitor, a Wall Street Journal investigation found. The apps collected highly sensitive data, which ranged from things like users' average weight and height to their blood pressure, ovulation cycles and pregnancy status. In some cases, the 'highly sensitive information' is sent to Facebook mere seconds after it's entered into the app - even if the user doesn't have an account on the social media network, according to the Journal. Facebook can collect the data as a result of its Software Development Kit (SDK), a set of open source software tools that can be used by developers to create apps. Apps use Facebook's SDK to build their software and, in exchange, Facebook often gets access to data those apps collect, for the purpose of targeting ads. Scroll down for video Facebook has been covertly collecting deeply personal information from a number of popular apps, often without users' knowledge. At least 11 popular apps were transmitting the data WHAT APPS ARE SHARING YOUR DATA WITH FACEBOOK? A bombshell investigation by the Wall Street Journal tested a total of 70 apps and found that 11 were sharing data with Facebook, largely without users' knowledge. In some cases, this includes 'highly sensitive information,' and none provided a way for users to stop the data from being shared. Apps named by the Journal include: Instant Heart Rate: HR Monitor: Sent information such as heart rate to Facebook, and in at least one case, 'immediately after it was recorded.' Flo Period & Ovulation Tracker: Informed Facebook when user was having her period or had indicated an intention to get pregnant Realtor.com: Sent location and price of listings that a user viewed and even made note of which were favorited Breethe Inc: Shared users' email addresses and the name of the meditations they'd completed BetterMe: Shared users weights and heights as soon as they were entered The report, which only disclosed the names of a handful of the flagged apps, also notes that the list includes 'at least six of the top 15 health and fitness apps in the US App Store' as of Feb 22. Advertisement It marks the latest in a litany of recent privacy scandals for Facebook, which have cratered its two billion-plus users' trust in the site and raised questions over the need for regulators to rein in the social media giant. The Wall Street Journal tested more than 70 apps and found that at least 11 apps sent highly sensitive information to Facebook. The apps often fail to alert users that the data is being shared with Facebook. While users can control how apps collect data from their device, such as location, contacts or cookies, they have no way of stopping them from sharing sensitive data recorded in the apps with third parties such as Facebook. For the investigation, the Journal used software to monitor the internet communications transmitted by the app and worked with a privacy software company, Disconnect, to test some of the apps. They found that at least six of the top 15 health and fitness apps shared personal information with Facebook. 'This is a big mess,' Patrick Jackson, chief technology officer at Disconnect, told the Journal. 'This is completely independent of the functionality of the app.' Among the cases it found, Instant Heart Rate: HR Monitor transmitted a user's heart rate to Facebook within seconds of it being recorded, while Flo told Facebook when a user was ovulating or hoped to get pregnant. Additionally, the Realtor.com app told Facebook the location and price of home listings viewed by users. The Android version of 'Better Me: Weight Loss Workouts' was sending users' weights and heights to Facebook, the Journal said. Instant Heart Rate Monitor: HR (left), Flo Period & Ovulation Tracker (center) and Realtor.com (right) were all found to be transmitting highly sensitive user data to Facebook Facebook denies that it's using the sensitive data from the apps for targeting purposes. The firm also said its business terms prohibit app developers from sending 'health, financial information or other categories of sensitive information,' according to the Journal. 'We require app developers to be clear with their users about the information they are sharing with us,' a Facebook spokesperson told the Journal. However, loopholes in Facebook's SDK may make it possible for apps to share sensitive data with the network. Facebook's SDK includes a feature called 'app events' that enables developers to track user activity in the app, often for the purpose of improving the user experience or learning more about its audience. Data collected from 'app events' are then sent to Facebook and developers can create 'custom app events' that include sensitive data. Facebook says it automatically deletes sensitive data received from developers and doesn't use data from custom events for targeting purposes. However, Facebook's website states that it uses customer data collected by its SDK for ad targeting, as well as 'to improve other experiences on Facebook, including News Feed' and search results, according to the Journal. The Facebook spokesperson told the Journal that it plans to create more safeguards around how sensitive data sent from apps is stored. But the practice has still alarmed privacy experts and many have raised the possibility that Facebook could be in violation of GDPR - something Facebook denies. It's not yet clear whether Apple or Google will take action against developers collecting sensitive user data in their apps. Since the Journal report was published, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered two state agencies to investigate its findings and called the data-sharing an 'outrageous abuse of privacy.' Advertisement Richard Bransons aerospace company has reached the edge of space for the second time. Following weather-related delays earlier this week, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo took to the skies today for its fifth supersonic test flight, and the second to reach an altitude of about 50 miles above Earths surface the point at which NASA astronauts are granted their wings. The WhiteKnightTwo 'mothership' took off in the Mojave Desert around 8:00 a.m. PT (11 a.m. ET) Friday morning carrying SpaceShipTwo, before the supersonic plane separated to climb higher into the sky on its own and accelerate to hit Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound. At the boundary of space, the crew-members momentarily experienced weightlessness as they traveled in micro-gravity. And, for the first time, the flight included a passenger apart from its two pilots. After the successful flight, Virgin Galactic confirmed the plane soared as high as 55.85 miles, or 294,9007 feet (89.9 kilometers). Scroll down for video Richard Bransons aerospace company lifted off for its second attempt to reach the edge of space following its milestone accomplishment last December. WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo could be seen flying together just after liftoff, for the firm's fifth supersonic powered test flight The SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity passenger craft (R) is seen after separation from Virgin Galactic rocket plane, the WhiteKnightTwo carrier airplane (L) Richard Bransons aerospace company has reached the edge of space for the second time. The firm confirmed the success on Twitter roughly an hour after liftoff HOW HIGH DID IT GO? Virgin Galactic uses an altitude of 50 miles (80 km) to designate the boundary of space. This is used by NASA and the U.S. Air Force for awarding astronaut wings. 'For Virgin Galactic, the major milestone that we perceive is the altitude at which NASA and Air Force folks get their astronaut wings, which is 50 miles,' George Whitesides, chief executive of Virgin Galactic, said last month. The long-held view, however, is that the edge of space begins higher than this, at an altitude of 62 miles (100km). Advertisement In the cockpit of the supersonic plane sat two seasoned pilots, Chief Pilot Dave Mackay and Pilot Mike 'Sooch' Masucci. The pair was also joined by a third crew member in the cabin, micro-gravity expert Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses, who will provide human validation for the data collected during the flight. And, the supersonic plane carried NASA payloads for the second time in effort to put the craft at approximate commercial weight, Virgin Galactic said. Virgin remained characteristically guarded about exactly when the plane was scheduled to take off following Wednesday's scrubbed flight. It wasn't until just minutes before the rescheduled test that the firm finally revealed when the plane would be lifting off. 'We're planning an 8am PST take-off this morning,' Virgin tweeted Friday morning. 'Were expanding the weight distribution in the spaceship during this next test flight to test the vehicle's handling qualities. This will provide us with valuable flight data.' The two aircraft, with SpaceShipTwo mated to the underbelly of WhiteKnightTwo, climbed to tens of thousands of feet within a matter of minutes, before SpaceShipTwo eventually released at an altitude of around 45,000ft to continue the journey alone. With its rocket motor ignited, SpaceaShipTwo topped out at Mach 3 speed. After the successful flight, Virgin Galactic confirmed the plane soared as high as 55.85 miles, or 294,9007 feet (89.9 kilometers). It can be seen above flying high over Earth's surface during the test In the cockpit of the supersonic plane sat two seasoned pilots, Chief Pilot Dave Mackay and Pilot Mike 'Sooch' Masucci. The pair was also joined by a third crew member in the cabin, micro-gravity expert Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses, who will provide human validation for the data collected during the flight. The trio can be seen during the flight, above The company first reached the edge of space on December 13, 2018 in a landmark achievement for Richard Branson's space tourism endeavors. And after the successful test, the founder said his own spaceflight will follow in a matter of months. Speaking to CBSN from California's Mojave Desert just after the flight test, Branson said he's 'itching to go' to space, and estimated he'd get there within the next six months. Virgin Galactic plans to conduct two or three more tests of this kind, and move its operations to New Mexico before sending Branson flying more than 250,000 feet above Earth. The aerospace firm's SpaceShipTwo craft reached a boundary more than 50 miles above Earth on December 13 morning for the first time, after blasting off on a critical flight test in the Mojave Desert. To do this, the company had to push its rocket motor to the longest burn duration yet, 'resulting in us going higher than we have before.' The WhiteKnightTwo 'mothership' took off in the Mojave Desert around 8:00 a.m. PT (11 a.m. ET) Friday morning carrying SpaceShipTwo, which separated at the release altitude to climb higher into the sky on its own and accelerate to speeds faster than the speed of sound SpaceShipTwo will take off piggybacking on WhiteKnightTwo. The two craft will ascend together before splitting off, allowing SpaceShipTwo to continue to rise and eventually hit supersonic speeds In addition to its pilots, the aircraft carried NASA payloads for the first time, in effort to bring it as close as possible to commercial weight. SpaceShipTwo safely touched back down to Earth less than 15 minutes after achieving its flight and hitting speeds of nearly three times the speed of sound. 'Today, for the first time in history, a crewed spaceship, built to carry private passengers, reached space,' Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson said from the flight line after the successful flight in December. 'Today we completed our first revenue generating flight and our pilots earned their Commercial Astronaut Wings. Today, we have shown that Virgin Galactic really can open space to change the world for good.' The company reached the edge of space for the first time on December 13, 2018 in a milestone accomplishment for Richard Branson's space tourism endeavors. An image from the last successful flight is pictured 'Ever since I watched the moon landings as a child I have looked up to the skies with wonder,' Branson said after the successful test in December. 'Today, as I stood among a truly remarkable group of people with our eyes on the stars, we saw our biggest dream and our toughest challenge to date fulfilled.' The founder couldn't hold back tears Richard Branson (center) celebrates with pilots Rick CJ Sturckow (left) and Mark 'Forger' Stucky (right) after Virgin Galactic's first successful test to the edge of space in December Pilots Mark 'Forger' Stucky and CJ Sturckow fired up SpaceShipTwo's rocket motor at 11 a.m., bringing the craft to Mach 1.4 speed seconds later. In less than a minute, it achieved Mach 2.9 - or 2.9 times the speed of sound. And, within a matter of seconds, the craft was at '250,000ft and rising,' hitting the 50-mile mark just 2 minutes after separation. 'SpaceShipTwo, welcome to space,' Virgin Galactic tweeted. 'This is a momentous day and I could not be more proud of our teams who together have opened a new chapter of space exploration,' Branson said afterwards. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine congratulated the Israeli team on the launch of their first mission beyond Earth's orbit. "This is a historic step for all nations and commercial space as we look to extend our collaborations beyond low-Earth orbit and on to the Moon," he said. Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Thursday night carrying Israel's Beresheet spacecraft, aiming to make history twice: as the first private-sector landing on the Moon, and the first from Israel, AFP reported. Male dolphins are the Chandler and Joey of the animal world and have a best friend they rely on for years, new research suggests. Animal experts tracked a population of bottlenose dolphins for two periods of around 100 days to see how their behaviour changed over time. They found that male dolphins spend time with same-sex companions for prolonged periods, often for life. Although they do occasionally socialise with female dolphins without attempting to mate, this is far less common. Scroll down for video Male dolphins have a relationship that mirrors that of Joey and Chandler from TV friends - loyal and long-term, punctuated with spells of healthy time apart. Animal experts tracked a population of bottlenose dolphins for two periods of around 100 days to see how their behaviour changed over time (file photo) Experts from the Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University followed the animals from Florida's Indian River Lagoon by plane and boat, using radio tags as a way of tracking their movements. A total of nine dolphins living off the Florida coast near Orlando were tracked in 2007 and again in 2010 with analysis of the data only recently completed. They discovered by observing their behaviour that adult male dolphins often pair up to 'hang out' together - particularly while foraging. Speaking about the finding, study co-author Wendy Noke Durden said: 'Male bottlenose dolphins have been known to form male-male alliances that last for years.' In addition to the 'bromance' discovery, the researchers also found that dolphins do not go very far and - although sociable - they spend a lot of time on their own, particularly when young. The bottlenose group spent 53 per cent of their time travelling but only averaged a 17 mile radius over the 100 days with some individuals going just eight miles. They spent a further 30 per cent just milling around and 17 per cent foraging for food but juvenile dolphins spent up to 72 per cent of their time alone in the first study, reduced to 36 per cent three years later. A total of nine dolphins living off the Florida coast near Orlando were tracked in 2007 and again in 2010, using radio tags as a way of tracking their movements. Experts found that that male dolphins spend time with same-sex companions for prolonged periods, often for life (stock image) This is what researchers call a 'fission-fusion' social association where they can adapt to being in a group to being alone to hanging out with just one other member of the group. Greg O'Corry-Crowe, who led the research, said: 'The fact that these dolphins seem to have a lot of alone time adds a new dimension to our understanding of the sociality of the Indian River Lagoon dolphins. 'It also was fascinating to find that many dolphins have brief encounters with many other dolphins.' The full findings of the study were published in the journal Aquatic Mammals. It was launched nearly 25 years ago and Microsoft's operating system, Windows 95, has enjoyed something of a revival, this week thanks to a brand new iOS theme. Apple users can transform their smartphones into retro handheld PCs with the theme, that mimics the operating system's appearance. It features old-fashioned icons for the taskbar and 'Start' button that will be familiar to anyone old enough to have used the original. It also re-imagines how icons for today's apps, including Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, may have looked back then. Scroll down for video It was launched nearly 25 years ago and Microsoft's operating system, Windows 95, has enjoyed something of a revival, this week thanks to a brand new iOS theme. Featuring old-fashioned icons for the taskbar and 'Start' button, it also shows how today's modern-day apps may have looked back then, including Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat The theme was created by Swedish-based developer Emil Avara, who calls it iOS95. The skin can be downloaded for free but Avara also offers a theme pack for $1.50 (1.15) which includes 50+ free icons, a task bar widget, dock widget and a lock screen widget. Users can also request icons for specific apps through a form on his website. The concept has sparked a mixed response from tech fans on social media, whose comments have ranged from 'This is INCREDIBLE' to 'Why would anyone do this?'. Technology has come a long way in the decades since Windows 95 was launched, but the intentions behind its creation still resonate today. Speaking at the time of its launch, a 39-year-old Bill Gates said: 'Windows 95 makes it easier to deal with information and it includes a lot of features to reach out from a single PC and communicate with other people, whether it's the Microsoft Network, electronic mail, or sharing files. 'A real theme of the PC is to become a great communications tool and Windows 95 is a big step in that direction.' The theme was created by Swedish-based developer Emil Avara, who calls it iOS95. The skin can be downloaded for free but Avara also offers a theme pack for $1.50 (1.15) which includes 50+ free icons, a task bar widget, dock widget and a lock screen widget. Technology has come a long way in the decades since Windows 95 (pictured) was launched, but the intentions behind its creation still resonate today. Speaking at the time of its launch, a 39-year-old Bill Gates said: 'Windows 95 makes it easier to deal with information and it includes a lot of features to reach out from a single PC and communicate with other people This is not the first time retro tech has collided with the modern world. Back in 2016, a hack-happy Apple Watch owner installed Windows 95 on his wearable device. In a YouTube clip, technology developer Nick Lee showed what the Windows software looks like scaled down on the Apple Watch. As he explains in a blog post, the capacity of the Apple Watch exceeds that of Windows 95, so therefore it would be plausible for the gadget to be able to handle the old software. Mr Lee relied on a number of hacks to get this working, specifically as Apple does not let you easily install new operating systems onto its devices, or apps not scanned by Apple. These included modifying Apple's development software so that he could turn Windows 95 into a Watch app that could also act as a place where OS can run. Smart assistants could soon come with a 'moral AI' to decide whether to report their owners for breaking the law. That's the suggestion of academics at who say that household gadgets like the Amazon Echo and Google Home should be enhanced with ethical smart software. This would let them to weigh-up whether to report illegal activity to the police, effectively putting millions of people under constant surveillance. Scroll down for video Smart assistants could soon come with a 'moral AI' to decide whether to report their owners for breaking the law. That's the suggestion of academics at who say that household gadgets like the Amazon Echo and Google Home should be enhanced with ethical smart software (stock image) Academics at the University of Bergen, Norway, touted the idea at the ACM conference on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and Society in Hawaii. Marija Slavkovik, associate professor the department of information science and media studies, led the research. Leon van der Torre and Beishui Liao, professors at the University of Luxembourg and Zhejiang University respectively, also took part. Dr Slavkovik suggested that digital assistants should possess an ethical awareness that simultaneously represents both the owner and the authorities - or, in the case of a minor, their parents. Devices would then have an internal 'discussion' about suspect behaviour, weighing up conflicting demands between the law and personal freedoms, before arriving at the 'best' course of action. That said, there would need to be room for compromise because the world itself is not black and white. 'What we propose is very simple and of course there is so much more to do,' Dr Slavkokik told MailOnline. 'There is [already] an ethical conflict between people in one family, let alone between people and manufacturer, or shareholders of the manufacturer and programers. 'If we want to avoid Orwellian outcomes it's important that all stakeholders are identified and have a say, including when machines shouldn't be able to listen in. Right now only the manufacturer decides.' How much information could they gather? Most bots dont have smell sensors, but they do have microphones and cameras - which could catch illegal activity The concept creates its own moral maze however, specifically, whether computers should have the ability to make human decisions. 'Humans and human situations are far messier than this method makes out,' Beth Singler from the University of Cambridge told New Scientist. 'Some might want it dealt with within the family, while others may take a hard line and seek police involvement. This disparity is likely to be found in all the groups of people'. The ethics of the culture the product is launched in would also need to be taken into consideration. Eerie future: Last year, in April 2018, The House of Lords Artificial Intelligence Committee said ethics need to be put at the centre of the development of AI In April 2018, the House of Lords Artificial Intelligence Committee said ethics need to be put at the centre of the development of AI. The peers said international safeguards must be established and warned it was particularly crucial here with Britain poised to become a world leader in the controversial technological field. The committee insisted AI needs to be developed for the common good and that the 'autonomous power to hurt, destroy or deceive human beings should never be vested in artificial intelligence'. The report also stressed that AI should also not be used to diminish the data rights of individuals, and people 'should have the right to be educated to enable them to flourish mentally, emotionally and economically alongside artificial intelligence' Scientists are closely monitoring a series of cracks running through Antarcticas Brunt Ice Shelf as they prepare for it to release an iceberg roughly 30 times the size of Manhattan. Satellite images captured at the end of January show a rift thats steadily been cutting northward is now nearing the edge of the shelf. Once it reaches this point, an area of ice estimated to be at least 1700 square kilometers (660 square miles) will break free or, enough to envelope all five boroughs of New York City more than two times over. Slide the bar to see how the crack has grown from 1986 to 2019 Slide me Comparisons of images captured by Landsat 8 this year (Jan 23, 2019 pictured right) and Landsat 5 in 1986 (Jan 30, 1896 pictured left) show just how dramatically the situation has changed WHAT IS A CALVING EVENT? Glacier calving is a natural occurrence caused by the forward motion of a glacier making its end unstable. During a calving event, part of the end of a glacier drops off, often forming an iceberg. Calving of glaciers is often accompanied by a loud cracking or booming sound before blocks of ice up to 60 metres (200 ft) high break loose and crash into the water. The entry of this ice into the water can cause large and hazardous waves. Advertisement According to NASA, the crack in the Brunt Ice Shelf was stable for nearly 35 years before it recently began accelerating at staggering rates, hitting up to 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) per year. While it wont be the largest iceberg to split off from Antarctica by a long shot, its the biggest chunk the Brunt Ice Shelf has lost since observations began over 100 years ago in 1915. And, the ice shelf is the site of year-round research operations at the British Antarctic Surveys Halley Station, sparking concerns for the humans who work there. Close-up views of the satellite images show the center rift is stretching across the ice shelf where it will soon meet perpendicularly with two other features: McDonald Ice Rumples and the Halloween Crack. As of now, the researchers say its unclear what exactly will happen. But, comparisons of images captured by Landsat 8 this year and Landsat 5 in 1986 show just how dramatically the situation has changed. The near-term future of Brunt Ice Shelf likely depends on where the existing rifts merge relative to the McDonald Ice Rumples, said Joe MacGregor, a glaciologist at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center. If they merge upstream (south) of the McDonald Ice Rumples, then its possible that the ice shelf will be destabilized. Close-up views of the satellite images show the center rift is stretching across the ice shelf where it will soon meet perpendicularly with two other features: McDonald Ice Rumples and the Halloween Crack The calving event will affect both the remaining ice shelf and potentially the scientific infrastructure at the remote site. And, the recent changes in the rifts activity only add to the questions. Despite a long period of slow evolution, the past few years have seen significant acceleration. We dont have a clear picture of what drives the shelfs periods of advance and retreat through calving, said NASA/UMBC glaciologist Chris Shuman. The likely future loss of the ice on the other side of the Halloween Crack suggests that more instability is possible, with associated risk to Halley VIa. The extinction of the dinosaurs may have been caused by a combination of a huge asteroid landing on Earth and a series of enormous volcanic eruptions. It is commonly believed that an asteroid pummelled into Earth 66 million years ago and vast plumes of dust were thrown into the atmosphere and blocked sunlight. This prevented plants from photosynthesising and starved life of all food and created ecological devastation across the globe. Two new studies have accurately dated lava flows around the world and found the Earth was in a period of extreme volcanic activity at almost the exact same time the meteor landed and formed the Chicxulub crater, off the coast of Mexico. Scroll down for video Every school child knows the dinosaurs were killed off by an asteroid smashing into the Earth some 66 million years ago. But scientists say the story may not be quite that simple. Dinosaur skeletons on display at Tokyo's Science Museum Before the 1980s, the dominant theory had been that huge and prolonged volcanic eruptions caused a rapid and deadly shift in the planet's climate by sending vast clouds of ash, gas and dust into the atmosphere. Then scientists discovered the huge Chicxulub crater of an ancient asteroid impact off the Caribbean coast of Mexico, which they posited had sent so much debris into the atmosphere that it hampered photosynthesis in plants and killed off three-quarters of life on Earth. Ever since, scientists have maintained a lively debate about the relative contribution of each cataclysmic event to the mass die-off. The authors of the two reports were able to date massive lava flows with far greater precision, whittling it down from around a million years to a period of tens of thousands of years. 'We are able to recreate with great precision the order of events at the end of the Cretaceous period,' Loyc Vanderkluysen, a professor of geoscience at Drexel University in Philadelphia, told AFP. He was part of a team that dated the vast lava flows known as the Deccan Traps in India using radiation measurements. The other team used a different dating method. The argon-argon dating method narrowed down the volcanic event to within 50,000 years of the calculated date of 66,052,000 years ago. On the geological timescale - this places the timing of the volcanic activity and the asteroid impact at the same time. The expulsion of lava there over a million years left the Deccan flows more 4,000 feet (1,200 metres) thick in places today, a volume large enough to cover an area the size of France to a depth of several hundred meters, he said. Layered lava flows within the Wai Subgroup from near Ambenali Ghat, Western Ghats. The expulsion of lava left the Deccan flows more 4,000 feet (1,200 metres) thick in places today An inflated sheet lobe in the Jawhar Formation in a quarry north of Mumbai, India. Evidence from here found the extinction of the dinosaurs may have been caused by a combination of a huge asteroid landing on Earth and a series of enormous volcanic eruptions KILLING OFF THE DINOSAURS: HOW A CITY-SIZED ASTEROID WIPED OUT 75 PER CENT OF ALL ANIMAL AND PLANT SPECIES Around 65 million years ago non-avian dinosaurs were wiped out and more than half the world's species were obliterated. This mass extinction paved the way for the rise of mammals and the appearance of humans. The Chicxulub asteroid is often cited as a potential cause of the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. The asteroid slammed into a shallow sea in what is now the Gulf of Mexico. The collision released a huge dust and soot cloud that triggered global climate change, wiping out 75 per cent of all animal and plant species. Researchers claim that the soot necessary for such a global catastrophe could only have come from a direct impact on rocks in shallow water around Mexico, which are especially rich in hydrocarbons. Within 10 hours of the impact, a massive tsunami waved ripped through the Gulf coast, experts believe. Around 65 million years ago non-avian dinosaurs were wiped out and more than half the world's species were obliterated. The Chicxulub asteroid is often cited as a potential cause of the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event (stock image) This caused earthquakes and landslides in areas as far as Argentina. But while the waves and eruptions were The creatures living at the time were not just suffering from the waves - the heat was much worse. While investigating the event researchers found small particles of rock and other debris that was shot into the air when the asteroid crashed. Called spherules, these small particles covered the planet with a thick layer of soot. Experts explain that losing the light from the sun caused a complete collapse in the aquatic system. This is because the phytoplankton base of almost all aquatic food chains would have been eliminated. It's believed that the more than 180 million years of evolution that brought the world to the Cretaceous point was destroyed in less than the lifetime of a Tyrannosaurus rex, which is about 20 to 30 years. Advertisement The new dating made by the two teams match up: one found that a 'pulse' of volcanic eruptions occurred just before the mass extinction. The other is less precise but suggests that the majority of lava flows came after the asteroid hit Earth, backing up the idea that the impact triggered an earthquake so massive it would have registered 11 on the moment magnitude scale, something never witnessed by humans. That in turn set off a wave of volcanic eruptions that lasted some 300,000 years. 'That bolsters the theory that the impact was the main cause,' said Professor Vanderkluysen. 'It's like shaking a bottle of Orangina, it can accelerate volcanic activity.' The close correlation of the two events -- eruptions and extinction -- is unlikely to be a coincidence, the researchers say. Other periods of intense volcanic activity have coincided with mass extinction events said Blair Schoene, a professor of geosciences at Princeton and a co-author of the other study. 'The big question is, would the extinction have happened without the impact, given the volcanism, or conversely, would the extinction have happened without the volcanism, given the impact? I don't think we know that answer,' he told AFP. 'The main take-home point is that it's not that simple. Nature is complicated,' he added. 'By studying both phenomenons in as much detail as possible, we can try and figure out what the whole story is.' Mapping the timeline of that long-ago mass extinction is crucial, Schoene said, to understanding the consequences of the current so-called 'sixth extinction,' which humans are currently causing. The full findings were published in the journal Science. Map outlining exposed areas of the Deccan Traps in modern day India. Accurate dating of the lava found it was created at the same time the asteroid hit Earth Advertisement A fascinating collection of aerial photographs dubbed Historical Google Earth dating back to WWII reveals how the country transitioned from a bomb-ravaged wasteland to a built-up modern Britain. The earliest photograph in the collection dates back to 1945 and 1,500 images have now been released on a database A total of 50,000 are expected to feature on the site covering the length and breadth of the UK. The images were taken by former wartime RAF pilots at the instruction of Cambridge archaeologist JK St Joseph. They chart how the UK's built environment changed from the bomb-scarred post-war period, with the emergence of motorways, skyscrapers and modern cityscapes. Slide me The earliest photograph in the collection dates back to 1945 and 1,500 images have now been released on a database. Liverpool's waterside is pictured in 1964 and the modern day equivalent reveals the museum and the iconic Liver building Slide me The Isle of the Dogs in central London pictured in 1972 and its rapid development can be seen in the separate images Slide me Construction started in 1974 at the Thames barrage and it has been operational since 1982.it was designed to prevent the floodplain of most of Greater London from being flooded by exceptionally high tides and storm surges Ancient landscapes were also photographed in Cambridge's Committee for Aerial Photography project, with the most recent ones taken in 2009. The first 1,500 photographs from an archive numbering almost 500,000 went live on a website on Friday. Cambridge archaeologist Professor Martin Millett, who has frequently used the original photography in his research, said: 'Anyone can go to Google Earth and look at modern satellite imagery - but this is an historical Google Earth that lets you travel back through time to a Britain which no longer exists. 'In this first batch of photos, including some very early colour photography, we have cherry-picked some of the best and most beautiful images documenting the changing face of cities, towns and coastlines from all over the UK. 'Cambridge aerial photography was pioneering and unique. No-one else in the world was doing this - it was genuinely world-leading. 'Now, as a historical resource for researchers and the public using the Digital Library, it's a vital and fascinating window into the past. 'Once this material is out there and available, it stimulates people to do things we haven't even thought about yet.' The university borrowed RAF planes and pilots to take photographs until 1965 when it bought its own Cessna Skymaster. Slide me The images are 35 years apart and show the docks at Newhaven. situated at the mouth of the River Ouse in Sussex Slide me The river Thames of yesteryear (1986) compared to its modern-day equivalent. The London shard can be seen pictured on the right-hand side - London's tallest building Slide me This northwards view of the University of Cambridge showswhat the city looked like in 1981 alongside what it looks like now An image taken on 23/07/1948 captures a look over Richmond, Yorkshire. It is one of 1,500 images that have been released by the University of Cambridge Stokesay Castle, Salop pictured on 18/07/1948. The online database from the University of Cambridge ranges from 1945 to 2009 Welsh countryside at Dolgarrog, Denbigh is pictured from the skies on 20/07/1948. It is one of thousands of pictures taken by former wartime RAF pilots at the instruction of Cambridge archaeologist JK St Joseph This early image from 16/06/1949 shows the China clay workings. It looks SSW over Carnsmerry in Cornwall. The vast amount of images charts how the UK's built environment changed from the bomb-scarred post-war period The plane, based at Cambridge Airport, travelled Britain to capture high-resolution archaeological detail from the air. Oxford academic Dr Robert Bewley, a world authority on aerial archaeology, described the collection as 'internationally important'. 'St Joseph became a pioneer of air archaeology after his work analysing RAF reconnaissance photos during World War Two, and came to realise there was a huge opportunity to use similar photos in archaeology and geology,' he said. 'He chose former RAF bomber pilot Flight Lieutenant Derek Riley - who had been an archaeologist before the war - to take him on his first trip. 'In those days you could fly where you wanted with few restrictions and that's exactly what they did.' The Department of Geography and Cambridge University Library are exploring potential plans to digitise the remaining hundreds of thousands of photographs and negatives in the aerial photography archive. The first images are available at Cambridge University's Digital Library at cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk 21/11/1975 issued by Cambridge University's Digital Library that was used in Professor Martin Millett's archaeological research of the Roman town at Aldeburgh showing the town's SW defences and the surviving part of the amphitheatre 23/07/1948 Thornborough Rings, Yorkshire. The Thornborough Henges are an ancient monument that includes three aligned henges that give the site its name 22/06/1979 of construction of the M25 near Grays Thurrock. The gradual emergence of motorways, skyscrapers and modern cityscapes can be witnessed through the online database 20/06/1948 image of Lulworth Cove, Dorset. This location along England's Jurassic Coast is a popular tourist destination due to its white beaches and clear blue water 7/8/1947 of Corfe Castle, Dorset standing proudly above the village of the same name on the Isle of Purbeck on England's south coast. Built by William the Conqueror, the castle dates to the 11th century and commands a gap in the Purbeck Hills 7/8/1947 of Corfe Castle, Dorset. Corfe Castle is considered to be the inspiration for Enid Blyton's Kirrin Island,[29] which had its own similar castle. It was used as a shooting location for the 1957 film series Five on a Treasure Island and the 1971 film Bedknobs and Broomsticks 7/8/1947 of Hill fort, Badbury Rings, Dorset. Badbury Rings is an Iron Age hill fort in east Dorset, England. It was in the territory of the Durotriges. In the Roman era a temple was located immediately west of the fort, and there was a Romano-British town known as Vindocladia a short distance to the south-west 23/07/1955. Used in Professor Martin Millett's archaeological research of the Roman town at Aldeburgh. It is a coastal town in the English county of Suffolk. Located on the North Sea coast to the north of the River Alde, the town was the home of the composer Benjamin Britten 20/06/1948 of Arenig Fawr, MerionethThis isone of the mountains in north Wale - in Snowdonia natural park 20/06/1948 of Lynchets, Worth Matravers, Dorset. These ancient ridges are formed along the downhill side of a plot by ploughing 28/03/1959 of a steam train on its way to London from Cambridge station. This journey can now be regularly completed in less than an hour Chris Burrous, 43, died in the hospital after being found unconscious in a motel in Glendale on December 27 The autopsy results on a beloved Los Angeles television news anchor who died in a motel have revealed that he was killed by a methamphetamine overdose. Chris Burrous, 43, died on December 27 after being found unresponsive in the Days Inn in Glendale. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said on Friday that Burrous died from methamphetamine toxicity. Other contributing factors included hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The manner of death was certified as an accident. In the early afternoon two days after Christmas, paramedics were called to the $93-a-night motel by another man who said he was with the father-of-one. The man, who has not been identified, told 911 that Burrous had 'possibly overdosed.' Burrous was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2.06pm. Burrous co-anchored the KTLA-TV morning newscast on weekends Burrous was found in the $93-a-night Days Inn hotel in Glendale on December 27. Another man called 911 to say he was with the journalist and that he had possibly overdosed but it remains unclear what drug he was taking Burrous was a well-known anchor who co-anchored the KTLA-TV morning newscast on weekends. The veteran newsman had previously worked at PIX 11 in New York City and KGET-TV in California. At his funeral last month, Burrous' nine-year-old daughter Isabella was among those who spoke. 'In my heart, hes still there and alive and I hope he is for all of you, too,' she said. Burrous' wife Mai Do said she was touched by the turn-out. 'I could have never fathomed the enormity of your affection for him. 'So thank you all for helping to keep Chris alive, in your hearts and in your memories,' she said. In her eulogy, his widow said he was the same person at home as he was on television. Burrous and his wife had been married since 2009. He worked for KTAL for seven years At his funeral on Friday, the journalist's nine-year-old daughter Isabella and his widow, Mai Do, gave touching eulogies The father and his daughter are pictured in a family photograph. His widow described him as 'funny' and 'whip smart' 'On-air or off, out and about in a fire line, or cutting in at the buffet line, he was really exactly that silly, whip-smart, funny. 'The most thoughtful person I ever met,' she said. When news of his death emerged, colleagues set up a GoFundMe page to help his widow and their daughter. It has since raised more than $80,000 for the pair. Among the donations was a $5,000 gift from The Big Bang Theory star Kunal Nayyar. Mai, who had been married to Burrous since 2009, was overwhelmed by the fundraising attempt. 'Words can never fully convey how profoundly grateful I am for the tremendous show of kindness and astounding generosity so many of you have shown to Isabella and me in the wake of Chris sudden passing. 'I am overwhelmed in the knowledge that your love and admiration for Chris could somehow also extend to his family in our time of darkness. 'Even as we struggle with our own heartbreak, we find comfort in the knowledge that we are not alone. 'We thank you so much,' she said in an update on the page. On average, 192 people die of drug overdoses every day in the U.S., according to the most recent available data. A former campaign worker for President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to invalidate all of the non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements that campaign workers were required to sign before joining the president's 2016 election campaign. If the suit is successful, more campaign workers could feel free to speak publicly about the inner workings of the 2016 campaign apparatus, which has been the subject of immense public scrutiny after accusations that top campaign aides sought to work with Russia to influence the outcome of the election. Jessica Denson has already attempted to sue the Trump campaign once before, over alleged gender discrimination. She claims her manager harassed her in a 'reign of terror' and management responded to her complaints by retaliating against her and banning her from Trump Tower. The new challenge, filed with the American Arbitration Association, seeks class action status and may be open to all former and current campaign employees. Former Trump campaign worker Jessica Denson filed a class-action lawsuit seeking to have all the campaign's non-disclosure agreements declared invalid President Donald Trump's campaign, and his White House, have required officials, workers and volunteers to sign NDAs as a condition of employment, but some legal expertsconsider them unenforceable 'These NDAs are extremely dangerous. I think we are in a dangerous time in our country,' Denson said Friday on CNN. She said 'someone who signed them will have a lifetime of allegiance to everything related to Trump' and 'if they dare to do anything but praise and be a sycophant for this president ... their very livelihood will be threatened.' 'This is un-American. It's unconstitutional.' Denson was hired as a phone bank and outreach organizer in the 2016 campaign before being promoted to lead a Hispanic outreach program. Her attorney David Bowles told Reuters his client is asking to invalidate all of the agreements, "because they are wrong, and because they are sloppy." The agreements "are retaliatory, unconscionable and ... suppress the free speech of campaign workers. They are sloppy because they would fail as a first-year law student drafting assignment,' he said. The complaint alleges that the campaign only sought to enforce Denson's non-disclosure agreement because she filed a gender discrimination suit, which would be retaliation. Successful enforcement of the agreement could result in the former campaign worker being forced to pay large fines to the campaign. Denson says when campaign CEO Steve bannon promoted her and put her in charge of a Hispanic outreach project, her previous manager harassed her and tried to steal her laptop; she claims that when she told senior campaign officials, they retaliated against her and had her banned from Trump Tower Denson sued the campaign for $25 million in late 2017; the campaign, she says, responded by getting a $50,000 judgment against her for violating her NDA with her lawsuit filing Omarosa Manigault-Newman, a former White House official, published a tell-all book in 2018, ignoring the NDA she signed; she is currently embroiled in an arbitration lawsuit proceeding Cliff Sims made a splash this year with his Trump White House book 'Team of Vipers'; the campaign is also trying to enforce its NDA through a court arbitrator In an earlier arbitration proceeding, the campaign obtained a $50,000 judgment against her. The non-disclosure agreements have already been contested. Earlier this month, Cliff Simms, a former White House employee who wrote a book about his time working in the administration, filed suit after the Trump campaign tried to enforce the non-disclosure agreement he had signed. The Trump campaign also sought to enforce a non-disclosure agreement last year when former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman penned a book about her time inside the administration. Anyone who worked for the campaign and then entered the government or remained in the private sector could face "grievous financial penalty" for simply "criticizing the sitting President of the United States," the complaint says. When Denson first filed a $25 million lawsuit in December 2017, she said her coworkers tried to undermine and belittle her, cyber-bullied her and tried to steal her personal laptop. She was never fired but claims campaign officials ignored her complaints. Jessica Denson says Aj Delgado (left) snatched a position away from her without explanation and management belittled her when she complained Denson also claims the campaign conspired to keep her subordinate to A.J. Delgado, another leader in Hispanic outreach who later engaged in an extramarital affair with Trump communications director Jason Miller and had his child. Denson alleges that Camilo Sandoval, a current Veterans Administration official who served as the Trump campaign's Director of Data Strategy and Voter Contact Operations, targeted her. 'He could not stand that a woman who he hired essentially to be a prop in his data department got a meaningful promotion and was demonstrating her value,' she contended Friday on CNN. 'And he launched an all-out assault on my character, he tried to steal my personal laptop, he tried to engage other staffers in this theft and hacking of my devices.' She said after she complained to campaign managers, Chief Information Officer Jeff Dewit and human resources director Lucia Castellano 'completely retaliated against me, took away all the work I was doing, banned me from Trump Tower, told people to keep me away from Donald Trump and ultimately prevented me from being able to continue any kind of career or opportunity to serve in the administration.' Denson said in 2017 that campaign CEO Steve Bannon had promoted her and given her a raise until Delgado snatched the position away without explanation. Denson Lawsuit by DailyMail.com on Scribd Abortion should be fully decriminalised in the UK, the body representing family doctors said yesterday. The Royal College of GPs joined a string of bodies which have called for the procedure to be governed by medical regulators rather than the criminal justice system. Under current law, abortion is illegal unless it is approved by two doctors and carried out on approved premises. Breaking the law can, in theory, result in life imprisonment for a woman and leave doctors open to criminal sanctions. Under current law, abortion is illegal unless it is approved by two doctors and carried out on approved premises (file photo) The royal college, whose members are often the first to deal with requests for terminations, insisted that decriminalising abortion would not lead to 'abortions on demand'. Its chairman Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard said: 'This is an incredibly sensitive topic, but it's essential that we engage in debate and hear what our members have to say on all issues facing modern healthcare. 'Ultimately, this is about providing non-judgmental care to our patients so women who face the difficult decision to proceed with an abortion are not disadvantaged by the legal system.' Abortion has been illegal in Britain since 1861, although the 1967 Abortion Act created an exception if a woman could secure the agreement of two doctors that a termination is necessary to prevent 'grave, permanent' injury to the physical or mental health of the woman or child. Abortions can take place only before 24 weeks, unless there is a substantial risk to life or severe abnormalities. Breaking the law can, in theory, result in life imprisonment for a woman and leave doctors open to criminal sanctions (file photo) Removing this law would make it easier to get an abortion although doctors insist strict rules, including the 24-week threshold, would remain in place. Several other organisations, including the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives already support decriminalisation. The Royal College of GPs consulted 4,400 of its members, of whom 62 per cent supported decriminalisation, 19 per cent opposed it and 15 per cent were neutral. The rest abstained. Pro-life groups have repeatedly warned that decriminalisation would be the first step on a slippery slope to the 'horrifically inhumane' prospect of 'abortions on demand' at any point in pregnancy. A Michigan court on Thursday heard the devastating 911 call made moments after a father-of-four was fatally struck by a rock which was dropped from an overpass and crashed through his windshield. Kenneth White was driving south along the the Interstate 75 with friend Stephen Anthor on October 18, 2017 when their van was struck by a rock thrown from the Dodge Road overpass by five teenagers. Attendees in Flint on Thursday listened to the 15 minute recording between Anthor and the dispatcher as they tried to locate the gravely injured victim. Sitting in court, defendants Mark Sekelsky, 17, and Alexzander Miller, 16, heard the recording where Anthor yells into the phone: 'I got a guy bleeding out. I got a busted windshield and my buddy's heads about gone. Court Thursday heard a 911 call Stephen Anthor made moments after a rock thrown through a window by five teens fatally struck his friend Kenneth White in Michigan. Pictured L-R Mark Sekelsky, Trevor Gray, Alexzander Miller, Mikadyn Payne and Kyle Anger Court heard heard Anthor yell into the phone about White (pictured): 'I got a guy bleeding out. I got a busted windshield and my buddy's heads about gone' 'Kenny, don't die, man. Come on Kenny, wake up man. Come on man, please. I can't get a response from him.' Miller and Sekelsky entered manslaughter pleas as part of a deal last October. Judge Joseph J. Farah will decide if they'll be sentenced as juveniles or adults. White's mother left the courtroom in tears while the audio of Anthor begging him to hang on played, MLive reports. 'Come on man, we got that fishing trip to go to,' he could be heard pleading. On Thursday, the judge said: 'The presumption for an adult sentence has to be overcome. 'Which sentence might better protect the public in the end that's what the court's determination is all about.' Anthor said in court 'the punishment should fit the crime' about the tragic I-75 incident They threw three 10-to-12-inch rocks from the Dodge overpass in Michigan October 2017 As well as claiming White's life, the boulders also damaged other cars that day in October 2017 Psychologist Jennifer Zoftowski said Sekelsky who claimed he threw rocks to fit in - would be better off being sentenced as a juvenile in order to get the help he needs to fit back into society later on. He threw two rocks. But Genesee County Assistant Prosecutor Karen Hanson said he did not appear concerned in Snapchat messages after the incident where he told his friends to 'chill out'. Anthor said in court: 'I think the punishment should fit the crime. You can sugarcoat it any way you want. They went and picked up the boulder. They knew what they were doing. I think it needs to be dealt with harshly. Kenneth's not coming back.' Mikadyn Payne, 17, and Trevor Gray, 16, also pleaded guilty last year to manslaughter in White's death and were seeking probation regarding the incident in Vienna Township, 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Detroit. They threw three 10-to-12-inch rocks. The 32-year-old father-of-four who was engaged to Aimee Cagle (pictured left) As well as killing the father-of-four who was engaged to Aimee Cagle, they also damaged cars with the rocks. Four months ago Kyle Anger, now 19, asked to be sentenced under manslaughter guidelines which carry up to 15 years in prison. He threw four rocks. He will be sentenced as an adult. Second-degree murder carries up to life in prison. Anger can withdraw his plea if he gets the longer sentence. If four of the teens accept a plea deal to testify against Anger, 10 of 11 charges could be dropped. Kyle Anger, now 19, will be sentenced as an adult. He asked to be sentenced under manslaughter guidelines which carry up to 15 years in prison If the international coalition led by the United States would present a consistent concept on its actions in Syria, it would significantly stabilize the situation, the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at the briefing, answering the question from a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza. She stressed that Russia's position on Syria is consistent and principled: if Washington really intends to withdraw its troops from Syria and if it is implemented, then it will be a positive step. "Because it would mean a return to the legal field, it will help stabilize the situation, help strengthen the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. I recall once again, Damascus did not give consent to the presence of the U.S. contingent on its territory," the diplomat noted. "Accordingly, if other states follow Washingtons example, but if it is done by Washington, if other countries, the parties that illegally sent their units to Syria, follow this example, Russias response will be similar," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said. "But I would like to say once again: I still want these endless 'if' to finally crash into the harmonious concept, presented by the U.S.-led coalition. I really want the concept of the coalition's plans on the Syrian direction would be presented to all of us someday," Maria Zakharova concluded. A South Carolina elementary school field trip has caused outrage among parents, after their children were filmed picking cotton during Black History Month. Cellphone footage acquired by Fox 46 shows fifth-graders from Ebenezer Avenue Elementary picking cotton on a field trip, singing 'I like it when you fill the sack, I like it when you don't talk back. Make money for me.' Parents said they had to sign a permission slip prior to the historical excursion to Carroll School, but the form made no mention of slavery 'cotton picking'. They say the form told them the trip was about the Great Depression. According to a spokesperson for the district, students from schools in the Rock Hill area have been going to the Carroll School - which was build by African-Americans in 1929 - for the past 15 years. Cellphone footage acquired by Fox 46 shows fifth-graders from Ebenezer Avenue Elementary picking cotton on a former plantation The district bills the trip as a 'unique learning opportunity', promoting an 'understanding about our past'. Jessica Blanchard, a mother of an Ebeneezer student said she was left feeling 'livid' when she saw the video of her son in the field. 'I'm African-American and my ancestors picked cotton,' she told Fox 46. 'Why would I want my son to pick cotton and think that it's fun?' The controversial video was filmed by one of the teachers at the elementary school. Blanchard said her son didn't understand the words of the song and thought the cotton picking was a 'fun game'. The video was filmed by one of the school's teachers. The children can be heard singing 'I like it when you fill the sack, I like it when you don't talk back. Make money for me,' throughout Jessica Blanchard, a mother of an Ebeneezer student, said her ancestors were cotton pickers and called the exercise ignorant She added that she fully supports the school, but said the lesson had clearly gone too far and was ignorant. The school, however, defended the trip and it's slavery ties. In a statement, Rock Hill schools said: 'The Carroll School field experience is a unique learning opportunity for all 5th-grade students in Rock Hill Schools elementary schools. 'The song that is sung by the students as they participate in picking cotton, as it was done in the Great Depression time period, was originally written by an African-American instructor who currently works with students at the Carroll School,' they added. 'He did not intend it to sound like, or in any way be a "slave song" as it has been characterized. The lyrics came from his experience as an African-American farmer picking cotton and making money for his family in the Great Depression time period.' According to Blancard, John Jones, the chief academic and accountability officer for Rock Hill Schools, called her and apologized. Men are always hitting on Talisa Garcia, but when one admirer asked if he could take her to dinner recently, she hesitated. The timing was awkward. Big things were happening in the 45-year-old actress's career. She was about to make her debut in the primetime BBC1 drama Baptiste, in her highest profile role to date. There would be press coverage, about her and her past. Details that might make a first date a bit tricky. 'I told him he should read the papers, and what they were saying about me, and then call me if he still wanted to take me on a date,' she says. Men are always hitting on Talisa Garcia, but when one admirer asked if he could take her to dinner recently, she hesitated 'He said: "Come on, Talisa, I don't care what they say. I like you for you. That won't change." I said: "Read the stories, then call me".' She looks at her phone, and gives a wry smile. 'He hasn't called.' Perhaps her potential suitor is still reeling. Many in her circle are, she confesses. The breaking news was quite startling. In Baptiste, Talisa plays glamour-puss Kim Vogel, who turns out to have been a man in a previous life. The revelation in the press was that Talisa was uniquely qualified to play the part. She too is a trans woman. She too had kept it a secret, from friends, from fellow actors in shows like Silent Witness and Doctors (although the casting agent in Baptiste was fully aware). She's even, she confesses, kept it from men who have been in her bed. 'I mean I didn't purposefully hide it, but no one ever asked me,' she explains. 'Nobody ever said to me "are you transgender?"'. Some people who have transitioned from male to female carry hints of their previous life a masculine jaw, large hands. Talisa has size 5-and-a-half-feet and dainty fingers. Close-up, she looks like one of those genetically-blessed souls born to be a goddess. She is aware that 90 per cent of men reading this won't get past the fact that she has had sexual partners who couldn't tell she had once been male. Another wry smile. 'Every man thinks they could tell. Well, they can't,' she says. There are countless trans women out there, she says, who go under the radar. 'They are hairdressers and teachers, living normal lives. All of them. They just don't tell.' What pain they must suppress, though. Talisa's own story is horrific. No fictional script could compare in terms of drama and tension, as she went from confused little boy to glossy actress. Born in Chile in 1973, Garcia (pictured aged three) was found abandoned on the streets of Santiago and placed in an orphanage She talks about the suicide attempt when she was 13, the illegal hormone treatment, the vivid memory of trying to comfort her terrified mother as they sat on the hospital bed, waiting for Talisa to go under the knife to remove the penis that she considered a 'tumour'. The real agony, though, comes when she talks about how being a trans woman has affected her relationships. Stubble can be obliterated; but some things cannot be as easily smoothed. 'The biggest heartaches I've had, the biggest dramas in my life, have been to do with relationships,' she admits. 'Not being accepted for who you are, it breaks your heart really. It's not a pain you can compare.' At the age of 45, she has had several serious relationships. One lasted seven years. She's gone into every one, she admits, asking that impossible question: when do you tell him? 'Some men have been fine,' she concedes. 'But what I get a lot, once I've told them, is "well, OK, but let's not talk about it any more". They worry about what their family, their friends, would think.' One man 'the love of my life' whom she was with for four years, was fine with it, she thought. 'But one day I said, 'if I had been born a woman . . .' and he leapt in with 'I would marry you tomorrow'. That broke my heart. I had to leave that relationship because I knew he would never fully accept me for being who I am.' Talisa's own life story started with rejection. Born in Chile in 1973, she was found abandoned on the streets of Santiago aged eight months and placed in an orphanage, before being adopted by a middle-class couple. Her new mother was a lecturer at the university, her father an engineer. After dictator Augusto Pinochet seized power, her father was briefly imprisoned. Soon afterwards, the family fled to the UK, settling in Swansea. She says there was no discernible moment when she realised she was a girl trapped in a boy's body. It's more that there was never a moment when she didn't feel female. 'It's hard to describe, but my head never matched my body, and I still think it's easier to operate on your body, because you can't operate on your brain. 'At kindergarten, the boys had to wear shorts but I wanted to wear skirts like the girls. We had cardigans and I'd wrap mine round my waist, so it made a "skirt". 'When we moved to Wales, everyone played rugby. I didn't like sports. I'd do tap classes.' If she was seen as an oddity at school, it was in an affectionate way. She'd wear her mother's clothes, teeter about in heels and lipstick. 'Yes, they'd call me boy-girl, a sissy, but I'd just put on more lipgloss and laugh. I was called Jose, but they'd call me Josie. That was fine with me.' But as she inched towards puberty, and the family moved to Tooting, South London, her battles with her body intensified. She describes wanting to get rid of her penis. It disgusted you? 'Oh no it didn't disgust me. I like them but on men, not on me.' Her parents knew from the off that she was 'different'. 'Mum bought me Barbie but Dad said 'don't encourage it'. Her father had three sons from a previous relationship 'all big, masculine, sporty,' she laughs. 'But to his credit when I told him I couldn't live as a boy he gave me a hug and said I was going to be the most beautiful woman.' She says her parents were left with a stark choice: support her or lose her. At 13, she attempted suicide. 'I took pills and slit my wrists. I knew there'd be no one in the house, but Mum came back early.' They whisked her to hospital. There were psychiatrists, hushed conversations and theories: 'They got this idea that I hated men, because I'd been abandoned. But I didn't hate men. I loved men. I just didn't want to be a man. In Baptiste, Talisa plays glamour-puss Kim Vogel, who turns out to have been a man in a previous life 'Eventually, they listened. They told my parents, "this child WILL kill himself"' and she was sectioned for her own protection. 'I was furious, but with hindsight it was the best thing that happened. I got a diagnosis, an explanation for why I was different.' At 14, she started taking female hormones; 'They were 100 per cent illegal,' she says, procured via older people in the trans community. It took three or four months for the hormones to start working, they stopped the hair growth and her breasts started growing. Her doctors refused to perform gender reassignment surgery until she was 18. So shortly after her 18th birthday, she underwent the first of many operations in London. She remembers that first day vividly: her mother's hands shaking as they signed the endless consent forms, while all the time she was thinking: 'This is it. My new life begins.' 'Mum kept saying, "are you sure, are you sure? What if you regret it?" I said I didn't care if I died in surgery. If I lived, as a man, I was going to die anyway.' She doesn't romanticise the process. 'I won't lie. It's horrific. And afterwards you aren't jumping up going 'I'm a woman. I'm a woman'. Physically, you are so sore. Walking is agony. That first wee takes two hours.' Talisa's honesty and humour are incredible. She has chosen to be open very open about her past in an extraordinary climate, where trans issues seem to dominate news agendas. She insists she's no spokesperson for the trans community ('I'm just an actress. I only speak for me'), yet she is stepping into a minefield. She quietly, and elegantly, eviscerates those sections of the transgender lobby she feels have hijacked a legitimate cause. 'I think the whole transgender thing has gone too crazy for me,' she admits. 'I find the umbrella of "transgender' troubling. I mean I can't keep up. I don't understand these militant transgender people, who seem to be hating women, yet shouting 'CALL ME A WOMAN'. 'Why? I had a sex change operation. I went to court to get my birth certificate changed, so legally I am a woman. But do I get cross when people refuse to see me as a 'real' woman? No. That is their right. We have freedom of thought and freedom of speech in this country. 'Everyone is walking around on eggshells not knowing what to say in case we offend someone. It's ridiculous. We should be equal in everything men, women, black, white, gay, straight but we need to stop with the labels. I can't keep up with the labels.' What does she make of those who say they identify as another gender, but don't want the surgery? Or those who come late to the process? 'I don't want to judge, but I can't understand how someone can get to 50 and then say 'I want to be a woman now?'. I think we need to be careful. I could not have lived as a man, literally. 'There are men I've met who have said: 'Oh I put on my wife's clothes and I just KNEW'. No! That is a fetish. Be a transvestite. Do whatever makes you happy, but don't call it transgender.' Yet this is controversial territory. Does it mean there are degrees of trans? 'Maybe there are different levels. That's for doctors to decide.' She is pragmatic about her own situation. She would love to have a baby, but without a womb, accepts it cannot happen biologically. 'I'm as close to being a woman as I can possibly get. But I wasn't born a woman, and when I die my body will be that of a man because, realistically, my skeleton is a man's. 'But I'm not bothered what words people use. Call me a woman. Call me a man. Just give me respect. All I want is a bit of respect.' Matthew furlong, the graduate who tried to join Cheshire police but was rejected for being too white The son of a police chief who tried to join his fathers force was rejected for being a white, heterosexual male without disability. Matthew Furlong, 25, had applied for his dream job as a constable with Cheshire Police, where his father, Liam, 52, is a detective inspector. He performed well in tests and at interview but the force was so desperate for more recruits from ethnic minorities or who were gay or transgender that it refused to hire him. Mr Furlong, who has a degree in particle physics from Lancaster University, lodged a discrimination claim against Cheshire Police under equality legislation, and won. It is believed to be the first successful case of its kind. In a ruling last week a judge criticised the force for treating candidates with protected characteristics including those who were gay, transgender, disabled, black or from other ethnic minorities more favourably than Mr Furlong, who was a white, heterosexual male without disability. Mr Furlong, of Frodsham, Cheshire, declined to comment, but his father said: Ive tried not to get involved. It is such a political hot potato. The chief constable is big on diversity, which is quite right, but it has to be applied within the letter of the law and they didnt do that. The case came as the leader of Britains police chiefs called yesterday for radical laws to allow police to positively discriminate in favour of ethnic minority candidates. Matthew Furlong's father, Liam, 52, (pictured) is a detective inspector at Cheshire police, but his son was rejected for being 'too white' Sara Thornton, chairman of the National Police Chiefs Council, said unless changes were made, the rank and file would remain overwhelmingly white for decades to come. Mr Furlongs employment tribunal in Liverpool was told that in 2015 chief officers at Cheshire Police launched an action plan to recruit more black, Asian and female officers. This followed a government review which revealed the force had no black officers, just five from Asian backgrounds and four of mixed race, compared to more than 1,400 white officers. The force started holding recruitment and advertising days at pride events, faith centres and Sikh temples. It also appointed a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender positive action adviser to drive recruitment on social media. The forces then acting chief constable Janette McCormick, who now works at the College of Policing, believed passionately about positive action and ... a diverse police force, the tribunal was told. The forces then acting chief constable Janette McCormick (pictured) felt strongly about diversifying the force and believed in 'positive action' Judge Clare Grundy noted: She is clearly a trailblazer who feels strongly that the force requires some significant change. Although officer numbers from minority groups rose by 2017, the plan was having only a small effect. Mr Furlong was among about 675 candidates who applied to join Cheshire Police in September 2017 and was shortlisted a month later. He passed challenging tests and was invited for an interview, along with 182 others, in November. Although the interview went well, with an inspector on the panel telling Mr Furlong he had been refreshingly well-prepared, he was rejected six days later. He was among 34 white male non-disabled candidates who were unsuccessful. All the black candidates were offered roles. Headquarters of Cheshire Police force, against whom Furlong has lodged a discrimination complaint In feedback Mr Furlong was told there were not enough vacancies for all the 127 candidates who had passed the interview stage. But Judge Grundy found the force had set the interview pass threshold artificially low and candidates were awarded a simple pass or fail, which meant substantial numbers were deemed equal when in reality some were much better than others. The force did this so it could appoint officers from minority groups ahead of the best scoring people, the judge said. She concluded that Mr Furlong, who now works as an analyst for an energy company, would have been offered a position had the force not applied positive action, and so he had been discriminated against. His lawyer, Jennifer Ainscough, said he was denied his dream job simply for being a white, heterosexual male. She added: Positive action ... must be applied lawfully to ensure the highest calibre of candidates are recruited regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. The force may be ordered to pay Mr Furlong damages at a remedy hearing, set for a later date. Cheshire Police said it would review the findings. Theresa May is facing the prospect of a Cabinet walkout after three senior ministers signalled they are ready to help force a delay to Brexit to stop a disastrous No Deal. Amber Rudd, David Gauke and Greg Clark today make clear they are prepared to defy the Prime Minister unless there is a Parliamentary breakthrough on her deal next week. Writing in the Daily Mail, the trio publicly serve notice that if hardline Tory Brexiteers in the European Research Group scupper a deal they will back other MPs to try to force Mrs May to extend Article 50 and delay Britains exit from the EU. Amber Rudd (pictured), David Gauke and Greg Clark today make clear they are prepared to defy the Prime Minister unless there is a Parliamentary breakthrough on her deal next week But the trio (Greg Clark is pictured left and David Gauke is right) make it clear they will not shrink from flouting her authority if her deal is blocked again next week adding that this will mean there is no time to stop a disastrous No Deal exit In their joint article, the Cabinet ministers warn a No Deal departure would wreck the economy, put the defence of the realm in jeopardy and risk the break-up of the UK. They say it remains their hope that Parliament agrees a deal in the next few days. But they add: If there is no breakthrough in the coming week, the balance of opinion in Parliament is clear that it would be better to seek to extend Article 50 and delay our date of departure rather than crash out of the European Union on March 29. It is time that many of our Conservative parliamentary colleagues in the ERG recognised that Parliament will stop a disastrous No Deal Brexit on March 29. If that happens, they will have no one to blame but themselves for delaying Brexit. The move comes at the end of an extraordinary week which saw three Tory Remainer MPs quit the party to join eight ex-Labour MPs in a breakaway Independent Group. Unless Parliament votes through a Brexit deal before Wednesday, MPs are likely to be asked to vote this week on a motion that would effectively take No Deal off the table and force the Prime Minister to seek a Brexit delay. Sarah Wollaston, Anna Soubry and Heidi Allen held a press conference (pictured from left) to explain their historic defection out of the Tories and into the new Independent Group today Change of scenery: Independent MPs (front L-R) Sarah Wollaston, Heidi Allen and Anna Soubry pose with former Labour Party members of The Independent Group of MPs, Joan Ryan (front row R), (middle row L-R) Angela Smith, Luciana Berger, Ann Coffey (top row L-R) Chris Leslie, Gavin Shuker, Chuka Umunna and Mike Gapes Mrs May believes this would destroy her leverage in Brussels. However, it is understood the Cabinet rebels have indicated privately that they are prepared to resign if necessary to carry out their threat. They could be joined by up to 20 junior ministers and 100 Tory MPs who, with Labour support, would be certain to defeat Mrs May. On another dramatic day in Westminster: A hardliner in the European Research Group (ERG) warned up to a dozen MPs would cause carnage and effectively end the Government if Brexit is delayed; One report suggested Cabinet ministers believe Mrs May should step down after local elections in May to allow a new leader to conduct the next round of Brexit negotiations; EU officials claimed British negotiators had given up on securing either a time limit or unilateral exit clause from the Withdrawal Agreement; EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said he was more worried than before about the talks and said there was a high risk of an accidental No Deal; Labours crisis intensified as Jeremy Corbyn was told others will follow after a ninth Labour MP, former minister Ian Austin, quit the party; In their article for the Mail, Work and Pensions Secretary Miss Rudd, Justice Secretary Mr Gauke and Business Secretary Mr Clark are careful to praise Mrs Mays extraordinary determination and resilience. But they make it clear they will not shrink from flouting her authority if her deal is blocked again next week adding that this will mean there is no time to stop a disastrous No Deal exit. The ministers accuse MPs in Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Moggs hardline ERG of brushing aside the consequences of a No Deal exit. The ministers accuse MPs in Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Moggs hardline ERG of brushing aside the consequences of a No Deal exit In addition to hitting jobs, trade and the economy, it would inflame historic border tensions between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, they argue and ultimately lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom. The ministers deny they are issuing an ultimatum to Mrs May. The ultimatum is to the ERG, said a source close to one. If they dont see sense and back the PM, Brexit wont happen next month on their heads be it. The aim is to make it easier for the PM to face down the ERG. Todays intervention comes ahead of what is expected to be another critical week on Brexit. On Tuesday Mrs May will return from talks with the EU over the weekend to update MPs on progress. If no agreement has been found over changes to the Northern Ireland back-stop, MPs will have another chance on Wednesday to propose and vote on amendments demanding Mrs May change course. If we dont get a deal next week we MUST delay Brexit: MPs Amber Rudd, Greg Clark and David Gauke appeal for Tory unity as party is engulfed by bitter in-fighting By David Gauke, Amber Rudd and Greg Clark for the Daily Mail Leaving the European Union has been a protracted and complex process. Disentangling 46 years of membership has not been and was never going to be a simple task. But, as members of her Cabinet, we have seen for ourselves the extraordinary determination and resilience the Prime Minister has demonstrated in seeking to implement the result of the 2016 referendum. In the next few days, it is to be hoped that we can achieve a breakthrough in our negotiations with the EU and a new deal can be presented to Parliament. After months of uncertainty, it is time that MPs recognised the need to get a deal, accepted that this is the only deal on offer, and supported it. Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, is seen arriving to attend a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street earlier this month David Gauke (left), Amber Rudd (right) and Greg Clark write in today's Daily Mail: 'After months of uncertainty, it is time that MPs recognised the need to get a deal, accepted that this is the only deal on offer, and supported it' Once the deal is passed, the benefits will be felt nationally. Optimism will surge, relief will be palpable, we will have pulled back from the damaging precipice of No Deal, and we can put the divisions behind us. But too many of our parliamentary colleagues appear complacent about the consequences of leaving the EU without a deal. Our economy will be damaged severely both in the short and long term. Costs will increase, businesses that rely on just-in-time supply chains will be severely disrupted, and investment will be discouraged. Obviously, trade with the EU will become harder but so will trade with important non-EU economies, such as Japan and South Korea, with whom we currently trade with the benefit of free trade agreements available for EU members. Our national security will be weakened. For example, co-operation with our EU allies depends upon the free flow of data between our authorities. Such co-operation will not be possible unless we reach agreement as to how this will work when we are outside the EU. No such agreement is in place. And the integrity of the United Kingdom would be put at risk. A No Deal Brexit will mean that those whose lives straddle the Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland border will become much more complicated. It is already clear that moderate Nationalists who, up until now, have been reconciled to living in the United Kingdom, will increasingly see the attractions of a united Ireland. The calls for a border poll would grow stronger and, with it, the prospect of the end of the United Kingdom. David Gauke, Amber Rudd and Greg Clark: 'As members of her Cabinet, we have seen for ourselves the extraordinary determination and resilience the Prime Minister has demonstrated in seeking to implement the result of the 2016 referendum' In such circumstances, it does not take much of a leap in imagination to see how the Scottish separatists would seek to seize the chance to break up Great Britain, too. Far from Brexit resulting in a newly independent United Kingdom stepping boldly into the wider world, crashing out on March 29 would see us poorer, less secure and potentially splitting up. It would be truly remarkable if this was as a consequence of Conservative MPs voting down the deal. We must be the party that promotes business, protects our security and preserves the Union. None of this would be achieved by pursuing a No Deal Brexit. The Governments policy is to leave the European Union on March 29 with a deal that protects our economic and security interests. That date is less than five weeks away and time is running out. If we cannot achieve a parliamentary breakthrough in the next few days, the country will face a choice. We could crash out on March 29 or we could try to leave with a deal at a later date. Beyond the next few days, there simply will not be time to agree a deal and complete all the necessary legislation before March 29. Our hope is that Parliament recognises that we should leave the EU on March 29 with a deal. However, if there is no breakthrough in the coming week, the balance of opinion in Parliament is clear that it would be better to seek to extend Article 50 and delay our date of departure rather than crash out of the European Union on March 29. It is time that many of our Conservative parliamentary colleagues in the ERG recognised that Parliament will stop a disastrous No Deal Brexit on March 29. If that happens, they will have no one to blame but themselves for delaying Brexit. Stop playing games over No Deal, Boris and Co warned By Jack Doyle for the Daily Mail The Tory Party was last night engulfed by bitter Brexit in-fighting over the threat of a No Deal departure. The Prime Minister will travel to an EU summit in Egypt tomorrow as she tries to secure last-ditch concessions from Brussels on her deal. But ahead of a critical week, the party is at war over whether to take control of the negotiations out of her hands to prevent No Deal. The Prime Minister (pictured leaving Downing Street yesterday) will travel to an EU summit in Egypt tomorrow as she tries to secure last-ditch concessions from Brussels on her deal Dozens of backbenchers yesterday warned Mrs May they were now prepared to rebel in a crunch vote, expected on Wednesday, on a motion to extend Article 50 and avoid No Deal. And in todays Mail three Cabinet ministers Amber Rudd, David Gauke and Greg Clark suggest they could defy the PM unless there is a breakthrough in Parliament in the next few days. Hardline Eurosceptics have reacted furiously and are said to be threatening to effectively end the Government if any move to delay Brexit succeeds and we dont leave the EU on March 29. Last night, it was reported that some Cabinet ministers had privately warned that Mrs May must stand down after the local elections in May to allow a new leader to deliver the next stage of Brexit negotiations. Is May giving up on backstop changes? Britain is privately giving up on securing changes to the Irish backstop that Theresa May has publicly promised are deliverable, EU officials claimed last night. The Prime Minister is insisting an end date or unilateral exit clause to the backstop are possible solutions for breaking the Brexit deadlock. But Brussels insists a unilateral exit is not workable and one senior EU source claimed the reality is sinking in with British negotiators that the ambition has to be turned down a bit. They even questioned whether Mrs May ever believed she could win such concessions, suggesting she is touting them to keep hardline Brexiteers in line. Changes would only amount to further assurances that the backstop will not be indefinite, they claimed. It came as EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned there was now a high risk of an accidental No Deal and he was more worried than before about Britain leaving without a deal. The latest claims about the limited extent of the concessions that Britain is trying to secure are likely to infuriate Brexiteers, who want the backstop changed or replaced entirely. It is designed to prevent a hard border emerging in Ireland in the event no future trade deal is reached, but Brexiteers fear it could trap Britain in a customs union with the bloc forever. Efforts to break the deadlock are now focused on drawing up new wording that would allow Attorney General Geoffrey Cox to offer legal advice to MPs that would demonstrate the backstop does not have to last indefinitely. The focus could be on plans for how alternative arrangements including technological ones for cross-border trade could be reached that would allow the backstop to cease if triggered. Brussels is opposed to any text in the withdrawal treaty being changed, but is said to be more relaxed about re-opening it in the form of adding to it. The EU source said: I think the reality is sinking in that the ambition has to be turned down a bit to something which is an interpretation. They could present it as a process that could be interpreted as a way out of the backstop... it cant be a unilateral escape. Advertisement The Guardian claimed that senior figures in government had suggested they wanted the PM to leave shortly after the first phase of the Brexit talks or risk being defeated in a confidence vote at the end of the year. Tomorrow, Mrs May will travel to Sharm El Sheikh to discuss Brexit on the sidelines of an EU summit with Arab leaders, and will sit down with EU Council President Donald Tusk. But one Whitehall source said there had been no white smoke moment and it was unlikely anything would emerge at the weekend. With no sign of a resolution, Downing Street officials are braced for a brutal row next week when MPs will vote on plans to force Mrs May to delay leaving the EU. An amendment, proposed by Labours Yvette Cooper, would attempt to seize control of the parliamentary agenda and pass a law requiring Mrs May to ask the EU for an extension if no deal is done by the middle of next month. Members of the Brexit Delivery Group have written to her to demand a free vote on the amendment. Tory MP Andrew Percy, who backed Brexit, said dozens of Tories would be prepared to rebel to stop No Deal and demanded hardliners such as Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg start living in the real world. He accused arch-Brexiteers in the European Research Group of playing games and warned they risked Brexit not happening at all. Some of my colleagues have got to recognise that the game they have thus far been playing with regards to this whole process is not going to end well for them and could potentially end with the delaying of perhaps even no Brexit which some of us have spent a lot of our parliamentary and political careers campaigning for, he told the BBCs Today programme. Everybody knows there are about 500 MPs in Parliament who dont want a No Deal Brexit and only about 100 at best who probably do. I know some of my fellow Brexiteers are in total denial about the parliamentary arithmetic but it is time for people to start living in the real world. One ERG figure warned there would be carnage if Mrs May moved the Brexit date. If she said shed extend Article 50, thered be 20-plus MPs who would just take their bat and ball home: No domestic legislation, no Brexit legislation, they just wouldnt be showing up any more, they said. It would effectively end the government Mrs May has been absolutely firm for months and months we leave on the March 29. If she went back on that, there would be carnage. Eurosceptics in the Cabinet urged Mrs May not to give in to the threats and whip Tory MPs against the Cooper amendment. One said: We have got to try and vote Cooper down. We shouldnt just roll over and accept it. People dont seem to realise that by voting for it they would be reducing our chances of getting a deal. If you ask for an extension to Article 50 it will be horrendous. Europe never does a deal until the last minute. Allies of Mrs May said the PM was trying to find a way to persuade everyone to get down off the ledge and preserve enough unity to get a deal over the line. The minute you try to extend Article 50, the ERG will go fully mental, a source said. There are also fears Cabinet resignations over No Deal could lead to more MPs quitting. Were moving towards that: Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell signals that Labour will back a second referendum By Daniel Martin for the Daily Mail Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has signalled that Labour will back a second referendum as part of a desperate bid to stop more MPs defecting. He said the party had kept the option on the table and were moving towards that. The seven Labour MPs who quit on Monday all blamed the partys approach to Brexit and lack of support for a Peoples Vote. Another Labour MP, Ian Austin, resigned yesterday although he supports Brexit and has so far declined to join the Independent Group. Labours position, thrashed out at conference last year, keeps open the option of a second referendum if Theresa May cant get a deal through Parliament and theres no general election. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell (pictured) has signalled that Labour will back a second referendum as part of a desperate bid to stop more MPs defecting Jeremy Corbyn, a Eurosceptic, is believed to be opposed to a second referendum. But yesterday Mr McDonnell told the London Evening Standard: On the Peoples Vote, weve kept it on the table and were moving towards that. He said Labour was moving into implementation stages around our conference decision, around the Peoples Vote. Labour MPs Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson have devised a plan to support the PMs Brexit deal on the condition it is put to a confirmatory public vote. The Commons could be asked to vote on the Kyle-Wilson amendment next week. Mr McDonnell said that any referendum would have remaining in the European Union as the alternative to the deal. If we were going on a Peoples Vote based on a deal that has gone through Parliament in some form, if that got voted down then youd have status quo, and that would be Remain, he said. Jeremy Corbyn (pictured), a Eurosceptic, is believed to be opposed to a second referendum The Shadow Chancellor said that if it was an option Id campaign for Remain and Id vote for Remain. A spokesman for the Peoples Vote campaign said: It looks like Labour will test whether its Brexit plan has the support of Parliament next week. If they back compromise proposals to put any final Brexit deal to the people, it will help unite their party, as well as avoid the catastrophe for their constituents of a No Deal departure from the EU. Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn was setting out his Brexit plans in Madrid at the Party of European Socialists meeting. He said: The damaging deadlock on Brexit must be broken and following my discussions with EU leaders and officials, I am in no doubt that Labours alternative plan is credible. Her name and the Cleopatra reference must now be taken off the headstone The stone had her own name on so that she would be buried there when she dies Kim Cattrall has been forced to back down after losing a long-running dispute with relatives in Liverpool over a family gravestone As brash Samantha Jones in Sex and the City, she was used to getting everything her own way. But yesterday it emerged that actress Kim Cattrall has been forced to back down after losing a long-running dispute with relatives in Liverpool over a family gravestone. The 62-year-old was accused of a total lack of respect after replacing the stone in her family plot. Miss Cattralls cousin Michelle Cox, 51 whose mother Edna is buried there said she felt like she had been burgled when she saw the change during a visit on Christmas Day 2016. Edna is buried at Holy Trinity, Wavertree, along with the ashes of her brother Dennis Miss Cattralls father and other members of the family. The stone was specially commissioned by Miss Cattrall and inscribed with her own name in the expectation that she would one day be buried there. The star was born in Liverpool but her parents took her to Canada when she was three months old. She moved to the US when she was 16 to pursue her acting career. The inscription referred to her as the Liverpool Cleopatra a nod to her much-publicised return to the city in a production of Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra in 2010. She also added the name of her father, who died in 2012. Michelle Cox (standing, pictured with her sister Diane), 49, said she felt like she had been burgled when she saw the change during a visit on Christmas Day 2016. She has never met her famous cousin The row led to almost two years of wrangling in an ecclesiastical court. Sir Mark Hedley, chancellor of the consistory court of the diocese of Liverpool, has now ordered that Miss Cattralls name and the Cleopatra reference be removed from the headstone. It was taken away to be amended this month. He also ordered that Miss Cattrall pay for the changes, which must be completed and the headstone reinstated by next month. Miss Cox has never met her famous cousin their parents fell out after Edna married a man from Barbados. The stone was specially commissioned by Miss Cattrall and inscribed with her own name in the expectation that she would one day be buried there. Miss Cattrall was born in Liverpool In 2016 she told the Mail: It doesnt seem right that someone who has spent the majority of her life in Canada and the US can come to Liverpool and reserve a grave simply by putting their name on it. She said the former canon of Holy Trinity wrongly assumed there were no surviving relatives to contact when Miss Cattrall applied to have the headstone changed. Miss Cattrall later hit back, saying: The Cox family are not my family. A source close to the case said Miss Cox and her family were relieved the matter had been resolved. The source said: It was about ensuring respect for the deceased. But most importantly the inscription was in very poor taste. They took a stand not because it was a celebrity involved but because they didnt want it to happen to anyone else. Miss Cattrall has declined to comment. Alleged fraudster Mark Acklom, 46, has been hauled back to the UK to be put before the courts One of Britain's most wanted fugitives has been extradited from Switzerland back to the UK. Alleged fraudster Mark Acklom, 46, is said to have fleeced a woman out of 850,000 in life savings after posing as an MI6 agent in a romance scam. A spokesman for the National Crime Agency (NCA) said it had worked closely with partners in Switzerland and Avon and Somerset Police to bring about the extradition and put Acklom before the British courts. Acklom was pictured tonight getting off a plane in Bristol as police officers flanked him on the tarmac. A European Arrest Warrant was issued for Acklom in June 2016 and he was believed to be at large in Spain. In May 2017 he was spotted in Geneva, where he was believed to have been with his family. A photo taken tonight showed Acklom getting off a plane in Bristol flanked by police officers According to police he posed as a Swiss banker and MI6 agent during a year-long relationship with Carolyn Woods before duping her into lending him her life savings for renovation work at a number of properties in Bath Acklom was arrested in Switzerland in July last year, after being found at a luxury apartment in Zurich where he had been living under a false name after more than two years on the run. He is accused of 12 offences of converting or removing criminal property and eight of fraud by false representation. According to police he posed as a Swiss banker and MI6 agent during a year-long relationship with Carolyn Woods, 58. Acklom allegedly duped her into lending him her life savings for renovation work at a number of properties in Bath. Acklom reportedly posed as a banker, property developer, event manager, gynaecologist and secret agent Ms Woods met Acklom in 2012 when he went into her boutique to buy a jacket (pictured), chatted her up and said he was a Swiss banker visiting the UK to buy a Cotswold airfield Acklom allegedly duped Ms Woods (pictured) into lending him 850,000 for renovation work Britain's most wanted conman: Mark Acklom Acklom has been on the Crimestoppers Most Wanted list for years, accused of fleecing a woman of her 850,000 life savings. He met Gloucestershire clothes shop boss Carolyn Woods, 58, in 2012 and over several years before allegedly persuading her to hand over her life savings. Advertisement Ian Cruxton, head of international operations for the NCA, said: 'We have worked closely with our partners in Switzerland and Avon and Somerset Police to bring about this extradition and put Mark Acklom before the UK courts. 'This case once again demonstrates our ability to track down fugitives wherever they may be. 'The NCA's international reach means there is no safe place to hide for individuals wanted in the UK.' Both Acklom and his wife have previously set up property businesses and police believe their daughters may have been attending a fee-paying school. Acklom, a former public schoolboy, is well-spoken. He drives flash cars (Porsches, Maseratis, BMWs), dines in Michelin-starred restaurants and travels first class. Texas hunters got a stomach-turning surprise when a dead rattlesnake appeared to come back to life while being cooked on an outdoor grill. Rick Nolan shared a video showing the beheaded, skinned and gutted snake uncoil and wriggle as it sears on the heat, alongside dove and pork backstrap. The footage, which the 64-year-old posted on Facebook, has been viewed by around 3.2 million viewers in three weeks. Rick Nolan posted a viral video showing how he had trouble cooking rattlesnake. Three Texas men battled to contain the 4ft serpent that was killed earlier Nolan family friend 'Big John' Washburn (pictured) had killed the 4ft snake earlier in the day In the video, Nolan's son Tim handles the snake estimated to be four feet long - which was slayed with a knife, skinned and gutted by family friend 'Big John' Washburn, saying: 'That's fresh right there.' 'Close that lid on him,' one man says. 'He's gonna flop out!' When joking the snake is 'trying to strike', Tim, 39, replies: 'Golly, he is. I don't know what to do.' Footage of the struggle to keep it on heat got 3.2 million views in the space of three weeks. They joked the headless snake was 'trying to strike' despite being dead Snakes can retain their reflexes even after death because their nerves continue to function The three men had clearly had trouble taming the snake before they began recording the baffling moment in the Texan city of Childress. 'Eventually he's gonna die,' one of the men says, to which another responds: 'Surely he's dead by now!' Snakes can retain their reflexes after dying as their nerves continue to function. Despite repeatedly trying to put the uncoiled snake back onto the grill using tongs and his hand, the men could not make sense of the spectacle. Tim Nolan (pictured right) said it didn't taste great after all the trouble but 'filled a hole'. Father Rick Nolan is pictured left 'Them boys ain't got good sense,' Nolan told Fort Worth Star Telegram about his son and Washburn. Social media users commented with their horrified reactions and suggested ways to tackle the problem, including chopping it into smaller pieces. But the battle between man and dead snake wasn't entirely worth it according to Tim, who his father described on social media as 'quite the snake cook'. Referred to as 'desert whitefish', the taste can be compared to tilapia. 'It would fill a hole,' the Terrel resident said about the meal. 'But that's about it.' Social media users commented with their horrified reactions to the Facebook video Congressman Steve King says that he'll run for reelection, in spite of comments he made on 'white nationalism' that he says were taken out of context. 'I am running in 2020,' he said Thursday, according to the Associated Press. He told an Iowa television show host the same day, 'I have nothing to apologize for.' King says he was misquoted him and news outlets weaponized what he said. Congressman Steve King says that he'll run for reelection, in spite of comments he made on 'white nationalism' that he says were taken out of context The Iowa was widely condemned by politicians from both parties following comments that appeared in a New York Times article. He joined in a House-passed motion of disapproval following his comments. It passed 424 to 1. 'White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization how did that language become offensive?' King reportedly said. In an episode of 'Iowa Press' that airs on Friday evening, King claimed it was a 'misquote,' according to the Des Moines Register. 'If you would just hold these publications to what is true, there is no story whatsoever,' he said. 'Theres no part of me that believes in anything thats advocated by folks that identify themselves as white nationalists or white supremacy.' After the article ran, he penned an email to his campaign supporters portraying himself as a victim of a campaign to destroy him. King voted for a resolution condemning himself for comments he made about white nationalism and white supremacy that he now claims were taken out of context 'The unhinged left has teamed up with Republican 'NeverTrumpers' and is pulling out all the stops to destroy me,' he wrote, the Des Moines Register reported. He also said the 'rabid leftist media' was coming for him. Since the interview, King denied that he is racist and said his remarks were 'completely mischaracterized'. Republican leaders blasted his comments. House leaders stripped King of his committee assignments. 'There is no place in the Republican Party, the Congress or the country for an ideology of racial supremacy of any kind,' Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after the comments appeared last week. Republican Congressional leaders Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (left) and House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (right) have condemned King's remarks The final vote was 424 in favor and one opposed; Democratic Rep. Bobby Rush said he would vote no because he wants King censured, a much stronger punishment 'Rep. King's statements are unwelcome and unworthy of his elected position. If he doesn't understand why 'white supremacy' is offensive, he should find another line of work.' Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah called for King to 'step aside.' King went along with the resolution when it came to a vote before the full House in a move that stopped short of a formal censure. 'I agree with every word that you have put in this,' King told House Democratic whip James C. Clyburn, who sponsored the resolution, in a speech on the House floor shortly before the vote. 'So I want to ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle let's vote for this resolution. I'm putting up a yes on the board here because what you say is true, is right and is just,' he added. When the comments first appeared, King issued a statement saying: 'Today, the New York Times is suggesting that I am an advocate for white nationalism and white supremacy. I want to make one thing abundantly clear; I reject those labels and the evil ideology that they define,' King said in the statement, which did not deny the accuracy of the quotation. 'Further, I condemn anyone that supports this evil and bigoted ideology which saw in its ultimate expression the systematic murder of 6 million innocent Jewish lives,' he said, bringing up the Holocaust. The nine-term lawmaker has drawn a potentially serious primary challenger in Iowa state Sen. Randy Feenstra. King also said on the floor: 'The words are likely what I said, but I want to read them to you the way that I likely said it.' He said he, too, condemns white supremacy. The Trump administration said Friday that it will begin to draw a bright line of separation between abortion providers and family planning clinics that receive federal money under a Health and Human Services Department grant program. The practical impact of the new regulation, which will take effect in 60 days, is to bar the clinics from referring women to doctors for the purpose of terminating their pregnancies. That will hit Planned Parenthood the hardest: It receives between $50 million and $60 million of the $286 million distributed in what are known as Title X grants. Under the new rule, the nation's largest abortion provider netowrk, and other clinics that accept the funding, won't be permitted to perform abortions or make any abortion referrals at the same facilities where they offer mammograms, cancer screenings and birth control the services the grants are meant to pay for. Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest chain of abortion clinics, couod lose up to $60 million in annual federal funding following a new rule designed to put up a strict wall of separation between traditional family planning clinics and abortion providers Trump ran as a pro-life conservative in 2016 and attracted the support of millions of southern evangelicals who expect him to be on their side in the abortion culture wars Pro-life groups were ecstatic Friday at the long-anticipated effort to disentangle Planned Parenthood clinics from taxpayer-funded pools of money President Trump has embraced pro-life politics since beginning his 2016 campaign, and anti-abortion evangelicals flocked to vote for him. Defenders of abortion rights are already planning to sue HHS, citing the needs of 4 million women who go to clinics with Title X grants Planned Parenthood President Leana Wen told The Washington Post that the rule is 'unconscionable and unethical.' 'Imagine if the Trump administration prevented doctors from talking to our patients with diabetes about insulin,' she said. 'It would never happen. Reproductive health care should be no different.' Four months after the new rule takes effect, grant-receiving clinics will have to demonstrate that they have stopped recommending abortion providers, and that they have no financial relationships with them. They will lose funding eight months later if they can't show their operations are also not housed in the same facility as abortion clinics. Federal law bans the use of taxpayer money for abortions, except in cases of rape or incest or when a pregnanat mother's life is in danger. Abortion advocates see pregnancy termination as an ordinary health service and say it shouldn't be treated different from a prescription or other medical treatment Trump spoke at the Susan B. Anthony List 11th Annual Campaign for Life Gala last May in Washington; the group has become a major voice in the national abortion debate 'The Title X program was not intended to be a slush fund for abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood,' Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List, said in a statement. Planned Parenthood has said the administration appears to be targeting them, and calls the policy a 'gag rule.' Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, said in a statement that her group was 'celebrating the newly finalized Title X rules that will redirect some taxpayer resources away from abortion vendors.' 'Religious conservatives have long argued that the program indirectly subsidizes Planned Parenthood. A group representing family planning clinics decried the administration's decision. 'This rule intentionally strikes at the heart of the patient-provider relationship, inserting political ideology into a family planning visit, which will frustrate and ultimately discourage patients from seeking the health care they need,' Clare Coleman, head of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, said in a statement. The intensity of the political conflict in Georgia that started in the Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia ruling party over the bill setting criteria for the appointment of judges to the country's Supreme Court, increased. Today, former head of Parliaments Legal Affairs Committee Eka Beselia and deputy Levan Gogichaishvili have quit the party, as a result of which the party may lose a constitutional majority eventually. The media suggests that the Georgian Dream may lose Gedevan Popkhadze and Beka Natsvlishvili in the future. At the same time, the ruling team's remaining members believe that the loss of the constitutional majority will not become a tragedy. For example, First Vice-Speaker of the Parliament Tamar Chugoshvili said that she regretted Beselias decision, but according o her, the constitutional majority "is absolutely unnecessary for any authorities." The head of the Institute of Management Strategy, Petre Mamradze, speaking with Vestnik Kavkaza, said that even if the Georgian Dream loses its constitutional majority, it will only improve the political situation in the country. "The constitutional majority, while the legitimacy among the population is largely lost, there is no support, hasn't done anything good. So, I think this is a healthy process," the expert noted. He recalled that such democratic discussions were impossible when President Mikhail Saakashvil was in office. "Everything was decided by Saakashvili and his two associates. In Georgia it should be welcomed that the society did not like the candidates because of their reputation," Mamradze added. At the same time, the exit of Beselia and Gogichishvili from the Georgian Dream, according to the expert, does not mean a split in the ruling party. "Mrs. Beselia does not enjoy the respect of the people and the parliament to the extent that her departure could cause a split. Moreover, everyone knew that they planned to gently 'dismiss' her from the post with promotion to a position where she would not have those levers," the expert recalled. He also suggested that the opposition would hardly be able to derive substantial benefits from the current situation. A member of the Expert Club of Georgia Vakhtang Maisaya does not have the same assessment as Mamradze. According to him, it is not just about the loss of the constitutional majority by the Georgian Dream, but about the party's existence in general. "In fact, the current Georgian Dream becomes the late version of the Union of Citizens of Georgia [Eduard Shevardnadze's party, which won the elections in 1995, but later split into three opposing factions - VK]," the expert noted. He also added that the split will only get stronger in the future. He added that a major political crisis is coming in the country, since the opposition is no longer able to take advantage of the split in the Georgian Dream because of its own weakness. David Vincent admitted two offences of fraud relating to bogus building work at two properties in south east London The uncle of a career criminal who was stabbed with a screwdriver in a botched burglary has been spared jail after he cheated pensioners out of thousands in cash. David Vincent, the uncle of Henry Vincent, admitted two offences of fraud relating to bogus building work at two properties in Plumstead and Eltham, south east London. A judge told the rogue trader, who has previous convictions for fraud, he had decided to 'call his bluff' to see if he could stick to his promise to put his criminal past behind him. But Vincent, 51, has now been handed a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years. He must also carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and be subject to a six-month tagged curfew. Vincent, who is said to be earning 'meagre wages' as an electrician's mate, was given just six months to pay compensation totalling almost 23,000, Maidstone Crown Court heard. Judge David Griffith-Jones QC said: 'You have pleaded guilty to two offences of fraud, rogue trader offences. Your victims were fleeced and both were elderly and lived alone. It is clear these two offences bear your particular signature. 'You maintained you had seen some sort of problem with their property which you offered to fix, resorting to a calculated form of subterfuge to support your assertions that work was required. 'What you purported to carry out was of little or no value. In my judgment it would be wrong to ignore that previous sentence and the fact you have now been released on licence. 'In the circumstances I am going to take what might be thought to be an exceptional course by allowing you to maintain your liberty. 'In taking this course, I do so after giving you credit for your guilty pleas. A prison sentence is plainly demanded but in the circumstances I am going to call your bluff and give you another chance by suspending the operation of that sentence.' Richard Osborn-Brooks, 78, was held on suspicion of murder after stabbing Vincent's nephew Henry during a break-in at his home last year One of Vincent's victims, who had lived in his home since 1938, handed over 23,000 for work costing approximately 1,000 while the other, an 88-year-old woman, was pressured into paying 700 for roof works worth nothing. These offences, committed between October and December 2017, involved targeting victims and telling them their roofs were leaking and needed urgent repairs. Vincent, who lives with his second wife, their children and his ageing father in Wagtail Way, Orpington, Kent, was on bail at the time of one of the scams. His 'calculated subterfuge' also included pouring water in various parts of the properties, and even suggesting one home was infested with rats and he had been bitten during an inspection. Vincent was previously jailed for six years in 2003 after he and six other members of the family, including his deceased nephew, duped OAPs out of almost 450,000. He has a conviction for burglary in 2008, and then in April last year he was jailed at Maidstone Crown Court for a fraud in which he, his son and another man ripped off a homeowner to the tune of 6,000 by using a similar ruse that his roof was rotting and infested with rodents, bird nests and maggots. Their deceit was discovered when the concerned resident contacted his insurance company and police were alerted. There were no infestations and a genuine builder who later inspected the 'work' carried out concluded it was 'valueless, non-urgent and bodged'. Prosecutor Don Ramble told the court Vincent was arrested and interviewed about the two scams while in prison for a previous offence. He had told his the first victim he would 'sort out' what were non-existent leaks and then purported to fix the roof over a number of days. 'An expert who looked at the work carried out said the value was nil, save for, some replacement fascias with a value of about 1,000,' said Mr Ramble. Henry Vincent was killed during a break-in in Hither Green in 2018 'But he also indicated these didn't need replacing. The ruse given was that they were rotten.' The second victim was tricked into handing over 700 after Vincent poured water over her outer wall. But the court heard the work he then carried out amounted to removing grass from guttering. Vincent then repeatedly 'haggled' with her over paying out more for extra roof repairs which he claimed were urgently needed. 'She described how she didn't really believe him, and told him she didn't have the money,' said the prosecutor. 'He kept on but wisely she refused. He said he would leave the work until after Christmas but she didn't see him again.' Philip Rowley, defending Vincent, said he had tried to 'move forward' since his release, having realised he was 'too old' to continue with a criminal way of life. 'He wants to lead a productive life and has found work through another family member. These matters from late 2017 have now come back to bite him,' he added. The latest comes less than a year after he was jailed for 21 months alongside his 26-year-old son, also called David. Vincent appeared in court alongside his son just three weeks after his nephew Henry had died during a break-in at the home of pensioner Richard Osborn-Brooks, then 78, and his 76-year-old wife, Maureen, in Hither Green, south east London, on April 4. The suspected crook fled the scene but collapsed in the street and later died from the stab wound to his upper body at hospital. Mr Osborn-Brooks was subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder but later released without charge and no action taken. An inquest opening at Southwark Coroner's Court in April last year heard that father-of-four Henry Vincent, from Lime Road in Swanley, Kent, was jobless and single when he and an accomplice broke into Mr and Mrs Osborn-Brooks' home at about 12.30am. The former RAC man allegedly stabbed Henry Vincent during a struggle at the 1920s terraced property. Despite being released without charge, Mr Osborn-Brooks and his wife have not returned to their property since that night. Vincent's death sparked huge public debate of the rights of homeowners to defend themselves and their properties. Bianca Jade, 30, claims she was subjected to death threats after Tommy Robinson shared a poster for her 'Muslim women only classes' A personal trainer who started a fitness class for Muslim women was bombarded with abuse from Tommy Robinson supporters, according to reports. Bianca Jade, 30, claims she was subjected to death threats after Tommy Robinson shared a poster for her 'Muslim women only classes' on social media. Ms Jade, from Nottingham, said she had been getting 250 calls a day since Robinson's post on Monday, the Independent reports. She claims she has received texts, calls, and messages over social media, as well as people trying to FaceTime her. Ms Jade said she was called a 'p***', *b****', and the n-word. She added that the volume of abusive phone calls made it difficult for her to talk to her own customers. 'They have been calling me racist names and saying that I should go back to my country. I'm British. I was born here. I'm not Muslim. I've had death threats,' Ms Jade said. Ms Jade, who has been a trainer at PureGym for three years, said she decided to start the classes because she noticed Muslim women feeling uncomfortable doing certain exercises in front of men in the gym. Ms Jade, from Nottingham, said she had been getting 250 calls a day since Robinson's post Ms Jade said she was called a 'p***', *b****', and the n-word, adding that the volume of abusive phone calls made it difficult for her to talk to her own customers (pictured: A message published on Ms Jade's Facebook) 'I'm doing these classes so women can take off their hijab and feel comfortable while working out,' she said. 'But people are seeing all the stuff going on the media about the Muslim girl Shamima Begum and they are stereotyping Muslim people. They are very ignorant.' The trainer said the classes have always been open to any women. She put the poster up for the classes three weeks ago and her tyres were slashed the following day, she claimed. Ms Jade says she reported the abuse to the police. The defense team for Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman said Friday it will seek a new trial for the notorious drug lord in light of 'misconduct' on the part of several jurors who allegedly followed media accounts of the case against the instructions of a federal judge. Defense attorney Eduardo Balarezo said in a court filing he intends to ask U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan to conduct an evidentiary hearing 'to determine the extent of the misconduct.' The U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn declined to comment. Guzman was convicted last week of murder conspiracy and drug-trafficking charges. He faces life in prison at his June sentencing. The filing came two days after VICE News reported that at least five jurors followed media reports and Twitter feeds during the three-month-long trial and were aware of potentially prejudicial material that had been excluded from the proceedings. An attorney for Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman (left), Eduardo Balarezo (right), filed paperwork in court asking a federal judge for a new hearing about his client's case VICE News reported that at least five jurors followed media reports during the three-month-long trial in violation of a judge's orders. The sketch above shows El Chapo (second from light) and his lawyers listening as the jury rendered a verdict on February 12 in Brooklyn federal court VICE reported that the juror requested anonymity and would not provide a name to the reporter. But the juror spoke to the reporter via video chat for two hours, and the reporter said he recognized the juror from the trial. The juror told VICE at least five jurors involved in deliberations and two alternates heard about allegations that Guzman drugged and raped underage girls, even though that evidence was kept out of the trial because it was seen as prejudicial. The allegations, made public on the eve of deliberations, appeared in news coverage and tweets about the case. The juror said the revelations didn't seem to factor into Guzman's guilty verdict, VICE reported. 'That didn't change nobody's mind for sure,' the juror said, according to VICE. 'We weren't really hung up on that. It was just like a five-minute talk and that's it, no more talking about that.' Cogan regularly warned jurors to avoid reading about the case, one of the most highly publicized trials in recent memory. Guzman's attorneys said they want Cogan to quiz the jurors about their behavior during the trial. They asked for an additional month to prepare their motion for new trial, which is due next week. One juror anonymously told VICE News that five jurors and two alternates heard about child rape allegations made against Guzman that were covered by the news media but not admitted into evidence at the trial. Emma Corenel Aispuro, wife of accused El Chapo, arriving with her children at Brooklyn Federal Court last October El Chapo being escorted in Ciudad Juarez by the Mexican police as he is extradited to the United States in January 2017 Attorney for Guzman, Jeffrey Lichtman, arriving at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse for the trial last November The juror also alleged that another member of the panel used a smartwatch to look up a news story at one point during the trial. 'It's clear we have to get them back into court and get some answers about some massive misconduct,' Guzman attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told The Associated Press this week. 'We hope it will lead to Joaquin Guzman getting the fair trial that he deserves.' It has also been revealed that the final deliberations lasted six days because one of the jurors kept changing her mind. The anonymous source also told Vice News that other members of the jury were reluctant to condemn El Chapo to life in solitary confinement because 'people make mistakes'. The juror said: 'A lot of people were having difficulty thinking about him being in solitary confinement, because, well, you know, we're all human beings, people make mistakes, et cetera.' Some 'talked about whether or not he was going to be in solitary confinement for the rest of his life, because if he was, they wouldn't feel comfortable finding him guilty', the member of the jury added. The juror also said one woman was the holdout, saying: 'She would say "yes," then she would come home and the next day she'd say, "You know what: I thought about it and I changed my mind", which forced the jury to restart deliberations on certain charges.' A mugshot of El Chapo released in 2016 by Centro Federal de Readaptacion Social maximum security prison in Mexico The startling revelations from Wednesday first prompted the drug lord's lawyers to consider challenging his conviction. Guzman was convicted on 10 criminal counts including drug trafficking, conspiracy and using firearms as leader of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel at Brooklyn federal court last week. The 61-year-old was found to be running a continuing criminal enterprise as the kingpin of one of the world's most powerful drug trafficking organizations during the 1990s and 2000s. As part of the extraordinary security measures surrounding the trial, jurors were brought to and from court each day by armed U.S. marshals, and their names were never made public. Prosecutors said the measures were necessary because of Guzman's history of intimidating witnesses. Guzman twice escaped from prison in Mexico before his final capture in January 2016. He was extradited to the United States in January 2017. The Sinaloa Cartel still has the biggest U.S. distribution presence of Mexican cartels, followed by the fast-growing Jalisco New Generation Cartel, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Abdul Deghayes, 22, was found stabbed in the passenger seat of a car on Saturday night. He died from his injuries on Sunday morning A builder has been charged with the murder of a jihadi fighter's twin brother who was stabbed to death after a car crash on Saturday. Abdul Deghayes, 22, from Brighton, died in hospital on Sunday after he was found in a Volkswagen Polo with knife wounds. Daniel Macleod, 36, from Lambeth, south London, has now been charged with murder and possession of cocaine with intent to supply. Appearing by videolink at Brighton Magistrates' Court, the builder spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth. Judge Teresa Szagun told Macleod he would next appear at Lewes Crown Court in relation to the two charges. Mr Deghayes, who was jailed for drug dealing in 2017, was allegedly stabbed in the back and thigh during a disturbance in Brighton at around 9.15pm on Saturday night. He then got into a Volkswagen Polo and was involved in a collision with a number of other vehicles near St Joseph's Church in the Elm Grove area. Mr Deghayes was rushed to the Royal Sussex County Hospital but died the following day. Abdul's twin Abdullah, 18 (left) was killed fighting in Syria in 2014, just a few months after he and his brother Jaffar, 17 (right) arrived to fight for ISIS. He then died six months later His father, Abubaker Deghayes, the former leader of al-Quds Mosque in Brighton, was in court to watch the proceedings. He said: 'Adbul was very popular with his friends. He loved Brighton a lot. He was a cheerful guy.' 'I am just shocked to be honest. You think you've seen everything but no - things keep happening.' Mr Deghayes was the twin of Abdullah, 18, and brother of Jaffar, 17, both from Brighton, who were said to have become radicalised and died fighting with Islamists in Syria in 2014. The Volkswagen Polo was involved in a multi-vehicle collision before police say the stabbing took place His twin and his younger brother fought for an Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist group in Syria, following in the footsteps of their older brother. The family's only surviving son Amer also left the country to fight with ISIS. It is believed he is still alive in Libya or Syria, having left Sussex in 2013. A serious case review published in 2017 found professionals missed opportunities to prevent Mr Deghayes' two teenage brothers being radicalised before they were killed in Syria. There was 'no recognition' Abdullah and Jaffar were becoming vulnerable to radicalisation in Brighton, the report said. Detectives are pictured in white suits as they examine inside the police cordon in Brighton Forensic investigators are pictured on the scene of the stabbing in Brighton on Saturday There was also little understanding of the part religion played in the lives of Abdullah and Jaffar, who were believed to have been with the al Qaida-affiliated Al-Nusra Front when they died, the review added. The report also revealed the family had been the subject of racial abuse for more than a decade - with Omar's detention thought to be a factor. The publicity around his release appeared to have sparked a persistent and prolonged campaign of racial hatred, according to the report. It said they were targeted by organised right wing groups and at one point the message 'Behead all Muslims' was daubed in 12 inch-high letters near their former home in Saltdean near Brighton. A police spokesman said: 'At this stage of the investigation there is nothing to suggest that this is a hate crime but we are keeping an open mind at this time.' Muslim convert Jack Letts - dubbed Jihadi Jack after becoming the first white Briton to join ISIS - has revealed he wants to return home to see his mother. The Oxford-born 23-year-old was speaking from the Kurdish prison where he has been held for two years for fighting for the terror group. He moaned that he missed interacting with people, mostly his mother who he hasn't spoken to since his imprisonment, and home comforts including pastries and Doctor Who. Muslim convert Jack Letts, nicknamed Jihadi Jack after fleeing to fight for ISIS, says he wants to return to Britain He told ITV News: 'If the UK accepted me then I'd go back to the UK, it's my home. But I don't think that's going to happen. 'I miss people mostly. I miss my mum. I know that sounds a bit toddler-ish,' he said. 'What else do I miss? I miss pasties. It's not really English - sort of Scottish isnt it? I miss pasties. And Doctor Who. Sounds a bit stupid thats all. 'Even if I could just see my mum - I would like just a phone call, I don't know if Britain can do that for me here, but I'd like just a phone call to my mum - it's been two years. Letts admitted at the time he felt the 2015 Paris attacks were justified after seeing children killed by coalition jet bombing raids during his time in Raqqa The Oxford-born 23-year-old was speaking from the Kurdish prison where he has been held for two years accused of fighting for the terror group Letts admitted at the time he felt the 2015 Paris attacks were justified after seeing children killed by coalition jet bombing raids during his time in Raqqa. 'To be honest at the time I thought it was a good thing,' he said, when asked about his reaction to the terror attacks that left 130 dead in the French capital. He said when asked about the Bataclan atrocities: 'At the time, I thought it was a good thing. Letts pictured in a 2015 photo by the Daeshcontrolled Tabqa Dam uploaded to his Facebook account Letts holds dual nationality through his Canadian father John Letts and British mother Sally Lane (pictured together) 'At the time we had this idea, living in Raqqa, getting bombed every five minutes by coalition jets. I've seen children burnt alive. 'You have this idea of 'why shouldn't it happen to them?'' But he claimed he has since had a change of heart, and sympathy for the innocent people killed, as he 'realised that they had nothing to do with it'. Letts holds dual nationality through his Canadian father John Letts and British mother Sally Lane. Mummy's boy Letts - pictured as a child playing for his local football team - has moaned that he misses interacting with people, mostly his mother who he hasn't spoken to since his imprisonment Jack Letts (aged 17, on his last family holiday to Morocco) said he also misses home comforts such as pastries and Doctor Who He revealed he hadn't spoken to his parents in two years and doubted either country would take him in because 'no one really cares'. He told the broadcaster that he had lived on 'the Oxford Street of Raqqa', and married an Iraqi woman who has given birth to the couple's son. 'If I could make a request. I'm probably not in a position to make requests. That's it all, really. I miss my mum.' John Bayer (pictured), 78, of Fort Meyers, Florida, was arrested on February 15 after cold case detectives say they unearthed evidence directly linking him to the murder of his wife, Dona, in 1979 Four decades after his wife disappeared without a trace in Wisconsin, a Florida man has been arrested by cold case detectives, accused of her murder. John Bayerl, 78, of Fort Meyers, Florida, has been charged with first-degree murder in relation to the disappearance of his then 38-year-old wife, Dona Bayerl, back in 1979. Dona's body was never found by police, and seven years after her disappearance she was officially declared dead in 1986. According to John Bayerl's original statement, Dona was last seen storming out of the family home in Muskego on May 6, 1979, after their turbulent marriage reached breaking point. The father-of-two claimed their union had been suffering for 'some time', and after a dispute about an unfixed television set, Dona walked out of the door front door and drove off. Claiming to have heard the front door slam at 11pm the same night followed by a series of other crashes, John said he attributed to the sounds to wife returning home and he went back to sleep. Dona Bayerl (shown), then 38, was last seen on May 6, 1979 in Muskego, Wisconsin. She was never heard from or seen again, and was later declared dead in 1986 According to John, and Dona's sister, Joan, the couple's marriage had been suffering for 'some time' and the pair would regularly argue (pictured left to right: John, Jackie, Dona, Jodie, two years before Dona disappeared) Awaking the next morning, the family car had been returned but Dona was nowhere in sight. She was never seen or heard from again. 'The police would come I would just tell them basically what I was told from my dad I think, which was that I went to bed, he heard some noises like a door slam or something like that and when I woke up she wasn't there,' said the couple's eldest daughter, Jodie Jarvis, 46, to WTMJ-TV in 2017. 'Just imagine if you didn't know where your mother was. It's not a nice way to grow up.' Jackie Knort (shown) was just four years old when her mother went missing. She told WTMJ she's waited her whole life for closure At the time of their initial investigation, Muskego Police were suspicious of the idea that Dona would disappear into the night of her own free will. Her sister, Joan Bourgeois, told officers in a 1979 interview that Dona wouldn't even go into the backyard of her home to let the dogs out at night, let alone venture out on her own. She also told authorities that Dona wouldn't leave her children's sides under 'any circumstances'. As the police continued with their investigation, Bourgeois moved into the Bayerl family home to help John with the girls. In a separate interview she remarked how John 'didn't seem concerned' about his missing wife, and that he'd been acting suspiciously on the day of her disappearance, washing everything in the home, from the rugs to the quilts. She added that John would never do the laundry. When Dona hemorrhaged during her pregnancy with second daughter Jackie, it was Bourgeois who had to come round to do the washing. John claimed Dona had stormed out of their Finnamore Lane home (pictured) in Muskego, on May 6, 1979. He said he heard what he thought was Dona slamming doors at 11 pm that night John and Dona are pictured at a family function during the 1970s John appeared in court on Wednesday in a wheelchair, following his charges of first-degree murder Dona's (pictured) sister, Joan Bourgeois, said at the time her sister was too afraid of the dark to venture out alone and added she'd never abandon her children under any circumstances Following her recollection, Muskego PD conducted a second search of the Bayerl family home on May 16, 1979, and this time found blood splatters in the garage and in the basement. John told officers the blood in the basement was a result of him cutting his finger on a mower blade a year before. He offered no explanation for the blood in the garage. When questioned about the splatter, one officer noted that John's heart began to beat rapidly, pounding visibly beneath his shirt. Further interrogation discovered that John had either beaten or pinched Dona at least six times during their marriage, often resulting in bruising. He also had a secret girlfriend, a local bartender named Diane, whom he visited multiple times a week. In an interview with police, 7-year-old Jodie said she didn't 'want to be a nurse anymore, because when people fight their faces get bloody.' No further elaboration was given. Jodie then told police she went to bed at 7 pm and awoke to slamming noises. 40 years on she says the latter part of her statement came from her father's instructions. During his arrest, John allegedly told police he 'knows in his mind, he is not guilty of anything other than being a bad husband' No trace of Dona was ever found again. No money was taken out of the family account and her parents never heard from her. In an interview with police, Jodie (seen right) told police she 'didn't want to be a nurse anymore, because when people fight their faces get bloody' John's first wife, Agnes Pascavis, described John as a violent man with a wicked temper and detailed one particular assault where he had choked her so severely a bruised hand-print appeared on her neck. They later divorced. Muskego PD say a circumstantial case was developed against John at the time, but no charges were issued, citing a lack of concrete evidence. The case remained cold until an unlikely breakthrough occurred on February 15, which led to John Bayerl's arrest. Specific details of what the crucial piece of evidence hasn't yet been revealed by investigators. A composite sketch attempts to document what Dona would look several decades on from her disappearance. Jackie Knort says looking at a similar interpretation of her mother's likeness reminds her that her children have lost their grandmother During his arrest, John reportedly told officers that Dona 'wouldn't have left on her own'. He also purportedly added he 'knows in his mind, he is not guilty of anything other than being a bad husband'. Speaking to WTMJ, Jackie Knort, the couple's youngest child, said 'When I see pictures of my mom that I have I think of her as my mom, but when I see this picture [showing what Dona would look like now] I think that's my children's grandma. 'Mostly I would say that hope came along with that picture. Hope for answers, hope for closure.' John Bayerl is currently being detained on charges of first-degree murder at the Waukesha County Jail on a $500,0000 bond. If convicted he will face life in prison without the possibility of parole. His next hearing will take place on February 28. Advertisement The fashion community gathered to say a final goodbye to legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld at his funeral on Friday afternoon, with some of the industry's leading lights turning out to celebrate the life of the style icon. Lagerfeld, who once famously quipped 'I'd rather die' than be buried was cremated in Nanterre, west of Paris, and it is thought that his ashes would be scattered with those of his mother, and his late partner Jacques de Bascher, who died of AIDS in 1989. The fashion world has been in mourning for the designer, who was as famous for his acerbic wit as he was his groundbreaking fashion designs, since he passed away from pancreatic cancer aged 85 on Tuesday, And despite Lagerfed once noting that he would have no funeral and was 'really against remembrances', there was no stopping the hoards of his very stylishly-dressed friends and family members arriving to pay their respects to him, with attendees at the service including the likes of Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and supermodel Natalia Vodianova. Dame Anna Wintour DBE (left), who has been editor-in-chief of Vogue since 1988, and is also artistic director for Conde Nast was among the fashion greats at Lagerfeld cremation today. She is pictured with Amanda Harlech, British creative consultant and writer with a long association with Lagerfeld Vogue editor-in-chief Anna was among well-wishers saying a final goodbye to designer Lagerfeld today. She is pictured left with Amanda Harlech who joined Lagerfeld at Chanel in 1996. Both women are believed to be wearing Chanel Caroline de Monaco (pictured), the Princess of Hanover, and Carine Roitfeld, the former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris were also seen at the cremation ceremony Support: Several of Princess Caroline's children, including Charlotte and Andrea Casiraghi (pictured with his sister left and alone right), were also in attendance at the funeral Phoning home? Andrea, who is married to Tatiana Santo Domingo, the mother of his three children, was seen making a call Charlotte, the second child of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, is pictured outside the service. She is the eldest daughter of Princess Caroline of Hanover and one of the granddaughters of American actress Grace Kelly Fashion elite: Supermodel Natalia Vodianova, who modeled for Chanel on multiple occasions, was seen arriving in black and white ensemble, before joining her fellow guests ahead of the service Leaders in style: The supermodel held hands with her husband Antoine Arnault, the multi-millionaire son and heir of LVMH CEO Bernard Natalia (left) was seen speaking with designer and model Ines de La Fressange (center) and Sidney Toledano (right), the chairman and CEO of the LVMH Fashion Group, while standing outside The model elite: Sasha Pivovarova, a Russian supermodel who has appeared in ad campaigns for Chanel, as well as Prada and Miu Miu, was carrying a Chanel handbag as she arrived at the funeral Carine Roitfeld, the former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, was also in attendance at the ceremony today. She previously said of Lagerfeld: 'Karl was my rock. He's always been there for me, through years of friendship and creation' Karl Lagerfeld's coffin is carried ahead of his cremation in Nanterre, near Paris today. Dozens have gathered to pay their final respects at the ceremony Ahead of Friday's service, a spokesman for Lagerfeld's iconic fashion brand Chanel said 'his wishes will be respected' with regards to a public funeral, adding that there would only be a small, private ceremony for his nearest and dearest. CHOUPETTE: 'THE DAUGHTER OF KARL' By the end of his life, Lagerfeld said his closest relationship was with a white Burmese cat called Choupette. 'I'd marry Choupette if it was legal,' Lagerfeld said in 2013, two years after he 'abducted' the cat from the Chanel model Baptiste Giabiconi. Since then, Lagerfeld had turned Choupette into a model and social media star, earning a multi-million pounds fortune in the process. Close: Karl was exceptionally close to his cat Choupette Lagerfeld told Vanity Fair: 'Choupette was not given to me. Choupette belonged to a friend of mine, who asked my maid if she could take care of her when he was travelling. 'When he returned, he did not get Choupette back*.Choupette became the most famous cat in the world, but also the richest.' Choupette began her modeling career in August 2012, posing in the arms of French supermodel Laetitia Casta by the Eiffel Tower. The cat has since been used in numerous advertising campaigns, including ones of Opel cars and make-up ranges. It is not known who will now look after Choupette. Advertisement As well as Wintour and Vodianova, other attendees at the ceremony included Carine Roitfeld, the former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, and the current editor-in-chief and founder of CR Fashion Book, as well as numerous members of the Monegasque royal family. Caroline de Monaco the Princess of Hanover, was pictured at the service, as were her children, Andrea and Charlotte Casiraghi. Lagerfeld was a longtime friend of the Monegasque royals, and actually worked with Princess Charlene of Monaco to design the stunning pale blue trouser suit that she wore to marry Prince Albert II in a civil ceremony in July 2011. Unsurprisingly, many of the guests at the ceremony chose to pay their final respects to Lagerfeld while wearing, or carrying, one of his designs, with a number choosing to wear Chanel ensembles for the intimate event. Designer Virginie Viard, who succeeds Lagerfeld as creative director at Chanel, was seen arriving for the ceremony in a nautical-themed coat and black trousers, all of which are believed to be from the brand. Several members of the Arnault family were also in attendance, including Bernard, the CEO of luxury group LVMH, his wife Helene Mercier, and his sons, multi-millionaire businessman Antoine - who is married to supermodel Natalia Vodianova - and his half-brother Alexandre. Model and Lagerfeld muse Brad Kroenig also made the trip to France from his home in the US, along with his wife Nicole and their nine-year-old son Jameson. However their eldest son, 11-year-old Hudson, was not seen at the ceremony, despite being Lagerfeld's godson. Lagerfeld didn't have any biological children, and it has been speculated that the young child model - who has walked on the catwalk at many of the designer's shows - stands to inherit at least a part of his $200 million fortune. Others have suggested that Lagerfeld's beloved cat Choupette will be the sole beneficiary of the designer's will, or at the very least inherit the bulk of his money following his death. It is not known whether Choupette was present at the service. However those who were invited to attend the intimate ceremony were able to fulfill at least some of Lagerfeld's final wishes and requests; the fashion designer, who was a notorious perfectionist, had in fact written a set of instructions dictating the exact organization of his own service. Male model and Lagerfeld muse Brad Kroenig (left) flew in from the US with his wife Nicole (left) and their nine-year-old son Jameson (right), whose older brother Hudson is Karl Lagerfeld's godson and may inherit part of his $200 million fortune Following in his footsteps: Virginie Viard (pictured) was named as the new creative director of Chanel after Lagerfeld's death Close: Sebastien Jondeau, who spent over 20 years working with Lagerfeld as everything from his bodyguard, personal assistant and private secretary, could be seen helping people out of cars and greeting other guests French businessman Bernard Arnault (center), the CEO of LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods company, was pictured standing outside with his wife Helene Mercier (seen right) and their son Alexandre (left) Bernard's 43-year-old daughter Delphine Arnault, who is the director and executive vice president of Louis Vuitton, was seen making her way out of a car with her partner Xavier Niel Coming together: Following the ceremony, several close friends of the designer were seen making their way to the Chanel flagship store on Rue Cambon in Paris, including model Baptiste Giabiconi, who is the current face of the brand Fashion icon: Model Ines was also seen arriving at the iconic store, which had several bouquets of flowers laid outside it from members of the public wishing to pay tribute to the designer Instructions were also given to each and every Chanel store about how they should mourn his passing, with employees told to remove all items from the shop window and place a single bouquet of white roses with a company statement on display. The five-page document, seen by Bild, orders shop staff to 'locally purchase a large, white flower bouquet existing out of white roses, to place in the middle of the (main) window.' Lagerfeld insisted that the roses must have 120cm (47in) long stems and should only be placed in a transparent or basic white vase. The manual also provides staff with acceptable answers to give to customers when they offer their condolences, including, 'Thank you for your condolences' or, 'It is a hard time for all of us'. The statement on display, which was also published on Karl Lagerfeld's Instagram reads: 'The House of KARL LAGERFELD shares, with deep emotion and sadness, the passing of its creative director, Karl Lagerfeld, on February 19, 2019, in Paris, France. 'He was one of the most influential and celebrated designers of the 21st century and an iconic, universal symbol of style. 'Driven by a phenomenal sense of creativity, Karl was passionate, powerful and intensely curious. 'He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy as one of the greatest designers of our time, and there are no words to express how much he will be missed.' Following the service, several attendees were seen arriving at the Chanel flagship store on Rue Cambon in Paris, where earlier in the day multiple bouquets of flowers had been laid to rest outside its windows, left by members of the public wishing to pay tribute to the late designer. Lagerfeld had many muses throughout his life, working closely with some of the world's most iconic fashion models. He is pictured with one of his most recently model muses, Lily-Rose Depp, the US-French daughter of actor Johnny Depp Companions: Jacques De Bascher wears a white jacket and waistcoat, as he accompanies his partner Karl Lagerfeld, wearing a black three-piece suit, in a photo believed to have been taken in the 1980s Male model Baptiste Giabiconi, 29, was seen arriving at the store in all black, having not been pictured at the earlier ceremony. Giabiconi is the current face of Lagerfeld's many brands: Chanel, Fendi, and his eponymous Karl Lagerfeld label, and was believed to have a close friendship with the designer. French model and designer Ines de La Fressange, 61, was also pictured making her way into the store, having made her way to the Paris location following the ceremony in Nanterre, which lies just a 30-minute drive outside of the city to the North-West. Lagerfeld passed away in the French capital Paris this week, after being rushed to hospital. The German-born artistic director for Chanel had looked increasingly frail in recent months, and had did not come out to take a bow at Chanel's couture show in Paris in January, something the company attributed to him being 'too tired'. 'He hadn't gone on about his illness, but battled it very bravely,' said one source. 'Karl was very proud of his fitness and healthy living, so the pancreatic cancer came as a huge shock.' He had also given strict instructions regarding his funeral - or rather lack thereof. Following the ceremony, Lagerfeld's remains were set to be cremated and it is believed his ashes will be scattered with those of his mother Elisabeth Bahlmann, and his late French partner Jacques De Bascher, who died of AIDS in 1989. In an April 2018 interview with Numero magazine, Lagerfeld shared his wish to be laid to rest with his mother, explaining: 'I've asked to be cremated and for my ashes to be dispersed with those of my mother.' Lagerfeld had told de Bascher's biographer Marie Ottavi that some of his ashes were being stored 'somewhere secret', adding: 'One day they will be added to mine.' He had also expressed a desire to be buried with his beloved pet cat Choupette, however she survived him and is now named as a potential heiress to his vast fortune. Karl Lagerfeld, who passed away from pancreatic cancer aged 85 on Tuesday, had famously once said that he would have no funeral and that he was 'really against remembrances' The hearse accompanied by a police escort at the cremation of famous German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld in Nanterre, near Paris Large crowds of Lagerfeld's friends and family gathered to pay their respects today after he died on February 19 from pancreatic cancer How Karl Lagerfeld transformed Chanel from an ailing label known for prim tweed suits to a celeb favourite with rockstar edge (but failed to win back the royals after acerbic remarks on the Middletons) By Unity Blott The late Karl Lagerfeld may have reversed the fortunes of ailing fashion label Chanel, but the fashion chief never succeeded in winning over the royal family. The designer, who died on Tuesday aged 85, is widely credited with overhauling the French luxury house, once known for its sensible tweed two-pieces, into a cutting-edge fashion powerhouse synonymous with smudged eyeliner, show-stopping couture and futuristic minis. When he took the helm of Chanel in 1983, he shifted focus away from fragrance and accessories and focused on updating its heritage pieces, injecting much-needed life into its couture line following the death of legendary founder Coco Chanel. As of 2019, he he boasted an A-list following including the likes of Keira Knightley and Kristen Stewart and Chanel was turning over around $10bn (7.7bn) a year. Chanel has undergone an image overhaul of epic proportions, from tweed two-pieces to futuristic minis (pictured: Kristen Stewart in Chanel at the Cannes Film Festival, May 2018) The way they were: A navy two-piece suit on the Chanel runway in Paris, one of Lagerfeld's first shows for the French fashion house's AW 1983-1984 collection Despite his celebrity clientele, Lagerfeld failed to secure a coveted spot in the royal wardrobe and, unlike other major luxury houses such as Dolce & Gabbana and Alexander McQueen, was widely snubbed by Palace stylists. The Duchess of Cambridge has notably worn Chanel just once - during a visit to the French capital in 2017 - while the Duchess of Sussex has not been seen in the label since her pre-royal days. Insiders had long suspected the royal snub was linked to Lagerfeld's acid-tongued remarks about the Middletons; after the 2011 wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, he famously said Kate has a 'nice silhouette', but that sister Pippa Middleton 'struggles'. Speaking to a German magazine, he said: 'Kate Middleton has a nice silhouette and she is the right girl for that boy. I like that kind of woman, I like romantic beauties.' The late Princess of Wales once favoured Lagerfeld's designs (pictured in a Chanel suit in Windsor, 1997) but she later refused to wear Chanel because it reminded her of Charles Keira Knightley in Chanel couture for the Atonement premiere at the Venice Film Festival in August 2007. The actress is a Chanel ambassador and has starred in fragrance adverts 'On the other hand, her sister struggles,' the designer added. 'I don't like the sister's face. She should only show her back.' While the late Princess of Wales once favoured Lagerfeld's designs, she later refused to wear Chanel because its iconic double-C emblem 'reminded her of Charles and Camilla'. Chanel sources confirmed on Tuesday that Lagerfeld had died in Paris at the age of 85 following a period of ill health. His death comes after he missed the Chanel haute couture show in Paris in January for the first time since his arrival in 1983. The Duchess of Cambridge has notably worn Chanel just once - during a visit to the French capital in 2017 (pictured during a visit to Les Invalides military hospital) Lagerfeld was also the creative director of Italian fur and leather goods fashion house Fendi, as well as his eponymous fashion label, which he launched in 1984. The designer had worked with the likes of Chloe and H&M, and was also an acclaimed photographer, having gone behind the lens for a number of high fashion magazines and for his own fashion campaigns. Regarded as one of the most important fashion visionaries of the 20th and 21st centuries, he was known for regularly wearing sunglasses and a black suit with a white shirt, with his grey hair pulled back into a ponytail. Advertisement Jeremy Corbyn has denied bullying exists on a 'wide scale' in the Labour Party following the resignation of nine MPs who cited rising anti-Semitism under his leadership. The Labour leader addressed comments made by his deputy, Tom Watson, who said 'a virulent form of identity politics has seized the party.' Speaking on his visit to Spain, Mr Corbyn said: 'There is no place for harshness, bullying or anything else in the party. 'And to tell you the truth, I don't believe it exists on a wide scale.' Jeremy Corbyn has denied bullying exists on a 'wide scale' in the Labour Party following the resignation of nine MPs who cited rising anti-Semitism under his leadership His comments made to Sky News are in stark contrast to the remarks made by the resigning Labour MPs who slammed the party for it's failure to tackle anti-Semitism. Former minister Ian Austin quit Labour today, saying he is 'ashamed' of the party under Mr Corbyn's leadership and 'appalled' by the offence it has caused to Jews. He said there was a 'culture of extremism, anti-Semitism and intolerance' as he became the ninth MP to quit Labour in a week. The Dudley North MP, whose Jewish adoptive father was forced to flee the Nazis as a child, said he joined Labour to fight racism and 'I could never have believed that I'd be leaving because of racism too'. Despite the comments by Mr Austin and Mr Watson today, the Labour leader dismissed the accusations, adding: 'Of course I disagree with him, because I do not wish to be in a party where there's any bullying. 'I'll be speaking to Tom Watson in the very near future to talk about that.' Following Mr Austin's resignation this morning, a party spokesman said: 'We regret that Ian Austin has left the Labour Party. 'He was elected as a Labour MP and so the democratic thing is to resign his seat and let the people of Dudley decide who should represent them.' But deputy Labour leader Tom Watson said it was a 'serious blow' to the party and added: 'It's also personally hard to see a close friend take a decision of this magnitude.' Former Labour MPs Luciana Berger, Chuka Umunna and Chris Leslie who left to form the Independent Group earlier in the week offered support to Mr Austin after his announcement, although he has said he has no plans to join them. Habiba Chishti, nine, died while on a Spanish half term break with her family after suffering a suspected allergic reaction to nuts in an ice cream This is the nine-year-old girl who died on a family holiday in Spain after eating an ice cream which her family say they were told did not contain nuts. Habiba Chishti suffered a suspected allergic reaction and passed away just hours after arriving on the Costa del Sol for a half term holiday with her dentist father Dr Wajid Azam Chishti, mother Nadia and two siblings. The family bought ice cream from a local shop before Habiba collapsed back at the hotel. Her father was very protective over his daughter, family members said, and asked specifically if the treat contained any nuts. He was assured it did not, it was claimed. Well-wishers in Halifax, West Yorkshire, paid tribute to the youngster on social media and have spoken of their shock at the death. The youngster, believed to attend a private school in the city, died on Monday at a hospital in Malaga, two days after being rushed from her holiday resort in an ambulance when she went into suspected anaphylactic shock. Her family were flying back home to Halifax, West Yorks, yesterday with Habiba's body, on the same day relatives and friends said prayers at their local Jamia Mosque Madni. 'Club La Costa World' resort entrance in Mijas, where the family had reportedly been staying at since Saturday The swimming pool and apartment complex where the Chishti family were staying when the accident happened and nine-year-old Habiba collapsed A cousin of Habiba said: 'Habiba had a nut allergy, but she was fine with dairy products and ice cream. 'We are still not sure her eating the ice cream was the cause of her death, and we are not sure if she ate all the ice cream anyway.' Her uncle Zafar Chishti, 49, said: 'It is all very sad and we can't understand what has happened.' Miramar Shopping centre in Fuengirola - believed to be where Habiba bought the ice cream before she fell ill and died Dr Chishti runs Wajid Azam & Associates, in Halifax. His sister Rasheeda Azam is also a dentist at the practice. Another uncle said: 'Habiba knew about the nut allergy and was very careful. Her dad was on top of it and this has never happened before. 'They had asked the ice cream place whether they had any nuts and they had been told not.' Residents in Peterborough have hit back after the city was branded the worst area to live in England. Critics have voted one of the country's oldest cities into the annual list's top spot for the first time, with one survey respondent describing it as 'the biggest dump in England'. Despite attractions such as a Bronze Age village and the Burghley House stately home, Peterborough has failed to impress its 200,000 dwellers. Stuart Molsher, 34, from Peterborough, above, said the city has got worse in the last five years. He claimed there are 'some places where you just wouldn't walk' and that there is lots of crime Almost 50,000 people took part in an annual online survey by the website ILiveHere.co.uk. The area of Huddersfield came second in the list with one resident describing the area as 'nothing but pound shops' and 'full of idiots'. The large town of Rochdale came third, followed by Doncaster, Hull, Rotherham, Blackpool, Castleford, Oldham and Blackburn. Residents in Peterborough, the city which topped the table, were divided on whether the area really was the worst place to live. Mr Molsher claimed residents 'can't walk down the street for five minutes before being asked for money' and said he knows others who don't feel safe in the city. He said Peterborough is 'always lively' Stuart Molsher, 34, from Peterborough, said: 'I'm not surprised. There is a lot of crime and drugs here. 'You can't walk down the street for five minutes before being asked for money - and especially if you smoke, people are always asking for a cigarette. 'I feel safe here but there are some places where you just wouldn't walk. I know some people don't feel safe here. 'It's always lively but it has got worse in the last five years. Even where I live - it used to be a nice area but there has been like three stabbings in the last 12 months.' Anne Hornby, 67, a teacher from Peterborough, said: 'I think it's charming. 'I don't know what the matter is but having said that both my children have moved away for the schools. 'The nearest grammar school is in Lincolnshire so they've had to move there. 'I don't know what it's like after 6pm and I wouldn't come into town in the evening and walk around but everywhere's got places like that. 'It's so close to London too - you can get a train that takes under an hour. 'We just try to embrace everything that we've got.' Sarah Kennedy, 54, from Peterborough, said the city 'is set in a beautiful part of the country'. She said the area is the place to live if you want to live in the best place in 10 years time. She has lived in the city for 26 years Sheila Jones, 74, from Peterborough, said: 'It's not a bad place to live maybe to shop but not to live. 'When I first moved here there were no good clubs or anything for the younger people to do but it has progressed. There are still some run down areas but it's getting better.' Simona Lawrence, 31, from Peterborough, said: 'It's not a bad place. I only moved here from Stoke-on-Trent two months ago but it's actually nice. 'I have heard a lot of things about the city and that it's not safe here but it's not that bad. Ms Kennedy said the city could do more with government support, including more doctors surgeries and schools. She said there was lots of young people and children in the city. A stock image of the city centre is pictured above [File photo] The city has HMP Peterborough, a category B prison. Residents in Peterborough, the city which topped the table, were divided on whether the area really was the worst place to live [File photo] 'I haven't seen anything anyway, I don't know why people would vote it the worst.' Sarah Kennedy, 54, from Peterborough, said: 'That vote is rubbish. We get all the benefits of migration here. You get real heroes here - you should not judge other people. 'It's a wonderful place and whoever said that it was the worst place is just mean. I have lived here for 26 years and I haven't had any problems. Almost 50,000 people took part in an annual online survey by the website ILiveHere.co.uk. The area of Huddersfield came second in the list with one resident describing the area as 'nothing but pound shops' and 'full of idiots' 'Peterborough is set in a beautiful part of the country. It's not a new migrant capital and this is the place to live if you want to live in the best place in 10 years time. 'I think the issue is that some people who come here don't like that you hear lots of different languages. Peterborough could do with more government support - more doctors surgeries and schools. 'It's a young city - there are lots of children and young people here and it's all authentic.' Nick Ryan, 52, who works in Peterborough, said: 'I don't live here so I'm only here during the day but I like it here - nothing wrong with it. 'I don't know what it would be like at night but during the day I feel safe, it's reasonable.' Despite attractions such as a Bronze Age village and the Burghley House stately home, Peterborough has failed to impress its 200,000 dwellers. The train station is pictured above [File photo] Several U.S. aircraft that were constantly flying over Syria and Iraq were under IRGC's control after his forces penetrated into the U.S. command center, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said. "Seven to eight drones that had constant flights over Syria and Iraq were brought under our control and their intel was monitored by us and we could gain their first-hand intel," Fars News Agency cited General Hajizadeh as saying. The footage shows a U.S. flying drone starts malfunctioning and makes a rough landing in a desert area 10 kilometers away from its base. The footage that displays the IRGC's penetration into the US spy drone's intel has been recorded by an IRGC drone flying above the scene. If you were a resident of Winnipeg who missed the Tribune's front page headlines in the run up to February 19, 1942, then you were in store for a terrifying surprise. The city had planned a mock Nazi invasion as a means to drum up Allied support and money for the war effort - and scaring its residents was the intended outcome. Local child Diane Edgelow was not prepared for the terrifying shock of her life when she was ordered by her mother to retrieve a loaf of bread on the morning of February 19, 1942. She crossed the bridge into downtown Winnipeg, Canada before she was confronted by German Nazi soldiers. 'They were guarded by German soldiers; they seemed to be everywhere,' she recalls. 'I was so scared.' She paid for the bread and was given a German Reichsmark as change. 'No one in our house would read the paper,' said Edgelow in an interview with Legion Magazine. 'I don't think my mom would have sent me down to the store if she knew there were going to be soldiers dressed like that. Maybe I wouldn't have been so scared if I had been told before.' Scroll down for video Canadian authorities staged a Nazi invasion of Winnipeg on February 19, 1942 in an effort to boost lagging sales of war bonds - even renting German uniforms from a Hollywood supplier and arresting Canadian officials during the full-fledged mock event, which was labeled If Day; here, authorities taken from government buildings are marched to an uncertain fate During the extensive exercise, the Union Jack was replaced by a Nazi swastika flag; the 'invasion' also included notices and posters plastered around the city and a book burning outside of a library - using materials the library had already planned to destroy During the event, the 'Nazis' were actually members of the Young Men's Section of the Winnipeg Board of Trade - while Canadian forces were comprised of 3,500 soldiers from active and reserve forces. The 'Nazis' were instructed to harass civilians during the exercise, just as a real-life invasion would disrupt and scare Winnipeg residents It became known as 'If Day,' an elaborate publicity stunt to promote the purchase of Victory Bonds spearheaded by prominent Winnipeg businessman, J.D. Perrin. This week marks the 77th anniversary of the event. The operation involved 3,500 Canadian troops and reserve soldiers to stand in as 'Allied soldiers' - making it the largest military maneuver ever seen in the province, far outshining the region's 1885 North-West Rebellion. Volunteers from the Young Men's Section of the Board of Trade stood in as 'Nazi' soldiers; they were armed with rifles from the Canadian Armed Forces and outfitted in uniforms sent from Hollywood that were complete with jackboots, badges, belts, and helmets. Residents of Winnipeg, (which was renamed Himmlerstadt for the day) were jarred out of slumber by air raid sirens and blackout orders in preparation for a Nazi Invasion. Canadian Air Force planes were repainted with the German Luftwaffe insignia to begin their fake aerial blitzkrieg on the city. Thirty anti-aircraft tanks fired blanks at the fighter planes overhead, strengthened by anti-aircraft gunners that mounted the tops of buildings downtown. In order to stall enemy advance, main bridges across the city were 'destroyed' by coal, dust and dynamite for a high-impact effect which generated a deafening explosion of river debris in plumes of smoke. Local radio stations broadcast updates of the battle as smoke, bomb explosions and crackling gunfire plagued the streets. The first fake casualty was reported at 8:00am; army hospitals were set up at strategic points throughout the city to dress wounded soldiers. The Winnipeg Tribune published a mock newspaper on If Day called Das Winnipegger Lugenblatt; it was full of Nazi propaganda but also included editorials from local expatriates living in Canada who described how their home countries had been ravaged by German occupying forces. The Tribune had also warned residents two days beforehand about the mock invasion with front-page stories; but not everyone read them, and many people were taken aback, confused and alarmed by the sudden military presence on their streets and in their homes, churches and schools The day's events included a military 'inspection' by occupying 'Nazi' forces. In addition, In order to stall enemy advance, main bridges across the city were 'destroyed' by coal, dust and dynamite for a high-impact effect which generated a deafening explosion of river debris in plumes of smoke This mock notice circulated to Winnipeg residents on If Day announced the disbanding of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, as well as imposing a 9.30pm curfew and banning public gatherings. While many other North American towns and cities staged mock invasions, Winnipeg took it particularly seriously, with meticulous attention to detail - despite the fact that the possibility of a Transatlantic assault was remote By 9:30am, the Allied forces surrendered Winnipeg to the Nazis. The local radio station had been commandeered by the Wehrmacht and its announcer was detained. Hitler's voice was broadcast throughout the city as Nazi soldiers marched in their regimented gait down 'Hitlerstrasse' (Portage Avenue) for their Victory Parade. The scene was eerily akin to the Nazi takeover of Paris just two years beforehand. All this might have been enough to prove the point, but organizers of 'If Day' left no stone unturned. The occupation continued well into the evening: books were burned outside of Carnegie Library, and homes and stores were looted by the fake troops that conducted rough searches and harassed civilians. City officials were jailed and the Union Jack at Lower Fort Garry was replaced with the swastika. 'I caught a glimpse of the burning books,' says George Hoffman, then a 19-year-old private in the Army. Talking to Legion Magazine in 2017, Hoffman admits that he was alarmed at first. 'But then I read in the paper that these were books the library was going to destroy anyway, so they were used to build this bonfire. But a lot of people didn't know what was going on.' Perhaps the only shortcoming in the planning of 'If Day' was that the flimsy Nazi costume rentals were no match for the bone chilling -8 degree Fahrenheit freeze. The recreations were a far cry from the Hugo Boss designed Waffenrocks that clothed the backs of Hitler's henchmen. So instead, the mock Nazi soldiers seized buffalo fur coats from the police station during their occupation. (Interestingly, real Nazis had the same sartorial problem when their uniforms ill prepared them for the Russian winter.) Surprisingly, it was only three years before 'If Day' that 500 locals had attended a gathering hosted by the local German consulate in January 1939. The evening was filled with Nazi salutes, speeches, framed portraits of the Fuhrer and swastika flags while Mennonite choirs sang Nazi songs. In the end, J.D. Perrin's $3,000 terrifying stunt was a huge success. His simulated Nazi takeover raised far more than the goal of $45 million in bond sales - $47,073,500 for the wartime effort. 'A lot of people were very uneasy and quite intimidated about this thing,' said Hoffman to Legion Magazine. 'Maybe it made them think that it could happen here. They didn't know how far these Nazis would go. Would they rough the population up? Of course us younger guys had visions of going over and fighting them but at the same time you were a little apprehensive.' If Day's mock causalities were no comparison to the devastating news that two Winnipeg families received on the same day, however. Albert Pryor and James Condie, had been killed when their warship was torpedoed in the North Atlantic and millions more would die before WWII finally ended in 1945. And, in a strangely coincidental turn of events, on the same day that Winnipeg was carrying out its exercise, there was an Axis attack on one of Canada's Commonwealth allies. Japanese aircraft carried out a bombing raid on Darwin, Australia, further fueling fears of long-distance attacks. Such incidents, combined with the mock invasion, helped bolster anti-Nazi feelings in Canada, and the money flowed into bonds - the 'fake' operation a clear (if intimidating) success. While If Day was staged to increase support for the war and war bonds, Winnipeg just three years beforehand had been the site of a Nazi rally - but the intimidating exercise appeared to definitely sway opinion, with funds raised surpassing the initial $45million goal and totaling $47,073,500 was raised (amounting to more than $650million today) Manitoba premier John Bracken, pictured, was arrested by the 'invading' forces, along with several other government ministers, Winnipeg Mayor John Queen, city aldermen and the city clerk. Instead, a Nazi leader named Colonel Erich von Neuremburg was put in charge, and the city was renamed Himmlerstadt 'A lot of people were very uneasy and quite intimidated about this thing,' George Hoffman, who participated as a 19-year-old private with the 1st Cavalry Division Service Corps, told Legion, Canada's military history magazine, in 2017. 'Maybe it made them think that it could happen here. They didn't know how far these Nazis would go. Would they rough the population up? Of course us younger guys had visions of going over and fighting them but at the same time you were a little apprehensive' An Ohio mother who survived a house fire that killed all five of her young children broke down as she sobbed there's 'nothing worse than living this hell'. America Negron Acevedo's brood Aleysha Rosario, nine, three-year-old Charles Gunn, two-year-old, Ly'Asia Gunn, and one-year-old twins Brianna and Arianna Negron, perished as smoke and flames filled their property last December. Investigators announced the 'mishandling of fire products', likely a lighter, caused the inferno and claimed the mother had not been cooperative during their complicated investigation, Acevedo bawled on camera reliving the incident. The blaze, at the family home on Parkcliffe Avenue, Youngstown, was ruled accidental. Acevedo initially said she smoked on a mattress downstairs on the living room floor while watching television but later said one of her children must have been playing with a lighter. Several lighters were found in the home. Scroll down for video America Negron Acevedo survived a December 9 house fire in Ohio. She cried recalling how she woke to hear children screaming 'Mommy!' Children Aleysha Rosario, nine, three-year-old Charles Gunn, two-year-old, Ly'Asia Gunn, and one-year-old twins Brianna and Arianna Negron died 'I feel like it's nothing worse than living this hell of living without my babies,' the 26-year-old told WKBN, days before details of the investigation were released. The mother wept as she explained how she woke up with the fire already raging in the wood home: 'Hearing my kids screaming, 'Mommy, mommy, mommy!' She said tried to run down the stairs but was devastated when two of the screams stopped. Acevedo who initially said she was smoking on a mattress in the living room - ended up jumping from a second-floor bedroom window which resulted in critical injuries. Investigator Kurt Wright said the opening of the window made the fire worse and helped it spread to three more children upstairs. 'It was approximately 16 degrees out that night. So we had a fire on the first floor and now had a vented window on the second floor, which allowed that smoke and heat to travel directly up the stairwell, almost like a chimney,' he said in a Thursday press conference. Acevedo said she had no choice but to jump from the second-floor window pictured here But investigators said open window made fire spread upstairs where three children were found Explaining why she left her home, Acevedo added in the news interview: 'You think I didn't think about not jumping out the window? You think I didn't - I wanted to jump out the window and leave my babies there? But if I don't jump out the window -- I can't find my phone, everything is pitch black, I can barely breathe - nobody's going to find us. I'm going to die trying to help them and I can't help them.' It prompted her to run around and knock on the doors of neighbors while naked in an attempt to get help. Emergency services received three 911 calls. Aaron Baldwin previously said by the time he awoke from the woman banging on his door, her house was engulfed in flames and there was no way for neighbors to rush inside. 'So I realized two of my babies were already gone,' Acevedo continued. 'All I'm thinking in my head is, 'I already lost two, I need to save these three.' 'If I don't jump out the window -- I can't find my phone, everything is pitch black, I can barely breathe -- nobody's going to find us.' Firefighters battled flames throughout the first floor and heard two smoke alarms ringing when they arrived. They were able to pull out three of the children. Eldest, Aleysha was found outside her mother's bedroom door in the hallway, another was located in the bathroom and a third in the threshold between the hallway and bedroom. She said tried to run down the stairs but was devastated when two of the screams stopped Investigator Kurt Wright said the opening of the window made the fire worse and helped it spread to three more children upstairs When firefighters arrived within two minutes Acevedo was desperate to help her little boy When firefighters arrived within two minutes Acevedo was desperate to help her little boy. 'I remember running, trying to grab him and they didn't let me touch him, they didn't let me hold him, they didn't let me see them,' she said. They were given CPR and taken to a nearby hospital, but they later died there from their injuries. The twins on the first floor could not be initially saved by firefighters and Wright said firefighters had their 'hands full'. Fire Chief Barry Finley previously said two firefighters were injured. One suffered a cut to the chin and the second was inside the home when a ceiling collapsed on top of him. Finley said that firefighter suffered second-degree burns on his back. Both firefighters were treated and released. The twins on the first floor could not be initially saved by firefighters and Wright said firefighters had their 'hands full' Acevedo was hospitalized in critical condition and ended up in a coma for several days. When she woke she learned she'd lost all her children. Seventeen-year-old Edgar Daniel Negron said the fire occurred while his aunt was spending rare time with all of her children under one roof. She had been studying nursing, and her children sometimes stayed with relatives or their godparents, but they were all together that Sunday night when the blaze broke out around 11pm, Negron said. On Thursday, investigator Wright said about Acevedo's part in the month-long probe: 'She has not returned any of my calls and has not called me, other than the initial interview.' Charles Gunn, father to four of the children, also spoke in the interview last week and recalled how he heard about their deaths on the phone. Only one hour after speaking to them via video call, the house fire started. Sharing how he still can't accept they're gone, he added that he has to remain strong: 'If I were to take my life - my kids are in heaven, I'm going to hell.' A criminal gang who transported four Vietnamese men into Britain on an inflatable speedboat have been found guilty of a conspiracy to smuggle illegal immigrants. The traffickers had navigated four men across the English Channel on August 3 when officers on surveillance heard the sound of a boat engine at sea near Deal in Kent. The men then 'walked from the sea' and entered a silver Audi when they were stopped by undercover police who had recorded their trip, St Albans Crown Court heard. The three smugglers - Thomas Mason, 36, Hoa Thi Nguyen, 49, Chi Tan Huynh, 41 - had made trial runs in the 2,100 speedboat for several months as they conspired to bring the migrants to Britain illegally. Thomas Mason, 36, had navigated four men across the English Channel on August 3 when officers on surveillance heard the sound of a boat engine at sea near Deal in Kent (Pictured, the boat used by Mason) Kent. Four people then 'walked from the sea' and entered a silver Audi when they were stopped by police who had been surveying the smuggling operation Prosecutor Wayne Cleaver said: 'This case concerns the activities of one such Organised Criminal Gang. They operated for several months leading up to early August 2018 wholly oblivious to the fact that their movements were under police surveillance. 'A small boat was purchased and then deployed on test runs out into the Channel. 'The operation culminated in the successful landing of four Vietnamese men onto a Kent beach in the early hours of August 3. 'Unbeknownst to the criminal gangs, officers of the Serious Crime Squad were waiting, and the conspiracy between them was foiled.' Thomas Mason, 36, of Eyeworth, Bedfordshire; Hoa Thi Nguyen, 49, of Walthamstow, east London; and her partner Chi Tan Huynh, 41, of Hoxton, east London, all denied conspiracy to facilitate the illegal entry of foreign nationals into the UK. They were convicted by a jury. The three men will be sentenced by Judge Robert Winstanley next Wednesday. Hoa Thi Nguyen was cleared of acquiring criminal property relating to luxury items - clothing, handbags and jewellery - seized from her home. Mr Cleaver said Mason was central to the enterprise, having paid 2,100 in cash for the boat in Exmouth, Devon, on June 26. The gang then launched the speedboat from the Kent coast over the next few weeks 'to test the capabilities of the boat, negotiate and familiarise themselves with the Dover Straits.' Mr Cleaver said: 'These journeys were not just days out for the fun of it. They were intended to test the capabilities of the boat, negotiate and familiarise themselves with the Dover Straits and to investigate the best vantage points for landing people unobserved. 'What they did not know, of course, is that they were being observed by a team of surveillance officers.' On July 13, the boat was taken out to sea from Whitstable at 8.30pm and returned the next morning at 5.17am. Mason, 36, had purchased a RHIB (pictured on a failed test run from Whitstable) - rigid-hulled inflatable boat - from Exmouth, Devon for 2,100 cash on June 26 Twelve days later, on July 25, the boat landed on Deal Beach with Mason on board and Egert Kajaci, 35, and Wayne Lee, 46, waiting. Mason had not been able to pick up anyone from the other side of the channel and messages between Lee and Kajaci referred to him 'coming back empty handed,' the court heard. But shortly after 1am on August 3, officers on surveillance heard the sound of a boat engine at sea near Deal. Mr Cleaver said: 'Four adults were seen walking from the sea and onto the beach having just been landing. 'The location of the landing was relatively inconspicuous to the extent there was little or no lighting, no people and on that stretch of coastline there were no buildings overlooking that part of the beach. The conspirators had found the perfect landing spot.' He said the four people then left the beach and went got into a silver Audi driven by Kajaci on the nearby Kingsdown Road. But the illegal immigrants were stopped by police in Granville Road, Walmer, near Deal. The speedboat pilot had launched the boat from the Kent coast over the next few weeks 'to test the capabilities of the boat, negotiate and familiarise themselves with the Dover Straits' The four passengers - male Vietnamese migrants who could not speak English - were taken into custody as illegal immigrants. Mason was arrested. Officers later found Mason's passport and maps that had a route from Kent to Europe on board the inflatable boat. One of the four men who landed at Deal, Phuon Dan Tran, told the jury he held onto a rope in the bottom of the speedboat as it travelled across the channel. Mr Phuong, 23, said he was not given a life jacket and the pilot of the RHIB, whose face was covered, did not speak to them. Once on the beach at Deal he said he and the others were 'gestured' to go to a waiting Audi car. Mr Phuong, who gave evidence behind a screen, told the jury his parents had fled their home in Vietnam when he was aged 10 or 11. He was left with neighbours, but they were facing religious persecution and last year he went to China. He said: 'I travelled across the jungle into China. I met a woman who spoke Vietnamese. She said she could get me some work. She said the work would be overseas. I would work for two to three years and I would be paid wages and be given better living conditions.' On July 13, the boat was taken out to sea from Whitstable at 8.30pm and returned the next morning at 5.17am (Pictured on its return) He said he was flown to Russia. 16 people were picked up in two minibuses and kept in a house in a forest before being taken to a country that he believed was France. Asked by Mr Cleaver if they asked where they were going, he replied: 'They [the traffickers] said not to ask questions and not to say anything.' Nazmi Velia, 32, Egert Kajaci, 35, Erald Gapi, 27, and Wayne Lee, 46, had already pleaded guilty to their role in the conspiracy. Another man Patrick Ward had been prosecuted in France. Mr Cleaver said: 'So desperate are some - whether they be fleeing from persecution or are in search of asylum - that the natural borders of the UK present challenges which they are prepared to tackle regardless of the obvious danger to their personal safety in embarking upon such a treacherous journey. 'The short crossing from continental Europe across the English Channel - the world's busiest shipping lane - is an obstacle which some will attempt to overcome. 'They seldom do so alone and without the connivance of criminal gangs whose primary interest is financial profit rather than any more noble motive of wanting genuinely to help the desperate or dispossessed.' According to UPI's Al Butler, Kraft is 'not the biggest name involved' in this case New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution at a Florida spa that is allegedly tied to an international human trafficking ring, police said Friday. The 77-year-old was charged with paying for sexual services at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida on two occasions. He has not been arrested, according to police, but a misdemeanor warrant has been issued. Police say there is video evidence of Kraft involved in sex acts with prostitutes. Through a spokesperson, Kraft has denied the allegations: 'We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further.' The spa was one of 10 that were reportedly shut down in Florida after a seven-month investigation found women in 'sexual servitude,' according to arrest records. About 200 arrest warrants have been issued in recent days and more are expected. According to Martin County Sheriff Will Snyder, women were forced to live in the spa and were prevented from leaving. Many of the women, Snyder explained, came from China. Kraft is one of 25 men being specifically charged with soliciting another to commit prostitution, according to Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr. According to UPI's Al Butler, Kraft is 'not the biggest name involved' in this case. The Patriots won the Super Bowl earlier this month in Atlanta. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution at a Florida spa that is allegedly tied to an international human trafficking ring, police said Friday. On February 3 his Patriots won their sixth Super Bowl. He attended the game with girlfriend Ricki Noel Lander (pictured) Robert Kraft's wife Myra (near right) died from cancer in 2011 at 68. In 2012, it was revealed that Kraft was dating actress and model Ricki Noel Lander (left), 39. Lander did give birth to a child in 2017, and while there was speculation it was his, Kraft has denied being the father following the child's birth in 2018. The two were seen together at the Super Bowl The Orchids of Asia Day Spa's owner, 58-year-old Hua Zhang, was arrested and charged with 26 counts of procuring prostitution. Kraft allegedly engaged in two criminal acts at the spa A sign is posted outside of Orchids of Asia Day Spa, Friday, February 22,2019 in Florida. Jupiter police have charged New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft with misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution. Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr said Friday, that he was shocked to learn Kraft, who is worth $6 billion, was paying for sex inside a strip-mall massage parlor A camera man films the Orchids of Asia Day Spa after New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with allegedly soliciting for sex on February 22, 2019 in Jupiter, Florida. Mr. Kraft was caught up in a law enforcement operation in South Florida that netted hundreds of johns over the past two weeks The NFL did not immediately respond to a message Friday seeking comment. Under league policy, players, owners, coaches and other employees can be punished for 'conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in' the NFL. 'Ownership and club or league management have traditionally been held to a higher standard and will be subject to more significant discipline when violations of Personal Conduct Policy occur,' the policy says. Kraft's wife Myra died from cancer in 2011 at age 68. The two were married in 1963 and had four children together. In 2012, it was revealed that Kraft was dating actress and model Ricki Noel Lander, 39. Lander did give birth to a child in 2017, and while there was speculation it was his, Kraft has denied being the father. The two attended Super Bowl LIII together on February 3 in Atlanta. Kraft and his sons are active philanthropists, having reportedly donated over $100 million to several different causes. Florida's southeastern coast is inhabited by many high-profile residents, including Kraft He is also the recipient of the 2019 Genesis Prize from Israel, which has been described as the 'Jewish Nobel' prize. Kraft, the head of a holding company, bought the Patriots in 1994 for $172 million. Since then the franchise has been to 10 Super Bowls, winning six, most recently in on February 3 against the Los Angeles Rams. He is reportedly worth $6.6 billion, according to Forbes.com, and does own property in Palm Beach. In addition to the Patriots, Kraft also owns the team's field, Gillette Stadium, and the MLS's New England Revolution. Kraft has a lease in the famed Breakers resort in Palm Beach, which is near President Donald Trump's Mar-A-Lago estate. He owns a double apartment at 1. North Breakers Row in Palm Bleach, according to the Palm Beach Daily News. Lanyun Ma (left), 49, of Orlando was charged with human trafficking, unlawful transportation for the purpose of prostitution, racketeering and engaging in prostitution. Junhua Dong (right), 50, of Vero Beach is charged with racketeering, engaging in prostitution, and deriving support from proceeds of prostitution Yan Xu (left), 51, of Sebastian was charged with deriving support from proceeds of prostitution, engaging in prostitution and racketeering. Yaping Ren (right), 27, of Orlando was charged with engaging in prostitution, racketeering, and deriving support from prostitutio Kenneth Zullo (left), 64, of Sebastian was charged with racketeering. Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr (right) announced Friday that Kraft was being charged with solicitation The 77-year-old Kraft was charged with paying for sexual services at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida. He has not been arrested, according to police In September, an undercover Vero Beach detective recorded several alleged crimes at one spa. In each instance, the masseuse allegedly offered sexual favors, ranging from $200 for intercourse to $100 for oral sex and hand stimulation for as low as $40, according to TCPalm.com. Vero Beach Police Chief David Currey explained the conditions to reporters Thursday. 'These girls are there all day long, into the evening. They can't leave and they're performing sex acts,' Currey said. 'Some of them may tell us they're OK, but they're not. We know that even though we may have charges on some of them, we'd rather them be victims.' The spa's owner, 58-year-old Hua Zhang, was arrested and charged with 26 counts of procuring prostitution. Six other 'major players' were arrested as part of the prostitution and human trafficking ring. Lanyun Ma, Liyan Zhang, Junhua Dong, Yan Xu, Kenneth Zullo, and Yaping Ren were charged with crimes such as prostitution, racketeering and deriving support from prostitution. SIX 'MAJOR PLAYERS' CHARGED IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION RING Lanyun Ma, 49, of Orlando was charged with human trafficking, unlawful transportation for the purpose of prostitution, racketeering and engaging in prostitution (Bail set at $155,500) Liyan Zhang, 41, of Pompano Beach was charged with operating a house of prostitution and 30 counts of engaging in prostitution (Bail set at $115,500) Junhua Dong, 50, of Vero Beach is charged with racketeering, engaging in prostitution, and deriving support from proceeds of prostitution (Bail set at $250,000) Yan Xu, 51, of Sebastian was charged with deriving support from proceeds of prostitution, engaging in prostitution and racketeering (Bail set at 150,500) Kenneth Zullo, 64, of Sebastian was charged with racketeering (Bail set at $100,000) Yaping Ren, 27, of Orlando was charged with engaging in prostitution, racketeering, and deriving support from prostitution (Source: TCPalm.com) Advertisement Their bails were set for anywhere from $100,000 to $250,000. According to WPTV, about 200 people face charges of soliciting prostitution in Indian River County Florida. 'As of this morning we've issued 171 arrest warrants, the sheriff's office has processed those. And we have arrested 45 individuals,' Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar said Thursday. According to Loar, staff at the East Sea Spa on U.S. 1 was not allowed to exit. 'Clearly our focus is on the human trafficking, the sex trafficking,' he said. 'These johns either knowingly or not knowingly were certainly supplying the funds to perpetuate human trafficking,' Loar continued. 'We also know that staff at times was not allowed to leave the spa in other words they were living in the spa.' Local police had received tips, prompting investigators to conduct an undercover surveillance operation over the course of several months. Now dozens of johns are facing charges. 'These are fathers, uncles and sons and family members of others,' Vero Beach Police Chief David Currey said. Orlando's Yongzhang Yan owns the Vero Beach spa and AA Massage in Sebastian, as well as the Winter Park and Orlando Spas. According to police, his wife, Lanyun Ma, was in charge of the day-to-day operations at Vero Beach, TCPalm.com reported. Police allegedly observed the couple transporting multiple women to and from the spa 'for the purpose of sexual servitude,' Ma's arrest warrant reads. Ma was also allegedly seen purchasing condoms. Some of the women many of who came from China on work visas were forced to stay for days at a time, while others did not leave for months, according to police. 'Some of them are trying to make a better life for themselves,' Currey said. 'These people truly are stuck.' Some of the women were allegedly conned into believing they were taking legitimate jobs, while others believed they were becoming real masseurs, but were later asked to engage in illegal activities. Kenneth Zullo, 64, was seen transporting the women between spas and other locations, including the airport, according to his arrest warrant. Police reportedly had a tracking device on his car. The investigation was launched in October following a health department complaint at East Sea Spa in Sebastian, Florida. An employee reported seeing clothing, bedding, suitcases, and other signs that people were living in the spa, which is owned and managed by Liyan Zhang, who was arrested and charged with 30 counts of prostitution. Zhang had $22,000 cash in her purse, Loar told reporters. He estimates the business made over $1 million annually. Beginning in December, police began stopping men after they paid for sex acts at the spa. Police say they observed 140 sex acts performed for money. Mark McGuire, a N.Y. Giants football fan, stands near the front door of the Orchids of Asia Day Spa after New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with allegedly soliciting for sex on February 22, 2019 in Jupiter, Florida. Mr. Kraft was caught up in a law enforcement operation in South Florida that netted hundreds of johns over the past two weeks Robert and Myra Kraft pictured after donating $20 million to Partners HealthCare. She passed away in 2011 at the age of 68. The couple had four children together Robert Kraft and Ricki Noel Lander kiss at a Lakers game in 2016 Kraft has drawn criticism in recent years for his support of President Donald Trump, who also has a residence in Palm Beach, Florida. Beyond donating to Trump's inaugural fund, Kraft has also been a public support and friend of Trump. Before the Super Bowl on February 3, Trump told 'Face the Nation' that he would be supporting his 'friend and longtime supporter,' Kraft. Most people charged for the first time for soliciting a prostitute in Florida are allowed to enter a diversion program, said attorney David Weinstein, a former prosecutor. Kraft would have to perform 100 hours of community service and pay to attend an educational program about the negative effects of prostitution and human trafficking. Kraft, who made his initial fortune through a packaging company, was a Patriots season ticket owner when he purchased the team's previous stadium during in 1988. He hired Bill Belichick to be his coach in 2000 and the team subsequently drafted quarterback Tom Brady, launching their nearly two decades of success. Kraft recently credited Patriots quarterback Tom Brady with helping him through the painful days following his wife Myra's death Under Kraft, the Patriots have been the most successful team in pro sports, having made it to 10 Super Bowls, winning six, including this year against the Los Angeles Rams. But there also have been issues involving team actions under Belichick. In 2007, the Patriots were caught filming signals from New York Jets coaches; New England was suspected of doing so against other teams, as well, and that was confirmed later on. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell fined the Patriots $250,000 and stripped them of their 2008 first-round draft pick. Belichick was fined $500,000, the most an NFL coach ever was fined. In the 2014 AFC championship game, the team - specifically, star quarterback Tom Brady - was accused by the Indianapolis Colts of doctoring footballs. The NFL concluded that Patriots employees were involved in deflating the footballs and Brady was 'at least generally aware' it was being done. After lengthy legal battles, Brady served a four-game suspension at the beginning of the 2016 season and the Patriots were fined $1 million - the heftiest for a team in league history. New England was stripped of a first-round and a fourth-round draft choice. Neither Kraft nor Belichick were implicated after the investigation. Patriots owner Robert Kraft (right), and his wife Myra (left), walk the sidelines at Gillette Stadium prior to the kickoff of the New England-Kansas City game. She passed away in 2011 People walk around in front of the Orchids of Asia Day Spa after New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft being charged with allegedly soliciting for sex Fans had a wide range of reactions to the arrest. Some Patriots supporters were shocked, others were disappointed, and some were even understanding that the 77-year-old widower could have committed the crime. 'He's single,' one woman told Boston's NBC affiliate. 'It's not like he's married. A man of influence such as Bob Kraft, or any man for that matter, if that's what they wish to pursue, it's a free country.' Another fan outside of the Patriots' Gillette Stadium told the station she would reserve judgement until all the facts are in. 'I think that we're all innocent until proven guilty, so that's what I think,' the fan said. 'If it's true, it's disappointing, but that's business and that's what the courts are for and police. It just hit the news, but I don't know, man.' Other fans were not so patient. 'Dang, it's horrible,' one fan told the station. But while some Patriots supporters have reason for concern, others seemed to celebrate Kraft's legal problems. Mark McGuire, a N.Y. Giants football fan, stands near the front door of the Orchids of Asia Day Spa after New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with allegedly soliciting for sex People, including some Patriots fans, were seen taking their picture in front of the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida. One New York Giants fan named Mark McGuire was posed with a Giants t-shirt while pointing and laughing at the establishment, which has been shuttered. Others shared their joy on social media. One Twitter account promised a picture of 'Kraft's prostitute,' only to attach an edited picture of Tom Brady in which the New England Patriots quarterback is made to look like a woman in makeup. Comedian Nick Jack Pappas referenced Kraft's six Super Bowl rings and his one 'prostitution ring.' Barstool Sports offered a 'Free Kraft' T-shirt. Another Twitter wrote that Robert Kraft 'will now be replaced by Christopher Plummer,' which is a reference to actor Kevin Spacey's legal troubles. (Spacey was replaced in a film by Plummer after accusations against him came to light in 2017) One fan tweeted a meme featuring a picture of Tom Brady holding up five of his soon-to-be six Super Bowl rings with the caption, 'The second most expensive hand Robert Kraft has ever paid for.' GUILTY: MICHAEL FLYNN Pleaded guilty to making false statements in December 2017. Awaiting sentence Flynn was President Trump's former National Security Advisor and Robert Mueller's most senior scalp to date. He previously served when he was a three star general as President Obama's director of the Defense Intelligence Agency but was fired. He admitted to lying to special counsel investigators about his conversations with a Russian ambassador in December 2016. He has agreed to cooperate with the special counsel investigation. GUILTY AND JAILED: MICHAEL COHEN Pleaded guilty to eight counts including fraud and two campaign finance violations in August 2018. Pleaded guilty to further count of lying to Congress in November 2018. Sentenced to three years in prison and $2 million in fines and forfeitures in December 2018 Cohen was investigated by Mueller but the case was handed off to the Southern District of New York,leaving Manhattan's ferocious and fiercely independent federal prosecutors to run his case. Cohen was Trump's longtime personal attorney, starting working for him and the Trump Organization in 2007. He is the longest-serving member of Trump's inner circle to be implicated by Mueller. Cohen professed unswerving devotion to Trump - and organized payments to silence two women who alleged they had sex with the-then candidate: porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal. He admitted that payments to both women were felony campaign finance violations - and admitted that he acted at the 'direction' of 'Candidate-1': Donald Trump. He also admitted tax fraud by lying about his income from loans he made, money from taxi medallions he owned, and other sources of income, at a cost to the Treasury of $1.3 million. And he admitted lying to Congress in a rare use of the offense. The judge in his case let him report for prison on March 6 and recommended he serve it in a medium-security facility close to New York City. GUILTY AND JAILED: PAUL MANAFORT Found guilty of eight charges of bank and tax fraud in August 2018. Sentenced to 47 months in March 2019. Pleaded guilty to two further charges - witness tampering and conspiracy against the United States. Jailed for total of seven and a half years in two separate sentences. Additionally indicted for mortgage fraud by Manhattan District Attorney, using evidence previously presented by Mueller Manafort worked for Trump's campaign from March 2016 and chaired it from June to August 2016, overseeing Trump being adopted as Republican candidate at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. He is the most senior campaign official to be implicated by Mueller. Manafort was one of Washington D.C.'s longest-term and most influential lobbyists but in 2015, his money dried up and the next year he turned to Trump for help, offering to be his campaign chairman for free - in the hope of making more money afterwards. But Mueller unwound his previous finances and discovered years of tax and bank fraud as he coined in cash from pro-Russia political parties and oligarchs in Ukraine. Manafort pleaded not guilty to 18 charges of tax and bank fraud but was convicted of eight counts in August 2018. The jury was deadlocked on the other 10 charges. A second trial on charges of failing to register as a foreign agent due in September did not happen when he pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States and witness tampering in a plea bargain. He was supposed to co-operate with Mueller but failed to. Minutes after his second sentencing hearing in March 2019, he was indicted on 16 counts of fraud and conspiracy by the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., using evidence which included documents previously presented at his first federal trial. The president has no pardon power over charges by district and state attorneys. GUILTY AND GOING TO WEEKEND JAIL: RICK GATES Pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States and making false statements in February 2018. Sentenced to 45 days weekend jail and three years probation, December 17, 2018 Gates was Manafort's former deputy at political consulting firm DMP International. He admitted to conspiring to defraud the U.S. government on financial activity, and to lying to investigators about a meeting Manafort had with a member of congress in 2013. As a result of his guilty plea and promise of cooperation, prosecutors vacated charges against Gates on bank fraud, bank fraud conspiracy, failure to disclose foreign bank accounts, filing false tax returns, helping prepare false tax filings, and falsely amending tax returns. GUILTY AND JAILED: GEORGE PAPADOPOLOUS Pleaded guilty to making false statements in October 2017. Sentenced to 14 days in September 2018, and reported to prison in November. Served 12 days and released on December 7, 2018 Papadopoulos was a member of Donald Trump's campaign foreign policy advisory committee. He admitted to lying to special counsel investigators about his contacts with London professor Josef Mifsud and Ivan Timofeev, the director of a Russian government-funded think tank. GUILTY AND JAILED: RICHARD PINEDO Pleaded guilty to identity fraud in February 2018. Sentenced to a year in prison Pinedo is a 28-year-old computer specialist from Santa Paula, California. He admitted to selling bank account numbers to Russian nationals over the internet that he had obtained using stolen identities. GUILTY AND JAILED: ALEX VAN DER ZWAAN Pleaded guilty to making false statements in February 2018. He served a 30-day prison sentence and was deported to the Netherlands on his release Van der Zwaan was a Dutch attorney for Skadden Arps who worked on a Ukrainian political analysis report for Paul Manafort in 2012. He admitted to lying to special counsel investigators about when he last spoke with Rick Gates and Konstantin Kilimnik. His law firm say he was fired. GUILTY: W. SAMUEL PATTEN Pleaded guilty in August 2018 to failing to register as a lobbyist while doing work for a Ukrainian political party. Sentenced to three years probation April 2019 Patten, a long-time D.C. lobbyist was a business partner of Paul Manafort. He pleaded guilty to admitting to arranging an illegal $50,000 donation to Trump's inauguration. He arranged for an American 'straw donor' to pay $50,000 to the inaugural committee, knowing that it was actually for a Ukrainian businessman. Neither the American or the Ukrainian have been named. CHARGED: KONSTANTIN KILIMNIK Indicted for obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice. At large, probably in Russia Kilimnik is a former employee of Manafort's political consulting firm and helped him with lobbying work in Ukraine. He is accused of witness tampering, after he allegedly contacted individuals who had worked with Manafort to remind them that Manafort only performed lobbying work for them outside of the U.S. He has been linked to Russian intelligence and is currently thought to be in Russia - effectively beyond the reach of extradition by Mueller's team. INDICTED: THE RUSSIANS Twenty-five Russian nationals and three Russian entities have been indicted for conspiracy to defraud the United States. They remain at large in Russia Two of these Russian nationals were also indicted for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 11 were indicted for conspiracy to launder money. Fifteen of them were also indicted for identity fraud. Vladimir Putin has ridiculed the charges. Russia effectively bars extradition of its nationals. The only prospect Mueller has of bringing any in front of a U.S. jury is if Interpol has their names on an international stop list - which is not made public - and they set foot in a territory which extradites to the U.S. INDICTED: MICHAEL FLYNN'S BUSINESS PARTNERS Bijan Kian (left), number two in now disgraced former national security adviser Mike Flynn's lobbying company, and the two's business partner Ekim Alptekin (right) were indicted for conspiracy to lobby illegally. Kian, an Iranian-American was arrested and appeared in court charged with a conspiracy to illegally lobby the U.S government without registering as a foreign agent. Their co-conspirator was Flynn, who is called 'Person A' in the indictment and is not charged, offering some insight into what charges he escaped with his plea deal. Kian, vice-president of Flynn's former lobbying firm, is alleged to have plotted with Alptekin to try to change U.S. policy on an exiled Turkish cleric, Fethullah Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania and who is accused by Turkey's strongman president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, of trying to depose him. Erdogan's government wanted him extradited from the U.S. and paid Flynn's firm through Alptekin for lobbying, including an op-ed in The Hill calling for Gulen to be ejected. Flynn and Kian both lied that the op-ed was not paid for by the Turkish government. The indictment is a sign of how Mueller is taking an interest in more than just Russian involvement in the 2016 election. GUILTY AND AWAITING SENTENCE: ROGER STONE Roger Stone, a former Trump campaign official and longtime informal advisor to Trump, was indited on seven counts including obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and lying to Congress about his communications with WikiLeaks in January 2019. Convicted on all counts November 15, 2019, awaiting sentence Stone was a person of interest to Mueller's investigators long before his January indictment, thanks in part due to his public pronouncements as well as internal emails about his contacts with WikiLeks. In campaign texts and emails, many of which had already been publicly revealed before showing up in Mueller's indictment, Stone communicated with associates about WikiLeaks following reports the organization had obtained a cache of Clinton-related emails. Stone, a former Nixon campaign adviser who has the disgraced former president's face permanently tattooed on his back, has long been portrayed as a central figure in the election interference scandal. 'They got nothing,' he said of the special counsel's investigation. Stone gave 'false and misleading' testimony about his requests for information from WikiLeaks. He then pressured a witness, comedian Randy Credico, to take the Fifth Amendment rather than testify, and pressured him in a series of emails. Following a prolonged dispute over testimony, he called him a 'rat' and threatened to 'take that dog away from you', in reference to Credico's pet, Bianca. Stone warned him: 'Let's get it on. Prepare to die.' CLEARED: GREG CRAIG Greg Craig, President Barack Obama's White House counsel, was indicted for failing to register as a foreign agent. Mueller's investigators uncovered Craig's work on behalf the government of Ukraine while probing Manafort, who did business with Craig. Prosecutors released a grand jury indictment of Craig in April 2019, after Craig's law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP agreed to pay more than $4.6 million as part of a settlement. The prominent firm also acknowledged it had failed to register, and placed much of the blame on Craig, a senior partner there. Craig's lawyer blasted the decision as an abuse of prosecutorial discretion, and prepared to argue that omission of information during an interview is not tantamount to making false statements. The charges stem from a 2012 report Craig and the firm produced on behalf of the Ukrainian government on opposition figure and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko. She was an opponent of Manafort's client , former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Craig was cleared on September 9 2019. ISIS bride Hoda Muthana is unperturbed by the president's claim that she will not be allowed back into the US and says she thinks she will have 'no problem' coming home. The 24-year-old is in a refugee camp in Syria awaiting information about being allowed to return to America. Her father has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for saying it will block her from re-entering the country because she is not a citizen. Because Hoda's father was living in the US as a Yemeni diplomat when she was born in New Jersey, she is not a citizen. The children of diplomats are not given birthright citizenship if they are born in the foreign country where their parents are posted. But in an interview with NBC, Hoda, who fled her hometown of Hoover, Alabama in 2014 and has since married three ISIS fighters, said she was not worried about the law. Scroll down for video Hoda Muthana said on Thursday in an interview with NBC news that she would have 'no problem' returning to the US despite President Trump banning her President Trump said Wednesday that he made the decision to bar her from coming back 'I know in fact that I was a citizen. When I tried filing for a passport it was very easy. It came in 10 days. 'So, I thought I didnt have a problem, and Im sure there is no problem and I know my lawyer hopefully is working on it and he will win the case,' she said. She added that 'of course' she will do jail time when she returns but that she was not worried about it. She said she would rather return to the US than anywhere else. 'I prefer it other than anywhere else,' she said. Ahmed Ali Muthana, her father, filed a suit in the federal court in Washington stating his 24-year-old daughter is an American citizen and should be allowed to come back to the U.S. with her toddler. Her lawyer Hassan Shibly said she's willing to pay the consequences as long as she's allowed back on American soil. 'She literally expressed fear that she will possibly have to spend decades in jail potentially and she's still willing to come back to America,' Shibly said on Thursday afternoon on America's Newsroom. 'She is accountable for her actions. She's going to have to answer to God for her decisions,' he added. The family and their lawyers say they were told that the U.S. determined she did not qualify for citizenship because her father was a Yemeni diplomat at the time of her birth. But the family argues that is incorrect. They say that her father ceased to be a diplomat before she was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, and that she had a legitimate passport when she left the U.S. to join the Islamic State in Syria in 2014. 'ISIS bride' Hoda Muthana is willing to serve time in jail if she's allowed to come back to the U.S., her lawyer Hassan Shibly (right) said on America's Newsroom on Thursday 'She literally expressed fear that she will possibly have to spend decades in jail potentially and she's still willing to come back to America,' Shibly said about Muthana on Thursday The 24-year-old fled her hometown of Hoover, Alabama to join ISIS in Syria in 2014. She's now in a Syrian refugee camp with her 18-month-old son pleading to be allowed in the U.S., but Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo say she won't be re-admitted The Obama administration initially determined she was not a citizen and notified her family that it was revoking her passport in January 2016. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a person born in the U.S. to an accredited foreign diplomatic officer is not subject to U.S. law and is not automatically considered a U.S. citizen at birth. The 24-year-old fled her hometown of Hoover, Alabama to join ISIS in Syria in 2014 after she was radicalized online. After ISIS' last sliver of territory was captured, she's now living in a squalid refugee camp in Syria, begging to be allowed back into the U.S. claiming that she was brainwashed and is now reformed. But President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo say there's no way she'd be allowed back in the States. Pompeo argued this week that Muthana does not have citizenship as her father was a foreign diplomat from Yemen who was working in the U.S. when she was born here. Diplomats are under the jurisdiction of their home countries and their children are not given birthright citizenship. Still, Shibly is fighting for Muthana to re-enter the States saying she has a birthright as she was born in New Jersey and went as far as sharing her birth certificate online as proof. Her attorney insists Muthana won't return to the U.S. to start an easy life, rather quite the opposite. 'People shouldn't forget that Hoda herself right now and her family are not saying that she should just come back home, that she should get a free pass. Everybody acknowledges that what she did was horrible, disgusting, unacceptable, but we also acknowledge that America is great because of our legal system,' he said. He said Muthana is 'tremendously remorseful' for joining the terrorist group and argues she could be an asset to the states and could have helpful intelligence about ISIS. Pompeo says Muthana will not be allowed back in the U.S. on the Today show adding she does not have birthright citizenship as her father was a diplomat in New Jersey when she was born Her birth certificate, a copy of which was shared on Twitter her family lawyer and was not independently verified by DailyMail.com, shows that she was born Oct. 28, 1994 in Hackensack, New Jersey And by the looks of it, she's ready to turn herself in. 'I personally called them, I said, 'Listen we know where she is and she's ready to speak with you. She's ready to collaborate. She's ready to turn herself in. You should at least go question her and see if she has intelligence that can protect American lives.' And they failed to act on it and that's really concerning,' he said. Muthana fled the U.S to join ISIS and had two jihadi fighter husbands who were killed and she is now married to a third. In 2015, she tweeted urging Muslims in the U.S. to commit acts of violence and 'spill all of the blood' by plowing trucks through Memorial Day parades and plotting drive-by shootings. On Thursday Secretary of State Mike Pompeo dashed her pleas, labeled her a terrorist, and said she should never be allowed back in the country. Muthana fled the U.S to join ISIS in 2014 when she was 19 and had two jihadi fighter husbands pass away and is now married to a third. Her first husband was Australian extremist Suhan Abdul Rahman who was killed in combat (pictured right) 'There are now over 800 terrorists that are being held, foreign terrorist fighters that are being held, in Syria today. She's just one of them. She is a terrorist,' Pompeo said on the Today show. 'She's not a U.S. citizen. She ought not return to this country,' he said. 'She may have been born here,' Pompeo repeated. 'She is not a U.S. citizen, nor is she entitled to U.S. citizenship.' President Donald Trump sided with Pompeo on Wednesday tweeting: 'I have instructed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and he fully agrees, not to allow Hoda Muthana back into the Country!' Even the American Islamic Forum for Democracy has joined the chorus against Muthana entering the U.S. 'She became, not only a terrorist, she became an enemy of our country and if she did believe in the citizenship oathshe abandoned it and actually violated it and became an enemy combatant,' the group's founder and president Zuhdi Jasser said. More of Hoda's interview will air on Nightly News with Lester Holt on Friday. Kellyanne Conway will tell how she finds Kate McKinnon's SNL impression of her funny in a new gossip series with the former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Spicer has signed a contract for a series of episodes on D.C. insiders with 'Extra', with the likes of Conway, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Mike Pompeo. Spicer served a short but memorable stint as Donald Trump's press man before being replaced by Anthony Scaramucci in March 2017. In a preview of the show Conway told him the SNL skit 'Kellyanne Conway's Day Off' was 'really, really funny' as they portrayed her hectic life, squeezing in yoga, time with the kids and shopping while constantly getting interrupted by work. Kellyanne Conway (center) stands outside the White House with Sean Spicer (right) in 2016 A preview of the show with Kellyanne Conway looking casual in her home neighborhood to be interviewed by Spicer When asked how her life had changed since becoming a household name Conway replied, 'I didn't want that and I didn't expect that.' Conway tells him: 'Well Kate McKinnon plays me she's 15 years younger than me, so I'll take it.' He revealed his new show is a chance to show the lives of those in Washington away from the politics, their personal and family lives. He told the Hollywood Reporter: 'The idea is to give people a different angle on some of the people they see on the cable news channels every day.' The first episode will air next Wednesday when he will interview the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife Susan. A preview shows Spicer asking them what kind of music the couple listen to as they stand on the lawn with their golden retriever. Spicer will interview his former colleague Conway, along with her children, in the following episode and then Sanders with her husband Bryan in the next airing. Conway will appear on Spicer's show alongside her daughters, as they stroll through their neighborhood with their dogs He told the Hollywood magazine that his interviews were not intended to grill the guests but for them to have a 'pleasant experience.' He said his show has started on home turf, with him interviewing Republicans, but that he hopes to move across the floor to have insight from Democrats as well. Spicer was immortalized by Emmy award winning comedienne Melissa McCarthy in her SNL impression of him as Press Secretary. A 17-year-old boy has been sentenced to life in prison for the brutal hammer-attack murder and rape of 14-year-old Viktorija Sokolova. Lithuanian-born Viktorija was brutally beaten, raped and dumped on a park bench in Wolverhampton during a frenzied attack last April. The killer, who cannot be named for legal reasons but was born in Holland to parents from Iraq, denied any wrongdoing during the three week trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court. Despite his pleas, he was unanimously convicted by a jury and finally sentenced today. A 17-year-old boy has been sentenced to life in prison for the brutal hammer-attack murder and rape of 14-year-old Viktorija Sokolova (pictured) Lithuanian-born Viktorija was brutally beaten, raped, and dumped on a park bench in Wolverhampton during a frenzied attack last April Today he was sentenced to life and ordered to serve a minimum term of 19 years behind bars. Mr Justice Jeremy Baker, sentencing, said: 'The offences committed were extraordinarily serious. 'The deliberate targeting of a vulnerable young girl, she was lured, at night - the defendant armed with a weapon - where she was subject to a truly shocking attack.' Karolina Valantiniene, Viktorija's mother, had a touching tribute to her daughter read out in court. It said: 'April 12 was the most horrible day of my life. 'That day, I left for work as normal and was asked to go to the office. 'My world fell apart. 'I wasn't able to fully comprehend what was happening. 'It felt like there was no tears left and my heart was torn to pieces. The Lithuanian-born youngster, who was known as Tori, was reported missing by her family before she was found by a dog walker who initially thought her body was a blow-up doll Viktorija's last moments as she walked towards the park were captured on CCTV (pictured) 'She was dreaming about going to university, passing her driving test and her first new car. 'There will never be her turning 18 and what about her future family and children? 'I was scared and felt left alone. Why are there such terrible people in this world? Viktorijas heart-broken mothers moving statement Pictured: Karolina Valatiniene leaves court A moving statement from Viktorija's mother Karolina Valantiniene has been read to the court. It said: 'April 12 was the most horrible day of my life. 'That day, I left for work as normal and was asked to go to the office. 'My world fell apart. 'I wasn't able to fully comprehend what was happening. 'It felt like there was no tears left and my heart was torn to pieces. 'She was dreaming about going to university, passing her driving test and her first new car. 'There will never be her turning 18 and what about her future family and children? 'I was scared and felt left alone. 'There will never be a Mother's Day for me again and I have no idea how I will carry on my life now. 'The time has stopped for me now. 'Viktorija was the purpose of my life. 'I wanted to die together with her. 'I never thought something terrible like this could happen to me. 'My husband has been a great support for me. 'I was not able to return to work for long time. ' I started taking medication and have been taking it since. 'Why are there such terrible people in this world?' Advertisement She added: 'Viktorija was the purpose of my life. I wanted to die together with her. I never thought something terrible like this could happen to me.' The court heard how Viktorija was lured to the West Park in Wolverhampton on the night of the attack after the killer contacted her on Facebook Messenger. Police said the boy used a hammer, which has never been found, to launch a 'ferocious and sustained' attack on the victim, who suffered a fractured skull and spine. He had raped her then bludgeoned her 21 times with the hammer, shattering her skull, teeth and breaking her spine in two. After the killing, the boy was captured on CCTV trying to cover up his horrific offence by dumping his clothes, deleting the Facebook messages he sent Viktorija and throwing her phone towards a lake. The boy refused to give evidence, claiming to be suffering from learning difficulties, and denied meeting her. He had been home schooled in Wolverhampton for the past year because of difficulties in class. A serious case review has been launched to discover if Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands Police or the NHS missed any opportunities to protect Viktorija. The killer was obsessed with extreme porn and violent sex, even Googling it before the murder. Viktorija Sokolova's brutalised and half-naked body was found on a bench in Wolverhampton on April 12 this year by a dog walker who initially believed she was an abandoned blow-up doll. After his arrest, he told officers that he had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression and had come under the care of Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). On the launch of the serious case review, Linda Sanders, Independent Chair of Wolverhampton Safeguarding Children Board, said: 'This was an horrific crime and our thoughts are with the family and friends of Viktorija Sokolova. 'Wolverhampton Safeguarding Children Board is currently undertaking a multi-agency Serious Case Review which is looking at what involvement, if any, local agencies had with Viktorija and her family, and is seeking to establish whether any lessons can be learned which may improve the way they address potential risks to other children in the future. 'It is planned that the Serious Case Review will be published next year.' Viktorija was also known to social services having told police before her death that her home life was 'not that good'. ] Following the trial, her mother Karolina Valantiniene and stepfather Saidas Valantinas said in a statement she was 'full of fun and energy'. The couple added: 'We were a family, now there are only two of us. 'Viktorija will never be replaced and will always be missed dearly. She will remain in our hearts forever. 'We will never be given the opportunity to have grandchildren because this has been taken from us.' Viktorija Sokolova's body was found half naked slumped over a bench in West Park in Wolverhampton (pictured in April) Police seized mobile phones from the killer's home used to watch extreme pornography, including before he killed Viktorija, and in a legal first 'lifted' a fingerprint from the screen to link him to the murder he blamed on her mother and step-father. The boy cannot be named because of his age - but journalists have appealed to the judge to scrap the order protecting his identity. The boy lured Viktorija to the park under the pretext they would 'chill out together' before launching a murderous assault lasting two hours. He stripped, raped and beat Viktorija before smashing her head 21 times with a hammer-like weapon until he knocked out three of her teeth and chipped a further six. He beat her with such force over the back of the skull it 'snapped her spine in two' and left her broken body in Wolverhampton's West Park. The dog walker who found Viktorija's battered and bruised body initially believed she was an abandoned blow-up doll. Karolina Valantiniene, the mother to 14-year-old Viktorija Sokolova, arrives at Wolverhampton Crown Court during the trial in December High Court judge Mr Justice Jeremy Baker said of the defendant: 'He is still young, 16 years of age. 'I am obviously concerned as to the extreme nature of the offences in this case and therefore it seems to me that the court ought to be properly informed about all of the background.' Detectives notched up what is thought to be a legal first while bringing Viktorija Sokolova's killer to justice - by 'lifting' a fingerprint from a mobile phone video. Officers investigating the killing spotted a recognisable print in a film showing Viktorija's murderer scrolling through his iPhone for passwords as he prepared to delete evidence linking him to the schoolgirl. The footage did not show the boy's face, meaning a fingerprint was the only means of proving he was using the phone. The troubled life of murdered teenager who told police: 'I don't want to be at home' Viktorija Sokolova was known to social services because she kept running away from home and said she 'didn't want to be there' having disappeared for a week. Three days before 'Tori' died she had told a police officer that her home life was 'not that good'. PC Neil McDonald interviewed the teenager when she was arrested for stealing her step father's bank card and using it to withdraw 250. The Lithuanian-born teenager said she needed to buy casual clothes like jeans because her mother had burned them And Viktorija, who had 76 of the stolen money left when detained, also told the officer that her mother had 'beaten her up' after the theft. Describing what happened her mother told the court: 'I was holding her with both my arms - I put her on the ground and pressed her down with my knee I told her to calm down. 'She told me she was calm so I let her up and then she started shouting again and scratching. 'My intention was to bring her home'. To stop her going missing her mother and step father had imposed a curfew and installed an alarm at their house. They also destroyed her sim card when they found out she was sexually active. Viktorija had said she preferred staying with friends and at one point was sent to live with her biological father in Northern Ireland but it 'didn't work out'. She also briefly stayed at a children's home before returning to her mother's home. Her stepfather was forced to deny he was involved in her death when traces of his semen were found in her underwear. He told the trial: 'She was my daughter, I would never hurt her'. Asked if he sexually assaulted Viktorija he said: 'This is nonsense - I completely deny this' and when asked if he killed Viktorija. 'I told you already you are talking nonsense'. He added: 'The social workers told us there are no bad children only bad parents. 'We were disappointed because we wanted to make sure she was safe'. A 13-year-old friend of Viktorija told officers how the teenager had planned to move to London the day after she was killed. Advertisement Jason Corden-Bowen, from the CPS, said: 'Viktorija Sokolova was a young girl with her whole future ahead of her but her life was cut short by this defendant who murdered her in an apparently motiveless and brutal attack. 'The defendant denied the offences but the CPS presented evidence to the jury, including forensic evidence, which proved he was responsible. 'I would like to express my sympathy to Viktorija's family and loved ones'. Viktorija, who was subjected to 'horrific levels of violence', had abrasions on her chest and abdomen suggesting she had been dragged across the park and propped up against the bench where she was found. When he was arrested two days after the murder he handed police a prepared statement reading: 'Know nothing about the murder. Only heard about it on news.' In an extraordinary trial her defence team later tried to blame her death on her mother Karolina Valantinas and step-father Saidas, after traces of his semen were found on her knickers. But police never arrested Mr Valantinas because the DNA levels were 'microscopic' and could have been transferred innocently. And the prosecution told the court: 'Even if you suspect this came from non-innocent contamination, in light of all the evidence in this case, would this provide any evidence for the defence theory that her step-father found her in the park, sexually assaulted her and killed her?' The boy told officers he had been introduced to Vicktorija last year by two other girls. He had denied rape, murder and sexual penetration of a corpse. The jury heard Viktorija moved to the UK from Lithuania in 2011 and was living with her family in Wolverhampton. The prosecutor said she had a 'turbulent relationship' with her parents and social services were aware she often disappeared from home. The youngster, known to friends as Tori, was reported missing by her family before she was found in the park the following morning. The defendant had sent Viktorija a video of himself, bare-chested, lifting weights. He pursued her for eight days before her death, repeatedly asking her to meet him in the park near their homes. Viktorija made her way to the park at 10.40pm to meet the 16-year-old following a chat on Facebook messenger. A post-mortem examination concluded she died from a blunt force trauma to the head, which killed her over the space of one hour. Viktorija's white jeans and bloodstained underwear, as well as a sock, were found dumped in a litter bin near the boating lake. Her mobile phone had been hurled onto an island on the lake, adjacent to a pavilion in which she was raped and beaten. After dragging her to a bench, her killer removed Viktorija's pink ankle boots 'which would have made it easier to pull off her jeans and knickers completely,' the prosecutor said. Viktorija's mother Karolina Valantiniene and stepfather Saidas Valantinas have since spoken out against her killer's defence barristers, who accused them of being responsible for her murder. Police added that they never considered Saidas Valantinas a murder suspect, despite his semen being found on her underwear - because the sample was 'microscopic' and could have been transferred innocently from clothing to clothing in a washing machine. Factory worker Karolina and her husband Saidas both called the suggestion that they had been involved 'nonsense'. Police said the killer made a very concerted effort to meet her specifically in West Park at night - but insisted he wanted to 'chill' with her Hours later dog walker alerted police when he realised he had found Viktorija's dead body propped up on the bench Mr Valantinas told the court: 'In this trial, a lot of dirt has been spilled out. '[The defence lawyer] said in a direct way that I had raped her and I killed her. The defence were being quite rude.' Viktorija's natural father lives in Ireland and is not implicated in the court case. A post-mortem examination concluded that Miss Sokolova, originally from Lithuania, died from a blunt force trauma to the head. Detective Inspector Caroline Corfield, of West Midlands Police's Homicide Team, said: 'The sustained nature of the violent attack on a 14-year-old girl is inexplicable. 'Viktorija was only 14-year-old when she was murdered by her killer who she thought was her friend. Timeline: How teenager was lured to park and bludgeoned to death April 3: Killer asks Viktorija to meet him so they can 'smoke weed' in West Park. He said he was leaving for London in a week's time and wanted to chill with her before he went. Before this, they had not spoken in months. Viktorija said she was not allowed out at night time. April 5: He again asks her to meet him. He writes: 'Vicky, I know we haven't talked in a while but I'm never gonna see you, I just wanna chill with you for memories'. April 9: Viktorija was arrested by the police on suspicion of stealing her step-father's bank card and using it to withdraw 250. She told police she had used some of the money to buy clothes, and alleged that her mother had assaulted her in the park after she had found out. After spending a few hours in custody, Viktorija was released later that day. April 11, 10.52am: Viktorija contacted the boy on Facebook and agreed to meet him that day. 11.30am: She met with two friends, both aged 13, and they spent the afternoon using their phones to exchange messages with friends. It was the first time they had seen Viktorija with a phone. The friends said she did not have a sim card but could use Facebook Messenger when she had wi-fi. 10pm: One of the friends made her way home and the other told Viktorija that it was time for her to go home. Viktorija asked to stay a little longer because she was planning to meet the 'guy' known as Lazy Cho at midnight. 10.40pm: Just before Viktorija left, her friend told her that it was a bad idea to go the park to which she replied, 'Well, he's only my mate'. The girls hugged and Viktorija left. 10.35pm: Viktorija and the boy arranged to meet in the 'black house' pavilion at the park. At 10:35pm, he told her he had left his house. 10.42pm: CCTV records Viktorija arriving at the park. 10.37pm: CCTV picks up the defendant arriving at the scene 00.44am: CCTV spots the boy still in a hooded jacket, Adidas trainers and carrying a backpack but wearing different coloured trousers. Defendant's iPhone was switched off at 11.32pm and remained disconnected until 1.27am the following morning. 1:35am: Two figures recorded walking a short distance from the defendant's home, carrying a backpack. They retrace their steps about an hour later. The backpack is missing. April 12, 7am: Daniel Squire left his house to walk his dog in West Park, Wolverhampton. He dismissed Viktorija's body 'as some sort of prank and continued with his walk.' On returning to the same area, he realised it was the body of a young girl and phoned 999. Advertisement A post-mortem examination concluded that Miss Sokolova, originally from Lithuania, died from a blunt force trauma to the head. Detective Inspector Caroline Corfield, of West Midlands Police's Homicide Team, said: 'The sustained nature of the violent attack on a 14-year-old girl is inexplicable. 'Viktorija was only 14-year-old when she was murdered by her killer who she thought was her friend. 'They knew each other but they hadn't had contact for a few months. 'Then eight days before Viktorija's murder, he contacted her using Facebook Messenger. 'She commented herself on the unusual nature of this sudden contact, not having spoken to him in a long time. 'He was suggesting they leave for London together. 'Over the course of those eight days, he made a very concerted effort to meet her specifically in West Park at night in the 'Black House'.' The detective added: 'The dog walker] was faced with the horrific scene of Viktorija's half-naked body bent forwards on a park bench. 'He initially thought it was a prank. He told the court that he thought it was a blow-up doll. 'Having been to the scene myself, I can understand why that would be your first reaction because it's a scene that's almost impossible to comprehend. 'The position of the body suggested there was almost certainly a sexual motive to this attack. 'We found that she had had this contact with her killer immediately before her murder, and the detail of that contact - arranging very specifically to meet her in the Black House in West Park. 'Some 150 metres from where Viktorija's body was found is this black wooden shelter and it is clear that that was the main scene of Viktorija's attack. 'It was heavily bloodstained. Viktorija's earrings were found there and the white baseball cap she had been wearing, which was bloodstained. 'The attack was so violent we found three of her teeth. 'To this day, I cannot see any explanation for that level of violence. 'It's unnecessary, it's incomprehensible. She was a 14-year-old girl. 'The reason he was also charged with rape is that we recovered DNA from in and on Viktorija's body that proved that her killer had had sex with her. 'If that had been consensual, there is no explanation for Viktorija's murder. 'If that had been consensual, then why did Viktorija not leave that park alive? 'Her killer then proceeded to erase all trace of his contact with her that night - and this is before her body is even found. 'Her mobile phone was recovered on a small island in the duck pond near to the pavilion. 'So he had thrown it, I believe, intending for it to go into the water but it actually landed on dry land. 'Why would her killer want to dispose of her mobile phone unless that was evidence linking the killer to her? 'The clothing that he was wearing on CCTV heading to the park was very significant because we were able to identify the trainers he was wearing as Adidas Gazelles. 'He wore them to and from the park. 'There were footprints in Viktorija's blood in the pavilion, and the tread pattern of those footwear impressions matches the sole pattern that you get with Adidas Gazelles. 'We've never found those trainers and there's a very good explanation for that. 'We pick the defendant up on CCTV at 1.30am - so after he had returned home from the park - and he leaves his home address again. 'He is wearing different clothing and footwear and he is carrying a rucksack. 'He returns home an hour later - the rucksack has gone.' The 14-year-old posted this picture of herself with her mother on Facebook shortly before her death The detective said the killer disposed of his clothes which would have been bloodstained, and they have never been found since. 'He didn't give evidence in court so we were never able to ask him 'what happened to your Adidas trainers? What happened to the clothing you were wearing that night? Why did you delete your Facebook Messenger contact? Why did you hide your iPhone behind a wardrobe in the bedroom?'. 'We know what the answers to those questions are, and he didn't want to face the questions. 'It's a possibility the weapon he used was in the bag as well. It was suggested by the pathologist that it would be something similar to a hammer, or a hammer-type weapon. 'Very soon after making the initial contact with Viktorija, eight days before her murder, her killer searched the internet for sites involving anal sex. 'Specifically, forums talking about what anal sex feels like. 'Yet at no point in any of the messages between him and Viktorija did he suggest that his intention was to have sex with her. 'The question wasn't asked, it wasn't suggested. In fact, he was very specific that he wanted to meet her to hang out with her and smoke cannabis. 'Yet the CCTV suggested he was in the park with her for two hours. There wasn't a trace of cannabis in Viktorija's body.' The detective said the boy did not have a history of violence, and spoke about the impact on Viktorija's family. He said: 'It's impossible to imagine what it is like to learn of a murder of your child - then to hear the horrific details of that murder, which are inescapable because they have to be presented in court. 'In this particular case, the defence pointed the finger very specifically at Viktorija's parents. 'They were asked in court whether they had murdered Viktorija. ' He added her parents were never charged nor under investigation. The White House is promoting the president's summit next week with Kim Jong-un as an opportunity for the two leaders to continue the conversation they started last summer. President Trump said this week that he expects to 'accomplish a lot' in two days of talks with the North Korean dictator, set to take place on Feb. 27 and 28 Vietnam. His spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, dramatically lowered the bar on Friday, however, as she claimed that 'only' reporters are suggesting that something other than a positive relationship between the two leaders is an ascertainable goal. 'I think that the only one setting high expectations is probably the media,' she said during an interview on Fox News. 'He's had a great success here, in the fact that they're able to even sit down at the table. The fact that he's able to do it again, is itself a big success.' The administration is also softening its language on sanctions, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claiming that the punishing actions will stay in place until the U.S. is 'confident that weve substantially reduced' the risk of a nuclear North Korea. The White House is promoting the president's summit next week with Kim Jong-un as an opportunity for the two leaders to continue the conversation they started last summer The administration is also softening its language on sanctions, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claiming that the punishing actions will stay in place until the U.S. is 'confident that weve substantially reduced' the risk of a nuclear North Korea North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the launch of a Hwasong-12 missile in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 16, 2017, shortly after the nation conducted its last nuclear test Trump insisted all of last year that crippling sanctions would not be lifted until Pyongyang had submitted to complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization requirements. Nuclear weapons are banned by the United Nations, and North Korea has been in violation of treaties barring tests for decades. The U.S. president says that his predecessors are at fault for entering weak agreements, and he has made more progress in two years toward reducing the risk of nuclear annihilation than they ever did. 'I dont think theyre reluctant. I think they want to do something,' he said of denuclearization Wednesday in the Oval Office. 'Theyve been talking about this for many, many years, and no administration has done anything. Theyve gotten taken to the cleaners.' Pyongyang has stopped testing ballistic missiles and it has returned U.S. hostages and the remains of American soldiers from the Korean War, he routinely points out. 'When we started, as you know, there were a lot of problems,' he again noted on Wednesday. 'There was the missiles going all over. There were hostages that were being held. There were remains that we wanted to get back. There were many, many things. He reflected, 'And we have a good relationship a very good relationship, Id say.' Experts warn that North Korea has made similar overtures in the past only to recommence testing once economic pressure is lifted. 'Given the long history of North Korea's long history of non-compliance with previous agreements, or cheating, I think all Korea watchers are pretty pessimistic about a break though success with North Korea,' said former CIA Deputy Division Chief for Korea Bruce Klingner. The research fellow at the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation said the 'White House has unnecessarily over-hyped the progress that it claims has been made with North Korea' as the nation continues to pursue nuclear weapons. Klingner warned the Trump could unilaterally make commitments to Kim in their private talks that would leave U.S. officials scrambling, like agreeing to pause additional military exercises. He said that Trump surprised former Secretary of Defense James Mattis with his promise at the last summit to halt them and he could promises of that caliber that could have ripple effects on U.S. allies around the globe once again. Trump and Kim shake hands after their first summit in Singapore in June of 2018 Trump claims to be one of the greatest dealmakers of his time and has repeatedly committed to leaving American troops in South Korea and economic sanctions in place until North Korea follows through on its commitment in Singapore last June to get rid of its nuclear arsenal. Troop removal is 'not a subject of discussions' at this time, a senior official told reporters on Thursday. In a call, the official wouldn't say what else the U.S. or North Korea may have committed to in the interim, telling reporters, 'We are in the midst of negotiating on some issues, and as is often the case in these negotiations, nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. 'I would not want to mention any of the specifics except to say that we will be closely engaged with the North Korean delegation right up until the President arrives for the summit next week,' the person said. A declaration from Trump on Wednesday that only 'meaningful' progress would stimulate the removal sanctions signaled a possible climb down from Trump on previous pledges as he searches for a deal. 'The sanctions are on in full. As you know, I havent taken sanctions off. Id love to be able to, but in order to do that, we have to do something thats meaningful on the other side,' he stated. U.S. officials declined to further comment on the briefing call with reporters on Thursday. Pompeo had similarly suggested that the U.S. could ease sanctions that morning, on 'Today,' as he previewed next week's summit. 'The American people should know we have the toughest economic sanctions that have ever been placed on North Korea, and we wont release that pressure until such time as were confident that weve substantially reduced that risk,' he said in a carefully-worded answer. This is Trump's second trip to Vietnam: He's seen here meeting Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in Hanoi on Nov. 12, 2017 He denied that Trump is 'ratcheting down' expectations for the summit in another appearance, on Fox Business, that day. Pompeo said, 'I hope we can make real progress, that Chairman Kim will begin to fulfill the commitment he made in June in Singapore of last year to denuclearize his own country.' He did not define progress and wouldn't talk about the removal of troops from South Korea. 'I dont want to get into the negotiations, what we might give up, what they might give up,' he asserted. Appearing on 'Fox & Friends' on Friday morning, Sanders, the White House press secretary, promised even less. She said to 'expect continued conversations between the two leaders' in Vietnam. 'We've got a long way to go, and we'll see what happens, but we're continuing to make progress, and this is another great step for the president and Chairman Kim to be able to sit down and continue those conversations,' she stated. Camilla Forrest, 32, was accused of setting up a sham recruitment consultancy A former strip club hostess wept in court today as she was cleared of teaming up with her wife to scam a global banking firm out of tens of thousands of pounds in head hunting fees. Camilla Forrest, 32, was accused of setting up a sham recruitment consultancy service to con Investec with the help of her partner, Amy Olding, 33, who worked in the firms HR department. Olding admitted the scam but Forrest, who used to work at the City of London gentlemens club For Your Eyes Only, was cleared after prosecutors offered no evidence. Forrest was accused of setting up a recruitment firm called City Search Partner and using the company to invoice Olding for bogus recruitment services. The couple were said to have pocketed 33,400 by submitting invoices for four recruits, none of whom had heard of City Search Partners. Prosecutor Roger Daniells-Smith said: The two lived together as a couple, Ms Olding was the insider at the bank, in a privileged position, working for the human resources department in recruitment. He had alleged Forrest, who also worked as cabin crew for Virgin Atlantic, took 20 percent of the first years annual salary. Camilla Forrest (left) and Amy Olding (right). The couple were accused of working together to defraud the bank but Ms Forrest was acquitted today We are dealing with high level banking executives being recruited to the company - we are talking six-figure salaries, said Mr Daniells-Smith. They set up the false recruitment company in a false name and then hadnt worked through that position to work out that they couldnt then withdraw from the bank account in their own names. They had no work, they had no client base, they had nothing. It was just a company by name. She would send false invoices to her partner at the bank for successful recruitments. She explained in interview that she didnt know it was dishonest. Amy Olding said nepotism is rife, its all about who you know, explained the prosecutor. Camilla Forrest (left) at her day job with Virgin Atlantic, photographed with YouTube personality Caspar Lee and a colleague Mr Daniells-Smith had alleged the couple submitted five invoices and another two candidates were in the pipeline when they were caught. He said the candidates had no dealings whatsoever with City Search Partners or this defendant. The couple tied the knot on 1 June 2013 at The Old Marylebone Town Hall - which has hosted two of Sir Paul McCartneys weddings - and held a reception at the Savoy. But they have since faced difficulties, with Cameron Scott, defending Forrest, describing the relationship as in flux. Mr Scott added: The only thing they have is this (Oldings) guilty plea which, frankly, doesnt assist. The case has not been properly investigated or prepared for trial. Judge Nicholas-Loraine Smith said Investecs solicitors had been left to investigate the case and that a number of former employees had been unwilling to assist the police. Camilla Forrest was free to leave court today after prosecutors failed to offer a case against her It seems that the case has been farmed out to Investec. I have a lot to say about that - it is fraught. Addressing the prosecution, he added: So you cant prove your case. The prosecutor replied: The Crown collectively has considered its position in these matters, given the difficulties that have occurred in this case and given the evidence I am able to offer, we do not believe there is now a reasonable ground for conviction. I will offer no evidence. Turning to a tearful Ms Forrest, the judge said: The prosecution have offered no evidence against you, I enter a verdict of not guilty. Olding, of Bromley, admitted fraud by false representation and another count of fraud by abuse of position and will be sentenced on April 1. Forrest, of Surrey, denied one charge of fraud and the charge was dropped. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call to carry out the U.S. military withdrawal from Syria in line with their mutual interests, according to Turkish presidential sources. The two leaders agreed that the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria should be carried out in line with common interests, stressing the need to support the political process in the war-torn country, Anadolu Agency reported. The presidents also reiterated their countries determination to fight all forms of terrorism. In addition, they agreed to further enhance economic relations, setting a goal of $75 billion in bilateral trade. The White House said separately in a statement that Erdogan and Trump agreed to continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone in northern Syria. By Kavitha Cardoza I was in El Paso to cover a teach-in organized by Teachers Against Child Detention. Its a group started by Mandy Manning, the 2018 National Teacher of the Year, who said she was appalled by the Trump administrations practice of separating and detaining children for months away from their parents. She organized this event in west Texas, and hundreds of teachers from all over the country showed up in support, including a contingent that traveled from Alaska 3,000 miles away. John King, former U.S. secretary of education, and Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, spoke out in support. So did several state teachers of the year. Heres what 10 of these award-winning teachers had to say: Mandy Manning Teaches high school English-learners 2018 National Teacher of the Year (and Washington Teacher of the Year) Child detention is not new. We did it to Native Americans, to Africans, we enslaved them, we did this to the Japanese. This is not something new, but its time we learn this lesson and stopped doing this. How we are dealing with immigration right now is abusive. Were taking children and we are putting them into facilities and incarcerating them, simply because they were born outside the United States. Thats a form of abuse and its time for educators to stand up and demand that these kids not be in cages, but in our classrooms. Teaches high school social studies Virginia Teacher of the Year I have a number of students who have spent time in detention centers and so mostly I am here for them today so that they know that there are good people in this country that believe that they deserve the same access to education and human rights and to be with their families, just as any other child, no matter where they were born. Jinni Forcucci Teaches high school English Delaware Teacher of the Year I feel like a lot of times when teachers stand up for this, there are other people in our communities, even other staff who judge and even outwardly ridicule. And to be at an event like this where everyone has a common goal to love children, its refreshing and it gives me hope. Some of my immigrant students have been taught to not share their stories, so they internalize their trauma. Theyre taught to not tell their white teachers what theyre going through. I teach creative writing, and a lot of times after working really hard to develop relationships of trust, my students will tell their stories. Im a better human because of my students. Josh Meibos Teaches elementary school physical education Arizona Teacher of the Year Right now, what were really focusing on is training teachers to have the tools to recognize the trauma that these students are having, but then giving us the resources and tools to help them. Teaching these kids how to articulate and have a language to understand what theyre feeling and the emotions and then how to deal with that. One of the biggest takeaways for me is that Im learning that there are resources out there. Sometimes it can be a little lonesome in the classroom, when its just you and those four walls, and you dont realize there are organizations out there to support you. Teaches high school Spanish New Mexico Teacher of the Year Im from Mexico. I actually came to the United States when I was 12 years old, undocumented. Because of [the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program], I was able to work as a teacher. I am now the 2018 New Mexico Teacher of the Year. When we have these policies of incarcerating children, we are taking away that potential. We are taking away that future that they can have. Education is so much more than content. We are teaching children to be productive citizens of the world, especially now that we are so closely connected. So it cant just be about content anymore. It has to be about all the relevant things that are going on in the world right now. Ben Walker Teaches middle school science Alaska Teacher of the Year Alaska is a very conservative state, but we have a lot of people that support this cause. I dont think this is a liberal-conservative issue, its just a human issue. Im more than willing to stand up for these kids. Michael Soskil Teaches elementary school science and math Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year What happens in one area of the country impacts us all. Even though in my rural community, I may not necessarily see these problems manifest, they still belong to us as Americans. As an American teacher, its my job to protect children. I am a mandated reporter of child abuse. I cannot sit by and not use my voice when I see children are suffering. Sarahi Monterrey Teaches high school English learners Wisconsin Teacher of the Year I can tell when students are sad. They might say they have a headache or feel anxious. Theres a lot of fear. I tell students all the time, Let me know if I need to get you water, if you need a break. And its very hard because even as an educator, its hard to find the right words of what to say because sometimes I do feel helpless. Tara Bordeaux Teaches high school cinema and media arts Texas Teacher of the Year This is very personal to my students. Its personal to me. As a teacher, its my job to see that I support them, every student, no matter who they are or where they come from. My viewpoints arent exactly what the rest of the state see, but I also hope that by being someone who is able to walk into a room and listen and respect the voice of conservative teachers who are working around me, they can listen to me as well and we can find common ground. Paul Howard Teaches middle school history District of Columbia Teacher of the Year I teach a large population of immigrant students. And they do not have a voice and the power to advocate for themselves. And its my duty to them to try and use my platform to advocate for their rights. Hong Kong: Sewage bypass planned for March The Drainage Services Department today announced it will complete the second stage of maintenance works for the Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works in March, which requires a partial bypass of treated sewage into Victoria Harbour. The plant has been operating round-the-clock for the past 18 years. Some of its key electrical and mechanical facilities are now approaching the end of their services lives. The department said preliminarily treated sewage at the Stonecutters Island plant will be partially bypassed into Victoria Harbour in March. The partial bypass is required for the maintenance and replacement works at the plant. It is scheduled to take place during the non-bathing season from March 4 to 17. The first two bypasses were completed last year. The bypass will involve the submarine discharge of preliminarily treated sewage at seven plants on both sides of Victoria Harbour for dilution and dispersion at deep sea level. Areas concerned include the waters of Hong Kong Island East, Kowloon East and the Rambler Channel. The department will adopt mitigation and contingency measures and will closely monitor the harbour water quality. The monitoring results will be available online. People should avoid water sports, fishing or seawater extraction in the potentially affected locations during the bypass period. Notices will be put up at Approach Beach, Ting Kau Beach, Lido Beach, Casam Beach, Hoi Mei Wan, Gemini Beach, Anglers Beach, Ma Wan Tung Wan and promenades along Victoria Harbour. Enquiries can be made by calling 7388 9900 or by email. This story has been published on: 2019-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. A female police officer has denied skipping child abuse investigation work in order to get a manicure and eat 'lashing' of Chinese food with her married lover. Sharon Patterson and Lee Pollard, both detective constables at Essex Police, are on trial at the Old Bailey accused of forging documents and concealing evidence over a three-year-period. Giving Evidence 49-year-old Patterson was questioned about emails she sent in 2012 following her split with her husband Andy, over her romance with 47-year-old Pollard. On April 24, she wrote: 'I'm not even asking any questions ... I'm not interested. If I'm out doing that, I'm not picking any other shit up.' Detective Constables Lee Pollard and Sharon Patterson are accused of falsifying documents in child abuse investigations because of 'cynical disdain for complainants' However she highlighted to jurors that any suggestion that the correspondence indicated that she did not care about victims was 'ridiculous' and that it was just a 'turn of phrase' that she would use. At 9.19am on November 23, she cancelled an appointment to view Social Services records to do with a case, saying: 'I'm required to assist another officer with something more pressing.' Patterson said she could not now recall what it was that was more pressing. It was heard that at 9.33am the same day, she emailed Pollard saying: 'I'm going to get my nails done in a minute - what colour would you suggest?' Prosecutors say the pair's motivation was 'a combination of laziness, self-preservation and sometimes a cynical disdain for complainants' Jacqueline Carey, defending, asked: 'Were you cancelling your appointment to go and get your nails done?' The defendant said it was just a 'sarcastic remark', which was how she spoke to Pollard. Ms Carey went on: 'Would you cancel a Social Services appointment to see records to get a manicure?' Charges were brought following an investigation into the police unit. Pictured: Colchester Police Station, Essex Patterson replied: 'No. This job in particular had mountains of files. Two or three piles of them because of the amount of intervention (the individual) had had as a child from Social Service. 'I would not have cancelled a viewing at Social Services for this job to get my nails done, definitely not.' There was then a gap in emails of four and a half hours before an exchange with Pollard starting at 2.17pm about a Chinese restaurant. Pollard told her: 'Thank you for lunch. I love you.' The trial is being heard at the Old Bailey in London (pictured above) To which Patterson replied: 'It was lovely to spend time with you. Thank you and I love you heaps!! LOL.' Her lover wrote back: 'We ate lashings and lashings of Chinese grub.' Patterson replied: 'And it was scrumptious.' She explained to jurors the Chinese in question was a buffet restaurant with uncomfortable chairs but lovely food. Patterson said: 'It's literally a place you go, eat, and leave half an hour, 45 minutes.' She denied the four and a half hour gap in emails was due to getting her nails done and having a 'long lunch'. Earlier, the mother-of-three told how her marriage broke down in late 2011 over the affair and she got divorced in 2013. She described her then-husband as 'very aggressive' but never violent during their relationship. Patterson began seeing married Pollard a few months after he joined her team in autumn 2011. Just before Christmas, her husband became suspicious and she wrote a text to Pollard saying: 'Andy knows about us.' Instead of warning Pollard, she sent the message to her husband while she was at work by mistake. She said: 'Andy phoned me to say that he had received the message and he wanted me to get home right then.' When she arrived there was 'lots of shouting' and her husband threatened that he was 'going to kill' Pollard, the court heard. After spending Christmas together, she went to Scotland to stay with her mother and refused to return until he had left the family home. The defendant added she had been 'scared what he might do'. By spring of 2012, she received a cash offer for the house and moved to a new home, she said. Pollard left his wife Fiona for a short period in 2012 and they split up for good the following year, the court heard. The witness said she continued her relationship with Pollard and they were still a couple. The court has heard how allegations against the pair came to light when performance reviews were carried out into the child abuse investigation team, in the north of the county, which they worked in. In her evidence, Patterson denied fabricating a note saying the mother of a complainant did not want to make a statement when she was actually willing. She said if the woman had wanted to make a statement it would have helped the case. The couple had previously exchanged messages to one another which stated that they were each other's 'partners on crime'. The defendants, who live together in Colchester, Essex, each deny three counts of misconduct in a public office between 2011 and 2014. Britain could crash out of the EU by accident in March without a deal, the bloc's chief Brexit negotiator is reported to have told colleagues. Michel Barnier told a French radio station today that he was 'more worried than before' after a week in which Theresa May and senior ministers visited Brussels in a bid to hammer out a workable plan. And he privately told ambassadors that there was a high chance of an 'accidental' Brexit, the Guardian reported. It came as Mrs May was warned not to expect a 'deal in the desert' to emerge from talks with European Council president Donald Tusk in Egypt on Sunday. Mrs May and senior ministers visited Brussels this week for talks with senior EU officials including European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker aimed at finding a workable Brexit deal that can satisfy British MPs and Brussels But EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is said to have revealed that Britain could suffer an 'accidental' no-deal Brexit Mr Barnier told a French radio station on Friday that it was time for Mrs May (pictured with the negotiator in November) to take a decision and present a Brexit plan to Parliament They will meet in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh ahead of the European Union talks with the Arab League. Mr Barnier told a French radio station on Friday that it was time for Mrs May to take a decision and present a Brexit plan to Parliament. 'We don't need extra time, what we need now is a decision and for everyone to take responsibility,' he said. He did not exclude granting Britain more negotiating time, but said it was now up to the British 'to take their responsibilities and assume the consequences of decisions they took democratically'. Brussels however is open to adopting a more ambitious political declaration, alongside the legally binding withdrawal treaty that would set a roadmap for negotiating close EU-UK trade ties. Only 24 of the 28 EU leaders have confirmed they will attend the Red Sea summit, and all would have to be present to agree any new or modified Brexit deal. Theresa May is due to discuss Brexit with European Council president Donald Tusk when they both attend an EU/Arab League conference in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday. But both sides have poured cold water on hopes of a breakthrough in the desert Nevertheless, May is expected to meet some of her counterparts one-on-one on the sidelines of the meeting to push her case for changes to the divorce agreement. This could pave the way towards a later breakthrough, perhaps at the next planned full EU summit on March 21 and 22, just a week before Britain leaves the bloc. 'There will be no deal in the desert in Sharm el-Sheikh, this is a summit between the EU and the Arab states,' an EU source told reporters in Brussels. Another official said: 'It's an opportunity where everyone can talk, but don't expect a deal there.' Downing Street has also dampened hopes of a deal by making a similar warning. An Idaho teenager has been hailed a 'smart kid' who has a 'bright future' after raking in a whopping $35,000 in just four days for plowing driveways in Seattle. And kindhearted David Holsten now plans to donate 20 per cent of his earning to charity. The 18-year-old was in Washington state visiting his mother in hospital after surgery when a friend advised him to put and advert out on Craigslist for his landscaping services. During February the city had received its heaviest snowfall in 70 years with up to 10 inches in some places. When he received a flurry of interest from people online willing to give as much as $1,000, the Holston returned home and lugged his equipment with him in his Dodge Ram from Coeur d'Alene in northern Idaho. It was timed perfectly for his mother who was set to celebrate her birthday from the UW Medical Center. After seeing her again he took the opportunity to earn tens of thousands of dollars. 'I hit the road with jobs lined up until midnight. All during that time, I was answering my phone and adding new customers to my snow route for Monday,' Holston told CNN. He worked across 15 sites to clear the way for people's cars last week. Some of the businesses who required his services were Amazon, Walgreens, a motel, Honda dealership, and a daycare. David Holsten, 18, put an ad on Craigslist for his Seattle snow plowing services last week, charged between $500 and $750 per hour, and earned $35,000 in total Shifting snow can cost $110 per hour and in times of high demand some plowers charge $400. Holston who mows lawns during the summer and earns a yearly salary of about $30,000 - said he was accepting jobs for $500 and $750 an hour in places. The business owner was working 12-hour days from last Saturday to Wednesday and took Sunday off. He worked a whopping 24 hours straight from Monday to Tuesday, resulting in an astonishing amount take home. But Holston who quotes Proverbs 9 when explaining 'the lord doesn't want you to be a slugger' - he could have taken more. Holston said he had to turn down offers because he didn't have the manpower. February saw the heaviest snowfall in 70 years with up to 10 inches in places so he worked 12-hour shifts until 12am and even a 24-hour spell during the four days 'I could have employed five plow trucks,' Holston told KIRO Radio 97.3FM. 'If I had a whole crew, I would have sent them all over to Seattle. 'My parents taught me to work you need to get out there and plow your field, make your living.' That's exactly what he plans to do as part of his 10-year plan of expanding his business before selling it. But the grateful teen who aims to make $100,000 this year - is planning on giving 20 percent of his recent earning to his church. After the $7,000 donation, he'll buy lawn equipment and use the remainder as part of a fund for buying his first house. Speaking about how the Luke 12:31 Bible verse 'But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well' - proved inspiring during his hard work, he added that he was given the opportunities for a reason. 'The Lord blessed me with the money for the sole purpose of advancing his kingdom. All of the glory goes to God!' he exclaimed. Karl Lagerfeld, who passed away from pancreatic cancer aged 85 on Tuesday, had left his shop staff instructions on how he should be honoured after his death. The fashion designer, a notorious perfectionist, had written a manual dictating everything from the flowers to how to speak to customers offering their condolences. It instructs employees to remove all items from the shop window and place a single bouquet of white roses with a company statement on display. In control until the end: Karl Lagerfeld had left strict instructions to display a statement and a bouquet of long-stemmed white roses in each shop window, as seen here at his boutique near the Champs Elysees in Paris, France The five page document, seen by Bild, orders shop staff to 'locally purchase a large, white flower bouquet existing out of white roses, to place in the middle of the (main) window.' Lagerfeld writes that the roses must have 120cm (47in) long stems and should only be placed in a transparent or basic white vase. The manual also provides staff with acceptable answers to give to customers when they offer their condolences, including 'Thank you for your condolences' or 'It is a hard time for all of us'. The statement on display, which was also published on Karl Lagerfeld's Instagram reads: 'The House of KARL LAGERFELD shares, with deep emotion and sadness, the passing of its creative director, Karl Lagerfeld, on February 19, 2019, in Paris, France. 'He was one of the most influential and celebrated designers of the 21st century and an iconic, universal symbol of style. Driven by a phenomenal sense of creativity, Karl was passionate, powerful and intensely curious. 'He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy as one of the greatest designers of our time, and there are no words to express how much he will be missed. ' Final wished: The five-page document includes a selection of answers to give to customers who express their condolences Statement: The statement on display was also published on Karl Lagerfeld's Instagram Lagerfeld passed away in Paris, France this week, after being rushed to hospital. The German-born artistic director for Chanel had looked increasingly frail in recent months, and had did not come out to take a bow at Chanel's couture show in Paris in January, something the company attributed to him being 'too tired'. 'He hadn't gone on about his illness, but battled it very bravely,' said one source. 'Karl was very proud of his fitness and healthy living, so the pancreatic cancer came as a huge shock.' He had also given strict instructions regarding his funeral - or rather lack thereof. Lagerfeld once told i.D magazine: 'Her name is Choupette, Princess Choupette or Miss Choupette. Shes snow white with touches of caramel around the eyes, ears and on her endless boa-like feather tail.' Choupette the gorgeous and beloved Burmese cat of Karl Lagerfeld appeared behind a funereal veil with words describing her as having 'a once cold but now simply broken heart' The 85-year-old's remains will be cremated and his ashes likely scattered with those of his mother and late French partner Jacques De Bascher, who died of AIDS in 1989. He had also expressed a desire to be buried with his beloved pet cat Choupette, however she survived him and is now named as a potential heiress to his vast fortune. 'His wishes will be respected,' a Chanel spokeswoman said on Wednesday. She added that as per Lagerfeld's wishes - he once famously said: 'There will be no funeral. I'd rather die!' - there will be no ceremony. One Texas state school district is amping up their security by arming guards with AR-15s, installing facial recognition cameras, and tracking students with chip technology. The Texas City Independent School District is heightening their security measures to become the safest school system in the country. The district decided to take drastic action last year following the nearby Santa Fe High School shooting where a 17-year-old gunman killed 10 people. The district hired former Secret Service agent Mike Matranga who introduced cutting edge technology to the school including radio frequency identification cards that track students and staff on school grounds and a smartphone app to report active shooters. Texas City Independent School District hired former Secret Service agent Mike Matranga to improve their safety and security measures He introduced facial recognition cameras and radio frequency identification cards to track students and staff at all times (above) His security upgrades include a smartphone app feature that sends alerts if there is an active shooter He also armed guards with AR-15 rifles and lined the school's glass doors with intrusion filming to make them impact resistant. Every deputy in each school receives the gun, which is stored in a code-locked safe in the new security and safety plans. 'These are the weapons we purchased for our deputies. Im a firm believer that we fight firepower with superior firepower,' Matranga said to Fox. Matranga, who worked for the Secret Service for 12 years, says the best thing a school can do to be safe is to have deputies on campus. 'What were trying to do is buy time, and by buying time and by having a deputy on campus or multiple deputies on campus, that time allows our deputies to respond and do their job,' he said on his new measures. But he says nothing is stronger than having eyes and ears constantly on patrol on school grounds. He believes teachers are the best defense for any school. In May, Texas City voters approved a $6.5million bond to beef up safety and security measures in schools. Watch the latest video at foxnews.com Fox News Privacy Policy Matranga has also given each deputy in every school an AR-15 style rifle, which is stored in a safe locked with a code, in the new security plans 'Were not playing around. This isnt some kind of little game to us. We put a lot of time, money, and effort into this,' Rodney Cavness, superintendent of schools for the Texas City Independent School District, said. 'I think were living in a sick society, and there are some very deeply troubled people out there that want to do harm to kids and to campuses and to teachers, and were not going to let that happen,' he added. Parents in the community are supportive of the safety crackdown. 'I would vote for anything in favor of protecting my children,' parent Justin Graves said. He has a child at Heights Elementary School in the district. 'Im in support of the security measures they implemented. It gives me a sense of security,' mother Trisha Jones added. 'Were not playing around. This isnt some kind of little game to us. We put a lot of time, money, and effort into this,' Rodney Cavness, superintendent of schools for the Texas City Independent School District, said In May, Texas City voters approved a $6.5million bond to beef up security in schools. Similar security upgrades are being made in Wisconsin, Florida, Colorado and New Mexico The new security measures follow a staggering number of school shootings that have devastated the nation. Following the Santa Fe High School shooting, the school put up metal detectors and hired more officers. Schools in Wisconsin were given safety grants from the state which they used to install security cameras and new classroom door handles. Broward County in Florida has also set in motion new security plans following the deadly Parkland school shooting. National School and Security Services president Ken Trump says that Texas City's measures are the most aggressive for a school district. Trump has no relationship to the president. 'This district seemed to gather a lot of attention because they put a whole lot of money in a short period of time,' Trump said to Fox. 'The question isnt really whether school safety is the top priority now, but six months down the road when the memories of Parkland fade, will there be the same investment not only in time and dollars but the people?' he challenged. A jeweler to Hip-Hop royalty may have lost more than $10 million worth jewels after an armed after dinner ambush, police in Atlanta say. Two masked gunmen stalked the owner and his wife as they returned from dinner to their home in Smyrna last Friday night. They were forced into their own home with weapons pointed at them where the men took the keys to the store and bound them in duct tape and cable ties. One of the robbers stayed with the couple, while the other drove their Toyota Rav4 to the famous Ice Box store in Atlanta where another accomplice was waiting. An Icebox associate (this does not imply this man is the owner) alongside rap icon Drake (right) who is known to frequent Atlanta, the picture is captioned: 'The ONE and ONLY @champagnepapi!' An example of the work produced by the store - these are diamond encrusted pendants of emojis found on the Apple iPhone 21 Savage has also appeared at the store which sells diamond encrusted pendants, grills, watches and chains An exterior view of the Ice Box store, located in the Peachtree Park area of northern Atlanta The men took two hours to clear out seven safes, the AJC reported, with CCTV footage appearing to show them FaceTiming as they punched in lock codes. The men threatened to kill the couple if they did not follow their commands. After arriving at the store around 11.30pm, the men sped away from the scene at around 1.30am. Police in Atlanta said it was a highly coordinated heist, with no damage to the store as the robbers knew exactly what they wanted. They said jewelry and cash were also taken from the house of the owner, though neither he nor his wife were injured. The city cops are working alongside Cobb County police who are investigating the house, located around 10 miles from the store. One week on, they have not made any arrests or recovered the jewels. Atlanta rapper Lil Baby appears in this post on the jewelers Instagram (it is not known who the man on the right is) Trippie Redd appears with a representative of the store (no suggestion it is the robbery victim) Grills are encrusted at the store, these are dental fittings which have been made popular in the Hip-Hop world Ice Box Diamonds and Watches are well known for their rapper clientele and have more than 1.4 million followers on Instagram. Atlanta is to Hip-Hop, what Detroit was to Motown, and has become the genre's cultural capital in recent years. Artists such as 21 Savage, Migos, Trippie Redd and Lil Baby - all top Atlanta rappers - have appeared inside the Ice Box store. A furious Texas mom says her teenage son was left humiliated after the principal removed him from class for a teacher to cut off his bangs which were deemed longer than the school's dress code allowed. Lane Kiesling, 16, was told three weeks earlier that the length of his bangs violated the dress code at Hico Independent School District, but his mother Amy Martin told NBCDFW that finances made getting the haircut difficult. 'Money's really tight right now. We just moved and there's a lot of expenses and a haircut's just not even on my radar right now,' said Martin. 'It was well below my eyebrows but it was on top of my glasses so it never got in my eyes,' Lane said of his hair. 'It just got close.' Lane Kiesling, 16, shown with his bangs almost at their longest before his teacher clipped them off at the Hico Independent School District in Hico, Texas The photo posted by Lane's mother on Facebook shows the uneven strands of his bangs after the teacher took scissors to his hair Martin went on to post to Facebook on Wednesday that her son came home crying after the teacher 'made him look like Jim Carry in Dumb or Dumber but worse.' The principal allegedly told the teen on Tuesday morning that a teacher with a cosmetology license would take care of the haircut issue after school, according to Lane. Instead, Lane says he was taken out of his 7th period class where the teacher said she would only be cutting his bangs. After the choppy cut, the embarrassed teenager returned to the ridicule of his classmates for the rest of the day. Martin would go on to call the principal who said the teacher claimed it was Lane's fault for looking down during the haircut, but she said the administrator apologized and offered to take the student to fix the haircut. Amy Martin, Lanes' mother, says that their financial situation made it difficult to get her son the haircut he needed to fall in line with the school's dress code Martin shared pictures of her son before and after his haircut, adding that he came home from school crying After posting her son's story, Martin says she received private messages about a history of problems at the Hico ISD However, Martin also clarified that she thinks highly of the majority of the staffers at her son's high school 'He came back crying again,' Martin wrote about Lane after they took up the principal on his offer. 'He said the principal just told him how it was his fault and belittled him the whole time. It's a real small town, there were people they know there. He is humiliated.' She attempted to file a police report about the incident, but was offered a campus officer to take a statement. Martin did not want to talk to an official connected to the school and was unable to file a complaint with either the local police department or the sheriff. 'As part of our commitment to provide a safe and secure learning environment, Hico ISD has a student code of conduct and student handbook that is comprehensive. Student expectations are shared at the beginning of every school year,' the district wrote in a statement to NBC. 'We also ask parents to sign off on our procedures which are based on community values.' The Hico Independent School District's dress code governs the acceptable length of a student's hair According to the school's handbook, another option for Lane would have been to be assigned in-school suspension Martin would go on to post on Facebook that others have told her stories of abuse and mistreatment at the school district. She called for other parents and students to speak up against the 'elitist crap,' but she added that 'most of the Hico ISD staff are fantastic!' Both mother and son would have preferred Lane had been given an in-school suspension as an option according to the rules for the dress code violation. 'I know it's just hair. It grows back,' Martin said. 'But it's not like she just gave him a haircut. She hurt his self-esteem. His self-image. That's the problem.' White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders blasted Democrats on Friday for quickly blaming President Donald Trump and his base for a supposed racist attack on actor Jussie Smollett that police now say was a self-inflicted hoax. And she defended Trump's decision to weigh in on the scandal with a tweet, saying 'the president's pushing back.' 'There were so many people including a lot of leadership from the Democrat party. Everybody from Nancy Pelosi, Cory Booker, and a number of others mostly those that are running for president that quickly came out, attacked the president, blamed the president,' Sanders said in a 'Fox & Friends' interview. 'And in fact as we learn more, it certainly seems like the only person to blame in this case is Smollett. And it's another sad example of people so quick to want to attack and come after this president.' In the hours after Smollett reported what appeared to be a hate crime perpetrated by two Trump supporters, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker all tweeted support for him, calling the supposed attack 'an attempted modern-day lynching' and 'an affront to our humanity.' Pelosi later deleted her tweet. The senators have backtracked with qualified statements about condemning racism while waiting for facts to emerge. Trump laid into Smollett on Thursday after Chicago police arrested the disgraced 'Empire' actor and prosecutors charged him with filing a false police report. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders blasted Democrats on Friday for quickly blaming President Donald Trump and his base for a supposed racist attack on actor Jussie Smollett that police now say was a self-inflicted hoax President Donald Trump defended his 'Make America Great Again' base on Thursday, saying Smollett 'insulted' them with 'racist and dangerous comments' related to a hoax attack he said was committee by men wearing Trump hats and shouting 'This is MAGA country' Trump tweeted after police revealed details of Smollett's plot and spoke to reporters about his arrest, demanding an apology from the actor Smollett is pictured in an Instagram picture he posted on February 7, 2018; DailyMail.com has blurred out the word 'f**k' Jussie Smollett is shown in his mugshot on Thursday morning. The 'Empire' actor handed himself in at 5:00 a.m. on charges of filing a false police report and disorderly conduct. Police say he concocted the fake attack because he thought a higher public profile would get him a salary raise from the $100,000 per episode he earned on the TV drama Smollett had said a pair of men wearing ski masks and 'Make America Great Again' hats attacked him on a Chicago street, shouting racist and anti-gay slurs. He claimed they shouted 'This is MAGA country!' as they beat him and put a noose around his neck. Chicago Police Superintendant Eddie Johnson blasted him on Thursday in a press conference, saying he had 'taken advantage of the pain and anger of racism to further his career, hoping a higher public profile would help him earn more than the $100,000 he was paid for each episode of the TV drama. Smollett now faces a felony that could land him behind bars for three years, and even more time in prison if he is charged with mail fraud for sending himself a threatening letter containing white powder. His intentions and 'lies' have 'p****d everybody off', Johnson said, calling his behavior 'shameful' and 'despicable.' Sanders said President Trump is 'fighting back' against liberals who jumped to the conclusion that someone in Trump's conservative base was responsible for attacking Smollett Hours after Smollett's alleged attack occurred, Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker tweeted that the supposed attack was 'an attempted modern-day lynching' and 'an affront to our humanity,' and urged Congress to make lynching a federal hate crime Trump let him have it on Twitter, saying the actor maligned his base of supporters by casting them in the role of villains. '@JussieSmollett - what about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!?' the president tweeted, adding the hashtag '#MAGA.' Police have found phone records which they say prove Smollett spoke with brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo an hour before the attack, an hour afterwards and while they were in Nigeria, keeping their heads down, while the case gained global attention. Police say that Smollett mailed himself a threatening letter at the 'Empire' studio in Chicago on January 22, which had 'MAGA' written on it and included racist and homophobic slurs. When that did not win him a pay hike from 20th Century Fox, he allegedly hired the brothers to attack him at 2am on January 29 in what he then told police was a racist and homophobic attack. They punched him but Smollett gave himself the scratches on his face that were visible in a hospital-bed selfie he took after reporting it to police, the Superintendent said. While Smollett received an outpouring of sympathy from politicians, celebrities and public figures around the world, the brothers fled to Nigeria afterwards. Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career. Chicago Police Department Chief Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson They were tracked down through their use of taxis on the night of the incident and were picked up when they returned to Chicago on February 13. Once in custody, they told police that Smollett had hired them and said it was because he wanted a higher salary. He paid them a reported $3,500 to carry out the attack, they said, and promised them $500 more when they returned. Smollett is in custody awaiting his first court appearance on felony charges of filing a false police report and disorderly conduct. He will appear before a judge at 1.30pm. During the press conference, Superintendent Johnson revealed Smollett went from being treated as the victim in the case to a suspect when the brothers 'confessed' the 'entire plot' in the final hour of a 48 hour hold. That is when they, in their lawyer's words, 'manned up' and revealed that they had been hired to carry out the attack by the actor himself. Chicago Police Department Chief Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson tore through Smollett at a press conference on Thursday where he labeled him 'shameful' and 'despicable' President Trump had not spoken publicly about the Smollett case until Thursday's tweet Smollett actually furthered the investigation along by going on Good Morning America and confirming that the two people in a grainy surveillance footage still were the men who attacked him. He was unaware when he made the remark that Chicago PD had identified those men as the Osundairo brothers and that they had them in custody. 'I come to you today not only as the Superintendent of Chicago Police Department but as a black man who has spent his entire life living in the city of Chicago. 'I know the racial divide. I know how hard it has been for our city and our nation to come together. 'Empire actor Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career. 'I'm left hanging my head and asking why? Why would anyone, especially an African American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations? When we discovered the actual motive, it p****d everybody off Chicago Police Department Chief Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson 'How could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol and see it as an opportunity to manipulate his own public profile?' Superintendent Johnson said, adding it was a 'slap in the face ' to 'everyone' in Chicago. Smollett has not made any statements since he was taken into custody. His lawyers said on Wednesday night that he would fight the charges with an 'aggressive defense'. In previous statements, his representatives have angrily hit out at the media and insisted that he is the victim. Police say Smollett cut his own cheek to make it look like he had suffered injuries in the attack. He is shown in a hospital bed selfie FaceTiming Lee Daniels, the show's creator, hours after the attack Within hours of him being charged, Smollett's attorneys arranged for him to hand himself in quietly at Chicago's 1st District afterwards. He appeared in his mugshot wearing a black puffer jacket, staring blankly at the camera. After being processed at the station, he was transferred to the Cook County courthouse where he will appear at 1.30pm. He is being held separately from other detainees. 20th Century Fox, which released a statement hours before he was charged to say it was standing by him, is now reportedly suspending the actor. A press conference is scheduled for 9am CT during which detectives will give more details about the arrest. It is not yet known where he was or what time he was taken into custody. 'Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked,' the actor's attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson said. 'Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense.' The Osundairo brothers testified before the grand jury for about two and a half hours on Wednesday. Addressing reporters outside afterwards, their attorney Gloria Schmidt said they'd 'manned up' by speaking out against Smollett. Surveillance footage emerged on Wednesday showing Ola and Abel Osundairo buying ski masks the day before the attack They have not been arrested or charged and their lawyer said they had not been offered any form of immunity deal in exchange for testifying against Smollett. 'There was a point where this story needed to be told, and they manned up and they said: "We're gonna correct this." 'Plea deal, immunity, all of that they don't' care about that.' She said that Smollett was lying, and that she didn't know how his conscience could let him sleep at night. There was a point where this story needed to be told and they manned up and they said, "we're going to correct this" Gloria Schmidt, lawyer for two Nigerian brothers 'I think Jussie's conscience is not letting him sleep right now and he should unload that conscience and come out and tell the American people what happened,' she added. 'I think the biggest thing for the American people to know. Is that this story, has a lot of complications to it. 'We're not trying to hide anything from the press. But we wanted to make sure that everything checked out. 'When I say that the police spent countless man-hours trying to piece this together, I mean that, I absolutely mean that. 'When I say that my clients spent countless hours getting their story out there to the police so that they could do their work, I mean that, too,' she said. The brothers' testimony came after footage emerged of them buying ski masks, a red hat and gloves in a store the day before the attack. The brothers said Smollett also sent himself this letter to the Fox studio where Empire is filmed a week before the attack. If he did, he faces another 5-10 years in prison on a federal mail fraud charge It was taken on January 28 and shows brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo inside what looks like a drug store buying the masks and one hat. Smollett told police that he was attacked by two masked assailants who punched him, poured bleach on him, tied a noose around his neck and called him 'Empire n****r f****t'. No footage has ever emerged of the incident itself. In the video taken inside the store the day earlier, the brothers look calm as they bring the items to the register. Abel, whose full name is Abimbola, is dressed in a blue plaid jacket. About 30 seconds into the video, he puts his hood up while standing at the register. His younger brother Ola, who once appeared on Empire as an extra, is in a green jacket. Abel and Ola Osundairo's lawyers said on Wednesday night that they 'manned up' by telling police that Smollett paid them Ola appeared on the second season of Empire as an extra. He is shown with Lee Daniels, the show's creator, on set in 2015 Smollett follows the brothers' joint Instagram account where they post videos and photographs of themselves working out Last Thursday, the actor wept as he said 'who the f*** would make that up' when addressing the skepticism surrounding his version of events during an interview on Good Morning America The brothers were picked up by police at Chicago O'Hare Airport on Wednesday night as they returned from Nigeria. Police seized a red hat from the brothers' home along with ski masks when they raided it last week. Smollett said his attackers were wearing masks but there was not a description of a red hat in the initial reports. Police have since shared their belief that at least one of them was wearing a red hat at the time of the attack. Smollett's family, many of whom are also actors, have spoken out repeatedly in support of him since the January 29 attack as have many of his co-stars on Empire. Among them is Gabby Sidibe, his roommate at one time, who said on Instagram on Wednesday: 'I know him. I believe him.' Fox also insisted that he was not being written out of the show, as had been claimed, and called him a 'consummate professional' in a statement. Smollett's lawyers include Mark Geragos, who has represented Michael Jackson and Colin Kaepernick, in the past. When news of the attack first emerged on January 29 and 30, Smollett was inundated with support across the political spectrum. Among those who tweeted their condemnation of him were Democratic presidential hopefuls Kamala Harris and Cory Booker. But as days went by with no suspects on the horizon, details about the case and the police's investigation into it began to cast doubt on Smollett's version of events. One of the earliest sources of speculation was the fact that Smollett waited 42 minutes to call the police then refused to hand over his phone to the police for them to verify his story. He then handed over redacted files that police described as 'insufficient'. Frustrated with the coverage of his case, he hit out at the media for reporting on leaked information coming from within the Chicago police department and insisted he was the victim. He then went on Good Morning America to protest his innocence. In an hour-long interview with Robin Roberts, he wept as he recalled the attack and abhorred the reaction to it. Gloria Schmidt, the brothers' lawyer, said Smollett was lying and that she didn't know how his conscience could let him sleep at night Choking back tears, he explained when asked why it took so long for him to contact the authorities: 'There is a level of pride there. 'We live in a society where as a gay man you are considered somehow to be weak and I am not weak. I am not weak and we as a people are not weak.' Later, he added how desperate he was for them to find footage of the attack. 'I want that video found so badly because, for probably four reasons. 'Number one, I want them to find the people that did it. 'Number two, I want them to stop being able to say 'alleged' attack. 'Number three, I want them to see that I fought back,' he continued, welling-up. 'I want a little gay boy who might watch this to see that I fought the f*** back. They ran off,' I didn't,' he said. After it emerged that Smollett knew the brothers and may have been involved in the staging of the attack, the celebrities and politicians who rushed to support him walked back their claims. Nancy Pelosi deleted her tweet about it and Cory Booker said he would now be 'withholding judgement' until more information emerged. Kamala Harris said, when questioned about her tweet that it was a 'modern day lynching', that she was 'very concerned'. A California couple who shackled some of their 13 children to beds and starved them pleaded guilty Friday to torture and other abuse in a case dubbed a 'house of horrors.' David and Louise Turpin pleaded guilty Friday in Riverside County Superior Court to 14 counts that included abusing minor and adult children and imprisoning them in their house that appeared to be neatly kept from the outside in a modest subdivision. Sentencing was scheduled for April 19. David Turpin appeared stoic as he pleaded guilty, but Louise's face reddened and she began crying and dabbed her eyes with a tissue during the hearing. David and Louise Turpin pleaded guilty Friday in Riverside County Superior Court to 14 counts that included abusing minor and adult children and imprisoning them in their house David Turpin appeared stoic as he pleaded guilty, but Louise's face reddened and she began crying and dabbed her eyes with a tissue during the hearing. Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin says the couple will be sentenced on April 19 to 25 years-to-life in prison. Hestrin says the guilty pleas were important to protect the children from having to testify. The couple was arrested in January 2018 when their 17-year-old daughter called 911 after escaping from the family's home in the city of Perris, southeast of Los Angeles. The children, who ranged in age from 2 to 29 at the time, were severely underweight and hadn't bathed for months and the house reeked of human waste. Investigators said some of the children had stunted growth and wasted muscles and described being beaten, starved and put in cages. In a recording of the 911 call played in court last year, the girl who escaped said two younger sisters and a brother were chained to their beds and she couldn't take it any longer. The couple was arrested in January 2018. The children, who ranged in age from 2 to 29 at the time, were severely underweight and hadn't bathed for months. Louise is shown here on Friday The pair will be sentenced April 19. David is seen here on Friday 'They will wake up at night and they will start crying and they wanted me to call somebody,' she said in a high-pitched voice. 'I wanted to call y'all so y'all can help my sisters.' The intervention by authorities marked a new start for the 13 Turpin offspring who lived in such isolation that some didn't even understand the role of the police when they arrived at the house. Two girls, 11 and 14, had been hastily released from their chains when police showed up, but a 22-year-old son remained shackled. The young man said he and his siblings had been suspected of stealing food and being disrespectful, a detective testified. The children spent most of their time locked in their rooms in the modest Perris, California suburban home, except for limited meals or using the bathroom The man said he had been tied up with ropes at first and then, after learning to wriggle free, restrained with increasingly larger chains on and off over six years. Authorities said the children were deprived of food and things other kids take for granted, such as toys and games, and were allowed to do little except write in journals. An investigator testified that some suffered from severe malnutrition and muscle wasting, including an 11-year-old girl who had arms the size of an infant. The 17-year-old who had difficulty pronouncing some words and spoke like a much younger child. The kids were rarely allowed outside, though they went out on Halloween and traveled as a family to Disneyland and Las Vegas The kids were rarely allowed outside, though they went out on Halloween and traveled as a family to Disneyland and Las Vegas, investigators said. The children spent most of their time locked in their rooms except for limited meals or using the bathroom. All the children were hospitalized immediately after they were discovered. Riverside County authorities then obtained temporary conservatorship over the adults. The Turpins had led a mostly solitary, but seemingly unremarkable life until the teenager jumped from a window and ran for help. David Turpin, 57, had worked as an engineer for both Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Louise Turpin, 50, was listed as a housewife in a 2011 bankruptcy filing. The family led a nocturnal existence and slept during the day, which kept them largely out of sight from neighbors in a middle-class subdivision. Authorities said the children were deprived of food and things other kids take for granted, such as toys and games, and were allowed to do little except write in journals. Although the parents filed reports with the state that they home-schooled their children, the oldest child had only completed the third grade and a 12-year-old couldn't recite the full alphabet. The parents claimed they home-schooled their children, but the oldest child had only completed the third grade and a 12-year-old couldn't recite the full alphabet. The adult children are all now living together and attending school Jack Osborn, an attorney who represents the seven adult children in probate court, said they were happy the guilty plea spared them from testifying. 'They are relieved they can now move forward with their lives and not have the specter of a trial hanging over their heads and all the stress that would have caused,' Osborn said. The adult children are all living together, attending school and getting healthy while leading lives similar to their peers. He said they value their privacy. A spokesman at the social service agency that oversees the younger children had no immediate comment. The children have not spoken publicly, though they will be allowed to speak at the sentencing if they choose to, Hestrin said. 'I was very taken by their optimism, by their hope for the future, for their future,' Hestrin said. 'They have a zest for life and huge smiles and I am optimistic for them and I think that's how they feel about their future.' A Scottish IT programmer turned Muslim convert screamed 'Allahu Akbar' as he was jailed for posting a rant on Facebook in support of the Manchester Arena bombing the day after the attack. Hamza Siddiq - born Andrew Calladine - took to social media while colleagues held a minute's silence to remember the 22 people killed in the 2017 terror attack. He wrote: 'I do not think the attack in Manchester was the best choice of action to take but I refuse to apologise for it or pretend I don't know the cause. 'The blame for it lies at the feet of the politicians, their police and their armies. 'It was an inevitable consequence of British foreign and domestic policy towards Muslims.' Hamza Siddiq - born Andrew Calladine - was jailed for four and a half years for his Facebook post Hamza Siddiq admitted the crimes but said he did not recognise the authority of the temporal court The father-of-three also posted support for IS and expressed glee at terrorist attacks including the Charlie Hebdo massacre which left 12 dead. Following his Facebook rant about the Manchester bombings, Siddiq, 37, was confronted by furious locals in a Tesco in his native Scotland. He fled south but was arrested by Nottinghamshire Police days later. He was charged with one count of encouraging terrorism and another of failing to disclose information to police. He pleaded guilty to both charges and was jailed for four-and-a-half years at Birmingham Crown Court today. Judge Melbourne Inman QC said: 'The prosecution has said that you have long been a supporter of terrorism. 'In June 2014 you were writing posts about a prescribed terrorist organisation IS - and about the establishment of the Caliphate. 'Thereafter in 2015 you had tweeted [a picture of] a t-shirt showing support for the attack on the Charlie Hebdo office. 'In 2017 you said after the Manchester Arena bombing that Manchester should be apologising and not the other way around. 'You have expressed you support for IS and expressed support for them around the world. 'You have sent letters to convicted terrorists and said they have been an inspiration to you. 'You have asked people to pray for a man who travelled to the Philippines for Jihad. 'Against that background is your message of August 16 last year - they are clearly supportive of terrorist activities that seek to impose an interpretation of Islam on others. 'It is clear, because of your association and inference you are sufficiently deeply involved that you know who shares such beliefs, who are themselves deeply involved in terrorist activities. 'You made it clear that you reject the laws of this country and you consider that you live outside the law - given you support for terrorism that makes you a very dangerous individual. 'You clearly believe that you are above the law. 'Your cellphone was the only way the police would have been able to find the posting, in the end they found it by going through Facebook. 'It relates to national security and is therefore very serious.' The court heard the security services were aware of Siddiq, who in 2017 had declared that 'everyone who resists the prophet should be killed' The court heard that Siddiq had been on the radar of the security services since 2014 after he made a series of alarming social media posts. Prosecutor Simon Davis said: 'When he was interviewed he claimed that the only valid form of Government was Sharia and he rejected man made law - he was in support of armed struggle. 'The defendant was on the police radar in 2014 about the nature of his posts and after the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in 2015. 'He was back on their radar in May 2017 after the Manchester Arena bombing. 'He'd declared that everyone who resists the prophet should be killed. 'On May 25 he had 1,293 followers on Facebook, this had risen to 1,439. 'The messages he posted were not just about the religion of Islam but it was to get across the complete and perfect message of Islam and that it would one day dominate the world. 'The violent struggle of Islam was referenced in the Jihadi content. He declared support for the Caliphate. 'In 2016, in the company he worked for, there had been a request for two minutes silence but on social media he said 'my respect is for he Mujahedin who fight the enemies of Islam.' 'In 2017, after the Manchester Arena bombing he also demanded an apology from the people of Manchester for acts of terrorism by the Government. 'It is here that indicates the issue of intention. These are anti-democratic. 'It was at his company where there was another minute's silence requested where he made the Facebook post in 2017 after the Manchester bombing. 'Other posts include him saying Allah has shown the Martyr his place in paradise - he'll be married to 72 maidens of paradise and permitted to intercede for 70 members of his family. 'There is references to the violent struggle and the global fight against the crusader. 'There are others that reference the Koran as the perfect word of God and that anyone who doubts a single verse is an unbeliever. 'The language the sense and the tenor are the same and indicates the issue of intention. 'He has also been in communication with known terrorists and formed a close association with them. 'The defendant is an IT software programmer and his IT skills signal his culpability. 'On his public order offence in 2016 on March 4 - he shouted 'Allahu Akbar' and threw a ration box at soldiers.' Earlier in the case, when asked how he pleaded, Siddiq told the court: 'I have committed no crime under Sharia, the only law acceptable to Allah. 'I believe and accept Sharia and do not accept man made law. However I accept that according to English and Welsh law I have committed this charge.' On May 22, 2017, suicide bomber Salman Abedi murdered 22 people, including eight-year-old Saffie-Rose Rousso. The court heard Siddiq was born into a Christian family but converted to Islam after reading Malcolm X and the Koran. Alex Rose, defending, said: 'He has a strong religious belief and there are many varied interpretations of Islam. 'He has an orthodox belief, it does not mean he is politically minded.' The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has turned down Ukraines request for interim measures concerning the detention of Ukrainian navy ships in the Kerch Strait, the Russian Justice Ministry said. "The arguments and materials provided by the Ukrainian authorities did not persuade the ECHR to grant their request. The Court came to the conclusion that the request did not contain any new arguments and was similar to the previous one, to which the Russian authorities had already responded in full," TASS cited the statement as saying. On November 25, 2018, three Ukrainian navy ships illegally crossed Russias border and tried to carry out some illegal actions in Russian territorial waters later in the day. The three vessels were detained in Russian territorial waters. A criminal investigation was opened into the border incident. The Ukrainian ships crew members - 24 Ukrainian nationals - were arrested. Mexico's president revealed he has ordered his government to assist the family of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, 61, seek humanitarian visas to visit the jailed drug kingpin in the United States. But President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador could have an obstacle in its way a day after the U.S. Justice Department indicted his two sons on drug conspiracy charges. Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 34, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez, 28, are charged in a single-count indictment that was unsealed last week in Washington. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador revealed he's ordered his government to assist the family of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman (center) could meet once again with his family members if the United States follows through with a request that has been made by the Mexican government to provide humanitarian visas to his two sisters El Chapo's mother Consuelo Loera (pictured) told Univision in an exclusive interview February 15 that she wanted to ask the Mexican president for help in seeking a visa to visit the jailed drug lord Bernarda Guzman Loera (center) is one of El Chapo's two sisters that the Mexican government is trying to assist to obtain a humanitarian visa from the United States in order to visit the jailed capo U.S. prosecutors claim the sons of the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel conspired to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana to the U.S. from Mexico and other countries from 2008 to 2018. They are both believed to be living in Mexico and remain fugitives. Lopez Obrador visited El Chapo's hometown of Badiraguato in the state of Sinaloa on February 15 and received a letter from a lawyer representing Consuelo Loera, 90, the mother of the ex-leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. 'Like any mother asking me for support for her son,' Lopez Obrador said Friday morning. Loera told Univision last week she was interested in talking directly to the Mexican leader so that he could help her seek permission from the US government to travel to see her son. 'Of course, I miss him a lot and I want to see him,' she said. 'My request is that they allow me to go and see him, and that he is transferred here to Mexico.' But she reconsidered her wishes in meeting with Lopez Obrador, who was in Sinaloa to announce a highway construction project in the area. The U.S. Justice Department unsealed an indictment that accuses El Chapo's son, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, on drug conspiracy charges Joaquin Guzman Lopez, El Chapo's 34-year-old son, was also named in an indictment that accuses him and his brother of conspiring to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana Instead, she has asked him for legal help and assistance in obtaining humanitarian visas for two of Guzman's sisters, Armida and Bernarda Guzman Loera. Consuelo, who hasn't seen her son in five years, wouldn't be joining her two daughter if the visas are granted. Lopez Obrador said legal questions would have to be dealt with by Mexico's Interior Ministry, Attorney General's Office and judiciary. 'I gave instructions that they facilitate [soliciting the visas],' he said. 'That the sisters be able to go to the United States and to help them according to the laws, regulations that country has, so that they can visit him or have communication.' Consuelo had also mentioned in her Univision interview that she wanted to ask Lopez Obrador about arranging to have El Chapo serve his sentence in Mexico. During Friday's press conference the president remained tight-lipped about such request when a reporter brought up the idea. The U.S. Justice Department might not be amicable to such a request from the Mexican government considering El Chapo escaped from two prisons. El Chapo was extradited to the U.S. in January 2017. He was convicted February 12 in federal court in New York on multiple drug trafficking and conspiracy charges and likely faces a life sentence. During a trial that lasted three months, prosecutors said El Chapo built a $14 billion fortune, and was responsible for 33 murders and trafficking more than 220 tons of cocaine as well as vast quantities of other drugs to America, Europe and the rest of the world. He is set to be sentenced June 25. Donald Trump fired a warning shot at Michael Cohen, his former attorney, on Friday before a public hearing next week in the House and two private appearances before Intelligence Committee lawmakers. Trump said he was not worried about Cohen might say. 'No. No. No,' he responded when a reporter asked him about it in the Oval Office. The president mentioned attorney-client privilege and said, 'He's taking his own chances.' Cohen was later revealed to have offered federal prosecutors information about the president's business and inaugural activity. Michael Cohen will testify three times next week: once at a public hearing in the House and twice behind closed doors According to The New York Times, Cohen disclosed information on insurance claims he filed on behalf of the Trump Organization. The paper's sources said Cohen flagged a donation that California venture capitalist made to Trump's inauguration committee as part of a potential pay-for-play scheme, as well. Imaad Zuberi gave $900,000 to Trump's inaugural committee and attempted to enlist Cohen in a paid lobbying effort, a source told the Times. He wrote Cohen a $100,000 check that the president's former fixer never cashed. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Friday morning that it's Cohen who ought to be worried about his congressional testimony, not the president, as she was asked about the public hearing that will take place with Trump is abroad. Sanders told Fox News on Friday that President Trump is 'very confident' in what occurred into the lead-up to the 2016 election and is 'not concerned' about what his former fixer could tell lawmakers. 'I don't think the president has any concerns whatsoever about Michael Cohen. I think Michael Cohen may need to be concerned for himself. But that's certainly something that's not influencing or bothering us in this building,' she said. Cohen should be especially concerned about the prospect of breaking attorney client privilege in his testimony, Sanders asserted. 'That's a problem that he's going to have to deal with,' she acknowledged. 'I'm not an attorney so I'm not going to try to get into what that looks like. What I can tell you is the president's very confident in what he has and hasn't done, and he's not concerned about Michael Cohen.' White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says it's Michael Cohen, an ex-attorney for Donald Trump, who ought to be worried about his congressional testimony, not the president Sanders said President Trump is 'very confident' in what occurred into the lead-up to the 2016 election and is 'not concerned' about what his former fixer could tell lawmakers The former lawyer to President Donald Trump, will testify three times next week. He'll appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday for closed-door testimony. He's in the House on Wednesday and Thursday of next week, first at a public hearing convened by the Oversight Committee and then at a private hearing that the Intelligence Committee is holding. Top ranking Republicans on Oversight criticized committee chairman Elijah Cummings on Thursday for giving Cohen, an admitted liar, a public forum to air his grievances against his former employer. 'Cohen is a convicted criminal who has admitted to crimes of deception and lies for his personal greed and ambition. Our Members have a number of questions they intend to pose Cohen; however, Chairman Elijah Cummings has refused to request material necessary to prepare for Cohen's anticipated testimony,' Reps. Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows wrote. They asked Cummings to request additional information and documentation on 'the strategic consulting, lobbying, and foreign agent work he sought to undertake after he was denied a staff position in President Trump's White House' in the letter. Republican lawmakers are especially interested in lobbying work that Cohen did around the time of President Trump's inauguration. Cohen made millions off of insight he provided to companies looking for a leg up in the Trump administration. 'Despite collecting a handsome windfall, Cohen apparently performed little to no work,' Jordan and Meadows said. 'Instead, it appears that Cohen leveraged his association with President Trump to attract and retain major corporate clients, produced no tangible results, and still walked away with millions of dollars.' The legislators took the information from the documents that the Southern District of New York put together against Cohen. He's set to go to prison on May 6, having pleaded guilty last year to nine separate federal crimes. The 52-year-old New Yorker received a a two-month reprieve on Wednesday from a judge who agreed to delay a March deadline for his to report to prison. Cohen needs the time to recover from shoulder surgery and to prepare for his upcoming congressional testimony, his attorney Michael Monico wrote to the judge. He underwent a serious surgical procedure and he needs to undergo intensive post-surgical physical therapy and be monitored by his physician for recovery,' the letter stated. Judge William Pauley granted Cohen's request for a 60 day delay Additionally, his attorney notes Cohen anticipates being called to testify before three (3) Congressional committees at the end of the month. Doing so will require Mr. Cohen to spend substantial time in preparation that will limit the time he has to get his affairs in order and spend time with his family. The letter to the judge noted the Southern District of New York, which led the prosecution against Cohen, did not object to the request. Judge William Pauley granted Cohen a 60-day delay. Cohen's attorneys thanked the court in a statement after the ruling. 'We thank the court for granting the postponement of Mr. Cohen's surrender date to May 6. As we have previously stated, Mr. Cohen underwent serious shoulder surgery and this extra time allows Mr. Cohen to continue his physical therapy. In addition, he will be able to prepare for the expected testimony next week before the Congressional Committees, which he welcomes,' Monico, Barry Spevack and Lanny Davis said in a joint statement. Cohen received a three-year sentence from Pauley in December for bank and tax fraud, lying to Congress and violating campaign finance laws. He was supposed to report to prison on March 6. Cohen also had pledged to talk to the House and Senate intelligence committees in private and to the House Oversight and Reform Committee in public before he was supposed to report to prison. He has delayed his scheduled appearances before those three committees three times for various reasons. Cohen was initially scheduled to testify before the House Oversight panel on February 7, but that was canceled and a new date has not been announced. He was supposed to testify behind closed doors before the House Intelligence Committee on February 8 but that was rescheduled for February 28. He was scheduled to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on February 12 but that was postponed for 'post surgery medical needs' - Cohen had shoulder surgery last month - and has not be rescheduled. Cohen attorney Lanny Davis said Tuesday that Cohen can't talk to lawmakers about what he told Robert Mueller for the special counsel's Russia investigation but said Cohen will reveal how Trump is 'bigoted,' 'treats people badly,' and talk about he's heard the president say disparaging things about black people behind closed doors. 'I believe the issue in 2020 which Michael Cohen can speak to better than anyone is the man lacks character,' Davis told ABC's 'The Investigation' podcast. 'He speaks in bigoted words in private, which Michael Cohen will tell you. He treats people badly. He has no moral character in defrauding people in his businesses, and going bankrupt, and taking cash out, and putting people out of work. He lacks the moral compass that we expect in our presidents.' But Davis said Cohen will be able to talk about 'what did you do for Mr. Trump for all those years and why.' Trump's legal team has already made their case against Cohen by painting him as an unreliable witness. Both Trump's lawyers and the president himself have pushed back against any comments Cohen may have made to Mueller or will make in public by labeling him as a rat and turn coat who can't be believed. Davis conceded that Cohen knows he has a 'deep hole to climb out' of in terms of credibility. But he argued his client has seen the light and wants to make amends for his past work for the president. 'He wouldn't take a pardon if Trump pleaded with him to take it. Why? Because it would be dirty,' Davis told ABC News. He also slammed the president for calling Cohen a rat on Twitter, saying that is 'reckless and dangerous' because it could put Cohen's life in danger in prison. Trump 'calls him a rat, which is a label that in prison that can be a dangerous label,' Davis said. Michael Cohen seen with his arm in a sling. A judge said he could have two more months to report to prison while he recovers from surgery Cohen has been cooperating with the special counsel's probe of Russia's role in the 2016 election and has given Mueller's team 70 hours worth of interviews. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York was the lead federal prosecutor earlier this year when Cohen pled guilty to eight counts, including tax fraud and campaign finance violations - that stemmed from the special counsel's investigation. Cohen also has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the timeline of conversations he had with Russian officials about building a Trump Tower Moscow as part of separate investigation by Mueller's team. He was sentenced to three years in prison and is free on bail until that time. Cohen's guilty pleas included a charge of lying to Congress about a Trump Organization real estate project that was slated for Moscow, Russia and discussed through the fall of 2016 while the president was running for office. He testified in a closed congressional interview that the project he pursued on Trump's behalf was abandoned by the time of the Iowa Caucuses in January 2016; that would be consistent with Trump's 'political messaging.' Mueller later filed documents revealing Cohen said he discussed the proposal with Trump on multiple occasions and with members of the president's family, later in the year even after Trump became the Republican nominee for president. Cohen said he lied out of loyalty to Trump. Cohen also played a role in hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels (left) and former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal (right) 'I made these misstatements to be consistent with Individual 1's political messaging and out of loyalty to Individual 1,' Cohen said at his plea hearing late last year. 'Individual 1' is Mueller's name for Trump in the investigation. Cohen was also the central figure in a plot to buy the silence of pornographic actress Stormy Daniels, who claimed that she had an affair with Trump in 2006. Daniels signed a nondisclosure agreement in exchange for $130,000 from Cohen, a transaction that he admitted was a violation of campaign finance laws since it amounted to an illegally large contribution benefiting Trump's White House hopes. He said in court that Trump directed him to make the payment, suggesting the president was guilty of a crime. In August he pleaded guilty to eight separate charges related to tax dodges, falsifying bank documents and the campaign finance violations involving Daniels and another woman, former Playboy magazine model Karen McDougal. Cohen claims that at Trump's request, he arranged for the publisher of The National Enquirer to pay McDougal another self-described past Trump paramour for the exclusive rights to her life story. The magazine never published anything, engaging in a practice known as 'catch and kill' in order to help Trump avoid new scandals in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign. Trump has denied ever having a sexual relationship with either Daniels or McDougal. The iconic service dog to the late President George Bush has met the heroic captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger who he was named after for the first time ever. The heartwarming encounter, live on yesterday's TODAY show, captured the pooch meeting the famed pilot known for the 'Miracle on the Hudson'. As the yellow Labrador ran into the studio, the famed pilot, who was sporting socks with Sully's face on them, shook the canine's paw and praised the 'beautiful dog'. The service dog to the late President George Bush met the heroic captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger yesterday The pair shared a heartwarming encounter with each other for the first time ever live on the TODAY show Sully the dog, who was a service companion to the former president, and his namesake were introduced to each other by TODAY host and granddaughter to President George H.W. Bush- Jenna Bush Hager The dog, who was a service companion to the former president, and the esteemed pilot were introduced to each other by TODAY host and granddaughter to President George H.W. Bush- Jenna Bush Hager. The former president died last November at the age of 94. Shortly after his death, Sully the dog became recognized across the world when he was pictured lying in front of the former President's casket during his memorial service. A emotional photo was later posted on White House spokesman Jim Grath's social media page with the caption: 'Mission complete'. The famed pilot told the Today show hosts: 'What a vigil he was holding. It was quite a moving image. That was the iconic image for me of the whole service.' Speaking on the work of the much-loved service dog, who has 266,000 followers on Instagram, Jenna Bush Hager added: 'I think we sometimes don't think of service dogs as helping those that are in their final months.' The dog became known across the world when he was pictured lying in front of the casket of the late President George H.W. Bush The former president George Herbert Walker Bush died in November last year at the age of 94 The dog will now report for duty at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centers Facility Dog Program next week to assist wounded veterans. Mr Sullenberger added: 'I think it's quite an honor and I think he is going to uphold the tradition quite well from what I can see.' During the show, Ms Hager also brought daughters Poppy and Mila into the studio to hold the iconic dog's paw one last time and offer the canine a farewell hug. Investigators in Brazil dismantled an international drug trafficking network that allegedly shipped almost 10 tons of cocaine during a period of two years. On Thursday, federal cops in the central Brazilian state of Tocantins revealed that the distribution organization allegedly transported and distributed an average of about 400 kilos of cocaine on 23 flights throughout 2017 and 2018. In mid-2018, investigators seized a submarine in Suriname that was part of a carefully crafted plan that shipped eight tons of cocaine to the coast of Africa. It is estimated that the group's elaborate operation raked in $3 million during the last two years, according to Brazilian news outlet Globo. As part of 'Operation Flak', the Federal Police of Tocantins arrested 28 suspects, including the alleged leader of the criminal enterprise, Joao Soares da Rocha. Soares da Rocah is a businessman who own several gas stations, farms, airplanes and a hangar. Police are still looking for 27 suspects that remain at-large, including six wanted by the Interpol Federal cops in the central Brazilian state of Tocantins dismantled an drug trafficking ring that transported and distributed almost 10 tons on cocaine throughout Central, South and North America as well as Europe and Africa. A police officer (pictured) inspects seized packages of cocaine The criminal network also used a submarine (pictured) to ship eight tons of cocaine to Africa. It was seized during a mid-2018 operation in Suriname Federal cops in Brazil were also able to confiscate 11 planes that on average carried 400 kilos of cocaine The operation also led to the confiscation of 11 of the 47 planes belonging to Soares da Rocha as well as a submarine. There were also 13 farms seized with over 11,000 cattle. 'This organization was well structured and had a clear division of labor in four [groups] to bring drug transportation from production countries like Bolivia, Colombia, passing through intermediate countries like Suriname, French Guiana and Guatemala to reach the final destination, being in Europe, the United States and Brazil,' said Marcelo Correia Botelho, the federal operation delegate, during a press conference Thursday. Investigators determined that Soares da Rocha allegedly lined up his pockets by earning $150,000 per flight between Venezuela and Suriname during their two-year operation. A Brazilian investigation named 'Operation Flak' led to the arrest of 28 suspects on Thursday. They were accused of shipping and distributing an average of 400 kilos of cocaine in 23 flights during 2017 and 2018. Pictured above are some of the kilos Brazilian federal cops seized in a previous sting Businessman Joao Soares da Rocha had 11 planes seized as part of the investigation. They were allegedly used to transport cocaine. Bolivia, Colombia and Venezuela serves as the original points of departure before the drugs were dropped off in Suriname, Honduras and Guatemala. The final destinations included Brazil, the United States, the European Union and Africa The network's elaborate scheme depended on four critical groups to transport and deliver the cocaine on a fleet of planes allegedly owned by Soares da Rocha. A logistics division was in charge of the operation, picking out the planes and constructing secret landing strips. It also provided jobs to prospective pilots with backgrounds in agriculture and commercial flights to throw off any suspicions. Another group was in charge of aeronautic operations. Their primary purpose was to make sure that the flights weren't tracked by radar systems. Joao Soares da Rocha is accused by federal investigators in Brazil of the leader of the international drug ring that transported and distributed almost 10 tons of cocaine during 2017 and 2018 'Although profitable, the crime posed great risks to the pilots,' Botelho said. 'There are records of aircraft crashes with the consequent death and disappearance of pilots,' he added. A third group dealt with the aircrafts' upkeep. The planes reportedly were stocked with cocaine mid-flight. A retail nucleus handled everything that consisted of placing contacts between the makers and recipients. The cocaine would be loaded aboard airplanes in Bolivia, Colombia and Venezuela before transferring the illicit goods in Suriname, Honduras and Guatemala. These aforementioned countries where the points of departures that flooded the cocaine markets in Brazil, the United States, the European Union and Africa. From there the drugs were placed on planes and distributed to the U.S. and Europe. Attorney Michael Avenatti would welcome civil lawsuits from President Donald Trump and his former fixer Michael Cohen, he said Friday, following news that some bank records he used to establish an infamous Trump payoff to a porn star were stolen. 'I pray they sue me,' he told DailyMail.com via a text message from Chicago. 'Maybe we can then get to the truth about their criminal enterprise and conduct.' Avenatti said Thursday on Twitter that he's not concerned about criminal liability from receiving and using Cohen's bank records, which San Francisco federal prosecutors say an Internal Revenue Service analyst pilfered and leaked to him. The Bank Secrecy Act, he wrote in a tweet, does not apply to him in this case since he is neither abank nor a government official. Neither the president nor Cohen has indicated a desire to take Avenatti to court. But Friday's comments are his first on the prospect of civil lawsuits tied to the fast-unfolding saga of John C. Fry, who is charged with unlawful disclosure of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). I DARE YOU: Michael Avenatti, famous for representing porn actress Stormy Daniels, told DailyMail.com on Friday that he would love for President Donald Trump and his disgraced former fixer Michael Cohen to sue him for releasing bank records that he got from an IRS thief Federal prosecutors in San Francisco have charged Internal Revenue Service analyst John C. Fry with leaking bank records belonging to Cohen (center); the records documented a payoff to Avenatti client Stormy Daniels money he hid from the IRS and lied to banks in order to get The Cohen payoffs were meant to silence Daniels and a former Playboy model who both claimed to have had affairs with the then-married future president more than a decade ago Banks files SARs with the IRS when they identify questionable transactions. Fry allegedly turned over the stolen documents to Avenatti, and confirmed confidential banking information in the SARs to a reporter for The New Yorker, who is not named in the charging document but appears to have been Ronan Farrow. Information about the bank transactions that were the subject of the SARs became public in May when Avenatti published a memo outlining them. 'Neither I nor R. Farrow did anything wrong or illegal with the financial info relating to Cohens crimes,' Avenatti tweetde Thursday, noting that 'the courts have found that the [Bank Secrecy Act] does not apply.' 'And if we did (we didnt), then every reporter in America would be jailed and unable to do their job.' Suing Avenatti would open a plaintiff to the three-ring circus of legal discovery, a pre-trial process in which opposing parties get access to documents and other materials that could impact a case. What begins as a focused effort, however, can sometimes become a fishing expedition. Legal experts have said President Donald Trump would find his life upended and be forced to disclose tightly held documents related to his financial history if he should be embroiled in a lawsuit whose central thrust is money. Avenatti is a lawyer for pornographic actress Stormy Daniels, who has said she had an affair with Trump more than a decade ago. Cohen, who is due to begin a three-year prison term in May, pleaded guilty in August to campaign finance violations related to 'hush money' paid to Daniels and another woman to keep quiet about alleged sexual liaisons with a then-married Trump. He also admitted lying to to banks to obtain improper loans used to pay Daniels, and lying to the government to avoid paying taxes. Cohen has since pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws by making illegal payments, among other charges. Fry has reportedly refused to accept a felony plea deal which would have him avoiding any amount of jail time, according to CNN, so prosecutors are expected to seek an indictment against him by the end of the month, on this and other charges. Fry acknowledged releasing the information about Cohen while working at the IRS office in San Francisco to attorney Michael Avenatti, according to an affidavit filed with the court. The SARs allegedly obtained and released by Fry showed information matching a $130,000 payment from Cohen Daniels, along with a Cohen company, Essential Consultants LLC, getting large payments from organizations, including a company associated with a Russian oligarch who donated money to Trump's inauguration fund, pharmaceutical giant Novartis, and AT&T, which owns CNN, according to court records. Fry is accused of downloading and disseminating suspicious activity reports about Cohen, which showed his illegal $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels Fry acknowledged releasing the information about Cohen while working at the IRS office in San Francisco to attorney Michael Avenatti, according to an affidavit filed with the court. Avenatti is a lawyer for Daniels. Avenatti (right) and Daniels (left) are pictured at the AVN Awards in Las Vegas on January 26 The documents also 'discussed possible fraudulent and illegal financial transactions' made by Cohen in Singapore, Hungary, Malaysia, Canada, Taiwan, Kenya and Israel, between 2016 and 2017, the complaint said. Fry downloaded a total of five SARs from the IRS database in May, and then became alarmed when two others were not accessible, according the criminal complaint filed against him. As it turns out, the additional SARs that Fry was unable to open and download had been designated 'restrictive access.' They were not available 'because they were related to a sensitive open investigation,' the complaint said. At the time Fry accessed the SAR documents, Cohen was under investigation by the Manhattan US Attorney's office for financial crimes to which he eventually pleaded guilty At the time Fry was trying to access the documents, Cohen was under investigation by the Manhattan US Attorney's office for the crimes to which he eventually pleaded guilty. Avenatti cited in his tweet on Thursday a 2015 First Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, which he said shows some Bank Secrecy Act restrictions wouldn't apply to him. Judge Jeffrey Howard wrote that 'it would appear that neither the Act nor the regulations restrict third parties that is, parties on neither the financial-institution side nor the government side of an SAR exchange from disclosing the existence or non-existence of a particular SAR.' Avenatti tweeted a screen capture of a portion of one of his own court pleadings in which he quoted Judge Howard, without including the words 'it would appear that.' The excerpt focuses only on whether a third party would be violating the Bank Secrecy Act by 'disclosing the existence or non-existence' of an SAR. It makes no mention of whether it's illegal for him to publicly release its contents. Asked to comment on the discrepancy before this article was published, a bristly Avenatti texted: 'Read the case.' James 'Whitey' Bulger is one of America's most notorious gangsters, having fronted the infamous south Boston Irish-American Winter Hill gang, from the late 1970s to the 1990s Locked up for life after 16 years on the run, notorious Boston mob boss James 'Whitey' Bulger couldn't stand how much the world around him had changed, newly released letters reveal. According to the hand scribed confessionals, the Irish-American gangster pined over his time at Alcatraz, noting how much he missed its 'great view' and clear-cut rules compared to regular prison. He also detailed how he missed the crime-riddled streets of south Boston, a former stronghold for his gang, which is now, based on his observation, overrun by 'rich college kids living in expensive condos'. 'World has changed... everything different, even the neighborhood,' Bulger wrote to a friend he met in the lockup in newly public letters. The letters, which are being auctioned Sunday, provide a glimpse into the once powerful and revered gangster's mundane life behind bars before he met his violent demise last year. Once indicted for 19 murders, it seems even a callous killer like Bulger wasn't immune to the little excitements of prison life - 'tonight we had an ice cream cone!' he noted in one letter. His several year reign as the leader of the Winter Hill Gang also seemed to garner him a mutual respect among his incarcerated peers. 'Almost every time I'm going anywhere, guys ask 'hey old timer, want a push'... or just grab handles and start pushing,' Bulger wrote in a letter postmarked in February 2015. 'One advantage is we can go in the front of chow line if in wheelchair.' Pictured: A hand-written letter by the late mobster, an envelope and a holiday greeting card emblazoned with his 1959 Alcatraz mugshot, that Bulger mailed from federal prison in 2015. The items are among those being offered by an Urban Culture Auctions for sale this Sunday On October 29 last year, bearing little resemblance to the once ruthless mob boss whose legend went on to inspire a number of books and several films, 89-year-old Bulger was wheeled into the West Virginia Federal Prison, having been transferred from a different facility. Less than 12 hours later, Bulger was found beaten to death in his cell, still in his wheelchair. His eyes had almost been gauged out, and his tongue nearly severed off. The ailing gangster had been beaten with a padlock wrapped in a sock, and stabbed with a make-shift shiv - an almost ironic allusion to the violence that once dominated so much of his life. Authorities have said two Massachusetts mobsters are under investigation for violent slaying, but no one has been charged. After a transfer to a Virginia prison last year, Whitey Bulger was found brutally murdered in his cell, believed to have been orchestrated by former mob rivals (pictured: Bulger's Alcatraz mugshot, in 1959) The late mob boss talked fondly about his time at 'The Rock' - Alcatraz (shown) - where the rules were 'plain and understood' and inmates could buy chocolate at Christmas, according to his recollections His death raised questions about why the known FBI informant was placed among the general population of the prison, instead of more protective housing. Bulger is said to have ratted on the New England mob to the FBI, according to authorities, though, in a perceived attempt to save face, he insisted he wasn't an informant and was actually paying the FBI for the scoop on his enemies. The Urban Culture auction house obtained the letters from a man who says he became friends with Bulger when the geriatric gangster was briefly held at a federal lockup in Brooklyn. He was being held at the New York detention center after being convicted in 2013 for participating in 11 murders, among other crimes. That man, Timothy Glass, said he and Bulger spent their time in their cell bonding over their criminal pasts. Glass recalled how Bulger would sign autographs for inmates who asked but had a tendency to give a 'death stare' to guys he didn't like. 'I was like, "this guy is a stone-cold killer at like 80 years old." It was wild,' said Glass, 55. Bulger is said to have ratted on the New England mob to the FBI, according to authorities, though, in a perceived attempt to save face, he insisted he wasn't an informant and was actually paying the FBI for information (pictured: a photo of Bulger released by the FBI in 1998) Glass was locked up on robbery and other charges when he met Bulger after spending more than a decade in New York state prison for separate crimes, he said. Inmates weren't allowed to write to one another, so after Bulger was transferred to a different prison, Bulger would send the letters to a friend on the outside, who would then forward them to Glass. In the letters, Bulger complained about everything, from the cost of books, the cold weather and the media, which he called 'part of and parcel of the corruption instead of society "watchdogs."' 'All the liberals like VP Gore made a fortune with his scaring people with talk of 'planet warming,' he remarked in another. He grumbled about his trial, lambasted prosecutors for deals they made with his former friends and promised his appeal would 'create quite a stir.' Bulger also lamented what he saw as the unfair treatment of his longtime girlfriend Catherine Grieg, who was sentenced to eight years for helping him avoid capture for 16 years. 'I played a rough game and accepted the rough treatment. But feel Catherine was treated too harshly,' Bulger remarked. For 16 years, accompanied by his long-term girlfriend Catherine Greig (left), Bulger led the FBI on a chase around the globe after he skipped out on a court hearing. He was later found hiding in plain sight, in Santa Monica, California, in 2011 The legend of Bulger's years as a top mob boss has inspired dozens of books and movies, including Black Mass, starring Johnny Depp in 2015 James 'Whitey' Bulgar was buried at St. Joseph's Cemetery in the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, following his death on October 30 In 1995, Bulger failed to appear in court for a pending indictment, and for the next 16 years, accompanied by Grieg, he led the FBI on a relentless chase across the globe. Suceeding Osama Bin Laden at the top of the Burea's Most Wanted list, Bulger hid in plain sight in Santa Monica, California, as investigators scrambled to London, Uruguay, Vancouver, and Sicily to chase up alleged sightings. After more than a decade and a half, Bulger was eventually taken into custody on June 22, 2011, in California, aged 81. 'Here you have somebody who is far more sophisticated than some 18-year-old who killed someone in a drive-by. To be a successful fugitive you have to cut all contacts from your previous life. He had the means and kept a low profile,' retired FBI agent Scott Bakken remarked at the time. Prior to his years on the run, Bulger served several years at California's infamous maximum security Prison, Alcatraz. He talked fondly about his time at 'The Rock', where the rules were 'plain and understood' and inmates could buy chocolate at Christmas, which they would share with prisoners who weren't supposed to have candy. 'Here, "they," the "inmates", would sell you chocolate! Back then no one ever looked to make a profit on another convict,' he wrote. 'I look back at those years and place with nostalgia. It's all gone.' Tucked into some of the letters were pictures of Bulger as a young man . On the back of one of the photo - a mugshot taken in 1965, the year Bulger was released from prison and returned to South Boston - he scribbled: 'the good old days.' With another letter, Bulger included a holiday card that he apparently made in 2015 with the message in gold script: 'Wishing you peace & cheer in the New Year.' Two more patients of Massachusetts psychiatrist and former Fox News contributer Dr. Keith Ablow have filed lawsuits against him, alleging that he pressured them into sexual relationships. The Boston Globe reports that the medical malpractice lawsuits filed Thursday allege Ablow, 57, lured the women he was treating for depression into degrading situations. The lawsuits, two of them filed on Thursday and the third filed last year, accuse the therapist of encouraging the women to trust him, then pressing them into humiliating sexual activities, often during treatment. 'He would have me on my knees and begin to beat me with his hands on my breasts,' one plaintiff wrote in an affidavit, 'occasionally saying, 'I own you,' or 'You are my slave.'' Keith Ablow testifies during the kidnapping trial of Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, also known as Clark Rockefeller, in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, in 2009. Two patients of the renowned Massachusetts psychiatrist filed medical malpractice lawsuits Thursday Dr. Keith Ablow is now accused in three malpractice lawsuits that allege he pressured his patients into sexual relationships The New York patient also said that Dr. Ablow persuaded her to get a tattoo of his initials on her arm, during their seven-year sexual relationship 'Sometimes he would use his hands and other times he would take off the belt he was wearing and use that to strike me,' a patient from Ohio said about his treatment of her. 'This belt had a metal buckle with a skull on it.' A patient from Minnesota said Ablow could appear generous as well in her lawsuit filed last summer. She said their sexual relationship began after he promised to help her music career and set up a meeting with a friend he claimed was in the music business. Two days after the meeting, she says Ablow took her to another room in his office where they had sex. Ablow took to Twitter to add denials about the accusations against him filed with the malpractice lawsuits on Thursday Ablow would infuse politics with his psychiatric analysis when he would appear on Fox News drawing controversy The patient said he then accused her of refusing to leave his office when she told Ablow in November of 2018 that she did not want to see him any more. The three women in the lawsuits all say that Ablow requested they relocate from other states to be nearer to his office in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He then allegedly used Ketamine infusions on the patients, a controversial treatment for depression. Ablow refutes all the accusations against him. 'Categorically, completely deny the allegations lodged against me,' he wrote in a tweet on Thursday. 'I look forward to the court proceedings and will continue to offer excellent care to any patient who needs my help.' His lawyer says Ablow 'denies any and all allegations of improper behavior or substandard care in their entirety.' Three former employees also filed affidavits with the lawsuits, saying that Ablow sexually harassed them, too. Amy Dixon, a former staffer, said Ablow wanted a 'master/slave relationship' and that he would regularly hit her during sex. Another former employee, Janna McCarthy, claimed the psychiatrist would request that she schedule attractive women who were 'sad, lonely' and struggling with past trauma. Ablow is an author and has appeared on several television shows, including as a contributor to the Fox News network until 2017 where he drew criticism for sometimes combining psychiatric analysis with politics. A disturbing number of properties are testing positive for residue from the drug ice, fueling panic from homeowners and renters. Sydney-based testing company, Meth Screen, reported 64 per cent of the homes it had tested recorded positive results since January 2018. In many cases, it is believed homes became contaminated by previous tenants using or making the drug. A disturbing number of properties are testing positive for residue from the drug ice, fueling panic from homeowners and renters Fears have been growing over the possible detrimental affects the chemicals found in the contaminated properties can have, which has seen the screening industry begin to boom in Australia Methamphetamine, known as ice in Australia, is a highly addictive drug that has spread across the country in the last decade. Living in contaminated homes can pose long-term health risks, including neurological damage, irritation, and kidney failure and damage. In addition, inhaling or ingesting chemicals used in the drug's production can be dangerous. Cautious homeowners are now ordering tests before committing to a property, The Daily Telegraph reported. Joyce Timtim told the newspaper she had ordered a test before buying her first home as she wanted the home to be as safe as possible. 'It's not just for health reasons, financially if it tested positive and you had to do a lot of fixing up it would be a financial drain.' As part of the testing process company's swab a 100sq/cm surface of a home and send those away to be tested for chemicals. A positive result can result in homeowners being slogged with hefty bills to have their properties decontaminated A home that has more than 0.5 micrograms of the drug is considered a health risk under federal guidelines. A positive result can result in homeowners being slogged with hefty bills to have their properties decontaminated. Calls have been made for the government to consider making meth testing mandatory for rental properties. However, Property Owners Association of NSW has pushed back and would prefer that any known drug history in the home is shared instead. Meth testing is a contentious issue as the science behind the tests has long been disputed. Meth hysteria erupted in New Zealand about two years ago, and sparked a national debate after a large number of tenants were evicted when small traces were found. A report by New Zealand's chief science adviser found testing was not needed in most cases at the health risk was so low. Professor Sir Peter Gluckman's report found there were other things in homes that posed a greater risk than meth, such as mold. Meghan Markle's best friend Jessica Mulroney has made Good Morning America producers and network executives exasperated because she refuses to talk about the royal on air, sources exclusively told DailyMail.com. Mulroney, 39, was brought on as a fashion contributor for the morning show in October, shortly after she joined Meghan and her husband Prince Harry on a royal tour of Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. The hope was for Mulroney to help the network gain access to Meghan. But bosses were left completely stunned when Meghan turned up in New York City this week for her baby shower - and Mulroney didn't breathe a word about it, sources told DailyMail.com. Now executives at ABC News and producers at GMA are clamoring for the Canadian stylist to be fired, saying she brings nothing to the table and only has the job because of her friendship with Meghan. Meghan Markle's best friend Jessica Mulroney (pictured together in 2016) has made ABC News executives and Good Morning America producers furious because she refuses to talk about the royal, sources told DailyMail.com Mulroney, 39, was brought on as a fashion contributor for GMA in October (pictured). The hope was for Mulroney to help the network gain access to Meghan, but bosses were left stunned when Meghan turned up in New York for her baby shower - and Mulroney didn't say anything The two women have been friends for more than a decade, meeting when the former Suits star moved to Canada to film the show. Meghan and Jessica bonded over their mutual love of yoga and often traveled together. Jessica and her husband Ben reportedly hosted low-key dinner parties for Meghan and Prince Harry during their courtship. But despite Jessica's close ties with the Duchess of Sussex, an executive with ABC News told DailyMail.com that 'when she made her agreement to appear on ABC it was on the condition that we couldn't ask her anything about Meghan Markle. 'Even when she is on set we can't even link her with Meghan. 'Many of us knew this would get us in trouble one day and this week it proved true. 'We had no idea Meghan was in town, but our so called team member knew and didn't help us at all.' Meghan turned up in New York City last weekend for a lavish and intimate baby shower co-hosted by Mulroney and Amal Clooney, complete with a star-studded guest list including Serena Williams and Gayle King. The executive added: 'What made things worse was when Gayle King (pictured) showed up at Meghan's baby shower on Wednesday and then discussed it the following day on CBS This Morning, our competitor. Yet we can't book Jessica to talk about it. We get absolutely nothing from Jessica, so we should give her nothing in return' An executive with ABC News said: 'Many of us knew this would get us in trouble one day and this week it proved true. We had no idea Meghan was in town, but our so called team member knew and didn't help us at all'. Pictured: Meghan leaving New York (right) and Jessica in NYC The next day on her show CBS This Morning, King openly talked about the $500,000 baby shower with her co-hosts. She revealed that she and other guests were taught how to arrange flowers at the party, and that Markle then donated those arrangements to various charities. King also said she could not reveal the gift that she purchased for Markle because she was choosing to open the presents back in London with Prince Harry. The network executive added: 'What made things worse was when Gayle King showed up at Meghan's baby shower on Wednesday and then discussed it the following day on CBS This Morning, our competitor. Yet we can't book Jessica to talk about it. 'We get absolutely nothing from Jessica, so we should give her nothing in return.' A source at ABC denied that Jessica won't talk about Meghan on air, saying: 'Jessica hasn't refused to talk about Meghan because she hasn't been asked about Meghan.' They also denied that Jessica had anything in her contract that stated she couldn't be asked about the royal. Producers on Good Morning America are equally as furious with Mulroney for not giving them a heads up about the baby shower. One said to DailyMail.com: 'Jessica should consider herself very lucky to have such a high profile job on GMA. She does not have it because she is talented, she has it because of her connection to Meghan Markle.' A source at GMA said: 'We all laughed when she was hired and she said ''hard work does pay off'' no princess you got your job because of the duchess not because you were a recognized American fashion stylist'. Pictured: Jessica and Meghan on vacation Meghan flew into New York from London on a private plane, as well as on the way home - with Amal Clooney paying for the return flight to London on Tuesday night (pictured) The cost of Meghan's New York baby shower Private jet from the UK to New York, round trip - $250,000 The Mark Hotel Grand Penthouse Suite - $150,000 Five nights in a one-bedroom suite at The Mark Hotel - $9,982.05 Dinner for five at The Polo Bar - approx. $420 Lunch at Cafe Bolud - approx. $78 Afternoon tea for two at Laduree - approx. $45 Two Royal Protection officers - $14,213 Harp player Erin Hill - $625 17 Away carry-on suitcases - $3,825 Gifts: Babyletto Hudson 3-in-1 Convertible Crib - $379 10ft mandarin tree - approx. $140 Lady Fleur NYC roses - approx. $399.95 Trek bicycle - approx. $609.99 Carnival King cotton candy machine - $199.99 JZ Events - $50,000 Lewis Miller - $20,000 Advertisement They continued: 'We used to laugh many years ago when Chelsea Clinton had a deal with NBC and it provided basically no access to her family. However now the joke is on us as we have our own Chelsea in Jessica. 'ABC management have egg on their face. They should fire Jessica immediately as she brings nothing to the show. 'They could easily hire an American stylist like Rachel Zoe to be GMA's fashion contributor. At least Rachel is famous and recognized in America. 'It's just so embarrassing and an absolute joke.' And despite Mulroney working with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and other high-profile clients, the GMA producer said Mulroney only has her job as a contributing fashion stylist on the show because of her connection to Meghan. They added: 'We all laughed when she was hired and she said ''hard work does pay off'' no princess you got your job because of the duchess not because you were a recognized American fashion stylist.' But a source at ABC denied this claim, and said Jessica was 'hired as a talented stylist and not because of her friends'. The upset source at GMA added: 'What also made eyes roll on set was how tacky the entire baby shower week was we are supposed to reflect America in the morning. 'Flaunting your wealth like a Kardashian is not what our viewers want to see when they wake up.' The baby shower is reported to have cost around $500,000, with a large chunk coming from renting out the Mark Hotel Grand Penthouse Suite for $150,000. Meghan flew into New York from London on a private plane, also flying private on the way home - with Amal Clooney paying for the flight. The number of children on anti-depressant pills has doubled in six years to 100,000 as clinicians warn that Australia is suffering a mental health crisis. The figure has soared from 50,804 in 2011-12 to 101,174 over the last financial year, according to the Department of Human Services. This is the first time the number has reached over the 100,000 mark as the supply of antidepressants across all age groups has increased since 2012-13. The number of children on anti-depressant pills has doubled in six years to 100,000 as clinicians warn about Australia's mental health crisis (stock image) The drastic increase in use of the mental health drugs are understood to reflect greater public awareness about depression and anxiety. Medical professor Ian Hickie of the University of Sydney's Brain and Mind Centre said the increase in the prescription drugs was also influenced by socio-economic factors. The affluent areas of major cities were more likely to have access to the costly psychological services - while doctors in less affluent areas could potentially prescribe the drugs to bridge the gap between expensive therapy. 'Medicines go up where psychological therapies go down,' Dr Hickie told The Australian. In response to a mental health crisis across the country, Dr Hickie said: 'I say we are still getting to the tip of the iceberg.' But the most concern was for the younger groups who appear to be rapidly growing when compared to the older cohort. The drastic increase in use of the mental health drugs are understood to reflect greater public awareness about depression and anxiety (stock image) The DHS said the increase in numbers could be partially attributed to a change in how numbers were collected as so-called under co-payment prescriptions were now included in the data. There is also heightened discussion about the affect social media and technology have had on young people and their mental health. Despite the increase in numbers, Dr Hickie said Australia was a leader in mental health treatment globally but more needed to be addressed. 'The danger is when there is no serious quality care. The danger is prescribing on its own or inappropriately prescribing,' Dr Hickie said. Sebastian Rosenberg from ANU Centre for Mental Health Research warned there was a lack of data about the direction of Australia's mental health program, claiming 'we are outcome-blind'. 'Mental health is a young person's problem and yet we know very little about the mental health and welfare of young people,' he said. There is also heightened discussion about the affect social media and technology have had on young people and their mental health (stock image) Indigenous communities across Australia have also caused room for concern with Aboriginal children thinking about or attempting suicide. Last month the government committed an extra $3million to efforts to prevent young Indigenous people from taking their own lives. In a period of nine days, five Indigenous children took their lives in incidents across the country in January. Young Indigenous community leaders met with Indigenous Health Minister Ken Wyatt, Indigenous elders and mental health experts in Perth in January, to discuss fast-tracking grassroots suicide prevention efforts. The meeting was convened after some Indigenous young people took their own lives over the new year, including in Western Australia. Indigenous communities across Australia have also caused room for concern with Aboriginal children thinking about or attempting suicide (stock image) Kununurra youth leader Montana Ahwon and Broome youth leader Jacob Corpus say the discussion was much-needed and that they are glad to have had the chance to share their views and insights. 'I felt like I've been heard,' Ms Ahwon said. '(Now) we can put ourselves out there and get work done, and start working towards solutions and strategies and working with our brothers and sisters, our nieces and our nephews. 'There is change coming.' The government is also spending $2.32 million over two years to fast-track the rollout of a school-based mental health program developed by Beyond Blue in the Kimberley and Pilbara, Mr Wyatt said on Friday. Another $1.5 million will be give to youth mental health organisation Headspace over two years to lead the development of a social media campaign, produced by young Indigenous people. Azerbaijan's Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev held a meeting with the Undersecretary for Economic Development of the Italian Republic Andrea Cioffi in Baku, who is visiting Azerbaijan to take part at the Fifth Ministerial Meeting of Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council. During the meeting, the Azerbaijani minister noted that the cooperation between the two countries continues successfully. The visits of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to Italy, the visit of President of Italy Sergio Mattarella in Azerbaijan in July last year, the meetings and negotiations held during these visits represented great significance for expanding the ties between the two countries. Noting the important role of Azerbaijan for the global energy security,Mustafayev said that 95 Italian companies, which participate in 41 contracting projects under interstate agreements, have been registered in Azerbaijan. It was stressed that Italy is the main trade partner of Azerbaijan and ranks first in terms of its share in the Azerbaijani exports. It was also noted that at present, the work is underway on development of a draft new agreement on the promotion and protection of investments between Azerbaijan and Italy, a joint action plan providing for cooperation between the two countries in the fields of energy, infrastructure, logistics, railway, agro-industrial complex, petrochemical industry and other areas, AzerTAc reported. Andrea Cioffi, in turn, stressed the role of high-level visits in development of cooperation, significance of reciprocal visits of relevant delegations to intensify mutual cooperation in versatile fields, including in non-oil fields. John McDonnell argued Britons who fought for Israel against Palestine should face the threat of losing their citizenship in a letter that emerged today - 24 hours after Jeremy Corbyn said jihadi bride Shamima Begum should keep her passport. The shadow chancellor wrote to then Home Secretary Theresa May in 2014 saying she should censure British citizens who served in the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) and mete out the same punishment given to those who joined ISIS. Yesterday his party leader said Shamima Begum and her newborn baby should be allowed to return from Syria and given the 'support that she needs' by the authorities. Yet Mr McDonnell argued the Government's policy to strip violent jihadis of their passports should be widened to those who went to fight for the Israeli Defence Force against the Palestinians in Gaza - with some critics calling it 'hypocrisy'. Writing in July 2014 Mr McDonnell said: 'Will you be warning any British citizens considering engagement with the IDF that such engagement may put their British citizenship in jeopardy? John McDonnell (pictured on Marr on Sunday) argued in 2014 that Britons who fought for Israel against Palestine should face the threat of losing their citizenship Yet yesterday Jeremy Corbyn (left) claimed that IS bride Shamima Begum (right) should be allowed back into Britain and given the 'support that she needs' The letter obtained by ITV News asks Begum's family to inform her of the decision to revoke her citizenship and her right to appeal it 'Given the seriousness of the current situation in Gaza and the apparent escalation of the Israeli attacks on Palestinians, I urge you to address these questions promptly so that any British citizen currently participating or planning to participate in these attacks is warned of the potential consequences and thus may be deterred from acting in this way'. The letter, now deleted by Mr McDonnell's team, was uncovered by the Guido Fawkes website who say it was there for three years including two years where he was shadow chancellor. A Labour Party spokesman said: 'This was at the height of the barbaric bombing and attacks on Gaza when hundreds of Palestinian men, women and children were being killed. 'This is a simple statement of law and standard practice by the government aimed at deterring and pointing out the risks involved in British citizens joining any foreign conflict. For those holding joint citizenship it does not entail making them stateless'. Yesterday Jeremy Corbyn argued Shamima Begum, who gave birth to a baby boy in a refugee camp on Sunday, had 'a right to return' after fleeing the country to support ISIS in 2015. He also said the decision by Home Secretary Sajid Javid to strip the 19-year-old, originally from east London, of her citizenship was a 'very extreme manoeuvre'. While Diane Abbott, the shadow Home Secretary, said the Government 'could not subvert the rule of law' to forbid the 19-year-old from re-entering the country. Their comments have met a frosty reception, with Conservative backbencher David TC Davies branding Jeremy Corbyn's view extraordinary. The Monmouth MP told MailOnline: 'This woman has shown no remorse whatsoever for her actions. She has heaped praise on the ISIS fighters she ran off with and [] expressed support for the horrendous terrorist atrocity in Manchester. Her presence in Britain would put wider society at risk and it is extraordinary that she now has the support of the leader of Her Majestys Opposition, who wants to become prime minister. Begum, who fled Bethnal Green for Syria in 2015 along with two friends, said she was 'shocked' when she was told of Mr Javid's decision yesterday. And told Sky News today that she was 'willing to change' and pleaded with politicians for 'mercy' after her UK citizenship was revoked. The Labour leader said that the teenager, who gave birth to a baby boy in a refugee camp on Sunday, had 'a right to return' after fleeing the country to support IS The remorseless 19-year-old, pictured here in an interview, is hanging her hopes on her captured husband Yago Riedijk being sent back to the Netherlands Shamima Begum and her friend fled to Syria by flying to Istanbul and getting a bus across Turkey to the ISIS capital, Raqqa. She moved to Mayadin with her jihadi husband Yago Riedijk but fled Baghuz when he was captured and is now in al-Hawl Meanwhile Mr Corbyn, who is currently in Brussels to meet with EU leaders, revealed he was uncomfortable with the Home Secretary exercising such powers. The Labour leader's comments came during an interview with ITV, in which he said Begum was entitled to support from the British government. 'She was born in Britain, she has that right to remain in Britain and obviously a lot of questions she has to answer but also some support that she needs,' he told ITV. 'She obviously has, in my view, a right to return to Britain. On that return she must face a lot of questions about everything she's done. And at that point any action may or may not be taken. 'I think the idea of stripping somebody of their citizenship when they were born in Britain is a very extreme manoeuvre. 'Indeed I question the right of the home secretary to have these powers when the original law was brought in by Theresa May when she was home secretary.' Mr Javid previously stated Begum's son Jerah - apparently named after a 7th century Islamic warlord - could still be British despite his mother losing her citizenship. However shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said the Government 'could not subvert the rule of law' just because it is 'not convenient'. She told BBC Radio 4's World At One: 'You cannot strip people of their British nationality under international law if it will leave them stateless. 'That's the legal position and we are a country of laws.' Their comments come as Begum pleaded with politicians for 'mercy' and stressed that she is willing to change. Speaking to Sky News, the 19-year-old said: 'I would like them to re-evaluate my case with a bit more mercy in their heart, you know.' Dozens have reacted to Jeremy Corbyn's recent comments on Twitter, many voicing their disapproval with his opinion . Shamima Begum told Sky News today that she is 'willing to change' and pleaded with politicians to treat her case with 'a bit more mercy' One user said: 'I wouldn't put it past him to organise a welcome party for her and give her a brand new home at the expense of the taxpayer.' While another, Paul Johnson, wrote: 'This is exactly why the wheels are falling off the Labour bandwagon. 'We are talking about an intelligent woman who knew exactly what she was doing when she decided to leave the UK and join ISIS.' Other MPs have also spoken out following Mr Corbyn's comments. Andrea Jenkyns, Tory MP for Morley and Outwood, said: 'So Corbyn believes ISIS Bride should be let back into the UK and supported. 'Why does he always seem to side with those who are enemies of our great country.' While Lee McCluskey, siding with Sajid Javid, wrote on Twitter: 'We have a home secretary who talks sense and will do what many Brits want which is for Shamina Begum to be denied entry back into the uk providing its within the law. 'Dianne Abbott and Corbyn would invite all ISIS in for tea and biscuits.' Jeremy Corbyn's comments have been met with a frosty reception online, with dozens online criticising the Labour leader's view It comes as peers demanded the 650-year-old Treason Act be updated to prosecute returning jihadists who have 'betrayed' Britain. Labour former security and counter-terrorism minister Lord West of Spithead said it was 'appropriate that as a nation we show how repugnant this is and how appalling that sort of behaviour is'. Lord West said that, as a minister, he found it difficult at times to take to court people who should have been prosecuted there. Peers call for treason law update to tackle returning jihadists Peers have called for the 650-year-old Treason Act to be updated to prosecute returning jihadists who have 'betrayed' Britain. Home Secretary Sajid Javid came under pressure at question time after deciding to revoke Islamic State bride Shamima Begum's British citizenship. Labour former security Lord West of Spithead said it was 'appropriate that as a nation we show how repugnant this is and how appalling that sort of behaviour is'. Lord West said that, as a minister, he found it difficult at times to take to court people who should have been prosecuted there. 'This seems to me a way it can be done,' he added. 'Update the treason law and show these people to be traitors, something that our nation really believes they are.' Home Office minister Baroness Williams of Trafford said recent legislation had already given more powers to the courts to prosecute. 'I agree the 1351 Treason Act is rather an old Act. Of course it was relatively recently updated in 1861.' Lady Williams said she was not dismissing the demand. The Home Secretary had said he would look at it and the Home Office kept all laws under review. But she said prosecuting terrorists for treason risked 'giving their actions a political status or glamour they do not deserve, rather than treating them merely as criminals'. Independent crossbencher Lord Alton of Liverpool said no one wanted to 'glamorise' such actions but those who sought to justify the murder of British citizens in the bombing of the Manchester Arena in 2017 or took up arms against British forces and civilians had 'betrayed this country, its people, its values and its laws'. Lord Alton said it was time to provide a 'solid legal basis', rather than the 1351 Act, for prosecuting hundreds of returning jihadists, so those responsible for 'heinous crimes' could not expect to evade prosecution. Lady Williams agreed that such people should not escape justice and insisted new powers given to the police might prevent some of 'the terrible things that we have seen in recent months'. Liberal Democrat Lord Paddick, a former Met Police deputy assistant commissioner, said yesterday the minister had implied that it was difficult to prosecute those involved with IS as the UK effectively had no extradition arrangements with Syria. 'That is why the Government had to deprive people of their British citizenship,' he said. 'Many of these people want to return to the UK but the Government is preventing them from returning to face justice by depriving them of their citizenship.' Lord Paddick asked: 'Is the Government's strategy confused or is it just me?' To laughter, Lady Williams replied: 'I think it might be you. 'It is difficult to prosecute people in Syria. 'We have no consular access in Syria. 'People have been prosecuted when they come back to this country. 'There are a number of different remedies available to the Government to try to bring people to justice.' The Conservative chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Tugendhat said that the Treason Act of 1351 should be updated to deal with cases like Shamima Begum's, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Advertisement 'This seems to me a way it can be done,' he added. 'Update the treason law and show these people to be traitors, something that our nation really believes they are.' Home Office minister Baroness Williams of Trafford said recent legislation had already given more powers to the courts to prosecute. 'I agree the 1351 Treason Act is rather an old Act. Of course it was relatively recently updated in 1861.' Lady Williams said she was not dismissing the demand. The Home Secretary had said he would look at it and the Home Office kept all laws under review. The Home Office believes that because Begum's mother was born in Bangladesh, her daughter is entitled to dual citizenship. This would theoretically mean that she would not be left stateless if she was stripped of British nationality, which is illegal under international law. But the chances of the 19-year-old returning to Britain may have increased after the Bangladeshi ministry of foreign affairs accused Sajid Javid of 'erroneously identifying' Begum as a dual citizen - and insisted she will not be allowed into the country. After learning her fate, 'shocked' Begum initially said she would seek citizenship in Holland - where her jihadi husband Yago Riedijk is from. But the Dutch Government today also appeared to slam the door, telling the Sun Online that Begum does not have the residence permit required to live there. The Netherlands also does not offer its help to returning Dutch jihadis, and can also strip its nationals of their citizenship if they are deemed a national security threat. Shahrial Alam, state minister of foreign affairs in Bangladesh, said today there is 'no question' of her being allowed into the country and that she is not a citizen. Only last week, Britain's MI6 chief said that UK nationals, even those who are members of terror organisations like ISIS, have a legal right to return home. Government guidance from 2017 states that the Home Secretary has the power to order the deprivation if it would be 'conducive to the public good', as long as they are not left without any citizenship. A Home Office spokesman said he could not discuss individual cases, but added: 'We don't leave people stateless.' Mr Javid on Monday told the House of Commons: 'The powers available to me include banning non-British people from this country and stripping dangerous dual nationals of their British citizenship.' More than 100 people have already been deprived in this way. What will happen to Begum's new born son, however, remains unclear. He was born before his mother was deprived of citizenship - meaning he is still legally British. And while theoretically he could also have his citizenship revoked, the government would need to show he himself posed a threat. Begum claims that her first two children both died of unknown illnesses under ISIS. Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Sir Ed Davey accused Mr Javid of 'an abdication of responsibility' by 'palming off' Begum on to another country. 'The UK has more than enough terrorism laws to prosecute Shamima Begum here,' he said. Meanwhile Conservative chair of the Commons Education Committee, Robert Halfon, who had spoken out against allowing Begum to return, said in a tweet that Mr Javid had made 'absolutely the right decision'. The move comes after Begum returned to the public eye when she was found heavily pregnant living in a refugee camp in northern Syria. She gave birth to a boy over the weekend, and made pleas to be accepted back in the UK. However opponents criticised her lack of apparent remorse for joining ISIS. On Tuesday, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said the 19-year-old could expect to be 'spoken to' if she comes back to Britain. The initial police stance when Ms Begum left the UK in 2015 was that she may be treated as a victim of grooming, but the Scotland Yard chief said: 'We're a long way down the road since then.' Begum's baby son Jerah is entitled to British citizenship - but could try to argue he is Dutch because of the nationality of its jihadi father Yago Riedijk. She may even try to get Dutch citizenship off the back of it She added: 'If she does, under whatever circumstances, arrive at our borders, somebody in her type of circumstances could expect, of course, to be spoken to and, if there is the appropriate necessity, to be potentially arrested and certainly investigated. Removing Begum's citizenship 'could be exploited by radicals' Radical Islamists could exploit unease caused by the decision to strip Shamima Begum of her British citizenship, the Government's chief adviser on countering extremism has warned. Home Secretary Sajid Javid made the move after the teenager, who fled London aged 15 to join the so-called Islamic State caliphate in Syria, said she wanted to return to the UK with her newborn son. Independent adviser Sara Khan cautioned on Thursday that the Government must acknowledge the anxiety caused by the decision, with extremists being eager to 'exploit alienation and grievance'. 'While it is for courts to test the legality of decisions such as deprivation of citizenship, we have to also ask how measures such as this impact wider work on countering extremism,' she said. 'The Government has to recognise the unease felt by a wide range of people about decisions of this kind, not least those from minority communities with dual nationality. 'It has to build trust in its approach, because Islamist extremists will exploit alienation and grievance to turn people against their country.' Advertisement 'If that results in sufficient evidence for a prosecution then it will result in sufficient evidence for a prosecution. 'The officers will deal with whatever they are confronted with.' On Monday, in an interview with the BBC, Ms Begum compared the Manchester Arena bombing to military strikes on Isis strongholds, calling the terror attack 'retaliation'. There are currently plans to change the law to make travelling to certain terror hotspots a criminal offence, but this would not apply retrospectively to Ms Begum. Around 425 suspected jihadi fighters are thought to have returned to the UK from Syria so far. Before yesterday's decision, the Home Secretary had already hinted that he would block Begum from returning to the UK. Earlier this week ,Mr Javid told MPs that no British troops would be used to rescue any Britons who travelled to Syria to support terrorism. He said more than 900 people went to Syria or Iraq, adding: 'Whatever role they took in the so-called caliphate, they all supported a terrorist organisation and in doing so they have shown they hate our country and the values we stand for.' He went on: 'Now this so-called caliphate is crumbling, some of them want to return and I have been very clear where I can and where any threat remains I will not hesitate to prevent this. 'The powers available to me include banning non-British people from this country and stripping dangerous dual nationals of their British citizenship.' Shamima Begum, 19 (pictured before she left the country four years ago) is pleading with the government to allow her back into Britain A Honduran woman detained after illegally crossing into the U.S. at the border says she had escaped human smugglers in Mexico who snatched her and held her for ransom. The woman was taken into the custody of Texas Border Patrol agents after she crossed the Rio Grande River near the city of Eagle Pass on Wednesday. She told agents that smugglers, also known as 'coyotes', kidnapped her and held her at ransom at a stash house in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. A Honduran woman who illegally crossed into the US says she was held captive by human smugglers for three days before she managed to escape and enter Texas on Wednesday. File image of a Border Patrol agent scanning the scene over the Rio Grande above 'The woman was told she was to be held captive until her family met the smuggler's ransom demands,' the agency said. She was held for three days then escaped and trekked nearly 100 miles to the border town of Piedras Negras then illegally entered the U.S. 'Smugglers have no regard for human dignity or safety in the pursuit of profit,' Del Rio Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Matthew J. Hudak said in a press release. The smugglers threatened her saying she'd be held captive until her family met their ransom demands. She's one of many Honduran migrants illegally entering the U.S., a group of Honduran asylum seekers pictured above in January 'The Border Patrol asks people not to put their lives in danger by making this journey,' he added. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said she will be processed per guidelines. The FBI, the government of Mexico, and the Honduran consulate have been notified about the kidnapping. A former police detective is fighting for his life after he was shot in the face and left to die in a pool of his own blood. Sid Morgan, 53, suffered serious head injuries after being shot in the forehead at the end of Spraypoint Drive in Point Cook in Melbourne's west on Friday at about 11pm. One neighbour said they saw three people arguing on the street minutes before the trigger was pulled. Scroll down for video Former police detective turned real estate agent Sid Morgan (pictured) is fighting for his life after being shot in the forehead The 53-year-old was left to die in a pool of his own blood at the end of Spraypoint Drive (pictured) Mr Morgan, who is now a real estate agent, was taken to the Royal Melbourne hospital where he remains in a critical condition, according to Acting Inspector Trish Duke. Suhair Bdeiwe, another witness, heard the gun shot and ran to her balcony where she saw a white ute speeding away from the scene. 'I saw a big white ute driving badly,' she told 9News. Security cameras captured a similar ute heading in the same direction as the one Ms Bdeiwe had witnessed. Three white cars parked out the Point Cook home were each dusted for prints to see whether they could lead to persons of interest. Police have not yet revealed the motive of the crime or how many suspects were involved. Security cameras captured a similar ute heading in the same direction as the one Ms Bdeiwe had witnessed Shocking footage has emerged showing the moment an alleged drunk driver loses control and narrowly misses a man as he sits on a sidewalk. The footage, captured in Jersey City, New Jersey, on February 9, shows the driver lose control and accelerate onto the sidewalk. The out-of-control driver then continues along the road before mowing down a light pole. OUT OF CONTROL: Video shows alleged drunk driver speed down the sidewalk in Jersey City, nearly hitting a man before crashing into a light pole. Fortunately, no one was injured. https://t.co/0D8zexFeoQ pic.twitter.com/M3Qx9mPM0Q ABC News (@ABC) February 22, 2019 The alleged drunk driver loses control and swerves onto a sidewalk in Jersey City, New Jersey The out-of-control driver narrowly misses a person sat against a shop wall on the sidewalk Following the incident, police identified the driver as 47-year-old John Wilson. According to police, the driver was driving drunk when he lost control of his speeding vehicle. During the clip, the alleged drunk driver swerves onto the sidewalk and narrowly misses the man sat against a shop wall by inches. The driver continues down the street before hitting a light pole and skidding to a halt. The car continues down the city street before ploughing into a light pole further down Police later identified the driver as 47-year-old John Wilson and said he was driving drunk when he lost control of his vehicle Witness Roxy Mumford told ABC7 Eyewitness News: 'It sounded like an explosion, like two trucks had collided. 'It was like a war zone. Everything was knocked over.' Following the incident, the rubble has been cleared and the light poles replaced. There have been no reported injuries. A firefighter and father-of-two who battled a degenerative disease has died in a Swiss euthanasia clinic with his wife by his side. Troy Thornton, from Victoria, met his fate through lethal injection on Friday at a clinic in Basel, Switzerland, with his tearful wife Christine holding his hand. His two teenage children stayed in Australia with their grandparents while their shattered parents made the trip to the other side of the world. When Jack, 17, and Laura, 14, saw their father pack his luggage on Sunday, they knew they would never see him come home again. 'The hardest thing I've ever had to do is say goodbye to them,' Mr Thornton said before his death. 'It just destroyed me.' A hero firefighter and father-of-two who battled a degenerative disease has died in a Swiss euthanasia clinic with his wife by his side. Pictured: Troy Thornton with wife Christine, son Jack and daughter Laura Victorian man Troy Thornton met his fate through lethal injection on Friday at a clinic in Bassel, Switzerland, with his tearful wife Christine holding his hand (pictured, Troy Thornton with wife Christine, son Jack and daughter Laura) Mr Thornton's disease - multiple system atrophy - is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder Mr Thornton's disease - multiple system atrophy - is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. There are no treatments and there is no prospect of recovery, but death can take years. 'Doctors have always told me that you don't die of it, you die with it. You can live for quite a few years, but ... you end up being a vegetable,' Mr Thornton said before his injection in Basel. 'After a while it attacks different systems, breathing, swallowing. I'd end up drowning in my own mucous, that's what happens.' He called his disease a 'beast' - one that takes everything away slowly. 'First you can't swim, then you can't run, walk, kick the footy with your children, you can't surf, drive; eventually it takes your career,' Mr Thornton said. 'Then you end up being a vegetable. It's a pretty grim way to go out.' He described every day as 'like Groundhog Day' - filled with incessant vertigo, double vision and nausea. A broken Mr Thornton initially hoped to be euthanised in Australia and was banking on Victorian assisted dying laws to pull through. In that way he would of at least had his dying wish respected: to be surrounded with family and loved ones. 'My friend's dad, he was 85, died recently. He had his whole family there. They were watching footy and he died with them all around him. That's really nice, that's how you want to go out,' Mr Thornton said. But despite Victoria becoming the first state to legalise voluntary assisted dying, Mr Thornton didn't qualify. A broken Mr Thornton initially hoped to be euthanised in Australia and was banking on Victorian assisted dying laws to pull through But despite Victoria becoming the first state to legalise voluntary assisted dying, Mr Thornton didn't qualify Mr Thornton hoped to follow through with assisted dying in Victoria so he would of at least had his dying wish respected: to be surrounded with family and loved ones Mr Thornton could not find two doctors willing to say with absolute certainty that he would die within 12 months, which in his case is a condition to access the legislation 'I've just had enough, but unfortunately the laws, while they are a huge step in the right direction, they don't help me. They discount a lot of people,' Mr Thornton said of Victoria's assisted dying law He could not find two doctors willing to say with absolute certainty that he would die within 12 months, which in his case is a condition to access the legislation. That left him with Switzerland as his only option, away from his family and lamenting the shortcomings of the Victoria assisted dying law. 'I've just had enough, but unfortunately the laws, while they are a huge step in the right direction, they don't help me. They discount a lot of people.' Mr Thornton said the danger is people will think the issue has been resolved, 'but what the guy in the street doesn't understand is that those laws don't help people like me who are also suffering. 'These laws need to evolve. 'The focus is on being terminal is wrong. It's about the right to choose how you die, no matter how old you are, no matter what sickness, or non-sickness you've got. If you are of sound mind - and that's important - you should be able to choose.' Mr Thornton urged Australian voters to tell their politicians what they want when it comes to end of life choices. Mr Thornton openly admitted the choice to go by lethal injection was not an easy decision Mr Thornton was left with Switzerland as his only option for assisted dying, away from his family and lamenting the shortcomings of the Victoria assisted dying law 'When it's our life, we should have control. We should be able to choose if we are of sound mind. That's what I'd like to say,' Mr Thornton said of assisted dying laws in Victoria 'When it's our life, we should have control. We should be able to choose if we are of sound mind. That's what I'd like to say.' Mr Thornton openly admitted the choice to go by lethal injection was not an easy decision. He said he felt a strange mix of gratitude, sadness and an inevitable fear about presenting his arm to Swiss doctors who would administer the lethal injection. But there was no less fear associated with the alternative: his choice, dignity and freedom slipping away as his disease reduced him to a 'vegetable'. 'It's so surreal and sometimes I do think what the hell am I doing here?' Mr Thornton said before his death. 'Why did I make this decision? But then you see what you've got and it's not going away. I'm lucky to be here because the alternative is pretty ugly.' In the four years since Mr Thornton was diagnosed, he and his family have had a lot of time to come to terms with his planned death. 'There's been a lot of grieving already. We've prepared, my wife and children they know what's coming,' he said. Mr Thornton said he felt a strange mix of gratitude, sadness and an inevitable fear about presenting his arm to Swiss doctors who would administer the lethal injection But there was no less fear associated with the alternative: his choice, dignity and freedom slipping away as his disease reduced him to a 'vegetable' In the four years since Mr Thornton was diagnosed, he and his family have had a lot of time to come to terms with his planned death He added that it might sound like 'a bit of a w**k' but he believed he'd also worked out the meaning of life, which comes down to two things. 'The first one's a no-brainer. We're here to propagate, to evolve the species, to reproduce. The second one is that you're here to inspire. 'Fundamentally, those two things underpin relationships and life is about people.' Mr Thornton spent his last day with his wife taking in the sweeping expanse of the Rhine River that snakes through the northwest medieval city, and enjoying the snow-covered peaks of the Alps. During his last evening, Mr Thornton and his wife Christine sat down for a last supper with a life-long friend. His case attracted attention while he was in Switzerland and several strangers asked if they could join Mr Thornton the day he was going to die. 'Just to be surrounded by human beings when you take your last breath, it's a nice thought,' he said. Mr Thornton added that it might sound like 'a bit of a w**k' but he'd believed he'd also worked out the meaning of life, which comes down to two things Mr Thornton spent his last day with his wife taking in the sweeping expanse of the Rhine River that snakes through the northwest medieval city, and enjoying the snow-covered peaks of the Alps During his last evening, Mr Thornton and his wife Christine sat down for a last supper with a life-long friend His case attracted attention while he was in Switzerland and several strangers asked if they could join Mr Thornton the day he was going to die Israeli gunfire killed a Palestinian teenager at a protest along Gaza-Israel border fence, Gaza officials said Friday, as thousands in contested Jerusalem descended on a section of a flashpoint holy site that has been closed by Israeli court order for over a decade. The Health Ministry said 15-year-old Youssef al-Dayya died at a hospital shortly after he was hit with a gunshot in the chest. The protests in Gaza are mostly against the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory. Citing security concerns, Israel and Egypt imposed tight restrictions on movements of people and goods in and out of Gaza after the militant Hamas group wrested control of the territory in 2007. It came alongside unrest in Jerusalem, the eastern part of which Palestinians claim as their future capital. Protesters chanting "Allahu Akbar" streamed into a sealed-off area of al-Aqsa Mosque during prayers Friday. Israeli police said the crowds that gathered dispersed peacefully after prayers. Tension at the shrine has escalated in recent days. Similar protests turned into scuffles with police earlier this week. Anticipating unrest, police arrested 60 Palestinians overnight suspected of "causing disturbances" and "inciting violence." Israel blocked off a structure near the mosque, known as the "Gate of Mercy," in 2003 because it was home to a heritage organization allegedly connected with a militant Islamic group. Israeli police accused the Waqf, the Islamic authority that oversees the compound, of attempting to "change the status quo" at the sensitive site by convening in the closed area last week. The contested site, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The crackdown followed 'calls for public disturbances' at Muslim prayers, said spokesman for the Israeli police Micky Rosenfeld. A group of Muslims posted videos of themselves praying in a disused part of the Al-Asqa mosque site on Monday, 16 years after it was locked by an Israeli court order. Israeli police arrest a Palestinian at al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem today Israeli police officers have arrested several Palestinians for 'causing a disturbance' at a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site. Tension at the shrine has escalated in recent days. Similar protests turned into scuffles with police earlier this week. Anticipating unrest, police arrested 60 Palestinians overnight suspected of "causing disturbances" and "inciting violence." Israel blocked off a structure near the mosque, known as the "Gate of Mercy," in 2003 because it was home to a heritage organization allegedly connected with a militant Islamic group. Israeli police accused the Waqf, the Islamic authority that oversees the compound, of attempting to "change the status quo" at the sensitive site by convening in the closed area last week. The contested site, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The crackdown followed 'calls for public disturbances' at Muslim prayers, said spokesman for the Israeli police Micky Rosenfeld. A group of Muslims posted videos of themselves praying in a disused part of the Al-Asqa mosque site on Monday, 16 years after it was locked by an Israeli court order. 'As part of the police preparations based on intelligence, police arrested 60 suspects involved in incitement to violence,' said Mr Rosenfeld. 'Police will continue to make arrests.' Mr Rosenfeld said the detainees were 'Arabs', a term that could refer to Palestinians or to Arab citizens of Israel. Israeli public radio said that all were residents of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, occupied by the Jewish state in the 1967 Six Day war. Israeli police confronts Palestinians in front of the Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem on Monday A man waves a Palestinian flag in the hall of the disused offices where it is not believed anyone has prayed for 16 years The confrontation was said to be over Muslim worshippers' anger at Israeli control of prayer spaces in the holy city. An official statement said police numbers in and around the Al Aqsa compound - in east Jerusalem's walled Old City - had been beefed up. The site is the third-holiest in Islam and a focus of Palestinian aspirations for statehood. It is also the location of Judaism's most holy spot and a frequent scene of conflict between the two sides. Muslim worshippers' access to Al Aqsa and the adjoining Dome of the Rock is controlled by Israeli security forces. There have been scuffles there for the past few days. The Al-Rahma Gate (Gate of Mercy) in the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound, after it was chained by Israeli police following the break in Muslim worshippers' access to Al Aqsa and the adjoining Dome of the Rock is controlled by Israeli security forces. Any Israeli move seen by Palestinians as seeking to increase Israel's presence there is liable to ignite Muslim anger. There have been scuffles there for the past few days after Israeli authorities put new chains on a door, known as the Golden Gate or Gate of Mercy in Arabic, to disused offices. The offices were closed by an Israeli court order in 2003, police say, but video posted on social media showed Muslim officials praying there last week in defiance of the court ban. Police said they arrested five people on Monday and 19 on Tuesday over the scuffles. A drunk man in China has been rescued after walking back and forth on a set of high-voltage power cables for three hours, according to firefighters. The man climbed to the top of a utility pole before moving onto the overhead electricity cables about 32 feet above the ground, it is said. He was reportedly unhurt after firefighters climbed up a nearby tree to save him. The man climbs onto a 32ft tall utility pole (left) under the influence of alcohol before moving onto the overhead electricity cables (right) on Wednesday in the city of Quanzhou in China The incident took place on Wednesday in Quanzhou, south-east China's Fujian Province, according to the Fire-fighting Branch of Quanzhou Public Security Bureau. Firefighters said the man was walking on one power line while holding onto another two when they arrived. They immediately instructed the local energy company to cut the electricity from the cables. Footage taken by an onlooker shows that a large crowd of residents had gathered under the power lines to watch the man in awe. Firefighters tried to talk him down using a mega phone, but he refused to follow their instructions. Firefighters had to place an inflatable mattress under the power lines while looking for another solution. One of the firefighters said to Pear Video they had to move the inflatable mattress to underneath the man whenever he moved in order to protect him. Firefighters put an inflatable mattress under the man (left) and use a cherry picker (right) to help with their rescue operation. The man is saved after firefighters climbed up a nearby tree After a three-hour stand-off, the fire brigade dispatched a cherry picker to the scene to help with the rescue operation. Two firefighters got into the cradle of the cherry picker and were lifted to a height closer to the man while their colleagues climbed up a tree near the man. The two firefighters on the cherry picker tried to calm the man while one of their colleagues on the tree seized an opportunity to grab the man towards him. The firefighter then pushed the man down towards the inflatable mattress. The man landed on the mattress safely. He was unharmed and has been handed to the local police for further investigation, said the fire brigade. Russia has accused the US of using aid deliveries to Venezuela as a ploy to carry out military action against President Nicolas Maduro's government. The Kremlin's Foreign Ministry said America had deployed special forces and equipment near the South American nation and accused Washington of a 'dangerous provocation'. Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed to efforts by opposition leader Juan Guaido's planned bid tomorrow to pick up US aid being stockpiled on the Colombian border. Russia has accused the US of using aid deliveries to Venezuela as a ploy to carry out military action against President Nicolas Maduro's government. It comes after a clip showed trucks trying to ram through a checkpoint in Mariara, northern Venezuela, as security forces loyal to Maduro stood in its path Russia is a key supporter of Maduro's government and has repeatedly accused Washington of trying to carry out a coup in Venezuela Guaido's intentions to bring the supplies across the border are aimed at provoking clashes, she said, to provide 'a convenient pretext for conducting military action'. Russia is a key supporter of Maduro's government and has repeatedly accused Washington of trying to carry out a coup in Venezuela. Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Gil said at a meeting in the upper chamber of the Russian parliament on Friday that Maduro is 'constantly in touch' with President Vladimir Putin on the phone. He thanked Russia for a recent shipment of medicine but reiterated the government stance that there is no humanitarian crisis in the South American country. On Thursday, Guaido set out in a convoy to collect US-supplied food and medicine stockpiled in Colombia, vowing to bring in the aid by Saturday. Maduro has closed the border with Brazil to prevent the entry of aid and the military has beefed up security at the Colombian border. Zakharova alleged that the US had moved special forces and military equipment 'closer to Venezuelan territory' and was considering large-scale weapons purchases to arm the opposition. Maria Zakharova (pictured) pointed to efforts by opposition leader Juan Guaido's planned bid tomorrow to pick up US aid being stockpiled on the Colombian border On Thursday, Guaido (pictured) set out in a convoy to collect US-supplied food and medicine stockpiled in Colombia, vowing to bring in the aid by Saturday Noting that it had been five years since the Ukrainian revolution that ousted a Russian-backed leader - which Moscow has accused the US of orchestrating - Zakharova said Washington was preparing for more regime change in Venezuela. Russian acts of aggression against the West under Putin? Feb 2014 Russian forces seize control of Crimea from Ukraine sparking worldwide condemnation. But Vladimir Putin initially denies sending in troops to the area, insisting the little green men who appeared in Russian uniforms were actually local defence forces. Russian forces also entered and stoked war in eastern Ukraine. 2016: Russian hackers target the US elections spreading fake news to meddle in the outcome and hacking Hilary Clintons campaign teams emails. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating the claims and so far 19 Russians have been hit with sanctions for cyber-attacks. April May 2017 French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron says his campaign has been targeted by groups in Russia and Ukraine. The leading centrist was running against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who was calling for closer ties with Moscow. March 2018 Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia are poisoned on the streets of Salisbury. The pair are slipped Novichok a deadly nerve agent manufactured in Russias lab rooms at the height of the Cold War. Theresa May says Russia is behind the attack, but the Kremlin launch a massive disinformation campaign questioning whether the UKs security services can be trusted and suggesting Britain carried out the poisoning itself. Advertisement 'It seems that in Washington there is nothing to mark the fifth anniversary of the coup d'etat in Ukraine, so they decided to hold a new coup d'etat,' she said. She warned that a US military intervention in Venezuela would lead to a 'sharp increase in tensions' around the world. Shipments of food and medicine for Venezuelans suffering in the country's economic crisis have become a focus of the power struggle between Maduro and Guaido. Maduro has said Russia was providing 300 tonnes of aid but Moscow has not provided details. Russian news agencies reported that Venezuela's Minister of Industries and National Production Tareck El Aissami would visit Moscow on Friday to meet with Russian officials. A source quoted by the Interfax news agency said talks would focus on 'cooperation in trade and the economy'. It comes after one person was killed and 12 are injured after Venezuelan troops opened fire on civilians trying to keep a border checkpoint open for aid deliveries. Troops arrived at a checkpoint set up by an indigenous community in Kumarakapai, on Venezuela's southern border with Brazil early this morning. But when civilians tried to block military vehicles, soldiers opened fire shooting 12 and killing a woman named as Zorayda Rodriguez, 42. The villagers are believed to have been trying to keep open a section of the border so that aid could be moved into the area from Brazil. In northern Venezuela, a clash between President Nicolas Maduro's troops and supporters of his rival Juan Guaido also turned violent. Footage shows trucks trying to ram through a checkpoint in Mariara, northern Venezuela, as security forces loyal to Maduro stand in its path. It is thought to have taken place as supporters of opposition leader Guaido, who has declared himself acting president, made their way to the border to collect US aid. Maduro is refusing to let US supplies in, arguing it would be the first step toward a foreign invasion. Instead, he has accepted Russian aid and reportedly sent missiles to the border. Meanwhile, the crisis is set to morph in to a 'battle of the bands' today with rival concerts taking place at opposite ends of a blockaded border bridge. British tycoon Sir Richard Branson, after being approached by opposition leader Juan Guaido, is bidding to raise $100million in donations through 'Venezuela Aid Live' on the Colombian side of Tienditas bridge. On the other side of the crossing, closed off with freight containers, President Nicolas Maduro will hold 'hands off Venezuela' - a three day festival. Maduro has closed the border with Brazil to prevent the entry of aid and the military has beefed up security at the Colombian border. But today pictures emerged of Venezuelans crossing the border into Brazil's Roraima state Venezuelan soldiers are pictured at the border between the country and Brazil as people watch on amid heightened tensions over plans to bring in US aid Tensions are continuing to mount as the weekend approaches with Guaido adamant he will bring the supplies into the country on Saturday. The Tienditas bridge, is one of the conduits that he has targeted. Branson aims to raise $100 million in donations through his concert with big stars from the Spanish-speaking world scheduled to perform, and the presidents of Colombia, Chile and Paraguay vowing to attend. The government has not said who will perform on the Venezuela end of the bridge. That concert's slogan is 'Hands Off Venezuela.' 'All the artists that are going to sing in Colombia must know that they are committing a crime. They are endorsing a military intervention,' said Maduro. On Thursday he ordered the closure of Venezuela's border with Brazil - one of the main potential avenues for aid delivery - as part of the power struggle with Guaido over bringing in aid. Maduro said he was considering closing the border with Colombia, too. Meanwhile, U.N. refugee and migration agencies say some 3.4 million people have now fled Venezuela, up from a November estimate of 3 million people. The joint envoy for refugee agency UNCHR and the International Organization for Migration, Eduardo Stein, praised the 'tremendous solidarity' shown by Venezuela's neighbors to people leaving the country. The agencies said Colombia hosts the highest number of Venezuela emigrants - more than 1.1 million - followed by Peru with 506,000 and Chile with 288,000. Brazil has taken in 96,000 Venezuelans. UNHCR responded to Maduro's vow to shut the border with Brazil and not let aid through by highlighting the 'utmost importance that the people in need of international protection can seek the protection they require.' UNHCR said its Venezuela operation helped 80,000 people with issues like documentation, education, nutrition and sanitation. A confused elderly driver has been caught on camera trying to turn his Mercedes around after going the wrong way on a motorway slip road. The motorist somehow managed to turn left from a busy roundabout on to the slip road coming from the M5 near Worcester. Realising his mistake, the driver tries to turn round by reversing towards the roundabout and then driving forward. The elderly motorist was recorded by another driver after he turned off a roundabout into oncoming traffic The Mercedes driver tries to fix his mistake by reversing towards the roundabout and then driving forward The video was posted on social media by Jack Green, from Worcester, although it is not clear who filmed the clip. It was captioned: 'Junction 6 everyone ffs.' The video shows the Mercedes Benz facing the wrong direction at a red light - with numerous cars driving around the roundabout. He made numerous attempts to fix the position of the car but he just straightens it up in the wrong direction The camera pans over to the left to show the busy motorway before the elderly man carefully reverses his car and turns around. But despite numerous attempts to fix the position of his car, he ends up accidentally straightening it in the wrong direction. Jon Baker wrote on social media: 'My God. How on earth did they manage that.' The video was posted on Facebook and comments came in criticising the driver Mia-louise Drysdale, referring to the locals' phrase for the junction, wrote: 'Bloody six ways. S**t drivers.' Daniel Lloyd posted: 'B***end needs to go to reversing school.' Daves Removal added: 'Berc in a merc. Stupid b******' Sean Allies said: I'm not sure what's worse. How he ended up turning left or his attempt at reversing.' Others pointed out the footage appeared to have been also filmed by a driver. But some Facebook users questioned whether the cameraman had slipped up himself by using his phone while driving Milly Reece posted: 'Just busted yourself for using your phone while sitting in the driver's seat of a car with the keys in the ignition.' Ben Corteen wrote: 'Gotta love a Mercedes driver, one clueless and one videoing.' And Brandon Weaver added: 'You're on your phone driving at least he has an excuse old-age.' But Lee Smiech claimed the driver was using a GoPro head cam, commenting: 'It's a GoPro head cam lol.' Last Month, The Duke of Edinburgh was involved in a car crash which raised many questions regarding the safety of elderly drivers. Prince Philip, 97, gave up his licence after crashing into an oncoming Ford Kia on the A149 Babingly Norfolk. Road safety charity Brake UK suggested in mandatory health and eye test for elderly drivers to ensure the safety of the roads. A Wisconsin man accused of helping a 14-year-old girl escape sexual abuse in exchange for video of her being raped has pleaded not guilty to sexually exploiting a child. Bryan Rogers, 31, also pleaded not guilty Thursday to making false statements, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. Authorities say Rogers offered to help her run away if she provided him 'clear video evidence' so he wouldn't get in trouble for taking her from her home. Court records say he received the video in January and brought the teen to his Madison home days later. The girl's adopted father was arrested on rape charges. Bryan Rogers, 31, pleaded not guilty Thursday to making false statements He also pleaded not guilty to sexually exploiting a child According to his arrest affidavit, Rogers befriended the underage victim via the online game Roblox sometime in December. The two began exchanging messages around Christmas Eve, and soon after the teen confided in Rogers that she was being sexually assaulted at home. Rogers and the 14-year-old girl began exchanging messages around Christmas Eve, and soon after the teen confided in Rogers that she was being sexually assaulted at home by her 41-year-old stepfather, Randall Pruitt Over a series of messages, the home-schooled 14-year-old begged Rogers to help her and revealed that she was having suicidal thoughts because of the alleged sexual abuse. 'I can't just stay here,' she wrote to Rogers. 'If u don't help me somehow I might as well kill my [expletive] self like I've been planning to do.' But instead of contacting the authorities, according to court documents cited by The Washington Post, Rogers instructed the girl to secretly record her 41-year-old stepfather, Randall Pruitt, raping her as proof that she was telling the truth. When the girl tried to push back, Rogers expressed concern that without the video evidence, he would get in 'a hell of a lot of trouble' with the law for helping her escape from her family's home in Tennessee. He also pointed out that he was putting his freedom at risk for a virtual stranger whom he has not even met. The girl was found in Wisconson on Thursday two weeks after vanishing from her home in Tennessee 'If you can get that video I can get you out of there but without it you will just wind up back with your dad and I'll be in trouble,' the man told the teenager. When questioned by investigators, the 31-year-old claimed he did not send the seven-minute video showing what he described as a 'full blown rape,' which was discovered on his phone, because it was 'blurry' and he thought it would not hold up in court Despite her initial misgivings, the girl agreed to videotape Pruitt allegedly assaulting her and sent the video to Rogers on January 10, according to the affidavit. On January 14, Rogers drove more than 700 miles to pick up the 14-year-old from her family's home in Madisonville, Tennessee, and took her to Madison, Wisconsin, where he lived with his mother. On January 31, law enforcement officials searched Rogers' home and found the missing Tennessee girl hiding in a basement closet, after Rogers previously claimed she was not there. When questioned by investigators, the 31-year-old claimed he did not send the seven-minute video showing what he described as a 'full blown rape,' which was discovered on his phone, because it was 'blurry' and he thought it would not hold up in court. Pruitt, who legally adopted the victim after marrying her mother, Christina, was arrested on January 31 and charged with rape He admitted to driving through the night with the teen and staying away from tollways and gas stations equipped with surveillance cameras to avoid detection. He also smashed the girl's phone so they could not be tracked. Pruitt, who legally adopted the victim after marrying her mother, Christina, was arrested on January 31 and charged with rape. He made his initial court appearance on February 5 and had his bond set at $2million. Pruitt is due back in court on May 13. The United States hosted consultations on the political and security pillars of the Middle East Strategic Alliance, also known as the 'Arab NATO', in Washington yesterday. Senior officials from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and the Gulf Cooperation Council came together to discuss the alliance. According to the U.S. State Department press service, the initiative intended to advance regional stability, security, and prosperity through enhanced multilateral cooperation in the political, economic, energy, and security spheres. "Defensive in nature, the alliances structure is intended to advance participating nations common objectives and address threats to regional stability, security, and prosperity," the statement says. The State Department also said that the consultations included "formative exchanges on the strategic objectives of the alliance, with particular emphasis on political and security-related topics." "The United States looks forward to continuing these positive discussions in order to leverage synergy and more effectively address existing and emergent challenges to our shared, vital interests in the region," the statement reads. A locust outbreak in Sudan and Eritrea is spreading rapidly along both sides of the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said. Periods of rain along the Red Sea coastal plains in Eritrea and Sudan have allowed two generations of breeding since October, leading to a substantial increase in locust populations and the formation of highly mobile swarms. The increase in locusts in the area could pose a possible threat to crops and food security, the organisation warned Spreading: Locusts and their movement near the Red Sea from the beginning of the year At least one swarm had crossed to the northern coast of Saudi Arabia in mid-January, with further swarms a week later. Rains from two cyclones in 2018 had triggered breeding of locusts in the Empty Quarter region of Saudi Arabia, near the Yemen-Oman border, and a few swarms from two generations of breeding had reached the United Arab Emirates and southern Iran. There was a risk of further spread towards the India-Pakistan border, the FAO statement said. 'The next three months will be critical to bring the locust situation under control before the summer breeding starts,' FAO locust expert Keith Cressman said in the statement. 'The further spread of the current outbreak depends on two major factors - effective control and monitoring measures in locust breeding areas of Sudan, Eritrea and Saudi Arabia and the surrounding countries, and rainfall intensity between March and May along both sides of the Red Sea and in the interior of the Arabian Peninsula.' Good rains along the Red Sea coastal plains in Eritrea and Sudan has lead to a substantial increase in locust populations in the area (stock image) Control operations have treated nearly 200,000 acres since December including 30,000 ha in the past two weeks in Egypt, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, the FAO said. Control measures are also underway in Iran after at least one swarm arrived on the southern coast at the end of January, it said. Adult locust swarms can fly up to 150km (93miles) a day with the wind and adult insects can consume roughly their own weight in fresh food per day. A very small swarm eats as much in one day as about 35,000 people, posing a devastating threat to crops and food security. In an emailed comment to Reuters, Cressman said the last major desert locust upsurge was in 2003-2005 when more than 12 million hectares were treated in west and northwest Africa, incurring a cost of about $750 million including food aid. Since then there have been numerous outbreaks along the coastal plains on both sides of the Red Sea that were mostly controlled. The FAO will hold a meeting in Jordan next week to discuss intensifying control measures with affected countries, the statement said. Facebook is cashing in on its Nazi interested users by selling targeted adverts for companies who want to reach them, a report claims. Despite promising increased scrutiny of their systems, the tech giant are still reportedly flogging tailored adverts to target user searches for 'Joseph Goebbels,' 'Josef Mengele' and 'Heinrich Himmler.' Facebook - who preach equality as one of their fundamental principles - conceded they still had to remove some of the targeting options on offer. Their multi-billion dollar advertising system enables companies to gear their adverts for a desired audience. The Facebook sign outside their headquarters in Menlo Park, California in the Silicon Valley While Facebook had changed their systems to prevent adverts targeting a Hitler category, they could still yield results if they tweaked the categorization to Mengele or Goebbels A Facebook spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times 'we clearly need to do more, so were taking a broader look at our policies and detection methods.' In 2017, Pro Publica exposed the troubling levels of anti-Semitic search categories which were able to be harnessed by advertisers. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO, has been forced to stand before lawmakers in the United States and Europe over so-called 'fake news' after advertising has been used by politicians to target voters. Facebook have claimed that since 2017 more of their adverts were approved by humans and announced on their website the removal of some 5,000 audience categories. However the Times say they were able to carry out an experiment which uncovered companies could still tweak their adverts to target Third Reich enthusiasts. In their experiment they targeted fans of a white supremacist band called Screwdriver and the Facebook system automatically suggested far-right groups to boost the advert's circulation. Facebook asked for just $25 to have the advert tuned up in this way. Further investigation revealed that obviously Third Reich related words, like 'Hitler' and 'Nazi' could not be used. However, if they were to plug in 'Josef Mengele' or 'Joseph Goebbels' then tens of thousands of potentially interested users could be found, the Times said. Facebook responded that these were auto-generated. This week Mark Zuckerberg met with the UK's Culture Secretary in Silicon Valley to discuss how to regulate harmful content. The British lawmaker said he told Zuckerberg that his company was incapable of self-regulation. A man is set to stand trial after he was accused of propositioning a woman by winking at her in a pub. Grzegorz Kwiecien is accused of repeatedly winking at the woman at Dexys Bar in Dundee, despite her continuously rebuking his advances. It is claimed that the 36-year-old also propositioned the woman and confronted her after he was asked to leave the premises. Dexy's Bar in Dundee (pictured above) where Grezegorz Kwiecien was accused of repeatedly winking at the woman It is also alleged that he attempted to kiss another woman on the same evening at the pub. He is set to stand trial on May 9 after being bailed, with an intermediate date of April 16 having also been set, the Evening Telegraph reported. This comes after Scottish Labour demanded that the sentencing guidelines for sexual assault are changed, particularly for young people. Advertisement Stunning retro pictures have offered a glimpse into the inner workings of Londons famous Tower Bridge during the 1950s. The incredible images taken in 1951 show a worker ringing the bell to warn users that a raising will be imminent and a Thames lighterman, a skilled worker who operates a lighter flat-bottomed barge, looking out to the city. Other striking shots show a manager inspecting the pumps used for the lifting mechanisms and an operator switching on the traffic lights to stop cars from going over the bridge. Londoners are also seen waiting for a ship to pass through and continue along the Thames and a bridge driver working the controls during the raising of the road. A Thames lighterman stands on his boat in 1951 with Tower Bridge in the background. The term lighterman is particularly associated highly skilled men who operated lighter vessels moved by oar and water currents in the Port of London A Tower Bridge worker rings a bell to warn users that that the bridge lifting will be imminent as he swings on a metal gate This man performs maintenance work on the pumping mechanisms used to lift Tower Bridge. Originally the bridge was ran using steam but it is now powered by oil and electricity Another black and white picture reveals a boiler man stoking the firebox with coal as boilers heat the steam that powers the machinery to lift the bascules, which are still raised around 850 times a year now. The remarkable photographs were taken on Tower Bridge in 1951. Tower Bridge is one of Londons most famous landmarks and took eight years to build between 1886 and 1894. Five contractors and 432 workers laboured each day to build the bridge and more than 11,000 tons of steel provided the framework for the towers and walkways. It crosses the River Thames close to the great fortress of the Tower of London and is the gateway into the port of London and the rivers upper pool. A year after the remarkable pictures were taken London bus driver Albert Gunter had to leap from one bascule to the other when the bridge began to rise with the number 78 bus still on it, reports TowerBridge.org. A smartly dressed Tower Bridge driver works the controls during the raising of the road inside the control cabin in 1951 Several pedestrians patiently wait on Tower Bridge in 1951 as the bascules bar is raised to let a ship pass along the Thames Boilerman Richard Lumb stokes the boilers in 1951, left, that provide the steam for the lifting apparatus at the bridge. Boilers heat the steam that powers the machinery to lift the bascules, which are still raised around 850 times a year The bridge consists of two bridge towers tied together at the upper level by two horizontal walkways, designed to withstand the horizontal tension forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides of the towers. The vertical components of the forces in the suspended sections and the vertical reactions of the two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower. Tower Bridge is now powered by oil and electricity, but the original steam engines are maintained by a team of technical officers and can be visited. Before its restoration in the 2010s, the bridges colour scheme dated from 1977, when it was painted red, white and blue for Queen Elizabeth IIs Silver Jubilee. Its colours were subsequently restored to blue and white. Before being painted for the Jubilee the bridge was a chocolate brown colour. An operator switches on the traffic lights to stop vehicles from going over the bridge just before the road is lifted A police officer stands on guard with the bascules raised in 1951 as cars wait for the all clear to drive over the bridge Another worker wearing overalls, a cap and glasses makes a pot of tea on his break from working at Tower Bridge in 1951 Senior Technical Officer Charles Lotter stands in the control cabin of Tower Bridge in 2010 making sure everything runs well It Ain't Half Hot Mum actor Melvyn Hayes has called on the BBC to play a repeat of the hit show as a tribute to co-star Windsor Davies, who passed away last month. Mr Hayes even suggested that the public broadcaster could censor some elements of the show which would not be considered politically correct in order to air the show again. Mr Hayes paid tribute to the Welsh star who passed away aged 88. Melvyn Hayes & Windsor Davies starred together on the show It Ain't Half Hot Mum Hayes, 84, told the Mirror: 'We were a real team. Such a wonderful, generous man. 'And the outpouring of affection shows what nostalgia there is for IAHHM. I thought surely the BBC could re-run it, even just one episode, as a tribute. They could bleep out the "bunch of poofs" lines if they had to.' He added: 'But no. It's deemed politically incorrect even though it's about a concert party in India when sergeant majors all spoke like that. It's so ridiculous.' It Ain't Half Hot Mum was a hit comedy series which ran from 1974 to 1981 and regularly had 17 million viewers. Melyvn played the nervy, effeminate 'Gloria', the group's leading lady, while Davies played Battery Sergeant Major Williams. The shows language is not the only aspect which may cause offence should it be re-run, as Dino Shafeek and Babar Bhatti played Indian 'natives' would would mock the Britons in Urdu. It Ain't Half Hot Mum, starring Melvyn Hayes, Windsor Davies and Don Estelle Actor Michael Bates darkened his complexion to play bearer Rangi Ram, which would undoubtedly cause offence to today's viewers. Melvyn added: 'None of the Indian people I've met found the show offensive, though. They loved the fact we used Urdu. I wish they'd show it again. And not just because of the repeat fees nice as they might be!' He added: 'I do wish the BBC would have a change of heart,' he says. 'Viewers would love to meet the gang again.' The BBC has been approached for comment. Belarus has warned that 'things will turn nasty' if America installs new missiles in Europe. President Alexander Lukashenko said Minsk and Russia would have to 'think about response measures' if the US carries out such a deployment. It comes after Vladimir Putin said Russia is militarily ready for a Cuban Missile-style crisis if the US wanted one and threatened to place hypersonic nuclear missiles on ships or submarines near American territorial waters. Addressing the possible threat to Belarus security, Lukashenko warned today that 'it is a catastrophe, particularly for us'. Belarus has warned that 'things will turn nasty' if America installs new missiles in Europe. President Alexander Lukashenko (left with Vladimir Putin) warned that Minsk and Russia would have to 'think about response measures' if the US carries out such a deployment Vladimir Putin has said Russia will target weapons at the US should it deploy new intermediate-range missiles in Europe following America's withdrawal from a key arms control pact America's withdrawal from the Cold War-era Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty has sparked fears of a new arms race (file picture) He added: 'I am afraid that Americans will grab the fleeting opportunity and will deploy the missiles in Europe after breaking the treaty. 'If they do, things will turn nasty for us, too. Because together with Russia we will have to think about reciprocal measures. It is unavoidable if it happens. 'It would be even worse if, god forbid, the missiles got deployed in Ukraine.' Yesterday, Putin said Russia is militarily ready for a Cuban Missile-style crisis if America wanted it. The Cuban Missile Crisis erupted in 1962 when Moscow responded to a U.S. missile deployment in Turkey by sending ballistic missiles to Cuba, sparking a standoff that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. More than five decades on, tensions are rising again over Russian fears that the United States might deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe, as a landmark Cold War-era arms-control treaty unravels. Putin's comments, made to Russian media late on Wednesday, follow his warning that Moscow will match any U.S. move to deploy new missiles closer to Russia by stationing its own missiles closer to the United States or by deploying faster missiles or both. Putin detailed his warning for the first time, saying Russia could deploy hypersonic missiles on ships and submarines which could lurk outside U.S. territorial waters if Washington now moved to deploy intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe. '(We're talking about) naval delivery vehicles: submarines or surface ships. And we can put them, given the speed and range (of our missiles)... in neutral waters. Plus they are not stationary, they move and they will have to find them,' Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript. How the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear armageddon in 1962 The Cuban missile crisis brought the world as close as it has ever been to nuclear war in October 1962. After America's failed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro, the Cuban strongman allowed the Soviet Union to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba - putting the warheads in easy striking distance of most of the US. If Russia chose, it could launch the missiles at the US before Washington had a chance to retaliate. Nikita Khrushchev and John F Kennedy during a historic meeting a year before the Cuban Missile Crisis broke out America had already deployed ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey - putting them within easy striking distance of Moscow. President John F Kennedy informed Americans during a television broadcast on October 22, 1962, that the Soviets had placed missiles on Cuba and that in retalation, the US would erect a blockade around the island to force Castro and Khrushchev to remove to missiles. He announced America would be willing to use military force if necessary to deter what was seen as a threat to national security - and the world waited with baited breathe. On October 24, 1962, another key moment came when Soviet ships heading for Cuba neared the line of U.S. vessels enforcing the blockade. An attempt to breach the blockade would most likely have resulted in a military stand-off, but Soviet ships backed down. A U.S. invasion forces readied itself for an invasion of Cuba but were eventually stood down. Kennedy (pictured) showed restraint by not attacking the Soviets or Cubans A flashpoint which could have triggered all-out war was when an American reconnaissance plane was shot down on October 27, 1962. A U.S. invasion forces readied itself for an invasion of Cuba but were eventually stood down. The 35-year-old pilot of the downed plane, Major Rudolf Anderson, is considered the sole U.S. combat casualty of the Cuban missile crisis. Throughout the tense stand-off, Khrushchev and Kennedy were in contact to try to avoid any military escalation between the two superpowers. On October 26, 1962, Khrushchev sent a message to Kennedy in which he offered to remove the Cuban missiles in exchange for a promise by U.S. leaders not to invade Cuba. The following day, Khrushchev sent a letter proposing that the USSR would dismantle its missiles in Cuba if the Americans removed their missile installations in Turkey. Secret negotiations between Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and JFK and between his brother Robert Kennedy, the Attorney General, and Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin led to a deal. U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara said after the incident it would be the 'last Saturday he would ever see' as tensions continued to escalate. The Soviets agreed to withdraw their missiles in return for America pledging not to invade Cuba. The US also secretly promised to remove obsolete missiles from Turkey. Both sides claimed victory as a way of putting a positive PR spin on the crisis. Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro enjoys a steak dinner while holding an impromptu press conference at the Theresa Hotel in Harlem during his visit to New York on September 23, 1960 Advertisement 'You work it out: Mach nine (the speed of the missiles) and over 1,000 km (their range).' The State Department dismissed Putin's earlier warning as propaganda, saying it was designed to divert attention from what Washington alleges are Moscow's violations of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. It referred queries about Putin's latest remarks to the Pentagon, which did not immediately respond. The INF pact bans Russia and the United States from stationing short- and intermediate-range land-based missiles in Europe. Washington announced on Feb. 1 it will withdraw from the treaty in six months unless Moscow ends its alleged violations. Analyst Kingston Reif of the Arms Control Association think tank said Putin may be seeking to signal that Russia can keep up with the United States, to distract from its internal problems or to deflect blame for the parlous state of the INF treaty. 'He may also be trying to send the message that, look, neither side should want this world (of a new arms race) so we should sit down and resume discussions,' Reif said. Putin has said he does not want an arms race but would have no choice but to act if Washington deployed new missiles in Europe, some of which he says could strike Moscow within 10 to 12 minutes. The United States does not currently have ground-based intermediate-range nuclear missiles that it could place in Europe but could develop and deploy them if the INF treaty collapses. Vladimir Putin (left with Lukashenko) promised to target more missiles at the US if America sends new weapons to Europe. Russia has released video of its Poseidon nuclear-powered underwater drone that can be launched from a submarine and carry nuclear warheads The clip emerged after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Poseidon - seen by military officials as a giant nuclear-capable torpedo - had been undergoing successful tests Putin said his naval response to such a move would mean Russia could strike the United States faster than U.S. missiles deployed in Europe could hit Moscow because the flight time would be shorter. 'It (the calculation) would not be in their favour, at least as things stand today. That's for sure.' said Putin. Relations between Moscow and Washington were strained, he added, but the tensions were not comparable to those of the Cuban Missile Crisis. 'They (the tensions) are not a reason to ratchet up confrontation to the levels of the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960s. In any case that's not what we want,' said Putin. 'If someone wants that, well OK they are welcome. I have set out today what that would mean. Let them count (the missile flight times).' Separately, Washington said on Thursday that it was carrying out an observation flight over Russia under the Open Skies Treaty, the first one since 2017. In a statement, the Pentagon said an unarmed OC-135B aircraft was being used and Russia was aware of the flight. The Independent Group of rebel MPs may remain leaderless for some time as they are waiting to see who the 'best person' for the job might be, Heidi Allen said today. The former Tory said they were were waiting to see the 'range' of people who they can peel of from Conservative and Labour ranks to join the current 11 political defectors before deciding who was in charge. The South Cambridgeshire MP and two ex-Tory colleagues, Anna Soubry and Dr Sarah Wollaston, linked up with eight disaffected centrist former Labour MPs including Chuka Umunna this week in a move that rocked Westminster. And they have predicted than many more MPs from both the main parties are ready to join their rebellion as they lose patience over issues like Brexit and anti-Semitism. Ex-Tory MP Heidi Allen (pictured with ex-Labour MP Gavin Shuker) praised Chuka Umunna for bringing The Independent Group (TIG) together but said the 'best person' to lead it might not yet have defected from one of the main parties Mr Umunna, a former Labour shadow minister, said that TIG was not yet a political party but a collective of MPs who had been 'deeply, deeply unhappy in the parties' they defected from 'My view right now is that Chuka has brought us together,' Ms Allen told Good Morning Britain. 'But like any leader in business, politics, it needs to be the best person to get the best out of that team. 'And given that we're still going to have other colleagues come and join us I don't think we can say who that leader's going to be until we know the range of people that are going to be in our group.' Mr Umunna meanwhile, who has been tipped as a possible leader of TIG, also dampened expectations about its ambitions as a political unit. Questioned about its policies, Mr Umunna told GMB: 'We're not a political party at this stage. What is the Independent Group and can you vote for it? What happened this week? Seven MPs resigned from the Labour Party on Monday and set up something called the Independent Group. They were joined by an eigth Labour MP last night. Three Tory MPs also left their party - warning the Conservatives have been gripped by a right wing, pro Brexit insurgency. Who is in the group? Ex-Labour MPs Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Mike Gapes, Ann Coffey, Angela Smith, Gavin Shuker and Joan Ryan. Ex-Tory MPs Sarah Wollaston, Anna Soubry and Heidi Allen. Is it a political party? No. It is a small business - technically a limited company - called Gemini A Ltd that was set up Gavin Shuker, one of the MPs, in January. Can I vote for it? No. Unless and until it registers with the Electoral Commission, it cannot stand candidates. Can I donate to it? Yes. The group is accepting donations through its website theindependent.group. It says donations will support the newly independent MPs. What does it want? All the MPs are Remain supporters and most of them have promoted a second referendum to cancel Brexit. They say they want evidence-based policy making to tackle the challenges facing Britain - without being inside the current political parties. Advertisement 'I think for all of us we were deeply, deeply unhappy in the parties that we were at. Just walking off the field would have been a cop out. 'We thought actually as Members of Parliament we've got mandate, we're in a position to provide people with an alternative, whether that's a party or a movement, we're clear that we want to provide people with an alternative.' Ian Austin today became the ninth Labour MP to quit the troubled party, with a broadside at Jeremy Corbyn's leadership. Dudley North MP Ian Austin quit Labour on Friday but said that he had not talked to TIG about joining the group But he distanced himself from joining the rebel breakaway group - at least for now. 'I think the Labour Party is broken and clearly things have to change but that's not what today is about, and I've not talked to them about that,' he told the Express and Star. The group has also been rebuffed by Tory former minister Phillip Lee, who had been tipped as a possible addition. Dr Lee, a Remainer who quit as a junior justice minister over Theresa May's Brexit strategy in 2018, said he was 'staying to fight' in the Conservatives but that Theresa May need to 'face down' the hardline Brexiteers of the European Research Group, which has been accused of being a 'party within a party'. Dr Lee, who supports a second referendum, said he met Theresa May in Number 10 yesterday and told BBC Radio 4's Today programme they had a 'frank exchange of views'. He said: 'The formation of a Blukip party, I could not support. I see worrying signs of populist decisions, the Shamima Begum one being one that concerns me deeply.' Dr Lee added: 'I think the Prime Minister needs to face down the ERG properly. There are elements of that group which do not reflect the conservatism that I joined in 1992 and it's about time we dealt with them.' Andrea Stannah (right) is the wife of the head of Stannah Stairlifts, Nicholas Stannah (right) The wife of the head of Stannah Stairlifts who killed a motorcyclist when she failed to stop her Land Rover at a dangerous junction has been spared jail. A court heard Andrea Stannah had dropped her children off at school and was heading back to the family's 1million home when she pulled across a dual carriageway in her 47,000 Land Rover Discovery. After failing to spot motorcyclist Steven Rayner, the two tonne 4x4 ploughed straight into him, sending the 53-year-old civil engineer careering into a tree and a fence. The court heard a distraught Stannah, 45, who is married to Nicholas Stannah, managing director of Stannah Stairlifts Ltd, had to be 'dragged away' from Mr Rayner's body as she desperately tried to assist him. The father-of-two, a highly-regarded structural engineer who had worked in the Middle East, Hong Kong and Malaysia, died at the scene. Web designer Stannah, who attended court with her husband, admitted a charge of causing death by driving without due care and attention. She was sentenced to eight weeks in jail suspended for 12 months and ordering her to pay 200 It was heard Mr Rayner's death was due to her 'inattention' at the junction on the A31, less than a mile from her home in the village of Ovington, Hampshire, and her failure to spot his motorcycle as she turned right. The junction at Rodfield Lane where Stannah failed to spot the motorcycle Andrea Stannah (pictured above) was banned from the roads for a year after she failed to pause long enough at a dangerous junction Stannah Stairlifts, which dates back to the 1860s and remains a family business, has an annual turnover of 210m. Prosecutor Kerry Richardson told Basingstoke Magistrates' Court that witnesses driving on the carriageway in July last year braked to avoid Stannah's green 4x4 as it pulled out into the road, and saw the bike collide with its front near-side wing. One - named only as Mr Goode - had been driving a bed delivery truck with a colleague in the passenger seat, which was overtaken by Mr Rayner before he pulled back into the left lane of the carriageway. Nicholas Stannah (left) and Andrea Stannah (right) outside Basingstoke Law Courts Ms Richardson said: 'The bike was cruising, but certainly wasn't going fast. 'Mr Goode saw a green 4x4 in the middle of the two carriageways. 'He said 'f*** f*** f***' to his colleague because he could see what was going to happen. The bike had nowhere to go.' Mrs Tailford-East, who was driving a Vauxhall Corsa in the right-hand lane, said she had to brake heavily to avoid Stannah's 2012 Land Rover. In a statement read to the court, she said: 'The 4x4 was travelling through the junction. As it came closer to the carriageway I was aware it was not going to stop. 'I had to apply my brakes heavily, along with a few choice words. '[The 4x4] did not react to my presence. I knew if I did not brake I would have hit the side of the car. I do not know if the driver knew I was there or not.' Ms Richardson added: 'It is a dangerous road. Mrs Stannah was coming from a side road to cross that road. Clearly extra care should be made. 'Not only did she miss the motorcycle in lane one, but two larger vehicles in lane two.' Stannah's lawyer, Alex Stein, told the court: 'The defendant accepts fully she made an error in assessing Mrs Tailford-East's speed. 'As Mrs Tailford-East is proceeding, the bike continues to be, rather tragically, hidden from view. 'The reality is the signage is in the way, as it were, on this junction. Obviously [Mrs Stannah] is extremely traumatised by these events. The case was heard at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court (pictured above) earlier today 'It's caused terrible damage to Mr Rayner's family as well, and she is extremely remorseful. 'She had to be pulled away from Mr Rayner because she was trying to assist where possible.' Sentencing Stannah to eight weeks in jail suspended for 12 months and ordering her to pay 200, District Judge Timothy Pattinson said: 'All cases of causing death by careless driving are tragic. 'This case is particularly tragic, involving the death of a family man with wife and children. The court extends its deepest sympathy to the family of Mr Rayner. 'I am left in no doubt that this is more serious than a case of momentary inattention. 'Mrs Tailford-East was forced to brake heavily to avoid impact with Mrs Stannah's vehicle. 'It is unclear whether Mrs Stannah stopped at the central reservation. What is clear is she did not stop for long enough. 'In addition, she should have been aware that the road she was entering was a busy and fast road. 'The presence of Mrs Tailford-East's vehicle in lane two, the overtaking lane, should have alerted her to the possibility of a vehicle being in lane one which might have been obscured from her view.' Mr Rayner's wife Marie, from Sparsholt, near Winchester, Hants, said: 'Losing Steve in the tragic accident was devastating for the girls and I and our lives will never be the same again. 'We recognise the effects of such a tragedy are far reaching and touch everyone involved in the accident.' Speaking after the sentencing, PC Kelly Hargreaves said: 'This case shows how devastating just a few moments of inattention can be when behind the wheel. 'Had Stannah taken a few extra moments to look properly and check the road again, she would have seen Mr Rayner's motorbike and his family wouldn't be facing the rest of their lives without him.' Steve Miles, who worked with Mr Rayner at Hampshire consulting engineers Upton McGougan said: 'Steve was a very talented structural engineer who was highly regarded by his colleagues and the many professionals and contractors we worked with down the years. 'His presence in the construction industry will be very sorely missed.' Stannah Stairlifts has been awarded The Queen's Award for Enterprise four times since 1984 and Prince Charles visited its factory in Andover, Hants, in 2011 to mark its 500,000th stairlift. It has now sold over 700,000. Brothers Brian and Alan Stannah, who are joint chairmen, were jointly named as the 693rd richest people in last year's The Sunday Times Rich List. The brothers are estimated to have a fortune of 171m. Botswana, home to 130,000 elephants, is considering lifting a ban on big game hunting, to combat what the government says is 'growing conflict between humans and wildlife', and recommends that the meat is used for pet food. Some lawmakers claim that estimations of the size of the large mammal's population is much higher and causes problems for small-scale farmers. The south African country, which is home to a third of Africa's elephants, imposed a law against their killing in January 2014. African bush elephants may lose their protection from the 2014 law because of 'the need to control the population size' A committee appointed by President Mokgweetsi Masisi to review the hunting ban handed a report on the matter to Masisi late on Thursday. A Botswanan government spokesperson said President Masisi was looking forward to reading the report and promised to take its recommendations into consideration. A herd of elephants gather with their young for a drink at a Botswanan waterhole in one of the country's national parks Conservationists set Botswana's elephant population at 130,000, but lawmakers claim the actual figure is much higher than this 'The decision to temporarily ban hunting was necessitated by available information which indicated several species in the country were on the decline,' they continued. 'We recommend ... a legal framework that will enable the growth of a safari hunting industry and manage the country's elephant population within the historic range,' said Frans Van Der Westhuizen who chaired the committee that also called for 'regular but limited' elephant culling. Masisi set up the committee in June 2018 to consider the ban imposed by former president Ian Khama after surveys showed declining wildlife populations in the north. Bush elephants populate much of the Chobe national park and river which border with Zambia in the north of the country A Botswanan Defence Force colonel moves near the marked remains of an elephant killed in the Chobe national park area Masisi said he would present the report to his cabinet before making a decision. Botswana, the size of France and mostly arid, has a population of around 2.3 million people and vast tracts of remote wilderness that make it a magnet for foreign tourists who want to view wildlife. International tourism could generate 160m for Botswana this year, rising to 280m by 2021 - more than trophy hunters spend across the whole of southern Africa. A very powerful magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck southern Ecuador in the early hours of Friday close to the country's border with Peru, although no immediate reports of possible casualties or damage were available. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake happened at 10:17 GMT 115 kilometers (71 miles) southeast of the town of Palora, in the Morona Santiago province, at a depth of 132 kilometers (82 miles). The quake was felt in the Ecuadorean capital, Quito, and the coastal city of Guayaquil. The quake's epicentre was in a sparsely populated area 140 miles east-southeast of Ambato, Ecuador, Peru's official geophysics institute said it registered two aftershocks of 6.06 and 6.6 magnitude in the 30 minutes that followed the first tremor. Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno said on his official Twitter account that "preliminary reports of the quakes near Macas (the provincial capital of Morona Santiago) don't show major damage." The quakes, he wrote, "were felt all over the country." A 7.8-magnitude earthquake that shook a central area of the Ecuadorean coast on April 16, 2016, killed more than 700 people, destroyed hundreds of houses and caused more than $3 billion of losses. Turkish prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 295 active-duty military personnel linked to the Gulenist Terror Group (FETO), according to judicial sources. Under a probe of the group's infiltration of the Turkish army, Istanbul prosecutors issued warrants for the active-duty soldiers, who are accused of communicating with FETO members through both pay phones and home lines, according to the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media. There are high-ranking figures listed in the warrants, including 8 majors and 10 lieutenants, with around half of the suspects being in the army and the remainder in other military forces including the navy and air force. The prosecutor's office said police launched simultaneous arrest operations at 1:00 a.m. (2200 GMT) under an investigation into pay phone calls between suspected Gulen operatives. It was not clear how many suspects have been detained so far, Daily Sabah reported. This is the moment abusive girlfriend Jordan Worth told police how she attacked her ex-boyfriend with a breadknife and a hammer but claimed she never hurt him. Police rescued Alex Skeel, 22, from Bedfordshire from the abusive relationship with his then-girlfriend Jordon Worth. Officers raided the couple's home after concerned neighbours heard his screams during a ferocious attack June 3, 2017. Jordan Worth, pictured here during a police interview attempted to manipulate officers and mitigate the severity of the abuse inflicted upon her boyfriend Alex Skeel at their home in Bedfordshire in June 2017 Police body cams showed Mr Skeel moments after an attack when worried neighbours called 999 having heard his screams coming through the walls of their home Mr Skeel, pictured with his ex-girlfriend Jordan Worth, has appeared in a BBC documentary about the abuse he suffered at the hands of his girlfriend, who received a seven-and-a-half year jail sentence for the abuse Worth was later jailed for seven years, becoming the first woman in Britain to be jailed for controlling or abusive behaviour. Shocking police body cam footage of the raid showed Mr Skeel's poor physical condition. He had lost more than four stone as a result of the continued neglect. During police interviews following her arrest, Worth tried to justify his actions and suddenly appeared concerned about her boyfriend's welfare. In footage shown on a BBC documentary, Worth asked detectives: 'Where's Alex now? I just want to sort everything out, start again.' He later admitted stabbing him: 'I was holding the knife. I just wanted him to come in the house. It was a big one from the kitchen. Police discovered Worth attacked her boyfriend with boiling water, knives, hammers and even a hair brush Police body cam footage showed blood in the sink of the couple's home during the raid Worth, left, tried to tell police that she stabbed Mr Skeel with a breadknife but the blade did not cut him too deeply 'I think it was a bread knife. I'm not actually sure. I don't think it went that far but, it did, there was a lot of blood.' She later said: 'Whenever we've had an argument in the car I'll just grab my hairbrush that's on the side and I'll just sort of hit him either wherever I can. 'There was a hammer, umm, but I never, I never hurt him.' She tried to mitigate the severity of the repeated attacks: 'I only ever cut him, I never stabbed him.' Body language expert Judi James told The Mirror: 'Controlling behaviours and domestic abuse tend to imply the one doing the controlling will be powerful, strong and aggressive-looking, but that is not always the case and it can be that an abuser will to outsiders - present as vulnerable-looking themselves, leading to incongruence that can affect and confuse the victim. 'Jordan is openly trying to present as passive and polite, almost as though she is attempting to take on the role of the victim or at the very least the concerned partner. 'She signals a desire to be as helpful as possible by leaning forward with her arms on the desk in front of her, often with her hands clasped in what is almost a praying gesture.' Trevor Noah launched a withering attack on Jussie Smollett on Thursday night after the Empire actor was accused of faking a hate crime in order to get a raise. The Daily Show host mocked Smollett for being a terrible criminal after he apparently left an obvious paper trail for police to follow while staging the attack. Noah was equally withering over claims Smollett wanted the attack to be captured on CCTV but failed to realize the camera was facing the wrong way, quipping: 'You're an actor, that's your only job.' But he did draw a positive lesson from the episode, saying: 'When this started out, it was a story about people who hated Jussie Smollett because he was black and gay. 'But now, people hate him because he's an a**hole. In other words, they're judging him on the content of his character and not the color of his skin. 'And that, my friends, is progress.' Trevor Noah skewered Jussie Smollett on The Daily Show on Thursday night, mocking the actor for his apparently bungled attempt to fake a hate crime to boost his salary Noah was particularly withering about the alleged paper trail Jussie left behind, including paying his conspirators with a check Smollett has denied allegations by Chicago police and prosecutors that he paid Nigerian brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo $3,500 to beat him up, pour bleach over him, place a noose around his neck and shout racist and homophobic language. Law enforcement say he staged the attack after sending himself a fake death threat the week before which failed to garner the attention he was looking for. The ultimate aim of the scheme was to leverage employers Fox for a raise, police say. Noah opened his skit by baffling at that logic, saying: 'This is such a petty reason to pull off such a major crime. 'Imagine if we found out the reason Tupac faked his own death was to get out of a Blockbuster late fee. That would be insane!' He added: 'Call me old fashioned, but whatever happened to just going into your boss's office and blackmailing him with nudes?' At two press conferences on Thursday, police and prosecutors laid out what they claim is a definitive paper trail linking Smollett with his alleged attackers and the scene of the crime. Noah joked that the Smollett story started with people hating him for his race and sexuality and ended with people hating him 'for being an a**hole', which he said was 'progress' Smollett was surrounded by TV cameras and photographers as he bonded out of court yesterday before reportedly going to the Empire set to apologize to the other cast and crew They say Smollett texted the brothers in the days before the attack asking for help 'on the low', met with them at the scene of the crime to explain what he wanted them to do, and called them an hour before and after the attack. When it came to paying them for their services, prosecutors say Smollett wrote them a check. 'They're saying he paid his accomplices with a check,' Noah said, aghast. 'What, did he also write "fake hate crime" in the memo?' 'Even amateurs know, if you commit a crime you go all cash, people! No paper trail.' Smollett has denied faking the hate crime in Chicago on January 29, saying police and prosecutors are attempting to subvert justice 'if he did do this, Smollett did a horrible job with this fake crime,' Noah added. Smollett has somehow managed to offend everyone with his crime, from the black and gay communities who initially supported him, to Trump supporters who feel unfairly accused because he said his attackers were wearing MAGA hats. Even Democrat Presidential candidates got stuck in the mire after denouncing it as a 'modern day lynching', before being forced to walk their remarks back. Smollett was arrested on Thursday after handing himself over to police at 5am on a felony charge of filing a false police report. He was booked before appearing before a judge where his bond was set at $100,000. He handed over $10,000 and was released to appear in court again on March 14. As he was sitting in police custody, Superintendent Eddie Johnson held a press conference at which he eviscerated Smollett as a 'troubled young man' who has 'taken advantage of the pain and anger of racism to further his career'. Johnson said Smollett's repeated lies were 'shameful' and 'despicable', and that everyone at the police department was 'p***ed off' when they learned the truth. Police say Smollett initially tried to get a raise by sending a fake death threat to himself, but escalated that into a hate crime when it failed to garner enough attention Smollett is accused of recruiting brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo to stage the attack after meeting them through Empire. He is said to have paid them $3,500 to take part He called for 'absolute justice' which he said amounted to Smollett apologizing and offering to pay for the police resources he wasted. Following Smollett's release he went to the Empire set where he spoke with cast members and pleaded his innocence, according to TMZ. 'Im sorry Ive put you all through this and not answered any calls,' he said. 'I wanted to say Im sorry and, you know me, I would never do this to any of you, you are my family. I swear to God, I did not do this.' His lawyers also issued a statement describing him as 'a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence'. They said: 'Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system. 'The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election. 'Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.' Chicago Police Department Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson tore through Smollett at a press conference on Thursday where he labeled him 'shameful' and 'despicable' A former flight attendant has had her face rebuilt with the help of 3-D scanning technology after being disfigured by a seven-storey fall. Chen Lidan, 26, also suffers from severe memory loss and learning difficulties after surviving the fall from a hotel in southern China nearly four years ago. Doctors had to put steel plates under her skull and inserted more than 300 steel nails into her head to give her a new face, according to her family. Scroll down for video Before and now: Chen Lidan (pictured before the fall, left) had been given a new face (right) after she was disfigured by a mysterious seven-storey fall from a hotel nearly four years ago Ms Chen had worked as a flight attendant for China's Sichuan Airlines on domestic routes for about a year before the incident took place. In May, 2015, she fell from the sixth-floor of the Jade Sea International Hotel in Sanya in Hainan Province after climbing out of a hotel room and onto an air-conditioning unit, according to a previous report from People's Daily Online. Her cousin, Hu Ruiyun, told MailOnline that Ms Chen had been working that day and had checked into the hotel with her co-workers. But the family don't know what happened afterwards, and police have refused to give them information, according to Ms Hu. Ms Chen (pictured before the incident) worked as a flight attendant for Sichuan Airlines. In the first interview she gave since the incident, she told reporters she still looked pretty Ms Chen's face was mangled, all of her teeth were gone and the shape of her head had completely changed, her family said. She underwent an emergency open brain operation at the 425 Hospital in Sanya before being transferred to West China Hospital in her home province of Sichuan for a skull repairing operation. Doctors in West China Hospital then improved the shape of her skull and rebuilt her face with the help of the 3-D scanning technology, according to Ms Hu. It is said Ms Chen underwent medical treatment for about two years. Ms Chen has suffered from severe memory loss and learning difficulties after the fall Rumour has it that Ms Chen tried to kill herself due to emotional stress, according to previous Chinese reports. But her family have denied the allegations. Her father, Chen Shengchang, said his daughter and her boyfriend at the time were in a 'very good' relationship, and the cause of her fall was 'unknown'. Ms Chen fell after climbing out of the hotel room and onto an air-conditioning unit according to Chinese media which released a picture of the scene (left). Reports at the time claimed that Ms Chen (pictured in her uniform) had checked into the hotel with her colleagues Ms Chen's father (pictured) denies that her daughter had tried to commit suicide for love Ms Chen has suffered from memory loss as well as learning difficulties after the incident. Her eyesight is also seriously damaged. Speaking to a reporter from video news site Pear, she could remember her name and age, but has no recollection of why she fell and whom she was with on the day. Commenting on her new face, Ms Chen thought she looked almost the same as before. She said she had been pretty in the past and was still pretty now. Police from the Sanya Public Security Bureau have ruled the incident as a suicide attempt, but refused to provide Ms Chen's family with more details, Ms Hu claimed. Mr Chen's family are now desperate to know the truth of their daughter's fall. They said they would keeping trying to find the answer. For confidential support on suicide matters in the UK, call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here. Theresa May will be told to quit as Prime Minister in three months time to allow someone else to lead the country into the next stage of Brexit. Her own Cabinet ministers are said to want her out of Number 10 after local elections in May, warning she would be ousted by the end of the year anyway if she refuses, the Guardian reported. Mrs May only survived a Tory no confidence vote in December by agreeing to stand down as party leader before the next General Election. Party rules mean she cannot be forced to face another vote until December this year but ministers are reportedly planning to make it clear she will lose this time if she tries to cling on to power. Theresa May will be told she should step down in three months to allow someone else to lead the next stage of Brexit talks. She had already been warned she faces a Cabinet revolt and an exodus of MPs if she tries to take Britain out of the EU without a deal The Conservative Party stood on the brink of a civil war between moderate and hardline MPs on Friday with just weeks to go until the country is due to leave the European Union. Hardline Tory Brexiteers were told to stop treating Brexit like a 'game' or risk it not happening at all as the Conservative revolt threatened to boil over. Andrew Percy, who voted to leave the EU, blasted Brextremists like the European Research Group (ERG) for their 'intransigence' in consistently blocking Theresa May's Brexit plans. The moderate co-leader of the Brexit Delivery Group (BDG) of Tory MPs hit out after it was revealed around 100 Conservatives, including as many as 25 ministers, could back moves to delay Brexit beyond March 29 to avoid a damaging no-deal Brexit. With the Labour party also in a state of meltdown caused by the departure of nine moderates, rebel Tories now sense there are enough MPs across the House of Commons to pass the new Cooper Amendment - which would extend Article 50 - which is due to be debated on Wednesday. Yorkshire MP and Brexiteer Andrew Percy warned more extreme elements of the Conservative Party that their 'intransigence' towards Theresa May's Brexit plans could delay or stop the UK's departure from the EU But the ERG hit back, warning that an open-ended delay to Brexit would not aid the Prime Ministers predicament. A source said: An open-ended extension would not solve her problems, it would make them all happen at once. Mr Percy, the MP for Brigg and Goole in Yorkshire said 'dozens' of Tories would be prepared to rebel in order to block the UK leaving the European Union without a deal. 'Some of my colleagues have got to recognise that the game they have thus far been playing with regards to this whole process is not going to end well for them and could potentially end with the delaying of - perhaps even no Brexit - which some of us have spent a lot of our parliamentary and political careers campaigning for,' he told the BBC's Today programme. The battle broke out as Theresa May prepared to meet European Council president Donald Tusk in Egypt on Sunday. Mrs May will have face-to-face talks with the former Polish prime minister on the sidelines of the EU-League of Arab States summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh, but Government sources have been keen to dampen talk of a 'deal in the desert'. It is part of the latest round of talks between the two sides to break the Brexit deadlock in recent days. Mrs May and senior ministers like Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox visited Brussels this week. It comes as Labour was today hit by its ninth resignation over Corbyn's leadership. Ian Austin, Dudley North MP, whose adoptive father was Jewish, lashed out at anti-Semitism directed at MPs including Luciana Berger and Dame Margaret Hodge. He attacked the 'offence and distress' caused to Jewish people by the party under Mr Corbyn's leadership, telling his local Express and Star newspaper that he could not ask local people to make the opposition leader Prime Minister. He said: 'The Labour Party has been my life, so this has been the hardest decision I have ever had to take, but I have to be honest and the truth is that I have become ashamed of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn.' As the clock ticks down to the UK's scheduled exit from the EU on March 29, the PM faces a rebellion by up to 100 Tory MPs who want her to delay Brexit if she cannot cut a deal, according to the Daily Telegraph. The newspaper reported that the BDG, which represents both Remain and Leave MPs, is calling for a free vote in the Commons next week on a backbench move to take no deal off the table. A letter sent on behalf of the group to chief whip Julian Smith states that many MPs are 'deeply troubled' at the prospect of a no deal, the Daily Telegraph says. But a well-placed source told the Guardian the move will challenge May to sack the rebels who have no intention of resigning voluntarily. One cabinet Pro-Brexit MP told the paper if it came to the vote, May would have to get rid of rebellious ministers. 'It would be a huge mistake not to sack them. It would be effectively conceding we had lost control of the party,' they said. Former Tory leader Lord Howard today rejected calls for a delay to Brexit and insisted fears about a no-deal departure from the EU had been 'exaggerated'. He told Today: 'Parliament delegated the decision on whether we should leave the EU to the electorate at large. People voted in unprecedented numbers, by a clear majority, to leave. 'We must leave, and I believe we must leave on March 29.' Meanwhile, Chancellor Philip Hammond yesterday refused to rule out resigning over the issue, describing No Deal as an 'extremely bad' outcome he was working 'all day, every day' to prevent. Four cabinet ministers are warning Mrs May against a No Deal Brexit. Amber Rudd (left) and Business secretary Greg Clarke (right) haven't ruled out resigning in the event of No Deal Former Tory education secretary Justine Greening told BBC Radio 4: 'I don't think I would be able to stay part of a party that was simply a Brexit party that had crashed us out of the European Union' Justice secretary David Gauke (left) and Scottish secretary David Mundell were said to have confronted Theresa May over No Deal with Amber Rudd and Greg Clarke And two former Tory ministers Justine Greening and Dominic Grieve issued public threats to quit the party altogether if Mrs May pursues a No Deal Brexit. The Prime Minister is under pressure to get a withdrawal agreement passed in the Commons by next Wednesday or, if there is no prospect of an agreement being voted through, face a vote where MPs could force her to seek a delay to Brexit. However, it was not clear whether those who did revolt would resign their Government posts, or if the PM would sack them. The motion to block No Deal by seeking a Brexit delay is likely to be proposed by Tory MPs Nick Boles and Sir Oliver Letwin and Labour's Yvette Cooper. The four Cabinet ministers warning Mrs May against No Deal are said to be Justice Secretary David Gauke, Business Secretary Greg Clark, Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd and Scottish Secretary David Mundell. Mr Mundell did not deny this yesterday, saying: 'I don't comment on private conversations I've had with the Prime Minister, but what I've said to her repeatedly and what I've said to Cabinet is that a No Deal Brexit is a very bad outcome for Scotland and the UK and we must do everything we can to avoid that.' Miss Greening and Mr Grieve yesterday both issued threats that they could quit the Conservative Party altogether in the event of the Prime Minister taking the country toward No Deal. Asked if she could follow the three Tory defectors who quit the party on Wednesday, Miss Greening, a former education secretary, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'It is something that I have considered, but I have reached a different conclusion for the moment. Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn has also been warned he's facing a second exodus of MPs unless he backs a second referendum. The Labour leader was told yesterday that dozens of MPs, including shadow ministers, will threaten to join the new Independent Group in parliament or resign. Jeremy Corbyn has also been warned that dozens of MPs, including shadow ministers, will threaten to join the new Independent Group in parliament or resign if he doesn't back a second referendum The Labour rebels are demanding Corybn supports an amendment by two of his backbench MPs that would put any deal Mrs May gets through to the public. The proposal stipulates that if the public voted against the government's deal, then the UK would be forced to scrap Brexit and remain in the EU. One MP, who considered quitting the party this week, told The Times: 'If Jeremy ends up not supporting it, it will have a dramatic effect and people will go.' A senior Labour figure said that the plan, proposed by MPs Phil Wilson and Peter Kyle, was an 'acid test' of whether the Corbyn was sincere about not ruling out a second referendum. Ireland's deputy prime minister warned today that a no-deal Brexit would be 'a lose, lose, lose' situation for everyone involved as Dublin unveiled a massive package of emergency laws to deal with it. The Omnibus Bill, which will be fast-tracked through the Oireachtas parliament in Dublin would only come into force if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal in place on March 29. Unveiling the laws on Friday in the Irish capital, deputy prime minister Simon Coveney said he hoped the Bill would 'sit on the shelf' unused because a deal would have been done between Westminster and Brussels. It is designed to support businesses and jobs in the country most at risk from a hard Brexit and secure ongoing access to essential services and products across the Irish border. Ireland's deputy premier Simon Coveney said that 'a disorderly Brexit will be a lose, lose, lose for the UK, for the EU and for Ireland' as he unveiled the package of emergency measures 'Let me be very clear in saying a disorderly Brexit will be a lose, lose, lose for the UK, for the EU and for Ireland,' Mr Coveney said. 'We cannot offset all of the damage it will do, but we are doing everything we can through legislation, through preparation, through investment, through information and through support of the multiple sectors and the multiple numbers of people that will be impacted potentially by that worst-case scenario.' The legal package was published as the EU Commission confirmed it was relaxing certain state aid regulations in preparation for Brexit a move that will give the government in Dublin more latitude to offer support to farms and other affected businesses. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said his government was 'doing all we can to avoid a no-deal scenario, but we need to be ready in case it does happen' Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: 'Our focus remains on the UK ratifying the Withdrawal Agreement, which was concluded following intensive negotiations between the UK and the EU. 'However, for the last two years we have also been preparing for the possibility that the UK leaves the EU without an agreement. 'We are doing all we can to avoid a no-deal scenario, but we need to be ready in case it does happen. 'This special law enables us to mitigate against some of the worst effects of no deal by protecting citizens' rights, security, and facilitating extra supports for vulnerable businesses and employers.' The EU Commission's move on state aid rules governing the agriculture sector will enable the Irish Government to increase the maximum amount it can use to support farmers without prior Commission approval. On Friday, the Commission also approved a specific Irish state aid application which will allow a Co Cork cheese company to receive state aid funding to diversify its business away from reliance on the UK market. Carbery Food Ingredients Ltd, which works with 1,260 farmers, currently produces Cheddar cheese, principally for British consumers. The 5.75 million euro (5 million) state aid boost will support the company as it shifts to the production of Mozzarella cheese with the aim of finding new buyers. The Irish Government's Omnibus Bill, known as the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill, is made up of 15 parts and was prepared by nine ministers. The proposed laws cover a wide range of areas and focuses on protecting Irish citizens' rights, supporting businesses and jobs, healthcare, transport, education and energy. The Bill will be debated in the Dail next week and then in committees the following week, before being debated in the upper chamber, the Seanad. President Michael D Higgins will sign it into law if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. A Virginia school has been forced to apologize after students were told to pretend to be slaves and run an assault course representing the Underground Railroad. The gym class was staged as part of Black History Month but Madisons Trust Elementary School, in Loudoun County, was criticized by parents who felt it trivialized slavery. Teachers began the class by speaking about the Underground Railroad, which was a series of secret routes and safe-houses that slaves used to escape to free states. Madisons Trust Elementary School, Virginia, has been forced to apologize after students were told to pretend to be slaves and run an assault course representing the Underground Railroad Then, pupils between grades 3 and 5 - including African American students - were told to separate into groups of 'slaves' and overcome a physical obstacle. Three teachers had planned the activity and were overseen by a school administrator, a spokesman said. The school subsequently received 10 complaints from offended parents. Loudoun NAACP Chapter President Michelle Thomas told NBC Washington: 'It's awful. It's really insulting... It shows that there's some implicit bias problems right here at this school.' Principal David Stewart subsequently met with Thomas and promised to create a cultural sensitivity team to remedy the issue. The lesson will also be retaught to students 'within an appropriate and respectful context', Stewart added. Suspected spy Paul Whelan, 48, is escorted to attend a hearing of the extension of his detention at the Lefortovo District Court in Moscow, Russia A former US Marine accused of spying in Russia has been told he will be held in a Moscow jail for another three months as the Kremlin continue their investigation. Paul Whelan, 48, - who holds American, British, Canadian and Irish passports - was arrested at Moscow's plush Metropol hotel on December 28 on spying charges. He walked somberly into court today after being transported from his cell at the notorious Lefortovo jail, a former KGB prison in the Russian capital. Whelan is accused of being found in possession of a USB thumb drive containing lists of Russian secret service agents. His lawyer confirmed: 'The investigation has been extended until May 28.' Russian intelligence say Whelan has been spying for ten years and was caught with a list of all the employees of a secret Russian state agency. Last month he gave a 15 minute speech at a hearing in Moscow denying all guilt, however details of what he said were not released. Whelan has a camera pointed in his face as he enters court surrounded by Russian security - some of whom wear masks to conceal their identities Whelan enters court with his lips pursed as he somberly walks to the dock where he was told he will be detained for another three months at least Russian and human rights experts say that Whelan's lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, was likely picked out by the FSB who arrested him for spying on December 28. It is believed the Russians are angling for an exchange deal with Maria Butina, 29, who was jailed in December after pleading guilty as an agent to influence conservative groups, particularly the gun-rights movement, in the United States. Whelan was accosted at the Metropol hotel last month, an historic art nouveau building two miles from the Kremlin. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Whelan was 'caught red-handed.' Zherebenkov, Whelan's lawyer, told reporters on January 22 that his client had unknowingly accepted secret information from someone. 'Paul was actually meant to receive information from an individual that was not classified,' said Zherebenkov. 'These were cultural things, a trip to a cathedral, Paul's holiday...photographs. But as it turned out, it contained classified information.' The lawyer said Whelan had not been able to see what was on the thumb drive because he had been detained before he had a chance to do so. Maria Butina, 29, was jailed in December after pleading to guilty as an agent to influence conservative groups in the United States during the 2016 presidential campaign, it is thought the Kremlin want a swap deal with Whelan The former US Marine previously complained that his being held at the infamous KGB jail Lefortovo (pictured) was unwarranted The Whelan family say that the former US Marine was visiting Moscow for the wedding of a friend and deny all of the espionage charges against him Zherebenkov, a former Soviet investigator, previously revealed to the Daily Beast it was his aim to bring home 'at least one Russian soul.' Whelan appeared in a Moscow court on Friday wearing a thick blue jacket, woolly jumper and carrying a cardboard box. Whelan's family say he was visiting Moscow for the wedding of a retired Marine and is innocent of the espionage charges against him. Shamima Begum has expressed little remorse about joining the Islamic State group The family of a London teenager who joined the Islamic State group in Syria said Friday it would challenge the British government's decision to revoke her citizenship. Shamima Begum travelled to Syria in 2015 aged just 15 but has now fled the crumbling "caliphate" and says she wants to come home, after giving birth in a refugee camp last weekend. A letter to interior minister Sajid Javid written by Begum's sister Renu on behalf of her family also called on the government to help bring her newborn son to Britain. The fate of the 19-year-old has triggered fierce debate in Britain, with the government telling her family this week that it was revoking her citizenship. "We hope you understand our position in this respect and why we must, therefore, assist Shamima in challenging your decision to take away the one thing that is her only hope at rehabilitation, her British citizenship," the family's letter said. Renu Begum's letter also asked Javid to help "in bringing my nephew home to us". It said Shamima Begum's status would now be a matter for British courts to decide. - 'Shocked' by decision - International law prevents a government from rendering a person stateless, but Britain reportedly believes that Begum also has Bangladeshi citizenship due to her parents, although she was born in Britain. The Bangladeshi government said there was "no question" of her being allowed to enter, and there is legal argument about whether simply having Bangaldeshi parents bestows citizenship. Begum's baby was born before she was told of the decision to revoke her citizenship, and is therefore British and has a right to return. The teenager said she was "shocked" by Britain's decision, saying "if you take that away from me, I don't have anything. I don't think they are allowed to do that." She has mentioned the possibility of applying for citizenship in the Netherlands because her husband, an IS fighter believed to be held by Kurdish forces in Syria, is a Dutch national. - 'Set fire to nation's emotions' - Public sentiment hardened against Begum after she showed little remorse in initial interviews from the refugee camp. Her family said on Friday they were "shocked and appalled" at the "vile comments" she made in the media. "I have watched Shamima on our televisions open her mouth and set fire to our nation's emotions," said her sister's letter. "These are not representative of British values, and my family entirely reject the comments she has made, but... we as her family cannot simply abandon her." The family argued that it made "every fathomable effort" to prevent her from joining IS, which it called a "murderous and misogynistic cult". Begum and two school friends fled her east London home to join the terror network four years ago. With IS crumbling, many European countries are now having to confront whether to bring back its citizens who travelled to join the group and prosecute them at home, or bar them from entry over security concerns. Some 400 people who joined IS in the early stages of the Syria conflict have since returned to Britain and around 40 of them have been prosecuted. There are believed to be around 10 British women who travelled to support IS who are now refugees in Syria. Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Tuesday that Begum should be allowed to return. "Taking somebody's citizenship away is not the right thing to do. I think she should be brought back." Javid told lawmakers Wednesday that revoking citizenship was "a powerful tool" not used lightly. "But when someone turns their back on (our) fundamental values and supports terror they don't have an automatic right to return to the UK," he said. He has previously said that more than 100 individuals had already been deprived of their British citizenship. Javid hinted that Begum's newborn son -- her third child, after her previous son and daughter died in recent months -- could be treated differently. "Children should not suffer, so if a parent does lose their British citizenship it does not affect the rights of their child," he said. A student who claimed the NHS should not be free to immigrants and lamented about the 'Islamisation' of Britain has been kicked out of his university. Sebastian Walsh expressed his controversial opinions during class seminars and the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) decided to suspend him after they received several complaints about his behaviour. The 19-year-old student also branded halal meat 'barbaric' and 'inhumane' and vowed to friends he would never eat at Subway or KFC due to the way the animals are killed. Sebastian Walsh (pictured with Ukip leader Gerard Batten) branded halal meat 'barbaric' The self-proclaimed 'free speech advocate' complained being struck-off from university was a violation of his human rights. Mr Walsh said: 'It all started off in a lesson when we were allowed to go off for a break. I went over to another table to try and socialise because everyone was still pretty new. I was trying to make friends with some more people. 'We got onto the conversation of food and what takeaways we ate. Now, I went over there not intending to cause a debate. Mr Walsh is a member of Ukip and the Preston branch of the political organisation has written to the university to defend the student 'I just mentioned that I would never touch Subway or KFC because they use halal meat in their products. I don't agree with barbaric slaughter on any sort of animals for a religion.' He said: 'All I did was voice my opinions during debates about immigration. 'All I did was voice my opinions': Sebastian Walsh, in his own words Sebastian Walsh claimed that his human rights had been infringed for expressing his point of views on a number of different topics. Here is what the student claims to have said, in his own words: 'It all started off in a lesson when we were allowed to go off for a break. I went over to another table to try and socialise because everyone was still pretty new. I was trying to make friends with some more people. 'We got onto the conversation of food and what takeaways we ate. Now, I went over there not intending to cause a debate. 'I just mentioned that I would never touch Subway or KFC because they use halal meat in their products. I don't agree with barbaric slaughter on any sort of animals for a religion. 'They kill the animal while it's still conscious. How inhumane is that? You wouldn't accept it if a vet did that to your pet. 'We went on to start discussing the islamisation of our country. And I think Halal meat is contributing to this. 'I also mentioned that we have 30-40 Sharjah courts in this country which openly discriminate against women. If in our country we believe in equal opportunities for men and women why do we allow this? I just don't agree with those courts and how they treat women. 'Then, in another lesson, we were asked about our views on the privatisation of the NHS. I said it should be privatised to the point where if you're not a legal UK citizen you should not be entitled to free healthcare. 'Everyone says it's free but it's not because you pay tax for it. I don't want my tax going on someone who doesn't have the right to be here and I'm sure that a lot of people feel the same. 'And that's all I said. A week later I got an email stating that the university had received a report from my tutors which said my conduct was unacceptable.' UCLAN refused to comment on Mr Walsh's comments. Advertisement 'I am totally against halal meat because I think it's cruel - it's an inhumane and barbaric way of slaughtering animals. 'In another seminar class, we had a discussion about the privatisation of the NHS and I simply said I don't think free healthcare should be available to immigrants. 'These are views held by many people in the public and I believe I should be able to express them freely. 'I feel completely victimised by my university.' The University of Central Lancashire told Mr Walsh he could return to his social work studies in September if he signed a good conduct agreement and agreed to undertake a diversity training course. However the first-year student from Wigan, Lancashire, is refusing to bow down. Mr Walsh, a Ukip member, said: 'Freedom of speech is a human right and I am determined to stand by this. 'I will be fighting the university's decision on this to make sure others aren't punished for their opinions in future.' The Preston branch of Ukip has pledged their support to the student and has written to the university to voice their concerns about the decision. Treasurer Neil Graham said: 'What has concerned me and many other members of our party is that this young boy is being denied his education for simply expressing his opinion. 'Whether Sebastian is right or wrong, he should be able to voice his views in a university classroom and we believe passionately in his right to do so. 'To paraphrase John Stewart Mill, nobody has the right to silence somebody's opinion.' Mr Graham added the Government released a document this month to protect free speech in higher education bodies. Universities minister Chris Skidmore labelled the legislature 'a symbol of commitment from across the sector to protecting the freedom of speech.' A UCLAN spokesman said: 'UCLAN is proud to host a campus community comprised of many cultures, faiths, nationalities and beliefs. 'It values this rich diversity and takes seriously its responsibility to provide a safe and welcoming environment for all. 'The University promotes lawful, open debate, the discussion of varying views and academic freedom and has in place robust procedures to ensure this can take place. 'In this case, a number of official complaints were made by students regarding a series of offensive and inappropriate comments made by Sebastian Walsh during lectures and seminars. The university has told Mr Walsh that he must enrol in a diversity training course 'We cannot divulge the actual comments made by Sebastian as they formed part of a confidential investigation. 'However, they clearly breached a number of the University's conduct regulations, including those relating to harassment and bringing the University into disrepute. 'In line with our official procedures, an investigation ensued, and a disciplinary hearing took place. 'The student has been temporarily suspended for the remainder of the academic year and is aware that on the successful completion of a diversity training course, he will be able to resume his studies.' Murder probe detectives investigating the suspicious deaths of 11 patients at an NHS stroke unit have discovered a text message allegedly saying 'another one gone tonight'. Officers began the investigating into several deaths at the Blackpool Victoria Hospital following the death of Valerie Kneale, 75, who died of an 'unexplained injury' on November 16 last year. Since starting the probe, officers have begin considering the circumstances behind 10 other deaths. Valerie Kneale,75, died while a patient at Blackpool Victoria Hospital on November 16 last year and had what police called a suspicious 'unexplained injury'. They said a cause of death for Mrs Kneale had not yet been established but it was being treated separately as a murder inquiry Three hospital workers were previously arrested on suspicion of poisoning patients after Lancashire Police were informed in November by bosses at Blackpool Victoria Hospital of allegations of mistreatment and neglect on the unit Two women and one man were previously arrested on suspicion of poisoning patients after Lancashire Police were informed in November by bosses at Blackpool Victoria Hospital of allegations of mistreatment and neglect on the unit. The hospital workers, who have all been suspended, were later released pending further inquiries as detectives ordered a number of post-mortem examinations. On Wednesday police said one of those examinations involved Blackpool pensioner Valerie Kneale, who died at the unit on November 16, and discovered an 'unexplained injury' which is believed to be suspicious in nature. According to the Mirror, officers investigating the deaths have reportedly found a text message sent by a member of the hospital's medical staff claiming 'another one gone tonight'. Detectives said a cause of death for Mrs Kneale had yet to be established but it was being treated separately as a murder inquiry, although no arrests have been made and inquiries remain ongoing. In a statement, Mrs Kneale's family said: 'We, as a family, are completely and utterly devastated and heartbroken to have lost Val in these circumstances. 'She was the most precious wife, mother and grandmother, our constant friend and problem solver who we will miss dearly.' Anyone with information can contact police on 101 quoting (0756 of February 20), or alternatively contact https://mipp.police.uk The security of the external borders of the European Union is likely to be tested this year, says the Warsaw-based European Border and Coast Guard agency. "Our external borders will be tested, very likely in 2019 again and also the borders of neighbouring countries," Fabrice Leggeri, the head of the agency, told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday (20 February), EUObserver writes in the article No burning crisis' on migrant arrivals, EU agency says. The agency's budget and staff has expanded over the years, turning it into what Leggeri now describes as a law enforcement body. Its budget to help return rejected asylum applicants, for example, jumped from 13m in 2015 to almost 54m in 2018. In 2015, its overall budget was 143m. Last year it was 320m. Leggeri's warnings also come amid recent border control car purchases by the agency and other efforts to procure long-term leases for boats. "These are necessary steps in order to prepare the agency in its role today and possible reinforcement tomorrow," he said. But at the same time,there is EU wrangling over European Commission proposals to have 10,000 border guards at the agency's disposal by 2020. Discussions are set to take place later today on the 10,000 figure among member state experts. Not everyone is happy, with some, like Hungary, fearful it could erode national sovereignty, while others, like Poland, worry it would mean less money for structural funds. Last year, Austria's EU presidency proposed dropping it to 5,000. "You can't just go shopping in a super market and pick up 10,000 officers from the shelf," Herbert Kickl, Austria's interior minister, told reporters in December ahead of an EU summit. Migrant arrivals drop for third consecutive year Leggeri's comments also follow the annual publication of the agency's risk analysis report for 2019, which noted some 150,000 people had attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea in 2018. "This is the third consecutive year in which the numbers of arrivals have been falling," he said, noting that there is "no burning crisis" of irregular crossings at the external borders. People making their way towards the European Union either to seek asylum or look for opportunities typically take one of three routes: the central, western or eastern Mediterranean route. What had once been the most popular route, the central Mediterranean, has since seen an 80 percent drop in arrivals or 23,500, mainly from Libya, when compared to 2017. A 2017 deal by the Italian government with Libya, despite spiralling insecurity there, and an EU-trained Libyan coast guard sending rescued hopefuls back to Libya are among the reasons the arrival rates along the central route is the lowest in six years.Tunisia has since taken over Libya as the main departure point in the central route, composed mostly of Tunisian and Eritrean nationals leaving the country by boat. "The decrease of arrivals that was observed in the central Mediterranean route clearly also resulted in the displacement affect on the western Mediterranean route," noted Leggeri. It means that last year most left from Morocco to reach Spain. In absolute terms, the route experienced the most traffic with 57,000 arrivals to Europe. A lot of those came from sub-Saharan countries, although the number of Moroccan nationals also taking the journey has spiked in the past few months. Meanwhile, pressure has also increased by a third on the eastern Mediterranean route, with some 56,000 arrivals. The bulk of that pressure came through the land border between Greece and Turkey, with Turks as the main nationality. Philip Lowe, Reserve Bank governor, (pictured) called for a wage boost during his speech at House of Representatives economics committee on Friday Australia's economic growth is at risk unless wages growth improves, the central bank boss says. Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe called for a wages boost during his appearance before parliamentary committee in Sydney. Stagnant wages were regarded as the greatest domestic threat to economy activity, even though interest rates are at a record low of 1.5 per cent. 'It is plausible that households have responded to this extended period of weaker income growth by progressively downgrading their spending plans,' Dr Lowe told the House of Representatives economics committee on Friday. He added flat earnings were a bigger threat to the economy than falling house prices in Sydney and Melbourne. 'I understand that these swings in housing prices are difficult for some in our community,' he said. 'We should, though, take some reassurance from the fact that our economy and our financial system are resilient. 'This adjustment in the housing market is not expected to derail the economy.' Sluggish household consumption has been blamed on flat wages, which has seen the Reserve Bank scale back its economic growth projections. Dr Lowe said disposable income growth had slowed from 6 per cent to 2.75 per cent each year since 2016. 'For many people, it has become harder to see the lower growth in income as just a short-term development that can be looked through,' he said. In February, the Reserve Bank downgraded its growth forecasts, predicting a three per cent pace for 2019 and 2.75 per cent for 2020, which were both weaker than its August projections. Five men have been arrested for kidnapping a 22-year-old college student who they allegedly gang raped over three days before strangling her to death. Cao Thi My Duyen has been identified as the murder victim in the northern Vietnamese province of Dien Bien. The victim was found half-naked, wearing only a long-sleeved top and underwear. Her face was covered with her motorcycle helmet. Student Cao Thi My Duyen was found half naked and strangled to death in an abandoned house three days after she disappeared on a delivery order The local authorities have also arrested five suspects who are currently being investigated. They have been identified as Bui Van Cong, Pham Van Nhiem, Luong Van Hung, Luong Van La and Vuong Van Hung. Duyen, who helped her mother run a market stall, was last seen wearing a motorcycle helmet and using her phone while making a delivery of live chickens to a customer, according to reports. Three of the five suspects Bui Van Cong (left), Pham Van Nhiem (centre), Luong Van Hung (right) who are being investigated over the rape and murder of a 22-year-old college student Luong Van La (left) and Vuong Van Hung (right), along with the other three suspects, are believed to have admitted to kidnapping and raping the woman Her mother reported the student as missing and she was found three days later at an abandoned house about an hour's drive from her home. She appeared to have been left on the roof after being raped and murdered, with her face covered by her motorcycle helmet. Vietnamese police have confirmed that the young woman was gang raped before being strangled to death. According to local media, the suspects have admitted to kidnapping and raping the student before killing her. Van Hung, one of the suspects, was reportedly the client who ordered the live chickens and asked for Duyen to deliver them personally. The investigation is ongoing. Duyen, who helped her mother run a market stall, was last seen wearing a motorcycle helmet and using her phone while making a delivery of live chickens A pilot could not hide his excitement as he took to the skies for the first time in his home-made flying go-kart. The clip, filmed in Toscana, Italy, shows the bizarre contraption fitted with propellers taking its first ever flight as it whizzes across fields. GoPro footage captured the pilot speeding effortlessly through the air - and even twisting in a 180 degree turn mid-flight. The clip, filmed in Toscana, Italy, shows the bizarre contraption fitted with propellers lifting off and whizzing across fields Tomasz Patan, from Poland, built the incredible vessel which he spent months designing and testing. It was the first successful flight of the ingenious vehicle - known as the Jetson Speeder. Mr Patan said: 'It turned out to be a fantastic experience that everyone should be able to try. 'Being able to move through the air so effortlessly without vibrations or noise - it just felt so great. The flying go-kart whizzes through the air and above fields in its first successful flight Tomasz Patan, from Poland, built the incredible vessel which he spent months designing and testing 'After months of careful planning, designing, programming and building, we had this beautifully flying electric machine which was the first step in leading to something even greater: Bringing the personal electric flight to everyone.' The aircraft required hundreds of adjustments, changes, and test flights before it finally completed a perfect journey. And now a prototype is planned for late this year, with commercial production hopefully starting at the end of 2019. GoPro footage captured the amazing flight as the pilot speeds effortlessly through the air - and even does a 180 turn mid-flight Mr Patan added: 'We have successfully built our flying proof of concept. 'Since then we have learned a lot, made hundreds of adjustments and changes, conducted many flight tests, proved its airworthiness and safety features. 'We have achieved our set parameters and collected all necessary data. 'These steps were essential to start a development of a pre-production prototype.' January 29, 2019 Smollet is seen with a cut cheek on Jan. 29 Jussie Smollett tells Chicago police he was physically attacked by two men in downtown Chicago while walking home from getting food from a Subway restaurant at 2am. The black and openly gay actor tells authorities the men used racial and homophobic slurs, wrapped a rope around his neck and poured an 'unknown substance' on him. Smollett told detectives that the attackers yelled he was in 'MAGA country,' an apparent reference to President Donald Trump's 'Make America Great Again' campaign slogan, which some critics of Trump have claimed is a racist dog whistle. January 30 Chicago police say they've reviewed hundreds of hours of surveillance camera footage, including of Smollett walking downtown, but none of the videos show the attack. Police obtain and release images of two people they would like to question. Reports of Smollett's attack draw outrage and support on social media, including from U.S. Senators Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and Elizabeth Warren. Both Booker and Harris called the incident a 'modern day lynching'. Joe Biden said: 'We must stand up and demand that we no longer give this hate safe harbor; that homophobia and racism have no place on our streets or in our hearts.' Police released this image of 'persons of interest' taken near the reported attack January 31 Trump tells reporters at the White House that he saw a story the night before about Smollett and that, 'It doesn't get worse, as far as I'm concerned.' Smollett's family issues a statement calling the attack a racial and homophobic hate crime. Smollett's family says he 'has told the police everything' and 'his story has never changed,' disputing assertions leveled on social media that he has been less than cooperative and changed his story. February 1 Smollett issues a statement telling people that he is OK and thanking them for their support. He says he is working with authorities and has been '100 percent factual and consistent on every level.' February 2 Smollett gives sold-out concert in West Hollywood, California, opening with an emotional speech, saying he had to play the show because he couldn't let his attackers win. At the end of the set, he announces that he fought back against his attackers, calling himself 'the gay Tupac'. Congresswoman Maxine Waters is in attendance at the concert. Smollet is seen performing on February 2, where he called himself 'the gay Tupac' February 5th: Chicago PD releases incident report which reveals Smollett did not want to call police. There is no mention of the MAGA country remark which he gave in a follow-up interview Brandon Z. Moore, his manager, gives police a screenshot to prove their call. February 11th: Smollett finally hands over redacted phone records to prove the phone call but police label them 'insufficient'. His neighbors say they don't believe his version of events. February 12th: Smollett's rep releases statement to say he is the victim and that he has been telling the truth February 14th: Good Morning America airs the full interview with Smollett, in which he blasts speculation that the attack was staged as itself racist and hateful. Hours later, it emerges that two Nigerian brothers were picked up at Chicago's O'Hare Airport on their return from Nigeria the night before. Cops identify the two men as the individuals seen in the surveillance images released from the night of January 29 but will not share their names. Two television stations in Chicago simul report the widespread belief among investigators that Smollett staged the attack as a hate hoax. Chicago's police superintendent later said that he had no evidence to prove that the attack was a hoax. Producers of 'Empire' dispute media reports that Smollett's character was being written off the show. High-powered criminal defense attorney Michael Monico reveals that he is representing Smollett. Brothers Olabinjo 'Ola' Osundairo, 27, and Abimbola 'Abel' Osundairo, 25, were detained by police on February 13 Police logs show the items that cops seized from the Nigerian brothers' Chicago home February 15 DailyMail.com confirms they are brothers Olabinjo 'Ola' Osundairo, 27, and Abimbola 'Abel' Osundairo, 25. Later, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielimi says the two 'persons of interest' are now considered suspects. He says the men are in custody but have not been charged with a crime. Chicago police release two men without charges after arresting them on suspicion of assaulting Smollett and holding them for nearly 48 hours. A police spokesman said the two are no longer considered suspects and that investigators have 'new evidence' to consider as a result of questioning them. February 16 A police spokesman said that the investigation had 'shifted' after detectives questioned the two brothers about the attack and released them without charges. Smollett hired Michael Cohen's high-powered criminal defense attorney, Michael Monico, as the police investigation into the attack he reported last month took a sudden shift amid allegations of a hoax. Smolletts lawyers said on Saturday the actor felt 'victimized by reports he played a role in the assault, and that Smollett would continue cooperating with police. February 17 A police spokesman said that Chicago police have told Smolletts attorneys they want to do a follow-up interview with the actor. A spokesperson for Smolletts lawyers said she couldnt comment on whether Smollett had agreed to another interview. This is the letter Smollett allegedly received at the Fox studio, a week before the January 29 incident. No photographs of it emerged until after the alleged attack. He reported the letter to the police when he received it along with Empire producer Dennis Hammer February 18 Stars and politicians who spoke out in support of Smollett walk back their condemnation of the attack amid growing suspicion that it is a hate hoax February 19 Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx recused herself from the Smollett case The Osundairo brothers speak with police and prosecutors in Chicago but are halted at the last minute before going to testify before a grand jury. Smollett hires Colin Kaepernick's attorney Mark Geragos and his legal team present a 'hail Mary' piece of evidence which stops the brothers' testimony State's Attorney Kimberly Foxx recuses herself from the case citing her 'familiarity with potential witnesses' Leaked information from the brothers' meetings with prosecutors and police emerges. They reportedly claimed Smollett was involved in sending himself the letter on January 22 February 20 Fox says Smollett is not being written out of Empire contrary to reports and Smollett's co-stars speak out in support of him. Smollett in his February 21 mugshot He is named as a suspect later in the afternoon and the brothers are seen entering grand jury offices at the courthouse. Smollett is criminally charged with filing a false police report, a Class 4 felony which carries a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment and a $25,000 fine. February 21 Smollett hands himself in to police at 5am. He is later charged with filing a false police report and posts $10,000 - ten percent of his $100,000 bond - and is released from jail. The actor then releases a statement through his attorneys insisting he is innocent and claiming the prosecutors' office 'trampled' on his presumption of innocence. German police have admitted to losing almost all the incriminating digital evidence against two paedophiles accused of sexually assaulting least 31 children as young as four, allegedly raping their victims more than 1,000 times. Main suspect Andreas V., 56, and his campsite neighbour Mario S., 33, allegedly sexually assaulted dozens of children at a rundown caravan park in Luegde, a town in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The case has shocked Germany, but despite the extremely serious allegations, police are now saying that almost all the incriminating digital evidence has gone missing - and that they apparently forgot to make backups. Main suspect: Andreas V., 56, pictured with his seven-year-old foster daughter whom he also allegedly raped, is accused of sexually assaulting dozens of children at his rundown campsite Mario S., 33, also allegedly took part in the shocking sexual abuse - however much of the digital evidence has now gone missing The discovery of the massive abuse case has shocked Germany and left the public, as well as prosecutors, wondering how it could have dragged on for so many years without the authorities doing anything to stop it. To the further shock of Germans, the authorities have now announced that a suitcase containing 155 critical pieces of evidence which have not yet been reviewed has gone missing. The suitcase reportedly contained 155 CDs and DVDs from Andreas V.'s trailer which have gone missing from the police station in the Lippe district. Only three of the 155 data carriers with a total of 0.7 terabyte of data on it have so far been reviewed. Interior Minister of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia Herbert Reul said that 'also in the analysis it came to serious technical errors' as cops forgot to make copies of all the data carriers which is a normal procedure if such evidence is received. Eichwald caravan park in Luegde, in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the alleged abuse took place Andreas V. and Mario S. allegedly carried out more than 1,000 rapes of 29 children at the campsite According to the public prosecutor's office, Andreas V. is accused of raping 29 children more than 1,000 times since 2008, despite the fact that police and youth welfare authorities received several warnings about his behaviour To investigate the loss, Mr Reul has ordered a special unit of four officers to look into the missing evidence. He said: 'All this leaves me stunned. It's a disaster. It's a failure of the police. Such mistakes must never happen. To the victims and their families I can only say that I am so sorry. I again apologise for it.' The disappearance of the data was only noticed on 30th January and the discs were last seen on 20th December. According to Mr Reul, who was only informed about the missing data last Monday, the room in which the evidence was stored was not as secure as it should have been. Mr Reul said that he 'does not exclude anything' when asked if the evidence might have been stolen on purpose or if it has simply been lost. According to police sources, the number of young victims identified in the case now stands at 31 - 27 girls and four boys aged between four and 13 years old - and the number of suspected rapes runs well over 1,000. The rapes were allegedly filmed by the perpetrators and broadcast over the darknet. According to the public prosecutor's office, Mario S. is seen abusing children in some of the horrific videos he created with Andreas V. Andreas V. is suspected of not only raping his foster daughter, but also using her as bait to lure other children to his run-down holiday home. Just like the 56-year-old suspect, Mario S. was jobless and still lived at home with his parents. According to investigators, Mario S. allegedly raped dozens of children and filmed the despicable scenes, uploading them to the darknet when he had finished. Even though the Hamelin youth office criticised the dire living conditions at the caravan park, they found that otherwise 'everything was alright' Andreas V, 56, was arrested at this campsite in eastern Germany in December and accused of abusing around 29 children here over the last 10 years Police accuse Andreas of using his foster daughter to lure in more victims and of trying to create an environment where the children felt 'comfortable' so he could attack them Andreas was accused of being 'overly friendly with children' and organised day-trips for them to go on with him, German media reported According to reports, an investigation into the suspected child abuse committed by Andreas V. goes back as far as 2008. They allegedly sent footage to a third man, aged 48, who was arrested on suspicion of ordering the abuse. The 48-year-old man from the town of Stade in the state of Lower Saxony allegedly watched the men rape a young girl on the darknet twice. The missing evidence is not the first massive police blunder in the case as prosecutors are also investigating whether the police should have known about the mass rapes before. The first warnings about the mass child abuse were passed on to the authorities in 2016. Father-of-two Jens Ruzsitska reported Andreas V. to both the cops and youth welfare office after he allegedly saw him grope children at a birthday party in the town of Bad Pyrmont, but no action was taken. The youth welfare office of Hamelin in Lower Saxony also learned about the alleged sexual abuse when workers at the local job centre called for an investigation into Andreas V. He reportedly appeared with his foster daughter because he needed money and a worker found it suspicious that the girl said that she could no longer stand the smell of men. According to local media, in a joint meeting with job-centre workers Andreas V. even confessed that his foster daughter 'turned him on' but that she did not want anything to do with his overtures anymore. All three suspects are currently being held in investigative custody while investigations are ongoing. Sisters Ruby Yeap (left) and Ivy Chin (right) outside the High Court for the hearing in dispute over their mother's will Three sisters have become embroiled in a fight to claim a slice of their family's 3million property business fortune after claiming they were cut out of their mother's will by their brother and father who believe only sons son inherit wealth. George Chin and wife, Ho Chin, created a valuable property portfolio after moving to Essex from Hong Kong in 1965 and starting a thriving restaurant business. However when Mrs Chin died in 2015, aged 82, she left everything she had in her name to the only son of the family, Winston. That was despite him already having been given most of the family fortune - thought to be worth as much as 3million - as the sole male heir. But now daughter, Ivy Chin, 60, - backed by sisters Rose, 61, and Ruby, 57, - are rebelling against the men and challenging their mother's last will, made in 2011, claiming she only signed it due to pressure from their father and brother. Their 87-year-old father, a fervent believer in tradition, had always been adamant that all of the Chin family's fortune would go to his son alone and that is belief was that as the daughters were married, that they were 'no longer part' of the Chin household. However, their mother 'wanted to show her love to her daughters, who she loved as well as her son' and wanted to leave something behind for them, they claim. The sisters are fighting to uphold a previous will from 2009, under which their mother left her last remaining asset, 185,000 worth of property in Southend, to her daughters. George Chin (pictured above) is alleged to have been abusive and manipulative towards his wife Ivy's barrister Aidan Briggs alleged that, whilst financially successful, the family environment was not happy, that George Chin was 'abusive and manipulative'. 'He alternated between physical violence and emotional bullying, threatening suicide and tearful reconciliation,' he told Judge Milwyn Jarman QC. Mr Briggs claimed Mrs Chin's desire to leave her daughters something was a 'constant source of friction' with her traditionalist husband. And after suffering a stroke in 2009, the ailing mother-of-six had been 'physically and emotionally dependent' on her son and husband, he claimed. It left her 'defenceless' against their influence and she 'eventually capitulated', changing her will in 2011 to completely disinherit her daughters, he said. Winston's barrister, Marcus Flavin, denied that she had been pressured by either father or son, who he said did not even know she changed her will. In her evidence, Ivy described her dad as a 'compulsive gambler' who was 'coercive and threatening'. 'He was dominating, he was also manipulative and cunning,' she told the judge. Her sisters Rose and Ruby gave evidence for Ivy, while another Lia, 47, supported her brother, and a fifth, Lydia, 54, did not make a statement for the case. The Chin family's property in Southend (pictured above), which is at the centre of dispute between Ivy Chin and brother Winston Chin In the witness box, Rose, 61, insisted her mother wanted the girls to have her 185,000 share of the family's Southend restaurant when she died. 'At that time, she always pointed out that she had five daughters and all six children she wanted to treat equally,' she told the court. 'She was happy that my father passed his share to his son, but insisted she had five daughters who helped in the shop.' Her younger sister, Ruby Yeap, 57, said: 'My father's opinion is that the daughters, whilst they're married, are not a part of the Chin household. His belief was it would all go to the sole son in the family.' Mr Briggs said most of the family wealth - believed by the sisters to be worth up to 3m - was transferred to Winston after his marriage in 1989, but Mrs Chin did not want her daughters to be left empty-handed. The 2011 will which eventually disinherited them was procured by the 'undue influence' of George and Winston, or alternatively she did not understand and approve of its contents, he claimed. A later document under which Mrs Chin had transferred ownership of her Southend property to Winston's side of the family was also tainted, he claimed. He is asking the judge to overturn both the 2011 will and the transfer, so that the sisters can inherit the property under the 2009 will. 'It is clear that George and Winston both firmly believed that Winston should inherit the entire Chin estate, and that the deceased should not be allowed to make any dispositions in favour of her daughters,' he said. 'It is also apparent that Winston orchestrated the wholesale disenfranchisement of his sisters, and was involved in every step of every transaction. 'After Rose, Ruby and Ivy were cut out of contact with her, she was left defenceless against the influence of George and Winston, and eventually capitulated. 'However, she did so against her will, rather than by undergoing a dramatic change of mind.' He said the dispute had completely torn apart a once close knit family, who had worked shoulder to shoulder in the restaurant business. 'This family is divided in two, nearly everyone has chosen a side,' he said. Giving evidence, Winston Chin denied that he or his dad brought any pressure to bear on his mother, who was not the downtrodden, dominated wife which the sisters described. 'She had a voice, she knew her own mind and she was the strongest out of my mum and dad,' he said. His barrister said: 'There is nothing coming anywhere near establishing that either Winston or George exercised undue influence over the deceased in order to coerce her to make the 2011 will. 'It was drafted by a solicitor, after a meeting at which they were not present. 'None of the claimant's witnesses can give evidence of actual coercion. All they can allege is that George, in particular, had a domineering personality. 'That is in dispute and various points in the claimant's own evidence suggest the family dynamics were not as clearcut as she suggests.' He said claims that George was an abusive problem gambler were a 'fantasy', a 'soap opera' made up by Ivy. If the validity of any will was to be doubted, it was the 2009 document, said the barrister. George Chin is not a party to the case, but denies he was abusive or did anything to put pressure on his late wife. The judge will now give his decision at a later date. ISIS bride Shamima Begum cared for wounded jihadis and nursed them back to health so they could get back to fighting US-led coalition forces, it emerged today. The remorseless 19-year-old claimed she had lived a 'normal life' after fleeing Bethnal Green for Syria, marrying a Dutch Muslim convert fighter and having his children. But today security sources claimed that while she may have started her ISIS life as a housewife she later helped with its war effort. It is alleged she worked in crumbling caliphate's National Hospital in its de facto capital Raqqa. First she cleaned wards and changed beds before changing bandages and caring for soldiers with gunshot wounds and other injuries. ISIS bride Shamima Begum claimed to be a housewife but actually cared for wounded jihadis, security sources have said Raqqa's now-shattered National Hospital, where Begum allegedly worked as an ISIS nurse despite no medical training A security source told the Daily Mirror: 'We know that in her first year in Raqqa she worked in the hospital treating ISIS fighters, while her husband mounted attacks on US-led coalition forces. Shamima Begum, 19 (pictured before she left the country four years ago) and her family are all pleading with the government to allow her back into Britain 'Women worked as cleaners, cooks and ad hoc nurses in the hospital where IS soldiers that had a chance of recovery were patched up those badly injured were shot dead. Latterly, she worked more closely with patients.' He added: 'We are not clear if Begum worked as a volunteer or was forced, but she willingly flew to Turkey and got across the border to join ISIS.' Begum has had her US passport torn up - but her son Jerah, reportedly named after a 7th century Islamic warlord, will have the right to be a British citizen. They are both in a Syrian refugee camp after fleeing ISIS' final losing battle in Baghouz, where they face certain defeat. She believed that Britain should show her 'sympathy and understanding' and let her come back to London - but the UK says he 'actions must have consequences'. Today the jihadi bride's family have written to the Home Secretary challenging his decision to revoke her British citizenship. Sajid Javid blocked the 19-year-old's return earlier this week, saying she poses a risk to the country's security. But in a letter to Mr Javid, her family have said they 'cannot simply abandon her' and that her status is 'a matter for our British courts'. Shamima Begum and her friend fled to Syria by flying to Istanbul and getting a bus across Turkey to the ISIS capital, Raqqa. She moved to Mayadin with her jihadi husband Yago Riedijk but fled Baghuz when he was captured and is now in al-Hawl Begum's baby son Jerah is entitled to British citizenship - but could try to argue he is Dutch because of the nationality of its jihadi father (pictured) and she is pinning her hopes on getting Dutch citizenship off the back of it herself Begum, who left east London to join Islamic State in 2015, has repeatedly begged from a Syrian refugee camp to be allowed to return home. She gave birth to a baby boy last Sunday and says that she wants to return to the UK with him. Her family, who live in Bethnal Green, said they are 'sickened' by the comments she has made recently, but have asked for assistance in bringing her home. According to the BBC the letter, written by her sister Renu Begum on behalf of the family, says: 'As we have already expressed, we are sickened by the comments she has made, but, as a family man yourself, we hope you will understand that we, as her family cannot simply abandon her. 'We have a duty to her, and a duty to hope that as she was groomed into what she has become, she can equally be helped back into the sister I knew, and daughter my parents bore. 'We hope you understand our position in this respect and why we must, therefore, assist Shamima in challenging your decision to take away the one thing that is her only hope at rehabilitation, her British citizenship.' It came as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was criticised after saying Begum should be allowed back into the UK and given the 'support that she needs'. He accused Mr Javid of a 'very extreme manoeuvre' in stripping her of British citizenship on the basis that she is entitled to live in Bangladesh because her parents were born there. Mr Corbyn said making Begum stateless is 'not the right thing to do'. She had 'a lot of questions to answer' but should be allowed to return to the UK and 'at that point any action may or may not be taken'. He said: 'The idea of stripping anyone of their citizenship when they're born in Britain is a very extreme manoeuvre. I question the right of the Home Secretary to have these powers.' Last night, Begum told Sky News: 'I am struggling to get my supplies in right now. I have to run around to take care of my son now, when I am sick. I would like them to re-evaluate my case with a bit more mercy in their heart. I am willing to change.' Tory MPs accused Mr Corbyn of being 'out of touch with the public mood'. Tim Loughton, who sits on the home affairs committee, said: 'We don't need to be told by an IRA sympathiser we're not behaving justly towards someone who's shown no remorse for what she's done and still doesn't understand the seriousness of her actions.' Harlow MP Robert Halfon added: 'Yet again Mr Corbyn is entirely wrong about our national security.' The Queen has lodged an appeal against a punitive rates increase at her Scottish estate following controversial SNP land reforms. The Sovereign is appealing the rateable value of the sporting land she owns in Balmoral. The move comes after she was handed a business rates bill for 16,800 following the Scottish Governments decision to overhaul the Land Reform Act. The Sovereign is appealing the rateable value of the sporting land she owns in Balmoral. Pictured today: The Queen attends a service to celebrate the centenary of the granting by King George V in London Part of the Queen's Balmoral Castle Estate in the North East Scottish Highlands Previously, land used for shooting and deer-stalking had been ineligible for rates but this exemption has been removed by SNP ministers. It means that the Monarch must, like all other businesses including pubs and shops, pay rates on her land. It is understood Buckingham Palace is seeking a review over how the rateable value of the property in Balmoral is calculated as it straddles two different local authorities Aberdeenshire and Angus. What are the new reforms? Areas used for shooting and deer-stalking previously did not have to pay rates on their land. Now under SNP rules, like other businesses, landowners now have to start paying tax due to an overhaul in the Land Reform Act. The Scottish government reintroduced business rates to land used to shooting and stalking. Sites across Scotland had previously been exempt under legislation passed by the Tories in 1994. Business owners across Scotland have been appealing their rates following a 2017 revaluation - the first time in nearly a decade. Finance minister Derek Mackay had to place a cap on rates in certain sectors, like green energy and hospitality, after some saw bills rise by up to 400 per cent. Advertisement However, they refused to comment on the issue last night. According to the Scottish Assessors Association, the Queen is appealing the rateable valuation of 22,500 and 12,500 at two sites at Balmoral. The two sites have a joint business rates bill of 16,800 based on the valuation by surveyors. Scottish Conservative economy spokesman Dean Lockhart said: Businesses across Scotland are appealing their punitive rates bills under the SNP. In addition the introduction of the large business rates supplement is making Scotland increasingly uncompetitive. The SNPs budget will only make this worse and continue to undermine our economy. The Scottish Government reintroduced business rates to land used for shooting and stalking after campaigners opposed the exemption which they claimed unfairly favoured landowners in Scotland. Sites across Scotland had previously been exempt under legislation passed by the Conservatives in 1994. However, they now face massive bills based on the size and location of their land. But Green MSP Andy Wightman yesterday claimed the charges are fair. He said: Bringing shooting estates into non-domestic rates is about fairness and its no surprise landowners are seeking to pay as little as possible. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh with their children, Prince Andrew (centre), Princess Anne (left) and Charles, Prince of Wales sitting on a picnic rug outside Balmoral Castle in Scotland in September 1960 The Queen is now one of thousands of business owners in Scotland who have been forced to appeal their business rates bills following the 2017 revaluation the first in nearly a decade. This saw some faced with rises of up to 400 per cent before Finance Minister Derek Mackay was forced to place a cap on rates for certain sectors, such as green energy and hospitality, after initially refusing to do so. The Scottish Government has faced repeated calls for businesses to reform business rates but Mr Mackay has stopped short of an overhaul. Earlier this year it was revealed 22,000 businesses in Scotland are having to pay more in rates than their English counterparts because of the SNPs supertax. In 2016 the Scottish Government doubled the Large Business Supplement to 2.6p in the pound. This is added to the rate for businesses where premises are valued at more than 51,000. Elsewhere in the UK, it is 1.3p. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: We wouldnt comment on matters relating to a private estate. Advertisement Holidaymakers were left in shock when two cruise ships collided causing loud screeching and debris to go flying into the sea. The MSC Poesia and the MSC Orchestra, which are both owned by Swiss-based MSC Cruises, struck each other at the port in Beunos Aires, Argentina. The clip, filmed by a holidaymaker standing onshore, shows one of the ships manoeuvering dangerously close to another vessel docked in the port. Onlookers gasp and shout in horror as one of the cruise ships glide towards the other. The clip, filmed in in Buenos Aires, Argentina, shows a ship manouvering dangerously close to another docked vessel in port As the huge ship drifts past the other, it scrapes the end of the vessel making a loud screeching noise. Crunching can be heard as metal collides and debris begins to tumble into the ocean as the two cruise ships smash into each other. People onboard the ship can be seen craning their heads out of windows to witness the shocking crash. One onlooker can be heard shouting 'No, no, no' during before a collision. Fortunately the captain manages to swerve the cruise ship in time to avoid a more serious crash. The 2,500-capacity ship was manoeuvering into port at the time - but luckily no one was injured. As the huge ship drifts past the other, which is docked, it scrapes the end of the vessel making a loud screeching noise Crunching can be heard as metal collides and debris begins to tumble into the ocean as the two cruise ships smash into each other The MSC Poesia and the MSC Orchestra, which are both owned by Swiss-based MSC Cruises, struck each other at the port in Beunos Aires, Argentina (pictured) The captain of the MSC Orchestra liner, which weighs 92,409-tonnes, reportedly lost control as he came into port on February 20. The ship suffered minor damage and was delayed as it set off on an eight-night South America cruise with stops in Brazil and other countries. After some maintenance and repairs, the ship was deemed safe to sail to take guests to its next destination of Punta del Este in Uruguay. The MSC Poesia and MSC Orchestra are identical in weight and capacity. However the Orchestra charges 6,158 for a suite on its nine night South America cruise, while a seven night tour of the continent on the Poesia comes in at 4,758 for a suite. The Orchestra offers spacious and elegant interiors, with fine dining and spa, as well as relaxation amenities. After some maintenance and repairs, the ship was deemed safe to sail to take guests to its next destination of Punta del Este in Uruguay The Orchestra charges 6,158 for a suite on its nine night South America cruise, while a seven night tour of the continent on the Poesia (pictured) comes in at 4,758 for a suite MSC describe the Poesia as 'innovative', featuring three outdoor pools, including one which is accompanied by a massive poolside cinema screen They offer a 'Covent Garden Theatre' inspired by London's West End and a 'Palm Beach' casino in homage to Las Vegas. MSC describe the Poesia as 'innovative', featuring three outdoor pools, including one which is accompanied by a massive poolside cinema screen. A spokesman for MSC Cruises said: 'On 20 February 2019 at 22:11 local time, MSC Orchestra undocked to leave the Port of Buenos Aires, Argentina. 'Due to reasons we are still investigating, the ship deviated from its course while manoeuvring out of the port and lightly grazed the forward part of MSC Poesia, which was docked alongside. 'While this may have been noticed by some passengers, there was never any risk for guests or crew on board, and there was no impact for the environment. 'As a result of this graze and for operational reasons, we have adjusted the itinerary of MSC Orchestra. Yesterday, the ship made a first port call in Punta del Este in Uruguay. 'While Guests had the opportunity to visit the city and enjoy some free time ashore, the ship received some technical maintenance and minor repairs. In addition, the port call in Buzios will be substituted with a port call in Itajai, Brazil. 'This matter will not affect the itinerary of MSC Poesia, and the ship left the Port of Buenos Aires yesterday at 5:00pm as per original schedule. 'MSC Cruises emphasizes that MSC Orchestra and MSC Poesia are both fully reliable and safe to sail. Our Guests and crew members safety will always be our number one priority.' Yesterday, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, dismissed the government of Bakytzhan Sagintayev characterising its works as unsatisfactory. According to the head of state, there are no positive changes and concrete results in a number of sectors of Kazakhstans economy. On February 27th, at the Congress of the Nur Otan party, the new measures to strengthen social support and improve the quality of life of citizens will be announced. In his statement, Nursultan Nazarbayev noted that despite the initiated structural reforms and adopted programs (Five institutional reforms, the Third Modernization and the Nation Plan 100 concrete steps), the implementation of which should have led to a dramatic increase in the share of SMEs, a decrease in the share of the public sector in the economy, clearing of banks and increasing confidence in the courts and law enforcement systems, the positive changes have not been achieved in many areas of the economy. The GDP growth is mainly achieved due to the raw materials. Meanwhile, both the government and the heads of the regions received all the necessary powers and independence after the 2017 constitutional reform. However, "in many areas of the economy, despite the adoption of laws and the governments decisions, positive changes have not been achieved," Nazarbayev said. The GDP growth is mainly achieved due to the raw materials. But the government, together with the National Bank, failed to fully create real incentives and tools for qualitative growth of the economy. The analysis of the implementation of the state programs showed that they are being implemented, but there are no concrete results in many important areas, the statement reads. According to the president, the creation of new workplaces is not productive enough, especially in the countryside. Small and medium enterprises did not become a growth driver, their development did not become the main task of akims and ministers. The head of state also noted that the funds available to the government and authorities on the ground are not spent on purpose. In this regard, it is planned to establish a special governing body. But the president described the inability to work with citizens and formalism in supporting socially vulnerable groups of people as the weakest point of the government, ministers and regional officials activities. The new government, Nazarbayev stressed, will, first of all, have to work out effective steps to raise the standard of living and stimulate the economy. "At the upcoming February 27th Congress of the Nur Otan party, a number of measures will be proposed to strengthen social support and improve the quality of life of people, for which considerable funds will be allocated from the budget and the National Fund," Nursultan Nazarbayev said. The researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, a candidate of historical sciences Alexander Vorobyev notes that the resignation of the government of Kazakhstan is overdue. However, it was quite predictable - the society and President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev personally have a negative image of the Cabinets work. "The government of Bakytzhan Sagintayev worked for quite a long time, since September 2016. And it cannot be said that it acted badly. The Cabinet worked in a very difficult time - during the period of turbulence in the commodity markets, the increasing sanction pressure on Russia. These negative factors almost immediately reflected on the situation in the Kazakhstani economy and the rate of the national currency - the tenge. As a result, the country has been experiencing an increase in social discontent during this time. It was twice as difficult to solve different issues in such a period, Alexander Vorobyev told Vestnik Kavkaza. In general, according to the expert, Sagintayev completed the assigned tasks. Under his premiership, the international exhibition EXPO-2017 important for the nation was held in the country. Of course, he and his team made many mistakes during this time. The Kazakh society did not see a rise in living standards. The responsibility for this was assigned to the Prime Minister and his subordinates. Sintayevs weakness was his inability to fully develop the coordinated work of various elements of the executive's machine he headed. The Prime Minister became a convenient target for his political opponents, who did not lose their chances to weaken Sagintayevs team on the threshold of the power transit. "The resignation of the current head of the Cabinet of Ministers and the appointment of a new one is a rather routine procedure in the current context of Kazakhstan's domestic political realities, despite the fact that this is the second person in the country. Apparently, some technocrat-manager will be appointed to accomplish the same tasks with the same methods as its predecessor. Askar Mamin, the first deputy head of the government, who became the acting head of the cabinet after Sagintayevs resignation, would be suitable for this role. Other options are also possible, " Vorobyev says. According to the expert, as a result of the reshuffle, the society will see new (but already familiar) faces in the structure of the updated Cabinet of Ministers and will hope for better. The successor of Sagintayev and his associates will try with new energy to solve the difficult social and economic development challenges the country faces. Perhaps, they will succeed more than their predecessors. However, the success will depend not only on their own efforts but also on the external and internal economic conditions. According to political analyst Dosym Satpayev, the resignation of the Cabinet of Ministers is "a proven political strategy when it is necessary to redirect protest sentiments towards negligent officials. Did the Ak Orda suddenly see the steam boiler that could explode? the political scientist wonders. The officials will be replaced, and the boiler will remain," Satpayev said. At the same time, the expert noted that the end of Nursultan Nazarbrayevs statement reminds a pre-election platform. A British medical researcher jailed for slapping an immigration officer in Bali has caused fresh outrage by smashing up her prison cell and launched a foul-mouthed rant at detention centre staff where she is serving her six-month sentence. In an astonishing video, Auj-e-Taqaddas screams uncontrollably at bewildered guards as she stands in the entrance of her cell surrounded by shards of plastic apparently from a table and chair she demolished up in a fit of rage. The mobile phone footage shows the 43-year-old from London shrieking at immigration officers, calling them 'bastards', accusing them of torture and corruption and cursing Indonesia. A stream of swear words are bleeped out in the recording. British medical researcher Auj-e-Taqaddas - jailed for slapping an immigration worker in Bali - has sparked fresh outrage by smashing up her prison cell Taqaddas kicks out at the men trying to arrest her in a shopping mall, in another extraordinary tantrum before her court appearance As she delivers a 90-second tirade of abuse at the guards, the officers laugh nervously and say 'Thank you, thank you' before leading her out of the wrecked cell when she finally calms down. The detention centre outburst is described as 'another tantrum' by the news site which reported she destroyed everything in her cell and had to be moved to another room 'with more limited facility'. According to reports, the video was taken at the Bali Immigration Detention Centre on the day Taqaddas was arrested and jailed for six months on February 6. The British medical researcher, previously a radiology specialist at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, struggles against her arrest after she had allegedly failed to appear in court Taqaddas is being made to serve her sentence in the high-security Immigration Detention Centre in the island's Jimbaran district where she is being refused any visits Inmates at the detention centre (pictured) are usually only held for short periods before being deported. It has no exercise facilities and notoriously poor conditions with cramped cells Ms Taqaddas, whose family live in the UK, is being held at the immigration detention centre (pictured) despite being convicted of a criminal offence in Bali It appears to have been made public in response to MailOnline revelations earlier this week that Taqaddas claims she is being tortured inside the detention centre and has compared her jailors to the killers of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi. In an extraordinary series of Tweets sent from inside the lock-up where she is due to serve her full sentence, Auj-e Taqaddas posted pictures she says shows her 'torture' injuries. The 43-year-old Londoner jailed for slapping an immigration officer in a row a 3,100 fine for overstaying her tourist visa by more than five months claims: 'I nearly lost my life in one torture incident. They are like khoshoggi's killers (sic).' Her pictures show bruising and hand marks on her arms and legs purportedly inflicted in the days after she was sentenced and wrote: 'Please quickly arrange my exit from Indonesia as my life is not safe her.' Taqaddas also claims British consular officials had been refused permission to visit her and accused them of siding with the Indonesian officials in blocking her right to an appeal as she made a bizarre plea for sanctuary in Russia. She wrote: 'It looks like UK has chosen corrupt, uncivilized & ugly Indonesia/Bali as partner in crime and therefore I would like to choose civilized and beautiful Russia as my country of Residence and refuge.' The messages went posted on a Twitter account in Taqaddas's name, which has just three followers, in the days following her conviction on February 6 for slapping an immigration officer in the face at Bali airport. Taqaddas's claims were categorically denied Waher Tarihoran, a senior official in the prosecutor's office, who told local journalists: 'We never tortured her. Yes it is true she has bruises but it was not because of torture. It was the consequence of our attempts to control her.' Ms Taqaddas, whose family in the UK has reportedly disowned her, is led away by officials after her February 6 trial in Bali, where she was sentenced to six months in prison for the attack The 43-year-old posted photos of what she claims are torture injuries inflicted on February 7 and says: 'I nearly lost my life in one torture incident. They are like khoshoggi's killers' Taqaddas posted a stream of messages from inside the detention centre on February 8 and February 11 including pictures of her alleged injuries before suddenly going silent, indicating that her phone has since been confiscated. Taqaddas was jailed for violence against an immigration officer in an incident on July 28 last year when she was told to pay a fine of 300,000 Rupiah a day for overstaying her visa by 160 days as she tried to leave the holiday island. Video of Taqaddas slapping the officer went viral and she was eventually arrested and brought to court on February 6 after three times failing to answer bail to appear in court. Mail Online discovered Taqaddas had in fact been hiding in plain sight, living a solitary existence in budget hotels along the popular Kuta beach strip where she was regularly seen by residents sitting alone beside swimming pools along the seafront. Taqaddas was eventually arrested in a shopping mall opposite the 16-a-night Edelweis Hotel where she was staying on February 6 and taken straight to court to be tried after a public tussle with her arresting officers. Taqaddas, previously a radiology specialist at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London before leaving the UK around eight years ago, has been disowned by her own family in London who say they are 'deeply ashamed' at her behaviour in Bali. Advertisement Two people have been killed and 12 injured after Venezuelan troops opened fire on civilians trying to keep a border checkpoint open for aid deliveries. Troops arrived at a checkpoint set up by an indigenous community in Kumarakapai, on Venezuela's southern border with Brazil early this morning. But when civilians tried to block a convoy of tanks, soldiers opened fire killing two people including a woman named as Zorayda Rodriguez, 42, and wounding 12 others. Gran Sabana Mayor Emilio Gonzalez said soldiers fired rubber bullets and tear gas and the injured people were taken for medical treatment. But pictures and video footage taken by a Brazilian journalist appears to show bullet casings taken from the scene along with medics treating people covered in blood from wounds to their legs. The villagers are believed to have been trying to keep open a section of the border so that aid could be moved into the area from Brazil. President Nicolas Maduro ordered the frontier with the country shut yesterday and is now considering shutting the border with Colombia. Two people have been killed and 12 wounded after Venezuelan troops opened fire on indigenous people who had been trying to keep a border checkpoint with Brazil open so aid could get through Ambulances rushed to the scene and took the victims to hospital, where four were said to be in serious condition Venezuelan national guards block people crossing from Brazil into Venezuela after Maduro closed the border Tensions have been increasing between civilians and troops on the Brazil-Venezuela border ever since Maduro closed checkpoints, fearing aid is a precursor to an invasion. Pictured: Civilians stand at the border between Venezuela and Brazil Armed response: Venezuelan soldiers grab a girl by her arm at the border between Venezuela and Brazil in Pacaraima today Confrontation: Civilians approach the border between Venezuela and Brazil this morning. There are reports that Venezuelan troops have opened fire on people at a different checkpoint Flashpoint: Dramatic footage has emerged of a clash between President Nicolas Maduro's troops and supporters of his rival Juan Guaido in Venezuela Tension: The clip shows trucks trying to ram through a checkpoint in Mariara, northern Venezuela, as security forces loyal to Maduro stand in its path Clash: It is thought to have taken place as supporters of opposition leader Guaido, who has declared himself interim president, made their way to the border to collect US aid Frustrated civilians shout at Venezuelan national guards as they are blocked from crossing the border from Brazil Maduro denies there is a humanitarian crisis in his country and is refusing to allow foreign aid to cross the border People waiting to cross to Venezuela argue with Venezuelan soldiers at the border between Venezuela and Brazil in Pacaraima Venezuelans cross the Simon Bolivar International Bridge from San Antonio del Tachira in Venezuela to Norte de Santander province of Colombia Rival concerts are taking place just 300m apart on either side of Venezuela's border with Colombia while one person has been killed and 12 were injured when troops opened fire on people trying to keep open a section of the frontier with Brazil Maduro is closing off his country to the West as his opposition rival Juan Guaido attempts to claim power having declared himself interim president, vowing to personally bring in US humanitarian aid on Saturday. Russia has accused the US of using aid deliveries to Venezuela as a ploy to carry out military action against Maduro's government. The Kremlin's Foreign Ministry said America had deployed special forces and equipment near the South American nation and accused Washington of an instigating a 'dangerous provocation'. Russia accuses Trump of sending special forces to Venezuela Russia has accused the US of using aid deliveries to Venezuela as a ploy to carry out military action against President Nicolas Maduro's government. The Kremlin's Foreign Ministry said America had deployed special forces and equipment near the South American nation and accused Washington of a 'dangerous provocation'. Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed to efforts by opposition leader Juan Guaido's planned bid tomorrow to pick up US aid being stockpiled on the Colombian border. Guaido's intentions to bring the supplies across the border are aimed at provoking clashes, she said, to provide 'a convenient pretext for conducting military action'. Russia is a key supporter of Maduro's government and has repeatedly accused Washington of trying to carry out a coup in Venezuela. Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Gil said at a meeting in the upper chamber of the Russian parliament on Friday that Maduro is 'constantly in touch' with President Vladimir Putin on the phone. Advertisement Some political analysts say Saturday's showdown is less about solving Venezuela's needs and more about testing the military's loyalty towards Maduro, by daring it to turn the aid away. With inflation running at more than 2 million percent a year and currency controls restricting imports of basic goods, many Venezuelans lack vital medicines and a growing share of the country's roughly 30 million people is suffering from malnutrition. Friday's violence broke out as indigenous leaders in southern Venezuela said they had attempted to stop a military convoy heading toward the border with Brazil, believing the soldiers were attempting to block the entrance of foreign aid as per Maduro's order. The convoy entered the indigenous village of Kumarakapay anyway, opening fire to clear the way and killing a woman, Zoraida Rodriguez, according to community leaders Richard Fernandez and Ricardo Delgado. Venezuela's Information Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment. 'The result of this crime: 12 injured and one dead,' Guaido said on Twitter. 'You must decide which side you are on in this definitive hour. To all the military: between today and tomorrow, you will define how you want to be remembered.' Guaido has vowed the opposition will bring in foreign aid from neighboring countries on Saturday and called on security forces to disobey Maduro and let supplies into the country suffering food and medicine shortages. It comes after dramatic footage emerge of a clash between Maduro's troops and supporters of Guaido. The clip shows trucks trying to ram through a checkpoint in Mariara, northern Venezuela, as security forces loyal to Maduro stand in its path. It is thought to have taken place as supporters of opposition leader Guaido made their way to the border to collect US aid. Maduro is refusing to let US supplies in, arguing it would be the first step toward a foreign invasion. Instead, he has accepted Russian aid and reportedly sent missiles to the border. A sleepy island best known for beaches and a blue liquor named after has also become the focus of a tense bid to bring aid by sea to Venezuela, in the face of warnings that the country's military will block it. A plane carrying private donations of food and medical aid from Venezuelans in Florida landed on Curacao - population 150,000 - which lies 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Venezuela's coast. Venezuelans on the island were preparing Friday to transfer the goods to the nearby seaport where they said a ship was ready to take it to Venezuela. Such a move could lead to a confrontation with the Venezuelan military. The government of President Nicolas Maduro has ordered its sea and air borders with Curacao to be closed to block the aid. It is also resisting attempts by Maduro's rival, self-declared president Juan Guaido, to pass aid from Brazil and Colombia. 'Curacao is one of the most important points in terms of how difficult it is to operate at sea,' said Carlos Faria, one of the organizers of the aid effort on the island. 'It is risky but we are full of hope, valor and intelligence.' Angry Venezuelans shout and chant at border guards after being prevented from crossing over into Brazil Maduro has closed the border with Brazil to prevent the entry of aid and the military has beefed up security at the Colombian border. But today pictures emerged of Venezuelans crossing the border into Brazil's Roraima state Venezuelan soldiers are pictured at the border between the country and Brazil as people watch on amid heightened tensions over plans to bring in US aid Maduro denies there is a humanitarian crisis and said on Thursday he was considering closing Venezuela's key border with Colombia and would close the country's other main border with Brazil, effectively shutting off any legal land access. Pictured: People walk through a field as they try to cross into Brazil A Venezuelan named Alejandro is seen battling sickness as he receives help from leaders of an evangelical church inside his house on the outskirts of Cucuta, on the Colombian-Venezuelan border. Maduro denies there is a humanitarian crisis Brazilian soldiers organize sacks of powdered milk that are part of the humanitarian aid for Venezuela that Maduro is refusing to allow across the border A Brazilian soldier walks near packages of rice and sugar that are part of the humanitarian aid for Venezuela, at Ala 7 air base in Boa Vista, Brazil A Brazilian soldier drives a tractor with a trailer loaded with humanitarian aid for Venezuela Elsewhere, the crisis took on a surreal twist as Guiado and Maduro held opposing concerts just 300 yards apart on either end of a bridge linking Colombia and Venezuela. The 'battle of the bands' pits Venezuela Live Aid, which is being organised by British billionaire Richard Branson, against Maduro's Hands Off Venezuela festival. Branson, after being approached by Guaido, is bidding to raise $100million in donations through 'Venezuela Aid Live' on the Colombian side of Tienditas bridge. On the other side of the crossing, closed off with freight containers, President Nicolas Maduro will hold 'hands off Venezuela' - a three day festival. Tensions are continuing to mount as the weekend approaches with Guaido adamant he will bring the supplies into the country on Saturday. The Tienditas bridge, is one of the conduits that he has targeted. Branson aims to raise $100 million in donations through his concert with big stars from the Spanish-speaking world scheduled to perform, and the presidents of Colombia, Chile and Paraguay vowing to attend. The government has not said who will perform on the Venezuela end of the bridge. That concert's slogan is 'Hands Off Venezuela.' 'All the artists that are going to sing in Colombia must know that they are committing a crime. They are endorsing a military intervention,' said Maduro. On Thursday he ordered the closure of Venezuela's border with Brazil - one of the main potential avenues for aid delivery - as part of the power struggle with Guaido over bringing in aid. Maduro said he was considering closing the border with Colombia, too. Guaido meanwhile was travelling in a convoy of vehicles to personally pick up US aid being stockpiled on the Colombian border, defying Maduro's military to stop him. Recognised as interim president by more than 50 countries, he left the capital Caracas in a convoy of vehicles with tinted windows for the 560-mile trip. The 35-year-old leader of the Venezuelan legislature proclaimed himself acting president January 23 and wants to oust Maduro, set up a transitional government and hold new elections. Maduro has accepted a shipment of medical equipment and supplies sent from Russia - while refusing similar aid from countries which oppose his rule Branson stands on stage with one of the organisers of the concert as he puts final preparations in place and the crowds arrive A woman walks towards the concert from San Antonio del Tachira, which is on the Venezuelan side of the border, in the hopes of being able to sneak across into Colombia Musicians including Latin rock star Juanes are due to perform at the concert which was dreamed up by Juan Guaido, Maduro's political rival who has been recognised by Western governments as the country's legitimate ruler The gig is aiming to raise $100million for food and medical aid for the south American nation which has seen its economy devastated under the rule of Nicolas Maduro Thousands of people arrived early Friday for a Venezuela Aid Live gig being hosted by British billionaire Richard Branson a few hundred yards across the border in neighbouring Venezuela Guaido scored important symbolic boosts on Thursday as 11 Venezuelan diplomats based in the US declared their support for him. Maria Teresa Belandria, Guaido's designated ambassador in Brazil, said 100 tons of food, medicine and emergency kits were waiting to be trucked from Boa Vista to Pacaraima on the Venezuelan border. Today, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the United States and its NATO allies of discussing how to arm the opposition in Venezuela and alleged Washington was deploying special forces and equipment near the South American nation. Moscow cited unspecified information to back its assertion about the plans to arm the opposition, but did not say what that information was or present it. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said a U.S. humanitarian aid convoy for Venezuela could provoke clashes and create a pretext for removing Maduro, a staunch Russian ally, from power by force. Meanwhile, Maduro - mirroring Guaido's move in an attempt to show his socialist government was able to look after its people - ordered a shipment of thousands of food boxes to be distributed to the needy along the Colombian border. He also announced on Thursday the arrival of another 7.5 tons of medicine and medical supplies from Russia. Shipments of food and medicine for the crisis-stricken population have become a key focus of the power struggle between Maduro and Guaido. Guaido, who says 300,000 people could die without an influx of aid, says he aims to rally a million volunteers to start bringing it in by Saturday. It remained unclear how he proposed to do so if the blockade continues, but experts have pointed to the notoriously porous 2,200 kilometer (1,360-mile) border, which is perforated by well-worn drug trafficking and contraband routes. Guaido said the planned entry points for aid were the Brazilian and Colombian borders, the island of Curacao and the seaports of Puerto Cabello and La Guaira. A shipping container blocking passage is placed on a road crossing ahead of the 'Venezuela Aid Live' concert sponsored by British tycoon Richard Branson at the Tienditas International Bridge Lawmaker members of the Venezuelan National Assembly and supporters of the Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido clash with security forces as they block the road on the outskirts of Mariara Humanitarian supplies sent by the US wait at the Tienditas International Bridge in the border city of Cucuta, Colombia Guaido, who says 300,000 people could die without an influx of aid, says he aims to rally a million volunteers to start bringing it in by Saturday Maduro is refusing to let US supplies in, arguing it would be the first step toward a foreign invasion. Instead, he has accepted Russian aid and reportedly sent missiles to the border The opposition says teams of volunteers will spread out to bring aid in through states bordering Colombia and Brazil and from the city of Falcon in the north which looks out to Curazao. Colombian police say there are some 30 clandestine border crossings into Venezuela. Venezuela's vice-president Delcy Rodriguez said the government was shutting down air and sea links between Curacao and Venezuela. The White House said Vice-President Mike Pence would visit neighboring Colombia on Monday in a show of support for Guaido. The US has repeatedly said 'all options,' including military, are on the table. But Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao dismissed US threats of military intervention in Venezuela as 'premature' and said it 'wouldn't make sense.' 'I think they're more in the realm of rhetoric than action,' Mourao said of the threats in an interview with AFP. A China Airlines pilot has been filmed taking a nap in the cockpit of his passenger jet mid-flight. The 30-second clip, filmed by the co-pilot, shows the Boeing 747 pilot slumping his head forward with his eyes closed while the aircraft was mid-flight. The pilot was identified as Weng Jiaqi, a senior officer for China Airlines, the national carrier of Taiwan, with almost 20 years' experience, according to media reports. The 30-second clip, filmed by the co-pilot, shows the Boeing 747 pilot slumping his head forward with his eyes closed while the aircraft was mid-flight The video surfaced just days after China Airlines pilots ended an unprecedented seven-day strike over issues such as pilot fatigue and long working hours. While it is not known when the incident took place, the airline responded saying that the clip was filmed before the recent strikes. Weng is said to be the airline's most senior Boeing 747 pilot, with nearly 20 years of experience flying mainly Tokyo, Okinawa, Seoul and Hong Kong. The chief pilot is also an instructor in charge of simulations at the China Airlines Flight Training Center. The video surfaced just days after China Airlines pilots ended an unprecedented seven-day strike over issues such as pilot fatigue and long working hours He is also an instructor in charge of simulations at the China Airlines Flight Training Center Facing accusations including ignoring flight safety procedures, the pilot is said to have 'received adequate punishment'. 'In this instance, the pilot himself voluntarily reported his inappropriate behaviour in the cockpit to China Airlines,' the carrier said in a statement to MailOnline. 'The co-pilot has also been reprimanded according to regulations. Flight safety is of paramount importance to China Airlines,' it added. 'Fatigue is inevitable. But as a senior officer, the pilot should have set a good example for his subordinates,' an unnamed China Airlines pilot told EBC News. 'If the pilot was really too tired, he should have alerted crew members and have them observe his condition,' he added. Guidelines state that pilots can sleep in the cockpit on longer flights in what is known as 'controlled rest', but typically the procedure would be done with the seat pulled back and the pilot nowhere near the controls. The unprecedented seven-day strike by China Airlines pilots officially ended last Thursday after the carrier and the Taoyuan Union of Pilots signed an agreement addressing complaints about overwork and pilot fatigue following four rounds of negotiations Taiwan's Civil Aviation Bureau states that if pilots have flown for more than 12 hours, they should be given at least 24 hours off. The unprecedented seven-day strike officially ended last Thursday after the airline and the Taoyuan Union of Pilots signed an agreement addressing complaints about overwork and pilot fatigue following four rounds of negotiations. They also reached consensus on transparent co-pilot training and promotion, as well as replacement of the airline manager in charge of labor relations. About 70 per cent of the carrier's 1,300 pilots belong to the union. The strike affected bout 200 flights and 25,000 passengers, according to Xinhua. American pop duo The Chainsmokers have slammed Australia's 'nanny state' for killing live music culture amid heated debate about how to deal with drug deaths at music festivals. Two New South Wales music festivals - Psyfari and Mountain Sounds - were cancelled within a week of each other earlier this month, blaming overly strict government regulations. Chainsmokers DJ Alex Pall said cracking down on music festivals was not the answer but instead called for greater education about the use of drugs in an interview with The Project on Friday evening. Scroll down video DJ Alex Pall (left) said cancelling music festivals was not the answer but instead called for greater education about the use of drugs in an interview with The Project on Friday evening Project Host Waleed Aly (right) brought up the controversial topic and welcomed The Chainsmokers' perspective The pop duo are in Sydney for the Ultra Music festival where they will perform at Parramatta Park, in the western suburbs, on Sunday. Project Host Waleed Aly brought up the controversial topic and welcomed The Chainsmokers' perspective as they frequently performed at music festivals across the globe. Speaking on behalf of the duo, Mr Pall said young people deserve the right to have drug-testing. 'I feel like when it comes to stuff like that, like obviously drugs aren't okay, you don't want your kids doing them, but you should have the choice to get it tested to be safe,' he said. 'Educating people about drugs and then giving people the option, in a safe way test whatever it is if that's what you decide you're gonna do.' Mr Pall said the solution was not cancelling festivals because it would only move the problem elsewhere. 'Not like cancelling music festivals altogether, because what I've understood from our friends in Sydney is things are just underground now. Which is like probably only worse,' he said. The 33-year-old compared the situation to America's drinking age of 21 - which 'kinda sucks'. The American pop duo (pictured) are in Sydney for the Ultra Music festival where they will perform on at Parramatta Park, in the western suburbs, on Sunday He explained that his British mother would rather have an open conversation about his drinking habits when he was younger instead finding out he had gotten drunk behind her back and suffered from alcohol poisoning. His music partner Andrew Taggart appeared to agree with Mr Pall's sentiments. Mr Pall also commented on Thursday evening's Don't Kill Live Music rally at Hyde Park where Sydneysiders gathered to take a stand against the government's crackdown on music festivals. 'I'm glad people were doing it because you should stand up, for live music and artistry in general,' he said. Many protesters were seen holding placards featuring NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian's face - who has faced heightened criticism after the introduction of strict festival rules. The Chainsmokers are seen greeting fans in Sydney ahead of performing at Ultra Festival on the weekend Two New South Wales music festivals - Psyfari and Mountain Sounds - were cancelled within a week of each other earlier this month. There is no suggestion anyone pictured used drugs The organisers of both events claimed the government's war on festivals was partially to blame. 'We, like many of you, have seen the festival climate continue to diminish in Australia. NSW in particular is in dire straits,' organisers of Mountain Sounds wrote in a statement. 'This is yet another example of the government's war on festivals.' Organisers of the Psyfari festival, which attracts 5,000 to the Blue Mountains every September, announced they were cancelling the event due to a government crackdown imposing 'excessive rules.' The cancellation of Psyfari came after six people have died in just four months at festivals due to suspected drug overdoses. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has repeatedly rejected pill testing, but indicated in January she would consider it if shown evidence it could save lives. Mr Pall also commented on Thursday evening's Don't Kill Live Music rally at Hyde Park where Sydneysiders gathered to take a stand against the government's crackdown on music festivals 'I'm glad people were doing it because you should stand up, for live music and artistry in general,' he said A spokesman for the New South Wales government told Daily Mail Australia: 'The Government is committed to ensuring festivals in NSW are run as safely as possible. 'A new music festival licence will commence from 1 March. 'Fees for the new licensing regime will in most cases amount to less than one dollar per ticket. 'This is a small price to pay to give families peace of mind that festivals are being run more safely.' The Chainsmokers are headlining Ultra Festival along with Martin Garrix, Adam Beyer and Marshmello, among others. They will play in Melbourne on Saturday before heading to Sydney. A man accused of killing his mother and aunt in Argentina meowed like a cat and urinated on the floor during bizarre court appearances in the lead up to his trial. Gilard Pereg, 36, is facing two charges of aggravated homicide after the mutilated bodies of his mother Lily Pereg, 53, and his aunt Pyrhia Sarusi, 63, were found in a shallow grave in the city of Mendoza on January 26. Dr Pereg, a microbiology professor from Australia, was in the country with her sister visiting Ms Sarusi's son when the pair disappeared. Pereg appeared in an Argentine court this week for his bail application hearing, where he displayed incredibly odd behaviour. Scroll down for video Gilard Pereg (pictured), 36, appeared in an Argentine court this week for his bail application hearing, where he displayed incredibly odd behaviour The bodies of Australian university professor Lily Pereg (left) and her Israeli citizen sister Pyrhia Sarusi (right) were found in Argentina, two weeks after they disappeared Pereg had applied for bail or home detention as he awaits trial, which is expected to begin later this year. He left a puddle of urine on the floor of the court where he had been sitting during questioning, the Mendoza Post reported. During the hearing he also claimed he had forgotten his age. Pereg later meowed like a cat when his bail application was denied on Thursday. Police prosecutor Claudia Rios had opposed bail based on the seriousness of the alleged crime and the risk Pereg could flee the country. An initial psychiatric assessment suggested mental illness was not a factor and should not prevent Pereg going to trial, the court heard. Pereg (pictured being arrested) is facing two charges of aggravated homicide after the mutilated bodies of his mother Lily Pereg, 53, and his aunt Pyrhia Sarusi, 63, were found in a shallow grave in the city of Mendoza on January 26 The court also heard that the assessment claimed Pereg manipulates information from the community and appears indifferent except when referring to his pets. Judge Sarmiento Judge Sarmiento has ordered Pereg pay $4 million pesos ($A143,000) and ruled that he will remain in custody for the duration of the trial. He will be placed in isolation at Mendoza's Boulogne Sur Mer Penitentiary until his trial. He must be monitored as he has threatened to kill himself if he is not reunited with his cats whom he refers to as his 'children'. Gilard Pereg, 36, has been charged with murdering his mother and aunt Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel choked back emotion as he blasted Empire actor Jussie Smollett for allegedly inventing a racist and homophobic attack in the city in order to boost his salary. 'I'm upset about what he said about the city and how he used the city,' Emanuel told CNN's Don Lemon on Thursday night. He accused Smollett of smearing Chicago as a city, but also placing doubt over genuine victims of hate and discrimination who will now fear coming forward because they might not be believed. 'You have put all those real stories at risk for your fake story, and that is not right,' Emanuel fumed. "Don't use your sexual orientation, don't use your race, and have everybody's sympathies come to you and it turns out none of that was true," says Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel about Jussie Smollett who police allege paid two men $3,500 to stage a racist and homophobic attack on him pic.twitter.com/rVmAJpzWeN Don Lemon Tonight (@DonLemonTonight) February 22, 2019 Rahm Emanuel vented his anger with Jussie Smollett on Thursday night, saying the actor had smeared Chicago but also genuine victims of hate and discrimination for his own ends Emanuel told Smollett to 'get an agent' if he wants a better paycheck, instead of 'putting doubt on' people who are genuinely victimized for their sexuality or race The Empire actor has vociferously denied inventing the racist and homophobic attack, and through his lawyers accused police of denying him the presumption of innocence The mayor spoke out hours after Smollett was arrested and Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson gave a press briefing accusing him of inventing an attack in the city on January 29. Johnson said Smollett knew alleged attackers Abel and Ola Osundairo and had paid them $3,500 to stage the attack, which he later claimed was carried out by two MAGA hat-wearing thugs who shouted racist and homophobic language. Prosecutors say he gave the brothers specific instructions about which words to use and how to rough him up but not hurt him too severely. Smollett allegedly took the brothers to the location where he wanted the attack to happen outside his apartment and even pointed to a surveillance camera he believed would capture it. Police say he plotted the attack after sending a hoax death threat to himself a week earlier, which did not garner the attention he was hoping for. Smollett vociferously denied the allegations after leaving custody on a $100,000 bond and returning to the Empire set Thursday, where he is said to have told his co-stars: 'Im sorry... I swear to God, I did not do this.' Smollett claims he was attacked by MAGA hat-wearing thugs in Chicago who poured bleach over him, hit him in the face and put a noose around his neck (injuries pictured left). He was arrested Thursday and accused of faking that attack (right) A sketch from inside court shows Smollett appearing before Cook County Judge John Fitzgerald to have his bond set. The judge said that if true, the claims are 'utterly outrageous' Chicago Police Department Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson tore into Smollett at a press conference on Thursday where he labeled him 'shameful' and 'despicable' His lawyers then issued a statement accusing police of 'trampling on the presumption of innocence' with their press conference. Emanuel was not buying the actor's story on Thursday night, however, saying Johnson was 'exactly right' in his condemnation. 'If you want to get paid more, get an agent,' he added, 'but don't use your sexual orientation, don't use your race and have everyone's sympathies come to you and it turns out none of that was true.' 'Some young man at school is going to be attacked, somebody at work is going to face discrimination, and everybody now is going to have two doubts about whether that is true.' His legal team later issued a statement calling Smollett 'a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence'. They said: 'Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system. The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election. 'Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.' 20th Century Fox have not yet decided whether to suspend or fire Smollett, who plays Jamal Lyon, the son of music mogul Lucious Lyon. The studio is said to be 'considering its options' in light of his arrest. Hours earlier they had said they stood by the 'consummate professional' and furiously denied claims he is being written out of the show, which is in its fifth season and returns to the air March 13. Prosecutors had earlier shared more details of his relationship with the two Nigerian brothers he allegedly paid to stage an attack on him in the hope that it would boost his profile. Police say Smollett met brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo through his work on Empire before paying the pair $3,500 to stage the attack Prosecutors say Smollett planned the attack after sending a fake death threat to himself which failed to garner the attention he was looking for Smollett was escorted out of the jail by two police officers. He stared at news cameras waiting for him outside and kept his hands in his pockets On January 25, Smollett allegedly texted Abel asking him when he was planning to go to Nigeria, a trip that had been prearranged. They were familiar with one another because Abel had once filled in as a character on Empire who was a love interest of Smollett's character, Jamal Lyon. Abel replied that he and his brother were leaving on January 29 to which Smollett replied: 'Might need your help on the low. 'You around to meet up and talk face to face?' That afternoon, they met up at the CineSpace studio and Smollett drove Abel home. During the car ride, he told him about his 'displeasure' over 20th Century Fox's reaction to the letter he allegedly sent himself days earlier. He said he wanted to stage an attack and suggested that Ola, Abel's younger brother, get involved. Once they got to the brothers' home, they summoned Ola outside and Smollett asked the pair if he could trust them. Smollett then allegedly laid out what he wanted them to do and gave them a $100 bill to buy ski masks, a red hat, gloves, rope and bleach to use. 'He stated that he wanted the brothers to catch his attention by calling him an Empire f****t Empire n****r. He detailed that he wanted Abel to attack him but not to hurt him too badly and give him a chance to fight back. 'He also included that he wanted Ola to place a rope around his neck, pour gasoline on him and yell: "This is MAGA country" and "Make America Great Again,"' a proffer that was released by the State's Attorney's office said. Police have found surveillance footage of the ride and have phone records which put Smollett in the area of the brothers home at the time. On January 27, he picked the brothers up from their home and drove them to where he wanted the attack to happen in the late morning. Jake (left), Jazz (rear center) and Jocqui Smollett are seen leaving Cook County court after watching Jussie bond out of jail Prosecutors speak to the media after Jussie was released from jail, laying out a detailed timeline of how they believe the actor faked his attack He warned them not to bring their cell phones with them and showed them a surveillance camera on the corner which he believed would capture the incident. Smollett drove the brothers home and provided them with a $3500 personal check made payable to Abel, which was backdated to January 23, 2019. He then flew to New York City to take part in a reading of a play. The attack was scheduled to take place at 10pm on January 28 but was set back several hours by Smollett's delayed flight from New York to Chicago on the day of the incident. His flight landed at 12.30am, January 29. At 12.49am, he called Abel and their conversation lasted three minutes. During this call, he instructed him to carry out the attack at 2am. Abel then ordered an Uber to pick the pair up at their home and take them to the crime scene. They took the Uber part of the way but then got out and hopped in a taxi to take them the remainder of the distance. At 1.22am, they arrived within three blocks of it. At 1.45am, Smollett left his apartment building to go to a Subway and the brothers made their way towards the intended spot. Smollett, however, was late. They did not cross paths until 2.04am which is when they carried out the attack. At the exact moment it was occurring, an NBC News employee was getting out of her car nearby. She told police later that she did not hear anything suspicious, despite Smollett alleging that the attackers yelled racial slurs. The attack only lasted 45 seconds and was 'just outside the view of the desired nearby camera that Smollett had pointed out to the brothers approximately 15 hours earlier.' The brothers then ran away on foot, heading southbound towards the Chicago River. They then got in a taxi at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Last week Jussie appeared on ABC where he tearfully denied inventing the attack, saying 'who the f*** would make that up?' Ola and Abel Osundairo were spotted on CCTV buying ski masks the day before the attack. Smollett gave them a $100 bill to pay for the bleach, ski masks, red hat and gloves that they used, according to prosecutors Fifteen minutes later, they got out of the cab a few blocks from their house. Two minutes later, at 2.27am, Smollett's manager reported it to police and police arrived at Smollett's apartment at 2.42am, 12 minutes later. Chicago Police Department Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson abhorred him as a 'troubled young man' who has 'taken advantage of the pain and anger of racism to further his career' by allegedly lying that he was attacked by racist and homophobic assailants on January 29. Smollett makes $100,000 per episode on Empire, according to an associate who spoke to DailyMail.com, and there are 18 episodes in the current season which earns him $1.8million. He also has a record deal with Columbia Records but, according to police, was 'dissatisfied' and wanted to boost his profile. When police learned that Smollett's motive was to get more money, it 'p****d everybody off', Superintendent Johnson said, adding that Smollett's repeated 'lies' were 'shameful' and 'despicable'. He called for 'absolute justice' which he said amounted to Smollett apologizing and offering to pay for the police resources he wasted. President Trump has also called for Smollett to apologize for making it appear as though he was being targeted by one of his supporters. A woman allegedly raked in more than $10,000 as she faked ovarian cancer for four years, conning her friends and colleagues. Jessica Marie Krecskay, 25, from Florence, Kentucky, reportedly shaved her head to appear as if she was undergoing chemotherapy, had colleagues clean her house and raise cash for her fake medical bills. Private charity bashes were held in Krecskay's honor with raffles and auctions raising thousands for the alleged swindler, who carried out the act from 2014 to 2017. Krecskay is alleged to have claimed she had ovarian cancer, which had spread and ravaged her body. Jessica Krecskay, 25, (left) alongside her former colleague Jessica Lunsford who said she spent time effort and tears on trying to help someone she believed had ovarian cancer Krecskay has been bailed on $2,500 bond pending her next court appearance on felony theft charges early next month She was caught out when colleagues say she was found 'unconscious' on the floor of the office. But when they looked at CCTV footage of the incident, they said Krecskay had been lying on the floor texting before the elevator beeped and she pretended to be passed out. 'The other girls at work would clean her house for her, take her out to eat all the time,' Jessica Lunsford told Fox 19. 'Gave their own sick time and vacation time hours to go towards her.' She was eventually confronted at work by her managers and stopped turning up. Pictures show Lunsford with Krecskay in hospital while she is wearing a beanie to cover her bald head. Lunsford wrote on Facebook: 'I am not by any means a cold hearted person and would help anyone I can but all the effort, time, and tears we all spent on this girl, I hope and pray she rots in jail!' Krecskay and Lunsford stand together in the office during Christmas celebrations, before she realized the alleged con Lunsford called her a 'sick child.' Police arrested her on felony charges of theft on Valentine's Day at her office and could face over ten years in prison if she is found guilty, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. She has been bailed on $2,500 bond and is expected to appear in court early next month. Today, the presidents of Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine will hold a meeting in Lublin, Poland. Andrzej Duda, Dalia Grybauskaite and Petro Poroshenko will discuss issues related to joint defense projects. Duda and Grybauskaite will hold separate talks on the creation of a joint council of defense ministers, airspace data exchange between the two states and the issue of uniting their military units within NATO. Then the Ukrainian president will join them. Petro Poroshenko doesn't come empty-handed to the neighbors. On the eve of his visit to Poland, the Verkhovna Rada approved the constitutional amendments, which established in the Fundamental Law of Ukraine a foreign policy doctrine of Kievs accession to NATO and the European Union. Petro Poroshenko, at the initiative of which the Ukrainian Constitution was amended, said that now they cannot get out of the pro-Western vector, since "this is our common task to apply for EU and NATO membership and obtain a NATO membership plan no later than 2023." Kiev's actions delighted its partners. Hence, Poroshenkos trip to his friends in Ljubljana is "not empty-handed". Poland and Lithuania, in turn, publicly and privately promise every assistance to Ukraine in joining NATO. In their opinion, it will also help Kiev in the confrontation with Moscow. Everything is clear and transparent - now the West is clapping everything directed against Moscow, and the three neighboring countries, which, by the way, periodically make claims to each other in the backstage, including territorial ones, "on the open stage" demonstrate friendship and good neighborliness cemented by anti-Russia sentiment. At this stage, the main line of Warsaw and Vilnius support for Kiev is transformation of Ukrainian Armed Forces to achieve NATO standards. This process is best provided by joint exercises, and this year the heads of three states plan to hold 25 such exercises, that is, several exercises every month! Apparently, the city of Lublin was not chosen by accident for holding the trilateral meeting, but taking into account some symbolism: a joint Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian brigade is stationed in this eastern Polish city. The meeting of the three leaders "against the background" of the joint grouping is intended to demonstrate the strength of the "triple alliance" and another demonstration of certain plans or intentions or just a position to the eastern neighbor. Before his visit to Lublin, Poroshenko submitted a plan to the Parliament for admission of foreign military personnel with weapons and equipment to participate in joint military exercises in the territory of Ukraine. The document also contains accompanying explanations that the measures taken are necessary to "ensure continued support at the appropriate level of Ukraine's defence capabilities, Ukrainian militarys preparedness, as well as of other military formations; in particular, conducting military exercises, improving the effectiveness of the national development programs of the Ukrainian armed forces in the general context of the states strategic foreign policy." According to sources in Kiev, the Verkhovna Rada will approve the draft law next week. The plan contains a pedantic enumeration of all 25 joint exercises, with a detailed indication of their venue and the number of servicemen - Ukrainian and foreign ones, as well as the number of weapons - Ukrainian and foreign ones. According to some experts, this kind of documents are usually not fully declassified, like Ukraine did in this case, but partly, and obviously, such openness of the Ukrainian side testifies not only to the commitment to new-fangled trends of ensuring so-called transparency, but also represents some kine of demonstration for Russia. The number of Ukrainian Armed Forces' participation in bilateral or multilateral exercises is unprecedented, that's indisputable. At the same time, some Ukrainian political scientists urge not to forget that the demonstrative nature of what is happening is most likely connected with the launch of Petro Poroshenko's election campaign, which is expected to be extremely difficult for him. Up to the point that as of now, according to various polls, the incumbent president may not reach the second-round vote, noticeably losing to showman Vladimir Zelensky and leader of Fatherland Yulia Tymoshenko. Political analyst Alexei Martynov said in an exclusive commentary for Vestnik Kavkaza that he see nothing new in the trilateral summit in Lublin, since the positions of Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania, their attitude to Russia is well known, as it is well known that friendship against someone usually doesn't end well. "It's the 21st century, but serious people start playing Zarnitsa-like games, as if there have no real problems. But its up to them. However, it would be nice for them to remember that they are at the head of the recently published anti-rating of politicians, with whom Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to communicate in the last place. And the absolute leader in the list is Petro Poroshenko, with whom the Russian president no longer speaks even by telephone. It is the time for the head of the neighboring state to think about why it happened, but it seems he does not need it. In this case, Moscow doesn't want it either," Alexey Martynov said. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is making sure his trip to Beijing is not just diplomatic and economic talks with senior officials, as he visited the Great Wall of China before meeting President Xi Jinping. The Saudi Royal is on a tour of Asia, and his visit to China follows trips to India and Pakistan, which send millions of laborers to Saudi Arabia and are seeking closer economic ties. Earlier on Friday he met with a Chinese vice premier in a bid to strengthen relations in the face of criticism from the West over the kingdom's human rights record and its war in Yemen. Mohammed BIN Salman : Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman poses for the camera at an unfortunate spot on the Great Wall of China Leaders meeting: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman speak to each other during their meeting on Friday Table talk: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman met with President Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Prince Mohammed held bilateral talks Friday with Han Zheng at the Great Hall of the People before presiding at a China-Saudi cooperation forum. That was followed by a ceremony to sign agreements including those on petroleum, the chemical industry, investment, renewable energy and anti-terrorism. Saudi Arabia is one of China's top crude oil suppliers and an important market for its exports, including military drones. The Crown Prince's visit comes five months after he came under intense pressure in the U.S. and elsewhere following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. In the U.S. Congress, criticism has also been building for months over the kingdom's handling of the war in Yemen, where it is accused of causing widespread casualties and suffering among civilians. Prince Tourist: The Crown Prince poses with the Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Li Huaxin for a keepsake photo The Saudi Royal is on a tour of Asia, and his visit to China follows trips to India and Pakistan So you can see it from the moon? The Royal and his Ambassador have a chat on the Great Wall China has refrained from faulting Saudi Arabia over such issues, in keeping with its long-held tradition of non-interference in other countries' affairs. For its part, Saudi Arabia has avoided criticizing China's authoritarian communist government over its treatment of its Muslim minority groups as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on religion and minority languages that includes the detention of an estimated 1 million Uighurs and others in internment camps. That's despite the ruling Al Saud family's image of itself as the defender of Muslims across the world and protector of Islam's two holiest shrines. The Saudi delegation, including top executives from Aramco, arrived on Thursday on an Asia tour that has already seen the kingdom pledge investment of $20 billion in Pakistan and seek additional investment in India's refining industry. Saudi Aramco, the world's top oil exporter, will sign a pact to build a refinery and petrochemical project in northeastern Liaoning province in a joint venture with China's defence conglomerate Norinco, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. The investments could help Saudi Arabia regain its place as the top oil exporter to China, a position Russia has held for the last three years. Saudi Aramco is set to boost market share by signing supply deals with non-state Chinese refiners. Radical Islamists could exploit the decision to strip Shamima Begum of her British citizenship, the Government's chief adviser on countering extremism has warned. Home Secretary Sajid Javid made the move after the teenager, who fled London aged 15 to join the so-called Islamic State caliphate in Syria, said she wanted to return to the UK with her newborn son. Independent adviser Sara Khan has cautioned that the Government must acknowledge the anxiety caused by the decision, with extremists being eager to 'exploit alienation and grievance'. 'While it is for courts to test the legality of decisions such as deprivation of citizenship, we have to also ask how measures such as this impact wider work on countering extremism,' she said. Counter-terrorism adviser Sara Khan fears the decision to strip ISIS bride Shamima Begum of her British citizenship could backfire and inspire radical Islamists The letter obtained by ITV News asks Begum's family to inform her of the decision to revoke her citizenship and her right to appeal it, which they will 'The Government has to recognise the unease felt by a wide range of people about decisions of this kind, not least those from minority communities with dual nationality. 'It has to build trust in its approach, because Islamist extremists will exploit alienation and grievance to turn people against their country.' The family of jihadi bride Shamima Begum have written to the Home Secretary challenging his decision to revoke her British citizenship. Sajid Javid blocked the 19-year-olds return earlier this week, saying she poses a risk to the countrys security. But in a letter to Mr Javid, her family have said they cannot simply abandon her and that her status is a matter for our British courts. Begum, who left east London to join Islamic State in 2015, has repeatedly begged from a Syrian refugee camp to be allowed to return home. She gave birth to a baby boy last Sunday and says that she wants to return to the UK with him. Her family, who live in Bethnal Green, said they are sickened by the comments she has made recently, but have asked for assistance in bringing her home. According to the BBC the letter, written by her sister Renu Begum on behalf of the family, says: As we have already expressed, we are sickened by the comments she has made, but, as a family man yourself, we hope you will understand that we, as her family cannot simply abandon her. We have a duty to her, and a duty to hope that as she was groomed into what she has become, she can equally be helped back into the sister I knew, and daughter my parents bore. We hope you understand our position in this respect and why we must, therefore, assist Shamima in challenging your decision to take away the one thing that is her only hope at rehabilitation, her British citizenship. The remorseless 19-year-old, pictured here in an interview in a Syrian refugee camp, says Britain should have 'sympathy' for her Begum's baby son Jerah is entitled to British citizenship - but could try to argue he is Dutch because of the nationality of its jihadi father Yago Riedijk. She is hanging her hopes on getting Dutch citizenship off the back of it Shamima Begum and her friend fled to Syria by flying to Istanbul and getting a bus across Turkey to the ISIS capital, Raqqa. She moved to Mayadin with her jihadi husband Yago Riedijk but fled Baghuz when he was captured and is now in al-Hawl It came as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was criticised after saying Begum should be allowed back into the UK and given the support that she needs. He accused Mr Javid of a very extreme manoeuvre in stripping her of British citizenship on the basis that she is entitled to live in Bangladesh because her parents were born there. Mr Corbyn said making Begum stateless is not the right thing to do. She had a lot of questions to answer but should be allowed to return to the UK and at that point any action may or may not be taken. He said: The idea of stripping anyone of their citizenship when theyre born in Britain is a very extreme manoeuvre. I question the right of the Home Secretary to have these powers. The UK must take back British jihadis in Syria or face the prospect of them making their own way back to carry out a wave of terror attacks, the head of the forces holding them said yesterday. Abdul Karim Omar, the de facto foreign minister in the Kurdish-held north of the country, said his Syrian Democratic Forces had done their duty by defeating Islamic State, and now Britain must play its part. In a stark warning, he said the baby of jihadi bride Shamima Begum and dozens of other children could become ticking timebombs if left in the Middle East. Mr Omar said there were around 1,500 children of IS fighters in northern Syrias refugee camps, along with 800 foreign fighters and 700 foreign wives. At least six British jihadis are being held in prisons, including two members of the notorious Beatles gang accused of beheading western hostages. UK intelligence agencies believe dozens of British women and their children are in three refugee camps. Mr Omar, joint head of foreign relations for the UK and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, warned many were likely to escape or be set free in fighting which will follow western forces leaving the country. He said: This region is not stable politically and militarily. If there is war and attacks, those fighters and their wives will come back to Britain and be terrorists. Not only the fighters but also the children. If they are not rehabilitated in their countries of origin they will be ticking timebombs. He added: We did our duty here in this region. These countries should do their duty as well and take their citizens and judge them and take their wives and children too. Britain should take responsibility for its citizens here. Two thrill-seeking surfers have exchanged blows in the water after they fought over an enormous wave brought on from Cyclone Oma. Video footage showed the two men sharing a huge wave along a beach at Kirra in the Gold Coast on Friday. After their surfboards nearly crossed paths, the wave took the pair of surfers under the water. Video footage showed the two men sharing a huge wave along a beach at Kirra in the Gold Coast on Friday As they came back to the surface, one of the men went to throw a punch at the other one, the 9 News footage shows. Under a volley of punches, the man sinks back and even has to duck his head back under the water to avoid the blows. The scuffle in the water comes even though residents along parts of the Queensland and NSW coasts have been warned to stay away from beaches as gale force winds whip up metre high waves. Already waves off the Sunshine Coast have been measured as high as 13 metres. The wild weather is feared to hold up throughout the week due to Cyclone Oma. Two thrill-seeking surfers have exchanged blows in the water after they fought over an enormous wave brought on from Cyclone Oma At this stage the cyclone has been downgraded to a category one system and is not expected to make landfall. Most computer models suggest Oma will get within 500km of south-east Queensland by Saturday, but the storm, dubbed 'Omageddon' on social media, remains highly unpredictable. '[It will turn] towards the north-west on the weekend. What happens beyond this remains difficult to figure out,' Weatherzone's Ben Domensino said. The Bureau of Meteorology has cancelled tropical cyclone flood watches, but will continue to track its movements. 'We will certainly continue to keep a close eye on this cyclone, until it no longer poses a threat,' BoM Queensland state manager Bruce Gunn said. Despite the weaker state of the weather system, beaches along parts of the Queensland and and far northern NSW coasts have been closed (pictured, crowds watch huge waves and surfers at Snapper Rocks on Thursday) A hazardous surf warning is in place from the Capricornia Coast right down to the New South Wales border 750km away, with huge swells of up to eight metres and abnormally high tides set to pummel the coast in the coming days (pictured, sand is blown while women take photographs at a beach on the Gold Coast) Despite the weaker state of the weather system, beaches along parts of the Queensland and and far northern NSW coasts have been closed. A hazardous surf warning is in place from the Capricornia Coast right down to the New South Wales border 750km away, with huge swells of up to eight metres and abnormally high tides set to pummel the coast in the coming days. Surf forecaster Ben Macartney said king tides and the relentless thrashing of Queensland's coast will spark the worst erosion in recent memory. 'It's phenomenal really. We are looking at an exceptional swell event,' Mr Macartney told The Courier Mail. 'It's going to get more chaotic and there will be a lot of water movement and damage to the coastline. It is easily our most severe erosion event in decades.' While the freak weather is enough to keep most people in doors, storm chasers have been urged to avoid going outside and indulging in a memorable selfie. Local Disaster Management chair Tom Tate warned amateur photographers who continue to gather at sand banks and rock walls along the coast to capture the terrifying conditions. Surf forecaster Ben Macartney said king tides and the relentless thrashing of Queensland's coast will spark the worst erosion in recent memory (pictured, a woman contends with gale force winds as she tries to hold her hair down on a beach at the Gold Coast) Local Disaster Management chair Tom Tate warned amateur photographers who continue to gather at sand banks and rock walls along the coast to capture the terrifying conditions (pictured, man struggles to stay on his feet as wind rips through a beach at the Gold Coast) 'Our emergency services staff, including City officers and the State Government, are making early preparations for any impact Cyclone Oma may have on our coastline,' he said. 'The last thing we need to be doing is coordinating a rescue because someone has been washed off a rock wall or the seaway. The message is simple: stay away. 'Don't put your life at risk, and the lives of the rescuers, just because you wanted to get a selfie of the waves off our coast. It isn't worth it.' Cruise firm operators have also had to re-route ships to alter schedules. Passengers on P&O's Pacific Dawn were supposed to arrive in Brisbane on Saturday, but are now waiting in sunny New Caledonia until the weather eases up. They experienced rough seas for the first three days of their cruise, which Ms Murnane said resulted in lots of sick people and a few injuries. 'We have noticed a fair few people getting off the boat today with their suitcases. So I'm assuming they are flying home,' passenger Nakayla Murnane said. Passengers on P&O's Pacific Dawn (pictured) were supposed to arrive in Brisbane on Saturday, but are now waiting in sunny New Caledonia until the weather eases up (pictured the Pacific Dawn) The Pacific Dawn was originally unable to dock in Noumea as per their itinerary, but due to the wild weather they're now spending 11 hours in the New Caledonia capital A cruise ship has been left stranded and passengers will have to stay another night at sea to avoid wild weather The Pacific Dawn was originally unable to dock in Noumea as per their itinerary, but due to the wild weather they're now spending 11 hours in the New Caledonia capital. Ms Murnane said the ship's captain was taking the necessary precautions and keeping all those onboard updated. 'We're experiencing five metre swells just outside of New Caledonia,' Ms Murnane said. 'Right now we are docked in Noumea until tonight. We haven't had a captain update since yesterday afternoon.' Ms Murnane said passengers have been told the earliest they will arrive in Brisbane in Tuesday, extending their trip by three days. 'P&O have become accommodating, have given the boat free internet to contact insurances and family,' the mother-of-two said. 'They have extended all drink packages free of charge and they have told us that any claims our insurance won't cover they will try and assist with the costs.' Kenya's High Court on Friday postponed a much-anticipated ruling on whether to scrap colonial-era laws which criminalise homosexuality, citing a heavy case load. The delay was met with dismay by Kenya's LGBT community and their allies, who have been anxiously awaiting a ruling on the petition, which was filed three years ago. Gay rights organisations are asking the court to scrap two sections of the penal code that criminalise homosexuality. One section states that anyone who has 'carnal knowledge... against the order of nature' can be imprisoned for 14 years. Another provides for a five-year jail term for 'indecent practices between males'. Kenyan LGBT activists is overwhelmed by emotions after the postponement of a court ruling on an anti-homosexual law at a court in Nairobi 'The files are above my height... we are still working,' said Chacha Mwita, one of the judges, who added that one of his colleagues was on leave and that the three-judge bench were juggling multiple cases. He set the decision for May 24. 'We plan to meet in April if all goes well and see whether we can come up with a decision. You do not appreciate what the judges are going through.' On social media Kenya's LGBT community and allies have been anxiously counting down the hours to the ruling. 'To say we are disappointed would be an understatement,' the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Council (NGLHRC), one of the petitioners, wrote on Twitter. enyan LGBT activists hold hands after the postponement of a court ruling on an anti-homosexual law A person is seen wearing a rainbow socks in court as activists waited to hear the ruling on whether to repeal section 162 of the Kenyan penal code that criminalizes same-sex relationships Lawyer and NGLHRC co-founder Eric Gitari said he nevertheless remained optimistic. 'We accepted the apology and give them more time. We have been at this thing since 2016 so three more months will not be too much wait,' said NGLHRC co-founder Eric Gitari. Activists believe Kenya has a chance to blaze a trail in Africa where homophobia is virulent in many communities, with similar laws in over half the countries on the continent. While convictions under the decades-old laws are rare, gay activists say the legislation is unconstitutional and fuels homophobic persecution. Imani Kimiri of the NGLHRC's legal team, told AFP her office dealt with 15 prosecutions under the laws in 2018, but cannot recall the last conviction - slamming the process as 'just a frustrating endeavour'. The petitioners argue that under Kenya's 2010 constitution every person is said to be equal before the law - a protection directly contradicted by the disputed sections of the penal code. Those who are blackmailed, evicted, fired, expelled from school, or assaulted over their sexual orientation, are unable to access justice because it means 'confessing to a crime', said Gitari . Miniature rainbow flags were recently handed out at a United Nations event in Nairobi Activists are optimistic of an eventual ruling in their favour, given recent decisions by the court. In March, the High Court banned forced anal testing of men suspected of being gay. And in September, a court ruled that 'Rafiki' (friend), a film about a lesbian love affair which was the first Kenyan movie to be shown at the Cannes film festival, could be screened domestically for seven days after its initial banning. 'For the LGTBQ community, a lot of individuals who came here were super excited and anticipating the ruling... because this is a historic and momentous judgement in Kenya,' said Brian Macharia of the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK), another petitioner. 'We have every confidence in the judicial system in Kenya to rule in favour of the constitutional rights of all citizens of Kenya regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.' Families of Bourke Street massacre victims have slammed the sentence handed to the mass murderer - which could see him walk free on parole. James Gargasoulas, 29, was sentenced to life in jail at Victoria's Supreme Court on Friday but will be eligible for parole in 2063 when he's 73-years-old. Gargasoulas used a stolen car to mow down pedestrians on the busy Bourke Street mall in Melbourne's CBD on January 20, 2017, claiming the life of six people. Scroll down for video Convicted murderer James Gargasoulas has been sentenced to life in jail with a non-parole period of 46 years after he ran over and killed six people The 29-year-old's victims included three-month-old baby Zachary Bryant, who was thrown 60 metres from his pram, and 10-year-old girl Tahlia Hakin. Gargasoulas injured dozens of others, knocking them to the ground and into walls while driving in a drug-induced psychosis. The non-parole period of 46 years is understood to be the longest handed down in Australia. But still victims of the tragedy claim the sentence was not drastic enough as dangerous murderers like Gargasoulas 'should never be allowed to roam freely'. 'The sentence is not harsh enough,' the families of five victims said in a joint statement. '(We hope) no one will ever have to suffer a similar fate as those who lost their loved ones.' Their lawyer Genna Angelowitsch said some relatives felt very disappointed by the sentence but remained dignified throughout the hearing. The lawyer who represented the families of the victims, Genna Angelowitsch (pictured), said some relatives felt very disappointed by the sentence but remained dignified throughout the hearing Gargasoulas used a stolen car to mow down pedestrians on the busy Bourke Street mall in Melbourne 's CBD on January 20, 2017, claiming the life of six people (pictured) 'Some feel that he shouldn't have been granted parole at all,' she said. 'They have a life sentence. They don't get parole from their grief.' In giving Gargasoulas six life sentences at Victoria's Supreme Court on Friday, Judge Mark Weinberg said the killings were 'one of the worst examples of mass murder in Australian history'. 'You made no attempt to avoid people or to slow down. You simply ploughed through them - quite deliberately,' the judge said. 'The horror of what you did has profoundly affected many. I must ensure that the public are adequately protected from you.' Judge Weinberg called Gargasoulas' actions 'both callous and cowardly' and said they had a shattering affect on countless lives. Judge Weinberg said Gargasoulas, who stood emotionless in the dock during sentencing, did not show genuine remorse for his actions Gargasoulas pleaded not guilty to killing Zachary, Tahlia, Ms Mudie, Mr Kanno, 25, Matthew Si, 33, and Bhavita Patel, 33. Pictured: A memorial for the victims He said Gargasoulas, who stood emotionless in the dock during sentencing, did not show genuine remorse for his actions. 'By your deliberate and wanton conduct, you murdered six young people, none of whom you knew, and none of whom had done any wrong,' the judge said. Family of the victims filled the Supreme Court as Gargasoulas was sentenced for his crimes. Grieving relatives recently told the court of their pain, with the brother of Japanese victim Yosuke Kanno saying he will 'continue suffering from this until I die'. Robyn Davis, the mother of victim Jess Mudie, said her daughter died three weeks before her 23rd birthday. 'Never in my wildest nightmares did I think I would have to bury one of my precious children,' she told a plea hearing in January. Zachary Matthew Bryant (pictured with his mother Nawwar) was left brain dead after the pram he and his sister Zara were in was struck by James Gargasoulas' stolen car in 2017 In a letter read to the court, Gargasoulas insisted he was not evil and blamed 'government oppression' for the murders. He also maintained he was the Messiah and acted on the wishes of God on the day of the massacre, but said he was in a 'bad headspace'. Gargasoulas pleaded not guilty to killing Zachary, Tahlia, Ms Mudie, Mr Kanno, 25, Matthew Si, 33, and Bhavita Patel, 33. But in November it took a jury less than an hour to unanimously find him guilty of the six murders and 27 counts of reckless conduct endangering life. An earlier jury found Gargasoulas, who suffers treatment-resistant paranoid schizophrenia, was fit to stand trial. Gargasoulas drove a maroon Holden Commodore into Bourke Street, Melbourne at lunch-time rush on January 20, 2017 In calculating the sentence, Justice Weinberg considered mitigating factors, like his relatively young age and chronic psychosis. The judge noted Gargasoulas was using 'ice' in the weeks before the attack and was on bail, 'ironically' meant to face court on the day of the massacre. 'I'm convinced, as were the jury, that you knew full well what you were doing,' he said. 'Whatever your state was during the offending - you are now genuinely psychotic. Your condition is not likely to improve in the forseeable future. It is likely to worsen.' Advertisement A pensioner broke down in tears today after his lifelong dream was realised when thousands joined him for a flypast in memory of ten Second World War heroes whose plane crashed as they tried to avoid him and his friends. Huge crowds applauded and cheered for Tony Foulds, 82, in emotional scenes as they gathered at Endcliffe Park in Sheffield to watch the aircraft pay tribute to the American crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress, nicknamed Mi Amigo. Mr Foulds was eight years old in February 1944 when he witnessed the fireball crash in the park 75 years ago - claiming the lives of ten US airmen - as the pilot tried to avoid him and his friends. He has dedicated seven decades of his life to the memory of the airmen he never met, spending up to six days a week tending the memorial to them. Mr Foulds said: 'It's more than bravery, what they did. They saved me.' The salute - including F-15E Strike Eagles from the USAF and an RAF Typhoon - was arranged after BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker met Mr Foulds during a walk in the park six weeks ago and started a social media campaign. Walker used the hashtag #GetTonyAFlyPast, which also caught the attention of the Americans - and soon after Mr Foulds was told on live TV that his dream would come true - changing the hashtag to #TonyGotHisFlyPast. Walker, who was watching from Tanzania where is working with Comic Relief, was left in tears as he watched on TV. This morning, #TonyGotAFlyPast was top trend on Twitter in the United Kingdom after the flypast took place. An emotional Tony Foulds wipes away tears from his eyes as the military flypast comes over Endcliffe Park in Sheffield today Mr Foulds has spent much of his life treating a memorial to the airmen whose plane crashed in front of him in 1944 Mr Foulds (centre), 82, is applauded by Megan Leo (left), cousin of airman Melchor Hernandez, and Jim Kriegshauser (right), nephew of John Kriegshauser, who both died in the Mi Amigo crash, at Endcliffe Park in Sheffield this morning Mr Foulds watches from Endcliffe Park in Sheffield, as warplanes from Britain and the US stage a flypast tribute today Thousands of people turned out at Endcliffe Park in Sheffield for the pensioner to see his lifelong dream fulfilled today A Hercules leading an Osprey is seen over Endcliffe Park in Sheffield for the emotional flypast this morning Mr Foulds waves from Endcliffe Park in Sheffield as warplanes stage a flypast tribute to ten US airmen 75 years after he witnessed the crash that killed them. He is pictured with Megan Leo (left), cousin of airman Melchor Hernandez A Battle of Britain Dakota plane takes part in the flypast over Endcliffe Park in Sheffield this morning Mr Foulds waits at Endcliffe Park in Sheffield today ahead of seeing his lifelong dream of a flypast over his memorial fulfilled Dan Walker, who helped arrange the flypast, could not attend today because he is in Tanzania, but admitted he 'couldn't talk' while watching it on TV Today, Walker admitted he 'couldn't talk' during the flypast, and Mr Foulds waved at the planes as they performed the remembrance act. Many people had gathered with picnics and some wore Second World War uniforms. Veterans could be seen in the park wearing medals, and coffee stalls and sandwich vans were enjoying a brisk trade on the cold but clear morning. How a chance meeting with Dan Walker gave Tony Foulds his flypast Six weeks ago, Tony Foulds was spotted caring for the memorial by BBC presenter Dan Walker who was walking his dog through Endcliffe Park in Sheffield. Mr Foulds, who suffers from a severe tremor that makes his hands shake uncontrollably, has devoted much of his time to keeping the area clean and planting flowers. Walker could not attend the flypast today because he is in Tanzania, but admitted he 'couldn't talk' while watching it on TV He told Mr Walker the touching story, and explained how it would be his dream to see a military flypast at the park to pay tribute to the men. The presenter then started a Twitter campaign to pay tribute to the men, telling users about Mr Foulds's story and saying: 'He doesn't want a medal. All he wants is a fly-past on the 75th anniversary on the 22nd Feb 2019. Can anyone help?' Walker used the hashtag #gettonyaflypast, which also caught the attention of the Americans - and soon after Mr Foulds was told on live TV that his dream would come true - changing the hashtag to #tonygothisflypast. Mr Walker said: 'We had to help. Within 48 hours I had spoken to the US embassy and top-ranking officials at both the US Air Force and the RAF.' He added that the story has 'struck a chord' with many people, and said the Breakfast team had been working 'flat out' to make the flypast happen. Walker could not attend because he is in Tanzania with Comic Relief, but 'couldn't talk' while watching it on TV. Advertisement Shortly before the flypast started, Mr Foulds said: 'This is not for me, it's for them - my lads. They're family, they are family to me.' Overcome by emotion, he wiped away tears as he reacted to the flypast. He said: 'Thank you, I can't believe all this. This is unbelievable to me.' A crowd of thousands of people cheered following the flypast, with a clear day meaning the audience had a good view of the planes flying over. Speaking earlier on BBC Breakfast, Mr Foulds told the crowds: 'Thank you very much for coming, it's lovely see you. I can't wait to get among you.' The programme also showed footage of Mr Foulds meeting the families of some of the airmen who lost their lives in the crash 75 years ago. He said: 'I never thought I would ever meet any of the families of this pilot and crew.' The pensioner described them as 'lovely, lovely people'. And Mr Foulds told Charlie Stayt and Steph McGovern on BBC Breakfast today: 'Thank you very much, I can't believe it. Yorkshire people, this is what they're like. 'It started off as more or less nothing, and to see how many people have actually looked and taken note - it's for these lads (the ten airmen). 'Dan (Walker) wouldn't tell me nothing (about today's memorial). I have no idea what's happening. He's kept it away from me as usual.' Speaking to the crowd, he said: 'Thank you very much for coming, it's lovely to see you - can't wait to get among you.' Mr Foulds broke down in tears on BBC Breakfast as the names of the 10 airmen were read out at the memorial. The Last Post was also played. Mr Foulds had previously said of the airmen: 'If it hadn't have been for them, I wouldn't be here with my family. It's more than bravery, what they did. They saved me, and I mean saved me.' Speaking from Tanzania, Dan Walker told Mr Foulds: 'The last six weeks have been remarkable from my point of view. Four F-15 jets fly over Endcliffe Park in Sheffield today as part of the 75-year anniversary of the Mi Amigo plane crash. The planes are seen in a missing man formation - where one pilot flies up ahead of the rest. It is an aerial salute performed as part of a flypast of aircraft at a funeral or memorial event Two RAF Typhoons during the military fly past over Endcliffe Park in Sheffield today, 75 years after the crash in 1944 Mr Foulds with BBC Breakfast presenter Steph McGovern at Endcliffe Park in Sheffield this morning ahead of the flypast Thousands of people gathered at Endcliffe Park ahead of the flypast this morning, with many wanting a picture with Mr Foulds Mr Foulds meets people who have come to watch the memorial flypast at Endcliffe Park in Sheffield this morning Cadets wait for the flypast in Sheffield today. Mr Foulds has spent much of his life treating a memorial to the airmen who died A young girl waves the American flag ahead of the flypast at Endcliffe Park in Sheffield this morning to remember the airmen A young boy wearing a Sheffield Wednesday jacket holds the Union Jack ahead of the flypast in the city this morning A close-up of a United States Air Force WWII B-17G Flying Fortress bomber. Huge crowds applauded and cheered for Tony Foulds, 82, in emotional scenes as they gathered at Endcliffe Park in Sheffield to watch the aircraft pay tribute to the American crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress Planes taking part in the flypast today F-15E Strike Eagles , from RAF Lakenheath , from RAF Lakenheath KC-135 Stratotanker MC-130J Commando II CV-22 Osprey , from RAF Mildenhall , from RAF Mildenhall Typhoon , from RAF Coningsby , from RAF Coningsby Dakota , from RAF Coningsby Advertisement 'From you and I meeting on a dog walk in the park in the first week of January to me asking how you were - that's how it all started - you telling me this unbelievable story and saying you'd love a flypast for the 75th anniversary, and here we are now. 'I know you jokingly asked everybody for a tenner who are there at the park today, but it's not about the money, it's never been about you. 'Tony, it's always been about those ten men who you think saved your life 75 years ago.' Mr Foulds replied: 'I know they've saved my life, I didn't just think it - they did. If it hadn't been for them, I wouldn't be here for my family.' He added: 'It's strange - I can't believe this, this is unbelievable.' Tony Foulds, 82, is pictured on Wednesday ahead of the Mi Amigo memorial flypast over Endcliffe Park in Sheffield today Mr Fouls has spent decades tending to the memorial dedicated to ten American airmen who died in a crash 75 years ago The memorial is dedicated to 10 American airmen who died when their plane crashed in front of Mr Foulds in February 1944 Mr Foulds was eight years old in February 1944 when he witnessed the Mi Amigo crash and explode in the park The pilot apparently tried to avoid Mr Foulds and his friends when he crashed in Sheffield in February 1944 Mr Foulds said he and the other children were in the park in 1944 because boys from two rival junior schools were fighting The salute was arranged after BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker met Mr Foulds during a walk in the park six weeks ago and started a social media campaign. They are pictured together on the programme on January 22 The wreckage of the Mi Amigo at Endcliffe Park in Sheffield on February 22, 1944 following the fatal crash The ten airmen who died, from back row: Robert Mayfield, Vito Ambrosio, Harry Estabrooks, George Williams, Charles Tuttle, Maurice Robbins Front Row: John Kriegshauser, Lyle Curtis, Melchor Hernandez, John Humphrey The ten US airmen killed in February 1944 crash Pilot : Lieutenant John G. Kriegshause, 23, from St. Louis, Missouri Co-pilot : 2nd Lieutenant Lyle Curtis of Idaho Falls Navigator : 2nd Lieutenant John W. Humphrey of Wyoming, Illinois Bombardier : 2nd Lieutenant Melchor Hernandez of Los Angeles, California Radio operator : Staff Sergeant Robert Mayfield of Raymond, Illinois Waist gunner : Sergeant Vito Ambrosio of Brooklyn, New York Flight engineer and top turret gunner : Staff Sergeant Harry Estabrooks of Mound Valley, Kansas Waist gunner : Sergeant George M. Williams of Faxon, Oklahoma Ball turret gunner : Sergeant Charles Tuttle of Raceland, Kentucky Rear gunner : Sergeant Maurice Robbins of Manor, Texas Advertisement Mr Foulds said he and the other children were in the park 75 years ago because boys from two rival junior schools were fighting. He said the Mi Amigo approached low from the Nether Edge area of the city in an obviously bad way, with only one engine, and the crew would have seen the large expanse of grass as a possible landing place. But when the pilot, Lieutenant John Kriegshauser, saw the children, he decided to circle. Mr Foulds said that when the bomber came round again, the pilot was waving his arms as a warning but, as they did know what he meant, they just waved back. He said the bomber crashed after it came round for a third time, just missing the roofs of nearby houses. Mr Foulds said: 'Because we were still there, he had to make a decision - 'Shall I land on there and hope I don't hit these kids or try and get over the trees with this one engine?'. 'Of course, he tried to get over the trees. The engine failed and it dropped straight into the ground.' Asked why he devotes his life to the men's memory, Mr Foulds said: 'Because they saved my life. I wouldn't have been here if it hadn't been for them.' He said: 'They're my family.' Speaking last week about the memorial, the pensioner said: 'I can't put into words how I feel. I am going to be in tears all day, there's no doubt about that.' Aircraft that took part included F-15E Strike Eagles from RAF Lakenheath; a KC-135 Stratotanker, a MC-130J Commando II and a CV-22 Osprey from RAF Mildenhall, as well as a Typhoon and a Dakota from RAF Coningsby. Lieutenant Andrew Knighten, the weapons systems officer in one of the F-15E Strike Eagles taking part in the salute said on Wednesday: 'It's pretty humbling, honestly, just for everyone that's gone before us and for us to get to fly over and just honour them.' A four-ship of F-15E Strike Eagles also flew over Cambridge American Cemetery, where three of the Mi Amigo crew are interred, on the way back to base. Speaking to the Press Association following the flypast at Endcliffe Park, Mr Foulds said of the airmen: 'They've done this, and they're as happy as anything now.' He added: 'It's taken 75 years for them to be remembered and what a day, what a day to remember them.' Mr Foulds said that his only wish now is to travel to the United States to meet some of the crew's families. How US pilot saved Tony and his friends from death Lieutenant John Kriegshauser, a 23-year-old pilot from St Louis, Missouri, was on his 15th mission on February 22, 1944 - and on board with him were nine young men from every corner of America. The mission was a daring daylight raid on the Aalborg airfield in occupied Denmark, a key fighter base that protected Germany from Allied bombers. Mi Amigo was hit in the attack and limped back across the North Sea, trying to get to a base in Chelveston, Northamptonshire. But the weather was poor. When the plane broke through the clouds looking for somewhere to land, it was over Sheffield, 80 miles north west. Tony Foulds was eight years old and had gathered with other children for a schoolyard brawl at Endcliffe Park, an oasis of green surrounded by terraced houses. After five years of war, including German attacks on Sheffield's steel and armaments plants, the boys were accustomed to hearing planes. But the sound of this aircraft wasn't right - with one engine working, spitting oil and daylight visible through the tail. The pilot circled when he saw the stretch of green, and waved his arms at the children. They waved back. Years later, Mr Foulds realised he was trying to get them to run out of the way. The plane circled three times, the last time coming in so low it was just above the houses' chimneys. The pilot could have tried to land on the green, but he didn't. He turned his plane into the nearby woods, tried to rev up his only working engine and failed to gain altitude. The plane crashed and there were no survivors. Mr Foulds has been wracked by guilt ever since, over why he could go on with his life, to have children and grandchildren, when the men on that plane were not. Advertisement Wreaths tribute to Mi Amigo crewmen buried in American cemetery Wreaths have been laid at the graves of three American airmen who died when their plane crashed over Sheffield in 1944. Three of the 10 crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress, Mi Amigo, are interred at Cambridge American Cemetery. The seven other crew members who died have been repatriated. The headstones of Staff Sergeant Harry W Estabrooks, Sergeant Maurice D Robbins and Sergeant Charles H Tuttle were dressed on Friday with sand from Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. The grave of Staff Sergeant Harry Estabrooks is decorated with sand from Omaha beach in Normandy at the Cambridge American Cemetery today John McCarthy from the Royal British Legion pays his respects at the grave of Sergeant Maurice Robbins at the Cambridge American Cemetery today An American and British flag was positioned by each of the three graves, along with a photograph of each crew member. Wreaths were laid at each grave simultaneously as a memorial flypast soared over Endcliffe Park in Sheffield. The ceremony was attended by local Royal British Legion members, who had the wreaths specially made after they were contacted by a branch in Sheffield. Kevin Swann, secretary of the Sawston and Pampisford branch in Cambridgeshire, said: 'It's a fitting tribute to the men but it's also paid tribute to all who lost their lives and are buried on this site, and to the 1.6 million American service personnel that were over in this country during the Second World War.' Four USAF F-15 Strike Eagle jets fly over the graves of three US aircrew buried at the Cambridge American Cemetery today A man pays his respects at the grave of Sergeant Charles Tuttle at the Cambridge American Cemetery this morning The 69-year-old said the branch was 'only too pleased' to help with tributes. Cambridge American Cemetery is the only Second World War American Cemetery in Britain. It honours almost 9,000 American servicemen and women who lost their lives during the conflict, with 3,000 buried at the cemetery and more than 5,000 remembered on the Wall of the Missing. A four-ship of F15E Strike Eagle jets from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk was due to fly over Cambridge American Cemetery as the planes returned to base from Sheffield. Four men dubbed the 'tinnie terrorists' have been jailed for plotting to sail a fishing boat from northern Australia to help overthrow the Philippines government. Paul Dacre, 33, Antonino Granta, 28, Kadir Kaya, 24, and Murat Kaya, 28, were part of a six-man team who wanted to bring Islamic law to the country in May 2016. Influenced by Islamic preacher Robert 'Musa' Cerantonio, they hatched a plan to sail north so Cerantonio could encourage others to overthrow the Filipino government. Murat Kaya (pictured), now 28, could be free as early as next Wednesday after spending more than 1000 days in custody over plans for five men to sail to the southern Philippines in a small fishing vessel While Dacre, Granta and Kadir Kaya (pictured) were each sentenced to four years in jail with a three-year non-parole period, Murat Kaya was only given a three year and eight months jail sentence Four men dubbed the 'tinnie terrorists' have been jailed for plotting to sail a fishing boat from northern Australia to help overthrow the Philippines government (pictured, Antonino Granta) They intended to secretly sail to the Phillipines as none of them had valid Australian passports. None of them had any boating experience either. While Dacre, Granta and Kadir Kaya were each sentenced to four years in jail with a three-year non-parole period, Murat Kaya was only given a three year and eight months jail sentence. He could be free as early as next Wednesday after spending more than 1,000 days in custody. Supreme Court Justice Michael Croucher said he believed allowing their release on parole at the earliest possible opportunity would foster rehabilitation and better protect the community in the long-term. If the attorney-general supports that view, Murat Kaya could be released as early as February 27 - next Wednesday - and Dacre, Granata and Kadir Kaya from May 10 this year. Murat Kaya was arrested in terror raids in Melbourne in May 2016, shortly after the arrest of his younger brother Kadir Kaya, associates Paul James Dacre, Antonio Alfio Granata, Shayden Jamil Thorne and ringleader Robert 'Musa' Cerantonio. They were picked up by Australian Federal Police driving near Cairns, towing a seven-metre fishing boat they intended to sail from Cape York in what Justice Croucher on Friday predicted would have been a 'doomed voyage'. Murat Kaya had originally intended to travel with them, but pulled out and was not part of plans the men had for their wives and children to later join them. All six pleaded guilty to a charge of engaging in conduct in preparation for incursions into foreign countries for the purpose of engaging in hostile activities, aiming to overthrow the Philippines government. Thorne was the last to plead guilty, on Friday morning, meaning the previous confessions of his co-conspirators could be made public. He is due to face a pre-sentence plea hearing next week. Cerantonio, described by Justice Croucher as the 'charismatic and persuasive' ringleader, will face a plea hearing in March. Influenced by Islamic preacher Robert 'Musa' Cerantonio (pictured), the 'tinnie terrorists' hatched a plan to sail north so Cerantonio could encourage others to overthrow the Filipino government Murat Kaya was arrested in terror raids in Melbourne in May 2016, shortly after the arrest of his younger brother Kadir Kaya, associates Paul James Dacre, Antonio Alfio Granata, Shayden Jamil Thorne (pictured) and ringleader Robert 'Musa' Cerantonio Police tapped into Chicago's vast network of surveillance cameras - and even some homeowners' doorbell cameras - to track down two brothers who later claimed they were paid by 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett to stage an attack on him, the latest example of the city's high-tech approach to public safety. Officers said they reviewed video from 55 cameras to trace the brothers' movements before and after the reported attack, determining where they lived and who they were before arresting them a little more than two weeks later. Smollett reported being beaten up by two men who shouted racist and anti-gay slurs and threw bleach on him. But his story fell apart when Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo - bodybuilders and aspiring actors whom Smollett knew from the 'Empire' set and the gym - told police that Smollett paid them $3,500 to stage the attack because he was unhappy with his salary and wanted to promote his career. Scroll down for video Police put their case together by working backwards from surveillance footage of the two brothers that was taken on the night of the attack (above) near the spot where Smollett allegedly told them to be Surveillance footage from businesses and private residences was also used to put it together including the footage taken inside a store on January 28 which shows the brothers buying the items they used Smollett was arrested Thursday and made his first court appearance. He was later released after posting the required 10 percent of the $100,000 bond. HOW THE ATTACK WAS PUT TOGETHER January 22: Jussie Smollett receives a letter at the CineSpace studio which threatens his life and has 'MAGA' written on it in red pen. He reports it to police January 25: Smollett sends a text to Abel Osundairo asking him when he is going to Nigeria and if they can meet up face-to-face Abel goes to the studio where he is working and Smollett drives him home. During the ride, he said he was 'displeased' with the reaction to the letter. Once at their home, Abel's brother Ola gets in the car and Smollett tells them what he wants them to do. He gives them a $100 bill to buy the goods they will need to fake the attack January 27: Smollett picks the brothers up then drives them to the spot where he wants them to fake the attack. He then goes to New York. January 28: Smollett is in New York City for a reading of the play Take Me Out. The brothers are filmed buying ski masks, a red hat and gloves January 29 - Day of attack The attack was due to take place at 10pm on January 28 but because Smollett's flight was delayed, it was pushed back. 12.30am: Smollett arrives back in Chicago 12.49am: He calls Abel Osundairo and they talk for three minutes Abel orders an Uber minutes later. 1.22am: The brothers arrive in the area of the attack 1.45am: Smollett leaves his building to go to Subway 2.04am: The attack takes place in the arranged location 2.10am: Brothers get a taxi from a hotel nearby 2.25am: The brothers arrive back in their neighborhood in a taxi 2.27am: Smollett's manager calls the police 2.42am: Police arrive at Smollett's building and he asks them to turn off their body cameras 7.45pm: Smollett calls Abel. The conversation lasts five seconds. 7.47pm: Abel calls back and they speak for 1 minute 34 seconds. The brothers then board their flight. January 30, 10:46am: Smollett calls Abel who is by now in Istanbul, Turkey. They speak for 8 minutes and eight seconds. Advertisement Police Commander Edward Wodnicki, who heads the detective division that led the investigation, credited the camera network but also residents who shared information from their own cameras for helping to solve the case. 'That was super useful in this investigation,' he said of residents' cooperation. 'The city came together to investigate and help the police with this crime.' The search went beyond surveillance cameras to include other electronic records. Detectives also reviewed in-car taxi videos, telephone logs, ride-share records and credit card records, according to a summary of the case released by prosecutors. The biggest break in their case came from the fact the brothers ordered an Uber to pick them up from their home and take them to At first, police were puzzled when they could not find footage of the attack, which Smollett said occurred around 2 a.m. on Jan. 29 while he was walking home from a Subway sandwich shop. Chicago has the most extensive video surveillance network in the U.S., with access to more than 32,000 cameras mounted on buildings, poles, train tunnels and buses - and even in businesses and private residences whose owners agree to opt into the system full-time. What's more, authorities can track someone by linking those cameras at a sophisticated emergency command center, police stations or even from tablets in officers' squad cars. Police say Smollett deliberately staged the attack in a spot where he believed it would be captured on video, but 'that particular camera wasn't pointed in that direction,' Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Thursday. But police soon found footage of two men walking in the area of the attack and interviewed more than 100 people seeking witnesses. Using 35 police cameras and more than 20 private-sector cameras, investigators were able to trace the men's movements after the attack, including footage of them getting into a cab, Wodnicki said. Detectives interviewed the cab driver, got video from inside the vehicle and followed it along a trail of cameras to the city's North Side, where the brothers got out and began walking. The private footage offered by residents included video from cameras embedded in doorbells that showed the men walking, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. After that, police tracked the men's movements 'backward to where they came from' before the attack, Wodnicki said - first walking, then to a cab and back to a ride-share car. 'That was the lead we needed to identify a person of interest,' Wodnicki said. 'We were able to put a name to both individuals.' Jussie Smollett is shown in his mugshot on Thursday morning. The Empire actor handed himself in at 5am on charges of filing a false police report. Police now say he concocted the fake attack because he wanted a raise Police found out the men had flown to Nigeria the same day as the reported attack and would return on Feb. 13. In the meantime, police executed more than 50 search warrants and subpoenas, including for phone and social media records. The Osundairos were arrested when they got off the plane. Within two days, they were released without charges after detailing the alleged plot orchestrated by Smollett. Although the camera network - which has raised privacy concerns among some civil liberties groups - was key, it was only one part of the investigation, Guglielmi said. 'Then they just did the police work,' he said. 'It was a lot of digging.' A conservative activist who was assaulted on the University of California-Berkeley campus has spoken out. Hayden Williams spoke with Fox News' Sean Hannity on Thursday night, still sporting a black eye from the violent attack that occurred while he was recruiting for Turning Point USA on Tuesday. Williams said that he at the recruiting table speaking with a Berkeley student who expressed interest in the group, when two men stormed up behaving 'erratically' and began swearing. He said that the attacker expressed outrage over a sign at the table that read 'hate crime hoaxes hurt real victims,' a reference to allegations that actor Jussie Smollett staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in Chicago. 'This person said we were promoting violence on campus and proceeded to take his aggression out on us,' Williams said of the attacker. Hayden Williams spoke with Sean Hannity on Thursday night, still sporting a black eye from the violent attack on Tuesday on the UC-Berkeley campus Video from the incident shows Williams (left) being confronted by a violent attacker who punched him in the face as he was recruiting for a conservative student group Police are seeking information on the attacker (above) who punched the campus activist The conservative activist said he had witnesses who would verify that he did nothing to instigate the attack, and that he began filming within seconds of being approached by the attacker. The video shows the man who attacked Williams shouting: 'Mother f**ker. You racist little inbred b***h. C**t!' At one point, he also threatened to 'shoot' Williams. Williams said that as the attack unfolded, a number of people simply stood by and watched. 'Some students nearby tabling were laughing, even one guy was smiling while I was being attacked and trying to hand me his flyer as a joke,' he told Campus Reform. 'The idea is free speech has consequences.... which include you getting assaulted if they find you promoting ideas others don't agree with.' Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point, a campus group devoted to limited government and free markets, said that the incident highlighted a double standard. 'Imagine if the attacker was wearing MAGA hat, would be national news! This is the violent left!' Kirk wrote on Twitter. Williams (left) is seen 'tabling' at UC-Berkley on another occasion last summer The incident drew notice from several conservative figures with national profiles. 'When a liberal like Jussie cries wolf and fakes an attack he receives unmatched coverage, sympathy & support creating a tsunami of attention,' wrote Don Trump Jr on Twitter. 'When a conservative student literally gets punched in the face and its caught on video it barely makes a ripple.' Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, wrote: 'This is abhorrent behavior against free speech on campus. No form of violence is acceptable!' Williams was helping Turning Point USA, but he is not actually a member of the group. Williams is campus representative for Leadership Institute, which runs Campus Reform, the website that first reported on the incident. Guillermina Castro, a UC-Berkeley freshman, told Fox News that she was spearheading the drive to create a Turning Point chapter on campus, and that Williams was helping her by manning the table while she was in class. She said she was shocked to return to find the flyers on the table ripped up and Williams nursing his injured eye. Williams (second from right) is seen running a table to speak to students in September Castro said that when she tweeted about the incident, she received a flood of messages applauding the attack, and accusing her of being a 'white supremacist.' 'I said 'Wait, I'm Latina!' she said. UC-Berkeley campus police said in a statement that the attack took place at 3.29pm on Upper Sproul Plaza. Police said that there were two men who approached the table and confronted the alleged victim. 'A physical confrontation ensued when one of the two men slapped the phone out of the victims hand,' the police statement said. .The suspect then knocked over the table the victim was at and the two men struggled over the phone. During the incident, the suspect punched the victim several times causing injury to the victims eye and nose.' Anyone with information on the suspect is urged to contact campus police investigators at 510-642-6760. A man has been charged after stealing up to $80,000 worth of goods from flood-ravaged homes in Townsville. The 57-year-old man was charged with two counts of stealing after police executed a search warrant at a Mount Lousia home on Thursday. Police found a large quantity of alleged stolen property including leather furniture, dining tables, dining suites, beds, fridges and washing machines inside a shipping container. A man has been charged after stealing up to $80,000 worth of goods from flood-ravaged homes Police found a large quantity of alleged stolen property including leather furniture, dining tables, dining suites, beds, fridges and washing machines (pictured) The man allegedly stole the property - with an estimated value between 50 and 80 thousands dollars - from homes in Townsville between February 1 and February 21. He allegedly took the stolen property from the yards of homes and businesses that had been impacted by the Townsville floods. The items were often left lying in the front yards to dry. Officers were alerted to the stealing on Thursday morning after a member of the public reported him allegedly stealing from a home in Idalia. The 57-year-old Townsville man was charged with two counts of stealing after police executed a search warrant at a Mount Lousia home on Thursday Officers were alerted to the stealing on Thursday morning after a member of the public reported him allegedly stealing from a home in Idalia He allegedly took the stolen property from the yards of homes and businesses that had been impacted by the Townsville floods They visited the scene and arrested the man in the front yard of a home on Summerlake Court. Tactical Services Group Inspector Sean Dugger said the crime was a low-blow to residents who had already suffered enough, the ABC reported. 'This is probably the last thing they need, people coming in and making the process of getting back to normality even more difficult,' he said. 'Some of the items are needed for the insurance assessors to come and properly do their role.' The items, such as this kayak, were often left lying in the front yards to dry Tactical Services Group Inspector Sean Dugger said the crime was a low-blow to residents who had already suffered enough The 57-year-old man (pictured) is due to appear in the Townsville Magistrates Court on March 22 The 57-year-old man is due to appear in the Townsville Magistrates Court on March 22. Police have deployed extra officers to patrol the flood affected areas and urge people to stay away from the streets in question unless they have a legitimate reason to be there. 'If you don't belong in the area, if you're not a resident of the suburb and you don't need to be there, stay away,' Inspector Dugger said. An Australian man has been rescued in the Philippines after he was reportedly kidnapped and held for ransom by three men and a woman. Police found Jianting Chen, 29, in Makati City on Wednesday after he was allegedly abducted by four Chinese nationals who had demanded a $42,000 (RMB 200,000) ransom, according to local news site Inquirer. The suspects were identified as You Hua Wu, 30, Zhao Ping Zheng, 29, Hao Meng Li, 35, and Xue Zhao, 28. Four Chinese nationals, You Hua Wu, 30, Zhao Ping Zheng, 29, Hao Meng Li, 35, and Xue Zhao, 28, have been arrested and charged with kidnapping for ransom The four are accused of abducting Chen, who arrived in the country last year, in Pasay City on February 19. Chen was reportedly able to alert a friend, Willian Choi, who lives in Hong Kong, that he had been abducted through a text message. Choi then reported the incident to the Australian embassy which alerted Philippine National Police. The four suspects have been arrested and charged with kidnapping for ransom. A DFAT spokesman said: 'We can confirm that an Australian man, who had been kidnapped in Manila earlier this week, was subsequently freed following a Philippines law enforcement operation. 'We thank the Philippines Government for their prompt assistance in this matter. 'Out of respect for the privacy of the individual involved, we will not comment further on the details of this case.' A girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by an intruder who broke into a high school. The girl walked out of class to use a water fountain at Moreton Bay College in Manly West, east of Brisbane on Wednesday when she was allegedly approached by an unknown man who touched her inappropriately. In a letter to parents and guardians, principal James Sloman said the incident was 'extremely serious'. A girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by an intruder who broke into a high school (pictured) The victim walked out of class to get a drink from the water fountain and was allegedly approached by an unknown man, who touched her. Pictured is the school 'We were advised at 9pm last night of a situation where one of our girls was allegedly approached by an unknown intruder yesterday,' the letter read. 'The Wynnum Police were alerted last night who referred us to the Child Protection Investigation Unit (CPIU). 'In the meantime, we will be increasing patrols around local schools to reinforce our presence in the area and ensure the safety of people in the community.' The girl is currently safe and with her family, the Wynnum Herald reported. The school is providing extra staff for all co-curricular, training and other activities over the next few days to ensure the safety of students. Extra staff have also been assigned to monitor the school grounds. Wynnum Police senior sergeant Mark Norrish said there would be extra patrols around the bayside schools. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Moreton Bay College and Wynnum Police station for comment. As Attorney General William Barr weighs how much of Robert Mueller's final report to make public, the Office of Special Counsel will file a different set of papers in federal court that could force his hand. Mueller is due Friday to deliver a final sentencing memorandum in the case of Paul Manafort, the disgraced former Trump campaign chairman who faces decades in prison for bank and tax fraud, among other convictions. Mueller could choose to turn the last public filing of his tenure into a treasure trove of details that would otherwise remain secret. Meanwhile, Barr is on the cusp of staring down what will almost certainly be the most consequential decision of his long career. The position catapults him, on the job just one week, from Justice Department outsider free to theorize and speculate on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation to the man at the center of the legal and political firestorm that will accompany its looming conclusion. William Barr has been attorney general for just one week but is on the cusp of staring down what will almost certainly be the most consequential decision of his long career: how much of the special counsel's findings to make public Trump could face serious pressure from Congress and the American people if the Mueller report is released and shows wrongdoing that comes near the Oval Office The final Paul Manafort sentencing memorandum from Mueller's office is due Friday, and Special Counsel Robert Mueller could load it up with details that he fears the Justice Department will bury otherwise PAUL MANAFORT'S CRIMES Paul Manafort is now a multiple felon. His convictions are from a trial and a guilty plea. Here is the complete list. On August 21, 2018 by a jury after trial at federal court in Alexandria, VA, found guilty of: Five counts of submitting false tax returns Two counts of bank fraud One count of failing to disclose a foreign bank account The jury did not reach a verdict on 10 more charges On September 14, 2018, ahead of a trial at federal court in Washington D.C., he pleaded guilty to: One count of conspiracy to defraud the United States One count of witness tampering In the plea deal Manafort agreed to co-operate and pleaded guilty to 10 other charges, with the deal saying those would be dropped if he completely co-operated. But he did not completely co-operate meaning he is also going to be sentenced for: Three counts of failing to disclose a foreign bank account Two counts of bank fraud Five counts of bank fraud conspiracy Advertisement With Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein preparing to exit after supervising the day-to-day investigation for nearly two years, and with Trump loyalist Matthew Whitaker now replaced in the top job, Barr is in the hot seat: He is responsible for navigating the department through congressional and public demands for details of Mueller's findings while dealing with a White House that may challenge, or even stifle, the conclusions. Friends say Barr is accustomed to pressure-cooker situations by virtue of his experience as attorney general from 1991 to 1993 under President George H.W. Bush and other senior Justice Department jobs. He oversaw the department's response when Los Angeles erupted in riots after the Rodney King verdict and when Cuban inmates took hostages at a federal prison in Alabama. He blessed Bush administration pardons in the Iran-Contra scandal and offered legal advice on the White House's ability to invade Panama. In this case, though, no less than the fate of Donald Trump's presidency may hang in the balance of whatever Barr decides. 'I'm sure it's going to be a tough set of decisions and circumstances, but Bill doesn't shy away from tough situations,' said former Justice Department colleague Timothy Flanigan. 'He's not likely to sit there fretting over what does this mean for his legacy or his long-term political viability.' Although Barr carefully weighs difficult decisions and consults others before making them, once he's made them, 'he doesn't kind of circle and fret,' Flanigan said. Key decisions are expected soon as Mueller shows signs of concluding his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign. Mueller is required to produce a confidential report to Barr that explains his decisions to pursue or decline prosecutions. That could be as simple as a bullet point list or as fulsome as a report running hundreds of pages. Barr will then have to decide how much of Mueller's findings should be disclosed to the public. At his confirmation hearing last month, Barr was noncommittal about what he would do, though he said repeatedly that he supported making as much public as possible, 'consistent with the law.' He said in his congressional testimony that he will write his own report summarizing Mueller's findings for Congress and the public. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has ben engaged for more than 21 months in a wide-ranging probe of allegations that the 2016 Donald Trump campaign colluded with Russians to tilt the election 'I can assure you that, where judgments are to be made by me, I will make those judgments based solely on the law and will let no personal, political or other improper interests influence my decisions,' he said. Barr has noted that department protocol says internal memos explaining charging decisions should not be released. The attorney general is required only to say the investigation has concluded and describe or explain any times when he or Rosenstein decided an action Mueller proposed 'was so inappropriate or unwarranted' that it should not be pursued. Democrats could use Mueller's findings as the basis of impeachment proceedings and have threatened to subpoena them if they are withheld from Congress. It's not clear what the White House or Trump's lawyers may do to learn details of Mueller's findings. But they may try to block the public release of any report that they believe could expose private conversations between the president and his staff. Hovering in the background is the 2016 decision by then-FBI Director James Comey to break Justice Department norms in the Hillary Clinton email investigation by publicly criticizing the Democratic presidential candidate even while saying she wouldn't be charged. Barr has said repeatedly that he disagrees with Comey's decision and considers it a mistake. It's unclear what Mueller will place in his report and how far it will go in answering the central question of the investigation - whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia - or how much he will reveal about whether the president sought to obstruct justice through firing Comey and other actions. The exact timing of Mueller's endgame is still unclear. But Attorney General William Barr, who oversees the investigation, has said he wants to release as much information as he can about the probe into possible coordination between Trump associates and Russia's efforts to sway the 2016 election Barr made clear at his confirmation hearing that he agreed Russia had meddled in the 2016 election and that Mueller's investigation, contrary to Trump's claims, is not a 'witch hunt.' But his view on the obstruction question is more nuanced. As a private citizen, he sent the Justice Department a memo last June arguing that Trump couldn't be investigated for firing Comey because a president has discretion to hire and fire subordinates. He has since sought to make clear that he believes that a president can be guilty of obstructing justice in other ways, such as by destroying evidence or instructing witnesses to lie. It's not clear if Mueller will make recommendations about the president, though Barr has said he sees no reason to revisit Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted. Barr, who friends say was reluctant to return as attorney general, has made clear that at age 68, he feels empowered to do the right thing and not care about the consequences. But that doesn't mean it will be easy. 'I'm kind of glad it's him,' Flanigan said, 'and not me.' Advertisement President Donald Trump is pledging to expand opportunity for Americans of every race, religion and creed as he commemorates Black History Month. Speaking to hundreds Thursday at a White House reception, Trump boasted about the economy and said the unemployment rate for African-Americans is at its 'lowest ever.' Black unemployment did reach a low, 5.9 percent, in May 2018. But that figure changes monthly and had increased to 6.8 percent by January. Trump also touted passage of a criminal justice reform bill in December. Trump delivers remarks during a reception in the East Room of the White House in honor of African American History Month Trump with first lady Melania Trump, greets invited guests during a National African American History Month reception Trump speaks during a National African American History Month reception in the East Room of the White House He said the nation's sentencing laws disproportionately 'harm African-American communities far, far greater than anybody else.' Catherine Toney, one of the first inmates released through the bill's passage, thanked Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner for their efforts as the crowd applauded in approval. Trump then also praised Kushner, saying 'He doesn't want praise.' 'He does so much, thank you Jared...that was an amazing tribute to you,' Trump added. Trump also called to the stage community development leader Bob Woodson, who has spearheaded free enterprise initiatives to bring opportunities to low-income areas. 'I just want to thank God and also President Trump for turning the tables over in the temples and attacking the status quo that is hostile to the interest of poor people,' Woodson said. Catherine Toney, one of the first inmates released through the criminal justice reform bill's passage, thanks Trump Trump listens as Tomey delivers remarks about her release from prison under the criminal justice reform law First lady Melania Trump, with Pastor Darrell Scott (center) and Surgeon General Jerome Adams, reacts to President Donald Trump's remarks during a National African American History Month reception in the East Room of the White House Melania Trump attends a reception for National African American History Month, in the East Room of the White House 'And I also want to bless you for your administration and the policies of Opportunity Zones and to giving low-income people an opportunity to help themselves. That's all they want; they want an opportunity to achieve. And your administration is working with us to make that happen,' Woodson continued. Clarence Henderson, who was among the students at the Woolworth's lunch-counter sit-in in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1960, also spoke at the event. Henderson compared Trump to the Old Testament figure of Nehemiah, who built walls around Jerusalem to to protect the Jews. 'Nehemiah was told by God to build a wall. And that's what you're doing,' Henderson said. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence greet invited guests during the reception on Wednesday Trump poses for a selfie with a supporter after delivering remarks at a reception for National African American History Month Several of the attendees at the reception wore Make America Great Again hats, including this man Trump greets attendees at the National African American History Month Reception at the White House Several of the few hundred attendees wore MAGA hats. In his remarks, Trump also asked how Democrats could beat him in 2020 given the strength of the economy. 'How do they beat us on the debate stand when we say we have the best unemployment numbers ever?' he said. First Lady Melania Trump joined her husband on the stage, as did Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence. Chinese authorities have been tracking millions of people in its far west region of Xinjiang using a DNA database with the help of American expertise, it is claimed. According to The New York Times, Chinese officials presented the blood tests as part of a free health check-up programme in its surveillance campaign primarily on the country's Muslim Uighur minority. Human rights groups and Uighur activists say officials can use such genetic material to chase down any Uighurs who resist conforming to the campaign, the report said. China's Uighur ethnic minority lives has been subjected to heavy police surveillance in recent years. The New York Times reported that officials have been using DNA samples to track them Scientists affiliated with China's police used equipment produced by Thermo Fisher, a US biotechnology manufacturer, according to the New York Times. Since 2016, there have been regular reports of Chinese authorities taking blood samples in the Xinjiang region. Some 36 million people have participated, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua - more than just the Uighur population. Xinjiang is home to most of China's Uighur ethnic minority and has been under heavy police surveillance in recent years after violent inter-ethnic tensions. Policemen patrol past a building's wall mounted with surveillance cameras in Peyzawat in Xinjiang. Officials have been using DNA samples to track millions of people, it is claimed Scientists affiliated with China's police used equipment produced by Thermo Fisher, a US biotechnology manufacturer, according to the New York Times Nearly one million Uighurs and other Turkic language-speaking minorities in China have reportedly been held in re-education camps, according to a UN panel of experts. Tahir Imin, a 38-year-old Uighur, told The New York Times that he had his blood drawn, his face scanned and his voice recorded by the authorities in Xinjiang during a check-up. But when he asked to see the results, they denied his request and told him he did not have the right to ask for it. In spring 2017, Human Rights Watch claimed China had ordered equipment to increase DNA sequencing capabilities - which American scientific journal Nature then confirmed, naming Thermo Fisher as a supplier. A perimeter fence is constructed around what is officially known as a vocational skills education centre in Dabancheng in China's far-west Xinjiang region Following the report, Thermo Fisher issued a statement on Thursday saying it would no longer sell its equipment in Xinjiang. 'As the world leader in serving science, we recognize the importance of considering how our products and services are used - or may be used - by our customers,' a company spokesperson said to AFP. Despite its low public profile, Thermo Fisher is a scientific equipment giant, with US$24.3 billion (18.7 billion)in revenue last year. In a statement cited by the New York Times, the Xinjiang government denied that it collects DNA samples as part of the free medical checkups. It said the DNA machines that were bought by authorities were for 'internal use'. The sister of an 11-year-old girl killed in a 1973 cold case murder says their mother carried guilt over her death for 'the rest of her life' after not picking her daughter up from summer school and making her walk home instead. Cindy Borgeson said her sibling Linda Ann O'Keefe asked for a lift home on July 6, 1973 but their mom refused. She then disappeared in Newport Beach, California, and her body was found the next day. Their mother 'carried that guilt the rest of her life,' Borgeson told ABC News. Now, more than 40 years after Linda's death, a Colorado man has been arrested in connection with the case. Tragically, Linda's parents passed away before they ever learned of a suspect. But investigators were able to share the news of an arrest with her two sisters. One sister, Cindy, said: 'I never really thought that they would actually ever find the individual responsible. After all this time, finding out there is a face and a name just brings additional closure. 'My hope is that this [case] brings hope to other families who haven't had closure yet. I'm sure she and my parents are rejoicing. 'Because of my profound faith, I've been able to forgive the individual. I couldn't carry that burden in my heart of hating an individual even though he committed this horrible crime. I hope that he has remorse.' She also said she also prayed for Neal's family, adding: 'They probably are so shocked. I'm sure they're going through a lot of grieving of their own.' Cindy Borgeson, left, said her mother carried guilt over Linda's death for 'the rest of her life' after not picking her up from summer school. Authorities have released a decades-old photo James Alan Neal, right, after he was arrested over Linda's murder Linda was walking home from school in 1973 when she strangled and her body left in a ditch James Alan Neal, 72, was arrested in Colorado Springs, Colorado at 6.29am on Tuesday. On Thursday California authorities released a decades-old photo of Neal in the hopes of jogging the memory of potential witnesses. Officials in Orange County said Thursday that the photo may depict what James Neal looked like around the time Linda O'Keefe was killed. They're asking anyone who saw him around then to come forward. The photo shows a smiling Neal with bushy hair and a mustache. Neal nodded at his crying relatives as he was led into court for a brief appearance Thursday. A judge scheduled a February 28 hearing, where Neal could say if he will fight extradition to California to face a murder charge. Genealogical DNA coupled with 'old-fashioned' police work led detectives to Neal, according to Orange County District Attorney Public Administrator Todd Spitzer. Following a genealogical submission to site Family Tree DNA, authorities were alerted to a DNA hit in the case in January. That pointer identified Neal as a suspect. Investigators located him in Colorado and put him under surveillance and retrieved more DNA from the victim to corroborate their new findings. 'Our investigators used forensic DNA testing and an online genealogy website to identify the suspect's DNA as being consistent with DNA left at the crime scene,' Newport Beach Police Chief John Lewis added. James Alan Neal, 72, has been arrested as the suspect behind the decades-old murder of 11-year-old California girl Linda Ann O'Keefe whose body was found strangled to death in 1973 Several members of James Alan Neal's family leave El Paso County's Terry R. Harris Judicial Complex on Thursday after he was arrested over the death of Linda O'Keefe Neal nodded at his crying relatives, pictured, as he was led into court on Thursday His DNA was found on the victim and placed into the CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) database where it failed to yield a hit for decades, Orange County District Attorney Public Administrator Todd Spitzer said in a press conference Wednesday Then in January following a genealogical submission, it finally made a hit and led police to Neal. He was tracked to Colorado and arrested Tuesday morning. Newport Beach Police held a press conference identifying Neal on Wednesday (above) Investigators revealed Neal went by the name James Alan George Layton at the time of the murder when he lived in Orange County in the 1970s. After the murder he fled to Florida, changed his name, and later ended up in Colorado. O'Keefe vanished in 1973 while she was walking home from school in Newport Beach. She was last seen near a turquoise van speaking to a white man in his mid-20s or early 30s, according to witnesses. Her strangled body was found the following day in a grassy ditch in the Back Bay area. She was discovered by passing bicyclists who called police. A DNA sample was recovered from the victim at the time of the crime and placed into the CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) system, but it failed to yield a hit. The CODIS system is the FBI's criminal justice DNA database. 'And so that sample remained in the system for a long period of time,' Spitzer said. 'However, because of innovations in science and technology, and the fact that these detectives were using every means available to them, they received a pointer indication through genealogical DNA,' he added. Linda's murder joins a number of cold cases that have been solved through the use of modern DNA technology. In August Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo was arrested for a dozen murders and 50 rapes that took place back in the late 70s and 80s, after investigators used online genealogical sites like Ancenstry.com and 23andMe. Just last week Minnesota man Jerry Arnold Westrom was arrested for the 1993 stabbing murder of a woman after he was tracked down using DNA testing and investigators tested a tissue he used to confirm it. Linda disappeared as she was walking home from school on July 6, 1973 and her strangled body was found the following day The case was cold for decades then in July 2018 police hired a DNA technology company to make composite sketches using the killer's DNA to determine what he looked like The age progression photos predicted what the killer would have looked like today Linda's case had been cold for years until last year Newport Beach police hired Parabon, a Virginia-based DNA technology company that specializes in the process of using genetic material to build composite sketches. Exactly 45 years after her body was found, the Newport Beach Police Department announced a lead in her case and shared age progression images, generated through DNA, of the killer. The police department launched a Twitter campaign retelling the story of her murder with her photographs and the age progression pictures, pleading for any leads. Neal faces charges of murder, two special circumstances and kidnapping with the intent of lewd and lascivious acts with a child in her brutal murder. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole for the brutal murder and the DA says they will consider asking for the death penalty. He's expected to appear at a hearing on Wednesday. Newport Beach Police took to Twitter last July to share a series of tweets in Linda's voice and announce a breakthrough in the case At the time of the murder, a police bulletin (pictured) showed a sketch of person of interest 'As the Orange County District Attorney, I am committed to protecting the community. My office will never forget about cold cases,' Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. 'Our hearts go out to the victim and the victim's family in this case, having to endure decades without answers. We will make sure that the defendant is fairly and justly held accountable in a court of law,' he added. The ingenius Twitter campaign that the Newport Beach Police launched was a series of tweets told in Linda's voice, recounting her mysterious murder. 'Hi. I'm Linda O'Keefe...Forty-five years ago today, I disappeared from Newport Beach. I was murdered and my body was found in the Back Bay. My killer was never found. Today, I'm going to tell you my story,' the tweet said. 'Years have passed since this heinous murder, but the (department) remains dedicated to justice for Linda, and committed to finding her killer,' the department said. Linda was a Girl Scout and went missing as she was walking home from school in 1973 Police also explain in chilling detail how a bicyclist found her body while he was looking for frogs among cattails In one of the tweets, the police department tweet about the dress Linda was last seen in A 80-year-old woman has died after contracting listeria from a catering company that supplied her a meal using the 'Meals on Wheels' service that delivers to thousands every week. 'I Cook Foods', from Dandenong South, in Melbourne's south-east, was shut down by Victoria's health department on Friday after six samples taken from their meals tested positive to listeria. The company delivers to over 13 hospitals and aged-care facilities and eight Meals on Wheels organisations. There are fears the disease, that is particularly dangerous for the elderly, pregnant and newborns, could potentially have reached thousands more, The Age reports. An 80-year-old woman has died following the listeria bacteria was found in food delivered to thousands of people every week (stock image) Catering company I Cook Foods has been shut down by Victoria's health department after six samples from their food came back positive of the listeria bacteria WHERE IS LISTERIA FOUND? The listeria bacteria is potentially deadly - Ready-to-eat deli meats and hot dogs - Refrigerated pates or meat spreads - Unpasteurised milk and dairy products - Soft cheese made with unpasteurized milk, such as Feta, Brie, Camembert - Refrigerated smoked seafood - Raw sprouts Advertisement Victoria's department of health has issued an urgent warning to anyone who believes they've eaten food from the company's kitchen's food and may have been exposed to the bacteria. The department has begun alerting catering companies delivering in the area that their food may be contaminated. The listeria bacteria takes two weeks to fully develop and for pregnant women it can take up to 70 days. Symptoms are similar to the common-cold, fever, aches and pains, but infection be be fatal if not treated. Since the death of the elderly woman, Victoria's Acting Chief Health Officer Dr Brett Sutton has warned of the severity of the disease. 'More than a third of people infected can die,' he told Nine News. The 80-year-old woman was from Melbourne's eastern suburbs and died in Knox Private Hospital. Daily Mail Australia has contacted I Cook Foods for comment. The 80-year-old woman died in Knox Private Hospital (pictured) in Wantirna after a listeria outbreak was found in food delivered there by I Cook Foods I Cook Foods delivers to eight hospitals, five aged-care facilities and eight councils through the Meals on Wheels service The nurse was found in the driveway of her mother's home late in afternoon by a co-worker who lived nearby A nurse has been found with unexplained head injuries on the driveway of her mother's home on the Gold Coast. The woman, 37, was found unconscious by a neighbour that worked with her at Gold Coast University Hospital before emergency services arrived at 6.45am. Detective Inspector Brendan Smith said police are finding it difficult to understand how the injuries occurred. 'She had significant head injuries but they are not visible. Visibility looking at her you cant see them,' he told the Bulletin. The nurse was taken to hospital and remains in a critical condition. The only injury found on the woman's body was a slight abrasion on her arm that police say was likely caused when she feel over. Police found no signs of a home invasion and neighbours claim they didn't know about the event until they were informed by police. The nurse, 37, is currently being cared for in the hospital that she works at Gold Coast University Hospital. Staff there say they are shocked and saddened by the critical injuries of one of their own The nurse lived alone in her mother's house and was preparing to leave for work at the time. Her mother is also believed to have recently passed away. Police are appealing to anyone with CCTV or a dash cam near Callistemon Court and near Olsen Road to contact police. A representative from Gold Coast Health released a statement on the injured staff member. 'We have been shocked and saddened by the news that a member of our nursing staff has been critically injured in an incident at her place of residence overnight. 'This is obviously a very difficult time for staff, particularly those in our Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit, who are coming to terms with this news and who are currently providing medical care to their colleague. 'It is always confronting for our staff when one of their colleagues and friends is hurt or unwell, and we understand this event will touch many staff members across the health service. 'Our focus now is to do everything possible to support our staff as they come to terms with what has occurred. 'Gold Coast Health will not be providing further comment while the Queensland Police Service completes its investigations. 'At the request of the family, Gold Coast Health will be providing no updates to the media regarding this patient's condition while she is in our care.' Police are urging people with any information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Engineer Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih has signed four memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth SR68.2 billion ($18.18 billion) with Pakistan related to various energy and petrochemical projects. The MoUs were signed during the just-concluded visit of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defence to Pakistan, said a Saudi Press Agency report. The first MoU in the energy and mining domain is worth SR22.5 billion; the second in the domain of renewable energy is worth SR7.5 billion; the third is related to the refining and petrochemicals sector worth SR37 billion, and the fourth is on funding an LNG project to secure Pakistan fuel supplies worth SR1.2 billion. A memorial statue of a little boy who drowned in a dam in Queensland has been stolen by heinous thieves three years after its was erected. The statue of 6-year-old Jared Bannah, who drowned at Mount Morgan Dam near Rockhampton, was stolen between November 30 and December 2 in 2018. The resin cast of the child, which is painted bronze, was erected in 2015 and paid for by a member of the public to commemorate the boy's life. A memorial statue of a little boy (pictured) who drowned in a dam in Queensland has been stolen by heinous thieves three years after its was erected The statue of 6-year-old Jared Bannah (pictured), who drowned at Mount Morgan Dam near Rockhampton, was stolen between November 30 and December 2 in 2018 Queensland Police Service posted a message about the theft along with a photo of the statue on their Facebook page on Friday. 'A family has been left devastated after a memorial dedicated to their son who tragically drowned at Mount Morgan Dam was stolen at the end of last year,' the message stated. The photo shows the bronzed child sitting cross-legged on a rock plinth while holding a mason jar, with perfectly positioned flowers in his lap. The statue also weighs about 20 kilograms and stands about one metre tall. Police said the cast figure was last seen by a member of public on the evening of the November 30. 'Police are today making a fresh appeal for public assistance to locate the missing statue,' the Facebook message stated. The resin cast of the child (pictured), which is painted bronze, was erected in 2015 and paid for by a member of the public to commemorate the tragedy Police said the cast figure (pictured) was last seen by a member of public on the evening of the November 30 The post has since garnered plenty of reactions from the public, with many people taking to Facebook to share their thoughts of the thieves and their crime. 'That's one thing u should never touch, a personal memorial site. So disgraceful,' one person wrote. 'What in the hell is wrong with people, thieves are the lowest form of human life!!' another person said. Sergeant Zimitat said nearly four years after the death of Jared (pictured), the Bannah family now have to endure the heartache of his statue being removed Police have urged the thieves to return the memorial statue for the family, who are still grieving the death of Jared (pictured) A third person added: 'Why would someone do that honestly what's wrong with people hope it's found and can be put back where it belongs.' Mount Morgan Police Station Sergeant Ricky Zimitat said the family and community need answers and a resolution to an already set of tragic circumstances of events. 'Nearly four years after the death of their son, the Bannah family have now had to endure the heartache of Jared's statue being removed,' Sergeant Zimitat said. 'The safe recovery of this memorial remains paramount so if the people who took it have a conscience and want to advise authorities where it can be found they can do so anonymously by contacting Policelink or Crime Stoppers.' Police have urged anyone who might have information on the whereabouts of the commemorative statue to come forward. The memorial statue was erected in 2015 to commemorate Jared (pictured bottom left), who drowned at Mount Morgan Dam near Rockhampton A juror on the El Chapo trial has revealed one female holdout caused the deliberations to last for six days after she repeatedly changed her mind on the charges against the Mexican drug lord. The anonymous source also told Vice News that other members of the jury were reluctant to condemn El Chapo, real name Joaquin Guzman, to life in solitary confinement because 'people make mistakes'. The juror said: 'A lot of people were having difficulty thinking about him being in solitary confinement, because, well, you know, we're all human beings, people make mistakes, et cetera.' Some 'talked about whether or not he was going to be in solitary confinement for the rest of his life, because if he was, they wouldn't feel comfortable finding him guilty', the member of the jury added. The juror also said one woman was the holdout, saying: 'She would say 'yes,' then she would come home and the next day she'd say, "You know what: I thought about it and I changed my mind", which forced the jury to restart deliberations on certain charges.' Scroll down for video Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman in a courtroom sketch on February 12 when he was found guilty of smuggling tons of drugs to the United States El Chapo being escorted to a helicopter in handcuffs by Mexican navy marines at a hanger in Mexico City, after he was captured overnight in the beach resort town of Mazatlan in 2014 Lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman said: 'The jury clearly ignored the judge's daily admonitions against not only looking at the press but also had inappropriate communications with each other' The startling revelations made Wednesday have now resulted in the drug lord's lawyers considering challenging his conviction over possible juror misconduct. Guzman was convicted on 10 criminal counts including drug trafficking, conspiracy and using firearms as leader of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel at Brooklyn federal court last week. The 61-year-old was found to be running a continuing criminal enterprise as the kingpin of one of the world's most powerful drug trafficking organizations during the 1990s and 2000s. But on Wednesday his legal team said they were considering filing a motion of potential juror misconduct after a member of the jury also told Vice News that several jurors looked at media coverage of the case during the trial. The same anonymous juror said at least five members of the jury followed news reports and Twitter feeds about the case, against a judge's orders, and were aware of potentially prejudicial material that jurors weren't supposed to see. U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan had instructed jurors not to read media coverage of the case or discuss it with one another at the end of every day during the nearly three-month trial. Jurors deliberated for six days after three months of testimony and the guilty verdict, delivered on February 12, could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. The juror said that multiple jurors lied when Cogan asked them directly whether they had read specific media reports related to the case, according to Vice News. The juror said that although they were ultimately convinced of Guzman's guilt, some were reluctant to send him to what is likely to be lifelong solitary confinement. Guzman's lawyer, Eduardo Balarezo, said the issues of potential juror misconduct raised in the VICE article 'are deeply concerning and distressing'. Balarezo said in a statement: 'The juror's allegations of the jury's repeated and widespread disregard and contempt for the Court's instructions, if true, make it clear that Joaquin did not get a fair trial. Emma Corenel Aispuro, wife of accused El Chapo, arriving with her children at Brooklyn Federal Court last October El Chapo being escorted in Ciudad Juarez by the Mexican police as he is extradited to the United States in January 2017 Attorney for Guzman, Jeffrey Lichtman, arriving at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse for the trial last November 'We will review all available options before deciding on a course of action.' As part of the extraordinary security measures surrounding the trial, jurors were brought to and from court each day by armed U.S. marshals, and their names were never made public. Prosecutors said the measures were necessary because of Guzman's history of intimidating witnesses. Guzman twice escaped from prison in Mexico before his final capture in January 2016. He was extradited to the United States in January 2017. A mugshot of El Chapo released in 2016 by Centro Federal de Readaptacion Social maximum security prison in Mexico The Sinaloa Cartel still has the biggest U.S. distribution presence of Mexican cartels, followed by the fast-growing Jalisco New Generation Cartel, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. VICE reported that the juror requested anonymity and would not provide a name to the reporter. But the jury spoke to the reporter via video chat for two hours, and the reporter said he recognized the juror from the trial. The juror told VICE at least five jurors involved in deliberations and two alternates heard about allegations that Guzman drugged and raped underage girls, even though that evidence was kept out of the trial because it was seen as prejudicial. The allegations, made public on the eve of deliberations, appeared in news coverage and tweets about the case. The juror said the revelations didn't seem to factor into Guzman's guilty verdict, VICE reported. 'That didn't change nobody's mind for sure,' the juror said, according to VICE. 'We weren't really hung up on that. It was just like a five-minute talk and that's it, no more talking about that.' Asked why the judge wasn't told about jurors looking at news reports, the juror told VICE: 'I thought we would get arrested. I thought they would hold me in contempt... I didn't want to say anything or rat out my fellow jurors. I didn't want to be that person. I kept it to myself.' Lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman said: 'The jury clearly ignored the judge's daily admonitions against not only looking at the press but also had inappropriate communications with each other. 'We're researching the issue now and will make any appropriate motions for relief. Joaquin Guzman deserved a fair trial.' Legal experts say that while it's too early to talk about potentially throwing out the verdict, this could at least lead the defense to ask for a chance to question jurors about their exposure to news coverage and whether it affected their decisions. If it is found that the verdict was influenced by this information the conviction could be overturned or a new trial could be ordered by the judge. University of Dayton law professor Thaddeus Hoffmeister said Guzman's lawyers will have to demonstrate not only that there was juror misconduct but that it had a prejudicial impact. He said: 'The challenge now becomes for the court to determine whether this somehow influenced their decision making.' The U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn declined to comment. At present El Chapo is due set to be sentenced in June. China has responded to reports of an indefinite ban on Australian coal imports by mocking concerns over the decision and saying it's 'normal practice'. A major Chinese port has reportedly banned imports of Australian coal amid tensions between the two nations over cyber-security and control in the Pacific. In addition to the ban, customs at China's northern Dalian port will cap overall 2019 imports through its harbours at 12 million tonnes. China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said customs assesses the quality of imported coal, analyses possible risks and examines it in accordance to laws and regulations, ABC reported. China has responded to reports of an indefinite ban on Australian coal imports by mocking concerns over the decision and saying it's 'normal practice' China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the country's customs assesses imported coal's quality, analyses possible risks and examines it in accordance to laws and regulations 'By doing so, it can better safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese importers and protect the environment,' Mr Shuang said. When asked why only Australian coal has been banned, Mr Geng said it's 'normal practice' and proceeded to mock Australia's concerns. 'You were saying 'coal', not 'cow', right?' Mr Shuang asked. The indefinite ban comes as major ports in other parts of China have begun to prolong clearing times to Australian coal to at least 40 days. Following the news on Thursday, the Australian dollar tumbled, falling more than 1 per cent to as low as $0.7086. Five harbours overseen by Dalian customs - Dalian, Bayuquan, Panjin, Dandong and Beiliang - will not allow Australian coal to clear through customs. Coal imports from Russia and Indonesia aren't being affected by the ban. In addition to the ban, customs at China's northern Dalian Port will cap overall imports for 2019 through its harbours at 12 million tonnes. In addition to the ban, customs at China's northern Dalian port will cap overall imports for 2019 through its harbours at 12 million tonnes Of the 14 million tonnes of coal the ports handled last year, approximately half came from Australia. Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe attempted to play down the threat to Australia's economy, saying exports to China are only a small part of the country's total coal exports. 'The amount of coal that is being blocked is the equivalent of two months' exports from Australia to China. It's entirely possible that if that cannot enter the Chinese market then it can go to other markets,' he said. 'If it were to be the sign of a deterioration in the underlying political relationship between Australia and China that would be much more concerning.' Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said Australians shouldn't have concerns and advises not to call the situation a 'ban'. He said the trading relationship between Australia and China remains as strong as it's been in the past. Charles Dickens' (pictured) books echo with a longing for a contented and stable family life, and who gave us our notion of the perfect family Christmas These days if we were being charitable we would call it a mid-life crisis; a portly middle-aged man falling in love with an actress young enough to be his daughter. And in dispensing with his wife he displays extraordinary cruelty. He has a wall put up dividing the marital bedroom, falsely claims that she did not care for their children and, in another lie, circulates rumours that she has a mental disorder. All this because of his obsessive love for a teenager. And so who is this rogue? Step forward our greatest-ever novelist and renowned social reformer Charles Dickens, whose books echo with a longing for a contented and stable family life, and who gave us our notion of the perfect family Christmas. But behind this saintly image he was a flawed figure who cast out Catherine, the mother of his ten children, without compunction becase of his love for Ellen Ternan. This dark side we knew. But while many have been willing to make allowances for his behaviour, even Dickens most devoted fans will be shocked by the emergence of new evidence about how far he was prepared to go to rid himself of the matronly wife who had lost her glow of youthful prettiness. Yesterday it was revealed that Dickens tried to have Catherine committed to a lunatic asylum. The monstrous plan has emerged in a cache of letters, overlooked by scholars for a century and a half, that tell the break-up of the Dickens marriage from the point of view of his abandoned and heartbroken wife. The correspondence, acquired by Harvard University in 2014, was written by a neighbour of Mrs Dickens who befriended her in the years after her separation from the novelist and in whom she confided. Edward Dutton Cook, a drama critic and writer, and his wife Linda became firm friends to Catherine after moving next door to her in Camden Town, North London. His letters give a vivid picture of literary life in London in the 1870s, but buried in them is a striking insight into the break-up of the Dickens marriage. Until this period Catherine had always been discreet. But in the final year of her life, and knowing she was dying, she felt she had to give her side of the story. Dickens' wife, Catherine, (left) and his mistress, Ellen Ternan, pictured in a ballet costume The crucial revelation comes in a letter from Cook to another critic in January 1879. Catherine was by then very ill, taking twice-daily morphine injections. Dickens, Cook wrote, discovered at last that she had outgrown his liking. She had borne ten children and had lost many of her good looks, was growing old, in fact. He even tried to shut her up in a lunatic asylum, poor thing! But bad as the law is in regard to proof of insanity he could not quite wrest it to his purpose. Academic John Bowen, Professor of 19th century literature at York University, who made the startling discovery, describes it as a more damning account of Dickenss behaviour than any other. He said: In one sense it was wonderful. On the other hand it was a terrible discovery, so the hairs were going up on the back of my neck. Heres a different dimension to his character that has been hidden for 120 years. There is, he says, plenty of evidence to back up Cooks assertion. Dickens had written to a friend, subsequently leaked to newspapers, in which he claimed his wife had mental illness. Catherines aunt claimed the author had tried to get a doctor to corroborate the scurrilous accusation but the physician had sternly refused, saying he considered Mrs Dickens perfectly sound in mind. Cook himself thought about making his discovery public but worried that in doing so he would offend the family he was close to the Dickenss son Charles Junior and favourite daughter Katey. So what does this remarkable disclosure mean for the reputation of the greatest of Victorian writers? Claire Tomalin, author of Charles Dickens: A Life, calls it compelling evidence that Dickens did something shameful. Jenny Hartley, who wrote the well-received Charles Dickens And The House Of Fallen Women, says she is sad about the revelation. For generations Dickens was not just a towering figure of literature but a man who used his time and money to do good works, particularly in championing the poor. But his private life was marked by the cant and humbug of the times. As a young man, he fell in love frequently, most intensely, it is said, with Maria Beadnell, a coquettish young woman on whom he based the character of Dora in David Copperfield. Ellen Ternan in a photo from circa 1860 Her family thought the then jobbing court reporter lacked prospects, and so on the rebound Dickens fell for Catherine Hogarth, the blue-eyed daughter of his first editor. At 24 he was keen to marry and to mould his beloved into a passive wife. Their honeymoon in a Kent cottage lasted little more than a week during which he continued to work on The Pickwick Papers, the novel which made him famous. Catherine was pregnant within a month of their wedding and over the next 16 years gave birth to ten surviving children. Dickens only wanted three and felt the burden of supporting so many offspring. In the first year of marriage, Catherines 16-year-old sister Mary lived with them, and when she died in his arms the following year, Dickenss grief knew no bounds. He took a ring from her finger that he wore for the rest of his life. How, one wonders, did his wife take this act of sorrow? When another sister, Georgina, came to live with them in 1842, to help with the growing family, Catherine was sidelined. Like Mary, 14-year-old Georgina was young and eager to please. His wife, meanwhile, had become stout, reminding Dickens all too much of his mother. Then in 1857, aged 45 and at the height of his fame, Dickens met 18-year-old actress Ellen Nelly Ternan. Stuck in a now loveless marriage, matters came to a head when a bracelet meant for his new love was delivered instead to his wife. The marriage never recovered and Catherine began to drink. In 1858, Dickens sought a legal separation and published a personal statement to the effect that rumours about his dalliance with another woman were untrue. He also allowed a statement about Catherines mental wellbeing to appear in the American Press. After finding Catherine the house in Camden, he washed his hands of her. Until his death 12 years later, he sent only three letters, all in reply to inquiries from her, and did not even contact her when one of their sons died. Dickens vindictive behaviour towards a wronged wife was undoubtedly fuelled by his passion for Nelly. But unlike other literary men of the age such as Thackeray and Wilkie Collins, who defied convention by flaunting their mistresses, Dickens wanted Nelly to remain a secret. He feared a scandal would ruin his reputation and had a dread that discovery would destroy his bond with his readers. He therefore set about to conceal Nellys very existence. He bought a cottage near Slough where they met in secret and conversed by letter using a secret code and adopted aliases. One biographer has suggested Nelly gave birth to a child, though this has never been proved. In the 1980s, biographer Kathryn Hughes remarked that if it could be proved that Dickens had a sexual relationship with Nelly, the effect upon the public mind would be like finding that Father Christmas has been to a brothel. For his vilified wife the lonely years of separation were not easy. Dickens provided her with an allowance of 600 a year, but this was cut to 300 on his death. Catherines friend Cook also recorded the telegram she had received on the death of John Forster, Dickens closest friend and biographer, noting: She hates him bitterly...for he was Dickens adviser and agent in all the dirty work of the separation. Even now, Dickens brutish behaviour towards his wife has the power to shock but whether it will make us think any differently about his fiction remains to be seen. An alligator has been caught on camera eating a ten-foot python in the Florida Everglades. Rich Kruger was on the Shark Valley bike trail off the Tamiami Trail on Monday when he spotted an adult alligator chomping down on a giant snake he estimated to be around 10 feet long. In a video he posted to his Facebook page, the crocodile is seen violently shaking the snake. Shocking footage has shown a ten-foot python being eaten by an alligator (pictured) in the Florida Everglades The large alligator subsequently snaps twice near its head a number of times. The reptile then lifts the python out of the water calmly, before lying down on top of it in its last effort to kill the serpent. Footage of the alligator attacking its prey has been watched over 34,000 times since it was uploaded by Kruger on Monday. The alligator then lifts the python out of the water calmly, (left), before lying down on top of it in its last effort to kill the serpent (right) The alligator continues to devour the defenseless serpent along an embankment in Shark Valley Kruger told Fox News: 'Every day you go here, you see something new. It's amazing.' He noted that the Shark Valley area is the 'best place [for] biking, hiking, anything.' Last June a crocodile needed a little help when it found itself on the losing end of a gator vs. python match. Footage of the alligator attacking its prey has been watched over 34,000 times since it was uploaded by Kruger (pictured) on Monday Mike Kimmel claimed that he was driving a speedboat near Everglades Holiday Park, west of Pembroke Pines, with his pal when they saw a python measuring about ten feet attacking a four-foot long alligator. Kimmel rescued the alligator by grabbing the snake by the head, giving the alligator the opportunity to flee. Run-ins between gators and snakes are a regular occurrence in South Florida as the invasive Burmese python population continues to explode. In last year's python elimination program run by the state of Florida, 25 hunters captured 1,000 invasive snakes. The winter dry season is the best time for wildlife viewing in the park. Weather conditions are generally pleasant during the winter and standing water levels are low, causing wildlife to congregate at central water locations. More than 50 distinct kinds of reptiles can be found in the park. The species range from the formidable American crocodile to the diminutive green anole. Senator Kamala Harris has broken her silence on the Jussie Smollett case, three weeks after calling the alleged hate hoax a 'modern day lynching'. Harris, a top contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, issued a statement on Thursday, hours after ignoring reporters' questions on the case at a lunch meeting with Rev. Al Sharpton in Harlem. 'Like most of you, I've seen the reports about Jussie Smollett, and I'm sad, frustrated and disappointed,' said Harris, a California Democrat. Smollett was arrested on Thursday morning in Chicago, after police said he paid two Nigerian brothers to stage an assault which he claimed was perpetrated by white men shouting vile racist and homophobic slurs. Senator Kamala Harris (left) has broken her silence on the Jussie Smollett (right) case, three weeks after calling the alleged hate hoax a 'modern day lynching' Earlier on Thursday, Harris had lunch with Rev. Al Sharpton at Sylvia's Restaurant in the Harlem neighborhood of New York Kamala Harris' full statement on Jussie Smollet's arrest Like most of you, I've seen the reports about Jussie Smollett, and I'm sad, frustrated and disappointed. When anyone makes false claims to police, it not only diverts resources away from serious investigations but it makes it more difficult for other victims of crime to come forward. At the same time, we must speak the truth: hate crimes are on the rise in America. Just last year, the FBI released statistics that revealed a 17 percent increase in the number of hate crimes in America. Part of the tragedy of this situation is that it distracts from that truth, and has been seized by some who would like to dismiss and downplay the very real problems that we must address. We should not allow that. I will always condemn racism and homophobia. We must always confront hate directly, and we must always seek justice. That is what I will keep fighting for. Advertisement Harris continued in her statement to denounce making false reports and cite FBI statistics that hate crimes are 'on the rise in America.' 'Part of the tragedy of this situation is that it distracts from that truth, and has been seized by some who would like to dismiss and downplay the very real problems that we must address. We should not allow that,' Harris said. Harris vowed to 'condemn racism and homophobia' and 'confront hate directly.' Originally, on January 30, Harris had said of the case: '@JussieSmollett is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I'm praying for his quick recovery,' she wrote on Twitter in January. 'This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate,' she noted. Reporters peppered Harris with questions about the Smollett case as she and Sharpton left lunch, which she did not respond to. Sharpton said they did not discuss the case at lunch She was hardly along among the Democrat presidential hopefuls to quickly speak out about Smollett's claims in the days after he reported the attack on January 29. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey also called the incident a 'modern-day lynching.' Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders also leaped to condemn the attack. Earlier on Thursday, reporters peppered Harris with questions about the Smollett case as she left lunch with Rev. Sharpton at Sylvia's Soul Food in Harlem, a traditional pilgrimage for seekers of the Democratic nomination. Sharpton said the situation with Jussie Smollett did not come up during their 30 minute sit down. 'We didn't discuss that at all,' he said. A drug-fuelled armed robber who killed an off-duty PCSO in a horror crash just days after being released early from prison has been jailed for nine years. Darren Ogom, 42, was high on crack cocaine when he led police on a 105mph chase for 12 miles around Birmingham before ploughing into Holly Burkes Ford Fiesta. Darren Ogom, 42, who has been jailed for nine years for killing Police Community Support Officer Holly Burke He had driven over a police stinger device moments before careering through a red light and hitting Miss Burkes car at around 11.30pm on January 22. Despite the best efforts of paramedics and police officer colleagues she was pronounced dead at the scene in the Bearwood area of Birmingham. Ogom admitted causing death by dangerous driving, driving without a licence or insurance and failing to stop for a police officer at Birmingham Crown Court. He was jailed for nine years and an extended three years on licence. He was also banned from driving for 16 years. Judge Melbourne Inman QC said: It is quite clear you have committed serious offences. I have no confidence it will stop now. There is quite clearly a significant risk of you re offending under the influence of cocaine and a risk of serious harm and I consider you are a danger to the public. This was a police chase. In this case you had every opportunity to stop. You have a bad record for offending generally and you were on licence. The aggravating features are so numerous it takes it to the top of the range. You smashed into her car. It is a very distressing video to watch. You had been released from a prison sentence but days before. You have a bad record for driving. In 2013 you received a sentence of four years and ten months for robbery. This was obviously a persistent and prolonged course of bad driving. The speeds were huge. Miss Burke was someone with her whole life in front of her. The driving continued over a very long distance, 12 miles. You were driving at speeds of between 60 and 70 mph. In Erdington you were driving in the middle of the road. Victim: Police Community Support Officer Holly Burke. Darren Ogom has been jailed for nine years for killing PSCO Burke during a 105mph chase after smoking cocaine On the Hagley road you were on the wrong side of the road and you went on the wro It was so dangerous the police abandoned their pursuit. You were under the influence of drugs and speeding. The danger you presented to a large number of the public can scarcely be described. Eventually tragedy occurred. Ogom was driving a Renault Scenic towards Gravelly Hill, in Birmingham, at 60mph in a 30mph zone when he sped past a police car which followed him at 11.20pm. A second police car joined the chase which lasted 14 minutes while cops pursued Ogom for 12 miles around the streets of Birmingham. At one stage, Ogom was clocked travelling at 105mph and sped through several red lights before driving the wrong way down a dual carriageway. The court heard police abandoned the chase because it was becoming to dangerous for other road users but he was picked up again by officers a short time later. Officers deployed a stinger device which Ogom drove over before careering through another red light and smashing into the side of Ms Burkes car which was coming in the opposite direction. When he was arrested, Ogom told police he was using his wifes car to collect a friend from hospital and panicked when he saw the police because he was on licence and did not want to go back to jail. Ogom, of Kings Norton, Birmingham, has a string of previous convictions, including smuggling cocaine in Panama and robbery when he held a gun to a victims head. In 2014 he was jailed for holding up a newsagent at gun point where he made off with just a few pounds. Ms Burke was the third woman to be killed in high speed 999 call-outs in just two days last month. A gay pensioner fears he will be deported back to Malaysia, where homosexuality is a crime, because he has not got a boyfriend to prove his sexual orientation. Yew Fook Sam, 67, believes he risks being thrown in jail, beaten up or even killed if he is forced to return to the Asian country which he left in 2005. But despite being active in the LQBT community in Liverpool, immigration officials claim the father-of-two has lied about his sexuality to stay in the UK, highlighting his current single status as 'proof'. Sam said: 'I was so disappointed and depressed after being told that I was not gay. How can I prove it?' Yew Fook Sam, 67, is in danger of being deported because immigration officials doubt his homosexuality because he has not got a boyfriend. He fears if he is sent back to Malaysia he could be killed 'I tried to tell the Home Office "I am 67. I don't need sex". 'But I am part of so many gay associations and have attended and worked as a steward at Pride festivals in Liverpool - and I want to be able to die openly as a gay man, not go back to Malaysia and keep it a secret. 'I have been photographed on marches here and I would be in danger of being arrested - and attacked by members of the public. I fear I could be killed if I had to go back.' Sam's legal status in the UK is hanging by a thread and he currently has to report to immigration officials every fortnight and fears he could be detained at any of of these meetings. He arrived in this country in 2005 on a visit visa and remained while working in the south of England. In 2016, he was arrested for working illegally and detained for 10 months in an immigration centre before being housed in Home Office accommodation in Liverpool in 2017 and later in Kirkby, where he currently lives. A judge sitting at an Immigration and Asylum Chamber said: 'Taking all of the evidence in the round, I do find the appellant is not a homosexual as he claims.' This verdict was repeated by a judge in the Upper Tribunal who stated that the original judge 'provided detailed and cogent reasons for finding that the appellant's account of his sexuality was not a genuine and credible one, identifying numerous inconsistencies and discrepancies in his account...' Sam says he lived a lie in Malaysia, where he got married at the age of 30 and had two children. Sam attended the Liverpool Pride Festival last year and regularly participates in LGBT events but the Home Office believe he is lying about being gay He says his wife left him in 1988, after discovering he was gay. She took their children to the USA, and he has had no contact with them since. The Open Table LGBTQIA+ worship community - believe Sam, and are determined to help him stay. Sam says: 'The LGBT people in Liverpool have been so good to me. Everyone at St Bride's and in the Open Table group has been so helpful. I really appreciate everything they are doing for me.' Open Table, which now has 17 communities across England and Wales, started at St Bride's in 2008. A petition - Stop the deportation of Yew Fook Sam - has so far been signed by more than 900 people. Kieran Bohan, Open Table network co-ordinator, said: 'Sam is 67 and in poor physical health, with limited English and income. It would be very difficult for anyone in that situation to enter a relationship. 'There are many people in later life who find themselves single, whatever their orientation. They do not cease to be gay, bisexual or straight because they do not have a partner. 'We do not believe anyone would falsely claim to be LGBT simply to gain the right to remain in the UK, since it puts them at risk of discrimination and hate crime in this country, especially among their peers from different cultures in Home Office accommodation, and increases their risk of harm if sent back from the UK.' Kieran said: 'It has been a delight to welcome Sam to our church and the Open Table LGBT faith community. He has become an active and valued member of our community, attending both morning and evening services on Sundays when his health and finances allow. 'At Liverpool Pride in 2018, he walked with the Christians At Pride group alongside the Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, Paul Bayes. 'Sam fears for his life if he is deported - he has endured many years of living in secrecy and fear in a culture where asking for support and sharing intimate details of his sexual life is not only taboo, but dangerous. 'Sam's orientation and experience as a gay man has not changed for him throughout his life, but he is only now finding the freedom to express himself and learn what it means to be gay without fear.' Sam is now faced with having to provide new evidence in a bid to persuade the authorities to allow him to stay. A Home Office spokesperson said: 'This government has a proud record of providing protection for asylum seekers fleeing persecution be-cause of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and the UK remains a world leader in its approach to handling this type of asylum claim. 'We do not routinely comment on individual cases.' The touted new leader of the Islamic State group in the southern Philippines is an 'elderly villager' who rose up the ranks after dozens of high-ranking terrorists were wiped out. Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, a Jolo-based commander of the brutal Abu Sayyaf extremist group, was installed as ISIS chief in a ceremony last year. Sawadjaan is said to be responsible for the deadly attack on a Roman Catholic church in Jolo on January 27. The bombing, which killed 23 people and wounded about 100 others, and another suspected suicide bombing on nearby Basilan Island last July that officials said he masterminded, put Sawadjaan in the crosshairs of the U.S.-led global campaign against terrorism. Not much is known about the new terrorist leader, but unlike many of his slain comrades, Sawadjaan, who was born to a peasant family, lacks the bravado, clan name or foreign training. Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, a Jolo-based commander of the brutal Abu Sayyaf extremist group, was installed as ISIS chief in a ceremony last year Sawadjaan is said to be responsible for the deadly attack on a Roman Catholic church (pictured) in Jolo on January 27 which killed 23 and injured more than 100 His reign also comes at a time when the Islamic State group's last enclave in eastern Syria is near its imminent downfall, signaling an end to the territorial rule of the self-declared 'caliphate' that once stretched across much of Syria and Iraq. A recent U.S. Department of Defense report to Congress said it believed Sawadjaan was the 'acting emir,' or leader, of ISIS in the Philippines. It added that no actual leader is confirmed to have been designated by the main ISIS command in the Middle East as of late last year. Philippine Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano, however, said intelligence indicated that Sawadjaan, assumed position as leader last year. Sawadjaan was previously a part of the Abu Sayyaf. Founded in the early 1990s as an offshoot of the decades-long Muslim separatist rebellion in the south, the group lost its commanders early in battle, sending it to a violent path of terrorism and criminality. It has been blacklisted, along with ISIS-linked local groups, as a terrorist organization by the United States. Now in his 60s, Sawadjaan is a late bloomer in the terrorism underworld. His turn at the helm came after dozens of commanders, some initially aligned with the al-Qaida movement and later with ISIS, were killed or captured in decades of military offensives. Police investigators and soldiers attend the scene after two bombs exploded outside a Roman Catholic cathedral in Jolo, the capital of Sulu province in southern Philippines Abu Sayyaf commander Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan accused of plotting the attack in the cathedral may be harboring a foreign would-be suicide bomber in his jungle base, a senior official said The biggest battle loss came in 2017 when several foreign and local commanders were killed as troops quelled a five-month siege by hundreds of militants in southern Marawi city. Among those killed was Isnilon Hapilon, a fierce Abu Sayyaf leader, who was the first ISIS-designated leader in the Philippines. 'I think Sawadjaan rose in rank because of seniority and there were no other leaders left. Almost everyone had been wiped out,' said Ano, a former military chief who oversaw the Marawi offensives and now supervises the national police as interior secretary. Largely confined to Jolo's poverty-wracked mountain settlements all his life, Sawadjaan was not the well-connected and media-savvy strategist foreign groups would normally ally with to expand their reach. His rise shows how ISIS would latch on desperately to any militant who could provide a sanctuary and armed fighters as its last strongholds crumble in Syria, Ano said. 'For the ISIS to perpetuate their terror actions, they need a base, they need people. That's the role of Sawadjaan,' Ano told AP in an interview. He estimated that Sawadjaan commands about 200 combatants and followers. Sawadjaan was born to a peasant family in predominantly Muslim Jolo and only likely finished grade school. Poverty drove him to work as a lumberjack in the jungles off Patikul town, where he married a woman from Tanum, the mountain village where he would base his Abu Sayyaf faction years later, a military officer, who has closely monitored the Abu Sayyaf, told the AP on condition of anonymity because of the nature of his work. As an elderly villager, he served as a local mosque preacher, earning him the religious sobriquet 'hatib,' or sermon leader in Arabic, the officer said. Sawadjaan first took up arms as a member of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) the largest Muslim secessionist group in the south of the largely Roman Catholic country, which went on to sign a 1996 Muslim autonomy deal with the government, according to the officer. His commander was Radulan Sahiron, the locally popular one-armed rebel who broke away from the MNLF in 1992. They joined the Abu Sayyaf, which had just been organized by a Libyan-educated local militant, said MNLF leader Yusop Jikiri. Sawadjaan would later part ways with Sahiron, including over Sahiron's refusal to accomodate foreign militants for fear they're a magnet for military airstrikes, said Abu Jihad, a former militant who has met Sawadjaan and was captured by troops. Abu Jihad described Sawadjaan as a folksy village elderly, who constantly lugged an M-16 rifle in his hinterland community but was friendly to visitors. When fellow militants kidnapped a visiting American Muslim convert, Jeffrey Schilling, for ransom in August 2000, Sawadjaan stayed in the background but helped gather bamboos that were used to build huts for the militants and their hostage, Abu Jihad said. 'He can discuss local issues but didn't have any wisdom on jihad,' he told AP by phone, referring to the militants' concept of holy war. 'He's very accommodating. He's the type who will not be hard to sway.' Sawadjaan collaborated with diverse outlaws, both Islamic extremists and brigands, Ano said. He harbored the foreign couple, believed to be Indonesians, who detonated the bombs in the Jolo cathedral last month, as well as a militant believed to be Arab known as Abu Kathir al-Maghribi, who died in the van blast that also killed 10 government militiamen and villagers in Basilan last year, Ano added. A video obtained by police officials showed al-Maghribi in Sawadjaan's camp last year before the foreign militant reportedly carried out the suicide attack in Basilan. The video was seen by The AP. His daughter married a Malaysian militant known as Amin Baco, who has ISIS connections. His younger brother, Asman, also belonged to the Abu Sayyaf, according to a confidential police profile of Sawadjaan. Sawadjaan and his men would later be implicated in the kidnappings of a German couple, two Canadian men, Schilling and a Jordanian journalist, Baker Atyani. Most were ransomed off or escaped but the Canadian men were separately beheaded on video by one of Sawadjaan's militant nephews, Ben Yadah, according to military and police officials. In the more than a year of jungle captivity under Sawadjaan's group starting in June 2012, Atyani got a deep insight into the Abu Sayyaf and the man who sheltered other militants from Indonesia and Malaysia and fostered banditry in the blurry underworld of Islamic extremism in the volatile south. Atyani is believed to have been freed in exchange for ransom. 'It's all money-driven, it's not an ideology,' Atyani said. 'However, he has sympathy for those who are allegedly fighting for a cause.' Advertisement Jussie Smollett headed straight to the Empire set to beg his cast mates to believe he did not stage a race hoax attack on himself hours after posting $10,000 bond and agreeing to surrender his passport at a court hearing. Smollett, who was earlier supported by his family, is said to have told everyone on the set: 'Im sorry Ive put you all through this and not answered any calls. I wanted to say Im sorry and, you know me, I would never do this to any of you, you are my family. I swear to God, I did not do this.' The actor had been scheduled to film scenes for the show Thursday but, after handing himself in to police at 5am then making a highly publicized appearance at court, delayed the set. Cast and crew waited for 30 minutes until he showed up with his family. In the end, producers told him not to film because it was so obvious he had been crying, according to TMZ. His legal team later issued a statement calling Smollett 'a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence'. They said: 'Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system. The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election. 'Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.' 20th Century Fox have not yet decided whether to suspend or fire Smollett, who plays Jamal Lyon, the son of music mogul Lucious Lyon. The studio is said to be 'considering its options' in light of his arrest. Hours earlier they had said they stood by the 'consummate professional' and furiously denied claims he is being written out of the show, which is in its fifth season and returns to the air March 13. The Empire cast - who unanimously backed Smollett when news of the 'attack' first spread - is now bitterly divided over whether he should be allowed to remain on the show, with some demanding he is written off immediately. A portion of the show's actors said they were 'f***ing furious' at Smollett, TMZ reported, while others are continuing to back the actor, refusing to believe that he could pull such a stunt. The one thing upon which everyone agrees is that the situation has hurt the show, causing rows over how best to move forward. Scroll down for video Jussie Smollett was ushered out of county jail on Thursday by police officers and body guards after posting $10,000, ten percent of his $100,000 bond, and agreeing to surrender his passport. He clung on to his security guard's shoulders as he followed him out to a waiting car Smollett said nothing and held on to his security guard who led him through a crowd of photographers outside the jail Smollett was sandwiched between security guards as he made his way to the car. He has to return to the court March 14 Smollett was escorted out of the jail by two police officers. He stared at news cameras waiting for him outside and kept his hands in his pockets Even before he reached the scrum of photographers, Smollett placed his hands on his security guard's shoulders Prosecutors had earlier shared more details of his relationship with the two Nigerian brothers he allegedly paid to stage an attack on him in the hope that it would boost his profile. The actor was hurried out of the Cook County Jail shortly before 5pm on Thursday and said nothing as he fought his way through photographers to get into a waiting car. He was flanked by bodyguards and driven away immediately. Three of the actor's five famous siblings, Jazz, Jocqui and Jake, were pictured arriving at the Cook County Criminal Court before his bond hearing wearing sunglasses. They were later joined by their brother Jojo but their other sister Jurnee and mother Janet were not seen. They left the court before Smollett once the hearing was over, fighting their way through a scrum of photographers to get into a waiting van parked outside without answering any questions. Smollett's bail was set at $100,000 - the amount he gets paid for one episode of Empire. He paid 10 percent of it to win back his freedom and will return to court on March 14 to face a felony charge of filing a false police report. After the hearing, prosecutors gave a detailed description of how he allegedly put the hoax together. Police say he knew Abel Osundairo, one of the brothers, because he bought 'designer drugs' from him. In text messages that predate the hoax attack, he asked Abel for 'Molly' - the street name for ecstasy - multiple times. The pair are believed to have met when Abel was a stand-in on Empire. On January 25, he convinced Abel and his brother Ola to 'simulate' an attack on him, giving them specific instructions about which words to use and how to rough him up but not hurt him too severely, according to police. His alleged motive was that he did not get enough attention over a letter he is said to have sent himself a week earlier. FBI sources told TMZ that investigators are looking into the authenticity of the letter, but cannot say yet whether Smollett was behind it. The Osundairo brothers have already denied sending it. He knew they were going to Nigeria days later and asked them if he could trust them, saying in his initial text message to Abel: 'Might need your help on the low. You around to meet up and talk face to face?' Smollett took them to the location where he wanted the attack to happen outside his apartment, according to prosecutors, and even pointed to a surveillance camera he believed would capture it. The claims came after a blistering press conference during which furious police bosses alleged that he mailed himself a threatening letter then staged a hoax attack because he was unhappy with his $1.8million Empire salary. The actor wore a stony expression as he was seen for the first time publicly since being labeled 'shameful' and 'despicable' by the police department Smollett was wearing black pants and a black puffer jacket. He turned himself into police at 5am on Thursday A sketch from inside the courtroom shows Smollett appearing before Cook County Judge John Fitzgerald to have his bond set. The judge said that if true, the allegations against him are 'utterly outrageous'. He was particularly disturbed by the use of a noose in the attack, saying it is an image which 'conjures up such evil in this country's history' Jocqui (in beige coat), Jake (in black, right) and Jazz Smollett (center in fur-trimmed coat) arrive at the Cook County Criminal Court on Thursday to attend their brother Jussie's bond hearing. There was no sign of the actor's mother Janet, his other sister Jurnee or his brother Jojo Jocqui Smollett is show entering the court and waiting for proceedings to begin. The Smollett family issued a statement when the attack was first reported to condemn hate crimes and stand by Jussie. Jocqui has since accused the media of vilifying his brother in social media posts Jazz, Jocqui and Jake entered the courthouse without speaking on Thursday. Their other two siblings, Jojo and Jurnee, did not join them Surveillance footage emerged on Wednesday showing Ola and Abel Osundairo buying ski masks the day before the attack. Smollett gave them a $100 bill to pay for the bleach, ski masks, red hat and gloves that they used, according to prosecutors After his bail hearing, the state's attorney gave a press conference where she described in painstaking detail how the hoax came together. On January 25, he texted Abel asking him when he was planning to go to Nigeria, a trip that had been prearranged. Jussie Smollett is shown in his mugshot on Thursday morning. The Empire actor handed himself in at 5am on charges of filing a false police report. Police now say he concocted the fake attack because he wanted a raise They were familiar with one another because Abel had once filled in as a character on Empire who was a love interest of Smollett's character, Jamal Lyon. Abel replied that he and his brother were leaving on January 29 to which Smollett replied: 'Might need your help on the low. 'You around to meet up and talk face to face?' That afternoon, they met up at the CineSpace studio and Smollett drove Abel home. During the car ride, he told him about his 'displeasure' over 20th Century Fox's reaction to the letter he allegedly sent himself days earlier. He said he wanted to stage an attack and suggested that Ola, Abel's younger brother, get involved. Once they got to the brothers' home, they summoned Ola outside and Smollett asked the pair if he could trust them. Smollett then allegedly laid out what he wanted them to do and gave them a $100 bill to buy ski masks, a red hat, gloves, rope and bleach to use. 'He stated that he wanted the brothers to catch his attention by calling him an Empire f****t Empire n****r. He detailed that he wanted Abel to attack him but not to hurt him too badly and give him a chance to fight back. HOW THE ATTACK WAS PUT TOGETHER January 22: Jussie Smollett receives a letter at the CineSpace studio which threatens his life and has 'MAGA' written on it in red pen. He reports it to police January 25: Smollett sends a text to Abel Osundairo asking him when he is going to Nigeria and if they can meet up face-to-face Abel goes to the studio where he is working and Smollett drives him home. During the ride, he said he was 'displeased' with the reaction to the letter. Once at their home, Abel's brother Ola gets in the car and Smollett tells them what he wants them to do. He gives them a $100 bill to buy the goods they will need to fake the attack January 27: Smollett picks the brothers up then drives them to the spot where he wants them to fake the attack. He then goes to New York. January 28: Smollett is in New York City for a reading of the play Take Me Out. The brothers are filmed buying ski masks, a red hat and gloves January 29 - Day of attack The attack was due to take place at 10pm on January 28 but because Smollett's flight was delayed, it was pushed back. 12.30am: Smollett arrives back in Chicago 12.49am: He calls Abel Osundairo and they talk for three minutes Abel orders an Uber minutes later. 1.22am: The brothers arrive in the area of the attack 1.45am: Smollett leaves his building to go to Subway 2.04am: The attack takes place in the arranged location 2.10am: Brothers get a taxi from a hotel nearby 2.25am: The brothers arrive back in their neighborhood in a taxi 2.27am: Smollett's manager calls the police 2.42am: Police arrive at Smollett's building and he asks them to turn off their body cameras 7.45pm: Smollett calls Abel. The conversation lasts five seconds. 7.47pm: Abel calls back and they speak for 1 minute 34 seconds. The brothers then board their flight. January 30, 10:46am: Smollett calls Abel who is by now in Istanbul, Turkey. They speak for 8 minutes and eight seconds. Advertisement 'He also included that he wanted Ola to place a rope around his neck, pour gasoline on him and yell: "This is MAGA country" and "Make America Great Again,"' a proffer that was released by the State's Attorney's office said. Police have found surveillance footage of the ride and have phone records which put Smollett in the area of the brothers home at the time. On January 27, he picked the brothers up from their home and drove them to where he wanted the attack to happen in the late morning. He warned them not to bring their cell phones with them and showed them a surveillance camera on the corner which he believed would capture the incident. Smollett drove the brothers home and provided them with a $3500 personal check made payable to Abel, which was backdated to January 23, 2019. He then flew to New York City to take part in a reading of a play. The attack was scheduled to take place at 10pm on January 28 but was set back several hours by Smollett's delayed flight from New York to Chicago on the day of the incident. His flight landed at 12.30am, January 29. At 12.49am, he called Abel and their conversation lasted three minutes. During this call, he instructed him to carry out the attack at 2am. Abel then ordered an Uber to pick the pair up at their home and take them to the crime scene. They took the Uber part of the way but then got out and hopped in a taxi to take them the remainder of the distance. At 1.22am, they arrived within three blocks of it. At 1.45am, Smollett left his apartment building to go to a Subway and the brothers made their way towards the intended spot. Smollett, however, was late. They did not cross paths until 2.04am which is when they carried out the attack. At the exact moment it was occurring, an NBC News employee was getting out of her car nearby. She told police later that she did not hear anything suspicious, despite Smollett alleging that the attackers yelled racial slurs. The attack only lasted 45 seconds and was 'just outside the view of the desired nearby camera that Smollett had pointed out to the brothers approximately 15 hours earlier.' The brothers then ran away on foot, heading southbound towards the Chicago River. They then got in a taxi at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Fifteen minutes later, they got out of the cab a few blocks from their house. Two minutes later, at 2.27am, Smollett's manager reported it to police and police arrived at Smollett's apartment at 2.42am, 12 minutes later. While being interviewed, he not only described the attack but claimed to have received a phone call on January 26 from someone who said 'hey you little f****' and hung up. He said the call happened near a camera and that it captured the attack. It was the same camera he pointed out to the brothers in the hope that it would capture their staged ambush. Chicago Police Department Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson abhorred him as a 'troubled young man' who has 'taken advantage of the pain and anger of racism to further his career' by allegedly lying that he was attacked by racist and homophobic assailants on January 29. Smollett makes $100,000 per episode on Empire, according to an associate who spoke to DailyMail.com, and there are 18 episodes in the current season which earns him $1.8million. He also has a record deal with Columbia Records but, according to police, was 'dissatisfied' and wanted to boost his profile. When police learned that Smollett's motive was to get more money, it 'p****d everybody off', Superintendent Johnson said, adding that Smollett's repeated 'lies' were 'shameful' and 'despicable'. He called for 'absolute justice' which he said amounted to Smollett apologizing and offering to pay for the police resources he wasted. President Trump has also called for Smollett to apologize for making it appear as though he was being targeted by one of his supporters. This is the state's case against Smollett, as laid out in their bond proffer that was submitted in court on Thursday Police say they have found phone records which prove Smollett spoke with brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo an hour before the attack, an hour afterwards and while they were in Nigeria, keeping their heads down, while the case gained global attention. Prosecutor Risa Lanier laid bare the allegations in a press conference after the bond hearing They also say they have the check that Smollett used to pay them $3,500. The brothers 'confessed' to the 'entire plot' once they were in custody on Thursday. It began on January 22 when Smollett allegedly mailed himself a threatening letter to the Empire studio in Chicago which had 'MAGA' written on it and included racist and homophobic slurs. It read: 'Smollett Jussie, you will die' and included a drawing of a stick figure with a gun pointed towards it. He reported it to the police along with producer Dennis Hammer. When that did not win him a pay rise from 20th Century Fox, however, he allegedly hired the brothers to attack him at 2am on January 29 in what he then told police was a random, racist and homophobic attack. The attack did happen but was not caught on camera. According to the brothers, they punched him after meeting at an arranged spot and time then ran away and got into a taxi. President Trump tweeted on Thursday after the details of his arrest emerged to demand an apology from the actor who said his attackers shouted 'This is MAGA country!' Smollett then went home to his friend, 60-year-old Frank Gatson, who was in the apartment and told him that he had been jumped by two masked assailants who shouted: 'Empire f****t n****r', poured bleach on him, tied a noose around his neck and screamed: 'This is MAGA country!' Police say that the actor gave himself the scratches on his face that were visible in a hospital-bed selfie he took after reporting it. The same day, the brothers went to the airport and boarded a flight to Nigeria. While Smollett received an outpouring of sympathy from politicians, celebrities and public figures around the world, they laid low but were allegedly in contact with the star. As the police investigation heated up, officers honed in on them by tracking taxis that were in the area at around the time of the incident. In particular, a ride-share the brothers took to the location gave police their details. They were then picked up when they returned to Chicago on February 13. Once in custody, they told police that Smollett had hired them and said it was because he wanted a higher salary. Smollett, a vocal Trump critic, said his attackers shouted 'This is MAGA country!' and later suggested he was targeted because he is so critical of the president He paid them a reported $3,500 to carry out the attack, they said, and promised them $500 more when they returned from their trip. Smollett is in custody awaiting his first court appearance on felony charges of filing a false police report. He will appear before a judge at 1.30pm. His lawyers issued a statement on Wednesday to protest his innocence and condemn the police for leaking so many details of the investigation. During the press conference, Superintendent Johnson revealed Smollett went from being treated as the victim in the case to a suspect when the brothers 'confessed' the 'entire plot' in the final hour of a 48 hour hold. That is when they, in their lawyer's words, 'manned up' and revealed that they had been hired to carry out the attack by the actor himself. Smollett actually furthered the investigation along by going on Good Morning America and confirming that the two people in a grainy surveillance footage still were the men who attacked him. He was unaware when he made the remark that Chicago PD had identified those men as the Osundairo brothers and that they had them in custody. 'I come to you today not only as the Superintendent of Chicago Police Department but as a black man who has spent his entire life living in the city of Chicago. 'I know the racial divide. I know how hard it has been for our city and our nation to come together. 'Empire actor Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career. 'I'm left hanging my head and asking why? Why would anyone, especially an African American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations? Chicago PD also shared this map of Smollett's movements on the night of the attack and show where it happened. The cameras in the area where it happened were not facing him, to his dismay Another map shows where the assailants were dropped off in a ride-share, top right, then walked to the attack and fled to get in another taxi afterwards Chicago Police Department Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson tore through Smollett at a press conference on Thursday where he labeled him 'shameful' and 'despicable' 'How could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol and see it as an opportunity to manipulate his own public profile?' Superintendent Johnson said, adding it was a 'slap in the face ' to 'everyone' in Chicago. 'I love the city of Chicago, warts and all, but this publicity stunt was a scar that Chicago didn't earn and certainly didn't deserve. 'The accusations within this phony attack received national attention for weeks...Celebrities, news commentators and even presidential candidates weighed in on something that was choreographed by an actor,' he went on. When we discovered the actual motive, it p****d everybody off Chicago Police Department Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson He added that he was 'angry and offended' and said it was a travesty that other crimes do not garner as much attention. 'I just wish that the families of the victims of gun violence in this city got as much attention. That is who really deserves this amount of attention.' He was emphatic, later, about the fact that no other investigations suffered as a result of Smollett's claims, but said: 'Bogus police reports cause real harm. 'They do harm to ever legitimate victim who is in need of support by police.' Johnson finished his remarks by saying: 'Ill continue to pray for this troubled young man who resorted to both drastic and illegal tactics to gain attention. Police say Smollett cut his own cheek to make it look like he had suffered injuries in the attack. He is shown in a hospital bed selfie FaceTiming Lee Daniels, the show's creator, hours after the attack 'Ill also continue to pray for our city asking that we can move forward from this and begin to heal.' Police examined footage from 55 surveillance cameras, obtained more than 50 search warrants and conducted more than 100 interviews. If convicted, Smollett may be asked to repay the money that was spent investigating the crime. Smollett has not made any statements since he was taken into custody. His lawyers said on Wednesday night that he would fight the charges with an 'aggressive defense'. In previous statements, his representatives have angrily hit out at the media and insisted that he is the victim. Within hours of him being charged, Smollett's attorneys arranged for him to hand himself in quietly at Chicago's 1st District afterwards. He appeared in his mugshot wearing a black puffer jacket, staring blankly at the camera. After being processed at the station, he was transferred to the Cook County courthouse where he will appear at 1.30pm. He is being held separately from other detainees. 20th Century Fox said on Thursday that it was now considering its options. It had been standing by the actor A press conference is scheduled for 9am CT during which detectives will give more details about the arrest. It is not yet known where he was or what time he was taken into custody. 'Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked,' the actor's attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson said. 'Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense.' The Osundairo brothers testified before the grand jury for about two and a half hours on Wednesday. Addressing reporters outside afterwards, their attorney Gloria Schmidt said they'd 'manned up' by speaking out against Smollett. The brothers bought their masks, gloves and a hat in this store the day before the attack The rope they put around Smollett's neck was bought in this hardware store They have not been arrested or charged and their lawyer said they had not been offered any form of immunity deal in exchange for testifying against Smollett. 'There was a point where this story needed to be told, and they manned up and they said: "We're gonna correct this." 'Plea deal, immunity, all of that they don't' care about that.' She said that Smollett was lying, and that she didn't know how his conscience could let him sleep at night. There was a point where this story needed to be told and they manned up and they said, "we're going to correct this" Gloria Schmidt, lawyer for two Nigerian brothers 'I think Jussie's conscience is not letting him sleep right now and he should unload that conscience and come out and tell the American people what happened,' she added. 'I think the biggest thing for the American people to know. Is that this story, has a lot of complications to it. 'We're not trying to hide anything from the press. But we wanted to make sure that everything checked out. 'When I say that the police spent countless man-hours trying to piece this together, I mean that, I absolutely mean that. 'When I say that my clients spent countless hours getting their story out there to the police so that they could do their work, I mean that, too,' she said. The brothers' testimony came after footage emerged of them buying ski masks, a red hat and gloves in a store the day before the attack. The brothers said Smollett also sent himself this letter to the Fox studio where Empire is filmed a week before the attack. If he did, he faces another 5-10 years in prison on a federal mail fraud charge Abel and Ola Osundairo's lawyers said on Wednesday night that they 'manned up' by telling police that Smollett paid them. Ola once appeared on the show as an extra. He is shown with creator Lee Daniels, right It was taken on January 28 and shows brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo inside what looks like a drug store buying the masks and one hat. Smollett told police that he was attacked by two masked assailants who punched him, poured bleach on him, tied a noose around his neck and called him 'Empire n****r f****t'. No footage has ever emerged of the incident itself. In the video taken inside the store the day earlier, the brothers look calm as they bring the items to the register. Smollett follows the brothers' joint Instagram account where they post videos and photographs of themselves working out Abel, whose full name is Abimbola, is dressed in a blue plaid jacket. About 30 seconds into the video, he puts his hood up while standing at the register. His younger brother Ola, who once appeared on Empire as an extra, is in a green jacket. The brothers were picked up by police at Chicago O'Hare Airport on Wednesday night as they returned from Nigeria. Police seized a red hat from the brothers' home along with ski masks when they raided it last week. Smollett said his attackers were wearing masks but there was not a description of a red hat in the initial reports. Police have since shared their belief that at least one of them was wearing a red hat at the time of the attack. Smollett's family, many of whom are also actors, have spoken out repeatedly in support of him since the January 29 attack as have many of his co-stars on Empire. Among them is Gabby Sidibe, his roommate at one time, who said on Instagram on Wednesday: 'I know him. I believe him.' However she later appeared to have deleted the posts. Smollett's lawyers include Mark Geragos, who has represented Michael Jackson and Colin Kaepernick, in the past. Last Thursday, the actor wept as he said 'who the f*** would make that up' when addressing the skepticism surrounding his version of events during an interview on Good Morning America. He has also called himself the 'gay Tupac' and issued statements via attorneys and representatives condemning coverage of the incident When news of the attack first emerged on January 29 and 30, Smollett was inundated with support across the political spectrum. Among those who tweeted their condemnation of him were Democratic presidential hopefuls Kamala Harris and Cory Booker. But as days went by with no suspects on the horizon, details about the case and the police's investigation into it began to cast doubt on Smollett's version of events. One of the earliest sources of speculation was the fact that Smollett waited 42 minutes to call the police then refused to hand over his phone to the police for them to verify his story. He then handed over redacted files that police described as 'insufficient'. Frustrated with the coverage of his case, he hit out at the media for reporting on leaked information coming from within the Chicago police department and insisted he was the victim. He then went on Good Morning America to protest his innocence. In an hour-long interview with Robin Roberts, he wept as he recalled the attack and abhorred the reaction to it. CELEBRITIES REACT TO JUSSIE SMOLLETT'S ARREST Celebrities have lashed out at Empire actor Jussie Smollett following his arrest after many of them publicly voiced support for him when he first claimed he had been targeted in a racist and homophobic attack. Actor and comedian Tyler Perry penned a lengthy Facebook post saying he had personally spoken to Smollett who insisted he was telling the truth. Perry added that the evidence seemed to contradict Smollett's version and that he was 'lost for words'. 'I have personally spoken to Jussie, and he is adamant that he's telling the truth. Also, everyone that I know who knows him says that he is not the kind of person who would make up such a horrible and awful thing,' he said. 50 Cent mocked Smollett and his Tupac reference with an Instagram photo of the actor's face imposed on the cover of the rapper's album, saying: 'All Liez On Me' Snoopdog posted a Scooby Doo cartoon with Smollett's face edited in 'Yet the evidence seems to state otherwise. I'm lost for words. To stoke fears and raise racial tensions is wrong in every situation on ALL SIDES! Yet my prayers are still with him and his family and our Nation.' Straight Outta Compton actor O'Shea Jackson Jr was scathing in a series of lengthy tweets about the developments. 'What upsets me about this Jussie situation is that people were genuinely worried about you man. And the things that you said happened could have led to some serious outcomes. People were prepared to fight for you bruh. Things coulda got ugly...... and you made it up. 'The world has plenty of real monsters. You don't have to make up any. And what for? Just further dividing people for personal gain? It sucks for the people who actually have to deal with that type of hate. 'And why did you call yourself the gay Tupac. What does Tupac have to do with anything that happened to you? Did you do this to sell records bro? Did you fake a hate crime, Enrage the Black community. The LBGT community and anti-Trump community just to sell records bruh? Actor and comedian Tyler Perry penned a lengthy Facebook post saying he had personally spoken to Smollett who insisted he was telling the truth but later added that the evidence seemed to tell a different story Straight Outta Compton actor O'Shea Jackson Jr was scathing in a series of lengthy tweets about the developments 'People couldve gotten hurt. Thinking theyre protesting and standing up for you. This is not a game.' Smollett had compared himself to Tupac during a performance in West Hollywood earlier this month. He ended his set saying he fought back against his so-called attackers and said he was 'the gay Tupac'. 50 Cent mocked Smollett and his Tupac reference with an Instagram photo of the actor's face imposed on the cover of the rapper's album, saying: 'All Liez On Me'. Andy Cohen tweeted that his 'head is exploding' following news of Smollett's arrest before calling the story 'pathetic'. Actor Patton Oswalt retweeted a tweet from President Donald Trump, saying: 'Way to go Jussie. You just handed this racist dips**t a 'Get Out Of Race-Baiting Free' card that he's gonna wave around like a soiled diaper until he's re-elected.' Trump had tweeted: '.@JussieSmollett - what about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!? #MAGA'. Advertisement Choking back tears, he explained when asked why it took so long for him to contact the authorities: 'There is a level of pride there. 'We live in a society where as a gay man you are considered somehow to be weak and I am not weak. I am not weak and we as a people are not weak.' Later, he added how desperate he was for them to find footage of the attack. 'I want that video found so badly because, for probably four reasons. 'Number one, I want them to find the people that did it. 'Number two, I want them to stop being able to say 'alleged' attack. 'Number three, I want them to see that I fought back,' he continued, welling-up. 'I want a little gay boy who might watch this to see that I fought the f*** back. They ran off,' I didn't,' he said. After it emerged that Smollett knew the brothers and may have been involved in the staging of the attack, the celebrities and politicians who rushed to support him walked back their claims. Nancy Pelosi deleted her tweet about it and Cory Booker said he would now be 'withholding judgement' until more information emerged. Kamala Harris said, when questioned about her tweet that it was a 'modern day lynching', that she was 'very concerned'. With a 12 per cent decrease from 2017 to 2018, registered property companies have continued to exit the market as stronger players emerge with a focus on customer service, data, knowledge and information, said a report by Property Finder, a leading UAE-based real estate portal. A record 486 property companies and real estate brokerages that were in business in 2017 have failed to renew their licences for 2018, stated the portal in its latest report citing aggregate results of figures from Dubai Pulse, the open data platform initiative from the Smart Dubai Office, which are based on the fluctuations of the number of agents and real estate brokerages in Dubai. True to the adage, Survival of the Fittest, now, a total of 3,680 brokerages stand strong in Dubais property market, which is consolidating and refining its talents and offerings. The Dubai Pulse data below shows the statistics of Dubais real estate market throughout 2018: The number of agents have increased by four per cent to 6,473; On average, firms in the real estate industry have reduced by eight per cent year-on-year for the past two years; 486 property companies and real estate brokerages exited the market in 2018; Despite exits, compared to 2008, the number of licensed brokerages has grown by 129 per cent. Lukman Hajje, the group chief commercial officer, Property Finder, said: "This is a sign of much-needed consolidation in the industry. Fly-by-night operators who realised that their business model is no longer viable have been weeded out." "This is a positive for the industry and only bonafide property companies with verified credentials will continue to operate, making the market more streamlined and transparent. This is a win-win situation for both buyers, sellers and all property stakeholders," he stated. Lynnette Abad, the director data and research for Property Finder, said: "Over the past few years, we have seen many signs of a maturing real estate market in Dubai and this is indeed one of them." "We have always had an exorbitant number of agencies in this market, therefore the fact that the number of agencies is reducing is a positive sign, leaving opportunity for the more experienced and professional companies to grow," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Jonathan Chang takes over as Tesla's general counsel from February 21, 2019. TESLA 1. Chang joined Palo Alto-based Tesla as senior counsel in 2011. Hes worked his way up the legal department, most recently managing Teslas corporate securities, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, compliance, and sales and distribution functions in the U.S. and Europe. Hell now lead Teslas global legal and policy teams and report to Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk. Before joining Tesla, Chang held a general counsel role at Lithium Technologies in Emeryville, California, according to his LinkedIn profile. He started his legal career as a corporate attorney at Latham & Watkins after earning a law degree from the University of Southern California. https://www.law.com/corpcounsel/2019/02/20/who-is-teslas-new-gc-heres-what-colleagues-had-to-say/?slreturn=20190122011157 2. 2017 Ian Austin today became the ninth Labour MP to quit the troubled party, saying he had become 'ashamed' of it under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. The 53-year-old Dudley North MP, whose adoptive father was Jewish, lashed out at anti-Semitism directed at MPs including Luciana Berger and Dame Margaret Hodge. He attacked the 'offence and distress' caused to Jewish people by the party under Mr Corbyn's leadership, telling his local Express and Star newspaper that he could not ask local people to make the opposition leader Prime Minister. He said: 'The Labour Party has been my life, so this has been the hardest decision I have ever had to take, but I have to be honest and the truth is that I have become ashamed of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn.' Ian Austin, whose adoptive father was Jewish, hit out at the 'offence and distress' caused to Jews by Labour under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership Mr Austin used an interview with the Express and Star newspaper in his constituency to break the news of his departure from Labour. The party called on him to contest a by-election as it has with the other MPs who have left this week But he said that he had no plans to join the Independent Group set up by the other eight former Labour MPs, and three Tories who walked out earlier this week. 'I think the Labour Party is broken and clearly things have to change but that's not what today is about, and I've not talked to them about that,' he said. He told the E&S that 'the hard left is now in charge of the party' and he could not see a way for it to return to the political mainstream with its current leadership. 'It is terrible that a culture of extremism, anti-Semitism and intolerance is driving out good MPs and decent people who have committed their life to mainstream politics,' he said. 'The hard truth is that the party is tougher on the people complaining about anti-Semitism than it is on the anti-Semites.' Labour called for Mr Austin to quit as an MP and contest a by-election, with a party spokesman saying: 'He was elected as a Labour MP and so the democratic thing is to resign his seat and let the people of Dudley decide who should represent them.' Mr Corbyn told ITV News that he regretted Mr Austin's resignation, saying: 'I'm sorry he decided to take this course of action. From Gordon Brown's 'boot boy' to thorn in Jeremy Corbyn's side Ian Austin's long-running battle with Jeremy Corbyn over anti-Semitism in the Labour Party has been shaped by his background as the adopted son of a Jewish father forced to flee the Nazis. Before being elected as MP for Dudley North in 2005, he was an adviser to then-Chancellor Gordon Brown. His alliance with Mr Brown continued when he entered Parliament, becoming his ministerial aide and then a minister for West Midlands regional affairs. The close political relationship led Tory leader David Cameron to brand him one of Mr Brown's "boot boys". Mr Austin, 53, also served on the opposition front benches under Ed Miliband. He was never likely to see eye-to-eye with Mr Corbyn, a leader from the left of the party who made no secret of his discontent with the Blair-Brown New Labour era. The issue of anti-Semitism, which has dogged Mr Corbyn's leadership, was the main focus of tensions between the pair. Mr Austin's Jewish father Fred was 10 when the Nazis marched into Ostrava in the former Czechoslovakia. Four days later he was put on a train to England - the only member of his family able to leave - and he never saw them again. He grew up to become a headmaster and adopted four children - including Mr Austin. This background had a profound influence on Mr Austin and was cited as his main reason for quitting Labour. Advertisement 'He was elected, like me, in 2017 at the General Election, on a manifesto that pledged to deal with poverty, injustice and inequality in Britain. 'That's how he was elected, that is how I was elected, and I think we should be campaigning on those issues.' However Tom Watson, the party's deputy leader and a fellow West Midlands MP, paid a more heartfelt tribute, saying Mr Austin's resignation was a 'serious blow' to the party. 'It's also personally hard to see a close friend take a decision of this magnitude,' he added. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell acknowledged 'fiercer' action was needed on anti-Semitism, telling the Evening Standard: 'I think there's been a lot of listening but not enough action. That's the problem.' But Mr Austin was sceptical about the leadership's desire to address the issue. 'The last time I tried to speak to John McDonnell it wasn't a very long conversation on his side and I wouldn't repeat the words he used,' he said. 'Why weren't they listening when thousands of Jewish people protested against the Labour Party in Parliament Square?' Former Labour MPs Luciana Berger, Chuka Umunna and Chris Leslie - who were among those who left to form the Independent Group this week - offered support to Mr Austin after his announcement. Ms Berger tweeted: 'I fully understand why @IanAustinMP has come to this difficult and painful decision.' Mr Leslie wrote: 'Full respect for @IanAustinMP and his difficult decision to leave @UKLabour today. Politics is broken and it is so important MPs stand up for the mainstream values we share.' Mr Austin's resignation from Labour brings the number of MPs who have quit the two main parties this week to 12. But he said he had not spoken to the other 11 about joining the Independent Group they have set up How the parties look in Parliament following Mr Austin's decision to quit Labour. The largest opposition party is now down to 246 seats after losing nine MPs this week, 68 behind the Conservatives, who have lost three And Mr Umunna posted: 'Massive respect to @IanAustinMP for making this incredibly difficult decision - it's painful and hard but he has stayed true to his values and what he believes to be the national interest.' Meanwhile West Midlands Labour MP Pat McFadden hailed Mr Austin as 'a great friend and a brilliant MP'. Mr McFadden, who represents Wolverhampton South East, said: 'He has been in the Labour Party his whole adult life. It is completely tragic that he has concluded he has to leave Labour because of what it has become.' News of his departure came as Theresa May faced the most serious revolt of her premiership as up to 100 MPs pledge to vote to delay Brexit unless she takes No Deal off the table. Rebel Tories now sense there are enough MPs across the House of Commons to pass the Cooper Amendment - which extends Article 50 beyond the departure date of March 29 - due to be debated on Wednesday. Four Cabinet ministers were said to have confronted the Prime Minister yesterday and warned they are prepared to vote for the motion proposed by the Tory MP Sir Oliver Letwin and Labour's Yvette Cooper. It's claimed as many as 25 junior ministers and many others in the government are prepared to do the same to prevent crashing out of the EU without a deal. Theresa May has been warned she faces a Cabinet revolt and an exodus of MPs if she tries to take Britain out of the EU without a deal A well-placed source told the Guardian the move will challenge May to sack the rebels who have no intention of resigning voluntarily. One cabinet Pro-Brexit MP told the paper if it came to the vote, May would have to get rid of rebellious ministers. 'It would be a huge mistake not to sack them. It would be effectively conceding we had lost control of the party,' they said. Meanwhile, Chancellor Philip Hammond yesterday refused to rule out resigning over the issue, describing No Deal as an 'extremely bad' outcome he was working 'all day, every day' to prevent. Four cabinet ministers are warning Mrs May against a No Deal Brexit. Amber Rudd (left) and Business secretary Greg Clarke (right) haven't ruled out resigning in the event of No Deal Former Tory education secretary Justine Greening told BBC Radio 4: 'I don't think I would be able to stay part of a party that was simply a Brexit party that had crashed us out of the European Union' And two former Tory ministers Justine Greening and Dominic Grieve issued public threats to quit the party altogether if Mrs May pursues a No Deal Brexit. The Prime Minister is under pressure to get a withdrawal agreement passed in the Commons by next Wednesday or, if there is no prospect of an agreement being voted through, face a vote where MPs could force her to seek a delay to Brexit. However, it was not clear whether those who did revolt would resign their Government posts, or if the PM would sack them. Justice secretary David Gauke (left) and Scottish secretary David Mundell were said to have confronted Theresa May over No Deal with Amber Rudd and Greg Clarke The motion to block No Deal by seeking a Brexit delay is likely to be proposed by Tory MPs Nick Boles and Sir Oliver Letwin and Labour's Yvette Cooper. The four Cabinet ministers warning Mrs May against No Deal are said to be Justice Secretary David Gauke, Business Secretary Greg Clark, Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd and Scottish Secretary David Mundell. Mr Mundell did not deny this yesterday, saying: 'I don't comment on private conversations I've had with the Prime Minister, but what I've said to her repeatedly and what I've said to Cabinet is that a No Deal Brexit is a very bad outcome for Scotland and the UK and we must do everything we can to avoid that.' Miss Greening and Mr Grieve yesterday both issued threats that they could quit the Conservative Party altogether in the event of the Prime Minister taking the country toward No Deal. Asked if she could follow the three Tory defectors who quit the party on Wednesday, Miss Greening, a former education secretary, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'It is something that I have considered, but I have reached a different conclusion for the moment. Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn has also been warned he's facing a second exodus of MPs unless he backs a second referendum. The Labour leader was told yesterday that dozens of MPs, including shadow ministers, will threaten to join the new Independent Group in parliament or resign. Jeremy Corbyn has also been warned that dozens of MPs, including shadow ministers, will threaten to join the new Independent Group in parliament or resign if he doesn't back a second referendum The Labour rebels are demanding Corybn supports an amendment by two of his backbench MPs that would put any deal Mrs May gets through to the public. The proposal stipulates that if the public voted against the government's deal, then the UK would be forced to scrap Brexit and remain in the EU. One MP, who considered quitting the party this week, told The Times: 'If Jeremy ends up not supporting it, it will have a dramatic effect and people will go.' A senior Labour figure said that the plan, proposed by MPs Phil Wilson and Peter Kyle, was an 'acid test' of whether the Corbyn was sincere about not ruling out a second referendum. The Reserve Bank has unveiled the first look at the new $20 note that will go into circulation later this year. RBA officials on Friday revealed the new design that will include advanced security features that will make it nearly impossible to counterfeit. The note will still feature Mary Reibey and Reverend John Flynn, but will have a distinct clear window running down the center. Unlike the current version, the new note will have a more vibrant colour scheme and even a colour-changing kookaburra that flaps its wings when the note is tilted. Scroll down for video New and improved: RBA officials on Friday revealed the new design that will include advanced security features that will make it nearly impossible to counterfeit Before: Unlike the current version, the new note will have a more vibrant colour scheme and even a colour-changing kookaburra that flaps its wings when the note is tilted In a nod to the famous Australians, excerpts of Reverend Flynn's The Bushman's Companion and the name of Reiby's ships will also be printed on the note. Other new additions include a box-leaf wattle and three raised bumps as a 'tactile' feature to make it easier to identify the note from others. The release of the new $20 comes a year after a new $50 was rolled out in 2018 RBA first released a modernised $5 in 2016, followed by the $10 in 2017. A new $100 note is expected to be released next year. RBA Govenor Philip Lowe said the 'same innovative security features' from the previously released notes have been incorporated in the 20 to fight counterfeiting. Lowe also said the note will continue to 'celebrate the lives two outstanding Australians.' 'Their stories are told through the images we have incorporated on the banknote, which provide a rich and diverse narrative about their life in Australia,' he said. A 67-year-old man accused of threatening to blow up a public school has had an 'explosive device' seized from his home in Adelaide. Police found the device at a North Haven home about 8am on Thursday after they were notified of the alleged threats by Ocean View College, ABC News reported. Officers investigating the matter swarmed the property where they located what appeared to be a homemade explosive device and further items of interest. Police found the device at a North Haven home about 8am on Thursday after they were notified of the alleged threats by Ocean View College (pictured) Witnesses described seeing up to 12 officers storm the property before the man was arrested and taken away in an ambulance. One of the man's neighbours, Jan Cadd, said police cordoned off the property with crime scene tape before making the arrest. 'They were positioned all around and I was getting a bit scared [and] worried what was going on,' Ms Cadd said. Another neighbour, Michael Lord, told the publication officers remained at the property for the rest of the day. 'They had it all cordoned off and I had a heard a whisper there was a bomb scare,' Mr Lord said. The 67-year-old man was arrested and charged with manufacturing explosives, possessing explosive substances, and crating false belief in relation to a bomb hoax. He has been refused bail and is currently being treated in hospital and is expected to appear in court in a beside hearing. South Australian police said in a statement the school provided enough early information, which ensured there was no risk to the school community. The school posted a message to its Facebook page (pictured), which notified parents of the incident and reassured them that there was never any immediate danger One of the students fathers, who asked to be referred to as just David, told the publication he was confident the school (pictured) was maintaining student safety The school later posted a message to its Facebook page, which notified parents of the incident and equally reassured them there was never any danger. 'As you may be aware, we called the police today in relation to threats made by a member of the public against current and former members of our school community,' the message stated. 'While SAPOL is investigating we have been reassured that our school is safe.' The Facebook message urged parents 'not to speculate' and to talk to their children about the need to be respectful in their interactions with member of the public. 'Please contact the school if you have concerns about your childrens well-being and we can ensure necessary support is made available,' the message concluded. One of the students fathers, who asked to be referred to as just David, told the publication he was confident the school was maintaining student safety. 'I do believe the school do everything they can with the children's safety,' he said. A raccoon in Florida has been rescued after a man noticed it was stuck on top of a telephone pole with its head caught in a jar of peanut butter. Joe Milo was on his way to work on Friday morning in Palm Bay when he noticed the creature, 25 feet up in the air. '[I was] driving down the road and happened to look up, and saw the guy with a jar on his head,' Milo told Spectrum News 13. Thanks to his quick thinking, Milo got the proper officials to the scene and helped save the raccoon from a long fall to the hard ground down below. It was a power company line worker who eventually saved the day. Scroll down for video A raccoon in Florida (shown) was rescued after Good Samaritan Joe Milo noticed it was stuck on top of a telephone pole with its head caught in a jar of peanut butter on Friday The Good Samaritan was on his way to a landscaping job at around 9.30am on Friday when he realized his furry friend was in need of help. The raccoon, nearly three stories in the air atop of a telephone pole, had its head suck in a jar, after looking for a snack. It took Wild Florida Rescue of Brevard County and Florida Power & Light to successfully get the animal down. 'When he has a jar on his head, it's hard for him to breathe, so eventually he may have gotten dizzy and just fall off,' Crystene Prokop of Wild Florida Rescue said. The raccoon, nearly three stories in the air atop of a telephone pole 25 feet high, got its head suck in the jar after looking for a snack Milo called Wild Florida Rescue of Brevard County, and a representative for the organization called Florida Power & Light, which sent a line worker (shown) to get the creature down Milo called the Brevard County branch of that organization first. Once Prokop arrived, she called the power company, which sent out a line worker who went up to the top of the telephone pole in a bucket. After two tries, the line worker was able to capture the raccoon in a crate. On the first attempt, things got extra sticky, as the creature slid a bit down the pole. They then worked together to free it from the jar, which wasn't too difficult, the Wild Florida Rescue official said Finally the worker got the troubled animal to the ground, where a little teamwork allowed the creature to be freed. '[The peanut butter jar] came off without any soap or anything,' Prokop said. Milo was pleased to see the animal scamper off, once it was back on the ground. 'He's free now, good to go!' Milo said. The light pole the raccoon was rescued from is located on Olsmar Street in Palm Bay. Bear Grylls is in hot water for killing and cooking a frog. Officials in Bulgaria are considering fining the adventurer, 44, over an episode of his Running Wild series in which he boiled the animal on a camping stove. In the programme filmed in Bulgaria's Rila mountains in 2017 Grylls and professional dancer Derek Hough were shown killing, gutting and cooking the frog before swimming across a lake. Bear Grylles could be fined up to 2,000 for killing a Bulgarian frog (stock) 'It is evident from the film that during the shooting there were breaches to the regulations and rules of conduct in protected areas: entering and swimming in the water basin of the Karakashevo lake, lighting a fire, and catching and killing an animal,' the Bulgarian environment ministry said. The series' production company faces a possible fine of up to 4,000 while Grylls and Hough could receive fines of up to 2,000. The Rila national park is a protected area and the ministry said the crew had been briefed on what they could and could not do during the shoot. Grylls, 44, killed, gutted and then cooked the frog before swimming across a lake with Derek Hough MSNBC host Joe Scarborough has directly blamed President Donald Trump for a domestic terror threat which allegedly targeted him and a host of Democratic lawmakers and other media figures. The co-host of Morning Joe launched his blistering attack Thursday morning after U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant Christopher Paul Hasson, 49, stood accused of drawing up a hit list to conduct a mass killing. Scarborough used a segment on his show to say: 'This is pretty simple. It's all on the president's shoulders. It's all the president's fault. 'And he sits there with his mouth shut, for once in his life, doesn't say anything, doesn't tweet anything, which, of course, makes it even more on him.' Scroll down for video. MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, left, has directly blamed President Donald Trump, right, for a domestic terror threat. Trump had earlier tweeted: 'The New York Times reporting is false. They are a true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE' The co-host of Morning Joe launched his blistering attack Thursday morning, pictured The publisher of The New York Times warned that Trump's attacks on the press are 'reckless' Hasson, a former Marine who worked at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, was arrested last week. Federal agents found 15 firearms and over 1,000 rounds of ammunition following a raid on his basement apartment in Silver Spring. They allege that Hasson began the process of targeting specific victims and had compiled a list of prominent congressional Democrats, 2020 presidential candidates, activists and media commentators. Christopher Paul Hasson is accused of building up an arsenal of weapons to carry out a domestic terror attack and had created a 'hit-list' that included journalists His online search records show he searched for 'joe Scarborough' after reading media headlines that said the MSNBC Morning Joe host had referred to President Trump as 'the worst ever'. He also searched 'where is morning joe filmed' and looked up where the TV host lived. Hasson's list of prominent Democrats also allegedly included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Richard Blumenthal and presidential hopefuls Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Kamala Harris. Scarborough added: 'You talk about the madness that is spread around on the internet and then you have the president of the United States, instead of stamping down these conspiracy theories actually stirring them up, using Stalinist phrases like enemies of the people that only tyrants have used in the past. 'No American president has ever used it and, as I have been saying for well over a year now, it's a phrase that actually the Soviet Union outlawed after the death of Joseph Stalin because it was used to destroy human beings. 'So you have a president who churns up the conspiracy theories, who churns up hatred of the press, who spits out phrases like enemies of the people and he sits there and, again, something like this happens and not a word. Not a single word on twitter. Not a response.' Federal agents seized 15 firearms - including several long-guns and rifles - and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition during a raid on his cramped basement apartment The publisher of The New York Times A.G. Sulzberger warned Wednesday that Trump's attacks on the press are 'reckless' and 'dangerous' and threaten to encourage violence against journalists at home and abroad. Sulzberger's statement came shortly after Trump tweeted: 'The New York Times reporting is false. They are a true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE.' 'The phrase 'enemy of the people' is not just false, it's dangerous,' Sulzberger said. And Scarborough, who is married to co-host Mika Brzezinski, said: 'We should be shocked that we are not more shocked that the publishers of The New York Times tells the president of the United States 'you keep calling the press 'enemies of the people' and you are going to get somebody hurt, you're going to get somebody killed. 'He writes that in the morning and in the afternoon we have this conspiracy to actually kill top Democratic lawmakers who oppose Donald Trump and journalists who dare to report the truth about Donald Trump.' An extraordinary painting which serves as the 'who's who' of Victorian Britain has gone up for sale for 10million. The illustrious line-up in William Powell Firth's 1881 famous work includes Prime Minister William Gladstone, writers Oscar Wilde and Anthony Trollope and actors Henry Irving, Ellen Terry and Lily Langtry. The panorama, titled 'The Private View at the Royal Academy, 1881', which also features artists Frederic Lord Leighton and John Everett Millais, attracted huge crowds when it went on display at the Royal Academy in 1883. William Powell Firth's 1881 famous work 'The Private View at the Royal Academy' features an illustrious line-up that includes Prime Minister William Gladstone, writers Oscar Wilde and Anthony Trollope and actors Henry Irving, Ellen Terry and Lily Langtry It was sold by the artist to Alfred Pope, founder of the Eldridge Pope Brewery in Dorset, two years later for the substantial sum of 2,500 guineas (165,000 in today's money). The oil on canvas 2ft by 4ft painting has remained in the Pope family for 136 years. They are who now selling it with the Martin Beilsy Fine Art gallery in St James's, London. William Gladstone was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served for twelve years as Prime Minister, spread over four terms beginning in 1868 and ending in 1894. He also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer four times. Gladstone was born in 1809 in Liverpool to Scottish parents and died in May 1898 Dame Alice Ellen Terry, GBE, known professionally as Ellen Terry, was an English actress who became the leading Shakespearean actress in Britain. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and toured throughout the British provinces in her teens Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the circumstances of his criminal conviction for homosexuality It is the last of Frith's renowned scenes of modern life to remain in private hands. Frith himself appears in the painting in the middle of the crowd, towards the back. Martin Beisly, director of Martin Beisly Fine Art, said: 'When exceptional Victorian pictures such as this appear on the art market, they are often discoveries, works hidden away then overlooked before being declared lost. 'In contrast, we assume all the great, well-known and well-loved pictures, the images of which are familiar to us, are safely enshrined in public collections, carefully researched and fully catalogued. 'It is remarkable that this celebrated picture is not only still in private hands but has been in the same family since it was purchased from the artist. Emilie Charlotte Langtry, known as Lillie, was a British-American socialite, actress and producer. Born on the island of Jersey, upon marrying she moved to London in 1876. Her looks and personality attracted interest, commentary, and invitations from artists and society hostesses. By 1881, she had become an actress and starred in many plays in the UK and US, including She Stoops to Conquer, The Lady of Lyons, and As You Like It William Powell Frith (left) was an English painter specialising in genre subjects and panoramic narrative works of life in the Victorian era. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1853. Sir Henry Irving, was an English stage actor who in 1895 he became the first actor to be awarded a knighthood. Irving is widely acknowledged to be one of the inspirations for Count Dracula Sir Frederic Leighton was an English painter and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classical subject matter. Leighton was knighted at Windsor in 1878 and was created a baronet, of Holland Park Road in the Parish of St Mary Abbots, Kensington. He was the first painter to be given a peerage, in the 1896 New Year Honours. The patent creating him Baron Leighton, of Stretton in the County of Shropshire. Leighton died the next day of angina pectoris 'The painting is in excellent condition, the canvas unlined and in its original frame with inscribed key. It was Frith's tour de force.' He added that Pope's descendants, who will share the proceeds of the sale, are hoping to use it to fund education, housing and other purposes. Frith, originally from Harrogate, north Yorks, made his name in the mid 19th century with his paintings Ramsgate Sands (1853), Derby Day (1858), and The Railway Station (1862). Pope agreed to pay for the painting in three instalments over a year, during which Frith kept hold of it and displayed it in his gallery in Harrogate, charging visitors one shilling to look at it. He died aged 90 in 1909. Convicted murderer James Gargasoulas has been sentenced to life in jail with a non-parole period of 46 years after he ran over and killed six people. Gargasoulas used a stolen car to mow down pedestrians on the busy Bourke Street mall in Melbourne's CBD on January 20, 2017. The 29-year-old's victims included three-month-old baby Zachary Bryant, who was thrown 60 metres from his pram, and 10-year-old girl Tahlia Hakin. Scroll down for video Convicted murderer James Gargasoulas has been sentenced to life in jail with a non-parole period of 46 years after he ran over and killed six people Gargasoulas drove a maroon Holden Commodore into Bourke Street, Melbourne at lunch-time rush on January 20, 2017 Gargasoulas injured dozens of others, knocking them to the ground and into walls while driving in a drug-induced psychosis. In giving Gargasoulas six life sentences at Victoria's Supreme Court on Friday, Judge Mark Weinberg said the killings were 'one of the worst examples of mass murder in Australian history'. 'You made no attempt to avoid people or to slow down. You simply ploughed through them - quite deliberately,' the judge said. 'The horror of what you did has profoundly affected many. I must ensure that the public are adequately protected from you. 'I'm convinced, as were the jury, that you knew full well what you were doing. 'Whatever your state was during the offending - you are now genuinely psychotic. Your condition is not likely to improve in the forseeable future. It is likely to worsen.' Grieving relatives recently told the court of their pain, with the brother of Japanese victim Yosuke Kanno saying he will 'continue suffering from this until I die' Zachary Matthew Bryant (pictured with his mother Nawwar) was left brain dead after the pram he and his sister Zara were in was struck by James Gargasoulas' stolen car in 2017 Family of the victims filled the Supreme Court as Gargasoulas was sentenced for his crimes. Grieving relatives recently told the court of their pain, with the brother of Japanese victim Yosuke Kanno saying he will 'continue suffering from this until I die'. Robyn Davis, the mother of victim Jess Mudie, said her daughter died three weeks before her 23rd birthday. 'Never in my wildest nightmares did I think I would have to bury one of my precious children,' she told a plea hearing in January. In a letter read to the court, Gargasoulas insisted he was not evil and blamed 'government oppression' for the murders. Gargasoulas pleaded not guilty to killing Zachary, Tahlia, Ms Mudie, Mr Kanno, 25, Matthew Si, 33, and Bhavita Patel, 33. Pictured: A memorial for the victims He also maintained he was the Messiah and acted on the wishes of God on the day of the massacre, but said he was in a 'bad headspace'. Gargasoulas pleaded not guilty to killing Zachary, Tahlia, Ms Mudie, Mr Kanno, 25, Matthew Si, 33, and Bhavita Patel, 33. But in November it took a jury less than an hour to unanimously find him guilty of the six murders and 27 counts of reckless conduct endangering life. An earlier jury found Gargasoulas, who suffers treatment-resistant paranoid schizophrenia, was fit to stand trial. Career criminals make up almost 40 per cent of offenders, according to figures published yesterday. Serial law-breakers with at least 15 previous convictions or cautions are committing a higher proportion of serious crimes than ever before. The statistics released by the Ministry of Justice prompted criticism of pointless short-term sentences which fail to stop criminals re-offending. A quarter of serial offenders have never been to jail while as many as 94 per cent had been on out-of-work benefits at least once, the statistics released by the Ministry of Justice revealed They also show that prosecutions in England and Wales are at an all-time low despite rising levels of reported crime. In the year to September 2018, 37 per cent of convicts were prolific offenders with a long history of law-breaking. But that figure rises to 40 per cent of those convicted of serious crimes such as murder, rape and robbery the highest proportion since records began in 1970. A quarter of serial offenders have never been to prison during their life of crime and 94 per cent had at least one spell claiming out-of-work benefits. As many as 94 per cent of serial offenders had claimed out-of-work benefits at least once, the statistics revealed. (Pictured) The Victoria Law Courts in Birmingham In the 12 months to last September, 1.37million defendants had legal action taken against them which is a drop of 4 per cent on the previous year. The total number of individuals formally dealt with by the criminal justice system, through measures such as cautions and penalty notices, also dropped by 5 per cent to 1.59million. These two figures are the lowest since records began. Falls in the number of prosecutions were recorded in most categories, including violence against the person, sexual offences, theft and drug crime. But the falling numbers come at a time when the number of crimes reported to police is on the rise. Last year, forces in England and Wales logged just over 5million offences, excluding fraud, which was an 8 per cent increase on the previous year. The rise was fuelled by jumps in recorded violence against the person, robbery and sexual crimes. But the Ministry of Justices report yesterday said the increase is believed to be associated with improved recording among police forces and victims greater willingness to report crimes. Nearly 1.2million offenders were convicted in the year to September 2018 a 3 per cent decrease on the previous year. However, the conviction ratio increased to 87 per cent the highest in a decade. However, the total number of prosecutions in England and Wales fell by four per cent in the 12-months before September 2018, compared to the previous year Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Wera Hobhouse said: The criminal justice system is failing in its central purpose to stop offenders committing more crimes. Our prisons are overcrowded, with too many people on pointless short-term sentences. And probation services are unable to deliver the services offenders need to go straight. She added: We demand urgent reforms to break the cycle of re-offending, including an end to short-term sentences and proper funding for rehabilitation services. A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: Under this Government, the most serious offenders are more likely to go to prison and for longer. Sentencing is a matter for independent courts, who take into account the full facts of each case. He added: We are tackling reoffending by strengthening alternatives to custody, boosting rehabilitation and investing in treatment for mental health and substance misuse to tackle the root cause of repeat-offending. Our probation reforms mean we are now monitoring around 40,000 offenders who would previously have been released with no supervision at all. A Texas mother was so overjoyed that her daughter got accepted into college that she 'twerked' in a principal's office. Heartwarming footage of LaJuana McCree dancing as she learns of her daughter Promise' good news has gone viral. Administrators at South Grand Prairie Early College High School called McCree, 49, and said they needed to see here regarding her daughter, 18-year-old Promise, a senior at the school. LaJuana McCree couldn't contain her excitement when she discovered her daughter Promise (right) had been accepted to a college and twerked around a school office in Texas LaJuana marched straight to a desk outside the principal's office wearing a pair of large sunglasses and had an anguished expression on her face. But little did she know that Promise and her counselor had lured her mom there to let her know shed been accepted to Grambling State University. LaJuana told WXIA-TV: 'I was ready for war. Thats it. I thought Promise had gotten into some serious trouble. In video footage, Promise and her school counselor lured LaJauna to the school, giving the impression that Promise had gotten into trouble. LaJuana appears to be worried (pictured) But La Juana is overjoyed (pictured) when she discovers the news is good and Promise has been accepted to Grambling State University in Louisiana 'I had to compose myself, but I was firm and I had that look on my face like: "What did you do?."' In the video, a person in the background can be heard telling the concerned mother: 'Before we talk about that, theres something else that we need to talk about. 'It happened today, and Im going to let Promise tell you what happened.' The room, as well as LaJuana, erupts into cheers and laughter at Promise's happy news LaJuana screams (pictured) and put her arms in the air and twerks in the 25-second clip Promise then tells her mother before the assembled group bursts into cheers and laughter: 'I got accepted into Grambling!.' An ecstatic LaJuana then screamed and put her arms in the air, dancing and twerking in the 25-second clip. The video has been watched almost 20,000 as of Thursday evening. LaJuana said that Promise would be the first person in her family to get a bachelor's degree. Promise finds her mother's reaction to the news humorous and she said she was speechless 'Her face just lit up, and I didn't know what to say, I was just speechless,' Promise told WXIA of surprising her mom with the news. 'Promise is a true gift from God to me,' LaJuana told the Star-Telegram. 'When she told me, all the anxiety went away. 'Shes a mentor to her younger cousins and is very family oriented. LaJuana described her daughter promise as 'a true gift from God' and said she was extremely proud of her 'She always wanted to watch the Discovery Channel as a kid, and find out about planets and science, so I had to find out about those things, too, because she was so inquisitive, always had all these questions. 'I'm just in awe of the woman she's becoming, I'm very excited, and I'm ecstatic that she's happy,' she told WXIA. 'The possibilities are endless, I already know.' Promise wants to study criminal psychology at Grambling, which is in Louisiana and she is the youngest of three sisters. The footage was recorded in December and hadn't been seen until recently. Her school district shared it Tuesday after learning that Promise committed to Grambling State over the weekend. And LaJuana said the great news will serve as a milestone for the McCree family. 'I'm just in awe of the woman she's becoming, I'm very excited, and I'm ecstatic that she's happy,' Lajuana said. The Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) has welcomed GIB Capital, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gulf International Bank (GIB) as a market member. This membership allows GIB Capital to become a market member and a del credere, providing its clients with the opportunity to trade in GCCs largest stock market. As a Tadawul member, GIB Capital will also provide financial advisory services covering equity placements (initial public offerings and private placements), mergers and acquisitions, privatizations, strategic debt advisory and asset management. A ceremony was hosted at Tadawuls headquarters in Riyadh to celebrate the achievement in the presence of Engineer Khalid Abdullah Al Hussan, CEO of Tadawul and Osamah Mohammed Shaker, CEO and Board member of GIB Capital, and other senior executives from both companies. Commenting on the occasion, Al Hussan, said: "We are pleased to have GIB Capital as a member, which will help contribute to providing financial advisory to market participants. This helps develop a transparent investment environment, something that we have been relentlessly working to achieve through our strategic plans to increase market depth." With more than 30 years of experience in investment banking services, GIB Capital provides a full spectrum of investment banking services to help individuals and corporates in meeting their financial and investment needs with high efficiency. Shaker said this announcement was a significant mark in GIB Capitals history, and an important opportunity to work with Tadawul and all market participants to increase the inflows of foreign investments to the market and Saudi Arabia in general. "The company will be attracting qualified investors through our offices in London and New York to invest in Saudi Arabia. GIB Capital will provide trading services for equities, debt instruments and futures contracts to customers in a modern way that relies primarily on the latest technologies in this field," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes' odd behavior and obsession with a Siberian husky puppy as her company fell apart has been revealed in a new report. In September 2017, as her medical diagnostic company's technology was exposed as a sham, Holmes flew first-class across the country on Theranos' dime to visit a dog breeder, Vanity Fair reported. She returned with a nine-week-old Siberian husky that she named Balto, after the famed sled dog that bought diphtheria antitoxin to Nome, Alaska in 1925. The dog became Holmes' constant companion, and was cared for by the small army of personal assistants and security guards Holmes employed at Theranos' expense. Scroll down for video Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes leaves the Mark Hotel on Wednesday. She was staying in the hotel at the same time Meghan Markel was holding her baby shower there Holmes is seen above on Wednesday pulling her suitcase outside the hotel in NYC In September 2017, Holmes flew first-class across the country on Theranos' dime to visit a dog breeder and purchase a a 9-week-old Siberian husky that she named Balto (file photo) At work, Balto would remain at Holmes' side as she strolled through Theranos' labs, to the consternation of the company's scientists, who protested in vain that dog hair might disrupt their delicate work. Balto's presence at the offices became even more troublesome as it became apparent that the dog had never been housebroken. The dog would urinate and defecate all over the Theranos offices, Vanity Fair reported, leaving staff members scurrying to clean up the mess in the boardroom before meetings. At one point, Holmes discovered that Balto had a trace of wolf DNA. From then on, she proclaimed that the dog was a wolf, and when asked what breed he was, would simply reply 'He's a wolf.' All the while, Theranos was crumbling. The company had raised some $900 million in venture funding, all on the claim that it was developing technology that could run a battery of medical tests cheaply on a small drop of blood. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes' odd behavior and obsession with a Siberian husky puppy as her company fell apart has been revealed Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou had exposed those claims as a sham, reporting that the company was using traditional medical testing devices to run tests that it claimed were done by its miracle machine, dubbed Edison. As Theranos crumbled, shedding employees and moving from its ritzy Palo Alto headquarters into a dingy converted warehouse across the bay, Holmes remained inexplicably upbeat. 'The company is falling apart, there are countless indictments piling up, employees are leaving in droves, and Elizabeth is just weirdly chipper,' a former senior executive told Vanity Fair. A former board member also told the magazine that Holmes would come to board meetings 'chirpy' and acting as if everything was 'great'. Amid the corporate chaos, Holmes enrolled Balto in a search-and-rescue program, executives who worked with her said. She spent weekends training him to find people in an emergency, but as huskies are bred for long-distance running rather than rescue, Balto failed out. Holmes, along with her ex-boyfriend Ramesh Balwani, the former Theranos COO, is charged with nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for distributing blood tests with falsified results to consumers. They have pleaded not guilty, and the case is expected to take years to make its way through the courts. Holmes faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Reportedly, she still tells people that Balto is a wolf. More than 60 asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island have failed criminal tests as they are linked to cases of violent crimes and even terrorism. The individual records of asylum seekers have now begun being assessed by the Department of Home Affairs as some may be eligible to transferred to Australia to receive medical treatment. Crimes which have been revealed include the planning of terrorist attacks, drug smuggling, rape, assaults, alleged murder and links to rebel groups. One man was even found to be secretly sending funds of more than $1 million to communities in Australia. The assessment of asylum seekers have revealed more than 60 have criminal convictions including rape, assault, alleged murder and terrorist attack planning The medivac bill which passed last week allows asylum seekers to be transferred to Australia if doctors agree they require medical or psychiatric treatment. According to Attorney-General Christian Porter, the changes to the legislation mean that it will be harder to send patients back after they receive medical treatment. 'The bad drafting of these laws means it is a one-way ticket,' Mr Porter told ABC Breakfast radio. However the Labor government claim the bill is designed to relocate asylum seekers temporarily before sending them back. The Department of Home Affairs will continue to assess the criminal records of asylum seekers as hundreds could be transferred to Australia. Attorney-General Christian Porter said the medevac bill has made it harder for the government to send people back after they've received treatment A dancer had her hand ripped clean off in a freak boating accident after a rope attached to an inflatable wrapped around her wrist and severed it. Kristie Sita, 21, was on the water with friends in Ruby Lake on the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia, Canada, when the horror unfolded. The group were heading out on a boat with inflatables on the back. When one fell off the fitness fanatic's 'initial reaction was to reach out to grab the rope'. But it got caught around her arm and her severed hand was later found in the water, still entangled in the rope. Kristie, who made the trip shortly after graduating in June 2014, briefly fell unconscious after the horrific incident and woke in the water surrounded by blood. When she raised her left arm to motion for help, she was horrified to see that her hand was missing. Scroll down for video Kristie Sita was relaxing with friends on the water when a rope attached to an inflatable wrapped around her wrist and severed her hand when she suddenly jerked backwards Kristie briefly fell unconscious and woke in the water surrounded by blood She was airlifted to British Columbia's Children's Hospital hospital Kristie, of Vancouver, Canada, was airlifted to British Columbia's Children's Hospital where her wound was sealed by wrapping the remains of her palm around the stump. She said: 'I kept thinking it was a nightmare. It couldn't be real. In five seconds my life had changed forever. 'Around noon, we were heading to meet another boat. The tube was resting on the back because it was too big to fit. It fell out and my initial reaction was to reach out to grab the rope. 'The next thing I remember, I was in the water surrounded by blood. I raised my left hand to say, 'come get me', and I didn't have a left hand. 'At that point, I went into survival mode. I was treading water. My friends pulled me back into the boat.' In the last picture with her left hand Kristie posed for a for a gym selfie to show off her toned biceps. Following her accident Kristie says has changed her life for the better and she has gone on to land top dancing roles and amassed 100,000 social media followers. She said: 'I looked at every surgeon and I asked: "Am I going to die?" They said I wasn't. I then asked: "Am I going to dance?" They said: "Yes.' Even as she was put under, Kristie knew that she was going to be alright. 'I knew that God had a plan for me and that everything would be fine,' she said. Emergency workers had returned to the lake and had found Kristie's hand, still tangled in the rope. The severed hand was later found in the water, still entangled in the rope Kristie says the accident has changed her life for the better and she has gone on to land top dancing roles and amassed 100,000 social media followers Kristie's dancing credits include roles in Disney's Descendants and the web series Sacred Lies She said: 'They went back to the tube and found my hand, still attached to the rope. They put it in a cooler and it came with me to the hospital. But they didn't reattach it. 'They were worried it would be paralysed or there could have been complications and I would have to get it re-amputated. 'Knowing that I was a dancer and an athlete, doctors decided to leave me as an amputee as they knew they could save so much more of my arm doing that.' Just two and a half months after her four-hour operation, Kristie was training in the gym again. And today Kristie shares fitness tips on Instagram and Youtube with her almost 100,000 combined followers. Her professional dancing credits include roles in Disney's Descendants and the web series Sacred Lies. Kristie took a picture of herself in the gym bathroom mirror just hours before her accident Kristie Sita with family on graduation day five days before her accident with dad Danny, sister Rosie and mom Angie Kristie was training in the gym again just two and a half months after her four-hour operation Kristie shares fitness tips on Instagram and Youtube with her almost 100,000 combined followers. She says she would still reach for the rope that day on the lake Astonishingly, Kristie insists that if she had the choice, she would still reach for the rope that day on the lake. She said: 'If I had the chance again, I'd still reach back for the rope. Being an amputee has brought so much love and purpose into my life. 'It's made me notice the people who stuck with me through the hard moments. It's changed my dancing style. 'When you love something so much and it's almost taken away from you, it triggers a new passion that makes you work and fight hard. 'When you go through something like that, you know you don't have endless time. I just need to love people like it's my last day. 'When I look at my arm, missing a hand, I see strength and courage. Just because I don't have a hand doesn't mean I'm unable to do anything I want to do.' The salmonella outbreak at three Adelaide bakeries that left dozens of people ill has been revealed to have been caused by raw egg contamination. An SA Health investigation found a number of food samples taken from the Angkor bakeries tested positive for the bacteria which likely spread from 'handling raw egg products'. Officials confirmed 51 people have been infected so far, with 19 hospitalised with food poisoning. The bakeries at Springbank Plaza in Burton, Hollywood Plaza in Salisbury Downs, and Blakes Crossing in Blakeview, voluntarily closed last week for a thorough cleaning after several people became ill after eating Vietnamese pork rolls. The salmonella outbreak at three Adelaide bakeries has been revealed to have been caused by raw egg butter, according to an SA Health investigation Officials found Vietnamese pork rolls (left) had been contaminated with raw eggs which tested positive for salmonella (right). Angkor Bakery in Burton was said to have reopened as of Thursday evening, but only a handful of customers were seen buying products, 7NewsAdelaide reported. It is unclear how the rolls became contaminated but SA Health officials explained eggs can pose a contamination risk because the bacteria can be found on their shells. 'Salmonella can be on the outside of the shell and if they're not handled properly and not refrigerated properly then people can get salmonella from eating products that contain them,' Dr Fay Jenkins said. The three stores were approved to reopen after further testing showed negative results. The bakeries will be monitored by the local council, health officials said in a news release. Bakery owner Lakhina Eung told Yahoo News earlier this week that staff will also be trained on food safety before resuming business. A sign posted on the door of the stores read: 'There has been an unexpected incident regarding out Asian meat rolls. We sincerely apologise for what has happened. 'We have no intention of harming anyone. For those who have been affected, no words can say how bad we feel about this incident and the impact it has on any families. 'We are working together with the council and SA health to investigate the root cause of this, and we are working toward preventing this incident from happening again.' Bakery owner Lakhina Eung said earlier this week that she was working to train staff on food safety before resuming business South Australia Health issued a health alert after a cluster of salmonella cases linked to three Angkor Bakery stores in Adelaide's northern suburbs Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nicola Spurrier has said early investigations suggested the cases could be linked to raw egg butter, pate or BBQ pork ingredients. 'The businesses complied with a council request on Tuesday to cease using these ingredients and, from today, the businesses have agreed to cease selling all Vietnamese rolls until the source has been identified,' she said. 'Cleaning and sanitising procedures have also been assessed and improved, and will continue to be monitored.' Those who have come into contact with the contaminated food may experience the symptoms between six and 72 hours after exposure. The symptoms can last for three to seven days. Symptoms can include fever, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, headache, stomach, cramps, nausea and vomiting. More severe symptoms may present in young children, older people, pregnant women and people who are immunocompromised. Jeffrey Skilling, the onetime chief of Enron Corp who was sentenced to 24 years in prison for his conviction on charges stemming from the companys spectacular collapse, has been released from federal custody. Skilling was discharged Thursday after serving 12 years in prison and six months in a halfway house after being convicted for his actions that led to one of the worst corporate meltdowns in history. Former CEO, 65, was moved in August 2018 from an Alabama prison camp to a residential re-entry facility in Houston, where Enron was based before crumbling into bankruptcy in 2001 amid revelations of widespread accounting fraud and corruption. Jeffrey Skilling, the onetime chief of Enron, was discharged Thursday after serving 12 years in prison and six months in a halfway house. He's seen here in 2006 He was initially sentenced in 2006 to 24 years in prison and fined $45 million for multiple counts of securities fraud, conspiracy and other crimes. In 2013, the sentence was reduced to 14 years. The energy company's disintegration threw thousands out of people out of work, sparked federal probes and prompted Congress to crack down on corporate accounting abuses. Skilling, who abruptly resigned as chief executive officer of Enron in August of 2001, just months before it filed for bankruptcy, was arrested in 2004 along with the company's founder, Ken Lay. Ken Lay was also was found guilty of multiple counts,but died of heart failure six weeks after the trial ended, prompting a judge to throw out his conviction A Houston-based jury in May 2006 convicted Skilling of 19 counts of conspiracy, securities fraud, insider trading and lying to auditors. In his role as CEO he maintained a facade of success as Enrons energy business imploded. In 2013, a federal judge reduced his 24-year prison term, accepting an agreement between prosecutors and Skillings lawyers to end years of appeals. Under the deal, more than $40 million of Skillings fortune, which had been frozen since his conviction was to be distributed to victims of the scheme. Lay was also was found guilty of multiple counts of conspiracy and fraud but died of heart failure six weeks after the trial ended, at the age of 64, prompting a federal judge to throw out his conviction. The man accused of beheading and murdering a 'ghetto' taxi driver and synthetic cannabis dealer has appeared in court. Pensioner Francis 'Frank' Tyson, 71, was killed and then decapitated at a block of flats in Lower Hutt near Wellington, New Zealand on November 30. Eugene Baker, 41, appeared at the High Court at Wellington on Friday where his name suppression lapsed, the New Zealand Herald reported. Baker is charged with murdering Mr Tyson as well as unrelated charges of intentional damage and possession of non-approved psychoactive substances for supply. Pensioner Francis 'Frank' Tyson (pictured), 71, was killed at a block of flats in Lower Hutt near Wellington, New Zealand on November 30 Eugene Baker (pictured), 41, appeared at the High Court at Wellington on Friday where his name suppression lapsed A neighbour who knew Mr Tyson said he was selling synthetic drugs to supplement his income driving friends and others to work or the supermarket for a fee. 'The guy wasn't an easy guy to get along with. His jokes were f**king stale. Evertone still laughed or else he wouldn't drive you,' the neighbour said. 'This isn't the cartel. We need to find some sort of justice for the guy. I don't want to be here anymore... that's not a way for someone to go out.' Another neighbour told Stuff there was a 'gathering' of gang member and associates at the apartment where Mr Tyson was killed. They allegedly planned to rob Mr Tyson of homemade synthetic drugs and $10,000 in cash. Mr Tyson was heard repeating the words 'this is the last thing I have to do before I die', the neighbour said. A neighbour who knew Mr Tyson (pictured) said he was selling synthetic drugs to supplement his income driving friends and others to work or the supermarket for a fee '[Mr Tyson] seemed like a really depressed person but he was nice to other people... He was really kind,' the neighbour said. The area is known locally as 'The Bronx', and a female neighbour of Mr Tyson's said there was tension between him and a man who had recently moved into an adjacent apartment block. Mr Tyson was a 'good bloke' who drove a 'ghetto taxi' for people, the neighbour said. 'I couldn't have wished [his death] on my worst enemy - even though he was making money he didn't deserve to die like that.' Nick Kyrgios was up to his old tricks as he crashed out of the Delray Beach Open, clashing with fans, berating a linesman and dancing court side to Michael Jackson. The drama began when the Australian was booed as he called for the trainer during the first set of his second-round loss to Moldovan Radu Albot in Florida on Thursday. Things got heated when Kyrgios singled out one spectator, who had apparently questioned his effort. 'No one told you to be here why don't you do something else?' Kyrgios is reported to have said to the fan, swearing as he posed the question. Nick Kyrgios clashed with fans and berated a linesman as he crashed out of the Delray Beach Open Commentator John Horn said Kyrgios later criticised an official for reporting his colourful language, for which he was hit with a code violation. Kyrgios was seen at the end of the second set sarcastically applauding and yelling: 'Well done champ, well done mate - good stuff, you've done well.' He was also slammed for serving with the edge of his racquet - and later dancing to Michael Jackson's hit Smooth Criminal as it played at the change of ends. The Australian world No.64 was sent packing from the ATP event after suffering a 6-2 3-6 6-3 loss to Albot in an hour and 26 minutes. Kyrgios (pictured with Ajla Tomljanovic) was booed as he called for the trainer during the first set of his second-round loss to Moldovan Radu Albot in Florida on Thursday Kyrgios was seen at the end of the second set sarcastically applauding and yelling: 'Well done champ, well done mate - good stuff, you've done well' Horn said Kyrgios admitted to swearing on court, but argued the linesperson shouldn't have reported him. 'I just don't get people. Yeah I swore, I'm pretty sure we all swear,' he reportedly said. 'We've got a guy who thinks he's pretty important so he goes and rats on a player who's trying to do his best out there, rats to the umpire that I was swearing.' Kyrgios claimed fans had berated him for his perceived lack of effort, saying they had 'paid good money' to watch him play. 'I didn't ask you to come spend money and come watch me play. You know what you are going to get,' Kyrgios said, according to Horn. 'I didn't come to your house and threaten you to come watch me play... I'm used to it man. When I win everything is fine, when I lose I get booed, simple as that.' The Australian world No.64 was sent packing from the ATP event after suffering a 6-2 3-6 6-3 loss to the Moldovan in an hour and 26 minutes The Australian was seen dancing to Michael Jackson's hit Smooth Criminal as it played at the change of ends Fans were divided over Kyrgios' on court antics. 'I wish I could turn up to work and give absolutely no f***s like Kyrgios does. Even for Nicks standards that was next level s***housery,' one said. 'We, like everyone else paid $45 to see him play. Silly us. Wouldn't watch him again if he played in my backyard,' another said. Other jumped to the defence of the controversial 23-year-old. 'The guy was injured since the very beginning but stayed on the court and put on a show, whereas majority of guys just leave at the first pain. Class,' one said. 'I just don't get people. Yeah I swore, I'm pretty sure we all swear,' Kyrgios (pictured with Tomljanovic) reportedly said after the match A cruise ship with more than 2,000 people experienced the brunt of Cyclone Oma as the ship made its way back to Australia from New Caledonia. Despite being downgraded to a category one storm, Tropical Cyclone Oma continues to whip up ferocious winds and huge waves off the east coast of Australia. Passengers on P&O's Pacific Dawn were supposed to arrive in Brisbane on Saturday, but are now waiting in sunny New Caledonia until the weather eases up. Scroll down for video. A cruise ship has been left stranded and passengers will have to stay another night at sea to avoid wild weather P&O Cruises Australia took to Facebook on Friday morning with an update, informing customers they will continue to make decisions based on the weather system (pictured the Pacific Dawn) Passengers on P&O's Pacific Dawn were supposed to arrive in Brisbane on Saturday, but are now waiting in New Caledonia until the weather eases up Stranded passenger Nakayla Murnane told Daily Mail Australia the ship's captain was taking the necessary precautions and keeping all those onboard updated. 'We're experiencing five metre swells just outside of New Caledonia,' Ms Murnane said. 'Right now we are docked in Noumea until tonight. We haven't had a captain update since yesterday afternoon.' Ms Murnane said passengers have been told the earliest they will arrive in Brisbane in Tuesday, extending their trip by three days. 'P&O have become accommodating, have given the boat free internet to contact insurances and family,' the mother-of-two said. 'They have extended all drink packages free of charge and they have told us that any claims our insurance won't cover they will try and assist with the costs.' Passengers experienced rough seas for the first three days of their cruise, which Ms Murnane said resulted in lots of sick people and a few injuries. 'We have noticed a fair few people getting off the boat today with their suitcases. So I'm assuming they are flying home,' Ms Murnane said. The Pacific Dawn was originally unable to dock in Noumea as per their itinerary, but due to the wild weather they're now spending 11 hours in the New Caledonia capital. Ms Murnane told Daily Mail Australia due to the cyclone's unpredictability, the boat has changed directions multiple times (pictured) Stranded passenger Nakayla Murnane (pictured) said the ship's captain was taking the necessary precautions and keeping all those onboard updated The now Category One storm, dubbed 'Omageddon' on social media, remains highly unpredictable Most computer models suggest Oma will get within 500km of south-east Queensland by Saturday P&O Cruises Australia took to Facebook on Friday morning with an update, informing customers they will continue to make decisions based on the weather system. 'Pacific Dawn is now alongside in Noumea also in fair weather,' the Facebook post read. 'With a delayed arrival in Brisbane, the onboard team is assisting guests in every way they can. We will continue to make operational decisions while keeping a watchful eye on the path of this weather system.' The 11-passenger deck ship holds up to 2,680 people onboard, of which 2,000 are passengers. P&O have also had to cancel a three-night cruise on the Pacific Dawn due to it's late arrival in Brisbane this weekend, while the Pacific Explorer has had to visit New South Wales' Sapphire Coast rather than Moreton Island. Carnival Australia, brand owner of P&O, released a statement assuring customers their safety is a top priority. 'Necessary itinerary and navigational changes are being made so that ships from P&O Cruises Australia, Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line remain well clear of the challenging weather system,' the statement says. 'The latest forecasts downgrading Cyclone Oma to a category one weather system are encouraging but it could again strengthen and we will continue to be vigilant keeping a watchful eye on it to keep our ships well away,' President of Carnival Australia and P&O Cruises Australia Sture Myrmell said. King tides, combined with swell, caused sea water to flood the streets of the Gold Coast on both Thursday and Friday Huge swells and high tides are pummelling south-east Queensland beaches as Cyclone Oma sits off Australia's east coast Cyclone Oma is edging towards to Australia's east coast. Locals (pictured at Snapper Rocks, Gold Coast) were more interested in the monster swells than the prospect of a devastating storm hitting the coastline The Bureau of Meteorology warned south-east Queensland residents to be aware of current warnings amid the dangerous conditions On Friday morning, the weather system was downgraded to a category one and Brisbane was taken off cyclone watch. However, it has been thrashing the Coral Sea, 700km north-east of Brisbane, with damaging wind gusts up to 100km/h. Conditions off the coast remain concerning, with cruise liners having to stay away at sea for longer periods of time to avoid rough seas and high winds. Most computer models suggest Oma will get within 500km of south-east Queensland by Saturday, but the storm, dubbed 'Omageddon' on social media, remains highly unpredictable. Oma is now circling about 820km north-east of Brisbane and since it was downgraded to a Category One system, it's not expected to make landfall. '[It will turn] towards the north-west on the weekend. What happens beyond this remains difficult to figure out,' Weatherzone's Ben Domensino said. The fierce category two storm will come close enough for winds to lash the coast in south-east Queensland and far northern New South Wales Two women appeared dangerously close to the giant waves on Thursday afternoon This young lad was ripping up the waves, snaking a bunch of others as he dominated the water Lifeguards have closed all beaches on the Gold Coast, with wave heights expected to reach six metres on Friday. A hazardous surf warning is in place from the Capricornia Coast right down to the New South Wales border 750km away, with huge swells of up to eight metres and abnormally high tides set to pummel the coast in the coming days. The dangerous conditions and warnings to stay out of the water haven't fazed surfers, who were pictured tackling incredible waves on Thursday. The Bureau of Meteorology warned south-east Queensland residents to be aware of current warnings amid the dangerous conditions. Their warning was extended to parts of northern New South Wales, coastal communities from Bundaberg to Ballina, on Thursday evening after four to six metre waves were recorded offshore of North Stradroke Island. Surfers were keen to have a crack at the treacherous conditions at Snapper Rock on the Gold Coast on Thursday The weather system was already bringing hazardous surf conditions and abnormally high tides Strong waves brought on by incoming Cyclone Oma nearly completely submerged this vehicle at Rainbow Beach on Wednesday The NSW Mid North Coast was hit by severe thunderstorms on Thursday afternoon and Port Macquarie's Airport recorded around 19 milimetres of rain - its highest amount of rainfall in two months. Despite forecasters anticipating the thunderstorms will subside on Friday, high tides across the coast will stay constant. 'Surf and swell conditions will be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, boating, swimming and many beaches are already closed for public safety,' Queensland State Manager Bruce Gunn said. 'Gale force winds are possible for exposed coastal beaches, combined with heavy rainfall,' Mr Gunn said. 'The bureau has issued a flood watch from Gladstone to the NSW border. Forecast rainfall totals are largely dependent on the cyclone track and there are still a wide range of scenarios at this point.' Queenslanders have been told to brace for flooding, dangerous waves and winds up to 130km/h as the storms moves towards the east coast. Pictures shared to Twitter showed the wrath of the storm on Thursday, with some residents forced to clean up smashed windows at a building close to the ocean. 'Windows have been removed from Rick Shores in Burleigh, with large swell from Cyclone Oma,' the Twitter update said. Carnival Australia's Response to the Cyclone Oma Weather System Carnival Australia has noted that Cyclone Oma has been downgraded to a category one weather system as the organisation's cruise lines continue to make safety the paramount consideration in operational decisions. Necessary itinerary and navigational changes are being made so that ships from P&O Cruises Australia, Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line remain well clear of the challenging weather system. Carnival Australia accounts for seven cruise lines and is Australia's largest cruise organisation. 'Queensland is one of Australia's fastest growing cruise markets with more destinations than any other state, so it is no surprise that a number of ships would need to respond to this weather system,' said Sture Myrmell, President of Carnival Australia and P&O Cruises Australia. 'The latest forecasts downgrading Cyclone Oma to a category one weather system are encouraging but it could again strengthen and we will continue to be vigilant keeping a watchful eye on it to keep our ships well away. 'Where cruise itinerary changes have become necessary our cruise lines have focused on delivering excellent guest experiences. Destinations such as the Sapphire Coast centred on Eden in NSW and Phillip Island in Victoria are attractive in their own right.' Here is a fleet-by-fleet snapshot of the response by Carnival Australia brands: P&O Cruises Australia: Pacific Explorer departed from Sydney yesterday and sailed south in fair weather to the NSW Sapphire Coast instead of the scheduled four-night cruise to Moreton Island. Pacific Dawn is in Noumea today in fair weather and will make a delayed return to Brisbane following a course that avoids the weather system. Pacific Dawn's scheduled three-night cruise from Brisbane on Saturday has been cancelled. Princess Cruises: Sea Princess has remained in Cairns and will make a delayed return to its Brisbane home port on Tuesday afternoon. Sun Princess was due to sail from Sydney tomorrow on a Queensland coastal itinerary that is now under review. Carnival Cruise Line: Carnival Spirit was due to depart Sydney tomorrow on a cruise to Moreton Island but will instead sail south to Phillip Island. Guests on all ships have been updated on any impact to their cruises. Operational changes will continue to be made in an orderly and timely manner by people with extensive maritime experience. Cruises to and from Queensland will continue to be reviewed. Advertisement An assault on a conservative activist on the University of California-Berkeley campus has been caught on camera. Hayden Williams was running a campus recruitment table for the conservative group Turning Points USA on Tuesday when he was approached by a violent attacker, video of the incident shows. According to Campus Reform, the sign on the group's table read 'hate crime hoaxes hurt real victims,' a reference to allegations that actor Jussie Smollett staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in Chicago. The man who attacked Williams shouted: 'Mother f**ker. You racist little inbred b***h. C**t!' Video from the incident shows Williams (left) being confronted by a violent attacker who punched him in the face as he was recruiting for a conservative student group Police are seeking information on the attacker (above) who punched the campus activist Williams (above) was helping Berkeley students who wanted to start a Turning Point chapter At one point, he also threatened to 'shoot' Williams. Williams said that as the attack unfolded, a number of people simply stood by and watched. 'Some students nearby tabling were laughing, even one guy was smiling while I was being attacked and trying to hand me his flyer as a joke,' he told Campus Reform. 'The idea is free speech has consequences.... which include you getting assaulted if they find you promoting ideas others don't agree with.' Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point, a campus group devoted to limited government and free markets, said that the incident highlighted a double standard. 'Imagine if the attacker was wearing MAGA hat, would be national news! This is the violent left!' Kirk wrote on Twitter. Williams (left) is seen 'tabling' at UC-Berkley on another occasion last summer The incident drew notice from several conservative figures with national profiles. 'When a liberal like Jussie cries wolf and fakes an attack he receives unmatched coverage, sympathy & support creating a tsunami of attention,' wrote Don Trump Jr on Twitter. 'When a conservative student literally gets punched in the face and its caught on video it barely makes a ripple.' Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, wrote: 'This is abhorrent behavior against free speech on campus. No form of violence is acceptable!' Williams was helping Turning Point USA, but he is not actually a member of the group. Williams is campus representative for Leadership Institute, which runs Campus Reform, the website that first reported on the incident. Guillermina Castro, a UC-Berkeley freshman, told Fox News that she was spearheading the drive to create a Turning Point chapter on campus, and that Williams was helping her by manning the table while she was in class. She said she was shocked to return to find the flyers on the table ripped up and Williams nursing his injured eye. Williams (second from right) is seen running a table to speak to students in September Castro said that when she tweeted about the incident, she received a flood of messages applauding the attack, and accusing her of being a 'white supremacist.' 'I said 'Wait, I'm Latina!' she said. UC-Berkeley campus police said in a statement that the attack took place at 3.29pm on Upper Sproul Plaza. Police said that there were two men who approached the table and confronted the alleged victim. 'A physical confrontation ensued when one of the two men slapped the phone out of the victims hand,' the police statement said. .The suspect then knocked over the table the victim was at and the two men struggled over the phone. During the incident, the suspect punched the victim several times causing injury to the victims eye and nose.' Anyone with information on the suspect is urged to contact campus police investigators at 510-642-6760. William Happer (pictured) is a 79-year-old physicist who rejects mainstream climate science An expert chosen by Donald Trump to lead a panel on climate change once compared carbon monoxide to persecuted Jews in Nazi Germany. The Trump administration is exploring the idea of forming a special committee to look at climate change and security risks. The effort is being coordinated by a William Happer, a 79-year-old physicist who rejects mainstream climate science. Happer, an emeritus professor of physics at Princeton University, said that carbon emissions linked to climate change should be perceived as an asset rather than a pollutant, The Washington Post reported. The initiative is the Trump administrations most recent attempt to question the findings of federal scientists and experts on climate change. In November Trump criticized a report which revealed that global warming is intensifying and posed a major threat the U.S. economy by saying: 'I dont see it.' Happer, who is on the National Security Council, has a history of dropping Nazi references and called climate science a 'cult' in 2009. Happer said on 'Squawk Box on CNBC in 2014: 'The demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler. He added: 'Carbon dioxide is actually a benefit to the world, and so were the Jews.' He also pointed to instances when carbon dioxide, the main heat-trapping gas from the burning of coal, oil and gas, is good for humans. Happer, who worked at the Energy Department under George H.W. Bush, is not formally trained as a climate scientist. He developed a reputation for his work on laser technology used in missile defense and on the interactions between light and atoms. In November Trump (pictured) dismissed a report finding that global warming was intensifying and posed a major threat the U.S. economy by saying; 'I dont see it' At an energy and climate change summit in 2016, he tried to promote the suggestion that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant and benefits the planet. 'I like to call this the CO2 anti-defamation league, because there is the CO2 molecule, and it has undergone decade after decade of abuse, for no reason. 'Were doing our best to try and counter this myth that CO2 is a dangerous pollutant,' he said. 'Its not a pollutant at all. We should be telling the scientific truth, that more CO2 is actually a benefit to the earth.' In 2009 he again had some tough words for scientists who believe that carbon dioxide is causing global warming. Happer, (far right), who is on the National Security Council, has a history of dropping Nazi references and called climate science a 'cult' in 2009 'This is George Orwell. This is the "Germans are the master race. The Jews are the scum of the earth."' 'Its that kind of propaganda,' Happer, the Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics, said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian. 'Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. Every time you exhale, you exhale air that has four per cent carbon dioxide. 'To say that thats a pollutant just boggles my mind. What used to be science has turned into a cult.' Giant tabular icebergs are surrounded by ice floe drift in Vincennes Bay on January 11, 2008 in the Australian Antarctic Territory which is melting due to warmer temperatures globally Jaenschwalde power plant (pictured) is one of the biggest single producers of CO2 gas in Europe Trump once tweeted that climate change was a "Chinese hoax." More recently, he used a cold snap that hit much of the nation last month to again cast doubts. "People can't last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming (sic)? Please come back fast, we need you!" he tweeted. Both the Pentagon and the president's intelligence team have mentioned climate change as a national security threat, and a 2018 National Climate Assessment detailed drastic effects of global warming. Over about a dozen years, government scientists, military leaders and intelligence experts have repeatedly highlighted climate change as a major national security risk, said Titley, who founded one such study team in the Navy. Retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral David Titley, now a professor of meteorology at Pennsylvania State University. Titley said these studies have come to the same conclusions under three presidents, including two Republicans. He said there are 'a surprising number of documents from the Pentagon and intelligence community after January 2017 (when Trump took office) that talk about climate and security risk.' Federal prosecutors in San Francisco have charged an Internal Revenue Service analyst with leaking bank records of President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. A criminal complaint unsealed on Thursday revealed John C. Fry has been charged with one count of unlawful disclosure of suspicious activity reports (SARs), in federal court in the Northern District of California. An SAR is filed with the IRS by a bank when it notes concerning transactions. Cohen has since pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws by making illegal payments, among other charges. Fry has reportedly refused to accept a felony plea deal which would have him avoiding any amount of jail time, according to CNN, so prosecutors are expected to seek an indictment against him by the end of the month, on this and other charges. Federal prosecutors in San Francisco have charged Internal Revenue Service analyst John C. Fry with leaking bank records of President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen. Cohen is pictured leaving Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Thursday Fry acknowledged releasing the information about Cohen while working at the IRS office in San Francisco to attorney Michael Avenatti, according to an affidavit filed with the court. Avenatti is a lawyer for adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, legal name Stephanie Clifford, who has said she had an affair with Trump. In addition to pleading guilty in August to campaign finance violations related to 'hush money' paid to Daniels and another woman to keep quiet about alleged affairs with Trump, the 'fixer' also admitted lying to to banks to obtain improper loans and to the government to avoid paying taxes. The SARs allegedly obtained and released by Fry showed information matching a $130,000 payment from Cohen Daniels, along with a Cohen company, Essential Consultants LLC, getting large payments from organizations, including a company associated with a Russian oligarch who donated money to Trump's inauguration fund, pharmaceutical giant Novartis, and AT&T, which owns CNN, according to court records. Fry is accused of downloading and disseminating suspicious activity reports about Cohen, which showed his illegal $130,000 'hush money' payment to Stormy Daniels, legal name Stephanie Clifford, made to stop her from speaking out about an alleged affair with President Donald Trump, and other questionable bank transactions. Trump is pictured in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on Wednesday Fry acknowledged releasing the information about Cohen while working at the IRS office in San Francisco to attorney Michael Avenatti, according to an affidavit filed with the court. Avenatti is a lawyer for Daniels. Avenatti (right) and Daniels (left) are pictured at the AVN Awards in Las Vegas on January 26 The documents also 'discussed possible fraudulent and illegal financial transactions' made by Cohen in Singapore, Hungary, Malaysia, Canada, Taiwan, Kenya and Israel, between 2016 and 2017, the complaint said. Fry downloaded a total of five SARs from the IRS database in May, and then became alarmed when two others were not accessible, according the criminal complaint filed against him. Some time thereafter, he allegedly turned over the documents which he had obtained without permission to Avenatti, and confirmed confidential banking information in the SARs to a reporter for The New Yorker, who is not named but appears to have been Ronan Farrow. Information about the bank transactions which were the subject of the SARs became public in May when Avenatti published a memo outlining them. As it turns out, the additional SARs that Fry was unable to open and download had been designated 'restrictive access.' They were not available 'because they were related to a sensitive open investigation,' the complaint said. At the time Fry was trying to access the documents, Cohen was under investigation by the Manhattan US Attorney's office for the crimes to which he eventually pleaded guilty. The criminal complaint against Fry had initially been filed under seal earlier in February, but the seal was lifted on Thursday. Fry has declined to take a felony plea deal that would result in a sentence of probation, a source told CNN. Prosecutors are expected to seek an indictment against Fry on February 28, for Fry's alleged unlawful disclosure of SARs, as well as additional charges of misuse of a Social Security number and misuse of a government computer. A message left on Thursday for an attorney for Fry, Gail Shifman, was not immediately returned. Cohen had agreed to cooperate with federal investigators looking into other matters related to Trump's presidential campaign in exchange for a guilty plea deal. The Senate intelligence committee will interview Cohen behind closed doors on February 26, according to a person familiar with the matter. Cohen also pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about Trump's prospective real estate deals in Russia during his presidential campaign. Cohen is currently scheduled to report to serve a three-year prison sentence for all of the charges to which he has pleaded guilty beginning on May 6. People turn and stare as Cat Opson walks down the Las Vegas Strip, the slim California blonde holding a leash attached to a rainbow-colored animal whose species is initially quite difficult to discern. The fur of its nose is bright yellow and sculpted into a horn, and the rest of its body is divided into purple, green, red, yellow and blue sections, a plastic eye stuck onto its rump. This is her poodle, Kobe, a beloved pet well accustomed to the attention and curious looks of strangers. He spends much of his life being creatively groomed by his owner, who spent months perfecting this look themed Jurassic Bark World - to enter him into a Las Vegas grooming competition. She dressed up in khakis and an explorer hat to match him, showing the judges how shed fashioned his fur into a triceratops, brontosaurus and pterodactyl. Shes dejected as she walks through Sin City, however, because she failed to win a prize after all of her hard work and high hopes bested by other creative groomers who spend thousands a year on products, contests and practice. (Opson herself estimates in the film that she spent $25,000 in a single year between plane tickets, hotels, rental cars, entry fees and 'renting dogs' when it wasn't feasible to travel with her own to faraway locations.) She is one of a growing number of people worldwide obsessed with the world of creative grooming a competitive and niche endeavor showcased in a new documentary premiering next month at the SXSW film festival in Austin, Texas. Its a world filmmaker Rebecca Stern knew nothing about until she happened upon images online of the outrageously styled animals and she sensed a perfect opportunity to combine her love of animals with unusual forms of creative expression to make a fun film. Adriane Pope poses in costume with her dogs outside of her home in Conway, South Carolina with the award-winning "Adriane in Wonderland' transformation she styled on her poodle - complete with impressions of the Cheshire Cat and Mad Hatter Kobe, a poodle owned by California dog groomer Cat Opson, was styled for competition to fit the theme 'Jurassic Bark World,' with his fur cut and colored to mimic a triceratops, brontosaurus and pterodactyl; Opson dressed in khakis and an explorer hat to match him for the competition in Las Vegas, though they ultimately did not place Dog groomer Nicole Beckman, a relative newcomer to the world of creative grooming, works to mold her dog into a Cockle-doodle-do theme; she says in new documentary Well Groomed: I dont really get starstruck by like celebrities and things like that, but creative groomers are my celebrities I do get a little awestruck' Creative groomer Milena Bermudez, of New Jersey, poses at the renowned Groom Expo in Hershey last Septemeber with her dog Soleit, complete with a mammoth design on its rump The sight of the animals, she says, can stop you in your tracks and you have a lot of questions after seeing just an image. I had no idea, and I think that most people dont which is amazing, because its just so rife for internet memedom. The film follows, over one competition year in 2017, creative groomers in California, Arkansas, South Carolina and upstate New York. All of the women are professional groomers whove discovered a talent and passion for creatively using their own dogs as a canvas, and the competition circuit is more close-knit than cutthroat though each woman works long and hard with the goal of winning first place. The Holy Grail is the annual competition in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where enthusiasts gather to watch them perfect their canine creations, vying for the prestige and $2,500 prize. A cottage industry has also emerged around dyes, paints and other coloring products, and one consistent creative grooming winner, Arkansas woman Angela Kumpe, happily writes books and teaches classes to animal lovers who want to emulate her outrageous style. But not all people are fans of the increasingly popular practice by a longshot. Creative grooming has been banned by places from Boulder to Belgium, though states such as Florida in recent years have relaxed laws against coloring animals, as long as materials are safe. Many animal rights activists, though, still believe the hobby is exploitative or cruel. Creative groomers get all the crazies We should be ashamed of ourselves, for those poor animals, how embarrassed they must be. We should all go die, Kumpe says in the film. We get death threats and stuff and I just start sending them lots of pictures of colorful dogs.' They like that, she says with a mischievous laugh.' Anybody that thinks Im mean to my dogs and thinks they should come kill me should come to the shop to do it so they can see how happy my dogs are. Her opinion is echoed by her friend and fellow competitor Adriane Pope, who lives in Conway, South Carolina with her family and their two horses, a couple of ducks, 15 goats, four standard poodles, two toy poodles and two English bulldogs, among other animals. The colored canines, she says in the film, are not a dog thats tied out to a chain, you know, in a backyard like so many people do. She adds: When theyre in color, theyre happy and they like it, because they get more attention than the average animal, in general. Pope, who runs a kennel and grooming business in addition to her creative grooming endeavors, says in the documentary - which premieres next month at the SXSW film festival in Austin, Texas: 'You have to love it to do it; it's not something that, "Oh, I'm gonna be a creative groomer." You have to want to do it. That has to be in your blood' Creative groomers choose themes for their designs and spend hours spaced out over weeks dyeing their dog's hair and perfecting their styling technique; during competitions, the canines must be transformed in under three hours Many creative groomers spend thousands of dollars annually on the trend; California woman Cat Opson estimates in the documentary that she spent $25,000 in a year on plane tickets, hotels, rental cars, entry fees, materials and 'renting dogs' when it wasn't feasible to travel with her own to faraway locations Creative grooming has been criticized by detractors who feel it's detrimental and exploitative to the dogs, and places such as Boulder, Colorado and Belgium have previously banned the coloring of animals - though states like Florida have in recent years relaxed laws as long as hte products being used on the dogs are safe During the Hershey expo last autumn, groomer Cindy Oliver won first place with her dog Paisley - and the $2,500 prize money - for her design based on the 1980s cartoon The Wuzzles The dogs featured in the film certainly dont seem to mind the process, standing impressively still as their owners lovingly groom them and focus with laser-like intensity on conjuring worlds and themes from their fur. Poodles need to be groomed, point blank, period, director Stern tells DailyMail.com. And a lot of people who own poodles dont necessarily understand that or dont get them groomed as much as they should. Theyre kind of like sheep; their hair will keep growing, and it can get really matted so one of the ways that these women pamper/care for their dogs is to groom them. And the poodle puppies, when trained properly, are very used to getting groomed, and theyre very used to it being like kind of a pleasurable massage experience and they go to the groom shops all the time.' So yeah, its like theyre happy to kind of like be there. There were just so many times where we would walk away from the grooming table, or the dog would be laying down on the grooming table and one of the groomers would go and get something and call the dog to them, and the dog would refuse to get off like, No, Im cool here, dont worry about me. She says: Since doing the film, its been really interesting, because Id say about exactly 50 percent of the people I show pictures to are in the camp that I was in which is just like, this is intense, this is amazing, can I do this to my dog? And then the other 50 percent are like, this is intense, this is amazing, and is this okay? She continues: It was nice also to just dive further in with the women, to be able to see them work with their dogs, interact with their dogs, and something that I really wanted to show in the film was just how much they love and care for their dogs. California groomer Opson also defends the practice. They see color a little differently than we do, she says. Most dogs treat him the same but every once in a while, you get a dog thats like, Whoa, when they look at him. Stern, who grew up with animals and is the loving owner of an Australian cattle dog/basenji mix named Mo, makes similar points, explaining how dogs experience the world much more through their nose than through their eyes. She tells DailyMail.com: Dogs right now, especially in American culture, and I think almost worldwide or at least in a lot of other communities that do this, like in Southeast Asia, in the UK and across Europe, some countries in South America are becoming more and more treated as people. But theyre not. So its just like, how do you understand what theyre going through in a way that allows empathy for a different species? She adds: Their experience of being all colored up is completely different from ours, and it cant really be one of embarrassment, because they dont really feel embarrassed. Theyre just happy to be around they have very fleeting thoughts and emotions, and they understand commands, but they just dont experience the world in the same way we do. She got to experience a whole new world, herself, however, as she worked on Well Groomed, which first began life as a short before she expanded it to feature-length documentary. She followed the women through their homes and shops and communities, accompanying them to competitions as they travelled with canine entourages in mobile grooming stations, observing as they held court at the shows and competitions. It is definitely its own world, and it has the stars in its world and the people who are always around, and the ones that are super gregarious, as with every other kind of world that we all live in, she says. I think that its closer to our world, to like the every day, than perhaps other niche communities, because it is about our dogs. And theres just such a growing percentage of Americans who own dogs and who spend more money on their dogs. A cottage industry has grown up around the increasingly popular trend of creative grooming, with products for sale such as specialized dye, crayons, rhinestones and other 'bling' Creative groomer Cheryl grain styled her dog during the most recent Hershey expo with a Tweety and Sylvester theme; in new film Well Groomed, trend trailblazer Angela Kumpe - a frequent winner - says: 'Creative grooming was just dwindling away when I first started. We were all carving animals and stuff into the dogs, but the outside shape would be flat maybe glue on some eyes. And I went that extra step and carved in all the legs and the muscles' Groomer Pope says in the film that colored canines are not a dog thats tied out to a chain, you know, in a backyard like so many people do. She adds: When theyre in color, theyre happy and they like it, because they get more attention than the average animal, in general And the dog grooming community is booming, in terms of products sold and amount of money spent by an average American. So yeah, its its own world, and its definitely a world of very, very passionate people but its not one thats very far away from you or me when you get a dog. One such passionate woman featured in the film is Nicole Beckman, a young and idealistic groomer with her own shop in Ithaca, New York whose awe of the more established creative groomers practically leaps off the screen. I dont really get starstruck by like celebrities and things like that, but creative groomers are my celebrities I do get a little awestruck, she says. She adds: Before I started dog grooming, I thought that [creative] grooming was kind of silly people doing silly haircuts on their dogs. Once I started doing it, I was like, wow, this is something really cool that can be very artistic, a whole new realization. In a lot of ways, I care more about dogs than I do about people. I mean, I definitely dont want to see people get hurt, but dogs are really special to me. Kumpe is one of the women she clearly idolizes, attending an instructional class given by the groomer who has clearly been a driving force behind the trend. Filmmaker Rebecca Stern decided to make a documentary about the world of creative grooming to combine her love of animals with artistic expression. She tells DailyMail.com: I wanted to express the centrality of creation in a lot of us and of people who are very creative the need and the want to express themselves, and the need and the want to do it with whats around you and the things or people who are most important to you in your life. And for these women, its the dogs Creative grooming was just dwindling away when I first started, Kumpe says in the documentary. We were all carving animals and stuff into the dogs, but the outside shape would be flat maybe glue on some eyes. And I went that extra step and carved in all the legs and the muscles, and into the eye, into the mouth and the tongue and people were calling me, asking me for advice to try and beat me. Nobody sold anything creative when I first started doing this. Recognizing an opportunity, she began selling all the decorating materials dye, crayons, rhinestones, bling. The dyes getting more and more popular at every show, she says, adding: If I put lashes on one of my dogs, Ill sell out of that color because people, even groomers, they cant hardly visualize it until they see it. Im extra proud of how my business has grown, but it means that Im doing my job, as far as teaching and education not just groomers, but the public on creative grooming. Many view the practice as not a hobby but a passion and a truly creative outlet, especially Pope, who won Creative Groomer of the Year at the 2017 Groom Expo in Hershey after years of trying. 'You have to love it to do it; it's not something that, "Oh, I'm gonna be a creative groomer,"' she says in the film. 'You have to want to do it. That has to be in your blood.' She also won first place for her creation Adriane in Wonderland on her poodle, sculpting images of the Mad Hatter and other easily recognizable elements of the classic story - dressing in an Alice costume herself to continue the theme. Stern who tried out some color on her own dog, though he wont sit still for a full creative grooming session tells DailyMail.com: I havent seen anything that I find questionable so I dont see anything wrong with it at all. She adds: I wanted to express the centrality of creation in a lot of us and of people who are very creative the need and the want to express themselves, and the need and the want to do it with whats around you and the things or people who are most important to you in your life. And for these women, its the dogs. Australian could fall into a recession for the first time in 28 years if China stops buying Australian coal, a leading economist fears. A plunge in Sydney and Melbourne house prices is already threatening economic growth and now the communist Asian superpower is threatening to stop spending $13billion a year on Australian coal. China, which also spends $10billion a year sending international students to Australia, has hinted at a trade war in retaliation for Huawei being banned from installing the next-generation 5G mobile phone network and the National Broadband Network, over spying fears. Scroll down for video Australian could fall into a recession if China stops buying Australian coal (Gladstone port pictured) threatening $13billion worth of exports It has expressed its displeasure by banning Australia coal from entering the Dalian port in northern China, with the news continuing to send shock waves through financial markets on Friday. China is Australia's biggest trading partner and a major buyer of coal from Queensland's Galilee Basin and the New South Wales Hunter Valley. It bought $13.1billion worth of Australian coal in the 2017/18 financial year, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade data showed. The Australian dollar lost a percentage point on Friday, dropping down to 70.86 US cents, after Reuters revealed China's northern port of Dalian had banned imports of Australian coal. China, which also spends $10billion a year sending international students to Australia, has hinted a trade war in retaliation at Huawei being banned from installing the 5G mobile network Along with the ban, customs at Dalian will cap overall imports for 2019 through its harbours at 12 million tonnes, an official at Dalian Port Group told Reuters on Thursday. The indefinite ban on imports from Australia, effective since the start of February, comes as major ports elsewhere in China prolong clearing times for Australian coal to at least 40 days. AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said a Chinese ban on Australian coal could have devastating consequences if house prices continued to plunge in Sydney and Melbourne and there was an international financial calamity. 'If there's a double whammy shock: suppose you have a housing slump and then a little way into that you get a slump in the global economy, or China hits our export earnings, then it would tip over into recession,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Friday. A plunge in Sydney (pictured) and Melbourne house prices is already threatening economic growth Dr Oliver described China's trade relationship with Australia as 'critically important'. Australian house rules Sydney, down 10.9% to $902,786 Melbourne, down 10.6% to $740,425 Brisbane, up 0.1% to $540,750 Adelaide, up 0.9% to $464,584 Perth, down 5.3% to $465,120 Hobart, up 7% to $494,810 Darwin, up 2.3% to $502,023 Canberra, up 4.3% to $668,469 Source: CoreLogic detached median house prices in year to January 31 Advertisement 'If anything goes wrong with it, then that's a major problem for Australia,' he said, adding a Chinese ban on exports would wipe 0.7 percentage points off Australia's gross domestic product. Australia is already suffering from its worst housing downturn on record, with Sydney's median house price plummeting by 13.7 per cent since peaking in July 2017. Equivalent apartment values have already fallen by 9.2 per cent. Billionaire property developer Harry Triguboff has issued a warning about the property sector being too reliant on Chinese buyers. Australia's second richest man, worth an estimated $12.8billion, who founded the Meriton apartments group in 1963 said developers needed to stop relying on Chinese off-the-plan buyers to prop up its residential construction projects. Billionaire property developer Harry Triguboff (pictured) has issued a warning about the property sector being too reliant on Chinese buyers 'We depend too much on Chinese purchasers,' Mr Triguboff told Sydney real estate agents last week, in a letter seen by The Daily Telegraph. 'Foreigners must only be an additional bonus. 'I don't want us to also depend on high-priced foreign lenders to provide the finance instead of our banks. 'We must stand on our own two feet.' Australia relied on coal exports to emerge from the global financial crisis a decade ago. Coal exports to China have continued to underpin Australia's prosperity. Australia's second richest man who founded the Meriton apartments group said developers needed to stop relying on Chinese off-the-plan buyers (Waterloo project in Sydney pictured) Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged Australians to be calm, following the blockade of Australian coal in China. 'People should be careful about leaping to conclusions,' he told reporters in Auckland, at a joint media conference with his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern, adding Australia 'work constructively with our partners in China'. The Dalian official declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. Neither Dalian customs nor the General Administration of Customs had responded to a request for comment from Reuters. In December, coal was Australia's biggest export, with $5.6billion worth of the commodity sent overseas. The goods made up 19 per cent of the value of all goods shipped out of Australia. China is also Australia's biggest two-way trading partner, and accounted for 24 per cent of total trade in 2017 as part of a $183billion-a-year trade relationship. In 2017, Australia's education exports added up to $30.8billion, with demand from Chinese international students worth 32.5 per cent of that. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham was hopeful China would continue to honour a free-trade agreement with Australia, following the report of the coal blockade. In December, coal was Australia's biggest export, with $5.6billion worth of the commodity sent overseas 'I'm aware of unconfirmed and unsourced media reports and have asked our ambassador in Beijing to urgently clarify their veracity,' he said in a statement on Friday. Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe was not expecting the Australian economy to be derailed as China blocked two months' worth of coal exports. 'It's entirely possible that if it cannot enter China, it can go to other markets...we'll find another market, perhaps at a lower price,' he told a parliamentary hearing in Sydney on Friday. 'If that's all we're talking about, the blocking of a couple of months of coal exports, then that's not going to derail the Australian economy.' The Reserve Bank is already worried about the housing downturn and this week revealed board members had discussed the effect it could have on consumption. AMP Capital and now Westpac are expecting two interest rate cuts in 2019, which would take the cash rate from an already record-low of 1.5 per cent to one per cent. Australia has not suffered a recession since the June quarter of 1991. Advertisement Buyers from China and Singapore are looking to snap up a house on Sydney's 'most hashtagged street' that has hit the market for $3.6million. Tourists flock to McDougal Street in Kirribilli during Spring to get pictures of blooming jacaranda flowers that make a purple canopy across the road - even if it means blocking cars. The three-bedroom terrace brought in 50 inquiries in its first 12 hours on the market with a guide price of $3.3-$3.6million. Tourists flock to Sydney's 'most hashtagged street' with a purple canopy of blooming jacaranda flowers in Spring for the perfect picture. Tourists often block the road to get their shot 'There's no question Instagram has been a huge boost to our campaign,' said Ray White Lower North Shore agent David Gillan. 'It's the most talked about and most hashtagged street in Sydney.' A three-bedroom terrace on McDougal Street in Kirribilli is up for sale at a 3.3-$3.6million guide price and attracted 50 inquiries in its first 12 hours 'A man from China saw the jacarandas last year... now he's sending down someone to inspect the property for him,' Ray White Lower North Shore agent David Gillan said. He said a woman from Singapore is flying down to see the property for herself. Thirty groups came to the first inspection and another 30 are expected for the second. The 1910-built home has many of its original features but has been renovated for modern living. The living and dining room and marble kitchen open up to a courtyard perfect for entertaining 'There's no question Instagram has been a huge boost to our campaign,' he said. 'It's the most talked about and most hashtagged street in Sydney.' The 1910-built home has many of its original features but has been renovated for modern living. A master bedroom in the loft comes with an ensuite and views of Milson Park. The room is air conditioned and creatively uses space for storage The view from the master bedroom of Milson Park, one of the most historic parks in Sydney. Trees in Milson Park date back to 1912 including the mature palm trees The two bathrooms both have bathtubs and include marble detailing. Carrara marble from the North of Tuscany makes up all of the marble in the home The living and dining room and marble kitchen open up to a courtyard perfect for entertaining. There are three restored fireplaces around the house - one in each living area and one in a bedroom. The two bathrooms both have bathtubs and include marble detailing. Carrara marble from the North of Tuscany makes up all of the marble in the home. A master bedroom in the loft comes with an ensuite and views of Milson Park. It's located in Kirribilli, one of Sydney's most sought after suburbs, with a median sale price for houses of $2.33 million, according to CoreLogic data. Kirribilli House, the Prime Minister's second official residence, is famously located in its namesake suburb. There are three restored fireplaces around the house - one in each living area and one in a bedroom. The fireplace in the main living room pictured is a gas powered One of three restored fireplaces in the house. This one is located in the living and dining area A popular restaurant has been hit with a $20,000 fine after health inspectors found a swarm of cockroaches scuttling around their own faeces in the kitchen, a court has heard. Inspectors found the living creatures inside Jude Kitchen and Bar in Brisbane's trendy Eagle St Pier complex and charged the owners Jing Li and Haoyin Tan with breaching the Food Act. Both Li and Tan pleaded guilty to the charges in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday, the Courier Mail reports. 'The main issue around pests included multiple live cockroaches and cockroach excreta in and around food preparation areas,' Magistrate Bronwyn Springer told the court. Jude Kitchen and Bar (pictured) located within Brisbane's trendy Eagle St Pier complex has been slapped with a $20,000 after cockroaches were find scuttling around their own faeces in the kitchen The restaurant's owners Jing Li and Haoyin Tan were both charged and fined for failing to comply with Food Act regulations Magistrate Springer said that the 'gaps in the joints provided harbourage points for the pests to breed and hide'. The restaurant had previously received a food safety rating of four stars in December 2015. But that rating plummeted to zero stars in February 2017 after the inspectors found the cockroach infestation in the business' kitchen. Li was also charged with failing to comply his business with the food safety standards and was given a heftier fine due to him being the business' owner. The restaurant has since shut down and Li, one of the owners, has since left Australia to return to China 'He was effectively the proprietor who was obliged to make sure the food business complied with the Food Act and code,' Council's prosecutor Mark Thomas said. Li received $15,000 and a recorded conviction while Tan, the manager and licence holder, was fined only $5,000 with no conviction recorded. The defendants lawyer Vincent Pennisi told the court that the restaurant had since closed and Li had left Australia to return to China. He also stated that why he couldn't say what Mr Li's future plans would be, he assured the court it would be unlikely that he would return to Queensland to open another restaurant again. Magistrate Springer said that the 'gaps in the joints provided harbourage points for the pests to breed and hide' in the kitchen of the restaurant (stock image) Port Richey Mayor Dale Massad, 68, was arrested on Thursday and charged with two counts of attempted homicide and practicing medicine without a license A Florida mayor has been arrested after he allegedly fired shots at police officers trying to serve a search warrant at his home. Port Richey Mayor Dale Massad, 68, was accused of practicing medicine without a license and when deputies arrived on his doorstep to conduct a search, he allegedly shot at two of the officers. Massad was arrested on Thursday and charged with two counts of attempted murder after he allegedly fired the shots, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said. He additionally faces charges of practicing medicine without a license. No injuries were reported in the incident and the officers did not return fire. The raid was the culmination of a four-month investigation into Massad for illegally practicing medicine from his home, despite losing his license 1992. A SWAT team served out the warrant at his 3,200-square-foot, waterfront home rather than a routine police raid because Massad is a known drug-user, a guns-owner, and has a history of violence, it is claimed. He allegedly fired gunshots at two deputies serving a search warrant at his waterfront home on Thursday His arrest this week is the result of a four-month investigation into Massad for allegedly illegally practicing medicine from his home without a license. A SWAT team served the warrant Officers saw Massad with the gun in the home and when they told him to drop his weapon, he fired instead, it is claimed. No injuries were reported in the incident 'We knew this was going to be a very dangerous situation, which it did turn out to be. Our deputies did an unbelievable job. Those deputies were professional, their training kicked in and they did a great job,' Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said at a press conference on Thursday. Officers saw Massad with the gun in the home and when they told him to drop his weapon, he fired instead, it is claimed. 'He shot our members. He's lucky he's not dead,' he added. He later surrendered and was arrested. Three other people were in the home and they were not charged. Massad was elected as mayor of Port Richey, a small city with 2,600 residents north of Tampa, in 2015. He's had multiple run-ins with the law over the years and in August he and his girlfriend were arrested for reportedly battering each other and he spent a night in jail. After spending a night behind bars he did a TV interview saying: 'The main thing I learned from the jail is I don't want to go back.' He's had multiple run-ins with the law over the years and in August spent a night in jail for a domestic violence incident with his girlfriend. After he was jailed he did an interview (above) saying 'The main thing I learned from the jail is I don't want to go back' Massad was elected as mayor of Port Richey in 2015. Pictured left with the Port Richey City Council He was a licensed doctor from 1977 to 1992 but voluntarily surrendered his license after he was accused of making errors that led to the death of a three-year-old patient in 1990, according to the Florida Department of Health. 'No one is above the law. My office will work with law enforcement to investigate and prosecute any crime within our jurisdiction regardless of the targets political position or economic status,' Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said, as per NBC. For some in the Port Richey community, his arrest isn't a surprise. 'When you mention his name, the reputation isnt the greatest. People are probably thinking to themselves, "well its about time,"' Nocco said. 'It's unfortunate, but it's not surprising, because of his history,' Neighbor Linda Van Es said to the Tampa Bay Times. A British grandmother sentenced to death for smuggling drugs into Bali has abandoned her legal battle to escape execution and says she is now reconciled with the prospect of facing the firing squad. In an astonishingly frank interview on Death Row, 62-year-old Lindsay Sandiford whose two young granddaughters have flown from the UK to visit her in prison said she had decided to give up her attempts to lodge a potentially life-saving final appeal. Drug mule Sandiford who was caught flying into Bali from Bangkok with 10.16 lb of cocaine in 2012 has now spent six years on Death Row while three Britons believed to be higher up the smuggling syndicate received sentences of one to six years and have all left prison. But speaking in Bali's grim Kerobokan prison known ironically as Hotel K, Sandiford who spends her days knitting clothes and toys for her grandchildren, charities, and church groups insisted to Mail Online: 'In spite of everything, I feel blessed. 'I have been blessed to live long enough to see my two sons grow up into fine young men and blessed to have been able to meet my two grandchildren. A lot of people don't get that in their lifetime.' Brit grandmother Lindsay Sandiford (pictured), sentenced to death for smuggling drugs into Bali has abandoned her legal battle to escape execution and says she is now reconciled with the prospect of facing the firing squad Sandiford, 62, from Yorkshire, a grandmother-of-two young girls, has been held on Death Row for six years at Bali's grim Kerobokan prison known ironically as Hotel K (pictured) Inside Kerobokan prison (pictured) in Bali, Sandiford spends her days knitting cuddly toys for church groups and charities. She says she gets on with the guards and stays out of trouble Asked whether she feared execution by firing squad, she insisted: 'It won't be a hard thing for me to face anymore. It's not particularly a death I would choose but them again I wouldn't choose dying in agony from cancer either. 'I do feel I can cope with it. But when it happens I don't want my family to come. I don't want any fuss at all. The one thing certain about life is no one gets out alive.' Sandiford, from Yorkshire, who has no previous convictions, was sentenced to death in 2013 after claiming in court she was forced by a UK-based drugs syndicate to smuggle cocaine from Thailand to Bali by threats to the life of one of her two sons in Britain. Sandiford was caught flying into Bali from Bangkok with 10.16lb of cocaine in 2012 She received a death sentence despite co-operating with police in a sting to arrest people higher up in the syndicate, sparking an outcry from human rights lawyers and former UK Director of Public Prosecutions Ken Macdonald who said she had been treated with 'quite extraordinary severity'. The British government has repeatedly refused to fund Sandiford's appeal, despite a ruling from Supreme Court judges in London who said 'substantial mitigating factors' had been overlooked in her original trial. The syndicate's alleged ringleader Julian Ponder, 50, from Brighton, was freed from Kerobokan prison in late 2017 following rumours more than 1 million in bribes were paid to drop trafficking charges against Ponder, his former partner Rachel Dougall, and fellow Brit Paul Beales. Dougall served one year and Beales four years for involvement in the conspiracy. Ponder, who served just six years after being convicted of a reduced charge of cocaine possession, now flits between luxury hotels in Malaysia and Thailand with a 23-year-old Indonesian bride called Nadya, a convicted fraudster he met while in Kerobokan. He declined to comment when traced to a hotel in Kuala Lumpur by Mail Online but is said to have told friends he hopes Sandiford is spared execution, saying: 'Lying awake every night for so many years thinking you could be taken away and executed at any time is already punishment enough.' More than 40,000 raised by well-wishers for a final appeal against Sandiford's death penalty has been spent by a succession of Indonesian lawyers and legal assistants and she said she had decided not to engage another lawyer to fight her sentence. Despite her desperate plight, Sandiford has had no contact or assistance from British consular officials after falling out with the previous Vice Consul Alys Harahap who, incredibly, was sacked for conducting an illicit romance with Ponder while he was in Kerobokan jail. The grandmother is facing death by firing squad while three Britons believed to be higher up the smuggling syndicate received sentences of one to six years and have all left prison Despite the prospect of being shot, Sandiford says she feels blessed to have lived long enough to have seen her sons grow into 'fine young men' and met her granddaughters (one pictured) Now grey-haired and suffering arthritis, Sandiford spends her days knitting in the cramped five metres-by-five-metres cell at Kerobokan prison (pictured) she shares with four other women prisoners, most of them poorly-educated local women convicted of drug offences Sandiford could face execution at any time after failing to lodge a final appeal but said: 'I really cannot face asking anyone for help or having to deal with another lawyer. I just can't face it. I've been burnt enough times. 'I've had 10 different lawyers. If I actually turned my mind to the legal process I would get angry and bitter and it would be destructive.' Sandiford said she did not want to the help of the Foreign Office after the crushing fiasco of Harahap's seedy liaisons with Ponder. 'If they started getting involved, they would probably end up getting me shot even sooner,' she said. Her last contact from British officials was a letter from the holiday island's new British Vice Consul John Makin in October 2016 asking her to contact him if she wanted any assistance. Sandiford did not reply. Now grey-haired and suffering arthritis, Sandiford spends days at a time knitting in the cramped five metres-by-five-metres cell prison she shares with four other women prisoners, most of them poorly-educated local women convicted of drug offences. She has difficulty walking, hobbling into the stiflingly hot open air visiting area for our one-hour meeting, but was in remarkably good spirits, laughing as she joked about her life in the notorious prison and her fellow inmates. She said she had come to terms with her death sentence after forging a close relationship by phone and by visits from her two sons' daughters aged six and one both of whom were born after Sandiford's arrest. 'If I was to die tomorrow, I would be happy I have had that relationship with them,' she said. 'It is the most important thing in my life. 'Of course I think about being executed. Who wouldn't? But what keeps me going is the fact I have seen my boys become men and become fathers and I have two beautiful granddaughters and I've had the chance to meet them both. 'I have pictures of my granddaughters around my bed in my cell and I wake up and I see their faces and I smile. I am sad I can't be a full-time grandmother but I have lived long enough to meet them and hold them and tell them that I love them. Julian Ponder, 50, from Brighton (pictured) was the alleged ringleader of the drug smuggling syndicate that Sandiford was involved in but he was freed from Kerobokan prison in late 2017 Sandiford has had no contact from British consular officials after falling out with the previous Vice Consul Alys Harahap (pictured)who, incredibly, was sacked for conducting an illicit romance with Ponder while he was in Kerobokan jail Ponder (pictured in jail) was freed from Kerobokan prison in Bali two years ago following rumours more than 1 million in bribes were paid to drop trafficking charges against him Ponder (left), who served just six years after being convicted of a reduced charge of cocaine possession, now flits between luxury hotels in Malaysia and Thailand with a 23-year-old Indonesian bride called Nadya (right), a convicted fraudster he met while in Kerobokan 'Even if I have a really bad day here, I turn around in bed and see my grandchildren. I wake up and I look at their faces and I'm not religious but I honestly feel blessed. 'I regret that I haven't been of more help to my boys, but I don't think they would be at the point they are in their lives if I wasn't in here. They wouldn't have grown up as much if I was there as a safety net for them. They have had to grow up. 'They're both doing incredibly well and they both want to seize life rather than waste it. What's happened to me has forced my boys to grow up and they've both turned into really good men.' 'I have days when I feel miserable and I think I do have an underlying depression but I try not to let it take over my life or what time I have left or whether it ends with a bullet. It's destructive to dwell on it which is why I've kept busy to stay positive. 'We're all in jail. It's a planet and you can't get off it. It's a jail and it's just that your corner of it is a bit more open than mine. You can either focus on the negative or the positive and wallowing in misery doesn't get you anywhere except being more miserable.' Sandiford will be transferred to Nusa Kambangan known as Execution Island and shot by firing squad at midnight with up to a dozen other condemned prisoners when and if her death penalty is carried out. 'I won't make it easy for them but I have the screaming ab dabs either,' said Lindsay, who was close friends with Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran of the Bali Nine drug trafficking gang who were taken from Kerobokan and executed in 2015. 'Dying doesn't bother me. I never thought I'd last this long to be honest. 'What I am uncomfortable about is the public humiliation. You're dragged half way around the country and paraded in front of the press before being executed and that will be the worst thing for me. 'My attitude is 'If you want to shoot me, shoot me. Get on with it.' I've done a terrible thing, I know, but the worst thing is the ritual public humiliation they seem to enjoy. 'I've told my family I don't want any of them to come when it happens. I don't want to put them through what Andrew's family went through and the families of the other prisoners who were shot. 'I've said to my sons if you come I will refuse to see you so don't bother coming. I've told them when I'm dead there will be no ceremonies, no nothing, If there's any money left spend it all in one day and have a party and enjoy yourselves. I've told them 'If there's any weeping or ritual trees or flowers, I will come back and haunt you'. 'They know it would be the last thing I wanted. They know that. I'm their mum and they love me and for me that's enough. And they know I love them and hopefully that will be enough for them.' In her seven years inside Kerobokan, Sandiford has taught dozens of fellow inmates to knit and raised thousands of pounds for charities and church groups by knitting children's toys and clothes. Asked how she felt towards Ponder, known as the King of Bali for his lavish lifestyle, Sandiford (pictured in jail) said: 'He very seldom crosses my mind. 'If I dwelt on it I could quite easily send myself insane with the unfairness of it all' 'When you first come here nothing is right for you and you want to change things. I understood very quickly that if you complain about something here, you are the problem because this is their jail. 'So I don't complain about anything and they leave me alone. If I don't complain and keep quiet they are fine with me. If I started making a fuss they could make my life a lot more miserable but I don't particularly want them to. 'My philosophy is they can't make my life any worse so if I don't want to do something I tell them I won't do it and ask them 'What are you going to do about it? Shoot me?' And they just laugh and walk off. 'The warders here are really, really good to me. They feel incredibly sorry for me. They know who I am. They know I don't cause any problems. They know I don't fight and I don't gossip or get involved in arguments. They've really been incredibly kind to me. Asked how she felt towards Ponder known as the King of Bali for his lavish lifestyle and unexplained wealth during his eight years on the island Sandiford said: 'He very seldom crosses my mind. 'If I dwelt on it I could quite easily send myself insane with the unfairness of it all. But it is what it is. You can bash your head against a wall but it isn't going to change the situation I'm in. 'Even to this day, I would never in a million years change places with Julian Ponder.' Sandiford has been listed for execution on a number of occasions but Indonesia has not executed any foreign inmates since 2016. The timing of executions is heavily influenced by domestic politics and could resume following a presidential election in April. Former DPP Lord Macdonald has led calls for Sandiford to be spared the firing squad, describing the arguments for overturning it as 'compelling'. 'It is very difficult to catch anyone other than mules because they are the ones who put themselves on the line,' he argued. Sandiford (pictured left with her eldest son and right in her younger days) will be transferred to Nusa Kambangan known as Execution Island and shot by firing squad at midnight with up to a dozen other condemned prisoners when and if her death penalty is carried out 'Unless they co-operate, the chances of catching those higher up the chain tend to be slender. But who will co-operate in Indonesia in the future if the prospect is the death sentence?' A British diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told MailOnline Sandiford had refused consular support since 2014 and had not replied to Vice Consul John Makin's letter but said: 'We are ready to begin providing it again if she changes her mind.' The British government is understood to have only once raised Sandifords case with the Indonesian government during a visit to Jakarta in 2014 by then-Foreign Secretary William Hague in a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart. No official representations have been made at any level since. However a spokesperson for the Foreign Office insisted: 'We have repeatedly made representations about the use of death penalty to the Indonesian Government at the highest levels.' A father was stunned when he was pulled over by highway patrolmen for riding his scooter along the Bondi Beach promenade. Artem Kozmin, 38, jumped behind the wheel of his electric scooter in Sydney's east about 10am on Tuesday morning. Mr Kozmin was sitting on the back of the scooter - with a red cap on - while his son stood at the front wearing a helmet. Pulled over: Sydney father Artem Kozmin was fined after riding his scooter along Bondi Beach's famous promenade on Tuesday Mr Kozmin was confronted by police on Tuesday morning after taking the scooter for a ride A highway patrol vehicle briefly pursued Mr Kozmin near the famous stretch of sand Mr Kozmin wasn't far along the popular promenade when he was pulled over by the highway patrol car. Officers fined Mr Kozmin $2020, claiming he had been riding an unregistered and uninsured vehicle, was riding on the footpath and had failed to wear a helmet. An agitated Mr Kozmin is understood to have disputed the decision while a passerby snapped photographs. When police were asked why officers had pursued Mr Kozmin, a spokesman said the scooter was unable to be registered or insured. 'Police, being aware the scooter does not comply with road transport legislation ... followed after the rider to stop him,' a spokesman said. Mr Kozmin gestures with his phone while a New South Wales police officer takes notes His scooter was unregistered and uninsured, a police spokesman said Mr Kozmin was handed a formal advice confirming his riders licence was suspended The cancellation advice as provided to Daily Mail Australia Police said their checks showed Mr Kozmin already had a suspended riders' licence but he told officers he was unaware of the suspension. The patrolmen then handed him a notice making it clear his licence was suspended. Some 2.6 million people visit Bondi Beach and its famous promenade each year, statistics said. The local council hopes to begin a multi-million dollar upgrade to the Bondi Pavillion this year. Id rather die of passion than of boredom, said Gigi, a 44-year-old shoe designer with three boyfriends she met on cheating website Ashley Madison - while still married to her husband, an oblivious Midwestern soy bean farmer. Gigi's story sounds like a cross between a textbook, run-of-the-mill affair and a plot from a romance novel. She was a glamorous businesswoman traveling to places like Paris, Milan and Rome who initially fell in love with a considerably less exciting beau. That's when they got married - but soon commenced the slow and tedious death march toward to divorce. She found herself looking outside of the soy bean farm - which her husband tended year-round - for sexual fulfillment, eroticism and the thrill of the forbidden. Her experience is one of thousands that Dr Tammy Nelson has heard in the 30 years shes worked as a licensed sex therapist. Affairs with co-workers, covert Ashley Madison profiles, paid sex-workers, business trip romps and emotional affairs she has seen it all and has now written a book with the cheater in mind titled, When Youre The One Who Cheats. Dr. Tammy Nelson latest book is written with 'the cheater in mind.' She hopes the reader will come away understanding their options and feeling hope This self-help book chaperones the philanderer through every step of the process in an unprejudiced manner; illuminating her theories through the circumstances of her clients and guiding adulterers through their indiscretions. All names have been changed to protect the GUILTY, reads the prologue. Dr Nelson believes that outlining exactly what monogamy means in your relationship is more important than the routine wedding vows to love, honor and cherish. To that point, she believes that current societal standards for monogamy are out of date: Two hundred years ago, we lived til we were 38 years old and we were married for an average of 15 years; by the time you got bored, you were dead. Pete and Arnie landed on Dr Nelsons couch after Arnie had secretly been hiring online sex workers to engage in virtual sex. Arnie felt like it was a convenient way to fulfill his carnal needs without interfering in their relationship since Pete had become more disinterested in bedroom play over time. After 20 years, the couple needed to lay new ground rules and re-define what monogamy meant to their relationship: You never gave me a chance to have it as part of our understanding, said Pete - and this is where their partnership suffered. Today, were supposed to live with someone for 50, 60 sometimes 70 yearsthats a long time to be with one person. Monogamy in and of itself has changed. You have to define what monogamy means and then have a conversation with your spouse about what it actually looks like, Dr. Nelson tells DailyMail.com. According to her book, all cheating can be boiled down into two categories: the can-opener and the wake-up or break-up affair. Identifying which group you fall under is a key element to Dr Nelsons program because it also defines the ensuing therapy. The can-opener scenario is a form of cheating one commits hoping to get caught. Its an affair as a means to an end. I do believe that sometimes people have an affair that is clearly a way to get out of a relationship and they dont know how to do it themselves so they create a reason for their partner to do it, said Dr Nelson. There is hope for a future after a wake-up or break up affair - best explained by Evan and Anna, who learned to understand each other through therapy. The married couple found themselves in Dr Nelsons office after Evan cheated on Anna with a significantly younger co-worker, someone he had been seeing for over two years and began to develop feelings for. Evan paid for his mistress college tuition, which only complicated matters and made Anna feel betrayed on two fronts. Evan didnt feel regret for his actions, but he was apologetic that Anna was hurt. In his mind, Evan felt like his mistress helped him with issues that were too uncomfortable to bring up with Anna. Dr Nelson quotes Evan in the book saying: Anna, Im not in love with her. Im embarrassed. I was always embarrassed to talk to you about my erectile dysfunction. And so thats all it was. And I felt like I owed her, because she helped me, thats all. There are currently 60 million people on Ashley Madison, the online dating service marketed for people in relationships seeking extra-marital affairs; even more mind-blowing is the fact that 14,500 people sign up for the site every day. Dr. Tammy Nelson draws on her 30 years of experience as a sex therapist, offering marital advice while dishing on some of her client's wildest cheating stories Dr Nelson, who is also a consultant for the site, says that there are as many reasons for cheating as there are people who cheat. One of the most common motives is sexual satisfaction. Im just into sex, said Billy - a client of Dr Nelsons. He made it clear that he could have sex with pretty much anyone, gay, bi, trans. But this became a problem when his wife Leslie discovered Billys naked profile picture on a gay dating app. It only made matters worse when she learned that Billy had been seeing the same man over the course of a year. Instead of coming clean, he furiously denied it. He even tried to convince Leslie that someone had stolen his identity and used his image to create a fake account. He was frightened that Leslie wouldnt understand his desires. He had always felt that he was more into sex than she wasand that she would judge him if she knew what he was into, said Dr Nelson. Forgiveness isnt the goal when it comes to her brand of couples therapy; its more about coming to a place of empathy, she explains. A popular misconception is that men cheat more than women - but data pulled from Ashley Madison indicates otherwise. According to a 2017 report conducted by Ernst & Young, there are 1.13 paid female memberships for every single paid male account. There was a time, when sex with my husband was good, but that went away, said Gigi. By the time the 44-year-old shoe designer started seeing Dr. Nelson, she had already met multiple men on Ashley Madison and currently had three boyfriends that she spoke with every day. Over time, the couple began to live separate lives, and their relationship was all but over yet her husband was unwilling to consider a divorce. According to Gigi, she was cheating to stay married to her husband of 19 years. Ten things that every cheater should know - from a sex therapist who says monogamy is outdated 1. You're the one who cheated 2. It doesn't matter why you did it 3. Tell or don't; But don't blame your spouse 4. Stop saying I'm sorry 5. Sometimes it's just chemistry 6. Sometimes it's a mistake 7. Sometimes you fall in love 8. You can stay or go 9. Create a new vision 10. You can't have it all Advertisement Once I realized the level of attraction I had for my sexual partners, and they for me, it became the driving impetus; until then, my physical needs werent being met at home. There was no longer any physical attraction between me and my husband, Gigi told Dr Nelson. Its difficult to improve a relationship when the people involved are reluctant to talk about their problems; this forced Gigi to look elsewhere for fulfillment. Good sex, erotic sex, hot sex is arousing, life- affirming, and yes, sometimes hard to duplicate in a long term relationship, says Dr Nelson. In fact, its not uncommon for people in affairs to suddenly get a better haircut, start going to the gym and shop for new clothes because they feel younger and sexier. Part of this is strictly chemical: sneaking around increases adrenaline and endorphins that surge blood flow to our brains. Dopamine, often known as the pleasure hormone overwrites all negative logic with a dopey high feeling that can be addictive. When it comes to Gigis case; cheating allowed her to discover an untapped erotic part of herself that she ironically felt made her a better, happier and more fulfilled person. That being said, Gigi has no intention of telling her husband about the affairs. Most people want awe-inspiring sex. And its not just men who want good sex. If anyone tells you that men cheat for sex and women cheat for emotion, theyre wrong though they might be forgiven for being either naive, sexist, or just out of touch with reality, writes Nelson. In fact, women between the ages of 18 and 29 commit adultery more often than men do. Dr. Tammy Nelson says her mission in writing this book is to help people live with integrity Maddie and Bo found themselves seeking professional help when Bo learned of Maddies infidelity after she left her phone out; the naked texts she sent to multiple men exposed her secret affairs. Honey, Bo, dear. Its nothing. I dont know what youre so worried about, said Maddie. Bo had his suspicions but dismissed them under the assumption that her quick and busy business trips left little room for anything but work. Nevertheless, she made time to have four of them and Bo was furious. I think hes angry because Im the woman and women dont cheat. But, whatever! Its fine, no big deal. We should just move on. Its over, said Maddie. Losing passion over time is somewhat inevitable in relationships if you dont work to keep it alive. Hectic work schedules, stress and children can all contribute to the erosion toward what Dr Nelson calls, the sweatpants phase. She dives deeper into the ubiquitous phenomena and says, Routine and responsibility strengthen attachment and companionship in relationships. But attachment and companionship can be total passion killers. I hate the word cheating, said Cara, a 60-year-old woman that volunteered to talk with Dr. Nelson about her affairs. It implies that we are doing something terrible, like cheating on our taxes, or breaking a legal contract. An affair is something that you do because you need to; its not like you are stealing from a store or something. Caras relationship with her husband was plagued by various problems, mental illness, depression, anxiety and they eventually grew apart. We didnt have sex for six yearsSo, I went online and I met some other men. I had to take care of myself. It is not like I was robbing him of anything. But when her husband eventually found out, he emptied the bank accounts and disappeared, leaving Cara broke and alone. Which, according to her, didnt feel all that different than when she and her husband had been living together, said Nelson. I think we have to teach people how to create excitement in a marriage, Dr Nelson tells DailyMail.com, which indeed has been an integral part of her practice for many years. But unlike other books, When You're The One Who Cheats is written with the adulterer in mind. She wants to make sure that there is hope and help for those feeling lost in their indiscretions. She says: 'My mission in writing this book is to help people come to terms with how to live with integrity - even if theyre the cheater.' Some of Britains best known dairy products are falling into foreign hands in a 975m deal. Dairy Crest, whose brands include Cathedral City and Davidstow cheese, Country Life butter and Clover, will be snapped up by Canadian giant Saputo, one of the biggest dairy processors in the world. Shareholders will get 620p per share, an 11.7pc premium on Thursdays closing price before the takeover was announced. Dairy Crest, whose brands include Cathedral City and Davidstow cheese, Country Life butter and Clover, will be snapped up by Canadian giant Saputo Shares in the firm soared 15.3pc, or 85p, to 640p last night. The deal was seen as a vote of confidence in the economy ahead of Brexit. Richard Marwood, senior fund manager at Royal London Asset Management, said: This deal shows that, contrary to what some people fear with Brexit, UK companies with interesting brands, technology or market positions, still have significant attractions to foreign acquirers. Dairy Crest, which was created out of the Governments Milk Marketing Board in 1981, makes nearly 50,000 tons of cheese every year. It also manufactures and sells butter, oils and spreads. Chief executive Mark Allen will earn up to 4.8million as part of the deal with Saputo. The 59-year-old, who has been at the company for two decades and chief executive since 2002, was paid 2.7million last year. Allen also has 767,324 shares and options which will be worth 4.8m under the terms of the takeover. Analysts said the deal was good news for investors who have not been richly rewarded in recent years. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: The bid from Saputo will be a pleasant surprise to investors who may be smiling like the cat who got the cream at the news. The cash offer gives them a chance to get out of a fairly pedestrian business and at a price that hasnt been seen since September 2017. But the deal faces scrutiny after Dairy Crests share price shot up by more than 17pc in the week before the announcement was made. Typically when companys shares move dramatically in the run up to a major announcement, regulators will look into the case. The announcement also sparked concerns among trade unions who are seeking reassurance that Saputo which makes dairy products in Australia, Canada, Argentina, and employs around 15,000 staff will keep Dairy Crests operations in the UK following the takeover. Sue Pollard, a national officer at Unite, said her union is cautiously optimistic that Saputo is seeking to develop Dairy Crests operation in the UK over the long-term. She added: Unite is now seeking an urgent meeting with the senior management at Saputo to receive detailed information about the companys plans and secure assurances about employment levels and a commitment to maintaining existing plants. But Dairy Crest, which employs 1,100 staff across the UK, insisted it will continue to operate as a British business following the takeover. Allen said: We will remain a British company producing British brands that predominantly will be sold in the British market. We will only ever use British milk from the South West so I dont see that the new owner will change any of that. The manufacturing, the farmers and the people will remain in the UK. Struggling airline Flybe thrashed out a deal last night to sell its business to Connect Airways, the consortium which includes Virgin and airport owner Stobart Group. The 2.8million deal, which completed late in the evening, had been agreed earlier this month. However Connect was waiting to gain approvals from EU competition authorities, and was negotiating with Flybes pension trustees. Grounded: An unnamed Flybe pilot sent an email to staff branding the airlines chief executive Christine Ourmieres-Widener incompetent Connect is set to take on the whole of Flybes pension liabilities. Since the scheme is registered in the Isle of Man, it would have fallen outside the Pension Protection Funds reach if Flybe had gone bust. Pensioners could have been left with nothing. Shareholders are currently due to get just 1p per share from Connect, with many individual savers having lost thousands of pounds from their punt on Flybe. The sale comes as it emerged a Flybe pilot who called the airlines chief executive incompetent has been suspended. The unnamed pilot sent an email to staff which was read out to Christine Ourmieres-Widener on BBC Radio 4 earlier this month. Flybe said the pilot was suspended on January 17, weeks before the email was made public, but declined to say what the pilot was suspended for. Shares in the owner of British Gas crashed to a 16-year low on fears that its dividend will be cut. On a miserable day for 530,000 ordinary savers with Centrica shares, the stock dived 11.7 per cent, or 16.05p, to 121.15p, a level not seen since early 2003. The sell-off was triggered by a warning that its profits and cash flow will be lower than anticipated this year, raising concerns over future dividend payments. On a miserable day for 530,000 ordinary savers with Centrica shares, the stock dived 11.7 per cent, or 16.05p, to 121.15p, a level not seen since early 2003 Although the energy giant reported a 12 per cent rise in profits to 1.4billion and 6 per cent rise in revenues to 29.7billion for 2018, it said the energy price cap introduced by regulators will dent its fortunes in 2019, piling pressure on under-fire chief executive Iain Conn. Analysts warned that the dividend which was held at 12p a share in 2018 is under threat. Ian Forrest, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, said there is now 'a big question mark over this year's dividend payments, and possibly those in future years as well'. Around 5 per cent of Centrica shares are held by retail investors, an unusually high amount for a FTSE 100 company. It is a hangover from British Gas's privatisation in 1986 under Margaret Thatcher when an estimated 1.5m individual investors bought stock after the 'Tell Sid' advertising campaign which encouraged everyday Brits to put their money into the firm. Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'All the 'Sids' out there who still hold Centrica shares won't be best pleased with the performance in the last few years, and with the dividend under pressure there could be further bad news in the pipeline.' Shares have fallen by around 70 per cent since peaking at over 400p six years ago, when talk of an energy price cap was first raised by then Labour leader Ed Miliband. They are down 57 per cent since Conn took over at the start of 2015. Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at derivatives dealer CMC Markets, said: 'If Iain Conn has a long term plan for Centrica it's difficult to imagine how much worse it could have gone if the share price direction has been any guide since he took over.' Asked about the slump in shares on his watch, Conn said: 'I don't think it's my job to tell retail shareholders what to think. 'We've been very clear about the company's strategy and what we're facing and what we're doing about it. 'Centrica still offers a healthy dividend, we'll have to see if that remains.' Conn added that 'revenues were up last year, profit was up last year'. He said: 'We're facing a very complex set of circumstances. It's only right to tell our shareholders what the outlook is. I'm a very straight-up person.' Investors were left jittery after the firm revealed it lost another 742,000 customers in 2018 and that the energy price cap introduced by regulator Ofgem in January will cost it 300million this year. The company lowered the outlook for its cash flow in 2019 and said this could hit profits by 100million. It will also cut as many as 600 more jobs than expected this year, it estimates, as it strives to make another 250million of savings. The total number of jobs cut over the last four years stands at around 10,000. Sainsbury's chief exec Mike Coupe's pledge to fight on in a bid to rescue the deal was branded 'a waste of time and money' One of Sainsbury's leading shareholders has accused the supermarket of 'blowing money and credibility' on its planned merger with Asda. The investor, who wanted to remain anonymous, said it was not a surprise that regulators have effectively blocked the proposed 14billion tie up. And they added that the pledge by Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe to fight on in a bid to rescue the deal was 'a waste of time and money'. Sainsbury's had already splurged 17million in costs associated with the deal, such as advisory fees, by September 22, according to published figures. But it is thought this figure has soared to around 50million to 60million. Analysts declared the deal 'dead in the water' after the Competition and Markets Authority blocked it by warning it would push up prices and limit choice for millions of shoppers. One top 20 investor said management should focus on getting back to the basics of running the business. The shareholder told the Mail: 'We were sceptical of management's confidence on the deal going through when it was announced. The CMA announcement is not a surprise frankly. 'The tone and mood music has been negative and increasingly worse than expected as the investigation has gone on. 'The competitive landscape has got, if anything, more competitive and Sainsbury's has now blown money and credibility on this merger.' A leading Sainsbury's shareholder, who wanted to remain anonymous, said it was not a surprise that regulators have effectively blocked the proposed 14bn tie up The investor added: 'Sainsbury's is vowing to fight on. This is almost certainly a waste of time and money, when management need to refocus.' Sainsbury's and Asda could be forced to sell off as many as 300 stores if they want to seal their merger or face having it blocked altogether. The CMA reached its preliminary verdict after reviewing hundreds of thousands of Sainsbury's and Asda's internal documents and speaking with more than 60,000 shoppers and motorists. It is still to reach a final decision but the CMA warned it is 'likely to be difficult' for the supermarkets to address these concerns. More than 1.2billion has been wiped off Sainsbury's value since the CMA's announcement on Wednesday. A string of analysts have downgraded the supermarket's target price, including its house broker, UBS. But the supermarkets have vowed to pursue the merger. The investor, however, urged Sainsbury's to 'cut their losses, accept the findings and walk away'. Suppliers have celebrated the CMA's preliminary findings. Ged Futter, director of supplier consultancy GSCOP, said: 'From what I've heard from the suppliers, there's a huge sigh of relief from all over the country.' Huawei has pledged to bring forward plans to address British security concerns within four months. The promise comes after officials from GCHQ's cyber-security arm said they had not yet had a 'credible' response from the Chinese telecoms group. They have warned technical issues with Huawei equipment used throughout the UK's mobile and internet networks could leave it open to hackers. Huawei has pledged to bring forward plans to address security concerns after officials from GCHQ's cyber-security arm said they had not yet had a 'credible' response from the group At the same time, Huawei is under pressure in western countries over US claims its kit could be tapped by the Chinese government for spying, a claim the firm has repeatedly denied. The company has promised to spend at least 1.5billion to address British concerns. And yesterday Ryan Ding, head of Huawei's carrier business group, said a 'global and comprehensive' plan was expected to be approved within weeks. It faces bans on its equipment being used for new 5G mobile networks in the US, Australia and New Zealand, while in the UK officials are yet to say whether it will be allowed in. The US has led calls for restrictions on firm, but yesterday President Trump appeared to extend an olive branch. He tweeted: 'I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. 'I want the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies.' BAE shares tumbled after it warned Germany's ban on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia may hit one of its biggest export deals. The defence group gets 14 per cent of its revenues from Saudi and is due to supply the desert kingdom with another 48 Eurofighter Typhoon jets on top of the fleet of 72 already there. But its business with Saudi depends on export licences from a number of countries including Britain and Germany involved in projects such as the Typhoon. BAE gets 14% of its revenues from Saudi Arabia and is due to supply the desert kingdom with another 48 Eurofighter Typhoon jets on top of the fleet of 72 already there Germany, part of the consortium that builds the Typhoon along with Britain, Spain and Italy, last year said it would halt arms sales to Riyadh in the wake of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey last October. The decision has cast doubt over the Government's plans to sell the 48 Typhoons made by BAE to the Saudis, a deal thought to be worth 5billion. BAE said the position adopted by the German government 'may affect the group's ability to provide the required capacity to the kingdom'. BAE shares fell 7.9 per cent, or 39.6p, at 464.8p on the news yesterday, wiping 1.3billion off its value. An industry source told Reuters that Germany is also blocking the sale of spare parts, raising fears that BAE is close to grounding the existing fleet of 72 Typhoons already in Saudi. BAE chief executive Charles Woodburn it was up to government ministers and officials to resolve the problem. 'The issue of German licences is a political issue and as such requires it to be resolved at political level,' he said yesterday. 'To date, the impact has been minimal, but over time it could become more difficult. It's not a cliff-edge scenario and we're working on a number of mitigation plans.' The comments came as BAE said the company's profits edged up from 1.1billion in 2017 to 1.2billion in 2018. Revenue dropped marginally from 17.2billion to 16.8billion, while net debt rose from 752million to 904million. BAE also said the finance director of miner Anglo American Stephen Pearce will join the board as a non-executive director in June. Standard Chartered bank has set aside 690million to pay fines in the US and UK over misbehaviour stretching back more than a decade. The lender said it has been hit with a 102.2million penalty from Britain's Financial Conduct Authority watchdog over failings in its systems designed to prevent financial crime. Part of the cash will also be used to pay a 31million settlement over claims it rigged foreign currency exchange markets, which was reached earlier this year. Standard Chartered bank said it has been hit with a 102.2m penalty from Britain's Financial Conduct Authority watchdog over failings in its systems designed to prevent financial crime Bankers working for the lender in 2008 used internet chatrooms called 'Old Gits' and 'Butter the Comedian' to discuss fixing prices with their rivals at other firms. And Standard Chartered is also facing a separate fine from the US over busting sanctions in Iran. The investment bank has been under threat of prosecution over work in Iran since 2012, when it was found to have hidden 200billion of illicit deals which gave drug kingpins and terrorists access to the financial system. Standard Chartered which is headquartered in London, but makes most of its money in the Middle East and Asia was fined 415million by US regulators at the time and forced to sign a so-called deferred prosecution agreement. This required the financial institution to install an independent monitor to make sure the law was not broken again. Standard Chartered was warned there would be criminal sanctions if there was a subsequent breach. US investigators believe the bank's Dubai branch worked with Iranians after the DPA was signed, violating sanctions meant to cut the Islamic republic out of the financial system due to its support for terrorism. The bank could appeal against the US and FCA fines, meaning its total bill may be lower than the 690million set aside. Shares in Standard Chartered fell 0.6 per cent, or 3.9p, to 612.9p in trading yesterday. The corporate raider fighting to shake up Barclays suffered a huge setback last night after one of his biggest backers rubbished his plans. Aviva Investors refused to support Edward Bramson in his campaign to win a seat on the Barclays board, declaring it could see no merit in the proposal. The intervention was a body blow for Bramson because Aviva is one of his fund's largest investors, as well as a major Barclays shareholder. Bust-up: Corporate raider Edward Bramson, left, and David Cumming, chief investment officer for equities at Aviva, right The rupture came as Barclays posted annual profits of 3.5billion, down 1 per cent on a year earlier. The lender hiked its dividend from 3p to 6.5p per share, and said it will launch buybacks in future to boost the stock price. Its results included a strong performance in the investment banking arm. This will be seen as another setback for Bramson, who is forcing Barclays shareholders to vote on whether he should get a board seat at the bank's annual meeting this spring. The 68-year-old activist, who lives in Connecticut, has been scathing about performance at Barclays' investment bank and is believed to favour huge cutbacks at the prized division. Barclays boss Jes Staley with his wife Debbie But the 15 per cent rise in profits at the investment bank was seized on by the Barclays hierachy as evidence their strategy is working. Chief executive Jes Staley said: 'We started to see the earnings potential of the bank, as the strategy we have implemented began to deliver. This was evident in the improved performance across the group compared to 2017.' Aviva which holds 0.85 per cent of Barclays' stock, making it one of the bank's 20 largest shareholders is the first investor to make its views public. It is a double blow for Bramson because Aviva also owns 19 per cent of Sherborne Investors (Guernsey) C, the fund he is using to target Barclays. Critics will argue that if he cannot even win support from Sherborne's own backers, he is unlikely to command the confidence of Barclays' wider investor base. Aviva echoed a City view that Barclays' new chairman Nigel Higgins should be free to set out his plans for the bank without a rival on the board. Higgins takes over from John McFarlane at the annual meeting. David Cumming, chief investment officer for equities at Aviva, said: 'We do not see merit in Bramson's proposal to join Barclays' board as a non-executive director.' McFarlane urged shareholders to oppose Bramson's bid for a board seat, saying the bank is only jut finished with years of painful cutbacks and restructuring. Profits at Barclays' investment banking arm rose 15 per cent last year, outperforming all of its European rivals. The lender hiked its bonus pool for staff by 9 per cent to 1.7billion, the first time it has increased pay-outs in five years. Meanwhile, Staley was paid 3.4million for 2018, down from 3.9million a year earlier. The fall was largely because he handed back a 500,000 bonus after wrongly trying to unmask a whistleblower who had written poison pen letters about a senior colleague. Are two heads really better than one? That is the question being asked with increasing urgency about Standard Life Aberdeen after its largest shareholder sold its entire stake last week. The investment group, whose shares are widely held by small investors and which provides pensions for millions of savers, has been run by two chief executives, Martin Gilbert and Keith Skeoch, since Standard Life merged with Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017. Doubts are growing as to whether this arrangement should continue. Too many cooks? Standard Life has been run by two chief executives, Martin Gilbert and Keith Skeoch, since Standard Life merged with Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017 Until last Friday, Mitsubishi UFJ, a Japanese bank, had owned 5.9 per cent of the investment giant. When it announced it had sold the whole lot, for 349.3million, murmurings of unease regarding SLAs two-headed leadership began to emerge. Mitsubishi UFJ avoided mentioning SLAs bosses when it revealed the sale of its stake, claiming it had other reasons for dropping out. But more than a million individual savers hold shares in SLA, and many may be wondering whether its time for them to follow Mitsubishi and sell too. A number picked up the shares for free when Standard Life demutualised in 2006 and became a public company, turning its members into shareholders. Standard Lifes share price climbed as high as 502p in 2015, but since the merger with Aberdeen has slumped 44.4 per cent to 235p. The complexity of the deal, and the plunging share price, has added to the tension among the shareholder base. They worry that self-confessed intellectual Skeoch, 62, and forthright Gilbert, 63, may not be able to agree on where to take their business. Certain major shareholders are understood to have approached chairman Sir Douglas Flint asking that the pair step down so new blood can be brought in. Their demands are understandable. Few businesses have had much luck with co-chief executives. Just four years after Deutsche Bank appointed Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen as joint bosses in 2011, the partnership ended as investor unrest erupted over the direction of the bank. When asset managers Janus Capital and Henderson Global Investors merged in 2017, Andrew Formica and Dick Weil took the helm. But just a year later and sooner than anyone expected Formica stepped down. Sources close to SLA said there is not likely to be any imminent change, but hinted the top brass at the business will look very different in five years time. Yet John Moore, senior investment manager at Brewin Dolphin, thinks now is not the time for savers to get cold feet. Investment is a long-term game, he says, adding that if youre looking at the business for the next five to seven years, a lot of these things will sort themselves out. Moore suggests that suspicion directed towards Gilbert and Skeoch may be an effect of shareholders getting impatient, and wanting the promised benefits of the merger to materialise sooner. Last year was particularly tough after SLA lost a 109billion investment contract along with its biggest customer, Lloyds Banking Group. Months later, Lloyds severed the last of its ties with SLA as it sold its 3.3 per cent stake in the firm. Issues like this may have made investors think progress at SLA had stalled, Moore explains. They might think two chief executives equals two opposing views, he says. That would then feed those insecurities about why things havent progressed so quickly. Chris Turner, however, an analyst at Berenberg, is more pessimistic about SLA, saying: We see risk, not value. He thinks it will deliver lower growth than its peers this year, and that the restructuring which has followed the combination of Standard Life and Aberdeen makes it hard to predict how earnings will pan out in the near term. Most analysts are still bullish on SLAs prospects. Ten of the 18 research houses following its fortunes have stamped it with a buy recommendation. Moore points out that in a period of uncertainty, it is right to have as much experience around the table as you can get your hands on. For that reason, investors neednt worry too much about SLAs pair of chief executives, who have decades of high level experience between them, he says. But persistent below-par share price performance would be a huge problem for SLA, whose business, after all, is delivering investment growth to savers. If the gloom goes on, shareholders will legitimately wonder why it cant deliver better growth itself. MEMOIR WAR DOCTOR: SURGERY ON THE FRONT LINE by David Nott (Picador 18.99, 304 pp) Atmeh, Syria, 2012. A woman was rushed to the operating theatre with severe bomb damage to her leg. Trauma surgeon David Nott clamped the artery to prevent her from bleeding to death and gently pressed a finger into the large hole above her knee joint. He felt an object. Probably some kind of shrapnel, but strangely smooth and cylindrical. Very carefully, he recalls, I grabbed it with my fingers and pulled it out. I held it up to examine it and the Syrian helper took one look and went pale. He obviously knew what I was holding and blurted out, Mufajir! before turning tail and leaving the room. David Nott, 63, (pictured) gives account of two decades volunteering as a trauma surgeon during the Syrian civil war in a new memoir Nott and the anaesthetist locked eyes in panic. Was this some kind of bomb? The room fell silent, bar the hiss of the patients ventilator. The anaesthetist backed away and Nott felt his hand begin to shake so badly, he was in danger of dropping the thing. Then the Syrian helper rushed back in with a bucket of water and motioned for Nott to place the metal object carefully into the bottom of it. He later learned that mufajir means detonator and it could have blown off his hand. The woman was injured when a bomb her husband had been making in their kitchen had prematurely detonated, killing him instantly. You can feel Notts frustration and anger at the speed with which the Syrian civil war escalated. It had begun in March 2011, when a peaceful protest against the oppressive Bashar al-Assad regime was met with shocking brutality. By chance, Nott had met al-Assad in the early Nineties, when the dictator-in-waiting was working as an ophthalmic senior house officer at the Western Eye Hospital, London. He seemed very pleasant and respectful, recalls the surgeon who would later treat Assads victims, including a heavily pregnant woman whose unborn child had been shot through the head by a sniper. In his devastating account of two decades volunteering his services in some of the worlds most dangerous places, Nott doesnt speculate on what changed al-Assads attitude to his fellow humans. But he pinpoints the precise moment that a shy boy from rural Wales realised he wanted to become a war doctor. Nottss epiphany occurred in 1985 when he first qualified as a surgeon. His parents took him to the cinema to see The Killing Fields (Roland Joffes 1984 drama about the civil war in Cambodia). Notts father, also a doctor, was born in Burma and Nott had endured racist bullying as a child. David Nott (pictured centre with members of his team) suffered a panic attack when invited to meet the Queen as he saw the contrast between the luxury of Buckingham Palace and the desolation in Syria The film lit a torch in me, he says. I could relate to its themes of innocent people being bullied, pushed around or dismissed. It gave a vivid depiction of the horrors of war. But, more than that, the film depicted the incredible power of human love in the face of unimaginable adversity. Eight years later, Nott was standing over an operating table in Sarajevo. He had taken a months unpaid leave from the NHS to volunteer for the French aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres. The Bosnian civil war opened his eyes to a new medicine, in which decisions had to be made quickly, without the diagnostic tests and specialist equipment on which he had come to depend. I had never seen injuries like the ones that were coming in every hour. The damage inflicted by bombs and high-velocity bullets was of an entirely different order from those received in even the most catastrophic British car crashes. Multiple limbs were often missing. Many patients were dead on arrival, accompanied by relatives begging for help that Nott could not provide. 814 The number of confirmed deaths of medics in Syria since 2011 Advertisement When he could attempt surgery, the hospital generators would often fail and the team would have to wait until a porter brought in a wheelbarrow full of car batteries to get the theatre functioning again. When bombs fell on the hospital itself, Notts team fled, leaving him alone in the dark, his hands around the failing heart of a teenage boy. Stumbling from the room, soaked in his patients blood, Nott felt angry and betrayed. But he soon learned that, as an aid worker, his first duty was to keep himself alive so that he could help more people. It was the first of many difficult moral choices he would have to make in Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Chad, the Ivory Coast, Libya, Gaza, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq and Pakistan. In his scrubs, would you defy the Taliban policeman forbidding you to treat a woman bleeding to death in childbirth? Would you save the life of an Isis soldier likely to kidnap you on recovery? Would you give money to the children of dead patients? Nott had to make all these calls under extraordinary pressure. He describes numerous near-death experiences and there was some terrible emotional fallout. After returning from one mission, Nott found himself unable to bear the complaints of a British patient fretting about her unsightly thread veins and began a screaming, feigned sciatic attack until she left his consulting room. WAR DOCTOR: SURGERY ON THE FRONT LINE by David Nott (Picador 18.99, 304 pp) He also had a panic attack when invited to a private lunch with the Queen. Overwhelmed by the contrast between the luxury of Buckingham Palace and the desolation he had seen in Syria, Nott found himself unable to answer Her Majestys questions. As visions of limbless children filled his head, she placed her hand gently on his and encouraged him to pet her dogs. There, she said. Thats so much better than talking, isnt it. These days, 63-year-old Nott still travels the world to help victims of disaster. But his priorities changed after meeting his wife, Elly, at a charity event for Syria Relief in 2013. The relationship came as a bolt from the blue to the man with a monastic existence. But, before they could arrange a first date, Nott made a trip to Gaza, where he elected to stay in the operating theatre to save the life of a little girl called Aysha, even though he had been ordered to evacuate the hospital because an airstrike was expected in minutes. It was a story he told on Radio 4s Desert Island Discs in 2017, reducing listeners to tears as he described how he still treasures the photograph he has of her, smiling as she recovered. David married Elly in 2015 and welcomed daughter Molly the same year. Elly an Oxford graduate with an MA in international relations was the chief executive of the David Nott Foundation (a charity training surgeons to work in conflict zones) until the beginning of 2019. Although as a husband and father, Nott tries harder to avoid danger, he finds it hard to be optimistic about the situation in Syria. But he continues to train doctors working there. On the final page of his book, Nott quotes the Koran: Whoever saves a life, it shall be as though he had saved the lives of all mankind. CHERRY by Nico Walker (Cape 14.99, 336 pp) CHERRY by Nico Walker (Cape 14.99, 336 pp) Walker, a former U.S. Army medic in Iraq, wrote this debut novel about a traumatised veteran while serving a jail term for bank robbery, so you get the feeling he knows what hes talking about. A bruising dispatch from the frontline of the American opioid crisis, as well as from Operation Iraqi Freedom, its narrated by a college dropout who enlists when his lover, Emily, says shes off to Canada to study. His matter-of-fact account of his regiments various cock-ups and crimes feels raw and immediate, but with plangent moments, too. Browsing the Ikea catalogue in his downtime, he pictures the furniture hell buy with Emily once his tour is over a vision that fades when the pair slip into drug addiction as the final quarter rushes by in a cold sweat. Often wryly funny in its hard-won wisdom, the laconic staccato of Cherrys narration is ultimately crushing in the utter hopelessness of the American nightmare it outlines. BEAUTIFUL REVOLUTIONARY BEAUTIFUL REVOLUTIONARY by Laura Elizabeth Woollett (Scribe 12.99, 416 pp) by Laura Elizabeth Woollett (Scribe 12.99, 416 pp) Woolletts 2016 debut The Love Of A Bad Man drew on 12 true stories of women who fell for violent criminals, including Marceline, wife of U.S. cult leader Jim Jones, who led more than 900 of his followers to their death at his commune in Jonestown, Guyana, in 1978. Now, she has used the massacre as the basis for a sprawling ensemble novel, starting from the point of view of newlywed graduates Lenny and Evelyn, who witness the cult in its early days in California when Lenny swaps military service in Vietnam for work in a local psychiatric hospital. Soon, Evelyn, a pastors daughter, finds the creepily charismatic Jones more of a draw than skivvying for her dope-smoking husband, who submits to escalating humiliations as Jones worms his way into their marriage. An almost surreally nasty dramatisation of the mechanics of power, its expertly done, but left me queasy about why you would tell this story as fiction. IMPROVEMENT by Joan Silber (Allen & Unwin 14.99, 240 pp) IMPROVEMENT by Joan Silber (Allen & Unwin 14.99, 240 pp) Its increasingly common to structure a novel as a string of implicitly connected episodes, instead of a story running from A to B (think David Szalays All That Man Is). Improvement, from acclaimed U.S. writer Joan Silber, shows the methods pros and cons. It turns on the present-day tale of Reyna, a single mother in New York, who ducks out of a contraband scam in which her boyfriend is caught up soon after he is let out of prison for small-time drug-dealing. The butterfly effect produced by Reynas backtracking includes a fatal road accident that leaves another woman wondering why her lover never gets back in touch. But, while some of Silbers vignettes feel urgent, others dont, as when Reynas aunt recalls life in Turkey, or when we spend time with German tourists smuggling antiquities. As an exercise in literary pointillism, its often beautifully observed, but its also moot how much the stories gain from being brought together this way. Dr. Nadia Blanchet (left) and Dr. Donna Brown, led the Plastics and Optical teams respectively. World Pediatric Project (WPP) continued its outreach service to children here and in the OECS generally, with a Pediatric Eyes and Plastics Mission mounted here from February 10 15, 2019. The Pediatric Plastic Surgery team evaluated children with many different physical anomalies, with special attention being given to the complex cases and follow-up cases. A total of forty-one (41) children were seen in clinic, including four (4) from St. Lucia, one (1) each from St.Kitts and Dominica. Twenty one children received surgical care. The Pediatric Plastic Surgery team, led by plastic surgeon Dr. Nadia Blanchet of The Childrens Hospital of Richmond at VCU, also included anesthesiologists Dr. Jay Stone and Dr. Marvin Shapiro, pediatric plastic surgery resident Dr. Jeremy Powers, Operating Room nurse Lisa Sizemore and Surgical Technician. Dr. Donna Brown - Pediatric Ophthalmologist - led the optical team, with support from daughter and Optician in training Dr. Karen Brown, Mary OHanley a certified registered nurse anesthetist as well as local doctor Dr. Sherice Grant-Ledger. A total of forty-eight (48) patients, including one from St. Kitts and Nevis, were seen, and twenty-two surgeries were performed. Dr Brown also assisted Dr. Grant-Ledger with three (3) adult surgery cases. WPP continues to mobilize pediatric specialty teams with an Orthopedic mission being led by Dr. Miller slated for April 7th. Parents and guardians of children who may need to be assessed are asked to contact the World Pediatric Project office at 784-451-2989 for more information. WPP has been working in SVG since 2002 providing surgical and diagnostic services through visiting pediatric teams and facilitating advanced medical attention and service in the USA, for children in SVG and the OECS. THE TAKING OF ANNIE THORNE by C. J. Tudor (Michael Joseph 12.99, 352 pp) THE TAKING OF ANNIE THORNE by C. J. Tudor (Michael Joseph 12.99, 352 pp) This second novel from the author of last years wildly successful The Chalk Man confirms Tudor as Britains female Stephen King. There is a creeping dread on every page and, as you start a new chapter, a dark shadow over your shoulder. Joseph Thorne, a teacher, returns to his childhood home in a Nottinghamshire village, spurred on by getting to the bottom of what happened to his eight-year-old sister, Annie, who once disappeared from her bed for 48 hours only to return a different person. Joseph was once a member of the village gang of rebellious youths, some of whom still live there. He gets a job at his old school and moves into a nearby cottage, where a mother killed her son then took her own life. Haunting enough on its own but then old enmities surface and Thorne is attacked. Tudors punk prose style and her great eye for menace make this a book no one should read at night. KILL (REDACTED) by Anthony Good (Atlantic 14.99, 416 pp) KILL (REDACTED) by Anthony Good (Atlantic 14.99, 416 pp) A powerful examination of grief and its ability to gnaw away at the soul lies at the heart of this first novel from a former winner of a Man Booker Scholarship. Michael is a former head teacher whose wife is killed in a terrorist suicide bomb attack on the London Underground, leaving him with their teenage daughter, Amy, and a horrifying mixture of guilt and rage. Its partly told in conversations with his therapist, who tries to persuade him to confront the issues that are consuming him. But she fails. Michael is determined to exact revenge not on the terrorists, but on the politician who laid the ground work for their crimes with his cynical foreign policy. The parallel is clear enough though the name of the politician is redacted. Michael buys a gun and plans an assassination, setting out the case for murder in his diary. Along the way, he asks where moral justice lies. Provocative and compelling, it is a spectacular debut. NIGHT by Bernard Minier (Mulholland 14.99, 384 pp) NIGHT by Bernard Minier (Mulholland 14.99, 384 pp) The latest instalment in Miniers depiction of the hunt for the wickedly clever European serial killer Julian Hirtmann opens with the grisly discovery of a womans mutilated body on a church altar in the north of Norway. A female detective picks up the case, which leads her to an offshore oil rig and the discovery that one of the workers there is the killer. He escapes, but she finds photographs of Commandant Martin Servaz of the Toulouse police, who has been searching for Hirtmann for years. The two detectives team up, using the only clue they have a photograph of a young boy in an Austrian village with the name Gustav written on the back. Both become obsessed with the task, only to find themselves ensnared like Agent Starling in The Silence Of The Lambs, always two steps behind a serial killer who toys with them exactly as Hannibal Lecter did with Starling. Miniers killer is every bit as compelling. WHEN YOU READ THIS by Mary Adkins (Hodder 16.99, 384 pp) WHEN YOU READ THIS by Mary Adkins (Hodder 16.99, 384 pp) Iris Massey is just 33 when she dies. For four years, she had worked alongside Smith Simonyi, providing PR for a series of oddball clients with outlandish promotion plans. Now, Smith is adrift, struggling to cope with the loss of Iris, his own gambling problem and the ineptitude of his egotistical, earnest intern, Carl. The discovery of Iriss secret blog and his attempts to publish it bring him into contact with Iriss grieving sister, Jade, whos thinking of pursuing a malpractice case against Iriss doctor and is against revealing her siblings final thoughts to the world. This gentle tragicomedy unfolds in a series of text messages, blog posts and emails charting the ups and downs of Jade and Smiths relationship and Carls calamities, while dealing sensitively with loss. OH, I DO LIKE TO BE . . . by Marie Phillips (Unbound 8.99, 176 pp) OH, I DO LIKE TO BE . . . by Marie Phillips (Unbound 8.99, 176 pp) Marie PhillipsS jaunty third novel is daft of plot, deft of prose and, occasionally, as exasperating as its source material, Shakespeares The Comedy Of Errors. Transplanted to a British seaside town, old pubs, dour B&Bs and windy, hilly streets provide the perfect backdrop as two sets of cloned twins who share names, as well as genetics pinball around town, ricocheting into a small cast of characters who are left confused and bemused by the encounters of the physically identical, but emotionally diverse, pairs. The two Billys DNA is derived from William Shakespeare, while the Sallys are cloned from a random hair found at the back of a bus. Mistaken identities, emotional upheavals, work envy, parental dilemmas and disgruntled traffic wardens all play their part as the twins work out their true destinies. ANN DEVINE, READY FOR HER CLOSE-UP by Colm ORegan (Transworld 12.99, 368 pp) ANN DEVINE, READY FOR HER CLOSE-UP by Colm ORegan (Transworld 12.99, 368 pp) Colm ORegan is the bestselling author of the Irish Mammies series of novels. Here, he introduces a new mammie, endearing care worker Ann Devine, who wears fleeces, loves a gossip and is a little insecure out of her comfort zone in rural Kilsudgeon. Her mettle is tested when she takes on the leadership role in a tidy town competition, challenges local corruption and tackles the drunken antics of Hollywood star Cody Bryan when he and his entourage arrive to film a Celtic myth version of Game Of Thrones: all man buns, fast broadband, financial skullduggery and day-long sessions in the pub. ORegan offers laugh-out-loud observations of small-town life and eccentric characters, which, just occasionally, stray into cliche. Of all the little moments of joy and strife that fill the top-nominated Oscar film 'Roma,' the most gut-wrenching takes place in a Mexico City hospital room, where a doctor coolly tells a frightened young woman, 'Your baby was born dead.' The haunting scene, set in 1971, graphically introduces a subject that today is still poorly understood and often avoided. While global rates have declined since then, stillbirths remain surprisingly common with nearly 3 million each year, most in developing countries. The U.S. rate, 6 in 1,000 births, hasn't budged in a decade and the cause is unknown in at least one-third of cases. Most U.S. insurers don't cover autopsies and many parents don't want them, often leaving circumstances and potential causes a mystery. 'This is a really seriously understudied area of research,' said Jennita Reefhuis of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 'It's such a devastating event to happen to a couple. This is something that deserves more attention.' Lindsey Schmitz looks out the window of her home in Chicago. Schmitz gave birth in 2016 to a stillborn son, Sawyer, after a 'textbook' pregnancy Rebekah Shirey and her partner, Steve Martin, with their stillborn chid, Elijah, in an Ottawa, Canada hospital. Shirey had learned days earlier that Elijah's heart had stopped beating. Stillbirth features in Roma, the Oscar-nominated movie. Doctors do not allow housekeeper Cleo, played by Yalitza Aparicio, any time with the baby before it is whisked away EXPERTS SAY PARENTS SHOULD SPEND HOURS OR EVEN DAYS WITH THEIR STILLBORN CHILDREN TO REDUCE RISK OF PTSD LATER ON The young mother in Roma is given just a few seconds to hold her lifeless child before a doctor tells her he must take and 'prepare' the body. From her hospital bed a few feet away, she watches silently as the infant is wrapped up in a white shroud. The coldness of that lingering scene is partly dramatic flourish, but it also reflects thinking at the time that stillbirths were almost to be dismissed. Dr. Francisco Ruiloba, an obstetrician from Mexico City, said many hospitals in Mexico, and elsewhere, have since adopted a more humanistic approach. In his practice, Ruiloba said, mothers are given as much time as they need and the body is prepared 'with respect and out of the room.' In 2009 guidance reaffirmed last month, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says emotional support should be offered to parents of stillborns, including referrals to grief counselors, support groups or therapists. Parents should have the chance to hold and to name their infants, and to say goodbye, the group advises. Studies have found that allowing parents to spend time with stillborn infants may reduce mothers' chances for developing anxiety and depression afterward. Many U.S. hospitals let parents spend hours or even days with them. Some hospitals take memento photographs, footprints and handprints for families; some provide cooling cots to preserve the body while the family grieves. We stress 'how important it is to the patient for us to get comfortable being with them and talking about it and reassuring them that this is a terrible thing but they will get through it,' said Dr. Alan Peaceman, who heads Northwestern Medicine's maternal-fetal medicine department in Chicago. Pediatric nurse Lindsey Wimmer, whose son Garrett was stillborn in 2004, says parents 'used to be told not to see or name their baby, just to move on and have another one. Now we know that's not a very practical way to deal with it. 'Their grief just waits for them and they will never forget about these babies,' said Wimmer, executive director of the Star Legacy Foundation, a Minnesota-based group that promotes stillbirth research and education. Schmitz holds a framed photo of her stillborn son, Sawyer, being cuddled by her and her husband, Andrew, in their home in Chicago. 'He was warm. He was beautiful and had that baby smell. He just looked like he was asleep,' Lindsey recalls Nursery decorations displayed in the Chicago home of Lindsey Schmitz are dedicated to their baby daughter and stillborn son, Sawyer Social media has given grieving parents a new outlet. Canadian Rebekah Shirey posted a poignant video for friends of what looks almost like a routine labor and delivery. Surrounded by family and friends in an Ottawa hospital room, with her partner Steve Martin by her side, Shirey pushes, cries and then cradles their stillborn son Elijah. It was July 29, 2017 and Shirey had learned days earlier that Elijah's heart had stopped beating. Tests showed problems with her placenta. 'The more awareness we have and the more community we have makes it easier to go through these things,' she said. SCIENCE & ADVOCACY: TEACHING WOMEN TO COUNT THEIR BABIES' KICKS IN THE THIRD TRIMESTER TO SPOT SIGNS OF A PROBLEM U.S. doctors define stillbirths as fetal deaths after 20 weeks of pregnancy; it's 28 weeks or later in many other countries. As in many countries, there is no U.S. national registry and while fetal deaths are reported in every state, the documents often include minimal information About 1 percent of U.S. pregnancies end in stillbirths, or nearly 24,000 each year. Obesity, diabetes, smoking and becoming pregnant after age 35 all increase the risk and the rate is two times higher in black women than in whites. Placenta problems contribute to about 1 in 3 stillbirths in developed countries. As part of the U.S. government's Human Placenta Project, researchers are seeking better ways to detect placenta problems, including imaging and blood tests. Many hospitals in Mexico, and elsewhere, have since adopted a more humanistic approach, giving the mother more time with her baby. But back in the day, when Roma is set, they didn't Recent studies have offered new clues, suggesting stillbirths might be linked with reduced or excessive fetal movement, women sleeping on their backs during late pregnancy, excessive temperatures and air pollution. One study even found that a 'gut instinct' that a pregnancy had gone wrong was more common in women with stillbirths than other mothers. Doctors advise women to pay attention to fetal movement late in pregnancy and to be aware when there's a change that could indicate fetal distress. Inducing labor is an option if the pregnancy is far enough along, and some studies have suggested kick-counting may reduce stillbirth rates. Several stillbirth moms in Iowa created a campaign urging women to 'count the kicks' that's been adopted by public health authorities in six states. In Iowa, where it was adopted in 2008, the stillbirth rate has since dropped below 5 per 1,000. Though there's no proof, Kimberly Piper, a nurse and state health department official, says the campaign may have contributed to the decline. HEARTBREAKING SCENARIOS About 1 in 5 U.S. stillbirths occur near the end of a normal, uneventful pregnancy. The scenarios are hauntingly similar: A few days or weeks before the due date, a woman suddenly becomes aware of less kicking or no fetal movement at all. Most women want an immediate cesarean section, but these operations are rarely done for stillbirths because of the risks. Instead, doctors give drugs to induce labor, and the parents wait. A memory box dedicated to stillborn Sawyer Schmitz is seen on the wall of the home of Lindsey Schmitz in Chicago. She says she's wracked by the things that in her grief she didn't think to do - 'cut a lock of his hair, read a book to him, we never dressed him. At that moment, you just don't know that's what you're going to want' That's the nightmare Lindsey Schmitz of Chicago endured in 2016 after a 'textbook' pregnancy. After 24 hours of difficult labor, nurses gently placed Sawyer Schmitz on his mother's chest and stepped away as the power of that moment sank in. 'He was warm. He was beautiful and had that baby smell,' Schmitz recalls. 'He just looked like he was asleep.' Grandparents, aunts and uncles joined the distraught parents in the birthing room. 'They commented on his features. Laughed about his chin,' she said. 'The nurses took pictures, lots of pictures.' Schmitz says she's wracked by the things that in her grief she didn't think to do 'cut a lock of his hair, read a book to him, we never dressed him. At that moment, you just don't know that's what you're going to want.' She did want to know the cause, but an autopsy and other tests gave no answers. Now, Schmitz volunteers as a resource for other women who've had stillbirths. 'When you're in this club, you realize it's so much more prevalent than anyone talks about,' she said. Pinterest is taking a stand against the anti-vaxxer movement blamed for fueling US outbreaks of the measles by removing any content advising against shots. The move by inspiration-oriented social media site has been criticized for broadly blocking any search results for terms like 'vaccination' or 'vaccine.' But DailyMail.com discovered that even that the seemingly radical measure fails to keep out anti-vaxxer posts, like those promoting a film by disgraced scientist Andrew Wakefield, whose debunked research incorrectly linked shots to autism. Measles outbreaks have cropped out in 10 US states, sickening at least 127 people and centering around anti-vaxxer 'hotspots.' Misguided theories that vaccines - like the measles, mumps and rubella shot - are dangerous and cause autism spread like wildfire in online communities. So social media companies find themselves in the crossfire of free speech and dangerous misinformation. Pinterest was an early adopter of policies against health misinformation. It has expanded its attempts against anti-vaxxer content to block all searchers for 'vaccine' - but it doesn't work In fact, two recent studies found that about half of all parents are exposed to health misinformation and, alarmingly, that Russian bots have played a significant role in the spread of false information about vaccines in the US via Twitter. Alarmed by this pattern, Representative Adam Schiff of California, penned a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg urging him to intervene in the dissemination of vaccine misinformation on the platform of over a billion users. 'The algorithms which power these services are not designed to distinguish quality information from misinformation or misleading information, and the consequences of that are particularly troubling for public health issues,' Schiff wrote last week. And a Congressional hearing on the outbreak is schedules for February 27, while a Senate analogue is on the books for March 5. For its part, Pinterest preempted the current debacle of medical misinformation in 2017. The social media site - where users create digital inspiration boards - takes a clear stance against invalid health advice and promises to remove such content from its site. 'We dont allow advice when it has immediate and detrimental effects on a Pinners health or on public safety' the policy states. It even goes a step further and addresses anti-vax sentiments direction. 'This includes promotion of false cures for terminal or chronic illnesses and anti-vaccination advice.' But detecting and removing specifically anti-vaccination posts proved such a challenge that Pinterest wound up switching over to a more broad sweeping method. As part of its 'enforcement' strategy, Pinterest has begun wholesale blocking results for all vaccine-related searches. By way of explanation, its policy says: 'If a search returns largely polluted results that violate our policies, we will stop serving the query, either temporarily or permanently. Recently, Pinterest simply started blocking results for the search term 'vaccination' (pictured) because the Pins it returned were 'polluted' a move some saw as radical 'We started blocking certain searches related to vaccinations and cancer cures last year, because results were leading to harmful misinformation. If a search term is blocked, we provide an explanation for why and a link users can click through to learn more about our community guidelines.' Its additional strategies include removing any Pins or boards that Pinterest deems health misinformation and blocking any content posted by individuals or groups that 'explicitly affiliate themselves with health misinformation.' Sure enough, the search terms 'vaccine' and 'vaccination' return no results, except for a notice that 'Pins about this topic often violate our community guidelines, so we're currently unable to show search results.' That might seem to address Representative Schiff's criticism that Facebook's algorithms aren't adequate to distinguish misinformation from valid information, albeit by refusing to disseminate any vaccine information. Dr Brittany Seymour, a Harvard University epidemiologist and expert in how health information travels online, praises Pinterest's approach. 'It might be viewed as radical, but Pinterist is really taking a hard stance on the idea of revisiting the reputational path' - establishing the merit of information based on its sources - 'of what's shared on their site and its intent,' she says. 'Their measure is kind of in response to the power of social proof ... [in which] people sharing a concern gives it this kind of power because their friends share it and that validates it, whether scientific data does or not. 'Social media sites were founded with the idea of personal freedom but along with that comes the responsibility to keep a small group of individuals from taking a course of action that impacts an entire community.' But even Pinterest's proactive attempts fail pretty quickly. When DailyMail.com typed in 'Vaxx,' Pinterest recommended this board, dedicated to 'VAXXED the movie,' the film created by disgraced anti-vaxxer scientist Andrew Wakefield The search term 'anti-vaxxer' returns results, although most are simply memes critical of anti-vaxxers. And, more glaringly, when you begin to type in 'vaxx,' Pinterest actually recommends a board entitled 'VAXXED the movie,' the title of the film made by Andrew Wakefield whose now-debunked research linking MMR shots to autism gave rise to the modern wave of the anti-vaccination sentiment. On the board are dozens of Pins posted by users whose own accounts, in turn, are populated with anti-vaccination sentiments. So, in short, Pinterest's is an imperfect solution, too. When Daily Mail Online asked Pinterest about these results and their methodology for identifying health misinformation, a spokesperson replied: 'We use data queries to proactively find this content, and from there we can identify related content and trends, like new terms associated with it, websites it is coming from as well as users saving it.' She said the Pinterest team compares this content to CDC and WHO information to fact check it. 'While we have an extensive list of terms, there will always be a ton of variations, and that's why blocking at the search level is just one of the ways we enforce our community guidelines. 'This is constant work in progress, and that's why we work with outside groups and health experts to help us make improvements,' the spokesperson said. YouTube has tweaked its algorithms to stop offering suggestions for more anti-vaxxer content as 'suggestions' to viewers and Facebook says it's working on its own measures. But one thing is clear: social media companies designed to connect like-minded groups are now struggling to keep up with the frenzied spread of agreed up - but dangerous and incorrect - misinformation. The number of full-time GPs continues to fall despite drives to encourage more doctors to take up the post, research suggests. Figures released by NHS Digital reveal the number of GPs working full time fell by 0.1 per cent last year - from 34,537 in December 2017 to 34,510 in December 2018. And the number of full-time GP partners dropped by five per cent (980) from 20,036 in 2017 to 19,056 the following December. GP numbers continue to fall despite drives to encourage more to take up the posts (stock) NHS GP SHORTAGE IS A 'DESPERATE SITUATION' Official figures showed in 2018 that 41 per cent of GPs around 10,000 doctors are 50 or over and are expected to quit within the next five to ten years. And 2.5 million patients are at risk of their local GP surgery closing because so many are relying on doctors who are close to retirement. At the same time, fewer young doctors are choosing to specialise as GPs and are opting for other career paths as surgeons or specialists. Many GPs are retiring in their 50s, moving abroad or leaving to work in the private sector, increasing the pressure on those who still work in the sector. Appointment waiting times are getting longer and more people are going to A&E for minor illnesses because they can't see a doctor. Despite an NHS a plan to recruit 5,000 extra GPs by 2021, numbers of family doctors are falling. And 762 GP practices across the UK could close within the next five years, according to the Royal College of Nursing. Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, told The Times: 'This is a desperate situation with potentially serious consequences for patients.' Advertisement The NHS lost 206 full-time GP partners in the final three months of last year alone. But the total number of all GPs increased by 459 - or one per cent - in the 12 months to December 2018, from 43,937 to 44,396. This suggests more are opting to work part-time. Dr Krishna Kasaraneni - chairman of the British Medical Association's education, training and workforce subcommittee - told GP Online: 'Despite pledges from the Government to increase numbers of GPs, these figures confirm the complete opposite is happening on the ground. 'Workforce shortages continue to blight general practice and exacerbate other workplace pressures, including unmanageable workloads for the remaining staff. 'It is by making general practice a more attractive prospect, and fostering a more positive working environment, that we can begin to recruit and retain more talented doctors to the profession.' GP partnership review chair Dr Nigel Watson is not worried by the figures and believes trainees will help cover lost ground. A decline in GP numbers was the reason why partnership opportunities were introduced, he added. The Government has committed to increasing the GP workforce by 5,000 by 2020-to-21. However, health secretary Matt Hancock has admitted this is challenging. This comes after research released earlier this week suggested a record number of NHS staff are quitting because they are fed up with not seeing their families. An analysis by the thinktank Health Foundation reveals the number of burnt-out staff leaving the health service has almost trebled in the past seven years. Around 7,000 babies born in England and Wales this year will lose their mothers before they turn 16, statistics have revealed. And twice as many could go through the death of their father before adulthood, one expert has suggested. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) looked at historical statistics to work out around one per cent of mothers die before their child's 16th birthday. These children are at higher risk of mental health problems as they age, experts warn, and the figures could be use to better target support to thousands of people. Thousands of babies born every year will lose their mother before they turn 16, statistics show (stock image) The ONS used data from families between 1971 and 2000 to estimate that, in a given year, one in every 100 new mothers will die before their child reaches 16. Using this percentage, they suggest that around 7,000 children born this year will go through the traumatic experience. Their workings were based on the estimated total number of under-16s in the two countries in 2017 approximately 11.2million people. In the 29 years covered by the study, between 5,500 and 8,500 children suffered the bereavement each year. The data in the area for loss of father is less clear, the statisticians said, but they estimate the father's death could be twice as likely. Nick Stripe, spokesperson for the ONS said: 'Based on known mortality trends, the number of children who experience the death of their father by this age could be around twice as high as our estimate for mothers.' Iain Bell, deputy national statistician, added: 'This data opens a window into another potentially vulnerable section of our population. 'The information today gives us an idea of the scale of who is affected but we want to be able to shine a light on the impact early bereavement can have; what the effect of losing a parent is likely to be on a child and the challenges they might face in later life. 'As an organisation, we are looking at how we can provide better statistics to help make better decisions to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable in our society.' The ONS is already examining in more depth how the loss of a parent affects educational achievement. Unresolved grief is known to be a factor in 15 per cent of psychological disorders and research shows that bereaved children are 1.5 times more likely to have a mental health disorder, according to Child Bereavement UK. A spokesperson said: 'When a parent dies leaving dependent children, lives are shattered. Research shows that unresolved grief in childhood can lead to long-term, negative consequences. 'Bereavement has also been linked to academic underachievement, teenage pregnancy, and risk-taking behaviour.' Charities have urged the NHS to protect the mental health of children who suffer the tragic loss of a parent, saying there is almost no support services. The charities' warnings came days after Princes Harry and William spoke of the devastating effect their mother's death had on them. The Duke of Sussex was 12 when his mother, Princess Diana, died in 1997. In 2017 he confessed he had been 'very close' to a mental breakdown on numerous occasions. Child Bereavement, who offer face-to-face support and a national helpline, said: 'At the moment, the availability of bereavement support is not a "given" when a child grieves, and Child Bereavement UK is working with other bereavement organisations in the UK to change that.' For more information visit the website or call the helpline on 0800 02 888 40. A four-year-old girl died of the flu on Saturday, becoming the third child to succumb to the virus in Massachusetts this season. Puthiraskmey Sopheak, four, was rushed to Lowell General Hospital by her father last Tuesday as her fever climbed. Her father, Sopheak Paak, says the doctor they saw there did not administer a blood test for the flu, said his daughter didn't need to be admitted, and sent the family home with nothing but Tylenol. Days later she was back at the hospital, transported in an ambulance this time, but she died shortly thereafter, leaving her family heartbroken and perplexed, WCVB reported. Puthiraskmey Sopheak, four, fell suddenly ill last week and, just when it seemed she would recover, took a turn for the worse and died on Saturday of complications from the flu In October, Puthiraskmey (front left) resettled in Boston, Massachusetts with her father, Paak (top left), mother and brother (pictured, unnamed) from Cambodia The Sopheak family came to the US from Cambodia in September, in hopes of a better life, especially for Puthiraskmey, who was 'smart,' as her proud father told WHDH. They had settled in Boston, just before the flu season began ramping up, in October. Puthiraskmey smiles charmingly in photos, and home videos show her keeping time with her feet as she played drums in the family home. She was a lively, vital child and her decline seemed sudden and unpredictable. Lowell General Hospital, outside Boston, pronounced her cause of death as flu, but her parents remain unsure, and confused. Last year, the flu season was one of the worst the US had seen in decades, killing more than 80,000 people. Currently, the 2018-2109 influenza season is far milder, but that doesn't mean that it can't still be a killer. A vivacious child, Puthiraskmey showed a lot of rhythm when she played the drums and tapped her foot along in the Sopheak home prior to her tragic death Fighting off the virus weakens the lungs and the immune system as it tried to fight off the infection. That effort can make the body vulnerable to a secondary infection - often pneumonia - which can quickly turn deadly. Paak recognized that something wasn't right with his daughter last week, but it was hard to sort out exactly what. A few days earlier, she'd been sick from a probable allergic reaction to seafood she'd eaten. Photogenic: Puthiraskmey's family described the often-grinning child as 'smart' But then her fever just kept climbing, reaching 99 degrees on Tuesday, Fox reported. The little girl was reportedly coughing up blood by the time her father got her to the hospital. According to Paak, his little girl wasn't tested for flu, her symptoms seemed to ebb, and Puthiraskmey was sent home with Tylenol. Her condition was not deemed dire enough to admit her to the hospital. At home, she seemed to continue to improve, though she need rest. 'Everything was normal but she [felt] tired and she [slept],' Paak told WHDH. But Saturday, everything suddenly changed. 'I tried to call 9-1-1, [I told them] "I don't know how to help her,"' Paak tearfully told WCVB5. In a blur, an ambulance was at the family's home, and Puthiraskmey was whisked back to Lowell General. But it was too late. In the wake Puthiraskmey's (bottom left) untimely death, her father, Paak (center), brother (top left) and mother (right) are still unsure if she had the flu, a food allergy, or something else She died at the hospital from what the doctors said were complications of the flu. Paak is not convinced, expressing concern over her previous food poisoning or that she could have gotten something back in Cambodia, before she ever set foot in the US. 'I think it's not flu,' he said. The family is holding services for the little girl on Friday and awaiting results from the medical examiner. 'We offer our deepest sympathies and condolences to the family over the tragic loss of their daughter. Patient privacy rules prohibit us from commenting any further at this time,' Lowell General said in a statement. If the flu is confirmed, Puthiraskmey will be the third child to die of flu in Massachusetts this season. It is unclear if Puthiraskmey had had a flu shot, but the unusual pediatric deaths that have take place - even in this milder flu season - in Massachusetts and the 34 that have been reported nationwide are a somber reminder of the importance of getting vaccinated against the virus to protect children that cannot do so. Parents, doctors and advocacy groups are demanding answers as to why spates of babies have been born in France missing arms and hands. They met in Paris for the first time yesterday to discuss the mysterious birth defect, known as upper limb reduction, which is cropping up across rural regions of the Mediterranean country. A panel of scientists has been brought in to 'identify and analyse' what is behind the scandal and will meet early next month. Over the past 15 years, dozens of infants have been delivered in three regions, including Brittany, with missing or malformed arms. The defects sparked a public health scare, with authorities admitting the rate of disabilities is 'excessive'. France launched an inquiry after a spate of babies have been born with deformities across the country. Dozens of infants were delivered with missing or malformed limbs in the past 15 years in the regions of Loire-Atlantique, Morbihan and Nantes, Brittany, and Ain, near Lyon The issue came to light last September when France 2 Television reported an unusually high case of limb reduction in the eastern Rhones-Alpes region between 2009 and 2017, France 24 reported. At least seven babies were born with the defect in the rural area of Ain near the Swiss border, according to a 2014 report by the public health body Remera. Remera was created after the thalidomide scandal by the national agency Sante Publique France (SPF) and is responsible for tracking birth defects. Off the back of the cases in Ain, SPF announced on October 4 it was launching an investigation. In total, more than 20 cases have been detected in the past 15 years in Brittany; Loire-Atlantique - south of Brittany - and Ain in eastern France. Seven of these babies were born between 2009 and 2014 within 10 miles (17km) of the village Druillat in Ain. And three were born in 2007 or 2008 in the western part of Loire-Atlantique. Guidel, a town in Brittany, was identified as another problem area after the mother of one of three babies born with limb defects in the region between 2011 and 2013 alerted authorities. Inquiries were also launched into the Brittany regions of Morbihan - where four women gave birth to babies with the defect in 2011-to-13 - and Nantes - where three cases occurred from 2007-to-08. While SPF admitted cases were high in Morbihan and Nante, it initially claimed Ain's incidences were no worse than the nation's average. According to Public Health France, around 150 babies are born each year with limb defects. The agency put out a statement saying 'the statistical analysis does not highlight an excess of cases compared to the national average'. But health minister Agnes Buzyn said it was 'unacceptable' the investigation did not get to the bottom of the problem. 'We are definitely facing an excess of cases,' Remera's director Emmanuelle Amar added. 'We have the scientific and moral obligation to go further.' Ms Amar was hailed as a whistleblower by ecologists and campaigners, but has also been accused of scare-mongering by fellow researchers. SPF reversed its stance on Ain when 11 additional birth-defect cases came to light, however, these were not specifically upper limb, and also included kidney and feet abnormalities. Public Health France promised to deliver a report into the scandal by January 31 this year, however, it was still not available in early February, Russia Today reported. Emmanuelle Amar (pictured) was hailed as a whistleblower by ecologists and campaigners, but also accused of scare-mongering by fellow researchers, when she brought the issue to light. She is the director of Remera, which was created after the thalidomide scandal by the national agency Sante Publique France and is responsible for tracking birth defects Speaking on why these incidents may have occurred, Ms Buzyn told the TV channel BFM last October: 'We don't want to exclude anything. 'I want to know, I think all of France wants to know. Maybe it is due to what these women ate, drank or breathed in.' Ms Buzyn added investigators will try to determine if the affected families have anything in common. Remera has already tested the mothers of the affected for numerous substances they may have been exposed to during pregnancy, including drugs and excessive amounts of alcohol. WHAT WAS THE THALIDOMIDE SCANDAL? Thalidomide was the medication given to pregnant women to combat morning sickness between 1958 and 1961. It was withdrawn after doctors noticed an increase in the number of deformed babies born to mothers who had been on the drug. After a long battle, the families affected received total of 28 million in compensation, paid out by the drug manufacturer during the 1970s. Advertisement But no clear explanation has been found. Doctors at Remera have pointed the finger at pesticides, noting several calves were born without tails or missing ribs in Ain at the same time as the affected babies. Others believe the defects could be genetic. Public Health France has previously said the abnormalities were 'probably down to chance'. 'We listened to their parents and their grandparents, visited the places where they live,' Anne Gallay, a director at the body, said. 'No environmental factors - pesticides, for example - could be questioned.' However, Remera has dismissed the likelihood of the defects being down to chance as 'more than infinitesimal'. Data on France's birth-defect rates is based on just a few regional registers, which only takes into account 19 per cent of the country. There is no national register measuring limb-related birth defects throughout France. This comes after thousands of babies around the world were born with missing or stunted limbs in the 1950s and 1960s, which was linked to the drug thalidomide. Thalidomide used to treat nausea in pregnant women and was banned in the 1960s A 10-year-old girl has died just one day after she was diagnosed with both strep throat and the flu. Sable Paige Gibson, from Mason, Ohio, received the diagnoses on Tuesday morning and went into cardiac arrest on Tuesday afternoon. According to a Facebook post from her mother, Holly Rauch Gibson, Sable was airlifted to Cincinnati Children's Hospital, but she passed away on Wednesday. Data shows that the fourth grader's death is the third pediatric death in the state from the flu this season. Sable Paige Gibson, 10 (pictured), from Mason, Ohio, was diagnosed with strep throat and the flu on Tuesday morning. She went into cardiac arrest on Tuesday afternoon and was airlifted to Cincinnati Children's Hospital, but passed away on Wednesday According to the Plain Dealer, a 13-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy are the other two pediatric deaths in Ohio. Doctors say that most children who die aren't vaccinated, and it remains unclear if Sable had received the flu shot. Viral infections like the flu and bacterial infections like strep don't often occur at the same, but they can happen. While most people with the flu recover within two weeks of contracting the virus, some sufferers can develop complications. The flu inflames the body's airways, which prevents mucus and secretions from clearing. According to a Facebook post from her mother, Holly Rauch Gibson, Sable was airlifted to Cincinnati Children's Hospital, but she passed away on Wednesday. They are pictured together above This leads to a buildup of bacteria in the body, which it normally would be able to fight off but is unable to due to the flu weakening the immune system. From there, the flu can easily develop into strep, bronchitis or pneumonia. 'If your body is focused on fighting a virus, then the bacteria have an easier time coming aboard not noticed,' Dr Julie Linderman, a pediatrician in Dallas, Texas, told Fox4. Additionally, a Canadian study published last year found that the flu can raise the risk of cardiac arrest by as much as 600 percent. 'There's inflammation going on, and your body is under a lot of stress,' lead author Dr Jeff Kwong, an epidemiologist and family physician with Public Health Ontario, told NPR. Changes, including drops in oxygen levels and blood pressure, 'can lead to an increased risk of forming blood clots in the vessels that serve your heart,' he said. Data shows that the fourth grader's death is the third pediatric death in the state from the flu this season Strep on its own can also be deadly. More than 700 million people a year are infected from group A streptococcus bacteria. While antibiotics usually clear in the infection within a week, the virus can also move from the throat into body tissues such as the muscles and the lungs, causing about 500,000 deaths a year. Mason City School officials released a statement asking that members of the community wear pink on Thursday to honor Sable. 'Please join us in keeping the Gibson family in our daily thoughts and prayers as they navigate these very difficult days,' the statement read in part. 'We also lift up all of Sable's classmates, teachers and support staff.' The statement also said that additional counselors would be in place at Western Row Elementary, where Sable attended school, and attached a link with suggestions on what parents can say to their children about death. Sable's mother, Holly, posted a photo on Facebook along with a caption stating her and her family's hearts were 'shattered'. 'It is with shattered hearts that we share that our sweet Sable Paige took her first steps into Jesus' arms tonight,' the caption read in part. 'Please, please, please pray for our family in this dark time. We can't imagine our lives without our baby girl.' The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed last week that 19,000 deaths have been recorded so far for the 2018-19 flu season. Additionally, the National Institutes of Health said this year's flu shot is 47 percent effective compared with 30 percent last year. Children as young as 12 are attempting suicide after developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a shocking study has found. One in 13 young people in the UK develop PTSD before the age of 18 following traumatic events such as assault or sexual violence. A person is twice as likely to experience a mental health disorder following trauma, of which almost two-thirds (31 per cent) of people experience as a child, according to the findings. Half of those suffering from PTSD had self harmed and were at higher risk of alcoholism, isolation and unemployment. The figures, from King's College London are some of the first to highlight how common childhood trauma is in Britain's youngsters. It's served as a 'wake-up call', experts said, as a large number of young people with PTSD are not getting treatment. One in 13 young people in the UK develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) before the age of 18, a shocking study by Kings College London has shown The study, published in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry, looked at more than 2,000 children born in England and Wales between 1994 and 1995. In total, 7.8 per cent experienced PTSD before reaching the age of 18. However only one in five (20.6 per cent) of this group said they had received help from a mental health professional in the last year. Symptoms of the anxiety condition include distressing memories or nightmares, avoiding things which remind them of their trauma, and feelings of guilt, isolation and detachment. Traumatic experiences included direct experience of assault, injury or sexual violation, with 74 per cent of young people experiencing sexual assault developed PTSD. It also included 'network trauma' - events which affected someone the young people knew, but which they did not witness in person. WHAT IS PTSD? Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events. People with PTSD often suffer nightmares and flashbacks to the traumatic event and can experience insomnia and an inability to concentrate. Symptoms are often severe enough to have a serious impact on the persons day-to-day life, and can emerge straight after the traumatic event or years later. PTSD is thought to affect about one in every three people who have a traumatic experience, and was first documented in the First World War in soldiers with shell shock. People who are worried they have PTSD should visit their GP, who could recommend a course of psychotherapy or anti-depressants, the NHS say. PTSD may be described differently in some situations: Delayed-onset PTSD if your symptoms emerge more than six months after experiencing trauma. Complex PTSD if you experienced trauma at an early age or it lasted for a long time. Birth trauma PTSD that develops after a traumatic experience of childbirth. Combat Stress operate a 24-hour helpline for veterans, which can be reached on 0800 138 161 Advertisement Those who were exposed to a traumatic event before the age of 18 were twice as likely as their peers to have a range of mental health disorders, the researchers said. And three of four of those with PTSD had another mental health condition by the age of 18. On top of this, 15.9 per cent became addicted to alcohol, one in four were not in education, employment, or training (NEET) at age 18, and half experienced social isolation or loneliness. Senior researcher Professor Danese, from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) said: 'Our findings should serve as a wake-up call - childhood trauma is a public health concern, yet trauma-related disorders often go unnoticed. 'Young people with PTSD are falling through the gaps in care and there is a pressing need for better access to mental health services. 'Child and adolescent mental health services need to make more resources available to address the needs of traumatised young people.' Dr Tim Dalgleish, from the University of Cambridge, said the results of the 'landmark study' were 'sobering'. 'Of particular concern is the relatively small proportion of affected youth who go on to access formal support or mental health services and the findings are a further wake-up call that service provision in the UK for children and adolescents dealing with the aftermath of trauma is woefully inadequate,' he said. 'Rates of PTSD in previous studies vary enormously from country to country but the rate of PTSD reported here is probably higher than we would expect.' Professor Peter Kinderman, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Liverpool, said society need to drop the 'disordered' label. 'The findings of this research are worrying and clear, but its not really accurate to say that the young people have a "disorder"; "PTSD". Theres nothing "disordered" about being affected by traumatic events, its normal and understandable (as Prince Harry recently pointed out). 'We need to protect young people from trauma and abuse, help them when theyre affected, but not label them with "disorders".' A Vincentian, who has been a firefighter for only 3 years, has been honoured as "Firefighter of the Year in Bermuda. Lance Dale Haynes, 40, was bestowed the William Glasford Firefighter of the Year Award in late January, according to Hayness sister, Claudette Haynes, who trekked from Brooklyn, New York to attend the ceremony. The Award, according to Ms. Haynes, is named in honour of Williams Glasford, an outstanding firefighter in Bermuda who died in 1997. Her brother is the 5th awardee. Speaking of the accolade bestowed on her brother, Ms. Haynes told THE VINCENTIAN, "It was a feather in our cap; it was very special. I am proud of his achievement as a Vincentian. Also present at the ceremony were, among other family members and friends, Mr. Hayness wife, Kevonne; his mother-in-law, Joanne Elizabeth Rogers; and his brother-in-law, Jahdel Rogers. Ms. Haynes said her brother was surprised about the honour, stating that he only found out, during the ceremony, from Bermuda Fire Chief, Lloyd Burchall. Nonetheless, Mr. Haynes told THE VINCENTIAN that it was "an honor being recognized by his peers, stating that he takes it seriously. "It is good that people recognize the hard work I do daily, he said. "Its a very humbling experience as well. "The honour came as a surprise, and it was not my intention to be awarded, he added. "I believe in doing my best. "You need to know your job, and you also need to take time to learn your job and make sure you are effective at what you do, he added. "Each day you come to work, you try to learn something new whether you have 20 years in the service or two years. Haynes said his thirst for knowledge helped him to complete several courses, including the promotion exam for sergeant. He said he wanted to "set a tone for his children. Lance Dale Haynes was born in the Marriaqua Valley, to Velma Haynes and Harold King of Evesham, on May 15, 1978. He attended the elementary Cane End Government School, Marriaqua Secondary School, and the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College. After he returned to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Haynes worked as the Operations Manager of Nature Care Horticultural Business. In 2008, he migrated to New York and pursued Informational Technology (IT) courses. After getting married in New York in August 2013, Haynes travelled to Bermuda to join his wife in October of that year. On graduation from the Community College, he worked for four years with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.Haynes said the award will further spur him "to keep doing his best, adding that his appetite for learning has helped him to do his job effectively. The end of Lady Gaga's engagement to former fiance Christian Carino has already made way for another romance - at least as far as romantic Twitter users are concerned. Ever since the news was announced that the 32-year-old popstar and her 50-year-old partner had parted ways, social media has been flooded with posts speculating that Lady Gaga and her A Star Is Born co-star Bradley Cooper are 'secretly in love'. Thanks to the pair's undeniable on-screen chemistry, fans of the movie have spent countless hours discussing a potential romance between them - with the speculation reaching fever pitch thanks to their incredibly close off-screen friendship. Partners in crime: Fans of A Star Is Born are sharing their conspiracies and speculations that Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper are 'in love' as the pop star recently broke up with her fiance Sensation: Bradley and Gaga starred in the movie that follows the story of an established musician who falls in love with a struggling artist, which aired in October 2018 Conspiracies: Dozens of Twitter users and fans of the hit movie are speculating that the cause of her break up with fiance Christian Carino, 50, are because of her co-star Bradley, 44 The movie was released back in October 2018, but fans are still obsessing over the pair's on screen loved-up relationship and close real-life friendship. And with Lady Gaga, 32, recently breaking up with her fiance of a number of months, Christian Carino, speculation has heightened among fans. People revealed that the star called off her engagement with the 50-year-old talent agent on February 19. Break up: It was revealed earlier this week that Gaga's, pictured with Christian at the 25th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, relationship with the talent agent came to an end, as 'it didn't work out' A source told the publication: 'It just didnt work out. Relationships sometimes end. 'Theres no long dramatic story,' they added. However, fans were quick to share their conspiracies about the cause of the break up, with some wondering if it was because of her relationship with Bradley, 44, who is in a relationship with Russian supermodel Irina Shayk. There's no denying the stars, who are currently in the midst of promoting the movie, had great chemistry together in the production. However, fans are taking things to another level over on Twitter lately. One Twitter user @fern009 tweeted, saying: '@ladygaga broke off her engagement because shes secretly in love with Bradley Cooper....obviously. We stan.' Another user @SamanthaSimonx3 added: 'I seriously hope Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper are having an affair, not kidding.' Similarly, Twitter user @versace_humor wrote: 'Lady gaga and her fiance called off their engagement and I have two words... Bradley. Cooper.' 'Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga are secretly in love and no one can convince me otherwise,' added user @botoledo. Convinced: Since the movie hit screens in October 2018, fans have been obsessing over the pair's on screen relationship so much so that many say they want it to become a reality And it isn't the first time the A Star Is Born fandom have run wild with ideas about the pair's relationship. Last week Lady Gaga posted a photo of a new tattoo she got to Instagram, and fans were quick to interpret what it meant. The tattoo is an illustration of a musical staff with four music notes that Cosmopolitan reported spell out Gaga. Powerful: Last month, Bradley joined the pop star on stage during a performance in Las Vegas as the pair sang a passionate rendition of the film's leading track Shallow However, one eagle-eyed fan pointed out that the notes might also mean something else. Twitter user @missezramay wrote: 'The notes spelling GAGA in the treble clef, spell BCBC in the bass clef... they really complete each other...' Another incident that sent fans wild occurred when Bradley joined Lady Gaga on stage for a performance in Las Vegas last month. While the star was performing at her Enigma show on January 27, she and her co-star sang a passionate rendition of the film's leading track Shallow. During the performance, the pair stared into each others eyes, and it didn't go unnoticed by eagle eyed fans. Twitter user @ItsMsNicoleRyan wrote: 'Lady Gagas broken engagement is no shocker. You could tell when Bradley Cooper went to visit her at her Vegas show and she pulled him on stage to sing to him and shes MADLY in love.' Similarly, user @SuziVoss wrote: So its officially official that Lady Gaga and her fiance have split up. If she does not walk into the Oscars wrapped around Bradley Cooper, looking at each other the way they looked at each other on stage in Vegas, Im done.' Another user @brittanituttle added: 'You cant watch him perform with her in Vegas and tell me there isnt something there.' Despite the rumors that have been circulating and escalating since the movie hit screens, Gaga and Bradley's relationship remains a friendship. The 44-year-old remains in a relationship with Irina Shayk, 33, with whom he has a child. Theories: After Gaga and Bradley performed a passionate rendition of Shallow during the star's recent concert in Las Vegas, fans were once again wondering if they were 'in love' Ink! Lady Gaga shared a photo of a new tattoo she got last week, which showed an illustration of musical staff with four music notes on it Curious: Some eagle eyed fans thought that the tattoo might have been referencing Bradley, as they interpreted what the music might have meant The couple, who usually tend to keep their relationship quite private, appeared hand in hand at the BAFTAS on February 10. And Bradley even gave a shout out to the model in his acceptance speech, as he took home the award the movie won for Best Original Music. Appreciation: Earlier this month, Bradley thanked his girlfriend Irina Shayk (both pictured at The National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala) for 'putting up' with him while he made the music for A Star Is Born According to People, he said: 'Most of all I have to thank Irina, for putting up with me for all the music I was trying to make in our basement for a year. Thank you very much. Thank you.' Last month, Gaga paid homage to her co-star as she collected her Best Actress prize at the National Board of Review Awards. As she took to the stage to express her gratitude, she said: 'You have taught me so much. You made me a way better actress. I don't even look back at filming a movie, but rather that we became two people who are not us. 'Bradley, thank you for making a film about the importance of compassion, empathy and kindness. This is what we stand for. 'I couldn't be more happy to be here, which in the name of Jack and Ally, is about true, unconditional love. 'Bradley, our scenes together were challenging and life-changing as an actress and a human. I would never forgot the deep dives we took together,' she added. The duo are set to perform at the Oscars on Sunday, February 24, according to The Academy, that announced the news on Twitter earlier this month. They have been dating for just over six months and are said to be besotted with one another. And love was certainly in the air when James Middleton stepped out for a springtime stroll with girlfriend Alizee Thevenet on Friday. The Duchess of Cambridge's little brother, 31, was spotted gazing adoringly at the French financial expert as the pair took James' dogs for a stroll in Chelsea, west London. The entrepreneur, who describes himself as a 'dog dad' to spaniels Ella, Zulu, Inka, Luna and Mabel, was casually dressed in a navy gilet, jeans and HOKA trainers for the romantic walk. Scroll down for video Made in Chelsea! Love was in the air when James Middleton stepped out for a romantic stroll with girlfriend Alizee Thevenet in west London on Friday Alizee, pictured in London on Friday, was reportedly won over by James' British charm and is 'deliriously happy' with the businessman - and the pair are said to be 'serious' about each other Alizee, 29, went for an equally low-key ensemble, teaming a fur-lined parka with skinny denims. James, who runs personalised greeting card company Boomf, was first spotted with Alizee during a Middleton family holiday in St. Bart's over Christmas. According to her father, Jean-Gabriel Thevenet, she was won over by James' British charm and is 'deliriously happy' with the businessman - and the pair are said to be 'serious' about each other. Alizee, who met James in a bar, speaks three languages and has been living and working in London for around six years, her father added. James with girlfriend Alizee. The entrepreneur, who describes himself as a 'dog dad' to spaniels Ella, Zulu, Inka, Luna and Mabel, was casually dressed in a navy gilet The Duchess of Cambridge's little brother, 31, is spotted gazing adoringly at the French financial expert as the pair took James' dogs for a stroll in Chelsea, west London James wore jeans and HOKA trainers for the Friday afternoon outing, while his girlfriend Alizee sported a fur-lined parka with skinny denims and white sneakers My daughter Alizee is very happy with James, they are very much in love, Mr Thevenet told MailOnline last month. Alizee holds a masters degree in investment and finance from Queen Mary, University of London, and did her undergraduate degree in accounting and finance in Brussels. It emerged last year that, as well as running his company Boomf, James had taken a job as a guide at a Scottish hotel owned by his sister Pippa's father-in law. James and Alizee in Chelsea on Friday. James, who runs personalised greeting card company Boomf, was first spotted with Alizee during a Middleton family holiday in St. Bart's Alizee, pictured with James on Friday, holds a masters degree in investment and finance from Queen Mary, University of London, and did her undergraduate degree in Brussels The youngest Middleton took a job as a host at Glen Affric Lodge near Loch Ness which is owned by David Matthews, father of Pippa's hedge fund manager husband. While he rarely comments on his royal connections, Middleton has previously admitted it can be 'frustrating' being the Duchess of Cambridge's brother, as his work is often overshadowed by Kate. The youngest Middleton said in a magazine interview: 'Aside from the fact of yes, I am the brother of someone very important I am, at the end of the day, just James.' A woman who was widowed at age 26 has revealed her pain at finding out her late husband feared she was going to leave him because of his brain tumour. Rachel Bartholomew, now 33, from Nottingham did her utmost to reassure David she still loved him, but four-and-half years after his death, she found out about his secret fears from a friend. 'He'd never said those things to me and I was devastated that's what was going through his mind,' Rachel said. 'Not for one second did I stop loving him, or not want to be with him.' Seven years on from losing his life to brain cancer at 28, David still inspires Rachel every day and now she is sharing her poignant story to support The Brain Tumour Charity. And this weekend she is starting a 100km Sahara Trek in David's memory to raise money for vital research and awareness about brain tumours - the biggest cancer killer of children and under-40s in the UK. Rachel Bartholomew, now 33, from Nottingham with her husband David on their wedding day in 2010. Months later David was diagnosed with a brain tumour and was dead within a year Newly-weds Rachel and David Bartholomew had a bright future and everything to look forward to with plans to travel around Australia, New Zealand and Asia and then start a family. But just three months after their wedding, Rachel was woken up by her husband having a massive seizure. At hospital, scans revealed David had a glioblastoma, the most common aggressive brain tumour in adults, which has a prognosis of 12-18 months 'We were stunned when the doctors told us David had a brain tumour,' said Rachel, now 33, a student services manager at Nottingham University. 'Thoughts spun round and round in my head. 'What does that mean for us? What about our plans? Our future?' 'I just couldn't register anything they were saying. 'When they said that David's tumour was cancerous and that it was a glioblastoma, we weren't told his prognosis and I didn't ask I didn't want to know. 'Looking back, I was in denial. But felt I had to keep David positive and we still discussed our future plans and dreams. The couple, who met through a mutual friend while she was at university, got engaged after eight months together Sadly David died in a hospice just over a year after their wedding day aged just 28. He put on four stone from steroid treatment towards the end of his life, which affected his confidence and he feared that Rachel might leave him 'It felt like if we talked about them enough, it would make them come true. 'Deep down, though, we both knew travelling together and having children was never going to happen.' Ten months after his diagnosis in January 2011, David died in a hospice and his last words to Rachel were 'I love you.' 'I was only 26 and, just over a year before, it had been our wedding day,' said Rachel. 'We were so in love and excited about our future we thought we had a whole life-time ahead of us. How was it possible I was now a widow?' Back in 2007, Rachel and David were introduced by a mutual friend while she was studying at Leicester University. Rachel is now planning to trek 100 kms across the Sahara for the Brain Cancer Charity - even though she hates camping and sand 'We hit it off straight away he was funny and made me laugh,' said Rachel. 'I remember sitting in the front room in our student house, watching Comic Relief waiting for everyone to get ready, and David said, 'I hate all these sad bits, they really should just do the comedy'. Within six weeks, they were a couple and called each other 'bambino.' David proposed after eight months on New Year's Eve, 2007. Soon they both had jobs at Oxford University, and he'd moved in with Rachel at her mum's in Oxford. 'We'd planned a romantic night in, but then my brother's plans got blown out and he joined us I don't think David had factored in a gooseberry!' said Rachel. 'We were in our bedroom when he suddenly got down on one knee. He didn't even say anything to me just held out a white gold and diamond ring. 'I laughed and said 'Yes!' The couple got married on September 2, 2010. 'It was a magical day - what I remember most is being the calmest I've ever felt in my life,' said Rachel. 'As I got ready, there were no nerves, just calmness I knew I was marrying the right person. David was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of aggressive brain tumour, shortly after the couple's first married Christmas together 'David said he was really nervous but the second he saw me walking up the aisle, he felt that sense of calm, too.' But at the beginning of December 2010, David's eye sight had started to deteriorate. 'It was like something was blocking his vision at the top right of both his eyes,' said Rachel. 'He went for an eye test at an optician's who said there was nothing physically wrong with his eyes and referred him to the eye hospital where they said it was likely to be nerve related. 'They managed to squeeze us in for a CT scan at the end of the day. 'We were told that the scan had revealed 'an anomaly' in David's brain and he was referred for an MRI scan as soon as possible.' Then one night a week before that Christmas, David had a seizure. 'I woke up to the bed shaking and David making this weird noise that I can only describe as a cat growling,' said Rachel. David was a keen musician and Rachel says that as his brain tumour progressed, he felt he was losing his identity piece by piece 'I called 999 and the paramedics helped David to his feet and into the ambulance. 'David told me later that he remembers nothing until getting into the ambulance and driving through the snow to hospital' David was put on steroids to relieve the pressure on his brain. He had an MRI scan on Christmas Eve and they had to wait until after the break for the results. 'We did our best to put it to the back of our minds and enjoy Christmas, but it was hanging over us,' said Rachel. They went back for the results two weeks after Christmas. 'When doctors confirmed it was a brain tumour, it didn't feel real,' said Rachel. At hospital, scans revealed David had a glioblastoma, the most common aggressive brain tumour in adults, which has a prognosis of 12-18 months 'We were stunned when the doctors told us David had a brain tumour,' said Rachel, now 33, a student services manager at Nottingham University. It wasn't possible to operate on David's tumour, due to it's position in his brain, but he had radiotherapy and chemotherapy Rachel was dedicated to keeping David positive, even though she knew the outcome to his brain tumour was bleak Brain tumours Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40. Over 11,400 people are diagnosed each year with a primary brain tumour, including 500 children and young people that's 31 people every day. Over 5,000 people lose their lives to a brain tumour each year. Brain tumours reduce life expectancy by on average 20 years the highest of any cancer. Just 19% of adults survive for five years after diagnosis. Brain tumours are the largest cause of preventable or treatable blindness in children. Childhood brain tumour survivors are 10 times more likely to suffer long term disability than well children. This accounts for 20,000 additional disabled life years for all the children who are diagnosed each year. Research offers the only real hope of dramatic improvements in the management and treatment of brain tumours. Over 500m is spent on cancer research in the UK every year, yet less than 2% is spent on brain tumours. Source: The Brain Tumour Charity Advertisement 'I just couldn't process it and wanted to focus all my energy on him and being there for him.' Surgery wasn't an option due to the tumour being in too dangerous a position. David had radiotherapy every day at the Churchill Hospital cancer centre in Oxford for six weeks, travelling from their home in Banbury. He was also put on Temozolomide chemotherapy tablets and kept on steroids. 'Radiotherapy left him exhausted and his eye sight was getting worse,' said Rachel. 'His speech was also affected. He knew what the words were in his mind but just couldn't say them, which really frustrated him. 'He was a keen musician and missed being able to play with his band it felt like he was losing his identity piece by piece. 'The steroids made him put on about four stone, which made him feel very bloated and uncomfortable. 'It affected his confidence, but I did my best to reassure him I still loved him.' Over the following months, David's condition got progressively worse. They moved back to Oxford to be nearer the hospital and Rachel's family for support. 'From around June 2011, he was really struggling.' said Rachel. 'He had seizures, short term memory problems and was getting weaker.' Longing to feel like carefree newlyweds again if only for a few days they planned a weekend away to Stratford-upon-Avon to celebrate their first wedding anniversary in September 2011. 'We were really looking forward to it, but as soon as we got to the hotel, David had two seizures, 'said Rachel. Pictured on their wedding day: the couple had hoped to celebrate their first wedding anniversary in September 2011, but sadly David was rushed to hospital and they were forced to cancel 'I called an ambulance and he had two more seizures on the way to hospital.' David was in hospital for 10 days with breathing problems and an infection. Back at home, Rachel started making arrangements to adapt the house so she could care for him. But within a few weeks, his condition deteriorated rapidly and he went into a hospice in October 2011. 'Towards the end, he didn't want to see anyone else, he just wanted it to be the two of us,' said Rachel. I love you: David's last words to Rachel before he died. She went into shock afterward. The couple had hoped to freeze his sperm, but had run out of time She got the call she'd been dreading on November 14, 2011. 'I'd gone home for some sleep and the hospice said I should come back in straight away,' she said. 'When I got there with my mum, David was drifting in and out of consciousness,' said Rachel. 'His last words to me were, 'I love you.' 'As soon as he died, I knew it wasn't him anymore. But I couldn't take it in. How could my husband die at 28 leaving me a widow at 26? 'This wasn't the life we were meant to have. 'I kept putting off arranging David's funeral because that would make his death real until my mum said; 'You've got to do this'. After David died, Rachel went into shock. 'While David was ill, I solely focused on him,' she said. 'I felt I had to keep him positive and for us to think about the future no matter what was likely to happen. 'I didn't stop to think how I was doing, so I struggled after his death as everything we'd been through hit me, and I was grieving for him and the life we should have had together. After David died, Rachel ended up travelling for two and a half years, and visited Australia to stay with the mutual friend who had introduced the couple 'We had talked about freezing his sperm but left it too late. Part of me regrets it as a baby would have been part of him, but I wanted to share being parents with him.' Rachel had six months unpaid leave from work to travel, but ended up travelling for two-and-a-half years. 'I went to stay in Australia with our friend, Lucy, who'd introduced us,' she said. 'I was sad because I was meant to travel with David. But I felt compelled to go everywhere and see everything we'd planned, and live life to the full for him, too.' In September 2014, Rachel made a fresh start in Nottingham. Now Rachel is now dating someone new who is helping her train in the Peak District for her 100 km Sahara Trek In 2016, four-and-half years after David died, a friend confided in her about David's texts saying he was frightened Rachel didn't love him anymore and that she'd leave him. 'David was in regular contact with this friend during his treatment and she was someone he could to talk to about anything he didn't want to upset me with. 'Although it broke my heart to hear his fears, I'm so grateful he had that support.' Now Rachel is in a new relationship. 'I met him six months ago, so it's early days, and he's been helping me train for the Sahara Trek,' said Rachel. 'It's difficult as it's been over seven years since David died, but I still can't help feeling guilty. 'But, although we didn't discuss it, I know he wouldn't have wanted me to be alone and would want me to be happy again.' And Rachel who has been training in the Peak District walking up to 18 miles a day will be inspired by David as she embarks on the six-day Sahara Trek, tackling sand dunes, peaks and gorges. 'David always supported me and encouraged me to be the best I could be,' said Rachel. 'I don't like camping and I hate sand, so he'd also think I was bonkers! 'The trek will be one of the biggest challenges I'll ever face but I'm doing it to support The Brain Tumour Charity in David's memory and for everyone else going through the same heartache we did. 'Whenever I struggle with anything in my life, I always think of David and what he would say to me': Rachel training for her Sahara Trek 'And I want to help raise money for research and awareness to help save other people's lives being devastated by brain tumours. 'Whenever I struggle with anything in my life, I always think of David and what he would say to me, so he'll give me strength and inspire me every step of the way.' Sarah Lindsell, The Brain Tumour Charity's chief executive, who is also doing The Sahara Trek, said: 'Our hearts go out to Rachel for losing her husband at such a young age to this brutal disease brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of our children and under-40s in the UK, yet research is woefully under-funded. 'We are incredibly grateful to her and our other supporters who face the challenge of a life-time doing the Sahara Trek to help us raise vital funds and awareness. 'As we receive no government funding, we rely on our wonderful supporters like Rachel, donations and gifts in wills to help us move nearer the goals in our research strategy, A Cure Can't Wait, of doubling survival within 10 years and halving the harm brain tumours have on quality of life.' For more information, visit thebraintumourcharity.org If you would like to make a donation to Rachel visit justgiving.com/fundraising/rachels-sahara-trek-2019 Read more of her story in her blog: rkbartholomew.wixsite.com/saharatrek19 The Duchess of York was in high spirits as she took in the sights of Madrid this week. Sarah, 59, was spotted leaving a hotel in the Spanish capital on Thursday before getting into a waiting vehicle, and couldn't resist waving to onlookers who had gathered to catch a glimpse of the mother-of-two. Clutching a large bouquet of white orchids and a garment cover emblazoned with an 'S', the ex-wife of Prince Andrew was wearing a grey blazer and her signature velvet slippers. It has been a busy week for Fergie, who is the proud mother of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York and split from Andrew in 1996. Sarah Ferguson was spotted leaving a hotel in the Spanish capital this morning before getting into a waiting vehicle, while clutching a bouquet of white orchids and a dust bag Fergie carries a bunch of orchids. Clutching a large bouquet of white orchids and a dress cover emblazoned with an 'S', the ex-wife of Prince Andrew was wearing a grey blazer and her signature velvet slippers On Wednesday, she joined Beatrice, 30, at meeting in the House of Lords for her charity Street Child, which helps children in poverty get an education. She was pictured making a heartfelt speech as she spoke about the charity she has helped raise thousands of pounds for. And on Tuesday, Fergie posted her annual birthday tribute to her ex-husband Andrew on social media. She and the Duke of York still share a home at the Royal Lodge in Windsor and have remained close, with Fergie previously remarking that 'we're divorced to each other, not from each other'. She told the Daily Mail in November that while they have no intention to remarry, they are 'the happiest divorced couple in the world'. Sarah added: 'We are completely compatible. Our bywords are communication, compromise and compassion. The Duchess of York couldn't resist waving to onlookers who had gathered to catch a glimpse of the mother-of-two as she took in the sights of Madrid on Thursday Fergie spotted in Madrid on Thursday. It has been a busy week for Fergie, who is the proud mother of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York and split from Andrew in 1996 The Duchess of York smiles at onlookers in Madrid. She and the Duke of York still share a home at the Royal Lodge in Windsor and have remained close for their daughters' sakes 'July 23, 1986 was the happiest day of my life. Andrew is the best man I know. What he does for Britain is incredible; no one knows how hard he works for his country. 'My duty is to him. I am so proud of him. I stand by him and always will. The way we are is our fairy tale.' Sarah visited Sierra Leone earlier this month with the charity and visited a village where she was greeted by school children as she joined them in the classroom. Posting pictures of her visit to her Instagram account, which boasts 169,000 followers, Fergie wrote: 'Such a privilege to be welcomed so warmly by children at this school in Port Loko, Sierra Leone, which has been helped by my charity. 'It breaks my heart that 121 million children dont have a chance to go to school which is why I am here to launch Street Childs campaign to build or renovate 1,000 schools and give an education to 100,000 children.' The Queen looked radiant in cobalt blue as she attended a church service at a London barracks on Friday. The monarch, 92, brought a splash of colour to proceedings in a vibrant coat and matching hat as she arrived at the Guards' Chapel, at Wellington Barracks. She completed the look with a dazzling diamond and sapphire brooch, which she was gifted on her wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947. The Queen, 92, brought a splash of colour to proceedings in a vibrant coat and matching hat as she arrived at the Guards' Chapel, at Wellington Barracks, London, on Friday The Queen is on hand to celebrate the centenary of the prefix 'Royal' being granted to the Royal Army Chaplains' Department. She appeared in good spirits as she arrived, pictured The Queen completed her look with a dazzling diamond and sapphire brooch, pictured, which she was gifted on her wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947 The Queen is on hand to celebrate the centenary of the prefix 'Royal' being granted to the Royal Army Chaplains' Department. The honour was bestowed by her grandfather, King George V in 1919, in recognition of its outstanding service and sacrifice during the First World War. The Queen appeared in excellent spirits as she arrived for the engagement, smiling broadly as she stepped out of her chauffeur-driven car. She wore the boucle blue coat over an elegant dress printed with blue flowers and accessorised with a pair of black leather shoes and a black handbag. The Queen was greeted outside ahead of the service at Guards' Chapel, Wellington Barracks The Queen appeared in excellent spirits as she arrived for the engagement, smiling as she stepped out of her chauffeur-driven car, pictured The Queen wore the boucle blue coat over an elegant dress printed with blue flowers and accessorised with a pair of black leather shoes and a black handbag, pictured The Queen smiled as she arrived for the engagement in London on Friday, left and right The honour of a 'Royal' prefix was bestowed by her grandfather, King George V in 1919, in recognition of its outstanding service and sacrifice during the First World War However it is the brooch on her lapel that caught the eye as it twinkled in the sunshine. The Carrington Feather Brooch, which features a large square sapphire, was presented to the Queen by the jewellers Carrington to mark her nuptials more than 70 years ago. The central stone, laid on a delicate feather encrusted with diamonds, is distinctive in its indigo hue, which can appear more blue or purple depending on the outfit with which it is worn. The Queen has sported the piece on a number of occasions over the years, including to Royal Ascot and to the wedding of Lady Tamara Katherine Grosvenor and Edward Van Cutsem in November 2004. The Queen leaves Wellington Barracks accompanied by Chaplain to the Household Division, Stephen Dunwoody, following the service on Friday morning The Queen joined the congregation in hymns during the service at the Guards' Chapel The Queen with Chaplain to the Household Division, Stephen Dunwoody, after the service The Queen arrives with arrives with the Senior Chaplain to attend the service in London The moving moment a man is told that his birth parents have been found, 30 years after he was abandoned on the steps of a hospital, is revealed in an emotional documentary tracing the families of abandoned children. Jamie Duffy, 30, from Hampshire, hit the headlines when he was left outside a Portsmouth hospital just hours after his birth in 1988, and appears on ITV's Long Lost Family Special: Born Without Trace next week. The fascinating new documentary, presented by Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell, helps foundlings - those abandoned as babies or tiny children - who are desperate to find their biological families. Tuesday's special episode looks at Jamie's story, as well as that of Karen Waterton, who was left at five days old in a cardboard box in Manchester, and Alley Lofthouse, a woman abandoned as a newborn on a doorstep in Scotland. Jamie Duffy, 30, from Hampshire, hit the headlines when he was left outside a Portsmouth hospital just hours after his birth in 1988. He appears on ITV's Long Lost Family Special: Born Without Trace next week In a preview of the show, an emotional Jamie is seen tearing up as he stares at the Portsmouth hospital from the car park, reflecting on his rough start in life. 'Somewhere in this facility, my birth mother felt she had no choice but to abandon me,' he says. Newborn Jamie was wrapped in a towel, placed in a carrier bag and left in the hospital grounds. Appeals to find his mother at the time led to a woman calling a police hotline in tears, to say that she couldn't look after him. A copy of the recording is all that Jamie has from the woman he believes to be his mum. Jamie was adopted two months after being found, and at 14 his parents told him the truth about his start in life. But his birth mother was never found. In a preview of the show an emotional Jamie is seen tearing up as he stares at the Portsmouth hospital from the car park, reflecting on his rough start in life Thirty years ago newborn Jamie was wrapped in a towel, placed in a carrier bag and left in the grounds of a hospital in Portsmouth Describing the moment he was told about his adoption, Jamie says: 'I recall having a conversation with my mum and it got a bit emotional because I just couldn't grasp as to why someone would abandon a child at such a young age. 'Having been abandoned you feel that you're not wanted, unloved, sort of discarded. There must be very strong circumstances to leave me. I want to know why it happened.' Jamie does a DNA test, with a new glimmer of hope that he will find his blood relatives. And in a nerve-wracking scene presenter Nicky contacts him because the team have traced one of the girls who found him in the hospital grounds and she is desperate to meet him. Marie was 11 years old when she found newborn Jamie. They have a very emotional reunion and Marie takes him to the exact spot where she found him 30 years ago. The programme tracks down Marie, who was just 11 years old when she found Jamie as a baby and they have a very emotional reunion. Marie takes Jamie back to the hospital to show him the exact spot where she found him Marie says: 'We'd been out playing and it was on our way back home, we heard a small noise and the bag was moving. We thought it was kittens and pulled the front part of the carrier bag back and you were just looking up at us.' Meanwhile, Jamie's DNA is analysed against online databases in search of matches with people to whom he is biologically related. Leading DNA detective Julia Bell and Ariel Bruce, a renowned specialist in tracing missing family, work together to try and identify his family members. Incredibly, they find a match for a close relative and are then able to investigate how they are related. In an exciting breakthrough, Ariel explains to Davina: 'We made contact with various people within the wider family group and asked whether they would consider undertaking tests for us. And several people did. 'We then worked out who Jamie's mother was. She had been living in the right area at the right time.' Further detective work leads them to discover who his father is and make contact. It's early days and will take time to resolve. Jamie is told the news away from the camera, before being visited at home by Davina. Following the life-changing news that both his birth mother and father have been traced, Jamie explains: 'Everything is still sinking in really slowly. I went into this hoping that I'd find my mum, not expecting to find my mum and my dad - it's just mind-blowing and amazing. 'We don't know how well she's coped with itI want to be able to forgive her and tell her that it's alright. I've turned out to have a wonderful family of my own and the life that I have had has been wonderful.' Long Lost Family Special: Born Without Trace is on ITV on Tuesday 25 February at 9pm. Although many prefer to leave cocktails to the experts, one Australian bartender has revealed the secrets to making several popular tipples at home. Speaking to FEMAIL to celebrate International Margarita Day on February 22nd, Simon Hopkins, the bar manager of Sydney's Landsdowne Hotel, shared his top tricks for mixing iconic drinks including martinis, mojitos and pina coladas. Mr Hopkins also revealed his brand new margarita recipe with a twist that's sure to spice up any dinner party. Simon Hopkins, the bar manager of Sydney's Landsdowne Hotel, shared his top tricks for mixing iconic drinks including martinis, mojitos and pina coladas THE MARGARITA 'A margarita needs balance. Stick to the 3-2-1 rule, three parts tequila, two parts lime and one parts sugar/agave. That's for a Tommy's Margarita which has become more popular in recent years because they're so easy to make,' Mr Hopkins said. 'For a classic Margarita, replace the sugar/agave with Cointreau. But stick to Tommy's version, trust me.' In terms of pairing, Mr Hopkins recommends serving margaritas with light, fresh foods that are served in summer. As part of the Tabasco Chef Program, Mr Hopkins has also added a unique twist to the traditional margarita recipe with a 'Smoked Jalapeno Margarita' 'They work well with foods that have zesty, vibrate ingredients. If you're serving a margarita you should be thinking BBQ, salad and tacos,' he said. As part of the Tabasco Chef Program, Mr Hopkins has also added a unique twist to the traditional margarita recipe with a 'Smoked Jalapeno Margarita'. The spicy flavours of the hot sauce and jalapenos are also complemented with the sweet extracts of lime and agave, creating the ideal balance between the perfect spicy but sweet margarita. How do you make the 'Smoked Jalapeno Margarita' at home? The 'Smoked Jalapeno Margarita' Ingredients 60ml good tequila 2-3 dashes of TABASCO Original Red Pepper Sauce (more if you like it spicy) Chilli salt (equal parts rock salt & chili powder) 30ml freshly squeezed lime juice 10ml Agave Nectar 15ml Dry Curacao 1 tsp smoked/oven roasted jalapenos Ice Equipment Old fashioned style glass Cocktail shaker or glass jar with lid Cocktail strainer Method 1. Rub wedge of lime around rim of glass, then place rim of glass on small plate of chilli salt 2. Tap bottom of glass to remove excess chilli salt In metal shaker (or glass jar), muddle/crush jalapenos in bottom of shaker 3. Add the tequila (Simon uses Herradura plata), lime juice, Agave nectar and TABASCO Original Red Pepper Sauce 4. Add ice and shake hard 5. Strain cocktail into rimmed glass, top with ice 6. Garnish with a few smoked jalapenos Advertisement THE MARTINI Mr Hopkins describes the martini as 'a timeless classic that is quite simple but can go horribly wrong' - so it's important to get the ingredients right. 'I prefer to use a good dry gin, Melbourne Gin company makes a great dry gin that's always my go to,' he said. 'Once you settle on your base spirit it's time to match with a vermouth. Vermouth is made from wine, fortified and infused, so depending on your tastes I prefer a nice dry white vermouth. 'For a classic martini stir down with ice and garnish with a fresh lemon zest. For a 'dirty' use about 5-10mL of olive brine and garnish with skewered green olives. ' Mr Hopkins describes the martini as 'a timeless classic that is quite simple but can go horribly wrong' - so it's important to get the ingredients right THE MOJITO This minty favourite is the perfect drink for any summer barbecue - but it's also a beverage that many get terribly wrong. 'There's only four ingredients needed: rum, sugar syrup, lime and mint,' Mr Hopkins said. 'Find a nice white rum, get a tall glass, throw in some lime wedges and crush with a rolling pin as this releases all that goodness. 'Next add the sugar syrup and mint. DO NOT MUDDLE YOUR MINT. Please don't. Get five to eight mint leaves, roll them up in your hand and slap your hands together, this will release the oils in the mint leaves.' This minty favourite is the perfect drink for any summer barbecue - but it's also a beverage that many get terribly wrong To finish, Mr Hopkins said to throw the leaves in the glass with rum and top with ice before using a spoon to mix it through with a dash of soda and crushed ice. 'Use a sprig of mint as the garnish - half of what you taste is what you smell so a nice fresh fragrant mint sprig will help you taste more of the mint.' THE PINA COLADA 'This cocktail has had a massive resurgence with the tiki explosion at the moment and it's also a super simple cocktail,' Mr Hopkins said. 'Grab a nice sweet dark rum, get some pure coconut or coconut cream (Monin Coconut Puree is the best) then you'll need some pineapple juice - grab some fresh stuff from a local cafe or hipster store. 'Add fresh squeezed lime juice to help cut through all the sweetness, shake it and strain over ice, garnish with a pineapple wedge and a little umbrella.' 'This cocktail has had a massive resurgence with the tiki explosion at the moment and it's also a super simple cocktail,' Mr Hopkins said THE OLD FASHIONED This is an amazing cocktail to make at home with bourbon like Woodford Reserve or Makers Mark becoming the hero of the drink. All you need to make it is the aforementioned liquor with bitters, sugar syrup and an orange zest for garnish. 'Bitters like the brand Fee Brothers play a big role if adding depth and lingering flavour,' Mr Hopkins said. 'A mix of angostura and angostura orange bitters also works in this case. But there should be no more than three drops total of the bitters. All you need to make it is the aforementioned liquor with bitters, sugar syrup and an orange zest for garnish 'Add in sugar syrup to taste (about 10ml) and stir down, you want to dilute it a bit and mix the flavours together. 'This is why sugar syrup is best as it dissolves and mixes better. Once you have hit that sweet spot of dilution, spritz your orange rind, rub on the edges of the glass and drop it in.' THE COSMOPOLITAN As cocktails come back into popularity, the humble cosmopolitan can be charged as being the leader of the renaissance - but so many bars get it wrong. 'A nice clean tasting vodka like Stoli or Absolute is your base or if you can find a citrus vodka - get that,' he explained. 'Cointreau-branded triple sec is your best bet but if you'd rather spend money on a better vodka, go for De Kuyper. 'To the vodka and triple sec you add cranberry juice and a squeeze of fresh lime. 'Shake it up and double strain over a martini glass. A tea strainer works well here. Get an orange rind and spritz it over the top of the cocktail then drop it in.' As cocktails come back into popularity, the humble cosmopolitan can be charged as being the leader of the renaissance - but so many bars get it wrong THE WHISKEY SOUR In order to make a good whiskey sour you need fresh ingredients and balance above everything else. 'The whiskey sour is the perfect cocktail to impress at a house party because it's so simple. All you need is bourbon, freshly squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white. 'Egg whites in a cocktail can put some people off but it's the egg white that gives the cocktail a rich, creamy texture along with a smooth head of foam. In order to make a good whiskey sour you need fresh ingredients and balance above everything else 'The acidity of the lemon juice and the sweetness of the sugar helps get rid of that eggy smell. 'To make the whiskey sour, add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker without ice, this is called dry shaking, and after shaking for about 10 seconds add ice to the shaker and shake once more before straining. 'Garnish with a fresh lemon slice or some good sour cherries.' When Keira Rumble had dreams of being a mum when she was younger, she could never have imagined how heartbreaking her journey to motherhood would be. The 28-year-old nutrition coach from Sydney has miscarried three times in the past five years - including with twins, who she lost just weeks ago during an extremely rare heterotopic pregnancy and miscarriage. Keira found out that her twins were in two different places - one in her uterus and one in her fallopian tubes - when she was rushed into surgery last month. Devastatingly, neither twin made it. 'My heart is broken,' Keira told FEMAIL. 'I always dreamed of having twins - and so to lose them in such a difficult way is devastating.' Scroll down for video Keira Rumble, 28, from Sydney, has lost four babies to miscarriage in the past five years - including the twins she so wanted just weeks ago 'My heart is broken,' Keira told FEMAIL. 'I always dreamed of having twins - and so to lose them in such a difficult way is devastating' (pictured in hospital after losing the twins this year) Keira got pregnant (pictured) for the third time towards the end of last year, but because she had already had two miscarriages she was 'petrified' the same thing would happen again Keira and her partner first experienced a miscarriage five years ago when she got pregnant by accident at age 23 while on the contraceptive pill. What is a miscarriage? A miscarriage refers to the loss of your baby before 20 weeks of pregnancy. A miscarriage is legally different from a stillbirth. A stillbirth refers to the birth of a baby who has died prior to delivery when the pregnancy has progressed for 20 weeks or more. If the length of the pregnancy is unknown, a baby born with no signs of life and weighing less than 400 grams is considered a miscarriage. The physical experience of miscarriage can vary greatly between an early miscarriage and late miscarriage. An early miscarriage is the loss of a pregnancy before the 12th week of pregnancy (the first trimester). Common signs of miscarriage include: * cramping tummy pain, similar to period pain * vaginal bleeding. If you think you are having a miscarriage, see your doctor or go to your local emergency department. Source: Sands Advertisement 'I wasn't really ready to be a mum,' she recalled. 'But I didn't know how to deal with the miscarriage so I hardly spoke to anyone about it, bar my partner and my family.' When the same thing happened several years later she was both scared and upset that something was wrong with her body: 'I felt guilty and ashamed,' she said. 'I suffer with PTSD, depression and anxiety and thought my body was failing me. I didn't know what to do and feared I would never become a mother. I still felt I had no one to talk to.' Keira got pregnant for a third time at the end of last year. 'After going through two previous miscarriages, the moment I see those two lines is enough to make me feel instantly sick,' she said. 'I was petrified that the same thing would happen again.' She recalled feeling 'pains' within a day of getting her positive pregnancy test. 'My left hand side was sore, which was worrying,' she said. However, when she went to the doctors, the 28-year-old was told this was a normal cyst pain and she should go home and get some rest. 'The next seven days were a bit of an emotional rollercoaster,' she said. 'I physically felt okay, but something deep down didn't feel right.' It was only last week that Keira decided to speak publicly about her miscarriages for the first time, sharing details on her Instagram page and in a YouTube video (pictured) The 28-year-old experienced a heterotopic pregnancy with the twins - where one baby was located in the uterus, while the other was in her fallopian tube When she was told she was having a heterotopic pregnancy, Keira (pictured) said she 'freaked out' as she had always dreamed of having twins one day Several days later, Keira woke up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain. What is a heterotopic pregnancy? Heterotopic pregnancy is the existence of two simultaneous pregnancies with separate implantation sites, one of which is a viable intrauterine pregnancy (occurring in the uterus) and the other of which is a non-viable(occurring outside of the uterus, usually in a fallopian tube). Heterotopic pregnancies are extremely rare as just one in roughly every 32,000 pregnancies is heterotopic. Women who have undergone in vitro fertilization (IVF) in which more than five embryos are implanted are at the highest risk of a heterotopic pregnancy. Heterotopic pregnancies are difficult to diagnose, but symptoms include cramping, spotting and pain in the lower abdominal area. Advertisement When she rushed to the hospital, Keira hoped it was just cyst pain or the cyst rupturing. 'Deep down, I was terrified that I would miscarry again,' she said. After she started bleeding and had an ultrasound, Keira was taken straight to the emergency department: 'All I was told at first was that there was a lot of fluid and tissue,' she said. 'It wasn't until I was greeted by the woman who did my scan that I was told I had had a heterotopic pregnancy - which means twins in two different locations.' Keira had one twin in her uterus that she had miscarried and one in her left fallopian tube. When you have an unborn baby in a fallopian tube, it is known medically as an ectopic pregnancy. 'That was the first time I had heard I was pregnant with twins,' Keira said. 'I started freaking out. I always saw my future as having twins and to know that they didn't make it was heartbreaking.' But the agony wasn't over for the 28-year-old (pictured), who immediately had to be taken into surgery, where she had her left fallopian tube taken out What is an ectopic pregnancy? An ectopic pregnancy is when a fertilised egg implants itself outside the womb, usually in one of the fallopian tubes. This means the embryo will not be able develop into a baby as the fallopian tube is not large enough to support the growing embryo. Early diagnosis and treatment is important to prevent life-threatening bleeding. Symptoms include one-sided abdominal bleeding and bowel pain. Source: Pregnancy and Birth Advertisement But the agony wasn't over for the 28-year-old, who immediately had to be taken into surgery, where she had her left fallopian tube taken out: 'The ectopic pregnancy - which was the twin in the left fallopian tube - ruptured, which was excruciating,' she said. 'I was in hospital for five days after the tube was removed, in constant pain.' Keira later stayed at home for two weeks, still in pain, before she forced herself back to work - where she is managing a health food start-up, Krumbled Foods. 'It's been a very isolating time,' she said. 'My partner has obviously been hugely supportive, but because I was the one who saw my body changing and my stomach grow it's very difficult.' Keira (pictured) said the past few months have been 'very isolating', as while she has had huge support from her partner, she felt the babies grow inside her and then had to lose them It was only last week that Keira decided to speak publicly about her miscarriages for the first time, sharing details on her Instagram page and in a YouTube video. 'I was scared to do so, and nearly didn't when my partner said it mightn't be a good idea, but I needed to talk about it - and speaking openly has really helped with healing,' she said. 'I had no idea so many women have had miscarriages - sometimes five or more before they had their children. 'I felt so alone, but it has helped to connect with others who have been through a similar thing.' She said since she spoke about the miscarriages, she has had women from all over contact her to share their own stories. 'I can't stop thinking about them and what happened, and I'm clearly not the only one,' she said. Keira (pictured) has also already been looking into her fertility, and while she plans to take a break from trying to conceive, she knows she still wants to be a mum Keira has also already been looking into her fertility, and while she plans to take a break from trying to conceive, she knows she still wants to be a mum. 'I think I will go forward with egg freezing quite soon,' she said. 'And I still believe I will have children.' She also said she is happy she has spoken out about it as 'too many people think miscarriage is taboo'. 'It's not spoken about enough,' she said. 'There's too much pity surrounding miscarriage and while everyone's intentions can be good when they offer sympathy, sometimes it doesn't help when someone dismisses miscarriage as something that's common. 'I hope by sharing my story this can help just one other mother out there. I also know that this is just the beginning of my journey to being a mama.' If you or someone you know is struggling, contact SANDS, an independent organisation that provides support for miscarriage, stillbirth and newborn death. You can call them on 1300 072 637 or visit www.sands.org.au. News that Kylie Jenner's (possibly former) best friend Jordyn Woods fooled around with Khloe Kardashian's partner Tristan Thompson shocked fans and haters alike mostly because few can understand why Jordyn would bite the hand that feeds her. The 21-year-old model has hugely benefited from relationship with the family, and not just in friendship and fun times: The Kardashian-Jenners have been both a second family to her as well as a major career booster. But if, as several sources are reporting, Jordyn is now cut off completely, she wouldn't be the first family friend to turn Keeping Up pariah. Here, FEMAIL looks back at the other women who were once members of the inner circle and what happened once the reality stars severed ties. The end of an era? Jordyn Woods is said to have 'moved out' of Kylie Jenner's home, and been frozen out by many of the Kardashian after allegedly kissing Khloe's partner Tristan Thompson Joyce Bonelli The Kardashian-Jenner family worked with makeup artist Joyce Bonelli for over ten years, dating back to their pre-empire days. Her career grew right along with theirs: She is up to 1.9 million followers on Instagram, has been interviewed by dozens of major fashion and beauty publications, and has had the opportunity to work with several other stars, including Chrissy Teigen, Emily Ratajkowski, and Jessica Simpson. She has had paid partnerships with several beauty brands, including Marc Jacobs and Sally Hanson. Her connection to the family impacted both her personal and professional lives simultaneously. In September of 2018, she married Ben Taverniti, whom she reportedly met at Kim and Kanye's 2014 wedding. The couple also launched a clothing line called Unravel, which has been worn by celebrities like Ariana Grande. A long relationship: Makeup artist Joyce Bonelli worked with the Kardashians for a decade Kardashian-adjacent: She'd been with then since before they were the huge stars they are today, and the connection helped her become quite well-known, too She was also quite close with all the women, telling The Hollywood Reporter in 2017: 'We text every other day and we talk about everything. Even if Im working with a different client were always talking and FaceTiming we talk about kids, we talk about the fun, scandalous stuff. 'They're like my sisters.' But her 'sisters' were ready to cut her out altogether last year after reportedly firing her in late 2017. A source told People at the time it was because Joyce 'tried to go around them on a deal so the Kardashians wouldnt make money off of it.' She also reportedly took credit for coming up with the phrase 'that s*** cray' from Kanye's song with Jay-Z, and 'the Kardashians were just over her lies.' Though they fired her at the end of 2017, it took until the summer of 2018 for the news to break, when fans noticed that Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, Kendall, Kylie and Kris all unfollowed Joyce on Instagram. Paying bills: She has had paid partnerships with several beauty brands, including Marc Jacobs and Sally Hanson Bye! But all of the women stopped working with her in late 2016, and in 2017, they all unfollowed her on social media Since they've split, Joyce has continued to try to benefit from the old connection, and still posts old pictures of the family on social media as if they are new. She has also spoken out about them, insisting she wasn't fired while showering them with praise. Her career hasn't exactly plummeted since they parted ways, either. She is still attending Hollywood events and doing makeup for stars like Emma Roberts. However, the feud may have contributed to one major loss of income for her: In 2017, before she stopped working with the family, Joyce announced that she was planning to launch her own cosmetics line to in 2018 called Joyce Bonelli Cosmetique. The line has, as of now, never been released although it is not clear whether this is anything to do with her relationship with the Kardashians, or as a result of another issue. She's also learned firsthand what it's like to anger fans of the famous family. When she wished Kylie Jenner a happy birthday on Instagram last summer, Kylie fans attacked her in the comments for being fake. Meanwhile, the family has several other makeup artists to call upon, including Kim's go-to, Mario Dedivanovic. Shady: A source said at the time it was because Joyce 'tried to go around them on a deal so the Kardashians wouldnt make money off of it' Booted: She also reportedly took credit for coming up with the phrase 'that s*** cray' from Kanye's song with Jay-Z, and 'the Kardashians were just over her lies' Monica Rose Like Joyce, stylist Monica had worked with the Kardashian family for a long time nearly a decade before they all stopped working with her, one right after the other. During that time, she became a household name among Keeping Up viewers, and now has 1.2 million Instagram followers. While she styled Kim, Kourtney, Khloe, Kendall, and Kylie, she was also building up her personal fashion brand, scoring collaborations with Lovers + Friends and Sarah Chloe Jewelry. She was named one of Racked LA's Five Hottest Celebrity Stylists of 2015, and her name frequently appeared in magazines and on websites as she doled out fashion advice and dished on her famous clients' style. As her star grew, she took on more big-name clients, including Gigi Hadid, Kaia Gerber, and Giuliana Ranic. But then things started to change slowly starting in mid-2015, when Kim stopped working with her. In late 2016, Kylie left Monica for her former assistant, Jill Jacobs. By April of 2017, Kendall, Kourtney, and Khloe had all left her too. Fashion problems: Monica Rose also served as stylist for most of the girls for close to a decade Rift: Kim stopped working with her in 2015, Kylie in 2016, and Kendall, Kourtney, and Khloe by 2017 and rumor has it Khloe considered suing Monica It was clear it was more than just a professional parting of the ways, too, since all of the women unfollowed Monica on Instagram. According to Page Six, Khloe was even thinking of suing Monica, though that never came to fruition. In June of that year, Khloe had fans speculating even more when she tweeted mysteriously about 'a friend was stealing from' her, asking her followers, 'Would you cut off the friendship and let God handle it? Or would you go the legal route?' Monica's relationship with the family never recovered, but luckily for her, her styling skills spoke for themselves. She has continued to work with big clients, including Chrissy Teigen, Chanel Iman, Shay Mitchell (who called Monica her 'fairy god sister'), and now even Sofia Richie, who seems determined to follow in the Kardashians' footsteps. She is still called upon to dole out advice and tips for fashion publications, too, and in November finishing working on her new 1,088-square-foot studio closet. Growing: She took on other famous clients and scored a few fashion collaborations Mystery: After a cryptic tweet from Khloe, fans wondered if Monica had stolen from her Stephanie Shepherd Stephanie Shepherd often called simply Steph Shep was Kim Kardashian's personal assistant for four years, starting in 2013. Things looked pretty good for her while she worked for Kim, and she'd get to accompany the star to A-list parties and events and travel the world with her for work and play. It's also not many personal assistants who are able to grow their Instagram followings to 1.3 million, but Steph's presence on Keeping Up With the Kardashians as well as Kim's own Instagram account allowed her to grow pretty famous in her own right. Things were still on a positive track when, in 2017, she was promoted to COO of Kardashian West Brands. But the situation went south that same year. Though the exact circumstances are hazy, Steph grew close to Kim's sister Kourtney, and even complained to the older sister that she was 'unfulfilled' by her job. Hand and foot: Stephanie Shepherd was Kim Kardashian's personal assistant from 2013 to 2017 Buds: Over the years, she grew close with the entire family (pictured at Kendall's 22nd birthday party) Luxe life: She went from being an unknown to having more than a million Instagram followers, and she'd accompany Kim to A-list events, hot clubs, and celebrity parties 'I do think its, like, inappropriate for her to talk to you and not to me,' Kim told Kourtney upon hearing about it on the reality show. 'I mean, dont you think thats just a little bit unprofessional Thats a convo she should have with me.' By the end of the year, Steph was out of a job, and the two were rumored to be feuding. According to People, Kim didn't think Steph was living up to her new role. 'Kim gave her the chance but after a short period of time it became clear that Stephanie just didn't have the knowledge to take on a role like that. Kim made an executive decision to part ways,' a source said. 'She's still friendly with the other sisters but she and Kim arent really speaking.' Steph's career hasn't fared terribly since she left Kim. She still has a strong social media following, and has been able to use that influence to score invites to Hollywood events, including the SAG Awards this year. Sittin' pretty! She truly got a taste of the good life, flying private and wearing designer clothes On holiday: She'd travel with Kim, including going with her on family vacations She still takes luxe vacations she went to Bali for New Year's has designer clothing in her wardrobe, and mingles with the stars, though she may not have quite the same access she did years ago. If anything, Steph is proof that it is possible to bounce back after being bounced by the Kardashians: She has remained good friends with Kourtney, and finally seems to be on speaking terms with Kim again. 'Kim and the family are dear friends,' she insisted to People last year. And in September, Kim wished Steph a happy birthday and wrote on Twitter, 'Please stop with this fake narrative. She was NEVER my nemesis, We simply stopped working together but we have always remained super close friends.' Hanging on: Kim fired her in 2017, and the two were reported to not be speaking for a while though Steph remained close with Kourtney and now talks to Kim again Doing OK: She may not have quite the access she used to, but she's still popping up in fancy places and attended the SAG Awards this year What Jordyn stands to lose... Jordyn knows all too well that, if crossed, the Kardashian-Jenner clan will cut someone out, which makes it all the more baffling that she'd risk the relationships for a hookup. 'Jordyn has seen how the Kardashians can cut people out of their lives, and this is a very sad situation right now for everyone,' a source told Us Weekly. She's already moved out of Kylie's house, which she'd also called home, on February 20. The loss of a luxe Los Angeles mansion has likely hit her hard and not just because she's had to move back in with her mom, Elizabeth Woods. Living with Kylie had other perks besides the multimillion-dollar accommodations: The two shared clothes, Jordyn got to test out makeup from Kylie's beauty brand, and she also went with her friend-cum-benefactor on family vacations. The worst yet? Jordyn Woods stands to lose much more considering how close she was with the Kardashian-Jenners Baby time: She's had to move out of Kylie's house, where she has lived for at least a year. She may also lose her relationship with Kylie's daughter Stormi Family: She is close with the little girl and has been around a lot for the first year of her life According to People, Kylie even bought Jordyn a car. What's more, Jordyn had the opportunity to get really close to Kylie's daughter Stormi. 'Jordyn loves Stormi with all her heart,' a source told Us Weekly. 'She spends so much time with her and truly cares about her.' But it's not just the immediate perks of being in the Kardashian inner circle like fancy clothes, luxe trips, and private jets that Jordyn may see go out the window. Being connected to the family also seriously boosted the model's career, which could now flounder without their support. Much of Jordyn's early media coverage was as 'Kylie Jenner's BFF,' and it helped her to grow more famous, boost her Instagram following up to 8.6 million, and even book actual modeling gigs. Everyone's livid: Being connected to the family also seriously boosted the model's career, which could now flounder without their support Exposure: Jordyn has booked plenty of modeling gigs in the past couple of years, but the biggest ones have been for Kardashian-Jenner brands like Kylie Cosmetics 'People always ask, "What does she do besides be someones best friend?" And I do a lot,' she told MarketWatch in June of 2018. In the past few years, she's modeled for Lovesick, Addition Elle, St. Ives, Chromat, and Express. She's also partnered up with Boohoo, Barneys, and Eyelure for her own clothing, shoe, and false eyelash collections, respectively. Last year, she launched an activewear line called SECNDNTURE. And that doesn't even include the high-profile gigs she's had with brands owned by the family, which really provided maximum exposure. Jordyn earned a prime spot modeling for Kanye West's line, Yeezy, and has appeared in Khloe's Good American campaigns. She has also appeared in campaigns for Kylie Cosmetics and has a lip kit named after her. High-profile: She has even modeled for Khloe's line, Good American Big break: Kanye West also cast her in his Season 6 Yeezy campaign 'She was like a family member and always invited everywhere,' a source told People. 'The family helped her and wanted her to be able to have a business venture too.' 'They have done everything to help Jordyn be successful on her own,' another source told E! News. What was she thinking? She stands to lose quite a lot both in her career and her personal life since the betrayal 'They feel she would be nothing without them. It's such a betrayal for them.' Being cut off from the family could cause her opportunities to dry up, if brands and consumers decide she is less desirable without the connection. So far, she's just getting a taste of what may be to come. The source told E! News that Jordyn is 'living her worst nightmare' and 'as of yesterday, she has been completely cut off by Kylie and the family.' Other outlets, though, have reported that only time will tell whether Jordyn will be ostracized permanently. 'At this point, the Kardashians aren't 100 percent sure if Jordyn is going to be cut out of Kylies life. But theyre all looking at it as if she better be,' a source told Us Weekly. Advertisement A couple who met each other on the same day both of their spouses left them have revealed that they believe their fate was planned out. Brittany, from Texas, and Tyler, from Seattle, were both 'unhappy' in their marriages when they met each other at a work convention and immediately hit it off when they realized they had a lot in common. The pair got to know each other over the course of the event before parting ways, and assumed that they would only maintain a relationship on a friendship level. Happy: A couple who met each other on the exact same day both of their previous partners dumped them have tied the knot in a gorgeous wedding set on a tropical beach in the Secrets Maroma resort in Cancun, Mexico in October 2018 Newlyweds: Brittany and Tyler (pictured) met each other at a business convention for work where they began talking and soon realized they had a lot in common, as they both revealed they were in unhappy marriages However, something momentous happened for both Brittany and Tyler later that exact same day. Speaking to Del Sol Photography, Brittany explained how their romance began. She said: 'For me, when we met, it was just a friendship. We were at the conference, and we were both leaving on Sunday. So Tyler and I were just saying goodbye. 'And I stayed back with some of my friends, and I got a text message saying, "I want a divorce,"' Brittany added. Tyler, who experienced an almost identical turn of events, said: 'I ended up calling my ex, and I tried to call her but her phone was off. 'So I called my buddy who lives next door,' he added. Tyler explained that when he called his next-door neighbor, he was told that his ex was seen driving away from their home in Seattle three days previously. His friend added that Tyler's ex had driven away 'with a trailer full of her things'. After he found out that his ex had left him, Tyler decided to text Brittany to tell her what had just happened. Special: Brittany, pictured writing her vows on her wedding day with Tyler, said that after leaving the convention, which took place on a Sunday afternoon, she received a text message from her ex saying that they wanted a divorce Fate: That same evening, Tyler found out that his partner had left him after he called her, but she didn't answer, so he called a friend of his who said he saw his partner leave a number of days previously Gorgeous: Pictured with her wedding dress, Brittany, from Texas, said that meeting Tyler gave her hope that there was someone better for her than her ex-partner, with whom she revealed she wasn't happy Speaking about how she felt when she received Tyler's message, Brittany said: 'When I got the text message probably a couple hours later, he called me and said that he went home and his wife had left him. 'So we were just like, "This is really weird,"' she added. She explained: 'When I met Tyler it was tangible thing for me to see that there was somebody out there. So when I got the text message, in my heart I just felt peace, like this is meant to be. It was nothing to do with Tyler, it was just the timing of it,' she said. Tyler said that he believes his relationship with Brittany was 'meant to be' He added that he told his best friends 'it has to be a sign from god'. 'Everything happened for a reason, and it was perfect,' he added. Both Tyler and Brittany both went through their divorces at the same time. Meant to be: Tyler, who is originally from Seattle, said that he thinks his relationship with Brittany was meant to be, and that meeting her at the convention was 'a sign from God' Excitement: The groom, pictured before the wedding ceremony, said: 'Everything happened for a reason, and it was perfect' Heartfelt: Pictured writing his vows, Tyler said meeting Brittany is the best thing that has ever happened to him 'in my entire life' Speaking about the experience, Brittany said: 'We were both devastated. We did not want our marriages to end, but it did. 'And we had each other to go through that, and it was really special,' she said. Brittany and Tyler said that they became the best of friends while going through their divorces, as they would regularly talk to each other. Brittany asked Tyler to be her date for a wedding in Colorado, during which time the pair said they knew they loved each other and wanted to get married. She explained: 'We continued long distance until January 1 when he asked me to marry him while he was vesting in Texas for Christmas, and of course I said "yes". 'Three days later he got a call from his national manager offering him the regional manager spot in Dallas Texas because that manager quit. So he said "yes", sold all of his stuff and moved to Texas. 'Weve been living together since January and are in awe of God,' she added. Big moment: Brittany and Tyler said that they became the best of friends while going through their divorces at the same time, as they would regularly talk to each other and seek support from one another Ecstatic! Reflecting back on her special day with new husband Tyler, Brittany revealed that she has never felt as beautiful as she did when Tyler was staring at her as she walked down the aisle Delighted: The pair first knew that they really wanted to be together and get married when Brittany asked Tyler to be her date to a friend's wedding, which took place in Colorado Beautiful: The happy couple tied the knot on a gorgeous beach at the Secrets Maroma resort in Cancun, Mexico, while surrounded by some close family and friends Official: Brittany, who jokes that their relationship has been like a 'corny love story', said she thanks Tyler for loving her during such a difficult time in her life Speaking about her previous marriage, Brittany said: 'It wasn't okay to be treated like that. 'Then all of a sudden I just had this amazing guy that was everything that I could have ever wanted,' she added. She added that she believes that Tyler was always going to be the man that she would end up marrying. 'It's like a corny love story,' she joked. Brittany added that she is grateful for Tyler's love for her during such a difficult time in her life. She said: 'I thank him from the bottom of my heart for loving me at a time that I felt so dead on the inside.' Giving Brittany a special message ahead of their big day, Tyler said: 'You're the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me in my entire life. Stunning! Reflecting back on her previous marriage, Brittany said she realized that it 'wasn't okay to be treated like that', and is so happy to have met Tyler, who she says is 'everything that I could have ever wanted' Celebrations: Tyler and Brittany, pictured with family after the wedding ceremony, said they are both so excited to spend the rest of their lives with one another Jumping with joy! The now married couple are grateful that they met at the conference, and believe their relationship and marriage was 'meant to be' Happily ever after: Brittany said the most special aspect of the day was saying 'I do' and finally walking down the aisle with Tyler as husband and wife 'And I can't wait to share the rest of my life with you because you're the best thing that's ever happened to me.' The happy couple recently got married in the Secrets Maroma resort in Cancun, Mexico. They are believed to have tied the knot in October 2018. Pictures captured by Del Sol Photography see the pair smiling happily as they tie the knot while surrounded by family and friends. Talking about her favorite moment of the wedding day, Brittany said: 'The most amazing moment of the day was saying "I do" and walking the isle as husband and wife. 'I have never felt as beautiful as I did when I saw Tyler looking at me as I walked down the aisle.' Ambassador designate of the Embassy of Japan, HE Tatsuo Hirayama (right) and Ms. Eula Johnny, Principal of the St. Marys Roman Catholic School (SMRC), sign the agreement of assistance. The generosity of the government and people of Japan was clearly seen when, on Wednesday 13th February, Ambassador designate of the Embassy of Japan, HE Tatsuo Hirayama, signed an agreement to hand over a sum of $33,047 US to Ms. Eula Johnny, Principal of the St. Marys Roman Catholic School (SMRC). The activity, which took place at the Catholic Diocesan Pastoral Centre at Edinboro, was also attended by Mrs. Hirayama, First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy; Ms. Chiharu Hoshiai; Ms. Crystal Austin, Project Consultant; Ms. Yvette Antoine, Senior Education Officer; Bishop Gerard County, CSSP of Kingstown; Mrs. Sandy Peters-Phillips, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; student and teacher representatives of the SMRC; and Mr. Ezra Ledger, President of the PTA -SMTC. Principal Johnny welcomed Ambassador Hirayama and his delegation to "our beautiful island St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Gem of the Antilles. She told the audience that the funds were accessed through the Japan Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Project. She explained that the school acquired a property/building six years ago to accommodate its growing numbers. The building required a concrete floor to better serve the needs of the students and to decrease the need for ongoing repairs going into the futire. Expressing sincere gratitude to the benefactors, Ms. Johnny stated, "We are very happy for this, because it is together we will succeed in changing the future of our children. In his address, the Ambassador expressed his extreme pleasure in visiting the country to sign a document that will extend cooperation between his embassy and the historical school. He was pleased to note that both countries shared the same values of democracy, freedom and the rule of law; and how the challenges of natural disasters, climate change and regional and global instability are faced by both. These, he intimated, facilitated a friendship between the two countries, that has resulted in the assistance offered through his embassy. The school, he said, with over one hundred years of history and over six hundred students, presents a prime project for assistance. "This is why I am more than happy to sign this document, he said., adding, "Education is a priority area for any country, because providing a greater education is absolutely essential for bringing the next generation. Other speakers lending their voice to the occasion were SEO Yvette Antoine who spoke on behalf of the Chief Education Officer. She expressed the Ministrys pleasure about the partnership fostered to promote education, which she said, "take up a major part of our national budget. Bishop County expressed his thanks on behalf of the Diocese of Kingstown and the St. Marys Roman Catholic School in particular. He called the donation an expression of the harmony for mankind that God intended at His creation of the world, i.e. "that people of different nations and cultures, come together to bring assistance to those in need. Then, with effusive thanks given by PTA President Ezra Ledger, the well- received ceremony concluded. Gloves worn by Elizabeth I and seen in the Star Wars films are to go on show as part of a fascinating new exhibition. Glove Stories, which will open at the Fashion Museum Bath on 2 March, will showcase 150 singles and pairs of historical gloves from the past 400 years, many of which have never been on show to the public before. Highlights include a pair of embroidered gauntlet gloves from the 1620s and Elizabeth I's coronation glove. The exquisite glove was worn by the young queen at a day-long coronation ceremony in January 1559. Queen Elizabeth II's coronation glove, worn during her coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey in 1953, which will sit alongside its replica, made in case of a last-minute emergency (pictured right, the Queen in London earlier this month) It is one of the treasures of Dents Museum and Archive collection, rarely seen on public display. Also in the exhibition is Queen Elizabeth II's coronation glove, worn during her coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey in June 1953. So precious is the antique, it will go on display alongside will be an identical replica which was made in case of accidents on the day some 56 years ago. The new exhibition will mark the first time that the two single gloves have ever been displayed together. Guests can also feast their eyes on a replica of Queen Victoria's coronation glove , alongside a Limerick glove originating in Ireland from the 1830s. These gloves, favoured by Queen Victoria, were made of such fine leather that they could be rolled up and kept inside a walnut. One of the Duke of Edinburgh's carriage-driving gloves from the 1990s are made of doeskin leather from the Balmoral estate. Prince Philip, a keen carriage rider, is often seen riding through Balmoral and Windsor (pictured right, at Windsor Castle in October 2018) Queen Elizabeth I's coronation glove. The exquisite glove was worn by the young queen at a day-long coronation ceremony in January 1559. It is one of the treasures of Dents Museum and Archive collection, rarely seen on public display. Elizabeth in a portrait dated 1575-1580, right Silvered effect long gauntlet gloves as worn by actor Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Other highlights include a pair of exquisitely embroidered gauntlet gloves from the 1620s and ElizabethI's coronation glove The Duke of Edinburgh's carriage-driving gloves from the 1990s are made of doeskin leather from the Balmoral estate. And a pair of Star Wars gloves worn by actor Mark Hamill when battling extreme temperatures and the Wampa ice monster in the snowy wastes of Planet Hoth in the opening scenes of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back will also be on display. Another highlight is a Soviet Cosmonaut's glove, worn in 1986 by Colonel Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov. And a pair of of 'Multi-Terrain' Pattern Combat Gloves, worn during Operation Herrick in Afghanistan in 2012/2013 by the Logistic Support Team Commander for the 1st Battalion Scots Guards Battlegroup, will be on show. A Soviet Cosmonaut's glove, worn in 1986 by Colonel Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov. Rosemary Harden, Fashion Museum manager, said: 'The display will feature groups of gloves and will focus on uncovering unique and different stories' Selection of brightly coloured suede leather gloves, by self-taught glove maker Mrs Anne Kershaw (1950s). Glove Stories is designed to shine a light on the ailing British glove industry Rosemary Harden, Fashion Museum manager, said: 'The display will feature groups of gloves and will focus on uncovering unique and different stories, while also celebrating the incredible craftsmanship and skills involved in this often overlooked area of fashion along the way.' Glove Stories is also designed to shine a light on the ailing British glove industry. At one time there were hundreds of glove makers across Britain, centred in the towns and villages of Somerset, Dorset and West Wiltshire. A key element of the Glove Collection of the Worshipful Company of Glovers of London is the Spence Collection, a grouping of over 100 single gloves and pairs of mainly 17th century gloves, all carefully collected by artist Robert Spence. A pair of of 'Multi-Terrain' Pattern Combat Gloves, worn in Afghanistan in 2012/2013 by the Logistic Support Team Commander for the 1st Battalion Scots Guards Battlegroup A pair of light brown knitted rayon utility gloves (1940). Rosemary Harden, Fashion Museum manager, said: 'The display will feature groups of gloves and will focus on uncovering unique and different stories' Embroidered tabbed gauntlet glove edged with silver metal thread bobbin lace (1620). At one time there were hundreds of glove makers across Britain, centred in the towns and villages of Somerset, Dorset and West Wiltshire Embroidered gauntlet glove with pelican and lion design worked in seed pearls and gold metal thread (1620s). Glove Stories is designed to shine a light on the ailing British glove industry Printed leather gloves from around 1800. Rosemary Harden, Fashion Museum manager, said: 'The display will feature groups of gloves and will focus on uncovering unique and different stories' A Limerick glove made in Ireland from the 1830s. This style of gloves, favoured by Queen Victoria, was made of such fine leather that they could be rolled up and kept inside a walnut Knitted elbow-length mittens with floral decoration, about 1700. The exhibition, called Glove Stories, is designed to shine a light on the ailing British glove industry Spence trained at the Slade School of Art and collected historical gloves to inform his own artwork. A Quaker and pacifist, he was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his work as an ambulance driver during the Great War. Spence donated his collection of gloves to the Worshipful Company in 1959. The Worshipful Company of Glovers of London was formed in 1349 by glove makers in London who wished to protect the high standard of their craft and was granted its Royal Charter by King Charles I in 1638. The Livery collection is now cared for and housed at the Fashion Museum. Advertisement A touching new photo series reveals the different traditions observed by communities around the world to protect mothers and welcome new babies, giving them the best start in life. From postpartum porridge-making and paint masks to baptisms and beer-brewing, the striking images reveal how ten countries from the UK to India and Uganda to Sweden celebrate new life. The fascinating series was launched this morning WaterAid as part of its Water Effect campaign, which aims to help protect mothers and ensure all babies have the best possible start in life by getting clean water, decent sanitation and good hygiene in health centres access the world. It features traditions such as Nana Fatsuma in Nigeria, where a stick with twig-like fingers is placed in a bowl of water and given to the labouring mother to hasten delivery, the Okuizome first food ceremony for babies in Japan, and the Ghanaian custom of Nila where a small cut is made on the child's face to protect them from convulsions. In Japan, Natsumi, 29, feeds her daughter Miwa, four weeks old, during Okuizome, a first food ceremony. The image features in a fascinating series which was launched this morning WaterAid as part of its Water Effect campaign In Zambia, Linety, 18, bathes her daughter, Maria, one month, in Nsambilo. The concoction of protection made from tree roots, believed to keep the baby healthy and protect her from evil spirits. It was made by Linety's mother Flora, 59 Twigs opening in water: In Nigeria, the twig tree is held in a calabash bowl waiting to dissolve in water as part of the Nana Fatsuma tradition. The pregnant mum will drink the solution to hasten delivery, as per tradition In Madagascar, Nome, 21, wears a masonjoany mask to protect herself from the sun and bad spirits. It is made by grinding a sandalwood tree branch and adding water to form a paste. She holds her seven-day-old baby Jackie Marcel Stephan In Uganda, Nagit 30, husband Lomer, 32, and baby Bakita sit with their five children after the blessing of their newborn. As part of the blessing, the skin of the Etopojjo tree is soaked in water, forming small strings. These strings are then tied around the baby's wrist, ankles, neck and waist Rinku, 22, from Delhi, followed the Indian baby tradition of applying thick, black paste called kohl to her daughter Kritika's eyes. 'The tradition of applying kohl or 'kajal' to the infant's eyes and forehead began long ago and has been taught to each generation by the elders,' Rinku said. 'The black kajal protects the child from any evil spirits and keeps them healthy.' Water plays a key role in many of the traditions; it is used to make a special porridge for new mums in Malawi and is mixed with ground tree branch to form a paste to create a 'masonjoany' mask in Madagascar. Nome, 21, from Madagascar, wore the mask as part of the Manaboaka Jabely tradition after giving birth. She said: 'In our culture, mothers like me and our newborn babies are not allowed to go outside during the first seven days after the birth. 'The mother is still suffering and the baby is still very fragile. My older sister applied a 'masonjoany' mask to my face to protect it from the sun and from all bad spirits. Once we have made it through these sacred critical seven days, we step outside for a short time to face the reality of life and the bright sun.' In Ghana, Mary, 21 stands with her husband Sampson and two-year-old son Nathaniel. They performed the Nila tradition where a traditional herbalist makes a small cut on the baby's cheek, thought to prevent the him from getting convulsions. Both parents also underwent the Nila tradition as infants In Sweden, Sebastian, 31, and Maria, 34 hold their baby son Harry. Sebastian cut his newborn son Harry's umbilical cord in an operating theatre at Ostersund hospital. The convention helps fathers feel more involved in the birth Sebastian cuts his newborn son Harry's umbilical cord in an operating theatre at Ostersund hospital, Sweden. The convention helps fathers feel more involved in the birth. The image is part of a new photo series curated by WaterAid In Uganda, Awas, 58, (far left) serves local beer to her family and clan elders including her Sagal, 24, to mark the birth of her six-week-old grandson Loumo. The clan members all drink from one gourd as a sign of peace and togetherness as they welcome the new baby In the USA, parents Robert, 38, and Marisa, 37, hold their four month old baby Emmeline. She was baptised in a Roman Catholic church. Some Catholics believe pouring holy water over a baby's head absolves them of original sin In Malawi, grandmother Melise makes porridge for her daughter, Lucia, 26, who has just given birth to baby Bertha. New mums are given a special porridge made from soya, maize flour and sugar. It is thought to give them the energy and the nutrients they need In Zambia, Grandma Estheli, 62, covers baby Mutinta, two weeks old, while being held by her mother Chuuma, 18. Mutinta wears a kakonde necklace to protect her from vomiting, diarrhoea and bad omens However, one in nine people around the world have no access to clean water, while one in three health centres have no safe water source. Babies born in these health centres will face health risks such as infections, which can be fatal. Every minute a newborn baby dies from infection caused by a lack of safe water and an unclean environment. Tim Wainwright, Chief Executive of WaterAid said: 'The birth of a new baby is a time of great joy and celebration, and all over the world, communities hold to traditions believed to keep the mothers safe and bring the babies good luck, happiness or good health. In Ghana, Vida took part in the Kosoto custom following David's birth where bark from a tree is taken, boiled in water and then poured over her to protect her from stomach problems in future pregnancies In Ghana, Vida sits with her children (L-R) Patrick, aged 11, David, one month, Hannah, aged five and Desmond, aged three, outside their home. Vida took part in the Kosoto custom following David's birth Silvering the baby: In Scotland, Ross, 35, and Amanda, 32, from Glasgow welcomed their five week old baby, Emma. Emma is given a coin by her Nana, Sandra, a custom meant to bring good luck and prosperity In India, Kritika, two, has a drink after her mother, Rinku, 22, has applied thick, black kajal' or kohl to her child's eyes and forehead to ward off evil spirits. Rinu explains: 'The black kajal protects the child from any evil spirits and keeps them healthy' India, Kritika, two, has thick, black kohl applied to her eyes and forehead to ward off evil spirits by her mother Rinku. 'The tradition of applying kohl or 'kajal' to the infant's eyes and forehead began long ago and has been taught to each generation by the elders,' Rinku says In Uganda, Nagit 30, husband Lomer, 32, and baby Bakita sit with their five children after the blessing of their newborn. As part of this, the skin of the Etopojjo tree is soaked in water, forming small strings. These strings are then tied around the baby's wrist, ankles, neck and waist In Zambia, Flora, 59, sits with her daughter, Linety, 18, and prepares to bathe her grandaughter, Maria, one month, in Nsambilo, a concoction of protection made from tree roots, believed to keep the baby healthy and protect her from evil spirits 'But for the millions of mothers who have no choice but attend a health centre without clean water, they do not have the most important thing to welcome any new life clean water and a hygienic environment. 'It's unacceptable that in the developing world one in three health centres do not have clean water. This means doctors and midwives cannot protect their patients from the risk of infection, and the consequences can be fatal. 'That's why we're putting clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene at the heart of healthcare, helping save lives every day. Healthcare workers can keep their hands and utensils clean; mothers can give birth more safely; and children can stay healthy and in school. That's the water effect.' For more information on WaterAid's Water Effect Appeal, visit wateraid.org.uk/water-effect In the modern world, there are moderate hygiene and personal grooming standards to ensure Australian hospitality workers are dressed appropriately. However these dress codes have changed significantly over the years. A list of the mandatory 'personal hygiene and grooming' restrictions for men issued by David Jones Food Hall in 1990 has resurfaced via the Old Shops Australia Facebook page showing just how much times have changed. The strict rules - titled 'personal health and hygiene in the Food Hall' - included keeping 'hair short, clean and off the face', 'bathe and shave daily', and a 'fresh uniform and apron must be worn every day'. A mandatory 'personal hygiene and grooming' restrictions for men issued by David Jones Food Hall in 1990 has resurfaced on Facebook - and my, how times have changed The code, issued to male staff across the upmarket department store's Food Hall, saw a bearded man in a white uniform and black apron. The vintage sketching shows the male figure, along with the handwritten strict rules highlighted from his head down to his toes. 'Keep hair short, clean and off the face... Shave daily, moustaches and beards must be neatly trimmed,' the rule stated. Despite the grooming restrictions, workers were required to wear fresh clothes daily. 'Trousers should be kept clean and neat, washed and ironed regularly... A fresh uniform and apron must be worn every day,' the restrictions listed. 'Shoes should be comfortable with closed in toes, non-slip soles are recommended.' Workers were required to 'bathe on a daily basis' and keep their fingernails short and clean at all times. During work hours, employees were not allowed to 'touch your face or hair' or wear any jewellery on their finger except a wedding ring. The David Jones food hall (pictured in 2019) is known for selling gourmet produce and offers sushi bars, cafes, oyster bars and high-end bakeries 'Do not sneeze or cough over food... Always use a clean tissue or handkerchief,' the rules continued. 'Report any colds or coughs to your supervisor... Dermatitis/eczema must be reported to your supervisor immediately. 'Wash hands thoroughly on a regular basis, wipe hands on hand towel, not on apron... Always use tongs, gloves or scoops for handling raw and cooked food.' Social media users were amused by the resurfaced code. 'I absolutely loved that place,' one said. 'That's clearly the way a zombie robot should be dressed,' another joked. 'Food service people could learn from this poster. Touching your face or hair is a no no for starters.' Others were shocked that the store felt as though they had to remind staff to 'bathe' daily and 'use a clean handkerchief'. The unlikely pairing of a world-weary private investigator and a flamboyant former hairdresser in Shakespeare And Hathaway: Private Investigators struck such a chord with viewers when the show began last year that it became the biggest daytime drama launch since Father Brown five years before. The gently comedic whodunnit got instant critical acclaim and won a cult following, becoming the most watched daytime show on BBC iPlayer. Now fans will be delighted its back for a second series, giving us a fresh batch of Midsomer Murders-style mysteries set against the glorious half-timbered Tudor backdrop of Shakespeares home county Warwickshire. Jo Joyner plays Luella Shakespeare, a hairdresser whose husband was murdered with a pair of stylists scissors within minutes of their marriage vows. Jo Joyner, 41, and Mark Benton, 53, spoke about starring in hit daytime show Shakespeare And Hathaway: Private Investigators as it returns for a second series After she helped Mark Bentons down-at-heel gumshoe Frank Hathaway solve the murder, Luella joined forces with him to save his cash-strapped private detective agency. Weve been blown away by the feedback, says Jo, best-known for her role as Tanya Branning in EastEnders. Were chuffed everyone enjoys it as much as us. 'Its success is down to the buddy friendship they have, rather than it being all doom and gloom. 'Theres a lot of that on telly so the lightness really helps. Plus its very British. I think thats why we have a following abroad too you couldnt cram any more English references in. 'Youve got Tudor buildings, cups of Earl Grey tea and the odd Mini. Mark agrees. With series one, we had no idea what it was going to be, or that itd be as fun as it was. 'I think its the combination of a weather-beaten Colombo type cop, with a chirpy ex-hairdresser whos fresh to the business. 'Lus bright and solves a lot of the crimes. Continuing where the last series left off, Shakespeare and Hathaway will snoop and pry their way into more Warwickshire mysteries. The first episode has a dognapping case when mongrel Tim, who inherited his late owner Theodore Athenaeuss vast shipping fortune, runs away from his life of luxury. With a 25,000 reward for his safe recovery, Frank and Lu set about finding out why Tim would flee, and where he might be, by questioning the poochs plethora of staff, from his vet to his personal trainer and his stylist. Its hilarious, says Jo. The first episode of the new series features a dognapping case (pictured: Tim the very wealthy dog, with some of his personal staff) A funny thing for us was that he was so well behaved, and at the end when we wanted him to look happy, like a normal dog, he struggled. 'He was so well-trained he couldnt loosen up! Further cases in the ten-part series involve doppelgangers, vice, extortion and identity theft, and again the duo will cross paths with their rival, DI Marlowe (as in Kit Marlowe, the playwright who enjoyed more fame in his lifetime than Shakespeare), when their detective work strays into police territory. Marlowe is played by Amber Aga, and well discover more about Franks history with her. We find out why Frank was kicked off the force too, explains Jo. You get a sense that theres an unbreakable bond between Frank and Marlowe. We also find out Franks a hero... Its a light, fun show and people enjoy that, but for us its nice to add more story too, says Mark, 53. To add more depth and context. Jo and Mark have struck up such a chemistry on set that theyll even interchange the comic lines. Were very collaborative and we swap lines sometimes although Im not sure the executives like it, laughs Jo, 41. Frank (pictured left in the new series) describes the show as light and fun, he revealed it's nice adding to the story I also gauge what Marks doing in a scene. 'If Frank is serious, I wont be, and vice versa. 'Our detective styles are different too Lu goes off and gossips to find out a few clues, while Frank does all the proper cop stuff. The production team have been slipping in Shakespearisms to match the setting. There are so many we use in everyday life, but there are weird ones too, says Jo. I might insult someone for instance, and Ill think, You monstrous beast? Who says that? Then Ill think, Oh, that must be Shakespeare. For Jo, who grew up in Warwickshire, the show is the perfect fit. During her seven years playing beauty salon owner Tanya in Albert Square she won three British Soap Awards and attracted notoriety over the storyline in which she drugged her cheating husband Max Branning (played by Strictly semi-finalist Jake Wood) and buried him alive with the help of her lover Sean Slater. But she left the show in 2013 and moved back to Warwickshire with her husband, drama teacher Neil Madden. It was important to her to ditch the gruelling hours of a soap so their nine-year-old twins, Freddie and Edie, could attend the same school their mum went to as a child. Jo is best known for portraying Tanya in EastEnders, she revealed a desire to have her children grow up in a village influenced her decision to leave the soap. Pictured: Jo as Tanya with Lorna Fitzgerald as her on-screen daughter Abi Branning in 2011 Im a country girl at heart, she says. Ive lived in London, Manchester and Leeds but it was my choice to move back to Warwickshire I wanted my children to grow up playing in a village like I did. The big question on many fans lips is whether well see any romance between Frank and Luella. There was a scene in the last series but it was cut, says Jo. I had to get a hat off the back seat of the car, and when I turned around, I accidentally came close to Marks face. 'Frank said, What are you doing? and Lu replied, Getting my hat! Its a shame they cut it, it would be quite fun. Mark isnt so sure. Its a funny one because you want to keep the possibility there, but I think if you go too far that way it might ruin the dynamic between them. But then, as Shakespeare said, the course of true love never did run smooth. Shakespeare And Hathaway: Private Investigators returns on Monday at 2.15pm on BBC1, with the full series two box set available on BBC iPlayer the same day. She first appeared in the last Call The Midwife Christmas special, trying to find a home for an orphaned Chinese baby called Ming. Now, in the current series, Miriam Margolyes has swept in again as benignly bossy Mother Mildred to shake things up for a further three episodes. Last week Mother Mildred commandeered Nonnatus House handyman Fred Buckles van because veteran actress Miriam, who was handpicked for the role by the shows writer Heidi Thomas, made it clear to the producers that she didnt do bikes like the young nuns and midwives. I think a Mother Superior would travel more decorously than that and I couldnt ride a bike in a nuns habit anyway! laughs Miriam, 77. Ascribing to the old Hollywood adage that you should never work with children or animals, she admits she was worried about working with baby Ming. Miriam Margolyes, 77, (pictured as Mother Mildred) spoke about returning to her guest-starring role in hit drama Call The Midwife Shes only a little girl and Im not good with children, says Miriam, who has a long-term partner retired Australian professor Heather Sutherland but no offspring. It was something of a baptism of tears, she explains. Some of the babies cry for so long that its really hard to hold onto your lines and do your job when that cacophony of wailing is going on. In last weeks episode, Mother Mildred set about rehousing her tiny orphans from Hong Kong and battling on behalf of workmen contracting the lung disease pneumoconiosis from dusty warehouses. In tomorrows episode, well see her gentler side when she encourages a nervous novice midwife to show courage and humility as she leads a class showing young mothers how to handle and bathe their babies. Although Mother Mildred is quite brusque, every now and again you see her softness and warm heart shes a very good soul, explains Miriam, who lets slip that shes been invited back to film two more episodes for the next series. Landing a guest-starring role in the nations favourite drama has been the culmination of a dream, because the standard of the show is so high, she says. Praise indeed from an actress who, in a career thats spanned five decades, has worked with everyone from Martin Scorsese to Leonardo DiCaprio, not to mention alongside the cream of British acting in the Harry Potter films as Professor Sprout. But I never thought I would be playing a nun in Midwife, she says. Miriam who has worked with the likes of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio revealed she has known Judy Parfitt who plays Sister Monica Joan for years Im not at all spiritual and I thought I might be cast as a woman of the streets instead! Perhaps thats because in real life Miriam is notorious for some very unsaintly language, which had the cast in stitches on the Midwife set. Yes, my language is shocking, admits an unrepentant Miriam, but we all had such fun on the Midwife set. 'Ive known Judy Parfitt, who plays Sister Monica Joan, for years and Annabelle Apsion, who plays Freds wife Violet, is coming to stay with me soon. 'In fact I invited all the cast if ever theyre over in Australia. Miriam has a home in Melbourne (as well as houses in London, Tuscany and Kent), where shes just opened to rave reviews as the bag lady in a new stage version of Alan Bennetts The Lady In The Van. Its an outrageous role that also could have been written for Miriam. One bit of me is a silly, naughty schoolgirl and the other is a bossy old bag, she admits. Her career has also expanded into reality shows, such as BBC1s The Real Marigold Hotel, in which celebrity OAPs sample the benefits of retirement abroad, and last years epic road trip, Miriams Big American Adventure. Miriam has a two-part show on BBC2 coming up in April about death and dying which is set in Australia When I was younger, people said to me, Youll do well, but youll have to wait till youre quite old before it all comes together. 'And I thought, B****r that! I want it now, she laughs. Shes become what she calls an ugly duckling version of Joanna Lumley in her documentaries. Im slogging in Joannas footsteps, she says, telling me about a new Australian version shes doing of Miriams Big American Adventure, and also a two-parter to be shown on BBC2 in April about death and dying. Its quite serious, challenging stuff: I talk to people who are dying and to doctors about euthanasia, and I even get measured for my own coffin and lie in it. 'I wanted very much that the programme should not be facile or superficial. 'Death is really the last taboo, but its part of life and thats one of the things I wanted to face, so I never fudged it. Fudge it? Miriam Margolyes? Never. For Americas chat shows in the 1980s, triplets Eddy, Bobby and David were TV gold. The 19-year-old brothers had grown up unaware of each others existence. An amazing stroke of chance brought them together. The beer-loving, girl-chasing students were virtual clones but total strangers. Audiences adored their charm, mirrored body language and almost telepathic ability to finish each others sentences. Madonna was so smitten she insisted they have a cameo in her movie Desperately Seeking Susan in 1985. But behind the believe-it-or-not coincidences lay the dark story of a cruel experiment. A new Channel 4 documentary examines why identical triplets Bobby, David and Eddy (pictured) were separated at birth and grew up unaware of each other Now the whole story is being told in an award-winning documentary, Three Identical Strangers. It sheds fascinating light on the age-old question of whether the human personality is shaped by nature or nurture whether our genes or our families dictate the people we become. As the triplets history is revealed, viewers will wonder if this evidence has been discovered at too high a price. The tale begins with a plot twist so bizarre that no novelist could invent it. In 1980, doctors son Bobby Shafran arrived for his first term at Sullivan County Community College in New York, and was baffled to be greeted as an old friend by people hed never met. One girl kissed him on the lips, another student called him Eddy. Bobby decided it was a practical joke for the new boy. When he checked in to his dormitory his room-mate nearly fainted. He asked, If youre not Eddy, were you adopted? You must have a twin! Incredibly, Bobby was enrolling at the same college, and sleeping in the same room, as Eddy Galland, whod left at the end of the last year and who looked so like him that friends didnt notice they were different people. When Bobby heard Long Island teachers son Eddy shared his birthday, he phoned him. Within hours, they met. Bobby, David and Eddy (pictured with Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan) became overnight celebrities once they were reunited The triplets (pictured) adoptive parents felt betrayed that the agency hadn't made them aware that they had siblings Their parents confirmed they were adopted from the Louise Wise agency in New York. They had to be twins. But when a local paper ran their photos on the front page, the full truth emerged. David Kellman, the son of a shopkeeper, spotted the picture, noticed the birthdate and phoned to say, I think were triplets. Davids aunt, Hedy Page, says, There was no formal introduction. They were like puppies, rolling around on the floor. As the feelgood story spread, TV chat shows across America found the boys were born entertainers. They were party animals too, hitting New York clubs with gusto. Whod think anyone was evil enough to do this? When they told TV host Phil Donahue they liked older women, the response from the citys single ladies was enthusiastic. The boys were thrilled to be reunited, but their parents felt betrayed. The adoption agency had never hinted each boy was a triplet. The firm refused to apologise. It was a necessary subterfuge, they said, homing triplets wouldve been impossible. All three families were Jewish couples that had adopted before. The families realised the boys, born to a teenaged single mother in 1961, had been nursed together for their first six months, sleeping in one cot. That explained why, for the first year, all three displayed separation anxiety, screaming and banging their heads. The three boys opened a restaurant together in their thirties but Bobby (pictured with David last year) soon quit and Eddy had a breakdown, in 1995 he shot himself at home All three had a hard adolescence. Eddy in particular fought with his strict father. As teenagers, each boy was treated in a psychiatric hospital. Their reunion turned them into overnight stars. But the partying couldnt last. In their thirties, the boys settled down and set up a restaurant together, called Triplets. But Bobby soon quit and Eddy had a breakdown. After he was released from hospital in 1995, he shot himself at home. His suicide devastated his brothers he was the most desperate for everyone to be friends. His father blames himself. I wonder if I didnt teach him how to live life, he says. Bobby adds, Id rather it had been me than Eddy. It was a bitter outcome to a story that entertained America, but it wasnt the end. In 1995, New York journalist Lawrence Wright discovered a secret study, conducted by Dr Peter Neubauer of Yale University, that began in the 1950s: several sets of twins were placed with widely differing adoptive families to see how contrasting parenting affected personality. New York journalist Lawrence Wright discovered the triplets (pictured: Eddy, David and Bobby) had been part of an experiment to examine how contrasting parenting affects personality The boys were part of this experiment. Bobby went to workaholic affluent parents, Eddy to an uptight, suburban, lower-middle class couple, and David to affectionate working-class parents. Their new families were not told what was happening. In the triplets case, Neubauer engineered for his chosen families to adopt a girl two years earlier so that each boy had a big sister. When David and Bobby found that out, it made them feel like lab rats they said, almost in unison. Throughout their childhoods the boys were given aptitude tests and filmed regularly to monitor development. It was ethically wrong, says one of the researchers, Dr Lawrence Perlman. The results of this experiment have still never been published. Before he died in 2008, Neubauer a maverick psychologist gave the files to Yale on the condition they remain sealed to the public until 2065, when Bobby and David would be 104 years old. Eddy killed himself before this came out. His brothers know theres much more they will never learn. Bobby says, Who would think anyone is evil enough to do this? Three Identical Strangers, Thursday, 9pm, Channel 4. Accustomed though he was to high drama, my grandfather Carol Reed, the legendary film director, couldnt have imagined the extraordinary scene that would play out in front of him on the stage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles 50 years ago. He had just been awarded the Best Director Oscar for the musical Oliver! one of six the film picked up that year but as he was about to make his acceptance speech, five actresses, among them Jane Fonda, Natalie Wood and Ingrid Bergman, took to the stage to make a protest. One by one they complained about how few women were being honoured at the awards and how few roles there were for women. Sound familiar? They even mentioned that the only woman in Oliver!, Shani Wallis, who played murderous bully Bill Sikess girlfriend Nancy, sang just two songs and then got choked. Lucy Fox who is the granddaughter of Carol Reed who directed the film Oliver! shared memorable moments from behind the scenes of production (pictured left to right: Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger with Mark Lester as Oliver Twist) Unflustered by the protest, Carol I always called him Carol walked slowly onto the stage. His speech was short, to the point, dignified and self-effacing. He thought only of thanking others and did not use the platform to make the kind of political statements you hear people making today. It was typical of my dear grandfather, and just one of the precious memories I have of the man who gave us this unforgettable film. Carol was offered the film by Columbia, which owned the rights to the original 1960 Lionel Bart stage musical of Oliver!, for two reasons because they felt it was important to have a British director in charge of a tale written by such an iconic British novelist as Charles Dickens, and because of his expertise with child actors. His genius lay in drawing out extraordinary performances from children, and in Oliver! there were loads of youngsters, with the late Jack Wild arguably the shows star as the Artful Dodger. Mark Lester was just turning nine as filming began. He was inexperienced compared with the others, so producers worried he might not be up to playing such a huge part. But Carol was adamant he was. My Uncle Max, Carols son, who worked on the film as an assistant, remembers Carol saying that the important thing was that Mark looked right for the part, and that he would do the rest. Carol (pictured with Jack Wild on the Oliver! set) was chosen by Columbia to direct Oliver! because of his expertise in working with child actors and his British heritage To watch him on set directing must have been fascinating. Max said that such was the intensity of his fathers work with Mark that before everyones eyes he seemed to become a nine-year-old boy himself remarkable considering Carol was in his 60s and 6ft 5in tall. I enjoy working with children, he used to say. The trick is to start every scene with the child, that way the boy gets his lines over first, and the adult actors relax knowing he isnt going to spoil the scene for them. Carols genius was not just with children, though. Bullseyes tail was taped down to stop it wagging The late Sir Harry Secombe played Mr Bumble, who was in charge of Oliver Twists workhouse. Harry was a gentle man in real life but needed to be scary in the film. It wasnt in his nature to be remotely unkind, and after the Please Sir, I want some more line uttered by Oliver as hes holding up his empty bowl, Mr Bumble chases him and grabs him by his ear. During rehearsals Harry protested, Oh dear, hes so small, I dont want to hurt him. 'Could I get hold of his shoulder instead? Carol insisted it had to be Olivers ear, so the make-up department made a false one. Sir Harry Secombe (pictured right) who played Mr Bumble protested against grabbing Mark Lester's (pictured left) ear during rehearsals Unfortunately, when they shot the scene Mr Bumble grabbed hold of Olivers fake ear, and it came away in his hand, resulting in great hilarity for the workhouse children and a terrible fright for Harry. In the 1968 film, the actor who played Bill Sikes was Oliver Reed, Carols nephew. I remember him being very handsome and charming, with the ability to convey evil while being quite motionless a great talent. As everyone will remember, Bill Sikes went everywhere with his menacing bull terrier Bullseye. When I first saw the film I was worried the dog was unhappy because he seemed so tatty and unloved but it turned out he was very well looked after. He spent a lot of time in make-up to look so downtrodden including having his tail taped underneath him to curb his enthusiastic wagging. Carol was determined the audience should leave feeling upbeat. So while at the end of Dickenss book Fagin is hanged, in Carols movie he ends up dancing in the street with the Artful Dodger, ready to pick more pockets. When the film opened, I went to a special premiere for children in Londons Leicester Square, with a lot of little friends, all aged about eight. Lucy recalls being calls a spoiled brat for showing off to her friends at the Leicester Square premiere (Ron Moody pictured centre as Fagin with Jack Wild as The Artful Dodger alongside other pickpockets) Carol and my grandmother Penelope, who we called Pempie, were there, buying us all ice creams, cake and cola. Carol loved being around us children and wanted to see our reaction. To my shame I recall being a spoiled brat, showing off to my friends, and in my greedy excitement throwing up the ice cream all over my smocked dress and missing the first half hour of the film while I was being hosed down! My grandfather loved animals almost as much as he loved children, and would return to his and Pempies home in Londons Kings Road with all sorts of creatures, from lion cubs to pelicans. I recall him coming back one day bearing lots of brightly coloured birds blue, green, orange, pink and red. Look Pemp, these are so rare. Can you believe it? he said. My grandmother put them in a large bird cage containing a big bowl of water. After a few minutes splashing about in it the birds revealed themselves as boring little brown things. Lucy revealed the owl that belonged to Fagin (pictured centre) in the film was given to her grandparents before being given to the zoo Pempie cleverly made friends with the keeper in charge of the aviary at London Zoo. It was totally against the rules for the zoo to take in wildlife from members of the public but he bent the rules for her. When the owl that belonged to Fagin in the film came to live with my grandparents, its swooping to catch the live mice or chicks Pempie left out for its supper resulted in little blooded remains dotted about. So off the owl went, to the understanding man at the zoo! I particularly remember Obadiah, a mynah bird who used to mimic their telephone. He would then pretend to answer and either call out Pempie, telephone, in Carols voice or Carol darling, telephone, in Pempies voice. Today, Lucy treasures a Victorian silver box Ron Moody gave to Carol (pictured: the card in the box) This would have my grandparents racing to answer non-existent calls. When I was 15 and staying with them at their flat in Cannes, Carol and I would go to the market every morning and buy any lobster, crab or prawn that was still alive, then let them go in the sea. The stall holders thought Carol was bonkers but played up to him Im sure they had a scout to watch where we released them so they could scoop them up again. Today, the only souvenir I have from Oliver! is a Victorian silver box that Ron Moody, who played Fagin, gave to my grandfather as a present. Ron had it engraved with, Carol, Part of my little property, Fagin 67 (the year the film was made). Rons mention of his little property refers to the scene in the film when Fagin watches his property sink to the bottom of the Thames. And theres a card inside which reads, Dear Carol, To the Master from a grateful pupil. Its a real treasure and one Ill pass down to my children just as Ive passed down my memories of my larger-than-life grandfather. Oliver! is available to rent or buy on Sky Store or Amazon Prime Video. featured East Brandywine Police seek three men who scammed elderly person out of $12,400 Obeah man Ronnie is concerned that his people may be turning away from him. If what one obeah man in Jamacia says is true, that profession could well go under because of the threat by a new source of getting things done in your favour. According to the Jamaica Observer newspaper, at least one obeah man, Ronnie, an obeah man from Bog Walk, St Catherine, who has been practising his craft for more than 40 years, is taking issue with the recent influx of Indian philosophers on the island. Ronnie is concerned that his clientele and that of other obeah men, is showing signs of depletion, as those who had once favoured his help, now seek out whom he called "Indian philosophers. The Indian philosophers advertise in the newspapers and television unlike the local obeah men who depend on word of mouth as their primary means of advertising their services. The Observer reported Ronnie as saying that these "Indian philosophers is a bunch ah tricksters Mi know somebody guh a one a dem and dem ginal dem and tek weh $100,000 from dem and dem nuh get tru, to mean that whatever they did, did not have the desired effect. Ronnie said further, "People love di Indian more dan me, dem a stranger come inna the place. People wi guh a dem and who bawn here, dem doah come a yuh, he said. "Mi get my power from God, but some a dem a read book fi get dem power, he said. He added that he has helped all people with various problems over the years, sometimes without getting paid. "All kinda people come to mi, church people, people wid complaints, and everybody come to mi, dem get tru. Some a dem come and dem nuh have dem money, and mi look afta dem same way. Mi nuh mek dem guh back home, mi help dem same way, he said. Ronnie warned that people should not believe the Indians are legitimate, just because they advertise on television. "Some a dem doah know nothing, dem just tell the people dem lie, dem just come out and rob people and tek dem money and gone. Dem come inna di country come du bare foolishness, he said. It is for this reason that Ronnie wants the Government to intervene. (Source: Jamaica Observer) "The Government must stop dem from come inna di country cause dem a come rob people, he said. Some of the members of the Downingtown-Thorndale Regional Chamber of Commerce. Left top: Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has gone to lengths to establish that the matter involving Samuel, his lands and farmers is a technical one. Left bottom: Leon Bigger Bigs Samuel has challenged a notice indicating that his lands were to be surveyed. Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has said emphatically that the matter concerning Leon Bigger Bigs Samuel and farmers at Rabacca who once accessed their lands via a road through Samuels property, is not a political issue but a technical one. That being the case, the PM advised that the matter should be handled by the Physical Planning Division, Surveying Department or the Attorney General, and Samuel. Samuel had blocked the access road, citing that the government had enough time to address the issue on behalf of the farmers, but failed to do so. He said that farmers should not expect him to allow them access to his land, but should instead direct their anger towards the government. He had also been moved, during an interview with Dwight "Bing Joseph on his OMG programme on Boom FM, to remind the country that " for 8 years I have lost everything financially. At one time, I could not even provide food for my own family. I decided that 8 years is enough, and I have the law on my side. Dr. Gonsalves, commenting on the issue during a press conference last Tuesday at Cabinet Room, acknowledged that, while Samuel has property rights, the people in the community would have customary rights. He said that the state as well as other private individuals have lands bounded with Samuels property, and that there is a survey to be conducted by the Chief Supervisor. PM gave reasons why survey suspended Gonsalves noted the Attorney General had given permission for the survey to be conducted but Samuels lawyer countered with their own argument, and the survey was suspended. The Attorney General is expected to advise further, the PM said. Noting that Samuel wanted him to be involved in the discussion to resolve the issue of the farmers access through his land, Dr. Gonslaves said, inter alia, "I dont have to be there. If it is a technical issue, why am I imposing myself in it? I am absolutely sure that the public officials are prepared to have dialogue with Mr Samuel or his representative. Disclosing that he had told Samuel to speak to the Chief Surveyor, since it was a technical issue, the PM called out Samuel for having made the issue a political one. This might also have been in response to Samuels assertion that "It was never political until when Ralph Gonsalves introduced that bogus SR&O (Statutory Rules and Order, No. 2 of 2011). Two months after the 2010 general elections, Government authorities revoked Samuels mining licence, citing environmental concerns. The governments action led to the closure of his mining operation and a related block-making operation. Last Monday, Dr Gonsalves said that the state became involved in the mining issue because the professionals said that the manner in which Samuel was mining was not environmentally sound. Samuel would prove otherwise, and government had to reinstate the licence. But when pressed on the concerns of the farmers affected by Samuels action of blocking the access road to their lands, the Prime Minister said that those farmers are hearing what Samuel is saying, as well as what the NDP is saying in support of Bigger Bigs. Abortion opponents demonstrate outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Jan. 18, 2019. The following items are based on information provided by officials in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Paul Kirby is a reporter for the Freeman, covering Kingston politics. He has been at the Freeman since August 1996. The press conference head table (from left), TGHF Chairman David Williams, Director of the Alliance Francaise Vanessa Demirciyan, Dance Officer Maxine Browne, Senior Curriculum Development Officer Aldia Dyer, and Head of UWI School of Continuing Studies Debra Dalrymple. Maxine Browne, a Dance Officer in the Ministry of Culture, sees the Garifuna heritage as an avenue through which students can broaden their horizon. Browne aired her views at a press conference hosted by The Garifuna Heritage Foundation (TGHF) last Tuesday to launch Garifuna Heritage Month March 2019. This years Heritage Month programme heightens with a parade from Bishops College to Victoria Park, Friday, March 8, for what will be the 5th Garifuna Folk Festival, themed, Children of Chatoyer; Fruits of our Heritage. Incentives include prizes for the largest group, most organised group, and best use of Garifuna colours, outstanding song, dance, chorale speech and costume. Each school will highlight an aspect of the performing arts with emphasis on Garifuna Heritage. Events marking Garifuna Heritage Month actually kick off with "Windward meets Kingstown Cassava Food Competition for Secondary Schools. This will be at the Kingstown Technical Institute, Wednesday, March 6. Aldia Dyer, Senior Curriculum Development Officer in the Education Ministry, described this activity as offering students alternative ways of connecting with their past. Participants stand the chance of receiving rewards for their efforts, although Dyer made it plain that it was not a competition. Activities intensify March 11 with the opening of the Exhibition of Indigenous Craft, Art and Artefacts at the St. Vincent and the Grenadines National Trust, otherwise referred to as the Old Public Library. Vanessa Demirciyan is an Anthropologist, Independent Researcher and Director of the Alliance Francaise. She is inviting persons with documents, documentaries, artworks, books, collections and matters associated to the Garifuna story to contact the Heritage Foundation. The exhibition will run for two days, and has as its theme: From Orinoco to exile. Deborah Dalrymple, Head of the UWI School of Continuing Studies, reiterated her institutions attachment to the Garifuna activities, and emphasised the universitys role as catering to the region. She stressed the importance of the Garifuna culture, and especially commended the focus on youth and tourism in this years International Garifuna Conference. That Conference, the 6th, observed under the theme, Exploring the Garifuna and Kalinago Heritage and Culture Cultural survival, Youth and Opportunities in Heritage Tourism, takes place at the National Insurance Services Conference Room March 12 and 13, preceded by an opening ceremony at Frenches House from 9 on the first morning. Tourism Consultant Vera Ann Brereton will be the Feature Speaker at the opening. The activities continue with a Garifuna Fashion Show and Tea Party carded for St. Vincent Girls High School, Saturday, March 16. Browne, coordinator of this segment, dubbed it the "Yellow, Black and White, a Fashion Explosion. Students will portray an outfit from one of casual, evening or cultural wear. The focus continues April 5 with the staging of a play entitled: Mali. That will be repeated at the Peace Memorial Hall Saturday 6 and 7. Ethos is a nationally recognized, award-winning independent student publication. Our mission is to elevate the voices of marginalized people who are underrepresented in the media landscape, and to write in-depth, human-focused stories about the issues affecting them. We also strive to support our diverse student staff and to help them find future success. Ethos produces a quarterly free print magazine full of well-reported and powerful feature stories, innovative photography, creative illustrations and eye-catching design. On our website, we also produce compelling written and multimedia stories. Ethos is part of Emerald Media Group, a non-profit organization thats fully independent of the University of Oregon. Students maintain complete editorial control over Ethos, and work tirelessly to produce the magazine. Since our inception as Korean Ducks Magazine in 2005, weve worked hard to share a multicultural spirit with our readership. We embrace diversity in our stories, in our student staff and in our readers. We want every part of the magazine to reflect the diversity of our world. Dalton, GA (30720) Today Rain showers early with some sunshine later in the day. High 88F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Dr. Warren Smith, President of CDB, may just be accusing the Prime Ministers of the four major shareholder governments of LIAT, of dragging their feet. The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) funded a study of cash-strapped regional airline LIAT. That study, which was completed and presented to the shareholder Governments of LIAT by mid-2018, outlined the airlines challenges and opportunities, and put forward a series of recommendations. But CDB President Dr. Warren Smith in an interview with Barbados TODAY earlier this month, had this to say, " I am disappointed that those recommendations have not been taken on-board in the way in which we had anticipated they would have, as he complained of very little progress to date on the restructuring effort. Smith held out that "It is for them (shareholders), in collaboration with the management of LIAT, to make the appropriate changes that can put the airline on a different footing. Barbados Minister of Tourism and International Transport Kerrie Symmonds told Barbados TODAY before Smiths interview that the shareholders were awaiting a report from LIAT on its operations, in order for major changes to be introduced. The CDB Study The CDB-funded study looked at the airlines performance, its challenges and some possible solutions and opportunities, Smith said. The study found a number of weaknesses within LIATs human resource functions, specifically low productivity and performance. It also found that the airline was encountering problems in transferring passengers from one aircraft to their connection. The most startling of the findings for him, Smith said, was that the airline used to transport somewhere in the region of 1.2 million people per year, but was only now carrying between approximately 720,000 and 730,000 passengers. CDB Recommendations One of the recommendations coming out the study was for there to be a "dramatic reduction in the level of taxation, which makes up almost half of the total airfare. Citing Barbados as an example, Smith pointed to that country increasing its taxes last year instead of decreasing them, and noted that, while he could not tell Government how to run its fiscal affairs, the tax was "an issue that has to be addressed. He called on Barbados, a major player in the regional aviation system, to lead on this along with Antigua and Barbuda and some of the other countries that are so heavily dependent on LIAT. Smith added: "One of the other issues had to do with the type of manner in which LIAT operated as it related to the schedule. At the present time, there is a significant amount of stopping and starting up the island chain, and one of the recommendations was that LIAT should look now at moving toward a hub-and-spoke-type arrangement. Another recommendation was to widen the shareholding in LIAT so the burden of funding the airline could be eased from the four major shareholders and allow those who benefit to pay their fair share. " There are some countries in this region that get a tremendous amount of LIAT flights and traffic, and they are not paying their fair share but again, that is a political issue, said Smith. The CDB president, a career economist, contended that all of the recommendations would "lead to an improvement in the overall performance of the airline and hopefully also positively impact its financial performance. (Source: Barbados TODAY) LIATs major shareholder governments are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbaos, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.Smith said: "That is a massive drop. So I think we dont need to be airline people to appreciate the impact that has on revenues, and the overheads are what they are, they remain."We know that if we dont have a good aviation system, one that is efficient and effective, it is going to stymie potential growth of those islands, added Smith. PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- For the 31st time, Ingalls Shipbuilding has handed the Navy a new Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyer, the Paul Ignatius (DDG 117). With the Ignatius crew looking on, Ingalls and Navy representatives signed the delivery documents officially transferring ownership of DDG 117 to the Navy during shipboard ceremony Friday morning at the Pascagoula shipyard. Speaking on behalf of the thousands of Ingalls employees who worked on DDG 117, DDG program manager George Nungesser noted that the Ingalls motto of "What you do today matters" aligns well with the new ship's motto of "Always ready, fight on." "As shipbuilders, we always say 'Build it as if your son or daughter will sail on it -- they may. Build it as if your country's freedom depends on it -- it might. Build it as though your pride will always sail the sea in her hull -- it will,'" Nungesser said. "We have our hearts and souls in this ship, and with you. You are always welcome at our shipyard. Fair winds and following seas." The ship is named in honor of former Secretary of the Navy and Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Ignatius. Ignatius' affiliation with the Navy dates back to 1942, when he was commissioned into the Navy after graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Southern California. As a lieutenant, Ignatius served aboard the USS Manila Bay and participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf to liberate the Philippines -- the largest naval battle of World War II. Ignatius served eight years in the John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson administrations, first as Assistant Secretary of the Army, then Under Secretary of the Army, Assistant Secretary of Defense and was named the 59th Secretary of the Navy in 1967. In his remarks, Cmdr. Robbie Trotter, the Ignatius' prospective commanding officer, noted Ignatius was in poor health and unable to attend Friday's ceremony, adding that he would be traveling to visit Ignatius next month. "To the families and crew that eagerly awaits to bring this ship to life, this amazing masterpiee we call Paul Ignatius, I could not have prayed for a better crew, to humbly lead and proudly serve," Trotter said. "I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart." He closed his remarks by leading the crew in their chant "Be the best," then asked them to repeat it in honor of the late Nancy Ignatius, Paul Ignatius' wife and ship sponsor who died last month at the age of 93. "That's what each and every one of you are -- the best," Trotter added. Fabrication on the Ignatius began in October 2015. Keel authentication was done in October 2015 and the ship was launched in November 2016. The ship was christened in April 2017, with both Paul and Nancy Ignatius in attendance. Delivery of a ship to the Navy coincides with the crew moving aboard and continuing training while the shipyard finishes final touches on the ship. The Ignatius is scheduled to depart Ingalls in June, heading for commissioning ceremonies in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., in July, after which the ship will be homeported at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Fla., as part of the Atlantic Fleet. Joseph Gerth The Daily American Nicholas Breiner hadnt even told his family on April 7, 2017, when he came out on Instagram and told the world more particularly, his students that he was bisexual. He spoke up because one of his students, struggling with her own sexuality, had told a friend that she was going to kill herself. I couldnt help but wonder how many students I had that were in a similar situation to that student; feeling completely alone and nearing that irreversible decision, he said recently. Three days after he posted on Instagram, he said he was hauled into his principals office, questioned about his sexuality by a deputy school superintendent, and warned to keep his sexual preferences to himself. A month later, he was told that his contract with the Montgomery County Public Schools was not being renewed. Breiner, who was a choral teacher at J.B.McNabb Middle School in Mount Sterling,thinks he was fired because he is bisexual. The Montgomery superintendent says he was fired because of unrelated job performance issues. Religion: The United Methodist Church will vote on LGBT issues. The outcome could tear it apart 'Sobering reality'LGBT progress report shows gains, but most states still won't grant rights Its impossible to tell why Breiner was fired at McNabb. In a letter a month and a half after he was let go, Superintendent Matthew Thompson wrote him saying it was because of his teaching technique, lack of classroom managementand that he failed to post grades in a timely manner. But Thompson declined to provide items such as annual evaluations from Breiners personnel file that might show if there were ongoing concerns, and there were no letters of reprimand in his file suggesting there was a problem. Even if the school district acknowledged that Breiner was cut loose because hes bisexual, there may not be much, if anything, he can do about it. Kentucky civil rights law doesnt prohibit discrimination against people because of sexual orientation, and Mount Sterling where Breiner taught at McNabb isnt one of 10cities in the state that offers civil rights protections to LGBTQ people. None of that seems likely to change soon, either. State Sen. Morgan McGarvey said the bill hes filed in the Senate that would extend civil rights protections based on sexual orientation statewide probably wont get a hearing. Its doubtful a similar bill in the House will move either. This episode must be chilling for any teacher who, like Breiner, is wrestling with coming out to help students who are struggling with their own sexuality and are perhaps facing parents who just wont accept who their children are. Education: New Jersey to require schools to teach LGBT history Opinion: Our same-sex marriage didn't protect us from housing discrimination that broke our hearts Thats how this whole episode started. Sometime around the end of March of 2017, one of Breiners studentstold him that she was a lesbian and that her parents werent taking it very well. Over spring break of 2017, I received a frantic text from another student who had just received this young ladys suicide note. I rushed out to her house with police and, thankfully, we got to her in time, he said recently. If she knew long before that I, a teacher she liked and had a good relationship with, knew exactly what she was feeling, would she have gotten to that point? Its impossible to knowbut, with the possibility that I could save even a single life, I could no longer ethically stay in the closet. I needed to value my students safety and well-being over my own privacy, he said. So, he hopped on Instagram and posted the message he believes got him fired. Heres what it said: I honestly never intended to come out. Ive known I was bi for years but, as far as I was concerned, that was nobodys business but my own. Its something I have never pursued and, honestly, likely never will. A couple of weeks ago, however, I was working with a person who was struggling. This was partially due to their orientation. I felt that they needed to know there was someone in the room that understood and supported them, regardless of who they were. As terrifying as it was to admit, I had to value someone elses well-being over my own privacy. After a lot of support from people I decided that 30 years was long enough to wait. Hey world, I am what I am. On the first day back to school after spring break, another teacher was sent to monitor Breiners class and he, like a chastened school boy, was sent to the office. I was cautioned about being open with my sexuality in a small Eastern Kentucky town. That a number of parents were concerned that I would be actively trying to change their childrens religious beliefs, he said. Same-sex marriage: Gay marriage is 'parody marriage,' says Kansas bill introduced on eve of Valentine's Day Police: LGBT police officers say they've faced horrible discrimination, and now they're suing Since then, Breiner said he has intervened in 17 cases ofyoung people who were considering suicide, many of whom were conflicted about their sexuality. Some of his former students who are part of the LGBTQ community have urged to him to continue what hes doing, he said. That includes pursuing a federal lawsuit against Montgomery County schools. U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell dismissed a suit he filed against the school system last month, saying that federal law doesnt bar discrimination based on sexual orientation. Hes appealing Caldwells ruling. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled sexual orientation is protected under federal law that bars discrimination based on sex, but the U.S. Supreme Court hasnt weighed in. Breiner found a job working at Tates Creek Middle Schoolin Lexingtonthe following year, but said he was laid off after one year because of budget cuts. Since then, hes been acting professionally and trying to launch a nonprofit acting company. Discrimination: A tax service turned away a gay couple. Both sides claim discrimination Report: LGBTQ families are on the cusp of dramatic growth, and millennials lead the way Adoption: Tennessee bills would allow adoption agencies to deny LGBT couples on religious grounds Follow Joseph Gerth on Twitter: @Joe_Gerth. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky teacher came out as bisexual to stop a student's suicide. Then he got fired NANCY STOPPE The Daily American Psalm 16:9, The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. So far weve read where a king denounced his queen because of her disobedience, a young Jewish girl is crowned in her place, a plot to kill the king was stopped, a plan was devised to kill all the Jews, the new queens cousin receives rewards, and an evil man was hung by the very gallows he built to kill the queens cousin. Whew! Thats a lot to take in, but its not quite over. Once Esther revealed Hamans evil plan, Haman was taken away to be executed that very night. Ahasuerus then realized he had been conned into making an irreversible decree that even demanded the death of his own queen. What a difference a day makes. Haman had been at the top of his career and now was being executed as an enemy of the kings kingdom. Hamans property became the possession of the king, who gave it to Queen Esther. She, in turn, gave it to her cousin Mordecai, placing him in charge of Hamans former estate and Ahasuerus exalted him in the royal court (Esther 8:2, 9:4). There was still a major problem. The decree Haman had set up had to be overridden somehow. According to Persian law, a kings decree could not be reversed. So, Ahasuerus allowed Esther and Mordecai to issue an official counter-decree, enabling the Jews to defend themselves against the enemies that tried to fulfill that decree. When the day came, the Jewish people were ready. Eight hundred ten of their enemies were killed in the town of Shushan and an additional 75,000 were slain throughout the empire. To commemorate such a day of great victory, Mordecai established the feast of Purim that continues to be celebrated to this day. Esthers courageous action had not only saved Mordecais life, but also canceled a decree to destroy the Jews. But the real hero is not Esther, or Mordecai! In fact, the real Hero is never mentioned or even acknowledged. and yet, for those who are believers, we see the hand of God throughout; from the first few verses until the very end. Last Sunday Pastor Brad asked us, Do you believe God is sovereign? I do without a doubt. Ive seen the workings of an all-knowing God work in my own life, and my family. The plans I had when I was young have completely gone awry. But I look at my life, the one I never planned on, and I know that this is where Im supposed to be doing what God wants me to do. There can be no other explanation and the book of Esther reinforces my belief. Esther never dreamed that, out of 25,000,000 women in the Persian Empire, she would wind up being queen. Mordecai never dreamed that he would be exalted before the king and be great among the Jews and well received by his brethren. God knew long before they ever stepped into the town of Shushan what needed to be done and He made it happen. Many will say its all coincidence. God doesnt do coincidences. He has a purpose and a plan for all that happens in your life. When that finally hits you youll never be the same. Last weeks answer: Adonijah, Davids fourth born son. But an intervention, from Bethsheba and the prophet Nathan, prevented his becoming king. David then made the declaration that Solomon would be king. (1 Kings Chapter 1) This weeks question: How long did David reign over Israel? (1 Kings 2:10-12) (Nancy Stoppe of Jenners is affiliated with Jenner Township Baptist Church, Boswell. She can be contacted at stoppe123@comcast.net) Staff reports The Daily American The following preliminary hearings are scheduled before District Judge Douglas McCall Bell in Meyersdale: Driving under the influence Ryan David Cox, 34, Bopp Lane, Summerhill, was charged Feb. 5 with driving under the influence and restrictions on alcoholic beverages. State police were advised on Feb. 4 that there was a motorist driving on Route 219 who was crossing the fog line. Cox was stopped in Salisbury Borough. He refused blood alcohol testing, police said. A hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. March 14. Randy Scott Allison Jr., 30, Bedford Street, Hyndman, was charged Feb. 11 with driving under the influence and abandonment of vehicles. State police said that as Allison was crossing over railroad tracks on Fairhope Road in Fairhope Township on Jan. 12, his vehicle exited the roadway and became stuck. A train was not able to stop before hitting the unoccupied vehicle, which was still running. Allison was picked up at the scene by his mother. His blood alcohol level was 0.21 percent, according to police. A hearing is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. March 14. The following preliminary hearings are scheduled before District Judge Bill Seger in Windber: Driving under the influence State police have charged 42-year-old Jeremy W. ORoark, of Windber, with driving under the influence, failure to drive at a safe speed and careless driving. ORoark, who lives along Clear Shade Drive, crashed his snowmobile along Mount Carmel Drive at approximately 7:15 p.m. Feb. 2. According to the report filed Feb. 8, ORoark failed field sobriety tests. His blood alcohol level was 0.108 percent. A preliminary hearing is set for 11:30 a.m. March 13. Windber Borough police have charged 25-year-old Priscilla Louise Ryman, of Robin Drive in Salix, with driving under the influence, failure to stop at a stop sign and careless driving. In a affidavit filed Feb. 11, police said Ryman was pulled over after nearly colliding with a police cruiser at approximately 12:59 a.m. Feb. 10. She smelled of alcohol, failed field sobriety tests and was taken to the hospital in Windber, where her blood alcohol content was found to be 0.104 percent. Her preliminary hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. March 13. Windber Borough police have charged 24-year-old McKayla Anne Becker, of Dark Shade Drive in Windber, with driving under the influence and failure to meet general lighting requirements. In an affidavit filed Feb. 9, police said that Becker was pulled over early that morning for driving with a malfunctioning headlight. She smelled of alcohol, admitted to drinking and was taken to the hospital in Windber, where her blood alcohol content was found to be 0.138 percent. Beckers preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. March 13. Windber Borough police have charged 27-year-old Kaashif Sadiyg Gantt, of Burkhard Street in Johnstown, with possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. In an affidavit filed Feb. 5, police said Gantt was pulled over for driving erratically at approximately 1:58 a.m. Feb. 2. Baggies of marijuana, marijuana seeds and objects used for smoking marijuana were found in his vehicle. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. March 13. Windber Borough police have charged 23-year-old Cody Harrison, of Hilltop Street in Mineral Point, with possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia. In an affidavit filed Feb. 10, police said Harrison was pulled over early that morning. He smelled of marijuana, and police found a bong in his vehicle as well as a marijuana pipe, a silver grinder and baggies. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:45 a.m. March 13. Windber Borough police have charged 33-year-old Bradley Joshua Weakland, of Somerset Avenue in Windber, with endangering the welfare of children, simple assault and harassment. During a dispute with a woman who was holding a 2-year-old child, Weakland grabbed the childs arm, causing him to fall and injure his lower lip, according to police. The incident occurred at approximately 6:30 p.m. Feb. 6 along Somerset Avenue, and Weakland attempted to flee into the basement of the home when police arrived. His preliminary hearing is set for 9 a.m. April 10. Marijuana possessionEndangering the welfare of children The following preliminary hearings are scheduled before District Judge Ken Johnson in Somerset: Driving under the influence Joshua Michael Kumler, 26, 1st Street, Somerset, was charged Monday with driving under the influence and three summary vehicle code violations. Somerset Borough police said Kumler pulled from a parking area and almost struck a police patrol unit and another vehicle in the 200 block of West Main Street on Jan. 8. Kumler refused chemical testing, police said. A hearing is scheduled at 11:10 a.m. March 19. Gary Brewer, 38, Taylor Road, Friedens, was charged Monday with driving under the influence of a controlled substance, possession with the intent to use drug paraphernalia, namely eight smoking devices and a digital scale, possession of a controlled substance, namely seven unprescribed pills, illegally operating a motor vehicle not equipped with an ignition interlock and four summary vehicle code violations. Somerset Borough police said Brewer drove in the 100 block of West Patriot Street on Jan. 31 with amphetamine, methamphetamine, buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine in his system. A hearing is scheduled at 11:15 a.m. March 19. Flynn Timothy McLaughlin, 22, Havre De Grace, Maryland, was charged Feb. 13 with possession of a small amount of marijuana for personal use, possession with the intent to use drug paraphernalia, namely smoking pipes, a metal grinder and rolling papers, and two summary vehicle code violations. State police stopped McLaughlin for speeding on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Somerset Township Feb. 7. The trooper said she detected an odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle, according to a probable-cause affidavit. A small bag of marijuana and drug paraphernalia were found behind the passenger seat. A hearing is scheduled at 10 a.m. April 16. Drugs Kankakee, IL (60901) Today A few showers early with mostly cloudy conditions later in the day. High 82F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms during the evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Will Blockchain Change the World? There have been many claims about Blockchains potential so where is it going? But lets begin at the definition What is the Blockchain? It is an electronic database, or distributed ledger, of recorded transactions in which new deals are added to the chain and then stamped and protected by means of a complex mathematical equation so that the record cant ever be changed. The distributed bit means the record of transactions is consensually shared and synchronised across multiple nodes (hundreds or thousands of other computers in different companies, institutions, countries) making it (in theory) impossible for any single one of them to tamper with it. These nodes then use their computing power to compete to verify and decode the latest transaction, which is then added as the latest block in the chain. Whats the Idea behind it? The idea is that the blockchain creates a universally verifiable, immutable and public record of all the transactions in the chain. Blockchain is, in effect, a high-tech attempt to answer the question: how can we create enough trust between transacting parties peacefully to exchange things of value? Traditionally, trust has been created via intermediaries such as banks, brokers and, ultimately, governments (and armies). In the case of a distributed (or decentralised) ledger system, the idea is that the need for a central authority is eliminated, since the system is self-reinforcing and self-policing. Moreover, since the records are kept communally in multiple sites, a distributed ledger is much harder to hack into. How is it related to Bitcoin? Blockchain is the technology that bitcoin (and subsequent cryptocurrencies) is built on, and the word blockchain originated with bitcoin developers (although the design concept already existed). The name blockchain was coined because the bitcoin mining transactions coming onto the network were grouped into blocks of data, and then verified and chained together by means of a sophisticated mathematical (or cryptographic) puzzle. This verification element (by means of what is known as a consensus algorithm) is a vital part of the system. In the case of bitcoin, different nodes compete to mine the correct answer to the puzzle, employing intensive computing power and getting some currency as a reward. Hasnt Bitcoin crashed and burned? It depends on your time frame. Compared with a peak of over $17,000 at the height of investors exuberance in December 2017, this weeks level of around $3,400 looks grim. Compared with the original sub-$10 price, it looks remarkable. But at the very least, in the first ten years of its life it has demonstrated remarkable, cockroach-like resilience, argues US legal academic Kevin Werbach, author of The Blockchain and the New Architecture of Trust. Sure, it hasnt become the widespread payment mechanism its early boosters envisioned. But it has (so far) survived all kinds of troubles, including technical problems, developers personality clashes, business disputes and price bubbles/collapses. I expect bitcoin will represent a smaller share of cryptocurrency value in ten years time, but it wont be zero, says Werbach. In the meantime, the underlying blockchain technology has enormous potential. Such As The advertising industry, for example, is working on ways of using blockchain to track advertisements over the Internet; the music industry to track songs. Banks and mortgage firms (and even national land registries) hope to use it to track deeds. Shipping and pharmaceutical firms are examining how to use blockchain to track goods and verify and streamline supply chains. And the financial industry has big hopes for the technology, spending an estimated $1.7bn to date. JPMorgan Chases Jamie Dimon has dismissed bitcoin as a vehicle for hucksters, but says the blockchain is real. His bank is the leading player in the Interbank Information Network, which is applying the technology to cross-border currency transfers. Many analysts think blockchain could transform the administration-intensive fund-management industry. It has the potential to wipe Luxembourg off the map of the fund distribution and administration market, reckons a Deloitte report. Who else is investing? IBM has a whole new division focused on blockchain, as do Accenture and PwC. Energy firms including Royal Dutch Shell, Mercuria and Gunvor, together with finance groups including ING, Societe Generale, Citigroup and ABN Amro, are among the backers of two new blockchain platforms, called Komgo and VAKT, focused on trade financing. The idea is to digitise contracts, letters of credit, invoices and other paperwork whizzing round the world by email, fax and post, and transfer everything on to the Ethereum blockchain platform instead, and that that will lead to big wins in terms of cost and speed. Who is Sceptical? The voices of sceptics have grown louder as real-world applications remain in the early stages and/or have not lived up to the hype. Nouriel Roubini, the Dr Doom professor famed for predicting the 2008 crisis, reckons the versions of blockchain being developed by responsible firms and governments are not really blockchain, since they require permissioned access and centralised authorities to oversee them. Blockchain itself he derides as nothing more than a glorified spreadsheet and the most overhyped, and least useful, technology in human history. His detractors in computing science suggest he doesnt actually understand the technology. The truth, of course, is that the blockchain revolution (if, in fact, it exists) remains in its infancy. Along the way there will be huge failures, massive wasted investments and no shortage of scams, argues Andrew Ross Sorkin in The New York Times. But a decade from now its more likely than not that blockchain will be embedded in our day-to-day lives in ways that, today, we cant even imagine. MoneyWeek: You Might Also Read: Blockchain Applications For Identity Verification: Eugene Crow, age 91, of Cullman, went home to be with his Lord on Saturday, June 19, 2021. He was born June 13, 1930 to Felix and Pearl Stowe Crowe. He was preceded in death by his loving wife Irene, his parents, two brothers and a sister. Mr. Crow served his country and is a veteran of The The arrest of former Alabama Senate Majority leader Zeb Little followed a grand jury indictment involving three counts of first-degree theft of property for stealing more than $25,000 of client trust funds, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall confirmed Friday. According to a release from Marshalls office, Little, 50, an attorney, was indicted by a Cullman County grand jury on three counts of felony theft of property. Little surrendered to the Cullman County Sheriffs Office Thursday and was released on a $15,000 bond. Following an investigation by the Cullman Police Department and the Attorney Generals Office, Marshalls Criminal Trials Division presented evidence to a Cullman County grand jury on February 11, resulting in the three-count indictment. Specifically, the indictment charges Little, a Cullman native who lives in Tuscaloosa, with three counts of first-degree theft of property for stealing a combined total of more than $25,000 of client trust funds. The AGs release stated that no further information about the investigation or about the defendants alleged crimes other than that stated in the indictment may be released at this time. If convicted, Little faces a potential penalty of two to 20 years on each theft of property count. First-degree theft of property is a class B felony. Little served in the Senate for 12 years beginning in 1998, and he served as the majority leader from 2002 until 2010. The Capt. Hugh Mulzac - the latest addition to the fleet of the SVG Coast Guard service, at the Cruise Ship Terminal last Monday. There should be more information on the life of Captain Hugh Mulzac available to students here. {{ Vincentian Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves advanced this view last Monday at the Cruise Ship Berth in capital Kingstown, during his address at a ceremony to mark the commissioning of the Capt. Hugh Mulzac, the latest addition to the fleet of the SVG Coast Guard. He also suggested that copies of Mulzacs autobiography, A Star to steer by, be made available, and that it should be ensured a privileged place in the literary environment here. The new Capt. Hugh Mulzac, in fact, replaced the original Mulzac which was commissioned in 1987 and de-commissioned in 2019. In all, some $18 million was spent to purchase and retrofit the vessel; for training as it relates to maintenance and general operation of the vessel; and for work at the Coast Guard base at Calliaqua. According to Dr. Gonsalves, the undertaking was financed by government. "Nobody gave us anything. We have invested in this ourselves, he quipped. He justified the need for a proper patrol vessel, in light of the wide marine area within this countrys jurisdiction, and positioned the acquisition of the vessel in context of the need for "more Coast Guard surveillance. The 140-foot craft is equipped with modern technological equipment, rendering it adequate for many a marine operation. In addition to its essential role in law enforcement, there is the capability for fisheries protection, disaster response and medical evacuation. But the Prime Minister returned to the significance of the occasion, saying, "There is need for more Coast Guard surveillance. more}}Dr. Gonsalves regards the vessel as "impressive, and as having a place in the framework of national development which promotes: education of the wider population to cater for the new areas of technology; infrastructural upgrade with projects like the airports in Canouan and Argyle; and expansion and diversification of the agricultural sector, with initiatives like the medicinal cannabis industry; and expansion in fisheries.Also addressing last Mondays ceremony was Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves; Executive Director of the Regional Security System Captain Errington Shurland; and Alan Borde, Area Manager Caribbean from Damen Shipyards Gorinchem, suppliers of the vessel. Before Natalie Torranto qualified for the states Medicare Savings Program three years ago, the former nurse used to skip her chemotherapy pills every other day. Now, the program covers her health care premiums and leukemia drugs, which cost more than $600 a month. The Easton woman doesnt have to decide between paying for medication and buying vegetables at the market, she said. For up-to-date information on public policy issues, sign up for the CT Politics newsletter. But Torranto, 84, is worried. Lawmakers soon will decide if they want agree with Gov. Ned Lamont and remove this help from about 18,000 of Connecticuts elderly. The cut would save the state $25.6 million in the second year of the biennial budget set to start on July1. Its one of the very few reductions in Lamonts budget, and by no means an easy sell. Lawmakers have united in bipartisan opposition to reductions in eligibility for the Medicare Savings Program. I would much rather try to find other ways to account for that (money) in the budget than MSP, said Matt Ritter, the House majority leader. Lamonts budget would implement an asset test for the Medicare Savings Program, which helps people 65 and older afford their health care costs. Effective in July 2020, individuals with $7,560 in their checking or savings accounts, stocks or bonds would be excluded from the Department of Social Services program. The asset cap would be $11,340 for a family. Some assets, like someones home, one car, a burial plot and personal items would not be counted. Torranto believes she would be kicked off the program. If they set asset limits at those small amounts, none of us will be able to qualify, so we will be using up any monies we have set aside to take care of ourselves and then were ultimately going to be wards of the state, she said. My assets will go very fast, and somebody else is going to have to pay for my medication and whatnot. Melissa McCaw, secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, said Lamont struggled over whether to propose the asset test. Connecticut is one of eight states that does not have one, she said. State operations were already lean when Lamont took office, so the Greenwich cable entrepreneur had few easy penny-pinching measures options. The biggest savings in Lamonts budget comes from asking unionized state employees for more concessions, reamortizing underfunded teacher pensions and shifting some of the pensions costs to towns. Those concessions and cost shifting could save the state about $180 million each in fiscal year 2020, and the pension smoothing will save the state from a multi-billion-dollar liability projected for just a few years out. Trimming state spending by cutting the Medicare Savings Program was tried by lawmakers in 2017, as they battled to pass the last state budget. But the reduction, which would have affected more than 90,000 elderly, prompted so much outcry from Connecticut seniors that it was easily reversed by the General Assembly, even after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy vetoed the measure in attempt to force legislators to reckon with the states growing deficit. Lawmakers voted to take millions from the teachers retirement account, Department of Administrative Services and other areas of state spending to replenish the funds for this program. Adding an asset test to the program has been proposed before by lawmakers and never made it out of committee, said Sen. Marilyn Moore, D-Bridgeport, who chairs the Human Services committee, which must approve Lamonts proposal first. She predicted with the governors support, this year might be different, however. If it works in other places and people arent being hurt by it, I think we should take a really good look at it, Moore said. Even with an asset test, the states program will still be generous, McCaw said, because the income threshold to qualify for the program is high, compared to most states. That may be true, but Connecticuts cost of living is higher than that of most other states, said Rep. Susan Johnson, D-Willimantic. She worried without this assistance, people would be forced to sell their homes. Sen. George Logan, R-Ansonia is open to an asset test, but is worried the $7,500 cap was too low. Reducing access to the Medicare Savings Program may end up increasing Connecticuts overall Medicare spending, said Marie Allen, executive director of the Southwestern Connecticut Agency on Aging and Independent Living. More seniors may end up hospitalized or in nursing homes, which come with an even bigger Medicare price tag, if they cannot afford their medications or preventive care. Connecticut successfully reduced costs, and in many cases, increased benefits for lower to middle-income Medicare recipients through the Medicare Savings Program, said Nora Duncan, Connecticut director of AARP, which opposes the asset test. It was the result of significant negotiations, designed to reduce state budget expenditures and maximize federal dollars. The Medicare eligibility process is already lengthy, Allen said. Adding an asset test may increase the time before a senior can access benefits and receive care. McCaw said the implementation delay until the second-year budget starts on July 1, 2020, is to give the state time to implement new technology to accurately and quickly assess the needs of applicants. emunson@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson This is a moment of great peril for our democracy. Our country is deeply divided. Our national discourse has become coarse, indeed, poisonous. Disunity and dysfunction have paralyzed Congress. And while our attention is focused inward, the world spins on, new authoritarian regimes are born, old rivals spread their pernicious ideologies, and the space for freedom-loving peoples begins violently to contract. At last week's Munich Security Conference, the prevailing sentiment among our closest allies is that the United States can no longer be counted on to champion liberal democracy or defend the world order we built. For the past two years, we have examined Russia's interference in the 2016 election and its attempts to influence the 2018 midterms. Moscow's effort to undermine our democracy was spectacularly successful in inflaming racial, ethnic and other divides in our society and turning American against American. But the attack on our democracy had its limits. Russian President Vladimir Putin could not lead us to distrust our own intelligence agencies or the FBI. He could not cause us to view our own free press as an enemy of the people. He could not undermine the independence of the Justice Department or denigrate judges. Only we could do that to ourselves. Although many forces have contributed to the decline in public confidence in our institutions, one force stands out as an accelerant, like gas on a fire. And try as some of us might to avoid invoking the arsonist's name, we must say it. I speak, of course, of our president, Donald Trump. The president has just declared a national emergency to subvert the will of Congress and appropriate billions of dollars for a border wall that Congress has explicitly refused to fund. Whether you support the border wall or oppose it, you should be deeply troubled by the president's intent to obtain it through a plainly unconstitutional abuse of power. To my Republican colleagues: When the president attacked the independence of the Justice Department by intervening in a case in which he is implicated, you did not speak out. When he attacked the press as the enemy of the people, you again were silent. When he targeted the judiciary, labeling judges and decisions he didn't like as illegitimate, we heard not a word. And now he comes for Congress, the first branch of government, seeking to strip it of its greatest power, that of the purse. Many of you have acknowledged your deep misgivings about the president in quiet conversations over the past two years. You have bemoaned his lack of decency, character and integrity. You have deplored his fundamental inability to tell the truth. But for reasons that are all too easy to comprehend, you have chosen to keep your misgivings and your rising alarm private. That must end. The time for silent disagreement is over. You must speak out. This will require courage. The president is popular among your base, who revel in his vindictive and personal attacks on members of his own party, even giants such as the late Sen. John McCain. Speaking up risks a primary challenge or accusations of disloyalty. But such acts of independence are the most profound demonstrations of loyalty to country. Special counsel Robert Mueller III may soon conclude his investigation and report. Depending on what is in that report and what we find in our own investigations, our nation may face an even greater challenge. While I am alarmed at what we have already seen and found of the president's conduct and that of his campaign, I continue to reserve judgment about what consequences should flow from our eventual findings. I ask you to do the same. If we cannot rise to the defense of our democracy now, in the face of a plainly unconstitutional aggrandizement of presidential power, what hope can we have that we will do so with the far greater decisions that could be yet to come? Although these times pose unprecedented challenges, we have been through worse. The divisions during the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement were just as grave and far more deadly. The Depression and World War II were far more consequential. And nothing can compare to the searing experience of the Civil War. If Abraham Lincoln, the father of the Republican Party, could be hopeful that our bonds of affection would be strained but not broken by a war that pitted brother against brother, surely America can come together once more. But as long as we must endure the present trial, history compels us to speak, and act, our conscience, Republicans and Democrats alike. - - - Schiff, a Democrat, represents California's 28th Congressional District in the House and is chairman of the Intelligence Committee. Welcome to Green Entrepreneur's video recap of the cannabis news you might have missed this week, hosted by our cannabis correspondent, Conrad Martin. Cannabis is on the way to becoming legal in NYC and bodegas want to be able to sell and distribute cannabis when it does. While some experts note the increased risk of robbery and sale to minors, advocates say the move would prevent big businesses from monopolizing. Imagine a world where you can get a chopped cheese and an eighth - all in one stop! Related: Mayor de Blasio's Vision for Legal Cannabis in New York City The University of Michigan offers a serious cannabis class If you're interested in a serious cannabis education, head to the University of Michigan. U of M's PharmSci 420 course aims to educate students on the biology, chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, epidemiology and pharmacokinetics of cannabis. No sleeping in that class Related: A University in Michigan Is Offering a Bachelor Degree for Marijuana Entrepreneurs Bud and beauty aim to make it big And who says that bud isn't beautiful? Big beauty and makeup brands are throwing their hats in the ring as companies like Sephora and Neimann Marcus begin retailing CBD infused products. Analysts say the trend could drive the CBD market from a 50 billion dollar industry to a 100 billion dollar outlook. Related: Take the Chemical-free Route With These Natural Skincare Brands Be sure to keep up with all things cannabiz by checking out GreenEntrepreneur.com If you missed the last episode, check it out here: High End Hemp! Related: This Week in Weed: Bodegas Want Bud! This Week in Weed: High End Hemp! This Week in Weed: New York City Cracks Down! Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved In November, our country mourned when George H.W. Bush died following a battle with a form of Parkinson's disease. It was then that the nation was also introduced to the president's beloved service dog, Sully, after a photo of him lying next to Bush's casket went viral. Thursday morning, the heroic Labrador retriever made an appearance on the "Today" show alongside his namesake Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger who bravely landed a plane in the Hudson River in New York City after both engines were disabled. A tearful Jenna Bush Hager explained that her grandfather was hoping to meet the retired airline pilot last summer in Maine but couldn't when his health began to decline. "This is not supposed to be the first time. My grandpa was such an admirer of yours," Bush Hagar said. "He was regretful that he didn't get to shake your hand." Moments later, the captain shook the paw of Sully, which made Hoda Kotb instantly grab for a tissue. After talking about the captain's love of dogs, Bush Hagar had her two daughters, Mila and Poppy, come on and play with Sully as they discussed what the 2-year-old Lab is doing nowadays. As Kotb mentioned on the show, Sully will start work next week at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centers Facilities Dog Program in Maryland. Immediately after the president's death, he reportedly went back to Americas VetDogs in Smithtown, New York, for a temporary stay throughout the holiday season. It was also previously revealed that Sully was going to be working with two facility dogs Sgt. Dillon and Sgt. Truman that provide therapy to wounded soldiers (some recovering from amputations) and active duty personnel. All in all, it's good to know that Sully appears to be doing what he can to bring a smile to those who need it most just like he did for our former president. Connecticuts trucking industry is cautiously watching a recent slowdown in activity that follows a highly successful 2018, because it could be a harbinger of economic slowdown. Freight hauling, truck orders and trailer orders all declined in November and December. And while January numbers crawled back up just a bit, theres reason to think about whether those numbers are a sign of a coming recession for the state, said Joe Sculley, president of the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut. What made us start watching was the monthly tonnage numbers at the end of 2018 after having a really good January through October [of 2018], Sculley said. November and December, they both took a step backward. Our industry is always on the front end of whatever is about to happen economically, good or bad. Sculley and officials from the American Trucking Associations said the recent performance may be just a moderation of unsustainable 20-year-high numbers over the prior 12 months. But since most consumer products and commercial materials spend a lot of time in trucks, the industry is often seen as an economic indicator. If less goods are being hauled around the country, an economic slump could be ahead. The next few months will tell a lot about the regional economic conditions, Sculley said. If there is an economic slowdown, generally consumer spending declines if theres not enough money in the economy for consumers and businesses to buy things, and thats less freight to be moved, Sculley said. If truck orders are being canceled, that means fleets are realizing they wont have the freight to move. Connecticut has about 60,000 people employed in the trucking industry, including drivers, technicians, safety officials, dispatchers and other roles. Overall trucking performance in 2018 was at a level not seen since the late-1990s economic boom. After monthly declines in both November and December, tonnage snapped back in January, American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a statement Feb. 19. I was very pleased to see this rebound. But we should expect some moderation in tonnage this year as most of the key sectors that generate truck freight tonnage are expected to decelerate. The ATA measures tonnage based on reports from member associations, and monthly reports are available on the ATAs website. In Connecticut, 94 percent of manufactured goods are moved by truck. Costello said freight numbers rose 6.6 percent overall in 2018, higher than the 3.8 percent gain in 2017. November, December and January were all down compared to prior months, but they also all beat performance from the 2017-18 winter. The good news is that 2018 was a banner year for truck tonnage, witnessing the largest annual increase weve seen in two decades, Costello wrote last month. With that said, there is evidence that the industry and economy is moderating as tonnage fell a combined total of 5.6 percent in October and November after hitting an all-time high in October. Marouane Mahamid thought long and hard before he applied to come to the University of Bridgeport to study analytics intelligence. The U.S. was not on my map, Mahamid admitted recently. He thought about Europe so much closer to his home in Morocco. His parents worried about their son coming to the Unites States. It was such a big investment. But the one-year MBA program he was offered at UB was too good to pass up. Mahamid arrived five months ago, and said he has no regrets. He is not alone in thinking long and hard about taking the plunge and studying in America. Overall, international enrollment at U.S. colleges and universities was still higher in 2018 than it was in 2017, with more than one million students from abroad studying here. But the number of first-time undergraduates nationwide has declined by 6.6 percent, according to the Institute of International Education, which keeps track. It is not one factor its a mixture of things, Allan Goodman, president and CEO of the institute, said in releasing the latest statistics last fall. A survey conducted at 500 U.S. universities found some students were hampered from coming to America by delayed visas, some had concerns about the social and political climate and worried they would feel unwelcome. For others, cost and growing competition from other countries were things to consider. International students have more choices than ever before, Goodman said. The drop-off of international students at U.S. colleges is not universal, Goodman added. For every institution that saw a decline last year, another had an increase. Some universities have stepped up recruitment efforts, worked to boost visibility, provided more scholarships and more outreach. Others are turning to domestic students to fill the void. Bucking the trend In Connecticut, the overall number of international students slipped, according to state figures, although top institutions like Yale and the University of Connecticut continue to see solid gains. There were 11,215 international students studying at Connecticut colleges and universities in 2018, compared to 11,438 in 2017, according to state figures. At Yale, according to the state Office of Higher Education, there were 2,775 students enrolled as of the fall of 2018 up from 2,639 the year before. Those fall 2018 figures represent the largest international student enrollment in Yales history, representing 123 countries and more than 22 percent of the universitys overall population, according to the Ivy League schools website. International students continue to want to experience the extraordinary education and support they receive at the Ivy campus, said Tom Conroy, a Yale spokesman. At Yale, Ph.D. students are fully supported, receiving a full tuition scholarship, stipend, and health insurance, Conroy said. International undergraduates are eligible for the same need-based financial aid as students from the United States. The University of Connecticut, meanwhile, had 4,030 international students in the Fall of 2018, according to the state. In 2017, there were 3,851. UConns growth in international students is driven by a strong increase in new undergraduates from China, according to Stephanie Reitz, a spokeswoman for the university. Of 1,788 undergraduate students from other countries, 1,607 are from China. That includes about 400 Chinese students who came to UConn in the fall of 2018 as freshmen. Weve found that those from China have usually become interested in UConn through word of mouth, Reitz said. A decade ago, UConns total international enrollment was at 1,585. Decline at UB Contrasting those gains were dips at UB, Sacred Heart University in Fairfield and Quinnipiac University in Hamden. UB, which for decades has relied on international students as it worked to rebuild after nearly closing in 1991, still has the third highest number of student from other countries in Connecticut with 841. That, however, is 32 percent less than the 1,235 it had in the fall of 2017. The biggest decline is among international graduate students at UB. The universitys overall fall enrollment for all students, foreign and domestic, stood at 5,485 or 51 more students than it had in fall 2017. Jason Rivera, UBs new vice president for University Systems, Effectiveness and Planning, said competition from other institutions more than Trump era international rules are to blame for the international shift on his campus. Everyone is realizing (international students) benefit everyone else on campus, said Rivera. With domestic college-age students still on the decline, more universities are recruiting international students who generally have a higher ability to pay he said. Likewise, UB is focusing more aggressively on domestic students by adding programs in nursing and other fields. Our recruitment policies are the same, Rivera said. We want to keep international enrollment as strong as we can, but we are starting to look at how and where we recruit more carefully. For Mahamid, coming to study in the U.S., even for a year, was a big investment. But he said it will pay off with a good job when he returns to his country in July. I would encourage friends to come, definitely, yes, Mahamid said. So would Yasmine Bouziane, another student from Morocco, who has been at UB since August 2017. She called it the best decision of her life. An accounting major, Bouzaine said she chose the U.S. for three reasons: its cultural diversity, the reputation of a U.S. education, and the exposure she hoped to get to professional leaders. Choosing to study in the U.S. wasnt a hard decision, she said. Even getting a visa, she said, wasnt all that complicated. OK, a little overwhelming, she added. Well, nothing is easy to get you should work hard to get it, Neither UB student said they pay too much attention to what is going on in Washington. When Donald Trump became president two years ago, the warning bells were sounded at UB and other institutions that rely heavily on international students. Students have received reassuring letters from university officials ever since, telling them they will be OK. When the U.S. Supreme Court denied the constitutional challenge to the Trump travel ban in June, Yale issued a statement saying it could hurt the universitys ability to recruit the worlds most talented individuals and carry out its teaching, research and scholarship mission. Yales international student population has increased by more than 50 percent over the past decade. At Sacred Heart, where overall enrollment was up 4.9 percent last fall, spokeswoman Deborah Noack said the university doesnt consider the decline in international student population an issue. We had an uptick for a couple years, because of an influx of students from two countries (Saudi Arabia and India) and now are numbers have settled back to where they usually are, she said. Conservationist Diana Beresford-Kroeger goes to all lengths to get the message of loving the planet out to the world and she has chosen Adventure Canada as her latest vessel, travelling from Canada back to her roots on the Ireland Circumnavigation voyage to spread knowledge from ancient Celtic wisdom to using botany and biochemistry to combat climate change, according to a press release. Adventure Canada has just confirmed the partnership between Irish-born internationally renowned botanist, biochemist, and author, who will sail alongside guests on the new Ireland Circumnavigation, June 920, 2019, on Adventure Canada's Ocean Endeavour. Highlights of the expedition include sailing past the Skellig Islands (featured in the The Last Jedi), touring the Dingle Peninsula, visiting Giants Causeway and exploring the huge Rock of Cashel, an extensive historic site featuring Celtic art and medieval architecture. The expedition will also include the Ring of Kerry, as well as castles, cathedrals, national parks, Irish pubs, vibrant cities and villages, and the dramatic Cliffs of Moherwhich are up to two hundred metres tall and featured in The Princess Bride. Guests will also visit Tory Island, a remote island inhabited by a small Gaelic community of fewer than two hundred people. Beresford-Kroeger will bring with her a unique combination of western scientific training and an understanding of a wide variety of traditional and alternative sources of knowledge to the voyage Beresford-Kroeger accomplishments include the discovery of cathodoluminescence, an optical and electromagnetic phenomenon, in biological materials. From 1973 to 1982, she conducted research at the University of Ottawa physiology department in conjunction with the Ottawa Heart Institute, specializing in hemodynamics. Aboard the Ireland Circumnavigation, Beresford-Kroeger will conduct presentations about Irelands plants and nature as well as her lifes work. She will also be on hand throughout the voyage to chat with guests during mealtimes and on deck between sailings from place to place Ponant has announced partnership with the Aldabra Clean Up Project to combat plastic pollution and preserve the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles as well as raise awareness in the global community, the company said. Ponant and the Aldabra Clean Up Project will work together to eliminate the tons of plastic waste that have washed ashore. The beach clean-up project will begin on February 22, 2019. As the foundations main sponsor, Ponant said it has committed to providing the necessary resources to ensure a successful program and monitoring the operational logistics throughout the project. The companies will also launch an awareness campaign on the importance of marine environmental protection among the local communities and worldwide. The Aldabra Clean Up Project will carry out scientific research quantifying the environmental threats that plastics impose on these island ecosystems, which will then be utilized in promoting positive measures to reduce marine pollution. Ponant will also organize beach clean-up excursions for its guests encouraging travelers to become ambassadors for responsible tourism, the company said. The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. Corsicana, TX (75110) Today Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. High near 90F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Variable clouds with thunderstorms, especially overnight. Low 73F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Corsicana, TX (75110) Today Partly cloudy in the morning followed by scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. High around 90F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms before midnight. Low 73F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. 100% Website traveltofethiye.co.uk uses latest and advanced technologies like: Boostrap. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 77362 bytes (75.55 kb uncompressed) and 15976 bytes (15.60 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-04-24, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. 100% Website coolmusicz.com uses latest and advanced technologies like: Php. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 136283 bytes (133.09 kb uncompressed) and 28932 bytes (28.25 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-04-26, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. 80% Website asahiest.jp uses latest and advanced technologies. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 25403 bytes (24.81 kb uncompressed) and 4910 bytes (4.79 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-03-01, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. 100% Website 99tshirts.com uses latest and advanced technologies. It is very popular on the web, it's within the 1 million most visited websites of the world at position 494622 by Alexa. It supports HTTPS. The main html page has a size of 280 bytes (0.27 kb uncompressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2020-12-04, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. CoreSite has expanded its Washington DC campus with a new colocation data center. The new 25,000 square foot facility in downtown Washington connects via high-count dark fiber to CoreSites DC1 data center, one of the companys key interconnection hubs on the East Coast, as well as to its Reston campus in Northern Virginia. The addition of our DC2 data center increases our robust ecosystem to serve customers with one of the most inter-connected data center campuses in Washington D.C., said Juan Font, CoreSites SVP of General Management. The addition of this facility to our D.C. campus delivers large scale and efficient data center design that enables local enterprises and government agencies to solve for mission critical, performance-sensitive hybrid cloud applications, as well as serving as a diverse point of interconnection to Northern Virginia submarkets." 02/22/2019 Photo (c) stevanovicigor - Getty Images Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn had a dire warning for his constituents. EMERGENCY ALERT, he posted. BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAD INBOUND TO TAMPA BAY AREA. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. It was not a drill, but it also wasn't real. The emergency alert was part of a thread of 60 some-odd posts on Buckhorns Twitter account that also included racist messages, child pornography, and a bomb threat against the Tampa International Airport. Buckhorn is now back online and thanking Twitter for kicking the hackers out of his account. Tampa police said that the threats were not credible and are currently investigating how the hackers managed to obtain Buckhorns password. In case anyone was still confused, the mayors spokesman sent out a news release yesterday telling followers that the Twitter posts were clearly not Mayor Buckhorn. Porn site visitors Are you using a secret credit card to subscribe to premium access on a porn site? Make sure the password is secret too. Security researchers are warning that user login details on porn websites have become a popular target for hackers, who then resell the information on the Dark Web. The New Kaspersky lab counted nearly 850,000 attempts to access user login info on PornHub and XNXX. There is a market for those details on the Dark Web, where some hackers may simply want to enjoy premium porn subscriptions bankrolled by a stranger. But others may use those login details to access credit card information. The attackers obtain passwords with fake videos connected to malware, so the researchers say that users should be careful to avoid any videos that dont seem to fit on the site. In some cases, even people that dont have premium accounts have been targeted. "Users of adult-content websites should keep in mind that such malware can remain unnoticed on a victims device for a long time, spying on their private actions and allowing others to do the same, without logging the user out so as not to arouse their suspicion," researchers told The Sun newspaper. The University of Washington Medical Center Someone in Seattle just wanted to do an innocent Google search on the name of a person they had met. Instead, the search led to the stranger's medical records. Megan Flory told the local news that she and a friend were able to access the medical records of strangers through Google searches in December. The records belonged to the University of Washington Medical Center, the county hospital. It clearly said it was UW Medicine, Flory recounted. She said she found as many 120 names through the Google search, revealing a list of people who had taken tests for HIV. The test results were not published. Flory says she immediately reported the breach to UW Medicine. The hospital is just now reportedly distributing letters to patients. Officials estimate that 974,000 people are affected by the breach. But hospital staff told KIRO 7 that the breached information did not contain medical records, patient financial information, or social security numbers. UW Medicine became aware of a vulnerability on a website server that made protected internal files available and visible by search on the internet on Dec. 4, 2018, a spokesman told the local news. Medical records are a popular target for hackers. A counseling center in Kentucky recently discovered that 16,000 patients records were accessed, and an American who had lived in Singapore is currently facing criminal charges for allegedly leaking a government-run HIV patient database online there. Arizona businesses A payment processor that works with numerous business in the Tucson area was hacked, potentially exposing the credit information of customers who shopped at Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch, Karichimaka, Tucson Truck Terminal, or Voyager RV Resort, among other potential business. People who notice anything suspicious are urged to contact a local hotline. Danville, IL (61832) Today Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 84F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely in the evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms later on. Low near 70F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Columbia, MO (65201) Today Rain in the morning. Scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High around 80F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. One week after the City of THON took over Happy Valley, another Penn State holiday is coming to town State Pattys Day. Nearly a dozen years after the holiday first began in 2007, businesses have learned to embrace the holiday rather than run away from it. For the first time, Mclanahan's Downtown Market will be putting its new bar area to the test during the popular drinking holiday. General Manager Jim French said its a mystery how many people will walk through the double doors of the store. French highlighted two enticements that he expects will draw a younger crowd to visit Mclanahans. Theres one thing on a busy weekend when its a self-serve beer tap, you dont have to wait for a bartender, French said. Its also economical in that you dont have to tip the bartender. The establishment is not creating any specials for the weekend. General Manager Jim French explained that with its year-round cheap prices, there is no need for discounts. Thats for the other bars to do, French said. Were a low price every single day. Having helped the store with every State Pattys Day in the past, French has noticed a pattern of an influx of out-of-town guests. The versatility for the store encourages visitors to stop by for necessities. Its a destination for groceries, dairy, frozen, he said. If youre going to have people overnight you need something to serve for breakfast. The Family Clothesline on the west end of Downtown State College is selling green and white apparel for the holiday as a way to cater to the wants of customers. RELATED Apparel includes shirts, socks and necklaces fit for any leprechaun or just locals celebrating the State College tradition. Though he did not work at the store 12 years ago, from his time at the store, Chief Operating Officer Pat Diemert doesnt remember a time when the green apparel didnt take over a corner of the store. The interest [in the apparel] has been moderate to positive, Diemert said. We are a Penn State apparel slash fan shop and our role is to make available products our customers are interested in. For Penn State senior Cali Wojciechowski, this year is her first State Pattys Day as a 21-year-old student and her excitement was clear by her widened eyes and large smile. Though she will be out-of-town the night before, Wojciechowski (senior-advertising) plans to be back for the festivities to meet up with friends before attending several daylongs. Then [I plan to] take a nap and eat dinner. Then off to two or three bars to hop around, she said, laughing. Considering it was her last year at Penn State, Wojciechowski bought a holiday shirt via Upmerch, a custom clothing website. They sent me a $50 gift card to UBER that said Dont drink and drive, so Im really into that, she said. Wojciechowskis shirt is bright green with an Adidas-inspired logo. She also plans to buy a second shirt downtown, most likely buying a crop top with specifically-placed shamrocks. On Feb. 21, the Student Programming Association's Edventures committee announced it will run a bus trip to New York City next month. The trip will run on March 16, and students will be able to choose to either attend the Broadway musical, "The Phantom of the Opera," or visit The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The bus for this trip will depart University Park at 6 a.m. and return on March 17 at 12:30 a.m. The tickets will be on sale for $10 with a Penn State student ID in the HUB Robeson Center on Feb. 27 from 12:30 p.m. until 2 p.m. Tickets for this event will be available until sold out. 15 SHOWS February 22, 2021 10.00 am Bazaar Corporate Radar Bazaar Corporate Radar is your window into the minds of top CEOs, Boardrooms, global economists, fund managers and sector analysts. If it?s making news, you?ll find it on Bazaar Corporate Radar. A picture taken on December 30, 2018, shows a line of US military vehicles in Syria's northern city of Manbij. The Trump administration, which abruptly announced in December that it was pulling out of Syria, said Thursday that it will keep 200 U.S. troops in the country for now. "A small peace keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for period of time," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a one-sentence statement. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who had harshly criticized Trump's decision to pull U.S. forces out of Syria, applauded the president's decision to leave a few hundred as part of an "international stabilizing force." Graham said it will ensure that Turkey will not get into a conflict with Syrian Democratic Forces, which helped the United States fight Islamic State militants. Turkey views Kurdish members of the SDF as terrorists. Moreover, Graham said leaving a small force in Syria will serve as a check on Iranian ambitions and help ensure that IS fighters do not try to return. "A safe zone in Syria made up of international forces is the best way to achieve our national security objectives of continuing to contain Iran, ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS, protecting our Turkish allies, and securing the Turkish border with Syria," Graham said. Trump's decision to pull 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, which he initially said would be rapid but later slowed down, shocked U.S. allies and angered the Kurds in Syria, who are vulnerable to attack by Turkey. It also prompted the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and drew criticism in Congress. Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, called the decision a "betrayal of our Kurdish partners." Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro takes part in a video conference with members of the military in Caracas, Venezuela February 21, 2019. President Nicolas Maduro has announced the closure of Venezuela's border crossings with Brazil, as part of a sustained bid to prevent tens of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid flowing into the country. Political tensions in Venezuela are reaching boiling point, with the poverty-stricken nation in the midst of the Western Hemisphere's worst humanitarian crisis in recent memory. Speaking in a televised address from the country's largest military base in Caracas on Thursday, Maduro said the border with Brazil would be "completely and absolutely" closed until further notice. The embattled socialist leader also said Thursday he would consider an imminent shutdown of the country's border with Colombia. "It is better to prevent than regret," Maduro said. The move comes less than 48 hours before an opposition-led plan to deliver aid from collection points in neighboring countries. Brazil's government, which recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's rightful interim president, had pledged to assist with a delivery effort over the weekend. The United States is in "good shape" as it races to establish dominance in 5G wireless technology, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr told CNBC on Friday. The U.S. is facing stiff competition to build the networks before Chinese companies do. "We are really on the cusp of some significant technological breakthroughs, and it's happening at the right time because we are getting our regulations right as well," Carr said on "Squawk Alley." President Donald Trump brought renewed attention on the issue Thursday, after tweeting that he wants "5G, and even 6G technology" in the U.S. and that "American companies must step up their efforts." TWEET 1 tweet 2 However, 6G technology doesn't exist. When asked about such a thing, Carr who was appointed by Trump as FCC commissioner in 2017 did not specifically address 6G but said there has been a lot of talk about the "next generation platform." And 5G is a big piece of that, he noted. "There are other technologies on the horizon as well. There's a new generation of low-Earth orbit satellites that are coming online. The wired broadband networks are being upgraded as well," he said. "We are focused on getting the regulatory playing field right and then letting the private sector deploy whatever new broadband technologies that they can." The government is counting on the private sector to win the global 5G race. Carr said the government has already cut a "couple billion dollars in red tape," particularly on the infrastructure side, to help providers along. That's important, he said, because China is able to "snap its fingers" and deploy new networks "virtually overnight" because it has a different economic system. However, he's confident the U.S. can win. "We won the race to 4G by doing exactly that, getting the government of the way. We are doubling down on those efforts right now as we make this push to 5G." The United States and China are discussing a late March meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida, according to sources familiar with the situation. Sources also confirmed to CNBC that China has committed to buying up to $1.2 trillion in U.S. goods, though the two sides remain far apart on issues concerning the forced transfer of intellectual property. The summit would be at Trump's Mar-a-Lago golf club in Palm Beach, Florida. Representatives for the two nations resumed overall trade discussions on Tuesday, and follow-up sessions at a higher level began Thursday. Current talks between the two nations are aimed at "achieving needed structural changes in China that affect trade between the United States and China," the White House said in a statement earlier this week. The Trump administration is led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, a vocal advocate of pressing China to end practices that the U.S. says include intellectual property violations. Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Friday as China and the U.S. end another week of trade talks. Liu has been named special envoy to China's Jinping, meaning he has the authority to negotiate directly on trade matters with the U.S. Any meeting between Trump and Xi in March would follow their dinner in Argentina in December and come amid a prolonged tit-for-tat trade dispute between the world's two largest economies. Both nations have slapped tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of goods, adding to global economic growth fears as well as worries about ripple effects in key supply chains and manufacturing. U.S. duties on $200 billion in imports from China are set to rise to 25 percent from 10 percent if Washington and Beijing fail to reach an agreement by a March 2 deadline. However, Trump said earlier this week that the deadline was not a "magical date," hinting it could be moved. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 22, 2019. Uncharacteristically taking the same side as Amazon, President Donald Trump called the company's decision to abandon it's HQ2 plans in Queens "a big loss for New York City." Trump, who is known to bash Amazon and its founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, mocking him as "Jeff Bozo" in one tweet, made the case for Amazon during a press conference in the Oval Office Friday. But on Friday, Trump defended the nearly three billion in tax incentives the city and state offered Amazon for its promise of 25,000 high-paying jobs in a deal brokered by the Democratic governor and mayor. "The three billion dollars wasn't a check, it was a form of taxes over a period of time that now they'll never see because they were going to take in a lot of jobs, they were going to take in a lot of taxes," Trump said. His perspective lines up with his own experience as a real estate magnate in New York City. Trump argued that while the New York officials "could have made a better deal" with Amazon, the company's decision to reverse course was ultimately bad for the economy and emblematic of liberal leadership. "It's the kind of thinking that our country is going to on the left, on the radical left, but ultimately it's not good for jobs and it's not good for the economy," Trump said. That comment may be a hint at some of Trump's biggest critics, like Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who played a key role in squandering New York's deal with Amazon. Ocasio-Cortez, who represents an area near the Long Island City region where Amazon was planning its new office, praised the company's retreat as a victory. Tweet "Anything is possible:" Ocasio-Cortez tweeted the day Amazon reversed its plans, "today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers & their neighbors defeated Amazon's corporate greed, its worker exploitation, and the power of the richest man in the world." Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. Watch: Amazon's departure was a "big loss" for NYC, says President Trump The World War I memorial cross in Bladensburg, Maryland -- near the nation's capital Washington -- is seen on February 08, 2019. The US government asked the Supreme Court to rule in favor of the cross that serves as a war memorial, which critics say is an unconstitutional state religious endorsement. Arguments are scheduled to be heard on February 27, 2019. If the U.S. Supreme Court took a light touch on cultural issues following the contentious confirmation hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh this fall, the period of restraint didn't last long. The justices on Wednesday are set to hear arguments over whether a giant, four-story World War I memorial cross located in a busy Maryland intersection and maintained by the government can remain standing. The case, which touches at the core of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, is the most significant dispute over a public monument to reach the top court since Chief Justice John Roberts took the helm. It comes before the court in the wake of controversial orders connected to abortion and a Muslim inmate's religious rights during execution, and just a month after the justices said they would hear their first major gun-control case in nearly a decade. The case also comes amid heightened focus on the First Amendment. Earlier this month, Chief Justice John Roberts declared himself "the most aggressive defender" of the First Amendment in public remarks, while Justice Clarence Thomas took aim at one of the court's most important press freedom rulings. The litigation concerns a 40-foot-tall, 16-ton cross-shaped memorial to veterans of the first World War. The cross sits at the entrance to the town of Bladensburg, where it has been since 1925. Its maintenance is funded by a government agency that has spent just over $100,000 on the monument since 1985. Opponents of the cross say it violates the Constitution's wall of separation between government and religion. They include humanists, whose philosophy rejects theism, and Jewish veterans. In 2014, the American Humanist Association and several local humanists challenged the monument, arguing that the cross demonstrated government favoritism of Christianity over other religions. They say that the monument must be transferred to private property or reshaped into an obelisk by lopping off its crossbar. The American Legion and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission are arguing that the monument should stay. The cross, though it incorporates religious imagery, is a "powerful symbol of the fallen," they say. Lined up behind the defenders of the cross are a host of veterans groups and more than 80 members of Congress, including two dozen U.S. senators led by Republican Ted Cruz of Texas, as well as more than two dozen U.S. states. In a brief, the lawmakers quote a 1952 Establishment Clause case to argue that they were elected to represent "religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being." The lawmakers and others defending the cross said that an unfavorable ruling could jeopardize hundreds of monuments across the country, such as the Ground Zero Cross in Manhattan and prominent crosses in Arlington National Cemetery. Meanwhile, a Jewish veterans group has told the court that for Jewish veterans, the memorial serves as a "reminder of the promise of salvation that they do not accept and from which they are excluded." "No one would think that a war memorial consisting of a large Star of David was intended to honor the sacrifice of Christian soldiers," they wrote. Check out the companies making headlines midday Friday: Kraft Heinz Shares of Kraft Heinz plummeted 27.46 percent after the company announced a $15.4 billion write down of its Kraft and Oscar Mayer brands. The company also disclosed a Securities and Exchange Commission subpoena as part of a probe into its accounting policies and cut its dividend. J.M. Smucker, Dean Foods, Conagra Brands, Kellogg, General Mills Shares of these consumer products companies were dragged down by Kraft Heinz's sharp decline. They were all down at least 0.8 percent. Intel Morgan Stanley upgraded Intel to overweight from equal weight, citing a potential rally under CEO Bob Swan's leadership. "We think that Intel can rerate higher around a more financially oriented CEO," Morgan Stanley said. Intel shares rose 2.1 percent. Wayfair Shares of Wayfair leaped 27.9 percent on better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. The online furniture retailer posted an adjusted loss of $1.12 per share, which is smaller than a Refinitiv estimate of $1.28. The company's revenue also topped estimates. Wayfair added its active consumer count jumped more than 15 percent. Roku Shares of Roku jumped 25.2 percent on a better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and an active account growth of over 40 percent. The company also reported revenues that were $14 million higher than expected and earnings that surpassed a Refinitiv estimate by 2 cents. Zillow Zillow shares surged 26.37 percent after the real estate database company announced CEO Spencer Rascoff was leaving his post. The company also said Rich Barton, one of Zillow's co-founders, was taking over as chief executive. Boyd Gaming The gaming and hospitality company's stock rose 9.6 percent in midday trading after releasing its quarterly results. Boyd Gaming posted adjusted earnings per share of 32 cents, in line with expectations. The company also reported revenue of $791.6 million, topping a Refinitiv estimate of $774.3 million. Intuit Intuit reported adjusted earnings of $1 per share for its fiscal second quarter, topping a Refinitiv estimate of 86 cents. The company also said its revenue increased by 12 percent as sales from its small business online ecosystem expanded by 38 percent. Intuit shares jumped 6.77 percent. Stamps.com Shares of Stamps.com plummeted more than 57 percent after the company dissolved its longtime partnership with the U.S. Postal Office. The company said it did so in a bet on Amazon's success in shipping and logistics. Spanish and Catalan politicians have offered competing versions of why talks between the two sides fell apart, prompting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's decision last Friday to call for fresh national elections. Spain's Trade and Industry Minister Reyes Maroto told CNBC's Willem Marx that Sanchez's Socialist party (PSOE) had embarked on negotiations with Catalan leaders in good faith, hoping to resolve a divisive rift that has overshadowed the country's politics ever since separatists held an unsanctioned independence referendum in October 2017 before unilaterally declaring an independent Catalonia. "Catalonia is part of our national project," said Maroto, "and we have reached out to the Catalan regional government to try and bring some calm and trust between the two so that Spain can keep creating jobs and also keep its growth levels," he said Thursday. Madrid's sometimes violent clampdown on the independence movement in late 2017 had sparked large-scale and impassioned demonstrations in Catalonia that have sporadically continued until now. Direct discussions between the two sides commenced last summer after two small Catalan political parties helped Sanchez seize power in Madrid by voting alongside his PSOE in a parliamentary no-confidence vote that toppled former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Rajoy, as head of the conservative Partido Popular (PP) that governed Spain for much of the previous decade, had taken a hardline approach to separatist efforts in the wealthy northeast region, and had suspended the power of Catalonia's local government for the eight months prior to his ouster. After taking his own oath of office, Sanchez promised Catalans his administration would be willing to debate their disagreements within a formal framework of talks. "We have done all of our dialogue within the Spanish constitution," Maroto insisted. "We have done everything via the tools that the constitution enables us to do, our dialogue has respected the law and the constitution." The second SpaceX launch of 2019 sent a hodgepodge trio of spacecraft into orbit, including an Israeli spacecraft that represents the first privately-funded lunar mission. SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket on Thursday evening from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This was the third successful mission for the company's rocket booster, which launched two missions successfully last year before returning to land. The main payload atop the Falcon 9 was the Nusantara Satu satellite, built by Maxar Technologies' SSL for an Asian satellite telecommunications company. The telecom satellite will serve Indonesia with services like internet connectivity, voice communications and video distribution. Non-profit SpaceIL's "Beresheet" spacecraft is one of the secondary payloads that SpaceX launched. If successful, Beresheet's landing on the moon would see Israel become the fourth country in history to achieve the feat behind the U.S., Russia and China. Beresheet will collect lunar data and deposit a time capsule that includes children's drawings, the Bible, and Israel's Declaration of Independence. At a cost of about $100 million, the low budget lander was backed by private donors, with state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries involved as a partner. The SpaceIL project was initially a competitor in the Google Lunar Xprize but that race ended last March with no winners. @TeamSpaceIL: The time is now. We are ready. Let's go to the moon. #Falcon9 #israeltothemoon The final payload on board is a small experimental spacecraft for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. Called S5, the spacecraft will conduct a one-year mission. This was the second time that SpaceX has launched and landed a Falcon 9 rocket three times. The company made history in December when it became the first company to fly the same orbital-class rocket three times. Reusing rockets is key to Elon Musk's space company, which hopes to make humanity "a multiplanetary species." Last year SpaceX debuted the Falcon 9 Block 5: The most advanced version of the workhorse rocket. Each Falcon 9 Block 5 "is capable of at least 100 flights," Musk said in May. @SpaceX: Falcon 9's first stage rocket booster launched twice last year to deliver the Iridium-7 and SAOCOM 1A payloads to orbit State-owned Saudi Aramco has signed an agreement to form a joint venture with Chinese conglomerate Norinco to develop a refining and petrochemical complex in Panjin city, saying the project is worth more than $10 billion. Aramco employees are seen at Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility in Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oilfield, Saudi Arabia. Aramco and Norinco, along with Panjin Sincen, will form a new company called Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Co as part of a project that will include a 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery with a 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) ethylene cracker, Aramco said on Friday. The deal was signed during a visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Beijing as part of an Asia tour. Aramco will hold 35 percent of the new company, with Norinco and Panjin Sincen owning 36 percent and 29 percent respectively, the statement said. Aramco will supply up to 70 percent of the crude feedstock for the complex, which is expected to start operations in 2024. The value of the project means it is the largest Sino-Foreign joint-venture, Aramco said. The agreement "is a clear demonstration of Saudi Aramco's strategy to move from beyond a buyer-seller relationship, to one where we can make significant investments to contribute to China's economic growth and development," Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said in the statement. It said there were also plans to establish a fuels retail business. Saudi Aramco, North Huajin and Liaoning Transportation Construction Investment Group are expected to form a three-party marketing joint-venture company by the end of 2019, it said. This will develop a retail fuel stations network in target markets, the statement added. Robert Mueller Tom Williams | CQ Roll Call | Getty Images Special counsel Robert Mueller will not deliver a report to the attorney general next week, as was previously reported by multiple outlets, a senior Department of Justice official told NBC News on Friday. Attorney General William Barr was preparing to announce the completion of Mueller's investigation into any links between President Donald Trump and Russia as soon as next week, CNN reported Wednesday. The outlet reported that those plans were subject to change. In December, NBC News reported that a Mueller report could be delivered to the attorney general as soon as mid-February. NBC tweet Democratic lawmakers have demanded that Mueller's findings be made public. Top Democrats have said that any potential talk of impeachment is contingent on whether Mueller uncovers new evidence of wrongdoing. Earlier Friday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., reiterated her demands that a report be provided to Congress and the public. She said that Mueller's potential report concerned matters that had "implications for the rule of law and stability of our democracy" and that they "cannot be hidden away." "A summary written by Attorney General Barr in place of the Mueller report will not be acceptable," Feinstein said. In a letter to Barr dated Friday, the chairs of six influential House committees suggested that withholding evidence uncovered by Mueller could be the means for a "cover-up." "After nearly two years of investigation accompanied by two years of direct attacks on the integrity of the investigation by the President the public is entitled to know what the Special Counsel has found," wrote the Democrats, including Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, Rep. Eliot Engel of New York, Rep. Maxine Waters of California and Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts. CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - FEBRUARY 18: U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand speaks to guests during a campaign stop at the Chrome Horse Saloon on February 18, 2019 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Gillibrand is slated to attend a March 31 fundraiser at the New York home of Sally Susman, Pfizer's executive vice president and chief corporate affairs officer, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. Ticket prices range from $1,000 to $2,700, these people added. A senior executive at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer will host a campaign fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, CNBC has learned. Susman, who supported Gillibrand's Senate runs, has also been privately telling friends she's likely to fully support Gillibrand's presidential bid, according to one of the people familiar with the discussions. The Pfizer executive was also a lead bundler for President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. "Sally Susman is major Democratic fundraiser," said a New York donor familiar with the planned gathering. "Having her in your corner is a good get, and, at the end of the day, Kirsten's got to show that she has real support in New York." Tweet: A Pfizer spokeswoman declined to comment. Meredith Kelly, a spokeswoman for the Gillibrand campaign, did not return repeated requests for comment. The fundraiser comes at a time when Gillibrand and many other 2020 hopefuls are trying to distance themselves from big money donors and appeal to grassroots voters who usually donate less than $200. On the night of her announcement declaring she will run for president, Gillibrand tweeted that her campaign had successfully raked in small donations from all 50 states and promised not to accept contributions from political action committees run by corporations. Tweet: Among all the candidates running for the White House, Sen. Bernie Sanders has had the most success appealing to small-dollar donors. His campaign announced this week he raised just shy of $6 million in the first 24 hours of his bid for president with an average donation of $27. Gillibrand's campaign has yet to announce her fundraising totals, and even though she's still in the exploratory phase of her campaign, she has repeatedly said she's running for president. Throughout Gillibrand's last run for Senate, 32 percent of her donations came from voters who wrote checks for less than $200, data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics show. She raised just over 59 percent through larger contributions. Employees at Pfizer gave a total $75,345 to Gillibrand's campaign last year, and the company PAC gave $5,000. Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort departs from U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., February 28, 2018. New York authorities reportedly are preparing to criminally charge convicted tax cheat and bank fraudster Paul Manafort whether or not President Donald Trump pardons his ex-campaign chief. A presidential pardon would not protect Manafort, who is awaiting sentencing for a slew of federal crimes, from state-filed criminal charges. Trump has previously criticized special counsel Robert Mueller's cases against Manafort, whom the president has called "a brave man!" on Twitter. Bloomberg News first reported Friday that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is ready to file tax and other charges against Manafort, including possibly ones related to laws requiring the keeping of accurate business records, in the event that Trump pardons him. Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, has been charged with soliciting prostitution at a spa in Florida, where surveillance video showed him receiving sexual services, police said Friday. The 77-year-old Kraft is among more than two dozen people accused in a police sting as part of a human trafficking probe, according to authorities in Jupiter, Florida. "He is one of the individuals. That would be Mr. Robert Kraft," Police Chief Daniel Kerr said at a press conference. "He is being charged with the same offense as the others, and that is soliciting another to commit prostitution." "We're as equally stunned as anyone else," said the chief, referring to Kraft's alleged crime, which is a misdemeanor. Kraft is a friend of President Donald Trump, who last month touted his administration's efforts to eradicate human trafficking. Trump said human traffickers commit "heinous crimes." Kraft is not accused of or charged with being involved in human trafficking. A spokesman for Kraft said, "We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further." NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told CNBC, "The NFL is aware of the ongoing law enforcement matter and will continue to monitor developments." The NFL has a personal conduct policy that mandates that players, owners and other employees "must refrain from 'conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in' the NFL." Trump, when asked about Kraft by reporters in the Oval Office said, "It's very sad," but also noted that, "He's proclaimed his innocence." "I'm very suprised to see it," Trump said. Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp., arrives to the White House for a meeting in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. Dozens of Microsoft employees have signed a letter protesting the company's $480 million contract to supply the U.S. Army with augmented reality headsets intended for use on the battlefield. Under the terms of the deal, the headsets, which place holographic images into the wearer's field of vision, would be adapted to "increase lethality" by "enhancing the ability to detect, decide and engage before the enemy," according to a government description of the project. Microsoft was awarded the contract in November. "We are a global coalition of Microsoft workers, and we refuse to create technology for warfare and oppression," the employees state in the letter, which was published on an internal message board and circulated via email to employees at the company Friday. More than 50 Microsoft employees signed their names to the letter. Microsoft employees almost 135,000 people worldwide. More from NBC News "We are alarmed that Microsoft is working to provide weapons technology to the US Military, helping one country's government 'increase lethality' using tools we built. We did not sign up to develop weapons, and we demand a say in how our work is used," the letter said. The letter, addressed to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and president and chief legal officer Brad Smith, notes that the company has previously licensed technology to the military including HoloLens for use in training but has never before "crossed the line into weapons development". It adds that the program, officially called the Integrated Visual Augmentation System, turns "warfare into a simulated 'video game,' further distancing soldiers from the grim stakes of war and the reality of bloodshed." The signatories demand that Microsoft cancel the IVAS contract, cease to develop weapons technology and draft an acceptable use policy publicly clarifying those commitments. They also demand an independent ethics review board to ensure compliance with this policy. The open letter comes days before Microsoft is expected to unveil HoloLens 2, an upgraded version of its augmented reality headset, at an event Sunday at Mobile World Congress, an annual technology conference in Barcelona, Spain. "A lot of people feel uncomfortable about being involved in war-related business or producing weapons that hurt other people," one Microsoft employee, who was not authorized to speak publicly, told NBC News. "To me, it's a basic violation of Microsoft's mission statement to empower every person and organization on the planet to do more." "Although I believe in security and military action for a morally justifiable cause, I take issue with the language of 'lethality'," software developer Monte Michaelis added. Michaelis worked on HoloLens for two years but left Microsoft in 2018 to join New York City-based content agency Arkadium. "There are appropriate applications for mixed reality in a military setting, but I would not want to be designing an experience where my goal was to more efficiently kill people." This is not the first time that Microsoft employees have criticized the company's cooperation with the military and law enforcement. In June last year, more than 100 employees protested the technology company's work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and demanded it stop working with the agency, which had been separating migrant children from their parents at the United States-Mexico border. "We always appreciate feedback from employees and have many avenues for employee voices to be heard," a Microsoft spokesperson said in an email. In October last year, employees published a letter calling on executives to withdraw a proposed bid for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract, a $10 billion project to build cloud services for artificial intelligence to be used by the military. Later that month, Smith wrote in a blogpost that the company would continue to sell technologies, including artificial intelligence and augmented reality, to the military. "We can't expect these new developments to be addressed wisely if the people in the tech sector who know the most about technology withdraw from the conversation," he said. Smith added that employees who did not want to work on a project for ethical or other reasons could move into a different role within the company. The signatories to this week's open letter said that this offer ignores the fact that "workers are not properly informed of the use of the work." "There are many engineers who contributed to HoloLens before this contract even existed, believing it would be used to help architects and engineers build buildings and cars, to help teach people how to perform surgery or play the piano, to push the boundaries of gaming, and to connect with the Mars Rover." "These engineers have now lost their ability to make decisions about what they work on, instead finding themselves implicated as war profiteers." There's no doubt that Artificial Intelligence is changing the workforce. Four in five business leaders in Asia Pacific believe the burgeoning technology will transform the way their firms operate within the next three years, according to a new report from Microsoft and the International Data Corporation. And yet, there's disconnect among the workforce. As many as 15 percent of employees believe AI will have no impact on their jobs, the research found. Meanwhile, more than three-quarters (77 percent) expect their employer to help them develop skills to adapt to the changing environment. That presents a troubling situation for workers, according to Microsoft's managing director for Singapore, Kevin Wo, who said that employees need to ensure they can respond to the changing work landscape. "No longer is the responsibility only with the employer," Wo told CNBC Make It, noting that many businesses are slow to reskill staff. "The individual needs to take that on." Donald Trump's then-personal attorney Michael Cohen stands behind him as a group of supporters lay hands on Trump in prayer during a campaign stop at the New Spirit Revival Center church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, U.S. September 21, 2016. President Trumps former lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, spoke with federal prosecutors in January about potential irregularities within the Trump family business, people familiar with the matter told the New York Times on Friday. When meeting with the prosecutors, Mr. Cohen, who is scheduled to start serving a three-year prison sentence in May, also discussed past insurance claims filed by the company. It is unconfirmed whether the prosecutors found Cohen's information credible or whether they plan to dig deeper into the potential irregularities, according to the Times. However, the meeting suggests that they are interested in pursing information about the Trump Organization that have not been delved into before, the report said. Cohen pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws in August and organizing hush money payments to women claiming to have had relations with President Trump before the 2016 election. The Trump Organization did not comment on the accusations. Cohen also discussed information about presidential inaugural committee donor Imaad Zuberi, a political fund-raising venture capitalist from California. Zuberi donated $900,000 to the committee, attempted to hire Cohen as a consultant and wrote him a substantial check, a person familiar with the matter told The New York Times. Zuberi's spokesperson told the Times that the check was for $100,000 and never cashed. Read the full report in the New York Times. It's been nearly four years since Kraft and Heinz merged a deal applauded by some on Wall Street as the chance for private equity firm 3G Capital to exercise its reputation for cost-cutting and dealmaking. The results have been disappointing and raise the question of whether 3G's model really works. The firm, which has roots in Brazil and made much of its initial money in railroads, has had to run a packaged food company just as the industry turned on its side. Kraft Heinz late Thursday handed investors a raft of bad news that only added to the string of disappointments from the ketchup maker. It revealed it received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission in October related to its accounting policies and internal controls. It delivered earnings and revenue that were sharply lower than estimates, slashed its dividend by 36 percent and took a $15 billion write-down on two of its biggest brands, Kraft and Oscar Mayer. "We believe these impairments validate fears that Kraft Heinz may have been more focused on costs than building brand equity, and even if management now has 'seen the light', we are now concerned that its brands lack the equity to drive pricing power needed to compete and drive growth in a sustainable way," said Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Lavery. On Friday, shares cratered more than 28 percent to a 52-week-low, lopping off more than $16 billion in market value from the stock. Kraft Heinz attributed its miss to operational challenges. The company said it stands by its famed zero-based budgeting approach to cost-cutting, in which managers need to justify all costs. It faced pressure from supplier negotiations, delayed manufacturing projects and rising costs. "We are overly optimistic on delivering savings that did not materialize by year-end," said CEO Bernardo Hees, a 3G Capital partner. "For that, we take full responsibility." Those setbacks came amid tastes that have changed away from packaged food like Oscar Mayer deli meat and Capri Sun drink pouches toward upstart brands with healthier images created by smaller companies like Kind Bar. But analysts and investors have wondered whether there is a deeper problem with 3G's approach. Its model, in large part, depends on dealmaking: 3G buys a slow-growing company like Kraft, slashes excess costs and then moves on to another acquisition. It's the same approach that 3G has applied to the beer industry with Anheuser Busch Inbev. But Kraft Heinz hasn't done a deal in years, far longer than most investors expected. Kraft Heinz was publicly and embarrassingly rebuffed by Unilever in 2017 a rejection that some say emboldened other food companies, which once feared Kraft Heinz, to realize they too could say no to the company and its 3G backers. As Kraft Heinz's shares since have fallen roughly 60 percent, a potential deal has become even more challenging, particularly because one of its biggest backers, Warren Buffett, is opposed to hostile takeovers Already, at least two potential deals have slipped by. Kraft Heinz passed on the chance to acquire Pinnacle Foods, CNBC previously reported. When Campbell Soup was forced to evaluate a sale under activist pressure last year, Kraft Heinz did not step up with any meaningful premium to buy the soup company. Without a deal, Kraft Heinz has had to navigate the challenging prospect of managing a big food company just as tastes are moving markedly away from them. The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said Thursday that a quarter of the European Union's (EU) budget would be spent on tackling climate change. "In the next financial period, 2021 to 2027, every fourth euro spent within the EU budget will go towards climate mitigation actions," Juncker said. "That is our goal, to ensure that a fourth of the budget goes towards climate change mitigation, and this is going to be a paradigm shift," he added. The EU budget is usually one percent of its economic output, or 1 trillion euros ($1.13 trillion) across seven years, according to Reuters. Juncker's comments came after Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old climate activist from Sweden, spoke at the same plenary session of the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels. "We know that most politicians don't want to talk to us," she said. "Good. We don't want to talk to them either," she added. "We want them to talk to the scientists instead. Listen to them, because we are just repeating what they are saying, and have been saying, for decades." Since starting a protest outside the Swedish parliament in 2018 Thunberg has risen to global prominence, becoming the figurehead for a series of school strikes by children around the world. "I'm glad to see that young people are taking to the streets in Europe to create visibility for the issue of climate change," Juncker said. "Because mitigating climate change is not just the job of young people but in fact for older people, if only they were to take up the task." JPMorgan Chase is tearing down walls and moving its San Francisco investment bankers onto "hot desks," a space-saving layout that has long been a fixture at tech companies, while redesigning offices in Dallas and other cities. Shared workspaces have been relatively slow to catch on at banks, but JPMorgan is following recent renovations by some rivals, which designers tout as cost cutting and productivity boosting. Still, bankers who covet the status and privacy of personal offices are in for big changes. When JPMorgan renovated two floors at its Mission Street office in San Francisco last month, it replaced many offices with diner-style booths, designated quiet zones and communal tables for the roughly 250 investment bankers and other employees there. Noah Wintroub, a San Francisco-based vice chairman of investment banking at JPMorgan who focuses on tech and media companies, said he lobbied for the open-desk layout, though it may be a culture shock for some. "We have historically been very hierarchical. When you become a managing director you have this kind of office," Wintroub said. The bank already set up hot desking for investment bankers in Hong Kong, said David Arena, JPMorgan's head of global corporate real estate. It was able to cut costs by putting more people on fewer floors. Arena did not say if U.S. renovations will help JPMorgan shrink its real estate footprint. He noted limits to the approach, saying it is "counter-productive if too many people are squeezed into one space." JPMorgan is also redesigning offices in Phoenix and Columbus, Ohio. It did not say if there were any plans to include hot desks at the bank's New York main office, which is currently under construction. Goldman Sachs tore down walls in its New York asset management office in 2017, and Morgan Stanley, is redesigning its midtown Manhattan headquarters to move brokers, traders and tech employees closer together, according to media reports. Multiple users sharing one workstation has been common at tech and consulting companies for more than a decade, and a 2015 study by industry group the International Facility Management Association found a majority of businesses now use hot desking for at least some staff. But the layout was slower to take hold in banking, where a cultural resistance stems in part from the need to take confidential calls in private, according to the report. Offices were also status symbols, and sitting at a communal table instead of one's own glass office is a big shift for investment bankers. Some will still have offices, including Wintroub, though he said he prefers to sit with others in the open area and use his office as a conference room. On Friday, Castro called the declaration "an historic power grab." Pelosi argued it "clearly violates Congress's exclusive power of the purse." The Democratic-held House plans to vote on the bill Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters on Friday. On the same call where Pelosi spoke, Castro told reporters that the measure has at least 226 co-sponsors, including one Republican, Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan. The number tops the 218 votes the plan needs to pass the House. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, introduced the measure to block Trump's action, which he took last week to divert money to build his proposed border wall. Democrats have called the president's move a power grab sparked by lawmakers denying him the funding he wanted to construct barriers between the U.S. and Mexico. House Democrats challenged President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration Friday, setting up dramatic votes in Congress on whether to rein in the president's flex of executive power. The challenge for Democrats starts when the proposal goes to the GOP-held Senate. Several Republicans have showed concerns about the precedent set by Trump's declaration. The resolution will put pressure on them to choose between acting on professed worries about expanded executive power, or backing a president with strong support among GOP voters. At least one GOP senator Susan Collins of Maine will vote for a resolution to block the emergency declaration. To reach the majority needed for the measure to clear the Senate, the 47 Democrats in the chamber would then need only three more Republicans to join them. That could easily happen. However, Trump pledged Friday to veto the legislation if it comes to his desk. The measure would then need veto-proof, two-thirds majorities of 290 and 67 votes in the House and Senate, respectively. Garnering that much support would prove much tougher, considering both House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have pledged to support Trump's declaration. "Will I veto it? 100 percent. ... And I don't think it survives the veto," Trump told reporters on Friday afternoon. "We have too many smart people that want border security." The resolution extends the political and legal dispute over Trump's campaign pledge to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. In several recent lawsuits, including one filed by 16 U.S. states, groups have challenged the emergency declaration. Critics have questioned not only the president's authority to take the step, but also whether migration over the border really constitutes a national emergency. "All Members take an oath of office to support and defend the Constitution," Pelosi wrote to colleagues this week. "The President's decision to go outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process violates the Constitution and must be terminated." Opponents of the emergency declaration have partly pointed to Trump's comments last week, when he said he "didn't need to" take the action but would rather get money for the wall "much faster." Trump last week signed a spending bill into law to keep the government running through Sept. 30 and allocate $1.375 billion for building border barriers. Trump had pushed for $5.7 billion for a wall a demand that led to a record 35-day partial government shutdown in December and January. Stymied by Congress, Trump aims to use executive authority to construct the wall, using $8 billion total toward the barriers. The sum includes the funds appropriated by Congress, along with money he plans to divert from other departments through executive action. OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- Ocean Springs aldermen balked at a $2,500 sponsorship fee several weeks ago and, as a result, Jeepin' the Coast will not be using the city as an official host site. Last year, the city served as an unofficial host, arranging with Jackson County for Jeep enthusiasts to park at the former Swingster building site on Government Street. Alderman Rob Blackman, himself a Jeep enthusiast, contacted event organizers to express interest in having Ocean Springs serve as an official destination for the event, scheduled for March 30-June 2. There was mutual interest, but Jeepin' officials asked for a $2,500 sponsorship fee. When Blackman brought that to his fellow aldermen, they refused to approve the money, telling Blackman to allow City Events Coordinator Chic Cody to handle it and see if the money could be raised elsewhere. Ultimately, the City received a commitment from Jackson County supervisors for the $2,500 fee. One problem -- the City's foot-dragging led to Jeepin' organizers moving on without Ocean Springs included in their plans. "I am disappointed," Blackman said. "I was ready to move on it several meetings ago, but was basically shot down by the board and told to let Chic handle it, so I backed off. "Now here we are and the event is not coming. I'm not real happy with Mr. Cody. I'm not real happy with how the process went and from now one, when or if they decide to come back to us, I will personally handle it." Ironically, it was just last week the City released sales tax figures showing Ocean Springs surpassed $5 million in sales tax for fiscal 2018. Jeepin' the Coast would have brought an estimated 400 Jeep enthusiasts to the city's downtown area. "I called the Jeepin' people to tell them we had the money," Cody said, "but it takes a while to get that money and at that point they had moved on and committed to some other cities over in Harrison and Hancock (counties)." Jeepin' the Coast began in 2012 as an event for Jeep owners during Cruisin' the Coast, although not directly affiliated with Cruisin'. That first year, there were 29 Jeep enthusiasts. But the event continued to grow to the point that last year, Jeepin' the Coast became it's own, stand-alone event, with more than 400 participants. Monies raised through the event are donated to cancer patients and their families. For more information on Jeepin' the Coast, including registration information and this year's schedule of events, visit the Jeepin' the Coast website. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up by around 0.3 percent provisionally, with most sectors and major bourses ending in positive territory. On the week, the benchmark was up by around 0.6 percent. Europe's basic resources stocks with their heavy exposure to China led the gains during afternoon trade, closing up by around 2 percent. It comes as market focus is largely attuned to global trade negotiations, with little more than a week left before a U.S-imposed deadline for an agreement with China expires. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday. The meeting follows reports that both sides have started to outline commitments in principle on the stickiest issues in their protracted dispute. Looking at individual stocks, France's Sopra Steria Group surged to the top of the European benchmark. The consultancy group reported full-year revenue jumped almost 7 percent in 2018 and forecast a slight improvement in operating margin on business activity. Shares of the Paris-listed stock rose more than 17 percent on the news. Meanwhile, Swedish radiation therapy equipment maker Elekta tumbled to the bottom of the index. The company posted weaker-than-expected third-quarter core profit on Friday, prompting shares to tank over 13 percent. A coal pit of the Hazelwood coal-fired power plant stands in Hazelwood, Australia, on Thursday, March 30, 2017. Carla Gottgens | Bloomberg | Getty Images The tumbled from levels above $0.7200 to below $0.7100 following reports that China banned coal imports from the country at a major port. Reuters reported on Thursday that customs at the Chinese port of Dalian has banned imported Australian coal since February, and will "cap overall coal imports from all sources to the end of 2019 at 12 million tonnes." It also said that major ports elsewhere in China prolonged clearing times for Australian coal to at least 40 days. On Friday afternoon, the Australian dollar eked out slight gains to trade at $0.7101 at 2:55 p.m. HK/SIN, up from an earlier low of $0.7081. Local coal stocks mostly sold off. Shares of BHP fell 0.42 percent, Whitehaven retraced losses to gain 0.66 percent, Yancoal declined 2.8 percent and New Hope Group tumbled 3.55 percent. Market speculation suggests Thursday's report may be a reflection of strains in the political and trade relationship between Australia and China in recent times, Ivan Colhoun, chief economist for markets at the National Australia Bank, said in a note. He added that the reported ban would affect a relatively small portion of the country's coal exports. Last year, Australia banned Chinese telecommunication companies Huawei and ZTE from selling 5G technology equipment in the country, citing national security concerns. More recently, Australia rescinded the visa of a prominent Chinese businessman. Limited impact Colhoun pointed to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which showed that in 2018, the country exported about 386 million tonnes of thermal and coking coal the latter is a key component in steel production. Exports to China accounted for 22 percent of the total and Dalian port received only 1.8 percent of Australia's total coal exports, according to the bureau. The targeting of Australian coal raises the concern that political motives could be at play. If the import ban on coal spreads across China, we could see Australia's export volumes and realised coal prices come under significant pressure. Vivek Dhar National Australia Bank "At 1.8 (percent) of Australia's total thermal and coking coal exports, the Dalian move is small. If it were to extend to all Australian coal exports to China it would be a bigger issue for the coal market, but would still be relatively small as a share of total exports," Colhoun said, adding local producers could just sell their products elsewhere on the global market. Still, he said, it may have a major impact on the domestic economy if the ban signaled the start of deteriorating trade and political ties between Canberra and Beijing. Officials from both countries downplayed suggestions of a worsening bilateral relationship. Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe warned against jumping to premature conclusions over the ban. When asked if the Dalian move was related to increasing tensions, a spokesman at China's foreign ministry said customs were inspecting and testing coal imports for safety and quality, according to Reuters. Not sustainable The narrative that China is only tinkering with its coal policy, like it has done previously, is beginning to lose credibility since the ban appears to be particular to Australia, according to Vivek Dhar, associate director for mining and energy commodities at the Commonwealth Bank. "The targeting of Australian coal raises the concern that political motives could be at play. If the import ban on coal spreads across China, we could see Australia's export volumes and realised coal prices come under significant pressure," Dhar wrote in a morning note. He added that it's unlikely the ban on Australian coal will be sustainable beyond a few weeks or months because of its impact on China's steel mills as they struggle to find viable alternatives in the short- and medium-term. "Not only are Chinese steel mill margins weak, but iron ore prices are surging exactly when construction season is set to begin following the Chinese New Year period," he said. "Australian thermal and coking coal is higher quality than other available varieties, usually resulting in stronger productivity and lower emissions for end users." Such a ban would also push domestic prices higher in China. Short-term replacements for banned Australian coal would be hard to find domestically and ultimately, Chinese steel makers would see much costlier coke blends, according to Robin Griffin, research director at global consultancy Wood Mackenzie. Delayed, not banned China's debt problem is set to worsen this year, according U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley but Beijing is expected to better manage the risks of people borrowing from non-official channels this time, compared to years ago. China's debt in relation to its economy is expected to climb by three to four percentage points of its economy, Morgan Stanley's Chief China Economist Robin Xing told CNBC on Friday, referring to the debt-to-GDP ratio. "This time, it's a bit different because they are using more manageable, or transparent leverage rather than re-opening shadow banking," Xing told CNBC, saying that the Chinese government is increasing the quota of local special bonds, which are essentially backed by the state. Shadow banking refers to activities performed by financial firms outside the formal banking sector, and therefore subject to lower levels of regulatory oversight and higher risks. State-owned banks usually prefer lending to companies owned by the government, which are considered safer borrowers than private firms. As a result, private companies have turned to shadow banking, contributing to China's overall debt levels. "Despite the temporary increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio, it's much more manageable and transparent than 2013 to 2017, when shadow banking was surging," Xing concluded. HANGZHOU, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 04: Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to the G20 Summit on September 4, 2016 in Hangzhou, China. China sees "enormous potential" in Saudi Arabia's economy and wants more high-tech cooperation, the Chinese government's top diplomat said, as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman began a two-day trip to Beijing. The Saudi delegation, including top executives from Aramco, arrived on Thursday on an Asia tour that has already seen the kingdom pledge investment of $20 billion in Pakistan and seek additional investment in India's refining industry. The crown prince will meet President Xi Jinping, who has made stepping up China's presence in the Middle East a key foreign policy objective, despite its traditional low-key role there. Meeting Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, State Councillor Wang Yi said the main features of their ties were respect, understanding and support for each other, China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement late on Thursday. "All countries in the world have the right to develop, and Saudi Arabia is an emerging market country with enormous potential," the ministry paraphrased Wang as saying. China supports Saudi's efforts to diversify its economy and is willing to strengthen high-tech cooperation, Wang added. Saudi Aramco, the world's top oil exporter, will sign a pact to build a refinery and petrochemical project in northeastern Liaoning province in a joint venture with China's defense conglomerate Norinco, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. The investments could help Saudi Arabia regain its place as the top oil exporter to China, a position Russia has held for the last three years. Saudi Aramco is set to boost market share by signing supply deals with non-state Chinese refiners. Warren Buffett's biggest problem is well known to investors and the market. The billionaire founder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway has too much cash and not enough reasonable valuations in corporations to make major acquisitions. In 2013, Buffett found a target that he had kept a file on going back to the 1980s, and one that fit the mold of the companies that Berkshire aspires to bring under its conglomerate umbrella a cash-rich, strong global consumer brand: Kraft Heinz. But Buffett couldn't buy the company outright because the deal was brought to him by another company. He didn't continue to buy shares of the stock on the open market as he does with many stocks he likes. Instead, Buffett teamed up with Brazilian private equity giant 3G Capital to acquire Kraft Heinz. It was a new path for Berkshire Hathaway in dealmaking, and it immediately led to questions for an investor who had long criticized private equity's role in the market. After the Kraft Heinz stock implosion that cost Buffett a paper loss of over $4 billion in Kraft Heinz shares on Friday, Buffett may face many more questions about whether Berkshire should ever repeat the 3G approach. The criticisms were obvious: 3G Capital is known for ruthless cost-cutting rather than the kind of long-term investment with a holding time of "forever" that Buffett espouses. But Buffett insisted that, this time, it was different. Buffett said the deal, unlike many PE deals, represented buyers investing for the long-term. "This is my kind of deal and my kind of partner," he told CNBC at the time. He called Kraft Heinz "3G's baby." There were skeptics in the market when the deal was announced. Robert Dickerson, at that time a food analyst at Consumer Edge Research and now at Deutsche Bank, asked: "If they were well-positioned, why are they financial buyers, not strategic buyers." There were warning signs that tensions between Buffett's typical approach to acquisitions, a hands-off ownership that invests in and sometimes because of current management wouldn't be the case with 3G in control. Heinz CEO Bill Johnson said at the deal press conference in 2013 that he was "way too young" to retire. In less than a year, he was replaced by a 3G officer, current Kraft Heinz CEO Bernardo Hees. Pressed about the PE firm's involvement on CNBC back in 2013, Buffett insisted, "It is a partnership. It's a permanent partnership. We will not sell our interest, so it has no connection with the private equity people that essentially buy and then resell businesses." Last August, 3G Capital sold 7 percent of its stake in Kraft. At that time, 3G founder Jorge Lemann said the business model of buying strong consumer brands is facing new difficulties from upstarts. And Lemann used Buffett's favorite word about the right holding time for a stock in a way that was very un-Buffett. "We bought brands that we thought could last forever," he said at the Milken Institute Global Conference. "You could just focus on being very efficient. ... All of a sudden we are being disrupted." Just five of the stocks of the Dow 30 have carried it back within reach of record highs. Boeing, IBM, United Technologies, Goldman Sachs and Home Depot have rallied double digits to start the year, contributing around 50 percent of the year's gains to the price-weighted index. Two of those could be set for a pullback, says Matt Maley, equity strategist at Miller Tabak. "Two of our favorites are Boeing and United Technologies. However, they'd had such big runs here and they've become very, very overbought on a near-term basis," Maley said Thursday on CNBC's "Trading Nation." Boeing and UTX are the top and third-best performers on the Dow for the year, adding 30 percent and 19 percent, respectively. Boeing has rocketed 43 percent off its December lows, while UTX has bounced 26 percent. "You want them to pull back a little bit, it'd actually be healthy for them if they did that and would allow them to kind of work off those conditions and move higher later on, so I would say I wouldn't want to chase those names," said Maley. While Maley expects UTX and Boeing to pull lower, he sees a bigger breakout in fellow Dow stock Walmart. "It was overbought, but it's now working off that situation," said Maley. "It's formed a symmetrical triangle pattern and it's at the upper end of that pattern, so now that it's working off this short-term overbought position, if it can rally within the next week or so and break above that formation, that's going to be very bullish for the stock." The symmetrical triangle pattern generally typifies a consolidation period before a break higher or lower. The move closer to the top end of that pattern suggests it could break out of that consolidation. Erin Gibbs, portfolio manager at S&P Global, has a different pick for MVP of the Dow. "If you're going for the Dow, you're looking at very large-cap, blue-chip, stable so we really see IBM as just one of those companies that even at these prices, we're still looking at potential appreciation," Gibbs said. "It has above average earnings growth expected versus its industry, so still nice, stable consistent, over the next three or four years." Analysts anticipate earnings growth of nearly 1 percent for 2019 and 2 percent for 2020, according to FactSet estimates, up from flat in 2018. "It's just one of those nice defensive stocks," added Gibbs. "We just see IBM delivering those strong stable returns for you." Disclosure: S&P Global holds IBM. Imagine a world where you could e-mail Bill Gates...and actually get a response. One would think that someone like Gates, the billionaire tech entrepreneur who co-created Microsoft, does not have time to spend hours and hours monitoring his inbox, let alone answer messages from strangers. That's something I would have placed money on that is, until I recently came across a profile of Gates published in a 1994 issue of The New Yorker, entitled "E-Mail From Bill." Reading the article, I was certainly impressed, not least by how accurate one of the most important thought leaders of our time was at predicting that digital communication would one day come to entirely rule our lives. It's also mind-boggling that John Seabrook, a relatively unknown journalist at the time, could fire off an email to the Microsoft co-founder (and, in 1994, the richest man in America, according to Forbes), and get a response from the man himself within 18 minutes after hitting the "send" button. It even led to a month-long digital relationship between the two. But the most surprising (and pretty hilarious) discovery from the profile is something you never would have guessed about Gates. In his initial email to Gates, Seabrook asks: "What kind of understanding of another person can email give you?" As it turns out, the answer is a lot. The glass ceiling is firmly intact among America's wealthiest 1 percent. Women earn enough on their own to qualify for 1 percent status in only one in 20 elite households, according to new research in American Sociological Review. That gap hasn't narrowed in over 20 years. A woman's best shot at reaching 1 percent status is not through a high-paying job or advanced education, but rather by marrying a man with "good income prospects," researchers said. In contrast, men's chances at reaching 1 percent status are closely associated with career and educational achievements. "In the last two decades, women have made virtually no progress relative to men in earning top 1 percent income," Jill Yavorsky, a University of North Carolina-Charlotte professor who authored the study, tells CNBC Make It. "This is despite the fact that women now earn half of all law and medical degrees and are starting businesses in greater numbers today than in the past," she says. "Unfortunately, these educational and entrepreneurship accomplishments have not resulted in securing them the same kind of access to high income positions as they have for men." Women were 84 percent less likely than men to have a personal 1 percent status, and only 4.5 percent of women could earn enough themselves to qualify for the top 1 percent, according to the analysis of Federal Reserve data from 1995 to 2016. Married women, on the other hand, had much higher odds, largely due to their spouse's incomes. They were 991 percent more likely than single women to be in the top 1 percent, compared to married men at 71 percent. Income inequality between the 1 percent and remaining 99 percent of the American population has been on the rise since the 1980s, with the top 1 percent owning more wealth than the country's bottom 90 percent. In 2016, the U.S. median household income was $51,000, while households in the top 1 percent earned a minimum of $845,000, according to the 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances. Prior research shows that since 1 percent households have such tremendous financial resources, they yield significant political, economic and social power. If women's income is inconsequential in these households, then men are dominating the economy, Yavorsky says. "It's primarily men's interests being reflected in this influence, which, as other research indicates, can differ from women's interests." Higher education and self-employment do increase women's income, but those factors alone are not enough to secure women equal opportunity to a 1 percent position, researchers said 1.8 percent of self-employed and highly-educated married women earn enough on their own to be in the top 1 percent, compared to 7.3 percent of men. Men still dominate high-paying fields like finance, consulting and law, are more likely to start their own businesses than women and have more opportunity to rise up corporate ranks. Women face career obstacles and have lower earnings at all educational levels, researchers noted, and therefore take longer to achieve a high income status than men. Since the research showed a strong connection between entrepreneurship and high incomes, Yavorsky says that expanding female entrepreneurs' access to financial capital to start their companies would help narrow the pay gap in the 1 percent. She also suggests passing federal legislation that could jump-start gender progress, such as state-sponsored childcare, both paid maternity and paternity leave and gender quotas that could increase women's representation in leadership roles. Like this story? Subscribe to CNBC Make It on YouTube! Don't miss: The gender pay gap has worsened at some big firms in the UK and isn't likely close soon Carnegie Mellon University Announces Two Leadership Positions Key Nuttall named vice president for Marketing and Communications; Stan Waddell appointed chief information officer February 22, 2019 Following national searches, Carnegie Mellon University has announced the appointment of two key leadership positions, naming Key Nuttall as the new vice president for Marketing and Communications, and Stan Waddell as the new associate vice president and chief information officer. Key Nuttall Key Nuttall As vice president for Marketing and Communications, Key Nuttall will assume leadership of the university's efforts to increase its visibility through communications, branding, creative services, internal and external relations, as well as reputation management. In addition to directly supervising CMU's Marketing and Communications Division, Nuttall also will foster collaboration with CMU's colleges and schools to lead the implementation of a proactive, innovative, and comprehensive marketing and communications strategy that highlights the institution's breadth and depth in scholarship, education and societal impact. "Key brings a wealth of experience and an exceptional understanding of marketing and communications to Carnegie Mellon and to our senior leadership team," Jahanian said. "Marketing, communications and branding across the university are vital to the continued enhancement of CMU's reputation and his strong track record in these areas will benefit CMU for years to come." Nuttall currently serves as senior vice president for external relations at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where he has led the branding, marketing and communications strategy, tactics and programs across the university. In this role, he also has worked to increase strategic communication and integration between admissions, fundraising and communications, as well as other outwardly facing functions toward the strategic goal of enhancing recognition of the university. "I am excited to join Carnegie Mellon at this important time," Nuttall said. "Carnegie Mellon is a university with academic and research prowess at the nexus of technology and humanity. CMU has a remarkable story to tell about the impact its faculty, students and alumni have on the world." Prior to joining Wesleyan, Nuttall served as the assistant vice president for university marketing at the University of Washington, where he led a team responsible for all campus-wide marketing activities. He also previously held a variety of marketing and management positions at Microsoft Corporation, concluding as director of strategy and marketing for the Learning Business unit. He holds a bachelor's degree from Colgate University and an MBA from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA. Nuttall will begin his new role on March 25. Stan Waddell Stan Waddell As the chief information officer (CIO), Stan Waddell will provide vision, leadership and management to CMU's entire computing enterprise, including the development and implementation of a university-wide IT strategy. Waddell will serve on the Division of Operations Senior Leadership Team, as well as the University Leadership Council. "We are thrilled to have Stan Waddell join Carnegie Mellon as our chief information officer," said Rodney McClendon, CMU vice president for operations. "As a top research university, it is imperative that we have a strategic leader to help us advance technical infrastructure that supports our exceptional teaching, research and administration. Stan has the vision and leadership skills we were looking for in a new CIO." Waddell, who will assume his new role on April 1, has extensive experience in leading computing and technology functions at major research universities. Previously, Waddell was associate vice president and CIO at the University of New Hampshire, where he oversaw the university's central IT team. Before joining UNH, he was assistant vice chancellor and chief technology officer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and spent nine years at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Waddell also served in the U.S. Navy as an aviation electronics technician for nine years. "I am extremely excited to be joining the Carnegie Mellon community to serve as chief information officer," Waddell said. "Carnegie Mellon has a tremendous, and well-deserved, reputation for innovation and advancing the body of knowledge across the arts and sciences. It will be an honor to join the campus in supporting the university's mission." Waddell holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Old Dominion University, a Master of Advanced Studies from the University of Texas, and his Ph.D. in information systems from Nova Southeastern University. Clinton, IA (52732) Today Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 80F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies early with showers developing late. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. An attorney for the Cuyahoga County Executive said there is no basis for a criminal investigation into his administration and the investigation should be closed. Attorney Steve Dettelbach, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio who represents Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish, told the Cleveland Jewish News he has seen many investigations involving public corruption over his 21-year career as a prosecutor and this one doesnt match. Listening to the allegations in this case, there is just simply no plausible theory that Armond Budish has committed a crime, he said. What we have is, to me, the attempt for some reason and I cant speculate on other peoples reasons but for some reason to hold (Budish) to a different standard than the law requires a different standard than anyone I know of has been held to. Were elevating policy differences and management differences and HR decisions to the level of criminal investigation, and it is simply not consistent with the law. On Feb. 14, agents from the FBI and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation searched Budishs office for evidence of corrupt activities, extortion, coercion, obstructing official business and violating civil rights and files concerning the Cuyahoga County Jail, according to the search warrant. Dettelbach called the search highly unusual and totally unnecessary. A spokesman for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who took over the case after Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael OMalley recused himself Feb. 1, said the attorney general had no comment on the investigation or the raid. Budish told the CJN he doesnt know what is being investigated outside of whats in the subpoena. While some of the materials listed may relate to the situation at the jail, where eight inmates have died in recent months, Budish speculated it could relate to the countys information technology department or human resource decisions. According to the FBIs evidence recovery log, folders labeled jail Cleveland mayor, jail progress report and a jail complaint folder were among files taken from the county executives office. The county executive said hes done nothing wrong and feels the manner in which the raid was conducted was uncalled for. What went on (Feb. 14) was a political stunt, Budish said Feb. 15 in an interview at the CJN offices. Its unjustified because we have complied with every request. ... Every time weve received a subpoena asking for documents, weve turned over all of those documents. So, its unjustified that they come in and do a public raid in my office. The subpoena asked for emails, calender appointments and other data associated with Budishs account and four other employees of his administration by Feb. 14. This is the 17th subpoena the county executives administration has received and is the first since Yost took over the investigation. The request, Budish said, could amount to thousands of documents. The request was handled by the countys law department, which asked and was approved for an extension from the assistant attorney general handling the subpoena. Dettelbach was not in town during the search, but Budishs other attorney, Larry Zukerman, was. Zukerman said moving forward, Budish is going to keep running the county as he has for the past four years, two months. Budish said he refuses to let the raid slow down the countys work and plans to continue to cooperate with the investigation. Were going to continue to run the county and provide the services that the people of Cuyahoga County need, he said. Were not going to let this deter us or untrack us. Budish was asked to leave his office during the raid and said he does not know exactly what was taken aside from his personal cellphone and computers hard drive. Mary Louise Madigan, director of communications at the county executives office, confirmed law enforcement was in the office and left with five boxes, two hard drives and an envelope of miscellaneous equipment. I have done nothing wrong, and Im trying to convey that to people, Budish told the CJN. In addition, Ive got a career where I am proud to say I have spoken very strongly on honesty and integrity and anybody whos followed me or knows me knows thats the case, which is why Im all the more angry of what happened yesterday. The search follows the grand jury indictment against three current and former members of Budishs administration. Improvements are being made at the Cuyahoga County Jail, like hiring more correction officers, signing a memorandum of understanding with MetroHealth Medical Center to take over health care processes and bringing on a company to help redesign the policies and procedures that were criticized by U.S. Marshals during an inspection, Budish said. Were still working on things, but its much improved, he said. We have annual reports done by the state of Ohio, they come in and evaluate the jail against the state requirements. For the last number of years at least, the county jail has been compliant with those requirements. Lake Erie College will offer a new Master of Professional Studies degrees through a partnership at Lakeland Community Colleges Holden University Center. The program offers development of skills such as organizational dynamics, leadership, negotiation and problem solving. VATICAN CITY - Facing an erosion of trust in the church and in his papacy, Pope Francis on Thursday opened a landmark summit on clerical sexual abuse, saying that Catholics expected concrete and effective measures against the scourge - the kind of steps that have eluded the Vatican for decades. "Hear the cry of the little ones who plead for justice," Francis said, noting that the church was beyond the phase of "predictable condemnations." The pontiff's remarks, issued to the 190 bishops and Catholic leaders who have descended on Rome, set a notably firm tone for the beginning of the four-day meeting - the highest-profile test to date of whether the Roman Catholic Church is equipped to deal with its central crisis. Outside the fenced-off area where the bishops gathered, victims of abuse from around the world expressed frustration with the church's long-standing pattern of protecting the institution, treating victims with skepticism and burying cases with monetary settlements. Some of the comments made by church leaders seemed to acknowledge that reality. "We have to recognize this crisis in its full depth: To realize that the damage is not done by outsiders but that the first enemies are within us, among us bishops and priests and consecrated persons," Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez, the archbishop of Bogota, Colombia, told the bishops in one of the day's three official presentations. "We have to recognize that the enemy is within." The pope and the Vatican face intense pressure to persuade bishops from around the world to confront the issue, even in regions where abuse scandals have not yet surfaced publicly, and where some church leaders are skeptical about the severity of the problem. But church officials have called the meeting one phase in a long process, not a cure-all. The meeting's first day involved a mix of prayer, emotional appeals and discussions on specifics. In a room that looked like a college auditorium, rows of bishops listened to speeches and took notes. Francis delivered 21 "reflection points" - ideas for handling abuse that one organizer, Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, described as a "road map" for discussion in following days. "It's an understatement to say [these ideas] have to be taken seriously," Scicluna said. Among those ideas, the pope raised the possibility of establishing rules that incorporate lay experts into abuse investigations. He also suggested creating "specific protocols" for handling accusations against bishops. The pope said that the church - likely at the local level - should consider having a clear contact for victims who want to report crimes. Though advocates for church reform said some of the ideas would help, they noted that Francis' points stopped short of a change to church law that would force clerics found guilty of abuse to be defrocked. One of the possibilities Francis raised is that the church should assess the crime - with the "traditional principle of proportionality" - and decide whether "priests and bishops guilty of sexual abuse of minors leave the public ministry." "If a priest assaults a child somewhere, is he going to be taken out of ministry by Monday morning and turned over to civil authorities?" said Peter Isely, a founding member of Ending Clergy Abuse, a global survivors and activists group. "Are they going to make that law, so it's crystal clear to every one of them?" Despite Francis' call for concrete steps, organizers have said the meeting is designed foremost to be educational - emphasizing the imperative not to bury abuse accusations. They have also said the church is not aiming to draw up a single, global standard for dealing with abuse. Corrupt legal systems or draconian laws in some countries make it unrealistic, church officials have said, for the Vatican to mandate that all bishops report abuse accusations to criminal authorities - a standard that is common within the U.S. church. "You cannot have a one-size-fits-all that comes out of this," Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago said in an interview. "They won't be told: This is exactly what you have to do." The pope called for this summit last September amid a resurgent abuse crisis that has eroded the church's credibility - while raising questions about earlier efforts at reform. Scandals over the past year have engulfed the church in Chile, Australia, Latin America and the United States. Francis has dealt with cases increasingly forcefully - though after some missteps. He is in the midst of a drastic overhaul of Chilean church leadership after earlier defending a bishop there accused of abuse coverup. He also recently affirmed the church decision to defrock former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a onetime church power broker accused of abusing minors and adults. The notion that the abuse scandal had reached into the highest levels of the church was evident Thursday, starting when Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, a Filipino widely seen as a future papal candidate, said bishops have wounded the faith with their behavior on abuse. "Our lack of response to the suffering of victims, even to the point of rejecting them, and covering up the scandal to protect the perpetrators and the institution, has injured our people," Tagle said. The event is closed to the press, but the Vatican is live-streaming certain moments, including the remarks from the pope and the three official presentations that are planned for each day. Working-group sessions and question-and-answer periods are not being broadcast. No survivors of clergy abuse are speaking in person at the summit, but the Vatican played recorded testimony from five victims Thursday. One survivor described the "total loss of the innocence of my youth." Another, from Asia, described abuse as a "time bomb" happening in the region and said the problem could destroy "whole generations" of children. Another victim described receiving a skeptical reception from church authorities after reporting abuse. "The first thing they did was to treat me as a liar, turn their backs and tell me that I, and others, were enemies of the church," the victim said. "This pattern exists not only in Chile. It exists all over the world, and this must end." "You need to repair what has been done to the victims, be close to them, believe them and accompany them," the person continued. "You are the physicians of the soul, and yet, with rare exceptions, you have been transformed - in some cases - into murderers of the soul, into murderers of the faith." The Washington Posts Stefano Pitrelli contributed to this report. (c) 2019, The Washington Post Chico Harlan Give Gov. Mike DeWine this: He squelched the near-comeback of George Orwells Newspeak at the Statehouse last week. DeWine, a Cedarville Republican, called for an 18-cent increase in Ohios gasoline tax, effective July 1. Contrast DeWines plain speaking with the words of his Transportation Infrastructure Advisory Committee. (The committee appears to be one element in a silk-smooth public-relations campaign, launched last year, to push for highway repairs and construction.) It recommended an increase in the motor fuel user fee. Calling the gas tax a user fee is like calling the sales tax on, say, clothing, a a nudity prevention fee. Somewhere, George Orwell, author of 1984, had to be smiling. The gas tax is now 28 cents per gallon. The last increase was in 2005. If passed as proposed, the new 46-cent-per-gallon gas tax would rise each year, beginning July 1, 2020, at the same rate as the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), according to the Legislative Service Commission. (For the 12 months that ended in January, the increase in the CPI for all urban consumers was 1.6 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.) The General Assembly, run by the governors fellow Republicans, will approve a gas-tax increase, though legislators could shave DeWines request by, say, a penny to save face for legislative newbies dumb enough to have vowed that theyd never support a tax increase. Given the condition of Ohios roads, voting against a gas-tax increase would amount to a vote in favor of potholes. Also last week, DeWine, arguably, if indirectly, may have put Ohios death penalty on Ohios agenda. He said hell postpone further executions until the state can be sure its lethal injection procedure and the drugs it employs pass constitutional muster. (That assumes they can.) In January, 138 people were on Ohios Death Row, the Rehabilitation and Correction Department reported. Twenty states have never had, or have abolished, the death penalty, including four of Ohios sister Northwest Territory states: Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. (Indiana, no surprise, and Ohio are the outliers.) The only European country that still carries out the death penalty is Belarus, the BBC reports. And in 2017, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, the United States ranked eighth in the world in confirmed executions, outranked by such shrines of civility as China (thousands of executions); Iran (at least 507 executions); Saudi Arabia (at least 146); Iraq (at least 125); Pakistan (at least 60); Egypt (at least 35); and Somalia (24 executions). The United States had 23. DeWine, as a state senator, was among the co-sponsors of Ohios 1981 death penalty law, Senate Bill 1. Prime sponsor was then-Sen. Richard H. Finan, of suburban Cincinnati; among the other Senate GOP co-sponsors were future Gov. John R. Kasich; future Supreme Court Justice Paul E. Pfeifer, of Bucyrus; and the late Thomas A. Van Meter, of Ashland, a pivotal Ohio conservative. Could the governor be considering a change in position after 38 years? DeWine is arguably the highest ranking Ohio officeholder with the lengthiest and best-known Right to Life commitment. True, in contrast to a convicted criminal, an unborn child (not a term or concept all Ohioans agree on) is innocent of any crimes. But the death penalty, as actually imposed and administered, is a barbarism. And on some level, most Ohioans instinctively know it. Thats why the legal system, which roughly reflects a communitys mentality, tolerates, arguably encourages, endless death penalty appeals. And in August, with Pope Franciss approval, the Catholic catechism was reworded to say that the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person. DeWine, a GOP conservative, is likely the one Ohio officeholder in recent times with the political and personal merit badges no disrespect intended that could position him to persuade Ohioans to end the death penalty. Given DeWines range of public service (as Greene Countys prosecuting attorney; state senator; lieutenant governor; U.S. senator; attorney general) and age (72), being governor could be DeWines last elected office. Its legacy time. And moral leadership in helping end Ohios death penalty would be a lasting Mike DeWine legacy. Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens. To reach Thomas Suddes: tsuddes@cleveland.com, 216-999-4689 Have something to say about this topic? Use the comments to share your thoughts. Then, stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the Follow option at the top of the comments, and look for updates via the small blue bell in the lower right as you look at more stories on cleveland.com. CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Thursday that he has a general knowledge of the investigation of Cuyahoga County Government and County Executive Armond Budish, but he is not directing it day to day and does not know about elements of the investigation. For example, he was unaware when he spoke with editors and reporters at cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer that his corruption investigators conducted a second search of the Cuyahoga County administration building on Wednesday afternoon. He also said he has not met with the two assistant county prosecutors leading the investigation and has spent only a couple of hours reviewing reports on the probe. Yost said that the day-to-day operations are being handled by one of his assistants, Dan Kasaris. The Thursday meeting with editorial board members and reporters had been sought by Yost because he said he wished to dispute assertions by a lawyer for County Executive Armond Budish that the investigation is politically motivated. Yost took over the investigation earlier this month at the request of Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael OMalley, who declared he had a conflict of interest because he is representing Budish in a civil lawsuit over jail operations. Two of OMalleys assistant prosecutors have stayed involved and report to Kasaris. Yost, a Republican, said he accepted the request from OMalley, a Democrat, because the alternative asking another county prosecutor to take over the case would have been more costly to taxpayers. He bristled at the suggestion by attorney Steve Dettelbach, one of Budishs lawyers and Yosts opponent in the 2018 race for attorney general, that politics played any role in his decision. Yost also took issue with the editorial board suggesting that a Feb. 14 raid on the county administration building, during which agents seized the computer and cell phone of Budish, was unnecessarily aggressive. He noted that a judge approved the search warrant that agents used to conduct the search, so the suggestion that prosecutors are overreaching gives the public a distorted view of the process. Im alarmed because were tearing down the system of justice here, he said. But he acknowledged being troubled at learning from the editors and reporters that a second search had been conducted Wednesday afternoon, without his knowledge. Im disappointed that I didnt know, Yost said. During that search, prosecutors seized a computer and notes from Eliza Wing, Budishs communications chief. They also took unedited videos that involved Budish criticizing the corruption probe and defending his administration. After Thursdays meeting, Yost called cleveland.com to report that his staff said the second search of the county building was prompted by the desire to retrieve a computer that was not recovered with the first search warrant. The County Prosecutors Office began the corruption investigation more than a year ago. It Initially focused on the countys IT Department and human resources policies, but now includes operations at the troubled county jails. A grand jury indicted three people, including one current and two former county administrators, last month. All three have pleaded not guilty to various felonies and misdemeanors. After the indictments, which came in January, OMalley recused himself from the investigation and asked Yost to take it over. PAINESVILLE, Ohio Painesville Municipal Court Judge Michael Cicconetti, nationally known for his alternative sentencings, will retire sometime this year. The judge was unavailable Friday, and Clerk of Court Nick Cindric offered no reason for Cicconettis decision that came little over a year into his fifth term. He was first elected in 1993 and took office the following year, according to the courts website. He made headlines last April for his handling of a theft case, involving a high school student who stole a life ring from the new pier at Painseville Township Park, which is managed by Lake Metroparks. The judge gave the young man a choice between 60 days in jail or teaching park visitors about how to tell if someone is drowning. The defendant opted for the brief stint at the park from which he stole the safety device. Cicconetti once ordered a woman to stand outside a Madison church with a sign that said "I stole coins from this church," spelled out in pennies and visible to congregants as they left services there. He also made a drunk driver view the bodies of crash victims. Cindric said the judge was elected without opposition four times, most recently in 2017. The Lake County Bar Association is hosting a retirement party for him on March 19 at LaMalfa in Mentor. Admission is $50 and attendees must register by March 1. Call the bar association for details, 440-350-2180. CLEVELAND, Ohio - Manufacturers were on hand Wednesday and Thursday, setting up their brightly lit areas while cars were getting a soft-cloth rubdown in preparation for the Cleveland Auto Show, which opens 5 p.m. today at the I-X Center. The 10-day show, one of the biggest annual events in the giant exhibition hall, runs through March 3. It features many of the latest vehicles and upgrades from familiar car manufacturers, as well as numerous events and activities. And cars, lots of them. Auto show president Lou Vitantonio notes attendance varies from year to year but always welcomes, several hundred thousand. Hours today are 5-10 p.m. Daily hours are Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m.-8 a.m. Featured days include: Family Day, Monday, Feb. 25. Children 15 and under will admitted free. Thursday, Feb. 28, veterans and first responders receive free admission with a valid ID. Full details can be found at clevelandautoshow.com/heroes Saturday, March 2 features the 20th annual Classic Car Show Awards, including Best of Show and the Peoples Choice Awards. There will be several Celebrity Cars at the Auto show, including the DeLorean Time Machine from the Back to the Future" movie franchise, the 1970 off road Charger from the movie Furious 7 and the LEGO Chevy Silverado inspired by the LEGO Movie 2. None of the manufacturers look to be featuring any concept cars for the future, which are often popular at auto shows. But there will be a Millionaires Row of high end cars expected to include Mercedes, Porsche, Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Maserati and Lotus. For more information go to www.clevelandautoshow.com. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The state agency in charge of jail inspections declined to answer questions about the wide disparity between inspections of the Cuyahoga County Jail in 2017 and 2018, but issued a statement saying inspectors found that many new problems arose after the county began taking on additional inmates from the city of Cleveland. The 2018 annual inspection released on Tuesday came after a Nov. 21 U.S. Marshals report that detailed inhumane conditions, possible civil rights violations, and inmates being withheld food, water and medical care. It marks the first time in years the state gave the county jail negative grades. The inspection also came about five months after a surprise inspection found almost no significant problems in the facility. Ohio Department of Corrections spokeswoman JoEllen Smith declined to make anyone available to answer questions about the new report. In a statement, she attributed the negative report to the countys agreement last year to accept inmates from Clevelands jails and to the county failing to provide documentation on certain policies. Questions have surrounded the states prior inspections and reports on the jail after eight inmates died in 2018, despite the state giving the county a glowing review after an inspection in late 2017 that did not include most of the serious issues the marshals found. The state found six issues in their 2017 report, one in a limited inspection in June and 84 in their report released on Tuesday. The topics vary across the spectrum, but mostly look at whether or not the jail has certain policies in place and rely on the county to provide them. Attorney General Dave Yost, during an interview with cleveland.com, declined to comment on state inspections, saying that issue may end up being something he has to defend in a court proceeding. Cuyahoga County spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan did not comment on the states most recent report report, or the ODRCs statement. Smiths statement on Wednesday that inspector Joel Commins found more than two-dozen issues that stemmed from the closing of the Cleveland House of Corrections, a 160-inmate facility that housed short-term inmates charged or convicted of misdemeanor crimes. She said the closing of the House of Corrections caused an operational impact with incoming inmates that led to several of the issues found by the state. She also said in a statement that the closing of Clevelands city jail impacted that county jails operations, but to a lesser extent than the House of Corrections. The House of Corrections closed in March and Clevelands city jail closed in June as part of an agreement for the county to take on all new city arrests, causing hundreds of new inmates being housed at the jail. The influx of inmates caused longstanding issues at the jail to worsen. Smith also said the county failed to provide documentation on at least 29 of the aspects that the inspector examined in November. The report does not say whether the county simply failed to provide the documents or didnt have certain policies in place that the state asked for. Smith also said Commins reviewed the U.S. Marshals report to see if he could find any other additional issues in the jail, which led to several other non-compliance notations in his most recent report. Smith did not address questions from cleveland.com as to why the U.S. Marshals investigation uncovered dozens of critical issues that Commins missed. The states previous inspections carried significant weight with Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish, who on multiple occasions referred to the previous state inspections when asked how so his administration overlooked so many problems. Budish asked for the marshals report after seven inmates died in a four-month span. An inmate died in December, about five weeks after the Nov. 21 marshals report was released. AKRON, Ohio A Mogadore man is charged with child endangerment after officers found an 11-month-old boy in the back seat of a car and the childs mother passed out from a drug overdose in front, police say. Officers were called to a gas station at noon Wednesday at the corner of Mogadore and Canton roads in the Ellet neighborhood. There they found the unidentified woman unresponsive in the front seat of a 1998 Buick Century. The womans son was in the back. The boys father, identified as Andrew Carter, 29, approached the car as paramedics were giving the woman Narcan, police say. He was taken into custody by police. Police did not say why Carter left the woman and child alone in the car. The woman later told police that Carter and she had obtained fentanyl on Manchester Road. She was taken to Akron City Hospital for further treatment. Carter was taken to the Summit County Jail while the child was turned over to Summit County Child Services. If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Thursdays crime and courts comments section. CLEVELAND, Ohio A Cuyahoga County inmate died Thursday while being held in a state-run psychiatric hospital. Robert Brown, 52, died Tuesday at University Heights Broadview Medical Center after being taken to the hospital from Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare in Northfield, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner. Ohio State Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Robert Sellers said two patients about 8 p.m. fought inside the hospital. Only Brown was taken to the hospital, according to Sellers, who did not identify Brown by name. Troopers are investigating the case as a reckless homicide, according to an incomplete incident report provided by the state patrol. Sellers provided cleveland.com with an incomplete incident report that did not include several key pieces of information required by Ohio law, including the names of the people involved. A narrative only says that a fight happened and someone died. Sellers declined to say if anyone was arrested. He said once someone is charged, he would release more information. Eric R. Wandersleben, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, said in a statement that the department will investigate and evaluate the incident to ensure its upholding its commitment to provide quality care. The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services takes very seriously its responsibility to provide a safe environment for both employees and patients within our Regional Psychiatric Hospital system, the statement said. Cuyahoga County Sheriff spokesman John OBrien said Brown was transferred from the jail to Northcoast on Feb. 1. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Dick Ambrose ordered Brown on Jan. 24 to be taken from the Cuyahoga County Jail to Northcoast Behavioral for psychiatrists to try and determine if Brown is competent to aid in his own defense at trial. The order says Brown should remain in the county jail until a spot opened up at the mental-health hospital, and that he should remain there for up to 20 days while a psychiatrist evaluated him. Brown refused to cooperate with two previous attempts at competency evaluations by the Cuyahoga County Court Psychology Clinic, the courts in-house expert on psycholegal issues. The county corrections system has come under intense scrutiny in recent months after eight Cuyahoga County Jail inmates died in the last six months of 2018. A criminal investigation is underway into how the conditions at the jail deteriorated and a lawsuit filed by seven inmates seeking class action status has been filed against the county. A U.S. Marshals report detailed inhumane conditions at the jail for inmates who were sometimes denied food, water and mental health care. Brown had pleaded not guilty to charges of rape, domestic violence, aggravated burglary, child endangering, intimidation and other charges in connection with a Sept. 7 incident that caused a seven-hour standoff with a Cleveland police SWAT team. Brown is accused of attacked and raped a woman on Damon Avenue, according to police. The woman escaped the home and called 911. The SWAT team surrounded the home and Brown barricaded himself inside, according to police. He surrendered to police hours later and taken to MetroHealth for treatment for a minor self-inflicted wound, police said at the time. Brown has a history of violence dating back to the early 1990s. He was sentenced to three to 15 years in prison for stabbing a woman in 1990 during a burglary. He was paroled in 1991. In April 1994, he hit a woman with his car during a chase with Cleveland police. A month later, he broke into his then-wife's home while their divorce case was pending, violating the protection order she had against him. He kicked the door in, put his hand over her mouth as she slept on the couch and told her not to scream. He spent an hour trying to talk her out of pressing charges against him for a domestic violence case that was pending at the time and threatened to kill himself if she refused. Brown was sentenced to serve between six and 15 years in prison in that case. He also was convicted in 2006 of drug possession. CLEVELAND, Ohio Police are searching for a man they say robbed a convenience store earlier this month near downtowns Playhouse Square. According to a police report, the unidentified man walked into Hanna Convenience on the 2000 block of East 14th Street, just south of Euclid Avenue, at about 3:40 p.m. on Feb. 6. A man working in the store tells police the suspect walked to the back of the store and grabbed some items, then waited for another female in the store to leave. The suspect then went to the counter and pointed a black handgun at the employee, demanding money. The worker gave the suspect about $1,000 in cash from the register. The suspect then demanded the money from the workers wallet and his ID. The worker gave the suspect about $200 but refused to hand over his ID, police say. The suspect left the store and walked south on East 14th. Police are asking anyone with information on the suspect to contact the department. If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Thursdays crime and courts comments section. CLEVELAND, Ohio A GPS tracking device led investigators to two Cleveland men who are charged in an armed robbery at a Family Dollar, court records say. Deric D. Hobbs, 33, and Davon L. Gravely, 28, are each charged with aggravated robbery in the Feb. 18 hold-up at the store on Lakeshore Boulevard near East 159th Street, court records say. Surveillance video captured the robbery and helped investigators identify a 2000 Cadillac STS that Hobbs and Gravely used as a getaway car. A GPS tracker placed in a bag with the cash also led police officers to arrest both men a short time later in East Cleveland, police reports say. Hobbs and Gravely each demanded preliminary hearings during their arraignments Tuesday in Cleveland Municipal Court. Both men remain in custody at the Cuyahoga County Jail on 10 percent of $500,000 bonds, court records say. Hobbs pretended to purchase several items in order to get a cashier to open a register, and Gravely pulled a gun on the cashier and a store manager, police reports say. The cashier had just opened the register when Hobbs reached over the counter and grabbed at the money. The cashier grabbed Hobbs arm to stop him from taking anything, police reports say. Hobbs then fumbled around in his pockets for something, which the cashier believed to be a gun, police reports say. Gravely then pulled out a gun and pointed it at the cashier and a store manager. Gravely forced the store manager to walk to the back of the store as Hobbs put approximately $205 in a bag, The two men ran from the store and drove away in the Cadillac, surveillance video showed. Investigators pinged the money tracker to the area of Strathmore Avenue near Hayden Avenue in East Cleveland. They found the car near the intersection and detained both suspects. Investigators recovered the stolen money from the car. They also found a BB gun in Hobbs pocket, court records say. To comment on this story, visit Fridays crime and courts comments page. ELYRIA, Ohio -- A 35-year-old Elyria man has been charged with inducing panic after threatening to shoot up Lorain schools, court records and police say. Brandon Green is currently in the Lorain County Jail on a $6,000 bond, jail records say. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Thursday. Police were alerted Wednesday morning about the situation after a woman saw a post on Facebook from Greens profile stating, Do not send kids to school n Lorain, according to a police report. Another Facebook user asked, you gone shoot the kids?," to which he said, Yes," the report says. Greens threat did not specify which building he was referring to. Lorain police and officers and deputies from other departments were stationed at every school in the district as a precautionary measure, officials said. Schools opened as normal and no injuries were reported, the district said. If youd like to comment on this story, visit Fridays crime and courts comments section. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The daughter of a 37-year-old Cleveland woman who died of a blood clot after her February 2017 arrest on drug charges has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Cuyahoga County. Noshala Stanley, the daughter of Nadine Stanley, says staff and officials at the Cuyahoga County Jail denied her mothers pleas for medical attention to treat leg swelling and pain in the days leading up to her Feb. 14, 2017 death of pulmonary embolism in the emergency room of Lutheran Hospital. The lawsuit, filed in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, names Cuyahoga County, Sheriff Clifford Pinkney, Warden Eric Ivey, then-Director of Corrections Ken Mills and unnamed corrections officers as defendants. Noshala Stanley is the administrator of her mothers estate. She is asking for at least $25,000 and a chance to take her case before a jury. Brian Kraig, a Cleveland-based attorney who filed the lawsuit, was not immediately available for comment. County spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan confirmed the county had received a copy of the lawsuit and is being represented by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael OMalleys office. An OMalley spokesman said the office declined to comment on pending litigation. Nadine Stanley spent a week in the jail in February 2017 before her death, according to court records. A grand jury indicted her on Jan. 24, 2017 on a single drug possession charge, and she was summoned to appear in Common Pleas Court for a Feb. 7 arraignment, records say. She went to MetroHealth two days before her court date to treat leg swelling, pain and an inability to walk, according to the lawsuit. Judge Pamela Barker set Nadine Stanleys bond at 10 percent of $1,500, records show. She did not post bond, and was booked into the county jail. The lawsuit says Nadine Stanley walked with crutches and was in need of obvious medical care" when she was taken into custody. Corrections officers failed to assess the womans medical needs, ignored her pleas to be taken to the hospital for treatment and violated their duty to provide her reasonable care while she was in custody, then failed to promptly respond to the critical medical emergency when she suffered the pulmonary embolism, the lawsuit claims. The defendants left her to die in her cell her, the lawsuit says. The suit also accuses officials of violating Nadine Stanleys constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment and put her through pain and suffering. This lawsuit comes after several current and former inmates sued the county and jail officials in federal court over conditions in the jail in 2018. Eight inmates died in the jail in 2018. Seven of the deaths spurred Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish to invite the U.S. Marshals Service to investigate the jail. A report released in November found what investigators described as inhumane conditions in the crowded facility in downtown Cleveland. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is currently leading a criminal investigation into potential corruption in Cuyahoga County government that includes problems at the jails. Mills resigned from his post in November and was criminally charged on accusations that he lied about blocking healthcare at the jail. Ivey was demoted this month after one of two county investigations was completed and showed he violated the countys nepotism policy. A second probe into Ivey remains ongoing. CLEVELAND, Ohio This is what affection sounds like. To the extent its possible to express fondness through music, thats exactly what the Cleveland Orchestra did Thursday night at Severance Hall. It wasnt just that the orchestra, like the rest of the musical world, admires Herbert Blomstedt, conductor laureate of the San Francisco Symphony. The group Thursday played in a way that said it genuinely cares for him, giving the 91-year-old Swedish maestro everything he asked for and more, no matter how minimal or slight the cue. The real winner, of course, was the audience. Out of the long, friendly relationship and seemingly deep understanding between Blomstedt and Cleveland Thursday flowed magnificent performances of two prime examples of orchestral program music, Beethovens Pastoral Symphony No. 6 and Mendelssohns Scottish Symphony No. 3. Both are pillars of the repertoire, and are heard here regularly. The former, in fact, made an appearance last season, during The Prometheus Project. Suffice to say, though: under Blomstedt, both sounded freshly scrubbed and lovingly re-examined, free of any habit or tedium. Beethoven fared especially well. Rarely has the Pastoral sounded so thoroughly natural. Not only was the musical imagery of birds, streams, and storms especially vivid. The performance itself was profoundly organic, a thing practically alive and conscious in its own right. In the famous first movement, for instance, uncommonly warm strings and Blomstedts flexible pacing and painterly use of dynamics evoked more than just cheerful feelings. They conjured breathing, with palpable inhalations and exhalations. Ditto the scene by the brook and post-storm finale. The strings, in the former, brought water to mind with stunning eloquence, and vibrant woodwinds all but picked up and fluttered away. Similarly, the calm after the storm was spacious and profoundly lyrical, as close to a true song of thanks as an orchestra can get. Different imagery, same level of affection in Mendelssohns Scottish Symphony. There, in lieu of woodlands, peasant dances, and thunder, the orchestra helped Blomstedt commemorate in music a place of sweeping, vertiginous landscapes. Accents, in this performance, were everything. In both the first and fourth movements, Blomstedt proved that even the smallest of musical gestures can make a huge difference, can inject already brilliant music with newfound zest and passion. The orchestra, meanwhile, demonstrated its exquisite soft range and that what it has in its principal woodwinds are treasures. The orchestras feelings for Blomstedt were never far from the surface. Between the two moods of the Scherzo, there was a veritable chasm, as if the players, before giving the conductor their vigorous best, had actively been holding back. The Adagio, too, was nothing if not ardent, a sublime display of warmth and lyrical sweetness. Most guest conductors appear with the Cleveland Orchestra on cycles of two or three years. Blomstedt, by contrast, was here last July. This is a good thing. Conductors like Blomstedt are few and far between. Visits by him therefore must be regular and frequent. REVIEW Cleveland Orchestra What: Herbert Blomstedt conducts Beethoven and Mendelssohn When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 22 and 23. Where: Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Tickets: $31-$165. Go to clevelandorchestra.com or call 216-231-1111. William Russell Allton was born in Dewey, Oklahoma on April 25, 1931 to Russell Frank and Alice Mae (Steffens) Allton. He attended school in Claremore and graduated with the class of 1948. On August 26, 1949 Bill married Jimmie Louise Reed and the couple made Tulsa home for the first 25 year A Florida woman has been arrested for alleged unlicensed practice of public adjusting and grand theft related to Hurricane Irma, according to a statement from the Florida Department of Financial Services. Mary Bruce is accused of attempting to steal more than $68,000 in fraudulent insurance claims. This is Bruces second arrest for insurance fraud this year. Officials said she bonded out of jail in January and was arrested again on separate charges. DFS investigators claim Bruce approached homeowners whose home sustained roof and interior damages from Hurricane Irma in September 2017. Bruce allegedly told the homeowners that she was an independent claims adjuster that could negotiate settlements with insurance companies. Bruce required the homeowners to pay $3,500 and to sign a power of attorney. Bruce, however, is not a licensed attorney, public adjuster, nor is she a general contractor. According to officials, Bruce then submitted fraudulent cost estimates for roofing work to the insurance company. In total, she submitted $68,000 in fraudulent insurance claims to the homeowners insurance company. Bruce was arrested and booked into the Brevard County Jail and charged for rendering services as an unlicensed public adjuster, as well as for grand theft. If convicted, Bruce faces up to 10 years in prison. Her previous arrest was on charges of unlicensed public adjusting and filing of false and fraudulent lien in Orange County. It never ceases to amaze me the lengths these scam artists will go to steal your hard-earned money, CFO Jimmy Patronis, who oversees Florida DFS, said. My detectives caught this criminal once, and they have arrested her again. Source: Florida Department of Financial Services February is Insurance Careers Month and since insurance has been so good to my house, I feel compelled to participate. To paraphrase an old comedian, If it hadnt been for insurance, I would be in insurance today. Our friends at Insurance Career Movement (www.insurancecareerstrifecta.org) have been beating this drum now since 2015. They are asking participants to write about insurance and how we impact the world. This weeks focus is about philanthropy and economic impact. Because of that, I think its time for a history lesson because we need to be reminded just how important this industry is to the rest of the economy. I may have a simple view of things, but the insurance industry impacts economies all over the world, but our primary impact is in the local economy. A brief history of insurance The concept of insurance dates back thousands of years and while the forms of insurance change over time and the written contracts change as well, the idea has remained the same. The ancient Babylonian king Hammurabi recorded one of the earliest forms of insurance in his code of laws in the 18th Century BC (for those keeping score, thats over 3800 years ago). The code stated that when someone rented a field to farm it, if there were extreme weather conditions (draught, flooding) or great sickness that caused a failure of the crops or the inability to harvest them properly, the rents on that field were to be forgiven for that year. Lets fast forward to a time that many of us are already aware of. If youve done any kind of study of insurance history, you know Edward Lloyd. You probably dont need me to tell the whole story, so Ill skip to the gist of it. By establishing his coffee house where he did and being willing to move it into the heart of the maritime industry, he created conditions where the basics of ocean marine insurance could be created and flourish. We could tell insurance history stories all day, including how our old friend Ben Franklin established a pattern of fire insurance and fire protection that still exists today. We could talk about the Buffalo, NY doctor who bought the first recorded true automobile policy in 1989. We could even talk about how in 1929 a group of Texas teachers were able to contract with Baylor University hospital to provide them with pre-paid health care services. What do all of these moments in history have in common? A farmer cant work his fields. A shipper seeks help from names to underwrite the risk of his shipment. A group of people gather together to agree to protect one another against the risk of fire by forming a fire company and an insurance company. Teachers seek help paying for the medical care that they might need. In all of these cases, we are talking about people coming along side people and creating economic stability and opportunity in their communities. How does the insurance world support economic health? Insurance reduces risk in commerce If youve ever applied for a loan, you know that banks like to loan money when they think that they will be repaid. If youve ever been refused for a loan, or been asked to find a co-signatory, you can bet that the bank looked at your information and decided that the likelihood was that you wouldnt repay that loan. One of the risks that a bank has is that something will happen to the item that the loaned money for. Bankers actually fear that something will happen to your car or your home. They fear that if your car is wrecked or your house burns, and you dont have insurance on it, youll stop paying for it. That kind of makes sense in a way. I mean, who wants to make payments on a wrecked car thats sitting in a part yard? In order to let them sleep at night, they require insurance on those big purchases before they write the loan. That way they can rest, knowing that if something happens, youll keep paying. It makes writing loans easier for them and keeps the wheels of commerce moving. Insurance reduces risks in community Imagine that you and you family just went out to watch a movie. On your way home, three fire trucks speed past you. You think little of it until you realize that theyre on your street. Theyre not just on your street, but theyre in front of your house and a cascade of water is spraying from the top of one truck. By the time theyre done, the smoke still billows in spots; rivulets of water sprinkled with half burnt pictures wander down your driveway; you hold your dear ones, trying (uselessly) not to cry; and wonder what you are going to do tomorrow. Now imagine that 2 months ago you wrote the check that paid off the mortgage and you called your insurance agent. She begged you not to cancel your homeowners policy, telling you that it covers more than just the house, but you were looking to save $3,000 next year. Besides, when was the last time a house burned down around here? The family in this story needs clothes and food. They need a place to stay. They need someone to help them figure out which way is up so that they can find normal again and find it soon. The homeowners policy that they used to have included coverage so that they could get a place to stay while they assess whats next. It included coverage for some new clothes so that they arent washing the same pair of jeans and underclothes every day. It included coverage to get a company out to clean up the rubble of their home and start the process of rebuilding it. Without insurance, they dont have the money to get the debris removed so the city has a new hazard that they have to deal with. The neighborhood has a problem because the burnt house down the block drives property values down. Some neighbors want to move, but they cant sell their homes with that over there. We havent even mentioned that with insurance, communities can have public parks and fun things for the kids to do. Insurance policies protect fire departments from the possible claims that could come against them. Oh. Did I mention that insurance companies hire people who buy things and drive our economy forward? The insurance industry supports my local economy because Im about to go get some groceries. A Connecticut father has sued his daughters former college, saying the school failed to keep her safe. The Connecticut Post reports that Paul Lisi, of Monroe, says in the suit that his daughter was assaulted twice while attending Albertus Magnus College in New Haven. He alleges she was repeatedly bullied during her freshman year, but nothing was done. He also says a male student pushed his daughter into a dresser in her dorm room. The lawsuit says the woman lost confidence in the administrations ability to make her feel safe. She has since withdrawn from the school. Lisi says in the suit he was refunded a fraction of room and board charges, but is seeking another $11,000. College spokeswoman Andrea Kovacs says she cannot comment on student conduct matters. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Hybrid cloud continues to grow in popularity, fueled by its agility and scalability. Yet, many organizations realize that a hybrid cloud model (a combination of private, on-prem, and public cloud) also introduces complexity, which slows innovation. A hybrid model also makes it more difficult to view global utilization or track and control costs. A recent ESG Research Insights Paper, Multi-cloud Management Maturity, Tangible Reasons Management Excellence Is Required in a Hybrid Computing World, details how organizations are managing heavily hybridized environments. In the paper, ESG surveyed 600 IT decision makers in organizations of at least 1,000 employees to determine a multi-cloud management maturity score. Those surveyed use public cloud for nearly a quarter of their workloads and the majority utilize multiple cloud service providers. They also implement on-premises workloads in the following percentages: 37% of on-premises workloads are run on traditional physical servers. 36% are run on VMs that are still predominantly managed as traditional servers. 27% are run within a private cloud that inherits the core attributes of public cloud services. Survey results only 15% are Transformed Based on the results, ESG divided the organizations into 4 groups: Unrealized, Modernized, Automated, and Transformed, ranking them from lowest to highest according to their degree of success in a hybrid landscape. The survey found most organizations fall somewhere in the middle of the multi-cloud maturity spectrum: 15% Unrealized 35% Modernized 35% Automated 15% Transformed These results didnt surprised me, as successful multi-cloud management involving public cloud and on-premises private is complex and very few tools that solve the complexity problem are available. However, I found a couple of results particularly interesting. Respondents could earn a total of 100 maturity points, yet the highest score achieved was only 86. And if an organization earned at least a score of 67.5, ESG included them in the Transformed category. ESG noted that the most advanced organizations still have lots of room to grow in terms of improving their cloud management maturity. Another interesting finding in the report was that even incremental improvements resulted in substantial gains. Organizations that moved from one tier to the next realized substantial benefits throughout the enterprise. Transformed organizations whats their secret? According to ESGs research, organizations that want to improve their multi-cloud management maturity should implement four best practices. To join the ranks of the Transformed multi-cloud management organizations, enterprises should do the following: 1. Invest heavily in converged/hyperconverged infrastructure (CI/HCI) for on-premises workloads. Ninety percent of all Transformed organizations have deployed CI/HCI platforms in their environments to support legacy workloads, while 88% have done so for newly developed applications. Instead of waiting for legacy infrastructure to depreciate fully, its interesting that many of these organizations are implementing these newer technologies proactively. 2. Actively automate IT operations so staff can focus on other areas. Transformed organizations report that they have either completely or mostly automated processes such as VM provisioning (86%), application deployment (88%), and performance/problem monitoring (86%). Once IT staff automates these processes, they have more time to focus on other initiatives such as supporting application development or re-architecting legacy applications. 3. Invest in consolidated hybrid cloud management tools. No matter where a workload runs (in a public or private cloud), hybrid cloud management tools will manage and monitor cloud costs, as well as provide consistent user experiences. ESG discovered Transformed organizations are twice as likely as Unrealized organizations to consolidate management under one IT team for public cloud and on-premises resources (58% to 23% respectively.) Due to simplified and streamlined operations provided by hybrid cloud management tools, a single management team is sufficient. 4. Make informed workload placement decisions and optimize workloads before moving them to public cloud infrastructure. Nearly half of Transformed organizations (48%) fully customize applications prior to migration. Just 3% ofUnrealizedorganizations put the same level of effort into workload preparation prior to migrating to the cloud. The bigger truth Based on ESGs research, Transformed organizations are the exception, not the rule. And even those who have transformed have not reached the pinnacle, which means that they have the opportunity to improve even more. Additionally, ESGs research shows even incremental improvements result in big rewards for the organization. For those interested in improving their standing against the benchmarks laid out by ESG, it is important to take a look at the 4 best practices above and begin implementing these suggestions. Read the full report here: Multi-cloud Management Maturity, Tangible Reasons Management Excellence Is Required in a Hybrid Computing World. HPE can help organizations simplify their hybrid IT experience with modern technologies and software-defined solutions. Additionally, Cloud Technology Partners (CTP), a HPE company, will work with the IT team to enhance learning, conquer cloud, and accelerate a successful digital transformation. ___________________________________ About Gary Thome Gary Thome is the Vice President and Chief Technologist for the Software-Defined and Cloud Group at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). He is responsible for the technical and architectural directions of converged datacenter products and technologies. To read more articles from Gary, check out the HPE Shifting to Software-Defined blog. ERP definition Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a system of integrated software applications that standardizes, streamlines and integrates business processes across finance, human resources, procurement, distribution, and other departments. Typically, ERP systems operate on an integrated software platform using common data definitions operating on a single database. ERPs were originally designed for manufacturing companies but have since expanded to service industries, higher education, hospitality, health care, financial services, and government. Each industry has its own ERP peculiarities. For example, government ERP uses contract lifecycle management (CLM) rather than traditional purchasing and follows government accounting rules rather than GAAP. Banks have back-office settlement processes to reconcile checks, credit cards, debit cards, and other instruments. The benefits of an ERP system ERP systems improve enterprise efficiency and effectiveness in a number of ways. By integrating financial information in a single system, ERP systems unify an organizations financial reporting. They also integrate order management, making order taking, manufacturing, inventory, accounting, and distribution a much simpler and less error-prone process. Most ERPs also include customer relationship management (CRM) tools to track customer interactions, thereby providing deeper insights about customer behavior and needs. They can also standardize and automate manufacturing and supporting processes, and unifying procurement across an organizations disparate business units. An ERP system can also provide a standardized HR platform for time reporting, expense tracking, training, skills matching, and the like, and greatly enhance an organization's ability to file the necessary reporting for government regulations, across finance, HR and the supply chain. Properly operating ERP systems enable enterprises to reduce the time required to complete virtually every business process. They also promote collaboration through shared data organized around common data definitions, resulting in better decision-making. The standardization and simplification that ERP systems offer result in fewer rigid structures, thereby creating a more agile enterprise that can adapt quickly while increasing the potential for collaboration. An ERP systems centralized database, while being a bigger target, is easier to secure than data scattered across hundreds of systems. 4 key features of ERP systems The scale, scope, and functionality of ERP systems vary widely. However, most ERP software features the following characteristics: Enterprise-wide integration. Business processes are integrated end to end across departments and business units. For example, a new order automatically initiates a credit check, queries product availability, and updates the distribution schedule. Once the order is shipped, the invoice is sent. Real-time (or near real-time) operations. Since the processes in the example above occur within a few seconds of order receipt, problems are identified quickly, giving the seller more time to correct the situation. A common database. A common database enables data to be defined once for the enterprise with every department using the same definition. Some ERP systems split the physical database to improve performance. Consistent look and feel. Early ERP vendors realized that software with a consistent user interface reduces training costs and appears more professional. When other software is acquired by an ERP vendor, common look and feel is sometimes abandoned in favor of speed to market. As new releases enter the market, most ERP vendors restore the consistent user interface. Types of ERP solutions ERP systems are categorized in tiers based on the size and complexity of enterprises served. Typical tiers include: Tier I ERPs support large, global enterprises and handle all internationalization issues, including currency, language, alphabet, postal code, accounting rules, etc. For decades, Oracle and SAP have been considered Tier I. Microsoft and Infor are more recent competitors but are frequently categorized as Tier I as well. support large, global enterprises and handle all internationalization issues, including currency, language, alphabet, postal code, accounting rules, etc. For decades, Oracle and SAP have been considered Tier I. Microsoft and Infor are more recent competitors but are frequently categorized as Tier I as well. Tier I Government ERPs support large, mostly federal, government agencies. These vendors support the nuances of government accounting, HR, and procurement. Oracle, SAP and CompuServes PRISM are considered Tier I with Infor and CGIs Momentum close behind. support large, mostly federal, government agencies. These vendors support the nuances of government accounting, HR, and procurement. Oracle, SAP and CompuServes PRISM are considered Tier I with Infor and CGIs Momentum close behind. Tier II ERPs support large enterprises that may operate in multiple countries but lack global reach. Tier II customers can be standalone entities or business units of large global enterprises. Most of these ERPs have some internationalization but lack Tier I breadth. Depending on how vendors are categorized there are 25 to 45 vendors in this tier. support large enterprises that may operate in multiple countries but lack global reach. Tier II customers can be standalone entities or business units of large global enterprises. Most of these ERPs have some internationalization but lack Tier I breadth. Depending on how vendors are categorized there are 25 to 45 vendors in this tier. Tier II Government ERPs focus mostly on state and local governments with some federal installations. Tyler Technologies and UNIT4 fall in this category. focus mostly on state and local governments with some federal installations. Tyler Technologies and UNIT4 fall in this category. Tier III ERPs support mid-tier enterprises. Most handle a handful of languages and currencies but only a single alphabet. Depending on how ERPs are categorized, there are 75 to 100 Tier III ERP solutions. support mid-tier enterprises. Most handle a handful of languages and currencies but only a single alphabet. Depending on how ERPs are categorized, there are 75 to 100 Tier III ERP solutions. Tier IV ERPs are designed for small enterprises and often focus on accounting. Over the past few years, ERP vendors have created new systems designed specifically for the cloud, while longtime ERP vendors have created cloud versions of their software. Cloud ERP is becoming increasingly popular, and fall into two major types: ERP as a service . With these ERPs, all customers operate on the same code base and have no access to the source code. Users can configure but not customize the code. . With these ERPs, all customers operate on the same code base and have no access to the source code. Users can configure but not customize the code. ERP in an IaaS cloud. Enterprises that rely on custom code in their ERP cannot use ERP as a service. If they wish to operate in the cloud, the only option is to move to an IaaS provider, which shifts their servers to a different location. For most enterprises, ERP as a service offers three advantages: The initial cost is lower, upgrades to new releases are easier, and reluctant executives cannot pressure the organization to write custom code for their organization. For more on cloud ERP, see: Top ERP software Choosing an ERP system is among the most challenging decisions IT leaders face. In addition to the above tier criteria, there is a wide range of features and capabilities to consider. With any industry, it is important to pick an ERP vendor with industry experience. Educating a vendor about the nuances of a new industry is very time consuming. To help you get a sense of the kinds of decisions that go into choosing an ERP system, check out The best ERP systems: 10 enterprise resource planning tools compared, with evaluations and user reviews of Acumatica Cloud ERP, Deltek ERP, Epicor ERP, Infor ERP, Microsoft Dynamics ERP, NetSuite ERP, Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne ERP, Oracle Peoplesoft Financial Management and SAP ERP Solutions. ERP implementation Most successful ERP implementations are led by an executive sponsor who sponsors the business case, gets approval to proceed, monitors progress, chairs the steering committee, removes road blocks, and captures the benefits. The CIO works closely with the executive sponsor to ensure adequate attention is paid to integration with existing systems, data migration, and infrastructure upgrades. The CIO also advises the executive sponsor on challenges and helps the executive sponsor select a firm specializing in ERP implementations. The executive sponsor should also be advised by an organizational change management executive, as ERP implementations result in new business processes, roles, user interfaces, and job responsibilities. Organizational change management can help everyone in the enterprise understand the impact ERP will have on their work. In many cases, an organizational change management firm, rather than an internal executive, provides this support. Reporting to the programs executive team should be a business project manager and an IT project manager. If the enterprise has engaged an ERP integration firm or an organizational change management specialist, their project managers should be part of the core program management team. See also: How to assemble a winning ERP team ERP implementation: The 5 major steps Most ERP practitioners structure their ERP implementation as follows: 1. Gain approval The executive sponsor oversees the creation of any documentation required for approval. This document, usually called a business case , typically includes the following: Problem definition Description of the programs objectives and scope Assumptions Implementation costs Implementation schedule Development and operational risks Projected benefits Once the business case is complete, the executive sponsor presents the business case to the appropriate group of senior executives for formal approval to spend money and direct staff to implement the ERP. 2. Plan the program The high-level timeline created for the business case is then refined into a work plan, which should include the following steps: Finalize team members. Key internal individuals should be identified by name. Other required staff should be identified by role. External partners need to be selected. Typical partners include: ERP implementation specialists, organizational change management specialists and technical specialists. Key internal individuals should be identified by name. Other required staff should be identified by role. External partners need to be selected. Typical partners include: ERP implementation specialists, organizational change management specialists and technical specialists. Complete contracts. Contracts for new software, technology, and services should be finalized. Contracts for new software, technology, and services should be finalized. Plan infrastructure upgrades. On-premises ERP systems frequently require faster processors, additional storage, and improved communications. Some organizations can minimize infrastructure upgrades by using a cloud ERP. But even cloud ERPs can require infrastructure upgrades. On-premises ERP systems frequently require faster processors, additional storage, and improved communications. Some organizations can minimize infrastructure upgrades by using a cloud ERP. But even cloud ERPs can require infrastructure upgrades. Create a work plan and timeline. Tasks, dependencies, resources, and timing need to be made as specific as possible. 3. Configure software This is the largest, most difficult phase. Major steps include: Analyze gaps. Understanding the gaps in current business processes and supporting applications helps the project team determine how to change business processes to conform to the software. Understanding the gaps in current business processes and supporting applications helps the project team determine how to change business processes to conform to the software. Configure parameters. Parameters in the ERP software are set to reflect the new business processes. Parameters in the ERP software are set to reflect the new business processes. Complete required programming . Ideally, no changes are needed for the ERP software. However, some programming may be required for interfaces to other systems or for data migration. . Ideally, no changes are needed for the ERP software. However, some programming may be required for interfaces to other systems or for data migration. Migrate data. The team standardizes data definitions and examines existing files for data completeness, quality, and redundancy. Finally, existing data is cleansed and migrated to the new ERP. The team standardizes data definitions and examines existing files for data completeness, quality, and redundancy. Finally, existing data is cleansed and migrated to the new ERP. Test system. The system is tested to ensure it delivers the needed functionality and required responsiveness. The system is tested to ensure it delivers the needed functionality and required responsiveness. Document system. Required functional and technical documentation is created. Typically, the vendor has documentation that can be tailored to enterprise standards. Required functional and technical documentation is created. Typically, the vendor has documentation that can be tailored to enterprise standards. Upgrade infrastructure. Complete any required upgrades. 4. Deploy the system Prior to the final cutover when the new system is in production, multiple activities have to be completed. These include: Train staff. All staff need to be trained to operate the system and be given access rights. All staff need to be trained to operate the system and be given access rights. Plan support. A support team will be needed to answer questions and resolve problems after the ERP is operational. A support team will be needed to answer questions and resolve problems after the ERP is operational. Test the system. The new system must be thoroughly tested to ensure it is secure, responsive, and delivers the functionality described in the business case. The new system must be thoroughly tested to ensure it is secure, responsive, and delivers the functionality described in the business case. Make the Go live decision. Once the executive sponsor is confident the new ERP is ready, the enterprise needs to switch from the old system to the new system. 5. Stabilize the system Following ERP deployment, most organizations experience a dip in business performance as staff learn new roles, tools, business processes, and metrics. In addition, poorly cleansed data and infrastructure bottlenecks will cause disruption. All impose a workload bubble on the ERP deployment and support team. For more on ERP implementation, see: Hidden costs of ERP The four factors that are commonly underestimated during project planning include: Business process change. Most people are content to work within the current environment unless they are a systems analyst or worked for a different enterprise with better systems. Once teams see the results of their improvements, most feel empowered and seek additional improvements. Success breeds success often consuming more time than originally budgeted. Most people are content to work within the current environment unless they are a systems analyst or worked for a different enterprise with better systems. Once teams see the results of their improvements, most feel empowered and seek additional improvements. Success breeds success often consuming more time than originally budgeted. Organizational change management . Although process improvements make enterprises more efficient and effective, change creates uncertainty at all organization levels. A formal organizational change management program reassures staff and helps them accept the changes. With many executives unfamiliar with the nuances of organization change management, the effort is easily underestimated. . Although process improvements make enterprises more efficient and effective, change creates uncertainty at all organization levels. A formal organizational change management program reassures staff and helps them accept the changes. With many executives unfamiliar with the nuances of organization change management, the effort is easily underestimated. Data migration . Prior to an ERP implementation, enterprises frequently have overlapping databases and weak editing rules. The tighter editing required with an ERP system increases data migration time. The time required is easy to underestimate, particularly if all data sources cannot be identified. . Prior to an ERP implementation, enterprises frequently have overlapping databases and weak editing rules. The tighter editing required with an ERP system increases data migration time. The time required is easy to underestimate, particularly if all data sources cannot be identified. Custom code. Although enterprises have customized ERPs for years, it remains a bad practice. Customization increases implementation cost significantly as users demand additional features. It voids the warranty; problems reported to the vendor must be reproduced on unmodified software. It makes upgrades difficult; the custom code usually requires changes every time the vendor issues a new release. Finally, most enterprises underestimate the cost; even enterprises that estimate the initial cost rarely include the cost of migrating to new releases. For more on ERP costs, see: Why ERP projects fail ERP projects fail for many of the same reasons that other projects fail. The most common cause is an ineffective executive sponsor who cannot command respect throughout the organization, is not interested in the project, or is distracted by other responsibilities. Other ways to fail include poorly defined program goals, weak project management, inadequate resources, and poor data cleanup. There are several causes of failure that are closely tied to ERPs. Specifically: Inappropriate package selection. ERPs, particularly Tier I ERPs, are very complex with many options. Many enterprises believe a Tier I ERP is by definition best for every enterprise. In reality, only very large, global enterprises will ever use more than a small percentage of the functionality available in a Tier I ERP. Enterprises that are not complex enough to justify Tier I, may find implementation delayed by feature overload. Conversely, large, global enterprises may find that Tier II or Tier III ERPs lack sufficient features for complex, global operations. ERPs, particularly Tier I ERPs, are very complex with many options. Many enterprises believe a Tier I ERP is by definition best for every enterprise. In reality, only very large, global enterprises will ever use more than a small percentage of the functionality available in a Tier I ERP. Enterprises that are not complex enough to justify Tier I, may find implementation delayed by feature overload. Conversely, large, global enterprises may find that Tier II or Tier III ERPs lack sufficient features for complex, global operations. Internal resistance. While any new program can generate resistance, this is more common with ERPs. Remote business units frequently view the financial or other standardization imposed by an ERP as an effort by headquarters to increase control over the field. Even with an active campaign to explain the benefits of the new system, it is not uncommon to find people in the field slowing implementation as much as possible. Even groups who support the ERP can become disenchanted if the implementation team provides poor support or is perceived to be rude or unresponsive. Disenchanted supporters can become vicious critics when they feel they have been taken for granted and not offered appropriate support. Florida, FL (34429) Today Intervals of clouds and sunshine. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 91F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. Low near 70F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. The decapitated head of a Mexican businesswoman who had been kidnapped more than a week ago was found in a trash bag days later with an eerie note blaming her husband for her death according to media reports. Mexican news outlets initially reported on Feb. 16 that the remains of Susana Carrera had been discovered in a vacant lot in the city of Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz. RELATED: State Department warns of dangerous Mexico spring break destinations "This happened to me because my husband played the tough guy and didn't want to pay my ransom." Was the note that Mexican law officials say was found in the bag containing Carrera's head on Feb. 13. U.S. media outlets began reporting on the gruesome discovery on Feb. 19. Her killers had demanded 4 million pesos ($207,000) after taking Carrera as she was attempting to pick up her daughter from a home in the Playa Sol neighborhood, according to reports. Multiple news agencies report that Carrera was the co-owner of Pexaliminio, an aluminum company, along with her husband Luis Manriquez. Video of the kidnapping shows Carrera waiting outside a residence before being violently grabbed and hauled into a vehicle waiting nearby. RELATED: Tourists frolic around Cancun days before cartel shooting Carrera's husband later posted to social media confirming his wife's death. "Thank you very much to everyone for your prayers and wishes for my wife Susana Carrera to return home. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to and she passed away." This is the latest in an ongoing string of kidnappings and homicides in the dangerous port city. According to Mexico News Daily, Coatzacoalcos had 49 kidnappings and 160 homicides in 2018. Even after apologizing for errors in the rollout of an effort to remove non-citizens from voter rolls, the states top elections officials job is still very much in doubt as all 12 Democrats in the Texas Senate have now announced they will oppose his appointment. On Friday, Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, joined that list when she released a statement declaring she would not support embattled Secretary of State David Whitleys nomination to remain Secretary of State. Unfortunately, through his actions and those of his office, acting Secretary Whitley failed to uphold the expectations of his position, Alvarado said. Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Whitley Secretary of State in December, but his appointment must be confirmed by two-thirds of the Texas Senate to retain the office. With all 12 Democrats of the 31-member Senate in opposition, Whitley would not have enough votes as it stands now. Whitley was originally supposed to be voted on by the Senate Nominations Committee and sent to the full Senate on Feb. 14. But State Sen. Dawn Buckingham, a Central Texas Republican who chairs that committee, delayed the vote as opposition to Whitley grew. Two weeks later, Buckingham still has not put his confirmation on the agenda. A spokesman for Buckingham said she was unavailable to comment. TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox In January, Whitley put out a press release that announced his office was forwarding the names of 95,000 potential non-citizens to county election officials with instructions for how to begin sending notices to those voters to remove them from the voting lists, if they were unable to prove their citizenship. In the statement, Whitley said 58,000 people on that list had voted in past elections names that were being sent to the Texas Attorney General to be investigated for potential felony charges. In his initial confirmation hearing on Feb. 7, Whitley defended his efforts and refused to say if any mistakes had been made. A week later, he issued a written apology to members of the Texas Legislature for how the non-citizen voter lists were rolled out. In that letter, Whitley said he knew his efforts to notify counties and the public caused some confusion. To the extent my actions missed that mark, I apologize, Whitley wrote in the letter. His office has been sued by voting rights advocacy groups and Democrats have demanded he rescind the original directives to counties, something they say is a form of voter suppression. NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. Israel's first moon-bound probe is headed to the lunar surface after a successful launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday night -- putting the tiny nation one step closer to becoming the fourth country to land on the moon. The probe -- called "Beresheet" or "in the beginning" in Hebrew -- launched at 7:45 p.m. on the back of a SpaceX rocket. It is expected to reach the moon by April 11 and, if successful, will be the first commercial lander to reach the moon. Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL -- the only Israeli contestant competing in the Google Lunar XPRIZE competition that ended last year with no winner -- built the lander for just $100 million. It is not carrying humans to the surface "We punch far above our weight," said Sylvan Adams, a SpaceIL donor and Canadian-Israeli businessman and philanthropist, during a Wednesday night news conference in Florida. "With Israeli innovation, with Israeli can-do, we've managed to do this on a shoe-string budget and it's something we're very proud of." The United States remains the only country to leave human footprints on the moon. The other two countries that have sent probes to the surface are the Soviet Union in September 1959 and China in December 2013 and January 2019. NASA has signed an agreement to "cooperatively utilize" Israel's probe, which will conduct experiments to measure the moon's magnetic field. The agreement essentially means both countries will benefit from this mission. "We can get all kinds of data and information and good science that NASA needs but we can do it for a fraction of the cost," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told Fox News on Thursday. For example, NASA officials said in October that Israel will share data about the magnetic field of the landing site with the U.S., which will be available publicly via NASA's Planetary Data System. Additionally, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter a probe launched in 2009 that is mapping the moon's surface will try to take measures of the probe as it lands. Also Thursday, a Japanese probe briefly touched down on an asteroid 200 miles away from Earth, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced, grabbing a sample of dust in the process. Japan launched the probe in 2014 and sample will return to Earth late next year. Israel's historic launch comes as NASA shifts its focus to returning to the moon as a stepping stone for a mission to Mars. President Donald Trump's $19.9 billion NASA budget for the current fiscal year tasks the agency with launching the first flight without a crew for Orion -- the spacecraft meant to take humans to the moon -- by 2022, followed by a launch of Americans around the moon in 2023. Additionally, it allows the agency to begin working on the foundation for a mini space station orbiting the moon, known as the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, which will involve cooperation with commercial companies and other nations. "We are building a coalition of nations to return to the moon sustainable and I think Israel can be a big piece of that sustainable return to the moon," Bridenstine told Fox News. NASA also is relying on commercial companies to build its lunar landers, which they hope will launch as early as this year but no later than Dec. 31, 2021. The space agency in November tapped nine companies, including Houston-based Intuitive Machines, to build the moon probes. On Thursday, the American space agency announced the first round of 12 experiments that will head to the moon on these landers. They include instruments to measure the radiation environment on the surface, the hydrogen abundance and the magnetic field. NASA officials said they will work with U.S. companies on reusable system to take astronauts to the surface of the moon. Human-class landers will be tested on the moon beginning 2024, in the hopes that a crew could be sent to the surface by 2028. Alex Stuckey writes about NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey. A new species may have been found by a team of researchers from Texas A&M Galveston, the ocean-oriented branch campus of Texas A&M University in College Station. A unique remipede, a rare organism that is part of a biological class of small collection of crustaceans called Remipedia, was discovered by Texas A&M Galveston marine biology professor Tom Iliffe and two of his students during a cave dive off the Turks and Caicos Islands. Discovered: 57-year-old message in bottle washes up on Texas shore Currently, a total of 29 species of remipedes have been found in underwater caves in the Bahamas, Caribbean, Canary Islands and Mexico. If the animal found in Turks and Caicos is distinct, it would bring the total number to 30. "When we find an animal from a new cave, it's very suspicious and raises our hopes that it's new," Iliffe told Chron.com. Hope for vaccine: Methodist Hospital researchers find flesh-eating bacteria genetic roadmap The newly-found remipede will undergo both physical and molecular level testing to identify what it is, how it's related to other groups of remipedes and if it is, indeed, a new species. Regardless, the find is significant. "There are some remipedes at the Natural History Museum of Denmark but some of those are older specimens where the DNA may have degraded. Fresh material would be extremely helpful to our studies," said Iliffe. Remipedes are also notable because of their unusual distribution, with species occurring on opposite sides of the ocean yet always in underwater caves. "This indicates that the ancestors of these animals may have first invaded caves when North and South America were adjoining one another at the earliest stages of the formation of the Atlantic Ocean more than 100 million years ago," Iliffe said. "This was the time when the dinosaurs still roamed the earth. But while they went extinct, these animals in their cave habitat somehow survived." While preserving remipedes in their habitat is vital to scientific research, including the study of how the species has endured, they are in danger of being wiped out, according to Iliffe. Iliffe and his students, who were invited on the research trip to the Turks and Caicos along with scientists from around the world, by Dr. Brett Gonzalez, a graduate of Texas A&M Galveston and a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution. The TAMUG team came across a cave that is now devoid of remipedes. The cause? "It is most likely due to water pollution," Iliffe said. "These animals normally occur in a single cave and nowhere else. So if that cave becomes polluted, those animals become extinct." Iliffe hopes to raise awareness of this issue. "One of my jobs as a scientist is to raise awareness of the significance of these animals and the caves habitat," Iliffe said. "Thereby, I hope to preserve and protect the environment these animals inhabit." Marcy de Luna is a digital reporter specializing in social media, the famous, and food. You can follow her on Twitter @MarcydeLuna and Facebook @MarcydeLuna. Read her stories on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. | Marcy.deLuna@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message The plaintiffs in a 2013 lawsuit aimed at preventing the city of Houston from offering benefits to employees same-sex spouses plan to appeal a judges decision earlier this week to throw out the case. Jared Woodfill, the attorney representing plaintiffs Jack Pidgeon and Larry Hicks, said his clients would challenge Family District Court Judge Sonya L. Heaths Monday ruling in favor of the city. The case originated when Pidgeon and Hicks sued the city, then led by former Mayor Annise Parker, for providing government employment benefits, such as health insurance, to municipal employees same-sex spouses. The suit alleges the benefits are an illegal use of taxpayer money. The lawsuit continued even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage in 2015, going before federal and Texas Supreme Court judges. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the state courts decision, which said same-sex couples are not necessarily entitled to government employee benefits. Woodfill said he expects the case will go before the Texas Supreme Court, and ultimately may land in the U.S. Supreme Court. This is just one battle in a larger war to get the city of Houston to follow the law, Woodfill said in a statement. The Texas Supreme Court originally declined to hear the case in 2016, but agreed to hear it after the governor, lieutenant governor and Republican lawmakers asked it to reconsider. The court ruled that the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, did not determine whether same-sex couples are entitled to spousal benefits. The courts decision did not bar the city from offering the benefits, however, and Mayor Sylvester Turners administration has continued to do so. The case ultimately bounced back to Harris County, where the newly elected Heath dismissed it. In a statement Thursday, the mayor cast Heaths ruling as a victory for equality, the law of our nation and human rights. I thank our legal department for its diligent work defending common sense and fairness, and Im glad we get to continue the policy established by the city six years ago, Turner said. Parker, named as a defendant in the lawsuit, tweeted after news of the judges ruling broke Thursday: A word to the wise: do not come for me. Reporters Robert Downen and Mike Morris contributed to this story. jasper.scherer@chron.com nicole.hensley@chron.com The controversial use of no-knock raids could be curtailed under state legislation filed by Houston lawmaker Harold Dutton, just weeks after a deadly botched drug bust left a Pecan Park couple dead and five officers injured. State Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, filed a bill this week to limit the use of SWAT teams and increase oversight of the departments that often use the raids to execute routine search warrants. Ive never been a fan of no-knock raids because of the danger that it creates for police officers and the person thats in the home, Dutton told the Houston Chronicle Thursday. The bill would require agencies to equip SWAT teams with body cameras and institute policies designed to limit raids to situations involving an imminent threat of serious bodily injury to civilians or officers. The mere presence of a weapon wouldnt be enough to qualify. No-knock raids have become a ubiquitous, but increasingly controversial, tool of SWAT teams across the country over the last three decades. Lawmakers considered taking up the topic of SWAT reform last legislative session, but didnt make it a priority. Last months deadly Jan. 28 shoot-out and the revelations that emerged in its aftermath have shifted the conversation, Dutton said. This was the last domino falling, he said. I had thought about it last session but we didnt do anything. He gave the issue more thought after reading about the deadly Pecan Park raid in the Chronicle, he said. After meeting with Houston police leaders, Dutton filed the bill, which he said boosts accountability and curtails the use of forced-entry raids - both end goals that he acknowledged Houston police might already be working to address. It also requires departments to report to local governments how often they perform SWAT raids, and mandates that the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement create a basic form that all departments would use. The proposed legislation would also require departments to turn over any video recordings to people arrested on intoxication charges or the relatives of anyone shot and killed in SWAT operations, if asked. In terms of Houston, it may not be necessary, Dutton said, but in terms of other jurisdictions it would mean a whole lot. A game-changer The bill garnered expected support among reformers and activists. I think that this is something that should have happened a long time ago, said Ashton Woods, a current city council candidate and local activist. Chas Moore, the executive director of the Austin Justice Coalition, has been pushing for SWAT reform ever since he learned about swatting a practice where someone deceives an emergency service into sending police to hoax-victims address. Once I learned about it, I was like, This is crazy, he said, and then historically when you look at how law enforcement agencies have used SWAT teams, its always been problematic. Though the bill works to create more oversight and accountability, Moore did cite some faults. It talks about training and transparency through body cameras but I think the question that remains is, What happens after a botched raid? he said. What responsibility then does the SWAT team or the law enforcement agency have? A lot of times SWAT teams come mess up your house and just leave you with the bill. I think that addressing that is something that could strengthen the bill. The bills narrow scope on permissible no-knock raids, however, provides important checks on impulsive officers or units, said Sam Walker, a police accountability expert and professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. SWAT teams are increasingly used for just ordinary drug raids, he said. Thats just an invitation to problems gunfire, and people getting killed. Larry Karson, an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Houston-Downtown, described the bill as a well intentioned effort to address the faults of the recent militarization of policing and the expanded use of SWAT teams to execute routine search or arrest warrants. But he said it could face pushback from police departments. The problem is it weakens the ability to use these highly trained teams in situations that aren't an imminent threat, but can blow up and quickly turn into one, he said. The proposed legislations body-camera requirement bucks a trend in departments across the nation limiting transparency of SWAT teams, said Peter Kraska, a professor at Eastern Kentucky University who has studied the militarization of police extensively. If they can get that through, thats a game-changer, he said. Transparency is the last thing (SWAT teams) have historically wanted. Houston Police Officers Union President Joe Gamaldi declined to comment because he and other union officials were still reviewing the bill. A long time coming Family members of people killed in no-knock raids expressed relief that restriction and oversight could be on the horizon. The legislation should have been done a long time ago, said Sandra Longoria, whose husband, Roger Lee Fortner, was killed by police in a no-knock raid in League City last May. The trauma of that moment still lingers. I thought we were being attacked, she said. I didnt think it was police. In Houston, Ponciano Montemayor, a local machinist, was killed by Houston police in a no-knock raid in 2013. His daughter, 32-year-old Amanda Montemayor, got news of the raid moments after arriving at work early in the morning at the Cypress hospital where she worked. Police had received a tip from a confidential informant that Montemayor had more than 100 pounds of marijuana in his house, and launched a raid the next day. She wasnt able to see her fathers body at the hospital, and spent more than seven hours waiting to enter the home, which she said looked like it had been hit by a tornado. Flashbang grenades scorched the curtains, windows were broken, police had ripped out walls, and there was blood everywhere from her dads bedroom to the driveway. Police never found any drugs, she said. Like Longoria, she said the legislation was a long time coming. It means everything. It means people have to take responsibility for their actions, she said. Now there will be proof. st.john.smith@chron.com keri.blakinger@chron.com Members of Houstons Indo-American community came together this week to honor more than 40 Indian soldiers killed in a recent suicide bombing in a disputed Indian region. About 200 people packed India House, a community center in southwest Houston, for the Wednesday night event. The tone in the room was somber and patriotic as musicians performed nationalist songs and about 15 speakers, including representatives of U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw and Sen. Ted Cruz, condemned the attack and pledged support for India. We see this as an attack on democracy and freedom, and even on the United States, said Jason Fuller, who was representing Cruz. So were going to stand firm and resolute continuing to stand with our friend India. A member of the Pakistani terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammad reportedly drove an SUV loaded with almost 300 kg of explosives into one of the 70 vehicles of a Central Reserve Police Force convoy on Feb. 14. India Today reported that at least 44 soldiers died in the attack in Pulwama, a district in the state of Jammu and Kashmir a source of conflict between India and Pakistance since partition in 1947. It has been almost 72 years that we have this Kashmir issue, said Raj Bhalla, who served as a colonel in the Indian Army for decades. Too many lives have been lost. Time has come to act. Both countries claim the territory and have fought multiple battles over it. Bhalla said that although the Indian government treats Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of India like any other state, the citizens of the area also enjoys a special status they receive subsidized commodities and can buy property, do business and seek employment anywhere in India. Bhalla and other speakers called for the Indian government to abolish Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which grants Jammu and Kashmir the autonomous status he described. It is about time that the state of Jammu and Kashmir should be open like any other state, and you will see how new industries and employment will come to the state and there will be progress and development in every field, he said. Attendees and speakers urged that the Indian government respond aggressively to the attack. A representative of the Indian Muslim Association of Greater Houston stressed interfaith support. Terrorism has no religion, said Latafath Hussain. And the victims represented the entire diversity of India. I urge the government of India to give such a riveting reply that every would-be terrorist would have to think 100 times before committing another act. massarah.mikati@chron.com Staff Photos / Staff Early voting begins Monday in the special election runoff for the Texas House District 145 seat vacated by Carol Alvarado following her election to the state Senate. Voters may cast ballots at five locations from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day through March 1, the last day to vote early before the March 5 election. A man was accused of grooming a 14-year-old runaway for prostitution after police uncovered a suspicious scene Thursday at a north Harris County motel, according to Pct. 4 Constable Mark Herman. Allen Lee Auston, 29, has been charged with human trafficking of a minor, aggravated promotion of prostitution and compelling prostitution. Herman said deputies were responding to a routine medical call Thursday at the Super 8 Motel in the 16000 block of the North Freeway. An adult woman needed a ride to the hospital, but once deputies arrived, they became "suspicious of the entire situation" and began questioning other people at the location, according to a press release. Herman said the 14-year-old victim was in the same room with Auston and a 26-year-old woman, who also had a two-year-old child. He said the teen ran away about a month ago from a small town 100 miles outside of Houston. "He basically groomed her," Herman said. "He basically made her think that she was going be his girlfriend and he was pimping her out." He said the girl first identified herself as a 16-year-old. She didn't share significant details with deputies until they separated her from others in the motel room, he said. After the arrest, the girl was taken to Texas Children's Hospital for a medical assessment before she was transferred to Harris County Juvenile probation, the constable's office said in a press release. He said the other adult woman's relationship to Auston is still under investigation. More charges could follow, he said. Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | julian.gill@chron.com | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. A former Texas State University student now behind bars could be home as early as next week after a federal judge in San Antonio ordered him released to his parents over the vigorous objections of FBI agents who testified he could be the countrys next mass shooter or bomber. Benjamin Bogard of New Braunfels created disturbing videos in which he embraced white supremacy, said he wanted to kill minorities and discussed obtaining a chemical substance to make a bomb, according to testimony before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Bemporad on Thursday. FBI agents contend Bogard could have engaged in mass violence had they not stepped in and arrested him earlier this month on a child pornography charge over images that were found on his cell phone. SUBSCRIBERS: Sutherland Springs survivors strive to sew lives back together, only on HoustonChronicle.com But the 20-year-old told FBI agents he never intended to follow through with the mass violence he discussed on his social media posts and that they were simply part of an online fantasy to gain attention and likes from followers. Federal authorities arent buying that. He said he wanted the attention, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Thompson told the judge. Thats why people go shoot up churches, to get attention. Bogard dropped out of the university on the first day of classes for the fall 2018 session and took action that could have been a forerunner for violence, Thompson said, buying a van and shotgun. At Thursdays bond hearing, Bemporad also heard from Bogards father, who said he had no idea what his son was doing. Hes a good kid, a good son, has always done well in school, testified Robbie Bogard, an Air Force veteran who now works as a civilian for the military. We always knew there was a secretive side to him, the elder Bogard told the judge. We didnt know all that that involved. Robbie Bogard said he and his wife would see to it that their son gets counseling and mental health treatment. In the end, Bemporad denied the request from the FBI and federal prosecutors to keep Bogard locked up, instead granting him unsecured bail of $75,000. The judge did include numerous restrictions including no Internet access, mental health treatment, electronic monitoring, among other conditions that will reasonably assure the safety of the community. PARKLAND: A year after the school shooting that was supposed to change everything The judge then stayed his order until Monday as preparations are made at Bogards parents home for his release. Prosecutors could file an appeal to block his release. Bogard came to the attention of the FBI in early November after a Crime Stoppers tipster in Albany, New York, reported posts on an Instagram account and other social media from someone who appeared to be a member of the neo-Nazi group, Atomwaffen Division, an FBI counterterrorism agent testified. In one post on the Instagram account, the user is seen firing a shotgun in a wooded area with a mask of a skull covering half his face. Agents traced the Instagram account to Bogard and he agreed to turn over his cell phone, an FBI agent testified, and after analyzing its contents, agents found a trove of other videos, online chats with others and postings on other social media accounts that made the agents even more concerned. Bogards lawyer, Michael Morris, downplayed the posts and videos, noting that Bogard allegedly made nonsensical statements allegiance to Hitler while at the same time praising Allah and never followed through on any of the violent rhetoric. Morris also pointed out that Bogard has no criminal record and that none of the postings or acts other than the child porn images found in his phone was a crime. To find out more about the messages and homemade videos Bogard posted online and how he was discovered, go to expressnews.com Guillermo Contreras covers federal courts in San Antonio and international legal issues. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | gcontreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. Laborers who need to upgrade their skills to reach higher levels of employment may be in luck due to a partnership between the Lone Star College System and the Texas Workforce Commission. In early February, the system was awarded a grant from the commission of almost $1 million to train and equip workers with the skills needed such as forklift operation, hydraulics systems knowledge and even supervisor skills to combat a shortage of skilled workers. Of the nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs expected to be needed in the next decade, 2 million of those are predicted to remain vacant because employees dont have the proper skills, according to a Lone Star College press release. Patricia Buerger, Lone Stars Corporate College executive director, said the system has received these types of grants from the commission for more than 10 years. Each year, college officials partner with a different company to enhance the skills of their employees. The majority of the training is to focus on those skills needed in the technical area of what the business does, Buerger said. This year, the college is partnering with the air conditioning company Daikin Industries and Goodman Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Daikin, which is headquartered in Houston. The company has a manufacturing plant west of The Woodlands in Waller, Texas. LSC officials first partner with a company to develop a training plan, and then they present that plan to the commission in their grant application. Once awarded, about 10 percent of the grant goes to purchasing proper equipment, and the rest goes to training programs. Much of the training is done by LSC instructors at LSC-University Park along State Highway 249. While we do the forklift training at the client site, things like industrial maintenance and hydraulics, theyre working on in the classroom with trainer machines, Buerger said. Safety skills are also taught throughout each training element. This years partnership training is only for employees who are employed at Daikin. LSC had train at least 530 employees, but went beyond that to train more than 1,000 workers. Buerger said about 650 of those people have been new hires, who they can train quickly at the onset of employment. This program allows a company to hire someone who may not have the prerequisite skills, because they cant find people with those skills, and put them right into training, Buerger said. Its not just new employees who benefit. The skills taught through the program can lead to higher-level positions at the same company, which Buerger said comes along with a high level of company loyalty for the participants. The skills are also transferable to other companies as well. The training belongs to the participant, Buerger said. The Lone Star College System isnt the only entity awarded funds earmarked for workforce development. For the fiscal years 2018 and 2019, the Texas Workforce commission is providing a total of $48 million in training dollars to support these types of programs across the state. In 2018 alone, the commission served 90 businesses in Texas, supported the creation of more than 4,500 new jobs and upgraded the skills of nearly 11,500 workers in existing jobs. The program was formed in 1996. Ruth Hughs, the commission chair and commissioner representing employers, said in a press release that the commission is excited to support this program. The Texas Workforce Commission is working hard to invest in students to help fill these important jobs and put them on a solid career path, Hughs said. jane.stueckemann@chron.com 3 1 of 3 Courtesy of Main Street Theater Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Courtesy of Main Street Theater Show More Show Less 3 of 3 This March, Main Street Theater will be out in the community to help encourage a love of reading as part of the NEAs Read Across America initiative. READ (Read Across America Day) is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of beloved children's author Dr. Seuss. The winners of the 2019 Fort Bend Symphony Orchestras Marielle Ogletree Concerto Competition are: Andres Ayerbe, first place; Lauren Matthews, second place; and Emily Jihee Sonn, third place. Andres, a junior at Klein High School, has played the cello for 10 years, studying with Daniel Saenz, cello professor at Sam Houston State University. He has placed as a member of the TMEA Region IX Symphony Orchestra for three consecutive years, and has made TMEA All-State Orchestras for three consecutive years as well. Andres plays with the Houston Youth Symphony Orchestra as their assistant principal cellist. Recently, Andres competed in the Clear Lake Symphony Youth Concerto Competition, and placed first in their Senior Strings division. Outside of music, Andres enjoys chemistry, computer science, and especially, mathematics, as he competes on his schools UIL Math Team. He is also a member of the National German Honor Society, the Science National Honor Society, and Mu Alpha Theta. The HMTA Concerto Competition winners are Trinity Yun (junior winner) and Jason Ren (senior winner). Seoyoung Trinity Yun is a fifth-grader at Roberts Elementary School. She is a recipient of the Ford Scholarship at the International Music Academy, where she has been the student of Katarina Loudermilk since the age of 7. In 2018, Trinity won the first prize in the Texas State Young Artists Piano Competition and honorable mention in the Tenth International Chopin Youth Competition. In 2017, she won the first prize in the Southern Chopin International Piano Competition and third prize in the Rochelle Liebling Kahan Memorial Fund Competition for Child Piano Prodigies. She has performed piano in great venues including the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, and the Match Performance Center. Outside of music, she loves swimming, dancing, reading, and participating on the school math team. Jason Ren, 16, attends Clements High School as a sophomore. He has been a student of Mrs. Yanzi, his piano teacher, since age 7. Jason has twice won First Place with Special Honors in the Sonatina and Sonata International Youth Piano Competition. He is currently a member of the Music Doing Good organization, playing the piano at various senior residences several times a month. Additionally, Jason enjoys reading, swimming, and coding on computers. He is also a member of the math and science club at his high school. The Spring-Klein Chamber of Commerce announced on Wednesday, Feb. 20 it hired Jenan Blank to be its new president and CEO. Blank joined the chamber in 2013 as an office manager and was mostly recently its executive vice president before being tapped to lead the organization. My theory for myself is if Im not willing to get in there and help sustain something or fix something, I dont have the right to gripe about it, she said. Brooks Williams was hired in September to replace former president Myeshi Briley, who stepped down in June after four years with the chamber to pursue humanitarian efforts. Williams, an independent executive consultant with Leaders at Heart, abruptly resigned on Feb. 13, according to an e-mail sent by the chamber. He had been at the helm of the organization for about five months. Williams did not respond to request for comment as of press time. During his short tenure, the chamber had moved the office to a new location along the North Freeway in January. We wish him the best. Theres no hard feelings. It was a little quick, but sometimes its just the timing, Blank said. Blank said that before Williams was hired as president in September, she was also one of the finalists for the top spot in the chamber. Now in her new leadership position, Blank is looking forward to being a resource for the community to help communicate the needs of both residents and business owners. We dont have a government structure for Spring, so if anybody has a problem, its either their chamber or state rep they can go to. I want to make sure I am here to hear what they have to say from a business standpoint or even a residential standpoint so I can get their voice heard. I dont care what the matter is, at least the reps in those departmentswhether it be state, local, whatevercan hear what their constituents want, she said. Spring and Klein continue to grow, bringing more roadways and developments to the area and making it more accessible to reach. Blank said one of the strengths of the continued growth in Spring and Klein is the ethnic diversity found in the community. We have so much diversity here and thats awesome. I would love for that to continue to grow and have more and more diversity coming in because that way you learn from everybody, she said. mayra.cruz@chron.com When a new employee asked Misty Gunn what kinds of disasters the Harrris County Emergency Operations Center responds to, she said it would be easier to list the ones they do not. Gunn, manager of the EOC in the Harris County Office Homeland Security and Emergency Management, gave citizens at the Northwest Chamber of Commerces Feb. 22 public safety committee meeting insight into the EOCs responsibilities, which she said are often underestimated. With the exception of earthquakes and volcanoes, the Harris County EOC handles a variety of disaster situations, including tornadoes, water shortages, wildfires, drought, disease, industrial accidents and building collapses. They also are responsible for maintaining public safety during large events like the Super Bowl. During her presentation at the Champions Emergency Services District, Gunn said the EOC had 35 activations in 2018 more than any other year. She explained that there are 24 states in the U.S. with a smaller population than Harris County, so they are used to coordinating response to disaster and emergency situations from their location in the Houston TranStar building. Believe it or not, we have hazmat calls almost every day, she said. We had one yesterday in this area. Silt disturbance, power outages, all of these things happen, could happen and sometimes they happen and nobody ever knows about them. But that's why we're there and we plan ahead to activate the EOC if we need to. The HCOHSEM has a Community Emergency Response Team training program hosted by their training and exercise department, Gunn said. The CERT trainings require participants to be at least 18 years old and is a free 8-week course on emergency management, including medical treatment, working with survivors, and terrorism awareness. Gunn said even local high school students have been completing the program on the weekend. Participants complete tabletop and communication exercises. On the last night of the program, they run a drill in full gear. We ask you to bring your friends and family and we will put fake injuries on them and they get to audition for the Academy Awards and be the best actors and actresses possible as they are screaming and yelling as if they have been injured and you practice the skills you learned in the previous seven weeks, she said. Upon completing the program, participants recieve a CERT badge and a certificate signed by the Harris County Judge, Gunn said. While encouraging attendees to sign up for CERT training, Gunn told the audience to make sure they are prepared for emergency situations and memorize or write down important information, including important phone numbers and names of medication. If your phone broke and you had no way to charge it and you had no cell phone at all, would you know any phone numbers? she said. Would you (know) some important phone numbers like the doctor or the insurance agency? Write that information down, tuck it in your wallet. Send it to a loved one. It may take five minutes, it may take 20 minutes, but it will become an invaluable resource to you, for your family members and the first responders if you should need it. During the question and answer portion of her presentation, Gunn was asked about how the EOC is functioning with newly-elected Harris County Judge Linda Hidalgo, who unseated former judge Ed Emmett, since the judge plays a key role in coordination and announcements during disasters. Gunn said the operation is still adjusting, but looks forward to working with the judge during her term. That transition isnt going to be an immediate thing, she said. Theres little things that were fighting. Were having to redo a lot of our documents because a lot of our documents had Judge Emmetts name. As far as personell and as far as working with her, its going great. Gunn said she encourages citizens to take a tour of the EOC by getting in contact with the organization. Last year, the EOC had 2,136 visitors and conducted 196 tours. chevall.pryce@chron.com The Watoto Childrens Choir, a group of touring Ugandan orphans, will be bringing their tunes and talents to Spring, Klein and Tomball in March. Different groups of the childrens choir have toured internationally to the United States, South America, Asia and Europe to help raise awareness and support for widows and orphans. Watoto started in Uganda as a church and from there, they kind of saw a need for the choir to begin. Since 1994, there have been almost 100 choirs that have come out and toured throughout the world, said Kelsie Nussell, spokesperson for Watoto Ministries. A group of 17 children will arrive in the Houston area to share their singing and dancing talents. Among their performance venues are four churches in northwest Harris County. The choir is scheduled to arrive in Spring at Champion Life Centre on Sunday, March 3 at 10 a.m. where it has previously performed in 2010. The group will also sing at Faith United Methodist Church at 6:30 p.m. The Tomball Bible Church will feature the choir on Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. Want to go? The Watoto Children's Choir from Uganda will perform at four churches in Spring and Tomball. Sunday, March. 3 at 10 a.m. at the Champion Life Centre, 3031 FM 2920 in Spring Sunday, March 3 at 6:30 p.m. at Faith United Methodist Church, 2403 Rayford Road, Spring Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. at Tomball Bible Church, 400 North Walnut Street, Tomball Wednesday, March 6 at Klein United Methodist Church, 5920 FM 2920, Spring See More Collapse The choirs last performance in northwest Harris County will be at the Klein United Methodist Church at 7 p.m on Wednesday, March 6. Currently, another choir group is touring along the eastern U.S. which will be nearing the end of a six-month stint, she said. Children can audition for a spot on the choir if they are interested in singing and dancing. If chosen to be a part of one of various choirs, the children only go on one tour before returning to Uganda to complete their studies. Uganda has been racked by armed conflict between government forces and rebel groups along with an HIV and AIDS epidemic for years, she explained, which has killed many adults and left children orphaned. According to the U.S. State Department, the U.S. government has provided anti-retroviral treatment for about 990,000 Ugandans who were diagnosed with HIV. They all have very different stories. A consistent scene is the AIDS epidemic. The parents die at a young age, not able to raise their children or just the warfare that goes on. Parents are often killed in that as well, Nussell said. Watoto Ministries, which created the childrens choir, also provides assistance to widows and young women by helping them earn business and work skills, such as creating arts and crafts, bee keeping and cosmetology, along with literacy. The choir tour will also feature jewelry, handbags and accessories created by the women in the program. A lot of the women who are part of the program just maybe have had a husband who has passed away and its hard for them to have a skillset they need to provide for their families. Theyll come to Watoto through training programs that can help them start a business and do things like hairdressing and things like that so theyre able to get a career to where theyre able to provide for their families, Nussell said. While the upcoming concerts will be free to attend, the choir is also seeking to obtain sponsorship for individual children in Uganda to fund their education and living expenses. For more information on Watoto Ministries, visit www.watoto.com. mayra.cruz@chron.com 3 1 of 3 Houston Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Google Maps Show More Show Less 3 of 3 An off-duty Houston police officer shot and wounded a 17-year-old boy armed with a handgun while working an extra security shift Thursday afternoon in southwest Houston, authorities said. The incident began around 4 p.m. Thursday when two men in a black sedan were chasing after a white sedan carrying the teen down Beechnut Street, said HPD spokeswoman Jodi Silva. The vehicles pulled into an apartment complex in the 10600 block of Beechnut where the men in the black sedan exchanged fire with the teen. CHRIS PREOVOLOS, MBR / ST CHAPEL HILL, N.C. Soon after leaving her post as the president of the University of North Carolina system, Margaret Spellings already has a new gig lined up in Dallas. Spellings told The News & Observer on Tuesday that shes moving back to Texas next week to work as a consultant to Texas 2036, a nonprofit focusing on key public policy areas. Spellings departure from UNC was announced last fall. Shes under contract through March 1, but William Roper assumed the interim presidency Jan. 1. Google Maps Reports of armed men firing weapons near Lone Star College-Greenspoint Center prompted the school to briefly go under under lockdown Thursday evening, school officials said. In a tweet around 7:30 p.m., Lone Star College said they had learned of a "report of two armed men walking along the feeder road in front of facility firing handguns." A woman turned herself over to authorities Friday morning after allegedly stealing a fellow parishioners cash-filled wallet during a Sunday service at The Ark Church in Conroe last month. Alyssa Marie Pekelder, 24, of Conroe, is in custody and is being charged with credit card or debit card abuse and is being held at the Montgomery County Jail on a $3,000 bond. Pekelder turned herself into police this morning and provided a full confession, a Conroe Police Department statement on social media read. On Jan. 20, congregant Ashley Dreggors sat in her regular seat for worship service when she briefly stepped out and she says Pekelder took her wallet in her absence before leaving the premises. The 38-year-old Willis realtor did not realize her wallet was missing out of her purse until later that day when she looked for it to pay for a Tommy Bahama dinner in honor of her parents 41st wedding anniversary. Dreggors wallet contained about $1,167 in cash, her and her daughters social security cards, her drivers license, her license to carry, her real estate license, two credit cards, five debit cards and a $50 Christmas gift card. As Dreggors understands it, Pekelder admitted to having thrown the wallet and its contents in different trash bins. For Dreggors the most wounding loss is a photo ID of her now 18-year-old daughter from when she was still a small girl, along with other photos she has no duplicates of. Pictures that I wont ever get again. Its just been hard because theres things that are very sentimental in there (that) I wont get back, Dreggors said. In the case, the Conroe Police Department released surveillance photos on social media Thursday of who they say was Pekelder at a convenience store using a credit card they say she stole during the incident at church. The photos show the woman wearing pink shade sunglasses pulled back above her head and apparently trying to purchase a 20-ounce Coke bottle. Dreggors heard through unverified accounts that Pekelder worked in the churchs nursery. Dreggors, a single mother who has been attending The Ark Church for 10 years, looks to extend grace to Pekelder. If she needed help, if she had asked for money I would have given my shirt off my back, Dreggors said. I wish she would have sat through that service cause she probably needed it just like myself. jose.gonzalez@chron.com The Conroe City Council approved a contract with Conroe-based Lessman Roofing to put a new roof on the citys old police department building that has remained vacant since 2016. The city will replace the current roof with a metal roof at a project cost of $297,900. The council approved the contract during its Feb. 14 meeting. According to information from the city, the new roof was not budgeted for during the citys budget workshops in July and will be funded through the citys general fund. City Administrator Paul Virgadamo said despite the history of the building and its age, it remains an asset for the city. We have had some issues with the building, he said noting the city is planning on some additional repairs. It has shifted over time and we are looking at getting with an engineer to look at maybe slowing that down. Built in 2000, the 40,000-square-foot facility located on FM 2854 near Frazier, has remained an albatross for the city. In 2004, the city filed suit against the designer and the builder of the building aimed at recovering money the city has spent for mechanical and structural defects including a heating-ventilation-air conditioning system that left parts of the building too warm, other parts too cool and, at some locations, allows condensation to pool and spill onto ceiling tiles, numerous belts, bearings and valves failed in the system and floors in some areas of the building that slope to the extent that walls have separated. The city was rewarded damages in the suit and that money was used to address the issues. However, over time the building has continued to shift on its foundation. The 40,000-square-foot building served as both police station and municipal court until 2016 when the city opened its new $26 million police and municipal court headquarters on Plantation Drive. While there has been some interest in leasing the facility, none of those deals have materialized. Virgadamo said the city may move city staff to the building in the future. In other bid awards: Storage tank - The council approved a $580,023 contract with Houston-based CP&Y Inc. to design a one-million-gallon capacity elevated storage tank along with a Catahoula well with capacity of 2,000 gallons per minute. The site is located on McCaleb Road. Gravity sewer - The city has awarded a $457,456 contract with Pearland-based Freese and Nichols for the design of a 4,150 sewer main and 1,200 feet of forced main near Carl Barton Park for future growth. Cooling towers - Councilmembers approved a contract with Conroe-based Bleyl Engineering for $99,777 to design tow 1,000 gallon per minute cooling towers near Panorama. Traffic signals - The council approved an $85,400 contract with Houston-based Kimley-Horn for the design of traffic signals at Wally Wilkerson Parkway and Pollok Drive, Sgt. Ed Holcomb Boulevard at Camelot Street and Wally Wilkerson Parkway at Conroe Park West. Neighborhoods across Houston each have their own unique characteristics, which define their populations. Education, salary, race, age and population density all contribute to the composition of a community. A new report from location intelligence company Environmental Systems Research Institute, ESRI, merges geography with demographics to describe the make-up of an area's residents. ESRI culled data from the US census, American Community Survey, the double-base consumer survey from GfK MRI and ESRI's proprietary Updated Demographics to compile its findings. Using the ESRI report, the Chronicle compared the median income earned by residents from several different ZIP codes. The conclusion: There is a vast salary disparity in different ZIP codes, not only from suburb to suburb, but also among different ZIP codes in each individual Houston outskirt. SAD REALITY: Maps show the truth about where families living on housing vouchers live in Houston For instance, in Galveston, residents living in ZIP code 77550 make an annual median income of $33,495; while those living just a ZIP code away in 77554 make almost twice that, with an annual income of $64,621, according to the report. In some suburban areas like Katy, the same was true: Residents living north of the Katy Freeway in the 77449 ZIP code had a median income of $68,631. This contrasts sharply with those who live on the southern side of Interstate 10, in 77450, where the median salary is roughly $106,623. The ESRI report does not explain why inconsistencies like this exist across neighborhood lines, but research has shown that where someone grows up can affect their success in life, and in return, how much money they earn. >>>Click through the photos to see the median income numbers for your neighborhood, according to your ZIP code... Find an even more comprehensive breakdown of what ESRI says about Houston area neighborhoods here. Never ask Jafet Soto to share where he takes his insane-looking photos of abandoned buildings in Houston. The Houston-based artist said urbex photographers (people who only shoot abandoned buildings) never share their locations; it's against their code. "We don't give out locations out of safety and because we don't want to get into trouble," Soto said. "People who look for the locations [of abandoned places] themselves, they gain respect. That's how you start building a reputation in the community." On his own, the 26-year-old self-made urban street photographer said he has found and shot nearly 20 different abandoned places in and around the Greater Houston area. From abandoned churches, schools and hospitals; to a funeral home, a prison and even an abandoned skyscraper-turned trap house (a drug house where dealers buy and sell drugs), Soto's stunning shots have entered Houston into the playing field of the urbex and street photography world. Photo by: Jafet Soto/infphy "When I find an abandoned place, I put it on the map," Soto, who more commonly goes by his Instagram name infphy, short for "influence," said. "I love photographing places to show the urbex side of Houston to my fellow explorers." HAVE YOU BEEN HERE? The most notorious (and haunted) addresses in Houston Soto said other urban explorers have traveled from as far as places like Paris to explore the city with him. He collaborates with two different "crews," one Houston-based and one Los Angeles-based, to find new spots in the city and to travel to other abandoned places across the country. New York-based Youtuber Robb Atch has made the trek to the Bayou City to go exploring with Soto several times. Atch documents their adventures on his Youtube channel he shares with his wife Kristy and said he has explored hundreds of abandoned buildings across the country. One of his latest videos with Soto is when they discovered an abandoned church on the outskirts of Houston. Photo by: Robb Atch/rnk.all.day "It was very unique in a sense that it reminded me more of a theater or of a space where you might go to see a concert," Atch said, recalling the video. "I go for the ones that are really unique and together. I like things that are still intact where you can still see the beauty." Soto said it's rare to find abandoned places in Houston as buildings are often demolished quickly here. He said he finds these hidden gems by doing his fair share of research on Google maps and reading historical articles. SWIMMING WITH PREDATORS: Houston artist takes to the depths of the ocean floor for jaw-dropping photos Most of the buildings he's found are located on the outskirts of Houston, in suburbs like Channelview, the Woodlands, Humble, Spring, Sugar Land, Cypress and League City, he said. "Once I found out that it's (a building) abandoned, I hit it the next day just because I know within that week, it will be gone. And now that the hurricane [Harvey] happened I am pretty sure there are tons that I haven't yet found," Soto said. "But I am still looking, I spend hours every day trying to find at least something." Hungry for the best shot, Soto regularly braves all of the dangers that come with entering abandoned places: falling ceilings, homeless people, drug dealers and his biggest pet peeve: fleas that swarm the buildings during hot Houston summers. Despite the dangers, Soto said he is grateful that his passion is now his full-time career. "I enjoy the history behind it. People tend to forget [the history of a place] so I want to bring it back. And it's just amazing to me too...I am finding the grittiness of Houston and showing Houston in a whole new, different perspective." HOUSTON STAPLES: Houston native's paintings highlight icons from the Bayou City Aside from abandoned buildings, Soto shoots all sorts of street art and is planning his third annual personal art gallery for later this year. He has plans to write a book on his adventures exploring abandoned places and is also busy helping run another social media account, We Own the Night HTX. He said he uses the account as a platform to connect aspiring Houston photographers and to highlight their work. "We basically built this platform where if you are into street photography, urban photography or urbex, then this is the right page for them," Soto said. " We are kind of becoming the face of Houston when it comes to urban and street (photography)." Find more of Hech's videos here and here. Find more of Soto's work here and here. Rebecca Hennes covers community news. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | rebecca.hennes@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message Montgomery County Precinct 5 Justice of the Peace Matt Masden awarded custody of several dogs and a cat to the Montgomery County Animal Shelter Thursday after the animals were seized in various stages of neglect from a Magnolia home. According to information from Montgomery County Animal Control, animal control officers responded to the home Wednesday where they found nine dogs and a cat in poor health. The Montgomery County Precinct 5 Constables Office issued a warrant for the seizure of the animals. MCAC officials reported Friday one of the dogs has since died due to its poor health and will be taken Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory for a formal necropsy. The remaining animals are currently being placed with local fosters and rescue partners who can provide additional care and continued rehabilitation. NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. This is yet another unfortunate situation where Montgomery County Animal Control and Shelter has had to step in to ensure animals are being properly cared for, said MCAS Director Aaron Johnson. These situations tend to happen all too often. As always we appreciate the communities help in assisting us with animals such as these as well as the animals that come in our doors daily. We are working hard to bring the animals in this case to a healthy state and give them a better life. Together we can make Montgomery County a better place for all that live here including the animals. Johnson encouraged residents to always report any situations of animal cruelty. No other information was available. cdominguez@hcnonline.com This fall, the Trump administration rolled back an Obama-era rule that regulates methane emissions from oil and natural gas production on federal lands. Environmental activists swiftly condemned the decision. Their concerns are unfounded. The Obama administrations 2016 Methane and Waste Prevention Rule was duplicative and costly. By revising it, the administration will help boost job growth without harming the environment. The Bureau of Land Management introduced the 2016 rule in the waning hours of the Obama administration. The rule required energy companies to capture more methane from their wells by adopting new technologies and protocols. The goal was to reduce carbon emissions, since methane is a major greenhouse gas. The Waste Prevention Rule was a costly solution in search of a problem. Regulations to limit methane emissions already exist at both the federal and state levels. The BLM rule simply added a new, duplicative layer. The rule also ignored that energy firms have a strong incentive to minimize methane emissions. Methane is the main component in natural gas, the very thing firms are trying to extract and sell. Energy firms that let methane escape are foregoing profits. Thats why firms have already taken action to capture every possible cubic foot of methane. According to EPA data, methane emissions from the oil and gas sector were dropping long before the Waste Prevention Rule. Between 1990 and now, a period during which natural gas production increased 50 percent, industry-related methane emissions have fallen 14 percent. A separate report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that total U.S. methane emissions barely changed from 2000 to 2013. In short, the industry is already accomplishing what the rule set out to do. Keeping it in place would have made it more expensive for firms to operate on federal property, costing many workers their jobs. The existing overlapping federal regulations had already hampered oil and gas production on federal lands. Consider that from 2010 to 2015, natural gas production shot up 55 percent on state and private lands but declined by 18 percent on federal lands. These restrictions havent merely limited the nations ability to become energy independent; theyve also cost the federal government billions of dollars in lost royalties. And theyve cost many workers the chance at a high-paying job. Oil and gas production supports more than 10 million jobs in the United States. The average wage for these positions is nearly 90 percent higher than the national average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Ironically, the BLM rule may have even harmed the environment. Heres why. The recent explosion in natural gas production has sharply lowered the price of natural gas, making it cheaper than coal. As a result, many power plants have transitioned from coal to natural gas, which burns 50 percent cleaner than coal. The switch to natural gas has driven an unprecedented 14 percent drop in energy-related carbon dioxide emissions since 2005. In fact, carbon dioxide emissions are now at a 25-year low. Rolling back the BLM regulation would have little impact on methane emissions, since companies already have every reason to harvest this valuable gas. It will allow more energy production on federal lands. That means more high-paying jobs. And it means more utility companies will switch to cleaner-burning natural gas. Kevin Mooney is an investigative reporter who writes about energy policy and environmental issues. His work is regularly featured by the Daily Signal, the Washington Examiner, the American Spectator and National Review. This piece originally ran in The Detroit News. Thieves are on the prowl, stealing wheels off vehicles parked in front of homes, and investigators with Harris County Precinct 5 Constable Ted Heaps Office are asking residents in west Harris County to remain vigilant. The Constables Office released a video of suspects in hopes someone may recognize thieves or their vehicle. In the video, the suspects walk around a full-size truck before getting on the ground and beginning to remove the wheels. According to Ted Heaps office, At least 14 vehicles have had their tires stolen in the predawn hours, usually between 2 and 6 a.m. The majority of the thefts involve GMC and Chevy trucks and SUVs. In each case, the tires and rims are stolen with the vehicle left on concrete blocks, Heaps office reported. Tire thefts have been reported in neighborhoods including Hearthstone, Copperfield, Aberdeen Green, Lancaster, Remington Grove, Nottingham Country, Memorial Parkway and Meyerland. In some cases, the suspects were caught on home security videos. They operate in groups of two to four, and are frequently using a black four-door sedan, possibly a Toyota Camry, which approaches its target with its headlights turned off, investigators report. In one case, the sedan is following a larger dark SUV, possibly a Dodge Nitro. Investigators believe the same group may be responsible for numerous other tire thefts recently in other jurisdictions across the greater Houston area. Anyone who recognizes these suspects or has information that might help with the investigation is asked to call Investigator K. Fesperman at 281-463-6666 or submit tips online at https://constablepct5.com/index.php/online-crime-tips. Constable Heap also presented steps which could help protect vehicles from thieves, including: Parking your car or truck in your garage. Installing a car alarm that includes wheel sensors. When parking on the street, parking as close as possible to the curb. When parking in a driveway, turning your steering wheel and tires fully to one side. Using wheel locks on each wheel, including your spare tire, as an additional deterrent. Adding motion lights and/or security cameras around your parking area. Watching out for your neighbors and ask your neighbors to watch out for you and your property too. rkent@hcnonline.com When planning a trip, selecting a hotel is typically secondary to the city you're visiting, or the activities you have planned. But for design-fan travelers, the hotel itself can be the main attraction. Architectural Digest recently compiled a list of destination-worthy hotels entitled "The Chicest Motels in America". They are all Instagram-ready. WHERE TO STAY: Book a bubble under the Texas stars at Basecamp Terlingua Among the nation-wide list is the Austin Motel at 1220 S Congress Avenue in Austin. "Rooms pop with deliberate '50s color schemes like candy-orange vinyl-tufted beds alongside '80s vintage silk-screen prints, cherry-red push phones, and Eric Trine's Wall Willy robe hooks," authors Kate Donnelly and Ashley Mateo describe. "The kidney-shaped pool flecked with red and white umbrellas begs for synchronized swimming, canned rose, and retro punches. A cheeky retail lobby concept stocks tees, water wings, and Fiele Fragrances." This South Congress hotel recently welcomed a modern facelift, but maintained its retro charm. While it's been operating since 1938, the hotel debuted its fresh, new look in 2017, after a year-long comprehensive remodel by new operator Liz Lambert, of hospitality company Bunkhouse. (That firm also operates such iconic hotels as Marfa's El Cosmico and San Antonio's Havana Hotel.) Only at HoustonChronicle.com: Azalea Trail features a modern home perched above Buffalo Bayou Lambert employed Austin vendors, including landscaping by Mark Word Design and custom woodwork by Enabler. The bar at the hotel's 1,100 square-foot kidney-shaped swimming pool was designed by Jack Sanders and Design Build Adventure. In late April, the patio debuted Fine Foods, a cocktail, wine and beer bar with food from nearby food truck Jo's Burger Box. The charming hotel has 41 guest rooms, including five suites. Also on Architectural Digest's chic-hotel roster: Anvil Hotel in Jackson, Wyoming; Brentwood Hotel in Saratoga Springs, New York; Amigo Motor Lodge in Salida, Colorado and Nobu Ryokan in Malibu. Parents in the Katy Independent School District will soon be able to locate their childs bus through a cell phone app, similar to those used by ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft. Over Spring Break, Katy ISD officials will install global positioning system tracking devices into their fleet of 422 school buses. We are one of the last school districts that do not have, them, said Ted Vierling, Katy ISDs assistant superintendent for operations. All the big (school districts) around us, they all have GPS on their buses and are able to track the buses down to the second. Montana-based Education Logistics, Inc. will be paid more than $200,000 annually for the three year contract. The company, known as EduLog, already provides the districts routing software and will provide the GPS devices for the Katy ISD school bus fleet. Like other GPS systems, it will use satellites to relay their location and other vehicle information to officials. Vierling said the company will assist with the development and provide support to the district during the contract period. During a February 18 meeting, Vierling acknowledged problems early in the year with some bus routes. One of the things that made it a bigger struggle for us was not knowing the exact location of all of our buses at any given time, he said. We want to be able to see where these buses are at all times. A downloadable app will allow parents to keep track of their childs bus at any time during the route. For security purposes, they will have to enter information such as their childs KISD identification number, home address and birthday before they are able to access information about the school bus. It will alert them on their phone so theyll know when the bus is close, Vierling said. They can also track multiple buses if they have multiple children. The GPS device will only track the bus and wont have any information about their childrens location. It wont tell them when their students get on or off the bus. But the program had strong support from Katy ISD trustees. This is fabulous for anyone who has ever stood in the Texas heat waiting for the bus to show up, said Katy ISD board member Susan Gesoff. In addition to tracking the location during the route, the GPS devices also will act as a vehicle data recorder and will collect information such as driving speeds and any time the bus stops. If a parent calls and says the bus never stops for more than two seconds, we can go back and look at the software data, Vierling said. We can know that (bus) door was open for two minutes. The GPS device on each bus will allow Katy ISD officials to gather information in real time. When we have this data, we can take it, analyze it and create training that is directly associated with the issues that we face, said Bill Wood, Katy ISDs transportation director. Katy ISD trustee Bill Lacy asked if the information gleaned from the GPS could also help with maintenance issues involving their fleet, such as monitoring fuel efficiency. The shot answer is yes. Were learning as we good, Wood said. That is definitely a function. Katy ISD officials looked at bids from other companies in addition to Education Logistics. Rather than splitting the responsibility for routing software and GPS support among multiple companies, EduLog will be one stop shopping for the program, Vierling said. Weve been a partner with EduLog for over 25 years. Their software has done an outstanding job for us, he said. The GPS devices should be installed by the time schools reopen after Spring Break. ISD officials acknowledge the possibility of some temporary headaches as the program comes on line. We know theres going to be challenges with this. Anytime you download an app and anytime you put a new software system in place, youre going to have a few challenges, Vierling said. We feel the benefits outweigh the negatives. Allowing our parents to see where their kids buses are is going to be a huge benefit. mike.glenn@chron.com A Galveston man was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to two charges of felony driving while intoxicated, according to the Galveston County District Attorney. Alexander Drake, 40, had his first arrest for felony DWI in December 2017, was released on bail, and was arrested again for felony DWI five months later. A witness for Drake's December 2017 felony DWI arrest had spotted him erratically driving on Interstate 45 and called 911. The witness followed Drake from Dickinson to Galveston Island where he was pulled over by DPS and found to have a blood alcohol content of .158, twice the legal limit of .08. Drake was released on bail and five months later he was stopped by a Jamaica Beach police officer for speeding. The officer noticed Drake's speech was "heavily slurred." He was arrested again for felony DWI, and his blood alcohol content was found to be .179. An ignition interlock device was also not found in Drake's vehicle for his second felony DWI arrest, which he was ordered to have on any car he drove as condition for his release on bail. Previously, Drake had been convicted of three misdemeanor DWI's and a felony conviction for forgery of a financial instrument, according to the news release. Drake will serve both his felony DWI charges at the same time. He is eligible for parole after serving 25 percent of his sentence. The first group of returnees crossed the border yesterday. They had fled violence and fighting between the Myanmar military and armed rebel groups. In Thailand, some 97,577 refugees are distributed among nine camps along the border. For a UNHCR spokesperson, the situation is not yet conducive to voluntary repatriation. Naypyidaw (AsiaNews) - More than 500 Myanmar refugees in Thailand are going home after the security in their villages of origin improved, a spokesperson of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Myanmar said on Wednesday. The first of the returnees crossed the border on Wednesday and we expect them to continue over the next few days, said Aoife McDonnell. The UNHCR and its collaborators provide refugees with advice and information on the conditions they will find upon arrival. The latter are also receiving transport and initial reintegration support, McDonnell said. In addition, While UNHCR does not assess the current situation to be fully conducive to promoting voluntary repatriation at this time, we are working with sister agencies to improve the situation, she added. In a statement on Wednesday, the UNHCR said the refugees will depart from five camps on the border and cross into Kayin and Kayah states. Some 97,577 refugees, 44.5 per cent minors, are currently hosted in nine camps set up along the border in Thailand in four provinces. Theirs is one of the longest humanitarian crises in the world. Most refugees belong to minorities who fled violence and fighting between the Myanmar Armed Forces and armed ethnic rebel forces. Caught in a legal limbo, some of the refugees have been living in the camps for over 30 years, which Thai authorities view as "temporary shelters". According to UNHCR data released in December 2018, 68 per cent of refugees in Thailand come from Kayin State, 17 per cent from Kayah, 5 per cent from the Bago region and another 5 per cent from the Tanintharyi region, 4 per cent are from Mon State. Karen are the largest ethnic group (84 per cent) followed by the Karenni (10 per cent); 51 per cent are Christian, 36 per cent Buddhist, 8 per cent Muslim and 5 per cent animist. Running unopposed for his Position 4 seat in the May 4 election, Friendswood City Councilman Robert Griffon says his priorities include improving mobility and drainage and investigating the idea for building a convention/civic center. Griffon, an investor elected in a special election in 2018, wants options explored for the center, which could also provide space for senior adult activities. The building currently housing the Friendswood Activity Center was constructed as the public library in the early 70s and is beyond its useful life and is in disrepair, said Griffon, 58. It is adjacent to what once was the police station on East Willowick that was torn down many years ago. I have had a lot of input from residents who would like to see a convention/civic center built on these two locations, which could also provide the necessary space for the senior activities currently provided by the city. Also on the May 4 ballot is a contested race between Position 6 incumbent Carl W. Gustafson and Brent Erenwert, chief executive officer for Brothers Produce Houston. Erenwert ran unsuccessfully against Griffon in May in last years special election. Griffon said he is looking forward to hearing input from a planned citizens committee on what projects the city needs to undertake. I will always listen and study the issues facing the city and I will always welcome any thoughts, suggestions and concerns from our residents so that I may be accountable to the residents of Friendswood, said Griffon, who is president of Griffon & Griffon Enterprises Inc. and Investment Corp., a private investment company. The shadow of Hurricane Harvey, which flooded more than 3,000 or one-third of homes in the city, lingers over the city, he said. There are still many residents facing real hardships as the result of Hurricane Harvey, and obviously drainage along the Clear Creek Watershed will be an ongoing mitigation problem for Friendswood for many years to come, Griffon said. Griffon noted that City Council will get input from a drainage subcommittee. The city also faces challenges to ensure roads meet continued growth, he said. We must open more thoroughfares to relieve the traffic on FM 528, he said. Also, he said efforts are needed to relieve traffic flow related to Friendswood High School. Griffon has counted as an advantage his experience in the oil and gas industry, where he handled leases for mineral rights and land-related matters for companies since the 1990s. I like to think I am a team builder with honesty and integrity in all my actions, and I have utilized my business experience to add value in reviewing all contracts, financial and land-related matters for the betterment of our community, he said. Griffons election in 2018 was to finish the term of Mike Foreman, who left the seat to make a successful run for mayor. Griffon is married to Anita Hill Griffon, has two adult children and has lived in Friendswood for 47 years. I bring a volunteer spirit and a servants heart to continue the tradition of responsible government in Friendswood, he said. I am passionate to preserve the values and unique characteristics of Friendswood for future generations. The last day to register to vote in the May 4 election is April 4; early voting begins April 22. For voter registration information, go to https://bit.ly/2VhpEBx. Fort Bend ISD announced Thursday that it would halt its legal actions and avoid construction on a site where 95 African-American remains were discovered last year. The decision all but ensures that the remains, believed to be those of laborers in the state's convict-leasing system, will stay in their longtime resting place as activists sought for months. "In order to show our good faith and commitment to working toward a comprehensive solution, the district will halt all further court action while we explore all available options with the county," Jason Burdine, school board president, wrote in a statement. "The district's plan to build the portion of the building that is within the cemetery area has been cancelled." School district officials had argued that it would cost $18 million to change course on the project. They filed a petition in November to move the remains to the nearby Old Imperial Farm Cemetery. HUMAN LIVES WERE NOT OF VALUE: African-American remains awaken history of convict-leasing system A shift in the district's position began to emerge on Monday, when the school board authorized the superintendent to start negotiations with county officials on the project. Fort Bend County commissioners voted unanimously Feb. 12 to authorize talks with the school district. These discussions could lead to a memorial and cemetery for the remains, believed to have been prisoners contracted to perform cheap labor across the state. The school district's James Reese Career and Technical Center is still scheduled to open this fall, but the district has decided not to build on the part of the site where the remains were discovered. Although activists involved in the process were pleased with the news, they expressed disappointment it had taken so long to reach a resolution. Samuel Collins, who served on the city's cemetery task force and has watched the process unfold for months, also questioned the cost the district has cited for redisigning the construction project. "It never was going to cost that much," said Collins. "That's what the public needs to realize. This was a made-up figure to scare the general public." Reginald Moore, a longtime activist who has spoken out for years about Fort Bend County's ties to the convict-leasing system, agreed that the school district should have come to this conclusion earlier. "I'm grateful that they finally made a good choice, but again, those choices cost people money," said Moore. The saga seemed to take a turn earlier this month, when elected officials sent a letter to school board members asking them to halt construction and keep the remains at the site. District Attorney Brian Middleton, who signed the letter, said he believes the involvement of the elected officials helped change the direction of events. "I think that's evident because the community activists have been saying the same things we were saying," said Middleton. "It wasn't until the elected officials stepped up that they became receptive to the exact same argument." At a school board meeting on Monday, U.S. Rep Al Green, D-Houston, implored board members to come to an agreement. While he voiced his plea to school board members, elected officials stood in solidarity around him, including Middleton. "I think it was important to not just send a letter," said Middleton. "It was important to meet face to face because what we're talking about is humanity. It's easy to type on a computer and say things. It's more effective to say it in person." Precinct 4 Commissioner Ken DeMerchant, who organized the meeting among elected officials that led to the signed letter, said the latest development was "good news." "The goal was to show that they had the allies in the area that were willing to help and to get this out of the courts," said DeMerchant. "It looks like it's succeeding with that. I'm pleased." The school district's statement Thursday reflected an upbeat tone. "We are hopeful and optimistic that by working together with the county these bodies can be reinterred so they can rest in peace," the statement said. "Should we encounter any obstacles to this solution, we will look to the State of Texas, other elected officials, as well as lawmakers, to assist us in finding a solution." Despite the change in events, Collins said the experience focused on the wrong themes. "This whole experience should've been about truth and reconciliation, but it became about money and power," said Collins. "Those in power did not want to spend the money and fought those that they thought were not in power and silenced their voices by trying to control the narrative, but the bones would not allow it to happen." NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. The Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department welcomes the community to celebrate Station No. 9s new home in the Copperield area. Firefighters finished moving equipment to the new station in December and are now gearing-up for their grand opening event on March 2. CFVFD Station No. 9 was relocated from 7922 Hwy. 6 N. to 7188 Cherry Park Dr. to decrease the response times in the area said Scott DeBoer, Harris County Emergency Services District No. 9 commissioner. ESD No. 9 serves as a taxing district supporting CFVFD. DeBoer said the station was moved to the new location, which is only approximately a mile from the old location, in order to meet construction codes and to better serve the community. It's replacing a station that didn't meet a lot of those state [building] codes and had gotten kind of run down and exceeded it's lifespan, he said. To meet some of the new construction requirements and give the crews a better ability to still service during storms is pretty much the main reason for the construction and relocation. According to architects for the new station, the project costs totaled $6.9 million. The building is approximately 17,000 square feet and was completed by the contractor JE Dunn Construction in November 2018. The new station includes more parking for the public and department officials, additional storage, a decontamination room and multipurpose training room. Firefighters also have a day room and dining areas with space for working. DeBoer said the station is very similar to the new Station No. 2, which opened May 2018. Station No. 2 was shifted in order to increase service ratings and improve coverage for residents on Hwy. 6 and in the FM 529 corridor. It played into the factor of Cy-Fair's new insurance safety rating and was part of the strategic plan to minimize response times, he said. We were able to find that piece of land that met the stipulations in the area that we were needing to service. Station No. 2 helped move the geographical location of where [Station No.] 9 needed to be. The grand opening for Station No. 9 will take place March 2 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 7188 Cherry Park Dr. in Houston. CFVFD and ESD No. 9 encourage families to come and tour the station, see demonstrations and play in the bounce house. There will be a ribbon cutting and truck pushing ceremonies and refreshments. chevall.pryce@chron.com Matthew Busch Exxon Mobil said it will deploy technology from Microsoft to make its massive Permian Basin development the largest oil and gas acreage in the world to use cloud computing technology. Exxon Mobil predicted its new Microsoft partnership in the Permian will help it generate billions of dollars in cash flow over the next decade through improvements in data analysis and operational efficiencies as companies move toward more digital and automated oilfield operations. Social media lit up Thursday with comments that West University Place had barred rodeo trail riders from coming through their city, but the stories from both sides of the matter differ. West University City Manager Dave Beach said the Southwestern Trail Riders of Houston group called the city on Thursday afternoon to let them know they would be riding up Weslayan Street on Friday on their way to Memorial Park. Beach said safety concerns over the fact that the road goes down to two lanes between Bellaire Boulevard and Bissonnet Street led the city to tell the riders they may want to find a better route. But Southwestern Trail Boss Rosetta Gray said her group has been traveling that same path for years and didnt see the issue. SLOW DOWN: Hummer driver strikes horse in Sam Houston Trail Ride We have police escorts, and nobodys ever gotten hurt before, she said. According to Beach, Southwestern is now taking Kirby Drive north to Memorial instead, which he said is safer for all participants and drivers because to have a two-lane road with a bunch of horses and vehicles traveling in the opposite direction would not be a good thing. Gray said she didnt really understand the citys position but found an alternative route. The change in plans comes on the heels of a horse on another trail ride being hit by a vehicle on Thursday morning. RODEO-BOUND: Trail riders continue rodeo tradition through Katy Beach attributed the social media stir to a lack of knowledge of the whole picture. Thats a social media issue where people are commenting without the full information or knowing the details, and it really gets down to finding a route that makes it safe for the participants and the motoring public, he said. tracy.maness@hcnonline.com Despite temperatures in the 40s, the Bulldog Food Market was still full steam ahead on Feb. 19. After completing a service-learning project with the Houston Food Bank in September 2018, cadets in the JROTC program at Summer Creek High School thought they could do more. The end result is a mobile food pantry that will be set up from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the first and fourth Tuesdays of every month until May 21 and will provide attendees plus their household with donated edibles and home goods. The students will distribute food again on March 5, March 19, April 2, April 16, May 7 and May 21. They figured out that there is a need in this community that hasnt been addressed, said Major Rick Parker, the programs senior army instructor. This is the first school in the northeast part of town that has a food market. Its student-led the cadets came up with the idea, and they run it. We just facilitate and make sure theyre running it properly. Students who volunteered their time to help the pantry will assist in unpacking the food from their bags, sorting them out and, if needed, loading them into the attendees cars. The food pantry features fruits, frozen meats, whole grain rice, macaroni and cheese and home supplies, such as dish soap. Aside from the days coldness being a challenge usually both the pantry and the sign-up table would occupy the same place, but now the former is in the parking lot and the latter is indoors another one that came to Parkers mind was how the vision at first was to have a fixed location. Parker recalled that him and the schools principal, Brent McDonald, found one, but it was regrettably not ideal. It was a perfect place, but it was upstairs, Parker said, citing the difficulties that may rise in transporting freezers and the supply pallets. It was just going to be like a regular store. That said, he still appreciated this version of the Bulldog Food Market as everything that transpired will be good experience for the brick-and-mortar phase. 2nd Lt. Valery Martinez shared that the JROTC has big plans for the initiative, among them a schedule that would extend beyond the school year, having other Humble ISD schools hosting their own food markets and supplying sustenance for pets. There are some people that do have trouble affording pet food, she said. Hardship was something that Capt. Chelsea Vargas knew, after having directly felt the effects of Hurricane Harvey. She said it was rewarding to be a part of something that will provide ease to those who seek it. Im hearing from all the people that come by, Yeah, youre the closest, and I dont have to drive to the food bank, and Im just like, Youre welcome, she said, chuckling. Resident Cindy Santoyo found her first time at the Bulldog Food Market was a positive one. She was made aware of it after the school her son went to send information her way. Very good, very professional, she said of the pantry. The Bulldog Food Market is located at Summer Creek High School, 14000 Weckford Blvd., in the back parking lot by the Lockwood Road entrance. Call 281-641-5462 for more information. nguyen.le@chron.com The Balmoral community in Atascocita hosted a sip-and-see networking opportunity from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, framing its lagoon as the defining point-of-difference to events of the same vein. The development from Land Tejas is known for its $13 million lagoon the first in Texas among other upscale features such as a clubhouse and infinity-edge pool that make up its amenity complex. The lagoon opened in August 2018 with Michael Phelps in attendance. Netflix, HO / TNS Houstonians wanting to see Alfonso Cuarons Oscar-nominated Roma on the big screen, where its atmospheric sound design and striking black-and-white cinematography really stand out, have been out of luck. Unless they happened to catch the film in its brief theatrical runs at the Landmark River Oaks and America Cinemas in Sharpstown, theyve had to make do with watching the Netflix film on television or, worse, their laptop or mobile device. Now, Roma is coming back to the big screen in Houston for one night only in a special screening set up by the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the Fe y Justicia Worker Center specifically for domestic workers. The showing, at 6:45 p.m. on Feb. 27 at the Landmark River Oaks, is free but RSVP is required. You can register at http://bit.ly/RomaHouston. Valobra Master Jewelers has opened a flagship store of nearly 5,000 square feet at 2150 Westheimer in the River Oaks area. The two-story store, which relocated from Highland Village, was built on a site adjacent to St. Anne Catholic Church formerly occupied by a tailor. Owner Franco Valobra, whose family founded Valobra Jewelry Atelier in Torino, Italy, in 1905, incorporated Italian elements such as Venetian plaster walls and a bas-relief sculpture of vines and roses in the rotunda, along with family antiques and works of art. Awesome Bites Co. plans to open its first store in Sawyer Yards, at 2313 Edwards, in April. Founded by native Houstonian Jennifer Thai, the company sells allergy friendly baked goods and frozen treats. The company has sold more than 100,000 Super Muffins, made with with whole fruits and vegetables instead of sugar, at farmers markets. The dairy-, egg-, soy-, and nut-free menu will also include ice cream and gluten-free waffle cones. Regions Bank has leased a 22,500-square-foot property now under construction at the northeast corner of San Felipe and Fountainview Drive in the Tanglewood area for a branch location. Russell Janicek of CBRE represented Regions Bank. Mark Davis of Davis Commercial Real Estate represented the landlord, Dinos Texaco. Whitewater Car Wash has acquired a 1-acre site at Spring Stuebner Road and Spring Plaza Drive. Mark Raines, Matt Parsons, Simmi Jaggi and Elizabeth Clampitt of JLL represented the seller, Spring Plaza. Hunter Grimes of Caldwell Cos. represented the buyer. Pet Supplies Plus has a new store at 11543 Texas 6 in Sugar Land. Owned by local franchisees Riyaz Momin and Zikar Maredia, the store offers pet food, supplies, grooming services, pet-washing stations and veterinary services through VIP Petcare Clinics. Childrens Lighthouse of Richmond-Harvest Green has opened an early childhood education center at at 4734 Harvest Corner Drive in Richmond. The 11,000-square-foot center, one of 50 in the Fort Worth-based chain, is owned by operated by Zeff and Karen Walcher and Patrick and Daniella Simpson. Mail Call Commerce, a packing, shipping, scanning, printing and copying service operated by Justin and Heather Loop, has leased 1,503 square feet in the Woodridge Plaza Shopping Center, at 27838 Interstate 45 North in Oak Ridge North. Bunny McLeod and Katherine Wildman of Wulfe & Co. represented the landlord. Several restaurants will join phase two of University Commons, a development of Vista Equities Group anchored by Sprouts Farmers Market on University Boulevard near U.S. 59 in Sugar Land. Brad Ryan and Geoff Bracken of Capital Retail Properties represented Vista Equities in the following deals: Luna Grill, represented by Jamie Weaver of Edge Realty Partners, has signed a lease for 2,700-square feet. The San Diego-based chain serves Mediterranean cuisine at locations in Southern California and North Texas. Schlotzskys Austin Eatery, represented by James Namken of Weitzman, plans to open a 2,700-square-foot restaurant this summer. Feng Cha, a teahouse represented by Logan Zhou of GT Capital, will unveil its second Houston-area location, taking 1,600 square feet this spring. U-Maki Sushi Burrito, represented by Hal Colbert of Colliers International, will open its third area location this spring. Tropical Smoothies Cafe, represented by Lane Zieben of The Retail Connection, signed a 1,600-square-foot lease and is planning a spring 2019 opening. It will be the first Sugar Land location for the brand, which has eight area locations. Vista Equities opened University Commons in the Telfair community in 2017 and expanded it to 258,000 square feet this year. A third phase is in the planning stages. katherine.feser@chron.com twitter.com/kfeser Depending on who you believe, surgeons and administrators at the Forest Park Medical Center of Dallas were either greedy profiteers who used their influence with patients to enrich themselves or they are world-class caregivers who are unfairly being targeted by over-aggressive prosecutors trying to criminalize perfectly legitimate business contracts. Five doctors and four other hospital officials are on trial in federal court in Dallas for a being involved in an alleged illegal kickback scheme that put tens-of-millions of dollars into their pockets. Healthcare lawyers across the country are closely monitoring the case because it demonstrates how creative and vigorous federal prosecutors are willing to be in cracking down on medical officials suspected of fraudulent practices. They say there are similar kinds of arrangements at specialty hospitals around the U.S. This case is the most significant healthcare fraud case going to trial in the country right now, says Bill Mateja, a former federal prosecutor. Mateja and others say the federal government is using the Trade Act, a 1961 law law passed by Congress to help then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy pursue leaders of organized crime, in a way in which it has never been used before. If prosecutors are successful in prosecuting the Dallas area surgeons, according to legal experts, medical officials across Texas and throughout the country need to be on alert. This is one of the largest and most important fraud cases in Texas over the past 10 years or more, says Ansley, who is a former prosecutor. Forest Park represents a very aggressive expansion by prosecutors of using an existing law to go after healthcare providers. Federal prosecutors obtained indictments against 21 Forest Park officials, including eight doctors, in December 2016. Ten of the defendants, including three physicians, pleaded guilty and some are expected to testify for the government as part of their plea agreements. The charges were dismissed against Dr. Gerald Foox of Tyler. The case against San Antonio workers compensation lawyer Royce Bicklein has been separated from the others for trial purposes. The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks. Federal prosecutors listed 80 people on their witness list and provided defense attorneys with more than 1.5 million documents that could be used as evidence. Federal prosecutors argue that the doctors and hospital officials - many of them also investors in Forest Park - referred patients with premium private insurance plans that paid lucrative out-of-network benefits to Forest Park for expensive medical procedures. In return, the surgeons were given marketing dollars to promote the medical center - money that some of the physicians used for personal luxury items, prosecutors allege. The government claims that the alleged scheme, which ran from 2009 to 2013, generated more than $200 million in revenues for Forest Park, which, in turn, paid the defendants about $40 million in bribes or kickbacks. The prosecutions are a response to fraud-shifting - that is, sophisticated criminals have increasingly begun targeting private insurance companies with their kickback schemes in hopes of avoiding federal oversight and hence prosecution, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Wirmani wrote in court documents in the case. [The surgeons] treated their patients like commodities and failed to disclose these bribe payments to their beneficiaries, Wirmani wrote. Such conduct is - and always has been - illegal under the laws of various states. For their part, lawyers for Forest Park officials and the doctors going to trial this week plan to argue that there is nothing illegal about their clients activities, that prosecutors are trying to turn a routine practice in the medical profession into an illegal offense and that the surgeons relied on the advice of their lawyers that the contracts were legal. This case involves a novel attempt by the government to use the Travel Act to criminal conduct that is not criminal - a strategy that will impact numerous financial arrangements throughout the healthcare industry, defense lawyers wrote in an unsuccessful brief seeking to have the case dismissed prior to trial. The surgeon defendants operated on their own patients at [Forest Park] because it was a premier facility with advanced technologies, and they performed high-risk surgeries there with a near-zero complication rate to the great satisfaction of their patients, the lawyers wrote. Lawyers for the surgeons argued that the Forest Park prosecution differs substantially from a typical healthcare fraud case. For prosecutors to win, Mateja says they need to keep their arguments simple. This is a prime case where the government could easily screw up by making the case too complicated and thus making it too difficult for the jury to follow, he says. Prosecutors need to pound on the emails and documents showing that there is a quid pro quo. By contrast, defense lawyers are going to argue that their clients had no intent to commit fraud or violate any laws and that they were involved in these transactions only because their lawyers told them that it was okay. The issue is not whether the lawyers advice was good or bad, but whether the lawyers had the appropriate amount of information and that the surgeons acted based on the lawyers advice, Ansley says. For a longer version of this article and continued coverage of the Forest Park trial, please visit TexasLawbook.net. WASHINGTON - The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cleared the construction of the Calcasieu Pass LNG export terminal in Louisiana Thursday, ending a two-month impasse that had threatened to delay billions of dollars worth of LNG projects along the Gulf Coast. In announcing the project's approval Thursday night, FERC said commissioners had "applied a new approach for consideration of direct greenhouse gas emissions from LNG facilities." In an interview Friday, Chairman Neil Chatterjee said while each project was decided on its own merits, he hoped the criteria applied to the $4.5 billion Calcasieu Pass project could be used again in the future, potentially avoiding delays in FERC's decision making. "I'm optimistic what the commission considers legally durable today will withstand legal scrutiny in the future," he said. GULF TENSION: FERC delays on LNG decision frays nerves FERC has become increasingly divided over how to consider the effects of LNG terminals and other energy infrastructure on climate change. Commissioners stayed quiet on their internal debates around Calcasieu Pass, which was supposed to be voted on in December, but it was widely speculated the facility's emissions were at issue. FERC is currently split between two Democrats and two Republicans after the death of commissioner Kevin McIntyre, a Republican, earlier this year. Under the compromise order reached Thursday, FERC listed the projected greenhouse gas emissions from the Calcasieu Pass facility itself but did not judge whether those emissions posed a significant threat to worsening climate change. While voting in favor of the project, Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur, a Democratic appointee, was critical of Republicans' approach to determining climate impact and urged them to apply the social-cost-of-carbon model utilized by other arms of the federal government. "The magnitude of the direct (greenhouse gas emissions) from the Calcasieu Pass Project certainly appear to be significant," she wrote in her concurrence. "I am confident that, given the importance of this issue, the commission could find a way to adapt." Nonetheless, the announcement drew cheers from the oil and gas industry Friday, with the American Petroleum Institute calling the decision, "the first step in a backlog of energy infrastructure projects that are key to sharing clean energy abroad." Construction on Calcasieu Pass will begin "immediately," Virginia-based Global Venture LNG announced Friday, stating they had 20-year purchases agreements in place with BP, Shell, Edison S.p.A., Galp, Repsol and PGNiG. The approval of Calcasieu Pass follows Exxon Mobil's and Qatar Petroleum's announcement earlier this month they were moving ahead on the Golden Pass LNG export facility in Port Arthur, adding to a growing roster of U.S. LNG facilities either in operation or under construction. Export capacity is expected to reach 8.9 billion cubic feet per day - compared to 3.6 billion in December - the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast. "Our [domestic gas] production numbers are going through the roof, and they seem to be strong for the next few years," Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said in an interview. "The challenge we face is our own internal infrastructure, getting the product to market. What the FERC did last night was a very important step to getting more of these export facilities online." Close to a dozen LNG projects are expected to come before FERC in the years ahead, part of worldwide LNG boom in which the United States is in competition with countries including Qatar, Australia and Canada. Global Venture wrote in a letter to FERC earlier this month that regulatory uncertainty at FERC threatened to stifle U.S. LNG efforts. For now, Chatterjee is focusing on keeping the two sides working together. In a statement Thursday, Chatterjee thanked LaFleur and Bernard McNamee, a Republican appointee and former staffer at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation. "Commissioner McNamee showed just how he got his reputation as being a 'lawyer's lawyer' through his attention to the law and work to find common ground," he said. "And Commissioner LaFleur was supportive of this project and constructive in working to reach our agreement." Antenna: The Karl Lagerfeld I knew and admired In her regular column, Meredith Etherington-Smith pays tribute to her friend, the world-renowned fashion designer, art collector and aesthetic polymath, who died recently aged 83 The death of Karl Lagerfeld, supreme fashion designer, art collector and true aesthetic polymath, has brought back fond memories of a period in the 1970s and 80s when I was fortunate enough to see a great deal of him at work and at play. We met first in Paris in the 1970s. I was working for French Vogue at the time, and became a regular at Le Sept, a tiny and very exclusive nightclub on the rue St Anne. Le Sept was the venue of choice for all world-famous fashion designers notably Karl and Yves St Laurent and their attendant cliques. They came to dine upstairs on such delights as spaghetti and caviar, before heading down to the disco in the basement where we danced until dawn. In those days Karl had a beard and the physique of a body builder. He always wore formal black tailored suits, white collars, ties or stocks and always carried a fan. He would go through subsequent phases of wearing Japanese tunics from Yohji Yamamoto and the uber-slim clothes designed by Heidi Slimane, having reinvented himself as a slim, boyish figure with a pure white pony tail, fingerless gloves and four-inch white collars to his Hilditch & Key shirts. Image was all it was a form of branding, which Karl was so brilliant at. I am a hired gun, Karl once explained, but that was to underestimate what he achieved In the mid-1980s, when he had single-handedly revived Chanel, I was privileged enough to sit next to Karl at the Chanel design studio where its founder, Coco Chanel, had once worked. I watched attentively as he put the final touches to the upcoming collection. Surrounded by models and his assistants, he sketched at lightning speed to demonstrate how he wanted his garments to be worn before crumpling up those exquisite drawings and throwing them in the wastepaper basket. Jewellery was brought in on velvet trays for his consideration and pinned and draped on the model; everywhere you looked there were ropes and ropes of pearls and gold chains with the double C logo he made internationally recognisable from Beijing to Boston. Karl Lagerfeld with a model at the Chanel Spring-Summer 2017 haute couture collection show on 24 January 2017 in Paris. Photo: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images Later, I wrote a three-part television documentary, The Story of Fashion, in which Karl commented on the key looks of the 20th century and captured precisely their drape, lines and attitudes in a series of expertly rendered sketches. Karl spent 35 years at Chanel, building it into a multibillion-dollar international brand, and an incredible 54 years at Fendi in Rome. I am a hired gun, he once explained, but that was to underestimate what he achieved at Chanel, in particular, where he preserved the essence of Coco Chanel while introducing cut-glass designing for the contemporary zeitgeist. Meredith Etherington-Smith photographed by Karl Lagerfeld. Photo: Karl Lagerfeld He also took very good photographs and was responsible for Chanels publicity shots each season. Once, at three in the morning, having finished taking the photos for the latest Chanel press release, he made me pose for a triptych while sitting in a white plaster chair, which was a copy of half the head of Donatellos David. As an art collector he was equally peerless. It is clever to find something cheap and buy it because no one else sees how important it is, he once remarked. I bought a Steichen print for $3,000 dollars some time ago and recently it fetched $2.5 million. It isnt clever to be expensive. His art collecting was voracious. His houses were filled with 18th-century furniture, much of it with royal provenance; Art Deco; Memphis furniture designed by Ettore Sottsass; and, more recently, contemporary design art by such exponents as Marc Newson. These collections within a collection were regularly sold in their entirety when he decided to move onto something new. Karl Lagerfeld photographed at his apartment in Paris, 1990. Photo: Fotex/REX/Shutterstock He also collected houses, restoring and furnishing them before selling them once he felt there was no more he could do for them. At one point, he owned several homes: a majestic apartment in Saint-Germain; a hill-top villa looking down on Monte Carlo; the pretty La Mee, near Fountainebleau; a chateau in Brittany; a rustic house in Vermont; and an Art Deco house outside Hamburg, his hometown, to name but a few. Recently, he was renovating a grand piano nobile apartment on the Quai Voltaire, which looks over the Seine to the Louvre. As with all his other homes, it was awash with reference books, magazines, and his own KL books, which he edited and published with Steidl. Sign up today Christie's Online Magazine delivers our best features, videos, and auction news to your inbox every week Subscribe Statue of Polish Solidarity priest accused of paedophilia removed A statue of a priest who was leading figure in the movement that toppled Communism in Poland was removed by protesters, who accused the Catholic Church of neglecting accusations that he sexually abused minors. The statue of Henryk Jankowski in central Gdansk the birthplace of the Solidarity movement was lifted from its plinth overnight by three men who then handed themselves in to police, Gdansk police spokeswoman Karina Kaminska said on Thursday. Their actions came hours before Pope Francis opened a meeting he convened in Rome to address sex abuse scandals that have ravaged the Church's credibility in Poland and elsewhere over the last three decades. Jankowski, who died in 2010 and was never convicted of any sexual crime, was a Solidarity chaplain in Gdansk. He was defrocked in 2005 amid claims he had corrupted minors, a year after an investigation into accusations that he abused a 13-year-old boy was dropped. In an article published by Gazeta Wyborcza in December, a woman who said she had been abused by him as a child told the newspaper there had also been other victims. Gdansk Mayor Pawel Adamowicz, who was murdered last month, said having the statue in a public space was inappropriate, but city bishop Leszek Slawoj Glodz portrayed the accusations against Jankowski as attacks against the Church. A series of accusations of sexual abuse against the clergy in Poland, where nearly 85 per cent of the 38 million population are Catholic, has also divided the country. A Polish rights group on Wednesday delivered a report to the pope that accuses some Polish bishops of failing to report paedophilia cases. The activists who toppled Jankowski's statue said Church representatives had failed to 'react to the evil' he had committed, according to a statement published on news portal OKO.press. More Christians targeted for faith, says Evangelical Fellowship of India Persecution of Christians in India continued to rise last year, according to a report compiled by the Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) of the Evangelical Fellowship of India. The RLC recorded 325 incidents where Christians had been targeted using violence, intimidation or harassment, a rise from 130 in 2012. 'More than the numbers, what is disturbing is the sudden spurt of violence in a few districts of Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous province, and in Tamil Nadu in the extreme south of the subcontinent,' the report said. It acknowledged that its data was not exhaustive as it relied on voluntary reporting and civil society investigations. 'Most cases go unreported either because the victim and witnesses are terrified, or the police, especially in the northern states, just turn a blind eye and refuse to record the mandatory First Information Report of the crime,' it said. The forthcoming general election to be held in April-May, in which the ruling BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is under pressure, has contributed to religious tension. The report says hate speeches by politicians have 'acted as a catalyst' in dividing people along religious, ethnic and linguistic lines. The Christian community has been a 'collateral victim' alongside the larger Muslim community, the report argues. Among the incidents the report describes is an attack in Dalsingsarai village, Samstipur, Bihar, where the house of Pastor Jitendra Kumar was attacked by villagers who were led by local Hindu right-wing leaders. The attackers broke the steel gate of the house and the pastor's son and local Christians were beaten so badly that some had to be hospitalized. The pastor and his family were taken to the police station where they were questioned and later let go. The police told the pastor to stop Christian activities and the family left the area in fear. More than 40 per cent of the incidents (132) took place in Uttar Pradesh, making it the most hostile state for Christians. The state also recorded the most incidents of sectarian violence in India during the last four years, at 645. Incidents directed at Christians spiked between September and December, with 94 recorded; there were only 50 during the whole of 2017. The report blames the spike on 'clearly one-sided' accounts of large-scale fraudulent conversions of Hindus that went viral on social media from July 2018. 'These accusations were followed by police charges which was then followed by multiple area reports of disrupted worship meetings, pastors and evangelists arrested and Christian leaders fleeing their homes to avoid arrest,' it said. Following a 'media disinformation' campaign, police and members of right-wing Hindu groups raided churches and interrogated pastors and leaders. Among the types of action against Christians were arrests, the disruption of services, false accusations and arrests, physical violence, threats and vandalism. At least two Christians have been murdered and others have been subjected to hate campaigns. Among other recommendations for the government, the RLC report urges it to enact comprehensive national legislation against targeted and communal violence, to prosecute police officers who fail to enforce the law and train them in religious freedom issues. Manchester leisure centre under fire over plans to drop female-only changing space A leisure centre in Greater Manchester has been forced to abandon plans to ditch female-only changing spaces after a backlash from women in the community. Sale Leisure Centre came under fire from local mums after it tweeted about plans to replace its female-only changing space with a unisex family area, the Manchester Evening News reports. The male changing area for men only would not be affected by the change. 'As of Monday 4th March, Sale Leisure Centre are looking to convert our female main changing room into a family changing room,' the leisure centre said in a since-deleted tweet. 'This will allow parents/guardians to go into the family changing room with their child, regardless of their age. 'The family changing room will be unisex, with changing cubicles that must be used. 'We will maintain the male changing area for males to use for themselves if they are using the facility without a child but also if men want to take their children in (under 8s for girls) to get changed.' But the announcement sparked a wave of angry responses after it was shared by local mother-of-two Rachel Corry. 'Absolutely fuming that Sale Leisure and Trafford Leisure are planning on changing the women's changing rooms into family changing, while the men get to retain their own men-only space. In a time when single-sex spaces for women are under threat from every direction,' she wrote on Twitter. Absolutely fuming that @SaleLeisure @Traffordleisure are planning on changing the womens changing rooms into family changing, while the men get to retain their own men-only space. In a time when single-sex spaces for women are under threat from every direction @fairplaywomen pic.twitter.com/gaQGW5hsTM Rachel Corry (@rjcorry) February 18, 2019 Responses to her tweet were equally critical of the move. BBC journalist Cath Leng wrote on Twitter: 'Is that not sex discrimination under the law? Females need privacy and security as much as men do.' Another wrote: 'This is outrageous. You should provide family changing *in addition to* not instead of women-only.' Sale Leisure Centre has now reversed its decision after the council intervened. Labour Councillor for Sale Moor, Liz Patel said the leisure centre was going to hold a consultation on how best to implement family changing spaces. 'Just to confirm this decision has been revisited and after discussions with the Council, Sale Leisure centre will be retaining and male and female changing facilities and will consult on provision of family changing spaces,' she wrote on Twitter. One woman responding on Twitter claimed to have experienced the same change at a leisure centre in Bangor, Wales. Cyngor Gwynedd Council, who was tagged in the tweet, replied to say that the comment had been passed on 'to the relevant officer'. Just how guilty is Islamic State bride Shamima Begum? In a considerable journalistic coup, Times journalist Anthony Loyd has secured an interview with Shamima Begum, the only known survivor of three London schoolgirls who left Britain in 2015 to join Islamic State. It is, in its way, quite chilling. Begum volunteered to marry an IS fighter, with whom she had two children, both now dead. She is now in a Syrian refugee camp, nine months pregnant with her third child, and wants to come home for its sake. But she has no regrets, and speaks with utter indifference of seeing the severed head of a murdered captive in a bin: 'It was from a captured fighter seized on the battlefield, an enemy of Islam. I thought only of what he would have done to a Muslim woman if he had the chance.' Asked about videos of beheaded Western hostages, she says that 'Journalists can be spies too.' She describes herself as 'weak' for fleeing the battlefield; her dead friends, on the other hand, were 'strong'. She wants to come home and live quietly with her child. It's not as simple as that, of course. In the eyes of the law, she's now an adult, and responsible for her actions in supporting the most brutal and murderous regime of modern times; in the eyes of many others, though, including former counter-terrorism chief Mark Rowley, she's a victim, groomed for violence by cynical adults. Rowley told the Today programme this morning that what was needed was a proper risk assessment with a view to rehabilitation. And there is, indeed, a case for saying that young people of a certain age are not really responsible for their actions. Uganda's infamous Lord's Resistance Army under Joseph Kony took young children, forced them to kill their parents or other children, and turned them into monsters. Everyone acknowledges the complexities of reaching a judgment in the case of someone like Dominic Ongwen, whose trial continues. While the moral plasticity of a six- or seven-year-old is undeniable, however, the Bethnal Green Academy schoolgirls were 15. In just a few months, they would have been old enough to join the British army, had they been so minded. Certainly there is a strong case for taking Begum's relative youth into account in any decision about her future. But it's hard to avoid concluding that there are other factors at play here. One is the fetishisation of teenagerhood that sees it as a golden time, an extension of childhood in which youth in all its purity unfolds flower-like to the waiting world. This is an illusion that persists in spite of all evidence to the contrary, and effectively denies moral agency to young people. Yes, they are more easily influenced. But they ought to know rape and murder are wrong, and if they choose not to see that we are entitled to blame them for it. Another factor is the modern discomfort at the reality of evil. When Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey were outed as serial sex pests, to put it no more strongly than that, their response was not contrition and repentance; that traditional religious route to restoration is old hat. Instead they went into therapy. So, the thinking runs, they didn't do what they did because they were bad, but because they were ill it wasn't really their fault. Christians ought to believe in restoration. After all, we have a profound sense of our own sinfulness and need for grace. But the Christian version of restoration is likely to be different from the world's. Will Shamima Begum be brought to see the error of her ways through counselling and therapy? Perhaps, and that would be a good thing. But from the point of view of the victims whose heads she saw, 'unfazed', in rubbish bins, and of their grieving and traumatised families, more appropriate would be a profound sense of guilt at being part of such brutality. And then, perhaps and not before they could begin to talk about forgiveness. Shamima Begum may have been a victim. Well, so are many of those who have bad reasons for doing bad things. But they are culprits, too. Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods God's Providence: Can we stack the odds in our favour? I have a love-hate relationship with The Hunger Games. Made famous in the books and then the films starring Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games is a story that unfolds in Panem, a land once called America, and follows a 16-year-old girl, Katniss Everdeen. Panem is divided into Districts and each year, as punishment for a failed rebellion by one of the districts, the ruling Capitol holds the Hunger Games where two 'tributes' randomly selected from each district must fight until the last tribute left alive is crowned the winner. Primm, Katniss's younger sister, is chosen as tribute but to save her Katniss volunteers to take her place. She is then lead away by the Capitol's flamboyant Effie Trinkett who utters the immortal words 'And may the odds be ever in your favour.' These words have become part of an entire generation's vocabulary. But whether you're a Hunger Games fan or not it raises questions about luck, playing the odds and whether for us, as Christians, the odds are more in our favour and if so, is it possible to stack the odds in our favour? As society we're always trying to stack the odds in our favour. We stay healthy to prevent heart disease, we save our money for retirement, we lock our cars and teach our kids to look before they cross the road, and not stick forks in electric sockets. All to stack the odds of living long and healthy lives in our favour as well as happy, fulfilled lives. Yes, it's sensible, but as Christians we believe we aren't just playing a game orchestrated and manipulated by an evil Capitol. As Christians we believe our God is a providential God, a God who loves and cares for us, is involved in our lives and is willing to intervene in our lives so much so He sent His son to die for us. He's a God who's interested in our days and knows the number of hairs on our head. So perhaps the key question is, does God's providence make a difference? Because we can feel like we don't have a say in a lot of what happens in our life. We can work hard and stay healthy but still cancer strikes, we lose our job, or never bump into our soul mate or depression hits. We do all we can to stack the odds in our favour and still stuff happens (or doesn't). Where is God's Providence? Does it even make a difference or is it all down to luck? And more importantly, can we stack the odd of God's providence to be in our favour? I dived into these very questions when I spoke on Ruth 2 at CityChurch Charlotte where my husband is lead pastor, and I discovered two key things at the core of this chapter. Firstly, and unsurprisingly, we see that God's providence is already at work behind the scenes before Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem. And secondly, and more surprising to me, that Ruth's actions made a difference in how that providence played out. What I discovered is that we see God's providence when our actions meet with his will. Since God's will is unchanging always being good, pleasing, and perfect (Rom 2:12) the only thing we can impact is how we act. What we see is in Ruth 2 is that how we act does impact God's providence being worked out in our lives. This is great news! As we choose to act with God's will or against it, we are simultaneously choosing to stack the odds for or against God's providence playing out. The good news is that we see it's more about Ruth's heart and the mindset behind her actions than the specific actions she took, which means we too can live in a way that our actions meet with God's will. I use the simple mnemonic W.I.T.H to help us remember how Ruth acted so we can do the same. W: WISDOM Whether life's a bed of roses or a pile of manure we are constantly faced with a choice. Are we willing to live God's way? The trouble is, it's far easier to do so when life is happy and we are healthy and wealthy. It's not so easy when we are hungry, homeless, and desperate or even just struggling to keep our heads above water in our crazy often painful, overscheduled lives. Ruth and Naomi must have arrived in Bethlehem tired, exhausted, hungry and desperate. We're not told if they had somewhere to stay or if their clothes were in tatters but we are told that Ruth chose to find a field to glean. Despite her situation Ruth chose to find food God's way. She could have begged, stolen food, or even sold her body, but rather she stayed within God's law that provided for just this situation. Ruth knew the law stipulated farmers were required to allow gleaners to pick up barley behind the harvesters but not only did she wisely chose to glean instead of beg or steal but by choosing to do so in a field where she found favour, she was protected from harm in the fields of unscrupulous farmers. It may seem like the obvious and sensible thing to do; to go God's way not ours when we've come to the end of ourselves. But I'll admit, I find it really hard. I've jumped at quick, easy fixes far outside God's will for me when I'm in a desperate situation or life is painful. Acting with wisdom isn't about going for the quickest, easiest, nearest, option in front of us. It's choosing God's way over our way, no matter the circumstances. I: INITIATIVE Ruth acted to align her actions with God's will, first by being wise then by taking the initiative and moving forward. If our actions are to meet with God's will we must take the initiative and move.God's will is unchanging so our actions must take us towards it and Ruth did this in offering to go and glean (Ruth 2:2). The journey from Moab to Bethlehem was an exhausting 10-day walk and Ruth was already carrying the grief of losing her husband, brother-in-law and father-in-law, as well as the family she left behind.I'dforgiven her for wanting to take a few days off, or simply wait for Naomi, who was from Bethlehem, to tell her what to do next. But Ruth does neither. She takes the initiative and acts. When I think about God's providence and wanting to see it in my life I admit I'm prone to expecting it to land in my lap or come to me miraculously. But God always wants us to step towards him, and come and follow Him. Faith is an active, moving, forward motion and in faith we must move towards God and His will. As the old saying goes, God can't steer a parked car. T: TRUST As we step forward in wisdom it's also important to trust. We must trust God and what's unseen more than we trust ourselves and what is seen. We first see Ruth's trust in God in chapter 1 when she leaves Moab to go with Naomi and her God, but we also see it again in chapter 2 in more subtle ways. Firstly, as she gleans in faith God will provide the food for them and then as she rested in the heat of the day. When we trust God we can leave what we know; the safe and familiar scene of what's in front of us. We set off into unknown, seemingly scary territory. For Ruth that familiar thing in front of her was first her family in Moab, then her hunger and finally, the grain lying around her that she could have been collecting while she rested. We all have our 'family in Moab' something that feels safe and familiar, known and comfortable, that we need to leave to follow God. I have a real family in England that we've left behind and I can always see and feel the cost of leaving home. Each day I need to trust that God's will here in the USA is good and perfect, trusting what I can't always see. Whatever our 'family in Moab' is financial security, dating guys we know aren't men of integrity and faith, a good job that pays the bills, or the constant stimulation of social media stealing our time with him, can we trust God and what is unseen more than we trust ourselves and what we see in front of us? We stack the odds of God's providence in our favor when we act in a way that our actions meet with his will as we act with wisdom, initiative, and trust. H: HUMILITY BEFORE GOD AND OTHERS We talk about the entitled youth of today but I believe as Christians we can be just as guilty, turning our faith into a faith of entitlement. Why? Because I've seen it in my own life. When I was diagnosed with cancer I heard myself think things like, 'Why is this happening? What haven't I done for you? What did I do wrong?' I felt entitled to God's providence, his full life and healing and when I didn't see it, I got snarky. But that's not how God works. Our faith is not transactional and God can't be on his throne if we are on it expecting him to deliver everything we pray for. If we want to stack the odds of God's providence in our favour we must get off the throne, put God back on and humble ourselves before him. This is exactly what Ruth did. For Ruth it must have seemed God had been silent through so much pain, loss and separation we'd forgive her for feeling wronged and cheated, but she didn't. She humbled herself and found refuge in God (verse 12), honouring him by admitting her need for him. I'm sure finding refuge under God's wing through these hard times gave her the freedom and desire to humbly follow and care for Naomi. Can we humble ourselves before God, confess our unworthiness and admit our need for him? God's providence isn't something to be earned or a right we inherit when we're born again. Rather it's the humble meeting of our actions with his will. What this shows us is yes, we can stack the odds of God's providence in our favour when our actions meet WITH his will . Let me ask you, what can you do today to make that happen in your life? Niki Hardy is a pastor's wife, cancer 'thriver' and teller of really bad jokes. She writes and speaks about grabbing hold of the full life God has for us, no matter what gets thrown our way. Download her FREE AUDIO How to Handle Anything Life Throws at You Conservative leaders demand action in letter accusing social media giants of censorship Conservative leaders are demanding action on what they call the growing threat of online censorship from social media giants, including Facebook, Twitter, Google and YouTube. The letter to Attorney General William Barr has been signed by over 30 people, including Brent Bozell, President of the Media Research Center, Brian S Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, William A Donohue, President of the Catholic League, LifeSiteNews editor John-Henry Westen, and Tim Wildmon, President of the American Family Association. They say that concerns over online censorship should be a 'high priority' for his office and that there is an 'urgent' need for the Department of Justice to investigate Facebook, Twitter, Google and YouTube. They go on to claim that the social media platforms pose 'existential threats to the conservative movement and indeed American society as a whole'. 'At this point, it is undeniable that Facebook, Twitter, and Google/YouTube all have a significant liberal agenda hardwired into their platforms,' the letter reads. 'These platforms also have an unprecedented power to manipulate and sway elections. Such sweeping power, combined with near monopolistic dominance in the marketplace, and in conjunction with deep one-sided liberal partisan bias within all these organizations, is cause for alarm. 'These organizations present a threat not merely to conservatives in the United States, but indeed our free market economic system and the very viability of the U.S. political system. 'Respecting these entities' own constitutional rights, we believe there nevertheless is ample probable cause of antitrust violations and of conspiracy to violate the constitutional rights of conservatives, and possible collusion to violate laws governing America's campaign finance system and elections.' The letter cites occasions where conservative perspectives have been blocked on the social media sites. These include reports of adverts promoting pro-life movie Roe v Wade, starring Jon Voight, being blocked by Facebook, and an apology issued by the social media company to evangelical pastor Franklin Graham after he was banned for 24 hours over a 2016 post that was critical of relaxing bathroom policies for transgender people. Elsewhere, concerns were raised over a recent interview by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in which he admitted neutrality was not a goal. 'I don't believe that we can afford to take a neutral stance anymore. I don't believe that we should optimize for neutrality,' he said. The conservative leaders also questioned a $250,000 donation from Google's charity arm to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has branded several Christian organisations as 'hate groups', including the Alliance Defending Freedom, which defended Christian baker Jack Phillips after he was sued for refusing to make a gay wedding cake. The letter concluded: 'Americans are distrustful of these social media organizations because they have good reason to be. Their institutional bias against conservatives, along with their massive influence, makes for a dangerous combination and one which can deliberately tilt the outcome of elections. 'During such a turbulent time in our nation's political system, it is crucial that you investigate how these social media/search media powerhouses wield their power to sway elections.' CofE drops centuries-old rule that every church should hold Sunday services The Church of England's General Synod has formally dropped a requirement dating from the 17th century for weekly worship to be held in every parish church. In future the rules will say that morning and evening prayer should be held at at least one church within a benefice, which might include multiple parish churches. It is designed to regularise what is already a standard practice as most priests, particularly in rural areas, are responsible for several parishes. Attendance at individual churches can be very low, as rural populations have declined. The practice of moving from church to church within a benefice on consecutive days and weeks previously required special dispensation from a bishop. A spokesperson for the Church of England said: 'Sunday worship continues to be central to the Church of England's ministry, but this change is designed to make life easier for multi-church benefices. 'Larger benefices are a reality, particularly in rural areas, and this legislation allows schedules to be set within a local context, alongside other forms of worship not covered by this legislation. 'Morning and Evening prayer continue to be the heartbeat of church life, and whether urban or rural, communities are prayed for on a daily basis.' The Bishop of Willesden, Pete Broadbent, said the move would make 'honest people' of clergy who were technically in breach of the rules. 'People can't look after loads of parishes, but [canon] law doesn't recognise that reality,' he said. Church leaders disappointed with change to BBC Songs of Praise time slot The BBC's decision to move 'Songs of Praise' to Sunday lunchtime has disappointed Church leaders. The Church of England was asked by Dr Chris Angus during Synod this week whether it had challenged the BBC over changing the time of its only regular religious programme from late afternoons on Sunday to much earlier in the day. Dr Angus, lay chair of the Diocese of Carlisle, said the programme had effectively been 'marginalised' by the BBC. In a written answer, the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, said the Church of England's communications office had been in direct contact with the BBC regarding the scheduling of 'Songs of Praise' and that it had been informed that the change was down to concerns over a conflict with sporting programmes. 'The BBC have informed them that the new scheduling time has been introduced in order to ensure that the programme holds a consistent place in the schedule after the lunchtime news and is not dislodged by the over-running of any sporting events being broadcast later in the day,' he said. 'The BBC have also stated that scheduling "Songs of Praise" after the lunchtime news ensures a consistent audience share and allows the programme to be available via iPlayer for a longer period on the Sunday.' The move has given rise to concerns that the change will lead to a fall in viewers and the eventual cancellation of the show. Caroline Hobbs, who has launched a petition to return the show to its original time, told the Daily Mail: 'For the housebound and those in care homes, like my mother, this is their only access to Sunday worship. They are unable to record it or use iPlayer. 'By moving it to a time when they will be having lunch they are deprived of a much-loved programme. This will also mean that viewing figures will drop, which may lead to it being axed permanently.' She added: 'This is the only Christian programme still shown regularly on TV and although viewers may be in a minority, they still have a right to enjoy it.' Peter Lynas, director of Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland, told the Belfast Telegraph it was important that broacasters like the BBC provide good quality faith-based programming. 'It is estimated that 400,000 people regularly attend church in Northern Ireland, which is about a quarter of the population. Given this fact, there is room for both quantity and, more importantly, quality of coverage,' he said. 'I believe that moving Songs of Praise to a lunchtime slot is a small sign that the broadcasters do not get this.' There are kids everywhere; Vatican confirms Church guidelines for priests who father children Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The Roman Catholic Church has acknowledged that it has guidelines for priests who have violated their vow of celibacy and have fathered children. Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti told CBS News in an interview published Tuesday afternoon that the Church has a document for internal use on the issue that was not intended for publication. the fundamental principle behind these lines is the protection of the child, explained Gisotti. For this reason, the document ordinarily requires that the priest present a request for dispensation from the duties of the clerical state and, as a layman, assume his responsibilities as a parent by devoting himself exclusively [to his child]. The New York Times first reported on the guidelines, among their interviewees being Vincent Doyle, an Irish psychotherapist who set up a support group for children of Catholic priests called Coping International. Its the next scandal, explained Doyle, who did not learn that his father was a priest until he was in his late 20s. There are kids everywhere. Although the Vatican recently confirmed the existence of guidelines, they were not the first Church body to publicly discuss what should happen to priests who have children. In August of 2017, the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference released a set of principles at the behest of Coping International, stressing that the wellbeing of his child should be his first consideration. In the case of a child fathered by a Catholic priest, it follows that a priest as any new father, should face up to his responsibilities personal, legal, moral and financial. At a minimum, no priest should walk away from his responsibilities, stated the Irish Bishops. It is vital in discerning a way forward that the mother, as the primary care giver, and as a moral agent in her own right, be fully involved in the decision. The new revelation over the Vaticans guidelines for priests who become parents comes as the Church continues to wrestle with how to resolve its years-long sex abuse scandal. Around 200 church leaders from across the globe will convene in Rome on Thursday to begin a four-day meeting on how to handle the internal church crisis. This is a new day in terms of transparency, said Archbishop Charles Scicluna, who is one of the meeting organizers, as reported by The Telegraph. Bishops are going to be held accountable. My hope is that people see this as a turning point. Muslim who sought to kill Christian cousin embraces faith after Jesus appears in dream Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment An Egyptian Muslim who planned to kill his cousin for converting to Christianity has shared how he embraced the religion he once hated after Jesus delivered a powerful message to him in a dream. Mostafa, a new convert in Egypt, recently shared with persecution watchdog Open Doors how he traveled to Cairo with the intention of killing his cousin, Mohammad, who had converted from Islam to Christianity. In Egypt, converting from Islam to Christianity is seen as a betrayal of ones family and heritage. Christian converts risk losing their family, friends, and even their lives. After finding his cousin sitting in a Christian worship service, Mostafa slipped behind him and waited to make his move. But as he listened to the songs and prayers, he noticed that the words he was hearing appealed to him. Following the service, Mostafa approached Mohammad with tears in his eyes: I came all the way from our familys village to spy on you and see if you had indeed become a Christian, he said. I should inform your family about what I saw, but I just cant. I think the choice you made might have been the right one. Can you tell me more? Why did you leave Islam for Christianity? That evening, the cousins spent hours talking about the Gospel. That night, Mostafa had a dream. He saw Jesus on the cross, looking at him and saying: I did all of this because I love you, and I want you to be free from your sins. The next morning, Mostafa told Mohammed what he saw in his dream and asked his cousin to pray together with him for his salvation. Mostafa recalled telling God: I planned to kill my cousin, Your follower. But now I am prepared to give my life for You myself. The following month, Mostafa was baptized with his cousin standing next to him. He hasnt told his family that he and Mohammed are now followers of Jesus, and the two men are currently living as secret believers. Egypt is No. 16 on Open Doors' World Watch List and continues to be a country that poses extreme danger and violence for Christians, according to the persecution watchdog. Various Islamic extremist groups remain the largest persecutors of Christians in the country. Despite continued persecution, a number of Christians across the Middle East have embraced Christianity. Officially, about 10% of the 95 million population are Christian, although many believe the figure is significantly higher. Last year, a former Muslim-turned-pastor who started hundreds of churches in Pakistan told The Christian Post that many Muslims are making decisions to convert after Jesus Himself has visited them in dreams and visions. It's very dangerous for anyone to preach the Word of God face-to-face in non-Western countries, the pastor told CP. God reveals things through dreams to evangelists/pastors. People in the East are more uneducated and unable to read the Bible so God uses this method to reach them. [People] are very faithful in the East, placing themselves in positions to see the signs of God by studying the Word of God, he added. Eastern people watch for the signs and miracles to show that the Word of God is alive. It is a privilege, one not everyone can share in to own a Bible in the East. In the West, people look more for wisdom, like the Greeks of old. They do not always rely on faith, which can't be seen. Mission Frontiers magazine also reported that out of 600 Muslim converts, 25 percent experienced a dream that led to their conversion. A now-former shaman in a village in northwest China shared in another article for Open Doors in July that she saw Christ while on her deathbed. "I was in the back seat of a taxi as my brother drove me toward endless darkness. But then three men, who were wearing brilliant white robes, approached. But their light was so bright, I couldn't see their faces," Ting, the former shaman, said of her experience. "They told me I must make a choice. And as they spoke, two other men wearing black robes invited me to follow them. I knew in my heart one of the men wearing a white robe was Jesus. So I followed Him." In 2015, an Islamic State terror group fighter who had killed Christians also turned to Christ after reportedly dreaming of "a man in white." Midwife at Auschwitz delivered 3,000 babies, watched infanticide Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment This Polish midwife was ordered to murder all the babies she delivered at Auschwitz. With Gods help she was able to rescue a few from certain death at the hands of her Nazi overlords. Stanislawa Leszczynska was born in Lodz, a town situated in the heart of Poland. When the Nazis invaded her country in 1939 this wife, mother and midwife joined the Polish resistance, according to a report by Aleteia. As part of her work with the underground, she provided fake documents and food for those in Jewish ghettos. After her familys efforts were discovered by the Gestapo, she and her daughter were sent to Auschwitz. Her husband and oldest son escaped, but she would never see her spouse again; he was killed in later fighting during the war. At Auschwitz, Stanislawa volunteered as a midwife. Many women were executed when their pregnancy was discovered, but others managed to continue their pregnancy until delivery. Stanislawa was sent to work in the maternity ward, which was a set of filthy barracks that was less a place to care for pregnant women than a place to usher them into death, according to History.com. The Nazi female collaborators who managed the ward, Sister Klara and Sister Pfani, announced newborns were stillborn, even if alive. Horrifically, they proceeded to drown the babies in buckets in front of the new mothers. (As an aside, it is difficult to imagine infanticide is currently being considered by legislators in the U.S., who are openly talking about killing babies during and after delivery.) When Stanislawa was told she must murder the babies after their delivery, she feared God more than man and refused, echoing the sentiment of midwives recorded in the book of Exodus: The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live. The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. (Exodus 1:15-17 NIV) Stanislawas intransigence was rewarded with a beating by Klara, but she still did what she could to keep as many babies alive as possible. MORE Transgender agenda lands at airlines, passengers given 'unspecified' gender option Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Air travelers will soon be able to choose a gender option other than male or female, indicating they identify as transgender or non-binary when buying their tickets. Beginning June 1, members of Airlines for America, a trade group that represents most leading U.S. carriers, including Alaska, Southwest, and United Airlines, will allow customers to pick "unspecified" and "undisclosed" in addition to the traditional options male and female. "US airlines value a culture of diversity and inclusion, both in the workplace and for our passengers and we work hard each day to accommodate the needs of all travelers, while delivering a safe, secure and enjoyable flight experience," the group said in a statement quoted by The New York Times. Airlines for America said that it is up to individual airlines to choose when to make the changes. But on Twitter, United Airlines announced it plans to implement the changes soon: In the coming weeks, customers will be able to select the gender with which they most closely identify during the booking process. Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines are also working on introducing the new gender options, representatives for the carriers said, according to the Times. The move has been praised by LGBT activists: Non-binary people face unnecessary, invasive and discriminatory scrutiny by airlines, airports and security services alike, said Arli Christian, the state policy director for the National Center for Transgender Equality, who uses the pronoun they. Christian added that the change is an important step toward ensuring safe and smooth travel for all passengers regardless of their gender. Airlines for Americas announcement comes as gender-neutral forms of identification become more widely available across U.S. states. In December, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio signed a measure into law adding an X designation to birth certificates, along with M for male and F for female. "To all trans and nonbinary New Yorkers: We see you, hear you and respect you," the mayor's office said Dec. 29 on Twitter. "Starting in 2019, all New Yorkers will be able to change their gender on their birth certificate to M, F or X without a doctor's note." Currently, seven states and jurisdictions have a similar "third" option available for drivers licenses: Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, D.C., and California, according to the National Center for Transgender Equalitys ID Documents Center. Daniel Moody, a Christian philosopher and the author of The Flesh Made Word, told The Christian Post that a X marker on official documentation has far-reaching ramifications down the road. "In law, bedrock identity can only be sex for everybody or sex for nobody. And given that X provides a vehicle by which to avoid having one's sex registered in law, the situation is now sex for nobody, he said. He added: "To erroneously describe the X as a third gender is to give the impression that X is an innocent addition. But X is anything but a tiny alteration that affects a minuscule number of people while leaving undisturbed everybody else's legal status." "Put bluntly, the apparently innocuous addition of an X results in the terms male and female no longer meaning for anybody that which they previously meant for everybody, he emphasized. In the eyes of the law, those long-familiar words now serve to obscure the very thing they formerly revealed: the body. As an ideology, gender audaciously helps itself to the language of the body. "As is the case with its bogus scientific claims, gender wears the words male and female as an effective and efficient disguise," he concluded. Church vs. Trump's wall: Religious freedom fight still looms on Texas border Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A historic border church embroiled in a religious freedom court battle with the Donald Trump administration was saved by the spending bill, but could be back in court over emergency funding. La Lomita Chapel is situated along the banks of the Rio Grande river in Mission, Texas. The administration proposed to build a border wall on top of a nearby levy that would place La Lomita on the Mexico side of the wall and cut it off from congregants and the tourists who visit. (See image below.) The spending bill signed by President Donald Trump on Friday to prevent another government shutdown specifically denied wall funding near La Lomita. But Trump's use of his emergency declaration powers, announced the same day in order to further wall construction, leaves the property's future uncertain. A source familiar with the case told Catholic News Agency that there is no precedent on whether the funding restrictions in the spending bill would apply to emergency funding as well, should Trump's emergency funding declaration survive court challenges. La Lomita had lost its first court fight earlier this month when U.S. District Judge Randy Crane ruled that the federal government may survey the land in preparation for a border wall. The church, represented by the Diocese of Brownsville, wasn't surprised to lose that case, but believes it has a better chance if the government does try to build the wall. But, as the Diocese recognizes, the more substantial burden which it believes will violate its right to religious exercise under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act will come if and when the government seeks to take the property for the building of a wall cutting off La Lomita from those who worship there, Mary McCord, lead counsel for the diocese, told Catholic News Agency. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed by Congress in 1993, says that the government can only infringe religious freedom if there is a "compelling governmental interest" and it uses "the least restrictive means." While most RFRA claims have come from small religious groups, such as O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal, there have been cases involving Christians. Most famously, the Christian-owned company Hobby Lobby sued for an accommodation to Obamacare's birth control mandate and won at the U.S. Supreme Court. La Lomita was first built in 1865 and rebuilt in 1899 and the 1920s. The city of Mission took its name from the chapel when it was founded in 1908, according to the city's website. "La Lomita became an important site for the Calvary of Christ, the Oblate missionaries who rode up and down the Rio Grande Valley visiting widely separated Catholic churches, baptizing newborns, performing marriage ceremonies and blessing the dead," the website states. The building no longer holds regular services, but tourists visit and learn about its historical significance, and it is sometimes used for events, such as weddings and funerals. Speakers for LGBT Christian Conference 'Revoice' Defend Event Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Participants for the LGBT Christian conference Revoice are defending the event from criticism that the gathering will promote pro-LGBT ideas at the expense of biblical teaching. The Revoice Conference, a multiday event scheduled for July 2628 at Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, Missouri has garnered controversy well before its opening session. According to its website, Revoice seeks to "encourage, support, and empower gay, lesbian, and other same-sex-attracted Christians so they can experience the life-giving character of the historic, Christian sexual ethic." Though organizers of the event hold to the traditional biblical teaching of marriage, some argue that the conference is designed to advance an LGBT agenda in churches at the expense of sound Christian teaching. Stephen Black, executive director of First Stone Ministries, an organization that seeks to help people with what the group calls "sexual brokenness," is one of the critics. In an interview with The Christian Post earlier this year, Black said he believed Revoice was seeking "to manipulate the Church to embrace LGBT+ people as a victimized minority group instead of a group of Christians only." Black opposed the positions that sexual orientation is a fixed identity, that the term "sexual minorities," which applies to a group identity, should be allowed in Christianity, and that people can be both gay and Christian. "In viewing the website and workshop descriptions, Revoice promotes their need to bring all things LGBT+ into the Church for complete acceptance as legitimate identities to be embraced. They communicate that a person's sexual orientation is a fixed nature of human beings," said Black. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, also expressed concern about Revoice in a podcast released in June. Mohler explained that his "biggest concern" about the conference is the event's apparent acceptance of the idea that sexual identity "becomes a defining issue that isn't changed by the Gospel and isn't transformed by sanctification." "Holiness and sanctification as revealed in the New Testament means that progressively whatever sinful desires mark us should become less a part of us and we should seek to identify with them in a lesser way, not in a greater way, by the Holy Spirit's work in our hearts and in our lives in sanctification," stated Mohler. He took issue with the conference's descriptions of queer culture, arguing that Revoice's language on the issue implies that LGBT identity "has something morally and theologically positive and profitable to add to Christianity." Revoice is scheduled to have multiple keynote speakers as well as several presenters on various topics pertaining to LGBT identity and traditional Christian teaching. Some of the common complaints heard from Revoice organizers and participants is that their critics misrepresent their positions, assume all the participants hold the same positions, and make assumptions about what will happen at an event that hasn't happened. For some examples, see Spiritual Friendship blog co-founder Ron Belgau's essay in The Public Discourse here, or Mere Orthodoxy founder Matthew Lee Anderson here and here. The Christian Post has published the views of Revoice critics here, here and here. For this article, CP sought the perspective of Revoice participants. While Revoice organizers did not respond to an interview request, CP interviewed one of the keynote speakers and two of the presenters. As with the conference itself, all three believe that homosexuality is a sin and accept the biblical definition of marriage. Kay Warren identifies 1 factor that can 'make or break' ministry God calls couples to Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Kay Warren, who founded Saddleback Church alongside her husband, Rick Warren, says couples who thrive in ministry all demonstrate the ability to see themselves as a team who shares a God-given dream. In a recent op-ed for pastors.com, Warren said this one factor can actually make or break the ministry God has called couples to: Being a team sharing a dream can revitalize a marriage, a family, a local church, and ultimately the Kingdom of God, she said. Warren shared how, when her husband told her he wanted to plant a church several decades ago, she became anxious. But after she attended a church growth conference, his heart for church planting began to take root in her too. However, the sharing the dream and being part of a team strategy theyd started the church with began to fade as their family grew. The demands of small children, she said, often prevented me from being as active in ministry as I desired. As a result, Rick and I felt emotionally distant from each other, she recalled. Nothing was actively wrong, but we were like ships passing in the night, each of us busy with our individual responsibilities. I didnt know much about what was happening in his world, and he didnt know much about what was happening in mine. One day, Rick Warren asked his wife a question he had read in a marriage book: Is it true that the more a woman chooses to make herself a part of her husbands world the more he will choose to be a part of her world? I was riveted by that question and pondered it for days, she said, adding that its not helpful to wade into the debate about whose turn it was to make the first move. That kind of me-first thinking can become a distraction and is what dooms too many relationships to disappointment and bitterness, she said. Ive played that game, and no one wins. Im learning to put my energy into what it is I ultimately want for us to be part of each others world. Warren shared four ways individuals can move toward being part of their spouses world: Ask: Is there a sermon, podcast, or article that really touched your heart recently? Ask: What are the two most influential books youve read in the last six months? Ask: Id really like to hear, what are your dreams and hopes for the church in the next six months? Attend or watch the same conferences together. You and your spouse are each others most valuable resource for ministry more than education and training, more than abilities, more than spiritual gifts, more than anything, she concluded. Rick and Kay Warren started Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, in 1980 as a home Bible study. Today, Saddleback is one of America's largest and most influential churches, with several campuses in California and around the world. The couple frequently discusses the importance of teamwork, both in marriage and in ministry. The more effective you want to be is dependant on how tight your team is, Rick Warren said in a 2017 interview alongside his wife. Literally everything weve ever done together weve done everything as a team, even writing books, even writing messages. Were more effective when were actually different, he continued. People think that a team is important if you think alike, but the opposite is true ... the greater your differences are, the more effective youre going to be as a team if you examine each others strengths and compensate for each others weaknesses. Kay has taught me more than anyone else in the world, he said, and probably vice versa. Effective couples must have two things, he said: A common goal and clear communication. Work on being a team, because it doesnt come automatically. We have worked hard to get where we are, he said, adding that without his wife, there would be no Saddleback Church, no Purpose Driven Life, or mental health ministry. All of these things are because you stayed with me, he told her. Kay Warren echoed her husband's sentiment in her book Sacred Privilege. We wouldnt be who we are today without each other, she writes. Im a better Christian, a better woman, a better mother, a better friend, and a better minister because of Rick. He says hes a better Christian, a better man, a better father, a better friend, and a better minister because of me. The shrieks of iron sharpening iron have often sounded like gears grinding on bare metal, but the result has been profound personal growth in both of us. Hundreds to attend Gods Voice conference aimed at stopping LGBT agenda in churches Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A group of theologically conservative Christians will hold a conference in Oklahoma centered on preventing what organizers believe to be an effort by LGBT activists to influence evangelical churches. Known as Gods Voice, the conference is expecting at least 300 attendees and will be held Feb. 22-23 in Edmond, Oklahoma. The multiday event was created in response to the Revoice gathering, which was held July 26-28, 2018 at Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, Missouri. Revoices official mission was to encourage and support gay, lesbian, same-sex-attracted, and other LGBT Christians so they can flourish while observing the historic, Christian doctrine of marriage and sexuality." Although Revoice's organizers and speakers affirmed a traditional understanding of human sexuality, critics argued that their views were trying to push LGBT agenda items into evangelical churches. Stephen Black, executive director with First Stone Ministries and part of the Gods Voice Committee, told The Christian Post on Wednesday that their message contrasts with Revoice in that they do not accept the premise of LGBT Christians or queer ideology. Our desire is to bring the clarity of the Word of God. Gods Word promises Gods grace which has the power to bring souls to a sincere, born again experience and to Gods transforming power, explained Black. The Revoice and LGBTQ+ Christian movement leaves souls stuck in bondage to lust, and they promote a word construct which merges sinfulness with Christian identity, i.e. gay Christian and thus they bring defilement to the entire church, keeping souls in an internal orientation toward acceptable unnatural lust. Black viewed hope as a key point for the Gods Voice conference, telling CP that the grace of God does not leave you stuck in bondage to sin and that we all must surrender to His Lordship. We also hope people will come away with a clear understanding of the history and the whys? behind the queering of the church and why main evangelical churches in America are embracing this new wave of LGBTQ+ Christianity in false compassion, added Black. In addition to Black, scheduled speakers for Gods Voice include Peter LaBarbera, founder and president of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality; David H. Pickup, a licensed therapist and board member of the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality; widely-syndicated Christian talk show host Janet Mefferd; the Rev. Al Baker of the Presbyterian Church in America; and Southern Baptist evangelist the Rev. Thomas Littleton. Black was one of many critics of Revoice when it was announced last year. Others, including Wesley Hill, associate professor of New Testament at the Trinity School for Ministry, defended Revoice. One of the keynote speakers for the Revoice gathering, Hill told CP in an interview last year that he was "deeply saddened" by the controversy over Revoice. Hill felt that the criticism failed to recognize that Revoice had "a sizable, vocal group of LGBT people who want to try to live inside the traditional Scriptural view of marriage and sexuality." "Whatever disagreements other conservatives may have with us, surely that should be celebrated as a striking instance of radical discipleship," Hill told CP at the time. Gods Voice will be held at Fairview Baptist Church of Edmond, Oklahoma. Paul Blair, pastor at Fairview, told CP in an interview that his church was happy to host this conference. Over the past 50 years, we have witnessed the erosion of sexual morality in America. Whether it be the sexual revolution, no fault divorces or abortion on demand, the American Church has conformed to the culture rather than engaging the moral decline head on with the hope of repentance and revival, said Blair. No person is forced to follow Biblical teaching. However, we cannot deny Scripture or twist Scripture and still claim to obey the Bible or claim to be a follower of Christ. Blair explained that Fairview Baptist has had a working relationship with Black and LaBarbera for some time, having collaborated on other projects in the past. When asked by CP what he hoped attendees would take away from the Gods Voice conference, Blair responded truth. Truth is true for all people at all times and in all places. There is no black truth or white truth, gay truth or straight truth, there is just truth, continued Blair. Jesus is truth and the Word of God is truth. Our goal is to expose all attendees to the Biblical and evidential truth about the issue of human sexuality. Al Mohler: Revoice Is 'Halfway House' Between LGBT Culture and Evangelical Christianity Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A prominent Southern Baptist leader is criticizing the recent Revoice conference, saying it is awash in confusing language and does not represent faithful Christianity despite its assertions of adherence to biblical sexual ethics. "Revoice represents an attempt to build a halfway house between LGBTQ+ culture and evangelical Christianity," said Al Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The Revoice conference, which took place last week at a St. Louis, Missouri, Presbyterian (PCA) church, was put on with the stated goal of supporting and encouraging Christians who identify as LGBT "so they can flourish while observing the historic, Christian doctrine of marriage and sexuality." Yet in the weeks leading up to the event, some expressed alarm and asserted that the notable evangelicals who endorsed or associated themselves with Revoice were furthering unscriptural views about identity and appropriating the lingo of gay activism, particularly talk of "sexual minorities" and "redeeming queer culture," as was described on the conference website. In a lengthy post on his website Wednesday, Mohler analyzed the conference and the words and writing of some of the speakers, grounding his comments in light of the ongoing chaos the sexual revolution unleashed. "This revolution requires a total redefinition of morality, cultural authority, personal identity, and more. The revolution requires a new vocabulary and a radically revised dictionary. Ultimately, the moral revolutionaries seek to redefine reality itself. And this revolution has no stopping point. The plus sign at the end of LGBTQ+ is a signal of more challenges sure to come," he said. And it is that new vocabulary that was present in much of the Revoice conference, especially the identity categories "LGBT Christians" and "gay Christians," he added, noting how language matters. He explained: "This language implies that Christians can be identified in an ongoing manner with a sexual identity that is contrary to Scripture. Behind the language is the modern conception of identity theory that is, in the end, fundamentally unbiblical." "The use of the language of 'sexual minorities' is a further extension of identity theory and modern critical theory and analysis. In this context, 'sexual minority' simultaneously implies permanent identity and a demand for recognition as a [political] minority." Such terms distort the larger story about what it means to be in Christ, he said. "The larger problem is the idea that any believer can claim identity with a pattern of sexual attraction that is itself sinful. The Apostle Paul answers this question definitively when he explains in 1 Corinthians 6:11, such were some of you," Mohler emphasized. The seminary president went on to observe that the conference did not speak much at all to the "T" in LGBT regarding what the historic Christian tradition offers persons who identify as transgender. He further noted that while Revoice appears to align with the orthodox doctrine of marriage and sexual ethics, some of its main organizers and speakers make common cause with voices who do say homosexual practice is in keeping with Christianity. In other words, despite their stated beliefs, the LGBT identity seems to trump everything. Nate Collins, who founded Revoice and is a graduate and former employee of SBTS, is linked to groups like LoveBOLDLY, which does not affirm the historic Christian view of sexuality. At an upcoming LoveBOLDLY conference where he is slated to speak in Cincinnati in October, many perspectives are represented, including that of a woman in an openly lesbian relationship. Mohler also drew attention to a particular session at Revoice that has garnered considerable criticism. The session, "Redeeming Queer Culture: An Adventure," asserts in its online description that "Christians have often discarded the virtues of queer culture along with the vices, which leaves culturally connected Christian sexual minorities torn between two cultures, two histories, and two communities" and asked "What queer treasure, honor, and glory will be brought into the New Jerusalem at the end of time (Revelation 21:24-26)?" That means "torn between queer culture and the church," Mohler explained, and that, "to state the matter clearly, is unstable, unfaithful, unworkable, unbiblical ... impossible." He concluded: "We should take the organizers of Revoice at their word and hear what they are saying. We should lament the brokenness and understand the many failings of the Christian church toward those who identify with the LGBTQ+ community." "But we dare not add yet another failure to those failures. We cannot see Revoice as anything other than a house built upon the sand. Revoice is not the voice of faithful Christianity." It was a miracle: Doctors near-death accident brings him to God Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Dr. Jeff Huxford was a successful family medical doctor when a life-altering car accident changed absolutely everything. On May 3, 2012, he drove into town to pick up some items at a local hardware store, but a series of shocking events along the way sent his life on a totally different trajectory and it all unfolded in mere seconds. Huxford, author of the new book, Finding Normal: An Uninvited Change, An Unexpected Outcome, recently told The Pure Flix Podcast about how his near-death experience and the traumatic brain injury he suffered during the collision transformed his life and family. READ ALSO: Incredible Miracle Leaves Doctors Shaking Their Heads in Awe I stopped at the stop light, but a truck going the other way did not stop [and] pushed my truck into a concrete pole, Huxford said. My head went through the drivers side window and hit the pole they had to cut me out with the jaws of life. The very serious accident led paramedics to transport Huxford to Chicago, where he received treatment for his injuries. It was a miracle that I survived, he said, noting that the accident left him with a severe traumatic brain injury an experience that forced changes throughout his entire life. These changes were difficult and inevitably led him on an introspective journey he could have never imagined. Hear Huxford describe his miracle survival at the 20:30-mark: Huxford said he was initially determined to get back to normal back to the same exact person he was before the accident. Unfortunately, the path through such a severe traumatic brain injury is anything but seamless. READ ALSO: 5 Inspirational People Who Have Overcome Disabilities After a brain injury a person has to find their new normal and I didnt really believe that at first, he said, noting that he thought that with enough hard work and enough time and determination he could get back to the person he was before. But the accident forced Huxford to retire due to his complications with traumatic brain injury, leaving behind his decade-long career as a physician. Although the brain injury took away his ability to practice medicine, Jeff learned a multitude of wonderful truths about God and found his value and purpose rooted in Christ. Huxford soon realized that some of the changes he faced were permanent, and that he had to truly embrace his new normal. This brain injury might have taken a lot from me, but it has also given me a lot, he said, citing his Christian faith as the most profound benefit. Despite growing up in a Christian home, Huxford said he came to a place before the accident of relative apathy one in which his faith was relatively benign. I think over time I got really comfortable in my faith and it became more of a checklist type thing where I was making sure I was checking the right boxes, he said. It wasnt about a relationship. READ ALSO: 6 Examples of Real Life Miracles But after Huxfords accident, he heard a sermon that changed everything a message about the importance of not being a lukewarm Christian. As Huxford listened, he came to an important realization. When I heard the verse this time I started seeing myself as being one of those lukewarm Christians, Huxford said, noting that he had always known that being lukewarm is something the Bible condemns. In the end, that sermon helped bring his faith into a truer focus, waking him up from his apathetic spiritual slumber. I would never wish a traumatic brain injury on a person, he said. But if thats what it took for me to find Jesus and learn about Jesus in the way I needed to then I would do it all again. Despite Huxfords own struggles, he has persisted, and has an inspirational word for anyone facing difficult trials: God never promised us an easy life or a life free of trouble, but he did promise to be with us during those times.Read more of Huxfords story in Finding Normal. And if youre looking for other incredible overcomer stories, look no further than PureFlix.com, where you can stream uplifting documentaries and movies like Scott MacIntyres I Am Hope, among thousands of others. This article was originally published on Pure Flix Insider. Visit Pure Flix for access to thousands of faith and family-friendly movies and TV shows. You can get a free, one-month trial here. Billy Hallowell, author of "The Armageddon Code," has contributed to TheBlaze, the Washington Post, Human Events, the Daily Caller, Mediaite, and the Huffington Post, among other news sites. Through journalism, media, public speaking appearances, and the blogosphere, Hallowell has worked as a journalist and commentator for more than a decade. Van Gogh film, At Eternitys Gate, unknowingly displays Christian themes Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Filmmaker Julian Schnabels immersive film about the final years of Vincent Van Goghs life portrays the artists descent into madness, even as his artistic achievements soared beyond many of his peers. While Schnabel left out Van Goghs intensely deep relationship with Jesus Christ, many Christian themes unwittingly emerge. Christ does not come up at any time in this film, says William Havlicek, Ph.D., author of Van Gogh's Untold Story (Creative Storytellers). There are profound ideas that are deeply Christian brought up in the film but unbeknownst to some degree by Julian Schnabel, who is not a practicing Christian. But Schnabel cant deal with Van Gogh without dealing indirectly with some of these things, because he was all about this. Many admirers of the iconic artist are not aware of his spiritual journey. Van Gogh had an understanding of theology. He was trained in Greek and Hebrew, could even translate the Bible out of Greek and Hebrew. He had studied with a well-educated theologian. Van Gogh could quote Scripture and especially loved Paul and the gospels. He also loved the parables of Jesus. While many want to focus on Van Goghs mental instability in his final years, the artists relationship with Christ was evident in his work and prolific letter writing. Van Gogh was painting the parables of Jesus just weeks before he died: The Good Samaritan, the Resurrection of Lazarus, Havlicek notes. In the last months of his life he was obsessed with those very direct spiritual images that had to do with resurrection and transformation. He even painted his own face on the face of Lazarus. Van Goghs father and grandfather were pastors. As his personal relationship with Christ deepened in his early twenties, he wanted to study theology, but failed his entrance exam for seminary. Instead, he went off to serve as a missionary to coal miners in the Borinage district of Belgium. He found miners who were living a miserable existence, without adequate food, water or warm clothing. Motivated by Christs compassion, Van Gogh gave away everything he owned to them, including most of his clothing, even as he tended to their medical needs. His own mother talked amazingly about his skill as a nurse. It played into his handling of paint. No one seems to know Van Gogh the nurse. As far as I know Im the only one who has written about it. It is amazing the historians have overlooked this, Havlicek says. Sadly, a church synod of 14 overseeing Vincents work among the miners thought he suffered from excessive zeal and fired him because he did not dress or preach eloquently. Van Gogh was trained as a pastor and understood theology, Havlicek observes. He did believe the world was created by God. I dont believe he ever stopped believing that. At the end of his life he talked about Jesus being the supreme artist. He said there is no other artist like Jesus who transforms men. Instead of paintbrushes, he used men like Peter and James and created a new way of seeing the world through the gospel. It is a radical creative and imaginative leap. MORE Last weekend was the first time Harvest Bible Chapel gathered for worship without James MacDonald as its senior pastor. Days after firing the churchs founder, the elders of the Chicago-area multisite congregation announced more changes. The executive committeethe top leaders on the elder boardwould also be resigning within months. A task force had been formed to review church structure and processes. This week, the elder board winnowed from 30 people to 9. At Harvest, concerns had lingered for years after the churchs dismissal of three elders in 2013, alleged mismanagement, and negative reports swirling around MacDonald. As leaders and members pray and plan for a healthier church culture, theyre also left lamenting the hurt, confusion, and discord thats led to this point. We know there are many of you feeling shock and frustrationthose feelings are real and understandable. We know there are many who have been grieved by these things over the past weeks, months and even yearsand we share your grief, Dave Learned, pastor of counseling ministry, told the congregation on Saturday night. Our earnest desire is that God would, in his grace, forgive our sins, heal our wounds, and restore unity and harmony to this congregation. Harvest numbers around 12,000 members across seven campuses. As a result of the saga, some have already stopped attending or joined nearby congregations, including 2,000 that left around the 2013 incident. During a major transition for the congregationand the loss of the charismatic preacher who had been its famous face and voicemore will inevitably opt to leave. Either way, if they stay or go, the body of Christ absorbs the blow; if one part suffers, every part suffers with it (1 Cor. 12:26). Those affected by the turmoil at Harvestor elsewhereneed space to grieve and the hope of the gospel. Church leaders and fellow pastors in the Chicago suburbs have opened their doors to those who fled Harvest. A former womens ministry director at Harvest who left four years ago, Lina Abujamra, posted on Facebook last week to invite anyone over who needed to talk about what was going on at the church. While only a handful showed up, the range of their pain was wide. Some women were still in the middle of the trauma and were still currently attending Harvest. Others had old wounds that had resurfaced and were hurting, having never felt closure to their stories, Abujamra, a Bible teacher and Moody Radio host, wrote on her blog. For years, they had been made to feel like the outcasts, but finally vindication in its godly form was working its way out. And still some came because their loved ones and spouses have abandoned the faith completely and now refuse to go to churchand they long to understand why. At Judson University in Elgin, Illinois, campus minister Chris Lash found himself discussing MacDonalds leadership and firing with students, many of them new believers. Their line of questions felt sadly familiar. Lash similarly saw students grapple with Bill Hybelss departure from Willow Creek Community Church less than a year ago. Im seeing people who are really burned by a place like Harvest. Theyre confused, said Lash, the director of university ministries, who is planning discussion sessions to address the role of lament and how a Christian responds when the church fails. Whether its the darkness of sin, the darkness of leadership abuses, lets name that for what it is, and let Christ begin to heal. While Harvest and Willow Creek represent two recent, prominent examples in the Chicago area, abuses of power and church mismanagement happen across denominations and in churches of all sizes. Plenty in the pews have been left with the twisted grief of watching once-respected leaders leave their positions and facing the reality of a church in crisis. Five years ago, after mounting controversy, Mark Driscoll resigned from Mars Hill Church, the multisite megachurch he famously founded around Seattle. Christians across the individual campuseswhich became independent churches and took on new names months after he leftgrappled with defending their former preacher, dismissing him outright, or just wondering what went wrong. Campuses lost members by the hundreds, and in the case of the main Bellevue campus, where Driscoll preached in person, thousands, according to The Gospel Coalition (TGC). Former attendees overwhelmed nearby church plants with both logistical demands and the spiritual baggage of leaving a church after a leadership crisis. I had never been asked by so many people I dont knowbefore I even heard their nameabout bylaws and pastoral pay structures in my life, one Seattle church planter told TGC. Their experience offers some lessons and, ultimately, gospel hope, as Christians seek to care for their neighbors suffering at Harvest or other congregations in the midst of tough transitions. Some will leave, and they did. Some will stay and be angry, and they did. And some will have no clue whats going on, said David Fairchild, lead pastor of Trinity West Seattle Church, Mars Hills former West Seattle campus, in a recent interview with CT. Others, who had been in the church a long time, that had maybe been through difficulties like this, will often be your greatest advocates. They recognize the church endures through all of it, and the church will remain through all of it in one form or another. During the adjustment period, Fairchild began to preach on the bigger story of the Bible, to offer perspective and context for their place in church history. Then came a sermon series on 1 Corinthians, called This Beautiful Mess, which explored the challenges of a church wounded by sin and infighting. Mars Hill had always been a place where they would tell it like it is, an attitude that led to frank discussionsin Sunday chatter, member meetings, small groups, and one-on-one sessionsabout the questions raised by Driscolls departure and the church going forward. Fairchild said leaders at Trinity West took their cues from the congregation, remained patient with their grieving and grappling rather than pushing to move on to the next season for the church. Other former campuses had similar experiences. Aaron Gray, pastor of Sound City Bible Church, formerly Mars Hill Shoreline, remembered being sensitive to how leaders communicated to the congregation afterward, careful not trigger pain or suspicion with their remarks on Sundays. They knew that their people needed time to heal. Human beings are remarkably resilient, and Gods Spirit is just relentless in continuing to push us toward the love of Christ and healing, Gray told CT. Like grief, you cannot rush the process, and you cannot control the process, and you cannot game-plan the process. Changes were on their way, absolutely. New processes and practices would be inevitable. But ultimately, the truth of the gospel became the greatest immediate refuge and the perfect guide for the rebuilding that would come. After so many things were unknown, it became really important to focus on the things that were known, even the things that sound incredibly simple. In a time of trial, pain, transition, thats just the baseline of the gospel itself, that Jesus is alive, the tomb is empty, that Christ died for our sins, Gray said. Though the local church is going through an incredible season of turmoil, Jesus promised that he would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail. The Lord continues his work despite and through churchs most difficult times, proving his faithfulness even then. Something thats been really good for me to realize through this process is that when our influence outpaces our maturity, the kindest thing that God can do is remove our influence and bring it to the level of our maturity, said Fairchild. Whether it be Mark or James or anyone else thats experiencing that, its not a hateful punishment of God, its a loving discipline of our Father. In Learneds statement to Harvest on Saturday, he referenced praying for MacDonald, but also emphasized the churchs place beyond him. Harvest Bible Chapel was not founded on a great pastor, or a great leadership staff, but on a great God, and a great gospel of grace, he said. Weve received the benefit of many years of teaching from this pulpit that the message is more than the messenger, and that God stands ready to respond to those who would humble themselves and repent before him. These are truths from the Word of God, not from any pastor, and we can still rely on them. One of the worlds largest Christian denominations faces potential fracture as United Methodist leaders gather to finally decide how to navigate deep divisions over gay marriage, ordination, and ministry. The United Methodist Church (UMC) meets Saturday through Tuesday to weigh options to address the differing convictions on the issue, including some that would lead one side or the other to leave the denomination. This special session of its General Conference, a denominational decision-making body made of around 1,000 delegates, represents the culmination of years of passionate debate about the application of scriptural teachings, particularly when it comes to issues around sexuality. Theres a lot at stake. Beth Ann Cook, a UMC minister and clergy delegate, said the issue comes down to how we interpret and apply Scripture in our daily lives, and shes praying that delegates fully and honestly face the depth of our divisions. While this ... 1 Pro-BDS Congresswoman Used Israeli Product to Build Her Campaign Website Share Tweet Anti-Israel Congresswoman Representative Rashida Tlaib has been an outspoken supporter for boycotting Israeli products and goods, but a new video revealed that she and several other supporters of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement toward Israel, have been using an Israeli product anyways. According to the Jerusalem Post, British-based organization Israel Advocacy Movement unmasked Tlaibs (D-MI) support of an Israeli company Wix.com after looking at the source code for her campaign website. The code sites Wix.com Website Builder" as its generator. In a video detailing the discovery, Joseph Cohen draws attention to that fact that while Tlaib is encouraging Americans to boycott Israel, she is paying for a website hosted and generated by an Israeli company. Cohen quipped, That's right, the Palestinian Queen of BDS has a website that was built and bought from Israel. Wix.com was founded in 2006 by Avishai Abrahami, Giora Kaplan, and Nadav Abrahami and is an Israeli cloud-based web development platform. According to CBN News, the website generator has helped over 100 million people create websites in 190 countries. Cohen notes in the video that Tlaib is not the only pro-BDS person using Wix. The Israeli advocate lists dozens of people and organizations who openly protest Israel and who are simultaneously utilizing the Israeli technology. Cohen names Ahmed Masoud, Said Durrah, George Abraham, Boycott Divest and Sanction Israel, Team Palestina, and many more. President of the Democratic Majority for Israel Mark Mellman said of this discovery in a statement, "We congratulate Congresswoman Tlaib for her decision to use the best products she can find instead of discriminating against Israel in [a] way that increases hostility, thereby making peace between Israelis and Palestinians more difficult to achieve." He continued, "We need to foster economic cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians instead of encouraging boycotts. We hope Congresswoman Tlaib's use of Israeli products indicates she has changed her mind on boycotting Israel." According to CBN News, a spokesperson for Tlaib made a statement saying her use of the Israeli platform is a non-story. Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Alex Wong Video courtesy: Israel Advocacy Movement President Trump Will Leave 200 Troops in Syria to Keep the Peace Share Tweet Following his December announcement saying that he would be pulling all U.S. troops out of Syria, President Trump has decided to leave 200 troops in the Middle Eastern country in order to keep the peace. In a news conference on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders announced the change saying, A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time. This will be a drastic change as the number of soldiers in Syria will go from 2,000 to 200. President Trumps December announcement which stated that we had both beat ISIS in Syria and would be withdrawing all 2,000 troops from the region was met with mix emotions. As Christian Headlines previously reported, political leaders on both sides of the aisle condemned the Presidents decision, insisting that ISIS was still alive and well in Syria. According to CBN News, the Pentagon warned the President that a total withdrawal of the U.S. from Syria would enable the terror group to regain its lost territory in six to 12 months. The Presidents announcement also set off a series of bids by Turkey, Iran, Russia, and Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime for Syrian land which Israeli officials fear could allow Irans oppressive regime to build a land bridge and increase their ease of mobility. CBN News reports that a statement from the White House noted that President Trump will continue to work with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to "continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone." As of now the timeline for military withdrawal from Syria is not known, however, President Trump did confirm that it would be a gradual process. Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Joe Raedle Winter in the area seemed to be cruising along well on its projected course as one of those typical non-descript El Nino-influenced seasons. That phenomena featuring slightly warmer than usual ocean temperatures is generally a signal for higher than normal temperatures and lower snow in the lowlands, retired Eastern Washington University meteorology professor Dr. Bob Quinn said back in late December. The pattern started on the weak side but strengthened by the waning days of December 2018. The strongest branch of the jet stream that delivers weather dives south primarily into California. Thats good news for the drought-stricken state. As of Feb. 15, snowpack sat at 175 percent of normal in the Sierras. The question was posed to Quinn about the potential of Arctic Air outbreaks which could turn rain to snow. We always do, but they will be short lasting, he said. If our average snowfall is 50 inches Ill be amazed if we even reach 30, Quinn said. My bias is towards a lower than normal snowfall winter. On the other hand, a given snow event over three days can ruin a forecast real fast, Quinn added. Things were moving along as predicted through January where 5.2 inches of snow for the month brought yearly totals to a tad under 20 inches. Average is about 45 inches a year at the National Weather Service near Spokane International Airport. But bang, here came February. As of the 15th, the 23 inches of snowfall for the month was fourth highest in the history of Februarys in the region, according to the National Weather Service. It goes to show that not every El Nino winter behaves like a normal El Nino winter, Quinn said in a Feb. 11 interview. Even though the first part did a fine job of being warm and mild, obviously February is throwing a monkey-wrench in the whole system, he added. What has transpired in the transition between warm and wet weather the typical El Nino suspect to cold and snow is the uncertainties that exist in one of the most complex climates in the world. According to Quinn, the high pressure ridge which generally serves to deflect a lot of moisture from the Pacific Northwest recently moved further offshore some 500 miles. That allows the lush storm track to travel directly over the region after a detour well to the north. When we were under the stagnant center of the high, we had all the cold air going down into the Midwest, Quinn said. With the movement of that high further west, an upper level low planted itself over Vancouver Island. So every 24 to 48 hours a storm system was on track to invade the region, punctuated by bouts of calm. Between Feb. 911, systems that produced feet of snow in parts of North Idaho officially left over 13 inches at the National Weather Service office in Airway Heights. Local snowpack sits at over 100 percent of normal in the Spokane basin and 95 percent in the Idaho panhandle. Also, on Feb. 11, the Climate Prediction Center reported that El Nino had weakened back into a neutral phase, meaning ocean temperatures had cooled to plus 0.4 degrees Celsius above normal. A .5-degree bump signals a weak El Nino, 1 degree moderate and 1.5 strong. A La Nina occurs when temperatures drift in opposite direction. The El Nino peaked in mid-December at about plus 1 degree Celsius, but has fallen in each month of 2019. The forecast in the coming month is for another drop in temps keeping things in a neutral phase through the spring. What does that mean as the start of spring looms about a month from now on March 20? If nothing else, adhering to the old axiom for Northwest weather, where if you dont like things just wait 15 minutes. Paul Delaney can be reached at pauldelaney53@comcast.net. Meghan Markle has been the victim of non-stop bullying, both by the general public and her estranged family members in particular, her father and half-sister. The issues began nearly as soon as her engagement to Prince Harry became public information, and there never seems to be a break from it. Why dont we hear more from Meghan Markle? | TOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images Daily headlines about the Markle family drama have appeared in print and online publications. On social media and other online forums, Markle has been trolled and had her name dragged through the mud. Markles father, Thomas Sr. Markle, and her half-sister, Samantha Markle, have consistently created lies about the new Duchess. Amidst these ongoing conflicts, however, Meghan Markle has remained silent. Royal fans everywhere wonder why the Duchess of Sussex isnt defending herself in the media, as one would expect your typical celebrity to do? Meghan Markles friends rush to her aid People Magazine recently published an exclusive article where five of Meghan Markles closest female friends anonymously came forward to offer their support. They not only defended Markle as a person, but also tried to clear the air about ongoing family troubles. About Markles personality and who she really is as a person, one life long friend stated that the perception of their lifestyle and the reality are two different things. Meg cooks for herself and Harry every single day. A friend from Los Angeles remarked: We had a couple of days together recently She made the most lovely meals. She made tea every day. It was raining and muddy outside, so the dogs got all dirty, and shes wiping them off with towels. How much she loves her animals, how much she loves her friends, how much she loves feeding you, taking care of you none of that has changed. The five friends also provided clarification on the real story behind the feuds between Meghan Markle and her father and half-sister. They stated that Markles half-siblings were not a part of her life, and the Duchesss father did know how to contact her but had failed to. Other royals have spoken up for Meghan Markle Meghan Markle has her defenders | Chris Jackson/Getty Images Fans might remember when Prince Charles (Prince Harrys father) stood up for Meghan Markle albeit in a very private, royal sort of way. After one of his close, longtime friends publicly bashed both Meghan Markle and her family, Prince Charles had a talk with his friend and cut off all future contact. Now, another royal has rushed to the aid of Meghan Markle. Tessy Antony, Princess of Luxembourg, took to social media to defend her fellow royal. In response to a Twitter comment, Antony said, One should never assume. Either you know or be quiet. Its not nice to talk badly about someone else just because one can, as he or she takes advantage of the anonymity of the web. Stay Kind!!! Its the new cool! She does not deserve that. Meghan Markle isnt allowed to defend herself With others rushing to support her, fans might wonder why Meghan Markle has not once issued a public statement defending herself to the media. If these issues had occurred during her time as an American actress, after all, that is how Markle would deal with them. Now that she is a member of the British royal family, however, the Duchess of Sussex is not allowed to. In order to appear both neutral and above reproach, members of the royal family are not allowed to respond to or partake in any kind of public conflict. This includes when they, themselves, are being attacked by others. In fact, members of the royal family are not even allowed to mention any kind of political affiliation publicly, nor can they use social media. Meghan Markle recently spent a few days in New York City to celebrate her pregnancy with some of her closest friends in the United States. The Duchess visit was planned but was unknown to the public until she arrived. However, despite most of the people Meghan loved being there, one very important person was missing: Doria Ragland. Did Doria choose not to attend the baby shower, or was she not invited? Was Meghans mother invited to the NYC baby shower? | Ben Stansall WPA Pool/Getty Images Meghan and her mother have always been close Meghans family has brought plenty of drama to her life ever since she began dating Prince Harry. But one person who has always stuck by her side is the Duchess mother, Doria Ragland. Ever since Meghan was a child, she always had an incredibly close relationship with her mother. Doria frequently taught yoga, and she is the one who introduced it to Meghan. Meghan gets a lot of who she is from her mother. Meghan had a close relationship with her father, too, but things supposedly became rocky as she got older. Now that Meghan lives in the U.K., she doesnt see her mother too much Doria was front and center at Meghan and Harrys wedding. She arrived in advance for the big day and helped her daughter prepare everything. The queen appeared to take a liking to Meghans mother and invited Doria to tea with both her and Prince Philip. But since the wedding ended, Meghan hasnt seen her mother too often. Between getting ready for the babys arrival and taking on all of the duties that come with being a royal, Meghans schedule has been very crowded. When Meghan came to New York City to celebrate, her mother did not attend Meghan surprised everyone when she magically appeared in New York City last week. The duchess had taken some vacation time to cross the pond and see the friends in the U.S. that she can no longer hang out with very often. Meghan and her friends all met up in New York City for a baby shower to celebrate the newest royal family member. Among those who joined the Duchess were Abigal Spencer and Misha Nonoo, who are Meghans former Suits costars. Her best friend, Jessica Mulroney, was also in attendance. Serena Williams and Meghan also grabbed a bite to eat after the shower. However, one woman not in attendance was Meghans mother. Meghan Markle in New York City | James Devaney/GC Images Its likely that Doria was invited but chose not to attend When Doria failed to make an appearance during Meghans New York City vacay, people immediately wondered why her mother would have missed out on the occasion. Some suggested Doria may not have been invited, but its more likely that she opted not to attend. Meghan was having the shower with only her closest friends, and Doria probably felt that Meghan should use the time catch up with girlfriends. Since Meghan is one is the busiest women in the world, her mother probably knew it would be a while before her daughter saw these girls again. Also, Doria is supposedly going to spend some time in England once the baby arrives. It seems unlikely that Meghan wouldnt invite her mother to such an occasion. Priyanka Chopra also didnt attend the shower. Its unclear why, but shes someone else who was most likely on the guest list but didnt make it for her own reasons. Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Joe Giudice, the husband of Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice is currently serving a 41-month sentence for bankruptcy, mail and wire fraud. Currently spending his days in a Pennsylvania prison, Giudice is due to be released in March, according to US Magazine. While he should be looking forward to heading home to his family, Giudice is facing another serious problem; he is likely to be deported from the United States after hes released from prison. We have the skinny on exactly what went wrong for Juicy Joe and what it will mean for his family. Joe Giudices crimes Teresa and Joe Giudice were tried and convicted of the same crimes. According to App, between 2004 and 2008 Teresa and Joe applied for loans in excess of $3 million. During the application process, they repeatedly lied about their income and utilized falsified tax documentation as proof of income. In 2009 the couple filed for bankruptcy but were later accused of hiding assets, most notably a book advance that Teresa Giudice received. While the couple abandoned their bankruptcy pleas, the damage was already done. In June 2010 a bankruptcy trustee submitted information detailing the depth of the Giudices betrayal. Not only did they try to hide assets related to the book advance, but they also tried to hide Giudices Real Housewives of New Jersey paycheck, which totaled over $7000 per month. They were indicted in June 2013 on 39 counts. In March 2014 the couple pled guilty to all counts. They were sentenced in October 2014, with Teresa beginning her prison sentence in January 2015. Joe began his prison stint in March 2016. Why is he going to be deported? Giudice, now 46 years old, was born in Saronno, Italy. When he was a year old he entered the United States with his parents. He was raised in the United States, and while he has family in Italy, he has made it clear that he has no direct ties to the culture, aside from considering himself an Italian-American. Joe Giudice (9th from L) and wife Teresa Giudice (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images) Giudices case is particularly complicated because he had a chance, on multiple occasions to become a United States citizen but made the active decision not to. Giudice, because he was brought to the United States as a young child would have been eligible for citizenship. He was also eligible for citizenship because he married a United States citizen. Giudices conviction for fraud charges muddy the waters further. The government reserves the right to deport any i ndividual who does not hold United States citizenship if they commit a crime. While some crimes are less likely to get an individual deported, Joes high-profile fraud case certainly drew attention, leading to the judges ruling. What is the likelihood Joe and Teresa will win an appeal? Teresa Giudice sat down with Andy Cohen and her castmates for a reunion. Cohen quizzed the reality star on Joes impending release and deportation. He didnt mince any words and outright asked Giudice what the likelihood of Joe winning an appeal was, but Giudice was tight-lipped. Teresa Giudice and Joe Giudice Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images) While the family has a lawyer working on the situation, he hasnt given them any details on how likely Joe is to be able to stay in the country, and at this point, it looks like a longshot. Giudices only chance at keeping his feet on American soil is via appeal, but the process can be lengthy, and he may have to return to Italy while his case is being appealed. They are currently in the process of appealing the decision. Read More: When Will Joe Giudice Be Released From Prison? Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Anne Burrell is known to the television world for her work on Food Network. The celebrity chefs beginnings are just as impressive as her present-day status. She had an impressive rise through the restaurant ranks, working in some of the most well-known eateries in New York. An impressive background, a no-nonsense attitude, and her striking hairstyle have made her a Food Network favorite, but little else is known about the star. Anne Burrell was sort of outed by Ted Allen In 2012, Ted Allen talked publicly about Anne Burrell and her partner. Allens public statement led many to believe that the Food Network star outed his co-worker, but Burrell assured everyone that just was not the case. Burrell went on to make a public statement absolving Allen of any wrongdoing . According to E!, Burrell asserted that her sexuality was never a secret and she was in no way attempting to hide her relationship. Burrell has been with her partner, Koren Grieveson since 2012. The pair announced their engagement in 2013, according to The Daily Meal. Allen and Burrell are still great friends after the outing. Burrell studied in Italy After attending college in Buffalo, New York, Burrell set her sights on the culinary world. She first attended the Culinary Institute of America, before heading to Italy to further her education. She graduated with an associate degree from the CIA, before heading to the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners. The superstar chef spent several months after graduating from the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners working in restaurants around Italy, including several eateries in Tuscany. Because of her education, Burrell pulls Italian influences into many of the dishes she prepares. Even at home, Burrell appears to have a preference for Italian cuisine. Happenstance propelled Burrells television career Once back in the states, Anne Burrell went to work in restaurants around New York, eventually landing at Felidia, a Manhattan eatery owned by Lidia Bastianich. Bastianich is best known for her television work for PBS. While Burrell moved on from Felidia, the connection proved decisive. She was introduced to Lidias son, Joe Bastianich, who later went on to connect the star with the now disgraced celebrity chef, Mario Batali. Burrell worked closely with Batali and Bastianich for several years after she was named chef for Italian Wine Merchants, a joint endeavor by the pair. Burrell has often cited Batali as her most influential food mentor, and for a good reason, he is the man who initially put her on TV. Burrell as a sous chef Burrell was asked to join Batali as his sous chef on Iron Chef America, and the rest is history. Her first television appearance occurred on the show in 2005. She continued to serve as Batalis sous chef for the duration of his tenure. After working on Iron Chef America, she was featured on several more Food Network shows before landing Worst Cooks in America, a reality competition show that pits two chefs against each other as they assemble teams of terrible cooks and teach them how to own the kitchen. Burrell had a restaurant disaster of her own Burrell opened Phil and Annes Goof Time Lounge in 2017. The eatery, located in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn, was a joint venture with Phil Casaceli. Casaceli is a bar legend in New York. The eatery, which aimed to pair Casacelis bar knowledge with Burrells celebrity chef status, was a hit initially, but in-fighting shut the place down. Casaceli opened up to The Daily News, telling the paper he had no idea she was shutting down the operation. He alleges that one day she locked the doors, turned the staff loose and took off. Casaceli and Burrell had been friends since 2005 when she started frequenting his bar, Daddy-Os. The pair are no longer on speaking terms. According to Eater, however, there were other problems with the restaurant. Celebrity status didnt offer the draw that Burrell assumed it would. The restaurant, which was located on bustling Smith Street was rarely packed, according to residents. It could be a few years until Prince Charles ascends the throne and becomes the first King of England since 1952. However, that hasnt stopped Buckingham Palace from preparing and focusing on the Prince of Waless future as monarch. In the last few years, Prince Charles has spent more and more time with his mother, Queen Elizabeth, learning the ropes and training for the long-anticipated role of king. But, his royal responsibilities arent the only thing that will change when Prince Charles becomes His Majesty. In addition to new duties and hierarchy in the royal family, Prince Charless lifestyle could change quite a bit starting with his home. Will Prince Charles move to Buckingham Palace? Find out what the princes plans are, ahead. Prince Charles currently resides at Clarence House. |Victoria Jones/PA Wire Will Prince Charles move to Buckingham Palace? Buckingham Palace is considered not only the royal family headquarters but also the official residence of the monarch. However, Prince Charles has no intention of moving to the centuries-old abode when he becomes King of England. In fact, he has a thing against the iconic London palace. I know he is no fan of the big house, as he calls the palace, a source close to the royal family told Hello! Magazine. Why doesnt Prince Charles like Buckingham Palace? According to the source, he doesnt see it as a viable future home or a house thats fit for purpose in the modern world. He feels its upkeep, both from a cost and environmental perspective, is not sustainable. Where will Prince Charles live when he ascends the throne? Buckingham Palace isnt the only royal property that Prince Charles will inherit once he becomes king. He will also gain full access to Windsor Castle, Balmoral Castle (which is privately owned by the royal family), and others. So, where will he live when he ascends the throne? Chances are, he will stay where he is right now, at Clarence House. Located in London, just down the road from both Buckingham Palace and St. Jamess Palace another royal abode Clarence House is quite special to Prince Charles. Before he and Camilla Parker Bowles called it home, his beloved grandmother, the late Queen Mother, lived there. It houses some unique artifacts and art from the Royal Collection, as well as works from his personal portfolio (the prince is an avid watercolorist!) and furniture left behind by Queen Elizabeths mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. In addition to Clarence House, Prince Charles will most-likely visit Windsor on the weekends after all, thats where his future grandchild, Baby Sussex will grow up and Balmoral Castle in the summer, as it is a tradition in the royal family. He could also continue to host Christmas at Sandringham Estate and visit other royal abodes when traveling around the United Kingdom on official business. What will become of Buckingham Palace? As for Buckingham Palace, the future king will likely still conduct business out of the royal family headquarters. And, perhaps some of his family members might live there (right now, Prince Edward and his family consider it their official London residence). But, Prince Charles has some big plans for the so-called big house. After the Buckingham Palace renovation is completed in mid to late-2020, the prince wants to make the space more available to the public. Right now, some of its rooms are open to the public during July and October, but Prince Charles hopes to extend that time frame so that more visitors have a chance to experience its history. In addition, he plans to curate a special exhibit in honor of his mother and her historic reign. Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Teresa Giudice spends a lot of time in the spotlight after all, shes the main cast member on the Bravo Network show The Real Housewives of New Jersey. But recently, she was photographed holding hands with another man while in Miami (shes still married to Joe Giudice, who is currently in prison). The public immediately began speculating an affair; her sister-in-law Melissa Gorga had one thing to say about the whole situation. Teresa Giudice | Bruce Glikas/Getty Images Giudices husband is currently serving a 41-month prison sentence Both Joe and Teresa Giudice were indicted on charges of fraud back in 2013. After a long battle in the courts, the two were both found guilty of various charges and sentenced to prison time. Teresa was sentenced to 15 months while Joe was sentenced to 41 months. Teresa served her sentence first and ended up being released after only 11 months; she was home in December 2015, just in time to spend the holidays with her family. Joes sentence began in 2016, and hes been in prison ever since hes set to be released this year. However, even though the two are almost done serving their time, things still havent been very smooth. Joe Giudice may be deported once his sentence is done Giudice was born in Italy and came to the U.S. when he was a baby. Although hes been living in the United States his entire life, he never actually became a legal U.S. citizen. This means that since hes been charged with a crime, a judge can deport him. At Joes deportation hearing, a judge ruled that hed be deported immediately after his release. However, Joe has a wife and four daughters still living in the U.S., so the family filed an appeal with the hope the judge will reconsider. But Teresa has been back and forth about whether shed stay with her husband if he did end up deported. Teresa Giudice was recently photographed holding hands with another man in Miami Teresa Giudice has been out of jail for more than three years now, and shes worked hard to get her life back on track. But now, shes in the media again for allegedly having an affair while her husband is in prison. Teresa was spotted holding hands with a 26-year-old named Blake Schreck, a realtor from New Jersey, in Miami recently. People immediately speculated the two were an item, but Teresas lawyers deny the alleged affair. However, one person rooting for her is Bravo star Andy Cohen. I want her to be getting it from this guy, Cohen told Melissa Gorga, Teresas sister-in-law, according to People. Id know Shed maybe be beaming, Melissa Gorga said, denying Teresas affair Gorga came to Teresas defense and said the Real Housewives star definitely isnt having an affair because shed know about it. Teresas co-star and family member said theres no way Teresa would be able to hide it. Id know something, Gorga said. Teresa has vehemently denied the rumors, but the hand-holding is pretty hard to misjudge. However, time will tell if theres more than meets the eye to the photo or if its actually completely innocent. Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Meghan Markle is a natural beauty, with a stunning figure and impeccable taste. Before becoming the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan had a style that complimented her just perfectly, whether she was wearing a skin-hugging mini dress or attending a more casual event in torn jeans and a great hat. Now that she is officially a member of the royal family, Meghans style has changed drastically, and fans are loving it! So, how exactly has Meghan Markles style of dress evolved since marrying her prince? Meghan Markle looking stunning | Lester Cohen/WireImage Meghan Markles style before meeting Prince Harry Before she ever met Prince Harry, Meghan was often seen attending events and walking the red carpet in more daring looks than she wears now. Her dresses were often much shorter, showcasing her toned legs, and she certainly wasnt one to shy away from a plunging neckline! Meghan was even known to wear an occasional belly-baring outfit or strapless dresses that she looked simply amazing in. How has Meghans style changed? Although the Duchess of Sussex always looks beautiful and perfectly put together while attending events and engagements, her look has come a long way since meeting Prince Harry. Dresses are almost always knee-length or longer, necklines are much more modest, and her overall look is more conservative than before. Always looking as royal as possible, Meghan manages to expertly pull off every style that she wears. What are her best styles since becoming a royal? Since tying the knot with Prince Harry in May 2018, Meghan Markle has worn some outfits that were absolutely breathtaking! On a recent visit to the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Duchess of Sussex wore a lovely black dress and matching coat with nude heels and minimal jewelry and makeup. On a visit to New Zealand, Meghan did not disappoint in a tea-length black cocktail dress with capped sleeves, worn with matching shoes and a clutch handbag. One thing is for sure, and that is that Meghan Markle certainly knows how to make a statement with what she wears! What jewelry does Meghan wear? Becoming a member of one of the most famous families in the world has many perks. One of those is that Meghan has access to one of the most incredible jewelry collections imaginable. Since her marriage, the Duchess has been seen wearing priceless pieces, some of which are from her own collection, and others that have previously belonged to Princess Diana. Meghan was recently seen wearing a gold bracelet that once belonged to her late mother in law, as well as earrings that were previously worn by the princess. Also seen on the Duchess of Sussex were a pair of stunning pearl studs, reportedly gifted to her by Queen Elizabeth. How has Meghans hair changed? Meghan Markles hair always looks great | Karwai Tang/WireImage In the past, we have seen Meghan sporting highlights in her hair, sometimes wearing it in a perfectly straight style, other times leaving it slightly tousled. Since she has taken over royal duties, Meghan is typically photographed with her messy bun, a look that she instantly made popular among royal fans! Other times, the Duchess is seen with perfectly styled, loose waves that frame her face and accent her features. Meghan seems to prefer a carefree, natural look with her hair, and we have to say, it suits her well. Joining the royal family means making big changes. Meghan seems to be adjusting to her new role as the Duchess of Sussex perfectly, sending fans into a frenzy every time she steps out in a new outfit. She is quickly adopting her own signature style, and we cant wait to see what she surprises us with next! For many 90s kids, Glenn Close will forever be Cruella de Vil from Disneys live-action version of 101 Dalmatians. For others, she may always be the unhinged stalker in Fatal Attraction. However you see Glenn Close, theres no denying shes a leading actress with immense talent. Early years Glenn Close hails from Connecticut she was born in Greenwich on March 19, 1947 and got her start in theater before moving to a career in acting, according to Biography. She has one brother, Sandy, and two sisters, Jessie and Tina. Her parents, Dr. William Close and Bettine Moore Close, raised their kids outside of the elite society they were part of. My parents were real black sheep in Greenwich, Close said in a September 1994 issue of New York Magazine. The milieu was highly social and very elite, and we had that as our heritage my grandparents founded Round Hill Country Club. But we never participated in that kind of a life. Ive always been a little bit proud of that fact. Closes parents moved her and her siblings to the Democratic Republic of the Congo when she was 13 years old as part of their involvement with the cult-like group, Moral Rearmament. Close spent her teenage years in the Congo, Swiss boarding schools, and a Greenwich prep school. For four years she toured with Up With People, a Moral Rearmament singing group, in the U.S. and Europe, before leaving to study drama and anthropology at the College of William and Mary when she was 22 years old. Friendship with Meryl Streep Closed moved to New York City after college and joined the Phoenix Theatre Company with her friend, Meryl Streep. She made her Broadway debut in 1974 and won a Tony 10 years later for playing Annie in The Real Thing. Closes first movie Close played feminist writer, Jenny Fields, in The World According to Garp, which premiered in 1982. She received an Oscar nomination for the role and did so for her next two films. It wasnt until 1987 when Close played arguably her most famous role. Fatal Attraction showed Close as Alex Forrester, an obsessed stalker. Then in the 90s she played Gertrude in Hamlet with Mel Gibson. Her diversity in theater, film, and TV are practically unmatched by any other actor. Shes done voice-acting on The Simpsons, played controlling and deceptive Patty on Damages and dominated the Broadway stage. How many awards has Glenn Close won? Close has won many awards throughout her illustrious career 22 to be exact and may win an Academy Award very soon. NEW YORK, NY NOVEMBER 07: Glenn Close attends the Elton John AIDS Foundations Annual Fall Gala with Cocktails By Clase Azul Tequila at Cathedral of St. John the Divine on November 7, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Clase Azul) Shes favored to win an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in The Wife. Close has been nominated for an Oscar before but never won. Here is a complete list of awards Close has ever won: Marty Bryan of Chattanooga is among those Framatome has announced as recipients of its annual Engineer of the Year awards. The program honors employees in North America who have achieved engineering excellence through notable achievements in their profession and the companys engineering activities. With this award, we are recognizing the employees here at Framatome who go above and beyond to produce innovative solutions and creative technologies for our industry, while giving back to the communities in which they live, said Gary Mignogna, president and CEO of Framatome Inc. Were proud to say that this kind of out-of-the-box thinking by our team is propelling our industry forward and enriching the communities we call home.Jordan Goulder, based in Lynchburg, Va., was selected as Framatomes 2019 Engineer of the Year for contributing directly to the companys operational excellence with his innovative software solutions that were designed and used during nuclear power plant maintenance in 2018. He played instrumental roles in the development of software for a range of non-destructive examination (NDE) services, including pipe scanning inspections, steam generator inspections, robotics and the redesign of bolt inspections used at nuclear power plants across North America, officials said.Mr. Goulder spends his spare time mentoring high school students interested in pursuing technical careers. He also teaches a variety of software languages to interested STEM students through his involvement with Vector Space, a local non-profit organization.In addition to the overall Engineer of the Year, Framatome recognizes Engineers of the Year in each business unit in North America. This year, recipients are spread across the country in Washington, Tennessee and Virginia. They include:Fuel Business UnitGreg Hobson (Lynchburg, Va.)Grant Blake (Richland, Wa.) Installed Base Business Unit Jordan Goulder (Lynchburg, Va.) DTI Business Unit Marty Bryan (Chattanooga, Tn.) Instrumentation & Control Business Unit Kristoffer Korby (Lynchburg, Va.) Were able to do something truly special at Framatome by recognizing the achievements and successes of our peers, said Scott Wilkerson, vice president of Fuel Engineering at Framatome Inc. and executive sponsor of the Engineer of the Year program. Our industry is constantly changing, and our vast group of talented professionals is willing and able to change with it. It is an honor to work with each of the awardees. Framatomes Engineers of the Year in North America are nominated by their peers. From those nominations, business leaders and senior executives representing all business units select finalists and the Engineer of the Year. Nominees are evaluated based on their contributions to their business unit during the year and how well they exemplify operational excellence through their commitment to safety, quality, performance, delivery, innovation and community involvement. Mark Cathy, grandson of Chick-Fil-A founder Truett Cathy, told the Chattanooga Rotary Club the history and current state of the restaurant chain and the culture of the family business. Truett Cathy and his brother started The Dwarf Grill that later was changed to The Dwarf House in Atlanta with money raised by selling his car. They knew their customers needed to get in and out quickly between shifts at the nearby manufacturing plants, so they served hamburgers, steaks and food that could be cooked in five minutes. There was no chicken on the menu because it took too long to prepare. Then an unexpected opportunity came along which Mr. Cathy recognized and took advantage of. This was to develop a chicken sandwich that would fit on food trays that were used by airlines. He then created his first chicken sandwich on a toasted bun with pickles. With the help of pressure cookers, and because the chicken was boneless, it could be cooked and the sandwich made quickly. They found that 99 percent of the customers liked it. The name evolved into Chick-Fil-A. A stood for quality. The first restaurants that sold the sandwiches were licensed arrangements with other vendors, but the quality was not good because the sandwiches were made early and kept all day so Mr. Cathy quit licensing his product. He opened a restaurant at the Greenbrier Mall in Atlanta at the time when mall managers did not want to sell food. Mr. Cathy negotiated getting into the mall and partnered with his first owner-operator, who was a female. He helped her get the business open and, along with the consistently good food, he made sure that it was closed on Sundays. This business model is still followed today with franchise owners. The corporation sets up the location and equipment and runs the restaurant until the next franchise owner comes along. The franchise system creates a sense of ownership for local owners, said Mark Cathy. He said the system presents both a high risk with the release of control since Chick-Fil-A is trusting someone else with their product. The system also offers high rewards, he said. It costs $10,000 to buy a franchise, but they are hard to come by. Each year there is a lot of interest with 35,000-40,000 applications. Only about 100 make it. He said the lesson here is to give ownership to your team and talk about what is most important. The current state of the business shows huge growth from 1979 when malls did not want to sell food. Once they realized the large amount of money Chick-Fil-A brought, it became very desirable to have them as a tenant. In 1980-1981 Truett Cathy took on new lines of credit to grow the business and built a $10 million building for the headquarters, just at the economy got bad. His leadership team came up with a plan for weathering the storm during the difficult time. It was based on the question Why are we here? The answer has become the companys corporate purpose and is on a plaque outside the headquarters: To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come into contact with Chick-Fil-A. In addition to local ownership, the businesss core strategy includes providing a remarkable experience for customers, with the goal of creating fans and an experience above what you pay for. This is so customers will tell other people about it. Making sure there is consistency of service is also important. Competition from another restaurant specializing in chicken came in 1998 and to differentiate Chick-Fil-A, Mr. Cathy concentrated on service to customers. He noticed that the service at Ritz Carlton hotels always included My Pleasure. That has become a motto for the restaurant and is repeated often by all employees. Sales goals were set at $10 billion by 2020. That number was met by 2018, said Mark Cathy. The company has a 98 percent retention rate for both franchise owners and corporate employees. We cant get people to leave, he said. There are restaurants now in 47 states and they are expanding internationally into the Toronto market. He said that sales per square foot are higher than sales at the Cheesecake Factory despite the fact that no alcohol is sold at Chick-Fil-A. To fulfill his grandfathers wish of having a positive influence an all who come in contact with the business, the Chick-Fil-A Foundation has been established to help children by providing college scholarships to employees who accumulate 2,000 work hours. A gala is also being planned this year in Atlanta that will benefit the West Side of town, which is Atlantas toughest area, he said. When asked how the company balances growth with culture, the answer was that it is not easy, but since the brand has grown and it is recognizable, it has been easier to do. His grandfather once said he saw no conflict between biblical principles and business practices. An example given was about servant leadership, such as a focus on being there for your employees. Being closed on Sundays is one way to be there. The day is intended for whatever purpose that person wants to use it for. He said it provides a rest and a weekend day with your family. It just works. A Baylor School graduate last summer won custody of his daughters, 11 and 5, in a court in Mississippi, but his Danish-born ex-wife took them on a trip to Denmark and he hasn't seen them since. Bart Critser, who now lives in Houston, Tex., said he has since made several trips to Denmark and has won an order from the country's highest court saying Ebba and Silvia should be turned over to him. The former Signal Mountain resident has since set up a website detailing his search for the daughters. The couple were married for 10 years until the divorce last year. Majken Trolle Wadum was allowed by a judge to take the children to Denmark to visit her mother, then she told Mr. Critser she and the girls would be staying in Denmark. She has been hiding out since then. Mr. Critser, who has a consulting business, said the FBI, Danish Police, Interpol and the U.S. State Department are looking for them. There is an international warrant issued for Majkens arrest. He gave this timeline: June 2017: Majken trips and falls in the middle of a Copenhagen street. A passerby assisted taking them to her apartment. Silvia was wearing soiled diapers that had not been changed in perhaps days. Passerby cleaned Silvia up and reported Majken to social services. June 2017: Bart Critser, upon receiving call from social services, flies to Denmark to bring Silvia to his parents home in Signal Mountain, Tenn., where Ebba (the second daughter (Silvias sister), then 9) was spending the summer. August 2017: Bart files for divorce and files for full custody of his children due to the endangerment that Majken has time and again subjected them to due to her long-standing alcoholism. The girls start school on Signal Mountain where they are happy, well adjusted and allowed to be children. September 2017: Judge Robert Whitwell forever changes the trajectory of these girls lives when he orders them back to Mississippi to live with Majken (who, by then, had returned to Oxford.) Judge Whitwell orders joint-custody with Bart and held the passports of all four to prevent flight from the United States. June 2018: Judge Whitwell grants Majkens request to again travel to Denmark, this time with both daughters, during the month of July. He returns Majkens passport to her, along with the passports of the girls. Barts legal team objects, stating that Majken is a clear flight risk, noting particularly that the children had indicated to Bart that they are moving. Judge Whitwell orders Majken to return to Mississippi with the children no later than Aug. 5. August 5, 2018: Majken sends Bart an e-mail saying that she and the girls were staying in Denmark to start their new lives. Sept. 11, 2018: Divorce finalized and full custody of the girls is granted to Bart. Sept. 2018: Majken refuses to return to the United States with the girls. Bart travels to Denmark to begin the Hague Convention process. Oct. 2018: Bart travels there again for court proceedings. The lower court rules that the children should return to the United States. Majken appeals to high court. Dec./Jan. 2018/19: Bart travels there again twice for high court proceedings. High court judge orders a psychological evaluation of all four of them. A psychologist facilitates a session with Bart and the girls. This is the first time Bart is allowed to see his daughters since July 2018. Psychologist presents detailed report to high court judge. Jan. 30, 2019: High court judge rules that the girls should return to the United States. Barts attorney requests a hand-over plan from Majkens attorney by Feb. 4. Feb. 6, 2019: Majken agrees for Bart to collect the girls on Feb. 6. Bart goes to her apartment there is no answer at the door. Neighbors say they have not seen Majken and the girls in four days. Bart has made numerous attempts to find the girls. Danish police have searched the apartment. Majkens mother and brother claim they do not know where she is. She has deleted her email account, her bank account and credit cards are frozen, Interpol has put a warning on her passport and yet she has disappeared with the children without a trace. Courtney Birt has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2013 slaying of a 16-year-old Howard High student. The victim was shot multiple times, including in the head. Birt, who is now 24, was sentenced to 20 years in state prison. There was earlier a question about Birt's competency to stand trial, but it was ruled that he was competent. Three witnesses told police they saw Birt, who was 18 at the time, shoot Lamunta Williams. Police responded at 10:19 a.m. to an abandoned house at 2620 Carr St. and found the lifeless body of the victim lying near the front door. The suspect was last seen fleeing the scene on foot headed toward the area of Howard High School. Due to the proximity of the school with the shooting, officials placed the school on lock-down. Birt was later charged with criminal homicide and booked at the Hamilton County Jail. The three witnesses said they were hanging out with the victim at the abandoned house when Birt arrived and began shooting. They said Birt had been saying for the last several weeks that he would kill Lamunta Williams when he saw him because he had hit his child's mother, Tylisha Henderson, during an altercation on Feb. 14. One of the witnesses said Birt a few days earlier had tried to get her to set up the victim for him. At a preliminary hearing, a detective testified that the victim had 11 bullet holes in his body and had been shot nine times. The three juveniles who allegedly witnessed the incident said they first went to a laundromat across from Howard, then moved on to the house around 8 a.m. They said Williams was fearful that Birt was coming after him. A male Howard student said he thought a girl who was at the house was tipping off Birt to where they were. He said at one point he took a cellphone away from her. The same student said as they were walking to the house that someone who was hostile toward Williams yelled at him from a passing car. Witnesses said the victim was a member of the Crips gang and Birt is a rival Blood member. The first female, speaking in a voice that was barely audible, said she heard a knock on the door about 10 a.m., then heard a shot. "Everybody froze," she said. She said she saw Birt wearing a hoodie, a red toboggan and black jeans and holding a gun. The witness said Birt had earlier threatened to kill Williams. The girl said after the shooting stopped, "I tried to get him off the floor. He wouldn't move." A second female who said Birt is her cousin said she was on a CARTA bus with Birt the previous Friday and he told her, "I'm going to kill your little boyfriend." She said Birt had had previous run-ins with Williams and he was mad because of an incident between his girlfriend and Williams. She said that day Williams was fearful that Birt was coming after him and he had her keep looking out the door. She said she spotted Birt coming and she warned Williams to run. She said Williams stayed in the living room, expecting there would be a fight. But she said Birt came inside, reached in his pocket and pulled out a black handgun. She said the first shot he fired struck the victim in the face. Detective Karl Fields said the autopsy stated that the victim died from a shot to the head. The girl said when Birt had first pulled the gun she struggled with him, but she was unable to get the weapon away from him. She said after the shooting she ran out into the street screaming. Detective Fields said the girlfriend of Birt told him he was upset because of an incident at Howard that occurred between her and Williams on Valentine's Day. The detective said he got the girlfriend out of the lockdown at Howard to interview her soon after the shooting. He said Birt surrendered early that afternoon. Judge Clarence Shattuck at the hearing called it "a tragic situation that might not have occurred had these young people not been skipping school. It is not a good commentary on our community." The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee has launched a new website that helps students, teachers and the general public learn more about the federal judicial system, it was announced by Chief Judge Thomas A. Varlan. The website is part of the courts civics and outreach program designed to enhance public awareness and understanding of the unique role and function of the federal judiciary in the American government system. The website accomplishes this purpose by providing information about the court from its role in resolving disputes in society, its jurisdiction and its activities, to how to arrange a visit to the court or obtain a program speaker. Visiting the website is like attending a civics class. The address is connections.tned.uscourts.gov. Viewers can find information about the countrys founding documents, learn about the rule of law and how courts resolve disputes, watch videos of judges telling about their path to the bench, learn the difference in the jurisdictions of the federal and state courts, learn about the naturalization process, read about landmark cases in the Eastern District of Tennessee, and even take a quiz about the federal judiciary. There is a link to iCivics, which was founded in 2008 by retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OConnor to ensure every student receives a high-quality civics education and becomes engaged in and beyond -- the classroom. The program also provides lesson plans to promote civics education that encourage students to become better citizens. But whether a student, a teacher, or a member of the general public, the website offers opportunities to become better informed about the courts, said officials. The jurisdiction of the Eastern District of Tennessee court covers 41 counties of East Tennessee, from Bristol to Chattanooga. Development of the webiste was led by U.S. Magistrate Judge Clifton Corker of the Greeneville office of the court, with input by court personnel, educators, and lawyers. The idea for the website evolved from the establishment of a Civics and Outreach Committee by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. That court is composed of all of the federal courts in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan. Part of that committees direction was that each district court within the Sixth Circuit should also establish such a committee, and Senior U.S. District Judge Curtis L. Collier, Chattanooga, was named by Chief Judge Varlan to head the committee. Judge Collier stated he was very pleased with the new website and the work of the Eastern District of Tennessee Civics and Outreach Committee overall. He applauded Magistrate Judge Corker for chairing the subcommittee charged with the responsibility of developing the website. Judge Collier said that the website should assist the committee in its primary goal of endeavoring to enhance the publics understanding and knowledge of the essential role and function that the federal judiciary plays in our American form of government. He expressed the hope that those who use the website, whether student, teacher, or citizen, will gain a better appreciation and understanding of the federal court system and thereby become more informed and engaged members of society. Eight Hamilton County students and their teachers who submitted winning poetry in the companys 15th annual Black History Month Poetry Contest, which celebrates African American firsts who broke barriers within the past ten years, were announced by EPB. Once again, our judges had the difficult task of selecting eight winners from the nearly 200 entries we received, said Kelvin Boyd, EPB community relations specialist. We are proud of the heart felt work that the students demonstrated by researching and studying the lives of people who have contributed so much to the advancement of science, sports, military and political leadership and the arts. EPB will honor these eight recipients and their teachers during an awards banquet on March 14: 1-3 Grades Rhyan Olivia Evans, East Brainerd Elementary Mrs. Goodwin-Teacher L'Tae Bryant, Bess T. Shepherd Elementary Ms. Hatcher-Teacher 4-5 Grades Galirea Bautista, Spring Creek Elementary Ms. Breazeale-Teacher Kimora Reid, Spring Creek Elementary Ms. Breazeale-Teacher 6-8 Grades Daniel Tomlinson, Hixson Middle School Ms. Bishop-Teacher Jaylen Holmes, Washington Alternative Learning Center Ms. Goines-Teacher 9-12 Grades Annika Love, Chattanooga High School Center of the Creative Arts Ms. Howard-Teacher Lillie Beth Myers, Washington Alternative learning Center Mr. Carrasco-Teacher Each student and their teacher will receive a $100 award during the awards banquet, where former Hamilton County Commissioner Joanne Favors will be the keynote speaker. Dolores Sue Agner Wagner, 86, of Rossville, Georgia, passed away on Thursday, February 21, 2019, at her home. She was a member of Brainerd Baptist Church and the Friendship Sunday School Class. Dolores loved her family and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren were her pride and joy. She was preceded in death by her granddaughter, Ashley Wagner and her parents, Elmore and Edith Agner. Survivors include her husband, Gene O. Wagner, Sr.; two sons, Gene O. Wagner, Jr. and his wife Tina of Fort Oglethorpe, GA and Eric Wagner and his wife Debra of Chattanooga; one granddaughter, Heather Burton; two great-grandchildren, Emory and Lennon; one brother, Joel Agner of Salisbury, North Carolina. The family would like to thank the staff of Hospice of Chattanooga, especially nurses Patty and Sherry for their excellent and tender care. A graveside service will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 25, at Chattanooga National Cemetery with Dr. Ronnie Mitchell officiating and the friendship Sunday School Class as honorary pallbearers. The family will receive friends from 4-8 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 24, at the East Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, 404 South Moore Road, East Ridge, Tn. Please share your thoughts and memories at www.ChattanoogaEastChapel.com. Senator Lamar Alexander on Friday praised employees and volunteers at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for their work in welcoming a record 11,421,203 visitors to the park in 2018, including more than 200,000 visitors in November and December who came to experience the new section of the Foothills Parkway. Documentarian Ken Burns said the national parks are Americas best idea, so the Great Smoky Mountains National Park must be Americas very best idea because each year it attracts nearly twice the visitors of any other national park and last year it broke its own record with nearly 11.5 million visitors, Senator Alexander said. According to the park, the increase is due to the opening of the new section of the Foothills Parkway between Walland and Wears Valley which is now one of the prettiest drives in America. The scene is so magnificent that it surprises even those of us who have grown up admiring the Smokies. Since the new section of the parkway opened in November, more than 200,000 visitors have witnessed firsthand how picturesque the drive really is. Those of us lucky enough to grow up and live near the park feel like we own it because our families once did, or we have adopted it as a home. We are proud that we gave this park to the country for others to enjoy and we are grateful for the parks dedicated employees and nearly 2,850 volunteers who make that privilege possible. This year, the park employees and volunteers -- who donated over 104,023 hours of service had a busy year and deserve a lot of credit. The Foothills Parkway has been a priority for Alexander since he was governor in the 1980s and the state Department of Transportation took the lead on a section of the parkway between Carrs Creek and Wears Valley. As a U.S. senator, he included $17.5 million for the parkway construction in the 2005 federal highway bill. Since then, he worked with his colleagues in Congress to help provide the funding necessary to complete the missing link a 1.65 mile segment of the new 16-mile section comprised of nine bridges and open this section of the parkway to the public. In 2016, the Tennessee Department of Transportation submitted a grant application for federal funds to complete this 16-mile section of the Foothills Parkway. Senator Alexander urged the Department to approve the $10 million TIGER grant request, which it did on July 26, 2016. The state of Tennessee committed an additional $15 million in funding to complete the project. The National Park Service Federal Lands Transportation Program provided the remaining funding necessary to finish the 16 miles. Senator Alexander attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the newly opened 16-mile section of the Foothills Parkway on Nov. 9. Doctors made $5 house calls in Chattanooga's early days, according to the Samuel Williams papers that were discovered in an old downtown building last March. Of course, $5 was a considerable sum in those days. When Samuel's brother and close business partner, George W. Williams, was gravely ill in early August, 1842, he was attended at the home place by Dr. William Morrow. Dr. Morrow was one of the surgeons to the volunteer troops who gathered at Ross's Landing in the late1830s for the removal of the Cherokees. He also treated the injuries and ailments of the native Americans who were being forced from their beloved homeland. There is a notation of a visit by Dr. Morrow to G.W. Williams on Aug. 8, 1842. George had started out on a cattle drive and had become very ill almost immediately. He returned to the home place and lay there in his bed. Dr. Morrow's charge was $5. Then there was this notation: "Aug. 9, 1842, George W. Williams to Dr. Milo Smith for visit in night. Medicine, etc. $6. Consultation with Drs. Morrow and Thornton $5. Mrs. George Williams to Dr. M. Smith." G.W. Williams died that night at the Williams manor. He was just 33 years old. Dr. Milo Smith was a beloved physician in Chattanooga's early days, and he was the city's mayor in three different decades. Milo Smith, who was the same age as Samuel Williams, had gone to Philadelphia to study medicine. He had "a great deal of information on almost every subject pertaining to matters Biblical and historical, but especially physic.'' His was the leading medical practice, but he seemed almost unconcerned about whether or not he was paid. Dr. Smith was so well liked by the community that several babies were named in his honor. Milo Smith had gone down river from Rhea County to the new Ross's Landing settlement where his sister, Eliza, had moved with her husband, Capt. John P. Long. From the commissioners who laid out and were selling off Chattanooga lots, he purchased lot 38 on Poplar Street for $220 in 1840. He wound up selling this lot and building on lot 42 nearby. At the time of the Indian removal, both Dr. Smith and his father worked with the government. In this capacity, Dr. Smith made several trips between Ross's Landing and the Indian Territory with the Cherokees. Dr. Smith was one of the founders of the Presbyterian Church at Chattanooga. There are also these notations of doctor visits in the Williams papers: 1842. Oct. 26. Visit to negro child. $2. 1843. Jan. 7. Oil spike. .50. 1845. Three visits to negro boy and medicine. $2 per visit. Received full payment of Samuel Williams. Sept. 3, 1845. Sept. 2 visit son in night. Medicine, etc. $6. Sept. 3. Visit to Pleasant. Catharic $2.50. Sept. 4. Visit to Pleasant. Medicine, etc. $2. Sept. 16. Visit to Jinny. Medicine, etc. $2.50. Nov. 26. Visit to Calvin. Vial and urine, liniment, etc. $4. Dec. 15 Visit to Calvin, Jordan and Jack and medicine. $5. March 31, 1844. Extract tooth for self. $5. May 23, 1845. Visit son when snake bit. $5. Pleasant and Calvin were the two sons of the late George W. Williams Jr. Others mentioned were Williams slaves. * * * The links to the Williams papers on Sam Hall's website are here. Lee University will continue the 2018-19 Writers Festival with a reading by poet Alison Pelegrin on Thursday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. in the Rose Lecture Hall, located in Lees Helen DeVos College of Education. Ms. Pelegrin has written several poetry collections, including the 2018 Diode Chapbook Prize winner, Our Lady of the Flood, and the 2006 Akron Poetry Prize winner, Big Muddy River of Stars. Through poetry, Alison Pelegrin interrogates the South and its complex history, said Dr. William Woolfitt, associate professor of creative writing at Lee. In bayous and hurricanes, ditches and flood debris, she finds joy, hope, and glimpses of God. We are so glad that she is coming to Cleveland. Ms. Pelegrins poems have also been published in Poetry, The Southern Review, Ploughshares, Copper Nickel, and Barn Owl Review. She has received fellowships from The Louisiana Division of the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Alison Pelegrin is one of the sharpest wits to come out of the Bayou State in a long time, said poet Martha Serpas. She can conjure Louisianas present-tense, unapologetic, tragicomic drama with authenticity. Ms. Pelegrin currently teaches English at Southeastern Louisiana University. She earned her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Arkansas, where she directed the Arkansas Writers in the Schools Program for two years. In addition to the public reading, Ms. Pelegrin will also lead workshops for high school students interested in creative writing. Her reading at the Writers Festival will be free and open to the public. This event is funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Tennessee Arts Commission. For more information about the Writers Festival, contact Dr. Woolfitt at wwoolfitt@leeuniversity.edu. Hamilton County Schools will be closed on Friday due to the amount of rain that has fallen in the last few hours and the amount expected between now and tomorrow. School-age child care will be open at seven locations from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. to assist parents. The locations for child care are: Battle Academy, East Brainerd Elementary, East Ridge Elementary, Harrison Elementary, Middle Valley Elementary, Red Bank Elementary, and Wolftever Creek Elementary. 12 month employees should report on a two-hour delay. Other schools have announced delays and closings: Athens City Schools: Closed Tomorrow Bledsoe Co. Schools: Closed Tomorrow Bowman Hills Adventist School: Closed Tomorrow Bradley Co. Schools: Closed Tomorrow Catoosa County Public Schools: Delayed 2 hours Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy: Delayed 1 hour Chickamauga City schools: Delayed 2 hours Cleveland City Schools: Closed Tomorrow Dade Co. Schools: Delayed 2 hours Etowah City Schools: Closed Tomorrow Grundy Co. schools: Closed Tomorrow Hamilton Co. Schools: Delayed 2 hours McMinn Co. schools: Closed Tomorrow; Due to inclement weather Meigs Co. Courthouse: Closed Tomorrow; Senior Center also closed Meigs Co. Schools: Closed Tomorrow Oakwood Christian Academy: Delayed 1 hour Orange Grove Center: Buses are running 2 hours late Rhea Co. Schools: Closed Tomorrow Richard Hardy Memorial School: Closed Tomorrow Soddy Church of Christ District 2: Delayed 2 hours Sweetwater City Schools: Closed Tomorrow Valley Christian Academy: Closed Tomorrow Van Buren Co. schools: Closed Tomorrow; due to weather Walker Co. Schools: Delayed 2 hours Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park will host the second presentation in its new Emerging Scholars Lecture Series on Saturday, March 9. This one-hour lecture, entitled, Uncle Billys Boys The 15th Army Corps at Chattanooga, will be presented in the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Centers theater at 2 p.m. Some of the most cutting edge scholarship on the Civil War era is being conducted by graduate students at universities and colleges throughout the nation, and this lecture aims to promote the work being done by the next generation of Civil War scholars. Eric Burke is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he is researching the military operations and lessons learned by the 15th Army Corps during the Civil War. His presentation will explore how these soldiers unit identity and culture shaped their operations as they arrived in Chattanooga in November 1863. This presentation is made possible through the support of the parks cooperating association, Eastern National. 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. Amazon today announced that it will fund computer science courses in over 25 schools across Tennessee, five of which are in the Chattanooga area, as part of its Amazon Future Engineer program. These schools are part of the more than 1,000 high schools across all 50 states reaching tens of thousands of students supported by Amazon Future Engineer. Of the more than 1,000 participating schools, more than 700 are Title I schools, as the program aims to reach students from underprivileged communities. Amazon Future Engineer is a piece of Amazons $50 million investment in computer science and STEM education. Amazons funding provides full-year courses designed to inspire, prepare and propel students of all backgrounds to pursue a computer science education and someday career.Mayor Andy Berke said, As technologies advance and the workforce is changing, we want to ensure students in Chattanooga and Hamilton County are not only prepared but feel confident pursuing careers in STEM and computer sciences. Amazon Future Engineer provides students of all ages and demographics the education, tools and skills needed to succeed in these important fields.Participating Chattanooga area schools include Hixon High School, Soddy Daisy High School and CHIPS Learning in Chattanooga. We want to ensure that every child, especially those from underprivileged communities, has an opportunity to study computer science, said Jeff Wilke, CEO Worldwide Consumer, Amazon. We are excited more than 1,000 schools will now provide these courses, and look forward to adding 1,000 more schools over the coming months. Governor Bill Lee on Thursday announced a new investment in school safety to better protect teachers and students and prepare against the threat of violence. He said, The safety of our children and teachers is a top priority for my administration, and this investment ensures that school districts will have the resources they need to better protect our schools. The new governor is proposing a $40 million investment for the school safety grant fund. Legislation filed will provide additional changes to existing law to prioritize the distribution of these grants to school resource officers. Approximately 500 Tennessee schools do not currently have SROs, and changes to the law will enable them to fill these positions. The proposal also accommodates underserved counties working to secure schools and fill SRO positions by adjusting limited match requirements to be proportional to districts fiscal capacity. Several members of the legislature have begun working on school safety measures, said Governor Lee. We commend their efforts and look forward to working together to protect our students and teachers. The new funding plan also enables schools that currently have an SRO to pursue grants to fund other safety priorities such as implementing building security measures or developing innovative violence prevention programs. While we are providing resources for additional security measures for our schools, districts need to also consider programming that identifies students who are in need of intervention, said Governor Lee. Security is paramount, but we must also double down on efforts to identify harmful situations before they arise. The Department of Safety and Homeland Security and the Department of Education will jointly oversee programming and grant funds while also providing threat assessment tools. Nokian Tyres has made significant progress on its North American production plant and remains on schedule to begin commercial production in 2020. The exteriors of the factorys mixing tower and production building are largely complete, and workers are currently installing state-of-the-art manufacturing technology inside the facility, which is located 45 minutes north of Chattanooga. The level of automation will make the Nokian Tyres factory one of the most advanced tire production facilities in the world. Were pleased with the progress weve made and continue working to complete construction on schedule, said Nokian Tyres Facility Design and Construction Manager David Korda. It is a privilege to collaborate with so many skilled partners on this project. The $360 million, 830,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Southeast Tennessee will serve customers across the United States and Canada while doubling down on Nokian Tyres commitment to safe, sustainable products and processes. Approximately 200 workers are on the construction site each day building the companys first North American production factory and bolstering the local economy in the process. The Dayton Factory will fuel the companys quest to double North American sales by 2023. It will specialize in producing North American-specific car and light truck all-season tires. The facility will also increase the companys production and warehouse capacity, allowing it to meet increasing demand in the North American market. In addition to making four million tires each year, Nokian Tyres will also be able to store as many as 600,000 tires at an onsite distribution facility. The Dayton Factory will enable Nokian Tyres to grow its global presence. The expanded production volume will allow each of the companys global tire plants to tailor production to the needs of its target markets, resulting in an enhanced product mix and even stronger service to customers. Last week the company launched the first phase of hiring for the Dayton Factory. It aims to hire approximately 50 workers in early 2019 and as many as 150 employees by the end of the year. Team members will receive intensive training at the factory and at Nokian Tyres two European production facilities. We strive to be the employer of choice in Southeast Tennessee, thanks to world-class technology and a robust company culture, says Nokian Tyres Operations Director Peter Chia, who will manage the facility. We believe this factory will make the region proud and position our company for continued growth. Those interested in applying for jobs or learning more about the factory can get information at NokianTyres.com/DaytonFactory. HeidelbergCement reduces its stake in Ciments du Maroc 22 February 2019 As part of its action plan to optimise its portfolio and improve cash generation, HeidelbergCement is its reducing stake in Ciments du Maroc. HeidelbergCement announces the sale of around 1.1m shares, representing 7.8 per cent of Ciments du Maroc's share capital, for an aggregate amount of approximately EUR140m. The shares were sold to Moroccan institutional investors through an off-market block trade. Following this transaction, HeidelbergCement retains a controlling stake of 54.6 per cent in Ciments du Maroc and continue to fully consolidate the company. "HeidelbergCement is fully committed to remain the long-term majority shareholder of Ciments du Maroc, a key strategic asset within the Groups portfolio," said Dr Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. "The reduction in shareholding is part of our action plan to optimise our portfolio and generate cash in order to speed up deleveraging. We continue to be well on track to reach our target of EUR1.5bn of disposal proceeds by the end of 2020." HeidelbergCement stated that BNP Paribas and BMCI advised on the sale of the shares. Published under Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription, or activate your access, to continue reading. KNOXVILLE, IOWA - FEBRUARY 17: U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) speaks to guests during a campaign stop at the Marion County Democrats soup luncheon at the Peace Tree Brewing Company on February 17, 2019 in Knoxville, Iowa. The stop was part of Klobuchar's first swing through the state since announcing she would be seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination for president. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) Tegucigalpa Once confirmed that there are new variations Govit-19 in Honduras, Officials Health Ask people to strengthen actions Survival. Yesterday,... Johnson & Johnson now finds itself alone in fighting the claims of a dying California woman and thousands of people like her who allege that the companys iconic baby powder contained asbestos and caused their cancers. Thats because J&Js talc supplier, Imerys Talc America Inc., was dropped as a defendant in Teresa Leavitts case in the middle of her trial last week after the mining company sought bankruptcy protection. The filing is tailored to deal with a swelling wave of lawsuits claiming Imeryss product contained asbestos. The move by the unit of Paris-based Imerys SA and two other subsidiaries to shield themselves from what may be billions of dollars in liabilities leaves J&J as the sole target for thousands of women with pending suits. These consumers allege that regular use of the companys iconic baby powder led to mesothelioma, a cancer linked to asbestos exposure, or ovarian cancer. J&J Talc Supplier Takes No Chances on Another Big Jury Loss The disappearance of Imerys Talc America from Leavitts trial is the first ripple of the bankruptcys effects on the talc-litigation landscape, said Carl Tobias, who teaches product-liability law at the University of Richmond in Virginia. That jury in California wont have to decide who is more at fault for this ladys illness because they only have one defendant in the case now, Tobias said. It really puts J&J more in the crosshairs for all of these cases. Ernie Knewitz, a J&J spokesman, declined to comment on the Imerys units bankruptcies or how the filings may affect J&Js strategy for fending off talc suits. The company said in a securities filing Wednesday that it now faces more than 13,000 talc suits, up from more than 11,000 as of last year. J&J also disclosed it has received subpoenas and inquiries on its talc baby-powder products from federal prosecutors and securities regulators, a new front in the health giants mounting legal woes assailing one of its signature products. The company said its cooperating with government officials. Wed urge J&J to come clean about this risk, compensate these victims and their families, and provide adequate warnings on its packaging or simply pull this product off the shelves, said Ted Meadows, a plaintiffs attorney. Under U.S. law, once a company seeks protection from creditors, all litigation is halted. That gives the firm time to decide how to reorganize its finances and satisfy claims. The Imerys units have said they face more than 14,000 talc-related suits. In Leavitts case, California Superior Court Judge Brad Seligman in Oakland announced Imerys Talc Americas departure from the case Feb. 14, but warned jurors not to speculate about why the mining company was no longer a defendant, according to media reports. Closing arguments are expected in the case next month. J&J and Imerys units have been hit with sizable verdicts over claims their products caused cancer. Last year, a New Jersey jury ordered the companies to pay about $117 million to a man who said his baby powder use led him to develop mesothelioma. Under New Jersey law, jurors had to assess how much responsibility J&J and Imerys bore for Stephen Lanzos injuries. The panel found J&J liable for 70 percent of the compensatory damages and Imerys for 30 percent. Both J&J and its talc supplier reject claims their products cause cancer and say repeated scientific studies have found no asbestos in talc used in baby powder and other products. Imerys officials said they were forced to seek protection from creditors because of plaintiffs increased settlement demands in the wake of recent jury verdicts and disputes over insurance coverage. The bankruptcy filings corral the suits before one judge and put pressure on plaintiffs to take smaller settlements. Still, some plaintiffs lawyers see the filings as Imerys waving a white flag on the question of how seriously it takes the talc claims. The Chapter 11 filings validate the claims of thousands of women who are suffering or who lost their lives as a result of tainted baby powder, said Leigh ODell, a plaintiffs lawyer who is overseeing thousands of talc claims consolidated in federal court in New Jersey. Tobias said the filings may send a signal to potential jurors in future cases that the talc cases have enough significance both factually and financially that the Imerys units couldnt handle them through the regular courts. J&J May Be Able to Force Imerys Participation Its events such as these that create a dynamic in litigations that can drive settlements, he said. While J&J reached its first out-of-court resolution of a talc case in December, Knewitz said the deal wasnt a signal the company was shifting into settlement mode. In litigation of every nature there are one-off situations where settlement is a reasonable alternative, Knewitz said. We do not have any organized program to settle Johnsons Baby Powder cases, nor are we planning a settlement program. The Imerys units have worked with J&J on talc legal exposure for more than 30 years, but the companies are at odds over who should pay jury awards in the cases, according to bankruptcy court filings. The Imerys units contend they signed indemnification agreements with J&J some stretching back to the 1980s that absolve them of paying damages for ovarian cancer and mesothelioma claims tied to baby powder. But J&J officials have denied those agreements exist or disputed their terms, according to the filings. The bankruptcy filing will facilitate a more rapid ruling on the indemnity issue than if the company litigated it through the regular court system, said Jean Eggen, who teaches mass tort-law at Widener Universitys law school in Delaware. This kind of side litigation can be expensive and time-consuming, Eggen said. It can be teed up in bankruptcy court pretty quickly and has a judge deciding it rather than a jury. J&J can still seek to force the Imerys units to pick up part of the tab for talc damage awards by filing claims as part of their bankruptcies, Eggen said. But the chances of getting a meaningful recovery is probably slim, she added. They will have to get in line with the rest of the creditors and there may not be much money left by the time they get their claim heard, the professor said. The bankruptcy case is In Re Imerys Talc America Inc., 19-10289, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington). The case on trial is Leavitt v. Johnson & Johnson, No. RG17882401, Califoria Superior Court, Alameda County (Oakland). Hippo Insurance is linking with Neptune Flood to provide quick flood insurance as part of the home insurance buying process. Home telematics maker Roost partnered with a Montana-based insurer to offer free monitoring devices for homeowners. Assurant, Inc. will provide renters insurance for a web-based application focused on tenant screening and online leasing services. *** Neptune Flood, a digital startup private flood insurance provider, is linking with managing general agency Hippo Insurance to provide quick flood insurance as part of the home insurance buying process. Hippo currently offers home and condo insurance to residents in 15 states and is rapidly expanding into new states each month. Neptune Flood launched in fall 2017 with technology that allows users to quote and buy flood insurance in under two minutes, removes the traditional waiting period and doesnt require the standard elevation certificate. The companies say that the strategic partnership will give Hippo customers direct access to flood insurance with Neptune Flood, which will be woven into its intuitive and efficient online binding process. *** Roost, a maker of home telematics for property insurance carriers, has partnered with Montana-based Flathead Farm Mutual Insurance Company. Their agreement is designed to provide free devices to select Flathead Farm policyholders. Specfically, Flathead Farm Mutual policyholders will be offered Roost smart sensors including the Roost Smart Water Leak and Freeze Detector, Roost Smart Battery, and the new Roost Smart Garage Door Sensor. They will also look to strengthen their engagement with members through a Flathead Farm Mutual branded mobile app, enhanced with severe weather alerts from IBM/The Weather Company and home service pro access from HomeAdvisor.. Roost is a startup based in Sunnyvale, CA. Flathead Farm Mutual Insurance Company was founded in 1907 to meet the needs of Montanans. *** Assurant, Inc. will be the primary provider of renters insurance for LeaseRunner, a web-based application that offers tenant screening and online leasing services for the rental market. Designed for multifamily and single-family units, Assurants renters insurance will be available to landlords and tenants using LeaseRunner in over 8,000 zip codes across all 50 states. Assurant provides specialty insurance products and services. Renters insurance is the most recent offering from LeaseRunner. Launched in 2011, it provides a full suite of online services to landlords including: rental listing ad management, rental applications, comprehensive tenant screening services, electronic lease agreements, and ACH rent collection, as well as reports and management tools. The renters insurance product will be presented to landlords as they add new properties, as well as to residents during their lease application and payment process. This will allow for a seamless integration of rent and insurance administration through the LeaseRunners Tenant Payment Center. Sources: Hippo, Roost and Assurant. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India's premier military research and development agency through the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi has invited applications in a prescribed format from eligible Indian nationals for engagement of 30 Trade Apprentices in multiple trades/disciplines through a 'Walk-In-Interview' selection scheduled on 14 March 2019 between 09.00 am and 10.00 am. The recruitment for various trades/disciplines comprises Fitter, Turner, Machinist, Draughtsman (Mech), Electronic Mechanic, Electrician, Instrument Mechanic, COPA, Welder (Gas & Eletric) and Library Assistant. CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Trade Apprentices Organisation Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO-NPOL) Educational Qualification ITI/ITC in relevant trades/disciplines. Experience Freshers can apply Skills Required Desirable Job Location Kochi, Kerala Salary Scale Rs. 5,700/- to Rs. 7000/- per month. Industry Research and Development (R&D) Application Start Date March 14, 2019 Application End Date March 14, 2019 Age Criteria And Fees Candidates interested in joining as Trade Apprentices through DRDO NPOL Kochi Recruitment must meet the age criteria as on 07 March 2019 as detailed in the notification given at the end of the article. For details regarding fee payment, refer to the advertisement provided at the end of the write-up. Also Read: TN Police Shorthand Bureau Recruitment For 37 Junior Reporters; Earn Up To 1.14 Lakh Per Month Educational Criteria Desirous candidates applying for the post of Trade Apprentices in multiple trades through DRDO NPOL Kochi Recruitment must possess qualifications as under: Candidates applying for the post of Fitter, Turner, Machinist, Draughtsman (Mech), Electronic Mechanic, Electrician, Instrument Mechanic must possess a 2 year ITI in the respective trades from a recognised institute/organisation. Candidates applying for the post of COPA and Welder (Gas & Eletric) must possess a 1 year ITI in respective disciplines/trades from a recognised institute/organisation. Candidates applying for the post of Library Assistant must possess an ITI/ITC in Library and Information Science. Selection And Pay Scale The selection of candidates as Trade Apprentices in multiple trades through DRDO NPOL Kochi Recruitment will be done based on the candidate's performance in the 'Walk-In-Interview.' Candidates selected as Trade Apprentices in multiple trades will be paid a monthly stipend in the range of Rs. 5,700/- to Rs. 7000/- per month. Also Read: Gauhati High Court Recruitment 2019 For 38 Grade III Posts; Earn Up To INR 44,770 Per Month How To Apply: Walk-In-Interview Details Candidates applying for the post of Trade Apprentices in multiple trades through DRDO NPOL Kochi Recruitment must fill the application form in a prescribed format attached with the advertisement, and produce the same along with original supporting documents/certificates and photocopies of the same along with recent colour passport photograph at the time of Interview. Interview Date and Time: 14 March 2019 between 09.00 am and 10.00 am Venue: DROMI, NPOL (landmark - Near SBI NPOL Thrikkakara Branch, Kochi) Candidates can forward/send their application forms in PDF format through email ID to trainingofficer@npol.drdo.in on or before 11 March 2019 For detailed notification about DRDO NPOL Kochi Recruitment for Trade Apprentices click here Do you have an athlete in mind that contributes to the team or sport, holds sportsmanship and team spirit, has epic playmaker moments and/or in general makes the the sports fun? If yes, please make your nominations for our edition of Athlete Spotlight. CLICK TO NOMINATE Everything you need to know about South Dakota government * Username This is the name that will be used to identify you within the system. Choose wisely! * First name * Last name Your real name will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more! * Email Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. We won't share it with anyone else. * Password Create a password that only you will remember. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. remaining of Thank you for reading! This is your last free article before you will be asked to subscribe. Already have a paid subscription? Sign in Dozens of residents joined the festivities, which started with a meet-and-greet at Bottle Inn Hermosa and a walk to a ribbon cutting at the lifeguard tower with friends, family and LGBTQ allies, as well as city and county officials. news, latest-news Work will soon start to demolish and remediate the site of the former CFMEU offices at Dickson's Section 72, marking the start of a major transformation of the wider inner-north precinct. Demolition firm Irwin and Hartshorn have been awarded a $427,000 contract to raze four vacant buildings at Dickson's Block 6, including the union's old offices. Work is scheduled to start later this month and be completed in April. Prior to demolition, the contractor will be required to remove non-friable and friable asbestos which has been found at the site. In an email this week, the goverment's 'Section72 team' stressed the material was not the "loose fill Mr Fluffy asbestos". The Rosevear Place block was at the centre of a controversial 2014 land deal between the ACT government and the union-linked Tradies club, which is now the subject of an ACT Assembly inquiry. As part of the deal, the government bought two blocks of land at Section 72, in return for selling a carpark outside the club. The audit office found the deal gave the club concessions worth up to $2.65 million. The union last year moved to new headquarters on Cape Street, Dickson. Securing the 5233 square metre site was crucial to the government's long-term plan of rejuvenating Section 72 with housing, open spaces and upgraded cycleways and footpaths. The government has earmarked Block 25 as the site of its second Common Ground project, which will co-locate low-cost housing with support services. The wider plan for the precinct has yet to be unveiled, but preliminary concept designs showing buildings of up to four storeys across the precinct sparked alarm among local residents. The North Canberra Community Council last year wrote to the government calling for the site to retained for community and cultural purposes amid concern "bulky apartments" could dominate the redeveloped site. In her response, Urban Renewal Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the inclusion of new housing at Section 72 would "not necessarily reduce the site's overall capacity for community uses". This week, Dickson Residents' Group convenor Jane Goffman accused the government of a lack of transparency surrounding the future of Block 6, claiming information about the demolition had not been disclosed when the project was announced in January last year. Ms Goffman said the community first learned plans to demolish the site when a development application was released for public consultation in late July. But Geoffrey Rutledge, a deputy-director general at the government's environment, planning and sustainable development directorate, said it had presented information showing Block 6 as a "future opportunity site" during community workshops on Section 72 between January and June last year. Mr Rutledge said funding for demolition work was included in the ACT budget last June, before the formal development application was lodged. He said the site's four buildings had no heritage value, and their age, design and condition meant the potential for refurbishment and reuse was "extremely restricted". The demolition would ward off vandalism, and marked an "essential early step" in the wider redevelopment of Section 72, he said. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/ea2372fa-ccbe-4e1f-bb53-39f898775240/r0_98_678_481_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, business, Canberra automotive businesses say they could be driven out of the city as ACT government rate hikes "cripple" their bottom line. Reliance Automotive Services owner Jon Waterhouse, 63, said he was seriously considering relocating his Fyshwick store to New South Wales because of rising rates. Mr Waterhouse said his rates bill had increased from about $5000 to $15,000 in the past two years, as a result of the Barr government's taxation reform program. "It's crippling my business," Mr Waterhouse said. "It's not necessarily the money coming into my business that's the problem, it's the fact that there is nothing to hang onto at the end of the month." Mr Waterhouse said he had reluctantly increased prices for customers after his accountant warned his Isa Street business would otherwise succumb to a "slow death". "All I have to do is move three kilometres down the road to Queanbeyan. I've spoken with people there who have the same size block as me and they are paying $3500 in rates," he said. "I'm a proud Canberran, I was born in Canberra Hospital. I've never left and I don't want to leave." Mr Waterhouse said the business, which employs four people, was also struggling to compete with home-based mechanics, which do not pay commercial rates. He has detailed some of the issues to an ACT Assembly inquiry, which is examining commercial rates in the ACT after a round of property re-evaluations sent rates soaring in suburbs across Canberra. The inquiry's first round of public hearings heard Canberra's commercial property market was facing a "perfect storm" of challenges, including ballooning rates, tighter lending controls and high-vacancy rates for second-tier office space. A total of 311 businesses in Phillip, Civic, Turner, Braddon and Fyshwick were hit with huge rate increases from July 2017, when property revaluations conducted in 2016 came into effect. The rate rises were at their sharpest in Phillip, where some businesses reported hikes of $100,000. Pedders Suspension's Phillip store manager Terry Patat said the rate rise appeared "unjustified", and had not been accompanied by an increase in government services for the area. "We feel like we've been punished for something that we don't deserve just because the government's spending is ridiculous on things like the bloody light rail," Mr Patat said. Mr Patat said he felt reluctant to pass on costs to Canberra motorist already being "slugged in every direction" by high fuel prices and registration fees. He said moving the business to Queanbeyan to escape the rate bills was a genuine possibility in the long-term. "It would not be a simple exercise, we'd probably need to pay $50,000 to relocate and then you have to pay to break the lease," Mr Patat said. "I don't have exact comparison [for a similar business in Queanbeyan] but I know that it would be cheaper." In the government's submission to the inquiry, Chief Minister and Treasurer Andrew Barr said many small businesses in the ACT paid less taxes than similarly-sized operations in New South Wales. It was only "very large" ACT businesses, classified as those with an annual payroll of more than $2 million, which would have tax bills "approaching those payable" by businesses over the border, he said. "When comparing across jurisdictions, it is also important to take into account the full range of state and local government taxes paid by businesses. Commercial rates are just one tax," Mr Barr said in the submission. "The ACT government has abolished the commercial land tax, while stamp duty is being gradually phased out and has already been abolished for commercial property transactions below $1.5 million. The ACT's payroll tax threshold is the highest in the country at $2 million, meaning 90 per cent of businesses pay no payroll tax." Mr Barr and treasury officials are scheduled to give evidence to the commercial inquiry on Friday. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/dfc8072a-5024-41db-83a6-a1f16d5b41e2/r0_143_4242_2540_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg These images from ESA's Mars Express satellite show a branching, desiccated system of trenches and valleys, signs of ancient water flow that hint at a warmer, wetter past for the Red Planet. We see Mars as a cold, dry world, but plenty of evidence suggests that this was not always the case. Research in past years instead increasingly indicates that the planet once had a thicker, denser atmosphere that was able to lock in far greater amounts of warmth, and therefore facilitate and support the flow of liquid water on the surface below. While this is no longer the case, we see clear signs of past water activity tracing across the martian surface. This image shows one such region: a system of valleys in the southern highlands of Mars, located east of a large, well-known impact crater called Huygens and north of Hellas, the largest impact basin on the planet. At 3.5 to four billion years old, the southern highlands are some of the oldest and most heavily cratered parts of Mars, with many signs of ancient water flow observed here. The topography of this region suggests that water flowed downhill from the north (right in the main colour, topography and 3D images) to the south (left), carving out valleys up to two kilometres across and 200 metres deep as it did so. We see these valleys as they stand today, having undergone significant and heavy erosion since they were formed. This erosion is visible in the form of broken down, smoothed, fragmented and dissected valley rims, especially in the valleys cutting from east to west. Overall, the valley system appears to branch out significantly, forming a pattern a little like tree branches stemming from a central trunk. This kind of morphology is known as 'dendritic' - the term is derived from the Greek word for tree (dendron), and it is easy to see why. Various channels split off from the central valley, forming little tributaries that often split again on their journey outwards. This kind of dendritic structure is also seen in drainage systems on Earth. A particularly good example is that of the Yarlung Tsangpo river, which snakes its way from its source in western Tibet down through China, India, and Bangladesh. In the case of this image of Mars, these branching channels were likely formed by surface water runoff from a once-strong river flow, combined with extensive rainfall. This flow is thought to have cut through existing terrain on Mars, forging new paths and carving a new landscape. While it is unclear where all of this water came from originally - precipitation, groundwater, melting glaciers? - all of this required a far warmer and more watery past for Mars than the planet we see today. A tantalising question raised by this warmer and wetter climate is whether conditions would have been suitable for life - a topic at the heart of Mars exploration. Next year, ESA and Roscosmos will launch the ExoMars mission comprising a rover - recently named Rosalind Franklin - and a surface science platform. The rover will drive to interesting locations to drill below the surface in search for signs of life - the first mission of its kind. Meanwhile, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter continues to analyse the atmosphere in greater detail than ever, with a particular interest for gases potentially related to biological or geological activity, and to identify subsurface locations where water-ice or hydrated minerals are present. This succession of spacecraft at Mars - both in orbit and on the surface - ensures ESA's long-term presence in Mars science and exploration. The next step that ESA together with international partners are considering is returning a sample of Mars to Earth - an ambitious task that will provide scientific treasures for generations to come. More images Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. St. Johnsbury, VT (05819) Today Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 90F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. Low 69F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Its Been a Weird Week for Spains Image in China By Teng Jing Xuan / Feb 22, 2019 12:21 PM / World A few Spanish companies have found themselves in hot water in recent days after offending Chinese customers. First, hundreds of Chinese citizens living in Spain took to the streets of Madrid late last week to protest against BBVA, Spains second largest bank. The protestors said their bank accounts had been unfairly frozen, and accused the bank of using a new anti-money-laundering policy to discriminate against Chinese customers. BBVA later apologized and unfroze some of the affected accounts. But the discussion hasnt died down on Chinese media, with multiple outlets reporting today that another Spanish bank, Bankia, has frozen a large number of Chinese users accounts. Meanwhile, the appearance of Chinese model Li Jingwens freckled face in Spanish fashion brand Zaras latest campaign has sparked a backlash on Chinese social media. Some people werent happy that Zara showed off Lis freckles, a feature considered undesirable in China, and thought the image was making Chinese women look bad. Some claimed so few Asian women had freckles that Zara mustve tried very hard to find someone with such a western feature. Others praised the brand for celebrating Lis natural beauty. Relevant: JD.com Launches Spanish E-Commerce Platform Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel gave an update on the state\'s top three investigations on Feb. 21, 2019. It was announced today that UCD researchers are partnering in a new, pan-European and multidisciplinary research project to evaluate which psychosocial and educational interventions are most effective in supporting people with advanced cancer and their family caregivers. The project called DIAdic, involves experts from nine (9) research institutions in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK and Ireland, and has received 4 million in funding, over 5-years, through Horizon 2020, the EU Research and Innovation programme. It is estimated that around 4 million people in the EU are diagnosed with cancer every year and a diagnosis of advanced cancer has significant psychological and social consequences not only for the individual with the disease but also for family caregivers. UCD believe good psychosocial and educational support for the patient and the caregiver can substantially reduce such effects and help to improve the quality of life for both the patient and caregiver. The overall aim of the DIAdic project is to provide evidence about which psychosocial and educational interventions are most effective. The DIAdIC project will develop and evaluate two different methods of administering the interventions: a face-to-face method provided in the patient-caregivers home by a specially trained professional and an eHealth self-administered tool. Both are tailored to the needs of both patients and caregivers. Commenting on the project, Associate Professor Suzanne Guerin, UCD School of Psychology, who is the UCD lead on this project, said, "Our aim is that by the end of this project we will understand more clearly which psychosocial and educational supports are most effective in supporting cancer patients and their caregivers, and that such supports will be available in all European countries. With the significant number of new patients being diagnosed with cancer each year, the impact of this project could be considerable." Source: www.businessworld.ie An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar announced today that GW Plastics is expanding its advanced manufacturing operations in Sligo, creating over 200 new jobs. GW Plastics provides full-service contract manufacturing capabilities with a focus on surgical components, diagnostic devices, and drug delivery systems. GW Plastics plans to invest 5.7M to grow their product development, thermoplastic and silicone injection moulding, and contract assembly capabilities in Europe. The company plans to expand its moulding operations into a scalable 23,000 square foot site in IDAs Business and Technology Park in Finisklin, Sligo. This expansion will allow for the creation of over 200 new jobs in the areas of production, quality, regulatory, and engineering. The expansion in Ireland will complement and enhance GW Plastics precision mould-building and advanced injection moulding and contract manufacturing capabilities in the United States, Mexico, and China. Making the announcement today, An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar said, "The creation of 200 new jobs by GW Plastics is great news for the company, its staff and prospective employees and is further evidence that Sligo is a great place in which to invest, work and live." GW Plastics President and CEO, Brenan Riehl added, "Avenue has brought to GW Plastics a highly-skilled manufacturing workforce, an award-winning mould-building company, and a growing medical device contract manufacturing business that has been successfully serving Ireland and the broader European market for over 30 years. GW Plastics is delighted to build on Avenues success as Irelands premier mouldmaker with this expansion of advanced injection moulding, and look forward to better serving our customers on a global basis." Source: www.businessworld.ie The Bank of Ireland said on Friday it will earmark 2 billion euros for lending to small and medium businesses that need capital to adapt to the challenges of Britain's departure from the European Union. Ireland's central bank has said that a disorderly Brexit could have very severe and immediately disruptive effects on almost all areas ofIreland's economy. According to the central bank's assessment, Britain leaving the European Union without a deal could knock as much as 4 percentage points off the Irish economy's growth rate in its first full year, and up to 6 percentage points over a decade. "This 2 billon euro fund will provide support to businesses regardless of how the UK exits the EU," said Gavin Kelly, CEO of Retail Ireland at Bank of Ireland. "Many will need to adapt how they operate as the Brexit outcome becomes clearer. Brexit isn't 'business as usual'," he said. A spokeswoman for the Bank of Ireland said the fund is for Brexit-related lending and will also support businesses that have deferred Brexit plans because of the heightened uncertainty in the market because of the Brexit negotiations. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie European Union ministers began debating on Friday when to start trade negotiations with the United States, aware that U.S. President Donald Trump may impose punitive tariffs on EU car imports if they wait too long. The European Commission has asked the EU's 28 countries to approve two negotiating mandates so that formal talks can begin. Diplomats say Germany, whose exports of cars and parts to the United States are worth more than half the EU total, wants to press ahead. But France, with very few U.S. car exports, is reluctant to move before the European Parliament election in May, convinced that dealing with Trump is not a vote winner. "We need to start negotiating," EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told reporters before Friday's meeting. It made sense to wait for a vote in the European Parliament on the issue in March, then move quickly, she said -- a matter of weeks, not months. French junior minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne agreed on waiting for the non-binding parliament vote but did not share Malmstrom's sense of urgency. "The leaders will meet later. For the moment, it's a first political discussion. It's clear there could be more to come," he said. German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said he was not aiming to "rush something through." His Austrian counterpart Margarete Schramboeck was more forthright. "I expect from all the countries to give a mandate to the Commission... so that the Commission can negotiate and not hold back because my car industry, maybe in France or one other country, is not as affected as much as in another country." The United States and Europe ended a stand-off of several months last July, when Trump agreed to hold off on car tariffs while the two sides looked to improve trade ties. They committed, among other things, to work towards removing tariffs on "non-auto industrial goods." The EU is looking now to start negotiations on tariff reductions, possibly including cars, as well as a separate set of talks on making it easier for companies to clear their products for sale on both sides of the Atlantic. Industrial good tariffs are already low, at around 4 percent. However, the Commission has said that removing them would boost EU exports to the United States by 8 percent and U.S. exports to the European Union by 9 percent by 2033. The United States has a wide-ranging wish list, including comprehensive agricultural market access. EU unwillingness to include farm products could set it on a collision course with Washington. Friday's gathering is billed as "informal," meaning no official decision will be taken. Malmstrom said this could occur at any subsequent formal meeting of national ministers. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie The outermost part of our planet's atmosphere extends well beyond the lunar orbit - almost twice the distance to the Moon. A recent discovery based on observations by the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, SOHO, shows that the gaseous layer that wraps around Earth reaches up to 630 000 km away, or 50 times the diameter of our planet. "The Moon flies through Earth's atmosphere," says Igor Baliukin of Russia's Space Research Institute, lead author of the paper presenting the results. "We were not aware of it until we dusted off observations made over two decades ago by the SOHO spacecraft." Where our atmosphere merges into outer space, there is a cloud of hydrogen atoms called the geocorona. One of the spacecraft instruments, SWAN, used its sensitive sensors to trace the hydrogen signature and precisely detect how far the very outskirts of the geocorona are. These observations could be done only at certain times of the year, when the Earth and its geocorona came into view for SWAN. For planets with hydrogen in their exospheres, water vapour is often seen closer to their surface. That is the case for Earth, Mars and Venus. "This is especially interesting when looking for planets with potential reservoirs of water beyond our Solar System," explains Jean-Loup Bertaux, co-author and former principal investigator of SWAN. The first telescope on the Moon, placed by Apollo 16 astronauts in 1972, captured an evocative image of the geocorona surrounding Earth and glowing brightly in ultraviolet light. "At that time, the astronauts on the lunar surface did not know that they were actually embedded in the outskirts of the geocorona," says Jean-Loup. Cloud of hydrogen The Sun interacts with hydrogen atoms through a particular wavelength of ultraviolet light called Lyman-alpha, which the atoms can both absorb and emit. Since this type of light is absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, it can only be observed from space. Thanks to its hydrogen absorption cell, the SWAN instrument could selectively measure the Lyman-alpha light from the geocorona and discard hydrogen atoms further out in interplanetary space. The new study revealed that sunlight compresses hydrogen atoms in the geocorona on Earth's dayside, and also produces a region of enhanced density on the night side. The denser dayside region of hydrogen is still rather sparse, with just 70 atoms per cubic centimeter at 60 000 kilometers above Earth's surface, and about 0.2 atoms at the Moon's distance. "On Earth we would call it vacuum, so this extra source of hydrogen is not significant enough to facilitate space exploration," says Igor. The good news is that these particles do not pose any threat for space travelers on future crewed missions orbiting the Moon. "There is also ultraviolet radiation associated to the geocorona, as the hydrogen atoms scatter sunlight in all directions, but the impact on astronauts in lunar orbit would be negligible compared to the main source of radiation - the Sun," says Jean-Loup Bertaux. On the down side, the Earth's geocorona could interfere with future astronomical observations performed in the vicinity of the Moon. "Space telescopes observing the sky in ultraviolet wavelengths to study the chemical composition of stars and galaxies would need to take this into account," adds Jean-Loup. The power of archives Launched in December 1995, the SOHO space observatory has been studying the Sun, from its deep core to the outer corona and the solar wind, for over two decades. The satellite orbits around the first Lagrange point (L1), some 1.5 million kilometres from Earth towards the Sun. This location is a good vantage point to observe the geocorona from outside. SOHO's SWAN instrument imaged Earth and its extended atmosphere on three occasions between 1996 and 1998. Jean-Loup and Igor's research team in Russia decided to retrieve this data set from the archives for further analysis. These unique views of the whole geocorona as seen from SOHO are now shedding new light on Earth's atmosphere. "Data archived many years ago can often be exploited for new science," says Bernhard Fleck, ESA SOHO project scientist. "This discovery highlights the value of data collected over 20 years ago and the exceptional performance of SOHO." Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. Google is celebrating the legacy of the late 'crocodile hunter', Steve Irwin with a Doodle today. In the honour of Steve, Google has put together a slide show showcasing the Australian wildlife conservationist in his elements exploring the outdoors, holding and playing with a crocodile and spending time with his wife and kids. "Today's Google Doodle acknowledges the life and achievements of my husband Steve Irwin, whose efforts to protect wildlife and wild places have been recognized as the most extensive of any conservationist," wrote Irwin's wife Terri in a blog post for Google. Irwin passed away in September 2006 when stingray barb went through his chest during filming for a documentary project. Steve Irwin was honoured with the Centenary Medal for a lifetime of service in 2001 and was also listed for the Australian of the Year in 2004. To further honour Steve Irwin's legacy, November 15 is celebrated as the Steve Irwin Day. Steve's parents, Bob and Lyn Irwin, taught him to love the wildlife. They even gifted him an eleven-foot python, Fred, for his sixth birthday. Later on in Queensland, Irwin opened a reptile park known as the Beerwah Reptile Park. It was here that he met his wife Terri Raines, and the couple married in her hometown of Eugene, Oregon, in 1992. Steve Irwin first started playing with crocodiles at the age of nine years while volunteering with Queensland's East Coast Crocodile Management Program. He helped to monitor, study and relocate crocodiles living too close to populated areas, which lead to his love and respect for these predators. Steve Irwin also discovered a new species of snapping turtle, which was named the 'Elseya irwini' to honour him. She was the first woman to head an Indian bank, having fought out one of the toughest succession battles in corporate India. For over a decade she consistently ranked among the country's most powerful women and was pretty much India Inc's poster woman. Today, the CBI issued a look out circular against her in a loan fraud case that has hogged the headlines for over six months. We're talking about Chanda Kochhar, the former managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank. Here's a timeline of her fall from grace: March 2016: Shareholder activist Arvind Gupta, who is also the founder and trustee of Indian Investors Protection Council, writes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 15, 2016, red-flagging "the illicit banking and commercial relationship between Videocon Group of Venugopal Dhoot and ICICI Bank's MD & CEO Chanda Kochhar's family". When Gupta did not hear back from the authorities, he eventually reproduced the letter on his blog in October 2016. July 2016: The RBI conducts a detailed probe into the matter after the Prime Minister's Office referred the allegations of Kochhar's husband, Deepak, reaping windfall gains from his association with Dhoot, whose company was a large debtor to ICICI Bank. But it finds no proof of any reciprocal benefits being extended by ICICI Bank to the Videocon Group. March 2018: While the country is still reeling under the Rs 13,000 crore PNB-Nirav Modi scam, the mainstream media picks up Gupta's blog post, and this time the matter makes major waves. But before the end of the month, ICICI Bank's board reviews the bank's internal processes for credit approval and declares them robust. It also expresses full faith and confidence in Kochhar, adding that there is no question of any quid pro quo, nepotism or conflict of interest as is alleged in the "rumours". But on March 31, the Central Bureau of Investigation kicks-off a preliminary enquiry against Deepak Kochhar to look into the allegations. April 2018: Facing allegations of improper conduct Kochhar, who had headed the country's third-largest lender since May 2009, backs out of the annual session of FICCI Ladies Organisation, where she was to be felicitated by President Ram Nath Kovind. Doubts are fanned further when the CBI picks up Kochhar's brother-in-law Rajiv Kochhar for questioning in the same month. The allegation here is that his company, Avista Advisory, got the mandate to restructure foreign currency-denominated debt deals worth over $1.7 billion of seven companies, all of which had taken loans from ICICI Bank at the same time. May 2018: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) sends a notice to Kochhar, seeking her response on the alleged non-compliance with disclosure norms in dealings with the Videocon Group and Nupower Renewables, a company co-founded by her husband. In the face of the growing brouhaha, fanned by another anonymous whistleblower's allegations against Kochhar, ICICI Bank's board institutes an independent enquiry. However, the scepticism among corporate governance experts and investors alike following the interim report giving the bank a clean chit, eventually prompts the board to consider a second, more detailed probe. June 2018: ICICI Bank appoints former judge of the Supreme Court BN Srikrishna to head the external probe into the allegations of corporate misconduct against Kochhar. She soon goes on indefinite leave till the investigation is complete but at least initially the bank calls it her planned annual leave. Before long Sandeep Bakhshi takes over the reins of the bank on an interim basis. October 2018: In a sudden development Kochhar resigns from her position, even before the Srikrishna panel submits its report. The 57-year-old's second term at the bank's helm would have ended in March 2019 had all gone well. She also exits the Board of Directors of ICICI Bank's subsidiaries. January 2019: The CBI books Kochhar, her husband and Dhoot for alleged cheating and corruption in sanctioning loans to the Videocon Group, which caused a loss of Rs 1,730 crore to the bank. The agency alleged that ICICI Bank sanctioned six high-value loans to various Videocon companies between June 2009 and October 2011, starting soon after Kochhar took over as CEO. In fact, she was reportedly a part of the sanctioning committee which had approved a loan of Rs 300 crores to Videocon International Electronics Ltd (VIEL) and Rs 750 crore to Videocon Industries Ltd (VIL). The former amount was reportedly disbursed into the VIEL account on September 7, and according to the CBI, the "very next day" Dhoot had transferred Rs 64 crore from VIL to NuPower Renewables Limited, the company owned by her husband Deepak Kochhar. Days later, the Srikrishna panel submits its report, which finds Kochhar guilty of violating various regulations. The lender then decides to stop all unpaid retirement benefits and also recover bonuses worth Rs 9.82 crore paid to her since 2009. "I am utterly disappointed, hurt and shocked by the decision," Kochhar says in a statement referring to the bank's decision to treat her resignation as a "termination for cause" following the probe report. February 2019: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) registers a criminal case of money laundering against Kochhar and the others. (Edited by Sushmita Choudhary, with PTI inputs) Vodafone-Idea has launched Rs 649 postpaid recharge plan for its users which among other things will allow the iPhone users to get their iPhones repaired, replaced or upgraded. The plan is targeted at people who end up paying thousands of rupees to get their iPhones repaired. With the Rs 649 Red iPhone Forever plan, users also get 90GB data and unlimited voice calling. The Rs 649 Red iPhone Forever plan will help Vodafone Idea postpaid users to get their iPhones replaced or repaired at just a service handling fee of Rs 2000 plus the GST. Users under the Vodafone RED or Idea Nirvana are both eligible for these offers. The plan includes all the iPhone models after iPhone 5S that were bought from an original manufacturer in India. The replacement, repair or upgrade facility is available for the iPhones bought under the 18 months, the iPhones older than 18 months will only be eligible for repair and upgrade. There is also a pick-up and drop facility offered by the Vodafone. In order to get your iPhone repaired or replaced, the request for the same must be raised on the app within 72 hours of accidental damage. In the case of an upgrade for the phone, you need to pay the differential cost for the new iPhone. The Rs 649 Red plan comes with unlimited local, STD, and roaming voice calls. It also offers 90GB of data, 100 SMS messages per day with a validity of a month. Users of the Rs 649 Red postpaid plan will also get a data rollover facility for up to 200GB. The plan also comes with a one-year subscription to an online video streaming service at no charge. The iPhone Forever plan is only applicable for a year after the registration of the device and the user can avail the plan benefits unlimited times a year. In case the iPhone is replaced, Vodafone will offer a 3 months warranty even if the old device had no warranty period left. Edited By: Udit Verma ALSO READ:Vivo's sub-brand iQOO to launch foldable smartphone: Here's all you need to know Samsung's Galaxy M10 and Galaxy M20 budget smartphones are getting rave reviews in the country and are being sold via flash sales. The Galaxy M series devices were on sale yesterday, and now Reliance Jio subscribers have another chance to pick the phones through an exclusive sale today. The Samsung Galaxy M10 and Galaxy M20 sale will be live today on Samsung.com, Jio.com and MyJio app between 12 pm to 1 pm. As part of the launch offers, the buyers will be able to avail the Jio Galaxy Club offer that will give benefits worth Rs 3,110 to the Jio subscribers in the form of additional data on the Rs 198 and Rs 299 prepaid plans with the purchase of the Samsung Galaxy M10 and Galaxy M20. Reliance Jio users who want to buy Galaxy M10 and Galaxy M20 smartphones will need to click on the sale banner on Jio.com and MyJio app. Users will then have to get their number verified in order to be eligible to buy Samsung Galaxy M10 and Galaxy M20. Samsung Galaxy M10 and Galaxy M20 come with features like Infinity V display, large batteries, and fast charging technology. The Samsung Galaxy M10 is priced at Rs 7,990 for the 2GB RAM + 16GB storage option and Rs 8,990 for the 3GB RAM + 32GB storage option. On the other hand, Galaxy M20 is priced in India at Rs 10,990 for the 3GB RAM + 32GB storage option and Rs 12,990 for the 4GB RAM + 64GB storage option. As far as the specifications of Samsung Galaxy M10 are concerned, the dual-SIM (Nano) smartphone runs Android 8.1 Oreo on top of Samsung Experience 9.5 UX and features a 6.2-inch HD+ (720x1520 pixels) Infinity-V Display panel along with an 19:9 aspect ratio. The smartphone is powered by Exynos 7870 SoC. Galaxy M10 comes with 2GB and 3GB RAM options. On the other hand, Sasung Galaxy M20 features a 6.3-inch full-HD+ (1080x2340 pixels) Infinity-V Display along with an 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The smartphone is powered by Exynos 7904 SoC, paired with 3GB and 4GB RAM options. In terms of the optics, Galaxy M10 has a dual rear camera setup that includes a 13-MP primary sensor along with an f/1.9 lens and a 5-MP secondary, ultra-wide sensor. For selfies, there is a 5-MP sensor at the front. Galaxy M20 houses a 13-MP primary sensor with an f/1.9 lens and a 5-MP ultra-wide sensor. On the front, there is a 8-MP sensor along with an f/2.0 lens. The Samsung Galaxy M10 price in India starts at Rs 7,990 for the base 2GB RAM and 16GB storage model while the top-end 3GB RAM and 32GB storage version is priced at Rs 8,990. The Samsung Galaxy M20 price in India starts at Rs 10,990 for the 3GB RAM and 32GB storage model while the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage version is priced Rs 12,990 in India. Edited By: Udit Verma Also Read: Want to repair your iPhone? Vodafone Rs 649 recharge plan could help Also Read: Samsung launches Galaxy Fold: All you need to know about the foldable smartphone 16 Aug 2019, 3:57 PM India will stop its share of Indus water to Pakistan, says Nitin Gadkari A day after threatening to choke Pakistan's water supply, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said the Centre was planning to build projects on three rivers flowing into the belligerent neighbour, to divert water towards Yamuna.Under the Indus Waters Treaty, India shares water of the Beas and Sutlej rivers with Pakistan. Gadkari later took to Twitter to confirm the upcoming projects that would help divert water towards Yamuna. How Anil Ambani's RCom reasoned for not paying Ericsson, but the SC saw through it The Supreme Court of India has held Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani and two other directors guilty of contempt of court over not paying the dues to the Indian arm of Swedish telecom major Ericsson. The apex court has ordered them to pay Rs 453 crore to Ericsson within one month, or face prison time. RCom had reasoned that it tried to move "heaven and earth" to ensure Ericsson gets its due but was unable to do so due to failure of assets sale deal with Jio. However, this line of reasoning fell short of convincing the Supreme Court. PM Modi to receive Seoul Peace Prize in South Korea; unveils bust of Mahatma Gandhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in South Korea on a two-day trip. The Prime Minister is visiting the nation on invitation from President Moon Jae-in. He will also be conferred the Seoul Peace Prize. He took the stage and thanked his countrymen for the award. The Prime Minister also unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Yonsei University RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das meets bankers to enquire delay in cutting lending rates Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday met bankers and discussed the delay in policy rates cuts to lending rates reductions.The heads of Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India,ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and IDFC First Bank, among others attended the meeting, according to sources. PM Modi says Indian economy based on sound fundamentals, will soon reach $5 trillion Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the Indian economy is based on sound fundamentals and will in the near future double in size to $5 trillion, as he hardsold the country as a "land of opportunities" to investors in South Korea. Modi said hard policy decisions such as the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and opening up of more sectors has helped India jump 65 places on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business ranking to the 77th position. EPF interest rate hiked to 8.65%; move to benefit 6 crore provident fund subscribers Much to the delight of salaried employees, the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) Thursday hiked the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) rate by 0.10 per cent to 8.65 per cent for 2018-19 from 8.55 per cent last year. The rate has been hiked for the first time since 2016. The move to increase the EPF interest rate is set to benefit six crore EPFO subscribers. Do you have an extremely health-conscious smoker friend? Someone who makes it to the gym thrice a week - come hell or high water - eats fresh, sleeps on time? And yeah - smokes two packs a day? I know a handful of such people. Try listening to them justify their life choices sometime. You'll be surprised with how astute they are, how they carefully evaluate their choices, and why they feel they're quite alright, maybe even better off than you. Psychologists and behavioural scientists call this cognitive dissonance - a state of tension that occurs when an individual holds two sets of beliefs/views that are inconsistent with each other. Something like - 'I smoke two packs a day. But I work out, so I'm good.' Or 'I have figured out several ways to avoid paying taxes but I do so much charity and after all, the government will also misuse all the money in any case.' Yes, human beings have clearly mastered the art of fleeing from reality. We convinced ourselves that we're so morally upright and infallible, that in the event of a lapse in judgment, we are incredulous and torn. To be sure, dissonance is no fun - it threatens our sense of self. To admit that we screwed up would be to accept this dissonance - so we either justify it, or then sweep it under the carpet. Perhaps there is no greater example of a clean sweep than Watergate - a shining example of how humans respond to cognitive dissonance. And of course, the aforementioned smoker friend, who's allegedly figured it all out. In fact, the European Journal of Social Psychology found that people who refused to apologise after a mistake actually had more self-esteem and felt more in control than those who did. Obviously, business can't be too far behind. According to academic research, professional managers aggressively reveal news that is positive and industriously hide the ones which are negative. In fact, investors actually expect a typical firm to hide bad news and reveal good news. There's even a word for it - casting, which refers to corporations hiding unfavourable financial information from investor communities by calling upon favourable analysts only, since they're less likely to ask probing questions. Academic research also states that the average professional manager actively pursues personal interest and displays the maximum disregard for investors' interests when operating from a position of power. What a time to be alive, huh! The average human is actually expected to act deplorably whenever possible. Maybe this is why the dialogue about ethical corporate governance is so important in today's times. You never know when seemingly innocuous actions from somebody in the system leads to the downfall of the empire. And since we all can agree, to err is human, to forgive is divine, to confess is rare, CEOs and founders should lead from the front when it comes to transparency in actions and owning up to failures and mistakes. If you are falling short of your sales targets, inform your investors before the news becomes public. If that product update didn't work, let them know about that too. You see, honesty with your shareholders keeps speculation at bay and most importantly, helps to sustain investor confidence because inevitably, the cat will jump out of the bag. More so today, when anyone with a cell phone and access to a computer could conceivably bring down a billion-dollar corporation. A recent example of great corporate transparency is Apple's CEO Tim Cook announcing, in a letter to its investors, that the company had lowered its revenue guidance to $84 billion. This was $5 billion short of its projected earnings, and this is the first time in more than 15 years the tech giant had lowered its quarterly sales estimates. Imagine having to have that talk with your investors. Thankfully, today, more and more stakeholders and investors are expecting and rewarding values-based leadership with increased appreciation for honesty and transparency. Fortunately, there is no dearth of such examples. If you need a quick dose of inspiration, just read up on the Ethisphere Institute's 'World's Most Ethical Companies List' (infact, our very own Tatas and Wipro feature regularly in it). The list has been published every year since 2007 and 2018 marks the twelfth consecutive appearance of some rather well-known honourees, like Starbucks, GE, and Xerox Corporation, amongst many others. Imagine upholding the baton for twelve years in a row! As a business leader myself, I can say that it takes tremendous rectitude to be in the belly of the beast and still come out shining. And if you are still not convinced, what adds impetus to the dialogue about ethical corporate governance is the innate correlation between ethics and profitability. According to a statement by the Ethisphere Institute, the companies included in their list outperformed the large-cap sector over five years by 10.72% and over three years by 4.88%. Amazing, right?! Interestingly, historical research has always reported that sales figures are directly linked to levels of trust because when choosing between multiple products in the same category, consumers and investors alike are most likely to choose brands who walk the tightrope of economic and ethical sustainability. On that note, let me clarify - smoking two packs a day will kill you. And admitting that you're wrong may just save you. Here's hoping that we all listen to the angel on our shoulder a little more this year. The writer is President of the Jagran Group In wake of rising tension on the border after Pulwama attack, the Pakistan's Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor on Friday said that India started raining accusations on Pakistan without thinking and without any evidence, reported Dawn. Addressing a press conference at General Headquarters Rawalpindi, Ghafoor said, "There were lots of issues that I wanted to talk about today. But due to the situation after Pulwama, I will [only] be talking about that today." Pakistan army held this press conference in order to clarify their stand amid rising tension on the border after Pulwama Attack that left 40 CRPF jawans dead. "We have a 72-year history. The partition happened in 1947 and Pakistan was liberated. India still hasn't been able to accept that," Dawn quoted Ghafoor as saying. "Right after the attack, India started raining accusations on Pakistan without thinking and without any evidence. Pakistan has, this time, taken time to respond because of the accusations levelled," Major said. Denying any role in the Kashmir attack, Ghafoor reportedly said, "Now look at Pulwama carefully. How can it be that any person from Pakistan can cross the LoC and go into an area where security forces' population is greater than the local population?" The attack happened miles away from the border, the explosives were local, the car used was local and the attack too was carried out by a local Kashmiri youth, he said, reported Dawn. Also Read: FATF gives Pakistan a breather, escapes getting blacklisted In his first reaction after the ghastly Pulwama terror attack, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had denied his country's involvement in the February 14 terrorist attack that left 40 CRPF jawans dead. He even asked India to introspect and stop pointing fingers on Pakistan. Imran Khan said India had been targeting Pakistan without a shred of evidence. He also asked why Pakistan would attack India at a time when it was going forward on the path of development. Earlier today, Pakistan escaped from getting blacklisted by the anti-terror finance watchdog, Financial Action Task Force (FATF), on account of Pakistani agencies' links with the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), which was behind the Pulwama attack. Also Read: Pulwama attack: India gets international support, UNSC names JeM's Masood Azhar FATF decided to keep Pakistan on its grey list at the end of its week-long plenary meeting in Paris. The placement on the 'black list' could have hurt Pakistan's economy as well as its international standing. India had lobbied hard to get the global financial body to blacklist Pakistan for non-compliance in curbing terror financing. India had prepared a dossier for the watchdog nailing the culpability of Pakistan in the Pulwama terror strike, the worst such attack in J&K in decades. Edited by Chitranjan Kumar Following Pulwama terror attack last week, the Railway administration has beefed up its security across its network, particularly in the Mumbai metropolitan region, officials said Friday. Although there was no specific intelligence input, security has been stepped up for the safety of passengers, Railway officials said. "Following instructions from the Railway Board, the apex body of the Indian Railway, security has been stepped up across its network, especially in Mumbai," officials said. They also said that that the railway authorities in Mumbai got the instructions from the Railway Board to stay alert in the wake of Pulwama terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir last week and general elections due to be held in April-May this year. Also Read: Maharashtra on high alert after blast near Mumbai; IED found on bus in Raigad According to the officials, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has not only advised the Railways, but other authorities as well, which includes local police, airports, malls, cinema halls and other public places. Central Railway (CR) and the Western Railway (WR) are headquartered in Mumbai and they are the lifeline of the city as over 70 lakh people use suburban trains for commuting daily. K K Ashraf, senior divisional security commissioner of Mumbai division of the CR said, "Security has been enhanced in the wake of Pulwama terror attack. We have issued advisories to all the units to stay alert and keep a vigil." "We have deployed maximum number of personnel at the platforms and stations. Our men in civil dress are keeping a watch on people. Starting yesterday, combing operation is carried out in the morning and evening peak hours as a precautionary measure," he said. "There is no specific intelligence input, but we are following the general instructions for the safety of our passengers," Ashraf added. A senior WR official said security agencies have been put on high alert. "WR teams are keeping a watch on the stations through CCTV cameras and conducting mock drills. Long distance trains, especially the Delhi-bound ones, are being checked with sniffer dogs and bomb detection squads," the official said. Also Read: UP police arrests two suspected Jaish-e-Mohammad operatives from Deoband, probing link to Pulwama terror attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is in Seoul said that he has held "constructive" talks with the South Korean President Moon Jae-in. They held talks on Friday on enhancing bilateral cooperation in key areas including trade, investment, defence and security. PM Modi who is on a two-day trip to the country will also be accepting the Seoul Peace Prize that was announced last year. The Prime Minister also met the First Lady Kim Jung-sook. After the talks, PM Modi addressed the media and said that South Korea is an important partner in India's economic transformation. "South Korea is an important partner in India's economic transformation. Our trade and investment are growing - PM @narendramodi in his Press Statement following the delegation level talks with Korean President @moonriver365," tweeted Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs. South Korea is an important partner in India's economic transformation. Our trade and investment are growing - PM @narendramodi in his Press Statement following the delegation level talks with Korean President @moonriver365. Full statement at https://t.co/oyrGnx98hk pic.twitter.com/7xO9KaDfkE - Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) February 22, 2019 Earlier the Prime Minister laid a wreath at the National Cemetery in Seoul and paid tribute to fallen soldiers, including those who died in the Korean War. "PM Narendra Modi laid a wreath at the National Cemetery of Republic of Korea that entombs remains of 1,65,000 martyrs and paid homage to the fallen soldiers," Kumar said. The Seoul National Cemetery is reserved for Korean veterans, including soldiers who were martyred in the Korean independence movement, Korean War and Vietnam War. On his first day in South Korea, PM Modi unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the Yonsei University. Along with President Moon, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was also present during the event. "The august presence of President @moonriver365, FL Kim Jung-sook and my friend, Mr. Ban Ki-moon (former Secretary General of the United Nations) made the programme even more special," he said. "Through his lifestyle, Bapu showed what living in harmony with nature is. He also showed that it is important to leave a clean and green planet for the future generations," said the Prime Minister. Also read: PM Modi to receive Seoul Peace Prize in South Korea; unveils bust of Mahatma Gandhi A model for carbon accumulation over time as the sum of carbon emissions, based on the steady increase in emissions and emission rates since 1959. Red circles are annual accumulations through 2015. If the recent trend in emissions continues, we can expect to reach the minimum estimate for PETM-scale carbon accumulation in the year 2159 and the maximum estimate for PETM-scale carbon accumulation in the year 2278. Credit: AGU/Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology/Gingerich 2019. Total human carbon dioxide emissions could match those of Earth's last major greenhouse warming event in fewer than five generations, new research finds. A new study finds humans are pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a rate nine to 10 times higher than the greenhouse gas was emitted during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a global warming event that occurred roughly 56 million years ago. The results suggest if carbon emissions continue to rise, the total amount of carbon dioxide injected into the atmosphere since humans started burning fossil fuels could equal the amount released during the PETM as soon as 2159. "You and I won't be here in 2159, but that's only about four generations away," said Philip Gingerich, a paleoclimate researcher at the University of Michigan and author of the new study in the AGU journal Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology. "When you start to think about your children and your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren, you're about there." Scientists often use the PETM as a benchmark against which to compare modern climate change. But the new study shows we're on track to meet this benchmark much sooner than previously thought, as the pace of today's warming far outstrips any climate event that has happened since the extinction of the dinosaurs. "Given a business-as-usual assumption for the future, the rates of carbon release that are happening today are really unprecedented, even in the context of an event like the PETM," said Gabriel Bowen, a geophysicist at the University of Utah who was not connected to the new study. "We don't have much in the way of geologic examples to draw from in understanding how the world responds to that kind of perturbation." The exact environmental consequences of PETM-like carbon levels are unclear, but the increased temperatures will likely drive many species to extinction with the lucky ones being able to adapt or migrate, according to Larisa DeSantis, a paleontologist at Vanderbilt University who was not connected to the new study. In addition, it will take thousands of years for the climate system cool down, she said. "It's not just about 100 years from now; it's going to take significant periods of time for that carbon dioxide to make its way back into the Earth's crust," DeSantis said. "It's not a short-term event. We're really committing ourselves to many thousands of years of a warmer world if we don't take action quickly." Studying past climate change The PETM was a global warming event that occurred roughly 56 million years ago. Scientists are unsure what caused it, but during the event massive quantities of carbon dioxide were released into Earth's atmosphere, rapidly spiking global temperatures by 5 to 8 degrees Celsius (9 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit). Average global temperatures during the PETM peaked at about 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit), about 7 degrees Celsius (13 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than today's average. Scientists think that during this time and the warm period that followed, the poles were ice-free and the Arctic was home to palm trees and crocodiles. It's not the hottest Earth has ever been, but the PETM was the warmest period since the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Scientists can't pin down exactly how much carbon was injected into the atmosphere during the PETM or exactly how long the event lasted. But their best estimates say between 3,000 and 7,000 gigatons of carbon accumulated over a period of 3,000 to 20,000 years, based on ocean sediment cores that show changes to carbonate minerals laid down during this time. The massive carbon release and temperature spike drastically altered Earth's climate, causing a major extinction of organisms in the deep ocean that are a key link in the marine food web. Land animals got smaller and migrated north to cooler climates. Some groups of modern mammals, including primates, appeared for the first time soon after the PETM, but scientists are unsure whether this happened as a direct result of the rapid environmental change. Comparing past with present Climate scientists use the PETM as a case study for understanding what environmental changes might happen under current human-caused climate change and when those changes might take effect. But they can only average carbon emissions during the PETM over the whole duration of the event - thousands of years. They don't know what those emissions rates were like on a yearly basis, so it's difficult to compare them to the pace of carbon emissions today. In the new study, Gingerich found a way to mathematically compare modern carbon emissions to PETM emissions on the same time scale. The results showed current carbon emission rates are nine to 10 times higher than those during the PETM. "To me, it really brought home how rapidly and how great the consequences are of the carbon we're producing as a people," Gingerich said. Projecting current emissions into the future, Gingerich found that if emissions continue to rise, we could be facing another PETM-like event in fewer than five generations. The total carbon accumulated in the atmosphere could hit the lowest estimate of carbon accumulated during the PETM - 3,000 gigatons - in the year 2159. It would hit the maximum estimated emissions - 7,126 gigatons - in 2278, based on Gingerich's calculations. Humans have emitted roughly 1,500 gigatons of carbon as of 2016. "The fact that we could reach warming equivalent to the PETM very quickly, within the next few hundred years, is terrifying," DeSantis said. The findings suggest scientists may not be able to predict the environmental or biological changes that will happen in the coming years based on what happened during the PETM because today's warming is occurring so much faster, according to DeSantis. What makes predictions harder is that today's climate starts from a cooler baseline than the PETM and the species that inhabit Earth are different than those of 56 million years ago. "It's hard to compare biotic effects because the world during the PETM was quite different," DeSantis said. "We live in a very different world today, with different groups of animals, with humans being the dominant species... but we know there are many negative consequences of dramatic warming on vast numbers of species, including our own." Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) today decided to keep Pakistan on its grey list at the end of its week-long plenary meeting in Paris. India had lobbied hard to get the global financial body to blacklist Pakistan for non-compliance in curbing terror financing. India wanted Pakistan to be put under "closer scrutiny immediately" and has demanded that "stronger implementation" be sought from Islamabad in curbing terror financing, News18 reported. India had even prepared a dossier for the watchdog nailing the culpability of Pakistan in the Pulwama terror strike, the worst such attack in J&K in decades. The February 14 attack that left over 40 CRPF personnel dead was carried out by Pakistan-based outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). "This will be a dossier on Pakistani agencies' links with the JeM and how the terror group is being aided by them. The details of the terror attacks carried out by the JeM in the past will be mentioned in the document," a security official previously told PTI. The dossier will reportedly also highlight how the Pakistani agencies are providing funds to the JeM. Incidentally, in June 2018, Pakistan was put on the FATF grey list for failing to curb terror financing, courtesy a concerted bilateral effort by India with the US, UK, France and Germany all through 2017. Islamabad had reportedly been given a 27-point action plan to implement by September 2019, failing which it would be put on the FATF black list alongside North Korea and Iran post the October 2019 FAFT meeting. Pakistan had reportedly landed on the black list between 2012 and 2015. (Edited by Sushmita Choudhury Agarwal) Also read: PM Modi receives Seoul Peace Prize in South Korea; urges nations to come together to fight terrorism A day after it faced SC heat over non-payment of dues to Ericsson, Reliance Communications Thursday sought urgent approval from its lenders for release of about Rs 260 crore lying in its bank account, directly to the Swedish telecom gear maker. Reliance Communications in a statement said that it is confident of raising the remaining about Rs 200 crore for payment to Ericsson, in order to ensure that the entire amount gets paid well within the four weeks timeline set by the apex court. The latest move assumes significance as the Supreme Court (SC) Wednesday held Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani and two others guilty of contempt of court for violating its order by not paying dues of Rs 550 crore to Ericsson. The court said they would face a three-month jail term if Rs 453 crore was not paid to the telecom equipment maker in four weeks. "Reliance Communications group has requested urgent approval from its lenders to release approximately Rs 260 crore received from Income Tax refunds, lying in its bank account, directly to Ericsson," a Reliance Communications Limited spokesperson said in a statement. The permission of lenders is crucial for the beleaguered firm, which had decided to implement debt resolution plans through NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) framework, making lender's go ahead necessary for such payments, explained an industry observer. The RCom spokesperson further said that a sum of Rs 118 crore has already been deposited with the apex court. "RCom is confident of raising the balance approximately Rs 200 crore for payment to Ericsson, in order to ensure that the entire Rs 550 crore, plus interest thereon, stands paid to Ericsson, well within the time of four weeks allowed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court," the spokesperson added. Meanwhile, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Capital Thursday said it has invited Nippon Life Insurance to acquire up to 42.88 per cent, which is its entire stake, in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Ltd (RNAM). The Supreme Court Wednesday held that the RCom chairman as well as Reliance Telecom chairman Satish Seth and Reliance Infratel chairperson Chhaya Virani breached the undertaking given to the apex court and related orders. The apex court said Ambani and the others will have to purge contempt by paying Rs 453 crore to Ericsson in four weeks. A bench comprising Justices R F Nariman and Vineet Saran said if the 'contemnors' failed to make the payments within the specified period, they will undergo a jail term of three months. The apex court also directed Reliance Communication, Reliance Telecommunication and Reliance Infratel to deposit Rs 1 crore each in four weeks to the apex court registry. If not, the chairpersons of these companies will have to undergo additional jail term of one month. It also directed that Rs 118 crore already deposited by Reliance Group in the apex court registry be disbursed to Ericsson within a week. The bench said the three Reliance companies did not adhere to the 120 days deadline and 60 days extra given by the apex court to pay the Rs 550 crore to Ericsson. It said the undertakings given in the court were false to the knowledge of the court and affected the administration of justice. On February 13, the apex court had reserved its judgement when Ericsson India alleged that the Reliance Group has money to invest in the Rafale jet deal but was unable to clear its Rs 550 crore dues, a charge vehemently denied by the Anil Ambani-led company. Ericsson India, which signed a seven-year deal in 2014 to operate and manage RCom's nationwide telecom network, alleged that it had not been paid the outstanding dues and challenged the debt-ridden firm (RCom has a staggering Rs 46,000 crore debt) before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. A source said that in order to raise the rest of the amount that is required to be paid to Ericsson, RCom could look at sale of its real estate assets in Delhi and Mumbai, as also urge Reliance Jio to speed up payments for the past Fibre and MCN (media convergence nodes) deals, where the said infrastructure has already been transferred. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Friday said it had filed complaints seeking forfeiture and recovery of approximately $38 million in assets associated with its 1Malaysia Development Berhard - or 1MDB - case, bringing the assets now subject to forfeiture to a total of about $1.7 billion (1.3 billion pounds)."These new lawsuits target assets collected by corrupt officials and their associates through a massive scheme that stole billions of dollars from the people of Malaysia and laundered the proceeds across the world," U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna said in a statement.The ... By Svea Herbst-BaylissBOSTON (Reuters) - Pushing companies to perform better has earned Third Point a 300 percent return in the last eight years, the hedge fund told investors in a letter on Thursday, praising management at some of its targets for taking the right steps.The $14 billion firm, run by Daniel Loeb, lost 11.3 percent in 2018 but said corporate activism, including campaigns it waged at Campbell Soup and Nestle SA last year, will remain a priority in the future.Shorting, or betting that stocks will drop, as well as opportunistic credit investments and identifying mispriced intrinsic ... DUBAI (Reuters) - State-owned Saudi Aramco has signed an agreement to form a joint venture with Chinese conglomerate Norinco to develop a refining and petrochemical complex in Panjin city, saying the project is worth more than $10 billion.Aramco and Norinco, along with Panjin Sincen, will form a new company called Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Co as part of a project that will include a 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery with a 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) ethylene cracker, Aramco said on Friday.The deal was signed during a visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to ... By Henning GloysteinSINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices reversed earlier falls on Friday, lifted by OPEC's ongoing supply cuts and hopes that Washington and Beijing may soon end their trade dispute.Despite this, prices remained below 2019 peaks reached earlier this week as U.S. crude oil production hit a record 12 million barrels per day (bpd) and its exports also surged.International Brent crude futures were at $67.15 per barrel at 0707 GMT, 8 cents above their last close, but below $67.38 per barrel reached earlier this week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were at $57.06 ... By Omar MohammedNAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan ride-hailing company Little is expanding to Tanzania and Ghana by May and plans to raise about $50 million more from investors, its chief executive officer said on Friday.Little, which competes with global players Uber and Taxify in Kenya, is valued at about $70 million to $75 million, Chief Executive Kamal Budhabhatti said, a minnow compared to rivals but it has aims to expand across Africa.The company will offer rides in Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam from next week and plans to launch in Accra by May, Budhabhatti said, adding to ... By Philip BlenkinsopBUCHAREST (Reuters) - France expressed reservations on Friday about proposed trade negotiations with the United States, diplomats said, while other EU countries supported talks with Washington that could ward off punitive U.S. tariffs on European cars.The European Commission has asked the EU's 28 countries to approve two negotiating mandates so that formal talks can begin, with many aware that U.S. President Donald Trump may hit EU car imports with duties if they wait too long.Diplomats say Germany, whose exports of cars and parts to the United States are worth more than ... By Michael NienaberBERLIN (Reuters) - France and Germany have agreed a detailed proposal for a euro zone budget to boost growth, strengthen competitiveness and lower the development gap between individual member states, a German government document showed on Friday.The Franco-German accord is likely to pave the way for an agreement in the wider group of euro zone finance ministers who will discuss the set-up of the new but disputed tool next month."The purpose of the euro zone budgetary instrument would be to foster competitiveness and convergence in the euro zone...," the joint Franco-German ... WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The European Union has drafted a list of retaliatory tariffs that would target Caterpillar Inc, Xerox Corp and Samsonite International if U.S. President Donald Trump imposes duties on European cars, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing an unnamed senior EU official.Trump, who is known to have a strong protectionist bent on trade, has said the United States will impose tariffs on European car imports if it is unable to reach a trade deal with the European Union.European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in July that Trump promised he would hold off for ... As I sit and ponder what to write about this week, I cant seem to focus on any single topic. Should I write about the discussion at our last City Commission meeting concerning the Florida Competitive Workforce Act? How some in our community would like to settle for a few crumbs of equality instead of the whole pie, to make a deal by taking the very important protections of housing and public accommodations off the table for the LGBT community in our state? No discrimination while you work or seek employment, but just wait until you go home, look to use a public restroom, or try to book a hotel room. Not such a good deal if you ask me. Perhaps I could write a What ever happened to type article, describing what candidates for public office in our municipal elections are up to since Election Day in recent years past. Fellow residents would like to know where all these civic minded individuals are who promised us so much. Many quickly disappear once the reality of post-election defeat sinks in, with the realization that they were not as popular as they thought. Many no longer live in our city, have never participated in community organizations except during the brief time of their campaign, and have never served on a city board or advisory committee. Some even needed directions to different areas of this small two square mile city we call paradise. With so many thoughts going through my mind, and suffering from a seldom recognized writing anxiety disorder, I ventured out to meet some friends and free my mind of the roadblocks hindering me from getting this article done before deadline. After enjoying a few IPA drafts, reaching the point of saying goodbye and heading home, two events occurred that offered me direction for this article. First, a young gentleman wearing a gold lame top appeared at the bar, triggering a deep guttural response from a dear friend next to me, Oh dear God, not Gold Lame! The second occurred as I headed out the door onto Wilton Drive. An electric scooter whizzed by as a lovely young gentleman briskly made his way along our main thoroughfare. Electric scooters are a much-needed new mode of transportation being embraced by many in cities around the country. However, the reactions these scooters are receiving by many non-users are very similar to the reaction caused by the gold lame garment, very passionate and very negative. Multimodal transportation has been the established mantra on how best to move South Florida into the future amongst city planners, government entities, and many others. So, what is the issue over the poor little electric scooter? In a state that has no helmet laws for motorcycles, why is everyone concerned about helmets for scooter riders? In a state where pedestrian deaths by automobiles are one of the highest in the nation, why do we single out the few accidents caused by scooters as a menace that will ruin our lives? In a region grappling with horrific traffic congestion, why do we look to demonize such an enthusiastic solution embraced by many city residents to scoot about town? As I drove through downtown Fort Lauderdale on a recent Sunday, I was amazed to see so many people utilizing the new electric scooters. Young couples riding together, people in uniform on their way to work, residents not in cars, and so many others. This is exactly what we have been asking for in planning sessions, visioning workshops, and regional planning. Yes, there are some very important issues that still need to be clarified by the state, like whether scooters should operate on sidewalks, bike lanes, and/or automobile lanes. However we should not look to judge scooters in the same fashion as many few gold lame; that such an item has no explainable purpose in our world today. The Fort Lauderdale City Commissions recent decision not to pull the plug on this new experiment desires tribute. Unfortunately, Oakland Park and many other cities are rushing to ban this promising mode of transportation. Cities in South Florida need to fully embrace the concept of multimodal transportation. The state has an equal responsibility to embrace relevant regulations that will permit such new modes of transportation to best coexist with automobiles, pedestrians, and bicycles. The state also has a responsibility to protect all Floridians against discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. No picking and choosing when it comes to the rights we all deserve. That is why this community should strongly support the passage of the Florida Competitive Workforce Act. Increasing mobility here in South Florida and having state lawmakers support full protections for all Floridians will go a long way in making life just better here. By Colin Packham and Muyu XuSYDNEY/BEIJING (Reuters) - Australia's prime minister sought to ease fears on Friday of a further rift in ties to China following a ban on coal imports at the northern port of Dalian that knocked coal exporters and the local dollar.The Australian currency fell more than 1 percent to a 10-day low of $0.7070 on Thursday after Reuters reported that customs at the Chinese port had banned imports of Australia's biggest export earner since the start of February.China is the largest buyer of Australian coal, taking 89 million tonnes last year, worth A$15 billion ($10.7 ... By Ekaterina KravtsovaLONDON (Reuters) - Asian spot prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) dropped to new lows this week as sporadic spot demand failed to change the overall trend of oversupply in the market. Spot prices for April delivery to northeast Asia are estimated at around $6.20 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), down 10 cents from the previous week. BP sold a cargo to Gunvor at this price on Thursday for mid-April delivery to Asia in the Platts open window. Japanese utility Tohoku Electric bought a cargo in the market for April delivery at a similar price, a trade source ... The has formally received the proposed changes in the existing regulations to end the work authorisation for certain categories of H-1B foreign work visas. The move that would impact over 90,000 spouses of holders, an overwhelming number of whom are Indians, was sent by the Department of Homeland Security to the Office of management for Budget on Wednesday, officials said. It's now for the to take a final call on it, before a formal regulation in this regard could be issued and the Department of Homeland Security can inform a federal court, where a lawsuit on this issue is pending. Now White House would carry out its review of the proposed regulation, take inputs from various agencies, before taking a final call. The entire process could take from a few weeks to several months. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) which manages the programme said the proposed regulation was not final until the review and comment process was complete. As per the existing process, once White House gives its nod, the regulation would be published in federal register with a 30-day comment period. It is only after that the new changes can come into effect. The is moving ahead with its proposed regulation, despite strong resistance from a group of US lawmakers including Senator Kamala Harris, and Silicon Valley companies who argue that this is not only anti-women, but also prevents talented spouses of holders from working in the Meanwhile, the US Court of Appeals, District of Columbia has extended the time for various stakeholders, including the Department of Homeland Security to submit its responses on the lawsuit against it filed by the organisation Save Jobs USA. In September, Save Jobs USA which had filed the lawsuit urged the court to remove the abeyance and move forward with the case. The case is before a three-member bench including Indian American Sree Srinivasan. The move comes after the Department of Homeland Security sought a stay on all existing deadlines because of the more than one-month-long partial shutdown of the federal government. Save Jobs USA has expressed its disappointment over the slow progress on this issue. The White House has formally received the proposed changes in the existing regulations to end the work authorisation for spouses of the holders of H-1B visas, the most sought-after among Indian IT professionals. The move that would impact over 90,000 spouses of H-1B visa holders, an overwhelming number of whom are Indians, was sent by the Department of Homeland Security to the White House Office of management for Budget on Wednesday, officials said. The H-1B visa, most sought-after among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. It's now for the White House to take a final call on it, before a formal regulation could be issued and the Department of Homeland Security can inform a federal court, where a lawsuit on this issue is pending. Now White House would carry out its review of the proposed regulation, take inputs from various agencies, before taking a final call. The entire process could take from a few weeks to several months. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) which manages the programme said the proposed regulation was not final until the review and comment process was complete. As per the existing process, once White House gives its nod, the regulation would be published in federal register with a 30-day comment period. It is only after that the new changes can come into effect. The Trump administration is moving ahead with its proposed regulation, despite strong resistance from a group of US lawmakers including Senator Kamala Harris, and Silicon Valley companies who argue that this is not only anti-women, but also prevents talented spouses of H-1B visa holders from working in the United States. Meanwhile, the US Court of Appeals, District of Columbia has extended the time for various stakeholders, including the Department of Homeland Security to submit its responses on the lawsuit against it filed by the organisation Save Jobs USA. In September, Save Jobs USA which had filed the lawsuit urged the court to remove the abeyance and move forward with the case. The case is before a three-member bench including Indian-American Sree Srinivasan. The move comes after the Department of Homeland Security sought a stay on all existing deadlines because of the more than one-month-long partial shutdown of the federal government. Save Jobs USA has expressed its disappointment over the slow progress on this issue. The Trump administration is reviewing the H-1B visa policy that it thinks is being misused by companies to replace American workers. The administration has said publicly and also in its court filing that it wants to revoke work permits to H4 visa holders, a significant majority of whom are Indian-Americans and women. The move will have a major impact on Indian women as they are the major beneficiary of the Obama-era rule. According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), there were as many as 419,637 foreign nationals working in the US on H-1B visas as on October 5. Of these, 309,986 were Indians. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hitting out at an AAP MLA who claimed that no new degree colleges were opened in some areas in Sangrur district, Punjab Higher Minister Razia Sultana Friday said her department did not have Aladdin's magic lamp which, if rubbed, would set up a building in no time. The minister was replying to a supplementary question by Leader of Opposition and AAP MLA Harpal Singh Cheema who sought to know the status of degree colleges in Bhawanigarh, Dirba and some other areas in Sangrur district. Cheema claimed in the House that not even a single degree college had been opened in these areas. Moreover, the no recruitment of staff has been made in Punjab colleges, he alleged. During the Zero Hour in the ongoing Budget Session here, the minister informed the House that degree colleges in Bhawanigarh area were under construction. "Generally, the construction of a building takes two to two and half years to complete. We do not have Aladdin's magic lamp which if rubbed will set up the structure in no time. We have even started classes in some areas. Whatever they (Cheema) have claimed are a bundle of lies," she said. Earlier Congress MLA Raj Kumar Chabbewal sought to know if there was there any proposal to set up a new government degree college in Chabbewal. Sharing details of the status of upcoming colleges, the higher minister informed the House that the Congress had promised to set up 50 degree colleges at the sub division level. In 2017-18, it was decided that degree colleges would be set up in Kalanaur, Malout, Jandiala Nawanshahr, Ludhiana and some other areas. Then 20 more colleges were announced for several places, including Bhawanigarh, Dinanangar, Giddarbaha, Shahkot, the minister said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will undertake a two-day visit to Sikkim from February 25, an official release said on Friday. Naidu will fly from Delhi by a special aircraft to Bagdogra airport on February 25 morning and from there he will take a helicopter to Pakyong airport, it said. The vice-president is scheduled to interact with scientists of National Research Centre for Orchids at Pakyong on the first day of his Sikkim visit. Later in the day, he will lay foundation stone of the Centre for Training and Demonstration for Bamboo and Sustainable Structures at Raj Bhawan, the release said. Naidu will also launch Pranab Mukherjee's Chair for Sustainable Development at ICFAI University in the capital in the evening. The Vice-President will lay foundation stone of Office-cun-Guest house of the Rajya Sainik Board and attend a function at Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences (SMIMS) on February 26 before leaving for the national capital, the Information and Public Relations Department (IPR) said in a release. The vice-president's proposed visit to Sikkim in June last year was cancelled due to inclement weather in the Himalayan state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Describing the current situation between and as "very, very bad", US President Friday said his administration was in contact with both sides and hoped hostilities would soon end in the Valley. "Right now between and India, there is a very, very bad situation. A very dangerous situation. We would like to see it (hostilities) stop. A lot of people were just killed. We want to see it just stop. We are very much involved in that (process)," Trump told reporters at the Oval Office. The US president was responding to questions on last week's terrorist attack in Pulwama district of in which 40 Indian security personnel were killed. Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) has claimed responsibility for the attack. " is looking at something very strong. just lost almost 50 people in the attack. I can understand that too," Trump said, adding that his administration was talking to authorities in both countries. "We're talking. A lot of people are. It's going to be a very, very delicate balance. There is a lot of problems between India and because of what just happened," he said. The president said the US has improved ties with Pakistan and works are on for meetings with Pakistan leaders and officials. "I stopped paying Pakistan the USD 1.3-billion that we used to pay them. In the meantime, we may set up some meetings with Pakistan. Pakistan was taking very strong advantage of the under other presidents. We were paying Pakistan USD 1.3 billion a year. I ended that payment, because they were not helping us in the way they should have," Trump said. He said the United States' relation with Pakistan has developed in the last few months. The US peace envoy for Afghanistan has met his Russian counterpart in the Turkish capital for talks on efforts to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan. The Russian Embassy in Ankara announced on Twitter Friday that it was hosting a meeting between Washington's peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Zamir Kabulov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's envoy for Afghanistan. Khalilzad has stepped up efforts to find a peace deal for Afghanistan and held several rounds of direct talks with the Taliban. He will hold another round on Monday. The two sides have focused their talks on the withdrawal of U.S. troops and measures to prevent Afghanistan again becoming a staging arena for terrorists to attack the United States. Russia has also emerged as an influential player by hosting Afghan talks. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tripura Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki Friday said BJP-IPFT government's decision to go for upgrading infrastructure for better connectivity with neighbouring Bangladesh would boost trade and commerce. The waterway between Sonamura in Tripura and Daudkandi in Bangladesh is a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'HIRA' (Highways, I-ways, Railways and Airways) concept of development, Solanki said inn his address on the opening day of the budget session of the Assembly. "Waterways connectivity with Bangladesh... in the long run, will boost trade and commerce and also make industries in Tripura viable and competitive," he said Measures taken as part of the plan would also develop the state as a logistics hub in the North East, the governor said. Apart from the waterway, the extension of Agartala- Akhaura rail link and construction of Maitri bridge over river Feni in South Tripura district would facilitate transportation of goods and passengers with Chittagong and Mongla ports in Bangladesh, he said. The governor also mentioned the Internet Gateway through Bangladesh, construction of new terminal of Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport, extension of Garjee-Belonia passenger train services in South Tripura, launching of new train services connecting Agartala with Guwahati, Kolkata, Delhi and Bengaluru are parts of the success of the HIRA model. Solanki also asserted that his government has waged a successful war against drug abuse. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) / -- The Rainbow Machine is United Colors of Benetton's first ever Milan Fashion Week runway show, a tribute to industrial production, innovation and color. (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/825025/UCB_Milan_Fashion_Week.jpg ) 'Rainbow' represents a vision shared by Luciano Benetton and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac. "Luciano and I are all about color," says the French designer, who explains that the collection's palette will be mainly based on the primary colors of the rainbow - yellow, red, green, blue - with some touches of black. 'Machine' is a tribute to Benetton's great industrial tradition, its know-how and its one-of-a kind technological expertise. The runway will feature actual knitting machines in a set with enormous close-ups of products photographed by Oliviero Toscani. UCB has chosen to stage a show with ideas that represent only a part of its seasonal production, but which embody the new creative direction the brand is taking. A disciplined, pared down fashion that reprises some of the iconic pieces that are in every fashion lover's wardrobe. They are 'updated basics', designed by JCDC, who identified the strongest characteristics of the Benetton DNA and enhanced them to create a collection that is both up to date and conceptual, while remaining deeply rooted in the brand's heritage. The collection pays homage to original features of the brand - like the logo, the color element (particularly green), garment-dyed knitwear and a certain sporty, easy chic attitude - that, over the past 30 years, have made fashion history. It is a style that is extremely strong in terms of identity, which is not surprising considering how identity has always been fertile ground for reflection for UCB. Today, when all the brands embrace the concept of inclusion, Benetton stands out for its pioneering spirit. The electro-industrial soundtrack created for the occasion by Michel Gaubert, one of the world's most important contemporary sound designers, is a clear tribute to the Rainbow Machine. Welcome to the new Benetton era. About Benetton Group and United Colors of Benetton: Benetton Group is one of the best-known fashion companies in the world, present in the most important markets with a network of about 5,000 stores. A responsible group that plans for the future and lives in the present - with a watchful eye to the environment, to human dignity, and to a society in transformation - the Group has a consolidated identity comprised of colour, authentic fashion, quality at democratic prices and passion for its work. These values are reflected in the strong, dynamic personalities of the United Colors of Benetton and Sisley brands. United Colors of Benetton's commitment to social issues has always been a central feature of the brand that, through its communications campaigns and collaborations with leading non-profit organizations, makes the public reflect on social issues of universal relevance. https://rainbowmachine.benetton.com/presskit #rainbowmachine #benettonfashionshow #benetton Runway Images: https://we.tl/t-pb3qdKQ5JD Short Video: https://we.tl/t-NhQI5mWDhh Backstage Images: https://we.tl/t-hqafRu73Ix http://www.facebook.com/benetton http://www.twitter.com/benetton http://www.youtube.com/benetton http://www.instagram. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Many LGBT activists and organizations are setting goals for the new year, one organization being the Human Rights Council (HRC) of Palm Beach County, a non-profit LGBT advocacy group. Many LGBT activists and organizations are setting goals for the new year, one organization being the Human Rights Council (HRC) of Palm Beach County, a non-profit LGBT advocacy group. Since 1988, the HRC has been dedicated to furthering and protecting the LGBT communitys civil rights in Palm Beach County. In 2018, they were able to get cities like Lake Worth and Boynton Beach to ban the practice of conversion therapy within their cities. This years first order of business is assisting LGBT seniors and LGBT youth. Locally, PBCHRC is working with West Palm Beach City Commissioner Christina Lambert on initiatives to assist LGBT seniors and with WPB City Commissioner Kelly Shoaf and Compass on initiatives to assist LGBT youth said HRC founder and Legislative Director Rand Hoch via email. On the state level, HRC also plans to work with other outside advocacy groups to pass the Florida Inclusive Workforce Act, a new effort to amend the Florida Civil Rights Act to prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Other groups and people collaborating on the effort are SAVE Florida, Translatina, Conservatives on the Right of Equality and former Florida Rep. David Richardson. Other plans and initiatives for 2019 include: Installing a rainbow pride crosswalk in downtown West Palm Beach Working with WPBA and Palm Beach County to change signs on single-stall restrooms to be gender-inclusive Getting Lake Worth City Commissioner Omari Hardy to support an inclusive and innovative approach to city-wide bullying prevention Working with the healthcare district of Palm Beach County to see if it is possible for the district to provide trans-specific medical care for those in need Urging the school district of Palm Beach County to cease all ties to homophobic companies and businesses like Hobby Lobby and Chick-fil-A While its a hefty agenda, this is nothing new for Rand Hoch, who founded the organization back in 1988. Hoch started his career by advocating for gay rights in South Florida in the 1970s, later becoming Floridas first openly gay judge in 1992. After retiring from the bench, Hoch returned to PBCHRC in his current position. The HRC has passed over 160 laws supporting LGBT civil rights, according to their website and hopes to add on to the list in 2019. In the wake of attack on Kashmiri students after the Pulwama incident, the University Grants Commission (UGC) on Friday wrote to vice-chancellors of varsities across the country to ensure safety of Kashmiri students on the campus and to maintain peace and harmony. The UGC was directed by the Human Resource Development Ministry to issue an advisory to all the universities to ensure that the security of Kashmiri students is not compromised. "In the context of reports being received through various media regarding the safety of students from Kashmir studying in various higher educational institutions, all universities and colleges affiliated to them are advised to ensure the safety and protection of the students on the campus. They may keep a watch on the situation and seek support of law and order machinery in case of any untoward incident," the UGC letter said. The letter also requested the vice-chancellors "to look into the matter personally for the safely of the students and maintaining peace and harmony in universities/colleges". The letter comes two days after Kashmiri students studying in a college in Yavatmal in Maharashtra were attacked and threatened allegedly by members of Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14 when a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two youths were hacked to death by a group of assailants near Gayatri Puram crossing here, police said Friday. Shivam (20) and Shiv (22) were killed Thursday night when they were returning from a marriage function, they said. Four persons have been detained in this connection and a probe is on in the matter. Police is trying to ascertain the cause of the murder. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Donald Trump is due to meet Friday afternoon with China's top trade negotiator, as talks continue to try to defuse the escalation of the tariff war between the world's economic superpowers. The fourth round of talks have been underway all week, with senior officials meeting Thursday and Friday as Trump's threat to more than double tariffs on USD 200 billion in Chinese goods on March 1 looms over the discussions. The White House said Trump would meet with China's Vice Premier Liu He, who is leading the delegation from Beijing. China's President Xi Jinping also met with US negotiators last week in Beijing, a sign the two leaders are closely following the high-stakes talks. Trump has signalled he could extend the March 1 deadline and said any final agreement likely would be sealed at a meeting with Xi. Since July, the countries have hit out with tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade, weighing on the manufacturing sectors in both countries and raising fears this could worsen a slowdown in the global economy. Washington has demanded deep structural changes from Beijing to halt the theft of American technology, as well as the massive subsidies and the advantages granted to state-owned enterprises. But analysts have said that will be tough for Chinese leaders to go along with and they are more likely to offer instead to buy huge amounts of US goods to reduce the trade surplus -- a politically sensitive issue for Trump who views the trade imbalance as stealing from the United States. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is leading the US negotiating team, which also includes Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tripura Assembly Friday unanimously passed a motion condemning the terror attack at Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir that left 40 CRPF personnel on February 14. Senior MLA Ashish Kumar Saha, who was officiating as Speaker in the House, proposed the motion saying the Assembly condemns the "hateful and cowardly" attack by Pakistan based terror group Jaish-e-Muhammad. "The most dangerous terror attack in Kashmir valley was carried out on Srinagar-Jammu Highway in Avantipura of Pulwama district in Jammu & Kashmir on February 14, 2019. The attack was executed by a suicide bomber of Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorist group who rammed an explosive laden vehicle into the CRPF convoy," Saha said while reading out the motion. He also mentioned that 40 CRPF jawans lost their lives in the attack which was aided by Pakistan. The motion condoled the deaths of the CRPF personnel. The House unanimously passed the motion and observed silence for two minutes as a mark of respect for the martyrs. Earlier on the day, Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki, during his inaugural address in the budget session of House, asked the members to condemn the "dastardly act by anti-national forces". "I am sure this House would agree with me to condemn this dastardly act by anti-national forces," Solanki said. All members of the House including Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and opposition leader Manik Sarkar were present at the House when the motion was being placed. However, Speaker Rebati Mohan Das was not present after the governor's address. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The much-awaited trial against former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh will commence on April 3 as the veteran Congress leader Friday claimed innocence before a Delhi court and decided to contest the disproportionate assets case of over Rs 10 crore lodged by CBI. Special CBI Judge Arun Bhardwaj fixed three dates -- April 3, 4 and 5 -- when the CBI will start recording statements of the witnesses in the case. "Today, the case is listed for recording plea of the accused no 1, Virbhadra Singh and accused no 3 Anand Chauhan to the charge framed against them pursuant to order passed on December 10, 2018," the court said. Charges have been read over and explained to the accused to which they pleaded not guilty and claimed trial, it said. During the hearing, Singh and his wife, who were present in the court, moved a plea seeking permanent exemption from appearing in the court during the trial of the case. The court asked CBI to file its reply on their plea before the next date of hearing. In a separate case filed by the Enforcement Directorate, the agency filed third supplementary charge sheet against Singh in a money laundering case. The court said it would take up the matter on March 18. ED's supplementary charge sheet was filed through advocates Nitesh Rana and N K Matta. The court had on December 10 last year ordered framing of charges against Singh for alleged criminal misconduct and amassing disproportionate assets of over Rs 10 crore, saying he intended to cause loss to the tax authorities by presenting unaccounted money as sale proceeds of apples. Apart from the two offences under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, the court had said that prima facie charges of alleged forgery and attempt to cheat under the IPC were also made out against the 82-year-old Congress leader and former Union minister. The court had also ordered framing of charges against his wife, Pratibha Singh, and seven others for allegedly abetting in the offences. After formal framing of charges, the court commences trial in the case. The other seven accused are LIC agent Anand Chauhan, Chunni Lal Chauhan, Joginder Singh Ghalta, Prem Raj, Vakamulla Chandrasekhar, Lawan Kumar Roach and Ram Prakash Bhatia. The court in its 105 page order said that Virbhadra Singh and Anand Chauhan "fraudulently and dishonestly" signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) by ante-dating it to give an impression that it was signed on June 15, 2008 by them. "They knew that MoU was not made, signed or executed by them on June 15, 2008. They prepared and signed this MoU with the intention of causing it to be believed that this MoU was made by them on June 15, 2008.. "The investigation of CBI has shown that this MoU was ante-dated. Therefore, they can be said to have made a false document," the court said. It had added that since the document was made for showing unaccounted money as sale proceeds of apples, they were liable to be charged for the offence of forgery. "Resultantly, Virbhadra Singh is liable to be charged under section 13 (2) (misconduct) read with Section 13 (1) (e)(amassing disproportionate assets) of PC Act. "Since an attempt was also made to cheat the Income Tax authorities using a false document i.e. ante-dated MoU to procure favourable Income Tax assessment order, Virbhadra Singh is also liable to be charged under section 511 (attempt) of IPC read with section 420 (cheating) of IPC," the court had said. The punishment for the offences of criminal misconduct and disproportionate assets under the PC Act range between one to seven years jail term, forgery under IPC entails a maximum of two years imprisonment and the offence of cheating could lead to a maximum sentence of seven years. On the role of his wife, the court had said there was "grave suspicion" that she committed the offence of abetment under the IPC. Advocate Tarannum Cheema, representing Virbhadra Singh, had argued that no prior consent of the Himachal Pradesh government was taken for carrying out investigation in the state. Dealing with the argument, the court had said that the Delhi High Court in October this year had held that for registration of case in a state other than in a Union Territory, the consent of that state government was required. "No consent is required for investigation in another State, if the case is registered in Delhi," the special court said referring to the high court decision. CBI had registered the case against Singh and others for allegedly amassing assets worth around Rs 10 crore disproportionate to their known source of income when he was the Union Minister in the UPA government. A charge sheet running into over 500 pages, filed in the court, claims that Singh had amassed assets worth around Rs 10 crore which were disproportionate by 192 per cent of his total income during his tenure as a Union Minister. The final report, filed against nine people for alleged offences punishable under section 109 (abetment) and 465 (punishment for forgery) of IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act, arrayed around 225 witnesses and 442 documents. The matter was transferred by the Supreme Court from the Himachal Pradesh High Court to the Delhi High Court, which on April 6, 2016 had asked the CBI not to arrest Singh and had directed him to join the probe. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior and member Friday donated his three months' salary as an MP to the Army Welfare Fund Battle Casualties. The donation followed the February 14 terror attack at Pulwama in that left 40 CRPF jawans dead. The Army Welfare Fund Battle Casualties account accepts donations for the families of battle casualties. The donations received are utilised to pay financial assistance or grant to widows of the battle casualties, their next of kin and dependents. "As a token of my small contribution towards the welfare of the jawans as well as for the widows and children of the battle casualties, in my personal capacity, I would like to contribute my three months' salary as a MP to the Army Welfare Fund," Banerjee said in a letter to the authorities concerned in the Fort William, headquarters of the Eastern Command. The MP is nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister and the of the party's youth wing. "As a responsible citizen of this nation, I stand united in solidarity with our armed forces in fighting terrorism and in defending the unity and integrity of India," he said. had earlier advocated a legislation to ensure that one member of every household join the armed forces. Banerjee had also said there is need for bullet proof jackets for the jawans instead of bullet trains. Stating that it is time for even MPs and MLAs to inspire their children and grand children so that they join the armed forces, he had said he would inspire his own child to join the forces to serve the nation. (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.) Three men have been arrested for allegedly opening fire in front of the house of a Hindu Yuva Vahini leader here, police said Friday. The three came on a scooter and opened fire in front of the house of Hindu Yuva Vahini divisional president Ambrish Singh Bhola Thursday night at Senpura in the Chowk police station area, they said. The incident created panic among the residents of the colony. Bhola is said to be close to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Adityanath had visited Bhola's house for a wedding ceremony of a family member two months ago. Police said the three men, identified as Vishal Verma, Raj Kumar Gupta and Anil Kumar Jaiswal, all residents of Varanasi, were nabbed on the basis of the CCTV footage and local intelligence inputs. One pistol along with 25 live cartridges and the scooter was recovered from them, they said. They have been booked under IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy), police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray said Friday that the organisation has sacked those who assaulted Kashmiri students in Maharashtra's Yavatmal district in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. The students, studying at Dayabhai Patel Physical Education College, were attacked Wednesday night by members of Yuva Sena, the student wing of the Shiv Sena. "The party has sacked those involved in the act. Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India and no Indian, or for that matter, nobody should face the brunt of anger that is towards terrorism. We understand the angst but it must be against terror, not innocent people," Aditya Thackeray tweeted Friday. A video of the incident had gone viral on social media and a police case was registered. As per one of the victims of the attack, they were asked to say 'Vande Mataram', slapped and abused. The attackers also asked them to vacate their rented accommodations within four days. Yuva Sena secretary Varun Sardesai had said Thursday that the incident was condemnable, and action will be taken against the attackers if they turned out to be Yuva Sena workers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday warned of a new revolt brewing within her otherwise loyal group of party parliamentarians over fears that a chaotic no-deal Brexit is not being ruled out in time for the March 29 deadline for Britain's exit from the European Union (EU). The Brexit Delivery Group, which comprises both pro and anti-Brexit Conservative Party MPs, has warned that they are preparing to back alternatives if May's reworked withdrawal agreement cannot command a House of Commons majority. Co-chairs Andrew Percy and Simon Hart said their group wants the government to take no-deal off the table or they would consider voting against the government and in favour of an amendment to give Parliament the opportunity to delay Brexit and prevent a no-deal situation if there is no agreement with the EU by the middle of March. "A lot of colleagues are becoming very frustrated, a lot of colleagues have compromised from their positions," Percy said, adding that the Conservative Party's hard-Brexiteer group of MPs were refusing to make any compromise. The European Research Group (ERG) of hard-Brexiteers, led by Tory MPs Jacob Rees-Mogg and Steve Baker, insist the "no-deal" option must be preserved as negotiating leverage in Brussels. "Not only does this risk damaging the national interest, but also... we are putting in jeopardy the very thing many colleagues have spent decades campaigning for; our exit from the European Union," the Brexit Delivery Group said in a letter sent to the government's whips in Parliament. Downing Street said "productive" talks in Brussels aimed at addressing the MPs' concerns were continuing "urgently". The latest threat of revolt comes at the end of a week of continuing party turmoil for the British PM with three high-profile anti-Brexit MPs Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen and Sarah Wollaston resigning from the Tory ranks to join a newly-formed Independent Group of MPs by eight Opposition Labour Party defectors. A number of her Cabinet ministers are also believed to be poised to back a delay to the March 29 Brexit deadline by next week unless there is significant progress on the biggest sticking point in the EU negotiations a controversial "backstop" clause in the withdrawal agreement which could be triggered to prevent a hard border between EU member-state Ireland and the UK after Brexit. The Labour Party's own troubles also continue as a ninth party MP, Ian Austin, resigned on Friday blaming party leader Jeremy Corbyn for allowing a culture of "extremism and tolerance" within the ranks. "This is the most difficult decision I've ever had to take but I've taken it because I've become ashamed of the Labour Party," he said. However, the MP for Dudley North said he had no plans to join the new Independent Group of former Labour and Tory MPs. Despite the series of exits from her party, May still commands a working majority in Parliament. The combined total for her ruling Conservative party along with Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) support adds up to 324, while the combined total for all other MPs is 318. However, that parliamentary arithmetic remains precarious with a number of factions unhappy with the government's Brexit strategy. The UK government is hoping that a so-called "meaningful vote" on Brexit could take place by the end of February if talks with the EU go well. If not, MPs would be given a debate over what should happen in relation to Brexit and would vote on an amendable motion by the middle of next week. A majority of MPs are expected to use that opportunity to try to pass a plan that would force the government to hold a vote on extending Article 50 beyond the March 29 deadline if no deal is in place by mid-March. May is set to travel to an EU-Arab League summit in Sharm el Sheikh at Egypt on Sunday to hold further talks with EU leaders, where she will continue her efforts to win key assurances over the controversial "backstop" clause in an attempt to make the withdrawal agreement more acceptable to all sides of the House of Commons. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Expressing The international terror financing watchdog FATF Friday condemned the terror attack that killed 40 jawans and decided to continue the 'Gray' listing of for its failure to stop funding of terrorist groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamat-ud-Dawa. In a statement, the Paris-headquartered Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said should continue to work on implementing its action plan to address its strategic deficiencies, including by adequately demonstrating its proper understanding of the terror financing risks posed by the terrorist groups and conducting supervision on a risk-sensitive basis. "The FATF notes with grave concern and condemns the violent terrorist attack last week that killed at least 40 Indian security forces in in the State of Jammu and Kashmir," it said after the week-long FATF plenary held in Paris. " has revised its TF (terror financing) risk assessment. However, it does not demonstrate a proper understanding of the TF risks posed by Da'esh (ISIS), AL-Qaida, JuD (Jamat-ud-Dawa), FIF (Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation), LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba), JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammad), HQN (Haqqani Network) and persons affiliated with the Taliban," the statement said. Given the limited progress on action plan items due in January 2019, the FATF urged Pakistan to swiftly complete its action plan, particularly those with timelines of May 2019. An Indian official, who attended the FATF plenary, explained that placement in compliance document means putting the country in 'Gray' list and it will be reviewed again in June 2019. In June 2018, Pakistan was placed in the 'Gray' list and given a 27-point action plan by the FATF. This Plan was reviewed as the last Plenary in October 2018 and for the second time in this week-long meeting. The decision has been taken after several rounds of deliberations during the plenary where India submitted new information about Pakistan-based terrorist groups, including Jaish-e-Mohammad, responsible for the attack. The FATF continuing Pakistan with the 'Gray' listing means downgrading of the country by multilateral lenders like IMF, World Bank, ADB, EU and also a reduction in risk rating by Moody's, S&P and Fitch, a security official said. Pakistan was nominated for a detailed review of its "serious deficiencies" in countering terror financing in February 2018. This nomination was supported by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and India, the official said. At the end of this plenary, the FATF has observed that several deficiencies remain in Pakistan's legal regime in dealing with terror financing. Since June 2018, Pakistan has made a high-level political commitment (statement by its Minister of Finance) to work with and address its strategic counter-terrorist financing-related deficiencies. At the start of its deliberations, all members of the FATF observed a minute of silence for the 40 jawans who were killed in a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir. The President of FATF expressed sincere condolences to the people and the Government of India. The FATF currently has 35 members and two regional organisations European Commission and Gulf Cooperation Council. Forty personnel were killed and five injured on February 14 in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying a huge quantity of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district. The FATF also said Pakistan should continue to work on implementing its action plan to address its strategic deficiencies, including by adequately demonstrating its proper understanding of the terror financing risks posed by the terrorist groups and conducting supervision on a risk-sensitive basis, demonstrating that remedial actions and sanctions are applied in cases of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating Financing of Terrorism (CFT) violations and that these actions have an effect on AML/CFT compliance by financial institutions. Pakistan should demonstrate that competent authorities are cooperating and taking action to identify and take enforcement action against illegal money or value transfer services (MVTS), demonstrating that authorities are identifying cash couriers and enforcing controls on the illicit movement of currency and understanding the risk of cash couriers being used for terror financing (TF), improving inter-agency coordination including between provincial and federal authorities on combating TF risks besides others. ANNAPOLIS (February 22, 2019)Creating and selling edible medical cannabis products; allowing inmates to receive medical cannabis treatment; and prohibiting employers from asking about marijuana use could become law in Maryland under bills being pushed in this year's General Assembly. The Senate's Judicial Proceedings Committee is expected to hear 18 bills regarding medical cannabis and marijuana use in the state on Tuesday. While medical cannabis is legal at the state level for patients given approval by the Natalie M. LaPrade Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, which develops policies and regulations on the drug and qualifies patients to receive it as treatment, recreational marijuana is not yet legalized. Committee Chair Sen. Bobby Zirkin, D-Baltimore County, is the lead sponsor on 11 of the 18 bills and told Capital News Service that the objective of pushing so many pieces of legislation is to normalize medical marijuana as medication, as it's still treated as an illicit drug under federal law. Over his years serving in the Maryland legislature, Zirkin told Capital News Service, he's seen medical cannabis help people and wants to take away as many roadblocks to it as he can. Senate bill 857, sponsored by Zirkin, will allow certain dispensaries to acquire, possess and sell food containing medical cannabis to qualifying patients, along with allowing certain processors to distribute and sell to specified dispensaries. However, the development of edible products containing cannabis is very different from dealing with flower, or the smokable part of the cannabis plant, or processed cannabis products, as all food produced or sold in the state is regulated by the Maryland Office of Food Safety, said Joy Strand, executive director of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission. "We're very excited to be able to bring an edibles program to Maryland, but our top focus on any of the products we're doing or regulating is that they're high-quality and safe for patients as a medicinal product," Strand said in a briefing to lawmakers on Jan. 17. The Senate bill was cross-filed with House bill 17, sponsored by Delegate Cheryl Glenn, D-Baltimore. Glenn, whose mother is the namesake of the commission, is a leading sponsor of medical marijuana legislation. A hearing for that bill was cancelled and has not yet been rescheduled. Zirkin, with Sen. Michael Hough, R-Frederick and Carroll, is working to advance legislationSenate bill 97that states that a person can't be denied the right to purchase, possess or carry a firearm solely based on their authorized status as a medical cannabis patient. Current federal laws bar medical cannabis patients from purchasing or possessing firearms under the Federal Gun Control Act, and marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug and is illegal on the federal level. Maryland State Police can ask individuals looking to purchase a gun about their status as medical cannabis patients and can bar patients from completing the transaction, according to the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission website. Zirkin is also sponsoring Senate bill 855, which would allow certain qualified inmates to receive medical cannabis as treatment in state and local correctional facilities. While inmates are eligible for medical care and treatment while incarcerated, medications prescribed to them prior to being placed in detention are not always given to them once locked up. However, Sen. Andrew Serafini, R-Washington, is presenting an opposing billSenate bill 86which would bar possession of marijuana or cannabis on the grounds of a local or state correctional facility, or while a criminal offender is in a home detention program. Serafini's bill clarifies current legislation by stating that civil and criminal penalties can be imposed if an individual violates the law and possesses or uses marijuana or cannabis in any correctional setting. Another bill from Zirkin is Senate bill 863, which would prohibit certain employers from requiring employees or applicants to disclose their use of marijuana and cannabis. However, the bill doesn't prohibit employers from making inquiries or taking other actions otherwise mandated to them by local, state or federal laws, or if applicants or employees were using, possessing or under the influence of marijuana at their place of employment. While medical cannabis is legal for qualified patients and many individuals are aware of its availability, the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission is prohibited from publishing ads for medical cannabis or associated products on radio, television or billboards. Senate bill 859, also sponsored by Zirkin, aims to change advertising laws for medical cannabis to be consistent with federal regulations on prescription drug advertising. The bill will prohibit such advertising from being false or misleading and will be required to state that the product being advertised is only for use by qualifying patients. "If this helps them, why would we hide it from them?" Zirkin asked during a legislative briefing on medical cannabis on Jan. 17. Zirkin's other bills to be heard in the Judicial Proceedings Committee include: Senate bill 854, which says that a covered employee or dependent isn't entitled to workers' compensation or associated benefits if certain accidental personal injury or disease was caused solely by medical cannabis, and includes medical cannabis under the medicines that an employer or insurer must provide to a covered employee in certain situations. Senate bill 858, which would allow higher education institutions to purchase medical cannabis for research projects. Senate bill 860, which prohibits certain individuals from being subject to revocation of mandatory supervision, parole or probation for the use or possession of medical cannabis. Senate bill 861, which repeals several registration requirements for certifying providers and applications for them with the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission. Senate bill 862, which prohibits a landlord from denying patients or caregivers a lease solely based on the possession of medical cannabis. Senate bill 864, which prohibits a party from rescinding a contract with a qualified patient or caregiver based on their medical cannabis status and prohibits discrimination by an employer against a qualified patient or caregiver. Other bills scheduled to be heard in the Judicial Proceedings Committee include: Senate bill 383, sponsored by Sen. Cheryl Kagan, D-Montgomery, which would authorize law enforcement to obtain medical cannabis at no cost for use during training, and requiring that all products containing medical cannabis include a warning against operating a car or other machinery under the influence. Senate bill 418, sponsored by Sen. Robert Cassilly, R-Harford, which would prohibit drivers and occupants of motor vehicles from smoking or consuming marijuana in the passenger area of the vehicle on the highway. Senate bill 426, sponsored by Sen. Chris West, R-Baltimore County, which would require the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission to allow an individual to have an ownership interest in up to six licensed dispensaries. Senate bill 552, sponsored by Sen. Susan Lee, D-Montgomery, would prohibit former employees and commissioners of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission from being an owner, employee, or otherwise related to businesses with licenses given under the approval of the commission. Senate bill 749, sponsored by Sen. Clarence Lam, D-Baltimore and Howard counties, requires dispensaries and agents to label medical cannabis and associated products if they were grown using pesticides, along with requiring the Department of Agriculture to study health impacts of smoked medical cannabis that was grown using pesticides. Senate bill 771, sponsored by Sen. William Smith, D-Montgomery, which substitutes the word "cannabis" for "marijuana" in certain parts of the law, along with altering punishable quantities and establishing age limits and civil offenses involving the use and possession of cannabis. Veteran Telugu film director Kodi Ramakrishna, who gave several hits to Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna and other leading heroes, died here Friday, film industry sources said. Ramakrishna, 69, died due to ill health, the sources said. The funeral would take place on Saturday. Born at Palakollu in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, Ramakrishna made his debut in 1992 with 'Intlo Ramaiah- Veedhilo Krishnaiah' starring Chiranjeevi. He went on to direct more than 100 films in varied genres in a career spanning about three decades. The ace director delivered several blockbusters with Balakrishna, including 'Mangamma gari Manavadu', 'Muddula Mavayya' and 'Muvva Gopaludu'. Ramakrishna's film 'Ankusam' with Rajasekhar in the lead was a big hit. The movie was remade in Hindi as 'Pratibandh' which marked Chiranjeevit's debut in Hindi films. He created a niche for himself with extensive use of special effects, revolving around spiritual and supernatural powers and films, including 'Ammoru', 'Devi', 'Deviputrudu' and 'Anji', were hugely popular. Ramakrishna's 'Arundhati' in which popular south Indian heroine Anushka Shetty played the lead role had catapulted her to super stardom. Ramakrishna also acted in a few films, mainly appearing in brief roles in his movies. Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, Pawan Kalyan and a number of other Telugu film personalities expressed grief on the death and paid tributes to him, recalling his brilliance as a director. "Telugu cinema has lost a legend," popular hero junior NTR said on twitter. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said Ramakrishna's death is a great loss to the Telugu film industry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday lashed out at Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi by whom he has been accused of having spent lavishly on decorating a government bungalow which he vacated last week following a Supreme Court order. Yadav, who had preceded Modi as the deputy cm, taunted the latter for having, in the past, alleged splurge of public money on the official residence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. He dared the BJP leader to make public details of the enormous expenditure involved in expansion of the CM house after it was vacated by his mother Rabri Devi. When Modi was in the opposition, he used to go about issuing statements accusing Kumar of spending conspicuously on decorating the CMs residence. After returning to power through back door, he is now training his guns at me, Yadav who is the leader of the opposition in the state assembly told reporters. The RJD heir apparent was allotted 5, Deshratna Marg, adjacent to 1, Anne Marg where the chief minister lives, after he became deputy cm in November, 2015. After he lost the chair on account of Kumar walking out of the Grand Alliance and returning to the BJP-led NDA, in July 2017, Yadav continued to occupy the sprawling bungalow challenging the state governments order to vacate before the Patna High Court and later the supreme court. Modi, who moved into the bungalow on Tuesday last, has alleged wasteful expenditure of public money by Yadav who also held the building construction portfolio while in power in equipping the bungalow with 7-star facilities. I challenge Modi to get an RTI filed seeking information like how much increase has there been in the area of the CMs residence since Rabri Devi and Lalu Prasad moved out of the house. How many adjoining bungalows have been subsumed into the CMs residence and how many new buildings have been constructed inside the vast compound should also be shared, he said. I would also like to point out that when I vacated 5, Deshratna Marg, I did not touch a single fitting or fixture but left behind many of my personal belongings for use by those who occupy the house after me. Unlike many BJP leaders who made sure that even brooms lying inside their ministerial bungalows were picked up while upon vacating premises, Yadav alleged. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg brought her class-boycott campaign to Paris on Friday, hoping to encourage French students to hit the streets with demands for more ambitious efforts to combat global warming. The Friday protests that the 16-year-old Swede launched in August have gained little traction so far in France, where the landmark COP21 international accord on cutting emissions was signed in 2015. After calling on the EU in Brussels on Thursday to move more aggressively on greenhouse gas cuts, the young Swede will hold a press conference in Paris at 1100 GMT. She will then participate in a march in central Paris, one of dozens planned in cities across Europe as part of her Fridays For Future movement. But outside Paris, only two other class-cutting marches have been called, at Beauvais just north of Paris, and in the southwestern city of Dax. Last Friday, only around 200 students protested outside the ministry in Paris. "I don't know why young people mobilise massively in some countries and not others," Thunberg said in an interview published Friday by the Parisien daily. "France, the country of COP21, needs to do what it says it will," she added. Under the 2015 Paris deal to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, the 28-nation EU has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 per cent by 2030, compared to 1990. But Thunberg told an EU conference Thursday that the goal was woefully inadequate, saying an 80 percent reduction was necessary to meet the 2030 goal. "If you think we should be in school instead, we suggest that you take our place in the streets, striking from your work," she said. Thunberg's determined campaign to hold adults accountable for looming climate change consequences has gained global resonance since she began skipping class for weekly Friday protests in Stockholm six months ago. She made global headlines in December with her strong-willed speech at a UN climate meeting in Poland, and last month took her message to the top corporate echelons at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In the last six months, tens of thousands of high school students -- in Sydney, Brussels, Berlin, The Hague, London and other cities -- have followed her lead. On Thursday she joined around 7,500 Belgian student activists who staged a march in Brussels, their seventh such protest. "I think it is very good that the young protest in the streets of Europe to defend the environment," European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said at the conference Thursday, urging adults to join them. But despite her enthusiastic reception, Thunberg said Thursday that she had received little indication that EU leaders were ready to heed her call for faster action. "I didn't hear any concrete promise by political leaders and officials; they only say that they are going to try their best," she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Technology could be a great enabler in the endeavour to enhance the quality of life and dignity, particularly of those who reside in villages and toil on farms, President Ram Nath Kovind said on Friday. Noting that the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, who focused on farming, sanitation, education and sustainable living, were still relevant, he stressed on using new methods to achieve those ideals, in tune with changing times. Kovind was speaking at the 18th anniversary celebrations of Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu's Swarna Bharat Trust in Venkatachalam village in Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. "The ideals of Gandhiji are still relevant and will always remain relevant. However, with the changing times, it is important to renew the methods to achieve those ideals," the President said, adding, "In our endeavour to enhance the quality and dignity of life and work for those who reside in villages and toil on farms, technology can be a great enabler." Asserting that the Swarna Bharat Trust was conceived drawing inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi's 'back to the villages' slogan, Kovind said the Father of the Nation had spoken on the need for developing villages with amenities appropriate for a dignified and simple but prosperous life. "He (Gandhiji) focused on farming, sanitation, education and sustainable living. His ideas and his basic philosophy are still very relevant. Today, we speak about eco-friendly fabric, but over a century ago, Gandhiji was urging people to spin cotton for their personal use," the President said. The success of Swachh Bharat as a national mission, and in achieving the goal of universal availability of modern sanitation, was a tribute to the Father of the Nation on his 150th birth anniversary, he remarked. Praising the Centre's programme of issuing soil health cards, Kovind said it assessed the need for specific nutrients and suitability for crops, and farmers across the country were benefiting from it. "This is only one instance. There are several others. I am glad to learn that the Swarna Bharat Trust too emphasises on the use of science and technology, and innovation in helping rural communities," he said. On the occasion, the President hailed Venkaiah Naidu as a "multifaceted personality and an 'ajatashatru' (one without enemies)". "He is a thinking person and a deeply sensitive human being. The country is thankful to Nellore and to Andhra Pradesh for giving us our popular and well-liked Vice-President. Venkaiahji has done a lot to promote the rich Telugu culture and delicious Andhra food in Delhi," he said. Noting that Naidu had told him the Swarna Bharat Trust was inspired by another exceptional individual Nanaji Deshmukh, the President said Nanaji was a reformist role model. "He renounced the opportunity of high office to help transform rural communities into productive, self-sufficient units. His work in Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh, is an example for the rest of the country," Kovind said. In his address, the Vice-President urged the young generation to devote time, money, resources and ideas for the less-fortunate people. "Go back to our roots, follow our culture, traditions and follow the good deeds of our forefathers. Join the national mainstream with a positive mind in promoting education, eradicating poverty, ending economic disparities," he said. The country was moving forward and becoming one of the largest economies in the world, Naidu said and asserted that development must be inclusive. Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan, state ministers P Narayana, N Amarnatha Reddy, S C Reddy, Visakhapatnam MP Kambhampati Haribabu were amon those who were present on the occasion. Earlier, the President flew to Venkatachalam village, on a special IAF helicopter from Chennai and spent some time at Venkaiah Naidu's ancestral home. Kovind later visited the Akshara School run by Swarna Bharat Trust and interacted with the students and witnessed a few cultural programmes presented by them. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Friday claimed that a systematic effort is on to push Rohingya Muslims into the state by some vested interests and the recent protests against the Citizenship Bill have aided it. Police have arrested 75 Rohingya Muslims recently and most of them were picked up from Hojai, Lumding, Cachar and Karimganj districts, the state finance minister said. Karimganj alone accounted for 30 such arrests in the last one month, he said here. These districts have witnessed demographic change in the past few decades and this could be an effort to further change the demographic pattern of the state, Sarma claimed. "Certain organisations are making concerted efforts to push Rohingya Muslims into Assam and a network has developed to raise donations for them," the BJP leader told reporters. The agitation against the Citizenship Bill has also helped those organisations in their efforts, the minister asserted. The Bill seeks to provide citizenship to minorities of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh after residence in the country for six years instead of the current 11 years. The Bill triggered widespread protests in the Northeast as indigenous people of the region are apprehending that if the Bill is enacted, it will endanger their livelihood and identity. Stating that there is no designated camp for Rohingyas in Assam, he said they were either in judicial custody, or detention camps or were repatriated. Asked if they can stay in Assam with refugee status, he said India does not recognise any such identity granted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and accepts only those granted by the Ministry of Home Affairs. "As such, the question of keeping them in the state does not arise," Sarma said. He said the first Rohingya was arrested in 2009 in Assam and till 2013 there were many cases of detection and apprehension, but from 2013 to 2017, there were no detection. He accused the then Congress government of not making any statement on this outside or inside the Assembly. The minister said 15 people have so far been arrested in Assam for posting anti-India comments on social media platforms in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack of February 14. Altogether 16 cases have been registered across 13 districts of the state, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A deadly car bombing claimed by the Islamic State group hit US-backed forces in east Syria Thursday as they tried to negotiate the release of civilians trapped in the jihadists' last sliver of territory. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are working towards evacuating civilians remaining in the holdout, so they can polish off the dying IS "caliphate" whether through an assault or a surrender deal. The jihadists overran large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014, but several offensives have retaken all but half a square kilometre (a fifth of a square mile) of the territory in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz. A spokesman for the US-led coalition fighting IS said international forces "continue to support the SDF as they negotiate having innocent civilians released" and their captured fighters returned. As the SDF pressed the last IS diehards a car bomb killed 14 oil workers and six of the Kurdish-led alliance's conscripts near the Omar oil field which it uses as its main base in the region, the US-backed group and a monitor said. IS claimed responsibility for the blast on Telegram, saying its fighters had planted and detonated the explosive-laden car. SDF spokesman Adnan Afrin said the explosion in the village of Shheel, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Baghouz, was another example of IS cells attacking its fighters behind the front line. "This is what we've been talking about in the past... about sleeper cells trying to impede our progress in Baghouz," he said. A day after hundreds of people were evacuated from the last IS remnant, more than 50 trucks on Thursday returned near empty from Baghouz to SDF territory, an AFP correspondent said. "We couldn't enter Baghouz," said a man who had accompanied the convoy. "We got to an SDF point and we found around 15 people -- women and children including a French woman and an Egyptian woman. We took them," he said. Thousands of people have escaped IS territory in recent weeks, but the flow slowed to a trickle at the weekend, before Wednesday's first batch of evacuees. Paul Bradley, from the Free Burma Rangers volunteer group, said people fleeing painted a grim picture of life inside. "They showed us this bread that's basically mashed up wheat with water burnt on both sides, $16 a kilo," he said. SDF spokesman Afrin said most of those trucked out on Wednesday were civilians, but they also included IS fighters. On Thursday, the AFP reporter saw hundreds of people waiting in a screening area where the SDF have been questioning new arrivals in recent weeks, to separate out suspected jihadists from the civilians. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said Wednesday that negotiations were being held "for the surrender of the last IS fighters". It said there were "reports of a deal" but the details were unclear. At the height of its rule, IS imposed its brutal ideology on a territory roughly the size of the United Kingdom, attracting thousands of supporters from abroad. But the jihadists have since lost almost all their territory, and hundreds of foreigners suspected of being IS fighters, as well as related women and children, are being held by the SDF. Other foreign members have been killed. A top French jihadist, who voiced an audio recording claiming responsibility for the November 2015 attacks in Paris, was killed in an overnight airstrike, security sources told AFP on Thursday. Fabien Clain, who is believed to have gone to Syria in March 2015, was killed in Baghouz, they said. Across the border, security officials in Iraq said the SDF handed over 130 Iraqi jihadists to Baghdad on Thursday, but SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali denied the claim. Syria's Kurds have long demanded the repatriation of foreigners accused of belonging to IS in their custody, but their home countries have been reluctant. US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was barring a US-born former IS propagandist from returning home from Syria, where the conflict has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since 2011. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that the diplomatic status of the father of Alabama woman Hoda Muthana means she is not a US citizen. It came after a lawyer for the family of a teenager who fled London to join the jihadists when she was 15 said Britain was revoking her citizenship. Shamima Begum, 19, at the weekend gave birth to her third child. Two previous children died at an early age. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Election Commission Friday said there has been a substantial increase in the number of service voters enrolled ahead of the Lok Sabha elections as compared to 2014. A total of 16,62,993 service personnel have been enrolled as Service Electors in the country in the Electoral Roll 2019. In 2014, the corresponding figure was 13,27,627. "Thus, the 2019 ER has recorded a substantial increase on the total number of service voters of 2014. This increase in number of service voters has been due to the commission's all-out efforts to maximise the registration of service electors during summary revision 2019 and active cooperation of the services/departments concerned and greater participation of service personnel," the Election Commission said in a statement. As per the provisions of the law and instructions of the commission, all left-out and unregistered eligible service personnel can still file their applications for registration. Personnel of the armed forces, central armed police forces and state police personnel deployed outside their constituencies are considered as service voters. Diplomats and other support staff serving in embassies are also service voters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) DMK president M K Stalin and top actor Rajinikanth Friday called on DMDK chief Vijayakanth who had recently returned from the US following medical treatment. With negotiations between the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and DMDK over a poll deal for the coming Lok Sabha elections proving inconclusive, the DMK chief's visit at this juncture assumes significance. When asked if he would welcome DMDK into his party alliance, Stalin said "I appreciate and thank you for your good intentions," but did not elaborate. The DMK chief said he did not visit Vijayakanth to discuss politics but to enquire about his health on humanitarian grounds. Days ago, BJP top leader and Tamil Nadu election incharge Piyush Goyal had met with Vijayakanth. Rajinikanth too said he visited Vijayakanth to enquire about his health. "He is a nice man," the top actor said, adding the DMDK chief has recuperated well and "is in good health." The actor, who is expected to launch a political party, said there was absolutely "nothing political," in his visit. While the AIADMK concluded its poll deal with the BJP and PMK by allotting five and seven seats to them respectively on February 19, its talks with DMDK and other smaller outfits are yet to be formalised. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jammu and Srinagar will be brought under mass rapid transport and metro transport setup as the State Administrative Council approved setting up of two corporations, an official spokesman said Friday. The SAC, under the chairmanship of Governor Satya Pal Malik, Thursday approved the proposal for incorporation of two corporations -- Jammu Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Private Limited and Srinagar Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Private Limited -- along with the memorandum of association (MoA) and articles of association (AoA) of these corporations, he said. These corporations, which will be headed by the administrative secretary of Housing and Urban Development Department, will have on its board administrative secretaries of finance and transport, transport commissioner, CEOs of economic reconstruction agencies and metropolitan authorities, and other experts besides nominee of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the spokesman said. The corporations will have chief executive officers to provide requisite leadership. These corporations will be extended arms of the metropolitan authorities (MRDAs), recently constituted by the governor's administration, and will supplement these authorities, especially in areas related to the Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) and the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), the spokesman said. They will initially have share capital of Rs 10 crore divided into 1 crore shares of Rs 10 each which will be subscribed fully by the state government. The authorised capital can be increased or decreased at any later stage depending on needs of the two corporations, the spokesman added. These corporations will be mandated to address the issues of urban mobility in the state in a holistic manner by providing safe, affordable, reliable and sustainable access for the city inhabitants to jobs, education, recreation etc. The corporations will ensure an efficient well-integrated and multi-modal public transport system for enhanced and hassle-free mobility in the cities. They will undertake bus operations in Srinagar and Jammu to address the issues of congestion in the capital cities by inducting 300 to 400 buses each, which will provide a robust and reliable transportation system to the commuters, the spokesman added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A political crisis in Sri Lanka last year led to the slowest economic expansion in 17 years, the central bank said Friday. Growth for 2018 was cut from a forecast above 5.0 per cent to about 3.0 per cent because of damage to the economy from a conflict between the president and prime minister, Central Bank of Sri Lanka governor Indrajith Coomaraswamy said. President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in October and dissolved parliament even though he did not have a majority to back the move. The showdown was only ended by the Supreme Court in December when it held that Sirisena's actions were unconstitutional and illegal. The bank governor said he expected better growth in 2019 as the outflow of foreign capital had reversed. "All in all, we are in a better place this year," he said, warning however that there could be fiscal slippage because the government was likely to offer sweeteners to the people during a presidential election this year. Coomaraswamy noted that Sri Lanka's Supreme Court had demonstrated its independence underscoring that key institutions functioned despite the crisis. "Our systems stood up very well in the last few months," Coomaraswamy told reporters. "But businessmen have concerns about political stability." During the crisis, three international credit rating agencies downgraded the country's debt, making it more expensive to borrow abroad. Sri Lanka had to abandon plans to raise loans abroad. An International Monetary Fund programme was also suspended, though the government has opened talks to revive the three-year USD 1.5 billion bail-out which began in 2016. The 2018 growth compares with 3.1 per cent in 2017 when the country faced the twin effects of a major drought followed by floods that killed more than 210 people. The economy contracted by 1.25 per cent in 2001 after Tamil rebels devastated half a dozen aircraft at the country's international airport dealing a major blow to tourism, a key foreign exchange earner. The economy has been performing well, however, since the end of a decades-long Tamil separatist war in 2009. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ANNAPOLIS (February 22, 2019)Legislation that would increase the minimum hourly wage in Maryland to $15 would mean higher salaries for struggling workers, but may also mean higher prices and companies leaving the state, supporters and opponents told lawmakers this month. House bill 166, or the "Fight for 15", would raise the state minimum wage from $10.10 to $15 an hour by 2023. Lawmakers heard just as much opposition as support for the legislation at a House Committee hearing Feb. 6. Identical legislation, Senate bill 280 sponsored by Sen. Cory McCray, D-Baltimore, was heard on Thursday. Neither piece of legislation has advanced out of committees. Over the past four years, Maryland's minimum wage rose to $10.10 an hour, and it is one of 29 states that have minimum wages above the federally mandated $7.25. However, families are still struggling to pay the costs of basic necessities, said Delegate Diana Fennell, D-Prince George's, sponsor of the bill. Closing the wage wap would allow not just youth, but older workers in the food and health care industries to support themselves without having to work multiple jobs, Fennell said. Democrats are holding out the "Fight for 15" as one of their signature initiatives this legislative session; Republicans, including the governor, are generally opposed. About 150,000 jobs could be lost with higher wages, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said at a press conference on Feb. 7. But supporters said the bill could increase productivity and help people who are forced to work multiple jobs. "Am I paying a living wage?" should not be a question employers are asking, said Ned Atwater, owner of Atwater restaurants in Baltimore, who supports the bill. A message that everyone is valued is conveyed with higher wages, Atwater said. It is the hope and understanding that raising the minimum wage would help individuals be happier, more productive and committed to their jobs, Senate Majority Leader Guy Guzzone, D-Howard, said. Mat Rice has been the employer for an advocacy group run for and by people with developmental disabilities since 2008, but he said he had to sign for one of his employees to get food stamps in 2017. "I never had to do that, that is heartbreaking," said Rice. Raising the minimum wage is a step in the right direction to ensure the developmentally disabled are adequately paid, said Rice. But for Edward Bolton, a small-business owner in St. Mary's County, wage increases would cost him $150,000 annuallymore than his net profits from last year, he said. His three auto parts stores rely on lower-wage employees as delivery drivers, and an increase in salaries would limit part-time positions and the number of vehicles he can own, Bolton told Capital News Service. "Which in turn means the service to my customers suffers," Bolton said. Many minimum wage positions would become much harder for employers to afford, which in turn could make it more difficult for entry-level, younger workers to find jobs, said Laura Toraldo, senior director of communications and digital media at the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. Consumers would be hurt as employers raise prices to afford the rising wages, and businesses could "pack their their bags and move across state lines," Toraldo said. Workers younger than 25 made up nearly half of those paid minimum wage in the U.S., a 2018 study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics found. Raising wages would be detrimental to employees, said John Henderson, owner of an Outback Steakhouse in Ellicott City, Maryland. After the last increase to the minimum wage, prices had to rise too, and the busboy sector of the restaurant had to be let go, Henderson said. Currently, employers can pay workers less if additional money from tips reaches the minimum wage. This "tip credit" would be phased out by 2026 under the bill. Jay Steinmetz, CEO of Barcoding Inc., headquartered in Baltimore, told Capital News Service that his company lost a $50 million contract because their pricing could not compete with companies based in North Carolina. North Carolina has a minimum wage of $7.25, and Maryland's neighboring states do not have a minimum wage higher than $8.75. People who have never run a payroll, workers compensation and unemployment should not be making the laws, Steinmetz said. "We'll move our business" out of Maryland, said Steinmetz. The Congress and AIUDF Friday staged a walkout in Assam Assembly after their demands of an adjournment motion to discuss special powers granted to Assam Rifles was turned down by the Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami. While the state government expressed willingness to discuss the matter through other means, the Congress, AIUDF and AGP stood united in their demand to debate it only via adjournment motion. Three separate adjournment motion were submitted by the Congress, AIUDF and AGP as they felt that the contentious notification giving special powers to Assam Rifles would "violate human rights and bring in military rule". On Thursday, a Ministry of Home Affairs notification empowered Assam Rifles personnel to arrest anyone and search any place without warrant in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram. "It (special powers) will bring military rule and affect freedom of movement, which is given by the Constitution. It is like introducing undeclared emergency," the Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia said while arguing for the motion. The senior Congress leader asked why the notification was issued when the BJP-led government has been claiming that peace prevails in North East. "There is a report which says that out of 100 cases of Assam Rifles, human rights have been violated in 37. It empowers even the lowest rank officer to arrest a person without warrant. It will lead to complete violation of human rights," he added. AGP member Pabindra Deka, who moved the resolution on behalf of his party, said that it is a dangerous and shocking notification, which can "devastate" peoples' lives in the region. "It will violate our fundamental rights. It seems the Centre and Narendra Modi want us to take back to Assam Agitation period of murder and loot by forces. Because of unlimited power given to forces, 855 people were martyred then," he added. The Assam agitation of 1979-1985 was a popular movement against illegal immigrants in Assam. The movement was aimed at urging the Centre to identify and expel illegal, (mostly Bangladeshi), immigrants and protect and provide constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to the indigenous Assamese people. Deka alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched to exploit the North East and doubted if the special power was being granted to the paramilitary force to counter the massive protests against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in recent months. "It is against the interest of the people. Assam government has some duties to do in this regard and clear its position," he said. Advocating Deka's motion, AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam said the people still look back at the emergency period with fear and hope that it never comes back. "There are chances that this notification will be misused and applied to curb various human rights movement going on in the region. It can be used to put an end to the protest against Citizenship Bill or eliminate political opponents," he added. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said the state government are ready to discuss the matter if brought under other means instead of an adjournment motion. "After the Kashmir incident, Army and paramilitary forces have been given special powers. All parties, particularly the Congress, have said that they are with the government. A message should go from the House that we all are united against terrorism," he added. The senior BJP leader also said that the North East shares 4,800 km of international boundary and the terror attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in Jammu and Kashmir showed that some forces are working to destabilize the integrity of India. He also defended the police and security forces saying they cannot be made a subject of adjournment motion as they are engaged in maintaining law and order in the society. Countering him, Saikia asked: "This notification does not include Kashmir, but North East only. Also, does it mean that law and order in the region has broken down and so special power has been given to paramilitary?" Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami appreciated the government and the opposition as both sides were ready to discuss the matter in a positive way. "As both sides want, I can allow a discussion. Also, we have two more days of this Budget Session. The primary objective of the adjournment motion is to draw attention of the government, so as to criticize it. But it is a decision taken by the Centre, not state. How can a state minister take responsibility when it is done by the Centre? So, I am disallowing the adjournment motion," he added. Goswami, however, said that was ready to allow a discussion on the topic if it was brought about by any other means as per the rule. On this, the Congress and AIUDF members objected to the Speaker's ruling and left the House in protest. The AGP members, however, were not part of the walk out. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Green Tribunal has directed the Haryana government to finalise within two months as to what should be the distance of stone crushers from educational institutions in the state. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel asked the Haryana chief secretary to submit the report expeditiously. "We direct the Chief Secretary, Haryana to finalise the matter expeditiously within two months from today and furnish a report to this tribunal by e-mail at ngt.filing@gmail.com. The distance which may be specified must be based on scientific and rational," the bench said. The directions came while the green panel was hearing a plea moved by the Sardar Patel Jan Chetna Education Society that sought enforcement of an October 31, 2018 NGT order, directing the Director of to take steps and specify the distance of stone crushers from educational institutions. During the hearing, the lawyer appearing for the Haryana government told the NGT that necessary steps are being taken in the matter. The plea had said that there is no prohibition against setting up of stone crushers near educational institutions which results in violation of the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 (as amended in 2017). "According to the applicant, the Mines and Geology Department of the State of Haryana has issued Notification dated September 28, 1992 notifying 'Haryana Regulation and Control of Crusher Rules, 1992'. Rule 3 (5) of the Noise Pollution Rules provides for 100 meters area around educational institutions and hospitals being declared as silence area. "The said distance has been now increased to 250 meters vide Notification dated September 25, 2017. There is also requirement for precautions for protection of forest, water bodies, health treatment units etc. Some of the States have issued notifications laying down distance from educational institutions within which no stone crusher can be set up," the plea had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A six-year-old girl was killed and a boy injured after a portion of a panchayat ghar's ceiling collapsed during a wedding ceremony in Mehmoodpur village here, police said Friday. The deceased, Sunena, died on the spot and the boy, Vikram (9), was admitted to a hospital on Thursday, they said. The boy's condition has been stated as serious. Police said people attending the marriage were staying at the panchayat ghar.The matter is being probed, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union minister Rajen Gohain Friday flagged off a weekly express train from Nagaon in Assam to Tambaram in Tamil Nadu, which will help people of four central Assam districts reach Chennai. The minister of state for railways flagged off the train from Nagaon station, though it will run every week between Silghat Town in Nagaon district and Tambaram in southern Chennai. The Guwahati-Tambaram Express has been extended to run from Silghat Town to provide a direct link from Silghat to Tambaram fulfilling a long standing demand of the people of Central Assam. It will leave from Silghat Town every Friday at 8.30 am to reach Tambaram at 8.50 pm on Sunday. On return journey, the train will leave from Tambaram at 09.45 pm on Monday to reach Silghat Town at 09.45 am on Thursday. Gohain said the people of Nagaon, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong and Sonitpur will not require to go to Guwahati for availing a train to visit Chennai. The train will also help tourists visit the Kaziranga National Park, famed for its one-horned rhinos, as they can now get down at Jakhalabandha which is a short distance from Kaziranga, he said. Stating that efforts are on to remove all bottlenecks in railway operations in the state, the minister said four manned level crossing gates in Hojai-Habaipur section will soon be replaced with road over bridges or limited height subways to improve punctuality and increase the safety aspect. Double lining of the entire route from Bongaigaon to Lumding has been sanctioned and similar work for Lumding-Hojai section is almost complete, he added. He assured the people that more trains will run from Nagaon to places like Mumbai and Delhi, and after completion of the development work of Silghat Town, more long distance trains will start from there. Silghat station is being developed as a terminal station and recently a direct train to Kolkata was flagged off from there. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A shutdown was observed in Lal Chowk city centre and adjoining areas here on Friday as a mark of protest against the attacks on Kashmiri people in Jammu and outside the state in the aftermath of the Pulwama suicide car bombing. Shopkeepers in Lal Chowk, Maisuma, Residency Road and other adjoining areas downed their shutters at 3:30 pm following a shutdown called by trade bodies and civil society organisations of the valley. The traders also took out a protest march to condemn the attacks on Kashmiri people in Jammu and outside the state. They demanded safety of Kashmiri traders and students outside the valley. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Slamming the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala over the Sabarimala issue, BJP chief Amit Shah Friday said the state government has been "cheating" crores of Ayyappa devotees and denying them justice. This would only result in "unsettling the foundation of the communist party in the state," Shah said addressing party workers here. Over 2,000 devotees were put behind bars and cases were registered against 30,000 people during the Sabarimala protests, the BJP president said as he attacked the left government. "The LDF government has been cheating crores of Sabarimala devotees in the country. I would like to remind you that this will result in unsettling the foundation of the communist party," he said. Kerala had been rocked by protests after the state government decided to implement the Supreme Court's September 28 verdict allowing women of all age groups to offer prayers at the hill shrine. "The LDF government has been stating that they were bound by the Supreme Court verdict. However, the top court has also said that no loudspeakers can be used in mosques. From how many mosques have you removed the loudspeakers. Have you implemented that Supreme Court verdict?" Shah asked. "The atheist communists have tried to deny justice to the believers," Shah said. While Sangh Parivar organisations had toiled hard to protect the Sabarimala traditions and faith of the devotees, the BJP leader alleged that the LDF government had deputed 1,500 Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) activists, CPI(M)'s youth wing, to Sabarimala in the garb of police personnel. The government tried to destroy the temple rituals, he alleged. "We warn the Pinarayi Vijayan government that unless you stop persecution of Ayyappa devotees, your party will face the same fate of that in West Bengal and Tripura," Shah said. He also asked the BJP, NSS, BDJS (Bharat Dharma Jana Sena) and other similar outfits to fight shoulder to shoulder to oust the "atheist" government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Rajasthan government has removed the Jaipur Jail Superintendent and the deputy jailor following the killing of a Pakistani prisoner by fellow inmates even as security of Pakistani prisoners lodged in various jails of the state has been enhanced following the incident. At present, there are 16 Pakistani prisoners, five each in Jaipur and Bikaner, two in Jodhpur, three in Sriganganagar and one in Kota Jail. Pakistani prisoners remain in separate barracks and security arrangements have been enhanced further, NRK Reddy, Director General- Jail, said. The 50-year-old Pakistani prisoner Shakrullah was killed on Wednesday in the TV room of the jail after a brawl with other inmates over the choice of channel to watch. In a related development, Jaipur Jail Superintendent Sanjay Yadav and deputy jailor Jagdish Sharma have been removed and put under APO (awaiting posting orders). Rakesh Mohan Sharma has been posted as the jail superintendent. Warder of ward 10 Ramswaroop and head warder Bhaiyanath Sharma were suspended. The action was taken on Wednesday night after the incident, according to IG-Jail Rupinder Sharma. A case has been registered with Lalkothi Police Station against four jail inmates - Ajit, Manoj, Kulvendra and Bhajan Meena - under section 302 (murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of IPC Meanwhile, there has been no response from the Pakistan High commission for claiming the body of Shakrullah, which has been kept at SMS Hospital after post-mortem. I have received no communication from the high commission so far. We will wait for instructions from the government for the disposal of the body if there is no response from the high commission, Rajiva Swaroop, Additional Chief Secretary- Home, said. Shakrullah was lodged in the Jaipur Central Jail since 2011 and was serving life imprisonment after he was convicted in 2017 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He was arrested for running a module to radicalise local youths with support and guidance of Pakistan-based handlers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court Friday listed before a new bench the plea of a former woman judicial officer seeking reinstatement after having resigned following an inquiry into her allegations of sexual harassment against a sitting high court judge. The top court referred the matter to a new bench after a three-judge bench of Justices A K Sikri, S A Nazeer and M R Shah, which had been dealing with the plea, recused itself Thursday from further hearing in view of their suggestion asking the Madhya Pradesh High Court to re-consider its earlier order not to take back the judicial officer back in service. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi took note of the submission of senior advocate Indira Jaising, the counsel for the former judicial officer, that the case to assigned to other bench. "On mentioning, the matter is taken on Board. List the matter on March 1, 2019 before the bench presided over by Justice S A Bobde," said the bench, also comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna. A bench headed by Justice Sikri, on February 13, had requested the "Full Court of the High Court to reconsider the matter" and made clear that its order was passed without prejudice to the rights and contentions of both the parties. The Madhya Pradesh High Court yesterday informed it that the "Full Court of the High Court after reconsideration has also decided to stand by its earlier decision" of not taking the officer back in service. While recusing itself, the bench had said: "This bench feels that having regard to the nature of the order passed on February 13, this bench should not deal with the matter on merits now. "This decision is taken notwithstanding the statement of the senior counsel appearing on both sides that they have full faith and trust in this Bench. The matter be listed before another bench, subject to the orders of the Chief Justice of India." The apex court had also quizzed the High Court official as to why a woman judicial officer, seeking reinstatement after having resigned following inquiry into her allegations of sexual harassment against a sitting high court judge, was not allowed to meet the then Chief Justice. It had said that the high court will have to explain the circumstances in which the trial judge was transferred to Sidhi from Gwalior on the ground of pendency of cases as the Judges Inquiry Committee (JIC) have opined that it was not the valid ground. Earlier, a motion of impeachment had been admitted against the high court judge after 58 members of the Rajya Sabha supported the woman's case. However, the report of the panel comprising Supreme Court judge R Banumathi, Justice Manjula Chellur (then Bombay High Court judge) and jurist K K Venugopal (now Attorney General for India) gave clean chit to the high court judge was tabled before the Rajya Sabha on December 15, 2017. The woman moved the apex court seeking that the administrative order of January 11, 2013, passed by the high court, dismissing her application for reinstatement into the state Higher Judicial Services, should be set aside. In her plea, the former trial judge said that her fundamental rights granted under the Constitution for employment, to work and to carry on her profession need to be secured. She said that high court had ignored the categorical finding in the report of the JIC dated December 15, 2017 terming the petitioner's resignation dated July 15, 2014 from her post of Additional District Judge as "unbearable circumstances having no other option". The plea has said that Madhya Pradesh High Court had dismissed her application "without assigning any valid reasons for the rejection and in utter disregard of the findings of fact arrived by the Judges Inquiry Committee in its report". "After the inquiry proceedings conducted against the respondent judge on three charges relating to sexual harassment, consequent victimisation and transfer of the petitioner, the JIC held that the charges were not proved and hence cleared him of all charges," the petition has said. It, however, said the JIC took note of the arbitrary and sudden transfer of the petitioner from Gwalior to Sidhi which was done "in complete violation of the transfer policy, not on administrative exigencies and concluded that the transfer of the petitioner was in violation of the transfer Policy - punitive, irregular, unjustified, arbitrary and hurried". The woman in her plea has added that the JIC had opined that "the petitioner be reinstated in service since her resignation was tendered under coercion". The woman trial judge was transferred to Sidhi from Gwalior which she termed as "illegal", "unjust" and "punitive transfer" as their was no vacancy in Sidhi nor any administrative exigencies. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court Friday directed the Chief Secretaries and DGPs of 11 states to take "prompt" action to prevent incidents of "threat, assault and social boycott" of Kashmiris, including students, in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack. Seeking a response from states where incidents of threat and violence against Kashmiris were reported, a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also directed that the police officers, who were earlier appointed as nodal officers to deal with lynching incidents, would now be responsible to deal with cases of assaults on Kashmiris. The states whose authorities were directed to take necessary action were Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand. The direction also covered the Delhi Police commissioner. The bench asked the Union Home Ministry to give wide publicity so that Kashmiri people who are being targeted can approach the nodal officers. "The chief secretaries, the DGPs and the Delhi Police Commissioner are directed to take prompt and necessary action to prevent the incidents of threat, assault, social boycott etc against Kashmiris and other minorities," the bench also comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna said. The court was hearing a plea of Tariq Adeeb, a lawyer, seeking a direction to the Centre and the states to prevent incidents of assaults, threats and social boycott of Kashmiris in the wake of the Pulwama attack on February 14 in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah welcomed the Supreme Court directive. Abdullah, a top leader of the National Conference, said he was grateful to the Supreme Court for doing what the government at the Centre should have done. "Grateful to the Hon Supreme Court of India for doing what our elected leadership in Delhi should have been doing. The union HRD minister was busy living in denial & a Governor was busy issuing threats. Thank goodness the Hon SC stepped in," Abdullah said in a tweet. Mehbooba, the chief of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), said she is relieved at the court order. "Relieved about the SC order to ensure Kashmiri students based outside J&K are not harassed or face social boycott. Shameful that the honourable judiciary took decisive action where others conveniently turned a blind eye," she wrote on Twitter. Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves appearing for the petitioner in the apex court claimed that at the outset, 10 more incidents of assaults have taken place in various states after filing of the petition and necessary directions be issued urgently to stop them. Attorney General (AG) KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, said the ministry had issued the requisite advisory to states and Union territories (UTs) on this issue on February 17. "The Centre has already issued advisory to all states and UTs on February 17 but we can't tell the states about their specific actions that can be taken in such cases because law and order is a state subject," the AG said. Taking note of the submission, the bench referred to its earlier decision by which it had asked the states and union territories to appoint a senior police officer as nodal officer in each district to deal with cases of mob violence. It said the police officers will deal with the incidents pertaining to Kashmiris and other minorities in these states in the wake of the Pulwama attack. The bench has now listed the matter for further hearing next Wednesday. The plea sought a direction to the Centre and other authorities for prosecuting people engaging in hate speech, and to appoint a nodal officer in every state and union territory, including politically-sensitive districts, to prevent acts of violence, discrimination and vigilantism. It also sought immediate setting up of a nationwide helpline number and a website containing contact details of the nodal officers appointed in politically-sensitive districts. "There is a sudden rise in the incidents of crimes against Muslims and Kashmiris after the Pulwama terrorist attack....Immediately after the attack, mobs and vigilante groups engaged in vitriolic hate speech and began attacking, and threatening Muslims and Kashmiris throughout the country," the petition claimed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Friday sought a response from states where incidents of threat and violence against Kashmiris were reported following the and directed their chief secretaries and DGPs to take "prompt" and necessary action. The chief secretaries and director generals of police (DGPs) of Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Meghalaya, West Bengal, and Uttarakhand, and the commissioner have been directed by the apex court to prevent incidents of "threat, assault and social boycott" of Kashmiris, including students. A bench headed by also directed that the police officers, who were earlier appointed as nodal officers to deal with lynching incidents, would now be responsible to deal with cases of assaults on Kashmiris. The bench asked the Union Home Ministry to give wide publicity so that Kashmiri people after facing such incidents can approach the nodal officers. "The chief secretaries, the DGPs and the Commissioner are directed to take prompt and necessary action to prevent the incidents of threat, assault, social boycott etc against Kahsmiris and other minorities," the bench also comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna said. The bench was hearing a plea of Tariq Adeeb seeking a direction to the Centre and the states to prevent incidents of assaults, threats and social boycott of Kashmiris in the wake of the in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves appearing for the petitioner claimed that at the outset, 10 more incidents of assaults have taken place in various states after filing of the petition and necessary directions be issued urgently to stop them. (AG) KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre said the ministry had issued the requisite advisory to states and Union territories (UTs) on this issue on February 17. "The Centre has already issued advisory to all states and UTs on February 17 but we can't tell the states about their specific actions that can be taken in such cases because law and order is a state subject," the AG said. Taking note of the submission, the bench referred to its earlier decision by which it had asked the states and union territories to appoint a senior police officer as nodal officer in each district to deal with the cases of mob violence. It said the police officers will deal with the incidents pertaining to Kashmiris and other minorities in these states in the wake of the recent terror strike. The bench has now listed the matter for further hearing on next Wednesday. The plea had sought a direction to the Centre and other authorities for prosecuting people engaging in hate speech, and to appoint a nodal officer in every state and union territory, including politically-sensitive districts, to prevent acts of violence, discrimination and vigilantism. It had also sought immediate setting up of a nationwide helpline number and a website containing contact details of the nodal officers appointed in politically-sensitive districts. "There is a sudden rise in the incidents of crimes against Muslims and Kashmiris after the Pulwama terrorist attack on February 14 in which over 40 soldiers were killed... Immediately after the attack, mobs and vigilante groups engaged in vitriolic hate speech and began attacking, and threatening Muslims and Kashmiris throughout the country, the petition had said. "These incidents are a part of organised hate campaign against Muslims and Kashmiri, most cases which are fabricated and the hysteria that now surrounds has been engineered to gain political mileage "The extremist groups have led vigilante mob attacks across the country to enforce nationalism by leaders of various groups who claim to promote and instigated hate crimes, "the petition had said. Brandon Lovell Jackson, 31 Brandon Scott Collier, 20 Cordell Tyrone Sollers, 33 David Glenn Therres, Jr., 39 Denzel Akeem Watkins, 25 Deon Lamont Jones, 28 Jason Eric Dobson, 42 Karen Walls Wingfield, 64 Leon Paul Noland, 55 Maggie Jean Williams, 34 Malcom Shawn Folwer, 41 Mark Scott Hurley, 27 Michael Raymond Culligan, 61 Nicholas Doerk, 22 Ronald De'Ageo Murray, 22 Ronald Lee Russey Thyes, 19 Ryan Ford Gallagher, 41 Shane Edward Stickley, 32 William Eugene Estep Jr., 71 Previous Next PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at so.md/expungeme. (February 22, 2019)The Calvert County Sheriff's Office released the following incident and arrest reports.SEX OFFENDER SCAM: The sheriff's office would like to alert the community regarding the latest phone Scam targeting registered sex offenders. The Scam begins with a telephone call to citizens who are Registered Sex Offenders. The caller identifies himself as a law enforcement Officer. The fictitious Officer informs the victim that they are in violation of the sex offender registry and are required to pay a fine in lieu of jail. As the conversation progresses, the caller asks the victim for personal information and for the victim to wire money to pay the fine. Please remind your family and friends that no legitimate government or law enforcement official will randomly contact you by phone, ask for personal information and require you to wire money to suspicious bank accounts. The sheriff's office is advising residents to hang up on these callers and not to follow their instructions.DAMAGED PROPERTY: 19-5935: On January 29, Deputy Shrawder responded to St. Leonard Road in St. Leonard for the report of damaged property. The complainant advised an unknown suspect(s) scratched the passenger's side of the front bumper of her vehicle.DAMAGED PROPERTY: 19-6420: On February 1, Deputy Bowlan responded to Buckler drive in Lusby for the report of damaged property. The complainant advised sometime during the overnight hours, an unknown suspect(s) burned some siding on the back of her home. The approximate value of damaged property is valued at $100.DAMAGED PROPERTY: 19-6453: On February 1, Deputy Freeland responded to Catalina Drive for the report of damaged property. The victim stated they heard a few loud "pops" and saw a vehicle with an unknown suspect inside holding a paintball gun. The victim stated that they walked to their shed and noticed yellow paint on the shed with a broken paintball laying on the ground. The estimated value of damaged property is $50.DAMAGED PROPERTY: 19-6588: On February 2nd, Deputy Naughton responded to Chick-Fil-A in Prince Frederick for the report of damaged property. The victim stated sometime between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. an unknown suspect(s) shattered the front passenger side window of their vehicle causing a spider-web pattern. The estimated value of damaged property is $300.THEFT: 19-5667: On January 28, Deputy Naecker responded to the Walmart in Dunkirk for the report of a possible shoplifter. The complainant advised they observed two suspects attempting to leave the store without paying for a computer which was valued at $600. Once the suspect(s) realized they were being watched, they dropped the computer inside Walmart and fled the scene in a red colored vehicle.THEFT: 19-5889: On January 29, Deputy Boerum responded to Bayside Road in Huntingtown for the report of a theft. The victim stated that an unknown suspect(s) stole his Maryland registration tag from his vehicle.BURGLARY: 19-8965: On February 14, Deputy R. Evans responded to Sixes Rd in Prince Frederick for the report of a Burglary that had already occurred. The victim stated that sometime during the overnight hours of February 13, an unknown suspect(s) entered the business and stole a Stihl Chainsaw and an Echo leaf blower. The approximate value of stolen items is $700.On January 29, Deputy Buckler responded to Old Bayside Road in Chesapeake Beach for the report of a theft. The victim advised the suspected person was currently sleeping in their basement. Deputy Buckler and Lt. Naughton made contact with, who was advised that he needed to leave the residence. While making entry into the bedroom, they detected a strong odor of marijuana. The marijuana was confiscated and they exited the residence. While outside, Doerk admitted to stealing several tools from the victim that were located in his vehicle. A probable cause search of Doerk's vehicle also yielded a bottle of methadone that was not prescribed to him. A search of his person revealed two glass containers of THC wax. The tools were returned to the victim and Doerk was placed under arrest and transported to the Calvert County Detention Center where he was charged with Theft: $100 to under $1,500 and CDS: Possession- Not marijuana.On January 31, Deputy Kreps was exiting the District Court in Prince Frederick when he was contacted by a bailiff to help identify possible contraband located on a suspect identified as. After speaking to the bailiff's, Stickley attempted to conceal a small rolled up piece of aluminum foil tucked in his waistband which was detected by the magnetometer. Upon examination of this piece of foil, Deputy Kreps counted 18 pills identified as Quetiapine Fumerate. Also located inside this foil was a small piece of cellophane which contained 6 white pills, identified as Zubsolv. Deputy Kreps placed Stickley under arrest and transported him to the Calvert County Detention Center where he was charged with CDS: Possession- Not Marijuana and CDS: Possession of Paraphernalia.On January 31, Deputy Crum was dispatched to the Wawa in Dunkirk for the report of a theft in progress. The complainant advised they witnessed the suspect,, shove items in her clothing and retreat to the women's restroom. Deputy Crum arrived on location and advised Williams she needed to exit the restroom, at which point she did. The complainant then entered the restroom and located several items that Williams attempted to steal but disposed of in another stall. Williams emptied her pockets which revealed glass tubed shaped containers which contained suspected cocaine. Deputy Crum then escorted Williams outside of Wawa and made contact with the passenger of the vehicle she arrived in., was seen disposing items out of the car window. Deputy Crum heard a solid item hit the pavement next to the vehicle and recovered a metal pipe with burn marks on the end. Dobson was subsequently arrested for CDS: Possession of Paraphernalia and transported to the Calvert County Detention Center. A search of Williams' person revealed a total of 12 clear glass tubes with suspected cocaine residue and one clear plastic pill capsule with suspected cocaine residue. Williams was arrested and charged with CDS: Possession of Paraphernalia then transported to the Calvert County Detention Center.On February 2nd, Deputy Sampson conducted a traffic stop in the area of Dares Beach Road and North Solomons Island Rd. The driver, identified as, indicated that he did not have a registration sticker because his tag was stolen a few days prior. Noland and the passenger, who was later identified as, were asked to step out of the vehicle while a K9 scan was conducted which resulted in a positive alert. The Calvert County Control Center advised Noland had an active warrant through another county. A search of the vehicle revealed suspected cocaine residue inside of an Altoid tin which was located Wingfield's purse. Other contraband located inside the vehicle included a glass jar containing dried mint infused with suspected PCP, a pill bottle with dried mint which also emitted the odor of PCP when opened, (3) smaller glass viles with suspected PCP residue, one eye dropper with suspected PCP residue, a plastic screwdriver that contained suspected PCP on the handle, and several other small viles containing suspected PCP. Noland and Wingfield were both placed under arrest and transported to the Calvert County Detention Center where they were charged with CDS: Possession- Not Marijuana and CDS: Possession- Paraphernalia.On February 4, Deputy Gott conducted a traffic stop in the area of Route 4 and Dowell Road in Lusby. The driver, identified as, nervously handed Deputy Gott an open container of warm beer, to which the contents were poured out. A short time later, Deputy Childress and his K9 partner Flip conducted a scan on the outside perimeter of the vehicle which resulted in a positive alert. Gallagher was later found to be in possession of an opened Zubsolv package and stated that it was not prescribed to him. A search of the vehicle revealed a prescription bottle that contained one half of a white pill identified as Zubsolv and two unopened packets of Zubsolv. The prescription bottle found did not belong to Gallagher. Gallagher was arrested and transported to the Calvert County Detention Center where he was charged with CDS: Possession- Not Marijuana.On February 5, Deputy Pounsberry responded to Silverton Lane in Chesapeake Beach for the report of a burglary in progress. The Calvert Control Center advised the subject was. Upon arrival, Deputy Pounsberry observed Jackson's vehicle leave the area. An investigative stop was conducted on Jackson's vehicle and at that point he admitted that he had disestablished residency from Silverton Lane several weeks prior. Witnesses stated Jackson was seen attempting to gain entry into the residence by tugging on the back door and screaming at the individuals inside. Jackson proceeded to rip the screen door off the hinges and threw several pieces of deck furniture causing damage. Jackson was arrested and transported to the Calvert County Detention Center where he was charged with Malicious Destruction of Property less than $1,000.On February 5, Deputy Crum conducted a traffic stop located at Apple Way and Route 4 in Dunkirk. While making contact with the driver,, Deputy Crum could detect an odor of Marijuana emitting from the vehicle. A search of the vehicle revealed (3) clear plastic containers of suspected Marijuana in the amount of less than ten grams and a metal bowl tip pipe with black burnt residue. While searching throughout the vehicle a very strong chemical odor was emitting from the trunk. A search of the trunk revealed a wrapper containing a wet, brown filtered cigarette inside with suspected PCP. Estep was placed under arrest and transported to the Calvert County Detention Center where he was charged with CDS: Possession- Not Marijuana and CDS: Possession Paraphernalia.On February 5, Deputy Parks responded to Saint John Vianney Catholic Church for the report of a theft. The complainant advised they were contacted by their bank who stated a suspect, later identified as, had attempted to cash two checks totaling $120 but was unsuccessful. Deputy Parks canvassed the area in attempt to locate Russey-Thyes at which point he was located a short time later near KFC in Prince Frederick. Russey-Thyes was placed under arrest and transported to the Calvert County Detention Center where he was charged with Theft $100 to under $1,500.On February 6, Deputy Gilmore responded to the North Beach Town Center Senior Apartments for a trespassing complaint. The complex manager told responding deputies that the suspect, identified as, had been evicted from his apartment earlier in the day and was told by Deputy Jacobs he was not to return to the complex. At approximately 4 p.m. Culligan was observed entering the front door of the apartment complex in attempt to gain access to the building. Culligan was placed under arrest and transported to the Calvert County Detention Center. After processing Culligan for trespassing, Deputy Gilmore was contacted by a Sergeant at the Detention Center and advised they located a cut straw with suspected cocaine which resulted in an additional charge of CDS: Possession Paraphernalia.On February 8, Deputy Pounsberry conducted a traffic stop located Old Town Road and South Solomons Island Rd in Huntingtown. Upon making contact with the driver,, Deputy Pounsberry could observe in plain view, a clear bag crumpled in the center console, a cut straw with a powdery residue around it, and a roll of US Currency. Jones was asked to exit the vehicle, where a clear capsule containing suspected heroin was located in the driver seat. A further search of the vehicle revealed a clear capsule with suspected heroin and an opened capsule of suspected heroin. The Sheriff's Office advised the vehicle was not registered, that the registration belonged to another car and the vehicle did not have insurance coverage. The Calvert Control Center advised that Jones was on supervised release and his license was suspended. Jones was placed under arrest and transported to the Calvert County Detention Center where he was charged with CDS: Possession not Marijuana and CDS: Possession of Paraphernalia.On February 9, Deputy Crum conducted a traffic stop located at Route 4 and Chaneyville Road in Owings. The driver, identified as, was found to be operating the vehicle under a suspended license and was issued the proper citations. A consent to search the vehicle was given at that time, where Deputy Crum located a backpack containing suspected Marijuana above 10 grams and a round scale. The passenger, later identified as, had provided a false name upon request to Deputy Crum. The Calvert Control Center advised that Brandon Collier had a warrant from Virginia for Failure to Appear. Murray and Collier were both transported to the Calvert County Detention Center where they were both charged with CDS: Possession with Intent to Distribute, CDS: Possession of Marijuana 10 grams or more and CDS: Paraphernalia.On February 10, at approximately 12:51a.m. members of the Calvert County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to a residence in Lusby, Maryland for the report of a drive by shooting. The suspect in this case was named by the caller and a lookout was given for the suspect and the vehicle he was operating. Once on scene responding deputies located several gunshot holes in the front of the residence. Detective Livingston responded to the scene and began conducting his investigation. The victim walked Det. Livingston to her bedroom where he located a bullet lodged in a closet door. The victim's were interviewed and after obtaining statements from them Det. Livingston was able to confirm the suspect was. Calvert County Sheriff's Office patrol units responded to James Gross' address at approximately 4:56 a.m. and placed him under arrest for his involvement in the shooting incident. James Gross was processed accordingly and awaited his appearance before a District Court Commissioner.On February 11, Deputy E. Payne conducted a traffic stop in the area of Dalrymple Road and Ray Road in Sunderland. While speaking with the driver,, DFC V. Evans observed marijuana stems and flakes on the passenger side floorboard. DFC Evans retrieved his K9 partner, Ceaser, for a scan of the vehicle which resulted in a positive alert. DFC Sampson and Deputy E. Payne conducted a search of the vehicle where they located a bag containing 632.5 grams of suspected marijuana, suspected Psilocybin also known as "mushrooms," an electronic scale, and two prescription bottles with a white powdery, dusty residue. Hurley also was found to have over $2,500 in cash on his person. Hurley was placed under arrest and transported to the Calvert County Detention Center where he was charged with CDS: Possession- Not Marijuana, CDS: Possession Paraphernalia, and CDS: Possession with Intent to Distribute.On February 11, Deputy Bowlan responded to a check welfare in the area of Commanche Rd and Alamo Rd in Lusby. Deputy Bowlan observed an occupant asleep in the driver seat with the car in drive and his foot on the brake. Calvert Emergency Communications advised the registration to the vehicle was suspended and the driver,, had an active arrest warrant. Sollers was immediately detained and a search of the vehicle revealed a small clear plastic bag containing suspected crack cocaine, a round orange pill, and a red and white cut straw. Sollers was arrested and transported to the Calvert County Detention Center where he was served his warrant and also charged with CDS: Possession- Not Marijuana and CDS: Possession of Paraphernalia.On February 12, Deputy Barger responded to a hit and run that occurred at S/B Route 4 and Sweetwater Rd in Lusby. The victim was following the suspect and led Deputy Barger in the area of Tomahawk Trail W where the vehicle fled. With the help of Deputy Bowlan, they were able to locate the driver, identified as. Calvert Emergency Communications advised the registration from the suspect vehicle was registered to a different vehicle and stated Watkins also had a suspended license. A strong odor of raw marijuana was emanating from the vehicle. A search of the vehicle revealed a blue pill identified as Clonazepam and a slightly burnt copper brillo pad. A search of Watkins' person revealed a prescription bottle filled with 68 Tramadol, 23.5 Clonazepam, one penicillin and 10 aspirin. Deputy Barger was also able to locate an additional Clonazepam and suspected marijuana less than 10 grams. Watkins was placed under arrest and transported to the Calvert County Detention Center where he was charged with multiple traffic citations as well as CDS: Possession with intent to distribute narcotics, CDS: Possession- Not Marijuana, CDS: Possession Paraphernalia.On February 15, Deputy Sampson assisted Deputy E. Payne on a traffic stop that was being conducted at Kirksville Lane in Dunkirk. Deputy E. Payne had already made contact with the occupants,, and, and placed them into custody. A search of the vehicle revealed a glass crack pipe, a green cut straw with white residue, and a pill bottle containing urine. A purse was located within the vehicle which contained a large pill bottle with (7) Hysingla ER pills and a partial strip of suspected Suboxone. Fowler and Heefner were arrested and transported to the Calvert County Detention Center where they were charged with CDS: Possession- Not Marijuana, CDS: Possession Paraphernalia, and Alter Drug/Alcohol Test.On February 16, a lookout was broadcasted for a possible impaired driver near Broomes Island Rd headed toward Route 4. The vehicle was reported to have struck several mailboxes and almost struck a vehicle head on. The suspect vehicle also ran a red light and jumped the center median curb across Route 4 at Broomes Island Road. Deputy Wilson was in the area and was able to locate the suspected vehicle, which had 3 flat tires and a cracked windshield. The driver, identified as, was observed to have droopy eyes and his movements were slow and sluggish. Standardized Field Sobriety tests were conducted and Therres was believed to be under the influence of a drug and unable to safely operate a motor vehicle. Therres was placed under arrest at which time Deputy Wilson conducted a search of his person and located an orange in color pill identified as Amphetamine Dextroamphetamine. Therres was transported to the Calvert County Detention Center where he was charged with CDS: Possession- Not Marijuana and several other traffic citations. The Supreme Court Friday directed chief secretaries and DGPs of states and UTs to take "prompt" and "necessary" action to prevent incidents of threat, social boycott and violence against Kashmiris following the Pulwama terror attack. It also sought responses from the Centre and 11 states where incidents of threat and violence against Kashmiris have taken place after the February 14 terror attack in which over 40 CRPF personnel were killed. "The Chief Secretaries, the DGPs of all states and Union Territories (UTs) including the Commissioner of Police, Delhi are directed to take prompt and necessary action to prevent incidents of assault, threat, social boycott and such other egregious acts against Kashmiris including students enrolled with the institutions in the respondent states and the UTs and other minorities in the wake of the terrorist attack of February 14," said a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna. The bench perused the list of top police officers, who have been appointed as nodal officers in state and UTs and said their details be given wide publicity by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) so that Kashmiris can approach them in case of "assault, intimidation and threat". It said the Nodal Officers, in addition those who may have already been appointed by Jammu and Kashmir, as per the list placed by the AG before this court, "would take necessary steps to prevent acts of violence, discrimination and other coercive acts against Kashmiris". Details like name, address, telephone numbers, and email id of these officers should be given wide publicity by the Ministry of Home Affairs in all the states, "for prompt and timely action", the court said in its order. The bench perused the advisories issued by the MHA to the chief secretaries and DGPs of all states and UTs from time to time and said, "the advisories of the kind already issued be reiterated". It also directed that the police officers, who were appointed as nodal officers to deal with cow vigilantism and lynching incidents, would now be responsible for dealing with the cases of assaults on Kashmiris. Besides the Centre, top officials of Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Delhi have been directed to prevent incidents of "threat, assault and social boycott" of Kashmiris, including students. The court was hearing the plea of Tariq Adeeb, a lawyer, alleging that students from Kashmir are being attacked at different educational institutions across the country after the Pulwama attack and authorities concerned should be directed to take action to stop such assaults. At the outset, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for Adeeb, claimed that 10 more incidents of assaults have taken place in various states after filing of the petition and necessary directions be issued urgently to stop them. He said that some fresh incidents against Kasmiris have taken place in Punjab and Maharashtra and urged the court to make these two states also parties, which was allowed. "The plea was filed in respect of nine states. But since I mentioned it yesterday and until today, 10 additional incidents have come to light, some in two new states of Punjab and Maharashtra,", Gonsalves said. On being asked as to what relief was being sought for, the senior lawyer said tha he wanted a similar order which was passed in mob lynching cases and senior police officers be appointed as nodal officers to deal with such incidents against Kasmiris. AG KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre said the ministry has issued the requisite advisory to states and UTs on this issue on February 16 and earlier also, such advisories had been issued. "Nodal officers have been appointed in all states and UTs and there names and numbers are available. This list was last updated in 2018.The Centre has already issued advisory to all states and UTs on February 17 but we can't tell the states about their specific actions that can be taken in such cases because law and order is a state subject," he said. Taking note of submissions, the bench referred to earlier orders in cases of cow vigilantism and mob violence by which it had asked the states and UTs to appoint a senior police officer as nodal officer in each state to deal with such cases. The bench has now listed the matter for hearing on Wednesday when "further orders" would be passed. The PIL has sought a direction to the Centre and other authorities for prosecuting people engaging in hate speech, and to appoint a nodal officer in every state and Union Territory, including politically-sensitive districts, to prevent acts of violence, discrimination and vigilantism. It had also sought immediate setting up of a nationwide helpline number and a web-site containing contact details of the nodal officers appointed in politically-sensitive districts. "There is a sudden rise in the incidents of crimes against Muslims and Kashmiris after the Pulwama attack in which over 40 soldiers were killed... Immediately after the attack, mobs and vigilante groups engaged in vitriolic hate speech and began attacking, and threatening Muslims and Kashmiris throughout the country, the petition said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court Friday directed chief secretaries and DGPs of 11 states to take "prompt" and "necessary" action to prevent incidents of threat, social boycott and violence against Kashmiris following the Pulwama terror attack. It also sought responses from the Centre and the states where incidents of threat and violence against Kashmiris have taken place after the February 14 terror attack in which over 40 CRPF personnel were killed. "The chief secretaries, the DGPs and the Delhi Police Commissioner are directed to take prompt and necessary action to prevent all the incidents of threat, assault, social boycott and other coercive acts against Kahsmiris and other minorities in the aftermath of the terrorist attack of February 14," said a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna. The bench perused the advisories issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to the chief secretaries and DGPs of states from time to time and said that they "shall be reiterated from time to time". The court also directed that the police officers, who were earlier appointed as nodal officers to deal with cow vigilantism and lynching incidents, would now be responsible for dealing with the cases of assaults on Kashmiris as well. The bench asked the MHA to give wide publicity to the details regarding the nodal officers so that Kashmiri people can approach such officials in case of "assault, intimidation, social boycott and threat". Besides the Centre, top officials of Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Delhi have been directed to prevent incidents of "threat, assault and social boycott" of Kashmiris, including students. The court was hearing the plea of Tariq Adeeb, a lawyer, alleging that students from Kashmir Valley are being attacked at different educational institutions across the country after the Pulwama terror attack and authorities concerned should be directed to take action to stop such assaults. At the outset, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for Adeeb, claimed that 10 more incidents of assaults have taken place in various states after filing of the petition and necessary directions be issued urgently to stop them. He said that some fresh incidents against Kasmiris have taken place in Punjab and Maharashtra and urged the court to make these two states also parties to the petition, which was allowed by the court. "The petition was filed in respect of nine states. But since I mentioned it yesterday and until today, 10 additional incidents have come to light, some in two new states of Punjab and Maharashtra,", Gonsalves said. On being asked as to what relief was being sought for, the senior lawyer said tha he wanted a similar order which was passed in mob lynching cases and senior police officers be appointed as nodal officers to deal with such incidents against Kasmiris. Attorney General (AG) KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre said the ministry has issued the requisite advisory to states and Union territories (UTs) on this issue on February 17 and earlier also, such advisories had been issued. "Nodal officers have been appointed in all states and UTs and there names and numbers are available. This list was last updated in 2018...The Centre has already issued advisory to all states and UTs on February 17 but we can't tell the states about their specific actions that can be taken in such cases because law and order is a state subject," he said. Taking note of the submission, the bench referred to its earlier decisions in the cases of cow vigilantism and mob violence by which it had asked the states and union territories to appoint a senior police officer as nodal officer in each district to deal with such cases. The bench has now listed the matter for further hearing on next Wednesday. The PIL has sought a direction to the Centre and other authorities for prosecuting people engaging in hate speech, and to appoint a nodal officer in every state and union territory, including politically-sensitive districts, to prevent acts of violence, discrimination and vigilantism. It had also sought immediate setting up of a nationwide helpline number and a web-site containing contact details of the nodal officers appointed in politically-sensitive districts. "There is a sudden rise in the incidents of crimes against Muslims and Kashmiris after the Pulwama terrorist attack on February 14 in which over 40 soldiers were killed... Immediately after the attack, mobs and vigilante groups engaged in vitriolic hate speech and began attacking, and threatening Muslims and Kashmiris throughout the country, the petition said. "These incidents are a part of organised hate campaign against Muslims and Kashmiri, most cases which are fabricated and the hysteria that now surrounds India has been engineered to gain political mileage "The extremist groups have led vigilante mob attacks across the country to enforce nationalism by leaders of various groups who claim to promote and instigated hate crimes," it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court Friday allowed the teenager accused of killing a seven-year-old boy inside a private school to move the Punjab and Haryana High Court for bail as an adult. A bench of Justices R F Nariman and Vineet Saran said the high court's verdict of October 11 last year will not come in the way of the court deciding the bail application of the accused. At the outset, advocate Sushil Tekriwal, appearing for Barun Chandra Thakur, father of the victim opposed the plea and said that as per the high court's order the Gurugram Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) was to consider afresh whether the teenager should be tried as an adult in the case or not. Only then he can be granted bail in the case, Tekriwal said. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the teenager, said the bail application has already been filed in the high court and is pending. The bench said that it would be appropriate if the high court decide the application for bail of the teenager treating him as an adult and as per the law. On November 19 last year, the apex court had ordered status quo on the proceedings before the JJB which was to consider afresh whether a teenager accused should be tried as an adult in the case. The JJB, was directed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on October 11, last year to decide afresh in six weeks whether the teenager was to be tried as an adult in the case. The father of the victim had challenged the high court's October 11, 2018, order on the ground that it was illegal and contrary to established procedure of the law. The high court had allowed the petition of the accused, filed in July, challenging the decision of the JJB to try him as an adult in the murder case. The CBI, in a charge sheet, had alleged that the teenager had murdered the student on September 8, 2017 in a bid to get examinations postponed and a scheduled parent-teacher meeting cancelled. The victim's body, with the throat slit, was found in the washroom of the school at the Bhondsi area here. Earlier, the court had barred the media from using the name of the 16-year-old accused in the case and asked it to use fictitious names instead. While the seven-year-old victim was named "Prince" by the court, the juvenile accused was named "Bholu" and the school was referred to as "Vidyalaya". The probe agency had earlier given a clean chit to school bus conductor Ashok Kumar, who was arrested by the Gurgaon Police, saying there was no evidence to prove his involvement in the crime. The CBI had taken up the case from the Gurgaon Police on September 22, 2017 following a nationwide uproar over the gruesome killing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maurizio Sarri says Chelsea would have to sell one of their established wingers in order to satisfy Callum Hudson-Odoi's desire for immediate first-team action. Teenage prospect Hudson-Odoi has grown restless at Stamford Bridge and handed in a January transfer request as offers came in from German champions Bayern Munich. The 18-year-old, who has yet to start a Premier League match, seized a rare opportunity by scoring the Blues' final goal in Thursday's 3-0 Europa League victory over Swedish club Malmo, wrapping up a 5-1 aggregate success. But manager Sarri called for patience, explaining that he would need to allow Pedro, Willian or Eden Hazard to depart to accommodate Hudson-Odoi now. "You need to understand that, in the same position, we have Pedro, Willian and Hazard," said Sarri. "I want to remind you that Callum, with this one (against Malmo), played 14 matches. There isn't in England another 18-year-old player with 14 matches in the first team. So I think that we are using him in the right way at the moment." "If I am at the club and I want Callum to play consistently, I have to sell another winger," he added. "Otherwise the manager is in trouble." The Italian manager has come under increased scrutiny in west London, having dropped to sixth in the league and with some Blues fans joining in with chants for him to be sacked during Monday's FA Cup loss to Manchester United. His team are set to contest Sunday's League Cup final with Manchester City, attempting to avenge a 6-0 humiliation at the Etihad Stadium earlier this month. There were also some jeers when Sarri introduced midfielder Jorginho as a second-half substitute on Thursday. The Italy international, signed in the summer from Sarri's former club Napoli, is regarded by many as embodying his manager's 'Sarri-ball' philosophy, a strategy that has recently failed to produce results and critics feel is one dimensional. "I think in the first 30 minutes (against Malmo) we understood why Jorginho is very important for our team. We were in trouble to exit from our half, on pressing," he said. "I hope that our fans will be able to understand that Jorginho, for us, is really a very important player. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Opposition party SAD Friday rejected the claims of the Congress government that the previous SAD-BJP regime converted about Rs 31,000 crore of cash credit limit gap into long term loan on its last day. "No file after the code of conduct came into effect (during 2017 assembly polls), (was signed). Neither my office, I am quite sure that nor the then CM office took any decision on CCL (after code of conduct was announced), Akali leader Parminder Singh Dhindsa said while addressing media in the press gallery of Punjab Assembly here. Dhindsa was the finance minister in the previous SAD-BJP regime. I do not know why they (Congress) were claiming that the file was signed on the last day (of SAD-BJP tenure) let them give the facts so we should know about it, claimed Dhindsa. In the House, the Finance Minister in his speech while presenting state budget for 2019-20 on February 18 had said, "While the previous government inflicted several wounds on the state's fiscal, the unkindest cut of them all was the conversion of Rs 30,584.11 crore of CCL gap into long-term loan on the last day of the previous government. Earlier, the Congress on numerous occasions had claimed that the SAD-BJP regime had signed file relating to converting CCP gap into long term loan on March 10, 2017, a day before assembly poll results. Notably, the food account or CCL gap arose because of the mismatch between cash credit availed for procuring wheat and paddy and foodgrain stocks in the account books of the state procurement agencies since 2004. The Rs 31,000 crore included Rs 12,000 crore principal and around Rs 19,000 crore interest and Punjab has been paying Rs 3,240 crore interest per annum on it which it has to pay for 20 years. Meanwhile, Dhindsa claimed that his party had always demanded that the government of India should bear this financial burden as well. He claimed that with the conversion of long term loan, the financial burden on state procurement agencies eased and they turned into profits. Significantly, the 15th Finance Commission had notified a committee under the chairmanship of Ramesh Chand, who is member of the commission with representatives from the Ministry of Food and Public distribution and Ministry of Finance, Government of India and Chief Secretary, state government to recommend a time bound resolution to the CCL issue that is plaguing the state's finances. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress government in Punjab faced embarrassment in the Assembly Friday after its MLA Randeep Singh Nabha said that he was not satisfied with state Forest Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot's reply on the money spent on nature parks. During the Question Hour, the Congress legislator from Amloh seat said Dharmasot could not give a reply on the details of the funds spent on the nature parks. "I am sorry to state that the answer was incomplete. The minister was misguiding. I can read the question in Punjabi if he (minister) has some problem in English," Nabha said, taking a swipe at Dharamsot. The minister retorted and said, "I think either he (Nabha) does not understand Punjabi or knows only English. I have answered the question. Now in which language, I should make him understand." Nabha, not satisfied with the reply, even flashed photographs of the Rajiv Gandhi park and claimed it had become a garbage dumping ground. "This park does not figure in the list given by the minister. Why the government was hiding if we do not want to give reply? Let there be a probe," he said. "Rajiv Gandhi ji was the Prime Minister and his son is now our Congress president," he further said. After Dharamsot gave details about the number of nature parks and the amount spent on them, the Congress MLA said he did not get an answer about the money spent on plants, benches, etc in nature parks. The Punjab forest minister then informed the House that when the work on nature parks would be completed, each and every detail about plants, benches, bricks, etc would be provided. In his reply, Dharamsot said a nature park has been developed in Patiala and 10 other parks are being developed in other districts of the state and the expenditure on the same was estimated to Rs 5.78 crore. Earlier, another Congress MLA Gurkirat Singh Kotli claimed that his area had been "discriminated" for a long time when he sought assurance on the repair work of road from Khanna to Barwali and Barwali to Khamano and widening of road from Khanna to Barwali. Replying to the question, Punjab PWD minister Vijayinder Singla said a sum of Rs 4-5 crore would be spent on the widening of road. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Robert Vadra, Congress president Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law, was grilled on Friday for about seven hours as he appeared before the ED for the fifth time in connection with a money-laundering case related to purchase of alleged illegal assets abroad, officials said. Vadra reached the agency's office at Jamnagar House in central Delhi shortly before 11 am and left after 7 pm during which he had a lunch break too, they said. The businessman has been grilled in this case four times in the past, the last being February 20. Officials said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is confronting Vadra with documents and statements of other accused being investigated in the case and his statement is being recorded under section 50 (powers of authorities regarding summons, production of documents and to give evidence) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). During the last session, the businessman had told the investigating officer (IO) of the case that he was not well and hence, the recording of his statement was discontinued, the officials had said. Vadra's appearance before the ED is related to a criminal complaint on allegations of money laundering to purchase assets abroad in an alleged illegal manner. Before Friday's questioning, Vadra has been quizzed by the sleuths of the central probe agency in this case for about 26 hours, over four different days earlier this month. He has been asked by a Delhi court to cooperate in the probe being conducted by the central probe agency. ED's lawyers, during the last hearing in the case on February 16, had told the court that Vadra was "not cooperating and giving evasive replies". His lawyer had denied the charge and said he was ready to come for questioning as and when called. The ED case against Vadra relates to allegations of money laundering in the purchase of a London-based property, located at 12, Bryanston Square and worth 1.9 million pounds, which is allegedly owned by the businessman in a "benami" way. The agency had told the court that it had received information about various new properties in London that belonged to Vadra. These include two houses -- one worth 5 million pounds and the other valued at 4 million pounds -- six flats and other assets. Vadra has denied the allegation of possessing illegal foreign assets and termed it a political witch-hunt against him. He has said he is being "hounded and harassed" to subserve political ends. His first appearance before the ED earlier this month had acquired political overtones after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, his wife and Congress general secretary in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, had accompanied him to the investigating agency's office and picked him up after questioning another time. Vadra had also deposed before the ED twice in Jaipur in connection with another money-laundering case related to an alleged land scam in Bikaner. His mother Maureen Vadra too was questioned by the agency once during the same deposition. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Activists blocked roads and rail lines in Catalonia on Thursday while tens of thousands took to the streets during a region-wide strike against the trial of separatist leaders for their role in a failed 2017 secession attempt. On Thursday evening 40,000 people rallied along one of Barcelona's major avenues, police said, while earlier around 1,000 demonstrators gathered in the central University Square, where the city's oldest university stands. Four people were arrested with 37 people injured in clashes including six police. Called by a small pro-independence union, Intersindical CSC, but without the backing of larger unions, the one-day strike was not widely followed in the northeastern region. Public transport in Barcelona was slower than usual but most shops remained open. Traffic authorities in Catalonia said activists cut off around 20 roads, including the A7 highway that links Spain to France, the A2 between Madrid and Barcelona and the main entry points to the Mediterranean city. Police cleared several of the road blocks and detained two protesters, a spokesman said. Activists also briefly blocked train traffic by occupying the tracks at a station in Barcelona and in other parts of the region, according to the company that manages Spain's rail network. "We're here in solidarity with those who are victims of a trial that just doesn't hold water," said Jaume Sole, a 45-year-old engineer. The Catalan employers' association has denounced the work stoppage as politically motivated. Separatist parties and associations are backing it. They began mobilising last week in solidarity with the Catalan separatist leaders on trial for pushing a secession referendum in October 2017 in defiance of a court ban, and a subsequent short-lived declaration of independence. On Saturday, around 2,00,000 people including regional president Quim Torra protested in central Barcelona, police said, behind a banner that read "self-determination is not a crime." Torra's separatist executive has expressed solidarity with the strike and cancelled all official events planned for Thursday. The trial of the Catalan separatists started on February 12 under intense domestic and foreign scrutiny. It was due to last three months but the court on Wednesday sped up the process to try and finish the trial before snap general elections on April 28. Catalonia's former president Carles Puigdemont, who fled to Belgium soon after the declaration of independence on October 27, 2017, is not among the defendants as Spain doesn't judge people in absentia for major offences. So far, those on trial have defended the peaceful nature of the secession movement. They have justified holding the referendum on a democratic mandate they say they got from voters in Catalonia who handed separatist parties a majority in 2015 polls. This prompted unusually outspoken comments from King Felipe VI on Wednesday who said it was "unacceptable to appeal to a so-called democracy that is above the law." Defendants have also said the proclamation of independence was a mere political declaration without legal effect. On Thursday, Santi Vila, a regional government member at the time, said the referendum was actually "a big political mobilisation" rather than a plebiscite given the Constitutional Court had banned it. "It was about tightening the rope without it breaking," Vila, who faces up to seven years in jail for misuse of public funds and disobedience, told the court. Prosecutors accuse the defendants of implementing a strategy concerted by the regional government, parliament and pro-independence associations to achieve secession outside the law. They accuse nine of them of rebellion, a serious offence that implies a "violent uprising." Prosecutors point for instance to damage made to police cars during a pre-referendum protest on September 20, 2017, or claim separatists used citizens as "human walls" against police dispatched to stop the referendum. Independence supporters and the defendant's lawyers, however, argue there was never any violence. Jordi Sanchez, head of the powerful ANC pro-independence association who was at the protest on September 20 and faces up to 17 years in prison, accused prosecutors of "criminalising and penalising a demonstration. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The railways has come down hard on the Karnataka government for backtracking from its commitment to the Bengaluru suburban railway project and alleged that despite having floated the proposal in 2013, the JDS-Congress dispensation was creating roadblocks, an official statement said. During a meeting in Bengaluru on Friday, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal urged Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to remove such roadblocks, the statement issued by the ministry said. In a letter dated February 8, Chairman of Railway Board V K Yadav had explained to the Karnataka Chief Secretary the stand of railways with regard to the 19 conditions put forth by the state to implement the project. "I am surprised to learn that the state government gave 'in principle' approval to the project subject to as many as 19 conditions on a proposal initiated by the state government in the first place. "It is discouraging to note that the state government has deviated from the original understanding and sought for a much bigger scope of the project and backtracked from its commitment made on various occasions with respect to various aspects of the proposal," Yadav had said in the letter giving point wise remarks on conditions that can be agreed upon and those that can not by the railways. The state government had proposed to expand the suburban railway network from the proposed 161 km to 360 km which was rejected by the railways. The railway minister has conveyed to the CM that the Rs 23,000 crore project for 161 km stretch is expected to be completed in six years from approval by the state government, officials said. The project envisages setting up of 82 stations with 12 interchanges with metro. It also provides connectivity to the airport. The railways has agreed to grant land for the project at very nominal lease basis of Rs 1 per acre, which will reduce the cost of project by about Rs 6,700 crore, nearly by 30 per cent, the minister said, according to the statement. Initially, 161 km of suburban project will be taken up as per feasibility report and later on extension of corridors can be taken up, the minister has said. The issue is likely to be taken up during the next cabinet meeting of the state government scheduled to be held on February 25 and a resolution will be passed on the same. State of the art, air-conditioned EMU (Electrical Multiple Unit) rake is being planned for the suburban corridor which will provide safe and comfortable journey to Bangaloreans. He suggested providing multimodal tickets similar to Mumbai so that people can buy tickets for the suburban rail and metro jointly. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Home Minister Rajnath Singh Friday urged the ASEAN nations and the international community to support India's fight against terrorism. Delivering the valedictory address at the 4th India-ASEAN Expo and Summit here, Singh said an environment of peace and security are prerequisites for trade and commerce to flourish. "This summit must acknowledge the fact and ensure that the soil of any country should not be used for propagating terrorism," he said, appealing to the ASEAN countries and other nations to support India's fight against terrorism. Referring to the "gruesome cowardly" terrorist attack in Pulwama, where 40 CRPF jawans were killed, the home minister said there exists immense potential to strengthen and deepen cooperation in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, violent extremism and radicalisation through information sharing, law enforcement cooperation and capacity building and anti-money laundering and countering terror-financing. Talking on the trade potential between India and the ASEAN nations, Singh said more than half of India's foreign trade now goes to the East. The home minister called for increased people-to-people contact, connectivity and trade ties with the ASEAN nations. "Strengthening India's economic relations with the countries in the East is one of the main objectives of India's 'Act East Policy'," he said. "Our engagement with ASEAN has acquired a new dimension with our Prime Minister's vision to 'Act East'," he added. The home minister underlined that trade and investment is a key aspect of India-ASEAN partnership and, over the past decade, trade and investment relations between India and ASEAN have continued to improve. Total bilateral trade has increased more than threefold from USD 21 billion in 2005-06 to USD 81.33 billion in 2017-18. ASEAN has emerged as the second largest trade partner of India in 2017-18, with a share of 10.58 per cent in India's overall trade, he said. Singh said the government has given boost to infrastructure in the Northeast, India's gateway to the ASEAN. "The Northeast being the major land bridge to ASEAN nations, enhanced connectivity will also ensure the economic integration and development of Northeast region of India. India and Myanmar are also in the process of setting up Border Haats at their respective borders to facilitate trade and people-to-people connect. The ICP (Integrated Check-Post) at Moreh has also been opened in January, 2019," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) COLUMBIA, Md. (, 2019)The bill is titled the Protection of Marylanders' Rights Act of 2019, but it might also be dubbed the Attorney General's Budget Protection Act, since it seeks to keep the governor from underfunding the AG's budget. The legislation is part of the long-running skirmishes between Republican Gov. Larry Hogan and Democrat Attorney General Brian Frosh over what cases the AG should pursue. The bill, SB450, requires the governor to fund the attorney general's office starting in fiscal year 2021 at least at the level appropriated in fiscal year 2018$37.6 million. It also mandates an additional $1.7 million to pursue cases against the federal government and consumer protection, for a total of at least $39.3 million plus any amount the state receives from the settlement of a case in which the attorney general represents the state. Settlements vary, but the Office of the Attorney General estimates they average about $6 million a year. Frosh testified in favor of the bill before the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee Wednesday, along with bill sponsor Sen. Jim Rosapepe,D-Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties. There were no other witnesses for or against the bill. Underfunded by $800,000, legislative analysts say The bill analysis states that the governor's proposed fiscal 2020 budget appropriates $41.8 million in total funds to the office of the attorney general, not including adjustments for statewide personnel actions. The Department of Legislative Services estimates that, despite $6.9 million in growth between fiscal 2018 and 2020, the office's base operations are underfunded by more than $800,000. "The budget shortfall likely means a significant slowdown in hiring," it says. The budget does not include money from settlements. "Those increases in staffing to protect Marylanders' rights were not funded in the governor's budget We couldn't put the additional cops on the beat, additional lawyers in the courtroom," said Rosapepe. Frosh said the bill "ensures the important work of our office will continue." He gave examples of legal battles his office has waged, including "the inhumane separation of families at the border," stopping the drilling for oil and gas off the coast, putting doctors who operate "pill mills" in prison, and suing Volkswagen for environmental damages. He said recoveries in the Consumer Protection Division have exceeded $10 million a year for the past four years in a row. "We achieve outstanding results in the face of budget challenges," he said. He said 8 vacant positions were cut from the budget. "That's how we balance our budget, by holding positions open It cuts $500,000 of general funds from our budget. It's very difficult for us to meet the needs we're obligated, charged, to meet under the law." Rosapepe said the bill would return with amendments. Railways will run a special train for tourists visiting the in Gujarat, five months after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a statement from the ministry said. The train, which will be run under the government's Bharat Darshan scheme, will have a seven-night and eight-day tour package beginning March 4 from Chandigarh, it said. The journey will also cover pilgrimage sites like Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga near Indore, MP, Shirdi Sai Baba Darshan, Trimbakeshwar in Nashik, Maharashtra, and Ghrishneshwar Jyotirlinga in Aurangabad, Priced at Rs 7,560 per person, the tour package has multiple boarding and de-boarding stations viz Chandigarh, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat, Delhi Cantt, Rewari, Alwar and Jaipur, the statement said. "The package has been designed to pay tribute to the Iron Man of India, Shri Train will halt at Vadodara station and passengers will be taken to the by buses," it said. The is situated on the river island called Sadhu Bet in front of the Dam in It is the world's tallest statue at a height of 182 metres. The package includes the train journey in non-AC sleeper class, hall or dormitory accommodation at places of night stay, morning freshen up, road transportation, pure vegetarian meals, sightseeing as per the itinerary by non-AC vehicles, services of tour manager, according to the statement. The 182-metre tall Statue of Unity at Kevadia Colony in district has become a major attraction for the tourists after it was opened to public last year. It had made a collection of Rs 1.26 crore within three days since November 8. By December, the daily footfall had reached 30,000, according to the state government. Congress President Rahul Gandhi Friday offered prayers at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala near here. On his arrival at the temple main entrance, Gandhi was accorded a warm welcome by the hill temple management. After quickly trekking the nearly 10 km-long steep stairway leading to the ancient hill shrine, the Congress chief paid obeisance to the presiding deity of Lord Venkateswara, a temple official told PTI. It took about two hours for Gandhi to reach the sacred hills, the official said. After his spiritual trek from the foot of the hill at Alipiri in Tirupati in the afternoon, the Congress president made a brief halt at a heavily guarded Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams guest house on the hill and later visited the shrine, the official said. After prayers, Gandhi was offered sacred silk cloth, prasadam, and a holy memento, the temple official said. He was in the temple for about 20 minutes. Tight security arrangements were put in place on the hills and all through the route leading to the hill shrine. Later, Rahul Gandhi left the hills to address a rally at Sri Venkateswara University Stadium here. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dubbing Narendra Modi "prime time minister", Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that the prime minister was smiling at a photo shoot in the waters on February 14 when an "ocean of pain filled the country's heart and homes of the martyrs" after the Pulwama attack. In a tweet with the hashtag 'PhotoShootSarkar', Gandhi said the prime minister continued shooting for a film even three hours after the of the Pulwama terror strike came in. At a press conference, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari cited DD footage to claim that the Prime Minister addressed a rally in Uttarakhand at 5:10 pm over phone. "Even after three hours of the of the 40 jawans being martyred in the Pulwama terror strike, the prime time minister continued with a film shooting," the Congress president tweeted in Hindi. "There was an ocean of pain in the country's heart and in the homes of martyrs, and he was smiling and doing a photo shoot in the waters," Gandhi wrote on Twitter and attached four photographs of the prime minister purportedly during the shoot. Hitting back at the Congress for its attack on the Modi government over the Pulwama terror strike, the BJP said some political parties were "not standing with the country" for petty when nations across the world have backed India. On Thursday, the Congress cited media reports to allege that Modi continued shooting for a film in the Corbett National Park on February 14 for "self propagation", and stayed put till the evening despite the attack on a CRPF convoy in south Kashmir's Pulwama district in the afternoon that day. Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, addressing a press conference, also claimed the prime minister continued to "have tea and samosas at seven o'clock at a PWD guest house when every single Indian household didn't eat food (that day)". Tewari said on Friday the prime minister not only addressed a rally in Uttarakhand but continued with a photo shoot at the Corbett National Park in the hours following the terror strike in which 40 CRPF jawans died after a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the paramilitary force's convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. "We want to ask the prime minister what was he doing between 3:10-5:10 pm, when you addressed a public rally in Uttarakhand through mobile phone," Tewari posed. The prime minister addressed the rally and did not speak on Pulwama, he said. "Either the prime minister was completely oblivious, or he was insensitive. Either the prime minister did not know for two hours that a terror attack has taken place or the prime minister knew and was completely nonchalant about it," the Congress leader said. In both situations, the prime minister needs to answer for those two hours, he said, adding that both the scenarios do not auger well for the country. "These leaks, peeks, and squeaks -- source-based reports which pliable journalists lap up these days -- that is not the way the nation states should function," Tewari said, adding, "Mr Prime Minister we will not let you and your government get away by playing with the security of India." He accused the government of trying to "package high-octane jingoism to subterfuge national security failures" and said if the prime minister was "incommunicado" hours after the attack, then it was a matter of grave concern, especially for a nuclear nation, as it could have serious consequences. "We are a nuclear state and if there is a breakdown in communication between the prime minister and his office, it has very portentous implications. That is why, this nation must know from the prime minister... what were you doing between 3:10 pm and 5:10 pm that day?" Tewari said. "If you knew that an attack had taken place in Pulwama, why you did not condemn at 5:10 pm, when you addressed a rally over phone. "And if you did not know for two hours that the heinous Pulwama attack has taken place, then what does it speak about your government? Can there be greater incompetence?" he asked. Tewari also accused the NDA government of being an "exquisite mixture of jingoistic arrogance and strategic ignorance". Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel also attacked the government over the issue, saying it was a matter of grave concern that Prime Minister Modi was "incommunicado at the time of an attack on the nation's sovereignty". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sticking to his charge that the Prime Minister continued his photo shoot after the Pulwama terror strike, Congress president Rahul Gandhi Friday said Narendra Modi should be "ashamed of himself" for not calling it off. Three and a half hours, my friends, three and a half hours he made a movie of himself. Making a movie, smiling and laughing were more important to him than helping the families of those who died," he alleged at a public meeting in this temple town. The charge first made by Gandhi in a tweet Thursday was vehemently denied by the BJP which called it a lie and slammed the Congress for indulging in "petty politics". Gandhi also accused Modi of waiving Rs 3.5 lakh crore loans of powerful businessmen while not writing off the debts of poor farmers. Sounding the poll bugle in the state, he said the Congress would accord special category status to Andhra Pradesh if it was voted to power in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Referring to the Pulwama blast, he said: When 40 of our CRPF jawans are martyred, when their blood is still flowing, the PM of India who calls himself a nationalist, is sitting in a national park, getting a movie made of himself." Continuing his tirade, Gandhi said: "...They dont have enough feeling, enough respect that 40 of our boysmay be I should stop doing this and may be I should try to help them. The PM should be ashamed of his behaviour after our boys were killed." Addressing the meeting as part of the partys "Pratyeka Hoda Bharosa Yatra", he sought to reassure people of Andhra that the special category status would be granted to the state once the Congress comes to power at the Centre. This is our commitment. It is my commitment, commitment of the Congress, commitment of government of India that you will be given SCS. "Modi should be ashamed of not giving people of AP what they deserve, he said, recalling the BJPs promise of granting SCS to the state for 10 years. When the Congress comes to power in Delhi, no force in this world will stop it from giving SCS to AP. It doesnt matter to me whether or not there is a Congress government in AP. The commitment of the PM will be fulfilled, no matter what, he asserted. Stating that the promise was given in 2014 by a person who was now the prime minister, the Congress chief said it was not only his party that would be fulfilling it but the entire nation. Ruling TDP in the state had walked out of the BJP-led NDA and withdrew support to the Modi government last year over the issue of the special category status. On the farm loan waiver, he said Congress implemented its promise in this regard in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgargh within days of coming to power. "We showed from where the money came from" by implementing the loan waiver on which the BJP MPs had expressed scepticism, the Congress chief said. "Modi can forgive Rs 3.5 lakh crore and give loan waivers to the most powerful businessmen in the country but cannot forgive the farmers' loans," he charged. Referring to the alleged scam in the Rafael deal, Gandhi reiterated his charge that Modi gave Rs 30,000 crore to Anil Ambani of Reliance and overlooked public sector HAL. The charge has been rejected by the government and Ambani. AICC general secretary Oommen Chandy, MPs T Subbarami Reddy, K V P Ramachandra Rao, state Congress president N Raghuveera Reddy, former Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and other leaders attended. Earlier in the day, Gandhi offered prayers at the famous Lord Venkateswara temple at nearby Tirumala after quickly trekking the nearly 10 km-long stairway leading to the ancient shrine. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday said the "prime time minister" continued shooting for a film till even three hours after news of the terror strike came in. There was an ocean of pain in the country's hearts and in the homes of martyrs and he was smiling and doing a photoshoot in the waters, Gandhi said on with the hashtag 'PhotoShootSarkar'. "Even after three hours of the news of the 40 jawans being martyred in the terror strike, the prime time minister continued with a film shooting," the tweeted in Hindi. On Thursday, the cited media reports to allege that Modi continued shooting for a film in the Corbett Park on February 14 for "self propagation", and stayed put till the evening despite the attack on a CRPF convoy in south Kashmir's district in the afternoon that day. Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, addressing a press conference, also claimed the prime minister continued to "have tea and samosas at seven o'clock in a PWD guest house when every single Indian household didn't eat (that day)". The war of words between the Congress and the BJP over the Pulwama terror attack escalated on Friday with Rahul Gandhi calling Narendra Modi "prime time minister" for allegedly continuing with a photo shoot when the nation was grappling with pain, while the BJP slammed the opposition party for "indulging in petty politics". In a tweet with the hashtag 'PhotoShootSarkar', Gandhi said the prime minister continued shooting for a film till even three hours after of the Pulwama terror strike came in. Citing media reports, the Congress has alleged that Modi was attending a photo shoot for a film at the Corbett National Park on February 14, and he continued to participate in the shoot even after the terror attack which took place at around 3.10 PM. At a press conference, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari cited DD footage to claim that the prime minister addressed a rally in Uttarakhand at 5:10 pm via phone. He said Modi must tell what he was doing in the initial two hours after the Pulwama terror strike and alleged that he was either "completely oblivious" to the incident or "insensitive". Hitting back at the Congress for its attack, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said some political parties are "not standing with the country" for petty when nations across the world have backed India. Patra dismissed as lies the Congress's claim that Prime Narendra Modi was either "completely oblivious" to the terror strike or "insensitive" as he "continued" with his prior engagements after the attack, and asserted that such lies need not be responded to. The Congress president tweeted: "Even after three hours of the of the 40 jawans being martyred in the Pulwama terror strike, the prime time minister continued with a film shooting." "There was an ocean of pain in the country's heart and in the homes of martyrs, and he (Modi) was smiling while at a photo shoot in the waters," Gandhi wrote on the microblogging site and attached four photographs of the prime minister purportedly showing him during the shoot. The BJP dismissed Gandhi's claim that Modi attended a photo-shoot allegedly hours after the Pulwama attack as "fake news", asserting that photographs were taken in the morning. "Rahul Ji, India is tired of your fake news. Stop sharing photos from that morning to shamelessly mislead the nation. Maybe you knew in advance of the attack but people of India got to know in the evening. Try a better stunt next time, where sacrifice of soldiers isn't involved," the BJP tweeted. Tewari, in his remarks, claimed the prime minister not only addressed the rally but continued with the photo-shoot at the Corbett National Park in the hours following the terror strike in which 40 CRPF jawans died after a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the paramilitary force's convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. The Congress had on Thursday cited media reports to allege that Modi continued shooting for a film in the Corbett National Park on February 14 for "self propagation", and stayed put till evening despite the Pulwama terror attack in the afternoon that day. "We want to ask the prime minister what was he doing between 3:10-5:10 pm, when you address a public rally in Uttarakhand through mobile phone," Tewari said. The prime minister addressed the rally and did not speak on Pulwama, he said. "Either the prime minister was completely oblivious, or he was insensitive. Either the prime minister did not know for two hours that a terror attack has taken place or the prime minister knew and was completely nonchalant about it," the Congress leader said. In both the situations, the prime minister needs to answer for those two hours, he said, adding that both the scenarios do not auger well for the country. Patra, while lashing out at the opposition's attacks on the government over the Pulwama terror attack, referred to the UN Security Council's strong condemnation of the terror attack and naming of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad by the global body to underscore the Modi government's efforts to isolate Pakistan. "On the one hand all countries are standing with India... humanity is standing with us, some political parties for their petty are not standing with the country," Patra said, attacking the Congress. Tweets of Congress leaders, including Tewari and Shashi Tharoor, have become headlines in Pakistan, he said. Tewari accused the government of trying to "package high-octane jingoism to subterfuge national security failures" and said if the prime minister was "incommunicado" hours after the attack then it was matter of grave concern, especially for a nuclear nation, as it could have serious consequences. "We are a nuclear state and if there is a breakdown in communication between the Prime Minister and his office, it has very portentous implications. That is why, this nation must know from the mouth of the Prime Minister...what were you doing between 03:10 pm and 05:10 pm in the afternoon?" he said. "If you knew that an attack had taken place in Pulwama, why you did not condemn at 05:10 pm in the afternoon, when you addressed a rally over a mobile phone. "And if you did not know for two hours that attack as heinous as Pulwama has taken place then what does it speak about your Government? Can there be greater incompetence?" Tewari said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Gurdaspur Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh, who was kidnapped by terrorists hours before the Pathankot attack, has been sentenced to 10 years jail in a rape case by a court here. The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Prem Kumar also gave him a five years sentence in a corruption case and said both the sentences will run concurrently. Singh was investigating a different rape case against the husband of the rape survivor and as an investigating officer often used to visit her house. He raped the woman on the pretext of exonerating her husband, according to the prosecution. The woman had also alleged that Singh demanded Rs 50,000 to hush up the proceedings against her husband. Police traced mobile phone calls of Singh and concluded that he was regularly in touch with the woman, the prosecution said. Singh went missing for months and was suspended from service. He was declared a 'proclaimed offender' after his bail plea was rejected by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The cases of rape and corruption were registered against Singh after the rape survivor's husband filed an online complaint with then Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, District Attorney Salwan Singh Bajwa said. The former SP surrendered in the Gurdaspur court on April 20, 2017. Singh's counsel Harbhajan Singh Hayer said the order will be challenged in the high court. The local court has also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Singh. After the verdict came on Thursday, Singh was sent to the Amritsar Central Jail as Gurdaspur Jail authorities refused to keep him for security reasons. Singh shot into limelight after he was allegedly kidnapped by four terrorists, hours before the Pathankot airbase attack of January 2016. The NIA had initially suspected his involvement in providing logistical support to the terrorists but later gave him a clean chit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana K P Singh Friday said he will seek legal opinion on the resignation of Dakha MLA H S Phoolka as it was not in proper format. He was responding to SAD-BJP members, who sought to know the status of legislators who have resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), during the Zero Hour of the ongoing Budget session. SAD and BJP MLAs, led by Bikram Singh Majithia and Parminder Singh Dhindsa, sought to know the clear status of resignations of Phoolka and Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira. Phoolka, former leader of opposition in Punjab Assembly, had tendered his resignation as Dakha MLA in October 2018 over the alleged "inaction" by the state government on Justice Ranjit Singh Commission report on sacrilege incidents. The Supreme Court lawyer had quit the AAP last month. Khaira had also resigned from the AAP and floated his own party last month. Singh said he was going beyond the rules in replying to the query by Akalis. He said Phoolka was told that his resignation was not in the proper format. "But he insisted that his resignation was as per format. So I am going to send it for legal opinion," the Speaker said. On Khaira's resignation, Singh said two to three registered letters for sending a notice to the Bolath MLA's address, seeking his response, were not received. "We will now publish the notice and after that we will act as per law," the Speaker said. Not satisfied with the Speaker's reply, Majithia pointed out that when three AAP leaders, including MLA Master Baldev Singh, had resigned from the primary membership of the party, then how they could continue to be members of the House. "There is a complete misuse of government funds as they continue to get government vehicles, salary and TA/DA," Majithia said. Singh asked the protesting Shiromani Akali Dal members to approach the court if they were not satisfied. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttar Pradesh MLA Dhirendra Singh, who represents Jewar assembly constituency in Gautam Buddh Nagar, Friday donated his one-month salary in aid to the families of soldiers killed in the Pulwama terror attack. Singh said he met UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at his 5 Kalidas Marg residence in Lucknow where he handed over to him a cheque of Rs 1.25 lakh. "It includes my one-month salary and other allowances as a member of the legislative assembly," he told PTI over the phone. Condemning the attack, the BJP MLA said several government agencies, private organisations and individuals have come forward in solidarity with the families of the 40 Central Reserved Police Force (CRPF) soldiers killed in the February 14 suicide bombing. "To the same effect, it was decided on February 18 that all MLAs in Uttar Pradesh will contribute their one-month salary to support the families of the soldiers," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the wake of the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF jawans, the Railway administration has stepped up security across its network, especially in the Mumbai metropolitan region, officials said on Friday. Railway officials said although there was no specific intelligence input, security agencies have been put on high alert for the safety of passengers. "Following instructions from the Railway Board, the apex body of the Indian Railway, security has been stepped up across its network, especially in Mumbai," officials said. "In view of the Pulwama attack and with general elections round the corner, the railway authorities in Mumbai have got instructions from the Railway Board to stay alert," they added. According to them, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has advised not only the railways, but also other authorities, including local police, to keep a strict vigil at airports, cinema halls, malls and other public places. Mumbai is the headquarter of the Central Railway (CR) and the Western Railway (WR). Over 70 lakh people use suburban trains for their daily commute in the metropolis. A senior Railway Protection Force (RPF) official said they have tightened the security at the stations following general instructions from the higher authorities. K K Ashraf, senior divisional security commissioner of Mumbai division of the CR said, "Security has been enhanced in the wake of Pulwama terror attack. We have issued advisories to all the units to stay alert and keep a vigil." "We have deployed maximum number of personnel at the platforms and stations. Our men in civil dress are keeping a watch on people. Starting yesterday, combing operation is carried out in the morning and evening peak hours as a precautionary measure," he said. "There is no specific intelligence input, but we are following the general instructions for the safety of our passengers," Ashraf added. A senior WR official said security agencies have been put on high alert. "WR teams are keeping a watch on the stations through CCTV cameras and conducting mock drills. Long distance trains, especially the Delhi-bound ones, are being checked with sniffer dogs and bomb detection squads," the official said. When contacted, WR chief spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar said orders have been given for conducting special security checks at the stations with high footfalls. Passengers were also being urged to inform the security agencies if they spot any suspicious movement or person and baggage lying unattended at the stations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Arthur "Art" C. Farrington Jr., 70, of Owings, MD passed away peacefully surrounded by love on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at Calvert Health Medical Center. Art was born in Syracuse, NY on January 29, 1949 to the late Arthur and Frances Farrington. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Donna [Pitts] Farrington, and his daughters Betty Goldstein and her husband Scott, and Wendy White; sisters Patricia Fiorini and Kristen Mulcahy; brothers Ronald Farrington and Mark Farrington; granddaughters Jessica Levine and Sandra Goldstein; grandsons Gabriel White and Tristen White; and stepmother Jacqueline Farrington. He was preceded in death by his parents, daughter Sandra Farrington, and sister Sheila Lynch. Art grew up in Liverpool, NY, where he attended Liverpool High School. He enlisted in the Air Force in June 1968 and after 15 years was selected for the Airman Education and Commissioning Program. Art attended the University of Maryland University College earning a degree in Computer Science, was commissioned as a First Lieutenant shortly thereafter, and served honorably for 25 years. After retirement, Art and Donna made their home in Maryland, where he continued serving the Air Force as a civilian employee for another 16 years. In his free time Art enjoyed reading, bowling, fishing, "tinkering" around the house, playing pinochle and poker, interacting on Facebook, especially on the Friends of Liverpool group, and spending time with family and friends. Visitation for family and friends will be held on Monday, February 25, 2019, at Lee Funeral Home Calvert, 8200 Jennifer Lane, Owings, Maryland, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, February 26, 2019, at Lee Funeral Home, Calvert, at 10:00 a.m. There will be a private internment following the Funeral Service. Art will be laid to rest beside his daughter Sandra Farrington. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Georgetown Brain Bank. Use the following web address: https://neurology.georgetown.edu/research/georgetownbrainbank. Donations can be made by following the information within the red box on the website. Donations are tax deductible. Extra years were added to Art's life through the dedication and knowledge of the doctors at Georgetown University Hospital as he experienced a rare brain illness the last five years of his life. The Trump administration will leave 200 US troops in to act as a "small peacekeeping group", the White House has announced following President Donald Trump's order for a "full" withdrawal of the American military from the war-torn country. The White House announced the decision on Thursday after Trump spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the phone. "A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in for a period of time," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement after the call between the two leaders. In December, Trump abruptly declared victory against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and and announced that the more than 2,000 US troops in Syria would be withdrawn immediately. The president ordered staff to execute the "full" and "rapid" withdrawal of US military from Syria, declaring that the US had defeated ISIS. The administration has since changed its timeline and said that it will seek a withdrawal of most troops by the end of April. Trump's surprise decision prompted the resignation of former Defense Secretary James Mattis and the president has since received strong pushback from lawmakers who worry the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Kurdish forces who helped in the fight against ISIS would be threatened by Turkey without US protection. According a White House readout of the call, the two leaders underscored the importance of the bilateral relationship and discussed a number of issues including Syria and trade. "On Syria, the two Presidents agreed to continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone," the White House said. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Joseph Dunford will be hosting their Turkish counterparts in Washington this week for further talks. Senator Lindsay Graham praised Trump for his decision to leave 200 American troops in Syria as part of an stabilising force. "This will ensure ISIS does not return and Iran does not fill the vacuum that would have been left if we completely withdrew. This also ensures Turkey and SDF elements that helped us defeat ISIS will not go into conflict," Graham said. Currently, the US has some 2,000 troops in Syria. The US troop withdrawal has left America's Kurdish allies vulnerable to an attack from Turkey. Ankara views the Kurdish forces as terrorists aligned with insurgents inside Turkey. Last month, Trump threatened to "devastate" Turkey economically if the NATO-allied nation attacks US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria following the US pullout and also urged the Kurds not to "provoke" Ankara. Ground troops first arrived in Syria in autumn 2015 when then-President Barack Obama sent in a small number of special forces to train and advise YPG fighters. A peaceful uprising against the president of Syria President Bashar al-Assad seven years ago turned into a full-scale civil war. The conflict has left more than 350,000 people dead, devastated cities and drawn in other countries. : President Ramnath Kovind Friday participated in the 18th anniversary celebrations of Swarna Bharat Trust here, a non-governmental organisation launched by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu. He witnessed a few cultural programmes presented by students. Started in Nellore, Venkaiah Naidu's native district in the year 2000, the Trust has now spread its activities to Vijayawada and Hyderabad. It works mostly in the area of rural development with thrust on healthcare, farmers' welfare, women empowerment and skill development among youth. Earlier, the President flew down to Venkatachalam village, the native place of Venkaiah Naidu, in a special IAF helicopter from Chennai. After spending some time in the Vice-President's ancestral home, Kovind visited Akshara School run by Swarna Bharat Trust and interacted with the students. Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan, state ministers P Narayana, N Amarnath Reddy, S C Reddy, SPS Nellore district Collector R Mutyala Raju and others received the President and the First Lady on their arrival from Chennai. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The police have dropped sedition charges slapped against 14 Aligarh Muslim University after the recent protests on the campus, citing lack of evidence. The students were booked for sedition after Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) district president Mukesh Lodhi alleged he was assaulted by some students who chanted pro-Pakistan slogans, police said. Senior Superintendent of Police Akash Kulhari said Friday the charges were dropped three days back as there is no evidence to support them. He said there is no videographic proof or any other evidence to support the claim that anti-India or pro-Pakistan slogans were raised by these boys during the clash between two student groups at University Circle on February 12". The clashes appeared to have been triggered by reports that AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi was visiting the campus. Bharatiya Janata Party youth wing BJYM had demanded that the reported visit should be banned. There was also an altercation between some AMU students and a television crew that had come to cover the anticipated visit, which never took place. Meanwhile, the police raided a house in Noida Friday, looking for Kashmiri student Basin Hilal over a tweet mocking the security forces after the Pulwama terror attack. They failed to find the student who has already been suspended by the AMU authorities. A case under section IPC 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups) had been registered against him. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Days after inking a poll pact with the ruling AIADMK, Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S Ramadoss Friday hosted a dinner at his farm house near here for Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his Cabinet colleagues. The PMK chief had his first meeting with the ruling party top brass after the agreement and discussed poll preparations over dinner at his Thailapuram residence, about 135 km from here, PMK sources said. AIADMK signed a poll deal on February 19 with the PMK allocating to the latter seven Lok Sabha seats and one Rajya Sabha nomination in the current year. Besides Palaniswami, AIADMK coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, ministers including P Thangamani, S P Velumani, C Ve Shanmugam and K P Anabalagan were present at the sprawling farm house. When the Chief Minister and his deputy arrived along with their Cabinet colleagues, they were accorded a warm reception by Ramadoss and his son Anbumani, who is the Dharmapuri Lok Sabha MP. Ramadoss explained the significance of paintings in his house, in a show of bonhomie. Leaders of both the parties did not immediately make any comments about the deliberations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Sunday lay the foundation stone of the country's longest LPG pipeline that will cater to cooking fuel needs of a fourth of the country's population, said Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is laying an LPG pipeline from Gujarat coast to Gorakhpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh to cater to growing demand for cooking gas in the country. IOC plans to import LPG at Kandla in Gujarat and move it through the 1,987-kilometre pipeline to Gorakhpur via Ahmedabad (in Gujarat), Ujjain, Bhopal (in Madhya Pradesh), Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Lucknow (in Uttar Pradesh). "The pipeline possibly is the longest LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) pipeline in the world," Pradhan said adding the pipeline would be laid at a cost of Rs 9,000 crore. The pipeline will carry 3.75 million tonne per annum of LPG. LPG will be fed into the pipeline at Kandla port as well as IOC's Koyali refinery in Gujarat. This will be the biggest LPG pipeline in the country. GAIL currently operates a 1,415-km line from Jamnagar in Gujarat to Loni near here. The line carries 2.5 million tonne of LPG annually. GAIL also has a 623-km Vizag-Secunderabad pipeline. IOC also has a 274-km pipeline from Panipat in Haryana to Jalandhar. "Prime Minister will on February 24 lay the foundation stone of the pipeline project that will supply LPG to 22 bottling plants along the route," he said. IOC in its application to oil regulator Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) for laying the pipeline had in 2016 stated that: "The demand for LPG is increasing consistently in recent years. Further, due to the Government of India's emphasis to make LPG - a clean and environmentally friendly fuel, available to every domestic household in the country, LPG demand is expected to increase at a much steeper rate in the coming year." It expected the deficit between what its refineries produce and the demand to reach about 10 million tonne per annum by 2031-32. LPG demand has grown 10.5 per cent this fiscal with just about half of the 8.4 million tonne consumed being locally produced. "Considering the deficit figures for LPG, it is essential to import LPG at the nearest port and then transport it to the bottling plants through the most economical modes," IOC had said. IOC is building additional import capacities at Paradip, Cochin and Kandla to meet the increasing requirements of imports. "West coast remains most suitable to import LPG to met the demand of North and Central India. Though there is a common carrier pipeline to link West Coast to North ie Jamnagar-Loni pipeline, there is no LPG pipeline in existence or in construction to link West Coast to Central India or Eastern India," it had said. The proposed pipeline will connect eight of IOC's LPG bottling plants in Central and Northern India. It will also supply LPG to bottling plants of other companies such as BPCL and HPCL. IOC caters to nearly half of the country's 26 crore LPG consumers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Stepping up its attack on Narendra Modi, the Congress said Friday the prime minister must say what he was doing in the initial two hours after the Pulwama terror strike and alleged that he was either "completely oblivious" to the incident or "insensitive". The opposition also alleged, citing DD footage, that the prime minister addressed a rally in Uttarakhand at 5:10 pm via phone. The BJP has dubbed the Congress's allegations as "shameful" and rejected the charges, saying the opposition party exposed its "true colours" after it kept a "facade" of standing with security forces and the government following the terror strike. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari, at a press conference, said the prime minister not only addressed the press conference but continued with a photoshoot at the Corbett National Park in the hours following the Pulwama terror strike in which 40 CRPF jawans died after a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the paramilitary force's convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. The Congress on Thursday had cited media reports to allege that Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued shooting for a film in the Corbett National Park on February 14 for "self propagation", and stayed put till evening despite the Pulwama terror attack in the afternoon that day. "We want to ask the prime minister what was he doing between 3:10-5:10 pm, when you address a public rally in Uttarakhand through mobile phone," Tewari asked. The prime minister addressed the rally and did not speak on Pulwama, he said. "Either the prime minister was completely oblivious, or the prime minister was insensitive. Either the prime minister did not know for two hours that a terror attack has taken place or the prime minister knew and was completely nonchalant about it," Tewari said. In both these situations, the prime minister needs to answer for those two hours, he said, adding that both the scenarios do not auger well for the country. "These leaks, peeks, and squeaks -- source based reports which pliable journalists lap up these days -- that is not the way the nation states should function," Tewari said. "Mr prime minister we will not let you and your government get away by playing with the security of the Indian nation," he said. He accused the government of trying to "package high-octane jingoism to subterfuge national security failures" and said if the prime minister was "incommunicado" hours after the attack then it was matter of grave concern, especially for a nuclear nation, as it could have serious consequences. Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel also attacked the government over the issue, saying it was a matter of grave concern that the Prime Minister Modi was "incommunicado at the time of an attack on the nation's sovereignty". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister on Friday laid a wreath at the Cemetery in Seoul and paid tribute to the fallen soldiers, including those who died in the Prime Minister Modi arrived on a two-day visit to on Thursday to strengthen India's strategic ties with the country. On the first day of his visit, Modi unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the prestigious Yonsei University in Seoul along with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "PM laid a wreath at the Cemetery of Republic of Korea that entombs remains of 165000 martyrs and paid homage to the fallen soldiers," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. Established in 1956, the Seoul Cemetery is reserved for Korean veterans, including those who died in the Korean independence movement, and Vietnam War. The prime minister was also accorded a ceremonial reception at the official residence of South Korean President Moon. "PM was accorded an official reception he The Blue House, the executive office and official residence of President Moon in Seoul," Kumar said in a tweet. Modi is visiting on the invitation of President Moon. This is his second visit to the Republic of Korea since 2015 and second summit meeting with the South Korean president. The prime minister will receive the Seoul Peace Prize announced by the Seoul Peace Prize Foundation in October last year. Earlier in his departure statement, Modi said his visit was reflective of the importance "we both attach to our relationship". Prime Minister and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held constructive talks on Friday on enhancing bilateral cooperation in key areas including trade, investment, defence and security. Modi, who is on a two-day visit to to strengthen India's strategic ties with the country, was accorded an official reception at the Blue House, the executive office and official residence of the South Korean President here. He also met First lady Kim Jung-sook. Addressing the media after the "productive talks" with President Moon, Prime Minister Modi said that is an important partner in India's economic transformation. Our trade and investment are growing, he said. PM @narendramodi & Korean President @moonriver365 held constructive talks on enhancing cooperation in trade & investment, defence & security, energy, space, Start-Ups and people-to-people exchanges, said Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday left for India after wrapping up his two-day visit to South Korea during which he held talks with the country's President Moon Jae-in, unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi and addressed the Indian diaspora. Prime Minister Modi, who arrived here on a two-day visit to strengthen India's strategic ties with South Korea on Thursday, held "constructive" talks with President Moon on enhancing cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security, energy, space, start-ups and people-to-people exchanges. Modi also met First lady Kim Jung-sook. He received the prestigious Seoul Peace Prize for 2018 for his contribution to international cooperation and fostering global economic growth. Modi along with President and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the prestigious Yonsei University in Seoul on Thursday. Modi visited South Korea on the invitation of President Moon. This was his second visit to the Republic of Korea since 2015 and second summit meeting with the South Korean president. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the time has come for the global community to "unite and act" to completely eradicate terror networks and their financing supply channels as he identified radicalisation and terrorism as the biggest threats to global peace and security. Modi, who is here on a two-day visit to South Korea, expressed his gratitude for South Korea's support following one of the worst terror attacks by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group that killed 40 CRPF soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. Addressing the media after his talks with President Moon Jae-in, Prime Minister Modi said that the time has come when the world, going beyond the talks, should "unite and act" against terrorism. Later, speaking at an event after receiving the prestigious Seoul Peace Prize for 2018 here, Prime Minister Modi said that like Korea, India has also suffered the pain of cross-border strife. "Our endeavour towards peaceful developments has only too often been derailed by cross-border terrorism," he said in an apparent reference to Pakistan, which is accused of providing safe havens to several terror groups. While India has been the victim of cross-border terrorism for over 40 years, all nations today face this grave threat which respects no borders, he added. "The time has come for all those who believe in humanity to join hands, to completely eradicate terrorist networks, and their financing supply channels and counter terrorist ideology and propaganda. Only by doing so, can we replace hate with harmony, destruction with development, and transform the landscape of violence and vendetta into a post-guard of peace," Modi said. He recalled that a few months before the Seoul Olympics in 1988, an organization called al-Qaeda was formed. "Today, radicalisation and terrorism have become globalised and are the biggest threats to global peace and security," he said. Prime Minister Modi expressed his gratitude to President Moon for his condolences and support on the Pulwama attack. "We are committed towards strengthening our bilateral and multilateral cooperation against terrorism," he said. He said an MoU signed between India's Home Ministry and South Korea's National Police Agency today will further take forward the counter-terrorism cooperation between the two sides. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On February 8, 2019, a symposium organized by Nancy Rose Hunt on the scholarship and career of Luise White was held at the University of Florida. In the nearly twenty years since the publication of Whites Speaking with Vampires: Rumor and History in Colonial Africa (University of California, 2000), her thinking at the intersection of anthropology and history continues to inspire. In the 1990s, as a neophyte historian of medicine and anthropologically-inclined critic of science, I read Luise Whites studies of colonial vampires and cannibals, blood-sucking firemen, and traffickers in heads, with a growing sense of wonder and amusement and discomfort. In retelling the stories confided to her, she repopulated eastern and central Africa with an incredible collectiona corps, perhapsof specters, ghouls, apparitions, fantasies, and shadows, black and white and shades between. She deployed these ambiguous figures to create a strange tableau of colonial assertion and anxiety, where African patients, healers, and sorcerers mingled uneasily with missionaries, bureaucrats and medical officers. This article is about medical history and historical methodology, White wrote in 1995.[i] But it was unlike any medical history, or indeed any method, that I had imagined. At the time I asked myself: is this what medical history looks like from the standpoint of an African historian? I knew little about African historiography, but it seemed to me that historians of the southern parts of the continent were, like Pacific historians, necessarily more ethnographically minded than most of the profession. In reading the work of Terence Ranger and Megan Vaughan on colonial medicine, I already had observed an unusual reliance on oral history, which might even serve, in my mind at least, as synecdoche for ethnography.[ii] There was a widespread concern to understand what took place in what we were beginning to call contact zones, the sites of encounter between locals and outsiders or strangers.[iii] What Greg Dening in his anthro-history of the Pacific would term beaches.[iv] Like Ann Laura Stoler in her concurrent studies of race and colonialism in Southeast Asia, White evidently was trying to shake up the hierarchies of credibility generated in these sites of encounter.[v] Commonly, there was a perceived need to approach a sort of postcolonial symmetry in the analysis of such interactionsto recover, if you like, some of the prose of insurgency and counterinsurgency.[vi] It is my goal, White wrote, to listen to these voices as different kinds of storytelling, to get them to speak about each other in order to tell their stories about colonialism.[vii] And, I might add, their stories about bodies and medicines. But White differed from many other Africanists in that she did not simply want to establish the authority and authenticity of the voice of the colonized.[viii] Instead, she would feature the uncanny qualities of the stories she heard. Perhaps oral history is richer and more complicated than we assume? Thus, White tried to conjure up through her oral histories a social imaginary about who thinks what and what constitutes credibility.[ix] As she claimed: Experience was true, but not as reliable as hearsay.[x] Or, as she announced in 1993, This essay is about things that never happened.[xi] She was interested in the social construction of lyingand of secrets, rumor, and gossip.[xii] What was withheld from circulation and what circulated promiscuously might reveal what was valued and feared: deception and evasion, as much as chitchat and hearsay, could disclose the concerns and anxieties of people at a specific time and place, she wrote.[xiii] White clearly was tired of the way conventional oral historians read stories as testimony, holding their informants hostage to European criteria of evidence and truth. I suggest that it is possible to read the fictive, she wrote, as a source for cultural history in the same way that we can read scientific texts.[xiv] It was as though Harold Garfinkels ethnomethodology had finally gone native.[xv] I now understand that White was arguing not only for postcolonial symmetry in the history of science, but emphatically for uncanny (perhaps even more than quirky) postcolonial histories of subjugated knowledges and conjugated subjects in the dispersed spaces of medicine and science. She wanted to make it all strange and weird, to unsettle us. How remiss of me, then, not to have recognized her priority in the various manifestos for the postcolonial analysis of technoscience that I was writing at the time.[xvi] Instead, I favored the usual family romance. White insists on telling us about the mosaic of colonial beliefs, African and European, the supposedly superstitious and the supposedly scientific, as she puts it. She continues: These beliefs, like so many tiles, can be placed alongside each other.[xvii] Seeing the word mosaic suddenly pulls me up. In the early-twentieth century William James described his mosaic philosophy, which discarded universals and concentrated on the relations between particulars. It is as if the pieces cling together by their edges, he wrote, the transitions experienced between them forming their cement. Interesting stuff happens on the borders and in the interstices, between the tiles: Life is in the transitions as much as in the terms connected, James mused. Often, indeed, it seems to be there more emphatically as if our spurts and sallies forward were the real firing-line of the battle, were like the thin line of flame advancing across the dry autumnal field which the farmer proceeds to burn.[xviii] Now, White is no votary of radical empiricism, but like James, she shares a fascination with edge effects, with what happens in boundary habitats, places of exceptional diversity and complexitythe conceptual range margins, as it were. In other words, the traffic in heads reveals little about heads, but much more about the world in which such traffics take place.[xix] Accordingly, White meticulously and even-handedly draws us into what sociologist of science Thomas F. Gieryn once called boundary work.[xx] She treats heads, blood, pills, injections, and chloroform as boundary objects. In 1989, science studies scholars Susan Leigh Star and James R. Griesemer imagined boundaries as possible points of communication, as interfaces that included boundary objects bearing significance in multiple social worlds. Such boundary objects are both plastic enough to adapt to local needs and constraints of the several parties employing them, yet robust enough to maintain a common identity across sites. They are weakly structured in common use, and become strongly structured in individual-site use.[xxi] According to Star and Griesemer, boundary objects might be things, organizational forms, concepts, protocols, or procedureswhatever permits communication across the boundaries of social worlds. Thus, in directing our attention to what Charles E. Rosenberg refers to as the ecology of knowledge, White has elaborated on a multivalent and interoperable and playful modela postcolonial modelfor science studies more generally.[xxii] Much of this weighed on my mind in the early years of this century, when I was spending time with the Fore people in the eastern highlands of New Guinea, trying to work out the hermeneutics of kuru, the fatal affliction that once threatened to wipe them out. In the 1950s, when the region first was opened upthe Australian colonial authoritys termit soon became apparent that Fore women and children were dying from a terrible, relentless brain disease, a condition that people attributed to a particularly malign form of sorcery. The most charismatic and intractable of the medical investigators, American D. Carleton Gajdusek eventually determined that a transmissible, indolent slow virus was spreading kuru, for which he received the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In the mid-1960s, Shirley Lindenbaum and other anthropologists and epidemiologists figured out that endo-cannibalism, the ritual consumption of loved ones after death, had been responsible for this plague upon the Fore.[xxiii] Since cannibalism ceased around 1960, the incidence of kuru slowly declined; the last person to die from the disease was autopsied in the bush just before I arrived in 2003. Primed by Luise White, I collected stories from GajduseksKaotensformer medical assistants or dokta bois, by then old men determined to natter on about derring-do, and to demand compensation. When I asked what sort of white man, or stranger, he was, they told me he initially gave well in exchange, but later became greedy. He was lean and skinny, but then got fat, very fat. When I showed them a picture of the table that served for his typing, census taking, dining, and the cutting up of the kuru dead, I suggested they must have thought him a cannibal too. I knew that Kaoten, briefly, had tried to imagine himself as an exo-cannibal, eating his others, his enemies, indulging in a fantasy of absolute consumption when exchange relations went awry. This puzzled my interlocutors, who had consumed only loved ones. Why would he eat these people? an old man queried. He scarcely knew them. I then insisted they had regarded him as a sorcerer, taking body parts and fluids and subjecting them to machinations and skullduggery in his bush laboratory, trying illegitimately to gain power over people. No, they responded, where could he have learned the techniques of sorcery? But I knew then they were lying. Id heard the rumors. He was a sorcerer for sure, though unlike any theyd seen before. Let me close, in the fashion of my erstwhile compatriot J. M. Coetzee, with another story. As I was writing The Collectors of Lost Souls (2008), I frequently visited Carleton during his exile in Amsterdam. He could talk at me for hours, slightly manic, sometimes shouting, gesticulating, poking me in the chest, grabbling my thighs, shaking me. In his eighties, the scientist was unreliable and digressive; he lived in a fantasy world; he seemed crazed in an indefinable and idiosyncratic way. On my third visit, he began having seizuresand so, with great difficulty, I got him to a nearby hospital. Carleton proved a fierce and unreasonable patient. The convulsions continued through the day, but the medical staff stepped back and largely ignored him, perhaps understandably. The nurses were frightened around him. Eventually, Carleton fixed his gaze on me, telling me he was convinced that I caused a convulsion every time I mentioned the word kuru. That night, he discharged himself without a diagnosis. A few days later, reflecting on that miserable day in hospital, I realized Carleton had been accusing me of sorcery. I could see the logic of it. Believing I was writing his biography, he regarded me as illicitly appropriating some part of him and conjuring with it in order to hold sway over him and to increase my own status, just as Fore sorcerers do. Perhaps thats what collecting life stories really is: an incompetent form of sorcery, or magical thinking, at times an immoral act. I tell this anecdote now because Ive come to believe that Fore, too, must have wondered whether I was yet another inadequate sorcerer, trying to take their malefic knowledge and use it for some novel purpose. Indeed, they have since admitted as much. Rather than accuse me, they tried to control me through lies, innuendo, hearsay, and rumor. So, now I must ask: who was Luise White, then, in such situations? Notes I am particularly grateful to Charles Rosenberg and Hans Pols for comments on earlier drafts; and to Nancy Rose Hunt for making sure I continue to engage with Luise Whites work. [i] Luise White, They Could Make their Victims Dull: Genders and Genres, Fantasies and Cures in Colonial Southern Uganda, American Historical Review 100 (1995): 1379-402, p. 1379. [ii] Terence O. Ranger, Godly Medicine: The Ambiguities of Medical Mission in Southeast Tanzania, 19001945, Social Science & Medicine. Part B: Medical Anthropology 15 (1981): 261-277; and Megan Vaughan, Curing Their Ills: Colonial Power and African Illness (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1991), and Healing and Curing: Issues in the Social History and Anthropology of Medicine in Africa, Social History of Medicine 7 (1994): 283-295. See also Shula Marks, What is Colonial about Colonial Medicine? And What has Happened to Imperialism and Health? Social History of Medicine 10 (1997): 205-219. [iii] Mary Louise Pratt, Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation (London: Routledge, 1992). See also Mary Louise Pratt, Arts of the Contact Zone, Profession 9 (1991): 33-40. [iv] Greg Dening, Islands and Beaches: Discourse on a Silent Land. Marquesas, 1774-1880 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1980). [v] Ann Laura Stoler, In Cold Blood: Hierarchies of Credibility and the Politics of Colonial Narratives, Representations 37 (1992): 15-89. [vi] Ranajit Guha, The Prose of Counter-Insurgency, in Selected Subaltern Studies, eds. Ranjit Guha and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), 45-86. It seems to me that the impact on White of British social history, especially the work of E. P. Thompson, and subaltern studies was particularly strong. [vii] White, They Could Make their Victims Dull, p. 1383. [viii] Luise White, Cars out of Place: Vampires, Technology, and Labor in East and Central Africa, Representations 43 (1993): 27-50, p. 29. [ix] Luise White, Telling More: Lies, Secrets and Histories, History and Theory 39 (2000): 11-22, p. 11. [x] Luise White, Speaking with Vampires: Rumor and History in Colonial Africa (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000), p. 31. The influence of Joan Wallach Scott is obvious: see The Evidence of Experience, Critical Inquiry 17 (1991): 1773-97. [xi] White, Cars out of Place, p. 27. [xii] White, Telling More, p. 20. [xiii] White, Cars out of Place, p. 27. [xiv] Luise White, Tsetse Visions: Narratives of Blood and Bugs in Colonial Northern Rhodesia, 1931-9, Journal of African History 36 (1995): 219-45, p. 222. [xv] Harold Garfinkel, Studies in Ethnomethodology (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1967). Whites later accounts of colonial archives, the world of disregarded protocols and slapdash paperwork, is especially suggestive (Luise White, Hodgepodge Historiography: Documents, Itineraries and the Absence of Archives, History in Africa 42 [2015]: 309-18, p. 314). [xvi] Warwick Anderson, Where is the Postcolonial History of Medicine? Bulletin of the History of Medicine 72 (1998): 522-30; Postcolonial technoscience, Social Studies of Science 32 (2002): 643-58; and From Subjugated Knowledge to Conjugated Subjects: Science and Globalisation, or Postcolonial Studies of Science? Postcolonial Studies 12 (2009): 389-400. [xvii] White, Tsetse Visions, p. 222. [xviii] William James, Essays in Radical Empiricism (New York: Longman, Green and Co., 1912), pp. 42, 87. See Warwick Anderson, Edge Effects in Science and Medicine, Western Humanities Review 69 (2015): 373-84. [xix] Luise White, The Traffic in Heads: Bodies, Borders, and the Articulation of Regional Histories, Journal of Southern African Studies 23 (1997): 325-38, p. 226. [xx] Thomas F. Gieryn, Boundary Work and the Demarcation of Science from Non-Science: Strains and Interests in Professional Ideologies of Scientists, American Sociological Review 48 (1983): 781-95. [xxi] Susan Leigh Star and James R. Griesemer, Institutional Ecology, Translations and Boundary Objects: Amateurs and Professionals in Berkeleys Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 1907-09, Social Studies of Science 19 (1989): 387-420, p. 393. See also Ilana Lowy, The Strength of Loose Concepts: Boundary Objects, Federative Experimental Strategies and Disciplinary Growth: The Case of Immunology, History of Science 30 (1992): 371-439. [xxii] Charles E. Rosenberg, Toward an Ecology of Knowledge: On Discipline, Context, and History, in The Organization of Knowledge in Modern America, eds. Alexandra Oleson and John Voss (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979), 440-55. [xxiii] Warwick Anderson, The Collectors of Lost Souls: Turning Kuru Scientists into Whitemen (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), and Epidemiology, Social History, and the Beginnings of Medical Anthropology in the Highlands of New Guinea, Medicine Anthropology Theory 5 (2018): DOI 10.17157/mat.5.1.591 Warwick Anderson is Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser Chair of Australian Studies (2018-19), Department of the History of Science, Harvard University, and Janet Dora Hine Professor of Politics, Governance and Ethics, Department of History, with the Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney. Share this: Share Email Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr LinkedIn [view academic citations] [hide academic citations] Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has written a letter to the accusing India of threatening regional security, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Friday, a day after the powerful UN body named Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in a statement condemning the "heinous" perpetrated by the terror outfit in Jammu and Kashmir. He also said India is accusing Pakistan for the without any proof. "It is with a sense of urgency that I draw your attention to the deteriorating security situation in our region resulting from Indian belligerence and threats of use of force against Pakistan. The situation poses a threat to international peace and security," Qureshi said in the letter addressed to UNSC president Anatolio Ndong Mba. He alleged that India is blaming Pakistan for the "to cover up its own operational and policy failures". On Thursday, in a strong show of international support for India, the UNSC comprising 15 nations, including Pakistan's key ally China, named JeM while condemning in the "strongest terms" the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack in Pulwama and stressed on the need to hold organisers and financiers of such "reprehensible acts" accountable and bring them to justice. "The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice, and urged all States...to cooperate actively with the Government of India and all other relevant authorities in this regard," it said. In his letter, Qureshi also accused the Indian government of using "water as a weapon". "The long-standing legal arrangements agreed under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) are thus being imperilled," he said. India has decided to "stop" the flow of its share of water to Pakistan from rivers under the Indus Water Treaty. The reiteration to stop the flow of Indus water to Pakistan comes amid mounting Indo-Pak tension over the Pulwama terror strike that has triggered demands for action against the neighbouring country. India has already decided to revoke the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan and mounted a diplomatic offensive to isolate it in the international community. Qureshi said Pakistan has offered to cooperate with India if it shares any proof of involvement of Pakistani elements in the Pulwama attack. "Pakistan has offered its cooperation, if tangible evidence emerging from credible investigation is shared," he wrote. India on Tuesday had said, "Disclaiming any link between the terrorist attack and Pakistan is an oft-repeated excuse by Pakistan." "It is a well-known fact that Jaish-e-Mohammad and its leader Masood Azhar are based in Pakistan. These should be sufficient proof for Pakistan to take action," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. Qureshi said India "must refrain from escalating the situation and enter into dialogue with Pakistan" to ensure continued peace and stability in South Asia. Reiterating his warning to choke Pakistan's water supply, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari Friday said the neighbouring country won't get "even a single drop of water" from India if it continues to export terror. The senior BJP leader was addressing a meeting of party workers of Jabalpur region here. "(Pakistan PM) Imran Khan and others in that country are saying: how can India stop water to them? Remmeber, if you continue to support and export terrorism to India, Pakistan won't get even a drop of water. Remember this," Gadkari said. He said India was planning to build projects on three rivers flowing into Pakistan to use its share of water. "Our government will stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan," he said. The minister's remarks came amid anger in India over the Pulwama terror attack, for which Pakistan-based Jaish-e- Mohammed has claimed responsibility. Gadkari recalled the Indus Water Treaty, a water- distribution treaty between India and Pakistan signed in 1960 by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistans President Ayub Khan. "As per the treaty, of the six rivers between Pakistan and India, Pakistan got three rivers and India got three. The water which was ours was also going into Pakistan. "We are making three projects under which water which is ours by right will be given to Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan," he said. "The Indus accord says it was signed to maintain harmony, peace and brotherhood between the two nations. But today, when we think of this accord, we feel where is that harmonious relationship, where is that friendship, where has our cooperation and coordination gone," the minister said. Pakistan is supporting and sending terrorists to India which is contrary to the aim with which the treaty was signed, Gadkari said. If Pakistan wants good relations with India, they should stop supporting and sending terrorists to India since friendship and cooperation are "two-way affairs", he said. The Union Cabinet in December had approved the Shahpurkandi dam project on the Ravi river in Punjab, a move that was intended to help India arrest its share of water flowing into Pakistan. For this, a central assistance of Rs 485.38 crore for irrigation component over five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23 was also announced. In September 2018, the Punjab and the Jammu and Kashmir governments had signed an agreement to resume works on the Rs 2,793-crore Shahpur-Kandi project, according to officials. Earlier Friday, Gadkari also laid the foundation stone of the Rs 758.54 crore flyover to decongest traffic in western parts of Jabalpur city. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan is not concerned over India's plan to stop the flow of its share of water to Pakistan from the Ravi, Sutlej and Beas rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty, a top official said. The response came hours after Union minister Nitin Gadkari said in New Delhi that India has decided to "stop" the flow of its share of water to Pakistan from rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) after the ghastly Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. Talking to Dawn on Thursday, secretary of Pakistan's Ministry of Water Resources Khawaja Shumail said: We have neither concern nor objection if India diverts water of eastern rivers and supplies it to its people or uses it for other purposes, as the IWT allows it to do so. He said Pakistan did not see Gadkari's statement as worrisome in context with the IWT. Actually India wants to construct Shahpurkandi dam at the Ravi basin. This project is abandoned since 1995. Now they (India) want to construct this in a bid to use its own share of water that goes unutilised and finally flows to Pakistan. So if they want to use this whether through storing it, through construction of this dam or any other way for their people, they can do as we have nothing to do with it. But we will definitely express our concerns and raise objections strongly if they use or divert waters of western rivers (Chenab, Indus, Jhelum) on which our right to use prevails, Shumail said. According to Pakistan's Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Mehr Ali Shah, as the IWT has already given a right to India in 1960 to use the water of eastern rivers, it is now up to it to do so or not. Whether they diverted and used their unutilised share of eastern rivers' waters in 1960, we had no problem. They want to do it now, we have no problem. And if they don't want to use this, we have no issue, Shah said. He said the planned Shahpurkandi dam was actually the stage-2 of the Ranjit Sagar dam. Though this project will also generate power, it will be used for irrigation purposes, he said. While commenting about the proposed visit of Indian experts (India's commissioner for Indus waters) to Kotri Barrage (in Sindh province) keeping in view the tension between the two countries after the Pulwama attack, Shah said: Let's see what happens in this regard. But we hope for the best. A three-member delegation of Pakistani experts headed by Shah completed its general tour of inspection (from Jan 28 to Feb 1) to various hydropower projects 1,000MW Pakal Dul, 48MW Lower Kalnai, 850MW Ratlay and 900MW Baglihar dam at Chenab Basin in India. Besides, India, a couple of days before the Pulwama attack, also shared the design data of its three planned run-of-the-river hydropower schemes with Pakistan under the IWT. These included Balti Kalan, Kalaroos and Tamasha hydropower projects which are planned to be constructed at Balti Kalan Nullah and Kalaroos Nullah at the Jhelum basin and Tamasha, a sub-tributary of the Indus river, respectively. The reiteration to stop the flow of Indus water to Pakistan comes amid mounting Indo-Pak tension over the Pulwama terror strike that has triggered demands for action against the neighbouring country. India has already decided to revoke the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan and mounted a diplomatic offensive to isolate it in the international community. There were demands to stop flow of India's share of Indus water to Pakistan after the Uri terror attack in 2016. Under the Indus Water Treaty signed in 1960, the waters of the western rivers -- the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab -- was given to Pakistan and those of the eastern rivers -- the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej -- to India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Succumbing to intense pressure to rein in militant groups operating from its soil, the government on Friday took over the administrative control of the headquarters of Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), the terror outfit which claimed responsibility for the deadly suicide attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel in The move came a day after the powerful comprising 15 nations, including Pakistan's key ally China, named JeM in a statement condemning in the "strongest terms" the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack perpetrated by Pakistan-based JeM in and stressed on the need to hold organisers and financiers of such "reprehensible acts" accountable and bring them to justice. "The has taken over the control of the JeM headquarters in Bahawalpur," Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told PTI. "The government of Punjab has taken over the control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur...and appointed an administrator to manage its affairs," the minister added. Bahawalpur is 400 km from Lahore. A statement issued by the Interior Ministry also said the crackdown on Jaish "has been taken in line with the decision of the National Security Committee meeting held on Thursday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan". The Islamic seminaries in the campus has a faculty of 70 teachers and currently 600 students were studying in it, the statement said, adding that Punjab police is providing security and protection to the campus. on Thursday also banned the 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamat-ud-Dawa and its charity wing Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation. Earlier, the two outfits were kept on the watchlist of the interior ministry. The JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the LeT which is responsible for carrying out the Mumbai attack that killed 166 people. It has been declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014. The Friday held spy agency ISI's former chief Lt Gen (retd) guilty of violating military code of conduct by co-authoring a controversial book with India's former intelligence head and punished him by stopping his pension and other benefits. Durrani, who headed the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency from August 1990 till March 1992, along with former RAW chief A S Dulat published the book titled 'The Spy Chronicles: RAW, and the Illusion of Peace' in India. The powerful army had ordered a Court of Inquiry against Durrani over the book in which the two former spy chiefs touched upon some thorny issues including terrorism, particularly Mumbai attack, and the influence of intelligence agencies. Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor during a media briefing, said Durrani was a former senior officer who held key positions and his conduct should have been different. " has been found of guilty of violating military code of conduct...His pension and related benefits have been stopped. He is no more entitled for the benefits which a retired officer is entitled." To a question, Ghafoor said retired Lieutenant General Durrani was allowed to retain his rank. The spokesman said currently Durrani is not allowed to leave the country due to his name being on no-fly list and a decision about it will be taken. Separately, Ghafoor, without giving much details, also said that two senior officers were under arrest on the charges of espionage. Their court martial had been ordered Whenever the proceeding end, we will share results with you, he said. : To increase the berthing capacity of naval ships here, the Indian Navy Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Cochin Port Trust to modernise the ancient north jetty at the naval base. The MoU facilitates the reconstruction and expansion of the north jetty as a modern jetty with facilities for berthing of major naval ships and would be taken up at an approximate cost of Rs 600 crore, a defence press release said. The new jetty is expected to be completed within four years, the release said. The MoU was signed by Commodore Ishan Tandon, Chief Staff Officer (Technical), Headquarters, Southern Naval Command, and AV Ramana, chairman in-charge, Cochin Port Trust, in the presence of dignitaries from the navy and the Cochin Port Trust, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hospitality firm OYO Friday said it has entered into a joint venture (JV) with Yahoo Japan Corporation to make a foray into the housing rental market in Japan, targeting the young population. Through the JV, named as OYO Technology & Hospitality Company, Japan, OYO will bring its housing rental product from India -- OYO Living -- rechristened as OYO LIFE to Japan from March 2019, OYO said in a statement. "Japanese entrepreneur and former Japan market leader for Handy and Booking.com, Hiro Katsuse, has been appointed as the CEO of the newly formed joint venture company," it added. OYO LIFE will target the young and growing population of Japan, starting with students and young professionals, the statement said. "This new entity will be focused on creating unique living experiences for the Japanese citizens, students, and young professionals, looking for good quality affordable accommodations, starting with our fully managed homes brand - OYO LIFE," OYO Hotels and Homes CEO and founder Ritesh Agarwal said. OYO is already the most preferred brand in the budget to mid-segment hospitality space in several markets like India and China, where its operational expertise in identifying, transforming and managing properties has helped the company gain significant momentum, and it is certain that it will deliver great value in the Japanese market, he added. Expressing similar sentiments, Yahoo Japan CEO Kentaro Kawabe said the company is really happy to partner with OYO through this joint venture. "With our local know-how, online distribution network and marketing support, OYO LIFE will soon emerge as the most preferred abode for the Japanese citizens and visitors in the country," he added. OYO currently has over 13,000 franchised or leased hotels and over 6,000 homes in its network. Over 22 per cent of Assam's total forest land was currently under encroachment, the state Assembly was informed Friday. Replying to BJP MLA Padma Hazarika's resolution in Assam Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said that the state has a total forest land of 17,39,301.72 hectares, of which 3,87,885.45 hectares are encroached. Assam has 312 reserved forest with 13,54,467.62 hectares of land, out of which 3,73,876.95 hectares are illegally occupied, while 3,971 hectares are encroached in five national parks that have a total area of 1,97,826 hectares. Likewise, 10,037.50 hectares across 18 wildlife sanctuaries of 1,87,008.1 hectares are also under encroachment, Patowary informed the House. The state government is considering to set up a high-powered committee to suggest measures to protect the green cover, he said. "After the new government took charge, 2,596.22 hectares of forest land have been freed from encroachment. Besides, forest officials periodically conduct eviction drive as per fund allocation in association with district administration and the superintendent of police," he added. Patowary admitted that the government has not been able to evict all encroachers from the forests and working on this direction with the help of satellite imaging. The minister, however, cautioned that there is difference between forest dwellers and those encroaching forest land after destroying it, otherwise forests cannot be saved. In the reserved forests, there are 499 forest villages with 534.35 square km of land and total population of 2,34,113 dwellers, he informed. "As the matter is very sensitive, there is a need for a high-powered committee to study all aspects in detail. Next course of action will be considered after analysing that committee's report," Patowary said. He further said that man-animal conflict has increased in recent times and everyone is concerned about it. "If we cannot protect the forest, it will be impossible to prevent this conflict. For our own existence, we have to ensure protection of all creatures and forests. We cannot violate the rights of the other living elements," Patowary said. He also mentioned that global warming can be contained by more forestation and preservation only. Accepting the government's assurances, Hazarika withdrew his resolution on encroachment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The opposition Congress, TDP and the BJP in Telangana expressed disappointment with the vote-on-account budget presented by the TRS government on Friday, alleging that it fell short of expectations. "There is no financial discipline in this state. The actual figures are nowhere near what was projected," Congress Legislature Party leader M Bhatti Vikramarka told reporters. State BJP president K Laxman hit out at the ruling TRS for deciding to implement its farm loan waiver scheme in instalments. The move would make the farmers bear the burden of interest on their loans, he alleged. Though the state government admitted having got Rs 70,000 crore from the Centre, the ruling party went on alleging that the NDA government (at the Centre) did not help the state, Laxman said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) People can now file a complaint with the (DoT) against offensive messages received on WhatsApp, an official said Friday. The victim just needs to furnish a screenshot of the message along with the mobile number and e-mail it to ccaddn-dot@nic.in. "If anyone is receiving abusive/offensive/death threats/ vulgar messages ,please send screen shots of the message along with the mobile numbers at ccaddn-dot@nic.in "We will take it up with the telecom operators and police heads for necessary action," DoT Controller Communications Ashish Joshi tweeted. The move comes following many public figures, including journalists, complaining of receiving abusive and threatening messages. The DoT, in an order on February 19, had said that licence conditions bar carriage of objectionable, obscene or unauthorised content in any form on the network. The order directed all telecom service providers to take immediate action against their customers for sending such messages as it is also a violation of customer declaration in the customer application form. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference on February 22, 2019 2019/02/22 Q: According to reports, two Saudi sisters are in Hong Kong and they are currently seeking asylum. Their lawyer says they were taken from Hong Kong airport because their family doesn't want them to flee to Australia. Hong Kong is part of China and China is in charge of Hong Kong's diplomatic affairs. Can you tell us what communications the Chinese government has had with the Saudi government about this case? A: Your description of the relationship between China's central government and the Hong Kong SAR is very accurate. (The journalist laughed.) But unfortunately, I'm not aware of what you said. Q: It is reported that on February 23, the US will take all means to support the Venezuelan opposition in bringing the "humanitarian aid" into Venezuela. Some believe that it aims to trigger conflicts and lend a convenient excuse for military intervention. What is your comment? A: We have noted that for some time, the Venezuelan government has remained calm and restrained, done its best to maintain peace and stability within the country, and effectively avoided bloodshed and major conflicts. If the so-called "humanitarian aid" is forcibly brought into the country, violent confrontations may be triggered, which will lead to serious consequences. This is the last thing that any party want to see. China opposes military intervention and any attempts leading to tensions or even unrest in Venezuela. Q: Have you got any update on the situation of Australian coal exports waiting off the Chinese port? Is the Australian coal export being banned or restricted for any reason? A: I answered your question on this issue at yesterday's press conference. After that, I noted some Reuters reports saying that five harbors overseen by Dalian customs will impose an indefinite ban on Australian coal by not allowing it to clear through customs. Here I'd like to make a clarification that the relevant Reuters reports are not true. As far as I know, all ports of the Chinese customs allow the declaration of coal imported from Australia and other countries. In recent years, in risk monitoring and analysis on the quality and safety of imported coal, China has found that some imports did not meet our criteria for environmental protection. Accordingly, the Chinese customs strengthened their efforts in quality and safety inspection and evaluation on the environmental impacts of imported coal, which are compliant with relevant laws and regulations. By doing so, the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese importers and the environmental safety can be better protected. Follow-up: Can we clarify that there is no ban on Australian coal in the port of Dalian? A: Like I said, the relevant media reports are not true. All ports of the Chinese customs allow the declaration of coal imported from Australia and other countries per usual. Q: America is demanding that China reduce its oil imports from Iran. At the same time, Saudi Arabia has in the past offered to sell more to those countries which comply with such American demands to reduce oil imports from Iran to make up any shortfall that they may have in supply. Could you please tell me to what extent will China's oil purchases or imports from Iran be determined by such American demands and Saudi offers? A: First, China keeps normal energy cooperation with both Iran and Saudi Arabia. Second, China always opposes unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction", and this position remains clear-cut. Third, China makes independent decisions on the direction and scale of energy cooperation with other countries in light of its own economic development needs. Q: The United Nations Security Council yesterday issued a press statement on the attack in India-controlled Kashmir, identifying Jaish-e-Mohammed as responsible for the attack. Does this mean that the Security Council now has evidence in hand to prove that JeM is the perpetrator of the attack? What are your comments? A: China has been closely following the development of this recent attack. In yesterday's Security Council press statement, a specific organization was mentioned, but it was a general statement rather than a judgment. The Chinese side has noted that the Pakistani government expressed its will to coordinate with India in the investigation and seek to resolve differences through dialogue. Parties concerned should conduct objective and unbiased investigation to find out the truth. China hopes that India and Pakistan can exercise restraint, engage in dialogues and make joint efforts to preserve peace and stability of the region. Q: The British Chancellor of the Exchequer said yesterday that Britain's talk of sending a warship to the Pacific has not helped with relations with China. There has been persistent speculation in Britain that Chancellor Philip Hammond's visit to Beijing was canceled because the Chinese government was unhappy with the relevant comments by the British defense minister. This issue has been going on now for about two weeks. Does the Chinese government have a formal response to it yet? And can you confirm his visit wasn't canceled? A: China has responded many times to the remarks of the British Defense Minister Gavin Williamson, so I will not repeat it here. China values its bilateral relations with the UK and hopes that the UK can earnestly respect China's core interests and major concerns and work for a sound and stable bilateral relationship. As for your question on the British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond's visit to China, we have expressed our welcome on multiple occasions. Q: Recently, certain foreign executives have showed varying degrees of concerns over their business activities in China, worrying that their safety might not be guaranteed. What's your response? A: The so-called safety concerns of certain individuals are simply baseless and unnecessary. The Chinese government protects the safety and legitimate rights and interests of foreign citizens in accordance with the law. As long as they abide by Chinese laws and regulations, their safety can be guaranteed. According to latest statistics from relevant Chinese authorities, the number of foreign-invested companies newly set up in China in 2018 topped 60,000, up by 69.8 percent. Paid-in foreign investment reached USD 135 billion and increased by 3 percent. These figures reflect a large scale of people-to-people exchange, including numerous trips to China by foreign businessmen for trade deals. Would those figures have been possible if China were not a safe place? I don't think so. I would like to stress that China follows an opening-up policy of mutual benefit and win-win outcomes. The remarkable progress China has made over the past four decades is partly owed to foreign enterprises and senior executives who participated in and offered advice to the reform and opening up. Just as Chinese leaders have pointed out on many occasions, our country's door will open only wider to the world. We will continue our efforts to foster a better business environment for foreign enterprises, and welcome foreign senior executives to visit China and do business here as always. Q: Do you have any information on Kim Jong Un passing through China this weekend by train on his way to Viet Nam? A: I have no relevant information. Q: To follow up with the Venezuela question, Bloomberg reported that officials from the Maduro Administration told a group of executives representing about 50 companies to open bank accounts in Russia, Turkey, China and India to begin relationship with suppliers in these mentioned countries. I wonder if you have any confirmation if Venezuelan companies made any request to China in this regard? A: I'm not aware of the specifics you asked about. What I can tell you is that the practical cooperation between China and Venezuela has been carried out following the principle of equality, mutual benefit, common development and commercial rules. It is compliant with the law and beneficial to our two peoples. China will continue to uphold this principle in its exchange and cooperation in various fields with Venezuela. Q: The Saudi Crown Prince is visiting China today. Has he met with President Xi? And can you tell us a little bit about his visit? A: According to my knowledge, President Xi Jinping will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed later this afternoon. The Chinese side will issue press releases in a timely manner. Follow-up: Did he meet with Vice Premier Han Zheng? A: Vice Premier Han Zheng met with Crown Prince Mohammed this morning. They co-chaired the third meeting of the China-Saudi Arabia High-Level Joint Committee. We will release relevant information in a timely manner. The Madras High Court made it clear on Friday that there is no impediment for the Justice A Arumugasamy Commission to continue its inquiry into the circumstances that led to the hospitalisation and subsequent death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa. A division bench of Justice R Subbiah and Justice Krishnan Ramasamy made the observation while adjourning to March 1 the hearing of pleas by Apollo Hospitals seeking an interim stay on the proceedings relating to the medical treatment provided to Jayalalithaa. When the pleas came up for hearing, senior counsel for the hospital, PS Raman, submitted that the petitioner needed some more time to file a reply with supporting typed sets to the counter filed by the commission. Objecting to the request, senior counsel for the commission, A R L Sundaresan, informed the court that they are ready for arguments and that no additional time should be given to the petitioner. Recording this, the bench adjourned the plea and said there was no impediment for the commission to proceed further with the inquiry. In the last hearing, the commission had opposed the plea of Apollo Hospitals assailing its powers and submitted that the terms of reference cover the medical treatment provided to the former chief minister also. The commission was constituted for inquiring into the circumstances and situation leading to the hospitalisation of Jayalalithaa on September 22, 2016 and subsequent treatment provided to her till her demise on December 5, 2016. It is the duty of the commission to inquire into all the aspects of treatment in terms of the reference, commission secretary S Komala said through a counter affidavit. She said the commission has almost completed the inquiry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) British Prime Minister Theresa May will have a chance to speak to fellow EU leaders at their summit with the Arab League, but she should not expect a Brexit breakthrough, an EU source said Friday. Arab and European leaders will meet for two days from Sunday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, even as Britain lobbies to reopen Brexit negotiations just weeks before it is due to leave the bloc. "There will be no deal in the desert in Sharm el-Sheikh, this is a summit between the EU and the Arab states," an EU source told reporters in Brussels. According to the source, only 24 of the 28 EU leaders have confirmed they will attend the Red Sea summit, and all would have to be present to agree any Brexit deal. Nevertheless, May is expected to meet some of her counterparts one-on-one on the sidelines of the meeting to push her case for changes to the divorce agreement. This could pave the way towards a later breakthrough, perhaps at the next planned full EU summit on March 21 and 22, just a week before Britain leaves the bloc. On Friday, EU negotiator Michel Barnier told France's Europe 1 radio it was time for May to take a decision and present a Brexit plan to her parliament. "We don't need extra time, what we need now is a decision and for everyone to take responsibility," he said. He did not exclude granting Britain more negotiating time, but said it was now up to the British "to take their responsibilities and assume the consequences of decisions they took democratically". Brussels however is open to adopting a more ambitious political declaration, alongside the legally binding withdrawal treaty that would set a roadmap for negotiating close EU-UK trade ties. The British government said Thursday that Brexit talks will focus on securing new guarantees to reassure lawmakers, rather than on demanding that a divorce deal already concluded with the EU be reopened. EU leaders insist the withdrawal agreement, which they struck with Britain last year, cannot be renegotiated to appease British MPs who rejected it in parliament. Brussels however is open to adopting a more ambitious political declaration, alongside the legally binding withdrawal treaty that would set a roadmap for negotiating close EU-UK trade ties. May's official position remains that the "simplest" way to agree a deal that would pass the British parliament would be to negotiate changes to the agreement. But EU officials noted that Thursday's British statement "acknowledged" that Brussels has said this will be impossible. "Officially she has not dropped her demand, but in practice she has realised that she should put her energy on another text," one European official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday sought to calm fears about election security, promising voters they would be able to cast their ballots in safety. "Do not be afraid of rumours of violence and unrest. Our security agencies have worked diligently to ensure that adequate security measures are in place," he said. "You will be able to vote in an atmosphere of openness and peace, devoid of fear from threat or intimidation," he added in a televised address. Buhari, 76, is seeking a second term of office on Saturday, but is facing a strong challenge from the main opposition candidate, former vice-president Atiku Abubakar. Previous elections have been hit by violence since the country returned to civilian rule in 1999 after decades of military government. But tensions have increased since last Saturday, when the electoral commission postponed the vote just hours before polling citing logistical difficulties. Buhari's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have accused the other of conspiring with the commission to rig the result. Abubakar, 72, said Buhari was paying "lip service" to democracy after he revealed he had ordered security services to be "ruthless" with vote-riggers and ballot snatchers. His opponent said the order - which won the backing of the army - was a "threat" and a "recipe for crisis", while others said he was encouraging violence. Just over 84 million people have been registered to vote on Saturday. Parliamentary elections will be held at the same time. Governorship and state assembly polls follow on March 9. Abubakar said he is hoping for a repeat of 2015, when the opposition voted out the president for the first time in Nigeria's history. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Friday filed a charge sheet against eight people, allegedly owning allegiance to the proscribed Khalistan Liberation Front (KLF) terror group, in a case related to the attempt to murder of Shiv Sena leader Amit Arora, officials said here. The charge sheet was filed in the special NIA court in Mohali in Punjab. The agency claimed that the attempt to murder Arora was part of a trans-national conspiracy hatched by the senior KLF leadership. The charge sheet names Hardeep Singh alias Shera, Ramandeep Singh alias Canadian, Dharminder Singh alias Guguni, Anil Kumar alias Kala, Jagtar Singh Johal alias Jaggi, Harmeet Singh alias Happy (suspected to be in Pakistan), Gurjinder Singh alias Shastri (suspected to be in Italy) and Gursharanbir Singh alias Pehalwan (suspected to be in UK). They have been charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including attempt to murder, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Arms Act. The agency claimed eight incidents of targeted killings or attempts to kill were executed as part of this plan between January 2016 and October 2017 in Punjab and all the victims belonged to certain specific communities and organisations. "The objective of the conspiracy was to destabilise the law and order situation in Punjab and to revive the fledgling terrorism in the state," the NIA spokesman said in a statement Arora, who belongs to the Shiv Sena, was attacked on February 3, 2016 when he was sitting in his car parked at a locality in Ludhiana in Punjab. The NIA claimed that during investigation it was found that the conspiracy had its footprints in several countries, including Pakistan, the UK, Australia, France, Italy and the UAE. As part of the conspiracy, substantial amounts of funds were supplied through Italy, Australia and the UK to the perpetrators which included Hardeep Singh and Ramandeep Singh and these funds were used by them to purchase weapons for executing the killings and other logistics. The conspiracy included recruitment and training of Hardeep and Ramandeep in Italy, Dubai and UAE. The NIA said that Hardeep is a permanent resident of Italy and Ramandeep Singh belongs to Ludhiana. They were trained by Gursharanbir Singh, a UK national. The NIA said another UK national, Jagtar Singh Johal, who has been arrested in the case, was involved in the funding of the conspiracy. The spokesman said day-to-day coordination of the conspiracy was done by Pakistan-based Harmeet Singh. The charge sheet is based on the evidence collected from oral, documentary, material and electronic sources. Besides, further evidence is being collected from several other countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has condemned the killing of a Pakistani national, who was serving life sentence in the Central Jail, in a brawl with other prisoners and served notices to the government and the state prison authorities. The commission observed that it is "immaterial whether the victim was an Indian citizen or a foreigner, he was a human being". The has also held in Charles Sobhraj vs Superintendent of Central Jail, Tihar that imprisonment does not spell farewell to fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution. "Once someone is kept in the custody of the state, even in a jail, being a lawful custodian, the state is duty bound to ensure his safety and security," the said in a statement issued on Thursday. Shakrullah (50), belonging to the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba was allegedly murdered on Wednesday. The prisoners fought over TV volume and hit him with a large stone, police officials had said. Describing the incident as inhuman, the commission said it "condemns all such incidents and has called for stringent action against the miscreants to ensure that right to life of prisoners is not violated while they are in lawful judicial custody". The commission has also issued notices to the chief secretary and the director general (prisons) of the state, seeking reports in four weeks. "The Commission, on the basis of media reports, has also held that the authorities are expected to take immediate precautionary measures in the jails where Pakistani nationals are lodged in the wake of prevailing atmosphere," it said. The has also directed its registry to send a copy of the proceeding in this matter to the chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories across the country for "strict compliance" and "taking necessary action" in their respective states, the statement said. The commission said it had also noted the reported allegations, levelled by the Pakistan government, that the inmate was "killed in retaliation to the Pulwama attack" and the denial of the charges by the state prison authorities. Keeping in view the timing of the incident, the allegations require to be looked into thoroughly, it stated. The further observed that there have been many instances in India as well as Pakistan wherein citizens of other countries are targeted by native prisoners due to "anger and hatred". One Indian citizen, Sarabjit Singh, who was serving his sentence in a Pakistan jail, was also attacked in a similar manner. He succumbed to injuries during the course of treatment, it said. These kinds of incidents may aggravate the grim situation, violating the human rights of the innocent citizens, particularly of those lodged in jails, the commission said. Shakrullah, a resident of Sialkot in Pakistan's Punjab, was arrested in 2011 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for running a module to radicalise local youth with support and guidance of Pakistan-based handlers. Scientists have discovered a new species of tiny tyrannosaur which helps explain how the dinosaurs evolved from small, speedy hunters, into the bone-crushing apex predators that we know. The species called Moros intrepidus is a small tyrannosaur who lived about 96 million years ago in the lush, deltaic of what is now Utah during the Cretaceous period. The tyrannosaur, described in the journal Communications Biology, is the oldest Cretaceous tyrannosaur species yet discovered in North America, narrowing a 70-million-year gap in the fossil record of tyrant dinosaurs on the continent. "With a lethal combination of bone-crunching bite forces, stereoscopic vision, rapid growth rates, and colossal size, tyrant dinosaurs reigned uncontested for 15 million years leading up to the end-Cretaceous extinction -- but it wasn't always that way," said Lindsay Zanno, paleontologist at North Carolina State University in the US. "Early in their evolution, tyrannosaurs hunted in the shadows of archaic lineages such as allosaurs that were already established at the top of the food chain," Zanno said in a statement. Medium-sized, primitive tyrannosaurs have been found in North America dating from the Jurassic -- around 150 million years ago. By the Cretaceous -- around 81 million years ago -- North American tyrannosaurs had become the enormous, iconic apex predators we know. The fossil record between these time periods has been a blank slate, preventing scientists from piecing together the story behind the ascent of tyrannosaurs in North America. "When and how quickly tyrannosaurs went from wallflower to prom king has been vexing paleontologists for a long time," said Zanno. A decade spent hunting for dinosaur remains within rocks deposited at the dawn of the Late Cretaceous finally yielded teeth and a hind limb from the new tyrannosaur, researchers said. The lower leg bones of Moros were discovered in the same area where Zanno had previously found Siats meekerorum, a giant meat-eating carcharodontosaur that lived during the same period. Moros is tiny by comparison -- standing only three or four feet tall at the hip, about the size of a modern mule deer. Zanno estimates that the Moros was over seven years old when it died, and that it was nearly full-grown. "Moros was lightweight and exceptionally fast. These adaptations, together with advanced sensory capabilities, are the mark of a formidable predator. It could easily have run down prey, while avoiding confrontation with the top predators of the day," Zanno said. "Although the earliest Cretaceous tyrannosaurs were small, their predatory specialisations meant that they were primed to take advantage of new opportunities when warming temperatures, rising sea-level and shrinking ranges restructured ecosystems at the beginning of the Late Cretaceous," Zanno said. "We now know it took them less than 15 million years to rise to power," she said. The bones of Moros also revealed the origin of T rex's lineage on the North American continent. When the scientists placed Moros within the family tree of tyrannosaurs they discovered that its closest relatives were from Asia. "T rex and its famous contemporaries such as Triceratops may be among our most beloved cultural icons, but we owe their existence to their intrepid ancestors who migrated here from Asia at least 30 million years prior," Zanno said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Scientists have synthesised a molecular system that, like DNA, can store and transmit information, and may help in the search for alien life. The finding, published in the journal Science, suggests there could be an alternative to DNA-based life, as we know it on Earth -- a genetic system for life that may be possible on other worlds. This new molecular system, which is not a new life form, suggests scientists looking for life beyond Earth may need to rethink what they are looking for, researchers said. DNA is a complex molecule that stores and transmits genetic information, is passed from parent to offspring in all living organisms on Earth, and its components include four key ingredients called nucleotides -- all standard for life as we know it. "Life detection is an increasingly important goal of NASA's planetary science missions, and this new work will help us to develop effective instruments and experiments that will expand the scope of what we look for," Lori Glaze, acting director of NASA's Planetary Science Division said in a statement. One way to imagine the kinds of foreign structures found on other worlds is to try to create something foreign on Earth. Researchers, led by Steven Benner at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in the US, successfully achieved the fabrication of a new informational molecular system that is like DNA, except in one key area. The new molecule has eight informational ingredients instead of four. The synthetic DNA includes the four nucleotides present in Earth life -- adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine -- but also four others that mimic the structures of the informational ingredients in regular DNA. The result is a double-helix structure that can store and transfer information. The team, including researchers from the University of Texas and Indiana University in the US, dubbed their creation "hachimoji" DNA. Hachimoji DNA meets all the structural requirements that allow our DNA to store, transmit and evolve information in living systems. "By carefully analysing the roles of shape, size and structure in hachimoji DNA, this work expands our understanding of the types of molecules that might store information in extraterrestrial life on alien worlds," said Benner. Scientists have much more to do on the question of what other genetic systems could serve as the foundation for life, and where such exotic organisms could be found. However, this study opens the door to further research on ways life could structure itself in environments that we consider inhospitable, but which might be teeming with forms of life we have not yet imagined. "Incorporating a broader understanding of what is possible in our instrument design and mission concepts will result in a more inclusive and, therefore, more effective search for life beyond Earth," said Mary Voytek, senior scientist for Astrobiology at NASA. One of NASA's goals is to search for life on other planets like Mars, where there was once flowing water and a thick atmosphere, or moons of the outer solar system like Europa and Enceladus, where vast water oceans churn under thick layers of ice. "The discovery that DNA with eight nucleotide letters is suitable for storing and transmitting information is a breakthrough in our knowledge of the range of possibilities necessary for life," said Andrew Serazin, president of Templeton World Charity Foundation in The Bahamas. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A constable of the National Disaster Response Force who sustained a severe spinal injury while saving a pilgrim from drowning in the Kumbh Mela died in a Delhi hospital on Friday, a senior NDRF official said. Constable Rajender Gautam, 36, a resident of Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh, died around 5.30 am at the Safdarjung Hospital, NDRF Inspector General L Ravi Joseph told PTI. On February 19, he jumped into the waters of the Sangam, a confluence of the Ganga Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, to rescue an elderly man. "Gautam was on duty at the Kumbh Mela on February 19 when he saw an old pilgrim struggling in the water. He had crossed the safety barrier to take a holy dip in the river waters near Someshawara Ghat. Gautam was on an NDRF boat and jumped into the river without caring for his own life," Joseph said. Though the pilgrim was saved, Gautam was severely injured in the spine. "He was first rushed to a local hospital and from there referred to the Swaroop Rani Hospital in Allahabad," Joseph said. "Considering the severity of his condition, he was moved to Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital in an Uttar Pradesh government air ambulance on February 19 itself," he added. The following day, Gautam underwent a surgery and was in "recovery mode". However, his condition started to deteriorate in the early hours of Friday and doctors couldn't save him despite their best efforts, the IG said. "We are awaiting the arrival of his wife from Himachal Pradesh. After that, his mortal remains will be taken to his native place for the last rites," Joseph said. NDRF Director General S N Pradhan and several senior officials of the rescue force gathered at the New Delhi Municipal Council's Convention Centre here to pay their last respects to the constable. "Constable Rajender Gautam laid down his life in selfless service to the nation and to humanity as a whole. The courage and dedication shown by him has been exemplary and he indeed lived up to the motto of the NDRF -- 'Saving Lives and Beyond'," Joseph said while paying tribute. Many civilians and several scouts and guides, who had come to attend a function on World Scout Day, also joined in in mourning his untimely death. NDRF personnel paid tribute to their colleague by blowing the ceremonial bugle and lowering their guns. Gautam belonged to the NDRF's 9th Battalion stationed in Patna. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) constable, who had saved a civilian from drowning in Kumbh Mela recently and sustained a severe spinal injury, died at a hospital here on Friday, an NDRF official said. Constable Rajender Gautam, native of Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh died around 5:30 AM, NDRF's Inspector General L Ravi Joseph, told PTI. "He had sustained a severe spinal injury during the rescue of an old man, who was drowning during the Kumbh Mela on February 19. He was later airlifted to Delhi the same day, given the severity of his condition," he said. His mortal remains will be taken to Himachal Pradesh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A constable of the National Disaster Response Force, who died after sustaining a severe spinal injury while saving a pilgrim from drowning in the Kumbh Mela, will be cremated with full state honours at his native village in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday. Constable Rajender Gautam, 36, a resident of Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh, died around 5.30 am at the Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi, NDRF Inspector General L Ravi Joseph told PTI. On February 19, he jumped into the waters of the Sangam, a confluence of the Ganga Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, to rescue an elderly man. The body is being brought to his native village Tehar in Rohal Post Office of Jhandutta Tehsil, Bilaspur Deputy Commissioner Vivek Bhatia said. He will be cremated with full state honours Saturday, Bhatia added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) [February 21, 2019] UJET Awarded CUSTOMER Magazine, Workforce Optimization Innovation Award UJET, Inc., the company that is reimagining customer support with multi-channel solutions that fully leverage smartphone-era technology and intelligent automation, today announced that it has been awarded a CUSTOMER Magazine, Workforce Optimization Innovation Award. The CUSTOMER Magazine Workforce Optimization Innovation Award recognizes vendors that are using metrics and data-driven analysis to advance the call center, CRM and teleservices industries one solution at a time. The award highlights products which enable their clients to meet and exceed the expectations of their customers. "On behalf of both TMC and CUSTOMER magazine, it is my pleasure to honor UJET with a Workforce Optimization Innovation Award," said Rich Tehrani (News - Alert) , CEO, TMC. "Its UJET Platform solution has proven deserving of this elite status and I look forward to continued innovation from UJET in 2019 and beyond." "We are honored to have been recognized by one of the leading voices in the industry and believe it is directly atributable to UJET's ability to radically transform the customer support experience," said Anand Janefalkar, Founder and CEO of UJET. "Our platform enables users to automate and optimize communications across every touch point - phone, web and app. And, UJET's actionable data intelligence and support tools empower customer service teams to better serve and delight customers." Tweet this: .@UJETco Awarded CUSTOMER Magazine, Workforce Optimization Innovation Award https://ujet.co/newsroom/ #CustomerSupport #CustomerExperience #CX About TMC's (News - Alert) CUSTOMER Magazine TMC's CUSTOMER magazine premiered in September 2012 and is the industry's definitive source for news, product information, and strategies for communications that engage customers and potential customers. Each issue of CUSTOMER includes news and insights on the latest developments in agent training, analytics, ERP, IVR, social CRM solutions, mobile apps, workforce management and more. Please visit http://customer.tmcnet.com for more information. About UJET UJET is a modern cloud contact center software company with leading innovation in smartphone-era customer support on the web, phone, and mobile apps. The UJET platform delights end-users with any time, anywhere access and simple smartphone functionality and elevates agent performance through context-aware solutions for voice, chat, image, video, and text. The UJET platform is enterprise grade in its global reliability, security, and scaling capacity and is SOC2 Type II and HIPAA compliant. UJET is trusted by customer-centric, innovative enterprises, including Nest, Instacart, Postmates, Atom Tickets, Blink and Grupo Bursatil Mexicano (GBM) to automate contact center processes and provide superior experiences that drive higher customer satisfaction. For more information, visit www.getujet.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190221005029/en/ [ Back To SIP Trunking Home's Homepage ] Seven accused in the shelter home sex scandal, including some key aides and close relatives of the prime accused Brajesh Thakur, were on Friday taken to Delhi for deposition before the Special POCSO court at Saket where the trial has been transferred by a Supreme Court order. According to Sunil Kumar Maurya, Deputy Superintendent of the Khudiram Bose Central Prison here, the seven accused who were sent by train include Shaista Parveen alias Madhu who ran many businesses of Thakur her relative Mohd Sahil alias Vicky, Thakurs uncle Ramanuj, a former Child Welfare Committee president Dilip Verma and the state-funded shelter homes manager Ramashankar Singh. All the accused will be presented before the Saket court on the next date of hearing on Saturday. Nearly a score of people have been arrested in connection with the scandal which came to light after sexual abuse of inmates was flagged by Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences in a report of social audit. The accused have been lodged in various jails across the state, while Thakur himself is lodged in a prison at Patiala. Thakur owned the NGO Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti, which ran the shelter home located inside the premises of a Hindi daily he edited, which was located adjacent to his own residence. He is currently lodged inside a jail at Patiala after a direction to the effect was issued to the CBI by the Supreme Court. The scandal was handed over to the CBI in July last year, about a couple of months after the police lodged an FIR. The Apex Court earlier this week expressed serious dissatisfaction with the tardy pace of investigations, rapped the Nitish Kumar government in the state for not doing its bit and ordered transfer of trial to the Saket court. Meanwhile, municipal authorities also began the work of demolishing the structure inside which the Balika Grih (shelter home for girls) ran. In course of investigations, it came to light that the building was constructed illegally. Demolition work had begun in December last year but was thereafter halted in view of Thakurs family moving a court challenging the same. The court, however, disposed of the petition with a direction to the municipal authorities to look into the objections raised by the petitioners and, accordingly, take appropriate action. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh Friday rolled out its flagship 'Mukhyamantri Yuva Swabhiman Yojana' that guarantees 100 days of employment every year to urban youths from economically weaker sections (EWS). The scheme, as part of which youths would be imparted skill development training, was launched by Chief Minister Kamal Nath here. "We are preparing a new roadmap for development for better future of the state, under which steps will be taken to ensure development of agriculture and employment to youths," he said after the launch. In less than two months after coming to power, the new government has waived loans of farmers for strengthening agriculture. For providing employment to youths, the Mukhyamantri Yuva Swabhiman Yojana has been launched, Nath said. "The major challenge before us is to initiate wider reforms in the agriculture sector as we have an agrarian economy. If we are unable to give adequate price to farmers for their produce, then our economy will not improve," he said. The chief minister added that if the purchasing power of farmers does not increase, it will have a negative impact on the commercial activities and ultimately the state will suffer in terms of overall development. "In order to strengthen the farmers, we are initiating the process of waiving their loans by handing over relevant documents to them from today. "Another major challenge is providing employment to youths. Under the new scheme, they will get Rs 4,000 stipend per month during 100 days of period. During this period, they would be given skill development training, so that they become independent," Nath said. An official said, each youth enrolled under the scheme will get total Rs 13,500 for the 100 days period. "Only those youths, whose family's annual income is less than Rs 2 lakh and who are in the age group of 21-30 years, are eligible for the scheme," the official said. State Urban Administration Minister Jaivardhan Singh said 1.5 lakh urban youths have so far registered themselves for this scheme. The government would also invite companies to provide full-time employment to the trained youths under the scheme, he said. Minister for Public Relations P C Sharma said soon after coming to power, the Kamal Nath government fulfilled 26 promises that the Congress had made in its 'vachan patra' (manifesto). At the launch, Nath also presented certificates to 12 persons, including women, who are beneficiaries of this employment scheme. On the occasion, the chief minister also launched a number of development projects, including multi-level parking, 'smart bins' for collection of garbage and vacuum road sweepers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP general secretary Bhupendra Yadav Friday targeted Pakistan over the Pulwama terror attack, stating the neighbouring country is aiding and abetting terrorism as part of it proxy war against India. He also said the Modi government is committed to ensure safety and security of all citizens of the country, including Kashmiris who have come under attack in different parts of India in the wake of the February 14 terror strike on security personnel at Pulwama that left 40 CRPF soldiers dead. "By abetting terrorism, neighbouring country (Pakistan) is attacking India in a proxy manner," Yadav told reporters here after taking part in a party programme. He said the Narendra Modi government has taken the attack on CRPF jawans in Pulwama very seriously and is taking stern measures against terrorists and separatists. Asked about the attacks on Kashmiris in different parts of the country after the Pulwama carnage, the BJP leader said the Modi government is working for the security of all citizens of the country. In reply to a question, he said the BJP's defeat in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan assembly polls will not have any impact on the party's performance in the Lok Sabha elections in these states. "We will win maximum number of Lok Sabha seats in these states," Yadav said. On the Ayodhya issue, he said the BJP is committed to construction of a Ram temple within the constitutional limits, but the Congress should stop creating hurdles and playing on the matter. Asked about the pre-poll tie-up between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP leader said SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav has already criticised the alliance. The SP-BSP alliance will in no way affect BJP's poll prospects in Uttar Pradesh, which sends the highest number of MPs (80) to the Lok Sabha, Yadav said. "In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, we (NDA) had won 73 out of the 80 seats and this time we are going to get 74," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Opposition MLAs tried to corner the Khattar-led government on a host of issues, including the farmers, which saw sharp exchange of words in the treasury benches in the state assembly during the resumed debate on the Governor's Address here Friday. INLD and Congress MLAs also targeted the Khattar government on the issue of Aravallis, claiming that it has decided to amend the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), which could favour private builders, as the move would open up more land for real estate development as construction activity could be allowed in areas where it was previously disallowed due to enforcement of PLPA. Senior INLD leader and Leader of Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala, former chief minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Congress' Anand Singh Dangi and Raghubir Singh Kadian were among the opposition legislators to raise the issue of farmers. They alleged that the ruling BJP had not extended full benefits of the Swaminathan Commission Report and cheated the peasants. There was day-long debate on the Governor's Address, in which various MLAs from opposition and ruling party took part. Hooda said they have not implemented the Swaminathan Commission in real terms. However, Agriculture Minister O P Dhankar, who launched counter-attacks on the opposition MLAs on farmers' issue, said, "The opposition is in the habit of misleading people on Swaminathan issue. They are making non-agenda as an agenda, but people are wise. We have implemented Swaminathan Commission's report." Chautala also claimed that some arrears of sugarcane farmers were pending. On the Sutlej Yamuna link canal, Chautala said it was lifeline for the farmers, but the present state government had not pursued the matter enough with the Centre to ensure that it gets completed at the earliest. Chautala, Congress' Karan Dalal and Lalit Nagar, the Congress MLA from Tigaon in Faridabad district, were among those to raise the Aravallis issue. "The government is planning to bring a bill to extend favours to private builders," Nagar claimed. "Fear is that big land sharks could be given benefit. Why is the government in a hurry to bring this bill?" Dalal asked. Chautala said the Aravallis are the only forested areas in cities like Gurgaon and Faridabad, claiming that diluting the PLPA will destroy the Aravallis. The PLPA legislation was enacted to save the soil from erosion. It is applicable to all of Punjab and Haryana. Hooda and Independent MLA Jai Prakash raised the issue of 18,000 recruitment for Group 'D' posts, claiming that majority of those who secured jobs were highly qualified even though matriculates were eligible and demanded more jobs be advertised as several candidates with lesser qualifications, who belonged to poor strata of society, had failed to get these jobs. Dalal expressed concern over drug addiction among youth and urged the government to take proactive steps to ensure that the menace is curbed. He also asked the government to take steps to tackle pollution in the Yamuna river. Congress' Udai Bhan launched a fierce attack on the government and alleged that 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' is a hollow slogan of the BJP". Naina Chautala, MLA from Dabwali, said the jawans secure country's borders and sacrifice their lives while fighting militants, government must take steps to ensure that dependents of martyrs are taken care of. BJP member Mool Chand Sharma blamed the previous Congress government for failing to undertake development for 10 years, saying had they worked with the same spirit as the incumbent regime the state would have become like Singapore long ago. BJP's Seema Trikha said while examples of Gujarat model of development used to be given earlier, now even the prime minister heaps praise on Haryana for various developmental initiatives taken by the present state government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A hardcore militant of People's Democratic Council of Karbi-Longri (PDCK) was apprehended Friday along with arms and ammunition in Karbi Anglong district of central Assam, police said. The operation was jointly carried out by the Army and police at Borlangfer area of the district. Based on specific inputs about movement of PDCK extremists in Borlangfer area, a joint team comprising of Army and Police launched an operation and apprehended the militant identified as Welson Terang alias Mongwe Terang of Bokaram Tokbi gaon, under Dolamara police station, said Karbi Anglong district Superintendent of Police Gaurav Upadhyay. A .22 pistol with magazine and 6 live rounds of ammunition were recovered from his possession, Upadhyay said. Welson was earlier a hardcore member of Karbi People's Liberation Tigers (KPLT) and involved in extortion, kidnappings, etc., The SP said, adding, he was arrested in 2013 and 2015. After getting released on bail, Welson joined PDCK and was involved in extortion and recruitment of youths into the extremist outfit, Upadhyay said. In July last year, Welson along with his associates, had mounted an attack on a police team at Bokaram Tokbi gaon, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Meteorological Department Friday issued a 'yellow' warning for hailstorm in the mid and low hills of Himachal Pradesh on February 26, officials said. A fresh western disturbance (WD) is very likely to affect western Himalayan region from February 24 evening, the MeT Centre Shimla said. Another WD, along with its induced cyclonic circulation, is very likely to affect northwest India from February 26, it added. The 'yellow' warning was issued amid a forecast of snowfall and rain in high and mid hills and rain in low hills and plains from February 24 to 28. Some high reaches of the state experienced snowfall from 5.30 pm on Thursday to 8.30 am on Friday. Keylong and Kalpa received 23 cm and 4 cm of snowfall respectively, the MeT Centre said. Several parts of the state, including capital Shimla, received light rain during the period, it added. No appreciable change in minimum temperatures was observed during the last 24 hours, the Met Centre said, adding that the minimum temperatures were one to two degrees Celsius above the normal. Keylong continued to be the coldest place in Himachal Pradesh with a minimum temperature of minus 7 degrees Celsius, whereas the minimum temperature in Kalpa was minus 1.4 degrees Celsius. Kufri, Dalhousie and Shimla recorded a minimum temperature of 0.6 degrees Celsius, 2.9 degrees Celsius and 5.2 degrees Celsius respectively. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man tried to set himself on fire during a programme in Maharashtra's Bhandara city Friday where state energy minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule was also present, police said. His attempt was thwarted, they said. The man was identified as Arun Bhede (45), reportedly a BJP worker. A program to distribute building work kits was underway at Dasra ground in the city when Bhede suddenly climbed on the dais and poured kerosene on himself, a police release said. Superintendent of Police Vanita Sahu who was on dais and others immediately snatched away the kerosene bottle and a matchbox from his hands, the release added. A video of the incident was posted on social media, which showed Bhede purportedly saying that he had worked for the BJP for last 30 years, and he did not want to cause any disturbance at the event. Local sources said that Bhede, a former corporator, wanted the city administration to remove encroachment from the area surrounding a statue he had got installed. The police did not confirm this. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 35-year-old man on Friday allegedly attempted suicide by consuming poison at the Vijay Chowk area here, police said. The Parliament Street police station was informed at 10.41 am regarding consumption of poison by a man at Media Parking, Vijay Chowk, police said. A team rushed to the spot and identified the man as Govindula Tirupati, a resident of Rajaram Dharampuri village in Karimnagar district of Andhra Pradesh, they said. Tirupati is undergoing treatment at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Madhur Verma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi), said. A plastic bottle of pesticide 'Monocil' was found with him, he said. A printed letter in Telugu pertaining to his business was also found which was initially suspected to be a suicide note. Some clothes in a black bag were also there, police said. ' They said his family members have been informed about the incident. A statement will be recorded after he is declared fit by the doctor, police said. The reason of his taking such an extreme step is still being probed, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three persons have been sentenced to life in prison by a court in Thane in Maharashtra for gang-raping a newly-wed teen. District Judge S A Sinha, in a recent order, convicted Naveen Ashok Bagade (43), Santosh Yashwant Shelke (22) and Rajkumar Tikeshwar Sahani (29) under section 376 D (rape by one or more persons constituting a group) and 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code. The three, all residents of Mithpada in the powerloom town of Bhiwandi in the district, were also fined Rs 15,000 while four others were acquitted in the case. Additional Public Prosecutor Vandana Jadhav said the incident happened on August 17, 2014 at the teen's marital home in Bhiwandi. At around 1 am that day, some men barged into their home and after assaulting and gagging her husband, took turns to rape the 19-year-old, the APP said. The accused were heavily inebriated and inflicted severe bite injuries on the victim during the gang-rape, Jadhav said. Judge Sinha, in her order, stated that considering the manner in which the accused raped and caused injuries to the victim, they did not deserve any leniency. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the closure of Venezuela's border with Brazil in an increasingly fraught power struggle with Juan Guaido, the opposition leader spearheading efforts to bring humanitarian aid into the country despite a military blockade. Guaido set out in a convoy of vehicles to personally pick up US aid being stockpiled on the other side of the Colombian border, defying Maduro's military to stop him. Recognised as interim president by more than 50 countries, he left the capital Caracas for the Colombian border in a convoy of several vehicles for the 900-kilometer (560-mile) trip. Embattled Maduro has dismissed Guaido's humanitarian caravan as a "cheap show" and slammed aid as a precursor for a US military intervention in the oil-rich but crippled Latin American country. The 35-year-old leader of the Venezuelan legislature proclaimed himself acting president January 23 and wants to oust Maduro, set up a transitional government and hold new elections. A separate caravan of buses and trucks containing opposition lawmakers had earlier left eastern Caracas bound for the border. Several of the trucks were stopped by security forces and their drivers forced to get out, but the rest of the caravan was allowed to continue, lawmakers said. "We know that the regime is going to put all obstacles to prevent us from reaching the border, but nothing is stopping us, we are going to continue," said opposition lawmaker Yanet Fermin. Guaido scored important symbolic boosts Thursday as 11 Venezuelan diplomats based in the US declared their support for him. Hugo Carvajal, a retired general and former military intelligence chief to Hugo Chavez, also recognized the opposition leader and called upon the armed forces to break from Maduro. Elsewhere, Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra received Guaido-appointed ambassador Carlos Scull, Peru's state agency Andina reported. Signaling his growing disquiet, Maduro announced Thursday that the border with Brazil - which along with Colombia is one of the main potential avenues for aid delivery - would be "completely and absolutely" closed from 8:00 pm (local time) until further notice. But Maria Teresa Belandria, Guaido's designated ambassador in Brazil said 100 tons of food, medicines and emergency kits were waiting to be trucked from Boa Vista to Pacaraima on the Venezuelan border. Maduro also warned Thursday he was considering "a total closure of the border with Colombia" to Venezuela's west. He has already ordered the military to barricade a major border bridge to prevent supplies from entering the country from Cucuta, Colombia, where tons of humanitarian aid are being stockpiled, most of it from the United States. Meanwhile, Maduro - mirroring Guaido's move in an attempt to show his socialist government was able to look after its people - ordered a shipment of thousands of food boxes to be distributed to the needy along the Colombian border. He also announced on Thursday the arrival of another 7.5 tons of medicine and medical supplies from Russia. Shipments of food and medicine for the crisis-stricken population have become a key focus of the power struggle between Maduro and Guaido. Guaido, who says 300,000 people could die without an influx of aid, says he aims to rally a million volunteers to start bringing it in by Saturday. It remained unclear how he proposed to do so if the blockade continues, but experts have pointed to the notoriously porous 2,200 kilometer (1,360-mile) border, which is perforated by well-worn drug trafficking and contraband routes. Guaido said the planned entry points for aid were the Brazilian and Colombian borders, the island of Curacao and the seaports of Puerto Cabello and La Guaira. Venezuela's vice-president Delcy Rodriguez said the government was shutting down air and sea links between Curacao and Venezuela. However Carlos Faria, one of the leaders of a group of Venezuelans organising aid shipments via Curacao, told AFP a plane carrying 50 tons of food and medicine was expected from Miami on Thursday and would be loaded onto a Venezuela-bound ship on Friday. Underlining the swell of international support for Guaido, British entrepreneur Richard Branson plans to hold a pro-aid concert just inside Colombia on Friday, while Maduro's government stages a rival concert on its side of the border, around 1,000 feet (300 meters) away. Meanwhile, the White House said Vice-President Mike Pence would visit neighboring Colombia on Monday in a show of support for Guaido. The US has repeatedly said "all options," including military, are on the table. But Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao dismissed US threats of military intervention in Venezuela as "premature" and said it "wouldn't make sense." "I think they're more in the realm of rhetoric than action," Mourao said of the threats in an interview with AFP. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a congratulatory message, Chinese President Xi Jinping underlined that the launch of the ASEAN-China Year of Media Exchanges represents an important move toward intensifying the strategic partnership. The President stressed that acting as a bridge in promoting communication, cooperation and people-to-people contacts, the media can play an even greater role in the development of China-ASEAN ties. He voiced his hope that media from both sides could serve as messengers of friendly exchanges, facilitators of pragmatic cooperation, peace and development, making a greater contribution to the building of the China-ASEAN community. At the ceremony, Politburo member and head of the Communist Party of China Central Committees Publicity Department Huang Kunming called on media organisations of China and ASEAN to expand and tap potential in cooperation in the spirit of friendly negotiation, equality and mutual benefit. Meanwhile, representatives of ASEAN nations spoke highly of the two sides' media cooperation and voiced their hope to further boost exchanges, thus contributing to the enhancement of bilateral relations. The media of both sides will launch a diverse of policies and exchange activities in the year, such as the ASEAN-China television week and the ASEAN-China film week and a programme to jointly produce movies and TV series. The issue of the lone Nagaland Lok Sabha MP's vote on the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Lower House of Parliament last month came up in the state Assembly Friday. Opposition Naga People's Front (NPF) asked in a starred question whether Tokheho Yepthomi, the MP of ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), voted in favour or against the Bill. Replying to the question, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said, the CM's offices does not keep record of voting in Parliament. Rio is heading the People's Democratic Alliance government in partnership with the BJP in the state. The Opposition members, however, were adamant in asking the government to make its position clear on the Bill. Rio then quoted from a statement of the MP that he was not present in Lok Sabha when the bill was passed on January 8 and the NDPP had not issued any directive to him on the Bill. The Bill seeks to provide citizenship to minorities of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh after residence in the country for six years instead of the current 12 years. The Bill triggered widespread protests in the Northeast as indigenous people of the region are apprehending that if the Bill is enacted, it will endanger their livelihood and identity. However, it could not be tabled in Rajya Sabha and is now destined to die a natural death with the expiry of the term of the current Lok Sabha on June 3. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A force loyal to Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar announced Thursday it had taken control of a key oil field in the conflict-wracked country's south. Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) "have peacefully taken control of the Al-Fil field", spokesman Ahmad al-Mesmari said on Facebook. Al-Fil currently produces about 73,000 barrels a day and is managed by Mellitah Oil and Gas, a joint venture between Italy's Eni and Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC). The North African country has been torn between rival administrations, myriad militias and jihadists since the overthrow and killing of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The Tripoli-based Government of National Accord is recognised by the international community, but a parallel administration in eastern Libya is backed by the LNA. Since mid-January the LNA has been conducting a military operation in the south aimed at rooting out "terrorists" and foreign fighters. It already controls most of the important oil terminals in the country's east, and earlier this month it seized the Al-Sharara field some 900 kilometres (560 miles) south of Tripoli. It entrusts the management of those sites to the NOC -- which tries to juggle ties with the rival camps. In a separate incident in the country's south, armed men murdered a security official in the town of Murzuk, the UN-backed government said, a day after LNA forces entered. General Ibrahim Mohamad Kari was killed Wednesday by "an outlawed armed group", the government said, calling the killing a "cowardly crime" and vowing to bring the culprits to justice. Libyan media said Kari, a member of the minority Tubu community, was killed when armed men raided his home in Murzuk. On Wednesday night, Haftar's LNA said it had entered and taken control of Murzuk as part of the offensive launched in January. Haftar's forces have accused some Tubu of supporting the Chadian rebels. Murzuk is a stronghold of the Tubus, many of whom are opposed to Haftar's offensive, and lies in a region where tensions run high between them and Arab tribes, who have largely joined LNA ranks. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Kolkata police has sent a notice to CBI Joint Director Pankaj Srivastava, asking him to appear before the investigating officer at the Bhawanipur police station here in connection with a complaint registered against him last month. According to a senior officer of the Kolkata Police, Srivastava has been directed to appear before the investigating officer within seven days in connection with the case registered last month. The summon notice was sent to his office here Thursday when Srivastava was not present, the officer said. Based on the complaint, lodged by one Vaibhav Khattar with the Bhawanipore police station about the CBI illegally detaining and torturing him in a case in which he claimed he had no connection, police started its investigation. When contacted, a senior CBI official here denied receiving any such communication from the Kolkata Police "We have not received anything from the Kolkata Police," he said. Srivastava could not be reached for his comments. Khattar, an employee of a private mill in West Bengal, was raided by the federal investigating agency August last year in connection with its investigation into alleged involvement of the mill owner, Dipesh Chandak, in a case of multi-crore fodder scam that had happened in Bihar in the early 90s. The Kolkata Police summon to the CBI Joint Director (East) comes close on heels of a fierce tiff between the premier investigating agency and the city police over its action against outgoing Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar in Sarada chit fund scam. The incident had blown into a major confrontation between the Centre and the West Bengal government after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sat on dharna against the CBI action. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Friday termed as "heinous" the recent killings of two Youth Congress activists in Kasaragod and said stern action would be taken against the guilty. The Youth Congress workers, Kripesh (24) and Sarath Lal (21), were allegedly waylaid and hacked to death by unidentified assailants in Kasargod district late on Sunday night. They were returning home after attending a function in Periya. "The murder of two Youth Congress workers was heinous. There is no need protect those who commit such heinous crimes. That's why party (CPI-M) secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan openly denied the party's role in the incident," Vijayan said. The government would take strong action against those who have committed the crime, he said, addressing workers of Communist Party of India (Marxist) after laying the foundation stone of the party's new district committee office in Kasargod. Hitting out at the Congress, Vijayan said after the murder of the two activists, the party acted like it had got the licence to indulge in violence. "No one reacted to the violence by Congress workers. Law will take its own course. Those who have done something wrong will be punished," he said. The chief minister claimed that there were "many forces" which operated on the basis of hate towards the Left parties. "When some crime takes place against the Left workers, many think they deserve it. Even a certain section of the media thinks so," Vijayan said. There were reports that the chief minister was keen to visit the parents of the two Youth Congress workers, but changed his plans after the Congress's lukewarm response. On Friday, Youth Congress workers waved black flags at Vijayan's convoy in Kasargod to protest the killings. Meanwhile, Congress state chief Mullappally Ramachandran sought a CBI probe into the killings. A day after the Crime Branch took over the investigation into the case from the local police, Ramachandran alleged that the track record of its inspector general was not good. "The Left government has appointed this officer as investigation head in the criminal cases in which the party leaders are involved," he told reporters in Kottayam. A CBI probe is required to arrest the real culprits, he added. The ruling CPI(M) is facing the heat over the killings of Kripesh and Lal. Opposition Congress and BJP have alleged that the killings were executed with the knowledge and support of the CPI(M) leadership. The Left party has denied the charge. Seven people, including a local CPI(M) leader, have been arrested in connection with the killings. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Kashmir Editors Guild (KEG) Friday claimed that the government has stopped state government advertisements to two major local dailies here and sought the attention of the Press Council of India and the Editors Guild to exercise their legal, ethical and professional mandate to intervene in the issue and ensure that the media was not strangulated. "With utmost regret, Kashmir Editors Guild wishes to inform that the Jammu and Kashmir government has stopped state government advertisements to two major daily newspapers Greater Kashmir and Kashmir Reader. The decision has neither been conveyed formally nor was any reason detailed to the respective organisations, so far," a spokesman of the guild said in a statement. He said the KEG, in a detailed meeting, discussed the issue and decided to fight the deliberate strangulation and subversion of the institution of media in the state. "At a time when the democracy is in suspension, the KEG is seeking the attention of the Press Council of India and the Editors Guild of India to exercise their legal, ethical and professional mandate to intervene in the issue and ensure that the media in one of the most sensitive states is not strangulated. The guild decided to move the council and would also involve the Editors Guild of India," the spokesman said. The guild reiterated that the media in Kashmir is one of the most professional media and it has retained its neutrality even at the cost of lives. "It will continue to do so. The professional capacities of Kashmir media have been acknowledged world over. The Press Council of India has also issued a detailed report in 2018, detailing the issues and challenges that the Kashmir media is facing. It also addressed certain misconceptions about the media in the report. The guild also wants to reiterate that the attempts at strangulating the media is in continuation of what has happened in last more than three decades," the KEG said. The spokesman said the "strangulation bid" came at a time when the media in general, and the Kashmir media in particular, is putting up a huge and costly battle with social media setups to ensure that the truth is reported cleanly and clearly separated from mass rumour-mongering. "Kashmir is quite prone to rumours, which routinely overtake facts as it entails costs and consequences. The government in this situation should have intervened and helped improve the quality of the reportage. Instead, they have intervened inversely...A negative intervention in this situation is clearly aimed at slaying the institutions of media. Hitting the two institutions will impact the state and status of both, the journalists and the journalism in Kashmir," the statement said. The KEG appealed to the state government, led by Governor S P Malik, and his policy makers that the "negative intervention" in the media is "compromising the Constitution as it goes against the constitutional guarantees within which the media operates in Kashmir and outside". Meanwhile, former chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah criticised the decision to allegedly stop government advertisements in the two papers. "For reasons best known to him, the Guvs (governor's) admin (administration) in J&K has gone beyond its brief & is in no mood to step back. The decision to stop giving ads to local newspapers GK (Greater Kashmir) & Kashmir Reader is a punitive measure to force them into submission. Are they trying to stifle free press?" Mehbooba wrote on Twitter. "In a classic case of shooting the messenger the state government is reported to have blocked Greater Kashmir newspaper group from any government advertisements. If true I'm not sure what this move is meant to achieve other than to create a pliant, subservient media," Omar said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In yet another incident of assault on Kashmiris after the Pulwama terror attack, a 24-year-old journalist from Jammu and Kashmir was beaten up here. The local police, who earlier dubbed it as an incident of road rage, registered a case against the two suspected assailants Friday evening and arrested one of them. The journalist was allegedly thrashed by the two men Thursday night during a squabble at a traffic signal. Jibran Nazir, who works with a newspaper in Pune, said the assailants told him that they would "send him back to Kashmir". Nazir, however, stated that it was not an "organised" attack. The assailants later apologised to him at the police station, he said. A police official said it was an incident of road rage and not linked with the Pulwama attack. The incident came a day after students from Kashmir studying in a college in Yavatmal in Maharashtra were attacked, allegedly by members of the Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena. Nazir said he was attacked on Tilak Road around 10.45 pm when he was returning home on a motorbike. As he stopped at a traffic signal, two men on a motorbike behind him started honking, asking him to move, which led to a heated exchange. Noticing that his motorbike had a Himachal Pradesh (HP) registration number, the duo said they would pack him off to Himachal Pradesh. When Nazir corrected them, saying he was a journalist hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, the duo beat him up, saying "we will send you back to Kashmir, do your journalism there," he claimed. They snatched his mobile phone, damaged his bike and fled. After Nazir noted down their bike number and approached the Swargate police station, police located the assailants, who came to the police station with their parents and apologised to him. Nazir said he decided not to pursue the matter further and withdrew his police complaint. Later Friday evening, the Pune Police registered a case, on their own, against Azharuddin Shaikh, 32, and Dattatray Lavate, 35, the two suspects. The case was registered against them under IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 279 (rash driving), said senior inspector Ashok Kadam. While Shaikh was arrested, the police were in the process of arresting Lavate, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In another incident of assault on Kashmiris after the Pulwama terror attack, a 24-year-old journalist from the northern state was beaten up here, but local police said it was an incident of road rage. Police Friday said the journalist was thrashed by two men Thursday night during a squabble at a traffic signal. Jibran Nazir, who works with a newspaper in Pune, said the assailants told him that they would "send him back to Kashmir" but added that it was not an "organised" attack. The assailants later apologised to him at the police station, he said. A police official said it was an incident of road rage and not linked with the Pulwama attack. The incident came a day after students from Kashmir studying in a college in Yavatmal were Wednesday attacked, allegedly by members of Yuva Sena, the youth wing of Shiv Sena. Nazir said he was attacked on Tilak Road around 10.45 pm when he was returning home on a motorbike. As he stopped at a traffic signal, two men on a motorbike behind him started honking, asking him to move, which led to a heated exchange. Noticing that his motorbike had a Himachal Pradesh (HP) registration number, the duo said they would pack him off to Himachal Pradesh. When Nazir corrected them, saying he was a journalist hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, the duo beat him up, saying "we will send you back to Kashmir, do your journalism there,' he claimed. They snatched his mobile phone, damaged his bike and fled. After Nazir noted down their bike number and approached the Swargate police station, police located the assailants, in their early 20s, who came to the police station with their parents and apologised to him. Nazir said he decided not to pursue the matter further and withdrew his police complaint. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) JKLF chief Yaseen Malik was detained Friday night amid indications of a wider crackdown on separatists in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Police and paramilitary forces have been put on high alert but there was no confirmation about any more detentions. The action comes eight days after an audacious terror attack on a convoy in Pulwama district in which 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Akhil Bhartiya Sant Samiti chief Jagadguru Hansdevacharya died in a road accident on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district Friday, police said. The seer's SUV collided with another vehicle near Devkhari village in the Bangarmau area in the morning, seriously injuring him and three others, they said. All of them were rushed to a hospital, where Hansdevacharya succumbed to injuries, officials said. Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BJP state president Mahendra Pandey and others have condoled the death. The Haridwar-based seer was an important religious figure associated with the Ram temple movement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking the transfer of seven Pakistani terrorists from Jammu jail to Tihar prison here on grounds that they were allegedly indoctrinating local prisoners. A bench of Justices L N Rao and M R Shah sought a response from Centre and the Delhi government on the plea. Jammu and Kashmir government's standing counsel Shoeb Alam said terrorists belonging to various organisations need to be shifted out of Jammu jail as they were involved in the indoctrination of local prisoners. If not Tihar, they can be shifted to other high security prisons in Haryana and Punjab, he said. To this, the bench said it will hear the matter and asked Alam to ensure that a copy of the notice is served to the seven terrorists also. A day after the Pulwama attack on February 14 in which 40 CRPF personnel were martyred, the Jammu and Kashmir government had moved the apex court to shift a Lashkar-E-Taiba terrorist, Zahid Farooq, out of Jammu jail. Farooq was arrested by security forces while trying to cross the border security fence on May 19, 2016. The state government had said intelligence inputs received indicated that militants belonging to terror outfits like Jaish-e-Muhammad and LeT are indoctrinating the minds of other inmates lodged in the prison. It was reliably learnt that the prisoner and other individuals have considerable local support and it cannot be ruled out that they may be receiving information, resources as well as other help to carry out terrorist related activities, the state government added. The state also sought shifting of the trial to Delhi saying it apprehends that transporting the militant to court and back to prison poses a threat to escorting policemen and common public. Alam had cited an example of an attack on a police party last year when policemen were killed and a Pakistani terrorist prisoner was freed from custody while on a hospital visit. Farooq's transfer from his current prison in Jammu and Kashmir to a high security prison outside the state is in the interest of national security, the government had said. "Foreign prisoners like the private respondent are radicalising and brainwashing local Kashmiri youth in prison. There is a concentration of prisoners with similar backgrounds and linkages to terrorist organizations in local prisons in the State of J&K," it had said. The effect of such radicalisation is that the brainwashed local youth who are inmates with these prisoners, are spreading the menace of terrorism and creating sympathisers by influencing, mobilizing against the state, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The and Kashmir government on Friday moved the seeking the transfer of seven Pakistani terrorists from jail to Tihar prison here on grounds that they were allegedly indoctrinating local prisoners. A bench of Justices L N Rao and M R Shah sought a response from Centre and the on the plea. and Kashmir government's standing counsel Shoaib Alam said terrorists belonging to various organisations need to be shifted out of Jammu jail as they were involved in the indoctrination of local prisoners. If not Tihar, they can be shifted to other high security prisons in and Punjab, he said. To this, the bench said it will hear the matter and asked Alam to ensure that a copy of the notice is served to the seven terrorists also. A day after the Pulwama attack on February 14, the government moved the apex court to shift a Lashkar-E-Taiba terrorist out of Jammu jail. A plea by the Jammu and Kashmir government in the Supreme Court Friday sought transfer of seven Pakistani terrorists from Jammu jail to Tihar in the national capital, alleging they were 'indoctrinating' local prisoners. The seven terrorists are: Waqas Manzoor alias Qazir, Mohd Abdullah alias Abu Tallah and Zaffar Iqbal of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT); Zubair Talha Zarror alias Talha (LeT) from Multan in Pakistan and arrested in 2013; Mohd Ali Hussain (LeT) arrested in 2014; Hafeez Ahmed Baloch of terrorist group Al-Badr arrested in 2006 and Zia Mustafa accused of killing of 24 Kashmiri pandits at Nadimarg area of Shopian district in South Kashmir in 2003. A bench of Justices L N Rao and M R Shah sought a response from Centre and the Delhi government on the plea and issue notice. The bench tagged the pleas along with the earlier petition filed by the state government for shifting of one Pakistani terrorist Zahid Farooq, who was affiliated to LeT, and said it will hear all the petitions together. The state's standing counsel Shoeb Alam said terrorists belonging to various organisations need to be shifted out of Jammu jail as they were involved in the indoctrination of local prisoners and pose a security threat to the people and security personnel. The bench asked Alam as how many terrorists needs to be moved out to which he replied that pleas for shifting of seven Pakistani terrorists is listed today. If not Tihar, they can also be shifted to other high security prisons in Haryana and Punjab, he said. To this, the bench said it will hear the matter and asked Alam to ensure that a copy of the notice is served to the seven terrorists also. A day after the Pulwama attack on February 14 in which 40 CRPF personnel were martyred, the Jammu and Kashmir government had moved the apex court to shift Farooq, out of Jammu jail. Farooq was arrested by security forces while trying to cross the border security fence on May 19, 2016. The state government had said intelligence inputs received indicated that militants belonging to terror outfits like Jaish-e-Muhammad and LeT are indoctrinating the minds of other inmates lodged in the prison. It was reliably learnt that the prisoner and other individuals have considerable local support and it cannot be ruled out that they may be receiving information, resources as well as other help to carry out terrorist related activities, the state government added. The state also sought shifting of the trial to Delhi saying it apprehends that transporting the militant to court and back to prison poses a threat to escorting policemen and common public. Alam had earlier cited an example of an attack on a police party last year when two policemen were killed and a Pakistani terrorist under-trial prisoner managed to flee from the custody during a hospital visit. Shifting of Pakistani terrorists from their current prison in Jammu to a high security prison outside the state is in the interest of national security, the government had said. "Foreign prisoners like the private respondent are radicalising and brainwashing local Kashmiri youth in prison. There is a concentration of prisoners with similar backgrounds and linkages to terrorist organizations in local prisons in the State of J&K," it said. The effect of such radicalisation is that the brainwashed local youth who are inmates with these prisoners, are spreading the menace of terrorism and creating sympathisers by influencing, mobilizing against the state, it said. The state government plea said, "It is also suspected that the Pakistani Government, does not generally pay heed to the request for deportation when the prisoners are lodged in prisons in the state of J&K. However, once the convicted prisoners are shifted to jails outside the state of J&K, the Pakistani government has also shown interest in the deportation of these prisoners back to Pakistan". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A rocket took off from Cape Canaveral in on Thursday night carrying Israel's Beresheet spacecraft, aiming to make history twice: as the first private-sector landing on the Moon, and the first from the Jewish state. The 585-kilogram (1,290-pound) Beresheet, which means "Genesis" in Hebrew, lifted off at 8:45 pm (0145 GMT Friday) atop a 9 rocket from the private US-based company of Take-off was followed live back in Israel, with Prime Minister watching alongside engineers from the control center of the Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI). The Israeli craft has been placed in Earth orbit, from where it will use its own engine to undertake a seven-week trip to reach the and touch down on April 11 in a large plain. The rocket also contains an Indonesian satellite and a satellite of the US Air Force Research Laboratory. The family of a UK girl of Bangladeshi descent, who fled to join Islamic State (ISIS) in 2015, has appealed to the government to allow her new born baby to be rescued from the Syrian refugee camp and raised in Britain. Sister of Shamima Begum, Renu, has written to UK home secretary Sajid Javid urging for his assistance and also informed him of the family's plan to help her 19-year-old sister mount a legal challenge against his decision to revoke her British citizenship. "We were pleased to learn from your comments in the Commons that you recognise my nephew, Shamima's son, as a British citizen," Renu Begum said in a letter to the UK Home Secretary. "As a family, we ask now how we can assist you in bringing my nephew home to us. In all of this debacle, he is the one true innocent and should not lose the privilege of being raised in the safety of this country," it notes. Distancing the family from some of the "vile comments" made in support of the ISIS by Shamima Begum during media interviews, Renu Begum stresses that the exploitation of her younger sister at the hands of the terror group has "fundamentally damaged" her. The letter further adds: "As we have already expressed, we are sickened by the comments she has made, but, as a family man yourself, we hope you will understand that we, as her family cannot simply abandon her. "We hope you understand our position in this respect and why we must, therefore, assist Shamima in challenging your decision to take away the one thing that is her only hope at rehabilitation, her British citizenship. Shamima's status will now be a matter for our British courts to decide in due course." The UK government on Wednesday stripped the British citizenship of Shamima who fled to join the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria in 2015 and married an Islamist extremist. Tasnime Akunjee, the teen's family lawyer, said that they were working out the practicalities to ensure Shamima's child is not affected by the UK Home Office order to revoke her citizenship. As the baby named Jarrah was born while Begum was still a British national last week, his status remains that of a British national. "We would really like to know from Sajid Javid what practical steps he would take to assist a four- or five-day-old British citizen in difficult circumstances to come back to the UK," said Akunjee. Shamima herself, meanwhile, made a renewed plea for the UK government to reconsider the decision to deny her return to Britain, where she was born. "I would like them to re-evaluate my case with a bit more mercy in their heart, you know. I am willing to change," she told Sky from her refugee camp in Syria. Javid's move to revoke her citizenship earlier this week has met with varying reactions from different quarters of legal experts and politicians. Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn criticised the "very extreme" move and said Shamima Begum has a "right to return" to the UK, where she should face questioning. The UK home secretary's own counter-terrorism adviser, Sara Khan, also branded the move "counterproductive". "The government has to recognise the unease felt by a wide range of people about decisions of this kind, not least those from minority communities with dual nationality," Khan said. It had been implied that the UK government move was based on the presumption that Begum has the automatic right to dual Bangladeshi citizenship until the age of 21 by virtue of her parents' Bangladeshi heritage. However, Dhaka has since distanced itself from such a prospect, categorically denying Shamima had any claim to a Bangladeshi nationality or the right to entry to that country. Javid has insisted that he would not take any decision that would make an individual "stateless", which goes against international law. Shamima was 15-year-old when she fled from Bethnal Green in east London in February 2015 and married a Dutch Muslim convert as a so-called ISIS "jihadi bride" in Syria. She can challenge the decision of the UK Home Office at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ireland faces an "emergency situation" if Britain leaves the EU without a deal, the country's foreign minister warned Friday, as the government published a draft legislation aimed at softening the blow. The law is now expected to be approved by parliament but would not be enacted if Britain leaves with a deal. "The country potentially faces an emergency situation which we are preparing for now in as comprehensive a way as we can", Simon Coveney told reporters. "A disorderly Brexit will be a lose-lose-lose -- for the UK, for the EU and for Ireland. We cannot offset all of the damage that it will do but we are doing everything that we can," he said. The so-called "Brexit omnibus bill" contains 15 parts, intending to limit disruption in provision of healthcare, power distribution, travel, immigration and student financial support between Britain and Ireland. It also contains substantial alterations to taxation arrangements, should Britain become a "third country" by leaving the trading bloc without a withdrawal deal. "We are doing all we can to avoid a no deal scenario, but we need to be ready in case it does happen," Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said in a statement. "This special law enables us to mitigate against some of the worst effects of no deal by protecting citizens' rights, security, and facilitating extra supports for vulnerable businesses and employers." The bill does not outline any legislative steps that the Irish government would take relating to its historically troubled land border with the British province of Northern Ireland. If Britain leaves without a deal, the 500-kilometre boundary will become a new frontier of the EU, theoretically requiring checks and infrastructure to preserve the integrity of the customs union and single market. Coveney has previously said there is no "secret plan" for the border but EU, Irish and British diplomats alike have confirmed such measures would be necessary. Brexit negotiations are currently stalled. British Prime Minister Theresa May is unable to secure parliamentary approval for the deal she has negotiated with EU leaders, which contains a clause intended to keep the Irish border free-flowing. The Irish Brexit bill is expected to pass parliament with minimal opposition before Britain's scheduled departure date for leaving the EU on March 29. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The is likely to file a charge sheet in the media foreign investment clearance case as it has received sanction from the to prosecute former finance minister P Chidambaram, under whose tenure approval for it was given, officials said Friday. They said after clearance from the Centre, giving a go-ahead to the agency to press charges against Chidambaram, the might soon proceed with the filing of the charge sheet. The had registered an FIR on May 15, 2017, against alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007, when was the finance minister. The Law Ministry had told the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that there was "no legal infirmity" in the agency's request seeking prosecution sanction. This view has now been communicated to the CBI, they said. was not listed as an accused in the FIR registered by the agency. The Prevention of Corruption Act mandates an investigating agency to get prior sanction from competent authority for prosecution of an accused public servant. The agency had registered the FIR against Karti Chidambaram, his company Chess Management Services, and Indrani Mukerjea, Media, Advantage Strategic Consulting Services and its Director Padma Vishwanathan. Both the CBI and the are investigating the foreign investment clearance granted to the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006 and the INX Media in 2007. The government has already given sanction to prosecute in the Aircel-Maxis case. Chidambaram had denied allegations of any wrongdoing in clearing the foreign investment proposals of these companies. According to the CBI, INX Media stated in its records that Rs 10 lakh was given to Advantage Strategic Consulting (P) Limited, a firm "indirectly" owned by Karti, for management consultancy charged towards FIPB notification and clarification. The FIR also alleges that invoices of approximately Rs 3.5 crore were raised in favour of the INX group in the name of other companies in which Karti had substantial interests "directly or indirectly". The allegations levelled by the CBI are based on the information given by "source", the FIR has claimed. INX Media was seeking investment from Mauritius, an official had explained. The investment was allowed by the FIPB board and the finance minister with the condition that only Rs 4.62 crore could be received, he had said after registration of the FIR. For investment in INX News Pvt Ltd a separate proposal was required, he had said. The company allegedly violated the conditions set by the FIPB and received investment to the tune of 26 per cent in the capital of INX News which included foreign investment. It allegedly generated more than Rs 305 crore of FDI in INX Media against the approved inflow of Rs 4.62 crore by issuing shares to foreign investors at a premium of more than Rs 800 per share, the FIR had said. The violation prompted an Income Tax Department probe. INX Media claimed that the investment was done as per FIPB conditions, it had said. In order to wriggle out of the situation without any punitive action, INX Media entered into a criminal conspiracy with Karti whose father was the finance minister of the country, the agency has alleged. Officials, by virtue of the influence exercised over them by Karti, not only ignored serious illegalities on the part of INX Media but also showed undue favours by abusing their official position and advised the company to file for a fresh clearance, the FIR had claimed. Chidambaram had issued a strong rebuttal to the allegations after the FIR was filed and searches were carried out on May 16, 2017. He had said the government was using the CBI and other agencies to target his son. FIPB approval was granted in "hundreds of cases", the senior Congress leader had said. Braving sub-zero temperature, Indian-Americans from in and around Chicago on Friday held peaceful protests outside the Pakistani and Chinese diplomatic missions in this windy city. Indian-Americans urged the Chinese Consulate in Chicago that Beijing should "stop sheltering and supporting hard line extremist terrorists" at the United Nations. They were referring to China, a veto-wielding permanent UNSC member, blocking India's repeated bids in the Security Council Sanctions committee to designate Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. JeM has claimed the responsibility of the Pulwama attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 40 CRPF personnel. "China should urge Pakistan to stop supporting terrorism worldwide," Bharat Barai, chairman of Indian American Cultural Centre, said in a memorandum to the Consul General of China in Chicago. This was the first ever protest by the Indian-American community in front of the Chinese Consulate in Chicago. Several Indian-Americans also protested before the Pakistani consulate in Chicago. With placards displaying "stop supporting terrorism", the protestors chanted "Bharat Matha Ki Jai" and demanded that Pakistan be declared a state sponsoring terrorism. In a memorandum submitted to the Pakistani Consulate in Chicago, the the Indian-American community urged Pakistan to stop supporting terrorists. The community leaders said Pakistan is a hub of terrorism and is constantly manufacturing company of terrorists, while harbouring and nurturing them to be "dark men of death". Indian-Americans in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut on Thursday also held a candle light vigil at the Royal Alberts Palace. The event was organised by the Federation of Indian Association. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To boost the bilateral trade, Commerce Ministry officials and the US Trade Representative (USTR) are in the process of finalising a trade package which would be announced soon, an official said. India is pressing for exemption from high duty imposed by the US on certain steel and aluminium products, resumption of export benefits to some domestic goods under their Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) as well as greater market access for its products from sectors like agriculture, automobile, auto components and engineering. On the other hand, the US is demanding greater market access through cut in import duties for its agriculture goods, dairy products, medical devices, IT and communication items, the official said. As the talks are going on, India is extending the deadline for imposing high customs duties on 29 US products in retaliation to Washington's move to impose high import duties on certain steel and aluminium products. The official added that India and the US are having two track discussions -- to increase trade in short and medium term, and identify long term trade potentials. India's exports to the US in 2017-18 stood at USD 47.9 billion, while imports were USD 26.7 billion. The trade balance is in favour of India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress veteran Digvijay Singh Friday asked why the India-Saudi Arabia joint statement had a mention of dialogue with Pakistan, but not the Pulwama terror attack which killed 40 CRPF men and asserted the Centre had not answered many questions related to the strike. The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister alleged that the Centre was not serious about tackling terror. "I am unable to understand till date who has measured his (Modi's) chest (a barb at 56-inch chest comment). The PM has not taken the issue as seriously as he should have," he claimed. Singh alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was busy shooting for a film when the attack took place on February 14. "The day this incident took place..it was known by 3.30 pm... he (Modi) was in Jim Corbett Park, busy in a film shooting. It was an emergency and he should have come back to Delhi by leaving all work and should have declared national mourning," he told reporters here. The BJP has hit back on the Congress for it's allegations that Modi was shooting for a film, saying the party has "no face" to raise questions over the prime minister's nationalism. "He should have called an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, but did not do so. Such a big convoy was going and Jaish-e-Mohammad had already announced that suicide bombing will take place, but no action was taken," Singh alleged. "Checking was done at every 10-15 km and how was the 3.5 quintal of explosive material not caught? The government has not yet answered all these issues which is very unfortunate," he said. The Rajya Sabha MP asked why there was no mention of the Pulwama terror attack in the India-Saudi Arabia joint statement during the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. "If someone says in today's atmosphere that talks with Pakistan must go on then it creates a lot of furore and that person is termed as anti-national. "But when Saudi Arabia's Prince had visited India, then a pact (joint statement) was inked in which it was mentioned that dialogue with Pakistan should take place. Nothing was said about Pulwama," he said. Singh asked if the prime minister under some kind of pressure. "What was the pressure from Saudi Arabia on India that compelled it to sign on a pact that talked of continuing dialogue with Pakistan. All these things are now coming out," the Congress leader said. Answering a question, Singh said the Congress never does any on issues of terrorism and national security. "No other political party has suffered as much as Congress because of terrorism. Both Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were victims of terrorism, an issue on which the Congress has never compromised," Singh asserted. "Jaswant Singh (then foreign minister) and Ajit Doval (then IB chief) had escorted (JeM chief) Masood Azhar to Afghanistan (as part of swap for release of passengers of a hijacked Indian Airlines flight)," Singh said. Earlier, Singh condoled the death of senior party leader and former MLA Mohan Singh Bundela. He paid floral tributes to Bundela at his residence in the presence of Congress leaders. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and signed seven agreements on Friday to enhance cooperation in key areas, including infrastructure development, media, start-ups and combating trans-border and international crime, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country. Modi, who is on a two-day visit to to strengthen India's strategic ties with the country, was accorded an official reception at the Blue House, the executive office and official residence of the South Korean President Moon Jae-in here. He also met First lady Kim Jung-sook. The memorandum of understandings (MoUs) were signed after the two leaders held "constructive" talks on enhancing bilateral cooperation in a number of areas including trade, investment, defence and security. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that seven documents between India and were signed/exchanged in the presence of the two leaders on cooperation in media, start-ups and police among others. An MoU was signed between Korean National Police Agency and the Ministry of Home Affairs to enhance cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries and combat trans-border and international crimes. Another agreement was signed for releasing a joint stamp, commemorating Princess Suriratna (Queen Hur Hwang-ok), a legendary Princess of Ayodhya, who went to Korea in AD 48 and married King Kim-Suro. A large number of Koreans trace their ancestry to the princess. The two sides also signed an agreement to continue operations of Korea Plus organisation that facilitates investments by Korean companies in India. Korea Plus was operationalised in June 2016, and comprises representatives from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy of South Korea, Korea Trade Investment and Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and Invest India. The two countries will promote collaboration among start-ups and set up a Korea Start-up Centre (KSC) in India to commercialise ideas, technologies and designs of start-up companies. The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) and Prasar Bharti have agreed to facilitate the broadcast of DD India Channel in South Korea and KBS World Channel in India. An agreement was signed on fisheries and aquaculture for strengthening cooperation by encouraging exchanges, organising training workshops and development and utilisation of marine science and technology in the fields of fisheries and aquaculture. Another MoU was signed between the National Highways Authority of India and Korea Expressway Corporation to promote bilateral cooperation in road and transport infrastructure development projects of India, and facilitate technical and institutional knowledge exchange in the field of road and transport. Modi is visiting South Korea on the invitation of President Moon. This is his second visit to the Republic of Korea since 2015 and second summit meeting with the South Korean president. Over the years, Salman Khan has become something of a godfather for industry newcomers but the superstar, who is now introducing Mohnish Bahl's daughter Pranutan and Zaheer Iqbal in "Notebook", says he gives chance only to deserving candidates. The actor has launched Sunil Shetty's daughter Athiya, Aditya' Pancholi's son Suraj, his brother-in-law Ayush Sharma and Warina Hussain in recent years. "I launch deserving candidates, not anybody," Salman said at the trailer launch of "Notebook", which he has produced. "She (Pranutan) did a screen test and she is on. She is amazing in the film. She is so good with her lines. He (Zaheer) was unable to get the right dance step. He rehearsed for five hours and next day he got it right. He is hard working." Zaheer said he is nervous about his debut but is confident that he has done a good job. "It hit me today morning that the world is going to see my work, they will get to see how good or bad I am. It is nerve wrecking. I personally feel I did a good job," he added. The film, directed by National Award-winning director Nitin Kakkar, releases on March 29. Salman said he and Mohnish used to frequent the same gym in his initial days and it was the latter who used to pay the bill. "One day while I was working out, Mohnish came and told me how he is tired of working round-the-clock. He had said that it was too tiring for him and that he wishes that god gives him a break. Next week his film 'Teri Baahon Mein' released and God did listen to him, and gave him the longest break of his life," Salman said. The superstar revealed he had suggested Mohnish's name for playing the negative role in 1989 blockbuster "Maine Pyaar Kiya". "The first person to sign me was Raj Babu (Raj Kumar Barjatya), he passed away yesterday, god bless his soul. So I went and met Raj Babu, they signed me for the film. The film had a negative lead, so I suggested that he should try Mohnish Bahl. "Raj Babu was apprehensive to offer Mohnish a negative role as he was Nutan ji's son. I then went to meet Nutan ji and she convinced Raj Babu that Mohnish could do it," Salman said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The has turned down a request by Jamia Millia Islamia to confer an honorary doctorate degree on Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, saying the actor has already received one from a different university, according to an response. Khan, who is a former student of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), had given his consent to the proposal of a honorary degree from the varsity following which a request for the same was sent to Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry last year by Jamia for approval. JMI wrote to HRD for conferring Honoris Causa to The HRD did not agree as he has already been conferred the degree by Maulana Azad Urdu University (MANNU) in 2016, Jamia Millia Islamia said in response to a query by The Indian Express. HRD officials, when contacted, said there are no fixed rules regarding awarding of such degrees multiple time, but the practice is usually discouraged. The actor was a master's student of JMI's mass communication research centre, but he could not appear for his final year exam due to shortage of attendance. Seven persons including a joint director of the health department have died of swine flu in Chhattisgarh since the beginning of this year, the government informed the Legislative Assembly Friday. Health Minister T S Singhdeo said joint director of health department Mahendra Janghel was among those who died of H1N1 infection. The issue was raised by Congress' Kunwar Singh Nishad and BJP MLAs Shivratan Sharma and Ajay Chandrakar. The MLAs claimed that at least 10 people had died of swine flu in the state in the recent weeks but no concrete action has been taken to prevent its spread and patients are being forced to go to private hospitals. Singhdeo said huge stocks of medicines have been made available. Medicines as well as diagnosis facilities are being provided free in government hospitals, he said. District surveillance teams have been formed to keep a tab on new infections, he said. Swine flu testing facilities are available at Medical College Raipur, Microbiology Department of Jagdalpur Medical College and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur. Besides, three private pathology labs have been certified for carrying out H1N1 virus tests, he added. Chandrakar asked whether swine flu vaccination will be administered to common people, just as it is being provided to health department workers dealing with swine flu cases. The minister said as of now doctors, nurses and other hospital staff who are at a high risk of infection will be covered under the immunisation program. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In an unusual order, the Bombay High Court Friday directed four men from the city to clean the Mahim dargah on four Sundays next month in return for quashing an FIR registered against them. A bench of Justices B P Dharmadhikari and Revati Mohite-Dere took up urgent hearing of a petition filed by a 19-year-old man from Mahim and a 22-year-old man from the Dharavi area in the city. The petitioners, both Muslims, had got into an altercation with two Hindu men aged 18 and 19, in December 2017 during the Mahim fair. The altercation escalated and the four of them came to blows. An FIR was registered charging them with various provisions for unlawful assembly and assault under the Indian Penal Code. The maximum punishment for the charges against them ranges between six months and three years. However, all four of them eventually came to a settlement and approached the HC seeking that the FIR be quashed by their mutual consent. They argued that considering their young age and the fact that they were repentant, the court must treat them with leniency. While the bench agreed to quash the FIR, it said that all four of them will have to be part of some sort of community service. It then gave them the option of agreeing to sweep and clean the Mahim Dargah. The bench also said that since two of the men in the case were Hindus, if they wished, they could instead clean the Siddhivinayak temple in the city. All four men, however, told the bench that they had no objection to cleaning the dargah and agreed to take up the community service task for four Sundays next month. The bench accordingly, agreed to quash the FIR against them. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bombay High Court Friday extended till February 27 the interim protection from arrest granted to activist and academic Anand Teltumbde. While Teltumbde's plea seeking anticipatory bail was listed for hearing Friday, a single bench presided over by Justice N W Sambre adjourned the hearing and extended Teltumbde's protection at the request of the latter's counsel. Teltumbde is one of the 22 accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case. Pune police has charged Teltumbde and others for various offences, including having links with banned Maoist organisations. The high court had earlier directed Teltumbde to appear before the investigating officer in the case on February 14 and 18, and to cooperate with the investigation till his plea is finally decided. Teltumbde was arrested on February 3 after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by a Pune court, but released hours later when a city sessions court termed his arrest 'illegal' after noting that the Supreme Court had granted him time till February 11 to exhaust all his legal remedies seeking protection. He then moved the high court to seek a pre-arrest bail. According to police, Maoists had supported the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, and the inflammatory speeches there led to violent clashes at the Koregaon Bhima war memorial in the district the next day. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A legislator from Haryana on Friday called for abrogation of Article 370 that grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir, saying it was "the need of the hour" in the wake of the terror attack in Pulwama. Tek Chand Sharma, the rebel BSP MLA from the Prithla constituency, made the demand during a debate in the House on the governor's address. "Article 370 should be scrapped, and the Assembly should bring a resolution in this regard," Sharma said. The gruesome attack by a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber on a CRPF convoy had left 40 personnel dead on February 14. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) / -- Harvard Business School Online is launching two new courses this spring for professionals looking to broaden their business skills and accelerate their careers. Leadership Principles will help new and aspiring leaders unleash their potential and cultivate high-performing teams. Global Business will help individuals turn the uncertainty of today's global economy into business opportunities. Leadership Principles brings the Harvard Business School approach to leadership development online through interactive exercises and learning tools that enable students to establish and apply their leadership style, and give and receive feedback from peers. The course was developed and will be taught by Harvard Business School Professors Joshua Margolis and Anthony Mayo. In Global Business, participants will learn from real-world leaders as they analyze and debate the implications of macroeconomic indicators, public policies, and other global phenomena in order to make better business decisions. The course was developed and will be taught by Harvard Business School Professor Forest Reinhardt. "We're pleased to offer these new courses to help leaders better drive their businesses and propel their careers during volatile times," said Patrick Mullane, executive director of Harvard Business School Online. "Joshua Margolis and Tony Mayo are extraordinary faculty who will instill confidence and strengthen leadership capabilities for professionals ready to take the next step. Forest Reinhardt is a world-class economist who will equip participants with the tools they need to anticipate and capitalize on global developments." Both certificate programs start in May. For more information about course dates and cost, visit online.hbs.edu. ABOUT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ONLINE Wherever you are in your career, Harvard Business School Online offers a unique and highly engaging way to learn vital business concepts. Launched as "HBX" in 2014, our first course was designed to help pre-MBA students learn the key concepts and vocabulary of business. Today, Harvard Business School Online delivers rigorous and immersive courses that enable professionals at every level to advance their careers, positively impact their organizations, and appreciate business in powerful new ways. Learn more at online.hbs.eduABOUT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOLFounded in 1908 as part of Harvard University, Harvard Business School is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston. Its faculty of more than 200 offers full-time programs leading to the MBA and doctoral degrees, as well as more than 70 open enrollment Executive Education programs and 55 custom programs, and Harvard Business School Online, the School's digital learning platform. For more than a century, HBS faculty have drawn on their research, their experience in working with organizations worldwide, and their passion for teaching to educate leaders who make a difference in the world, shaping the practice of business and entrepreneurship around the globe. Copyright President & Fellows of Harvard College. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/805273/Harvard_Business_School_Logo. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after Union minister said India had decided to "stop" the flow of its share of river water to Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty, the Water Resources Ministry on Friday issued details of various projects being worked upon to enforce it. "Under the leadership of Hon'ble PM Sri @narendramodi ji, Our Govt. has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in and Punjab (sic)," Gadkari had tweeted on Thursday. However, additional director general of media and communications in the ministry Neeta Prasad later clarified that it was not a "new decision" and that the water resources minister was "simply reiterating" what he had always said. The Water Resources Ministry on Friday issued a statement giving details of the projects being implemented to stop the flow of waters that belong to India. Asked what prompted the ministry to issue the statement, a source said the minister's tweet prompted the ministry to give details of the projects being worked upon. The Indus system comprises Indus river, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The basin is mainly shared by India and Pakistan with a small share for China and Afghanistan, the ministry said in the statement. Under the Indus Water Treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, all the waters of the three rivers, namely Ravi, Sutlej and Beas (eastern Rivers) averaging around 33 million acre feet (MAF) were allocated to India for exclusive use. The waters of western rivers -- Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab averaging to around 135 MAF were allocated to Pakistan except for specified domestic, non-consumptive and agricultural use permitted to India as provided in the treaty. India has constructed the Bhakra Dam on Sutlej, Pong and Pandoh Dam on Beas and Thein (Ranjitsagar) on Ravi. These storage works, together with other works like Beas-Sutlej link, Madhopur-Beas link, Indira Gandhi Nahar Project etc. has helped India utilise nearly entire share (95 %) of waters of the eastern rivers. However, about 2 MAF of water annually from Ravi is reported to be still flowing unutilised to Pakistan below Madhopur. The ministry also listed the projects being worked on to stop the flow of the waters that belong to India for its utilisation in the country. Among the projects is the Shahpurkandi project that will help in utilising the waters coming out from powerhouse of Thein dam to irrigate 37,000 hectares of land in (J&K) and Punjab, and generate 206 MW of power, the statement said. "The project was scheduled to be completed by September 2016. However, following a dispute between the states of J&K and Punjab, the work on the project had been suspended since August 30, 2014. After an agreement reached on September 8, 2018, between J&K and Punjab, the construction work has now been resumed by the Punjab government, under the central government's monitoring. Another project aimed at restricting the flow of the waters belonging to India is the Ujh multipurpose project that will create a storage of about 781 million cubic metre of water on river Ujh , a tributary of Ravi, for irrigation and power generation in India, the statement said. The Detailed Project Report of the venture has been technically approved for the total estimated cost of Rs 5,850 crore in July, 2017. This project is a project and the central assistance of Rs 4,892.47 crore on works portion of irrigation component as well as the special grant is under consideration, the statement said. "The implementation of the project will take 6 years from beginning of the implementation," the statement said. The third project aimed at stopping the flow of the waters that belong to India is the second Ravi-Beas link below Ujh, it said. This project is being planned to tap excess water flowing down to Pakistan through river Ravi, even after construction of Thein Dam, by constructing a barrage across river Ravi for diverting water through a tunnel link to Beas basin. "The three projects will help India to utilise its entire share of waters given under the Indus Water Treaty 1960," the ministry said. : A total of 17.9 kg of gold worth Rs 6.24 crore has been seized and six people have been arrested in this connection, directorate of revenue intelligence officials said here Friday. Acting on information that some foreign origin gold was being smuggled into the country, a search conducted Thursday at the city airport yielded the precious metal, the officials said. The gold was concealed in domestic appliances and gadgets by passengers, they said. Also, a huge number of iPhones, smartwatches, USB chips, storage devices, camera lens and cigarettes worth Rs 1.1 crore were seized, a DRI press release said. During the operation, Indian and foreign currencies valued at Rs 33 lakh were seized from the passengers who admitted that the sales proceeds would be remitted to them through hawala channels, the release said. Investigations revealed that the gang was working in co-ordination with a mastermind in Malaysia who would identify passengers returning to India from Dubai, Malaysia and Singapore, and ask them to carry the appliances and gadgets for monetary gain, it said. Three automobiles used to carry the smuggled goods from the airporty were also seized, the release said. The six arrested, including the mastermind and his aide, his close relative and two individuals, the release said. In a separate incident, 5.72 kg of gold valued at Rs 1.97 crore concealed in one of the seats of an aircraft which arrived here from an overseas destination were confiscated. In another incident, 1.13 kg of gold worth Rs 37.41 lakh that was smuggled in from Malaysia was seized at the Tiruchirapalli airport and the mastermind arrested, the release added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the customs department Friday seized more than 283 gm gold from a passenger after he landed at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here. The value of the gold seized is around Rs 10 lakh, a customs department official said. The passenger came here from Bangkok in a Kolkata-bound flight and he was trying to smuggle the gold into the country, the official said. Silver-coated gold rings, concealed in the buttons of garments, were recovered from the passenger's hand baggage, he said. The accused passenger has been detained and an investigation has been initiated, the official added. The AIU on Tuesday had seized nine gold bars from a woman passenger and the value of the gold was more than Rs 33 lakh, the customs official said. The woman had come to Bhubaneswar from Delhi and the gold bars were concealed in the body of an emergency light, the official said. A total of 122 cigarette packets, worth more than Rs one lakh, was also seized from her, the official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) GMR Infrastructure on Friday said its subsidiary and its Greek partner Terna Group have signed a concession agreement for construction of the new international airport in Greece's island Crete. The consortium intends to invest over EUR 500 million (approx Rs 4,034.28 crore) for development of the new airport, GMR Infrastructure said in a regulatory filing. The concession agreement is for design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of new international airport of Heraklion at Crete, The concession period for the project is 35 years including phase 1 construction of five years, the company added. said the entire project will be funded through a mix of equity, accruals from the existing airport, and financial grant being provided by the government. "Debt is not required in this project," the company added. This is GMR Group's first foray in the European Union (EU) region and the company said it is looking forward to expanding its footprint in the EU. Shares of were trading 0.93 per cent higher at Rs 16.25 apiece on BSE. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti Friday said she was glad that the allies of the BJP were speaking up against the "injustice" being meted out to Kashmiri people in the wake of the Pulwama attack, but criticised the silence of others over the issue. "Glad that allies of BJP like @HarsimratBadal_ from Akali Dal are speaking up against the injustice thats being meted out to innocent Kashmiris. The ones still in denial are living in a rabbit hole secluded from reality (sic)," Mehbooba wrote on Twitter. In another tweet, Mehbooba, while congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi on winning the Seoul Peace Prize, said people were waiting for him to denounce the "vicious attacks" on Kashmiris in many parts of the country. "Congratulations to the PM on winning the Seoul Peace prize. But sir, back home in India we are still waiting for you to denounce the vicious attacks on Kashmiris throughout the country. But what hope does one have when even a Guv (governor) can make incendiary comments & get away with it? (sic)" she said. "Sir the people from J&K are also your people. They have paid a heavy price and suffered immensely. What is your mann ki baat on them being harassed and punished for something they aren't responsible for?" the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said. Meanwhile, Mehbooba's predecessor Omar Abdullah also criticised the prime minister's silence over the attacks on Kashmiris. "The Akali Dal has spoken, the Shiv Sena surprised us all by publicly rebuking people threatening Kashmiris in Maharashtra, Nitish Kumar ji has opposed talk of revoking Art370 (Article 370). These are all major allies of PM Modi. What has Modi ji said? Nothing! So much for "sub ka saath......"," Omar wrote on Twitter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The arrest of a member of Anil Dujana gang, wanted for a car robbery here, has blown the lid off involvement of two policemen facilitating the jailed gangster's communication with outside world, officials here said Friday. Accused Ankit Chaudhary, who was handling Dujana's illegal operations and mediating deals for him, was arrested late Thursday night and sent to jail, the police said. The two police constables, who were posted in Maharajganj jail where Dujana is imprisoned, are accused of lending their mobile phones to him using which he would contact Chaudhary on WhatsApp, a senior official said. Chaudhary, 24, was wanted in February 3 robbery of a Renault Duster, which was used in a killing on February 5 by three of his associates in Greater Noida, the police said. The other three accused who had killed a "wrong man" in a case of mistaken identity have already been arrested and jailed, while Chaudhary, who was involved in the car robbery, was absconding, a senior official said. "Chaudhary, a native of UP's Etawah district, was held on Thursday around 11.30 pm near Pari Chowk in Greater Noida," Superintendent of Police (Rural) Vineet Jaiswal told reporters. Chaudhary, who has been charged with robbery, related offences, and under the Arms Act, was produced in a court on Friday which remanded him in judicial custody, he said. A mobile phone was recovered from him during the arrest and when it was searched for details, revealing details about his contact with his jailed boss emerged, shedding light on the involvement of the two police constables too, he said. Constable Shyam, who at present is deployed in Maharajganj jail, and constable Arvind, who was previously in Maharajganj but now serving in Ballia jail, the officer said. "They would provide their mobile phones for communication between Dujana and Chaudhary and would often carry confidential chats and instructions about recovering or giving Rs 10 or 20 lakh from/to some people," the SP said. "The seized mobile phone had pictures of handwritten notes from Dujana and voice clips, while one message from Chaudhary was about Rs 10,000 being transferred into the account of a constable," he added. He said details from Chaudhary's mobile also revealed that he was in touch with other criminals such as Maya Jaat and Balram Thakur who were currently imprisoned in Luksar Jail here. A case has been registered at the Kasna police station against the two constables under Indian Penal Code sections 35 (act done with a criminal knowledge or intention), 37 (co-operation by doing one of several acts constituting an offence), 119 (public servant concealing design to commit offence which it is his duty to prevent), 166 (public servant disobeying law), the police said. They have also been charged under the Section 42 of the Prison Act (penalty for introduction or removal of prohibited articles into or from prison and communication with prisoners) and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an officialact), they added. Further probe with regard to the police constables was underway, the police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Five children of a Pakistani family died of suspected food poisoning after eating food from a restaurant in the city. The siblings, who were 2 to 10 years of age, and their parents had consumed Biryani in their lodge on Thursday night. The family hails from Pishin in Baluchistan and had come to Karachi to attend a relative's wedding. They had food in their lodge rooms and soon after that the mother started vomiting and her husband rushed her to a hospital. The children later also fell ill and were rushed to a private hospital where they died, a police official said. The victims' father told police that they also also had lunch at a friend's home in Baluchistan's Khuzdar area earlier in the day. Police said they would attempt to track down samples of all the food that the family had consumed on their journey from Quetta to Karachi. We have also collected samples of Biryani they had from a well-known restaurant in Saddar area, an official of the Sindh Food Safety Department said. He said in its initial report the department suspected that the food from the restaurant in Karachi was contaminated. Police said they would check the samples of all the food that the family had consumed on their journey from Quetta to Karachi. A four-member team has also been formed to conduct the postmortem of the deceased. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The international terror financing watchdog FATF Friday condemned the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF jawans and decided to continue the 'Gray' listing of Pakistan for its failure to stop funding of terrorist groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamat-ud-Dawa. In a statement, the Paris-headquartered Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said Pakistan should continue to work on implementing its action plan to address its strategic deficiencies, including by adequately demonstrating its proper understanding of the terror financing risks posed by the terrorist groups and conducting supervision on a risk-sensitive basis. "The FATF notes with grave concern and condemns the violent terrorist attack last week that killed at least 40 Indian security forces in Pulwama in the State of Jammu and Kashmir," it said after the week-long FATF plenary held in Paris. "Pakistan has revised its TF (terror financing) risk assessment. However, it does not demonstrate a proper understanding of the TF risks posed by Da'esh (ISIS), AL-Qaida, JuD (Jamat-ud-Dawa), FIF (Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation), LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba), JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammad), HQN (Haqqani Network) and persons affiliated with the Taliban," the statement said. Given the limited progress on action plan items due in January 2019, the FATF urged Pakistan to swiftly complete its action plan, particularly those with timelines of May 2019. An Indian official, who attended the FATF plenary, explained that placement in compliance document means putting the country in 'Gray' list and it will be reviewed again in June 2019. In June 2018, Pakistan was placed in the 'Gray' list and given a 27-point action plan by the FATF. This Plan was reviewed as the last Plenary in October 2018 and for the second time in this week-long meeting. The decision has been taken after several rounds of deliberations during the plenary where India submitted new information about Pakistan-based terrorist groups, including Jaish-e-Mohammad, responsible for the Pulwama attack. The FATF continuing Pakistan with the 'Gray' listing means downgrading of the country by multilateral lenders like IMF, World Bank, ADB, EU and also a reduction in risk rating by Moody's, S&P and Fitch, a security official said. Pakistan was nominated for a detailed review of its "serious deficiencies" in countering terror financing in February 2018. This nomination was supported by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and India, the official said. At the end of this plenary, the FATF has observed that several deficiencies remain in Pakistan's legal regime in dealing with terror financing. Since June 2018, Pakistan has made a high-level political commitment (statement by its Minister of Finance) to work with and address its strategic counter-terrorist financing-related deficiencies. At the start of its deliberations, all members of the FATF observed a minute of silence for the 40 CRPF jawans who were killed in a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir. The President of FATF expressed sincere condolences to the people and the Government of India. The FATF currently has 35 members and two regional organisations European Commission and Gulf Cooperation Council. Forty CRPF personnel were killed and five injured on February 14 in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying a huge quantity of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district. The FATF also said Pakistan should continue to work on implementing its action plan to address its strategic deficiencies, including by adequately demonstrating its proper understanding of the terror financing risks posed by the terrorist groups and conducting supervision on a risk-sensitive basis, demonstrating that remedial actions and sanctions are applied in cases of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating Financing of Terrorism (CFT) violations and that these actions have an effect on AML/CFT compliance by financial institutions. Pakistan should demonstrate that competent authorities are cooperating and taking action to identify and take enforcement action against illegal money or value transfer services (MVTS), demonstrating that authorities are identifying cash couriers and enforcing controls on illicit movement of currency and understanding the risk of cash couriers being used for terror financing (TF), improving inter-agency coordination including between provincial and federal authorities on combating TF risks besides others. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Twenty Nepalese farmers and agricultural experts are undergoing training in organic farming in India as part of a partnership between the two countries in the agriculture sector. The main objectives of the training programme are to promote certified organic farming for improvement of soil health, to share impact of organic farming on produce quality, productivity, soil health and environment, to ensure supply of organic input through establishment of bio-fertilizer and bio- pesticides production unit. This is the second batch of Nepali farmers and agriculture experts who are undergoing a month-long training at the National Centre of Organic Farming (NCOF) in Ghaziabad from February 1 to March 2, according to a statement issued by the Indian Embassy here. The first group of 20 Nepalese participants had completed their training from November 15, to December 14, 2018 under the India-Nepal New Partnership in Agriculture. The India-Nepal New Partnership in Agriculture was launched by the Prime Ministers of India and Nepal in April 2018 during the visit of Nepali Prime Minister to India. The training programme aims at capacity building in soil testing and organic certification through Human Resource Development (HRD) of Nepali experts and farmers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Failure of both the US and India to impose accountability or establish deterrence on Pakistan has encouraged the country to "continue a policy of backing extremists" in both India and Afghanistan, a leading American daily has said. The Washington Post in an editorial in the aftermath of Pulwama attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) said India is confronted with a dilemma that both it and the US have repeatedly faced: what to do about the sponsorship of Islamist terrorist groups by Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state? "Diplomacy, sanctions and targeted military strikes haven't worked; full-scale war is unthinkable. Yet the failure to impose accountability or establish deterrence only encourages the Pakistani military and its intelligence service to continue a policy of backing extremists in both India and Afghanistan," it said. The editorial underlined that Pakistan is unlikely to act on any evidence provided by India on the Pulwama attack. "If the record of past terrorist attacks in India is any indication, Pakistan will not act even if evidence is provided. The same has been true of its response to terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, such as assaults on the US Embassy and other Western targets by a Taliban faction known as the Haqqani network, which Pakistan is also believed to support," it said. Pakistan has long sought to use terrorists to gain leverage over India, with which it disputes control of Kashmir, and the US, which it would like to force to accept rule by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the daily said. "It is making headway on the latter goal with the Trump administration, which has been negotiating with the Taliban about withdrawing US troops. That increases the complications for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who faces a national election in the coming months," it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The European Union (EU) has affirmed that it is strongly beside India on combating terrorism and there were no differences between them on the issue, it's envoy said here Friday. Referring to the February 14 terror attack by the Jaish-e-Mohammed at Pulwama that left 40 CRPF jawans dead, EU Ambassador Tomasz Kozlowski said its members had strongly condemned the incident and "and as a partner of India, we reaffirm our solidarity". He said the EU stood by India in fighting terrorism and against any terror act regardless of the motivation. Kozlowski told reporters that the Jaish-e-Mohammed had been listed by the EU as a terror outfit along with Lashkar-e -Taiba and several others. "EU has an autonomous terrorist list. We have our own procedures independent of the UN," he said. The UN Security Council had on Thursday condemned in the "strongest terms" the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack perpetrated by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pulwama. Kozlowski said India and the EU would strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday filed a supplementary charge sheet against former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh in a money laundering case. Special judge Arun Bhardwaj said he would hear the matter on March 18. ED's supplementary charge sheet was filed through advocates special public prosecutors Nitesh Rana and N K Matta. In a separate case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the matter, Singh and his wife were chargesheeted along with others. The CBI had claimed that Singh had amassed assets worth around Rs 10 crore which were disproportionate to his total income during his tenure as a Union minister under the UPA government. The ED had filed a case on the basis of the CBI case. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Election Commission of India (ECI) will hold a special two-day drive from Saturday to enable citizens to register themselves as voters. The drive is aimed at facilitating those, who missed the opportunity to get their names registered during the recent revision of electoral rolls. Election officials will be present at all the polling booths on February 23 and 24, a statement from the state election authorities said. Forms for voter enrolment, addition and deletion of names will be available there, it said, adding that during the drive, other citizens can also check whether their names appear in the voters' list. Over 28 lakh new voters have been added to the voters' list in Maharashtra as part of the summary revision of electoral rolls, it said. As per the revised list published on January 31, as many as 35,68,352 voters have been added, while names of 7,29,335 people have been deleted. Thus net addition in the voter list is 28,39,017, the statement said. An official in the state election office said that as per the revised list, the number of eligible voters for the Lok Sabha elections in the state is 8,73,30,384. The total number of voters in the 2014 Lok Sabha election was 8.07 crore. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 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). The Election Commission filed a complaint with the Delhi Police on Friday, asking it to track down those spreading "fake news" that NRIs can cast their vote online in the Lok Sabha elections due in April-May. Asking police to investigate the matter, the EC said its logo was used on social media to "mislead" people. The EC said the "fake news" was violative of IPC Section 505 dealing with rumour-mongering and attempts to spread alarm among people. On Thursday, an EC spokesperson had said no such facility has been extended to NRIs. "If it happens, it needs amendment to the Representation of the People Act. No such amendment has taken place," the spokesperson had said. As of now, overseas Indians have to register as voter, come to India, go to their constituency with the original passport issued to them when they had gone abroad and cast vote. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, there are about 3.10 crore NRIs living in different countries. An expert committee of the Election Commission had said no to e-voting for NRIs but had approved proxy voting. A bill to extend proxy voting rights to NRIs was passed in the Lok Sabha recently, but is pending in the Rajya Sabha. It is set to lapse on the dissolution of the present Lok Sabha on June 3. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Police has donated Rs 1 crore for the families of CRPF personnel who were killed in the Pulwama attack, a senior police officer said Friday. The Delhi Police has made the contributions to 'Bharat Ke Veer', a home ministry fund which aids families of paramilitary personnel who died fighting extremists. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14 when a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying explosives into their bus. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The CPI(M) demanded Friday that the central and state governments take all steps to protect Kashmiris living outside Jammu and Kashmir, following reports of them being targeted in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. The Jammu and Kashmir governor should convene a meeting of political leaders and prominent citizens to discuss the present situation, CPI(M) leader Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami told reporters here. "We demand that the central and state governments take all steps to protect Kashmiri Muslim residents," he said. He said that in the aftermath of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, jingoistic communal atmosphere is being created in the country, while in certain places, protests were deliberately turned against Kashmiri students, businessmen, employees and others. "This tragic and horrible act of terror should not be used for narrow partisan interests and should not lead to polarise the already charged situation," he added. The Supreme Court Friday directed the Chief Secretaries and DGPs of 11 states to take "prompt" action to prevent incidents of "threat, assault and social boycott" of Kashmiris, including students, in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack. Forty CRPF personnel were killed and five injured on February 14 in one of the deadliest terror strikes in Jammu and Kashmir when a suicide bomber blew up an explosive-laden vehicle near their bus in Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir. The bus was part of a convoy of 78 vehicles carrying Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel from Jammu to Srinagar. The Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the attack. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Delhi court Friday framed charges of criminal misconduct and amassing disproportionate assets of over Rs 10 crore against former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh, paving the way for commencement of much-awaited trial in the case. The veteran Congress leader, to whom the charges were read out by Special CBI judge Arun Bhardwaj, claimed innocence and said that instead of pleading guilty he will face trial in the assets case. The court fixed April 3, 4 and 5 for the CBI to start recording statements of the witnesses in the case. "Today, the case is listed for recording plea of the accused no 1, Virbhadra Singh and accused no 3 Anand Chauhan to the charge framed against them pursuant to order passed on December 10, 2018," the court said. Charges have been read and explained to the accused to which they pleaded not guilty and claimed trial, it said. During the hearing, Virbhadra and his wife Pratibha Singh, who were present in the court, moved a plea seeking permanent exemption from appearing in the court during the trial of the case. The court asked CBI to file its reply on their plea before the next date of hearing. In a separate case filed by the Enforcement Directorate, the agency filed third supplementary charge sheet against Virbhadra in a money laundering case. The court said it would take up the matter on March 18. ED's supplementary charge sheet was filed through advocates Nitesh Rana and N K Matta. The court had on December 10 last year ordered framing of charges against Singh for alleged criminal misconduct and amassing disproportionate assets of over Rs 10 crore, saying he intended to cause loss to the tax authorities by presenting unaccounted money as sale proceeds of apples. Apart from the two offences under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, the court had said that prima facie charges of alleged forgery and attempt to cheat under the IPC were also made out against the 82-year-old Congress leader and former Union minister. The court had also ordered framing of charges against Pratibha Singh, and seven others for allegedly abetting in the offences. After the formal framing of charges, the court commences trial in the case. The other seven accused are LIC agent Anand Chauhan, Chunni Lal Chauhan, Joginder Singh Ghalta, Prem Raj, Vakamulla Chandrasekhar, Lawan Kumar Roach and Ram Prakash Bhatia. The court in its 105 page order said that Virbhadra Singh and Anand Chauhan "fraudulently and dishonestly" signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) by ante-dating it to give an impression that it was signed on June 15, 2008 by them. "They knew that MoU was not made, signed or executed by them on June 15, 2008. They prepared and signed this MoU with the intention of causing it to be believed that this MoU was made by them on June 15, 2008. "The investigation of CBI has shown that this MoU was ante-dated. Therefore, they can be said to have made a false document," the court said. It had added that since the document was made for showing unaccounted money as sale proceeds of apples, they were liable to be charged for the offence of forgery. "Resultantly, Virbhadra Singh is liable to be charged under section 13 (2) (misconduct) read with Section 13 (1) (e)(amassing disproportionate assets) of PC Act. "Since an attempt was also made to cheat the Income Tax authorities using a false document i.e. ante-dated MoU to procure favourable Income Tax assessment order, Virbhadra Singh is also liable to be charged under section 511 (attempt) of IPC read with section 420 (cheating) of IPC," the court had said. The punishment for the offences of criminal misconduct and disproportionate assets under the PC Act range between one to seven years jail term, forgery under IPC entails a maximum of two years imprisonment and the offence of cheating could lead to a maximum sentence of seven years. On the role of his wife, the court had said there was "grave suspicion" that she committed the offence of abetment under the IPC. Advocate Tarannum Cheema, representing Virbhadra Singh, had argued that no prior consent of the Himachal Pradesh government was taken for carrying out investigation in the state. Dealing with the argument, the court had said that the Delhi High Court in October this year had held that for registration of case in a state other than in a Union Territory, the consent of that state government was required. "No consent is required for investigation in another State, if the case is registered in Delhi," the special court said referring to the high court decision. CBI had registered the case against Singh and others for allegedly amassing assets worth around Rs 10 crore disproportionate to their known source of income when he was the Union Minister in the UPA government. A charge sheet running into over 500 pages, filed in the court, claims that Singh had amassed assets worth around Rs 10 crore which were disproportionate by 192 per cent of his total income during his tenure as a Union Minister. The final report, filed against nine people for alleged offences punishable under section 109 (abetment) and 465 (punishment for forgery) of IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act, arrayed around 225 witnesses and 442 documents. The matter was transferred by the Supreme Court from the Himachal Pradesh High Court to the Delhi High Court, which on April 6, 2016 had asked the CBI not to arrest Singh and had directed him to join the probe. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The counsel for the three men convicted in the Shakti Mills gangrape case here raised questions before the Bombay High Court Friday on the legal soundness of Section 376 (E) of the Indian Penal Code under which they were awarded the death sentence in 2014. Advocate Yug Chaudhry, representing the death row convicts Vijay Jadhav, Kasim Bengali and Salim Ansari, told the court the legislature had brought in several provisions of the Criminal Law Amendment Act that provides for, among other things, a harsher punishment for rape, in "haste". Chaudhry questioned the idea behind Section 376 (E) that provides for the death sentence for a repeat offender of rape. He said while the section for enhanced punishment was introduced in the IPC through the Act, the legislature had failed to introduce a well-laid out procedure in the CrPC for the implementation of the new IPC section. "For instance, while the section provides that a person who has previously been convicted for the offence of rape can be awarded the enhanced sentence of death penalty in case of repeat offence, it does not clarify how much minimum time there must exist between the two offences or the conviction date of both the offences," Chaudhry argued. "In the present case, the sessions court convicted the accused in two separate cases of rape committed a month apart. But the conviction in both the cases was awarded within a day from each other," he argued. Chaudhry argued that no provision of law must be implemented arbitrarily and the law mandated the CrPC lay down the procedure for implementing all penal provisions. He also cited previous judgements of the Supreme Court and some Law Commission reports that prescribed enhanced punishment for repeat offenders only after ascertaining the possibility of their reform after their first sentence. A bench of Justices B P Dharamadhikari and Revati Mohite-Dere is conducting the final hearing on the writ petitions filed by the three convicts challenging the death sentence awarded to them under IPC Section 376 (E). In April 2014, a Mumbai court had five persons guilty in the 2013 case. One of them, Siraj Khan, was sentenced to life imprisonment, while a second person, a minor, was sent to a correctional facility. Jadhav, Bengali and Ansari were sentenced to death under the then newly-introduced Section 376 (E) since they had also been convicted in a previous case of gangrape. The three, however, moved the high court soon after their conviction, challenging the constitutional validity of the law under which they were sentenced to death for a repeat offence. The petitioners challenged the sessions court order allowing the prosecution to invoke the IPC Section 376 (E) when the trial was already underway. They also challenged constitutional validity of this section, brought in by the Union government after the infamous 2012 Delhi gangrape case. In March 2013, the Union government amended the rape laws in the country, introducing several stringent provisions, including Section 376 (E). This section says if a person, who has been previously convicted for rape under the IPC Section 376, is subsequently found guilty in a similar offence, the courts can sentence him to imprisonment for the rest of his life, or, even award the death penalty. On March 19, 2014, the three petitioners were convicted for raping a city-based telephone operator. The next day, they were convicted for raping a photojournalist in the premises of defunct Shakti Mills here. Both crimes had been committed in 2013 within a month from each other. While the sessions court was scheduled to begin arguments on their sentence, the Maharashtra government moved an application seeking framing of an additional charge under Section 376 (E) since they had also been convicted in another case of rape. The sessions court found merit in the prosecutions submissions and in April 2014, awarded the maximum punishment of death to the three petitioners, noting they were repeat offenders. While the state government filed a petition in the high court seeking that the death sentence be ratified, the three convicts filed pleas in the high court challenging the constitutional validity of the Indian Penal Code section under which they were awarded the punishment. The central government is likely to begin its arguments in the case Wednesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Leaders of anti-BJP grand alliance in Maharashtra, including NCP chief Sharad Pawar, will Saturday hold their second joint rally at Parli in Beed district ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Besides the NCP president, Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan, People's Republican Party leader Jogendra Kawade and PWP's Jayant Patil will attended the rally at Parli, a town around 500km from here in the Marathwada region. Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil, its leaders Chhagan Bhujbal and Ajit Pawar and others will also take part in the public meeting, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde of the NCP said in a statement. The grand alliance ('maha aghadi'), a Congress-NCP-led bloc of anti-BJP parties in the state, had held their first joint rally on February 20 in Nanded, Chavan's home turf. Saturday's rally will also mark culmination of the 'Parivartan Yatra' launched by the NCP. The yatra is a public outreach programme the party had launched in January from Raigad to flag "failures" of the BJP- led governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra. Meanwhile, Munde, who hails from Beed, urged people to attend the rally in large number. Hit by the Narendra Modi 'wave' in the 2014 general polls, the Congress and the NCP had recorded their respective lowest Lok Sabha tallies in the state. The Congress could bag only two seats, while the NCP managed to clinch victory in four constituencies. The NCP won the Bhandara-Gondia by-election in June last year, taking its tally to five. On the other hand, the BJP and its ally Shiv Sena had emerged victorious in 23 and 18 Parliamentary seats, respectively, in the state, which sends 48 MPs to the Lok Sabha, the second hightest after Uttar Pradesh (80). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Opposition Congress and BJP Friday demanded action against BJD MLA Debashish Samantray for allegedly manhandling the relative of slain CRPF jawan Manoj Kumar Behera during the funeral on February 16. While Mahila Congress has filed a complaint at a police station in Cuttack, an RTI activist lodged a complaint against the BJD MLA at a police station in the state capital. Samantaray has been in the eye of storm after a video of his misbehaviour with the kin of martyred CRPF Jawan Manoj Behera went viral. Senior Congress leader Panchanan Kanungo demanded arrest of Samantray for showing disrespect to Pulwama martyrs kin and sought apology from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has also sought expulsion of Samantaray from the ruling party. "The MLA has already apologised and the party will take a call on whether action need to be taken against him," BJD spokesman P K Deb said. Meanwhile, in a video message, Chaitanya Behera, the alleged victim uncle of the martyr, said: "The MLA has not manhandled me. He called me to sit down near the body before final rite. Debashish Babu is a good man." Samantray on his part has clarified that he has not manhandled the man as alleged. The MLA said he made the man to sit down near the body of the Pulwama martyr as he pushed Union Minister Jual Oram during funeral. Stating that he was not aware that the man who pushed Oram, as a relative of the martyr, Samantray said: "I had made the man (uncle of Martyr Behera) to sit after he pushed Union Minister Jual Oram during guard of honour. I had no intention of hurting anyones feelings. I tender apology for that." Samantray also appealed all not to politicise the incident after tendering an apology over the incident. Union Minister Jual Oram, however, could not be contacted. "Yes the Union Minister Oram and state BJP president Basant Panda had attended funeral of the martyr. The MLA is dragging name of the Union Minister into the incident. I was also there, but fail to recollect any such incident as stated by the MLA," BJP state vice-president Samir Mohanty told PTI. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two college students were arrested here on sedition charges for allegedly putting up "anti-national" posters seeking independence for Kashmir and Manipur, police said Friday. The duo-Mohammed Rinshad (20) and Mohammed Farris (19), pursuing graduation at the Government College Malappuram, were arrested following the complaint of the principal, they said. According to police, the students, under the aegis of an outfit 'Radical Students Forum', had allegedly pasted the posters on the portico of the college campus. The complaint was lodged after the students told the principal that they stood by the posters, which could be read as "azadi for Kashmir and Manipur", a police official told PTI. Both were charged under IPC section 124A (sedition), he said, adding that they were produced before the magistrate and remanded to police custody for four days. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese-Australian billionaire Chau Chak Wing was awarded 280,000 Australian dollars (USD 200,000) in damages on Friday by an Australian judge who ruled he was defamed by a media report that insinuated he bribed a former United Nations general assembly president. The businessman, philanthropist and generous political donor sued Fairfax Media and journalist John Garnaut over an online story published in October 2015 under the headline: "Are Chau Chak Wing's circles of influence in Australia-China ties built on hot air?" Garnaut later became a China analyst who was commissioned by the Australian government to write a classified report that found the Chinese Communist Party for a decade had tried to influence Australian policy, compromise political parties and gain access to all levels of government. The report led to Parliament passing laws last year forbidding covert foreign interference in domestic politics and making industrial espionage for a foreign power a crime. The laws created a diplomatic rift with China. Federal Court judge Michael Wigney found the Fairfax Media article contained three defamatory meanings that Chau bribed former U.N. General Assembly president John Ashe, was part of a plot to bribe Ashe and acted in so seriously wrong a manner as to deserve extradition to the United States on criminal charges. Chau welcomed the decision, saying his faith in the Australian legal system had been vindicated. He said in a statement that he would donate the damages awarded to charity. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers, formerly owned by Fairfax Media, which merged in December with a television network to become Australian media giant Nine, said in a statement that the ruling would be appealed. The judge found the article went beyond simply conveying a suspicion that Chau had bribed Ashe. "Rather, by a combination of disparagement, insinuation and suggestion, it effectively imputed guilt," Wigney said. Australian government lawmaker Andrew Hastie last year repeated in Parliament the accusation that Chau had conspired to bribe Ashe. But because Hastie made the accusation in Parliament, he cannot be sued for defamation. Nor can any media organization be sued for reporting anything that is said in Parliament. Hastie told Parliament that Chau was the real estate developer referred to in an unsealed U.S. indictment as "CC-3," which is short for the third co-conspirator. Chau allegedly arranged to pay USD 200,000 in 2013 to Ashe to attend a conference in China, plus USD 25,000 for the travel expenses of Ashe's entourage. Hastie told Parliament that during a visit to the United States a month earlier, U.S. officials confirmed to him that the 63-year-old Chinese-Australian dual citizen was CC-3. In Beijing, a foreign ministry spokesman said at the time the accusation was "purely fabricated out of thin air and not worth refuting." The alleged go-between for Chau and Ashe, U.S. citizen Sheri Yan, was sentenced in 2016 in the U.S. District Court in New York to 20 months in prison. Yan pleaded guilty to a bribery charge. Ashe had died weeks earlier in an accident in his New York home. The 61-year-old Antiguan diplomat had been waiting to stand trial after pleading not guilty to a tax charge related to the case. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China's lone opposition in the 15-member UN Security Council to any mention of terrorism resulted in a delay of nearly one week in issuance of a statement by the powerful body on the dastardly Pulwama terror attack, official sources said here Friday. However, the US assiduously worked as "pen holder" making various adjustments to get the approval by all other members of the Council, the sources told PTI. While China was trying to water down the UNSC statement on Pulwama, Pakistan worked against issuance of any statement. Pakistan's Permanent representative at the UN Maleeha Lodhi even met the President of Security Council but her efforts did not bear any fruit, they said. The UN Security Council comprising 15 permanent and non-permanent members on Thursday condemned in the "strongest terms" the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack perpetrated by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) on February 14. Sharing details of diplomatic wranglings on the matter, the sources said the UNSC statement on Pulwama was to be issued on the evening of February 15 but China repeatedly sought extension of timing. China requested extension till Feb 18 when 14 member countries were ready to issue it on February 15 itself," they said, adding China broke "silence" procedure two times suggesting multiple amendments aiming to "derail" the effort. Even after UNSC condemned the Pulwama strike as "terrorism" China continued to oppose any mention of terrorism in the statement, said a person familiar with the diplomatic parleys on the issue at the UN headquarters. However, notwithstanding hectic Chinese and Pakistani efforts, the UNSC agreed to issue the first statement in its history regarding an attack on Indian troops in Jammu and Kashmir, the sources said. India has mounted a diplomatic offensive to isolate Pakistan in the international community for its support to terror groups and cross border terrorism. Official sources said the UNSC statement contained specific language proposed by India through its partner countries including naming of JeM, and calling for bringing the perpetrators of the crime to justice. In the statement, the UNSC also reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security and underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. The UNSC also urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with India and all other relevant authorities to bring perpetrators of the Pulwama attack to justice. It also reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Friday ordered authorities to relocate and remove all the chemical factories and warehouses in Old Dhaka after a massive fire killed at least 67 people in the congested historic part of the capital city. The fast-moving fire swept through adjoining apartment buildings and chemical warehouses in Old Dhaka's congested Chawkbazar area on Wednesday night, killing 67 people and injuring several others, the latest such deadly blaze in the country. The fire was triggered when a gas cylinder of a parked pickup truck exploded, which razed surrounding vehicles and the flames then quickly spread to five buildings, including a community centre where a wedding party was on, in the narrow Chawkbazar alley. A four-storey building Wahed Mansion' that suffered most damage had a dozen stores for perfumes and plastic goods. The fire spread rapidly due to the multiple chemical godowns that were situated in the area. Large amount of canisters stored inside several buildings became like bombs amid the massive spreading fire, according to the investigators of a panel formed after the incident. Earlier, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said storage of chemicals had nothing to do with the fire started by a gas cylinder explosion. But the probe team disagreed. Of course there were lighter-fluid refill canisters inside the buildings. There were many other chemicals besides. All these inflammable materials catalysed the spreading of the fire, Lt Col SM Zulfikar Rahman, a director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, was quoted as saying by the bdnews. Perfume bottles were refilled here as well. These exploded and became like bombs during the fire," he said. Rahman is part of a three-member probe team formed by the fire service authorities. They have been given a seven-day deadline for their report. So far five committees have been formed to investigate the fire. The fire service investigators also told reporters that chemicals were stored in the buildings without permit. Building codes were violated and there were no fire-extinguishing equipment in the neighbourhood. Among the 67 killed, 24 were found at the bottom of the only staircase of Wahed Mansion. Rescuers found the charred bodies of the dead victims mangled together, including women and children. Storing large amount of inflammable chemicals in the densely-populated part of the capital became a contentious issue after a similar blaze in Nimtali left 120 people dead in 2010. Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader while addressing media on Friday after visiting the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, After the Nimtoli incident in 2010, the government had evacuated some of chemical factories and storehouses from the area. But these businessmen are always coming back, re-establishing the factories which contain highly flammable materials thus risking the lives of thousands. "The prime minister has instructed Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) to immediately relocate the chemical factories and warehouses operating here," he added. When asked about the deadline regarding the relocation process, Quader said: "We are yet to set a deadline for the relocation of all kinds of chemical shops and warehouses from this densely populated area. But it will happen soon." Meanwhile, one of the victims' family has filed a case for causing death by negligence. The case accuses the two sons of Hazi Abdul Wahed, who owned one of the five buildings damaged by the fire, and 10-12 unnamed individuals, Deputy Commissioner of Lalbagh Police Mohammad Ibrahim said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) African cheetahs, to be translocated in India from Namibia, will be kept at Nauradehi wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) told the Supreme Court on Friday. It said the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which provides inputs to governments and institutions on biodiversity, climate change and sustainable development, has given no objection for the translocation. India's last spotted cheetah had died in 1947. In 1952, the animal was declared extinct in the country. The matter came up for hearing before a bench comprising Justices S A Bobde and Deepak Gupta on Friday and the counsel representing NTCA told the court that Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, has also supported the proposal to re-introduce cheetahs in the country. NTCA's counsel said: "We are suggesting Nauradehi sanctuary in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh (for keeping cheetahs)". The counsel said NTCA was only seeking a clarification that there is no blanket ban of the apex court on re-introduction of cheetahs in the country. However, one of the counsels appearing in the matter told the top court as to why the NTCA were not re-introducing Indian cheetahs in the country. "They (NTCA) want to re-introduce African cheetahs. Indian cheetahs are available in Iran. Why they are not re-introducing Indian cheetahs?," the counsel said. The bench said that the matter was required to be heard and posted it for hearing on March 12. The NTCA had earlier told the court that IUCN has said it would co-operate with India in translocation of Cheetahs from Namibia. The authority had also referred to the apex court's 2013 decision rendered in a wildlife case and said it does not prevent the authorities from taking steps in conformity with the law to relocated cheetahs from Africa to suitable sites in India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Centre late Friday night asked all states to ensure security of people belonging to amid reports that some of them were attacked in different parts of the country in the wake of the terror attack. This was conveyed by the in an advisory to all states following a directive of the Supreme Court, which took up a petition in this regard. The state governments and Union Territory administrations and the nodal officers appointed by them are once again advised to take all necessary steps to prevent any act of assault, threat, intimidation, social boycott etc. against Kashmiris (including students) as well as minorities in accordance with the order of the Supreme Court, the advisory sent to all state government said. The also said the central government is concerned at the reports of incidents of assaults and harassment against residents of Jammu and Kashmir, especially students in some parts of the country, in the aftermath of the terror attack, which killed 40 CRPF jawans on February 14. In this regard, an advisory was issued on February 16 to all state governments and Union Territory administrations to take necessary steps to ensure safety and security of the persons belonging to This issue was also raised before the which directed that the nodal officers appointed by the states/UTs for the safety and security of residents of would take necessary steps to prevent acts of violence, discrimination and other coercive acts against Kashmiris (including students enrolled with the institutions in the respondent states and the Union Territories) and other minorities in the wake of the terrorist attack in Filmmaker Ryan Fleck says "Captain Marvel" features some action nuggets from Hollywood sci-fi hits such as "The Matrix" and "Terminator 2". The co-director of the Brie Larson-fronted first female Marvel superhero standalone says he and partner Anna Boden have pulled some references from films, including 1972 Best Picture Oscar winner "French Connection", that have had an everlasting impact on them. "Every action sequence is different. There is one in the film's trailer where you see Captain Marvel on the train and Nick Fury is in the car chasing. "So we call that the 'French Connection' sequence, which is a movie from the '70s. That was a huge inspiration for us. There are some sequences which we have pulled from other movies - 'The Matrix' and 'Terminator 2', Fleck said at the Directors' Session, held at Marina Bay Sands hotel here. Last week, he and Boden interacted with around 237 students, who came from city-based institutions such as Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and LASALLE College of the Arts. Fleck, who has been Boden's collaborative partner for over two decades on indie films, said it was the first time they worked with visual effects. "This was the first time ever we have worked with VFX, that also on such an extensive scale. It was all teamwork the visual effects team, the art dept, etc, he said. Boden walked the audience through their direction process and she said as two different people, they often have a difference in opinion. But what they derive at the end of the discussion is a better product, she said. "We have these discussions about what we like and we don't, without feeling that somebody is disrespecting you... We really try to argue like that and get to the bottom of it. "We try things in eight different ways and by the end of the process, I don't think. there's any of us feeling that we have compromised. If one of us can convince the other one, then the better way is our way," Boden said. Fleck added it is great to have a collaborator and they communicate a lot with each other before taking on a decision. He recounted an incident where the duo accidentally ended up getting a better idea for the film. "So, one day Anna said, What if we do (this). Then I said, Oh I don't know. Yeah. You mean like (this). And then Anna said, That's not at all what I said but it's a great idea'. "So it wasn't her idea, it wasn't mine but it was a misunderstanding that led us to a better idea," Fleck quipped. Boden said directing the film under a giant like Marvel Studios was a "real collaboration", since this was the first time the duo worked with a number of people, which included studio president Kevin Feige. "At the beginning and the end also, it is a creative conversation with Marvel. There are studios out there and we have met them who take the movie away from the filmmaker and don't want them to have input. But that's not with Marvel. "They hire people they trust and much like my equation with Ryan, when there's a disagreement, we talk it out and convince each other. In this movie, there aren't any pieces that we don't feel like are ours. Hope the studio feels the same," she said. Dishing more on managing creative control on the Marvel film, the director said the studio allowed creative liberty to them to make the story their own. "One of the great things about Marvel is that they allow you to take pieces of the character and storylines from the comics and doing your own thing with that. We didn't feel completely attached to the origin story, for instance. We had some creative licence to make it feel more modern and relevant..." Boden said. She said learning to accept inputs from several people was a major takeaway for her after working on "Captain Marvel". "As directors, we get very stuck on the stories we want to tell. We feel threatened by other people. What came out of this was learning to accept these little gifts and opening ourselves to new collaboration, ideas and talent," she said. Boden said the highlight that the film is "an origin story in reverse" adds to the freshness of the plot. "We, Kevin and others at Marvel felt like we have seen enough traditional origin movies where the human gets the superpower and then we see them save the world and so we got excited about introducing this new superhero in a big way. We are kind of introducing her as someone who already has the superpower "We go on this journey of self-discovery with her. We get to find out how she became who she is just like she finds out who she is. Searching for her own self and humanity makes this original and fresh for us," she said. Also featuring Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, and Ben Mendelsohn, "Captain Marvel" hits Indian screens on March 8. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bank of Baroda (BoB) has tied up with Germany's KfW Development Bank to extend funding of USD 113 million to refinance solar projects, under the Solar Partnership II Promotion of Solar PV in India. This proposal constitutes part of the overarching Indo-German Solar Energy Partnership, BoB said in a statement on Friday. Under an inter-governmental MoU in 2015, Germany has committed to providing financing support through KfW Development Bank for solar photo voltaic investments, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP state unit Friday announced that the party would contest the Lok Sabha seat in Mizoram and also the Assembly by-election. Mizoram has only one Lok Sabha seat. By-election to the Aizawl West-I Assembly seat is most likely to be held simultaneously with the parliamentary polls. A press statement issued by the state BJP unit said that the meeting of the office bearers of the BJP Mizoram Pradesh, chaired by state unit president Prof John V Hluna took the decision on Friday. "The names of the candidates for both the polls would be announced after the search committee, which will be constituted soon, makes its recommendations," the statement said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three BJP MLAs were marshalled out of the Delhi Assembly on the first day of the Budget session on Friday for interrupting Lt Governor Anil Baijal's address with their protests over the AAP government's "delay" in sanctioning prosecution in the JNU sedition case. Speaker Ram Niwas Goel tried to reason with the legislators, saying the LG's address is not a part of proceedings of the House, but they did not relent. The three MLAs -- Leader of the House Vijender Gupta, O P Sharma and Jagdish Pradhan -- went to the well of the House after which Goel ordered them to be marshalled out. Gupta charged the government with "delaying" the sanction for prosecution of accused in JNU sedition case. In January, Delhi Police filed a chargesheet against former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar and others in the sedition case registered in 2016. Former JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were also charged with allegedly shouting anti-India slogans during an event on the university campus on February 9, 2016 to commemorate the hanging of Parliament-attack mastermind Afzal Guru. Delhi Police has sought permission from the city government for prosecution in the case. This is still pending. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP president Amit Shah Friday took potshots and attacked the proposed "Mahagathbandhan" of opposition parties and said if it comes to power, there will be a new prime minister on each day of the week. Addressing party workers, Shah said the 'grand alliance' was not good for the country. The mahagathbandhan was just a "front of the corrupt people to grab power" and does not have any ideology, leader or programme, Shah, who was in Palakkad to review his party's poll preparedness for the Lok Sabha elections, said. Taking potshots at the proposed opposition front, Shah said every day of the week, there would be a new Prime Minister, if they came to power. "I will tell you who will become the Prime Minister if the Opposition comes to power. On Monday, Akhilesh Yadav will be the Prime Minister, on Tuesday it will be Mayawati. Wednesday will be for Chandrababu Naidu and Thursday for Deve Gowda and Mamata Banerjee will the Prime Minister on Friday. On Saturday it will be DMK leader M K Stalin. On Sunday, since it is a holiday, there will no Prime Minister," Shah said. He said the 2019 election was important for the BJP as it would return to power, and expressed hope that there would be MPs from Kerala to be part of the central government. "This poll is important to the country as well. Rahul Gandhi was eager to form a Mahagathbandhan. This is not good for the country. This mahagathbandhan doesn't have any ideology, leader or programme. This is just a front of the corrupt to grab power," Shah said. Do the people need a "leader or a dealer?" he asked. "The Opposition just has dealers, but BJP has got a leader.Narendra Modi, one who can lead this country," he said. Claiming that the Prime Minister was a workaholic and puts in 18 hours of work each day for the country, Shah said there was no corruption allegation against Modi. "He is the most popular and respected leader of the world. He is working hard to make the country a world leader, Shah said. Shah also attacked the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF in Kerala and the UDF opposition spearheaded by the Congress. "When the LDF comes to power, there is violence and during UDF regime there is corruption and both fronts help cover each others mistakes. But if the BJP-led NDA comes to power all the corrupt will be put behind bars," he said. Attacking the left government, he said the "Communist party has become extinct in the world. That's the situation of the Congress party in the country. NDA is planning big win in the state," Shah said. He also asked the people of Kerala to give an opportunity to the Narendra Modi government to make the state the best in the country. "People of Kerala have been alternatively electing the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and Congress-headed UDF. Give a chance to Narendra Modi. We will make Kerala the number 1 state in the country," he said. Shah also wanted Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to explain what the two previous UPA governments have done for Kerala. "I want to ask Rahul baba what the congress has done for Kerala. The UPA government ruled for ten years. During the UPA regime, Rs 45,392 crore was spent for the state. But the Modi government had allocated over Rs 198,00 crore in five years, despite not having a single MP from Kerala," he said. This is four times more than what the UPA government had done, he said. Besides this amount, various projects worth Rs 59,000 crore had been allotted to the state. Lashing out at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, he said "Pinarayi Vijayan comes to Delhi and asks Prime Minister what we have given to the state. I don't have any obligation to answer Vijayan, but my obligation is towards the people of the state," Shah said. The BJP government has given four times more assistance to the state government, he said and alleged that the left government in Kerala had been creating hindrances on various projects sanctioned by the Centre. "The state government has delayed land acquisition for Kanjikode Railway factory and AIIMS projects," he said. Shah alleged the state government has been delaying these projects out of fear that if these become a reality, it might enhance the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shah also alleged that Vijayan was "playing politics" and stalling the state's development. Hitting out at the ruling CPI(M) on the Sabarimala issue, the BJP chief said the state govenrment has been "cheating" crores of Ayyappa devotees and denying them justice. "This would only result in "unsettling the foundation of the communist party in the state," Shah said. He alleged the LDF government has not yet removed the loudspeakers from mosques despite the Supreme Court verdict. "The LDF government has been stating that they were bound by the Supreme Court verdict (on the Sabarimala issue). However, the top court has also said that no loudspeakers can be used in mosques. From how many mosques have you removed the loudspeakers. Have you implemented that Supreme Court verdict?" Shah asked. "The atheist communists have tried to deny justice to the believers," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic arm of IT major Infosys, Friday said it has been alerted about certain entities collecting money claiming to represent the foundation, and appealed to public not to fall prey to such attempts. "It (the foundation) has been alerted about some individuals and groups engaged in collecting money from unsuspecting members of public, traders and other business entities claiming to represent the Infosys Foundation, and that the said contributions will go for the philanthropic activities of the foundation," Infosys said in a regulatory filing. It added that it also has copies of appeals for funds that have been typed on a fake letterhead of the foundation and bear forged signatures of Infosys Foundation Chairperson Sudha Murty. "Infosys Foundation is shocked by these activities. Infosys Foundation neither requests for nor accepts donations for its activities...The Foundation uses its own funds for all its projects and programmes," it said. It appealed to members of the public "not to fall prey to such conmen who seem to have mastered the art of extracting money from people by inventing stories linked to Infosys Foundation". It also requested the public to alert police and write to the foundation if they have information about such fraudsters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal government Friday announced that it will procure 10 lakh tonne of potato from farmers at the rate of Rs 5.5 per kg to prevent distress sale of the crop. At a public rally in Tarkeswar in Hooghly district Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that the state government would spend Rs 550 crore to procure potato of 20 lakh potato farmers in the state. The state government will offer Rs 5.5 a kg during the procurement at the time when loading price at farm level had slipped below Rs 4 a kg. "Break even price will be Rs 5 and so the government had decided to offer Rs 5.5 a kg which is decent support and avert a possible crisis," West Bengal Cold Storage Association advisor Patit Paban De said. This year saw a bumper crop of at least 120 lakh tonne which is 20 per cent higher than previous year production of 100 lakh tonne in the last year. Potato is mostly grown in Hooghly, Burdwan, Bankura, West Midnapur, part of Howarh and a few North Bengal districts In the recent past, both state and Centre announced direct cash benefit to farmers along with other benefits like higher minimum support price for crops. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi Friday stressed the need forthe Directorate of School here to include history of the Union Territory and also its geographical features in the school curriculum. Paying a visit to the directorate to ascertain the implementation of decisions taken during her earlier visit, the Lieutenant Governor said the school curriculum should acquaint the children with the history and also geographical features of Puducherry. She felt that school children should possess full knowledge and history of the Union Territory. She appreciated the improvement in the directorate according to the decisions taken earlier. Also, Bedi pointed out to the officials that value could also be taught to mould students as responsible and law-abiding citizens. "The practice of story-telling from epics and fables can be introduced as part of teaching value education," she said. Director of School Rudra Goud explained to the Lieutenant Governor the various steps taken to adopt the practices to tone up school education in Puducherry as was suggested by Bedi during her earlier visit. The Lieutenant Governor has been visiting departments to see for herself the progress of work and also suggest to the heads of departments to adopt innovative practices. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Assam government on Friday said Border Guards Bangladesh is obstructing the sealing of around 3.5 km on the Indo-Bangla border in Karimganj district. Border sealing with barbed fencing is being done by central agencies like NPCC, CPWD and NBCC, state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said responding to a Zero Hour notice by AGP member Prodip Hazarika in Assam Assembly. "NBCC is working on a 4.5 km single line fence along the Kushiyara river in Karimganj. This will cover 3.5 km open area also. NBCC informed that work is progressing slowly there as the Border Guards Bangladesh is obstructing it," he said. Replying on behalf of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who also holds the Border Areas Development portfolio, Patowary said that Ministry of Home Affairs was requested to sort out the issue by talking to the Ministry of External Affairs and Bangladesh government. "At the 41st high level Empowered Committee Meeting, the Director of Ministry of External Affairs informed that no clarification could be obtained despite frequent contact with Bangladesh authorities," the Assam Minister stated. "As per information from Assam Power Distribution Company Limited, around 40 per cent work for installing flood lights along the border in Karimganj is incomplete. The reasons cited for this are rainfall, communication bottleneck, right of way etc," Patowary added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The second day of the 48-hour bandh called by several organisations seeking changes in the proposals made by a government-appointed panel for granting permanent residence certificate (PRC) to non-Arunachalees turned violent Friday with reports of arson and stone pelting pouring in from various parts of the state capital. Protestors set ablaze five vehicles and also burnt the offices of All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (AAPSU) and All Nyishi Students Union (ANSU) here, police said. The AAPSU and ANSU have supported the recommendation of the Joint High Power Committee (JHPC) constituted by the state government on May 1, 2018 to study the issue. The protestors also resorted to stone pelting and even threw stones at the vehicle of former chief minister Nabam Tuki, capital Superintendent of Police, M Harsh Vardhan said adding police lobbed tear gas shells to disperse the protestors. Bandh enforcers also blocked the NH-415 at several locations by burning tyres despite heavy security coverage. Massive security forces have been deployed at the civil secretariat here in view of the protest. The Joint High Power Committee, after holding parleys with the stakeholders, has recommended granting PRC to six communities, who are not natives of Arunachal Pradesh but has been living in Namsai and Changlang districts for decades. The proposals have evoked resentment among several community-based groups and students' organisations, who claimed that the rights and the interests of indigenous people will be compromised if the state government accepts it. The recommendation of the JHPC is likely to be tabled in the ongoing session of the state Assembly on Saturday. The bandh was also total on the second day as all business establishments and financial institutions remained closed while public and private vehicles remained off the road. Attendance in government offices was also thin during the bandh period. Police has detained 27 bandh callers on Thursday but later released them. The bandh enforces vowed to intensify their protest on Saturday if the JHPCs recommendation is tabled in the assembly. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 18 people were killed in DR Congo's mining belt on Wednesday when a truck laden with industrial acid collided with a bus, spewing its contents on passengers, sources said. The accident happened near the village of Fungurume, in the heart of a copper and cobalt mining area between Lubumbashi and Kolwezi in the southeast. "A Tanzanian-registered tanker truck carrying acid hit a stationary bus. The acid poured out onto the passengers," police captain Corneille Lwitetele, in-charge of road traffic in Lualaba province, told AFP on Thursday. He gave a toll of 21 dead and 12 injured, while Lualaba's provincial health minister, Samy Kayombo, gave a figure of 18 dead and 12 injured with burns. The UN radio channel Okapi said the damaged truck continued to spill its contents until midday on Thursday, and acid flowed as far as the village of Kabwe. Traffic on the busy highway resumed at midnight Wednesday, police said. Acid is widely used in mining to leach metal from rock. Road accidents are tragically common in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the main causes being poor road surfaces, excessive speed and badly-maintained vehicles. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Assam government has notified Inspector General of Police (SB) Hiren Nath, as Surrender and Rehabilitation Officer, an official release said on Friday. Nath has been made responsible for proper implementation of the Revised Scheme for Surrender cum Rehabilitation of Militants in Assam, it said. The government has also notified Nath as chairman of the screening committee for proper implementation of the scheme in the state of Assam. "These two notifications have come into force with retrospective effect from February 1 until further order," the release added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu Friday challenged BJP president Amit Shah to prove the allegations that he reposed faith in the Pakistan Prime Minister while doubting Narendra Modi on the Pulwama terror attack. Naidu asked BJP leaders to stop "meaningless" criticism and propaganda against him. He also wanted the BJP to tender an apology to the country by withdrawing the remarks against him. In a statement released to the media here, the Chief Minister claimed he had only "recalled" Modi's demand in 2013 after the terror attacks in Bihar and Kashmir that Manmohan Singh resign as Prime Minister. "I only questioned if Modi will step down as Prime Minister owning responsibility for the Pulwama attack. I am unable to understand why the BJP leaders are jittery over this," Naidu said. He wondered if it was patriotism when Modi spoke and not when he spoke. "If you do, it is good and if we do is it mean politics," he said. What would Modi answer to the nation about the allegations that he spent three hours shooting for a television channel programme when the Pulwama attack happened, Naidu asked. Slamming Naidu for his remarks on Islamabad's claim of it not being involved in the Pulwama terror attack, Shah on Thursday had said the former had more faith in the Pakistan Prime Minister than on Modi. "Chandrababu endorses what Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan says on Pulwama that his country is not involved in the dastardly attack. He is taking Imran Khan's side in his greed for vote bank and is seeking to create doubts on India's Prime Minister. Don't indulge in such mean and low politics," the BJP president had said. Naidu had Wednesday reportedly said "Pakistan has made it clear that it has no role in the Pulwama attack. Suspicion is now strengthening across the country that political expediency could be behind the attack. We will not tolerate such things to further political vested interests." The Telugu Desam Party had initially circulated this message on the Telegram mobile App about Naidu's remarks during the teleconference with party leaders and local television channels also ran scrolls on it. Some time later, the message was apparently replaced with another one that read there were 'doubts' on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's remarks. On Thursday, former Chief Secretary I Y R Krishna Rao, who is now with the BJP, met Governor E S L Narasimhan at Raj Bhavan and sought action against Naidu over the remarks. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Friday said that every fortnight he would personally review the progress of the preparations for celebrations of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh faith. Presiding over an executive committee meeting to review the arrangements for the mega event, Singh said he would convene meetings on the 1st and 15th day of every month for the purpose. He also directed the Cabinet sub-committee comprising Punjab Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa to monitor the progress on daily basis and update him accordingly. An official release said it was decided in the meeting that the main function would be organised on November 12 at Sultanpur Lodhi, where Guru Nanak Dev spent nearly 18 years of his life. The chief minister also approved starting of 'Bebe Nanki' Government College for Girls in Sultanpur Lodhi from the already existing Guru Nanak Dev University Regional Campus, Fattu Dhinga, as a constituent of the university. The vice chancellor of the university had requested the chief minister to take over this state-of-the-art regional centre to enable commencement of classes from the current academic session. Singh also directed the rural development and panchayats department to sanction Rs 20-25 lakh to each village in the first phase under a plan to develop 41 villages visited by Guru Nanak Dev during his lifetime. He told the cultural affairs and tourism department to invite all prominent academicians, dignitaries, politicians, religious personalities and eminent Punjabis settled across the world for the celebrations. The chief minister also directed the additional chief secretary (Home) to ensure foolproof security for the millions of devotees who were expected to pay obeisance at the historic Sultanpur Lodhi gurdwaras. The meeting discussed the conservation of the historical monument at Sultanpur Lodhi, for which tenders has already been floated by the cultural affairs department and the work was slated to be completed by September 30, the release said. Acceding to the request of Randhawa for the identification of a Guru Nanak Marg, the chief minister gave approval to develop the route from Sultanpur Lodhi to Dera Baba Nanak via Dhilwan, Rayya, Baba Bakala, Chowk Mehta and Batala. The principal secretary (transport) informed the meeting that the department was in touch with the railways ministry for plying of special trains to Punjab from across the country, and particularly from places with large Sikh population. The Chief Minister also gave approval to the Punjab State Industries and Export Corporation to get commemorative 5 gm gold and 50 gm silver coins minted through Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India for this auspicious occasion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vedanta Group firm Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) Friday said Agnivesh Agarwal has stepped down as chairman of the company. "Agnivesh Agarwal has informed that he is stepping down as chairman and director of Hindustan Zinc Ltd to pursue other interests," the company said in a filing to the BSE. According to the company's website, Agarwal was appointed on the board with effect from November 15, 2005. He is an industrialist with knowledge of business operations and experience in efficiently managing large projects, business restructuring and strategic planning. He is also the director of Sterlite Iron and Steel Company Ltd, the website said. Hindustan Zinc is one of the leading integrated producers of zinc-lead with a capacity of 1.0 million tonne per annum and a leading producer of silver. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Six employees of a fireworks factory were charred to death and over 10 others got injured after a fire broke out at its unit in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district Friday, police said. Eight sheds in the factory unit at Varaganur were destroyed when the bundles of firecrackers kept for drying exploded, they said. Three fire tenders were engaged to douse the flames which spread from the sheds to the area, where the employees were working, police said. The injured people were rushed to a government hospital in Kovilpatti, they said. A case was registered against the factory owner, who was at large, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : As many as six bonded labourers have been rescued from two sericulture units in Chikkaballapur, officials said Friday. The case came to light when two labourers escaped from one of the units and managed to get in touch with a non-governmental organisation Janapriya, according to the International Justice Mission (IJM). Janapriya claimed that the bonded labourers belonged to Bengaluru urban, Bengaluru rural and Ramanagara district, and some had spent five years to 10 years in confinement. The NGO put the number of the labourers in the two units at 12. However, the deputy commissioner of Chikkaballapur district P Anirudh Sravan told PTI that he has received a release order from the assistant commissioner for six people. He added that the number may go up if the inquiry confirms that others, if any, were also bonded labourers. Based on the complaints by the victims, the two sericulture units were raided and the bonded labourers were freed. The Sidlaghatta police registered two cases under the Bonded LabourSystem (Abolition)Act, 1976 and section 370 (Trafficking in Persons) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Child Labour(Prohibition and Regulation)Act, 1986. IJM director (branding and communication) Deena Rodrigues told PTI that these labourers were trapped by the agents and the owner in the vicious debt cycle. "These bonded labourers had not idea that they were actually bonded labourers, such practice is prohibited under law and they have to dial 100 to seek police help, said Rodrigues. Sharing the story of a rescued bonded labourer, the NGO director said that a 26-year-old worker spent 10 years in bondage working to pay off a debt of Rs 40,000 given to his parents 10 years ago. His parents also worked at the factory for four years till his father died and his mother was allowed to leave because she was diagnosed with cancer, she added. Another bonded labourer from Magadi and her four- year-old son spent six months in bondage after she had taken an advance of Rs 60,000. She told the NGO that she was not given any wages but was given two meals a day. She complained that she was given water to bathe only once a month and said that her son and her developed a skin disease from working in the sericulture unit and for not being able to bathe. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three Afghan men have been arrested by the customs officials at Delhi airport for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold valuing about Rs 54 lakh, according to an official statement on Friday. The accused were intercepted after their arrival from Dubai on Wednesday. A detailed personal and baggage search resulted in the recovery of 13 gold biscuits and a gold bar which in total weighed 1.6 kg, the customs department said. The gold, worth Rs 54.49 lakh, has been seized and the trio were arrested, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over 200 lions died in the Gir forest region in the last two years, the Gujarat government told the legislative Assembly Friday. Only 27 of these deaths were because of "unnatural" causes such as getting hit by a train or falling into a well, it said. To a query by Congress' Bhagabhai Barad, forest minister Ganpat Vasava, in a written reply, said 110 lions and 94 cubs died in 2017 and 2018. Of the 110 adult lions, 43 died in 2017 and 67 in 2018. Thirty-eight cubs died in 2017 and 56 in 2018, the reply said. Of the 204 deaths, 27 (21 lions and six cubs) were because of "unnatural causes" such as falling into a well or being run over by a train, the minister said. Vasava also said that 331 leopards, including 75 cubs, died in Gujarat forests in the last two years, adding the state government was taking various steps to prevent deaths due to unnatural causes. Some of these preventive measures are building parapets around wells, fencing railway tracks, construction of speed breakers on roads passing through sanctuaries and continuous patrolling, the reply said. To a question by Congress MLA Pratap Dudhat about the viral infection among lions last year, Vasava said 34 lions died in the last one year due to diseases including Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) infection. Babesia, Streptococcal bacteria and Gram-negative bacilli infections were also responsible for some of these deaths, the minister said. The government allocated Rs 21.96 crore for lion conservation in Gir in 2017 and Rs 27.89 crore in 2018, while the contribution of the Union government was Rs 1.92 crore and 1.06 crore for the last two years, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police have seized 550 cartons of liquor which were being allegedly smuggled from Haryana to Uttar Pradesh and arrested two persons, an official said Friday. The liquor, worth lakhs of rupees, was seized at Miranpur town here on Thursday, Station House Officer (SHO) Pankej Tyagi said. He said a police team intercepted a truck carrying the 550 cartons of liquor and arrested two people. During interrogation of the arrested persons, it was learnt that the liquor was meant for distribution ahead of the general elections and was being smuggled to Moradabad and Rampur in Uttar Pradesh from Haryana, the SHO said. The matter is being investigated, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Indian government's decision to hike duty to 200 per cent on all imports from Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack is set to affect the already dwindling agri trade between the countries further. India's export to Pakistan has declined by more than half in the past four years due to various issues that include restrictions on exports via road, administrative blockades by Pakistani authorities. And the latest casualty of the decision is likely to be onions, which the Indian authorities were planning to sell overseas in the wake of bumper domestic production this year. Now, the plan has been shelved following the withdrawal of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan, according to the sources in the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). India exported 6.43 lakh tonnes of agriculture commodities worth Rs 1,880 crore to Pakistan in 2014-15 while it came down to 1.16 lakh tonnes worth Rs 784 crore in 2017-18. "In addition to the lower demand, Pakistani authorities did not issue import permits for the Indian commodities," said an official, close to the development. "There will be a reaction from Pakistan over the decision of hiking import duty. We do not expect that onion would be permitted to be sold across the border now." Pakistan stood at the 16th position in 2014-15 in terms of the volume of agriculture products from India exported to any country. Its position lowered to 22nd in 2017-18 but it gained 16th position in 2018-19 (April- December). Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotion Council (IOPEPC) office-bearer Sanjiv Sawla said the overall volume may go down by ten times now. "Bigger challenge will be for India since we are not importing from Pakistan as much as we are selling to them. Certainly, Pakistan will respond. It may not increase import duty but harass us through permit and quarantine issues," he said. In 2016, as many as 130 containers carrying 2,500 tonnes of peanuts exported from India were stuck at the Karachi port for over eight months. The same year, exports of cotton and soya had dropped after Pakistan put temporary bans citing phytosanitary conditions, though the traders claimed border tension being the major reason. Notably, India's share in the total amount of groundnut imported by Pakistan in 2017 was over 75 per cent, 55 per cent in guargum. Pulses, cereals, fresh and processed vegetables, buffalo meat, poultry products, jaggery & confectionery are among the major agro-products being exported in bulk quantity. In 2018-19, over 61,949 tonnes of agri commodities worth Rs 455 crore have been exported to Pakistan during April- December for year 2018-19. The overall situation of the exim trade is not encouraging as the exports of all commodities to Pakistan worth Rs 12,397 crore comes to just 0.63 per cent of total exports by India in 2017-18, as per data of the Commerce Ministry. India imported commodities worth Rs 3,096 crore from Pakistan in the same year, which is 0.11 per cent of the total imports. However, traders and exporters said there is great potential in the agri trade between the two neighbours owing to common interests in culture, cuisine, traditions. (Saurabh Katkurwar can be contacted at saurabh.k@ians.in) --IANS spk/vsc/am (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Slamming the central government for "making false promises", West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday accused the BJP and the RSS of spreading rumours to incite violence in the state and also said her government would not allow this. Banerjee said that she would not allow any divisiveness as people of all religions are human beings. "Even today, I have heard about violence in housing near Kona expressway. Rumours are being spread by the party people of BJP and RSS. Terror cannot prevail. We respect Hinduism but people who kill others in the name of the religion, cannot call themselves the lovers of Hindus, Muslims or Sikhs or Christians," she said. "I want to ask whether the brothers, sisters, students, farmers have trust in me. I just want to ensure that I will do everything but will not allow anyone to spread communal violence," Banerjee said while inaugurating Rani Rashmoni Green University and Mati Utsav celebrations. She said the Trinamool government has been in power for years but "can anyone point out if we had ever touched a single Temple, Mosque or Gurudwara". "We have developed various premises of different religions. We don't break them," Banerjee said, adding that attempts are being made to incite communal violence ahead of the upcoming elections. She added: "Today's saffron-donning people must learn 'sacrifice' from the saints of the Ramakrishna Mission who wear saffron." "By spreading rumours in the state, some political parties are trying to fulfil their agendas," she said. The Kolkata police has been asked to take strong action against the miscreants who try to spread rumours. About 40 people have been arrested in such incidents and 22 cases have been lodged, officials said. --IANS bnd-bdc/rs/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress President Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law Robert Vadra on Tuesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case involving assets allegedly held abroad. Vadra arrived at the ED office in central Delhi. Vadra had skipped the agency's questioning on Friday citing health conditions. He was questioned by the ED for over seven hours on Thursday. He was asked about the money received by his company as alleged kickbacks in petroleum deals in Gujarat. The agency said the money was used to buy properties in London. The case relates to the ownership of 1.9 million pounds of overseas assets and undisclosed entities set up to evade tax. On Monday, a Delhi court allowed Vadra to travel abroad for six weeks for medical treatment after he was diagnosed with a tumour in his intestine. --IANS aks/pg/mr (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.) Misinformation has been weaponised in recent times with the objective of sowing the seeds of division, prejudice and hate among citizens, says Pratik Sinha, who has edited a riveting volume of essays that aims to present the real picture. "The intention (behind misinformation) is quite clearly political gain," said Sinha, the co-founder of Alt News. Titled "India Misinformed: The True Story", the book will be available in stores in March. "The propaganda of misinformation and hoaxes disseminated through print, graphics, and social media have altered the social landscape of this nation. Not only has it led to multiple cases of lynching, mob violence, defamation, and riots, but fake news also poses a serious threat to Indian democracy and its electoral policies," publisher HarperCollins India said in a statement. This book is written by the team of Alt News, a fact-checking website that debunks fake information, and has been edited by Sinha, Sumaiya Shaikh and Arjun Sidharth. It attempts to identify the purveyors of fabricated news, expose the propaganda machinery and familiarise its prospective readers with techniques to detect these menacing sources. The book has been pre-endorsed by writer-activist Arundhati Roy. "Here facts strike back in the era of fake news. This book doesn't just expose lies, it exposes the pattern of lies. In surveillance-speak it gives us the meta-data of the propaganda regime so that we may know what is being done to us and by whom. Everyone ought to read it," Roy wrote in her endorsement. The book, according to Krishan Chopra, Publisher at HarperCollins, is a brilliant guide on how to weigh all sides of the facts and make better judgment. --IANS ss/mag/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two terror suspects from Jammu and Kashmir were arrested from Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh on Friday, Director General of Police O.P. Singh said. Talking to the media, Singh said the two, both in their early 30s, were caught by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Uttar Pradesh Police on the basis of intelligence inputs. The ATS has procured a two-day transit remand of the two suspected terrorists. He said the arrested persons owed allegiance to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the Pakistan-based terror outfit which claimed responsibility for the recent terror attack in Pulwama that killed 40 CRPF troopers. The two have been identified as Shahnawaz from Kulgam district and Aquib from Pulwama district, both in Jammu and Kashmir. Two weapons and some cartridges were recovered from their possession. Soon after the transit remand was granted by a local court in Saharanpur, Shahnawaz and Aquib were taken to the state capital by an ATS squad for questioning. While one of them was tasked with recruiting new persons into the terror outfit's fold, the other was trained in grenade making, the police said. Based on the leads provided by the duo, the ATS has picked up a few persons for questioning from Khaankhah and Naaz Manzil areas in Saharanpur. Five students from Odisha were also being interrogated, the police said. Raids were also being carried out in Deoband, Saharanpur, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar to round up a few suspects, DGP Singh said. --IANS md/arm/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government has envisaged three projects to give intent to its decision to stop its share of water from three eastern rivers of the Indus system - the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej - from going to Pakistan. The decision was affirmed by Water Resource Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday in the wake of Pulwama terror attack though the Union cabinet had approved implementation of one of the key projects - Shahpurkandi dam - in December last year. The waters of the western rivers - the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab - averaging around 135 MAF, were allocated to Pakistan except for "specified domestic, non-consumptive and agricultural use permitted to India", according to a treaty. India has also been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run-of-the-river (RoR) projects on the western rivers which, subject to specific criteria for design and operation, is unrestricted. To utilise the waters of the Eastern rivers, India has constructed the Bhakra Dam on Satluj, Pong and Pandoh Dam on Beas and Thein (Ranjitsagar) on Ravi. These storage works, together with other works like Beas-Sutlej Link, Madhopur-Beas Link and Indira Gandhi Nahar Project have helped India utilise nearly the entire share (95 per cent) of the eastern river waters. However, about 2 MAF of water annually from Ravi is reported to be still flowing unutilised to Pakistan. The other two projects are Ujh multipurpose project and the second Ravi Beas link below Ujh. Here's the reality check of the three projects: Shahpurkandi Project: It aims to utilise the waters coming from powerhouse of Thein dam in order to irrigate 37,000 hectares of land in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab by generating 206 MW of power. The project was scheduled to be completed by September 2016. However, following a dispute between the two states, work was suspended in August 2014 but they reached an agreement last September and the construction work has now resumed with the Centre monitoring its progress. The central government had in December last year announced assistance of Rs 485 crore for the project and it would be completed by June 2022. The project will create irrigation potential of 5,000 hectare in Punjab and 32,173 hectare in Jammu and Kashmir. Officials said that some water of the Ravi is going waste through the Madhopur Headworks downstream to Pakistan and it is required in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. The total balance cost of pending work in ShahpurKandi Dam project is estimated Rs 1,973.53 crore (irrigation component: Rs 564.63 crore, power component Rs1408.90 crore). The Shahpurkandi Project was initially approved by the Planning Commission in November, 2001. Revised costs were approved, but there was delay in its execution both because of lack of funds with Punjab and inter-state issues with Jammu and Kashmir. An agreement was finally reached between the two states under the aegis of Water Resources Ministry in September last year. Ujh multipurpose project: Construction of the Ujh multipurpose project will create a storage of about 781 million cubic metres of water on Ujh, a tributary of Ravi, for irrigation and power generation and provide a total irrigation benefits of 31,380 hectares in Kathua, Hiranagar and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir. The total estimated cost of the project is Rs 5,850 crore and the Central assistance of Rs 4,892.47 crore on works portion of irrigation component as well as the special grant is under consideration. The project is yet to be implemented and it will take about six years for completion. Second Ravi Beas link below Ujh: The project has been planned to tap excess water flowing down to Pakistan through Ravi by constructing a barrage across it for diverting water through a tunnel link to the Beas basin. The project is expected to utilise about 0.58 MAF of surplus waters below Ujh dam by diverting the same to the Beas basin. The water distribution treaty between India and Pakistan was brokered by the World Bank in 1960 to use the water available in the Indus system of rivers originating in India. The Indus system comprises Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers. The basin is mainly shared by India and Pakistan with a small share for China and Afghanistan. Under the treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, all the waters of the three eastern rivers, averaging around 33 million acre feet (MAF), were allocated to India for exclusive use. --IANS ss-ps/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After being criticized by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's grand nephew Chandra Kumar Bose over his upcoming film "Gumnami", filmmaker Srijit Mukherjee said he will make the movie even if he is sent to jail. A man who led the life of a reclusive Hindu saint in Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh in the 1970s/80s came to be known as "Gumnami Baba". Those who met him claimed he was none other than Netaji Bose, whose reported death in a plane crash in 1945 has been doubted by many. Bose's family members termed that it was a "criminal offence" to term 'Gumnami Baba' as Netaji in disguise without any documentary or photographic evidence. But an unfazed Mukherjee wrote on Twitter: "To answer your threat to gag me, (Chandra Kumar) Bose, I will stay in my country and make this film. If you drag me to court, I will borrow production design ideas from the court setting and make this film. If you put me in jail, I will write a few more drafts of the script, fine-tune it and make this film." On Thursday, Bose, who is with the BJP, criticized director Mukherjee, who is making the film titled "Gumnami" for allegedly claiming in an interview that his upcoming movie will portray Bose as the "penniless recluse". Bose said: "I want to know who are the people supporting this distortion and who are funding Mission Netaji to spread such falsehood to taint and derogate Netaji's image? Who are these traitors? We appeal to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to start an inquiry by the IB." The National Award-winning filmmaker wrote on his Twitter handle that Chandra Kumar Bose had "threatened to make me leave India" if he showed that "Gumnami Baba could have been Netaji". He added that there needed to be more "questions, discussions regarding Netaji's final days". Mukherjee added that a large section of the Bose family believes in a number of theories, including the one on Gumnami Baba. --IANS bnd/bdc/rb/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Security forces on Friday fired tear gas shells and used water cannons to disperse protestors as day two of the 48-hour shutdown turned violent in the mountainous capital city of Arunachal Pradesh. One of the protestors sustained a bullet injury in his leg while several security personnel and agitators were injured following clashes at Naharlagun, an official said. Eighteen students' bodies and civil society groups sponsored the shutdown to mount pressure on the Pema Khandu government to scrap the decision of granting permanent resident certificates (PRC) to non-Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe communities of Namsai and Changlang districts. The agitating groups alleged that the joint high power committee (JHPC) led by Environment and Forest Minister Nabam Rebia, constituted to look into the matter, had submitted its report without proper verification of facts and the same should be rectified before it is tabled before the Assembly. The recommendation made by the JHPC is likely to be tabled in the Assembly on Saturday. In fact, the shutdown, which was more or less peaceful during the morning hours, got intense by the afternoon as hundreds of agitators (mostly women) marched towards the State Legislative Assembly building shouting slogans against the government, particularly Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein. On being stopped midway by the police and paramilitary forces on duty, the agitating protestors headed towards the national highway and staged a sit-in protest in front of the Civil Secretariat where more people joined the demonstration and later started to burn tyres. The shutdown witnessed instances of vehicles being burnt, roads being blocked and agitators resorting to stone pelting at several places in the city. The six communities - Adivasi, Deori, Gorkha, Mishing, Moran, and Sonowal Kachari - mostly inhabit Namsai and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh on the border with Assam. Some of these communities enjoy Scheduled Tribe status in Assam. --IANS rrk/oeb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday as Saudi oil company Aramco signed a pact to develop a $10 billion refining and petrochemical complex in China as 35 other economic deals worth $28 billion were inked by the two countries. Aramco will develop a 300,000 barrel-per-day refinery in China with a 1.5 million tonne-per-annum ethylene cracker and a 1.3 million tonne-per-annum paraxylene unit alongside Chinese companies Norinco Group and Panjin Sincen, the National daily reported. The Saudi producer will have a 35 per cent interest in the new company, Huajin Aramco Petrochemical, with Norinco and Panjin Sincen holding 36 and 29 per cent stakes each. Aramco would supply up to 70 per cent of the crude feedstock for the complex, which is expected to start operations in 2024. Aramco also signed an agreement to buy a 9 per cent stake in Zhejiang Petrochemical, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. Saudi Arabia then signed 35 economic co-operation agreements with China worth a total of $28 billion at a joint investment forum during the royal visit, SPA reported. During the meeting, Xi urged a joint China-Saudi effort to counter extremism and terror. "China is a good friend and partner to Saudi Arabia," he said, adding that "the special nature of our bilateral relationship reflects the efforts you have made." The Saudi royal said the kingdom's relations with China dated back "a very long time in the past". "In the hundreds, even thousands, of years, the interactions between the sides have been friendly. Over such a long period of exchanges with China, we have never experienced any problems with China," he said. "The Silk Road initiative and China's strategic orientation are very much in line with the kingdom's Vision 2030," the Crown Prince said. Earlier, he met Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and discussed ways of strengthening relations and national security before the royal presided at a China-Saudi co-operation forum and its signing ceremony. Han said the two countries should enhance exchanges on their experiences in de-radicalisation, Xinhua news agency reported. The Crown Prince landed in Beijing on Thursday and was received by Khi Li Fung, the Chinese Deputy Chairman of the Advisory and Political Council. He later toured the Great Wall of China with the country's ambassador to Riyadh. The China trip was part of the Saudi royal's Asian tour after visiting Pakistan and India earlier this week. --IANS soni/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress President Rahul Gandhi has asked the chief ministers of Congress-ruled states to revoke amendments made to the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act, 2013, in order to stop exploitation of farmers, former Union minister Jairam Ramesh said on Friday. To stop a dilution of the Act, the Congress will take a legal course and start raising the issue in public, he said at an event organised by the Delhi Grameen Samaj here. "The BJP-led government could not dilute the LARR Act despite bringing ordinances as it did not get support in Parliament. It asked states to make amendments and the governments of Gujarat, Telangana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan went ahead with changes to the Act," he said. "Unfortunately, Karnataka, where the Congress is in power, has also made amendments four days ago." "Our party President (Gandhi) has written letters to (Rajasthan CM) Ashok Gehlot, (Chhattisgarh CM) Bhupesh Baghel and (Madhya Pradesh CM) Kamal Nath asking them to revoke the amendments made to the LARR Act during the BJP rule," he said. Land in these states now will be acquired as per the LARR Act 2013, he added. "I also assure that Karnataka and Punjab governments will also take it back," Ramesh said. He said the amendments sought by the BJP government remove the clauses necessitating farmers' consent before land acquisition and retrospective application in certain cases as well as the provision for Social Impact Assessment. "There are many lawyers in Congress who will take up the issue in Supreme Court. We will fight for you," Ramesh said when farmers asked him about his party's stand on the issue. The former minister said that he had worked hard to ensure the Act sees the light of the day when he held the Rural Development portfolio under UPA 2. "There was a need to replace the 1984 law. My colleagues in the council of ministers were not happy over some provisions. I had to overcome many challenges." "At least, the Act has brought some awareness. People, whose land is to be acquired for the Jewar airport, are talking about the issue," he said. Speaking at the event, Swaraj India president and farmers' leader Yogendra Yadav said the 2013 Act provided "little relief" by replacing the British-era law, which treated land-holders as "slaves". "Farmers' land can still be snatched. The only difference is that under the 2013 Act, you need their consent." Coming down heavily on the ruling BJP for making attempts "to weaken the Act", Yadav said the present government was the "most anti-farmer government" of all the governments so far. Yadav said BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh had demanded an increase in the compensation amount when they were in the opposition. "However, they are now making sure that farmers are not benefitted," he said. --IANS spk/rtp/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To expand its enterprise data management solutions and enable real-time analytics, US-based data analytics and business intelligence platform Qlik on Friday announced that it is acquiring Boston-based software solutions provider Attunity for nearly $560 million. Attunity provides data integration and big data management software solutions that enable availability, delivery and management of data across heterogeneous enterprise platforms, organisations and the Cloud. With Attunity, Qlik would be able to provide customers enterprise data management solutions to transform their raw data into a governed, analytics-aware information resource, the company said in a statement. "Attunity's strength in real-time data delivery across complex cloud environments will uniquely position Qlik to help customers lead with data and align their enterprise analytics strategy," said Mike Capone, CEO, Qlik. Building on Qlik's extensive partner ecosystem, this acquisition will pull in Attunity's partner network, further expanding Qlik's go-to-market reach and strengthening its data lake management and cloud infrastructure partnerships, including Microsoft, Amazon AWS, Cloudera and Snowflake, the company added. "We believe the transaction is in the best interest of Attunity's stakeholders and provides Attunity with additional awareness and scale to execute our strategic plans," said Shimon Alon, Chairman and CEO, Attunity. The agreement was unanimously approved by the board of directors of both the companies. --IANS rp/mag/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Friction between two cabinet ministers in Punjab was out in the open on Friday with one minister openly questioning how the other ordered an inquiry involving him in a prime land controversy in Ludhiana. The two ministers involved in the controversy include Punjab Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu. Sidhu on Friday ordered "stringent action against the officers guilty of wilful disobedience of the orders issued by him on July 7, 2018, regarding keeping the matter of according approval to Plan 98-C of the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana in abeyance and sending the CLU case further ahead by forging the documents". The minister has directed the Principal Secretary of the department to take prompt action in the Ludhiana change of land use (CLU) matter. Reacting strongly to the probe ordered by Sidhu, cabinet minister Ashu in an official statement on Friday said: "I have nothing to do with the building in the present controversy. However, I will like Sidhu to explain how my name got included in the enquiry. If he finds any merit in it, let him report it to honorable CM, but if there is any mischievous intention of any official to include my name deliberately in it, then let the official be penalized." In a statement on Friday, Sidhu said that the orders concerning the probe were given by him and that the probe report has said the registry of the land whose CLU was approved was forged and 'khasra' numbers changed. Sidhu pointed out that the CLU was applied for on January 17, 2018, in which the documents were forged.A He said the registry of the land was done two days later on January 19, whereas it is mandatory to attach the registry papers at the time of applying for the CLU. "This means that the applicant was not the owner of the land at the time of applying," Sidhu stated. --IANS js/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan says the NDA does not want the Pulwama attack and subsequent developments to become an election issue but "it cannot be ignored" as he made it clear that the government "is as serious as the people of the country" after the terror attack. While not going into the specifics of what the government may do to retailiate against the Pakistan-sponsored operation in Pulwama, he acknowledges that there are expectations from the government to "act". In an interview to IANS, Paswan said he feels the much-talked about Grand Alliance of Opposition parties is a non-starter due to contradictions among the parties and will in no way affect the chances of NDA returning to power, says Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Paswan. He also rules out his dumping the NDA in case of a hung verdict in the coming Lok Sabha elections. "We have done a lot of development work. We don't need to make it an election issue. But the Pulwama incident cannot be ignored. The entire world is speaking now. US President Donald Trump has reacted. France has said it will take the initiative to get the Pulwama attack by Jaishe-e-Mohammed condemned in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). "We don't want to make it a political or election issue. Every political party has come forward and has shown unity in national interest. What government will do I can't say. But the government has taken it seriously. The government has taken it as seriously as the people have taken it," he said on the Pulwama terror attack and the demands being made to avenge the terror sponsored from across the border. Paswan said the people were outraged and the Prime Minister has clearly said that "every drop of soldier's blood will be avenged". "Their sacrifices will not go in vain," he said, adding people and parties should believe in what the Prime Minister has said. Dismissing the possibility of the grand alliance being a threat to the NDA returning to power, he said the ruling coalition will get more number of MPs than now and Narendra Modi will again be the Prime Minister. "I do not think there will be a pre-poll alliance (among Opposition parties). The NDA will be the biggest gainer and it will form the government as President will invite the majority pre-poll group. "Do you think Mamata Banerjee will go along with Congress and the Left in Bengal? Will SP-BSP go with Congress in Uttar Pradesh? The situation is similar everywhere. There will not be any grand-alliance," he said. Asked about the description of the grand alliance as 'mahamilavat' (highly adulterated) by the Prime Minister and the BJP too striking deals with other parties in states, Paswan said there was nothing wrong with that. "We are pure. There is no adulteration. They (Opposition) are adulterated. As Prime Minister says it is 'mahamilavat' (highly adulterated). In Opposition, all are tainted. Lalu Prasad is tainted, Mayawati is tainted, Akhilesh is tainted. Mamata Banerjee's party is in Saradha scam," he said. The Union Minister also felt that the Congress contesting alone in Uttar Pradesh would cut into the votes of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) which would benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "The SP-BSP alliance is not going to continue because the man who built the SP, Mulayam Singh Yadav, is against it," Paswan said and recalled Yadav's praise in the Lok Sabha and his wish to see Modi return to power. Asked about challenges being posed by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led grand alliance in Bihar, Paswan said that it will have no impact on the NDA. "We are in solid position in Bihar whereas in the Opposition camp, there is uncertainty over distribution of seats. If someone gets lesser seats than expected, it will come out of the grand alliance. The Congress cannot go with the RJD. There is no question of if and but. We will win Bihar and Uttar Pradesh too despite opposition alliance," he said. To a query about what will be his party's strategy in case of a hung verdict and NDA not being in a position to form the government, Paswan said, "We are with the NDA and will remain with the NDA." Talking about why the NDA will come back to power, the Minister said that the tax sops for those with annual income of Rs 5 lakh and schemes like the Ayushman Bharat health scheme, housing scheme for poor and toilet, electricity and gas in all the poor homes would vouch for the government's performance. The decision to provide 10 per cent quota for economically weaker sections would also remove the anger among the upper castes while issues like demonetisation and rural distress have faded into the background. --IANS spk-bns/vsc/am/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US State Department on Friday said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Japanese counterpart discussed the next-step engagement with North Korea over phone. Pompeo and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on Thursday reaffirmed their shared commitment to the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea, the State Department said in a statement, reports Xinhua. The two also committed to strengthening trilateral cooperation with the Republic of Korea on a unified approach toward North Korea, according to the statement. The phone call between the two allies' top diplomats came one day after US President Donald Trump's call with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The White House said Wednesday that the two leaders committed to coordinating closely in advance of the US-North Korea upcoming Hanoi summit. Trump announced on February 8 that his second meeting with North Korea's top leader Kim Jong Un would take place in Hanoi of Vietnam on February 27-28. --IANS vc (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The electoral bonds are a regressive reform that has further worsened the "problem of cronies running the country", says former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, who favours a complete ban on corporate donations to parties. Maintaining that the "role of money power" is the biggest challenge to free and fair elections in India, he says that while politicians are supposed to be representing the people, electoral bonds have enabled the corporates to run the country. "It is in this context that I strongly advocate state funding of political parties and a blanket ban on all corporate donations. Such drastic measures are called for, as the problem is becoming worse with every election cycle," Quraishi, who joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1971 and went on to become the 17th CEC of India, told IANS in an interview. He said that in the name of 'reform', the electoral bonds have made the situation "predictably worse" as it has legalised crony capitalism. "Corporates can now donate 100 per cent of the profits to one political party and control the of the country," he added. Quraishi, who has just published a book titled "The Great March of Democracy: Seven Decades of India's Elections" said that there is "much to celebrate" as India proved the skeptics wrong by emerging as a secular and pluralistic democracy. Despite setbacks in pre- and post-independence history, Quraishi said, our resolve to preserve democratic norms and institutions has been firm. "But our politicians are letting the citizens down due to lack of political will and lethargy," he lamented. He said that all political parties "remain united" in their opposition to meaningful electoral reforms aimed at barring tainted legislators from contesting legislators. "The situation is far from fair when prisoners can't vote in elections but alleged perpetrators of heinous crimes can freely contest elections," he said. He said that the Supreme Court verdict on criminalisation of (2018) was "disappointing" as it put the ball back in the EC's court instead of pressing the government for bringing in legislation. "It is hard to imagine why the political parties will legislate against their own self interest. No party agrees upon an independent audit of their accounts. To add to that, they have sham inner party elections for choosing candidates," he said. He also shared that despite the demand for appointment of ECs through a collegium receiving massive support from the civil society and also in the 2015 Law Commission Report, the ruling parties refused to let go of their power to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner and other ECs. Quraishi said that these issues have pragmatic and workable solutions, which have already been tested in many democracies of the world and urged the political parties to start putting self interest after national interest to solve the issues which ail the electoral system. (Saket Suman can be contacted at saket.s@ians.in) --IANS ss/vsc/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was busy making a movie about himself even after receiving the news that 40 CRPF troopers were killed in a terror attack in Kashmir, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday said Modi should be ashamed. Addressing a rally in this temple town, he said Modi, who calls himself a nationalist, had no feelings to rush and console the families of the brave troopers who laid down their lives for the country. "When 40 of our CRPF jawans were martyred when blood was still flowing, the Prime Minister of India who calls himself a nationalist was sitting in a national park getting a movie made of himself. For three-and-a-half hours after our youngsters were killed, the PM posed in front of cameras, smiled and laughed for cameras and made a movie about himself," said Gandhi. "He did not feel the pain and sufferings of the families of youngsters who sacrificed themselves. Making a movie smiling and laughing was more important to him than helping the families of those who died. You can see the pictures of PM smiling, sitting in boat, posing in front of river." Gandhi was addressing the rally organised as part of ongoing 'bus yatra' of Andhra Pradesh unit of the Congress to assure the people that if voted to power at the Centre, the Congress would accord special category status to the state. The Congress President said Modi should also be ashamed of not giving the people of Andhra Pradesh what they deserve and what is their right. He said the commitment to the state was made by not an individual but by the Prime Minister of the country on behalf of over a billion people. "I want to make clear that when the Congress comes to power in Delhi, no force on earth can stop the Congress from giving special category status to Andhra Pradesh. It does not matter to me whether there is a Congress a government in Andhra Pradesh or not," he said. Gandhi recalled that five years ago, Modi had promised special category status to Andhra Pradesh for 10 years. He said Modi had also promised Rs 15 lakh in every bank account, 2 crore jobs to youngsters every year, remunerative prices to farmers. "Every statement of his was a lie," he said. The Congress leader said that during previous elections Modi told people that he would be 'chowkidar' not Prime Minister and also promised 'acche din'. "But after Rafale scam, there is new slogan in the country. Chowkidar chor hai." Former Kerala Chief Minister and Congress in-charge for Andhra Pradesh Oommen Chandy, state Congress chief N. Raghuveera Reddy, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, former central ministers Pallam Raju, Chinta Mohan, Subbirami Reddy, J.D. Seelam, P. Lakshmi and others were present at the event. --IANS ms/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Besides Twitter, the Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology (IT) will also summon Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram to hear them on alleged bias towards certain type of posts, panel chief Anurag Thakur said on Friday. "The Parliamentary Committee on IT will examine the issue of 'Safeguarding citizen rights on social/online news media platforms'," tweeted Thakur, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha MP from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh. "The following will present their positions: Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram," he added. Twitter has already confirmed that Colin Crowell, its global Vice President of Public Policy, would face the Parliamentary Committee on IT on February 25. Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram top brass may be summoned in the first week of March. In a statement given to IANS, the micro-blogging platform said the 2019 Lok Sabha election is a key priority for Twitter. "We thank the Parliamentary Committee for its invitation to hear Twitter's views on 'Safeguarding citizen rights on social/online news media platforms'," said a Twitter spokesperson. "These are issues for all Internet services globally. Colin Crowell, global Vice President of Public Policy for Twitter, will meet with the Committee on Monday," the spokesperson added. The government has accused Twitter of being "slow" in removing "objectionable content" and "political bias" from its platform. The House panel had earlier summoned Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey over measures taken to ensure the safety and security of the users and allegations that the social media site was discriminating against "nationalist" posts on its platform. In the absence of Dorsey, Crowell will represent Twitter during the 31-member parliamentary panel hearing. In an earlier statement, Crowell said that India is one of its fastest-growing audience markets globally. "We are committed to surfacing all sides of the conversation as we enter the election season in this extraordinarily diverse cultural, political and social climate," noted Crowell. According to him, Twitter does not review, prioritise or enforce its policies on the basis of political ideology. "Every tweet and every account is treated impartially. We apply our policies fairly and judiciously for all," Crowell added. The Twitter hearing comes at a time when the Indian government has also formulated new IT guidelines where social media platforms have to remove within 24 hours any unlawful content that can affect the "sovereignty and integrity of India." --IANS mak-na/arm/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Minister of Information, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has revealed that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Friday, 22nd February, 2019 held a days meeting at Jubilee House, Accra with the President of Cote DIvoire, His Excellency Alassanne Ouattara; President of the Togolese Republic, His Excellency Faure Gnassingbe; President of the Republic of Benin, His Excellency Patrice Talon; and the President of the Republic of Burkina Faso, His Excellency Roch Marc Christian Kabore. According to the Information Minister, the meeting was held at the invitation of President Akufo-Addo and is part of a series of regular interactions held by the five Presidents to address matters of mutual interest in the areas of trade, security, and regional integration. The visiting Presidents however will leave the country same Friday, 22nd February, 2019 to their respective countries. Below Is The Press Statement Copied To Peacefmonline.com: STATEMENT - PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDO MEETS WITH PRESIDENTS OF COTE DIVOIRE, TOGO, BENIN & BURKINA FASO The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Friday, 22nd February, 2019, held a days meeting at Jubilee House, Accra, with the President of Cote dIvoire, His Excellency Alassanne Ouattara; President of the Togolese Republic, His Excellency Faure Gnassingbe; President of the Republic of Benin, His Excellency Patrice Talon; and the President of the Republic of Burkina Faso, His Excellency Roch Marc Christian Kabore. The meeting was held at the invitation of President Akufo-Addo, and is part of a series of regular interactions held by the five Presidents. The discussions focused on addressing matters of mutual interest in the areas of trade, security, and regional integration. The visiting Presidents will leave Accra on Friday, 22nd February, 2019. Signed, KOJO OPPONG NKRUMAH (MP) MINISTER Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected] 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 In response to India's decision to stop the flow of its share of water from the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej to Pakistan, Islamabad said that it was not concerned if New Delhi diverted water of the three eastern rivers. Indian's announcement on Thursday comes in addition to other actions like withdrawal of the most favoured nation (MFN) to Pakistan and slapping of a 200 per cent duty on all imports from Islamabad in the wake of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF troopers. The carnage was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror outfit. Speaking to Dawn news on Thursday night, Secretary of Pakistan's Ministry of Water Resources Khawaja Shumail said: "We have neither concern nor objection if India diverts water of eastern rivers and supplies it to its people or uses it for other purposes, as the IWT (Indus Waters Treaty) allows it do so." Shumail said Pakistan did not see India's decidion as worrisome in context with the IWT. "But we will definitely express our concerns and raise objections strongly if they use or divert waters of western rivers (Chenab, Indus, Jhelum) on which our right to use prevails," he added. According to Pakistan's Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Mehr Ali Shah, as the IWT has already given a right to India in 1960 to use the water of eastern rivers, it is now up to it to do so or not. "Whether they diverted and used their unutilised share of eastern rivers' waters in 1960, we had no problem. They want to do it now, we have no problem. And if they don't want to use this, we have no issue," Shah told Dawn. While commenting about the proposed visit of Indian experts (India's commissioner for Indus waters) to Kotri Barrage (Sindh) keeping in view the tension between the two countries after the Pulwama attack, the Commissioner said: "Let's see what happens in this regard. But we hope for the best." A three-member delegation of Pakistani experts headed by Shah completed its general tour of inspection (from January 28 to February 1) to various hydropower projects - 1,000MW Pakal Dul, 48MW Lower Kalnai, 850MW Ratlay and 900MW Baglihar dam at Chenab Basin in India. Before the Pulwama attack, India also shared the design data of its three planned run-of-the-river hydropower schemes with Pakistan under the IWT. --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Advocating peace in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, a Hindu MP from Pakistan on Friday expressed hope that India and Pakistan would move forward in the direction of friendship. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was part of a 220-member delegation from 185 countries which was invited to attend the Kumbh festivities by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). "I will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday and request them that peace be given a chance," Vankwani told the media. He said he had made similar requests to the Pakistan government as well. Vankwani also congratulated the governments of India and Uttar Pradesh for the disciplined manner in which the Kumbh Mela had been organised. He said though he had visited the Kumbh many times in the past, the arrangements this time were the most disciplined he had seen. He said this was the first time he came on a government invitation. Accompanied by Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh, the foreign delegates were flown into Prayagraj from New Delhi in two special aircraft. They were greeted by a cultural troupe on their arrival at the Bamrauli airport here. "In the first aircraft, 58 foreigners and 14 officials arrived. The second aircraft carrying the remaining guests arrived shortly after noon," an official informed IANS. A special screening of the documentary "Kumbh: Eternal Journey of Civilization" by Harshit Jain was held for the visiting delegates. A cruise onboard 'Sangam,' a ship specially decorated for the high-profile visit, was organised for the visitors. Singh told reporters that the idea behind the ICCR initiative was to make "the delegates see that Kumbh was not just the confluence of rivers but also of different religions and faiths". He added that so far 22 crore people from across the country and the world have visited the Kumbh Mela. --IANS md/arm/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's Army on Friday accused India of sending war threats and warned of a "surprise response" if New Delhi initiated any aggression amid heightened tensions between the two neighbours following the Kashmir suicide attack. "Pakistan is not preparing for war. Threats and reports of a war are coming from your (India's) side. We are only using our right to self defence," said Major General Asif Ghafoor, Director General of the Pakistan Army's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), told a press conference here. His comments came a day after the UN Security Council in a show of unanimity condemned in the "strongest terms" the February 14 suicide bombing in Pulwama that killed 40 CRPF troopers and named the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), which claimed responsibility for the strike. "We do not wish to go into war, but please rest assured that should you initiate any aggression..., Pakistan armed forces will never be surprised by you. But let me assure you, we shall surprise you. "We can respond to full-spectrum threat... I hope you (India) get this message and don't mess with Pakistan," Ghafoor said. Denying Pakistan's role in the bombing, Ghafoor said that Islamabad "had nothing to gain from Pulwama attack" and added that the person responsible for the suicide bombing was a local who grew tired of "India's high-handedness" in the Valley. He called the Indian government to demand an explanation from its security forces before blaming Pakistan. "The attack took place miles away from the Line of Control and the explosives used were not from Pakistan. The car used was not from Pakistan either. The attack was carried out by a youngster from Kashmir who was mistreated by Indian security forces. "You should question your security forces, that 'You've been sitting here for decades, you spend so much on defence, how was this infiltration possible?'," he asked. Ghafoor claimed that whenever there was supposed to be an important event in Pakistan or when the country was moving towards stability, then "there is always some sort of staged incident in either India or Kashmir" -- also insinuating that these events happen around the time of Indian elections. "People in Indian media and social media had predicted an attack like this prior to the (Indian general) elections," he said. Ghafoor added that India had been trying to isolate Pakistan diplomatically since 2016, but foreign dignitaries had been visiting the country despite that. Despite his warning, he reiterated Prime Minister Imran Khan's offer to New Delhi to investigate the attack, hold talks and eradicate terrorism from the region. "The Prime Minister made an offer to India which has never been made before. We hope India will wisely consider Pakistan's offer for peace." Khan had earlier sought from India "actionable intelligence" regarding the attack, which was termed by India as a "lame excuse". --IANS soni/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) North Korea has warned that it is facing a food shortfall and issued an international appeal for help to combat it as the country has been forced to cut rations after drought and floods led to a poor harvest, worsening the impact of UN sanctions. North Korea's appeal came ahead of a second summit on February 27-28 between its leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In an undated two-page memo to the UN, Pyongyang called on international organisations "to urgently respond to addressing the food situation", the Guardian reported on Friday. The regime told the UN that it was facing a shortfall of 1.4 million tonnes in food production this year, including crops of rice, wheat, potato and soybean, according to the report. "The government has requested assistance from international humanitarian organizations present in the country to address the impact of the food security situation," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Thursday. UN agencies were holding talks with Pyongyang "to take early action in order to address humanitarian needs," he added. According to the UN estimates, 10.3 million people - almost half of North Korea's population - were in need of food due to a sharp drop in crop production. It estimated that 40 per cent of the people in the country were undernourished. North Korea said it would import 200,000 tonnes of food and produce about 400,000 tonnes of early crops, but that it would still be left with a gap and ... would cut daily rations to 300g per person from 550g. The UN Security Council has unanimously boosted sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in a bid to squeeze funding for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Washington has been demanding from Pyongyang that it give up its nuclear weapons programme that threatens the US, while the regime has been seeking lifting of punishing sanctions, a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean war and security guarantees. --IANS soni/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and founder of the Samajwadi Party (SP) Mulayam Singh Yadav continues to baffle his own party leaders and political observers alike by repeatedly making statements that can benefit the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) and embarrass his son and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. So is the wily Yadav chieftain ageing and his memory fading, as claimed recently by former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, or is the wrestler-turned-politician avenging his marginalisation in a party he raised from scratch 27 years back? While the jury is out on Yadav following his recent remarks, one thing is certain that his musings over the past few days have caused consternation within his party, leaving the office bearers in a state of discomfort. On the last day of the 16th Lok Sabha on February 13, the SP patriarch not only blessed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a second term in office, but also admitted on the floor of the House that the entire Opposition put together was not in a position to cobble together a majority of their own. "I congratulate the Prime Minister because he has tried to take everybody along. I want to say that all members must win and come again, and Narendra Modi should become the Prime Minister again," Yadav had said. On Thursday, the veteran politician told SP workers at the party headquarters on Vikramaditya Marg here that "people inside were out to finish the party." Continuing with his tirade against Akhilesh, Yadav said the party had already lost the battle of the hustings as the SP had ceded 38 seats to Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), 3 to the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and 2 to the Congress. The three-time Uttar Pradesh former Chief minister said that when he was at the helm of affairs, he brought the party to power thrice on its own steam. Had the SP fought alone again this time, it would have produced better results, Yadav said. Last month, Akhilesh and Mayawati announced their alliance in a joint press conference. In the list of seats released on Thursday, the Samajwadi Party was assigned 37 seats, one less than the BSP's 38. Yadav, who was bitterly opposed to the SP's alliance with the Congress before the 2017 Assembly polls, mused that the party had yielded too much space to one-time arch political foe - Mayawati's BSP. Yadav's close aides told IANS that 'Neta ji,' as he is known in his party, has not forgotten the humiliation heaped on him in the winter of 2016, when his son and the then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh literally showed him the door by dethroning him as SP President. "He has turned old but still has the same political acumen that he is famous for," said a person close to Yadav on condition of anonymity. He admitted that the former Union Defence Minister was also upset at being "completely ignored" during the pre-alliance negotiations and due to the fact that he had minimal say in the seat allocation discussions between the SP and the BSP. A former minister said Yadav's public outbursts were also because he wanted to have a say in "at least the ticket distribution process." On Thursday, Yadav openly asked the party workers to give him the names of the leaders they thought should be fielded. He also said that Akhilesh lacked experience because of which the BJP had a "huge leverage against its political opponents" in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls. He also sided with his estranged younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav. Edged out in the power struggle and the ensuing family feud, former SP heavyweight Shivpal has now floated his own party, the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (PSP), which apparently enjoys Yadav's covert sympathy. Informed sources said while Shivpal would field candidates on most seats, his focus would be only on two constituencies - Firozabad from where Ram Gopal Yadav's son Akshay Yadav is an MP, and Kannauj from where Dimple Yadav, wife of Akhilesh, is likely to seek a second term. Yadav had only campaigned for Shivpal, Parasnath Yadav and his daughter-in-law during the 2017 Assembly polls when the SP returned with disastrous results. This time, said a member of the old guard, Yadav is not only angry, but also vocal. "He is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the SP-BSP alliance does not take off, even if it means that the BJP is benefited" he informed. Many feel that Yadav has neither forgotten the bitter animosity with Mayawati, who is pursuing a case against him in the Supreme Court, nor has he forgiven Akhilesh for sidelining him. (Mohit Dubey can be contacted at mohit.d@ians.in) --IANS md/arm/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Special Counsel Robert Mueller is expected to deliver a report in the coming weeks on results of his ongoing investigation into the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, the media reported. Once the report is submitted, it is not certain how much of it will become public or when, informed sources told The New York Times on Thursday. The submission of the report would effectively mean that his office is closing down. Mueller would no longer be conducting investigations in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Special Counsel would also not be opening any new lines of inquiry, the sources said. But active cases that have not yet been brought to a conclusion would likely continue. The White House is bracing for revelations that could politically damage President Donald Trump, or open him up to the possibility of impeachment by the Democrat-controlled House, even if he is not accused of criminal conduct. The report will be handed over to the new attorney general, William P. Barr. Barr will then review it for any classified information that would have to be omitted from any summary that he might decide to release, a process that could take days or even weeks, the sources told The New York Times. Mueller was appointed as the Special Counsel on May 17, 2017, in the wake of Trump's decision eight days earlier to dismiss James B. Comey as FBI Director. Mueller was given a mandate to investigate whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election and "any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump". He was also given the option of referring any other matters that he might come across in doing so to other federal prosecutors, who can further investigate and open new cases. The Special Counsel's office has indicted dozens of people, including a half dozen former Trump campaign advisers who have been indicted or pleaded guilty to past financial crimes, lying to the FBI, obstructing the special counsel investigation and failure to properly disclose their work for foreign governments. Mueller has also indicted dozens of Russian intelligence officers for stealing and then weaponising information from former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's inner circle. It has indicted Russian propagandists for the misinformation campaigns they spread on social media that sought to dampen support for Clinton in her campaign against Trump. --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling him 'Prime Time Minister' and said that when people were crying over the deaths in Pulwama, Modi was indulging "gleefully" in a photoshoot. "Three hours after the news of the killing of 40 soldiers in Pulwama, 'Prime Time Minister' continued shooting the film, Gandhi said. "There was a lot of pain in the heart of the dear ones of the martyrs -- they were going through 'a sea of emotion', while the PM was laughing at a photoshoot on a river," the Congress chief tweeted in Hindi referring to the photoshoot on a lake. Gandhi's Twitter dig was preceded by a press conference by party spokesperson Manish Tewari where he raised question over Modi's actions in the immediate aftermath of the worst ever attack in Jammu and Kashmir since 1989, in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers were killed. The Congress for the second day on Friday asked why he failed to mention the attack and its victims while addressing a rally in Rudrapur district of Uttarakhand just two hours later. "We want to ask the Prime Minister what he was doing between 3.10 p.m. (when the attack happened) and 5.10 p.m. At 4.40 p.m., he addressed a rally through mobile phone. To the best of our knowledge, not even once did he mention the attack," said Tewari earlier at the presser, where he played a DD news video as evidence of PM's address. "If he had condemned the Pulwama attack, he would have paid a tribute to the martyrs.. none of that happened," he said, adding that Modi "deliberately" chose not to mention the martyrs. "There can be no greater insensitivity than that," he said. The Congress leader said there was an even "more frightening scenario" than the Prime Minister merely failing to mention the attack in his speech. "Was he unaware of the attack between 3.10 p.m. and 5.30 p.m.? He was either not informed about it by his office or he was incommunicado. That speaks a lot about the state of communication in the higher echelons of Indian state," Tewari said. He stressed the point that India being a nuclear power -- surrounded by another nuclear power in Pakistan -- cannot afford to have leaders who cannot be communicated in time. "If you (Modi) didn't know that there was an attack, can there be a greater incompetence," he said. The Congress even dismissed government's decision on Thursday of stopping water of three eastern rivers -- the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej -- to Pakistan as "high octane jingoism" and termed it a subterfuge to hide the failure of the national security. "The BJP-NDA government is a brilliant mix of arrogance and ignorance," he said. --IANS vn/in/vsc (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday reiterated that building a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya is a matter of faith for crores of Indians and therefore, a term like impossible cannot be used with regard to such issues. Responding to a question by a youngster at a public outreach event of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- "Bharat ke Mann ki Baat", the monk-turned-politician said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the capability of changing impossible into possible. "You take it from me ... Narendra Modi is the name of turning impossible into possible," he said amid cheers from the crowd. He pointed out how people are now able to have "darshan" of the Akshyavat at a fort near the Sangam in Prayagraj after 450 years. "When this can happen, how can the Ram temple construction be called impossible?" he said with a chuckle. Responding to a question by a girl as to what the state BJP government is doing for women and girls, the Chief Minister said his government is paying special attention to this section of the society. The anti-Romeo squad, women helpline 1090, various scholarship programmes and separate reservation for women in the ongoing police recruitment is a reflection of this policy of the state government, Adityanath said. When asked by a student what is the highlight of his two-year-old government, he said that law and order has been brought on track and criminals are now scurrying for cover, getting their bails cancelled and feeling more safe inside the prisons than on the streets. He also trashed the opposition alliance and termed it as an effort to survive and called them a set of people who are out to protect graft, the corrupt and criminals. --IANS md/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Milo Ventimiglia is proud of his "This Is Us" co-star Mandy Moore for opening up about the emotional abuse she endured during her marriage to former husband Ryan Adams. In an interview with Access, the actor praised Moore, reports people.com. "There are things that people live through, so to be able to have a forum to discuss it and speak about it honestly, I'm incredibly proud of Mandy for just being who Mandy is, which is a very giving, inspiring woman," Ventimiglia said. "And if anyone else can take away from that situation of being inspired to let someone know that they're not alone in a feeling, I think that's a great thing to do," he added. Ventimiglia is seen with Moore in "This Is Us", aired in India on Star World. Moore previously opened up about her difficult relationship with Adams, whom she divorced in 2016 after seven years of marriage. She said in a New York Times story that her ex-husband, now 44, took charge of her music career in 2010 three years after they first met when she was 23. --IANS sug/rb/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Intense protests over workplace misconduct and discrimination in the #MeToo era have finally brought the curtains down on the controversial forced arbitration policy at Google offices across the globe. In forced arbitration, a company requires an employee to submit any dispute that may arise to binding arbitration as a condition of employment. The employee is required to waive his or her right to sue, to participate in a class action lawsuit, or to appeal, and instead go through a private system which favours the companies. "Critics of the agreements argue they help companies keep issues ranging from sexual violence to racial and age discrimination quiet," said CNN. Axios was first to report that the new Google policy will go into effect from March 21. With this, Google employees who face workplace misconduct in any form can now go public. "Employees with disputes currently in arbitration who are still employed by the company as of March 21 will be able to choose to sue instead," the report added, quoting Google. Last year, Google employees the world over called for the practice to end in cases of harassment and discrimination. They took to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to educate the public about forced arbitration. Last November, over 20,000 employees staged a walkout at Google over forced arbitration. The protests came in the wake of a New York Times investigation that "detailed years of sexual harassment allegations, multimillion-dollar severance packages for accused executives, and a lack of transparency over the cases". In a December US Congressional hearing, Rep. Pramila Jayapal asked Google CEO Sundar Pichai to voluntarily commit to ending forced arbitration for all internal employee issues around discrimination, not just issues of sexual harassment. "We are definitely looking into this area further," Pichai said. "Google Walkout For Real Change" Twitter group welcomed the decision. "This victory never would have happened if workers hadn't banded together, supported one another, and walked out. Collective action works. Worker power works. This is still just the beginning," they tweeted. Google appears to be meeting that demand for employees - but the change will not apply in the same blanket way to the many contractors, vendors and temporary employees it uses, said Axios. Google said it would remove mandatory arbitration from legal agreements it reaches directly with its contract and temporary workforce. The company had announced in November that it would no longer force employees with sexual assault or harassment claims into arbitration. Other big tech companies like Facebook and Uber have recently ended forced arbitration for sexual harassment claims so that employees can bring those claims to the public. --IANS na/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has disclosed that they will not allow any party supporter to operate as Security Official during the National Delegates' Congress, tomorrow, 23rd February, 2019. According to him, every security issue has been handed over to the Police. Speaking on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, he reiterated that anything bordering on security regarding the upcoming election are in the hands of the Ghana Police and will hold them responsible if something goes amiss. He revealed that they have had series of meetings with the police officials, so therefore are expecting more from them. He also said they are expecting the Police officers that will be deployed tomorrow to be those who are from the same district. No one should come from outside the district . . . they cannot bring somebody from Takoradi to monitor Kumasi elections, because according to Asiedu Nketia they may be a vigilante group pretending to be police officers. He urged party faithful to corporate with the police to have a peaceful, free and fair election. Source: Josephine Acheampomaa/Peacefmonline/[email protected] 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 Calling the address of Delhi Lt. Governor Anil Baijal in the Assembly "highly disappointing, lifeless and misleading", Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta on Friday said there was no commitment, newness and determination to lead the Government in the speech. "The address failed to give vision for future. It appeared as if the LG was fulfilling the statutory requirement of addressing the House. He appeared to be separated from the Government at both emotional and mental levels," Gupta told the media outside the House. He also said that there was no commitment, newness and determination to lead the Government. Gupta said that the Government appeared to be running away from the burning problems of Delhi. "It lacked dynamism and forward movement. It was nothing but summary of the press releases issued during the year. It said things which were read throughout the year. "The Government appeared to be steering clear of any embarrassing situation. Most of the departments were not given due weightage. The address made one feel that the Government was running hurt and retired," he said. The Opposition Leader also said that though never tiring of cursing the Central Government, the Kejriwal Government acknowledged the economic progress made by Delhi. "It acknowledged that it hoped that per capita income during 2018-19 will rise by 11.11 per cent. The gross state domestic product (GSTP) appears to be touching a high of 12.98. The Kejriwal Government accepted that the efforts of the Central Government have contributed to the economic growth of Delhi." Soon after the Delhi Assembly began its Budget session, three BJP MLAs, including Gupta, were marshalled out of the House for interrupting the welcome address by Baijal. The Opposition MlAs demanded that the CM should accord sanction in the JNU sedition case without any further delay. Gupta said that the CM was in the House and "did not react as to when he is going to give sanction for the prosecution. The Opposition members were forcibly marshalled out of the House for persisting." He also expressed displeasure over not being allowed to pay tributes to the Pulwama martyrs in the House. Gupta wanted to pay tributes after the Speaker had done so. But he was not allowed. He said that as per convention, the Opposition has always been allowed to pay tributes to departed souls. "But this time an exception was made which was beyond the realm of convention and democratic values." --IANS nks/oeb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The DMK and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Friday reached an electoral agreement whereby the latter gets to contest in one seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. In a statement issued here, the DMK said an agreement has been reached with IUML after talks. As per the agreement, IUML will contest in one seat from Tamil Nadu. On Thursday, DMK and the Congress inked a deal so that the latter would contest in nine seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone Puducherry seat. --IANS vj/pgh/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Israel on Friday successfully launched its first privately-funded Moon lander from Florida in the US, becoming only the fourth nation to make a landing on the lunar surface. The lander, Beresheet, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, was launched at 5.45 p.m. on Thursday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, NASA said. It was then just post-midnight in Tel Aviv on Friday. "Congratulations to SpaceIL and the Israel Space Agency. This is a historic step for all nations and commercial space as we look to extend our collaborations beyond low-Earth orbit and on to the Moon," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement. Beresheet, a $100 million project, was developed by Israel's non-profit SpaceIL and its partners. In July 2018, NASA chief had signed an agreement with the Israel Space Agency (ISA) to collaborate with SpaceIL on the mission. As part of the collaboration, SpaceIL will provide NASA scientific data from the spacecraft's magnetometer to study whether Moon rocks contain a history of the magnetic field there. "In July, I was in Israel and was very impressed with their commitment to expanding their role in the world's space community," Bridenstine said. "As we better understand Israel's capabilities and the innovative work of their private industry, we know they'll be an even stronger international partner in the future, one vital to the success of extending commercial space to the Moon and eventually on to Mars and beyond. "There are terrific opportunities awaiting Israel and all of us in advancing the space frontier," he noted. The unmanned craft, weighing 1,300 pound and standing about 1 metre tall and 2.3 metres wide will begin a nearly seven-week journey to the Moon, and aims to touch down on Mare Serenitatis two months later. NASA has installed a small laser retro-reflector aboard the lander to test its potential as a navigation tool. The agency also provided images of the Moon's surface to help the engineers identify a landing site for the mission. NASA will also use its deep space telecommunications network to transmit images and science data home to SpaceIL and its partners. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), one of the agency's three spacecraft circling and studying the Moon, will analyse the gases released by Beresheet's decent engine as the lander approaches the surface. --IANS rt/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Software major's social arm Infosys Foundation on Friday cautioned the public of falling prey to fraudsters extracting money by faking stories linked to it. "We request the public to alert city police to identify such conmen as helping it to spot them will be a service," said the Foundation in a statement here. With some individuals and groups engaged in collecting money from unsuspecting members of public, traders and other businesses are claiming to represent the Foundation. The Foundation is also in receipt of copies of appeals for funds typed on a fake letterhead of its social arm, bearing forged signatures of its Chairperson Sudha Murty. The Foundation uses its own funds for all its projects and programmes. Set up in 1996 by its co-founders and former directors, including N.R. Narayana Murthy, the 22-year-old Foundation supports programmes in education, rural development, healthcare, arts and culture, and destitute care. "Our mission is to work in remote regions of states across the country. We work for all sections of society, selecting projects with care and in areas overlooked by society. --IANS fb/vc (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ratings agency India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has maintained a stable outlook on the auto sector, anticipating improving sales in the sector during the next fiscal over expectations of better liquidity in non-bank financial companies. The 'stable' outlook comes despite subdued sales numbers in the last couple of months. Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data suggested a slowdown in the sales of passenger vehicles in the domestic market which declined by 1.87 per cent on a year-on-year basis in January. The comparable figure for December stood at 0.43 per cent. India Ratings has maintained a stable outlook on the auto sector for the upcoming fiscal "on the expectation of moderate sales volume growth in the passenger vehicle (PV) segment, high single-to-low double-digit growth in the commercial vehicle (CV) segment and steady growth in the two-wheeler (2W) segment on a year-on-year basis". The rating firm sees an improvement in the liquidity situation of non-bank financial companies, thus it is likely to reflect in the funding availability. However, the growth rate is likely to be moderate, it added. Apart from improved finance availability, increased construction activities and industrial activities will continue to favour CV demand. The agency further said that credit ratings of most of the large players in its sample are set to be unaffected in 2019-20 despite capital expenditure plans in view of the ongoing regulatory changes, development of an electric vehicle platform and continued new product launches. --IANS ravi/sn/mag/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A timely book tries to point to how much India and Pakistan have in common. "The Begum: A Portrait of Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan's Pioneering First Lady," is authored by Indian poet-translator Deepa Agarwal and Pakistani writer Tahmina Aziz Ayub, with an insightful introduction by acclaimed Indian writer Namita Gokhale. The book traces the life and times of Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan, who was the wife of Pakistan's first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan. But there is a story behind the story that few are aware of. She was born Irene Margaret Pant in the Kumaon hills in the early 20th century. Her family had converted to Christianity a generation earlier. The protagonist comes across as an intelligent, outgoing and independent woman. She was teaching Economics in a Delhi college when she first met "the dashing Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan", then a rising politician in the Muslim League. As per the assertions in the book, she was inspired by both the man and his idea, married him in 1933 and thus Irene Pant became Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan. "In August 1947 they left for Pakistan-led by Liaquat's mentor and friend, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Ra'ana threw herself into the work of nation building, but in 1951 Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated, and the reasons for his murder are still shrouded in mystery. Ra'ana continued to be active in public life-and her contribution to women's empowerment in Pakistan is felt to this day," reads the authors note in the book, published by penguin Random House India. But she was much more than the sum total of her life in Pakistan with her story embodying several major tropes of the Indian subcontinent's recent history. Ra'ana, for instance, was immensely impacted by three religions: Hinduism, Christianity and Islam, and she participated actively in all the major movements of her time -- the freedom struggle, the Pakistani movement and the fight for women's empowerment in Pakistan. She was also fierce as upon seeing what went wrong after 1947, she spoke out openly against the rise of religious conservatism in Pakistan and the growing role of corruption. But the beauty of this book lies in the fact that it is authored by two women, one coming from India and the other coming from Pakistan. It was perhaps the only way to trace her life and rescue her story from history. "With almost mathematical precision, her 86 years were divided into 43 years plus some months in each of her two lives. She was an intimate witness to history -- the two nations, the bifurcation of East and West Pakistan, the creation of Bangladesh, the course of the Cold War, the rise of Gorbachev, and the increasingly unequivocal hold of the army in Pakistan. From Jinnah, through Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and to General Zia-ul-Haq, she spoke her mind and held her own," Gokhale notes in the introduction. Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan passed away in 1990, by when, reminds Gokhale, she was known recognised and honoured as "Madar-e-Pakistan" or "Mother of Pakistan". And her story is finally out on the stands now for readers from both countries to read and contemplate on the continued crisis that has come to define our bilateral relations. (Saket Suman can be contacted at saket.s@ians.in) --IANS ss/vm/am/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The honorary doctorate to the Hindi film star Shahrukh Khan was rejected as per a policy followed by the government, an official of the Human Resource Development Ministry said on Friday. As per an RTI filed by an English national daily, Jamia Milia Islamia's request to grant an honorary doctorate to Shahrukh Khan was turned down by the HRD Ministry last year. "The JMI wrote to the HRD Ministry for conferring honoris causa to Shah Rukh Khan. The Ministry did not agree as he has already been conferred the degree by Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANNU) in 2016," Jamia Millia Islamia said in response to an RTI query by The Indian Express. Responding to the incident, Secretary for higher education, MHRD, R. Subrahmanyam told IANS that the degree was denied to the superstar according to a policy under which anyone who has already been given such a doctorate should not be conferred with another. "In the last two-three years, there hasn't been a case where the ministry has accepted a person to be conferred with two doctorate... If a person is honored, that doesn't mean that everyone else should honour the same person. His merit is already recognised by the President of India and that's it," Subrahmanyam said. Khan is an alumnus of the A.J.K. Mass Communications Research Centre, a constituent of Institute of Jamia. --IANS vn/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the Centre not to take any coercive action against a Pakistani woman, who was asked to leave the country by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), till February 28. Justice Vibhu Bakhru gave the directions while hearing the plea of a Pakistani woman who was asked by the MHA to leave the country by February 23. The woman said in her plea that she was married to an Indian man and was residing in Delhi since 2005. She has two minor sons aged 11 and 5 years. The woman was granted a long-term visa which was valid until June 2020. But on February 8, she received a notice from the Ministry of Home Affairs asking her to leave the country within 15 days. In the notice, the Ministry said if she doesn't leave India then action will be taken against her and she will not get permission to enter the country in future. The woman has requested the court to quash the Ministry notice. Now the court will hear her plea on February 28. --IANS akk/arm/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) State-run defence behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) on Friday delivered three Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH Dhruv Mk-3) to the Indian Army as part of its contract for making 22 of these. "We have handed over the documents of the first three of the 22 ALH MK-3 to the Indian Army," HAL said at the Aero India air show. HAL Chairman and Managing Director R. Madhavan was present when its helicopter division Chief Executive G.V.S. Bhaskar handed over the documents to Lt. Gen. Kanwal Kumar, Director General of Army Aviation Corps. The city-based aerospace major in August 2017 signed a Rs 6,100-crore contract to supply 40 ALHs to the Indian Army, including 22 ALH Mk-3 and 18 weaponised ALH Mk-4 Rudra, and one ALH to the Indian Navy. "Of the 22 helicopters, 19 have been produced and will be delivered in due course," the company said. The ALH Dhruv Mk-3 is a multirole new generation copter designed and developed by HAL. --IANS bha/arm/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have huge opportunities for cooperation, especially in the MSME sector, and Asean companies can increase their investments in India in areas like medical devices, fishing and ship-building, the government said on Friday. In his address at the fourth India-Asean Expo and Summit here, Minister of State for Commerce C.R. Chaudhary said that in order to boost India-Asean economic cooperation, companies from India and the Asean can form joint ventures to start manufacturing in India. "I would like to request the Asean companies to enhance the increasing cooperation in the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector," Chaudhary said. "We can increase investments in various sectors like airlines, fishing and ship building. We need medical devices and apparatus, and Asean companies can get an opportunity in this area." Noting that boosting bilateral trade and investment is critical for both regions, the Minister pointed out that India has relaxed several laws and regulations to attract investments, which has also resulted in record foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in recent years. Chaudhary also said that although India-Asean bilateral trade has increased to $82.33 billion in the last fiscal, from $21 billion in 2005-06, the pace of growth has not been "up to the mark". --IANS bc/mag/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Audio Attachment: Listen to President Akufo-Addo The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, was singled out for special commendation by the President, His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, during the State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Thursday. The President is elated by the sterling performance of the Agric Minister, following his successful implementation of the Planting for Food and Jobs program. The President's recognition of the Agric Minister's performance follows similar ones received a couple of weeks ago by the Africa Seeds, the implementing agency for the African Union Seed Programme which honoured him with the title "Champion of African Seeds" and the Association of Regional Chairmen Aides who also adjudged him as the Best Performing Minister for 2018. The Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana (CIAG) also voted the PFJ as the Most Outstanding Flagship Program in 2018. However, during his presentation of the 2019 State of the Nation's Address, the President unequivocally cited Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, for mentioning, commending him for his impressive performance which has turned around the fortunes of Ghana's agricultural sector. Ghana's agricultural sector has seen a dramatic turnaround in the last two years, resulting in the country becoming a net exporter of some major food crops to neighbouring countries. For the first time in the history of the country's agriculture, Ghana in the year 2018, did not import maize as a result of the bumper harvest recorded under the program. Ghana currently exports food items such as plantain, maize, cowpea and banana to Togo, Benin and Ivory Coast. Before 2017, Ghana was importing these same food crops neighbouring countries. The sector has also witnessed a positive growth of about 8.5% of GDP, and the figure is projected to reach double digit by the end of 2020. Many Ghanaians have attested to the achievements of the Planting for Food and Jobs, including prominent personalities and traditional rulers. In the 2018 crop season, the Ministry exceeded farmers' target of 500,000, recording nearly 700,000 beneficiaries. The program is expected to benefit over one million farmers in the 2019 crop season. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Washman007 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 Google on Friday dedicated a doodle celebrating wildlife conservationist and television personality Steve Irwin's life and legacy, whom many grew up watching wrestling giant crocodiles in the Australian wilderness. A zookeeper by profession, Irwin achieved worldwide fame from his television series "The Crocodile Hunter". A typical "Aussie" mate, who would have been 57 on this day, created the runaway hit show that was seen in more than 100 countries by over 500 million people. Doodle guest artist Shanti Rittgers created the slideshow of six images that told the story of Irwin, who inherited his love for the reptiles from his parents Lyn and Bob Irwin when they gave him an eleven-foot python for his sixth birthday, the Google blog post said. Irwin who was born in Melbourne suburbs in 1962 named his first slithery friend Fred and later went on to introduce a whole new generation to reptiles, which could also be loved. Through his work at the Australia Zoo and his popular TV series Irwin and his family and even his future generation dedicated their lives to the preservation and appreciation of Earth's wildlife and wild places. During the early 1970s, father, mother and Steve Irwin moved to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and opened the Beerwah Reptile Park that has an annual footfall of seven lakh. Learning to wrestle crocodiles since the age of nine, Irwin volunteered with Queensland's "East Coast Crocodile Management Program", helping to capture and relocate endangered saltwater crocodiles-the largest of all living reptiles-to protect them from being harmed. He was involved in all aspects of managing his family's park, which was renamed Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, and eventually the Australia Zoo. Soon after taking over the park's management, Irwin met his future wife Terri who was visiting the zoo. They spent their honeymoon capturing crocodiles, and the footage they shot became the first episode of "The Crocodile Hunter". Thanks to the show, Irwin's enthusiasm for saving endangered (and dangerous) animals quickly became as popular as his one-word catchphrase "Crikey!" It was also a family effort -- while Steve and Terri hosted the show together, their children Bindi and Robert became fixtures on the show as well. On September 4, 2006, Irwin was on location at Batt Reef in Queensland, taking part in the production of the documentary series Ocean's Deadliest when while snorkelling in shallow waters he was approached by a short-tail stingray. Trying to film it for his daughter's television programme, while swimming in chest-deep water, Irwin was stabbed by the giant marine creature. According to the incident's only witness: "All of a sudden the stingray propped on its front and started stabbing wildly with its tail. Hundreds of strikes in a few seconds". Irwin initially believed he only had a punctured lung. However, the stingray's barb pierced his heart, causing him to bleed to death. The stingray's behaviour appeared to have been a defensive response to being boxed in. Crew members aboard Irwin's boat administered CPR and rushed him to the nearby Low Isles where medical staff pronounced him dead. Irwin's death is believed to be the only fatality from a stingray ever captured on video. Irwin's wife has shared her thoughts with Google: "Steve Irwin was a loving father and husband who dedicated his life to protecting wildlife and wild places... He was best known for his rescue and research work with endangered saltwater crocodiles, the closest living relative of the dinosaurs, now the largest reptiles on earth. "Today we continue his mission by working to overturn recent legislation in Queensland which allows crocodile egg harvesting from vulnerable crocodiles in the wild to support the commercial leather trade. Steve's legacy will definitely live on." Today, Irwin's legacy lives on through his family's continued animal conservation work and with the celebration of Steve Irwin Day each November 15 -- an international celebration of wildlife, family, and fun including fundraising events to benefit the Australia Zoo's Wildlife Warriors programme. In 2001, the Australian government awarded Irwin the Centenary Medal for a lifetime of service, and in 2004 he was nominated for Australian of the Year. In 2018 he was also posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. --IANS in/ksc/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After facing intense protests over sexual misconduct and discrimination at workplace, Google has decided to end the forced arbitration policy for its employees. According to a report in Axios on Thursday, the new policy will go into effect from March 21 for Google employees globally. The decision will not open the door to bringing lawsuits over previously-settled claims, said Google. "Employees with disputes currently in arbitration who are still employed by the company as of March 21 will be able to choose to sue instead," it added. Google employees the world over have called for the practice to end in other cases of harassment and discrimination. "Google appears to be meeting that demand for employees --- but the change will not apply in the same blanket way to the many contractors, vendors and temporary employees it uses," said the report. Forced arbitration agreements require employees to waive their rights to make a legal claim in court and instead go through a private system, said TechCrunch. Google also said it would remove mandatory arbitration from legal agreements it reaches directly with its contract and temporary workforce. Last month, Google employees took to Twitter and Instagram to educate the public about forced arbitration Last November, over 20,000 employees staged a walkout at Google over forced arbitration. --IANS na/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) GMR Airports Limited, along with its Greek partner Terna Group, will develop the new international airport of Heraklion at Crete, Greece. On Friday, the consortium signed a concession agreement for design, construction, financing, operation, maintenance and exploitation of the new airport for a period of 35 years, including five years of its first phase construction. Located in Greece's largest and most visited island of Crete, Heraklion airport is the second largest in that country and has registered traffic growth at a CAGR of 10 per cent per annum over the past three years. The existing airport is facing a severe capacity constraint and will be replaced by the new airport at Crete. The consortium intends to invest over 500 million Euros for development of the new airport. The entire project will be funded through a mix of equity, accruals from the existing airport, and financial grant provided by the government of Greece, said GMR Airports Limited, a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Limited. "This is GMR Group's first foray into the European Union (EU) region and we eagerly look forward to expanding our footprint there. The signing of the Concession Agreement is a significant milestone in the growth journey of GMR Airports and reinforces our leadership position," said Srinivas Bommidala, Business Chairman, Energy and International Airports. GMR Group's airport portfolio has around 159 million passenger capacity in operation and under development, comprising India's busiest Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and the Mactan Cebu International Airport in partnership with Megawide in the Philippines. --IANS ms/rtp/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China was railroaded by the strong international revulsion against terrorism to go along with the Security Council press statement condemning the Jaish-e-Mohammad's (J-e-M) suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district that killed 40 Indian security personnel. While Beijing initially opposed the statement adopted unanimously by the Council on Thursday, following the overwhelming support for such a statement, with the United States playing a key role, it ultimately acquiesced, according to United Nations (UN) and diplomatic sources. China has provided cover in the Council for Islamabad's terrorism links and Pakistan-based terrorist leaders, repeatedly vetoing the inclusion of J-e-M leader Masood Azhar in the list of international terrorists. The Council statement called the February 14 attack a "heinous and cowardly suicide bombing" and noted that the J-e-M claimed responsibility for it. A Council press statement is short of a resolution and is usually arrived at by consensus but lacks the enforcement authority of a resolution, while making compliance a moral obligation. Clearly laying out the international obligation, the statement said that all countries need "to combat by all means...threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts". The statement "underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice". As a Council statement and not a resolution, it avoided a veto by China. The US, which has responsibility within the Council on terrorism related matters, pushed hard for the statement, which was held up for several days as it went through a process of fine-tuning to get China on board. One of the compromises for China, a UN source said, was to not name Pakistan directly in the statement but mention only J-e-M as a face-saving measure for both Beijing and Islamabad. Facing the mounting international opinion and isolation, Islamabad, which had pressured Beijing to oppose the statement, told China that it would not mind a mention of J-e-M, which is technically banned in Pakistan and is on the UN's international terrorism list, leading to China's compromise. However, diplomats pointed out that it is not much of a face-saver as the UN terrorism sanctions list clearly links J-e-M to Pakistan noting that it operates from Peshawar and Muzaffarabad. Since it was not a formal resolution, it saved Beijing from the dilemma of having to publicly take a stand and vote for it or veto it as a favour to its ally Pakistan while facing the world's horror against terrorism. Soon after the Pulwama attack, Indian diplomats at the UN sprang into action capitalising on the wave of sympathy for India and the revulsion against the terrorist attack to mobilise Council action, according to observers at the UN. Spontaneously, there was also a move by most members of the Council to act against terrorism and its sponsors. The US Mission - which is headed temporarily by Ambassador Jonathan Cohen after Nikki Haley's resignation - took the lead as the Council member in charge - or "pen-holder" in UN parlance - of counter-terrorism in crafting the statement and getting everyone on board. US President Donald Trump has declared that the Pulwama attack "only strengthens our resolve to bolster counter-terrorism cooperation and coordination between the United States and India." While France strongly supported the statement, it was the US that was the prime mover, according to sources with knowledge of the internal manoeuvres of the Council. French President Emmanuel Macron's adviser Philippe Etienne's assurance to India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval was about the next step of trying to overcome China's veto and get Azhar added to the sanctions list. Azhar, according to India, is the mastermind of the 2001 attack on Indian Pariliament, and the 2016 attack on the Pathankot air force base. The tough and unequivocal Council statement came despite intense lobbying by Pakistan's Permanent Representative Maleeha Lodhi to blunt diplomatic reprisals. On Tuesday, she met with Council President Anatolio Ndong Mba of Equatorial Guinea to appraise them of the "dangerous situation", as well as with other diplomats. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet have called for prosecution of those responsible for the attack. Their statements were broad enough to be interpreted to include action against the masterminds and the organisation based outside of India. Ruling out Pakistan's attempts to justify the attacks as work of what it claims to be "freedom fighters" or to link it to the Kashmir issue, the Council statement said, "The members of the Security Council reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed". A key phrase in the statement reaffirming "the need for states to combat by all means" terrorism would be a matter of legal interpretation on how far India can go in retaliation, although it would have to be taken "in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law". (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis) --IANS al/arm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The water distribution treaty between India and Pakistan that was brokered by the World Bank in 1960 to use the water available in the Indus system of rivers originating in India has come in the limelight once again as New Delhi has decided to stop the flow of its share of water from the three eastern rivers - Beas, Ravi and Sutlej - to Islamabad. The Indus system comprises Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers. The basin is mainly shared by India and Pakistan with a small share for China and Afghanistan. The decision, announced on Thursday by Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari, came in the wake of the Pulwama suicide bombing that killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers and which was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Under the Treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, all the waters of the three eastern rivers, averaging around 33 million acre feet (MAF), were allocated to India for exclusive use. The waters of the western rivers - Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab - averaging to around 135 MAF, were allocated to Pakistan except for "specified domestic, non-consumptive and agricultural use permitted to India", according to the Treaty. India has also been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run of the river (RoR) projects on the western rivers which, subject to specific criteria for design and operation, is unrestricted. To utilise the waters of the Eastern rivers which have been allocated to India for exclusive use, India has constructed the Bhakra Dam on Satluj, Pong and Pandoh Dam on Beas and Thein (Ranjitsagar) on Ravi. These storage works, together with other works like Beas-Sutlej Link, Madhopur-Beas Link and Indira Gandhi Nahar Project have helped India utilise nearly the entire share (95 per cent) of the eastern river waters. However, about 2 MAF of water annually from Ravi is reported to be still flowing unutilised to Pakistan. To stop the flow of these waters, the Centre is currently taking three steps - resumption of construction of Shahpurkandi project; construction of Ujh multipurpose project; and a second Ravi-Beas link below Ujh. The Shahpurkandi project aims to utilise the waters coming out from powerhouse of Thein dam in order to irrigate 37,000 hectares of land in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab by generating 206 MW of power. The project was scheduled to be completed by September 2016. However, following a dispute between the two states, work on the project has been suspended since August 2014. The states reached an agreement last September and the construction work has now resumed by the Punjab government under monitoring of the Centre. Construction of the Ujh multipurpose project will create a storage of about 781 million cubic metres of water on river Ujh, a tributary of Ravi for irrigation and power generation in India itself and provide a total irrigation benefits of 31,380 hectares in Kathua, Hiranagar and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir apart from providing water for the Kathua. The total estimated cost of the project is Rs 5,850 crore and the Central assistance of Rs 4,892.47 crore on works portion of irrigation component as well as the special grant is under consideration. The second Ravi Beas link below Ujh is being planned to tap excess water flowing down to Pakistan through river Ravi by constructing a barrage across it for diverting water through a tunnel link to the Beas basin. The project is expected to utilise about 0.58 MAF of surplus waters below Ujh dam by diverting the same to Beas basin. --IANS ss/ksk/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Five children of a family died from suspected food poisoning on Friday after dining at a restaurant here, police said. The children, aged between 1.5 to 9 years, and their family dined at a popular restaurant in Karachi's Saddar locality on Thursday night. They started feeling sick later and were taken to a hospital, Dawn online cited police officials as saying. "All five siblings passed away today, while their mother is in critical condition," a police official said on Friday, adding that further action would be taken after recording her statement. The family hails from Quetta. According to initial investigation, the cause of the children's death appeared to be food poisoning, the police said. A Geo News report said that the family also ate at an eatery in Balochistan's Khuzdar before arriving in Karachi. The police said they would attempt to track down samples of all the food that the family had consumed on their journey from Quetta to Karachi. The restaurant in Saddar was sealed and samples of food were taken for chemical examination. Fifteen staff members of the restaurant were also detained. --IANS soni/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Friday said Pakistan has not done enough to curb finances of terror groups, which means it continues to remain in 'the grey list', making it difficult for the country to get international loans. It also condemned the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF men last week. In a statement, the multilateral body on terror financing said Pakistan did not have proper understanding of the terror financing risks posed by Da'esh (ISIS), AL-Qaida, JuD (Jamat-ud-Dawa), FIF (Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation), LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba), JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammed), HQN (Haqqani Network) and persons affiliated with the Taliban. "Given the limited progress on action plan items due in January 2019, the FATF urges Pakistan to swiftly complete its action plan, particularly those with timelines of May 2019," it said. Pakistan on Thursday re-imposed a ban on the JuD and its charity arm, FIF. The Paris-based FATF said it notes "with grave concern and condemns the violent terrorist attack" in Pulwama last week. "While all these attacks kill, maim, and inspire fear, they cannot occur without money and the means to move funds between terrorist supporters. This vulnerability makes identifying terrorists' financial flows and depriving them of funds a crucial tool in disrupting terrorist attacks before they even occur," it said. --IANS spk/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Border Security Force (BSF) has seized fake Indian currency notes with a face value of Rs 47,000 in Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 denominations from West Bengal's Malda district and arrested one person, an official said on Friday. Acting on a tip-off, the BSF troopers nabbed a suspect on Thursday evening and recovered 14 fake notes of Rs 2,000 and 38 fake notes of Rs 500 from his possession. "Habizuddin Ali, 28, a resident of Baligaon village in Assam's Sonitpur district, was apprehended by the BSF from the Malda railway station and fake notes with a face value of Rs 47,000 were seized from him," the BSF's South Bengal Frontier said in a statement. "The apprehended person was handed over to the English Bazar police station along with the seized fake notes," it said. In this year alone, the BSF's South Bengal Frontier has seized counterfeit Indian currency notes of the face value of Rs 7.23 lakh and apprehended two persons. --IANS bdc/arm/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, two former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers, on Friday welcomed a Supreme Court direction on protection of Kashmiri students outside the state. An apex court bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, hearing a petition filed by Tariq Adeeb, asked for steps to be taken to end all targeted attacks on Kashmiris residing outside their state in the wake of the February 14 Pulwama attack. Adeeb had sought direction to the Centre and state governments to prevent incidents of assaults, threats and social boycott of Kashmiris in the wake of the attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers were killed. Seeking a response from the states, the top court directed their chief secretaries and police chiefs to "take prompt and necessary action to prevent incidents of assaults, threats and social boycott" of Kashmiris residing in their territories. "Relieved about the SC order to ensure Kashmiri students based outside J&K are not harassed or face social boycott. Shameful that the honourable judiciary took decisive action where others conveniently turned a blind eye," PDP chief Mufti tweeted. "Grateful to Supreme Court for doing what our elected leadership in Delhi should have been doing. The union HRD (Human Resource Development) Minister (Prakash Javadekar) was busy living in denial and (Meghalaya) Governor (Tathagata Roy) was busy issuing threats. Thank goodness the SC stepped in," Abdullah also tweeted. --IANS sq/in/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Bihar Minister Illiyas Hussain and four other accused were awarded five years imprisonment while a contractor was sentenced to seven years in jail in connection with a coal tar scam case by a special CBI court on Friday. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court of Anil Kumar Mishra had reserved the judgement on Tuesday after hearing was completed in the 22-year-old case. "Former Bihar Minister Illiyas Hussain was awarded five years imprisonment and contractor D.N. Singh was awarded seven years imprisonment. The court also slapped a fine of Rs 20 lakh on both of them," lawyer Arvind Singh told reporters. Between 1994 and 1996, 3,266 metric tonne of coal tar was purchased for road construction work and in 1997 the Rs 1.57 crore scam surfaced. At the directive of the Patna High Court, the case was handed over to the CBI, which lodged an FIR in 1997. --IANS ns/mag/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dilip G Shah (77), founder and Secretary-General of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), a grouping of top Indian drug makers, passed away in Mumbai, on Friday. One of the senior-most top pharmaceutical professionals in the country, 'DG' as fondly called among the pharma fraternity, had over 52 years (1966 onwards) of varied experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He was one among the mantle bearers who spearheaded India's transformation to become one of the top generic drug producers in the world. The Business Today-PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) pharma roundtable on 'digitisation in pharma industry' in Mumbai on January 28 was one among the last public events DG Shah had attended as a speaker. DG, who gave valuable suggestions in organising the event, had rescheduled a board meeting he had to attend in Baroda the same day, to be at the BT's roundtable. During the deliberations, Shah gave an elaborate recap and experiences of his pharma journey as a professional five decades ago with Pfizer to the current, to show how the industry has immensely transformed over the years. "It is a great loss to the entire pharmaceutical industry and his contributions in the areas of advocacy, strategic planning, advisory and knowledge sharing have been invaluable. During his era, we have seen the Indian pharmaceutical industry emerge as a global leader and he has played a significant role in that area," said Glenn Saldanha, president of IPA and chairman and managing director of Glenmark Pharma. Dilip G. Shah graduated from one of the premier business school in India, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. He was member of the Expert review committee of access to medicine (ATM) index, member of the CPhI International Advisory Board; and Member of the Board of Advisors of Pharmabiz.com, a trade magazine. Shah was also an independent director on the Boards of Fresenius Kabi Oncology, Anuh Pharma, Shaily Engineering Plastics and CEO of Vision Consulting Group, a firm specialising in strategic planning. Before starting Vision in 1997, he was a Member of the Board of Directors of Pfizer-India, for whom he worked for 30 years. He was also Chair of the International Generic Pharmaceutical Alliance (IGPA) for two terms (2005-07) and (2010-11) was a Member of the Official Indian Delegation to WTO Ministerial Conference at Cancun. He also appeared before the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) and testified on behalf of India. An expert on IP rights and international trade relations related to pharmaceuticals, Shah had fought for Indian generic industry in several WTO and many other international pharma and IPR deliberations. Condemning the February 14 Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel, Ambassador of the European Union to India, Tomasz Kozlowski on Friday said the EU will continue to strengthen its cooperation with India in combating all sorts of terrorism. The envoy noted that EU is in "constant contact" with the Indian government to provide it support in the current situation. Referring to the joint declaration by India and the EU on counter-terrorism in 2017, he said the two parties prepared a list of terrorist outfits including the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) which has claimed the February 14 attack in Jammu and Kashmir. "The EU came out with very strong statements of condemnation of the terrorist attack. As a partner of India, we reaffirm our solidarity at this difficult moment. The EU stands by India in fighting terrorism and will continue to strengthen its cooperation in this regard. We are with India in combating any sort of terrorism," Kozlowski told reporters here. "We are very much in touch with the Indian government and discussing how we can support India on these issues. The practical means and tools are being discussed," he said. He said the EU has opened a dialogue with a number of countries including Pakistan regarding its alleged role in terror funding and has made its stand on terrorism clear to them. "We have developed dialogue (with Pakistan) and we can assure you that through such dialogues we convey messages to them and certain other countries regarding our position on terrorism," the envoy said. When asked about the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) decision on Friday to keep Pakistan in the 'grey list' for now, despite New Delhi's push to blacklist the neighbour over terror funding, he said it has been done as the action plan recommended by the EU on Pakistan will be reviewed by the FATF in May this year. "I have learnt that it was decided that the review of the recommendation of the plan will happen in May this year. Let's see what will happen in the UN. At the moment, we in EU are working on our autonomous terrorist list," he said. He also noted that the name of JeM founder Masood Azhar is not yet in the global terrorist list but said the UK and France, who are members of the UN Security Council, have already begun attempts to put Azhar in the list. "There have been cooperative efforts between India and EU in listing terrorist entities and organisations. We have launched cooperation in counter radicalisation," he added. --IANS mgr/pgh/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The European Union will end trade negotiations with the US if the latter imposes tariffs on car imports, European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Friday. The European official made the remarks before the informal meeting of the trade ministers of the EU member states, which will discuss issues related to the mandate for trade negotiations with the US. "We are in a very delicate situation," said Malmstrom, adding that the negotiations will cease if the US imposed tariffs on car imports. "This is clearly stated in our mandate," he was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. "Currently, the US is busy with trade negotiations with China, so we have not been able to talk," said the European official, adding that according to the White House communique, "while we negotiate, we should not impose any tariffs against each other". EU trade ministers gathered on Thursday and Friday here to discuss the modernization process of the World Trade Organization and EU-US trade relations. Declaring that no decision will be taken at the informal meeting in Bucharest, the EU Commissioner said that the decision would be taken "in a few weeks". "I hope the ministers will feel ready soon enough to make a decision. We have not yet confirmed a date, but we have to start negotiating," said Malmstrom. --IANS soni/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Donald Trump discussed the US withdrawal from Syria over phone late on Thursday, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Erdogan and Trump discussed the latest developments in Syria and emphasized the importance of supporting a political resolution to the conflict, Anadolu said, reports Xinhua. During the call, the two presidents also reiterated joint commitment to fighting terrorism and raising bilateral trade to $75 billion. --IANS vc (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Enforcement Directorate on Friday questioned Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, for over seven hours in a money laundering case, for the fifth time. The case relates to overseas ownership of undisclosed assets worth 1.9 million pounds. Vadra arrived at the ED's Jamnagar office in central Delhi at 10.30 a.m. and left the agency's office at 7.20 p.m. He was allowed to go out for lunch for over an hour. Earlier in the morning, scores of Congress workers gathered outside, raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was questioned under sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Robert Vadra, who is the husband of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has faced more than 34 hours of questioning so far. He was earlier questioned on February 6, 7, 9 and 20. On February 2, the court granted him interim bail till February 16 and asked him to join the investigation on February 6. Then on February 16, a Delhi court extended Robert Vadra's interim bail till March 2. The ED has also lodged a money laundering case against his employee Manoj Arora after his role surfaced during an Income Tax Department probe in a 2015 anti-black money case involving absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari. The financial probe agency has alleged that Arora was aware of Robert Vadra's overseas undeclared assets and was instrumental in arranging funds. On February 12 and 13, Robert Vadra was also questioned by the ED in Jaipur in a land deal case in Bikaner, Rajasthan. On February 15, the agency attached a Rs 4.43-crore house in Delhi's Sukhdev Vihar. The property was in the name of Robert Vadra's company Sky Light Hospitality Pvt Ltd. --IANS aks/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Election Commission team will visit Jammu and Kashmir on March 4 and 5 to assess the ground situation for holding the Lok Sabha and state Assembly polls in the state, officials said. A team of Election Commission officials would visit the state on March 4 and 5 to assess the ground situation for holding Lok Sabha and state Assembly polls here, an official said here. "The team will meet various political leaders and state officials to know their views on holding the elections in the state." In addition to the Lok Sabha elections, state Assembly elections are due in Jammu and Kashmir as the state is presently under President's rule. State Governor Satya Pal Malik dissolved the legislative Assembly on November 22 last year. --IANS sq/oeb/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi government on Friday announced that it will hold a three-day festival 'Moscow Days' in the national capital later this year to celebrate the bilateral ties between India and Russia. The announcement came following a meeting between Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and a delegation from Moscow led by Minister of Moscow Government Sergey Cheremin, the government said in a statement. They discussed significant areas of collaboration between the two cities. "A major initiative decided is the 'Moscow Days' in Delhi, likely to happen between September and November," it said. Similarly, 'Delhi Days' in Moscow will also be conducted in this year's timeline, it added. In October 2018, the governments of Delhi and Moscow signed Twin City Agreements for Tourism and Education. "These events will benefit the people of Delhi and Moscow to understand each other culturally", said Cheremin, while expressing the Moscow Government's interest to cooperate with Delhi in the areas of Education, Healthcare, Tourism, Waste Management, Public Transport and IT solutions. "In the 'Moscow Days', Russian food and cuisine will also be featured," Cheremin added. While addressing the delegation, Sisodia said: "We are really looking forward to work together. This is the third time we are meeting in one year. Moscow's transport system is one of the best in the world and we'll be eager to learn. "We need more and more MSMEs, they're the future of jobs. They are the future of the economy. Delhi is a service sector and MSME city." The event will be instrumental in consolidating Indo-Russian relations and also to enable our future generations to understand the legacy of the unique bilateral ties between the countries, he said. --IANS nks/rs/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi government on Friday launched the first phase of the "Connect Delhi" initiative covering the Najafgarh area of the national capital. "Connect Delhi" is an initiative to rationalise the bus and feeder services in the city with a vision that all residential areas and villages of Delhi are connected with a reliable public transport facility within 500m of walking distance, at a frequency of 15 minutes. Speaking to the media, Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said whenever there was a discussion about buses, it was mostly about the numbers. "But it is also important to have optimum utilisation of the buses we have," he said. This was the reason the government conducted the route rationalisation study last year, Gahlot said. "Many organisations are involved in managing the Delhi transport system, which includes, but is not limited to, the DTC, DMRC, Transport Department, Delhi Traffic Police etc. "Through 'Connect Delhi', the government intends to bring all these organisations together and develop an integrated route rationalisation plan for public transport in Delhi that is conveniently accessible to all," he said. The first phase will be implemented from Sunday, Gahlot said. Najafgarh comprises both urban and rural areas in South West Delhi. "Najafgarh is served by over 36 bus service routes run by both DTC and cluster buses, 14 RTVs and 14 Gramin Sewa routes. Additionally, the area has metro feeder as well as e-rickshaw services," the government said in a statement. However, due to spatial distribution of settlements and limited accessible motorable networks, many villages were not yet connected by a well-serviced and reliable public transport network. "With the available fleet of 70 buses, the implementation of the first phase of the proposed Najafgarh Pilot Study would witness improvement in the service level of various villages," Gahlot said. --IANS nks/arm/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Delhi court on Friday said it will on March 2 deliver its order whether Congress leader Jairam Ramesh will be summoned in a defamation case filed by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's son Vivek Doval. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal reserved the order on a case against Ramesh, The Caravan magazine and an author in connection with an article titled "The D-Companies". Vivek Doval's counsel D.P. Singh told the court that the title of the article published on January 16 was itself "scandalous" and created "prejudice in the minds of readers against Vivek Doval and his family". The online magazine said that Vivek Doval "runs a hedge fund in the Cayman Islands" which is "an established tax haven" and was "registered merely 13 days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government demonetised all existing Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, in 2016". Vivek Doval, testifying as a complainant witness, had told the court earlier that "D Company" is a term coined for Dawood Ibrahim, India's most wanted criminal, while Singh said that a hedge fund cannot be set up overnight or in a few days. The lawyer also added that Ramesh too, at a press conference, had cited the article and made defamatory allegations against Vivek Doval. The allegations have caused "irreparable damage" to Vivek Doval's reputation and career, the court was told. --IANS akk/mag/in/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress will give a comprehensive loan waiver to farmers at the national level if it comes to power in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, party sources said on Friday. The loan waiver will complement the minimum income guarantee already announced by the party and these measures, along with those being worked out for other sections, are expected to be game-changers for the party in the polls. The farm loan waiver had yielded the party political benefits in last year's assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and the party is now ruling the three states. "We will announce the loan waiver for all the farmers in the country," Nana Patole, Chairman, All India Kisan Congress told IANS. He said the amount of loan waived would be bigger than the Rs 72,000 crore waiver announced by the Congress-led UPA government and it could be to the tune of Rs 2 lakh crore. He said that farm loan waiver was one of the several steps the party has planned for welfare of farmers. "The loan waiver is intended to allow them to stand on their own feet. We will supplement it with other measures to improve their income," he said. Patole said that the party will bring down cost of agriculture and give more price to farmers. "If input cost comes down, they will have more money in their hands," he said Patole said that the party is keen on localised food-processing which will help prevent wastage of vegetables and fruits and also create employment. The party had said at its plenary last year that it would come out with a loan-waiver scheme for small and marginal farmers similar to that announced by the UPA government in 2009 if voted to power in the general election. Congress President Rahul Gandhi had announced last month that the party would ensure "minimum income guarantee" for every poor person in the country if it is voted to power in the coming Lok Sabha polls. Apart from the farm loan waiver and minimum income guarantee, the party is planning measures for the welfare of the landless wokers, agriculture workers, small shopkeepers and youth. The announcements will be part of party's manifesto. --IANS ps/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress General Secretary Harish Rawat on Friday said the party will launch sincere efforts to build a grand Ram Temple at Ayodhya if it comes to power after the Lok Sabha elections. "On two previous occasions, the Congress made sincere attempts to build the Ram temple when it was in power. We will sincerely launch efforts to build the Ram temple if we come to power," Rawat told reporters here. Asked whether this the party's official stand, Rawat quipped: "My statement regarding the Ram temple was widely reported in the media. There is no denial from the Congress." He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being insincere on the issue. "BJP is only doing on the Ram temple issue," said Rawat. The government must work as a facilitator for building the temple, he said. On the Pulwama suicide bombing, Rawat accused the BJP of projecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the only nationalist in the country. "I have strong objections on the projection of Modi as the only nationalist in India. We all are nationalists. Everybody in the country is a nationalist," Rawat said. Criticizing the Uttarakhand BJP government on its budget presented this week, Rawat said the declining agriculture and manufacturing growth in the state was a matter of grave concern. He said nearly a dozen factories had been closed in the state after the November 7 investors meet. He also claimed that of the nine lakh farmers in the state, 50,000 have quit farming in the past two years. Rawat said the government's decision to relax the stringent land laws would force the people to migrate to other states. "Top industrialists like Adani and Ramdev would buy all the land. There will be no land left for living," said Rawat. --IANS str/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Piramal Enterprises share price rose in early trade today after Supreme Court exempted Saridon from list of banned FDCS (Fixed Dose Combinations). Saridon is a brand from the healthcare product portfolio of Piramal Enterprises Limited (PEL). Piramal Enterprises share price rose nearly 2% to 2,284 level compared to the previous close of 2,240.15 on the BSE. Piramal Enterprises share price has been gaining for the last five days and risen 4.41% during the period. The large cap stock has lost 12.81% during the last one year and fallen 4.55% since the beginning of this year. The turnover for Piramal Enterprises stood at Rs 3.91 crore on the BSE. Piramal Enterprises share price was trading above its 50-day moving average of 2,237 and below its 200-day moving average of 2,389 levels, respectively. In September 2018, Piramal Enterprises was awarded a stay order from the Supreme Court on the ban, which allowed it to continue manufacturing, distribution and sale of the FDC. Commenting on the Supreme Court ruling, Nandini Piramal, Executive Director, Piramal Enterprises said, "We are pleased with the Supreme Court ruling, as it is an affirmation to our commitment to provide effective and safe healthcare solutions that address unique needs of Indian consumers. We were confident that the law would prevail in our favour. Saridon is a heritage brand trusted by customers for the last 50 years in India. This exemption from the banned list of FDCs validates our intent to serve our customers with the highest levels of integrity. We continue to expand our healthcare product portfolio with an aim to be amongst the top three OTC (over the-counter) product companies in India by 2020." Piramal Enterprises is engaged in the business of pharmaceuticals, including research and development, financial services and information management through its subsidiaries. The company's pharmaceutical business consists of manufacturing and sale of own and traded bulk drugs and formulations. It operates through three segments: Healthcare, Financial Services and Information Management. The company offers its products under brands, including Saridon, Lacto Calamine, i-pill/i-know, Polycrol, Tetmosol, Untox, Stop AllerG and Throatsil. Dehradun, Feb 22 (PTI) Congress General Secretary Harish Rawat on Friday said the party will launch sincere efforts to build a grand Ram Temple at Ayodhya if it comes to power after the Lok Sabha elections. 'On two previous occasions, the Congress made sincere attempts to build the Ram temple when it was in power. We will sincerely launch efforts to build the Ram temple if we come to power,' Rawat told reporters here. Asked whether this the party's official stand, Rawat quipped: 'My statement regarding the Ram temple was widely reported in the media. There is no denial from the Congress.' He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being insincere on the issue. 'BJP is only doing on the Ram temple issue,' said Rawat. The government must work as a facilitator for building the temple, he said. On the Pulwama suicide bombing, Rawat accused the BJP of projecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the only nationalist in the country. 'I have strong objections on the projection of Modi as the only nationalist in India. We all are nationalists. Everybody in the country is a nationalist,' Rawat said. Criticizing the Uttarakhand BJP government on its budget presented this week, Rawat said the declining agriculture and manufacturing growth in the state was a matter of grave concern. He said nearly a dozen factories had been closed in the state after the November 7 investors meet. He also claimed that of the nine lakh farmers in the state, 50,000 have quit farming in the past two years. Rawat said the government's decision to relax the stringent land laws would force the people to migrate to other states. 'Top industrialists like Adani and Ramdev would buy all the land. There will be no land left for living,' said Rawat. --IANS str/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The opposition Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Friday moved an adjournment motion in the Assam Assembly over the Centre's move to bestow additional powers on the Assam Rifles, and resorted to a walkout when the Speaker disallowed it on procedural grounds. The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, later condemned and strongly opposed the Central government's notification giving the force power to arrest people and search premises without any warrant in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, and termed the move as manifestation of an "undeclared Emergency", especially in the Northeast. "The notification negates the right to freedom of movement guaranteed to citizens by the Constitution of India and hence poses a threat to democracy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in his Independence Day speech last year promised to withdraw the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from the northeastern states," he said. "Earlier, too, during a pre-election rally in Imphal, Modi had promised to withdraw the controversial AFSPA if the BJP formed the government at the Centre," Saikia said, adding that the Prime Minister has exposed his own duplicity by resorting to the undemocratic tactics by giving powers arbitrarily to the Assam Rifles, instead of keeping his word on the AFSPA. Mentioning that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) frequently talks about peace reigning in the Northeast, Saikia questioned the need to arm the Assam Rifles with additional powers and said that there are reasons to doubt the motive behind the notification. The Leader of the Opposition pointed out that the Assam Rifles has a dodgy record in upholding human rights and added that there is a strong possibility of this new step hampering integration of the Northeast with India's mainstream. --IANS ah/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Twitter on Friday confirmed that Colin Crowell, Global Vice President of Public Policy for Twitter, will face the Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology (IT) on February 25. In a statement given to IANS, the micro-blogging platform said that for Crowell, the 2019 Lok Sabha election is a key priority for Twitter. "We thank the Parliamentary Committee for its invitation to hear Twitter's views on 'safeguarding citizen rights on social/online news media platforms'," said a Twitter spokesperson. "These are issues for all internet services globally. Colin Crowell, Global Vice President of Public Policy for Twitter, will meet with the Committee on Monday," the spokesperson added. The government has accused Twitter of being "slow" in removing "objectionable content" and "political bias" from its platform. Headed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anurag Thakur, the House panel had earlier summoned Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey over measures taken to ensure the safety and security of the users and allegations that the social media site is discriminating against "nationalist" posts on its platform. In the absence of Dorsey, Crowell will represent Twitter during the 31-member parliamentary panel hearing. In an earlier statement, Crowell said that India is one of its fastest-growing audience markets globally. "We are committed to surfacing all sides of the conversation as we enter the election season in this extraordinarily diverse cultural, political and social climate," noted Crowell. According to him, Twitter does not review, prioritise or enforce its policies on the basis of political ideology. "Every Tweet and every account is treated impartially. We apply our policies fairly and judiciously for all," Crowell added. The Twitter hearing comes at a time when the Indian government has also formulated new IT guidelines where social media platforms have to remove within 24 hours any unlawful content that can affect the "sovereignty and integrity of India". The Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology, tasked with examining several aspects related to data security and privacy, has also reportedly asked Facebook and WhatsApp to be present before it on March 5. --IANS na/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An engineer posted in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district was threatened for a social media post where he condemned war, police said on Friday. "Dipayan Dhar, a civil engineer working here was threatened by a group of people on Wednesday in Amtala area," an officer of Kotwali Police Station said. He said that the engineer wrote that there 'should be no war' and he vouched for peace. "Senior police officers met him in person and assured him of safety. An investigation is going on as the accused people have not been identified yet," the police official added. In the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF troopers were killed on February 14, a sense of rage and anger is prevailing across the country. --IANS bnd/bdc/oeb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China and Saudi Arabia on Thursday agreed to further boost financial cooperation, media reported. The two countries will enhance communication and coordination of macro policies, develop the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan through the financial sector and promote inclusive growth and sustainable development of both countries, according to the meeting of a financial sub-committee under a high-level committee to coordinate bilateral cooperation. At Thursday's meeting, jointly chaired by Chinese vice finance minister Zou Jiayi and her Saudi Arabian counterpart Harmad Al-Bazai, the two sides agreed to support multilateralism, step up policy communication and support under multilateral mechanisms and cooperate to enhance the effectiveness of multilateral mechanisms, reports Xinhua. The two countries will support reform of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and support new multilateral development institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to play more active roles. They will also boost settlement in local currencies and cross-border bond issuance as well as encourage their financial institutions to expand businesses in each other's market. --IANS vc (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China on Friday downplayed the statement issued by the UN Security Council naming the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in the Kashmir suicide bombing, saying the "mention doesn't mean a judgment on the incident". The UN Security Council in a show of unanimity on Thursday condemned in the "strongest terms" the February 14 Kashmir suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF personnel and was claimed by the Pakistan-based JeM. China, which has been protecting JeM chief Masood Azhar, joined the other 14 members of the Council in issuing a press statement that called upon all countries to combat terrorism and to cooperate with the Indian government in bringing the terrorists to justice. The statement called the attack a "heinous and cowardly suicide bombing" and noted that the JeM claimed responsibility for it. Asked if the statement meant the UN Security Council had evidence to hold the JeM responsible, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Friday said that although the statement mentioned "a particular organization, it doesn't mean a judgment on the incident", Xinhua news agency reported. "Yesterday, the UN Security Council issued a press statement that mentioned that a particular organisation but only in general terms. It does not represent a judgment on the attack," Geng said. China has consistently vetoed attempts at the UN Security Council to add Azhar to the list of international terrorists facing UN sanctions. Geng on Friday said that the Pakistani government had expressed its willingness to cooperate with India in the investigation and resolve their disputes through dialogue. He expressed hope that India and Pakistan "will continue to exercise restraint and have dialogue to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability". All relevant parties should conduct an objective and fair investigation into the Kashmir attack to find out the truth, he said. --IANS soni/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China on Friday said that the forced entry of humanitarian aid into Venezuela could lead to conflict and warned that Beijing opposed military intervention in the country. "If the so-called humanitarian assistance is forcefully sent into Venezuela, it might trigger a conflict and have severe consequences. No one wants to see that," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang at a press conference. The Venezuelan government, according to Geng, had "exercised restraint to safeguard domestic peace and stability". He added that China opposed military intervention in Venezuela and was "not in favour of any action that could lead to tensions", Efe news reported. "China-Venezuela cooperation is on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and commercial rules. China will continue its exchange and cooperation with Venezuela in several sectors," the spokesperson added. Venezuela's self-proclaimed interim President and leader of the National Assembly, Juan Guaido, on Thursday, authorised the entry of humanitarian aid - which was refused by Nicolas Maduro's government - with the issuance of a presidential decree and ordered the military to act in accordance with it. Maduro responded that he will not allow the entry of the aid and dismissed it as "rotten" donations, adding that it could lead to a foreign invasion. The Venezuelan political crisis escalated in early January after Maduro was sworn in for a second term of six years. But he was not recognised by the opposition and a part of the international community. Guaido proclaimed himself interim President of the country soon after and said that Maduro had "usurped" his position by being sworn in as President. China backed multinational efforts for finding a solution to the ongoing power struggle in Venezuela earlier this month and urged all parties to play a constructive role in the peaceful resolution of the issue. --IANS soni/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A female superhero, a woman director, an origin story in reverse and Nick Fury in a younger avatar, multiple firsts set the forthcoming "Captain Marvel", the first movie to release after the death of Marvel creator Stan Lee - apart from the traditional Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) entertainers fans have grown up on. Oscar winner Brie Larson, who has graduated from comedies to independent drama and film franchises, has taken on the powerful role of Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel in the movie, which marks the first time that MCU has a female superhero as the title character. And making it a reality is Anna Boden, one half of the film's director duo. Talking about the newness that "Captain Marvel", which she has directed with Ryan Fleck, offers, Boden said: "We and Kevin Feige (Marvel Studios President) and the rest of the people at Marvel felt that we have seen enough traditional origin movies before, wherein there's a human, then we see how he gets superpowered and then you see them save the earth. "So we got excited about introducing this superhero in a different way and kind of introducing her as someone who is already superpowered. When you meet her, she is a space warrior, she can do proton blasts from wrists... What she does not know is her history and how she became who she is. Over the course of the film, we kind of unpack with her, and go on this journey of self-discovery with her. It's like an origin story in reverse." MCU has regaled superhero movie buffs with titles like "Iron Man", "Thor", "Captain America: The First Avenger", "Guardians of the Galaxy", "Doctor Strange", "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and "Black Panther", which is the first superhero film to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. Thrilled for the recognition that a superhero film is getting, the directors hope their take on the character of Captain Marvel touches a chord with the audience. The film, starring Jude Law, Samuel L. Jackson and Gemma Chan, will release in India on March 8, International Women's Day. For Boden, being MCU's first female director and directing the franchise's first female superhero film, makes her "stand a little bit taller" seeing the adulation that she has been receiving even before the movie has hit the screens. Hopeful that in the future it will not be "newsworthy" for a woman to direct a film like this, she said: "There are so many female voices and diverse voices behind the camera who are contributing to what the social conversation is, what the stories are which people are seeing and hearing, and that is creating more diversity in stories... It has been a real pleasure, very humbling but also empowering." Boden has been an equal collaborator on "Captain Marvel" with her long-time working partner Ryan Fleck. Their professional chemistry is as attractive as the chemistry displayed by Larson and Jackson in the film's trailer itself. "It was easy because we are hilarious," Fleck exclaimed as he explained how the humour is on point in "Captain Marvel", much like in other MCU entertainers. "Humour is a big part of Marvel films. We wanted to bring our version of humour to it... Brie and Sam have such a great chemistry and they came with a pre-existing relationship which worked very well for the film," he said. Jackson will be seen in his iconic role as Nick Fury. Only, he will be de-aged and will come without the eye patch. For Jackson, Stan Lee has been one of the "greatest influences" in his life. And so, it's a tad emotional that "Captain Marvel" is the first film to release after his demise in November. "He'll be missed," said Jackson. (The writer's trip was on an invitation by Disney India. Radhika Bhirani can be contacted at radhika.b@ians.in) --IANS rb/nn/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Soon after the Delhi Assembly began its Budget Session, three BJP MLAs were on Friday marshalled out of the House for interrupting the welcome address by Lt Governor Anil Baijal. The MLAs -- Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, O.P. Sharma and Jagdish Pradhan -- went near the Speaker's podium protesting against the Delhi government's "delay" in sanctioning prosecution in the JNU sedition case, after which Speaker Ram Niwas Goel called the marshalls. Later, Goel said the LG's address is not a part of proceedings of the House and they could have taken up the issue later. Gupta shouted that the government was "delaying" the sanction to prosecute the accused in JNU sedition case. Later, speaking to the media, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the BJP MLAs always create ruckus in the House. "The issue over which they are shouting, the (police) took three years to file the chargesheet. They even went to the court without following the proper channel. As per law, they should have approached the government before submitting the chargesheet in the court. "Law gives us three months for taking a decision on any chargesheet." Sisodia said that instead of questioning the government, the BJP should answer why it took three years for "their police to file the chargesheet". In January, Delhi Police filed a chargesheet against former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) President Kanhaiya Kumar and others in the sedition case registered in 2016. The case involves an event organised at the JNU campus in February 2016 against the hanging of Parliament-attack mastermind Afzal Guru. Kanhaiya Kumar has denied the charges against him. Delhi Police has sought permission from the Delhi government to go ahead with the prosecution. --IANS nks/rs/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The father of a woman from Alabama, who left in November 2014 to join the Islamic State (IS) terror group, has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump's administration over her American citizenship, seeking her return. Ahmed Ali Muthana filed the lawsuit on Thursday at a federal court here to prevent what he calls an "unlawful attempt" by the US government to rescind his daughter's citizenship, CNN reported. At age 19, Hoda Muthana travelled to Syria to join the IS. Five years later, Muthana has now said that she regrets what she did and wants to return to the US. President Trump tweeted on Wednesday that he directed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to allow Muthana back into the country. Pompeo declared the same day, in a statement, that Muthana is "not a US citizen and will not be admitted" into the country. Thursday's lawsuit "seeks injunctive relief preventing the US government from unconstitutionally robbing (Muthana and her son) of their rights as US citizens". Ahmed Ali Muthana is requesting the court "find the US government has an obligation to assist in the return of its citizens from areas of armed conflict". The lawsuit was filed against Trump, Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr. If she returns to the US, Muthana "is prepared and willing to surrender to any charges the Justice Department finds appropriate and necessary", it added. --IANS ksk/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Uttar Pradesh Police Friday arrested two youths believed to be connected to Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) from Deoband, Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police O P Singh said. The men were nabbed by UP Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) which is also probing their role in Pulwama terror attack last week. The arrested youths were identified as Shahnawaz Teli, a resident of Kulgam and Aqib Ahmed Malik from Pulwama. They are believed to be between between 20 and 25 years of age, Singh told reporters. The special police force said that the two had come to recruit people for the terror outfits and were arrested on inputs from a student in Deoband. The student's identity was not revealed. ATS carried search operations in their rooms and found two .32 pistols with live catridges and mobile phones with "Jihadi chat, videos and photos" in them, it said. Also Read: Pulwama attack: India gets international support, UNSC names JeM's Masood Azhar Asked whether the two men were involved in the Pulwama terror attack, Singh said, "It's difficult to tell whether they came here before the Pulwama attack or after that. The probe is on." He said Jammu and Kashmir police supported the entire operation and the two forces will coordinate with each other in the future too. The arrest of the two men follows the terror attack on 44 CRPF troopers killed in 14 February attack in Pulwama, Jammu & Kashmir Also Read: Pulwama attack: Security beefed up across railway network A section of students at the Jamia Millia Islamia has called for a boycott of the polls for the election of an internal committee against sexual harassment alleging that the mode of election is undemocratic. The varsity in a letter on February 20 had announced elections to be held for the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), opening the fray to three candidates in all, two girls, one each from undergraduate and postgraduate, stipulating that both girls should be class representatives. The third seat was announced to be filled by a boy representative from among the research students. Students from the Left-backed All India Students' Association taking exception to the clause stipulating that girls must be class representatives only called for the boycott of the election, contending it to be a violation of the ICC norms. "We completely reject the notice issued by the Dean, Students Welfare (20th February, 2019) regarding Elections for members of ICC in which it has been arbitrarily dictated that Elections at UG and PG level will be held only amongst CRs (Class Representatives), while at Research level their Representatives can contest. "The Notice is in violation of 'UGC Regulations - 2015 on Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment of Women Employees and Students in Higher Educational Institutions'. The UGC Regulation clearly mentions that three student representatives are to be elected through transparent democratic methods and nowhere it reads that only Class Representatives can contest for ICC," the student group said in a statement. A member of the group told IANS that a delegation will meet the administration on Monday with its contentions. Although there is already a complaints committee at the university, the students alleged that it exists "only on paper" since it doesn't have any elected members. The varsity has scheduled the elections to be held on March 13. -- IANS vn/oeb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Delhi court on Friday extended the interim bail granted to Dubai-based businessman Rajiv Saxena till February 25 in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case. Special Judge Arvind Kumar also reserved order on his regular bail plea. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has not opposed Saxena's bail plea on medical grounds as he was cooperating in the VVIP chopper deal probe. Saxena told the court that he was suffering from radiating back pain, numbness and heaviness in legs, along with other ailments. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) security agencies had picked Saxena from his Dubai residence on January 30 and extradited him to India later that night, along with corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar. According to the ED, in connivance with lawyer Gautam Khaitan, Saxena provided a corporate structure across the globe to launder money for payment to various political leaders, bureaucrats and Indian Air Force officials to influence the contract for supplying 12 VVIP helicopters in favour of AgustaWestland. Saxena's name was mentioned in a chargesheet filed against his wife, Shivani, who has been out on bail after being arrested by the ED earlier. --IANS akk/ksk/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding an end to the practice of post-retirement jobs for judges as it affects judicial neutrality. He cited specific instances of judgments influenced by outgoing Supreme Court and High Courts judges. "In recent years, the Indian Judiciary has been found grappling with several issues, prominent ones being its fight for autonomy and its perceived lack of credibility," Singh wrote in his letter on Friday. Informing the media about the letter, he said several incidents suggest that the power to announce judgements has been greatly influenced by vested interests operating outside of courts. "This has raised questions in the minds of people. The fact that post retirement judges are offered offices of profit under the government has seriously compromised the independence of judiciary." Singh cited the example of Justice Adarsh Goyal, who was appointed Chairman of the National Green Tribunal and named several other judges and their post retirement postings to bolster his point. "Former Chief Justice of India, P. Sathasivam who granted bail to Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah was immediately appointed the Governor of Kerala," he said. "Similarly, Supreme Court Judge A.K. Sikri, who retires in the first week of March, was nominated to the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal. As the issue started to snowball into a controversy, the judge declined the offer. It is important to note that in December 2018, he had accepted the same offer." The AAP MP also said that there have been reports that Sikri would soon be appointed as the Lokpal. "If this happens, then the credibility of the Supreme Court would be further eroded as Sikri had recently voted with the Government to oust CBI director Alok Verma. "Furthermore, several questions have been raised on Sikri's judgement pertaining to the Delhi government vs. Central government case related to the Services Department. Making him the Lokpal would automatically indicate that he is being rewarded for his judgements." Concluding his letter, the legislator requested Modi to ensure that a neutral and unbiased individual is appointed to the important post of Lokpal. "This would ensure that no questions are raised on the credibility of the Lokpal and he/she is able to smoothly discharge the constitutional duties." Singh said there should be an end to the postings of judges. "Although this is not a new practice, it raises questions on the credibility of the judiciary. This should be ended." --IANS nks/rtp/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Blaming the agitation over Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 in Assam for the rise in anti-India activities, state Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that 75 Rohingya Muslims have been arrested in Assam since 2009, and that a network of sympathisers has come up in the state for the Rohingiyas. "We have found that there is a systematic network of sympathizers for these people who assist them with food and shelter. The first Rohingya Muslim was detected in Assam in February 22, 2009 in Paltan Bazar bus stand in Guwahati while another was detected in May 15, 2010," he said. "These arrests have been made in districts which have witnessed a change in the demographic profile. Around 14 districts of Assam have witnessed a demographic change," the Minister said. Sarma said the sympathisers are taking advantage of the agitation. He said the government has asked the police to scan if there are Rohingyas in villages. The border police has also been put on alert, he added. The minister said the state police have arrested 15 people and registered 19 cases post-Pulwama terror attack for anti-India and pro-Pakistani stand in social media. --IANS ah/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shipments of 5G-enabled smartphones would exceed 140 million in India by 2025, a new report by technology market research firm CyberMedia Research (CMR) said on Friday. According to CMR's "4Ps of Mobile Handset Industry Report 2019" that focuses on the hyper-competitive mobile industry ecosystem in India, 5G-enabled smartphone shipments are expected to grow by around 250 per cent by 2025 on the back of a slow and gradual uptake. "Over the coming months, many smartphone brands would be looking to showing off their prototype, or 5G-ready devices. The initial 5G-enabled devices would be at a high price point, and in the uber-premium segment. Smartphone brands, including OPPO and others, are likely to be the technology leaders in the 5G era," Prabhu Ram, Head of Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR, said in a statement. It is pertinent to note that South Korean tech major Samsung launched its 5G-enabled flagship smartphone - Galaxy S10 5G - on Thursday and hours later, Chinese premium smartphone maker OnePlus also announced launching its 5G-enabled phones in the second quarter of 2019. "At CMR, we anticipate 5G to attain scale from 2022 onwards. As on date, there are various critical themes at play, including the impending 5G spectrum allocation later this year as well as the necessary technical and infrastructure upgradation required for 5G," added Ram. --IANS ksc/mag/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 2,600 foreign journalists have registered to cover the second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un slated to be held here on February 27-28, a Vietnamese Minister has confirmed. At a press conference on Thursday, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung said they have just 20 days to prepare after Trump announced Vietnam's capital Hanoi as the meeting venue, while Singapore had nearly two months to prepare for the first US-North Korea summit last June, reports Xinhua news agency. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has also directed ministries and sectors to do their utmost to ensure security and safety for the summit to make it a success. Special attention should be paid to the reception work, the Prime Minister said, stressing the need to create maximum conditions for international reporters to cover the event. At the summit, Trump and Kim will meet one-on-one. The White House has not made Trump's agenda public yet. In Singapore, the leaders spoke privately for 38 minutes before the formal talks between the full delegations, sparking speculation about the content of Trump's conversation with Kim. --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vedanta Ltd is quoting at Rs 168.6, up 2.43% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The stock is down 50.1% in last one year as compared to a 2.82% spurt in NIFTY and a 29.96% spurt in the Nifty Metal. Vedanta Ltd is up for a fifth straight session in a row. The stock is quoting at Rs 168.6, up 2.43% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is down around 0.03% on the day, quoting at 10787.1. The Sensex is at 35852.89, down 0.13%. Vedanta Ltd has dropped around 12.55% in last one month. Meanwhile, Nifty Metal index of which Vedanta Ltd is a constituent, has dropped around 2.6% in last one month and is currently quoting at 2796.15, up 0.91% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 92.07 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 163.68 lakh shares in last one month. The benchmark February futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 168.8, up 2.33% on the day. Vedanta Ltd is down 50.1% in last one year as compared to a 2.82% spurt in NIFTY and a 29.96% spurt in the Nifty Metal index. The PE of the stock is 8.66 based on TTM earnings ending December 18. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tata Steel has informed BSE that the meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on 26 February 2019, inter alia, to consider and approve the issuance of unsecured Non-Convertible Debentures on private placement basis. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 21 February 2019. Bharat Electronics (BEL) has on 20 February 2019, signed an MoU with JSR Dynamics Pvt Ltd (JSR), a Nagpur-based start-up Company, at Aero India 2019 in Bengaluru. The MoU aims at leveraging the individual design and manufacturing capabilities of BEL and JSR to develop weapons and light weight cruise missiles, which have business potential in both the domestic and international markets. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 21 February 2019. AU Small Finance Bank has entered into agreement with ACKO General Insurance Company for General insurance as Corporate Agent. This tie up shall be mutually beneficial for Bank & ACKO General Insurance Company in terms of business, market penetration and digital distribution of Insurance Products. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 21 February 2019. Allahabad Bank has received a communication from the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services regarding fresh capital infusion of Rs 6896 crore towards contribution of the Central Government in the preferential allotment of equity shares (Special Securities/Bonds) of the Bank during the financial year 2018-19, as Government's investment. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 21 February 2019. Security and Intelligence Services (India) said its subsidiary SIS Australia Group Pty Ltd on 21 February 2019, has signed definitive agreements to acquire initially 51% shareholding in Platform 4 Group. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 21 February 2019. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tata Motors-DVR is quoting at Rs 88.3, up 0.51% on the day as on 12:44 IST on the NSE. The stock is down 56.66% in last one year as compared to a 2.82% spurt in NIFTY and a 24.41% spurt in the Nifty Auto. Tata Motors-DVR is up for a fifth straight session in a row. The stock is quoting at Rs 88.3, up 0.51% on the day as on 12:44 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is down around 0.03% on the day, quoting at 10787.1. The Sensex is at 35854.38, down 0.12%. Tata Motors-DVR has dropped around 7.59% in last one month. Meanwhile, Nifty Auto index of which Tata Motors-DVR is a constituent, has dropped around 4.1% in last one month and is currently quoting at 8156.75, up 1.26% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 18.82 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 30.75 lakh shares in last one month. The benchmark February futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 88.35, up 0.17% on the day. Tata Motors-DVR is down 56.66% in last one year as compared to a 2.82% spurt in NIFTY and a 24.41% spurt in the Nifty Auto index. The PE of the stock is 26.71 based on TTM earnings ending December 18. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hailing the government's decision to stop India's share of river water from flowing to Pakistan, Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said the excess water not utilised by Jammu and Kashmir will now be used by Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Questioning the previous Congress governments for not taking such a step, he said the Centre's decision has corrected a long-standing anomaly. "The earlier governments have to answer why they sat over this (Shahpur-Kandi) project for nearly half a century. It (the decision to stop water going to Pakistan) is a correction of a long-standing anomaly which remained unattended by the earlier governments," the minister told PTI. Singh, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), said the construction of the Shahpur-Kandi dam on river Ravi was started due to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "When completed, the entire water of river Ravi, which was flowing into Pakistan despite being India's share of water under the Indus Water Treaty, will now be utilised in the border districts of Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and Gurdaspur in Punjab," he said. Singh, who is a Lok Sabha member from Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur constituency, said a pragmatic decision has now been taken by the government to simultaneously construct a canal system so that water, which is not utilised by Jammu and Kahsmir, can be used by neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan instead of flowing into Pakistan. "Under the leadership of Hon'ble PM Sri @narendramodi ji, Our Govt. has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab," Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari said in a tweet. Under the leadership of Hon'ble PM Sri @narendramodi ji, Our Govt. has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. - Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) February 21, 2019 Also read: India will stop its share of Indus water to Pakistan, says Nitin Gadkari Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, inaugurated the 4th India-ASEAN Expo and Summit 2019 in New Delhi yesterday. Addressing the inaugural session, Suresh Prabhu reaffirmed India's commitment to the path of mutual progress and prosperity and said that terrorism knows no boundaries; it needs to be addressed through collective reaffirment towards promoting regional peace, stability and development. In this fight against terrorism and mindless violence, events like India ASEAN Expo and Summit acquire a unique significance, as it epitomizes our faith and commitment towards a path of shared prosperity, progress and peace. The Commerce Minister recalled the participation of ASEAN ministers during the ASEAN-India Business and Investment Meet and Expo 2018 organized on the side-lines of the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in New Delhi in January, 2018 and said that it provided us the much needed opportunity to engage on promotion of trade and investment collaborations. He also recalled the informal Mini Ministerial of WTO hosted by India in 2018 which was attended by 52 countries, including many ASEAN partners. Suresh Prabhu said that the core idea behind organizing this 4th India -ASEAN Expo and Summit is to build upon the success of the previous events and carry forward the momentum of the relationship built up over the years. He said that this Summit is a testimony of India's dedicated efforts towards Act East policy. India and ASEAN represent fast moving economies. The global headwinds have caused a softening of the global growth from 3.1% in 2018 to 3.0 % in 2019. According to the recently published United Nations' World Economic Situation and Prospects Report 2019, India and ASEAN are set to outpace the global growth. India continues to be the fastest growing major economy and is expected to grow at 7.2% in 2019 and ASEAN at 5.2%, with many economies within ASEAN with a growth of more than 6%. Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) countries in ASEAN are also on a higher growth trajectory. This is indeed a manifestation of the new emerging world economic order, wherein India and ASEAN have a significant place. The Commerce Minister said trade is a buckle that binds India and ASEAN together and India's vision of trade is not limited to exchange of goods and services. He asserted that India believes in trade that brings about mutual collaboration, promotes livelihood opportunities, brings in shared prosperity and binds us to a common future and a common destiny. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Projects inaugurated in 7 States and 2 Union Territories across the country Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, inaugurated Rs 1000 crore worth of projects of the Commerce & Industry Ministry through video conference in New Delhi on 22 February 2019. The projects were inaugurated in 7 States and 2 Union Territories across the country. Commerce Minister inaugurated skilling Common Facility Centre (CFC) in Udupi, Karnataka and laid the foundation stone on CFC in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Commerce Minister inaugurated two spices parks in Kota, Rajasthan and Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh. He also inaugurated National Institute of Design (NID) campus in Jorhat, Assam and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. IIFT campus was inaugurated at Kolkata, West Bengal and Maidangarhi near Delhi and Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) in Banur, Chandigarh. Suresh Prabhu said that the CFC in Udupi for traditional jewellery manufacture in South India will be able to produce world class talent in gem and jewellery business for around 1200 jewellery units in an around Udupi. The CFC in Udupi has been established by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India (GJEPC). The Coimbatore CFC has the capacity to train 50000 people in the unique jewellery manufacture like Kundan, Meenakari, Bidri, temple jewellery, filigree and Jadau jewellery. The gem and jewellery business in India is a US$ 42 billion industry employing over 5 million people and it contributes 7% of India's total GDP. India is the largest diamond cutting and polishing centre in the world and 14 out of 15 diamonds set in jewellery worldwide are processed in India. India is the 5th largest jewellery exporter in the world. The Minister said that establishment of spices parks is a major initiative of the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, to help farmers to get better returns for their produce and to ensure the quality of spices for exports. The elimination of intermediaries in the supply chain due to direct linkages facilitated by the parks will ensure better prices for the farmers informed by the Minister. India is the largest producer and exporter of spices in the world. India produces more than 65 spices out of the 109 spices listed by ISO. Currently, India is holding significant share of 48 % in quantity and 43 %in value of the global spice trade. At present there is need for improved linkages between spice producers, processes and food processing industry and the spices parks will function as a nodal point for development of the spices industry. The parks will provide common infrastructure facilities for both post-harvest and processing operation of spices. The parks will facilitate both forward and backward integration. Both the spices parks have facilities for cleaning, grading and packing at par with international standards. Suresh Prabhu said that for India to transform itself to a confident and prosperous nation the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is working tirelessly to improve skilling in various sectors so that India becomes a part of global value and supply chains. Design today is an integral part of any product and for the multitude of superior hand-made products fashioned by India's artisan's designs of international standards will be a game changer for them. He further said that the NID campus in Jorhat, Assam, will now open up the world to the highly skilled artisans especially women who produce high quality handmade products in the North East region of the country. While inaugurating the IIFT campus in Kolkata and Bhopal Commerce Minister said that for India to remain in a leading position there is an urgent need to reshape our education landscape and to prepare a new generation that will be capable of rising to the challenges of a rapidly changing world and also remain competitive globally. The IIFT campus in Kolkata offers full time MBA course with specific focus on international business actives leading to policy inputs, research activities, teaching and training for the development of eastern and north-eastern region. The campus has recently set up a centre for North Eastern studies. The Banur, FDDI campus at Chandigarh has been established with the total expenditure of Rs 100 crore funded by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. This is one of the 12 campuses of FDDI in the country. The campus has state of the art centres for imparting quality education in footwear technology and management, fashion design, leather goods and accessories design and manufacturing and retail management. The campus is equipped with state of the art infrastructure, world class laboratories and Wi-Fi. Suresh Prabhu hoped that the FDI campus at Banur will add value to the life of the youth of Punjab and also of the surrounding states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand. The Minister further stated that the leather package of Rs 2600 crore announced by the centre earlier is helping FDDI in major infrastructural and capacity augmentation in order to bring world class infrastructure and skills development to its campuses and turn them into Centres of Excellence (CoE). Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bharat Forge Ltd is quoting at Rs 489, up 1.71% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The stock is down 34.8% in last one year as compared to a 2.78% spurt in NIFTY and a 24.47% spurt in the Nifty Auto index. Bharat Forge Ltd is up for a third straight session in a row. The stock is quoting at Rs 489, up 1.71% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is down around 0.06% on the day, quoting at 10783. The Sensex is at 35840, down 0.16%. Bharat Forge Ltd has dropped around 0.22% in last one month. Meanwhile, Nifty Auto index of which Bharat Forge Ltd is a constituent, has dropped around 4.17% in last one month and is currently quoting at 8156.75, up 1.18% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 3.93 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 14.45 lakh shares in last one month. The benchmark February futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 489, up 1.5% on the day. Bharat Forge Ltd is down 34.8% in last one year as compared to a 2.78% spurt in NIFTY and a 24.47% spurt in the Nifty Auto index. The PE of the stock is 23.93 based on TTM earnings ending December 18. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BEML rose 3.27% to Rs 812 at 09:55 IST on BSE after the company signed a certificate of partnership with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company to explore global & domestic opportunities. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 21 February 2019. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up down 78.68 points, or 0.22% at 35,819.67 On the BSE, 55,000 shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 74,000 shares in the past two weeks. The stock had hit a high of Rs 815 and a low of Rs 795 so far during the day. BEML signed a Certificate of Partnership with US-based Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company. This step opens up avenues for collaboration between the two companies to explore manufacturing of support equipment opportunities in aerospace. The Aerospace Division of BEML in Mysuru and the upcoming aerospace facility at SEZ near Bengaluru is to take advantage of the domestic and global opportunities in the ever-expanding aerospace market and benefit from the Offset policy laid down for defence procurement by Government of India. BEML's net profit rose 167.83% to Rs 44.70 crore on 26.29% increase in net sales to Rs 923.85 crore in Q3 December 2018 over Q3 December 2017. BEML, under the Ministry of Defence, plays a pivotal role in serving India's core sectors like Defence, Rail, Power, Mining and Infrastructure. BEML operates in three verticals viz. Defence & Aerospace, Mining & Construction and Rail & Metro and has manufacturing facilities located at Bangalore, Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), Mysore and Palakkad. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A year-long emergency has been declared in Sudan by President Omar al-Bashir on Friday (local time) following continued anti-government protests in the nation since December. Furthermore, federal and state governments have been dissolved by Bashir, reports Anadolu Agency. Sudan's Intelligence Chief Salah Abdallah Gosh had earlier told reporters here of Bashir's intent, adding that the incumbent Sudanese President would be stepping down as the Chairman of the ruling National Congress Party. He also added that Bashir would refrain from seeking a new term as President in the polls slated to be held in 2020. Around 31 people have lost their lives ever since the protests started two months back, according to official figures. The opposition, however, has put the number of deceased at 50. Demonstrators have been agitating against Bashir's failure to take the nation out of economic woes ever since South Sudan seceded in 2011. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Bihar Chief Minister and Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi has said that he would meet with RJD leader Lalu Yadav on February 22 to discuss the issue of seat sharing in the "mahagathbandhan" (Bihar grand alliance). Speaking to ANI here on Thursday, Manjhi said, "As far as the 'mahagathbandhan' seat sharing is concerned, discussions are going on at top level. I will personally speak to Lalu Yadav and only then take a decision." He also asserted that HAM has played a key role in RJD's win on various seats and thus must be accorded more than one seat for Lok Sabha elections. "I don't know why it is being said that HAM will get only one seat in the 'mahagathbandhan'. Our party office bearers have asked me to speak to Lalu Yadav. It is a general view of our party members that we are the oldest ally of 'mahagathbandhan'. We had played a key role in different elections and at least three seats were such where it would have been difficult for RJD to win without our support," said Manjhi. "Only after meeting Lalu Yadav will I disclose our party's plans. If the talk yields favorable result then fine else we will call a party meeting to decide on the future course," he added. He also termed as baseless speculations of his party's alliance with NDA. On February 13, Manjhi had said the HAM would remain in the grand alliance even if it is not offered a single seat. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) United States President Donald Trump and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, during a telephone call, on Thursday (local time) agreed to carry out the US troops withdrawal from Syria in line with their mutual interest, reports the state-run agency Anadolu news agency. The two leaders also reiterated their countries determination to fight all forms of terrorism. The phone call came just a few days ahead of the meeting between US Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford and the Turkish counterpart They also agreed to further enhance economic relations, setting a goal of USD 75 billion for trade between the two countries. During the last telephonic conversation last month, the two leaders decided upon the creation of a safe zone in northeastern Syria which will allow refugees to return home. In December, Trump announced the complete withdrawal of the troops from Syria, declaring the Islamic States had been defeated there. The decision has been criticised by many, including the officials in Trump administration. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On the second day of his visit to South Korea, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tributes to Korean soldiers at the National Cemetery here. "Honouring the heroes. PM @narendramodi laid a wreath at the National Cemetery of the Republic of Korea that entombs remains of 165000 martyrs and paid homage to the fallen soldiers," tweeted MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. Immediately after, the prime minister reached the Blue House which is the Korean Presidential Office where he received a ceremonial welcome. He is also scheduled to have a meeting with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, who had visited India in July 2018. In the afternoon at a brief ceremony, the Indian Prime Minister will be conferred with the Seoul Peace Prize, which was announced by the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation in October last year in recognition of his dedicated service to international cooperation, global growth, and human development. Prime Minister Modi reached Seoul on Thursday morning on a two-day visit aimed at strengthening the special strategic partnership between South Korea and Indian and boosting bilateral trade and cultural ties. Mayor of Gimhae gifted a Bodhi tree sapling to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a mark of close ties between India and South Korea. Yesterday, the Prime Minister unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Yonsei Univesity. Before embarking on a two-day visit, the Prime Minister described South Korea as a valued friend with which India shares special strategic partnership initiatives such as 'Make in India', 'Start-Up India' and 'Clean India'. This is the Prime Minister's second visit to the Republic of Korea after his state visit in May 2015. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Raising concerns over incidents of assault and harassment against residents of Jammu and Kashmir, especially students, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has directed state governments and Union Territories to ensure safety and security of these individuals in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack. In a letter written to Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories by MHA's Department of Jammu and Kashmir Affairs, Director Beena Yadav said, "The Government is concerned at the reports of incidents of assaults and harassment against residents of Jammu and Kashmir, especially students in some parts of the country, in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack of 14th February 2019. In this regard, an Advisory dated February, 16 was issued to all State Governments and Union Territory Administration to take necessary steps to ensure safety and security of the persons belonging to Jammu and Kashmir." The government order also cited a Supreme Court directive issued on Friday in this regard and said that the state and UT administration and the nodal officers appointed by them must take all necessary steps to prevent any act of assault, threat, intimidation and social boycott against Kashmiris as well as minorities in accordance with the apex court's order. The MHA has also asked the states and UTs to give wide publicity to the names of nodal officers appointed in the states. Nodal officers were appointed by various states to look into the issue following an advisory by the Centre. The Supreme Court had directed the chief secretaries and the directors general of police of all state and Union territories to take strong and necessary measures to prevent attacks on Kashmiris and other minorities in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. The bench had also directed the MHA to give wide publicity to the appointment of nodal officers so that people could immediately approach them in case Kashmiris or other minorities face threat or discrimination in any part of the country. As many as 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives in the dastardly attack carried out by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pulwama on February 14. In the aftermath of the attack, reports suggested that a number of Kashmiris, especially students, were threatened in various parts of the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, Students' Union of India (NSUI) Goa has urged authorities to take steps to "stop the dancing on songs at Wagah Border during the period of mourning". In a letter addressed to President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, NSUI Goa president Ahraz Mulla also said the Sunburn music festival slated to be held in Goa on February 23 and 24 "must not be allowed to take place at a time when the entire nation is mourning." As many as 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives in the dastardly terror attack which took place in South Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attack. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Just months away from the 2019 general elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government will transfer Rs 25,000 crore into the bank accounts of more than 12 crore farmers across the country under PM- Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) to be launched at a two-day farmers' conclave at Gorakhpur on February 24, as per Times of India report. With this announcement, the first installment of Rs 2,000 under the income benefit scheme will be handed over to farmers. According to experts, this could be the largest-ever direct disbursement of cash under the farmer investment support scheme, a move many consider to be a political masterstroke ahead of the elections. Having lost three crucial state elections to arch rival Congress in December, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is in hyper-active mode to endear itself to the agrarian community with its latest salvo. The PM-KISAN scheme was announced in the Interim Budget earlier this month. The scheme promises Rs 6,000 per annum in three equal tranches to small and marginalised farmers with land holding of up to two hectares. Also Read: PM Modi receives Seoul Peace Prize in South Korea; gives away $200,000 prize money to Namami Gange fund The government has sanctioned Rs 75,000 crore to fund the PM-KISAN scheme and has promised more funds in future, if required. Aadhaar has been made optional by the government for availing the first installment of Rs 2,000 under the PM-KISAN scheme. It seems to be a season of bonanza for distressed farmers, as many state governments have already declared packages of loan write-offs for small and medium land-owning farmers. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government had announced a Rs 36,000 crore farm loan waiver scheme in its budget announcement, which will benefit 86 lakh farmers across the state. The newly formed Congress-led governments in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan are the latest to do so apart from Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Punjab. The second installment is likely to be handed over to farmers by April 1, close on the heels of the first installment. The government is reportedly planning to credit Rs 4,000 each into farmers' accounts before the 2019 General Elections dates are announced. During his recent visit to Varanasi on Tuesday, PM Modi announced several development projects worth Rs 3,382 crore. Also Read: UNSC condemns Pulwama terror attack; calls it a heinous, cowardly act Edited by Chitranjan Kumar Congress general secretaries for Uttar Pradesh east and west, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia, held a meeting with the state's Congress chief Raj Babbar on Thursday to strategise for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. According to Congress sources, the discussions were held regarding the post of UP Congress president, however, it was decided to not make any changes on the post due to very less time in Lok Sabha elections. Senior Congress leader Raj Babbar presently holds the post of Uttar Pradesh Congress president. According to sources, Congress workers in their previous discussions with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had appreciated Babbar's role as an influential campaigner but were critical of his work in managing the organisation. The speculations of having two state presidents for Uttar Pradesh was also brushed aside, as per the sources. The meeting which was called to discuss the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, culminated at around midnight and was organised at the Congress war room situated at 15, Gurudwara Rakabganj Road in New Delhi. Priyanka was recently made the Congress general secretary and has been given the responsibility of managing party affairs in eastern UP for the coming Lok Sabha elections, while Scindia has been given the charge of western UP. The Congress party has decided to contest all 80 Lok Sabha seats at stake in Uttar Pradesh after the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) announced their seat-sharing arrangement without making Congress a part of their alliance. The two parties have agreed to contest 38 seats each, while they have announced to not field their candidates from Rae Bareli and Amethi, the two seats currently represented by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi respectively. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra on Thursday said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had the support of farmers of Odisha as seen by the large turnout at the launch of the second phase of the state's flagship programme KALIA. This he said was in contrast to the call for a farmers' bandh in the state on Thursday, which received almost negligible support. "The manner in which this BJP inspired and sponsored bandh was organised, not even 400 people were seen protesting on the streets in the whole state. But on the other side, the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik led 'Kalia Yojana' event witnessed the presence of lakhs of farmers" Patra said. The BJD leader further said, "It is clear that this conspiracy by BJP on the farmers issue has failed," adding that the call for the bandh during a time when the students in the state were beginning to give their matriculation exams projected a bad example. "BJP will feel the impact of this in the coming elections," Patra said. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the Phase 2 of 'Kalia' scheme from Sohela block of Bargarh District. Meanwhile, leading farmers' body, the Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan (NNKS), which called for a nationwide strike on Thursday demanding price, pension and prestige for farmers, hit out against Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik accusing his government of being anti-farmer. NNKS chief Akshay Kumar alleged that the government of Odisha and the police had arrested thousands of farmers on Wednesday night ahead of the bandh. Kumar told media persons, "Around five thousand farmers have been arrested for demanding their basic rights. Naveen has to face the elections in 2019. In Indian democracy, farmers decide their government at the Centre or state." Kumar also said the bandh will not affect the matriculation exam to be held on Friday. "We have not created an obstacle for students who will appear in matriculation exam on February 22. Sons of farmers also have to appear in the exam." He also asserted that the fight will not stop till the time the demands of farmers are not met. He said, "This anti-farmer government needs to reply to our demands. The farmers' fight will not stop until they get price, prestige and pension. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bangalore, the IT and Cyber City of India have got a new recognition. In a recently conducted survey by a Mumbai based consulting group 3EA, Bangalore based fashion labels have got better ratings with respect to customer satisfaction, innovation and fusion of designs. The Label that has got the best rating in the survey is a store situated in a commercial street, Bangalore by the name of Meraj. The sample size of this survey was 500 that included primary data collection from the buyers of various Fashion Brands in the domain of Party Wear, Bridal and Groom Wear, Designer Apparel for Men and Women and their accessories. Mid-level Fashion Labels of Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Chandigarh were covered in the survey. Meraj Anwar is a passionate fashion designer and a well-known brand himself in Bangalore Founded the venture. The satisfaction level of customers, on the parameters like innovation in design, fitting of the apparel and quality of fabric, has been found up to 78%. The journey of Fashion Label Meraj from a store to the well-known brand with a huge fan following amongst NRIs and International fashion lovers has been very quick and can be considered as a case study for fashion and retail industry. This was April 13, 2014, when Meraj designer studio was founded as a store. After launch only, Meraj became the most sought after designer studio in Bangalore for its exquisite and intricate designs. They started with concept and theme based designs. The approach was to cater to the requirement and aspirations of the high and mid-income level segment of the market by the best possible and highly customized services. In the first year only, Meraj designer studio broke all records of success and created an identity as 'the whole fashion world under one roof'. The store has operated as a studio since the beginning as they never deviated from the policy of 'One product-One customer'. Customers were not only getting satisfying unique designs, but also the tailored and customized services based on the features and personality of the customers. This became uniqueness. Gradually one niche segment of products that gave them international name and fame was 'Bridal and Groom Wear'. Meraj Anwar, Founder of Meraj Studio states that they specialize in conceptual bridal wear. The materials are sourced from all over the country, mainly Banaras, Kolkata, and also from South India and fusion is created by latest colour combinations, most modern designs with an ethnic touch. Just one studio at high-end market streets of Bangalore spread over 10k sq. ft. area, which happened to be a shopping paradise for Bengalurians has seen a real metamorphosis and has reached to the next level in just four years. Meraj Studio is serving to customers from all states of India and many customers are visiting especially from overseas to Bangalore to make their event unique with exclusive designer wear of Meraj. "I do not visit Meraj Studio for designer products, but for the suggestions, innovation and personal advice by Meraj Anwar and his able and qualified team of designers", mentioned one of the international customers, Ms Rubina Rafat from Bermingham. "Success always comes at the cost. I have compromised with sales but never with the quality. We customize the clothes to the utmost satisfaction of the customers carefully with never to repeat the designs", mentioned Meraj Anwar, the brain behind redefining Bengaluru Fashion. Label Meraj is oriented towards customized, tailored creations and bringing up ideas to life. Team Meraj is backed by expert designers, best in the country at the studio. The head designer at Meraj studio shared with his extreme confidence that mantra of the success for the label is that they guide and suggest the fabrics, designs, colours depending on the customers, individual taste and also keeping in mind their personalities. Meraj does not only believe in designing clothes according to the running trends and changing designs of the fashion market but also believes in the universal choice and keeping the classic, divine and charming look and feel in mind. His end product is one which gives the customer a regal, elegant, high-toned look and feels for any given occasion. Abhinav Vyaas, an engineer by profession from Mumbai was excited to share that he witnessed the full making of his designer wear for his marriage. He was updated about each detail at each level during the production process and his approval was taken for each ingredient. "I could never look better, Meraj actually presented me in a new avatar", said Vyaas. This justifies the positioning statement of the band 'Meraj, Ek Pehchaan'. Many customers stated during primary data collection that the designer team of Meraj extended their mental horizons with respect to innovation. Out of the box thinking of designers helped them to comprehend what can be the best fit on their personalities. Label Meraj hosted Bangalore Times Fashion Week 2018 which was held on May 22 to 25 May. It was also a part of various fashions League such as India Glam Fashion Week, Kerala Fashion League 2017 and 2018, etc. Using the blue ocean strategy of marketing, Meraj is on its journey to success by catering the HNI and high middle-income level customers. They have achieved sound sustainability in The interesting part of the story is that celebrities of Mumbai have also been enticed by the value driven unique products of Meraj. Recently, many TV and Film actors preferred the label Meraj over established brands of Mumbai. This has encouraged the management to further raise the bar in the Fashion Industry of Bangalore. They have been the talk of the town and most sought after brand amongst IT professional from Bangalore, now have become a challenge to the Fashion Industry of Mumbai as well. This story is provided by NewsVoir. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two unidentified assailants looted a large amount of gold from the office of a gold finance company here on Thursday, police said. The robbery took place at Manappuram Gold Finance Company's office in Lalkurti police station limits. Narayan Singh, Superintendent of Police, Meerut said, "This is an office where loans are provided on the basis of gold. According to employees, the amount of gold looted could be between 12 Kg to 15 Kgs. The looted gold amount could be around worth Rs three crores. We are investigating the case." IG Range Meerut Ram Kumar said two people had come and initially enquired about the gold rates and the loan process. "They overpowered the three staff members present in the office at that time. They were forced to open the locker from where they took out gold and fled," the police official said. Police is on the lookout for the accused. Further investigation is underway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday shut down the country's border with Brazil "until further notice" in the wake of his standoff with self-proclaimed interim President Juan Guaido over allowing humanitarian aid. Calling the aid a "provocation" and "child's game", Maduro said that he was also considering a "total closure to the border with Columbia", reported Aljazeera. Blaming the United States, who became the first country to recognise Guaido as a president, Maduro said, "[The US] aimed to generate a huge national mess, but they didn't succeed. The country wants peace." The US military had been delivering relief supplies to Venezuelan migrants in Colombia. Meanwhile, Guaido had also claimed that the relief aid will reach the country on February 23 US President Donald Trump recently requested the Venezuelan military to stop supporting Maduro as he is the "puppet" in the hand of the Cuban military. He also blamed him for stopping humanitarian aid. European countries like Spain, UK, the Netherlands had earlier issued an ultimatum to Maduro to carry out fresh elections, failing which they would recognise Guaido as the interim President. The countries supported Guaido after Maduro held on to his post, refusing to hold new elections in the Latin American nation. Guaido has called for the Venezuelan military to support him amidst the turmoil, leading to a handful of defections from the army that has shown its outright support to Maduro. Countries like Russia, China, Turkey, amongst others, have supported Maduro in the crisis, slamming foreign intervention in the sovereign matters of Venezuela. The political crisis began in Venezuela in January. When on January 24, Guaido, marched against Maduro and announced himself as interim president. The economic crisis in the nation, coupled with a food shortage, has strengthened an anti-Maduro sentiment across the South American nation, with the opposition accusing Maduro of "usurping power". A defiant Maduro, who is backed by the country's powerful military, claimed that the opposition protests are an attempt by the US to stage a coup and overthrow him. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale struck Japan's northern island of Hokkaido on Thursday (local time). According to the NHK, the quake occurred in the central part of the island on Thursday night at a depth of 33 kilometres. No casualties have been reported so far. The authorities are assessing the damage caused by the tremors. Japan Meteorological agency has asked people to stay alert. "The earthquake is an aftershock that followed from the one that hit Hokkaido on September 6 last year," said the agency in a statement. The island transport system was hit hard after the quake. The Hokkaido Railway Company halted services from several hours after the earthquake. Officials say they suspended operations at more than 50 locations to conduct safety inspections. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lt Gen (retd) D S Hooda, who was the commanding officer during the 2016 surgical strike, has denied reports of having joined the Indian Congress. "I have not joined the Congress party", Hooda told ANI when asked whether he had joined Congress party, which has asked him to prepare a report on security. Hooda was the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Command during the terror attack on Uri Army camp and the subsequent surgical strike in September 2016. The Congress has on Thursday roped in Hooda to prepare a "vision document" for the country's security, more than two months after the former Army Commander said the surgical strike was "overhyped and politicised". "The Congress President (Rahul Gandhi) is setting up a Task Force on Security to prepare a vision paper for the country,"' the Opposition party said in a statement here. It added that Hooda will lead the Task Force and prepare the paper in consultation with a select group of experts. Hooda, who had overseen the surgical strike of September 2016 on terror camps across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, retired from service in November 2016. In December, he had triggered a controversy by saying that the surgical strike was "overhyped and politicised." "The military operation was important and we had to do it. Now how much should it have been politicised, whether it is right or wrong is something that should be asked to politicians," he had said. "I do think that there was too much hype over it," Hooda had said. Army Chief General Bipin Rawat had later dismissed Hooda's remarks as an "individual person's perception. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China has also backed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution on the "heinous and cowardly" Pulwama terror attack that was unanimously adopted by permanent and non-permanent members countries of the global body, according to sources. On February 14, in an attack by a terrorist of Pakistan-sponsored JeM terrorist organisation, 40 CRPF personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. While condemning the attack, the UNSC resolution on Thursday underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. The global body's security council further asked all countries to cooperate actively with the Indian government and all other relevant authorities in this regard. Further, members of the Security Council said that any acts of terrorism are "criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed." "They reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts," the statement said. Soon after the attack, Pakistan-sponsored Jaish-e-Mohammed terror outfit claimed responsibility. "The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the Indian people and the government of India, and wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured," the statement further added. Several countries including the United States and various Arab nations criticised the ghastly Pulwama attack. On February 15, China, which has been blocking efforts to get Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar sanctioned by the United Nations, had conveyed to India its condemnation of the Pulwama attack and claimed that it "strongly condemns all forms of terrorism". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The ruling party said it hopes that the Congress will now give credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government for the surgical strikes of September 2016 on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Congress party yesterday said its President Rahul Gandhi yesterday is setting up a 'Task Force on Security' to prepare a 'vision paper' for the country and it will be led by Hooda. "The irony can't be missed that after questioning the existence and veracity of surgical strikes, the Congress has roped in an Army officer who was part of planning and execution of the operation," BJP leader Nalin Kohli told ANI. Hooda was the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command when the surgical strikes were carried out on September 28, 2016 following the deadly terror attack on Army camp in Uri in Kashmir 9 days earlier. "We are hopeful that with his (Hooda's) presence, they (Congress) will give credit to PM Narendra Modi and his government for the surgical strike," he added. "We also hope that now Congress will now desist from such duplicitous stand as on surgical strikes," Kohli said. He said the BJP also hopes that the Congress will "start backing the Army and reposing faith in it." Hooda, who retired in November 2016, had in December last year said that the surgical strike was "overhyped" and "politicised". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Putting all speculations to rest, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin shared a UN Security Council list dating back to 2001 confirming terror organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed's location as Pakistan. "May I jog your memories? To all friends who think that @UN Security Council does not know where the Jaish-e-Mohammed is located, my humble submission is that issue was settled way back in 2001," Akbaruddin tweeted. JeM, which claimed responsibility for the recent Pulwama terror attack, has been listed as an associated entity of deceased terror mastermind Osama bin Laden in the list. The October 19, 2001 statement brings attention to paragraph 8 (c) of resolution 1333 (2000) which calls on all states to freeze funds and other financial assets of designated entities, connected to Laden, on the list, in a bid to completely block funding to Laden, who had claimed responsibility for the ghastly 9/11 attacks in the United States. This comes after the Pakistan Army held a press conference, where its spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor dismissed his country's involvement in the attack, despite Pakistan-based JeM's claim of responsibility. India has asserted that since JeM, which is based in Pakistan, had itself claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack, there was no more evidence required. The United States had, immediately after the attack, called for Pakistan to stop providing support and a safe haven to terrorist organisations in their country, further cementing their stand against terrorism. Washington, along with other countries, extended support to India in the wake of the February 14 attack which claimed the lives of over 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is in South Korea on a two-day visit, received the Seoul Peace Prize today. The prime minister was conferred the honour for his efforts in promoting global peace and harmony through inclusive economic growth and for improving quality of life, as mentioned by Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs. The Prime Minister accepted the award and dedicated it to the people of India. "This award does not belong to me personally but to the people of India, the success India has achieved in the last 5 years, powered by the skill of 1.3 billion people," he said in his acceptance speech. The Prime Minister was awarded the prize money of $200,000 that he contributed to the Namami Gange fund. Thanking for his award, the Prime Minister said that he was honoured that the award was conferred on him on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. On his first day of the trip yesterday, PM Modi had unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the Yonsei University. The prime minister took the stage to turn the spotlight on terrorism. "A few weeks before the Seoul Olympics(1988), an organization called Al-Qaeda was formed. Today, radicalization and terrorism have become global and are the biggest threats to world peace and security," he said. Award dedicated to people of India. PM @narendramodi was conferred #SeoulPeacePrize in an award ceremony organised by Seoul Peace Prize Foundation in recognition of his efforts in promoting global peace & harmony through inclusive economic growth & improving quality of life. pic.twitter.com/cOrYVQymUY - Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) February 22, 2019 PM Modi added that the time has come to join hands and to eradicate terrorist networks, which is the only way to replace hate with harmony. The prime minister spoke about terrorism because of the recent attack on the CRPF convoy in Pulwama that had claimed at least 40 lives. "I would like quote a portion of the 1988 Olympics Theme Song, as it captures the hopeful spirit for a better tomorrow for all- 'Hand in hand, we stand, all across the land, we can make this world, a better place in which to live'," he said. Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister said that he had held talks with the South Korean President Moon Jae-in on enhancing bilateral cooperation in key areas including trade, investment, defence and security. The Prime Minister also met the First Lady Kim Jung-sook. Also read: PM Modi in Seoul: Holds 'constructive' talks with President Moon; pays tribute to fallen soldiers Ahead of the second round of the GST Council meet on real estate on Sunday, West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra has come out with his proposal on tax rates which ranges from one per cent to 7 per cent. In a letter to Union finance minister Arun Jailtey, he also raised certain contentious issues such as the fate of input tax credit if a proposal by a group of ministers (GoM) on real estate is implemented. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. 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 Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari will lay the foundation stone of Rs 759 crore flyover project at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh on Friday. The flyover is estimated to cost Rs 758.54 crore, according to an official statement. The flyover from Damoh Toll Plaza to Ranital Madan Mahal Chowk, Medical College Road, is 5.9 km long. On Thursday, the Minister inaugurated and laid foundation stone for projects worth Rs 5,894 crore at Chandi Ghat in Haridwar. The projects included six newly constructed sewage treatment plants (STPs) along with 18 pumping stations across the state of Uttarakhand under National Mission for Clean Ganga. The STPs and Ghats are part of 48 projects in the field of sewerage management, ghats and crematoria works, river front development works, afforestation, bio-remediation, rural sanitation and river surface cleaning works at the cost of Rs 1354.33 crore, which are at different stages of implementation. Also Read: India will stop its share of Indus water to Pakistan, says Nitin Gadkari Earlier on Thursday, the Minister threatened to choke Pakistan's water supply by building dams on three rivers flowing into the belligerent neighbour. Gadkari had said that the water from three rivers entering Pakistan would be diverted towards river Yamuna, a warning which came in the wake of recent terror attack in Pulwama that has left the nation fuming. He further said that the central government is working on a project to connect the three rivers to further explore the possibilities of transportation in these water channels. "Three of our rivers have been flowing into Pakistan. So water which we rightfully owned was going into Pakistan. Now we are planning to create a project and divert the waters of these three rivers to the Yamuna. So you can understand that there will be enough water in the Yamuna," Gadkari said while inaugurating several water projects in Uttar Pradesh. Also Read: Pulwama attack: India gets international support, UNSC names JeM's Masood Azhar Edited by Chitranjan Kumar Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday that in order to retain the popular vote, any government has to blend good governance with clever politics. He added that even though in government, he will not tolerate any over-reach by federal investigative agencies, and that all options were on the table for India to hit back after the Pulwama attack. Speaking at the Economic Times Global Business Summit, Jaitley was asked whether sound policy is enough to win elections or whether sentiment in favour of the sitting government also mattered. I think you have to blend good governance with ... The government on Friday reiterated its decision to stop water from the Eastern rivers Sutlej, Ravi and Beas flowing into Pakistan, in a bid to respond to the terror attack at a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, Kashmir last Thursday. This is, however, possible only if three dam projects on this side of the border are completed. The oldest of these is the Beas-Sutlej link, to harness water and power resources of the Beas. This was conceived in 1956 and was supposed to comprise two tunnels to divert water from the Beas to the Sutlej, and an open channel to generate power and ... Shah served as secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance and championed the cause of local drug makers on issues such as improved market access, intellectual property, and pricing. He also worked in Pfizer India for more than three decades and was a member of its board. With Indian drug firms facing regulatory heat and sales taking a hit in the US, Shah led the engagement with regulators in India and abroad and IPA began training pharma executives on ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. 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 Tata-SIA joint venture and Friday announced a codeshare pact from February 28, making it the fourth such tie-ups for the youngest full-service domestic carrier. already has similar tie-ups with British Airways, Singapore and its subsidiary and SilkAir. and the Japanese flag carrier already have an interline/through check-in partnership and the two had signed an initial agreement in September, 2017 to pursue commercial opportunities together, Vistara said in a statement Friday. Code-sharing allows partner airlines to provide seamless connectivity to their passengers through each others' network, while an interline arrangement refers to a pact to issue and accept tickets for flights that are operated by the partner and with national polls just a couple of months away, an approval is unlikely to come by anytime soon. Vistara, which is 51 percent owned by the Tatas and the remaining by SIA, currently operates over 800 flights a week to 22 domestic destinations with a fleet of 22 A320s/A320 Neos. Its plan to fly international is reportedly stuck in the files at the Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, which houses the civil ministry in the national Capital. As part of the agreement, the Japanese flag carrier will add its flights code 'JL' to as many as 32 Vistara flights operating across Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune, Vistara said. Vistara is headquartered in the Capital and has its main hub there, while JAL connects with The code share flights will offer convenient connections to and from a daily flight that Airlines already operates to directly from Tokyo's Narita airport, it said. "We're delighted to further strengthen our partnership with Airlines with this code-share agreement. This partnership helps us offer greater convenience and variety of choice to customers with a comprehensive network," Sanjiv Kapoor, chief strategy and commercial officer,Vistara, said. "The number of passengers travelling between Japan and has increased over time. By strengthening the partnership with Vistara, we will be able to provide better network access for our mutual customers. And, we look to further cooperate with Vistara to open up additional opportunities for both airlines," said Hideki Oshima, chief executive of A member of the international grouping OneWorld, JAL has a fleet of 233 aircraft operating across 349 airports. The lenders to Reliance Communications (RCom) are unlikely to agree to the companys request for the release of Rs 260 crore, which it received as income-tax refunds and is lying in its bank account, to pay Swedish equipment maker Ericsson, said sources. The lenders will put the request before their respective boards, but do not expect them to approve it. For all practical purposes, the banks may not allow RComs request as they have first charge over the companys assets and on the escrow account. The banks decision to refer it to their boards may ... In a bid to save credulous investors from ponzi schemes, the Central government has banned unregulated deposit schemes, a move that may help tackling the menace of illicit deposit-taking activities. Pursuant to this ordinance now any Individual or group of individuals cannot take any deposit or loan from any person other than relatives, whereas partnership firms can take deposit or loan from relatives or partners only. Earlier this week, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Promulgation of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Ordinance, 2019. President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday promulgated the banning of Unregulated Deposit Scheme Ordinance. The proposed ordinance will immediately tackle the deposit taking activities in the country launched by rapacious operators, which at present are exploiting regulatory gaps and lack of strict administrative measures. Among the provisions is a ban on unregulated deposit taking schemes, punishment and repayment of deposits in cases where such schemes nonetheless manage to raise deposits illegally. "No deposit taker shall directly or indirectly promote, operate issue any advertisement soliciting participation or enrolment in or accept deposits in pursuance of an unregulated deposit scheme," the Ordinance said. The banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2018 was tabled in Parliament on July 18, 2018, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Finance. The committee submitted its Seventieth Report on the bill to Parliament on January 3, 2019. In the last four years, the CBI has lodged about 166 cases related to chit funds and multi-crore scams, with the maximum in West Bengal and Odisha. As per PTI report, the Ordinance also provides for severe punishment ranging from 1 year to 10 years and pecuniary fines ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 50 crore to act as deterrent. It too has adequate provisions for disgorgement or repayment of deposits in cases where such schemes nonetheless manage to raise deposits illegally. The law provides for attachment of properties or assets and subsequent realisation of assets for repayment to depositors. Clear-cut timelines have been provided for attachment of property and restitution to depositors, the agency reported. (with inputs from PTI) Also Read: Pulwama attack: Pakistan feels the pinch as India bans entry of trucks at Wagha border Edited by Chitranjan Kumar Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. 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 These days I'm busy with working closely with my team at Chope to fulfil our mission of creating seamless and memorable dining experiences for more people. That and binging on episodes of The Good Place whenever I can find a spare moment. A hawker stall I would queue for is Tai Hwa Pork Noodles at Crawford Lane. They serve up a killer bak chor mee, which I reckon is one of two local dishes I miss most when travelling. I'm a regular at Jinjo, a modern sumiyaki restaurant in Shaw Centre. So much so that I've figured out the perfect combination of dishes to order depending on the number of people I'm dining with. Kick things off with their Yaki Goma Tofu, throw in a couple of grilled chicken thigh skewers, follow it up with a truffle donabe (rice pot) and finally, wash it all down with a bottle of sake that bears their in-house label. When I need to eat clean, it's usually a toss up between Grain Traders and VIOS by Blu Kouzina. Wholesome food with flavours that still pack a punch! My favourite bar in Singapore is Manhattan, hands down. I'm a big fan of their old school New York vibe, the cocktails are tasty, and most of all, the service is impeccable. The staff are extremely well-versed in the bar's various offerings and always give thoughtful recommendations, which is a rare find. My guilty pleasure is Old Chang Kee's signature curry puff. My dad used to drive my brother and I to the store on Mackenzie Road almost every weekend when we were in primary school, and it sort of became a weekly tradition I used to look forward to. My go-to supper spot is anywhere with the promise of a hearty plate of Nasi Lemak For weekend brunch with friends, we head to Basilico if we're feeling particularly generous with ourselves they've got a dedicated cheese room! But once we've all had a look at our bank balances, most likely Mr & Mrs Mohgan's Super Crispy Roti Prata at its new home in Joo Chiat. The best place to get a meal with seafood is New Ubin for their local flair or Luke's Oyster Bar if you have an affinity for the classics. For special occasions, I'd opt for any restaurant helmed by Chef Rishi Naleendra. He's one of the most passionate and affable people I've ever met in the industry, and has an incredible knack for creating impeccable dishes by melding flavours and ingredients that you'd never expect. So if we're talking special occasions, there's no one I have more trust in to craft an outstanding meal than him. My all-time favourite restaurant is a place I doubt I'll be able to pick. It's craving dependent. Like at this very moment, I could really do with a plate of Babi Guling from this little roadside store named Warung Jambul in Seminyak that a good friend of mine, Audrey, introduced last November. We went back three times, in three days. I grew up eating way more than I should have. For dining with family, we tend to favour the Taiwan Porridge from Coffee Lounge at Goodwood Park Hotel. My parents are creatures of habit, so they usually stick to their perennial favourites. The food scene in Singapore is a mixed bag. Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly proud of what we have to offer. However, while there is a vibrancy to it mostly due to our exceptional hawker culture, we could benefit from more diversity and a healthy dose of fresh concepts. To view more recommendations from other F&B insiders, click here. Im a big smoothie guy, so I have a small Vitamix thats sort of meant to compete with a Magic Bullet or NutriBullet. Ive had a Magic Bullet before, but Vitamix really just makes the best blenders. Theyre just built way tougher than the cheaper ones. I usually start my day with a smoothie. Im not really a foodie. I just wanna get it in me and get on with my day. I have been known to do this when I dont have time: Ill make a big thing of food like meat and rice and vegetables in a pot and this will sound fucking crazy but if I dont have time to eat it, Ill put it in a blender, add some hot water to it, and turn it into a soup. That sounds gross but its like a puree! You add a little salt and its pretty fucking delicious. I put it in these glass Mason jars. People are always fascinated, like, What the fuck is that? I just want to say that thats rare. Usually I use it to make smoothies. Ben Greenfield has this gnarly smoothie recipe which I do my own take on. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC A Bedford-Stuyvesant man will spend the next 21 years in prison for fatally gunning another guy down in Crown Heights. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice John Ingram sentenced Andre Rodriguez, 31, to 21 years to life behind bars after a jury found him guilty last month of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, according to District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, who said his office will continue to crackdown on perpetrators of savage shootings. Such brazen shootings will not be tolerated in Brooklyn, the top prosecutor said on Thursday. We are committed to ending gun violence in our communities and will continue to hold accountable those who put others in harms way. Prosecutors alleged that Rodriguez followed 46-year-old Kieth Vereen to an Atlantic Avenue gas station near Utica Avenue on June 17, 2017, when he pressed a gun to the victims chest and blew him away. Following the incident, investigators recovered surveillance footage that showed the defendant approach the victim and point a gun at him, along with a cellphone Rodriguez dropped at the crime scene, which contained his DNA, Gonzalez said. A spokesman for the district attorney could not immediately comment on why Rodriguez shot Vereen, but noted that prosecutors did not need to prove motive to secure his conviction. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC Theyre offering safe harbors. The city will help owners of controversial party boats move their vessels to other municipal docks after officials banned the ships from operating out of Sheepshead Bays Emmons Avenue pier. Leaders of the Economic Development Corporation whose so-called Dock NYC program oversees five borough piers, and others in Manhattan and Staten Island will assist captains of the controversial boats with finding alternate ports to set sail from, according to a mayoral spokeswoman, who said the ships can also dock at privately owned berths. We will work to accommodate pick-ups at appropriate Dock NYC locations as capacity allows. Or, they can relocate to privately owned marinas, said Jane Meyer. Starting May 1, the booze boats will only be able to dock at the Emmons Avenue pier under a new ban that prohibits the vessels from picking up and dropping off revelers there, Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz (DSheepshead Bay) announced on Feb. 19. The exact list of city piers the party cruises can run from, however, is undecided, according to reps for the mayor, the Economic Development Corporation, and the Department of Parks and Recreation. But one location is the economic-agency-operated marina at Brooklyn Army Terminal, according to a spokeswoman for Mill Basin state Sen. Roxanne Persaud, whose constituents last year protested a mayoral proposal to dock the boats in their neighborhood. Party boats, according to City Hall, will be relocated from Sheepshead Bay to the Brooklyn Army Terminal, said Matthew DOnofrio. Mayoral spokeswoman Meyer confirmed that the Sunset Park terminal, where other booze boats already operate, is among the viable locations for the vessels banished from Sheepshead Bay. We will work with boat owners if they want to move, and Brooklyn Army Terminal is one of the options, she said. Officials ruled out using three of the four other economic-agency-operated piers in Brooklyn, claiming two the Bayview Marina at 2825 Flatbush Ave., and the Mill Basin Wharf at 2731 Flatbush Ave. do not have the required infrastructure for party boats, according to Meyer. And the third, the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park, is only for commercial and industrial use, according to Economic Development Corporation spokeswoman Stephanie Baez. The fifth agency-owned dock, at a landing area within the Atlantic Basin off the coast of Red Hook, features similar infrastructure and amenities as Brooklyn Army Terminal, but Baez could not confirm by press time whether it would also welcome the party boats. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC This chef is cooked. A Bay Ridge cook once lauded as one of the boroughs top chefs faces up to seven years in prison for allegedly posing as a phony consultant and stealing thousands from the owners of a restaurant in his neighborhood. Prosecutors slapped 36-year-old Vincent Tropepe whom Edible Magazine once dubbed the American-born Gordon Ramsay with charges including second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, first-degree falsifying business records, and third-degree grand larceny as part of a 41count indictment, Brooklyns top prosecutor announced on Friday. The victims in this case worked hard to make their restaurant a success and this defendant, claiming he could help them, allegedly lied and stole their hard-earned money instead, said Eric Gonzalez. Tropepe who previously worked as a personal chef for celebrities including Regis Philbin, P. Diddy, and former President Clinton scammed the owners of Fifth Avenues Yemen Cafe out of more than $14,000 while working as a so-called consultant, by creating fake violations and fabricating the accompanying fines, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors alleged the defendant attempted to win his victims trust by claiming he fought to lower the fines with officials in the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, which determines financial penalties for violations doled out by the Department of Health and other city agencies. The chef began his alleged scheme last July, when he demanded the restaurant owners pay a $2,570 fine issued by the office, according to the district attorney. And a month later, he asked the owners to reimburse him for $11,650, money Tropepe claimed he paid to the office on the victims behalf to cover another fine, alleged Gonzalez, who said the defendant used fraudulent paperwork outlining the fines to support his bogus claims. The restaurateurs, who also own a Downtown location of their cafe, later contacted the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings with suspicions about the fines legitimacy. And agency officials deemed Tropepes financial penalties and their supporting documents fake, before reporting the incident to the citys Department of Investigation, according to the district attorney. Tropepe, meanwhile, allegedly tried to dupe his victims once more, presenting them with more fraudulent paperwork and fake fines last December, which they did not pay, prosecutors said. City records show the eaterys owners paid $1,000 for two 2014 violations, for construction work and a failure to maintain the buildings code. And the restaurant has two open violations with the Department of Buildings, for a low-pressure boiler and construction work dating back to 2009, according to the records. Tropepe started his consulting scheme in 2014, to fight what he called the citys unfair health-codes and fines, which he called a burden on small-business owners. I feel that there is no foundation to what is being written during some inspections, Tropepe told this newspaper at the time. The chef also claimed he helped dismiss $300,000 worth of fines issued to local restaurateurs in 2013, adding that he additionally helped secure about $110,000 in refunds to business owners. Tropepe, who owned and operated the French bistro Saint Germain in Bay Ridge between 2011 and 2012, is due back in court on April 17, the district attorney said. Neither the defendant nor the owners of Yemen Cafe could be reached by press time. A rep for Gonzalez did not immediately respond when asked for more details on the allegedly fabricated violations and fines. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC Call it a celebration of a life well-lived and a job well-done. Local luminaries and legal eagles gathered this month to honor the legacy of the late Kings County jurist Justice William Thompson, by presenting another accomplished judge with an award in his name. Celebrants packed the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court in Brooklyn Heights for the Feb. 13 event co-hosted by the Brooklyn Bar and Judicial Friends associations where they presented retired state Supreme Court Judge Priscilla Hall with the first-ever Hon. William C. Thompson Award, recognizing Halls near decade on the bench. Hall served as an associate justice in the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court, which former Gov. David Patterson appointed her to in March 2009. She retired from the bench nine years later, in March 2018 roughly nine months before Thompson died last December at 94-years-old. Thompsons distinguished career included such trailblazing achievements as serving as Brooklyns first black state senator, Kings Countys first black administrative judge, and the first black New York State Supreme Court justice. The Airbus A380. Photo: Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Image The Airbus A380 is awesome and huge the biggest passenger plane ever made, in fact. But less than 12 years after its entry into service, airlines feel they have enough of them. With orders having slowed to a trickle, Airbus has announced a wind down in production. To understand why, look to this 2017 Business Insider interview with Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, where he explains why even newer planes have quickly rendered the A380 inappropriate for many of the uses airlines thought they might have for it. An A380 seats 484 passengers, as configured for the Australian airline, meaning it has a bit more than twice the capacity of a Qantas Boeing 787. And Joyce told BI that Qantas can operate two 787s for a bit less than the cost of running one A380, meaning the airlines per-passenger cost is actually lower if it splits passengers up into the smaller planes. Given the obvious flexibility of using multiple planes instead of one you can fly them at different times, or to different destinations why would any airline want the giant plane? The theory behind the A380, as Airbus was conceiving it almost 20 years ago, was that airlines would continue to serve passengers through increasingly congested hub airports like London Heathrow and Los Angeles International, and that ever larger planes would be necessary to cope with the limited number of daily takeoffs and landings these airports could handle. Instead, air traffic grew more slowly than expected, and the rise of long point-to-point routes to secondary cities, increasingly operated by 787 or Airbuss own A350, took pressure off the largest hubs. In a way, the A380 was a victim of Airbuss own success. Around the same time it was rolling out the superjumbo jet, Airbus was along with Boeing developing a midsize jet that made superjumbos less necessary. The A350, like the 787, is a wide-body jet for about 250 to 300 passengers. These planes are built in large part out of lightweight composite materials, and they have super fuel-efficient engines that allow them to travel similarly long distances as the A380 while burning less fuel per passenger. They are small enough to provide economically viable service on long and thin routes like Boston to Seoul and Los Angeles to Qingdao. And passengers will pay a premium for the opportunity to fly these routes nonstop. Even on ultra-high-volume routes between the worlds busiest airports, where you would think airlines could easily fill a 500-passenger plane, consumer demand for high flight frequencies has led many carriers to continue using smaller planes. New York to London is the busiest transoceanic airline route in the world; on a given Friday, six airlines operate 31 flights from New York-Kennedy or Newark Liberty to London Heathrow or London Gatwick. Not one of those flights is operated with an A380. Thats because an airline that chose to operate, say, three daily A380 flights on the route would lose customers to its competitors, which run five or more flights a day on smaller jets, allowing customers to leave almost exactly when they want. Its not that the A380 has no valid uses. Not every carrier finds the cost comparison to be as stark as Qantas does. Jet fuel is heavy, and when a long-range plane takes off with enough fuel to fly almost halfway around the world, its burning a lot of fuel just to carry fuel. For this reason, a 12-hour flight requires much more fuel than two six-hour flights. Oliver Lamb, managing director for Ailevon Pacific, which consults with airports and airlines about route development, told me the 787s fuel-efficiency advantage over the A380 is especially great on these ultralong routes a style of flight toward which Qantass network is especially weighted. For airlines whose long-haul flights are shorter, the A380 can make more sense, especially if the flights go in or out of congested airports where landing slots are at a premium. British Airways doesnt fly A380s to New York, but it does use them on other routes where frequency is less essential. And not every airline is all-in on the point-to-point model. Emirates, which expects most passengers to connect in Dubai, operates about half the A380s in the world. In that 2017 interview, Joyce even identified circumstances where the A380 is the best choice for Qantas: routes where it cant get enough landing slots to operate as frequently as it would like, and routes where a scheduling concern (such as the need to not take off or land at 3 a.m.) limits the airlines ability to spread traffic over widely spaced frequencies throughout the day. But the airline already has 12 A380s, and that seems to be enough. Earlier this month, Qantas formally canceled its order for eight more of the planes. Even Emirates is only going to buy so many. In the end, Airbus expects to sell 251 A380s one more than the manufacturer initially said it would need to make to break even on the program, though the Wall Street Journal notes that target was set before the plane became plagued with cost overruns and delays. Coincidentally, 251 is just one more than the number of L-1011 TriStar jets that Lockheed Martin produced from the late 1960s into the 1980s. The three-engine L-1011 was part of the first wave of wide-body aircraft, launching just two years after the even larger Boeing 747. It became a fleet mainstay for some U.S. carriers, especially Delta, but was widely regarded as a commercial failure. Lockheed quit the passenger aircraft business after ending that program. But Lamb thinks Airbus may have just been ahead of its time with the A380. We are not building new airports in the U.S., he said. What happens to the Los Angeles and New York markets in 20 years? How do they keep flying with 3 percent annual growth, already pushing capacity limits, and no realistic way to grow runway slots and gates at 3 percent per year? Those capacity limits will be addressable in the near future by moving up from planes much smaller than the A380 to larger planes that are still smaller than the A380. Airlines can replace regional jets with Boeing 737s, and 767s with A350s. But in the long run, the time for the superjumbo jet may come again. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC Bay Ridge Three cheers for Dr. Clare Dean, an otolaryngologist who will help keep Brooklynites ears and throats healthy as the newest physician at ENT and Allergy Associates Bay Ridge West location as of Aug. 1, 2019. With more than 200 board-certified physicians serving 85,000 patients a month in New York and New Jersey, ENT and Allergy Associates constantly strives to strengthen its physician roster with the best and brightest in the fields of otolaryngology and related sub-specialties. Dr. Dean was born in Shenyang, China, and received her undergraduate degree in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She earned her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and then went on to complete her residency in otolaryngology at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai under the leadership of Dr. Marita Teng, associate professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Dean has been published widely and has given a multitude of presentations in her field of expertise. We have proudly served the needs of a growing patient population in Kings County for many years, and felt the time was right to add more resources to our roster of superbly-trained physicians, said Robert Glazer, chief executive officer of ENT and Allergy. After reviewing the qualifications of a number of talented doctors, we unanimously decided that Dr. Dean is the perfect fit for us and those we serve. We are thrilled to have her become part of the team. In the Bay Ridge West office, Dr. Dean will join a stellar roster of physicians, including otolaryngologists Dr. Ramez Habib, Dr. Christopher Song, Dr. Ari Goldsmith, and allergist and immunologist Bora Kim, D.O. Our office continues to grow with the addition of excellent and experienced clinicians, said Dr. Habib. That is exactly what we and, most importantly, our patients will get in Clare Dean. I could not be more delighted that she is joining us. Dr. Robert Green, president of ENTA also remarked, We are delighted that Dr. Dean has agreed to join our ranks. A physician with her terrific training will truly complement our already outstanding group of physicians in this region. ENTA is confident that her clinical experience and skills will enhance our ability to offer the highest level of care to even more patients. ENT and Allergy Associates Bay Ridge West [9020 Fifth Ave. between 90th and 91st streets in Bay Ridge, (718) 833-0515]. Downtown Legal eagles celebrate The O does not object to this get together! All rise for the legal eagles from around the borough, and from the Federal New York State and New York City Judiciary, who celebrated their peers who have been elected, re-elected, appointed, and reappointed at Judiciary Night on Feb. 11 at Borough Hall. Dozens of judges and other legal professionals enjoyed some casual networking at the get together, which included members of the events host, the Brooklyn Womens Bar Association. Several judges attended, including Abena Darkeh, Michael Yavinsky, Quyndq Santacroce, Edwin Novillo, and Donald Leo. Kevin Duggan Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC President Lyndon Johnsons War on Poverty led to the establishment of Community Services Block Grants, with a mission to fight poverty, revitalize underserved communities, and help uplift low-income families that would otherwise be left behind through a multitude of services and activities at the local level. It was local economic empowerment in action at the grass-roots level, propelled by federally funded taxpayer dollars returning to the state and city to be invested in making a difference and correcting historical disparities. Through the years, the community-based organizations that received funding through this program have implemented countless numbers of projects that have made a tangible difference in peoples lives, from environmental improvement to refugee services. Nearly 50 years after this federal program began, Brooklyn faces the real danger of its local extinction. Community Services Block Grants are currently funneled from the nations capital to Albany, after which they land at the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, which is tasked with distributing these funds through Neighborhood Advisory Boards across Neighborhood Development Areas areas specifically designated as in-need across the five boroughs. Neighborhood Advisory Boards, which are composed of seven- to 12-member voluntary teams, are responsible for helping to identify the needs of their local communities and selecting the community-based organizations that will receive funding for their respective projects. Those projects, which run over the course of one to three years, focus on addressing issues such as adult literacy, fatherhood services, housing, immigration services, and senior programing. These community-based organizations are on the ground serving our most vulnerable, including youth, seniors, and our neighbors living with disabilities. They depend on this critical federal funding to do their day-to-day work. We cannot afford to have Community Services Block Grants funding left discarded on the table. Thats why our Neighborhood Advisory Boards must survive for the next generation. The boards making these financial allocations will only be able operate if they have the requisite participation from local residents. Quorum is needed, specifically seven out of 12 members, to get anything approved. Unfortunately, many boards do not even have enough members to reach quorum, and with the low level of public awareness of these boards, we are at risk of losing a lifeline of support for so many community needs. Neighborhood Advisory Boards are one of the most impactful ways to get involved at the local level, providing residents of low-income communities with an opportunity to assist in identifying priorities for funding in areas that have historically been socioeconomically disadvantaged. We have the power to make a difference in our communities through these boards, especially as it is so easy to join. To be a part of a Neighborhood Advisory Board, members should be full-time residents of the Neighborhood Development Areas they represent, have lived in the neighborhood for a minimum of six months, be at least 16-years-old, and have no formal associations with any organization that receives Department of Youth and Community Development funding under the Community Services Block Grants program. Just as participatory budgeting has revolutionized the way New Yorkers have a say in the way taxpayer dollars are spent locally, Neighborhood Advisory Boards empower communities to make direct decisions on which organizations receive funding from a pot of $6 million across the five boroughs. Neighborhood Advisory Boards provide the vital resources that cash-strapped community-based organizations depend on to uplift neighborhoods in need, from ensuring young people get a good education, to addressing quality-of-life concerns. I ask my fellow Brooklynites to step up and be those eyes and ears on our Neighborhood Advisory Boards. My administration can provide more information to those who want to learn more, and we are here to help anyone interested in this under-appreciated way to make lasting change in our borough. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC Saturday Feb. 23 Tragi-comics Cartoonist Carta Monir has organized a series of comic-book workshops at the Brooklyn library over the next few months. Today she will discuss how her comics and zines relate to activism in her talk Screaming on Paper: Activism and Community Engagement Through Comics. 1 pm at Brooklyn Public Librarys Central branch Info Commons Lab [10 Grand Army Plaza, between Eastern Parkway and Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Heights, (718) 2302100, www.brook lynpu blicl ibrar y.org ]. Free. Sunday Feb. 24 Claws to celebrate The Academy Awards are tonight, but the only movie that we care about is CatVideoFest! This anthology took 115 of the cutest kitty clips on the Internet and spliced them together into a single 70-minute film. A portion of the proceeds from todays screening will go to Animal Care of New York. 5:45 pm at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema [445 Albee Square West, fourth floor, between Willoughby and Fulton streets Downtown, (718) 5132547, www.catvi deofe st.com ]. $15. Monday Feb. 26 Whale watching Bushwick electro-indie-pop trio Modern Whale has not recorded many songs, but we liked the post-breakup single Dead Wrong. Frontman Robbie Guariglia describes the sound as between Postal Service and Vampire Weekend. See for yourself at tonights show. 8 pm at Knitting Factory [361 Metropolitan Ave. at Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg, (347) 5296696, bk.knitt ingfa ctory.com ]. $10. Wednesday Feb. 27 Night mother Much of the run of Suicide Forest has already sold out, so catch the previews while you can! The play, by Japanese-American playwright Kristine Haruna Lee, follows a teenage girl and a salaryman trapped in a nightmare world, who encounter a spirit of death (played by Lees mother) in the woods near Mt. Fuji. 8 pm at the Bushwick Starr (207 Starr St. between Irving and Wyckoff avenues in Bushwick, www.thebu shwic kstar r.org ). $20. Thursday Feb. 28 Soul man DJ Spooky performs an original live score that he created for the 1925 silent film Body and Soul, starring Paul Robeson in his film debut, playing both an escaped convict and his identical twin, a model citizen. After the film, Spooky will discuss his collection of films from black directors, few of which have survived from that era. 7 pm at Brooklyn Museum [200 Eastern Pkwy. at Washington Avenue in Prospect Heights, (718) 6385000, www.brook lynmu seum.org ]. $16 (includes Museum admission). Beijing: For all the jittery chatter in Australia about coal being banned from Chinese ports as political payback, the view from regional China is likely to be starkly different. Jobs and stability are high on the agenda for local Chinese officials right now as China experiences an economic slowdown amid a trade war with the United States. So the alternate theory as to why Dalian Customs may have capped coal imports, and reportedly vetoed Australian imports because Chinese authorities want to give the local, dirtier, coal industry a leg-up is entirely credible. Coal imports from Australia through China's Dalian port have reportedly been banned, or at least slowed. Credit:Rob Homer Slowing the import of coal from overseas, despite the higher quality of the product, will drive up demand for local coal. Geneva: United Nations rights experts have urged Indonesia to investigate accusations of violence by police and military in Papua after a video showed officers using a live snake to intimidate a suspect during questioning. Reports of human rights abuses by security forces often trickle out of the easternmost region of Papua, where a separatist movement has simmered for decades. Indonesian police have issued a rare apology for using a snake to terrorise a suspect. Credit:AP The former Dutch colony, the resource-rich western part of New Guinea island, was incorporated into Indonesia after a widely criticised UN-backed referendum in 1969. "We urge the government to take urgent measures to prevent the excessive use of force by police and military officials involved in law enforcement in Papua," the experts said. Australian coking coal was not allowed to clear customs in at least three northern ports, the survey on February 13 revealed. Loading Australian government sources said that they would still attempt to find out through the embassy in Beijing what was happening. They said it was likely the slow-down in imports was related to Chinese domestic economic matters and the attempt to privilege local suppliers over imports because of an economic slowdown. The government had earlier declared it had no reason to think the halt in coal through the five harbours that make up the Dalian port area is an act of political retaliation over recent moves by Australia, such as banning telco Huaweis from the coming 5G network, or strong recent comments over hacking. But informed sources acknowledged frustration over the lack of answers from Chinese authorities as to what restrictions are in place and the reasons behind them. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said he understood cuts were being applied in a consistent way across all countries, though Australia was still urgently seeking explanations. We expect and would understand that the trade agreements that we have between Australia and China will continue to be consistently applied. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Were looking to be reassured that these measures are applying consistently to all coal exporting nations who are importing product into China. We believe that that appears to be the case. We take that at face value and well continue to work as co-operatively as we can with Chinese authorities. Australia is understood to be concerned that China is giving a protectionist leg-up to its own coal industry at a time when it is also trying to constrain the over production of steel, in which coal is a major component. While the first priority is getting clear answers as to what is behind the restriction, Australia is also looking at whether the move by China is consistent with the free trade agreement between the two countries and World Trade Organisation rules. Australias Ambassador to China Jan Adams was making enquiries and explanations were also being sought from Chinas embassy in Canberra, Senator Birmingham said. The Mysteel website conducted a telephone survey of Chinese producers and traders found multiple cases of restrictions. "North eastern port 'A' - Not allowed Australian coking coal customs clearance," stated a chart published by the website. "Northern port 'A' - Not customs clearance allowed for Australian coking coal," it read. In two eastern ports Australian coal faced restrictions such as extended customs clearance and limited time windows for boats to be unloaded. Southern ports were unloading coal, but facing delays of up to 45 days. Russian coal was impacted at one port. In most cases, only verbal notification was received by the ports and steel mills that import restrictions on coal were in place. Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe said the central bank believed China was controlling its steel production as its economy slowed, reducing the demand for coal and increasing competition among its local producers which were being protected by authorities. China produces 50 per cent of the worlds coal, but it competes with Australian coal which is $30 a tonne cheaper. My understanding that the amount of coal that is being blocked is the equivalent of two months of exports. If that is all we are talking about that is not going to derail the Australian economy, he said. If it was a sign of a deterioration of the underlying political relationship it would be much more concerning but I wouldnt jump to that conclusion. Resources Minister Matthew Canavan said the coal being held up in China could end up travelling to other markets such as Japan, Vietnam and South Korea. He said no-one from $67 billion-a-year export industry had contacted him with concerns. Chinas economy has been slowing as it wrestles with the United States over trade. While US President Donald Trump has threatened punitive tariffs, Australia has consistently called on the use of WTO rules and other transparent mechanisms to resolve issues. You could take retaliatory action, but whats the point? one Australian senior source said on Friday. Australian officials frustration is aimed at the labyrinthine and opaque Chinese system that does not operate consistently and transparently, a well-informed source said. There is no reason to believe that is not consistent the with previous practice of Chinese authorities to protect their domestic industry, he said. I am confident that the future for Australian coal exports is very strong. Respected China analyst Richard McGregor of the Lowy Institute said while he couldnt rule out that Beijing was sending a political warning, there were clear domestic reasons why China was limiting coal imports. The countrys coal market was massive and very complex and needed constant recalibration, he said. Also, China was unlikely to want a trade fight with Australia when it was already battling the US. An analyst in Zhejiang, southern China, said the stockpile of domestic Chinese coal would reduce any impact of import restrictions in the short term. "For mid and long term, I think the restriction will eventually be lifted. Current tension in trade will not last for long as the domestic need is steady," he said. Both analysts had heard rumours that Australian coal was facing delays because of political friction. One said, "it is like the Sino-US trade war and things will improve in the future". Dalian Port had imposed an import quota because last year it was being used for customs clearance for coal destined for other regions, such as Tianjin and Tangshan, which brought not benefit to Dalian's own trade volumes, one analyst said. The 12 million-tonnes cap is based on Dalian's own coal needs for its local steel mills, he said. Another coal price analyst in China said: "There is no clear explanation of why Australian coal is restricted." The import restrictions were expected to last until June, the analysts said. Blame it on any number of science-fiction movies, from Blade Runner to The Fifth Element, Back to the Future and Total Recall, or go back to the Jetson family whizzing about in their own flying car in the opening sequence of the iconic 1960s TV cartoon show. If you think flying cars are still a pie-in-the-sky fantasy, think again: thanks to leaps in drone technology battery power, high-speed rotor blades, collision-prevention sensors a new generation of air vehicles that take off like a helicopter but fly like a plane are coming off the drawing board. Drones transporting people around cities could be a reality in the not-too-distant future. Credit:Getty Images The first "flying cars" will be low-altitude air taxis ferrying commuters between airports and CBDs, possibly in the next five years. Large international players such as Airbus, Boeing, Uber and Kitty Hawk (backed by Google co-founder Larry Page) have already developed prototypes and are launching more test flights this year, all keen to get on to the take-off strip of the next great leap in aviation transport. Air New Zealand and Zephyr Airworks signed an agreement in October last year to bring the world's first autonomous electric air taxi service to NZ, while German company Volocopter launched the maiden flight of its air taxi over Dubai in 2017. Volocopter co-founder Alex Zosel insists his drone-based air taxi is far quieter than a helicopter (a soft buzzing rather than a thunderous clap-clap-clap), is vastly more stable in flight (more able to counteract wind gushes around skyscrapers), safer (fewer moving parts), cheaper (lower production costs) and is emissions-free. "We are in talks with cities across the globe, including ones in Australia, to find the best possible routes to implement Volocopter air taxis," Zosel says. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with Israel's lunar lander and an Indonesian communications satellite on the pad at space launch complex 40 on Thursday. Credit:AP The US Apollo program tallied six manned missions to the moon - the only ones yet achieved - between 1969 and 1972. There were about a dozen more unmanned landings by the US and Soviets. China made history in January with its Chang'e 4, the first to touch down on the dark side of the moon. "This is the beginning of Israel's story in deep space ... whether this succeeds or fails," SpaceIL president and billionaire high-tech developer Morris Kahn, who invested $US44 million of his own money into the Beresheet project, said. The Falcon 9 rocket will thrust Beresheet into a "long and complex" Earth orbit where it will spend roughly five weeks gradually widening its orbit until it is close enough to enter the moon's gravitational field. From there, the spacecraft will execute a series of manoeuvres to reach its destination between the landing sites of Apollo 15 and 17 by mid-April. During a mission slated to last just two to three days on the moon, Beresheet will use on-board instruments to photograph the landing site on the Sea of Tranquility, SpaceIL vice-president Yigal Harel said. It will also measure the moon's magnetic field and send all the data back to SpaceIL's Israel-based ground station Yehud, via NASA's Deep Space Network, he said. Israeli technicians stand next to the SpaceIL lunar module during a press tour of their facility near Tel Aviv last December. Credit:AP If successful, Beresheet will end up as the prototype for a series of future moon landing missions planned jointly by IAI and Germany's OHB System on behalf of the European Space Agency. SpaceIL has no plans for future explorations of its own beyond Beresheet and "will not continue after this mission", Harel said. Loading Beresheet will stay on the moon until someday, perhaps, Israeli astronauts can retrieve it. Stored inside is a totem to the nation: a time capsule in the form of three disks containing Israeli artefacts such as its Proclamation of Independence, national songs and drawings by Israeli children. "At SpaceIL we hope that the next generation of engineers and scientists will be able to bring Beresheet back to Earth," the company said. The mission began in earnest in 2009, when founders Yariv Bash, Kfir Damari and Yonatan Winetraub registered for Googles Lunar X Prize - a moon race to build and land a commercial lunar spacecraft. The first competitors to do it would win a $US20 million first-place prize. Loading They founded SpaceIL in 2011 and, in 2015, scored a launch contract with SpaceX. SpaceIL was later named one of five finalists for the prize, along with Cape Canaveral-based Moon Express. But as the competition wore on, it became apparent that none of the companies were going to be able to meet the deadline to land on the moon, and so Google ultimately scrapped the competition in March 2018. But SpaceIL and IAI pushed ahead, surviving financial challenges to complete the lander. In addition to Kahn, Dr Miriam Adelson, an Israeli-American doctor and philanthropist, and her husband, casino magnate and investor Sheldon Adelson, contributed $US24 million to keep the lunar lander soaring. "It is high time that the Jewish people and the State of Israel achieved this immortal milestone," the Adelsons said in a news release. "In religion and ethics, science and scholarship, we have long reached for the stars; now we are rightfully reaching the moon." NASAs Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s took about three days to get astronauts to the moon, but they used monstrous Saturn V rockets. The Beresheet mission couldnt afford its own rocket - even a little one - so the organisers opted for a ride share. That makes for a much longer trip; the moon right now is nearly 370,000 kilometres away. "This is Uber-style space exploration, so were riding shotgun on the rocket," Winetraub explained at a news conference on the eve of launch. The International Monetary Fund has warned both sides of politics not to engage in a pre-election spending spree, saying the improvement in the budget bottom line could quickly disappear. In its annual review of the national economy, the agency said bigger budget surpluses were needed to protect Australia from possible overseas economic shocks as it urged the creation of a "debt anchor" to strengthen longer term budget settings. Both the government and Labor are going to the election with tax cuts as part of their policy offerings. The mid-year budget update contains more than $9 billion in tax cuts that have yet to be announced, on top of what may be revealed on April 2 in the 2019-20 budget. The International Monetary Fund has urged both sides of politics not to engage in a pre-election spending war. Credit:AP The IMF, while complimentary of the way the nation's finances have improved over recent years and the way the government is forecasting a surplus in the budget, said MPs must "exercise prudence" ahead of the election. Chief Minister Andrew Barr has admitted charging landowners up to five years' worth of rates in one hit and giving them 28 days to pay was an "issue of regret", but has defended his government's taxation reform during a parliamentary inquiry on Friday. The committee was examining the government's decision to backbill property owners for the charge, tied to the increase in value of their properties. Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the retrospective charges were an "issue of regret". Credit:Karleen Minney It occurred for properties where there had been an application to change the land use in the past. When the land use changed, the value went up, but the commercial rates did not rise with it. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images News that the special counsel is wrapping up is nearly as old as the investigation itself, but this week, some of the strongest evidence yet suggests that Robert Mueller is indeed preparing to release his nearly two-year inquiry into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. On Wednesday, CNN reported that the Justice Department is getting ready to announce as early next week that the special counsel investigation has concluded. A New York Times report on Thursday extends that timeline to within weeks, giving the educated guesswork an element of a Groundhog Day prediction: The Mueller investigation, like winter, will likely end sometime in the coming month. Whenever Mueller does finish, he will submit findings to Attorney General William Barr, along with a recommendation for whether the Department of Justice should prosecute any additional individuals. Barr will then send a summary of the findings to Congress. Trump, who will be in Vietnam next week meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has said that it is totally up to Bill Barr whether or not the Mueller report comes out while he is in Asia. Trumps legal team and White House officials are reportedly scrambling to prepare for the investigations end, but the president, for one, is not expected to change his tune on the matter. I think what hell say is, I told you all along there was nothing to any of this, a source close to the White House told the Hill. But if Trump is certain that the special counsel will prove itself to be a witch hunt, just about everyone else glued to the story for the past 21 months has some major questions remaining about the investigations endgame. What Will the Public Get to See? For #resistance types hoping for a damning report, theres some inverse logic at work: The less damaging Muellers findings are, the more likely we are to see the bulk of them. If the White House determines that the special counsels report contains no finding or conclusion that the president engaged in any unlawful conspiracies what the White House refers to as collusion they might view the disclosure of the report to affirm their repeated messaging about the investigation and therefore to be in their political interest, David Laufman, a former Department of Justice official who oversaw the Clinton email investigation, told Vanity Fair. Ultimately, it is unclear how comprehensive the report that Attorney General Barr sends to Congress will be, and there is no official timeline for the DOJ to deliver its summary to lawmakers. Prior to his appointment as attorney general, Barr called the Mueller investigation grossly irresponsible, but in confirmation hearings he stated he intends to be as transparent as possible in dealing with the matter with Congress and the public. Barr has also said he is hesitant to release information that is derogatory toward individuals in this case, most likely Trump family members who have not been charged with a crime. So its quite possible we may not get to see the campaign foibles of Jared Kushner and Donald Trump Jr., assuming they remain unindicted. Still, Democrats in Congress will surely pressure Barr to give the public as much of the report as possible. How Damaging Could It Be for Trump? If its bad, the Mueller report could paralyze the Trump administration, or give some momentum to House Democrats desire to impeach the president. But a fully charged impeachment effort is unlikely: The House can impeach with a majority vote, but to get the Senate onboard would require 67 votes, meaning at least 20 Republicans would have to sign off on a maneuver that would radically reduce their chances of winning the presidency in 2020. Even if Mueller concludes that Trump acted in a manner worthy of removal, its unlikely that two out of five Republican senators will break ranks. More likely, the report will be somewhat underwhelming after nearly two years of buildup. (Its quite possible that the bulk of the investigation into Russian interference has already been made public.) Regardless, the Democratic House will pressure Trump to make the report public, leading to inevitable tweetstorms of frustration. As New Yorks Jonathan Chait has argued, the greatest impact of the final Mueller report could be to the presidents chances of reelection next November: Most of this information has been filtered through the prism of impeachment, and thus turned into a story about Democrats potentially overreaching or following a quixotic strategy. It should be viewed more realistically as the shaping of a dismal news environment for Trump. The already-unpopular president is looking at two years of perp walks, incriminating testimony and at best! a series of suspicious presidential pardons. He barely managed to win the presidency as a brash, controversial novelty. He will have to win it a second time as a known crook. What About the Other Investigations? If the report does not provide a clear vindication of the president, Muellers work could propel the House investigation into new territory. As Neal K. Katyal wrote in his Times op-ed: Of course, there is no open impeachment inquiry now. But that could quickly change if Mr. Mueller writes a report that is anything less than a full clearing of the president: Congress would be under a constitutional obligation to investigate the facts for itself. Congress cannot be satisfied that impeachable offenses were not committed when Mr. Muellers investigative mandate did not cover many impeachable offenses, and when his report does not provide detailed information and answers to the few offenses that are within his mandate. This is where Mr. Muellers by the book behavior may be initially unsatisfying to Mr. Trumps critics but ultimately more threatening to the president in the long run. And as House Judiciary member Ted Lieu told CNN on Wednesday: If it doesnt [exonerate Trump], if it basically says, hey, we would have indicted Donald Trump for these offenses, but for the fact that theres a policy memo saying we cant, then I think Congress has to really look at these issues and decide what to do with whatever offenses the Robert Mueller investigation reveals Separate from that, the House Judiciary Committee and other committees in Congress will investigate other aspects of potential wrongdoing, such as obstruction of justice, witness tampering, abuse of power. Trump also faces further scrutiny in New York state, where Attorney General Letitia James is pursuing a lawsuit against the Trump Foundation and its shocking pattern of illegality, as well as a possible inquiry into whether or not Trump has violated the emoluments clause, which states that the president cannot accept gifts from foreign powers without congressional approval. In the Southern District of New York, federal prosecutors are investigating Trumps inaugural committee and the family business, in addition to the now-wrapped inquiry into Michael Cohen that resulted in the presidents former fixer pleading guilty to eight criminal charges. When you combine their experience with the traditional independence of the Southern District and the reputation it has, this is like another Mueller investigation going on, Nick Akerman, a former SDNY assistant attorney and member of the Watergate prosecution, told Politico. With Robert Mueller exiting the conversation, Democratic voters looking for the next scrap of evidence proving Trumps corrupt nature should put their hopes in House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff. From the presidents dealings with Deutsche Bank to possible instances of money laundering, Schiff plans to dig further into Trumps finances, an avenue that has, thus far, been rife with financial misconduct. Theres a whole constellation of issues where that is essentially the center of gravity, Schiff told The New Yorker last year, referring to Trumps attempts to use the presidency to enrich himself. With such a macroscopic perspective of Trumps alleged wrongdoings, the investigations will surely continue after Mueller returns to the private sector. After the summer holidays, it takes a while to reacquaint yourself with the world of the workplace. There's something so odd about the way it's run. I find myself wondering: was this humanity's intended destination? All those chance events of evolution, the Goldilocks serendipity of the planet placed "just right", the rise of reason and the fall of superstition, and yet here we are; well most of us. We're in an office. Was the office humanity's intended destination? Cast members from the US version of The Office. Here's how it works. You have a desk, placed in a "pod" with other desks. All your workmates are talking loudly into telephones. This is not to criticise others. You, also, are talking loudly into a telephone. Only by shouting can you hear yourself think. Each workmate has a landline, but also a mobile. These ring at high volume, but only when the person has left their desk to visit the mailroom. At least you always know who's downstairs. If it's Eye of the Tiger, it's Gina. A young man who raped a drunk woman "in a most degrading way" with a mate after they had been trusted by her relative to drive her home has been sentenced to four years and two months in a West Australian prison. The 20-year-old man, who was 17 at the time and cannot be named, lured the 19-year-old woman into a vehicle under the pretext of offering her a lift home after a night out in Karratha, in the state's north, in January 2016. The father-of-one was sentenced in the WA District Court this week after he was found guilty of two counts of aggravated sexual penetration without consent. Judge Ronald Birmingham said although the victim did not know the offender, her relative did and instructed him to "make sure you take her home". During the drive, the offender put his hand up her dress but she resisted and moved to the far side of the vehicle after two other people were dropped off. He was later also charged with the murder of Sarah Spiers. He entered a not guilty plea in September last year and in one of the case's first big decisions, it was determined his case should not be heard before a jury, but by a judge alone. In a decision supported by state prosecutors and Mr Edwards' defence team Supreme Court Justice Stephen Hall was appointed presiding judge a role also characterised as a 'fact-finder'. A judge-alone trial means a jury is not needed, and it's up to the judge to consider all of the evidence, whether it is admissible or relevant, decide the facts and hand down the verdict. By eliminating a jury, a judge-alone trial also removes the difficult task of finding jurors who had no knowledge or prior notions about the case beforehand. This is a real challenge in the case of Mr Edwards, Dr Fernandez said. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Hall was selected to preside over Mr Edwards' trial. "The Claremont case has attracted huge interest because of the number of murders that occurred, the mystery that persisted for more than two decades regarding who was responsible, the delay in charging a suspect, the multiple theories that were circulating about who did it, and more recently the nature of the details that are emerging about the crimes," he said. "While the media has had a relatively free rein in discussing the case all these years, now that a suspect has been charged and the court process has begun, the ground rules for reporting on the case have changed substantially." And while the decision to hear Mr Edwards' case in a judge-alone trial may seem like it would streamline the process of newspapers, TV stations and other news outlets to publish what they liked without a jury to worry about, Dr Fernandez said it was important to remember that's not the case. "It reduces the risk of the jurys minds being contaminated by prejudicial information from outside the court process being published," he said. "[But] that does not mean the rules of contempt are automatically relaxed." Court reporting in WA is subject to a number of processes and procedures. Credit:Jessica Shapiro Court reporting and the Claremont case Australia's justice system is built on the presumption of innocence, and it is prosecutors' job to prove someone is guilty rather than the defence's job to prove they aren't. Along with that comes responsibility on the part of the media to be fair, and not to prejudice an outcome. But according to Dr Fernandez, the definition of "media" can also extend far beyond WA's established news outlets. "The term 'media' itself can be a problem because these days information can be reported or published to the world by a huge range of 'reporters' and publishers," he said. "These include professional journalists and their media organisations, and others who are not employed as professional journalists but are also able to publish. "This latter group includes those who publish on social media, freelance journalists, bloggers, and citizen journalists. "It comprises those who publish for a living and those who dont, those who are obligated to a professional code of practice and those who are not." Essentially, if you make a post about the Claremont case on social media you are now considered a "publisher". And while mainstream outlets are bigger targets for legal liability, Dr Fernandez said it was important those who don't even consider themselves as 'media' know they could still be subject to the same laws and processes as the big players. 'Media' ... comprises those who publish for a living and those who dont, those who are obligated to a professional code of practice and those who are not. Dr Joseph Fernandez So this means things like contempt of court and suppression orders are just as important for everyone to understand. Terms you need to know Contempt of court is serious. It means words or actions that could interfere with the proper administration of justice, or those that show a disregard for the authority of the courts. It encompasses things like misbehaving in a courtroom, ignoring court orders, interfering with a jury or publishing material that is considered sub judice. According to Dr Fernandez, sub judice is the most common type of contempt and it aims to stop the publication of material that could prejudice a trial. Prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo (right) leaves the Supreme Court of Western Australia on Tuesday. Ms Barbagallo is the lead prosecutor in Bradley Robert Edwards' murder trial. Credit:AAP Image/Richard Wainwright That includes implying an offender is guilty such as in the case of Lindy Chamberlain or publishing the details an offender's past that has not been deemed relevant by a judge, like in the case of Derryn Hinch and Jill Meagher's murderer Adrian Ernest Bayley. In the case of Mr Edwards, publishers need to be extremely careful. "One aspect of the law of sub judice that the media finds scary is that for the offence to be committed, it's not necessary to prove that a person intended to interfere with the administration of justice, so a person can unintentionally commit the offence," Dr Fernandez said. "As a court process is under way the laws of contempt that are aimed at preventing any interference with the administration of justice have kicked in. This means there are strict rules about what the media can report." If you are found to be in contempt of court by publishing sub judice material, you can either be jailed or fined a substantial amount of money. Suppression orders are also in place for a reason. They help protect the identity of victims in criminal matters and in some cases can prevent the media from printing the name of the offender because the victim might then be identifiable for example, if they are a relative. They are also used to prevent the court from publishing certain evidence, and while Australia operates on an 'open justice' principle, it's important suppression orders are followed or it could interfer with the process of justice. The Supreme Court of Western Australia. Credit:Erin Jonasson In WA, the Supreme Court's media manager routinely advises the media on issues relating to court reporting including suppression orders. It can be difficult for other publishers to find out about these orders, which is why it's important to err on the side of caution. "The consequence of breaking the rules can be severe because the penalties include fines or imprisonment or both," Dr Fernandez said. And while as readers it may be frustrating to see terms like 'alleged', 'accused', and 'claimed' in court stories, it is important to understand why they are used. Because while it may seem black-and-white to readers if someone is guilty or not, the media needs to wait until the end of the judicial process to report whether or not this is the case. Dr Fernandez warned in serious cases any example of someone failing to follow these processes or procedures could even see a trial aborted, or a wrongful conviction which has the potential to see hours of police and legal work wasted. Why this matters The Claremont murders were committed decades ago. The victims' families are waiting for justice. A man has been charged, who is yet to be proven guilty. Dr Fernandez said a failure by any section of the WA community to adhere to the justice system could have severe consequences, and it was important to understand just how much hinged on the outcome of the Claremont trial. I need to address something that I actually did not really want to make public, but I will, because a line has well and truly been crossed. Back on January 23, 6PR Perth Live listeners will remember I interviewed the author of a map which published the locations of farming families across the country and regular listeners to the program will know I stood up for and defended the families and children who appeared on the map because their privacy, from my point of view, had been breached. Outraged by the bullying tactics of vegan activists, Oliver fronted 9 News Perth on Friday evening. Credit:Kate Hedley The actions of those who published the map created fear for the safety of those families who were identified. One of our callers whose details were published on this map indicated she had just three recreational horses, another said she was an older lady who lived alone on a farm. A woman has died and thousands of people are at risk of listeria infection after the bacteria was detected in food from a south-east Melbourne catering company that supplies food to hospitals, aged care homes and Meals on Wheels. The catering service I Cook Foods has been shut down after the woman, who was aged in her 80s and from the eastern suburbs, died in Knox Private Hospital on February 4. The woman contracted a listeria-related illness while in hospital after being admitted for an unrelated condition in late January, a health department spokesman said. Listeria infection is rare but the bacteria can be fatal. Six positive samples of listeria were found at the company's Dandenong South kitchen during an investigation into the cause of the woman's death over the past two weeks. When they finally approached with their guns drawn Gargasoulas escaped by pushing his then-girlfriend from the car and speeding off. Police began searching for Gargasoulas about 2.20am that day, an hour after he stabbed his brother Angelo outside a housing commission flat in Windsor. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Other police units later followed but lost sight of Gargasoulas multiple times as he travelled out to Yarraville then back into the CBD. Outside court on Friday afternoon, Ms Angelowitsch read a statement from Melinda Tan, the widow of Matthew Si. "There is no excuse for murder. If you are a danger to society you should never be allowed to roam freely," the statement said. "The sentence is not harsh enough. "Our family hopes that no one will ever have to suffer a similar fate as those who lost their loved ones and will continue to struggle with survival. "We are looking forward to the inquest to shed light on past mistakes and to enforce changes that are needed." Silent and unmoved The corridors of the Supreme Court were cleared as 10 officers brought Gargasoulas to his sentencing about 10.20am on Friday. James Gargasoulas at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston streets, before he drove along Bourke Street on January 20, 2017. The 29-year-old sat silently throughout the hour-long hearing and appeared unmoved as his sentence was read out. The court heard he will be classified as a "serious violent offender" during his time in prison. Loading "The horror of what you did has profoundly impacted the lives of those who were present that day," Justice Weinberg said, noting in detail the events of the "terrifying rampage" which included death, broken bones, head injuries and other serious damage. "I do not accept that you are genuinely remorseful," the judge said. "Your actions were both callous and cowardly." In November it took a Supreme Court jury less than an hour to unanimously find Gargasoulas guilty of his crimes. The jury found him guilty of six counts of murder along with 27 counts of reckless conduct endangering life, related to the pedestrians he injured. On Friday, the families of his victims sat shoulder-to-shoulder during the lengthy sentencing united by their shared grief. Many cried as the details of their loved ones' injuries, both fatal and life-changing, were detailed including how bodies were broken and others flung through the air. James Gargasoulas leaves the Supreme Court on Friday after being jailed for at least 46 years. Credit:Eddie Jim "On January 20, 2017 you deliberately drove at high speed through a crowd of pedestrians in the central business district of Melbourne," Justice Weinberg said. "You murdered six young people and you also inflicted serious injury on others. This is one of the worst examples of mass murder in Australias history." The court heard Gargasoulas killing spree only came to a halt between King and William streets due to a combination of mechanical failure and ramming by police. He was then Tasered to the right arm. A police officer talks with Gargasoulas after the rampage. Credit:Leigh Henningham "You left a trail of destruction," Justice Weinberg said. Dressed in a white shirt and dark slacks, Gargasoulas appeared coherent and engaged during the sentencing. He only shook his head when the judge detailed his raging ice use in the lead up to his eventual arrest. "You were suffering from what's been loosely described as a drug-induced psychosis a distorted perception of reality," the judge said. James Gargasoulas before the Bourke Street massacre. Credit:Facebook "A drug-induced psychosis is not a mental illness." In sentencing Gargasoulas to six life sentences, Justice Weinberg said there were few comparisons in Australias history that could be used to help conclude the appropriate jail time. "You knew that your actions were likely to kill if not seriously injured many pedestrians and that did not faze you, he said. "You knew full well what you were doing." The chaos on Bourke Street on Friday, January 20, 2017. Credit:Justin McManus There were in total some 55 victim impact statements; unsurprisingly your crimes have had a shattering effect on countless lives. Being present in this court listening to a day and a half of this was an agonising experience. One cannot help be profoundly moved by the devastation. Court heard of families' pain Grieving relatives recently told the court of their pain, with the brother of Japanese victim Yosuke Kanno saying he will "continue suffering from this until I die". Zachary's father, Matthew Bryant, spoke of the first experiences he would have shared with his son and his struggle to ensure memories of the precious moments they had together never fade. "I listened to his heart beat and held him for the last time ... not wanting to let him go," he told the court. "The three months and 14 days I had with Zach were beautiful. "There is a loneliness to this loss." Gargasoulas has claimed he is not evil and was himself a victim of "government oppression" before he drove along Bourke Street. In a previous court hearing, he stood in the witness box where for 20 minutes he read a letter in which he apologised "from my heart for taking the lives of your loved ones". But he went on to blame the government for his actions. "I am not evil. I am not a terrorist. I am a freedom fighter who is now educated to stop oppression," he said. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Witnesses of the carnage have detailed the ongoing struggles they all face, with the sounds of helicopters, large crowds and busy traffic still haunting many. Last month, Crown prosecutors told the court Gargasoulas, who has been diagnosed with treatment-resistant paranoid schizophrenia, should never be released from jail. They revealed his lengthy criminal history between 2009 and 2014, when Gargasoulas faced nearly two dozen violence-related charges including assaulting police, reckless conduct endangering serious injury, recklessly causing injury, unlawful assault, driving offences and aggravated burglary. On at least two occasions he had escaped from police. His rampage along Bourke Street showed "unspeakable disregard" for the sanctity of human life, the prosecution has previously said. "In his attempt to evade and disrupt his imminent capture and arrest, the prisoner drove through the most populous part of the Melbourne CBD on the pavement and through the Bourke Street Mall at a time when it was likely to be very crowded with children, tourists, shoppers and office workers," Crown prosecutors said. "Like the unspeakable crimes committed by Martin Bryant at Port Arthur, Bourke Street, Melbourne, will never be the same again." It is the question almost a third of Australians haven't asked their electricity provider and the answer could save more than $200 off your annual bill. Lightbulb moment: Taking a few minutes to check which type of electricity contract you are on could save you hundreds of dollars each year. Credit:Matt Davidson Retailers offer two types of contracts: standing offers and market offers. These standing offers currently vary by hundreds of dollars between retailers and are the automatic default power contract. Unless you ask, you default to a standing offer. Even customers with a market offer are dumped back to a standing offer at their contract's end unless they renegotiate. Oscar fever is mounting as next weeks Academy Awards day looms. In recent days your columnist has been privileged to see the performances of two towering thespians vying for Best Actor. At Palace Cinema we saw Willem Dafoe in At Eternitys Gate and then on many news and current affairs programs we saw Scott Morrison starring in Tampa II Invasion Of The Boats From Hell. Scott Morrison's superior acting skills could win him an Oscar. Credit:Danny Moloshok Dafoe is superb in his portrayal of that tragic, visionary, post-impressionist genius Vincent Van Gogh. Morrison is similarly compelling in his sustained portrayal of a sincere, altruistic PM who is moved by his deep Christian grief over refugee deaths at sea and by his moral sense of his patriotic duty to keep Australians safe behind sturdy sovereign borders. You have to marvel at what accomplished actors (like Dafoe, like Morrison, like Sir Laurence Olivier) are able to achieve. It is uncanny the way in which they can put aside their true, actual selves to portray someone else, someone utterly different. Two Saudi sisters say they were apprehended by officials from the ultra-conservative kingdom at Hong Kong airport while en-route to seek asylum in Melbourne, and have been trapped in the Chinese territory for more than six months. The siblings, aged 20 and 18, say they have renounced their Islam faith and fear they will face the death penalty if they are forced to return Saudi Arabia. Two young Saudi sisters in Hong Kong say they were apprehended by kingdom officials. One of the women takes a photo in a hotel room in Hong Kong. Credit:CNN Representatives for the pair, who have adopted the aliases Reem and Rawan, say they suffered violent abuse for years and fled to Hong Kong in September from a family holiday in Sri Lanka. Their final destination was meant to be Melbourne. A house fire that left a 50-year-old man in a critical condition at Eastern Heights in Ipswich, about 40 kilometres south-west of Brisbane's CBD, is being treated as suspicious. Emergency services were called to the Robertson Road home about 11pm on Friday to find the front porch, patio and fence were on fire. Firefighters worked to put out the blaze at Eastern Heights in Ipswich. Credit:Queensland Fire and Emergency Se The blaze was extinguished by firefighters in about 10 minutes. Firefighters said a man they found upon arrival trying to put out the fire had suffered serious burns. Will the fraud allegations ruin Harriss 905-vote lead? Photo: David T. Foster III/TNS via Getty Images Mark Harris, the Republican candidate at the center of a major electoral fraud scandal in North Carolinas Ninth Congressional District, called for a new election on Thursday. A short time later, the states board of elections agreed: It's official: The North Carolina State Board of Elections has ordered a new election in the Ninth Congressional District. Alan Blinder (@alanblinder) February 21, 2019 The decision came after dramatic hearings this week concerning allegations that a Republican operative working on Harriss behalf illegally collected and altered absentee ballots in two rural counties. Harris, who defeated Democrat Dan McCready by just 905 votes in November, had previously said that the state should call a special election if it could indeed prove that fraud occurred. BREAKING: Mark Harris now saying a new election should be called #ncpol #nc09 Tim Boyum (@TimBoyumTV) February 21, 2019 Just hours earlier, Harris had taken the stand in his own defense, where he distanced himself from the operative, Leslie McCrae Dowless, and disputed key testimony from a witness he knows very well: His own son, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Harris. On Wednesday, the younger Harris said that hed warned his father that Dowless appeared to engage in illegal activity. His father then hired the operative over his objections, News Channel WSOC 9 reported. Mark Harris says he was very proud of his son for testifying yesterday. But he says his son at the time was 27-years-old and was just looking at data. He notes his son had never been to Bladen, met McCrae or met the other local leaders #NC09 Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) February 21, 2019 Harris does not agree with his son's testimony that McCrae Dowless was paid by Red Dome as an extra layer of protection #NC09 Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) February 21, 2019 Harriss story was seriously damaged by his sons testimony, and his chances of entering Congress slimmed even further on Thursday morning. His legal team turned over emails between the candidate and a local judge, Marion Warren, that underscored Dowlesss reputation as the magic sauce to Election Day success and the enthusiasm with which Harris sought the operatives help. Warren, Harris told WBTV 5 last year, had described Dowless as a good ol boy that knew Bladen County politics, that he did things right and that he knew election law better than just about anyone he knew of. One of the documents is a message from Mark Harris to Judge Marion Warren, who is known to be one of the people to vouch for McCrae Dowless. Harris wrote to Warren about McCrae The guy whose absentee ballot project for Johnson could have put me in the US House this term. #NC09 pic.twitter.com/feEgfRY56s Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) February 21, 2019 Dowless certainly seems to know enough about election law to circumvent it. The New York Times provided further details from this weeks hearings: A woman testified on Wednesday that she delivered absentee request forms and absentee ballots to Dowless in exchange for gas money, and other witnesses have said that the operative told his workers to fill in ballots in ink colors specifically chosen so it would not arouse suspicion at local elections offices. Dowlesss own stepdaughter testified that she personally altered fewer than a dozen ballots. Harris, whose campaign paid Dowless through a consulting firm that has also denied any knowledge of illegal activity, hasnt admitted direct complicity in the fraudulent scheme. He has also not withdrawn himself as a candidate in a special election. But with his name tarnished by the Dowless scandal, his narrow victory over McCready may soon become a loss. The high-profile Brisbane lawyer accused of ripping off Legal Aid has been charged with breaching his bail conditions for a second time. Adam Raydon Magill, 47, had been granted bail on fraud and money laundering charges after an 18-month investigation into a Brisbane-based law firm. Lawyer Adam Magill was been given bail in November after he had been arrested for allegedly breaching his bail conditions the first time. Credit:AAP/Darren England. Mr Magill is one of six men including three other lawyers who are accused of defrauding Legal Aid Queensland of up to $340,000. The Crime and Corruption Commission issued a notice to appear to Mr Magill on Friday for the alleged breach, but did not detail the accusations. Keen snorkeller Justine Barwick had just jumped off a boat as she had done many times before into Cid Harbour to enjoy a swim with her husband and friends. She was attacked almost immediately. Burnie's Justine Barwick has returned to work at Family Based Care North West after surviving a shark attack in the Whitsunday Islands last year. Credit:Scott Gelston A friend who was already in the water at the time had escaped injury. Ms Barwick felt the shark "slam" into her and pushed it away before she swam about one metre back to the boat and pulled herself up. The research also includes speaking with representatives of former Queensland senator Neville Bonner, whose Aboriginal mother, Julia Rebecca Bonner, was born in the mission; speaking with the family of Indigenous Beaudesert woman Julia Ford, whose headstone can be seen in the mission cemetery; and negotiating with the Thompson family linked to "King Billy" Turner, widely known as the King of the Lockyer Valley. The mission ran from 1887, when authorities decided to remove Aboriginal people from Ipswich's Queens Park and the township of Purga. Yuggera Ugarapul land. Credit:Native Title application 2017 The Deebing Creek Mission eventually included a working farm, school and dwellings on "nine miles of bushland along Deebing Creek" at West Ipswich, where up to 150 people lived. The mission is on Yuggera/Ugarapul lands, stretching from Pullenvale and Moggill in the east, out to the foot of the Great Dividing Range through the Lockyer Valley and down towards Beaudesert. The mission closed in 1915 and Aboriginal families were moved to the nearby Purga Mission and cattle station. Frasers Property begins construction work at the end of February as some Aboriginal people linked to "King Billy" Turner camp on the Deebing Creek site. "King Billy" Turner, known as the King of the Lockyer Valley. Daniel Thompson, a blood descendant of "King Billy", says his family's elders have still not been directly included in the negotiations. King Billy Turner was made chief of Yuggera, mainly because he was engaged to build a trust between Aboriginal people and the invaders, I suppose, he said. But to be in that position, well, for one he was able to get warriors together to fight for our lands and he had to be a clever man to be travelling and be able to talk to different mobs. It is in the black and white history that he is the most important significant man in this area, but at this stage - to this day 230 years since invasion or settlement which ever way you call it we still do have not have any authority over our home lands." Frasers said it began its discussions regarding Deebing Creek in 2015 with Indigenous consultancy group, Jagera Daran Pty Ltd, which has several employees linked to Mr Bonner's family. The firm's director is Madonna Thomson, Mr Bonner's grand neice. Jagera is a language group of the similar geographic region as the Yuggerah and Ugarapal, but with cultural differences. Madonna Thomson said her family group was entitled to be part of talks with developers "as traditional owners to Jagera country who have interests in that site". "We have family members buried in that cemetery," Ms Thomson said. She said she believed Fraser's Property Group intended to show indigenous history of the mission in walks around the residential development. "I think there is an opportunity for a positive outcome." Frasers said in 2017 it then widened its talks with Indigenous families to include representatives from the Yuggera Ugarapul people as they lodged a successful Native Title application. A series of six meetings with Yuggera Ugarapul members were held from November 2017 to May 2018 to develop a cultural heritage management plan. Frasers says Yuggera Ugarapul representatives declined to sign this plan and a memorandum of understanding, and were instead seeking a political solution, the developer said. Mr Thompson disputes this, saying his clan had not been included in talks. Comments have never been sought from the people with the truest links to this country, he said. Im not naive about it, that is the way the native title system works and is set up around the country. Ms Ford's family argues the original Deebing Creek cemetery was far bigger than it is today, her great-great-grandson Shaun Davies said. "Our family has said for years and years that Julias headstone is not on the edge of the cemetery, Mr Davies said. Our old aunts used to visit the cemetery when they were at (nearby mission) Purga. Julia Ford's grave at Deebing Creek in the 1940s. And they remember walking some distance past Julias grave to the edge of the cemetery. We think it extends well along the creek line and think there should be a concerted effort to identify, at the very least, who is in the cemetery. Frasers Property said it was determined to respect Aboriginal history of the mission and the cemetery, even though Deebing Creek cemetery is state government land and sits just outside its Deebing Heights development footprint. Frasers Property's Deebing Heights development at the Deebing Creek mission near Ipswich. Frasers has agreed to make these changes to its Deebing Heights application: Increase the buffer area to the Deebing Creek Mission cemetery by 30 metres; Increase the 40-metre wide buffer area along Deebing Creek to a 120-metre wide buffer; and Prevent any residential development in parts of mission site around the culturally significant bunya tree. Keep 37 hectares of the site as open space and use information signs around the site to tell the story of the Deebing Creek mission. The development is part of the Queensland governments Ripley Valley Priority Development area, designed to cater for south-east Queenslands population growth. In 2017 the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships prepared a report into the future of the Deebing Creek Cemetery. Former Queensland union boss Dave Hanna has been jailed for at least three years for raping a woman after they met at a Brisbane bar. The former CFMEU state president was found guilty on Friday of raping the younger woman three times when she was too drunk to give consent in March 2017. Former union boss Dave Hanna arrives at the Brisbane District Court before the jury's verdict is handed down. Credit:AAP Hanna met the woman at a Fortitude Valley bar then went home with her in a taxi after she had been kicked out of the venue for intoxication. He knocked down her townhouse door because she had lost her keys and followed her into her Taigum home, in Brisbane's north, and raped her. Cyclone Oma has weakened to a category 1 system, but was expected to re-intensify to a category 2 early on Saturday morning. The 600-kilometre wide system is now unlikely to cross the Queensland coast, but was expected upgrade to a category 2 cyclone and maintain strength for some time. A severe weather warning for damaging winds, abnormally high tides and dangerous surf remains for parts of the coast. Credit:AAP/Dave Hunt. Bureau of Meteorology state manager Bruce Gunn said while cyclone and flood watches had been cancelled, Oma would continue to impact the southern Queensland coast for several days with high tides, dangerous surf and damaging winds. "We will certainly continue to keep a close eye on this cyclone, until it no longer poses a threat, Mr Gunn said. A man accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of goods from Townsville flood victims has been charged. Police raided a home at Mount Louisa in Townsville yesterday and claim to have found up to $80,000 worth of stolen goods inside a shipping container. Police arrested a 57-year-old they claim stole from Townsville flood victims. Credit:Queensland Police Service. The 57-year-old man is accused of stealing goods which were drying out in the yards of flood affected homes and businesses between February 1 and 21. Police say they found expensive leather furniture, dining tables and suites, beds, fridges and washing machines. Ross River virus has been detected in mosquitoes in Sydney's west, with NSW health authorities urging residents to protect themselves against mosquito bites. Mosquito trapping at Deepwater Park in Bankstown and at Sydney Olympic Park identified mosquitoes carrying the virus for which there is no treatment, NSW Health said. A female Aedes aegypti mosquito in the process of acquiring a blood meal from a human host. Credit:AP The department's environmental health director Richard Broome said while Ross River infection was rare in Sydney, high numbers of mosquitoes at this time of year mean people should be cautious. "The best way to protect yourself is to avoid getting bitten," he said. There is no evidence Labor MP Emma Husar engaged in "indiscriminate sex" and BuzzFeed cannot prove she is a "slut" who boasted about sexual encounters, her barrister has told the Federal Court in her defamation case against the online publisher. Ms Husar, 38, the federal member for Lindsay, launched defamation proceedings on December 6 against BuzzFeed and political reporter Alice Workman over a story, tweet and Facebook post on August 2 last year detailing allegations of misconduct made against Ms Husar by staff members. Emma Husar arrives at the Federal Court in Sydney on Friday. Credit:Peter Rae An internal investigation by Labor later cleared her of the most serious allegations, including those of a sexual nature, and found there was no basis for her to resign from Parliament. Ms Husar claims the BuzzFeed publications convey a range of false and defamatory imputations about her, including that she is "a slut who boasts about who she has had sex with, which includes other members of Parliament and members of her staff". The delays to Australian coal shipments at the Chinese port of Dalian are a reminder of the balancing act required to stand with a foot on either side of the geostrategic divide between the US and China. There is still no proof the border checks are being dragged out to put political pressure on Australia. They could simply be designed to protect domestic coal producers. And the snafu could soon be lifted, just like a similar incident over Australian wine exports last year which also had political overtones. Yet China has form on this. It could want to prove a point on anything from Australias ban on the use of Chinese technology giant Huaweis equipment in 5G networks to the stripping of permanent residency from Chinese businessman Huang Xiangmo. The threat to a coal market worth $13 billion a year confirms again that Australia is uniquely dependent on China and that our political and strategic interests must increasingly be balanced against the possible economic costs of a fight with China. Australia will be tacking back and forth against this wind for some time. Australia will have to decide on a case-by-case basis how to handle Chinas moves to expand its influence in the region. It has a duty to speak out on issues such as Chinas human rights abuses in Xinjiang and it must defend Australian citizens such as Yang Hengjun, the Chinese-Australian writer detained last month in Guangdong. But it may compromise elsewhere from time to time. Islamic State is on the verge of total defeat. As a result, many of the remaining foreign fighters who travelled to the caliphate are coming out of the woodwork. One of those is Shamima Begum, a former student from the United Kingdom who at the age of 15 travelled along with two other friends to join IS in 2015. Social media photo of Tareena Shakil. Now, after four years in the caliphate and currently in Kurdish custody, where she just gave birth to another child, Begum is asking to return back to the UK. Those foreign fighters from Western countries who have been captured, such as Begum, are arguing that they should be subject to the same Western laws and systems they so forcefully denounced and fought against. Begum is a perfect illustration of the complexities involved in repatriated foreign fighters, especially Western female foreign fighters, and having them tried in their home countries. While moral and legal obligations may dictate that their country of citizenship should be responsible for bringing the likes of Begum to justice, the reality is that many of them pose a serious security threat to their home societies, and it remains difficult to prosecute and convict them in Western courts. Venezuelan national guard members at the blocked Tienditas bridge in Urena, Venezuela, on the border with Colombia. Photo: Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images Venezuelas opposition lawmakers, lead by National Assembly leader and self-proclaimed acting president Juan Guaido, boarded buses Thursday on their way to confront a blockade thats keeping humanitarian aid away from the desperate citizens of the South American nation. They left from Caracas early Thursday en route to the border with Colombia, where aid from the U.S. and other countries has piled up for weeks. They have two goals in mind ahead of a Saturday deadline to receive the aid: They want to let in food and medicine to help the millions of Venezuelans affected by the humanitarian crisis gripping the country. But they also want to deal a blow to President Nicolas Maduro, who has rejected the aid because he says Venezuelans are not beggars. The aid is currently being held back by the Venezuelan military, which remains loyal to Maduro. But Guaido, who has been recognized as the countrys rightful president by more than 50 nations, has warned the military that aid will enter the country one way or another. He is reportedly betting that the troops amassed at the border will not resort to violence to stop a large group of civilians from bringing food and medicine into the country. And if the military allows the aid in, the opposition believes they will essentially have recognized Guaido as Venezuelas commander in chief, the AP reports. They also believe that aid moving into the country, against Maduros wishes, will weaken his hold on power. In an interview with CNBC, one opposition lawmaker, Angel Alvarado, acknowledged that the civilians will be at an extreme disadvantage should violence break out: We have to be very careful. Our objective is not to fight We are peaceful people. We dont have guns, we dont have anything. On Monday in Miami, President Trump issued a warning to Venezuelas military. He said they should allow the aid into the country. If they dont, they will find no safe harbor, no easy exit, and no way out, he said. You will lose everything, Trump warned. Its unclear whether or how Trump would follow through on these threats. His national security adviser, John Bolton, has said that U.S. troops who have helped amass aid on the other side of the border will not cross into Venezuela. What is clear is that Maduro is not planning to back down ahead of the Saturday confrontation. On Wednesday he closed the border to air and sea traffic from three Caribbean islands and today he shut down the Brazilian border. Hes also warned that the total closure of the Colombian border could be next. His wife Christine was there to hold his hand, but he died without his two teenage children - Jack, 17, and daughter Laura, 14 - by his side. He farewelled them in Australia on Sunday. His disease - multiple system atrophy - is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. There are no treatments and there is no prospect of recovery but death can take years. Relatives and former colleagues of veteran Victorian firefighter Troy Thornton have paid tribute to the 54-year-old, who has died in a Swiss euthanasia clinic. "The hardest thing I've ever had to do is say goodbye to them. It just destroyed me," he said in the days before his death. His mother left a heartwrenching message on Saturday on the Facebook page of Mornington Fire Brigade, where her son was the officer in charge until his retirement last year. "To my beautiful son Troy, I feel so proud of you and all you have achieved not only in your working life but a wonderful family man," Barbara Spencer wrote. "My heart aches for you today. I am sending my love and hope you feel it in your heart my arms are wrapped around you they will be as you take your final journey. "Rest In Peace my Boy. I love you and will carry you in my heart forever. Mum xxxxxxxooooo" The son of the allegedly murdered Katherine Panin was controlling and hid the existence of his wife and sons from her for years, a murder trial jury has heard. On October 12, 2015, 82-year-old Mrs Panin was found dead at the bottom of the stairs at the Red Hill home she shared with her family. Her daughter-in-law Melissa Beowulf, 61, and two grandsons Thorsten, 32, and Bjorn, 31, have been accused of her murder, a charge they have denied. The back stairs at Beagle Street where Katherine Panin was found dead. Mrs Panin's son Thorhammer Beowulf had died only a few months before her of pancreatic cancer but the ACT Supreme Court has heard their relationship was strained. On trial last week, Cranston was frank about the interventions he had made, but insistent that he had made inquiries through others, to whom he had disclosed his interest, so as not to interfere with the investigation. No one was surprised at his acquittal, but his career is over. The AFP cant make omelettes without breaking eggs. Loading Meanwhile, the AFP Commissioner, Andie Colvin confiding to senators that he is cogitating about what to do with a request from Mike Pezzullo, secretary of the department of home affairs, that the AFP investigate a leak, to the Australian, of a classified home affairs submission attacking the Labor Party position on medical evacuations from Manus and Nauru. The headline suggested that ASIO was playing party politics, and damning Labor boat people policy for running the risk of opening the floodgates. ASIO had said no such thing. It had merely indicated, at a gathering of agencies in Home Affairs, that it would be next to impossible to prepare security assessments in 24 hours, as some draft legislation has suggested the floodgates argument being used by the government in the home of a boat-people election is the (entirely consistent and predictable) view of Pezzullo. Last weekend, I was very critical of Duncan Lewis, for his failure to immediately disassociate himself from The Australians report, saying his failure to do so had seriously damaged the organisation. We may not know who actually leaked the home affairs submission, that incorporated some ASIO technical comments. But Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton was entirely unembarrassed about associating ASIO and the governments security advisers generally with Pezzullos view. He was verballing them. On Monday too late but better late than never Lewis did what he should have done the week before. The publicity given to his distancing ASIO from the Pezzullo document undid some of the earlier damage to the organisation. Director-general of security Duncan Lewis said ASIO's advice had been misrepresented. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Meanwhile Pezzullo, himself angry about the leak, and fairly sure it had come from his ministers office, referred the leak to the AFP for investigation. He did it without consulting the minister. But the AFP commissioner has yet to decide whether to start such an investigation. Hes 'evaluating' the request. On form, its hard to understand his caution about fingering the minister or his office. One can be sure, based on history, that the investigation will last until well after the next election, and, most likely end up without result, or unwillingness to prosecute from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. On the cui bono principle, Blind Freddy could solve this crime in a minute. But AFP officers do not seem to know Blind Freddy, and have failed in cases where the culprit has seemed even more obvious. It might be unfair to suggest timorousness, or desire either to ingratiate or at the least not offend, the government of the day. Suffice in the 40 years we have had the AFP I have not known the AFP to solve a single crime or leak inquiry if the result has had the potential to embarrass the government of the day. It is not a partisan matter; the AFP is just as obsequious and attentive when Labor in power, one of the reasons Labor tends to exempt it from criticism, on the 'dog dont eat dog' rule. The idea of asking questions of Dutton and his office we can take it they individually and severally deny leaking, even if after, they had the document declassified so that it could be quoted is under evaluation, Colvin told estimates. For every matter like this we receive we evaluate what avenues of inquiry are open to us, what the prospects of a successful investigation will be, he said. We are going through that. Whether an offence has been committed, what the nature and the context of the document that has been leaked, what its protection and classification is - we are going through that process at the moment ... we need to satisfy ourselves that the alleged activity matches the elements of the crimes that are available to us. That, apparently, is before one finds out what evidence there is of such a crime. I doubt that Duttons office is losing much sleep over the prospect of being fanged by the AFP tiger. Licked to death more likely. Consider the ignominious end of its nine-month intensive investigation into a tip-off of journalists about the AFP raid on AWU offices. We know, inter alia from evidence in an associated Federal Court case, that among those who tipped off journalists was a minder in the office of Michael Keenan, then the minister for justice and the minister with responsibility for the AFP. No doubt by complete coincidence, the AFP had given Keenans office earlier a heads up about the impending raid. Michaelia Cash has told a Senate Estimates committee she had no prior knowledge of the AWU raids. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen This minder, apparently, talked with folk in Michaelia Cashs office. Someone there had already been tipped off via a press officer in the Registered Organisations Commission, a person about to shift in Cashs office. After the news also came in from Keenans office, the PR people in both Cashs office and Keenans offices divided among themselves the job of tipping off the media. Keenan and Cash indignantly deny any knowledge of this leaking, or the authorisation of it. The ROC investigation, which she had urged on the independent ROC but not directed, was to provide an occasion to attack Bill Shorten for authorising an AWU donation to Get Up. Among Liberals and people who worked in the trade union royal commission (including the present DPP) it seems to be settled doctrine that such a donation was not properly authorised and was in breach of some law or other. But the case is far from convincing and even the royal commissioner, suggestible on anything reflecting ill on trade unions, ended up being unimpressed with the case, gathered, mostly by AFP investigators, that Shorten was an ogre. A more convincing case was made out that Shorten was a pussycat who talked tough, but put his own interests, and the interests of the union bureaucracy, ahead of members. The senate committee was told that neither Keenan nor Cash had been very cooperative with the police investigation into the leak. Six others, of about 60 questioned, had also refused to answer questions. When police asked that Cash cooperate in preparing a statement, she contented herself with supplying the police with a copy of what she had said in Hansard. She doesnt seem to have answered questions. Cash has continually sought to avoid scrutiny of what she did, if anything, the fact of one inquiry or court case or privilege to claim that she is inhibited in what she can say. It may look does not evasive and fishy, but the mere appearance is not evidence, whether of guilty acts, or guilty intentions. In estimates, Assistant Commissioner Leanne Close made generous allowance for Cashs 'right', along with the others who did not cooperate, to stay mum. Strictly any suspect has that right. But should a still serving minister be allowed to avoid public accountability behind such a right? Can a serving politician 'claim the Fifth' as the Americans might say and survive politically? If there is to be a principle involved, it should be something like a claim of diplomatic immunity in a serious matter: one can invoke the immunity once, and immunity will be granted. But the price is that one exit the jurisdiction in the case of a minister or ministerial staffer, resign. I should have thought that a bold investigator would have pursued questions, and cajoled some answers, not least with a threat of going to the prime minister or going public. Loading Close said there was evidence of the destruction of emails and other documents dare one say incriminating ones in both ministerial offices. I imagine that this might be able to be framed as an attempt to pervert the course of justice something one might not expect a minister for justice to have said about his office. Or Cash, herself a lawyer after all. But the supreme irony is that the AFP leapt into the Australian Workers' Union raid affair, all guns blazing with warrants and squadrons of police, because of a suspicion said to abide in a ROC heart - that destruction of evidence might occur in the Australian Workers' Union office. We do not know how much basis there was for this suspicion - it is never very hard to get a warrant from an ACT magistrate, and some, as a recent case demonstrated, do not even seem to know about parliamentary privilege. But leaking confidential government information is regarded, perhaps wrongly, as a quite serious crime. So is the destruction of documents relevant to a criminal inquiry. By contrast document destruction by the AWU if it happened would be of evidence that might have been relevant to an administrative not a criminal - offence, and might not be an offence at all. The AFP has inverted the seriousness of the offences. They did the same in rating the ROC request as important in its usual prioritisation process, and by responding in the usual over the top when it performs raids on alleged terrorists. The leak investigation was long. But it seems to have been timorous, tentative and scared to offend. Certainly, an AFP which did not hesitate to get a warrant to secure Australian Workers' Union documents does not seem to have thought of doing the same thing for ministerial office documents. One might imagine as well that the resources of the AFP include the capacity to retrieve deleted material from government computers. Sadly, it seems that investigators were too polite to press any points, perhaps for fear that ministers might get angry at them. But despite these self-inflicted handicaps, the AFP investigators were apparently able to prepare a brief identifying at least some of those involved in the leaking. The investigators and the AFP legal chaps were confident that it went beyond a prima facie case, and that convictions were likely. But the DPP disagreed. Because two ministers and six minders or public servants had not cooperated, there were gaps in the evidence and conviction was not virtually certain. Message: when theres a leak inquiry, refuse to talk. If the police wont walk away, the DPP will. The AFP has accepted the verdict gracefully, and dropped everything. The beauty of this, moreover, is that the public will never know anything about the processes by which the matter leaked, including about the role, if any, of the AFP media team. They will of course piously blame the DPP rather than a less than wholehearted investigation, even as they gleefully deny access to the brief and any sort of public accountability. Canberra's "dry and grey" city centre is set to be spruced up under a new ACT government-funded initiative. The government has tasked Lavanna Neal and a team from local events management firm Dionysus to help clean and green Civic and Braddon. Lavanna Neal has been appointed as the ACT government's new city place manager. Credit:Elesa Kurtz The team will provide cleaning and maintenance services, co-ordinate public art and installations and help oversee a program of events for the city's heart. Ms Neal, who will lead the group in the role of city place manager, said the project was designed to lift the "overall presentation of the city". The ACTs government doesnt seem to grasp the magnitude of Canberra's emerging bikie problem. Worse still, the Chief Ministers reluctance to support anti-consorting laws is allowing these gangs serious and organised crime activities to flourish in the territory. The Rebels Motorcycle Club, had once made sure that Canberra was a one club city, but their dominance has crumbled. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Until 2007 Australias largest outlaw motorcycle gang, the Rebels MC, had made sure that Canberra was a one club city. In 2014 the Rebels Motorcycle Club's dominance began to crumble when Australian law enforcement was able to weaken the clubs national leadership, through the cancellation of the permanent resident visa of their long-time national president, Alex Vella. What was left of the Rebels' national leadership understood that other clubs would view the loss of Vella as a sign of weakness, and their dominance in Canberra was likely to be challenged. The clubs initial response to this development involved rapidly expanding the number of Canberra region chapters and fast-tracking new members to bolster their numbers. Traditionally, the Rebels required their new members to undertake a lengthy nomination process that was used to build club comradery and loyalty. In the name of expediency, this process was truncated by the Canberra Rebels and later their competition. This change has seen the average age of Canberra club membership plummet from 40-something to 20-something. WorkSafe ACT is investigating after a large mobile crane tipped over onto its side during routine maintenance at a Hume business site. Nobody was injured in the incident, which occurred at a site on Sawmill Circuit, next to Ullrich Aluminium Canberra, at about 1.15pm on Friday afternoon. A police van, ACT Fire and Rescue van, fire truck, and WorkSafe ACT vehicle were on the scene at 4.45pm on Friday. Several WorkSafe investigators were conferring in a demountable at the front of the site. The crane toppled over in Hume on Sawmill Cct. Credit:Elesa Kurtz Workers were putting black mesh on fences surrounding the site to shield the crane from cameras and media, and declined to talk about the circumstances surrounding the incident. It seems only yesterday that Bea Smith was putting someone's hand in the ironing press, Lizzie Birdsworth was dragging on a ciggie while complaining about the latest "rotten, stinkin' mongrel'' and Vera "Vinegar Tits'' Bennett was somewhere applying a tad more starch than necessary to her immaculate uniform. Ah, Prisoner. Could it really be 40 years since it first aired, introducing Australia to the rough-as-guts, hearts-of-gold women of Cell Block H at the Wentworth Detention Centre? Well, yes, and two of the stars of the show, Val Lehman, who played the indomitable Queen Bea Smith, and Amanda Muggleton, aka cheeky prostitute-turned-doctor-killer Chrissie Latham, will be in Canberra to celebrate the milestone with fans. The Ainslie Village social housing site - on prime real estate in the inner-north - is under review by the ACT government. Chief Minister Andrew Barr on Friday said it was too early to say the site would be sold but did indicate one option was dismantling the village and dispersing its residents into smaller housing sites throughout the ACT. The review was being conducted by Housing ACT. Ainslie Village residents in 1983. Credit:Fairfax Media He was not ruling anything in or out but selling the land was an option. "To have a smaller-scale of provision in a number of different locations is one potential model," Mr Barr said. The Reserve Bank of Australia has unveiled a new $20 note, to be released into circulation in October. The new note will still bear the likenesses of Mary Reibey and the Reverend John Flynn, but has been modernised to follow the style of the recently upgraded $5, $10 and $50 notes. Mary Reibey on an RBA sample of the new banknote. Credit:Reserve Bank of Australia "Improved security and ease of recognition are important characteristics of the new $20 banknote. The same innovative security features from the previously released $5, $10 and $50 banknotes have been incorporated to help keep them secure from counterfeiting," RBA governor Philip Lowe said on Friday. A new $100 bill is expected to be issued next year. For four whole days we could only gaze in distant wonder, until one morning conditions improved enough for us to reach the shore. Not only did the populations of sea lions and rock wallabies have no fear of us, they were also filled with curiosity, allowing us to tell their story in half the time we had allocated. Next we hitched a ride with Sea Shepherd to Pearson Island in the Great Australian Bight. The region has been likened to the Galapagos home to endemic animals with very little exposure to humans. The island inhabitants stared at us as we stared back at them from the deck of the Steve Irwin, which we couldnt leave because of dangerous swells. That pleasant prickly surprise took us on a journey we didnt anticipate creating a story that would have us following the echidna over seasons, from snow to melt to river crossing. After our big bird fail, we got luckier. Hunched in the snow, buffeted by icy winds, we were treated to not only a wombat emerging from its burrow, snuffling for unfrozen grass, but also an echidna. It had chosen the same moment to shuffle across the expanse of white, its feet sometimes disappearing through the recent dump of snow. In the Top End, palm cockatoos toyed mercilessly with us. We staked out their favoured perches before dawn and lay still until the sun rose and the mosquitoes came out to play. Australias largest and arguably most stunning cockatoos landed above our heads just out of range of our lenses. The moment we silently shifted the lens, the birds were off, calling for us to chase them further through their range. Eventually they rewarded our tenacity, or tired of their game. Either way, unlike the emus, they allowed us to tell their incredible story. Cameraman Jon Shaw films a whale shark at Ningaloo Reef. Credit:Adele Bennett In the sea we grappled with stacks of spider crabs and almost got vacuumed into the mouths of stingrays. We crashed more than one drone. We got sunburnt, windblown and hypothermic. We got spat on, and worse. Poo, after all, is an occupational hazard. Putting natural history on screen is a test of endurance, from the point of conception when talking broadcasters into backing the project can take longer than the actual filming through to the painstaking edit. Hundreds of hours of vision must be crafted into stories that do these complex animals justice. Their lives are far richer than most people realise. And, most difficult of all, their world is changing in both subtle and dramatic ways, and we must tell that tale too. The impact of human-induced change was apparent in all the landscapes we worked across, no matter how remote. To exclude details of animals struggling on account of human activity would be to miss a big part of the story. So while we aimed to thrill with the glorious biodiversity still being discovered on this extraordinary continent, we also wanted to alert viewers to the threats these environments face. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta. Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images In a conspiracy-theory-sodden era, the story of Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire abuser of underage girls, stands out both for its harrowing veracity and for the impunity it reveals. Epstein molested dozens of girls since at least 2001 and provided other, still-anonymous accomplices with girls to abuse. But Epstein, who once counted Bill Clinton and David Copperfield among his acquaintances, is not in prison, nor is he likely to go to prison at any point in the near future. As the Miami Herald first reported in an exhaustive investigation, Epstein owes his freedom, in part, to the efforts of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, who, in his previous role as a U.S. Attorney in Miami, declined to prosecute Epstein under federal sex-trafficking laws. A conviction under these laws could have put him in prison for the rest of his life. Instead, Acosta and his fellow prosecutors worked closely with Epsteins legal team, which included Alan Dershowitz and Kenneth Starr, to negotiate a non-prosecution agreement that allowed him to plead guilty to two charges of prostitution. He served 13 months in a private wing of the county jail in 2007. Prosecutors then agreed to seal the deal without informing Epsteins victims that any agreement had been reached at all. The Justice Department had already opened an investigation into the Epstein prosecution, and on Thursday, Acosta found himself in even deeper trouble. Two of Epsteins victims had sued over the deal, arguing that prosecutors, including Acosta, violated a federal law that grants victims of crime the right to be notified of potential plea deals and to confer with attorneys for the government. A federal judge has now ruled in their favor, the Herald reported. U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Marra found that prosecutors, including Acosta, broke the law by keeping the deal from Epsteins victims. Particularly problematic was the Governments decision to conceal the existence of the [agreement] and mislead the victims to believe that federal prosecution was still a possibility, Marra wrote. When the Government gives information to victims, it cannot be misleading. While the Government spent untold hours negotiating the terms and implications of the [agreement] with Epsteins attorneys, scant information was shared with victims. Its not yet clear if Marras ruling will necessarily force Acosta from office. According to the Herald, Marra gave victims attorneys and the government 15 days to reach some kind of resolution, though the verdict didnt spell out what that resolution could look like. The Justice Department says on its website that employees who willfully or wantonly fail to comply with the law could face suspension or termination, but Acosta no longer works for the department. And until he was implicated in the Epstein deal, Acosta enjoyed a relatively uncontroversial public profile by the standards of the Trump administration. That quietude is at an end, as he no longer faces a scandal but a legal crisis. Even so, his resignation doesnt quite seem assured. In perhaps any other presidential administration, Marras verdict would lead swiftly to an Acosta resignation. Trumps Cabinet is notably corrupt, however, and while several of its members have indeed resigned when waters became too hot for them to tolerate, theres no clear, consistent red line that a Trump secretary has to cross before they remove themselves from office. Acosta also doesnt serve a president renowned for his deep commitment to protecting women and girls from abuse. The same culture of impunity that insulates elite predators like Epstein from justice could keep Acosta in power. Unless, of course, the secretary chooses a different path. Marras verdict cant rectify old damages, but Acosta could help mend things further by voluntarily removing himself from power. His resignation is now long overdue. ARTHUR AND CORINNE CANTRILL IN CONVERSATION (Unrated) Since the 1960s, Arthur and Corinne Cantrill have been essential figures in Australian cinema centrally concerned with the material possibilities of film as a medium, and almost equally with the Australian landscape. This rare opportunity to see them present and discuss their work is not to be missed. ACMI Studio, Saturday, February 23, 3pm. Booking advised. The Searchers, staring John Wayne as Ethan Edwards. THE SEARCHERS (119 minutes) PG John Ford's most famous Western, made in 1956, is a vivid, troubling epic that grapples very directly with the contradictions in the myth of America. John Wayne plays the anti-hero, a racist Civil War veteran who spends years looking for his niece (Natalie Wood) after she's abducted by a Native American tribe. Digitally projected. Thornbury Picture House, Sunday, February 24, 3pm. I've been following the debate over the drastic changes at Melbourne University Publishing with growing perplexity. You'd think the literary community could discuss the future of one of our greatest university presses with calm deliberation. But calm and deliberation have been scarce qualities on offer. What exactly will happen now that MUP CEO Louise Adler and four of her fellow board members have resigned? In what direction will the recently appointed University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Duncan Maskell steer his flagship? Melbourne University Publishing is destined for change after CEO Louise Adler and four of her fellow board members resigned. Credit:Joe Armao The new vision is to "refocus on being a high-quality scholarly press in support of the university's mission of excellence in teaching and research". That's being interpreted as ditching commercial trade titles in favour of scholarly works by academics. But how far will this new direction go? We will have to wait to find out, but that hasn't stopped everyone and his dog weighing in on the subject in the meantime, with mostly polarised results. On the one hand, it appears we've lost a priceless bastion of publishing on matters of crucial public interest that will be replaced by nerdy books that nobody wants to read. The frenzied debate around why China would ban Australian coal imports to a number of its large ports falls into two camps - those that say it's commercial, and those that view it as political. Why can't it be both? China's gentle brake on Australian coal imports kills two birds with one stone. As such, it delivers an exaggerated impact. Credit:Peter Braig China has plenty of agendas but in order of importance, its economy would be at the top. Delivering Australia some payback for its decision to exclude the Chinese technology company Huawei from the roll-out of Australia's 5G mobile network, or for some inferences from Scott Morrison that China may be involved in the cyber attack on our political parties, would have to be a second-order piece of business. It sums up the conundrum for tech investors. These company's may perform brilliantly but sky high valuations mean there is little room for anything other than perfection. Altium, one of the more obscure members of the main tech pack, managed to attain this perfection on Tuesday. The company makes the software tech tool kits that help design circuit boards that are being embedded in any electrical product imaginable, including household goods like fridges and air conditioners, to connect them to our digital world. The company reported a 24 per cent rise in revenue to $US78.1 million, and a 58 per cent increase in net profit to $US23.4 million. More importantly it continued to raise its guidance. Profit margins are expected to rise and Altium unveiled a new revenue target of $500 million by 2025 with China expected to be a driving force. WiseTech's results the following day were very strong too. WiseTech, which aims to envelope the global logistics industry with its software ecosystem, reported a 68 per cent lift in total revenue to $156.7 million compared to the prior first half, and a 48 per cent lift in net profit to $23.1 million and reiterated its guidance for the full year. It was another stellar result, but after a 40 per cent rise in its share price over the previous six weeks, the market was clearly expecting more. The stock dived as much as 14 per cent on the day, and the fall continued over the following days. As if that wasn't enough, as WiseTech tumbled share of Afterpay - the pay by instalment provider taking the market by storm - staged a 10 per cent plunge for reasons that have yet to be explained, but has been linked to a potential leak of a Senate report into the buy now, pay later sector due to be released on Friday. Afterpay rivals Zip Co and Splitit also experienced share losses over the following days despite the fact the two companies are not expected to be impacted by the report. For tech investors it is just another day learning to live with the volatility of stocks that are priced on metrics that have not been sighted since the dot com boom/bust. "This is a growth company," says WiseTech CEO Richard White. Credit:Peter Braig Not that this is an issue for some major tech investors who support White's growth mantra. Theres a lot of merit to that, says Cyan Investment management portfolio manager Dean Fergie which has investments in Afterpay and Splitit. He says when you look at benchmark stocks from the US like Amazon, Facebook, and Google, they were unprofitable for years until they got a strong market share, now theyre behemoths in the sector. He says the traditional valuations methods are hard to apply to businesses as extremely scalable as tech companies which can operate globally. This potential scale means they have always got extremely high valuations because the trajectory of earnings is so large and any small deviation in that trajectory of earnings will have a large impact. Cyan Investment Director and Portfolio Manager Dean Fergie. Credit:Stefan Postles As sentiment and results swing even marginally, the view of the current valuation of these stocks can swing aggressively, he says. Ben Clark, a portfolio manager with WiseTech investor TMS Capital, says the high earnings multiples create more volatility in both directions. He says with Altium there was a clear beat of expectations. The clear message from both investors is that you need to make a long-term judgement and not get too caught up in the short-term stock price movements. With both of these stocks you need to be talking five years out, says Clark. You have to be able to sit through the volatility. With the release of the Senate report, the fun is expected to continue for Afterpay investors next week as the shares react to any further regulatory burden on the sector. Afterpay has thrived in an environment where it has not been burdened with the need to conduct credit checks on its customers. This is because, technically, it is not providing its customers with credit, they are paying by instalment. Afterpay is also releasing its half-year results on Wednesday. According to Bloomberg data, the $4 billion company is currently trading on a valuation of 32 times its sales. Language translation specialist Appen will also face high expectations when it reports on Monday. The companys shares hit a record high this week as it got caught in the giddy backdraft of Altiums results. Appen, which is worth $2 billion, has not updated its guidance since last November when it told investors to expect full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to be between $62 million and $65 million. The stock has risen 80 per cent since November. It leaves a lot of room for disappointment, and possibly another lesson for tech investors on how to live with volatility. No that it is easy. The major theme of this company reporting season has been the strength of the office leasing sector, with landlords now firmly in charge of squeezed tenants. Tech groups, law firms and accounting/advisory sectors are the most active in Sydney's city centre from east to west. One of the largest was by Deloitte which confirmed it was taking a a 10-year lease over 32,000 square metres in Quay Quarter Tower at Circular Quay. One Wharf Lane, 171 Sussex Street, Sydney is fully let and a tech hub. This brings the total pre-commitment of Quay Quarter Tower to 76 per cent, following AMPs announcement in December 2016 it had agreed to take 35,000 sqm in the $1 billion tower redevelopment. A new use for anti-fungal medication, that is being developed by Mayne Pharma to treat an inherited form of skin cancer, is three years away from being introduced to the market. The pharmaceuticals company acquired the commercial rights to the medication in the first half of the 2018-19 financial year, and told investors on Friday that it could have a global market value of $US300 million ($A423 million). Mayne Pharma chief executive Scott Richards says the company is three years away from introducing the treatment to the market. Credit:Josh Robenstone The medication, SUBA-itraconazole, will be used to treat basal cell carcinoma nevus syndrome (BCCNS), an inherited medical condition that affects about 10,000 people in the United States. Also known as the Gorlins Syndrome, people with the condition are prone to developing a, usually, non-life-threatening form of non-melanoma skin cancer. But currently the most widely used treatment is surgery. Like a pair of glossy lips, the 13th floor of the LOreal headquarters in Melbourne, at 564 St Kilda Road, shimmers upon arrival. Replacing a fairly corporate-style fit-out, mirrors rather than particle board greet both visitors and staff on this level (LOreal occupies the majority of the building). The previous fit-out was fairly basic, primarily white laminate and a few static signs, says architect Travis Walton, director of Travis Walton Architecture. The design was one thing, but as importantly so was the problem with its layout. There were too many internalised meeting rooms, with virtually no direct light, he adds. Harrisonburg, VA (22807) Today Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds early will give way to generally clear conditions overnight. Low 66F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Harrisonburg, VA (22807) Today Intervals of clouds and sunshine in the morning with more clouds for later in the day. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low 66F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Photo: Mason Trinca/Getty Images Months after thousands of its employees walked out on their work demanding change, Google is finally making some. The company announced Thursday that it will be ending forced arbitration as a mandatory practice for employees. That means if you work at Google and you have an issue youd like to raise in court, you can now sue your employer. The policy, however, will only apply to full-time employees at Google (and a few projects under Google) but will not cover staffers at other Alphabet companies, nor will it cover TVCs, Googles contract workers, Axios reports. These changes will go into effect on March 21. Issues previously settled via arbitration will not be eligible for reopening, though if an employee is still mid-arbitration on March 21 they can pivot to a lawsuit, should they wish to do so. Ending forced arbitration was among the list of demands circulated by the employees who initiated the Google Walkout in November 2018. In December, a group of employees calling themselves the Googlers for Ending Forced Arbitration published a letter on Medium highlighting why the company needed to overhaul its current practices. Google CEO Sundar Pichai initially responded a week after the walkout by announcing that the company would end forced arbitration for individual sexual harassment and sexual assault claims. As with this weeks change, that policy shift did not apply to TVCs at Google. In fact, TVCs who are predominantly women and people of color and make up more than half of Googles workforce werent even informed of the change. They did not receive the company-wide email sent by Pichai, according to an open letter posted on Medium by a coalition of TVCs and full-time employees demanding equal treatment for TVCs. (The letter also noted that when an active shooter attacked YouTubes headquarters in San Bruno, California, TVCs were left in the dark. The real-time safety and information emails were only sent to full-time employees.) Googles finally ending forced arbitration is good news. But its not like Google has done this out of the kindness of its heart. The company did not wake up and realize that allowing employees to litigate their very real problems in the light of day is the ethical thing to do. It spent months calculating behind closed doors before finally making the change. And even then, as when it ended its policy of forced arbitration for harassment cases, it still didnt go far enough to make the change for all of its employees. Sign Up for the Intelligencer Newsletter Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. Ed Byrne and Noel Reid both scored two first-half tries as Leinster thrashed Southern Kings 59-19 in the Guinness PRO14. The runaway Conference B leaders had secured a bonus point by the 37th minute and ended up running in nine tries in total against their struggling South African opponents. The Kings briefly led midway through the first half, with Bjorn Basson and Sarel Pretorius scoring in quick succession, but man-of-the-match Byrne's rapid-fire double and centre Reid's second of the night gave Leo Cullen's men a 24-12 interval advantage. The youthful Leinster side, which included 21-year-old debutant hooker Ronan Kelleher, leaked a third try to Kings full-back Ulrich Beyers but rattled off five more of their own with Barry Daly, Andrew Porter, Max Deegan, Paddy Patterson and fellow replacement Rory O'Loughlin all touching down. The South Africans, who have won just two games this season, fell behind to a fifth-minute try from Reid, whose well-timed line took him over beside the posts. Ross Byrne knocked over the first of his seven successful conversions but the Kings hit back to lead 12-7 by the 20-minute mark. Centre Basson crossed in the left corner and scrum half Pretorius burrowed over on the right after captain Mike Willemse had been stopped short from a maul. It was all Leinster for the next few minutes during which prop Ed Byrne touched down twice. Conor O'Brien and the forwards revelled as the hosts went the direct route and Ed Byrne duly muscled in under the posts. Ross Byrne added the extras and then the seven-point lead was restored after a close-range surge made it a double for the 25-year-old front rower. Some superb interplay between Fergus McFadden, with an offload out the back door, and Daly preceded Reid's bonus-point effort. The home forwards initially pressed from a lineout and Ross Byrne's well-executed wraparound on the short side put the centre over. In the second half, Bader Pretorius broke a tackle and released the supporting Beyers to finish off his try from the edge of the Leinster 22. The try's creator converted but Daly profited from Ross Byrne's one-handed offload to accelerate away from Beyers for a 46th-minute response. Tighthead Porter struck at the end of a prolonged attack in the 54th minute and the hosts finished with a three-try flourish in the final 16 minutes. The ever-alert Deegan sprung through a gap and expertly arced his run to register his sixth try of the PRO14 campaign, O'Brien and O'Loughlin combined to send academy youngster Patterson over, and O'Loughlin stretched out of a tackle and in under the posts for try number nine. - Press Association A school teacher who has been left with numbness in her mouth and jaw after a tooth implant went wrong has been awarded 60,000 by the High Court. Noreen Hedigan, Mr Justice Kevin Cross said, has been left with permanent numbness of her right lower jaw, chin and some teeth after undergoing foundation work for an implant when a screw was inserted in her gum. The woman told the court she is now "staying clear of implants. It's a disaster." Mrs Hedigan's counsel Dr John O'Mahony SC explained to the court the screw impinged on the dental nerve and did a lot of damage and she now has significant numbness in the right lower cheek and jaw and in five of her teeth. Mr Justice Cross said Mrs Hedigan was a most pleasant woman who was not exaggerating her complaints but she is conscious all the time of the numbness, dribbles sometimes when she is eating and as a secondary school teacher has to mould her words when speaking. He said the injury was in the moderate category and Mrs Hedigan was entitled to go through life without this numbness in her jaw. Noreen Hedigan (aged 49) a secondary school teacher from Kilbrack, Doneraile, Co. Cork, had sued dentist Kemeney Istvan who practised at the time at Hungarian Dental Clinic Ltd, Main Street, Ballylanders, Co. Limerick. Sub-standard care, it was claimed, was provided to Mrs Hedigan on October 2012 and she suffered, it was alleged, traumatic injury causing nerve damage at or around the time of the drilling and implant. Dr O'Mahony told the court judgment had been obtained against the dentist and the case was before the court for assessment of damages only. The case against the Hungarian Dental Clinic was adjourned generally. Counsel said Mrs Hedigan has suffered significant numbness to her right lower cheek and five of her teeth are also lacking sensitivity. As a result, he said she favours the left side of her mouth when eating. In evidence, Mrs Hedigan said in October 2012 she was in the dental clinic on another matter and was advised she could have an implant to fill a gap in her lower right jaw. She said the dentist cut open her gum and a screw was implanted as the first step of a two-step procedure. When the dentist rang her the next day, she told him her jaw area was still numb. She said: I said I was grand but its still numb. "He started panicking and said to come to him where he was working that day at a clinic in Dublin." She said she drove to Dublin to meet the dentist who she said cut her gum open again and took out the screw. "He said the numbness would go but it might take weeks," she said. Mrs Hedigan was refunded the 1,000 she had already paid as she did not want to continue with an implant. She told the judge there had been so much "rooting and tearing at my gum". But she said the feeling in her right lower jaw never came back. She said her GP referred her for x-ray and she could see the nerve in her right lower jaw had disappeared. She said she has been told nothing can be done for the numbness. Leslie McCrae Dowless, the man who made election fraud talk come to life in North Carolina. Photo: Travis Long/Raleigh News & Observer/TNS via Getty Images The irony is pretty rich. For years, and with ever-increasing intensity, Republicans have claimed with virtually no evidence that our democracy is menaced by election fraud. It has been their all-purpose excuse for voter suppression tactics, their rationalization for election defeats, and a central element of a Big Conspiracy Theory alleging that Democrats want open borders so they can drown good white taxpaying citizens in a sea of illegal voting by immigrants and other minorities seeking to give themselves welfare benefits. Sign Up for the Intelligencer Newsletter Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. So now, from North Carolina, theres finally a clearly documented case of election fraud that actually appears to have changed an election result. The cruel irony for Republicans is that operatives from their own party particularly consultant Leslie McCrae Dowless allegedly did the deed. As Philip Bump notes, this is very much a blue-moon development: The last time there was a federal election that needed to be rerun was more than 40 years ago, when a close race combined with a faulty voting machine in Louisiana to prompt the calling of a new election. Politicos Steven Shepard has a good history of past do-overs, including that Louisiana race, a history that makes clear that this is probably the first federal election in which the results were tainted by fraudulent activity. To be clear, the illegal activity in North Carolinas Ninth District didnt resemble the voter fraud scenarios Republicans have insisted on imagining in recent years: [This] wasnt an election tainted by people showing up to cast illegal ballots, the fraud allegation that has been leveled scores of times by President Trump alone. Instead, it focused on allegedly corrupt actions by a man working for a consulting firm hired by one of the candidates. So tighter voter-ID laws or voter-roll purges or more closely scrutinized voter-registration drives, the most frequent GOP prescriptions for election security, wouldnt have mattered at all. You could make an attenuated case that opportunities for early voting or voting-by-mail in this case voting by absentee ballot that Democrats have recent championed are the problem. But what happened in North Carolina is the functional equivalent of old-fashioned, 19th-century ballot-box stuffing. Unused absentee ballots were fraudulently filled out with signatures forged, and actually filled-out absentee ballots cast for the wrong candidate were discarded. As the Brennan Center wryly observes, this activity was much closer to voter suppression than to the voter fraud alleged to justify voter suppression. And as Bump notes, the silence from Republicans about it all has been deafening: [T]here has been almost no outcry from Republican elected officials. Trump hasnt mentioned the situation in North Carolina. A review of congressional tweets shows no Republican officials who have linked the events in the 9th District to their partys campaign against voter fraud and plenty of Democrats who have noted that silence. Actually, some conservatives have attempted to change the subject to their traditional whining about Democrats via whataboutism aimed at California, as reflected in this Breitbart take: According to the Washington Post, Dowless and his staff gathered absentee ballots from voters and offered to mail them in on the voters behalf. Only near relatives are allowed to do that under North Carolina law. But in California, third parties may submit an unlimited number of mail-in ballots, thanks to a new law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2016. The practice of ballot harvesting is now thought to have had a major impact on the 2018 midterm elections in California, where several incumbent Republicans in competitive districts had healthy leads on Election Night, only to discover weeks later, in some cases they had lost, thanks to mail-in ballots. This wasnt thought to have had a major impact by anyone, and I do mean anyone, other than Republicans trying to explain away their disastrous performance in California, which predictably got worse when a long-established Democratic tilt in late mail ballots predictably manifested itself. Innuendo aside, there hasnt been a scintilla of evidence that anyone in California committed felonies by falsifying or discarding mail ballots, which is what the North Carolina case is all about. So Republicans really do need to own what happened in North Carolinas Ninth District, and at a minimum stop pretending election fraud is a Democratic phenomenon or that keeping people from voting is an appropriate remedy for crooks faking or stealing their ballots. A loving Co Meath mum is appealing for help in finding a specialised wetsuit for her daughter who needs 24-hour care after suffering an acquired brain injury in Dubai. Aisling Brady (28) cannot speak, eat, or see and can only slightly move her arms and legs at present but is finally coming home to Trim after spending most of the last year in the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dublin's Dun Laoghaire The young teacher was flown home from Dubai in January 2018 after she collapsed at school. Aisling with her brother Mark. While travelling to hospital she suffered multiple seizures and the first of three cardiac arrests which caused serious brain damage. Her condition was caused by a pulmonary embolism resulting from a DVT which had formed in her leg over a period of time, rushing up to her heart and eventually ending up in her lungs. Aisling has made some progress over the months and even mouthed the words of rugby anthem 'Ireland's Call' last year when team members made a special visit to her. Aisling's parents are delighted to be bringing their daughter back to Trim in the next few weeks but is seeking help in sourcing a specialized wet suit to continue her daughter's water therapy "The HSE has finally approved a care package which will see staff specially trained to give her 24/7 care at Care Choice centre in Trim. Ideally, we'd love to be bringing her back home to us but that's not possible because of the level of complex care she needs," said mum Antoinette. "Aisling is looking forward to coming home where friends and relatives can visit more often but she is terrified to leave Dun Laoghaire, where she now knows everyone and is able to recognise the staff from their footsteps and voices. Since the day she collapsed in November 2017 we feel like weve been living in a twilight zone and it's hard for us to see progress because we are with her day in and day out but we are told she is improving. "The most recent progress was at the equestrian centre in Bray where she goes horseriding with the aid of a hippo therapist. She has always loved horses and when she's hoisted onto the horse, she's so happy. "The first time, there were four people supporting her on the horse but after just three weeks, she now sits on the horse only holding onto the hippo therapists hand for support which means her core and trunk are strengthening - something we didn't hold out hope on happening." Aisling on horseback. However moving back to Trim has one stumbling block "She was using a hydrotherapy pool which was also helping her hugely but there's not one near us in Meath and she's not able for long journeys," said Antoinette. "A normal pool is warm enough for us but too cold for her and so we're looking for help in sourcing a specialised wetsuit so she can use the pool when she comes home. "It has to be easy to put on as her arms and legs have restricted movement but if anyone knows of a company or someone who can make one, please contact me on antobrady1@eircom.net." The jury hearing businessman Denis OBriens action over alleged defamation in articles in the Sunday Business Post will return to the High Court next Tuesday to hear closing speeches. When the eleven-member jury returned to court this morning, Mr Justice Bernard Barton sent them away until next Tuesday. He said that was necessary because the sides would be spending the day finalising the questions to be put before the jury. The judge also told the jury they would hear closing addresses on behalf of both parties on Tuesday to be followed on Wednesday by the judges charge to them concerning the applicable law. On completion of that charge, the jury will retire to consider their verdict. Evidence in the case had concluded on Thursday, the eleventh day of the hearing. The jury has heard evidence from three witnesses; Mr OBrien, former Sunday Business Post (SBP) journalist Tom Lyons, and Ian Kehoe who was editor of the newspaper when the articles were published on March 15, 2015. Mr OBrien claims he was defamed in articles published over six pages in the SBP. The articles named Mr O'Brien as among the 22 biggest borrowers from Irish banks in 2008 and their focus was a report by Price WaterhouseCoopers about the exposure of Irelands banks in 2008. That report was given to the government in November 2008 but not made public. Mr Lyons got the report from a source in 2015 and shredded it shortly after the articles were published to protect the source. Mr O'Brien claims the articles, written by Mr Lyons and others, wrongly meant he was among a gang of 22 borrowers who wrecked the country and that they defamed him and injured his reputation. The defendant, Post Publications Ltd, denies the words mean what he alleges, denies defamation and malicious publication, and has pleaded "fair and reasonable publication on a matter of public interest". A High Court judge has dismissed a mans claim for 60,000 damages over injuries allegedly suffered when he was a passenger in a car which ended up in a ditch on a country road in Co. Offaly. In light of the documentary evidence contradicting Patrick Wards version of events, including how the car ended up in the ditch, Mr Justice Michael Twomey was not satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, he was a credible witness "regarding anything that allegedly happened" on the night of the accident. He could not be satisfied whether Mr Ward was in the front or back seat, asleep or awake, whether the car slipped coming around a bend or on the straight, whether it slipped on snow or the road conditions were ok, whether it drove into a ditch as a result of an oncoming car or went straight into the ditch with no other cars in the vicinity, how the car ended up in the ditch "or indeed any detail of the claim as alleged by Mr Ward". Patrick Ward, of Kilcruttin, Tullamore, Co Offaly, had sued Michael Ward, the driver of the car, of the same address over the accident on a country road from Shannobridge to Cloghan, Co Offaly, at 1am on February 16, 2016. He also sued the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland and Liberty Insurance DAC. Before the hearing, an issue arose regarding alleged threadbare tyres on the car and, because it was unclear if Liberty would indemnify Michael Ward concerning any damages, the MIBI was also joined as a defendant. Michael Ward was not represented in the case. The judge said the engineering evidence was the accident occurred on a very straight stretch of road and it seemed the car ended up in a ditch and came into contact with a gate pillar. Mr Ward alleged he sustained neck and rib injuries and an injury to his eye. His evidence was those cleared up in a few months and the only treatment he received was pain-killers, anti-inflammatories and eye drops. The evidence was, within two weeks of the accident, Mr Ward told his GP he was okay but, although he is unemployed and thus has no loss of earnings, he claimed 60,000 damages over the injuries, the judge noted. Mr Ward also said in one form for the personal injuries assessment board he was a front-seat passenger when the car went around a bend and lost control but in another form, and in a reply to particulars, was described as a back-seat passenger when the car skidded in snow. While his solicitor had said he assumed the reference in the reply to particulars to back seat was a mistake on the solicitors part, Mr Ward was bound by that reply, the judge said. While it was possible the solicitors assumption was correct and Mr Ward was a front-seat passenger, it was "equally possible" Mr Ward did instruct his solicitor he was in the back seat. Another man has brought a personal injuries claim over the same accident alleging he was in the front seat but in replies to particulars said he was in the back, he noted. A consultant in emergency medicine also reported Mr Ward was a front-seat passenger and the cause of the accident was not snow or a bend but a car travelling in the opposite direction which forced the Ward car into the side of the road and into a pillar. Mr Ward maintained in evidence he was in the front seat and never accepted any responsibility for the inconsistencies in the evidence but simply blamed his solicitor or doctor for incorrectly referencing what he said or the other man for allegedly giving false statements in his personal injury summons, the judge said. Three researchers who worked on a project in their own time using strands of their own hair have discovered that its possible to measure Vitamin D levels using human hair. The discovery, potentially a major innovation in vitamin D measurement, could eventually prove a viable, more effective method of assessing a persons long term vitamin D status. The researchers, from Trinity College Dublin (TCD), and St James Hospital, say the study paves the way for improved diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency. Eamon Laird, Nutrition Research Fellow at TCD, provided a beard sample, and hair samples were provided by his fellow researchers, Lina Zgaga, Associate Professor in Epidemiology, TCD and Martin Healy, Principal Biochemist from the Biochemistry Department in St. James's Hospital. Dr Laird said they tweaked a technique for steroid hormone extraction from hair to create our own recipe for extraction of vitamin D. It worked, he said. Dr Zgaga said the study, published in the international journal of human nutrition, Nutrients, "presents the first step towards the development of a novel test for assessing vitamin D status over time. Dr Laird said other applications could include historical samples from archaeological sites. Hair, along with teeth, are some of the longest lasting surviving biological materials after death and thus it could be possible to for the first time assess the vitamin D status of historical populations, he said. Dr Laird said it could also be used to measure vitamin D status of ancient species given the well preserved and copious amounts of, for example, mammoth or ancient ice age animal hair, often found from the warming permafrost and in museum specimens. More than one billion people worldwide are estimated to suffer from Vitamin D deficiency which is linked to poor bone health, but could also be a risk factor for depression, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, diabetes and cancer. Dr Healy said finding that vitamin D can be measured in hair samples potentially opens up a new approach to epidemiological studies relating the vitamin to bone and non-bone related medical conditions which have been associated with its deficiency. Dr Zgaga said further research is needed to establish the exact relationship between vitamin D concentration in the blood and in hair over time. The High Court has ordered the extradition of a Cork man who was the "controlling mind" behind a 20m tax scam and who is now wanted in the UK for failing to pay a confiscation order amounting to almost 13m. Daniel OConnell (aged 65), with an address at Ballybrack, Clonlara, Co Clare, and Roseneath, Corbally, Co Limerick, had opposed his extradition on several grounds including delay. He also argued that to imprison him would breach his fundamental rights under the European Convention of Human Rights. It was also submitted that as O'Connell is currently indigent, or poor, he should not be surrendered to serve a penalty where a rich person would not have to do so. However, this morning, in a 47-page written judgement, Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly rejected all of Mr OConnells grounds. She said: This court is satisfied that there is no basis for refusing his surrender or referring his case further to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Ms Justice Donnelly also said the High Court can only refuse to surrender someone where there is a real risk that his rights cannot be protected or were not protected in the issuing state because of a defect in the system of justice there such that it would be egregious to surrender him. Ms Justice Donnelly said: No such evidence has been put forward. Mr OConnell was convicted in Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court in England on August 9, 2000, for five offences of VAT evasion between August 1, 1996, and March 25, 1999. He was subsequently jailed for eight years but released in March 2003 on licence. In addition, in January 2003, Mr OConnell was also made subject to a confiscation order for almost 6m to be paid by May 2004 - for which an additional sentence of seven years imprisonment would be imposed in default of payment. The court previously heard that, to date, 354,407.41 has been paid towards Mr O'Connell's confiscation order. It also heard that, by September 2016, this confiscation order had a balance outstanding of nearly 6m plus accrued interest of more than 5.8m. Mr OConnell was subsequently arrested in 2017 on foot of a European Arrest Warrant issued by the UK authorities. The warrant, the High Court heard, stated that because Mr OConnell failed to pay the confiscation order in full by May 2004, his default sentence was activated and his extradition was being sought so that he could be returned to prison in order to serve this part of the overall sentence. The warrant, issued by Westminister Magistrates Court in London in 2016, outlined Mr OConnell's involvement with five companies all of which became missing traders and for all of which he was acting as the controlling mind. It stated that the five companies all failed to submit a VAT return and/or failed to account for any VAT to Her Majestys Customs & Excise during periods when their respective trading was substantial. The five missing trader companies made sales of more than 119m on which the VAT due would have been approximately 20m from 1997 to 1999. However, the companies accounted for only 17,086.00 in VAT during the relevant period. In her written judgement today, Ms Justice Donnelly noted that the EAW stated: It is important to note that sentence in default is not ancillary, but integral to the overall sentence for the criminal offence. Ms Justice Donnelly, in her judgement, also noted that Mr OConnell had argued that to be jailed for seven years in addition to the time he has previously served was disproportionate to the crime and disproportionate in circumstances where [Mr OConnell] was indigent and unable to pay. However, Ms Justice Donnelly found: This court is quite satisfied that in the context of a multi-million pound Sterling fraud of which this respondent had been convicted and in light of the value of the confiscation order itself, it is not disproportionate for such a lengthy sentence to be imposed. She also stated that Mr OConnell must have been aware that from May 2004, he was required to pay that money and he must have known that the default sentence was liable to be triggered. She said there is simply no ground whatsoever on which he could have believed that he would no longer have to serve that sentence. Ms Justice Donnelly also said she rejected a claim made by Mr OConnell that he had a 10-year-old child in the belief that he would be with her at all times, and that he and his partner would not have had her if they had known that she would be left without a father in the state in her formative years. Ms Justice Donnelly said there is no suggestion that the child will suffer in any particular way over and above that which can be expected of any children who would lose access to a parent due to imprisonment. At a previous hearing, Dr Michael Forde SC, for Mr OConnell, submitted there was a 17-year gap between his clients conviction and arrest and therefore the confiscation order was invalid because of undue delay. This breached Article 6.1 Article 8 and in particular Article 49.3 of the European Convention on Human Rights which required penalties not to be disproportionate, said Dr Forde. Dr Forde also said it was inexplicable why the UK authorities with the assistance of Irish authorities could not locate his client when his licence expired in 2007 as his client had lived openly in Clare during this time and had made no attempt to hide his identity. Dr Forde called this bureaucratic inertia at its worse. The barrister also said there was not a snowballs chance on the evidence that his client could make any payment on the confiscation amount, he said. He said: The 13m that he is now expected to pay and the detention for failure to pay it is grossly disproportionate. The High Court today heard father-of-three Mr OConnell, who was remanded on continuing bail, will make an application to appeal the extradition order next Wednesday at 10.30am. A former Ros na Run actor jailed for a predatory and callous rape of a young woman to whom he had given a lift home, has been granted legal aid for an appeal. Garrett Phillips (aged 47) of St Mary's Terrace, Taylor's Hill, Galway, was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury of orally raping the then 20-year-old woman on the outskirts of Galway city in the early hours of November 5, 2015. He had pleaded not guilty to the offence and had no previous convictions. Sentencing him to six years imprisonment, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon said the callous rape of the young woman involved a predatory element. She was vulnerable, alone in a park late at night and visibly upset. He made her feel safe by offering his jacket, kind words and a lift home, but he never brought her home, said the judge. Phillips has lodged an appeal against his conviction, which has yet to be given a date for hearing in the Court of Appeal. Counsel for Phillips, Ange Bolly BL, applied for legal aid for the appeal today. Mr Bolly said his client had no source of income nor assets. President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham granted legal aid to Phillips for two counsel. Phillips, who had been on legal aid for his trial, was not in court for the procedural matter. The Central Criminal Court heard that Phillips approached the woman as she sat alone and upset on a park bench and offered her a lift home. She accepted the lift and, on the way, Phillips asked her if she had ever seen an overview of the city lights. The woman replied that she hadn't and fell asleep. When she woke up Phillips was no longer in the driver's seat but standing over her raping her. The detective said the woman reacted strongly, got out of the van, memorised the registration and ran to a nearby home for help. During the trial, the jury heard that Phillips claimed the encounter was consensual. He told gardai that it had started off very tender and felt chemical between him and the woman. The court heard that the father-of-two initially worked in his family's business before getting into acting and had been appearing on stage in London up to his trial. Defence counsel Barry White SC said his client had not informed his wife about the matter until the evening before his trial. Ireland will not be abandoned by the EU or by the US Congress who will "do right by Ireland" in relation to Brexit, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has boldly claimed. With 34 days to go to avoid a disorderly Brexit, Mr Varadkar insisted Ireland will not be abandoned by Europe or by Washington in the coming weeks. Westminster might be the mother of all parliaments but its not the boss of other parliaments and I know the European Parliament will not vote for a withdrawal agreement that does not do right by Ireland. And I dont believe the United States Congress will agree to any trade between the US and the UK that would undermine the Good Friday Agreement and the open border between North and South, he said tonight at a Fine Gael convention meeting in Mullingar. Ireland will not block any UK request to delay Brexit should Prime Minister Theresa May decide to seek one, the Taoiseach and Tanaiste have said. The Government earlier published its detailed legislation to cope with the impact of a UK crash out. But both Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney suggested that given the raft of resignations from both the Conservative and Labour parties this week, the chances of an extension have increased. Mr Coveney said: We have made it very clear that the Irish government won't be an obstacle to the UK looking for more time, if they need that and if they want that. But what the British government will have to do is not only ask for more time but explain to the EU how they will use that extra time so there is a plan with the extra time, he said. The Taoiseach said that the EU summit on March 22 will be the next formal meeting of leaders and a decision to delay Brexit could be taken then. There is increasing talk that Article 50 may be extended so that is the kind of decision-making meeting if you like if we go down that road, he said in Sligo. Mr Coveney launched emergency measures to protect Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit, warning that the Irish backstop will not be "jettisoned by the EU at the last minute. Mr Coveney said his only desire was to see the emergency laws "sit on a shelf" but they were needed to ensure that services, transport and arrangements with the UK continue to work. A no-deal was a "lose, lose, lose" scenario for the UK, EU and Ireland, he said. And in strong defence of the measure to guarantee there will be no border if Britain crashes out of the EU, Mr Coveney said the Irish backstop was fiercely supported by people it was designed to protect. The coalition's Omnibus Bill crosses nine government departments and is made up of 15 parts. The extensive legislation will help protect Irish citizens, support businesses and jobs, and secure ongoing access to services and products, the government said. Areas covered under the emergency legislation include facilitating continued access to cross border health services, measures to support vulnerable firms, securing the all-island electricity market and enabling the ongoing availability of grants and insurance products. But the Opposition has demanded concrete measures to protect jobs and sectors as well as answers to what happens on the island in the event of a no-deal. Fianna Fail will back the emergency legislation but Sinn Fein is refusing to guarantee support for the Bill. Both parties said not enough practical support for agriculture and firms had been outlined. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said: In terms of a no-deal Brexit, I don't think we are prepared. There is growing anxiety on the agri-food sector and the beef sector about what will happen if there is a no-deal Brexit." "How we keep Irish food on British market shelves? How we get the landbridge [the UK transit route linking Ireland and mainland Europe]. A Co. Donegal Councillor subject of an ethics inquiry wants to be joined to High Court proceedings by a Monaghan Cllr aimed at halting a similar, but separate, inquiry. John O'Donnell, of Kilmacrennan, Letterkenny, an independent member of Donegal County Council, wants to be joined as a notice party to judicial review proceedings by Monaghan Cllr Hugh McElvaney concerning an investigation by the Standards in Public Office Commission into whether Cllr McElvaney breached the ethical framework under the Local Government Act 2001. The two Councillors, along with a third Councillor, Joe Queenan of Sligo County Council, were all made the subject of separate investigations by the commission after their respective councils made complaints about their behaviour arising from an RTE Investigates programme broadcast in December 2015. The programme concerned a proposed wind farm development, purportedly by a foreign investment company, represented by a person who gave the name Nina Carlson but was, in fact, an undercover researcher. The programme broadcast footage of separate meetings between the researcher and the three and also featured recorded phone conversations. The commission's inquiries concerning all three Cllrs went to hearing last September but were put on hold pending Cllr McElvaney's judicial review, yet to be heard. Mr McElvaney, a Fine Gael Cllr in late 2015 and now an Independent, has claimed he was entrapped by the researcher. He objected to the commission hearing proceeding for reasons including RTE claimed privilege and was not advancing Ms Carlson as a witness whom he could cross-examine. He went to the High Court after the commission ruled the hearing could proceed before it on the basis of unedited footage and recordings provided by RTE and other evidence. Today, Mark O'Connell BL, for Cllr O'Donnell, said his client wished to be joined as a notice party to the McElvaney judicial review because he would be affected by the outcome and has a "vital interest" in it. He said Cllr McElvaney wants to stop the investigation proceeding on grounds including he had no opportunity to cross-examine the undercover reporter and Cllr O'Donnell had raised a similar preliminary objection before the commission hearing concerning him proceeded last September. While his client took a "realistic and constructive" approach during that hearing, there was "no guilty plea as such" and Cllr O'Donnell had at all times objected to the investigation taking place. Mr Justice Michael McGrath was told solicitors for Cllr McElvaney were aware of Cllr O'Donnell's application to be joined as a notice party and appeared to be neither consenting nor objecting to it. The Commission, represented by James Doherty SC, opposed Cllr O'Donnell's application. He said no objection had been raised on behalf of any of the three concerning the accuracy of the RTE recordings. The commission's investigations into Cllrs Queenan and O'Donnell are at an advanced stage, evidence has concluded and only submissions and a decision are awaited, he said. This contrasted with the hearing related to Cllr McElvaney where no evidence had been heard due to his judicial review. Cllr McElvaney's case is "much broader" than the points made on behalf of Cllr O'Donnell before the commission, and included claims of apparent bias and concerning fundamental rights, counsel said. Mr O'Donnell had not brought his own judicial review, is out of time to do so and cannot "piggyback" on Cllr McElvaney's, he argued. If Cllr McElvaney gets an order of prohibition, that will only affect his hearing, he added. Mr Justice Michael McGrath said he hoped to rule within a week or so. A young man who shattered the skull of his girlfriends infant daughter on New Years Eve and shows little remorse has been jailed for eight years. The 26 year old defendant is not identified in order to protect the identity of the children. A jury of five women and seven men delivered unanimous guilty verdicts of guilty of assault causing serious harm to the child on December 31 2016 and wilful neglect of the infant and the infants two-year-old sister on dates in December 2016. Judge Sean ODonnabhain said: Up to today he shows no insight and little remorse. You have here an enormous breach of trust, you have here the seriousness of an assault by a grown adult on a baby, you have here the level of force (which shocked doctors). "This is an assault at the higher end of serious harm. The judge said aggravating factors included the fact that there was a real risk that the nine-month-old girl would die. Brendan Kelly, defence barrister, said in relation to the judges comment that the accused appeared to be detached from what was going on and that the defendant had been a long-time cannabis user. The judge imposed ten years for the serious assault and a consecutive two years for the two counts of neglect, and suspended the last four years that he would comply with the directions of the probation service for four years after his release from prison. During the week-long trial, the mother of the nine-month-old girl testified that she returned home on the afternoon in question to see her ex-partner holding the infant and her head was deformed on a huge scale. The young mother wept as she testified, Her ear was nearly down by her jaw. You could see blood vessels. She just seemed in shock. I screamed. I was crying, like I am now. I started firing angry question at him, why he did not answer the phone (earlier in the afternoon when she was out in the park with her other daughter and her own mother). He said, I was downstairs smoking a cigarette (at the front door). I heard three bangs. She was on the floor. I remember shouting at him. I asked him to leave. He asked me could he take the Playstation I got him for Christmas that was the end of all, just get the hell out of my house, she testified. The infant was admitted to hospital on New Years Eve with up to ten fractures including a severely fractured skull. The defendant denied the offence. The childrens mother said her relationship with the father of the two children had ended and she ended up in a relationship with the defendant. She said she found it strange that the defendant would make comments about the two children stating that in various odd respects such as the older girls ears - they had a likeness to their father. Blaise OCarroll, defence senior counsel, said the defendant got on fine with the two children and that there was never a problem. A member of the ambulance crew who arrived at the house to bring the nine-month-old to hospital said the defendant told her that the infant was sitting in the cot crying when he went up to the bedroom. The childrens mother was in a park with the older child and her own mother (the childrens grandmother) for a while that afternoon. The infant was minded by the defendant who had been in a relationship with the childs mother for the past few months. Paediatric consultant, Professor Jonathan Hourihan testified that there was a very significant skull fracture where there was a shattering of the skull. Commenting on other fractures found in the infant he said, It is not one skull fracture, it is nearly ten fractures. A senior house matron at a boarding school who claimed she worked 76 hours a week has won her claim for working excessive hours. In response to a number of workplace breaches, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has ordered the unnamed secondary day and boarding school to pay its former employee a total of 6,900. WRC Adjudication Officer, Marie Flynn ordered the school to pay the senior house matron 3,000 in response to her claim for working excessive hours after dismissing the schools argument that there was a tradition of residential staff staying overnight during term time. The senior house matron was made redundant last Summer after working for the school since 2007. The ex-employee lodged her various claims with the WRC last October. In her claim in relation to excessive hours, the senior house matron stated that she was required by her employer to be present at her place of work every Sunday to Thursday night from 11pm to 7am when she would be either on sleepover duty or on call. She said that being on sleepover duty meant that her name and telephone number would be given to the students and they would know to contact or call her, if necessary. The senior house matron further argued that while she was present at her workplace at night she was prohibited from drinking, smoking or having visitors. She said when she was at her place of employment at night she was working and, therefore, she worked 76 hours per week. In response, the school denied that the matron was required to work excessive hours and that she was rostered for a total of 32 hours per week. The school stated that there was a tradition in the school for residential staff to stay overnight on the campus during term time. The school accepted that while the matron was required to reside on campus during term time, it contended that when she was not rostered for sleepover duty she was off duty and was not on call. However, WRC Adjudication Officer, Ms Flynn dismissed the schools case in her findings by ordering it to pay 3,000 to the senior house matron for the excessive hours she worked. In her findings, Ms Flynn said: The notion that staff would be required to remain on the premises without being on call is not plausible. "If there was no expectation that staff would be on call, then I am at loss to understand the requirement for them to remain on the premises, thereby unduly restricting their personal lives." Ms Flynn stated that the senior house matron was obviously constrained in her behaviour whilst she was on the school premises whether or not she was on duty. Ms Flynn said: Her time would not be her own to spend it as she wished. Ms Flynn stated that taking everything into account, she found that the senior house matron was required to remain at her workplace overnight where she was either on sleepover duty or on call and, therefore all of the time that the Complainant was required to be at her place of work should properly be categorised as working time. Ms Flynn also ordered the school to pay the senior school matron an additional 3,000 for not giving her a rest break on the days she stayed over. She also ordered the school to pay its former employee 100 for not providing weekly rest breaks; 300 for not being compensated for working Sundays and 500 for not receiving rest breaks. Cory Booker doesnt want to talk about getting rid of the filibuster. That should be a problem for him on the presidential campaign trail. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images For decades, theres been an on-again, off-again debate among Democrats and progressives generally about the future of the Senate filibuster. Support left-of-center for that ancient reactionary tool has largely waxed with Republican control of the Senate and waned as Democrats took the wheel. But with so many Democratic senators running for president this year, the subject has come back up with a renewed intensity, particularly as candidates laid out the kind of ambitious policy goals that at least 41 members of the upper chamber are likely to oppose at any given moment. Paul Waldman notes the contradiction: Sign Up for the Intelligencer Newsletter Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. Among the reasonable criticisms of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is that he has extremely ambitious policy ideas single-payer health care, free college tuition and so on but not much in the way of ideas about how to pass them through Congress, other than to lead a popular movement so compelling that it will force Republicans to yield to its power and vote for bills they find abhorrent to everything they believe. Still, it was something of a surprise to hear Sanders tell CBSs John Dickerson this week that Im not crazy about getting rid of the filibuster, seeming to dismiss the idea that a 60-vote requirement to pass legislation through the Senate would be an impediment to his agenda. Maybe Sanders knows something about the openness of Republican senators to democratic socialism that the rest of us dont, but he has a good deal of company even among his fellow presidential candidates. As Waldman notes, Cory Booker appears flatly opposed to doing anything about the legislative filibuster, and Kirsten Gillibrand seems to lament the loss of the judicial filibuster. Two other 2020 presidential candidates, Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar, along with potential candidate Sherrod Brown, signed a 2017 letter opposing elimination of the filibuster. Indeed, among current candidates from the Senate, only Elizabeth Warren has expressed some openness to the radical (i.e. abolitionist) filibuster-reform cause that most progressive policy wonks appear to support. So would these candidates flip-flop if they became president, had a narrow Senate majority, and realized the filibuster might enable Republicans to block their entire agenda? And how do we know they would, even if we suspect they might? The fear of what Republicans might do if the shoe is again on the other foot might actually outweigh their interest in enacting all those policies they advocated on the campaign trail. And to be clear about it, that means they didnt really care that much about these goals at all. Indeed, as Brian Beutler points out, the unwillingness to come out flatly against the filibuster suggests a more systemic refusal to embrace a full commitment to popular democracy at a time when Republicans are using the anti-democratic aspects of our system to the absolute maximum to gain and hold onto power: What these senators mean is that for all the broad lefts justified alarm about the brittleness of our democracy, and the hardening of minority rule in America, 41 out of 100 senators, representing much less than 41 percent of the U.S. population, should be allowed to doom their ambitions. Even a Senate that could reliably pass legislation with 51 votes would still not be a majoritarian institution. The senators from the 25 smallest states would still have as much power as the senators from the 25 largest states, and because of how our population is sorted, the Senate would still allow a minority of the country, through their elected representatives, to hobble the progressive agenda . [U]nless that changes, the primary will be less a contest to determine which ideas a unified Democratic government might enact than a grand but meaningless celebration of liberal empowerment. A laboratory simulation to determine where consensus among Democratic base voters lies, before that consensus gets dashed upon the shoals of Republican obstruction. The Democrats infatuation with the filibuster may place key items on the progressive agenda out of reach, but it is most galling as an indicator of how many Democrats intend to respond both to the harms conservatism has caused and to the threat to democracy Trump has thrown into relief. What makes this refusal to take on the filibuster especially ironic is how it conflicts with the entire narrative of a Democratic Party that learned its lessons from the Clinton and Obama years, and is determined to get big things done right away in 2021 instead of buying into the myth of bipartisanship that Republicans long ago abandoned. As Beutler asks, with the filibuster in place, what will really change? [T]hese Democrats are saying that come 2021, should voters sweep Trump out of power, it will be time, once again, to turn the page. Obama succumbed to the same temptation in 2009, creating an accountability void for an administration that had illegally spied on Americans and established a global network of secret torture prisons. Obamas aim, naive though it may have been, was to bolster the norms upholding the peaceful transition of power and buy enough good will from Republicans in Congress to allow him to govern. He was rewarded with the maniacal bad faith of a minority determined to destroy his presidency and a successor who has attempted to wield the federal law enforcement apparatus as a weapon of partisan retribution against members of the last administration. Some rationalizers of the status quo may point out the availability of the budget reconciliation process as a way around the Senate filibuster. But as Republicans demonstrated with their failed effort to repeal Obamacare in 2017, that process is very constraining, and probably wont accommodate progressive legislation thats not reducible to appropriations and revenues. And in any event, shouldnt the Democratic Party be determined as a matter of principle to get rid of institutional obstacles to majority rule that arent necessary for the protection of fundamental rights? Is a half-authoritarian system governed by conservative small-state senators in conjunction with a President who lost the popular vote perpetually acceptable to these brave progressives? A more frankly democratic stance by Democrats wont be painless, obviously. Aside from the damage Republicans may be able to inflict when they do win elections, Democrats must also deal forthrightly with the claim that they are trying to reverse adverse election results by seeking to remove Trump from office before his first term is over. It may be time to conclude that for Democrats tolerating (while fighting) Trump for another two years is vastly preferable to accepting the ever-more-entrenched minority rule his party has come to rely on for much of its power. If Trumpism means anything, it means a rearguard action to deny our people self-government on grounds that the country has lost its greatness and requires rule by a righteous remnant of real Americans composed of taxpaying Jesus-worshiping gun-toting patriarchs. Progressives have long quoted Paul Wellstone in identifying themselves as the democratic wing of the Democratic Party. Thats simply not consistent with a willingness to maintain the Senate filibuster. This needs to be a 2020 campaign issue. CEOs from prominent Irish companies will gather in Clontarf Castle Hotel, Dublin, on Friday, April 5, for the inaugural Executive Summit 2019. The half-day summit is the brainchild of Barry OSullivan, a second-year economics student at UCC. Speakers include David McCourt, CEO of Granahan McCourt Capital; Daryl Byrne, CEO of Euronext Dublin; John OConnor, CEO of Housing Agency; Michael Dawson, CEO of Leinster Rugby; Pat McCann, CEO of Dalata Hotel Group, and Michael OFlynn, CEO of OFlynn Group. I want to create an annual event which would connect commercial leaders in Ireland, an event which would see Global CEOs disseminate their insight, views, and ideas to managing directors and executives in Ireland, said Barry OSullivan. I want to connect people with CEOs, so that they can discuss issues that are happening in their business and in Ireland. Barry has funded Executive Summit 2019 with money made working as an intern, during the summer, at Teamwork, and working five nights a week in a Cork city restaurant, during the college year. Barry, aged 22, is originally from Bantry, Co Cork. He is now looking to recruit sponsors for various aspects of the event, which is expected to draw considerable interest from the business community. President of UCC, Professor Patrick OShea, said: It is wonderful to see students helping to shape national conversations and Barrys entrepreneurship, in creating this event, is inspiring. I really look forward to these conversations and future series of Executive Summit. The taxi-hailing app MyTaxi is to change its name, for the second time in two years. The app will become 'Free Now' later this year. OTTAWA - Michael Wernick, clerk of the Privy Council, appeared at the House of Commons justice committee Thursday, to answer questions about his knowledge on the SNC-Lavalin affair and whether former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould was pressured not to prosecute the company. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/2/2019 (856 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA - Michael Wernick, clerk of the Privy Council, appeared at the House of Commons justice committee Thursday, to answer questions about his knowledge on the SNC-Lavalin affair and whether former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould was pressured not to prosecute the company. Wernick predicted Wilson-Raybould will express concerns about three meetings when she appears at the committee next week, two of which he attended and all of which he maintained did not cross the line into improper pressure on Wilson-Raybould. Here is Wernick's version of those events: Sept. 17, 2018 A meeting involving Wilson-Raybould, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Wernick, two weeks after the director of public prosecutions decided not to negotiate a remediation agreement with SNC-Lavalin. Wernick said Trudeau called the meeting to discuss the Indigenous rights recognition framework which had bogged down due to "a very serious policy difference" between Wilson-Raybould and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett, and other colleagues, about how to proceed on the framework. Almost the entire meeting was devoted to that subject, he said, but Trudeau did also reassure Wilson-Raybould that any decision on whether to instruct the public prosecutor to drop the SNC-Lavalin prosecution was hers alone. Dec. 18, 2018 A meeting between the prime minister's staff and Wilson-Raybould's chief of staff. Wernick, who wasn't involved, did not provide any details. Dec. 19, 2018 A conversation between Wilson-Raybould and Wernick. Wernick said he was trying to get a handle on the issues that might confront the government when Parliament resumed sitting in January. He wanted to know, among other things, whether a remediation agreement with SNC-Lavalin was still an option and said he "conveyed to her that a lot of her colleagues and the prime minister were quite anxious about what they were hearing and reading in the business press ... about the company moving or closing" if the prosecution continued. There were fears it would have consequences for innocent employees, shareholders, pensioners, third-party suppliers and affected communities. Wernick said he's confident the conversation was "within the boundaries of what's lawful and appropriate. I was informing the minister of context. She may have another view of the conversation but that's something that the ethics commissioner could sort out." OTTAWA - Conservative Sen. David Tkachuk says he won't apologize for comments he made at a pro-pipeline rally in Ottawa, calling criticism that he was inciting violence "manufactured outrage." Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/2/2019 (855 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Senator David Tkachuk leaves the Senate on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, October 22, 2013. Conservative Sen. David Tkachuk says he won't apologize for comments he made at a pro-pipeline rally in Ottawa, calling criticism that he was inciting violence "manufactured outrage." THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA - Conservative Sen. David Tkachuk says he won't apologize for comments he made at a pro-pipeline rally in Ottawa, calling criticism that he was inciting violence "manufactured outrage." Tkachuk spoke Tuesday to the United We Roll convoy, which left Red Deer, Alta. on Feb. 14 and expressed a wide variety of demands, some related to the oil and gas sector. The convoy participants opposed bills that will overhaul environmental assessments of energy projects and ban oil tankers from the northern coast of British Columbia. Tkachuk told the crowd, many of whom had driven across the Prairies and Ontario in pickup trucks and semis, to "roll over every Liberal left in the country ... Because when they're gone, these bills are gone." The Saskatchewan senator said in a statement the comment was a figure of speech, in the context of an election year. "This is manufactured outrage by the Liberals to distract from the real plight of our and gas industry and the harm they are doing to the West to my province with their policies," it read. "The words I used may not have been as artful as I would have liked and certain individuals are happy to misinterpret them to suit their own self-interest, but I am not going to apologize for that." Privy Council clerk Michael Wernick prefaced an appearance at the House of Commons justice committee on Thursday by voicing grave reservations about the state of political dialogue. Wernick did not mention Tkachuk directly but said it was "totally unacceptable" that a parliamentarian would incite people to drive trucks over others after 10 pedestrians were killed in a van attack in Toronto last year. "I hope that you as parliamentarians are going to condemn that," he said. Toronto Liberal MP Adam Vaughan apologized in early February for a tweet that people should "whack" Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Vaughan said the remark was in reference to the "whack-a-mole" carnival game, where players hold a mallet and hit targets as they randomly pop up from a board. ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed the economic importance of supporting research and innovation in a time of economic uncertainty as he wrapped up a East Coast tour in St. John's on Friday. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/2/2019 (855 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a media availability at the Black Cultural Centre For Nova Scotia in Dartmouth N.S., on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Riley Smith ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed the economic importance of supporting research and innovation in a time of economic uncertainty as he wrapped up a East Coast tour in St. John's on Friday. Trudeau spoke at Memorial University's under-construction Core Science Facility, an ambitious $325-million project announced in 2016 that received $100 million in federal funding. Later, in a short speech to a small group of party donors at a St. John's hotel, Trudeau pointed to such projects as essential planning for the future, as anxieties grow about disappearing jobs and a changing work landscape. "Our investments in science, in research, in higher education, in artificial intelligence and robotics, these are the things that potentially are a source of anxiety for folks who are wondering that the world is passing them by, and maybe there won't be jobs for them or their kids in the future," Trudeau said. "We're showing that Canadians .... can be and are at the heart of this new economy we are building." On perhaps the biggest economic anxiety in Newfoundland and Labrador, however -- the looming big bump in electricity rates when full power from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric dam comes online in 2020 -- Trudeau had little to say. Trudeau fielded reporters' questions on the evolving SNC-Lavalin affair but mostly deflected questions on local issues, including the federal loan guarantee for the Labrador hydro megaproject and the need for a new prison in St. John's. He later met with Premier Dwight Ball, who said they were continuing "many discussions we've had in the past." Among the key bilateral issues are Ottawa's Bill C-69, which would set stricter rules for environmental assessments of energy projects, which Ball said is causing uncertainty for possible investors in the province's offshore oil and mining industries. Talks have also been ongoing regarding a review of the 2005 Atlantic Accord, an agreement on managing revenues from offshore resources. Ball has previously stated his intentions to talk with the prime minister on the topic before the accord's review period is up at the end of March. In a statement after the meeting, Ball said he spoke with Trudeau about Muskrat Falls and electricity rates and unspecified "social issues." They also discussed a federal-provincial inquiry into the treatment of Innu children in care. In his speech to donors, Trudeau asked the people of the province to keep faith in his government for four more years and promised a listening ear to Canadians worried about their futures. "People around the world are mistrustful of their institutions, worried that they are not being supported in the transformations in the world around them," Trudeau said. "What we're doing here in Canada is reinforcing faith in institutions and demonstrating that yes, government shouldn't do (everything) but ... the things it can do, it should do very well." Trudeau was in Halifax on Wednesday and Thursday, where he announced up to $86.5-million to improve an expressway into the city and visited the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia. WASHINGTON - Three of Canada's premiers brought an earnest, brass-tacks message to the U.S. national capital Friday: hit the reset button on one of the most important cross-border relationships in the world by ending American tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/2/2019 (855 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, centre, speaks to reporters as Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, right, and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs look on during a meeting of Canada's premiers in Montreal, Thursday, December 6, 2018. Three of Canada's premiers are in Washington to press the Trump administration for an end to punishing U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from north of the border. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes WASHINGTON - Three of Canada's premiers brought an earnest, brass-tacks message to the U.S. national capital Friday: hit the reset button on one of the most important cross-border relationships in the world by ending American tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Despite their conservative sensibilities, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Saskatchewan's Scott Moe and Blaine Higgs from New Brunswick may seem a disparate trio. But their styles Moe's analytical approach, the folksy charm of Higgs and Ford's bluntness proved surprisingly compatible. Higgs, who hails from the New Brunswick border town of Woodstock, told a panel discussion about growing up right next to Maine, watching lumber-laden big rigs carry Canadian logs to U.S. mills over a boundary that almost seemed an afterthought. "I could throw a rock across the border; my best friend lived across the border," said Higgs, who traces the problems between Canada and the United States back to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Washington and New York in 2001. Nowadays, "you're thinking, 'Wow, what happened? What happened to our relationship?' We've got to get that back if we're going to be strong and continue to be dominant together in the world we live in." The three premiers are in Washington to attend the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, which bills itself as a non-partisan, policy-over-politics gathering of state leaders. But their primary mission is to appeal to anyone who will listen for relief from the tariffs, which have been in place since last May and are taking their toll on the premiers' respective provincial economies. Ford, the for-the-people leader who relishes giving out his personal cellphone number in public, raised eyebrows in Ottawa earlier this month when his government called on the federal Liberals to show goodwill by lifting its retaliatory tariffs, which have targeted some $16.6 billion in U.S. imports since June. He appeared to be backing down from that "olive-branch" approach Friday, even if he wouldn't say so. "I'm a businessman; I want to get the deal done," said Ford, conceding that the idea of blinking first in the tariff standoff has not gone over well with the steel industry. "Let's make this thing happen. This is dragging out, and as it's dragging out, there's that magical word that companies hate: uncertainty. There's uncertainty on both sides of the border right now, while there's millions of dollars being traded." U.S. Ambassador David MacNaughton clouded the waters further Thursday when he declared that an end to the U.S. tariffs would be at hand in a matter of weeks, although he refused to say why he believes that. Moe, meanwhile, delivered a rapid-fire recitation of all the ways tariffs are jamming up the gears of the well-oiled integrations between Canada and the U.S. in the agri-food sector. From soil-tilling blades and tractors from North Dakota, air drills from Saskatoon, crop-protection products from Michigan and Missouri, potash from a U.S. producer in Saskatchewan, trucks from Ohio and Pennsylvania and nitrogen from all over the continent come pulse products, oats and canola that are then again redistributed around the world. "This is not an accident that our economy has become this integrated," Moe said, crediting not only geography but also more than 25 years of free trade between the two countries. "We have to have a very serious look at the competitiveness of agriculture, steel, of our energy industry, of our car manufacturing industry, of all of the industries that we have from a North American perspective to ensure that we're able to compete with our competitors from other areas of the world." Ford, who was scheduled to meet later Friday with the U.S. trade representative, said he planned to remind Robert Lighthizer that Canada is the largest and most important trading partner for 19 U.S. states, and second-largest for eight others. "Nothing's carved in stone, but first of all I'd like to meet him, build a relationship with him," he said. "I want to tell him that there's millions of jobs at stake not just in Canada, but here in the United States." HALIFAX - The company heading a controversial project that would see natural gas stored in huge underground caverns north of Halifax has gone to court to remove Aboriginal protesters from its work site. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/2/2019 (855 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Protesters gather at the Alton Natural Gas Storage LP office in Stewiacke, N.S., on October 4, 2016. The company heading a controversial project that would see natural gas stored in huge underground caverns north of Halifax has gone to court to gain access to its protest-blocked work site. Alton Natural Gas LP says it has filed an application in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia requesting safe access to its Alton River facilities near Shubenacadie, and seeking to remove protesters who are trespassing on its property and who have "consistently" blocked access to the site. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan HALIFAX - The company heading a controversial project that would see natural gas stored in huge underground caverns north of Halifax has gone to court to remove Aboriginal protesters from its work site. Alton Natural Gas LP has filed an application requesting safe access to its Alton River facilities near Shubenacadie, and is seeking to remove "trespassing" protesters who have "consistently" blocked access to the site. The company says the injunction application, filed Thursday, was necessary and comes after attempts at "engagement and discussion" with the individuals at the site. The case will be heard March 12 in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, Alton spokesperson Lori MacLean said Friday. Dorene Bernard, one of the "water protector" protesters, said they were served Friday morning. Alton says power was recently lost at the facility and a recent inspection found flooding had damaged electrical equipment. The company says it's essential it have "immediate and unobstructed access" to assess the damage and to conduct repairs. But Bernard said that might be "just a pretence" for the company to gain access to the site. "I think they're trying to use this injunction to give power to the RCMP to force us off this land. But we have our own intrinsic rights. We have a sacred duty," said Bernard, a social worker, academic and member of the Sipekne'katik First Nation in nearby Indian Brook, N.S. Alton says the work is needed to ensure the safety of its workers, neighbours and those who may attempt to enter without authorization. "While we respect the right of individuals to express their views safely and peacefully, trespassing at Alton has been an ongoing concern for some time," the company said in a news release Friday. "This step was necessary and comes after attempts at engagement and discussion with the individuals at the site. We remain committed to keeping the Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia, surrounding communities, landowners and other stakeholders engaged as we advance this important project." Bernard said protesters who have been at the site since 2014 spotted company officials walking into the site in December, and again a few weeks ago. "We didn't block anybody. They walked in and walked out," she said. "There was no altercation. There was no threats. If anybody was threatening, it was them." Alton Natural Gas LP intends to use water from the Shubenacadie River to flush out underground salt deposits to create the caverns east of Alton, N.S., then pump the leftover brine solution into the river. Members of the Sipekne'katik First Nation argue that the project will damage the 73-kilometre tidal river, which runs through the middle of mainland Nova Scotia. "They think they can go ahead and do whatever they want to do irregardless of our Mi'kmaq people being consulted and the impact on our treaty rights and our land and our water," Bernard said Friday. Alton maintains the project will provide millions of dollars in savings to natural gas customers in Nova Scotia. The company said it has invested approximately $70 million to date. Deplorable. Photo: Alicia Vera/Bloomberg via Getty Images Donald Trump has warned the public that immigrants violently changed Europes culture and will do the same to Americas, if they get the chance. He has said that Democrats want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they are, to pour in and infest our Country because liberals view them as potential voters. He has insinuated that the Democratic Partys leadership including the Jewish megadonor George Soros organized an invasion of the United States by Central American migrants last year, in a bid to steal the midterm elections through mass voter fraud. Trump has also decried the mainstream news media as THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE; suggested that Central American immigrants are largely criminals who were expelled to the U.S. by their governments; and accused federal law enforcement of treasonously attempting to remove him from power. In other words: The president has been using his bully pulpit to tell the American people that illegal immigrants threaten their lives today, and are on the cusp of irrevocably destroying their culture tomorrow; that Democrats are hell-bent on increasing illegal immigration; that it may not be possible to defeat Democrats at the ballot box because they are ready and willing to rig elections (and the media is eager to cover it up); and that those tasked with impartially enforcing the rule of law cannot be trusted. Trump broadcasts these incendiary lies so incessantly, theyve achieved a status similar to that of sirens and screeching tires in New York City abrasive sounds so omnipresent, they barely register in ones consciousness. Thus, the fact that our Republican president recently accused a Jewish financier of attempting to destroy the United States through unfettered immigration did not stop him or congressional Republicans from decrying Ilhan Omar as a vile anti-Semite for suggesting that AIPAC dictates American policy toward Israel. Every once in a while, however, some psychopath will offer a reminder of just how dangerous the bile pouring out of our presidents gaffe-hole is. Last fall, Cesar Sayoc dressed up his van as the worlds worst comments section, and then (allegedly) tried to murder Soros, a wide swath of the Democratic Partys elected leadership, and CNN employees with explosives. Shortly thereafter, Robert Bowers decided that a Pittsburgh synagogue was trying to destroy (white) Americas culture by flooding the country with nonwhite immigrants, and opened fire on its worshippers. Just this week, federal prosecutors revealed that Christopher Hasson, a Coast Guard officer in Maryland, allegedly stockpiled weapons, while developing a plot to assassinate a long list of Democratic politicians, CNN anchors, and MSNBC hosts, as part of a grand plan to transform the U.S. into a white ethno-state. The suspects recent Google searches reportedly included civil war if trump impeached and what if trump illegally impeached. Hassons arrest has triggered the same maddeningly misguided debate that occasioned Bowers and Sayocs. In each case, some of Trumps critics suggested that he was directly responsible for the alleged crime, Trumps defenders then scrounged for evidence that the suspect was unstable or racist before the mogul entered politics, and everyone missed the point. This time around, MSNBCs Joe Scarborough (whom Hasson allegedly planned to kill) said of Hasson, Donald Trump fans the flames of hatred and many that are out there that support him are responding to it. The Washington Examiners Eddie Scarry then searched federal court documents for evidence that Hasson was no Trumpist. And he managed to put together a facially plausible case that the Coast Guard officers Google searches were misleading that Hasson hadnt been outraged at the thought of Trump being illegally impeached, but rather, had been hopeful that such an event might spark a cleansing race war. According to prosecutors, Hasson wrote in an email drafted June 2, 2017, I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth, though he lucidly acknowledged that he would likely need the unwitting help of another power/country. He faults liberalist/globalist ideology for destroying traditional peoples esp[ecially] white ones. Then you get to the part of the email that makes sense of his interest in the potential impeachment of Trump or some civil war resulting from his presidency. Hasson wrote, Look up tactics used during Ukrainian civil war. During unrest target both sides to increase tension. In other words provoke gov/police to over react which should help to escalate violence. BLM protests or other left crap would be ideal to incite to violence. Hasson didnt care about Trump. He was looking for a catalyst that would help spark his fantasy, which included shooting up liberals, becoming town sheriff, and learning the periodic table. Scarrys project here is morally odious (if your primary response to the news that a psychopath who hated liberals and globalists had a plan to kill Donald Trumps critics is to worry that someone might blame Donald Trump for demonizing liberals, globalists, and his critics, then you should rethink your worldview). And his analysis is tendentious: The email he cites is from 2017, whereas the Google searches about Trumps impeachment and civil war are from January of this year. Given that Hasson specifically planned to kill critics of the president (he allegedly targeted CNN and MSNBC hosts, but not Fox News ones; Democratic leaders but not Republicans), its far from clear that the man was not sympathetic to, or influenced by, Trump. Nevertheless, Hasson reportedly claimed to have been a white nationalist for more than three decades. He subscribed to many white supremacist ideas that Donald Trump has never endorsed. It is possible the presidents rhetoric emboldened Hasson, or influenced whom he chose to (allegedly) target. Regardless, the flames of his hatred were fanned by plenty of other men. In an alternate universe where Trump is still hosting the Celebrity Apprentice, its quite conceivable that Hasson is just as (if not more) violently racist than he is in our realm. It also doesnt matter. No one is calling for Donald Trump to be arrested as Hassons co-conspirator. Theyre calling on the president to stop demonizing immigrants and reporters, and to cease suggesting that the Democratic Party poses an existential threat to American culture, and that this threat cant necessarily be countered through nonviolent political action. This is something that all Americans who believe that politicians shouldnt lie to the public about a vulnerable minority groups propensity for crime or about the legitimacy of their nations elections should be comfortable calling for every day. Trumps rhetoric on these matters would be worthy of condemnation, even if there were no evidence whatsoever that such words might inspire acts of violence. Hassons arrest merely reminds us that the presidents conduct isnt just contemptible, but dangerous. Regardless of whether the Coast Guard officer took inspiration from Trump, he believed in malicious fictions similar to those our president spreads and saw those fictions as rationalizations for violence. Hasson allegedly believed that immigrants were threatening to violently change his culture with the help of Democrats and the media. Trump tells a global audience much the same thing every day. We dont need to prove that Trump radicalized Hasson to establish that this is unacceptable. Of course, politicians cannot control how their words are interpreted. Bernie Sanderss rhetoric about GOP health-care policy ostensibly inspired a terrorist attack in 2017. But that rhetoric consisted largely of empirically grounded claims about the likely distributional and public-health consequences of repealing the Affordable Care Act. Sanderss claim that tens of thousands of Americans would die from preventable deaths may have been inflammatory. But it served the defensible purpose of calling attention to (one plausible estimate of) the effects of pending legislation. When Donald Trump asserts, without evidence, that Democrats want to infest the U.S. with criminal aliens in order to win elections, no defensible purpose is served. A responsible, center-right party would understand this. But no such party exists in our country. And so the GOPs affiliated organs have responded to a thwarted terrorist attack on mainstream journalists by excoriating those very journalists for having the temerity to ask the president to cease telling vicious lies that terrorists believe. MONTREAL - In a photo posted to Twitter last summer, Gilbert Mirambeau Jr. sits on a couch in Montreal, wearing a blindfold and holding up a cardboard sign with a handwritten Creole message that reads: "Where is the PetroCaribe money?" Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/2/2019 (855 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. MONTREAL - In a photo posted to Twitter last summer, Gilbert Mirambeau Jr. sits on a couch in Montreal, wearing a blindfold and holding up a cardboard sign with a handwritten Creole message that reads: "Where is the PetroCaribe money?" The now viral photo, posted on Aug. 14 to commemorate a 1791 slave uprising, served as a catalyst for a series of massive street protests that have been shaking the Caribbean country. Fuelled by social media, the protests have revealed the depth of anger over the rising cost of living and the alleged disappearance of billions of dollars from PetroCaribe an oil subsidy program intended to help the impoverished Haitian people. Gilbert Mibrambeau Jr. is seen in this undated handout photo. In a photo posted to Twitter last summer, Gilbert Mirambeau Jr. sits on a couch in Montreal, wearing a blindfold and holding up a handwritten cardboard sign written in Creole that reads: "Where is the PetroCaribe money?" The now-viral photo, posted on Aug. 14 to commemorate the date of a 1791 slave uprising, served as a catalyst for a series of massive street protests that are fuelled by social media and frustration over the rising cost of living and the alleged disappearance of billions of dollars from an oil subsidy program intended to help the impoverished Haitian people. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Gilbert Mibrambeau Jr. *MANDATORY CREDIT* Mirambeau, a Haitian-Canadian filmmaker who divides his time between the two countries, said he was in Canada last summer when he became fascinated by the debate on social media over the alleged mismanagement of the PetroCaribe fund, a 2005 pact under which Venezuela provided oil to Caribbean nations with long-term, low-interest financing. The savings on oil were supposed to be used to fund economic and social programs, but Mirambeau and many Haitians say it disappeared into the pockets of government officials, who spent it on extravagant luxuries such as mansions, casinos, and cars. "I was witnessing this, and the whole night I couldn't sleep," said Mirambeau, who donned a blindfold in the picture to symbolize justice. "I had to play my part, in a sense." Mirambeau, 35, said his message was posted about a month after government fuel hikes in July 2018 spurred riots among a population struggling to pay for basic staples. It was retweeted by a popular rapper and actor, and other Haitians quickly joined in, using the hashtag #petrocaribechallenge. Mirambeau became part of a loose coalition of leaders and activists involved in organizing a series of protests, each designed to take place on a significant date in Haiti's history. Since last year, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest corruption and demand the resignation of the country's president, Jovenel Moise. "Social media played a big part because we could point fingers at the senators, deputies, state members, and it was in their face," he said. The most recent uprisings, which began Feb. 7, led to the Canadian government issuing a travel warning for Haiti. More than 100 Canadians had to be airlifted to the airport last week to avoid blockades along the country's highways, where armed protesters threw rocks, fired weapons and set fire to burning tires during sometimes violent protests. Mirambeau blamed the violence on gang members infiltrating what is a peaceful movement. "The movement is not violent," he said. "You had a million people in the street, and they could have destroyed everything, but they were not violent." He said Haitians are fed up after years of alleged corruption by authorities, whom he says have largely mismanaged the PetroCaribe money and the billions of dollars designed to help the country recover from a 2010 earthquake that decimated the country's infrastructure. "What we feel is more than rage," he said. "It's social apartheid. You have the government on the side making money with our taxes and money." A Haitian Senate investigation has alleged embezzlement by at least 14 former officials in ex-president Michel Martellys administration, but no one has been charged. Late last week, Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant vowed to deepen the probe into spending of the estimated $3.8 billion Haiti received as part of the oil program one of a raft of measures aimed at quelling the protests. Jean-Claude Icart, a researcher with the Quebec-based aid partnership Concertation pour Haiti, said Mirambeau's tweet played a role in sparking the protests, which appear to have eased since the prime minister's speech. Icart said that for the protests to stop, the government will have to take concrete steps to improve living conditions and reduce food insecurity. "The misery is becoming unbearable, and people who are hopeless, you don't know what they're going to do," he said in a phone interview. Pascal Paradis, the executive director of Lawyers Without Borders Canada, said he sees reason for hope in the protest movement's demand for justice, led by young people such as Mirambeau. "The fight against impunity needs to start with civil society," he said. Mirambeau, meanwhile, says the protests will continue until those responsible for the missing PetroCaribe funds are tried and convicted. He rules out running for office himself, but he hopes his generation will produce leaders to run in the next elections and eventually reform Haiti's government, including the constitution. "It needs to start with us," he said. "We are the change." With files from The Associated Press Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/2/2019 (855 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A aerial view of Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain marine terminal, in Burnaby, B.C., is shown on May 29, 2018. An environmental group that tried to widen the scope of the National Energy Board's reconsideration of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion says it fully expects the board to endorse the project again in its ruling today."I think the NEB has a long record of siding with industry over communities and other concerns... so we have every expectation that they're going to recommend the project go ahead despite the serious problems with it," said Sven Biggs, climate campaigner for Stand.earth, a Vancouver environmental group formerly called ForestEthics. THE CANADIAN PRESS Jonathan Hayward Four stories in the news for Friday, Feb. 22 REPORT WON'T SETTLE TRANS MOUNTAIN PIPELINE BATTLE An environmental group says it expects the National Energy Board to again approve the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion when it releases results of its reconsideration of the project today. Sven Biggs, climate campaigner for Stand.earth, says the federal regulator's track record is to approve pipelines, but he says that won't stop opponents from launching legal challenges and street protests. The NEB's 2016 approval of the project was set aside last summer by the Federal Court of Appeal, which found the regulator had not properly considered how southern resident killer whales would be affected by additional tanker traffic. The court also found there was insufficient consultation by the federal government with Indigenous communities. MISCONDUCT REVIEW FOR B.C. LEGISLATURE BRASS Two top officials at British Columbia's legislature are now facing an independent review of their conduct as well as an ongoing investigation by the RCMP. The legislature's all-party Legislative Assembly Management Committee voted unanimously to undertake the independent review to determine if clerk Craig James and sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz breached their administrative duties. Speaker Darryl Plecas, the chairman of the committee, says he's pleased the committee has found a path forward. Lenz and James have been suspended with pay since November after members of the legislature learned of an RCMP investigation and the appointment of two special prosecutors. LONG SOLITARY CONFINEMENTS FOR YOUTH MUST STOP: ADVOCATE Manitoba's children's advocate is urging the province to stop lengthy solitary confinement of youth in custody. Daphne Penrose and provincial ombudsman Marc Cormier investigated the use of solitary confinement, segregation and pepper spray in youth jails. In one case, her review found one boy who was isolated for 400 straight days in a cell no bigger than a parking stall. Penrose says the province should immediately end solitary confinement longer than 24 hours for kids in custody. She also says the province should build a facility to help young offenders who have mental illnesses. STABBED B.C. COP CALLED A HERO BY POLICE CHIEF An off-duty British Columbia police officer who was stabbed several times in the stomach while picking up his children outside an elementary school is being called a hero by his police chief. "I want to acknowledge the quick thinking and the bravery of acting Sgt. (John) Jasmins," Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord told a news conference Thursday. He said Jasmins intervened in a domestic dispute by tackling a man who is also accused of stabbing his wife just as children were being released from school on Wednesday. The woman, who was picking up one child at the school, remains in hospital in serious condition. ALSO IN THE NEWS: SNC-Lavalin holds a conference call to discuss its fourth-quarter financial report, which will be released before markets open. Vice-admiral Mark Norman's case is back in court for an update on proceedings. The murder trial of Dennis Oland continues today in Saint John, N.B. Representatives from the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, West Coast Environmental Law and Stand.earth will hold a news conference in response to the NEB's announcement on the Trans Mountain pipeline. Statistics Canada will release its retail trade results and data on investment in building construction for December. HALIFAX - Federal officials are closer to bringing as many as 10 relatives of a grieving Syrian refugee to Nova Scotia, as Halifax residents prepared to gather Saturday for the funeral of her seven children who died in a fast-moving house fire. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/2/2019 (855 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. HALIFAX - Federal officials are closer to bringing as many as 10 relatives of a grieving Syrian refugee to Nova Scotia, as Halifax residents prepared to gather Saturday for the funeral of her seven children who died in a fast-moving house fire. Halifax MP Andy Fillmore said Friday a number of applications were already being processed, and anonymous donors have offered to pay for expenses such as flights, lodging and groceries. Members of the Barho family are shown upon arrival in Canada on Sept. 29 2017, at the Halifax airport in a handout photo. Seven children, all members of a Syrian refugee family, died early Tuesday in a fast-moving house fire described as Nova Scotia's deadliest blaze in recent memory. In a brief interview from the hospital, Imam Wael Haridy of the Nova Scotia Islamic Community Centre said the Syrians - whose family name is Barho - had fled that country's civil war.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Enfield Weekly Press-Pat Healey MANDATORY CREDIT "It illustrates how incredibly warmly the community has come together to support this family. We can sense that the world is watching and is being reminded of what Canada's role in the world is with regard to refugees and openness to immigration," said Fillmore from Ottawa. Kawthar Barho, whose badly burned husband's condition has improved slightly, has told local politicians and religious leaders in Halifax that she wants to be reunited with family members living overseas because she has no other relatives in Canada. Fillmore said he has been working with the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia, the YMCA and the federal immigration minister to bring between five and 10 members of the family to the province. "Everybody involved in this is moving just as quickly as possible," said Fillmore, hours before boarding a flight back to Halifax ahead of Saturday's funeral. The service for the Barho children will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Cunard Centre on Halifax's waterfront. Imam Abdallah Yousri said funeral proceedings will follow in the Islamic traditions, but will be open to people of all faiths and members of the public. "We were amazed by the support and the sympathy from the community... so we were thinking to find a bigger venue to accommodate everybody and to let the wife, Kawthar, see the support and the sympathy from the community," said Yousri in an interview on Friday. "We feel that this is the best thing we can do to support her right now." He said traditional portions of the service will be followed by words from community members, including Fillmore and the Hants East Assisting Refugees Team, the group that sponsored the Barhos' refugee claim. Following the funeral service, there will be a burial at a Muslim cemetery in Hammonds Plains. Shuttles will be organized to and from the Cunard Centre to accommodate those who wish to attend, and ample parking is available at the centre. Yousri said the children's father Ebraheim Barho remained in hospital Friday recovering from extensive burns. He was in critical, but stable condition. Early Tuesday, the house fire on Quartz Drive killed all of the Barho children: Ahmad, 14; Rola, 12; Mohamad, 9; Ola, 8; Hala, 3; Rana, 2 and Abdullah, who was born in Canada on Nov. 9. The cause of the fire remains unclear. The scale of the tragedy for the young Syrian family who arrived in Nova Scotia in September 2017 as refugees has struck a chord with Canadians. A GoFundMe campaign had raised more than $523,846 by late Friday afternoon, with a $1-million goal. As well, multiple businesses were donating proceeds of their sales to the family. The Barho family lived in Elmsdale, a 30-minute drive north of Halifax, when they first arrived in Nova Scotia and were embraced by residents there. Coun. Stephen King, who represents Elmsdale-Belnan, said a non-denominational vigil for the family was planned for Friday night at Riverview United Church. "They were living right in historic centre of Elmsdale. It's where everyone passes through and everything is happening like our July 1st parade and tree-lighting ceremonies," said King. "The neighbours around them really embraced the children." King said they lived on a short street with about half-a-dozen houses, in an older home known locally as Miller House. "The kids would got back and forth to those houses every day there was interaction every day," said King. "You'd see the child out by the house, or by the church and the little general store or they would be walking up to the mall. Everybody got to know them... They seemed to be a real good fit with the community." He said even the younger children seemed to be picking up English rather quickly. "They were always polite and, everyone will tell you, they were always smiling," he said. "I was always impressed with the oldest boy. He seemed to be mature beyond his years. Of course, you never know what they are shouldering." The Barhos had moved to the Halifax suburb of Spryfield to take advantage of language training and other immigrant services. They had planned to return to Elmsdale next month. The family was among 1,795 Syrian refugees who have come to Nova Scotia in recent years. The Trudeau government granted asylum to 40,000 Syrian refugees in 2015-16. A brutal civil war has raged across Syria since 2011, claiming more than 400,000 lives. With files from Michael MacDonald. OTTAWA - Eight days after Chinese authorities imprisoned Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, a senior Canadian foreign ministry official urged Canadian students to apply for a program to study in China. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/2/2019 (855 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Michael Kovrig (left) and Michael Spavor, the two Canadians detained in China, are shown in these 2018 images taken from video. Canadian diplomats have been granted consular access to one of two Canadians detained in China. Eight days after Chinese authorities imprisoned Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, a senior Canadian foreign ministry official urged Canadian students to apply for a program to study in China. Sarah Taylor, the director general of the north Asia bureau at Global Affairs Canada, made the pitch for the 45-year-old Canada-China Scholarship Exchange Program during a Dec. 18 event at the Chinese embassy in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP OTTAWA - Eight days after Chinese authorities imprisoned Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, a senior Canadian foreign ministry official urged Canadian students to apply for a program to study in China. Sarah Taylor, the director-general of the north-Asia bureau at Global Affairs Canada, made the pitch for the 45-year-old Canada-China Scholarship Exchange Program during a Dec. 18 event at the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa. "My department is proud to support the CCSEP and is eager to see a broader representation of Canadians from across the country, at the university and college level," Taylor said in prepared remarks released under Canada's access-to-information law. The government continues to promote the lucrative exchange program, which has a final application deadline of next Friday, even though it has elevated its travel advisory to China with a warning that Canadians are at "risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws." David Mulroney, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said Taylor's remarks might have been well-intended but Canada simply can't continue to conduct business as usual with China. "It sends the message to the Chinese that, no matter what we say, we want the relationship to continue as if nothing had happened. I simply can't see us holding such an event with any other country if they were holding two of our citizens hostage," said Mulroney, who served as Canadian ambassador to China from 2009 and 2012. Adam Austen, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, said Canada continues to call for the release of Kovrig and Spavor after their arbitrary detentions, but the exchange program is good for relations. "These exchanges provide international academic experience to both Canadian and Chinese students and researchers and foster co-operation between our two countries," he said. Kovrig and Spavor were detained nine days after the RCMP arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on Dec. 1 at the request of the United States, which is seeking her extradition on fraud charges. Nine days later, China detained former diplomat Kovrig and entrepreneur Spavor on allegations that they were endangering the country's national security. China denies the arrests are retaliation for Meng's detention. Kovrig and Spavor have not been formally charged, have been denied access to a lawyer or family members, and are being granted only monthly access by Canadian diplomats. Meng has since been released on bail and is living in a Vancouver mansion. There was little mention of the diplomatic dust-up at the Dec. 18 event at the Chinese Embassy, which was attended by a several dozen people, including leading Canadian academics and business leaders, as well as past students in the program. "We are currently accepting applications from Canadians wishing to study, research or pursue language-training in China during the 2019-2020 academic year. I encourage you to share this opportunity with your respective networks so they can apply before the deadline on March 1, 2019," Taylor said. Taylor said that strong "people-to-people connections have been the bedrock of our dynamic bilateral relationship" and that both countries view "education co-operation" as a strategic priority. "And that priority is easy to see. China is Canada's most important source of international students with more than 140,000 Chinese students on campuses of Canadian institutions," she said, adding that Chinese nationals account for more than one-quarter of Canada's international student population. Canada's continued engagement with China on the education exchange is indicative of its "national myopia" in relation to the People's Republic, said Mulroney. "If any other country had detained Canadians in a similar manner, all government-sponsored exchanges would immediately be put on hold," said Mulroney. "It's not our fault that China has made it riskier for scholars to work there, nor should we be so eager to contribute to the fiction that it's business as usual," he added. "To get our future engagement of China right, we're going to have to change things, and see the relationship in entirely new ways. That's really hard to do, but it's absolutely necessary." Bonnie Glaser, the director of the China Power Project at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said she has never opposed government scholarships for study in China. "At this particularly sensitive period, however, if I were a Canadian citizen I would be cautious about travelling in China or studying abroad there." TORONTO - The B.C. government is considering a mandatory vaccination registration program similar to that in Ontario in the wake of an outbreak of measles in Vancouver, Health Minister Adrian Dix said Thursday. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/2/2019 (856 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Philippine National Red Cross and Health Department volunteers conduct house-to-house measles vaccination to children at an informal settlers community in Manila, Philippines, following an outbreak of measles that already spread to four regions in the country and has claimed the lives of more than five dozen victims Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Bullit Marquez TORONTO - The B.C. government is considering a mandatory vaccination registration program similar to that in Ontario in the wake of an outbreak of measles in Vancouver, Health Minister Adrian Dix said Thursday. Such a system would be aimed at boosting the proportion of residents in the province who are vaccinated against the highly contagious disease, he said. "While there are some people who are expressing opposition to immunization, and others who can't be immunized for medical reasons, some people simply fall through the cracks of the system," Dix told reporters. "We want to make it harder for that to happen. So action is coming." Dix stopped short of saying a plan is in place or when it might be announced, but he noted that some of the groundwork has already been done: the idea of a vaccination records registry had been contemplated after an outbreak of 343 cases of measles in B.C.'s Fraser Valley region in 2014. In the meantime, said Dix, "the message is for parents to immunize (their children)." There have been nine confirmed cases of measles in Vancouver in recent weeks, including eight at two French-language schools in Vancouver, a cluster that began after an unvaccinated B.C. child contracted the disease during a family trip to Vietnam. The other case is unrelated. Measles is nothing to sneeze at: complications include blindness, ear infections that can lead to deafness, pneumonia and encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain. The disease can also be fatal. In 2017, there were 110,000 measles deaths, most among children under age five, the World Health Organization says. Infection with the virus begins with a high fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes, followed by a blotchy rash that spreads from the face and neck to the rest of the body. The virus is spread through air-borne droplets after an infected person coughs or sneezes. Public health officials say the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is the most effective way to prevent infection. However, some people infants, those with certain underlying health conditions and patients undergoing chemotherapy cannot be vaccinated and must rely on high vaccination levels within their community in order to be protected from infection by so-called "herd immunity." Dix said Ontario's system makes it more difficult for those eligible for vaccination to miss getting their shots and he wants to see B.C. with a similar model. In Ontario, vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella is required by law for all children attending school, although parents can seek an exemption on religious or conscientious grounds. The Immunization of School Pupils Act requires parents or guardians to provide proof of vaccination before their child can attend school. Earlier this week, 33 children and staff at the two measles-affected Vancouver schools were ordered to stay home until at least March 7 because they either hadn't been vaccinated or weren't able to provide proof of immunization. Dix said provincial medical officers of health have the authority to exclude children and adults without vaccination proof from schools. Meanwhile Thursday, a petition calling on the B.C. government to make it mandatory for children attending public schools to be vaccinated except for medical-based reasons reached almost 35,500 signatures on the website change.org. Katie Clunn of Maple Ridge, B.C., who started the online petition, said vaccination is not only about protecting one's own children, but "others as well." The mother of two young kids, with a third on the way, said if parents choose not to have their children vaccinated, they can home-school or possibly enrol them in a private school. "I'm not forcing anybody to get vaccinated if they don't want to vaccinate," she said in an interview. "But I think we really need to step back and realize for the greater good that we need it and their own children do too." With files from Dirk Meissner in Victoria. Follow @SherylUbelacker on Twitter. EDMONTON - Alberta Education Minister David Eggen says the province will ban the use of seclusion or time-out rooms for students in schools. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/2/2019 (855 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Education Minister David Eggen speaks about the passing of Alberta's controversial gay-straight alliance bill in Edmonton on November 15, 2017. Education Minister David Eggen says the province will ban the use of seclusion or time-out rooms for students in schools. Problems with seclusion rooms surfaced last September when the parents of an autistic boy filed a lawsuit against the province. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson EDMONTON - Alberta Education Minister David Eggen says the province will ban the use of seclusion or time-out rooms for students in schools. Problems with seclusion rooms surfaced last September when the parents of an autistic boy filed a lawsuit against the province. The lawsuit claims the boy was locked in a seclusion room, naked and alone, at his Sherwood Park school in 2015. Since then, parents and advocates of children with disabilities have been calling for a ban. Eggen says seclusion rooms must be decommissioned by the 2019-2020 school year. The minister shared the news with a group of educators and parents that have been working to find a solution to seclusion rooms. "I am deeply concerned by some of the things that parents and students are sharing about their family's experiences with seclusion rooms," Eggen said in an email Friday. "We can and must do better for our kids. That is why I am making the move to ban the use of seclusion rooms in Alberta through a Ministerial Order." Eggen said the province will monitor how school boards comply with the decision. Premier Rachel Notley said the government's decision comes after a lot of consultation with experts. "It's not my view that that is an appropriate way to deal with any special needs child," she said. "So I'm glad that Minister Eggen has moved forward on that." Notley said the government must now work with school boards to ensure that they have what they need to ensure the safety of other students and staff. Edmonton Public Schools said it will wait to review details of the ministerial order before making any changes. "We will continue our unwavering commitment and legislative responsibilities to ensure that classrooms in our district are safe for all students and staff," Superintendent Darrel Robertson said in a release. Edmonton Catholic Schools said it has two seclusion rooms and will work with the province to find alternate ways to ensure student and staff safety. (The Canadian Press, CTV Edmonton) A Brandon woman is raising concern after seeing what she describes as an infestation of bedbugs and cockroaches at Brandons Princess Towers. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/2/2019 (856 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us Princess Towers, a Manitoba Housing complex in downtown Brandon, has sat mostly vacant for the past four years. (File) A Brandon woman is raising concern after seeing what she describes as an "infestation" of bedbugs and cockroaches at Brandons Princess Towers. While she was trying to help move her cousin, Judy, into affordable housing over the summer, Fisher says the two looked at a unit in Manitoba Housings Princess Towers. Fisher said Manitoba Housing was "forthright" about the problem and admitted the building was infested with bedbugs and cockroaches. "That was disturbing to my cousin because of course her home where she had lived was not infested with bugs," Fisher said. While learning more about the building, Fisher said the person writing the tenancy agreement described the pests and used her fingernail to demonstrate the approximate size of them. She also gave them pamphlets on bed bugs and cockroaches and what can be done about them. "She was making Judy fully aware that this was the issue there. We were both floored by it." While sitting in the office with her cousin, Fisher said she felt bite marks on her skin. Later she noticed red marks on her wrist. A spokesperson for Manitoba Housing confirmed in a statement the department is aware of the bedbug problem in the building and has taken steps to address it. "Manitoba Housing takes pest issues seriously and works diligently to address them, as we recognize these situations can be stressful for our tenants." Bedbugs were last found in a unit in November 2018, the spokesperson said, and preventative measures were taken. Once a report is filed about pests, treatment is scheduled and two more treatments take place. "When we treat one unit with bedbugs, we also often treat those nearby as a way to prevent the spread," the spokesperson said. The spokesperson did not say whether the bedbug problem in Princess Towers has been fully resolved. They said cockroaches were last reported in the building since January 2018. One resident of the building next to Princess Towers, Park Apartments, who didnt want to give his name, said both buildings have problems with bedbugs. He said he has small white traps under his bed and in the corners of his apartment that are supposed to trap bedbugs, which he described as "little buggers." The resident confirmed that Manitoba Housing conducts fumigation of the units and tenants are told to move their furniture into the centre of the room. Glen Kruck, regional manager for the Community Health and Housing Association, said he hasnt heard any specific concerns around Princess Towers having an issue with bedbugs, but said the problem is not unique to Manitoba Housing. A number of apartment buildings in Brandon, regardless of income level, have experienced the issue in the past. Princess Towers has been largely empty for the last four years. Only eight of the buildings 76 units are currently occupied because of a problem with the buildings ventilation and exhaust system. Repairs to the system started in January 2018 and are scheduled to be completed over the summer. Despite the repair, Fisher said the main problem she was concerned about with her cousin was the pests. Bedbug bites can cause painful, itchy bites from where they feed. The bugs mainly come out at night. "I was expressing my concern to (Judy). She said I dont have a choice, and I know that for most people thats how they would feel," Fisher said. "I think in the community, we all have a responsibility to make sure (people) arent living like that." Judy was supposed to move into the Princess Towers unit on Aug. 1, 2018 and paid a deposit, but opted not to because of the pest problem. Fisher said her cousin found other accommodations, which she was supposed to move into on Oct. 1, but died in September before that could happen. dmay@brandonsun.com Twitter: @DrewMay_ Bernie Sanders, not really a working class hero Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP/REX/Shutterstock During the waning weeks of the 2008 Democratic primary, a time when the front-runner is usually coasting on the momentum of victory, something unusual happened. White working-class voters instead flocked to Hillary Clinton, the doomed runner-up. Clinton won the Ohio primary by 10 points, Kentucky by 35, West Virginia by 40. And while Obamas eventual triumph in November soothed the partys frayed nerves, the panic returned during eight years (and especially two midterm setbacks) when the Democratic base seemed to be shrinking to what a Clinton adviser had prophetically dismissed as eggheads and African-Americans. In Obamas vanquished foe, who saw her popularity soar into the 70s, they saw the remedy. Where I think Secretary Clinton has more appeal than any other Democrat looking at running is that with white working-class voters, she does have a connection, a Clinton adviser told Talking Points Memo. William Winter, the former Democratic governor of Mississippi, told CNN. Bill and Hillary Clinton are part of the South. They understand the South and they understand the use of political strategies that will bring people in. They are moderate people, and most people in the South are moderate. Needless to say, it did not work out this way. And now the hopes for the partys white working-class revival have settled on the candidate Clinton herself vanquished: Bernie Sanders. The Sanders campaign has circulated a strategy memo proclaiming their candidate would compete with Trump not only in Michigan and Ohio but even in states like West Virginia, Kansas, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Montana. Sanders is popular with traditional, working-class, industrial workers in those places, asserts his adviser, Jeff Weaver. Bernie Sanders, raves Bhaskar Sunkara, is the only one capable of reaching millions of working Americans with the message that politics can indeed improve their lives. Their evidence is the persistent support Sanders amassed during his struggle against Clinton. But there is something eerily familiar about the pattern of Sanderss support in 2016. Nate Silver, diving into the numbers, finds that about a quarter of Sanders voters were what he calls Never Hillary voters. They leaned conservative, and many of them voted for Donald Trump in the general election. Dan Hopkins found something similar in 2016. The Sanders vote closely matched other protest votes against the Democratic Partys standard-bearer. Sanders cleaned up among the same voters in 2016 that Clinton herself won with eight years before. Both votes represented protests against the Democratic Party by voters who had either left the party or had never been in it in the first place. Sanders 2016, like Clinton 2008, ran up the score in the garbage time of the primary by winning voters who had no real attraction to them. How big a factor was the Never Hillary vote for Sanders? Pretty big. They made the difference in eight of the states he won, finds Silver. Without that protest vote, the entire narrative of Sanders as the rising voice of the partys authentic base would never have taken hold. And that basic misreading of the data created the foundation for a flourishing socialist dream that the American white working class is poised to turn against neoliberalism if only presented with a pure and sharp enough critique. Ironically, Sanders supporters have made the same analytic error the Clinton fans made after 2008. They looked at their growing strength among the white working class and saw a future base they could pry away from the GOP, never realizing that the only reason those voters had ever supported them was that they had already lost. 1. The comment section is for discussion. Opinions are welcome. Personal attacks, trolling, name-calling and/ or bigotry will not be tolerated. 2. Posts containing links may be moderated. This blog does not accept paid advertisements and will not entertain free ones either. 3. Kindly stay on topic. Say what you think and refrain from telling others what they think. 4. Violators will be warned, deleted, and/ or banned at sole discretion of the moderator. he Moroccan Cabinet Council adopted Thursday at its weekly meeting Bill 11.19 ratifying the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), signed in March 2018 in Kigali, capital of the Rwanda. The announcement was made by the Government Spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi at the press briefing that followed the meeting. To enter into force, the bill has to be ratified by the Parliament. The agreement aims to facilitate integration between African markets, El Khalfi said, adding that the agreement considers regional economic communities as the pillars of AfCFTAs establishment. The council reiterated the same interpretation that Morocco had made when it signed the agreement establishing the African CFTA. These explanations made it clear that the signing by the Kingdom of Morocco of the agreement establishing the AfCFTA, can in no way be understood or interpreted as an acknowledgment of a fact, a reality, a situation or an entity not recognized by the Kingdom likely to undermine its territorial integrity or its national unity, said Minister El Khalfi. The official was alluding to the self-proclaimed Sahrawi republic (SADR). The AfCFTAs stated goal is the creation of a single market followed by free movement and a single currency. The accord seeks to progressively eliminate tariffs on intra-African trade, which hardly exceeds 16 percent of all African trade, a low rate compared to the European Union, where 70 percent of overall trade is between EU members. The agreement also seeks to remove other trade barriers. The CFTA should cover five regional blocks: the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA, made up of COMESA, SADC, and EAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), and the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD). Hong Kong: New Ombudsman appointed Winnie Chiu has been appointed as the Ombudsman for a five-year term from April 1, the Government announced today. Ms Chiu served in the Police Force for more than 35 years and accumulated rich experience in investigation, operations, policy planning and human resources management, the Government said. She also possesses outstanding skills in leadership and communication. As the first female Deputy Commissioner of Police, Ms Chiu commands respect and is well recognised both in the Government and in the community. Commenting on the appointment, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she is confident that Ms Chiu will fully demonstrate her independence and impartiality as the Ombudsman. Ms Chius extensive experience and clear vision will enable the Office of The Ombudsman to further its important mission of improving public administration in Hong Kong, Mrs Lam added. Ms Chiu will succeed Connie Lau, whose term will end on March 31. Mrs Lam said under Ms Lau's capable and outstanding leadership, the Office of The Ombudsman has proactively investigated systemic issues and offered constructive recommendations, thereby motivating government departments and public bodies to enhance the efficiency and quality of public services. Mrs Lam wished Ms Lau all the best in her future endeavours. This story has been published on: 2019-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. A report published by Fitch Solutions has indicated that due to the prevalence of off-grid remote mineral deposits in Sub-Saharan Africa, mining companies operating in the region should invest in renewable energy. Off-grid mines could benefit from reducing mining companies dependency on diesel while taking advantage of the favorable climate conditions in the area, Fitch Solutions said. According to the market research firm, in view of the remote location of many important mineral deposits in combination with the underdeveloped state of power and transport, mines are not connected to national or regional electrical grids. As a result, many of these mining operations are highly dependent on diesel-generated power, which is expensive to transport and subject to significant volatility in terms of pricing, the report reads. In various microgrid applications, renewables combined with diesel, heavy fuel oil (HFO), or gas have proven to provide reliable power supply to remote mines, Fitch said, adding that the number of remote mines that add renewables to diesel, heavy fuel oil or gas is expected to grow quickly all over Africa. Fitchs own forecast predicts global diesel prices to average $96.2/bbl by 2022, up from $89.6/bbl this year. Heads of state of 17 countries in the Sahel region will hold a summit meeting next week in Niamey to approve a climate investment plan worth $400 billion. The 12-year plan will cover the 2018 to 2030 period. It is expected to involve 17 nations from the Atlantic Ocean to the Horn of Africa and will represent the translation (into actions) of our nations commitments through the Paris agreement on climate change, Nigers Environment Minister Almoustapha Garba told reporters. The plan will focus on six projects aiming to limit greenhouse gas emissions and to help people adapt to climate change, he said. The Sahel region has seen worsening extreme weather including more frequent droughts in recent years. If greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, the resulting global warming of more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels could change major weather patterns in the Sahel, scientists say. The region faces a range of conflicts, including some driven by groups such as Boko Haram and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. PR Newswire HOUSTON, Feb. 22, 2019 HOUSTON, Feb. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- CITGO Petroleum Corporation confirmed its newly appointed Board of Directors, which held its first official meeting today, Friday, Feb. 22. The Board includes Luisa Palacios as Chairwoman, Rick Esser, Edgar Rincon, Angel Olmeta, Luis Urdaneta and Andres Eloy Padilla. Together with CITGO senior leadership, the Board will work to guarantee the company's financial and operational stability; enhance its corporate governance; and protect its assets. "CITGO is a historic brand that provides enormous value to the American economy and the communities in which it operates," said Luisa Palacios, newly appointed Chairwoman of the CITGO Board. "With highly complex refineries and, more importantly, best-in-class employees that keep this company running smoothly, CITGO is and will remain a major player in the energy industry. This Board will be working hard to provide the stability, leadership and protection that ensures it remains so." Friday's meeting included an intensive review of the company's business units, which provided ample opportunity for the Board to interact with the internal management team. The meeting included an in-depth discussion of the company's finances, operations and immediate challenges so the Board can quickly develop and implement its vision going forward. Additionally, the Board nominated and elected several corporate officers, including unanimous approval of Rick Esser as Executive Vice President. With the full support of the Board, Rick will immediately assume responsibility for the day-to-day strategic decisions and operations of CITGO while the company conducts an intensive internal and external search for a chief executive officer. The following corporate officers were also confirmed on Feb. 22: Vice President of Refining Art KleinVice President and General Manager Lake Charles Refinery Jerry DunnVice President and General Manager Lemont Refinery Dennis WilligVice President and General Manager Corpus Christi Refinery Trina MartinezVice President of Supply and Marketing Karl SchmidtVice President of Finance Curtis RoweVice President of Shared Services Glenn HilmanGeneral Counsel and Assistant Secretary Judith ColbertCorporate Treasurer Gina CoonCorporate Controller Barry Treas "These officers were chosen not only for their experience and knowledge, but also because of their demonstrated commitment to the company over the years," continued Palacios. "CITGO is a strong company and, working together as the corporate leaders, we will fortify it even further." The extraordinary oil and gas industry experiences of the Board and Officers will enhance corporate governance and add significant depth to the Company's strategic decision making and long-term vision. Last year, CITGO achieved one of its strongest earnings results in the last ten years, providing a solid foundation from which the new leadership team will operate. About the Board of Directors Luisa Palacios is the newly appointed Chairwoman of the Board of CITGO Petroleum Corporation. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Palacios was a Senior Managing Director and member of the Management Committee of Medley Global Advisors where, during her career, she also served as head of Emerging Markets Research and Latin America Research. She previously worked at Barclays Capital, Society Generale and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. She graduated from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello and received a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and a Ph.D. in international affairs from The John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. She is a non-resident fellow at the Center for Energy Policy at Columbia University and a Visiting Professor at the Energy Center of Caracas-based IESA's School of Management. Rick Esser is the newly appointed Executive Vice President of CITGO Petroleum Corporation. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Esser served as Vice President of Compliance and Chief Strategy Officer. With more than 28 years of refining industry experience, he joined CITGO in 1997, and has served in numerous roles, including General Manager Pricing; General Manager Product Supply, Distribution and Trading; General Manager Crude Supply; Assistant Vice President Supply & Marketing; and Vice President of Supply & Marketing. Prior to joining CITGO, he spent seven years at the UNO-VEN Company before it became part of CITGO with the acquisition of the Lemont Refinery. Mr. Esser holds a master's degree in business administration from Keller Graduate School of Management and a bachelor's degree in business administration, marketing and management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Edgar Rincon is the Senior Vice President of Operations for the Western Hemisphere for Nabors Drilling. During his career with Nabors, Mr. Rincon also worked as Senior Vice President of Operations for the United States, Chief Procurement Officer and Vice President of Supply Chain. Prior to joining Nabors, Mr. Rincon worked at Pacific Drilling and McKinsey & Company in various leadership positions. He holds a master's in business administration with distinction from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Universidad Simon Bolivar. Angel Olmeta had a long career in Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), occupying various positions in strategic and corporate planning and corporate acquisitions, where he oversaw the purchase of CITGO by PDVSA. He also served as Executive Vice President of CITGO, Chief Operating Officer and a member of its Board. At the time of his retirement in 1998, he was a member of the Board of Directors of PDVSA. Mr. Olmeta received a bachelor's degree from the United States Military Academy (West Point) and graduate degrees from Columbia University, New York University and the University of Colorado. Luis Urdaneta is a former Vice President of PDVSA, former President of the CITGO Board and PDV America. He also served as Executive Vice President of an oil exploration and development company in Colombia and Chief Executive Officer of a coal company in Colombia. He spent more than 30 years in the Venezuelan oil industry. He graduated from the University of Zulia and received master's degrees in petroleum engineering and computer science from Pennsylvania State University. Andres Eloy Padilla is a Finance and Logistics Control Analyst at INABLO LLC, a full-service food import and export company. Prior to his current position, Mr. Padilla held finance-related positions in various Venezuelan companies. He received Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration degrees from Florida International University. About the Board Secretary Fernando Vera is an attorney and the current Board Secretary of CITGO Petroleum Corporation. His practice specializes in energy project development and financial and corporate matters, including the restructuring and implementation of infrastructure projects and investments in hydrocarbons projects. Mr. Vera previously served as a member and corporate secretary of the boards of various oil and gas companies in Latin America. He is a retired counsel of Gamez & Vera Abogados and also served as an attorney in an affiliate of The AES Corporation: C.A La Electricidad de Caracas until 2005 and in The Third Party Unit of the Exploration and Production Division of PDVSA until January 2003. Mr. Vera graduated from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello in 1997 and holds a Master of Law (LL.M) degree from The Washington College of Law, The American University, and a Master of Business Administration from IE Business School, Madrid, Spain. About CITGOHeadquartered in Houston, Texas, CITGO Petroleum Corporation is a recognized leader in the refining industry with a well-known brand. CITGO operates three refineries located in Corpus Christi, Texas; Lake Charles, La.; and Lemont, Ill., and wholly and/or jointly owns 48 terminals, nine pipelines and three lubricants blending and packaging plants. With approximately 3,400 employees and a combined crude capacity of approximately 749,000 barrels-per-day (bpd), CITGO is ranked as the sixth-largest, and one of the most complex independent refiners in the United States. CITGO transports and markets transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products and supplies a network of approximately 5,000 locally owned and operated branded retail outlets in 30 states and the District of Columbia. CITGO Petroleum Corporation is owned by CITGO Holding, Inc. For more information, visit www.CITGO.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/citgo-petroleum-corporation-confirms-board-and-names-officers-300800624.html SOURCE CITGO Petroleum Corporation Reciba en su email: noticias de ultima hora, analisis tecnicos o el cierre de mercado Email no valido Nombre requerido Recibira las informaciones mas relevantes del dia en tiempo real Que informacion desea recibir? Noticias de Ultima hora Boletin Cierre de Mercado Boletin analisis tecnico Boletin Fundsnews Debe seleccionar un tipo de boletin Acepto la Politica de privacidad Debe aceptar la politica de privacidad Responsable EMPRESAS DEL GRUPO WEB FINANCIAL GROUP Finalidad La remision de informacion, novedades y promociones Establecimiento o mantenimiento de Relaciones Comerciales. Legitimacion Consentimiento del interesado. Interes legitimo en el desarrollo de la relacion comercial Destinatario Empresas del Grupo WEB FINANCIAL GROUP Derechos Acceso, rectificacion, supresion, limitacion, oposicion y portabilidad Informacion adicional Politica de Privacidad de nuestra pagina Web + INFORMACION UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) Thursday in a statement vowed to bring to book assailants and culprits who killed Wednesday head of the security in the southern town of Murzuk, which reportedly fell in the hands of fighters aligned with the Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar. Armed men stormed the residence of General Mohammed Kari, head of security in Murzuk Wednesday and killed the commander in cold blood, Libya Observer reports citing local residents in the southern city. Kari is aligned with the GNA. The interior ministry of the Tripoli-based administration branded Karis killing cowardly crime. The ministry said in a statement the crime was committed by an outlawed group. Murzuk, according to reports, was theater of a two-day fierce battle between local South Protection Force fighters made of minority Tubu community and forces affiliated to Haftars Libyan National Army (LNA). LNA launched an operation in January to purge southern Libya of terror groups and criminals. The GNA has condemned the advance of Haftar forces that it accused of using the fight against terrorism as motive to control further parts of the North African country. Haftar , who is opposed to the internationally recognized fragile government in Tripoli, has chided the Tubu tribe of aiding neighboring Chad rebels believed to be committing atrocities in the Sahara desert. The GNA has failed to impose its rule across the country and faces rivalries from Haftar-backed eastern administration in Beida. Stomach Gas: Causes, Symptoms & Home Remedies Wellness oi-Neha Ghosh Acupressure Points to Relieve Gas | Acupressure | | Boldsky Do you often suffer from gastric problems or is it only after a heavy meal that you suffer from gas? Well, the problem could be mild, painful or severe. A gassy stomach can occur at any time of the day. It is estimated that people pass gas up to 20 times a day. When gas is released through the mouth, it is called belching or burping. The medical term for releasing gas from the digestive system through the anus is known as flatulence [1] . What Causes Stomach Gas? Gas can collect in your stomach in two ways - either by eating or drinking. During food digestion in the stomach, gases like carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen are accumulated in the stomach. And secondly, swallowing air while eating or drinking causes the oxygen and nitrogen to collect in the digestive tract leading to flatulence [2] . Swallowing too much air during eating or drinking will cause excess flatulence and it may also cause burping. Gas can also form in the stomach if you consume hard candies, drink carbonated drinks, eat too quickly, smoke and chew gum. Certain foods could cause excessive abdominal gas as well. These foods include Brussels sprouts, cabbage, beans [3] asparagus, broccoli, lentils, apples, fruit juices, artificial sweeteners, milk, bread, ice cream, wheat, potatoes, noodles, peas, etc. These foods take a long time to digest, leading to unpleasant smell while you pass gas. ALSO READ: How To Know If Babies Have Gas Symptoms Of Stomach Gas Stomach pain Belching or burping Bloated stomach Chest pain An increase in the size of the abdomen (distention) Complications Associated With Stomach Gas Stomach gas can also be due to many underlying conditions which include the following: Constipation Irritable bowel syndrome Lactose intolerance Gastroenteritis Diabetes Crohn's disease Celiac disease Ulcerative colitis Eating disorders Peptic ulcers Inflammatory bowel disease Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) When To See A Doctor Consult a doctor if your condition is persistent and severe and accompanied with other symptoms like a change in bowel habits, constipation, weight loss, diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, heartburn, bloody stool, and chest pain. Diagnosis Of Stomach Gas The doctor will ask you about your symptoms and conduct a physical examination. He or she might conduct tests like abdominal X-ray, upper GI series, CT scan, breath test, stool test, and blood test to evaluate excess gas. If there is an underlying condition, medicines will be provided by the doctor to treat the condition. The doctor might advise you to follow a food diary to track your daily eating habits to understand which foods contribute to gas. Treatment Of Stomach Gas [4] Eat carbohydrates that are easier to digest like bananas, potatoes and rice. Limit the intake of fibrous foods that are likely to cause gas [5] . Chew your food properly before you swallow as it helps in faster digestion. Take a short walk after every meal as it aids in the digestion process [6] . Over the counter medications such as alpha-galactosidase and antacids help in the breakdown of carbohydrates from foods and provide instant relief from gastric problems. If you are lactose intolerant, a lactase supplementation will help the body digest sugar in dairy products. Natural Remedies To Treat Stomach Gas 1. Ajwain or carom seeds Ajwain is used for many medicinal purposes. The seeds contain a compound called thymol, which secrete gastric juices that bring relief to gastric problems including gas and indigestion [7] . Add 3-4 tsp of carom seeds to half a cup of boiling water. Strain the mixture and drink it. 2. Apple cider vinegar Apple cider vinegar works effectively in reducing gas from the stomach. It provides instant relief from gas and also treats indigestion. Add 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to a glass of warm water and let the mixture cool. Drink this solution to soothe your stomach. 3. Peppermint Peppermint is an effective home remedy in reducing gastric problems and relieves irritable bowel syndrome [8] . It is soothing for the digestive system and dissolves large gas pockets that contribute to bloating. You can chew the leaves raw. Boil the water and add a few mint leaves to it. Allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes. Drink the mint tea daily. 4. Cinnamon Cinnamon is another natural remedy that gives instant relief from stomach gas. It helps soothe the stomach and promotes digestion. Cinnamon decreases stomach acid and pepsin secretion from the stomach walls which helps to lower gas [9] . Add half a tsp of cinnamon and half a tsp of honey to a cup of warm milk. Drink this mixture whenever you suffer from gas. 5. Ginger Ginger is a very good remedy for stomach gas because it contains gingerols and shogaols that help relax the intestinal tract. It also aids in reducing the inflammation and cures indigestion [10] You can chew a small amount of raw, fresh ginger after your meals. Mix 1 tbsp of ground ginger to half a cup of boiling water. Let it steep for 10 minutes and drink it thrice a day. 6. Fennel seeds Fennel seeds are a natural remedy to curb flatulence. The seeds contain potent plant compounds that aid in digestion and prevent the formation of gas [11] . Add 1 tbsp of fennel seeds to boiling water. Simmer it for 5 minutes and let it steep. Strain and drink it to get rid of the gas. 7. Lemon Drinking a glass of warm lemon water in the morning is a healthy habit. Lemon is a very good home remedy in easing stomach pain because of the acid in lemon that stimulates the production of HCl (hydrochloric acid), which helps to break down the food. Add 1-2 tbsp of lemon juice to a cup of warm water and drink it after every meal. 8. Buttermilk Buttermilk contains a significant amount of acid that is effective against bacteria and aids in clearing the stomach and promotes digestion. As buttermilk is carminative in nature, it expels gas from the stomach. In a glass of buttermilk, add black salt and cumin powder. Drink it after meals. 9. Chamomile tea Chamomile has carminative properties which reduce gas and bloating. Drinking chamomile tea will bring relief from abdominal cramps caused by gas [12] . Boil a cup of water and add a chamomile tea bag in it. Steep it for 5 minutes and drink it. Foods To Reduce Stomach Gas According to the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, these foods reduce gas. Eggs Lean meat Fish Green leafy veggies like zucchini and lettuce Rice Tomatoes Grapes Melons Berries Avocado Olives Tips To Reduce Gas Limit the intake of fibre-rich foods. Eat and chew slowly. Stay away from carbonated drinks and soda. Avoid chewing gums. Soak beans and lentils in water before cooking them. View Article References [1] Tomlin, J., Lowis, C., & Read, N. W. (1991). Investigation of normal flatus production in healthy volunteers.Gut,32(6), 665-9. [2] Cormier, R. E. (1990). Abdominal Gas. InClinical Methods: The History, Physical, and Laboratory Examinations. 3rd edition. Butterworths. [3] Winham, D. M., & Hutchins, A. M. (2011). Perceptions of flatulence from bean consumption among adults in 3 feeding studies.Nutrition journal,10, 128. [4] Lacy, B. E., Gabbard, S. L., & Crowell, M. D. (2011). Pathophysiology, evaluation, and treatment of bloating: hope, hype, or hot air?.Gastroenterology & hepatology,7(11), 729-39. [5] Hasler W. L. (2006). Gas and Bloating.Gastroenterology & hepatology,2(9), 654-662. [6] Foley, A., Burgell, R., Barrett, J. S., & Gibson, P. R. (2014). Management Strategies for Abdominal Bloating and Distension.Gastroenterology & hepatology,10(9), 561-71. [7] Larijani, B., Esfahani, M. M., Moghimi, M., Shams Ardakani, M. R., Keshavarz, M., Kordafshari, G., Nazem, E., Hasani Ranjbar, S., Mohammadi Kenari, H., Zargaran, A. (2016). Prevention and Treatment of Flatulence From a Traditional Persian Medicine Perspective.Iranian Red Crescent medical journal,18(4), e23664. [8] University of Adelaide. (2011, April 20). How peppermint helps to relieve irritable bowel syndrome.ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 22, 2019 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110419101234.htm [9] RMIT University. (2016, September 26). The spice of life: Cinnamon cools your stomach.ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 21, 2019 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160926222306.htm [10] Hu, M. L., Rayner, C. K., Wu, K. L., Chuah, S. K., Tai, W. C., Chou, Y. P., Chiu, Y. C., Chiu, K. W., Hu, T. H. (2011). Effect of ginger on gastric motility and symptoms of functional dyspepsia.World journal of gastroenterology,17(1), 105-10. [11] Badgujar, S. B., Patel, V. V., & Bandivdekar, A. H. (2014). Foeniculum vulgare Mill: a review of its botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, contemporary application, and toxicology.BioMed research international,2014, 842674. [12] Srivastava, J. K., Shankar, E., & Gupta, S. (2010). Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with bright future.Molecular medicine reports,3(6), 895-901. Bloomer, WI (54724) Today Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 79F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. Low around 60F. Winds light and variable. SIGN UP TO GET BLACKLISTED NEWS DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR INBOX Enter your email address: Launching the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) pilot project in Egypt, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), under the framework of the Egyptian Cotton Project, is supporting Cotton Egypt Association's Egyptian Cotton branding. This is part of a renewed drive to increase product sustainability and improve conditions for Egyptian Cotton supply chain workers. BCI programme The pilot projects vision is to pilot the BCI standard system in Egypt, through a multi-stakeholder programme jointly coordinated by UNIDO, relevant governmental entities, farmers cooperatives, cotton-textile associations and local/international private sector stakeholders, said the Egyptian Cotton Projects spokesman.Cotton Egypt Association is dedicated to creating a sustainable supply chain which supports the welfare of both the workers and the environment. The partnership with UNIDO to support the BCI pilot project is one of several initiatives we will be exploring in 2019, as we continue to bring the brand and the values of the worlds finest cotton to meet the expectations of a modern consumer, Khaled Schuman, executive director of the association, said.The BCI is the largest cotton sustainability programme in the world, educating farmers and granting the BCI standard to those who meet rigorous levels of sustainable production and employee welfare.Currently, the organisation licenses 1.3 million farms in 21 countries and aims to secure the sectors future by bringing 30% of global production up to BCI standard by 2020. The project will coordinate with a pool of stakeholders to implement the pilot BCI programme for Egyptian Cotton, promoting the production of Egypts White Gold in a way that cares for the environment and the farmers who grow it.The sustainability drive is the latest move from Cotton Egypt Association to modernise and cement the Egyptian Cotton brand as the worlds most luxurious cotton. It follows initiatives such as the recent introduction of a rigorous new accreditation process in partnership with Bureau Veritas, which uses DNA technology to root out counterfeit goods. An Australian-Egyptian citizen has been reported missing in one Egyptian prison when he was to be set free after one year of detention for alleged support for outlawed Muslim Brotherhood organization, his family has said. Hazem Hamouda, an Australian man of Egyptian origins has vanished though he was expected to be released from Egypts notorious Tora prison where he has been held for more than one year, according to his family. Cairo international airport security authorities arrested the 54-year old man on January 25 last year the anniversary of the 2011 revolution that toppled autocratic ruler Hosni Mubarak. They accused Hamouda of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and of spreading false news on social media, his family in the city of Brisbane told reporters. Hamoudas children said their father is not associated to the organization that the Egyptian regime dismantled. Egypts top Prosecutor ordered his release last week but the Australian did not turn up at police station, ABC news reports. His family and lawyers called on Egyptian authorities to provide information on Hamoudas whereabouts. His lawyers said their client was unjustly detained in the first place. Mr Hamouda has already been unjustly and arbitrarily detained for over a year, the lawyers said. There is no lawful basis for his continued detention. Egyptian authorities have criminalized sympathy for the Muslim Brotherhood. Thousands of members of the organization have been jailed and tried in mass trials. Nine were hanged this week (Feb.20) on charges of involvement in the assassination of the countrys former top Prosecutor Hisham Barakat in 2015. Ogilvy has launched Social.Lab, its social media performance division, with a two-hour conference at the Ogilvy campus in Bryanston, titled "How social media is fueling the e-commerce economy". Christophe Chantraine Internationally, Social.Lab is the fastest-growing company in the Ogilvy network, combining creative content ideas with smart paid-media targeting to drive business results. Social.Lab operates in New York, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Singapore, Dubai and Bucharest, with four additional markets in the pipeline, servicing clients like Philips, Nespresso, Chanel, IBM and BMW.The Social.Lab partnership is the latest step in Ogilvys journey to support clients in their digital transformation, said Ogilvy CEO Alistair Mokoena. Social.Lab offers tools that combine strategy, content, media and performance. It is transparent and measurable, using data-driven AI to provide relevant content to audiences and encourage awareness, consideration and purchase. We believe that with impactful ideas we will enable our partners to make their marketing budgets stretch further.As part of the launch process, Ogilvy will provide diagnostic audit resources for its clients to pave the way to a sophisticated data-driven social media approach with measurable effects on business objectives.Christophe Chantraine has been appointed managing director of Social.Lab South Africa, having relocated from the Ogilvy Social.Lab in Brussels, where he was head of media. Social.Lab will operate in Cape Town and Johannesburg, with a team of 18 media experts combining Social.Lab's paid-social expertise with the creative excellence of Ogilvy South Africa.Social.Lab will be a 100% integrated offer, benefiting as much as possible from proprietary know-how, methodologies and technologies developed by Social Lab around the world, said Chantraine.Yves Baudechon, co-founder and President of Social.Lab Worldwide, said that, with 15 agencies in 10 markets, and 400 experts, the companys network is expanding rapidly, and South Africa is an ideal gateway to the African continent.Digital is exploding, he said. Today, 86% of South Africans have a mobile phone and represent a vast ocean of opportunity for savvy marketers. Social media is not just another digital channel. It is the new mass advertising. We see creative content as the engine of modern marketing, and effective distribution as the fuel. Paid social media is key to this. As IT and business strategy align, cloud architects will become integral to growth. Colin Thornton, MD, Turrito Networks Negotiating complexity Aligning business needs Recruiting for growth As South African businesses look to streamline operational costs and become more globally competitive, cloud computing has become essential. And with the imminent launch of Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Service data centres in South Africa, local cloud adoption will become even more attractive.According to the World Wide Worx Cloud Africa 2018 report, cloud computing is rising sharply in the economic hubs of South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria - with 74% of the SA companies surveyed increasing their cloud expenditure during 2017. The report noted that in the coming year, over 80% of SA companies would be looking to up their cloud spend. While making the shift to the cloud is a positive step, businesses have to ensure that the process is managed correctly from the initial transition, right through to proactive, daily management.For larger businesses, especially those relying on legacy software and/or hardware, moving fully to the cloud, and ensuring sustainability, can be complex. Even businesses with modern software and hardware may find this new paradigm, so completely different from traditional approaches, difficult.This complexity requires a careful, skilled and managed approach which is best handled by what the IT industry terms a cloud architect. As the name implies, the cloud architect is responsible for designing the cloud computing environment in an organisation, which encompasses the platforms, servers, storage, delivery and networks.In addition to the planning and designing, cloud architects also need to provide guidance throughout a development or deployment project and then manage the maintenance and support thereafter. Savvy cloud architects will take ownership of these systems and environments throughout their entire lifecycle - from the initial requirements analysis through to retirement.Importantly, the cloud architect role is very different to more traditional IT roles, because it is not only technical in nature. There is a critical business and financial element required. Indeed, a skilled cloud architect will seek to understand what kinds of competitive advantages are required, the relevant functionalities that are needed, and the unique business requirements that the system architecture needs to deliver on. Moreover, the cloud architect will be responsible for sourcing and managing the right vendors such as Microsoft or Amazon; contracting suitable suppliers and deciding upon the right APIs and standards.As cloud computing becomes more ubiquitous and IT Departments more streamlined, the role may quickly evolve into a financial and strategic position. Given that the cloud architect will be handling budgets, forecasts, reports, etc, he or she could soon be sitting within the Finance Department as opposed to a rapidly shrinking IT Department!When exploring the appointment of a cloud architect, its important to consider that letting a more traditional (and technically oriented) IT professional handle cloud strategy can backfire. This is simply because technical professionals prefer to have control of their systems. Theres often a subconscious bias away from putting everything in the cloud and letting someone else manage it.However, while there is more flexibility when a business controls everything (e.g. with a private cloud or an on-premise server) there are often inflated costs and added risk. Increasingly, businesses are recognising that there are major advantages to relinquishing elements of flexibility and outsourcing most of the traditional IT services. And with a skilled cloud architect managing the relationships, businesses can arguably enjoy the best of both worlds enhancing efficiency while reducing both costs and risk.Given that this kind of role is still so new, businesses will be hard pressed to find experienced candidates off the bat. Today, leaders should rather be looking for candidates who come from roles that are closely related and then looking for experience in other key aspects.For example, a network architect who has reported into a finance department; or an MBA who has a strong technical background. First and foremost, a great cloud architect will be able to grasp the business requirements and then develop systems from there.For instance, these requirements may relate to growing profits/revenue or decreasing costs, and a good Architect needs to figure out how the cloud can help achieve these goals. Moreover, a savvy cloud architect will have strong administration skills as well as highly developed interpersonal skills - as he or she will be managing key vendor relationships.As businesses expand into an environment in which the lines between IT, finance, and strategy are increasingly blurred, professionals such as the skilled cloud architect will become integral to growth, innovation and sustainability. Over 1,500 delegates from more than 50 countries to attend Asias largest Biotechnology and Life-sciences forum BioAsia, the annual global life sciences confluence hosted by the Government of Telangana, announced that the 16th Edition of the event, to be held at Hyderabad between February 25 - 27, 2019 - will deliberate on the disruption required in Lifesciences, Healthcare and Biotech industry. The theme for this edition is "Life Sciences 4.0 - Disrupt the Disruption", which will focus will be on healthcare being re-imagined as a result of technological disruption. ESL Narasimhan, Governor of Telangana will inaugurate the event on February 25, 2019. The details of the 16th Edition of BioAsia were shared by Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, Principle Secretary - Industries & Commerce & IT, Govt of Telangana in the presence of K Satish Reddy, Chairman, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Suresh Chukkapalli, Honorary Consul General, Republic of Korea (Hyderabad), Shakthi M. Nagappan, CEO, BioAsia & Director (Life Sciences), Government of Telangana and Dr. Srivari Chandrasekhar, Director, CSIR-IICT. Over the past 15 years, BioAsia has helped attract investments to the tune of about Rs.15,000 crores and organized around 16,000 business partnering meetings during the event. Eminent leaders and senior government officials from around 95 countries have attended the event and close to 250 MoUs & LoIs have been exchanged at the forum. This edition of BioAsia has South Korea as the Partner Country with South Africa and Spain being the international partners for the event. These partners will lead a sizeable delegation from the related fields from their respective countries. 4 other Indian States have joined with BioAsia in organizing the next BioAsia including Karnataka, Odisha, Assam and Gujarat making it truly a National initiative. While announcing the details, Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary - Industries & Commerce & IT, Govt of Telangana said, BioAsia today serves as an industry platform for networking and policy advocacy in addition to investment promotion. The State Government is committed to utilize this global platform to advocate the concerns of the industry and help build a conducive ecosystem for businesses to thrive. As an outcome of the deliberations at the 15th edition of BioAsia, an Innovator Cell at Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDCSO) has now been established by the Government of India. The event will bring around 100 eminent speakers from across the globe, with some of the best minds and leaders from their fields, including Prof. Krishnamurthy Subramaniam, Chief Economic Advisor to Govt of India, Dr. Don Cleveland, Ludwig Cancer Research, Univ. of California, San Diego (Breakthrough Prize for Life Sciences 2018), Dr. Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, Dr. S Eswara Reddy, DCGI, CDSCO, Mr. KT Rama Rao, Working President, TRS, Mr. Badhri Srinivasan - Head, Global Development Operations Novartis, Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, Axilor Ventures, Mr. Thomas Arista, Dy Director, US FDA, Mr. Kurt Stoeckli, President and Chief Scientific Officer, Glenmark Pharma, Mr. Glenn Saldanha, CMD, Glenmark Pharma, Mr. Satish Reddy, Chairman, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Ms. Karenann Terrell, Chief Digital and Technology Officer, GSK, UK, Mr. Peter Lee, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Healthcare, USA, Mr. Atanu Roy, CIO, Sun Pharma and Ms. Sangita Reddy, Joint MD, Apollo Hospitals to name a few. He had 42 years of varied experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Dilip Girdharlal Shah, founder of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), passed away in Mumbai recently. Shah served as the Chief Executive Officer and Proprietor of Vision Consulting Group. He also served as a Member of Generics Consultative Group at The World Bank. He had 42 years of varied experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He had been in the pharmaceutical industry since 1967. He set up Vision Consulting Group at Mumbai to work in the areas of Public Policy, Strategic Planning and Entry Planning. Shah served as the Commercial Director at Pfizer Limited until August 1997. He was an Editor, Asia and India, Journal of Generics Medicines, UK. He had been an Independent Non-Executive Director at Anuh Pharma Ltd. since October 30, 2007. He had been a Non-Executive Independent Director of Fresenius Kabi Oncology Limited (formerly Dabur Pharma Limited) since August 11, 2008. He served as a Member of the Advisory Panel for the Business Briefing of PharmaGenerics UK. He also served as an Additional Director of Lyka Labs Ltd. from July 2008 to April 21, 2009. He represented the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry at several International meetings and conferences. He was a guest faculty for Management Development Programmes at Indian Institute of Management (MM), Ahmedabad. He was the Author of the First Book on Drug Pricing in India. Glenn Saldanha, President, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, on the demise of DG Shah said, I am deeply saddened with the sudden demise of DG. Shah. It is a great loss to the entire pharmaceutical industry and his contributions in the areas of advocacy, strategic planning, advisory and knowledge sharing have been invaluable. During his era, we have seen the Indian pharmaceutical industry emerge as a global leader and he has played a significant role in that area. On behalf of IPA, I extend my heartfelt condolences to his family in this time of grief and may his soul rest in peace. AstraZeneca also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NASSCOM In order to address the rising burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in India, Leif Johansson, Chairman of the Board, AstraZeneca announced expansion of the companys strategic collaborations in an event happened recently in New Delhi. The new partnerships with Indian and Swedish partners aspire to the ambitions of the India-Sweden Innovation Partnership for a Sustainable Future, as agreed upon last year by Indian Prime Minister Modi and Swedish Prime Minister Lofven. Taking advantage of the new opportunities created by the Digital India initiative, they aim to create new innovative solutions for patients with diseases such as asthma, diabetes and cancer in India and beyond. At the India-Sweden Unnati healthcare 2.0 day, the company and its partners, Business Sweden, The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), Atal Innovation Mission-Niti Aayog and AGNIi, announced the finalists of the Unnati Healthcare Innovation Challenge. At the same time, AstraZeneca launched a strategic partnership with the NASSCOM IoT Centre of Excellence to set up an accelerator programme to support Indian start-ups develop new innovative solutions to NCD care in India and beyond. Unnati is based on the spirit of India Sweden Joint Declaration on Innovation Partnership for Sustainable Future to create on-the-ground collaboration through user-case driven innovation challenges. The Unnati Healthcare Innovation Challenge was launched in November 2018 to accelerate innovative technologies that can provide affordable and accessible solutions for early screening and management of NCDs such as remote screening methods, point of care diagnostics and digital solutions that enable efficient data capture. As part of this challenge, 90+ healthcare start-ups participated from all over India. The finalists were invited to present their ideas at the Unnati Healthcare 2.0 day. The selected winners among the finalists will be receiving mentorship support from AstraZeneca, which will contribute its unique healthcare domain expertise with the aim of helping the finalists bring their solutions to market. AstraZeneca also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NASSCOM- Centre of Excellence, Internet of Things for a Health Tech Start-up Accelerator Programme and Incubation Centre in Bangalore. Commenting on these initiatives, Leif Johansson said, As a science-led organisation, AstraZeneca is committed to strengthen innovation in healthcare in India. We are pleased to collaborate with the government, start-up eco-system and industry partners to achieve the shared vision of making meaningful interventions in improving the lives of patients impacted by Non-Communicable diseases in India. Debjani Ghosh, President, NASSCOM said, Technologies such as Predictive Analytics and the Internet of Things (IoT) are shaping the future of healthcare. Recording and analyzing data and utilization of emerging technologies such as AI, cloud and big data has also been instrumental in providing a boost to healthcare. As a leading pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca has been doing commendable efforts in creating awareness about NCDs (Non-Communicable Diseases) and breakthrough innovations in this field. We are pleased to collaborate with them to set up an accelerator programme at the NASSCOM Centre of Excellence for IoT in developing groundbreaking solutions to improve NCD care in India. Under this partnership, selected startups will have access to hardware innovation labs, development resources and mentors from NASSCOM and AstraZeneca who will guide them in this endeavor. Carsten Gronblad, Trade Commissioner of Sweden to India, said UNNATI is a model for co-innovation allowing industry, startups and the civil society to jointly develop solutions addressing global social needs. This challenge calls for collaboration to implement early- and remote screening as well as efficient, AI-based patient management. This is an important task as we see the prevalence of non-communicable diseases rise globally. We are happy to partner with AstraZeneca, AGNIi and Atal Innovation Mission NITI Aayog, with a shared vision of providing affordable and accessible healthcare. NASSCOM CoE IoT was launched as part of Government of Indias Digital India Initiative to help the country achieve a leadership role in the convergent areas of hardware and software. Under this collaboration, AstraZeneca and NASSCOM will incubate start-ups in bringing innovative and frugal solutions that can help in the management of NCDs. Selected startups will have access to NASSCOMs innovation labs, development resources, cloud services and mentoring support from NASSCOM and AstraZeneca including the opportunity to showcase their innovations in national and global platforms where the latter can showcase their products or services. This opportunity will be open for companies or individuals who are working in the therapeutic areas like diabetes, cardiovascular, cancer/ oncology or respiratory with special focus on thematic areas such as digital solutions, diagnosis and devices. In Chicago last year, 2948 people were shot; 561 were killed; almost all of the shooters and almost all of the victims were black. And the national news media yawned. This wasnt their kind of story. Black on black crime is not something that interests them. And its not only because in too many big American cities, its all too commonplace, amounting to a dog bites man story. No, theres more to it than that. Liberal journalists dont like putting black people in a bad light, even if the black people in question are murderous thugs. White liberal guilt forbids it. Displaying good racial manners doesnt allow it. So, by and large, they look the other way. And then the Empire actor Jussie Smollett comes along to give journalists the kind of story they crave: a gay, black man minding his own business, just trying to get a sandwich on a bitter cold Chicago night, gets mugged by two white racists who put a noose around his neck and pour bleach on him while screaming racial and anti-gay slurs. Oh, and one more thing that made the story too good to be true: They told their black victim: This is MAGA country. If on top of everything else, journalists could blame Donald Trump supporters and, of course, Donald Trump himself for the crime, theyd have the kind of story they salivate over. Except, as we now know, Jussie Smolletts story has unraveled. Chicago police say Smollett made the whole thing up, that he hired the two men both black to stage the mugging. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson says Smollett, took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to advance his career, before adding, Im left hanging my head and asking why. That may not be so hard to answer. Jussie Smollett was simply taking advantage of the power that comes with being a victim in America. Its how you get leverage. In Smolletts case, he apparently was upset because he thought he wasnt getting paid enough and wanted publicity to boost his career. Staging a fake attack by anti-gay, anti-black, pro-Trump white men was the way, he supposedly figured, to get sympathy and ultimately more money. Race isnt something you fool around with in America. But Jussie Smollett was willing to play with fire anyway. And too many mainstream journalists were more than willing not only to simply report the facts that police were investigating his charges, which would have been legitimate but to abandon their supposedly cherished skepticism and believe every word of his story. Here are some examples collected by Breitbart: Yamiche Alcindor, the White House correspondent for PBS, tweeted that,We have to do better as a country. This is disgusting, Joyce Vance, an MSNBC contributor, tweeted: If someone commits this kind of act under your banner, you should have the decency to publicly condemn them and say its not what you stand for. But I doubt Trump will. From Jamil Smith of Rolling Stone: The brutal attack on him in Chicago appears to be yet another example not just of further moral decay, but of the brand of terrorism that still doesnt seem to spark enough response by Americans. Or this from Zerlina Maxwell, an MSNBC analyst: The media is broken. If they cant call the attack on Jussie racist straight up then they need to find alternative employment. Maxwell was upset by the use by some reporters of the word apparent in front of hate crime. Heres the rest of her outrage: But to be clear pouring bleach on a Black person while you are yelling about MAGA = RACIST From Joy Reid of MSNBC: Nooses never really disappeared as messages of a very specific kind of terror but every time theyre used, my God, its chilling. Praying for Jussies full recovery. And for us all. From Karen Attiah, an editor at the Washington Post: Regarding the heinous attack on @JussieSmollett, yet another reminder that Trumps ascendance and the resulting climate of hate has meant that lives have been increasingly at stake since 2015. Smollett could have been killed by those thugs screaming MAGA. Let that sink in. And finally, from CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin, looking like an 18-wheeler just ran over her dog: This is America in 2019. Shes right, but not the way she thinks. This is the state of too much American journalism in 2019, where reporters and editors are all too willing to believe anything that connects Donald Trump to a bigoted violent attack. Its also the state of too much of America in 2019 when playing the victim brings you sympathy and power and moral authority. Before Smolletts story fell apart, progressives who play at journalism were telling us how terrible the attack was, how saddened they were that something this terrible was still happening in America. But the dirty little secret is they were thrilled. It gave them the opportunity to show off their goodness, their racial sensitivity. It enabled them to provide evidence of one of their fundamental beliefs: that America is a racist, hateful country. Liberal journalists apparently learned nothing from the fake Duke lacrosse rape story which they ran with despite the fact that there was no evidence linking the three Duke students to the supposed rape. All they needed to know is that the boys were white and supposedly privileged and the victim was black. They learned nothing more recently from the Covington, Kentucky Catholic school episode near the Lincoln Memorial, where a Native American walked up to a high school kid and banged his drum in the kids face and the boy was portrayed as a racist because he was white, male and was wearing a MAGA hat. On racial matters, being a liberal journalist means never having to say youre sorry even when you should be. Spearfish, SD (57783) Today Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable. The Algerian President will travel Sunday to Switzerland, Geneva, for routine medical checkup, his office said in a statement that comes amid growing national protest against his candidacy for a fifth term in office. The statement said Abdelaziz Bouteflika will fly out for Geneva on Feb.24 for a short stay during which he will undergo a medical check-up. Bouteflika regularly goes on similar medical trips to France and Switzerland. Boutlefika, 82, who suffered a stroke in 2013 that has affected his mobility and speaking abilities, Thursday made his first public appearance since late December. The ailing leader appeared on the national broadcaster Canal Algerie during the swearing-in ceremony of the new President of the Constitutional Council, Tayeb Belaiz. Algerians are doubting the ability of their President to run the country for another five years. Public criticism of the autocratic ailing man further brewed after he announced this month through a letter his candidacy for April 18 presidential elections. Algerians in the country and in Europe are planning demonstrations to denounce the fifth mandate plans. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Submit A woman carrying a baby looks at campaign posters of Democrat Party candidates in southern Thailand's Narathiwat province, Feb. 16, 2019. Thais are scheduled to vote next month in a long-promised return to democracy after five years of military rule, amid concerns that legal changes put in place by the junta have prevented a truly free election. Prayuth Chan-o-cha, the junta leader and former Royal Thai Army chief who led the May 2014 overthrow of then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, has repeatedly promised to steer the country back on a democratic path, but critics say he has taken calculated steps to stage-manage the balloting scheduled for March 24. Even if polls go forward, this will not in any way be a free and fair election, political analyst Zachary Abuza wrote in a recent column for BenarNews. This is as rigged as it gets. Some 14,000 candidates will be running for election next month. Seventy-one candidates have been nominated for prime minister, but analysts believe only four stand out among the pack: Prayuth of the Palang Pracharat Party, Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrat Party, Sudarat Keyuraphan of the Pheu Thai Party and Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit of the Future Forward Party. But the real question is whether the opposition parties those linked to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who now lives in exile with his sister Yingluck can gather enough support to form a government, according to analysts. I see Palang Pracharat winning a majority of seats, along with the Democrat Party and Pheu Thai Party, and it has a tendency to be able form a government because Prayuth is well accepted to a certain degree and the Constitution plays in his favor, said Titipol Phakdeewanich, dean of the political science faculty at Ubon Ratchathani University. And I think the Palang Pracharat Party could find allies to form a coalition. The military, the junta or the party itself can help cut a deal with others, Titipol told BenarNews. Dominating politics Parties linked to Thaksin, a telecoms tycoon who served as prime minister from 2001 until he was overthrown in a coup in September 2006, have dominated the nations political landscape for almost two decades. Thaksins allies are seeking to rally poorer voters who have helped his supporters win every election since 2001, drawn by policies such as cheap health care. But with the elections merely a month away, their campaign strategies might change, analysts said. Thai Raksa Chart is among those Thaksin-linked parties. On Feb. 27, the Constitutional Court will meet to decide whether it should disband the Thai Raksa Chart, after its unprecedented move on Feb. 8 naming Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi as its sole choice for the nations top political leadership. Princess Ubolratanas younger brother, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, immediately issued an edict condemning her candidacy as extremely inappropriate, but Thai Raksa Chart leader Preechapol Pongpanit said he had good intentions in nominating the princess. We dont know whether well be able to make it to the polls or not, Umesh Pandey, a Thai Raksa Chart member, told reporters. We are fighting against a regime that seized power five years ago. They have total control of how things are run. Also on Wednesday, Thanatorn, the leader of the Future Forward Party, is scheduled to meet the attorney-general about computer crime charges filed by police against him in September last year. The charges, which could result in a five-year jail sentence and fines, stemmed from Facebook posts in which he allegedly accused the junta of buying off members of parliament from other parties. The attorney-generals office has yet to decide if it would seek an indictment, potentially derailing Thanatorns election bid, a lawyer said. Voters still undecided Under a new military-drafted Constitution, the prime minister will be chosen by a simple majority of the legislature, which is divided into two houses the Senate, which has 250 seats, and the House of Representatives, or the lower house, which has 500 seats. In previous general elections, the party with 251 seats in the lower house appointed the prime minister. But for the first time, the new constitution requires both houses to choose the prime minister. Now, 376 votes are needed. Two-hundred Senate seats have already been appointed by the junta. They are not up for a vote. The remaining 50 are being chosen among representatives of 10 occupation groups. Analysts said that with the junta appointments, it would appear that Palang Pracharat, Prayuths new party, and its allies could pick the next prime minister by merely winning 126 seats in the lower house. The new Constitution allocated 150 party-list seats on the basis of their share of the overall vote, making it highly unlikely any party will get to name the next premier outright. Alliances will be needed, analysts said. This is why the Senate is so important: under the new Constitution, both houses elect the prime minister, rather than just the lower house. Thus a party needs 376 votes (alone or with coalition partners) to form a government. With the Junta controlling most of the 250 Senate seats, that is a very tall order, Abuza said. More than 51 million Thais are eligible to vote, but a few voters told BenarNews they hadnt made a decision about which party to support. I dont like the policy of any party, the same old thing that is impractical, said Apiwat Chobthamdee, a 35-year-old businessman from Ayudhya province. I keep wondering whether the new government could solve any problems at all. Apinan Thammavongsa, a 37-year-old school teacher in Sakon Nakohn province, said he would expect a decentralized government, with power reaching rural areas, after the elections. I will vote to show participation in democracy. I will elect the party that distributes income and empowers local administrations, Apinan said. But I doubt if the new government could achieve that. Analysts, meanwhile, say they expect that the military would extend its hold on power through the balloting. Whatever happens after the voting in March whether civilian parties win, or military forces do, or some combination of both form a government together the election will not bring democracy back to Thailand, Eugenie Merieau, a former consultant for the Thai program of the International Commission of Jurists, wrote in a New York Times opinion piece. Joshua Kurlantzick, senior fellow for Southeast Asia at the New York-based think tank Council on Foreign Relations, said no matter who wins, Thailand will likely remain in political crisis. If the opposition Pheu Thai party and its allies gain control of the lower house of parliament, the military and its allies will likely respond harshly, including using the courts to weaken the coalition, Kurlantzick said. Or the military could maneuver after the election to get many small parties to back the armys favored parties that are unlikely to win a majority in the lower house, he said. In this scenario, Thailand would have essentially a democratic facade, behind which the military and the king remain the true powers, Kurlantzick said. An outbreak of measles in the Philippines has killed nearly 200 people mostly children and infected thousands of others, according to health officials who said Friday they expected to contain the diseases spread within the next two months. At least 189 children aged four years or younger have died in Manila and surrounding areas, while some 11,459 others have been infected since the government declared an outbreak in early February, the Philippine health department said, citing an official tally. The Department of Health (DOH) had earlier cited a 550 percent rise in the number of patients infected with the disease, from Jan. 1 to Feb. 6. The spike was blamed on a dengue vaccination scare in 2017 that prompted many parents to take their children off the governments immunization program despite warnings, officials had said. A massive vaccination program ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte would likely reverse the epidemic, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said. We pray and hope that there really is an end to this but we are looking at bringing up herd immunity to 95 percent, Duque told the reporters on Friday. As soon as we get anywhere near that connective protection or immunity, we are looking at about the first week of April [for] a reversal of the outbreak trend, he said. The World Health Organization (WHO) has included the Philippines on a list of the top 10 countries with the highest number of measles cases, and has urged parents to take their sick children to the nearest health facilities. Since the declaration of an outbreak in five regions, a surge in the number of measles cases is observed [to be] caused by the rapid spread of the disease, which is highly contagious, the U.N. health agency said Wednesday. According to WHO, with the large number of infected children in the Philippines, there was a risk of measles spreading abroad. The global health agency praised the Philippines for its quick response in trying to contain the outbreak. There is risk of international spread and several cases of measles have already been reported from other countries following travel to the Philippines, the WHO said. The government had blamed the uptick in measles cases after its immunization program suffered a setback following the Dengvaxia vaccine scare in late 2017. Dengvaxia was a drug developed by French firm Sanofi Pasteur to counter dengue, a mosquito-borne disease that is potentially fatal. But the government halted its use after Sanofi admitted that those injected with it risked contracting severe dengue if they had no prior infections. The Philippines, a tropical country, was the first in Southeast Asia where Dengvaxia was publicly released. Then-president Benigno Aquino approved its release before he stepped down in 2016, and the vaccine was administered to children in public elementary schools. The health department recently said that that 830,000 school children aged 9 years and older were given the drug, a revision from an earlier estimate of 740,000. The scare led to a 60 percent drop in vaccination coverage, with many parents refusing to have their children vaccinated out of fear of complications. Indonesian nationals and former hostages Mohammad Nazer (left) and Robin Peter are shown at a hospital in Zamboanga, southern Philippines, after their release from Abu Sayyaf militant custody, Dec. 12, 2016. The Philippine military vowed Thursday to rescue all hostages in Abu Sayyaf militant custody, while Indonesian and Malaysian officials said they were working with Filipino counterparts to free sailors from their countries who were abducted at sea in December near the southern Philippines. Col. Gerry Besana, spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command in southern Zamboanga city, dismissed as propaganda a claim by the Abu Sayyaf Group that the three hostages seized two months ago had been taken to Jolo Island, which is part of a Philippine chain that lies off eastern Malaysias Sabah state. On our side, we will not negotiate with the terrorists. We strictly follow the governments no ransom policy, Besana said, vowing that a relentless pursuit operations would continue. We are doing our best for the possible rescue of the hostages. A video released on social media last week by Abu Sayyaf showed two Indonesian hostages kneeling before their captors. The bandits were seen threatening to behead the hostages. Philippine military intelligence officials told BenarNews they believed the three hostages were taken to a location somewhere in the south, but they declined to be more specific. Those shown in the footage were identified as Indonesians Heri Ardiansyah, 19, and Hariadin, 45, while a third, identified as Malaysian Jari Abdulla, 24, was not shown on video, according to sources in Philippine military intelligence. Fitri Amelia, the relative of one of the Indonesian hostages, said she had seen the video on Facebook. The footage showed her uncle, Hariadin, and his compatriot, Heri Ardiansyah, both blindfolded with their hands tied while a man held a machete as if ready to slit Hariadins throat, she said. I recognized his voice and the tattoo on his body, Fitri told BenarNews on Thursday, referring to her uncle. It was not clear where the footage was taken or when, only that the gunmen identified themselves as members of the Abu Sayyaf Group. I have been caught by Abu Sayyaf of the Philippines in the Sandakan Sea. I appeal for the attention of the Indonesian government, especially Mr. President, Hariadin, 46, was heard saying in the video. Fitri said Hariadins family had been told by a representative of the Foreign Ministry who visited his wife that the abductors were asking for 10 billion rupiah (U.S. $710,000) in ransom. We dont have that much money. We are a farming family and we have nothing, Fitri said. Both of the Indonesian hostages are from Sulawesi Island. The three victims were reported as missing Dec. 6 in the Pegasus Reef area in eastern Sabah waters, after their boat was discovered with its engine running. An investigation showed that the trio was seized by seven gunmen who allegedly sped toward the direction of Sulu, sources said. The Abu Sayyaf group is believed to be holding eight other captives, including a Dutch national, a Vietnamese, a Malaysian, two Indonesians, and three Filipinos, in Jolo. In related developments, an ongoing military offensive targeting Abu Sayyaf positions in the jungles of Patikul on Jolo Island left two gunmen dead and two others wounded on Thursday, Philippine officials said. Last week, a soldier and four militants died in heavy fighting near the area. Besana said the ongoing operation was aimed at rescuing all of the hostages, weeks after foreign militants working with the Abu Sayyaf allegedly set off bombs that killed 23 people at a church in Jolo town. Were not abandoning them In Jakarta, the Indonesian government confirmed that the two Indonesian sailors and Malaysian seaman were abducted from their fishing boat, which was sailing in Sabah area waters, in early December. We continue to communicate with the families and coordinate with parties in Malaysia and the Philippines in our efforts to free the Indonesian citizens, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir told reporters. Indonesian officials confirmed the December maritime abduction after news reports circulated about the new video released on social media by Abu Sayyaf. That video is not the first. The captors have often released such videos to pressure the captors families, Arrmanatha said. The kidnapping of the three men took place although the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia had launched trilateral sea and air patrols, starting in 2016, to combat piracy and maritime abductions in their common seaways. In Sabah, Indonesian Consul General Krishna Djaelani confirmed that the kidnappers had demanded at least 10 billion rupiah in ransom, but he said it remained unclear whether this sum was for both of the Indonesian hostages or each one. Weve been in contact with the families to care for their welfare. Were not abandoning them, Krishna told BenarNews. The Indonesian government has been in cooperation with its Philippine counterpart to rescue its citizens, he added. Omar Mammah, Sabahs police commissioner, said Malaysias policy was never to communicate or deal with the kidnappers. But were working together with the Philippine authorities to rescue the hostages, Omar told BenarNews, saying he could not reveal any details. Heavy fighting Meanwhile on Thursday in the southern Philippines, members of a Special Forces unit came under attack from an Abu Sayyaf unit before noon, triggering heavy fighting that led to the rebel casualties, local army chief Brig. Gen. Divino Rey Pabayo said. Troops are presently scouring the encounter site and will pursue the fleeing enemy, Pabayo said, adding that they have fired mortars and howitzers on the positions of Abu Sayyaf in the village of Tanun. About 10,000 troops are involved in the hunt for the Abu Sayyaf, believed to number less than 500. Chasing after the gunmen has, however, not proven easy, with the Abu Sayyaf enjoying support from villagers and a mastery of the jungle terrain. Clashes earlier this month had left five soldiers dead and 18 others wounded. Founded in the early 1990s, Abu Sayyaf is notorious for kidnappings, bombings and beheadings carried out in the southern Philippines over the past two decades. The group has been blacklisted by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization. Rina Chadijah in Jakarta and Zam Yusa in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, contributed to this report along with Jeoffrey Maitem and Ben Hajan in Cotabato and Zamboanga, Philippines. NORFOLK - From debate on a proposed redevelopment area to fireworks sales beginning, here are some of the stories we covered for the week ending Saturday June 26, 2021. Indonesia on Friday said firm action would be taken against officers who abused a detainee after United Nations experts called for an investigation into the incident and other cases of rights violations in the restive Papua region. A group of U.N. human rights experts said in a statement on Thursday the incident in which a snake was used by police interrogators in Papua to scare a suspected thief into confessing reflected "a widespread pattern of violence" and other abuses by Indonesian security forces in Papua. "The police are undertaking an investigation into the incident and have stated that disciplinary action will be taken against the individuals in accordance with the rules," Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said. "This was the action of individuals and is against the national police's rules and regulations," he added, declining to give further details. The U.N. expert group, which consists of four special rapporteurs and one rapporteur, said tactics including the use of torture were often used against indigenous Papuans and human rights defenders. "This latest incident is symptomatic of the deeply entrenched discrimination and racism that indigenous Papuans face, including by Indonesian military and police," they said. We urge the Government to take urgent measures to prevent the excessive use of force by police and military officials involved in law enforcement in Papua, the experts said. This includes ensuring those who have committed human rights violations against the indigenous population of Papua are held to account, they added. The experts said they were also deeply concerned about what appears to be a culture of impunity and general lack of investigations into allegations of human rights violations in Papua. A video circulating online earlier this month showed police in Jayawijaya regency coiled a large snake around a man they accused of stealing a mobile phone. The man, his hands tied to the back, cowered and screamed in fear as a policeman was heard asking the suspect: "How many times have you stolen a cellphone?" The local police have apologized for the use of the snake but defended the action, saying it was not meant to harm the detainee and that the animal was tame. They also said the officers involved had been questioned by the police ethics board. Other snake incidents? A lawyer who advocates for human rights in Papua, Veronica Koman, has said police often use snakes while interrogating Papuans, including those arrested for suspected separatist activities. "When this snake video surfaced, many Papuans, particularly activists who have been in and out of jail for political reasons, said that they have long known that snakes are being used by police and military," she told BenarNews. She said Sam Lokon, a member of the pro-independence National Committee for West Papua (KNPB), was also interrogated using a snake after he was arrested in January. He was put in a cell with a snake. He was beaten, kicked, slapped, and his head was pushed towards the snake to force him to admit that he had stolen a motorbike, she said. A low-level separatist conflict has been taking place in Papua, a region where the population is predominantly Melanesian, since the 1960s. Security forces have been accused of human rights abuses while conducting counter-insurgency operations. In some of the worst violence to hit Papua, nineteen construction workers and a soldier were killed in early December in attacks claimed by the West Papuan National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the separatist movement. In response, security forces have carried out operations to hunt the separatist rebels in Nduga regency, where the killings took place. Rebels said the anti-insurgency campaign had forced hundreds of people to flee to the jungle in fear of the military, with schools and health clinics abandoned. Papua declared its independence from Dutch colonial rule on Dec. 1, 1961, but that was rejected by the Netherlands and later by Indonesia. In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded the region and annexed it, and six years later held a controversial referendum in which, according to rights groups, security forces selected slightly more than 1,000 people to agree to the regions formal absorption into the archipelagic nation. Bangladeshi people gather around the wreckage of cars that burnt in a massive fire in the old part of Dhaka, Feb. 22, 2019. Bangladeshi authorities said Friday they would launch a crackdown to stop businesses from illegally keeping chemical warehouses with highly flammable materials near residential areas, after a massive overnight fire killed nearly 70 people in Dhakas old section. The Dhaka South City Corporation said it would lead the new drive, starting next week, to eradicate businesses that store large quantities of combustible chemicals within densely crowded neighborhoods, such as Chawkbazar, the site of Wednesdays horrific fire that destroyed five buildings. We have decided to launch crackdowns against the owners of all chemical warehouses in the residential areas, including Chawkbazar. We will start the eradication drive from early next week, Mostafizur Rahman, chief executive officer of the corporation, which serves as the municipal government for the southern part of the Bangladeshi capital, told BenarNews. Yet experts and locals cast doubt over whether officials were serious about taking stern action to prevent a recurrence of this weeks devastating fire. Authorities, some pointed out, had promised a similar crackdown following another chemical fire that killed 124 people in Dhakas Nimtali neighborhood in 2010. Last week, we had a meeting with the officials of the fire service and civil defense department and the department of explosives regarding the launching of fresh eradication drives against the owners of the warehouse storing chemical substances in residential areas, Rahman said. But before they could launch the planned drive, the fire occurred, he said. An investigation was still under way into the cause, but officials said it appeared to have been ignited by the explosion of a trucks gas cylinder at a chemical warehouse on the ground floor of one of the five buildings that housed apartments. The fire killed at least 67 people and injured 50 others, officials said. It took firefighters about 12 hours to put out the blaze. The casualties would not be so high if there were no chemical stores. We can in no way accept such deaths, Rahman added. Officials said large quantities of chemicals including gas cylinders, body spray, perfume and plastic were stored inside one of the buildings that burned. The fire broke out and spread rapidly as many residents slept in their apartments, trapping people inside, officials and witnesses said. Chawkbazar, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Dhaka, is also one of its most densely populated, with as many as 150,000 people occupying every square kilometer, experts said. According to Mehedi Hasan Ansary, a professor of engineering, hundreds of chemical drums were discovered in the basement of one of the buildings and could have gone off like a huge bomb as Wednesdays inferno engulfed the area. The impact would have been devastating, he told Agence France-Presse. Meanwhile, Bangladeshi police said they were looking for up to 12 suspects wanted on suspicion of causing death through gross negligence in Wednesday nights fire, the Associated Press reported. However, authorities did not make clear on Friday whether the crackdown on chemical businesses would also target government officials suspected of allowing the businesses to set up their operations illegally within residential zones. We have a tendency to break rules According to experts, the 2010 Nimtali chemical warehouse fire should have been a wake-up call. But, they said, local people and government agencies did not learn the lesson of that tragedy through regulating and strictly enforcing Bangladeshs housing and urban development laws. Experts said the government must continue a year-round drive to remove all warehouses with chemical substances from the residential neighborhoods, especially in the old section of Dhaka city. There goes a saying that you need to be a man of action, not words. Thats where the failure lies. And it is at such an extreme level now that we have failed to force the government to do it (follow the recommendations) in nine years despite recurrences, architect Iqbal Habib told bdnews24, a local news website. Rajdhanu Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), a government agency that deals with planning and development in Dhaka, said it had conducted a recent survey, which revealed that a large majority of buildings in the capital were not up to code. We surveyed 208,000 buildings in the last six months, and at least two-thirds of them have violated the national building code in some way, Abdur Rahman, who directs RAJUK, told Reuters. For some reason, we have a tendency to break rules in some clever way or the other. If this does not stop, RAJUK or any other organization cannot bring things under control, he added. Mostafizur Rahman, of the Dhaka South City Corporation, estimated the number of chemical warehouses operating illegally in Old Dhaka to be in the several thousands. Since the Nimtali tragedy, we used to launch drives against the chemical warehouses, but it was not regular, he said. Samsul Alam, chief inspector at the governments Department of Explosives, told BenarNews that it had sent the Dhaka South City Corporation a list of 29 highly flammable chemicals, which must not be stored in residential areas like Old Dhaka. In the wake of the Nimtali neighborhood fire, in January 2010, the fire department probed the incident and suggested that the authorities remove all chemical warehouses from highly congested old Dhaka, said Munim Hasan, a joint secretary at the home ministry. But the city corporation could not fully implement the recommendations, he told BenarNews. Business at the cost of people is not acceptable. He said the home ministry had formed a body headed by an additional secretary to investigate Wednesdays fire. In addition, fire and civil defense officials under the ministry have also a technical committee to probe the tragedy, he said. The fire service department has been asked to submit the report in seven days. Once we get their technical committee probe report, we can come to know what actually caused the accident, Hasan said. People pray near the graves of victims of the fire in Old Dhaka at the Azimpur Cemetery in Dhaka, Feb. 22, 2019. [Megh Monir/BenarNews] Must carry out year-round surveillance Meanwhile, according to one urban expert, economic circumstances in the Bangladeshi capital have pushed people to co-exist close to businesses in the chemical trade. Due to economic and job opportunities, a huge number people live in the neighborhoods. The buildings are constructed in an unplanned way. In many cases, the buildings are attached to each other, Professor Nazrul Islam told BenarNews. Fire accidents in one building easily affect other buildings. So, the authorities must carry out year-round surveillance against the chemical warehouses to stop a repeat of such fire disasters, he said, adding that businesses preferred to set up shop in densely populated areas because rents are cheaper. Abdul Haque, a resident of Lalbagh, another packed neighborhood of Old Dhaka, said authorities had actively clamped down on chemical business in the aftermath of the 2010 Nimtali fire, but that crackdown petered out after the press stopped paying attention. When media focus goes, the authorities forget everything. The businessmen maintain financial dealings with the city corporation officials so that their business goes uninterrupted, Haque told BenarNews. We do not learn from the mistakes. So, in years we may see another Chawkbazar or Nimtali tragedy because the businessmen are very powerful, he added. The defection of three Tory MPs is a double-edged sword for the DUP. On the one hand, it narrows the margins in Parliament and makes the Prime Minister even more dependent on the party's 10 MPs. Yet Theresa May's majority in the House of Commons falling from 15 to nine is not all good news for the DUP. If she loses just five more MPs, even her confidence and supply agreement with Arlene Foster's party may not be enough to save her job. But there is a whole range of factors at work which would make members of the new Independent Group very reluctant to take any action which would lead to either a general election or a Corbyn government. Read More In their resignation letter earlier this week, Conservative MPs Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen and Sarah Wollaston said they had voted for Mrs May as leader because they believed that she was committed to "moderate and open-hearted" politics. They saw her as a moderniser who would broaden the Tories' appeal to young people and embrace diversity. "We no longer feel we can remain in the party of a Government whose policies and priorities are so firmly in the grip of the ERG and DUP," they said. Yet the trio actually strengthened the hand of the DUP in the Commons, with the Government now commanding the support of 323 MPs, to the 314 on Opposition benches. The votes of those 10 Duppers have become even more valuable. Although on Brexit, the parliamentary arithmetic remains unchanged. As staunch Remainers committed to a second referendum, Soubry, Allen and Wollaston were never likely to support the Prime Minister's withdrawal agreement. But come a confidence motion, how would those three and Labour's eight defectors vote? Given their antipathy to the Leader of the Opposition, it's unlikely that they would do anything which would put him in Downing Street. Neither are they likely to want a general election any time soon, because most of them are surely destined to lose their seats. So despite the headline-grabbing nature of the Independent Group, parliamentary arithmetic really isn't that much changed. With 11 MPs, the group is now bigger than the DUP, and is on an equal footing with the Liberal Democrats. Yet ironically, the influence of its members in the House of Commons will be diminished until they actually form a formal party. Some of the Independent Group MPs have been very active in Brexit debates. They will have less of a voice in a chamber which functions through its political parties than they did as backbenchers. While sitting as an informal bloc, they may have more MPs than the DUP and be on an equal footing numbers-wise with the Liberal Democrats, but they will have nowhere near the same level of influence as those two parties. Ballymena actor Liam Neeson talks to Robin Roberts on Good Morning America about his remarks on his wish for revenge after a friend was raped It is a few weeks now since Liam Neeson gave that interview, in which he described an incident, decades ago, when a friend of his was raped by a black man. He didn't say, as far as I know, where this incident took place. I have just assumed it was not in Ballymena. What he did talk about was his sense of rage and desire for revenge, such that, for about a week, he carried with him a cosh in the hope that some random black man (almost certainly not the rapist) would provoke a fight, so that he could exact some kind of revenge. There was an avalanche of comment - most, though not all, of it fiercely critical of Neeson. One piece that took a different line was by Gail Walker in this newspaper. The final sentence read: "So, inadvertently, the Ballymena man has begun an uncomfortable conversation we all should be having - not in Hollywood, or New York, or London, but right here. In Northern Ireland. Right now." I, too, had been struck by Liam Neeson's comments and felt it was such a shame, though sadly predictable, that the howls from the virtue-signallers would lead most to miss the bigger point (that is not to say that condemning racism isn't important). But what have I to say that might be helpful? I am not more intelligent, or articulate, than the average bloke, but I have tried to reflect on my own experiences over the years. The most poignant was the murder of my father, Billy, over 33 years ago. He was a hardworking man who provided for his family. Born and bred on the Shankill Road in Belfast, but regularly found praying with nuns in the convent in Omagh, he saw his work as serving the community. His uniform was bottle-green and included some equipment he was not particularly comfortable with, but it was part of the job. On the dark night when he was killed, he was shot twice; once from a few metres away, then again as he lay on the ground from a few millimetres. The organisation that killed him operated a kind of shoot-to-kill policy. Over the years, I have sometimes been asked: "How did I feel at that time?" With the passing of time, some memories blur, while others remain vivid. I suppose I had some of the same feelings that Liam Neeson described in his recent interview when his friend told him she had been raped. My deepest feelings of rage were not for my dead father, or for myself, but for my crying mother, who had been cruelly robbed of her life partner, and for my younger sisters, who would not have their daddy to see them grow up. Then, some seven years later, I took my newborn daughter (the first grandchild) to the little country graveyard. As I held her in my arms, introducing her to granda, tears like the ones I can taste now as I type streamed down my face. The feelings of rage were much diminished, though they had not disappeared - and they still have not. The newer feelings were mostly just sadness and frustration; frustration at the futility of it all. Billy would have been such a wonderful granda. There are thousands who should have been bouncing grandchildren on their knees. What about thoughts of revenge? Was I tempted to borrow Neeson's cosh and go out looking for a Catholic, or a republican? No. Why did that thought never cross my mind? Here are a few reasons. It was the way I was brought up. There were times I remember family members (including my father) expressing anger at atrocities that had happened in the area, or to people we knew, but I never heard talk about revenge. Justice and improved security, yes, but not revenge. In the days after my father's murder, my mother gave several moving interviews, calling for no retaliation - as many before and since have done. Sadly, the Troubles continued. Another reason was my Christian faith. It is the same faith my father had, though in my mid-teens I had chosen it for myself. That faith tells me that I am a sinner who has been forgiven by God. His grace holds me in the midst of anger and rage and, yet, somehow, delivers me from bitterness. His grace enabled me to pray for those who had committed the dreadful crime. I still wanted justice, though, as far as I know, no one was ever arrested. Certainly, no one was charged and convicted. Again, my faith helps with this. The story is not yet finished. God, who will one day judge the living and the dead, will have the final word on the question of justice. I am content to leave that with Him. That is not to say that I just sit and wait. There are things to be done. For about 25 years now, I have served on the management board of the WAVE Trauma Centre. In other ways, in both Church and society, I have tried to contribute in some small way to the welfare of victims of the Troubles. I hope I have been able to pour a little oil on the troubled waters of bitterness and revenge, and rub a little balm on some of the painful sores. We do need honest, healing conversations to get us to a better place. These can be difficult for all of us. I have often been struck by how those who have been the most grievously injured are the ones who are most generous and are even willing to forgive and work the hardest for reconciliation. On the other hand, I have often found that those who are two or three steps removed from the immediate impact of the atrocity are the ones most likely to seek revenge, Liam Neeson being a case in point. It's time for all of us to get rid of the cosh. Rev Dr David Clements is minister of Carrickfergus Methodist Church. He is a member of the management board of the WAVE Trauma Centre Cormac Neeson is the epitome of a hard rocker, as befits a man who toured as support for AC/DC, but that image is in stark contrast to his loving words in an interview with this newspaper about Dabhog, his four-year-old son, who was born premature and with Down's syndrome. The love of a parent is a world removed from the commercially driven life of a pop star. While his son has challenges, he is also a gift who has brought much joy to his family, and Cormac's interview, his role as ambassador for Mencap and his touching song Broken Wing will help others relate to the journey that he and his wife Louise have taken and which others also face. Pope Francis arrives for the opening of the second day of the summit (AP) Cardinals attending Pope Francis Vatican summit on preventing sex abuse by clergy have called for a new culture of accountability in the Catholic Church to punish bishops and other superiors who fail to protect their flocks from predator priests. On the second day of Francis extraordinary gathering, the focus of debate shifted to how church leaders must acknowledge that decades of their own cover-ups, secrecy and fear of scandal had only worsened the crisis. Francis summoned 190 bishops and other senior church figures for the four-day tutorial on preventing abuse and protecting children after the scandal erupted last year in Chile and again in the US. Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich said new legal procedures are needed, and that lay experts must be involved at every step of the process to investigate and punish Catholic leaders when they cover up abuse. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to sustain us during these days and to help us transform this evil into an opportunity for awareness and purification. #PBC2019 Pope Francis (@Pontifex) February 21, 2019 Mumbai Cardinal Oswald Gracias said bishops must hold themselves accountable and work together because the problem is not confined to one part of the world. He said: We must repent, and do so together, collegially, because along the way we have failed. We need to seek pardon. Cardinal Cupich said rank-and-file Catholics know far better than priests what trauma abuse and cover-up has caused. In large part it is the witness of the laity, especially mothers and fathers with great love for the church, who have pointed out movingly and forcefully how gravely incompatible the commission, cover-up and toleration of clergy sexual abuse is with the very meaning and essence of the church, he said. Expand Close Survivors of sex abuse hold a cross as they gather in front of Via della Conciliazione, the road leading to St. Peters Square (AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Survivors of sex abuse hold a cross as they gather in front of Via della Conciliazione, the road leading to St. Peters Square (AP) Mothers and fathers have called us to account, for they simply cannot comprehend how we as bishops and religious superiors have often been blinded to the scope and damage of sexual abuse of minors. While the Vatican has tried to crack down on the abusers themselves for two decades, it has largely failed to tackle the bishops and superiors who moved them around from parish to parish. Cardinal Cupich called for transparent new structures of reporting allegations against superiors, investigating them and establishing clear procedures to remove them from office if they are guilty of negligence in handling cases. He proposed that metropolitan bishops who are responsible for other bishops in their geographic area should be tasked with conducting the investigations, with the help of lay experts. The metropolitan bishop would then forward the results to the Vatican. It is not immediately clear how Cardinal Cupichs proposals square with those being studied by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Expand Close Pope Francis prays during the opening of the second day of the summit (AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pope Francis prays during the opening of the second day of the summit (AP) Those procedures, which called for a code of conduct for bishops and a third-party confidential reporting system, ran into legal problems last year at the Vatican, which blocked US bishops from voting on them at their November assembly. At the time of the blocked vote, Cardinal Cupich proposed his Metropolitan model, which he articulated from the privileged position as an organiser of Francis summit. Among the participants in the summit is the head of the US conference, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, who had been responsible for pushing the proposals blocked by the Holy See. More than 30 years after the scandal first erupted in Ireland and Australia, and 20 years after it hit the US, bishops and Catholic officials in many parts of Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia still either deny that sex abuse by clergy exists in their regions, or play down the problem. Francis, the first Latin American pope, called the summit after he himself botched a well-known sex abuse cover-up case in Chile last year. Cardinal Gracias told the conference that it is not acceptable for bishops in Africa or Asia to say that the problem of clergy sex abuse does not exist in their regions. I dare say there are cases all over the world, also in Asia also in Africa, Cardinal Gracias said. R Kelly, the R&B star who has been dogged for decades by allegations that he sexually abused underage girls and women, has been charged with aggravated sexual abuse. The charges involve four alleged victims, including at least three between the ages of 13 and 17. In a brief appearance before reporters, Cook County states attorney Kim Foxx announced the 10 counts against the 52-year-old Grammy winner and said the alleged abuse dated back as far as 1998. She did not comment on the charges or take questions. The singer, who has consistently denied any sexual misconduct, was to appear in court Saturday. R Kellys lawyer said the singer was shell-shocked and planned to turn himself in to authorities. Steve Greenberg said his client was extraordinarily disappointed and depressed by the charges. Greenberg said he had offered to sit down with prosecutors before charges were filed to discuss why these charges are baseless. But they refused, he said. He said Kelly maintains his innocence and looks forward to being acquitted at trial. His arrest sets the stage for another #MeToo-era celebrity trial. Bill Cosby went to prison last year, and former Hollywood studio boss Harvey Weinstein is awaiting trial. Kelly, best known for hits such as I Believe I Can Fly, was charged a week after Michael Avenatti, the attorney whose clients have included porn star Stormy Daniels, said he recently gave Chicago prosecutors new video evidence of the singer having sex with an underage girl. It was not clear if the charges were connected to that video. In 2008, a jury acquitted Kelly of child pornography charges over a graphic video that prosecutors said showed him having sex with a girl as young as 13. Each of the ten counts carries up to seven years in prison. If Kelly is convicted on all 10 counts, a judge could decide that the sentences run one after the other making it possible for him to receive up to 70 years behind bars. Probation is also an option under the statute. Legally and professionally, the walls began closing in on Kelly after the release of a BBC documentary about him last year and the multipart Lifetime documentary Surviving R Kelly, which aired last month. Together they detailed allegations that he was holding women against their will and running a sex cult. After the latest documentary, Kim Foxx said she was sickened by the allegations and asked potential victims to come forward. #MeToo activists and a social media movement using the hashtag #MuteRKelly called on streaming services to drop Kellys music and promoters not to book any more concerts. Protesters demonstrated outside Kellys Chicago studio. As recently as Thursday, two women said that Kelly picked them out of a crowd at a Baltimore party in the mid-1990s when they were underage and had sex with one of the teenagers when she was under the influence of marijuana and alcohol and could not consent. The women, Latresa Scaff and Rochelle Washington, joined lawyer Gloria Allred at a New York City news conference to tell their story publicly for the first time. Mr Greenberg said earlier this year that his client was the victim of a TV hit piece and that Kelly never knowingly had sex with an underage woman, he never forced anyone to do anything, he never held anyone captive, he never abused anyone. Mr Avenatti said his office was retained last April by people regarding allegations of sexual assault of minors by Kelly. He said the video surfaced during a 10-month investigation. He told the Associated Press that the person who provided the VHS tape knew both Kelly and the female in the video. Despite accusations that span decades, the singer and songwriter who rose from poverty on Chicagos South Side has retained a sizeable following. He has written numerous hits for himself and other artists, including Celine Dion, Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga. His collaborators have included Jay-Z and Usher. The incidents took place in the citys Little France area (Andrew Milligan/PA) Police have increased patrols in Edinburgh after a man sexually assaulted two women within 24 hours. The first victim, aged in her 30s, was attacked at around 2.30pm on Thursday. The second incident took place shortly before 2pm on Friday, when a woman in her 50s was assaulted. Both incidents took place in the citys Little France area. Detective Inspector Graham Grant said: These incidents are being treated as linked and a thorough investigation is under way, which includes an increase in high-visibility patrols to the area. Anyone with information about these incidents, or who may recognise the description of the suspect, is urged to come forward immediately. The suspect is a white man, aged in his 20s, around 5ft 4in, of stocky build with long brown hair. He was carrying a pink rucksack. Aaron Campbell has been unmasked as the killer of six-year-old Alesha MacPhail (Police Scotland/PA) The teenage killer of six-year-old Alesha MacPhail has been unmasked after a judge lifted a ban on revealing his identity. Aaron Campbell lived on the same road as Aleshas grandparents on the Isle of Bute, where he snatched the schoolgirl from her bed and raped her last July. The schoolgirl was days into her summer holiday on the island when her body was found dumped in nearby woodland with more than 100 injuries. It can now be reported that her killer was a fifth year Rothesay Academy pupil, who lifted weights, played computer games and had his own YouTube channel. YouTube clips featuring the 16-year-old show him performing somersaults on a trampoline, saying to the camera: Id like to welcome you guys to the channel. In another he addresses viewers: Yo, its Aaron Campbell here. A nine-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow heard Campbell drank alcohol, used cannabis, and hosted a party of around 15 friends at the home he shared with his housekeeper mother earlier on the night he abducted Alesha. CCTV footage from his mothers own security system provided the evidence detectives needed to prove he had left the property on Ardbeg Road in Rothesay at the crucial time. She had contacted police herself, hoping the footage would eliminate her son from the investigation. Expand Close Aleshas mother Georgina Lochrane was in court to hear the judge lift the order banning identification of killer Aaron Campbell (Andrew Milligan/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Aleshas mother Georgina Lochrane was in court to hear the judge lift the order banning identification of killer Aaron Campbell (Andrew Milligan/PA) Campbell was captured coming and going from his home several times in the early hours of July 2, removing items of clothing and retrieving a torch. He had earlier tried to contact Aleshas father Robert MacPhail and his partner Toni McLachlan, thought to have been seeking to buy cannabis as he had done from Mr MacPhail in the past. A jury found Campbell guilty of rape and murder unanimously on Thursday. Media organisations including the Daily Record, BBC Scotland and STV then applied to have a ban on revealing his identity lifted. Scots law prohibits the naming of under 18s who are the subject of criminal proceedings. Expand Close Alesha was abducted, raped and murdered just days into her summer holiday on Bute (PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Alesha was abducted, raped and murdered just days into her summer holiday on Bute (PA) Lord Matthews opted to lift the ban in the case he said had caused such revulsion. Aleshas mother Georgina Lochrane was in court to hear the judges decision on Friday. Campbell, who the judge heard has a history of self-harm, anxiety and depression, will be sentenced on March 21. Lord Matthews warned the teenager, currently being held at Polmont Young Offenders Institute, that he may never be released from custody. Tony Foulds, 82, watches from Endcliffe Park in Sheffield, as warplanes from Britain and the United States stage a flypast tribute to 10 US airmen 75 years after he witnessed the crash that killed them (Danny Lawson/PA) A tearful pensioner has paid tribute to the 10 American airmen whose plane crashed in front of him, after a flypast to mark the 75th anniversary of their deaths, saying Theyre as happy as anything now. Tony Foulds was speaking after watching planes, including F-15E Strike Eagles from the USAF and a Typhoon from the RAF, fly above Endcliffe Park, in Sheffield, on Friday morning. The 82-year-old was playing at the same park on February 22 1944, when he witnessed a B-17 Flying Fortress, nicknamed Mi Amigo, crash in front of him and his friends. Mr Foulds believes to this day that the 10 airmen who died had deliberately steered out of his way, and has spent decades tending to their memorial, which is in the park. Expand Close A Hercules (left) and an Osprey fly over Endcliffe Park in Sheffield in tribute to 10 US airmen killed in a crash 75 years ago (Danny Lawson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A Hercules (left) and an Osprey fly over Endcliffe Park in Sheffield in tribute to 10 US airmen killed in a crash 75 years ago (Danny Lawson/PA) Following a campaign by BBC Breakfasts Dan Walker, who bumped into Mr Foulds while walking his dog in the park last month, the pensioners dream of seeing a flypast on the 75th anniversary of the crash came true on Friday morning. Speaking to the Press Association following the tribute, he said of the airmen: Theyve done this, and theyre as happy as anything now. He added: Its taken 75 years for them to be remembered and what a day, what a day to remember them. Mr Foulds said his only wish now is to travel to the United States to meet some of the crews families. It's taken 75 years for them to be remembered and what a day, what a day to remember themTony Foulds He said he has further plans for the 75th anniversary, including flying over the memorial himself and visiting the three graves in the UK. And he pledged to return to the memorial in Sheffield, where he has a spot set aside for his own ashes once his life is over. Then I shall be able to apologise for killing them, he said. Which is what I did, no matter what everybody says. If it hadnt been for me being on there they would have had happy lives. Expand Close Tony Foulds has tended the memorial in Endcliffe Park, Sheffield, for decades (Danny Lawson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tony Foulds has tended the memorial in Endcliffe Park, Sheffield, for decades (Danny Lawson/PA) Megan Leo, whose cousin, Melchor Hernandez, died in the crash, said her family did not want Mr Foulds to blame himself. I dont want him to feel guilty and dont think my family would want him to feel guilty, she said. The flypast was witnessed by thousands of onlookers, some of whom had arrived at the park at dawn on Friday. It's been an absolute honour for everyone at BBC Breakfast to work with Tony#TonyGotAFlypast #RememberTheTen pic.twitter.com/1gZ5uDtgDH BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) February 22, 2019 Clear skies meant that the assembled audience were able to perfectly see the tribute to the men, who were travelling back from a bombing raid on the day of the fateful crash. Mr Foulds broke down in tears after the names of the dead men were read out at the memorial. TV presenter Walker, who is currently in Tanzania preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief, told him on BBC Breakfast: The last six weeks have been remarkable from my point of view. I know you jokingly asked everybody for a tenner who are there at the park today, but its not about the money, its never been about you. Tony, its always been about those 10 men who you think saved your life 75 years ago. Expand Close Tony Foulds holds a photograph as he waits to see his lifelong dream fulfilled (Danny Lawson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tony Foulds holds a photograph as he waits to see his lifelong dream fulfilled (Danny Lawson/PA) Following the flypast, Walker tweeted: I knew Sheffield wouldnt let us down. Wow! This is the most incredible thing I have ever been involved in. He later added: The next step is getting Tony an honour from the Queen. Please retweet & like this and Ill use this in the submission. The hashtags TonyGotAFlypast and RememberTheTen were top trends on Twitter in the aftermath of the event. Thousands of teachers from across Scotland marched in support of calls for a 10% rise in pay last October (Andrew MIlligan/PA) Scotlands largest teaching union has announced the date of potential strike action. The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) revealed on Thursday its members had rejected an improved pay deal from employers by 57% to 43%. Local government body Cosla offered a 9% increase, with a further 3% next year, to be funded with Scottish Government cash. The offer put to teachers is the best pay deal in the UK.John Swinney More than four-fifths (81%) of eligible members took part in the ballot, with the union having demanded a 10% pay rise. The executive committee of the union has now announced it will hold a ballot for strike action on March 11, with a walkout potentially following on April 24. Larry Flanagan, EIS general secretary, said: The vote 57% to reject the offer against 43% to accept was a decisive one and leaves both the Scottish Government and Cosla in no doubt as to the mood of members and both our ability and willingness to move to strike action if that is what is required to generate an acceptable offer. Thousands of teachers and their supporters marched through Glasgow in October as part of their campaign for a larger pay hike. Education Secretary John Swinney previously said: The offer put to teachers is the best pay deal in the UK for any public sector worker. A large number of teachers voted to accept the offer, which clearly demonstrates the advantages they saw in the deal. This strong offer remains on the table. Industrial action in any of our schools would not be in the interest of teachers, young people or parents. Gail Macgregor, education spokeswoman at Cosla, previously said the offer was at the absolute limits of what councils could afford. She said: We absolutely value the education of our young people and throughout these negotiations have re-iterated the value we place on our teachers and the work that they do. That is why a very fair offer, at the absolute limits of what we could afford, was presented to our teachers and I am disappointed with todays rejection. Industrial action in our schools is in nobodys interests and it is for this reason we will continue to engage as positively as we can with Government and the trade unions. Theresa May has been told to face down Jacob Rees-Moggs European Research Group (ERG) amid warnings more Conservative MPs could defect. Three Tories have already left to join The Independent Group (TIG) and the Prime Minister has been warned that the influence of Brexiteers in the ERG could push others out of the party. Former minister Phillip Lee, who has been the subject of speculation that he could also leave the Conservatives, said he was staying to fight but said the ERG must be dealt with. 'There needs to be an alternative.' With only 35 days to Brexit, both May and Corbyn could face a slew of MPs leaving the major parties to join the Independent Group.@ChukaUmunna and @heidiallen75 discuss how this new cross-party movement works. pic.twitter.com/SW3Dh6xMAA Good Morning Britain (@GMB) February 22, 2019 Heidi Allen, Anna Soubry and Sarah Wollaston quit the Conservatives this week, complaining about the influence of the ERG in Parliament and Blukip or purple momentum entryism in local associations. Dr Lee met Mrs May in Number 10 on Thursday and told BBC Radio 4s Today programme they had a frank exchange of views. He expressed alarm at Brexit policy and populist decisions like Sajid Javids move to strip Shamima Begum of citizenship. He said Mrs May needs to face down the ERG properly saying there were elements of the group that did not reflect the party he joined in 1992 and its about time we dealt with them. Expand Close Phillip Lee called on the Prime Minister to take on the European Research Group (Stefan Rousseau/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Phillip Lee called on the Prime Minister to take on the European Research Group (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Meanwhile Ms Allen suggested other incredibly sympathetic colleagues may soon be joining TIG. She said the Conservative Party had completely transformed itself and there wont be a Tory party I recognise to go back to. She told ITVs Good Morning Britain: My suspicion is that if things continue as they are the ERG will continue and will be running things going forward. Colleagues who are incredibly sympathetic to Sarah, Anna and myself and what weve done, I suspect they will be coming across and be joining our group. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) Ms Allen has suggested that ex-Labour MP Chuka Umunna is the obvious candidate to lead the group, but hinted that other potential leaders may be about to join. My view right now is that Chuka has brought us together, she said. But like any leader in business, politics, it needs to be the best person to get the best out of that team. And given that were still going to have other colleagues come and join us I dont think we can say who that leaders going to be until we know the range of people that are going to be in our group. Mr Umunna told Good Morning Britain: Were not a political party at this stage. I think for all of us we were deeply, deeply unhappy in the parties that we were at. Just walking off the field would have been a cop out. We thought actually as Members of Parliament weve got mandate, were in a position to provide people with an alternative, whether thats a party or a movement, were clear that we want to provide people with an alternative. The man nicknamed Jihadi Jack has said that he wants to return to Britain, but he thinks it unlikely he will be allowed back. Jack Letts, 23, speaking from the Kurdish jail where he has been held for two years on suspicion of joining IS after he ran away to Syria in 2014, said he missed his mum, pasties, and Doctor Who. He told ITV News: I feel British, I am British. If the UK accepted me I would go back to the UK, but I dont think thats going to happen. Expand Close Jack Letts (right) nicknamed Jihadi Jack by media, speaking to ITV News security editor Rohit Kachroo from his prison in Syria (ITV/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jack Letts (right) nicknamed Jihadi Jack by media, speaking to ITV News security editor Rohit Kachroo from his prison in Syria (ITV/PA) Born in Oxford, the Muslim convert also has a Canadian passport thanks to his fathers nationality, but admitted: I dont know if that will still be valid. He told the broadcaster that he had lived on the Oxford Street of Raqqa, and married an Iraqi woman who has given birth to the couples son. Mr Letts, a former pupil of Cherwell School, also confessed that he was pleased when he first heard news of the Paris terror attacks in 2015, and blamed his reaction on his experiences of coalition airstrikes in Raqqa. He said when asked about the Bataclan atrocities: At the time, I thought it was a good thing. At the time we had this idea, living in Raqqa, getting bombed every five minutes by coalition jets. Ive seen children burnt alive. You have this idea of why shouldnt it happen to them?' Expand Close Oxford-born Jack Letts ran away to Syria in 2014 (ITV/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Oxford-born Jack Letts ran away to Syria in 2014 (ITV/PA) But he claimed he has since had a change of heart, and sympathy for the innocent people killed, as he realised that they had nothing to do with it. The Home Office said: In recent days the Home Secretary has clearly stated that his priority is the safety and security of Britain and the people who live here. In order to protect this country, he has the power to deprive someone of their British citizenship where it would not render them stateless. We do not comment on individual cases, but any decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are based on all available evidence and not taken lightly. Mr Letts, who was a teenager when he fled to Syria, has not seen his parents in half a decade, and is missing some elements of his life in the UK. He added: I miss people mostly, I miss my mum. Five years I havent seen my mum, two years I havent spoken to my mum. I miss pasties. And Doctor Who. Mr Letts parents, John Letts and Sally Lane, from Chilswell Road, Oxford, are awaiting trial in the UK accused of sending money to their son. They have denied three charges of funding terrorism. This is not the first time Mr Letts has spoken to the British media since he fled his home. In 2016, he told Channel 4 News that he missed Krispy Kreme doughnuts and kebabs, and had narrowly survived an airstrike with just a scratch. And when asked if he was an IS fighter, he replied Currently Im not before saying later in a statement that he opposes the militant group. Mr Letts interview comes the day after the family of Islamic State bride Shamima Begum confirmed they would be challenging the Home Offices decision to revoke the 19-year-olds British citizenship. Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green to join the terror cult in 2015 and recently gave birth to a baby boy, her third child. They said in a letter to the Home Secretary on Thursday: We must, therefore, assist Shamima in challenging your decision to take away the one thing that is her only hope at rehabilitation, her British citizenship. Mr Wilson said some of the Irish Government's proposals would run "totally contrary" to EU state aid rules The DUP's Brexit spokesperson Sammy Wilson has criticised the Irish Government's no-deal Brexit planning, stating its shows how the EU "has been taking the British negotiators for a ride". On Friday, the Irish Government unveiled a package of emergency legislation to be enacted in the event of a no-deal Brexit that would safeguard citizen's rights and the education, healthcare and transport sectors. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: "We are doing all we can to avoid a no-deal scenario, but we need to be ready in case it does happen." Read More Speaking on Sky News, Mr Wilson said some of the Irish Government's proposals would run "totally contrary" to EU state aid rules, which prevent governments from assisting businesses through subsidies and grants. "I think this really shows the EU negotiators have been taking the British negotiators for a ride," he said. Sammy Wilson also criticised the plans for not touching upon cross-border trade. "It seems to contradict everything the EU negotiators have been telling the British Government that they have to put in place in order to comply with the single market rules and to protect the single market," he said. "First of all, there is not one word about how they intend to deal with trade across the border. We have always said that there is no need for hard border infrastructure and it seems that, even in the face of a no-deal, the Irish Government is not legislating for such a hard border. "It begs the question: how do they intend monitor trade?" The Omnibus Bill was published as the EU Commission confirmed it was relaxing certain state aid regulations in preparation for Brexit - a move that will give the government in Dublin more latitude to offer support to farms and other affected businesses. Leo Varadkar said the new laws would "enables us to mitigate against some of the worst effects of no deal by protecting citizens' rights, security, and facilitating extra supports for vulnerable businesses and employers". Five-week-old Emma is given a coin by her nana, Sandra, a custom meant to bring good luck and prosperity in Scotland (WaterAid/Paul Watt/PA) A new collection of images from around the world demonstrates different cultural traditions for welcoming babies and protecting new mothers. Rituals such as post-partum porridge and baptisms are used to celebrate new life in different corners of the globe. Expand Close Embargoed to 0001 Friday February 22Undated handout photo issued by WaterAid of Natsumi, 29, feeding her daughter Miwa, four weeks old, during Okuizome, a first food ceremony that takes place in Japan. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Friday February 22, 2019. The new collection of images demonstrates different cultural traditions for welcoming babies and protecting new mothers from around the world. See PA story HEALTH Babies. Photo credit should read: WaterAid/Kodai/PA WireNOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Embargoed to 0001 Friday February 22Undated handout photo issued by WaterAid of Natsumi, 29, feeding her daughter Miwa, four weeks old, during Okuizome, a first food ceremony that takes place in Japan. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Friday February 22, 2019. The new collection of images demonstrates different cultural traditions for welcoming babies and protecting new mothers from around the world. See PA story HEALTH Babies. Photo credit should read: WaterAid/Kodai/PA WireNOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. In Japan, parents celebrate Okuizome, a first food ceremony. Expand Close Lucia, 26, mother to newborn baby Bertha, eating a special porridge made from soya, maize flour and sugar which is given to mums after childbirth in Malawi (WaterAid/Jenny Lewis/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Lucia, 26, mother to newborn baby Bertha, eating a special porridge made from soya, maize flour and sugar which is given to mums after childbirth in Malawi (WaterAid/Jenny Lewis/PA) In Malawi, new mothers are given a porridge made of soya, maize flour and sugar as it is thought to give them energy and nutrients. Expand Close Undated handout photo issued by WaterAid of Nagit, 30, (centre) husband Lomer, 32, (centre left) and baby Bakita sitting with their five children after the blessing of their newborn. As part of this Ugandan ceremony the skin of the Etopojjo tree is soaked in water, forming small strings. These strings are then tied around the babys wrist, ankles, neck and waist. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Friday February 22, 2019. The new collection of images demonstrates different cultural traditions for welcoming babies and protecting new mothers from around the world. See PA story HEALTH Babies. Photo credit should read: WaterAid/James Kiyimba/PA WireNOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Undated handout photo issued by WaterAid of Nagit, 30, (centre) husband Lomer, 32, (centre left) and baby Bakita sitting with their five children after the blessing of their newborn. As part of this Ugandan ceremony the skin of the Etopojjo tree is soaked in water, forming small strings. These strings are then tied around the babys wrist, ankles, neck and waist. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Friday February 22, 2019. The new collection of images demonstrates different cultural traditions for welcoming babies and protecting new mothers from around the world. See PA story HEALTH Babies. Photo credit should read: WaterAid/James Kiyimba/PA WireNOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. In Uganda, beer and dancing are used to celebrate a new arrival, as well as the skin of the Etopojjo tree being formed into small strings tied around the babys wrist, ankles, neck and waist. Expand Close Nome, 21, wearing a masonjoany mask to protect herself from the sun and bad spirits in Madagascar (WaterAid/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Nome, 21, wearing a masonjoany mask to protect herself from the sun and bad spirits in Madagascar (WaterAid/PA) In Madagascar, mothers wear a masonjoany mask made by grinding a sandalwood tree branch with water to form a paste to protect themselves from bad spirits. Nome, 21, wore the mask as part of the Manaboaka Jabely tradition after giving birth. She said: In our culture, mothers like me and our newborn babies are not allowed to go outside during the first seven days after the birth. Once we have made it through these sacred, critical seven days, we step outside for a short time to face the reality of life and the bright sun. Expand Close PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Black eye kohl is applied to children in India to ward off evil spirits. Rinku, 22, from Delhi, said: The tradition of applying kohl or kajal to the infants eyes and forehead began long ago and has been taught to each generation by the elders. The black kajal protects the child from any evil spirits and keeps them healthy. Expand Close Undated handout photo issued by WaterAid of four month old Emmeline having holy water poured over her head at the Roman Catholic Holy Family Church in New Jersey, in the belief it will absolve them of original sin. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Friday February 22, 2019. The new collection of images demonstrates different cultural traditions for welcoming babies and protecting new mothers from around the world. See PA story HEALTH Babies. Photo credit should read: WaterAid/Jill Costantino/PA WireNOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Undated handout photo issued by WaterAid of four month old Emmeline having holy water poured over her head at the Roman Catholic Holy Family Church in New Jersey, in the belief it will absolve them of original sin. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Friday February 22, 2019. The new collection of images demonstrates different cultural traditions for welcoming babies and protecting new mothers from around the world. See PA story HEALTH Babies. Photo credit should read: WaterAid/Jill Costantino/PA WireNOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. In Catholic families, holy water is poured over a babys head, in the belief it will absolve them of original sin. In Scotland, newborn babies like five-week-old Emma who was photographed by Paul Watt for WaterAid are given coins in a custom meant to bring prosperity. The picture gallery has been released by charity WaterAid as part of their Water Effect campaign, which aims to help mothers and new babies ensure they have the best start by providing clean water and good sanitation in health centres. Tim Wainwright, chief executive of WaterAid, said: Its unacceptable that in the developing world one in three health centres do not have clean water. This means doctors and midwives cannot protect their patients from the risk of infection, and the consequences can be fatal. Thats why were putting clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene at the heart of healthcare, helping save lives every day. Mr Paisley said the EU could sideline the Irish Government to reach a deal with the UK (Brian Lawless/PA) DUP MP Ian Paisley has said the EU will tell the Irish Government to 'move aside' in order to secure a Brexit deal. The North Antrim representative made the prediction as Theresa May continues her negotiations with the EU to try and secure changes to the withdrawal agreement. Read More Speaking on Russia Today, Mr Paisley said the EU could sideline the Irish Government to reach a deal with the UK. He described the talks process as "wrong-headed". "Because it's been pointed to a political arrangement to suit domestic Irish politics, as opposed to looking at the greater good of a negotiation on trade that would suit everyone in Europe," he said. "I think, sooner or later, the German, the French and other member states will say to the Irish 'you've had a good enough run at messing about with your domestic politics, this is now frustrating us getting a deal with the United Kingdom - move aside and let's get that deal'." Mr Paisley claimed investors were pulling out of the EU and European industrialists would be looking to the UK for a trade deal to boost their economy. "(The EU) are looking at this Brexit deal and saying 'the only thing we seem to have an argument about is a small, tiny partner, the Irish, who are pushing Europe on a political point-scoring exercise'." Last week, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said anyone hoping that EU solidarity with Ireland will falter on the Brexit border backstop is in for a nasty surprise. A succinct explanation from Latviaas Foreign Minister @edgarsrinkevics on why says itall back Ireland to the hilt despite risk of cliff edge #brexit. Itas about a word holds dear - asolidaritya. (Itas also, of course, about maintaining the integrity of Single Market) pic.twitter.com/mYkUg98hUD Mark Stone (@Stone_SkyNews) February 20, 2019 Earlier this week, Theresa May met with Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, in order to secure legally-binding changes to the controversial Irish backstop. A joint statement issued following the meeting read: "The two leaders agreed that talks had been constructive and they urged their respective teams to continue to explore the options in a positive spirit. "They will review progress again in the coming days, seized of the tight timescale and the historic significance of setting the EU and the UK on a path to a deep and unique future partnership." Mrs May is eager to get movement on the issue before a series of Brexit votes in the House of Commons on February 27. The EU, however, has remained adamant the withdrawal agreement will not be reopened, however changes to the Political Declaration, which sets out the future relationship between the UK and EU may be possible. Tony Foulds, 82, waits in Endcliffe Park, Sheffield, to see his lifelong dream fulfilled when warplanes from Britain and the US stage a flypast over the memorial to salute the 75th anniversary of the Mi Amigo crash which claimed the lives of 10 American airmen (Danny Lawson/PA) Huge crowds have gathered to watch a pensioner see his lifelong dream fulfilled when a special flypast marks the 75th anniversary of a crash which claimed the lives of 10 American airmen. Tony Foulds was just eight years old when he saw a B-17 Flying Fortress, nicknamed Mi Amigo, crash on February 22 1944 as it apparently veered away from him and his friends in Sheffields Endcliffe Park as it returned from a bombing raid. Expand Close Tony Foulds has been tending the memorial for decades (Danny Lawson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tony Foulds has been tending the memorial for decades (Danny Lawson/PA) Since then, Mr Foulds, now 82, has dedicated himself to looking after the parks memorial to the men, tending it six days a week for decades. On Friday, thousands of people were expected to gather at the park to watch planes including F-15E Strike Eagles from the USAF and an RAF Typhoon pay tribute to the crew. The ceremony was arranged by BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker after he saw Mr Foulds walk in the park and started a campaign to have the men remembered. Has someone got some tissues? https://t.co/OJcPzutMWj Dan Walker (@mrdanwalker) February 22, 2019 Hundreds of people were in the park as dawn broke on Friday, with many bringing picnics and some wearing Second World War uniforms. Many veterans could be seen on the park wearing medals, and coffee stalls and sandwich vans were enjoying a brisk trade on the cold but clear morning. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mr Foulds told the crowds: Thank you very much for coming, its lovely see you. I cant wait to get among you. The programme also showed footage of Mr Foulds meeting the families of some of the airmen who lost their lives in the crash 75 years ago. He said: I never thought I would ever meet any of the families of this pilot and crew. The pensioner described them as lovely, lovely people. The flypast is expected to begin at around 8.45am. Scottish Liberal Democrats rejected a motion urging the Scottish Government to criminalise the buying of sex and decriminalise prostitution (Yui Mok/PA) A former prostitute has called for buying sex to be criminalised, telling how the current system allows men to buy women as if they were renting a film. Diane Martin spoke out as the Scottish Liberal Democrat conference debated a motion calling for prostitution to be decriminalised at the same time as the purchase of sex is made illegal. She told activists at the party conference in Hamilton how her experience of the trade had been at the supposed high end, but she added: To to me there is no high end of prostitution. She stated: I experienced exploitation through prostitution in my late teens in London, and then I was trafficked to a prostitution ring overseas. I went from being a happy, trusting girl to finding myself standing in a penthouse being overlooked by a madam. She continued: The feeling of stress is what I remember the most about being involved in prostitution, going through a door and wondering what state I would be in when I came out, waiting to be picked like something off a shelf, the observing and dissecting, being the commodity everyone in the room knew you to be. For men prostitution is like renting a film, with the power to write the entire script. Theyre the director, theyre the star, youre the prop. That was my experience. Diane Robertson Martin, a survivor of prostitution, talks about her personal experiences, her work in exiting services, and the mythical barriers that are created to separate different areas of prostitution - it's all the same thing. pic.twitter.com/VKHDhjZCMs SCOT-PEP (@ScotPep) February 22, 2019 She described being raped by a man who showed me his gun and asked me if my mum knew where I was she didnt and I was very far from home. And she insisted: Being in a penthouse suite doesnt soften the blow of rape or having someone leave bitemarks all over your face. She urged the party to back a motion calling on the Scottish Government to decriminalise prostitution and make the purchase of sex illegal. We have a choice to open our eyes to the realities of prostitution and apply more than a harm reduction band aid, Ms Martin said. Jacci Stoyle, who also spoke in favour of the motion, said prostitution was ubiquitous across Scotland. She said: Street prostitution is only 10% of the market. Like an iceberg, most prostitution is hidden away behind closed doors. It is ubiquitous across the whole of Scotland, advertised online through a variety of means. On punter websites they can select their purchase like any other product. Should they wish, they can order a women like a pizza and review her performance like any other commodity. Party members at the conference voted against the motion, with Liberal Democrat activist Caron Lindsay arguing that at the very least, we should have the liberty to use our bodies in the way that we wish. She stated: As Liberals we have a huge respect for individuals and their right to make their own choices they may not be the ones we would make but frankly that is not our business. There has been surprise the Irish Foreign Affairs Minister would know the date of publication of the inquiry report into the Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme. On Thursday Simon Coveney told an Oireachtas committee he believed the report would be published "next month" and the fall out could lead to added "bitterness" that could further hamper the restoration of the Northern Ireland power-sharing institutions. There was surprise in Northern Ireland at the comments. It has been thought a report could be published before the summer with speculation of a June date. A spokesman for the inquiry said there was no date for publication and work remained ongoing. The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said that the Irish government "has no information" on when the report is due. Read More The Tanaiste was asked at an Oireachtas Committee yesterday what the Irish government was doing about the RHI inquiry and replied that we are awaiting the report of the Inquiry," a department spokesperson said. "The Irish government has no direct insight into the operations of the Inquiry, nor has it any contact with the Inquiry, and has no information on when its report is due. The RHI scheme was partly blamed for the collapse of the Stormont institutions. The inquiry was convened by former finance minister Mairtin O Muilleouir to look into the establishment and running of the scheme. Mr Coveney said the report's publication would be an "awkward" period for some. He said: "The one thing I would warn against though is, I don't think people should be waiting for the RHI inquiry to report in order to try to use that in a sort of destructive way. "There is a danger from RHI that the bitterness that may come out of that may delay even further the opportunity to get an executive up and running." The RHI scheme - dubbed 'cash for ash' - was set up to incentivise farmers and other business owners to switch to wood pellet-burning boilers by offering them a subsidy to purchase the eco-friendly fuel. Catastrophic errors at government level meant subsidy levels were set higher than it actually cost to buy the pellets - so applicants to the scheme were effectively able to make a profit on public money by burning boilers without limits. More than 1,100 businesses signed up to the scheme, many of them poultry businesses connected to chicken giant Moy Park. UUP finance spokesman Steve Aiken said he was "amazed" the Tanaiste "seems to know something the rest of us dont" regarding the publication of the RHI report. "There is little point in him trying to set down a marker as to how parties should react when it does. The RHI scandal goes right to the heart of how the DUP and Sinn Fein have done business over the last ten years. It has shone a light on the dysfunctionality at the core of Government here. "The report and its recommendations must be a watershed moment for politics here. It cannot simply be a case of everyone agreeing something needs to change and then picking up where they left off. There must be radical changes to governance and transparency. If the Tanaiste, the Secretary of State, or anyone else thinks the publication of the RHI report can be used to pressure parties back into an Executive where the DUP and Sinn Fein pick up where they left off, then they are going to be sorely disappointed. The Department for Foreign Affairs in Dublin has been approached for comment. A no-deal Brexit would be a lose, lose, lose for the UK, Ireland and Europe, the Irish deputy premier warned as he outlined emergency plans. The Irish Government published a wide range of worst case contingency laws on Friday that will be enacted if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. The Omnibus Bill, which will be fast-tracked through the Oireachtas parliament in Dublin, is designed to support businesses and jobs impacted by a no deal and secure ongoing access to essential services and products across the Irish border. The huge suite of proposed legislation, which will only become law if the UK leaves on March 29 without a deal, was published as the EU Commission confirmed it was relaxing certain state aid regulations, apparently in preparation for Brexit a move that will give the government in Dublin more latitude to offer support to farms and other affected businesses. Tanaiste Simon Coveney, who unveiled the legislative package at Government Buildings in Dublin, said he hoped the Bill would never need to be enacted. My only desire is to see this legislation sit on the shelf, he said. But he warned a no-deal Brexit would cause widespread damage. Let me be very clear in saying a disorderly Brexit will be a lose, lose, lose for the UK, for the EU and for Ireland, he said. We cannot offset all of the damage it will do, but we are doing everything we can through legislation, through preparation, through investment, through information and through support of the multiple sectors and the multiple numbers of people that will be impacted potentially by that worst-case scenario. Expand Close Tanaiste Simon Coveney and Minister of State for European Affairs Helen McEntee gave a press conference (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tanaiste Simon Coveney and Minister of State for European Affairs Helen McEntee gave a press conference (Brian Lawless/PA) Irelands premier, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, said: Our focus remains on the UK ratifying the Withdrawal Agreement, which was concluded following intensive negotiations between the UK and the EU. However, for the last two years we have also been preparing for the possibility that the UK leaves the EU without an agreement. We are doing all we can to avoid a no-deal scenario, but we need to be ready in case it does happen. This special law enables us to mitigate against some of the worst effects of no deal by protecting citizens rights, security, and facilitating extra supports for vulnerable businesses and employers. The DUPs Sammy Wilson said a lack of border checks in Irelands emergency Brexit plans proved warnings about the frontier were just careless rhetoric. No one is building a so-called hard border or going back to checkpoints with soldiers.Sammy Wilson The partys Brexit spokesman said talk from Ireland and the EU about the risks of a hard border returning was designed to manipulate peoples fears. This legislation points to the reality that in 2019 there is no need for the type of borders we knew in the 70s, 80s and 90s, he said. No one is building a so-called hard border or going back to checkpoints with soldiers. Such talk was rhetoric designed to ferment fear in genuine communities along both sides of the border. To manipulate peoples fears in such a way was careless and reckless. Despite drawing up wide reaching plans to absorb the impact of a no-deal across Irish society, the Dublin governments public position has consistently been that its contingency measures do not include proposals for border checkpoints. The EU Commissions move on state aid rules governing the agriculture sector will enable the Irish Government to increase the maximum amount it can use to support farmers without prior Commission approval. On Friday, the Commission also approved a specific Irish state aid application which will allow a Co Cork cheese company to receive state aid funding to diversify its business away from reliance on the UK market. Carbery Food Ingredients Ltd, which works with 1,260 farmers, currently produces Cheddar cheese, principally for British consumers. The 5.75 million euro (5 million) state aid boost will support the company as it shifts to the production of Mozzarella cheese with the aim of finding new buyers. The Irish Governments Omnibus Bill, known as the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill, is made up of 15 parts and was prepared by nine ministers. The proposed laws cover a wide range of areas and focuses on protecting Irish citizens rights, supporting businesses and jobs, healthcare, transport, education and energy. The Bill will be debated in the Dail next week and then in committees the following week, before being debated in the upper chamber, the Seanad. President Michael D Higgins will sign it into law if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. The leader of the countrys main opposition party said the Irish government was not adequately prepared for a no-deal Brexit, despite its 70-page Brexit contingency legislation. Fianna Fails Micheal Martin said: I dont think were adequately prepared for a no-deal Brexit the Government perhaps thought they would have a deal earlier. He added that ministers would not have been in the position to publish the legislation if Fianna Fail had pulled the plug on the confidence and supply deal as some other political parties had been urging. Last year Fianna Fail committed that it would not bring down the Fine Gael minority government as the country prepared for Brexit. Sinn Feins Brexit spokesman David Cullinane said the Bill showed the sorry state of Brexit. We have been reduced to moving emergency legislation in the Dail just to keep very basic but very important services in place (including) access to education and having access to health services north and south, east and west, he said. It shows the chaos of Brexit is clear for all to see. Mr Cullinane reiterated Sinn Feins calls for a referendum on Irish unity. Would anyone, apart from the DUP and some unionists, argue that having one part of the island outside the Customs Union and the Single Market, a hardening of the border, the potential of physical infrastructure or some form of checks, would be acceptable to the people of Ireland? he added. The Irish Government has published a package of legislation that will be enacted to mitigate negative impacts of Brexit in a no-deal scenario. Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said a no-deal would be "lose, lose" for Britain and Ireland. He said that while they would do all they can to avoid a no deal, they would have to mitigate for it happening. The legislation will cover, among other things, cross-border health care and the single electricity market. Students studying in Ireland and the UK were also covered. He said if there was a no-deal, there would have to be conversations between the British and Irish governments on managing the border. He indicated this would likely be similar to arranging something like the controversial backstop. The Omnibus Bill, which will be fast-tracked through the Oireachtas parliament in Dublin, covers a wide range of governmental functions, and is designed to support businesses and jobs and secure ongoing access to essential services and products. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: "Our focus remains on the UK ratifying the Withdrawal Agreement, which was concluded following intensive negotiations between the UK and the EU. "However, for the last two years we have also been preparing for the possibility that the UK leaves the EU without an agreement. "We are doing all we can to avoid a no-deal scenario, but we need to be ready in case it does happen. "This special law enables us to mitigate against some of the worst effects of no deal by protecting citizens' rights, security, and facilitating extra supports for vulnerable businesses and employers." Speaking at the launch of the no-deal Brexit legislation, Ireland's Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said: "The Omnibus Bill is the result of more than a year's background work starting with a root and branch review of our legislation to see what actions we need to take to offset the worst effects of a disorderly Brexit. "As a member of the Dail (parliament) for 21 years, I find myself today having the curious feeling of bringing forward a piece of landmark legislation that I will spend the next three weeks bringing though the Oireachtas, however I hope it proves redundant and I hope we never have to use the provisions set out in this piece of legislation. I hope we never have to commence this bill. "Simply put, as a result of a lot of hard work my only desire is see this legislation sit on the shelf. "As this legislation was being painstakingly being prepared by our teams across Government, our focus remained at the time on a fair and robust negotiation between the EU and the UK, that negotiation led to withdrawal agreement. "Although there are now only 36 days until Brexit, our focus remains on that deal being ratified. "I know it's hard to believe right now there will be a time hopefully in that not in the too distant future where the word Brexit won't be mentioned every hour and in every speech I make." Mr Coveney added: "The backstop is a result of a fair negotiation between the EU and the UK. It was designed by the UK and the EU to protect peace on our island. "The backstop is fiercely supported by the people it is designed to protect, our citizens in the Republic, and British and Irish citizens in Northern Ireland. "These citizens know what uncertainty feels like and its consequences, they have lived it and they are not going back there. "They want a workable answer and not wishful thinking." Chris ODowd has predicted a lot of British people will be looking for Irish passports after Brexit (Ian West/PA) Chris ODowd has predicted a lot of British people will be looking for Irish passports after Brexit. The Irish comedian and actor, 39, is best known for starring in Channel 4 sitcom The IT Crowd and said Britons will travel to Ireland with their tales between their legs when the UK leaves the European Union. The current date for the departure is March 29. Speaking at the Oscar Wilde Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday, where he was among the honourees, ODowd told the Press Association: I think were going to have a lot more British people in the country, coming with their tales between their legs looking for passports. Expand Close Comedian and actor Chris ODowd has described Brexit as a mess (Ian West/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Comedian and actor Chris ODowd has described Brexit as a mess (Ian West/PA) He added: What a mess you have made of it. ODowd, 39, shot to fame after appearing in Channel 4 comedy The IT Crowd, which first aired in 2006. He has since gone on to appear in a string of Hollywood films, both in comedies such as Bridesmaids and dramas including Mollys Game. His next project is sitcom State Of The Union, alongside Rosamund Pike. ODowd said he enjoys switching between comedy and drama but hinted he was looking forward to more lighthearted roles. He said: Ive never thought about it like that in terms of type of actor, youre just an actor. For a long time comedy jobs were the ones that I got, that was why I was a comedy actor. Expand Close Glenn Close was among the honourees at the Oscar Wilde Awards in Los Angeles (Jonathan Brady/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Glenn Close was among the honourees at the Oscar Wilde Awards in Los Angeles (Jonathan Brady/PA) I ended up doing a bit more drama. I love flipping in and out of both, I love comedy, making people laugh is the most glorious thing in the world. If anything, I want to do a bit more of that, I havent done any, really, for about three or four years. The Oscar Wilde Awards, held by the US-Ireland Alliance, recognise the contributions of Irish people in film, television and music, as well as those with a connection to Ireland. Expand Close Game Of Thrones star Aidan Gillen was honoured at the Oscar Wilde Awards (Matt Crossick/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Game Of Thrones star Aidan Gillen was honoured at the Oscar Wilde Awards (Matt Crossick/PA) Alongside ODowd, Oscar-nominated star of The Wife Glenn Close and Game Of Thrones star Aidan Gillen were also honoured. Close is up for best actress at the 91st Academy Awards on Sunday, in a category also containing British actress Olivia Colman. US star Close said awards season, which has seen her pick up wins at the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards, has been incredible. She said: Im feeling really wonderful, Ive gone to some wonderful events, Ive seen a lot of friends, Ive been buoyed along by this great feeling of love and gratitude. Its been incredible. The Oscar Wilde Awards, named in honour of the 19th century Irish novelist and poet, were held at JJ Abramss Bad Robot offices. The UK Government has confirmed Irish people living in the UK will still have freedom of movement after Brexit. The government published its Common Travel Area (CTA) guidance on Friday, ahead of Brexit on March 29. Read More The CTA agreement between the UK and Ireland precedes Britains membership of the EU and allows citizens of both countries to live and work freely in either. Irish citizens living in the UK are treated as if they have permanent immigration permission to remain in the UK. This is the same if you are a British citizen in Ireland, you do not need a visa, any form of residence permit or employment permit. Both governments have committed to taking steps to ensure that this continues after the UK leaves the EU. The working, education, social security benefits, health care, social housing and voting rights of Irish citizens living in the UK are all protected under the CTA. According to the guidance Irish citizens living in the UK do not need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, but may do so if they wish. Read More The EU Settlement Scheme is an application process for EU citizens who wish to continue living in the UK after Brexit. Irish citizens "do not need to do anything to protect your status in the UK, either before or after the UK leaves the EU," the guidance said. However family members of Irish citizens (who themselves are not British or Irish citizens) will be required to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme if they wish to remain in the UK as they are not covered under the CTA. The family member will be required to provide evidence of the Irish citizens identity and nationality, of their relationship to the Irish citizen and of their continuous residence in the UK. There is also for protection for family members in Prime Minister Theresa May's draft Brexit withdrawal deal which has yet to be agreed on by Parliament. The UK Government has published its full guidance on the Common Travel Area with the Republic of Ireland after Brexit. See the full text below: 1. Travelling and residing in the CTA If you are an Irish citizen living in the UK or a British citizen living in Ireland the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangements allow you to travel freely within the CTA without seeking permission from the authorities. British citizens in Ireland and Irish citizens in the UK have long held a special status under each countrys national law. If you are an Irish citizen in the UK, you are treated as if you have permanent immigration permission to remain in the UK. This is the same if you are a British citizen in Ireland: you do not need a visa, any form of residence permit or employment permit. Both Governments have committed to taking steps to ensure that this continues after the UK leaves the EU. Other nationalities travelling within the CTA remain subject to national immigration requirements. Individuals arriving in the UK from Ireland should ensure they meet UK immigration requirements. 2. Working in the CTA If you are a British or Irish citizen, you can work in either country, including on a self-employed basis, without needing any permission from the authorities. In support of this, the UK Government is committed to ensuring that, after the UK leaves the EU, appropriate and comprehensive provisions continue to be in place for the recognition of professional qualifications obtained in Ireland. The Irish Government has also committed to working to ensure the provision of arrangements with the UK to recognise professional qualifications. 3. Accessing education in the CTA If you are a British or Irish citizen you have the right to access all levels of education in either state on terms no less favourable than those available to the citizens of that state. Both Governments have committed to taking steps to ensure that this continues after the UK leaves the EU. Both Governments have also committed to taking steps to ensure that British and Irish citizens pursuing further and higher education in the other state will continue to have the right to qualify for student loans and support under applicable schemes and eligibility conditions. 4. Accessing social security benefits in the CTA If you are a British or Irish citizen residing or working in the others state, working in both states or working across the border you are subject to only one states social security legislation at a time. You can access social security benefits and entitlements, including pensions, from whichever state you are subject to the social security legislation of, regardless of where you are living. When working in the CTA, you pay into only one states social security scheme at a time and are entitled, when in the other state, to the same social security rights, and are subject to the same obligations, as citizens of that state. You also have the right to access social security benefits on the same basis as citizens of the state you are in. The UK and Irish Governments have concluded a bilateral agreement to ensure that these rights will continue to be protected after the UK leaves the EU. Further information about that agreement can be found here. 5. Accessing health care in the CTA If you are a British or Irish citizen you have the right to access health care in either state. When visiting you also have the right to access needs-arising health care during your stay. Both Governments have committed to taking steps to ensure that this will continue after the UK leaves the EU. 6. Accessing social housing support in the CTA If you are a British or Irish citizen residing in the other state you have the right to access social housing, including supported housing and homeless assistance, on the same basis as citizens of that state. Both Governments have committed to taking steps to ensure that this will continue after the UK leaves the EU. 7. Voting rights in the CTA If you are a British or Irish citizen living in the other state you are entitled to register to vote with the relevant authorities for local and national parliamentary elections in that state on the same basis as citizens of that state. Upon reaching voting age, you are entitled to vote in those elections on the same basis as citizens of that state. Both Governments have committed to ensuring that these arrangements will continue after the UK leaves the EU. 8. a. Irish citizens and the EU Settlement Scheme If you are an Irish citizen in the UK you do not need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme but you may do so if you wish. You do not need to do anything to protect your status in the UK, either before or after the UK leaves the EU. You will continue to be able to enter and reside in the UK and to enjoy your existing rights as provided for by the CTA arrangements. If you are an Irish citizen and want to support an application from existing non-Irish and non-UK family members who want to remain in the UK with you, or who wish to join you in the future, you will need to be able to prove that you were resident in the UK prior to 31 December 2020. There will be many ways to do this without you applying to the Settlement Scheme, but a grant of status under the Scheme would constitute such evidence. 8. b. Irish citizens with non-Irish/non-British family members The arrangements for existing close family members (who are not Irish citizens or British citizens) to remain in the UK with, or join EU citizens resident in the UK in future, are not provided for by the CTA arrangements but rather under the draft Withdrawal Agreement. Non-Irish and non-British citizen family members of Irish citizens who wish to remain in the UK with, or join an Irish citizen in the UK in future, will be required to apply for a status under the EU Settlement Scheme. The Scheme allows eligible family members to obtain a status even where the Irish citizen has chosen not to do so. In those circumstances, the family member simply needs to provide evidence of the Irish citizens identity and nationality, of their relationship to the Irish citizen and of their continuous residence in the UK. If you are an Irish citizen and choose to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, the application process is the same as for any other EU citizen applicant. If you do not apply to the EU Settlement Scheme you will still be able to draw on the protection of the draft Withdrawal Agreement to be joined in the UK by close family members of another nationality. You might wish to consider retaining documents such as payslips, bank statements, utility bills, tenancy agreements or other dated documents which display your UK address, as these are the types of evidence that will be required in support of a future application to be joined by a close family member. The letter was sent to a Downpatrick man. The Electoral Office has been criticised for telling a Northern Ireland man changing his nationality could affect the elections he could vote in. The Downpatrick man was sent a letter from the organisation, which runs elections, after he registered as an elector. It said as he had changed his nationality from "Northern Ireland to Ireland this will affect the elections at which you are entitled to vote". It has emerged that the letter was sent to at least 10 people. Despite repeated attempts by the Belfast Telegraph to contact the Electoral Office on Thursday it did not respond. Read More Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland Virginia McVea said the letters had been sent out due to a "clerical error". "The Electoral Office was made aware of this last week and immediately checked the systems and was able, on the day, to discover that there had been a clerical error in ten instances where a new electronic management system had automatically generated a letter in error over a period of a couple of days," she told The Irish News. Sinn Fein said the letter suggested the person could not vote in Westminster elections saying the letter breached the Good Friday Agreement. Party vice president Michelle O'Neill added: "The Electoral Office are riding roughshod over that agreement and warning that hundreds of thousands of Irish citizens in the north will be disenfranchised. Expand Close Virginia McVea / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Virginia McVea I raised this matter directly with the British Secretary of State Karen Bradley who has confirmed that the Electoral Office warning is entirely erroneous. Unfortunately, this is not the only example of misinformation from the Electoral Office which has issued other false warnings to electors in different areas. Whether they need to provide training to their staff or implement disciplinary measures, the Electoral Office now has a responsibility to repair the damage it caused by wrongly issuing this correspondence. Ms McVea said that those who received the letters had been contacted and the issue explained. "We would apologise to those 10 people and have reassured them all that at no point were their voting rights impacted," she said. The SDLP has called for the return of 50/50 recruitment in the police after figures showed just 10% of the PSNI's most senior officers are Catholics The SDLP has called for the return of 50/50 recruitment in the police after figures showed just 10% of the PSNI's most senior officers are Catholics. Of the 68 officers above the rank of superintendent, 57 are Protestant, while eight are Catholic. Three officers were listed as undetermined. Out of 77 chief inspectors, 58 are Protestant, and 17 Catholic. Of 347 inspectors, 248 are Protestant, with 89 Catholic, according to figures reported by the Irish News. The PSNI has 5,033 constables, with 3,258 identifying as Protestant, and 1,720 as Catholic. SDLP policing board member Dolores Kelly called for a return of the PSNI's 50/50 recruitment policy to increase the number of Catholics in the force. "(The recruitment policy) should not have been ended when it did," she told the Irish News. "So many years on from Patten and the transformation of the PSNI, these figures are a cause for concern and it's a matter I hope the policing board will investigate more with the PSNI. We are not seeing the big role models in those senior ranks." But East Londonderry DUP MP Gregory Campbell said people should listen to the Chief Constable rather than the "predictable kneejerk calls". "Last June the Chief Constable was absolutely clear when he said there was a real need for wider nationalism to take yet another step in terms of policing, and it required politicians, civic leaders and church leaders to advocate for a career in policing," Mr Campbell added. "This week there was a step back from Mary Lou McDonald and Sinn Fein. Unfortunately, the SDLP appear unwilling to listen to George Hamilton's clear and impassioned plea for leadership. "Dolores Kelly bemoans the lack of big role models but does little to advance such an outcome, except fall back on a call for the return of institutionalised sectarianism. I would encourage people with influence within the Catholic community to advocate for people to step forward and apply to join the PSNI. "If that does not happen and our Catholic success rate continues as in the last few campaigns, it's inevitable that in future years you might start to see the Catholic composition of the organisation fall. "That would be unacceptable, and in those circumstances all options would need considered." A group of residents have lost their High Court battle over proposals to build a major gold mine in Co Tyrone. Greencastle, Rouskey, Gortin Concerned Community (GRG) were challenging the Department for Infrastructure's decision to consider a planning application from Canadian firm Dalradian. The group claimed preliminary consultation over the largest project of its kind in Northern Ireland was significantly flawed. Lawyers for GRG argued that Dalradian's proposals for operating a mine in the Sperrin Mountains were too embryonic and not "oven ready" when presented to the public. But dismissing their bid for a judicial review today, Mr Justice McCloskey held that planning laws did not require the developer to publish and consult on a finalised scheme at that stage. He said: "Neither a completed project concept not a highly advanced one is required by the statute or the associated common law principles." The ruling represents a blow for residents opposed to the controversial mining scheme, involving 144 hectares of surface infrastructure in an area of outstanding natural beauty. Up to 3bn worth of gold is said to be deposited in the area. If approved, the 25-year project could reportedly support 350 jobs, with Dalradian predicting a massive boost to the local economy. According to GRG, however, the proposed development will directly affect local residents. Expand Close Protesters against the establishment of a gold mine in the Sperrins by Canadian company Dalradian Resources outside Londonderrys Guildhall / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Protesters against the establishment of a gold mine in the Sperrins by Canadian company Dalradian Resources outside Londonderrys Guildhall In the first legal challenge of its kind to be mounted in Northern Ireland, they claimed insufficient information was provided before the 10,000 page planning application was submitted. The case centred on the pre-application community consultation (PACC), with complaints about the details given at a public event in November 2016. Further issues were raised about information on the stripping of peat topsoil and the size of a car park which would feature. The court was told that if the mine is approved, it will take an estimated five years to complete restoration of the area when the operation comes to an end. But counsel for the Department countered that changes made to the plans demonstrated a "healthy" consultation exercise where the public process worked properly. Dalradian's legal representatives also claimed the company had the rug pulled from under it when a local venue for the public events was declared unavailable. Newspaper adverts had been taken out and up to 1,500 leaflets distributed when it was informed the information meeting could not take place at Rouskey community centre, the court heard. Rejecting the GRG case, Mr Justice McCloskey held that the planning applicant was only required to conduct a public engagement exercise which gives the community "a fair and reasonable opportunity to express its views relating to the general terms of the project then in contemplation". But with the a public inquiry into the mining plans still looming, the judge predicted it may prove to be "the first major staging post in a lengthy legal struggle". He added: "On one view, the real battle has just begun in earnest." Following the ruling a spokesperson for Dalradian said: "We welcome the comprehensive assessment and decision of the High Court and look forward to our planning application proceeding through to the public inquiry stage. "We will continue to work constructively with the local community and to further develop our relationships with our near neighbours. "Modern mining is a new sector for Northern Ireland and can provide sustainable employment for decades to come." GRG spokesman Martin Conway said the group was "disappointed yet not deterred" by the ruling. He added: "One thing is clear - we are determined to protect this area and its people, its future generations and its future conservation. "We will leave no stone unturned until we achieve this objective." A man has been arrested after it was alleged threats were issued to friends and family of murdered east Belfast loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle (45), known as Big O, was stabbed to death after being attacked by a gang of up to five men just yards from his home in Cluan Place on Sunday, January 27. UVF members have been implicated in the murder. It has been claimed that threats were made against Mr Ogles son Ryan and a young woman who is friendly with the family. The PSNI said that a man was arrested following an incident in east Belfast yesterday morning. He remained in police custody last night. Police said: We do not discuss the security of individuals and no inference should be drawn from this. However, if we receive information that a persons life may be at risk we will inform them accordingly. We never ignore anything which may put an individual at risk. PUP councillor John Kyle said: I have spoken to the family. I think it is utterly reprehensible. 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 Expand Previous Next Close Funeral of murder victim Ian Ogle at Covenant Love Church on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast. The 45-year-old died after being assaulted by several people at Cluan Place area of east Belfast last week. The funeral of Ian Ogle take place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle take place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle take place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Vera, Ryan and Toni Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle take place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle take place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Funeral of murder victim Ian Ogle at Covenant Love Church on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast. The 45-year-old died after being assaulted by several people at Cluan Place area of east Belfast last week. Ian Olge's family including his son Ryan and daughter Toni pictured at the funeral. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Funeral of murder victim Ian Ogle at Covenant Love Church on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast. The 45-year-old died after being assaulted by several people at Cluan Place area of east Belfast last week. Funeral of murder victim Ian Ogle at Covenant Love Church on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast. The 45-year-old died after being assaulted by several people at Cluan Place area of east Belfast last week. Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Ian Ogle's children Ryan and Toni during the Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Ian Ogle's daughter Toni during the Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral of murder victim Ian Ogle at Covenant Love Church on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast. The 45-year-old died after being assaulted by several people at Cluan Place area of east Belfast last week. Funeral of murder victim Ian Ogle at Covenant Love Church on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast. The 45-year-old died after being assaulted by several people at Cluan Place area of east Belfast last week. The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph MP Gavin Robinson as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Vera, Toni and Ryan Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Vera, Toni and Ryan Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Vera and Ryan Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Vera and Toni Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Funeral of murder victim Ian Ogle at Covenant Love Church on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast. Ian Ogle Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Floral tributes placed at the scene where father-of-two Ian Ogle was murdered by UVF thugs last week Freddie Parkinson Ian Ogle Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Funeral of murder victim Ian Ogle at Covenant Love Church on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast. The 45-year-old died after being assaulted by several people at Cluan Place area of east Belfast last week. I would condemn it without equivocation and I just think that someone who would make threats has gone beyond the pale. There is enormous support for the family throughout the community and people remain adamant in their view there is no place for this sort of behaviour. The family are doing OK. Obviously it has been very difficult for them. The family continue to show great dignity and composure in the face of what has been a very traumatic and difficult time for them. DUP councillor George Dorrian, who knew Mr Ogle, said: It is unbelievable if anyone has made threats against the family and I would ask that anyone who knows anything about any threats or the murder, please go to the police. People with information should be able to go to the police without any threats or intimidation. The last thing the family need at this time is this type of behaviour. 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 Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Vigils were held for Ian Ogle after his murder. Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The ogle family as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The ogle family as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Johnston Ogle as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Johnston Ogle as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Johnston Ogle as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Johnston Ogle as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Johnston Ogle as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The ogle family as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Johnston Ogle as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Johnston Ogle as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Sonia Copeland as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Johnston Ogle as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Johnston Ogle as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The ogle family as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Johnston Ogle as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Johnston Ogle as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Johnston Ogle as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Johnston Ogle as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Sonia Copeland as A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A vigil is held Cluan Place where Ian Ogle was murdered on January 30th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) It is unbelievable, particularly given the outrage that has been expressed after the murder. Jonathan Brown (33), from McArthur Court in east Belfast, has been charged with Mr Ogles murder. Brown was detained by police at Heathrow Airport. It is understood he was arrested after returning from Thailand. He has indicated in court that he denies planning, preparing and committing the offence. He is due to next appear in court via video-link on March 8. Brown was the 14th person to be arrested in connection with the killing, which has shocked the local community. There is no suggestion that Brown, who is in custody, is connected to the allegations of threats or intimidation. Each of the other 13 people has been released pending further enquiries. The PSNI has said that detectives believe Mr Ogle may have been involved in an altercation at an east Belfast fast food restaurant before he was attacked. He had been praying with his pastor just before the attack, during which he was stabbed 11 times in the back and suffered a fractured skull. Police carried out 14,000 stop and search operations in three years. The PSNI has paid out almost 55,000 in compensation connected to stop-and-search operations in the north-west in the past four years. Officers carried out more than 14,000 stop and searches in the Derry and Strabane policing district between January 2015 and December 2018 - an average of nine every day. A total of 45,996 was paid in compensation in 2018. In 2017 the figure was just 2,000, and a further 7,000 was paid out in 2016. No compensation was paid out in 2015. Police said the increase in payments between 2017 and 2018 was partly due to an increase in the number of claims processed and not an increase in the number of claims referring to that particular year. The PSNI said claims could relate to stop and searches carried out in previous years. Last year there were 2,975 stop and searches conducted by police. In 2017 the figure sat at 3,563 and in 2016 there were 4,089. In 2015 there were 3,766 stop and searches carried out. The figures emerged after a Freedom of Information request by the Belfast Telegraph. DUP MLA and Policing Board member Gary Middleton said the compensation payments needed to be examined but stressed that stop and searches were an effective part of policing. "Judging by the compensation, it does seem high," he added. "We have to make sure that where stop and searches are taking place, there's a clear evidence base or a clear need to do so. "I know in the past it has worked in terms of stopping illegal activity, but we do need to look at the effectiveness. "I would like to find out the detail about the compensation, the reasons for that and what it was for. "If there were more than 14,000 searches over the last four years, we need to look at the results of those searches. "I appreciate that every time you are not going to get a result that is positive in the sense that something has been prevented. We need to look at the outcomes of that. I will be requesting that information." In the Freedom of Information answer, police pointed out that the figures referred to the total number of stop and searches and that the number of people involved may be lower because a number of individuals will have been subject to the procedure on more than one occasion. SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan called on the police to consider if stop and searches were "really working". Mr Durkan said "bombs are still going off and people are being shot in the street" despite the high number of stop and searches in the district. "I have consistently raised the issue of what I deem to be an overuse of stop and search powers in this area," he added. "I have been consistently told by police that they apply this power correctly and effectively. I have had people come to me who are stopped several times a week. It impacts on people's ability not just to go about their daily life, but also to earn a living, in some cases." Mr Durkan said police should assess whether the method was "worth pursuing". Superintendent Alan Hutton said the police had a duty to keep people safe and stop and search powers were an essential tool in their armoury. "We are fully committed to ensuring the fair, effective and legitimate use of stop and search powers, which are vital in helping us to prevent, detect and investigate crime," he said. "There are a number of different legislative powers in Northern Ireland under which people can be stopped and searched. "These include the Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) (Northern Ireland) Order, Misuse of Drugs Act, Firearms Order, Justice and Security Act and the Terrorism Act. "We are mindful of the impact such powers have on the community and we seek to ensure all of our interactions are professional, respectful and courteous. "Members of the public have a number of ways to voice their concerns about police actions. "One is legal action, which can, in certain circumstances, result in the payment of compensation if a court upholds a complaint. "The PSNI, however, continually reviews practice, training and the use of body-worn video during searches. There are processes in place to ensure stop and search powers are used effectively and proportionately. "There is no doubt that stop and search is an extremely important power when used fairly, and we are listening to our communities and using stop and search powers to help tackle crime and build a safer society." From left: Probation Boards Dave Wall, Gillian Montgomery, Dale Ashford and Cheryl Lamont with Victim Support NI chief executive Geraldine Hanna at the seminar The Voice of Victims Restorative justice should not be seen as a soft option for criminals but must be victim-led, an expert has warned. Moves are under way to develop an adult-based restorative justice programme for Northern Ireland. It is already well-established in the youth courts. The approach enables victims to meet or communicate with offenders to explain the real impact of the crime. For communication to take place, offenders must have admitted the crime and both the victim and offender must be willing to participate. Restorative justice meetings take place in the presence of a facilitator to ensure the process is safe and are most commonly used in assault, burglary, grievous bodily harm and theft cases. Over the past decade community-based restorative justice interventions have been instrumental in dealing with matters such as paramilitary transition and legacy issues. Leading experts from the Department of Justice, the Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI) and Victim Support NI gathered in Belfast yesterday for a seminar to consider how the voice of victims can be more central to the justice system. The event, held ahead of today's European Day for Victims of Crime, heard that 85% of victims have reported satisfaction after engaging in restorative meetings with offenders. According to statistics from PBNI, the reoffending rate for adults released from custody is 42% within a 12-month period year. In the same period, 69% of those made subject to a community-based disposal supervised by PBNI do not go on to reoffend. A draft adult restorative justice strategy is currently being developed, however it will require a Justice Minister in post to sign off the legislation. Despite international recognition of the value in restorative practice, CEO of Victim Support NI Geraldine Hanna says there is still a belief that restorative interventions are "softer" than a short custodial sentence. "We must address this misconception if we are to ensure public support for restorative practice, particularly if we move away from more traditional criminal justice sanctions," she said. Ms Hanna is warning that any new strategy must ensure equal provision for the voices of victims to be heard with less focus on the crime and more on the harm inflicted by offenders. "True restorative work needs to work fully in the interests of those affected by crime, and not mainly in the interest of the criminal justice system," she said. Gillian Montgomery, assistant director at PBNI, added: "In the right circumstances, there is a very real and tangible benefit to the victim of a crime being able to meet with the offender to let them know what impact the crime has had on them." Police have seized the home of an alleged senior member of the South East Antrim UDA. The National Crime Agency (NCA) has obtained a Recovery Order by consent over a Carrickfergus property under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). The investigation, carried out by officers working as part of the Paramilitary Crime Task Force (PCTF), related to the home of an alleged senior member of the paramilitary group South East Antrim UDA in Carrickfergus. The NCA alleged that the property was originally acquired using the proceeds of mortgage fraud, tax evasion and money laundering, before being placed into his wifes name. Following the commencement of proceedings in the High Court in Belfast, the defendants decided not to contest the case and agreed to the house being recovered. The PSNI, HM Revenue & Customs and the National Crime Agency have established the PCTF to tackle criminality linked to paramilitary activity as part of the Executive's action plan on Tackling Paramilitary Activity, Criminality, and Organised Crime. NCA Branch Commander Billy Beattie said that property seizures dissuaded criminal activity. Civil recovery and tax plays an integral role in the work of the PCTF, and these powers are a strong tool in preventing those engaged in criminal activity from benefiting financially or materially from it," he said. The NCA is committed to pursuing the assets of criminals, no matter how carefully they have been hidden. Detective Superintendent Bobby Singleton PSNI's PCTF lead said the public had been providing police with information on paramilitary groups. "Today's result is further evidence of how PSNI working together with NCA and HMRC through the PCTF has brought benefits for us and the community," he said. As the seizure demonstrates we will use any and all lawful means at our disposal to bring paramilitaries to justice. Whilst this latest seizure is significant we have a great deal more to do in conjunction with the wider Tackling Paramilitarism Program to rid our communities of the coercive control of paramilitaries. I have been encouraged in recent weeks by the increase in persons coming forward to police with information on paramilitary activity. It takes courage but it can make a huge difference. I would appeal to anyone with any information on paramilitaries and in particular their criminality and assets to speak to police in person or on 101. The officer's car was rammed in the Carnlough Harbour area. Pic Google Maps A police officer has been injured after his car was rammed in Co Antrim. The incident happened when the officer was on patrol in the High Street and Harbour areas of Carnlough and noticed a suspicious vehicle around 1am on Friday. After parking in front of the suspect's vehicle, a silver Jeep, the officer's car was rammed and almost pushed into the water, police said. The vehicle then made off at speed. PSNI Inspector Peter Duncan said: "The officer immediately pursued the suspect car but had to suspend the pursuit due to the extensive damage that had been caused to his police vehicle. "The Jeep was later found abandoned and has been seized for forensic examination. The injured officer sustained bruising and whiplash type injuries but continued with the rest of his shift. "I would commend the officer concerned for both his bravery and resilience and wish him a speedy recovery." A disability rights campaigner who was told to kill himself by cyber-bullies has joined Katie Price in her fight to get a law through Parliament that will make such things a hate crime. Dermot Devlin, from Omagh, Co Tyrone, has appeared on news programmes as far away as Pakistan to speak about the need to get tough on cyber-bullies, whose cruel words cause great distress and have provoked people into taking their own lives. He is part of a working group set up after Price, the model-turned-TV personality, appealed to Parliament for online abuse to be made a criminal offence. The mother-of-five has previously been vocal about the treatment of her son, Harvey, on social media, and wants him to be protected. Mr Devlin admitted the comments fired at him by anonymous people sitting behind a computer keyboard had affected him deeply. He said: "Katie Price started a campaign to make cyber-bullying disabled people a hate crime because her son, Harvey, had been a victim. "This has led to the Government setting up a working group who meet with disabled people to see what needs to be done, and I was one of the people that was selected locally. "People with disabilities have no protection in the law in the way it is a hate crime to make derogatory comments about someone because of their race or sexuality. "While it is great these groups have protection in law, people with disabilities deserve the same legal protection and guilty people should face the same penalties as those guilty of other hate crimes." Mr Devlin was forced to come off social media after a particularly nasty encounter with a cyber-bully. He continued: "The damage cyber-bullies do can be devastating and in some cases it has led to people taking their own life." He recalled one person in America who said "some very cruel things" because they took issue with his disability. "At other times, I have been told to kill myself and it is happening every day to disabled people everywhere," he said. "Not everyone is as strong as me and someone might not be able to think, 'This is just one person writing this'. They might think, 'This is what society thinks', and that can have very serious consequences. "People with disabilities need the same protection as everyone else against cyber-bullies and hopefully this campaign and a change in the law will make that happen." A man who sexually assaulted a profoundly disabled hospital patient targeted her because he knew "she didn't have a voice", the Court of Appeal held today. Senior judges dismissed Ronnie Carleton's challenge to his 18-month prison term after ruling he had inflicted harm and distress on the vulnerable victim violated in a mixed ward in the dead of night. Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan said: "The timing of the attack indicates a degree of opportunsm at the very least, and possibly a degree of planning in the way it was done with a view to avoiding detection." Careton, 56, of Ballymena Road in Cullybackey, admitted sexually touching the woman at Antrim Area Hospital in March 2016. He was on the high dependency unit after suffering hallucinations from alcohol withdrawal. His victim, who had the rare genetic disorder Rett syndrome which affects muscles and speech, was in a nearby bed as part of her treatment for pneumonia. She died nine months later. The court heard how a nurse discovered Carleton carrying out the assault in the early hours of the morning while other patients slept. On being challenged he replied: "I thought she was ok with it." In June last year Carleton was ordered to serve 18 months in prison and a further 18 months on licence. His lawyers appealed the sentence, claiming it was manifestly excessive. Defence barrister Charles McCreanor accepted his client's actions were "repulsive", but argued that the trial judge may have "double-counted" during the sentencing process. But a series of aggravating features were identified in a case which Sir Declan described as "quite shocking". He said the victim had been attacked when she should have expected to be totally safe while receiving treatment in hospital. Referring to her vulnerability, the Lord Chief Justice stressed Carleton would have known she was unable to reveal what he had done to her. "She did not have a voice, and he knew she did not have a voice," Sir Declan said. "We consider the sentence may have been at the top end of the range, but we do not consider it was outside the range in these most unusual and distressing circumstances." A man has been charged with a number of offences after claims threats were made against friends and family of the murdered east Belfast loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle (45), known as 'Big O', was stabbed to death after being attacked by a gang of up to five men just yards from his home in Cluan Place on Sunday, January 27. The PSNI arrested the man on Thursday following an incident in east Belfast. He was charged with making threats to kill and possession of an offensive weapon on Friday morning. He is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, March 20. Where as is usual procedure all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service. Fourteen people have been arrested over the murder of Mr Ogle with all but one released. Jonathan Brown (33), from McArthur Court in east Belfast, has appeared in court charged with Mr Ogle's murder. He has indicated in court that he denies planning, preparing and committing the offence. He is due to next appear in court via video-link on March 8. There is no suggestion that Brown, who is in custody, is connected to the allegations of threats or intimidation. The PSNI has said that detectives believe Mr Ogle may have been involved in an altercation at an east Belfast fast food restaurant before he was attacked. He had been praying with his pastor just before the attack, during which he was stabbed 11 times in the back and suffered a fractured skull. 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 Expand Previous Next Close Funeral of murder victim Ian Ogle at Covenant Love Church on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast. The 45-year-old died after being assaulted by several people at Cluan Place area of east Belfast last week. The funeral of Ian Ogle take place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle take place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle take place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Vera, Ryan and Toni Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle take place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle take place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Funeral of murder victim Ian Ogle at Covenant Love Church on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast. The 45-year-old died after being assaulted by several people at Cluan Place area of east Belfast last week. Ian Olge's family including his son Ryan and daughter Toni pictured at the funeral. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Funeral of murder victim Ian Ogle at Covenant Love Church on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast. The 45-year-old died after being assaulted by several people at Cluan Place area of east Belfast last week. Funeral of murder victim Ian Ogle at Covenant Love Church on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast. The 45-year-old died after being assaulted by several people at Cluan Place area of east Belfast last week. Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Ian Ogle's children Ryan and Toni during the Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Ian Ogle's daughter Toni during the Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral in east Belfast for murdered loyalist Ian Ogle. Mr Ogle was murdered by a loyalist gang close to his house in Cluan Place last Sunday night. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Funeral of murder victim Ian Ogle at Covenant Love Church on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast. The 45-year-old died after being assaulted by several people at Cluan Place area of east Belfast last week. Funeral of murder victim Ian Ogle at Covenant Love Church on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast. The 45-year-old died after being assaulted by several people at Cluan Place area of east Belfast last week. The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph MP Gavin Robinson as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Toni Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Vera, Toni and Ryan Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Vera, Toni and Ryan Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Vera and Ryan Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Vera and Toni Ogle as The funeral of Ian Ogle takes place in east Belfast on February 4th 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Funeral of murder victim Ian Ogle at Covenant Love Church on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast. Ian Ogle Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Floral tributes placed at the scene where father-of-two Ian Ogle was murdered by UVF thugs last week Freddie Parkinson Ian Ogle Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Funeral of murder victim Ian Ogle at Covenant Love Church on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast. The 45-year-old died after being assaulted by several people at Cluan Place area of east Belfast last week. A man allegedly lifted a miniature dog and threw it against concrete after being ejected from a house for attacking his partner, the High Court has heard. Prosecutors claimed Thomas Ward had warned he would "cause havoc" if he wasn't allowed back into the property in Co Tyrone. The 29-year-old, of Orr Park in Newtownstewart, faces charges of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, common assault and criminal damage. Police were called to the street early last Monday amid reports of a parked Mercedes car having its window smashed. Officers spoke to two women at the house, with one claiming Ward had assaulted the other - his partner - after drinking a litre of vodka. He had allegedly punched her twice in the stomach and ribs area before being ejected, although she did not make a statement of complaint. A Crown lawyer continued: "He threatened if he wasn't allowed back in he would cause havoc." She claimed the defendant smashed the car window and then grabbed a miniature Jack Russell terrier by the scruff of the neck, causing it to yelp. The court was told Ward shouted for one of the women in the house to come to the door and watch would would happen to the dog. "He threw the dog onto the driveway against the concrete," the prosecutor alleged. Bail was opposed because witnesses to the incident live in the Orr Park area. Mr Justice McAlinden was also told Ward has no long-term ties to Northern Ireland. But defence counsel Martin McCann said alternative accommodation in the Castlederg area was available. Adjourning the application, the judge said police had to be given time to check out the proposed address. Tanaiste Simon Coveney (right) and Minister of State for European Affairs Helen McEntee at a press conference for an update on the publication of the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2019 at Government Buildings in Dublin. Brian Lawless/PA Wire The Irish Tanaiste has stressed the controversial Irish backstop would only ever be temporary if the UK agrees a Brexit deal with the EU as he outlined plans for how cross-border services would work in a no-deal Brexit. Simon Coveney was speaking as the Irish Government published their Brexit contingency plans to manage a potential no-deal. The Omnibus Bill, which will be fast-tracked through the Oireachtas parliament in Dublin, covers a wide range of governmental functions, and is designed to support businesses and jobs and secure ongoing access to essential services and products. It includes legislation covering several cross-border areas of co-operation between Northern Ireland and the Republic. These include the security of the all-island electricity market and ensuring those in Northern Ireland can access healthcare in the Republic and vice-versa. The bill also includes protections for UK students studying in the Republic by ensuring eligibility for financial support grants after Brexit. As the European Arrest Warrant system will not apply to Northern Ireland after Brexit, the Omnibus Bill includes arrangements to maintain the legal extradition of citizens between the UK and the Republic. Mr Coveney said that a no-deal Brexit would be a "lose, lose, lose" situation for Ireland, Britain and the EU. My only desire is to see this legislation sit on the shelf. Tanaiste Simon Coveney In relation to the new legislation he said: "We cannot offset all of the damage that it will do but we are doing everything we can". Mr Coveney also said: "I don't believe a no-deal will happen but we have to plan for it just in case." Read More Mr Coveney said the backstop will not be renegotiated or abandoned, but it would not be permanent if it is enacted. "I cannot say it any louder and clearer to our friends and colleagues in London, the backstop is a result of a fair negotiation between the EU and the UK," he said. "It was designed by the UK and the EU together to protect peace on our island and it will not be jettisoned by the EU at the last minute. The EU could not be any clearer on this issue. "The backstop is fiercely supported by the people it is designed to protect. "If the backstop was ever used, it would be temporary, we don't want it to be permanent - we never have. The backstop would only apply unless or until alternative solutions can be found. "We want a close future trade deal with the UK for future generations to come for so many obvious reasons." DUP Policing Board members, councillor Keith Buchanan and MLAs Mervyn Storey and Gary Middleton met PSNI chief constable George Hamilton at Police hq in east Belfast following the car bomb in Londonderry and security alerts (Rebecca Black/PA) DUP MLA Meryvn Storey has said the policy of 50/50 recruitment within the PSNI was "institutionalised sectarian discrimination" and that it "won't be coming back". The PSNI was initially legally obliged to operate a policy of recruiting 50% of its trainee officers from a Catholic background and 50% from a non-Catholic background. The policy had been recommended by the Patten Report. It was ended in April 2011. Read More A report in the Irish News revealed that 83% of the PSNI's senior officers are Protestant. Of the 68 PSNI officers above the rank of superintendent 57 are Protestant, while eight are Catholic, figures released from the organisation reveals. Three officers were listed as undetermined. Out of 77 chief inspectors, 58 are Protestant, while only 17 are Catholic. Of 347 Inspectors, 248 are Protestant, with 89 Catholic. SDLP Policing Board member Dolores Kelly called for a return of the PSNI's 50/50 recruitment policy in a bid to increase the number of Catholics in the force. Expand Close Mervyn Storey / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mervyn Storey However, DUP MLA Mervyn Storey, speaking to the BBC, said his party would not support a return to the 50/50 policy "under any circumstances". He said: "50/50 recruitment was institutionalised sectarian discrimination. It won't be coming back. "Clearly, any recruitment of any member of the PSNI has to be on the basis of merit, not on the basis of their religion." Foyle MLA Raymond McCartney told the BBC on Thursday that confidence in the PSNI among nationalists in Northern Ireland was at "rock bottom" after the failure of police to disclose files on loyalist murders to the Police Ombudsman. Five people were killed on February 5, 1992, when members of the UFF opened fire on Sean Graham bookmakers on the lower Ormeau Road in Belfast. Mr McCartney said: "In the current climate, I don't think there'd be too many people knocking at my door looking advice [on joining the police]. "I think confidence is rock bottom and it's rock bottom because of the actions of the PSNI themselves. "No-one else is responsible for this. They have a responsibility for disclosure." The minister at Glenwherry Presbyterian Church has said the community has been stunned into silence following the murder of loyalist David Murphy. The 52-year-old was blasted twice with a shotgun in his rural farmhouse on Church Road. A post mortem found he had been shot in the head, the BBC reported last night. Rev Noel Mulholland said his prayers and those of his congregation are now with the family of Mr Murphy left behind to deal with the horrific nature of his murder. Mr Murphy's elderly parents, who are understood to live in Larne, are being comforted by relatives and Rev Mulholland said those who carried out the murder had no thought for the shattered lives of those left to grieve. "This is a very Christian and a very rural community," said Rev Mulholland. "The area has been left numb by what has happened. "David moved here from Carnlough 20 years ago and hasn't been part of my congregation in the seven years I've been minister here, but from speaking to members of the congregation they're just in shock, silent shock over what has happened," he said. Sheep and cattle farmer Mr Murphy lived alone in the farmhouse on Church Road, but had four siblings. "Some local farmers would have known him from around the livestock markets but he kept himself to himself. This is a quiet, remote and beautiful place that has been left shattered that this could happen on our doorstep," the clergyman said. "But it's the family who have been left behind to deal with this who need our support now. "David's mother and father are in their late 70s or 80s and they shouldn't have to go through this. They are distraught at what their son has suffered and at what they are now suffering themselves. His family are all left to deal with the human suffering. "A family is in mourning and whatever people think and whatever the reason for this, that's the human tragedy of it all. They have been left to grieve. As a congregation we are praying for the Murphy family." Police believe Mr Murphy, a former member of the UVF, could have been murdered last Sunday, his body possibly lying undiscovered for two days before being found in his kitchen by a friend on Tuesday. It is understood police are investigating reports that Mr Murphy had been badly beaten by a gang that same day, but any link to the recent murder of loyalist Ian Ogle in east Belfast has been dismissed. A spokesman for the PUP has called on anyone with information about the murder to inform police. Ken Wilkinson, South Antrim spokesman for the UVF-linked PUP, said he "knew of" the victim, but was not well acquainted with him. "My sympathy is to his family," said Mr Wilkinson. "I thought these days were long gone, but unfortunately we've guns on the streets again. I don't like to see anybody lose their life." Detectives want to trace Mr Murphy's movements between last Saturday and Tuesday lunchtime and have appealed for anyone in the area of Church Road with dash cams on their vehicles or who may have noticed anything out of the ordinary to come forward. A new online challenge is encouraging children to self harm, Councillor Pankhurst said Belfast DUP councillor Dale Pankhurst has said that he has contacted the PSNI regarding an online self-harm challenge game. The 'Momo challenge' has spread through the internet and encourages people to perform dangerous tasks and acts of self harm. It warns children to keep the challenge secret from adults. It uses a picture of a disturbing looking Japanese sculpture. In 2018, the image was linked to unofficial modifications - or mods - that formed part of the popular game Minecraft. Microsoft said that it would take action against the mods in question. A number of suicides of young people across Europe have been linked to the app. A PSNI spokesperson said that while "no official reports" had been received relating to the challenge, that police were aware of it. "We would encourage anyone with concerns to make direct reports to PSNI so we can gather information that will allow us to identify and address any potential risks," a PSNI spokesperson said. Councillor Pankhurst said that he had been made aware the challenge was "doing the rounds" in Northern Ireland. "I have been made aware that there is some sort of sickening challenge doing the rounds on the internet," he said. "Apparently, it encourages self-harm. I will not get into the details of it as it is absolutely grotesque." He encouraged parents to talk to their children about the challenge. Expand Close Dale Pankhurst / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Dale Pankhurst "I will be making the PSNI aware to have it shut down in Northern Ireland and further afield. In the mean time if your children use the internet, check their search history and warn them of the dangers of this," Councillor Pankhurst said. "Some sick, sad, deluded people about who deserve nothing but jail time." The NSPCC has said that parents must make children aware of the risks online. "The constantly evolving digital world means a steady influx of new apps and games and can be hard for parents to keep track of," a spokesperson said. Thats why its important for parents to talk regularly with children about these apps and games and the potential risks they can be exposed to. The NSPCC publishes advice and guidance for parents on discussing online safety with their children, as well as Net Aware the UKs only parental guide to social media and gaming apps." If adults are concerned or have any questions on how to approach the subject with their children you can contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or visit the NSPCC website. Children who are feeling worried about their activity on apps or online games can contact Childline 24 hours a day, online and over the phone, on 0800 11 11 or by visiting www.childline.org.uk. Angela McGowan is director of the CBI here Northern Ireland's economy is facing a multi-million pound blow in the event of a no-deal Brexit due to the collapse of international trade deals, the head of the Confederation of British Industry here has warned. As efforts continue to reach a workable deal before the United Kingdom's exit on March 29, the CBI is highlighting the damaging implications for businesses of crashing out of trade deals covered by being part of the European Union. It has argued that the province would be among the most exposed regions of the UK in the event of a no-deal. Read More The CBI previously claimed the local economy could suffer an annual 5bn drop in output by 2034 as a result. The UK currently benefits from extensive trade agreements as an EU member which span around 70 countries. The EU and the nations it has trade agreements with cover 32% of global GDP. Including countries with whom the EU has agreements partly in place, the figure rises to 37%. Here, exports to countries with EU free trade agreements are worth more than 1 billion every year, accounting for 12% of our exports. This figure equates to the annual salaries of around 30,000 nurses. Through these agreements, we export goods worth 480 million to Canada annually, with the machinery and transport sector among the most exposed to a no-deal. If the UK crashes out of Europe without agreement, the CBI claims these exports risk having immediate tariffs imposed overnight, costing the local economy millions. CBI Northern Ireland director Angela McGowan urged political leaders to move quickly towards a deal ahead of next month's deadline. She said: "If the United Kingdom leaves the European Union without a deal, overnight businesses in Northern Ireland could cease to enjoy the benefits of tariff-free trade with, and easy access to, crucial markets for products and services, from Canada to South Korea. "Many firms are unaware it is not just their relationships with EU customers at risk from a no-deal Brexit, but relationships across the globe." Ms McGowan added: "Individual businesses trading with markets outside the EU would face tariffs worth millions of pounds being slapped on them instantaneously. "These trade deals span five continents and are vital for the smooth export of our goods and services. "Exports to countries with EU free trade agreements are worth more than 1bn to Northern Ireland every year. "The risk to these deals is an overlooked danger to our economy and yet another reason why no deal is not an option for the UK and jeopardises jobs in our communities. "It is vital compromise is shown on both sides of the Channel and politicians work quickly to come to a deal." Dunmurry Manor and Ashbrooke care homes were both run by Runwood Dunmurry Manor and Ashbrooke care homes were both run by Runwood Disgraced care home operator Runwood Homes made a profit of 3.9m last year, it can be revealed. The firm raked in millions of pounds in 2017/18 despite the fact a number of its homes across Northern Ireland were the subject of enforcement action by health inspectors. The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) deemed conditions at Ashbrooke Care Home in Enniskillen so dangerous that it shut the facility with immediate effect in August 2017. It has also emerged that none of the health trusts here have ever recouped any of the fees paid to the firm even when patients have suffered appalling neglect in facilities owned by Runwood Homes. All the trusts have performance clauses written into their contracts with care home providers. This allows them to claw back money if a care home fails to deliver a satisfactory service to their patients. Aidan Hanna from NI Patient Voice explained: "If a trust is concerned about the performance of a care home provider, they can send a letter detailing those concerns. "The second stage is followed up with a formal performance notice and then finally the trust is entitled to recoup 20% of monies paid. "However, the Southern Trust is the only trust to have ever written such a letter and that was on October 31, 2016, and it was in relation to Dunmurry Manor and no money was ever paid back." Mr Hanna continued: "It's a disgrace that a company that has been found to be providing poor care in many of their homes in Northern Ireland can make such a significant profit. "We continue to call for an inquiry into care provided at all Runwood Homes facilities in Northern Ireland. "This inquiry should look at the monies paid by health trusts and residents. "Refunds for poor care provided by private nursing home companies could be spent by trusts to help alleviate our long hospital waiting lists." According to Runwood Homes' latest accounts, its turnover grew by 7.3% in 2017/18. However, its overall profit was down from 13.7m the previous year. The company said it is "passionate about providing the highest possible care for clients" and invested 8.4m in providing new and upgraded facilities. It also said the fees paid by local authorities "suggest a lack of appetite to invest" in care homes as annual fee increases have not been sufficient to negate the effect of the living wage and pension contribution requirements. Despite this, Runwood Homes has continued to make a healthy profit, prompting anger from People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll. He said: "News of the Runwood Homes making 3.9m in profit whilst residents of their homes have been neglected is a slap in the face for all those families who have had loved ones in the homes. "It also is a classic example of how ordinary people are put last in the pecking order when it comes to protecting the profits of big organisations. "We urgently need a publicly run care home system to ensure that a scandal like this doesn't happen again." Runwood Homes has consistently made headlines for its repeated failure to meet basic standards in a number of its homes. Last year the Commissioner for Older People published a damning report into the conditions at one of the company's facilities, Dunmurry Manor. In particular, Eddie Lynch was scathing about the lack of investment by the company and highlighted the fact that staff had to buy their own blood pressure monitors and the sub-quality incontinence pads provided by Runwood Homes. In September last year the Belfast Telegraph revealed the health service had paid out almost 44m to the failing care home provider in just three years. A leading campaigner on historical clerical abuse within the Catholic Church has said words of apology mean little to those left with a life of trauma. This weekend Irish Primate Archbishop Eamon Martin will be in Rome for a meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican at a summit on the protection of minors in the Church. Before the trip Archbishop Martin met survivors to hear their views and goes to Rome after delivering the message: "I am truly sorry for what was done to you." But William Gorry said the time for apologies is long over and action is the only thing that can give comfort to the thousands of people affected by clerical abuse. "The Archbishop has met with a handful of survivors, but there are thousands of people left living with the memories of abuse at the hands of the Church. As a survivor myself I have heard all these words before," he explained. "Sadly, the message Archbishop Martin will deliver is not the big picture. For years the Catholic Church has not listened and not support people like me for what we went through. "I have tried to reach out to the Church. I have tried to make the Church listen, but they do not respond to me. "Instead, I'm directed to speak to safeguarding. I hear nothing more. That says it all to me and no words of apology can change that. They're hollow without action. "Today, many of those people who suffered are in the later stages of their lives and many are dying, taking their memories to the grave, without a proper recognition of what they suffered. "It's only now, so many years later, that we have even heard the word 'sorry'. There is so much more the Church needs to do before any semblance of trust can be restored. So much harm has been done." Mr Gorry (54) set up the Residential Institutional Survivors Network in a bid to bring together with one voice people who suffered at the hands of clerics. "Victims in Ireland have never had a voice and they've been repeatedly ignored by the State and the Church. That needs to change. And this isn't simply an Irish issue. It's worldwide." The Dubliner spent 11 years being beaten and sexually abused at the Sister of Mercy Carmel Industrial School in Co Westmeath after being placed in the home in 1974. "Having Pope Francis in Ireland last year and at least acknowledging the suffering thousands were put through at the hands of the Church was a step forward, but I am still hurting and tens of thousands more are hurting with me," he said. "People in society who abuse are dealt with by the authorities, but we hear nothing of action being taken against those who abused the likes of me. If abuse is still happening, what is the Catholic Church doing? "It's time the Catholic Church recognised its responsibilities and at least started to listen to survivors en masse, instead of trying to placate us with apologetic words. I refuse to be swept under the carpet." Speaking before his visit to Rome, Archbishop Martin assured victims they were uppermost in his thoughts. "In recent weeks I met with some of you and heard about how you were hurt and violated, about how your young lives were turned into a nightmare by people who betrayed the sacred trust you and your families had placed in them." he said. "I've learned about how abuse devastated your confidence, your relationships, your family and in some cases your spiritual, emotional, mental and physical wellbeing, when all you wanted was to be believed and supported by the Church. There were too many failures to listen, understand and do what was right and just. I am truly sorry for these failures. "No wonder so many find it difficult to forgive. You rightly demand complete transparency and prompt co-operation with police and statutory authorities. "You deserve to be believed, loved and cherished, not isolated and seen as a threat. "I know nothing I say can undo the terrible wrongs endured, but I once more commit to doing all I can to ensure that Church activities are as safe as possible for children and vulnerable people." Arlene Foster has said she will be discussing Brexit and unionist opposition to the backstop with senior US politicians during a St Patrick's week visit to Washington. The DUP leader is due to hold talks with prominent Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill and may also meet President Trump in the White House. Mrs Foster, who did not travel to the US for St Patrick's week last year, said the visit would be important in explaining unionist views on Brexit. She told the Belfast Telegraph: "Undoubtedly, the UK's exit from the EU will be a significant talking point in DC. "I will be repeating our commitment to an orderly exit and also our opposition to any new east-west border as well as any new north-south border. "The will of unionists cannot be disregarded any more than the will of nationalists. We can get a sensible deal if all sides are reasonable and pragmatic. "While in DC, I plan to visit Capitol Hill to meet with members of the House as well as the Senate. "We will also meet with other people around the administration who take a keen interest in Northern Ireland. It is important that they understand the perspective of unionists." Mrs Foster will attend a St Patrick's Day lunch hosted by the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. President Trump is expected to address the event. The DUP leader may also be invited to a St Patrick's reception in the White House, hosted by the President. If the event goes ahead, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar would also be on the guest list. Mrs Foster said she was looking forward to discussing Northern Ireland-related matters during her trip. "The St Patrick's week in Washington is always a good opportunity to promote Northern Ireland," she said. "It is a week when the most powerful (people) in the US Capitol focus their attention on this part of the world. "The US is a very important audience for Northern Ireland both from an economic point of view and also from a political perspective." The DUP leader said the current political stalemate at Stormont would also be raised during the visit. "It will be over two years since the last Assembly election and Sinn Fein still refuses to nominate ministers," she said. "I want to see a restored Assembly to deal with roads, schools and hospitals. The issues which matter most to people. "My party would appoint ministers immediately. Sinn Fein stands isolated in blocking a devolved government. I will be encouraging support in the States for the return of devolution." A DUP spokesman said: "America is incredibly important for Northern Ireland both from a political perspective and also from an economic perspective. "It is also important that a unionist voice is heard in Washington. "Mrs Foster will attend events around the St Patrick's celebrations in the US Capitol. "It is a perfect opportunity to speak with key influencers and ensure that US public representatives hear an alternative narrative to that put forward by the Friends of Sinn Fein lobby." In February 2012, Marie Colvin, one of the most celebrated war correspondents of our time, was killed in a rocket attack in Homs, Syria. Now, a new biographical drama, A Private War, sees London-born actress Rosamund Pike portray the Sunday Times reporter, who was on assignment for the newspaper - alongside photographer Paul Conroy, played in the film by Jamie Dornan, who escaped with a leg injury - when she died. In the wake of her death, Colvin's sister Cathleen and her three children launched legal action in the US against the Syrian government, filed through the Centre for Justice and Accountability, charging it with arranging her death. And on the day of our chat with Pike, Judge Amy Berman Jackson, of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, ruled Colvin was deliberately targeted by the Syrian government and ordered it to pay $302m (230m) in damages. "It's the most astonishing verdict, such a resounding declaration by the judge in the States that the Assad regime has been found guilty on all counts of targeting the media, silencing journalism, killing Marie," says 40-year-old Pike, known for roles such as Bond film Die Another Day, thriller Gone Girl and 2005's Pride and Prejudice. "It's colossal, it's everything Paul Conroy, who Jamie [Dornan] plays, and Marie's sister Cat Colvin, have been fighting for, and the Marie Colvin Journalists' Network. "It's just huge, so we have the answer to that and it's a very, very, very good day." A Private War, which also stars Tom Hollander and Stanley Tucci, is filmmaker Matthew Heineman's feature debut and, in a world where journalism is under attack, shows how American expat Colvin was an utterly fearless and rebellious spirit, driven to the front lines of conflicts to give voice to the voiceless. After years of reporting from places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Tamil-held Sri Lanka (where she was struck by shrapnel from an RPG and ultimately lost the sight in her left eye), it was travelling to the besieged city of Homs, Syria, where 28,000 innocent civilians were trapped in brutal conditions, which proved to be the most dangerous assignment of her life. Once Pike heard about the script for the film - through Amma Asante, her director on the biographical drama A United Kingdom - she made it her task to read it. She also pored over an article by journalist Marie Brenner about Colvin published in Vanity Fair, which A Private War is based on. "I had a lot of convincing to do," the actress recalls of being cast in the lead role. "I don't look much like Marie. I'm younger than her, I'm not American. There's a lot going against me. But I really wanted it. She entered my soul somehow when I first read that article. I don't know why. "I don't have the desire to serve like she did. I don't have the courage. But I do understand about having a vocation that takes you suddenly out of your own daily life and then drops you back in. The distortion, or the disjunction between the two, can be troubling." Making the film involved a "long process of gaining people's trust" for Pike. "Actually, inadvertently, I realised I was put in a position of a journalist," she continues, "because with Matthew Heineman, the director, I embarked on this series of trying to get as many people who knew Marie, and had worked with her, as possible [to talk to us], and at first met a level of resistance, because there's a lot of suspicion around a Hollywood-isation of someone you love. You worry the person will be delivered back to you in a form you don't recognise and there doesn't seem to be any upside." But breaking down the barriers "so the tales you're being told are not just the safe ones, but you get to the real stuff" was rewarding, Pike adds. It meant a lot to her when she saw all of Marie's friends and colleagues from the Sunday Times at the London Film Festival screening of A Private War last October. "I think people don't always realise that as an actor, however sort of lightweight and vain we seem, the main objective is to disappear and focus intensely on someone else," the star suggests gently. "And I think people don't necessarily realise the care that's going to be taken with someone, that you're going to pore over every detail of their mannerisms; the way they walk, the way they hold a pen, the way they hold a cigarette, the way they hold a notebook, the angle of their head, the laugh - all of it, you're going to be trying to embody." Expand Close Rosamund Pike / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Rosamund Pike And embody she does. A Private War is a powerful piece of film, in which we truly get a picture of Marie as a complex person - one who was "so strong", notes Pike, but also had inevitable moments of vulnerability. "It doesn't take away from the strength, it's just that sometimes the very cost of exhibiting that strength and living that strength can be shattering to the nerves at another moment," elaborates the actress, who has two children with mathematical researcher Robie Uniacke. "Marie has a vibrant romantic life too and often that's taken away from women who are smart and on film too. I knew that if the film's got it right, here is a chance to show a woman in all her complexities. "It's a private war, isn't it? It's someone who went away from the pack into the most dangerous place on earth, but it's also the cost of when you're at home alone and what you've witnessed and seen." A Private War is in cinemas now Google is "optimistic" it will win an appeal against a 50m fine it got in France for breaching data privacy rules. It was the first major fine under new European rules known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). France said Google wasn't getting adequate consent to process users' data and serve them with personalised ads. Speaking at an event in Dublin yesterday, Google's chief privacy officer Keith Enright said the tech giant thinks the "application and interpretation of the law by that court didn't reach the right outcome". "We are optimistic that upon review we will be able to demonstrate that in fact the way that we obtained consent in the context of our products and services actually does reach an appropriate standard under the GDPR," he said at an event organised by the Institute of International and European Affairs. He said the money Google generates from personalised ads helps it to provide products like its search engine or Maps service for free. "We build products and services for everyone. And we have subsidised that work with an ad-supported business model," he added. He also said the personalised model helps Google users. "It also allows for free apps, it allows for independent media to flourish, it allows for content creators to make their content available to the broadest possible all over the planet," he said. "We remain convinced that these goals of strong privacy protection and allowing products and services to be made available all over the world are entirely consistent and that they can be reconciled." Richard Donnan and Terry Robb with outsized versions of the new notes Paper notes issued by banks in Northern Ireland will disappear from circulation in the next three to four years, the head of Ulster Bank has said. The claim came as the bank prepared to put its new polymer 5 and 10 notes into circulation from next Wednesday. The lender said the portrait-shaped currency lasted 2.5 times longer than traditional notes and featured anti-fraud measures. Based on the theme of 'living in nature', the 5 note features images of Strangford Lough and Brent Geese. The 10 note, meanwhile, depicts Lough Erne, the Irish hare and Guelder rose shrubs. Last week First Trust became the first of Northern Ireland's four main banks to announce it would stop printing notes. It said it had taken "a commercial decision" to pull all its currency by June 2022 and issue Bank of England notes instead. Richard Donnan, head of Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland, told the Belfast Telegraph the bank decided two years ago to keep making polymer notes. "All the banks are making a move to polymer. We looked at it and we decided to make the investment to continue to issue our own notes," Mr Donnan said. "Over time you will see the paper notes being pulled out of circulation." However, he predicted it would be another three to four years before paper notes issued by Northern Ireland banks became a thing of the past. Ulster Bank's paper 5 and 10 notes are scheduled to be withdrawn from circulation in the coming months. Security features on the new polymer notes include colour-shifting ink in the shape of the Ulster Bank logo, and an emboss which can be found on a clear window in the note itself. The bank said that it had consulted around 60 people while working on the project. Terry Robb, head of personal banking at Ulster Bank, added: "Even with the rise of digital methods, cash is still an important part of how people chose to bank, and usage in Northern Ireland is higher than in other parts of the UK. "That's why we've worked hard to make our new notes safe, secure and designed in such a way that people from Northern Ireland can be proud of them." The H&J Martin builders yard on Belfast's Ormeau Road is to be turned into a new social housing scheme. The site, home to the well-known firm for the last 140 years, will become Brickworks, a scheme of seven townhouses and 35 apartments. Clonrose Developments has signed an agreement with Choice Housing Ireland to deliver the project. H&J Martin will carry out construction. Founded in 1840, the company established itself on the site in 1879, growing into the largest brick manufacturer in Ireland. Among its contributions to our built heritage are Belfast City Hall, the Grand Opera House and Ulster Museum. The firm has been part of the Lagan Specialist Contracting Group owned by Michael Lagan and his family since 2015. Clonrose Developments is also linked to Lagan SCG. The Brickworks development will produce 32 general needs apartments, as well as three wheelchair-accessible flats, arranged around a central courtyard. The name draws on the area's rich history. It was home to seven large operations at the turn of the 20th century, including the Annadale Brickworks, JF Newell Brickworks and the Prestige Brickworks which, combined and at their peak, produced over 120,000 units per day of the famous Belfast brick. Stephen Davey of Clonrose Developments said the social housing project will use many of the salvaged bricks from the old builders yard in feature walls and pillars throughout as a nod to the local heritage. "We are thrilled to enter into this partnership with both Choice and H&J Martin to deliver what will be a unique development in this prominent location," he said. "We have no doubt it will exceed both Choice and their tenants' expectations in terms of design quality and finish. "It felt appropriate that H&J Martin should be the construction partner to deliver this scheme for us given this was their historic home for so many years." H&J Martin's Gareth Moore agreed: "H&J Martin was once the major employer in the Ormeau area. "Having also constructed the Holylands and Sunnyside areas, it is fitting that, as H&J Martin departs from our home on the Ormeau Road, we leave a final lasting legacy for the people there with the construction of a high-quality social housing scheme." Choice's Michael McDonnell added: "This design and build partnership with Clonrose Developments and H&J Martin is testament to our ongoing commitment to addressing the need for quality social housing across Northern Ireland. "Developing these partnerships is a key element of meeting the growing need. There is a high demand across Belfast and when sites like this one become available it is imperative that social housing is a high priority. "The location of this development will ensure tenants can avail of top-quality housing with many local amenities on their doorstep." Rapid City, S.D.-based Black Hills Orthopedic & Spine Center opened a clinic in Gillette, Wyo., to better serve the citys population. What you should know: 1. Black Hills also added Monica Morman, MD, to its staff to practice exclusively out of the location. 2. Dr. Morman is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in shoulder, elbow and hand surgery. She's practiced in Wyoming for more than 15 years. 3. In addition to Dr. Morman, eight other existing Black Hills providers will see patients in Gillette. The following organizations have shared hiring plans since Jan. 28: 1. Mercy Health-St. Rita's Medical Center in Lima, Ohio, is joining forces with OhioMeansJobs to fill positions at the hospital. 2. The new Broughton Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Morganton, N.C., is nearly complete and hiring for all positions. 3. Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont Health announced 500 job openings for salaried General Motors Co. workers who are being laid off. 4. Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus, N.J., announced it was offering immediate temporary employment and free meals to employees of a nearby paper mill ravaged by a January fire. 5. Meade, Kan.-based Artesian Valley Health System hosted a job fair Jan. 31. 6. Mercy HealthSpringfield (Ohio) hosted open interviews Jan. 30 to fill more than 15 positions. More articles on workforce: NYC to ban discrimination based on hair, hairstyle Ohio university, health system partner to address nursing shortage Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic Health System is deploying telehealth software from remote monitoring provider Health Recovery Solutions to reduce avoidable emergence department visits. The health system will first roll out the telehealth program at its Heart Failure Improvement Clinic, which serves roughly 1,500 patients with congestive heart failure. Marshfield initially will select patients who have experienced an exacerbation that required IV diuretics for the telehealth program. Patients who are enrolled in the telehealth program will be given a 4G tablet. The tablet pairs with biometric devices allowing patients to record their own blood pressure, weight, heart rate and more. Patients' vital signs are automatically delivered to providers. The telehealth program also encourages patient adherence to treatment plans through medication reminders and educational content. Patients can interact with providers through text, phone call or video chat. After the initial launch, Marshfield plans to expand the telehealth program to the 350,000 patients it serves throughout north, central and western Wisconsin. Newly developed technology is being at launched at hospitals to prevent and detect medical issues sooner, helping patients avoid costly medical visits or trips to the emergency room, according to The New York Times. "Technology every day is playing a more important role in preventing and even diagnosing illness," said Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association. "We are just beginning this journey of revolutionizing healthcare and reducing trips to the doctor." Jeff Brue, a tech guru for Hollywood films, brought his OpenDrives digital storage system to the healthcare industry. The system lets hospitals store high resolution MRI scans, PET scans and other 3-D images on its network without having to compress them. Most hospital networks compress stored images, which can make the images fuzzy and possibly result in physicians missing information. A PET scan can typically take four minutes to retrieve from a network, but takes five seconds through this system, Mr. Brue said. This makes it easier for providers to pull multiple high-resolution images from the network and share them with oncologists and radiologists in different offices, he added. Mr. Brue said he's also adding artificial intelligence tools to help with diagnosis. The Steadman Clinic, an orthopedic surgical hospital in Vail, Colo., became the first health facility to bring in the OpenDrives system. Mr. Brue is also talking to several other hospitals about implementing the system. Additionally, more researchers are using AI to help radiologists make more accurate diagnostic decisions, particularly with breast cancer. Regina Barzilay, PhD, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Constance Lehman, MD, PhD, chief of breast imaging at the department of radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, created an AI system to improve the detection and diagnosis of lesions on mammograms. The system uses machine learning to find similarities between a patient's breast and a database of 70,000 images for which a malignant or benign outcome was known. Dr. Barzilay expects the early detection technology, which is employed at Massachusetts General, to be tested in 10 to 15 more hospitals by the end of the year. A CMS official said Columbus, Ohio-based Mount Carmel West will not be terminated from Medicare program participation Feb. 22 as originally stated in a letter to the hospital amid an investigation of patient deaths, CBS-affiliate TV station WBNS reports. In January, a letter from CMS said if plans to correct deficiencies were not accepted, Mount Carmel's Medicare funding would be terminated Feb. 22. A CMS official said the agency still is investigating and reviewing results of follow-up site visits by inspectors. CMS placed both Mount Carmel West and Mount Carmel St. Ann's in Westerville, Ohio, hospitals in immediate jeopardy after dozens of patients were believed to have received excessive painkiller doses. The Ohio Health Department started investigating Mount Carmel on behalf of CMS Jan. 15 after patient care concerns emerged involving William Husel, MD, a former physician who was fired from the system in December. Mount Carmel is reviewing the records of all patients Dr. Husel treated and who died in the hospital. The system identified one more patient who received an excessive and potentially fatal dose of medication ordered by Dr. Husel, bringing the number of patients involved to 35, Mount Carmel officials confirmed to Becker's Feb. 22 St. Ann's Medicare funding status is not immediately known. In a statement to WBNS, a CMS official offered: "CMS is currently reviewing the results of the most recent survey at Mount Carmel West. Consequently, CMS will not be terminating Mount Carmel West's participation in the Medicare program on February 22. We will continue to provide updates as they become available." Since the investigation, Mount Carmel has added a new protocol to set maximum appropriate doses for pain medication in its EMR; implemented a new escalation policy for deviations in its pain medication protocols; restricted the ability to bypass pharmacy review of medication orders; and increased clinician education on end-of-life care practices. 20-million-year-old tusked sea cow is Central Americas oldest marine mammal Steven Manchester didnt set out to discover Central Americas oldest known marine mammal. He was hoping to find fossil plants. Manchester, curator of paleobotany at the Florida Museum of Natural History, had left a group of vertebrate paleontologists uphill of the Panama Canal to do his own prospecting, clambering down onto the narrow, exposed shoreline to look for fossil leaves, petrified wood and mineralized fruits and nuts. It was a dangerous place to be: The rolling wake from passing ships could sweep a person off shore and into the canal. Manchester noticed that people were occasionally shouting at him through megaphones as they cruised past, but not understanding Spanish, he continued to comb the shore when he spotted bone. He quickly walked us over to where hed found a skeleton sticking out of the rock exposure, said Aaron Wood, then a museum postdoctoral researcher leading fieldwork in Panama. There were two or three vertebrae, orange-ish in color, dipping into the black rock on the side of the canal and a couple of ribs around them. We guessed that there would be more under the rock. What Wood described as an emergency fossil excavation due to rising water levels yielded a remarkably complete skeleton of an ancient sea cow, estimated to be about 20 million years old, the first evidence of a marine mammal from the Pacific side of the canal. The fossil skull, vertebrae, ribs and other bones belong to a new genus and species, Culebratherium alemani, a tusked seagrass-grazing relative of modern dugongs, which live in the warm coastal waters of the Indo-Pacific. Wood and lead author Jorge Velez-Juarbe, also a former museum postdoctoral researcher, published their findings in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. About 15 feet long, this C. alemani was not done growing, Velez-Juarbe said. Its tusks had only begun to protrude and its newest molars showed little wear, indicating it was not yet an adult. But it was a powerful eater. The researchers propose that its thick neck muscles, tusks and downward-pointing snout were adaptations for digging pits in the ocean floor to get to the underground stems of seagrass, the plants most nutritional parts. Finding C. alemani is pretty good evidence that there was seagrass in this region 20 million years ago, said Velez-Juarbe, now assistant curator of marine mammals at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. This particular group of sirenians the order that includes dugongs and manatees are seagrass specialists. While only one species of dugong is alive today a second, Stellers sea cow, was hunted to extinction within 27 years of its discovery about 30 species have been recovered in the fossil record, Velez-Juarbe said. The group originated in the West Atlantic and Caribbean and dispersed westward through Panama, whose seaway did not close until a few million years ago, and south to Brazil. Today, Panama is the juncture between two continents, and thats where we have a mixture of mammals between North and South America, said Wood, now director of Iowa State Universitys Carl F. Vondra Geology Field Station and a lecturer in the department of geological and atmospheric sciences. In the early Miocene, when this dugong lived, it wasnt a land connection but a sea connection between the Atlantic and Pacific. We would expect to see communities of sea cows there, too. Previous research shows that multiple species of dugongs commonly lived together, each with slightly differently shaped tusks, snouts and body sizes that would have enabled them to divide up food resources, Velez-Juarbe said. Some would eat larger species of seagrass buried deeply in the sand while others would feed on smaller grasses closer to the surface, he said. Evidence from many other places in the world shows that multispecies communities were the norm. To only have one species of dugong now is freaky. These communities also made for healthier seagrass beds, he said. Whereas a single seagrass species, Thalassia testudinum, dominates the Caribbean and West Atlantic, grass beds in Australia have a better balance of species because modern dugongs feed on the larger grass species, keeping them in check and giving smaller grasses a shot at flourishing. The researchers named C. alemani after the Culebra Formation where it was found and Alberto Aleman Zubieta, the former chief executive officer of the Panama Canal, whose support they described as essential to the fieldworks success. C. alemani was excavated as part of a large-scale, years-long project to salvage fossils during the expansion of the Panama Canal, which temporarily exposed fresh outcrops. Wood said that while he and the rest of the field crew understood the significance of their work, the discovery of the dugong really brought that home. We found the fossil dugong when water levels were at their lowest, he said. After the first day, they steadily rose. We put sandbags on the edge of the site just to keep water out long enough for us to collect it. Within a week, the site was flooded. We couldnt go back. The idea that this was a once-in-a-century opportunity was wrapped up in this one specimen. The researchers began the work as postdoctoral fellows under the advisership of Jonathan Bloch and Bruce MacFadden, Florida Museum curators of vertebrate paleontology. Funding for the research was provided by the National Science Foundations Partnerships for International Research and Education and an NSF Earth sciences postdoctoral fellowship grant. See article complete here. Pharmaceutical companies are required by federal law to include both major and minor side effects in their direct-to-consumer advertising of medications. However, including a plethora of side effects may prevent consumers from weighing the major risks, a new study suggests. The study, published in Nature, looks at how including both major and minor side effects affects consumer behavior. Researchers, Niro Sivanathan, associate professor of organizational behavior at the London Business School, and Hemant Kakkar, a fourth-year PhD student in Organisational Behaviour at the London Business School, conducted the study. Across six experiments, comprising over 3,000 U.S. participants, researchers found that when drug ads included all side effects, consumers considered the overall severity of the drug side effects to be lower than when exposed to only major side effects. Further, the study found that when people viewed the overall severity of the drug to be less, consumers not only preferred the drug more, but they were also willing to pay more for the drug. For one study, researchers asked a group of people to read print ads for Lunesta. One had both major and minor side effects. The other had only major side effects. Participants that read the ad with more side effects rated it safer. Another study played a radio ad for Cymbalta. One version had all side effects, the other had just major ones. They found the same result. Overall, the researchers found that including several side effects in advertisements can dilute each piece of information. Read the full study here. Entering the expanding market of specialty pharmacy services can produce many benefits for health systems, such as improved patient medication adherence, better care outcomes and higher levels of patient satisfaction. However, building a specialty pharmacy program is no easy feat. There are significant barriers to entering and achieving success in the specialty pharmacy space, including overcoming health plan and manufacturer network restrictions and leadership engagement. To succeed in the market, hospitals and health system leaders first must assess their understanding of the specialty pharmacy market and determine whether how they are currently managing these medications is positively influencing patient care. During a Feb. 6 webinar hosted by Becker's Hospital Review and sponsored by Trellis Rx, two industry experts explored the growing opportunity for health systems in the specialty pharmacy services market. Tony Zappa, PharmD, chief solutions officer at Trellis Rx, detailed five key strategies hospitals can implement to overcome barriers and succeed in the market, while Jerry Buller, DPh, chief pharmacy officer at Trellis Rx, detailed the success of a real-life health system specialty pharmacy program. Frame and reframe the opportunity Before implementing a specialty pharmacy program, health systems must create a vision for future success and establish a business plan focused on enhancing patient care and outcomes. When doing so, it is important to think critically about the hospital's current operations and potential for future growth. Because the specialty pharmacy market is changing rapidly, hospitals must continually frame, and reframe, their business plans when launching a specialty pharmacy program, Dr. Zappa said. Additionally, it is important to acknowledge how specialty pharmacy services could affect a hospital's current and future investments in areas such as capital projects and new health system practices. The concept of framing, or establishing a plan of action, will ultimately help the health system focus on properly integrating specialty care to support all its service lines. To do this, Dr. Zappa said hospitals must view integration as a systemwide strategy rather than just a pharmacy strategy. Build enterprise-wide alignment and develop trust with physicians After framing a plan of action, hospitals must focus on ensuring broad-scale alignment around the growth plan. It's critical to remember that integrating specialty services is not just a pharmacy project but a systemwide initiative because there are various areas of operations apart from pharmacy that specialty programs can affect, such as managing value-based contracts. "If you think about your health system, it's very likely you're taking value-based contracts from large payers in your market and that usually is on an overall cost of care basis," Dr. Zappa said. "So, if you're not able to provide all care for all patients who are affected by that value-based contract, you may not be able to manage your risk appropriately." Health systems must acknowledge that pharmacy requires support from many other departments, including IT, marketing, human resources and finance. It will also require physician engagement. Health systems can achieve buy-in among physicians by fitting the specialty care model into established clinical workflows instead of retooling established workflows to fit the specialty care model. Achieving buy-in and clear communication among all providers, not just physicians, is key because the pharmacy team's goal is to achieve better clinical outcomes by acting as a resource for patients by removing barriers that prevent patients from adhering to and initiating medication regimens. Providers need to be empowered to engage with patients in a way that supports the aims of the pharmacy team. "Once you get the strategy built and in place, then you need to develop relationships with not just physicians but really all providers, because those are the people that have the existing relationships with patients," Dr. Zappa said. Leverage data and analytics Once the program is in place, health systems will need to leverage data analytics to analyze the program's performance. There are four critical points to pull data for: accreditation, network access, service improvement and performance improvement. Before implementing the specialty pharmacy program, hospitals need to create a baseline, which can be achieved by measuring pre-program data. Following implementation, hospitals can pull post-program data to compare to the pre-program data previously gathered. Accreditation programs can help establish the development of the baseline, which is critical to determining the program's success, Dr. Zappa said. " [Accreditation programs have] done a pretty good job of laying out, 'well here's what you should be collecting on the daily, weekly, quarterly or annual basis,' and what you should be reporting back as far as quality markers to show how your program is performing," he said. Show alignment with manufacturer and health plan goals To ensure continued success of a specialty pharmacy program, a health system needs to consider the health plan and manufacturer's objectives. Essentially, health plans want to know why they should work with the health system and what value its specialty pharmacy program will bring them, Dr. Zappa said. One question that often comes up from health plans is will costs go up if they work with health systems. "We're very careful to counsel people [at health systems] on [the idea that] you need to help the health plans understand you're not asking for any more money for providing services," Dr. Zappa said. "You're really willing to do this at parity with other pharmacies in the marketplace, and just because you're a health system doesn't mean that you're going to ask for more." From the manufacturer's perspective, health systems must be prepared to answer questions regarding program efficacy and have prescribing use data available. While this doesn't mean health systems must reach the same data requirements as other specialty pharmacies, it does mean hospitals should work with their IT vendors, IT departments or system vendors to collect and extract prescribing use data to report back on. Success at Southern Ohio Medical Center Portsmouth-based Southern Ohio Medical Center was able to significantly enhance patient outcomes, while also achieving immediate profitability, after implementing its specialty pharmacy program with Trellis Rx. Among other accomplishments, the health systems specialty pharmacy program led to a 100 percent completion rate for patients prescribed an oral therapy for hepatitis C, Mr. Buller said. One obstacle Southern Ohio Medical Center leaders faced when launching the program was gaining physician buy-in. "We did have to deal with the same challenges that everybody does to overcome initial provider resistance," Mr. Buller said. "We wanted to make it clear that we weren't there to replace or make changes to their care it was really that we wanted to enhance the great care there already provided." By establishing specialty pharmacy services, SOMC has been able to provide personalized care to their hepatitis C and HIV patients who often struggle with therapy adherence and ongoing treatment. "I think the big takeaway is you don't have to be a large academic medical center or health system to have an impact, and from a financial standpoint, realizing that [you have an] impact in your localized patient care," Mr. Buller said. To listen to the full recording, click here. UPMC claimed Pennsylvania's attempt to compel the health system to work with rival Highmark after a state-brokered agreement expires is an overstep of authority, according to Trib Live. Four things to know: 1. In Feb. 21 court filings, Pittsburgh-based UPMC asked the Commonwealth Court to toss Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro's petition to rewrite a 2014 consent decree with Pittsburgh-based Highmark that is set to expire June 30. Starting July 1, roughly 175,000 Highmark Medicare Advantage plan members will lose in-network access to 11 UPMC hospitals and most UPMC physicians. 2. In addition to the court documents, UPMC filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court. The lawsuit seeks relief from the "unlawful state interference," accusing Mr. Shapiro of pursuing action that is "anti-competitive" and violates federal regulations, according to Trib Live. 3. The litigation comes after Mr. Shapiro filed a petition Feb. 7 against UPMC, seeking changes that require UPMC to accept binding arbitration if an impasse is reached in contract negotiations with an insurer. The modified consent decree would protect patients from "excessive and unreasonable billing practices." UPMC previously said it planned to litigate the petition. 4. In a statement to the publication, Mr. Shapiro's office said, "With their filings [Feb. 21], UPMC has shown they intend to spend countless hours and untold resources on a legal battle instead of focusing on their stated mission as a nonprofit charity promoting the public interest and providing patient access to affordable healthcare." The office added it is "very confident" in its legal petition. For the full Trib Live article, click here. Overcrowding at Billings (Mont.) Clinic's emergency department has forced clinicians to set up patient beds in a conference room and hallways, reports the Billings Gazette. Billings Clinic, which has a 36-bed ED, is at more than 110 percent capacity. CMO Robert Merchant, MD, said the hospital is caring for the largest number of patients he's seen during his tenure. While ED patient volumes normally fluctuate, the hospital has been facing high patient volumes for three to four weeks. "We're certainly managing our patients; our patients are getting outstanding patient care," Dr. Merchant told the Billings Gazette. "But this is a situation where this is impacting our flows." Dr. Merchant and other hospital officials are studying data to better understand what is driving the ED overcrowding, which other level 2 trauma centers in the state are also experiencing. "As we look at it, it is not any one thing," he told the Billings Gazette. "We're not able to pinpoint what's driving it, which to be honest, makes me a little nervous." To help combat the nation's opioid crisis, Google said it will begin to displaying local prescription drug disposal locations on Google Maps. Last month, search queries for "medication disposal near me" reached an all-time high on the tech giant's search engine, according to a Feb. 21 company blog post by Google Maps Vice President of Product Dane Glasglow. "Fifty-three percent of prescription drug abuse starts with drugs obtained from family or friends, so we're working alongside government agencies and nonprofit organizations to help people safely remove excess or unused opioids from their medicine cabinets," Mr. Glasglow wrote. Users looking to dispose of prescription medications will be able to search terms such as "drug drop off near me" or "medication disposal near me" on Google Maps to locate permanent disposal spots at local pharmacies, hospitals or government buildings. The program will launch with 3,500 U.S. locations. Google's initiative is part of a partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration, HHS, CVS, Walgreens and state governments, according to USA Today. In a testimony unsealed Feb. 20, one of the core missions of the healthcare venture launched by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan Chase was revealed: It's looking to redesign insurance, according to The Wall Street Journal. The three companies announced their partnership in January 2018 with the goal of improving healthcare and lowering costs for their combined 1.2 million employees, but the company has released few specifics. But testimony given by the healthcare venture's COO, Jack Stoddard, reveals it's focusing on how to "reinvent what insurance looks like in terms of benefit design." Mr. Stoddard said the partners will begin by testing ways to make primary care more accessible and treating chronic illnesses less expensively. While the venture also is looking at pharmacy costs, it has no plans to compete with pharmacy benefit managers like Optum, Mr. Stoddard said. The venture doesn't have products to offer, but will try to partner with companies that can offer them, he said. And if they can't find what they want in the market, they will consider manufacturing the products themselves. The health venture tried to keep part of Mr. Stoddard's testimony private, but U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf ruled that a full transcript should be released. The motion to release the transcript to the public was brought by The Wall Street Journal. The lawsuit, filed by UnitedHealth group, seeks to prevent former Optum employee David Smith from working at the venture. A former financial analyst for Pleasant Valley Hospital in Point Pleasant, W.Va., has been sentenced to three months in prison after pleading guilty last year to embezzling more than $46,000 from the hospital, according to the Department of Justice. As a financial analyst, Kevin Durst had access to Pleasant Valley Hospital's online bank accounts and could initiate wire transfers on some of those accounts. He admitted to transferring funds from active hospital accounts to a dormant account he knew wouldn't be scrutinized by hospital officials. He used the funds transferred to the dormant account for his personal use. Mr. Durst also admitted to writing checks to himself from the dormant hospital account and wiring funds from the hospital account to the IRS to make federal tax payments for his family's cemetery. Mr. Durst embezzled the funds from the hospital between July 20, 2016, and Aug. 22, 2016. In addition to the prison term, Mr. Durst was ordered to pay $48,782 in restitution to the hospital. More articles on legal and regulatory issues: Healthcare billing fraud: 8 latest settlements Prime Healthcare, CEO settle billing fraud allegations Nurses sue CHI over on-call pay: 4 things to know Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic has added Centro Medico Puerta de Hierro in Guadalajara, Mexico to the Mayo Clinic Care Network, a group of independent health systems that work closely with Mayo to improve quality standards. Centro Medico Puerta de Hierro operates five hospitals and other facilities in the Guadalajara metropolitan area. As part of the network, the system will have access to a database for medical information created by Mayo Clinic specialists that offers medical protocols and treatment recommendations, electronic consultations and second opinions with Mayo physicians and live video conferences with Mayo specialists to discuss complex cases. "By providing a second medical opinion, we at Centro Medico Puerta de Hierro are now capable of providing our patients the advantage of broader diagnostic results supported by the advice and expertise of Mayo Clinic," said Alejandro Gil Luna, general director of Centro Medico Puerta de Hierro. "Mayo Clinic specialists are not only prestigious in the U.S., but around the world." More articles on healthcare transactions: California county proceeding with purchase of hospitals despite state's opposition Northside Hospital, Gwinnett Health System merger approved by FTC University of Rhode Island Health Services partnership targets county suicides Teri Fontenot, president and CEO of Baton Rouge, La.-based Woman's Hospital, is retiring in the summer. "Teri Fontenot is a one of a kind leader in healthcare," said Scott Becker, publisher of Becker's Healthcare. "She is smart as can be and compassionate as can be and is a great business thinker. Teri is a true leader." Ms. Fontenot assumed the top post at the hospital 23 years ago, in 1996. Prior to that, she served as CFO of Woman's Hospital. During her tenure, Woman's Hospital developed a $340 million replacement campus, which opened in August 2012, and entered into a strategic partnership with Baton Rouge-based Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center to open a specialized breast and gynecologic cancer facility. Ms. Fontenot currently serves on the American College of Healthcare Executives Board of Governors. She was previously chair of the American Hospital Association, the only person from Louisiana and the fifth woman to ever hold that role. She was also a member of the Advisory Committee on Research on Women's Health for the National Institutes of Health and chair of the Louisiana Hospital Association' board. Woman's Hospital board of directors engaged national search firm Korn Ferry in the search for a new leader. Ms. Fontenot will continue to lead Woman's until her successor is identified. Samsung released details on its new line of fitness wearables at an event Feb. 20, including notes on the company's first wearable device that can measure blood pressure, CNET reports. Four things to know: 1. Samsung will release three new tools the Galaxy Watch Active, Galaxy Fit and Fit E sport bands as part of its new line of fitness wearables. Samsung launched its first fitness-focused smartwatch line, which included the Samsung Gear Sport smartwatch and Gear Fit 2 Pro fitness band, in 2017. 2. The Galaxy Watch Active, which includes more health and fitness capabilities than the company's previous Gear Sport and Galaxy Watch products, will be able to monitor users' blood pressure through My BP Lab App. The app, developed in partnership with UC San Francisco and set for a March 15 release, is designed to track blood pressure from the user's wrist. 3. The Galaxy Watch Active and Galaxy Fit both feature optical heart rate sensors, which are designed to perform continuous heart-rate monitoring and calculate calories while the wearer is exercising. 4. The Galaxy Watch Active is available for preorder now and will ship later in March. Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling, W.Va., and East Ohio Regional Hospital in Martins Ferry, are allowing patients with outstanding medical bills to pay only half of their balance, according to The Intelligencer. Under the limited-time offer, if a patient pays half of a medical bill from 2018 or earlier, the hospitals will write off the remaining half of the bill. The hospitals have received a lot of positive feedback from patients who were happy their medical debt was reduced by half. Officials said the offer has helped the hospitals collect on overdue accounts. "It's a really good way to collect on old accounts," Jose Guevara, the hospitals' revenue cycle director, told The Intelligencer. The current offer was slated to end Feb. 28, but the hospitals plan to extend it until mid-March. More articles on healthcare finance: North Carolina hospital forced into bankruptcy CHS' loss shrinks to $328M in Q4 Quorum Health shares sink to new low Nashville, Tenn.-based Loden iVision Centers enlisted a recruiting firm to conduct a physician search. What you should know: 1. Loden iVision Centers hired Denali Recruiting, which specializes in staffing ophthalmology and optometry practices. 2. The eye care and surgery center is seeking an optometrist. 3. Loden iVision has five Nashville-area locations. More articles on supply chain: How to reduce patient no-shows & increase revenue at your ASC Potential solutions to the global physician burnout crisis 81 'Medscape' survey findings Cybersecurity is the No. 1 priority for hospitals & non-acute providers 5 top issues Medscape's Physician Lifestyle & Happiness Report 2019 explored how orthopedists experience and deal with burnout, as well as their happiness outside work. Medscape surveyed 15,069 physicians from over 29 specialties from July 27 to Oct. 16, 2018. The key details to know: 1. Orthopedists were the 11th happiest physicians at work, with 29 percent reporting they were "very" or "extremely" happy. 2. Fifty-three percent of orthopedists said they were happy outside work, ranking 15th behind OB-GYNs, general surgeons and others. 4. Orthopedists exercise (60 percent), talk with family or friends (37 percent) and isolate themselves from others (37 percent) to cope with burnout. 5. Bureaucratic tasks (60 percent), EHRs (47 percent) and government regulations (29 percent) are the top factors contributing to burnout among orthopedists. 6. Three percent of orthopedists said they were depressed, 15 percent said they were colloquially depressed and 38 percent said they were burned out. 7. Forty-five percent of orthopedists experiencing depression said it doesn't affect their interactions with patients, while 39 percent said they are easily exasperated with patients because of depression. Twenty-two percent are less motivated carefully take notes on details such as patient history. Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare named Greg Lowe president of its Asheville, N.C.-based division, the Citizen-Times reports. What you should know: 1. Mr. Lowe will oversee a division comprised of a six-hospital system, surgery centers and other facilities HCA purchased from Asheville-based Mission Healthcare in 2018. 2. Mr. Lowe was previously CEO of two HCA hospitals in Richmond, Va. 3. He replaces Mission President and CEO Ron Paulus, MD, who will transition into a strategic adviser role. 4. In addition, HCA veteran Terence van Arkel was named CFO of HCA's North Carolina division. More articles on leadership: Sentara Healthcare drops opposition to open-heart-surgery center 3 takeaways 2 reasons why ASCs should go beyond listing cash prices online Burnout, depression high in gastroenterology 8 statistics CBRE sold Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Raintree Office Center to Investment Management for $16.38 million, AZ Big Media reports. What you should know: 1. CVS Health, Dubuque Bank and Trust and North Valley Surgery Center lease space in the two-building office complex. 2. The complex sits on 10.85 acres of land near Scottsdale Airport. 3. North Valley Surgery Center is a Scottsdale-based HonorHealth affiliate. The center is physician run. Here are five legislative updates that could affect your surgery center: A bill allowing patients to stay overnight in ASCs was approved by the Florida Senate Health Policy Committee. A Florida House of Representatives committee approved a bill that would require hospitals and ASCs to poll staff members about patient safety. Alaska legislators introduced two bills that would abolish the state's certificate of need program if passed. This is the third year the Alaska legislature will consider bills abolishing CON laws. Proposed legislation in Arkansas would allow optometrists to perform certain surgeries that are currently only performed by ophthalmologists. Texas optometrists are asking for similar changes. Stakeholders clashed over proposed changes to Georgia's certificate of need law that would loosen restrictions on ASCs. During a legislative hearing Feb. 14, lawmakers discussed House Bill 198 and Senate Bill 74, which would replace Georgia's CON structure with a less-restrictive licensing framework. Alpharetta, Ga.-based Surgical Information Systems Chief Nursing Officer Ann Geier, RN, shared five do's and don'ts for ASCs planning to replace retiring administrators, physicians and other key staff. Her advice was published by the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses. The details to know: 1. Don't be too focused on managers and physicians. Nurses in leadership positions play an important role in the center's operations. To mitigate challenges that could arise if a nurse leaves, ensure other nurses are trained to fill the leader's shoes. 2. Don't delay finding replacements. Identify potential leaders within your ASC who could step up if someone decides to leave. 3. Do focus on mentorship. When you've found potential leaders within your organization, mentor those individuals so they're prepared to step up if necessary. 4. Do plan for the unexpected. Prepare for a key staff member departing suddenly so the situation can be handled smoothly. 5. Do share plans with staff. Let your staff know you're planning ahead. That way, you can identify staff members who are eager to learn new skills. Avanza Healthcare Strategies recently surveyed healthcare leaders about investment in ASCs. Here, Avanza President and CEO Joan Dentler shares the findings and takeaways with Becker's ASC Review. Question: What are the main reasons hospitals and health systems are seeking ASC ownership and affiliation? Joan Dentler: This was a question we wanted to answer as well, which is why we included it in our recent survey of senior executives and clinical leaders at health systems and hospitals across the country. We learned the top reason cited by these executives is to 'increase outpatient surgical capacity.' This is not surprising, considering the ongoing migration of care out of inpatient settings and into outpatient settings like ASCs. 'Enhancing physician relationships' was the second most-cited reason. When hospitals and health systems develop strong relationship with physicians, it increases the likelihood that these physicians will become more engaged and take their cases to hospital-affiliated facilities. Coming in third was "'respond to consumer-driven trends.'" What this tells us is that hospitals and health systems are cognizant of the growing number of patients becoming involved with making decisions concerning where they receive treatment. With out-of-pocket costs continuing to rise, patients are becoming more active participants in their care. This is motivating them to seek settings like ASCs that offer lower costs but still high-quality care. With the way healthcare is heading, no matter what size a hospital or health system is, it needs at least one ASC in its portfolio if it wants to be competitive with patients, payers and physicians it wants to recruit in the future. Our survey showed 38 percent of hospitals have multiple ASCs. Q: In addition to more joint venture interest, how do you see the ASC/hospital dynamic changing in the future? JD: I think we will continue to see higher acuity surgical cases migrating out of hospitals and into ASCs. It wasn't long ago all the buzz was around spine cases in ASCs. Now, it's total joints, cardiac and vascular procedures and more complex cases in other specialties. It seems like it's only a matter of time until a majority of surgery is performed in outpatient surgical facilities, with hospital operating rooms reserved for high-risk procedures. While hospitals will continue to pursue joint ventures, some ASC owners may not be interested in entering such partnerships out of fear they will be giving up too much control over operations. As we continue to move toward value-based reimbursement models, hospitals will need to determine how to provide elective, outpatient surgical services to their patients in a lower-cost environment. Involving surgeons in ownership of the ASC makes them much more cost-sensitive. They are the ones who can take actions, such as choosing lower-cost supplies and implantables that can ultimately reduce the overall cost of surgery. Another thing we are seeing happening with hospitals and health systems that have multiple ASCs in their portfolio is the creation of an 'ASC liaison' position. This individual's role is to ensure all the hospital-affiliated ASCs have the support they need and, where feasible, create economies of scale benefitting the ASCs. They are doing this [by] entering into system-wide contracts with ASC vendors for services such as information technology, human resources and revenue cycle management, thus giving the ASC partnerships better pricing and the hospitals and health systems some standardization of the quality of services and reporting. The ASC liaison will often hold regular meetings with the ASC administrators to share ideas, solve problems and find opportunities to improve operations. Many develop internal dashboards for comparison reporting on operational and financial metrics. One thing to keep in mind: The ASC liaison should not be seen as a supervisor to the ASC but rather a support service. We are seeing the creation of this position eliminate the need (and cost) of outside third-party management services. Q: Why would you say it's important for hospitals and health systems to hold controlling interests in ASCs? JD: Generally speaking, hospitals and health systems holding a controlling interest is not important to joint venture success. In fact, one could argue that such an interest could prove detrimental. ASC joint ventures tend to succeed when the physician partners have meaningful ownership interest where they can 'feel' (i.e., reap the rewards of) the efforts involved in lowering costs at the ASC. Hospital partners must always maintain a careful balance between preserving outpatient efficiencies and leveraging inpatient resources that can benefit the ASC. These issues are critical regardless of who is the majority/minority owner. In a 2016 Becker's Hospital Review column, I detailed 10 steps hospitals should take to preserve the outpatient efficiencies that make ASCs successful. These include migrating elective cases with healthy patients, maintaining lean staff, avoiding the impulse to implement robust information technology and focusing on physician engagement. Hospitals can most effectively support ASCs they own by assisting in areas including supply purchasing, physician recruitment, managed care contract negotiations and marketing. If a hospital holds a controlling interest, there may be a temptation to make significant, unnecessary changes even against the wishes of the minority owner(s). Where a controlling interest can be mutually beneficial is around payer contracting, vendor contracts and banking relationships. The hospital often has the clout of an entire system behind it and can flex those muscles to help the ASC in negotiations. Of course, it must do so in ways that don't cross lines with statutes or regulatory agencies. Q: What advice would you give to hospitals or health systems looking to form a joint venture with an ASC in an increasingly competitive space? JD: Focus on honesty and transparency. Ask the ASC's owners and governing board to share their goals and vision for the facility. Find out what they are looking for in a partner. Share your vision for how you believe your organization can help the ASC grow without hurting the efficiencies and culture that have made the surgery center successful and, therefore, an appealing partner. Be sure your goals align. Sincere hospital partners should be willing to open their data to the ASC and determine if there are cases being performed at the hospital that would be better suited for the ASC setting. After a joint venture is formed, the hospital leadership must be sure the entire hospital staff sees the ASC as an integral part of the organization, not a competitor. It can be worthwhile for the ASC and hospital to jointly bring in a third party to serve as mediator for the joint venture negotiations. A good third-party representative will take the time to learn about both organizations and the reasons why they are interested in pursuing a partnership. With this information, the representative can help determine what arrangement and agreement will best serve both parties' interests and start the partnership off on the right foot. To participate in future Becker's Q&As, contact Rachel Popa at rpopa@beckershealthcare.com. For a deeper dive into ASC industry trends, attend the Becker's 17th Annual Future of Spine + Spine, Orthopedic & Pain Management-Driven ASC in Chicago, June 13-15, 2019. Click here to learn more and register. A university committee approved Columbus-based The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center's plan to acquire property for an ambulatory care center, The Lantern reports. What you should know: 1. WMC's resolution to purchase 34 acres of vacant land in Dublin, Ohio, was approved by the Ohio State Board of Trustees Master Planning and Facilities committee. 2. The committee also approved a resolution permitting the university to enter an economic development agreement for the project. 3. The city of Dublin currently owns the property where WMC plans to build the outpatient care center, which would consolidate several practices. More articles on transactions/valuation: Sentara Healthcare drops opposition to open-heart-surgery center 3 takeaways 2 reasons why ASCs should go beyond listing cash prices online Burnout, depression high in gastroenterology 8 statistics We can verify that the domain is for sale over the phone, help you with the purchase process, and answer any questions. I knew this day was coming. Other mothers had warned me. But now that its here, wow. Just wow. Teenagers, especially boy teenagers, all they do is eat. My 15-year-old will ask what I am preparing for dinner even as he eats his lunch. Should I be embarrassed that I dont know, that I havent even thought about it yet? How do I admit to my family that I hate everything about cooking? I hate the planning. I hate the list making. I hate the shopping. I hate the chopping. I hate the assembling. Honestly, by the time its all cooked and ready, I even hate the eating. Worst of all, I hate the cleanup. Yet, as a mother, Im still expected to prepare and provide meals and food for my family daily and not just once a day, but sometimes three times a day. In addition, Im supposed to prepare snack foods for friends, extra meals for drop-in guests, and happy hour appetizers on the fly. It. Is. exhausting. I do plan for leftovers and on your own night once a week, but still, the expectation to feed my family constantly weighs on me. And, it weighs heavily. READ MORE: Words have power, use them wisely Im jealous of moms who enjoy cooking. I wish I loved cookbooks. I imagine feeling excited about recipes. I fantasize about pulling together a meal out of whatever is in my cabinet because Im just that good at meal preparation. However, for me, feeding my family is intentional, organized, planned, and energy draining. Plus, as I say, my kids eat more than ever. Leftovers dont exist. In fact, there is barely ever enough food in the house, period. Technology can help moms like me stay sane. I downloaded the Cozi app on the recommendation of a much more organized friend. Once you log in, you can share it with the family and get them to help. It builds shopping lists, to-do lists, wish lists, etc., putting them all in a single platform. I created a Walmart List, a Christmas list, a wish list and a to-do list. Not to brag, but I am great at listing what needs to happen. My downfall is actually making it happen. This app has changed my life as mom, and Im not exaggerating. I speak this truth from each one of my bones. Each of my family members has the log in, and each has been instructed to use the app accordingly. Out of deodorant? Put it on Cozi. Want oatmeal creme pies in your lunch? Put it on Cozi. Need HDMI cables for some electronic situation I could care less about? Put it on Cozi. I will happily oblige my family needs, but communication is paramount. Somehow, as my tweens have turned into teens, our family communication degraded, and Im desperately trying to find a way to keep us all afloat. Put it on Cozi. Seriously. I can survive on oatmeal and cheese. Anything else? Put it on Cozi. I hope Im not the only one out here having a difficult time feeding their family. Im looking for someone to say, Yes! I hate cooking, too! These are the things we endure as mothers. Things we hate. Of course, we love our kids. We love our family. We work hard to make sure our home life is content. Honestly, Im not even looking for happy. Im looking for, Im glad to be here. I feel safe when Im home. I want my home to be a sanctuary. I know that includes food. Im working every day to make sure there is at least something here to nibble at all times. Kids, take note. Husband, pat me on the back. Im doing the best I can. I know I have other talents. Cooking isnt one of them. When I figure out those other talents, Im sure you will read about them. For now, put it on Cozi, and meet me in the grocery pickup line (another godsend of the tech age for harried moms). Healthy is my word this year, and because of Cozi and online grocery ordering, my emotional health is on a steady incline. Cue a popular pop tune and photo montage. We might be in the middle of a romantic comedy family edition. Danielle Scroggins is a writer based in North Texas. 3 1 of 3 Courtesy photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Courtesy Photo / Courtesy Photo / Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Exxpress Mart owners Imad and Elias Sarkis have donated $35,000 to the Gift of Life to help with health and education efforts. The money was raised at during a holiday drive at the brothers 22 convenience stores. The Nederland and Orange stores were the top-earners, generating $4,800 and $3,400, respectively. The Gift of Life Reindeer Campaign was established in memory of Samir Sarkis, their father. John Williams of LPL Financial in Nederland has joined LPLs Freedom Club, which recognizes its top financial advisers. The Boston-based firm has about 16,000 advisers nationally. Fewer than 1 in 5 are named to the Freedom Club. ANAHUAC A judge on Thursday dismissed a felony charge against Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens that was part of a set of alleged violations of campaign finance laws during the 2016 election. State District Judge Randy McDonald of Chambers County granted attorneys request to quash a charge of tampering with a government document, one of the three charges brought against Stephens last year. She still faces two misdemeanors. Stephens, sheriffs Deputy Joe QB Stevenson and former Beaumont police Lt. Ray Beck were indicted in April 2018 for allegedly accepting thousands of dollars in illegal cash campaign contributions during the 2016 sheriffs race. All three were accused of accepting money from Daylight Motors owner Larry Tillery, who is under investigation for running an illegal gambling operation, according to federal court records. Attorney General Ken Paxtons office said federal investigators alerted state authorities of the alleged violations after an unrelated investigation. Stevenson and Beck were indicted on misdemeanors only. Im trying to be fair and just, McDonald said during Thursdays hearing. I dont want this to turn into a political massacre. I want to know why one is being charged with a felony when the other two arent. Stephens, who is represented by Sean Villery-Samuel, Russell Wilson Jr. and Chad W. Dunn, refused to comment following the hearing. So did prosecutor Nick Moutos. Her next hearing is scheduled for May 16. Stevenson and Beck also have hearings scheduled on that day. All cases are being heard in Chambers County. Stephens defeated Stevenson in the Democratic primary runoff and then Beck in the general election to become the first black woman elected sheriff in Texas. She is accused of accepting $1,000 in cash from Tillery in May 2016 and another $5,000 in September 2016, according to her indictment from the Texas Attorney Generals Office. On Thursday, she was cleared of the felony charge of tampering with a governmental record for allegedly reporting the larger donation in the section of her campaign finance report designated for documenting donations smaller than $50. Beck is accused of accepting $5,000 in cash from Tillery prior to the 2016 general election, and Stevenson is accused of accepting $1,000 in cash from Tillery. Candidates may not knowingly accept more than $100 cash from a single contributor, according to the Texas Election Code. If convicted of a misdemeanor, Stephens could have her peace officers license suspended for up to 10 years following a misdemeanor conviction. The Jefferson County Commissioners Court would then decide whether to pursue removing the sheriff from office. erica.apodaca@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/erica_a10 3 1 of 3 Beaumont Police Department Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Beaumont Police Department Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Two Houston men and a juvenile were arrested early Friday morning by the Beaumont Police Department, according to information from the department. At approximately 2:54 a.m. officials responded to a call in reference to a suspicious vehicle at the Comfort Suites in the 5900 block of Walden Road. Here are the top stories as we end the week. At least 70 dead in Dhaka fire that ripped through apartment blocks At least 70 people have been killed after a fire tore through apartment buildings in a historic part of the Bangladesh capital Dhaka, the latest such deadly blaze in the south Asian nation. Samsungs Galaxy S10 lineup: Foldable phones, 5G and phones that charge each other A 5G device. A foldable phone that morphs into a tablet. A smartphone that can charge another smartphone when sandwiched together. Justice Dept. preparing for Mueller report as early as next week Attorney General Bill Barr is preparing to announce as early as next week the completion of Robert Muellers Russia investigation, with plans to submit to Congress soon after a summary of Muellers confidential report Trump says Alabama woman who joined ISIS should not return to US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he directed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to allow Hoda Muthana, an Alabama woman who left in November 2014 to join ISIS, to return to the United States despite her recent public plea to come back and stand trial in America. Saudi Crown Prince arrives in Beijing to wrap up Asia goodwill tour Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman touched down in Beijing Thursday to begin the last leg of his Asia tour, designed to build relations as the kingdom faces a diplomatic chill in the West. Juventus beaten at Atletico to leave Ronaldo on brink of Champions League exit Cristiano Ronaldo was supposed to be the final piece in the Juventus Champions League winning jigsaw. Samsung unveiled a 5G phone but the network has a long way to go Samsung announced on Wednesday its first ever 5G smartphone: the Galaxy S10 5G. $375,000 price leads disabled mom to ration meds The cost of the medication that allows Bhanu Patel to move shot up to $375,000 annually. Sen. Bernie Sanders recently sent a letter to Catalyst Pharmaceuticals demanding relief for patients like her, who use Firdapse to treat Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome. Australian mammal becomes first to go extinct due to climate change A small brown rat which lived on a tiny island off northern Australia is the worlds first mammal known to have become extinct due to human-induced climate change, the government says. The hangman was too tired to hang me three times On death row in Malawi, Byson Kaula was nearly executed three times but on each occasion the hangman stopped work before hanging all the prisoners on his list. So he survived until the country stopped executing people altogether. Byson Kaula says jealous neighbours were responsible for him being found guilty of murder. Actor charged with false attack report Chicago police say that US actor Jussie Smollett has been charged with filing a false police report. The Empire star had said he was subjected to a homophobic and racist physical attack by two men in January. Doubt was later cast on his account after US media reported that police believed he may have paid two Nigerian brothers to stage the attack. US officer planned terror attack A US Coast Guard officer has been arrested on suspicion of planning a terror attack, court documents show. Police found a cache of weapons and ammunition at the Maryland home of Christopher Paul Hasson. The self-proclaimed white nationalist had drawn up a list of targets including prominent Democratic politicians, according to prosecutors. Sadio Mane: Liverpool forwards house burgled during Champions League match Liverpool forward Sadio Manes house was burgled while he was playing in the Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich on Tuesday. Items including watches, mobile phones and car keys were stolen. The incident happened at Manes house in Allerton, south Liverpool between 18:00 and 23:45 GMT while the 26-year-old was at Anfield. Norways beautiful but treacherous road World of Wonder Join more than three million BBC Travel fans by liking us on If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter called If You Only Read 6 Things This Week. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday. Im 29 and Im in 60k of credit card debt BBC Three I was 24 when I got my first job in finance and I was desperate to fit in. My colleagues wore expensive suits and seemed to have endless funds for weekends away and posh dinners out. It was nothing like the charity sector where Id started my career where wages are low but people really care about the work. Neptunes smallest moon may have been created by comets Every product here is independently selected by Mashable journalists. If you buy something featured, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps support our work. Were all made of star stuff, but some things in the universe are created by comets. Think you can tell between a real and computer-generated face? This website will test you. So you mightve been a bit freaked out about those extremely realistic, computer generated faces. Could you tell they were fake? Now, you can put yourself to the test with a website called www.whichfaceisreal.com. Its a simple quiz to determine if youre good at telling the difference between a real human face and one created by an artificial intelligence algorithm. Dog waits patiently until someone stops traffic so it can cross the street A dashcam captures a dog waiting patiently until a human helps it cross the street. Beyonce and Jay-Z accept BRIT award in front of Meghan Markle portrait Beyonce and Jay-Z continue to be icons. The power couple accepted the BRIT award for Best International Group on Wednesday for their collaboration album EVERYTHING IS LOVE. The pop culture royalty couldnt attend the London ceremony, so they sent a pre-recorded acceptance speech with a nod to literal royalty. The best Due to personal reasons memes to get you through the day Everyone needs to take a personal day sometimes. But were sure that every HR department in the world is probably sick of the phrase due to personal reasons when someone requests the day off. After all, it could mean anything from my great-aunt died to my nails need a fresh coat of polish and I dont want to finish this expense report today. The manager of one of the largest refineries in Southeast Texas spent Thursday morning making lip gloss with eighth-grade girls from all six Beaumont Independent School District middle schools at Julie Rodgers Theater. Exxon Mobil hosted Beaumonts seventh-annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering event where 90 area middle school students participated in activities designed to demonstrate just how broad the field of engineering can be. Its more than just computers and math, Exxon Mobils Beaumont refinery plant manager Ryan Bucholtz said. Its teamwork and creating and problem solving. Four stations were set up to explore different areas of engineering. One, for example, demonstrated nondestructive examination (NDE) and how technology can be used to identify problems before they occur. Mistras, a company specializing in NDE that works with Exxon Mobil had a game similar to bingo for the girls to play where they had to ask the right question to get the answers they needed to fill in their card. Across the building, students used basic household materials to test Archimedes principle of buoyancy. They used tin foil, straws and other common objects to construct rafts, and tested their buoyancy by seeing how many pennies it took to sink the boat. Downstairs, Refinery Technical Manager Chris Wolfe donned an apron and goggles to demonstrate to the teens and preteens the basic construction of a bath bomb. What seemed like just a fun craft became a lesson in chemistry and chemical reactions. Alzyn Jimenas said she would take away more than a bath bomb from that days activities. Its cool to see how girls can work for these guys, too, said Jimenas of Smith Middle School. Not just guys can be engineers. She said it was also interesting to learn the science behind what made a bath bomb fizzy and would most likely make her own at home in the future. Chadcie Carter from Smith said that since she was studying Integrated Physics and Chemistry in school, this was a particularly interesting demonstration, but she also expressed excitement in the raft-building activity. Another favorite of the girls, the lip gloss station, demonstrated the mixing of components to create an entirely new product, much like refined products produced in local plants are taken and turned into everyday items like plastics, industrial lubricants and cosmetics, according to Bucholtz. The event was organized by the Womens Interest Network. Its a group of champions for women in engineering, who offer support and mentorship to each other and women in the community, said Ashley Smith Alemayehu, Exxon Mobil local spokeswoman. Though it is only the seventh such event to take place in Beaumont, ExxonMobil has been hosting Introduce a Girl to Engineering events around the country for 16 years to encourage young women to consider future careers in the industry. haley.bruyn@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/HaleyWrites_BE Imagine for a moment being the only white kid in a Beaumont blues club in the 1950s. Then consider being that kid, and also with the glowing hair and skin of albinism. Johnny Winter's career spanned more than 50 years, remarkable considering he died in 2014 at age 70. The entirety of his music was a primal howl of an outsider howling at the gate. Just listen to Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy," the 1977 version that Winter produced - the kind of recording that can loosen your teeth if you don't keep them clenched. Waters had enjoyed some renown thanks to the Brits who loved the blues, but "The London Muddy Waters Sessions" from 1972 sounded like a low spark of well-heeled boys. Winter felt the blues like a guy who spent his childhood treated horribly. So he took a song Waters recorded in 1955 and upped the catharsis. The instrumentation peaks and crashes. Waters' vocal crescendos and dips into a carnal murmur. And throughout, Winter punctuates the songs with the iconic "YEAH" and "WOOO" exclamations that turned the song into a seedy bar scene soundtrack for 40 years of cinema. The Beaumont blues The path for Winter, who would have turned 75 on Saturday, followed that of a red-line, red-eyed, late-night drive. And it was full of twists and turns, switchbacks and the occasional dead man's curve. Consider this: His first album, released in 1968, was titled "The Progressive Blues Experiment," and his last two were titled "Roots" and "Step Back." It's as if he told the story of his life and art with just a few album titles. He learned his trade in Beaumont watching his blues heroes from Chicago and Texas. He found his own voice in that howling midnight serenade, fusing the blues with the psychedelic sounds of the '60s. And then - as his days ran out - he went back to the music that made him. That offered him safe haven when he was that outsider among outsiders: An albino kid in Beaumont who only loved the blues. Winter had been in ill health for years when he died in a hotel in Switzerland in 2014. Obviously he was there for a blues festival. Blues and life were synonymous to him. And death never felt too terribly far away. Between his complexion and his always skeletal frame, Winter always presented as a man kept alive by his art, as taxing as playing the blues could be. Yes, it began with a ukulele It all started in Beaumont, where he was, fortunately, urged to put down the clarinet, an instrument that would have opened up a very different trail head for John Dawson Winter III. Winter's overbite prompted his dentist to urge him to try a different instrument, so he chose the ukulele, learning songs by the Everly Brothers. And while that sibling duo's heavenly harmonies sound miles away from the music Winter would discover and absorb, the darkness and melancholy in their music was a portal. And for the perceived politesse, Phil Everly's right hand could wreck a guitar with its rigid down strokes. But Winter became a teen and found the blues, partially due to rebellion that comes with the age and partly because he could mail cash to Shreveport and Nashville and in exchange receive a clutch of 45s. He knew then he loved the blues. "I bought every blues record I could find," he told me in 2011. "Instead of looking for anything specific, I just bought everything there was." The live wire sound of Chicago blues called to him more than the big brassy bandstand blues popular in Texas in the '50s. His father was from Mississippi, after all. So Winter picked up a guitar and didn't let go. He cut some sides, but they didn't do much. "Never could get a hit on him," the late and notorious producer Huey P. Meaux told me years ago. "But I knew he'd do fine. He was too good to not do fine." Missing out on Woodstock "The Progressive Blues Experiment" was mostly notable for drawing attention to Winter's grand talents, and it sounds fine today. "Johnny Winter," his second album, was a better re-introduction. From go, the opener "I'm Yours and I'm Hers" cleared a path for him to follow. Winter's voice wasn't like that of his heroes. He had to push it harder, manufacture a bit of growl. He couldn't settle comfortably into a ballad, ever. But the slide lines he played on the song suggested he knew how fast he could push the train without pulling a Casey Jones. Not that he wouldn't ever derail. But that would come later. He torched his way through a set at Woodstock that should've done for him what Santa's set did for that band. Poor advice from management meant he didn't appear on the soundtrack or in the film, and a ground-shaking set was unheard for decades. Those who saw Winter in the day describe something different than the albums, which were nevertheless spirited affairs. Admirer Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top referred to Winter as playing with "'something extra,' something very 'out there' in both presentation and performance." So long the outsider, Winter built a shell out of the blues and retreated inside it. Musical trends come and go swiftly, but largely he avoided those trends and stuck to his shell over the years. It would come with isolation and addiction and gradually indifference, as he saw his audience dwindle. But a new manager saw fit to right things. He got Winter cleaned up, and sent him back. Not to any progressive blues experimentation but what came before that. The sounds that captured his attention when he was a kid putting money in the mail, hoping to get a pile of 45s in return. Songs that reached from Texas to Mississippi, by the likes of T-Bone Walker, Elmore James and Jimmy Reed. "Roots" and "Step Back" made for a proud last chapter for Winter. They were a fitting epilogue for a player who attained the reverence of the elders he'd adored when he was a kid. He'd transformed from the upstart who revered "Further On Up the Road" to the guy who sowed what he'd reaped: An affinity for blues that became a life lived playing the blues. He never attained pop stardom, but there's no reason to believe he ever wanted that. The outsider had been welcomed inside. andrew.dansby@chron.com Jeffrey K. Skilling, the former Enron CEO who spent the past 12 years in prison for his role in masterminding one of most notorious corporate fraud cases in history, was released from federal custody on Thursday, the Bureau of Prisons said. In August, Skilling was released to a halfway house at an undisclosed location from a minimum security federal prison camp in Alabama. The city of Orange is on the short list of places where Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. is considering building a massive $5 billion to $6 billion petrochemical expansion, recently released state documents show. For months, The Woodlands' company's owners, Phillips 66 and Chevron, have said they are considering adding more capacity in the region without saying where or how big of a project it could be. A request for tax incentives filed with the state comptroller's office shows Chevron Phillips is considering buying 1,700 acres of undeveloped land to house a multi-billion manufacturing facility in Orange. The project would convert hydrocarbons into ethylene which can be converted into polyethylene plastic pellets, the building block for packaging thousands of consumer goods, including milk jugs, bags, food and beverage containers, household chemicals and detergent bottles. The proposed location is across a highway from Chevron Phillips' existing polyethylene plant on Farm Market Road 1006 so the two sites would likely work together. RELATED:Gold-collar workers growing more vital in oil & gas industry Construction could start as early as the second quarter of 2020 and the company would start operations in the third quarter of 2024. The city is one several locations in Texas and Louisiana where Chevron Phillips is looking. "At this point in time, Orange, Texas , is a finalist undergoing due diligence for a new petrochemical investment if we make a final investment decision to proceed. However, the location is only one of the alternatives we are considering along the U.S. Gulf Coast," said a Chevron Phillips Chemical spokesperson. "It would simply be premature to say that Orange is definitively where we would put a new petrochemical facility if we decide to build one." EARLIER: Chevron Phillips CEO talks leadership, pollution and trade war The company is eyeing the investment roughly a year after starting up its huge new ethane cracker in Baytown. A new petrochemical expansion on the Gulf Coast could create thousands of construction jobs and further cement the region's dominating role in an emerging export-driven U.S. petrochemical market. "We remain very encouraged by the fundamentals supporting an additional petrochemical investment in the U.S. Gulf Coast. The availability of competitive feedstocks in the region and growing worldwide demand for our products appear to support such an initiative," the company spokesman said. RELATED: Saudi Aramcos Motiva eyes $6.6B petrochemical expansions The potential new Orange project would generate 3,500 construction jobs at peak construction with an average salary of about $90,000, according to state documents filed in late January. The number of permanent jobs the project would create isn't clear. The company committed to the application's minimum requirement of 20 permanent jobs, but it's likely a project of that scale would require hundreds of jobs. A recently-completed project of the same scale in Baytown now helps to support 1,000 permanent employees and 2,000 contractors, according to Chevron Phillips Chemical. The average salary for permanent jobs would be $80,000 annually, according to the documents. The project would include an ethylene cracker, at least one ethylene derivative units, a rail storage yard, utilities and related infrastructure and administrative buildings, the documents said. Chevron Phillips is seeking Chapter 313 incentives from West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District and Bridge City Independent School District, the two districts where its potential project would overlap. AU Envoy for Infrastructure Raila Odinga has dismissed the misconception that the Kenyattas and Odingas are Kenyas political dynasties. According to the ODM leader, dynasties are unheard of in Africa as they existed in medieval Europe. Dynasties used to exist in medieval Europe and the Middle East, but they never existed in Africa, Raila said in an interview with KTNs Tony Gachoka. He explained that the families political rise is due to hard work, patience and determination because they all came from humble backgrounds. If you take, for example, Jomo Kenyatta was from a very humble background. He died in the office when Uhuru was about 17 years. If it was a dynasty, Uhuru would have been crowned the prince, Raila said. Jaramogi came from a very poor background. He was a teacher then resigned to become a businessman and later a freedom fighter. He became a Vice President for a short period before switching to the opposition, added Raila. How is Raila a beneficiary of the dynasty? Where does the dynasty come from? If anything else, the Odingas have given more than what they have gotten from the society. It is a very tired subject. The Opposition leader said their fathers never had it easy and neither have their sons in their quest to rule the nation. Raila told Kenyans to focus on development and not politics of succession. Bluefield, WV (24701) Today Variable clouds with thunderstorms, especially in the afternoon. High 78F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Some clouds early will give way to generally clear conditions overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable. The Bird scooter service that took Bakersfield by storm in December is adjusting its local fleet in a way that appears to have reduced, at lea Before we order on Amazon, an army of individual shoppers heads out, hunting for deals to stock the company's warehouses. Grandpa Records founder Refigah is counting losses after burglars broke into his studio and made away with expensive equipment. According to Refigah, the thugs broke into the studio situated in Olympic estate, Kibra on Tuesday night. He claims the thugs stole equipment valued at Sh1.5 million. In what is suspected to be an inside job, the thugs reportedly broke a large steel padlock at the main gate to gain access to the front door of the studio, where they cut through sophisticated locks without triggering the alarm system. Refigah told a local tabloid that he learnt of the break in on Wednesday morning after he received a phone call from the producer who was reporting to work. They stole all equipment, from the mixer, sound card, compressor, three set of recording microphones, sound systems and two monitors. We are talking of a loss of about Sh1.5 million shillings, Refigah said. We suspect this could be an inside job because this has never happened since we moved here, he said. Refigah relocated the studio four years ago from Kibera Plaza. He said the burglars struck just a day before the installation of CCTV cameras in the studio was set to begin. Refigah said he since reported the matter to Kilimani Police Station in Nairobi. Employees at Ohio convenience store paid people to steal baby formula so they could resell it, police say Jason Barry is best known for his Dirty Dining Report which airs Fridays at 6:30 p.m. on CBS 5. He is also the storyteller behind CBS 5's Pay It Forward which airs every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade Azerbaijan has entered the top three of the best CIS countries for sightseeing, Trend reports with reference to the analytical agency TourStat, which ranked the best destinations of the CIS countries for sightseeing tours, leisure and travel of Russian tourists. Belarus, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are in the list of best destinations for sightseeing holidays. As many as 27 percent of the votes was given to Belarus, 22 percent - to Kazakhstan, 16 percent - to Azerbaijan, while Uzbekistan accounted for only 12 percent. The rating is made according to the market research of sightseeing tours and online survey. According to TourStat, a sightseeing tour to the CIS countries for seven days costs, on average, from $ 500 to $ 1,000. There are several reasons why Russian tourists are heading to Azerbaijan for their vacation. Tourists are attracted by the quality of the hotel basis, the richness of excursion programs and the development of sanitary and spa complexes, such as Naftalan. Most tourists believe that the hotel base in Azerbaijan does not fall behind with Europe. Generally, Azerbaijan is among the developing countries in the field of tourism, occupying the 39th place among 148 countries in terms of global competitiveness in tourism. In total, for 2018, Azerbaijan was visited by 2.849 million foreign citizens and stateless persons from 196 countries, which is 5.7 percent more than in 2017. Looking at the origin countries of tourists coming to Azerbaijan, Russians make up the largest part of the tourists having a share of 30.9 percent, while 21.4 percent came from Georgia, 10.2 percent - Turkey, 8.5 percent - Iran, 3.3 percent - the United Arab Emirates, 2.6 percent - Saudi Arabia, 2.4 percent - Iraq, two percent - Ukraine, 1.4 percent - Israel, 17.2 percent - citizens of other countries, 0.1 percent - stateless persons. Speaking about diversification of tourism sector and related service which is one the important fields, it should be noted that Azerbaijans Shahdag and Tufandag winter-summer tourism complexes attract great interest of tourists. Moreover, simplification of visa regime also plays a major role in the development of tourism in Azerbaijan. Currently, citizens of a number of countries get visas right at the Azerbaijani airports, while other tourists can visit the country by getting online tourist visas. Considering the country on the whole, the territory of Azerbaijan is interesting because it combines nine climatic zones out of 11 existing in the world, from subtropics to high-alpine meadows. In recent years, the development of the tourism industry has received the closest attention of the leadership of Azerbaijan. In the cities of country, in resort areas, in the mountains and on the Caspian coast, dozens of international-class hotels were built, worldwide networks opened their hotels, water parks and extensive recreation areas were created. The mesmerizing mix of East and West, the possibility to have a rest on the Caspian Sea shore and enjoy fresh air and delicious meals have always been attracting tourists to Azerbaijan. Many of them get so much fascinated with the country and its capital Baku that they come back to visit Azerbaijan again after a while. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The fracas involving Akothee and her immoral performance during a recent show in Watamu has boiled down to Ezekiel Mutua taking drastic measures in a bid to curb over sexualised content. According to the morality policeman, the Kenya Film Classification Board has received complaints from the members of the public on the current wave of over-sexualised content and stage performances in public places. Mutua says the glamorization of sexual content in the name of creativity on social network sites and in sections of the media runs counter to the provisions of the Films and Stage Plays Act Cap 222. In a statement on Thursday, the KFCB CEO said the board has examined numerous artistes and performers and found that some of their performances are offensive, unpalatable, inappropriate, and contravene the law. The Board is disturbed at the extent to which some famous artistes are going to attract audiences and relevance by exposing their private parts in public, gyrating in obscene ways and failure to uphold common decency in their public performances, said Mutua. He said the board has identified measures that will be taken against offenders. They include: The Board will not hesitate to ban public performances that dishonor and contravene common decency or those that objectify women. Proprietors of public places, clubs, hotels and discotheques will be held responsible for the breach of the Films and Stage Plays Act for performances staged in their premises. The Board is collaborating with the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, the Police and other relevant state agencies to ensure that legal action is taken against premises that breach the above Law, particularly those admitting children to adult shows. Going forward, the Board in collaboration with the bodies mentioned above, shall ensure places where such performances take place are regulated and the shows served with new terms and conditions that we shall be announcing in due course. Parents and caregivers found exposing minors to obscene and indecent performances by admitting or tagging them along to such performances shall be in contravention of the Law and will be prosecuted. Mutua further warned; artistes and performers using inappropriate and offensive stage names, inappropriate lyrics, nudity or suggestive dancing styles that border on sexual innuendos, particularly in public places will face the full force of the law. By Abdul Kerimkhanov Uzbekneftegaz has offered the Swiss company Bluestone Group to take the Fergana refinery in trust, Uzbek media reports. Ulugbek Sayidov, the first deputy chairman of the board of Uzbekneftegaz, held the talks with the executive director of the Bluestone Group, Shlomo Wolf. At the talks, representatives of the Swiss company expressed their interest in cooperating in promising projects of Uzbekneftegaz on terms of equity financing. In this regard, the foreign party was invited to participate in the modernization of the Fergana refinery under the terms of a trustee manager and construction of a gas chemical complex using logistics technology as an investor. In addition, Uzbek side invited representatives of the Bluestone Group to take part in a business forum organized by Uzbekneftegaz for potential participants in the implementation of projects for the deep processing of hydrocarbons in May 2019. Following the talks, the parties agreed to meet again and, in case foreign investors are interested, to discuss issues of joint implementation of projects. Earlier, the President of Uzbekistan held a meeting on the development of the oil and gas industry. During the meeting, he instructed that the Fergana Oil Refinery be transferred to the trust management of investors through a public-private partnership. Switzerland is one of the reliable partners of Uzbekistan. Strong relations of friendship and mutual understanding are actively developing between the two countries. The progressive dynamics of the Uzbek-Swiss relations demonstrates the continued interest of both countries in full-scale partnership, both in bilateral and multilateral formats. The renewal of the Swiss strategy on cooperation with Central Asia countries for the period from 2017 to 2020 demonstrates a commitment to increasing interaction. Uzbekneftegaz was established on May 3, 1992. In 1998, it was transformed into national holding company. The national holding company Uzbekneftegaz is a state-owned holding company of the Uzbek oil and gas industry. Bluestone is an international, privately owned group which works alongside key partners to manage a diverse portfolio of companies with sustained growth in value for the long term. Bluestones international activity of investments, project management and trade is primarily focused on Europe, the Middle East, African and Asian markets. Bluestone is a trusted partner of world renowned investment funds based in London, Paris, Switzerland and Asia. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Abdul Kerimkhanov Relations between India and Kazakhstan are developing in the spirit of friendship and partnership and are based on the cultural and historical closeness of the peoples living in these countries. Trade turnover between Kazakhstan and India amounted to $1.2 billion at the end of 2018, showing a 26.5 percent increase compared to a year earlier. Minister of National Economy Timur Suleimenov said that Kazakhstan is negotiating a free trade zone with India, as well as with Egypt, Israel, Serbia and Singapore. In 2015, Kazakhstan signed an agreement on a free trade zone with Vietnam, and in 2018 with Iran, which opened preferential access for Kazakhstani goods to the market of countries with a total population of about 180 million inhabitants. In turn, Energy Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said that following the visit of the Kazakh delegation to India and participation in the international conference Petrotech-2019, India is considering the possibility of creating an aviation hub for Kazakh shipments. In addition, the Indian company Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is interested in buying a relatively large oil-producing enterprise in Kazakhstan. ONGC as an integrated Oil & Gas Corporate has developed in-house capability in all aspects of exploration and production business i.e., Acquisition, Processing & Interpretation (API) of Seismic data, drilling, work-over and well stimulation operations, engineering & construction, production, processing, refining, transportation, marketing, applied R&D and training, etc. Negotiations are also underway with engineering companies that would like to start assembly in Kazakhstan, and in the chemical industry sector, Indian investors are interested in the production of nitrogen fertilizers. Imports from India increased by 14.2 percent and amounted to $ 242.8 million in 2018. The main imported goods are medicines ($ 66.6 million, + 13 percent per year), tea with flavoring additives ($ 32.6 million, 21.2 percent per year) and telephones ($11.1 million, an increase of 64.4 times in a year). For 5 years (from 4th quarter 2013 to 3rd quarter 2018) the volume of direct Indian investment in the economy of Kazakhstan amounted to almost $100 million. The main areas of Indian investment are energy, finance and pharmaceuticals. This year, about 560 legal entities and branches with Indian capital were registered in Kazakhstan. In recent years, companies such as SB PNB, Siva Swathi Textiles, Sava Health Care, etc. have been successfully operating in Kazakhstan. Diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and India were established on February 22, 1992. Kazakhstan supplies uranium concentrate to India, oil, asbestos, steel, salt, sulfur, lime, cement, raw hides and ferrous metals. India exports to Kazakhstan coffee, tea, spices, tobacco, organic chemical compounds, pharmaceutical products, plastics, rubber, rubber products, electrical machinery and mechanical equipment. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Abdul Kerimkhanov Germany will provide Kyrgyzstan with a grant of 40.1 million euros for the development of the country's economy, stated the Minister of Economy of Kyrgyzstan Oleg Pankratov at a meeting of the Zhogorku Kenesh on February 21. The German government is ready to provide a grant in the amount of 40.1 million euros for bilateral technical and financial cooperation to Kyrgyzstan. Of these, 21.1 million euros is provided for technical cooperation projects, the minister said. As he noted, 70 enterprises will be created within the framework of the projects, five of which will work on the green economy principles. Pankratov added that the funds will also be directed to support agriculture and healthcare. Diplomatic relations between Germany and Kyrgyzstan were established on February 3, 1992. The German Embassy in Kyrgyzstan was opened in September 1992, and the Kyrgyz Embassy in Germany - in January 1995. The volume of mutual trade of Kyrgyzstan and Germany amounted to $ 52.92 million, or 1.2 percent of the Kyrgyz total volume of trade in January-August 2018. Germanys principal exports to Kyrgyzstan are motor vehicles, machinery and chemical products (pharmaceuticals and cosmetics). Kyrgyzstans main exports to Germany are agricultural products. The volume of direct foreign investment from Germany to Kyrgyzstan totaled to $ 8.13 million in January-June 2018. The main part of direct investment from Germany was in manufacturing industry - $ 7.2 million, in trade - $ 576,300, in agriculture - $ 297,200. As many as 152 Kyrgyz-German joint ventures operate in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz-German companies operate in various sectors of the economy such as trade, industry, tourism, energy, services, and others. Germany after the U.S. and Japan is one of the largest donors in Kyrgyzstan, providing bilateral support. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan Parakhat Durdyev presented his credentials to President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China, Trend reports referring to the Turkmen government. The Chinese president noted that the ambassadors diplomatic mission will be given full support in order to fully utilize the accumulated potential for cooperation. Chinese companies are represented on the Turkmen market in the oil, gas and telecommunications sectors, transport, agriculture, textile, chemical and food industries, healthcare and construction.\ --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Abdul Kerimkhanov Being neighbors, Iran and Pakistan have always enjoyed good relations and had an influential role in regional issues. Pakistani Minister of Railways, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, said that the Quetta-Taftan-Zahedan railway line will be modernized in an accelerated mode. Sheikh Rashid Ahmad negotiated about this during a meeting with the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan Mehdi Honardust, who visited Sheikh in his office in Islamabad on February 21. The minister said that cooperation in improving the railway network between Pakistan and Iran will meet the mutual interests of both countries. The Quetta-Taftan railway route is one of the four main railway routes in Pakistan operated and maintained by the Pakistan Railways. The line starts from Quetta station and ends at Koh-e-Taftan station. The total length of this railway line is 325 kilometers. There are 23 railway stations from Quetta to Ko-e-Taftan. The line then crosses Iran and extends as far as Zahedan. Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Honardust during the meeting sent an invitation to the Government of Iran Sheikh Rashid Ahmad to take part in the opening ceremony of the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway in northern Iran. Iran was the first country to recognize Pakistan after its independence. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in August 1947. Both countries are members of the Islamic G8, the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and observers in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Iran and Pakistan are close neighbors enjoying similarity of views on most regional and international issues. Today, Iran and Pakistan are well aware that solving economic problems, strengthening the security of the two countries is possible only with close cooperation. Iran-Pakistan relations have not always been at a high level. But in fact, the stability of the region depends largely on these countries. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Abdul Kerimkhanov Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan can be attributed to the most important strategic partners in Central Asia - a region where large reserves of natural resources are concentrated. Both states have significant economic and human potential, are linked by common historical, geographical, cultural, religious and linguistic roots and have a fairly long common border. Uzbekistan has shifted China from first place on the import of clothes to Kazakhstan, Kazakh media reports. Kazakhstan imported 34,500 tons of clothing for $ 512.3 million in 2018. In physical terms, imports decreased by 4.9 percent, and in monetary terms increased by 5.5 percent. The largest amount of clothing came from Uzbekistan (10,100 tons for $ 18.4 million), whereas China was the leader in supply in 2017. At the same time, the clothes of Uzbekistan are several times cheaper than Chinese, because China, although set clothes less in terms of volumes (8,500 tons), but in monetary terms, it was $ 83.5 million. Russia for the year delivered 6,200 tons of this product ($ 158.2 million), Turkey - 4,600 tons ($ 98.5 million), Bangladesh - 1,900 tons ($ 42.9 million), Kyrgyzstan - 1,000 tons ($ 3 million), Iran - 228.7 tons ($ 133,900). Diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were established on November 23, 1992. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan currently experience a rise in mutual economic ties. In 2017, the trade turnover between the two Central Asian nations increased by 8.6 percent and exceeded $ 2 billion. In January-June 2018, the trade turnover between the two countries increased by 52 percent, with Uzbek exports growth of 48 percent. Over 200 companies with Kazakh capital currently operate in Uzbekistan. Earlier this year, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan agreed to take further measures to ensure the growth of trade turnover to $ 3 billion in 2018 and $ 5 billion by 2020. The countries also intend to increase the number of rail, bus and air communication between two states. Kazakhstan exports to Uzbekistan petroleum and their products, the milling industry, grains, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, products of inorganic chemistry, food products. Uzbekistan exports to Kazakhstan energy sources (gas), cotton fiber, chemical products and plastics, fertilizers, fruits and vegetables and other types of goods. Uzbek investments in Kazakhstan for the past 10 years amounted to $ 31.3 million, half of which falls for 2016. Kazakh investments in Uzbekistan totalled $ 114.4 million in the past decade. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Abdul Kerimkhanov Lack of electricity remains one of the most important issues for Kyrgyzstan. The problem becomes more severe in winter when the average temperature often falls below zero. A working group from Kyrgyzstan will visit Tashkent to hold talks on the Kambarata hydro power plant-1, Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Industry, Energy and Subsoil Use of Kyrgyzstan Aitmamat Kadyrbaev said. As he noted, the working group was established at the end of 2018. The official added that there were preliminary phone calls and these issues were discussed with the participation of the first vice-premier. The project for the construction of the Kambarata HPP-1 on the Naryn River has been stalled for some time. Construction of the plant with a capacity of 1,860 MW was planned in the late 1980s. But since then the project has remained frozen. The last time agreement on the construction of Kambaraty-1 and the Upper Naryn cascade of hydropower plants was reached in 2012 by the governments of Kyrgyzstan and Russia in 2012, when the Russian RusHydro was set to build both facilities. According to the project, the station was supposed to start operating in the spring of 2016. The design capacity of the four hydro power units was supposed to be 1,860 MW, the estimated annual volume of electricity generation - 5.1 billion kWh. However, the agreement was denounced on the initiative of the Kyrgyz side in 2016. Canadian consulting company SNC Lavalin developed a feasibility study for the construction of hydro power plants. The project, worth $ 729 million, was to be implemented by specialists from Russian companies RusHydro and Inter RAO UES. It was assumed that the hydro power plant should meet the electricity demand in Kyrgyzstan and allow to stop importing it from Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. Founded in 1911, SNC-Lavalin is a global fully integrated professional services and project management company and a major player in the ownership of infrastructure. PJSC RusHydro was established on December 26, 2004, as part of the state program for reforming the electric power industry. The installed capacity of the RusHydro group exceeded 39.4 GW as of January 1, 2019. The total heat output is 18,900 Gcal / hour. The total electricity generation amounted to 144.2 billion kWh in 2018. Inter RAO was established in 1997 as a subsidiary of RAO United Energy Systems of Russia responsible for export and import of electricity. Inter RAO Group is a diversified energy holding that manages assets in Russia, Europe and the CIS. Inter RAO's strategy is focused on creating a highly efficient and diversified world-class energy holding with operations in all key competitive segments of the energy market. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order regarding measures to construct Gilazi-Khizi (28 kilometers)-Tikhli road in Khizi. Under the presidential order, the Azerbaijan Highway State Agency is allocated 850,000 manats for the construction of the road. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade The population of Azerbaijan will reach ten million people in late March - early April, Chairman of the State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan Tahir Budagov told journalists within the framework of the presentation of the project "EU Support for the State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan to achieve European standards" on February 22. Budagov said that these forecasts are made based on calculations of the State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan. Note that the population of Azerbaijan as of January 1, 2019 reached 9,981,457 people. As many as 52.8 percent of the total population lives in cities, 47.2 percent in villages, 49.9 percent are men, 50.1 percent are women. The population density is 115 people per square kilometer. As of the beginning of this year, 4.6 percent of the population lives in Nakhchivan, 22.8 percent in Baku, 20.3 percent in Aran, 12.9 percent in Ganja-Gazakh, 9.4 percent in Lankaran, 30 percent - in other economic areas of the country. According to the population census in 1897, Azerbaijani population was 1,806.7 million. In this period the majority of people lived in rural areas - 83 percent. At the time, 112,100 people lived in Baku, and according to the data for the beginning of this year, the population of the Azerbaijani capital is more than 2,262 million people. The next census of population will be held on October 1-10 this year. In 2018, a test population census was held in Gabala district. According to the latest WHO data published in 2018 life expectancy rate in Azerbaijan stands at 70.3 for men, 75.7 for female. Total life expectancy is 73.1, which gives Azerbaijan a World Life Expectancy ranking of 96. Azerbaijan also ranks 90th for the number of the world's population. The UN previously reported that Azerbaijans population is expected to hit 10.68 million people by 2030 and 11.03 million people by 2050. The report forecasts that life expectancy at birth will increase in Azerbaijan. So if in 2015-2020 it is 72.1 years, then by 2045-2050 will increase to 75.7 and in 2095-2100 - to 82.6 years. As for the world population, the figure is 7.6 billion people. By 2030, the world will have 8.6 billion people, in 2050 - 9.8 billion, and in 2100 - 11, 2 billion. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend The 5th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) Advisory Council has been held at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the meeting. The participants in the event included energy ministers from the Southern Gas Corridor member-states and representatives of a number of organizations, as well as European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, acting co-chair of SGC Advisory Council Gunther Oettinger. Prior to the meeting a joint photo was taken. President Ilham Aliyev made a speech at the event. Speech of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev Dear ladies and gentleman, dear guests, dear friends, Welcome to Azerbaijan, I am very glad to see you and thank you for participating at the 5th Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor. Back in 2015, we launched this important process. Azerbaijan initiated the idea of having such a format of cooperation. This was supported by the European Commission, and that is how it started. And now this is the benefits of these meetings, the benefits of broad discussions on what should be done in order to move forward this huge project. I would like to express gratitude to European Commission, for active involvement in the process, the European Commission and Azerbaijan are co-organizers of this Council and our close cooperation brings good results. It is a special pleasure to welcome Commissioner Oettinger who used to be a commissioner on energy and who played very important role in strengthening cooperation between the European Union and Azerbaijan on energy issues and in moving forward the project of the Southern Gas Corridor. It is really a team work, we work as a team and we see results, see progress year after year. I would like to express gratitude to the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom for their permanent support to all the energy projects which Azerbaijan initiated and particular for the support in implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor. I welcome the high representatives of the United States, the United Kingdom and I am sure that your contribution to the meeting will be outstanding. Also, I would like to greet high representatives of the countries involved in the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor, our neighbors, Turkey, Georgia, European countries, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Italy. We are all now in one team of implementation of this project. As you know, Azerbaijan signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro on further expansion of energy development in Europe and building a modern, new infrastructure and network for diversification of energy supplies of Azerbaijan, and I welcome representatives of these countries. Also I am glad that a number of our guests, the countries which participate at annual Council also is growing. I was informed that we have representatives from Hungary, Romania, Serbia, San-Marino, Turkmenistan. I am glad that the number of countries which show interest in this project also is growing. And of course, the companies. Without the active participation of the companies it would not have been possible to implement this huge project. I would like to particularly mention close strategic cooperation between SOCAR and BP. BP is our strategic partner, strategic investor. It is a company which has been working in Azerbaijan for 25 years and which makes big efforts in order to support energy projects in Azerbaijan, and of course the investments from BP are highly welcomed. By the way, we are working on many important projects of energy development in Azerbaijan. Our joint efforts would not have been possible without close support from the international financial institutions. I would like to mention that I am glad that today among our guests we have representatives of leading international financial institutions, World Bank, IBRD, Asian Development Bank, European Investment Bank. And I would like to use this opportunity to express my gratitude for your financial contribution and your trust in us, trust in this project. So, mentioning this list of participants, already I think enough to imagine what kind of a huge initiative and project we are implementing. The Southern Gas Corridor is really a project of common interests, project of mutual importance. And it is part of Azerbaijans energy strategy which was launched back in 1994, when Azerbaijan signed an agreement with the Consortium of international oil companies on development of the huge oil field Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli. So that was the beginning of our close cooperation with international energy companies. That was a time when Azerbaijan opened its resources for international cooperation. For the first time, international investments came to the Caspian Sea, and 1994 was actually the turning point in the development of Azerbaijan, because at that time Azerbaijan was a newly independent country. Independence was less than three years, and economic situation in the country was very difficult. So, opening country for investments allowed us to attract multi-billion investments to create tens of thousands of jobs to present Azerbaijan as a country with the good investment climate and then to use benefits of oil and gas development the revenues to diversify economy to build modern infrastructure and now to concentrate mainly on non-energy sector. This is our priority but at the same time, energy sector, oil and gas sector in Azerbaijan will continue to be the leading sector of our economy and will continue to be one of the most important elements of regional cooperation. In 1996, the agreement contract on Shah Deniz gas field was signed. And Shah Deniz is a main resource base for the Southern Gas Corridor, I hope it will not be the only, but so far it is the only and the main resource base. It is a huge gas field which is already producing and exporting. If we look at the chronology of our energy development, we see that step by step we were coming towards the main goal, to diversify our energy supplies and to build modern energy transportation infrastructure. Therefore, of course commissioning of the pipeline connecting Caspian Sea and the Black Sea in the end of 1990s, Baku-Supsa was important element of energy supply and diversification. Then came Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan that was a historical event. In 2006, this huge energy project was inaugurated that allowed companies to invest more, to extract more, and allowed us to export as much as we can. And today Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan also is transporting oil from other countries. So, Azerbaijan is already important transitor for oil supplies, and therefore, of course, the role of Azerbaijan in the region is growing. In 2007, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline was inaugurated, and for the first time Azerbaijan became gas exporter to international markets. Before that we were actually importing natural gas. So as I said, step by step we were coming towards the main energy projects which is the Southern Gas Corridor and implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor today is a reality. And I remember in 2012, Azerbaijan and Turkey signed an agreement on TANAP, which actually was a starting point for the Southern Gas Corridor. Because a year later, in 2013, the companies made an investment decision to develop Shah Deniz-2, second phase of Shah Deniz, and in 2013, Trans-Adriatic pipeline also was selected as the continuation of TANAP. So, all these demonstrates that we were working very closely with our partners, and really team work made it possible to talk about success. Since our last meeting last February there were two most important ceremonies, one in Azerbaijan, another in Turkey: May official opening of the Southern Gas Corridor, and June official opening of TANAP was really important milestone in the development of the Shah Deniz field and implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project. And today we are very close to the completion of this huge energy project, three out of four elements of the Southern Gas Corridor are already in operation. We are glad that since opening TANAP has already transported more than one billion cubic meters of gas to the Turkish markets. So, TANAP is already in operation, and there is a big progress in implementation of TAP. I remember last February when I addressed the Council, I talked about the completion of about 67 percent of TAP and now according to recent information it is already 85 percent. So, we really made a big progress within one year, and everything goes successfully. So, hopefully, next year we will talk about new results. Southern Gas Corridor project is a project of energy diversification, diversification of energy resources is very important for producers, for consumers, for transitors, and I think we found a very good balance between producers or producer Azerbaijan, transitors and consumers. And the balance of this interest make this project successful. Because we always were trying to understand the needs and concerns of each other. We always try and I think succeeded in supporting each other, and importance of this kind of meetings is really very very big. Because we review what has been done during one year, at the same time, we plan our future steps and then, during the year bilateral or multilateral consultations, meetings, conferences help to move forward. Southern Gas Corridor is a project of energy diversification also because its diversification of routes and sources. Azerbaijan is a new source for energy supply to Europe and of course, building the new pipeline or pipelines, we diversify the routes. Therefore, it is full diversification, and actually it is changing the energy map of Europe, and thus, the importance of the Southern Gas Corridor is growing. And of course, the Southern Gas Corridor is a project of energy security. Because we all understand that without energy security it is difficult to provide national security. So, energy security is integral part of the countrys national security. And the countries which depend on external energy supplies of course, they need to be sure that the supplies will be sustainable, and long-term. So that they can plan their future, the industrial development. At the same time, the countries which produce and which are rich with energy resources without reliable markets, they cannot achieve their goal. Therefore, it is a project of energy security, energy diversification, energy cooperation and broad international cooperation. Therefore, todays format of the meeting really demonstrates that we managed to establish very broad format of international cooperation, financial institutions, companies, countries and all of us have the same goal. And all of us believe in implementation of the project, and we believe that it will be long-term success story for all of us. As far as Azerbaijans gas reserves are concerned, proven reserves are at the level of 2.6 trillion of cubic meters. Of course Shah Deniz is a main gas reservoir of Azerbaijan, but at the same time, there are other fields, which are now in the process of exploration, and soon I think we will have good results from Absheron field. I am sure that in the nearest future we will start to extract gas from there, and also, very promising field is Umid-Babak, which also has a huge gas potential and other fields. Therefore, I am sure that Shah Deniz will not be the only resource base for the Southern Gas Corridor, and the more gas is extracted from our fields the more potential will be to supply our partners and to diversify the supply network which we are talking about. And of course, energy cooperation projects, they play very important role in cooperation in other areas, particularly I would mention transportation. Because today Azerbaijan is becoming the transportation center of Eurasia. East-West and North-South transportation corridors cross our countries. We invested largely in modern transportation infrastructure, Baku Sea Port, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad which connects Europe and Asia, highways, Caspian shipping, airports, all that was possible because of the revenues we got from oil and gas sales. So, we redirected the revenues to the sectors which will generate additional wealth, and which will also serve our common cause. Because transportation projects as well as energy projects, they unite countries. Countries become interconnected, interdependent and everybody gets benefit. Therefore, energy security projects we see their benefit in other areas, and also, of course, successful energy development of Azerbaijan allowed us to present ourselves to the world as a reliable country, reliable partner, country which hundred percent protects foreign investments, all our contracts with energy companies are ratified by parliament and signed as a law. Therefore, investors are 100 percent sure that even one single word will not be changed in this contract. So this creates credibility and also, it allowed us to attract billions and billions of investments to other sectors of total number of investments in Azerbaijan is close to 150 billion dollars and half of it is foreign investment. It allowed us to diversify our economy to implement successful reforms, to create good business climate. According to the latest World Bank Doing Business report Azerbaijan is number 25. So, we made a tremendous success and we are among ten most reformist countries with respect to the business climate and business environment. We managed to invest huge amount of money in infrastructure, in social infrastructure to increase living standards of our people because of the proper use of energy resources and their revenues. Therefore, for us this project is of extreme importance, I am sure for all of us, and I am glad that today we can talk about success, we can talk about results, and of course today we will talk about future plans. Wish you success. Thank you for being with us. Azerbaijans Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov and European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, acting co-chair of SGC Advisory Council Gunther Oettinger then addressed the event. The meeting continued with a plenary session. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Azerbaijan believes in implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project, and that it will be long-term success story for all, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said. President Aliyev made the remarks at the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) Advisory Council at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku. Back in 2015, we launched this important process. Azerbaijan initiated the idea of having such a format of cooperation, the president added. This was supported by the European Commission, and that is how it started. And now this is the benefits of these meetings, the benefits of broad discussions on what should be done in order to move forward this huge project, he said. I would like to express gratitude to the European Commission, for active involvement in the process, the European Commission and Azerbaijan are co-organizers of this Council and our close cooperation brings good results. It is a special pleasure to welcome Commissioner Oettinger who used to be a commissioner on energy and who played very important role in strengthening cooperation between the European Union and Azerbaijan on energy issues and in moving forward the project of the Southern Gas Corridor, President Aliyev added. It is really a team work, we work as a team and we see results, see progress year after year, the president stressed. I would like to express gratitude to the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom for their permanent support to all the energy projects which Azerbaijan initiated and particular for the support in implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor. I welcome the high representatives of the United States, the United Kingdom and I am sure that your contribution to the meeting will be outstanding, he said. Also, I would like to greet high representatives of the countries involved in the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor, our neighbours, Turkey, Georgia, European countries, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Italy. We are all now in one team of implementation of this project, the president said. As you know, Azerbaijan signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro on further expansion of energy development in Europe and building a modern, new infrastructure and network for diversification of energy supplies of Azerbaijan, and I welcome representatives of these countries. Also I am glad that a number of our guests, the countries which participate at annual Council also is growing, he added. I was informed that we have representatives from Hungary, Romania, Serbia, San-Marino, Turkmenistan. I am glad that the number of countries which show interest in this project also is growing. And of course, the companies. Without the active participation of the companies it would not have been possible to implement this huge project. I would like to particularly mention close strategic cooperation between SOCAR and BP, President Aliyev said. BP is our strategic partner, strategic investor. It is a company which has been working in Azerbaijan for 25 years and which makes big efforts in order to support energy projects in Azerbaijan, and of course the investments from BP are highly welcomed. By the way, we are working on many important projects of energy development in Azerbaijan. Our joint efforts would not have been possible without close support from the international financial institutions, he said. I would like to mention that I am glad that today among our guests we have representatives of leading international financial institutions, World Bank, IBRD, Asian Development Bank, European Investment Bank. And I would like to use this opportunity to express my gratitude for your financial contribution and your trust in us, trust in this project. So, mentioning this list of participants, already I think enough to imagine what kind of a huge initiative and project we are implementing. The Southern Gas Corridor is really a project of common interests, project of mutual importance, the president stressed. And it is part of Azerbaijans energy strategy which was launched back in 1994, when Azerbaijan signed an agreement with the Consortium of international oil companies on development of the huge oil field Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli. So that was the beginning of our close cooperation with international energy companies. That was a time when Azerbaijan opened its resources for international cooperation. For the first time, international investments came to the Caspian Sea, and 1994 was actually the turning point in the development of Azerbaijan, because at that time Azerbaijan was a newly independent country. Independence was less than three years, and economic situation in the country was very difficult, President Aliyev said. So, opening country for investments allowed us to attract multi-billion investments to create tens of thousands of jobs to present Azerbaijan as a country with the good investment climate and then to use benefits of oil and gas development the revenues to diversify economy to build modern infrastructure and now to concentrate mainly on non-energy sector, he stressed. This is our priority but at the same time, energy sector, oil and gas sector in Azerbaijan will continue to be the leading sector of our economy and will continue to be one of the most important elements of regional cooperation, the president added. In 1996, the agreement contract on Shah Deniz gas field was signed, he said. Shah Deniz is a main resource base for the Southern Gas Corridor, I hope it will not be the only one, but so far it is the only and the main resource base. It is a huge gas field which is already producing and exporting. If we look at the chronology of our energy development, we see that step by step we were coming towards the main goal, to diversify our energy supplies and to build modern energy transportation infrastructure, President Aliyev said. Therefore, of course commissioning of the pipeline connecting Caspian Sea and the Black Sea in the end of 1990s, Baku-Supsa was important element of energy supply and diversification. Then came Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan that was a historical event, he said. In 2006, this huge energy project was inaugurated that allowed companies to invest more, to extract more, and allowed us to export as much as we can. And today Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan also is transporting oil from other countries. So, Azerbaijan is already an important transitor for oil supplies, and therefore, of course, the role of Azerbaijan in the region is growing, the president said. In 2007, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline was inaugurated, and for the first time Azerbaijan became gas exporter to international markets. Before that we were actually importing natural gas. So as I said, step by step we were coming towards the main energy projects which is the Southern Gas Corridor and implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor today is a reality, he said. And I remember in 2012, Azerbaijan and Turkey signed an agreement on TANAP, which actually was a starting point for the Southern Gas Corridor. Because a year later, in 2013, the companies made an investment decision to develop Shah Deniz-2, second phase of Shah Deniz, and in 2013, Trans-Adriatic pipeline also was selected as the continuation of TANAP. So, all this demonstrates that we were working very closely with our partners, and really team work made it possible to talk about success, the president said. Since our last meeting last February there were two most important ceremonies, one in Azerbaijan, another in Turkey: May official opening of the Southern Gas Corridor, and June official opening of TANAP was really important milestone in the development of the Shah Deniz field and implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project. And today we are very close to the completion of this huge energy project, three out of four elements of the Southern Gas Corridor are already in operation, President Aliyev said. We are glad that since opening TANAP has already transported more than one billion cubic meters of gas to the Turkish markets. There is a big progress in implementation of TAP, he said. I remember last February when I addressed the Council, I talked about the completion about 67 percent of TAP and now according to recent information it is already 85 percent. So, we really made a big progress within one year, and everything goes successfully. So, hopefully, next year we will talk about new results. Southern Gas Corridor project is a project of energy diversification, diversification of energy resources is very important for producers, for consumers, for transitors, and I think we found a very good balance between producers or producer Azerbaijan, transitors and consumers, the president added. And the balance of this interest makes this project successful. Because we always were trying to understand the needs and concerns of each other. We always try and I think succeeded in supporting each other, and importance of this kind of meetings is really very very big, he said. Because we review what has been done during one year, at the same time, we plan our future steps and then, during the year bilateral or multilateral consultations, meetings, conferences help to move forward. Southern Gas Corridor is a project of energy diversification also because its diversification of roots and sources, he stressed. Azerbaijan is a new source for energy supply to Europe and of course, building the new pipeline or pipelines, we diversify the roots. Therefore, it is full diversification, and actually it is changing the energy map of Europe, and thus, the importance of the Southern Gas Corridor is growing, the president added. And of course, the Southern Gas Corridor is a project of energy security, President Aliyev said. Because we all understand that without energy security it is difficult to provide national security. So, energy security is integral part of the countrys national security. And the countries which depend on external energy supplies of course, they need to be sure that the supplies will be sustainable, and long-term, he stressed. So that they can plan their future, the industrial development. At the same time, the countries which produce and which are rich with energy resources without reliable markets, they cannot achieve their goal. Therefore, it is a project of energy security, energy diversification, energy cooperation and broad international cooperation. Therefore, todays format of the meeting really demonstrates that we managed to establish very broad format of international cooperation, financial institutions, companies, countries and all of us have the same goal, he added. And all of us believe in implementation of the project, and we believe that it will be long-term success story for all of us. As far as Azerbaijans gas reserves are concerned, proven reserves are at the level of 2.6 trillion of cubic meters, the president said. Of course Shah Deniz is a main gas reservoir of Azerbaijan, but at the same time, there are other fields, which are now in the process of exploration, and soon I think we will have good results from Absheron field. I am sure that in the nearest future we will start to extract gas from there, and also, very promising field is Umid-Babak, which also has a huge gas potential and other fields. Therefore, I am sure that Shah Deniz will not be the only resource base for the Southern Gas Corridor, and the more gas is extracted from our fields the more potential will be to supply our partners and to diversify the supply network which we are talking about, President Aliyev stressed. And of course, energy cooperation projects, they play very important role in cooperation in other areas, particularly I would mention transportation. Because today Azerbaijan is becoming the transportation center of Eurasia. East-West and North-South transportation corridors cross our countries. We invested largely in modern transportation infrastructure, Baku Sea Port, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad which connects Europe and Asia, highways, Caspian shipping, airports, all that was possible because of the revenues we got from oil and gas sales, he added. So, we redirected the revenues to the sectors which will generate additional wealth, and which will also serve our common cause. Because transportation projects as well as energy projects, they unite countries. Countries become interconnected, interdependent and everybody gets benefit, the president said. Therefore, energy security projects we see their benefit in other areas, and also, of course, successful energy development of Azerbaijan allowed us to present ourselves to the world as a reliable country, reliable partner, country which hundred percent protects foreign investments, all our contracts with energy companies are ratified by parliament and signed as a law. Therefore, investors are 100 percent sure that even one single word will not be changed in this contract, he stressed. So this creates credibility and also, it allowed us to attract billions and billions of investments to other sectors of total number of investments in Azerbaijan is close to $150 billion and half of it is foreign investment. It allowed us to diversify our economy to implement successful reforms, to create good business climate, the president said. According to the latest World Bank Doing Business report Azerbaijan is number 25. So, we made a tremendous success and we are among ten most reformist countries with respect to the business climate and business environment. We managed to invest huge amount of money in infrastructure, in social infrastructure to increase living standards of our people because of the proper use of energy resources and their revenues, he added. Therefore, for us this project is of extreme importance, I am sure for all of us, and I am glad that today we can talk about success, we can talk about results, and of course today we will talk about future plans. Wish you success. Thank you for being with us. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz A new print edition of the AZERNEWS online newspaper was released on February 22. The new edition includes articles: Romania may join Southern Gas Corridor, Azerbaijan attracting Kazakh companies to its energy projects, Land of Fire featured at Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show, Israeli kamancha player to perform in Baku etc. AZERNEWS is an associate member of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). The online newspaper is available at www.azernews.az. By Trend Theres some hope for positive dynamic in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, Trend reports citing Charles Lonsdale, Deputy Director for Policy Support Service at OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre. He made the remarks during the winter session of the OSCE Parlamentary Assembly in Vienna on Feb.22. We follow the developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict dealt by the Minsk Group with great interest, more recently, with some hope for positive dynamic following the regular meetings of foreign ministers and informal meetings between President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan, said Lonsdale. Noting the commitments of the parties to concrete measures to prepare their populations for peace, he expressed readiness to support if the parties are interested. But we are not directly involved in the work of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Armenian ex-president Robert Kocharyan, who is in prison, wants to play the "Karabakh card" again to conceal his dirty deeds, Azerbaijani MP Rauf Aliyev told Trend on Feb. 21. Being in prison, Kocharyan spread a statement on Karabakh, where he accused the new Armenian government of dealing a blow to the fundamentals of the separatist regime, he said. The MP stressed that Kocharyan and his assistants played a major role in the occupation of Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent districts, and in the Khojaly genocide. Aliyev stressed that by making such statements, Kocharyan seeks to get support in the Armenian society, evade the criminal case filed against him. The MP stressed that the policy of the Azerbaijani leadership on the peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, based on the norms of international law, raises hopes that negotiations on the settlement of the conflict will bring results. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Laman Ismayilova Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater has strengthened and expanded its relations with internationals partners. World-famous operas will be presented in Belgrade, Trend Life reported. The projects will be held as part of the cooperation with the Serbian National Opera Theater. "La Boheme" opera by Giacomo Puccini will be staged on February 23. The libretto is based on Henri Murger's novel, Scenes de la vie de boheme, a collection of vignettes portraying young bohemians living in the Latin Quarter of Paris in the 1840s. Although usually called a novel, it has no unified plot. Like the 1849 play by Murger and Theodore Barriere, the opera's libretto focuses on the relationship between Rodolfo and Mimi, ending with her death. "Il Trovatore" opera by Giuseppe Verdi will be presented to the audience on February 27. Azerbaijan's honored Artist Afag Abbasova was invited to play the in the operas. She will perform Mimi's parts in "La Boheme" and Leonora "Il Trovatore". Both operas will be conducted by honored Artist Eyyub Guliyev. Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater will stage "Il Trovatore" opera on March 16. The leading soloist of the Serbian National Opera Theater, Yasmina Trumbetas will will perform the part of Leonora. Yasmina Trumbetas is also the director of the opera troupe at the Serbian Opera Theater. "Il Trovatore" is an Italian opera in four acts. The music was written by Giuseppe Verdi. The story and words were written by Salvatore Cammarano. It is based on Antonio Garcia Gutierrez's El Trobador. The opera was first performed in Rome on January 19, 1853. The action is set in the environs of Zaragoza, the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon, and in the mountains of Vizcaya (Biscay), around 1412. Brilliant vocal lines and a unique plot conquered the hearts of spectators around the world. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Laman Ismayilova Twenty artists have gathered at Art Villa Gallery to create wonderful art works for UN park in Azerbaijan. The park will be laid out as part of H.E.Art art project, Trend Life reported. In the park created jointly by the United Nations and Arts Council Azerbaijan, talented artists will present the paintings on the Stands for Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, green corners will be also created as part of the project. The Sustainable Development Goals have been adopted by the United Nations in 2015 to end all forms of poverty, take action against inequalities, and combat climate change. The art project brought together incredibly talented artists Eldar Babazade, Kamilla Muradova, Metanet Niftalieva, Nuray Alhaverdieva, Ilaha Garibova, Leyla Orujova, Teymur Garibov, Aytan Abdullayeva, Leyla Muradova, Roya Hasanova, Nigar Familsoy, Sayali Mammadova, Kamilla Musayeva, Namig Ismayilzade. Within the project, workshop and various cultural evenings will be held until March. Ambassadors and representative offices will plant trees in order to reflect the friendly relations between Azerbaijan and other countries. H.E.Art art is an environmental project created by Arts Council Azerbaijan to contribute to the post-processing of oil barrels. The project allows to use metal barrels in an environmentally responsible manner as well as to develop creative thinking. Bright painting ideas turn metal barrels into colorful and beautiful yard decorations. The mobility of barrels allows to quickly move them to new locations. The author of the project is the head of Arts Council Azerbaijan Dadash Mammadov. Arts Council Azerbaijan is an international and independent art platform. The organization is the head of the International Arts Council Network operating in different countries around the world. It was created by Dadash Mammadov in 2006. The main purpose of the organization is to promote Azerbaijani culture and art. Many projects have been operating for many years under the auspices of the organization. Among them are Art Gazette, Production Studio, Azerbaijan Animation Museum named after Nazim Mammadov, Art School Drawing School, "Under open air" plein air, Art Residence, and Youth Network. Media partners of the event are Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az, Azernews.az. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade About 100,000 tons of high density polyethylene will be produced by the end of 2019, Director General of SOCAR Polymer LLC Farid Jafarov told reporters, Trend reports on February 22. As for polypropylene,Jafarov noted that its production volume by the end of 2019 will be about 140,000 tons. About 75 percent of the production will be exported, he said. Jafarov said that the export of high-strength polyethylene will begin next month. Polypropylene, in turn, is already supplied to the markets of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Turkey. In general, Director General of SOCAR LLC Polymer stated that about 25,000 tons of polypropylene have already been exported. In the near future, the export of these products is also expected to the markets of European countries, China and India. In the same countries, the sale of high density polyethylene is planned," Jafarov added. He also emphasized that SOCAR Polymers products will completely meet the internal needs of the country. SOCAR Polymer, the project of international standing, is the first of its kind and scale in the petrochemical industry to be implemented in Azerbaijan over the past 40 years. SOCAR Polymer was established in 2013. On October 25, 2015, with the participation of President Ilham Aliyev, the foundation was laid for the plants based on the highest standards and modern technologies. On July 18, 2018, with the participation of President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and President of Italy Sergio Mattarella, the opening of a polypropylene plant built as part of the project was held. The plant for the production of high-density polyethylene was launched on February 18, 2019. According to preliminary forecasts, SOCAR Polymer plants will produce 184 tons of polypropylene of ten types and 120,000 tons of high density polyethylene of four types per year. During the operation period of the plants is expected to profit in the amount of $ 6.6 billion, 30 percent of which will be the net income of the company. SOCAR Polymer is the first company in the petrochemical industry in Azerbaijan, established on the basis of partnership between the state and the private sector. Such companies as Maire Tecnimont (Italy), Fluor (Netherlands), etc. are involved in the project. The project will provide for the improvement of professional skills of national engineering personnel. To achieve this goal, a single project management team has been created. Fluor organized refresher courses for national engineering and other workers in Amsterdam, Milan and Mumbai. In addition, the focus was on the minimization of environmental and social impacts, the disposal of harmful substances and liquid waste. Thus, these plants, which will operate on the basis of technologies having international licenses, will meet the highest international standards in terms of the production process and product quality. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Leman Mammadova Azerbaijan is Kazakhstan's key trade-economic partner in the Caucasus region. Located on the route of the Great Silk Road, both countries vow for the further expansion of trade and transport relations. Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan reached $258.26 million in 2018, according to Kazakhstan`s Statistics Committee, AZERTAC informs. Exports from Kazakhstan accounted for $211.9 million of the bilateral trade, while imports from Azerbaijan made $46.3 million. The trade between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan almost doubled in 2018 compared to 2017. Thus, the trade turnover between the countries amounted to $142.1 million in 2017. The government of Kazakhstan signed agreements on export of goods to Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Russia and Turkmenistan. This included a $450 million agreement on transportation of transformers to Azerbaijan, Kazakh minister of industry and infrastructure development Zhenis Kassymbek said. Currently, Kazakhstan exports grain, ferrous metals, locomotives, railway infrastructure equipment, fuel, some industrial products and oil equipment, metal structures, agricultural products and food to Azerbaijan. In turn, Kazakhstan imports from Azerbaijan products from ferrous metals, jet kerosene fuel, cars, lamps and lighting equipment, industrial equipment, orthopedic appliances, spare parts for aircraft and automobiles and textiles Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan attach great importance to the development of bilateral trade and economic ties. There is a successfully operating Intergovernmental Commission, and business forums are held regularly. In 2017, the Kazakh-Azerbaijani intergovernmental commission adopted a road map for trade and economic cooperation for 2018-2020. For Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan the most important points of cooperation appear to be the contacts on energy issues, oil transportation, agriculture, and the use of the Caspian Sea as an important international traffic artery. The accession of Kazakhstan to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline in 2006 opens up broad prospects for the states to strengthen their positions both at the regional level and in the international arena. Both countries are interested in intensification of cooperation in many areas, particularly logistics and infrastructure today. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, being the Caspian littoral states, are a natural bridge connecting the West and the East. Thus, the new stage of the cooperation in the field of transport, energy and trade opens another door for Europe to the East. At present, the two countries are working on promotion of a joint transport project - the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), which involves cargo transportation from China via Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and further via Turkey and Ukraine to Europe. The countries also actively cooperate within the framework of such international and regional organizations as the UN, OSCE, OIC, CICA, Turkic Council, CIS, etc. --- Leman Mammadova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Azerbaijans success achieved as a result of the implementation of socio-economic policy can serve as an example for other countries, the World Bank (WB) Regional Director for the South Caucasus Mercy Tembon said at a meeting with Azerbaijans Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev, Trend reports Feb. 22 with reference to the Economy Ministry. She said that the WB supports the ongoing economic reforms in Azerbaijan. In turn, Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev noted that Azerbaijan attaches great importance to cooperation with the WB, and also highly appreciates the technical and financial assistance that the bank provides for the diversification of the economy and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The minister noted that in general, the WB and Azerbaijan have jointly implemented up to 50 projects, and the work on seven of them is still ongoing. Azerbaijan and the WB successfully cooperate in agriculture, water supply, justice, social, medical and other fields, he added. The minister also informed the guest about the work to develop the economy, including the non-oil sector, about strengthening the private sector, encouraging investments and other measures. The minister reminded that in the last Doing Business report, Azerbaijan improved its position by 32 notches and took the 25th place, and also entered the list of 10 reformer countries. The parties also discussed the possibility of expanding cooperation. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade The national statistical system is being improved in Azerbaijan with the support of the EU, Tahir Budagov, chairman of the State Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan, told journalists during the presentation of the project titled "Support to the State Statistical Committee in Modernisation of the National Statistics System in line with European standards" in Baku, Trend reports on February 22. He noted that work on bringing some fields of statistics of Azerbaijan closer to the international standards has already been completed, as part of two twinning projects. We appealed to the UN Economic Commission for Europe for the evaluation of these projects, he said. According to Budagov, an audit of the statistical system was conducted from September 2016 to February 2017 in Azerbaijan. He added that international experts prepared a report, in which they highly appreciated the country's statistical system. "We also decided to evaluate the production processes and signed a contract with the Switzerlands SGS company, which provides independent expertise services and Azerbaijan became the first among the CIS countries to receive the ISO 9001: 2015 standard," said Budagov. Speaking about the "Support to the State Statistical Committee in Modernisation of the National Statistics System in line with European standards" project, he noted that 31 expert missions are planned to take part in it, along with holding 5 seminars and 5 trainings. In turn, Vilija Lapeniene, Director General of the Lithuanian Department of Statistics, told reporters that Azerbaijan and Lithuania have had a long cooperation in the field of statistics, and expressed hope for the continuation of this cooperation. "Our main task is to share experience in this area with Azerbaijan and help achieve international standards," she said. Lapeniene noted that Azerbaijan is surely moving in this direction. Considering that standards change every year, we should continue our cooperation, she said. According to Lapeniene, two missions of Azerbaijani specialists in the field of statistics are expected to visit Lithuania in the near future. The project "EU Support for the State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan to achieve European standards" aims to support the Government of Azerbaijan in making more accurate economic statistics available for monitoring of the economic reform process and outcomes. Specifically, the State Statistical Committee (SSC) will be able to produce and disseminate data of increased coverage and improved quality. In order to demonstrate that the statistics is indeed more accurate, improved tools for measuring the accuracy of statistics will become available due to the project. Statisticians and users of statistics will be trained in current methods of producing and analyzing data in order to succeed in implementing the project and to ensure it has the desired impact and is sustainable. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Number of asylum requests by Georgians in Israel reduced By Gvantsa Gabekhadze The number of asylum requests by Georgian citizens in Israel has been reduced by 70 percent, Haaretz media reports.The Immigration Authority of Israel says that the number of asylum requests by Georgians was 1,351 in 2017 and 399 in 2018.The article published in the media says that the reduction of the number of applications is linked to the decision adopted in 2017, according to which Georgia was declared as a safe country.Putting on the list enables an accelerated denial of requests without the need to examine them in depth, a procedure usually taking a few weeks.in 2018, Israel refused entry to 17,000 citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Belarus, countries that have visa waiver agreements with Israel.The main reason for refusal stated by the authority is concern that people arriving will not leave the country after the three months permitted for those without visas. Only in a few cases did the rejections stem from security or criminal concerns, reads the article.The Consul of Georgia in Israel, Aleksandre Jishkariani, stated in 2017 that the number of people illegally arriving in Israel from Georgia was also decreased, and accordingly, the rate of refusal to enter Israel has been reduced as well.The Consul said that the decrease in Georgian migrants was related to the fact that Georgia was put on the list of safe countries.The situation was very difficult at the beginning of the year. There was a lot of information in the press that many people were seeking asylum in Israel. However, the situation has improved after Georgia was put on the list of safe countries, he stated.Jishkariani says that Israel launched a visa-free regime for Georgia in 2014, which caused illegal migration problems.However, since Georgia was put on the list of safe countries, people requiring political asylum have automatically restricted the right of employment; moreover, a warning is sent to all organizations and institutions that they will be fined if they employ illegal immigrants, he explained.The fact that Georgia is recognized by Israel as a safe country means that all Georgians will be denied asylum in Israel as the safe country status is given to those countries where people are not politically persecuted. By Leman Mammadova Italy is a reliable partner of Azerbaijan in Europe with whom bilateral beneficial cooperation exists in all areas. Both states enjoy high level of economic cooperation and intend to intensify ties as the relations in the economic sphere bring real benefits to both sides. Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev met with the Italian deputy minister of economic development Andrea Cioffi, who is on a visit to Azerbaijan to attend the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council. Mustafayev stressed the successful continuation of cooperation between the two countries. Speaking about bilateral economic relations at the meeting, the minister noted that Italy is the main trade partner of Azerbaijan and is in the first place in exports. So, the trade turnover between the two countries increased by 10 percent and amounted to $6.2 billion in 2018, he said. Italy is involved in twinning projects which are being implemented in Azerbaijan within the cooperation with the EU, he said. Italian companies are successfully operating in Azerbaijan. A few days ago, the opening ceremony of SOCAR-Polymer plant was held, the contractor of which is the Italian company Maire Tecnimont. He emphasized that Italian companies successfully operate in Azerbaijan. The SOCAR-Polymer plant (the contractor is the Italian company Maire Tecnimont) was commissioned a few days ago. The participation of the presidents of both countries at the opening ceremony of the first phase of this plant in 2018 testifies to the importance attached to the development of bilateral ties, Mustafayev said. Stressing the role of Azerbaijan in global energy security, the minister underlined that the Southern Gas Corridor project, TANAP strengthened Azerbaijans position as an important energy provider, boosted cooperation among the participating countries. TAP project, which will transport Azerbaijani gas to Italy, is implemented successfully. Increased transit opportunities of Azerbaijan, important projects - North-South, East-West transport corridors, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, Baku International Sea Trade Port create great opportunities for the development of transit-logistics cooperation. Azerbaijan and Italy are preparing a new agreement on mutual investment promotion. Presently, the work is underway on a new draft agreement on the promotion and protection of investments between Azerbaijan and Italy, on a joint action plan, envisaging the expansion of cooperation in various sectors of the economy, he said. Mustafayev noted that Azerbaijan is interested in expanding relations with Italy in non-oil sector, energy, infrastructure, transport, ICT, tourism, agriculture, wine-making and others. He invited Italian businessmen to take advantage of favorable business conditions in Azerbaijan, to establish joint enterprises on the production of machine-building, home appliances, light industry and pharmacy in the industrial parks and estates. In turn, Italian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Andrea Cioffi stressed the importance of high-level reciprocal visits in the development of cooperation, as well as fruitful discussions on expanding relations in the non-oil sector. Andrea Cioffi briefed on the interest of Italian companies to work in Azerbaijan and shared views on the development of directions of cooperation. Diplomatic relations between the two states were established in 1992. Baku and Rome are strategic partners in the energy sector. Since 1995 ENI Italian company has been involved in several projects on the operation of oil and gas fields in Azerbaijan, which laid the foundation for economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Italy Italy has begun to receive a large part of Azerbaijani oil exported through the Baku - Supsa pipeline since 1999 and then through the Baku - Jeyhan. This made Italy the number one partner for Azerbaijan and this position is maintained until today. Accompanied by a solid consolidation of the political dialogue, bilateral economic relations have further strengthened following the signing of a Joint Declaration for the establishment of an Italian-Azerbaijani Council for Economic, Industrial and Financial in 2004. The intensification in the relations between Azerbaijan and Italy is observed over the last years. Italy is an important economic and trade partner of Azerbaijan. Italy accounts for about 20 percent of our trade turnover with foreign countries. The trade turnover with Italy was approximately $4.7 billion in 2017. Azerbaijan exports to Italy mainly oil and oil products, as well as chemical industry products, while Italy supplies products, light and food industry products to Azerbaijan. As many as 95 Italian companies, which participate in 41 contracting projects under interstate agreements, have been registered in Azerbaijan. In total, the investments of Italian companies in Azerbaijan have amounted to about $530 million, and the volume of Azerbaijani investments in Italy is estimated at $135 million. Two countries have great potential for expanding economic relations, in particular in such areas as energy, agriculture, industry, trade, investment, transport, environment. --- Leman Mammadova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade Azerbaijan has a positive experience of cooperation with the World Bank in the field of labor and social protection, and this experience creates a significant foundation for the successful continuation of cooperation. This was stated by Minister of Labor and Social Protection Sahil Babayev during a meeting with the World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, Mercy Tembon, who is on a visit to Azerbaijan, according to the Ministry. Babayev noted that the work is being carried out in Azerbaijan to create new centers "DOST" (sustainable and operational social security), envisaging a completely transparent provision of state social services via a single center on the principle of a "single window". The minister stressed that the social protection of people who need special social protection is constantly increasing. Babayev also said that based on the documents signed by the head of state this year, the next important steps have been taken in this direction. Babayev spoke about the significance of the projects implemented jointly with the World Bank. The minister noted the importance of active technical support from the World Bank in preparing a new employment strategy, jointly with the International Finance Corporation, in developing modern methodologies and procedures to raise the capacity of the State Labor Inspectorate Service and conduct risk-based inspections. Then, Tembon noted that the steps taken in Azerbaijan to improve the well-being of people who need special social protection, deserve a positive assessment. The World Bank Regional Director said that the World Bank highly appreciates the fundamental reforms being carried out in Azerbaijan in the social sphere. Tembon also noted that the ongoing reforms in the country in the field of labor, employment, social protection are important, and expressed confidence that the joint work with the World Bank to implement these reforms will continue successfully in the future. The meeting discussed reforms in the field of labor, employment and social protection, measures of active employment policy, the study of progressive international experience in this area and other issues. Over the past 25 years, the World Bank has supported Azerbaijan in implementing critical structural reforms to help stabilize the economy after a long-lasting contraction. The Banks strategic advice has helped bring about institutional reforms, develop a public investment program, negotiate a production sharing agreement with foreign oil companies, and establish an Oil Fund which now accumulates part of its revenues from oil and gas exports. Pension reforms and a targeted social assistance program, which the World Bank helped to design and implement, have been instrumental in the remarkable levels of poverty reduction in Azerbaijan. Today, the World Bank program in Azerbaijan supports the countrys economic diversification agenda, as well as the delivery of quality, accessible and effective public services in order to benefit all Azeri citizens. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend The issue of high prices for lamb meat in Azerbaijan has been clarified, the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee told Trend. Earlier, false information was distributed in social networks, and a hint was made that the lamb meat imported into the country in 2018 was registered upon the figures required by customs bodies, rather than upon the prices indicated in the invoice. Some 350 kilograms of lamb meat imported to Azerbaijan in 2018 at a price of $17.7 per kilogram were registered upon the documents submitted by the importers and there are no risk factors in the documents submitted to the customs bodies. "Meanwhile, 350 kg of lamb meat coat $6,180 and it is ridiculous to think that the customs bodies made manipulations upon this price. As for the high price of meat, it is specially ordered by some restaurants in the country and is sold at a high price in the world market," said the committee. The customs statistics on import and export operations is drawn up absolutely transparently in accordance with the legislation. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade The second meeting of the Azerbaijan-Qatar Intergovernmental Economic Commission (IGC) was held in Doha, Report informs. The commission is headed by the Qatari Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, and by the Azerbaijani Minister of Emergency Situations, Kamaladdin Heydarov. During the meeting, the Qatari Deputy Prime Minister pointed out the positive results of the first meeting in the framework of strengthening bilateral relations. He recalled that this year marks 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Doha and Baku. He stated that the visit of Emir of Qatar, Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in 2016 to Baku and the visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Qatar, Doha in 2017 contributed to the deepening of bilateral relations. The Deputy Prime Minister highly appreciated the participation of Azerbaijan at the international exhibition IPEC, which was held in Doha in October last year. The Azerbaijani minister also noted the role of high-level visits to strengthen bilateral ties, in particular, the signing of a number of bilateral agreements during the visits. He noted that the activities of companies in both countries also contribute to the expansion of trade and opening of new opportunities for cooperation. During the meeting, the sides discussed issues of increasing trade, the exchange of visits of delegations, representatives of chambers of commerce, businessmen, the private sector, as well as the organization of joint trade events for small and medium-sized enterprises. Touching upon relations between Azerbaijan and Qatar, it is important to note that agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed between the two countries in such areas as economics, trade, agriculture and investment promotion. Promising spheres for the development of cooperation include tourism and culture. For Qatari citizens, a simplified visa regime is applied and the number of visitors to our country is growing. It creates a special opportunity for ties between our peoples. Direct flights have been established, which give impetus to the development of tourism and lead, in turn, to the formation of even closer relations between the countries. Both countries have built their economies on energy supplies - the share of oil and gas in exports of Azerbaijan and Qatar varies within 90 percent. But in the current realities of low oil prices, the diversification of the economy comes to the fore, especially with the attraction of foreign investors and the expansion of trade partnerships. Therefore, now the cooperation between the two oil countries may become more relevant than ever. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade Azerbaijan and Lithuania are on their way to bind relations in transport area, especially in connecting railways, Lithuanian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Valdas Lastauskas said in an exclusive interview with Azernews. In this regard, he underlined that the Viking project which was launched in Klaipeda port and extends to the Baltic Sea. Now it is extremely popular in Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania and other partners among Scandinavian countries, Lastauskas said. He went on to say that it is a good opportunity to link the Viking project with such transport corridors as South-West and East-West. Touching upon the cooperation in the ICT sector between the two countries, the ambassador noted that this would be a good practice since Azerbaijan has a good experience in the e-government, while IT government exists in Lithuania for 10-15 years already, where each citizen is connected to electronic bank system, can use all government services related to taxes, social work etc. Speaking of the ways to increase investors' interest in economies of both countries, the ambassador noted that events organized by embassies in Vilnius and Baku, as well as the latest meeting in Sumgait Technologies Park, where many investors participated. Such events are best examples for investors, he said, adding that they show that it is possible to do bussiness here and that it is supported. The same happens in our country, when inviting investors from Azerbaijan and showing them that the bussiness can be done here, Lastauskas said. Finally, turning to the sectors of economy in which Lithuania is interested to invest, the ambassador said that, first of all, ICT is the major priority, adding that Lithuania and Azerbaijan also have a potential for further cooperation in agricultural sector. Azerbaijan and Lithuania enjoy great relations and strive to bring them to a higher level by implementing projects in transport and logistics. 2019 marks the 100 years since the two countries have first established diplomatic relations since in mid-war period there was a consular section of Lithuania in Baku. Lithuania has established a well-functioning multimodal transport and logistics system and plays an important transit country role in the East-West and North-South corridors. Moreover, the two countries' cooperation will enter a new stage in case of the accession of Azerbaijan to the international combined train project the "Viking Train", which links the network of sea container lines of the Baltic and the Black seas, Mediterranean and Caspian seas. It is a joint project of Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine railways, stevedoring companies in Klaipeda, Odessa and Chernomorsk seaports, connecting Baltic and Black seas with railways. The regular runs were launched on February 6, 2003. In May 2016, Azerbaijan has signed a protocol about the joining of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC to the "Viking train" project. The main benefits of the Viking train include lower shipping cost, fixed schedule, reduced transit time, safety and security of goods, facilitated customs and border procedures, linkage with Baltic and Black seas and projects environment-friendliness. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Mohamed A. El-Erian MUNICH There is a subtle yet important change occurring in how political leaders think about international trade, including how to remedy long-standing problems. It results from a key distinction between the what of trade (where there is relatively broad-based agreement among countries) and the how (where differences have tended to undermine important relationships, whether transatlantic or between China and the worlds advanced countries). As a result, there is some room for greater optimism than is suggested by talk of damaging trade wars, stifling investment restrictions, technological conflicts, and multiplying great-power tensions. The relatively wide agreement in the international trade area tends to focus on four main hypotheses that are supported by a body of research and evidence: First, free and fair trade is in the interest of most people in most countries, but it is not sufficient for inclusive prosperity. Specific segments of society can be displaced, marginalized, and alienated. As such, trade is not just an economic issue. It also entails important institutional, political, and social dimensions. Second, trade is inherently underpinned by a mutually beneficial set of voluntary interactions that are best conducted, to use the language of game theory, as a cooperative game. Third, an accumulation of legitimate grievances undermines both the ideal and reality of free and fair trade. These grievances relate mostly to what economists call non-tariff barriers, including issues such as intellectual property theft, the weaponization of economic and development tools, forced technology transfer, insufficiently effective and credible multilateral institutions, and a less-than-stable global economic and financial order. Lastly, fixing these problems has proven frustratingly slow. That is where the major areas of disagreement begin. How should the accumulating set of problems that undermine free and fair trade be addressed? Over the years, conventional wisdom has stressed that the best option is to maintain an approach focused on cooperative resolution. This implies negotiations that are best conducted free of actual or threatened punishment such as tariff imposition, and it favors reliance on the rules-based framework established by existing multilateral institutions. The other approach is that adopted by the US President Donald Trumps administration. Noting that past efforts to reverse the growth of non-tariff barriers have not worked and will not work, this strategy is more open to the use of tariff penalties to influence behavior modification, and the threat of escalation in response to any and all retaliation by trading partners. First widely dismissed as an unfortunate policy pivot, more people now are beginning to wonder whether the new US approach provided its not used repeatedly could in fact serve as a beneficial disruption that helps reset international trade relationships and place them on a firmer footing. Its a view that is underpinned by evidence (the shift from retaliation to resolution by such countries as Canada, South Korea, and Mexico) and the prospect that, due to its limited options, China will have no choice but to do the same by addressing some of its non-tariff barriers. The task for the international community is to take advantage of the emerging window to move more comprehensively on implementing measures to counter slowing growth, reduce the risk of financial instability, and ensure more inclusive prosperity. Such measures are less a problem of engineering (in the sense that most economists agree on whats needed) than of politics (the need for decisive leadership and sustainability). For starters, domestic pro-growth policies must be re-energized, both as an urgent standalone priority and to take pressure off trade. This is particularly important for China and countries in Europe, including six of the EUs largest economies. The focus must be on productivity enhancement, structural changes to respond better to the realities of the global economy of today and tomorrow, more effective safety nets for the most vulnerable and displaced segments of society, and addressing market and government failures that frustrate growth and investment. Moreover, existing trade arrangements need to be modernized, not only to fix existing problems, but also as part of a broader effort to enhance these arrangements agility in the face of rapid technological change. Particular attention needs to be devoted to improving the approach to big data, technology transfer, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, networks, and mobility. It will be no less crucial to continue reforming the multilateral institutions in order to enhance their effectiveness and credibility. Finally, the international community must guard against regional arrangements, such as Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, which are intended to promote development but can end up undermining partner countries. This requires steps to enhance transparency on the terms and conditions of projects and debt undertaken through such initiatives, encourage greater reliance on local labor, and ensure that recipient countries are not encumbered with excessive liabilities. Excessively one-sided debt-for-physical-assets swaps, which can also raise genuine national security concerns, must also be resisted. It is often said that with risk comes opportunity. What initially was viewed as an unfortunate US shift to protectionism may in fact have opened a window to improve the functioning of the global economy and world trade. The next few months will be critical. Copyright: Project Syndicate: The dialectic of global trade policy --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have 26 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Feb. 22, Trend reports. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The Maduro regime is using every tactic at its disposal to block humanitarian aid from coming into the country, effectively shutting its land and maritime borders. Why it matters: Venezuelans desperately need food and medicine. A December 2018 report noted that from 2016 to 2017, 64% of Venezuelans reported losing nearly 25 pounds. Over 9 in 10 Venezuelans, and even 6 in 10 who identify as pro-Maduro, say the food supply is bad or very bad. Where it stands: Aid convoys are lined up at the Colombian and Brazilian borders with humanitarian assistance requested by the interim government of Juan Guaido. Thousands of Venezuelan volunteers who have traveled to the border are ready to deliver tens of millions of dollars worth of food and medicine provided by the U.S. and others. Interim President Guaido and National Assembly members and volunteers have maneuvered around roadblocks on their way to the border. Between the lines: The Maduro regime has historically refused to recognize that theres a humanitarian crisis for fear of looking weak and losing one of its primary mechanisms of social control. Aid also means international community involvement, which Maduro rejects, with the exception of Russias. One of the first mandates of the Guaido government is to help alleviate suffering. Maduro is attempting to stop the interim leader from delivering on this key promise. Yes, but: The UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross have declined to collaborate with the international aid efforts, citing concerns about the use of humanitarian intervention as a means to a political end. Critics also note that the U.S. $20 million aid package pales in comparison to the estimated $11 billion in revenue that U.S. sanctions will cost Venezuela in 2019, but there's reason to believe that much of that money would have redounded only to Maduro. What to watch: The presidents of Colombia, Chile and Paraguay, along with delegations from the U.S. and other countries, are currently in the Colombian border town of Cucuta, with the goal of sending a message of international support for the entry of humanitarian supplies. Some aid is bound to come in, especially along the porous border with Colombia, which could precipitate either a domino effect or further backlash. Jason Marczak is director of the Atlantic Councils Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center. A woman was killed and dozen were injured Friday as members of the Pemon ethnic group clashed with the Venezuela National Guard on the country's border with Brazil, the Associated Press reports. The big picture: Juan Guaido, the Venezuelan opposition leader and self-declared interim president, promised to bring humanitarian aid into Venezuela on Saturday. President Nicolas Maduro, who insists there is no humanitarian crisis, ordered the border with Brazil shut in response, setting up a confrontation with opposition supporters as the Venezuelan army moves tanks to the border. Go deeper: Saturday's showdown in Venezuela will test strength of Maduro, Guaido Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) admitted and apologized on Thursday for wearing a Confederate uniform at an "Old South" party as a student at Alabama's Auburn University, which was published in the Kappa Alpha section of his 1980 college yearbook, reports the Tennessean. "I never intentionally acted in an insensitive way, but with the benefit of hindsight, I can see that participating in that was insensitive and Ive come to regret it." Lee told the publication in a statement. The backdrop: The Tennessean reports that Lees office initially said it had no knowledge of the Confederate garb photo. This comes weeks after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring came under fire after revelations that they both wore blackface during college. Both Democrats, Northam and Herring, have rejected calls to resign. The first privately built lunar lander, a vehicle made in Israel, is on its way to the moon. It successfully deployed after launching at 8:45 p.m. Thursday off Cape Canaveral on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and is expected to land on the moon's surface in April. Why it matters: Along with the U.S., the former Soviet Union and China were, until tonight, the only countries to successfully land spacecraft on the lunar surface. Axios' Andrew Freedman notes that this lander named Beresheet, meaning "in the beginning" in Hebrew is the first to be entirely financed and built by the private-sector. It demonstrates that the public-private space race is on, with the moon in many companies' and countries' sights. NASA Administrator James Bridenstine issued the following statement: "Congratulations to SpaceIL and the Israel Space Agency. This is a historic step for all nations and commercial space as we look to extend our collaborations beyond low-Earth orbit and on to the Moon. "In July, I was in Israel and was very impressed with their commitment to expanding their role in the worlds space community. As we better understand Israels capabilities and the innovative work of their private industry, we know theyll be an even stronger international partner in the future, one vital to the success of extending commercial space to the Moon and eventually on to Mars and beyond. There are terrific opportunities awaiting Israel and all of us in advancing the space frontier." Go deeper: Read Axios' special report on the space race Justin Trudeaus closest adviser resigned this week as a scandal continues to damage the prime ministers squeaky clean image. Backdrop: Canadas Globe and Mail newspaper reported earlier this month that aides close to Trudeau pressured then-Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to settle a case against SNC-Lavalin, a big engineering firm from Trudeau's home province of Quebec. The allegations of bribery, used to secure lucrative construction contracts under the Muammar Gaddafi regime, mean the company faces the prospect of a decade-long ban on federal contracts if found guilty, The Guardian notes. Wilson-Raybould was demoted in January and then resigned from the Cabinet altogether last week. Her silence since then has increased the pressure on Trudeau, who says hes done nothing wrong. Gerald Butts, Trudeaus close friend and top aide, also denies wrongdoing. Still, he resigned on Monday in an effort to quiet the storm. That doesn't seem to have worked. What to watch: Wilson-Raybould has hired a former Supreme Court of Canada justice to advise her on what she can legally say, and she is expected to testify before a parliamentary committee later this month. This story could get more explosive still, and Canada has elections in October. Happy Friday! Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here. ICYMI: The White House yesterday said out loud what's become increasingly clear there won't be a deal with California on vehicle emissions and mileage rules that federal officials are moving to weaken. The LA Times has more here, and Axios writes on California's wider battle with President Trump here. And, this week marked a pair of Steely Dan milestones: the Feb. 20 birthday of the late Walter Becker and the 45-year anniversary of the release of "Pretzel Logic," which provides today's intro track... Virginia House Speaker Kirk Cox (R) has pitched Democrats on a 10-person bipartisan committee to investigate sexual assault accusations by two women against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, reports the Washington Post. The big picture: Republicans, who have a narrow majority in the Virginia General Assembly, need bipartisan buy-in to move forward with the investigation. But House Minority Leader Eileen Filler-Corn (D) expressed apprehension that a committee may hamper a criminal investigation, an alternative that Democrats believe would help avoid a political, partisan sideshow. Democratic leaders uniformly called for Fairfax to resign once the second allegation was made, but Fairfax has resisted and requested an independent investigation. Both women, Dr. Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson, have expressed a willingness to testify. What they're saying: A spokesperson for Fairfax, Lauren Burke, responded to requests for an investigation by saying: "It would be extraordinary and unprecedented to initiate a General Assembly inquiry about matters that are better left to law enforcement. The Lieutenant Governor remains confident that the truth will prevail and that he will be exonerated." The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency says that Iran is still in compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a 2015 deal aimed at preventing Tehran from building nuclear weapons in exchange for economic incentives, the AP reports. Why it matters: President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal last May, calling it "defective at its core." His own intelligence chiefs, like the IAEA, have assessed that Iran is not currently working to develop its nuclear capabilities. The withdrawal has been a source of significant tension with the U.S.' European allies, who have sought to salvage the deal in defiance of Trump. Go deeper: Dueling summits underline divide between U.S. and allies on Iran CANBERRA, Australia A decade ago, coal supplied 90% of this national capital regions electricity. By next year, it will be 0%, and renewable energy will be 100%. Why it matters: Its a rare example of a region traditionally dependent upon coal weaning itself off the fuel. The key lesson: big pivots in energy systems are possible with stable government leadership, instead of windshield-wiper policies that voters from Australia to America have been accustomed to in recent years. Weve had the same parties in power, that same leadership over a 10-year period. Weve been able to steadily roll out policies and provide industry certainty. Shane Rattenbury, climate change and sustainability minister, Australian Capital Territory The big picture: Despite its big environmental footprint, coal has traditionally been the worlds cheapest form of electricity. As concerns about air pollution and climate change grow, renewable energy is increasingly competing with coal, buoyed by government policies like the kind this region implemented. In many parts of the world, natural gas is emerging as the top form of power because its plentiful and burns cleaner than coal, but here in Australia that fuel is mostly exported. Details: Australias economy is particularly dependent upon coal. This nation is the worlds largest coal exporter, and nearly 75% of its electricity is coal-fired. The country's capital region, known as the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), is barred by the nation's Constitution from implementing a price on carbon dioxide emissions. Instead, it pursued changes to electricity-market policies to favor wind and solar over coal, such as reverse auctions where companies compete to offer low-cost renewable electricity. Although electricity prices nationally have gone up, prices in this region haven't risen disproportionately, according to government data. The region stands in contrast to Australias federal policy, which has been mostly absent. Politicians have been fighting over the best approach, if any, to address climate change in a country both heavily dependent on fossil fuels and facing the wrath of extreme weather that's tied to a warming world. Yes, but: The capital region faces limitations. The governments electricity wont be independently renewable energy. Most efforts to get 100% renewable energy arent due to the nature of electricity grids and variable wind and solar resources. Instead, it has procured renewable energy mostly wind farms from within its region but also across Australia to equal its power demand. At a little more than 900 square miles, the region is relatively small, making it an easier lift to get enough renewable energy. The intrigue: There has been a gradual emergence of state government support for renewables and that has kept alive any hope for people like me, said Charlie Prell, a sheep farmer whose land 80 miles from Canberra has 11 newly installed wind turbines. Prell gets about $15,000 (in Australian dollars) a year for each of the 11 turbines on his land, which is about 35% of his family's annual income. Across the road is one of Australias oldest wind farms, first commissioned in the late 1990s. The difference in efficiency is staggering. The new turbines, installed last year on Prells land, are far larger than the old ones and produce more than five times the energy than the older ones, Prell says. Whats next: National elections expected in May are sure to influence whether the federal government pursues big climate and renewable-energy policies. As for Prell, hes doubling down on renewable energy. His long-term plans include encouraging companies to build solar farms and hydroelectricity on his land. Go deeper: Australian coal-exports are booming despite climate-change concerns For a handful of hours next week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be the top-ranked government official on U.S. soil. Driving the news: In a rare event on Monday, both President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence will be overseas at the same time Pence in Colombia, and Trump en route to his summit in Vietnam with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to three administration sources. Why it matters: Two of these sources told Axios that there is internal concern that sloppy scheduling would allow this rare event to happen, though it's not unprecedented. "It's rare and unusual, and usually they [the White House] try to avoid it," presidential historian Michael Beschloss told Axios. According to an administration official, Pence and Trump were both out of the country for a short period of time on Dec. 1, 2018, when Trump was in Argentina for the G20 summit and Pence was in Mexico for the inauguration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. They also were both overseas on Nov. 11, 2018, when Trump was returning from France and Pence was headed to Asia for meetings and regional summits. And in March 2013, former President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were both out of the country for roughly a 20-minute window while Obama was traveling to Israel and Biden was returning from Italy. Worth noting: While it's bad practice for both the president and VP to be overseas at the same time, it's also true that Colombia is roughly a five-hour flight back to the U.S., so if needed for a domestic crisis, Pence could be back on U.S. soil quite quickly. And Trump remains president wherever he goes; the only reason line succession of government would be invoked is if he or the VP were incapacitated for example in the event of medical surgery. Both leaders travel with secure communications and nuclear codes. Pelosi will be in New York Monday morning and D.C. in the afternoon, according to a spokesperson. And while it's a rare quirk that she'll be the top-ranked official on U.S. soil, in no way will her normal duties change. The White House did not respond to Axios' request for comment. The New York Times reports that experts from the U.S. played a role in the Chinese government's use of DNA samples to keep tabs on its Uighur population the largely Muslim ethnic group whose members the government has also forced into camps. The big picture, per the NYT: Almost 36 million people took part in a DNA testing program in Xinjiang, the part of China where the government's campaign against Uighurs is most pronounced. Many Uighurs were coerced into giving the samples. An American company, Thermo Fisher, supplied the equipment the Chinese government used to conduct the testing, per the Times. Those tests weren't used for health screenings, as advertised, but as part of an effort to keep track of the ethnic minority population. China accounted for 10% of the company's business in 2017, and American officials have criticized the company previously for its willingness to sell China equipment that could be used for tracking and monitoring. Thermo Fisher said this week that it would stop selling equipment in Xinjiang, but not the rest of China. China also relied on DNA samples from Yale geneticist Kenneth Kidd to help perfect its technology and prove that it could effectively use DNA to identify Uighurs. Kidd told the NYT he didn't know that had happened, and that he was "not particularly happy" with the way his data had been used. Go deeper: Uighur detentions in China get global attention China and Saudi Arabia signed economic cooperation agreements worth $28 billion at a joint investment forum on Friday, Reuters reports. The big picture: 35 agreements were signed at the forum, including four licenses for Chinese companies, the details of which were not given by the Saudi state news agency SPA. The forum, held by Saudi Arabia's investment agency SAGIA, included a visit to Beijing by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Go deeper: How Saudi Arabia and China could partner on solar energy The Environmental Protection Agency watchdog has found two former EPA employees were kept on the payroll by political appointees of former President Trump after their contracts were terminated, Politico first reported Saturday. Why it matters: The EPA's Office of Inspector General found the agency's former chief of staff Ryan Jackson and former White House liaison Charles Munoz had "made and used official time sheets and personnel forms that contained materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements," per the Washington Post. An investigation launched against the founders of TBC Bank raise many questions An investigation launched by the Prosecutors Office against Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, the founders of TBC Bank, on a case of alleged money laundering together with other crimes that could be committed 10 years ago and disinformation campaign allegedly orchestrated by the ruling party-backed sponsored social network pages created a logical assumption that the mentioned investigation could be biased.This assumption was further supported by a letter of the National Bank of Georgia sent to TBC Bank on 14 February. The National Bank of Georgia required from the shareholders of TBC Bank to dismiss the Chairperson (Mamuka Khazaradze) and Deputy Chairperson (Badri Japaridze) of the Supervisory Board of the bank. This request seems to be strange when the abovementioned investigation is still ongoing and the founders of TBC Bank have not proved to be guilty. After publication of the mentioned letter of the National Bank of Georgia the prices of TBC Banks stocks, which are listed at London Stock Exchange, dropped by 6.6%.The above-mentioned processes can be motivated by business or/and political interests. In both cases, the main concern is over the building of Anaklia deep sea port by TBC Holding. This project has both economic and political value for Georgia. This is the largest and most important project that is developed by this business group.Mamuka Khazaradze also linked the ongoing investigation against him to the issue of Anaklia port. On 14 February, he wrote the following in his Facebook post: Another issue that raises questions is that such a hasty decision and ongoing disinformation campaign against us are made during a period when we are very close to successful implementation of Anaklia Port a very important project for our country.On 22 January 2019, Ross Wilson, the US Ambassador (Charge daffaires) to Georgia, stated that he carefully followed the process against Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, because it could have a significant impact on Anaklia project. According to the Ambassador, his interest in this process also stems from the fact that US citizens own some shares of TBC Bank.On 11 February, Pascal Meunier, the Ambassador of France to Georgia, also made a comment on this topic. He stated: During the last months, certain negative signals have been coming from Georgia in terms of justice... developments around TBC Bank are strange perhaps some wrongdoings were committed more than 10 years ago, but it is unexplainable for me why the mentioned issue became interesting now, after so many years and not earlier.Ben Hodges, the former head of the US armed forces in Europe, General-Lieutenant, and other analysts working on Caucasian region issues also underlined military and political importance of Anaklia port as a positive factor for Georgias security and integration into NATO an EU.The EU also expressed its high interest in the development of Anaklia port. In the framework of Eastern Partnership, 223 million will be spent for construction of Anaklia port.Anaklia is adjacent to occupied territories of Abkhazia and this fact further increases its importance in terms of increased attractiveness of Georgia by improving human contacts and development of territories along the administrative border.Georgia is situated on strategically important territory for One Belt One Road initiative since this is the shortest route connecting China and Europe. In addition, Georgia is a maritime country and this fact increases its transportation potential. However, at present, this potential is largely unrealized since we do not have a deep-sea port. Most of the high-tonnage ships swimming in the Black Sea cannot enter Georgian ports.The project of Anaklia port focuses exactly on the increase of Georgias maritime-transportation potential. Anaklia Development Consortium obtained a right to implement this project through the process of tender. TBC Holding (Georgia), Conti International (USA), SSA Marine (USA), British Wondernet Express (Central Asia) and G-Star LTD (Bulgaria) are members of the consortium.According to Anaklia Development Consortium, TBC Holding is a regional investment and development company, one of the members of which is TBC Bank, one of the largest Georgian banks. TBC Holding is a founder of Anaklia Development Consortium and primary partner and developer.Anaklia will be the first deep-sea port in Georgia. The first phase of the port is supposed to be completed in 2021. The port will be able to host ships from 2022. Anaklia port will be developed in 9 phases and total investments will amount to USD 2.5 billion. Therefore, this is the largest project ever implemented in Georgia. The port will be 16 meters deep, which will allow to host 10 000 TEU ships. The port can transmit 100 million tons of cargo annually. For instance, in 2017 Poti port transmitted only about 7 million tons of cargo.Together with the construction of the port, TBC Holding is going to build Anaklia City on 2 000 hectares of land. Anaklia City will be a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and, together with a deep sea port, is supposed to be a regional business hub and significant trade and logistic center.The Government of Georgia (GoG) is making significant contributions to aid in the development of Anaklia Port. GoG committed to provide the newest road and rail connectivity to the port site. In addition, GoG spent GEL 60 million on resettlement program. The investment agreement signed between GoG and Anaklia Development Consortium is a 52-year concession according to the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) principle.Anaklia Development Consortium won a tender for development of the port in 2016 when the Prime Minister was Giorgi Kvirikashvili, who expressed its support to the project. Last summer, when Bidzina Ivanishvili officially returned to politics, he harshly criticized Giorgi Kvirikashvili after he had to resign. Ivanishvili also criticized TBC Bank and blamed Mamuka Khazaradze for his ingratitude.In such reality, when we see the actualization of 10 years old case by the Prosecutors Office against the management of Anaklia Development Consortium, it can decrease the Consortiums ability to attract investments needed for the project. Moreover, such actions decrease confidence in the Georgian banking sector. The Government is incapable to justify why this case became relevant now and why it has not been investigated earlier. Therefore, legitimate questions raise whether this issue is politically motivated and the Prosecutors Office is used as a punishment tool by the Government.We believe, it is important to proceed this issue without hampering work of TBC Bank and Anaklia Development Consortium. Moreover, the orchestrated attacks by the Government and their affiliate disinformation social network pages should be immediately stopped in order to avoid damaging state interests, hampering the development of the port of high economic and political importance and work of one of the leading Georgian banks. So many unanswered questions cast doubt on the impartialityof justice in Georgia. A nonprofit company in Michigan filed a lawsuit this week against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, alleging the health insurance company "illegally skimmed" extra money from the company in the form of "hidden fees." Why it matters: Most employers are self-insured, including the one in this lawsuit, which means they pay workers' medical claims and hire insurers to do back-end work. But hiring insurers also leads to other various fees for employers, some of which may go unnoticed. Details: This isn't a new legal problem for BCBS of Michigan. Hundreds of companies in the state have sued the insurer over hidden fees, which were secretly embedded in hospital and physician claims between 1994 and 2012. A 2014 federal ruling said BCBS of Michigan violated federal employment benefits law. "They stole money from people. That's been determined in court," said Aaron Phelps, the attorney for the plaintiffs. Phelps believes this particular scheme was unique to Michigan, but he said "insurance companies in general are creative in finding ways to rip people off." What they're saying: "This lawsuit dates back to issues from more than 20 years ago and pre-date many of us at Blue Cross," a BCBS of Michigan spokeswoman said in a statement. "We are of course disappointed when parties go to court because we prefer to resolve these matters by working with customers." The insurer also acknowledges the disputes in financial documents, saying other cases "are in various stages of development." The bottom line: If you are a self-insured company, it won't hurt to audit your health insurance provider for any omitted charges. In a highly unusual move, the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC today denounced the deal pushed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a united ultra right-wing party that will run in the April 9 elections, which would pave the way for Jewish supremacists from the "Jewish Power" party to make it into the next Knesset. Details: In a tweet on its official account, AIPAC wrote: "We agree with AJC [American Jewish Committee, which also denounced the deal]. AIPAC has a longstanding policy not to meet with members of this racist and reprehensible party." Netanyahu's deal with Jewish Power is an unprecedented development in Israel's history and is equivalent to a U.S. president cutting a political deal with former KKK leader David Duke. Why it matters: The AIPAC tweet is a big deal. It is a rare case of the pro-Israel lobby criticizing the prime minister of Israel. It is even more rare that this criticism is about a political move during an election campaign. The AIPAC tweet comes a month before Netanyahu is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the organization's annual policy conference. The tweet comes after several pro-Israel organizations denounced the deal pushed by Netanyahu to get the Jewish supremacists into the Knesset. The American Jewish Committee said in a statement: "The views of Otzma Yehudit [Jewish Power] are reprehensible. They do not reflect the core values that are the very foundation of the State of Israel. The party might conceivably gain enough votes to enter the next Knesset, and potentially even become part of the governing coalition." Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, tweeted: "There should be no room for racism & no accommodation for intolerance in Israel or any democracy. ADL previously has spoken out on hate-filled rhetoric of leaders of the Otzma Yehudit [Jewish Power] Party. It is troubling that they are being legitimized by this union." Go deeper: Netanyahu boosts racist far-right party with pre-election deal Florida Democrats are increasingly frustrated with Bernie Sanders unwillingness to recognize Nicolas Maduro as a dictator and accept opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate president, according to a new Politico report Thursday. Why it matters: The humanitarian and economic crises in the South American nation have dominated the political conversation in the countrys largest swing state. Republicans are seizing on the issue and President Trump, who is pushing Maduro to step aside, recently visited Miami where he sought to make inroads with Venezuelan-Americans and other Democratic-leaning Latinos who have fled Venezuela's authoritarian regime. In Florida, where major elections have repeatedly been decided by razor-thin margins, Democrats argue that Sanders stance could hurt the party in 2020. "He is not going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party. He has demonstrated again that he does not understand this situation. I absolutely disagree with his imprecision in not saying Maduro must go." Rep. Donna Shalala (D), who represents Venezuelan exiles, told POLITICO. State Sen. Annette Taddeo, another Miami Democrat, told Politico she's "dumbfounded" by Sanders' position. Meanwhile, the Florida Democratic Party has said: "We recognize Juan Guaido as the President of Venezuela, denounce the legitimacy of the Maduro regime and his efforts to remain illegally in power, Politico reports. The big picture: Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, has largely been silent on Venezuela, but he has criticized Maduros government on Twitter and attacked its authoritarianism and repression of democracy, while objecting to U.S. intervention. As Politico notes, Venezuela hasn't yet become a key issue in the Democratic primary, though candidates like Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Elizabeth Warren have both labeled Maduro as a dictator. Go deeper: Everything you need to know about 2020 candidate Bernie Sanders Image: Honeywell Honeywell will be sponsoring 292 high school students to attend its annual Leadership Challenge Academy at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (USSRC) in Huntsville, Alabama. The Honeywell Leadership Challenge Academy is a series of two one-week-long space camps run for children of the companys employees. As shown in the video below, the program is designed to encourage students to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers by setting real-world, hands-on challenges in areas such as coding, computer sciences and astronautics. Engaging students in science and engineering is now as fundamentally important as learning to read and write, said USSRC CEO Dr. Deborah Barnhart, CEO. By investing in these young students, Honeywell is helping to prepare them to become the global STEM-literate citizens who will change our world. Program activities include building, coding and testing rockets, simulated astronaut training, shuttle missions, and a moonwalk. The sponsored students, who are between the ages of 16 and 18, come from 41 countries and 27 U.S. states and territories. According to Honeywell, the students were selected based on academic achievement and community involvement. Honeywell sponsorship will cover the cost of tuition, meals, accommodations and program materials. In order to spice up the look of the Jazz and the BR-V Honda has released two new limited edition variants of the the small hatchback and the 7-seat crossover. Called the Jazz Mugen and BR-V Special Edition, the two limited-run models have just been introduced in Malaysia and will be limited to only 300 units each. Starting with the Jazz Mugen, the styling of the hatchback has been further enhanced with the sporty looking wraparound Mugen bodykit. A new front bumper, LED fog lights and front grill completely change the Jazzs front end, giving it a more aggressive look. A new side skirt, rear under spoiler and tailgate garnish further enhances the look. Completing the exterior makeover is a Mugen spoiler. There was no mention of whether the Jazz Mugen will get any upgrades under the hood. Given how Mugen mostly does cosmetic upgrades, it is likely that the same was done for this limited-edition Jazz. That said, power will still come from a 1.5L i-VTEC engine which produces 120 PS and 145 Nm of torque. Specifically, the Jazz Mugen will be offered in only with a Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT). As for the BR-V Special Edition, Honda Malaysia has added some new touches to the 7-seater. On the outside, it gets an exclusive spoiler, new running boards as well as a side step garnish for a sportier and sleeker look. Step inside, the BR-V Special Edition comes equipped with a 6.8-inch infotainment system with smart connectivity. Along side the special edition model, Honda Malaysia will also be offering a new color for the BR-V with a new color: Passion Red Pearl. The Jazz Mugen is priced at RM88,600 (Php 1,132,000) for Modern Steel Metallic and RM 88,720 (Php 1,133,535) for White Orchid Pearl. As for the BR-V Special Edition, it is available in both Passion Red Pearl and White Orchid Pearl color priced at RM 90,700 (Php 1,158,832) and RM 91,000 (Php 1,162,665). With Honda Malaysia releasing limited edition models of the Jazz and BR-V, do you think Honda Cars Philippines should release something similar? This gramophone concept is built out of a wheel and can play music AC Automotive February 22, 2019 18:17 From February 22 to 24, AC Automotive will showcase the ingenuity and creativity of Filipino modern artist Ian Carlo Jaucian at the Art Fair Philippines 2019: The Best in Philippine Contemporary Art held at The Link in Makati City. The automotive group will highlight Jaucians unique work of turning a car wheel into a gramophone concept. The gramophone is said to bridge the gap between harmonious visual design and cyclic music through the language of numbers. Called Car Keys, Jaucians work uses an infrared proximity sensor to measure topographical differences on the outer surface of the rim as it is spun. The measured values are then processed by a microcontroller unit programmed to map the data into ASCII numbers, which are then used to override the keyboard of a connected computer. From there, key presses are interpreted into digital music. Sounds very technical but AC automotive says that this so-called data art or digital melody infuses mathematics and technology with human emotions as evoked by musical stimuli. More so, Jaucians Car Keys can illustrate how passion can drive automobile engineering and design to create unexpected and amazing outcomes. AC Automotive's entry in this year's Art Fair Philippines reflects Filipino creativity and artistry, and those outcomes in the company's nearly 30-year industry experience. Art Fair Philippines, now on its 6th year, is the premier platform for exhibiting and selling the best in modern and contemporary Philippine visual art, making it accessible to enthusiasts and to those who want to discover one of Southeast Asias most exciting art landscapes. AC Automotive is a member of the country's oldest business house, Ayala, under its industrial technology arm AC Industrials. It currently operates the national distributors for the Volkswagen, Kia, and KTM brands, as well as the largest dealership networks for both the Honda and Isuzu brands. Across all brands, it manages a total network of 92 dealerships, 27 of which are owned by AC Automotive itself. For more information about the AC Automotive companies, log on to hondamakati.com, isuzuautodealer.com.ph, volkswagen.com.ph, ktm.ph and kia.com. The Falcon 9 took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday carrying SpaceILs Beresheet lander, as well as an Indian communications satellite called Nusantara Satu.Congratulations to SpaceIL and the Israel Space Agency. This is a historic step for all nations and commercial space as we look to extend our collaborations beyond low-Earth orbit and on to the Moon, said in a statement NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.Following the launch, as usual, the rockets first stage landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship. It was this particulars booster third launch and landing.The Beresheet is currently circling the planet as part of the planned orbits it is supposed to do. Once this is complete, it will head for the Moon and it will orbit it too several times before landing in the Mare Serenitatis region in the Moons northern hemisphere.The lander will be controlled from Earth, and it will not navigate on its own. Critical to the success of the mission is the speed at which the Beresheet approaches the Moon, as it may overshoot it if it doesnt slow down enough.SpaceIL expects to reach this stage two months from now.The lander is the size of a dishwasher. It has the capability of moving around on the lunar surface by hopping and it will conduct several experiments on the Moon, including ones meant to reveal Lunar magnetism.SpaceIL was a competitor in Googles Lunar XPrize competition and fought five teams with the goal of developing low-cost methods of robotic space exploration.The other teams competing for the Google competition are Moon Express, Synergy Moon, Teamindus, and Hakuto. ICE Believed to be a small-displacement engine different from the 2.0 TSI in the Ateca, theis linked to a seven-speed DSG. CUPRA promises 245 PS (241 horsepower) in total, as well as up to 50 kilometers (31 miles) of range in all-electric mode.Chief executive officer Wayne Griffiths is understandably pleased with the result. Our current success is a clear reflection of the brands popularity. Now is the time to go full throttle with CUPRA, concluded the head honcho of the Spanish automaker spun off from SEAT.On the design front, its hard not to associate the Formentor with the Tarraco mid-size crossover despite the difference in size and heft. Being oriented towards performance, the concept stands closer to the ground than other compact crossovers.Care to guess how CUPRA refers to the taillights? That would be rear infinite light concept, which is obnoxious despite the fact an increasing number of automakers are turning back to full-width taillights. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, American automakers were going all out with rear light bars.Except for the garish steering wheel, the cockpit of the Formentor seems like a nice place to be on the long haul. Better finished and better equipped than every SEAT available today, the concepts interior eclipses even the CUPRA Ateca.Turning our attention back to the driving front, a differential lock and intelligent DCC chassis tuning help with carving corners day in and day out. Progressive steering, Bridgestone Potenza summer-only performance tires, and large-diameter brake rotors are also worthy of mention.Will the concept ever make it into production? In a nutshell, no. The Formentors purpose is to give a taste of the high-performance brands future, which leads us to believe that the powertrain will be utilized in future applications. With Volkswagen putting the finishing touches on the MEB platform, it would be surprising to see an all-electric CUPRA by 2025.On an ending note, can anyone tell us what's a formentor? Googling the word has lead us to believe CUPRA is talking about Cap de Formentor, located on the eastern end of Mallorca in Spain. Embassy of Norway to open in Tbilisi By Gvantsa Gabekhadze The Embassy of Norway will open in Tbilisi this year, a decision has been announced during the Munich Security Conference last week.Norway highlighted the reforms implemented in Georgia, aiming to strengthen the countrys European integration process, - the Georgian Prime Ministers press office reported on Saturday, after the meeting between Prime Ministers of Georgia and Norway.Mamuka Bakhtadze and Erna Solberg emphasized the close relations between the two countries and discussed prospects of deeper political and economic cooperation. It was noted that the upcoming establishment of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in Georgia will significantly boost this process, the press office said.Solberg reiterated Norways support for Georgian sovereignty and territorial integrity, while Bakhtadze pushed forward the regional security challenges, added the PMs press office.Norway decided to open an embassy in Tbilisi in September of the last year.Georgia is one of our priority partner countries in the Eurasia region. For many years, it has been following a course of reform, which has brought it closer to European and Euro-Atlantic cooperation structures.It is on the basis of an overall assessment of Norwegian interests and our ties with the countries in the Southern Caucasus that Norway has decided to open an embassy in Georgia. A permanent presence in Tbilisi will put us in a good position to follow developments in the region as a whole, said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway Ine Eriksen Soreide.The Norwegian MFA stated that at the same time, the embassy in Baku will be closed.The embassy in Ankara will then be responsible for Norways relations with Azerbaijan. However, Norway plans to establish an honorary consulate-general in Baku, the Norwegian MFA stated back to 2018. Athens, TX (75751) Today Partly cloudy in the morning followed by scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. High 88F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Local Magazine is here! The summer 2021 issue of Local Magazine is out. Pick up a copy of your favorite local magazine around town or peruse our e-edition below. Because the best things in life are local. Opioid-related deaths nationwide jumped fourfold in the last two decades, and the epidemic has made major inroads in the eastern states, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Harvard University and the University of Toronto. Although opioid-related mortality has been stereotyped as a rural, low-income phenomenon concentrated among Appalachian or midwestern states, it has spread rapidly, particularly among the eastern states, the study said. The researchers found the highest rates of opioid-related deaths occurred in eight states: Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire and Ohio. Two states, Florida and Pennsylvania, had opioid-related mortality rates that were doubling every two years. The mortality rate from opioids has increased the fastest in the District of Columbia, more than tripling every year since 2013, the researchers found. The studys findings were published Feb. 22 in JAMA Network Open. Mathew Kiang, ScD, a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford, is the lead author. The senior author is Monica Alexander, PhD, assistant professor of sociology and statistical sciences at the University of Toronto. More potent than they expected Synthetic opioid deaths now outnumber heroin deaths, which suggests synthetics, such as as fentanyl, have contaminated the production process of other illegal drugs, like cocaine and methamphetamines, and is no longer limited to heroin, Kiang said. People arent aware their drugs are laced and more potent than they expected, putting them at higher risk of overdose, Kiang said. The research, which is based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Census, suggests the opioid epidemic has evolved as three waves, based on the types of opioids associated with mortality: The first wave of opioid-related deaths, from the 1990s until about 2010, was associated with prescription painkillers. The second wave, from 2010 until recently, was associated with a large increase in heroin-related deaths. The third and current wave, which began around 2013, involves a rapid increase in deaths associated with illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids, such as tramadol and fentanyl. The evolution has also seen a wider range of populations being affected, with the spread of the epidemic from rural to urban areas and considerable increases in opioid-related mortality observed in the black population, the study says. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that African-Americans experienced the largest increase in opioid overdose deaths among any racial group from 2016 to 2017, with a 26 percent surge. The identification and characterization of opioid hot spots in terms of both high mortality rates and increasing trends in mortality may allow for better-targeted policies that address the current state of the epidemic and the needs of the population, the researchers wrote. States are trying to combat the epidemic by enacting policies, such as restricting the supply of prescription painkillers and expanding treatment and access to the overdose-reversing drug naloxone. Treating opioid use disorder should be our top priority to curb the problem, Kiang said. Similarly, we have the ability to counteract the effects of an overdose. These lifesaving drugs should be easily accessible and widely available. Another Stanford co-author of the work was Sanjay Basu, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and of health research and policy. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant DP2MD010478). Stanfords departments of Medicine and of Health Research and Policy also supported the study. It was either a dream come true or a prank: a man living in Sao Paulo with no previous relationship with Metropolitan Museum of Art cold-called the New York institution one day in 2017 and said he wanted to donate some of his paintings. And not just any paintings, but Spanish colonial works, a category that the Met publicly said it wanted to build up. It was not a prank, and in early March, the museum will unveil the gift from James Kung Wei Li ten 17th- and 18th-century works from Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, in a gallery in the American Wing called Art of the Colonial Andes. The Art Newspaper The 36-year-old actor, a star of the Fox series Empire, received an outpouring of national attention and sympathy after he was reported to have been violently attacked in Chicago by two white men shouting anti-black and anti-hay epithets. After the police found and interviewed the ostensible attackers, who turned out to be two Nigerian-American brothers, and collected additional evidence, they arrested Smollett, alleging that he concocted the entire thing. Vulture Owosso, MI (48867) Today Partly cloudy in the morning followed by scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 82F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly cloudy in the evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers after midnight. Low 63F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%. BarcelonaProsecutor Javier Zaragoza began the part of the cross examination dedicated to the protest on 20-S [20 September 2017] which, in his opinion, typifies the alleged violence of the independence movement with this statement: "I wont ask you about all the demonstrations and protests that took place between 2015 and 2017, since they were in line with people exercising their rights. Instead I will concentrate on 20-S". The former president of the ANC, Jordi Sanchez responded by thanking Zaragoza for his words which, he said, are inconsistent with the charges brought by the public prosecutors office. Sanchez went on to say that "This is not the stance taken by the public prosecutor in the indictment, which contains numerous references and sections where it seems to openly question whether the demonstrations were carried out in an entirely peaceful manner in the strictest exercise of the right to protest and the freedom of assembly". Sanchez complained that he has been indicted for being the president of the ANC". Finish this article for as low as $1 when you purchase a day pass. Just click the sign up button to purchase. If you are already a subscriber, just click log in to continue reading. Purchase an online subscription to our website for $7.99 a month with automatic renewal. Each online subscription gives you full access to all of our newspaper websites and mobile applications. To cancel you may contact Customer Service @ 256-235-9253 or email JPAYNE@ANNISTONSTAR.COM For a limited time, for NEW SUBSCRIBERS ONLY a NEW ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION is just $59.99 for the first year. Existing customers do not qualify for the specials! After the first year, well automatically renew your subscription to continue your access at the regular price of $69.99 per year. Please note *Your Subscription will Automatically Renew unless you contact Customer Service To Cancel* Posted on: February 22, 2019 10:32 AM Anglicans from around the Communion took part in a 12-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land in June 2017, with the theme of walking together. Five primates as well as the Anglican Communion Secretary General, Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, accompanied the pilgrims. Among the highlights of the tour were visits to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee. In the September 2017 edition of Anglican World, Archbishop Josiah shared his thoughts on the pilgrimage, as did first-time pilgrim Alice Wu from Hong Kong. Archbishop Josiah: The idea of walking together came out of the Primates gathering and meeting in January 2016. This pilgrimage idea was borne out of my desire to put into practice what the Primates gave to the Communion. We wanted to send a powerful message to the entire Communion that if the commitment is there, it is an idea that can be lived out. It was a diverse group from the West Indies, Canada, South Africa, Burundi, West Africa, Nigeria, the United States, the Middle East and Hong Kong. We had bishops, priests and lay representatives; high church and low church; married and single! Young Anglicans were represented as well as the not so young! It reinforced a sense of what it means to be part of the worldwide Anglican Communion for the participants. For a good number, it was their first time of learning about the Anglican Church in other countries that looks very different in administration from their own. It was a new experience for those from African provinces to learn that bishops from the West are not as powerful as in some of the African provinces. The daily prayers and Eucharist were very unifying: all the participants felt like one family due to their familiarity with the liturgy. My key memories are of walking down the mountain of the Beatitudes and seeing every member walking at his or her pace; it reminded me of the Communion. Though one family, we each are moving along the same road at our pace without coercion; that meant so much to me. Secondly, staying in Nazareth, at the home where Jesus might have spent his childhood was very moving. The night spent there with the Sisters, the privilege to have a first-hand experience of the tomb where the body of Christ might have been laid in Jerusalem made the whole account of the death and resurrection of Jesus more plausible to me. The Sunday morning visit in the company of Primate Suhail Dawani to the Temple Mount / al-Aqsa Mosque was also very moving for me. That visit was a showcase of the deep and friendly relationship between the Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities in the Holy Land. We had the minister responsible for this holy place accompany us all through and unlike the tourists, we had a guided tour of both mosques. I was so moved that I spent a significant time praying for these three religious communities and our Communion for reconciliation and understanding with respect for differences. This pilgrimage was not an ordinary pilgrimage a lot of prayers and discernment went into its planning, particularly the make-up of the participants. We felt the time spent together should be quality time for all and both Canon John Peterson and the Revd Phillip Jackson did a very good job in helping us to focus on our theme. The team blended very quickly, we bonded well and I did not notice any member feeling out of place. It was all one family coming from the different parts of our Communion. There are several things this pilgrimage together has demonstrated: that members of this Communion are at different places in their journey together. That without prejudice or an attitude of being judgemental, we can journey together. That every tradition has some positive things to give to the Communion and that we can all share together from each others special blessings. That with an open mind, we can listen to each others faith journeys with some understanding and be together without necessarily agreeing on everything. The pilgrimage has taught us that we are a very diverse family, rich in our differences and giftedness, that our effectiveness would be in giving the opportunity to each to live out our Christ-centredness within our cultural environments. This journeying together has also shown that every part of the Communion has something to give to the other, we only need to create more opportunities for inter and intra activities so we can understand each other better. Alice Wu, Hong Kong: On our first night in Jerusalem, we were asked what our expectations were for this pilgrimage. As a first-time pilgrim, I really had no idea what to expect although I had a distinct feeling that it would be life-transforming. Perhaps it was ignorance that had led me to draw a blank when asked that question, but how can a first-time pilgrim know what to expect? I had studied the books on the reading list. I had tried to put names of places on the map and yet, I knew, until I had set foot on these places, they would remain mere dots on a map. Perhaps it was the fact that it felt wrong for me to have expectations at all. Expectations felt like drawing up a to do list, and if I have long outgrown making a demand list for God and mistaking that as praying, how can I reasonably try to shrink and fit God into my limited capacity to comprehend? Perhaps it was that and more. When it was my turn to share my expectations, I was only able to admit that I had not dared to have expectations but that I had asked God to open my eyes, to see new meanings to words I know I have yet to fully understand. Like many pilgrims who have come before me, I say, now that I have completed my first pilgrimage, that words cannot adequately describe the experience. It was phenomenal; it was awe-inspiring; it was life-changing; it was eye-opening. It was all of those things and much more. It still makes me feel heady every time I think back on those 12 days. But Im at once lost for words because even those words I had just used to describe the experience have taken on different and deeper meanings. The experience of standing on Holy ground each and every one of those sites on the itinerary was overwhelming. I have never felt so deep the urge to be close to Him, to follow Him, and for the first time, I felt connected to the woman who touched Jesus cloak, only I wasnt aware of my illness nor did I have her faith. Like plague building up in arteries, pebbles have settled in my heart, making my heart stony. As I stood in front of the Western Wall early on in the pilgrimage, I was struck by how underwhelmed emotionless I felt, even as women next to me wept and wept. It made me feel out of place, of being rejected as an outsider, of being exiled, as I stood there with my prayer beads. I did not go with a written prayer to be slipped into the cracks of the wall. That notion felt too contrived to be authentic to me. The outsider would come back to me throughout the pilgrimage, and each time it did after the visit to the Western Wall, it brought uncontrollable and unstoppable tears. At Capernaum, as the group gathered at the ruins of a synagogue and contemplated on the Pharisees plotting to kill Jesus with the Herodians, I could not shake the thought that Jesus had come to Capernaum, having been rejected by His own people at Nazareth, only to be rejected again and plotted against. I also kept thinking of Jesuss ministry to those deemed unclean and unworthy, to tax collectors, to those ostracised, to those relegated to the margins of society. And for the very first time, these were not words I read off the pages of the Bible. They felt real real with raw emotions. As pilgrims, we are not supposed to bask in comfort; we are called to be rejected and to accept the rejected. At the [Orthodox] Church of St George in Burqin, better known as The Church of the 10 Lepers, tears fell as the Gospel was read. Only one of the 10 turned back to praise and thank Jesus, and he was a foreigner, a Samaritan. Those tears kept falling at Jacobs Well, at the Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre, at the Prison of Christ at St Peter on Mount Zion, as we walked the Stations of the Cross. How many times have I turned my back to Christ? How many times have I walked away from Him after all He has done for me? How many times have I rejected Christ by turning away from the ostracised and marginalised? At the holiest of sites, I felt awestruck by both the close proximity to the Divine and how far we are from being true pilgrims. The shoving, pushing, and invasion of space at The Church of the Holy Sepulchre made me realise how easily we, whether we are pilgrims on the Holy Land, or more importantly, lifelong pilgrims following Christs footsteps in our lives and in our communities, fall into the trap of monopolising God, and in the process, push, ostracise, reject and hurt those travelling on the same path. I have failed to live up to being a true pilgrim, and what an underwhelming pilgrim I have been. But God has given me a new understanding, renewed hope new eyes, a new heart and a new spirit. I had, unknowingly, touched the edge of the Lords cloak, and He had healed me of the pebble stones of my heart. Today, I can finally say, just as Job said: I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. Sony and Light are joining forces, as the two companies announced that they will cooperate in developing multi-image sensor solutions for smartphones. Light is one of the best-known companies when it comes to advanced computational imaging, and it has signed an agreement with Sony Semiconductor Solutions, the leader in the image sensor industry. This agreement basically allows light to both use and recommend (to its consumers) Sonys image sensors built in Lights computational imaging solutions and reference designs. Those new reference designs actually combine both lights multi-camera technology together with Sonys image sensors in order to create new multi-camera applications and solutions, beginning with the introduction of smartphones with four or more cameras. So, to put it plainly, this probably means we will see a combination of Sonys and Lights technologies in Sonys upcoming smartphones, and it also kind of confirms that Sony plans to introduce phones with four or more cameras in the future. It remains to be seen if the two companies will allow other smartphone manufacturers to use the technology they provide, or will it remain exclusive to Sonys smartphones. Advertisement Both Sony and Light are huge names in the camera industry, and alone theyre able to make great products, and are amongst the best out there, so its not exactly difficult to imagine what will they be able to do together. Sony already creates camera sensors for the vast majority of mainstream smartphones, including pretty much every mainstream flagship out there, while Light has been included in many rumors in the last couple of months, as many smartphone manufacturers would love to see Lights technology included in their devices, it seems. Sony Is Expected To Announce Its New Flagship On Monday The timing of this announcement is quite interesting, as Sony is expected to announce its new flagship smartphone on Monday, as part of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. Those of you who jumped the gun and assumed that the companys upcoming flagship will sport four or more cameras, well, that almost certainly will not be the case. Not only did we see quite a few leaked images of the companys upcoming handset, allegedly called either the Xperia XZ4 or Xperia 1, but it seems like the two companies are just starting to work together, while camera tech for the upcoming Xperia flagship has been in development for a long time now. Advertisement The companys upcoming flagship will be made out of metal and glass, and it is rumored to include a huge display with a 21:9 display aspect ratio. That display will be branded as the CinemaWide display, at least according to the companys trademark which surfaced earlier this month. The device will be quite large, as it will include bezels above and below the display, but it will not ship with a notch or display holes, it seems. The Xperia XZ4 / Xperia 1, whatever the company ends up calling the device, will be fueled by the Snapdragon 855 64-bit octa-core processor, while it is expected to sport a rather large battery on the inside. Android 9 Pie will come pre-installed on the phone, while the device will include at least 6GB of RAM, according to rumors. We will probably see two cameras on the back of Sonys upcoming flagship, at least based on leaked renders, but it remains to be seen what will Sony announce, these are only rumors / leaks. Google is now ending forced attribution for all its current and future employees. The changes will go into effect on March 21 and although settled cases wont be reopened, past claims can be litigated. This decision comes after four months of constant pressure from activists who called on the company to end force attribution. Force attribution prevents employees from taking their workplace disputes to court. A lot of companies require their employees to enter a mandatory arbitration agreement and as a result, they are forced to settle disputes within the confines of their workplace. Such agreements work heavily in the favor of employers and put employees in a disadvantage. Thats because they take their cases to a quasi-legal forum which neither has a judge nor a jury. They are more likely to lose their cases and if they do end up winning, the payout is a lot less when compared to what a court would grant. In November 2018, 20,000 Google employees staged a walked out to protest the way the search giant handles harassment cases. The protest was announced in the wake of a New York Times article that alleged that not only does Google not take action against high-ranking employees found guilty of sexual misconduct, it sweeps the matter under the rug whilst granting a generous exit package to the violators. Advertisement The organizers pushed the company to introduce a number of systematic changes to prevent employee assault and one of their main demands was to end forced arbitration. Google complied and ended the practice but only in cases related to sexual discrimination and sexual assault. Later on, in December, a group that calls itself Googlers for Ending Forced Arbitration started pressurizing not only Google but also other tech companies to review their workplace policies. They invited the tech industry to band together and push for an end to forced arbitration. Google was aware of these concerns and it took the groups complaints into account when making the latest changes. As a result, the company has now dropped forced arbitration in all cases. Although some other tech companies, such as Adobe and Intuit, do not use force arbitration to settle claims, most tech companies in the U.S. do use the practice. However, there has surely been some progress, as some companies, including eBay, Airbnb, and Facebook have also ended forced arbitration. Advertisement For workers who do not have employment contracts with Google directly such as vendors, temporary employees, and contractors, the changes do not apply. However, this group makes up nearly 50 percent of the companys total workforce and shutting them out is likely to invite criticism. Google plans to notify suppliers to see if they can also do the same. The changes also apply to companies such as the DeepMind AI program that legally exist under Google but not to companies that are owned by its parent company Alphabet but separate from the search engine giant. The Google walkout organizers have credited the victory to the workers that came together, supported each other, and walked out. They also said that this is just the beginning, which means we might see the group push for more reforms in the future. Samsung had started rolling out Android 9 Pie to the Galaxy S8 & S8+ a couple of days ago, and reports have now arrived that the rollout has started hitting more countries. Germany received the update first, at least according to reports, while the update started hitting India as well. Now, reports from Latvia, Portugal, Russia, and Spain have started coming in, claiming that the update is rolling to their units as well, which definitely points to a global rollout. Do keep in mind that the update is hitting unlocked units in the countries weve mentioned, as carrier-branded handsets will have to wait a bit longer in order to get the update. If you are a part of the companys beta program, well, your update will be considerably smaller, around 500MB, compared to a 1GB+ full update (around 1.6GB, though your mileage, may vary). The reason for this is quite obvious, those of you who are a part of the beta program are already running Android 9 Pie, just its beta version, so Samsung will just update you to a stable version. Speaking of the beta program, it seems like Samsung is sending notices confirming the conclusion of the One UI beta program. In its notice, Samsung notes that it will not release any new Beta software, no longer provide any official reply to users opinion, while beta feedback usage will be stopped. This is an expected move considering that the stable version of Android 9 Pie is landing on the Galaxy S8 and S8+, so theres no need for the beta program any longer. Advertisement It took Samsung quite a bit of time to bring Android 9 Pie to the Galaxy S9 and Note9 series, but its nice to see that its 2017 flagships are now getting some love as well. The Galaxy S8 and S8+ were introduced back in March 2017, while theyre available since April on a global scale. Plenty of users are still using their Galaxy S8 units, as many of them are still tied to a contract with their carriers, while the Galaxy S8 and S8+ are still really compelling devices. Whats New In Android 9 Pie & One UI Android 9 Pie should bring new life to the Galaxy S8 and S8+, in a way. Android 9 Pie is a considerable improvement over both Android 7.0 Nougat and 8.0 Oreo, not to mention that Samsungs One UI is coming with this update as well. Android 9 Pie, on its own, brings a number of improvements under the hood, and also a number of features. Adaptive Battery and Adaptive Brightness are definitely worth noting, as you should get a better battery life out of your Galaxy S8 and S8+ device with Android 9 Pie. You will also notice some changes in the accessibility menu, while text selection is easier than ever in Android 9 Pie. Advertisement Now, as part of One UI, Samsung is bringing its new navigation gestures with Android 9 Pie, along with a considerable change of the UI. One UI is considerably different than Samsung Experience UI, as it puts focus on one-handed use. Samsungs applications and its launcher are adapted for one-handed use, and you will notice a number of changes in the design of the UI in general. The whole UI now looks even more refined, even though its still quite colorful, but in a good way, as it looks modern. The overview menu is also changed here, and looks more like the overview menu in Android 9 Pie, which means its horizontal now, compared to a vertical one that used to be available on the Galaxy S8 and S8+. President Donald Trump is raising more than a few eyebrows, following his decision to call out American companies on Twitter to step up efforts to bring 5G, and even 6G technology to the United States. Noting the expected groundbreaking nature of the networking standard, the president indicated that the companies will either step up or get left behind and that theres no reason the country should fall behind. The commander-in-chief followed up the initial tweet with a second post, highlighting the importance of cutting-edge technology in the modern world and suggesting that the US doesnt need to block out currently more advanced technologies. Instead, the country can win the 5G battle through competition and must be the leader in everything, Mr. Trump says. A fundamental misunderstanding Advertisement Unsurprisingly, President Trumps 5G tweet has generated some blowback but the most impactful criticism may not stem from the usual suspects but from users with a deeper understanding of the technology. More tech-savvy users called out the president, primarily ridiculing an apparent lack of understanding about the networking technology in question. A common thread among commenters centered around the fact that while 5G is certainly well on the way to rolling out widely, 6G is likely to be at least a decade away. The first 3GPP Standalone 5G NR Standards driving advances in connectivity were only just finalized near the middle of last year. The rollout of 5G networking is also expected to be much slower than for 4G LTE or previous standards, taking until between 2020 or 2022 to become widely available according to current estimates. Advertisement Once the technology does become widely available if speed, latency, and bandwidth expectations hold up still further time will be required before a sum of all possible use cases can be brought to bear. 5G is expected to usher in a new wave of smart cars, industry or city-scale IoT innovation, and more. Thats down primarily to the improvements in MIMO that will arrive with the widespread rollout and the reduced latency, allowing many more users and critical uses than 4G LTE. Other users also pointed to now-defunct Net Neutrality regulations, brought to an end by Trump administration appointed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in a bid to draw attention to possible impacts from the commissions step away from regulation. Respondents voiced concern that the measure could ultimately result in American consumers being priced out of the benefits, particularly since 5G is expected to bring much-needed competition for traditional providers. This should not be a surprise Advertisement President Trumps slight gaffe in referencing 6G is unlikely to be surprising, given recent technology-related hearings conducted by other elected officials in Washington. In particular, meetings between representatives of any political party and senior executives at Google, Facebook, and Twitter have repeatedly showcased a fundamental disconnect between the technology industry and legislators. On matters as important as data privacy or political influencing, the hardest-hitting questions have predominantly fallen well short in terms of both depth and scope. Have any questions? Please give us a call at 907-561-7737 Fifty years ago, a trove of manuscripts written on birch bark was discovered in the Russian city of Novgorod, situated some 200 kilometers south of Saint Petersburg. Birch bark was frequently used in the old days as a replacement for paper, which wasuntil a few centuries agoa valuable commodity. Birch trees were widely available and could be easily cultivated. In fact, Novgorod is surrounded by birch forests, whose bark was used for centuries by the locals for writing since it was soft and easily scratched. Thin pieces of birch bark was almost as good as wood-pulp paper, while requiring nothing to manufacture. The manuscripts discovered in Novgorod belongs to a period between the 11th and the 15th centuries. They include personal letters, documents containing business transaction, legal disputes, shopping lists, school exercises, tax returns, wills, marriage proposals, prayers, spells, cursesyou name it. These documents tell a lot about how life was in medieval Novgorod. Among this fascinating find is a charming collection of drawings made by a boy named Onfim. Onfim lived in the middle of the thirteenth century. From his writings and drawings archeologists estimate that he must have been around six or seven years of age at the time these drawings were made. Onfim was supposed to be doing his homework, which included writing out the alphabet, repeating syllables, and writing psalms. But very often, Onfim got distracted and doodled on the pages. In this example, Onfim was copying the letters of the alphabet in the corner of the page, but then he got bored and drew a picture of himself as a warrior on a horseback, sword in one hand and impaling an enemy with a spear in the other. In another example, Onfim flipped a piece of bark that was originally the bottom of a basket, and drew a picture of himself disguised as a wild beast. He identified himself by writing I am a wild beast. Its hard to make out but the beast has a long neck, pointy ears, and a curly tail. It is spewing fire from his mouth. The beast appears to be carrying a sign that says Greetings from Onfim to Danilo. It is assumed Danilo is a friend or a schoolmate. Men, horses, weapons, and mythical beasts arent the only themes Onfim liked to draw. He also drew people. Here, Onfim started out copying a passage of scripture, but after only a few words couldn't resist himself from drawing this impressive army of pitchfork-handed men. In this picture, Onfim draws his mother and father. Another fantasy scene depicts a messy figure of a man and another figure mounted on what appears to be a horse. The text at the top says, Lord, help your servant Onfim! Related: A Customer Service Complaint From 1750 B.C Onfims homework gives us a good idea of how education worked in 13th century Novgorod, and surprisingly, not much has changed in the last 800 years. Children practiced the alphabet, spelled out syllables, reproduced well-known texts, in particular, the Psalms, and practiced writing letters. Novgorod had a pretty literate population at that time. The huge amount of birch-bark letters attest to the mass literacy of the population. Indeed, Novgorod, along with Kiev, were the first Russian cities to have formal schools. Consequently, Novgorod became an important center of Russian culture, disseminating religious knowledge and translations of foreign authors. The rich cultural diversity of the people of medieval Novgorod are reflected in these bitch bark documents. Among these scrolls is a note from a father to his son that was a routine shopping list that could have been easily written yesterday. It said, Send me a shirt, towel, trousers, reins, and, for my sister, send fabric. The note ended with a bit of humor: If I am alive, I will pay for it. Another note written by a man named Mikita to a woman named Anna in a birch-bark letter dated to between 1280 and 1300 said: Marry me. I want you, and you me. More than a thousand such notes were miraculously preserved in Novgorods oxygen-deficient soil. They continue to turn out during excavations and at construction sites till this day. The people of ancient Novgorod are talking to us through these scrolls, said Sergei Yazikov, who led a dig on Bolshaya Moskovskaya Street where many birch writings were found in 2014. Many of these birch bark letters can be read online on this site. Coal trading has become too risky, a trader remarked on Thursday February 21 amid news that customs authorities in Dalian, a major city in northeastern China, had slashed the yearly coal import quota for ports under their jurisdiction by 25%. SINGAPORE Coal trading has become too risky, a trader remarked on Thursday February 21 amid news that customs authorities in Dalian, a major city in northeastern China, had slashed the yearly coal import quota for ports under their jurisdiction by 25%. The fallout of the move, which is expected to affect Australian coal shipments, came in the form of a weakening of the Australian dollar amid concerns about political tensions between Australia and its largest trading partner, China. But that was not the first time market participants in China had encountered issues relating to the import of Australian coal.They told Fastmarkets MB earlier this year that the extended customs clearance process at northern Chinese ports was singling out Australian coal, albeit unofficially, amid simmering tensions between the two trading partners.And while market participants insisted on Thursday that there was no ban on the import of Australian coal, there is no denying that the inflow of such cargoes might remain sluggish in the weeks to come.A trader source in Singapore said that he had decided to adopt a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the restrictions at Chinese ports.It is not a ban on coal imports from Australia, but the customs clearance process is longer, and whether that will be the situation for the long term remains to be seen, he said.The trader source does not expect China to ban Australian coal, especially metallurgical coal, which is used to produce steel.Earlier this week, top coking coal exporter BHP said that Chinas import policies remained a source of uncertainty for the market.Fellow miner Anglo American said that while it had yet to see any decline in its coal exports amid news of the Chinese port restrictions, it was keeping tabs on developments surrounding them.A steel mill source in China told Fastmarkets MB this week that logistics had become a major factor to consider when making procurement decisions.Its an administrative process if you have to deal with extra paperwork with regard to imports, and sometimes an added cost as well, the source said.While Chinese mills appetite for top-grade materials from Australia remain, the fact that recent shipments have been found to be not up to par with respect to quality was complicating matters for the mill source.Another mill source whose shipment recently arrived at one of the ports under Dalians jurisdiction said there was no certainty about when it would be released by customs authorities.It is not an issue for us at the moment but we need to fix this soon, he said.The second mill source said he might have to resort to buying additional coking coal from another port if his cargo is not released soon.That will definitely mean extra cost, he said.The current situation is somewhat of a throwback to that in 2016, when the Chinese governments restriction on domestic production - meant to bail out financially strapped miners in the country - ended up affecting supply flows, and consequently, prices.That move not only pushed up seaborne coking coal prices due to surging demand from China, but also resulted in buyers establishing longer-term business relationships with domestic miners to guarantee their respective supply.Ironically, despite the Chinese port restrictions that became clearer on Thursday, buying activity among traders picked up, which sent seaborne spot coking coal prices upward.This is in contrast with a typical scenario where there are uncertainties over a commoditys supply and demand, which often result in market participants becoming more risk averse, drying up trading activity in the spot market. For the met coal industry, such a scenario would constrain an already-illiquid market even more.To better gauge market movements, price indices such as the one published by Fastmarkets MB were introduced to the coking coal market over five years ago, and today, physical contracts between traders, end users and miners widely incorporate these.Fastmarkets MB uses a transaction-based methodology to ensure objectivity and transparency in the calculation of its indices.However, concerns persist over the lack of liquidity in the spot market and therefore its transparency, though the emergence of trading platforms such as Global Coal in recent years have improved things.That said, any uncertainties that emerge over the import policy of China - the worlds biggest buyer of coking coal - will certainly keep market participants on the edge of their seats. Waking up in an American nightmare I woke up this morning expecting to smell the aroma of bacon wafting from the kitchen and my mother's voice calling me to "get ready for school." I expected to see my homework (arithmetic and spelling) already done and my Mighty Mouse lunchbox nearby. But sixty years have passed since I was eleven, and I am mortified to see what has become of the America I knew, the America where Leave It to Beaver and Father Knows Best were two of the most popular television shows, where the raciest jokes on air were only hinted at by a slyly grinning Groucho Marx on You Bet Your Life. I remember waiting at the school bus stop where the sleaziest boys spoke in profanities but cleaned up their act as soon as the first girls approached. That was back when even the sleaze-bags actually had manners. Today, I saw a televised news report about the Democratic Party's top politicians. The screen was covered with the pictures of about twenty of them, including one with a college degree in economics who has not the slightest clue as to how wealth is created; a radical Islamist, anti-American Jew-hater who in her childhood was rescued from abject circumstances but now hates us; and a foul-mouthed congresswoman who publicly used a vile obscenity to threaten the president. All the pictures constituted a rogue's gallery of socialist, communist no-borders advocates, of liars, tax cheats, and authoritarian would-be dictators who despise ordinary working Americans. I awoke today in a world that not even George Orwell could have seriously predicted. It is a world where sexual virtues are ridiculed, while sexual perversions are publicly celebrated; where freedom of speech is redefined as the shouting down of conservative viewpoints; where the nonexistent right not to be offended overrides the constitutional right of free speech; where violent illegal aliens are bussed into neighborhoods far from the gated communities of those who bus them. It is a world where every event is interpreted by propagandist impostors (posing as journalists) in the worst possible light, for example to condemn teenage high school boys who were accosted by bigoted leftists and who responded with courtesy and restraint. One of the boys was accused by an interviewer, who equated his standing still with a form of aggression. There are climatologists who soberly analyze the facts of climate change, without supporting the radical leftist proposal of confiscating your property to (somehow) cool the Earth. Those climatologists are called "deniers," a veiled synonym for Nazis, and have been threatened with revocation of their professional licenses. One wonders how it is that a nation supposedly governed by constitutional principles could have fallen under the boot of those who so brazenly defy those principles but that question was answered a long time ago. "Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams It turns out that the chairman of the National Youth Commission isnt such a great example to the youth. This week, Ronald Cardema urged President Rodrigo Duterte to issue an executive order removing the government scholarships of all anti-government scholars. Cardemas earlier statement on Tuesday also reminded the scholars that the Filipino people formed the government to govern, to regulate, to discipline, to collect taxes and to allocate the Filipino peoples funds into government scholarships and programs. Fighting the government means fighting the majority of the Filipino people and also not fulfilling their roles as the expected breadwinners who will uplift their families and as our hope in strengthening our country. Later on, when the Palace and lawmakers alike rejected his notion, he qualified his statement, saying he referred only those scholars found to have taken up arms against the government. He said he only wanted the revocation of the scholarships of very very few anti-government students who have joined or are supporting the New Peoples Army. Cardema also later said in a television interview that dissent was a healthy element in any democracy. Of course by this time he had enough time to think about how he should correct his earlier pronouncement, likely made in his eagerness to show loyalty to the powers-that-be. He is, after all, chairman of the party-list group Duterte Youth that is seeking a post in the coming polls; his wife is first nominee.As head of the commission that is supposed to champion the interests of and empower the youth, Cardema cannot afford to be vague, confusing or ambiguous. What he says reflects not his sentiments but the government position with regard to the youth. For example, discouraging the youth from being critical of the government is outright wrong. It is, after all, not any one administration or politician who is enabling them to get an education. Second, to be learned is to be critical of anything and everything that is heard. We do not succeed when we produce a generation of yes men and women who do not question the actions of their leaders. Questioning what they see and hear does not make young people automatically rebellious or anti-government. They do so always with what they think best serves the interest of the country and its people. A bigger question is whether Cardema truly espouses the interest of the Filipino youth when the conflict of interest is so flagrant. Then again, it is useless to point out that all this would be in violation of election laws. The Commission on Elections, a constitutional agency that is ideally independent of any branch of government, has shown itself to be only able to selectively implement the law. The bright side of the Moon On Thursday evening, February 21, 2019, SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral. The rocket carries into space three modules. One is an ordinary communications satellite; another is an experimental military satellite. The third one is the lunar landing module, which has no analogues in the history of mankind. This landing module, called "Beresheet" (in Hebrew, this means Genesis), was created by an Israeli startup company SpaceIL. However, this company is not just a startup. This company, established in 2011, has played a leadership role in the new Israeli national movement. The movement seeks to achieve a soft landing on the Moon in April of this year and deliver some very unusual cargo. This cargo is provided by an American company Arch Mission Foundation, which is a non-profit working on the "eternal" library of mankind. This library is referred to as "The Billion Years Archive," and the Lunar Library is only the first phase of this noble project. As the name implies, this archive of human knowledge is designed to survive in conditions of outer space for billions of years even after there is no trace left of planet Earth. The Lunar Library is based on nanotechnology, developed by the American company NanoArchival. SpaceX is an aerospace company created by Elon Musk. The Israeli company SpaceIL was established by three young Israeli engineers: Yariv Bash, Kfir Damari, and Yonatan Winetraub. The company NanoArchival was created by Bruce Ha, whose family found refuge in America from the communists advancing on South Vietnam. The Arch Mission Foundation was instituted by Nova Spivack and Nick Slavin, who were inspired by the book from famous science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. What do all these entrepreneurs have in common? When they started, they had nothing but great ideas and unlimited access to brainpower. The Lunar Library contains about 30 million pages of human history from the Bible and pre-biblical times to modern times. All the achievements of human civilization are presented, which the creators of the Lunar Library intend to store even after the Egyptian pyramids cease to exist. The Lunar Library preserves the scientific and humanitarian achievements of our civilization books, documents, illustrations, paintings, and drawings. Since we are not able to list all the contributors of traditional artifacts of the past and present, let us note the work of artistic photography by Peter Miller. one of the pioneers of a relatively new branch of art called artistic holography. What is missing from the list of those involved in the creation of the Lunar Library? Government. All companies participating in the mission are non-government companies for-profit and not-for-profit alike. In theory, a project of such magnitude would have to be carried out under the auspices of the U.N. After all, the UN was created precisely for such purposes. However, the U.N. has long been transformed into a global anti-Semitic forum and a New York branch of the Socialist International, and its members do not care that someone decided to turn what was once science fiction into reality. The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket is the first attempt in the history of humankind of private (non-government) companies to make a space mission to the Moon. The collaboration between the Americans and Israelis and the successful launch of the rocket with the noble mission of the Lunar Library is the triumph of private enterprise and clear proof of the irrationality and non-viability of anti-capitalism, anti-Americanism, and anti-Semitism. Later this year, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing. Neil Armstrong, setting foot on the Moon, said: "That is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." On Thursday, February 21, 2019, humanity took another leap. Spare me all the pieties about Jussie Smollett [Disclaimer: Jussie Smollett, like all defendants, is entitled to the presumption of innocence in his forthcoming trial[s]. The following analysis is based on the assumption that the evidence presented by assistant state's attorney Risa Lanier is valid and that the charges against him are true. Registered voters in Cook County, who are members of his potential jury pool, are strongly cautioned that reading further may make them ineligible to sit in judgment at trial.] Yesterday's cable news airwaves were full of commentary about Jussie Smollett, and now that he has been exposed as a hoaxer, much of it was very good. But there have been a lot of pieties expressed that just stick in my craw. Let's face it: there is a lot of posterior-covering underway by people who jumped on a story that was full of obvious holes, beginning with the notion that Trump-supporters are wandering the streets of a wealthy gay neighborhood in Chicago at 2 A.M., equipped with nooses and bleach bottles, during the polar vortex, and are such fans of Empire that they recognize Smollett and know his background. Piety number one: No, this crime was not "inexplicable"! According to the information presented by police superintendent Eddie Johnson and prosecutor Risa Lanier, greed was one root of the hoax. Smollett's pay per episode of Empire has been variously reported as as low as $65,000 and as high as $125,000. Either figure puts him in the dreaded one percent at the top of the income distribution. Progressives love to lecture us about the injustice of high incomes but always exempt their own. Being a progressive is akin to the papal indulgences of the Middle Ages. But there is another obvious motive: political hatred of Donald Trump. Drudge has been featuring a picture of him that says it all: Piety number two: It is tragedy if people claiming to be victims of hate crimes have their allegations questioned. Chicago superintendent of police Eddie Johnson, who received gushing praise for his heartfelt news conference presentation yesterday, was one of many people making this case: While all reports of crime, including "hate crimes," deserve thorough investigation, the fact is that fake hate crime reports are epidemic Tawana Brawley, Duke lacrosse, UVA fraternities, and many other lesser known instances. An entire website, http://www.fakehatecrimes.org, is devoted to the epidemic, and they currently have 349 items, including Smollett. I have repeatedly made the point that there is not enough hate to go around, because our politics and society reward people who claim to be victims. Piety number three: Blacks, homosexuals, and the City of Chicago are the real victims here. Yes, Smollett victimized these groups, but they were collateral damage. His intended victims were Trump-supporters, wearer of MAGA hats, and President Trump himself. The POTUS recognized this in a tweet yesterday: .@JussieSmollett - what about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!? #MAGA Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2019 But Superintendent Johnson, while bemoaning the victimization of the other groups, had not a single word about the intended and direct victims of Smollett. Piety number four: Those politicians and media figures who wrapped themselves in gushing praise and sympathy for Smollett did not just make a "mistake." The rush to exploit the alleged but phony hate crime was unseemly because of all the holes in the story. But blinded by hatred of Trump, and anxious to benefit themselves, people like Don Lemon of CNN and Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris sought to benefit themselves. Democrat operative and now professor at USC Robert Shrum told them to just claim it was a "mistake." Robert Shrum, the veteran Democratic campaign strategist and political science professor at USC, said that the Smollett story is a good lesson for candidates who want to weigh in on such high profile stories. "You can't react with a hair trigger. We've all done it." He said that the candidates "will probably get asked about it. The simple answer is, 'I made a mistake.'" Sorry: When you exploit something for personal gain without a moment's consideration of the other side of the story, it's not a mistake; it is a reveal of your cravenness. Piety number five: Jussie Smollett is insane and needs help, not prison. Sorry: He planned this hoax for vile reasons of personal and political gain. He is incredibly stupid, leaving a vivid trail of evidence, including paying his henchmen by check! But stupidity and venality are not forms of insanity and do not justify mercy. As a Trump-supporter living in a city where conservatives who are visible are subject to physical attack, I am angry at the fuel Smollett threw on the fire of Trump-hatred. He deserves no sympathy, no compassion, but he does merit a long prison term for the harm he has inflicted and to help stem the tide of fake hate crimes. Say 'Green New Deal' three times to a mirror, and who shows up? Al Gore! Virginia's Governor Ralph Northam is a firm supporter of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) even though it was approved by a prior administration as a necessary extension to the many natural gas pipelines crisscrossing the state. Since its inception, the ACP has been dogged by the usual anti-fossil fuel climate change activists. Perhaps Northam's centrist stance on this issue helped get him elected. Regardless, the ACP is the most practical means to bring low-CO2 natural gas to eastern Va. and N.C. The available renewable energy options are far from adequate and much too expensive. Apparently, Al Gore saw Northam's current political weakness and the local ACP protests as an opportunity to (1) politically leverage Northam's blackface troubles, (2) virtue-signal his support for a minor complaint about the proposed location of an ACP pumping station near a rural town founded by freed black American slaves, and (3) seize an opportunity to promote his green climate agenda. The story of his 19 February visit to Union Hill (population 500, about 90 minutes west of Richmond) was on the front page of the Richmond Times-Dispatch the next morning. One statement from the article stood out: "This pipeline is not needed in any way, shape or form," Gore said, arguing that the state should instead pursue modern renewable resources. "This pipeline is a dinosaur. Its time has passed." This is not the first time Al Gore planned a political hit in Virginia. As vice president, he launched a seemingly worthy but eventually failed initiative to improve federal government efficiency and reduce costs. At that time, I worked for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) in Richmond, Va. The public affairs officer (PAO) received a call from the vice president's office to arrange a visit to speak to the employees about his efficiency initiative. A day or two ahead of the visit, Gore's staff called the PAO to confirm and innocently asked for an example of an overpriced item to use as a talking point. The PAO said he would check and call back. However, he knew that the facility had a display room with hundreds of overpriced items being researched. He also knew that Mr. Gore had recently paid a visit to a GSA (Government Services Administration) supply facility in Calif. and humiliated their chief executive about an overpriced ashtray the company supplied. The official reply back to the Gore staffer was that no such item could be found at Richmond. The next day, the planned visit was canceled without explanation after much time and money had been spent by command in preparation. Because Mr. Gore's statements at tiny Union Hill presented nothing new, his celebrity participation in this otherwise insignificant protest raises other suspicions. One could wonder if this was his opportunity to get back in the public eye ahead of the 2020 race. Or perhaps he only wanted to remind everyone that it was he and not Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who got a Nobel Prize for building public awareness of the dangers of climate change allegedly caused by man's use of fossil fuels. It was well over a decade ago when Al Gore helped jump-start the massive nationwide indoctrination process that made much of America into true believers in the "green" part of the Democrats' Green New Deal. His efforts, assisted by academia, K-12 education, Hollywood, and the news media, made many people accept the big lie because they wanted to believe. Otherwise, the ridiculously unrealistic Green New Deal would have been laughed out of existence long before it was made public. Image: JD Lasica via Flickr. If Congress disagrees with the declaration of an emergency, it can pass a joint resolution to oppose it. But the president can veto that resolution, and then Congress would have to override the veto. The law provides the mechanism for Congress to challenge the declaration of an emergency. This means that the plain language of the law leaves it to the president and Congress, the elected political branches of government, to determine a national emergency. It means that it is not an issue for the federal courts, because the statute has a clearly written procedure for the elected branches of government to resolve any dispute about whether the president is properly following the National Emergencies Act. The Democrats don't have the votes to override a veto. California, joined by 15 other states, has filed suit in federal court in the Northern District of California, in the Ninth Circuit. California contends that President Trump cannot re-allocate funds for the wall and that there is no emergency because illegal entries are at a 45-year low. The factual basis for the declaration of a national emergency to build the wall is the number of illegals, the cost of illegals in terms of welfare and other governmental payments, the crimes committed by illegals as a percentage of the illegals in our country, the drugs smuggled across the border, and the ease with which terrorists can cross the border. These are some of the factual issues for Congress and the president to resolve, not a judge. The courts should not hear the case because of the constitutional doctrine of "political question." Generally, this means that an issue is so political that federal courts should not hear the issue and should leave it to the Executive and Legislative Branches to resolve. This doctrine also involves the separation of powers, where each branch has its constitutionally prescribed role. The doctrine is also referred to as the justiciability doctrine. We elected Congress and the president to resolve the issue of border security. We didn't elect federal judges to hold hearings on whether we need a wall. This is the responsibility of Congress and the president. If the Democrats in the House and Senate have evidence that a border wall is not necessary, then let them present such evidence in Congress and debate it, and then vote so the American voters know the position of each member. The Dems will lose on the resolution because they don't have the votes to override a veto. California, a proxy for the Democrats, will lose the lawsuit because the case is not justiciable. If the district court rules for California, there will be expedited appeals to the Ninth Circuit and the Supreme Court, if necessary, which will rule correctly. Most people familiar with the life story of John Wayne are aware that the late movie star was a dyed-in-the-wool right-winger after all, he was still making a movie glorifying America's conduct of the Vietnam War ("The Green Berets," 1968) well after the country had begun to get sick of the conflict. An op-ed in the Los Angeles Times is calling for John Wayne's name to be removed from the airport in Orange County because of The Duke's racist, homophobic, and anti-Indian beliefs. But the resurrection of a 1971 interview Wayne gave to Playboy magazine has underscored the sheer crudeness of the actor's feelings about gay people, black people, Native Americans, young people and liberals. A writer who spends 3,000 words trashing conservatives is concerned how Wayne viewed liberals? Sheesh. This doesn't necessarily mean that it's impossible or immoral to enjoy Westerns and war movies starring John Wayne; that's a personal choice. But it certainly undermines any justification for his name and image to adorn a civic facility. Is it really "immoral" to enjoy any movie? Maybe watching Triumph of the Will is questionable, but as a piece of propaganda, it is unparalleled. It is not moral or immoral to enjoy or hate watching any movie. The writer is instructing us the "proper" way to think as he does throughout his piece. Certainly, Wayne's beliefs were based on rancid stereotypes and urban myths that most people had abandoned by the time the interview in Playboy appeared in 1971. A few examples: PLAYBOY: What kind of films do you consider perverted? WAYNE: Oh, Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy that kind of thing. Wouldn't you say that the wonderful love of those two men in Midnight Cowboy, a story about two fags, qualifies? Wayne's views on African-Americans were particularly obnoxious: WAYNE: With a lot of blacks, there's quite a bit of resentment along with their dissent, and possibly rightfully so. But we can't all of a sudden get down on our knees and turn everything over to the leadership of the blacks. I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don't believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people. The context in which the term "white supremacy" is used in 1971 differs from today. But it's still an odious way to think. Wayne's views on Native Americans need to be included in their entirety: PLAYBOY: How do you feel about the government grant for a university and cultural center that these Indians [then encamped on Alcatraz Island] have demanded as "reparations"? WAYNE: What happened between their forefathers and our forefathers is so far back right, wrong or indifferent that I don't see why we owe them anything. I don't know why the government should give them something that it wouldn't give me. PLAYBOY: Do you think they've had the same advantages and opportunities that you've had? WAYNE: I'm not gonna give you one of those I-was-a-poor-boy-and-I-pulled-myself-up-by-my-bootstraps stories, but I've gone without a meal or two in my life, and I still don't expect the government to turn over any of its territory to me. Hard times aren't something I can blame my fellow citizens for. Years ago, I didn't have all the opportunities, either. But you can't whine and bellyache 'cause somebody else got a good break and you didn't, like these Indians are. We'll all be on a reservation soon if the socialists keep subsidizing groups like them with our tax money. To say that Wayne's beliefs were a product of the times in which he lived would not be accurate. His views on blacks were antebellum. Considering how much money he made off Native Americans, he had surprisingly little empathy for them. And even in 1971, people knew enough not to refer to gay people as "fags." So that's it? We are to judge John Wayne based on his view of race and sexual orientation? Should we judge Martin Luther King solely on his utter failure to be faithful to his wife? The left wouldn't like that at all. Or perhaps we should judge leftist icons like Ted Kennedy on treatment of women, including leaving a young girl to die in a submerged car? John Wayne believed in stereotypes. He was wrong to do so. But how can you judge anyone without looking at the totality of his life? It's easy for the left to take titans like Washington and Jefferson and trash them because they were slave-owners. The fact that they created the freest, most prosperous nation on Earth is erased from history. It doesn't mean their slave-owning is excused. It means that sin is placed on the scales of history and weighed against all other accomplishments and failures of their lives. To do any less does a massive disservice to history and the memory of notable historical figures. For most of his professional life, John Wayne became the face of America strong, independent, incorruptible, and willing to die to do what was right. He treated women with respect, defending their honor and their children. And he was willing to face evil, though he be outnumbered and outgunned, usually triumphing in the end. His personae defined American for tens of millions of people around the world for decades. Oh, yes...and he loved America. That's what seems to be the bug up the arse of this writer. John Wayne was an unabashed patriot. His love of country was uncomplicated. That's why, toward the end of his life, he was vilified and hated by leftists around the world not for who he was, but for whom he played on screen. They knew that the masses loved The Duke, and to advance their political agenda, they needed to tear him down, discredit him, and discredit what he stood for. That they succeeded at all is a shame. America could do a lot worse than have icons like John Wayne represent us to the rest of the world. Considering that we now know that Jussie staged his attack and was arrested for filing a false police report, I thought, "This guy should be nominated for an Academy Award." In his ABC interview, Jussie's sincerity, tears, and portrayal as a suffering victimized black homosexual man were insidiously and brilliantly executed . I recently watched the original Jussie Smollett ABC interview on YouTube in which he claimed to have been attacked by racist, homophobic Trump-supporters. Even though Jussie has been exposed as a liar, will leftists continue to use Jussie's irresponsible, hate-generating lie to smear Trump and his supporters? Folks, we have seen this kind of leftist propaganda movie before, titled, "Hands Up, Don't Shoot," starring young black criminal Michael Brown. A police officer attempted to arrest Michael Brown after he robbed a convenience store and assaulted the clerk. At 6'4" and 292 lbs, Brown wrestled the officer for his gun and was shot and killed. A witness claimed that the white cop murdered Brown while he tried to surrender with his hands in the air. Evidence confirmed that the witness lied. Brown's blood was found on the officer's gun and inside his police car, confirming the officer's account of what happened. Even after the truth about the Brown shooting was exposed, the Grammy Awards irresponsibly did a musical production number further promoting the "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" lie. In essence, the Grammy Awards show cruelly painted targets on the backs of our brave men and women in blue across America. Grammy Awards show producers purposely filled black youths with hatred for police, victim mindsets, and hatred for their country based on a proven lie. To this day, leftists are still promoting and many blacks still believe the lie that Michael Brown was shot in cold blood by a racist white cop. Thanks to fake news media, Democrats, and Hollywood, many blacks believe the lie that police routinely murder blacks. Consequently, police are being ambushed and assassinated by blacks seeking revenge. It blows my mind that there was very little fake news media coverage or outrage over a mob of Black Lives Matter thugs marching down a N.Y. street, chanting, "What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want it? Now!" Meanwhile, stats confirm that police are the greatest defenders of black lives. Jussie was unsuccessful in his attempt to get his bogus staged attack caught on closed circuit TV. Rush Limbaugh pointed out, and I agree, that had Jussie gotten his fake attack on video, fake news media would promote it 24/7, possibly causing riots and violence across America. When the dust settles, leftists will, more than likely, make Jussie Smollett a hero. Leftists will claim that Jussie raised awareness about those routinely abused by racist, homophobic Trump-supporters. In my opinion, Jussie's insidious fake attack scheme is the equivalent of yelling "fire" in a crowded auditorium. It could have led to massive racial violence resulting in many Americans being injured and lives lost. I hold no malice against Jussie. I pray that this young man will come to know Jesus, turning his life around. Behavior has consequences. I believe that Jussie Smollett should be prosecuted. We have emboldened leftists by allowing far too many of their evil hate- and violence-generating hoaxes to go unpunished. Lloyd Marcus, The Unhyphenated American Help Lloyd spread the Truth: http://bit.ly/2kZqmUk http://LloydMarcus.com Image: Dominick D via Flickr. Here's the U.S. Customs and Border Protection photo from independent San Diego television news station KUSI, reporting the matter last night : As California's leftist Gov. Gavin Newsom grandstands about suing the Trump administration over its construction of a concrete border wall, Mexico's human smugglers are having a grand old time, ramming through the corrugated junk metal fencing that's there with heavy smuggling vehicles, terrorist-style. SAN DIEGO (KUSI)- This morning a truck carrying 22 immigrants breached the aging border barrier in east San Diego, according to the CA Border Patrol San Diego. The Border Patrol agents responded, the driver of the vehicle rammed a Border Patrol vehicle then attempted to flee. The driver exited on foot and escaped south. So Trump is the bad guy for wanting to construct an industrial-durable concrete and steel wall that truck terrorists, whether they're carrying human smuggling cargo --or bombs, wouldn't be able to ram through by force. And Newsom wants to stop that wall construction, even as this junk fence shows that these cartel networks are getting some expertise in doing the maneuvers. "He's embarrassed, and he's feeding his base," Newsom hollered, dismissing the concerns of the Customs and Border Protection officers who have repeatedly warned that the border is a nothingburger to professional smugglers. Walls don't work? This story shows that junk fences, constructed from military surplus dating to World War II, which Newsom seems to be championing, if that, really don't work. In San Diego County, in whose back country these rammings are occurring, Newsom has busied himself with shoveling millions from the state to "migrant services." Again, while these rammings are going on. What's he going to say when these cartel human trafficking networks start to get really good at it now that they know that Newsom is fighting to keep the wall unbuilt? Trump's case for a wall in light of these disturbing incidents has just grown ten feet taller. And speaking of the Border Patrol and its sentiment, let's take a look at who's doing this reporting: Indy station KUSI -- again. KUSI, if you recall, was the local San Diego television news station that was just doing its job when CNN asked its top reporter, Dan Plante, a grizzled old newsman who knows border issues like the back of his hand, to explain what Border Patrol officers think about the idea of a wall. Plante, who offered no opinions of his own, but who has serious sources based on his experience, transmitted that Border Patrol sentiment - that border enforcers do indeed think there's an emergency - accurately, as a newsman should, and CNN tried to silence that report. Not because Plante was inaccurate. But because they don't like Trump, and these so-called "journalists" decided that the actual facts might mess up their anti-Trump narrative. I wrote about that stunt here, which discredited CNN and made KUSI come out smelling like a rose. Now they're doing their job again, reporting this border wall breach, and it most certainly deserves more attention. It's news. And as actual news, it shows that President Trump is right. Image credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection public domain photo, via KUSI Ms. Warren also said she supported reparations for black Americans impacted by slavery a policy that experts say could cost several trillion dollars. On February 21, a New York Times feature story about proposals for the government to pay American blacks reparations for slavery has moved the issue closer to the front burner in the lead up to next year's presidential elections. The article's title summarized the story: "2020 Democrats Embrace Race-Conscious Policies, Including Reparations." Largely overshadowed on an incredibly busy news day was the disclosure that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), one of the early frontrunners for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, is now enthusiastically on the reparations bandwagon: How about reparations for posing as a Native American? (Photo credit: Tim Pierce.) The Times noted that the pro-reparations policy has also been embraced by another prominent candidate for the 2020 nomination: Last week, Senator Kamala Harris of California agreed with a radio host's recent suggestion that government reparations for black Americans were necessary to address the legacies of slavery and discrimination. Ms. Harris later affirmed that support in a statement to The Times. The Times confirmed the existence of a plethora of additional race-based policy proposals by Democrats, attributing them to virtuous ends: The morally driven policy goals of Ms. Harris and Ms. Warren reflect a broader shift in the importance of race and identity issues in the Democratic Party, according to several scholars and political leaders who focus on the intersection of race and politics. While Democrats have long cast themselves as more inclusive than the Republican Party, grass-roots organizers and many liberal voters of all races are now pushing elected officials to go further on policies of racial equality, regardless of any political calculations. The reality is that in today's climate of hyper-political polarization, including growing Democrat socialist appeals to minorities, these radical policy proposals are a result of political calculations. We've already seen the left's sudden full-throated support for open borders and strident opposition to any new or even existing border fencing, unlike what most leading Democrats (including President Obama and Sen. Charles Schumer) had advocated until recently. The support for open borders is not only a reflection of Democrats' knee-jerk opposition to anything President Trump wants (including the wall). It's part of a calculation that a critical mass has been reached in terms of raw demographics. The left sees growing numbers of "minority," "people of color," and immigrant voters who it thinks will flock to Democrats now that they advocate unequivocally for these and other far-left constituencies based on the lure of identity politics. In 2008, blacks made up 13% of the electorate and voted in a huge bloc for Barack Obama (95% for Obama compared to 4% for McCain, according to Roper). The appeal of a black candidate at the top of the ticket in 2020 would presumably be enhanced by the candidate's promise to invest "trillions" of dollars in reparations aimed at helping or supporting African-Americans. One of the most recent polls on the subject of reparations was conducted by YouGov in June 2014 (five long years ago). The questions that were asked concerned "Reparations Do you think the government should or should not offer the following things to black Americans who are the descendants of slaves?" The percentage who said "should offer cash" to blacks for reparations was 6% of white Americans, 59% of black Americans. When the question involved supporting "Education and job training programs," 19% of whites and 63% of blacks responded "should offer." The article at YouGov about its 2014 poll cited a then-current article by radical black writer Ta-Nehisi Coates published in The Atlantic (June 2014), "The Case for Reparations." Coates took 16,000 words to make his arguments. As is often the case, advocacy of an extreme far-left policy begins in the pages of an influential, elitist publication and filters down from there to academia, the media, popular culture, and finally to ambitious leftist politicians and the public. Almost all of the Democrats who have announced that they are running for the top job in 2020 support "free" college education, which might be seen as a kind of reparations without actually using the "R" word. Others are openly endorsing reparations for blacks. For example, Julian Castro, the first Latino Democrat to declare for president in 2020, recently took the plunge. According to an interview with The Root, a leftist, race-based publication on February 21,"Julian Castro Calls for Reparations for Black People." Marianne Williamson, the spiritual teacher who, although a "longshot candidate" in the Times' view, has more Twitter followers than any of the other 2020 Democrat candidates so far, also supports reparations to the tune of $100 billion. In recent years, ideas pushed by the radical left, like the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011, established the powerful meme of the "1% vs. the 99%," resulting in the escalating demands for "social justice" to combat income inequality. These efforts have softened up low-information voters to be more susceptible to leftist candidates' pitches for promises of freebies and income redistribution. And is there any doubt that leftist low-information voters of whatever color are now in the ascendancy? As professor of economics at George Mason University Walter E. Williams wrote in 2018, "Capitalism doesn't do well in popularity polls." Peter Barry Chowka writes about politics, media, popular culture, and health care for American Thinker and other publications. Follow him on Twitter at @pchowka. The Biggest Little Whorehouse in Germany Once one country does something stupid, the question on everyone's mind is, who's next? Thus, when France went psycho-liberal in 1789, everyone attacked the French, and when the Russians went Soviet, we adopted a policy of containment. Ideas tend to move from place to place. One person says something stupid, and the other stupid people hear him, and the next thing you know, you're getting tortured in a gulag. This is why Christ said a man who accepts the words of a prophet has a prophet's reward. The prophet speaks first, but it takes the heart of a prophet to hear one. The question, whenever you hear a prophet or a moron, is whether your country is full of prophets or morons. This is why the liberals have taken over the school system and the media and why nearly everyone, until the Enlightenment, was heavily in favor of censorship. Simply put, we took one look at our neighbors and knew they'd fall for anything. This time, they fell for whoring. Germany, in a move that stunned even the scandalous Italians, decided to turn itself into Las Vegas, and now the English and others are worried. The Germans, like everyone else caught with his pants down, had an excuse. They said they did it to protect women. Too dangerous on the streets with pimps and such, so they decided to move prostitution into brothels. What happened next was obvious. A large surplus of abused and ruined women, usually abandoned or molested as children, many of them from Bulgaria and Romania and already mastered by pimps, flooded the country. Mega-brothels opened overnight. The number of Johns increased exponentially. Prostitutes became a mainstay at their carnivals; mega-pimps became nouveaux riches; and the German people, once known for alcoholism and Nazis and other hilarious monkey shines, became known for taking advantage of Europe's unfortunates. Even when the Germans are helping people, they're hurting people. It's estimated by the German government that 400,000 such hookers live in Germany and that 90% of them, one way or another, are still forced into it. That's five times more prostitutes than are estimated in England. At first, the going was "good." The hookers saw an influx of cash, and it was estimated that if you couldn't save a nest egg, you could maybe feed a family. Money was being sent back to feed starving mothers and fathers in Romania. The Johns came in, on "good" nights, sometimes 15 to 20 if you were lucky. But then something happened: the market became glutted with whores. Brothels opened next to brothels. The smallest towns had their bordellos. The number of Johns per woman dwindled, and the hookers themselves began to get desperate. This is all shown in a documentary called The Mega Brothel, available on Amazon Prime. Beyond the prostitutes themselves, we get a glimpse at the lives of the mega-pimps. One man, head of the biggest brothel chain right now in Germany, called Paradise, says it's a family business but no mention, so far as I can remember, is made of his wife. I suspect she left him, as his manager's wife estranged his manager. The owner brought his son to work with him for years and was planning to pass the business as an inheritance but the boy decided to kill himself first. The daughter he brings to work (!) is proud of him and plans to get into the business herself but only the managerial aspects of it. When asked why not the whoring, she says it's a "tough question" that she "can't answer." At this point, the camera pans to the father, and the expression on his face is the highlight of the whole film. Around this point, you begin to wonder if the Germans have any dignity. The answer is no. Their knights in shining armor, at least in this documentary, are almost all women, and beyond this, many of these saviors are short-haired and frumpy and sexually useless not exactly the type to reclaim a healthy sexual culture. One group of angry feminists crashed an opening party for a new brothel predictably topless, and screeching, and eventually thrown into a paddy wagon. It's a good cause fought for so badly that it makes you want to side with the pimps. Even when they're fighting for dignity, the feminists are embarrassing. To make matters worse, so far as I was able to make out, their main objection to the industry wasn't even selling sex for money, but coercion. A feminist believes strongly in "her body, her choice." She thinks laying sleazebags is a career choice, but staying home with the children is a tragedy. It should be mentioned here that these protests deeply offended the mega-pimp. He says, predictably, that he isn't taking advantage of any women that they all come to him (true), that he charges them entrance fees to the brothel but doesn't skim anything else off their earnings (true), and that the women who work for him are happy. The manager, before he was arrested for trafficking, said differently. He said the women were a disaster, completely ruined, and that they had "no souls." But I suppose this is the difference between a man who owns a business and a man who only runs it. I can't recommend this documentary to any of Christ's boys, but the heathens will enjoy it. There's simply too much T&A. But I recommend it to absolutely every woman I know, and I advise her to take notes from it and share them with the men she knows at least if she doesn't want hookers parading the festivals for her sons, and pimps out combing the high schools for her daughters. Jeremy Egerer is the author of the troublesome essays on Letters to Hannah, and he welcomes followers on Twitter and Facebook. What does it take to get ahead in today's world? If I were a young person entering politics, I'd be looking for the best resume-enhancers, to see what sort of qualifications and accomplishments are shared by those "getting ahead" in today's political arena. After serving as a Chicago community organizer and Illinois state senator, Barack Obama rose from a pedestrian three years as a U.S. senator to become the 44th president of the United States. Coming out of a corrupt city and a corrupt state with corrupt politicians (four of the last seven Illinois governors have been jailed), Obama had a few election irregularities of his own that were basically unreported by the media. Also largely ignored by the media was Obama's choice of mentor-pastor, Jeremiah Wright, who would regularly condemn America and white people from the pulpit on Sunday mornings, using coarse and inflammatory language. Obama gave great speeches about bringing Hope and Change, which were short on specifics but emotionally appealing to many voters. The lack of any specific plans to make America better was an appalling shortcoming of Obama's campaign, but the media ignored it. Instead, the media fell in love with the idea that America had a chance to elect its first black president, so Obama's actual accomplishments, character, and intended policies were given short shrift. Tom Brokaw and Charlie Rose, two of America's most recognized journalists, admitted in an interview a few days before the 2008 election that they didn't know what books might be important to Obama and didn't know anything about his foreign policy views. The fact that these highly influential media figures purposely chose to remain clueless about Obama's beliefs and the policies he would promote as leader of the free world is a stunning admission of incompetency and journalistic malpractice. Instead of being journalists presenting facts, the media hid important facts about Obama from the voters in an obvious attempt to influence the election. In 2016, the Democratic nominee for president was Hillary Clinton. Her resume included conducting top-secret State Department business on her own unsecured home server, as well as raking in hundreds of millions of dollars donated by U.S. citizens and foreigners alike to the Clinton Foundation, money probably given with expectations of a future return on the "investments" from the likely to be elected President Clinton. To cover her misdeeds, she destroyed electronic records and devices while they were under subpoena, and those aides closest to her were granted immunity by Obama's complicit FBI, resulting in a tainted investigation that concluded without any consequences for Clinton's years of nefarious activities. Again, the media were enamored of the possibility that we might actually have our first female president and therefore chose to hide Clinton's blatant corruption from the voters.. Donald Trump, in contrast, was subjected to intense media scrutiny and won the 2016 election despite the media's allegation factory running nearly 24-7. The media breathlessly announced, sometimes with hundreds of references in a single 24-hour news cycle, that Trump was dishonest; crude; hateful; and a racist reality TV personality in danger of ruining the economy, starting WWIII, and so on. But many voters ignored the media's focus and instead looked at Trump's record of building businesses (Trump owns approximately 500 business entities employing about 22,000 people) as well as his skills in negotiating and compromising with different groups in order to achieve meaningful and long-lasting results. The Trump resume was based on real accomplishments in the real world, and when Trump, the rookie politician, spoke of a set of specific policies aimed at Making America Great Again, many voters were convinced he was speaking from his heart and therefore just might pursue fulfilling his campaign promises with the same vigor and tenacity they perceived to be part of his character and track record. Today, thanks to Trump's policies and fulfilled campaign promises, we have a booming economy with wages rising across the board and unemployment rates the lowest ever for blacks and Hispanics. It is clear that the right and left prefer radically different resumes for their leaders. They also prefer different styles of communication. Politicians use softly spoken magic words to appeal to voters, and it's evident that the Left and right prefer radically different prose. What's magic for the Left is words that make them feel good, words that say to a leftist that you are important because you are part of a group that is so much smarter and more righteous than the other side, that you are good and classy because the side you have chosen is against hate and racism. The right has a different set of magic words, oriented toward implementing solutions to specific problems, so its voters tend to be favorably inclined toward leaders who have already accomplished great things. America faces great problems, and those on the right would like to empower leaders offering solutions that have already been tried and proven to work. Simply put, the right wants to make life better for its kids and grandkids, while today's Left wants to be the boss of America, which leftists hope to achieve through making the government ever larger so it can intrude into more and more of the average person's life. The Green New Deal is the Democrat's shiny new toy, which expands government so much that it will surely bankrupt our nation. Yet over 70 Democrats in Congress are already offering their public support for the GND. Have they learned nothing from Obama's tremendous expansion of government, which led to a near doubling of our national debt in just eight years? If the expansion of government and debt is left unchecked, eventually, America will collapse due to insolvency. No doubt, we live in perilous times with an uncertain future. Is there anything on the horizon coming our way that may prevent America from becoming a failed, bankrupt state? I think there is a chance that recent events in Virginia may well be showing us how America can come back from the brink of self-destruction. Virginia's Democratic leadership team is now being blown up due to past behaviors and transgressions. While Republicans tend to prevent seriously flawed people from rising far by using a kind of self-policing, the Democrats, always coddled by the media that hide their character flaws and gross malfeasance, have never had to consistently apply a standard of ethics in order to weed out those inclined toward behaving badly. Rather than great character or great accomplishments, the media and the Democrats years ago started using identity politics to select their leaders. Recently, identity politics has increasingly been used as a cudgel to force people from office and other positions of power and influence. And what's new is that now, in Virginia, identity politics as cudgel is being applied with vigor against high-ranking Democrats. Do the Democrats realize that the runaway freight train of identity politics has left the station and is now bearing down directly at them? They've created this train, and the engineers running the train are the leftists and journalism majors and politicians who so far seem powerless to stop the coming wave of self-destruction. The Democratic Party is approaching an all-important fork in the road. Either the Democrats choose common sense, humility, and patriotism to redirect their choice of policies, tactics, and leaders or, like the Whigs and the Know-Nothings before them, the Democrats and their identity politics will eventually vanish from the American political landscape. "Where is the ethic of doing business here?" Again, the Leon Gallery is about to auction historical documents. This time, included in the lot is a letter presumed to be addressed to historian Jose P. Santos, from and in the penmanship of General and First President Emilio Aguinaldo. Perhaps to create more excitement, and thus, more interest, and higher bids, the letter is dubbed as Aguinaldos CONFESSION on the issue of the execution of Katipunan co-founder Andres Bonifacio. (I say co-founder because Bonifacio was with others when they established the Katipunan and he was not the first, or second, but the third President of the clandestine revolutionary organization. This in itself is an interesting story that could be the subject of another piece.) Calling the letter a confession is fake news. It is misleading. This is sensationalism in the name of big bucks. If people care to read the so-called explosive letter, they will realize that it is NOT a confession. Rather, it gives the bigger context of the execution. It is a narration of what happened the way the General remembered it. Aguinaldo DID NOT confess to anything but relayed the story about Bonifacios tragic end. Confession is a loaded word. It is an admission that one committed a wrongdoing, even a crime. It is an admission of guilt. It will not take a minute to find out the words meaning, and certainly, those who labeled it as such purposely used that word to increase the letters value in pesos. After all, theirs is a business, and like many businesses, they want huge profit. Never mind if it comes at the expense of one of the most important persons in the countrys history. Never mind if such profit is brought about by peddling falsehoods, fake news. Where is the ethic of doing business here? It does not help any that Leon Gallerys marketing person, Lisa Nakpil, seems to harbor an acute hatred of Aguinaldo. This is evident in her postings on social media and her description of the recently auctioned smoking telegram purportedly from Gen. Aguinaldo to Gen. Antonio Luna that led to the killing of the latter. The bomb was a dud because it was NOT what it was trumpeted to be as also written by Ambeth Ocampo. The Aguinaldo papers that will be auctioned are, by themselves, quite important and there is no need to create controversies surrounding them. These were written by a person whose contributions to the countrys quest for independence are difficult to match. These are in the hand of one of the most important personalities in Philippine history, a leading revolutionary, and the first President.The alleged confession letter is very similar to a document I have studied and transcribed. Entitled, Ang pagka patay kay Andres Bonifacio, (The killing of Andres Bonifacio) was also fully in the handwriting of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. This is one of those he wrote after keeping mum for more than forty years about the controversies involving him, primarily the ones of Bonifacio and Luna. Like the one that is to be owned by the highest bidder, the document I transcribed narrated the events involving Bonifacio based on what Aguinaldo knew. THERE WAS NO CONFESSION. The document is mostly written in old Tagalog. Aguinaldos exact words were, ang sanhi o causa ng pagkapabaril kay Supremo Andres Bonifacio at kapatid pa nitong Procopio, na walang iba kung di sa hatol ng Tribunal Militar Indeed, for launching two failed coups d etat (Acta de Tejeros and Acta de Naik) against the elected officials by the Tejeros Convention, and for threatening to burn the town of Indang down, Bonifacio was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to be executed for treason by the Council of War (Military Tribunal). I believe that this is the correct framing of what happened to Bonifacio. He was found guilty of crimes against the very revolution he was not only part of, but was also leading. General Aguinaldo continued, Kung napaurong man ang aking pakanang indultuhan sana, sapagkat noong malaman ng mga bumubuu ng nasabing Tribunal Militar na pinangungunahan ng Heneral Mariano Noriel na sinamahan pa ng bagong Heneral Pio del Pilar, ay pagdaka natawag agad ang pansing ko, na dapat ko ngang iurong ang nasabing indulto, kung ibig ko pa dao magtagal ang buhay at huag masira ang Pinag-isang Pamahalaan ng Himagsikan, sa Tejeros, na ayao kilalanin ng Supremo Andres Bonifacio (emphasis, mine) These words speak of the fact that Gen. Aguinaldo actually commuted the sentence of the Bonifacio brothers from execution to exile, something that not many know. However, members of the Council of War (Generals Noriel and Pio Del Pilar) pleaded with him to allow the carrying out of the original sentence to preserve his own life and the unity of the revolution. For the Council of War, Bonifacio would not stop creating problems and divisions that could spell failure for the revolution. Aguinaldo relented with a heavy heart. He did not shirk from or deny this. He acknowledged that in the end, he gave in to the Council of War and ordered the carrying out of the sentence. Is this what Aguinaldo bashers call as confession? Far from it because he was not the one found guilty of committing crimes. It was Bonifacio. Aguinaldo listened to the Council, and chose the revolution. It must have been a very difficult decision for him. We need to understand these things within the bigger context that they happened. It was a time of war. Battles were raging left and right. In fact, after the success of freeing Cavite, the province was about to fall again in the hands of the Spaniards. During his time in Cavite, Bonifacio was uncompromising in his refusal to help the Magdalo in fighting the war. He was with the Magdiwang. He was fostering division as proven by Acta de Tejeros and Acta de Naik, his attempts at wrestling authority from those elected during the Tejeros Convention. The last straw was when he threatened to burn down Indang because townsfolk refused to give him food and arms. He contributed to the fall of the revolution in Cavite. This was the backdrop of his tragic end. Leon gallery should stop this disservice to our history and our country. Instead of propagating hate history by misrepresenting historical documents, it should use its clout so Filipinos better understand and appreciate our story as a nation. President Duterte doed have a way with words. It simply causes his critics and enemies to go really crazy. A few months ago, he reaffirmed his leaderships war against illegal drugs. He said it would be relentless and chilling. Of course, relentless means no letup. It continues no matter what the opposition says. Chilling is an adjective that really struck some nerves among the self-righteous human rights advocates. The word means horrifying or frightening. And since they have a fertile imagination such as to create their own ghosts,Digongs words instantly have a chilling effect on them. And then again,Digong yesterday vowed that the governments war against illegal drugs will be harsher in the days to come. In other words, the anti-drugs campaign will be ruthless, merciless and pitiless. And, we already know where hes coming from. Weve heard it many times before. I will not allow my country to be destroyed by drugs. I will not allow my country to end up a failed state because of drugs. And I am declaring war and I said I will kill anybody who stands in the way, he has said time and again.He also threatens to kill those responsible for smuggling of illegal drugs into the country. And also for those guys who keep on with their business of importingbe they Mexicans or Chinese or Filipino. If you continue to feed our children with drugs, theres no way that, he said. This means the Batasan Express Bus will be boarding soon for special trips to hell. The Batasan Express Bus is a make-believe transit among Quezon City cops and the media to describe the horrible ending of those drug dealers or criminals who chose to allegedly shoot it out with the authorities rather than surrender. Immediately following these pronouncements, the President added he is now convinced more than ever that this businessman Peter Lim engaged in massive illegal drugs activities. His message to Lim: Peter Lim if I were you I will commit suicide. Never ever surrender to me alive. Peter Lim must have gotten the message by now, and knows its going to be a chilling trip on board Batasan Express Bus if he does not heedDigongs advice. So for those who continue to make their living in illegal drug trade, and even those involve in criminal activities...may God have mercy on your souls. "Changing the name of the republic would greatly divide the nation." When President Duterte suggested changing the name of the Republic to Maharlika, he was met with a firestorm of opposition. Verily, the Presidents suggestion is intended to erase our branding like cattle inhabiting in this particular ranch of the Spanish colonial empire. The opposition came mostly from the conservative clergy and horde of pretending intelligentsia class who always style themselves as the keepers of the moral order. Their reason has no logic, except to denounce it because they attribute the idea of changing the name of the Republic to Maharlika as an idea first suggested by President Marcos. They began calling Duterte epithets like a dictator, a strongman, abuser of human rights, etc., which has no valid basis on whether or not to retain that colonial branding. There is no record that Marcos suggested the idea of renaming this country Maharlika. Rather, they justify their denunciation as when he named his famous guerrilla unit Maharlika that fiercely fought the Japanese imperial forces in World War II as a manifestation of a megalomaniac ambition. When he became President, he named the longest highway Maharlika Highway, which he finally finished and improved with supporting bridges. Marcos knew what maharlika means, but was farsighted and intelligent enough to know how those obfuscated people will react should the renaming took place during his administration. Nonetheless, the simmering issue continues to linger, for aside from the visible marking of our past colonial enslavement, the person upon whom we impressed the name of our archipelago did not really live up to the political, moral and religious standards that are supposed to epitomize our values and idealism as a nation. Philip II lived an outrageously scandalous immoral life. He ordered the killing and execution of his own subjects suspected of heresy. His did not even stand as a true defender of his faith. He and his father Charles V ransacked the Vatican, partly burning the Sistine Chapel and looted its treasures. For that, the two were excommunicated by Pope Paul IV in 1552. Long before that, people knowledgeable of our history have been advocating the changing of the name of the country to Maharlika, principally to erase from the minds of our people and to the world the unwanted colonial branding of being called Filipino, in honor of a monarch who was neither honorable nor had a glorious career. The advocacy to change the name of the Republic became formal when assemblymen Eddie Ilarde and Benjamin V. Bautista filed Parliamentary Bill No. 195 on August 22, 1978 titled, AN ACT CHANGING THE NAME OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES TO MAHARLIKA. Our people who initially called themselves Filipinos think they have been liberated for getting rid of the term indio, a derisive term used by our early colonizers, which is wrong for we are not from India or natives of South America which the early Spanish colonizers mistook as Hindus of India. The misguided opposition should have known better that Marcos could have exerted pressure to assure the passage of that bill if he wanted to. They constitute the majority of the members of the Batasang Pambansa. This explains why the proposed parliamentary bill failed to reach the second reading. Assemblyman Edddie Ilarde himself lamented that then First Lady Imelda R. Marcos, who was also a member of the Batasang Pambansa, did not vote or even exhibited enthusiasm to support the bill.This is why many wonder where President Duterte got the idea that it was Marcos who first conceived the idea of changing the name of the Republic. Maybe Marcos had his sentiment of changing the countrys name to Maharlika. But he was aware of the backlash and was not prepared to create a firestorm, especially at that time when he was preoccupied in securing political stability for the country. Changing the name of the republic would greatly divide the nation, and the wedge could be exploited by the opposition not because the idea is wrong but to purposely destabilize the government. After more than 40 years since that proposal, the reactionary conservatives and the clerical zealots remain adamant and stupid in their opposition to changing of the name Felipe to Maharlika to emphasize that we are a nation with a civilization of our own and desirous to synchronize our history with the present, free from the barriers in what Karl Marx would say alienation of ourselves. Many historians point out that King Philip II did not even know where that archipelago named in his honor by Spanish colonizer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos is. In the book written Eddie Ilarde, Maharlika: The Road to Renascence, he quoted British historian William Thomas Walsh that Philip II is the child of incestuous marriage. His parents were first cousins, a forbidden practice in the Catholic religion. He had four wives despite being staunchly anti-Muslim. Three of them were his first cousins and the fourth was his niece. He practically lived an immoral life, having several mistresses and bore several children even while he was still a prince. His son by his first wife, Don Carlos, became insane and attempted several times to kill him. Don Carlos died under mysterious circumstance. Many suspecting it was his own father, Philip II, who ordered him killed. Despite living an immoral life, Philip was still patronized by the Church, not for his faith to which he assiduously defended but for his unparalleled ruthlessness against heretics. He burned many at the stake, and executed Muslims and Jews in Spain. Remember, it was during his reign when the Spanish Inquisition was at its height. Thousands were tortured using macabre instruments to inflict the maximum pain but slow death. Disemboweling the heretics to extract confession was routine. Philip was also responsible for beheading thousands of Protestants in Netherlands and in other parts of Europe under the control of the Spanish monarchy Philip II died ignominiously of sexually transmitted disease known as syphilis. In describing his last moments, Walsh wrote: The wounds became foul, and emitted pestilent odor His head and eyes ached. He was unable to sleep. His stomach was swollen and dropsy, the rest of him so wasted by sickness that he seemed almost a skeleton. The foot that loved to dance was paralyzedhis hands were nothing but skin and bones and stinking sores . Philip II, lord of all Spain, lay in accumulating filth of his own excrements. It seems incredible, but all the accounts mention it. The monks could only attribute it to Gods desire to prepare his servant for cleanliness and neatness. Nothing could try his proverbial patience like a streak on the wall or a spot on the floorNow to have lie week after week [in his own excrementHis bed was crawling with vermin (insects of all kinds) when he summoned his son, the Prince and the Infanta to bear his last farewell on August twenty eight. Back in February 2015, a blurry image showing three teenage girls passing through security barriers at Gatwick airport made headlines across the world. These ordinary-looking British schoolgirls, who had all been attending the Bethnal Green College in London, had grabbed the worlds attention for a very sad reason: They were travelling to Syria to join the death cult that is the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). Amira Abase, Shamima Begum and Kadiza Sultana were only 15-16 when they made the decision to abandon their families, their friends and a promising future in the United Kingdom to build themselves new lives in a warzone. Their families said they were normal, happy teenagers before their disappearance. Britain, and the entire international community, was in shock. At the time, the runaways sparked an important conversation: What had motivated them to do this? Was there a chance to prevent this? Can Britain do anything to save these children from themselves? Pundits, experts and politicians spent weeks trying to provide answers to these questions. Some put the blame on the security forces and the government, others blamed the girls families, many tried to plead with them to come back and a few warned them that they would face prosecution if they ever choose to return home. But, as expected, the news cycle eventually moved on. The world forgot about these young ISIL brides-to-be, as tabloids called them. Earlier this month, almost exactly four years after they left Britain, however, one of these girls, Shamima Begum, now 19 and living in a refugee camp in northern Syria, grabbed international headlines once again. Kadiza Sultana, we learned, had been killed in an air raid in 2016. The whereabouts of Amira Abase was unknown. In an interview with the Times newspaper, Shamima revealed that she was heavily pregnant with a Dutch ISIL fighters child and, most crucially, she said that she is hoping to return home for the sake of her unborn baby. Suddenly, this vulnerable young woman was once again at the centre of an important national discussion: Should she be given another chance? Should any ISIL returnee be allowed back into Britain? As the discussions continued, the Home Office revoked her citizenship. Many celebrated Javids seemingly strong stance against terrorists. But the decision to abandon this young woman to her fate was a mistake, for multiple reasons. A childs decision When Shamima travelled to Syria, she was just 15 years old. She was too young to vote, give consent or make any life-altering decisions. In other words, she was a vulnerable child, a British child, and the state failed to protect her. Today, she is a 19-year-old young woman, who survived four years in a warzone, under an oppressive misogynistic regime, in abominable conditions, and is equally vulnerable. Her lack of regret maybe because she is pressured. The state cannot convict her to a life of misery on the basis of decisions she made as a child. The UK still has a duty of care towards Shamima and many others like her who are now facing the consequences of decisions they took as children. Shamima was neither the first nor the last Briton to leave the country to join an extremist group. According to an estimation by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR), 41,490 people from 80 countries joined ISIL in Iraq and Syria between April 2013 and June 2018 and at least 850 of them were British citizens. Many of these people were either minors or young adults, such as Salma and Zahra Halane (the so-called terror twins who travelled to Syria at the age of 14) or Talha Asmal (a 17-year-old A-level student who became the youngest British suicide bomber after detonating a bomb near an oil refinery in Iraq). This shows that the governments methods to prevent radicalisation are clearly not working. If we want to stop British children like Shamima, Salma, Zahra or Talha from travelling to warzones and joining ISIL or other death cults, we need to take new, fundamentally different approaches. Refusing to allow Britons who made the mistake of joining ISIL back into the UK may make the right-wing tabloids or Twitter patriots happy, yet it wont stop radicalisation of other young people. Since the first conviction of a Syrian returnee, Mashudur Choudhury, in 2014, the number of returnees to Britain has surged to approximately 400. The desire for many of these individuals to return even though they know that they likely will be persecuted and jailed offers us an opportunity for rehabilitation. With the right approach, many of these individuals could provide a counternarrative that might be used to explain the dangers of joining ISIL-like groups to vulnerable youth and help prevent future generations from taking that route. In other words, these returnees can be transformed into assets that could help the state stop ISIL and similar other groups from brainwashing British children. If Shamima is not allowed back in, she may be forced back into another radical group and become a real security threat. But if she is allowed back in, there would be a chance for her rehabilitation. By allowing Shamima to come home, UK can amend its past mistakes. She can face a fair trial, if found guilty of any crime, pay her dues to the society and with the help of social services one day be integrated back to the community and be a reproductive member of society. This is not wishful thinking. It is already happening elsewhere in Europe. The Danish example A high number of Danish citizens travelled to Syria to join ISIL and other similar armed groups in recent years, and many of them eventually chose to return to their home country. Unlike France, Britain or Germany, the Danish state does not automatically prosecute these individuals. It also does not try to revoke their citizenship rights. Instead, Danish officials allow these people to join a reintegration programme supported by the government. They are all offered practical help ranging from treatment for shrapnel wounds, to psychological counselling, or help with job applications. This, of course, does not mean former fighters who have committed criminal acts abroad are not punished. Persons who have been found guilty of a crime under Danish law will still be imprisoned. The Danish model appears to be working. Such programmes not only help create a relationship of trust between the state and former fighters, reducing security risks, they also save young lives by helping returnees re-integrate into society. Britain can, and should, follow Denmarks example. Shamima was once a poster girl for ISIL. Now, the British government has an opportunity to make her the face of a new, more efficient and humane way of dealing with radicalised youth. Banning this young woman from entering her home country would be playing into the hands of extremists. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. By Cait Bladt Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris have distinguished themselves as front-runners in both the 2020 race and in the design game. The two have completely broken from the staid red/white/blue color palate of typical presidential campaigns. Warrens gone for an icy mint blue accented by deep navy and a pop of red while Harris has adopted a throwback palate of burnt orange, buttery yellow and purple. But which campaign has the best designs? Kamala Harris campaign has opted for a throwback palate burnt orange, butter yellow and bright purple. The yellow is reminiscent of the colors chosen by Shirley Chisholm, who made history in 1972 as the first African American to run for a major partys nomination for president. Harris purple and orange are striking deviations from the typical red, white and blue, setting her apart as a new kind of candidate, with an eye towards both the future and a respect for the past. California Senator Kamala Harris arrvies for a rally launching her presidential campaign on Jan. 27, 2019 in Oakland, California. (NOAH BERGER/AFP/Getty Images)AFP/Getty Images Elizabeth Warrens campaign has chosen a much cooler palate, accenting a calming navy blue backdrop with pops of mint green and orangey-red. The deep navy allows for a neutral backdrop on which the campaign can lay out Warrens platforms and campaign promises. The eye-catching red adds for some much needed warmth while the minty green is just similar enough to Hillary Clintons campaign colors to pull Warren in as part of the continuing legacy of strong, smart Congressional women running for office. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) announces her official bid for President on Feb. 9, 2019 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)Getty Images 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 Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, wed love to hear what you have to say. A 49-year-old Centreville man was sentenced to 16 years in prison for helping his cousin evade capture after he kidnapped and assaulted his girlfriend and murdered her sister. Gary Wade Rowland was sentenced Wednesday in Bibb County Circuit Court, said Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. Rowland was a habitual offender with prior convictions for vehicular homicide and drug crimes. Rowlands cousin, 63-year-old John Barry Hubbard, pleaded guilty last year and is serving a sentence of life in prison without parole. Hubbard killed Kandi Murphy during his abduction of her sister, Tammy Carpenter. Hubbard had been in a relationship with Carpenter, who had sought a protective order because she feared that he would carry out his threats of violence. On the afternoon of July 21, 2015, Hubbard was seen by Murphy's children as he walked out of the woods carrying two guns and came in the back door of Carpenter's home in Brent. Hubbard shot Murphy multiple times in the presence of her toddler daughter and struck Carpenter with a firearm in the head to subdue and abduct her. Murphy called 911 and stated, "John Barry Hubbard shot me" and that she was dying. When officers arrived, Murphy told them that Hubbard had shot her. She was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead. Evidence showed that Hubbard took Carpenter from Bibb County into the Ocmulgee National Forest in Hale County, where he held her against her will and raped and sodomized her. The next morning, Rowland came and transported them from the forest to a motel in Greene County in a room that was registered in Rowland's name. Rowland admitted later that he knew Hubbard was wanted for capital murder after killing Murphy, but nevertheless Rowland wanted to help him because he was family. Rowland came and transported Hubbard and Carpenter from the forest to a hotel in Greene County, where Rowland had registered a room in his name. He also took and hid a long gun on family property in Bibb County. Hubbard continued to terrorize Carpenter, raping and sodomizing her again. After she was able to get a message to staff at a nearby restaurant, an Alabama Law Enforcement Agency tactical team rescued Carpenter and took Hubbard into custody on the evening of July 22. It is appropriate that Gary Wade Rowland now faces justice and will serve 16 years in prison, Marshall said. He had the opportunity to end John Barry Hubbards torment of Tammy Carpenter, and instead he put family above human decency and above the law. Rowland chose to help her tormentor. He made it possible for his cousin to continue brutalizing Tammy Carpenter after Hubbard had coldly murdered her sister Kandi Murphy. A civilized society cannot tolerate a crime such as this. MoscowDozens of orcas and beluga whales captured for sale to oceanariums have brought Russias murky trade into the spotlight, but efforts to free them are blocked by government infighting. Russia is the only country where orcas, or killer whales, and belugas can be caught in the ocean for the purpose of education. The legal loophole has been used to export them, especially to satisfy demand in Chinas growing network of ocean theme parks. The practice sparked a global outcry after pictures surfaced of an unprecedented number of the marine mammals -- a total of 11 orcas and 87 belugas -- crammed into small enclosures at a secure facility in the Far Eastern town of Nakhodka. There have never been that many animals caught in one season and kept in the same facility before anywhere in the world, said Dmitry Lisitsyn, head of the Sakhalin Environmental Watch group who has emerged as a point person in the campaign to release the whales captured last summer back into the wild. Under public pressure, Russian investigators launched two probes into poaching and cruel treatment of the whales, while Russias environmental watchdog said it has refused to issue permits to export them. But the investigations and any potential court case could drag on for months. And a major hurdle remains in the Russian government which is split between the environment ministry that says the animals must be urgently released, and the fisheries agency that defends their capture as part of a legitimate industry. The captured killer whales belong to the rarer seal-eating, or transient, population of the species, which does not interbreed or interact with fish-eating orcas. The environment ministry has tried to list the seal-eating type as endangered, ministry representative Olga Krever said. This population has only 200 adult animals in Russian waters, she said. But the agriculture ministry, which controls the fisheries agency and oversees non-protected sea species, views orcas as a dangerous competitor for Russias fish stocks and doesnt believe they are under threat, Krever said, calling the dispute a big problem. The heads of the two ministries could sit down and decide the fate of the Nakhodka animals quickly as this needs a political solution, she said. But while marine mammal researchers say there are good chances of a successful release, the fisheries agency told AFP that releasing the captured animals carries high risks of their mass death. Neither orcas nor belugas are endangered, and are simply a resource that can be used according to existing legislation, agency representative Sergei Golovinov said. The high-profile clash became heated at a Moscow conference last week where Alexander Pozdnyakov, a fishing lobbyist tied to firms keeping the animals in Nakhodka, suddenly linked it to Russias geopolitical struggle with the United States. Today there is a battle for the Chinese market, Pozdnyakov said. If the Nakhodka animals are not delivered there, this market will be taken over by American companies.What he failed to mention is that catching wild orcas stopped in both the United States and Canada in the 1970s due to public opposition. There are 74 operational ocean theme parks in mainland China featuring whales and dolphins, according to the China Cetacean Alliance, which monitors the industry. More are under construction. Orcas are like the cherry on the cake for new Chinese venues, said Greenpeace Russia campaigner Oganes Targulyan at a recent protest against whale capture.All 17 killer whales that Russia has exported since 2013 -- valued at over $1 million each by customs -- have gone to China, according to CITES wildlife trade figures. Though the animals in Nakhodka are unlikely to get green-lighted for export, their fate is unclear: it could be up to President Vladimir Putin to make the political decision on their release, campaigner Lisitsyn said. In the West, there is widespread opposition to keeping the highly intelligent marine mammals in parks like the US chain Sea World, but in Russia public opinion is not so certain. Companies that caught the animals are not giving up. At the weekend, they launched a new Instagram account, praising the Nakhodka facility and defending the oceanarium industry. On Saturday, dozens of pro-industry supporters disrupted a rally to free the whales. They showed up with signs reading Each orca is 10 jobs for the crews hired to catch them, and only left when police arrived on the scene. We see that the capturing companies are putting up a fight, Lisitsyn said. They are using their lobbyist muscle. Researchers meanwhile are already starting to organise to prepare for a potential release of the animals. There has never been so many animals released in the past, said Dmitry Glazov, a beluga whale researcher at the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution in Moscow. He said a project of that scale would certainly require international expertise and funding. The whales, which have been fed dead fish, would need to go through an adaptation period to make sure they can rely on their natural food sources. For science, releasing this many animals would be invaluable, he said. But there needs to be a decision first. Nearly four years after her son was killed and his body burned, one mother is hoping she will finally get answers. Eric Cates, 32, and his beloved dog Gypsy were found dead inside Cates burned pickup truck on March 21, 2015 behind the old Empire School in Walker County. After years of offering up to a $25,000 reward for information in Cates case, no arrests have been ever made. Cates mother Tobbie Stover initially expressed frustration at how the Walker County Sheriffs Office handled the case early on. Earlier this month, the sheriffs office sent the Cates case to the State Bureau of Investigation. In January, Sheriff Nick Smith took office as the Walker County Sheriff. Stover said she met Smith last year at a vigil for her son, and she told the then-candidate about Cates case. Stover said Smith told her he couldnt make any promises on what would happen, but he did vow to look at the case and ask for help if it was needed. "And he never forgot," Stover said emotionally. Smith said he promised to help Stover get justice for her son, and wanted to deliver on that promise. It was just time to do it, Smith said about sending the case to state investigators. They can give the case a fresh set of eyes, and hopefully some needed closure to the family. Both the Walker County Sheriffs Office and the Cullman County Sheriffs Office have offered help in the SBI probe. Stover said shes hoping to finally learn what happened to her son and the dog who went everywhere with him. Im not looking for it to be done today, tomorrow, next month. But I think whatever timeline we have, I think its going to a reasonable one. I have already spent 4 years, I can wait another 6 months. While an official cause of death hasnt been released, Stover said evidence of soot in Cates lungs show he was alive when he was burned. Gypsys remains were sent to Auburn University for a necropsy, but veterinarians told Stover there wasnt enough left of the bulldog-mix to examine. Stover, a registered nurse who also previously worked for the Cullman County Sheriff's Office, said about a year after the slaying that evidence wasn't properly handled and the scene where Cates and Gypsy's bodies were found was contaminated. She also said the sheriff's office didn't communicate with her and Cates' father, Wayne Cates. Stover and Wayne Cates often went to the sheriffs office, where then-Sheriff Jim Underwood led the department, and demanded answers they never received. At one point, Stover wrote to then-Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange expressing her concerns about the investigation. An officer with the AGs Office wrote back and said he regretted the case was initially mishandled, but told her to focus on the positives and move forward, according to Stover. She said the letter also mentioned concerns about the problems Stover mentioned. "It's like going down a tunnel, and I couldn't see any light But you have to just keep moving forward anyway," Stover said. "Actually, I take that back. I can see a little now that [Smith] is in office that's what is keeping me and my family hopeful." She said, "I want to be able to close another door and go to the next one. This is a closing process. And I just want to know why." This is not my time. Its Gods time. And maybe were going to be getting some answers soon. This is the best I have felt in a long time. A 32-year-old Hoover man was taken into custody Thursday following a standoff that lasted more than two hours in southwest Birmingham. The Birmingham Police Departments Crime Reduction Team went to the home at 3533 45th Street Southwest about 2 p.m. trying to arrest Mario Derrell Slaughter. The suspect was wanted on multiple charges, including a shooting incident. Once they arrived on the scene, said Sgt. Johnny Williams Jr., Slaughter refused to come out of the home. The SWAT team was dispatched to the scene. After several hours, Slaughter was taken into custody. He is charged with discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling, two counts of third-degree receiving stolen property in Jefferson County, one count of first-degree receiving stolen property out of Shelby County, and burglary and theft out of Chilton County. No injuries were reported to Slaughter or officers. The closings of rural hospitals in Alabama and the opioid crisis warrant national emergencies, not a border wall, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, said Thursday during a town hall meeting in Bessemer. Sewell suggested that President Donald Trump walk in my footsteps, in my district, and he will see lots of things that we can spend $5.6 billion on instead of a wall. The congresswoman noted that she sponsored a bill to give states that have failed to expand Medicaid, including Alabama, a 100 percent federal match if they expand the health insurance program. Its not too late to expand Medicaid, Sewell said at the Bessemer Recreation Center. We still have an opportunity to get a 100 percent match and that will help us save those rural hospitals. After three trips to the southern border, Sewell said, she witnessed children suffering, separated from their parents, in cages, and not the threats to the country that the president used to justify his national emergency declaration to build a border wall. These are people who are trying to use legitimate asylum laws that we have on the books to come into our country, the congresswoman said. I didnt support [Trumps national emergency declaration] because I dont believe there is a crisis on our border. But there are crises in our country. Theres an opioid crisis thats killing our children. However, Sewell also said that she voted for border security funding to avert a government shutdown, the president and Congress have to be prudent with the funds. I did vote for a wall its a smart wall, Sewell said, noting that border agents need to be equipped with the latest technology. Sewell also took questions from the crowd, including from a teenager who grilled her on the thousands of dollars she has taken from the pharmaceutical industry. The teenager, who declined to give his name but identified himself to AL.com as a 17-year-old Vestavia Hills High School student, questioned whether the contributions influence Sewells votes in Washington. Great question. They have no influence on my votes, Sewell said, explaining that while she does not solicit donations from the drug industry, it is necessary to speak to industry leaders to form policy. I dont ask them for that money, I want to be very clear about that, she said. But Im not ashamed just because pharma gives me money doesnt mean pharma controls my vote. A disbarred attorney from Walker County has been convicted on two counts of felony theft of property. Garve Ivey Jr., 67, pleaded guilty in a Walker County courtroom Wednesday, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Thursday. Ivey admitted to unlawfully taking client funds from his trust account over a period of several years to fund his extravagant lifestyle, Marshall said. He pleaded guilty before Jefferson County Circuit Judge Michael Streety, who was specially-appointed to preside over the case. The investigation into Ivey began after the Attorney Generals Office and the Alabama State Bar received multiple complaints regarding theft of client trust funds. An extensive investigation showed that on several occasions, Ivey would settle cases on behalf of clients that were plaintiffs in personal injury or wrongful death cases. Instead of informing his clients that a settlement had been reached and disbursing to the victims their portions of the funds, he would transfer the settlement money into his operating and personal accounts and use it to fund his lavish and extravagant lifestyle, Marshall said. In 2011, Ivey was disbarred from the practice of law by order of the Supreme Court of Alabama. He had consented to disbarment based on two investigation concerning the misappropriation of third-party and client funds from Iveys trust account. In 2012, he was indicted by a Walker County grand jury on multiple charges of theft of property. In those cases, authorities said, Ivey was charged with 10 counts of first-degree theft of a check or currency valued a more than $2,500 and one count of second-degree theft of a check or currency valued between $500 and $2,500. The money belonged to 14 people. The following year, Ivey was again indicted in Walker County with two additional theft charges. After many years of delays, the case was set to go to trial in April. However, Marshall said, at a Wednesday status hearing, Ivey agreed to plead guilty to two felony counts and pay restitution in the amount of $381,515.20. Both counts are class B felonies and are controlled by the Alabama presumptive sentencing guidelines. Sentencing will be left to the discretion of the court and is set for April 29, 2019. The victims in this case went to Ivey for help at a time of great need, Marshall said in a prepared statement. These people were injured in an accident or a family member was wrongfully killed and they were seeking justice. Instead, they were victimized again by the greed of an individual who used his position of trust to enrich himself. This type of conduct erodes the trust that the people of Alabama should be able to place in members of the Alabama bar, Marshall said. It will not be tolerated. Ivey, who was once active in politics and was the brother of former Hoover Mayor Gary Ivey, was sentenced by a judge in 2000 to 30 days in jail and fined $1,000 for his role in an ex-hookers election-year 1998 accusations against former Lt. Gov. Steve Windom. The misdemeanor conviction, however, was reversed and a judgement of acquittal entered in 2001 in that case. A convicted felon with a lengthy criminal history has been charged in this weeks beating death of a 73-year-old retired lawyer inside his Hoover home. Jackson Bradley Young, 36, is charged with murder in the slaying of 73-year-old Arthur Grey Till Jr. Hoover police announced the charges against Young on Thursday, calling Tills murder a brutal crime. Tills body was found inside his Caldwell Crossings home about 12:30 p.m. Monday Two female friends found him dead when they went to the home. Police said there was no forced entry, and the women had access to his home. Neighbors said there were frequent visitors at the home and one of them said he saw a man leaving the home late Sunday night. Tills body was taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery for autopsy, and it was that autopsy that determined his death was the result of foul play. Hoover police Capt. Gregg Rector said investigators identified a possible suspect very early into this investigation and were actively looking for Young since Monday night. On Tuesday, detectives learned that the suspects vehicle was discovered burned in Talladega County. Sheriffs officials there notified Hoover police. Young was taken into custody in Birmingham on Tuesday night by Hoover police officers. He has remained in the Hoover City Jail since that time. Investigators have been working around the clock to gather evidence and establish a timeline of events since this crime was discovered. Detectives believe that the victim was specifically targeted by the suspect. Investigators have consulted with the Shelby County District Attorneys Office throughout this investigation, and formal arrest warrants were obtained this afternoon. "This was an extremely brutal attack and apparently wasnt well planned either,'' Rector said. "Detectives zeroed in on Mr. Young from the beginning and it just took us a couple of days to build a case and locate him. " Young will be transferred to the Shelby County Jail later tonight and held on $150,000 bond. Young has been arrested on 14 criminal charges since 2002. The offenses include drug possession, fraudulent use of a credit or debit car, burglary, theft of property, resisting arrest and burglary. In 2003, court records show, he was convicted of second-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and second-degree assault in Shelby County. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison It wasnt clear how long he actually served, but Young pleaded guilty in 2008 to felony burglary charges in Houston County. He was sentenced to five years in prison in that case. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Hoover police Det. Brad Fountain at 205-444-7562. If you wish to remain anonymous and qualify for a cash reward, you are encouraged to call Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama at 205-254-7777. The president and CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance is stepping down from his post effective March 29 to take another economic development position in the state, the organization announced Thursday. Brian Hilson had been with the BBA since 2011. The organization suggested Hilson will be leaving the alliance in good hands after 4,500 jobs and $1 billion in capital investment was secured in Birmingham last year. When I came here eight years ago from Huntsville my plan was very clear: to accept the challenge to put into practice the proven strategies that I knew would bring a new level of success to this great community, Hilson said in a statement. As I move on to my next challenge in economic development, I have a sense of satisfaction that the BBA has, in fact, helped Birmingham achieve many successful years in economic development. This is a timely opportunity for me to leave the BBA after a record year in economic development, and to step into a new role. A man wanted on outstanding warrants is barricaded inside a southwest Birmingham home. The standoff began about 2 p.m. at a resident in the 3300 block of 45th Street S.W., said Sgt. Johnny Williams. The suspect - whose identity has not been released - is wanted on two felony warrants. Authorities have not disclosed the nature of the crimes of which he is accused. Police are attempting to make contact with him and get him to surrender peacefully. They have now been on the scene for more than two hours. This story will be updated as more information becomes available. By Julie Zauzmer and Sarah Pulliam Bailey In recent years, the deep division over sexuality in the United Methodist Church has led many in the church to use a word they hadnt heard since their European history classes: schism. A schism, the splitting of a church over irreconcilable differences, has sometimes seemed imminent. Yet in an extraordinary meeting of church leaders in St. Louis that begins Saturday, the 12 million-member denomination will try to reach a plan to hold their church together while also deciding the church's stance on LGBT issues. It is very difficult to be the church in the same way in Monrovia, Liberia, and in San Francisco and in Austin, Texas, and in Peoria, Illinois, and in Montgomery, Alabama, said Bishop Kenneth Carter of Florida, one of the three moderators of the 32-member Commission on a Way Forward that has been preparing plans since 2016 for the denomination to consider. From a political perspective, we are a church that has among its members Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush and James B. Comey and Jeff Sessions. ... How much unity can we achieve? And how much separation do people need from each other? The United Methodist Church is, in the United States, the third-largest faith group in the nation and the largest mainline Protestant group. Here, many Methodist pastors want to perform same-sex marriages and ordain gay men and women as clergy. They look to their counterparts in other mainline churches that have long allowed gay weddings, like the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Episcopal Church, as far ahead of their own denomination. But the issue of sexuality remains deeply divisive among both clergy and believers across the nation, with strong opinions on both sides. Furthermore, the United Methodist Church is not just an American church but a global one. About a third of the denomination's churches are in Africa, where the church is rapidly growing, and where leaders tend to deeply oppose the idea of being part of a church that sanctions homosexuality. How to hold all this together? In St. Louis from Saturday through Tuesday, more than 800 clergy and lay leaders will vote on several options - including, perhaps, ending the unity in the 50-year-old denomination's name. "When I'm realistic, I realize our denomination probably will break apart. We will most likely split," said the Rev. Frank Schaefer, one of the highest-profile ministers involved in this debate. Schaefer, a father of three gay children, was put on church trial for officiating the wedding of his son and was defrocked by United Methodist officials in Pennsylvania, then hired again as a pastor at a United Methodist church in Santa Barbara, California, under a different bishop. "We're spending resources debating and fighting each other. It's like a bad marriage. Sometimes it's better to break up and move on." One option, which Schaefer said he supports, would allow each church to essentially decide for itself whether to hire gay clergy and perform same-sex weddings. The Rev. Stefanie Bennett, who leads the nation's oldest United Methodist congregation, John Street United Methodist Church in New York City, said most of her 100 members have told her they are hoping for this plan to pass. "They would be sad" if the denomination splits, she said, though she believes the church needs a change in its approach to LGBT members. "The UMC has not represented Jesus well in the way LGBTQI have been treated in our midst." A second choice, called the "traditional option," would continue the United Methodist Church's official stance against homosexuality, and would even beef up enforcement against clergy who go against the church's policies on the issue. Mark Tooley, a lifelong Methodist who heads the group Institute for Religion and Democracy, hopes the traditional plan will pass. He expects a small number of liberal churches would leave the denomination, but he thinks as many as 95 percent would remain. At stake, he said, is whether the denomination will follow other mainline Protestant churches that have seen membership decline. Tooley believes Africans will become the majority in the denomination in the next five to 10 years, thus pushing Methodists in a more theologically conservative direction. "We're becoming a very different kind of denomination," he said. A third approach would split the church into three connected but distinct denominations: one that affirms LGBT inclusion, one that strictly condemns homosexuality, and one that gives each pastor a choice for how to approach the question. "That would simply give people the separation that many people want," Carter said. "There would be some shared resources, but they would have their own bishops and their own budgets. It would really be a way of having a looser connection." Participants in the St. Louis meeting, which runs through Tuesday, can modify these proposals and suggest new ones. Another plan that has been floated by some progressives, called the "simple plan," asks for more purity - removing all language against homosexuality from the church's book of rules entirely. "It's a conviction which is really based in civil rights, so I don't want to disparage it," Carter said. "It's really saying, 'Why should [same-sex marriage] be OK in Washington, D.C., and not in a very conservative area? Persons need those protections there.' There's a lot of power in that." This meeting is the first time the church called a special session on a single topic, outside of the every-four-years format for global meetings, since 1970. That year, the topic was merging another denomination into the United Methodist Church. This time, the topic is whether to break apart. Attorneys for the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America have filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Attorney General William Barr and President Donald Trump asking the court to recognize the citizenship of an Alabama woman who left the U.S. to join ISIS and allow she and her young son to return to the United States. The woman, Hoda Muthana, began pleading to come home earlier this week after spending more than four years with ISIS, during which she used her Twitter account to call for attacks on Americans. Shes been married three times, widowed twice and has an 18-month-old son. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia at 9:27 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, comes a day after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said she has no legal basis to claim citizenship and President Trump said she would not be allowed back into the United States. In the lawsuit, attorneys ask the court to recognize Muthanas citizenship based on her birth on U.S. and allow she and her son to enter the country. Attorneys argue her son is also a U.S. citizen because he is her natural child. In Ms. Muthanas words, she recognizes that she has ruined her own life, but she does not want to ruin the life of her young child, attorneys said in an emailed statement to AL.com. Citizenship is a core right under the Constitution, and once recognized should not be able to be unilaterally revoked by tweetno matter how egregious the intervening conduct may be. The lawsuit also asks the court to allow Ahmed Ali Muthana, her father, to send her money to ensure the survival of his daughter and grandson, and enable them safe passage home, without subjecting himself to criminal liability. The lawsuit claims sending money to her from the United States would be considered aiding ISIS forces. Ahmed Muthana is listed as a plaintiff in the lawsuit as next friend of Hoda Muthana and her son. He is listed as a plaintiff because attorneys claim internet access and access to a working phone have made communications with Hoda Muthana difficult as she is believed to be inside an al-Hawl refugee camp in northern Syria. Pompeo, Trump and Barr are defendants and sued in their officially capacities as Secretary of State, President and Attorney General, respectively. Ms. Hoda Muthana is not a U.S. citizen and will not be admitted into the United States. She does not have any legal basis, no valid U.S. passport, no right to a passport, nor any visa to travel to the United States, Pompeo said in a statement Wednesday. Attorneys said those claims are based on her fathers previous status as a Yemeni diplomat. Attorneys claim Muthanas father was terminated from his diplomatic position almost two months before she was born in New Jersey. However, the United States Mission to the United Nations, Host Country Affairs claims it was not notified of his termination as a diplomat until February 1995, the lawsuit claims. The Constitution says children born to diplomats are not in the jurisdiction of the United States. Muthana used a termination letter, dated September 1994, to get a passport for his daughter in 2005. She was able to renew her passport in 2014 before she went to ISIS-controlled territory in Syria, the lawsuit claims. The Muthanas received a letter in 2016 claiming her passport was not valid, citing the issue of when her fathers status as a diplomat became inactive. Attorneys are asking for expedited relief, citing Presidents Trump intent to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria. They claim this will make U.S. military cooperation with Kurdish forces diminished if even possible. Both counsel and Mr. Muthana have received communications from Ms. Muthana indicating their desire to return, despite being advised that a successful result of declaratory relief of citizenship will likely result in her being subject to criminal prosecution for alleged conduct for which she otherwise would not be charged, absent the relief sought in this complaint, the lawsuit states. Attorneys also submitted a letter regarding her fathers diplomat status, a copy of Hoda Muthanas birth certificate and a copy of her fathers termination letter from September 1994. Various other letters and communication with U.S. authorities regarding her fathers status were also attached as legal exhibits to the lawsuit. Muthana has asked for sympathy from the United States, and says she regrets her decision to join ISIS in Syria. Read the lawsuit below: Authorities in northwest Alabama are asking the public to be on the lookout for an escaped inmate. Richie Oneal Landers, a 45-year-old from the Hodges area of Franklin County, escaped the local jail around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, authorities said. Landers is described as a white man with brown hair and blue eyes, the Franklin County Sheriffs Office said. He is about 5 feet 10 inches tall. Landers escaped along with another inmate, Andy John Hanson, according to Sheriff Shannon Olivers office. Hanson was recaptured this morning. The inmates escaped by entering a plumbing access and going to the roof, authorities said. At the time of the escape, Corrections Officers were dealing with a fight within the jail that is believed to have been a diversion for the escape, a sheriffs office news release says. Both men were serving time for probation violations and awaiting transport to prison. Anyone with information is asked to call the Franklin County Sheriffs Office at 256-332-8820. WashingtonThe US military will keep around 200 troops in Syria after President Donald Trumps pullout from the war-torn country, the White House said Thursday. A small peace-keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. The announcement comes amid fierce criticism of Trumps decision to withdraw Americas 2,000 or so troops from Syria by April 30, with members of his own Republican Party blasting the move. In December, Trump declared victory over the Islamic State group in Syria, even though thousands of jihadists remain and fighting continues around their last holdout. Critics have decried a number of possible outcomes from a precipitous withdrawal, including a Turkish attack on US-backed Kurdish forces and a resurgence of IS. Sanders did not provide additional details, but the troops peace-keeping designation could pave the way for European allies to commit forces for such a mission. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan visited Europe last week where he attempted to convince allies to maintain a troop presence in Syria after the US pulls out. But he struggled to persuade other countries why they should risk their forces with America gone. Trump earlier Thursday spoke with Turkish President Recep Erdogan, and the two men discussed Syria, according to a White House summary.The two presidents agreed to continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone in Syria, the readout said. At the height of its rule, IS imposed its brutal ideology on a territory roughly the size of the United Kingdom, attracting thousands of supporters from abroad. But the jihadists have since lost almost all their territory save for a tiny sliver of around half a square kilometer (a fifth of a square mile) in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are working towards evacuating civilians remaining in the holdout, so they can polish off the dying IS caliphate whether through an assault or a surrender deal. Syrias Kurds have long demanded the repatriation of foreigners accused of belonging to IS in their custody, but their home countries have been reluctant. US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was barring a US-born former IS propagandist from returning home from Syria, where the conflict has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since 2011. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that the diplomatic status of the father of Alabama woman Hoda Muthana means she is not a US citizen. It came after a lawyer for the family of a teenager who fled London to join the jihadists when she was 15 said Britain was revoking her citizenship. Goodloe Sutton is not offering any apologies. Sutton, the publisher of the weekly newspaper the Democrat-Reporter in Linden, created a firestorm last week with an editorial titled Klan needs to ride again. The backlash included Sutton being stripped of journalism honors and censured by the Alabama Press Association. Several lawmakers have called for Sutton, whose family has operated the newspaper since 1917, to apologize and resign. Sutton said hes received numerous comments from people across the country, some of which he printed on the front page of this weeks Democrat-Reporter under the headline: Response: Love editorials. The Democrats have been terrible, he said. The KKK are the nicest. He does not regret writing the controversial editorial. It got me about $10 million in free publicity. I know I would do it all over again. Sutton said many people missed the point of the editorial, however. The point of the editorial was ironic in that all these years, the FBI and the Department of Justice have been investigating the Klan and now, that shoe is on the other foot. (The FBI and Justice Department) are doing wrong and the Klan needs to investigate them. Thats what the point of (the editorial) was. Not a lot of people understand irony today." Media from across the country have been contacting the newspaper, Sutton said. I walked into the coffee shop and some of my derelict friends said here comes our celebrity, Sutton said, adding quickly that the attention and criticism doesnt bother me one way or the other. If people are offended, that comes with the territory, he said. Hell, thats what were supposed to do. Sutton, 80, said hes in the process of selling the Marengo County newspaper, which has a circulation of around 3,000. He said he was also working on several books. As for the liberals offended by the editorial, Sutton had a message: Its not their country. Its our country and if they dont like it, they can go to hell. U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., responded to Suttons departure by tweeting, Good riddance:" The Madison woman who read obituaries and then allegedly broke into homes while residents were gone to their love ones funerals did so to obtain prescription drugs, sheriffs investigators said. Jennifer Lynn Azizian faces four counts of felony burglary in Priceville and one count of burglary in the third degree in Morgan County. Sheriffs officials said she was arrested Feb. 20 after reports a suspect was seen leaving the scene of a possible burglary in progress. Law enforcement added that Azizians arrest links multiple burglaries. Morgan County Sheriffs investigators said Azizian told law enforcement she would Google area obituaries then Google the addresses of family members. She would then go to the address during the time of the funeral and forcibly enter the homes to locate prescription medication. Obituaries typically list the deceaseds full name, names of loved ones, their hometown, the date and time of funeral. Morgan County investigators are asking residents to contact them if they believe they have been the victim of a break in or burglary of this nature. Azizians bond has been set at $15,000 per charge in Priceville and $25,000 related to the Morgan County charges. This isnt the first time someone has allegedly broken into homes after using obituaries to find targets. Law enforcement advise people to leave someone at the house during a funeral or at least park cars in the driveway to make it look like someone is home. Zeb Little, the former majority leader of the Alabama state senate, is indicted on charges of stealing from his legal clients trust funds, authorities said. Little, a 50-year-old from Cullman, is indicted on three felony charges of first-degree theft, announced Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshalls office. Little turned himself in and was released from the Cullman County jail on $15,000 bail on Thursday. Little is an attorney. Hes accused of stealing more than $25,000 from client trust funds, Marshall said in a news release. No further information about the investigation or about the defendants alleged crimes other than that stated in the indictment may be released at this time, the AG said in a press release. If convicted of all three Class B felonies, Little faces up to 20 years in prison for each. Little is a Democrat who served in the state Senate from 1998-2010. He was majority leader from 2002-2010. Thursdays arrest was not the first time the former state lawmaker had a brush with the law. In May 2009, he pleaded guilty to DWI and having an open container as part of a plea deal after being pulled over on I-65 in Hoover. He was sentenced to probation and DUI school. Other charges of driving without a license and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle were dropped. In the days since Hoda Muthana, the young woman from Hoover who went to Syria to join ISIS, began pleading to come home, there has been no shortage of questions and debate about her citizenship and what the U.S. should do if she returns. Muthana, now 24, left her home in Alabama in 2014 and went to join the Islamic State, known as ISIS, Syria. After more than four years with ISIS, she wants to come home, citing a change of heart. She said she was young and ignorant when she decided to leave the U.S. I hope America doesnt think Im a threat to them and I hope they can accept me, she said in an interview with ABC News. However, many Americans have expressed no interest in welcoming her back to the U.S. Hoover City Councilman John Lyda said she would not be welcome back to Hoover if she comes back to the United States. He called Secretary of State Mike Pompeos statement declaring Muthana not a citizen of the United States the right call. The right call. Thankful to see this statement from @secpompeo that she is not welcome in the U.S. Shes certainly not welcome back in the @CityofHoover as far as Im concerned. https://t.co/qKJpQbJ9SI John B Lyda (@johnlyda) February 21, 2019 Im proud to say shes not welcome back in Hoover, Lyda told AL.com during a phone interview Thursday morning. Lyda serves as the city councilman for Place 3. "The extreme view Hoda has espoused is not at all representative of the city of Hoover, Alabama or its citizens. Its uncommon and its concerning. Lyda says hes heard from many Hoover residents, many of whom he says agree with his sentiments on the matter. Her child, thats the saddest part of the story, he said. She is caught up in a decision she made at 20 years old and now she will have to live with the consequences of that. He said the extremist views she adopted when she left the country for Syria dont reflect those of Hoover or of its citizens. For many Hoover residents, the news of a young woman from the city joining ISIS was a bit jarring. Jordan LaPorta, who graduated from Hoover High School the same year as Muthana, said many students were also surprised. LaPorta, who is now 24 and is in his second year of law school at the University of Alabama, said he knew Muthana from school. Hoda Muthana, seated in the foreground, participates in a broadcasting class at Hoover High School in Hoover, Ala., on Aug. 18, 2011. (Beverly Taylor/The Birmingham News) He admits he wasnt a close friend of Muthanas but said he knew other people who were. But even though they werent close friends, he said he enough about her to know there were not red flags indicating she supported extremist Islamic views. Even they [the people who were close to her] were kind of shocked. This one girl was just completely floored. Everyone was really sad about it too, he told AL.com during a phone interview Thursday afternoon. With something like this. Terrorism? You think its more happening overseas or its happening in the major cities of America like New York, Chicago or LA. When something like this is tied to your community, it makes it feel a lot more real, he said. With the news of her desire to come back to America, LaPorta said he was immediately conflicted about it. It does seem like she has had a change of heart. With the campaigns the U.S. government has waged against this organization, Im surprised she is still alive. But, dang, not only is she still alive, but trying to speak out. Its just crazy to me, he said. For LaPorta, the issue of her 18-month-old son complicates the issue. She definitely should have to answer for what she did, but I feel terrible for that kid, who has done nothing but be born to the wrong family in the wrong place. It makes it more complicated, he said. She should be able to come back for the sake of her child, but immediately face trial. State Rep. Gary Palmer, like Lyda, agreed with Pompeo on the issue. Those who betray the country and fight for ISIS have to suffer the consequences for their actions. Secretary Pompeo has expressed that she has no legal basis to return to the U.S. and I agree with him. She forfeited the privileges of citizenship when she provided aid to radical extremists seeking to kill Americans, Palmer said in an emailed statement to AL.com. Hassan Shibly, an attorney for Muthana and her family, insists she is a citizen of the U.S. and had a valid passport when she left the United States in 2014. The Trump administration continues its attempts to wrongfully strip citizens of their citizenship, Shibly told AL.com Wednesday. Hoda Muthana had a valid US passport and is a citizen. She was born in Hackensack, NJ in October 1994, months after her father stopped being a diplomat. Pompeo argues she has no legal basis on which to claim her citizenship. Ms. Hoda Muthana is not a U.S. citizen and will not be admitted into the United States, Pompeo said. She does not have any legal basis, no valid U.S. passport, no right to a passport nor any visa to travel to the United States. Ultimately, Lyda said the issue of her citizenship will likely be sorted out in court. I think this is the first step in a lengthy legal process, Lyda said. Other prominent figures, such as the mother of James Foley, the freelance journalist who was beheaded by ISIS militants in 2014 while he was covering the Syrian Civil War, have called for Muthana to face the justice system. Speaking on Fox News, Diana Foley said it was important that Muthana and the many thousands of ISIS fighters who have promoted terrorism...be held accountable and brought to justiceI feel that is vital. Muthana is believed to be the only American among an estimated 1,500 foreign women and children inside a refugee camp of around 39,000 people in an al-Hawl refugee camp in northern Syria. The Birmingham Islamic Society declined to comment on this story and diverted comments and questions to Shibly. An Alabama veteran of World War II is coming home for burial this spring after his remains were identified 74 years after he died in action. Navy Reserve Seaman 2nd Class Ira N. Slaton of Albertville died July 24, 1944 aboard the USS Colorado off the shore of the Northern Mariana Islands. He was 22. The Colorado, along with other U.S. ships, had opened fire on the occupied island and took fire from a concealed Japanese shore battery. The first hit on the ship caused an explosion and heavy shrapnel. Four crewmen were declared missing in action and 39 were killed, including Slaton. Slayton was buried with the other 38 killed in a Marine cemetery on Saipan, but all were disinterred in 1948 to confirm the identifications. Four were reclassified unknown including Slaton, and they were buried again at the Manila American Memorial and Cemetery in the Philippines. In October, 2017, personnel of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) exhumed Unknown X-76 and sent the remains to a DPAA laboratory for analysis. Scientists used dental and anthropological evidence, along with other evidence, to make the identification on Sept. 24, 2018. Slaton will be buried April 6 in Horton, Ala. The DPAA says almost 72,742 American service members still unaccounted for from World War II. Approximately 26,000 are thought possibly recoverable. More than 400,000 Americans died in the war. Slatons name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. (Updated to correct the name of the memorial in Honolulu) An Alabama woman has pleaded guilty to an animal cruelty charge for feeding a dog meatballs laced with nails in 2017 when she worked for the U.S. Postal Service. Susanna Burhans was sentenced to 10 days in jail, 50 hours of community service and two years of probation, court records show. She will serve her sentence on weekends, court records show. Shes required to report to the Madison County jail by 5 p.m. today. Burhans, a 49-year-old former mail carrier, pleaded guilty earlier this month to a reduced misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty. If Burhans violates the terms of her probation, she could face more than five months in jail. She didnt return calls from AL.com seeking comment. Burhans case received national attention when she was arrested in 2017 on a felony charge of aggravated animal cruelty. She threw the nail-laced meatballs at a dog along her mail route in New Hope, a small city southeast of Huntsville, said Madison County Assistant District Attorney Randy Dill. The dog named Missy was taken to a vet for treatment and is now in good health, her owners told AL.com today. The Postal Service suspended Burhans pending an investigation of the case. She resigned months later, said Debbie Fetterly, a spokeswoman for the Postal Service. Burhans worked for the Postal Service for about 23 years. The U.S. Postal Service employs more than 625,000 employees and is the largest civilian federal workforce in the country, said Jeldrys Lowry, assistant special agent in charge for the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, in a statement. This type of alleged behavior within the Postal Service is not tolerated and the overwhelming majority of Postal Service employees, which serve the public, are honest, hardworking, and trustworthy individuals who would never consider engaging in any type of criminal behavior. North Alabama Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, wants the Bible to be the focus of three new social studies electives in public schools. But at least one group that favors the separation of church and state is watching the bill closely. Melson, who chairs the Senate education policy committee, filed Senate Bill 14 last month ahead of the March 5 start to the legislative session. The bill calls for the Alabama Board of Education to create three new courses---the study of the Hebrew scriptures of the Old Testament, the study of the New Testament, and a course combining the two---that students in sixth through 12th grade could take as social studies electives. The purpose of the courses, according to the bill, are to teach about "Bible characters, poetry, and narratives that are useful for understanding history and contemporary society and culture, including art, music, social mores, oration, and public policy." Melson did not return multiple requests for comment prior to publication of this story. The Freedom from Religion Foundation has similar concerns about how a history class on the Bible is ultimately taught to students. Staff attorney Ryan Jayne said his organization is following Alabama's bill, along with others that are similar being filed across the country. "The Supreme Court has clearly stated that Bible classes can be constitutional in public schools but only under very tight circumstances," Jayne said. "In practice, that has virtually never been met." An academic study of the Bible is within constitutional limits but whoever is teaching the course needs proper training to ensure they don't step across any legal boundaries, according to Michael Altman, a religious studies assistant professor at the University of Alabama. "On one level it seems very much within current laws about teaching religions," Altman said after reading the bill. "On the ground, there's a lot of space where lines could be crossed." Altman said he is concerned that the bill singles out the Bible as a focus of study. "It sets the Bible apart as a special text," he said, "which is fine if you're a Christian." The devil is in the details, and Altman said there is a lot of "wiggle room" in Melson's bill. While the bill requires teachers to maintain "religious neutrality" and to accommodate "the diverse religious views, traditions, and perspectives of students in the school," in practice that requires teachers to be well-trained in how to present the material, Altman said. Alabama schools already can offer an English language arts elective called "Bible as Literature," where a study of the Bible is allowed. That course, available to ninth through 12th-graders, had 453 students in 23 schools in 17 school districts enrolled during the 2017-18 school year. Altman said the American Academy of Religion, a professional association for teachers and researchers of religion, developed a set of guidelines for teaching religion in K-12 public schools. Most teachers aren't trained to teach religion, he said, in teacher preparation courses and shy away from teaching it altogether. It also requires teachers to refrain from endorsing or showing favor or hostility toward any religion, nonreligious faith, or religious perspective. Melson's bill is very similar to a Bible literacy bill promoted in 2017 by Project Blitz, a consortium of Christian political organizations, including the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, the National Legal Foundation and Wallbuilders, which according to its website emphasizes "the moral, religious, and constitutional foundation on which America was built." According to its website, the purpose of Project Blitz is "to protect the free exercise of traditional Judeo-Christian religious values and beliefs in the public square, and to reclaim and properly define the narrative which supports such beliefs." The organization, in an annual report, produces model legislation for state lawmakers that does not run afoul of legal precedent. While the Project Blitz model bill proposes the elective courses start at the ninth-grade level, Melson's bill lowers that to include sixth through eighth-grades. That raises additional concerns for Jayne. A class for younger students, he said, "suggests it will be oversimplified and will likely resemble a Sunday School class with fantastical biblical stories rather than studying the book from an objective, secular perspective." Altman said while he would have loved a course like that as a middle-school student, he isn't sure that a true academic study of the Bible is what Project Blitz organizers are aiming at for younger students. A critical interpretation of the Bible includes comparing it with other texts of the period, Altman said. "It will make you a much better thinker and better at understanding the world around you." A critical study would also question the origins and factual basis of what is written in the Bible, he said. Also included in Melson's bill is a provision to allow school principals to allow displays of "historic artifacts, monuments, symbols, and texts including, but not limited to, religious materials" displayed in conjunction with the course. At least six other states are considering bills allowing the Bible to be studied in public schools according to media reports, and President Donald Trump sent a Tweet encouraging support for those bills on Jan. 28: Numerous states introducing Bible Literacy classes, giving students the option of studying the Bible. Starting to make a turn back? Great! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2019 A social studies course on the Bible could be done right, Altman said, "But I don't think an academic study of the Bible is going to bring God back into schools" in the way Project Blitz organizers hope to do. Jayne said the push by Project Blitz has a clear purpose. "This is a transparent attempt to advance Christian Nationalism," he said. "All of these bills are specifically pro-Christianity and trying to use state government to push a Christian message specifically." The ultimate goal, Jayne said, is not to teach the Bible. "They want to convert students to Christianity." The Congressional Prayer Caucus and the National Legal Foundation did not return requests for comment. An Alabama woman turned ISIS bride whom President Trump says wont be allowed to re-enter the United States told reporters she anticipates no problem returning to the country, according to a report from NBC News. I know in fact that I was a citizen, Hoda Muthana told NBC News. "When I tried filing for a passport it was very easy. It came in 10 days. So, I thought I didnt have a problem, and Im sure there is no problem and I know my lawyer hopefully is working on it and he will win the case. Late Thursday night, her father filed a lawsuit on behalf of she and her young son asking the U.S. to recognize her citizenship, and thus, her sons citizenship by being the natural child of an American citizen. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said she had no legal basis on which to claim her citizenship. U.S. officials are claiming Muthana is not a citizen based on a technicality related to her fathers position as a diplomat in the months immediately before and after she was born in New Jersey in October 1994. Muthana went to Syria to join ISIS in November 2014. She escaped and was captured by Kurdish forces and is currently being held at an al-Hawl refugee camp in northern Syria. Earlier this week, she began publicly pleading to come home back to the United States. She says she regrets leaving and joining ISIS. Former Vice President Al Gore came down to the Black Belt on Thursday and for about 28 minutes, he took the folks there to church. The former politician and now environmental activist railed against corporate greed, investor owned utilities, environmental injustice and, of course, climate change during a town hall meeting at the Jackson-Steele Community Center in Hayneville, Ala., drawing frequent applause and several shouts of "Amen!" from a crowd of about 130 local residents and environmental activists from across the state. The animated Gore who rallied the crowd in Hayneville was a far cry from the wooden, stiff caricature of Gore that emerged during his political career, his face gaining color and his brow damp with sweat as he denounced corporate political actions, environmental injustice and voter suppression efforts. "These communities, the people who caused the pollution have learned, have been historically deprived of the same abilities economically and politically to defend themselves against the assault on their community," Gore said. "And so they say 'put it there, we'll likely just be able to get away with it.'" Gore alluded to former Alabama legislator Oliver Robinson, not by name, who pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe to oppose cleanup efforts in a polluted neighborhood, but said many more elected officials found ways to accept money or things of value from corporate interests without violating the letter of the law. "A lot of what goes on to make this environmental injustice possible doesn't violate the law," Gore said. "Even if it is legal, it is a violation of God's law and they should be held to account at the ballot box." He also offered some hope, in a rousing message that had at least one excited attendee yell "Gore for President." You take the solutions that are available in energy and the solutions that are available in politics and you put them together and you get a tremendous change that brings our communities back to life, Gore said. "That sets Washington, D.C. on its ear and sends out the message Alabama is a new state. "There is going to be a call for ecological justice, for racial justice." Gore also criticized Alabama Power for what he called a solar tax, a fixed fee on residential customers who install solar panels on their houses that is markedly higher than other utilities, many of which charge no such fees to their solar customers. Last year in the United States of America as a whole, two thirds of new electricity came from solar or from wind, Gore said, adding that the solar and wind were the majority of new electricity sources in China, India and the European Union. If the entire world is recognizing that the cheapest electricity now is solar, why are we burdened in our country, and particularly in Alabama, with the obligation to keep on burning fossil fuels? Gore asked. Gore also recognized Wilsonville Mayor Lee McCarty seated in the crowd, one of the local leaders who is seeking to persuade Alabama Power to dig out its existing coal ash, which sits in unlined ponds like the one in Wilsonville near the E. C. Gaston electric generating plant in Shelby County. Before Gore spoke, several Alabama residents offered their testimonies about living in polluted neighborhoods, dealing with landfills, sewage system failures, heavy industrial operations and more. Phyllis Gosa spoke of her experiences living in Tallassee near the Stones Throw Landfill, where lawsuits have been filed alleging that leachate from the landfill is polluting the drinking water. Jimmy Smith of Birminghams Collegeville neighborhood spoke about his experiences living within the boundaries of the 35th Avenue Superfund site, brandishing a letter from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency listing the toxins found on his property and photo of his daughters who died of cancer. In between speakers, the Rev. William Barber led the crowd in a chant of defiance: "Somebody's hurting our people, and it's gone on far too long, and we won't be silent any more." Before the town hall, Gore toured a neighborhood in Hayneville in which the municipal sewer system is malfunctioning, with residents complaining of frequent back-ups into their houses and yards. Lowndes County has found an unwanted spotlight to its sewage treatment woes in recent years since researchers discovered genetic evidence of a resurgence of hookworm in the area due to poor sewage treatment systems in the area, often exacerbated by a dense clay soil that, as Gore said "won't perc," or allow water from septic tanks to seep down to the water table below. Those conditions make many septic tank systems ineffective, and some smaller municipal sewer systems have difficulties as well in trying to use treatment lagoons that flood easily and frequently. Many houses have septic tanks that don't work properly or resort to "straight piping" their waste directly into the woods. The houses Gore visited were connected to a municipal sewer in Hayneville, but residents say the system backs up so frequently, the town has to send trucks to pump overflows as often as three times per week. Charlie Mae Holcombe, a 70-year-old great grandmother, said she has had to replace her carpet and other items from her house multiple times because the sewage backed up and overflowed into her house. At the end of Gore's visit, he and Barber took Holcombe's hands and prayed with her for relief from her frequent sewage problems. I thought [conditions in Hayneville] were shocking, and for the people living there, tragic, Gore, who is chair of the Climate Reality Project, said after his speech. My heart goes out to those whove been suffering in these conditions for so long. When asked about solutions, Gore, who lives in Nashville, said the best way forward for Alabama was to accelerate the transition to renewable energy. "We ought to sharply reduce, if not eliminate, the solar tax here in Alabama," Gore said. "It's really a disgrace that this southern state, with abundant sunshine, is deprived of the advantages of the solar revolution being enjoyed by people all over the world simply because the monopoly electricity provider has dominance, total political control over the policy makers and law makers in the state of Alabama. "It's sad." Alabama Power spokesman Michael Sznajderman said later via email that the company does not have a solar tax, as Gore called it. Were not aware of any solar tax being applied here in Alabama; Alabama Power certainly applies no such tax, Sznajderman said. As an electric utility providing retail electric service to customers, we do have rates in place to cover the cost of back-up electric service when provided to customers, such as some solar-system users, who choose to rely on Alabama Power for their back-up service requirements. Gore added that while he hopes Alabama Power changes some of its policies, he believes more fundamental changes to the investor-owned utility model may be necessary. "It's not completely [Alabama Power's] fault because our system of electricity rate regulation in the country needs to be changed," Gore said. "These companies do not make money by selling electricity. People think that's where they make their money. They really don't. They get income from that, but their profits come from expanding infrastructure, building new facilities, and preventing the onrushing competition from solar. We need to call upon them to change, but we, the people of the United States need to change the laws that put in place these perverse incentives. Outdoor store REI Co-op will open a new Birmingham store at The Summit, its second location in Alabama, creating 50 jobs. The 20,000-square-foot store is expected to open in October, one month after the expected opening of REIs Huntsville location at MidCity. This week, The Summit announced nine other stores coming in the next few months. REI is a member-owned co-op, offering outdoor gear, with 52,000 lifetime members in Alabama. Members pay $20 for a lifetime membership and share in the companys profits through an annual dividend. REI offers outdoor workshops and regular events to encourage people to get outside. The co-op also gives back nearly 70 percent of its profits annually to the outdoor community, and in 2018 invested $8.8 million in 400 nonprofit organizations across the country. Some of the companys non-profit work is concerned with maintaining local trails and public lands. Gail Kirkland, REI retail director for the South, said Birmingham has many hiking, camping and biking opportunities. We look forward to investing in the local outdoor community and connecting our members to the outdoor spaces that make this area special," Kirkland said. REI has 154 stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Those interested in applying for a job may click here. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Thursday said employers will not be discouraged from hiring women with the signing of the Expanded Maternity Leave Law by President Rodrigo Duterte. Bello noted that companies should be encouraged to hire women because when employees are happy, they are more productive. When you are a happy employee, you work well... Its for the good of everybody especially for our women workers, he said in an interview. He added that they are looking to release the implementing rules and regulations within 45 days. Usually we are given 90 days but we dont intend to fully utilize the 90 days, he said. Following new legislation extending to 105 days, the paid maternity leave benefit for working mothers, a leader of the House of Representatives on Friday batted for the passage of a bill lengthening the paid leave credits for new fathers. We have to be more supportive of both mother and father during childbirth, so it is just a matter of time before Congress also raises the paternity leave benefit, said Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel. We want to allow husbands to physically and emotionally support their wives during childbirth, and to experience early child-father bonding for a longer time, Pimentel, a father of five, said. Pimentel is the author of House Bill 3401, which proposes to bump up to 15 days the existing seven-day paternity leave benefit payable to every working husband for each of the first four childbirths of his lawful wife with whom he is cohabiting. We have to give fathers at least half a month off work, with full pay, for them to be able to lend ample support to their wives in nursing their newborns, and to help mothers recuperate from childbirth, Pimentel said. Pimentel cited studies showing that husbands who took longer paternity leaves were more involved with their children and child care activities, thus reinforcing the long-term bond between father and child. Theres no question a lengthier paternity leave will go a long way in improving the Filipino familys overall work-life balance, he said. In other countries, Pimentel said fathers get up to 90 days of paternity leave with 80 percent of their regular pay. Pimentels bill seeks to amend the Paternity Leave Benefit Law of 1996, or Republic Act 8187. The 23-year-old law, authored by the late Senator Ernesto Herrera, grants a statutory minimum paternity leave of seven days with full pay to all married male employees in the private and public sectors.Under the law, the benefit also applies to a miscarriage or the loss of pregnancy by the wife. The paternity leave benefit covers every husband who performs services for, and receives compensation from another, as long as an employer-employee relationship exists between them. The married male employee has to apply for the leave benefit with his employer, except in cases of a miscarriage. In batting for the swift passage of his bill, Pimentel invoked the mandates of the 1987 Constitution for the State to promote the welfare of labor, solidify the family and provide improved quality of life for all. Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said the new maternity leave law proved once again that the Philippines is one of the best countries for women, particularly mothers. We are proud to be one with many countries around the world in recognizing the importance of mothers and in upholding the rights of every woman, Angara said. The senator also hailed the enactment of the expanded maternity leave measure as a historical win for women, particularly mothersand hence of the country as a whole. President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the expanded maternity leave bill, which he co-authored and co-sponsored in the Senate with principal author and sponsor Senator Risa Hontiveros, Angara said new law recognizes the important role of women, especially mothers, in nation-building. In 2017, the Philippines placed 10th in the ranking of the Global Gender Gap report, making it the most gender equal country in Asia. The report, released by the World Economic Forum, ranked 144 countries based on four categories: Labor force participation, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. In 2011, the Philippines was named as the best place in Asia for women based on a report released by Newsweek magazine. The country ranked 17th overall in the magazines The Best and Worst Places for Women, which analyzed 165 countries on five areas that affect womens lives: treatment under the law, political power, workforce participation, access to education and access to health care. The Philippines garnered an overall score of 86.3 out of 100 and is the only Asian country to be included in the Top 20. Turkeys scorching condemnation of China on Feb. 9 over the treatment of the Turkic Uighur minority in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region caught many, including Uighur activists in Turkey, by surprise. Few expected such an outburst after Ankara's prolonged period of silence despite Chinas well-documented and ongoing repressive policies against the Uighurs. Ankaras statement pleased many in the expatriate Uighur community, giving them hope that it signals the start of a new and more dynamic policy regarding their cause. Others are not so sure, however, due to past experience, broken promises and Turkeys openly expressed and actively pursued desire to develop ties with China as a counterbalance to its deteriorating ties with the West. In addition, questions have been raised about the timing of Ankaras harsh statement and the true reasons behind it, given that Chinas treatment of the Uighurs is nothing new. The obvious catalyst for the unexpectedly harsh statement by Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy was reports circulating on social media that the Uighur folk musician Abdurehim Heyit had died in detention. Expressing sorrow over Heyits death, Aksoy said it was no longer a secret that more than 1 million Uighurs were being subjected to torture and political brainwashing in Chinese internment camps and prisons. Characterizing this as a great shame for humanity, Aksoy called on the international community and the UN secretary-general to take effective measures in order to bring to an end this human tragedy in Xinjiang. Beijing responded immediately by uploading a video of Heyit showing him to be alive. In it, Heyit states the date as Feb. 10 and says he is in good health and has not been abused during his investigation for allegedly violating the law. The Chinese Embassy in Ankara responded officially to Aksoy on Feb. 11 with a statement calling the allegations regarding Heyits death and the treatment of Uighurs groundless and distorted. It also said that the internment camps referred to by Aksoy were training centers and asserted that Turkish journalists had visited and inspected them as recently as January. Many Uighur activists argue that the video of Heyit could easily have been doctored because China has the technology to do so. Nevertheless, the video represents an embarrassment for Ankara, which appears now to have jumped the gun, as noted by Murat Bardakci, a popular columnist for the daily Haberturk. Bardakci called Aksoys statement on Heyits alleged death a major diplomatic gaffe, made hastily on the basis of hearsay over social media, and without any effort to verify the facts. He further stated, To stand up to China over its tormenting and murder of the Uighurs with statements that can be instantly rebutted does nothing but weaken our hand and make the other side question our seriousness. Ankara noticeably toned down its rhetoric after the release of the Heyit video, and at the time of writing, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who in the past has presented himself as a vocal champion of the Uighurs, had not spoken on the matter. Addressing the topic during a Feb. 11 press conference in Ankara, government spokesman Omer Celik chose his words carefully to avoid escalating the situation. Responding to a question about Heyit, Celik said, If the Chinese authorities employed a more transparent approach to claims regarding missing Uighurs, this would help to reduce tensions for everyone. Celik also asserted Ankaras respect for Chinas territorial integrity and for Beijings need to provide for its security. He was clearly trying to quash any suggestion that Turkey might be encouraging Uighur separatism or supporting radical groups in Xinjiang. It is such vacillations in Ankaras tone that leads Uighurs to doubt its sincerity in claiming to defend their cause. Some Uighur representatives in Turkey are not holding back from openly criticizing Erdogan and the government in this respect. The shared concern is that this latest and unexpected outburst against China may turn out to be a one-shot affair because it has more to do with Turkey's local elections in March than the plight of the Uighurs. Ankara may have been holding back from hitting China in recent years, but the Uighurs enjoy great support among religious and nationalist Turks. These groups frequently take to the streets to protest against China and have even mistakenly attacked Korean tourists in Istanbul, mistaking them for Chinese. Aware of this, after Aksoys statement China issued a travel warning to its citizens visiting Turkey. Erdogan needs a strong turnout for his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the March elections to further consolidate his hold on power. Many see Ankaras latest attack on China as an attempt to please the AKPs religious and nationalist bases. Many Uighurs recall that Erdogan also lambasted China in 2009, while prime minister, deeming Beijings treatment of the Uighurs tantamount to genocide. He failed, however, to follow-up with a clear policy on behalf of the Uighurs. Instead, Ankara very quickly made clear that it had no intention of moving in that direction because it valued its ties with China. In the meantime, China and Turkey worked hard to deepen bilateral ties. Their efforts culminated in a February 2012 visit to Turkey by Vice President Xi Jinping, later president, and a visit by Erdogan to China a few months later. Erdogan paid another official visit to Beijing in 2015 and traveled again to China in September 2016 for the G20 summit and for the Belt and Road summit in May 2017. Erdogan's talks with President Xi Jinping during these visits bolstered the positive outlook for bilateral ties, especially in the economic arena, where cooperation is already worth tens of billions of dollars. Ankara can ill afford to put such potential at risk given its current economic difficulties. As noted, Erdogan is also seeking powerful new political allies, including China, as he drifts away from the West. In 2016, Erdogan declared his desire for Turkey to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, in which China plays a key role, alongside Russia. He signaled that Ankara would be prepared to dump its EU membership bid should that happen. Meanwhile, last December, AKP deputies blocked a motion tabled by the nationalist opposition for a parliamentary inquiry into the plight of Uighurs in China. During a visit to Beijing in July 2018 Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had told reporters that Ankara viewed threats to Chinas security as threats to Turkey and would not allow anti-China activity inside Turkey or territory controlled by Turkey. He was trying to assuage Chinas concerns regarding anti-Chinese activities by Uighurs in Turkey aimed at promoting independence for Xinjiang and also acknowledging the problem posed by the scores of Uighurs who traveled through Turkey to join Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria. Despite the recent heated exchanges between Ankara and Beijing, the general expectation is that ties will return to the status quo ante in light of broader interests that neither side can afford to endanger. Tugrul Keskin, an international relations professor at Shanghai University, does not expect Turkeys harsh tone toward China to make much of a difference to the long-term relationship, even if mutual suspicions remain. Turkey cannot ignore the Uighurs and their living conditions, whereas China is very suspicious about Turkish support for the Uighurs, Keskin told the South China Morning Post. This is the hard reality of Turkish-Sino relations and they cannot overcome this. Keskin added, however, The future of Turkish-Sino relations will not be different from the past. Nevertheless, Turkey is currently gripped by election fever, and there is no guarantee that the Uighur issue will not flare up again to be used as fodder in domestic politics. This could one again cloud Turkeys ties with China and will require more deft diplomatic management by Ankara than thus far exhibited, especially if Turkey wants to help the Uighurs in earnest. DIYARBAKIR, Turkey The word Kurdistan may be widely used by the Kurds in Turkey, but it has always been met with suspicion by state officials and nationalist quarters who see it as an expression of Kurdish separatist ambitions. After a period of relative relaxation, the word Kurdistan seems to be sliding back into its taboo status in recent years, with the Turkish judiciary targeting entities that use the word in their names. Kurdistan had first appeared in the names of illegal organizations decades ago, including the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which took up arms in 1984. At the height of the PKK insurgency in the 1990s, using the word in public spaces carried the risk of serious penalties. Things began to change in the 2000s as Ankara softened its stance toward Kurdish cultural demands. The settlement process between Ankara and the Kurds, which began in 2013, brought about a marked relaxation, leading to the establishment of political parties and civic groups that used the word Kurdistan in their names. As a result, the word came to be used in the official dealings of those entities as well as in public life. The state authorities were not completely indifferent, however, cautioning parties to amend their names and charters. Yet in the moderate climate that prevailed at the time, they refrained from further action. After the settlement process collapsed in July 2015, Ankara toughened its stance on the Kurdish question and authorities tolerance ran thin. Stalled proceedings have now been revived and shelved files have been reopened. First in line was the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), which in 2014 had been notified to amend its name and charter by the chief prosecutors office of the Appeals Court. After it refused to heed the notice, judicial authorities opened a closure case against the party. At a press conference on the issue earlier this month, PAK leader Mustafa Ozcelik remained defiant, saying the move flouted basic human rights. We maintain that the freedom of thought and organization is one of the most fundamental human rights anywhere in the world. We call on Turkey to abide by them, he said. Facing the risk of closure is also the Kurdistan Socialist Party (PSK), which became an officially registered party in 2016 after nearly four decades underground. Like the PAK, it had been served notice earlier but no legal action had followed that is, up until the political tide turned. For PAK deputy chair Bayram Bozyel, the successive judicial moves against Kurdish parties are the result of the changed political atmosphere. Following the collapse of the settlement process in 2015, Turkey returned to violence and increasingly fell into the grip of policies of violence and war, he told Al-Monitor. Referring to the ruling Justice and Development Partys (AKP) alliance with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Bozyel argued that it is the MHP policies that steer Turkeys political system today, even though the AKP is [the party in power] and its chairman is the president. He vowed that those closures will not go easy because the Kurds will not give up on their gains and the democratic ground, adding that Turkeys democratic forces must not let this happen. Bozyel said the PAK had no intention of changing its name and was ready to go all the way to the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to defend its position. We will turn this legal process into a platform of defending the name Kurdistan and related values. We are planning to mobilize a campaign in the legal realm. This might turn into an opportunity, he said. Bozyel expressed confidence that even if the targeted parties were outlawed, the ECHR would reject the rulings. There is a consensus within the incumbent system that no party can be shut down as long as it does not resort to violence, he said. It is unacceptable for the country to regress from this point. We will struggle for that. The Kurdistan Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (KURDSIAD) was another group that came into being in the years of the settlement process, created by a group of business people in Diyarbakir, the largest city of the Kurdish-majority southeast. In 2017, a court in the city dissolved the association and slapped a 10-month jail sentence on its president, Abdulbaki Karadeniz, for violating the law on associations. Now, five years after KURDSIADs creation, the eight members of the original executive board face trial over the word "Kurdistan" in the name of the already defunct association and several articles in its charter. They stand accused of violating constitutional provisions on the indivisibility of Turkeys state and nation. Karadenizs lawyer, Baris Yavuz, believes the judicial authorities are acting on political orders. Recalling that the association was established in 2014, he said, Why did they wait for five years? Obviously, they have been told to bring lawsuits against anything related to the Kurdistan issue. Yavuz noted that the judicial moves came amid a rise in nationalist sentiment in Turkey. Nationalism is something that scores points in Turkey today. Also, it is thought-provoking that all this is happening ahead of elections, he added, referring to the March 31 municipal elections. For the Kurds, the name Kurdistan denotes a geographical region. Yet no court in Turkey is expected to pay regard to this argument in the current atmosphere. How the trials will affect the elections is hard to predict, but one can easily see that they will herald trouble for Turkey in the international arena for years to come. ALEPPO, Syria The local council in Azaz, in Aleppos northern countryside, announced Jan. 29 the opening of the Department of Real Estate Interests tasked with processing all real estate paperwork in Azaz and its surrounding areas. The department started processing public requests Feb. 5. The local council advised citizens who need real estate services to contact the new department or the competent court, according to the due process of law. Citizens who want to file a complaint or had their property taken over can refer to the court of ownership conflict resolution affiliated with the Azaz court. Once a case is settled in court, citizens would then head to the Department of Real Estate Interests to finalize the paperwork. The court in Azaz refers to the Palace of Justice that was established in September 2018 in the city of al-Rai, in the northern Aleppo countryside. The Palace of Justice, which adopts Syrian law after amendments, is the main reference for all courts in the Euphrates Shield area. Syrians in the areas under the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) control in northern Aleppo countryside have been without a local council real estate department since 2012, after the FSA seized from the regime Azaz and most towns in northern Aleppo. Since then, citizens have not been able to register, sell, buy or transfer ownership of property. In addition, many lost their documents proving ownership of properties due to the war and the ongoing displacement. Mohammed Omar, member of the Azaz local council, told Al-Monitor, Around 300,000 people currently live in Azaz, half of whom are displaced from various Syrian cities. This is an estimated number as there are no official statistics, but we can say that the Azaz population has nearly tripled since 2012. The establishment of the Department of Real Estate Interests comes as part of the steps local councils in the Euphrates Shield area are taking to offer services to citizens, with the support of Turkey. Turkish-backed local councils operating in the Euphrates Shield area in Aleppo countryside, including the council of Azaz and its surrounding areas, have been trying to organize the civil situation of citizens and guarantee them their rights to their properties, register new sale and purchase contracts, and transfer ownership and inheritance, in addition to other real estate paperwork. Many locals and others who were displaced have established residential and commercial facilities and shops in the area. In light of the increased number of facilities, it seemed necessary to establish a real estate department in Azaz, the northern Aleppo countryside, the Euphrates Shield area and Afrin, which are under FSA control. (There are no statistics on economic growth in the area.) The real estate department in Azaz is the first of its kind in the Euphrates Shield area, and other local councils in Aleppo countryside should follow suit in towns such as al-Bab, Jarablus, Marea and al-Rai. Mohammad Omar Mustafa, member of the Azaz local council, told Al-Monitor, Establishing the real estate department will contribute to the growth of different facilities in the city and its countryside and will boost the trust of local investors, because they will now obtain real estate registers and proof of ownership. The papers will be certified and recognized by the local council, and the presence of such a department will help register property and put an end to the fraudulent operations of the past few years. Some have taken over properties that were left vacant when their owners went to Turkey or elsewhere due to the conflict, falsifying the ownership documents in order to sell the property. Al-Monitor visited the Department of Real Estate Interests in Azaz, whose building includes a large hall and five rooms for conducting transactions and facilitating the affairs of citizens. The department employs 12 staff, in addition to its Director Mohammad Taljebini. The building used by the department is the same building that the regime-affiliated Real Estate Department occupied before 2012, when the northern Aleppo countryside was under its control. The building remained for a long time under FSA control, but the local council in Azaz seized the building in early 2019 and renovated it with the support of Turkey. The building is furnished with Turkish-made office furniture. Taljebini told Al-Monitor, We started welcoming citizens on Feb. 5, a few days after the opening was announced. We had some arrangements to finish, but we are now ready to welcome citizens requests and conduct real estate transactions as per the legal process. This includes registering new sale and purchase contracts for properties and facilities. Taljebini noted that old real estate records dating back prior to 2012 when the previous department was still in place under the regime rule are still intact. The FSA preserved them in a safe place to protect citizens documents and rights from loss. He noted that the Turkish government helped the department staff to photocopy and archive all real estate records, and restore and equip the building. The Turkish government will pay the department's employees, just like the staff of the local council of Azaz. Any Syrian citizen from outside Aleppo can own property in Azaz and its countryside and can register the property with the Department of Real Estate Interests, on condition that their identity is verified and they receive security approval from the police, general security in Azaz and the FSA. The department collects a fee for the real estate transactions between a buyer and seller, and for registering property and transferring its ownership. The fees vary depending on whether the property to be registered is a piece of agricultural land, residential land, apartment or shop. Taljebini did not disclose the fees and only said that they were symbolic. Hisham Mohammad, who is displaced from eastern Ghouta and lives in Azaz, told Al-Monitor, In the past months I was afraid of buying a house in the city because there was no possibility to transfer ownership and register the land legally. After the department opened, I feel I can take this step and buy a house. Many people were waiting for this legal measure. French President Emmanuel Macron is the direct type. As such, his address at the annual dinner for the French Jewish umbrella organization on Feb. 20 offered a clear and direct vision of his governments battle against the recent rise in anti-Semitic attacks. But Macron went further, rejecting any attempts to negate Israels right to exist. He argued, "Anti-Zionism is one of the modern forms of anti-Semitism. Behind the negation of Israel's existence, what is hiding is the hatred of Jews," His words pleased not only the Jewish French leaders who came to listen to their president, but also Israeli ambassador Aliza Bin Noun, who had been invited for the occasion. Some French politicians went even further. Interviewed on Tuesday, parliament member Sylvain Maillard, Macrons fellow party member, said, Anti-Zionism must be punished the same way that anti-Semitism is punishable. It is crucial to say that what is forbidden is to deny the existence of Israel. However, you obviously have the right to say you do not agree with the policy of the Israeli government. That is normal in a democracy." The debate echoes the Israeli Foreign Ministrys analysis of anti-Zionism. Israeli diplomats in Paris and other European capitals have changed course in recent months in their public diplomacy campaign. The battle against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) is still a priority and so is explaining Israel's military actions on the Gaza border, but the issues of occupation and settlement have been gently pushed aside. The new game is now battling anti-Zionism. Many Israeli diplomats admit privately that serving in Europe has become more difficult and demanding over the years. One who served in London a few years ago told Al-Monitor about the desperate campaign he and his colleagues conducted against a critical public opinion during the 2014 Gaza war. Demonstrations against Israel became quite violent, with cries not only against Israel but also against Jews. Swastikas were painted on walls. Protesters were calling to eliminate the State of Israel. This was way beyond criticizing the Israeli government or the IDF. Still, any appearance of us, Israeli diplomats, on mainstream media outlets was a battle on its own. No one wanted to listen to us," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. A senior official at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem pointed to a long-standing problem concerning Israels public diplomacy, specifically BDS. BDS is very much present on American campuses, especially in California, and we are expected to thwart their campaign. But these efforts are championed by another bureau [Israels Strategic Affairs Ministry]. Anti-Zionism and anti-BDS campaigns might overlap, but BDS is also about settlement products. Anti-Zionism is not," he said, asking that his name not be divulged. Europe has not changed its mind or toned down its objections to the settlement enterprise. But alongside criticizing Israel, a new European debate is emerging and seems to be reaching the center of Israeli diplomacy. It's a cause that is clear, unapologetic and in a way, easier to defend. Speaking ahead of a demonstration in Paris on Feb. 19 against the rise in anti-Semitic acts, Bin Noun said, The general accent seems to be on anti-Semitism, with less of a debate about anti-Zionism. There are those who claim that they have the right to criticize the policies of the Israeli government. But anti-Zionism is not criticism. Anti-Zionism negates the legitimacy of the State of Israel, its right to exist." Israeli diplomats in France have been repeating this official line, an argument that is falling on receptive ears, after the insults hurled Feb. 16 against Jewish French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut. A radical Salafist activist with some friends who participated at a yellow vest demonstration yelled at Finkielkraut: Dirty Jew," Dirty Zionist shit" and Go back to Tel Aviv." A video of the incident went viral, playing on all the local news shows that evening. The clip, alongside the desecration of 80 headstones at a Jewish cemetery in Alsace, brought thousands of French citizens to the streets. It was the first time in France that an alliance of 14 political parties from across the political spectrum organized a mass rally against the rise in anti-Semitism. There were about 20,000 people at the Paris Place de la Republique on the evening of Feb. 19 alongside Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and former French Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande. The unusually quiet and respectful demonstration offered no politician a stage. Many of the people Al-Monitor spoke with at the rally rejected rhetoric negating Israels right to exist. The European Union has been wrestling with the notion of anti-Zionism for a while now, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushing for a broad definition of anti-Semitism. On Dec. 5 last year, the Council of the European Union urged member states to use the definition of anti-Semitism "employed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance as a useful guidance tool in education and training." This non-legally binding definition, referred to in the EU text, includes a specific clause that refers to Israel, stating that anti-Semitism is also "Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor." In the months that preceded the 2018 statement, Netanyahu had pushed for the EU to adopt this wide definition of anti-Semitism as a binding text. Israeli diplomats stationed in Brussels had convinced the Austrian delegation (which held the EU presidency), to present an inclusive text to the council, but other EU members objected to the proposal, fearing that it could limit freedom to criticize the Israeli governments policies. Macron was the first European leader to approach the problematic relationship between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, condemning anti-Zionism in 2017 as a reinvented form of anti-Semitism. But there are several European countries that find this idea unacceptable. The diplomat who served in London noted that fighting anti-Zionism in the United Kingdom is much tougher than in France or in Germany, where a more advanced debate on anti-Semitism hiding behind anti-Zionism is taking place. The banalization of [UK political leader Jeremy] Corbyns anti-Semitic expressions has rendered Israel diplomacys battle against anti-Zionism practicably impossible. There is almost no political recognition here that anti-Zionism is a form of anti-Semitism. On the contrary, it is considered legitimate criticism of Israel," he stressed. The emerging European debate on whether anti-Zionism should be separated from criticism against Israel relieves Israeli envoys. Diplomats are expected to keep their opinions to themselves, and Israeli diplomats are no exception. These professional civil servants are usually very careful to publicly voice only the government line. Only upon retirement do some of them reveal their true positions. In fact, several retired ambassadors are now engaged in politics, rejecting Netanyahu and right-wing policies. In an article penned by former Ambassador Ilan Baruch in 2016, the retired diplomat wrote, It has been five years since I breathed a sigh of relief and left Israels Foreign Ministry building. No more would I represent the Netanyahu governments hasbara [public diplomacy] as a diplomat and attorney." Baruchs words echoed sentiments shared by quite a few retired and active diplomats, eroded by the obligation to defend human rights breaches in the West Bank and even inside Israel. The merger of Israel Resilience and Yesh Atid into one slate ahead of the next elections had immediate and dramatic effects. The Blue and White party, born after a very brief gestation Feb. 21 at the home of businessman Hillel Kobrinsky, has made the biggest bang in Israeli politics since the late Ariel Sharon formed Kadima in 2005. Within hours, the polls showed the new platform as Israels biggest party, overtaking the ruling Likud and dealing a blow to the barely recuperating Labor and to Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon's Kulanu, which is at risk of electoral oblivion. In the morning hours of Feb. 21, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was still heading with confidence for a fifth term as prime minister. By evening, he found himself in a tight spot. Blue and White had reshuffled all the cards. Everything was up for grabs. The surprising decision for a joint run by Israel Resilience chair Benny Gantz and Yesh Atid's Yair Lapid will be tested on April 9 at the ballot box. There will be no middle ground. Once the votes are counted, the partnership will either be a historic transformation of Israeli politics or a colossal flop. If they do not unseat Netanyahu, Blue and White will be nothing more than a footnote. On the other hand, Gantz, who under a term-sharing agreement will be first in the prime ministers office, now has a real opportunity to defeat Netanyahu, a scenario that was not truly feasible before. There is more to this political storm. Another former army chief joined Gantz and Lapid at the last minute: the popular Gabi Ashkenazi, considered a potential draw for moderate right-wing voters. He will be key to their success, as they must shift support from the right-wing political bloc. So far, judging by the polls, this shift is not yet happening. What sparked all this drama? Likely the distress of its two authors, who realized they were no match for Netanyahu on their own. Gantz started out high in the polls when he first announced his candidacy late last year, but the loss of that initial momentum in recent weeks was of great concern. Lapid, on the other hand, managed to recoup some electoral support that had shifted over to Gantz in the polls, but he too realized the elections were a lost cause for him alone. The union had been in the cards for many weeks but was very iffy until this week. The Gantz-Lapid party has one clear goal, bringing down Netanyahu, and it's already drawing a large following. The latest polls give them 36 seats and Netanyahus party 30, with some polls giving the Likud even less. Four men stood at the podium at the unveiling of the new Blue and White Knesset list in a calculated show of strength: Gantz, Lapid, Ashkenazi and also Moshe Yaalon, who had joined Gantz earlier in the race. Gantz, Ashkenazi and Yaalon all served as Israels top soldiers. Gantz and Ashkenazi served under Netanyahu, and Yaalon served as Netanyahus defense minister. The photo is tremendously powerful, both undermining Netanyahu's image as Mr. Security and offering a strong, united team of fresh yet experienced politicians. Netanyahu must have instantly recognized the potential threat of three former military chiefs-of-staff sharing a stage. In a speech responding to the newly unveiled party, he directed all his fire at the fourth member of the group, Lapid, who served as a reporter for the armys Bamahane newspaper during his military service. According to the Blue and White rotation agreement with Gantz, Lapid would replace Gantz as prime minister after two and a half years. Over the past three weeks, Netanyahu has worked intensely to unite the splinter parties on the radical right so that they would run on one slate. Had they not united, they would likely not have collected sufficient votes to get into the next Knesset and the votes cast in their favor would have been lost, weakening Netanyahus right-wing bloc. Netanyahu accomplished his mission, effectively legitimizing the disciples of militant nationalist Meir Kahane, the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party. Netanyahu thus ensured the election of people on the radical right margins who espouse a racist, anti-Arab platform. Many on the right found this cooperation hard to swallow, but Netanyahu was impervious to criticism. The alliance gave him what he needed most, a political safety net. After analyzing poll results, he concluded that even if his deal with the radical right drives away some voters, it will win him other vital votes that would otherwise be lost. Still, two other parties, Kulanu and Yisrael Beitenu, considered natural allies of Netanyahu, may not reach the vote threshold. On Thursday, a few hours before the deadline for submitting the electoral lists, there were attempts to unite Kulanu and the Likud. But unlike Netanyahu's efforts to unite the radical right, there was very little energy invested. Kulanu head Moshe Kahlon told his associates that the party would probably pass the four-mandate threshold, but he is emerging as the tragic hero of these elections, his supporters dispersed amid the new center parties. Yisrael Beitenu head Avigdor Liberman is in a better position and might pass the threshold. He has a core of supporters that should guarantee it mostly Russian immigrants who consider the party their longtime political home. When the time comes, Liberman wont have much choice but to recommend Netanyahu to the president for composing the next government. If Gantz gets any support from Arab parties, Liberman surely will not support him. Kahlon is now the worst off. He is now sticking close to the Likud and Netanyahu, hoping to be recognized as the sane right and pick up votes of those reluctant to vote for Netanyahu. The chair of the ultra-Orthodox Shas, Aryeh Deri, has adopted similar tactics, adding Netanyahus nickname Bibi to his campaign poster. But while Shas is a known factor, Kahlon is not. Netanyahu must suspect that when it comes down to it, Kahlon will break ranks with the right and recommend that Gantz be tasked with forming the next government coalition. Netanyahu likely surmises that Kahlon's failure to cross the electoral threshold would not damage the Likud. He might also call on former Likud voters who shifted over to Kahlon to come home again. The election will be a cruel and tough battle, not only between Gantz and Netanyahu, but also for Kahlon and Liberman two veteran politicians whose parties could soon vanish. Walking toward the Ziggurat of Ur, a massive Sumerian temple dedicated to the moon god Nannar, tourists often can't help but express their awe. Representative of their excitement is one visitor who remarked, Its incredible! I studied it when I was at the primary school! My heart is beating like a drum! Ali Zughair, a professor of computer science at the Institute of Technology in Nasiriyah and a civil society activist, is used to overhearing such remarks when he accompanies tourists and students to the archaeological site of Ur, which in the 2nd millennium BCE was one of the most important Sumerian city-states in ancient Mesopotamia. The site is located a mere 16 miles from Nasiriyah, the capital of Dhi Qar province, in southern Iraq. I feel so happy that people are coming to visit our area, Zughair told Al-Monitor. After years of war and devastation, we want to show off this unique site to the world. With some 60,000 inhabitants, Ur, the worlds first great cosmopolitan city, symbolized the wealthy Sumerian empire at its peak, around 2000 BCE. Part of the interest in it and part of what makes it fascinating is Ur's modern day reputation for being the hometown of the Prophet Abraham. As Abraham is considered the father of monotheism, his birthplace should attract millions of people every year, like any other pilgrimage site, said Zughair. According to local resident and tourist guide Daif Mohsin, however, there is no archaeological evidence that Abraham was born here, as many studies note. Hes considered the Father of the Prophets, but no historical references exist [of him] except from in the Bible, Mohsin told Al-Monitor. Despite this historical inconvenience, there are plenty of other reasons to recommend Ur. The first legal code was written by the King Ur-Nammu in Ur, Mohsin explained. The Code of Ur-Nammu, dating back to 2100-2050 BCE, is older than the [Babylonian] Code of Hammurabi. Ur's fate in the modern era has, unsurprisingly, been shaped by political and military developments in Iraq. The site was chosen by Pope John-Paul II as the starting point of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Egypt, [but] in the end, the pope skipped the visit to Iraq, in 2000, for security reasons, Mohsin explained. In 2013, the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, which organizes pilgrimages throughout Europe and the Middle East, added Ur to its tours, but after a year, when the Islamic State [IS] occupied a third of Iraqi territory in 2014, the tours had to stop. After the security situation began to improve with the rollback and ultimately the defeat of IS in Iraq, things began to look up for Ur and the local population. In 2016, UNESCO added Ur to its World Heritage List, along with archaeological sites at Eridu and Uruk and the Iraqi marshlands, all of which are in Dhi Qar governorate. Tourists are starting to come again, even more than before the 90s, Mohsin said, noting that the numbers are still limited, but that increasing numbers of Iraqi nationals as well as some foreigners can now be found at the site. In addition to tourists, scores of archaeologists from various campaigns travel to Ur each year to work in the area. Archaeologists have dug only 20% of the city of Ur, said Mohsin. In the entire province, we estimate there are a hundred years of excavations still to do. Several archaeological expeditions remained active in the area after IS military campaign approached Baghdad, some 225 miles to the north, in 2014. Foreign digs had come to a standstill after the 2003 US-led invasion and subsequent sectarian violence and uncertainty from 2006 to 2008. In 2017, an Italian-Iraqi team in Abu Tbeirah led by Licia Romano and Franco DAgostino from the University of Rome, La Sapienza, identified a port dating to the third millennium BCE near Ur. The discovery was great, but our mission is not only archaeological, Romano told Al-Monitor. Through our work, we want to change the Western image of Iraq and bring tourists and pilgrims here. My mother, from Sicily, came to visit me in Iraq as a tourist. We need to challenge the idea that Iraq is only a war-torn country or hostile environment. Other expeditions include additional experts from Italy as well as from Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States working in cooperation with Iraqi colleagues. Local residents and archaeologists became more optimistic about future campaigns when the Iraqi archaeologist Abdul Amir al-Hamdani, who is originally from the area, was appointed culture minister in December 2018. For a chapter in The Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Iraq (2008), edited by Peter Stone and Joanne Farchakh Bajjaly, Hamdani explained that some of the damage suffered by Ur during the Saddam Hussein era and after the US military occupied an existing air base near the site is irreparable. Tourism as well as archaeological missions are a great opportunity for us, Zughair said. We want to cooperate and create a network to reinforce Nasiriyahs youth and create job opportunities. Zughair co-founded a center to teach English and French to his fellow citizens and students. One day my students might need to speak English and French every day to welcome hundreds of tourists, he said. Iraqi Kurdistan parliament members or some of them, anyway held their first session Feb. 18, electing an interim speaker and nominating candidates for top government posts amid a boycott by its second-largest party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Two members of the influential Barzani family, cousins Nechirvan and Masrour, were nominated as president and prime minister, respectively. Vala Fareed became the first female parliament speaker in the region. She was nominated by the largest party, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), but is to be replaced by a PUK nominee once the parties settle their disputes. Hemb Hawrami of the KDP was elected interim deputy speaker, and Muna Qahwachi, a woman from the Turkmen ethnic component of parliament, was elected interim second deputy speaker, PUK spokesman Saedi Ahmed Pira told Al-Monitor. All the office-holders are subject to change. The two ruling parties announced Feb. 5 that they had reached a draft agreement for forming a government. The pact covers power-sharing, reactivation of the presidency, normalization of relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil and the Iraqi federal government in Baghdad, and supposedly dealing with controversies over Cabinet responsibilities. But on Feb. 18, the PUK said it wouldn't participate without a signed, final pact. Iraqi Kurds had voted Sept. 30 in parliamentary elections that were marked by low voter turnout and fraud. Of 111 seats, the KDP won the election by securing 45, followed by the PUK with 21 and the Movement for Change (Gorran) with 12. The new lawmakers were sworn into office in early November. Now, after months of negotiations, the region is still without a legitimate government, active parliament and official leaders. As it stands now, the draft agreement reached Feb. 5 calls for a PUK representative to hold the Kurdistan parliamentary speaker post; members of the executive branch, the KRG, to hold the posts of deputy prime minister, Kirkuk governor and Iraqi justice minister; and the KDP is designated to determine the Kurdistan region's president, prime minister and deputy speaker of the parliament. However, the boycott indicates the agreement hasn't solved all differences between the two parties. Both parties want the parliament activated to accelerate the formation of the new KRG Cabinet and the reactivation of the regions presidency. Masrour Barzani's father, Massoud Barzani, had been the Kurdistan regions president since 2005, but he left the office in November 2017 after a September referendum for independence backfired. Though the referendum was overwhelming approved, it angered the central government in Baghdad, which then took back disputed territories in Kirkuk and other areas held by Kurds since 2014. With Massoud Barzani gone, the Kurdish regional parliament suspended the presidency and divided his powers among parliament, the judiciary and his nephew Nechirvan Barzani, who has served as the regions prime minister for almost 10 years. Both the PUK and the KDP now want to control the regions most important ruling positions, but their efforts might face fierce reaction from opposition parties, the public and Gorran, which so far hasn't indicated whether it will join the opposition or back the KRG Cabinet. [The] PUK and KDPs agreement is an accord on distributing posts and money, Abdul Razaq Sharif, a member of Gorrans National Council, told Al-Monitor, pointing out this is his personal view and he doesn't speak for his party. He added, Absolutely, the agreement is not in the sake of people's interests. Electing a leader for Kirkuk is another controversial topic between both ruling parties. "We agreed on appointing a new governor for Kirkuk, and we are working to resolve outstanding issues in Baghdad, the PUK's Pira said during a Feb. 5 joint press conference with his KDP counterpart. No one has been nominated officially. The agreement must be accepted as an entire package. Until that happens, any single element can be changed. KDP spokesman Mahmoud Mohammed told reporters that the draft agreement will be finalized by the end of February and then signed by both parties politburos. Rakan Saeed al-Jabouri, an Arab, has been Kirkuk's controversial acting governor since October 2017, when Baghdad appointed him to replace Najmaldin Karim, a Kurd. Jabouri currently faces accusations of corruption. The Kirkuk Provincial Council has been unable to convene since Iraqi forces took over after the referendum, which led more than half of the council's members to flee the disputed area, including the council's acting head, Rebwar Talabani. Sheikh Burhan Mazhar al-Asi, head of the council's Arab bloc, told Al-Monitor it's unlawful to hold any council session outside the council building in Kirkuk. He stressed that Arab and Turkmen blocs would boycott any illegitimate session. A PUK official from Kirkuk explained that the city's ethnic groups need to be appeased. [The] PUKs priority is reactivation of the Kirkuk Provincial Council, where a Kurdish governor is to be elected and the needs of other ethnics will be met, Rawand Mala Mahmud, deputy head of the PUKs organizational center in Kirkuk, told Al-Monitor. He said the KDP agreed that Kirkuks new governor will be from the PUK. Local citizens in the Kurdistan region have mixed reactions toward the ruling parties draft agreement. If both parties reach an agreement, I think it might be good for everyone, but this agreement should include improving peoples lives and distributing salaries, a veteran of the Kurdish peshmerga forces in Sulaimaniyah told Al-Monitor. Political observers say the agreement is critical for the Kurdistan region, but they caution that written pacts don't guarantee everlasting peace. An agreement is crucial for stability, in order for the KRG to be established, but [the] PUK and [the] KDP have no trust with each other. Lack of mutual trust can lead to cancellation of the accords even if they are good ones at any moment, Kamaran Mantik, a political science professor at Salahuddin University, told Al-Monitor. Iraq needs to secure the provinces of Kirkuk, Salahuddin, Diyala and Mosul, where Kurdish peshmerga forces had an active role in the fight against Islamic State (IS) militants. Accordingly, an agreement that satisfies both the PUK and the KDP might serve Iraq's aim of stabilizing the disputed areas between Baghdad and Erbil. The two parties have ruled the region since the 1991 uprising against then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. They fought a civil war between 1994 and 1998 in which thousands were killed. The war ended after both sides signed a US-brokered peace agreement. In 2005, they signed an agreement to distribute power and oil, but the deal fell apart in October 2017 when the KDP accused a PUK faction of treason and surrendering Kirkuk to federal Iraq in the aftermath of the failed independence referendum. The good news of the Iraq-Jordan trade deal The trade agreement signed Feb. 2 between Iraq and Jordan could signal a welcome trend toward regional commerce and integration, and away from conflict and zero-sum politics. The deal follows a warming trend in Iraq-Jordan ties in recent months, as Osama Al-Sharif explains. Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said Feb. 2, Our presence here today is a confirmation of Iraqs successes in overcoming political and economic crises and fighting terrorism. Iraqs National Intelligence Service this week broke up one of the largest cells funding Islamic State (IS) terrorists in Iraq and arrested 13 French citizens affiliated with IS. The expansive agreement which includes specific steps and incentives to expand bilateral trade, undertake joint ventures and provide preferential pricing and access for Jordan to Iraqi oil and for Iraq when it comes to Jordanian electricity is a breakthrough in bilateral ties and should be a clear win for both countries and their citizens. Not surprisingly, the deal has its critics and skeptics in Iraq who claim that Jordan will gain at the expense of their country, as Mustafa Saadoun reports. Trade agreements always have their discontents. Although the deal was signed less than three weeks ago, there is already angst in some Iraqi quarters, including from opposition figures in the Council of Representatives (parliament). The ultimate success of the deal will of course depend on its implementation, but the signs are all good. The scope of the agreement assures a wide reach into both the Iraqi and Jordanian economies, and it is easy to see how the arrangement should be a boost for both countries, where there is plenty of room to grow. The fears and anxieties of the critics, it seems, are likely to be misplaced. The agreement with Jordan has great economic returns, which opens the door to provide job opportunities, said Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, as Saadoun reports. The trade deal, according to Iraqi President Barham Salih, also reflects Iraq's keen pursuit to openness towards its neighbors, brothers and friends. The agreement is therefore part of a new direction in Iraqi foreign policy that seeks comity and economic engagement with all its neighbors, including Jordan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, while keeping close ties with the United States. Iraqs leadership of this trend toward a more open and economically focused foreign policy, including and especially in the Levant, could be a catalyst for a new direction in regional politics. Erdogan plays electoral politics with Syria Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may have been weighing military action in Syria as a means to boost the Justice and Development Party (AKP) ahead of the March 31 elections, which he has described as a matter of survival, as Kadri Gursel explains. Two frameworks were already in place for such action," Gursel continues. The first was the still-unimplemented timetable that Ankara and Washington agreed in June to cleanse Manbij, a town on the western bank of the Euphrates River, of the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), the Syrian extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which both sides designate as a terrorist group. The second was the idea for a safe zone on the Syrian side of the border, stretching from the eastern bank of the Euphrates to the Iraqi frontier, to keep the YPG-PKK and regime forces away from the Turkish border. Ankara may believe that a low-risk military operation in Syria will stir up nationalist sentiment and help it avoid losses in the local polls, but obviously, such an operation cannot take place without a deal with the United States or Russia, writes Gursel. The main factor that keeps Ankara from action is the dramatic shift that Trumps decision to pull out has caused in favor of Russia, the Damascus regime and its ally Iran. The US-Russia balance in Syria had allowed Ankara to increase its clout by engaging in dialogue and collaboration with both sides and playing them against each other. The more this balance caves in, the more Ankaras importance and influence wane, adds Gursel. In the first notable sign that things have changed, Erdogan said on Feb. 3 that Ankara had maintained relations with Damascus on the level of intelligence services. His remarks on the state-owned TRT channel were the first time he revealed intelligence contacts with Syria since his adoption of a regime change policy in 2011. You should not break ties completely even with an enemy, for you may need those ties one day, he added, reports Gursel. Obviously, that day had come for ties with Damascus, and the Turkish public had to be prepared to face up to reality. HTS takes initiative in Idlib Russia, relying on the Sochi accord, has squeezed Turkey into a corner at Idlib, pressuring Ankara for months to control or exile jihadist factions," writes Fehim Tastekin. Ankara in turn is pressuring the jihadists, who are split over how to avoid Turkey's wrath. Meanwhile, Turkey supports the moderate factions but not everyone defines moderate the same way. The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance, once linked to al-Qaeda, routed the Turkey-allied National Liberation Front (NLF) in clashes during the first days of January and imposed control over 90% of Idlib. HTS then adopted a more pragmatic attitude toward Turkey one that didn't sit well with all of the group's factions, explains Tastekin. Although HTS leaders didn't oppose Turkey placing observation posts around Idlib, they were uneasy with the Turkey-backed opposition groups adopting an anti-Kurdish agenda to please Turkey, Tastekin continues. HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Golani, after installing the Syrian Salvation Government in the areas the group captured at Idlib, extended an olive branch to Turkey and the moderate rebel groups it supports. Golani first revealed HTS' support of Turkeys military plans to advance on Kurds east of the Euphrates River. He then began a purge of the radical wing of his organization that caused a split with influential member Abu Yaqzan al-Masri. Golani also banned the issuing of fatwas (religious decrees) by any source other than the group's general council. For some time now, there have been reports that Turkey will combine the Syrian National Army and HTS, and thus preserve the status quo at Idlib," reports Tastekin. If this goal is reached, next in line would be the purge of foreign Uighur, Uzbek, Arab and Caucasian fighters from HTS ranks. In the latest tension among the jihadists, foreign outfits that usually try to maintain good relations with Turkey took positions supporting the HTS. The Turkistan Islamic Party of the Uighurs, the Tawhid and Jihad Brigade of the Uzbeks, and the Chechen-led Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (JMA, the Army of Emigrants and Supporters) issued a joint declaration of being in the HTS ranks. Meanwhile, Khaled Al-Khateb reports, HTS-affiliated security officials in Darat Izza, in western Aleppo, notified more than 30 influential citizens there that they had to leave within 24 hours. The outcasts included academics, media activists, civil servants and some people who worked with the FSA-affiliated Free Syrian Police. These citizens headed to Afrin, which is under Turkey-affiliated FSA control. It's hard to predict how Golanis latest initiative will change the story in Idlib, but it's certain that further splits of some radical wings from HTS will strengthen Tanzim Huras al-Din, writes Tastekin. The Islamic State also can expand its cells with segments splitting from HTS. For the past two years, when Turkey couldn't fully control HTS, it tried splitting it into smaller units. HTS could again find common ground with Turkey-supported groups. Russia constantly reminds Turkey that there are deviations from their road map for Idlib and their obligations over the Sochi accord. The fact that the next meeting of the Astana partners will take place in Turkey in April suggests that Russia is not pressing for a major offensive against the HTS in Idlib before Turkeys local polls, unwilling to put the AKP in a tight spot on the eve of elections since such an operation could unleash a fresh wave of refugees, adds Gursel. As Iraqs government formation continues to stall, the countrys two main political movements Fatah and Sairoon are teaming up to take control of the political scene and to prevent progress from being stalled by infighting with smaller parties. The Iraqi political scene is known to be one of continuous crises. Political parties are addicted to them, often dealing with crises by creating bigger ones so they can forget the previous ones. They postpone any decision related to the previous crises and deal only with the one at hand. However, after the formation of the current government Oct. 24, political crises have been few and far between, perhaps due to the fact that President Barham Salih works in full sync with Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi. All three cooperate on policy issues, and the president deals with crises that erupt, as he did when he mediated a dispute between the Hikma political coalition and the paramilitary group turned political movement Asaib Ahl al-Haq. At the same time, the prime minister does not interfere with the daily political issues that concern the political blocs, keeping his distance and leaving them on their own to deal with these subjects. Yet the slow government formation process has disturbed the calm seas of politics. The countrys two largest parliamentary blocs Islah and Al-Binaa have failed to agree on who will head the three ministries that remain without a minister, namely the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Justice. Sairoon is part of the Islah bloc, and Fatah is part of the Al-Binaa grouping. The political wrangling among the parties within the blocs has meant failure to reach consensus over a single candidate for each ministry. The government is also slow in the implementation of its program as it is waiting for the completion of the Cabinet. It is also waiting on the appointments of high-ranking positions, such as heads of independent commissions, deputy ministers and director generals of many of the ministries. The Fatah movement headed by Hadi al-Amiri and the Sairoon movement headed by Muqtada al-Sadr have engaged in covert negotiations for some time to reach an agreement on how to cross to the next phase of politics. On Feb. 11, representatives of the two movements met publicly and announced an agreement between them. Amiri, speaking at a press conference following the meeting between the two sides, said they had formed a joint committee between Sairoon and Fatah to discuss [with our partners] the completion of the Cabinet formation, the appointment of independent commissions and remaining institutions, and the subject of local governments and services. He also added, We have not discussed names of any [potential ministers for the vacant posts], but will do so in the first parliament session. This new agreement between Fatah and Sairoon without the participation of bloc partners such as the Hikma Movement headed by Ammar al-Hakim, who is also head of the Islah bloc, and Al-Binaa bloc member State of Law, headed by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is a significant development. It seems that both movements, Fatah and Sairoon, have come to realization that they are unable to settle the issue of which will be the largest bloc, and meanwhile the smaller parties within them are taking advantage of this. The smaller parties hold the key for completing a quorum for any session if there are disagreements between Islah and Al-Binaa and are holding the blocs hostage. Fatah and Sairoon also face problems from the Sunni blocs, as they jump from one side to the other whenever it suits them, requiring more compromise to satisfy the Sunnis. So both Fatah and Sairoon decided to set aside their differences for now to move on with the government completion. After all, it was these two who jointly nominated Mahdi to become prime minister and they both voted for his Cabinet. They feel obliged to see the Cabinet completed, given the major challenges they face in the coming months. At the same time, the two movements want to show that they are the main political force on the Iraqi scene the days of Dawa, Hikma and others dominating the arena are over, according to Fatah and Sairoon's thinking. Political observers predict that a Fatah-Sairoon coalition will try to replace the National Alliance that was formed in the past and contained all Shiite parties. Fatah and Sairoon will likely work to entice both Hikma and State of Law to join as junior partners. Fatah and Sairoon might also try to attract Sunni and Kurdish groupings to complete the picture and form the largest bloc in parliament. On the other hand, there are those who think that no new blocs will be announced, but that this level of cooperation between Fatah-Sairoon will continue for the time being in order to deal with the multiple challenges ahead. Many holding the view that no new blocs will be forthcoming say they think the Fatah-Sairoon alliance will disappear with the first signs of trouble. There are multiple challenges ahead. The political elite must tackle these challenges head on or else they will face a tough and hot summer, especially since there seems to be no solution in place to deal with the chronic issues of electricity shortages and lack of services in the main cities of the south, specifically in Basra. The war on the Islamic State (IS) is going to cast its shadow over Iraq. It is widely reported that thousands of IS fighters have crossed the Syrian border to come to Iraq. They represent a real threat to Iraqs stability. Baghdad, however, did score a big win against the terror group this week when Iraqi security forces broke up a cell funding IS. At the same time, the issue of troop withdrawals by coalition partners or the suspension of the Strategic Framework Agreement needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. Iraqi army generals and military men think that Iraqi armed forces are not fully ready to deal with the IS threat on their own, at least for the time being. The US efforts to contain Iran by imposing economic sanctions put Iraq between a rock and hard place. The Iraqis understand that the US-Iran crises have little to do with them these crises extend to Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and the Gulf, and Iraq has little to gain from them and plenty to lose. It is going to be tough to stay neutral in a struggle where both sides expect you to be on their side one way or another. Fatah and Sairoon need to think very carefully about how to deal with these challenges in the coming weeks and months. They need to make sure they don't mix the long-term interests of Iraq with local party-politics antics, and they need to figure out how to get the government to deliver on the services and promises it made to the people; otherwise this summer could become a season of fire and fury. QAIM, Iraq Across the rocky and grass-speckled desert of western Anbar, it is white truffle season. Locals can be seen scanning the ground in search of truffles, along the road that stretches from Haditha to Qaim and then the Syrian border. Yet, in recent weeks, a rash of kidnappings and killings of truffle hunters has marred this seasonal tradition and raised concerns of Islamic State (IS) sleeper cells. On Feb. 18, 12 men from Anbar, Karbala and Najaf were kidnapped while picking truffles in the al-Nukhaib district of southern Anbar province. The next day, six bodies were reportedly found in same area, which is close to the Iraqi border with Saudi Arabia. Salahuddin province has also seen truffle hunters kidnapped or killed. Earlier this month, three brothers were kidnapped in the Makhoul Mountains. They were found dead, handcuffed and with bullet wounds, Feb. 8. The Makhoul and adjacent Hamrin Mountains, which divide the northern Salahuddin province from southern Kirkuk, have long been a hiding place for insurgents, even before IS, as has the vast desert of Anbar. Anbar province, which borders Salahuddin, accounts for about a third of Iraqi territory but is sparsely populated outside the Euphrates River Valley. IS has claimed responsibility for many of these incidents. A security source in western Anbar told Al-Monitor Feb. 16 that several people, including some of his friends, had been kidnapped near Rawa the previous day while looking for truffles. The family of one of the kidnapped men had received a ransom demand of $30,000, which was later lowered to $20,000, according to the source. He speculated that the kidnappings could have been orchestrated by criminal gangs using IS as a cover. Security forces have since managed to free some of the kidnapped men, who said that IS perpetrated the act. Though questions remain as to the true identities of the kidnappers. Kidnapping for ransom has long been a problem in Iraq. Also common are individuals posing as members of security forces or terrorist groups. This makes the local population feel insecure, and like the security forces are not providing them with enough protection. Making populations feel as if they cannot venture out of a severely circumscribed area is a terror tactic, however one that IS seems to be making greater use of in its return to guerrilla tactics. In early February, Al-Monitor spoke to the mother and brothers of Mohammed al-Jughayfa, who was killed by IS in late January while searching for truffles near Haditha. The Jughayfa tribe is known for its staunch resistance to IS, which enabled Haditha to withstand a siege of over a year and never be taken by IS. Mohammed al-Jughayfa was a member of the emergency police brigades. On the day he was killed, he was with two men, one a civilian and the other a fighter with the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU). The civilian disappeared, while the PMU member was also killed. Security sources in the town told Al-Monitor Feb. 6 that the man who disappeared was also from the Jughayfa tribe, but that he may have had links with terrorist groups and we are looking into this possibility. On Feb. 20, security forces, along with fighters from Haditha and the Jughayfa tribe, went to the desert in search of the kidnapped men. A clash ensued after they came upon an IS vehicle, according to Hussein Zibin al-Jughayfa, a member of the emergency police brigade, and then "five IS [members] were killed and two of our forces were injured. IS is "targeting locals that fought against" it in this Sunni-majority province, Col. Moussa Hamad al-Karbouly, commander of a local PMU, told Al-Monitor on Feb. 8. He said that IS is not targeting the army, opting instead to target civilians, local police officers and the PMU. The Armys 8th division is stationed along the Iraqi-Syrian border, but its members are mostly from central and southern Iraq, and thus not local Sunnis who IS could find it more expedient to intimidate. Those who have returned to western Anbar after its liberation from IS in late 2017 say that security is good but that services, especially the lack of electricity, are still a major problem. Some Qaim residents fled after a car bomb exploded at its largest market Jan. 11, local security sources told Al-Monitor. A US military official told CNN Feb. 18 that more than 1,000 IS fighters may have fled from Syria into western Iraq over the past six months. If kidnappings and killings continue, more Iraqis could leave the area, potentially paving the way for insurgent groups to gain a foothold or intimidate those who remain. PEACE SYMBOL. President Rodrigo Duterte (front center) gives a peace sign with Moro Islamic Liberation Front chairman Murad Ebrahim (front 3rd right) during the Ceremonial Confirmation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law Plebiscite Law Canvass Results and Oath-taking of Transition Authority at Malacanang on Friday. AFP President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday said the country had reached its endpoint with the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law and the creation of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority.An overwhelmingly proud Duterte made the comment as he announced the appointment of Moro Islamic Liberation Front chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim as the interim Chief Minister of the BTA, urging the 80-member council to never waver in building an institution founded on the rule of law. In his speech after the oath-taking ceremony of the members of the BTA, the President formalized Murads appointment, hoping that the 80-member BTA would lead the newly-created BARMM towards a brighter tomorrow. I am pleased to announce the appointment of MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim as Interim Chief Minister of the BTA, Duterte said in his speech. READ: BOL plebiscite: Eyes on Lanao, North Cotabato The President also announced the certification from the Commission on Elections declaring the ratification of the Organic Act for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. I am elated to accept the certification from COMELEC declaring the ratification of the Organic Act for the BARMM and the, he added. According to the President, the establishment of the BARMM was the realization of the government and the MILFs collective desire. It will be the realization of all our dreams [to] end long decades of armed struggle that hindered the growth of the region and I also consider my home, he said. [It will] enable us to create an environment that will be conducive to the peaceful coexistence between the Muslims, Christians, Lumads, and all tribes of this planet as indigenous peoples and settlers who will consider Mindanao as their home. As the government and the newly-formed BTA welcomed a new era of peace and development in the war-torn region, Duterte then posed a challenge to the members of the BTA. I pose this challenge to the members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority: Always embody the dreams and aspirations of the great men and women who came before you and fought for the recognition of your right to determine your future, he said. I ask you never to waver in your commitment to building an institution that is founded on the rule of law, the promotion of good governance, and the defense [of] our most cherished democratic values, he continued. The President also reminded them to always work for the best interest and welfare of the people, regardless of ethnicity and religion.I trust that you will oversee the transition period to the best of your abilities, especially in the decommissioning of firearms and former combatants, Duterte said. My only hope is that we put to rest the bitter memories of the past so that we can build a new region that is bound, not by ethnic or religious affiliation, but by a common aspiration for peaceful coexistence among our fellow Filipinos, he said, asking them to put to rest the bitter memories of the past. With the creation of the BTA, the President said he would like to see an end of the violence that has rocked the war-torn region, costing the lives of many for nothing. Duterte then assured the BTA, which will be an interim government of the BARMM until 2022, that he will abide by the law for the remaining years of his presidency. I will always do what the law says, what is yours, and what extent that we can give you, not only comfort but happiness to the Muslims of Mindanao, he said. Your courage and determination will never be put to waste. I guarantee that you and this administration will use all the resources within its disposal to ensure better governance and inclusive political empowerment in this new Bangsamoro region, he added. Murads appointment was expected since he and the MILF played a vital part in pushing for the Bangsamoro Organic Law. The BTA would have 80 members, half of it would be nominated by the MILF. Leaders of the MNLF are also expected to be given seats in the BTA. READ: Bangsamoro people have spokengovernment For the span of three years that it is in charge, the BTA will have both legislative and executive powers in the BARMM. Ebrahim would then have executive powers while other members of the BTA will exercise legislative powers. The Palace, however, has yet to release the list of BTA appointees as of press time. READ: Muslim rebels cleared to join Bangsamoro On Feb. 14, the presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey held a summit in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi to discuss the latest developments in Syria and coordinate their activities in the war-torn country. The summit the fourth of its kind within the framework of the Astana Peace Process was supposed to focus on the future of Idlib and the east of the Euphrates as the two main regions still out of the control of the Syrian government, as well as the formation of the long-awaited Syrian Constitutional Committee. In the final statement issued after the summit, the three presidents reaffirmed the necessity of preserving Syrias unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity and agreed to continue their cooperation on issues of common interest. In his speech at the summit, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hailed Tehrans cooperation with Moscow and Ankara as an effective measure in bringing security and stability to major parts of Syria. He also elaborated the Islamic Republics view toward the current developments in Syria, from the situation in Idlib to the fate of the Syrian Kurds and the post-war reconstruction process. However, it seems that for Tehran, the summit in Sochi was about something more than just updating the coordination between the three guarantor states of the cease-fire in Syria. Over the past several months, there have been serious discussions about a possible new Turkish military operation in northern Syria and east of the Euphrates against the armed Kurdish groups. Ankara considers the US-backed Peoples Protection Units (YPG) to be a terrorist group, insisting that the military option should be used to eradicate the threat posed by the group against Turkey. While stating that Ankaras concerns in this regard should be taken into account, Rouhani said that the most sustainable way for removing these concerns is to cooperate with Syrias legitimate government and the deployment of the Syrian forces along Syrias international borders [with Turkey]. Touching upon the 1998 Adana Agreement between Ankara and Damascus, Rouhani further reiterated that the agreement was concluded via the good offices of Iran, and that Tehran is ready to once again act as a mediator between Turkey and Syria. In an unprecedented position, the Iranian president also talked about the rights of the Syrian Kurds. According to Rouhani, the reestablishment of the Assad governments control over the eastern and northern parts of the Euphrates region should be realized while preserving the rights of all the people living in those regions, including the Kurdish people. This position is especially important in light of recent contacts between Syrian Kurdish groups and Damascus to reach a compromise on the future of Kurdish-held areas. As such, Rouhanis position was apparently aimed at reassuring the Kurds that the Islamic Republic, as a key ally of the Assad government, is trying to guarantee their rights in any future accord with Damascus. In this vein, Iran appears to be trying to elevate and redefine its role in Syria and assume the role of an honest broker between the various sides. In other words, one of the main goals Tehran now pursues is to add more diplomatic elements to its influence in Syria, which now mostly consists of military and security aspects. In fact, the Iranian presidents reference to the Adana Agreement and Kurdish rights at the same time means that Iran also wants to prevent a clash between Ankara and the Kurds, i.e., indirectly mediating between these two sides as well. However, the main element of this whole set of mediations is to revive Assads rule over all parts of Syria. The Syrian issue aside, another aspect of Irans approach toward the Sochi summit was to use the event as a counterbalance to Washingtons maximum pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic. On the same day as Rouhani and his Russian and Turkish counterparts were talking in Sochi, the Polish capital of Warsaw hosted a US-initiated conference titled Peace and Security in the Middle East. The conference, attended by a number of officials from the Middle East and Europe, was seen as an attempt by the United States to isolate Iran and garner support for the American policy of increasing pressures on Tehran. While the Warsaw meeting received a cold welcome from Washingtons main European allies over their disagreements with the United States on the Iranian nuclear issue, Tehran wanted to promote the trilateral summit in Sochi as a real and effective contribution to peace and security in the region. In this vein, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei tweeted that the Sochi summit shows the importance of regional and Eastern cooperation in creating peace and stability, adding that external and American plans, like whats going on in Warsaw, has so far resulted in nothing but instability and the spread of terrorism. Finally, Rouhanis presence in Sochi was also aimed at finding new ways for Iran to continue international economic interactions despite US sanctions. In this vein, Iran wants to expand the scope of its ties with Russia and Turkey beyond Syria so that it could cover other aspects of cooperation especially the economic aspect. It seems that Tehrans view is shared by Moscow and Ankara, as the final statement of the Sochi summit calls for boosting joint economic and commercial cooperation between the three sides. Indeed, in the bilateral talks between Rouhani and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the sidelines of the summit, the Turkish side expressed readiness to join the recently introduced European special mechanism for financial interactions with Iran, called the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), and to develop a bilateral equivalent. Furthermore, at the end of the summit in Sochi, the three presidents held an unofficial meeting with Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko. Although no details were published on the exact agenda of that meeting, given the fact that Russia and Belarus are two founding members of the Eurasian Economic Union and Iran is in the process of joining the union, the discussions were most probably focused on regional trade and economic cooperation. In sum, Iran sees the trilateral Astana format as a useful and functional framework not only for preserving its role in the political process regarding the Syrian conflict, but also to achieve new spaces for political and economic maneuvering despite Washingtons increasing pressures. When Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the final decision-maker on major matters of state, recently announced there would be a second step of the Islamic revolution, details were vague. However, on Feb. 11, Khameneis website published a comprehensive statement on the second step. Accompanying the statement was an illustration of Khamenei taking a step forward while leading a group of engineers, scientists and athletes. The illustration went viral, as it contained only one cleric. Absent were the representations of the septuagenarian clerics who run most of Iran's major power centers. The group surrounding Khamenei was exclusively made up of young individuals. Khameneis second step thus appears intended to usher in a new generation of revolutionaries committed to the principles of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. These youths will carry the torch of the revolution, as the clerics who overthrew the monarchy 40 years ago age. The statement on the second step contains 41 references to the youth. This prompted media discussion and analysis on the roles of youths, particularly among conservative media outlets, which typically are more keen to advertise statements by Khamenei. Whats clear about the overall statement of the Second Step of the Revolution is that a major part of the stage of self-development [and] building society is on the shoulders of the youths, began an article in Javan online, which is believed to be close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Youths are responsible for undertaking responsibility in the fields of politics, economy, culture and international [relations], the article continued. It added that they have to keep close to the ideals of the revolution in the arena of religion, morals, spirituality and justice. Javan listed 16 responsibilities under the heading, The leaders expectations of the youths' Second Step of the Revolution. According to Javan, those 16 responsibilities are not only required of the youths, but of everyone committed to revolution. Javan has even offered concise bullet points of the comprehensive statement issued by Khameneis website. The responsibilities include: Driving away fear and hopelessness and nourishing the seeds of hope toward the future in themselves and others; A great [effort] to build a great Islamic Iran as a complete example of an advanced Islamic [political] system; Bringing the revolution close to the ideals of a new Islamic civilization; Protect and preserve the revolution; Never surrendering, and stopping the domination of the country once again by world bullies; Efforts to decrease the distance between duties and realities; Efforts to establish justice, eliminate poverty and resolve class divisions; "Correct understanding of the past and learning from those experiences; Using the achievements of the last 40 years and identifying the neglected natural and human capacities; Creating a movement toward material and spiritual advancement in the country; Breaking the propaganda monopoly of the enemy; "A scientific jihad [struggle]." Javan was not the only publication to cover the role of the youths in the second step. Tasnim News Agency, another conservative media outlet, hosted a roundtable discussion notably consisting of all men to analyze the duties of the youths in the second step. The statement, as most matters of this nature, is still devoid of major details. Rather, it is more of a blueprint and thus leaves much room for interpretation, which eventually may lead to Irans factions using their own interpretations to target each other. The White Houses announcement Thursday that it will keep a small peacekeeping group of about 200 troops in Syria for a period of time is welcome news to both the United States Kurdish allies and its Turkish foes. Why it matters: The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Americas European allies have long argued that a hasty US withdrawal would allow the Islamic State to stage a comeback, encourage Turkey to take further hostile action against the Kurds and bolster the influence of the Bashar al-Assad regime, Russia and Iran. Abdulkarim Omar, an SDF-linked politician, said Donald Trumps apparent about-turn could encourage other countries to stay in this area to preserve the stability and preserve peace and security and to stop the Turkish threats on this area. Ironically, Turkey also doesnt want the United States to pull out at least not before it defangs the Syrian Peoples Protection Units, the Kurdish component of the SDF. A full withdrawal of all 2,000 or so US troops in the country was due to be completed as soon as May 1. National security adviser John Bolton and Syria envoy Jim Jeffrey have been lobbying the president for US troops to stay. Jeffrey has been shuttling between Ankara and the Syrian Kurds amid frenzied talk about a US-enforced safe zone. Turkey insists the zone should protect it from the terrorist YPG, while the Kurds want it to shield them from further Turkish attacks. Reading the tea leaves: The latest announcement leaves open the question of who will benefit Turkey or the Kurds and projects yet more confusion from the White House as to its exact plans. It remains equally unclear where the residual US forces will be based in the Kurdish-controlled northeast, near the Jordanian border at Tanf or both. CNN, quoting an unnamed US official, reported the latter. The news followed a phone call Thursday between Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It came hours before Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Turkish Chief of Staff Yasar Guler arrived in Washington for talks with Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan. The Kremlin snidely suggested it is having to resort to Kremlinology to make sense of the administrations next moves in Syria. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters today, We are watching with great interest and attention the evolution of the [US] stance on this issue and are analyzing these statements. Whats next? Well-informed sources tell Al-Monitor that the White House statement may well have been choreographed by hawks in the administration in the hope that the ensuing wave of plaudits inundating social media might persuade Trump to reverse course on his withdrawal. Similar ruses by the so-called adults in the room have rarely delivered results. Ominously, the president did not comment on the announcement on his voluminous Twitter feed nor have Turkey or any of Washingtons top European allies. The Syrian Kurds may be in for further heartache. Know more: Read about how Turkeys plans to establish a safe zone suffered a setback at the recent talks in Sochi. -Amberin Zaman GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip The repercussions of the botched Israeli intelligence operation in the east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza on Nov. 13, 2018, continue to surface. Hamas-affiliated security forces in the Gaza Strip seized Feb. 16 electronic tracking chips hidden in military boots entering Gaza through the Kerem Abu Salem trade crossing. Palestinian security forces in Gaza believe Israel was behind the attempt to smuggle electronic tracking chips into the Gaza Strip, based on the confessions of a suspect involved in providing logistics support to Israel. The suspect, identified only by his initials M. Sh. was arrested by Hamas security forces following the botched Khan Yunis operation. In his confessions made public Feb. 11, M. Sh. said that on Oct. 2, 2018, an officer in the Israeli intelligence asked him to head to the Kerem Abu Salem crossing and receive two GPS systems that were inside the merchandise containers entering the Gaza Strip from Israel. He claimed that a Palestinian Authority (PA) employee at the crossing facilitated the entry and exit without making any inspections. Abu Mohammad, media spokesman for Al-Aqsa Martyr Brigades, Fatahs armed wing, in Gaza, told Al-Monitor that one of its fighters bought cheap military boots from a shop in Gaza in early February for 50 Israeli shekels ($14), instead of the original price of 160-180 shekels (roughly $44-$50). The fighter got suspicious and inspected the shoe and found in its sole an electronic tracking chip. In the wake of this incident and the confessions of collaborators, the Palestinian security forces imposed Feb. 12 security measures at the Kerem Abu Salem crossing and in the surrounding area, and asked 70 PA employees to sign a security questionnaire after taking their fingerprints in order to help in the security investigations. But the employees refused and left the crossing. Hamas security forces then took control of the crossing, which it had handed over to the PA in the aftermath of the failed 2017 reconciliation agreement. They searched all incoming merchandise containers to the Gaza Strip from Israel, and seized, with the help of police dogs, electronic tracking chips in military boots that were hidden in one of the traders containers. Iyad al-Bozm, spokesman for the Gaza Ministry of Interior, told Al-Monitor that Hamas security measures imposed on the Kerem Abu Salem crossing aim at ensuring and controlling the security situation in the Gaza Strip, following the security incidents there in the past months. Bozm noted that workers at the crossing who are affiliated with the PA in Ramallah refused to cooperate with the security forces in Gaza and retreated from the crossing. As a result, the security forces in Gaza focused on securing the crossing and organizing the entry of vehicles. Bozm refused to disclose any security information related to the Israeli electronic tracking chips that were seized, saying, We currently refrain from disclosing any information in this regard. Officials in the PA-affiliated General Administration of Crossings and Borders refused to make any statements to Al-Monitor. A Palestinian security source from Gaza told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the ongoing investigations carried out by Hamas security forces proved that the Kerem Abu Salem crossing is the main gateway used by the Israeli security forces to transfer spy or logistics equipment or funds to collaborators in the Gaza Strip. He noted that most PA workers at the crossing were not aware of this. The source stated that some collaborators revealed during investigations to the security forces that spy equipment was hidden in containers of merchandise from Israel. As a result, the source said, the security forces put in a place a strict security plan to search all merchandise entering Gaza. He added that the successive security achievements following the botched Israeli operation in Khan Yunis tightened the noose on the Israeli security forces work in the Gaza Strip, as many of their collaborators were arrested. Following the military failure of Israel in the 2014 Gaza war, Israel admitted that the main reason was the weak intelligence information they had about armed Palestinian factions and their military equipment. This pushed Israel to intensify its intelligence efforts after the war. Ibrahim Habib, professor of security studies at the Management and Politics Academy in Gaza, told Al-Monitor that the Palestinian successes in discovering smuggled equipment do not necessarily mean Israel will stop trying to seep into the armed Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip. The intelligence war between the two sides is long and ongoing, he noted. GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities decried Feb. 8 the Israeli government's approval to establish a cable car in the Old City of Jerusalem. The ministry considers this plan to be a settlement and Judaization project that seeks to establish Israels sovereignty over Jerusalem entirely, and alter the citys scenery and Arab landscape. It noted that the creation of a modernist element in the sky over Jerusalem will greatly damage the citys international value and authenticity, as it does not go in line with its cultural nature and ancient religious and cultural aspect. In addition, it indicated that the project passes near the walls of Jerusalem in Silwan, al-Tur and the Lions' Gate neighborhoods, involves building stations in the Old City and connects the various settlement and Judaization projects in East Jerusalem. On Jan. 30, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates denounced the project, saying that Israel is doing whatever it takes to Judaize East Jerusalem and alter its legal and historical status quo. The cable car would run through more than 80% of East Jerusalem. It underlined that the project is a violation of international law and challenges UNESCO cultural heritage resolutions. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs demands that UNESCO gets involved to halt the execution of this settlement project. Israel's National Infrastructure Committee approved Jan. 29 a plan to build a 1.4-kilometer-long (roughly 1 mile) cable car project connecting Mount of Olives in West Jerusalem to Al-Buraq Plaza in East Jerusalem, and specified a 60-day period for the public and institutions to object. The project that seeks to ensure the transportation of 3,000 passengers per hour in rush hour was assigned nearly $55 million in budget allocations. Haaretz reported Jan. 29 that the scheme was put forward as a solution to the traffic congestion around the Old City, especially in the area of Al-Buraq Plaza. Some Israeli parties, particularly those questioning its economic profitability, are against the project that will cause damage to the landscape of the Old City. Israeli nongovernmental organization Emek Shaveh, which works to defend cultural heritage sites, criticized the scheme in a tweet on Sep. 15, 2018, following its submission to the committee for approval: Jerusalem is not Disneyland and its treasures of landscape and its heritage are not negotiable currency. Speaking to Al-Monitor, Saleh Tawafsha, general director of the Ministry of Tourism's Department of Antiquities Protection, condemned the Israeli governments approval of the scheme and indicated that it seeks to achieve political, not tourism goals, as Israel claims. He explained that the cable car would obliterate the citys archaeological and historical landmarks, and emphasized that Israel has been seeking to Judaize Jerusalem since its occupation in 1967 and to alter its Arab and historical character. He said that the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls was added to the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger in 1982 and that no projects that would impact the citys scenery ought to be implemented. He underlined that Israel has been making yearslong efforts for the project to be approved. He noted that in its May 2015 resolution, UNESCO condemned Israels preliminary consent to build a cable car in East Jerusalem, and stated in its May 2017 resolution that Israel is an occupying power of the city of Jerusalem. Tawafsha said that any measures or schemes deemed to alter the citys status quo are groundless. Under the international conventions, the occupying states are prohibited from taking actions that would alter the character of the occupied state. This project will obliterate and scar the landscape of the historical and ancient city, he added. He explained that the ministry will not submit an objection to the Israeli government, because it does not recognize its right to implement projects in Jerusalem, considering it to be an occupying state. He added that they would resort to international institutions instead, and demanded that these institutions, spearheaded by UNESCO, take urgent steps to halt the scheme before Israel embarks on its execution. We are making the arrangements for a wide media campaign opposing the project. We will spare no efforts to safeguard our civilization and heritage in Jerusalem, he noted. The coordinator of the world heritage dossier at the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Ahmad al-Rajoub, told Al-Monitor that the cable car will be gliding over Palestinian buildings, which means that some will have to be demolished, and more Palestinian lands will be seized, as the project necessitates the construction of 15 concrete pillars of 26 meters (85 feet) high. in addition, pollution and disturbances caused to Palestinian families, thus violating their privacy, are a result of this project. He noted that the project will have major consequences on the aesthetic, historical, economic, social and political levels, and will disfigure the cultural landscape and view of an ancient civilization, which would set a dangerous precedent, as no cable car glides over a historical city anywhere in the world. He added that buildings could be damaged due to the vibrations of the cable car. Rajoub perceived the project to be an Israeli attempt to give tourists the impression that Jerusalem is a Jewish city, as it does not encourage tourists to walk through the Arab neighborhoods, which will have an impact on the Palestinian economy. Rajoub said, The project seeks to change the route of tourists, particularly in Jerusalem, diverting them toward Israel and bypassing the Arab neighborhoods, which will affect tourism in Arab Jerusalem. Hassan Khater, chairman of the International Jerusalem Center, told Al-Monitor that the cable car project aims to increase the settlement activity in Jerusalem, by linking West Jerusalem to East Jerusalem and its ancient sites. He indicated that the transportation of settlers by cable car would strengthen the Jewish presence in Jerusalem, as it will ward off any contact with Jerusalemites and harassments as they enter the Arab neighborhoods. He added that most tourists who come to Jerusalem are well-aware that Israel is an occupying state. The cable car project could cause a geographical imbalance, particularly since only Israelis and tourists can use it, he said. Khater stressed the need for UNESCO to take a firm stance against tampering with the identity of Jerusalem and its cultural and religious components, and demanded that the Palestinian government object before Israeli and international bodies. He emphasized that a mere condemnation of the project is a weak reaction that will not produce any real changes on the ground, and pointed out that there ought to be plans and budgets to promote the steadfastness of the Jerusalemites and to start an international movement involving all stakeholders in Jerusalem. Mamoun Abu Amer, an expert in Israeli affairs and lecturer at Ummah Open University in the Gaza Strip, told Al-Monitor that the cable car will cause disastrous repercussions on the Arab community in East Jerusalem. He said that the Israeli approval of the projects amounts to control over the citys Arab neighborhoods, noting that the project would affect the citys economic and tourism sectors. He argued that Israel's Likud-led government seeks to earn additional points prior to the general elections in April. The cable car project will result in Israel controlling large parts of the Old City under the pretext of ensuring the safety of the settlers. It could impose also further security measures on Jerusalemites, he 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 Aer Lingus is shaking up its image, and marketing. The airline has changed its visual identity, is promoting its heritage to travelers and formally applied to join a transatlantic joint venture (JV) operated by its parent, IAG, and American Airlines.The joint motion from Aer Lingus, American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, and Finnair indicates a number of potential benefits arising from the Irish airline joining the venture including lower fares and more connectivity options for travellers due to increased codesharing; all part of the new emphasis that the airline is putting on the old established European airline brand. Airbus boss Tom Enders has launched a Brexit blast, stating that the UKs aerospace sector now stands at the precipice and warned that the planemaker could move its UK factories abroad. He said, If there is a no-deal Brexit, we at Airbus will have to make potentially very harmful decisions for the UK. He added: Please dont listen to the Brexiteers. It is not possible to pick up and move our large UK factories to other parts of the world immediately. We could be forced to re-direct future investments. Make no mistake there are plenty of countries out there who would love to build the wings for Airbus aircraft. Indigo Air has chosen Ronojoy Dutta, former United Airlines President 1999-2002, as CEO at IndiGo, the Indian low-cost carrier. He was initially appointed in early December as principal consultant to spearhead a new five-year business plan. Dutta returns to his roots having graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, and received an MBA from Harvard Business School. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has launched a data tool that will help airlines collaborate in real-time during flights to avoid turbulence. Turbulence Aware will instead collect data from multiple contributing airlinesunder rigorous quality controlbefore consolidating the information into a single, anonymized, objective source database which is accessible to participants. Turbulence Aware is a great example of the potential for digital transformation in the airline industry, said Alexandre de Juniac, IATAs Director General and CEO. The airline industry has always cooperated on safetyits number one priority. Big data is now turbocharging what we can achieve. Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Aer Lingus Southwest Airlines and Swiss International Air Lines already signed up Norwegian Airlines has been in the news with questions ablout its future. This has been put to rest as it was announced by the airline that moves are being made to reduce expenditures with the postponement of aircraft deliveries, optimization of the base structure and route network and strengthening its balance sheet through fully underwritten rights issue securing $3 billion ($353 million dollars) Norwegian kroner. Norwegian has been through a period of significant growth. Going forward, we will see an increased focus on cost savings and CAPEX reductions. We will now get in place a strengthened balance sheet that supports the further development of the company, said CEO Bjrn Kjos of Norwegian. Singapore Airlines new fleet of aircraft will be equipped with Thaless AVANT IFE system, featuring an innovative and personalized user experience uniquely designed for Singapore Airlines. Singapore Airlines and Thales are celebrating the entry into service of the airlines new medium-haul A350-900 aircraft. Singapore Airlines announced Adelaide as the launch point of its new aircraft commencing operations on December 17, 2018. Thales recently assisted JFKIAT at JFK with its Airport Operations Center. Ethiopian Airlines, the largest Aviation Group in Africa and SKYTRAX certified 4-Star global airline, is pleased to announce that it will restructure its U.S. network, adding frequencies and shifting gateways as of the summer of 2019. From the planned daily flights from the New York area to Addis Ababa, four will be served via Lome from Newark and three will be via Abidjan from JFK Airport. Regarding the route restructuring, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, a spokesman remarked, The U.S. is among our most important markets owing to the presence of a large African community and growing business and tourism ties with Africa. Liong The Makati Prosecutors Office has recommended the indictment of a retired ad executive for estafa.In a resolution dated Oct. 3, 2018 but only obtained this week, Assistant City Prosecutor Cherrylin Go-Ortiz said that based on the complaint filed by FCB Manila Inc., there is probable cause to indict Arnold C. Liong for estafa under the Revised Penal Code for false pretenses, fraudulent acts and machinations that have financially damaged FCB. Case records showed that on Sept. 1, 2011, Liong was hired as a consultant with the title of president and CEO to handle the overall operational management of FCB. According to the complaint, Liong requested 55 expense reimbursements totaling P2.81 million for 2015 and made it appear that the expenses were business-related and used for the advertising business of FCB. Liong, as president and CEO, also approved the 55 check vouchers that disbursed funds to cover his expense reimbursements. In his response, Liong asserted that the amounts disbursed to him are his and thus, not subject to liquidation or return. In his rejoinder affidavit, Liong claimed that the amounts were not liquidated advances but reimbursements for various costs and expenses incurred on behalf of the company. However, an internal audit showed that the receipts submitted by the respondent covered personal items and imaginary transactions, the complaint said,As a result of the pretenses and schemes, Liong was able to cause the release of FCB funds and amass for himself money amounting to at least P6.72 million, with various receipts showing that on 55 occasions, Liong requested payment of reimbursements that had no relation with FCB business. False pretense and deceit [were] employed by Liong prior to or simultaneous with the actual defraudation of complainant FCB. The accounting department of FCB would not have released company funds in favor of Liong had it not been for the latters misrepresentation that the funds to be disbursed, reimbursed and then released were to be used in relation with the business of FCB and in connection to the duties of Liong as president and CEO, the prosecutor said. Liong presented various receipts and approved the release of funds pertaining to transactions which obviously did not inure to the benefit of FCB, thus giving him a semblance of authority in the disbursement of funds. Consequently, FCB took as gospel truth Liongs false pretenses and was misled and swayed to release funds to the latter, the resolution read. Undoubtedly, Liongs act of misrepresenting that his expenses were business-related and in connection with the performance of his functions as president and CEO of FCB in order to obtain company funds speaks strongly of fraud and deceit, the Makati City Prosecutors Office ruled. 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 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. World Press Photo has announced the nominees for the 2019 World Press Photo of the Year contest. The shortlist includes 43 photographers from 25 countries, selected from nearly 80,000 entries from around the globe. Among the nominated images: photographer John Moores viral shot of a Honduran girl crying as her mother is searched by a US Border Patrol agent in McAllen, Texas. The nominees of the 9th Digital Storytelling Contest have also been announced. See the British Journal of Photography for more For nearly 95 years, Trinity Lutheran Church outside of Oldham, South Dakota, has held just one service a year, on Memorial Day. Year round, though, the church serves as a memorial to founding families who dedicated their lives to building the little church on a sloping prairie hill. Known as the Hill Church, a group of 12 cemetery board members see to its upkeep today. Its an honor, board member Stuart Apland said. Were honoring every single member of that church. The memories are important to maintain, added his mother, Kathy Apland. His grandma, Gladys (Abrahamson) Apland, played the old pump organ. She was hired as church organist in 1923, and up until a few years ago, her nephew, Roger Abrahamson, played that same organ at the annual Memorial Day service. It takes a lot of effort to pump those bellows, Abrahamson said. Cement work also ran in the Abrahamson family. Rogers uncle made headstones for the family plots and four cement churches that were displayed outside their homes. That sat in our yard for years when we lived at the farm, Roger said. Now one of the little churches has a new home outside the Hill Church. The church is such a peaceful, beautiful place to go, said Deb Schlagel. The white steepled church sits within an arc of evergreens. Her dad, Wesley Olson, planted those trees. He and his wife, Mildred, spent their later years caring for the property, each on a riding lawnmower. They, along with Abrahamsons dad, James, and Olaf Larson took care of anything that needed fixing. As trade talks continue between the U.S. and China, hopes for a deal between the two countries have continued to drive the markets. President Donald Trump said he would consider an extension of the talks going into March or April, in an effort to complete a deal. As soybeans continue to see their value fluctuate based on trade headlines, corn has remained relatively firm in recent weeks and could see an increase soon, according to John Payne of Daniels Trading. He said Brazil zigged to meet the market by providing additional soybeans to China, and while the U.S. may not get those sales back, it creates a bullish outlook for U.S. corn farmers. Its really more bullish for corn, because the prospect of buying corn is really there, Payne said. For beans I think theyll just return to normal. If we can walk away with 5 million metric tons of exports (of corn), thats a huge deal. Thats a major win for (Trump). I think he wants to get that done. With acreage projections set to be announced in the coming weeks, Payne said he isnt expecting a hard shift toward corn, which only adds to the bullish ideas. He said the issue with the soybean market is purchases China has made from South America during the trade war arent something the U.S. can simply make up for. Those are lost purchases. Its not like theyve been going without, Payne said. Its not like theyve been vacant from the grocery store for two weeks and when they come back theyll inhale everything off the racks. Theyve been eating. So they are going to switch back to us, but they wont come back aggressively. A technology that would enable beekeepers to detoxify hives of pesticides was developed at Cornell University and is now being licensed throug In a report released by CNN on Wednesday, Scott Gottlieb, MD, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, threatened federal action to eliminate religious and secular exemptions from vaccine mandates to attend school in response to several hundred measles cases in a country of 330 million people. "Some states are engaging in such wide exemptions that they're creating the opportunity for outbreaks on a scale that is going to have national implications." Gottlieb is reported to have said. If, "certain states continue down the path that they're on I think they're going to force the hand of the federal health agencies." Several hundred cases of measles, a disease that was considered a routine childhood inconvenience a generation ago, can be manipulated as a pretext for draconian new federal powers, yet annual increases in autism of 50,000 to 100,000 new cases per year don't event merit comment. Please click on the Take Action to send a message to the White House asking the President to replace Gottlieb with someone who takes seriously fundamental rights and relevant information for policy making. And please call the White House at the number below and politely let the staffer know you would like to see a new head of the FDA. The White House Comment Line, (202) 456-1111 The vaccine industry is creating hysteria over a trivial measles outbreak to eliminate vaccination rights in the US. It's a program that worked successfully in California, France, Italy, Croatia and Romania, why not the rest of the United States? But the facts just don't support the hype. "Overall vaccination coverage among young children remained high and stable in the United States in 2017," according to the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of October 12, 2018. The vaccine industry's claim that measles vaccination rates are falling are not supported by the federal government's own statistics. According to the CDC's National Immunization Survey, there was no change in the percentage of children who received one or more MMR vaccines from 2013 through 2017, holding steady at around 91.5% with no statistically significant changes for the past 5 years. Children who are unvaccinated make up less than 1% of all children and pose no threat to achieving herd immunity. Please share this message with friends and family, and please share on social networks. If you support the work of the Autism Action Network please make a donation at http://www. autismactionnetwork.org Taking inspiration from iconic American designs, HISTORY TV18s new unscripted series Road Hauks follows the creation of custom off-road vehicles that pay homage to the past while still maintaining a modern, rugged look. Kenny Hauk and his crew of expert mechanics and fabricators at Hauk Designs are history buffs who pride themselves on the ability to make builds that are both historic and have high-horsepower. Road Hauks premieres Saturday, February 23rdat 6 PM on HISTORY TV18. Hauk began his business out of his parents garage and has grown the company into a world-renowned off-road automotive shop. The teams inspiration for vehicles has no limits. From a Colt .45 handgun to a steam locomotive to a Viking battering ram, they transform all eras of history into their builds. Hauk executes his designs with the help of his team including lead mechanic Rick, lead fabricator Rob, mechanic Clint, operations manager Justin, technician Josh Moe, and his wife and part owner Vianna. In the premiere episode, the crew transforms a 2007 Jeep Wrangler body into a World War II fighter plane-inspired off-road vehicle. Steering yokes, an aircraft aluminum body, and thousands of rivets help make this jeep look like a fighter jet with a build of a modern monster truck. Follow designer and builder Kenny Hauk and his team as they continue to shake up the car world with their historically-inspired vehicles on HISTORY TV18s ROAD HAUKS, 23rd Feb, Sat 6 PM. The Palace on Friday said the pained admission by Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle about thevalidated President Rodrigo Dutertes previous criticism of the church and clerics. READ: Pope eyes measures against sex abuse TIMES NOW, Indias leading English News channel from Times Network, strengthens its primetime news band with the appointment of Padmaja Joshi. In her role, Padmaja will present the primetime show The Newshour @ 10p.m. on Times Now and will closely work with the editorial leadership team in setting the news agenda for the channel. She will also play an active role in extensive reportage on the upcoming General Elections. Based out of Times NOWs Noida office, Padmaja will report to Rahul Shivshankar, Editor-In-Chief, Times Now. A seasoned journalist with over a decade experience, Padmaja brings in-depth knowledge in broadcasting as a reporter, producer, commentator, primetime news anchor and presenter across politics and current affairs. Rahul Shivshankar, Editor-in-Chief, TIMES NOW said, I am pleased to welcome Padmaja to the TIMES NOW team. We are confident that her vast knowledge and experience will be a valuable contribution in shaping the primetime band and driving the immediate big event elections. On her appointment, Padmaja Joshi said, Im extremely excited to join TIMES NOW, a brand that stands for credibility and accuracy in reportage. What sets the channel apart, is the primacy it gives to reporters and as a journalist who thrives on being where the story is, I look forward to be a part of the team thats always with the news, first. Padmaja has earlier worked with Headlines Today (now India Today TV), where she anchored the prime-time broadcast shows on the channel and was in-charge of copy and the news flow. In her earlier role with Times Now, Padmaja handled the responsibility of an Anchor and News Editor of the channel. Tupperware launches Seal the Love campaign at all distributor locations across India for the month of February. As a part of this campaign, customers can come and get the damaged seals of their old containers replaced or purchase new seals. Tupperware as a brand enjoys a strong following, based on long-standing trust and loyalty from its consumers. From the very beginning, Tupperwares lifetime warranty has been a rewarding proposition for consumers and this campaign is a testimony to the brands promise of Tupperware for Life. Seal the Love campaign is aimed at reducing plastic waste, as all damaged seals collected via this activity will be duly recycled by Tupperware to create non-food applications like flower pots. Tupperware products are covered against chipping, cracking, breaking or peeling under normal, non-commercial use for the lifetime of the product*. Tupperware recycles or reuses 90% of all the products that they manufacture. As an environmentally conscious company, Tupperware is continuously evaluating how they can further reduce their social and environmental impact at all levels with the organization, including production, distribution and design. Tupperware has invested $3.2 million over the past three years, for environmental improvements in their manufacturing facilities. Speaking on Brand Communication for Social Change at the IAA World Congress in Kochi, Piyush Pandey, Global Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy & Mather, made an emotional appeal for sustainability of human emotions, which, he felt, is under threat in the digital world. At the outset, giving his take on the theme of Brand Dharma, Pandey said, Dharma is learnings of our predecessor and their predecessors about karma. It is this learning that makes us good global citizens. Dharma is a philosophy, and karma is work. Speaking at the 3-day convention, Pandey said, A lot of people spoke about sustainability, climate change and everything. I would like to draw your attention to sustainability of human emotions that are under threat in the digital world. He lamented the fact that people are so involved in their gadgets that they have stopped caring about others. Are we talking to each other enough? he asked, while emphasising, Personal interface can never be matched by Face-Time. At the same time, Pandey believed that brands can bring about a social change and help us be better human beings. He added, Big brands can do messaging that can have an impact that is magical. To drive home his point, Pandey cited the examples of the brand campaigns done by Ogilvy India for two of its clients Google and Amazon. The two campaigns one about two friends separated by the Partition, and the second one about the love between a brother and sister highlight the importance of sustaining relationships over time. I salute brands that prefer such messaging, he said. Citing an incident from his own life, Pandey narrated the time his mother was admitted in the ICU and he was not allowed to see her. He said, While people say that patients under medical care should not be disturbed, medical research states that emotional support is as useful as medical support. He lamented the loss of love and caring within families and said that these days, young people, unable to look after their aged parents, send them to old-age homes. Coming down strongly on people who resorted to such measures, Pandey said, Your parents didnt leave you no matter what, then why cant you as a young adult look after them? Pandey left the audience with a profound thought, Sustainability of the environment is to make life longer, but sustainability of relationships is to spread love and make everyone enjoy the journey of life. As worlds largest democracy gears up for high-decibel campaigns by the political parties across the 718 districts of the country to form the next government, Network18 is all set to bring to its audience an unmatched programming on General Elections 2019 under its umbrella branding - Mahabharat. Reaching out to 64 crore viewers*, the programming will telecast in 15 different languages on 20 news channels of the network. Keeping up with the legacy of bringing the most comprehensive reportage on the major elections, the programming on Network18, the largest news network in India, will span more than 3700 hours with over 200 shows and segments. From covering high-decibel campaigns and rallies of star campaigners to highlighting the voice of first-time voters and key concerns of the female voters across the country, the programming will encompass numerous interactive shows across channels. Covering the length and breadth of the country, the programming will focus on the aspirations and expectations of the common men and women from the upcoming government. The incisive coverage on the channels will include dedicated bulletins and debates, wide-ranging on-ground reportage, in-depth profiling of the biggest leaders, data driven analysis of trends and governments performance, wittiest political satires along with interviews with the biggest newsmakers. Starting from campaigning, the mega programming will cover polling days and counting day, right until the government formation. The reportage across the leading national and regional channels - CNN-News18, News18 India, CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz, News18 HSM, News18 South amongst others - will be led by the team of veteran anchors, editors and reporters who, along with prominent experts, will give an in-depth analysis of key issues and developments and keep the viewers well-informed of the high-profile General Elections. Culminating in the grand finale of this modern day Mahabharata, Network18s largest team of reporters will be deployed to deliver real-time result updates from each constituency. Network18 will leave no stone unturned to bring an unrivalled view of the biggest elections. With an aim to further amplify its programming, Network18 will do an extensive on-air promotion across its various channels along with heavy promotion on social media and its digital platforms. In order to reach out to media agencies and advertisers, the network is also doing extensive branding activities across top media agencies. Dont miss the extensive coverage of General Elections across all channels of Network18 Netflix launched the song Ajoobe partnering with popular Mumbai hip-hop group 7Bantaiz to celebrate their just-launched global series The Umbrella Academy. The series released on 15 February is a never-seen-before story of a family of seven superheroes with a twist. The series brings together young adult, action, coming-of-age, absurdist humour, and superhero elements all into one. The song brings together the 7 Bantaiz signature rap style with a mix of Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and English lyrics to The Umbrella Academys amazing soundtrack which already features music by Mary J Blige and Gerard Way. About the Umbrella Academy: On the same day in 1989, forty-three infants are inexplicably born to random, unconnected women who showed no signs of pregnancy the day before. Seven are adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, a billionaire industrialist, who creates The Umbrella Academy and prepares his "children" to save the world. But not everything went according to plan. In their teenage years, the family fractured and the team disbanded. Now, the six surviving thirty-something members reunite upon the news of Hargreeves passing. Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Vanya and Number Five work together to solve a mystery surrounding their father's death. But the estranged family once again begins to come apart due to their divergent personalities and abilities, not to mention the imminent threat of a global apocalypse. The Umbrella Academy is based on the popular, Eisner award-winning comics and graphic novels created and written by Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance), illustrated by Gabriel Ba, and published by Dark Horse Comics. Starring: Ellen Page, Mary J Blige, Ellen Page, Tom Hopper, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, David Castaneda, Aidan Gallagher, Cameron Britton, and Mary J. Blige Showrunner: Steve Blackman. National Geographic India released an innovative digital stunt reiterating the brands commitment to inspire people to care about the planet. The activity was part of Planet or Plastic? - National Geographics multi-year initiative raising awareness of the global plastic crisis and reducing the amount of single-use plastic that is polluting the world oceans. To drive relevance and relatability for the message, the digital stunt struck a resonating chord with National Geographics social media audience by reinstating in the audiences mind that plastic is non-perishable and negatively impacts the environment. Conceptualised and executed by Dentsu Aegis Networks digital agency Isobar India, the stunt was essentially a Facebook story that refused to go away. Playing on the characteristic of Facebook story that vanishes in 24 hours, this story is non-perishable and never vanishes, just like plastic. Attracting a commendable engagement across Facebook, the campaign in its initial few days garnered more than 1.5 MN+ story views with 200+ replies. via GIPHY Commenting on the campaign, Pawan Soni, Head Marketing & Programming, National Geographic India said, Plastics crisis wasnt created in a day and it certainly cannot be solved in a day. This is why we launched a multi-year initiative - Planet or Plastic? The initiative is aimed at raising awareness about the global plastic issue and we wanted people to join the movement and pledge to eliminate single-use plastic usage. In order to roll out the campaign, we briefed the agency to use a method that should be innovative, yet not niche, so that maximum participation can be achieved. And thats exactly what they did with Story that Stays. Speaking on the launch, Gopa Kumar, Executive Vice President, Isobar states, National Geographic launched the first phase of the Planet or Plastic campaign globally in 2018. It was a huge opportunity to raise awareness and make a mark. To unveil the campaign in India, we primarily targeted the millennials who use social media extensively and are the majority users of single-use plastic. We carefully chose a medium that resonated with them and reached out to them on platforms that they end up engaging with and spend more time on. Thats how the Story that Stays was born. It facilitated us to get the desired attention and start a movement that will help the cause, and eventually the planet. This is just a start and during the course of the year several interventions are planned to raise awareness on this issue. Campaign Credits: Business Head: Himanshu Arora Creative Director: Amit Singh, Vibhor Yadav Copy Supervisor: Neha Kumra Director, Social: Aakriti Sinha Manager, Business: Sukriti Jain Social Media Team: Ilena Bose Art: Arza Arora 93.5 RED FM, one of the largest and most awarded private radio networks in India has launched an initiative on voting awareness as a build-up to 2019s general election. The initiative Ab Watan Dabayega Button aims at creating awareness around voting and helps in creating a milestone voter turnout. The initiative will specially focus on educating and resolving queries of youngsters who feel voting doesn't make a difference. The objective is to keep in mind the first-time voters - people who have just crossed 18 or people who haven't voted despite crossing 18 many years ago because they think voting doesn't makes a difference. RED FM will resolve their queries and they will be made to realise that every single vote is important in the manifestation of a better future for India. By capturing the first-time voters, the aim is to inculcate voting as a habit so that they continue voting in elections for years to come. RED FM has tied up with the Election Commission of India for this initiative and RED FM RJs have been declared the Youth Ambassadors in their respective cities. RJ Raunac aka Bauaa will be leading this campaign in Delhi as the Youth Ambassadors. Encouraging first time voters, Nisha Narayanan, COO, RED FM, says, Voting is crucial for every citizen to choose their leaders of tomorrow. Being a medium of mass appeal, we want to use the strength of our network to sensitize everyone about the significance of each vote which can create a colossal difference in the long run. Ab Watan Dabayega Button is Red FMs humble effort to make a difference. Our RJs are the Youth Ambassadors in individual cities and we are emphasizing on young voters who have just turned 18. As for older voters who have given up hope on this nation, we want them to share equal responsibility for building India. We are all obliged to be accountable to ourselves as well as to our fellow citizens to create a bright future where we foster community building and a shared goal. Instead of debating on a better tomorrow- this campaign aims to mobilize positivity in voting with the central theme of the nation shall vote in a truly Bajaate Raho style. As the voice of the mass, radio has a social responsibility to create a uniform platform for pertinent discussions on socio-political and cultural issues. There is no better time than the upcoming general election where a massive change is expected to sweep this country which will push for further development. Reaffirming its commitment towards a healthy society, RED FM is all set to generate maximum buzz around voting awareness, so that every Indian voter steps up and do the needful. Authorities capture wanted felon living on burned property in Concow Authorities captured wanted felon Alex Bettencourt of San Jose living in a tent on a burned property in Concow. The sheriff's office says he had a number weapons with him including a throwing star and two felony warrants for his arrest. Deputies also found a stolen motorcycle. Bettencourt now faces three additional felony charges. Deputies searching for three suspects connected to Chico honey oil lab explosion The sheriff's office is searching for three people connected to a honey oil lab explosion at a home on Burnap Avenue in North Chico. Deputies arrested Brittney Larsen, 28, of Chico. They say her 5-month-old baby was inside the home and the child's room was being used to store marijuana. Investigators believe the operation was connected to an illegal mobile dispensary. Redding cleanup crews work to clear storm debris Cleanup crews in Redding are working to clear hundreds of down trees and tree limbs in city parks from last week's snowstorm. They say Enterprise Park and River Trail were especially hit hard. Crews are asking people to stay off the trails until work is complete. Paradise Town Council to hold public workshop on rebuilding Paradise The Paradise Town Council will hold a public workshop to hear what the community has in mind for the future of Paradise. The meeting is at Paradise Alliance Church on Clark Road at 10 a.m. Friday morning. The council will have consultant Urban Design Associates lead the discussion. California's insurance commissioner hosts free, 2-day workshop for Camp Fire victims This weekend, California's insurance commissioner is hosting a free, 2-day workshop to help with Camp Fire insurance claims. The workshop will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Laxson Auditorium at Chico it ends Sunday and Noon. More than 1,000 Feather River Hospital employees laid off More than 1,000 Feather River Hospital Employees have been laid off. Hospital officials say repairs on the building, damaged by the Camp Fire, should take at least one year. Adventist Health says it will help employees find new jobs at different locations in the company. Placer County Sheriff's Office finds lost hiker in Gold Run The Placer County Sheriff's Office says a hiker's GPS device helped them find her after 24 hours in the freezing cold in Gold Run. Volunteers found the 60-year-old woman soaking wet, with hypothermia and frostbite. She is expected to be OK. CONCOW, Calif. -The Butte County Sheriff's Office arrested a wanted felon living in a tent on a property burned by the Camp Fire in Concow. Deputies found Alex Bettencourt, 39, of San Jose, living inside a tent on a property on Granite Ridge Road in Concow Thursday. Inside the tent, deputies found four firearms. One of the guns was a BB gun, one was an illegal, short-barreled shotgun, one was a handgun reported stolen, and one was a .22 caliber rifle. Deputies also found a switch-blade knife and a throwing star, which is illegal in California. There was also a motorcycle that had been reported stolen. Bettencourt is a convicted felon, and not allowed to have firearms or ammunition. He also had two felony warrants out of his arrest. The Sheriff's Office charged Betten court with three felonies of being a felon in possession of a firearm, a felony charge of being a prohibited person from possessing ammunition, and two felony charges of receiving stolen property. He was also charged with possession of a short-barreled shotgun, a misdemeanor charge of possession of switchblade knife, and possession of a throwing star. He was booked into the Butte County Jail. BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - A 75-year-old rape suspect is on Butte County's most wanted list. Eliseo Coss Mendoza is wanted on a warrant charging him with forcible rape and continuous sexual abuse of a child. He has black hair, brown eyes, is 5'9" and weighs 160 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to call the Paradise police at (530) 872-6241. Another potential suicide bomber, a Yemeni, is currently in Mindanao, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said Friday and has been living in the country for over a year now along with other foreign terrorists. Indonesian, Pakistani, Egyptian and Malaysian terrorists are also in Basilan and Maguindanao apart from the Yemeniwho, Ano said in a UNTV report. The trained suicide bomber we are referring is a Yemeni national. There are foreign terrorists who are also living in other parts of Mindanao, but we cannot say that he is a suicide bomber because they are foreign tourists providing support and advice to the local Abu Sayyaf, except for this Arab-looking national inside the Sawadjaan camp, he added. Ano said the Department of the Interior and Local Government, which has control over the Philippine National Police, currently has no intelligence reports on any plans the Yemeni terrorist has.after an Abu Sayyaf cell led by Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan bombed the Catholic cathedral in Jolo, Sulu during a Mass last Jan. 27, killing 23 and injuring over 100. The twin blasts prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to call an all-out war against the Abu Sayyaf, the communist New Peoples Army, and other terrorist groups in the country. Meanwhile, government troops on Friday launched wide-scale search and rescue operations to save three foreign hostages from being beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf. A video posted online by the ASG, showed the hostagesbelieved to be Indonesians Heri Adiansyah, 19 and Hariadin, 45blindfolded and with their hands tied behind their back, under guard by armed bandits. One bandit held a bolo to Hariadins neck as he made an emotional appeal to Indonesian President Joko Widodo to save them. The other hostage, Malaysian Jari Abdullah, 24, was not shown in the video. The video was posted online after the bandits contacted Jaris wife, who made a futile appeal to the Malaysian government. The ASG demanded an undetermined amount for their ransom. Duterte on Friday said he would appeal to Moro National Liberation Front chair Nur Misuari to negotiate with the Abu Sayyaf to end the hostaging. I would appeal to Nur Misuari to stop it. And tell the Abu Sayyaf that, Look were talking. Dont make it hard for us to seek peace in our land, the President said in a chance interview with Palace reporters.A spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, however, rejected any talks with the bandits. We never negotiate with the terrorists or kidnappers, said AFP Public Affairs chief Col. Noel Detoyato. We will just continue with our ongoing combat operations, he said. The, Netherlands bird watcher Ewol Horn and four others. The Palace said it is doing all it can to guarantee the safe release of the hostages. The three were in their Sandakan-based fishing boats in eastern Sabah waters, which is near Tawi-Tawi, when the ASG abducted them. We are doing our best to secure the release of hostages from the evil hands of the ASG, but we stand firm on our no ransom policy, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement. READ: 2 Abu Sayyaf killed, 2 hurt in clash with troops in Sulu To give in to the demands of terrorists and other lawless groups would embolden them to engage in more abductions that would allow them to conduct extremist and other criminal activities as they could buy more arms and weapons, he added. According to the Palace official, the ASG continues to be on the run after President Duterte declared an all-out war against them, ordering the countrys armed forces to pulverize the terrorist group. Our security forces are hunting them in the wild forests of Mindanao to unleash their might and blow them to kingdom come, Panelo said. On Wednesday, the President urged Indonesia and Malaysia to work together with the country in combating crime across the seas. WENN/Adriana M. Barraza Celebrity At the 12th annual luncheon, which theme is The Power of Our Presence: Art & Activism, honoree Jenifer Lewis addresses Jussie Smollett's scandal after police charged him for staging his own assault. Feb 22, 2019 AceShowbiz - A slew of actors, musicians and stars flocked the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles on Thursday, February 21 for the 2019 Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards. Among the celebrities gracing the red carpet in their best fashion were Angela Bassett, Eva Marcille, Regina King and Kelly Rowland. At the 12th annual luncheon, which theme was The Power of Our Presence: Art & Activism, "If Beale Street Could Talk" actress Regina got all eyes on her by looking chic in a plunging striped dress that she teamed up with a red blazer. Meanwhile, pop star Kelly turned heads in a shiny pink mini dress. Angela, on the other hand, flaunted her amazing figure in a blue dress. She completed her style with a ethnic-themed clutch. "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Eva arrived in a feathery Celia Kritharioti jacket and skirt from its Cirque des Couleurs, Spring Summer 2019 collection. Also among the guests that night were Tina Knowles and honoree Jenifer Lewis. While accepting her award at the award-giving event, the latter addressed Jussie Smollett's scandal after police charged him for staging his own assault. "I was asked on the carpet so many times, 'What do you think, Ms. Lewis?' " Jenifer said. "I said, 'I have no comment. Today is a day to celebrate. But this is what you will be hearing tomorrow.' " "Before you lie to us," she began to sing. "Remember Rosa sat on that bus. Before you tell your tale, remember Mandela sat in that jail. Before you do anything, remember Dr. Martin Luther King. Before you connive and steal, I dare you to google Emmett Till. Before another dawn after this mess. Before another dawn, and I speak to everyone, remember whose shoulders you stand on." Take a look at the star's fashion at the event. 1. Stunning in Black WENN/Adriana M. Barraza Tina Knowles opted for a simple black jumpsuit which didn't make her fashion any less dazzling. 2. Looking Like a Goddess WENN/Adriana M. Barraza Regina Hall looked gorgeous in a pleated skirt, which she paired with sparkly silver stilettos selected by styling duo Wayman + Micah. 3. Mother and Daughter Duo WENN/Adriana M. Barraza Jenifer Lewis brought her daughter Charmaine Lewis to the event. 4. Pop in Color WENN/Adriana M. Barraza Kelly Rowland commanded attention in the hot pink dress that boasted full length sleeves. 5. Daring Look WENN/Adriana M. Barraza Eva Marcille showed some skin in her white top that allowed her to flaunt her cleavage. 6. Two Is Better Than One WENN/Adriana M. Barraza 20-year-old actress Amandla Stenberg and Angela Bassett posed together in front of camera. 7. Eye-Catching Figure WENN/Adriana M. Barraza Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer looked stylish in a gray midi dress that she paired with a matching leather jacket. 8. Going Black-and-Red WENN/Adriana M. Barraza Regina King arrived in a striped jumpsuit which first two buttons were deliberatedly left unbuttoned. WENN/Rob Rich/Joseph Marzullo TV A 'Good Morning America' source admits that the timing made the interview 'bad optics,' though the source defended Roberts, saying, 'She conducted an incredible interview.' Feb 22, 2019 AceShowbiz - A lot of people were shocked when police named "Empire" star Jussie Smollett as the suspect in the racial and homophobic attack and arrested star for faking the attack. But no one is probably more blindsided than ABC's "Good Morning America" host Robin Roberts, who arranged an interview with the actor that aired on February 14. In the interview, Smollett could be seen saying to Roberts, "At first it was a thing of like, listen, if I tell the truth then that's it 'cause its the truth. Then it became a thing of like, oh, how can you doubt that? Like, how do you not believe that? Its the truth." He added, "And then it became a thing of like, oh, it's not necessarily that you don't believe that this is the truth. You dont even want to see the truth." A "Good Morning America" source admitted that the timing made the interview "bad optics," though the source defended Roberts. "It was an interview everyone wanted," said the source. "She conducted an incredible interview and the shoes fell really just right after the interview aired. Timing made it bad optics but who could have seen any of this coming as we see it today?" The insider stressed that during the interview, the public was still convinced that Smollett was a victim instead of a suspect of the alleged hate crime. "There's not really a spirit of regret about the Jussie interview," insisted the source. "And no one feels that Robin got duped. Taken advantage of, yes, but not duped." Another ABC source pointed out how Jussie "never flinched" during the sit-down. "He looked right into the camera and lied to everyone." A network executive also came to Roberts' defense regarding her way of handling the interview. "There's a reason every news organization is running those clips. It's news. That interview is central to the story as a whole," the executive said. "You have to assume the same version he told us he told the police." During the Thursday episode of "Good Morning America", Roberts called the incident as "a setback for race-relations, homophobia, MAGA supporters, who the fingers were pointed at them." She continued, "I cannot think of another case where there's anger on so many sides. And you can understand why there would be." ABC's chief legal analyst Dan Abrams added, "Your interview is going evidence in this case. That sort of locks him in there to a particular account. That sort of locks him in there to a particular account. And when you watch -- God, it is so hard to watch that again." Roberts agreed, saying, "It is. I know." Smollet turned himself in to Chicago Police Department earlier on Thursday after he was named a suspect in a criminal investigation for filing a fake police report. He was charged with two felony counts. He was released after posting a $100,000 bond. Following his arrest, his legal team released a statement criticizing the Chicago Police which accused Smollett of staging the attack in order to take "advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career." The statement read, "Mr. Smollet is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing." What's next for Jussie Smollett? @danabrams and @sunny discuss the legal implications of Smollett turning himself in earlier this morning. https://t.co/HuliI9y5rgpic.twitter.com/gJshhD196i Good Morning America (@GMA) February 21, 2019 It continued, "Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system. The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election." Instagram Celebrity In footage of his Miami arrest, one officer can be seen declaring that the marijuana bag is the rapper's despite his continuous denial, telling him, 'It's your bag now.' Feb 22, 2019 AceShowbiz - In late last year, Lil Pump got in troubles with the police at Miami International Airport as he was suspected to bring a bag of marijuana. Footage of the rapper being detained by the authorities have now made its way online, showing one officer getting into a shouting match with him. This prompted Pump to threaten to sue the cop. In the video, which was first shared by TMZ, Pump was seen arguing with responding officers at the airport while insisting that the bag did not belong to him. It's clear that he grew frustrated as his manager came to his defense saying that he knows him for years and insisted that the bag was not Pump's. Eventually, one officer got in his face and yelled, "Calm down!" Pump still insisted that the bag was not belong to him, but the cops didn't seem to believe him at all. "I don't care. It's your bag now," the officer said before arresting him and his manager for misdemeanor disorderly conduct. The "Butterfly Effect" rapper took notice of the video and re-shared it on his Instagram account. In the caption, he declared his plan to sue the cop who got into shouting match with him. "DIRTY A** [pig emoji] SAID 'ITS YOUR BAG NOW' THIS RACIST S**T NEEDA STOP LAWSUIT ON DA WAY," he wrote. At the time, both Pump and his manager entered not guilty pleas after the bag was later determined to have belonged to someone else on his team. This wasn't the first time the "Gucci Gang" hitmaker faced similar problems with the law. He was arrested in Denmark that same month after one of his team members was seen "holding something illegal." Police subsequently banned him and his crew from returning to the country after that. Instagram Celebrity Having gone through a similar heartbreak, the 'I Like It' raptress sympathizes with the reality TV star and condemns those who rejoice over Khloe's misery. Feb 22, 2019 AceShowbiz - Cardi B is totally on Khloe Kardashian's side amid rumors that Tristan Thompson cheated on her with Kylie Jenner's BFF Jordyn Woods. The "Bodak Yellow" hitmaker, who recently reunited with her husband Offset following his own cheating scandal, understands the pain Khloe has been going through now and that's why she slams people who are celebrating the reality TV star's heartbreak. The 26-year-old hip-hop star launched into a long online rant during a recent Instagram Live. "Obviously this whole Khloe Kardashian thing...everybody is just like celebrating that that happened to her and it's like why?" she bemused. Confused by people's reactions, she asked, "Whatever karma that y'all felt like they deserve, I think they already have it, so it's like why do you guys keep wishing that on a woman? Especially a woman that has a daughter?" "We know how it is when a n***a f**k up. Y'all know that your heart shatters in pieces. Y'all know it feels like your heart is literally bleeding and you just want to die and you can't even sleep," she continued, seemingly sharing her own feelings during Offset's cheating scandal. "You actually can't even escape it when you sleeping because you actually dream about it...it's like it's mainly the women in the comments. It's like why do you guys like manifest and be happy off of that?" She added, "I feel like, alright she already learned her lesson, something real f**ked up happened before she gave birth, so it's like why do you guys keep I don't know like enjoying other people's pain? Enjoying other people misery, knowing how much it hurts when a guy that you're in love with, especially the father of your child, does something wrong. It's just so sad." Urging women to empower each other in real actions, the Bronx femcee said, "I feel like everybody always want to talk about how they want to uplift women...but it be like the same women that be laughing in the comments when another woman is going through some s**t and it's all the time...I feel like that s**t is whack." "I be feeling bad because I think everybody been in those shoes," Cardi added. "I've been through it. Friends been through it. Family been through it. A lot of y'all b***hes been through it. ...so why is it that y'all laugh and 'live,' 'Oh I live' for another woman's pain-you know what I'm saying?" While Khloe has been sharing cryptic posts alluding to her heartbreak on social media, her sister Kim Kardashian seemed to confirm Khloe's split from her baby daddy Tristan as she called her sister "a single mom" on Twitter. She posted the tweet in response to another user who slammed the Good American founder for making a public appearance just one day after the scandal hit the internet. WENN/Apega Celebrity The 'Transformers' actor and the actress, who has starred on 'Entourage' and 'Bones' among others, have reportedly been dating for two months. Feb 22, 2019 AceShowbiz - Josh Duhamel has found himself a new girlfriend, more than six months after splitting from Eiza Gonzalez. Rumor has it that the 46-year-old actor is currently dating actress Rebekah Graf, who is 10 years his junior and has starred on TV series such as "Entourage", "Bones" and "Hawaii Five-0". According to Life & Style (as reported by HollywoodLife.com), the two have been dating for two months. The alleged new lovers were first spotted together Beverly Hills on December 19, during when he was caught nuzzling his dating partner Rebekah, who was at the time identified only as a "pretty brunette." Recently, the alleged couple was said going on a romantic trip to The Village at Mammoth in California's Mammoth Mountain. There, friends of the "Safe Haven" actor were reportedly overheard calling Rebekah "Josh's girlfriend." Josh was said taking the 36-year-old beauty to the premiere of his directorial debut, "Buddy Games", at the second annual Mammoth Mountain Film Festival earlier this month. They didn't walk the red carpet together because "Josh wasn't ready to to make it red-carpet official," but "he did bring Rebekah as his date to the 'Buddy Games' premiere," a source says. And they seemed to be not trying to hide their romance. The source dishes that they "couldn't keep their hands off each other" once they were seated for the film. The source goes on revealing, "Josh made sure they got the best seats in the house and was rubbing her back as they waited to watch the film. You can tell that Josh is really into Rebekah. He didn't even notice the other girls there. She had his full attention." Josh Duhamel previously dated Eiza Gonzalez for several months in 2018 following his split from ex-wife Stacy Ferguson a.k.a. Fergie in 2017. They, however, broke up in July reportedly because of different lifestyle. "Josh is highly independent and he values his space and free time. It was hard for Eiza to deal with being apart so much," a source said at the time. The William Lennox of the "Transformers" film series recently said that he's looking for someone young enough to have a family with. "I'm not 30 years old anymore. I'm 45. I want to have more kids in the next few years," he shared during a candid conversation with fellow actor Dax Shepard on his "Armchair Expert" podcast. "So it's more about finding someone young enough to have kids," he explained of his relationship requirements. "It's not as if I'm out there trying to just f**k anything. That's not who I am. I'm trying to find a girl that I can be with and have a family with." WENN/Adriana M. Barraza Celebrity The transgender filmmaker has filed for divorce on February 20, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for her separation from Aaron Tredwell. Feb 22, 2019 AceShowbiz - "Pose" writer/director Janet Mock has separated from her husband of three years. The transgender 35-year-old filed legal papers to divorce Aaron Tredwell on Wednesday, February 20, citing irreconcilable differences, reports The Blast. Mock, who underwent gender reassignment surgery in Thailand when she was 18, previously gushed about falling for Tredwell the first time they met. "Within minutes of our meeting, (Tredwell) invited me for a cup of coffee, and in a nearby fluorescent-lit cafe, I discovered that he was more than good-looking," she told Brides.com in 2015. "He was kind and attentive and had a generous ear. I knew he was my guy, but I was unsure if I'd be his girl." The estranged couple, which doesn't have any children together, wed in December, 2014 in Janet's hometown of Oahu, Hawaii. WENN/Mario Mitsis Movie Presented with the honor at the Women in Film's annual award, the 'Widows' actress is being recognized for her social contributions, outstanding performing skills, style and grace. Feb 22, 2019 AceShowbiz - Actress Elizabeth Debicki is set to receive the Women in Film Max Mara Face of the Future Award. The Australian actress has been selected as the 14th recipient of the annual award which is conferred to a rising star to acknowledge her social contributions, outstanding performing skills, style and grace. Past recipients include Alexandra Shipp, Zoey Deutch, Natalie Dormer, Kate Mara, and Emily Blunt. Founded in 1973, Women in Film is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to promoting equal opportunities for women and encouraging creative projects by women in the screen industries. The news comes as the statuesque "Widows" actress, who was awarded an Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award for her role in Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" in 2013, is expected to attend Max Mara's Milan Fashion Week show on Thursday, February 21. The 28-year-old, who counts Cate Blanchett as a mentor, recently told London's ES magazine that she had a simple make-up trick to get around the British capital incognito. "If I put a bit of lippy on before I jumped on the Tube, I would get (recognised by) maybe one or two people," she said. "But if I look like death warmed up on my way to rehearsal or something, nobody would blink. So basically: just don't wear lipstick. Which I don't." Steve McQueen, who directed her in 2018 film "Widows", sung her praises in a profile of the star for Vogue Australia in October. "The sky is the limit with Elizabeth as far as where her career could go; she's just exceptionally talented and she has the power to go wherever her character needs, and I'm not saying this lightly," he said. "How, why, I don't know, but some people have it and other people don't and she's got it." Elizabeth, who has starred in films including "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" and "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." as well as the Emmy-nominated TV miniseries "The Night Manager", will be honoured on June 12 at the Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards, which will be held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. WENN/Apega Celebrity The 'Black Swan' actress filed a protection motion for herself and her family after she reported the man, who identified himself as Keanu Reeves' assassin character, to the police for trespassing. Feb 22, 2019 AceShowbiz - Natalie Portman has been granted her request for a restraining order against an alleged trespasser calling himself John Wick. The actress called in the authorities after the man, who has not been publicly identified, reportedly gained entry to her gated community in Los Angeles on 31 January and showed up at her front gate. A police report of the incident, obtained by The Blast, reads, "(The man) rang the intercom/doorbell multiple times but said nothing when attempts to engage him were made over the intercom." When cops showed up to investigate, they confronted the intruder, who claimed his name was John Wick - the same moniker used by Keanu Reeves' assassin character in the 2015 movie of the same name. However, officers found a Colorado Driver's License in his possession, which provided them with his real identity, and then had him placed on a mental hold after telling cops he "had spoken to the reporting person several times, telepathically, and that he had traveled from Colorado to Los Angeles to meet the individual". The suspect was also slapped with a firearms restraining order by the lead detective. Meanwhile, Portman filed legal papers requesting the temporary restraining order in court on Wednesday, February 20, and now her motion has been granted. Under the terms of the protective order, the alleged stalker must stay at least 100 yards away from the "Black Swan" star, her husband, choreographer Benjamin Millepied, and their young children, Amalia and Aleph. A follow-up hearing has been scheduled to take place in March, when Portman will likely seek to make the restraining order permanent. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... SANTA FE The state Senate is hoping to encourage more people to seek emergency help when a friend or family member suffers a drug overdose. The Senate voted 41-0 on Friday in favor of legislation that would expand immunity protections for people who report an overdose so that New Mexicos good Samaritan law covers people on probation or parole or who are the subject of a restraining order. Senate Bill 282 sponsored by Democratic Sen. Richard Martinez of Espanola and Carlos Cisneros of Questa now heads to the House. This is going to save more lives, Martinez said. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... SANTA FE Private employers in New Mexico couldnt ask job-seekers about their criminal history on an initial application under legislation approved by the Senate on Friday. The proposal, Senate Bill 96, now heads to the House for consideration. It would allow employers to make clear in an advertisement that they will conduct a background check or that a conviction could disqualify them from employment. And they could ask applicants about any history of arrests or convictions later in the hiring process, just not on the initial application. An applicant who believes an employer has violated the law could file a grievance under the state Human Rights Act a process designed to allow the business and applicant resolve the issue without going to court, supporter said. We need to have some enforcement mechanism that isnt draconian that doesnt invite lawsuits, said Sen. Bill ONeill, an Albuquerque Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Democratic Sens. Jacob Candelaria and Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, both of Albuquerque, also worked on the legislation, winning approval of amendments before the bill was passed. Sedillo Lopez, for example, said it was important to ensure employers can notify applicants ahead of time that a criminal history might prohibit them from getting the job. She said she used to run an anti-domestic violence agency, where people convicted of certain crimes couldnt work. Opponents of the bill said they feared employers could face lengthy, costly investigations if a felon unsuccessfully applied for a job and decided to file a complaint. The proposal passed on a 28-11 vote, with all dissenting votes coming from Republicans. The legislation is informally known as the ban-the-box bill. Its co-sponsored by Republican Rep. Alonzo Baldonado of Los Lunas. A police senior officer was nabbed by operatives of the Philippine National Police Counter-Intelligence Task Force for alleged extortion in Tanza, Cavite Friday morning. CITF agents and PNP Intelligence Group arrested Supt. Armandy Dimabuyo, chief of the 402nd Cavite Maritime Police Station in Barangay Julugan V, in an entrapment operation inside the police facility at 7 a.m. In a report to PNP Chief, Director General Oscar Albayalde, CITF Commander Senior Supt Romeo Caramat said the operation stemmed from complaints of several owners of motorized banca regarding the suspects alleged demand for money amounting from P19,000 to P21,000 a month from the fishermen association. CITF operatives pounced on Dimabuyo, now in police custody, while in the act of receiving the marked money from the complainant amounting to P18,000, Caramat said. Caramat added the filing of appropriate criminal and administrative cases was underway against the PNP official.Caramat said Dimabuyo would be facing criminal and administrative cases. Caramat said the unwavering efforts by the CITF to arrest erring police personnel was part of the PNP internal reform program of Albayalde. He urged the public to report any complaints involving improper acts of all personnel in their respective areas. This developed as Chief Supt Rodelio Jocson, director of the PNP Maritime Group, relieved all personnel of the Cavite Maritime Station and subsequently replaced them with the Special Operations Unit of the Maritime Group under Supt. Gaylord Tamayo. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Google has announced it will hold free, one-day events in three New Mexico libraries to help job seekers, small business owners, students, educators and entrepreneurs improve their digital skills. The workshops, part of the Grow with Google initiative, will be: Albuquerque, March 18, at the city-county library at 8081 Central Ave. NW from 10:30 a.m. 5:30 p.m. Las Cruces, March 20, at Thomas Branigan Memorial Library, 200 E. Picacho Ave. from 10:30 a.m. 5:30 p.m. Gallup, at the Octavia Fellin Public Library, 115 West Hill Ave. from 10:30 a.m. 5:30 p.m. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ According to a news release from the company, Google will also train library staff and nonprofit leaders on free Google tools and curriculum. During the workshops, Google staff will cover online marketing for small businesses, search engine optimization, email basics and coding. Attendees can also sign up for one-on-one training with Google staff. People can attend select sessions or the entire workshop. Space is limited, so people interested in attending should register in advance. Registration and more information is available at g.co/GrowNewMexico. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... NEW YORK Several phone apps are sending sensitive user data, including health information, to Facebook without users consent, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. An analytics tool called App Events allows app developers to record user activity and report it back to Facebook, even if the user isnt on Facebook, according to the report . One example detailed by the Journal shows how a woman would track her period and ovulation using an app from Flo Health. After she enters when she last had her period, Facebook software in the app would send along data, such as whether the user may be ovulating. The Journals testing found that the data was sent with an advertising ID that can be matched to a device or profile. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Although Facebooks terms instruct app developers not to send such sensitive information, Facebook appeared to be accepting such data without telling the developers to stop. Developers are able to use such data to target their own users while on Facebook. Facebook said in a statement that it requires apps to tell users what information is shared with Facebook and it prohibits app developers from sending us sensitive data. The company said it works to remove information that developers should not have sent to Facebook. The development comes as Facebook is dealing with increased scrutiny over how it handles user data. Last week, British lawmakers issued a scathing report calling for tougher privacy rules for Facebook and other tech firms. Criticisms over privacy intensified nearly a year ago following revelations that the now-defunct Cambridge Analytica data-mining firm accessed data on some 87 million Facebook users without their consent. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has been investigating that flap as well and is reportedly in negotiations with Facebook over a multibillion dollar fine. The data-sharing is related to a data analytics tool that Facebook offers developers. The tool lets developers see statistics about their users and target them with Facebook ads. Besides Flo Health, the Journal found that Instant Heart Rate: HR Monitor and real-estate app Realtor.com were also sending app data to Facebook. The Journal found that the apps did not provide users any way to stop the data-sharing. Flo Health said in an emailed statement that using analytical systems is a common practice for all app developers and that it uses Facebook analytics for internal analytics purposes only. But the company plans to audit its analytics tools to be as proactive as possible on privacy concerns. Hours after the Journal story was published, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed the states Department of State and Department of Financial Services to immediately investigate what he calls a clear invasion of consumer privacy. The Democrat also urged federal regulators to step in to end the practice. Securosis CEO Rich Mogull said that while it is not good for Facebook to have yet another data privacy flap in the headlines, In this case it looks like the main violators were the companies that wrote those applications, he said. Facebook in this case is more the enabler than the bad actor. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... MOJAVE, Calif. Virgin Galactics VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo space plane reached suborbital space again during its fifth powered test flight Friday morning, landing back on the runway at the Mojave Air and Space Port about an hour after launch. Steps away from the flight line, in a 48,000-square-foot hangar, the spaceships next two successors are taking shape. The company is planning to fly tourists from Spaceport America, southeast of Truth or Consequences. Virgin Galactic is a primary tenant of the spaceport, and so far, more than 600 people have signed up to fly on its spacecraft, paying as much as $250,000 each. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Company officials emphasize that Virgin Galactic is still very much in the test-flight phase. The company reached suborbital space for the first time in a December flight but wanted to make sure it could repeat that achievement. The space planes test began shortly after 9 a.m. Friday. The craft was carried by the larger, twin-fuselage plane known as WhiteKnightTwo to an altitude of about 45,000 feet, and then released under its own power around 8:53 a.m. Two minutes later, Virgin Galactic posted on Twitter: SpaceShipTwo, welcome back to space. SpaceShipTwo was flown by pilots Dave MacKay and Michael Masucci. For the first time, the space plane had a third crew member aboard chief astronaut instructor Beth Moses. To serve customers, Virgin Galactic will need to make more spaceships. Weve chosen to do some design enhancements on the next spaceship, mostly about manufacturability, said Enrico Palermo, president of the Spaceship Co., Virgins spacecraft manufacturing arm. Were going to build more of them. The shop floor at one of Spaceship Co.s Mojave hangars was buzzing on a recent weekday, with a number of people working on aspects of the next two SpaceShipTwo space planes. The company has just over 500 employees. Composite materials are the companys core competency, Palermo said. Both SpaceShipTwo and the larger carrier aircraft were built with carbon fiber. Composite materials have strength and light weight, a combination derived from sandwiching honeycomb-like materials between sheets of carbon fiber. Technicians at the Spaceship Co. facility wore gloves while working with the materials because human fingers have oils that can contaminate the product, Palermo said. The company aims to finish the next spaceship this year. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... SANTA FE Santa Fe Public Schools has confirmed that a 9-year-old elementary school student died in a car crash Friday morning. SFPS Superintendent Veronica Garcia said Gonzales Community School fourth-grader Jeremiah Archuleta died after the car he was riding in collided with an SUV at the intersection of St. Francis Drive and Hickox Street around 7:30 a.m. Santa Fe Police spokesman Greg Gurule said Jeremiahs father was transported to University of New Mexico Hospital and is in critical condition. A mother and daughter in the SUV are expected to be OK. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Gurule initially said that Jeremiahs mother and sister were also in the car and sustained injuries, but he later said that was not correct. Police worked the crash scene throughout Friday morning and opened the intersection just before 2 p.m. This investigation will remain active as investigators determine the cause of the crash and if charges will be filed, Gurule said in a news release. Garcia said counselors will be at Gonzales Community School until next week to support students and staff. Its obviously a tragic event, Garcia said. Its going to take a while for them to truly process what has happened. The wreck took place less than a mile from the school. A GoFundMe account has been started to raise money for funeral and medical expenses for the Archuletas. Jeremiah and his dad Dominic were in a traffic accident and unfortunately Jeremiah did not make it, says the GoFundMe page. Dominic is fighting for his life. Please consider any donation to help the family with both medical expenses and final arrangements. Jeremiahs kindness, laughter, and compassion are one in a million. He will forever be in our thoughts and prayers. Several people have posted condolences on the page. On behalf of the Espanola Spartans board as well as our entire league, our sincerest condolences go out to the family of our fellow NNMCFL brother as well as our continued prayers of recovery to coach Dom, says one post. May god bring comfort, peace and strength in this difficult time. Another says: Our deepest most sincere condolences to the Archuleta family. We are praying for Gods perfect peace to surround Jeremiahs mother and healing for his father. Our daughter Lily, Jeremiahs classmate said he would always make up the fun games and stuck up for when she was bullied. He was such a good friend & he will surly be missed. RIP baby boy. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... CUCUTA, Colombia Defying orders banning him from leaving Venezuela, opposition leader Juan Guaido made a surprise appearance at the end of star-studded aid concert in neighboring Colombia, joining thousands of other Venezuelans in pressuring President Nicolas Maduro into allowing the delivery of emergency food and medicine. In Venezuela, a much smaller crowd gathered for a rival, three-day Hands Off Venezuela festival being organized by Maduro. Even as several million Venezuelans flee the country and those who remain struggle to find basic goods like food and antibiotics, the embattled president claims the relief effort led by Guaido is a U.S. orchestrated ploy to oust him from power. Its not clear how Guaido sneaked into Colombia in one video circulating on social media he appears running across a bridge near the Colombian town of Puerto Santander, while in another he could be seen boarding a helicopter belonging to the Colombian air force. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ But once he arrived at the giant stage located next to the Tienditas bridge connecting the two countries he was greeted like a rock star himself. Thousands of Venezuelans shouted Juan arrived! Juan arrived! when they spotted him donning a white shirt and accompanied by a large contingent of Colombian security as he made himself through the front of the crowd. The presidents of Colombia, Chile and Paraguay were on hand to be the first foreign heads of state to embrace the 35-year-old lawmaker since he declared himself interim president a month ago at an outdoor rally. The optimistic mood at the Live Aid-style concert opened in the Colombian border city of Cucuta couldnt mask underlying tensions a day before Maduros opponents embark on a risky strategy to undermine Maduro and bring in the aid being amassed along three of Venezuelas borders. But the crowd reacted with joy when Guaido suddenly appeared. Thousands of kilometers away, near a crossing with Brazil, a member of an indigenous tribe was killed and 22 more injured in clashes with security forces who enforced Maduros orders to keep out the aid. Hours before the concert in Cucuta began, dozens of Venezuelans hiked across the border through high bushes on an unmarked trail. They carried ice boxes, snacks and water and whispered directions as they kept a close eye out for Venezuelan soldiers. This concert happens once in a lifetime, 19-year-old Shirley Duran said. It will be a great opportunity for so many poor people who are suffering under the heat, who are hungry, jobless. At last theyll have something to enjoy. British billionaire Richard Branson organized the Live Aid Venezuela concert, which featured dozens of Latin musicians performing on a bridge-side stage not far from where Maduros government has placed a giant shipping container and tanker to prevent the delivery of U.S.-supplied food and medical kits. As Venezuelas political turmoil drags on, allies of Guaido, who the U.S. and dozens of other countries have recognized as Venezuelas rightful leader, are hoping the massive concert in Cucuta will set the stage for the smooth delivery Saturday of the aid and a turning point in their quest for a transitional government. The promised humanitarian avalanche is taking place exactly a month after Guaido declared himself interim president in an outdoor rally. After the concert, Venezuelas Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said her government was ordering the partial closure of the border with Colombia hours ahead of the planned delivery of the humanitarian aid. Rodriguez said on Twitter that the government was temporarily closing three crossings in Tachira state because of the serious and illegal threats against Venezuelas peace and sovereignty coming from Colombias government. At the concert venue, the feeling was one of collective catharsis, especially for migrants who in recent years have fled Venezuelas economic implosion by crossing into Colombia. Under a scorching sun, those in attendance waved Venezuelan flags, squirted water at each other and swayed to music by marquee artists including Colombias Carlos Vives and Mexican rock band Mana as well as a host of Venezuelan performers. Reymar Perdomo, a Venezuelan street singer who rose to fame for a video went viral showing her singing on buses in Peru, kicked off the concert with her signature song, Me Fui, Spanish for I left, which has become the unofficial anthem of the mass exodus. Perdomo said performing so close to the border brought back painful memories. A little over a year ago I crossed this border and was robbed of my luggage and all my money, she said. But I know in this moment that there will be change because Venezuelans want it and they are showing it today. The plan to bring in aid is the most ambitious and potentially dangerous that the opposition has attempted to undertake since Guaido decided to challenge Maduros rule. But the embattled socialist has shown no signs of backing down, and analysts warn that whatever happens over the next two days may not yield a conclusive victory for either side. As if to highlight those risks, a woman from the combative Pemon tribe identified as Zoraida Rodriguez died from bullet wounds in clashes near the border with Brazil. Hours later, members of the Pemon tribe retaliated by taking control of the local airport, gateway to the world-famous Angel Falls. Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators. There was no immediate information on the condition of the injured, though local authorities said six people had to be rushed to a hospital across border because local clinics lacked medical supplies. Much like the original 1985 Live Aid concert, which raised funds to relieve the Ethiopian famine, Branson has set a goal to raise $100 million for Venezuelans in need within 60 days. He said he got the idea after brainstorming with Guaido and his political mentor, Leopoldo Lopez, who is under house arrest for leading protests against Maduro in 2014. If we can take people to space why is it so hard to take people out of poverty? said Branson, who skipped a test flight over California into space by his Virgin Galactics rocket plane in order to attend Fridays concert. We must break the impasse and end the humanitarian crisis. Days after Branson launched his concert, Maduros government announced that not only would they hold a rival festival but that they would also deliver over 20,000 boxes of food for poor Colombians on Friday and Saturday. In contrast to the festive spirit in Cucuta, most of the acts at the pro-government show were lesser known, the crowd of a few hundred much older and some attendees reported being bussed in by the government from as far away as the capital, Caracas. Were facing a situation of possible aggression by the North American empire, said Jose Saavedra, a 61-year-old lawyer attending the concert. We cant allow them to come here and impose conditions and a president on us. The president is elected by the Venezuelan people following the constitution. While the pro-Maduro conference was being broadcast on state TV, people inside Venezuela had trouble tuning into the fundraising concert. Internet watchdog group Netblocks said YouTube, Bing and Google services inside Venezuela went down for nearly an hour on state-run internet provide CanTV. On widely used DirecTV the plug was also pulled on two foreign networks that carried the concert live. After the concert concluded, Guaido spoke alongside Duque and Pinera at the warehouse where the aid is being stockpiled. He said he was able to circumvent Maduros travel ban only with the help of the Venezuelan armed forces, whose loyalty to Maduro has so far been impossible to break and will once again be tested Saturday. Here is a Venezuela in search of freedom, Guaido said. Thank you, to the people of the world for opening your doors to us. ___ Henao reported from Urena, Venezuela. Associated Press writers Scott Smith, Fabiola Sanchez and Joshua Goodman contributed to this report from Caracas, Venezuela. Luz Dary Depablos reported from San Antonio de Tachira, Venezuela. ___ This story corrects location from Urena to the Colombian town of Puerto Santander. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday raised concerns over reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are making arrests in and around the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse. Immigrants rights advocates said Thursday that ICE activity had slowed for months after the court implemented a policy limiting the circumstances in which arrests can be made on courthouse property. But they say they are worried it may be ramping up again after agents last week detained three people in and around the courthouse. In the fall, the court implemented a policy that no local, state or federal law enforcement officers may arrest, detain, interrogate, hold, restrict, or in any way, hinder the freedom of any individual in the courthouse except by lawful court order or judicial arrest warrant or when it is necessary to secure immediate public safety. In a Wednesday letter to Metro Court Chief Judge Sandra Engel, the governor and her general counsel Matthew Garcia expressed their support for the enforcement of the policy. People who are participating in judicial proceedings should not worry about legal reprisal when fulfilling their civic and legal obligations, they wrote. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ But Garcia and Lujan Grisham wrote that they are concerned about reports that ICE is arresting and detaining New Mexico residents in the courthouse and on neighboring grounds, though the letter doesnt point to specific instances. We question the propriety and legality of these actions, and we respectfully ask your honor to enforce the operative access policy, the letter said. We stand ready to assist you in any way necessary, the letter said. Asked how the court has gone about enforcing the policy, Court Executive Officer Robert Padilla said, We just basically made it available to all law enforcement agencies and made them aware of it. Padilla said thousands of people visit the courthouse every day and officials cant really track who is in the building. Although the court doesnt plan to ask the governor for help, Padilla said, officials are pleased to know she supports the policy. Maria Martinez Sanchez, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, said she was also happy to see the governor weighing in on the issue amid a series of arrests last week. Justin Remer-Thamert, director of the New Mexico Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice, said he watched immigration officials take two men out of Metro Court last week after hearings related to misdemeanor charges. He said one was later found to have legal status and released. And Martinez Sanchez said a third person was arrested as she walked to court to take care of a speeding ticket. It was not clear whether she was on courthouse property. An ICE spokeswoman was not immediately able to confirm those detentions. Sanchez said the warrants ICE normally uses are administrative, not the judicial arrest warrants that Metro Courts policy requires. She said there are many reasons for people to go to the courthouse, and the threat of ICE action keeps them away. If people are afraid to show up at court, whether its as a defendant or a witness or as a supportive family member, she said, the only thing that does is undermine public safety. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... BERNALILLO Sandoval County is now a Second Amendment sanctuary county. The Sandoval County Commission voted 4-1 to make the county the 12th in the state to take that designation, in protest of several gun-control bills in the New Mexico Legislature, at the meeting Thursday night in the county administration building. The sanctuary resolution says the commission will support the sheriff in any decisions to not enforce unconstitutional laws and will not use county resources to enforce laws that infringe on the right to bear arms. District 1 Commissioner Katherine Bruch cast the dissenting vote. District 5 Commissioner Kenneth Eichwald spoke against the resolution but said he voted for it at his constituents request. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Sandoval County Sheriff Jesse James Casaus requested approval, with sheriffs from multiple counties also attending to support it. This resolution does not mean the criminal element will be free to do as they please, he said. As the sheriff of Sandoval County, I will still enforce the existing laws and prosecute them to the fullest. This resolution assists in protecting law-abiding citizens in our county, and their Second Amendment rights. These proposed laws, as currently written, only impact law-abiding citizens and will do nothing to take guns out of the hands of criminals. Casaus, a Democrat, said he was one of about 30 New Mexico county sheriffs who testified against several gun-related bills, including some sponsored by Democrats, at the legislature. Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace, New Mexico Sheriffs Association president, said 12 bills related to guns are being considered and the association is alarmed by six of them. The commissioner chambers were filled to capacity, with more people in an overflow room. Eight county residents spoke against Second Amendment sanctuary status, and 25 spoke in favor of it. Many commenters mentioned bills that would require background checks for gun sales between private individuals and allow firearms to be confiscated from people determined to be violent or mentally unstable and a danger to themselves or others. Republican Party representative and county resident Anissa Tinnin supported the sanctuary resolution. Criminals will get their hands on anything, she said. Law-abiding citizens should have their right to bear arms. District 2 resident Michelle Gutierrez said too much time, energy and fighting were being spent to sabotage some pretty common-sense laws. If you like to beat your wife or children, or you are a criminal that cant pass a background check, if you like to keep guns within easy reach of your children, then yes, I can see how you would support this type of resolution, she said. These laws are in place to prevent tragedy, to protect our loved ones and our community. On the other side, Rio Rancho resident Chris Dreier said hes a pastor, father and brother of a woman killed with a gun. Theres nothing thats being proposed right now from the State of New Mexico that would have protected my sister, he said. Rio Ranchoan Rusty McConnall spoke against House Bill 83, which would provide for court orders to take guns away for a period of time from people determined to be extreme risks for violence. He said the law would make people subject to losing their guns on the basis of false accusations, and put law enforcement officers in danger when they had to confiscate firearms from people willing to fight to keep them. Rio Rancho resident and gun owner Charles Merritt opposed the sanctuary resolution, calling it political theater. I dont think resolutions should be passed because they look pretty, he said, adding that courts, not county commissions, decide whats unconstitutional. Kenneth McDaniel, a retired prosecutor and Rio Rancho resident, said the Constitution is the law. Its the one that overrides the fluff that comes out of Santa Fe, he continued. If the state thinks the county sanctuary resolution is unconstitutional, he said, it can sue in court and get a decision that way. On the other side, District 3 resident Lisa Paz said the sanctuary resolution would give too much power to one man the sheriff and the proposed laws had already been ruled constitutional. How can you pick and choose which laws are the ones to be enforced? she said. Commissioner Michael Meek said that as he would ask advice from any department director to learn how to help them do their job better, he supported the sheriffs request for the sanctuary resolution. Bruch said the issue should be discussed in the legislature, not at the county level. Im for us enforcing all our duly passed laws, she said. She added that there was still time to fix the bills in question. In other business, commissioners: Recognized Sandoval County Sheriffs Detective Frank Tomlinson for being named Deputy of the Year by his peers and Deputy Phillip Montano for receiving honorable mention. Voted 4-1 for a resolution that supports a legislature bill that would make it a felony to make a terroristic threat. Bruch cast the dissenting vote. Heard a presentation from New Mexico Gas Company about planned installation of a replacement pipeline from the US 550 bridge north along the I-25 corridor to the Santa Fe area. Company representative Tim Korte said the work was expected to start in the spring of 2020 until late fall or winter that year. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Albuquerque was nowhere near No. 1, but it did make the Top 20 of domestic travel destinations on Americans bucket lists in a short study compiled by a national senior living company. Provision Living queried 2,000 people and found that 95 percent of U.S. residents have a bucket list and two-thirds plan to check out an item on it within the next year, according to a news release. The top five bucket list cities to travel to were: 1. Honolulu, 2. New York, 3. Las Vegas, Nev., 4. Anchorage and 5. San Francisco. Albuquerque clocked in at No. 20 just behind Chicago, San Diego, Orlando and Anaheim. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The top five international destinations were: 1. Australia, 2. Italy, 3. Ireland, 4. Japan and 5. United Kingdom. Travel finished as the top bucket list category (77 percent), followed by financial (71 percent), personal development (71 percent), family goals (67 percent), health (55 percent), hobby goals (47 percent), career goals (42 percent), spiritual development (40 percent) and volunteer-related goals (27 percent). People on average are willing to spend an average of $3,081 on a bucket list item, with boomers at $3,204 and millennials at $2,959. Survey participants top financial goals were paying down debt, paying off the mortgage, retiring early, saving for a childs college tuition, giving to charity and buying a home, according to the release. The top three specific experiences people were interested in were skydiving, winning the lottery and having children. Survey respondents also ranked their least desired as getting arrested, breaking a minor law and online dating. For complete survey results, visit www.provisionliving.com and click on the News tab at the top. We welcome suggestions for the daily Bright Spot. Send to newsroom@abqjournal.com. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Karen Trujillo faced some resistance when she began pursuing a teaching career. While she was in college working to become a math teacher, she studied alongside engineers and others in STEM. She was often encouraged to go that route, become an engineer and abandon teaching. That was because of teachings reputation, she explained. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Trujillo, who has been in education for 25 years, is now secretary-designate of the state Public Education Department. On Thursday afternoon, she was at the Educators Rising New Mexico conference in Albuquerque, encouraging about 250 aspiring teachers to continue. The native New Mexican addressed the rhetoric around teaching the very reasons she was told to jump ship. She homed in on salaries, saying many of the teachers-to-be were told that they wouldnt earn a good wage. But she highlighted Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams push to raise base salaries to $41,000, $50,000 and $60,000 for the three teaching tiers. She also encouraged the high school and college students to stay in the state and to take advantage of its benefits like the Lottery Scholarship. There is a lot of opportunity here, she told the crowd. She said the communitys perspective of the profession needs to shift in order to fill the many education vacancies in the state. Trujillo knows the teacher vacancy crisis in New Mexico firsthand, having co-authored a report that looked at how many educator positions were unfilled in the state. That report found that, as of Oct. 1, there were 740 teacher vacancies. You are going to fill those classrooms! she told the crowd of students. Trujillo told the Journal that there are plans to have someone at the PED dedicated to teacher recruitment, retention and research. Right now, theres lots of efforts all over, and we want to center it, she said. Despite the lingering, negative view that has swirled around the teaching profession, Trujillo thinks shifts are on the horizon. I think that narrative of what it means to be in education, especially in New Mexico, is changing, she said. She told the students that efforts are in place to get them in the classroom, such as loan forgiveness programs. And education is expected to look very different under the new administration, and with new money going toward education. Changing systems like school grades, PARCC and teacher evaluations are part of an education overhaul that is underway. Right now, PED is garnering community feedback on proposed alterations to school accountability in the state, including scrapping A-F school grades. Trujillo told the Journal that revamping teacher evaluations will be next. She said PED is reviewing NM Teach, the current evaluation system, to see what will be changed and what will be kept. Its not going to be throwing the baby out with the bath water, she said. Trujillo said testing could be used in future evaluation, but that decision will be made after getting feedback from teachers. Trujillo envisions a test that focuses on students continual growth and also takes teachers professional development into account. Its a really fun and exciting time to be where you are today. So, dont let anyone tell you any different, she told the Educators Rising group. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... SANTA FE Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is traveling to the nations capital tonight to join other governors from around the country. Lujan Grisham, a Democrat who took office last month, will attend the National Governors Associations winter meeting, according to the Governors Office. While in Washington, D.C., the governor will also take part in events with other Democratic chief executives and is also planning to attend a luncheon at Vice President Mike Pences residence, along with others governors. She is also scheduled to appear on at least one syndicated TV news show Face the Nation to discuss the situation on the U.S.-Mexico border and President Donald Trumps recent emergency declaration to build new portions of a border wall, Lujan Grisham spokesman Tripp Stelnicki said. The governors travel to Washington, D.C., will come from the Governors Office budget, he added. Per the state Constitution, Lt. Gov. Howie Morales serves as acting governor while Lujan Grisham is traveling outside New Mexico. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The acting Philippine ambassador to Germany has been summoned by the German foreign ministry after Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. defended President Rodrigo Dutertes remarks on Adolf Hitler in an interview in that country. In a tweet, Berlin-based ARD-Hauptstadtstudio journalist Arnd Henze said: Philippine acting Ambassador has been summoned by Germanys Foreign Ministry. It has been made very clear that the remarks by [Locsin] were totally unacceptable. Lilibeth Pono is currently serving as acting Philippine Charge dAffaires to Germany. Locsin attended the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, last week where he also led the formal inauguration of the new chancery in Berlin on Monday, February 18. During the interview with ARD, the Philippine top diplomat defended Dutertes comparison of himself as the cousin of Hitler. Last year, Duterte drew parallels between Hilters annihilation of 3 million Jews and his controversial campaign against illegal drugs. No. This is how he expresses himself. Remember his policy, according to surveys, inspire greater confidence. Why would he give up on that? Locsin told the federal broadcasting network. I tell you, I said the same thing. I myself said the same thing before he even said it, Locsin added. President Dutertes 2018 remark on Hitler trigged condemnation, with the German government calling it unacceptable. The German foreign ministry also summoned the Philippine ambassador then to explain the matter.Henze also posted screenshots of Locsins remarks that some of the things Hitler did were right. Locsin has been tweeting such remarks even before he was appointed Foreign Affairs chief in October 2018. I believe that the drug menace is so big it needs a final solution like the Nazis adopted. That I believe. No [rehabilitation], Locsin said, in a tweet that went viral in August 2016. On Thursday, Reporters Without Borders Germany board member Martin Kaul criticized Locsin for the Hitler remarks. This is why we care that no one will ever again use Hitler as a reference to his politics. Maybe you might want to use your stay here to learn from us what our generation has learned, Kaul twitted Locsin. In response, Locsin cited Hitlers economic ministers brilliant deed, saying we must give credit where it is due. Hitlers leadership of Germany has resulted to the mass extermination of Jews in Europe during World War II. Six million Jews were killed in the attempt to purify the German race by killing all non-Aryans. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2019 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE The Senate overwhelmingly adopted legislation Thursday that would streamline the approval process for applicants who want the less stringent option offered under New Mexicos two-tiered drivers license system. Supporters said the proposal, Senate Bill 278, would reduce confusion and make other improvements to the system in which New Mexico offers one license compliant with the U.S. Real ID Act and a second option not intended for federal purposes. The second option, now called a driving authorization card, would be renamed the standard drivers license. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Senate Bill 278 also would repeal a requirement for some applicants to provide fingerprints when they seek the standard drivers license or identification card. It just makes the whole process much simpler, said Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, and it should greatly reduce the number of constituent complaints directed at us. The Senate voted 31-9 in favor of the legislation, which now heads to the House. The bill picked up support from every Democratic senator present and from some Republicans. All nine dissenting votes came from GOP lawmakers. Opponents said creation of the driving authorization card was part of a 2016 compromise aimed at preventing undocumented immigrants from obtaining licenses but still allowing them to drive legally. Now were going back on that, said Sen. Mark Moores, an Albuquerque Republican who opposed the bill. The two-tiered system was also intended to bring the state into compliance with the Real ID Act. But supporters of Senate Bill 278 said the driving authorization card was never intended only for immigrants. Its for anyone who doesnt want or need the federal ID. Several Democratic senators said they have the authorization cards themselves, for example. The more burdensome requirements for a federal ID, supporters said, can cause problems for longtime citizens, especially women who have documents with different last names because of a marriage or divorce. The less-stringent option makes sense for many people, supporters said, and it clears up confusion by renaming it a standard license. Women are really at a disadvantage, said Sen. Gay Kernan, a Hobbs Republican who supported the bill. I just think thats really unfair. The proposed standard drivers license would be labeled to say that it isnt intended for federal purposes, distinguishing it from the Real ID drivers license. The standard license wouldnt be guaranteed to be accepted for federal purposes, such as boarding commercial airliners, after Oct. 1, 2020, when federal enforcement is set to begin. Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, an Albuquerque Democrat and co-sponsor of Senate Bill 278, noted that the federal government has repeatedly delayed enforcement and might do so again. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... SANTA FE New Mexicos two legislative chambers remain at odds over whether the state should spring forward or fall back. The Senate on Thursday voted 25-17 in favor of a bill that would allow New Mexico to remain on daylight saving time all year long, if a federal law is passed allowing the change. Earlier this week, however, the House passed a proposal to keep the state on Mountain standard time all year long. It isnt contingent on changing federal law. Each bill will now cross over to the other chamber. Neither proposal will reach Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham unless the House and Senate agree on the same legislation. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Opponents of both proposals have focused on the potential to complicate life in southern New Mexico, where its common for people to cross state lines on visits to El Paso or Lubbock, Texas, a state that participates in both standard and daylight saving time. Sen. Cliff Pirtle, a Roswell Republican and sponsor of Senate Bill 226 to stick with daylight saving all year, said the time change twice a year already disrupts peoples lives and sleeping patterns. It may be a little different at first, he said, but were all intelligent people and will be able to make it work. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Not a moment is wasted in Paul Greenes day. He uses each second to accomplish the many tasks set for him. These days, the 44-year-old actor has been getting up at 6:15 a.m. and going hiking or playing volleyball on the beach. (His son, Oliver, is trying out for varsity volleyball). I create breakfast and lunch with him, Greene says. Theres a hike near us, and we did that this morning. We went to Trader Joes and stocked up on his favorite snacks. Im also getting him ready for his drivers test and creating games for him for his online school. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Greenes job as dad is constant, and he cherishes each moment. When he takes a break from dad duties, viewers know him best for his role as Dr. Carson Shepherd from the Hallmark hit series When Calls the Heart. The series is inspired by Janette Okes books about the Canadian West, and it revolves around Elizabeth Thatcher, played by Erin Krakow, who moves from the city to a small coal mining town in the West. Also starring Lori Loughlin and Martin Cummins, the show has accumulated a huge audience of loyal fans. The sixth season will premiere at 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, on Hallmark. Everyone is excited for the new season and there are a lot of newcomers to the adventure, he says. And some of these happenings threaten the relationships of those on the show. Playing Dr. Shepherd on the series has been interesting for Greene. I love things around nutrition and medicine and researching, he says. With the show, I have to work with what was available back in 1911. You begin to be grateful for living in todays medicinal age. There are more treatments and cures. Its been a great journey for my character on the show, as hes had some very high stakes during the last season. Also Carsons past has been a big obstacle to overcome. Born in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Greene grew up on a farm, being taught the importance of family and structure. Scouted from college, Greene started his modelling career at age 18 and immediately became a huge success, booking a national Levis commercial within his first week of modeling. He spent most of his 20s splitting his time modeling in New York, Paris, London, Milan, and Japan walking for Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, Tommy Hilfiger. At 30 years old and with a 5-month-old son, he decided it was time to relocate to Los Angeles and start living his dream of acting. He has since become the male face of Hallmark and stars in many films and is looking to make a move to New Mexico at some point. Id love to be based out of there with a second home, he says. Theres so much production going on out there that it seems like its going to become a hub in the film and TV industry. Im putting it out into the universe that a production in New Mexico will come my way. SEND ME YOUR TIPS: If you know of a movie filming in the state, or are curious about one, email film@ABQjournal.com. Follow me on Twitter @agomezART. On TV Paul Greene stars as Dr. Carson Shepherd in the Hallmark series When Calls the Heart, the new season of which premieres at 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... The National Fiery Foods Show has been nominated as Best Specialty Food Festival in this years USA Today poll, and rightly so. The festival features more than 1,000 hot sauces, rubs, marinades, seasonings and more, including the worlds hottest pepper, the Carolina Reaper. Fans of the event can cast their votes for the USA Today poll through 10 a.m. March 12. I guess all the advertising you do for a show like that pays off in the end, said Dave DeWitt, National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show founder. After 31 years, I guess were getting noticed. So they just sent us an email saying we were one of the 20 nominated, and theyre going to cut that down to the top 10 finishers. I figure if we finish in the top five that will be pretty good. The festival returns to Sandia Resort & Casino on March 1-3. It will feature about 200 vendors selling more than 1,000 products. Attendees get to sample their offerings. There also will be a craft beer tasting presented by Premiere Distributing Co. What people really come to the show for is the product, DeWitt said. In other words, its the steak. Its the basic thing that people want to try is the products. And they have an opportunity to try products that local stores dont sell. Its interesting that theres no glitter or anything like that in this; its just the basic, I like this thing; I want to buy it. So they do. I would say that the tastings are a big attraction for it. A majority of the Scovie Award winners will be part of the event. Scovie Award entries are rated according to eye appeal, aroma, flavor and heat scale. This years grand prize is Rose City PepperHeads for its Raspberry Habanero jelly and Little Bird Kitchen for its Fire Syrup Product Packaging. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ There are several Scovie Award winners from New Mexico. They are Luigis of Albuquerque, McGinns PistachioLand of Alamogordo, Paulitas New Mexico of Rio Rancho, Poppa Pokeys Barbecue Sauce of Roswell and The Bossy Gourmet of Las Cruces. Paulitas, Poppa Pokeys and The Bossy Gourmet are participating in this years show. Paulitas received several Scovie Awards for its green chile sauce, Chitropicus, green chile marinade, Macho Marinara, green chile seasoning and green chile cocktail sauce. Poppa Pokeys was honored for its Black Cherry Chipotle Barbecue Sauce and The Bossy Gourmet for its green chile salsa-hot and jalapeno salsa. There will be cooking demonstrations by DISC-IT, and 505 Food Fights will have local chefs go head to head for charity. The money raised will go towards The Kitchen Kids Inc. which is run by chef Mike White, who was the (New Mexico Restaurant Association) Chef of the Year last year., DeWitt said. The Kitchen Kids Inc. is a nonprofit that offers an all-abilities cooking course for children ages 5 and older. They learn side-by-side with culinary professionals in New Mexico. White invites professional cooks and chefs to work with the students. Each class is about 100 minutes and is part of a four- to six-week course set. White covers all costs and offers the classes free of charge to students, according to a National Fiery Foods news release. 2019 National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show WHEN: 4-8 p.m. March 1, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. March 2, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. March 3 WHERE: Sandia Resort & Casino, 30 Rainbow NE HOW MUCH: $10.50, plus fees, today only; $15.50, plus fees, from Feb. 23 through day of show at fieryfoodsshow.com/tickets. $5 ages 11-18, available at the door. Free admission for ages 10 and younger. Information, visit fieryfoodsshow.com .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... In these fractious and often dispiriting times, its important to remember that some things today are better than they used to be. Coffee, for instance. Beer, certainly. And tacos. Especially tacos. Consider all the inventive offerings in Nob Hill alone. You can get jicama duck tacos at Nob Hill Bar & Grill, rattlesnake sausage at Matanza Craft Beer Kitchen, and a host of late-night options at the Last Call. Of all the Nob Hill spots, though, El Cotorro Spanish for chatterbox may be the most representative of the tacos Mexican origins. Approaching the taqueria on Carlisle from the north, you can almost imagine youve washed up on some remote beach in the Yucatan. The salmon-colored frontage is a riot of signs and strings of lights underneath a large, slightly skewed image of a parrot. Most of the seating is in the north-facing sunroom, and the small space in front of the counter is, on this day, crowded with lunchtime customers. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Tacos are divided into meat, seafood and vegetarian options. I ordered three: the braised oxtail ($3.85), the nopales ($2.85), or cactus pads, and the fish taco of the day in this case, monkfish ($5.50), the poor mans lobster. After my friend ordered the carne asada ($2.85) with a side of cilantro lime rice ($3), we found a table in the sunroom and waited. A few minutes later, a man emerged from the kitchen to inform me that they had run out of the monkfish and were offering ahi tuna as a substitute. What could I say? My first taste of a monkfish taco would have to wait. Elote or roasted corn ($4) came out quickly, charred from the grill, dusted with blood-red chile powder and impaled on a couple of skewers. Its served with citrusy lime aioli and salty, crumbly Cotija cheese, the Parmesan of Mexico. The kernels of corn are filled almost to bursting with sweet, starchy juice that explodes into your mouth with each bite. The experience might give dainty eaters pause, but the taste is worth throwing caution to the wind, getting yourself some napkins and maybe a poncho and diving in. When the tacos arrived on a tray, I noticed that the pile of oxtail, covered with cilantro, chopped onion and Cotija cheese, was resting on not one but two corn tortillas, and I quickly found out why. Oxtails render a lot of fat, and some of it bleeds into the tortillas and paper beneath. Its a delicious taco, rich with beef flavor, but eat it quickly, before the tortillas fall apart and the fat cools. The nopales taco, served with asadero cheese and crispy green onion, is mostly a textural experience, with the cactus pads inside the crisp coating tasting vaguely like green beans. Both the nopales and the fish taco three matchbox-sized pieces of tuna coated with black and white sesame seeds benefit greatly from a trip to El Cotorros salsa bar, where a sign helps you pair the right salsa with the right food. My friend spoke highly of the carne asada, flank steak tenderized in an acidic marinade and served under crispy tortilla chips. El Cotorro offers a rotating selection of aguas frescas ($3) basically, fruit, sugar and water. Cucumber lime, one of this days choices, was outstanding, the sugar and the faint taste of the cucumber taking the edge off the sour lime. In an adjoining space, El Cotorros heladeria features a selection of Mexican-style ice cream. Its less fatty and airy than its American cousin; think gelato with Mexican flavors. You can mix and match two scoops in the small cup ($3). I went for contrast, with the tres leches standing by to put out the fire from the spicy Mexican chocolate. The ice cream is superb. Every meal should end here, although I wish they would swap out the tiny spoons for some regular-sized ones. With its changing menu and variety of sides and treats, El Cotorro has established a beachhead in Nob Hill that rewards repeat visits and makes one appreciate the evolution of the taco, one of Mexicos great gifts to us. El Cotorro 3 stars LOCATION: 111 Carlisle NE, 503-6202, elcotorroabq.com HOURS: 11 a.m.- 8 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday-Thursday; 11 a.m.- 8:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, closed Monday BEER AND WINE .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Bosque Brewing Co. continues to flourish not only with new locations on the horizon but now a refreshed look and new branding. With Bosques plans to open Restoration Pizza this spring there was a need for a new brand and logo. The pizza joint at Legacy at Journal Center, which also houses Cabelas, will offer job opportunities to people with developmental and cognitive disabilities. It will serve pizza, breadsticks and salads, as well as Bosques craft beers. Bosque hired a local branding agency, Utility, to handle the new branding and logos. We decided to put a lot of our effort in terms of Bosque branding first, said Jess Griego, chief experience officer. We did Restoration alongside that as well. We were really happy with it. We just wanted to make sure were creating two brands that work well together but had their own identity thats refreshing Bosque and bringing some more color to it and kind of hat-tipping New Mexico, all the things we love about where we live and the outdoors and Bosque. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Bosque has changed the name of Brewers Boot Amber Ale to Jetty Jack Amber Ale. Bosque has also added a cider to its lineup. At first, we thought they were going to be launched in phases, based on inventory, but now its going to be like IPA, Scotia and Elephants on Parade will all be releasing in April, all relatively close to each other, Griego said of the can releases. Lager will be the one that we have that the new can will take a bit longer to release to market because we have more inventory of those old cans. And then in May were looking to release the new cider as well as the Open Space Haze and maybe the Jetty Jack. The cider was created to appeal to patrons who limit their gluten consumption. We wanted to create a product that would appeal to gluten reduced, gluten conscious, so people who are paying attention to their gluten intake, said John Bullard, chief production officer. Weve seen ciders selling well with other breweries, as well, so we decided to make our own cider. Its a straightforward apple cider. We played with some fruit editions too; (theyre) ciders as well, but what is going to be in package and released to the market is going to be straightforward apple cider. Well have lots of rotating specialty ciders on tap in our taprooms, as well. Fruit ones, dry-hopped ciders, whatever we can think of, really. Bosque will release the Resto Hazy Pale Ale at the end of March in celebration of Restoration Pizza. Its going to be a single-hopped hazy pale ale and its going to be made with Citra, which is one of our favorite hops, Bullard said of Resto Hazy Pale Ale. Jotham Michnovicz, chief development officer, is excited for Restoration Pizza to open in late March or early April. Theres so much buzz and excitement around this new concept that were doing both internally and with the community partners that weve been working with to hire people with disabilities and different abilities, he said. I am so excited about this new concept. I think its going to be something that we really havent seen in New Mexico yet. Bosque will close its original location, at 8900 San Mateo NE, at the end of March and move on with plans to build a new brewery and taproom, Bosque Open Space. Patrons can continue to visit its Public House in Nob Hill, Bosque North in Bernalillo and the Public House and Beer Bar in Las Cruces. New Mexico Brewers Guild Executive Director John Gozigian will leave his post in March to open his own brewery and distillery at the San Mateo location. As our doors at San Mateo close, a new brewery and distillery will take its place, according to a Bosque news release. La Reforma, led by John Gozigian, will renovate the space. Bosque Brewing Co. will be a silent partner in the brewery. Aberdeen News A mobile home was destroyed in a fire Thursday morning at Richmond Lake. The Columbia and Aberdeen Rural fire departments were called to 127005 378th Ave. at 5:13 a.m., Brown County Emergency Management Director Scott Meints said. The home was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived, he said in an email. The homeowner escaped safely and was uninjured, according to Meints. The Brown County Sheriffs Office is investigating the cause of the fire. Aberdeen Rural Fire Chief Mark Stoks said the sheriffs office assists rural departments with fire investigations, but theres nothing suspicious about the fire. Stoks could not confirm the name of the homeowner, but said the homeowner was having issues with freezing pipes. The fire might have been the result of a method the homeowner was using to thaw the pipes. Brown County Chief Deputy Dave Lunzman said it appears the homeowner had a heater under the home to thaw the pipes, which likely led to the fire. Firefighters cleared the scene about 9:15 a.m. Brown County Emergency Management, the Brown County Sheriffs Office, Aberdeen Ambulance Service and Northern Electric also responded. The American Red Cross was called to assist the homeowner with immediate needs, Meints said. Republic Act 11200 or the law which standardizes the way PNP officers are called, which was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte into law, would eliminate confusion on how our law enforcers must be addressed, said Senator Panfilo Lacson. Lacson, who served as PNP chief under the Estrada administration from 1999 to 2001, said this would also bring our policemen closer to the populace. More importantly, this allows for better coordination between the PNP and other law enforcement units in countering terrorism and other threats to national security, said Lacson. Under the new law, the PNPs rank classification system will be distinct from that of the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, with ranks used in addressing PNP personnel preceded by the word Police. The PNP rank classification shall be as follows: Director-General to Police General; Deputy Director-General to Police Lieutenant General; Director to Police Major General; Chief Superintendent to Police Brigadier General; Senior Superintendent to Police Colonel; Superintendent to Police Lieutenant Colonel; Chief Inspector to Police Major; Senior Inspector to Police Captain; Inspector to Police Lieutenant; SPO4 to Police Executive Master Sergeant; SPO3 to Police Chief Master Sergeant; SPO2 to Police Senior Master Sergeant; SPO1 to Police Master Sergeant; PO3 to Police Staff Sergeant; PO2 to Police Corporal; and PO1 to Patrolman/Patrolwoman. Lacson said the rank classification system should remove confusion on how to address police officers, noting that people still tend to address them by their military rank assignments. It has been nearly 30 years since the passage of Republic Act 6975, yet almost everyone has been more accustomed to the rank classification using military terminologies but are aware that they are referring to the police and not the military, he said. Also, Lacson said similar ranks between the PNP and counterpart members of the AFP will enhance their interoperability.He cited experiences of policemen and soldiers showing unnecessary lags occur when they have to check who are their counterparts. The new rank classification will also spare policemen of having to explain their equivalent ranks to foreign police forces during regional or international policing engagements. We cannot afford any delay in coordination in counter-terrorism operations and operations against other threats to national security, he said. Lacson also said that the new rank classification will not militarize the PNP, which will retain its civilian character. The Philippine National Police shall continue to adopt a service-oriented outlook in consonance with its existing police-community relations doctrine consistent with its sworn duty To Serve and Protect, he said. Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan Democracy Now! Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in his Letter From Birmingham Jail on April 16, 1963. King was arrested there for his role in organizing nonviolent protests against segregation, which were being led by the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States, King also wrote in that famous letter. Civil-rights campaigners were so frequently targeted with bombs by the Ku Klux Klan that the city was often called Bombingham. Five months after Kings letter, one of those bombs went off at Birminghams 16th Street Baptist Church, killing four little girls. Today, across the street from that church sits the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, which for more than a quarter century has educated and inspired millions of visitors. Last October, the BCRI announced it would bestow its 2018 Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award on Angela Y. Davis, the legendary civil-rights activist, prison abolition advocate and scholar. Angela Davis is a Birmingham native, and grew up amidst segregation. Her neighborhood suffered so many Klan bombings that it was nicknamed Dynamite Hill. The daughter of civil-rights activists, she went on to become a prominent member of the Communist Party USA and a leader in the Black Panther Party. As a result, like so many activists in that era (MLK included), she was targeted by the FBI. She was charged as a conspirator in the shooting death of a judge. She faced three death sentences in a trial that became an international cause celebre. She was ultimately acquitted of all the charges. The BCRIs decision to honor Angela Davis made perfect sense. She has gained renown for her tireless work on behalf of prisoners and to abolish the U.S. prison-industrial complex. Integral to her lifes work, she has long expressed unflinching support for the rights of Palestinian people. In a recently published collection of essays and speeches titled Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement, she writes, reflecting on the life of Nelson Mandela and the successful campaign to eliminate South African apartheid, We are now confronted with the task of assisting our sisters and brothers in Palestine as they battle against Israeli apartheid. Two months after the BCRI board members announced that she had been granted the Shuttlesworth award, they received a letter from the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center asking them to reconsider the award in part because of Davis outspoken support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel. The BCRI board, in a 9-2 vote, rescinded the award. It canceled the award gala that had been scheduled for Feb. 16. The response in Birmingham was swift and angry. Birminghams school board and city council both voted unanimously to show their support for Davis. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin publicly condemned the decision. A group formed to plan an event to honor Davis on the night of the original gala. Within days, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute board reversed its decision and asked Angela Davis to accept the award. Last Friday night, Angela Solidarity Shabbats were held in dozens of cities, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace. Jesse Schaffer hosted the celebration in Birmingham. My Judaism is directly rooted in social justice, he told us at the Shabbat. For me, Angela Davis is a direct expression of those values, and she has always understood that our historic struggles are linked, whether its Palestinians, its black folks in the South, Jewish folks really, any struggle for justice that theyre all linked and that were stronger together. On Saturday night, more than 3,000 people poured into Birminghams Boutwell Auditorium for an evening organized by the Birmingham Committee for Truth and Reconciliation. At the event, Davis reflected on how meaningful the Shabbats were to her: Angela, sister, you are welcome in this Shabbat comes from a slogan that was used on many posters all over the country when I was underground fleeing the FBI. People put up these posters on their doors: Angela, sister, you are welcome in this house. The citys first elected African-American mayor, Richard Arrington Jr., wrapped up the evening, saying, I am especially proud that in this moment of challenge we ran not in different directions, not venting the anger and the frustration we felt; instead, we ran to one another, linked arms, embraced one another and lifted up a daughter who is celebrated in the world community for her stand on human rights. Angela Davis says whether or not she returns to accept the Shuttlesworth Award will have to be a community decision. She offered as her final words Saturday night: Let us use this moment to generate the strength and the enthusiasm and the vision to move forward to a better future for Birmingham, for the country and for the entire world. Weather Alert ...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TUESDAY TO 8 PM MDT THURSDAY... * WHAT...Temperatures up to 102 degrees expected for multiple days. * WHERE...Bitterroot Valley, Missoula, Highway 93 Sula to Lost Trail Pass, Lolo Pass, Highway 200 Bonner to Greenough, Highway 83 Seeley Lake to Condon, and I-90 East Missoula to Bearmouth. * WHEN...From noon Tuesday to 8 PM MDT Thursday. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures may cause heat illnesses to occur. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. && The original author of the new Corporation Code of the Philippines on Friday hailed President Rodrigo Dutertes enactment of the new law which he said would finally update archaic and outdated corporate laws and keep it abreast with the changing corporate environment. Former Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento of Samar and the original author of the measure which was refiled by his brother Edgar Mary Sarmiento said the Revised Corporation Code introduced several substantial innovations that seek to streamline the entry of new industries and corporations. At the same time, this law would benefit already existing corporations as it already allows meetings of the board through electronic means, Sarmiento, former Interior and Local Government Secretary, said. The new law also removes the minimum number of incorporators, allows one-man corporations and lifts the 50-year corporate term limit which was imposed in the old code. This law aims to improve ease of doing business in the country by allowing a one-person corporation, removing the minimum capital requirement and providing for perpetual existence of a corporation, Sarmiento said.Another important point in the revised corporate law, Sarmiento said is the provision that allows the Securities and Exchange Commission to remove disqualified members of the Board of Directors or Trustees. This law would definitely allow business to thrive better as it simplifies the rules on corporate management. As the principal author and the first to file the house bill that amends the 38-year-old Corporation Code in the 16th Congress, I am glad that it has finally been signed into law by President Duterte, Sarmiento said. Although the 16th Congress failed to approve it due to lack of material time, Cong. Edgar Sarmiento and the other principal authors such as Cong. Biron, Cong. Romualdo and the late Cong. Batocabe, took up the cudgels to shepherd it this 17th Congress, he added. The AARP New Mexico Retirement Security Survey explored the opinions of 803 registered voters age 25-64 in New Mexico on retirement saving issues. Data from this survey found strong support among registered voters for a state retirement savings program and most agree that elected officials in the state need to support legislation making it easier for workers to save for retirement. Well over two-thirds of all registered voters say they feel anxious about having enough money to live comfortably in retirement and are concerned about the negative impact of other expenses on their retirement savings like health care and cost of living expenses. New Mexico registered voters believe retirement savings is important. Considering that over one in five registered voters say their employer does not offer a retirement savings plan, a state program would be well receivedthe majority of these workers say they would be likely to take advantage of it. A total of 803 telephone interviews were conducted (273 via landline telephones and 530 via cell phone) from December 4, 2018 through December 18, 2018. Interviews were conducted in both English and Spanish, based on respondent preference (797 in English and 6 in Spanish). The study included an oversample of registered voters who indicated their household income was $35,000 or less. The combined data (base and oversample) are weighted by age and gender according to New Mexico state voter database statistics and by household income & age according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics for New Mexico (2018 Current Population Survey [CPS] Annual Social and Economic Supplement). The registered voter database for New Mexico does not include household income information. For more information, contact Jennifer Sauer at jsauer@aarp.org. For media inquiries, contact media@aarp.org. Suggested Citation: Sauer, Jennifer. AARP New Mexico Retirement Security Survey. Washington, DC: AARP Research, February 2019. https://doi.org/10.26419/res.00283.001 Andrew Lanham in Boston Review: February 1951 was a busy month for W. E. B. Du Bois, who turned eighty-three and threw himself a huge birthday party to raise funds for African decolonization. He also married his second wife, the leftist writer Shirley Graham, in what the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper called the wedding of the year. And he was indicted, arrested, and arraigned in federal court as an agent of the Soviet Union because he had circulated a petition protesting nuclear weapons. The Justice Department saw Du Boiss petition as a threat to national security. They thought it was communist propaganda meant to encourage American pacifism in the face of Soviet aggression. They put Du Bois on trial in order to brand him as un-American, to use the language of Joe McCarthys House Un-American Activities Committee. Du Bois was not in fact a Soviet agent. He was an American citizen using his First Amendment rights to protest nuclear weapons on his own behalf. A federal judge acquitted him because prosecutors failed to present any evidence. Nevertheless, the trial and the publicity around it ruined his career. He was left scrabbling to earn enough money just to buy groceries. And the trial hardly ended the state persecution. In 1952 the State Department illegally revoked Du Boiss passport to stop him from traveling to a peace conference in Canada (and, implicitly, to prevent him from moving to a friendlier country where he was not blacklisted). The Supreme Court restored passport rights for suspected communists in 1958, and three years later Du Bois used his regained freedom of travel to become an expat in newly postcolonial Ghana. But while he was there, the State Department refused to renew his passport, effectively annulling his United States citizenship. The American civil rights icon became a Ghanaian citizen and died there in 1963. More here. (Note: Throughout February, we will publish at least one post dedicated to Black History Month) Adam Entous and Ronan Farrow in The New Yorker: One evening in 2016, a twenty-five-year-old community-college student named Alex Gutierrez was waiting tables at La Piazza Ristorante Italiano, an upscale restaurant in Tulare, in Californias San Joaquin Valley. Gutierrez spotted Yorai Benzeevi, a physician who ran the local hospital, sitting at a table with Parmod Kumar, a member of the hospital board. They seemed to be in a celebratory mood, drinking expensive bottles of wine and laughing. This irritated Gutierrez. The kingpins, he thought with disgust. Gutierrez had recently joined a Tulare organization called Citizens for Hospital Accountability. The group had accused Benzeevi of enriching himself at the expense of the cash-strapped hospital, which subsequently declared bankruptcy. (Benzeevis lawyers said that all his actions were authorized by his companys contract with the facility.) According to court documents, the contract was extremely lucrative for Benzeevi; in a 2014 e-mail to his accountant, he estimated that his hospital business could generate nine million dollars in annual revenue, on top of his management fee of two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars a month. (In Tulare, the median household income was about forty-five thousand dollars a year.) The citizens group had drawn up an ambitious plan to get rid of Benzeevi by rooting out his allies on the hospital board. As 2016 came to a close, the group was pushing for a special election to unseat Kumar; if he were voted out, a majority of the board could rescind Benzeevis contract. More here. PARTY DRUGS. The Bureau of Customs turns over to the PDEA some 1, 269 pieces of ecstasy tablets seized at the Central Mail Exchange Center in Pasay City with an estimated street value of P2.157 million yesterday. The party drugs came from the Netherlandsa through a certain G. Voorthuzen and declared as light boxes. Norman Cruz SEIZED IGUANA. The Bureau of Customs has seized 56 iguanas, a genus of the herbivorous lizards native to tropical areas, from a Filipino passenger Niel Ryan Kho Dysoco on his arrival Friday from Bangkok. The endangered species had been found inside his luggageimmediately turned over to DENR personnel. Norman Cruz The Bureau of Customs seized more than 1,000 ecstasy tablets worth more than P2 million and 56 iguanas at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The confiscated illegal drugs came from the Netherlands through a certain G. Voorthuzen. They were declared as light boxes. In a separate incident, the BOC intercepted 56 iguanas from Filipino passenger Niel Ryan Kho Dysoco who arrived at the NAIA from Bangkok, Thailand.The iguanas, which had no proper documentation, were discovered hidden inside Dysocos luggage. Authorities said the iguanas were already placed under inhumane conditions inside black socks while others were put in a bottled water container in an attempt to mislead the authorities. The seized animals were turned over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Dysoco arrived early morning Friday on board Philippine Airlines PR737 at NAIA Terminal 2. Dysoco, whose luggages yielded the iguanas, five of which were already dead, will be charged for violating Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act. The iguanas will be brought to animal rescue center based in Quezon city for rehabilitation. In October 2018, Airport and Customs authorities also intercepted a smuggled shipment of at least 12 juvenile (pythons) snakes at the Central Mail Exchange Center in Pasay City. The snakes were brought into the country concealed inside a package and were misdeclared as Taro chips from Indonesia.The authorities made the apprehension a day after Customs NAIA officials turned over a shipment of confiscated 250 heads geckos to the Bureau of Animal Industry at the Paircargo warehouse, also in Pasay City. The market price of newly-hatched snakes ranges from P5,000 to P20,000, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. It added that a full-grown reticulated python snake, which is considered the worlds longest and heaviest snake that usually constrict its prey, can weigh as much as 30-40 kilograms and grow as much as 17 to 18 feet on an average. The government said that the importation of wildlife species without the necessary permits violates Customs law, Republic Act 9147 (Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act) and Republic Act No 8485, otherwise known as (The Animal Welfare Act of 1998).Meanwhile, the shipment of ecstasy were seized by the joint elements of the Port of NAIA and the PDEA at Central Mail Exchange Center in Pasay City. In 2018, the BOC-NAIA foiled a total of 30 illegal drug shipments in compliance with the directive of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero to continuously secure the borders and in support to the anti-drug campaign of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. The Port of NAIA recorded an approximately P 28.381 million worth of ecstasy seizures. This includes 962 pieces of ecstasy from the Netherlands in April, 1,003 pieces of ecstasy from Germany in July, and 14,730 pieces ecstasy from France in August, the highest recorded ecstasy seizure of the port in 2018. The BOC-NAIA, under District Collector Mimel Talusan, will continue to serve the public and protect the countrys borders against entry and exit of illicit goods. University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning has partnered with MASS Design Group, a nonprofit firm based in Boston and Kigali, Rwanda, to provide academic instruction and internship opportunities that will prepare Taubman College students for mission-driven practice leadership. MASS is teaching a Winter Semester Master of Architecture studio that leverages architecture to address the issues of mass incarceration. In addition, MASSs Founding Principal and Executive Director, Michael Murphy, will deliver a public lecture, and this summer, the firm will host architecture students on an international internship. "Through its dual location in Boston and Kigali, as well as through intentionally inclusive hiring and mentoring practices, MASS has built a multiracial, multinational talent consortium," said Dean Jonathan Massey. "It has done all these things at increasing scale, breaking out of the intimacy and local impact that typify community design centers and other mission-driven practices. MASS is truly a Model of Architecture Serving Society." MASS Design Group. Left to Right: Chief operating officer Alan Ricks, design associates Alicia Olushola Ajayi and Kordae Henry, senior director Sierra Bainbridge, director David Saladik, and executive director Michael Murphy in the firms Boston office. Image Iwan Baan As a mission-driven nonprofit organization, MASS has created an Impact-based Design Methodology of practice optimized to deliver maximum outcomes to their partners and the communities they serve. Students will use the MASS design model throughout their coursework to research, build, and advocate for architecture that promotes justice and human dignity. The winter design studio, led by Murphy, focuses on architectures ability to change the impact and outcomes of mass incarceration, which affects 2.3 million people in the U.S. (Prison Policy Initiative 2018). The more than 1,800 state and federal prisons in the U.S. form an architectural landscape that is rarely discussed or studied. Students will study facilities and programs that rehabilitate and reintegrate incarcerated people, as well as spaces designed for restoration or reflection. Research will explore themes that include mass incarceration; confinement conditions; prison programming; and abolition. Students will engage in a participatory design process with wardens, staff, and residents at a Queensboro Correctional Facility Long Island City, NY, where they will develop a user-informed intervention. Jeffrey Mansfield, design director at MASS, is assisting with the studio. Kasungu Maternity Waiting Village in Malawi by MASS Design Group. Image Iwan Baan "The exposure to mission-focused design methodology will prepare studio participants for practice," said Sharon Haar, chair of the architecture program. "To really understand architectures role in our complex society, students need to step outside of the academic studio and outside of their comfort zones. Architecture has the ability to change outcomes and human experiences." To inaugurate the Longo Global Internship program, Taubman College partnered with MASS to create two internships for architecture students in the firms Kigali office this summer. The new fund will provide resources for Taubman students pursuing professional degrees in architecture to gain practical training with firms around the world. Top image: GHESKIO Cholera Treatment Center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Image Iwan Baan > via University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning The report prompted Reynolds to fire Jamison and issue a statement: While it is not a secret that Mr. Jamison and I were friends, having served as county treasurers at the same time, I had no idea that he behaved this way. I never witnessed or experienced anything like what is described in the report. Had I known, I would have fired him a long time ago. Jamison also was woefully incompetent. A subsequent audit claimed he misspent $549,399 and misled his superiors about a new building lease estimated to cost the state another $6 million. New IFA director Debi Durham said the agency which receives federal funds and payments on its investments will use its reserve fund, not taxpayer dollars, to cover its settlement. Thats disingenuous because the money could have been used for public purposes. Sink had worked in a Fort Madison prison control room since December 2012 after fearing for her safety because of inmates threats. But in October 2014, she was assigned to supervise 73 inmates alone. She told the Des Moines Register, They put me right back into the general population knowing that the inmates were hostile to me and had made threats of rape, beating me and murder. Volunteer readers needed WATERLOO -- The Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa is the sponsor for the Read Across America event on Feb. 28 and March 1 in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls school districts. The Cedar Valley Jaycees and the Cedar Falls Kiwanis Rough Risers will coordinate the local program, which is in its third year. Approximately 80 classrooms in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls Community School Districts will participate in the program that engages local volunteers in reading for 30 minutes to students. This is CFNEIAs third year of sponsorship, providing two to three books of the teachers choosing to leave behind in each participating classroom. CFNEIA staff also serve as volunteer readers for the program. Volunteers are needed to serve as classroom readers. Volunteers will read to a classroom for 30 minutes and can sign up for more times if desired. To sign up for a time to volunteer in a classroom, go to cedarvalleyjaycees.org/read-across-america. Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on the birthday of childrens author, Dr. Seuss. Nationally the event is sponsored by the National Education Association. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In the Times interview, King was quoted as saying, White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization how did that language become offensive? The backlash was severe, and days later Republican congressional leadership stripped King of his committee assignments. King has said and repeated Thursday that his question referred only to the term Western civilization, and he rejects the ideology of white nationalism and white supremacy. He added those terms have been weaponized by the left. Ive said it multiple times: Theres no part of me that believes in anything that is advocated by folks that identify themselves as white nationalists or white supremacy, King said. King said he will run in 2020 for a 10th term in Congress. He already faces three Republican primary opponents in western Iowas conservative 4th Congressional District, including a state senator. King thinks Republicans in western Iowa agree with him on policy and the votes he takes in Congress, and he does not think he will be a drain on the Republican ticket in the 2020 general election, when the GOP will have President Donald Trump at the top and U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst fighting for her first re-election. A House leader on Friday backed the Budget departments plan to use the funds of the would-be abolished Road Board to partly bankroll the cleanup of Manila Bay even as he called on the DBM to similarly consider setting aside a portion of this same outlay for flood mitigation projects, as earlier committed by President Rodrigo Duterte himself. While we welcome a DBM plan to tap the unused Road Board budget to partly bankroll the Manila Bay rehabilitation program, we are also appealing to the DBM to consider allocating a share of the same funds collected from the MVUC (Motor Vehicle Users/Users Charge) to solve the problem of perennial flooding, particularly in Bicol, as committed last January by President Duterte no less, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, vice chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, said. Villafuerte made the appeal to the DBM in response to earlier media reports in which Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno as saying that the government could possibly use for the Manila Bay cleanup the MVUC collections, which would revert to the national treasury once the Road Board is abolished. So we will see if we can tap that, Diokno was quoted as saying in a recent media forum of the idle MVUC funds. Villafuerte recalled that during President Dutertes visit to Camarines Sur last January following the onslaught of tropical depression Usman, the Chief Executive had reiterated his desire for the Congress to abolish the Road Board and committed the use of its MVUC funds to solve the perennial flooding in Bicol. The Senate had adopted the House bill abolishing the Road Board, and the enrolled bill was eventually transmitted to Malacanang for President Dutertes signing into law. Earlier reports bared that the available MVUC collections total P45 billion. Villafuerte said solving Bicols chronic flooding problem will give a tremendous boost to farm productivity in CamSur, which is among the countrys top rice-producing provinces. Despite the perennial floods, CamSur has emerged as the No. 6 rice producer, he added. We could easily become No. 2 or No. 3 if the perennial floods will become a thing of the past.A former three-term governor of Camarines Sur, Villafuerte said the province is Bicols lowest-lying area, making it a catch basin from floodwaters coming from other provinces whenever typhoons strike the region. During a situation briefing held in the provinces capital of Pili last January 4, Villafuerte had suggested to President Duterte that a viable solution to this perennial flooding problem is the dredging and desilting of the Bicol River. He said that when he broached this proposal during that meeting, President Duterte declared he was bent on having the Road Board abolished and have its funds utilized for projects to mitigate the flooding problem, particularly in Bicol. Among the other suggestions raised during that meeting with the President was the creation of a Bicol River Development Authority, which will be in charge of overseeing flood mitigation programs in coordination with the concerned local government units (LGUs) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The House committee on government reorganization has already approved a bill authored by Villafuerte reviving the Bicol River Development Authority. Education Secretary Leonor Briones informed the President during that same January meeting that such an agency had existed during the former Marcos administration, but it was eventually abolished, hence leaving no particular government office ever since to take charge of dredging the Bicol River or implementing other flood mitigation projects there. A bill to move the filing deadline for non-party political organization candidates from August to March, the same as Democrat and Republican candidates, has moved to the full House State Government Committee. The change for county and state candidates, HF 335, would prevent political party candidates who lose their primary contest from running as a third-party candidate in the general election. Subcommittee Chairman Mike Sexton, R-Rockwell City, said it was a question of fairness, but Rep. Bruce Hunter, D-Des Moines, wondered if it might create a hardship for the non-party political organizations, such as Greens and Libertarians, to move their nominating conventions. Pate to present Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate will join a panel of election security experts for a session titled Who is Minding the Ballot Box? during an election cybersecurity forum during the National Governors Associations winter meeting in Washington, D.C., on Friday. Ending a four-year legal battle, the Iowa Public Information Board on Thursday overturned a judges decision in its favor and ruled two law enforcement agencies did not break the law by keeping secret body camera video and other records of a 2015 fatal shooting by Burlington police. The board voted 6-2 to dismiss two complaints against the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Burlington Police Department. The abrupt ending capped a quest by the dead womans family and a Burlington newspaper involving dozens of meetings, a contested case hearing and an October decision by an administrative law judge to let the public find out what happened that deadly winter day. Board members said they share the publics concern about government secrecy over officer-involved shootings. But the agencies did not violate Iowa Code Chapter 22 when they declined to release records about the Jan. 6, 2015, shooting of Autumn Steele. This decision not only reflects the legal position of the board, it fairly reflects what the majority of the board thinks, said member E.J. Giovannetti, who voted for the measure. Mary Ungs-Sogaard, board president and publisher of several Northeast Iowa newspapers, and Rick Morain, retired publisher of the Jefferson Herald, opposed it. WATERLOO Lowell Elementary is moving to vacant Area Education Agency facilities in Cedar Falls for the rest of the school year following Wednesdays partial roof collapse. The Lowell building, at 1628 Washington St., will not reopen until August for the start of the 2019-20 school year. Waterloo Community Schools announced Thursday that structural engineers and contractors who surveyed the building have determined repairs will take months to complete. Lowell students and staff will continue to be off from school Friday and Monday. Beginning Tuesday, they will be relocated to the former Central Rivers AEA conference center and special education buildings located at 3706 and 3712 Cedar Heights Drive in Cedar Falls. +5 Roof collapse cancels school Thursday for Lowell Elementary The collapse of a portion of the Lowell Elementary School roof Feb. 20 due to heavy snow is Those who currently ride a bus will continue as normal from their usual stops. Any walkers or students who are dropped off will be bused to the temporary location from Lowells campus each morning and returned at the end of the school day to follow usual dismissal procedures. The roof collapsed in a classroom when no students or teachers were present. School had been cancelled for the day due to the snowfall. Heavy snow on the roof was a factor in the roof collapse. WATERLOO Hawkeye Community College students facing hunger issues can find some help by heading over to the campus library. Just inside the entryway is the Little Free Pantry, a wooden structure sitting on a small table. It has a couple shelves typically filled with canned and boxed food plus personal care items that overflow onto the table. The tiny food pantry debuted in January 2018 and is now maintained by students in the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. Students take turns filling it with donated items stored in a back room of the library. Panther Pantry opens to serve food insecure UNI students CEDAR FALLS As hundreds of University of Northern Iowa students packed meals for a regiona Our goal this semester is spreading the word on campus and letting students know there is a pantry, said Bekki Zuck, a first-year student who has been helping with the effort. She noted that users dont have to sign up for anything. It is available to people who need food for any reason, whether thats a single day or a longer term situation. As we were kind of diving in, said Zuck, she began realizing how big of a need it was. At one point, she was sitting next to a classmate who complained about being hungry and having no money in a meal account. Because of embarrassment, it was initially hard to convince the student to check out the Little Free Pantry. WATERLOO Two Waterloo police officers received kudos for their service to the community. Brad Walter was named Waterloo Police Department Officer of the Year for 2018 during a Feb. 18 Waterloo Exchange Club luncheon at the Elks Club. Walter started at the Waterloo Police Department in 2002 and is currently assigned to third-shift patrol and the departments motorcycle unit. He just quietly goes about and does his job and throws his all into it, said Police Chief Daniel Trelka. Walter specializes in traffic operations. He is an instructor for impaired driving enforcement, a drug recognition expert and a traffic accident investigator. He received a special recognition for work on impaired driving at the Governors Highway Traffic Safety Conference in 2013. Hes our go-to guy on all of that, Trelka said. Officer Kerry Elliott was named Reserve Officer of the Year for 2018. He has been with the department since 2012 and works different patrol shifts as well as special project and events. His attitude is phenomenal, its infectious, Trelka said. Elliott works as a mechanic. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 WATERLOO -- A federal grand jury has filed an indictment for a Waterloo man accused of holding up a bank in October. Lucas Raymond Thompson, 34, was charged with bank robbery in an indictment handed up Thursday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. He had been in custody in the Black Hawk County Jail on state charges for the bank heist since October. Authorities said Thompson fled with an undisclosed amount of money after robbing the Great Western Bank, 2936 University Ave., around 12:25 p.m. on Oct. 25. Witnesses reported seeing a black Dodge Dakota in the area and a man matching the description of the robber climb in and leave. The following day, FBI agents who were working with Waterloo police spotted a similar truck. +5 UPDATE: Waterloo bank robbery suspect in custody WATERLOO -- A Waterloo man was apprehended Friday for a bank robbery the day before and also Officers stopped the vehicle and found Thompson inside. He was allegedly wearing shoes like those seen on the bank's security camera, and officers found additional evidence after searching three homes, court records state. Court records show Thompson has a history of striking at businesses located around the University and Falls avenue neighborhood where he lives. Thompson robbed Check Into Cash on University Avenue in December 2006. "There are some people that would say that Matthew was a stain on our family's reputation. That's not how we see it at all." Were living in the era of the documentary film. In 2000, documentaries comprised less than 5 percent of films per year. Today, such films comprise more than 20 percent of a years output, according to Harmony Institute, a nonprofit media analysis group. At the close of 2018, The Playlist compiled the years 20 best documentaries. The article ends with honorable mentions a list of 14 more films. In the past, the public might be aware of one or two major documentaries in a given year. Now, thanks to more distribution channels, cable companies and streaming networks, were more likely to hear of many more and make time to view them. Chatter about Best Documentary Feature Oscar nominees and perceived snubs - has gone beyond movie insiders. The nominees are Of Fathers and Sons, Hale County This Morning, This Evening, Minding the Gap, RBG and Free Solo. Hale County visits Americas Black Belt region of the South. The lives of three skateboarding teens is the focus of Minding the Gap. Talal Derki posed as a sympathetic journalist and was embedded for two years in Syria with a jihadist family while making Of Fathers and Sons. The countrys two largest telecommunication companies and an incoming one have expressed their support to a market-driven common and shared passive infrastructure policy by the government, according to the Department of Information and Communications Technology. Representatives from Smart Communications Inc., Globe Telecom Inc. and the Mislatel consortium stated their willingness to collaborate with the initiative in front of the interested tower providers, including the 12 companies which already signed an agreement with the DICT. The support of telco operators will be pivotal to the smooth implementation of the common tower policy, which is expected to improve telecommunication services while lowering down its cost. Shared [passive] facilities through this policy would cut back unnecessary expenses from the telco operators and subscribers will benefit from this, Acting DICT Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. said. During the consultation Monday, the DICT requested the telcos to submit a list of areas and number of cell sites that their respective operations will need as guide for the policy. The department since December has signed agreements with ISOC Infrastructures, Singapores ISON ECP Tower, IHS Towers, Edotco Group, RT Telecom of Malaysia, China Energy Engineering Corp, Aboitiz InfraCapital and MGS Construction.American Towers, Frontier Tower Associates Management, Phil Tower Consortium (Global Networks Inc. and JTower Inc.) and J.S. Cruz Construction and Development Inc. were the three new signees this week. The tower firms must first secure a business contract from the telcos for the government to provide assistance through facilitation of permits, right-of-way, and other government requirements for infrastructure. The DICT is set to finalize the common tower policy by the second quarter of 2019. The Philippine needs at least around 50,000 cellular towers to be able to have the proper coverage and provide adequate service to the Philippine people. The existing cellular towers nationwide stood at around 16,000, covering only 8,000 locations. President Trump and Paul Manafort may have just been checkmated. Trump has no pardon power on the state level. If Manafort is tried by New York and is convicted he would face what would be a life sentence at his age of confinement in one of New Yorks hellishly tough NY prisons. The prospect of that nightmare may be enough for him to spill the beans on President Trump and others finally. By James DiGeorgia Paul Manafort tried to play both sides after he was indicted and then convicted by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller. He and his lawyers while appearing to cooperate with Mueller and his investigators were actually both holding back evidence and still running back to President Trumps lawyers and giving them everything they could to hold open the possibility of an eventual Presidential pardon. That strategy fell apart today with the news that New York state prosecutors have put together a criminal case against Paul Manafort that they could file quickly if the former chairman of Donald Trumps 2016 campaign receives a presidential pardon. Manafort has already been convicted of eight felonies, and pleaded guilty to two more and is scheduled to be sentenced next month for those federal crimes. Counsel Robert Muellers prosecutors have recommended as long as 24 years, a virtual life sentence, for the 69-year-old former Trump Campaign Chairman. New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. charges are believed to be separate and different criminal violations so that Manafort would not be able to claim double jeopardy protections being prosecuted for the same crimes twice. Vance must avoid New Yorks double jeopardy law, which provides defendants with even stronger protections than those guaranteed by the U.S. Constitutions Fifth Amendment. President Trump in a video reordered interview said in November that he hasnt ruled out pardoning Manafort. The decision by the NY District Attorney is a checkmate move and eliminates any hope Manafort has. Manafort if pardoned by Trump then convicted by New York State would face his time in state prison versus a federal prison. A prospect that may be a game changer for Manafort given he is increasingly complaining about his health and has even shown up in court in a wheelchair. Special: Imagine an options trading service that has delivered over 4,872% in winning trade recommendations over 11 years. That's 442% a year in winning trade recommendations. Check it out! Just $49 for the first 60 days! According to news reports prosecutors in Vances NY District Attorneys office began investigating Paul Manafort in 2017, several months before Robert Mueller charged him with conspiracy, failure to file reports of foreign bank accounts and failure to register as an agent of a foreign country, activities in Ukraine. While the full extent of the NY charges isnt clear, they are thought by observers to include evasion of New York taxes and violations of state laws requiring companies to keep accurate books and records. Each charge that could be filed against Manafort has been carefully chosen to avoid any double jeopardy claim. While Manaforts legal team would likely attempt to challenge any state crimes by invoking constitutional protections the fact is this would mean millions in legal fees and expose his wife and children to criminal charges. Manafort who is thought to have been hoping for a presidential pardoned may now find himself in an impossible position. Either Manafort spills the beans and turns over everything he has on President Trump and others, or he could face what be a life sentence at his age, of confinement in one of the hellishly tough NY prisons. The A900 robot vacuum is the latest invention by the Shenzhen-based brand, Amarey. This suction device integrates simultaneous location and mapping (SLAM) and is expected to go on sale in March 2019. SanKobot is the parent company of Amarey. It is a tech startup based in Shanghai and Shenzhen. This latest product launch and release surpassed the previous generation vacuum. It goes more than just a few steps further since the gadget has added technologies and is the next-generation state of the art. Features, technologies, and functionality of the Amarey A900 According to an iGeekphone dot com report, this A900 model comes with lots of upgrade points. As mentioned above, it comes with SLAM technology. In addition, it comes with an app intelligent remote control, detective sensors, voice control (Alexa and Google Assistant, long-time suction power, etc. The SLAM technology means that the device is equipped with a 145-degree wide angle lens. In other words, it can map the environment and it will automatically localize itself. So, this allows the vacuum to visually locate and identify furniture during its journey while cleaning the premises. The artificial intelligence (AI) remote control also simplifies usage. How? The app includes map building, scheduled cleaning, and control via the remote. While you are away working or running errands, you can receive real-time updates on your smartphone. If for some reason you cannot be home for consecutive days at a time you can schedule your robot to clean anytime. One crucial feature embedded in the Amarey vacuum is the sensors. Not only does it map the house, but it also has anti-collision sensors. This helps the device clean quietly and gently, so it does not bump into furniture. If you own or rent a multi-level home, you can also enable anti-drop sensors. Concerned about how much time it can clean for? The company answers this pressing question. The vacuum can last for 120 minutes, which is equivalent to two hours. If you wish to increase the degree of suction, the estimated running-time drops to 90 minutes. Other noteworthy robot vacuums in 2019 As reported by Tom's guide, there's a list of the best vacuums for this year. After 600 hours of testing, the favorite model was the Shark Ion R85. The official price is $269.99. Moreover, the features include both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. It includes an optional stick vacuum. This will allow users to clean hard-to-reach places and cushions. An alternative to the Shark Ion or the A900 is the Eufy RoboVac 11S. This brand model is designed for price-conscious consumers. It does lack the smart-home connectivity and sophisticated technologies, however, it still gets the job done picking up debris. Takeaways and conclusions This brand new year is bringing lots of innovation and new vacuums into the marketplace. It will be interesting to see how many units are sold throughout 2019. Finally, the aim is to make cleaning at home easier for those who enjoy the convenience of never having to clean floors and carpets again. Spoiler alerts for "The Young and the Restless" indicate that Victor's family members and related associates are all in hot water with the GCPD. Nick will be frantic because of what is happening with his loved ones, but the Newman patriarch will pull himself together and take control. Paul Williams will soon be on hand and the police chief might decide to take down the most prominent residents of Genoa City. Mariah, Phyllis, Sharon, Nikki, and Victoria are all in danger of being charged with crimes and there is still the issue of who is behind the scenes pulling all the strings. Rumors persist that either Adam, J.T. or both are alive and causing all the drama. The Newman clan are all under suspicion Soap Dirt reports that things will get so hectic for the Newman family that Nick will spiral out of control. Victor, however, will remain calm and eventually take charge of all the chaos. Nikki has confessed to killing J.T. while Victoria refuses to say anything, even to her lawyer Michael Baldwin. Both were at the GCPD on Monday as were the rest of the cover-up gang. Sharon confessed all to Rey but later recanted her story. Spoilers say Phyllis will throw the others under the bus in order to save her own skin. This includes snitching on Mariah and Tessa for their roles in covering up the crime. Rey and Christine are desperate to get to the truth and with the police chief, Paul Williams returning to "Y&R" things could become much worse for the Newman clan. GCPD running over with Newman suspects Paul will be returning to the GCPD just in time to help figure out what really happened to J.T. Celeb Dirty Laundry suggests that Adam Newman will be the mastermind behind all the chaos in Genoa City but viewers believe it is more likely that Mr. Helstrom did not die and is seeking revenge on his tormentors. If spoilers are correct, and Victor takes charge, he will eventually get to the bottom of it all. In the meantime, Rey, Paul, and Christine will throw the book at his loved ones. Viewers are certainly anxious for this storyline to be wrapped up and all the questions to be answered. If Adam is alive, where has he been all this time? If J.T. never died where has he been hiding and did he possibly have help o pull off everything he did to gaslight the Newmans? Will there be an explanation for where the police chief has been all this time or will he simply one day be sitting in his chair as if nothing ever happened? Be on the lookout for updated spoilers and continue watching "The Young and the Restless" weekday afternoons on CBS at 1230 PM EST. Many fans of The Good Doctor have been looking forward to this weeks February 18, 15th episode of Season 2, Risk and Reward for weeks, while many others may have dreaded it. Daniel Dae Kim steps away from his executive producer seat to star as the new chief of surgery, Jackson Han, in this deep and deliciously-acted episode involving the frailty and dilemmas of being human, the worthiness of acceptance, and the constant challenge that comprises life. This is the first starring role for Kim on television since his departure from Hawaii Five-O after seven seasons. Freddie Highmore shows his multidimensional talents in directing the episode with incredible touch and deftness. Some may remember that another familiar Hawaii Five-O regular, Will Yun Lee, already stars as Dr. Alex Park on The Good Doctor, and the storyline set in motion with this stirring episode is sure to challenge not only Dr. Murphy but every resident and physician on the team. No room for forgiveness The story opens with life already in the balance as Diane Monroe (Robyn Lively) and her husband (Peter Benson) bring their daughter into the world, by delicate cesarean section, and only get the first glimpse of their daughter before she must be rushed into surgery. Percy (short for Persephone, the beautiful Greek goddess) clings to life with immense challenges, primarily with her heart and her bowel, and her entire team devotes all their energy to solving problems that baffle them. Dr. Andrews (Hill Harper) and Dr. Aoki (Tamlyn Tomita) are baffled as to why the new celebrated chief of surgery hasnt yet appeared at his own welcome reception, but instead, he opts to scrub in to the intricate procedure with Dr. Lim (Christina Chang) and the residents. Within minutes, it's very clear that the new marvel on staff has done his homework on every member he will interact with on the staff and everything regarding the disciplinary actions after the quarantine. Even the world-renowned Dr. Jackson Han doesn't have a fix for the fragile Percy, yet he proceeds to question and demand responses from the doctors as if giving an oral exam. Dr. Murphy is immediately thrown by his new boss insistence on music playing during surgery, and he fumbles with forceps, dropping them on the floor. When Han responds by saying 5-second rule, Shaun doesn't see it as a joke, he does respond with the correct heart rate ratio that his new boss was seeking. In his own way, Shaun credits his new supervisor for the temporary procedure that keeps the baby alive, but no compliments are coming Dr. Murphy's way. When the Monroes' question Shaun, about the many birth defects assaulting their daughter, seeking some comfort and solace, The Good Doctor does what he always does. He tells the truth, quoting a study that does find a correlation between the mothers medication for depression and birth defects. He also tells them that the doctors are doing everything they can to solve the baby's problems, but the parents are naturally devastated. Dr. Han dresses down Dr. Murphy, very publicly, telling him not to talk to the parents again. Dr. Lim intercedes, trying to offer that, when the new chief sees Dr. Murphy's talents, he will want him on his team. Dr. Han retorts that no matter how much support he is given, Dr. Murphy will never be able to master the communication skills necessary to be a surgeon. Dr. Han is likely aware of the manifestations of ASD and savant gifts, just as he researched, and is aware of, the details regarding each staff member. This directive is the start of a deliberate showdown and the other residents may rally in unexpected ways for Shaun. Dr. Lim tells Shaun not to talk to Dr. Han outside the OR except in response to a direct question. Dr. Aoki is correct in her assumption that those who come with Dr. Hans price tend to think they're worth it, and that can be treacherous. No such thing as certainty One scene of delightful irony comes when Dr. Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) describes the new chief as charming, sure of himself, big ego. Those words completely describe the speaker himself as a surgeon, and Dr. Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann) wastes no time in heaping praise on the new doctor, who immediately notes her refreshing way of sucking up. In another priceless remark, Reznick relates that all her research into tactics with the new supervisor is easier than being nice. She knows herself well. Dr. Melendez and his team are engulfed in performing a battery of tests on a high-profile patient of Dr. Han, Minesh Goyal (Ravi Kapoor). The business mogul is haunted by the early death of his healthy father, and despite medical odds, decides on having a very risky surgery to remove a tumor that is likely not cancerous. When the team has to go from the back way because of an artery, the process impacts the mobility of his left foot. When Melendez explains the outcome, his patient insists that the lab results dont matter because you can't put the tumor back in. Amidst these life-altering hospital crises, Dr. Glassman (Richard Schiff) encounters a talkative but truthful buddy at chemotherapy, Larry (Joe Adler), who plays the role to perfection. Larry persists through Glassman's avoidance techniques to insist that every cancer patient needs a cancer community of people who understand what others cant about being under siege by disease. Dr. Glassman surrenders his stance of always battling cancer as an identity, and accepts a new circle of friends, feeling their strength and life, not just their struggle. He finally finds a card-playing partner, too, Candice (Candus Churchill) and finds her much more fun than solitaire. Dr. Brown goes with Dr. Han to counsel Percys parents, and yet again, Antonia Thomas infuses her character with a quiet empathy and truth seldom seen in TV dramas. She tenderly conveys that Dianes use of the medication allowed her to be ready to be a good mother and deliver her daughter. They assure that Percy will pass quickly once disconnected from life support. The wrenching situation is palpable. Just as the surgical team is preparing to make Percy as presentable as possible to her parents, Dr. Lim suggests that they all take a moment. The scene is powerful, and as Dr. Murphy makes the disconnections, it comes to him to create a swinging type of heart valve that will serve as a defect when she needs it. The parents are startled and overjoyed to hear cries from their baby girl, and rejoice that she is OK apart from facing more surgery. Waiting for his bus, Dr. Murphy tries to engage Dr. Han, asking, You ride the bus, too? The new chief doesnt have any friendly chitchat at hand. He tells Shaun that his diagnostic gifts would work wonders for patients as a pathology resident. Shaun declares I am a surgical resident, and agrees that he is an asset to the hospital---this takes courage from a challenged person and is affirming to see. Han dismisses that the resident is working hard on communication skills. He insists that it's about doing the job. Shaun again says I am a surgical resident. You were, replies his new boss. Dr. Murphy is not about to lie down and take this decision, while still following the directive. The dynamic between these characters is bound to be riveting, and it will be a delight to see who and how allies step up in Shaun Murphys corner. Dr. Melendez told his patient Everyone's got abnormalities, and that is true for every living person, each presenting in different ways. The challenges someone faces forges character and a philosophy of life and those kinds of lessons are universally worth learning. On June 18, 2018, in a White House briefing, President Trump announced the formation of a new military branch called the United States Space Force. Two months later, Vice President Pence spoke on the need for the newly formed sixth branch of the US military and unveiled plans for creating the new department. With the help of the Department of Defense, a new US space command would be formed to unify operations, develop space warfighting doctrines, techniques, tactics, and procedures of the future. A Space Development Agency would also be formed to focus on in-depth research and the development of new advanced space technologies. A military astronaut corps would be created to provide a specialized elite group of fighters to meet the challengers in the unique domain of space. Sixth branch of Armed Forces Tuesday, President Trump signed the Space Policy Directive-4 that calls for the Secretary of Defense to set in motion a legislative proposal, that will be presented to Congress, to set up the Space Force as the sixth branch of our Armed Forces within the Department of the Air Force. The proposal will outline the critical need for the United States to start preparing to deter and defeat adverse threats in space where we have vital interests and the potential threat from foreign entities. Building ongoing space capabilities According to a statement by the US Strategic Command, in 2016, Commander, Admiral Cecil D Haney took part in a discussion at the Think Tank Center titled New American Security. It was on the growing threats as it relates to space, deterrence strategy and efforts of solving these challenges. He stated then, that we must face the fact that the threats are real and "building capability, capacity, and resilience in our space assets and architecture is a top priority, particularly as we consider how deeply integrated space is in our everyday lives." Technology advances and so must we In January 2019, 72 counties claimed to have a space program but only three are operated under a government space agency; NASA (U.S.), RFSA (Russia), and CNSA (China). Six have basic launch capability; NASA (U.S.), RFSA (Russia), CNSA (China), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan), and ISRO (India). Each have the ability to launch and recover multiple satellites, deploy cryogenic rocket engines and to operate extra-terrestrial explorations. As technology advances, so will every space program in the world and we must be fully equipped not only today but in the future to defend our vital interest. President Trump's administration has made Space Force a national security priority. Congress will consider the need for safety and defense in the accelerating capabilities of space. In the wake of the CONCACAF Champions league round of 16 matches, in an interview for ESPN, Jonathan dos Santos talked about the Mexican club we would like to play against if he has the chance. Jonathan Barcelona Centrocampista Mexico The younger of the Dos Santos brothers was asked which team of the Liga MX would he like to face if he could meet anyone he wanted to what the Mexican international answer with a simple "America." The LA Galaxy star mentioned that he has never faced the squad of Miguel Herrera while adding that he didn't get to play with them, so if getting the chance of playing against any team from Mexico, Jona would choose the squad of the capital city. "I would love to play against America, the best team in Mexico and they will face the best team of the United States. That would be an attractive game." he concluded. Stocks rose Friday in mixed trading, with select blue chips lifting the benchmark index toward the close. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index climbed 30.83 points, or 0.4 percent, to 7,962.13 on a value turnover of P8 billion. Losers, however, beat gainers, 97 to 89, with 54 issues unchanged. PLDT Inc., the biggest telecommunications firm, advanced 3.1 percent to P1,113, while JG Summit Holdings Inc. of industrialist John Gokongwei also gained 3 percent to P68.50. Vista land & Lifescapes Inc. of the Villar Group rose 2.9 percent to P7.50, while San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc., the food unit of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., increased 5 percent to P104. The rest of the Asian markets were mixed Friday following losses on Wall Street as optimism over the China-US trade talks was trumped by a weak round of US data that revived concerns about economic growth. With high-level negotiations between the worlds top economies still taking place in Washington there has been little concrete news about their progress, though some reports have said the two are heading towards an eventual deal. The lack of information on the crunch talks led dealers in New York to take their cue from figures showing home sales at a three-year low, while sales of durable goods missed expectations. All three main indexes on Wall Street ended lower. The data, coupled with disappointing readings from the eurozone and Japan, reminded investors that while China and the US are showing signs of reaching a deal, the world economy continues to stutter. Trade talks remain on track, but with little details on what the next moves are as the March 1 deadline approaches, the market paid more attention to the lower-than-expected US data on Thursday, said OANDA senior market analyst Alfonso Esparza.The losses on Wall Street filtered through to Asia, where markets dropped in the morning before seeing some recoveries in the afternoon. Tokyo was down 0.2 percent and Singapore shed 0.3 percent, though Hong Kong rose 0.3 percent in the afternoon and Shanghai rallied 1.9 percent on hopes for fresh stimulus by Chinese authorities. Seoul and Wellington both edged up 0.1 percent and Taipei was flat. Mumbai, Jakarta and Bangkok were all lower. And Richard Turnill, global chief investment strategist at BlackRock, warned that the stellar gains seen so far this year were unlikely to continue for the next 10 months. Dont chase the rally, he told Bloomberg TV. Dont extrapolate the double-digit gains weve seen in the first six weeks of this year. On Thursday Chinas Commerce Ministry said the two sides would go a step further in deepening their communication regarding the trade talks but despite Donald Trumps tweets that things are going well, there is skepticism among observers. I think the consensus of people that have been following this thing is that theyre not making nearly as much progress as the president tweets that theyve been making, said William Reinsch, a former US trade official now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. With the March 1 deadline approaching, Chinas top negotiator and Xi Jinpings top economics envoy Liu He is due to meet Trump on Friday. Refinery 29 UK Now is the time to be as hot as humanly possible. There was a lot we couldnt access during lockdown, like travel, dates, and family. But, the few things we could access skin care, workouts, online shopping gave us a much-needed sense of control. Maybe 2020 wouldnt be the year you got in a relationship, but, once lockdown was over, youd be too hot to resist a product of the post-pandemic beauty boom. Maybe travel plans were postponed in 2020, but by summer of 2021, youd have the travel By Steve Holland and Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will leave "a small peacekeeping group" of 200 American troops in Syria for a period of time after a U.S. pullout, the White House said on Thursday, as President Donald Trump pulled back from a complete withdrawal. Trump in December ordered a withdrawal of the 2,000 American troops in Syria, saying they had defeated Islamic State militants there, even as U.S.-backed Syrian forces continued a final push against the group's last outpost. But Trump has been under pressure from multiple advisers to adjust his policy to ensure the protection of Kurdish forces, who supported the fight against Islamic State and who might now be threatened by Turkey, and to serve as a bulwark against Iran's influence. A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement. The decision was announced after Trump spoke by phone to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. A White House statement said the two leaders agreed, regarding Syria, to "continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone." A senior administration official said Trump's decision had been in the works for some time. It was unclear how long the 200 troops would be expected to remain in the area or where exactly they would be deployed. Leaving even a small group of U.S. troops in Syria could pave the way for European allies to commit hundreds of troops to help set up and observe a potential safe zone in northeast Syria. The commander of U.S.-backed Syrian forces has called for 1,000 to 1,500 international troops to remain in the country to help fight Islamic State and expressed hope the United States, in particular, would halt plans for a total pullout. 'CLEAR DIRECTION' The decision to retain peacekeepers could help Trump overcome criticism that he had ordered a precipitous withdrawal from Syria that could lead to Islamic State regaining strength. Story continues "This is a clear direction to our allies and coalition members that we will be on the ground in some capacity," the senior U.S. administration official said. Until now, European allies have balked at providing troops unless they received a firm commitment that Washington was still committed to the region. Belgian Defence Minister Didier Reynders told reporters on Thursday before a meeting with acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan that the issue of keeping troops in Syria in the future would be a matter for discussion with U.S. officials. Turkey wants to set up a safe zone with logistical support from allies and says it should be cleared of the U.S.-backed Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara considers a terrorist group. The White House did not say where exactly its troops would be based. In addition to northeast Syria, officials have talked about the importance of keeping some troops at the strategic Tanf garrison on the Iraq-Jordan border. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the initial plan was to have some troops in northeastern Syria and some at Tanf. The official said planning was ongoing and could change. The Tanf garrison was set up when Islamic State fighters controlled eastern Syria bordering Iraq. But since the militants were driven out, Tanf has assumed a role as part of a U.S. strategy to contain Iran's military buildup. U.S. officials have told Reuters that while in Munich last week, Shanahan held a meeting on Syria with a small group of defence ministers. They talked about needing some sort of security arrangement in northeast Syria after the United States left. Shanahan will meet his Turkish counterpart on Friday. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham issued a statement applauding Trump's decision to keep a small contingent of U.S. troops in Syria as part of an international stabilizing force, saying the president had followed sound military advice that would help avoid the problems the United States faced in Iraq. (Reporting by Steve Holland and Idrees Ali; Editing by Peter Cooney and Leslie Adler) Two people are dead and 15 have been wounded after the Venezuelan National Guard opened fire on a group of indigenous people who were trying to prevent the soldiers from blocking the Brazilian border ... Venezuelan National Guard general Commander Colonel Montoya suppressed the Indigenous people and he did it by firing on them, with arms, with bullets. Unfortunately, one of those bullets, hit a woman who died in her home in front of her son, Amerigo de Gracia, LCR national assembly representative, told RFI.Zoraida Garcia Rodriguez, an empanada seller and indigenous activist was one of the people killed. The 15 wounded were reportedly taken to hospital. The deadly confrontation was over an emergency food and medicine delivery organised by the opposition that President Nicolas Maduro says is unnecessary and has tried to prevent. Opposition leader Juan Guaido had organised humanitarian aid from Brazil, Colombia and Curacao.Maduro ordered the border with Brazil at Roraima closed on Thursday. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for violence to be avoided in Venezuela, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric in New York.Any loss of life is regrettable, said Dujarric. Looking ahead for tomorrow the secretary-general strongly appeals for violence to be avoided, he added.Venezuela is in the midst of a political and economic crisis as food and medicine shortages have pushed people to flee to neighbouring countries. Two people are dead and 15 have been wounded after the Venezuelan National Guard opened fire on a group of indigenous people who were trying to prevent the soldiers from blocking the Brazilian border ... Venezuelan National Guard general Commander Colonel Montoya suppressed the Indigenous people and he did it by firing on them, with arms, with bullets. Unfortunately, one of those bullets, hit a woman who died in her home in front of her son, Amerigo de Gracia, LCR national assembly representative, told RFI. Zoraida Garcia Rodriguez, an empanada seller and indigenous activist was one of the people killed. The 15 wounded were reportedly taken to hospital. The deadly confrontation was over an emergency food and medicine delivery organised by the opposition that President Nicolas Maduro says is unnecessary and has tried to prevent. Opposition leader Juan Guaido had organised humanitarian aid from Brazil, Colombia and Curacao. Maduro ordered the border with Brazil at Roraima closed on Thursday. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for violence to be avoided in Venezuela, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric in New York. Any loss of life is regrettable, said Dujarric. Looking ahead for tomorrow the secretary-general strongly appeals for violence to be avoided, he added. Venezuela is in the midst of a political and economic crisis as food and medicine shortages have pushed people to flee to neighbouring countries. Venezuelas president, Nicolas Maduro, closed its southern border with Brazil on Thursday, and he has threatened to close its western border with Colombia as opposition leader Juan Guaido went ... Recognised by more than 50 countries, including France, as Venezuelas interim president, Guaido left Caracas to make the 900 kilometre trip in a convoy of several vehicles, with about 80 lawmakers. Security forces stopped several of the lorries and forced their drivers to get out, but the rest of the caravan was allowed to continue."We know that the regime is going to put all obstacles to prevent us from reaching the border, but nothing is stopping us, we are going to continue," said opposition lawmaker Yanet Fermin.Tonnes of aid sent by the United States and Colombia are sitting in warehouses on the Colombian side of the border. The opposition says it wants to get it to relieve widespread food and medicine shortages in the wake of Venezuelas economic collapse.Maduro has called the caravan a "cheap show" and said aid from the US was a precursor to military intervention.Closing bordersGuaido still has not detailed how aid would enter Venezuela. Some have suggested human chains across the land borders to pass packages from person to person, and fleets of boats arriving from the Dutch Caribbean islands.Maduro warned Thursday he was considering "a total closure of the border with Colombia", which would effectively shut down all legal land access to Venezuela, after he ordered the complete closure of the border with Brazil.He had already ordered the military to barricade a major border bridge to prevent supplies from entering from Cucuta, where tons of humanitarian aid, mostly from the United States, are being stockpiled.The government has said soldiers will be stationed at official crossing points to repel any "territorial violations", although the opposition could attempt to cross anywhere."I charge [Colombian President] Ivan Duque with any violence that might occur on the border," Maduro said in televised comments, surrounded by the military high command.In Brazil, Maria Teresa Belandria, Guaido's ambassador, said 100 tonnes of food, medication and emergency kits are waiting to be driven from Boa Vista to Pacaraima on the Venezuelan border.Guaido's growing supportOn Thursday Guaido got backing from 11 US-based Venezuelan diplomats, who defected from Maduros government, an important symbolic show support.A retired general and former military intelligence chief to Hugo Chavez, Hugo Carvajal, released a video on social media offering his support to Guiado, and calling on the armed forces to break from Maduro.Peru's state agency Andina reported that Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra received Guaidos appointed ambassador Carlos Scull.British entrepreneur Richard Branson plans to hold a pro-aid concert just inside Colombia on Friday, while Maduro's government will stage a rival concert on its side of the border, 300 metres away.And US Vice-President Mike Pence is to visit Colombia on Monday, in a show of support to Guiado, to discuss the crisis with leaders of the regional Lima Group of nations.(with wires) Venezuelas president, Nicolas Maduro, closed its southern border with Brazil on Thursday, and he has threatened to close its western border with Colombia as opposition leader Juan Guaido went ... Recognised by more than 50 countries, including France, as Venezuelas interim president, Guaido left Caracas to make the 900 kilometre trip in a convoy of several vehicles, with about 80 lawmakers. Security forces stopped several of the lorries and forced their drivers to get out, but the rest of the caravan was allowed to continue. "We know that the regime is going to put all obstacles to prevent us from reaching the border, but nothing is stopping us, we are going to continue," said opposition lawmaker Yanet Fermin. Tonnes of aid sent by the United States and Colombia are sitting in warehouses on the Colombian side of the border. The opposition says it wants to get it to relieve widespread food and medicine shortages in the wake of Venezuelas economic collapse. Maduro has called the caravan a "cheap show" and said aid from the US was a precursor to military intervention. Closing borders Guaido still has not detailed how aid would enter Venezuela. Some have suggested human chains across the land borders to pass packages from person to person, and fleets of boats arriving from the Dutch Caribbean islands. Maduro warned Thursday he was considering "a total closure of the border with Colombia", which would effectively shut down all legal land access to Venezuela, after he ordered the complete closure of the border with Brazil. He had already ordered the military to barricade a major border bridge to prevent supplies from entering from Cucuta, where tons of humanitarian aid, mostly from the United States, are being stockpiled. The government has said soldiers will be stationed at official crossing points to repel any "territorial violations", although the opposition could attempt to cross anywhere. Story continues "I charge [Colombian President] Ivan Duque with any violence that might occur on the border," Maduro said in televised comments, surrounded by the military high command. In Brazil, Maria Teresa Belandria, Guaido's ambassador, said 100 tonnes of food, medication and emergency kits are waiting to be driven from Boa Vista to Pacaraima on the Venezuelan border. Guaido's growing support On Thursday Guaido got backing from 11 US-based Venezuelan diplomats, who defected from Maduros government, an important symbolic show support. A retired general and former military intelligence chief to Hugo Chavez, Hugo Carvajal, released a video on social media offering his support to Guiado, and calling on the armed forces to break from Maduro. Peru's state agency Andina reported that Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra received Guaidos appointed ambassador Carlos Scull. British entrepreneur Richard Branson plans to hold a pro-aid concert just inside Colombia on Friday, while Maduro's government will stage a rival concert on its side of the border, 300 metres away. And US Vice-President Mike Pence is to visit Colombia on Monday, in a show of support to Guiado, to discuss the crisis with leaders of the regional Lima Group of nations. (with wires) The family of Islamic State bride Shamima Begum have written to the Home Secretary asking for his help to bring her newborn son to Britain. The letter to Sajid Javid said the baby boy was a true innocent who should not lose the privilege of being raised in the safety of this country. The teenager, who fled London aged 15 to join Islamic States self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria, said she wanted to return to the UK with her son. Shamima Begums eldest sister Renu has written to Home Secretary Sajid Javid (Laura Lean/PA) Her sister Renu Begum, writing on behalf of the family, asked how they could help the Home Secretary in bringing my nephew home to us. The family said they have had no contact with Ms Begum and had only learned she had given birth to a boy through media reports. They made clear that they were shocked and appalled at the vile comments Ms Begum had recently made to the media. Ms Begum was one of three schoolgirls to leave Bethnal Green to join the terror cult in 2015 and resurfaced heavily pregnant at a Syrian refugee camp last week. Her familys letter said they had made every fathomable effort to block her from entering IS territory. That year we lost Shamima to a murderous and misogynistic cult, her sister wrote. My sister has been in their thrall now for four years, and it is clear to me that her exploitation at their hands has fundamentally damaged her. The Home Secretary revoked Ms Begums British citizenship in a move only permissible under international law if it does not leave the individual stateless. It was speculated that Ms Begum, who is of Bangladeshi heritage, may have citizenship there but Bangladeshs minister of state for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam denied this. Appealing to the Home Secretary, the family said: We are sickened by the comments she has made, but, as a family man yourself, we hope you will understand that we, as her family cannot simply abandon her. Story continues We have a duty to her, and a duty to hope that as she was groomed into what she has become, she can equally be helped back into the sister I knew, and daughter my parents bore. We hope you understand our position in this respect and why we must, therefore, assist Shamima in challenging your decision to take away the one thing that is her only hope at rehabilitation, her British citizenship. Shamimas status will now be a matter for our British courts to decide in due course. Ms Begum earlier told Sky News she had no desire to go to Bangladesh: I dont have anything there, another language, I have never even seen the place. Mr Javids removal of her citizenship came amid heated debate over whether the teenager should be able to return to the UK after she was found in a Syrian refugee camp with the terror groups reign nearly over. Sajid Javid has been criticised for removing Shamima Begums citizenship (Dominic Lipinski/AP) The Muslim Council of Britain has warned Mr Javids move heightens fears of a two-tiered citizenship scheme, sets a dangerous precedent and demonstrates an abdication of responsibility. While many do not want to see Ms Begum return to the UK, others have argued she should face prosecution for her actions, and attempts at deradicalisation. The Begum familys lawyer Tasnime Akunjee said she was born in the UK, has never had a Bangladeshi passport and is not a dual citizen, which was confirmed by the Bangladeshi minister. Mr Alam added: So, there is no question of her being allowed to enter into Bangladesh. Asked about the situation on ITVs Peston, Mr Javid said: Im not going to talk about an individual, but I can be clear on the point that I would not take a decision and I believe none of my predecessors ever have taken a decision that at the point the decision is taken would leave that individual stateless. He also suggested to the Commons that action to bar her from returning will not impact her sons rights. If a parent does lose their British citizenship, it does not affect the rights of their child, he said. The British Nationality Act 1981 provides the Home Secretary with the power to strip people of citizenship if it is conducive to the public good. A new collection of images from around the world demonstrates different cultural traditions for welcoming babies and protecting new mothers. Rituals such as post-partum porridge and baptisms are used to celebrate new life in different corners of the globe. Natsumi, 29, feeds her four-week-old daughter Miwa during Okuizome, a first food ceremony that takes place in Japan (WaterAid/Kodai/PA) In Japan, parents celebrate Okuizome, a first food ceremony. Lucia, 26, mother to newborn baby Bertha, eating a special porridge made from soya, maize flour and sugar which is given to mums after childbirth in Malawi (WaterAid/Jenny Lewis/PA) In Malawi, new mothers are given a porridge made of soya, maize flour and sugar as it is thought to give them energy and nutrients. Nagit, 30, with husband Lomer, 32, baby Bakita and their four other children after the blessing of their newborn (WaterAid/James Kiyimba/PA) In Uganda, beer and dancing are used to celebrate a new arrival, as well as the skin of the Etopojjo tree being formed into small strings tied around the babys wrist, ankles, neck and waist. Nome, 21, wearing a masonjoany mask to protect herself from the sun and bad spirits in Madagascar (WaterAid/PA) In Madagascar, mothers wear a masonjoany mask made by grinding a sandalwood tree branch with water to form a paste to protect themselves from bad spirits. Nome, 21, wore the mask as part of the Manaboaka Jabely tradition after giving birth. She said: In our culture, mothers like me and our newborn babies are not allowed to go outside during the first seven days after the birth. Once we have made it through these sacred, critical seven days, we step outside for a short time to face the reality of life and the bright sun. Rinku, 22, from Delhi, applies thick, black kajal or kohl to her child Kritikas eyes, a tradition said to ward off evil spirits in India (Water Aid/Prashanth Vishwanathan/PA) Black eye kohl is applied to children in India to ward off evil spirits. Rinku, 22, from Delhi, said: The tradition of applying kohl or kajal to the infants eyes and forehead began long ago and has been taught to each generation by the elders. The black kajal protects the child from any evil spirits and keeps them healthy. Four-month-old Emmeline has holy water poured over her head at the Roman Catholic Holy Family Church in New Jersey, in the belief it will absolve babies of original sin (WaterAid/Jill Costantino/PA) In Catholic families, holy water is poured over a babys head, in the belief it will absolve them of original sin. In Scotland, newborn babies like five-week-old Emma who was photographed by Paul Watt for WaterAid are given coins in a custom meant to bring prosperity. The picture gallery has been released by charity WaterAid as part of their Water Effect campaign, which aims to help mothers and new babies ensure they have the best start by providing clean water and good sanitation in health centres. Story continues Tim Wainwright, chief executive of WaterAid, said: Its unacceptable that in the developing world one in three health centres do not have clean water. This means doctors and midwives cannot protect their patients from the risk of infection, and the consequences can be fatal. Thats why were putting clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene at the heart of healthcare, helping save lives every day. French forces have killed a top jihadist leader, Yahya Abou El Hamame, in an operation in Mali, Defence Minister Florence Parly said Friday. The Algerian, a commander in al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), was reputedly responsible for kidnapping a number of Westerners in North and West Africa.A ministry statement issued in Paris said he was the mastermind and financer of several attacks.El Hamame was killed Thursday when French land and air forces ambushed a column of vehicles he was travelling with north of Timbuktu, Parly said.A number of other terrorists had been neutralised, Parly added.Yahya Abou El Hamame was a nom de guerre, his real name was Djamal Okacha.El Hamame was believed to be second in command of the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), also known as Nusrat al-Islam, led by Iyad Ag Ghali.The group was formed by the merger of Ansar Dine, the Macina Liberation Front, Al-Mourabitoun and El Hamames Saharan branch of AQIM.The operation was announced as Parly, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian were due to visit Mali, where some 4,500 French troops have been deployed since 2014 to reconquer the north of the country after it fell to jihadist fighters.No Afghan jihadist trainingBelieved to be in his early 40s, El Hamame was part of a younger generation of senior AQIM figures. Unlike Belmokhtar, he was not trained in the Afghan jihadist camps, nor was he a member of the GIA. But that has not stopped his meteoric rise to AQIMs top ranks.In March 2013, he was named as the replacement for Abou Zeid, who was killed in a French military operation in northern Mali, according to Algerian media reports citing Algerian security sources.Before this appointment, El Hamame served as Abou Zeids deputy, during which time he proved to be an able commander and administrator. He was also believed to have excellent knowledge of the southern stretches of the Sahel around northern Mali a factor that analysts believe led to his promotion as Abou Zeids replacement. According to some analysts, El Hamame had good religious training and served as a qadi (judge) in the old GSPC.During the 1990s civil war, El Hamame served 18 months in an Algerian prison. Following his release, he joined the GSPC and, by the time the group merged with al Qaeda, El Hamame had climbed up the ranks, becoming Abou Zeids deputy.As Abou Zeids number two, he is believed to have conducted Germaneaus execution, a killing that sent shock waves across France.According to Algerian security sources, El Hamame was involved in the 2005 attack against the Lemgheity military barracks in Mauritania, which killed 17 Mauritanian soldiers. The attack which occurred before AQIM was founded marked a turning point for the GSPC since it was the first assault outside Algerian territory. He is also suspected of involvement in the 2009 killing of US aid worker Christopher Leggett, who was shot dead near a school he was heading in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott.Following the March 2012 military coup in Mali, Mauritanian news organisations reported that El Hamame was operating around the northern Malian city of Timbuktu.(FRANCE 24 with AFP) French forces have killed a top jihadist leader, Yahya Abou El Hamame, in an operation in Mali, Defence Minister Florence Parly said Friday. The Algerian, a commander in al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), was reputedly responsible for kidnapping a number of Westerners in North and West Africa. A ministry statement issued in Paris said he was the mastermind and financer of several attacks. El Hamame was killed Thursday when French land and air forces ambushed a column of vehicles he was travelling with north of Timbuktu, Parly said. A number of other terrorists had been neutralised, Parly added. Yahya Abou El Hamame was a nom de guerre, his real name was Djamal Okacha. El Hamame was believed to be second in command of the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), also known as Nusrat al-Islam, led by Iyad Ag Ghali. The group was formed by the merger of Ansar Dine, the Macina Liberation Front, Al-Mourabitoun and El Hamames Saharan branch of AQIM. The operation was announced as Parly, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian were due to visit Mali, where some 4,500 French troops have been deployed since 2014 to reconquer the north of the country after it fell to jihadist fighters. No Afghan jihadist training Believed to be in his early 40s, El Hamame was part of a younger generation of senior AQIM figures. Unlike Belmokhtar, he was not trained in the Afghan jihadist camps, nor was he a member of the GIA. But that has not stopped his meteoric rise to AQIMs top ranks. In March 2013, he was named as the replacement for Abou Zeid, who was killed in a French military operation in northern Mali, according to Algerian media reports citing Algerian security sources. Before this appointment, El Hamame served as Abou Zeids deputy, during which time he proved to be an able commander and administrator. He was also believed to have excellent knowledge of the southern stretches of the Sahel around northern Mali a factor that analysts believe led to his promotion as Abou Zeids replacement. According to some analysts, El Hamame had good religious training and served as a qadi (judge) in the old GSPC. Story continues During the 1990s civil war, El Hamame served 18 months in an Algerian prison. Following his release, he joined the GSPC and, by the time the group merged with al Qaeda, El Hamame had climbed up the ranks, becoming Abou Zeids deputy. As Abou Zeids number two, he is believed to have conducted Germaneaus execution, a killing that sent shock waves across France. According to Algerian security sources, El Hamame was involved in the 2005 attack against the Lemgheity military barracks in Mauritania, which killed 17 Mauritanian soldiers. The attack which occurred before AQIM was founded marked a turning point for the GSPC since it was the first assault outside Algerian territory. He is also suspected of involvement in the 2009 killing of US aid worker Christopher Leggett, who was shot dead near a school he was heading in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott. Following the March 2012 military coup in Mali, Mauritanian news organisations reported that El Hamame was operating around the northern Malian city of Timbuktu. (FRANCE 24 with AFP) SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) Costa Rica prosecutors have raided the local headquarters of Scotiabank as part of an investigation into purported bribes paid by the Brazilian company Odebrecht to Peruvian former President Alejandro Toledo. Prosecutors say in a statement that the action sought to find information it requested from the bank four times in 2018 but was denied. Scotiabank said Thursday that it has cooperated with authorities and will continue to do so. Toledo was president from 2001 to 2006. Peruvian prosecutors accuse him of taking $20 million in bribes from Odebrecht in exchange for approval to build a road between Brazil and his country. He has denied wrongdoing. Peru has been seeking his extradition from the United States. Chris ODowd has predicted a lot of British people will be looking for Irish passports after Brexit. The Irish comedian and actor, 39, is best known for starring in Channel 4 sitcom The IT Crowd and said Britons will travel to Ireland with their tales between their legs when the UK leaves the European Union. The current date for the departure is March 29. Speaking at the Oscar Wilde Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday, where he was among the honourees, ODowd told the Press Association: I think were going to have a lot more British people in the country, coming with their tales between their legs looking for passports. Comedian and actor Chris ODowd has described Brexit as a mess (Ian West/PA) He added: What a mess you have made of it. ODowd, 39, shot to fame after appearing in Channel 4 comedy The IT Crowd, which first aired in 2006. He has since gone on to appear in a string of Hollywood films, both in comedies such as Bridesmaids and dramas including Mollys Game. His next project is sitcom State Of The Union, alongside Rosamund Pike. ODowd said he enjoys switching between comedy and drama but hinted he was looking forward to more lighthearted roles. He said: Ive never thought about it like that in terms of type of actor, youre just an actor. For a long time comedy jobs were the ones that I got, that was why I was a comedy actor. Glenn Close was among the honourees at the Oscar Wilde Awards in Los Angeles (Jonathan Brady/PA) I ended up doing a bit more drama. I love flipping in and out of both, I love comedy, making people laugh is the most glorious thing in the world. If anything, I want to do a bit more of that, I havent done any, really, for about three or four years. The Oscar Wilde Awards, held by the US-Ireland Alliance, recognise the contributions of Irish people in film, television and music, as well as those with a connection to Ireland. Game Of Thrones star Aidan Gillen was honoured at the Oscar Wilde Awards (Matt Crossick/PA) Alongside ODowd, Oscar-nominated star of The Wife Glenn Close and Game Of Thrones star Aidan Gillen were also honoured. Story continues Close is up for best actress at the 91st Academy Awards on Sunday, in a category also containing British actress Olivia Colman. US star Close said awards season, which has seen her pick up wins at the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards, has been incredible. She said: Im feeling really wonderful, Ive gone to some wonderful events, Ive seen a lot of friends, Ive been buoyed along by this great feeling of love and gratitude. Its been incredible. The Oscar Wilde Awards, named in honour of the 19th century Irish novelist and poet, were held at JJ Abramss Bad Robot offices. The preliminary findings from Finlands basic income experiment are out and they show mixed results. Both advocates and critics of the idea of a universal basic income will find cause for consternation and celebration. Though widely anticipated by basic income enthusiasts, the Finnish experiment will only fuel further debate on whether or not the idea works. The experiment ran for two years from January 2017 and was implemented by a centre-right coalition government. It was motivated by a distaste for costly welfare bureaucracy and a desire to eliminate work disincentives that arise when means-tested benefits are withdrawn as recipients increase their earned income. The idea of basic income is hotly contested around the world. Advocates point to a number of other pluses from the economic benefits to enhancing psychological well-being. Opponents say it is economically unfeasible and will discourage people from doing much-needed work. Yet, despite the intensity of this debate, there was little empirical evidence on the policys effects until now. Although it experienced waves of support going back decades, basic income has never been implemented at the national level. The US state of Alaska has a basic income of sorts since 1982, with a small annual payment to each resident funded as a dividend from the states oil revenue. There were also other policy experiments in North America in the 1960s and 1970s, and more recently in other countries such as Namibia and India. But, for a number of reasons, the existing empirical evidence has limited value in assessing the effects of basic income proper as a fundamental welfare state reform. The resulting uncertainty and lack of any concrete evidence means that critics of a basic income are able to exploit both the publics risk aversion and the favourite bogeyman of the right-wing press: the fabled work-shy benefit scrounger. So the results of the Finnish experiment were highly anticipated, because they might provide a reality check. Story continues The results The Finnish experiment paid 2,000 randomly-selected unemployed people a basic income of 560 per month, equivalent to the lower-tier unemployment benefit which it replaced. Payment was guaranteed to continue, no strings attached, for the full two years of the experiment regardless of whether the individual engaged in job search activities or received income from other sources. Labour market outcomes were analysed, as well as broader indicators of well-being, and were compared with a control group of unemployed people on the existing benefits system. The results show that those pessimistic predictions of a labour market exodus did not transpire. Unfortunately for basic incomes proponents, neither did the more optimistic accounts. Overall, the number of days in employment, and total labour market earnings, were no higher for those receiving the basic income than for those in the control group. This doesnt mean that it had no effects on the labour market. It might be that some people were more likely to find employment and others less likely, with the effects balancing out. From the results presented, we simply do not know. Recipients of the basic income also reported positive effects on their sense of well-being and feelings of trust in other people and the government. But, given that this was self-reported, it may simply reflect a vested interest in stressing the advantages of the policy. Nevertheless, these effects, plus anecdotal evidence of the wider benefits of the unconditional payment, strengthen the case for basic income. Indeed, advocates have always maintained that their argument does not rest on labour market effects and reduced bureaucratic costs. Rather it rests on more fundamental ideas of social justice, freedom and economic security. Some limitations But what is clear is that the findings of Finlands experiment are unlikely to settle the question of whether basic income is desirable. It is likely that both advocates and opponents will seize on the results as supporting evidence for their positions, as was the case with the North American experiments. In the end this impasse around basic income reflects the irreconcilable beliefs of supporters and critics regarding their views of fairness and the primacy of work in social organisation. The realities of how the labour market is actually affected play second fiddle to these concerns. So it would be surprising indeed if these fairly modest findings were to move anyone from a deeply held position. Another set of reasons that the results will not resolve the controversy relates to limitations in experimental design. The study only focuses on the unemployed, so we remain in the dark about how basic income might affect the desire of other groups to work, or the broader societal benefits associated with a basic income being universal. Another core feature was the low level of payment, which meant many recipients still had to apply for additional unemployment benefits if they were entitled to them just as they did before. Thus, the majority of people in the treatment group did not benefit from the lower bureaucracy and freedom that basic income is meant to bring. A final limitation is that the experiment did not try and model the effects of the tax changes that would be required to finance a universal basic income. Yet, tax rises are a constraint that most advocates accept as a practical political reality. It should be emphasised that these are only preliminary findings, with further analysis to follow later in the spring and again next year. But, it seems likely that insights generated by the Finnish experiment will inevitably fall short of the expectations and hopes of many following the debate. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The Conversation Luke Martinelli receives funding from Google Deepmind. This was provided as an unconditional donation to my employer, the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath. The Japanese government is extending 3.2 billion yen in grant assistance to the Philippines for peace and development projects in Mindanao, the Department of Finance said Friday. The grant is on top of its $202-million loan for the Road Network Development Project in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao. Japan announced the assistance during the 7th meeting of the Japan-Philippines Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation held in Osaka on Thursday. Philippine officials led by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III discussed with their Japanese counterparts ways to further expand their cooperation and address implementation bottlenecks in the Duterte administrations Build, Build, Build infrastructure projects and in supporting peace-building initiatives in Mindanao following the recent ratification of the organic law establishing a new Bangsamoro region in the South. The 3.2 billion yen grant includes 1.8 billion yen for the construction of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority training centers in the damaged city of Marawi, and the provinces of Basilan and Sultan Kudarat under the Program for the Urgent Improvement of Socioeconomic Infrastructure in the Bangsamoro Region.Another 560 million yen will fund the purchase of well-drilling machines and underground water detecting machines under the Economic and Social Development Program and 200 million yen for the provision of livelihood assistance in agriculture and for fishers through the Food and Agriculture Organization. The loan will also provide 300 million yen for the development of water facilities in the Bangsamoro region through the International Labor Organization and 340 million yen for the provision of vehicles and equipment through the United Nations Development Program. The Catholic church for centuries has been a monolith organisation that never judged the conduct of its clergy. Over the decades scandals surrounding the conduct of priests all over the world have been reported but the church has always closed ranks and denied them. Last year in far away India the Bishop of Punjab was accused of raping a nun repeatedly. After some turmoil, he was arrested and is now facing trial but the Church again has closed ranks and come out in favour of the bishop and is reportedly harassing the nuns who filed the complaints. ABC News has now reported that after thousands of cases of clerical sexual abuse (including those against minors) an unprecedented summit has been called to discuss the issue. Pope Francis Pope Francis has recognised the problem which for too long has been denied by the church. He has said that the Catholics are not looking for a simple condemnation but concrete action. Nearly 200 Catholic leaders have gathered in Vatican city. The Pope who heads the Catholic faith has said that all of the assembled may lend an ear to the holy spirit and the "cry of the small ones who are asking for justice". Allegations of exploitation by the priests of young children are one of the causes of holding this unprecedented summit. CNN has reported that the summit will include two speeches by Pope Francis and in addition, small groups of Bishops will be holding group discussions. The Catholic church has shown that it can change with the times and all credit must go to Pope Francis of having recognised the problem of sexual misconduct and exploitation of minors which has been heard from all over the world. Celibacy The Catholic faith insists on celibacy for its priests and nuns who form the backbone of the faith and it requires a strong moral strength not to be tempted. Unfortunately, this has resulted in a plethora of sexual misconduct cases that have been reported every year. The Pope will be discussing this aspect of priesthood. There is widespread evidence that sexual exploitation is rampant in many religions, some time back a Hindu Tantrik was sentenced to 25 years jail for seducing a disciple. Way forward The Pope must, however, be congratulated for accepting there is a problem and it needs to be addressed. After the Pope spoke the assembled church leaders watched video testimonies from several victims some of them as young as 15 who claimed they were abused by priests. Earlier the Pope had also spoken out against gender disparity. A conference of the clergy by itself may not solve the problem but it's a step forward. However, to change the mindset of the clergy will not be an easy task. As always Ferne was busy with work, motherhood and after two years of being single Ferne also got back in the dating game. After an offer of two dates last week from; "Love Island's" Charlie Brake and old friend Liam "Gatsby" Blackwell, Ferne was excited to go on a date and enjoy a bit of a flirt. However, the prospect of dating after two years alone and now being a single mother, Ferne was finding it hard "I need to stop listening to everyone and go with my gut" Ferne told her friend Danielle. In the end, Ferne played it safe and only went on a date with "Gatsby," who she had previously been on a helicopter date with a few years ago. Annie the Sleep Nanny Just like the "Mummy Diaries" Bille Faires and Greg Sheppard did with their oldest; Nelly who was having trouble sleeping in her own bed, Ferne decided to follow suit and called in "Annie the Sleep Nanny" to help with baby Sunday. Ferne candidly told the camera "I have never ever put Sunday to sleep in her own cot," which certainly showed as Sunday began to immediately cry once Ferne put her down in her cot after her bedtime bottle. However, Ferne's worries were validated by Annie who's services extended to staying the night to help the new mum get used to a new routine. Eventually, after an hour of Sunday's tears, she fell asleep, and Ferne was happy that she had stuck it out. Sunday slept through the night until it was time for Ferne to wake her, while Annie continued to advise the single mum on how to continue with her new routine. Back to Brentwood Ferne, baby Sunday and "Travel Buddy" Carl decided to take a break from the chaos of life and headed for a holiday in Dubai. Ferne and Carl both hoped that Sunday would sleep throughout the seven-hour flight, despite her "Stoppy" behaviour in the taxi on the way to the airport "I don't wanna be that parent with the screaming baby." But despite a free upgrade to business class, Sunday's unhappiness continued "I'm close to tears" Ferne told her personal camera, in true Ferne fashion as she continued to be candid about the struggles of single motherhood. Sunday eventually fell into a deep sleep shortly before the plane landed, "Screamed for two hours and now she won't even wake up" joked Carl. Once in Dubai, a well-rested Sunday was able to enjoy her holiday as the trio headed down to the pool, hilariously wearing matching swimwear. Ferne also opened up the world of animals to Sunday as she took her to an aquarium for the first time and later the mother and daughter shared a camel ride together. After a well-needed rest from everyday life, they headed home, where Ferne was able to catch up with her mum Jill who had recently returned from an Australian holiday herself "She cannot ever go away for that long again," and also saw Sunday make improvements in the walking department after taking her first steps in last weeks episode. Tyler, TX (75702) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 91F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Scattered clouds with the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm developing overnight. Low 73F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Peter Tork, best known as the bassist and keyboardist for The Monkees, has died aged 77. In 2009, he was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare cancer of the salivary glands. Torks death was announced on his Facebook and Twitter pages, with his family releasing a statement saying he had died peacefully at his home in Connecticut. Peters energy, intelligence, silliness, and curiosity were traits that for decades brought laughter and enjoyment to millions, including those of us closest to him, the familys statement read. Those traits also equipped him well to take on cancer, a condition he met with unwavering humour and courage. Tork featured in two seasons of The Monkees from 1966. The show and its stars, fronted by Davy Jones, became overnight sensations including international tours. Tork was a proficient musician, and though the group was not allowed to play their own instruments on their first two albums. He left the band in 1968 citing exhaustion and a gruelling schedule. I am told he slipped away peacefully, bandmate Mike Nesmith told Rolling Stone in a statement. Yet, as I write this my tears are awash, and my heart is broken. Even though I am clinging to the idea that we all continue, the pain that attends these passings has no cure. Both Nesmith and Dolenz are still touring as The Monkees. Davy Jones died in 2012. There are no words right nowheart broken over the loss of my Monkee brother, Peter Tork. #petertork #themonkees @TorkTweet pic.twitter.com/C8SwoA8pEV Micky Dolenz (@TheMickyDolenz1) February 21, 2019 Source: ABC Related Report: Daily Free-to-Air Share Channels: All Free-to-Air Channels Market: 5 City Metro (aggregate figure) Demographics: Total People Day-part: 18:00 24:00 Day: Thursday Deliverable: Overnight, Consolidated 7 and Consolidated 28 Channel Overnight Consolidated 7 Consolidated 28 21/02/2019 14/02/2019 24/01/2019 ABC 12.2% 12.0% 9.2% ABC KIDS/COMEDY 3.3% 2.7% 2.0% ABC ME 0.7% 0.5% 0.6% ABC NEWS 1.6% 1.4% 1.4% ABC Network 17.8% 16.6% 13.1% Seven 20.4% 19.3% 19.5% 7TWO 2.8% 3.3% 3.7% 7mate 3.6% 3.8% 3.0% 7flix 2.9% 2.8% 2.3% 7food network 1.7% 1.5% 1.1% Seven Network 31.5% 30.7% 29.6% Nine 15.7% 17.7% 22.4% 9GO! 4.0% 3.1% 3.1% 9Gem 3.1% 2.9% 3.5% 9Life 1.9% 1.8% 2.1% Nine Network 24.7% 25.5% 31.1% 10 12.1% 13.7% 13.2% 10 Bold 3.6% 4.1% 3.7% 10 Peach 2.3% 2.4% 2.2% Network 10 18.0% 20.2% 19.2% SBS 4.8% 4.3% 4.7% SBS VICELAND 1.7% 1.1% 1.1% SBS Food 1.5% 1.3% 1.0% NITV 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% SBS Network 8.0% 7.0% 7.0% Report: Top 20 Programs Channels: All Free-to-Air Market: 5 City Metro (aggregate figure), Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide & Perth Demographics: Total People Day-part: 02:00 26:00 Day: Thursday Date: 21/02/2019 Deliverable: Overnight Rank Description (grouped) Channel \Network (r) 5 City Metro Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth 1 SEVEN NEWS Seven Network 884,000 216,000 238,000 189,000 93,000 148,000 2 SEVEN NEWS / TODAY TONIGHT Seven Network 851,000 215,000 223,000 201,000 80,000 131,000 3 NINE NEWS 6:30 Nine 817,000 268,000 267,000 158,000 57,000 67,000 4 NINE NEWS Nine 817,000 262,000 269,000 165,000 55,000 66,000 5 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 678,000 216,000 221,000 131,000 52,000 58,000 6 ABC NEWS-EV ABC 655,000 188,000 204,000 112,000 63,000 88,000 7 GOGGLEBOX Network 10 650,000 176,000 221,000 115,000 63,000 74,000 8 HOME AND AWAY Seven Network 577,000 159,000 166,000 131,000 44,000 77,000 9 7.30-EV ABC 555,000 174,000 184,000 88,000 55,000 55,000 10 YOUNG SHELDON Nine 531,000 155,000 140,000 120,000 55,000 61,000 11 THE CHASE AUSTRALIA Seven Network 495,000 127,000 126,000 118,000 48,000 76,000 12 ESCAPE FROM THE CITY-EV ABC 477,000 125,000 166,000 73,000 49,000 64,000 13 YOUNG SHELDON -RPT Nine 471,000 132,000 130,000 99,000 49,000 62,000 14 MS FISHER MODERN MURDER MYSTERIES Seven Network 463,000 115,000 148,000 79,000 50,000 71,000 15 HOT SEAT Nine 443,000 135,000 145,000 106,000 27,000 30,000 16 THE PROJECT 7PM Network 10 365,000 86,000 117,000 79,000 36,000 48,000 17 GRAND DESIGNS AUSTRALIA-EV ABC 352,000 86,000 132,000 57,000 34,000 43,000 18 THE CHASE AUSTRALIA-5PM Seven Network 326,000 95,000 83,000 76,000 30,000 42,000 19 10 NEWS FIRST Network 10 326,000 85,000 94,000 63,000 33,000 50,000 20 SUNRISE Seven Network 299,000 74,000 73,000 78,000 37,000 38,000 Report: Top 20 Programs Channels: All free-to-air Multi Channels Market: 5 City Metro (aggregate figure), Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide & Perth Demographics: Total People Day-part: 02:00 26:00 Day: Thursday Date: 21/02/2019 Deliverable: Overnight Rank Description (grouped) Channel \Market (r) 5 City Metro Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth 1 BEN AND HOLLYS LITTLE KINGDOM-EV ABCKIDS/COMEDY 175,000 46,000 43,000 42,000 25,000 19,000 2 PETER RABBIT-EV ABCKIDS/COMEDY 163,000 41,000 40,000 45,000 20,000 17,000 3 OCTONAUTS-EV ABCKIDS/COMEDY 154,000 37,000 46,000 39,000 12,000 19,000 4 BLUEY-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 151,000 33,000 34,000 35,000 17,000 31,000 5 DEATH IN PARADISE -EV 9Gem 148,000 26,000 43,000 27,000 29,000 24,000 6 PEPPA PIG-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 145,000 32,000 36,000 38,000 15,000 25,000 7 DINO DANA-EV ABCKIDS/COMEDY 139,000 35,000 23,000 38,000 23,000 19,000 8 RUSTY RIVETS-EV ABCKIDS/COMEDY 137,000 32,000 36,000 33,000 13,000 22,000 9 GO JETTERS-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 134,000 36,000 31,000 35,000 14,000 18,000 10 SCHOOL OF ROARS-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 133,000 26,000 33,000 38,000 16,000 20,000 11 M- X-MEN-PM 7mate 131,000 39,000 42,000 25,000 8,000 16,000 12 ANDYS WILD ADVENTURES-EV ABCKIDS/COMEDY 130,000 28,000 32,000 29,000 27,000 14,000 13 KIDDETS-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 130,000 26,000 35,000 33,000 16,000 21,000 14 NCIS RPT 10 Bold 126,000 55,000 26,000 11,000 14,000 19,000 15 SHAUN THE SHEEP-EV ABCKIDS/COMEDY 125,000 20,000 36,000 23,000 34,000 13,000 16 PEPPA PIG-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 123,000 21,000 40,000 28,000 18,000 16,000 17 SURVIVOR: EDGE OF EXTINCTION 9GO! 123,000 24,000 43,000 29,000 11,000 16,000 18 HEY DUGGEE-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 123,000 24,000 33,000 29,000 22,000 14,000 19 FATHER BROWN-PM 7TWO 120,000 30,000 33,000 10,000 21,000 26,000 20 THE HIVE-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 119,000 24,000 24,000 29,000 19,000 23,000 Free to Air: 25-54 demographics (Overnight) Rank Description (grouped) Channel \Network (r) 5 City Metro Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth 1 GOGGLEBOX Network 10 371,000 102,000 127,000 65,000 36,000 42,000 2 SEVEN NEWS Seven Network 237,000 69,000 60,000 48,000 19,000 40,000 3 NINE NEWS 6:30 Nine 235,000 85,000 68,000 46,000 17,000 20,000 4 SEVEN NEWS / TODAY TONIGHT Seven Network 227,000 68,000 55,000 51,000 18,000 34,000 5 NINE NEWS Nine 225,000 79,000 69,000 44,000 14,000 20,000 Free to Air: 18-49 demographics (Overnight) Rank Description (grouped) Channel \Network (r) 5 City Metro Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth 1 GOGGLEBOX Network 10 333,000 99,000 106,000 63,000 28,000 37,000 2 HOME AND AWAY Seven Network 197,000 68,000 61,000 32,000 9,000 27,000 3 NINE NEWS 6:30 Nine 190,000 75,000 51,000 35,000 13,000 16,000 4 SEVEN NEWS Seven Network 189,000 62,000 47,000 33,000 12,000 35,000 5 NINE NEWS Nine 184,000 62,000 54,000 38,000 11,000 20,000 Free to Air: 16-39 demographics (Overnight) Rank Description (grouped) Channel \Network (r) 5 City Metro Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth 1 GOGGLEBOX Network 10 201,000 69,000 56,000 40,000 16,000 19,000 2 HOME AND AWAY Seven Network 122,000 34,000 40,000 19,000 7,000 21,000 3 SEVEN NEWS Seven Network 107,000 36,000 32,000 12,000 7,000 20,000 4 YOUNG SHELDON Nine 107,000 27,000 24,000 26,000 13,000 17,000 5 SEVEN NEWS / TODAY TONIGHT Seven Network 100,000 33,000 28,000 16,000 6,000 17,000 Report: Top 20 Programs Channels: All Subscription Channels Market: National STV Demographics: Total People Day-part: 02:00 26:00 Day: Thursday Date: 21/02/2019 Deliverable: Overnight Rank Description Channel \Market (r) National STV 1 RON IDDLES: THE GOOD COP crime + investigation 80,000 2 GOLD RUSH Discovery Channel 65,000 3 PAUL MURRAY LIVE Sky News Live 60,000 4 OUTBACK OPAL HUNTERS Discovery Channel 60,000 5 CALL THE MIDWIFE BBC First 56,000 6 THE BOLT REPORT Sky News Live 54,000 7 PML LATER Sky News Live 50,000 8 AUSSIE GOLD HUNTERS Discovery Channel 43,000 9 CRIMINAL MINDS TVH!TS 39,000 10 HOMICIDE HUNTER crime + investigation 33,000 11 CONROY & KROGER Sky News Live 32,000 12 BONES TVH!TS 32,000 13 RON IDDLES: THE GOOD COP crime + investigation 31,000 14 NCIS TVH!TS 31,000 15 PJ MASKS Disney Junior 29,000 16 REAL DETECTIVE crime + investigation 28,000 17 PAW PATROL Nick Jr. 27,000 18 THE SIMPSONS FOX8 27,000 19 SHIMMER AND SHINE Nick Jr. 26,000 20 AMERICAN DAD! FOX8 26,000 OzTAM Pty Limited 2019. The Data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) without the prior written consent of OzTAM. Program performance and ranking information subject to change when not based on final program logs. Ranking information is for individual episodes. Includes Preliminary data. Related On Mondays Four Corners, Criminalising Women, produced by Janine Cohen, investigates why so many women are going to jail. Were criminalising more women than ever before. Prisoner rights activist. I have been to prison five times I have been to prison for break and enter, driving while disqualified, driving under the influence of ice and escape police custody. Bekki. Bekki has just walked out of prison after serving a six-month jail sentence. The cameras are rolling as she takes her first steps. Its great to be outIve got some underwear, some papers and $50 and thats it. Bekki. Shes part of a fast growing group of criminals sentenced to jail in Australia. Across the nation, there are now more women in prison than ever before. And once theyre out theyre very likely to reoffend and end up back inside. Ive been to prison four times. I was in prison for drug dealing. The hardest thing about staying out of prison is dealing with the isolation, the judgements, the stigma. Fran. On Monday Four Corners investigates why so many women are going to jail by meeting three women who know exactly what its like. Womens prisons are filled with stories of people like me. Bekki. Filmed over three months, Bekki, Fran and Donna give raw and compelling accounts of their lives as they begin again on the outside. I need a job and I need a job fast. I am willing to do anything, you know, clean toilets if I have to. I dont care. Fran. Each one must overcome their own demons while convincing the world around them that they are worth another chance. I have been to prison more than 30 timesThe hardest thing for me to stay out of prison is being judged for my criminal history. Donna. The vast majority of women who land in prison have been physically or sexually abused. Many have turned to drugs, and then a life of crime. Their chances of rehabilitation are made harder as they often struggle to find work, housing and support on the outside. No one wants to employ you when theres 100 other applicants that dont have criminal records. So why would they want to employ you? Sometimes I feel like Im just beating my head against a brick wall. Fran. The camera captures the highs and lows as they search for accommodation and a job. It would be lovely to be able to help her, shes a person that is in housing need. Its really sad and you know you want to help everybody [but] you cant. Emergency Housing co-ordinator. Despite their troubled histories, Bekki, Fran and Donna make progress. Their experiences give real insight into how to break the cycle. Its a whole new chapter in my life absolutely. Only good things come from here. Ive got such a good feeling. Ive got such a good feeling, theres hope, its given me hope. Fran. Monday 25th February at 8.30pm on ABC. Related Police in north-central Vietnam have detained a man suspected of unintentionally killing another man after mistaking him for a forest chicken while the two were hunting earlier this week. Law enforcement said Trieu Van Minh, 35, was carrying a gun he built himself to hunt in the mountains of Thanh Hoa Province around 6:00 am on Monday. Meanwhile, another local man, D., was also searching for game nearby. When D., 24, began playing the sound of junglefowls on his cellphone as a decoy, Minh pointed his gun at the bush where D. was hiding and pulled the trigger. Minh then came to the bush to collect his prey, only to find that D. was lying unconscious and bleeding. D. was taken by Minh and local residents to a hospital but he later died. Minh turned himself in to police on the same day. The last death caused by a hunter mistaking another for a wild animal was reported a year ago, in late February 2018, in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A father was stabbed to death by a man who accused him of kidnapping his own son in Vietnams Mekong Delta on Thursday. The incident happened at a park in Hau Nghia Town, Duc Hoa District, Long An Province, according to Truong Minh Khanh, chairman of the Hau Nghia Peoples Committee. Preliminary information showed that the victim, 28-year-old L.H.B., was taking a walk and playing with his child at the park at around 5:10 pm. A lottery ticket seller walked by and immediately shouted, Kidnapper, kidnapper, apparently believing that B. was trying to abduct the kid. Nguyen Ngoc Hai Dien, 26, who was drinking beer nearby, rushed to the scene and stopped the kidnapping. Although the father attempted to explain the situation, Dien insisted that they go to the local police station for verification. When B. did not agree, an argument broke out. Dien then ran inside a nearby shop, grabbed a knife, and stabbed B. in the chest. The victim was admitted to the hospital for emergency treatment but eventually succumbed to his wounds. Police officers have probed the scene, carried out an autopsy, and arrested Dien to assist their investigation. This is not the first time a mistaken kidnapping has led to death in Vietnam. In late October 2018, a 33-year-old man with a mental illness was beaten to death by a group of five men in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak. The men thought the victim was trying to kidnap a little girl. They were later apprehended by officers under the provincial Department of Police. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! T-shirts featuring portraits of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are a hot new souvenir for tourists and residents in Hanoi ahead of the much-anticipated second summit planned to be held between the two personalities in the Vietnamese capital next week. President Trump and Chairman Kim are poised to meet in Hanoi on February 27-28, their second meeting in less than a year after a historic summit in Singapore on June 12, 2018. As preparations for the summit intensify in the Vietnamese capital, local businesses are capitalizing on a rare opportunity to rev up sales by launching products and services inspired by the high-profile leaders. On Hang Bong Street in Hoan Kiem District, visitors are surrounded by T-shirts adorned with images of President Trump and Chairman Kim selling for as little as VND100,000 (US$4.30) apiece. T-shirts printed with images of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are sold at a clothing store in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Hien / Tuoi Tre Most of those [who pass by my shop] smile when they see the T-shirts, said Truong Thanh Duc, the owner of a clothing store on Hang Bong Street. Many tourists are amused by the shirts and its a huge motivation for me, he said. According to Duc, such T-shirts have only been on sale since Thursday morning but they are already one of the stores best-sellers. A best-selling T-shirt design featuring portraits of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on top of the words PEACE and Hanoi Vietnam 2019. Photo: Nguyen Hien / Tuoi Tre Two hundred souvenir summit T-shirts were sold on Thursday alone, with the most popular design featuring portraits of both leaders on top of the words PEACE and Hanoi Vietnam 2019, Duc said. Michael Landa, an American tourist, said the T-shirts give him hope that President Trump and Chairman Kim will be able to create peace between the two nations. Michael Landa, an American tourist, poses for a photo in front of souvenir T-shirts that mark the DPRK-USA Hanoi Summit in Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Hien / Tuoi Tre Not only T-shirt sellers but other businesses in Vietnams capital are also cashing in on the second summit between the two leaders. One Hanoi barber is offering free haircuts to anyone wanting to copy Trump and Kims distinctive locks. Bars in Hanoi are getting creative by offering cocktails with punny names to mark the high-stakes diplomacy. Kim Jong Ale, a beer inspired by the pure streams of Mount Paektu, and Peace Negroniations, a summit-inspired take on the classic Negroni cocktail, are two of the special drinks tourists can find these days at bars in Hanoi. A tourist poses for a photo in front of souvenir T-shirts that mark the DPRK-USA Hanoi Summit in Vietnam. Photo: Nguyen Hien / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Authorities in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong will turn a 4,000-hectare nature area in the capital city of Da Lat, where the famous Lonely Pine Tree is situated, into a national tourist site by 2025. The site, named after Dan Kia - Suoi Vang Lake, consists of Suoi Vang lake, a forest, and a grass field within the Golden Valley area bordering the Langbiang world biosphere reserve. It is located about 18.5 kilometers northwest of Da Lat and is famous for its unique Lonely Pine Tree, a newly-emerged must-visit destination. The pine tree which made the site well known stands in solitude in the middle of an empty grass field just off the bank of the lake. In order to access the area, visitors are required to drive about an hour from the city and take a forest trail into the area. The provincial Peoples Committee announced on Thursday that the Dan Kia - Suoi Vang site will be transformed into a national tourist area by 2025. According to the plan, about 760 hectares of the site will be used to build tourist infrastructure. The place is expected to welcome approximately three million visitors, including 56,000 international tourists, by 2025. By 2030, it will have welcomed about five million visitors, of whom 100,000 will be from foreign countries. Phan Van Da, deputy chairman of the Lam Dong administration, asked competent authorities to take certain measures to protect the site. Deforestation within the area will be banned. Illegal construction or building not for tourism purposes will also be prohibited, vice-chairman Da asserted. Local agricultural activities should also be closely monitored, the official added. Dan Kia - Suoi Vang will be Lam Dong Provinces second national tourist site. In January 18, the 320-hectare Tuyen Lam Lake, located about seven kilometers from downtown Da Lat, was granted the title. The lake is situated southeast of the Truc Lam Zen Monastery, another popular landmark of Da Lat which can easily be reached by cable car from the downtown area. Vietnam currently has 21 national tourist areas. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The famous impersonator of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a Donald Trump lookalike were seen in Hanoi, the venue for next weeks second U.S.- North Korea summit, on Friday, capturing public and media attention. The doppelgangers met up and shook hands in front of the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel on Ngo Quyen Street in the Vietnamese capital in the afternoon, five days ahead of the second U.S.- North Korea summit in Hanoi. The professional lookalike of the North Korean leader is Australian Howard X, whereas the Donald Trump doppelganger is Russell White from Canada. The impersonators, donning typical costumes of the high-profile leaders, hired their own bodyguards and acted as if they were the real versions. After taking questions from the press, the two quickly left the hotel for the Hanoi Opera House. The presence of White and Howard X attracted a lot of attention from international media as the real Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump are expected to convene their second summit in Hanoi on February 27 and 28. Hong Kong-born Howard X, 38, became internationally popular after appearing at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, dressing up as the North Korean leader. The Kim Jong Un lookalike also arrived in Singapore in June 2018 ahead of the first Trump-Kim summit in the city-state. On that occasion, he also met an impersonator of Donald Trump, but it was Dennis Alan, a 64-year-old man from Chicago, who dressed up as the U.S. president. Howard X told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he hoped the two leaders would find a common voice at the upcoming meeting, as they both have similar personalities. President Trump focuses more on the relationship between people rather than politics, thus they will get along well, Howard X stated. Preparations for the high-profile summit have been beefed up in Hanoi as the event is less than a week away. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Tuesday afternoon chaired a meeting to review all preparations for the upcoming summit. The fact that Vietnam was chosen to host the second Trump-Kim summit continues to underline our countrys growing international stature, and reflects Vietnams active role and contribution in international matters, Phuc said at the meeting. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Administrators in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau announced a decision on Thursday to transport the garbage piling up on the nearby islands of Con Dao to the mainland for proper treatment. Over VND35 billion (US$1.51 million) is expected to be earmarked for the project, which will involve compressing and shipping nearly 100,000 metric tons of garbage from Con Dao to the mainland, according to the provinces deputy chairman Le Tuan Quoc. Con Dao are administered as a district of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. The waste is expected to be pressed into 450kg bales before being loaded onto ships for transport, Quoc added. A man looks at the landfill on Con Dao Islands, off the southern Vietnamese coast, in late 2018. Photo: Dong Ha / Tuoi Tre Garbage overflows the landfill on Con Dao Islands, off the southern Vietnamese coast. Photo: Dong Ha / Tuoi Tre Le Van Phong, chairman of the district, said the 3,800-square-meter landfill on the islands have been overloaded after nearly two decades of use. The islands' garbage is now being treated via incineration but the facility can handle only five metric tons a day, about one-third of the total, he said. The rudimentary dumping ground is also emitting an unpleasant stench and threatening the safety of underground water and the nearby beach. The waste, mostly plastic, is piled in massive heaps in the vicinity of a historical structure commemorating the escape of 198 Vietnamese imprisoned during French colonial rule in 1952. It is still unclear when the first batch of garbage from Con Dao will be transported ashore for treatment. Workers move garbage at an incineration plant on Con Dao Islands, off the southern Vietnamese coast. Photo: Dong Ha / Tuoi Tre Garbage at the landfill on Con Dao Islands, off the southern Vietnamese coast. Photo: Dong Ha / Tuoi Tre A historical commemorative structure near the landfill on Con Dao Islands, off the southern Vietnamese coast. Photo: Dong Ha / Tuoi Tre A man prays at a historical commemorative structure near the landfill on Con Dao Islands, off the southern Vietnamese coast. Photo: Dong Ha / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A female gas station attendant was punched in the face by an as yet unidentified customer for over-pumping fuel into the tank of his motorbike in southern Vietnam on Tuesday. Nguyen Thi H. suffered a broken nasal bone and bad bruises around one of her eyes during an unexpected incident at the filling station where she works on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. The incident was captured by the facilitys CCTV cameras. When a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper journalist met H. on Friday, four days after she was hit, her nose still looked swollen and the bruises were quite noticeable. She said a man riding a Honda SH scooter registered in Ho Chi Minh City visited the gas station around 10:20 am on Tuesday. As she refilled his tank, H. accidentally let the container overflow. Even though the attendant quickly apologized, the man landed a punch onto her face, according to her account. The blow left her feeling dizzy and her nose bleeding, she said. Attendant Nguyen Thi H. (in blue) covers her face with a hand after a customer punched her when his tank had overflowed at a gas station in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, southern Vietnam, February 19, 2019, in this screenshot taken from CCTV footage. His strike was just stinging. Blood kept coming out of my nose, and covered all my face. It was completely numb then, she recalled. She was taken to a hospital where a doctor said she sustained injuries to other parts of the head and a broken nasal bone. H. said she had experienced headache and giddiness over the past few days. I could not sleep during the first night due to a fever, she added. The man, wearing a face mask, left the station with a woman and a young child after the incident, according to the CCTV footage. The station where Nguyen Thi H. works is pictured in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: Dong Ha / Tuoi Tre A representative of the filling station said after H. was beaten, her manager ran out of the office and asked what had happened but the customer looked aggressive and threatened to attack him. The station manager was so busy taking her to the hospital that no prompt report to police was made. But police are looking for the man now, the representative added. H., 27, lives with her mother in a house built with money donated by benefactors on a piece of land borrowed from her uncle in Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Nguyen Thi H. recounts what happened to her at the gas station. Photo: Dong Ha / Tuoi Tre Following her fathers death last year, she has been the breadwinner, earning VND5 million (US$215) a month as an attendant at the gas station. Now I just want to be healthy again and make money to take care of my mother and younger sibling, she said, failing to hold back tears. I hope authorities would find the man who punched me because there may be more other women having been hit by him. A customer punches attendant Nguyen Thi H. (in blue) at a gas station in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, southern Vietnam, February 19, 2019, in this CCTV footage. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Read what is in the news today, February 22! Society -- Household garbage on Con Dao, a famous tourist island off the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, will be transported to the mainland for disposal instead of being dumped at its already full landfill, the provincial administration said on Thursday. -- A father playing with his son in a public park was stabbed to death by a drunk man who thought the victim was a kidnapper in Ho Chi Minh Citys neighboring province of Long An late Thursday afternoon. -- A video purportedly showing a man in the northern province of Thanh Hoa hit his eight-year-old daughter with a bamboo stick, leaving bruises all over her body, surfaced on social media on Wednesday, prompting police to verify the case. -- A woman over 30 was found dead and half-nude around 10:00 am in a rural area of the south-central province of Ninh Thuan on Thursday, with police suspecting that she died of head injuries after being raped. -- Police in the northern province of Son La confirmed Thursday they found a decomposing male body in a pool while checking the house of a local man who killed himself with a gun the day before. Business -- Low-cost Malaysian airline AirAsia will operate flights between the economically rising Can Tho City in southern Vietnam and Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur in early April, the municipal culture and tourism department head said Thursday. -- The deputy head of a livestock farming association in the southern province of Dong Nai on Thursday called on authorities to strictly check pigs carried from northern areas to the locality, which is next to the market of Ho Chi Minh City, to prevent the spread of African swine fever. -- Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank has warned bank holders against accessing a fake link to the lenders website sent by a Facebook user who said they would receive half of $7.3 million if they logged in on the site with the link. -- Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup will grant 1,100 full scholarships for abroad master and PhD study in technologically advanced countries to Vietnamese people in a 11-year period starting in 2019. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A number of local cultural heritage sites and architectural landmarks in Ho Chi Minh City are in dire need of preservation, researchers said at a panel discussion in the southern metropolis on Thursday. The event, named Sai Gon Pho, literally translated as Saigon Streets, served as a forum to solicit ideas from architects, experts, and researchers associated with relevant departments and agencies with the goal of finding solutions for maintaining the citys heritage sites. Researcher Tran Huu Phuc Ties speech at the event, organized by the Architecture Research Center under the municipal Department of Urban Planning and Architecture, pointed out ten specific landmarks of Ho Chi Minh City in dire need of conservation. One of the areas Tien highlighted was the bank of the Saigon River, a landmark he says is an important reflection of the city's historical dependence on the river. Something must be done to highlight the old and new neighborhoods built on both sides of the river, similar to what other big cities have done, he underlined. The second area Tien discussed was a stretch of neighborhood between Signal Mast, or Cot Co Thu Ngu in Vietnamese, and the intersection of Dinh Tien Hoang with Ton Duc Thang Streets. Ton Duc Thang Street is seen in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Gia Tien / Tuoi Tre Other areas in need of conservation include the iconic Ben Thanh Market, the current headquarters of the Vietnam Railways company, and several streets located in the city center such as Phan Boi Chau and Phan Chu Trinh. In terms of preserving iconic French colonial architecture in the city, Tien pointed out that The Saigon Central Post Office, the headquarters of the Ho Chi Minh City branch of the State Bank of Vietnam, Cao Thang Vocational School, Le Hong Phong High School, the Municipal Theater of Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Khoi Street, and Binh Tay and Cho Lon Markets are also in need of upkeep. Ben Thanh Market is seen in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Gia Tien / Tuoi Tre Likewise, architect Cao Thanh Nghiep suggested the conservation of Binh Loi Iron Railway Bridge in Binh Thanh District, which was the first of its kind to cross the Saigon River when it was built in 1902. Experts at Thursdays event agreed that the citys tourism industry can bring in more cash by preserving these iconic locations, rather than replacing them. Particularly, Singaporean architect Monty Tejam gave several examples of heritage conservation creating jobs in countries such as Sweden, Australia, and Norway. Visitors, who are interested in heritage, stay longer and spend more money in places where there are heritage sites, said Tejam. The Ho Chi Minh Citys post office is seen in District 1. Photo: Gia Tien / Tuoi Tre Adding to Tejams insights, a research group from the Architecture Research Center presented surveys showing that Ho Chi Minh City areas where heritage buildings are located tend to be visited more often by tourists. Cafes, restaurants, and eateries in these places also appeal to holidaymakers. Dr. Nguyen Luu Bao Doan from the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh said it is more important for the heritage sites to live on their own income rather than to rely on state budgets, suggesting that those charged with heritage conservation should partner with the private sector. According Doan, private investment should be encouraged so that conservation can benefit both the public and investors. The Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon in District 1 is pictured at sunset. Photo: Gia Tien / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! SYDNEY -- Australia sought to calm investors on Friday about the state of bilateral ties with China following a ban on coal imports at the northern port of Dalian, as coal stocks fell and the local dollar remained under pressure. The Australian currency dropped more than 1 percent to a 10-day low of $0.7070 on Thursday after Reuters reported that customs at the Chinese port had banned imports of Australias biggest export earner since the start of February. China is the largest buyer of Australian coal, taking 89 million tonnes last year, worth A$15 billion ($10.7 billion), according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Ties between the two countries were strained in 2017 when Canberra accused Beijing of meddling in its domestic affairs, and the relationship suffered another setback last year when Australia banned Chinas Huawei from its 5G broadband network. Australia has asked its ambassador to China, Jan Adams, to seek urgent clarification, the government said, while lawmakers and the central bank said the port move may not be related to bilateral ties. I wouldnt jump yet to the conclusion that this is something directed to Australia, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe told a parliamentary economics committee. It may well turn out to be that its being driven by concerns about the environment in China and the profitability of the coking coal industry in China, he said in response to lawmakers questions. Shares in Australian coal miners, however, fell at the open on Friday amid broad weakness in the resources sector. Stanmore Coal fell more than 7 percent at one point as it said was monitoring the situation to determine whether there would be any impact on its coal sales. New Hope Corp fell more than 4 percent, while shares in Whitehaven were down more than 4 percent and Yancoal more than 3 percent even though both miners said they were not impacted directly. Major coal producer Glencore ended down 3.2 percent in London overnight, but BHP Group, Australias biggest metcoal producer, was down just 0.1 percent. When decisions like this have been made in the past at local port level, it was related to domestic supply related issues, environmental issues at a local level, Mathias Cormann, Minister for Finance told Sky News. It was unrelated with anything to do with the bilateral relationship between Australia and China. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday that customs were inspecting and testing coal imports for safety and quality, and the move was completely normal. Username: Password: or Register Back to Forum Reply to This post Post New Thread Thread Rating: 2 Vote(s) - 3 Average 1 2 3 4 5 Page: 1 2 3 Moscow accuses U.S of sending special forces to Venezuela LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 452768 02-22-2019 09:40 PM Post: #1 Moscow accuses U.S of sending special forces to Venezuela Advertisement Russia has accused the US of using aid deliveries to Venezuela as a ploy to carry out military action against President Nicolas Maduro's government. The Kremlin's Foreign Ministry said America had deployed special forces and equipment near the South American nation and accused Washington of a 'dangerous provocation'. Learn More: **Follow US** Nwo Report: Twitter: Facebook: Russia has accused the US of using aid deliveries to Venezuela as a ploy to carry out military action against President Nicolas Maduro's government.The Kremlin's Foreign Ministry said America had deployed special forces and equipment near the South American nation and accused Washington of a 'dangerous provocation'.Learn More: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...zuela.html **Follow US**Nwo Report: http://www.nworeport.me Twitter: https://twitter.com/NwoReport Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nwo-Report-1505570316361450/ northerntomcat Registered User User ID: 485474 02-22-2019 10:16 PM Posts: 10,006 Post: #2 RE: Moscow accuses U.S of sending special forces to Venezuela LoP Guest Wrote: (02-22-2019 09:40 PM) Russia has accused the US of using aid deliveries to Venezuela as a ploy to carry out military action against President Nicolas Maduro's government. The Kremlin's Foreign Ministry said America had deployed special forces and equipment near the South American nation and accused Washington of a 'dangerous provocation'. Learn More: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...zuela.html **Follow US** Nwo Report: http://www.nworeport.me Twitter: https://twitter.com/NwoReport Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nwo-Report-1505570316361450/ Your title is misleading and wrong. it say sending TO Venezuela But the link you provided says "America had deployed special forces and equipment near the South American nation" now the fact is Americans are always there, for counter narcotic ops, been going on for years. But its from Moscow who ironically did send Spetsnaz to protect the President. Your title is misleading and wrong.it say sending TO Venezuela But the link you provided says "America had deployed special forces and equipmentthe South American nation"now the fact is Americans are always there, for counter narcotic ops, been going on for years.But its from Moscow who ironically did send Spetsnaz to protect the President. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 490280 02-22-2019 10:24 PM Post: #3 RE: Moscow accuses U.S of sending special forces to Venezuela northerntomcat Wrote: (02-22-2019 10:16 PM) LoP Guest Wrote: (02-22-2019 09:40 PM) Russia has accused the US of using aid deliveries to Venezuela as a ploy to carry out military action against President Nicolas Maduro's government. The Kremlin's Foreign Ministry said America had deployed special forces and equipment near the South American nation and accused Washington of a 'dangerous provocation'. Learn More: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...zuela.html **Follow US** Nwo Report: http://www.nworeport.me Twitter: https://twitter.com/NwoReport Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nwo-Report-1505570316361450/ Your title is misleading and wrong. it say sending TO Venezuela But the link you provided says "America had deployed special forces and equipment near the South American nation" now the fact is Americans are always there, for counter narcotic ops, been going on for years. But its from Moscow who ironically did send Spetsnaz to protect the President. psyop much?? you cannot support the bulling Americans they want the oil and benefits from the conflict as always psyop much??you cannot support the bulling Americansthey want the oil and benefits from the conflict as always LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 490280 02-22-2019 10:37 PM Post: #4 RE: Moscow accuses U.S of sending special forces to Venezuela or worse ... U.S. organized the conflict Archangel Michael User ID: 441975 02-22-2019 10:49 PM Posts: 14,103 Post: #5 RE: Moscow accuses U.S of sending special forces to Venezuela Absolutely, the CIA, Mossad and MI6 has been doing their best to destabilize Venezuela for over 20 years. As usual, creating the problems then coming along with a 'solution'. If the situation runs as most CIA/Mossad/MI6 operations do, it'll be the "Final Solution" for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, if not MILLIONS. He Man Subscriber User ID: 426524 02-22-2019 10:55 PM Posts: 36,763 Post: #6 RE: Moscow accuses U.S of sending special forces to Venezuela That is what they do for international oil companies and to stop the spread of nationalizing national resources for the use of the citizens of their own countries. I heard a talking head on Fox today saying that if the US didn't intervene that Venezuela might become a Cuban controlled puppet state. Imagine the horrors of Cuba controlling Venezuela, forcing them to have 100% literacy, universal healthcare, and educating the largest number of doctors in the Caribbean/Central and South America. That might be a danger to the profits of a number of multinational corporations. The CIA attacks on Venezuela is a long game play. They have been undermining the country and destabilizing the previous popularly elected governments and created the reactive unpopular current government.That is what they do for international oil companies and to stop the spread of nationalizing national resources for the use of the citizens of their own countries.I heard a talking head on Fox today saying that if the US didn't intervene that VenezuelaImagine the horrors of Cuba controlling Venezuela, forcing them to have 100% literacy, universal healthcare, and educating the largest number of doctors in the Caribbean/Central and South America.That might be a danger to the profits of a number of multinational corporations. Making LOP Great again since 06-07-2013! If it smells exactly like Russian troll farm trolling, it probably is Russian troll farm trolling. "They pelted us with rocks and garbage!" LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 486854 02-22-2019 11:01 PM Post: #7 RE: Moscow accuses U.S of sending special forces to Venezuela Target hungry Venezualans! Aim the imitation butter and seasonings! Fire the dried potato flakes! Aerial spray the powdered milk! Voila! Instant Mashed Venezualans! Get real Russiaa - your stupidity is showing. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 232917 02-22-2019 11:06 PM Post: #8 RE: Moscow accuses U.S of sending special forces to Venezuela Nor That 5000 Troops have been moved from IRAQ to Here. Soon to be followed by another 5000 from Afghanistan. NOPE, Can't say Any Of That! I can not confirm nor deny THAT I am In Venezuela, RIGHT NOW!Nor That 5000 Troops have been moved from IRAQ to Here.Soon to be followed by another 5000 from Afghanistan.NOPE, Can't say Any Of That! LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 476910 02-22-2019 11:14 PM Post: #9 RE: Moscow accuses U.S of sending special forces to Venezuela https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=u0wPy_1550709361 The US was just busted in Haiti for the same thing. Hired militia to attack citizens protesting the corrupt government. northerntomcat Registered User User ID: 485474 02-22-2019 11:25 PM Posts: 10,006 Post: #10 RE: Moscow accuses U.S of sending special forces to Venezuela LoP Guest Wrote: (02-22-2019 10:24 PM) northerntomcat Wrote: (02-22-2019 10:16 PM) Your title is misleading and wrong. it say sending TO Venezuela But the link you provided says "America had deployed special forces and equipment near the South American nation" now the fact is Americans are always there, for counter narcotic ops, been going on for years. But its from Moscow who ironically did send Spetsnaz to protect the President. psyop much?? you cannot support the bulling Americans they want the oil and benefits from the conflict as always If they want the oil then they should go take Haiti it has ten times what Venezuela has. They just don't want Russian influence infesting the area. If they want the oil then they should go take Haiti it has ten times what Venezuela has. They just don't want Russian influence infesting the area. Prince Vegeta Knowledge and Power User ID: 456214 02-22-2019 11:36 PM Posts: 2,726 Post: #11 RE: Moscow accuses U.S of sending special forces to Venezuela He Man Wrote: (02-22-2019 10:55 PM) The CIA attacks on Venezuela is a long game play. They have been undermining the country and destabilizing the previous popularly elected governments and created the reactive unpopular current government. That is what they do for international oil companies and to stop the spread of nationalizing national resources for the use of the citizens of their own countries. I heard a talking head on Fox today saying that if the US didn't intervene that Venezuela might become a Cuban controlled puppet state. Imagine the horrors of Cuba controlling Venezuela, forcing them to have 100% literacy, universal healthcare, and educating the largest number of doctors in the Caribbean/Central and South America. That might be a danger to the profits of a number of multinational corporations. You have no clue what you're talking about. The dude ruling Venezuela is a f*cking commie dictator that's killing people. Venezuela security forces kill, punish anti-Maduro protesters: Amnesty CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan security forces have executed several people and arbitrarily detained hundreds of others in a campaign to punish people who protested against President Nicolas Maduro, human rights group Amnesty International said on Wednesday. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venez...SKCN1Q925S You have no clue what you're talking about. The dude ruling Venezuela is a f*cking commie dictator that's killing people.CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan security forces have executed several people and arbitrarily detained hundreds of others in a campaign to punish people who protested against President Nicolas Maduro, human rights group Amnesty International said on Wednesday. I have no time for weaklings. NormalIsSubjective User ID: 461465 02-22-2019 11:57 PM Posts: 19,660 Post: #12 RE: Moscow accuses U.S of sending special forces to Venezuela LoP Guest Wrote: (02-22-2019 11:14 PM) The US was just busted in Haiti for the same thing. Hired militia to attack citizens protesting the corrupt government. https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=u0wPy_1550709361 Quite an interesting story: Five heavily armed U.S. mercenaries were arrested in Haiti. Why were they allowed to fly straight home? National Post Staff February 21, 2019 A group of heavily armed men including five American citizens who were arrested in Haiti at the weekend have been inexplicably allowed to leave the country. Now back in the U.S., they will face no charges, the Miami Herald reports. As riots over official corruption engulfed the nation, the eight men were captured Sunday in the capital Port-au-Prince by Haitian police. In their vehicles which had no external number plates were found automatic weapons, pistols, a telescope, satellite phones, drones and ballistic vests. Fake number plates were also found. The men, apprehended near the countrys central bank, said they were on a government mission, when stopped by police. Police spokesman Michel-Ange Louis-Jeune said the men refused to say anything else except that they would call their unidentified bosses. Which government the men spoke of was never made clear. The men are ex-Navy SEALS Christopher Michael Osman and Christopher Mark McKinley; Kent Leland Kroeker, an ex-Marine; fellow U.S. citizens Dustin Porte and Talon Ray Burton; two Serbian men, Danilo Bajagic and Vlade Jankvic; and one Haitian, Michael Estera. One of the Serbs is said to be a U.S. permanent resident. Despite their arsenal and apparent criminal conspiracy charges laid by Haitian police, seven of the men were subsequently allowed to fly back to the U.S. on Wednesday, having never appeared for a Port-au-Prince court date set for the same day. Only the Haitian Estera was left behind. They left, a police spokesperson told the Miami Herald Wednesday. Haitis prime minister has said he wasnt even briefed on the mens departure, but theories as to what exactly the men were doing in the country are swirling. As well as allegations they came to work against the embattled government, claims have been made by government opponents that they were there to prop it up. The men are since said to have told American authorities that they were in Haiti as security for a government-partnered businessman. As the men made their hasty exit, footage posted to social media shows them being escorted by U.S. embassy staff through Port-au-Princes Toussaint Louverture Airport, without handcuffs or shackles. In fact, the Miami Herald reports they were given access to the VIP diplomatic lounge to wait for their commercial flight. When, initially, one of the Serbs was not allowed to board the flight, a few calls were made and he was let board, the Herald reports... https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...40230.html Quite an interesting story:Five heavily armed U.S. mercenaries were arrested in Haiti. Why were they allowed to fly straight home?National Post Staff February 21, 2019A group of heavily armed men including five American citizens who were arrested in Haiti at the weekend have been inexplicably allowed to leave the country.Now back in the U.S., they will face no charges, the Miami Herald reports.As riots over official corruption engulfed the nation, the eight men were captured Sunday in the capital Port-au-Prince by Haitian police. In their vehicles which had no external number plates were found automatic weapons, pistols, a telescope, satellite phones, drones and ballistic vests. Fake number plates were also found.The men, apprehended near the countrys central bank, said they were on a government mission, when stopped by police. Police spokesman Michel-Ange Louis-Jeune said the men refused to say anything else except that they would call their unidentified bosses. Which government the men spoke of was never made clear.The men are ex-Navy SEALS Christopher Michael Osman and Christopher Mark McKinley; Kent Leland Kroeker, an ex-Marine; fellow U.S. citizens Dustin Porte and Talon Ray Burton; two Serbian men, Danilo Bajagic and Vlade Jankvic; and one Haitian, Michael Estera. One of the Serbs is said to be a U.S. permanent resident.Despite their arsenal and apparent criminal conspiracy charges laid by Haitian police, seven of the men were subsequently allowed to fly back to the U.S. on Wednesday, having never appeared for a Port-au-Prince court date set for the same day. Only the Haitian Estera was left behind.They left, a police spokesperson told the Miami Herald Wednesday.Haitis prime minister has said he wasnt even briefed on the mens departure, but theories as to what exactly the men were doing in the country are swirling. As well as allegations they came to work against the embattled government, claims have been made by government opponents that they were there to prop it up.The men are since said to have told American authorities that they were in Haiti as security for a government-partnered businessman.As the men made their hasty exit, footage posted to social media shows them being escorted by U.S. embassy staff through Port-au-Princes Toussaint Louverture Airport, without handcuffs or shackles. In fact, the Miami Herald reports they were given access to the VIP diplomatic lounge to wait for their commercial flight. When, initially, one of the Serbs was not allowed to board the flight, a few calls were made and he was let board, the Herald reports... https://nationalpost.com/news/world/five...aight-home LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 412093 02-23-2019 12:09 AM Post: #13 RE: Moscow accuses U.S of sending special forces to Venezuela If so, more than likely, assuring safe passage for food & aid, making it's way to the citizens of Venezuela. And?If so, more than likely, assuring safe passage for food & aid, making it's way to the citizens of Venezuela. He Man Subscriber User ID: 426524 02-23-2019 12:25 AM Posts: 36,763 Post: #14 RE: Moscow accuses U.S of sending special forces to Venezuela Fight the Power Wrote: (02-22-2019 11:36 PM) He Man Wrote: (02-22-2019 10:55 PM) The CIA attacks on Venezuela is a long game play. They have been undermining the country and destabilizing the previous popularly elected governments and created the reactive unpopular current government. That is what they do for international oil companies and to stop the spread of nationalizing national resources for the use of the citizens of their own countries. I heard a talking head on Fox today saying that if the US didn't intervene that Venezuela might become a Cuban controlled puppet state. Imagine the horrors of Cuba controlling Venezuela, forcing them to have 100% literacy, universal healthcare, and educating the largest number of doctors in the Caribbean/Central and South America. That might be a danger to the profits of a number of multinational corporations. You have no clue what you're talking about. The dude ruling Venezuela is a f*cking commie dictator that's killing people. Venezuela security forces kill, punish anti-Maduro protesters: Amnesty CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan security forces have executed several people and arbitrarily detained hundreds of others in a campaign to punish people who protested against President Nicolas Maduro, human rights group Amnesty International said on Wednesday. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venez...SKCN1Q925S All kinds of governments in the caribbean, central and south America have histories of doing all kinds of torture and killing of their citizens. The US never intervenes in death squad countries that the US supports, that are killing their people and making their plutocratic leaders and their corporate sponsors wealthier. The CIA has intervened in Venezuela for many years now, the current bad government that is so brutal and that rigged the last election is the result of that ongoing interference. The US does not have a mandate to do anything but work with coalition nations to try to get a new vote for leadership and hope the elections can be effectively monitored and more fair than the last one. If Venezuela had no oil, the US would not care a single f*#k about the lack of democracy or the level of starvation there. Ask the people of Guatemala and Honduras and El Salvador if the US ever cared if there were human rights abuses murders, starvation and unfair election practices in those countries? All kinds of governments in the caribbean, central and south America have histories of doing all kinds of torture and killing of their citizens. The US never intervenes in death squad countries that the US supports, that are killing their people and making their plutocratic leaders and their corporate sponsors wealthier.The CIA has intervened in Venezuela for many years now, the current bad government that is so brutal and that rigged the last election is the result of that ongoing interference. The US does not have a mandate to do anything but work with coalition nations to try to get a new vote for leadership and hope the elections can be effectively monitored and more fair than the last one.If Venezuela had no oil, the US would not care a single f*#k about the lack of democracy or the level of starvation there.Ask the people of Guatemala and Honduras and El Salvador if the US ever cared if there were human rights abuses murders, starvation and unfair election practices in those countries? Making LOP Great again since 06-07-2013! If it smells exactly like Russian troll farm trolling, it probably is Russian troll farm trolling. "They pelted us with rocks and garbage!" Archangel Michael User ID: 441975 02-23-2019 12:41 AM Posts: 14,103 Post: #15 RE: Moscow accuses U.S of sending special forces to Venezuela Russia has their missiles 200 miles off our coasts. No big deal what they do in Venezuela, especially when we've ringed Russia with missiles, assorted other weaponry, and US Troops. Israel and it's agents in the US Government are using our America government to conquer the world for their benefit, not care what happens to the Goyim in any of the countries it invades for Israeli and Zionist interests. We have a President for who Israeli interests are paramount, while the interests of the America people can be damned. President Trump is a mental midget when it comes to Foreign Policy and world affairs. He's endangering the safety of America and it's people. Advertisement Back to Forum Reply to This post Post New Thread HANOI -- Kim Jong Ale? Rock It, Man? Or how about a glass of Peace Negroniations? Bars in Vietnams capital are cashing in on the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next week with special concoctions to mark the high-stakes diplomacy. This beer was inspired by the pure streams of Mount Paektu between North Korea and China, Nguyen Thi Huong Anh, manager of Hanois Standing Bar, said of the Kim Jong Ale, brewed especially for the summit. The mountain is the highest on the Korean peninsula at about 2,750 metres (9,000 ft) and the official birthplace of the late North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il. Its a volcano so the beer has a hot and spicy flavour with a soft and fresh aftertaste, Anh said. Trump and Kim will meet on Feb. 27-28, following up on their historic first summit in Singapore in June, when they pledged to work towards the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. Enterprising businesses hope to cash in on the occasion. One Hanoi barber is offering free haircuts to anyone wanting to copy Trump and Kims distinctive locks. But as in Singapore, where bars mixed up all kinds of concoctions to mark the event, its Hanois bars and pubs where folks are getting creative this time too. Perhaps not surprisingly, Koreas favourite soju spirit has emerged as the ingredient of choice in Hanoi. The Tannin Wine Bar In Hanois old quarter is offering the Peace Negroniations, a summit-inspired take on the classic Negroni cocktail, made with pink-grapefruit flavoured soju, vermouth and a drop of Angostura bitters, manager Antoine Ursat told Reuters. I hope all the delegations come here and have a cocktail, Ursat said. Itll facilitate the negotiations - after one or two drinks its more easy to talk. The bitters reminded him of Trump, he said. The nearby Unicorn Pub is offering a special summit drink named Rock It, Man, which includes soju, bourbon and Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, along with pineapple juice, vanilla and grenadine. The Fireball is as strong as Trump. Its sweet but its also very fiery, said the pubs co-owner, Trinh Xuan Dieu. When you drink it, it tastes really hot at first but it ends with sweetness. We hope you have enjoyed your complimentary access for the month. To continue viewing content on tucson.com, please sign in with your existing account or subscribe. OPINION: "It helps employers now by allowing more parents and caregivers to participate in the workforce, and it benefits vulnerable children into the future by giving them a launching pad," write business leaders Amber Smith and Shelley Watson. Snow is falling, but not just on Mount Lemmon! At around 11 a.m., Tucson International Airport reported 1.5 inches of snow the most snow since Feb, 20, 2013, according to the National Weather Service. The City of Tucson has closed all parks and recreation fields for the remainder of Friday and Saturday. As well, A Mountain is closed but may reopen tomorrow, depending on the weather. People can monitor the Parks and Recreation Twitter and Facebook accounts for the most up-to-date changes. While roads across the state are littered with crashes and road closures, the Tucson Rodeo will have no such complications. Rodeo officials say the show must go on, rain (snow) or shine. ProRodeo begins at 2 p.m. at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds. Because of weather conditions, the road to Mount Lemmon is closed to everyone except emergency vehicles and snow crews. PATAGONIA A young reporter is receiving praise after writing about her encounter with a southern Arizona marshal who allegedly threatened to put her in jail. Hilde Kate Lysiak posted video from her interaction Monday with Patagonia Marshal Joseph Patterson on her newspaper's website , Orange Street News. In the video, the 12-year-old asks Patterson why he said she "could be thrown in juvie." Patterson tells her it's against Arizona law to put his picture on the internet. He then says though she identified herself as a reporter, she cannot follow law enforcement. The town, which is roughly 20 miles from the Mexico border, said on its website it has "taken action" with Patterson. Lysiak, who declined interview requests Friday, said on Twitter that her focus is on First Amendment rights. The decision to drop the charges came a month after four other No More Deaths volunteers were convicted of misdemeanor charges connected to leaving food and water in the wildlife refuge. Another volunteer is scheduled to go to trial in May on similar charges, as well as felony human-smuggling charges. Today might be a victory for No More Deaths, but people continue to die and disappear every day in the desert, Hollarsmith said in the news release. Our hearts remain with the families of the disappeared. As long as border policy funnels migrants into the most remote corridors of the desert, the need for a humanitarian response will continue. Attorneys for Deighan and her co-defendants had asked the court to dismiss the charges because the volunteers were acting out of necessity in a life-or-death situation. A woman in Phoenix called a No More Deaths hotline and said two of her cousins and a friend were lost near Growler Valley, an area of the wildlife refuge where many remains of illegal border crossers have been found, according to court records. The volunteers called the Border Patrol, but agents didnt respond for hours, their attorneys said. The volunteers went to the wildlife refuge to find the border-crossers, and the Border Patrol later sent a helicopter. One of the lost men was never found. Please join the Arizona Daily Star in helping local children. Todays Star includes an envelope you can use to mail checks so children from low-income or military families can go to camp for little or no cost. Each year, readers give generously to help the Star send kids to camp. Its a tradition were proud to lead. We need your help. Our goal is to raise $212,000 to send 625 kids to YMCA and Boy Scout and Girl Scout overnight camps, and overnight Camp Tatiyee, for school-age children and older teens with special needs. That money will also pay for camp supplies for another 300 children. In 2018, we received 1,623 donations totaling $214,312. We spent $214,979 to send 621 local boys and girls to overnight camp and for camp supplies for another 299 children. You can use todays envelope or send donations to Arizona Daily Star Sportsmens Fund, Send a Kid to Camp, P.O. Box 16141, Tucson, AZ 85732-6141, or go to azsendakidtocamp.org to donate with a credit card. Since 1947, the Arizona Daily Star Sportsmens Fund has helped pay for 40,070 children to go to camp. Were one of the oldest 501(c)(3) charities in Arizona. Your contribution qualifies for the Arizona tax credit of up to $800 for donations to qualifying charitable organizations. For more information, call Senior Editor Debbie Kornmiller at 573-4127 or email her at dkornmiller@tucson.com. Its refreshing to see the Democratic Party bubbling with new ideas. But this new thinking seems starkly different from the partys reform efforts of the past three decades. The wonky proposals of the Clinton-Obama era were pragmatic and incremental, and they mixed market incentives with government action. Today we have big, stirring ideas and that could be the problem. In their zeal to match the sweeping rhetoric of right-wing populism, Democrats are spinning out dramatic proposals in which facts are sometimes misrepresented, the numbers occasionally dont add up and emotional appeal tends to trump actual policy analysis. When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was confronted recently by Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes about an egregious misstatement about Pentagon spending, she responded, I think that theres a lot of people more concerned about being precisely, factually and semantically correct than about being morally right. Even if students are suspended or expelled as a result of the investigation, the school district wont share that information. Disciplinary actions in a students educational record are confidential and protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA. Im not going to release any information about individual students, groups of students or consequences that are applied to them or anything along those lines, Abraham said. Called jhhs_fights, the pages description was accompanied by a picture of Jackson Hole High School principal Scott Crisp. Abraham described the use of the photo as borderline slanderous and not OK. The pages name was changed to jhhs_arm_wrestles the evening of Feb. 13 with a different photo before being deleted entirely shortly thereafter. The school district is still working on determining who the creator of the account is and doesnt know if that person or Instagram took down the page. As of that night, the account had almost 720 followers and had posted three times, with the first on Feb. 6. One video had been seen over a thousand times. LARAMIE (WNE) Albany County School District No. 1 will open another rural elementary school this fall for a single child whos set to begin kindergarten. The childs younger sibling is also set to attend the school in two years. The new school is actually a re-opening of Cozy Hollow School off Tunnel Road. That school, which has previously served the same family, was closed about a decade ago. Reopening Cozy Hollow School is necessary now that the generations have come around, so to speak, ACSD No. 1 business manager Ed Goetz told the school board. Wyoming statutes require school districts to provide on-site schools for isolated students when transportation to other schools in not possible. Cozy Hollow has operated off-and-on for much of the last century, and the district still owns a modular on the site. Thats in pretty good condition, Goetz said. It will need some work. Well need to get some furniture up there. ACSD No. 1 operates a second one-student school, Notch Peak Elementary, in a nearby area. Love 2 Funny 2 Wow 6 Sad 0 Angry 2 CHEYENNE Wyoming lawmakers took another step toward lowering the states legal limit for boating under the influence of alcohol after debating Thursday whether to exempt people using unpowered watercraft and small motorboats. State representatives ultimately decided not to include such an exemption. Operating even the smallest watercraft under the influence can be dangerous, some argued. The proposal, which earlier cleared the Senate 25-5, passed a second reading in the Wyoming House on a voice vote. Wyomings current blood-alcohol limit for boating under the influence is 0.1 percent. The bill would reduce the threshold for driving a motorboat to 0.08 percent, the same as Wyomings legal limit for driving under the influence. People operating non-motorized watercraft would continue to be subject to the 0.1-percent limit. Lawmakers debated a proposed amendment to the bill to exempt people using unpowered watercraft and boats with motors under 25 horsepower from the boating-under-the-influence law. Some questioned whether a slow-moving boat could be dangerous to others on the water. CHEYENNE The Wyoming Senate voted 11-14, with five legislators absent, to squash a bill to reform crossover voting on Thursday night, all but ending the state Republican Partys primary policy goal in the 2019 legislative session. The Wyoming GOPs effort to end the practice of crossover voting in the states elections had been one of the most divisive and hotly-pursued policy objectives heard in the Legislature this year. The effort stemmed from the ashes of the 2018 gubernatorial primary. In Wyoming, voters are allowed to switch parties on Election Day. Republicans accused Democratic voters of taking advantage of this to interfere in their election, which saw Mark Gordon, who went on to become governor, defeat several primary candidates with more conservative views. That prompted a call from conservative activists around the state to close the primaries. Versions of the crossover bill have died and been revived several times throughout this legislative session, after both the House and Senate committees responsible for elections showed little interest in the bill. However, activist pressure was heavy, and House and Senate leadership eventually assigned versions of the bill to friendly committees that moved the bills onto the floor and out of both chambers. Police this week received no further reports of sexual battery from the Natrona County School District, a sergeant said Friday morning. Sgt. Scott Jones attributed the rapid decline in reports to a decrease in criminal activity brought about by police educational programs and media attention on a pattern of battery throughout the districts schools. In the two weeks preceding Monday, police had received roughly 15 reports from within the districts middle and high schools. The reports stemmed from male students engaging in a game that consisted of them challenging each other to inappropriately touch female students, Jones told the Star-Tribune on Monday. Jones said Friday that, at faculty request, a school resource officer had given lectures on the topic of sexual battery in a half-dozen classrooms this week. On Feb. 14, Jones contacted district officials and informed them that police had seen an increase in sexual battery reports. The next day, the school district emailed parents to alert them to the game. The email states the police department has and will continue to aggressively prosecute these cases. The email also described the nature of the game, which was also referred to as a challenge to conduct criminal activity. Wyoming is no stranger to coal firm bankruptcies, but the Westmoreland Coal Company story is unique in a few ways, from the mine-to-power plant operation to a unionized workforce and unexpected buyer. As the company looks poised to sell the Kemmerer mine and get out of Dodge, the community and the miners left behind face uncertainty. Here are five stories to get you up to speed in the developing story of a coal company gone bankrupt in western Wyoming. After months of bankruptcy rumors, Westmoreland breaks The company promised locals that operations and employment in Wyoming wouldn't be disrupted when it filed for Chapter 11 in October. Labor balks at company's plan for retiree benefits Westmoreland sought to cut labor obligations that, they said, made selling the mine impossible. The United Mine Workers of America, which represents the Kemmerer miners, rallied retirees to appeal to the bankruptcy judge for benefits. More than a dozen former workers sent emotional pleas for pensions and health benefits they feared they would lose. Coal exec resigns Kathmandu: A month-long 'Festival of India' began on Tuesday with the objective of familiarising the new generation of Nepal about the similarities between the Himalayan nation and India. The festival, organised by the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, Embassy of India, is being held in Kathmandu and other major cities of the country from February 19 to March 21. The festival began here with a musical drama on the life of Lord Buddha. Sanskrit conference, dance, food festival and other cultural programmes will also be held during the festival. Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri jointly inaugurated the event. Speaking on the occasion, Indian Ambassador Puri said Buddhism has been established as a major religion in the both the countries as Lord Buddha was born in Nepal and attained enlightenment in India. It's hard to imagine a country up in arms over a new public holiday -- but that was the near-universal reaction Wednesday to Austria's plan to give workers an afternoon off on Good Friday. The Austrian government had come up with the plan as a way of conforming to a ruling by the European Court of Justice last month that it was illegal for Good Friday to be a full holiday for members of certain Christian churches only. In response, the government announced on Tuesday that starting from April 19 this year, everyone would be able to leave work at 2:00 pm. But that decision has drawn widespread criticism all round. Adherents of the Protestant churches -- who until now had the right to take the whole day off -- branded the new rules unfair, while businesses said the new holiday would be too costly. Even unions said the new measure amounted to a government "making fools" of employees. "A holiday which starts at 2:00 pm on a Friday, when a lot of employees will already have finished work at midday anyway, is ridiculous," said Bernhard Achitz, from the Austrian Trade Union Confederation (OeGB). The working day generally starts early in Austria, and many businesses are in the habit of ending the working week early on a Friday afternoon. The Die Presse daily asked: "Will stores be able to stay open during the half-day holiday?", referring to Austria's current strict rules on retail opening hours. Many took to social media to mock the government's compromise, with some branding it a "half Good Friday". The European Court of Justice had found that it was discriminatory to have Good Friday as a paid holiday only for members of protestant and other denominations. Good Friday is the day on which Christians mark the crucifixion of Jesus Christ before his resurrection on Easter Sunday. Around 5.2 million Austrians are estimated to be Roman Catholics, out of a population of 8.8 million. The next biggest groups are thought to be Muslims (around 700,000), Orthodox Christians (500,000) and Protestant denominations (300,000). smk/mra/jsk/spm/cw Whilst fellow MEP Christophe Hansen was quick to condemn Tilly Metz's actions following her arrest at a Belgian military base, reactions within her own party remain divided. The Green MEP was arrested alongside other MEPs and peace activists for breaking into a Belgian military base as a protest against nuclear weapons in Europe. The MEP's actions certainly caused discomfort in her party: while some of the Green Party members in Luxembourg support her, others have been reluctant. Francois Bausch, the minister of defence, did not comment officially on the issue on Thursday. He did, however, tell the Tageblatt on Wednesday that the topic of nuclear weapons in Europe is certainly one that must be discussed, but he fundamentally disagreed with going against the law in trying to broach the issue. Bausch was not pleased that the MEP broke into military territory, highlighting that MEPs do not have any special status. Upon RTL inquiry, party president Christian Kmiotek's only response was "No comment." Metz's actions appear to have surprised the party leadership, indicating that the protest was clearly organised in Brussels. Tilly Metz continues to defend her actions, claiming the minister's response was understandable in light of his government mandate. The MEP did receive support from one member of the party - Djuna Bernard, candidate for the party co-presidency. Bernard took to Facebook to applaud Tilly Metz, claiming the MEP has made an important move against the use of nuclear weapons and has demonstrated the importance of political courage. Luxembourg MEP Tilly Metz, UK MEP Molly Scott Cato, and French MP Michele Rivasi have been in police custody since 9am on Wednesday morning. On Wednesday morning the three MEPs, all members of the Green party in their respective countries, protested against American nuclear warheads that have been in storage at the military base in Kleine-Brogel in Belgium since 1984. The three MPs climbed over the fence at 8.10am and were taken into custodyby the police just fifteen minutes later. Initial information suggested five individuals had crossed the fence, but later news confirms that it was the three MPs. Eight over people supporting the three MPs outside the fence were also taken into police custody. The general context of the protest is the end of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). The suspension of the treaty has a significant impact on Europe, as the USA and Russia are no longer bound to eliminate their long-range nuclear weapons. The European Green Party advocates a complete removal of nuclear weapons in Europe. The Kleine-Brogel military base is based in northeastern Belgium at the Dutch border, around three hours away from Luxembourg. On Facebook, CSV MEP Christophe Hansen criticised Metz's actions, interpreting them as her launching her European election campaign. He stressed that he does not believe politicians are above the law and called it irresponsible to use justice authorities, the police, and the army as "hostages for political marketing". Hansen also criticised the fact that Metz's press release was published on RTL minutes after the news emerged. Whilst also expressing a stance against chemical and nuclear weapons, Hansen highlighted the responsibilities of politicians in seeking alternative methods to making such points. Hansen ended by addressing the Green Ministers of Defence and Justice, Francois Bausch and Felix Braz, asking whether they condone their colleague's actions. Today Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. High near 85F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Tomorrow Sunny along with a few clouds. High 88F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. This site focuses on Republican politicians and conservatives that rip off their constituency. We have the Tea Party, fundamentalist churches, the corruption of ALEC and other special interests groups. But the site also supports progressive Democrats and the local Democratic Socialist of America. We must have ideas on how to replace regressive and corrupt politicians with something better. For comments steveotto2001@yahoo.com or ottozero2001@yahoo.com. SUMMER SPECIAL!!! - Sign up at 20% OFF for Full Access to all of the online content and E-Editions on the www.thewordlink.com website here! (The charge will appear as "Country Media Inc." on your credit card statement) An issue of similar importance is alleviating the rising level of student-loan debt. State treasurers have recognized this issue and have taken real action. For more than 20 years, state treasurers have managed state 529 programs, the primary tax-advantaged way for families to save for education. This year, NAST and its affiliate network, the College Savings Plans Network, will continue its long history of partnering with Congress to expand the way families can save in 529 plans to send their children to college without breaking the bank. We will also be working with our colleagues in Washington to replicate the success weve had on the state level in developing financial literacy programs in K-12 education. These initiatives are informed by evidence demonstrating that teaching best financial practices to K-12 students increases the likelihood that they will maintain proper financial habits as adults. Charleston Distilling expanding operations COLUMBIA -- Charleston Distilling, an independent, small-batch producer of handcrafted spirits, has announced a $4.2 million investment in its Charleston County operations. The expansion is projected to create an additional 29 jobs. Located at 3548 Meeks Farm Road in Charleston, the company's new facility is expected to be operational by July 2019 and will feature a 45-foot-high still to increase its production capacity. Pence tours sites, helped by Trump tax law COLUMBIA (AP) Vice President Mike Pence says U.S. Sen. Tim Scott's persistence is to thank for a law that gives federal tax breaks to people who invest in economically distressed areas. Pence came to South Carolina on Thursday to tour The Meeting Place Church and a movie theater at the Columbia Place Mall the church invested in through the Opportunity Zone program. Scott wanted to show his fellow Republican the investment in a mall that was in danger of being abandoned. A new federal grant will be used to improve security at Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5 schools, trustees were told at their February meeting. The district is partnering with Orangeburg County on a new grant from the U.S. Department of Justice through the Community Oriented Policing Service program, Public Relations Director Bill Clark said. The requirement for this one was applicants had to be a unit of government. So the school district could not apply on its own, Clark said. Thus, we had a partnership with the County of Orangeburg and the Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office, who were more than happy to work with us. District 5 already has locking security doors on schools, he said. The grant will also assist with visitor screening, police officers, training and drills, as well as an emergency alert system to be installed in six school buildings. The system can be used not only for intruder alerts but also for medical, fire and weather alerts. The alert systems will be placed in Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School, Bethune-Bowman Middle/High School, North High School, Clark Middle School, Howard Middle School and Marshall Elementary School, he said. A two-way communication device will be installed in every room at the schools. "If you're going to consider reducing sentences, then I ask you to start with mine because we were all sentenced to a life without Myles," Holland said. "Reduce the opportunities and the times I had to replay the last conversation I had with my baby, and can you reduce that moment that is forever etched in my brain of seeing Myles laying on that bed in that trauma room?" Lisa Hagberg, whose daughter was killed by a drunken driver whom she said was out on bond, said she is not against early release for nonviolent offenders, but said if this legislation were to pass, family members should know at the time of sentencing an exact range of time the offender would have to serve. "There's no comfort, but one of the few things we have is knowing for a certain period of time, that person is not out on the street," Hagberg said. Supporters of the legislation said the bill is about providing hope to inmates, and letting them know their crime does not define them as a human being. Society has failed incarcerated individuals by not educating and providing them with the necessary emotional and material resources they need to realize their potential, human rights activist Efia Nwangaza said. Nwangaza lost her brother-in-law to gun violence. S.C. State Credit Union was robbed Thursday. The Orangeburg Department of Public Safety had a suspect in custody moments later. John Albert Green, 32, of 1430 Beason Road, was taken into custody within one-quarter mile of the Boulevard Street bank, according to ODPS Inv. A. Black. Green is facing one count of entering a bank with the intent to steal. Officers learned of the robbery at 8:47 a.m. after someone called 911 and a clerk activated an emergency alarm. Officers were on the scene within two minutes. Black said four employees and one customer were inside the bank during the robbery. No one was hurt. Green allegedly slipped a teller a note requesting money, Black said. The teller complied with the orders and the robber left the bank on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash, Black said. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Officers said they found Green in someones yard. Officers canvassed the areas of Carolina Avenue and Highland and Lattimore Streets for items the suspect may have discarded. Last month, Green pleaded guilty to willful and malicious intent to burn. As a local water and/or wastewater provider, the work of our team touches every one of our customers daily. We ensure safe, reliable service to make your morning coffee, wash your dishes, flush your toilet and other daily activities which often are taken for granted. This responsibility to our customers is something we take seriously. Its why we continue to invest in our critical water and wastewater systems. Last year, Illinois American Water invested more than $122 million to install or rehabilitate more than 42 miles of water and sewer main. Water treatment processes, equipment, security and technology were also upgraded to comply with drinking water standards and enhance system reliability and resilience. In addition, hundreds of fire hydrants and water meters were installed or replaced across the state. Similar investments are needed across the country as critical infrastructure is reaching the end of its useful life and water quality standards are becoming stricter. Unfortunately, some municipal water and wastewater systems struggle to make continued investments due to lack of funds, artificially low rates and what their community leaders may perceive as more pressing priorities. When investments are delayed or ignored, water quality and service reliability can be impacted, hindering fire protection, economic development and public health. SPRINGFIELD Lawmakers and advocates have tried to hike the minimum age to purchase tobacco products in Illinois for three years, each time making the push first in the Senate. This session, advocates are trying a different approach. What were doing this time is running it through the House first, because we have more people to deal with, House sponsor Camille Lilly, a Democrat from Chicago, said. In the Senate, theres only 56 people theres 118 in the House. Its easy to get it through the Senate. During the previous session, both chambers approved the initiative but former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner did not sign it. Only the Senate was able to muster enough votes to overturn his veto it failed in the House. Lillys version of the measure increasing the age to purchase products containing nicotine to 21 advanced out of committee Tuesday with only one dissenting vote. It won the approval of the chambers Health Care Availability & Access Committee by a vote of 5 to 1. One Republican committee member, Tom Demmer from Dixon, voted in favor. His colleague, Thomas Bennett from Gibson City, voted no. Lilly said after the hearing she is excited to have bipartisan support on her bill. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} SPRINGFIELD Illinois Catholic leaders said Thursday proposed legislation pending in the General Assembly greatly expanding reproductive rights in the state treads on their First Amendment right to freedom of religion. One of the measures, called the Reproductive Health Act, would repeal the Prairie States abortion law and replace it with language its Democratic sponsors call more up-to-date. Among other things, it would require private insurance companies to cover abortion procedures, repeal a ban on partial-birth abortions, and strike a requirement that only doctors perform the procedure. The other measure would repeal the Parental Notification of Abortion Act, which requires a minor to consult with her parent or guardian before terminating a pregnancy. Robert Gilligan, executive director of Catholic Conference of Illinois, said Thursday these measures are evidence the state is headed on the wrong path. The group represents Illinois six Catholic bishops. These bills taken together crowds us out. For people who have moral objections, they basically are saying we dont have any rights, Gilligan said. Thats whats going on, that people with First Amendment rights are being crowded out of protections under the law. Kathy Kellerman has been promoted to assistant vice president/teller supervisor. She takes on the role of teller supervisor in Pinckneyville, moving up from her position of customer service specialist and training liaison. Kellerman will be graduating in 2019 from the Illinois Bankers Association Future Leaders Alliance Program. She has been a Murphy-Wall employee for six years. Candice Knight has earned the designation as marketing director, along with being a full-line lender specializing in residential and consumer lending. At the same time, she is also working with commercial and agricultural loans. Knight has been with Murphy-Wall for nine years, and has a total of 16 years of banking experience. Jennifer Pauley has been promoted to assistant vice president/payroll clerk in the Human Relations department. Pauley is a graduate of the Illinois Bankers Association Future Leaders Alliance Program and has 20 years of banking experience. Josh Rakers has been promoted to vice president/branch manager of Murphy-Walls Murphysboro facility, moving up from the position of assistant branch manager at that location. Rakers is a graduate of the Illinois Bankers Association Future Leaders Alliance Program. He is nearing seven years in banking. Since 2016, Teeka Tiwari has trumped the stock market. His investment recommendations have each averaged 281%. Thats 17 times the S&P. And 112 times the average investor, according to JPMorgan! However, one investment Teeka just uncovered could top them all It involves former President Biden, billions of dollars, several large banks, and a super-rich family. As well as a MAJOR potential upgrade to our credit cards. Teeka, who ended up correctly picking the last investment of the decade, is declaring this his top pick for the 2020s. Pendragon PLC, together with its subsidiaries, operates in the automotive retail sector in the United Kingdom. It operates through Car Store, Franchised UK Motor, Software, and Leasing segments. The company sells new and used motor cars, motorbikes, trucks, and vans together with associated aftersales activities of service, body repair, and parts sales. It also operates carstore.com, an online marketplace for used cars; and distributes aftermarket parts, accessories, and workshop consumables under the Quickco brand. In addition, the company provides cloud-based dealer management systems; and Licence Link, an online license checking tool for fleets, as well as leases cars and vans to small, medium, and large fleets under the Pendragon Vehicle Management brand, and retails vehicles under the Evans Halshaw and Stratstone brand names. It operates 142 franchise points. Pendragon PLC was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Nottingham, the United Kingdom. Read More Some people binge watch Netflix Huluor HBO shows. And some people turn their downtime into cash. James made $2,275 in just 19 minutesall thanks to something called The 15 Minute Workday. The average trade makes 12% in just 5 days (factoring winners and losers) which is out of this world. HCI Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the property and casualty insurance, reinsurance, real estate, and information technology businesses in Florida. It provides residential insurance products, such as homeowners insurance, flood insurance, and wind-only insurance to homeowners, condominium owners, and tenants, as well as offers reinsurance programs. The company also owns and operates waterfront properties and retail shopping centres, and an office building, as well as commercial properties for investment purposes. In addition, it designs and develops web-based applications and products for mobile devices, including SAMS, Harmony, and ClaimColony applications. The company was formerly known as Homeowners Choice, Inc. and changed its name to HCI Group, Inc. in May 2013. HCI Group, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Read More Domtar Corporation designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes communication papers, specialty and packaging papers, and absorbent hygiene products in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Pulp and Paper, and Personal Care. The company provides business papers, including copy and electronic imaging papers used in inkjet and laser printers, photocopiers, and plain-paper fax machines, as well as computer papers, preprinted forms, and digital papers for office and home use. It also offers commercial printing and publishing papers, such as offset papers and opaques used in sheet and roll fed offset presses; publishing papers, which include tradebook and lightweight uncoated papers for publishing textbooks, dictionaries, catalogs, magazines, hard cover novels, and financial documents; and converting papers for envelopes, tablets, business forms, and data processing/computer forms. In addition, the company provides papers for thermal printing, flexible packaging, food packaging, medical packaging, medical gowns and drapes, sandpaper backing, carbonless printing, labels and other coating, and laminating applications; and papers for industrial and specialty applications, such as carrier papers, treated papers, security papers, and specialized printing and converting applications. Further, it offers absorbent hygiene products, including absorbent briefs, protective underwear, underpads, pads, washcloths, and body patches under the Attends, Indasec, IndasSlip, and Reassure brands; and baby diapers, training and youth pants, and bed mats under the Comfees, Chelino, Nene, and Bambino brand names. The company serves merchants, retail outlets, stationers, printers, publishers, converters, and end-users. Domtar Corporation was founded in 1848 and is based in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Read More American Consumer News, LLC dba MarketBeat 2010-2021. 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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. Zoe Herrington, owner of Noble House Jewelers on St. Simons Island, and coming soon to downtown Brunswick, believes in investing in two kinds of jewels those of the precious stone variety and those people who are treasured, esteemed or indispensable, but may fly under the radar. Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter Morgan Livingston, agricultural innovation manager for The Farm at the Washington County Food Bank, and Drew E. Ross Manko, chairman of the Washington County Young Farmers Committee and the District 16 Representative to the PA Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers, stand with one of the boxes that will be distributed to various locations around the county to collect food for the food bank. But the neo-liberalism the left associates with Clinton and Blair came under fierce progressive assault after the 2008 economic implosion for being too financier-friendly, insufficiently attentive to rising inequality, and too confident in the benefits of free trade and deregulation. The backlash in Britain was particularly vigorous in response to Blairs strong support for President George W. Bushs invasion of Iraq. Again, whatever Republicans may claim, Democrats are a long way from embracing Corbynism. But the bitterness of the growing divide between the left and center-left in Britain is a warning of how debilitating intra-progressive strife could become in Congress and in the 2020 primaries. Given that the defeat of Donald Trump is the absolutely necessary first step toward a more humane politics, more moderate and more adventurous Democrats can ill afford to concentrate their fire on each other. The stakes are too high for self-indulgent sectarianism. And differences in approach over how to guarantee everyone health coverage or how to fight climate change are less important than agreeing that both problems are urgent and need solving. Remembering that your opponents would prefer to do nothing at all on these issues is a good way to put such disagreements into perspective. Its an irony of recent Labour Party history that both Blair and Corbyn invoked a commitment to stand up for the many, not the few as the battle cry of their very different campaigns. Nothing makes the privileged few happier than a left that becomes too maximalist to win, and then tears itself apart. E.J. Dionnes email address is ejdionne@washpost.com. Twitter: @EJDionne. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A recent letter tried to clear Clinton for NAFTA and the banking and Wall Street deregulation. The blame was put on Bush Sr. Then Obama was said not to be responsible for the 2008 bank baillouts. Back to Clinton he got big donations and possible money under the table from Jamie Dimon. Dimon was president and top CEO of J.P. Morgan Bank. He wanted to merge with Chase Bank. Clinton killed the Glass-Steagall Act (1933) which regulated separation of FDIC Banking and investment Banking. Jamie Dimon merged with Chase. In the 2008 bailout, Jamie Dimon was listed by the New York Times with six pages of felony loans. He was never prosecuted for any of these. Obama got support from Dimon for his election. Obama said that Jamie Dimon was his favorite banker. He wanted to make him Secretary of Banking. In reality, both Democrats and Republicians are for the top 1 percent . That's the end for us, the little people. The worst for us in Washington state is what Dick Cheney did with energy. He took all the surplus power from BPA and gave it to Enron cheap. The CEOs from Enron went to jail. They sold it to California at scammed prices. We called for information about the Cheney energy meeting, and he backed by the Supreme Court refused to make it public, knowing he would go to jail. Username: Password: or Register Back to Forum Reply to This post Post New Thread Thread Rating: 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average 1 2 3 4 5 Breaking: Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 490154 02-22-2019 01:05 PM Post: #1 Breaking: Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules Advertisement Breaking: Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules A judge ruled Thursday that federal prosecutors among them, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta broke federal law when they signed a plea agreement with a wealthy, politically connected sex trafficker and concealed it from more than 30 of his underage victims. U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra, in a 33-page opinion, said that the evidence he reviewed showed that Jeffrey Epstein had been operating an international sex operation in which he and others recruited underage girls not only in Florida but from overseas, in violation of federal law. Epstein used paid employees to find and bring minor girls to him., wrote Marra, who is based in Palm Beach County. Epstein worked in concert with others to obtain minors not only for his own sexual gratification, but also for the sexual gratification of others. Instead of prosecuting Epstein under federal sex trafficking laws, Acosta, then the U.S. attorney in Miami, helped negotiate a non-prosecution agreement that gave Epstein and his co-conspirators immunity from federal prosecution. Epstein, who lived in a Palm Beach mansion, was allowed to quietly plead guilty in state court to two prostitution charges and served just 13 months in the county jail. His accomplices, some of whom have never been identified, were never charged. Read more here: This guy worked for Bush, Obama & now trump. Oh yeah....this admin is all about fighting trafficking, eh?Breaking: Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rulesA judge ruled Thursday that federal prosecutors among them,broke federal law when they signed a plea agreement with a wealthy, politically connected sex trafficker and concealed it from more than 30 of his underage victims.U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra, in a 33-page opinion, said that the evidence he reviewed showed that Jeffrey Epstein had been operating an international sex operation in which he and others recruited underage girls not only in Florida but from overseas, in violation of federal law.Epstein used paid employees to find and bring minor girls to him., wrote Marra, who is based in Palm Beach County.Epstein, who lived in a Palm Beach mansion, was allowed to quietly plead guilty in state court to two prostitution charges and served just 13 months in the county jail.Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/f...rylink=cpy LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 490229 02-22-2019 01:49 PM Post: #2 RE: Breaking: Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules The Billionaire Pedophile Who Could Bring Down Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Then there is the black book, in which Epstein lists 14 phone numbers for Trump, including ones for his future wife Melania. Police evidence shows Trump has called Epstein, flown on Epsteins plane, and eaten in Epsteins Florida home. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-billio...ry-clinton The Pedo File 2.0: Epstein Black Book by John Robles This was originally published by #OpDeathEatersUS ( Long list of Names from A-Z listed) "Trump, Blaine & Robert","New York, Y","redacted","N/A","N/A", "Trump, Ivana",,"001 212, 0207(h), 001 212(w)","N/A","N/A", "Trump, Ivanka",,"0777, 001, 917","N/A","N/A", "Trump, Robert & Blaine","Brooklyn, NY *&* New York, NY http://www.jar2.com/topics/Epstein_Pedo_Black_Book.html This might have had some bearing on why he got off so easy. It wouldn't go well on the evening news:The Billionaire Pedophile Who Could Bring Down Donald Trump and Hillary ClintonThen there is the black book, in which Epstein lists 14 phone numbers for Trump, including ones for his future wife Melania. Police evidence shows Trump has called Epstein, flown on Epsteins plane, and eaten in Epsteins Florida home.The Pedo File 2.0: Epstein Black Bookby John RoblesThis was originally published by #OpDeathEatersUSlisted)"Trump, Blaine & Robert","New York, Y","redacted","N/A","N/A","Trump, Ivana",,"001 212, 0207(h), 001 212(w)","N/A","N/A","Trump, Ivanka",,"0777, 001, 917","N/A","N/A","Trump, Robert & Blaine","Brooklyn, NY *&* New York, NY LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 358903 02-22-2019 01:53 PM Post: #3 RE: Breaking: Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules LoP Guest Wrote: (02-22-2019 01:05 PM) This guy worked for Bush, Obama & now trump. Oh yeah....this admin is all about fighting trafficking, eh? Breaking: Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules A judge ruled Thursday that federal prosecutors among them, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta broke federal law when they signed a plea agreement with a wealthy, politically connected sex trafficker and concealed it from more than 30 of his underage victims. U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra, in a 33-page opinion, said that the evidence he reviewed showed that Jeffrey Epstein had been operating an international sex operation in which he and others recruited underage girls not only in Florida but from overseas, in violation of federal law. Epstein used paid employees to find and bring minor girls to him., wrote Marra, who is based in Palm Beach County. Epstein worked in concert with others to obtain minors not only for his own sexual gratification, but also for the sexual gratification of others. Instead of prosecuting Epstein under federal sex trafficking laws, Acosta, then the U.S. attorney in Miami, helped negotiate a non-prosecution agreement that gave Epstein and his co-conspirators immunity from federal prosecution. Epstein, who lived in a Palm Beach mansion, was allowed to quietly plead guilty in state court to two prostitution charges and served just 13 months in the county jail. His accomplices, some of whom have never been identified, were never charged. Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/f...rylink=cpy "33-page opinion" = Legal Corruption Prevails. TAKE THE COUNTRY BACK. "33-page opinion" = Legal Corruption Prevails.TAKE THE COUNTRY BACK. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 333211 02-22-2019 01:58 PM Post: #4 RE: Breaking: Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules LoP Guest Wrote: (02-22-2019 01:53 PM) LoP Guest Wrote: (02-22-2019 01:05 PM) This guy worked for Bush, Obama & now trump. Oh yeah....this admin is all about fighting trafficking, eh? Breaking: Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules A judge ruled Thursday that federal prosecutors among them, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta broke federal law when they signed a plea agreement with a wealthy, politically connected sex trafficker and concealed it from more than 30 of his underage victims. U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra, in a 33-page opinion, said that the evidence he reviewed showed that Jeffrey Epstein had been operating an international sex operation in which he and others recruited underage girls not only in Florida but from overseas, in violation of federal law. Epstein used paid employees to find and bring minor girls to him., wrote Marra, who is based in Palm Beach County. Epstein worked in concert with others to obtain minors not only for his own sexual gratification, but also for the sexual gratification of others. Instead of prosecuting Epstein under federal sex trafficking laws, Acosta, then the U.S. attorney in Miami, helped negotiate a non-prosecution agreement that gave Epstein and his co-conspirators immunity from federal prosecution. Epstein, who lived in a Palm Beach mansion, was allowed to quietly plead guilty in state court to two prostitution charges and served just 13 months in the county jail. His accomplices, some of whom have never been identified, were never charged. Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/f...rylink=cpy "33-page opinion" = Legal Corruption Prevails. TAKE THE COUNTRY BACK. Take the Country back from the rich people who own it. Take the Country back from the rich people who own it. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 358903 02-22-2019 02:09 PM Post: #5 RE: Breaking: Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules LoP Guest Wrote: (02-22-2019 01:58 PM) LoP Guest Wrote: (02-22-2019 01:53 PM) "33-page opinion" = Legal Corruption Prevails. TAKE THE COUNTRY BACK. Take the Country back from the rich people who own it. Yep! Yep! JohnPrewett Registered User User ID: 490208 02-22-2019 04:04 PM Posts: 2,268 Post: #6 RE: Breaking: Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules This from 16 years ago. Epstein is sooooo connected LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 490154 02-22-2019 05:56 PM Post: #7 RE: Breaking: Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules Well, you know what they say...if a person is in a position of power, there is a "P" tape on them somewhere. P as in pedo. Back to Forum Reply to This post Post New Thread Its going to slow down everything else, Lindquist said, noting that usual work is picked up by the remaining staff or is put aside. The current public health infrastructure is really threatened by events like this. Each Department of Health staffer spends about two weeks at a time in Clark County, which means the state must pay for hotel rooms, their day-to-day costs and travel, according to Lindquist. Of about 110 full-time employees, Clark County Public Health has 40 to 50 staffers working on measles at any given time, according to Melnick. Epidemiological staff members, who were working on sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis among other health concerns, are being forced to shift their focus onto measles, as are environmental-health staff members, some of whom do restaurant inspections. Melnick says restaurants are still safe for eating because those inspections will still get done, but they could be carried out slower. Two additional Epidemic Intelligence Service officers, who conduct outbreak investigations and are assigned by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), were set to go to Clark County again Wednesday. Volunteers from the Medical Reserve Corps have also lent their time to the ongoing efforts. Drugs Longview police Wednesday arrested Amanda Elaine Baker, 31, of Cathlamet on suspicion of methamphetamine and heroin possession with intent to distribute. Drugs Woodland police Wednesday arrested Jason Daniel Francososa, 22, of Portland on suspicion of methamphetamine possession and a misdemeanor criminal conspiracy. Drugs Longview police Wednesday arrested Alexander Shane Hall, 27, of Longview on suspicion of methamphetamine possession and contempt of court. Theft Woodland police Wednesday arrested Rosalie Dawn Harding, 33, of Vancouver on suspicion of organized retail theft greater than $250. Theft Woodland police Wednesday arrested Byron Terrell Robinson, 39, of Vancouver on suspicion of organized retail theft greater than $250. Drugs Woodland police Wednesday arrested Kris Elaine Robinson, 51, of Portland on suspicion of heroin possession, introducing a controlled substance into the jail, making false statements and a misdemeanor criminal conspiracy. So LCC officials decided to explore teacher education as our first bachelor of applied science, Bailey said. We thought it served a great community need, and its something we could do here at a lower cost, he said. The college worked with its local K-12 partners to tailor the program to local needs, said Ann Williamson, LCC teacher education faculty. For example, the curriculum focuses on classroom management and supporting students who might be dealing with trauma or adversity, two things local teachers said were necessary in their day-to-day jobs, Williamson said. The program is also designed to accommodate the work schedules of the working adult, Bailey said. Location matters for students. And our average age here is 31, so most of our students have job responsibilities or parent obligations or both. So its really important we design a model that works for adult learners, who are part-time or full-time employees, Bailey said. This is especially important for students pursuing a degree in teacher education, as often the applicants are classroom aides who want to earn their teaching certification while they continue to work in the schools, said Ray Clift, president of the Longview teachers union. A pen or pencil could do more damage than that, he said.Adams warned Diaz twice to back off, but Diaz wouldnt, Fassett said. Face-to-face with Diaz, Fassett said Adams sprung to his own defense. Every living creature understands self-preservation, Fassett said. Instincts take over. We do what we need to do. Adams was also concerned throughout the day that Diaz was trying to get Miosek drunk, Fassett said. (Adams) doesnt want her leaving when shes drunk, but he doesnt stop her, Fassett said. Theyre travelers. Theyre nomads. They move on. She also referenced Adams call to 911 after the attack. (Adams) identified himself on the call. A guy from Florida, no ties to the community. A traveler. Could have effectively just taken off, disappeared. But ... (Adams) stayed there, waited for police to arrive. And the first thing he said to them was we need to get this guy help. In response, Ladouceur pointed out that Adams lied to dispatch when he told them someone else attacked Diaz. And he questioned if Adams was really concerned about Diaz well-being while referring to him as an ahole during police interviews. During an hour-long talk about home security and theft prevention, Cowlitz County Sheriffs Chief Criminal Deputy Charlie Rosenzweig shared his own strategy in the case of a home invasion. Me personally, and for my family, were going to fight to the death, Rosenzweig said. And were going to win. But, the 40-year Sheriffs office veteran said, there are many other ways for homeowners and renters to ward off or stay safe during a burglary or robbery. His first tip: Dont be a stranger. Tips from the public (especially license plate numbers) can be the most important parts of solving cases for law enforcement, he said, and even if they dont help in a specific case, they help officers learn more about trends in an area. Please call us, even if you think its minor or minuscule, Rosenzweig said. He mentioned that those concerned about privacy when calling 911 can tell dispatch do not disclose when asked for their name. And being in touch with neighbors, such as through neighborhood watch groups, means having an extra pairs of eyes looking out for you. But he cautioned attendees to be eyes and ears and not hands and feet for law enforcement. Mark James Miller is an associate English instructor at Allan Hancock College, and president of the Part-Time Faculty Association. He can be reached at mark@pfaofahc.com. In July 2018, as the government forces closed in on southern Syria, Israel secured a way of Syria for 800 members of the White Helmets and their families reports SANA. The UK has re-homed some 100 members of the White Helmets terrorist group and their families, who were evacuated from Syria last July, the UK Home Office confirmed. The Israeli entity revealed last July that it carried out a covert operation during the night in which it smuggled around 800 members of the White Helmets and their families from southern Syria and transported them into Jordan by land, for them to be later transported to the US, Canada, France and the UK. The UK Immigration Minister, Caroline Nokes, said the Home Office had asked local councils to volunteer to take in White Helmet members and their families, and to provide funding for English language lessons, to help those resettled find work in the UK. Western countries evacuated the White Helmets from areas that were liberated from terrorism, to prevent the truth about their involvement with those countries from coming to light. The evacuation also aimed at concealing the White Helmet role in staging chemical weapons attacks, which the Syrian army were later blamed for. The White Helmets was established in Turkey in 2013 with British and American funding. The fact that it exclusively operated in areas where the terrorist organizations operated, raised question about its alleged humanitarian work, especially since many of its members appeared in video clips carrying machine guns and fighting alongside the terrorists. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Syrias Permanent Representative to the UN criticised the colonial practises of other states and said that people must have self-determination writes SANA. Syrias Permanent Representative to the UN, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari affirmed the need to put an end to colonialism in the world and grant the right of self-determination to all people. Jaafari, during a meeting of the Special Committee on the Situation with Regards to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, said that the Committee was one of the side that contributed to granting the right of self-determination to people who were subjected to colonialism. Those people have made use of applying self-determination, and putting an end to colonialism and becoming members of the international committee, Jaafari added. He stressed that there are two main differences between the League of Nations and the UN Charter. The first legislated for war and colonialism, while the latter rejected the legislation of war and established a Commission on Decolonization. Jaafari said that the Committee has responsibility to end colonialism in the world after nearly 75 years of the United Nations. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Suhail al-Hassan, who is known as The Tiger, has proven himself to be an effective leader and well respected among the men who serve him reports Alsouria Net. A report by Russian experts, which discussed the current state of the Assad regime, expressed concerns about the power of the President who is becoming exhausted and his losing power, as the strength of the Iranian militias increases. The report, entitled The Tiger Forces The Only Hope for Damascus, was published by the Independent Center for Foreign Economic Policy Studies in Istanbul (EDAM), in December 2018. The report concluded that if, peace is to be maintained in Syria, the army must be rebuilt, and suggested that Suhail al-Hassan, who is known as The Tiger, should be put in charge of the army, while pointing out that Iran would stand against him. The report says that Assad, with the help of Russia and Iran, has been able to recover a lot of land, but said that, the apparent stability in Syria is deceitful, because the army has become destructive and ineffective, with corruption and nepotism among the officers. The Russian experts pointed out that the regimes army has lost its credibility and criticized the low salaries given to Assads forces, with a soldiers salary reaching only 81 dollars a month, while fighters in the Iranian backed militias, receive 131 dollars a month. According to the report, these militias, which involved businessmen such as Rami Makhlouf, have limited the losses of the army and prevented the impact of defections in its ranks. According to the report, there are 100,000 fighters in Assads army.. In fact, only 20,000 to 30,000 troops are ready to fight in hot spots, except for the Fourth Division, Republican Guards, and the Fifth Corps. The authors of the report suggest that the commander of the Tiger Forces, Suhail al-Hassan, who the experts described as, successful, not within the Syrian army but as an independent unit, is the most suitable officer to take command of the army. But as a result of the circumstances in Syria, the experts foresaw the possibility of him being removed. The report said that Russia depends on Hassan being known among the Alawite officers, and in the Fifth Corps, and became an equivalent of Maher Assad. Above that, he is very close to Moscow. According to the report, in the light of Russian support, Hassan can take control. But other Russian views see this as being difficult because of resistance of Fourth Division led by Maher al-Assad, who wouldnt agree to be under Hassans command. Moreover, Iran would not agree, even though Hassan enjoys the support of the countrys security agencies. Iranian Influence The report also focused on the Iranian militarys incursion in Syria. It pointed out that Tehran has been empowering its militias in light of the weak center of power and the weakness of the regimes army, similarly to what it did in Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon. It is achieving this by building a militia group in Syria in cooperation with Hezbollah. The Russians on the other hand, according to the report, are seeking to consolidate, the pillars of the state and open a dialogue to resolve the Syrian issue, adding that, Russia needs to work to rebuild the army by building a coherent chain of command, and this requires pressure on the Iranian security officers who oversee their Syrian counterparts, in order to restrict the Iranian militias. Russia does not intend to do this openly but by rebuilding the regimes army, which will determine in what direction the country will go. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Following the stripping of suspected IS-member Shamima Begum's British citizenship, Syrians have called for Bashar al-Assad's wife Asma's UK citizenship to be stripped writes Al-Araby al-Jadeed. Syrians have called for the British citizenship of Asma al-Assad, wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to be revoked, after Shamima Begum, a British teenager who joined the Islamic State (ISIS), was stripped of her citizenship on Tuesday. Many believe the only difference between Assad and ISIS leaders is that he wears a Western suit and tie. If the British government has a law to revoke womens citizenship for being married to a terrorist, then Asma must not be an exception, Abdulaziz al-Mashi of the Syria Solidarity Campaign told The New Arab. She is not only married to the most brutal terrorist that Syria has ever known, but also to a mass murderer and a war criminal. Asma al-Assad is not just a normal house wife in Syria, but also a propaganda machine who has been publicly supporting and advocating for her husbands actions. Asma Assad, nee al-Akhras, still retains full citizenship of the country where she was born and raised. Assad, who has been personally sanctioned by the European Union, has used social media and interviews to defend the regimes actions, and has taken on the role of a community service-minded philanthropist during the war. Alongside Bashar al-Assad, Syrian journalist Zouhir al-Shimale said, Asma, looted the countrys resources, destroyed the country and displaced millions. [Revoking] Asmas nationality would be a great idea, that will humiliate Assads presidency, and would freeze the familys fortune hidden in UK banks, which should be sent back to the Syrian people, he explained. However, Shimale said that Assad should not be compared Begum, who ran away from home to join ISIS at 15, and was likely subject to online grooming and radicalisation. Most Syrians who oppose the regime believe that Asma al-Assad holds at least some responsibility for its crimes. Although she may not have personally orchestrated any atrocities, many believe she has chosen to remain in Syria and support the regime, and thus carries some responsibility for the actions of her husband and relatives. You cannot be blind from the news, Omar, a Syrian refugee in the Netherlands said. Im sure she has ways of communication and sees how her husband and his brothers and their cousins are controlling the country. Some believe, though, that it is reprehensible to strip anyone of their citizenship no matter the extent of their crimes. Its illegal under international law and sets a precedent of stripping peoples citizenships politically and without due process, said Osamah, a British-Syrian graduate. Despite the UK increasingly stripping the citizenship of suspected ISIS members, it is unlikely that the UK will revoke Asma al-Assads British passport. The UK granted indefinite leave to remain to one of Bashar al-Assads aunts, it was reported in January. Syrians in opposition to the regime are in agreement that Asma al-Assad holds criminal responsibility, but disagree over a proposed trial. While Syrians like Mashi have requested Assad and her father Fawaz Akhras, who he described as another propaganda machine for Assad, have their citizenships revoked and later be tried in a Syrian court, others like Shimale believe the Assads should face justice in an international court. Others yet think she should be tried in the UK. Asma al-Assad represents the hypocrisy of the UKs attitude toward terrorism and war crimes. Asma continues to be complicit in white washing the Assad regimes crimes and continues to benefit from British citizenship. If the British government wishes to bring to court, then I would welcome that, and I would rather support that than have her stripped of her citizenship, said Osamah. At a time when international powers claim the Syrian war is coming to an end, with the Assad regime and its Russian backers the victors, the prospects of the prosecution of any of the Assad family whether in Syria, Britain or the Hague feel distant. Around 500,000 people have been killed over the past eight years of war in Syria the majority of whom were killed by the forces of a regime, which has been accused of over a hundred chemical attacks, torture, and other war crimes. Many Syrians are hungry for justice despite the odds. This desire for accountability has been satiated by some criminal proceedings in Europe. Germany arrested two members of Syrias secret police last week, on allegations of carrying out crimes against humanity. One of them is the highest level official to be prosecuted to date. However, the courts of individual countries are highly restricted in who they are able to try and it is unlikely that high-level figures could be tried outside of international or Syrian courts, unless they are nationals of those countries. It is vital that all those who have committed war crimes in Syria are held accountable for what they have done, said Ruairi Nolan of the Syria Campaign. We hope ultimately this accountability will reach the very top of the regime itself. A just peace in Syria is dependent on this accountability. 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The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.In accordance with industry accepted best practices we ask that users limit their copy / paste of copyrighted material to the relevant portions of the article you wish to discuss (no more than 50% of the source material) provide a link back to the original articleIf you are a legal copyright holder or a designated agent for such and you believe a post on this website falls outside the boundaries of "Fair Use" and legitimately infringes on yours or your clients copyright please contact [email protected] This website is owned by :Marco ZwaneveldDrijfriemstraat 522516 XR The HagueNetherlands.I will not rent, sell, share or otherwise disclose your personal information to any third party.We might contact you from time to time regarding your purchases or the services (like forums and announcement lists) you have subscribed to.Some of the 3rd party advertisers on lunaticoutpost.com may use cookiesto track peformance and/or to serve relevant ads.If you wish to read more and/or opt out of such cookies, please visit: http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/ Amidst all the defeats and setbacks Iran is suffering at home and overseas there is one notable victory. Iran was able to persuade the EU (European Union) to assist Iran in getting around the sanctions the Americans restored because of Iran violating the 2015 treaty that lifted most of the sanctions. Iran offered EU nations lucrative economic opportunities in return for cooperation in getting around the American sanctions. The EU created the SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) which is basically an EU approved barter system that makes it easy for Iran to sell trade with the EU via barter rather than using dollars. Iran uses a similar system with Russia and China. The EU SPV is a major disappointment to the many Iranians seeking to overthrow the religious dictatorship that has made life miserable for over four decades. Iran considered the SPV a major victory if only because it reduces cooperation between the United States and the EU. Most Iranians see the EU, Chinese and Iranian economic efforts providing the corrupt Iranian government with more sources of income. Iranians expected Russia, Turkey and China to eagerly do business with the Iranian government but are disappointed that the EU was for sale as well. This means Iranians have to wait longer for some economic and political change. While foreigners can pretend that their investments and trade with Iran benefits all Iranians, the average Iranian knows better because they see the corruption every day as they strive to deal with shortages and rising prices while the Shia clergy and their families prosper. For Iranians, a major predictor of political and economic success is the amount of corruption the country suffers from. It is getting worse. Iran ranks 138th out of 180 countries in 2018 (compared to 130 in 2017 ) while many neighboring nations do better (and many do worse). Progress, or lack thereof, can be seen in the annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index where countries are measured on a 1 (most corrupt) to 100 (not corrupt) scale. The most corrupt nations (usually North Korea/14, Yemen/14, Syria/13, South Sudan/13 and Somalia/10) have a rating of under 15 while of the least corrupt (New Zealand and Denmark) are over 85. The current Iran score is 28 (down from 30 in 2017) compared to 16 (15) for Afghanistan, 33 (32) for Pakistan, 28 (29) for Russia, 41 (40) for India, 49 (49) for Saudi Arabia, 70 (71) for the UAE (United Arab Emirates), 35 (32) for Egypt, 62 (64) for Israel, 10 (9) for Somalia, 13 (12) for South Sudan, 16 (16) for Sudan, 61 (61) for Botswana, 72 (75) for the United States, 72 (73) for Japan, 38 (37) for Indonesia, 57 (54) for South Korea, 18 (18) for Iraq, 41 (40) for Turkey, 14 (16) for Yemen, 39 (41) for China, 62 (63) for Qatar, 28 (28) for Lebanon, 35 (33) for Algeria, 32 (31) for Mali, 43 (40) for Morocco, 43 (42) for Tunisia, 19 (20) for Chad, 34 (33) for Niger, 19 (19) for Angola, 26 (26) for Uganda, 56 (55) for Rwanda, 17 (22) for Burundi, 36 (36) for Tanzania and 35 (37) for Zambia, 34 (35) for Ethiopia, 27 (28) for Kenya, 24 (20) for Eritrea, 25 (25) for Cameroon, 40 (39) for Benin, 41 (40) for Ghana, 43 (43) for South Africa and 45 (45) for Senegal. A lower corruption score is common with nations in economic trouble and problems dealing with Islamic terrorism and crime in general. Irans corruption score has not changed much since 2012 when it was 28. There were slight improvements until 2017 but now it is getting worse and that is one of the reasons so many Iranian are openly calling for a new government. The public unrest is increasingly physical rather than vocal and peaceful mass demonstrations. It is increasingly common for nearby civilians to attack lifestyle police, even in large cities, when these police arrest women for not dressing properly. This resistance has reached the point where many lifestyle police carefully study nearby civilians before arresting women. That doesnt always work because with so many new reformers being former hardliners the attack is likely to come from men who used to be energetic supporters of the lifestyle police and the regular police as well. A growing number of these government supporters are now all for less corruption, intrusive lifestyle police and restrictions on foreign trade but still, want America and Israel destroyed one way or another. Yet these same anti-American reformers also want better relations with Turkey and the Arabs as well as less dependence on Russia. The growing anti-government protests are also becoming more physical when it comes to symbols of government misbehavior. Chief among these are the many foreign military or terror operations the government not only supports but promotes as one of the positive aspects of the clerical dictatorship. Now protestors are openly destroying billboards praising these foreign wars and disrupting official celebrations of these expensive (in cash and lives) government operations. As usual, not all is what it seems in Iran. Life is so much more confusing, and violent, in Iran these days. The government did admit that there were 271 major protests in January but insisted most were about economic issues. Stymied In Syria Iran has problems with Israel in Syria, as well as its own allies. The Iranians want the Assads to accept Iranian domination (as Hezbollah does in Lebanon) and agrees with Turkey the Syrian Kurds should not get autonomy and should except rule by Iran backed Syrian government as well as Turkish control of border areas. Iran has a major problem in that no one wants them in Syria much less acting as an occupying military force in Syria dedicated to starting a war with Israel. The Russians would prefer that the Turks and Iranians got out of Syria and that the Assads and Kurds worked out a compromise (which the two seem willing to do). The Americans, Israelis and most other Middle Eastern nations agree with this approach. Israel wants Iran out of Syria and would prefer that the Kurds got their autonomy. Israel is willing to make a peace deal with Syria and Turkey. Israel has successfully attacked Iranian efforts to build a military infrastructure (bases, arms factories, forces on the Israeli border) in Syria and this has made the Iranian leadership angrier and very frustrated. Iran is seen as even more unstable and unpredictable than Turkey. The Americans (and most NATO members) want Turkey to act more like a NATO member and less like a Turkey trying to reestablish its imperial influence in the Middle East and Islamic world. The Turks are seen as unreliable and dangerous by just about everyone. For somewhat different reasons the Iranians are viewed the same way. The Americans are also threatened with attack and destruction by the Iranians but the Turks still like to at least pretend they are a NATO member in good standing and would like the Americans to appreciate what the Turks are trying to do. The West has been unable to understand, appreciate or support whatever it is the Turks are trying to do. The Americans are trying to negotiate some sort of compromise with the Turks but this is not going well and the Turks seem less concerned about being expelled from NATO and regarded as a hostile force than to the Americans and other NATO members. Retreat From Israel The Iranian threat has become more ominous as Iranian officials escalate their threatening gestures and rhetoric. This puts Iran in an embarrassing situation because the reality is that Iran does not really have the capability to launch an effective attack on Israel. They can carry out attacks that will likely fail and undermine Iranian credibility throughout the region as well as insider Iran itself. In addition to all the Iranian bases and facilities hit with airstrikes over the last few years, the Israeli military recently revealed that in 2017 Israel had detected and thwarted a major Iranian effort to hack into the Israeli domestic warning system. In the last year alone Israeli Cyber War defense efforts have thwarted 130 Iranian Internet-based attacks on Israel. At the same time, similar Israeli attacks on Iran are succeeding. When you hack what is a secret enemy facility, to begin with it is especially difficult to assess your success or failure. Along those lines, the chatter coming from Iran is that their nuclear enrichment (turning uranium into weapons-grade material) facilities are again suffering massive equipment failures (the centrifuges were apparently hacked again, as they were nearly a decade ago by Stuxnet). Iran is a much greater threat to the Arab Gulf states than anything else and Israeli leaders admit this is the main reason Arab states, after so many decades, are finally recognizing that Israel is more useful as an ally than a foe. That may not last beyond the current Iranian threat to Arab states, which is both religious and territorial. The previous Iranian government (the monarchy) coveted Arab oil but was held in check by the Western powers. Any new Iranian government will probably be secular and democratic. Before the Iranian theocracy took over Israel and Iran were on good terms. When that status returns the Arabs may see Israel differently. But that is then while Arabs and Israel as allies is now. Iran desperately needs a win and Yemen is one area where that is still possible, despite numerous setbacks there. For one thing, Iran still has a lot of support from leftist politicians in the West. This is partly resentment against the United States, which has always been the primary supporter of Saudi Arabia, and Gulf Arab oil states in general. Now the majority of legislators in the American Congress are willing to demand the U.S. halt military aid to Saudi Arabia. This is unlikely to pass into law but if it did it would be a major win for Iran. While the Iranian Information War campaign (with the help of Russia) to demonize the Arab coalition in Yemen, continues more Western analysts are pointing out that the main cause of civilian casualties are the Shia rebels, who deliberately use civilians as human shields. Arab armies will attack anyway but the Shia rebels are setting up those civilian deaths mainly to manipulate Western media. This has been more obvious during the current ceasefire. The main cause of ceasefire violations, and dead civilians has been Shia rebels. The Iranian smuggling efforts are no longer able to bring in ballistic missiles (broken down and later reassembled under the supervision of Iranian technicians) into Yemen. There is still some threat from Iranian UAVs, but while these are smaller and easier to smuggle in there appears to be a limited number of them left in Yemen because of the numerous Arab air raids (in the last month) against bases they operate from. The Saudis are pleased that the ballistic missile attacks have been halted along with the reduction of armed (with explosives) UAV attacks. The Arabs will probably prevail in Yemen but it is the only one of Irans wars where Iranian prospects are good. Iraq, Syria, Gaza and Lebanon are all more expensive and less likely to provide the Iranian theocracy with a much needed victory. That means the growing domestic protests will become more of a threat. Another area where Iran can claim a victory of sorts is in Venezuela. In early 2019 Mossad revealed how during 2018 it had provided key information that aborted four Islamic terrorist attacks in Europe and assisted counter-terror threats in many parts of the world. This included Venezuela, where the Israeli help is appreciated. Interim Venezuelan president Juan Guaido said he wanted to work with Israel to identify and arrest or expel Iranian backed Islamic terrorist operations in Venezuela, along with any other criminal organizations Iran created and sustains. Hezbollah has been part of the criminal underground in Venezuela for decades and has been able to expand its operations considerably since the socialist government took power in 1999. Since these Iran backed gangsters have long supported the socialist government they are very unpopular but the Lebanese criminals are but one small part of a vast network of gangs that prosper by dealing with illegal drugs, smuggling whatever is profitable and providing any illegal service if the price is right. Venezuela currently has two rival presidents. The other one is Nicolas Maduro, the head of the leftist party that ruined the economy and blatantly rigged elections. Maduro is no longer recognized by most South American nations and many in Europe and elsewhere. If Maduro is ousted, so is Iran, which the Israelis would be eager to assist with. For over a decade Israel has warned of Iranian and Hezbollah backed companies in Venezuela benefitted from the leftist government there that is blatantly anti-Israel and tolerant of Islamic radicalism. Israel believed these commercial operations are a cover for teams of terrorists intent on kidnapping Jewish residents of, or visitors to, Venezuela. The captives would then be smuggled back to Lebanon and used to extract prisoners and other concessions from Israel. This never happened, in part because most of the 22,000 local Jews left Venezuela since the leftists came to power in 1999. When the Iranian threat became apparent more Jews left and those still around took precautions. In neighboring Colombia, the army captured documents as early as 2008 showing that leftist rebels had close, but secret, ties with Venezuela. It is believed that similar arrangements were made with Hezbollah. Afghanistan Threatens The current effort to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan is not popular with Iranians. The Taliban are seen as inherently anti-Iranian. Iran also has issues with the Afghan drug gangs, who continue to produce, with Pakistani cooperation, the majority of the worlds supply of heroin (in addition to the cheaper opium and hashish). This is unpopular with the civilian populations of all nations adjacent to landlocked Afghanistan. Thats because the exported heroin passes through all of these nations and creates millions of local addicts in the process. Then there is the violence on the borders as the Afghan drug smugglers are armed and if bribes dont work bullets come next. Bribes work best on the Pakistani border while the Iranian border has been a war zone for years. Iraqi Agony Iranian efforts to dominate Iraq and profit from that relationship have run into problems. This takes many forms. For example, the Iraqi delays in capturing natural gas that is currently wasted (burned off) is good for Iran, which sells Iran natural gas and would lose that business if Iraq finally, after decades of delays, invested in the effort to capture the gas, at least for internal use. Iran will bribe or intimidate whoever they must to retain the gas export business and the resulting dependence on Iran. There are many less lucrative economic dependencies that Iran profits from. The trade dependencies are just one of many ways Iran maintain influence and control in Iraq. Another dependency is the pro-Iran PMF (Peoples Mobilization Forces) who serve as security forces in most of the Sunni Arab parts of Iraq that the PMF helped free of ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) control. The United States is demanding that the Iraqi government disband or discipline on armed pro-Iran groups in Iraq that use violence against Iraqi civilians and threaten to do the same to foreign troops. The NATO troops, particularly the Americans, can defend themselves from PMF violence but the Sunni Arab civilians being policed by PMF militias have less attractive options. The best way these civilians can fight back is to tolerate continued ISIL recruiting and operations in their neighborhoods. American and Iraqi Special Forces, as well as Iraqi counter-terrorism forces all agree that a major factor for continued popular support for ISIL in Sunni Arab areas is the bad behavior of the Iran-backed PMF units. ISIL provides the easiest and quickest way to fight back against the rogue PMF units. Even PMF units loyal to the government have problems because some of them consider their first loyalty is to an Iraqi Shia cleric and then to the government. At least these groups oppose any foreign influence. The pro-Iran PMF also face dissent, with a growing number of these militias beginning to doubt that Iran is the solution to Iraqi problems. Not when so many Iranians are calling for the fall of the religious dictatorship that is seeking to control Iraq. February 20, 2019: On the Syria-Iraq border, American troops continue to occupy positions in Syria at the Tanf border crossing to Iraq. This key crossing is near the Jordan border. With the American forces present there is a 55 kilometers deconfliction zone maintained by American forces that unwelcome military forces (Russian, Syrian and Iranian) are banned from. The unwelcome are unhappy about this and have expressed their feelings by not allowing supplies to reach the American run refugee camp within the zone. Most of the 50,000 Syrian refugees are women and children and the U.S. has to bring in all the supplies from Iraq. February 18, 2019: In the southeast (Sistan-Baluchistan province), IRGC troops arrested three suspected Baluchi separatists and seized 150 kg (330 pounds) of explosives and other bomb-making materials. Raids also shot down at least two safe houses in two cities of province used by Baluchi separatist group Jaish al Adl. February 14, 2019: Leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran met and agreed that there would be no military offensive against the thousands of Islamic terrorists trapped in northwestern Syria (Idlib province) but that other, unspecified, measures would be taken to increase the pressure on the trapped Islamic terrorists to surrender. There were also no details on the issue of recent fighting between pro-Russian Syrian Assad troops and Iranian mercenaries. Russia and Iran are competing for the position of the main foreign supporter of the Assad government. The Assads would prefer the Russians, who are not as ideologically fanatic, economically weak and diplomatically isolated as Iran. Russia has to be careful here because the Iranian ground forces (over 20,000 Shia mercenaries) are the largest infantry force in Syria. Russia does not want a war with Iran but they do not want Iranian forces to remain in Syria because Iranian plans for Syria will not end well for anyone. February 13, 2019: In the southeast (Sistan-Baluchistan province on the border of Pakistani Baluchistan), 27 IRGC troops were killed and 13 wounded when a suicide car bomber destroyed an IRGC bus. The government blamed Saudi Arabia, Israel, Pakistan and everyone but the Iranian Sunni Baluchi separatists who operate from bases in Pakistan and frequently cross the border to carry out attacks in the IRGC forces who guard the border. Often the border guards intercept the separatists at the border and kill or capture them. This violence has been going on for decades and never needed any outside assistance to keep going. Pakistan keeps getting blamed for the continued presence of Iranian Sunni separatists in Pakistani Baluchistan. Pakistan tries but the Baluchis live on both sides of the border and Iranian and Pakistani Baluchis want to create an independent Baluchistan that includes a chunk of southeast Iran where most of the Iranian Baluchis live. One of the usual suspects, Iranian separatist group Jaish al Adl took credit for the attack. In late 2018 Iran threatened to send troops across the Pakistani border to find and destroy Iranian Jaish al Adl camps in Pakistan if the Pakistani security forces did not take action and neither did the IRGC. Russia agreed to lend Iran $5 billion dollars in the form of economic aid projects and euros. Iran is resorting to a wide array of techniques to get around the resumed American sanctions. The Iranians are having some success but the economic situation continues to get worse and the public protests are more frequent. February 11, 2019: In southern Syria (Golan Heights), Israeli tank fire destroyed what turned out to be an Iranian observation post near the Israeli border. Two Iranians died in that attack. Apparently as a result of this attack and several recent airstrikes on Iranian bases in Syria Iran has pulled back its forces from the Israeli border. These forces are being moved to bases closer to the Iraq border, making it easier to move them into Iraq if necessary. If Iran sets up missile launchers in Iraq aimed at Israel the Israelis would bomb them and the Iraqis now it do not want to get involved in that sort of thing. Syrian army forces could be seen coming in to replace the departed Iranian troops. February 9, 2019: Russia and Iran claim that Israeli military intelligence personnel are operating in western Afghanistan (Herat province) from the American portion of the Afghan Shindand Air Base. This base is 120 kilometers from the Iranian border and has long been used for American air surveillance operations along the Iranian border and inside Iran as well. Back in 2009 the U.S. Air Force admitted that it was operating the new, jet-powered RQ-170 UAV in Afghanistan. At that point, the RQ-170, which looks like a miniature B-2 bomber, had been in development for over six years. It was believed to be flying over Iran, which would be a real test for a stealthy UAV like this. This turned out to be the case and in 2011 a RQ-170 crashed in Iran and the Iranians recovered and restored the damaged UAV. Israel and the United States often cooperate on intel collecting operations and there have been earlier reports about Israeli experts coming to Afghanistan to assist in the effort to monitor what is going on in Iran. February 8, 2019: In North African Saudi ally Morocco is withdrawing its forces (six warplanes and ground support personnel) from the Arab coalition force in Yemen because a Saudi TV network recently broadcast a documentary that cast doubt on Morocco claims to the Western Sahara territory that Morocco and Algeria have been feuding about for decades. Algeria tends to ally itself with Iran but tries to maintain good relations with Saudi Arabia as well. Morocco refused to get involved with the feud between Saudi Arabia and Qatar (an Iranian ally). February 2, 2019: In the southeast (Sistan-Baluchistan province), Baluchi separatists attacked an IRGC base killing one soldier and wounding five. Iranian Baluchi separatist group Jaish al Adl took credit for the attack. January 29, 2019: In the southeast (Sistan-Baluchistan province), three bomb disposal technicians were wounded as they sought to disable a Jaish al Adl bomb found in the provincial capital. January 25, 2019: Egypt told Hamas to choose between working for Iran or with Egypt. Hamas is currently the recipient of cash and other aid from Iran, but the cash and the legal (no weapons) aid gets in with Egyptian cooperation. Egypt already has the one legal crossing from Gaza to Egypt closed most of the time and continues to destroy any smuggling tunnels they find. It is more and more difficult to build a tunnel into Egypt and keep it operational. Hamas also has to worry that Egypt will, or already has, invited the Israelis to test their new tunnel detection technology along the Egyptian border with Gaza. That would mean all currently operating tunnels would be found and destroyed. Hams would then be almost completely cut off from Iranian aid. Iran could still get some material and people through, but much less than now and at much greater risk and expense (for bribes and smuggler fees). Hamas has not yet responded to the Egyptian offer, which includes assistance in negotiating with Israel. This is something most Gazans would like but that Hamas is largely opposed to. More problems in Iraq. Much to the displeasure of Iran, the Iraqi leader recently met with the king of Jordan in Iraq. This was the first time the Jordanian had been in Iraq since before Saddam was overthrown in 2003. After that, the Iraqi leader spoke with the Saudi Crown Prince on the phone for the first time. Jordan offered military and intel cooperation to improve security along their mutual border as well as economic opportunities. The Saudi Leader offered economic aid and any other joint projects the Iraqis might be interested in as well as cooperation with mutual security needs. Iran doesnt like to be reminded that Arab Shia will ultimately be Arabs first and Shia second. Iran helps with that continuing to treat their own Arab minority badly. January 22, 2019: In Israel, there was an Arrow 3 anti-missile missile test in southern Israel against an air-launched rocket that returned to earth at the same speed as a ballistic missile warhead fired from Iran. The test warhead was intercepted. This test had been planned for a long time and was not carried out just to send a message to the Iranians, but it did that as well. In February 2019 the United States turned over a $16.5 million command and control system to the African nation of Niger. The system consists of a fixed base station (at a military base outside the capital Niamey) and two mobile (truck mounted) base stations. The fixed and mobile base stations include a tactical operations center with computer equipment for planning and carrying out operations. Each base station is able to send and receive encrypted messages and graphics files. The U.S. is providing training for officers and troops who will operate the base stations, which can communicate with military and civilian radio systems within range. This command and control system is but another American effort to improve the ability of Niger security forces to deal with the growing Islamic terrorist threat to Niger, especially from Boko Haram and various al Qaeda affiliates. The two nations have been working together on this for over a decade. In late 2017 Niger gave American and French UAVs operating in or over Niger permission to carry and use Hellfire missiles and other guided weapons inside Niger. For the most part, this means U.S. and French MQ-9 Reaper UAVs operating from existing bases in Niger, Mali and Djibouti. France also operates manned combat aircraft from bases in Mali. EU peacekeepers also operate armed UAVs and helicopters in northern Mali. There are about 800 U.S. troops in neighboring Niger, most of them maintaining the aerial surveillance UAVs and other aircraft and helping train Niger troops. In early October 2017, four American Special Forces soldiers were killed in Niger when the training exercise (a large patrol) they were supervising clashed with Islamic terrorists operating near the Mali border. Four of the Niger troops were killed as well and even more American and Niger troops were wounded. This led Niger to allow armed UAVs to operate in Niger. In the past, there had not been many situations calling for rapid response by armed aircraft. The early October incident made it clear the situation had changed. Before October it was possible to get foreign aircraft to come and carry out an air strike but the process took time. The Niger and American troops in October were not expecting to encounter such a large force of Islamic terrorists and have armed UAVs on call would have made a big difference. The new command and control systems make it easier for Niger to call in air support when its own forces are under attack or in danger and need aerial surveillance support. This need for all this aid to Niger is largely the result of the success of French counter-terror operations in Mali and the ongoing fight against Boko Haram in Nigeria. In both cases, many of the Islamic terrorists fled or moved to Niger. This has been going on for some time and Niger has responded by allowing in more and more foreign assistance. In 2016 construction began on a new U.S. AFRICOM (Africa Command) base in Agadez, Niger, 730 kilometers northeast of the capital (Niamey). This base becomes operational in 2019 after $110 million was spent on building and equipping it. The U.S. received permission for such a base in 2014, a year after American UAVs began operating from a Niger base next to the Niamey airport. The new Agadez base is built largely from scratch because, unlike Niamey, Agadez does not have a large airport or much in the way of support for lots of aircraft operations. Agadez is closer to Chad, southern Libya and Nigeria, where American aerial surveillance is more in demand by the local governments. The U.S. shares intelligence obtained by the Niger-based UAVs with Niger and other nations in the area that have intelligence sharing agreements as well as with France, which leads the counter-terrorism effort in the region. Since 2013 France has operated a counter-terrorism operation effort throughout the Sahel (the semi-desert area south of the desert that stretches across northern Africa) using about 4,000 French troops based mainly in Mali. About the same time work began on the Agadez base France and other European nations helped form the G5 Sahel Joint Force consisting of 5,000 troops from Sahel nations Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad. The G5 force is mainly concerned with Islamic terror groups in the Sahel. The idea for the G5 force has been around since 2015 but it was only by the end of 2016 that the countries involved agreed on the details. This included who would provide what in terms of the 5,000 soldiers and police needed and where they would be based. The G5 force will is stationed in three operational areas along with troops familiar with local conditions. Thus Sahel East consists of troops from Chad and Niger. Sahel Central is staffed by troops from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso while Sahel West mainly uses troops from Mali and Mauritania. Parts of the G5 force were operational by the end of 2017. The success of G5 Force will enable France to shrink and eventually disband the force of 4,000 French troops it has deployed in the Sahel since 2013. An effective G5 Force will also all a reduction of the 13,000 strong UN peacekeeper force in Mali. Agadez is the second American airbase in Africa and, like the first one, shared with France and other allies. The first U.S. base was established in 2002 when the United States began sharing an old French base in Djibouti (the northwestern neighbor of Somalia). Since then Djibouti has hosted the one official U.S. military base (Camp Lemonnier) in Africa. France and the United States SOCOM (Special Operations Command) have had special operations forces (commandos and special aircraft) outside the Djibouti capital since 2002. In 2014 the U.S. signed another ten year lease for that base. At that point, U.S. forces in Djibouti were monitoring what was going on in the region (mainly Somalia and Yemen but also Eritrea, Nigeria, Mali, Libya, Kenya, and Ethiopia) not at interfering with the local terrorists. Not much, anyway. The Djibouti base also supported operations throughout the Sahel and did this with a dozen or so MQ-9s plus manned aircraft like the U-28, F-15Es and various maritime surveillance aircraft in addition to a growing number of other foreign aircraft. Since 2007 the United States has created and expanded AFRICOM to manage all the increasingly numerous American military operations in Africa. Since most of these operations involved special operations troops rather than conventional military forces AFRICOM released little detail on what was where. But in the last few years more of these details have emerged. As suspected most of the fifty or so AFRICOM bases are temporary agreements to use existing civilian or military airbases or other facilities in African nations, usually ones where AFRICOM is providing assistance in dealing with Islamic terrorist activity or other security threats. Most of these facilities are considered temporary or contingent (there are arrangements to use an airbase or port facility if needed and on short notice). The permanent operations are bases or FOS (Forward Operating Sites) while the temporary sites are CSLs (cooperative security locations) where American and local forces operate together or CLs (contingency locations) where arrangements have been made for use if needed. About half the AFRICOM sites are CLs and not used by Americans on a regular basis. AFRICOM is similar in organization to other commands (CENTCOM, for the Middle East, and SOUTHCOM, for Latin America, etc). Before AFRICOM was created those operations were coordinated between two other commands (the one covering Europe and the one covering Latin America). The establishment of AFRICOM means more money for counter-terror operations in Africa and more long-range projects. No country in Africa had sufficient infrastructure for AFRICOM headquarters and few wanted to risk the political blowback from hosting a major American military headquarters. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Spectacular Slovakia #23: Visit the Nosferatu castle in Orava Care for a plate of halusky? Sheep cheese is an acquired taste, say Americans. Listen to the podcast: https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/578480682&color=%23096f52&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true During their time in Slovakia, Paul and Lynette Doege also visited the northern region of Orava. What are the places that you should definitely see and experiences you should not miss out on? Going to the castle where Nosferatu was filmed was an extra treat for Paul - more than the plate of halusky, which, Paul and Lynette admit, is not for everyone. Subscribe to Spectacular Slovakia for free: The Spectacular Slovakia travel podcast is the latest addition to our range of travel-related products. This programme is part of The Slovak Spectator subscription and our readers receive it every Thursday morning as part of their subscription. More information: Print+audio: shop.spectator.sme.sk/newspaper Online+audio: www.sme.sk/predplatne-spectator 22. Feb 2019 at 9:31 | Michaela Terenzani Bratislava to introduce night mayor The task of night mayors in Amsterdam, London and Prague is to make their cities more vibrant and safe at night. Bratislava city council is planning to install a night mayor whose function will be to coordinate care for the capital during the night hours. Amsterdam, London and Prague already have night mayors whose main task is to make their cities more vibrant and safe at night. Recently elected mayor Matus Vallo should get his night-time peer within months. His or her powers will include negotiations with the operators of restaurants, pubs and night clubs and setting the rules for the operation of the city during night hours, Bratislava city council explained for the TASR newswire. The night mayor will also adopt measures to prevent conflicts including managing a team of people to deal with problems of terrain. He will also deal with disturbances of the peace at night. He will closely cooperate with the authorised representative of the Bratislava mayor, Iveta Chovancova, as well as the head of the municipal police in matters concerning security and the illegal drugs policy. Michal Kalinak, an expert in self-government and spokesperson of the Association of Towns and Villages of Slovakia (ZMOS), is of the opinion that only real life experience will show to what extent this position will be an instrument into which competencies of public order can be concentrated. He also feels that it is important to ensure that the launch of this position will not mean duplication. Because good intentions can also cause disorder, said Kalinak. 22. Feb 2019 at 16:36 | Compiled by Spectator staff This is the screen that would appear if a cashier scanned the digital license of a person between the ages of 18 and 21. Credit: Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. ANNAPOLIS (February 22, 2019)State legislation could allow the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration to begin issuing electronic licenses.House bill 180 would begin the implementation of a Mobile Driver's License, a concept created by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators in conjunction with the Motor Vehicle Administration of the Netherlands. ( www.aamva.org/mobile-drivers-license/ The Mobile Driver's License app would allow its users to provide a digital version of their license for law enforcement and retailers. This app will only provide information pertinent to the person requesting it, according to a representative from the state's Motor Vehicle Administration.While police will have access to all the information normally on a physical license, cashiers will only be given the person's name, photo and one of three identifiers: "UNDER 18," "OVER 18/UNDER 21" or "OVER 21," according to the Motor Vehicle Administration.The system works by producing a Quick Response Codea black and white pixelated square often known as a QR codethat's scannable by the person requesting the ID, according to the state transportation agency. While this feature comes standard with most smartphones, older phones may not be able to download the app, the representative said.The digital license is not meant to replace physical licenses entirely. If a police officer is unable to access a digital ID, a physical copy is still required, according to the Motor Vehicle Administration.While this technology may help some businesses, many alcohol retailers have already invested in different ID scanning technologies that may not work with a digital license, according to a representative for the Maryland State Licensed Beverage Association.While in favor of the bill, the association proposed an amendment that would ensure retailers could accept mobile licenses on a voluntary basis. The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless. The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well. By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism. If you enjoy "Solomon's words for the wise", we invite you to become a regular subscriber. We will never charge you to read our website, but if you would like to send a donation for your subscription, you can click on the PAY PAL Button below and enter the amount you would like to send. If you don't have a Pay Pal account, you can use the credit cards below or make checks to Solomon's words, PO Box 250, Roulette, PA 16746. 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... The Trump administration said Thursday it will keep some 200 American troops stationed in Syria as part of what the White House is calling a small peacekeeping group. The continued troop presence comes as a slight reversal of President Trumps December order of a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces, which currently stand at some 2,000 troops. The decision to leave appears to be in response to the belief that even a small American presence would stabilize the territory liberated from ISIS by protecting the Kurdish minority that has done much of the heavy lifting in the fight to eradicate ISIS from the region. Advertisement European allies were reluctant to stay in the country in the absence of American troops and roundly rejected a request from the Trump administration to increase their military presence in the wake of an American withdrawal. The European forces have been engaged in a variety military operations ranging from conducting airstrikes and operating artillery to more support roles providing training, logistics, and intelligence to the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The withdrawal of all American troops sparked concern that Syrias northern neighbor, Turkey, would take military action against the Kurdish force across the border, which it considers a terrorist organization. Advertisement Advertisement President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the Turkish military, massed at the border, is prepared to move into northeast Syria once the Americans leave, the Washington Post reported. For its part, the SDF has appealed for Western nations to keep a force of up to 1,500 in northeast Syria to coordinate air support and back its efforts to hold militants and other adversaries at bay. In anticipation of the departure of some 2,000 U.S. troops, the Kurds are negotiating with both Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russia, his primary foreign backer along with Iran. The Trump administration has been trying to coordinate a safe zone with allied support along the Syrian border with Turkey with an observer force to keep Turkish forces from taking military action against the Kurds. Russia has pushed a plan that would give Syrian President Bashar al-Assad complete control over the territory in the northeast the U.S. currently helps control. To prevent that from happening, U.S. negotiations with Turkey are ongoing to continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone, the White House said in a statement. The Trump administrations attempt to deny citizenship to the children of binational same-sex couples suffered a setback on Thursday when a federal court ruled these children are American citizens. U.S. District Judge John F. Walter of California rejected the State Departments startling assertion that a married gay couples son was born out of wedlock and thus is ineligible for citizenship. But his decision applies only to these plaintiffsmeaning Secretary of State Mike Pompeo may continue to enforce an anti-gay policy on other binational couples. Somehow, nearly two years after the U.S. Supreme Court guaranteed equal rights to same-sex parents, the U.S. government is still trying to discriminate against their children under immigration law. Advertisement Thursdays decision in Dvash-Banks v. Pompeo revolves around a married couple, Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks, and their sons, Ethan and Aiden. Andrew is an American citizen; Elad is Israeli; and the couples children were conceived through surrogacy and born in Canada. Under U.S. law, a child born abroad receives citizenship at birth if his parents are married and at least one is an American citizen. Ethan and Aidens birth certificates list Andrew and Elad as their parents. Because Andrew and Elad are married, and Andrew is an American citizen, both children would appear to have a right to U.S. citizenship. Advertisement Advertisement As a matter of law, Ethan and Aiden were born to married parents. The Trump administration disagreed. When Andrew and Elad visited the American Consulate in Toronto to apply for U.S. passports, they were rebuffed. A consular official demanded to know which father provided sperm for which childa fact that the couple had planned to keep secret. She then said that only Andrews biological child would obtain citizenship, and then only after a DNA test confirmed their relationship. Aiden would not be allowed citizenship. Thats because, under current State Department guidelines, the children of same-sex couples who conceive through surrogacy are considered to be born out of wedlock. And federal law does not extend citizenship to children born abroad out of wedlock unless a biological parent is a U.S. citizen. Andrew and Elad filed suit on Aidens behalf. Advertisement There is an obvious flaw in the State Departments rules: As a matter of law, Ethan and Aiden were born to married parents. It seems factually incorrect to claim they were born out of wedlock, unless the federal government rejects the legitimacy of their birth certificates and their parents marriage. And the Supreme Court has already held that the government must both respect same-sex marriages and grant equal rights to children of such marriages. So the State Departments policy raises a serious constitutional question of unlawful discrimination against gay binational couples and their kids. Advertisement Perhaps recognizing this problem, the Department of Justice insisted that its hands were tied by the federal statute that governs citizenship of children born abroad. According to the DOJ, its cramped conception of wedlock arises not out of the State Departments anti-gay animus, but from the law itself. Congress, the DOJ wrote, said that children are only born in wedlock if they have a biological relationship with both their married parents. Aiden was not born in wedlock under this cramped definition, so he may not become a citizen. Advertisement As Walter explained in his decision on Thursday, the fatal flaw in this argument is that it is simply untrue. There is no biological requirement in the federal statute that governs Aidens citizenship status. The law merely states that, to become a citizen, a child birthed abroad must be born of parents who are married, and one of whom is an American citizen. Other provisions of the statute do expressly demand a biological link between parent and childbut this one does not. Indeed, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has already ruled that the law does not require a blood relationship between a child and his citizen parent, so long as both parents were married at birth. That holding resolves this case. Advertisement Advertisement Having resolved the case on statutory grounds, Walter did not delve into the constitutional issues lying just beneath the surface. He granted the Dvash-Banks familys request that the government recognize Aidens status as an American citizen. But he did not block the State Departments policy, choosing a narrow remedy that helps only these plaintiffs. That means other couples fighting the policylike two lesbian moms caught in an identical bindwill have to keep fighting. Whats most remarkable about Walters ruling is how brief and straightforward it is. At first glance, this case might seem complex, sitting at the intersection of surrogacy and immigration law. But the reality is that the Dvash-Banks sexual orientation should not actually complicate matters at all. The 9th Circuit previously found that the presumption of legitimacy applies to opposite-sex couples here, even when there is evidence that one parent had no biological relation. Why shouldnt that presumption apply equally to same-sex couples? The answer, according to Walter (and the Supreme Court), is that it must. Advertisement Understood properly, then, Dvash-Banks v. Pompeo is not a case on the margins of civil rights law. It reveals that the federal government is still attempting to treat the children of same-sex couples unequally, misreading statutes to deprive them of their rights. Binational heterosexual couples seeking citizenship for their children are never asked about their biological connections; the State Department policy targets gays alone. In 2017, the Supreme Court affirmed that same-sex couples must be given the constellation of benefits associated with marriage, including equal treatment of their children. Less than two years later, the Trump administration is working to undermine that guaranteeto prevent a toddler from acquiring the citizenship he is owed under law. Next week is set to see the biggest fight over the federal judiciary since Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court in October. As the New York Times reported on Wednesday, the Senate is due to consider a Republican plan to cut the amount of debate time on district court judges from a maximum of 30 hours to just two hours. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is reportedly considering nuking the filibuster to push through this change, which would further speed up an already conveyor beltlike confirmation system that has allowed President Donald Trump to seat a record number of judges. Advertisement Meanwhile, the Senate is also due to vote on the nomination of four circuit court nominees who are particularly controversial because they have not received approval from their home state senators (in this case, all Democrats). This approval, traditionally referred to as a blue slip, is a system by which judicial nominations would historically not go forward without the approval of senators from the judges home states. (The term blue slip comes from the piece of paper that home state senators typically need to return to the Judiciary Committee in order for a nomination to go forward.) Republicans already effectively killed the blue slip process last year for circuit court nominations by allowing the confirmation of David Stras after one home-state Democratic senator did not return a blue slip, but this latest escalation will be unprecedented. If Washingtons Eric Miller is confirmed to the 9th Circuit, for example, it will be the first time in 100 years that a judicial nominee will have been confirmed without the blue slip of either home state senator.* Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ahead of this drastic set of escalations, I spoke with Chris Kang, who ran judicial nominations for the Obama White House for more than four years. Kang argues that given these recent escalations, Democratic senators should band together and attempt to force Republicans to back down from this latest escalation. He explained how they might do this in the following conversation, which has been edited and condensed for clarity. Jeremy Stahl: Could you please walk me through how blue slips worked when you were working on judicial nominations as part of the Obama administration? Chris Kang: When I was in the Obama White House, I worked for two and a half years in the Office of Legislative Affairs, and in that capacity I worked with Senate offices and with senators to try to find consensus judicial nominees. After that I worked in the White House counsels office for four years where I ran the entire judicial nomination process from the selection and vetting to the confirmation of nominees. Advertisement The one throughline for the entire Obama administration, whether it was Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy as chairman or Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley as chairman, was that unless a nominee had support from both home state senators, that nominee would not move through the Judiciary Committee. Advertisement Was this the case for circuit court nominees as well as district court nominees? It was across the board. When you look at the roll call votes for President Obamas circuit court nominees who had support from Republican home state senators, almost all of them are confirmed unanimously because we did so much work to get the buy-in and support on the front end. How have you viewed the evolution of the blue slip process over the course of the last year-plus in terms of the diminishing of that power for Democrats who are now in the minority? Advertisement We can talk about it as Democrats losing power, but really, its the institution of senators losing any buy-in or influence. Sen. Grassley wrote an op-ed in the Des Moines Register in 2015 saying he appreciated Sen. Leahy adhering to the blue slip and he would promise to uphold it as well. And he did for two yearshe used that promise to block President Obamas nominees. To see him so quickly change on a dime for this short-term gain of moving these circuit court seats has been astonishing. Whats your proposal for Democrats in the Senate using what limited tactics they have left to fight this? Advertisement The conventional wisdom on both sides is that because Democrats are now in the minority, and judges can now be confirmed with a simple majority vote, Democrats dont have any leverage. As long as both sides buy into that theory, the White House has no incentive to actually work with Democratic senators. And Republican senators have no incentive to back down. Advertisement What I think the Democratic senators need to realize is they actually have a lot of power and influence left still. The irony is that the power they have left is in the blue slips. They still have blue slips to prevent district court nominees from moving forward. This is something that Sen. Graham has repeated now many times in his scant few weeks here as Judiciary chairman: that he will continue to observe the blue slip process for district court vacancies. What I think the Democratic senators need to realize is they actually have a lot of power and influence left still. The irony is that the power they have left is in the blue slips. Chris Kang What individual senators can do is commit to withhold them for vacancies in their states. For example, there are 15 district court vacancies in California. If Sens. Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein said they would not allow any of those seats to be filled unless and until the Trump administration withdrew the circuit court nominees where blue slips had not been returned and worked in good faith [on those circuit nominations], thats a lot of leverage. Same in New Yorkthere are two circuit court vacancies where President Trump has moved forward with nominations that Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand oppose. If they use blue slips to block the 13 open district court vacancies, you would force the White House to come back to the table on the circuit court judges. Advertisement Advertisement If every Democratic senator says were going to withhold the 76 blue slips we have, that would stop President Trump from being able to fill almost half the judicial vacancies that exist now. That changes the incentive structure. That changes the ability to have a conversation and really push to get better judges in the circuit court system and maybe restore some semblance of a blue slip process for circuit courts. To push back there in terms of your description of the leverage, whats to stop Lindsey Graham from just saying something like, I said I would respect the blue slip process for district court nominees, but the Democrats are not acting in good faith, theyre doing an across-the-board blockade, and I can no longer have this be the process, otherwise well never get any business done and well never have any judges confirmed again. So, no more blue slips for you. Advertisement There are not that many circuit court vacancies. So the possibility that the personal power [of GOP senators will be] eroded is much smaller [with the elimination of blue slips on circuit court appointments]. The odds that theres going to be a circuit court vacancy from South Carolina while theres a Democratic president and Democratic Senate is not so high for Sen. Graham, for example, to feel that hes sort of giving anything away. Advertisement Advertisement However, there are a lot more vacancies at the district court level throughout the country. And each Republican senator will be faced with the prospect of not having any say for these district court vacancies. And this is a power that they guard jealously. Again, these Republican senators would come to us in the White House and say, Thats not the person I would nominate. This one is. And then we in the White House would have to decide, Is the pick good enough that well move ahead with that person?giving, again, the right of first refusal to these Republican senators. Advertisement If you dont have any blue slips at all for district courts, thats going to be the ability for a Democratic president to start placing not just prosecutors who we think are good for these district court openings, but filling them with public defenders and immigration rights activists, and pro-choice activists, and LGBTQ rights activists. The possibility of a future Democratic president putting these lawyers and advocates in place should have a very chilling effect on all Republican senators and at least make Lindsey Graham think for a long time before making such a drastic move. Advertisement If he thinks twice and then thinks, To hell with it, Im going to eliminate district court blue slips anyways, that is going to allow in the immediate term President Trump to really run completely roughshod in terms of who he places on the bench. If Graham doesnt back down, and he blows up the entire thing, why is that not a disaster for Democrats? Advertisement I think that even in that situation, theres long-term benefits for progressives. My experience in the Obama White House is, again, Republicans would be very stingy with their blue slips. For the most part, they would use their blue slips for as much leverage they could to get the most moderate person they could get. You look at what Democrats are doing with their blue slips, and they are much more free to give them. They are much more in this mindset that Is the person qualified? literally from a resume perspective, and much less willing to fight for people who have progressive values and have the same understanding of the Constitution. So, in this current system even, blue slips are working against Democrats. If they were gone all together, it would then give a Democratic president a much freer hand to put forward the people that they want. The delta or the difference [in terms of the ideology of judges they are able to appoint] for a Democratic president overall would be much greater than the difference would be for a Republican president, who is unconstrained right now. Advertisement Advertisement One concern that Ive heard is that if you cause a big fight and you blow up that committee even further over blue slips, you have less leverage for a potentially bigger and more important fight down the road. This idea that theres going to be something bigger down the line thats going to be more important than the courts is fundamentally misunderstanding the role and the importance of our courts. But also, the idea that if Democrats just play nice, Republicans will be bipartisan down the line is laughable. I think one of the most frustrating things to me has been that Democrats dont have any response whenever Republicans change the rules. So, for example, when Republicans changed the voting threshold for Neil Gorsuch and jammed him through, what did Democrats do in response? They didnt institutionally as a caucus have any response. When Republicans were running a sham confirmation process for Brett Kavanaugh, Democrats decided that that would be the time that theyd start letting judicial nominees move by unanimous consent. Advertisement Meanwhile, look what Republicans did when Democrats changed the rules to overcome Republican obstruction on the courts in 2013. In response, Republicans forced Democrats to file 130 cloture votes in a 13-month periodthere have only been 90 in history before that. Thats a response. Advertisement Its great that Democrats will all get together and vote as a caucus against Eric Miller in defense of Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell having their blue slip objections overruled, but thats not going to actually change the fundamental dynamics at the end of the day. I will say that Sen. Mazie Hirono has been the leader on this. Once Republicans first ignored a Democratic senators blue slip and moved forward the nomination of David Stras, she started voting no on every single Trump judge on cloture. Weve seen just last week Sens. Kamala Harris and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrandbecause their blue slip prerogative has been overruledtheyve come out and said theyre going to vote no on every single circuit judge. Thats an important shift in the mentality to begin looking beyond the individual nominees that they object to, but at the end of the day its not going to actually change the incentive structure. Democrats withholding their blue slips on district court nominees would. As the special counsel investigation nears its end, its most anticipated area of inquiry remains unresolved: Did the Trump campaign collude with Russia during the 2016 presidential election? Legally, the question of collusion has always been a question of conspiracy. Any potential charges related to Russian collusion would likely allege a conspiracy to violate one or more federal statutes, such as those prohibiting fraud against the United States, foreign campaign assistance, or computer hacking. That Mueller has not yet alleged a Trump-Russia conspiracy, despite convicting several Trump associates for other crimes, has fueled speculation that the special counsel may lack sufficient evidence to bring collusion-related charges. NPR recently wrote that an ostensible conspiracy between Trumps campaign and the Russians who attacked the election is nowhere near close to being proven From what we know today the case is still Swiss cheese. Others have expressed similar skepticism based on the publicly available evidence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But is the current evidence of Russian collusion really so lacking? Does it matter from a legal perspective that there may not be a smoking gun? One might expect the answers to these questions to come from previous instances of foreign election-tampering or other geopolitical scandals. But much of the best guidance comes from a less obvious place: the corporate world of antitrust law. Antitrust laws relevance to the Russia investigation stems from the unique relationship that existed between Trump and Russia during the campaign, which was more akin to rival businesses accused of price-fixing than traditional criminal associates. Unlike in a typical criminal conspiracy, where participants conceal their actions because they are illegal regardless of any underlying conspiracy (think drug dealers or bank robbers), Trumps support for Russias policy objectives during the race was public and ostensibly legal so long as it was undertaken independently. From a conspiracy perspective, it was not illegal, standing alone, for the Trump campaign to meet with Russian agents, advocate easing Russian sanctions or dismantling NATO, negotiate a Trump Tower in Moscow, or publicly request that Russia locate Hillary Clintons emails. Advertisement But if Trumps support for Russia was part of a coordinated effort through which Trump engaged in pro-Russian advocacy in exchange for prohibited electoral or financial assistancesomething that is far from proventhat could form the basis of an illegal conspiracy. The key to proving such a conspiracy would be to show that Trump and Russia formed a unity of purpose, or common design and understanding, or a meeting of mindsthe legal test for establishing the agreement prong of a conspiracy. Advertisement This task that Mueller now facesdetermining whether supposedly unilateral, lawful actions were actually the result of a covert agreementis the defining feature of an entire other area of the law: price-fixing conspiracies. For more than a century, antitrust prosecutors and litigators have similarly sought to prove the existence of secret collusion between rivals. The body of conspiracy law that has developed in the antitrust context is among the most robust in all of American jurisprudence and applies with similar force to non-antitrust conspiracies. It offers the best road map for evaluating the Russia investigation as it reaches its final stages. Advertisement So what does antitrust law teach us about allegations of Russian collusion? From what we know today, and contrary to partisan narratives, the applicable legal framework yields no clear outcomes for either side. It offers equal defenses to Trump as it does ammunition to Mueller. First, Mueller will not need to show direct evidence of a Trump-Russia agreement to prove a conspiracy. Because antitrust conspiracies, like a potential Trump-Russia conspiracy, are carried out by sophisticated actors adept at avoiding detection, courts have ruled that it is well recognized law that any conspiracy can ordinarily only be proved by inferences drawn from relevant and competent circumstantial evidence. Courts have explained that [b]y its nature conspiracy is conceived and carried out clandestinely, and direct evidence of the crime is rarely available. Advertisement Advertisement The ability to prove a conspiracy without direct evidence of an agreement is not just theoretical. Second, Mueller will not need to show that a formal agreement existed between Trump and Russia. Nor, according to precedent, must he show that Trump and Russia met each other or stated in words or writing what the scheme was or how it was to be effected. All Mueller would need to show is that Trump and Russia tacitly came to a mutual understanding, something that can occur without personal communication or a clear quid pro quo. Courts have long recognized that a knowing wink can mean more than words and that a conspiracy can be proven through a course of dealing or other circumstances, just as it can through express communication. The ability to prove a conspiracy without direct evidence of an agreement is not just theoretical. The government has successfully prosecuted antitrust conspiracies using circumstantial evidence in the past. In one example, competing lumber companies were convicted of conspiring to rig lumber purchases by agreeing in advance about which companies would bid on which sales. There was no direct evidence that the companies reached an agreement to coordinate their bids, but there was evidence showing that they met to discuss which sales each company found desirable and thereafter avoided competing on those sales. Despite the lack of direct evidence of an agreement, the trial court held there was sufficient evidence of an implied agreement. The appellate court affirmed, finding that there was no doubt the companies had reached an understanding on bidding. Advertisement Advertisement The types of circumstantial evidence from which juries may infer agreements from such conductknown in the antitrust world as plus factorsoverlap in part with what is publicly known about potential collusion with Russia. Plus factors arise when alleged co-conspirators (1) share motives to conspire; (2) had secret contacts with no legitimate purpose; (3) made suspicious changes in behavior following such contacts; and (4) sought to conceal their contacts through pretexts and false denials. Without direct evidence of an agreement, prosecutors will need to establish enough plus factors to eliminate any doubt that Trump and Russia reached an agreement. At present, certain aspects of their case appear stronger than others. One threshold showing that prosecutors could likely make is that Trump and Russia had motives to conspire. Trump was losing in the polls throughout the campaign, and his staff knew that Russia possessed something that could help swing the election in his favor: thousands of hacked emails supposedly implicating Hillary Clinton. Trump was also negotiating with the Kremlin over a potentially lucrative Trump Tower in Moscow, and his campaign manager was seeking to use his position to repay millions of dollars in debt to prominent Russians. Meanwhile, Russia was seeking relief from the Magnitsky Act sanctions supported by Trumps political opponents and derided Clinton for her vocal criticism of Russia. To prove a conspiracy, though, prosecutors must do more than merely show these motives existed; they must show Trump and Russia agreed to act on them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stronger, yet still inconclusive, evidence of an agreement lies in the numerous contacts between Trump associates and Russians during the campaign. The most famous contact was a June 9, 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between Kremlin-connected Russians and Trumps top campaign staff. The meeting was organized by an intermediary who claimed that Russians could provide damaging information on Clinton as part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump. Donald Trump Jr. responded that he love[d] the idea, one that echoed what a Kremlin-linked professor had told campaign adviser George Papadopoulos a month earlier about Russia possessing thousands of hacked Democratic emails. At the meeting, the Russians requested an end to the Magnitsky Act sanctions, and Trump Jr. indicated they would revisit the topic if Trump won the election. That same day, in what may or may not have been a coincidence, Trumps personal lawyer Michael Cohen began arranging travel to St. Petersburg to meet with Putins inner circle regarding the Trump Tower Moscow project. And just five days later, Russian military hackers began publicly releasing the first wave of stolen Democratic emails. Advertisement Trumps support for Russia, meanwhile, continued as the campaign progressed. In July 2016, the Trump campaign reportedly intervened to prevent anti-Russia language from being included in the GOP platform after several meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Then, on the same day that Trump publicly encouraged Russia to locate more Clinton emails, Russians attempted for the first time to hack Clintons personal email account. Throughout the fall, Trump associate Roger Stone was secretly communicating with Russian hackers and WikiLeaks about stolen Democratic emails. And after Trump won the election, his transition team sought to establish a secret back channel with Russia and covertly persuaded the Kremlin to avoid retaliating for sanctions imposed under the Obama administration. Antitrust law dictates that such changes in behavior support an inference of conspiracy when they follow defendants secret contacts. Advertisement Advertisement If presented at trial, the jurys task will be to determine whether this mutual assistance between Trump and Russia reflects mere parallel conduct (i.e., pursuing similar goals without coordination), which is not itself illegalor coordinated conduct, which is. The key burden for the prosecution, as antitrust law dictates, will be to show that Trump and Russia did more than merely anticipate one anothers interests and pursue them independently. Such conscious parallelism, as it is known in antitrust law, is not sufficient to show a conspiracy. This is because distinct actors can share and pursue the same goals without necessarily agreeing to do so. This is where the prosecutions case shows signs of weakness. Absent additional evidence, Trump could plausibly argue that while he knew Russia was interfering in the election and seeking sanctions relief, his support for Russia did not stem from any arrangement, but rather from his own rational belief that supporting Putin might spur further election assistance. Problematic as this may be, it is not sufficient to establish a conspiracy. Advertisement This conscious parallelism defense, common in price-fixing cases, could be a successful defense for Trump. With what we know today, Russia and Trumps conduct can be rationally explained without concerted action. Russia has intervened in several foreign elections, and Trump began showing favoritism toward Russia long before his campaign began. It is possible this dynamic progressed during the campaign without any coordination between the two sides. Advertisement To overcome such a defense, prosecutors would need to show that Trump and Russia reached some semblance of an actual agreement, which the law defines flexibly as a unity of purpose or a common design and understanding, or a meeting of minds. Without direct evidence of an agreement, prosecutors best argument will be that coincidence and parallel thinking alone could not have yielded the high degree of parallel conduct that Trump and Russia exhibited, particularly when their secret contacts provide a more rational explanation for their mutual support. Plaintiffs in civil antitrust conspiracy cases often make similar arguments with success. Advertisement Trump and Russias public statements could also provide circumstantial evidence of an agreement. Crucially for Trump, this argument will hold less sway in a criminal case, where prosecutors have the burden of proving an agreement beyond a reasonable doubt. If after all the evidence is presented, Trump can offer a plausible explanation for his conduct that does not involve an agreement with Russia, prosecutors will have failed to exclude the possibility that Trump and Russia acted independently, making a conviction unlikely. To avoid this, Mueller will need enough circumstantial evidence to eliminate any non-collusive explanations for Trumps conduct, including the possibility that Trump and Russia acted consciously parallel. Doing so will require more evidence that what is publicly known today. Advertisement This is not to suggest that the present information is irrelevant to prosecutors. Trump and his associates attempts to cover up their Russian contacts bolster the prosecutions case. Among other things, Trump repeatedly denied his campaigns extensive meetings and communications with Russians and personally dictated a misleading statement about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting. Antitrust law holds that such false denials raise an inference of conspiracy and tend to disprove the likelihood of independent action. Advertisement Trump and Russias public statements could also provide circumstantial evidence of an agreement. It is no defense that Trump and Russia may have communicated through the media and public speeches rather than through covert channels. Antitrust law recognizes that such public signaling can also facilitate conspiracies because conspirators can use public means to reach agreement just as they can private ones. Those weighing the evidence should ultimately keep three things in mind. First, federal guidelines recommend bringing charges if admissible evidence will probably be sufficient to obtain and sustain a convictionmeaning if there is a greater than 50 percent chance of winning at trial. Second, the jurys duty is to consider evidence of a conspiracy as a whole, without tightly compartmentalizing the various factual components and wiping the slate clean after scrutiny of each. Third, if the redactions in Muellers legal filings suggest anything, it is that there may be substantially more evidence implicating Trump than what has been publicly released to date, only a portion of which has been described here. Whether Mueller will ultimately bring conspiracy charges against Trump and his associates is a complicated calculus involving an unparalleled mix of evidentiary, political, and constitutional considerations. Antitrust law provides little guidance on how Mueller might proceed on those fronts. But anyone making assurances at this stage reveals more about their ignorance of the law than their knowledge of the case. The more insightful dialogue we should be having as we await Muellers findings has less to do with the investigations outcome than the legal principles shaping its path and how those principles apply to the still-developing body of evidence. On this question, we may soon get a preview. Last year, the Democratic National Committee filed a civil lawsuit alleging a wide-ranging conspiracy between the Trump campaign, Russia, WikiLeaks, and others to use stolen DNC emails to assist Trumps candidacy. Substantive briefing in the case could begin later this year. While the DNCs case is narrower than Muellers inquiry, the legal arguments raised in the civil case may foreshadow each sides arguments in a potential criminal one. The key inquiry in both cases will be the same: Is there sufficient evidence of an agreement between Trump and Russia to establish a conspiracy? No area of law is better equipped to answer this question than antitrust law. Expect it to figure prominently as both cases unfold. Hours before Pope Francis convened a four-day sexual abuse prevention summit in Vatican on Thursday morning, Polish activists protesting molestation of minors by Catholic clergymen took matters into their own hands. Around 3 a.m., three men quietly toppled the statue of the legendary priest Father Henryk Jankowski in the northern city of Gdansk. They also placed childrens underwear and a white, lace altar boy garment on the statue to symbolize the suffering of children Jankowski allegedly molested. Advertisement Tak wygladao przewrocenie pomnika praata Jankowskiego. Wszystko wydarzyo sie w nocy tuz przed 3 #Gdansk #protest #filmsekielskiego pic.twitter.com/Posy8nvPYf Tomasz Sekielski (@sekielski) February 21, 2019 Advertisement Advertisement Jankowski made history for his support of the anticommunist Solidarity movement in Poland in the 1980s. He was close to the movements leader, Lech Walesa, who later became Polands first president. World leaders including George H.W. Bush and Margaret Thatcher visited Jankowskis church to honor his anticommunist activities. Jankowski was investigated in the 1990s on suspicion of child sexual abuse but not convicted. Long after his death in 2010, new allegations emerged. At the time, Walesa publicly defended Jankowskis reputation. Advertisement The three Gdansk activists wanted to use his statue to call attention to the churchs failure to address clergy sexual abuse. Along with the statues toppling, they released a signed manifesto accusing clergy officials of systemic complicity in the evil done to people by Henryk Jankowski. The men intentionally kept the statue intact by cushioning its fall with tires. The goal was not to destroy the monument but to dismantle the false and hideous myth of Jankowskis role in Polish society. AP reported that after discovering the toppled statue this morning, officials decided to keep it in storage rather than put it back up. However, some Poland-based users on Twitter are now claiming that the city will reinstall the statue, citing a local newspaper report. The activists may also face charges for insulting a monument. Advertisement Turns out that the statue of alleged paedophile priest Henryk Jankowski will be put back up after being pulled down last night. Apparently this change of decision follows protests by conservative pressure group and trade union Solidarity. Ben Stanley (@BDStanley) February 21, 2019 The fall of Jankowskis statue is not the first outburst of frustration against the Catholic Church in Poland. In October, more than 200 people took to the streets of Warsaw to protest the abuse of children by the Catholic clergy. The march was organized by a victims group that published an online map of documented cases in which minors were molested by clergy members across Poland. The map shows more than 250 known cases, three in Gdansk alone. Advertisement Pope Francis convened this weeks Vatican summit to educate the clergy on the importance of addressing abuse allegations and to consider proposals for punishing predators within the church. On the first day, Francis implored senior Catholic leaders to end the cycle of sexual abuse cover-up and put a stop to scandals that have rocked the church for decades. The holy people of God are watching and expect not just simple and obvious condemnations, but efficient and concrete measures to be established, he said. Over the next four days, the clergy will consider Francis 21 proposals for fighting abuse in the church. Advertisement In anticipation of the summit, a Polish charity called Have No Fear, led by a victim of clerical abuse, delivered a report to the pope naming 24 bishops who allegedly concealed known abuses of minors. We demand the opening of the archives of the Polish Church and provision to law enforcement authorities of all information about the offenders, because the Church cannot be above the law, the organization wrote. Such outspoken condemnations of the Catholic clergy in a country thats over 90 percent Catholic underscores the necessity of this weeks sexual abuse prevention summit. Pope Francis is right: It will take more than empty statements of support from church leaders to rebuild trust among Catholics whove experienced or witnessed rampant clerical abuse and watched the church sweep it under the rug for decades. The 2018 midterms arent over yet. On Thursday afternoon, North Carolina officials ordered a new election in the states disputed 9th Congressional District. The unanimous vote from the state Board of Elections capped off a multiday hearing into allegations of voter fraud that went from embarrassing to possibly incriminating for Republican Mark Harris, the nominal winner in the unofficial returns. The hearings reflected so poorly on Harris, a conservative pastor who had previously refused calls for a new election, that he conceded that a do-over would be best. Advertisement Among the weeks lowlights for Harris: witnesses detailing how one of his campaign operatives, L. McCrae Dowless Jr., paid them to illegally collect, alter, and submit absentee ballots; his adult son testifying that he had warned his father repeatedly that he had evidence suggesting Dowless had broken campaign laws in the past and was planning to do so again; the revelation that Harris campaign attorney withheld documents subpoenaed by state officials; and the suggestion that Harris may have violated campaign finance rules by cutting checks to Dowless independent PAC. Advertisement Advertisement It has become clear to me that the publics confidence in the general election has been undermined to an extent that a new election is warranted, Harris said in a statement he read to the North Carolina Board of Elections before the vote. Advertisement Harris, however, denied that he and his top campaign officials were previously aware of any improper activitiesa claim that is difficult to square with his son Johns testimony Wednesday that he had told his father repeatedly about his concerns. The elder Harris defense? I just believed he was overreacting, Mark Harris testified in the morning when confronted with the account of his son, who became an assistant U.S. attorney this past fall. Im his dad, and I know hes a little judgmental, and has a little taste of arrogance. Harris upset then-Rep. Robert Pittenger last year in the GOP primary before facing off against Democrat Dan McCready in the general election. Harris led McCready by 905 votes in unofficial returns, but the election board refused to certify the results after learning of voting irregularities that appeared to favor Harris. Specifically, Harris won 61 percent of absentee ballots cast in Bladen County, despite the fact that registered Republicans cast only 19 percent of the submitted ballots. Advertisement Advertisement The ensuing investigation revealed what the New York Times describes as a precise but amateurish operation, an almost fly-by-night enterprise led by Dowless that employed workers motivated by money more than ideology: Guided by the slight, bearded man once celebrated as a local guru of elections, they swept up unsealed or incomplete ballots and returned them in batches to Mr. Dowless, who was working on behalf of the Harris campaign. They sometimes filled in ballots, or signed as witnesses for voters they never met, in an ink color specifically chosen so it would not arouse suspicion at local elections offices. Dowless, whose criminal record includes felony perjury and fraud, refused to testify before the state elections board. Police are considering whether to pursue charges against him. The state board will meet again to decide when to schedule the new election. On Thursday, after months of protesting by thousands of its workers, Google agreed to stop requiring workers to submit to forced arbitration of employment disputes. The company had previously taken this step only with regard to sexual harassment cases, and now workers facing discrimination, wage theft, or other violations will also have the option of bringing their claims in court, including through class actions. Other companies should emulate this extremely positive development, and Google deserves credit for doing the right thing (albeit under duress). Advertisement In a nutshell, heres why arbitration is a problem for workers: Employees win less often in arbitration than in court and recover less money in arbitration when they do win. Theres no public record, limited fact-finding, and no appeal rights in arbitration. One scholar estimates that hundreds of thousands of workplace rights cases are not brought each year because of forced arbitration. Often workers also must sign a class waiver, giving up the right to bring a class action, which makes it even harder to find a lawyer or bring a case. Advertisement Advertisement Thursdays policy change by Google came about because of collective action and pressure by Googles workers. That pressure is unlikely to abate because of the companys announcement; the workers are highly motivated, and theres still plenty of work to do. Advertisement A number of questions remain about precisely how Google (or any company taking a similar step) will stop requiring forced arbitration in practice. Google appears to be taking the position that it will still offer employees the option of arbitration, and the devil is always in the details. Even without forcing arbitration as a condition of employment, a company could still end up pushing workers into it without their full knowledge or awareness. Giving up a critical civic rightaccess to the courts to address violations of core workplace rightsshould be a conscious, knowing decision, not the result of missing a check box in a mountain of boilerplate forms. Google still hasnt acceded to one critical demand of the about 20,000 workers who walked out in the fall. Will prospective employees be given information about this choice as part of a job offer and have time to consider the options, or will it be hastily communicated on the first day of work along with a mountain of human resources forms to complete? Will it be buried in minuscule print somewhere, with legalistic and inaccessible language? Will there be a default selection of arbitration (so that employees have to opt out in order to preserve their access to courts), or a default selection of court access (so that employees have to affirmatively choose arbitration)? Or no default at all, just two options? Will workers have a one-time opportunity to opt out of arbitration, or will they have the option at a future date to change their selection? And if theres an option to change, will that be ongoing, or an annual opportunity (as occurs with health insurance enrollment)? Advertisement Advertisement Ideally, workers would be given plain language, reasonable fonts, and accessible information about arbitration and other aspects of their employment contracts well before day one on the job, with no default favoring arbitration and the opportunity to opt out in the future. And what will Googles optional arbitration look like? The rules of the main arbitration associations, AAA and JAMS, have limits on how much workers have to pay in employment-related arbitration, in order to ensure access. But sometimes employment contracts require splitting fees; those fees can run into tens of thousands of dollars, and if those fees must be shared by the employee, thats a serious impediment to worker access. Also, will Googles contract specify which law applies, or a geographic location for arbitration? It needs to be fair and accessible to workers, which isnt always the case. (In a laugh-or-youll-cry example of this, Ubers contract with drivers in South Africa specified that the law of the Netherlands applies for disputes, and any claims were to be submitted to the International Chamber of Commerce for Mediation and Arbitration.) Advertisement Google said it will inform its contractors of this decision, but it will not require them to take similar action in relation to contractors own employees. Why not? Google famously utilizes contractors for a tremendous portion of its ongoing work. Why should those workers, already deprived of employment status with the company and all of the related benefits, also be subject to forced arbitration, when Google itself could easily use its own power to make contractors give the option of court access to their employees? This is surely one of the next frontiers for the companys activist employees. Advertisement Finally, Google still hasnt acceded to one critical demand of the about 20,000 workers who walked out in the fall: employee representation on the companys board. This is a persistent and powerful group of workers. Theyre motivated and committed, and theyve had more than a taste of success. Its pretty clear theyre not giving up. So why not go ahead and make this move as well? Its likely to benefit the company in the end, anyhow, by creating a method for workers to share valuable insights on the companys operations and growth. Advertisement Despite the above lingering questions, Thursdays announcement is still a tremendous victory for the thousands of workers who fought hard for this result. Other companies, large and small, tech and brick-and-mortar, should follow Googles lead. Five years ago, forced arbitration wasnt an issue everyday employees thought much about; now it has become an issue around which workers are organizing. The current situation, in which too many workers have no access to court, class actions, or meaningful redress for violations, is simply not tenable in the long term. Most importantly, in addition to this lesson for other companies, Thursdays announcement can be instructive and inspiring for workers across the country. Googles employees have already moved mountains by standing up together against Goliath, and theyre undoubtedly ready to move some more. On Thursday, Judge Dana Sabraw held what could be the most consequential hearing in months in the family separation case Ms. L v. ICE, which has resulted in the identification and reunification of more than 2,000 separated children with their parents. The new developments could lead to the identification of thousands more separated children, or a bitter court fight over whether the Trump administration has the responsibility to account for them. An inspector generals report last month revealed that potentially thousands more children were separated from their families than previously acknowledged by the government. The American Civil Liberties Union, which is leading the lawsuit, quickly asked for the government to identify those separated children for possible reunification. The courts initial reunification order has been applied only to children who were in Office of Refugee Resettlement care at the time Sabraws preliminary injunction was sent down on June 26. The government filed a response to the ACLUs motion saying that it would be too difficult to find the additional kids it separated and that reunification would be potentially traumatic because it would involve Immigration and Customs Enforcement raiding homes where these children have been placed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The government seems to have dropped that latest argument, acceding to the fact that reuniting children could be doneas it has been throughout the course of the lawsuitwith the help of nongovernmental organizations. Lawyers for the Department of Justice, though, continued on Thursday to press their case that the government does not have an obligation to identify those families and that the task would be too onerous. They even seemed to indicate that, should Sabraw find a government obligation to account for all illegally separated children, as he seemed inclined to do, they would drop their previous cooperation and fight the ruling. Its a real change of course, respectfully your honor, to do all that [work to reunite families], to put all that commitment in, to hold a potential appeal in abeyance, to grant all sorts of things that we wouldnt normally grant, said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Scott Stewart. Im just not sure that we can keep going that way. Advertisement During Thursdays hearing, Sabraw seemed poised to accept the ACLUs motion. As the ACLU argued in its filings in the case, the governments position is illogical. The DOJ argues that the government only has a responsibility to identify separated children who were in ORR custody on the date of Sabraws court ruling, June 26, because the remedy the court orderedreunificationwould present different challenges for the other group. The ACLU argued in its own filings that this confuses the question of relief with the question of liability. The pre-June 26 children suffered the same harm from the same illegal government policy. Advertisement The judge seemed to echo this position throughout Thursdays proceeding. The alleged wrong was the government conduct of separating the families as a matter of policy, Sabraw said. That class, as the plaintiffs would like [the court] to find it, seems to me would logically start with this policy, which was initially implemented that could go back to July of 2017. Advertisement While family separation came into the national consciousness last summer after it was implemented across the Southern border, the IG report found that a pilot version of the program had been running in the El Paso, Texas, sector as far back as July 2017. Shouldnt the class include everyone who has been allegedly unlawfully separated? Sabraw asked the government. Why would it be tethered to an arbitrary date? Isnt it important to the process to have an accounting? the judge continued. Simply to have an accounting of what happened to whom, how many were involved, and where are they? Stewart argued that an accounting wasnt proper because the missing children in question hadnt been identified by the ACLU and that this is something that arose only very, very recently. Advertisement As Sabraw noted, classes are updated all the time when new information is revealed, as in this case. When the preliminary injunction was issued in June of 2018, at that time there was information that was not known to the court, the government counsel, and to plaintiffs counsel, it would appear, he said. Viewed in that light, the June 26 date becomes very arbitrary, he added. Advertisement The ACLUs lead attorney, Lee Gelernt, told Slate that the governments position was essentially: We cleaned up half the mess, we dont have to clean up all the mess. Again, the judge seemed to view the date identified in the IG report as the starting point for separations as the critical one. Advertisement That report is thorough and its not controverted. Im not hearing that that report is inaccurate, [or that] we ought to abandon it, Sabraw said. It appears to be 100 percent factual, and the report says this separation policy started in July of 2017. Sabraw added that it would seem that when there is an allegation of wrong on this scale a full accounting of that wrong goes to the essence of the case. So much of what is happening in these kinds of cases is exactly that, he said. Its information that the public under our law is entitled to and theres no way to get to that absent the relief that the plaintiffs are requesting. It seems to me that the principal legal relief theyre asking for is the accounting, so that we know what the government is doing and the scope of iteveryone, all of us. This piece was originally published on Just Security, an online forum for analysis of U.S. national security law and policy. Much of the discussion surrounding the Trump campaigns contacts with Russia in the months leading up to the 2016 election has mystified the American public. As the country prepares for special counsel Robert Muellers investigation to reach its final stage and for congressional investigations to ramp up, its important to develop a more accurate and effective vocabulary for assessing the information that these bodies produce. A problem with that vocabulary has emerged over the past two years, partly because of the Mueller probes unique combination of a counterintelligence and criminal investigation. This hybrid has led to two linguistic extremes, neither of which accurately conveys the problematic national security issues that the Trump campaigns actions raise. The lack of precision in the language used to report on the campaigns activities has obscured their importance and even the magnitude of the threat they posed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At one end of the spectrum is an overreliance on the word collusion. The word is a slippery one, essentially without any legal or settled meaning outside of very specific contexts, like antitrust law. The general definition of collusion, according to Merriam-Webster, is secret agreement or cooperation especially for an illegal deceitful purpose. But because this definition is not necessarily well-known or agreed upon, it allows some people to claim they have seen no direct evidence of Trump campaign collusion with Russia, and others to claim they have. Journalists still ask members of Congress, the White House, and witnesses in the Russia investigation about collusion, or allow officials and others to invoke the term collusion without specifying what they mean. Advertisement On the other end of the spectrum is the more precise legal definition of collusion, which is conspiracy. But because conspiracy is a criminal law term, it may be too narrow: The legal definition of conspiracy requires specific behaviors and states of mind that may not be present in various forms of coordinated activity against the interests of the United States. Further, focusing only on the criminal aspect does not capture the policy and national security concerns at the heart of the special counsels counterintelligence investigation, concerns about whether crimes were committed. Advertisement We suggest a different way of asking and framing the question of collusion to obtain more analytic precision and to get to the heart of Trump campaign associates possible relationships with Russias interference in the 2016 election. Advertisement To wit, we recommend the following five kinds of questions. 1. Are you aware of any direct or circumstantial evidence that Trump campaign associates coordinated with, cooperated with, encouraged, or gave support to Russias 2016 election interference activities? 2. Are you aware of any direct or circumstantial evidence of Trump campaign associates coordinating with, cooperating with, encouraging, or giving support to WikiLeaks election-related activities? Relatedly, do you agree with the U.S. intelligence communitys report that WikiLeaks was used by the Russian government as an arm of the Kremlins 2016 election interference activities? 3. Are you aware of any direct or circumstantial evidence that Trump campaign associates attempted to coordinate with, cooperate with, encourage, or give support to Russias 2016 election interference activities? Advertisement 4. Are you aware of any direct or circumstantial evidence that Trump campaign associates were willing to coordinate with, cooperate with, encourage, or give support to Russias 2016 election interference activities, or were receptive to doing so? Advertisement 5. What is your definition of Trump campaign associates? Do you consider people like Roger Stone and Michael Cohen part of the Trump campaign? Do you consider people like Roger Stone and Michael Cohen to be Trump campaign associates? A journalist might pose these questions to an interviewee, such as a member of a congressional committee. We also hope these five lines of inquiry may help commentators to better analyze and write about these issues. We believe that these formulations better describe the problematic behavior, actions, and activities at the heart of Muellers investigation and avoid both the ambiguity of the word collusion and the legalese associated with the word conspiracy. More From Just Security: Power Struggle Over the Wall: Presidential Emergency Powers vs. Congressional Power of the Purse New Financial Vehicles for Assisting Victims of Atrocity Crimes: A Bold Move for International Justice Desus and Meros new late night series premiered Thursday night on Showtime, and the hosts decided to call out one of the most divisive films this Oscar season: Green Book. While Green Book has been celebrated since winning Torontos audience awards in September, and Mahershala Ali has virtually swept the Supporting Actor category thus far, the film has been repeatedly condemned for its reliance on white savior tropes, and for being a film about race made by white people for white people. Advertisement Desus Nice and the Kid Mero ran with those criticisms, parodying the film with a segment called The Greenest Book, in which the comedians recreate scenes from the film that is jokingly described as brave, powerful, and made me feel great about being white. As Desus takes on the role of pianist Don Shirley and Mero that of Shirleys white driver, Tony Lip, the pair focus on moments when Lip defends his employer, climaxing with a scene in which Meros character and a white police officer congratulate each other for solving racism. Advertisement Advertisement Late Night with Seth Meyers also called out the many tired tropes in these films, but writers Amber Ruffin and Jenny Hagel didnt stop with one film. Instead, White Savior: The Movie Trailer called out a slew of films that have adopted the unrealistic narrative, many of which happen to be based on a true story like Hidden Figures, The Blind Side, and Green Book. Advertisement To do this, Meyers decides to simply create a trailer for an entirely new (but not really new) film aptly titled White Savior. Advertisement This spring, see the story of the black woman who became a world renowned scientist, an accomplished cellist, and activist, and a man who was white as she did it, the trailer begins. From there, the clip runs through several well-worn instances of the trope, like Meyers punching a racist to defend a black friend and a white woman coming to adopt her. Three years after the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, with narratives like Green Book continuing to be celebrated, it begs the question, how much have things really changed? Sign up for Slates Culture newsletter for the best of movies, TV, books, music, and more, delivered twice a week. A warrant is out for the arrest of musician R. Kelly, who has been charged on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx announced at a press conference Friday that a grand jury indicted Kelly for incidents involving four victimsthree of them underage at the timethat took place over the course of more than a decade. Foxx noted that each count carries a possible sentence of three to seven years. The first victim (identified by the intials H.W.) was involved in incidents between May 26, 1998, and May 25, 1999. Kelly is being indicted on four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse on the basis of the victim being under the age of 17 at the time, while Kelly is more than five years older than her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A second victim (R.L.) was involved in an incident between Sept. 26, 1998, and Sept. 25, 2001. Kelly is being indicted on on two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse on the basis of the victim being under the age of 17 at the time, while Kelly is more than five years older than her. A third victim (L.C.) was involved in an incident on Feb. 18, 2003. Kelly is being indicted on one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse based on the transmission of semen by Kelly upon any part of the body of the victim for the purpose of sexual gratification during the course of an underlying felony of attempted criminal sexual assault. A fourth victim (J.P.) was involved in incidents between May 1, 2009, and Jan. 31, 2010. Kelly is being indicted on three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse on the basis of the victim being under the age of 17 at the time, while Kelly is more than five years older than her. The Chicago Tribune reports that according to Kellys lawyer Steven Greenberg, the musician will surrender himself to police. Foxx said that Kelly is expected to appear in bond court on Saturday. Sign up for Slates Culture newsletter for the best of movies, TV, books, music, and more, delivered twice a week. Gregory Got His Guns. Then went to jail. The maintenance head of the Umonhon Nation Public School in Macy, Nebraska -- already a convicted felon -- got charged with even more felonies when authorities found out he'd been packing on school grounds. According to a Thurston County Sheriff's Department criminal complaint filed Feb. 10, Gregory Edwin Schoenfelder, 52, was arrested Feb. 8 and charged with four felony counts: two counts of first-degree possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm on school grounds. A promising college student we knew turned down an MRI because of lack of health insurance and died of an aneurysm in her sleep. Affordable health care needs to be available to all in this country. He does, however, have a day job he is reluctant to neglect. And he soon will become chair of the National Governors Association. So, he clearly is not eager to mount a losing challenge -- which it surely would be -- just to unfurl the tattered flag of recognizable Republicanism. Opposing any incumbent president is not a day at the beach, and campaigning against today's uniquely smarmy incumbent would be especially disagreeable. Hogan has, however, undergone, while governor, six rounds of chemotherapy (24 hours a day, five days a week, times six, spanning 18 weeks) to defeat an advanced and aggressive cancer (non-Hodgkin's lymphoma), so has endured something almost as unpleasant as Donald Trump. Furthermore, his father, a former FBI agent and a Maryland congressman on the House Judiciary Committee in 1974, was the only Republican to vote for all three articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon. Probably for this reason he lost the 1974 Republican nomination for governor. It is unlikely that Hogan will gratify those who are offering to hold his coat while he brawls with Trump. Still, this town on the Chesapeake Bay will remain known as the incubator of something else germane to today's discontents. SIOUX CITY -- Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City, will speak in Sioux City as he makes a weekend swing through Iowa while considering whether to become a presidential candidate for 2020. De Blasio will hold a meet-and-greet event at 5 p.m. Saturday, at Rebo's, 1107 Fourth St. De Blasio's stop was announced by the Woodbury County Democratic Party, which is hosting the event. He is the second possible Democratic presidential candidate to appear in the city Saturday. Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper will hold a meet-and-greet event at 10 a.m. at Pierce Street Coffeeworks, 1920 Pierce St. Also on Saturday in Siouxland, Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro, a former mayor of San Antonio, Texas, will speak at 10 a.m. at Better Day Cafe, 518 Lake Ave. North. Republican President Donald Trump is seeking a second term in 2020, and up to 20 Democrats are considering candidacies. Democrats Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, John Delaney, Andrew Yang and Eric Swalwell have held Sioux City events in the first two months of 2019. Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Neary, who presided over the trial after Bibler waived his right to a jury trial, determined that Bibler was under the influence of a sleeping aid at the time of Bogh's death and, therefore, was involuntarily intoxicated. He believed Bibler stabbed Bogh, but Neary found him guilty of second-degree murder rather than first-degree murder, reasoning that Bibler's intoxication prevented him from forming the specific intent to commit the crime, an element required by state law to prove first-degree murder. Neary found Bibler not guilty of willful injury and going armed with intent for the same reason. Specific intent is not an element needed to prove second-degree murder. An autopsy showed that Bogh, 27, died of internal bleeding after a major vein in her chest was cut by a sharp object. Authorities never located the knife or other object used to stab her. During the trial, which took place in July and, after a three-month break, concluded on Nov. 1 in Plymouth County District Court, Bibler testified that he had taken an Ambien sleeping pill left over from a previous prescription and other prescription drugs the night his sister died and didn't remember anything from that night. A psychologist testified for the defense that the sleeping drug could have caused Bibler's memory loss. SIOUX CITY -- Two people charged with robbing a Le Mars, Iowa, bank have pleaded not guilty to federal charges. Karen Merrick, 35, and Phillip White, 32, both of Sioux City, waived their personal appearances and entered written pleas Thursday to bank robbery. White also pleaded not guilty to interference with commerce by threat or violence for the armed robbery of a Sioux City cab driver. Both are scheduled to stand trial April 1 in U.S. District Court in Sioux City. They are charged with the Dec. 12 robbery of Iowa State Bank, 301 Plymouth St. NW. According to court documents, White exited the bank with $16,190 in currency after informing a teller he had a weapon and demanding a bag of money. Witnesses told authorities they saw White get into a U-Haul van, in which Merrick was waiting for him, the complaint said. Merrick led law enforcement officers on a pursuit out of Le Mars and onto county roads before she was stopped. The stolen money was recovered from the van. White told authorities that he did not have a weapon and denied threatening the bank teller. White also is charged with the Oct. 12 robbery of a cab driver in the 3100 block of Fourth Avenue Place. According to court documents, White showed the driver a handgun, demanded money and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash. Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SIOUX CITY -- Sioux City-based NuHemp Group will host an industrial hemp forum from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Sioux City Public Museum. The forum will be an opportunity to learn more about industrial hemp and its agricultural, environmental and economic benefits. The event is free and open to the public, and farmers, entrepreneurs and ag industry stakeholders are encouraged to attend. The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp -- defined as non-psychoactive cannabis with 0.3 percent or less THC -- from the federal Controlled Substances Act, effectively permitting it as an agricultural commodity that can be grown. Iowa was one of nine states that had not taken part in a federally permitted hemp-growing pilot project prior to the 2018 Farm Bill. Iowa has not yet passed legislation allowing hemp cultivation in the state, though NuHemp is hoping that will change. According to a press release from NuHemp, Iowa farmers grew hemp during World War II for use in military uniforms, plane engine lubricant, ropes and parachutes. The group maintains that hemp is useful for cosmetic and beauty products, food, paper, construction materials and apparel fiber, as well as potentially for biofuels and plastics. Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. BEST ACTRESS Last fall, this was Lady Gagas to lose. As others crowded the field, she became a less-than-safe bet. While Yalitza Aparicio (Roma) and Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) did great work, theyre facing an uphill battle against Glenn Close (The Wife) and Olivia Colman (The Favourite). Close deserves to have a trophy; Colman has plenty of time. Our prediction: Its Glenn Closes turn. BEST PICTURE: With eight nominees, theres going to be some disappointment. By giving prizes to each in lesser categories, the need isnt there to feel obligated. Five are nominated for Best Editing (which usually goes to the winner), which could eliminate three of the nominees. Ah, but one of those is Roma, which is the wildest of wild cards. Say goodbye, instead, to A Star Is Born and Black Panther. Look at those not in the Best Director category and that cuts Bohemian Rhapsody. Because The Favourite didnt win at the British Academy awards, its probably not going to win here, either. That narrows the field to Vice, BlacKkKlansman and Roma. If Roma wins Best Foreign Language Film, that might be enough. But, Vice and BlacKkKlansman havent won a lot in the earlier races. Our prediction: Its a Roma year. Thus far, Democrats Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, John Delaney, Andrew Yang and Eric Swalwell have held city events in the first two months of 2019. Here's a summary of those events so far. Warren, Jan. 5 -- That event was the sole large city rally thus far, with at least 500 people there to see Warren at the downtown Orpheum Theatre, a longtime city stop for high-profile candidates, such as Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Speaking to an enthusiastic Sioux City crowd to kick off the political year in Siouxland, the U.S. senator from Massachusetts aired her fiery populist message of pushing back on Wall Street advantages and making health care and education more affordable. Warren said she plans to fight in the vein of the people going back a century in America, as was done by union organizers, suffragettes and civil rights activists. Key parts of the internet infrastructure face large-scale attacks that threaten the global system of web traffic, the internet's address keeper warned Friday. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) declared after an emergency meeting "an ongoing and significant risk" to key parts of the infrastructure that affects the domains on which websites reside. "They are going after the internet infrastructure itself," ICANN chief technology officer David Conrad told AFP. "There have been targeted attacks in the past, but nothing like this." The attacks date back as far as 2017 but have sparked growing concerns from security researchers in recent weeks, which prompted the special meeting of ICANN. The malicious activity targets the Domain Name System or DNS which routes traffic to intended online destinations. ICANN specialists and others say these attacks have a potential to snoop on data along the way, sneakily send the traffic elsewhere or enable the attackers to impersonate or "spoof" critical websites. "There isn't a single tool to address this," Conrad said, as ICANN called for an overall hardening of web defenses. US authorities issued a similar warning last month about the DNS attacks. "This is roughly equivalent to someone lying to the post office about your address, checking your mail, and then hand delivering it to your mailbox," the US Department of Homeland Security said in a recent cybersecurity alert. "Lots of harmful things could be done to you (or the senders) depending on the content of that mail." - Middle East targets - DNSpionage attacks might date back to at least 2017, according to FireEye senior manager of cyber espionage analysis Ben Read. The list of targets included website registrars and internet service providers, particularly in the Middle East. "We've seen primarily targeting of email names and passwords," Read said of what is being dubbed "DNSpionage." "There is evidence that it is coming out of Iran and being done in support of Iran." ICANN held an emergency meeting and is putting out word to website and online traffic handlers to ramp up security or leave users vulnerable to being tricked into trusting the wrong online venues. DNSpionage hackers appeared intent on stealing account credentials, such as email passwords, in Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates, according to Crowdstrike cyber security firm vice president of intelligence Adam Meyers. Similar attacks took place in Europe and other parts of the Middle East, with targets including governments, intelligence services, police, airlines, and the oil industry, cybersecurity specialists said. "You definitely need knowledge of how the internet works you and have to handle a lot of traffic being directed to you," Meyers said of the DNSpionage hackers. "With that access, they could temporarily break portions of how the internet works. They chose to intercept and spy on folks." FILE PHOTO: U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (2ndL), Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross (Top-L) pose for a photograph with China's Vice Premier Liu He (2ndR), Chinese vice ministers and senior officials before the start of U.S.-China trade talks at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 21, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday there was "a very good chance" the United States would strike a deal with China to end their trade war and that he was inclined to extend his March 1 deadline to reach an agreement. U.S. and Chinese negotiators had made progress and would continue this week's round of negotiations through the weekend, Trump told reporters in the White House as he met his top negotiators and their counterpart, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. "I think that we both feel there's a very good chance a deal will happen," Trump said. Extending the deadline would mean Trump would put on hold a scheduled tariff increase to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion of Chinese imports into the United States. That would prevent a further escalation in a trade war that has already disrupted commerce in goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars, slowed global economic growth and roiled markets. Optimism the two sides would find a way to end the trade war lifted stocks on Friday, especially technology shares, while oil prices rose to their highest since mid-November, with Brent crude reaching a high of $67.73 a barrel. Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the two sides had reached an agreement on currency. Trump declined to provide details, but U.S. officials have long expressed concerns that China's yuan is undervalued, giving China a trade advantage and partly offsetting U.S. tariffs. The president said he would probably meet China's President Xi Jinping in March in Florida, and the biggest decisions on the terms of the trade deal could come when they meet. Xi sent a letter to Trump which an aide to Liu read out at the briefing on Friday. Xi called on negotiators to work hard to strike a deal that benefits both. Trump indicated a deal with China may extend beyond trade to encompass Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp. Story continues The Justice Department has accused Huawei of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran and of stealing robotic technology from T-Mobile US Inc. Chinese peer ZTE was last year prevented from buying essential components from U.S. firms after pleading guilty to similar charges, crippling its operations. TRUMP TEAM TENSION Trump appeared at odds with his top negotiator, United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, on the preliminary terms that his team is outlining in memorandums of understanding for a deal with China. Trump said he did not like MOUs, because they are short term, and he wanted a long-term deal. "I don't like MOUs because they don't mean anything," Trump said. "Either you are going to make a deal or you're not." Lighthizer responded testily that MOUs were binding, but that he would never use the term again. Reuters reported exclusively on Wednesday that the two sides were drafting the language for six MOUs covering the most difficult issues in the trade talks that would require structural economic change in China. That marked the most progress the two sides have made toward a deal. But negotiators have struggled this week to agree on specific language within those memorandums to address tough U.S. demands for structural changes in China's economy, sources familiar with the talks have told Reuters. The MOUs would provide an outline for a deal, for specific details to be agreed by negotiators later. They are common in trade negotiations. An industry official briefed on the talks said that if a framework deal can be reached, it may take another three to six months to fill in the details, and the two sides remain far apart on a mechanism to verify and enforce follow-through commitments China makes. Lighthizer said negotiators had made a lot of progress this week on forced technology transfers, one of the more difficult issues. The U.S. alleges foreign firms in China come under pressure to transfer their technology to Chinese firms if they want to operate there. China denies this. The two sides had struggled this week to agree on the specific language for the MOUs on other tough issues. Those include cyber theft, intellectual property rights, services, agriculture and non-tariff barriers to trade. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Friday urged the U.S. government to ensure the deal was comprehensive and addressed core issues, rather than one based on more Chinese short-term purchases of goods. Trump has demanded that China and other top trade partners take action to balance trade with the United States. China has pledged to increase purchases of agricultural produce, energy, semiconductors and industrial goods to reduce its trade surplus. China committed to buying an additional 10 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans on Friday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Twitter.The commitments are a "show of good faith by the Chinese" and "indications of more good news to come," Perdue wrote. China was the top buyer of U.S. soybeans before the trade war, but Beijing's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. soybeans slashed business that had been worth $12 billion annually. (Additional reporting by David Lawder in Washington, writing by Simon Webb; editing by Marguerita Choy and Tom Brown) Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier The council approved a total of six new positions for the fire and EMS department, two initially and four starting in January. By Rodi Said NEAR BAGHOUZ, Syria (Reuters) - The operation to destroy Islamic State's final vestige of rule in Iraq and Syria hit a temporary snag on Thursday, as an expected evacuation of the remaining civilians from its last enclave in eastern Syria did not go ahead. The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which has steadily driven the jihadists down the Euphrates, has surrounded them at Baghouz near the Iraqi border, but does not want to mount a final attack until all civilians are out. Iraqi sources said the SDF handed over more then 150 Iraqi and other foreign jihadists to Iraq on Thursday, under a deal involving a total of 502. The SDF had expected to pull the last civilians from Baghouz on Thursday, but trucks it sent in left empty. "We can't get into details, but today no civilians came out," SDF official Mustafa Bali told Reuters. Baghouz is all that remains for Islamic State in the Euphrates valley region that became its final populated stronghold in Iraq and Syria after it lost its major cities of Mosul and Raqqa in 2017. The U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State was verifying whether an air strike in Baghouz on Wednesday killed French jihadist Fabien Clain, who voiced the recording claiming the November 2015 attacks on Paris, U.S. and French sources said. In the 2015 attacks, gunmen and suicide bombers killed 129 people in the French capital. "During coalition operations to regain the Islamic State's last bastion, it is possible indeed that Fabien Clain was killed," French Defence Minister Florence Parly said on her Twitter account. France's military and foreign ministry declined comment. The capture of Baghouz will nudge the eight-year-old Syrian war towards a new phase, with U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to withdraw troops leaving a security vacuum that other powers are seeking to fill. Though the fall of Baghouz marks a milestone in the campaign against IS and the wider conflict in Syria, Islamic State is still seen as a major security threat. Story continues The group has steadily turned to guerrilla warfare and still holds territory in a remote, sparsely populated area west of the Euphrates River - a part of Syria otherwise controlled by the Syrian government and its Russian and Iranian allies. Bali told Reuters the SDF would attack Baghouz once the civilian evacuation was complete. He did not say how much more time was needed to finish off the remaining Islamic State militants, or give a new estimate of how many fighters remained. The SDF has previously estimated several hundred fighters - believed mostly to be foreign jihadists - are still inside. A Reuters witness saw warplanes in the sky over Baghouz on Thursday though there was no sound of fighting or shelling. The U.S.-led coalition said on Wednesday "the most hardened" jihadists remain in Baghouz. More than 2,000 civilians left the enclave on Wednesday, the SDF said. It has said more than 20,000 civilians left Baghouz in the days leading up to the start of the SDF's final push to capture the enclave this month. The SDF has not ruled out the possibility that some Islamic State fighters had left Baghouz with the civilians. SDF and coalition forces are recording the names and questioning everyone who has left in the civilian convoys. Many of the people who left the enclave in civilian convoys have been Iraqis, some of whom said they had crossed from Iraq into Syria as Iraqi government forces made gains against Islamic State on the other side of the frontier. FACING THE CONSEQUENCES Two Iraqi military sources told Reuters the handover of Islamic State fighters on Thursday was the first of several. "The majority of the fighters are Iraqi," said a military colonel whose unit is stationed at the Syrian border. "But we have a few foreigners." Islamic State, whose leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared himself "caliph", or leader of all Muslims, in 2014, attracted members from all over the world, including many Western states. A Turkish official said Turkey was doubling down its own security measures to make it harder for foreign fighters still in Syria or Iraq to pass through Turkey, noting that the threat was much greater than the 800 that the SDF says it is holding. Western countries refusing to repatriate jihadists were not living up to their responsibilities and leaving countries like Turkey to face the consequences, the official added. Britain has stripped the citizenship of a teenager who went to Syria aged 15 to join Islamic State. But interior minister Sajid Javid said he would not take a decision that would leave anyone stateless, after Bangladesh said it would not accept her. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said a woman born in the United States who joined Islamic State did not qualify for U.S. citizenship and had no legal basis to return to the country. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Raya Jalabi in Erbil, Tom Perry in Beirut and Tulay Karadeniz, Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Angus McDowall, William Maclean and Frances Kerry) The Flying Thai Food is an online restaurant that provides ready-to-eat Thai food for customers in tier-two Chinese cities Dishes sold on The Flying Thai Food platform Thailand has recently been named as one of the top destinations for Chinese tourists. The continuously rising number of Chinese travelling abroad means a greater exposure to foreign culture, including its culinary. Nitinagin Mingrugiralai believes that tourists who had been to the kingdom might want to have the opportunity to taste food from the country once again without the hassle of having to travel abroad or visit a restaurant. One day if they want to introduce the foreign cuisine to their friends, Thai food will be the best choice for them to introduce, Mingrugiralai said in a written interview with e27. This is why the entrepreneur then founded The Flying Thai Food, an online restaurant that delivers Thai food to customers in tier-two cities in China. Using its own website, WeChat, and TaoBao as sales channels, the startup delivers ready-to-eat, vacuum-sealed boxset to Thai food fans in cities such as Guangzhou, Liuzhou, Nanning, and Shenzhen. To complement its online presence, The Flying Thai Food also has a physical restaurant in Guilin, with the team running the company from a headquarter and R&D centre in Bangkok. Also Read: GrabFood Singapore to be integrated into main menu Founded in 2018, The Flying Thai Food targets Chinas US$733 billion restaurant market. In addition to Chinese tourists who had been to Thailand and fans of Thai food, the service also targets single women aged 20-40 and women with children as their audience. Mingrugiralai explains that the physical restaurant is meant to help with the companys O2O strategy. After the e-commerce era in China, we found that most of the big commerce companies here have been trying to go to offline in order to be the dominant player of O2O market, he explains. Yes, we started with Thai food, but we will develop ourself to be O2O player. The special thing about our restaurant is that 50 per cent of our offline customers are 80 per cent of our online business customers, who are spending three times more than non-online customers, he continued. Story continues Apart from the publics enthusiasm about Thailand and its cuisine, China is also an ideal choice for The Flying Thai Food to run an O2O business due to its excellent e-commerce infrastructure. For example, international food shipping from the country to Hungary only takes seven days. In some cities such as Yiwu in Zhejiang, the local government even promised that they will sponsor every tomyum packages that we ship overseas if we set our production house in Yiwu. So, I can say that China really supports e-commerce ecosystem, especially if we are targetting overseas commerce, Mingrugiralai says. In the international community, Thai is often considered as one of the most popular and widely acceptable Asian cuisine. So what makes The Flying Thai Food feel confident about entering this sector? Also Read: General awareness about entrepreneurship in Malaysia needs to go beyond selling food at stalls For the company, their advantage lies in their location. According to Mingrugiralai, there are 1,200 Thai restaurants registered in China but 81 per cent of them are located in tier-one cities. The Flying Thai Food is looking to reach out to other cities through their online and offline presence. Inside the kitchen The story of The Flying Thai Food began all the way in 2010. As a student in Europe, Mingrugiralai was deeply impressed by luxury food stores in places such as Fauchon, and wanted to do the same thing with Asian cuisine. Fast forward to 2016, Mingrugiralai was working at KKday in Taiwan when he noticed that many local restaurants are using MRE box to sell mala hotpot. He then went on a holiday to China with his wife and noticed the e-commerce infrastructure available in the country. I talked to my wife that I wanted to make tomyum MRE boxsets and sell it in Taobao. She supported me and then we started. However, I was still doing my full-time job until December 2018 when I started working full-time for The Flying Thai Food, he says. Following the advice of his father, Mingrugiralai then recruited a former US Army food safety specialist Mongkhon Sarikanon as co-founder and Chief Food Specialist. Sarikanon moved to China and the company started producing tomyum boxsets. Also Read: Mobile-based food order-ahead startup Eatsy secures US$550K from East Ventures Mingrugiralai explains to e27 that the company is currently preparing to raise funding. At the early stage, the funding will be used to support their China expansion plan, which includes the setting up of new physical restaurants and delivery areas. After that, The Flying Thai Food aims to fly Thai food to a wider international market, starting from India. We also have plan for Europe and US market. However, we are still studying about the suitable ways to go to the markets, Mingrugiralai says. The company expects to see greater sales coming in from their online channels as it plans to introduce more products and recruit more team members. We aim to get our sale for this year to US$1.5 million. Sixty per cent of the revenue will come from online and we are on the way to this number already. We will still continue to expand our chain restaurants with our partners in many tier-two and tier-three cities in China for 2019, in order to avoid competition, but at the same time we can also reach a bigger customer base, Mingrugiralai elaborates. In the future, The Flying Thai Food does not want to limit itself to selling Thai food, though it will remain the core of their business. We will import European products to sell in our online store and to produce healthy food from Canada with our Canadian partners. So, in our next step, we will start adding more variety of foods and products into our stores, the CEO closes. Image Credit: The Flying Thai Food The post This startup is introducing Thai cuisine to Chinese market via mail service appeared first on e27. Muhammad Ahad Lone, 18, was found dead at the foot of a block at Pine Grove condo on 7 April last year. (Yahoo News Singapore file photo) He was a Singapore citizen who left his family and friends in Pakistan to fulfil his full-time national service (NS) obligations early last year. Muhammad Ahad Lone dreamt of studying economics and finance at an Ivy League university after serving NS. However, Ahad, 18, who had been posted to serve his NS with the Singapore Civil Defence Force, said he could not adjust to the weather and cookhouse food, and had trouble sleeping. Just two months after enlistment, he was found dead on the ground level of his place of residence. Taking the stand on the first day of the coroners inquiry into Ahads death at the State Courts on Friday (22 February), police investigator Tan Yeow Chong testified that within seven weeks after Ahad enlisted, he visited doctors in camp and elsewhere 13 times. He had complained about various purported ailments including sore throat, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and insomnia. When an in-camp doctor asked Ahad on his 14th visit to a clinic if he was stressed, the teenager said he had insomnia for the past two months, was depressed and had suicidal thoughts. He was sent to the Institute of Mental Health via ambulance, where he was diagnosed with adjustment disorder with depression. Just a week later, after having spent a night in confinement at the SCDF Basic Rescue Training Centre as a form of punishment, Ahad was found dead at the foot of his rented Pine Grove condo block. He had apparently leapt out of his 15-storey kitchen window. Indicated depression on day of enlistment The coroners court heard that Ahad was enlisted on 6 February last year. The same day, he complained to a medical officer about giddiness and vomiting, saying he was not used to the weather and food. He said he had just come to Singapore and could not sleep. He also filled up an Early Problem Identification and Care Form that day, indicating that he often felt depressed, had tried to harm himself before and was worried about his financial status. He also said he was unable to adapt to the weather, felt lonely and homesick. Story continues Ahad was flagged out to his platoon commander, but he declined to see an SCDF counsellor. Two weeks later, on his sixth visit to a doctor since his enlistment this time for calf pain he was given a memo from the in-camp medical officer allowing him to go to the canteen as he had said he could not get used to eating the cookhouse food. On 27 March, Ahad had his medical leave privileges restricted as he kept going to the emergency department at National University Hospital for medical certificates whenever he booked out of camp. This meant that he had to report to the in-camp medical centre if he was unwell. The same day, he was put on three weeks of light duty after complaining of poor sleep. Still, he visited the in-camp medical centre for the next two days. On 29 March, he complained of abdominal pain, loose stools, diarrhoea, sore throat and cough. The medical officer queried if he was stressed by non-medical issues. Ahad reported having had insomnia for the past two months, with suicidal thoughts and low mood. At the IMH, he told a psychiatrist that he had come to Singapore alone to fulfil his NS obligations and found difficulties with the regimentation. He also had thoughts of cutting his wrists twice but made no attempts to carry it through. But his mood would improve whenever he booked out of camp. Ahad was diagnosed with adjustment disorder with depression and given one day of medical leave, with a follow-up in four to six weeks. On 2 April, just days before he died, he was referred for a downgrade to PES C9 due to his medical condition. A few days before he died, Ahad told his buddy that he heard a voice in his head telling him to kill himself. He was also seen behaving unusually and speaking incoherently. On the day of his death, Ahad had called his landlord to ask to move out the same day. But she found this puzzling as he had told her the day before that he wanted to extend his stay for another six months. The police investigator said there was nothing to suggest that Ahad had been bullied in camp. There was also no foul play. At the time of his death, his bank account had a balance of $37.88. Besides the police investigator, other witnesses who will take the stand include Ahads unit commander, platoon commander, buddy, and the director of the SCDFs National Service Training Institute, Colonel Kadir Maideen. Ahads family is represented by lawyers K. Anparasan and Osman Khan from law firm WhiteFern. His family were unable to come to Singapore due to financial constraints. The inquiry will resume at a later date. Other Singapore stories: 51 per cent spike in PAB, PMD fire cases last year: SCDF Man jailed for conning 4 women he befriended over Tinder of $33,500 SAF appoints BG Tan Chee Wee as first Inspector General to oversee training safety Merlion statue to undergo first restorative works since 2015 JB port limits issue can be resolved in the near future: Malaysian foreign minister Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met China's President Xi Jinping on Friday and bagged a $10-billion oil deal, pressing on with his diplomatic charm offensive in Asia following a global outcry over the Khashoggi killing. Mohammed arrived in Beijing on Thursday following visits to Pakistan and India, showing the world that his country still has allies after the grisly murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate. "China is a good friend and partner to Saudi Arabia," Xi told Mohammed in a meeting in the Great Hall of the People. "Saudi Arabia's relations with China can be traced back a very long time in the past," the crown prince said. "Over such a long period of exchanges with China, we have never experienced any problems with China." He met with Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng earlier on Friday. "Is the crown prince's tour symbolic of Saudi Arabia's pivot to the East? Yes," Najah al-Otaibi, a senior analyst at the pro-Saudi think-tank Arabia Foundation, told AFP. "Riyadh wants to strengthen alliances in Asia -- especially now with the continuing fallout with the United States over Khashoggi's murder and other issues, and attempts by the EU to put Riyadh on a blacklist over money laundering allegations." Khashoggi, a fierce critic of the prince, was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October, a murder that tarnished the image of the kingdom and of the crown prince in particular. Riyadh initially denied the murder, then gave several conflicting accounts of Khashoggi's death, and now claims he was killed in an unauthorised operation that did not involve Mohammed. The murder sparked global indignation, with US lawmakers pushing for Washington to distance itself from the crown prince, but the White House has maintained close relations with Riyadh, a major ally in the Middle East. Separately, the European Commission wants to add Saudi Arabia to a money-laundering blacklist of governments that do too little to thwart the financing of terrorism and organised crime. But China is looking to strengthen its economic ties with the kingdom, as Beijing pursues its ambitious Belt and Road trade infrastructure initiative, while Riyadh rolls out "Saudi Vision 2030" -- the crown prince's major programme to diversify the national economy away from oil. Mohammed told the Chinese President they could join the two projects "to realise more progress and jointly confront challenges". Vice Premier Han suggested during his meeting with the crown prince that the two countries deepen partnerships in energy, infrastructure construction, finance, and high-tech. - Trade and security - Riyadh's national oil giant Saudi Aramco said it had signed an agreement to form a Saudi-Chinese joint venture -- worth more than $10 billion -- to develop a refining and petrochemical complex in northeastern Liaoning province. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority also announced the signing of 35 non-binding memorandums of understanding, including deals related to energy, mining, transportation and e-commerce. China is Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner. "As the kingdom diversifies its non-oil economy, it needs a variety of other investors with technical expertise, including the Chinese," Otaibi said. "China steadfastly supports Saudi Arabia pushing a diversification of its economy and societal reforms," Xi told Mohammed, according to state broadcaster CCTV, adding he supported the hard work the kingdom has undertaken to promote stability and safety at home. National security is a potential area of cooperation between the Gulf state and China. The two countries should boost partnerships in counterterrorism and law enforcement, and exchange experience on combating extremism, Han said in his meeting with Mohammed, according to a report by the official Chinese news agency Xinhua. The Saudis said they "firmly supported" Beijing's efforts to keep the country secure, and opposed "interference by external forces in China's internal affairs", Xinhua added, paraphrasing remarks by the crown prince. Riyadh has remained silent over China's treatment of Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities in the far-western region of Xinjiang. Up to one million Uighurs and other minorities are being held in internment camps in Xinjiang as part of a draconian anti-terror and anti-separatist campaign, according to estimates cited by a UN panel. "China has the right to take anti-terrorism and de-extremization measures to safeguard national security," Mohammed told Xi, according to CCTV. "Saudi Arabia respects and supports it and is willing to strengthen cooperation with China," he said. Brigadier General Tan Chee Wee (in blue uniform) speaks to NSmen from the 295th Battalion, Singapore Artillery on 20 February, 2019. (PHOTO: Singapore Armed Forces) The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) announced on Friday (22 February) that it has appointed Brigadier-General Tan Chee Wee as its first Inspector General to oversee training safety. BG Tan, currently the Director of Joint Operations, will assume office on 27 February, and will also concurrently take on the appointment of Chief of Staff-Joint Staff on the same day. The appointment is part of a series of measures that SAF will undertake following a recent spate of training deaths of national servicemen. Three areas of focus for BG Tan BG Tan said in the SAFs media release that his immediate focus as Inspector General is to introduce concrete actions in three areas: Promoting open reporting Ensuring the quality of safety inspections Strengthening the safety culture across the SAF. BG Tan will be visiting ground units across the SAF to assess the health of open reporting and safety culture among the units. His office will also make independent assessments on the units safety inspection system, and ensure that they adopt stringent benchmarks for safety performance and culture of their units. With these findings, I will then recommend to the Chief of Defence Force (CDF) proposals that will further enhance the SAFs safety management as well as strengthen its safety culture, he said. Our commanders and soldiers need to look after one another. It must be second nature for them to flag up unsafe practices or acts of non-compliance by their team-mates or even their commanders. Briefed on safety training BG Tan joined the SAF in 1993 as an Air Traffic Controller in the Republic of Singapore Air Force. Prior to his current appointment, he held a diverse range of senior appointments in the Ministry of Defence and the SAF, including Commander of Air Defence and Operations Command, Director of Policy Office, Defence Attache (Washington), and Head of Air Plans. He accompanied CDF Lieutenant-General Melvyn Ong to visit the 295th Battalion, Singapore Artillery on Wednesday, where they were briefed on the safety training that servicemen do as part of their in-camp training. Story continues Death of Aloysius Pang The Inspector-Generals Office was announced on 31 January, following the death of actor Aloysius Pang during a military exercise in New Zealand on 23 January, the fourth SAF training-related fatality since September 2017. Other moves to ensure safety processes and practices at all levels in the SAF include increasing the number of safety inspection teams and full-time safety officers to perform checks and audits on unit-level safety systems in the army, as well as reviewing whether to scale back its exercises, redesigning and even removing selected training courses. Related stories: Actor Aloysius Pang dies after army training incident in New Zealand SAF to set up Inspector-Generals Office to enforce safety practices Aloysius Pang unable to get out of the way of gun barrel, suffered crush injuries: SAF Actor Aloysius Pang was 4th SAF-training related fatality over 16 months Dozens of orcas and beluga whales captured for sale to oceanariums have brought Russia's murky trade into the spotlight, but efforts to free them have been blocked by government infighting. Russia is the only country where orcas, or killer whales, and belugas can be caught in the ocean for the purpose of "education". The legal loophole has been used to export them to satisfy demand in China's growing network of ocean theme parks. Photos of a total of 11 orcas and 87 belugas crammed into small enclosures at a secure facility in the Far Eastern town of Nakhodka sparked a global outcry, and the Kremlin on Friday stepped in, saying the fate of "suffering" animals must be resolved. "There have never been that many animals caught in one season and kept in one facility before anywhere in the world," said Dmitry Lisitsyn, head of the Sakhalin Environmental Watch group, who has emerged as a point person in the campaign to release the whales captured last summer back into the wild. Russian investigators launched two probes into poaching and animal cruelty, while Russia's environmental watchdog said it has refused to issue permits to export the whales. But the investigations and any potential court case could drag on for months. The Russian government is split between the environment ministry that says the animals must be released, and the fisheries agency that defends their capture as part of a legitimate industry. President Vladimir Putin has ordered his ministers to "decide on the fate of the whales" by March 1, a decree said Friday. "The animals are suffering" and may die, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, adding that they "are being kept in conditions that are inadequate for such young animals of these species." - 200 orcas left - The captured killer whales belong to the rarer seal-eating population of the species, which does not interbreed or interact with fish-eating orcas. The environment ministry has tried to list the seal-eating type as endangered, ministry representative Olga Krever said. "This population has only 200 adult animals" in Russian waters, she said. But the agriculture ministry, which controls the fisheries agency and oversees non-protected sea species, views orcas as competitors for Russia's fish stocks and doesn't believe they are under threat, Krever said, calling the dispute a "big problem." Marine mammal researchers say there are good chances of a successful release, but the fisheries agency told AFP that it "carries high risks of their mass death". "Neither orcas nor belugas are endangered," and are simply a resource that can be used according to existing legislation, agency representative Sergei Golovinov said. - 'Stars of the shows' - Both the United States and Canada stopped catching wild orcas in the 1970s due to negative publicity, so China relies on Russian exports. There are 74 operational ocean theme parks in mainland China featuring whales and dolphins, according to the China Cetacean Alliance, which monitors the industry. More are under construction. "Orcas are like the cherry on the cake" for new Chinese venues, said Greenpeace Russia campaigner Oganes Targulyan at a recent protest against whale capture. "They are the stars of the shows." All 17 killer whales that Russia has exported since 2013 -- which officials value at up to $6 million each -- have gone to China, according to CITES wildlife trade figures. Though the animals in Nakhodka are unlikely to get green-lighted for export, their fate is unclear. The urgency of the situation is clear however: one killer whale went missing from the Nakhodka facility this week, Sakhalin Watch said Thursday, suspecting it may be dead. In the West, there is widespread opposition to keeping the highly intelligent marine mammals in parks like the US chain Sea World, but in Russia public opinion is not so certain. Companies that caught the animals are not giving up. At the weekend, they launched a new Instagram account, praising the Nakhodka facility and defending the oceanarium industry. - 'Lobbyist muscle' - On Saturday, dozens of pro-industry supporters disrupted a rally to free the whales. They showed up with signs reading "Each orca is 10 jobs" for the crews hired to catch them, and only left when police arrived on the scene. "We see that the capturing companies are putting up a fight," Lisitsyn said. "They are using their lobbyist muscle." Researchers meanwhile are already starting to organise to prepare for a potential release of the animals. "There has never been so many animals released in the past," said Dmitry Glazov, a beluga whale researcher at the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution in Moscow. He said a project of that scale would certainly require international expertise and funding. The whales, which have been fed dead fish, would need to go through an adaptation period to make sure they can rely on their natural food sources. "For science, releasing this many animals would be invaluable," he said. "But there needs to be a decision first." Hundreds of Romanian judges demonstrated in major cities on Friday, and prosecutor's offices decided to suspend work to protest against a government decree they say threatens judicial independence. Around 200 prosecutors and judges were applauded in Bucharest as they walked in silence to the Court of Appeals, with onlookers calling out, "We support you" and "Don't give in." The movement was triggered by a decree adopted Monday by the Social-Democratic (PSD) government that changes rules for nominating various categories of judges and reinforces a new disciplinary jurisdiction. "The rule of law is more than threatened, it is at risk of collapsing," prosecutor Radu Budurica from Caras-Severin, southwestern Romania said. The new decree could "paralyse prosecutor's work, and that is unacceptable," Bucharest judge Georgiana Flutus told AFP. Several prosecutor's offices said they would suspend work starting Monday for three to seven days. The government has also clashed several times in recent months with EU officials who are alarmed by what they see as repeated attempts to undermine the independence of the Romanian judiciary. PSD lawmakers have tried for two years to overhaul the judiciary, citing "abuses" by magistrates. Critics say the real goal is to protect PSD chief Liviu Dragnea, who has been convicted of electoral fraud and is the target of two other judicial procedures. The decree also puts pressure on centre-right Romanian President Klaus Iohannis to name Adina Florea as head of the National Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (DNA) in place of Laura Codruta Kovesi, who was dismissed from the post in July. Under Kovesi's watch, hundreds of elected officials were convicted of corruption offences, earning her the enmity of many in Romania's political class and criticism that she had overstepped her mandate. On his Facebook account, President Iohannis said the government was "obsessed (about) weakening the justice system until it is no longer effective." Romania should not be allowed to be run by people "who want to place justice under political control", he added. The judges also called for the suspension of a special panel of magistrates set up just four months ago despite fierce criticism by EU experts. The panel has opened an investigation of Kovesi and launched a probe against the EU Commission's deputy president Frans Timmermans and Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova for alleged abuse of office and making false statements about Romania. The Philippines on Friday handed over the reins of a new Muslim-led territory to rebel leaders who waged a decades-long fight for autonomy, but are now tasked with securing peace and prosperity. President Rodrigo Duterte personally swore in Murad Ebrahim, head of the Catholic-majority nation's largest Muslim group, as interim chief minister at a symbolic Manila ceremony. It comes after voters decisively backed in January the founding of the so-called Bangsamoro region in the south, the culmination of a peace deal to end a separatist insurgency that had killed some 150,000 people since the 1970s. Duterte and Murad, leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), have both said they hope the pact will help head off the rise of Islamist extremism in the country's Muslim-populated southern region of Mindanao. "The road to peace may be long and rough, but I am glad that we've finally reached its end point," Duterte said in a speech after also swearing the other members of a Bangsamoro transition government, a majority of them picked by the MILF. "Most of all we would like to see an end to the violence that has wracked Mindanao and have cost so many lives for nothing," the president added. Murad's MILF signed a peace treaty with the Philippine government in 2014, and the legislature of the mainly Catholic Asian nation last year passed a law creating the self-rule area, which voters later ratified. Murad and his transition body will form a cabinet as well as pass laws until the temporary arrangement ends with the election of a regional parliament in May 2022. During Murad's term some of his more than 10,000 armed fighters are expected to gradually disarm under the terms set by the peace treaty. The rebellion began in the early 1970s as a bid to set up a separate Muslim state in the Mindanao region. The rebels later scaled down their objective to autonomy. Despite the MILF peace deal, violence persisted as more radical Islamic groups set up shop in what remains the poorest segment of the country. In May 2017, hundreds of foreign and local pro-IS gunmen seized Marawi, the country's largest Muslim city. The Philippine military wrested back the ruined city after a five-month battle that claimed more than a thousand lives. An earlier peace treaty between Manila and a rival Muslim rebel faction had created a self-rule area in 1996, but it was hampered by funding and corruption, while the MILF fought on. The new entity is better-funded and slightly larger. The national government retains police powers. Armed with crowbars and wearing protective gear, three women assembled at a Jakarta stress clinic survey the cluster of bottles they're about to smash to pieces. "I feel relieved. It's like something I have been holding inside is finally released when I smashed those bottles," Genta Kalbu Tanjung, a 20-year-old university student, told AFP as blaring rock music pulsated in the background. Tanjung and her two friends paid 125,000 rupiah ($8.85) each to unleash their pent-up rage at the Temper Clinic, which also lets clients bust up old televisions and printers for a slightly higher price. Inside a bare smash room, one wall is covered with a written reminder: "Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." Aliya Dewayanti Senoajie wanted to use the students' half-hour session to channel her frustrations as a school holiday quickly comes to an end. "The break is over -- it was too short and I'm not ready to go back to school," Senoajie said, declaring her bust-it-up session a success. "It was really fun. My adrenaline was pumping." The clinic opened last summer in a posh Jakarta neighbourhood after co-owner Masagus Yusuf Albar returned from an overseas holiday where he saw similar businesses sprouting up. The first dedicated space for such destruction therapy opened in Japan in 2008, with a view to helping stressed salarymen relieve their pent up frustrations. It has spread in popularity and temper clinics, also known as rage rooms, can be found in most key US and European cities. The trend has taken off in Asia in the past two years with similar ventures opening in China, Singapore, and Hong Kong. But the service might not immediately make sense for a place like Indonesia -- its citizens regularly rank high among the world's least-stressed people. That wasn't lost on Albar, who conceded that life in places like Bali or jungle-clad Sumatra was pretty relaxed. But not so in Jakarta, a city of 10 million plus with hours-long traffic jams that can drive the most patient mad and where school and work are becoming increasingly competitive. A 2017 survey done by dry cleaning firm Zipjet found Jakarta was one of the world's most stressful cities based on criteria including traffic, air and noise pollution and unemployment. "Try to go anywhere on Friday night and it's very annoying. My friend once got caught in the traffic and she ended up crying. That's how bad it was," Albar told AFP. "Customers find this cathartic," he said. But smashing things up to let off steam is not necessarily risk free, warned Jakarta-based psychologist Liza Marielly Djaprie. She suggested that regularly using such rooms could simply condition the body to need an aggressive release whenever tensions rise. Djaprie explained: "I don't usually encourage patients to destroy things just so it won't become a habit. We need to learn about our anger -- and anger management." RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan's military is conducting court-martial proceedings against two senior officers on charges of espionage, a spokesman said on Friday, without giving details. "Army Chief has ordered their court martial," Major General Asif Ghafoor, the military's main spokesman, told a news conference, adding that the two were individual cases. He gave no details on the identity or rank of the officers nor what country or organization they were alleged to be spying for, but said: "There is no network as such." The news comes as tensions with neighbouring India have escalated sharply following a suicide attack on a police convoy in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 40 members of a paramilitary police unit. Separately, Ghafoor also said a former head of Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Gen. Asad Durrani, was found guilty of violating the military's code of conduct. Durrani was facing an army's inquiry for co-authoring a book with A. S. Dulat, a former chief of arch-rival India's spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). "Spy Chronicles", published last summer, stirred controversy on a range of issues, notably the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad in 2011. Durrani has been stripped of his pension and other benefits as a retired officer, Ghafoor said. (Reporting by James Mackenzie; Writing by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Hugh Lawson) After posting the biggest rise last year despite the effects of the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law, the leadership of Nissan Philippines Inc. (NPI) is eyeing a 20-percent increase in sales for 2019. During the Nissan Terra media drive NPI held recently in Legazpi City in Albay, company boss Ramesh Narasimhan said that while they have enjoyed a 40-percent increase in sales, they are driven to hit the 20 percent-sales growth target. My belief, which the team shared, is that if you can dream it, you can do it, he said. NPI sold 34,952 units in 2018, giving them an 8.7-percent share in the market. The said figure made it one of only two mass-market car manufacturers to post an actual sales growth for the year. The 2018 sales for NPI was driven by the Nissan Navaraaccounting for 46.2 percent in total salesand the all-new Nissan Terra, which was introduced in May 2018 and contributed 11.9 percent of sales locally. Other models performed well in the Philippines last year, notably the Nissan Urvan and Nissan Almera, contributing 19.5 percent and 17.5 percent, respectively. The post Nissan PH Eyes 20% Sales Growth for 2019 appeared first on Carmudi Philippines. By Simon Lewis NGAPALI BEACH, Myanmar (Reuters) - Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi called for investment in the crisis-hit western state of Rakhine on Friday, saying the world had "focused narrowly on negative aspects" in the state from which some 730,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled since 2017. On a rare visit to Rakhine, Suu Kyi emphasised responsible business practices as she addressed an investment fair sponsored by Japan in the coastal state's tourist hotspot of Ngapali beach. She made only a brief reference to the violence that have roiled areas several hundred kilometres to the north, including a fresh conflict with Rakhine rebels that has displaced more than 5,000 since December. "For too long the international community's attention has been focused narrowly on negative aspects related to problems in north Rakhine rather than on the panoramic picture that shows the immense potential of this state for peace and prosperity," Suu Kyi said. Her government recognised the "grave challenges" it faced in Rakhine and was doing its utmost to address them, she said. The 1991 Nobel laureate has pledged to make Myanmar more investment-friendly as her government attempts to reverse a drop in foreign investment and tourism from the West since the Rohingya exodus sparked global outrage. Myanmar officials will also brief investors in London next month at a trade and investment conference organised by the British Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar. A U.N. fact-finding mission last year said the 2017 military campaign that pushed out the Rohingya was orchestrated with "genocidal intent". Myanmar denies allegations of mass killings and rape, and says its offensive was a legitimate response to an insurgent threat and that it is welcoming the refugees back. 'RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT' Some experts warn that a focus on economic solutions to Rakhine's problems could cement the marginalisation of the mostly stateless Rohingya. Story continues A Reuters special report in December revealed that officials had built new homes for Buddhists where the Rohingya once lived, making the return of many refugees to their original homes impossible. (Link: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/myanmar-rohingya-return) Myanmar says it has been ready to accept returning refugees since January and denies discriminating against Muslims who remain in Rakhine. Domestic and foreign investment could play a crucial role in the state, Suu Kyi said, but she warned against irresponsible investment like "unchecked expansion of commercial fishery projects" that could damage Rakhine's coastal mangrove forests. Despite one session on "responsible investment" in Rakhine, the conflicts in the state were barely mentioned at the event, held at a brand new high-end hotel overlooking the Bay of Bengal. As well as those stuck in Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya and other Muslims remain trapped in camps and villages in Rakhine, where their movements and access to services are restricted. Asked about the lack of discussion of Rakhine's crises, Aung Naing Oo, director-general of Myanmars Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, said the fair was not the place to discuss politics. Investment is not political, he said, adding that Myanmars laws would guarantee that projects agreed at the event would benefit all the states people, including by creating employment. The venue, in Thandwe township, was within miles of villages that saw communal clashes in 2013 between Rakhine Buddhists and Muslims from the Kaman ethnic group. Locals from both communities say they now co-exist peacefully. But Kaman Muslims, who unlike the Rohingya are recognised as Myanmar citizens, say they still face movement restrictions and discrimination. Aung Naing Myint, a Kaman community leader, said he had not heard about the investment fair until reporters contacted him about it. We welcome this event and investment," he said, "but the question is, can the local communities get some benefit from it? BREAK WITH THE WEST The investment fair began on Thursday evening with musical performances celebrating ancient kingdoms in the region and a purported visit by the Gautama Buddha, who lived two and half millennia ago. A pop song written especially for the event described the state as "the door for international relation(s)". Most investors came from Japan, South Korea and elsewhere in Asia, reflecting a chill in Myanmar's relations with the West since the Rohingya exodus. One company displayed its plans to construct a high-speed railway and eight-lane highway across Myanmar to China. A company official said the project, which would draw on funding from China, did not yet have official approval. Belgian national Pascal Gerken, who is developing a high-end resort near Ngapali that he says will train and employ around 400 locals, was one of a handful of Western investors in attendance. He told Reuters projects like his in the state would benefit "all communities of all religions" and promote understanding. Rakhine native Htun Htun Naings Yangon-based company, Blue Ocean Investments, runs call centres and other IT services. He said Western firms would lose out to Asian competitors if they withheld investment from Rakhine due to reputational risks. We wish they wanted to come," he said, "but if they dont come, well still find an alternative way to develop our country by ourselves. (Reporting by Simon Lewis; Editing by Nick Macfie) For eight days in 1999 the world watched in horror as hijackers diverted an Indian Airlines flight to Afghanistan and held the passengers hostage, the drama ending only when Delhi agreed to release three Kashmiri militants. Nearly 20 years later, India is still paying the price for that decision. One of the militants freed was Masood Azhar, who later went on to found Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the militant group which claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack in three decades in Indian-held Kashmir. More than 40 Indian paramilitaries were killed in the suicide blast on February 14, kindling a fresh diplomatic crisis between nuclear-armed arch-rivals India and Pakistan. Based in Pakistan, JeM is one of several anti-Indian militant groups fighting in Kashmir which are officially outlawed in the country, but which are allegedly used by Islamabad as proxies in India. Azhar -- who has never been declared a terrorist by the international community -- is also believed to be in Pakistan. The US Treasury Department website still gives his home address as a location in the province's Bahawalpur district, although his exact whereabouts remain shrouded in mystery. - Motivator and recruiter - He was born the son of an elementary school teacher in Punjab province in 1968, according to Amir Rana, a security analyst who has carried out extensive research on Pakistani militant groups. Azhar originally entered Indian-held Kashmir on a Portuguese passport, security officials there told AFP, and established contact with numerous militant groups. A common figure in the streets of Srinagar, he was known for his fiery speeches, and for mediating between the many groups flocking to the insurgency. "His greatest value for the militant groups was as a motivator and recruiter, but more significantly he displayed a good capacity to reconcile their differences," one retired official told AFP. Azhar was detained by Indian authorities on terrorism charges in 1994. He reportedly bragged to his jailers that they would not be able to keep him in custody. At one point, another security official told AFP, he and other militants dug an escape tunnel, and when the moment came, Azhar insisted on going first. "But he got stuck in the narrow tunnel because of his bulky physique and the whole attempt was thwarted," the official said. He remained in prison until the Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu to New Delhi was hijacked on Christmas Eve in 1999, eventually landing in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, at the time under Taliban rule. One of the hijackers, Ibrahim Athar, was reported to be Azhar's younger brother. - 'Lack of evidence' - Azhar reportedly met with Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and Taliban founder Mullah Mohammed Omar in Afghanistan after he was freed, Rana said. He formed JeM in 2000, the analyst said, and a year later the group was blamed for a brazen attack on the Indian parliament in which militants killed 10 people, bringing India and Pakistan to the brink of war. Azhar was detained and placed under house arrest, but a court in the Punjab provincial capital of Lahore ordered his release in 2002, citing "lack of evidence". As homegrown Pakistani militant groups turned their guns on the state after 9/11, Rana said Azhar was one of the few who kept a low profile. The group struck again in 2016, with Delhi blaming them for an infamous attack on a military base in Indian-held Kashmir that left seven soldiers dead and once more sent tensions spiralling. Azhar was again taken into "protective custody", but never formally charged. Last July he addressed supporters in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-held Kashmir, by telephone from an undisclosed location, claiming he had hundreds of militants ready to fight to the death. The speech prompted Indian authorities to tighten security at airports in anticipation of another hijacking. Azhar, meanwhile, has not been directly heard from since. - Chinese wall - As well as Pakistan, JeM is also banned by the United Nations and India, while the US State Department lists it as a terrorist organisation. However, Azhar has not been declared a terrorist, despite New Delhi and others trying several times to get the UN Security Council to name him as one, with the move blocked each time by Pakistan's ally China. Diplomats told AFP this week that France, Britain and the US were considering a fresh push at the Security Council to place Azhar on the UN terror list -- but once more face opposition by China. The Great Night of Shiva or Mahashivratri is unlike any other Hindu festival. Find out when is Mahashivratri in 2019, why Mahashivratri is celebrated and how Mahashivratri is celebrated in India (and also in Nepal). Mahashivaratri is an annual Hindu festival dedicated to Shiva Mahashivaratri, the annual festival dedicated to Shiva, is one of the few Hindu festivals thats celebrated after sundown. Also, unlike most Hindu festivals, Mahashivratri is tad solemn even as it celebrates the overcoming of darkness and ignorance. The word, Mahashivratri, itself can be translated into English as the Great Night of Shiva and involves devotees staying up all night praying, fasting and meditating. The faithful also take pilgrimages to the Jyotirlingas the 12 Shiva shrines around India. When is Mahashivratri in 2019? Mahashivratri falls on Monday, March 4, 2019. Why is Mahashivratri celebrated? The origins of Mahashivratri are many. By some accounts its the day Shiva and his consort, Parvati got married. According to another legend, its the day when Shiva performed the tandava the dance of destruction. And some other beliefs also suggest its the day when Shiva consumed the poison that emerged out of the Samudra Manthan or the Churning of the Ocean. Its this legend that ties Mahashivratri to Kumbh Mela, which celebrates the victory of the gods over demons in the war that followed the churning. The ongoing Ardh Kumbh Mela draws to a close on Monday, March 4, Mahashivratri when millions of devotees take a dip in the Triveni Sangam the confluence of three rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. (Note: Its still not too late to travel to Prayagraj for the Ardh Kumbh Mela. Heres the Yahoo Travel Guide to Ardh Kumbh 2019!) How is Mahashivratri celebrated in India? Most Mahashivratri celebrations involve jaagran, or the practice of staying up through the night, praying and meditating. Additionally, different regions of India celebrate it by hosting their own variations. In Tamil Nadu, at the Annamali temple in Tiruvannamalai, devotees circumambulate the hill on top of which rests a shiva temple. The entire walk is about 14 km and is to be completed barefoot. At the temple, a lamp of camphor and oil is lit at sunset marking the beginning of the festivities. Story continues Similarly in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh processions are carried out in different parts of the states but one of the biggest festivities are held in Warangal, Telangana, that houses a 1,000-pillar temple thats dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and the Sun. Mahashivratri is also celebrated with much gusto in West Bengal where unmarried girls pray for a groom. The Tarakeswar temple in Hoogly is the site of the biggest Mahashivratri celebrations in the state. Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas and is also the venue of some of the biggest Mahashivratri celebrations in India with thousands of devotees arriving on the eve of Mahashivratri to pay respects to Shiva. Even though it isnt a Jyotirlinga, Mandi in Himachal Pradesh also has a large Mahashivratri celebration. Mandi that has over 80 temples dedicated to different deities hosts a grand fair that sees palanquin- and chariot-processions on this day. The Mandi Shivratri Fair then continues for a week after this. Further up north, in Kashmir, Mahashivratri is celebrated a day earlier than the rest of the country. It is known as Hararatri or Bhairavotsava. While celebrations include worshipping of the Shivlinga the biggest celebrations take place at the Shankaracharya Temple on the banks of the Dal Lake in Srinagar the feast includes helpings of walnuts (found in abundance in Kashmir) soaked in water as well as meat and fish, which dont always make it to the menu of religious meals in Hinduism. How is Mahashivratri celebrated in Nepal? Shiva also finds devotees in Nepal where the temple of Pashupatinath that remained miraculously unharmed during the 2015 earthquake hosts the biggest celebrations. Music and dance festivals are held throughout the night while priests perform extensive pujas in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Quite like in West Bengal, single women pray for a groom while the married ones pray for the well-being of their husbands. Video screenshot of a Malaysian vessel intruding into Singapore territorial waters. (FILE PHOTO: Mindef) Malaysias Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah believes that there has been positive progress on the Johor Bahru port limits issue between Singapore and Malaysia, and that it can be resolved in the near future. Malaysian news agency Bernama reported that Saifuddin made the remarks on Thursday (21 February) after officiating the opening of the new campus of the Kuala Lumpur International School in Ampang Hilir. He mentioned eight issues concerning both countries, including the Instrument Landing System (ILS) procedures for Seletar Airport, as well as the 1974 airspace agreement. For the moment, I see the Johor Baru Port Limits issue as being one of the eight involving relations between Malaysia and Singapore which can be resolved first, he told reporters, according to Bernama. I believe there will be good relations with Singapore and the discussions will be smooth. On the port limits, it can be resolved in the near future compared to the water issue, which I expect to take more time as it is quite complicated. Singapore and Malaysia are embroiled in a maritime dispute was sparked by Malaysias unilateral decision to extend the Johor Bahru port limits in October last year. Subsequently, Malaysian government vessels have also intruded into Singapore waters off Tuas, for which the Republic lodged a strong protest with the Malaysian government. Talks on water issue overshadowed On Tuesday, Singapores Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said that the attorneys-general of both countries met in December for talks on the price of raw water supplied by Malaysia to Singapore. However, MFA noted that the talks were the discussions were overshadowed by the recent maritime and airspace issues. According to Bernama, Saifuddin said that talks on the water issue which is based on the 1962 Water Agreement between the two countries were conducted on a positive note, and that the government is optimistic about it even though more time is needed. Story continues He had told reporters on Thursday, On the water issue, I and the Singapore Foreign Minister are looking for a suitable date in the near future to meet and hold further discussions. The willingness of the Republic is very encouraging, compared to before when there was no progress. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad wants to review the terms of the 1962 Water Agreement, which expires in 2061. The agreement entitles Singapore to draw up to 250 million gallons a day (mgd) of water from the Johor River. Singapore pays RM0.03 (S$0.01) per thousand gallons of raw water and sells treated water back to Johor at RM0.50 per thousand gallons, a fraction of the cost of treating the water. Johor is also entitled to a daily supply of treated water of up to 2 per cent or 5 million gallons a day of the water supplied to Singapore. Related stories: Singapore-Malaysia working group had constructive discussions on maritime issues Singapore and Malaysia take immediate suspension steps over Seletar Airport and Pasir Gudang Malaysia rejects Singapores counter-proposal on maritime spat, willing to take steps to de-escalate situation Singapore rejects Malaysias cease and desist proposal on disputed maritime area Japan's Emperor-in-waiting Naruhito has pledged to maintain the royal household's close ties to the public as he prepares to assume the throne in about two months with a "solemn feeling". At a press conference earlier this week to mark his 59th birthday, Crown Prince Naruhito also asked the public to "warmly" monitor the gradual recovery of his wife Crown Princess Masako, who has struggled for years with a stress-related illness. "When I think about the time ahead, I have a very solemn feeling," he said in the press conference, released Saturday. "As (the current emperor and empress) have done, I wish to be always close to the people and share the joys as well as the sorrows to fulfil my duty as a symbol of the state." Current Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will abdicate on April 30 from the Chrysanthemum Throne after a three-decade reign, making way for Naruhito and Masako to replace them the following day. The status of the emperor is sensitive in Japan given its 20th-century history of war waged in the name of Akihito's father Hirohito, who died in 1989. Akihito has modernised the royals and expanded his role by actively travelling across Japan, particularly to meet with victims of natural disasters and to visit sites that had been affected by World War II. Purists say, however, Japanese emperors' primary duty is to pray for the peace and happiness of the nation in a secretive world of elaborate Shinto-based rituals. Naruhito said he will follow in his father's footsteps, while also searching for his way to adapt to the changing times. The Crown Prince asked the public for their understanding as Masako battles ill health. A former high-flying diplomat, Masako developed a stress-related illness after joining the tradition-heavy household. But she has been gradually expanding her activities. "In the future, as her status changes and the volume of her official duties increases, she won't be able to do everything overnight," warned Naruhito. "But, while watching her health, Masako will continue her efforts to get better. So I hope the Japanese people will warmly continue to monitor her recovery." Naruhito, who has studied scientific issues related to water as his life's work, said he wanted to use his knowledge to deal with natural disasters, frequent in Japan. He also said he wanted to continue international exchanges as a key duty. Huawei or US: Mike Pompeo issues warning to allies that partner with Chinese firm US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has issued a stark warning to Americas allies of the risks of using Chinese technology firm Huaweis equipment in their telecommunications networks. If a country adopts this [Huawei] and puts it in some of their critical information systems, we wont be able to share information with them, we wont be able to work alongside them, he said in an interview with Fox Business on Thursday. In some cases theres risk we wont even be able to co-locate American resources, an American embassy, an American military outpost. His comments came after Britain, New Zealand and Italy all signalled this week that there might still be room for Huawei in their 5G infrastructure development plans. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said in a tweet on Thursday that he wanted the US to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies. Pompeo was speaking after a five-day trip to western and central Europe last week, where he visited Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Belgium and Iceland. When asked about the trip, he said the US had shared information about Huawei with countries around the world and, we think theyll make good decisions when they understand that risk. We cant forget these systems were designed alongside the Chinese PLA, their military in China, he said. They are creating a real risk for these countries and their systems, the security of their people. Both Huawei and the Chinese government have denied using the companys telecoms equipment for espionage. On Wednesday, Huaweis founder and president Ren Zhengfei told CBS News that it absolutely never installs back doors. Even if we were required by Chinese law, we would firmly reject that, he said. He was possibly referring to the concerns raised by officials in the US and Europe about Chinas intelligence law, which requires citizens and companies to cooperate with espionage investigations. Story continues Speaking at a cybersecurity conference in Brussels on Wednesday, Andrus Ansip, the head of the European Commissions digital single market team, said the Chinese legislation was the reason the European Union was considering conducting a risk assessment of Huawei even though there was no evidence to suggest it had engaged in espionage. The head of Britains National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Ciaran Martin, said at the same event that while the Chinese company was not involved in any of the countrys sensitive networks, Britain had arguably the toughest and most rigorous oversight regime in the world for Huawei. On Monday, an unnamed source from the NCSC told the Financial Times that the risks posed by Huawei were manageable. While some of the United States allies have banned Huawei on security grounds as Australia did in August others appear to be taking a more open view. Italys undersecretary for economic development Michele Geraci said in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday that while his country was a loyal ally of the US, he did not see Huawei as an issue. A day earlier, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her country would independently assess the risk of using the Chinese companys equipment in its 5G networks. That statement came after New Zealands intelligence agency in November rejected an initial request from telecommunications services provider Spark to use Huawei products. This article Huawei or US: Mike Pompeo issues warning to allies that partner with Chinese firm first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019. Joshua Wong, the face of the Umbrella Movement pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, has spoken up about the sentencing passed down yesterday on Singaporean activist Jolovan Wham. Wham, 39, was found guilty last month for violating public order laws because he failed to apply for a police permit before inviting Wong, a non-Singaporean, to speak to an audience here in Singapore via video chat on Skype. Yesterday, Wham was slapped with a $3,200 fine, but he intends to serve a 16-day prison sentence in lieu of paying the fine. Speaking to the Hong Kong Free Press, Wong called the outcome an embarrassment and a terrible injustice. Jolovan generously invited me to share and exchange my experience in Hong Kongs fight for freedom and justice with the Singaporean community the irony is not missed here that Jolovan has become a subject of injustice as a result. The 22-year-old Nobel Peace Prize nominee had been a guest (via video conference) in Whams forum back in November 2016, where fellow local activists Seelan Palay and Kirsten Han discussed the role of civil disobedience and democracy in building social movements. Singapore authorities took issue with how Wham continued with the event despite being advised by the police to obtain a permit even if the foreign speaker spoke remotely. Id like to express my respect and admiration for Jolovans perseverance of his values, and my wish for the Singaporean people to one day be able to enjoy true freedom and democracy, Wong told HKFP. Wong is no stranger to convictions for his pro-democracy activism. The student activist has been jailed twice for offenses related to the mass protests the Umbrella Movement organized in Hong Kong. On his part, Wham remains firm in his stance against the sentencing. Im not paying the fine because I dont wish to validate a system which does not respect freedom of expression and where even having a harmless Skype call is considered an offense, he wrote on Facebook. Story continues As a country, we can do better than this. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This article, Hong Kong democracy icon Joshua Wong calls sentencing of Jolovan Wham a terrible injustice, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. Want more Coconuts? Sign up for our newsletters! Its finally set. After months and months of delays, the Metro Manila Subway,which is also known as Mega Manila Subway, is set for its official groundbreaking this February 27. February 27 is the date of the groundbreaking of Metro Manila Subway, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Assistant Secretary Goddess Hope Libiran said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA). The projects groundbreaking ceremony has been a hit-and-miss for some time now. It was initially scheduled last December 2018, but according to Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, it was moved to January 2019 due to scheduling issues of the parties involved. This time, its now set by the end of February this year. Part of President Dutertes ambitious Build, Build, Build Plan for the Philippines, this subway is estimated to be 25 kilometers long, with an expected speed of about 80 kph. The inner tunnel diameter is 5.2 meters, while the outer tunnel diameter is 5.65 meters. It will stretch from the Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Paranaque City. The government hopes that the subway will help lessen traffic congestion in Metro Manila. Build, Build, Build Plan The government sees the Build, Build, Build Plan as a way to introduce the Golden Age of Infrastructure for the Philippines. This six-year infrastructure project is under the Dutertenomics policy, which aims to make the country a prosperous, predominantly middle-class society by improving and developing infrastructure programs for transportation (roads, bridges, airports, and seaports), flood management, water resources, energy, communications, sewerage & sanitation, and solid waste management. The entire budget is estimated to cost between PHP8 to PHP9 trillion over the medium term, with around 4,000 infrastructure projects lined up for the entire project. The first phase of the underground railway will have a total of 14 stations from Mindanao Avenue to NAIA. The post Its Final! Metro Manila Subway Groundbreaking to be Held on February 27 appeared first on Carmudi Philippines. Curacao authorities Friday blocked Venezuelan opposition supporters from loading aid donations onto a ship to sail to their country, the vessel's captain said, with the island's government citing security concerns. The Venezuelans have flown containers to Curacao from private donors in the United States -- part of a broader aid effort by Venezuela's self-declared leader Juan Guaido to put pressure on President Nicolas Maduro. The organizers tried on Friday to load the aid onto the Seven Seas supply ship, moored in the port of the Caribbean island 40 miles (65 kilometers) from Venezuela's coast. "The authorities here blocked the entrance of the containers with the humanitarian aid for Venezuela," Seven Seas captain Carlos Quintavalle told AFP at the port. Curacao has become one of the focal points of a volatile standoff between Guaido and Maduro. The socialist president has branded the aid drive a sham and accused the United States of plotting to invade his country. Guaido has vowed to bring in aid via Brazil, Colombia and Curacao, in defiance of Maduro and the military that backs him. Rights campaigners said Venezuelan soldiers shot dead two indigenous people and wounded 15 other who tried to stop them sealing an unofficial crossing on the Brazilian border on Friday. - Venezuelan volunteers defiant - Meanwhile, the use of Curacao as a sea transit point raised fears of a maritime confrontation if an aid boat approaches Venezuelan waters. Curacao government communications officer Corinne Leysner told AFP the island's parliament had agreed to act as a hub for aid "but that goods cannot leave for Venezuela until there is a safe environment to receive them." She said the government could not permit the boat to leave with the shipment for security reasons as Maduro's government has ordered the closure of Venezuela's sea and air frontiers with Curacao. "It is a safety issue. Of course we want to help the people of Venezuela but we are not going to be choosing fights," Leysner said. The Curacao government said earlier in a statement that "the shipments from Curacao will only take place when the authorities in Venezuela agree." Hundreds of Venezuelan volunteers based in Curacao rallied later Friday at the cathedral in the island's capital Willemstad. Lined up in pews, they swore an oath to God and the Virgin Mary to press ahead with efforts to load the ship. "We have faith that the frontier is still open," said one of the Venezuelan volunteers, Glen Essen. "The ex-government of Venezuela no longer exists. With the way Guaido and his new government are handling things - that is how this is going to be achieved." Chinas science-fiction blockbuster The Wandering Earth seeks out new audiences with Netflix deal Chinas second highest-grossing film, The Wandering Earth, will be streaming on Netflix soon, the media company said on Wednesday. It was not clear when the film will be released, but Netflix said it would be translated into 28 languages. Audiences from over 190 countries will soon meet The Wandering Earth on Netflix, director Frant Gwo, known better as Guo Fan in China, said. I am glad that our movie can reach to people from different parts of the world. To my surprise, this movie resonated outside mainland China. Netflix in 2017 was available in about 190 countries, but China was not one. Reactions from Chinese film fans on social media were mixed. Some said the Netflix deal was good news and voiced satisfaction that a Chinese film was hitting the international stage. Finally, its foreigners turn to watch subtitles, one said. Others were not so positive. Oh, it seems that the people [outside] of the country want to be brainwashed, one comment read. Chinas first space blockbuster is a huge success, both in takings and ratings. Since its Lunar New Year debut, the film has earned 3.8 billion yuan (US$566 million), according to Bloomberg. On Douban, Chinas version of IMDb, the film has a 7.9 rating. Chinas highest-grossing movie is 2017s Wolf Warrior 2. Despite its popularity, The Wandering Earth has had a limited release in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where it was a critical success. On film rating site Rotten Tomatoes, the movie earned a 67 per cent critics rating and 89 per cent audience score. The movie is based on the novel of the same name by Hugo science fiction and fantasy award winner Liu Cixin, and tells the story of a near future when Earth is at risk of being engulfed by the sun. In a 2,500-year journey, a group of people fight to save humanity. The Wandering Earth has also been seen as part of a soft power push by the Chinese government. Story continues On Wednesday, Chinas film authority praised the film for not only showing the collectivism, patriotism and family love rooted in traditional Chinese culture, but also the Chinese peoples non-utilitarian, cosmopolitan and cooperative spirit, Xinhua said. Chinese tabloid Global Times quoted Hu Zhifeng, director of the school of art and communication at Beijing Normal University, as saying the film proposed a Chinese approach to a United Earth Government. This article Chinas science-fiction blockbuster The Wandering Earth seeks out new audiences with Netflix deal first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019. The second month of 2019 is almost over. Just like that, were already coming into the latter part of this years first quarter. Time flies so fast, which is why you should make good use of it. The Philippine automotive industry values the essence of time as several manufacturers have already introduced its respective all-new models. From January to February 2019, the local automotive industry was relatively busy due to all-new car launches. There are already six all-new cars launched in the Philippines during the first two months of 2019. To give you a rundown, heres a list of the all-new cars in the local market as of this writing. Hyundai Reina The Reina is Hyundai Philippines challenger in the tightly contested subcompact sedan segment. In fact, the Hyundai Reina was launched quietly through Hyundai Asia Resources, Incs website. The brand says this vehicle is integrated with Hyundais Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 design language. It is powered by a 1.4-liter gasoline engine that delivers 94 hp and 132 Nm of torque. The engine can be connected to either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transmission. The most surprising thing about the all-new Hyundai Reina is its starting price, which is PHP598,000yes, its under 600K. Available in two variantsGL MT and GL ATthe Reina is priced lower as compared to its segment rivals such as the Kia Soluto, Mitsubishi Mirage G4, Toyota Vios, among others. Kia Soluto The Kia Soluto joins Hyundai Reina as the newest challengers in the Philippines subcompact sedan battle royale. The Soluto is also powered by a 1.4-liter gasoline engine that delivers 94 hp and 132 Nm of torque. Transmission options could either be a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. It is available in four variants with a starting price of PHP625,000. According to Kia Philippines, the Soluto features a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto & Apple Carplay, six-speakers, rearview camera, and steering wheel-mounted controls across all variants. Story continues Toyota RAV4 The all-new Toyota RAV4 looks sharper and more aggressive than its predecessor. The Japanese automaker says the RAV4 features the brands Toyota New Global Architecture platform, which is the same with the Camry. Toyota added that the all-new RAV4 offers better performance and capability. Under the hood, the fifth-generation RAV4 is powered by a 2.5-liter Dual VVT-i gasoline engine that generates 203 hp and 243 Nm of torque. Power is transferred through an eight-speed automatic transmission. The all-new RAV4 is available in three variants with a starting price of PHP1,638,000. Suzuki Ertiga Suzuki Philippines welcomed 2019 with the launch of the all-new Ertiga, which is its challenger in the competitive MPV segment. The all-new Ertiga features a bolder and a more composed stance as compared to its predecessor. Suzukis MPV now has an aggressive and confident-looking front fascia, which we find to be better that the outgoing model. In addition, the Ertigas interior also gets a restyled look, which gives the vehicles cabin a premium feel. The all-new Ertiga is powered by a 1.5-liter gasoline engine that puts out 103 hp and 138 Nm of torque. Transmission options could either be a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. Suzukis MPV challenger is available in three variants with a starting price of PHP728,000. Subaru Forester Motor Image Pilipinas Inc., the official distributor of Subaru vehicles in the Philippines, joined the list of manufacturers that launched an all-new vehicle earlier this year. The said vehicle is the all-new, fifth-generation Subaru Forester, which is built on the Subaru Global Platform that the brand says is more rigid and more responsive. The Forester is powered by a 2.0-liter gasoline engine that produces 154 hp and 196 Nm of torque. The engine is connected to a Lineatronic Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). It is available in three variants with a starting price of PHP1,598,000. Toyota Hiace The all-new Toyota Hiace made its world debut in the Philippines last February 18, which is the first-ever world debut staged in the country. At first glance, one can quickly see that the Hiace has undergone a major revamp as it now features a new front end. It now has new headlights, a restyled front grille, and a tweaked bumper. The interior cabin has also been given a new style, which is a more refreshing site as compared to its predecessor. The all-new Hiace is powered by a 2.8-liter turbo-diesel engine, a power unit thats similar with the Fortuner and the Innova. The engine is connected to either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission. The said engine can put out 160 hp to 170 hp and 420 Nm to 450 Nm of torque, depending on the variant. Speaking of which, the all-new Hiace is available in five variants with a starting price of PHP1,590,000. The post New Year, New Car: Six All-New Cars Launched in the Philippines from January to February 2019 appeared first on Carmudi Philippines. China and Australia on Friday denied reports Australian coal was being blocked from entering the Asian country, with Canberra seeking to quell fears that worsening diplomatic tensions are damaging the nations' crucial trading relationship. Industry experts have noted recently that China appeared to be delaying customs clearances for Australian coking coal used in steel-making, but a report late Thursday that ports in the northern city of Dalian had banned the shipments sent the Aussie dollar plunging. China is Australia's biggest trading partner and coal is the resource-rich country's most valuable export. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said reports of a ban in Dalian were "false". "Chinese ports are receiving coal import declarations from all countries including Australia," Geng said at a regular briefing. The spokesman said Chinese customs have stepped up efforts to analyse and monitor the quality and safety of imported coal in recent years because the product sometimes fails to meet environmental standards. "The purpose is to better safeguard Chinese importers' rights and interests and better protect the environment," Geng said. Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said there was "no basis to believe that there is a ban" on Australian imports. "We believe and understand that these are simple import quotas, consistent with what China has applied before and continues to apply and apply equally to all countries," Birmingham told reporters. "This is not the first occasion where Australian coal exports to China have slowed in terms of the pace at which they are processed or assessed and let into the country... It is unlikely and unhelpful to try to conflate other unrelated issues." He added that officials were seeking reassurances from Beijing that Australia was not the only country being targeted. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said earlier that regulatory rather than political issues were at play and stressed there was "no evidence" any hold-up of imports was related to other issues between the two nations. There has been speculation about whether the delays have been about addressing domestic pressures, or retribution over Canberra's decision to ban Chinese communications giant Huawei's 5G equipment over security risks. Canberra and Beijing have sparred diplomatically in recent months over the 5G ban, China's growing drive to increase its influence in the Pacific and the expulsion of a Chinese billionaire who donated to local political parties. - 'Knee-jerk headlines' - Australian central bank governor Philip Lowe said Friday it would be "concerning" if the diplomatic spats were spilling into the trading arena, but added that it would be prudent to "wait and see" what the motivations were behind the Chinese actions. Lowe, echoing analysts, said it was also important to note that the current amount of coal reportedly blocked by Dalian was small. Coal shipped from Australia to Dalian accounts for about 10 percent of Australia's exports of the commodity to China, and only two percent of overall exports. Westpac senior currency strategist Sean Callow told AFP that while the Australian dollar dropped one percent to 70.90 US cents following the initial reports Thursday, the market was calmer early Friday. "Those knee-jerk headlines of 'Australia's number-one export destination has a ban on Australia's number-one export' were enough to knock the Aussie lower," Callow said. Dr Abraham Mathew, Assistant Director, Veterinary Services, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, holds one of Night Safaris twin Sloth Bear cubs at a month old. (PHOTO: Wildlife Reserves Singapore) Over 700 newborns from more than 100 species were welcomed last year at the Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS)s parks Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari, River Safari, and Singapore Zoo. Of these, 35 out of 131 species are listed under the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, said the WRS in a press release on Friday (22 February). They include a pair of twin sloth bears, Santa Cruz ground-doves, Malayan horned frogs and a Celebes crested macaque. Our team of zookeepers and veterinarians have done us proud again with some outstanding achievements in conservation breeding, said WRS deputy CEO and chief life sciences officer Dr Cheng Wen-Haur. The world-first breeding of Santa Cruz ground-dove in human care is a significant step in establishing an assurance population of this species away from their natural home. Successful breeding of Malayan horned frog adds to our knowledge of caring for this hard to breed species. The Jurong Bird Park saw its first Santa Cruz ground-dove chick hatch on 31 December last year, said the WRS. There have been 12 hatchlings since then and more eggs being incubated, a significant win for a species likely with a wild population of barely over 300. Jurong Bird Park currently houses the only assurance colony for this endangered species outside its native Solomon Islands, it added. The bird park also welcomed three more straw-headed bulbul last year. According to the WRS, the park is the first in over a decade to breed the critically endangered species under human care. The species is believed to be extinct in half of its native range in Southeast Asia due to extensive poaching, with Singapore housing a local wild population of just over 200. The year also marked the first time the tadpoles of the Malayan horned frog a species described by WRS as notoriously difficult to breed reached froglet stage in Singapore Zoo. In March last year, the zoo also saw the birth of its 25th Celebes crested macaque baby, the first in seven years. Story continues The goals of breeding wildlife in our parks are to achieve sustainable populations of species in human care, said Dr Cheng. The ultimate goal would be to return some of these zoo-born progenies to their wild habitats someday when it is safe to do so. More Singapore stories: 51 per cent spike in PAB, PMD fire cases last year: SCDF Man jailed for conning 4 women he befriended over Tinder of $33,500 SAF appoints BG Tan Chee Wee as first Inspector General to oversee training safety Merlion statue to undergo first restorative works since 2015 (SCREENCAP: Singapore Pools website) The two winning tickets for the $13.6 million TOTO Hongbao Draw 2019 were sold in Yishun, said the Singapore Pools on Friday (22 February). The Group 1 tickets both QuickPick Ordinary entries were sold at Cold Storage at Northpoint Shopping Centre and Sheng Siong at Junction 9. This means the prize for each ticket is $6,807,717. There were 22 winning tickets for the Group 2 prize of $104,278 each and 872 winning tickets for the Group 3 prize of $1,809 each. The winning numbers for the draw are 5, 8, 14, 16, 34, and 39 with the additional number 23. It was conducted at Singapore Pools building in Middle Road at 9.30pm on Friday. Many people were spotted joining long queues to buy their bets for the draw at Singapore Pools outlets across Singapore in the past few days. The odds of winning the TOTO jackpot are one in almost 14 million. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The Hong Bao Draws estimated jackpot is not Singapore Pools biggest for a TOTO draw since it started in 2000. In 2016, the Hong Bao Draw had a prize pot of $13.9 million. Last years draw had a prize pot of $12 million. More Singapore stories: $13.6 million TOTO Hongbao Draw 2019 winning numbers revealed Yahoo Poll: Who would you tell if you won the S$13.6m TOTO Hong Bao Draw 1st prize? TOTO Hong Bao Draw 2019s jackpot snowballs to $13.6 million The new president of the Real Estate Developers Association of Singapore (Redas), Chia Ngiang Hong, called for a review of property cooling measures at the industry associations annual Spring Festival Lunch held at Shangri-La Hotel on Feb 19. The guest-of-honour was Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat. Chia, who is also the group general manager of City Developments Limited, says that although the government formulates public policies, the private sector could help make the policies better and more targeted. From right: Redas president Chia Ngiang Hong; Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat; Kwek Leng Beng, Redas honorary patron; Augustine Tan, Redas immediate past president; and Cheong-Chua Koon Hean, deputy secretary (special duties), Ministry of National Development at the Redas Spring Festival Lunch on Feb 19 (Credit: Samuel Issac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore) For instance, Chia raises the issue of the additional buyers stamp duty (ABSD) for developers. As of July last year, the ABSD paid by developers on land acquisitions was doubled from 15% to 30%, with a 5% that is paid upfront and non-remittable. The time frame to develop and sell all residential projects regardless of size has also been capped at five years. This policy has pushed all developers to exhaust their inventory at around the same time, and could partly account for the land price escalation in 2017 and 2018 because everyone basically ran out of inventory at the same time, Chia shares. While excessive land banking ought to be discouraged, Chia calls for some flexibility in the five-year time frame to sell out projects. This could help curtail the bundling of the project development cycle that saw developers replenishing their landbank at the same time. If the ABSD on land purchases is not reviewed, we can expect a repeat of the 20172018 land grab situation in four to five years time, he cautions. When the price of the raw material goes up, we can expect the price of the end-product to increase as well. Story continues Chia also suggests that the government review the loan-to-value (LTV) limits for first-time homebuyers so that young Singaporeans can fulfil their aspirations of owning a private home. He adds that the government can also make it easier for HDB upgraders to own private homes by reviewing the timing of the upfront payment for the ABSD so as to ease their cashflow planning. As a long-term stakeholder in Singapores success, Redas wishes to facilitate a stable and sustainable property market, especially when over 90% of Singaporeans are homeowners, he says. Market to drift sideways Looking ahead, Chia expects the market to drift sideways this year, amid slower GDP growth and prevailing cooling measures. In 2H2018, market sentiment was affected by the impact of policy overhang coupled with global economic challenges, notes Chia. Residential transaction volumes fell 17% for the year. The surprise cooling measures also rattled the Singapore financial market and property stocks were heavily punished, he adds. At the end of 4Q2018, there was a total of 54,332 uncompleted units including executive condominiums (ECs) in the pipeline, according to URA data. Of these, 35,649 units were unsold, compared with 31,295 units in 3Q2018, which was a q-o-q increase of 13%. Adding this number to a potential supply of 9,800 units including ECs from Government Land Sales and awarded en bloc sale sites that have not been granted planning approval yet, 45,449 units are estimated to be available for sale in the next two years, says Chia. Amid a subdued market outlook and the increase in ABSD for land acquisitions, he expects developers appetite for land acquisitions to be lacklustre. This is evident in recent en bloc tenders that have closed without any bids, he says. Growth in office, hospitality On the other hand, Chia sees opportunities for growth in quality office spaces, after several years of contraction. The office sector saw recovery in 2018, buoyed by growth in the tech sector and expansion of co-working space operators in the CBD. At the same time, new office buildings are equipped with advanced technology while older buildings are being refurbished and repositioned to meet market demands. The hospitality sector is expected to continue performing well, with the completion and opening of Jewel Changi Airport this year. Consequently, Chia expects hotel revenue to rise further, but cautions that tourist arrivals could be affected by geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties. Collaboration with the government To create opportunities, Chia higlights Redas commitment to working closely with the government on the next phase of nation-building. To this end, the industry association has put forth a Redas Position Paper advocating deeper engagement and mutually beneficial collaborative partnerships with the various partners in the value chain. In the past years, Redas has actively participated in various Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) and new initiatives. For instance, it has collaborated with URA for the URA-Redas Spark Challenge, which sought ideas and feedback from the public on how to improve their physical surroundings. The industry association is also keen to collaborate with the government on its move to reinvent Singapore as a Smart Nation. Redas Chia says: It is thus imperative that we look at how we can harness technology and innovation to connect all sector stakeholders to achieve the ultimate goal of improving the liveability and sustainability of our built environment. Integration of online-offline models During his speech, Minister Heng acknowledged the role Redas plays in Singapores nation-building journey. This year marks the 60th year of Redas, which was established in 1959. Urban development would not have been possible without the support, capital and expertise of private developers and companies, says Heng. For example, many of our private housing, office towers, hotels and retail developments are built by the private sector. Heng says he expects integrating online and offline experiences to be a major theme in many real estate developments. He cites the example of Funan that is being transformed from an IT mall into an experience mall. Owned by CapitaLand Mall Trust and managed by CapitaLand, it is slated to open in 2Q2019. Funan will be an integrated development with a mall, two Grade-A office blocks as well as The Ascotts lyf, its brand of co-living serviced residence designed for millennials. See Also: SINGAPORE (Feb 25): Positive news flow on the ongoing US-China trade talks continued to buoy sentiment for global stocks over the past week. Following reported progress after days of negotiations in Beijing, further discussions have resumed in the US. Clearly, markets have now priced in some sort of deal to avert another tariff hike or, at the very least, an extension to the March 1 deadline. Volatility, as measured by the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), has fallen quite sharply since hitting a high on Christmas Eve last year. That said, many investors remain wary that volatility could return in the near future. If so, this would not be at all surprising, considering that the global economy is very late in the current upcycle. There are bound to be greater uncertainties over the timing of the turning point. Unemployment rates have fallen far below levels seen in the last recession US unemployment is near a 50-year low. Analysts are already talking about an earnings recession. According to estimates collected by data provider FactSet, US corporate earnings are now expected to contract 2.2% in 1Q2019, well off the estimated growth of 4.9% less than three months ago, at end-November. Currently, earnings are forecast to grow 1% in 2Q2019, but this could easily turn into a second consecutive quarter of decline if analysts continue to pare back earnings estimates. Of note, revenue is expected to grow at a faster pace of 4.7% and 4.5% for the first two quarters, respectively. In other words, the market is forecasting margins contraction, which is a symptom of late-cycle expansion, when slack has been taken up. All of the above, I believe, means greater opportunities for stock selection strategies as opposed to beta investing, which had gained increasing popularity in the low-volatility, liquidity- driven rally of recent years. We can expect a higher degree of late-cycle earnings dispersion and thus, should see more focus given to underlying fundamentals of individual stocks. It is more likely that value and hence, outsized returns can be found in smaller companies. Therefore, we are actively looking for fresh stock ideas within these parameters to add to my Global Portfolio. Story continues Granted, many smaller-cap companies have low profiles and are not well researched. Hence, the information available could be limited and, sometimes, in a foreign language. As a result, their share prices too tend to be more volatile. Case in point, shares in Shanghai Haohai Biological Technology Co, which we sold for a 34% gain, traded as high as HK$59.90 and fell as low as HK$34.05 before rebounding to the current HK$48.50 all in the past one year. Similarly, the share price of Sunpower Group has rebounded quite smartly in the past couple of weeks, recovering almost all of its recent losses. Recall that the share price took a sudden dive in October 2018, which was not reflective of the companys underlying business and earnings. Inevitably, there are times when we would just be dead wrong. A good example is Towa Corp. Its share price reversed into a persistent downtrend soon after we bought the stock in December 2017. We took a loss of 16% in February 2018 and since then, the stock has fallen another 60%. We rely heavily on data analytics in the search for stocks globally, which unfortunately does not usually give any nuance on localised issues. There is always a risk of losses. Our aim is to find more winners than losers. China Sunsine Chemical Holdings and Ausnutria Dairy are performing very well; their share prices are up some 23.4% and 23.2% respectively from our acquisition costs. On the other hand, our investments in DIP Corp and Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) remain in the red. I suspect price upside for Nine Dragons could be limited in the near term on muted sentiment despite its valuation attractiveness. Demand for containerboard (for packaging purposes) has weakened, affected by the trade conflict and Chinas economic slowdown. There is evidence of destocking activities. The result is lower selling prices, which is also capping the ability to pass on higher costs. Recently, there was speculation that after tightening impurity requirements for imported scrap paper, the Chinese government is mulling an outright ban in 2020. This would negatively impact margins, given that local scrap prices are trading much higher currently. In the long run, further industry consolidation would be positive for Nine Dragons, which is the biggest paper-packaging manufacturer in the country. The company has a head start in diversifying its feedstock and recently acquired pulp mills in the US. In other words, its business and longer-term outlook are intact. I am staying invested at the moment. However, I do not rule out disposing of the stock in the near term if there is a better investment alternative. Elsewhere, DIPs share price has remained weak despite its upbeat earnings. It is quite perplexing. With low unemployment rate the labour market is the tightest in four decades the number of job advertisement listings is on the rise and DIP has been expanding its operations. Revenue is growing by 10.2% y-o-y in 1QFYFeb2019, 10.3% in 2QFY2019 and 10.9% in the latest 3QFY2019 albeit lower than in previous years, owing in part to the larger base effect. Net income for 9MFY2019 is up an outsized 24.9%, reflecting improving margins, despite lower ad rates. In addition to raising headcount, the company is lifting productivity through the use of technology. The stock is trading at a price/earnings-to-growth ratio of less than 1 time, with an estimated yield of 2.4%. DIP has forecast dividends rising to 49 a share for the current financial year, up from 43 in FY2018. I like DIPs business proposition, but admittedly, it has been a drag on the portfolio. Perhaps the market is anticipating significantly greater competition in an already fragmented industry in the future. We are sticking with the stock and believe the market will catch up with our views. Stocks in the Global Portfolio traded broadly higher last week, paring losses (since inception) to just 3.2%. Although the portfolio continues to underperform the MSCI World Net Return Index, which is up 1.2% over the same period, the gap has been narrowing in recent weeks as global stocks regained investors confidence. Tong Kooi Ong is chairman of The Edge Media Group, which owns The Edge Singapore Disclaimer: This is a personal portfolio for information purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation or solicitation or expression of views to influence readers to buy/sell stocks, including the particular stocks mentioned herein. It does not take into account an individual investors particular financial situation, investment objectives, investment horizon, risk profile and/or risk preference. Our shareholders, directors and employees may have positions in or may be materially interested in any of the stocks. We may also have or have had dealings with or may provide or have provided content services to the companies mentioned in the reports The logo of Huawei Technologies is pictured in front of the German headquarters of the Chinese telecommunications giant in Duesseldorf, Germany. (Photo:REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay) By Josh Wingrove (Bloomberg) Huawei Technologies Co. would deny any Chinese government request to open up back doors in foreign telecommunications networks because they arent legally obliged to do so, the companys chairman says. Liang Hua, speaking to reporters in Toronto on Thursday, said the company had received an independent legal opinion about its obligations under Chinese law and said there is nothing forcing companies to create what he called back doors in networks. He said theyd never received any such request, but would refuse it if they did. We will not execute the request because it wouldnt be lawful, he said through a translator, stressing that he leads an independent business organization aimed at serving its customers. We have kept a good track record on cyber-security. His comments, and an announcement of increased spending in Canada, come as the country and several of its peers weigh whether to restrict or ban Huawei from 5G networks. The companys chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, meanwhile, is under house arrest in Vancouver and faces potential extradition from Canada to the U.S. Challenges and Difficulties Chinese national security laws require that any organization shall cooperate with national intelligence work raising fears that the government could lean on Huawei to compromise a telecommunications network in another country. Asked about the law, Liang acknowledged it, but said it does not specifically require Huawei to open up back door routes to monitor communications. He did not specifically address what other pressures the company could face. Liang also downplayed some of the geopolitical tensions, saying that difficulties are normal in business and that theyll continue to invest in Canada regardless of the 5G decision. However, he said he believes Meng is innocent and that Canada will keep politics out of its decision. At the end of the day, we hope decisions on 5G can be made based on technology and not on other factors, he said. At any time, at any point, it is normal for us, for a company to be faced with challenges and difficulties. Story continues The U.S., New Zealand and Australia have all restricted or banned Huawei from 5G networks, though New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said this week thered been no final decision comments the companys chair cited to the Canadian journalists. The U.K. said this week no decision has been made, but that the country will not compromise on the improvements we need to see from Huawei. Germany has ruled out a full Huawei ban. Fair and Just Despite the tensions, the chairman predicted revenue growth for the company to $125.4 billion in 2019, up from $108.5 billion last year. Revenue in Canada totaled $420 million last year, including $270 million from telecom companies like BCE Inc. and Telus Corp., and $150 million from consumer products. He said the company is just an equipment vendor to those Canadian telecoms, and doesnt own networks or Canadian customer data. He said he wants all providers to be treated equally in a fair and just manner. Cyber-security and privacy protection are challenges for the entire industry and not just one company, he said. The company wont abandon Canada if it bans 5G, Liang said. There are still customers that will choose us. In that case, we will continue to provide good service to customers, he said. The U.S. unveiled allegations against Huawei, two affiliates and Meng over alleged bank and wire fraud related to business in Iran, along with allegations that the company stole trade secrets from T-Mobile US Inc. Liang said the dispute with T-Mobile had been resolved in civil proceedings and that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty. Meng is due in court next month, though her extradition fight could last for years. I cannot say the U.S. charges against Ms. Meng are not politically driven, Liang said. I believe she is innocent and I hope the Canadian justice system will bring justice back to her. Liang cited comments made by former Canadian ambassador to China, John McCallum, who said Meng had a good case to avoid extradition. Trudeau demanded McCallums resignation days later. 2019 Bloomberg L.P Brennan Center produces policy brief on "Ending Mass Incarceration: A Presidential Agenda" | Main | Another call to fix good-time credit after FIRST STEP good-time credit fix February 22, 2019 Why I am certainly hoping, but not really expecting, Timbs to end up being a big deal As reported here, on Wednesday the US Supreme Court has handed down its opinion in Timbs v. Indiana. I was not at all surprised that the Justices decided unanimously that the Excessive Fines Clause of Eighth Amendment applies to the states, but I have since been surprised that some press coverage suggests that this ruling in a very big deal. For example, consider this piece from Slate by Mark Joseph Stern, headlined "The Supreme Court Just Struck a Huge, Unanimous Blow Against Policing for Profit." The piece's first paragraph seems to reflect way too much excitement as a result of a small and expected decision: The Supreme Court struck an extraordinary blow for criminal justice reform on Wednesday, placing real limitations on policing for profit across the country. Its unanimous decision for the first time prohibits all 50 states from imposing excessive fines, including the seizure of property, on people accused or convicted of a crime. Rarely does the court hand down a ruling of such constitutional magnitude and seldom do all nine justices agree to restrict the power that police and prosecutors exert over individuals. The landmark decision represents a broad agreement on the Supreme Court that law enforcements legalized theft has gone too far. This paragraph strikes me as off in both spirit and particulars. For starters, there is nothing really "extraordinary" about the Supreme Court deciding that the states are subject to the Excessive Fines Clause of Eighth Amendment given that just about every other significant provision of the Bill of Rights applies to the states. Moreover, even before Timbs, all 50 states were in various ways already prohibited from imposing excessive fines given that, as the Timbs opinion notes, "all 50 States have a constitutional provision prohibiting the imposition of excessive fines either directly or by requiring proportionality." Had the Justices gone on to clearly and directly rule that seizure of Tyson Timbs' Land Rover SUV constituted an excessive fine for his low-level drug dealing (as lower courts in Indiana had found), then I would agree that Timbs is a rare "ruling of such constitutional magnitude." But the Justices in Timbs spoke only to the threshold incorporation issue, and so I do not see the ruling to "represent a broad agreement on the Supreme Court that law enforcements legalized theft has gone too far." That said, the widespread praise the opinion has received from across the political spectrum does make me hopeful that lower courts over time will be emboldened by Timbs to find more economic sanctions excessive. But this other reporting on the opinion, headlined "Court Decision Doesnt Guarantee Radical Changes to Fines and Property Seizures," better captures my sense that Timbs is as much as an opportunity missed as a "landmark decision." In this context, it bears here noting a comment from LawProf Michael Mannheimer on Facebook: "Remember that they held the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause to be incorporated nearly sixty years ago. And they've held how many non-capital sentences to be cruel and unusual?" The answer is, of course, only a couple of hundreds of millions of non-capital sentences have been found unconstitutional in the era of mass incarceration. Recall that in Harmelin v. Michigan in 1991, the Supreme Court upheld a mandatory life without parole sentence for mere possession of a large quantity or drugs. During oral argument in Timbs, some Justices seemed to struggle with the notion its jurisprudence might say forfeiture of an SUV violates the Eighth Amendment for selling drugs, but forfeiture of a lifetime of liberty for possessing drugs does not. I sincerely hope and want to believe it is possible future Excessive Fines Clause jurisprudence is not as toothless as the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause has been for prison terms. Indeed, I hope that Timbs prompts the Justices to be thinking more about the importance of the Eighth Amendment's role in checking government excess in punishment, and that this thinking prompts them to grant cert in US v. RiveraRuperto, the extraordinarily compelling Cruel and Unusual Punishments case now before the Court which presents the Justices with an extraordinary opportunity to consider overruling Harmelin. A few prior related posts: February 22, 2019 at 10:49 AM | Permalink Comments This is a twist, for once I am more optimistic on a sentencing topic than Doug. Let me briefly make the case for optimism. First, the victory here is more than abstract. Fighting in the courts costs money and cities will need to reevaluate the costs and benefits of facing down lawsuits over seizures. Further, local courts, many of which are already overburdened, are not going to eagerly want to take up a boatload of excessive fine cases. We should see quickly what is deemed excessive. "Had the Justices gone on to clearly and directly rule that seizure of Tyson Timbs' Land Rover SUV constituted an excessive fine for his low-level drug dealing (as lower courts in Indiana had found), then I would agree that Timbs is a rare "ruling of such constitutional magnitude." This makes no sense. After all, since the lower courts had already resolved the proportionality question in favor of Timbs, anything further by the court would have been chest thumping. Moreover, the fact that the lower courts held 4:1 ratio to be excessive indicates that at least some lower courts will not play lapdog to the executive to this issue. In fact, if the attorneys litigating in this area are smart they will make great hay out of the fact that SCOTUS didn't reject the 4:1 ratio and that silence being consent is at least tacit approval by SCOTUS of that being the maximum ratio. You are right, of course, that in a formal sense the court did not lay down clear guideline. It rarely does. At it may be that Timbs turns out to be a hollow victory. Let's wait and see how this plays out before playing the cynical card. Posted by: Just Passing By | Feb 22, 2019 2:34:06 PM Excellent points, JPB, and I really want to be optimistic most of the time, but the history of ugly 8th A prison sentencing jurisprudence leave a lot of scar tissue. That said, you may be right that a ruling like Timbs dissuades prosecutors to pursue forfeitures more and/or emboldens litigators and lower courts. I hope you prove right, and this is one that we can and should keep keeping an eye on. Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 22, 2019 4:48:36 PM Post a comment " " This arial view of a German industrial area is a good example of how humans are affecting the planet via pollution and industrialization. Dirk Meister/Getty Images Thanks to greenhouse gas emissions, the percentage of carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere grew by 2.87 parts per million (ppm), increasing from an average of 407.05 ppm on Jan. 1, 2018, to 409.92 on Jan. 1, 2019, according to readings at NOAA's atmospheric observatory at Mauna Loa, Hawaii. What's worse is three of the four highest annual increases have occurred in the past four years. These readings also indicate a sharp increase from what the levels were even 60 years ago. The World Meteorological Organization says Earth's atmosphere hasn't seen such a high concentration of the gas in 3 to 5 million years. Harmful emissions are just one of the environmental concerns that today's leaders must confront. Trash accumulation is another. Since the 1950s, humans have generated about 9 billion tons (8.3 metric tons) of plastic and dumped most of it in landfills. Plus, Homo sapiens are overpopulating like crazy. As our numbers skyrocket, loads of other species find themselves on the decline. You and I are now witnessing one of the biggest mass extinction events of all time. "We are a geologic force in and of ourselves," says Donald Prothero, a paleontologist, geologist and bestselling author. Mankind's overall impact on planet Earth has been so dramatic that some scientists think a change to the geologic time scale is in order. According to them, we should reclassify the (very) recent past as a new unit in time defined by humanity's long-lasting marks on the world's climate, geology and biological makeup. This proposed unit has a name: The Anthropocene epoch, or age of humans. Advertisement The Geologic Time Scale Earth is about 4.54 billion years old. Geologists have split its history into large blocs of time called eons, which are further subdivided into eras. Those in turn are made up of smaller units called periods. Finally, the little divisions within a period are known as epochs. So right now, we're living in the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic era, which is part of the Phanerozoic eon. But the question is, what's the current epoch? Well, therein lies the debate. Earth's most recent ice age ended 11,700 years ago. That point in time is recognized as the end of the Pleistocene epoch, which began just less than 2.6 million years ago, and the dawn of the Holocene epoch. The dividing lines between epochs correspond with important moments in Earth's history like abrupt changes in the climate. Evidence for these events is typically found within the layers or strata of rock on our planet. (Ice core samples may also contain clues.) "Nowadays, epochs are defined by a section of rock that has distinctive boundaries at the top and bottom," Prothero says. He adds that specific epochs are also sometimes characterized by the presence or absence of "key fossils." The end of the last ice age marked the beginning of the Holocene and established its lower boundary. It's traditionally been thought that this particular epoch is still going on today. But in 2000, Nobel Laureate Paul Crutzen helped popularize an alternative viewpoint. That year, he and biologist Eugene F. Stoermer argued that recent human activities had pushed the world out of the Holocene and into a new epoch. Decades earlier, Stoermer had coined the term "Anthropocene" derived from the Greek word for "human" as a possible name for this hypothetical new unit of geologic time. It stuck. " " Trash and waste from humans ends up polluting the oceans, and impacts wildlife, like these seal pups who are entangled in fishing line. Images copyright of Jamie Lamb - elusive-images.co.uk/Getty Images Advertisement Our Rocky Legacy The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) is the body that standardizes the Geologic Time Scale. It has yet to recognize the Anthropocene as an official epoch, although the topic has been discussed. As of this writing, the ICS maintains that the Holocene is still ongoing. But maybe scientists will feel differently someday. Prothero's heard it argued that geologists living in the far-off future perhaps even tens of millions of years from now "could tell when humans were here because we've left so many traces in the rocks; chemical traces as well as actual physical objects like trash." Seawater absorbs about one-fourth of our CO2 emissions. This has led to widespread ocean acidification, which will doubtless leave telltale limestones behind. Dissolved carbonates in the sediment are going to be another one of our calling cards. Future paleontologists may also notice the sudden disappearance of a great many species from the fossil record. We would also expect as-yet unborn researchers to discover the radiometric signatures of nuclear weaponry. All around the world, plutonium 239 which is uncommon in nature was embedded in sediments that lay exposed to the air during the nuclear tests of the 1950s. Advertisement Drawing the Line That brings us to a bone of contention about the Anthropocene. If it really is a legitimate geological epoch, what moment in history should we recognize as its starting point? The possibilities are legion. One argument is that the Anthropocene began in the 1940s with the first atomic weapons detonations, like the famous Trinity Nuclear Test of 1945, occurred. "Others have wanted to push [the lower boundary date] all the way back to when humans really started transforming the planet at the beginning of civilization and agriculture, at least 10 or 11,000 years ago," Prothero tells us. Another option might be to define the Anthropocene as everything that's happened since the Industrial Revolution kicked off. But now the 34-member Anthropocene Working Group thinks they have the exact date in mind. The panel voted in May 2019 to submit a formal proposal for the new epoch by 2021 to the International Commission on Stratigraphy. Before their submission, they plan to identify a definitive geologic marker. The group actually has 10 sites in mind, including a cave in northern Italy, coral in the Great Barrier Reef and a lake in China. Regardless, if the geological community ever officially splits up the Holocene and rebrands these past few decades, centuries or millennia as the Anthropocene, a potential benefit might be the gesture's symbolic value. Crutzen and many others hope it'd send a powerful message to governments and private citizens alike. As Prothero puts it, "When you use that term, everyone else then realizes that geologists are making a statement about what we've done to the planet." This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. NOW THAT'S INTERESTING The Cenozoic era is popularly known as "The Age of Mammals" because it began in the wake of the mass extinction that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Mammals then stepped in to take over the vacant niches that the dinos and other extinct reptiles left behind. 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. 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The Great Falls Tribune reports 41-year-old Linda Christianson entered her plea Tuesday for the March 5, 2017, death of 41-year-old Steven Fletcher. Christianson, who was originally charged with deliberate homicide, is set to be sentenced April 3. She told investigators that Fletcher killed himself, but evidence showed that the knife used to stab him was placed in his hand after he died. Fletcher was found slumped on the couch near the front door, his clothes soaked in blood, holding a knife. Christianson also had blood on her. Investigators say they learned Fletcher planned to end his relationship with Christianson. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A set of human remains found on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation last December were not those of Ashley HeavyRunner Loring, the FBI has concluded. HeavyRunner Loring, 20, had vanished from the Blackfeet Reservation in summer 2017. The ongoing search for her has drawn national attention and prompted calls to improve law enforcement's handling of missing and murdered Native American women. The Dec. 13 discovery of human remains on the reservation sparked speculation that they might be HeavyRunner Loring. But the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Va. has concluded otherwise. Anthropological analyses suggest that the remains are of probable historic or ancient origin, it announced in a press release Friday. The examination also estimates that the remains are that of a Native American male, between 45 to 60 years old. It said that the agencys Salt Lake City Office has requested that the remains be returned so that they could be turned over to the Blackfeet Tribal Historic Preservation Office. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Both the Montana Attorney General's Office and Department of Public Health and Human Services turned out in support of the bill Thursday in the Senate panel. Barbara Smith, administrator of the senior and long term care division at DPHHS said it would make definitions more consistent in efforts to root out elder abuse. "The other thing it does is it helps us raise awareness to the fact that the crime does exist and behind each of those crimes, or a majority of those crimes, exists another form of abuse," Smith said. In particular, Mercer's bill clarifies that someone charged with exploitation of an elder person or person with a developmental disability must have done so "by means of deception, duress, menace, fraud influence, or intimidation." The ambiguous language hasn't let others off the hook in Missoula since Deschamps' ruling, however. In November, Missoula Judge Karen Townsend denied requests by two different defendants for their charges to be dismissed on the basis of Deschamps' ruling. In one case, a woman and her husband used the victim's Social Security funds for themselves, leaving the nursing home debt unpaid. In the other, Townsend ruled that even having the power of attorney for a victim did not create immunity for the defendant if the actions were done by means of criminal conduct. HAMILTON Riley Chase Berry, 25, of Hamilton, went to be in the arms of his Heavenly Father and his earthly dad early Wednesday morning Feb. 20, 2019. He was born on March 8, 1993, in Hamilton, the son of the late Herbert Todd Berry and Crystal Cristi Richards. Riley was raised in the Bozeman area where he excelled in the sport of wrestling. Riley attended Bozeman High School graduating in 2011. During his high school wrestling career, Riley was a four year lettermen and placed all four years in the Montana state wrestling tournament. Riley was then awarded a wrestling scholarship at the Great Falls campus of the Montana State University, attending for two years. Riley was an avid wake boarder, snow boarder and unicyclist. He was an exceptional gamer and avid Denver Broncos and Montana Grizzlies fan. Following College, Riley worked in the tiling business in the Bozeman and Big Sky areas creating many beautiful installations. Riley was the biggest goofball with the funniest and best sense of humor, his smile and his laughter lit up a room. He had the biggest, sweetest heart and would do anything to help someone if he could. Riley gave his life to Christ at his dads funeral on May 10, 2012. He loved the Lord with all his heart but the deep depression from losing his dad was more than he could bear. In the years between 1920 and 1923, it looked very promising that caverns of oil could be found beneath the fertile fields of the Bitter Root Valley. This would be an especially welcome development after a promised sugar beet factory was never actually constructed and because the bloom was off the apple boom. An experimental oil well was drilled on property east-southeast of Corvallis on what is now the Alan Maki property located on the aptly named Oil Well Road. The Ravalli Republican, The Western News, and The Northwest Tribune all regularly ran stories about this oil well, heralding it as the beginning of the next big economic boom for Bitterrooters. In April 1921, a group of farmers and ranchers formed their own oil company, capitalized at $100,000. Drilling for oil would commence after an investigation has been made by an expert geologist. Company offices are located in the Tourist Hotel. By July, a contract had been drawn up with an experienced driller named J. Wildin. In August, geologist J. R. Vallers had determined that four locations offered the best chance for discovering oil. The oil companys board then selected one of the sites to commence drilling. That site was located about 1.5 miles east of Corvallis. As we have said before, our view of legalized fireworks in Iowa is mixed. We understand both sides of this discussion. We acknowledge existing support for fireworks among Iowans and appreciate the economic benefits of capturing part of a business Iowa used to lose to border states (including Nebraska and South Dakota) each year, but we respect firefighters, emergency services providers and health care providers who oppose them for safety reasons, and we sympathize with residents who don't want related noise, or worse, in their neighborhoods. As a result, we weren't strong advocates for legalizing fireworks in 2017, but we weren't opponents, either. Frankly, we would have been OK with either outcome. In the end, we believe Iowa reached a reasonable, middle-ground position in which the possession, use and sale of fireworks were made legal on and near the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve, but individual communities were allowed to limit or ban discharge. In our view, no good reason exists for change in this approach, so we oppose a bill introduced in this year's legislative session under which cities and counties would be required to allow discharge of fireworks on Independence Day. "Well-regulated" means your gun is clean, you know how to use it, and you have plenty of ammunition. It doesn't mean layer upon layer of (probably incompetent) supervision. If threatening possible death on cigarette packaging doesn't deter smokers, then how do stiffer jail sentences for drug offenders prevent drug abuse? How many socialists would be needed to match the contributions of the John T. Vucurevich Foundation to the Rapid City area? 'Nuff said about the evil rich. Most people in America are for the legalization of hemp and marijuana and the income it provides. Kristi Noem, do you realize by putting this legalization off you are hurting our state's income, and we younger generations will just do it as soon as elders like yourself are gone? Me thinks our current Legislature would have labeled funding for Kindergarten a "socialist" agenda back in the day. Let's remember that investing in education dollar to dollar is our best investment. Thanks to the neighbor on Thunderhead Falls Road who cleaned the snow at the front of my house now that my mother is at the hospital. Parking tickets are not forgiven by the city, they are written off the books for accounting purposes; they are still collectible. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 By Lee Kyung-min KB Capital, a car lease and rental services affiliate of KB Financial Group, has signed a deal to acquire an 85 percent stake in Sunindo Parama Finance, a car lease financing unit under Sun Motor Group, a leading automotive dealer in Indonesia, the company said Friday. The acquisition is part of a continued push by KB Financial to expand its presence in the Southeast Asian country. Following the deal, KB Capital will provide lease and financing services for cars sold by Sun Motor Group there. Upon acquisition, the firm will seek to expand lease and long-term financing programs to include not only new cars but also used cars, rental cars and other high-price commodities. In order for the firm to better settle there, KB Financial will seek cooperation from its established business channels there including Bank Bukopin and a corporate entity of KB Insurance. KB acquired a 22 percent stake Bank Bukopin and became its second-largest shareholder in July 2018. The entrance into the Southeast Asian country is expected to boost success of KB Capital which posted 2.1 billion won ($1.8 million) in net income in 2018, a "stunning" recovery from a net loss of 1.1 billion won a year earlier. Its sales jumped to 87.4 billion won in 2018, nearly double from a year earlier. The success came only a year after it set up a joint venture with KOLAO Group, a Laos-based company whose businesses include car leasing and banking. Established in 1974, Sun Motor Group specializes in the car rental and hotel business. Its business partners include Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Nissan, Chevrolet, Toyota, and MAN Truck vehicles there, according to its website. Winters said liberal and conservative Catholics have clashed for hundreds of years, but both sides have generally respected each other due to their belief that everyone is working in good faith to improve the church. "The question on my mind: 'Is their true goal to rid the Catholic church of clerical corruption or is it an attempt to destroy the reputation of Cardinal Cupich with whom they disagree regarding his approach to certain church teachings? Based upon what I have read in their materials, their goal is to attempt to destroy the reputation of Cardinal Cupich. Therefore, their mission is evil and guided by the evil one. Any group that seeks to divide the church by sharing false information is doing the work of Satan,'" he wrote in a Feb. 6 letter that was read by priests at masses the following Sunday in Rapid City. The above organizations are recognized by Queens Crap as being beneficial to the city as a whole, by fighting to preserve the history and character of our neighborhoods. They are not connected to this website and the opinions presented here do not necessarily represent the positions of these organizations.The comments left by posters to this site do not necessarily represent the views of the blogger or webmaster.Street or satellite shots used here are from Google Maps or Windows Live Local In the Times interview, King was quoted as saying, White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization how did that language become offensive? The backlash was severe, and days later Republican Congressional leadership stripped King of his committee assignments. King has said and repeated Thursday that his question referred only to the term Western civilization, and he rejects the ideology of white nationalism and white supremacy. He added those terms have been weaponized by the left. Ive said it multiple times: theres no part of me that believes in anything that is advocated by folks that identify themselves as white nationalists or white supremacy, King said. King said he will run in 2020 for a 10th term in Congress. He already faces three Republican primary opponents in western Iowas conservative 4th Congressional District, including a state senator. King thinks Republicans in western Iowa agree with him on policy and the votes he takes in Congress, and he does not think he will be a drain on the Republican ticket in the 2020 general election, when the GOP will have President Donald Trump at the top and U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst fighting for her first re-election. Swanson said the equestrian campground is the only facility of its kind around the Quad Cities. Construction on the campground and ADA-accessible playground will begin later this year, with a grand opening scheduled for the summer of 2020. The grant was awarded by the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) program through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The $400,000 award represents the maximum-possible amount awarded to development or renovation projects, according to the website. Whats very important about this OSLAD grant from the state of Illinois is that it gives the professional team in the Forest Preserve District the chance to take advantage of their opportunities and to put in the extra touches that will take whats already promising to be a tremendous project to the next level, Swanson added after the meeting. Loud Thunder, a 1,621-acre preserve located at 19406 Loud Thunder Road, Illinois City, dates to 1944. Lake George was created in 1967 when the Big Branch Creek was dammed. We are a traveling family, and I have written a few columns about how to save money on travel, but the more places we go, the more I look for ways to save. In the next six months, we have three big trips planned, which would not be possible if I paid full price for everything. If your family is able to get the time off work and school, I would highly recommend taking some family vacations around the country. Save on transportation With a family of four, it currently is cheaper to drive. I use GasBuddy.com to estimate how much it will cost to drive based on current gas prices so I can budget accordingly. For an upcoming 12-hour trip west, gas round trip is less than $200. Flight prices out of Moline are about $500 per person, and out of Chicago about $200 per person, but then you also have to consider the added cost of parking the car at the airport and renting a car when you get to your destination. Driving will potentially save us up to $2,000. Save on lodging I can almost always find good deals on hotels by shopping around. But sometimes I even get free nights. Because we travel enough and sign up for all the hotel rewards programs and we have reward credit cards, I had enough points with Marriott to get one free night, and my husband had enough points on a credit card to get a free night. The two free nights will save us about $250. Of course, that does take time to build up, so we do not always get free nights, but you can still save money by shopping around. We try to book rooms that have kitchenettes to eat some meals at the hotel, as well as a separate bedroom to save on sanity (Im more than happy to pay a little more for that). You can also look for other possible options, like doing Airbnb or camping, especially if you have a larger family and will need more than one hotel room. If youre lucky, perhaps you can travel somewhere to stay with friends or family for free, maybe the cost of buying dinner for your hosts. MOLINE A fundraiser is scheduled Sunday, March 3, at Rascals Live, 1418 15th St., to raise money for Jeff Ocheltree, a Davenport native who has been a big influence in drumming and percussion circles across the country and has worked with some of the biggest names in the business. Ocheltree, 72, is battling Stage 4 prostate cancer, which has metastasized to other parts of his body. The March 3 benefit scheduled for 2 to 7 p.m. is being sponsored by the new Quad-Cities Louie Bellson Drummer's Collective, a group named in honor of the legendary jazz drummer who grew up in Moline and died 10 years ago this month at age 84. The drumming community has heard Jeff was in the process of battling cancer, having to get off the road, take care of himself, Mike Mudd, a benefit organizer, said this week. Many professional musicians do not have a health-care plan. He does have bills, and this is one way his hometown can help pitch in. He taught me a lot. I give him all the credit for all I had in Nashville, said retired drummer Kenny Brandt of Clinton, who first met Ocheltree in 1975 and founded the Bellson Collective, which has 140 members. Brandt has played for country music awards shows and on tour with Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant. A lot of people don't realize the talent that comes out of the Quad-Cities." Scott County Supervisor Ken Croken seeks Quad-City business and community support for a new, school-based nutrition program that will begin Saturday. The plan is to provide a monthly weekend meal to school children in need. The first Kids Eat Free event will be a pizza party at 3:30 p.m. at Jefferson Elementary School, 1027 N. Marquette St., Davenport. School administrators invite Jefferson students and their families. In a news release, Croken said he and his wife, Kathryn McKnight, will cover the expense for the Saturday meal along with donations from Happy Joe's Pizza & Ice Cream, Sam's Club, Schnuck's. Additionally, volunteer musicians from River Music Experience will perform. For more information, email Croken at Ken.Croken@scottcountyiowa.com. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 3 Sad 0 Angry 0 Diego said he made the 1,800-mile journey from his home because he feared for his and his son's lives. Upon reaching the border, he turned himself in, seeking asylum. The first step toward asylum status is to establish "credible fear" of returning to a homeland. Ferris declined to say where Diego is in that process except to say he is working toward getting a status that would allow him to work. Diego has a wife and four daughters still in Guatemala. Meanwhile, the diocese is informally providing support even though its three-month commitment has ended. The three other panelists were Yoland Rivera, a Coralville lawyer who volunteered a week's time last summer to help immigrants in border detention centers with legal issues; Kristy Nabhan-Warren, on the faculty of the University of Iowa who documents and writes about Latino issues; and Ferris. Here are some of their comments: Rivera: "These are not people who are trying to sneak in and break the law," she said of the people she encountered in jail. "They are men, who in their eyes, were doing what they needed to do. Going up to an officer and asking for asylum. Instead, they were separated from their sons and not told where they were going." The Iowa Economic Development Authority on Friday approved a $1.1 million incentive package for Cobham, a manufacturer of aerospace defense equipment, for the companys planned $68 million investment into its Davenport plant and the expected creation of 150 high-paying jobs. Included in the package are a forgivable loan for $400,000 and three tax credits amounting to nearly $700,000. The moneys were awarded to the company under a state program that aims to encourage the creation of high wage jobs. Earlier this week, Cobham officials publicly announced plans to build up the decades-old manufacturing facility beginning this year. Most of the money for the upgrades is earmarked for a $37 million expansion of Cobhams research and development capabilities. The second-biggest chunk is going toward manufacturing machinery and equipment at a cost of $22.8 million. The company also expects to spend a little more than $4 million remodeling its existing building at 2734 Hickory Grove Road. Company officials have said they want to create space to accommodate as a many as 1,300 employees. Building renovations are expected to be finished in 2021. Major infrastructure projects in Eldridge, including a new recreation path and the reconstruction of the 1st Street/LeClaire Road intersection, are among the highlights of next year's city budget. City Administrator John Dowd presented the proposed $24.23 million budget for fiscal 2019-2020 earlier this week to the Eldridge City Council. It represents about a $3 million increase from the current budget and recommends the city's tax rate remain unchanged at $6.75 per $1,000 taxable valuation. In an interview Thursday, Dowd said the city's assessed properties roll rose 0.3 percent to $379.32 million, up more than $1.1 million. "We're using two times as much TIF (tax increment financing) increment as last year," he said, adding the increase will be used to make the first payments on the city's ongoing sewer project. Assessed values in the TIF districts rose from $14.12 million to $30.85 million. Dowd said city departments "held the line" on their budgets, removing various planned equipment purchases and keeping the general fund flat. With projected revenues of $23.25 million and expenses of $24.23 million, he said. "We're using $1 million of cash on hand to balance the budget." The majority will come from sales taxes, he added. Fowler said the variety of names used across districts is one of the reasons the regulations are being rewritten. You could call these rooms a lot of different things, she said. These rooms can go by a lot of different rooms that dont sound bad, like a time-out room. There need to be certain minimum standards set, so were not putting kids in closets. In an email, Davenport spokeswoman Dawn Saul said the districts policy is based on the states policy, so we would follow any new rules from the State. In the Pleasant Valley School District, similar spaces are used only in elementary schools. Thats a term we dont use, seclusion, because we dont seclude students, superintendent Jim Spelhaug said. In our elementary schools that have special programming, we have two rooms a sensory room and a recovery room. Broadly, Spelhaug described sensory rooms as rooms that have stuff, like roller seats, trampolines and swings, and recovery rooms as rooms without stuff. Sensory rooms are used for students who might be overstimulated, and recovery rooms are intended to help de-escalate a situation where a student may be trying to hurt themselves or others. Davenport firefighters are investigating the cause of a fire in a home at 515 E. 7th St. Thursday night. The fire was called in by a citizen at 8:25 p.m. Davenport Fire Department District Chief Mike Ryan said that when firefighters arrived on the scene flames were shooting out of the windows of an upstairs bedroom located on northeast corner of the home. The two-story, single-family frame home was built in 1880, according to the Scott County Assessors website. The fire was quickly extinguished. No one was at home at the time of the fire, Ryan said, and no one was injured. Gas and electricity were cut from the home, he added, and they were still trying to find the occupants of the house to let them know the house cannot be occupied. According to the Scott County Assessors electronic records, the home is owned by Greg and Shelley Bastian of Davenport. A damage estimate had not been calculated late Thursday. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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. A Moline man accused of kidnapping a woman in 2017 has pleaded guilty as part of a deal with prosecutors and been sentenced. Floyd R. May, 63, was sentenced on Feb. 14 to 16 years in prison for a count of aggravated kidnapping, according to Rock Island County court records. He must also serve three years of supervised release once his prison term is complete. The other charge in the case, aggravated battery was dropped. The alleged kidnapping happened around noon Oct. 8, 2017, in the 4500 block of 27th Street. According to Moline police, May was wielding a knife when he forced his way into a vehicle driven by a woman. During the confrontation, she was cut on her arm. Police allege May made her drive to a rural part of Rock Island County. The woman, however, had a concealed carry permit and was able to draw a firearm she had, prompting May to flee, police reports state. May was found unfit in March 2018 and required treatment through the Illinois Department of Human Resources to regain it, according to records. He was deemed fit in May. May's plea was the result of a negotiation with the Rock Island County State's Attorney's Office, records state. A second felony case against him was also dropped. His next trial is slated to begin March 12 in Black Hawk County. Prosecutors in 2017 and during Liggins third trial asked Greve to allow them to introduce testimony and evidence of his prior sexual abuse conviction. The judge denied the motions, saying that the evidence was too prejudicial and would inflame the jury. Assistant Scott County Attorney Julie Walton filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider her earlier rulings on Jan. 31. During a nearly hourlong hearing, Walton argued the evidence is needed to show Liggins had intent and motive to kill Lewis. She pointed to the May 1991 trial testimony of the girl in the Rock Island County case, who said Liggins had fondled her in his Milan apartment after she asked him for a washcloth to clean up juice that spilled on her leg. The girl screamed, hit Liggins, ran out of his apartment and told a neighbor what happened. He was convicted in that case and sentenced to seven years in prison. Ending a four-year legal battle, the Iowa Public Information Board on Thursday overturned a judges decision in its favor and ruled two law enforcement agencies did not break the law by keeping secret the body camera video and other records of a 2015 officer-involved fatal shooting in Burlington. The board voted 6-2 to dismiss two complaints against the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Burlington Police Department. The abrupt ending capped a quest by the dead womans family and a Burlington newspaper involving dozens of meetings, a contested case hearing and an October decision by an administrative law judge to let the public find out what happened that deadly winter day. Board members said they share the publics concern about government secrecy over officer-involved shootings. But the agencies did not violate Iowa Code Chapter 22 when they declined to release records about the Jan. 6, 2015, shooting of Autumn Steele. This decision not only reflects the legal position of the board, it fairly reflects what the majority of the board thinks, said member E.J. Giovannetti, who voted for the measure. Mary Ungs-Sogaard, board president and publisher of several Northeast Iowa newspapers, and Rick Morain, retired publisher of the Jefferson Herald, opposed it. It appears from local court records that a Bettendorf businessman's 15-year run of staying out of drunken driving trouble with police has ended. Brian Rashid, co-owner of Treehouse restaurant in Bettendorf and former owner of Quad-City Satellite, was charged last month in Scott County with Operating While Intoxicated, or OWI. The charge first was written as a third offense but has since been amended, because his prior drunken-driving convictions are more than 12 years old. In 2004, Rashid was facing jail time in Rock Island County after pleading guilty to his third DUI. At that time, he had been arrested at least 10 times for drunken driving, and he pleaded guilty or was convicted seven times in several jurisdictions. In 2011, the convicted felon was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison for illegally possessing firearms in his home and at Quad-City Satellite, then his Davenport business. In his latest arrest, the 58-year-old was pulled over by Bettendorf police shortly before 3 a.m. Jan. 30. We are all human beings made by God. He made us to know him, to love him and to serve him. He even gave us the Ten Commandments to follow so we could stay on the right track in order to reach heaven and him. But have we? No, we have not. The Fifth Commandment is, "Thou shalt not kill." Yet almost every day there is a report in the newspaper or on the television news of someone being killed or of a mass murder that took place in one of our cities. Halbrook put it this way: "They make financial decisions and policies that don't follow what the rest of the state wants." Halbrook's resolution is also meant to spotlight what he calls "intrusive and overreaching" regulations. He identified gun regulations, saying that issues with gun dealers in the Chicago area should be policed there and that Chicago politicians should refrain from forcing such regulations on the rest of the state. Here's the thing: Pretty much everybody who lives in Illinois takes a dim view of state government and how it reflects their values, priorities and general outlook. The SIU study polled residents across Illinois with this question: "How much attention do you feel state government pays to what the people in your community think when it decides what to do?" Statewide, just 5 percent responded "A good deal." In Chicago, 7 percent said that. Downstate, it was just 3 percent. Statewide, 70 percent said "Not much." In Chicago, that answer captured 72 percent of the answers. Downstate, it was 73 percent. An eye-opener in the study looked at the revenue generated in taxes in Illinois counties compared to the money those counties receive from the state. EAST MOLINE Being a school nurse is in her blood, says Jennifer Jacobs, 51, who has been a Glenview Middle School nurse for 17 years. Her mom was a nurse, and her father was a school superintendent. She's married to Ron Jacobs, Riverdale school district superintendent. She and her husband live in Port Byron, but she jokes that she works for an East Moline school because she loves living with her husband, but she doesn't want to work for him, too. Jacobs says she believes people could find a nursing education gene in her system. It's a natural combination for her. She and her nursing colleague at Glenview, Heather Wangler, have 1,200 students to care for, and there's never a typical day. "Anyone can walk in the door with anything," Jacobs says, "adults and students alike." As she says that, a teacher arrives to get some Tylenol, proving her point. Adults also arrive at all times of the day to get their blood pressure monitored, cardio symptoms checked out, or diabetes readings done. The cool part is we have an awesome OR team to work with, and they know exactly what they have to do, she says. That's why I like anesthesia I deal with patients, but I have an OR team that works together. ... We all have to pay attention, she says. It's not so much a hierarchy as it is an integrated team. The OR air temperature is usually cool, in the '60s, which is why I'm chronically cold, Black says with a smile. The temperature helps with sanitary conditions, the barometric pressure decreasing moisture in the room. There are strong lights in the room, too, so that helps with comfort, she notes. Thermostats are adjusted based on what we're doing, she says. Black compares anesthesia to flying a plane, when the most critical parts are takeoff and landing, and the ideal situation is to be stable, or on cruise control. She does safety checks during surgery to ensure the patient does well. During the landing, she wakes the patient up by decreasing the amount of anesthesia. No one wants to hear they died under anesthesia, like no one wants to hear of a plane crash, Black says. The patient may not remember any of the prep for the procedure, or much after its conclusion. It's like when someone is drunk and doesn't remember it the next day, Black explains. One day, when everyone was at lunch, a customer needed a suit taken in at the waist by nine inches. Throw it down here, Sims told the manager, and he altered the suit. About 20 minutes later, Sims said, the customer needed another suit taken in, too, so he got to work. The manager hired me on the spot and made me the head tailor (at the Moline SouthPark) Foreman & Clark, Sims said. It's just one of those things when you find something that you're good at, you know, and I love doing it, so I'm lucky in that regard. Not long after the Kenneys left, U.S. Navy veteran and Patriot Guard rider Mike Pompeo, of Coal Valley, came in to have a patch moved on his vest. Sims worked out the kinks of the patch placement, chatted with Pompeo, and was back to work sewing in no time. While the shop is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, Sims said he tries to get to the shop between 6 and 8 a.m. so I can get some work done before people start showing up. He leaves sometime between 6 and 8 p.m. His days are spent sewing, fitting and answering questions. The reason we want to show the film at St. Ambrose is not because it is an Oscar-nominated film, he said Friday. It is because we want to show the plight of humans who are in trouble and humans who risk their lives to help them. We think that deserves some attention. Thats why the film was created. In addition to his work as a film documentarian, Fitzgerald has been director of photography for many television programs, including Dateline NBC and VICE. His work also has been seen on ABC, CNN, CNBC, and the Discovery, Travel and History networks. He recently shot a season of the Animal Planet program Amanda to the Rescue. Lifeboat is the seventh collaboration between Fitzgerald and Campbell, and the second film in a planned trilogy of refugee films. The first film in the trilogy, 2016's 50 Feet From Syria, was shortlisted for an Oscar nomination along with 10 other films, but it did not make the final cut of nominees. I met Skye 22 years ago, and we have been doing projects together ever since, Campbell said. I am grateful he calls me every few years to do a project together. I really think Lifeboat is the best thing we have done together. SHERRARD Superintendent Alan Boucher outlined the past years accomplishments, improvement and areas of concern at the school board's meeting Wednesday night. Boucher said the district in 2018 also paid off a 20-year loan for expansions at the high school, the junior high, Matherville, Sherrard Grade School and the now-closed Coyne Center. In 1997 we had 500 more students (in the district), but we didnt have the junior high addition," he said. "That means all those junior/senior high students had to be put in a space thats much smaller." Boucher said the district was paying $1 million a year on loans, paying only interest on a $5.9 million loan established for extensive renovations in 2013, until the former loan was completed in December. The district will continue to make $1 million payments annually until the present loan is paid off in 2024. Boucher said the district's operations and maintenance fund is in the red, with $1.2 million in expenses and $1 million coming in. The difference will be covered by cash reserves. Theres really not much that can be cut in that fund, because everything were spending on facilities is important," he said. "We're going to look for ways to switch expenses to some of the other funds." Charges have been filed against a woman after a toddler was left alone Tuesday in East Moline. At about 11:50 a.m. Tuesday, East Moline Police received a call from the 1200 block of 49th Avenue Court that a toddler had been left alone in an apartment, according to East Moline Police Capt. Darren Gault. Police arrived at Crowne Forest Apartments and discovered a 13-month-old toddler asleep and alone in an apartment, Gault said. Police began an investigation to locate the parent and called an ambulance to check the child's medical welfare. EMS found the child to be unharmed. The child's mother, Sabrina Moore, 39, returned to the apartment while police were still on scene, Gault said. It was determined the child had been left alone for about 39 minutes. East Moline Police contacted the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. A DCFS investigator and an East Moline Police detective were assigned to the case. On Thursday, the Rock Island County States Attorneys Office approved criminal charges against Moore for endangering the life or health of a child, a Class A misdemeanor. The charge alleges Moore knowingly caused the child to be placed in circumstances that endangered its life or health. About Me Scott Because prophetic scriptures are found throughout the bible, it is obvious that a comprehensive, systematic approach would be useful, if not necessary, for the understanding of prophecy. Past prophecies have been fulfilled in a literal manner, as confirmed by the dating of these writings and historical records of confirmation. These past prophecies also serve as a model of how to interpret future prophecies. A literal view of prophecy clearly indicates a certain sequence of events will occur within a single generation, concluding with the Tribulation and Second Advent and these events will be obvious. The prophetic signs appear to be present in this generation and we believe these signs are revealed in the news from around the world. View my complete profile By Moses Ndhaye There was Drama this afternoon at Buganda Road as traffic flow was paralyzed after a suitcase was found abandoned in the middle of a city road. Many of the pedestrians and motorist mistook the suitcase for a bomb and contact the police bomb squad to help. However when the police officers arrived, they opened the suitcase and only found a few pair of clothes. Ugandas Police has been on high alert after a January terror attack on a hotel and office complex in the neighboring Kenya. The ongoing tug-of-war between East and West marks another milestone on Sunday, February 24 when voters head to the polls in Moldova to elect a new parliament. While the pro-Russia Socialist Party, formerly led by controversial President Igor Dodon, is expected to win the most votes, it is not expected to receive a clear majority in a race that also includes the ruling, pro-EU Democratic Party and the anti-corruption ACUM (Now) bloc. The campaign has been marked by accusations by two leaders of the ACUM bloc, Maia Sandu and Andre Nastase, that they were being poisoned by authorities; efforts by Facebook to remove dozens of accounts from its social-media platforms after exposing activity they characterized as "engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior targeting people in Moldova" ahead of the vote; and calls by the U.S. State Department that Moldovan authorities take all necessary measures to make sure candidates are able to carry out their campaigns without fear of harassment or physical harm. RFE/RLs Moldovan Service has closely followed developments in the parliamentary elections, providing insight into the parties, platforms and candidates contesting the election. RFE/RL journalists are available for comment and insight on Moldova and Sundays election: Oana Serafim -- Director, Moldovan Service (English, Romanian) serafimo@rferl.org - mob: +420.732.528.162 - facebook.com/europalibera.org/ To schedule an interview with any of RFE/RL's experts, contact Martins Zvaners in Washington (zvanersm@rferl.org; +1.202.457.6948), or Joanna Levison in Prague (levisonj@rferl.org; +420.221.122.080). Follow the latest developments on RFERL.org. Police in Warren County are looking for the public's help in determining whether an unidentified hiker who was found dead in Florida last summer is from the Lake George region. The man was found dead last July 23 at an encampment on a trail system in southwest Florida. The death was not believed to be suspicious, but police in Collier County, Florida have been unable to determine who he is. In recent weeks police in Florida have developed information that the man may be from New York and possibly the Lake George area, which led them to contact police in Glens Falls and ask for the public's assistance. Glens Falls Police Detective Lt. Peter Casertino said local police learned from investigators in Florida that a person who hiked with the man recalled that he said he had worked in the computer information technology industry in the Lake George area at one point. Police believe he had previously hiked at least a portion of the Appalachian Trail and used the trail names Denim or Mostly Harmless. Pictures that were recovered that were believed to be of the man when he hiked have been released to the media and posted on social media. Anyone with information in the case was asked to call Glens Falls Police at 518-761-3840 or Collier County Sheriff's Office at 239-744-4434. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 16 Angry 3 A report by the Public Policy Institute in 2004 concluded that upstate was being influenced by downstate politics, which are dominated by public sector unions and result in high wages and high costs of doing business. The bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Robert Ortt, R-North Tonawanda. There is no Assembly sponsor. Jordan said she is in the process of getting an Assembly sponsor. This week was winter vacation for schools and it is tough to line up sponsors, she said. Legislators react Sen. Betty Little, R-Queensbury, said she is normally not a big fan of studies, but it may be time for one to get the facts and settle the question. She is skeptical that it would be beneficial for upstate to split off from downstate. My understanding is that Wall Street fuels the economy of New York state and we would be disadvantaged by being a separate state, she said. The state also gets a lot of sales tax and income tax revenue from New York City because of the number of people who work there, Little added. Even if theyre commuting in from New Jersey, they end up paying state income tax, she said. She was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Glens Falls since 1988. She served on the Social Action Committee, the Board of Trustees as Secretary and then Treasurer, and later the Finance Committee. Marilyn valued her independence, living alone until medical concerns led to a need for hospitalization in November. Despite having some challenging health issues, she never was one to indulge in heavy complaining. She was appreciative and didnt like to impose on others. Among the interests that Marilyn enjoyed were music, going to concerts and watching TV, especially WMHT programs. She loved animals. She enjoyed reading her magazines, The Progressive, The Washington Spectator, and The Hightower Lowdown. She was mentally sharp and intellectually curious. Marilyn enjoyed her sweets, especially dark chocolate and carrot cake. Her hair remained brunette without dye, and she kept her feisty sense of humor. I wonder if there ever has been a story as overplayed as the Jussie Smollett saga? Partly, my disgust with the media attention to this story can be blamed on my advanced age (58) and skimpy selection of cable channels. I've never seen "Empire" and had never heard of Smollett before he decided to ask a couple of guys he knew (who are not "Nigerians," by the way; they're Americans) to pretend to attack him so he could pretend to be terribly upset about it. This all allegedly happened, of course, but I'm quite sure it did. In fact, the report of the attack struck me as suspicious from the start, which is another reason why the reaction of mass media CNN, Fox, Associated Press strikes me as absurd. This morning, I heard a commentator on CNN say the damage from the incident is "incalculable." Hunh? It's worse than burning your toast, I guess, but I think it's easily calculable. First, there's the damage to Smollett's reputation and career that will be severe, but in our country, he'll probably be back hosting his own reality show within a year. Second, there's the wasted time of the Chicago Police Department. Third, there's the damage done to the people who really are the victims of hate crimes, who may have a harder time being believed. But I don't think real crimes are going to be ignored now (any more than they already were) because of a celebrity's single act of stupidity. SlickFin Brewing Company announced on Facebook Friday that it received its microbrewery license from the New York State Liquor Authority. While it does not mean craft beer in Fort Edward tonight, owners Kris and Heather March said they're brewing Saturday and in a few weeks should have enough beer to open their doors at 147-149 Broadway. They're beyond excited, they told their followers. Blog: SlickFin Brewing Company looks to February for opening Starting a new business is always tricky, and SlickFin Brewing Company is still working on i Hudson Falls business neighbor Drake Hewitt also got news Thursday that the state gave him a temporary alcohol permit for his establishment, the Hudson River Brewhouse. He's starting off with coffee and tea for now, but plans to serve beer and wine in the next few days at 171 Main St. He celebrated with a soft opening Thursday, and I'll have more on that in our business section next week. Cheers! Gwendolyn Craig Reporter Gwendolyn Craig can be reached at (518) 742-3238 or gcraig@poststar.com. Follow her on Twitter @gwendolynnn1. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. We have seen this digital divide up close. Microsoft first invested in Virginia, and has continued to expand, because the commonwealth offers an innovative climate, an advanced workforce, excellent schools and strong infrastructure. These require ongoing investment and attention to keep them strong. Connectivity is at the core of this ongoing improvement without it, students fall behind in the digital skills needed for today's workforce. That stagnation of skills limits the future potential of students, the economic future of communities and the commonwealth and the success of businesses of all sizes within Virginia. The U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant spent hours on end planning a wide-scale domestic terrorist attack, even logging in at his work computer on the job at headquarters to study the manifestos and heinous paths of mass shooters, prosecutors say. He researched how to carry out sniper attacks, they contend, and whether rifle scopes were illegal. And all the while, investigators assert, he was amassing a cache of weapons as he ruminated about attacks on politicians and journalists. Aboard the USS Salt Lake City Sep. 11, 2002 -- A Sailor hoists the "Navy Jack" aboard the Salt Lake City in memory of the September 11 attacks on America. Under direction of the Secretary of the Navy, Gordon R. England, all U.S. Navy ships will fly the 'Navy Jack' in place of the 'Union Jack' for the duration of the war on terrorism. The 'Navy Jack' is a flag consisting of a rattlesnake superimposed across thirteen horizontal alternating red and white stripes, with the motto, 'Don't Tread on Me.' (U.S. Navy) The facility costing more than $25 million would be built on 25 acres at the county's industrial complex next to the airport off U.S. 158 in Maple. It is expected to open in 2021 attracting more than 6,000 trainees the first year, said Scott Chierepko, cofounder of BEI Maritime. Parks came up with the romantic idea to host a wedding vow renewal ceremony and a cake and champagne reception at the retirement community's clubhouse. She first thought about having the event in the traditional wedding month of June, but went with February, when "love is in the air," she said. Democrats say they approached Cox about the womens demands to be heard through the legislature, and Cox offered them his idea for a subcommittee hearing which he wouldnt call an impeachment hearing saying he needed an answer from Democrats before session ends on Saturday. Bringing delegates back after session to deliberate a process for hearing testimony was complicated, he said. "They have a direct conflict of interest if they try this case," he wrote. "Depending on who they support in the election, they could influence the outcome of the election by either an acquittal or conviction in this case. Further, any juror, Republican or Democrat anywhere would have the same conflict of interest prior to the election." "I figured, if I died someone had to know about this," said Sue Hall, who lives in Fredericksburg. "Janny was determined to do the best thing for the twins and we always wondered about them. And I always thought that if the twins wanted to find us they would have by now. On Wednesday, all bottled wine is half-off from open until close, so if more than one glass of vino is called for, this is the night to do it. You could pair it with a specially priced cheese pizza during Happy Hour, or grab any other pie at regular price. Arnold, a Hampton resident, is a former social worker who is an actress, playwright, director and workshop facilitator. She has given more than 600 programs at schools, churches and museums. She has also participated in history events for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The cost of dieselgate is still a cloud over Volkswagen's earnings German car giant Volkswagen on Friday reported steady operating profit and rising revenues in 2018, but said its "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal again inflicted one-off costs of 3.2 billion euros ($3.6 billion). Operating profit inched up 0.1 billion euros to 13.9 billion last year, the Wolfsburg-based group said in preliminary results, released unexpectedly ahead of its March 12 annual earnings press conference. Meanwhile the sprawling 12-brand conglomerate increased unit sales by 0.9 percent to 10.8 million vehicles, a new yearly recordpowering annual revenues up 2.7 percent at 235.8 billion euros. Chief executive Herbert Diess hailed a "good showing in 2018, especially against the background of the switch to WLTP", new emissions tests that proved a massive bottleneck for the whole industry from their introduction in September. VW was particularly happy to hit the high end of its profit margin target, at 7.3 percentslightly down on 2017's level. But the group said it also spent 3.2 billion eurosthe same amount as the previous yearin one-off costs related to its 2015 admission to cheating on regulatory tests for 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide. VW's preliminary results release came on the same day as a non-binding opinion from the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), Germany's highest tribunal, on claims against the firm over manipulated vehicles. Senior judges leaned towards backing customers' claims against Volkswagen, potentially pointing the way for future deliberations in lower courts over the 2.4 million such cars sold in Germany. Despite the legal risks and the costs of a massive push for new electric and hybrid models, the supervisory and executive boards proposed an increased dividend of 4.80 euros per share, up from 3.90 for 2017. Looking ahead to 2019, the group said it would "slightly exceed" last year's unit sales figure despite challenges from a slowing economy, intensifying competition and volatile exchange rates. Revenues should increase by up to 5.0 percent year-on-year and operating profit between 6.5 and 7.5 percent, bosses forecast. Investors appeared unmoved by the positive results announcement, with VW shares shedding 0.64 percent to trade at 145.64 euros around 4:50 pm (1550 GMT) in Frankfurt. Explore further Diesel fallout and trade headwinds sap Daimler in 2018 2019 AFP Reaction development. (A) Complementary cycloaddition routes to five- and six-membered rings from 1,3-dienes. (B) Pericyclic [4 + 1]-cycloadditions suffer from large electronic barriers due to repulsion between the carbene lone pair and the 1 orbital of the 1,3-diene. (C) Dinickel-catalyzed reductive [4 + 1]-cycloaddition of 1,1-dichloroalkenes and 1,3-dienes. NMP, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone; rt, room temperature; c-Pent, cyclopentyl. Credit: (c) Science (2019). DOI: 10.1126/science.aau0364 A pair of researchers at Purdue University has found a way to use a diatomic Ni-Ni catalyst to synthesize cyclopentenes. In their paper published in the journal Science, You-Yun Zhou and Christopher Uyeda describe their method and outline why they believe cyclopentene products would be useful. Keywan Johnson and Daniel Weix with the University of Wisconsin have published a Perspective piece in the same journal issue describing the work done by the team in Indiana. Johnson and Weix note that the discovery of new molecules lies behind many of the new materials that scientists have created over the years. One of the ways that new molecules are discovered is by observing them in nature and then synthesizing them in a lab. They note also that transition metal catalysis has been widely used to synthesize many new molecules that are currently used in a wide variety of products. They further note that the majority of transition metal catalysis involves the use of just one metal atom, but there have been exceptions in which catalysts have a two-metal atom core. In this new effort, the researchers used a diatomic Ni-Ni catalyst to carry out stereo-controlled synthesis of cyclopentenes (rings made of five carbon atoms). The researchers note that in typical DielsAlder reactions, a diene and an alkene are allowed to react, resulting in a cyclohexene (a ring made of six carbon atoms). They also note that five-member rings are made in nature in a variety of ways, which suggests they might prove useful if they could be easily synthesized. Prior efforts to do so, however, have not panned out. The problem has been dealing with [4 + 1] reactionsthere are difficulties involved with generating them using stable molecules. Also, reactivity with them has proven to be a challenge. Zhou and Uyeda took a different approach, using a two-metal catalyst instead. They found that in their approach, the two metal cores shared the task of controlling how the reaction occurred and in forming the carbene. This made possible the use of dichloroalkenes, which were more stable than diazo compounds. Additionally, just one of the rhodium centers was responsible for the bond formation with the catalystthe second modulated the reactivity of the first through the bond. The result was a five-sided cyclopentene. More information: You-Yun Zhou et al. Catalytic reductive [4 + 1]-cycloadditions of vinylidenes and dienes, Science (2019). Journal information: Science You-Yun Zhou et al. Catalytic reductive [4 + 1]-cycloadditions of vinylidenes and dienes,(2019). DOI: 10.1126/science.aau0364 2019 Science X Network Worsening water quality in the lower reach of the Pearl River Credit: Obtained from Google Earth, compiled and annotated by Shuang Liu Excess nutrients from fertilizer application, pollution discharge, and water regulations outflow through rivers from lands to oceans, seriously impacting coastal water quality and ecosystems. Understanding the effects of human activities on riverine nitrogen movement is important for water environmental management and nitrogen cycle research. In a recently published paper in Global Change Biology, Prof. Zhenghui Xie, Dr. Shuang Liu, and their co-authors in LASG/Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences described how they synchronously incorporated the schemes of river water temperature change, riverine dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) transport and human activities including nitrogen discharge and water regulation into the land surface model CLM4.5 under the framework of CESM1.2.0. Then the model was applied to explore the effects of anthropogenic nitrogen discharge on DIN transport in global rivers. "We found that DIN in the USA has increased primarily due to the use of nitrogen fertilizers. In contrast, European rivers were affected mainly by point source pollution. However, both aspects are equally important for aquatic environments in China," said Xie. The total anthropogenic impact on the DIN exported to the Pacific Ocean has increased from 10 percent to 30 percent, more significantly than any other ocean, over the past 20 years. In general, the results indicated that incorporating schemes related to nitrogen transport and human activities into land surface models could be an effective way to monitor global river water quality and diagnose the performance of the land surface modeling. More information: Shuang Liu et al, Effects of anthropogenic nitrogen discharge on dissolved inorganic nitrogen transport in global rivers, Global Change Biology (2019). Journal information: Global Change Biology Shuang Liu et al, Effects of anthropogenic nitrogen discharge on dissolved inorganic nitrogen transport in global rivers,(2019). DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14570 Anomalous reflective metamirror. The study is carried out for r = 0, i = 0, and r = 70. (A) Schematic representation of the problem. (B) Distribution of the intensity vector dictated by equations derived in the study. (C) The normalized curve level function gn(x, y) = g(x, y)/I0. White lines represent the level curves, i.e., the curves parallel to the intensity vector at every point. (D) Surface impedance. The corresponding level curve associated with this impedance is marked with the dashed line in (C). Numerical simulation of the response of a power-conformal metasurface: (E) Metasurface modeled as an inhomogeneous reactive boundary. The green line shows the boundary surface. (F) Actual implementation using rigidly ended tubes. Red lines indicate surfaces modeled as hard boundaries. Credit: Science Advances, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aau7288 Metasurfaces are two-dimensional (2-D) metamaterials that can control scattering waves of a light beam. Their applications include thin-sheet polarizers, beam splitters, beam steerers and lenses. These structures can control and transform impinging waves based on the generalized reflection and refraction law (GSL; generalized Snell's law and generalized reflection law), which states that small phase-shifting elements can control the directions of the reflected and transmitted waves. In a recent study, Ana Diaz-Rubio and co-workers in Finland and the U.S. investigated reflective metasurfaces known as metamirrors. The work was based on power flow distribution and the adaptation of the reflector shape to engineer the desired distributions of incident and reflected fields, resulting in highly efficient metamirrors. The work investigated anomalous reflection and beam splitting for both acoustic and electromagnetic waves, and the results are now published in Science Advances. It was only recently that scientists understood the physics of wave transformation by metasurfaces. To understand the difficulties of controlling reflections from metasurfaces, scientists considered power flow in the vicinity of anomalous reflectors. For instance, in theory, there will be regions where the power carried by the incident and reflected waves of interest "enter" the metasurface and regions where power "emerges" from the surface. The phenomena indicated that metasurfaces required periodically distributed gain/loss response or strongly nonlocal behavior. To achieve this in practice, scientists can carefully engineer the surface resistance profile of materials for high-efficiency reflections in arbitrary directions. Furthermore, two reflected waves can be simultaneously controlled to fully engineer wave reflections. Previous work had shown that the design of phase-gradient metasurfaces based on generalized reflection lawhad higher efficiencies if the deflection angle did not exceed 40 to 45 degrees. To design highly efficient devices such as holograms or lenses, multiple reflected waves must be controlled without parasitic reflections. As a power-guiding mechanism, scientists have previously carefully engineered evanescent fields behind metasurfaces to realize non-local interactions between meta-atoms. Asymmetric beam splitter (70 and 30%). The analysis is carried out for 1 = 2 = 0, i = 0, and r = 70. (A) Schematic representation of the problem. (B) Distribution of the intensity. C) The normalized curve level function gn(x, y) = g(x, y)/I0. White lines represent the level curves, i.e., the curves parallel to the intensity vector. (D) Surface impedance. The corresponding level curve associated with this impedance is marked with the dashed line in (C). Numerical results for the power-conformal metasurface: (E) Metasurface modeled as an impedance boundary. The green line shows the position of the boundary. (F) Actual implementation using rigidly ended tubes. Red lines show tube walls modeled as hard boundaries. Credit: Science Advances, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aau7288 In the new study, Diaz-Rubio et al. studied the possibility of creating metamirrors capable of reflecting waves in arbitrary directions, without parasitic scattering and without the need for evanescent fields close to the metasurface. The scientists introduced a Multiphysics design method to create acoustic or electromagnetic metamirrors to shape the reflected waves. They described a systematic method to design theoretically perfect metamirrors based on an approach containing four steps, including: The definition of the fields for the desired function. Analysis of the power flow distribution and definition of the conformal surface. Surface impedance calculations Implementation with passive elements. The scientists performed numerical simulations in the study using the finite element analysis of COMSOL Multiphysics software. The proposed designs were simulated and calculated using hard wall boundary conditions. The scientists simulated illumination as a perfect plane wave, implemented using background pressure field domain conditions. Experimental verification. (A) Schematic representation of the experimental setup and a photograph of the fabricated sample. (B) Comparison between the normalized scattering of the anomalous reflective metamirrors for different beam widths, w0: simulation (sim.) of the conformal metamirror (w0 = 40 and 60 cm), experimental verification of the conformal metamirror (w0 = 40 cm), and simulated GSL design (w0 = 40 cm). The normalized scattering is calculated with a Fourier transform of the pressure fields along a line over the metasurfaces. (C and D) Analysis of the real part (C) and the magnitude square (D) of the experimental pressure field and the comparison with numerical simulations. a.u., arbitrary units. Credit: Science Advances, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aau7288 The design approach introduced by Diaz-Rubio et al. did not require any numerical optimizations for physical insight into the complex reflection and diffraction phenomena. The study outcomes therefore provided a clear advantage for use in practical device design and development. As a proof-of-concept, the scientists conducted an experimental validation in the study, for which they chose acoustic metamirrors capable of reflecting normally incident acoustic waves into the 70 degrees direction. Diaz-Rubio et al. engineered the metamirrors using 3-D printed closed-end tubes, where the surface geometry followed the conformal contour perpendicular to the power flow direction as numerically simulated. In the experiment, the scientists conducted measurements to obtain the scattered fields. The results showed that more energy traveled in the desired direction, while a residual amount of energy scattered in other directions. The observed imperfections were a consequence of the finite width of the beam; therefore, the performance of the metamirrors were better with wider beams. From this analysis, the scientists showed that the energy scattered in undesired directions could be markedly reduced when they increased the width of the beam in the experimental setup. In this way, Diaz-Rubio et al. showed higher efficiency of the conformal metamirror compared to the corresponding conventional design. For experimental field mapping measurements with acoustic waves, the scientists used a loudspeaker array with 28 speakers to send a Gaussian-modulated beam to the metasurface and scan the field using a moving microphone at a step of 2 cm. They obtained the acoustic field at each spot, which they then calculated using the Fourier transform method. The acoustic fields measured at 3000 Hz were in excellent agreement with the simulations. When the scientists measured the efficiency of the metamirrors based on the scattered energy, they obtained a value at 96.9 percent, validating their approach. The experimental validation reported in this study by Diaz-Rubio et al. is the first implementation of an anomalous reflective acoustic metamirror that could overcome the efficiency limits of the previous GSL-based designs. Scientists had previously used conformal metasurfaces to engineer cloaking devices, optical and acoustic illusions and lenses, where the metasurfaces adapted to the shape of scattering or reflecting bodies. Comparatively, in the concept proposed by Diaz-Rubio et al. conformal metasurfaces adapted to the desired power distribution of the fields instead. As a result, the concept can be used to realize complex field transformations with high efficiency as experimentally demonstrated in the study and remains to be investigated in practice in the future. Explore further 'Meta-mirror' reflects sound waves in any direction More information: Ana Diaz-Rubio et al. Power flowconformal metamirrors for engineering wave reflections, Science Advances (2019). Ana Diaz-Rubio et al. Power flowconformal metamirrors for engineering wave reflections,(2019). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aau7288 Controlling light, News Feature, October 2011, science.sciencemag.org/content/334/6054/285.4 N. Yu et al. Light Propagation with Phase Discontinuities: Generalized Laws of Reflection and Refraction, Science (2011). DOI: 10.1126/science.1210713 Journal information: Science Advances , Science 2019 Science X Network Credit: Andrei Velichko Physicists from Petrozavodsk State University have proposed a new method for oscillatory neural network to recognize simple images. Such networks with an adjustable synchronous state of individual neurons have, presumably, dynamics similar to neurons in the living brain. AN oscillatory neural network is a complex interlacing of interacting elements (oscillators) that are able to receive and transmit oscillations of a certain frequency. Receiving signals of various frequencies from preceding elements, the artificial neuron oscillator can synchronize its rhythm with these fluctuations. As a result, in the network, some of the elements are synchronized with each other (periodically and simultaneously activated), and other elements are not synchronized. In this manner, a space-time picture of the synchronization distribution is formed. It has commonly been assumed that such processes are responsible for the processing and transmission of information in the human brain, and therefore are of particular interest for the study. The scientists of the Department of Electronics and Power Engineering of Petrozavodsk State University have set the goal of pattern recognition based on coupled oscillator networks implemented on vanadium dioxide structures. Physicists have developed a synchronization registration method with high sensitivity and selectivity. By applying it in practice, it is possible to create a network capable of recognizing images in the same way that biological neural systems do. In the study, the input images in the form of three-by-three dimension tables were transmitted to the network by changing the supply currents, and currents changed the oscillation frequencies of oscillators. As a result, the network reacted to each received image with specific dynamics. The idea of the new method was selecting key network parameters to train the system to synchronize only for a specific input image, which means to recognize it. The synchronization state of the output neuron-oscillator relative to the rhythm of the main neuron-oscillator was chosen as the output recorded signal. The authors demonstrated that synchronization can be observed not only at the fundamental frequencies, but also at their multiple parts (subharmonics). An increase in the number of synchronous states due to subharmonics is called a high order synchronization effect. Having simultaneously several states of synchronization, the neuron becomes a multilevel neuron. Therefore, an oscillatory network of a small number of neurons can perform complex operations such as speech, image and video recognition, and solving prediction, optimization and control problems. Using this property, the researchers configured the network in such a way that different input images caused different synchronization patterns of the oscillatory network. They discovered that the network was able to recognize simultaneously up to 14 three-by-three figures out of 102 possible variants, while having only one oscillator at the output. "In the future, compact neural network chips with nanoscale oscillators can be created on the basis of these networks. The distinctive feature of the neural network technology that we are developing is a fundamentally new information processing system. The effect of high-order synchronization of pulsed signals allows utilization of multilevel neurons with a high degree of functionality. The advantage of such oscillatory neural networks is the prospect of creating neural networks using a wide variety of physical oscillators, including magnetic and electrical oscillators. At the same time, the trained network no longer needs computer calculations, and operates independently as a separate neural organism," says associate professor Andrei Velichko. Explore further How function may abruptly emerge or disappear in physical and biological systems More information: Andrei Velichko et al, A Model of an Oscillatory Neural Network with Multilevel Neurons for Pattern Recognition and Computing, Electronics (2019). Andrei Velichko et al, A Model of an Oscillatory Neural Network with Multilevel Neurons for Pattern Recognition and Computing,(2019). DOI: 10.3390/electronics8010075 Provided by AKSON Russian Science Communication Association Credit: Ollie Taylor Geomagnetic activity caused by our star recently created a stir in the skies over Iceland, resulting in the seeming electrification of the night, as captured here by photographer Ollie Taylor. Unpredictable and temperamental, our Sun blasts intense radiation and colossal amounts of energetic material in every direction, creating the ever-changing conditions in space known as 'space weather'. The solar wind is a constant stream of electrons, protons and stripped-down atoms emitted by the Sun, while coronal mass ejections are the Sun's periodic outbursts of colossal clouds of solar plasma. These events disturb Earth's protective magnetic field, creating geomagnetic storms at our planet. Solar events can seriously interfere with infrastructure on Earth and in space, and pose a radiation threat to future explorers of the Moon and Mars. It is thought that a solar storm today on the scale of the Carrington event of 1859 would cause billions of euros of damage, by disturbing satellite systems, power grids, radio communications and all social and commercial services depending on these critical elements of our infrastructure. While solar events can't be prevented, advance warning can give operators time to act to protect critical infrastructure. ESA's planned Lagrange mission to monitor the Sun will do just that, by feeding data into the European Space Weather Service Network and enabling accurate and reliable space weather forecasts. For more of Ollie's wonderful photography, visit his website here. Explore further ESA rocks space weather Credit: CC0 Public Domain Growing Up in Ireland publishes a new report on the lives of children who were 3 years old in the middle of the Great Recession. The report seeks to understand how the economic recession affected experiences of economic strain and stress within families and how this, in turn, was associated with parenting and the socio-emotional and behavioural adjustment of 3-year-olds. The report was authored by Professors Elizabeth Nixon and Richard Layte from Trinity College Dublin and Maeve Thornton, formerly of the ESRI. This report will help to inform policy-makers and others involved in providing services for families whose lives may be affected by economic strain or family stress. This report drew on the Cohort '08 data from Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) the national longitudinal study of children. GUI is funded by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, with a contribution from The Atlantic Philanthropies. The study is managed and overseen by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in association with the Central Statistics Office. It is carried out by a consortium of researchers led by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and Trinity College Dublin. Changes in Family Economic Circumstances The findings revealed considerable variation in the extent to which families experienced changes in their economic circumstances from 2008 to 2011. In line with the national average, 14 percent of fathers were unemployed in 2011, an increase from 6 percent in 2008, and men in the lowest fifth income category in 2008 were over 8 times more likely to have been made redundant than men in the highest fifth income category. 65 percent per cent of families indicated that household income had been reduced as a result of the recession, 14 percent of families were in arrears on their utility bills and 9 percent in arrears on their rent/mortgage. Mothers reported that 61 percent of families experienced economic strain ("difficulty in making ends meet") in 2011, up from 44 percent in 2008. The experience of economic strain was more common among one-parent families, in families of mothers with lower levels of education, where one of the parents was made redundant, where working hours or social welfare were reduced. By far the greatest impact on economic strain came about as a result of having to cut back on basic necessities, not being able to afford luxuries, and being in arrears on the rent/mortgage and utility bills. Depression of mothers and fathers An important way in which economic strain can affect children is through its impact on parental symptoms of depression and different economic factors affected symptoms of depression. Being made redundant or having working hours or social welfare reduced were not directly associated with depressive symptoms whether these affected depression depended upon whether mothers felt economically strained as a result of these economic events. Altogether, 4.5 percent of fathers were classified as 'depressed' in 2011, a slight increase from 2008 (3.5 percent). The strongest economic predictor of fathers' depressive symptoms was being in arrears on utility bills: 8.1 percent of fathers in arrears on utility bills were classified as being depressed, in comparison with 3.8 percent not in arrears. Economic factors were only weakly related to mothers' and fathers' marital satisfaction, but strong relationships emerged between mothers' and fathers' depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction. Stress and parenting The relationship between parents and children was measured in terms of the levels of warmth and hostility reported by parents in their interactions with the children. The findings revealed that both mothers' and fathers' depressive symptoms and marital dissatisfaction had negative associations with their parenting in terms of higher levels of hostility and lower levels of warmth, with the strongest effects evident for the effects of depressive symptoms on hostility. Economic factors were not strongly directly associated with parenting: however, for fathers not being able to afford luxuries was associated with higher levels of warmth. It may be that, in the context of a shortage of luxuries, parents instead divert their resources to having better interactions with their children. Children's emotional and behavioural difficulties Children's socio-emotional and behavioural difficulties were greater where the mother experienced depressive symptoms. The mother's marital dissatisfaction was associated with higher emotional difficulties. Mothers' hostility and lower warmth were also associated with greater difficulties for children. Once mothers' depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction and parenting were accounted for, fathers' depressive symptoms, marital satisfaction and warmth had no further impact on the child's emotional and behavioural difficulties. Only fathers' hostility remained a predictor of children's behavioural but not emotional difficulties. One conclusion arising from the analysis is that economic hardship has an important influence on parental depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction, but has a weak association with parenting. Instead, economic hardship affects parenting and children's emotional and behaviour difficulties, indirectly, through effects on depressive symptoms. Implications for policy The findings of the report indicate that the strongest predictors of economic strain were being behind with mortgage/rent and utility bills and having to cut back on basic necessities. If the policy objective is to minimise the impact of economic strain on children and their parents, actions to safeguard these basic necessities for families should be a priority. The findings from the report also suggest that parental mental well-being plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between economic circumstances and children's relationships and outcomes. Higher levels of mothers' and fathers' depressive symptoms and marital dissatisfaction were associated with higher levels of hostility and lower levels of warmth in interaction with children. This spill-over effect suggests that a worthwhile avenue for intervention might centre on supporting parents to maintain positive approaches to parenting, even in light of their own personal difficulties. Dr. Elizabeth Nixon, the lead author of the report, said: "The findings of the research suggest that economic hardship had important negative effects on the mental health of parents and the quality of the relationship between parents, and these effects may spill-over to affect how parents interact with their young children. Interventions to support the well-being of parents are likely to be particularly important when they are facing economic stress. As well as dealing with the underlying problem (e.g. the loss of employment or drop in income), the research indicates that supports for parents' mental health are also likely to facilitate positive parenting." Commenting on the publication of this new report, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr. Katherine Zappone said: "I welcome this new report from Growing Up in Ireland. The findings highlight the need to address economic strain in families and support parental mental health. These are among the issues that are core to 'First Five', Ireland's first ever cross-Departmental strategy to support babies, young children and their families, being led by my Department in particular through its commitment to tackle early childhood poverty and to develop a new model of parenting support." Explore further Fathers are happier parents than mothers, new study shows Its not just about carer stress or socioeconomic disadvantage. Credit: Halfpoint/Shutterstock The Morrison government has finally agreed to a royal commission into the abuse of people living with disability if the states get on board. After hearing horrific tales of abuse and neglect in the media this week, it's easy to understand why the government waved the motion through parliament: some of our most vulnerable citizens have been beaten, raped, and even killed at the hands of those supposedly caring for them. The statistics are alarming. Up to 90% of women with disability have been sexually assaulted. And people with disability are three times as likely to die prematurely than the general population from causes that could have been prevented with better quality care. But to provide victims with justice, we need to better understand why people with disabilities are more vulnerable to abuse and assault. There's no one reason There are lots of theories as to why people with disabilities are at increased risk of victimisation. Some scholars suggest it's because people with disability are more likely to be economically disadvantaged, making them more vulnerable to crimes. They say it's social disadvantage and not disability per se that leads to higher rates of assault. But this doesn't explain high rates of abuse even when people with disability are well-resourced, or who live in privileged areas. Then there is the dependency-stress theory. This suggests that because people with disability often need carers, their carers get stressed and sometimes act aggressively in response to demands. This doesn't stack up well either. It seems to blame the victim "if only you didn't need so much". And attributing abuse of people with disability to carer stress probably wouldn't be helpful in reducing rates of assault. They may also be unintended consequences of attributing abuse to dependency and stress. Stressed carers may be unwilling to seek support if they think people will suspect they may abuse the person they care for, and this could in turn drive abusive behaviour underground. More compelling is the idea that increased risk of victimisation is a combination of factors in the environment (such as chaotic, poorly run residential care homes), the motives of the offender (such as sexual gratification), and characteristics of the victim (the person may depend on the offender for help with daily living, such as bathing). There are also aspects of victims with a disability that make them more appealing to a potential offender. A disabled person with communication difficulties, for example, may require help with dressing and may have trouble reporting the offence. This provides an opportunity to offend with a low risk of detection. One strength of these types of multi-factor explanations is the recognition of the complexity of victimisation, which is unlikely to be the product of a single cause. Some crimes are seen as less serious Explanations of offending against people with disabilities must include the social context. As Australian Disability Discrimination Commissioner Alastair McEwin argues, as a society we often view crimes against people with disabilities as less serious. We see evidence of this type of disempowerment in the criminal justice system. If people with disability are seen as less competent as witnesses, or can't access support to navigate the distressing nature of the court system, this creates barriers to the prosecution of offenders, and perpetuates abuse cultures. In fact, crimes tend to have to be very serious to be reported to police at all. In our research, we found reports of sexual assault were more than six times more likely for people with intellectual disability, compared with people without a disability. But when looking at reports of theft, this was far less likely to be recorded by police when the victim has an intellectual disability. People with intellectual disability aren't less likely to be victims of theft. Research shows that when you ask people with disability about their experiences, theft is quite common. Rather, it seem these types of offences don't necessarily meet a "threshold" for reporting to police. Still, even violent crime and rape still go unreported in official records, often because of fear of a loss of services for the person. This is especially true if the service where the assault happened is the only local option, or the perpetrator is a family member. A person with disability, able and given the opportunity to self-report, may be discouraged by fear of losing their home, being placed in a more restrictive or unfamiliar setting, fear of reprisal, or even out of affection for the offender. Time for justice We need to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to report victimisation, and empower them to access justice. A royal commission is a good place to start. We also need to provide stable housing, support and personal care that is not reliant on a single service, or a single carer. This would mean viable alternatives are available for people with disabilities who may find themselves in dangerous or abusive circumstances. Fundamentally, we need to shift community attitudes, starting with service delivery, police, health professionals and the legal profession. When society holds attitudes that people with disability are lesser, this creates obstacles to accurately accounting for, and holding to account, the instances of abuse and assault we know are all too common. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The study shows if emissions aren't reduced, the climate in Des Moines in 2080 will feel like Enid, Oklahoma feels today. Screenshot of https://fitzlab.shinyapps.io/cityapp/. Credit: Iowa State University A new study suggests what the climate in several major Iowa cities could feel like by 2080. Researchers from University of Maryland and North Carolina State University analyzed urban areas in North America and matched them with places where today's climate feels like the climate expected in cities in 60 years. They included seven Iowa cities: Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque, Iowa City, Sioux City and Waterloo. "All of the cities are basically trending to a southwest direction and they're becoming more like places further to the south that are warmer and drier," said Matt Fitzpatrick, a professor from University of Maryland's Center for Environmental Science who co-authored the study. The study used two emissions scenarios to show the difference if cities limit emissions or do nothing at all to reduce them. It shows that with no emissions reductions, Cedar Rapids will feel like today's Ponca City, Oklahoma, which is about 9.3 degrees warmer and 18 percent drier than Cedar Rapids in summer. Under the same scenario, Sioux City's climate in 2080 will feel like Enid, Oklahoma feels today, where summers are about 8 degrees warmer. Davenport will feel like Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where the typical summer is an average of 5.4 degrees warmer. "These are still pretty high magnitude changes that infrastructure is going to have to deal with, natural systems are going to have to deal with and of course, agriculture is going to have to deal with," Fitzpatrick said. But things look a little better if we do reduce emissions. Under one scenario, Cedar Rapids would feel like Atchison, Kansas, where summers are 4.5 degrees warmer. Sioux City's climate would feel like climate near Salina, Kansas, where summers are typically 6.2 degrees warmer. Gene Takle, an emeritus agronomy professor at Iowa State University, said the study has value in offering a glimpse into the substantial differences climate change will create in the future. "We can envision, if we've driven through or spent some time in a place like Oklahoma, I can get a sense of what that feels like and how it differs from Iowa," Takle said. Takle co-authored the Midwest chapter for the Fourth National Climate Assessment. He said Iowa cities shouldn't base their long-term planning and infrastructure decisions off of the new study's climate analogs. "We shouldn't do our planning saying 'well we're going to take Oklahoma precipitation patterns and we'll design our bridges based on the precipitation of Oklahoma in the 20th century'," Takle said. "That's not going to work for us." The study looked at 540 urban areas across North America. Fitzpatrick said he hopes the local connections in the study will give people a relatable picture of climate change. Explore further Climate of North American cities will shift hundreds of miles in one generation More information: What will climate feel like in 60 years? What will climate feel like in 60 years? fitzlab.shinyapps.io/cityapp/ Britain's Serious Fraud Office on Friday dropped major investigations into engineering firm Rolls-Royce and pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline in a move condemned by anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International. Rolls Royce had already reached a 500 million ($650 million, 574 million euros) agreement with the SFO over claims that corruption and bribery were used to win business in China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Russia, Nigeria, China and Malaysia. The SFO said it had now concluded that there would be "no prosecution of individuals associated with the company". The investigation into GlaxoSmithKline, meanwhile, related to commercial practices by the firm, its subsidiaries and associated individuals. "After an extensive and careful examination I have concluded that there is either insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction or it is not in the public interest to bring a prosecution in these cases," said SFO director Lisa Osofsky. "In the Rolls-Royce case, the SFO investigation led to the company taking responsibility for corrupt conduct spanning three decades, seven jurisdictions and three businesses, for which it paid a fine of 497.25 million." This figure, agreed in January 2017 as part of a so-called deferred prosecution agreement, was comprised of surrendered profits of 258 million and a financial penalty of 239 million. Rolls-Royce is also paying an estimated 13 million to cover the SFO's costs. The firm said it would not be commenting on Friday's decision, beyond saying it was cooperating fully with the authorities following the 2017 deal. But anti-corruption campaigners Transparency International condemned the SFO's move. "It is absurd that yet again a company can admit to bribery and yet neither the bribe payers nor the management team that allowed the crime to happen are held responsible," said executive director Robert Barrington. 2019 AFP Bangkok, 22 February 2019 Bangkok-based ONYX Hospitality Group is introducing its all-new serviced apartments and co-living concept, Shama Hub, which combines high-energy public areas with apartments that feature innovative design solutions for space-efficient floor plates. Featuring contemporary design inspired by each unique locality, Shama Hub has been developed to meet the need for innovative design and short to medium term living solutions on a space-efficient floor plate, whilst appealing to a rising community of travellers termed as the informal generation. This target guest comprises a wide age group from solos to socials looking for a design-forward, functional and value-driven experience, and covers both short and medium stay segments that include corporate travellers, silver nomads, tech tripsters, friends and families travelling for leisure. The Shama Hub brand concept was developed by ONYX Hospitality Group with creative input from HBA DNA, a branding division of leading international hospitality design firm Hirsch Bedner Associates. The concept is being unveiled in conjunction with the inaugural Serviced Apartment Summit Asia 2019, where ONYX Hospitality Group launched its prototype Shama Hub Bangkok Pratunam studio apartment. This prototype has been developed as a demonstration of the brands flexible characteristics along with a playful interpretation of its location in the Pratunam district of central Bangkok. The prototype room offers a first-hand experience of how the Shama Hub quad studio has been cleverly designed to offer flexibility for different work, play, dine and sleep needs. This studio apartment easily flexes to comfortably sleep up to four people incorporating a dedicated study alcove, space to entertain and a kitchenette and dining area. The key features of Shama Hub studio apartments include: President Donald Trump on Friday ruled out reducing US forces from South Korea as part of a deal in his upcoming summit with North Korea. "No, it's not. That is not one of the things on the table," Trump said when asked if he would consider pulling some of the 28,500 troops from South Korea. Trump, answering questions as he met at the White House with a senior Chinese official, said that he would not reveal his bargaining cards ahead of next week's summit in Hanoi. Pressed on what he would offer, Trump quipped: "Everything is on the table." Trump again hailed his relations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whom he met in June in Singapore in the first-ever summit between the two adversaries. The US leader will face pressure to produce more concrete results when they meet over two days at their second summit. The businessman turned president has long mused about withdrawing US troops from allies, seeing them as an expense shouldered by the United States by countries that are often commercial competitors. Heightening speculation that troops could be on the table, the United States and South Korea have been struggling to finalize a new arrangement on how much Seoul will pay for the US military presence, with the Trump administration pressing for more. North Korea has never formally ended the 1950-53 war with its neighbor and officially is seeking reunification with the South. But any bid to remove US troops would face strong pushback from the US Congress and Japan, whose conservative government is deeply wary of North Korea's intentions. And South Korean President Moon Jae-in has shown little interest in booting out US troops, in contrast with some of his predecessors who shared his left-of-center ideology. Taipei wont sign any extradition deal with Hong Kong if it implies Taiwan is part of China, official says The Taipei government will not sign any extradition deal with Hong Kong that has potential implications for the one-China principle, a Taiwanese official overseeing Hong Kong affairs has said. Huang Ting-hui, who is tasked with handling affairs concerning Hong Kong, Macau, Inner Mongolia and Tibet at the Mainland Affairs Council, also stressed that any act aimed at destroying the national sovereignty of the self-governing island would not be deemed acceptable, according to a report by Taiwans official Central News Agency. The one-China policy considers Taiwan a part of China. The official asked the Hong Kong government to consider the well-being of the people on both sides, noting that the city governments plan to amend laws to make it easier to extradite fugitives had already sparked public concerns in Hong Kong, the report said. The proposal comes in the wake of a murder case last year involving a Hong Kong man who returned to the city after allegedly killing his girlfriend while they were on holiday in Taiwan. The Hong Kong government said the case exposed a loophole in the current system the suspect has not been sent to Taiwan to face charges as the citys Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance do not apply to Taiwan. Both ordinances currently expressly exclude any other part of the Peoples Republic of China, which Hong Kongs authorities and laws have always viewed as including Taiwan. Hong Kong security minister John Lee Ka-chiu stated the same position when speaking to lawmakers last Friday. When pressed on whether Taiwan needed to first accept it was part of the Peoples Republic of China to reach an extradition arrangement with Hong Kong, Lee carefully dismissed the concern. Any possible deal with Taiwan would be based on how a certain case is handled, whether there is sufficient evidence we are only focused on that case, Lee said at the time. Any other concerns [raised on the one-China precondition] did not apply to negotiation with the Taiwanese authorities. Story continues The Hong Kong government said it hoped to change the law to cover any jurisdiction in the world by making it possible for the government to adopt a case-by-case approach to handing over fugitives or offering legal assistance to jurisdictions the city has not already entered into agreements with. The citys opposition camp has expressed fears that the changes could be abused by Beijing to force Hong Kong to hand over dissidents to the mainland. In Taiwan, lawmaker Hsu Tung-ming of the pro-independence New Power Party, said the amended law could put Taiwanese people in Hong Kong at risk as they could be taken to the mainland to face trial on the pretext of various offences. Under mainland law, economic and political crimes are commonly extraterritorial, and alleged offenders do not have to physically be in mainland China. Critics have cited the jailing of Taiwanese rights activist Lee Ming-cheh, who was sentenced to five years imprisonment for subversion, as a reason for concern over the wider implications of the proposed change. Liu Yi-jun, from the Department of International and Cross-Strait Legal Affairs at Taiwans Ministry of Justice, said Taipei would not rule out cooperating with Hong Kong, but both sides have to be on the same footing, with dignity and mutual benefits, the agency reported. In Hong Kong, Democratic Party lawmaker James To Kun-sun said a more appropriate way to deal with the transfer of the suspect to Taiwan was to seek Beijings approval to allow the city to deal directly with Taiwan on the case, or start a formal discussion of mutual legal assistance with Taiwan. This can not only see justice served sooner but also avoid the impact on Hong Kongs rule of law because of the legal changes. Additional reporting by Alvin Lum This article Taipei wont sign any extradition deal with Hong Kong if it implies Taiwan is part of China, official says first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019. Police are looking into allegations that two sisters on the run from Saudi Arabia and their family were briefly kidnapped at Hong Kong airport before ending up stuck and hiding in the city without valid passports. The pair, who renounced their Muslim faith, fled to Hong Kong almost six months ago, midway through a family holiday in Sri Lanka. Their final destination was meant to be Australia, but they were apprehended at Hong Kong International Airport by staff from the Saudi consulate, according to their lawyer. On arrival at the airport on September 6, the women discovered their tickets for their connecting flight to Melbourne had been cancelled, and Saudi consular staff, including the consul general, allegedly attempted to place them on a flight to Riyadh. Vidler & Co Solicitors, representing the sisters, said a Sri Lankan Airlines employee even briefly snatched their passports. Their escape prompted a pursuit by their father and uncle high-ranking officials in Saudi Arabia who flew to Hong Kong to file a missing persons report, multiple sources told the Post. Hong Kong police eventually tracked down the women, at which point the two filed a report with the force recounting their ordeal at the airport, their lawyers said. The supposedly brief stopover in the city has now turned into one which has left them stranded and fearing for their safety. The sisters have moved 13 times in the past five months, their lawyers said. The womens passports have been invalidated, but they have only been given permission to stay in Hong Kong until next Thursday, according to their solicitors. Human rights lawyer Michael Vidler said the pair had filed an application for an emergency visa to a third country. We would like to see determination from this third country by that day, Vidler said. The sisters said in a joint statement on Thursday: We fled our home to ensure our safety. We hope that we can be given asylum in a country which recognises womens rights and treats them as equals. We dream of being in a safe place where we can be normal young women, free from violence and oppression. Story continues Their plight came to light after American news outlet CNN reported they had allegedly been physically abused back home by their father and brothers. A similar high-profile case came to light in January when a young Saudi woman named Rahaf Mohammed tried to flee for Australia, only to find herself detained during transit in Thailand. She has since been released after launching an appeal on social media, and granted asylum in Canada. The latest case saw the sisters run into trouble as soon as their flight touched down from Colombo. Vidler said the women followed two members of staff from Sri Lankan Airlines in the belief they would show them to the Cathay Pacific Airways check-in counter for their next flight. Instead they were taken to Emirates and given boarding passes for flights to Riyadh, the lawyer said. Their Cathay Pacific tickets were cancelled, he added. Saudi consul general Omar Al Bunayann also appeared, according to Vidler, who cited closed-circuit television footage. He said the consul general told them they had to go to Dubai for a stamp before going to Australia. A row ensued between the women and ground staff after the latter allegedly assaulted one of the sisters and snatched their passports. The travel documents were only returned when the sisters shouted for help. Vidler said the women tried to book tickets to Australia with Qantas but they were not allowed to catch the flight despite having boarding passes, after an encounter with the vice-consul general. Their visas to the country were later cancelled. Fearing for their safety, they fled the airport. Three days later the women received phone messages from someone posing as a police officer, who asked about their whereabouts. A government source told the Post the womens father and uncle had flown in shortly afterwards. The father is a prison official and their uncle works at the Saudi interior ministry, the Post has learned. Officers soon located the sisters and they were safe and sound, a police source said. We have questioned the pair, who later reported to North Point police station that they had once been kidnapped ... at the airport soon after they landed on Hong Kong soil. Crime squads from the New Territories South region, which is in charge of airport security, were investigating the allegations but would not disclose any further information. A police spokesman on Thursday confirmed that in early September the force received a report from two expatriate women classified as a request for a police investigation. In the same month officers received a missing persons report from a foreign male, he said. The Post contacted the Saudi consul general for comment but was told he was not in his office. A spokesman for Cathay said the airline cancelled the womens tickets to Australia on the instruction of Sri Lankan Airlines. Sri Lankan did not respond to the Posts inquiries on Thursday, although it told CNN it had acted at the request of the Saudi consulate. A spokesman for the Hong Kong Immigration Department said it would not comment on individual cases. This article Saudi sisters on run from consular staff after renouncing Muslim faith were kidnapped at Hong Kong airport first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019. Japan's All Nippon Airways said Friday it was forced to delay a domestic flight earlier this week after a co-pilot failed an alcohol breath test despite new rules. The case came after Japan introduced fresh regulations to clamp down on alcohol consumption by pilots, after several incidents involving flight crew drinking hit the headlines. On Tuesday, the ANA co-pilot was scheduled to fly a Boeing 777 with 322 passengers on board from Kobe in western Japan to Haneda airport in Tokyo. But he failed a breath test, and said he had consumed a can of beer and half a can of a spirit-based drink in his hotel room about six hours before the flight. The flight was delayed by more than an hour while a replacement pilot was found. The airline said in a statement it would deal with the case "rigorously". It has banned pilots and co-pilots from drinking alcohol up to 24 hours before a flight. Late last year, a Japan Airlines co-pilot arrested in Britain was jailed for 10 months after being found shortly before a flight with a blood alcohol level almost 10 times the legal limit. He had reportedly consumed two bottles of wine and more than 1.8 litres (nearly four US pints) of beer over six hours on the night before the flight. ANA also revealed last year that a hungover pilot had caused multiple flight delays. Before the rule change in January, Japan had no legal limits on drinking by plane crew members before flights, and breath testing was not required. Philippines: Mother forced to hand-feed her videogame-addict son 22 Feb 2019: Philippines: Mother forced to hand-feed her videogame-addict son Videogame addiction among teenagers these days has become a nightmare for many parents. Like it has for Philippines-based Lilybeth Marvel. Her son is hooked to a videogame to the effect that she has to feed him by her own hands, while he plays. 13-year-old Carlito Garcia becomes agitated if he has to take his eyes off the computer while playing 'Rules of Survival'. Details: Lilybeth first began worrying about Carlito when he was 11 Lilybeth told media that she started worrying about her son two years ago when he began staying late at an Internet cafe in Nueva Ecija. A video recently released on YouTube showed the mother walking to the Internet cafe with food. As she feeds him, the addicted son can be seen making no other movements except opening his mouth and chewing the food. Worried: 'My goodness, just feel sorry for my child' Further, Lilybeth is seen trying to talk to her son as she speaks, "My poor child... Here, eat now....it might take till tomorrow for you to get home. Are you still needing to pee? My goodness, just feel sorry for my child. You are so irritating." She then tells him that she is worried he might not eat until the following day. Side effects: Carlito's parents have removed him from school Carlito's grandmother is also deeply concerned about his health and keeps sending him vitamins as she feels he would become malnourished. Lilybeth and her husband, whose name is also Carlito, have pulled their son out from school as they are trying to deal with his addiction. She explained that banning him didn't work as he would find ways to sneak out to the Internet cafe. Efforts: Carlito's parents are trying to get help from social media Lilybeth further said, "I used to nag about his games. But that didn't work. So I'm trying a different approach." "I try to make him feel that whatever is happening in his life, I'm his mother who loves him and takes care of him," she said. Lilybeth is a massage-therapist and her husband is a security guard. They've now sought help from social media. AUTHORITIES seized Thursday afternoon, February 21, over 1,000 pieces of ecstasy tablets worth at least P2 million at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said.The AUTHORITIES seized Thursday afternoon, February 21, over 1,000 pieces of ecstasy tablets worth at least P2 million at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said. The BOC said its personnel were forced to examine and open the package declared as light boxes after nobody claimed it since it arrived at the Central Mail Exchange Center in NAIA in October. A total of 1,269 tablets of ecstasy with an estimated street value of P2.157 million were found inside the package, which came from a certain G. Voorthuzen from the Netherlands. The recovered party drugs were turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Friday noon, February 22. (SunStar Philippines) THE National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has removed over 650,000 campaign materials all over Metro Manila.NCRPO Director Major General Guillermo Eleazar urged the candidates to also do their THE Duterte government, while maintaining its "no-ransom policy," is doing its "best" to ensure the safe release of one Malaysian and two Indonesian nationals held captive by Abu Sayyaf bandits in Mindanao, Malacanang said Friday, February 22. "We are doing our best to secure the release of hostages (one Malaysian and two Indonesians) from the evil hands of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) but we stand firm on our no ransom policy," Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement. Panelo's statement came after Abu Sayyaf terrorists, in a video circulating on social media, threatened to behead the three hostages, unless a ransom is paid for their release. The video was reportedly uploaded on Facebook by a certain Jim Hundin on February 14. In the video, ASG members showed two hostages believed to be Indonesians Heri Ardiansyah, 19, and Hariadin, 45. The two were reportedly kidnapped along with Malaysian hostage Jari Abdulla, 24, from their Sandakan-based fishing vessel in eastern Sabah waters close to Tawi-Tawi Island chain on December 5 last year. Panelo said the government would exhaust all efforts to save the hostages, but stressed that it would not yield to the Abu Sayyaf members' demands. He assured the public that the Philippine troops would continue to go after the Abu Sayyaf terrorists to "unleash their might and blow them to kingdom come." "To give in to the demands of terrorists and other lawless groups would embolden them to engage in more abductions that would allow them to conduct extremist and other criminal activities as they could buy more arms and weapons," the Palace official said. "The ASG continues to be on the run as a result of the order of the President to the military to crush them. Our security forces are hunting them in the wild forests of Mindanao to unleash their might and blow them to kingdom come," he added. On Wednesday, February 20, President Rodrigo Duterte called on Indonesia and Malaysia to join forces with the Philippines in combating sea piracy and kidnapping of seafarers. (SunStar Philippines) THE National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has removed over 650,000 campaign materials all over Metro Manila.NCRPO Director Major General Guillermo Eleazar urged the candidates to also do their PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, February 22, sought the intervention of Moro National Liberation Front leader Nur Misuari to save the three foreign nationals held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). Duterte made the remark after ASG bandits threatened to behead a Malaysian and two Indonesian fishermen if ransoms are not paid. "I would appeal to Nur Misuari to stop it and tell the Abu Sayyaf that, 'Look, we're talking. Don't take it hard for us to seek peace in our land,'" the President said in a chance interview with Palace reporters after an event held at the Malacanan Palace. In a video uploaded on Facebook, Abu Sayyaf terrorists threatened to decapitate two hostages believed to be Indonesians Heri Ardiansyah, 19, and Hariadin, 45, unless a ransom is paid for their release. The two Indonesian nationals were reportedly kidnapped, together with Malaysian hostage Jari Abdulla, 24, from their Sandakan-based fishing vessel in eastern Sabah waters close to Tawi-Tawi Island chain on December 5, 2018. The President's statement came amid his plan to hold a dialogue with Misuari to seek peace in strife-torn Mindanao. Misuari, whose bailiwick is Jolo, Sulu, previously assisted the Duterte administration in the rescue of other hostages abduected by the Abu Sayyaf. Earlier Friday, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that while the Duterte government is maintaining its "no-ransom policy," it is doing its "best" to ensure the safe release of the three foreign hostages. "We are doing our best to secure the release of hostages (one Malaysian and two Indonesians) from the evil hands of the Abu Sayyaf Group, but we stand firm on our no ransom policy," Panelo said in a statement. (SunStar Philippines) A driver who killed six people in a rampage along a Melbourne shopping street was sentenced to life Friday for what a judge described as one of Australia's worst mass murders. The January 2017 attack at Bourke Street mall, a popular shopping area, rocked Australia's second-largest city, with a three-month-old baby, a 10-year-old girl and a Japanese student among the victims. James Gargasoulas, 29, also injured dozens of people when he drove his car into shoppers, in a killing spree that police determined was not terror-related. Witnesses described "bodies flying through the air" and people running out of the path of the speeding vehicle. At the Supreme Court in Victoria state, Gargasoulas was handed life sentences for six counts of murder and told he would serve a minimum of 46 years in prison. Despite being in a "drug-induced psychosis" under the effects of methamphetamine, Judge Mark Weinberg said he was fully aware of his actions on the day of the killings. "This was one of the worst examples of mass murder in Australian history," he said. A jury last July took less than an hour to convict Gargasoulas, who was also found guilty of 27 counts of reckless conduct endangering life. During the trial, the killer apologised "from the heart". "But that's not going to fix anything if I say sorry. Neither will a lengthy sentence fix what I've done," he said. However, Weinberg found Gargasoulas was not "genuinely remorseful" for his crimes, adding that it was "enormously fortuitous" he did not kill more people. "You were also well aware of the likelihood that by driving through the crowds in the way that you did, you would kill, or at least seriously injure, those that you struck," he said. "You left a trail of destruction behind you." DOH Region 4A conducts anti-measles immunization program as number of infection cases, deaths continue to increase in the region QUEZON CITY, Philippines The Department of Health Region 4A is rushing to get children vaccinated against measles as the number of confirmed deaths in the Calabarzon region due to the infection rose to 73. A report from the DOH 4A showed that from January 1 to February 22, 2019, there have been a total of 3,077 cases of measles infection in the region. Rizal recorded the highest number with 1,586 cases and 51 deaths followed by Cavite with 437 cases and eight deaths. Meanwhile, Laguna has 427 cases, Batangas with 329 while Quezon reported 298 cases. The DOH earlier declared a measles outbreak in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Western and Central Visayas. Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus that infects the respiratory tract . Its symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose and inflamed eyes. According to DOH-4A Director Eduardo Janairo, there are more than 700,000 children in Calabarzon who are yet to receive anti-measles vaccination. Janairo added that they have already formed a task force that will implement key strategies for measles outbreak response, including surveillance, public awareness and education, vaccination and taking care of patients in health care facilities. The DOH 4A has partnered with the management of public places such as local food establishments, malls and supermarkets to help augment its campaign strategies and control of the spread of the measles virus. The agency also urged the parents anew to get their children vaccinated to protect them from diseases. Robie de Guzman (with reports from Sherwin Culubong) The post Calabarzon records over 3,000 measles cases, 73 deaths appeared first on UNTV News. PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, February 22, administered the oath of office to the 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority, which will serve as the interim government of the new Bangsamoro autonomous PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, February 22, administered the oath of office to the 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority, which will serve as the interim government of the new Bangsamoro autonomous region. Members of the BTA, all appointed by Duterte, were sworn in at the Palace's Rizal Hall. The BTA is composed of 40 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the rest from the other sectors of the society. Incumbent officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) government are also part of the BTA until their term of office ends on June 30, 2019. The interim body is led by a chief minister, a position that will be assumed by MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, the President announced. Murad will be assisted by two deputy chief ministers. "I need not really remind you. You know better than me. But for posterity and to put it on record that I was the one who said it at this time, always work for the best interest and welfare, not only of the Bangsamoro people, but every Filipino who live in that region," the President told members of the BTA. "The road to peace may be long and rough, but I am glad that we have finally reached its endpoint. My only hope is that we put to rest the bitter memories of the past so that we can build a new region that is bound, not by ethnic or religious affiliation, but by common aspiration for peaceful coexistence among our fellow Filipinos," he added. The BTA will govern the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) until the election for regular members of the Bangsamoro Parliament takes place in 2022. Duterte also led the ceremonial confirmation of the canvass results of the January 21 and February 6 referendum on the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL). The historic BOL was ratified, after results of the plebiscite showed that majority voted in favor of inclusion of certain areas of Mindanao in the new Bangsamoro region, which replaces the ARMM. Story continues BARMM will be composed of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Marawi City, Lamitan City, Cotabato City, and 63 villages in North Cotabato. Sulu voted "no" to ratification but will still be part of the BARMM, because the law states that all votes from the ARMM provinces are to be taken as one. Under the BOL, the BARMM will enjoy expanded land and water jurisdiction, greater fiscal autonomy, and increased share in national government resources, among others. The creation of the new Bangsamoro region is meant to correct historical injustices in Mindanao. Duterte expressed hope that peace and order would be achieved in Mindanao following the creation of the new Bangsamoro region. "Now that we have realized our aspirations, believe me, we in MIndanao share your values. We share your dreams and aspirations. We share all. But most of all, we would like to see an end of the violencel that has rocked Mindanao and have cost so many lives for nothing," he said. "If there is any problem at all or in the future, let me assure you that for the remaining years of my work as a government workers here, here in this buildingh, I assure you, Insha'Allah, I will always do what the law says and what is yours and to what extend that we can give you, not only comfort buf happiness to the Muslims of Mindanao," he added. (SunStar Philippines) THE National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has removed over 650,000 campaign materials all over Metro Manila.NCRPO Director Major General Guillermo Eleazar urged the candidates to also do their COMMUNICATIONS Secretary Jose Ruperto Martin Andanar is exempted from the prohibition on government officials from campaigning for any candidates in the 2019 midterm national and local elections, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Friday, February 22. Duterte issued the statement after Andanar represented former special assistant to the President and senatorial hopeful Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go in a campaign sortie of the Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) held in San Juan City on Thursday, February 21. In a chance interview, the President said Andanar was an "exception" to the rule, noting that the Communications official was an "ideologue" since the latter is the son of Wencelito "Wency" Andanar who is one of the original members of the PDP-Laban. "The crowd there should understand what PDP [Laban] is fighting for. Siya yung... You know, ang tatay niyan si Wency. Wency is the original sa PDP. He's an ideologue. He would need a guidance and I can only think of Secretary Andanar who can do it well. That is why he is an exception," Duterte said on the sidelines of an event at Palace's Rizal Hall. "But Andanar, he's an ideologue. His guidance is very important to all members of the PDP members. He's a son of one of the founding fathers of PDP-Laban," he added. On February 8, or days prior to the start of the campaign for the 2019 midterm elections, Duterte said he had prohibited Cabinet officials from campaign for any candidates to avoid criticisms that public funds are being used. Under Section 261(i) of the Omnibus Election Code, any workers in the government, except those holding political offices, are barred from "interven[ing] in any election campaign or engag[ing] in any partisan political activity." Section 261(o) of the Omnibus Election Code also prohibits the "use of public funds, money deposited in turst, equipment, facilities owned or controlled by the government for an election campaign." Despite his decision to allow Andanar to campaign for Go, Duterte re-assured that he would not allow the use of taxpayers' money to boost the candidacy of any candidates in the 2019 midterm polls. "The law says they can't campaign. I did not allow the other members because they will be campaigning if they want to and they will be using government cars, government fuel, and I wanted to remove that kind of issue, just to be fair," he said. (SunStar Philippines) Colombia Hoy Para nunca olvidar Paginas vistas en total 'Parasite' painted on a statue of Queen, Elizabeth in Kent, England Sin palabras La UE le apunta a la paz Cada vez mas solo Follow by Email Precio del Brent To get the BRENT oil price, please enable Javascript. Dolar USA Vs Euro LULA y su Pueblo Bye Bye Homenaje al genial Quino Fueron ellos Una imagen que resume Tan bajo ha caido que se deja tocar el trasero? Porky y el Nene (archiconocido narcotraficante) Ladrones al poder Asi mira el perrito a su amo Crazy Clamor popular La nueva inquisicion Bolivia Chile Hoy Eso es todo amigos! Pinerachet No More Trump Adios Macri, hasta nunca La Marioneta se desinfla Asi o mas cinico Almugre Mexico en 1794 Mas arrastrado imposible La pura verdad Solidaridad con Palestina Serie Capitalismo Espejismos de la clase trabajadora Comerciantes o delincuentes Asi es la vida USA HOY La avaricia no tiene limites Chile Hoy Asi son las cosas Mapa Electoral de Venezuela Patagonia argentina? Un aniversario mas del mayor genocidio de la Humanidad Retrato del franquismo en Espana El Chulo de Madrid Cuando la policia se roba la democracia Una imagen dice mas que mil palabras La purita verdad Asi gobierna la maldita burguesia Mi pobre clase media Como Chavez nadie Comparte La Colmena via twitter Twittear Programa de la MUD Asi o mas clarito Por que Trump no ataco Corea del Norte? Hace 15 anos Por que la OEA no se pronuncio? Una verguenza nacional La luz que nos guia La Union Europea Premio Nobel de la Paz? Feudalismo ayer y hoy Obama, el mentiroso Curiosa coincidencia Un mundo de cerdos No es extrano? La Marioneta Los ricos protestan, los pobres celebran MARICORI Y OBAMA Cuantas muertes este ano? 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Por culpa de Chavez Cerveza Polar Algun dia Colombia volvera a la ideologia de Bolivar Translate LOS REVOLUCIONARIOS NO TOMAN CACA-COLA No se trata solamente de un capricho, sino de una sana actitud en todos los sentidos. Desde la solidaridad con el pueblo colombiano donde la empresa Caca-Cola ha cometido los mas grandes abusos contra sus trabajadores incluyendo el presunto secuestro y asesinato de los dirigentes del sindicato, hasta la proteccion de la salud de nuestros hijos, enviciados por ese jarabe de cola y azucar, que les produce obesidad prematura. Pensemos tambien los revolucionarios, que ese dinero que gastamos en los refrescos es utilizado por esas empresas para financiar el terrorismo en nuestro pais. Es cierto, no se trata solo de la Caca-Cola, sino tambien de la cerveza, de los cigarrillos y todos esos articulos innecesarios y mas que eso, daninos para nuestra salud. Podriamos incluso pensar en un dia de parada para cada uno de ellos. Es cuestion de irnos organizando. Pero para empezar, que tal si dejamos de comprar Caca-Cola y sus similares? Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano... Discurso del Acto de Grado en Barinas en 12 de Febrero del 2005 Queridos Graduandos: Mas que un discurso, quiero dirigirles algunas palabras que escribi anoche, despues de visitar en las clinicas, a los estudiantes heridos, a consecuencia de los enfrentamientos con la policia de hace apenas dos dias. Me ha tocado por razones del destino, ser la persona que les otorgue el titulo que bien merecieron con sus estudios. Y me siento sumamente orgulloso de serlo. Me consta que la Universidad de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, a pesar de lo dicho por los enemigos de esta universidad, es una universidad de primera. No tendremos la mejor planta fisica, en los salones hace calor. En el comedor hace calor. Pero no es en lo material que las cosas deben valorarse. El mayor capital es el ser humano. Y en eso, nuestra UNELLEZ, lo digo con conocimiento de causa, esta sobrada. Los llaneros venezolanos son nobles, valientes, de coraje. En la UNELLEZ hacen vida, en este momento, aproximadamente 67000 personas. El 97% de ellas son estudiantes. Jovenes que, como Ustedes hasta el dia de hoy, buscan ese titulo, que constata los anos de dedicacion y de estudio. Los jovenes son el rio de la vida, ustedes graduados deben ser los capitanes de esos barcos que naveguen por el rio de la vida. Nuestra Patria atraviesa momentos muy dificiles porque decidio dejar de ser esa matrona de edad vetusta y complaciente, para ser joven, rebelde y altanera. Nuestra imagen ya no es la de una acaudalada ricachona mayamera. En nuestro rostro brilla ahora la sonrisa del Che Guevara, con su diente delantero torcido, su pelo largo y su boina con la estrella. Entender esto, a mi me ha tomado practicamente toda la vida. Tengo 53 anos, y ya perdi mi oportunidad de derramar sangre joven a causa de un ideal. Ustedes son jovenes, estan en la flor de la vida. No cometan por favor el error de renunciar a su instinto de rebelion. El Che Guevara fue Ministro de a Economia en Cuba. Los billetes y las monedas se adornaban con su rostro. Nada de eso le importo. Primero fue a Angola donde paso un penoso ano de combate. Despues se fue a Bolivia, donde encontro la muerte. El Che era el ultimo que comia, el que cargaba la mochila mas pesada. Siempre se sacrificaba por los demas en un estoicismo que mas parecia fervor religioso que ideologia marxista. Si quieren un modelo de vida. Ahi lo tienen. Dije hace unos momentos que el 97% de la poblacion de la UNELLEZ es estudiante. Se imaginan Ustedes la Universidad que podriamos tener si todos los estudiantes tuvieran la abnegacion, la combatividad del Che? Los momentos que se avecinan van a requerir de una gran unidad del pueblo venezolano. La alternativa de continuar siendo libres o regresar a la pobreza se nos planteara en los proximos dias de forma enmascarada, o quizas peor, desenmascarada, vestida con uniforme de soldado del Imperio. Por nuestra parte podemos esperar lo mejor. La macroeconomia no podria ir mejor, la justicia social ha mejorado notablemente. Las misiones ocupan un papel muy importante en el pago de dicha justicia social. Aqui en Barinas ya hemos cumplido con dos de las misiones, la mision Robinson y la mision Sucre. No hay analfabetismo y no hay exclusion en la educacion superior, en estas tierras de Zamora. Pero ay malhaya! Son precisamente estos exitos los que nos hacen mas antipaticos al Imperio. Para ellos, somos inclusive un mal ejemplo que se esta contagiando al resto del continente y cuidado sino al resto del mundo. Nunca venceremos al Imperio. Estara siempre ahi, acechando. Por lo menos hasta que el mismo no se autodestruya. Porque, sepanlo senores, el neoliberalismo es canibal. Cuando le ataque el hambre, se devorara a si mismo. Ustedes, queridos graduandos, a partir de hoy pasan a conformar la elite profesional que debe sostener este pais en los proximos cuarenta o cincuenta anos. Anos decisivos para el logro de nuestra libertad y del rescate de nuestra Soberania. No se dejen comprar. No se dejen corromper. No se dejen gritar. No se dejen pisar. Que nadie les diga que comer, o que vestirse, o que leer. Sean siempre autenticos, rebeldes, contestatarios. Pero eso si, profundamente patriotas, dignos de ser hijos de Bolivar. Muchas gracias y que Dios los bendiga. Alguna duda? Medio siglo de Holocausto Palestino Oscar Zanartu Nacio en Caracas en 1960. Ha realizado exposiciones individuales en las galerias Minotauro, Clave y San Francisco, y en salas de Coro, estado Falcon, y Puerto Ordaz, estado Bolivar. En Paris su obra ha sido exhibida en el Centro Cultural Tanagra, en la Exposicion Cite Internationale des Arts, en las galerias De Mars y Arver Space, al igual que en la Galeria Municipal Levallois, en Levallois Perret (Francia). En muestras colectivas, su obra se ha expuesto en Belgica, Francia, Estados Unidos y Venezuela; en Caracas intervino en la exposicion "Del genesis a la memoria", 1995, organizada por la Fundacion La Previsora. En 1982 obtuvo el Premio Nacional Critven y en 1990 la Mencion de Honor Jose Antonio Paez, en la Embajada de Venezuela en Paris. En 1991 se le concedio el primer premio de Pintura Itinerante, en Levallois Perret, Francia. OZ1 OZ2 OZ3 OZ4 Homenaje a Jason Galarraga La Victoria de Samotracia Odalisca Mas fotos de la nevada del pasado agosto 2008 La Sierra Nevada de Merida Nuestro precioso Churum Meru Homenaje a Picasso Autoretrato Sabes lo que bebes en una Coca-Cola? La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar. Mi profesion? Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos. Sal en la Coca Cola? A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar. De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla: Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gusto Acido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido) azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa) Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantas Mucha Cafeina Conservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o Potasio Dioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebe Sal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracion El uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja. Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos. Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja. En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero). Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma. La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate. Bebidas Light? Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal. Publicado por loretahur En realidad, la formula secreta de la Coca-Cola se puede detallar en 18 segundos en cualquier espectrometro optico, y basicamente la conocen hasta los perros. Lo que ocurre es que no se puede fabricar igual, a no ser que uno disponga de unos cuantos millones de dolares para ganarle la demanda que te metera la Coca-Cola ante la justicia (ellos no perderian).La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gustoAcido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantasMucha CafeinaConservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o PotasioDioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebeSal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracionEl uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el aspartamo , despues de tres semanas mojado, pasa a tener gusto de trapo viejo sucio.Para evitar eso, se agregan una infinidad de otros productos quimicos, uno para alargar la vida del aspartamo, otro para neutralizar el color, otro para mantener el tercer quimico en suspension porque sino el fondo de la gaseosa quedaria oscuro, otro para evitar la cristalizacion del aspartamo, otro para realzar el sabor, dar mas intensidad al acido citrico o fosforito que perderia su sabor por el efecto de los cuatro productos quimicos iniciales... y asi sucesivamente.Un consejo final !!Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.Publicado por loretahur MARGARINA o MANTEQUILLA La margarina fue producida originalmente para engordar a los pavos; cuandolo que hizo en realidad fue matarlos.Las personas que habian puesto el dinero para la investigacion quisieronrecobrarlo asi que empezaron a pensar en una forma de hacerlo.Tenian una sustancia blanca, que no tenia ningun atractivo como comestible,asi que le anadieron el color amarillo, para venderselo a lagente en lugar de la mantequilla.Que tal esa?... Ahora han sacado algunos nuevos sabores para vender mas alos incautos como usted y yo.CONOCE USTED la diferencia entre la margarina y la mantequilla?Siga leyendo hasta el final... porque se pone bastante interesante!Comparacion entre mantequilla y margarina: 1.- Ambas tienen la misma cantidad de calorias. 2.- La mantequilla es ligeramente mas alta en grasas saturadas: 8 gramos,comparada con los 5 gramos que tiene la margarina. 3.- Comer margarina en vez de mantequilla puede aumentar en 53% el riesgo deenfermedades coronarias en las mujeres, de acuerdo con un estudiomedico reciente de la Universidad de Harvard. 4.- Comer mantequilla aumenta la absorcion de gran cantidad de nutrientesque se encuentran en otros alimentos. 5.- La mantequilla provee beneficios nutricionales propios mientras lamargarina tiene solo los que le hayan sido anadidos al fabricarla. 6.- La mantequilla sabe mucho mejor que la margarina y mejora el sabor deotros alimentos.7.- La mantequilla ha existido durante siglos mientras que la margarinatiene menos de 100 anos. Ahora... sobre la margarina: 1.- Es muy alta en acidos grasos trans. (Si, esos que recien ahora loscientificos descubrieron que son malisimos y los gobiernoscomenzaron a prohibirlos) . 2.- Triple riesgo de enfermedades coronarias. 3.- Aumenta el colesterol total y el LDL (el colesterol malo) y disminuye elHDL (el colesterol bueno). 4.- Aumenta en cinco veces el riesgo de cancer. 5.- Disminuye la calidad de la leche materna. 6.- Disminuye la reaccion inmunologica del organismo. 7.- Disminuye la reaccion a la insulina. Y he aqui el factor mas inquietante (AQUI ESTA LA PARTE MAS INTERESANTE! ):A la margarina le falta UNA MOLECULA para ser PLASTICO...!!Solo este hecho es suficiente para evitar el uso de la margarina de porvida, y de cualquier otra cosa que sea hidrogenada (esto significaque se le anade hidrogeno, lo cual cambia la estructura molecular de lassubstancias).Usted puede ensayar lo siguiente:Compre un poco de margarina y dejela en el garaje o en un sitio sombreado.Dentro de unos dias notara dos cosas: * No habra moscas; ni siquiera esos molestos bichos se le acercaran (esto yale debe decir a usted algo). * No se pudre ni huele mal o diferente porque no tiene valor nutritivo; nadacrece en ella. Ni siquiera los diminutos microorganismos puedencrecer en ella.Por que? Porque es casi plastico!! No a la guerra, Si a la Paz Misterios de la ciencia... Los costos de la guerra medicos y capitalismo... medicos (2) Quien educa a nuestros hijos? Los Medios... Sin Palabras... Chistes feministas - Cual es el problema, Eva? - Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas. - Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas... - Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti. - Que es un hombre? - Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente. - Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente. - Cual es el truco?. - Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion. - Cual? - Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer. Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas? Porque todos son unos cerdos Un dia, en el Paraiso, Eva llamo a Dios: Tengo un problema.- Cual es el problema, Eva?- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.- Que es un hombre?- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.- Cual es el truco?.- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.- Cual?- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas? Porque todos son unos cerdos Ellas (2)... Tres venganzas femeninas VENGANZA NUMERO 1 Hoy mi hija cumple 21 anos y estoy muy contento porque es el ultimo pago de pension alimenticia que le doy, asi que llame a mi hijita para que viniera a mi casa y cuando llego le dije: -Hijita, quiero que lleves este cheque a casa de tu mama y que le digas que: Este es el ultimo maldito cheque que va recibir de mi en todo lo que le queda de su puta vida!!! Quiero que me digas la expresion que pone en su rostro. Asi que mi hija fue a entregar el cheque. Yo estaba ansioso por saber lo que la bruja tenia que decir y que cara pondria. Cuando mi hijita entro, le pregunte inmediatamente: -Que fue lo que te dijo tu madre? -Me dijo que justamente estaba esperando este dia para decirte que no eres mi papa! VENGANZA NUMERO 2 Un hombre que siempre molestaba a su mujer, paso un dia por la casa de unos amigos para que lo acompanaran al aeropuerto a dejar a su esposa que viajaba a Paris. A la salida de inmigracion, frente a todo el mundo, el le desea buen viaje y en tono burlon le grita: - Amor, no te olvides de traerme una hermosa francesita Ja ja ja!! Ella bajo la cabeza y se embarco muy molesta. La mujer paso quince dias en Francia. El marido otra vez pidio a sus amigos que lo acompanasen al aeropuerto a recibirla. Al verla llegar, lo primero que le grita a toda voz es: - Y amor me trajiste mi francesita?? - Hice todo lo posible, - contesta ella - ahora solo tenemos que rezar para que nazca nina. VENGANZA NUMERO 3 El marido, en su lecho de muerte, llama a su mujer. Con voz ronca y ya debil, le dice: - Muy bien, llego mi hora, pero antes quiero hacerte una confesion. - No, no, tranquilo, tu no debes hacer ningun esfuerzo. - Pero, mujer, es preciso - insiste el marido - Es preciso morir en paz. Te quiero confesar algo. - Esta bien, esta bien. Habla! - He tenido relaciones con tu hermana, tu mama y tu mejor amiga. - Lo se, lo se Por eso te envenene, hijo de puta!!! machismo y cibernetica Chiste machista La NASA ha enviado al espacio una mision experimental tripulada por dos monos y una mujer.Apenas abandona la atmosfera, se establece comunicacion con Houston. -Atencion, simio 1, verifique sistemas hidraulicos, controle adecuada presion de los propulsores de arranque. A 60.000 pies disminuya un 25% la velocidad. El simio hace la sena de OK. -Atencion, simio 2, nivele al cruzar la estratosfera y active sistemas anticongelantes. No olvide monitorear sistemas de comunicacion e indicadores de presion. Comprendido?. El simio hace la sena de OK. -Atencion, Houston llamando a mujer: no se olvide. -Mujer: Si, si, ya se! -interrumpe enojada- que no me olvide darles de comer a estos monos de mierda y que no se me vaya a ocurrir tocar nada!. .Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti. Un abogado mantiene un romance con su secretaria.Al poco tiempo, esta queda embarazada y el abogado, que no quiere que su esposa se entere, le da a la secretaria una buena suma de dinero y le pide que se vaya a parir a Italia.Esta pregunta: Y como voy a hacerte saber cuando nazca el bebe ? El abogado responde: Para que mi mujer no se entere, tan solo enviame una postal y escribe por detras: Spaghetti. Y no te preocupes mas, que yo me encargare de todos los gastos. Pasan los meses y una manana la esposa del abogado lo llama al bufete, algo exaltada: Querido, acabo de recibir el correo y hay una postal muy extrana viene desde Italia. La verdad, no entiendo que significa.El abogado, tratando de ocultar sus nervios, contesta:Espera a que llegue a casa, a ver si yo entiendoCuando el hombre llega a casa y lee la postal, cae al suelo fulminado por un infarto.Llega una ambulancia y se lo lleva. Ya en el hospital, el jefe de cardiologia se queda consolando a la esposa y le pregunta cual ha sido el evento que precipito tan masivo ataque cardiaco. Entonces la esposa saca la postal y se la muestra diciendole: No me explico, doctor; el solamente leyo esta postal. Vea usted mismo lo que trae escrito.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti."Tres con salchicha y albondigas y dos con almejas Gol !!!! Chistes de Borrachos Entra un borracho a su casa todo manchado con lapiz labial por todos lados hecho un desastre, y la mujer le pregunta:-Hombre que te paso?Y el borracho le responde:-No me vas a creer, me pelee con un payaso! Este es un borracho que entra en un bar y le dice al camarero:-Me da cinco copas de whisky?Al rato:-Me da cuatro?Al rato:-Me da tres copas?Despues:-Me da dos copas?Luego le dice:-Me da una copa?Y le dice al camarero:-Ves? Cuanto menos bebo, mas borracho estoy! A top U.S. official discussed this week South Koreas crude oil imports from Iran and urged Seoul to accelerate its oil supply diversification, S&P Global Platts reported on Thursday, quoting a diplomatic source. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis Fannon is on a tour in Asia this week and is visiting Seoul and Tokyo between February 19 and 26. Assistant Secretary Fannon is meeting with government officials and private sector representatives to discuss energy security and regional cooperation on energy issues, the U.S. Department of State said, noting that the official will also highlight the importance of energy diversification in the Indo-Pacific Region. Both South Korea and Japan were among the eight Iranian customers who received waivers from the U.S. to continue importing Iranian oil at reduced volumes until early May 2019. South Koreas Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yun Kang-hyeon, met with Fannon on Wednesday and discussed ways to increase cooperation in the energy sector, South Koreas Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Yun and Fannon talked about the Iranian crude issue and South Koreas efforts toward diversification of sources of crude imports, Platts source in Seoul said, without elaborating on details. Related: EIA Inventory Report Pushes Oil Prices Lower According to Takayuki Nogami, chief economist at Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National, Fannons visit seems to be aimed at urging supply diversification and boosting energy security, including by Japan and South Korea increasing their U.S. crude oil imports, which may lead to reduced Iranian oil imports in the region. Irans key Asian customersJapan, South Korea, India, and Chinaare all buying Iranian crude once again, but at much lower rates than they did before November when U.S. sanctions kicked in, S&P Global Platts estimates showed at the end of January. The U.S. has signaled that Iranian customers shouldnt rely on waiver extensions, but the Trump Administration has not yet officially said if it would stop granting waivers. Some observers say that the decision would depend on the price of oil at the time the U.S. needs to decide on exemptions, because, despite the pledge for zero Iranian exports, the Administration will not be willing to drive up oil prices too high. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund PIF signed a preliminary deal for investments in Chinas renewable energy sector during the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed in China, Reuters reports, citing state news agency SPA. The MOU will enable PIF to support and develop manufacturing, power generation and emerging technologies over the next ten years, the original report said. The news about the renewables investment commitment comes on the heels of another report from the Crown Princes visit in China: the signing of a US$10-billion agreement for the construction of a refinery featuring a petrochemicals complex in oil-hungry China. This deal, in turn, comes after Aramco signed an early commitment to invest US$100 billion in Indias infrastructure and energy industries. "We want Saudi Aramco to be a household name in India," Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said as quoted by S&P Global Platts, adding that India was the number-one priority for the Kingdoms oil giant. The two visits, to China and India, signal Saudi Arabias drive to secure long-term markets for its crude oil but also opportunities to expand its revenue from oil and gas derivatives in line with a strategy to diversify its sources of income and stop being over-reliant on crude oil exports. However, the Kingdom would have to tread carefully around both India and China which both have close ties with its regional arch-rival Iran. While both China and India have clearly indicated their top priority is security and affordability of crude oil deliveries, geopolitical affiliations are also on the agenda and directly related to this security and affordability of deliveries. The latest Chinese deal, however, also suggests Saudi Arabia is not going to overlook any opportunity to grow in Asia, even outside fossil fuels. The Kingdom has several ambitious projects planned at home as well, but with China being the leader in renewable energy investment, it makes for a natural target for solar and wind investments for the Saudis. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Nigeria has asked the international oil majors operating in the country to pay a total of almost US$20 billion in outstanding taxes and royalties that it says is owed to various Nigerian states, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing government and industry sources. Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, Eni, and Equinor have each been asked to pay the federal Nigerian government between US$2.5 billion and US$5 billion, according to Reuters sources who saw letters sent to the oil majors earlier this year via a government debt-collection division. Companies operating in Nigeria pay the government taxes and royalties and provide oil and gas to the state. Norways Equinor confirmed to Reuters that there have been letters sent to the companies. Several operators have received similar claims in a case between the authorities in Nigeria and local authorities in parts of the country, a spokesman for the Norwegian firm told Reuters, but noted that Equinor sees no merit to the case. Nigerias federal government and the local states have recently agreed how to distribute the proceeds from oil and gas, and this distribution involves the central government paying the states several billion U.S. dollars. This looks like an internal dispute between the federal and local governments. The central government is simply trying to shift to the IOCs (international oil companies) money it owes, a source at an oil and gas company told Reuters. The multi-billion-dollar tax claims to oil majors add another headwind to investments in Nigerias oil industry, which has been plagued by oil theft, oil spills, and militant violence in recent years. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says that Nigerias oil production rose by 9 percent annually to 2.09 million bpd in 2018. According to OPECs secondary sources, Nigerias crude oil production rose by 52,000 bpd from December 2018 to 1.792 million bpd in January 2019, despite Nigeria not being exempt from the OPEC cuts this time around, due to the start-up of Totals ultra-deepwater oil field Egina. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The number of greenfield oil and gas projects to get their final investment decision could rise threefold on 2018, Norwegian energy consultancy Rystad Energy has forecast. Most of these will be offshore projects, the author of the study, upstream analyst Readul Islam said. The number, which only covers conventional oil and gas deposits, could open up production reserves to the tune of 46 billion barrels of oil and gas, including around 14 billion barrels of oil equivalent in deepwater blocks, some 20 billion barrels in shallower waters, and the rest in onshore deposits, Islam said. The analyst noted The only supply segment likely to shrink this year is the oil sands, whereas deepwater, offshore shelf and other conventional onshore developments are all poised to show substantial growth. From a geographical perspective, all regions are headed for robust growth except Europe and North America, still bearing in mind that shale plays are not included in these numbers. The forecast includes a lot of projects whose final investment decision was delayed because of the 2014 oil price crash, indicating that oil and gas companies have now managed to bring their costs down enough to make these large-scale projects commercially viable. About a quarter of the projects expected to receive a FID this year are ones that have been delayed because of the 2014 slump in oil prices. Yet there is no certainty that all of these projects will receive their final go-ahead this year. A sharp fall in oil prices could once again put the brakes on many greenfield projects. However, others will go ahead, including a number of liquefied natural gas projects in Africa, Russia, and Australia. In oil, Saudi Arabia will account for about one-fifth of the total new reserves to be tapped this year with the expansion of three offshore projects: Marjan, Zuluf, and Berri. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: A car blast killed at least 10 oil workers and fighters from a U.S.-backed Kurdish force battling Islamic State in eastern Syrian on Thursday, Reuters reported, citing residents and witnesses in the area. The bomb attack on a minibus carrying workers employed in one of Syrias largest oil fields, al-Omar, took place near the town of al-Shuhayl in Syrias oil-rich eastern province of Deir Ezzor. The area is under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by Washington. According to AFP, the death toll is at 20 people. Adnan Afrin, a spokesman for the SDF, told AFP that the attack killed mostly oil workers, as well as fighters from the U.S.-backed force battling ISIS in eastern Syria. Jihadist cells are trying to stop our progress, Afrin told AFP. The bomb attack came as the SDF are fighting to expel the ISIS militants from the last territory of their caliphate in the village of Baghouz, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) south along the Euphrates River. According to UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a booby-trapped car parked in al-Shuhayl area in the eastern sector of Deir Ezzor province was remotely detonated when a column of oil workers, technicians, and members of the self-defense Forces passed near it, killing at least 20 people including at least 6 members of the self-defense, and the death toll is expected to rise because there are some people in critical situation. Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the U.S. plan to withdraw its troops from Syria would not give Islamic State an opportunity to try to retake some oil fields in the war-torn country. The U.S. Administration is determined to quash the Islamic State caliphate and not to allow it to retake oil fields, whose oil it could sell to fund its operations, Secretary Pompeo told FOX Business in early February. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The ongoing power struggle in Venezuela has extended to a row over who is managing its state oil firm PDVSA and its key asset, U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleumand this could be decided by asking a judge in Delaware who the legitimate president of Venezuela is. Last week, U.S.-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido appointed new directors at the two companies in a challenge to Nicolas Maduro and in an effort to take control over Venezuelas oil assetspretty much the only assets that generate hard currency for the struggling Latin American country sitting on top of the worlds largest crude oil reserves. Citgos previous directors appointed by Maduro remain the management of the U.S. refiner at least on paper, but the new Guaido-appointed board held a meeting on Thursday and is set to pick a new chief executive officer. According to Bloombergs Jef Feeley and Bob Van Voris, it is likely that Maduro will challenge the new managers appointments, and this legal quagmire could end up in a court in the U.S. where Citgo is incorporated. Citgos parent company PDV Holding Inc is incorporated in Delaware and the ultimate shareholder is PDVSAthe state-owned firmhence, the president of Venezuela. Under Delaware law, Citgo is controlled by the board appointed by Maduro. Should Guaido seek to have Delaware recognize his appointees, he has to file a so-called corporate consent to Citgos registered agent and argue that he is the president of Venezuela, therefore, the ultimate controlling holder of PDVSA and Citgo, according to Bloomberg. If Maduro were to challenge that, he could argue that he is the legitimate president of Venezuela. So the issue of who is in control of Citgo could end up in a Delaware court and a Delaware judge could be asked to decide who the legitimate president of Venezuela is. Related: Cracks Begin To Form In Saudi-Russian Alliance If it were as simple as who is president of Venezuela under U.S. law, the issue would be easyunder Article II of the Constitution, the President has the authority to recognize, or not, foreign governments. U.S. President Donald Trump has recognized Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela. The U.S. judge, if asked, could also refuse to rule on such an issue because it is political, according to Bloomberg. None of the two Venezuelan sides has filed challenges in a court to rule who controls the countrys oil assets, Bloomberg notes. However, Venezuelas Supreme Tribunal of Justice, the countrys pro-Maduro Supreme Court, last week ordered legal action against individuals that Guaido announced as the new board members for PDVSA and Citgo. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Mexico is looking for ways to reduce its overwhelming dependency on U.S. natural gas imports, which currently satisfy over 50 percent of its demand. This is the highest foreign gas dependency rate in the world, according to a senior adviser to Mexicos president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. S&P Global Platts quotes Abel Hibert as saying that Mexico needed to diversify its sources of natural gas but also its entire energy supply as the overdependency on U.S. gas constitutes the greatest strategic risk for the country. Thats especially true in light of the fact that Mexico uses natural gas for over 60 percent of its power generation: a much higher portion than other gas import-dependent countries in the world. One way that Pemex is already pursuing of reducing Mexicos dependence on imported gas is through expansion of domestic production. The company plans to increase this to 5.7 billion cubic feet daily by 2024. This, however, will not be enough to solve the problem because gas demand will also grow, at a faster clip: by 2024 the Mexican energy ministry has forecast it will reach 8.7 billion cu ft daily. The U.S. Energy Information Administration last year projected a substantial increase in U.S. exports to the south. Last year, these were between 4 and 5 billion cu ft daily, hitting the highest on record in August, at 5.1 billion cubic feet daily, according to EIA data. This rate of exports, by the way, makes Mexico the single largest market for U.S. pipeline gas exports, which the EIA last year projected will average 7 billion cu ft daily, rising to 8.5 billion cu ft daily this year, not least thanks to growing Mexico demand. Mexico needs more geothermal and hydropower, Hibert said, as a means of supply diversification, and it needs financial help from the private sector. Pemex and state utility CFE cannot foot the bill for this diversification alone, the adviser said, adding proposals are being explored at the moment for joint action on energy security. Related: EIA Inventory Report Pushes Oil Prices Lower Renewables excluding hydropower would also make sense as part of a diversification away from imported gas. However, the renewables industry in the country received a blow last December when the government canceled a renewables auction, citing administrative changes resulting from the change in government. That was to be the fourth long-term renewable power generation auction in Mexico, the previous three resulting in 6 GW of projects being awarded. Now, according to Obradors adviser, the government is evaluating the benefits of these long-term renewable energy auctions. Meanwhile, Obrador seems to have gone back on a promise he made on the campaign trail: this week Pemex got the green light to start fracking eight exploration wells. Bloomberg quoted a former senior official from the energy ministry as saying It is difficult to understand any way of lessening the dependency on American gas without allowing fracking. For Mexicos industrial sector, natural gas is really important in keeping up competitiveness for manufacturing. The move indicates that Obrador, who had promised he would not allow fracking in Mexico, has become aware of the realities of the energy industry and the ways in which Mexico can reduce its dependence on U.S. gas imports. In the end, it is all about priorities, and if reducing an overwhelming dependence on imports is the more important priority, then all means of doing it would need to be considered, including fracking. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Idk if Cami was joking or not but she said this towel was her costume for the day on set and shes filming with the guy who plays Elio, the business rival of Veronicas. #Riverdale Its totally possible that Im an idiot and didnt realize she was joking but maybe not? pic.twitter.com/yTZd46QUcx Miranda (@mdawn37) February 20, 2019 We're gonna see Mad Dog again?! This is what I deserve. pic.twitter.com/C1jx3VwZ0m Haydee (@captaintopaz) February 21, 2019 Meet Ginger Lopez and Pepper Smith! So excited to welcome @JonnyBeauchamp and @juliacchan to the #Archieverse! Theyre chasing their dreams in NYC with Josie and #KatyKeene! pic.twitter.com/amrj7DO7dy RobertoAguirreSacasa (@WriterRAS) February 22, 2019 : Rob Raco and KJ Apa attends Teen Vogue's 2019 Young Hollywood Party in Los Angeles, California. pic.twitter.com/SVykjO5PDH Riverdale News (DAILY) (@_riverdalenews) February 16, 2019 [HQ] KJ Apa, Hart Denton, Rob Raco, Alex Hooch e Josh Wyper ontem no evento Young Hollywood Party da Teen Vogue em Los Angeles, California. pic.twitter.com/IRkUKGk32w KJ Apa Brasil (@kjapbra) February 17, 2019 KJ Apa se apresentando ontem a noite com The Good Time Boys no The Viper Room em Los Angeles, California. pic.twitter.com/ZUGNE9SRAw KJ Apa Brasil (@kjapbra) February 19, 2019 [HQ] KJ Apa hoje durante seu trabalho voluntario com a ASPCA no Annenberg PetSpace em Playa Vista, California. pic.twitter.com/7GZrwLoVfw KJ Apa Brasil (@kjapbra) February 18, 2019 KJ Apa photographed for ASOS Magazine! pic.twitter.com/ff6o3vJgpM Riverdale News (DAILY) (@_riverdalenews) February 17, 2019 Mais fotos divulgadas de @kj_apa para ASOS Magazine. pic.twitter.com/AuNPdhBXTe KJ Apa Brasil (@kjapbra) February 17, 2019 soooo the Jonas Bro's having a reunion tour or what? pic.twitter.com/VjVL6hmjbr Hayleau (@hayleau) February 19, 2019 This is NOT the episode that returns next week, but the one after (airing first week of March).Betty deals with The Farm after they've set their sights on Kevin. Hiram and Gladys control over Veronica drives her to try and turn the tables. Archie meets a runaway at the gym, and Jughead is losing his grip on the Serpents.Cheryl, Alice, Fred, Josie, FP, Kevin, Reggie, and Toni also show up.Directed by Marisol Adler and written by Aaron Allen---FP's turning 50 because RAS can't do math, the other writers are enablers, and time isn't real in Riverdale--- Camila had previously posted about doing a costume fitting for 3x18 that just involved a towel and then recently we see that Elio, who has shown up and spoken more than Melody ever did, will also have a towel scene.And Mad Dog's returning!---Johnny Beauchamp (Angelique from Penny Dreadful) cast as Jorge/Ginger Lopez. Working at the family bodega by day, bartending and performing by his drag alter ego Ginger at night. He wants to be on Broadway and take his drag career to the next level.Julia Chan (Saving Hope) cast as Pepper Smith an "It Girl". Constantly the life of the party, she's dreaming of opening her very own version of Andy Warhols Factory. But where does her money come from? She's probably a scammer based on the character description. --- Several actors, past and present, attended Teen Vogue's Young Hollywood party where KJ and Rob's band also performed--- And it turns out Casey and Charles DIDN'T sneak into that Vogue photoshoot about up and coming stars and were totally actually invited.Melton onand: So I called my agents about the [The Sun is Also a Star], bought the book, and read it in two days. Flash-forward ten months later, and Im filming it in New York [...] I still cant believe [I'm part of Bad Boys 3]I loved the first two Bad Boys so much growing up. Its the kind of thing you only dream about.Casey on not being broke anymore and being drawn to the performer's life: I no longer had to call my mom Saturday afternoons asking if she could Venmo me $20 for the wi-fi bill [...] I definitely enjoyed being in front of an audience, making people laugh, and telling stories, so when I realized I could do all three at the same time, that was it. I just wanted to perform all day, every day. Im very excited about whats to come over. I never wanna lose the joy, passion, or even appreciation for how much fun it is to do what I love. --- KJ (in association with Bumble) did some volunteering that raised money for the ASPCA. Really just an excuse to look at some cute puppiesKJ in ASOS Magazine--- In response to the rumors that the Jonas Bros are reuniting, Haley posted a fun throwback picture of when she met them. Apparently her 15-year-old bf at the time got jealous and mad and told her: "go be with Joe Jonas if I was gonna smile that big in the photo"source: 1 brought to you by this awkward official promo of Casey's chest hairs Thank you for Reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content. European and Arab leaders are to hold their first summit Sunday, in what the top EU diplomat sees as a chance to boost cooperation across a troubled Mediterranean region. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will host the two-day summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss topics like security, trade, development and migration. Wars and conflicts in places such as Syria and Libya are on the agenda at a summit guarded by the security forces who are fighting a bloody jihadist insurgency a short distance to the north. But analysts voiced doubts over how much progress can be made, with Europe split over migration and Arab countries still grappling with the fallout from Arab Spring revolutions. European leaders first mentioned the summit in Austria in September amid efforts to agree ways to curb the illegal migration that has sharply divided the 28-nation bloc. But checking migration is just part of Europe's broader strategy to forge a new alliance with its southern neighbours. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini insists that the gathering in Egypt of more than 40 heads of state and government is about much more than migration. "We will have frank, open discussions, not only on migration, definitely not," Mogherini told journalists in Brussels on Monday. "We will have first of all discussions on our economic cooperation, on our common region," said the former Italian foreign minister who will travel to the desert resort. "That is a troubled region but also full of opportunities." An Arab League official, Khaled al-Habbas, told AFP that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would also be on the agenda in Sharm el-Sheikh. Attending will be Donald Tusk, president of the European Council of EU member countries, and Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm. A senior EU official told journalists in Brussels that 24 European heads of state and government have confirmed their attendance. These include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. - Presidents, royalty - Not attending are French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, along with the leaders of Lithuania and Latvia, EU sources added. Apart from Sisi, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri will attend from the 22-member Arab League, based in Cairo. The Tunisian and Iraqi presidents are also expected, while the Saudi press said King Salman would also travel to Sharm el-Sheikh. A UN official warned that Europe's failure to bridge divisions on migration "risks blocking all the other discussions" at the summit. "How do you discuss an issue if you can't even mention it!" the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. He said EU countries like Hungary refuse to mention migration because they oppose asylum seekers and migrants, particularly from Muslim countries. The EU has struck aid-for-cooperation agreements with Turkey and Libya's UN-backed government in Tripoli, which has sharply cut the flow of migrants since a 2015 peak. But the official said broader cooperation with the Arab League, which includes Libya, is limited without the EU being able to speak in one voice. Marc Pierini, a former EU ambassador to Tunisia and Libya, said the summit will struggle "to establish a dialogue between two sides who are confronted with their own challenges". The meeting comes as "the Arab countries are still feeling the effects of the revolutions started in 2011", Pierini told AFP. "Arab League unity is in trouble," said Pierini, now an analyst with the Carnegie Europe think tank. An EU source said there will "be no deal in the desert" when asked if EU leaders would huddle together to explore ways to break the logjam over Britain's looming exit from the bloc on March 29. "This is a summit between the EU and the Arab states," the source told journalists on condition of anonymity. Brussels has stood united against May's requests to reopen the November divorce agreement in order to help it pass the British parliament. However, the issue is likely to come up when Tusk holds a one-to-one meeting with May in Sharm el-Sheikh. An EU source said the first EU-Arab summit is all the more important as the United States disengages from the region while Russia and China make inroads, "not necessarily in our interests". Mogherini said Monday: "It has always looked strange to me that the European Union had summits with Latin America, with Africa, with Asia, and not with the Arab world that is our first neighbour." European Council President Donald Tusk and Egypt's leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will be among leaders meeting Sunday for the first Arab-EU summit aimed at boosting cooperation Talk could turn to Brexit at the Arab-EU summit in Egypt, but there is little hope for a 'deal in the desert' (Bloomberg) -- A mobile app created by a former Goldman Sachs banker obsessed with fresh food is disrupting South Koreas retail industry by giving grocery shoppers fewer reasons to visit a store. With the Market Kurly app, shoppers can order in the evening and have fresh vegetables, eggs and other perishable foods delivered directly to the doorstep by sunrise. The company promises delivery before 7 a.m. for orders made before 11 p.m. The overnight service has caught on among high-income families with little time to go grocery shopping and is nipping at the heels of chaebol-run companies like E-Mart and Softbank-backed Coupang over the countrys 23-trillion-won ($20 billion) fresh-food market. Market Kurly is becoming an alternative for hypermarkets like E-Mart, whose sway over fresh foods has been unchallenged until now, said Kim Hyun-Su, a fund manager at IBK Asset Management. More and more people who work will probably turn to this kind of service. Working moms After mostly focusing on Seouls posh Gangnam neighborhoods the delivery service is expanding beyond the countrys largest city thanks to a 67 billion won ($60 million) investment last year from investors including Sequoia Capital Ltd. I knew this type of business would thrive with the rise of working women, including moms, said Sophie Kim, the 35-year-old founder of Kurly Inc. As income rises, people start caring more about quality. Kim began her career as a banker in mergers and acquisitions at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in Hong Kong before working at firms like Temasek Holdings Pte and McKinsey & Co. It was at management consulting firm Bain & Co. that she came up with the idea for Market Kurly, after becoming frustrated with spending most of her downtime searching for fresh foods to take care of her deteriorating health. Kurly, formed in 2015, is a play on the word culinary About 300,000 people now use the app each month to buy everything from salmon and beef to sea cucumbers and kale, according to Kim, who sometimes stays up at the companys warehouse on the outskirts of Seoul until 3 a.m., when delivery begins. Story continues Competition rising A typical pack of 10 eggs sold on Market Kurly can cost from 5,400 won to 19,000 won while a similar product will sell for less than 5,000 won on other online stores. Most customers range in their thirties and forties with many enjoying posting photos of their food on social media like Instagram, Kim said. Kim, who declined to provide company sales and earnings for 2018, said she hopes to have Kurly turn a profit in a couple of years and is pushing for more funding from other investors. The company probably quadrupled its revenue to 160 billion won ($142 million) in 2018, according to business journal E-Today. Other retailers are trying to catch up. E-commerce startup Coupang last year began to offer overnight delivery for fresh foods in certain locations, and E-Mart also rolled out a similar service, hoping to stem the hemorrhage of store customers. Kim said she welcomes the competition because itll help expand the market for overnight delivery services. Some rivals are trying to build their own shipping centers for grocery and catch up with Market Kurly, said Park Hee-jin, analyst at Shinhan Investment. But Market Kurly is competitive in its selection of premium foods, which may not be readily available at E-Mart or at other grocery stores. To contact the reporters on this story: Heejin Kim in Seoul at hkim579@bloomberg.net;Kyungji Cho in Seoul at kcho54@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sam Kim at skim609@bloomberg.net, Peter Pae For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. Barcelona and California, February 22, 2019 The Carrier Blockchain Study Group (CBSG), the global blockchain consortium of telecom carriers, today announced that Taiwan-based Asia Pacific Telecom Co., Ltd. (APT), U.A.E.-based du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) and South Africa-based MTN Group (MTN), have joined the consortium to collaborate on building a next-generation global cross-carrier blockchain platform and ecosystem. This increases the number of trailblazing carriers in the consortium to 15. The CBSG Consortium is also announcing successful field trials of its cross-carrier, cross-border, mobile payment service that is enabled by TBCASofts Cross-Carrier Blockchain Platform called CCPS (Cross-Carrier Payment System). In January 2019, CBSG carrier members including Taiwan-based Far EasTone Telecommunications Co., Ltd. (Far EasTone) and Japan-based SoftBank Corp. (SoftBank) completed mobile wallet transactions on the payment network of the other carrier. SoftBank mobile users traveled to Taiwan and purchased goods at a participating retailer using their mobile wallet while on Far EasTones network. The trials use either (i) direct carrier billing where transactions are conveniently billed and paid through their carrier in their home-currency and potentially avoiding credit card overseas-transaction fees, or (ii) an OTT payment adapter to link CCPS to popular OTT payment solutions. Similarly, Far EasTone mobile users traveled to Japan and made successful retail mobile wallet purchases while on SoftBanks network. CCPS provides a prompt settlement mechanism in cross-carrier services and offers users a friendly payment experience. The two carriers have discussed a high-level business model for the payment service and to evaluate future commercial trials. The CBSG Consortium is the leading telecom blockchain consortium. It was launched in September 2017 to enable the joint development of an innovative blockchain platform designed specifically for telecom carriers, led by U.S.-based blockchain technology company TBCASoft, Inc. (TBCASoft), and SoftBank, with U.S.-based Sprint Corporation (Sprint), and Far EasTone as initial founding members. CBSG aims to provide telecom members and their customers various services such as secured global digital payments, clearing and settlement, personal authentication, IoT applications and other services using blockchain technology. NanRen Huang, President of APT said, Theres a considerable amount of hype over the promise of 5G. In managing such a complex ecosystem will require greater computing power and enhance security capacity. It will promote blockchain technology as a new service in telecoms by higher speed connection enables transparency and efficiencies in the transaction. It takes us the opportunity to cover new markets that were unreachable before, such as cross-carrier and cross-border services. Farid Faraidooni, Deputy CEO Enterprise Solutions of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company said: At EITC, we continually strive to leverage best-in-class technologies to create world-class solutions that drive the future of the UAE, the Middle East region and the world. We believe that blockchain developments have great potential to shape and redefine the Telecom ecosystem, especially with regards to next-generation use cases. By joining CBSG, we are proud to solidify our commitment to this expert consortium of blockchain experts and to remain akin to the futuristic agenda of the UAE, as well as the countrys Blockchain Strategy 2021. Nikos Angelopoulos, Group CIO of MTN said, Blockchain technology has real potential to transform many facets of our business. As we are going through the advent of the ecosystem economy, it is crucial for us to harness technologies like blockchain to create fast, efficient and innovative solutions for our customers and our partners. There are potentially limitless opportunities in existing core areas (e.g. customer management, fraud management, asset management, roaming, wholesale, supply chain) and for exciting new capabilities (e.g. identity-as-a-service, eSIM/IoT, 5G enablement, payments). To be successful, we need to deploy the right services at the right time in order to create and capture value in the marketplace. By joining the CBSG consortium, we will learn together with leading major telecom operators to use blockchain as one of the vehicles of the Digital Transformation journey. Sherman Lee, Executive Vice President of Far EasTone said, There are many successful stories of applying blockchain technology in different industries. Far EasTone has been pursuing opportunities to collaborate with partners in various industries, market segments, and locations, and even globally. As an initial founding member of CBSG Consortium, we acquire the know-how and obtain new opportunities in the field of innovation. Far EasTone has applied blockchain technology to mobile wallet roaming trials early this year. With the increase of new members, we see more opportunities and can provide more various applications and secure services in the future. Ling Wu, Founder and CEO of TBCASoft, and Co-Chairman of the CBSG Consortium said, I am very happy to welcome three progressive carriers into the consortium. This increases the number of mobile users that we may reach through our consortium members, to 1.3+ billion. I am also excited to announce the first successful field trials of our blockchain-based cross-carrier, cross-border payment service, by the CBSG Consortium carrier members. TBCASoft is working together with Far EasTone, SoftBank, and soon other CBSG members on a production plan so we can provide secure blockchain-based payment services to their global users in the near future. About Asia Pacific Telecom Asia Pacific Telecom is a leader in the provision of wireless telecom needs in Taiwan. In 2014, APT launched 4G brand Gt, which stands for Good Time, to bring consumers better value at a lower price. Gt Intelligent Life is the APT brand identity under which it provides mobile, broadband, digital services, and hardware and software solutions. The year of 2016 was a transformation for APT, began to offer the use of LoRa, low-power wide area networks, to increase connectivity for the Internet of Things, a milestone in the development of the IoT in Taiwan. Now, Asia Pacific Telecom is ready to meet the challenges of the Internet of Things and 5th-generation mobile networks with a seasoned, forward-looking team. About du Ever since it opened for business in 2006, du has worked hard to enhance and expand its bouquet of services in an industry that is at the heart of economic and social transformation. Bringing people and businesses together is what it does best, offering mobile and fixed telephony, broadband connectivity and IPTV services to people, homes and businesses all over the UAE. du also provides carrier services, a data hub, internet exchange facilities and satellite services for broadcasters. About Far EasTone Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) is a leading company in Taiwan which provides telecommunications and digital application services. FET honors Trustworthy, Agile, Innovative, Collaborative as its core values. Since its inception in 1997, Closing the Distance has always been the brand spirit of FET, and the company continues to innovate and develop in the hopes to Fit, Transform, Grow. Far EasTone was the first telecom operator in Taiwan to start operating 4.5G/LTE on 2,600MHz band in 2016. Furthermore, FET worked with Ericsson to establish the first 5G Lab in Taiwan. FET has continued to introduce new products and services utilizing access technologies, including 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, and Wi-Fi. FET proceeds the pursuit of customer satisfaction and strengthens vertical integration of the ICT industry and secure enterprise cloud services for the business community, to come to our vision of FET Connects and Enriches Life. More information on http://www.fetnet.net. About MTN Group Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a leading emerging market operator, connecting subscribers in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code: MTN. As of 30 September 2018, MTN recorded 225,4 million subscribers across its operations in Afghanistan, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Iran, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, eSwatini, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia. About SoftBank SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO:9434), a subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp. (TOKYO:9984), provides mobile communication, fixed-line communication, and Internet connection services to consumers and corporate customers in Japan. Leveraging the innovative technologies of other SoftBank Group companies, SoftBank Corp. is also expanding into AI, smart robotics, IoT, FinTech, cloud security and other business sectors. To learn more, please visit https://www.softbank.jp/en/. About TBCASoft TBCASoft is a U.S.-based company developing innovative blockchain technology specifically for telecommunication carriers. Its consortium-based blockchain platform enables telecommunication carriers to create innovative services for their subscribers under a more secure, robust, and efficient environment. TBCASoft is located in Sunnyvale, California, the center of Silicon Valley. To learn more, please visit TBCASoft at www.tbcasoft.com. Home | World | Africa | Developers for Batoka Dam scheme short-listed At a meeting held at the David Livingstone Hotel in Livingstone, the Council of Minister's approved the short-listing of a Consortium of General Electric of USA and Power Corporation of China, Salini Impregilo of Italy and a joint venture comprising Three Gorges Corporation namely China International and Water Electric Corporation, and China Gezhouba Group Company Limited. In a joint communique delivered at the end of the meeting yesterday and read by Council of Minister's Chairman Mathew Nkhuwa, the Minister's have stated that the project will be schemed on a Build-Operate-Transfer financing model and will not put any fiscal strain on the Governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe as no sovereign guarantees will be required. The ministers have also stated that three preparatory studies which include, engineering feasibility study, environmental and social impact assessment, and legal and financial transaction advisory services, will be completed by end of the first quarter of 2019. They have also agreed that the request for proposals will be launched by April, 2019, while the final developer for the gorge will be appointed by September, 2019. The ministers took the opportunity to reiterate their commitment to strengthening cooperation between the two neighbouring countries. The other members of the Zambian delegation were Attorney-General Likando Kalaluka, Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary for Economic Management and Finance Mukuli Chikuba and Ministry of Energy Permanent Secretary Brigadier General Emelda Chola. This is according to a statement issued to the Media by Ministry of Finance spokesperson Chileshe Kandeta. The members of the Zambezi River Authority Council of Ministers are Matthews Nkhuwa, Zambia's Minister of Energy, Dr Joram Gumbo, the Minister of Energy and Power Development, Zimbabwe, Margaret Mwanakatwe Minister of Finance Zambia and Professor Mthuli Ncube the Minister of Finance and Economic Development of Zimbabwe. Lusaka Times. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: Africa Loading... Home | World | Africa | Zimbabwe forex dealers struck by fear Illegal foreign currency (forex) dealers were on tenterhooks yesterday as they weighed their options in the wake of new measures by the RBZ that seek to eradicate parallel market activities. This has set the stage for the RTGS dollar's sharp devaluation on the official market. Parallel market rates remained stable yesterday following the decision by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr John Mangudya to liberalise the United States dollar exchange rate against Real Time Gross Settlement balances. The containment of the parallel market rate has been described by economic analysts as a sign of confidence to the monetary policy measures introduced by the central bank. A survey yesterday showed that the black market rate of the US was stable as it hovered around 1:3.5 bond notes which is the figure that was prevailing before the announcement of Monetary Policy Statement on Wednesday. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: Africa Loading... Zimbabwe has approved the signing of bilateral air service agreements with Oman and Sri-Lanka as authorities forge on with efforts to make the country open and accessible to the wider world. The agreements will allow airlines from the respective countries to service Harare, Colombo and Muscat respectively. Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa said the decision was in line with the "open for business" initiative that President Mnangagwa's administration is pursuing. "The agreements provide a governing framework for the operation of air transport services, thereby boosting travel and trade between Zimbabwe and the two countries," she said. "This is part of Government's efforts to engage and re-engage with the international community thereby fulfilling the mantra that "Zimbabwe is open for business." Signing of the two bilateral air service agreements was approved by Cabinet at its Tuesday sitting. Officially the Sultanate of Oman, Oman is an Arab country on the south-eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia with a population of nearly five million people. Its gross domestic product was estimated at over $72,6 billion at the end of 2017. Its airline, Oman Air currently flies to over 50 destinations across the world. On the other hand, Sri Lanka is an island nation south of India in the Indian Ocean that is famed for its ancient Buddhist ruins, with a population of over 21 million. The country's national carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines has a fleet of 27 planes and currently flies to 114 destinations. Home | News | General | Buhari arrives Katsina ahead of presidential election - Presidential Buhari and his wife, Aisha, and some of his aides land at Umar Musa YarAdua International Airport, Katsina at about 3.25pm - The president was received at the airport by Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina state, the minister of state for Aviation, Hadi Sirika and members of the National Assembly from the state - Buhari is expected to join other eligible voters at Kofar Baru 003 polling unit, Sarkin Yara ward, Daura, Katsina state, to cast his vote on Saturday, February 23 President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, February 22, arrived in Katsina en route to Daura, his hometown, to participate in the rescheduled presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday, February 23. The presidential aircraft conveying the president, his wife, Aisha, and some of his aides landed at Umar Musa YarAdua International Airport, Katsina, about 3.25pm, The news Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. READ ALSO: Elections 2019: See 14 battleground states that may be won and lost by Buhari and Atiku (list) The president was received at the airport by Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina state, the minister of state for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, members of the National Assembly from Katsina state, heads of federal government agencies in the state and other government functionaries. The president left the airport in a presidential helicopter for Daura at about 3.50pm. While in Daura, Buhari, the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), in Saturdays elections, is expected to join other eligible voters at Kofar Baru 003 polling unit, Sarkin Yara ward, Daura, Katsina State, to cast his vote. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda Buhari on February 14 rounded off his nationwide campaign in Katsina and later proceeded to Daura for the Feb. 16 Presidential National Assembly elections before it was shifted by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to Feb. 23. The governorship, House of Assembly, Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections were also shifted from March 2 to March 9. Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will allow the All Progressives Congress (APC) to participate in the general elections holding in Zamfara state in compliance with a court order. The electoral commission in a statement issued on Friday, February 22, stated that its decision to to allow APC participate in the elections follows a ruling of the Court of Appeal which set aside the decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja which had earlier stated that the APC having failed to hold primaries could not participate in the elections. INEC stated that following the ruling of the Court of Appeal, it would adhere to ruling of the Zamfara State High which ruled that the APC could participate in the elections. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! 2019 election: Who will win? Anambra residents speak | Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Amidst political unrest, INEC completes distribution of electoral materials in Kano - INEC has finished distribution the sensitive electoral materials in Kano state - This is less than 24 hours after several people were killed in Bebeji LGA of the state - The commission embarked on distribution of the sensitive materials on Wednesday and finished today, February 22 The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kano state says it has completed the distribution of sensitive materials to all the 44 local government areas in the state on Friday, February 22. The Public Relations Officer of the commission in the state, Alhaji Garba Lawal, confirmed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Kano. According to Lawal, the commission embarked on distribution of the sensitive materials on Wednesday following the postponement of the elections earlier scheduled for February 16. READ ALSO: APC Reps member Jibrin reportedly arrested over attack on Kwankwaso Since Thursday night we have completed the distribution of sensitive materials to all our local government offices across the state, and at the end of today (Friday) we are hoping to distribute them to all the Registration Area Centres (RACs). By tomorrow morning, as early as possible, we are going to start the distribution of both the non-sensitive and the sensitive materials to polling units where the election will commence, Lawal said. He explained that the commission had done everything possible to ensure the welfare and safety of the corps members serving as ad-hoc staff for the elections. NAN recalls that the electoral body had last week confirmed that all the non-sensitive materials have been distributed to all the 44 local government areas. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, described the frequent clashes between the supporters of All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as unfortunate and worrisome. Sanusi spoke on Friday, February 22, while addressing newsmen at his palace in Kano, following the clash that erupted between APC and PDP supporters at a political rally in Bebeji local government area of the state. He appealed to party supporters and politicians in the state to shun politics of violence and thuggery, to ensure peaceful conduct of the forthcoming general elections. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better. Sowore, Fela Durotoye, Buhari; who will Nigerian youths vote for? | - on Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Fulani coalition demands justice for Kajuru killings, insists 131 people died - Fulani coalition in Kajuru killings have insited that 131 persons rather than 66 died in the February 15 attacks on its communitites - The Fulani coalition have asked the government to ensure the victims of the attacks get the justice they deserve A coalition of Fulani organisations on Friday said it recorded the killing of 131 Fulani pastoralists in some parts of Kajuru local government area of Kaduna state. Malam Saleh Alhassan, the Secretary General of Miyyetti Allah, on behalf of the coalition made this known at a news conference at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Kaduna over the alleged genocide. Alhassan said the coalition, comprising five Fulani groups in the state, are demanding for justice for the victims. He listed members of the coalition as the Miyyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Associations of Nigeria, Mobgal Fulbe Development Association, Gan-Allah Fulani Development Association and Fulbe Global Development Initiative, among others. Alhassan said the security agencies need to commence the process of detailed documentation of the violence, which he termed as genocide. The document must include the collation of exhibits and all relevant information, including videos and photographs, to identify the perpetrators of the violence, arrest and prosecute them for genocide. READ ALSO: APC Reps member Jibrin reportedly arrested over attack on Kwankwaso Clearly, their aim was total extermination of Fulani people from Kaduna State, in particular, the spokesman said. Alhassan urged Nigerians and the international community to condemn the killings, while supporting peace loving people to embrace the spirit of brotherhood, peaceful and harmonious co-existence. He also called on the Kaduna state and federal governments, humanitarian organisations and other spirited individuals to come to the aid of the victims, so as to provide relief and succour to help them to quickly recover from the shocks and trauma. The state and federal governments need to expand security vigilance, to protect life and property everywhere in Nigeria. We also call on the nation of Fulani, particularly the pastoralists in the affected areas and throughout Kaduna state to remain calm and peaceful. They must continue to be law abiding, while allowing the authorities to get to the roots of the matter, Alhassan said. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Ahmad Abdurrahman, the commissioner of police in Kaduna state disagreed with Governor Nasir El-Rufai over the actual casualty figure which arose from the alleged recent attack on the Kajuru village on the eve of the rescheduled elections. Abdurrahman said that the police was yet to conclude its investigation into the incident and as a result, it would not confirm any figure. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better. 6 things that may happen on Election Day | Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has revealed that he survived an alleged assassination attempt on his life on Thursday night after soldiers sent by the General Officer Commanding 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Jamil Sarham confronted his security details. Wike also alerted Nigerians that the military is allegedly supplying fake uniforms to militants hired by the APC for the purpose of disrupting the elections and unleashing mayhem. Speaking after a meeting with officials of the British High Commission at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Friday, he said the General Officer Commanding 6 Division of the Nigerian Army has been taking very unprofessional measures to silence PDP members. Wike said that he has informed the British High Commission and other foreign missions of the anti-democratic actions of the security forces, especially the Nigerian Army. On Friday, 15th of January, a day to the 16th of February, the first date for the elections before it was rescheduled, the GOC sent soldiers to cordone off my private residence. Yesterday, I was shocked that when I left Government House to see some political leaders, soldiers were trailing me. Anyone who knows me, knows that I dont have military security details. Along Abacha road where you have Algate Hotel, to my surprise, I heard my security men shouting that the soldiers are behind us. I have said this severally about the GOC of the 6 Division that nobody should kill because he was promised the position of Chief of Army Staff. The governor said that the General Officer Commanding the division can be promoted a Chief of Army Staff without killing anyone, stressing that there is no need to kill innocent people for personal ambition. He said that Rivers State is strategically positioned in Nigeria and should not be destabilised for political goals. Rivers State is so important to this country. The economy of Nigeria cannot survive without Rivers State. By what they are doing, they are scaring investors away, Governor Wike said. He urged the President to talk to the Army to reduce their level of partisanship and illegal activities ahead of the elections. The GOC held a meeting with the soldiers yesterday and said they must do everything they can to ensure that the President wins. That is not good. Allow Nigerians to support whoever they want to support, he said. The Governor said there is no reason for any fight in the state because the APC is not running for the Governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly Elections in Rivers State. He regretted that the Nigeria Army has started arresting PDP in Eleme and other Local Government Areas, claiming that 182 persons have been pencilled down for arrest by the Army. Wike decried the supply of military uniforms to APC militants because it would have negative consequences post-elections. Speaking earlier, the Political Officer of the British High Commission in Nigeria, Louis Edwards said that they were in the state to observe the Elections. She said that the Resident Electoral Commissioner of Rivers State assured her that things would work well. The envoy added that she is looking forward to a peaceful election. His words: Last night; the General Officer Commanding 6 Division of the Nigerian Army plotted an assassination on my life. Thank God, that was not successful. KINDLY DROP A COMMENT BELOW Home | News | General | Elections 2019: List of 14 battleground states that may be won and lost by Buhari and Atiku Few hours to the presidential and National Assembly elections rescheduled to hold on Saturday, February 23, we take a look at the some battleground states where the two leading presidential candidates, President Muhammadu Buhari and Atiku Abubakar, are expected to keenly contest for votes. According to an analysis by Premium Times, 14 states stand as potential battleground wherein previous voting pattern may be disrupted. The highlighted states are Adamawa, Rivers, Katsina, Benue, Borno, Kano, Kwara, Imo, Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Oyo, Jigawa and Kaduna. READ ALSO: 8 quotes by Buhari during nationwide broadcast ahead of presidential election 1. Adamawa Adamawa is considered a battleground because the state, despite being Atikus home state, is controlled by the APC. Thus, Atikus popularity in the state will be up against the massive influence of the APC government of Governor Jibrilla Bindow, reportedly adjudged as one of the best in the states history. Tipping Atiku as having an edge being a son of the soil, the margin of victory, analysts forecast, will be very slim. 2. Katsina The northwest state of Kastina is President Buharis home state. However, analysts believe that Atiku will get impressive votes in the state due to some factors. According to Premium Times, Nuhu Daiwa, a resident of Katsina said although Atiku is from Adamawa state, his second home is Katsina because of his long affinity with the prominent Yaradua family in Katsina. Also, Katsina had been governed by the PDP since 1999 and only lost to the APC in 2015. Thus, the opposition party still has a strong membership in the state. 3. Akwa Ibom Though Akwa Ibom is controlled by the PDP, analysts believe President Buhari will have an impressive showing in the state, compared with his 2015 poor outing in the state. Though Atiku is tipped to win the state, it is believed President Buhari will get impressive votes because of the massive influence of the political groups loyal to Godswill Akpabio, a former governor of the state; Nsima Ekere, the APC governorship candidate in the state; Umana Umana, the managing director, Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA); and John Udoedehe, a former minister. 4. Benue Benue state is also one of the battlegrounds for the presidential election where the two leading candidates have 50-50 chances. However, factors such as the defection of the state governor, Samuel Ortom, and other top government officials to PDP and the horrible experience of herdsmen violence are expected to give Atiku an edge over Buhari. Governor Ortoms low rating, particularly due to non-payment of over five months salary, George Akumes influence are some of the factors expected to work in favour of President Buhari. 5. Borno Borno is a known stronghold for President Buhari but analysts see Atikus chances of getting some good votes there as well due to the issue of poor management of the countrys economy. President Buharis winning margin can also reduce due to the stiff contest for the National Assembly seats in Borno state. 6. Ondo Ondo is also touted as a state which voters can either turn to the side of President Buhari or that of Atiku. According to analysts, the people of the state are not favourably disposed to the performance of the APC government, a development that may give the PDP some edge. The recent crisis within APC has also not helped its case in the run-up to the election. 7. Imo Imo state, the only state in the southeast controlled by the APC, could have delivered their votes massively for President Buhari but the internal crisis tearing the APC apart in the state and the choice of Peter Obi from southeast give Atiku a good hope. 8. Lagos Though Lagos is a stronghold of the APC and is expected to deliver for President Buhari, analysts forecast Atiku may also get some impressive showing due to the grievances of some members of the party after the incumbent governor could not get his second term bid. 9. Rivers Atiku is expected to record a resounding victory in Rivers because the state is controlled by the PDP and also produced the partys national chairman. However, President Buhari is also touted to ride on the influence of Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of the state who is the DG of Buharis campaign. The flag-off of the Ogoni cleanup, an important long-awaited programme to restore the environment degraded following years of oil spillage in Ogoniland, may also give Buhari some chances. 10. Kano Kano is a major political base for President Buhari and he has a better chance of retaining the victory on Saturday, February 23. However, analysts forecast he may not win with wide margin as in previous elections. Atiku is expected to ride on the massive influence of former Kano governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso. 11. Kwara Kwara has always been following the directives of the Saraki political dynasty up until O to ge! sprouted. O to ge!, a Yoruba phrase translated literally as Enough is Enough!, is a protest movement against the Saraki political dynasty. This makes the state open for both President Buhari and Atiku. While Buhari will enjoy the support of the O to ge! movement, Atiku will be counting on the influence of Senate president Bukola Saraki who is the DG of his campaign. 12. Oyo Despite being controlled by the APC, analysts say it is difficult to predict who between Buhari and Atiku will grab the highest number of votes in the state. 13. Jigawa Analysts forecast President Buhari will win the state due to some factors. Some of the factors are the incumbency advantage, gale of defection, the achievements of the present administration in the state and the candidates personality profile in the eyes of the masses. However, Atiku is also expected to ride on the support of a former governor of the state, Sule Lamido, and some aggrieved APC members. 14. Kaduna Though considered a battle ground state, anaylsyts forecast President Buhari will carry the day in Kaduna Majority of the people in the northern part of the state including Zaria, Kawo, Konfanin Zango and others are expected to vote for him while the southerners will certainly give Atiku a bulk of their votes. Overall, President Buhari is expected to win in Kaduna, though with a lower margin than in 2015. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that a collection of eight predictions by international analysts shows that the 2019 presidential election will be keenly contested by President Buhari and Atiku as the election has split analysts down the middle. Out of the eight forecasts by eight analysts, four predicted President Buhari will win a second term while the remaining four also predicted a victory for Atiku. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! 2019 election: Who will win? Anambra residents speak | Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | JAMB closes sales of UTME registration forms - The sale of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination forms has closed - The boards head of media, Fabian Benjamin, disclosed this on Thursday, February 21 - Benjamin, however said the online registration was still ongoing The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Thursday, February 21 disclosed that the sale of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) forms had closed. The boards head of media, Fabian Benjamin, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. Benjamin, however said that online registration was still ongoing. Benjamin said: ''This is because some people earlier bought e-pins for the exams but were unable to register before now, so we are monitoring them online and would avail them the opportunity to register. Therefore, we cannot give the exact figure of the registered candidates for now until this is over.'' READ ALSO: 8 quotes by Buhari during nationwide broadcast ahead of presidential election He added that the registration would continue until the board decides. The board had commenced the sale and online registration of the 2019 to 2020 UTME forms on Jan. 10 and was scheduled to end on Feb. 21. On the issue of rescheduled dates for both the mock and main examinations, Benjamin said that the board was yet to decide on a new date but would give updates as soon as possible. The board considered rescheduling the initial dates for the examination because of the shift of dates for the general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda Speaking also on the suspension of 17 Computer Based Test (CBT) centres across the country, Benjamin assured that the suspension would not, in anyway, affect the process of the examinations as the board had over 700 accredited centres nationwide. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Wednesday, February 20, announced its plan to shift the dates for the conduct of the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations. The the examination board made the announcement at its meeting held at the board's headquarters in Abuja. It was recalled that the JAMB had earlier notified members of the public that not less than 1.8 million candidates would be registered for its 2019 UTME by the end of the registration exercise scheduled for February 21. The boards head of media and information, Fabian Benjamin, also disclosed that over 1.6 million candidates had registered for the examination between February 10 and February 15 nationwide, with Lagos recording the highest, with 234,259 candidates. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! Nigerians express mixed feelings as JAMB reduces admission cut-off to 120 | Legit TV: [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | What Buhari truly aims to achieve with order on ballot box snatching - Ondo APC leader opens up - An executive in the the All Progressives Congress (APC)'s presidential campaign council in Ondo, Bola Ilori, has defended President Muhammadu Buharis order on ballot box snatching - Ilori said that President Buhari made the remark in order to discourage thuggery and rigging during the polls - The APC leader also said that the ruling party is prepared for hitch-free and fair polls on Saturday, February 23 Bola Ilori, the national chairman of the door-to-door wing of the All Progressives Congress (APC)'s presidential campaign, has said that President Muhammadu Buharis shoot at sight order to security agents on ballot box snatchers was given in the effort to discourage polls rigging, The Sun reports. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda Speaking during a rally in Ondo, Ilori said that the order is aimed at tackling thuggery and all ant-electoral activities which, according to him, has remained a template in the country's elections. The APC leader remarked that the ruling party is ready for hitch-free and fair presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday, February 23. PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet! He said that President Muhammadu Buhari's achievements especially in the area of economy is evident across the country, hence the move to support his re-election bid. Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Lauretta Onochie, a social media aide to President Buhari, on Tuesday, February 19, declared that the alleged controversial warning to would-be ballot snatchers during the elections is backed by the laws of the country. Onochie, who made her position known on her social media handle, cited sections of the electoral law to back her claim. Legit.ng had reported that President Buhari warned those who think they can lead thugs to snatch ballot boxes to desist from such because they would do so at the expense of their own lives. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! Nigerians express total disappointment with INEC over election postponement | Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Election 2019: PDP supporters kick as police detains Senator Ibrahim There is currently outrage on social media by supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara state over the arrest of Senator Rafiu Ibrahim, a serving senator and senatorial candidate for the Kwara south senatorial district in the state. Ibrahim, the chairman Senate committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions, was arrested on Thursday, February 21 after clashes between his supporters and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The action of the police has sparked outrage by members of the PDP in the state and beyond, who are calling for the release of the senator via the hashtag #FreeSenRafiu READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda The PDP supporters accuse the police of bias and an attempt to intimidate the party ahead of the polls, but some APC members disagree, saying the senator must face justice for ordering his boys to shoot at the campaign train of his opponent. APC supporters say the shooting by Senator Ibrahim's boys resulted to the death of three party members, a claim Legit.ng couldn't verify at the time of this report. Meanwhile, a leading pro-democracy group in Kwara state, Kwara Must Change, said it received with great excitement, the news of arrests and detention of Senator Ibrahim and 9 other suspects. In a statement sent to Legit.ng on Thursday, February 21 by KMC state coordinator, Comrade Yusuf Olatunji, the group said more arrests should be made in connection to the attacks. Kwara Must Change is of the view that, while every suspect remain innocent until proven otherwise, we believe the arrest of Senator Rafiu shows that no one is above the law and that nobody, no matter how highly placed has a silence to kill or deprive other people of their fundamental rights to life, the group said. The group also urged the police to put necessary measures in place to prevent future violence and quickly complete investigation and charge the suspects to court for fair hearing. In its reaction, the Peoples Democratic Party called for the immediate and unconditional release of Senator Ibrahim and other members of the party. The party said the federal legislator and his supporters were framed-up, arrested and detained by the police in Kwara state unlawfully. PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update The PDP holds that the continued detention of Senator Ibrahim on the eve of a crucial election, in which he is a lead contender, is completely provocative. The party also cautions the police to stop harassing, arresting and detaining its members on flimsy charges, as such will directly pitch security agents against the people in a manner that might spark off violent resistance with regrettable consequences. This resort to police brutality by the APC is a script by a losing team which seeks to introduce violence and use the police to execute their rigging plots, PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbodiyan said in a statement sent to Legit.ng on Friday, February 22. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better. What has changed in Nigeria since the last election? | - on Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Kwara APC fumes over attack on members during Osinbajo's visit - The attack on the convoy of VP Yemi Osinbajo has been condemned by the APC in Kwara state - The party chairman said it is an unacceptable act of impunity for criminals to be bold enough to carry out an attack while the countrys number two man was visiting the state - Security agencies were urged to intensify their efforts in order to rid the state of those who are bent on sabotaging the elections The Kwara chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the gun attack against party members during Thursdays visit of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to Ilorin. In a statement issued in Ilorin on Friday, February 22, the Kwara APC chairman, Bashir Bolarinwa, called on the security agencies to swiftly arrest and bring the perpetrators to justice. He said the unprovoked attack was the second of such in three days against APC members and supporters in the state. Bolarinwa recalled a similar attack on the campaign train of the partys candidate for the Kwara South senatorial district, Lola Ashiru, in Ojoku that left one dead, another fighting for his life and many others injured. READ ALSO: Elections 2019: See 14 battleground states that may be won and lost by Buhari and Atiku (list) He said it is an unacceptable act of impunity for criminals to be so emboldened as to carry out an attack while the countrys number two man was visiting. "We are therefore calling on the security agencies to clamp down on these criminals and swiftly bring them to justice in order to create a peaceful atmosphere for the people of Kwara to exercise their franchise at the polls on Saturday and on March 9," he said. The Kwara APC chairman said he is aware that the security agencies have started arresting thugs, hoodlums and other criminals across the state. He urged them to intensify their efforts in order to rid the state of those who are bent on sabotaging the elections. Bolarinwa commended APC faithful for showing restraint despite the unprovoked and obviously pre-meditated attacks against them, and urged them to continue to maintain peace before, during and after the elections. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda "Our members should never resort to self help, because we have confidence in the ability of the security agencies to ensure the security of life and property across the state," he said. The convoy of Osinbajo was allegedly attacked by suspected thugs in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara state on Thursday, February 21. Many reportedly sustained various degrees of injury from the incident which happened at the Isale-Koko area of Ilorin. The APC governorship candidate in Kwara had earlier condemned the alleged attack on Osinbajo's convoy in Ilorin, Kwara state, by suspected political thugs. Legit.ng reported that while briefing newsmen on Thursday, February 21, Rafiu Ajakaye, media aide to the gubernatorial candidate, accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of masterminding the attack. The attack, which occurred at Isale Aluko, a settlement at the heart of Ilorin, reportedly left many APC supporters with gunshot wounds. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We keep evolving to serve our readers better. 6 things that may happen on Election Day | Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Elections 2019: PDP chieftain asks Buhari to explain when military can shoot during electoral violence - Chief Newuwumi Omolubi, a PDP leader, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to explain when the military can shoot - The PDP chieftain said the clarification is necessary so that electorates can know how to protect themselves - Omolubi also condemned the president's statement on ballot snatching on the basis that it is dangerous to human lives Chief Newuwumi Omolubi, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, has asked for clarification on when the military can shoot in the case of electoral misconduct. He made the request for the clarification at a media conference on Friday, February 22, saying the need for explanation is necessary so that other electorates lives are not endangered in the process, The Nation reports. READ ALSO: Elections 2019: See 14 battleground states that may be won and lost by Buhari and Atiku (list) The PDP chieftain who a member of the campaign committee of the PDP in Warri north council area of Delta state said President Muhammadu Buharis statement on ballot snatching is very dangerous to human lives during the forthcoming electoral exercise. He said: In between the four communities in my ward, there is a military houseboat. Now if the people who most times help the INEC people to convey their materials, at which stage will Buhari want the soldier to shoot. The communities are the ones that help the INEC staff to move these materials because of the distance and the difficult terrain, so at which stage does it become dangerous for my people. I am seeking this clarification to guide my people to know when to stop their services to the ad hoc staff of INEC to avoid killing of innocent civilians whose main concern is to help INEC smooth operation PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet! Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the Progressive Yoruba Youths (PYY) reportedly supported President Muhammadu Buharis strict measures put in place against Nigerians plotting to jeopardise the forthcoming elections by snatching ballot boxes. Buhari had on Monday, February 18 said anyone caught in the act of ballot box snatching, will do so at the cost of their lives. "Anybody who decides to snatch ballot boxes or lead thugs to disturb, it may be that [this will be] the last unlawful action you will take," Buhari had said. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! Kano man who earns 10k weekly vows to vote for Buhari | Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | On February 23 we can remove an incumbent; just like 2015 - Atiku tells Nigerians - Alhaji Atiku Abubakar says Nigerians have a fresh opportunity to vote out an incumbent on Saturday, February 23; just like 2015 - The presidential candidate said he was proud of being a Nigerian when the electorate used their PVC's to change government, four years ago - The former vice president urged Nigerians to come out to vote; stating that this election is about their future and the future of the nation Just like 2015, Nigerians have a fresh opportunity to vote out an incumbent on Saturday, February 23, says Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The former vice president made the comment on Thursday, February 21, during a live broadcast on Facebook, Tribune reports. READ ALSO: Nigerians react as INEC releases total number of PVCs collected Legit.ng gathers that Atiku said he was proud of being a Nigerian when the electorate, four years ago, used their Permanent Voters Cards (PVC's) to change government. He said February 23 presents another opportunity for history to be repeated. He urged citizens to come out en masse and cast their votes; warning that if they failed to do so, they "will be accepting that the next four years will be like the last. He added: The reasons we have elections is to allow us to have our voices heard on how we have been governed for the last four years and who will govern us for the next four years. On March 28, 2015, we the people of Nigeria went to our polling units armed only with our PVC's and yet we were able to remove an incumbent president from office. That made me very proud to be a Nigerian and a democrat. This Saturday, well have the opportunity to do so again. My message to you is simple: Please come out to vote as this election is about your future and the future of our great nation. On election day, we are all equal, as no single vote is more important than any other. But if you do not vote, you will be accepting that the next four years will be like the last." PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the presidential candidate of the National Interest Party (NIP), Eunice Atuejide, withdrew from the rescheduled presidential and National Assembly elections. Atuejide, who is the founder and chairperson of the NIP, said the race is now between President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)'s candidate, Atiku Abubakar. She said she is now committed to supporting Atiku, as she considers him a better candidate. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! Atiku may win and Buhari will be declared winner - on Legit TV: [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Election 2019: Observer group reviews INEC's preparedness ahead of polls - YIAGA Africa's Watching The Vote (WTV) has issued a statement on INEC's preparedness for the rescheduled 2019 elections - The election observer group says it is concerned with reports of shortfalls in sensitive and non-sensitive materials - The group, however, commended the openness of INEC especially in sharing information with stakeholders Election observer group, YIAGA Africa's Watching The Vote (WTV) has issued a statement on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)'s preparedness for the rescheduled 2019 presidential and National Assembly elections. The group hailed INEC for implementing its operational plan following the postponement of the election, but expressed concerns with reports of shortfalls in sensitive and non-sensitive materials distributed by INEC nationwide ahead of the polls. The group's stance was made known at a press briefing on Thursday, February 21 addressed by board member of YIAGA Africa, Aisha Abdullahi. READ ALSO: APC to field governorship, other candidates in Zamfara - Appeal court rules Following their observation, YIAGA Africa noted the following; 1. Openness of INEC YIAGA Africa commends the commitment of INEC to sharing information with stakeholders through the daily briefing by the INEC chairman. This daily briefing has availed citizens with adequate information on INECs preparations. INEC should maintain this briefing throughout the 2019 elections and it should be replicated at the state and local government by Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) and Electoral Officers. (EO) INEC must ensure a high degree of transparency at all levels. However, reports received by YIAGA Africa indicates that some RECs and EOs are reluctant to share information with relevant stakeholders on the state of INECs preparedness for the elections. 2. Deployment of Election Material YIAGA Africa is concerned with reports of shortfalls in sensitive and non-sensitive materials like results sheets, stamps and indelible ink. We are also worried with reported cases of mistakes in the deployment of materials to some states. To avert confusion and crisis, INEC needs to ensure a comprehensive open and inclusive audit of retrieved materials. Where materials have been wrongly deployed to states, INEC should ensure the materials are redeployed. In the event of shortfalls, INEC should engage local vendors to print materials to address reported cases of shortfalls. 3. Violence, Hate Speech and Misinformation YIAGA Africa notes a surge in the propagation of hate speech, fake news and misinformation following the postponement of the election. This portends great danger to peace and national security. Electoral stakeholders especially candidates and political party leaders should refrain from heating up the polity as Nigeria is on a fringe of a potential electoral conflict if caution is not exercised. 4. Election Security Security agencies should exercise their functions within constitutional limits. The rights of citizens must be respected before, during and after the elections. YIAGA Africa reminds all security agencies involved in election security operations that the 2010 Electoral Act as amended prescribes electoral offences and sanctions. Therefore, it will be unconstitutional and a disregard of the rule of law to invoke sanctions not prescribed by law for electoral offences. READ ALSO:APC calls off campaigns ahead of presidential election YIAGA Africa deployed a total of 3,906 election observers throughout the country for the election. The group also deployed observers to the state collation centres in every state. This deployment will enable YIAGA Africa to provide the most timely and accurate information on the opening of polls; the conduct of accreditation and voting; and the counting, announcement and posting of results throughout the country. The group called on Nigerians, political parties and candidates, INEC and security agencies to also play their parts to ensure a peaceful, credible and inclusive process. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: We have updated to serve you better! International, local observers comment on poll's shift | Legit TV | #Election2019 [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Elections 2019: We won't interfere - Foreign country assures Nigeria - The Peoples Republic of China says it won't interfere in Nigeria's elections - The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said his country always stands for the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries - The spokesman says China hopes and believes that Nigeria's elections will be held successfully and smoothly The Peoples Republic of China has stated that it won't interfere in Nigeria's elections taking place on Saturday, February 23. The disclosure was made on Thursday, February 21, by the spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Geng Shuang, while addressing members of the media during a press conference, Daily Trust reports. READ ALSO: APC leaders in Niger, others shun one-million-man march for Buhari Legit.ng gathers that he said: China always stands for the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs. We believe the Nigerian government and people are capable of managing the relevant election affairs." The spokesman also added that his country hopes and believes that Nigerias presidential and National Assembly elections will be held successfully and smoothly. Shuang noted Nigerias importance to Africa's development and that of the global community. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Recall that Legit.ng previously reported that ahead of the 2019 general elections, the minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, urged the international community to respect the sovereignty of Nigeria and allow her solve internal challenges without interference. Onyeama said that Nigeria, being a sovereign nation, would not allow herself to be dictated to, since she would not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! International, local observers comment on polls shift - on Legit TV: [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Election 2019: FJP presidential candidate asks Buhari to address Nigerians on shoot-at-sight order - President Muhammadu Buhari's recent comment on electoral practices continues to generate reactions nationwide - The president had warned that anyone who attempted to snat*ch ballot boxes during the polls would pay with his life - The presidential candidate of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), Dr. Onwubuya John Breakforth, has urged the president to clarify the statement The presidential candidate of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), Dr. Onwubuya John Breakforth, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to clarify his recent statement on electoral practices. Breakforth specifically wants the president to deliver a nationwide address to Nigerians, especially to tell security agencies that he did not instruct them to kill Nigerians extra-judicially. The president had warned that anyone who attempted to snat*ch ballot boxes during the polls would pay with his life, a comment many feared would be misinterpreted by the security agencies. The president's clarification, he said, would prevent voters apathy, stressing that Buhari's comment could be misinterpreted by some overzealous security agents to harm innocent citizens. READ ALSO: On February 23 we can remove an incumbent; just like 2015 - Atiku He also lament that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and President Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who are the two leading candidates have been engrossed in accusations and counter accusations, stating that the nation was not at war. We condemn the persistence trade of words between APC and PDP, accusations and counter accusations. Nobody should throw this country into war zone because of his political ambition, he said. He said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is ready to give Nigerians the best of democratic experience and should be supported to achieve that. Onwubuya who absolved INEC of wrong doing over last weeks election postponement, said the postponement happened in the interest of the nation, as INEC was confronted with huge challenge of fielding over 3,000 candidates at once. INEC postponed election last week in the interest of the country. This is the first time, INEC is fielding over 3,000 candidates and one could imagine the challenge. More so, INEC postponed the election due to sabotage by some government agencies responsible for movement of sensitive materials, Onwubuya said. He expressed optimism that the presidential polls would be free and fair, adding that the umpire was well prepared, even as he urged INEC to ensure that all the likely lapses are addressed. On his party's preparations for the polls, he said: FJP is fully in the race for all elective offices across the country. Our FCT senatorial candidate, Archbishop Prof. Leonard Bature Kawas has not step down for any body and are fully in the race to win FCT senatorial seat and give new face to FCT residents. We urge all FCT residence and indeed all Nigerians to vote for the HORN party at all levels. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda Meanwhile, Senator Shehu Sani has raised concerns that President Buharis statements on what will befall snatchers of ballot boxes can encourage lawless persons to engage in jungle justice. Sani, the lawmaker representing Kaduna Central senatorial district, said those who sna*ch ballot boxes should rather be arrested and prosecuted to avoid jungle justice. The lawmaker wrote on Twitter: Those who attempt to sna*ch or snatched ballot boxes should be arrested and brought to book; this is a better expression to avoid jungle justice or licence for disorder by thugs who may take the law into their hands. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better. 2019 election: Who will win? Anambra residents speak | Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | APC ends all campaigns ahead of presidential election - APC dissociates itself from any form of campaign activity promoting its candidates, President Buhari and Yemi Osinbajo as from 12am of Friday, February 22 - Festus Keyamo, the spokesperson for the APC presidential campaign council, thanks Nigerians for the support they showed to its presidential and vice presidential candidate during campaign tours - Keyamo urges the party supporters to go to their various polling units on Saturday, February 23, without any campaign material and cast our votes for the APC The All Progressives Congress (APC) has stated that it has stopped all campaigns and related activities related to the presidential election as from Thursday, February 21, at 11.59pm, in accordance with the Electoral Act 2010 as amended. READ ALSO: INEC releases total number of PVCs collected ahead of general elections The party in a statement made available to Legit.ng on Thursday, evening February 21, by Festus Keyamo, the spokesperson for the APC presidential campaign council, disassociated itself from any form of campaign activity promoting its candidates President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo from 12 midnight of Friday, February 22, 2019. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda The party thanked its party members and Nigerians for the support they showed to its presidential and vice presidential candidate during campaign tours across the country. The APC urged its supporters to go to their various polling units on Saturday, February 23, without any campaign material and cast our votes for President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Meanwhile, the former vice president of Nigeria and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has vowed not to let cabals overtake his government if elected into power in the February 23 election. Daily Trust reports that Atiku made this statement while interacting with stakeholders from the 23 local government areas of Kaduna state, at the Trade Fair complex The PDP presidential candidate who promised to sell the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), also claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari is not in control of his government and charged him to relinquish his power as the minister of petroleum. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better. 6 things that may happen on Election Day | Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Thugs reportedly attack VP Osinbajo convoy in Kwara - Vice President Yemi Osinbajo's convoy is allegedly attacked by thugs in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara state - The police confirms the incident, but says Osinbajo was not at the scene of the incident - The law enforcement agency confirms that no death was recorded but many were injured The convoy of Nigerias vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, was allegedly attacked by suspected thugs in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara state on Thursday, February 21, resulting in gun-shots and many sustaining various degrees of injury. It was learnt that the incident happened at the Isale-Koko area of Ilorin The Nation reports that the APC governorship candidate in the state, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, condemned the alleged attack and described it as the brazen attack today in Ilorin on the convoy of the Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo by armed PDP thugs. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda The vice president was at Isale Aluko suburb of Ilorin on a door-to-door campaign when some dare-devil gunmen opened fire at his convoy which included thousands of APC members and supporters. In what is a reminiscence of the Offa robbery, this attack is the height of recklessness on the part of these street urchins who have long been empowered and armed by the discredited dynasty to terrorise our community and anyone who has contrary views to their amala politics. Coming just a day after two of our supporters were killed in Ojoku in the convoy of our senatorial candidate Architect Lola Ashiru, this is becoming too much and the madness must stop. Going into an election with these thugs clearly on the loose is an existential threat not just to all of us challenging the misrule in our state but to the entire people of the state and their properties. We call for immediate arrest and prosecution of these thugs. We also demand investigations to reveal those who gave the orders for these deadly attacks. We call for all measures to be taken to ensure safety of lives and properties and sanctity of the ballot box in Kwara and beyond. PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news updates No ones political interest should be at the expense of human lives and their properties. The incident was confirmed by the state command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), through its spokesperson, DSP Ajayi Okasanmi. He, however, said Osinbajo was at the at the scene where the incident occurred. Legit.ng earlier reported that no fewer than five persons were reportedly killed on Thursday, February 21, at Bebeji local government area of Kano state when supporters of former governor of the state, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, and the former House committee chairman on appropriation, Alhaji Abdulmumuni Jibrin Kofa engaged in a bloody clash. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better. 6 things that may happen on Election Day | Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Buhari to deliver another broadcast ahead of presidential election President Muhammadu Buhari will on Friday, February 22, deliver a broadcast to the nation at 7am with a repeat at 9pm, Femi Adesina, the presidents spokesperson has disclosed. Adesina, in a statement in Abuja on Thursday night, February 21, enjoined all television, radio stations and other electronic media outlets to hook up to the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority and Radio Nigeria for the broadcast, The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. READ ALSO: INEC releases total number of PVCs collected ahead of general elections President Buhari had on February 14, delivered a broadcast to the nation prior to the aborted February 16 presidential and National Assembly elections. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had shifted the conduct of the presidential and National Assembly elections to February 23. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has stated that it has ended all campaigns and related activities related to the presidential election on Thursday, February 21, at 11.59pm in accordance to the electoral act 2010 as amended. The party in a statement made available to Legit.ng on Thursday, evening February 21, by the Festus Keyamo, the spokesperson for the APC presidential campaign council, disassociated itself from any form of campaign activity or advertisement in any news or social media promoting the its candidates President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo from 12am of Friday, February 22, 2019. The party thanked its supporters, party members and Nigerians for support they showed to its presidential and vice presidential candidates during campaign tours across 36 states in the country. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better. 6 things that may happen on Election Day | Legit TV: [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Kajuru attack Police commissioner counters Governor El-Rufai over casualty figure - The commissioner of police in Kaduna says the actual casualty figure of the attack on Kajuru village cannot be known currently - The commissioner says the police is still carrying on its investigation into the attack on the village - The police commissioner argues that professionally, it is wrong to dish out varying figures Ahmad Abdurrahman, the commissioner of police in Kaduna state has deferred with Governor Nasir El-Rufai over the actual casualty figure which arose from the alleged recent attack on the Kajuru village on the eve of the rescheduled elections. Legit.ng learnt that Abdurrahman said that the police was yet to conclude its investigation into the incident and as a result, it would not confirm any figure. Right now, if the governor tells you even 200, he is just quoting figures. It may be more than that or less than that. For example, the areas you have visited where we were told that 36 bodies were buried, It was not under the purview of the security at the beginning of the investigation until when the Fulani victims themselves came out crying after we have secured all the places with our military counterpart. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda They now approach the military that come and escort us to come and bury our relations. That was when it was uncovered. As I told the governor himself, I said figures in a crisis of this magnitude should be left until all investigations have been finished. All those areas we are getting information are covered. You cannot come up with a figure. You will come and say a figure and later you have to come and say it again. And this is what is happening. As far as police is concerned we are investigating and investigation is still at embryonic stage. By the time we reach all areasas Im talking to you now, my men are still in the bush, plus SEMA and other CSOs. Thats why professionally, we dont come out with figures until when we are sure and concluded our investigation. So, you see that there is no reason to say this one said this figure or that one said this figure, he said while warning that nobody should puncture the investigation. There had been controversies surrounding the alleged attack with some groups doubting the governors sincerity and claiming that the figure may have been inflated. El-Rufai earlier claimed that the incident resulted in 66 deaths. He later said the casualty figure had risen to 130. Premium Times reports Shehu Sani, one of the senators from the state, as criticizing the claim that 130 people were killed. PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news updates What I found out about the killing is that it happened between Sunday and Monday. The figures for the death are within the range of 10 to 15. The state government exaggerated the figures and also timed the announcement of it in view of the fact that that place is remote and beyond the reach of many journalists, he was quoted as saying. Legit.ng earlier reported that the Kaduna state gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Isah Ashiru, recently urged the state government and security agencies to fish out and prosecute those involved in the killings of villagers in Kajuru area of the state. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better. 'My daughter's husband used her for money rituals' - Nigeria Street Gist | Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... President Muhammadu Buhari will make a broadcast to the nation on Friday, at 7 am, according to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina. There will be with a repeat at 9 pm. All television, radio stations and other electronic media outlets are enjoined to hook up to the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority and Radio Nigeria for the broadcast, the statement added. KINDLY DROP A COMMENT BELOW Award-winning Ghanaian international Producer/DJ GuiltyBeatz releases his first singe of the year Pilolo, featuring the Banku Music CEO Mr Eazi & Ground Up Chale main export Kwesi Arthur The word Pilolo is relatable to many Ghanaians. Its mainly a game of hide and seek which involves intelligence, fun and wit. Famous dancer Incredible Zigi also created a ground breaking dance move with the same name. [embedded content] DOWNLOAD/STREAM HERE For Immediate Release Chicago, IL February 22, 2019 - Stocks in this weeks article are Mallinckrodt Public Limited Co. MNK, Dell Technologies Inc. DELL, American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. AXL, Daqo New Energy Corp. DQ and General Motors Company GM. Buy These 5 Stocks with Attractive Sales Growth Right Now Steady sales growth is vital to the survival of any business. Sales growth not only offers an insight into product demand and pricing power, it also is important for growth projections and strategic decision making. Nonetheless, investors often fail to consider sales growth as a dependable metric. This might be because of investors preconceived notion that a companys stock price is typically sensitive to its earnings momentum. But investors must look for a strong relationship between sales growth levels and the value of an enterprise. This is because in cases where companies incur a loss, albeit transitorily, they are valued on their revenues, as top-line growth (or decline) is usually an indicator of a companys future performance. Further, investors should make sure that sales are not only increasing but the growth rate is rising as well. Sales growth rate for the current year should exceed the prior years growth. Therefore, the Price-to-Sales (P/S) ratio can turn out to be an appropriate metric for stock valuation. This metrics importance lies in the fact that management has limited opportunities to manipulate revenues, unlike earnings. However, a huge sales number does not necessarily convert into profits. Hence, considering a companys cash position along with its sales number can prove to be a more dependable strategy. Substantial cash in hand and a steady cash flow give a company more flexibility with respect to business decisions and investments. For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/355920/6-low-pricetobook-stocks-for-value-investors Story continues Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. About Screen of the Week Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine. But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use. Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has more than doubled the market from 1988 through 2016. Its average gain has been a stellar +25% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>. 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This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. 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 General Motors Company (GM) : Free Stock Analysis Report American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (AXL) : Free Stock Analysis Report DAQO New Energy Corp. (DQ) : Free Stock Analysis Report Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Mallinckrodt public limited company (MNK) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research By Karen Freifeld and Nathan Layne (Reuters) - The Manhattan district attorney is pursuing criminal charges against Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, whether or not Trump pardons him for his federal convictions, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday. The charges originate from unpaid state taxes and likely are also related to loans, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because charges have not been filed. A spokesman for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance declined to comment, and as did a spokesman for Manafort. Manafort, 69, was convicted in Alexandria, Virginia, federal court in August of bank and tax fraud and pleaded guilty in a parallel criminal case in Washington, both part of the U.S. special counsel's investigation of possible collusion between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign. He is scheduled for sentencing next month and could be sent to prison for a decade or more. However, Trump has fueled speculation that he might pardon Manafort by not ruling out the prospect and by showing sympathy with his plight. During Manafort's trial in Virginia, Trump called him a "very good person" and labeled the tax and bank fraud case against him "very sad." Under an unusual arrangement, Manaforts attorney also kept Trump informed about his meetings with U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller after he agreed to cooperate, as Reuters reported in October. A U.S. president can only issue pardons for federal crimes, so Manafort could still face prison if he is found guilty of any state charges. However, New York has broad double jeopardy protections that usually prevent the state from prosecuting a person for crimes arising from the same criminal conduct the federal government has prosecuted before. But taxes are fair game, said Marc Scholl, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney's office, noting that the double jeopardy protections do not apply to state taxes. New York amended the law in 2011 after state tax charges against New York hotel owner Leona Helmsley were thrown out because they were based on the same criminal transaction as her convictions on federal tax evasion. After that, New York law recognized "that a failure to pay what is owed to the state is different than a failure to pay what is owed to the federal government even if its based on the same income," Scholl said. Democratic lawmakers in New York also have introduced legislation to do away with other protections to prevent people from being tried twice for the same crime in cases of presidential pardon. But the measure has not yet been adopted by the legislature in Albany. The New York Times reported earlier on Friday that a grand jury in Manhattan state court was hearing evidence against Manafort. Bloomberg also reported on possible charges on Friday. Reuters reported last year that some of Manaforts New York property loans were under investigation by Vance. The state prosecutor issued subpoenas to lenders, including Federal Savings Bank of Chicago, a small bank that provided millions in loans to Manafort. But state prosecutors held off on pursuing their investigation to not impede Mueller's work. Manafort is the only person charged by Mueller to go to trial. Over 30 other people and three companies have either been indicted or pleaded guilty in the investigation of suspected Russian interference in 2016 to help Trump get elected. Both Trump and Russia have denied any wrongdoing. (Reporting by Karen Freifeld and Nathan Layne in New York; additional reporting by Lisa Lambert in Washington; Editing by Daniel Grebler and Grant McCool) NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) An official in Burundi says the withdrawal of 1,000 Burundian soldiers from the African Union regional force in Somalia has begun. The military official in Burundi, who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press, said Thursday that about 200 soldiers boarded a flight from Somalia to Burundi's capital, Bujumbura, in the afternoon. More soldiers are expected to be flown back from Burundi in the coming weeks. The African Union says it plans to withdraw the 21,500 troops that it has in Somalia by the end of 2020. The AU force, made up of soldiers from several African countries, has for years tried to secure the Horn of Africa country against the Islamic extremist rebels of al-Shabab. The final weekend of February will deliver a wild potpourri of weather as winter and spring do battle across the United States. Blizzard conditions are possible in the Upper Midwest Saturday and Sunday as a potent winter storm hammers the region. Portions of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan should see 8-12 inches of snow, while parts of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan could pick up 20 inches. Snow-weary Minneapolis could see several inches, adding to its record February snowfall of 31.7 inches. Freezing rain will also bring icy misery and dismal travel conditions to much of Wisconsin and northern Michigan. The Weather Channel has named the storm Winter Storm Quiana. No other private meteorological companies, nor the National Weather Service, uses that name. In addition to the snow, temperatures will drop to 20 degrees below zero overnight Sunday into Monday in the northern Plains. Wind chills will approach 40 below zero in North Dakota. Farther south, the U.S. will also see its first significant tornado threat of the year this weekend. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. On Saturday, an outbreak of severe weather will unleash strong winds and a few tornadoes to the Mid-South. Eastern Arkansas, northern Mississippi, and southwestern Tennessee are the areas at highest risk, according to the Storm Prediction Center. The metro area most at risk for dangerous severe storms is Memphis. Other parts of the South will endure ongoing rounds of drenching rain and the potential for more flooding, all the way from Arkansas to West Virginia. Over 20 million people are at risk for floods. The Tennessee River could crest at a level unseen in decades. Already, dozens of school districts were closed Friday due to flooding. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Meanwhile, the winter storm will also unleash ferocious winds across the central and eastern U.S. On Saturday, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas will see the strongest winds. Winds will be especially strong for the Great Lakes states and Northeast on Sunday. Wind gusts of up to 75 mph could knock down trees, cut power and lead to travel problems. Story continues "For some, it may seem more like an inland hurricane, rather than a winter storm," said Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The storm has already wreaked havoc in the western U.S, bringing rare snowfalls to Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Tucson the past few days. Flagstaff, Arizona, was buried with nearly 3 feet of snow just on Thursday alone, which was the city's snowiest day on record, the weather service said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wild weather weekend: Blizzard, tornadoes, floods, ferocious winds all expected Frank Gorenc Security, Unfortunately, todays fighter force mix, despite increasing numbers of F-35s over time and upgraded F-22s, will likely not be enough to meet future needs. America needs the F-15X. Why the Air Force (As In the F-22 and F-35) Needs Boeing's F-15X Fighter America depends on airpower. Airpower underpins the military options leaders use to enhance deterrence and if deterrence fails, to fight and win with minimum casualties. A key element of Americas airpower is the fighter force. Historically, fighter aircraft development has shaped militaries and tactics like no other combat system. Todays emerging technologies, concepts of operations (CONOPs), and tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) have increased fighter effectiveness to extraordinary levels. The U.S. Air Force flies a mix of 4th and 5th generation fighters. The 4th gen F-15, F-16 and A-10 fleet is very capable and continues to be the backbone of todays force. Fourth gen fighters fill the majority of the combatant commander (COCOM) taskings including homeland air defense alert and expeditionary taskings worldwide. The smaller fleet of 5th gen fighters are low density/high demand with 187 F-22s and 150+ F-35s. Stealth and sensor fusion technologies make them the most lethal and survivable fighters in the world. The Air Force intends to continue procuring 48+ F-35s per year and upgrading the F-22. Up to this point, the complementary mix of a small but stealthy 5th gen fleet combined with a large fleet of very capable 4thgen fighters has proven adequate in meeting todays warfighting needs. Unfortunately, todays fighter force mix, despite increasing numbers of F-35s over time and upgraded F-22s, will likely not be enough to meet future needs. Specifically: Current operations tempo for the entire fighter fleet remains high without any relief in sight. Future fighter availability will be reduced or restricted due to needed upgrades, including the F-22 and early models of the F-35. 4thgen maintenance and operating costs continue to climb, and upgrades are costly, time-consuming and potentially cost may prohibitive. Adversaries continue to invest in technologies designed to find, fix, target and engage 5thgen fighters. This will minimize and could totally deny the asymmetric advantages we have today. 5thgen weapons internal weapons load capacity is limited. 5thgen procurement will continue to be constrained by production and budget limitations, particularly in the short term. 5thgen cost per flying hour (CPFH) is significantly higher than the F-15X, and CPFH for 4th gen fleet is increasing significantly as they get older. One clear solution to mitigate these challenges is the immediate introduction of Boeings F-15X into the current fighter force. While DoD was focused on getting the F-35 IOC and increasing inventory, Boeing continued to improve the capability and capacity of one of the most successful fighters in history. The F-15X is a 4th gen ++ fighter that will significantly complement the capabilities of the current fighter force with better sensors, more weapons capacity, reliable data links, and extended range. In addition, the F-15X will provide relief to the 5th gen fleet from missions that do not require stealth but require advanced sensors, weapons, datalinks, and range to optimize effectiveness and survivability. Story continues The F-15X is the common-sense answer to the limitations of both the current and future fighter force. Ten specific reasons include: It is immediately available, affordable and sustainable without additional training for aircrews and maintenance personnel. It is an aircraft with a combat-proven track record and an incredible 20,000-hour airframe life. It can deliver more weapons to any fight because it is not restricted by the number of hardpoints available in constrained 5thgen fighter weapon bays. The bed down will not require significant infrastructure improvements or new ground support equipment. The F-15X mission computer can instantaneously process and pass data on the Link 16 data link. This robust capability degrades the effects of ever-increasing adversary threat spoofing and jamming. In addition, it can readily integrate, share and extend the Link 16 network to other US, coalition and partner fighters. The F-35 has Link 16 capability, the F-22 has an aircraft-specific data link. The F-15X EPAWSS (Eagle Passive-Active Warning Survivability System) is an impressive electronic warfare (EW) and integrated countermeasure system (ICS) suite that makes the F-15X more survivable without dedicated assistance to survive. In addition, it can help support the EW tactical game plan of the 5thgen fleet. The F-15X will provide needed redundancy and significant additional fighter capability and capacity if adversaries are successful in degrading our current 5thgen advantages and effectiveness. F-15X capabilities will significantly expand force mix options, CONOPs, and TTPs for warfighters planning across the full spectrum of military conflict. This will make the enemys job even more difficult if not impossible to overcome. As a future FMS fighter option, it can help build partnership capacity with allies and partners who do not need, want or cannot afford a 5thgen fighter. Retaining another active fighter production line with the F-15X will help sustain a diverse industrial base and provide the needed capacity to defeat great power, near-peer adversaries as described in the National Defense Strategy (NDS) Adding the F-15X to the current 4th and 5th gen fighter mix is a reasonable and affordable way to ensure the viability and strength of the future fighter force. Many will argue we cannot afford to add another fighter to our current inventory. However, adding the F-15X is really about adding needed capability so that todays 4th and 5th gen fighter mix is ready to meet future warfighting requirements. Considering the possibility of an existential great power, near-peer conflict with China or Russia as described in the NDS, I say we have no choice. General Frank Gorenc USAF (Ret.), is a four-star general who served as Commander of Allied Air Command, NATO and U.S. Air Forces in Europe. This first appeared in RealClearDefense here. Read full article WASHINGTON (AP) The White House said Friday it's "looking into" Labor Secretary Alex Acosta's handling of a secret plea deal with a wealthy financier accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls A federal judge ruled Thursday that prosecutors in Florida violated the rights of victims by reaching the non-prosecution agreement with Jeffrey Epstein. Acosta was the Miami U.S. attorney who oversaw the arrangement. President Donald Trump said he didn't know much about the case but volunteered that Acosta has done "a great job" as labor secretary. As for the Epstein case, Trump added, "That seems like a long time ago" Trump's spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, called it a "complicated case." She added that it was "something we're certainly looking into, but that they made the best possible decision and deal they could have gotten at that time." Asked if Trump still had confidence in Acosta, Sanders said: "Again, we're looking into the matter. I'm not aware of any changes." Acosta has called the deal appropriate. Volkswagen Group (VOW3-DE) Chief Executive Herbert Diess told CNBC Friday that he hopes the German auto firm has done enough to please President Donald Trump and avoid punitive import tariffs. Washington is currently holding out for fresh trade talks with the European Union and has said if it's not satisfied it could slap tariffs on EU cars and parts coming into the United States. Trump has complained about German cars' presence on U.S. streets and tweeted threats to tax European, and particularly German, vehicles. Diess has said import tariffs could cost VW as much 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) each year. The German firm announced in January that it's investing $800 million in its factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee to prepare the location for the production of new electric cars. Speaking to CNBC's Annette Weisbach at VW's Wolfsburg headquarters, the German car chief said the investment appeared to please the U.S. president. "We received a positive tweet," said Diess, before adding that he hoped VW would "do everything to avoid import taxes." Diess added that currently VW only has a 4 percent market share in the United States and is committed to growing that number to become a "volume producer." On a global basis VW Group posted 2018 full-year revenues of 235.8 billion euros on Friday. In its outlook for 2019, Diess said he expected a challenging year but predicted sales to rise by around 5 percent. The key market of China could prove a challenge, however, with Diess admitting that sales there had slowed in the final quarter of 2018 and January 2019 had witnessed a 10 percent slump year-on-year. Shares of Volkswagen initially rose after the news, but were 0.25 percent lower by 3:45 p.m. London time on Friday afternoon. A school in Virginia has apologized for a "culturally insensitive" activity about the Underground Railroad held during a physical education class. Students in third, fourth and fifth grades at Madison's Trust Elementary School in Ashburn, Va., pretended to be slaves while participating in an obstacle course representing the Underground Railroad, according to the Loudoun Times-Mirror. Michelle Thomas, president of the Loudoun County chapter of the NAACP, told the Times-Mirror that an African-American child in the class was designated a slave during the activity. Thomas told the paper she heard about the activity after hearing complaints from parents. "Obviously, hes the only one thats black, hes the only one that could have ever been related to someone who used to be a slave, and imagine him carrying that stigma all through school," Thomas told the Times-Mirror. The school's principal, David Stewart, sent a letter to students on Feb. 12 apologizing for the activity, calling it "culturally insensitive." "This is contradictory to our overall goals of empathy, affirmation, and creating a culturally responsive learning environment for all," said Stewart, according to a copy of the letter obtained by USA TODAY. In the letter, Stewart said the Underground Railroad lesson will be retaught "with an appropriate and respectful context." The lesson was meant to be a cooperative exercise where students worked together to move through six stations representing parts of the Underground Railroad, said Wayde Byard, public information officer with Loudoun County Public Schools. Byard told USA TODAY that the school is working with the local NAACP to ensure their curriculum is more "culturally attuned." "We still have some work to do," he said. Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Virginia school apologizes for 'insensitive' Underground Railroad activity Vietnamese authorities are preparing for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to arrive by train next week ahead of his summit with US president Donald Trump, several sources told AFP Friday. The leaders are slated to meet in Hanoi on February 27-28 to follow up on their first meeting last June in Singapore that ended with vaguely worded commitments on dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear programme. In the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong, which borders on North Korea, there were signs that Kim's train could be crossing over into China imminently en route to Vietnam. Guests at a hotel facing the bridge that Kim's train uses to enter China were told by staff to check out on Friday morning. The Zhonglian Hotel, which is along the Yalu river that separates the two countries, will also be closed on Saturday, staff said. Sources told AFP that Kim was expected to arrive in Vietnam by train ahead of his planned meeting with Trump and would visit two provinces to take notes on the country's post-war economic development. "We are preparing for the arrival of the (North Korean) delegation around the 25th of February. We are working on the arrival at Dong Dang railway station, then transfer to Hanoi by car," a source close to logistical preparations told AFP. Kim is expected to enter Dong Dang en route from Pyongyang, via Beijing, sources and media have said. A second logistics source confirmed the expected train arrival late on February 25 or February 26. Kim has previously travelled in an armoured train to Beijing and may stop in the Chinese capital on what could be an epic journey to Vietnam, meeting President Xi Jinping prior to his second face-to-face with the US president. Or he could save the meeting for his return trip to debrief his country's sole major ally. In an unprecedented move, Vietnam's Department of Roads also said Friday evening that large trucks would be banned from the road connecting the Dong Dang rail station near the China border to Hanoi on February 25. Story continues A complete ban on all vehicles along the 170-kilometre (105-mile) stretch of road will be in place from 6:00 am to 2:00 pm local time on February 26, implying Kim may arrive that day. Kim's foreign travel plans are routinely kept secret, with information only made public after his departure from Pyongyang, or upon his arrival home. Both sources said Kim planned to visit Quang Ninh and Bac Ninh provinces, home to several industrial zones. Bac Ninh is home to a Samsung factory, a major South Korean investor and leading exporter from Vietnam. The two logistical sources added that Kim could stay at the Melia hotel in central Hanoi, not far from the Government Guesthouse where the summit is expected to take place. Meanwhile, a security source at Hanoi's Noi Bai airport said a North Korean delegation had surveyed the site, but that the team had not been instructed to prepare for a "VIP visit" from Pyongyang, suggesting Kim was not expected to travel by plane. - Armoured train - Observers hope the much anticipated second summit between Kim and Trump will set deliverable goals after their first meeting failed to offer any real progress on North Korea's denuclearisation. Kim travelled to the Singapore meeting in a plane on loan from China, but uses a dark green armoured train -- reportedly outfitted with conference rooms and sleeping quarters -- for his trips to close ally Beijing. Vietnam, a close US ally that maintains ties with Beijing, has been touted as an economic model for isolated North Korea because of its glittering post-war growth that has seen it become one of Asia's fastest growing economies. burs-dma/rox At least one person has been shot dead by Venezuelan security forces during a clash on the border with Brazil, according to local officials. Another dozen people were injured after troops opened fire in the eastern town of Kumarakapay on Friday, according to doctors and witnesses. Gran Sabana mayor Emilio Gonzalez identified the woman who was killed as Zoraida Rodriguez, a member of an indigenous community. The mayor said members of the Pemon indigenous group clashed with the Venezuela National Guard and the army, who were moving tanks to the border. Mr Gonzalez claimed the soldiers fired rubber bullets and teargas. Some members of the areas indigenous community have expressed their support for the oppositions plans to bring in foreign aid over the border this weekend, despite the objection of President Nicolas Maduro. The embattled president closed his countrys border with Brazil late on Thursday amid an escalating standoff over allowing aid from the US to enter the country. Some Venezuelans crossed over into the Brazilian border city of Pacaraima, near Kumarakapay, to stock up on supplies shortly before the border was shut, according to Brazilian media. Brazilian authorities are reportedly still moving humanitarian aid to the countrys northern border with Venezuela. On Friday Brazils airforce sent a plane with food and medicine to Boa Vista in the northern state of Roraima. These will end up in Pacaraima, according to Associated Press. En route to Richard Bransons Venezuela Aid Live across the border in Colombia (Getty) Mr Maduro said he was also considering shuttering the border with neighbouring Colombia. The opposition has vowed to move aid from the US and other nations over the border from Colombia on Saturday. Earlier on Friday, an opposition lawmaker travelling across Venezuela in an attempt to collect the humanitarian aid at the Colombian border said somebody threw two large rocks at a bus in her caravan. Mariela Magallanes of the opposition-controlled National Assembly said the pre-dawn incident was a direct attack that left a backup driver injured. Ms Magallanes said the rocks went through the windshield on the passenger side. She said the driver was being treated for injuries. Story continues Duelling concerts near the border between Venezuela-Colombia border are set to take place later on Friday. Richard Branson is sponsoring a Live Aid-style concert featuring dozens of musicians including rock star Juanes in Colombia, while Mr Maduros socialist government is promising a three-day festival dubbed Hands Off Venezuela on the other. The eyes of the world will be on Venezuela, opposition politician David Smolansky said. Six hundred tons of aid, largely donated by the US, has been sitting for two weeks in a storage facility at the Tienditas International Bridge, close to where Mr Bransons concert will be held. Mr Maduro denies that any crisis exists, insisting the aid is a ploy by the Trump administration to overthrow his government. His military has placed a large tanker and two containers in the middle of the Tienditas bridge to block any supplies getting across. Additional reporting by agencies Miami (AFP) - US special representative Elliott Abrams departed the US on Friday for the Colombian city of Cucuta on a plane carrying American humanitarian aid for crisis-hit Venezuela. The US Air Force C-17 cargo plane left Homestead, south of Miami, and was to arrive in Cucuta later on Friday, a day before the deadline set by Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido for the entry of humanitarian assistance that President Nicolas Maduro is seeking to prohibit. Abrams told reporters at the military base the United States was sending medical supplies and enough food to feed 2,000 people for a month. "The humanitarian and the social-economic situation in Venezuela is very bad, there's a terrible need for food, for supplies, and the international community is responding," Abrams said. He reiterated the call for the Venezuelan military "not to block this desperately needed aid, aid that is needed by their own families in Venezuela." In Cucuta, Abrams will meet Colombian President Ivan Duque and his Chilean and Paraguayan counterparts, Sebastian Pinera and Mario Abdo. Since February 4, the US Agency for International Development has sent five aircraft carrying 191 metric tons of supplies, including medicine for 40,000 people for 90 days, medical equipment such as wheelchairs and crutches, and food. Maduro says the aid is a precursor for an American military intervention, while Guaido -- who has been recognized as acting president by more than 50 countries -- set a Saturday deadline for the aid to enter the country. Los Angeles (AFP) - A California couple pleaded guilty Friday to imprisoning and torturing 12 of their 13 children in a grisly "house of horrors" case that gained international attention. David Allen Turpin, 57, and his wife Louise Anna Turpin, 50, each pleaded guilty to 14 felony counts -- including one count of torture and three counts of willful child cruelty -- involving their children who range from three to 30 years old, the Riverside County District Attorney's office said. There were no charges involving the youngest child. "This is among the worst, most aggravated child abuse cases that I have ever seen or been involved in in my career as a prosecutor," District Attorney Michael Hestrin told reporters following the court hearing. Hestrin said he was satisfied with the plea as it would spare the children from having to testify at a trial. "We needed to determine whether proceeding to trial was worth having the victims testify in this case that has received worldwide media attention," he said. "We decided that the victims have endured enough torture and abuse. I personally met with the victims and, rest assured, they all are relieved to know this case has been resolved." The elder Turpins, who had initially pleaded not guilty in the case, face between 25 years to life in prison at their sentencing in April. The case came to light last year when one of the children -- 17-year-old daughter Jordan -- escaped through a window from the couple's home in the town of Perris, about two hours southeast of Los Angeles, and called the emergency services. - 'They chain us' - According to excerpts of the call released during court proceedings, she told the dispatcher that two of her siblings were chained to their beds so tightly that their skin was bruised and she struggled to tell the operator the home address. "I've never been out. I don't go out much," the teen said in the call. Story continues She told responding officers that the house was so dirty she couldn't breathe and that she and her siblings never took baths. "They chain us up if we do things we're not supposed to," she said. "Sometimes, my sisters wake up and start crying (because of the pain)." An officer who interviewed the teen after her escape said she was so emaciated that he first thought she was a child. He said the girl described a routine in which the children were forced to sleep 20 hours a day and in the middle of the night ate a combination of lunch and dinner that most often consisted of peanut butter sandwiches, chips and microwaved food. Hestrin said during previous court hearings that the children had been subjected to prolonged abuse, were allowed to shower once a year and never saw a doctor. "If the children were found to wash their hands above the wrist area, they were accused of playing in the water and they would be chained up," he said. One of the older children also told investigators that the couple would lock him and his siblings in cages as punishment and beat them with paddles. Since their rescue, the children have been in the care of child and adult protective services. "I met with all the victims prior to today, all of them, including the three-year-old," Hestrin said. "I was very taken by them, by their optimism, by their hope for their future. "They have a zest for life and huge smiles and I'm optimistic for them. And I think that's how they feel about their future." The Turpins moved from Texas to California in 2010. Investigators have said it is unclear what prompted the abuse. Under California law, both will be eligible for parole in 25 years because of their age. TIMMONSVILLE, S.C. (AP) During a trip to what's been called the "Corridor of Shame," an area that for years has been home to some of South Carolina's most underperforming school districts, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said Thursday that she's impressed with developments after intervention from state officials. "I applaud the direction that the school and the district have taken to really meet the needs of individual students and to be willing to meet those needs," the nation's top education official said after a tour of a technical school in Florence. Accompanied by State Education Superintendent Molly Spearman, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, DeVos' visit comes amid ongoing debate about how to improve South Carolina's education system, with legislative leaders and the governor saying they're placing a priority on the issue this session. On Thursday, a House subcommittee unanimously voted to send an education overhaul bill to the full Education Committee. Gov. Henry McMaster, who has asked officials for a study of the decades-old formula that determines how districts are funded, pledged in his State of the State address last month that "the words 'Corridor of Shame' will be a distant memory," recalling the phrase coined in a 2005 documentary that depicted decrepit conditions and deteriorating buildings. The area for a time became a pilgrimage site of sorts for public officials as an example of the need to make reforms to the state's schools. In 2007, then-Sen. Barack Obama toured a school, a portion of which was still in use and dated to the late 19th century. Dozens of rural districts were part of a decades-old lawsuit over education funding. In a 1999 ruling, justices coined the phrase "minimally adequate education," immediately bothering many people who thought South Carolina should aspire to being more than adequate at something as important as public education. Story continues The state Supreme Court, which ruled in 2014 that rural schools had violated the South Carolina Constitution by failing to provide each student with quality education, ultimately closed the case, ruling that officials had resolved the overarching dispute. Some improvements in the area have come at the behest of the state Education Department, which in recent years has taken control of several districts in attempt to get them on firmer financial footing. On Thursday, DeVos said she was encouraged to see improvements like a more diverse curriculum that have come since last year, when Spearman declared a state of emergency in Florence School District Four and took over its management. "The course correction that's been made has been terrific," DeVos said. Officials say administrative costs in the district had been more than $1.2 million annually. By sharing some services with neighboring districts, state officials say they've saved over $600,000 in the struggling district's budget. Officials are hopeful that educational successes will continue to grow once the district is on surer financial footing. In a sprawling complex of buildings that houses several Florence Four schools, DeVos and the other officials spent time with students in several classrooms and observed a demonstration of the drone club in the gymnasium. Bryan McFadden, a Timmonsville High School senior whose older siblings have already graduated, said he knows he's getting opportunities that weren't available to them in years past. "There's certainly more stuff that they offer now," said McFadden, who will be able to get his drone certification by the time he graduates. "I never thought that my senior year I'd be in the drone club." "There are so many things that I didn't think about when I was in school," Evette said. "You know more than just how to fly it. You know how it works." "We didn't have drones," DeVos added, with a laugh. Thanking DeVos for bringing attention not just to the state's struggles but also its efforts to improve, Spearman said she's optimistic South Carolina's education system will keep making strides, although the process will be a tough one. "We have a great need, but we have great potential," Spearman said. "We're willing to put extra money in areas that are willing to collaborate." ___ Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. and Chinese negotiators agreed Friday to extend high-level trade talks through the weekend, and President Donald Trump said he hoped to meet next month at his Florida resort with President Xi Jinping to try to finalize an agreement. The news followed two days of negotiations in Washington aimed at resolving a trade war that has rattled financial markets and threatened global economic growth. "We're making a lot of progress," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I think there's a very good chance that a deal can be made." Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the negotiations, which had been scheduled to conclude Friday afternoon, would continue through Sunday. The Chinese delegation is led by Xi's special envoy, Vice Premier Liu He, the American team by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Trump had originally warned that he would escalate the tariffs he has imposed on $200 billion in Chinese imports, from 10 to 25 percent, if the two sides failed to reach a deal by March 2. But in recent days, and again on Friday, he raised the possibility of extending that deadline if negotiators were nearing an agreement. The world's two biggest economies are sparring over U.S. allegations that Beijing uses predatory tactics in a drive to make Chinese companies world leaders in such advanced industries as robotics and driverless cars. Those tactics, the Trump administration argues, include cyber-theft, unfair subsidies for state-owned Chinese companies, the use of regulations to hobble China's foreign competitors and pressure on American companies to hand over technology in exchange for access to the Chinese market. The administration contends that Beijing has repeatedly failed to live up to its past commitments to open its markets and to treat foreign companies more fairly. The president has imposed 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports and 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth. The latter grouping would face the 25 percent tariffs, too, if no agreement is reached. Story continues Beijing has lashed back with import taxes of its own on $110 billion in U.S. goods. These tariffs are heavily aimed at soybeans and other agricultural products in an effort to pressure Trump supporters in the U.S. farm belt. On Friday, the president and his advisers provided few details on this week's negotiations. Trump did say the two sides had reached some agreement on currency manipulation but offered no specifics. The administration has worried that Beijing would blunt the impact of Trump's sanctions by manipulating its currency down to give Chinese companies a competitive edge in international markets. Trump said both sides want to "make this a real deal." "We want to make it a meaningful deal," the president said, "not a deal that's done and doesn't mean anything. We want to make this a deal that's going to last for many, many years and a deal that's going to be good for both countries." Trump raised the possibility that the U.S. will drop criminal charges against Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, saying the issue would be discussed with Attorney General Bill Barr and U.S. attorneys. The U.S. has charged Huawei with lying about violating sanctions against Iran and with stealing trade secrets. Asked about Huawei before the Oval Office meeting with Liu, Trump said that a decision on Huawei is pending, but "right now, it's not something we're discussing." After Trump appeared with Liu, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that Beijing had agreed to buy 10 million metric tons of American soybeans, tweeting: "Hats off to @POTUS for bringing China to the table." China's soybean tariffs have squeezed many American farmers. In the first 10 months of 2018, U.S. soybean exports to China dropped to 8.2 million metric tons from 21.4 million metric tons a year earlier a 62 percent freefall, according to the Agriculture Department. In front of Liu and the press corps, Trump ridiculed members of his own trade team for using the term "memoranda of understanding," or MOU, to describe the agreements they were working out with the Chinese. "You either make a deal or you're not," Trump said. "To have these other agreements doesn't mean anything because they're not that meaningful in my opinion." Lighthizer at first defended the acronym, describing MOUs as binding contracts, then made light of the rebuke and vowed never to use the term again. The U.S.-China conflict has rattled markets. It has also fanned uncertainty among businesses that must decide where to invest and whether Trump's tariffs which raise the cost of imports on the target list will last long enough to justify replacing Chinese suppliers with those from countries not subject to the tariffs. The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have all downgraded their forecasts for the global economy, citing the heightened trade tensions. The Chinese economy, in particular, is decelerating: The IMF expects China to record 6.2 percent growth this year, down from 6.6 percent in 2018. "The Chinese economy is definitely hurting right now," said Timothy Keeler, partner at the law firm Mayer Brown and former chief of staff for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. "There's a lot of leverage for the U.S." Myron Brilliant, head of international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the two countries have yet to bridge their differences over nettlesome issues such as the forced technology transfer. He said the chamber wants to see an end to the tariffs between Washington and Beijing. But he also said American businesses are demanding a deal that would produce lasting improvement in Chinese trade practices. "We simply can't go back to business as it was before," Brilliant said. Beijing, he said, has "got to deliver the goods." ___ Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Follow Paul Wiseman on Twitter at https://twitter.com/PaulWisemanAP The University of Essex has suspended a member of staff amid a row over anti-Semitism (Picture: University of Essex) A member of staff has been suspended at the University of Essex amid a row over anti-Semitism. The university launched an investigation after concerns were raised over posts from the Facebook account of lecturer Dr Maaruf Ali saying Zionists were trying to create a society at the university. It faced accusations of anti-semitism after hundreds of students opposed the formation of a Jewish Society. The society opposed by 200 students was formally founded on Friday after the university vowed to set it up regardless of whether it was ratified by the students union. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. In a statement, University of Essex vice-chancellor Professor Anthony Forster said: To see the University of Essex associated with anti-Semitism has been a deeply shocking event and one which has filled me with great sadness. Anti-Semitism is antithetical to the values of the University of Essex and has no place at our university. MORE: Teen, 16, who abducted, raped and murdered six-year-old Alesha MacPhail named as Aaron Campbell MORE: Police LOSE almost all evidence against two paedophiles who allegedly raped 30 children 1,000 times We have a zero-tolerance approach to harassment and hate crime which is at the very core of our values and beliefs. We are proud to subscribe to the working definition of anti-Semitism produced by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Recent events have shown me we still have work to do and I am announcing a series of immediate actions to tackle all forms of anti-Semitism within our community. Concerns were raised over posts from the Facebook account of lecturer Dr Maaruf Ali The university said a member of staff had been suspended while allegations were independently investigated. Concerns were raised by the Union of Jewish Students over posts from the Facebook account of Dr Ali, including one that read the Zionists next want to create a society here at our university. It has launched a review to ensure Jewish students and staff are provided with unequivocal support and will hold a public event on February 28 in support of its Jewish community. Story continues The Union of Jewish Students said it was deeply disappointed by the significant proportion of students who voted against the establishment of a Jewish society and dismayed to see comments from the Facebook account of Dr Maaruf Ali. It said it welcomed Prof Forsters condemnation of anti-Semitism and commends the swift, strong and supportive action taken. There is certainly still a long way to go until antisemitism is eradicated from university campuses, but we are heartened that these steps will make a significant impact on improving the lives of Jewish students at the University of Essex, the group said. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK 1. Yes. Its important for students to stay focused throughout the year. Its a plus. 2. Yes. It would fill the learning gaps caused by COVID and would help cut youth crime. 3. No. Students and teachers deserve a summer break. Year-round school wont work. 4. No. It wouldnt work with the militarys summer PCS schedule. Its a bad idea. 5. Unsure. Its hard to say without knowing how the school calendar would work. Vote View Results United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council on Friday called on the warring parties in Yemen to immediately implement a deal to pull their forces out of three key ports and a key grain depot. In a unanimous declaration, the 15-member council welcomed the recent UN-sponsored agreement between Huthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition fighting them. They called for "the immediate implementation" of the first step of the deal, which includes the various factions pulling their fighters first back from the ports of Saleef and Ras Issa and then from the port city of Hodeida. Martin Griffiths, the UN special envoy in Yemen, said on Tuesday he hoped the redeployment of forces would happen as early as Tuesday or Wednesday but there was no indication that it had happened. On Thursday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres held a meeting on the issue in New York with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Under the agreement struck in Sweden on February 17, fighters would redeploy outside the ports and away from areas that are key to the humanitarian relief effort in Yemen, devastated by famine and outbreaks of disease after years of conflict. The ports are in the Huthi-held west of the country. The agreement also sets out free access to the grain warehouses at Red Sea Mills, under control of the Saudi-backed government forces. The UN has not had access to the grain depots since September and estimates that the stockpiles there could be enough to feed 3.7 million people for a month. The Security Council members also "expressed concern at continued reports of violations of the ceasefire" which has been in place since December. "They called on the parties to seize this opportunity to move towards sustainable peace by exercising restraint, de-escalating tensions, honoring their commitment to the Stockholm Agreement and moving forward with its swift implementation." About 80 percent of Yemen's population, or around 24 million people, are in need of food aid, including 10 million who are one step away from famine, according to the UN. The country's economy has been brought to its knees by restrictions placed by the Saudi-backed government for deliveries of imports. The war has cost an estimated 10,000 lives since it began in March 2015. United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council on Thursday appealed to Haitians to hold peaceful protests after meeting behind closed doors to discuss the violence that has killed at least seven people. In a unanimous statement, the council expressed concern and "urged all citizens to express themselves peacefully", said Equatorial Guinea's Ambassador Antonio Ndong Mba, who holds the council presidency this month. Haiti has been rocked by more than ten days of anti-government protests that prompted the United States to advise its citizens against traveling to the Caribbean island-nation. The United States, France and Germany requested the meeting to discuss the flareup in Haiti, where the United Nations has a small police peacekeeping force of about 1,000. The Security Council shut down a bigger peacekeeping mission known as MINUSTAH in 2017 after deciding that the country was on a path toward stability. bitcoin auction dark web Wilsons Auction House in the UK will be hosting a cryptocurrency auction for roughly 315 coins. The coins are spread across Bitcoin, Bitcoin Gold, and Bitcoin Cash. A full day long, the auction will begin on February 28. Originally seized by Belgian authorities, the coins were related to a dark web market. They have an estimated value of around 300,000 pounds sterling or close to USD$400,000. Wilsons was previously the first to auction Monero, about 167 of them, which sold for less than 10,000 pounds. The company says on its website that the contract attracted significant attention. By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday there was "a very good chance" the United States would strike a deal with China to end their trade war and that he was inclined to extend his March 1 deadline to reach an agreement. U.S. and Chinese negotiators had made progress and would continue this week's round of negotiations through the weekend, Trump told reporters in the White House as he met his top negotiators and their counterpart, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. "I think that we both feel there's a very good chance a deal will happen," Trump said. Extending the deadline would mean Trump would put on hold a scheduled tariff increase to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion of Chinese imports into the United States. That would prevent a further escalation in a trade war that has already disrupted commerce in goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars, slowed global economic growth and roiled markets. Optimism the two sides would find a way to end the trade war lifted stocks on Friday, especially technology shares, while oil prices rose to their highest since mid-November, with Brent crude reaching a high of $67.73 a barrel. [.N] [O/R] Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the two sides had reached an agreement on currency. Trump declined to provide details, but U.S. officials have long expressed concerns that China's yuan is undervalued, giving China a trade advantage and partly offsetting U.S. tariffs. The president said he would probably meet China's President Xi Jinping in March in Florida, and the biggest decisions on the terms of the trade deal could come when they meet. Xi sent a letter to Trump which an aide to Liu read out at the briefing on Friday. Xi called on negotiators to work hard to strike a deal that benefits both. Trump indicated a deal with China may extend beyond trade to encompass Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp. Story continues The Justice Department has accused Huawei of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran and of stealing robotic technology from T-Mobile US Inc. Chinese peer ZTE was last year prevented from buying essential components from U.S. firms after pleading guilty to similar charges, crippling its operations. TRUMP TEAM TENSION Trump appeared at odds with his top negotiator, United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, on the preliminary terms that his team is outlining in memorandums of understanding for a deal with China. Trump said he did not like MOUs, because they are short term, and he wanted a long-term deal. "I don't like MOUs because they don't mean anything," Trump said. "Either you are going to make a deal or you're not." Lighthizer responded testily that MOUs were binding, but that he would never use the term again. Reuters reported exclusively on Wednesday that the two sides were drafting the language for six MOUs covering the most difficult issues in the trade talks that would require structural economic change in China. That marked the most progress the two sides have made toward a deal. But negotiators have struggled this week to agree on specific language within those memorandums to address tough U.S. demands for structural changes in China's economy, sources familiar with the talks have told Reuters. The MOUs would provide an outline for a deal, for specific details to be agreed by negotiators later. They are common in trade negotiations. An industry official briefed on the talks said that if a framework deal can be reached, it may take another three to six months to fill in the details, and the two sides remain far apart on a mechanism to verify and enforce follow-through commitments China makes. Lighthizer said negotiators had made a lot of progress this week on forced technology transfers, one of the more difficult issues. The U.S. alleges foreign firms in China come under pressure to transfer their technology to Chinese firms if they want to operate there. China denies this. The two sides had struggled this week to agree on the specific language for the MOUs on other tough issues. Those include cyber theft, intellectual property rights, services, agriculture and non-tariff barriers to trade. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Friday urged the U.S. government to ensure the deal was comprehensive and addressed core issues, rather than one based on more Chinese short-term purchases of goods. Trump has demanded that China and other top trade partners take action to balance trade with the United States. China has pledged to increase purchases of agricultural produce, energy, semiconductors and industrial goods to reduce its trade surplus. China committed to buying an additional 10 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans on Friday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Twitter.The commitments are a "show of good faith by the Chinese" and "indications of more good news to come," Perdue wrote. China was the top buyer of U.S. soybeans before the trade war, but Beijing's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. soybeans slashed business that had been worth $12 billion annually. (Additional reporting by David Lawder in Washington, writing by Simon Webb; editing by Marguerita Choy and Tom Brown) By Tracy Rucinski CHICAGO (Reuters) - The top three U.S. carriers announced bids for new slots at Tokyo's Haneda International Airport on Thursday as part of a push to increase daily nonstop flights to the Japanese capital ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games and beyond. The extra slots for U.S. airlines were unlocked after Japan reached an agreement with the U.S. Air Force to open up new flight paths around a nearby U.S. air base, a move needed to boost Haneda movements in the run-up to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Haneda is located closer to downtown Tokyo than the capital's other international airport Narita, and flies to more destinations throughout Japan, making it attractive for both business travelers and tourists. United Continental Holdings Inc and Delta Air Lines Inc are each bidding for six slots while American Airlines Group Inc is bidding for four. Thursday is the deadline for applications to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Completion of an aviation agreement between the United States and Japan is expected later this year, United said. The new routes would launch for the 2020 summer flying schedule, once the U.S. Department of Transportation awards the slots. United wants to fly to Haneda from its hubs at Newark Liberty, Chicago O'Hare, Washington Dulles, Los Angeles International, Houston George Bush and Guam. The flights from Newark, Los Angeles and Guam would be new routes operated by Boeing 777 and 787 models, while the flights from the other three hubs would be shifted from Narita. Under the proposal, United said it would connect to 37 destinations in Japan from Haneda with its joint venture partner All Nippon Airways (ANA). Industry analysts say a recent sale of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to ANA may have weighed in the decision to grant more flying rights for U.S. airlines into Haneda, which airlines compete for aggressively due to the airport's proximity to the Japanese capital, a major center for global commerce. Story continues Delta is proposing daily flights from Seattle, Detroit, Atlanta and Portland, Oregon, and twice-daily service between Haneda and Honolulu. American has requested a daily flight from Las Vegas and Los Angeles and twice-daily from its hub in Dallas. Delta would fly the Airbus A330-900neo from Seattle, the A350-900 from Detroit, the A330-200 from Portland, the Boeing 777-200ER from Atlanta and the 767-300ER from Honolulu. American, like United, would use 777 and 787 models by Boeing. (Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Shumaker) Kofa (Nigeria) (AFP) - Two people were killed in clashes between rival party supporters in northwest Nigeria, police and local residents said on Friday, on the eve of rescheduled general elections. The deaths occurred on Thursday in the village of Kofa, some 70 kilometres (45 miles) from the city of Kano, as former state governor Rabiu Kwankwaso travelled to a political rally. Nigerians go to the polls on Saturday to elect a new president and parliament, a week later than planned because of logistical difficulties in delivering ballot materials. The delay has increased tensions between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), stoking fears of violence and rigging. But the deaths in Kano will further heighten concerns about unrest leading up to and during at governorship and local assembly elections, which are scheduled for March 9. Nigeria's Centre for Crisis Communication, which comprises representatives from security agencies, on Friday said Kano was one of 12 election flashpoints around the country. The PDP said Kwankwaso's convoy was forced to stop by supporters of his former ally Abdulmumini Kofa, who is close to the current APC governor of Kano, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. Ganduje was Kwankwaso's deputy but the pair have fallen out and become bitter rivals since he took office in 2015. Kwankwaso, however, retains a strong following. Police in Kofa denied local newspaper reports that five people had been killed, telling AFP: "We recorded two deaths and 36 vehicles were burned." AFP reporters in the village also saw vehicles on fire near Mumini's house on Friday morning as well as the burned-out shells of the other cars and motorbikes. The police death toll was supported by Bebeji local government secretary Mohammed Sani Dan-Arewa, who is close to Mumini. He said: "They killed two of our people." He added that four others were injured while the PDP said 10 were wounded, most of them women. The head of the CCC, retired air commodore Yusuf Anas, warned politicians and community leaders "to advise their subjects against involvement in any activity capable of inciting violence that could have negative effects on the electoral processes". A guest who appeared on Tucker Carlsons Fox News show said African Americans need to move on from slavery because it was abolished a century-and-a-half ago. Mark Steyn, a cultural commentator, made the comments on Thursday during a segment discussing 2020 presidential candidates who are in favour of reparations for African Americans. During his rant, Steyn said: Slavery was abolished a century and a half ago, nobody alive today has a grandparent who was a slave, and in that sense I think you reach a point where, you know, you need to move on. The reparations thing, eventually, as the decades go by, becomes ridiculous. Steyn then compared the experience of African Americans to Canadians such as himself - who he claimed also deserve reparations on the basis that if [America] hadnt had the revolution, the whole continent would now be Canada. As Steyn spoke, Carlson interjected a yeah before laughing along with the guests comments. The conversation then turned specifically to 2020 Democratic contender Senator Kamala Harris, who supports the idea of reparations for African Americans. The segment ended with Steyn contending that Harriss own experience is entirely apart from the African-American slave experience, and that she is getting involved in identity politics, which prompted Carlson to agree. Its also bad though. Its really divisive, Carlson concluded. On social media, a clip of the segment was met with anger. Two white privileged men discuss reparations. Was this 1867? one person tweeted. Another said: What a ridiculous comment. A sick disregard of the evils of slavery. Horrific. The Fox News host's latest controversy comes after previous comments he'd made cost him a significant portion of his advertisers. In December, Carlson, who is friends with Donald Trump and who regularly uses his show as a platform for divisive hate speech against immigrants, said that immigration makes America "dirtier". Story continues The comment was met with widespread backlash and resulted in more than 20 sponsors pulling their advertisements from the primetime show. At the time, a spokesperson for Fox News told The Independent: "It is a shame that left-wing advocacy groups, under the guise of being supposed 'media watchdogs,' weaponise social media against companies in an effort to stifle free speech. "We will continue to stand by and work with our advertisers through these unfortunate and unnecessary distractions." Washington (AFP) - Convinced he has forged a budding friendship with Kim Jong Un, President Donald Trump frequently boasts that he has made history with the North Korean leader. But Trump's contention that he is a masterful negotiator will be put to a test during his second summit with Kim on February 27-28 in Hanoi as the world waits to see if he can deliver concrete results. Trump has hailed his "great chemistry" with Kim and voiced delight at "beautiful letters" from the totalitarian leader 30 years his junior. Trump points out that North Korea has not tested a nuclear bomb or long-range missile in more than a year and says he has saved the world from a devastating war -- a feat for which, he is not shy to say, he believes he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. But North Korea's nuclear program remains intact and the Kim dynasty, which has reigned with an iron fist for six decades, is skilled at the art of biding time. The most atypical of US presidents, Trump has taken a path rejected by his predecessors -- negotiating face-to-face with the leader of the reclusive regime. And the real estate mogul believes that his style -- direct and brash -- can succeed where years of diplomatic drudgework with Pyongyang have failed. - 'No rush,' says Trump - Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said that Trump had laid the groundwork for the "possibility of progress," even if the prospects remain uncertain. "A combination of fear and pain, combined with hope for a better future, may be just the right juxtaposition of sentiments to have instilled in Kim's mind," O'Hanlon said. "Whether through design or chance, or a bit of both, Trump managed to achieve this mix by 2018," he said. Trump himself has stayed evasive on what he hopes to achieve in Hanoi, which follows up the historic first summit between the two leaders in Singapore in June. "I think that North Korea and Chairman Kim have some very positive things in mind, and we'll soon find out," Trump told reporters on Tuesday. Story continues "But I'm in no rush. There's no testing. As long as there's not testing, I'm in no rush," he said. The two countries remain divided on the very meaning of denuclearization, with the United States wanting North Korea to give up its arsenal and Pyongyang supporting a more general end to nuclear weapons in the region. What if months or even years go by and North Korea gives up nothing significant? "I think Trump is calculating that he can run out the clock at least until the end of his first term with this strategy," said Vipin Narang, an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "A lot may depend on what Hanoi yields," he said. - Eye on 2020, or beyond? - For Christopher Green, an expert on Korea at the International Crisis Group, the issue of the calendar is central. Trump faces re-election next year and has already touted North Korea as an achievement, telling Americans after the Singapore summit that they can "sleep well tonight!" "The major concern is that Trump may be too keen to bring about something that looks to naive, glimpsing eyes like a foreign policy achievement, and won't do the essential legwork to ensure that a durable agreement is reached," Green said. "Something that looks like an achievement during his time in office may not have the necessary durability to radically alter the face of Northeast Asia," Green said. "We need to look beyond November 2020 and toward 2030 or 2040. Only then will we know." And with heads of state personally conducting the diplomacy, there may be little recourse if a new crisis erupts. Little more than a year ago, relations were in crisis and the two leaders were trading insults in an extraordinary personal way, with Trump calling Kim "little rocket man" and North Korean media branding Trump the "mentally deranged US dotard." Trump, who now respectfully addresses the young leader as "Chairman Kim," may seize on any symbolic show to prove his diplomacy is working, such as a North Korean offer to destroy -- again -- part of its key Yongbyon nuclear complex. "The risk is if Kim decides this unilateral testing moratorium -- because it's not in writing -- no longer works for him," Narang said. "Then there is no diplomatic exit ramp." President Trump said on Friday that he was surprised to learn New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a long-time friend of the president, had been charged with soliciting prostitution, and emphasized that Kraft had denied the charges. Its very sad, Trump said when asked about the charges by Yahoo News Hunter Walker inside the Oval Office. I was very surprised to see it. Hes proclaimed his innocence totally. But I was very surprised to see it. FBI special counsel Robert Mueller could hand in his report into allegations members of the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 US presidential election as early as next week, according to reports on Wednesday. As that report was hypothesised about, Donald Trumps former confidant, the flamboyant political consultant Roger Stone, appeared in court after posting an image on Instagram appearing to threaten a US district judge overseeing his criminal trial, itself instigated by Mr Muellers investigation. The judge, who he repeatedly apologised to, then issued a full gag order on him and warned him that he would not be given another chance to keep his freedom as he awaits trial. House Democrats will meanwhile file a resolution tomorrow against Mr Trumps controversial decision to declare a national emergency over illegal immigration from the southwestern border in order to bypass Congress and get his wall built. As all of that Washington drama swirled, Mr Trump weighed in on a number of issues on Thursday, including the case of Empire actor Jussie Smollett, who was charged in Chicago on Thursday for filing a false police report. "What about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!?" the president tweeted, referring to Smollett's claims that he was attacked by two men who told him he was in "MAGA country", referring to the president's popular slogan. Chicago police have said that Smollett's attack was staged and orchestrated by the actor. The White House also detailed on Thursday the president's upcoming trip to Vietnam, where he will have his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. That summit is scheduled for next week. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load House Democrats have filed their resolution of disapproval challenging Donald Trumps decision to call a national emergency in order to build a wall on the US southern border with Mexico. While the president has claimed there is a "crisis" of illegal immigration in the United States, Democrats have questioned his motives and noted that Mr Trump himself has suggested that he did not need to declare the emergency. The president on Wednesday touted the contributions of African Americans during an event to honour Black History Month. Meanwhile Ahmed Ali Muthana, the father of Alabama Isis bride Hoda Muthana, announced he is suing the administration for its unlawful attempt to rescind her citizenship and block a return to the US. Lawyers have told The Independent that an executive effort to revoke citizenship amounts to the act of an "authoritarian". In Syria, the US has rowed back on its decision for a full withdrawal of troops following the apparent defeat of the Islamist militants and will now leave around 200 soldiers behind to safeguard the region. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load US President Donald Trump said on Friday a trade summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping was likely next month, and hailed two days of "very good talks" by negotiators. The negotiations were extended through Sunday as officials race to reach a deal ahead of a deadline next week when US duty rates are due to rise sharply. But Trump again said he was considering pushing back the deadline for raising tariffs on more than $200 billion in Chinese exports. "We expect to have a meeting sometime in a not too distant future," he said of the meeting with Xi. "Probably fairly soon in the month of March." Xi also sounded a positive note in a letter delivered to Trump by China's lead negotiator Liu He. The Chinese president expressed hope that the talks maintain "a mutually respectful, cooperative and win-win attitude" and lead to a "mutually beneficial" agreement. "I am ready to maintain close contact with the President through various means," state-run China Central Television quoted Xi's letter saying. Details remained scant about any concrete progress in the seven-month-old trade war, which has rattled global markets and prompted stark warnings about the risks to the world economy. "I think there is a very, very good chance that a deal can be made," Trump told reporters at the White House on a second day of trade negotiations with Chinese officials. "If we are doing well, I could see extending that" deadline for the end of the three month tariff truce. And Trump said an agreement on currency manipulation will be included in the trade pact. Officials from Beijing also expressed optimism about a positive outcome. "From China, we believe that it is very likely that it will happen," Liu said, speaking through an interpreter. - Winning streak - Global stock markets were higher on expectations the two sides would avoid further deterioration in their trade relations. Story continues Wall Street rose to a banner finish, posting its longest streak of weekly gains in nearly 24 years. Analysts say the two sides are likely to trumpet mutual agreements to resolve the easier parts of the trade dispute -- increasing purchases of American goods, more open investment in China and tougher protections for intellectual property and proprietary technology. The harder parts covering issues like scaling back China's ambitious industrial strategy for global preeminence, are another question. Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, again warned that the US-China trade tensions a "major risk" to world economic growth. Since July, the countries have hit out with tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade. While the tariffs alone are having "minimal" effect on global trade, they are damaging business confidence and weighing on stock markets, Lagarde told the US radio program Marketplace on Thursday. "I cross my fingers every morning and my toes every evening because I hope that it is going to end up with a way to fix the system, not break it," she said. The IMF has cut its forecast for global growth this year due to the combined impact of the trade war. - Good faith - Beijing has reportedly proposed an increase in its imports of US energy and agricultural exports significantly. US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue tweeted that China has committed to buying "an additional" 10 million metric tons of soybeans as a "show of good faith," but he did not give any details or specify the timeframe. Still, a broader deal could be difficult given the US demands for far-reaching structural changes. Gary Clyde Hufbauer, a trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said China may have to remove its tariffs in order to increase purchases of US goods, but Trump may feel no pressure to roll back the duties he imposed last year. "The big surprise would be a complete removal of tariffs by Trump but I'm expecting an asymmetrical removal of tariffs by China in order to get to some of these numbers," he said. China's retaliation has hit US farm exports hard. The US Agriculture Department estimated this month that US soy exports would not turn to their pre-trade war levels for another six years. William Reinsch, a former senior Treasury official for trade in the administration of President Bill Clinton, told AFP a risk for Trump is whether any agreement holds and the Chinese honor their commitments. "If it unravels and we have a string of unmet commitments and then US retaliation right before the election, we're kind of right back where we started," he said. burs-dma/rox Donald Trump has appeared to claim ignorance at his administrations own plan to pressure dozens of countries around the world into ending the criminalisation of homosexuality. During an exchange with assembled media at the White House on Wednesday, the US president was asked about the initiative launched on Tuesday, which is being spearheaded by US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, who is gay. Mr President, on your push to decriminalise homosexuality, are you doing that? And why? asks one journalist, in an exchange caught on camera. Mr Trump, apparently missing the question, asks, Say it? to which the reporter repeats, Your push to decriminalise homosexuality around the world. I dont know which report youre talking about. We have many reports, Mr Trump responds, before attempting to move on to another question. While some speculated Mr Trump was unaware of the initiative, others suggested he wanted to avoid acknowledgement of it because it risked offending some of his supporters. But Mr Grenell told NBC News, who first reported the plan, that it had strong backing "by both parties" in the US and even the country's religious conservatives. He said it would focus narrowly on ending criminalisation, rather than issues such as same-sex marriage. This is a bipartisan push. People understand - religious people, individuals who may not always be in the LGBTI fight - they understand that criminalizing homosexuality is absolutely wrong, Mr Grenell said. It is unbelievable to believe that in todays world a 32-year-old man in Iran can be hanged simply for being gay, he added, in reference to the alleged execution of a man on anti-gay and kidnapping charges. US officials told NBC News that the campaign is in part aimed at denouncing Iran over its human rights record, adding that the US government would likely work with international organisations including the United Nations and the European Union to put pressue on the 71 countries that still penalise homosexuality. Story continues Mr Grenell revealed he had spoken to unnamed senators about conditioning US economic aid on countries abandoning their anti-LGBT+ laws. The White House has been contacted for comment. Gang leaders Thomas and John Ward (Lancashire Police) Two men who led a group of 100 travellers on a 300,000 wrecking spree at a Blackburn brewery have been jailed. Thomas Ward, 43, and John Ward, 33, pleaded guilty to blackmail, conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to commit criminal damage. The Wards led a convoy of up to 30 caravans and 100 from the traveller community into Thwaites Brewery last May after a padlock was cut at the yard entrance and the security guard was thrown out. After breaking into the brewery, Thomas Ward then led negotiations with Thwaites bosses for the group to leave, but only if 20,000 was paid in return. Burnley Crown Court heard that management was able to find 10,000 at short notice, but when that amount was offered they were told by Ward to f*** off and warned not to insult them. As the negotiations became more protracted, the Travellers then caused an estimated 313,000 worth of damage to the premises when Ward realised he was not going to get the amount he had demanded. Staff and police finally gained full access to the Penny Street brewery on and the Travellers left under police escort with some vehicles heavily laden down with items, the court heard. Some of the extensive damage caused by the gang of travellers (PA) It was reported that the traveller gang were inside the brewery for two days. Among items stolen were four-and-half tonnes of copper cabling along with televisions, computer equipment, cash, port, wine and spirits. Damage at the brewery was so extensive, it brought an unpleasant end to 200 years of production at the site, the judge said. Thwaites had been due to move to a new complex in Lancashire some 12 weeks after the incident, but was forced to terminate operations early. A month later police raids took place in Levershulme Park in Bolton, where a search of Wards caravan uncovered 1,725 in cash and a Samsung phone containing images of a newspaper article and a TV bulletin on the incident. The Judge said a considerable amount of wanton vandalism had been carried out on site (PA) Sentencing Thomas Ward, of Aspull Common, Leigh, to four years and three months in jail, the judge said: A conspiracy was formed to steal what was available and to cause a considerable amount of damage on the way. Story continues It is clear that a considerable amount of wanton vandalism was carried out and some of the beer on the site had to be thrown out because of the risk of contamination. That was an unpleasant end to 200 years of brewing on that site. John Ward, 34, of Aspull Common, also admitted conspiracy to burglary and commit damage and was jailed for three years and nine months. A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will be sentenced at youth court for the conspiracy offences at a later date. A fourth defendant, Patrick Ward, 32, remains at large after he was convicted of the conspiracy offences in his absence. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK The Trade Desk TTD delivered adjusted earnings of $1.09 per share in fourth-quarter 2018, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 30 cents. The figure grew 101.9% year over year. Net revenues increased 56.4% from the year-ago quarter to $160.5 million, beating the consensus mark of $148 million. This year-over-year increase was primarily driven by robust growth in the mobile platform and increasing spend in Connected TV (CTV) platform. Quarter in Detail In the reported quarter, Trade Desk witnessed a record increase in spend in the mobile platform, which accounted for 45% of the companys total spend, indicating the growing importance of this channel to advertisers. Growth in Mobile (in-app, video and web) was 69% year over year. Notably, growth in Mobile in-app and video were 90% and 130%, respectively, from the year-ago quarter. Cross-device spend increased three times while CTV witnessed growth of 9 times from the year-ago quarter. Moreover, over 160 advertisers spent at least $100,000 each in CTV in the reported quarter. Notably, the transition in advertisers budget from Linear TV to CTV is likely to accelerate growth for the company in the next year. Additionally, Trade Desk witnessed robust growth in the audio segments spend, which grew 230% year over year. Trade Desk is witnessing growing traction in the Unified ID initiative. Notably, companies like Sharethrough and PubMatic integrated the companys solution on their respective platforms in the reported quarter. Trade Desk won significant new businesses, with large global brands moving spend to the companys platform in the reported quarter. Moreover, international spend grew twice from that of the domestic spend. The company is working with some of the biggest publishers like Google, Alibaba, Pandora, Spotify, CBS, Dish Network, Discovery and DirecTV, which contributed to the top line. Further, in order to provide multinational advertisers with access to premium audiences in China, the company announced partnerships with Baidu Exchange Services, iQIYI, Tencent Social Ads and Youku in the reported quarter. Notably, these partnerships are expected to boost Trade Desks share in China. The company witnessed strong customer retention rate at 95% in the reported quarter. Story continues The Trade Desk Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise The Trade Desk Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | The Trade Desk Inc. Quote Year in Detail Total revenues in 2018 were $477.3 million, up 55% year over year. Net earnings per share were $2.70, up 69% from the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA increased 67% year over year to $159.4 million. Operating Results In fourth-quarter, Trade Desks reported operating expenses rose 52.1% year over year to $111.5 million primarily due to higher technology & development, and platform operation expenses. As a percentage of revenues, operating expenses declined 200 basis points (bps) on a year-over-year basis to 69.5%. In absolute dollars, platform operations, sales & marketing, technology & development, and general & administrative expenses grew 68.2%, 46.5%, 41.8% and 51.2%, respectively, year over year. As a percentage of revenues, platform operations surged 160 bps year over year. Meanwhile, sales and marketing as well as technology and development declined 110 bps and 160 bps, respectively, year over year. Income from operations was $48.9 million compared with operating income of $29.3 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $67.1 million, increasing 69.3% from the year-ago quarter. As a percentage of revenues, EBITDA margin increased 330 bps to 41.8%. Guidance For the first quarter of 2019, revenues are projected to be $116 million and adjusted EBITDA is expected to be $18.3 million. For the year, the company expects revenues of $637 million and adjusted EBITDA of $182 million or 29% of revenues. Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider Trade Desk currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are Brightcove Inc. BCOV, MeetMe, Inc. MEET and Koninklijke Philips N.V. PHG. All these stocks currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks Rank #1 stocks here. Long-term earnings growth rate for Brightcove, MeetMe and Philips are projected to be 15%, 20% and 15.2%, respectively. Wall Streets Next Amazon Zacks EVP Kevin Matras believes this familiar stock has only just begun its climb to become one of the greatest investments of all time. Its a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in pure genius. Click for details >> 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 Brightcove Inc. (BCOV) : Free Stock Analysis Report MeetMe, Inc. (MEET) : Free Stock Analysis Report The Trade Desk Inc. (TTD) : Free Stock Analysis Report Koninklijke Philips N.V. (PHG) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research JERUSALEM (AP) The two main challengers to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined forces Thursday in a united front ahead of April elections, a dramatic move that upended the campaign and suddenly created the most serious threat to the Israeli leader's decade-long grip on power. Retired military chief Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid party, appeared together on live TV late Thursday to announce their partnership, saying they were putting aside their personal rivalry in a shared goal to oust Netanyahu. "Something went wrong this past decade. Israel has lost its way," Gantz said. "Instead of separation, we offer unity. Instead of extremism, we offer patriotism. Instead of incitement, we offer national reconciliation." Opinion polls on Israeli TV stations showed the new "blue and white" alliance jumping ahead of Netanyahu's Likud Party. Netanyahu, taking to the airwaves later Thursday, dismissed his challengers as "leftists" who will destroy the country. Netanyahu is pursuing a fourth consecutive term, and opinion polls have forecast another Likud victory in the April 9 election. But Gantz, a popular political newcomer, has emerged as a potent challenger since announcing his candidacy late last month. Both he and Lapid hold similar views on a host of issues popular with centrist Israeli voters, ranging from the economy to the Palestinian issue. Gantz has the added attraction of being a former military chief, a key credential with the security-obsessed electorate. He also has enlisted two other former military chiefs, Moshe Yaalon and Gabi Ashkenazi, to join their ticket. The two leaders reached their agreement after concluding that joining their two parties together would win more votes than if they ran separately. "A winning team needs to be led. I wouldn't be standing here today if I didn't believe that Benny Gantz could lead us to victory and then lead the country," said Lapid, who put his own ambitions of becoming prime minister on hold to form the partnership. Story continues Under their arrangement, the two agreed to a rotation leadership should they come to power. Gantz would first serve as prime minister and would then be replaced by Lapid after two-and-a-half years. Opinion polls showed Gantz and Lapid leapfrogging over Likud, forecasting as many as 36 seats in the 120-seat Parliament for their new alliance. But even if the joint list emerges as the largest party, it does not guarantee victory unless it can form a parliamentary majority with smaller partners. Thursday night's polls showed Netanyahu's right-wing nationalist bloc and the center-left alliance in a deadlock. Netanyahu responded on live TV by branding his opponents "leftists" who planned to make concessions to the Palestinians and novices who will destroy the economy. "Whoever votes for Lapid and Gantz votes for the left," he said. He went on to list a series of his accomplishments, including building a wall along the Egyptian border to halt the flow of African migrants, lowering unemployment, and forging new diplomatic alliances, including in the Arab world. He also said he had helped persuade the Trump administration to scuttle the international nuclear deal with Iran and recognize contested Jerusalem as Israel's capital. "They say the country is in a bad condition," he said. "It's never been in a better condition." He then claimed Lapid and Gantz would conspire with small Arab parties to prevent him from forming a parliamentary majority. "Tonight the decision is as clear as it ever was: a new left-wing government, weak, led by Lapid and Gantz, with a blocking majority of Arab parties, or a strong right wing government presided over by me," he said. The two addresses laid out the contours for what is sure to be a nasty final stretch of the campaign. Netanyahu will try to position himself as tough on security and the only man capable of leading the country at a challenging time, while his opponents will target his character and the hard-line religious and nationalist agenda he has promoted at home. "For the first time since 2009, we have a competitive race for the premiership and this is the result of the emergence of this new centrist force," said Yohanan Plesner, a former lawmaker and president of the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute. "There are now, as a result of this unification, two, I would say, legitimate major parties ... (but) it's not a done deal," Plesner said. "I think Netanyahu is still more likely to win and to emerge as prime minister at the end of this election campaign, but it is a competitive race." After a decade without a serious challenger, Netanyahu suddenly appears vulnerable. Israeli police have recommended that Netanyahu be indicted in a series of corruption allegations. The country's attorney general is expected to soon make a decision on whether to file charges a move that would throw the campaign into turmoil. Netanyahu has indicated he will not step down if indicted, but some allies could put pressure on him to step aside as he fights the charges. Netanyahu also faced heavy criticism for his decision to form an alliance with a small extremist faction that is inspired by the banned Kahanist movement, which dreamed of turning Israel into a Jewish theocracy and promoted a racist agenda that called for the forced removal of Palestinians. Netanyahu has said smaller parties that do not have enough support to enter Parliament on their own should band together under his leadership to ensure Likud's continued rule. Netanyahu's courting of such forces drew sharp condemnations from much of the Israeli mainstream, with Gantz accusing him of losing touch "with his Zionism and with his dignity." Chisinau (AFP) - Voters in Moldova head to the polls on Sunday for a parliamentary election reflecting the tiny ex-Soviet republic's longstanding division between pro-Russians and pro-Europeans. Wedged between Ukraine and Romania, Moldova has struggled to find its place since gaining independence with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. While many in the country of 3.5 million want to maintain close ties with Moscow, others seek to follow the example of Romania -- with which Moldova shares a language and long history -- and look west to the European Union. Sunday's vote is shaping up as a three-way race between the pro-Russian Socialist party of President Igor Dodon, the ruling Democratic party and a pro-European alliance. It will be held under a new electoral system that divides the 101-seat parliament into seats elected by party lists and by individual constituencies. Dodon's pro-Moscow party is leading in the polls, advocating for Moldova to join Russia's Eurasian Economic Union over the EU. The alliance of pro-European parties, which favours joining the EU and NATO, comes second. In third place is the centre-left Democratic Party led by powerful oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc, which holds a majority in the current parliament and leads the government. It has pursued a balanced approach between Moscow and Brussels. - 'All liars and thieves' - Campaign posters in Russian and Romanian hang in a flea market in the capital Chisinau, where volunteers from all parties were handing out leaflets to passersby this week. At a stand of the pro-EU ACUM alliance of parties, campaigner Ruslan Verbitchi told AFP that Moldova has two major problems: "Endemic corruption and the violation of human rights." Voters, however, showed little enthusiasm for the polls. With corruption widespread and the country among the poorest in Europe, few have much trust in Moldova's politicians. "They are all liars and thieves," said Tatiana, a 60-year-old former factory worker, complaining of a pension of less than 50 euros per month. Story continues "How can you live on that?" Macar Naghirnaec, a 23-year-old NGO worker, said it has hardly surprising that voters had little faith. "Moldova's democracy is getting worse. People who were convicted by a court will get to parliament," said Naghirnaec. Many cited the example of businessman Ilan Shor, who was convicted in a billion-dollar fraud case dubbed Moldova's "crime of the century" and is likely to make it into parliament. Shor remains free pending an appeal, but critics say the fact that he is allowed to stand despite his conviction is a damning indictment of Moldova's political system. Adding to the tense climate in the last days of the campaign, Russian authorities on Friday accused the ruling party leader Plahotniuc of running a vast money laundering scheme between 2013 and 2014. His party denounced this as Moscow's "interference" in the vote. - Fears of instability - Analysts fear a new period of instability for the country after the vote, with no party likely to gain the majority needed to form a government. "With political apathy and distrust of politicians, there is a risk of weak participation," said Igor Botan, the director of the ADEPT think tank. Moldova signed an association agreement with the EU in 2014, but last year Brussels reduced its financial aid to the country citing a "deterioration of the rule of law". Russia has meanwhile rallied Dodon, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin. "Of course, Russia is not indifferent to the formation of the Moldovan parliament," Putin said after a meeting with Dodon in Moscow last month. As well as seeking to keep Moldova in its sphere of influence, Moscow has long backed separatists in the country's Russian-speaking breakaway region of Transnistria. Russian Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev has warned that the West could be seeking to stoke divisions in Moldova, pointing to the pro-EU revolution in Ukraine that ousted a Moscow-backed leader. The West, he said, could "push Moldovan society towards division and conflict.... We have already seen this in Ukraine in 2014." JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli gunfire killed a Palestinian teenager at a protest along Gaza-Israel border fence, Gaza officials said Friday, as thousands in contested Jerusalem descended on a section of a flashpoint holy site that has been closed by Israeli court order for over a decade. The Health Ministry said 15-year-old Youssef al-Dayya died at a hospital shortly after he was hit with a gunshot in the chest. The circumstances of his death were not immediately known, but it occurred when thousands of Palestinians participated in protests along several sections of the frontier, with dozens approaching the heavily guarded barrier. The ministry added that 30 protesters were wounded by Israeli live fire in the weekly Gaza march. The protests in Gaza are mostly against the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory. Citing security concerns, Israel and Egypt imposed tight restrictions on movements of people and goods in and out of Gaza after the militant Hamas group wrested control of the territory in 2007. Hamas has arranged weekly demonstrations since last March to protest the blockade and demand the return of Palestinian refugees to land in what is now Israel. Close to 190 Palestinians, mostly unarmed, have been killed by Israeli fire in the protests, and one Israeli soldier was killed by a Palestinian sniper last July. Israel says it defends its frontier against breaches. Critics accuse Israel of employing excessive force against unarmed Palestinians. In Jerusalem, the eastern part of which Palestinians claim as their future capital, protesters chanting "Allahu Akbar" streamed into a sealed-off area of al-Aqsa Mosque during prayers Friday. Israeli police said the crowds that gathered dispersed peacefully after prayers. Tension at the shrine has escalated in recent days. Similar protests turned into scuffles with police earlier this week. Anticipating unrest, police arrested 60 Palestinians overnight suspected of "causing disturbances" and "inciting violence." Israel blocked off a structure near the mosque, known as the "Gate of Mercy," in 2003 because it was home to a heritage organization allegedly connected with a militant Islamic group. Israeli police accused the Waqf, the Islamic authority that oversees the compound, of attempting to "change the status quo" at the sensitive site by convening in the closed area last week. The contested site, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Cucuta (Colombia) (AFP) - Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido claimed the military helped him defy a travel ban by the government of President Nicolas Maduro as he joined thousands over the Colombian border on Friday for a charity concert to push for humanitarian aid deliveries. Maduro is trying to prevent food and medicines, from entering the country as tensions over access to the supplies turned deadly, prompting an angry condemnation from the United States. Humanitarian aid has become a key focus of the power struggle between Maduro and Guaido, who has been recognized as interim leader by more than 50 countries. Guaido delivered a blow to Maduro as he turned up unexpectedly at the concert in the Colombian border town of Cucuta, claiming "the armed forces participated in this process" to help him flout his travel ban. Hours later, Caracas said it had sealed the Colombian border across the whole of Tachira -- the western state that borders Cucuta -- citing threats to Venezuela's security. "Due to the serious and illegal threats attempted by the Government of Colombia against peace and sovereignty in Venezuela, (the Venezuelan government) has taken the decision of a total, temporary closure of all bridges that unite both countries in Tachira," Vice President Delcy Rodriguez wrote on Twitter. The powerful military's backing is crucial to the viability of the socialist leader, with defections strengthening Guaido's hand. The 35-year-old leader of Venezuela's National Assembly declared himself interim president last month and is calling for fresh polls, branding Maduro a "usurper" and accusing him of rigging his re-election last May. - 'Soldiers started shooting' - The tense standoff over aid claimed its first casualties Friday as two indigenous people were killed trying to prevent troops from sealing unofficial pathways across the Brazilian border. "An indigenous woman and her husband were killed and at least 15 other members of the Pemon indigenous community were injured," said a local human rights group, Kape Kape. Story continues The violence occurred in southeastern Bolivar state close to the border with Brazil, which Maduro ordered closed on Thursday. "People were in their community, calm. The soldiers came and started shooting at the indigenous people," said Salomon Perez, who accompanied a brother and two nieces suffering from gunshot wounds by ambulance to a hospital in Brazil. "The United States strongly condemns the Venezuelan military's use of force against unarmed civilians and innocent volunteers on Venezuela's border with Brazil," the White House said in a statement, adding: "The world is watching." United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also warned Venezuelan authorities "not to use lethal force against demonstrators." - Fleeing shortages - The "Venezuela Aid Live" concert in Cucuta was organized by British entrepreneur Richard Branson in support of Guaido's humanitarian aid relief plan. Guaido appeared alongside Colombian President Ivan Duque, Chile's Sebastian Pinera and Mario Abdo of Paraguay as crowds cheered. A rival pro-Maduro concert was taking place a few hundred yards away on the Venezuelan side of the border in Urena. Guaido has set a Saturday deadline for the entry of humanitarian aid, saying as many as 300,000 Venezuelans are in dire need of food and medicines after years of shortages and malnutrition. Some 2.7 million people have fled Venezuela since 2015 amid a devastating political and economic crisis, according to UN figures released Friday. Maduro, who retains the support of allies China and Russia, has blocked the entry of aid and accused the United States of plotting a military intervention. US special representative Elliott Abrams kept up the foreign pressure on Maduro on Friday, joining a Cucuta-bound plane carrying medical supplies and food. Moscow has blasted Washington for using aid as a "convenient pretext for conducting military action." - 'Freedom' - Hundreds chanted "freedom" and "the government is going to fall" while they waited for the Cucuta concert to begin on Friday under a hot sun, with the barricaded border crossing visible nearby. "We must break the impasse, end the humanitarian crisis," billionaire Branson told the crowd shortly before veteran Venezuelan crooner Jose Luis Rodriguez began his set. The line-up included Latin American giants Carlos Vives and Juanes of Colombia, Juan Luis Guerra of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico's Luis Fonsi. "The concert is an immense help because this type of initiative was necessary to open our eyes and pressure the Venezuelan government," said Wendy Villamizar, a 32-year-old Venezuelan woman wearing a cap with her country's yellow, blue and red tricolor. Maduro's rival concert, decidedly smaller and featuring Venezuelan and Cuban artists, began hours later. Performers took to the stage against a giant backdrop emblazoned with the words "#Trump Hands off Venezuela," with around 2,500 people in attendance. "We don't want to be interfered with, we don't want to be invaded," said Johana Suarez. (Reuters) - Tesla Inc said on Wednesday its general counsel Dane Butswinkas is leaving the electric carmaker just two months into the job, the latest in a string of top-level departures at the company. Butswinkas, who joined Tesla in December and was reporting to Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, will return to his previous role as the company's outside counsel at law firm Williams & Connolly. Jonathan Chang, Tesla's vice president of legal department, will replace Butswinkas effective immediately, the company said in an email statement to Reuters. Before joining Tesla in 2011, Chang was its outside counsel at law firm Latham & Watkins. Tesla hired Butswinkas as an outside counsel last year to help settle a case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after Musk tweeted that he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 a share. Musk later settled the charges with the U.S. regulator by agreeing to pay a $20 million fine and relinquishing his position as Tesla's chairman for three years. Butswinkas is the latest among the dozens of high-profile executives to leave Tesla over the past two years even as the carmaker struggles to ramp up production of Model 3 sedans, which is seen as crucial for the its long-term profitability. Tesla, which last month missed Wall Street profit targets for the last quarter of 2018, said Chief Financial Officer Deepak Ahuja would leave after 11 years with the company. Tesla is facing increased competition from new electric vehicle entrants and was last month forced to cut U.S. prices for all its vehicles to offset lower green tax credits, a move that could impact its margins. In a bid to save capital and produce cheaper Model 3 cars, Tesla has cut jobs and ended a customer referral program. Investors continue to worry whether Tesla, which has never posted an annual profit, would be able to ramp up production of Model 3 cars. In a tweet on Tuesday, Musk estimated that Tesla would make around 500,000 Model 3s in 2019. He quickly clarified that the delivery target this year would be 400,000 cars. Shares of the company were down 1 percent in morning trading. (Reporting by Arjun Panchadar and Mekhla Raina in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur) A teenager has opened up about her dangerous addiction to Snapchat filters, which got so bad it left her unable to get out of bed. After downloading the Snapchat app last year, Maisie Hazelwood found herself taking selfies more often than usual applying all sorts of attractive filters to herself to improve her pictures. She started off by just taking the odd selfie to post on her social media feeds, but as time went on, her addiction to the app became dangerous. My favourite filter was one that gave me longer eyelashes and a nose piercing, which made my face look absolutely flawless any spot or blemish I had would disappear, the 19-year-old said. But then I fell in love with how it made me look, and it took me away from the reality of my own looks. Snapchat app on 22 February last year, Maisie found herself taking selfies more often than usual. Photo: Caters News However, after eight months of using the app, it began to stop working on her phone, meaning Maisie, from the UK, was left unable to take her usually filtered photos. She had become so addicted to the filtered look that without that option, she couldnt bear to look at herself without one. She hated what she saw so much so, that she became bedridden and unable to look in a mirror. I completely shut myself out and wouldnt let anyone see me, as I thought people would laugh at me for being such an ugly person in comparison to what they saw on Snapchat, she admitted. She thought she was ugly without a filter. Photo: Caters News The fact I couldnt get myself out of bed some days because I was so petrified to see myself without a filter was something I didnt expect could happen from an app. I also didnt notice how reliant I was on the app until my family asked me to send them recent photos of myself, and I had no photos of me without filters on. In order to regain control over her life, and stop herself from being controlled by the filters in the app, Maisie deleted it and forced herself to just use the normal camera on her phone. My confidence was solely online in these pretty filtered photos and I had no confidence in real life not even enough to look at myself in the mirror, she said. Story continues So I forced myself to delete the app. I felt a great sense of relief and, even though it took a while, I was slowly able to go outside again and accept what I looked like in the mirror. She is now learning to love her appearance again, after becoming so addicted to Snapchat that she couldnt recognise her face without a filter. She has now deleted the app and is learning to love her look. Photo: Caters News At this point, I hadnt taken a photo without a filter on in almost a year, so it really opened my eyes to the fact I needed to kick the addiction, she said. Now any time I take a selfie I make sure its on the normal camera without a filter and even though it takes me about 200 takes to find a perfect one I get there in the end. I want people to know not to let their natural beauty get lost in a world of filters. Snapchat said that helping its community to communicate is a top priority. The company pointed out that they introduced AR Lenses as a way to make people feel more comfortable talking to the camera to make it more stress-free. With reporting by Caters News. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for non-stop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyleUK. Read more from Yahoo Style UK: Frequent flier shares helpful travel tips Why has the coverage of Meghan and Kates fashion coverage been so different? A third of mums forced to express milk in work toilets Aleisha MacPhails killer has been named after a judge allowed him to be identified The 16-year-old who abducted, raped and murdered Alesha MacPhail has been named after a judge allowed his name to be reported. Aaron Campbell snatched the six-year-old and took her to the grounds of a disused hotel where he raped and killed her on the Isle of Bute last July. The body of the six-year-old was found in woods hours after she was reported missing from the house her father shared with his parents and partner on the island. Aaron Campbell could be identified after a judge allowed him to be named (Picture: Police Scotland / PA Wire) Campbell was found guilty of abduction, rape and murder at Glasgow Crown Court on Thursday following a two-week trial. He originally could not be identified due to his age but the following day judge Lord Matthews ruled he can be named after an application from media outlets. MORE: Police LOSE almost all evidence against two paedophiles who allegedly raped 30 children 1,000 times MORE: Scary looking fish with human-like teeth found in Argentinian river He said: I cant think of a case in recent times that has attracted such revulsion. I intend to grant the application. The press may name the accused and publish images of him. Alesha was days into her summer holiday with father Robert MacPhail (Picture: PA) On Thursday, Lord Matthews told Campbell he had committed some of the wickedest, most evil crimes this court has ever heard. Campbell took Alesha from the bed where she was sleeping and inflicted horrific injuries on her before dumping her body in woodland. During the trial pathologist John Williams told the court Alesha had 117 separate injuries, including catastrophic injuries to her private parts more severe than he had ever seen before and which were at least partially inflicted while she was still alive. The trial heard Alesha was days into her summer holiday on the island with father Robert MacPhail, 26, and grandparents Angela King and Calum MacPhail when she was snatched by Campbell, who tried to blame her fathers girlfriend Toni McLachlan, 18, for the crime. Campbells semen was found on the schoolgirl but he tried to claim Ms McLachlan must have planted it there after the pair had sex. Story continues Aleshas mother Georgina Lochrane spoke of her devastation after the trial (Picture: PA) After the trial, Aleshas mother Georgina Lochrane, said: Words cannot express just how devastated I am to have lost my beautiful, happy, smiley wee girl. I am glad that the boy who did this has finally been brought to justice and that he will not be able to inflict the pain on another family that he has done to mine. Alesha, I love you so much, my wee pal. I will miss you forever. The MacPhail family said: We cant believe that we will never see our wee angel Alesha again. We miss her so much. We hope that the boy who took her from us is jailed for a long time because of what he has done to our family. Alesha may be gone from our lives but she will always be in our hearts. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK Near Baghouz (Syria) (AFP) - US-backed fighters trucked out civilians from the last speck of the Islamic State group's dying "caliphate" in Syria on Friday, eager to press on with the battle to crush the jihadists. More than four years after IS overran large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq, and declared a "caliphate", they have lost all of it but a tiny patch in the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border. More than 40 trucks carrying men, women and children left the enclave on Friday, AFP correspondents at a position of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces outside the village reported. Most were women and children, their clothes caked in dust, but the passengers also included men with their faces wrapped in chequered scarves. Women clung to the railings of the trucks, while the hair of younger girls blew in the wind, as they left the enclave in the second such large-scale evacuation in three days. On the back of one of the trucks, three men covered their faces with their hands, apparently not to be caught on camera. Asked what the situation was like inside IS's last scrap of territory, a young man replied: "Not good". On the roof of one of the trucks, an old man with a thick white beard wearing a red and white checkered scarf on his head yelled down: "There is an ill man with us." SDF spokesman Adnan Afrin said more than 2,000 people were estimated to still be inside the pocket, and more trucks were expected to bring them out. - 'War or surrender' - Once the evacuations have ended, the jihadists will have to decide whether to continue defending the less than half a square kilometre (a fifth of a square mile) they still hold, he said. "They will be faced with a choice: war or surrender," Afrin said. Earlier on Friday, SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali said he hoped civilian evacuations could be completed by Saturday. The Kurdish-led SDF evacuated 3,000 people on Wednesday -- mostly women and children -- but trucks left near empty on Thursday. Story continues Bali said that screenings had determined most of those evacuated on Wednesday were foreigners. "The majority are Iraqi and from countries of the former Soviet Union, but there are also Europeans," he said. David Eubank, the leader of the Free Burma Rangers aid group, said they included "many French women", as well as others from Australia, Austria, Germany and Russia, and one woman from Britain. Human Rights Watch urged the SDF and the US-led coalition supporting it to make protecting civilians a priority. "Witnesses described harrowing conditions in the last months, with lack of food and aid forcing them to eat grass and weeds to survive," it said. Around 44,000 people -- mostly civilians -- have streamed out of IS's shrinking patch territory since early December, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Once the SDF have weeded out potential jihadists from each batch of new arrivals, civilians are trucked further north to Kurdish-run camps for the displaced. They arrive "extremely hungry and dehydrated" and many of them require urgent medical care, the International Rescue Committee said. The IRC said 69 people, mostly children, had died on the way to the Al-Hol camp or shortly after arriving in the past few weeks. "Two thirds of the deaths are of babies under one year old," it said, including one who died Friday during the six-hour drive. - US 'peacekeepers' - The battle for Baghouz is now the only live front in Syria's war, which has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since 2011. Any SDF victory would accelerate a planned withdrawal of American troops from Syria announced in December by US President Donald Trump. Syria's Kurds have expressed fear that a full pullout would leave them exposed to a long threatened attack by neighbouring Turkey. But the White House said Thursday the US military will keep "a small peacekeeping group of about 200" in Syria after the withdrawal. The Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria welcomed the move. It is "very important to maintain stability and protect our region from the Turkish threats, and ensure that terrorism will not be back," foreign affairs official Abdulkarim Omar said. IS once imposed its brutal ideology on an area roughly the size of the United Kingdom, attracting thousands from abroad. But some of those foreigners have been killed, while the SDF holds hundreds more. The Kurds have repeatedly urged their governments to take them back, largely without success. Syria's Kurds have requested their repatriation, but foreign governments have been reluctant. On Thursday, the father of Hoda Muthana, 24, sued to bring her home after the Trump administration declared she was not a US citizen. Shamima Begum, 19, faced being left stateless after Britain revoked her citizenship, and Bangladesh, where her parents are from, said it not want her. Beyond Baghouz, IS retains a presence in the vast Syrian desert, and continues to claim deadly attacks in SDF-held territory. NEW YORK (AP) President Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen was granted a few more weeks of freedom Wednesday after his lawyers said he's still recovering from surgery and hasn't had time to get his affairs in order because he's preparing to testify before Congress next week. U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III approved delaying the start of Cohen's three-year sentence until May 6. Cohen's lawyer said he was undergoing intensive post-surgery physical therapy and spending substantial time getting ready for testimony he's scheduled to deliver to three congressional committees. The House Oversight and Reform committee said Wednesday night that Cohen would testify publicly on Feb. 27. Chairman Elijah Cummings said in a memo that Cohen would be questioned about issues related to Trump's business practices, presidential campaign and embattled charitable foundation, including any payments relating to efforts to influence the 2016 election. Cohen is scheduled to speak to the House Intelligence committee behind closed doors on Feb. 28. That hearing will focus on issues related to special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Both panels are run by Democrats. It is unclear when he will give closed-door testimony to the Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence committee, which has subpoenaed him. "Despite @RealDonaldTrump attacks against his family, Mr. Cohen will not be deterred, will speak about his decade long experiences working for Mr. Trump, his own mistakes and decision to put family and country first," Cohen lawyer Lanny Davis tweeted after the rescheduled hearing was announced. "Congress has an independent duty under the Constitution to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch, and any efforts to intimidate family members or pressure witnesses will not be tolerated," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted. Cohen postponed his first date with the House Oversight committee, scheduled for Feb. 7, citing threats from Trump and the president's attorney-spokesman Rudy Giuliani. A closed-door interview before the House Intelligence committee was then postponed "in the interests of the investigation," Chairman Adam Schiff said. Story continues Last week, Cohen's lawyers said he was delaying his Senate testimony "due to post-surgery medical needs." Cohen, 52, was spotted last month in New York City wearing a hospital ID bracelet and with his right arm in a sling after his lawyer said he'd undergone minor shoulder surgery. Prosecutors did not object to a "one-time" 60-day delay from the original date Cohen was supposed to report to prison, March 6, Cohen's lawyers said. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office said Wednesday that prosecutors declined to comment. Cohen was sentenced in December to three years in prison after pleading guilty to lying to the Senate intelligence committee and campaign finance violations. Cohen acknowledged lying to the committee about his role in a Trump business proposal in Moscow. He told lawmakers he had abandoned the project in January 2016, but he actually continued pursuing it for months after that. He also pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations for his involvement in payments to a former Playboy model and porn actress who had alleged affairs with Trump. In a letter requesting the delay dated Wednesday, Cohen attorney Michael D. Monico cited a "more fulsome letter" sent to Pauley eight days ago by Cohen that was sealed. Monico said in Wednesday's letter that Cohen needs to be monitored by his physician during his recovery. Cohen's congressional testimony "will require Mr. Cohen to spend substantial time in preparation that will limit the time he has to get his affairs in order and spend time with his family, especially given such a short period between the anticipated hearings and the present reporting date," Monico wrote. After the delay request was granted, Monico and fellow Cohen lawyers Barry Spevack and Lanny Davis issued a statement saying the extra time will allow Cohen to "prepare for the expected testimony next week before congressional committees, which he welcomes." __ Associated Press reporters Mary Clare Jalonick and Chad Day in Washington contributed to this report. Paris (AFP) - A giant submarine deal between France and Australia is the latest sign of deepening relations between the two countries, which are being driven together by mutual concern about China and Britain's changing role in the world, analysts say. Australia announced last week that it had finalised a Aus$50 billion ($35 billion) deal to buy 12 attack-class submarines from the Naval Group consortium, partly owned by the French state. The contract had been under discussion for years -- a preliminary deal was signed in 2016 -- but the final signature capped a period of intense diplomatic activity propelled by French President Emmanuel Macron. "France and Australia have entered a completely new phase. We've never been this close," Australia's ambassador to France, Brendan Berne, told AFP. "It's more than a contract; it's a partnership based on trust. Through this project the French are entrusting us with key elements of sovereignty." Although ties between Paris and Canberra were improving even before Macron's election in 2017, Berne said the 41-year-old leader "sees Australia through new eyes". Macron made his first official visit to Australia in May last year, when he proposed strengthening the axis of democracies between India, Australia and France in what was billed as a major foreign policy speech. Underpinning the relationship is a concern about the future of the Indo-Pacific region which stretches from the east coast of Africa to the west coast of the Americas, and includes the disputed territories of the East and South China Seas. As Admiral Phil Davidson, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said in January during a speech in India, "the future for prosperity -- not only for the United States, but all nations of the region -- is resident in the Indo-Pacific." It hosts vital international trade routes and abundant natural resources, which many nations have an interest in claiming -- above all regional superpower China. Story continues - Setting a precedent - France has a major stake through its colonial-era Pacific territories -- French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Reunion, Mayotte, and Wallis and Futuna -- which are home to more than 1.6 million citizens. Because of the scattered territories, France possesses the world's largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EZZ) of nearly nine million square kilometres (3.5 million square miles). As Berne points out, France's biggest maritime border in the world is with Australia, and the capital of New Caledonia can be reached by just a two-hour flight from Brisbane. Both nations have also been alarmed by increased Chinese assertiveness, particularly in the South China Sea, where Beijing is building up its military presence in a bid to claim the strategic seaway as its own, analysts say. "For France, because it has the largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world, respect for the law of the sea isn't an abstract concept," said Philippe Errera, an advisor at the French foreign ministry. "If the law of the sea is not respected today in the China Sea, it will be threatened tomorrow in the Arctic, in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Indian Ocean," he said. Apart from Australia and India, France has also been trying to beef up ties with Malaysia and Singapore, and plans to soon deploy its aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, to the Indian Ocean. - High stakes - For Australia, France's renewed interest in the region under Macron is welcome support at a time when US commitment to the region under President Donald Trump is increasingly questioned. "China is the biggest challenge for Australian foreign policy," Michael Fullilove, executive director of the Lowy Institute, an Australian foreign policy think tank, said at a recent conference in Paris. "How do we give a strong message to China -- we know China doesn't respect weakness -- without ruining a relation that is unavoidable, forever?" he asked. Australia and France, he said, are "beneficiaries of a rules-based order" which together they can try to uphold. Australia is also reassessing its relationships in Europe in light of Britain's decision to leave the European Union. London's tortuous negotiations to leave the bloc have sapped its diplomatic energies, while Britain increasingly lacks the defence manufacturing capabilities that France has retained. "The UK has lowered its international ambitions," said Fullilove, adding that "France is a global power with global power-projection capacity." Maaike Okano-Heijmans, a senior research fellow at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations, noted that France and Britain are the only European nations with a significant military presence in Asia. But she says there are worries that France under Macron might overstep. "France is up for it, but I think some Europeans are worried to see the French go there alone, too fast, or too strongly, at the risk of compromising relations with China," she said. But the French task force to the Indian Ocean will include ships from Australia, Britain, Denmark, Portugal and the United States, according to the chiefs of staff deputy spokesman Colonel Guillaume Thomas. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. SFM delivered a positive earnings surprise of 5.6% in fourth-quarter 2018. Notably, this was the seventh time in the trailing eight quarters that this organic supermarket chain surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Net sales also came ahead of the consensus mark for the third quarter in row. Further, both the top and bottom line continued to increase in double-digits on a year-over-year basis. In spite of reporting better-than-expected results, shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company fell 3.5% during the trading session on Feb 21. This can primarily be attributed to the companys 2019 view, which was not well received by investors. It is to be noted that the company's projection is below analysts expectations. Management guided net sales growth of 9-10.5% for 2019, which is below the consensus estimate of roughly 11% increase. Further, earnings are projected in the range of $1.16-$1.24 per share, which is way below the consensus estimate of $1.32 and also down from $1.29 reported in 2018. Meanwhile, the stock has declined 15% in the past three months against the industrys meager growth of 0.2%. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. Quote Lets Delve Deep Sprouts Farmers reported quarterly earnings of 19 cents a share that beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny and increased 19% from the year-ago period. Higher net sales, lower effective tax rate and fall in shares outstanding, courtesy of buyback program drove year-over-year earnings growth. Net sales came in at $1,269.3 million, up 11% from the prior-year quarter on account of comparable store sales growth of 2.3% and robust performance in new outlets. We note that net sales marginally came ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,266 million. Management expects 2019 comparable store sales to improve in the range of 1.5-3%. Gross profit jumped 11% to $421 million, however, gross margin fell 15 basis points to 33.2%. Higher promotional activity and rising distribution and transportation expenses weighed on margins. Operating income plunged 22% to $28.8 million, while operating margin shrunk 90 basis points to 2.3%. SG&A expenses rose 11% to $352.7 million, while as a percentage of sales the same contracted 10 basis points to 27.8%. This improvement was due to fall in workers compensation expenses and payroll tax benefit for California team members. This was partly offset by planned wage investments, and increased occupancy and advertising expenses. Store Update During the quarter under review, Sprouts Farmers opened two new outlets, one each in Florida and Nevada. During 2018, the company opened 30 new outlets and shuttered two locations, thereby resulting in 313 stores in 19 states as of Dec 30, 2018. The company plans to open 28 stores during the year. Other Financial Aspects Sprouts Farmers ended the reported quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1.6 million, long-term debt of $453 million and shareholders equity of $589.2 million. The company generated cash from operations of $294.4 million in 2018 and incurred capital expenditures (net of landlord reimbursements) of $154 million. Management plans to invest $170-$175 million in capital expenditures (net of landlord reimbursements) during 2019. The company bought back 11.1 million shares worth of $258 million in 2018. At the end of 2018, the company still had $218 million available under its share buyback program. Subsequent to the end of the year and through Feb 18, 2019, the company bought back 850,000 for a total of $20 million. Stocks to Consider General Mills, Inc. GIS has a long-term earnings per share growth rate of 7.3% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. LW, with a Zacks Rank #2, delivered a positive earnings surprise of 14.3% in the last reported quarter. Nomad Foods Limited NOMD has a Zacks Rank #2 and a long-term earnings per share growth rate of 11%. Wall Streets Next Amazon Zacks EVP Kevin Matras believes this familiar stock has only just begun its climb to become one of the greatest investments of all time. Its a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in pure genius. Click for details >> 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 Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (SFM) : Free Stock Analysis Report General Mills, Inc. (GIS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. (LW) : Free Stock Analysis Report Nomad Foods Limited (NOMD) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research International Finance Corporation Vice President Stoiljkovic meets Foreign Minister Gyawali International Finance Corporations Regional Vice President for the Asia and the Pacific, Nena Stoiljkovic, met with Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali on Friday. The SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (EDIV) was launched on 02/23/2011, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the market. What Are Smart Beta ETFs? The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment. Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency. On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta. Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics. Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns. Fund Sponsor & Index The fund is managed by State Street Global Advisors. EDIV has been able to amass assets over $568.35 M, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P Emerging Markets Dividend Opportunities Index. This Index generally includes 100 tradable, exchange-listed common stocks from emerging market countries that offer high dividend yields. Additionally, stocks must have positive 3-year earnings growth and profitability. Stocks are weighted by annual dividend yield. To ensure diverse exposure, no single country or sector has more than a 25% weight and no single stock has more than a 3% weight. Story continues Cost & Other Expenses Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same. With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.49%. It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 3.19%. Sector Exposure and Top Holdings Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings. Taking into account individual holdings, China Mobile Limited (941-HK) accounts for about 2.91% of the fund's total assets, followed by Ptt Global Chemical Plc Nvdr (PTTGC.R-TH) and Ptt Public Co. Ltd. Nvdr (PTT.R-TH). Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 24.99% of EDIV's total assets under management. Performance and Risk So far this year, EDIV has gained about 6.97%, and is down about -7.03% in the last one year (as of 02/22/2019). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $27.94 and $36.54. The ETF has a beta of 0.83 and standard deviation of 17.96% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 136 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk. Alternatives SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider. IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index and the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China An Inclusion Index. IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $58.35 B in assets, Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $60.35 B. IEMG has an expense ratio of 0.14% and VWO charges 0.14%. Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. Bottom Line To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center. 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 SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (EDIV): ETF Research Reports Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO): ETF Research Reports iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research BARCELONA, Spain (AP) Protesters backing Catalonia's secession from Spain clashed with police and blocked roads across the northeastern region Thursday during a student and worker strike over the trial of a dozen separatist leaders. Regional police said four people were arrested when officers met resistance while trying to clear groups of protesters who had stopped traffic. The regional emergency service said 37 people were treated for minor injuries. Twelve officers were also injured in the clashes, according to police. Protesters threw rocks at police lines and burned tires on some highways. Regional transportation authorities said the protests disrupted traffic on main thoroughfares in Barcelona and affected travel on a half-dozen major highways and train lines elsewhere in Catalonia. The general strike was organized by small unions of pro-independence workers and students. On paper, they were demanding improved social policies, including a 35-hour work week and a higher minimum wage. However, the protesters carried pro-secession flags and chanted slogans for the release of the 12 separatists who are on trial in Spain's Madrid-based Supreme Court for their roles in a 2017 independence declaration. The major labor unions in Catalonia did not back Thursday's strike, which appeared to have a limited impact on businesses. In Barcelona, the region's capital, students in favor of secession held a mid-day march attended by 13,000 people, according to city police. Tens of thousands more joined an evening march behind a banner that read "Self-determination is not a crime." A grassroots pro-secession group, ANC, organized the march. The Spanish government says regions cannot independently secede, according to the Constitution. The 12 Catalan separatists are charged with sedition and other alleged crimes for their roles in Catalonia's failed 2017 secession attempt. Three were scheduled to testify in court on Thursday. Story continues Their trial is in its second week and is expected to last three months. Election results and polls indicate that Catalonia's 7.5 million residents are divided down the middle over the secession issue. ___ AP journalist Aritz Parra contributed to this report from Madrid. __ More AP coverage of Catalonia at https://apnews.com/Catalonia Kong (Cote d'Ivoire) (AFP) - "Kong. Visit the mosque," suggests a battered road sign outside a dusty little town in northern Ivory Coast which is getting a makeover thanks to its best-known son. Unusually for a town of its diminutive size, Kong has two historic mosques, both in the clay desert fashion known as the Sudanese style, with a brand-new high school, tarred highways, and a multitude of construction sites. Work in progress ranges from a general hospital, public housing projects and a market place, to a new bridge. A beneficiary of state funds, Kong lies in the heartland of the clan of President Alassane Ouattara, who follows in the footsteps of many African leaders in looking to his origins. An isolated settlement of 7,000 inhabitants during a 1998 census, Kong was promoted into a prefecture -- a regional administrative centre -- in 2012, months after Ouattara came to power in Abidjan following a bloody post-electoral showdown with his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo. The change led to the establishment of offices for state administrative services and thus the arrival of civil servants. The latest census in 2014 put the population at 29,000 inhabitants and municipal employees say Kong is growing still. - Razed and abandoned - Getting there used to mean bumpy tracks, but the town will soon be linked by asphalt roads to the rest of the country. The preferential treatment has not gone unnoticed. "Is Kong a priority compared with larger towns lacking in infrastructure?" asks an opposition member of parliament, Patrice Kouassi. "I have nothing against development in the north, but it's a question of priorities. We have towns of similar size or towns with 50,000 inhabitants, and they don't have the infrastructure of Kong." Kong is looking to recover its past glory. The town was once the capital of a flourishing empire founded in the 18th century by Sekou Ouattara, a trader and warrior, ancestor to Alassane Ouattara. Story continues "A natural outlet for the riches of the Sahara and the region between the Bandama and Comoe rivers," the town maintained close ties with Timbuktu and Djenne, said Georges Niamkey Kodjo, author of "Le Royaume de Kong" ("The Kingdom of Kong"). The empire stretched over hundreds of square kilometres (square miles) from the north of Ivory Coast to the south of Mali and the west of Burkina Faso. Though nothing remains of it but a section of wall, Kong was once home to an Islamic university, while the two mosques attest to its religious status. A terrible fate befell the city towards the end of the 19th century. Kong's elders rejected an alliance with Samory Toure, a warrior-preacher who took up Islam, battling animists and French colonial forces to establish an empire of his own. Toure's army massacred the citizens of Kong for failing to cooperate and burned their grand mosque to the ground, implementing the scorched-earth tactics that marked his last years before being captured by the French in 1898. - Prophecy - The warrior ruler died in exile in Gabon two years later, the mosque in Kong was eventually rebuilt to exactly the same design, but the spread of French colonial power into Ivory Coast ignored a town of no use as a railhead. Kong was forgotten by the country's rulers in the south. By the time Alassane Ouattara's political rival, Laurent Gbagbo, became head of state in 2000 and remained doggedly clinging to power over a divided nation a decade later, Kong had been completely abandoned by the national authorities. "There was a prophecy that said that another Ouattara would come and restore the glory of Kong. That is happening with Alassane," said Fakari Ouattara, village chief, a cousin of the head of state and a descendant of trader and king Sekou Ouattara. The chief would gladly see Ouattara in power for a third term "if that is his choice", but such a prospect is deeply controversial in Ivory Coast, all the more because Gbagbo's refusal to accept defeat at the polls in 2010 led to clashes that claimed 3,000 lives. The portrait of another Ouattara hangs over the reception at the one decent hotel. Birahima Tene Ouattara is known as "Photocopy" because he looks so much like his brother, the president. He is minister of presidential affairs and has a hand in intelligence and security matters. As president of the regional council, he also looks after Kong's interests. Kong could become a crossroads for business, trade, and even a tourist centre, not just on account of the mosques but also its proximity to the Comoe National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The biosphere reserve is hard to reach, but efforts are afoot to boost access and appeal. "People think that because this is Ouattara's town, you have only to bend over to pick up money. This is false. We've placed bets, but they haven't yet paid off," said Lassina Diomande, owner of Kong's poshest bar, La Detente. Some residents complain that rents and food prices are being pushed up by the higher incomes of the civil servants in town. "That's perhaps true," said Fakari Ouattara, who was elected mayor by 100 percent of voters within city limits. "But the increase in business is going to benefit everyone." Paradoxically, the town's main benefactor rarely sets foot there. Nobody remembers a presidential visit in the past two years. But Ouattara is still revered in his ancestral town as the "King of Kong". Sobeys manager honoured for creating store environment that welcomes disabled Grocery chain Sobeys Inc. is scheduling sensory-friendly shopping hours at its Nova Scotia locations. Stores in the region will dim lighting, eliminate scanner beeps, stop cart collection, and lower noise to make shopping more comfortable for individuals with autism, hearing difficulties, PTSD, concussions and other conditions involving light and noise sensitivity. Sobeys said it will silence all PA systems, phones, and music, encourage staff to speak softly, hang visual aids near popular items like bread, milk and eggs, and position a manager at the front of the store to assist guests. The sensory-friendly shopping hours will be held bi-weekly in Nova Scotia stores between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. starting on Feb. 24, according to a post on the Sobeys Cole Harbour Facebook page. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Jacquelin Weatherbee, Sobeys director of external communications, told Yahoo Finance Canada that 42 stores are set to participate. It is unclear if or when the initiative will be expanded beyond Nova Scotia. Sobeys joins a growing number of businesses catering to customers with autism and conditions impacted by the bright lights, background music and noise that are often commonplace in brick-and-mortar retail. The grocery chain has partnered with Autism Nova Scotia. The initiative follows a successful sensory-friendly pilot project in two Prince Edward Island stores last year. Not only will this make grocery shopping more accessible for individuals on the Autism Spectrum, it will benefit all people with sensory challenges, Cynthia Carroll, executive director at Autism Nova Scotia, wrote in a news release. We know for many, this initiative will have a dramatic impact on their quality of life, and we are grateful that Sobeys is implementing this across Nova Scotia. Lori Rhyno, director of Sobeys store operations in Northern Nova Scotia, has a child with sensory challenges. She took a leadership role in the program. Grocery shopping as a family can be particularly difficult for us, and I understand firsthand how many Sobeys customers may benefit from our sensory-friendly shopping hour, Rhyno wrote in the news release. It warms my heart to know that my child is growing up in a world where friends and classmates better understand special needs and advocate for inclusion. Story continues Sobeys, a division of Nova Scotia-based Empire Co. Ltd. (EMP-A.TO), operates approximately 1,500 stores in 10 provinces under retail banners including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods and Lawtons Drugs. Sobeys has a total of 451 corporate and franchise-operated stores in its Atlantic Canada region, according to the companys website. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. Bratislava (AFP) - Slovakia on Friday decided to slap checks on beef imports from Poland after veterinarians in the neighbouring Czech Republic found the dangerous salmonella bacteria in a batch of Polish meat. Every Polish beef consignment will now have to pass lab tests before hitting the Slovak market. "I won't allow the failures of Polish authorities to repeatedly endanger our consumers," Slovak Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matecna said in a statement. "The state food and veterinary administration will therefore check all consignments of Polish meat until further notice." Matecna ordered the chief veterinarian to implement the emergency measures days after Czech veterinarians found salmonella, which can cause food poisoning, in a 700-kilogramme (1,500-pound) batch of Polish beef. Prague said the meat imported on February 13 had been distributed to five places in the Czech Republic and one in Slovakia. Czech authorities said all the meat had been traced down, with some already consumed at a restaurant, a hospital and two schools after cooking, which reduces the likelihood of an infection. Earlier this week Prague ordered lab tests on all Polish beef. Polish Agriculture Minister Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski floated the possibility of checking Czech beer in retaliation. "We can also check whether the temperature is always right, the expiration date, the malt and alcohol content," he told reporters. "I don't want to go tit for tat, but if we're going to be blackmailed, then we have no choice." The case comes on the heels of a scandal in January which saw Poland export a total of 2.7 tonnes of suspect beef to around a dozen fellow EU members, triggering a probe. The scandal erupted when the TVN24 commercial news channel aired footage of apparently sick or lame cows being butchered at a small slaughterhouse in northeast Poland, in secret late at night when veterinary authorities were unlikely to visit. Poland is a leading producer and exporter of meat in Europe, turning out around 600,000 tonnes of beef per year and exporting most of it to the EU, according to meat producer associations. Washington (AFP) - The US military is about to pull most troops out of Syria, seems set to slash its Afghanistan presence, and is engaged in a contentious mission on the border with Mexico. Yet the job of overseeing these momentous policies remains vacant -- and President Donald Trump's interim pick is under fire from Republican lawmakers. The role is being filled by Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive who was the Pentagon's number two until Jim Mattis quit in December over Trump's Syria withdrawal decision. Shanahan has made no secret that he'd like to be the next full-on "SecDef" -- as defense secretaries are known in the Pentagon -- but nearly two months into the job, his prospects were called into question this week amid reports of a spat with top US senators over Syria. According to The Washington Post, influential Republican Senator Lindsey Graham asked Shanahan at a Munich security summit if he had told European allies the US troop presence in Syria would be zero by April 30. "Yes, that's been our direction," Shanahan reportedly said. "That's the dumbest fucking idea I've ever heard," Graham responded. Shanahan wanted to convince allies to maintain a troop presence in Syria after the US pulls out, but struggled to persuade other countries why they should risk their forces with America gone. Graham went on to tell Shanahan that if Trump's Syria withdrawal policy endured, "I am now your adversary." A US official told AFP that Graham's outrage was aimed more at Trump's Syria withdrawal plans than it was at Shanahan himself. - 'Shared interests' - Graham is well-known for his rhetorical flourishes and selective indignation, and Shanahan on Thursday insisted he thinks of him as an "ally." "We have shared interests, he is a problem solver and I am very confident we will come together with solutions for Syria," Shanahan told Pentagon reporters. Story continues Senator Jim Inhofe, another senior Republican who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, has also expressed reservations about Shanahan, and his lack of foreign policy chops got him in hot water with the late Senator John McCain. At Shanahan's confirmation hearing, a testy McCain said a lack of detail in some of his foreign policy answers was "almost insulting." Despite all this, experts predict Shanahan, 58, will end up as Trump's nominee for defense secretary anyway. "Last man standing," Loren Thompson, an expert at the Lexington Institute think tank in Virginia, told AFP. "Once you eliminate all the other candidates, it's Shanahan by default." Several high-profile names have been floated in Washington circles, including Graham and fellow Republican Senator Tom Cotton. But why give up a powerful Senate seat when you've seen Trump chew up then spit out a string of top-level officials -- including former secretary of state Rex Tillerson, former attorney general Jeff Sessions and former White House chief of staff John Kelly? Additionally, running for a senior government position requires appointees to cut business ties and divest themselves of any stocks that might be seen as causing a conflict. For many an aspiring SecDef, it's simply not worth it. "There are both personal and structural uncertainties associated with taking the Pentagon's top job," Thompson noted. "The president's personality might lead him to lose his affinity" for a Pentagon chief, he added. For now, Shanahan remains in Trump's good books in part because he is not like his predecessor Mattis, who often pushed back against the president. While critics have said Shanahan may to be too much of a rubber stamp for Trump, being a faithful advocate for the president's policies will help him stay in the job. And besides, the defense secretary's role is to implement a president's agenda. "If you're part of a cabinet and you have views that you can't reconcile with the executive .... you have two choices," David Johnson, an analyst at the RAND Corporation, told AFP. "Either you change your perspective or you resign -- and that's what Mattis did." Dakar (AFP) - Senegal goes to the polls Sunday in a presidential contest that incumbent Macky Sall, facing unusually few challengers in a country fond of vigorous political debate, is confident of winning in the first round. His two biggest rivals -- popular Dakar ex-mayor Khalifa Sall and Karim Wade, the son of the previous president -- were disqualified after being convicted of corruption in trials questioned by rights groups. "Victory in the first round is indisputable," a Macky Sall told a recent Dakar campaign rally. Sall faces competition from four opposition rivals -- lesser-known perhaps, but campaigning hard against the president's plans for a second phase in a controversial infrastructure project called "Emerging Senegal." The giant scheme is Sall's legacy, but critics deride it as a waste of taxpayers' money, out of touch with needs -- and a potential debt dinosaur if much-promised investment fails to emerge. "If I am elected, I will throw his Senegal debt plan in the trash," one of Sall's election challengers, tax inspector-turned MP Ousman Sonko, has vowed. Sall's other three rivals are former prime minister Idrissa Seck, Issa Sall of the Unity and Assembly Party (PUR), and former justice and foreign minister Madicke Niang. The president is not related to either Khalifa or Issa Sall. The five-horse race leaves voters with a limited choice compared to 2012, when 14 candidates vied for the top post, and 2007, when 15 battled it out. - Stability above all - A new system approved by parliament last year despite opposition party resistance, requires candidates to demonstrate they have the support of a minimum number of citizens and regions. Once the new regulations were applied, only seven candidates made the cut, two of whom were then disqualified. "I can't be bothered to deal with politics," said shopkeeper Astou Fall of Bambey, in central west Senegal. "May the best win and peace continue, we value our national stability," he said, reflecting a commonly-voiced sentiment. Story continues Both Khalifa Sall and Karim Wade -- his SDP party's only presidential candidate -- have claimed their criminal convictions were engineered to rule them out of the race. Supporters of the convicted men have staged demonstrations to call for free and fair elections, while rights group Amnesty International last year spotlighted "unfair trials" in Senegal, and a "lack of independence" by the judiciary in Khalifa Sall's case. Senegal, which has known two peaceful power transfers, in 2000 and 2012, and no coup d'etat, is held up by some as a model of stability in West Africa. But election campaigns are typically marred by accusations of corruption, disinformation and sometimes violence. Just last week, clashes between supporters of rival parties left two dead at Tambacounda, about 420 kilometres (261 miles) east of Dakar. Ex-president Wade has called for the burning of election materials and attacks on voting stations, prompting the government to denounce an "attitude of subversion". The country, with a 90-percent Muslim population, is reputed for religious tolerance, and has been spared the jihadist attacks plaguing other countries in the region. But it has been reinforcing security and laws, sometimes at the cost of freedom, according to rights organisations. Opposition rallies have recently been banned and pre-trial detention for people suspected of "terrorism" extended from 48 hours to 12 days. Some 6.7 million people in a population of around 16 million are registered to vote. Preliminary results are expected soon after polling closes at 1800 GMT on Sunday, but will only become official a day or two later. A candidate must get more than 50 percent of the votes cast to prevent a second-round runoff. If no-one garners more than half the votes on Sunday, March 24 is the provisional date for a second voting round, though the exact timing will be determined by how long it takes to officially proclaim the results from the first round, and whether these are then challenged. Abuja (AFP) - Nigeria makes a second attempt to hold presidential and parliamentary elections this weekend, after a last-gasp postponement that angered voters and stoked the political temperature. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will on Saturday try again to stage Africa's biggest vote, at which President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking a second, four-year term. Challenging him in what is expected to be a close race is Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president. INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu has faced calls to resign since he announced the one-week delay just hours before polling was due to begin last Saturday. But he has since tried to calm nerves, insisting the body remains "on course" to overcome the logistical problems that hampered delivery of election materials. "I want to reassure you that elections will hold on Saturday," he told a news conference in Abuja on Thursday. "There won't be another postponement." - Suspicions - All eyes will be on the nearly 120,000 polling stations when they open at 0700 GMT to see if the correct ballot boxes, papers and results sheets have been delivered -- and on time. IT specialists have worked round-the-clock to reconfigure some 180,000 machines that are needed to check biometric identity cards, and allow people to vote. Just over 84 million voters have been registered this year, although INEC said 11.2 million (13.7 percent) had failed to pick up their permanent voters' cards (PVCs). There are more people with cards than at the last election. However, the uncollected cards will likely add to fears about a lower turn-out and do little to alleviate persistent fears of fraud. Many Nigerians travel from commercial centres such as Lagos to their home towns and villages. Fewer people are expected to be able to afford to do so again -- or want to. At the last elections in 2015, there were 67.4 million registered voters. Buhari, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), won 15.4 million of the 28.5 million valid votes cast. Story continues Repeated delays in the distribution and collection of identity cards this time have led to suspicions of skullduggery and conspiracy between the parties and INEC. Both the APC and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been accused of trying to buy the cards, with a view to rig the result. At governorship elections in southwest Nigeria last year, it was claimed the APC and PDP were offering 3,000 to 5,000 naira ($8-13, 7-12 euros) per card. Thousands of PVCs and card readers have been destroyed in three suspicious fires at separate INEC offices in central and southeast Nigeria. Yakubu has said there is "no evidence that the commission has been sabotaged", despite a whirlwind of accusations that INEC has been compromised that could hit the vote's credibility. - Security fears - At 76 and 72, Buhari and Abubakar are the oldest of 73 presidential candidates and are standing in what could be the last elections of their long political careers. Both have been fixtures on Nigeria's political landscape for decades, through the turbulent decades of military rule to the return to civilian rule in 1999. Just over half of all registered voters are aged 18-35, reflecting the country's increasingly young population. No date has been given for the results, but an announcement is expected from early next week. Buhari, a former military ruler, has again positioned himself as the candidate to tackle multiple security challenges, including Boko Haram Islamists, and endemic corruption. He also wants another four years to complete much-needed road and rail infrastructure projects and expand social mobility schemes, including micro-finance for the poorest. Abubakar, meanwhile, is seen as a pro-business free marketeer, whose main pledges have been to privatise state-run companies and float the embattled naira currency. The past has come back to haunt both candidates, with Abubakar dogged by his alleged links to corruption cases in the United States and Buhari claims of creeping authoritarianism. Earlier this month he suspended Nigeria's chief justice after he was charged with corruption. But with the Supreme Court he presides over likely to rule on any election petition, many suspected a political motive. Uppermost in many voters' minds on Saturday will be on safety, with tensions running high that increases the chance of violence, particularly in swing states. Buhari this week said he had ordered the police and the military to be "ruthless" with vote-riggers and ballot-snatchers. The army, which is not responsible for election security, has backed Buhari but Abubakar has said "the era of dictatorship and military rule." BEIJING (AP) Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in China on Thursday on the latest stop of a sweep through Asia that seeks to boost relations with the kingdom's neighbors amid frictions with the West. Prince Mohammed's visit follows trips to India and Pakistan, which send millions of laborers to Saudi Arabia and are seeking closer economic ties. He is to meet Chinese officials, including President and ruling Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, on Friday, highlighting Saudi Arabia's importance as one of China's top oil suppliers and a market for its exports, including military drones. The visit underscores China's attempts to balance its relationships in the Middle East, a major component of its "Belt and Road" initiative to link its markets to those in Asia, Africa and Europe through rail and road networks and infrastructure such as power stations and factories. Prince Mohammed's visit to Beijing follows one earlier this week by a high-powered delegation from Saudi Arabia's chief strategic rival, Iran. At a meeting Wednesday, Xi told Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani that "China's resolve to develop a comprehensive strategic partnership with Iran will remain unchanged," regardless of the evolving international situation, according to China's official Xinhua News Agency. China has also pursued robust ties with Israel. The crown prince's trip comes five months after he came under intense pressure in the U.S. and elsewhere following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Some reports allege Khashoggi was killed on orders of the royal family. In the U.S. Congress, criticism over the kingdom's handling of the war in Yemen has also been building for months. China is facing growing international criticism over its treatment of its Muslim minority groups as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on religion and minority languages. Story continues Thus far, Turkey has been the only majority Muslim country to criticize Beijing, with its Foreign Ministry this month calling treatment of minority Uighurs "a great cause of shame for humanity" and saying it is "no longer a secret" that China has arbitrarily detained more than a million Uighurs in "concentration camps." Saudi Arabia's Al Saud royal family has long cast itself as the defender of Muslims across the world. Its king describes himself as the protector of Islam's two holiest mosques at Medina and Mecca. Observant Muslims pray five times a day in the direction of the cube-shaped Kaaba at the mosque at Mecca. Saudi Arabia's silence on the Uighur issue is partly explained as a show of appreciation for China's non-interference policy in other states' domestic affairs, which contrasts with Western states' linkage of foreign and economic relations and human rights, said Jonathan Fulton, a political scientist at Abu Dhabi's Zayed University. It also reflects China's success in framing its policies toward Muslim minorities as a struggle against political Islam, Fulton said. "Many Arab countries are also concerned with Islamist political groups ... and see these as ideological threats to their governments," he said. Commenting Wednesday on the crown prince's visit, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said recent years have "seen a positive momentum in our cooperation with fruitful outcomes in various areas such as infrastructure and space satellites." "We hope that through this visit we will enhance our relations enhance mutual trust, deepen cooperation ... and inject momentum into our bilateral relations," Geng said. Prince Mohammed is to visit South Korea after Beijing. In New Delhi, he offered intelligence sharing and other cooperation with India in fighting extremism and terrorism, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi tackles rising tensions with Pakistan following a suicide bombing last week on Indian paramilitary soldiers in disputed Kashmir. By Chen Aizhu, Rania El Gamal and Meng Meng SINGAPORE/DUBAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco plans to sign preliminary deals to invest in two oil refining and petrochemical complexes in China during the Saudi Arabian crown prince's visit this week, sources familiar with the plans said, as Beijing seeks expanded ties with Riyadh. The Saudi delegation, including top executives from Aramco, arrived in Beijing on Thursday for a two-day visit, part of the crown prince's Asia tour, during which the kingdom has pledged $20 billion of investment in Pakistan and sought additional investment in India's refining industry. Mohammed bin Salman will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has made stepping up China's presence in the Middle East a key foreign policy objective, despite its traditional low-key role there. China has given few details about the visit. Saudi Aramco, the world's top oil exporter, will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to build a refinery and petrochemical project in the northeastern Chinese province of Liaoning in a joint venture with China's defence conglomerate Norinco, said three sources with knowledge of the matter. Aramco is also expected to formalise an earlier plan to take a minority stake in Zhejiang Petrochemical, controlled by private Chinese chemical group Zhejiang Rongsheng Holding Group, said two sources with knowledge of this particular deal. Zhejiang Petrochemical is building a refinery and petrochemical complex in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. The investments could help Saudi Arabia regain its place as the top oil exporter to China, which it has relinquished to Russia for the past three years. Saudi Aramco is poised to bolster its market share by signing supply agreements with non-state Chinese refiners. BUILDING BLOCK It is not clear what new details will be in the MOU with Norinco expected during the visit, as the two companies first announced an alliance in May 2017 during Saudi ruler King Salman's visit to Beijing. Story continues Under that earlier MOU, the companies agreed to build a refinery capable of processing 300,000 barrels per day of crude and a facility that would make 1 million tonnes per year of ethylene, a building block for petrochemicals, at an estimated cost of over $10 billion. A senior Aramco executive said last June that he expected the front-end engineering for the Norinco project to be finished by mid-2019, following which the company will take a final investment decision. Norinco public affairs officials were not immediately available for a comment. Aramco officials did not reply to a request for comment sent by email. All the sources declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. Meanwhile, the Zhejiang agreement would give Saudi Aramco control of the 9-percent stake in the project held by the Zhejiang provincial government. The agreement follows an earlier MOU that Aramco signed in October to invest in Zhejiang's project, which is planned as a refinery to process 400,000 bpd of crude and associated petrochemical facilities in the city of Zhoushan, south of Shanghai. Reuters was not able to immediately reach Zhoushan Ocean Development and Investment Co Ltd, which holds the 9-percent stake in Zhejiang Petrochemical for the provincial government, for a comment. China has had to step carefully in its relations with Riyadh due to Beijing also having close ties with Saudi's regional foe Iran. On Wednesday, the day before the crown prince arrives, Xi told the speaker of Iran's parliament that China's desire to develop close ties with Iran will remain unchanged, regardless of the international situation. (Reporting by Chen Aizhu in SINGAPORE, Rania El Gamal in DUBAI and Meng Meng and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; editing by Christian Schmollinger) Two more Australian colleges without accreditation enrolled students At a time when hundreds of nursing students at the Australia Institute of Business and Technology are in limbo, two more technical institutes in Sydney are found to have enrolled students in nursing courses without accreditation from the nursing and midwifery council. By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman cemented a $10 billion deal for a refining and petrochemical complex in China on Friday, meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping who urged joint efforts to counter extremism and terror. The Saudi delegation, including top executives from state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco, arrived on Thursday on an Asia tour that has already seen the kingdom pledge investment of $20 billion in Pakistan and seek to make additional investments in India's refining industry. Saudi Arabia signed 35 economic cooperation agreements with China worth a total of $28 billion at a joint investment forum during the visit, Saudi state news agency SPA said. "China is a good friend and partner to Saudi Arabia," President Xi Jinping told the crown prince in front of reporters. "The special nature of our bilateral relationship reflects the efforts you have made," added Xi, who has made stepping up China's presence in the Middle East a key foreign policy objective, despite its traditional low-key role there. The crown prince said Saudi Arabia's relations with China dated back "a very long time in the past". "In the hundreds, even thousands, of years, the interactions between the sides have been friendly. Over such a long period of exchanges with China, we have never experienced any problems with China," he said. Crown Prince Mohammed, who has come under fire in the West following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate in October, said Saudi Arabia saw great opportunities with China. "The Silk Road initiative and China's strategic orientation are very much in line with the kingdom's Vision 2030," he said according to SPA, referring to Saudi Arabia's sweeping economic reform program. Trade between the countries increased by 32 percent last year, he said. Saudi Arabia also said it was working to add Chinese to the curriculum in Saudi schools and universities. "The introduction of Chinese to the curriculum is an important step toward the opening of new horizons for students," the government said in a statement. China has had to step carefully in relations with Riyadh, since Beijing also has close ties with Saudi Arabia's regional foe, Iran. China is also wary of criticism from Muslim countries about its camps in the heavily Muslim far western region of Xinjiang, which the government says are for de-radicalisation purposes and rights groups call internment camps. Xi told the crown prince the two countries must strengthen international cooperation on de-radicalisation to "prevent the infiltration and spread of extremist thinking", Chinese state television said. Saudi Arabia respected and supported China's right to protect its own security and take counter-terror and de-radicalisation steps, the crown prince told Xi, according to the same report, and was willing to increase cooperation. Meeting the crown prince earlier on Friday, Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng said the two countries should enhance exchanges on their experiences in de-radicalisation, China's official Xinhua news agency said in a separate report. Chinese state media made no direct mention of Xinjiang in their stories on the crown prince's meetings. DEALS SIGNED Aramco agreed to form a joint venture with Chinese defense conglomerate Norinco to develop a refining and petrochemical complex in the northeastern Chinese city of Panjin, saying the project was worth more than $10 billion. The partners would form a company called Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Co as part of a project that would include a 300,000-barrels per day (bpd) refinery with a 1.5-million-metric tonnes per year ethylene cracker, Aramco said. Aramco will supply up to 70 percent of the crude feedstock for the complex, which is expected to start operations in 2024. The investments could help Saudi Arabia regain its place as the top oil exporter to China, a position Russia has held for the last three years. Saudi Aramco is set to boost market share by signing supply deals with non-state Chinese refiners. Aramco also signed an agreement to buy a 9 percent stake in Zhejiang Petrochemical, Saudi state news agency SPA said. This formalized a previously announced plan to gain a stake in a 400,000-bpd refinery and petrochemicals complex in Zhoushan, south of Shanghai. China sees "enormous potential" in Saudi Arabia's economy and wants more high-tech cooperation, State Councillor Wang Yi, the Chinese government's top diplomat, said on Thursday. But China was not seeking to play politics in the Middle East, the widely read state-run tabloid, the Global Times, said in an editorial. "China won't be a geopolitical player in the Middle East. It has no enemies and can cooperate with all countries in the region," said the paper, published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily. "China's increasing influence in the Middle East comes from pure friendly cooperation. Such a partnership will be welcomed by more countries in the Middle East." (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Sylvia Westall in Dubai and Aizhu Chen in Singapore; Editing by Nick Macfie and David Evans) Moscow (AFP) - Russia on Friday accused the United States of using aid deliveries to Venezuela as a ploy to carry out military action against President Nicolas Maduro's government. "A dangerous provocation, instigated and led by Washington, is planned for February 23," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, pointing to efforts by opposition leader Juan Guaido to pick up US aid being stockpiled on the Colombian border. Guaido's plans to try to bring the aid across the border are aimed at provoking clashes, she said, to provide "a convenient pretext for conducting military action". Russia is a key supporter of Maduro's government and has repeatedly accused Washington of trying to carry out a coup in Venezuela. On Thursday, Guaido set out in a convoy to collect US-supplied food and medicine stockpiled in Colombia, vowing to bring in the aid by Saturday. Maduro has closed the border with Brazil to prevent the entry of aid and the military has beefed up security at the Colombian border. Zakharova alleged that the US had moved special forces and military equipment "closer to Venezuelan territory" and was considering large-scale weapons purchases to arm the opposition. Noting that it had been five years since the Ukrainian revolution that ousted a Russian-backed leader -- which Moscow has accused the US of orchestrating -- Zakharova said Washington was preparing for more regime change in Venezuela. "It seems that in Washington there is nothing to mark the fifth anniversary of the coup d'etat in Ukraine, so they decided to hold a new coup d'etat," she said. She warned that a US military intervention in Venezuela would lead to a "sharp increase in tensions" around the world. Shipments of food and medicine for Venezuelans suffering in the country's economic crisis have become a focus of the power struggle between Maduro and Guaido. Maduro has said Russia was providing 300 tonnes of aid but Moscow has not provided details. Russian news agencies reported that Venezuela's Minister of Industries and National Production Tareck El Aissami would visit Moscow on Friday to meet with Russian officials. A source quoted by the Interfax news agency said talks would focus on "cooperation in trade and the economy". Roger Stone a former advisor to Donald Trump has been gagged by a judge after he admitted posting an image on social media that showed her next to a set of cross-hairs. The 66-year-old veteran political operative and celebrated enforcer of dirty drinks, told the judge he acted in error when he posted the image. He asked her not to alter his bail conditions relating to charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller, saying: I am kicking myself over my own stupidity. But federal judge Amy Berman Jackson, deciding what sanction should be imposed on Mr Stone, said she was not taken in by his appeals. She said he would pose a danger to others in the case unless she modified the terms of his release to include the gag order. While she decided he did not need to go to jail, she warned him he would be sent there if he broke the rules again. So no, Mr Stone, Im not giving you another chance. I have serious doubts about whether youve learned any lesson at all. The man said to have invented the phrase rat-f***ing in relation to political skullduggery, was obliged to appear before Ms Jackson when he was arrested last month by FBI agents after being indicted by Mr Muellers team with seven charges. He has denied allegations that he lied to congress and obstructed the House of Representatives intelligence committees investigation of Russias alleged interference in the 2016 election, and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. When he secured $250,000 bail over the charges, one of the conditions was that he not talk about the case. Yet, Mr Stone has made numerous media appearances since his arrest. Reuters said that last week, Ms Jackson prohibited Mr Stone or his lawyers from speaking with the news media or making statements near the federal courthouse about the case, in order to reduce the risk of tainting the jury pool and harming his right to a fair trial. But just days later, he posted a photograph of Ms Jackson next to the image that looked like crosshairs. He later took down that version and reposted it without the crosshairs, before taking down the post a second time. Story continues How hard was it to come up with a photo that didnt have the crosshairs in the corner? Ms Jackson asked Mr Stone, the news agency said. Mr Stone said he had asked a volunteer to provide him with a photo and said he did not review it ahead of time. I didnt even recognise it was crosshairs ... Until it was brought to my attention by a reporter. WASHINGTON The Justice Department sought Friday to dampen expectations for the completion of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, saying the report is not expected next week. Speculation was rampant about what the report might contain and what Attorney General William Barr would release publicly in the wake of a CNN report that Mueller could finish as early as next week. A senior Justice Department official said Friday that such reports are incorrect. The incident marked a rare public comment about the nearly two-year investigation. In January, Mueller spokesman Peter Carr disputed a Buzzfeed report that President Donald Trump had ordered his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress. Cohen is scheduled to testify next week before three congressional committees, with a public hearing Wednesday before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. He reports to prison May 6. There is no deadline for Mueller to complete his work, and several cases are pending. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Robert Mueller: Justice Department says special counsel won't finish report next week By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - A rise in China-bound exports of British oil may soften the potential blow to the sale of UK crude to Asia from a no-deal Brexit, export data showed and trade sources said, offsetting likely lower shipments to South Korea. While Britain and the European Union remain in talks over Brexit, tariffs and other terms governing Britain's trade with most of the globe would be set under World Trade Organization rules under a no-deal departure from the EU. The flow of British crude to Asia is significant for the global market as it can affect prices and is a popular trading play. Oil companies have been worried a no-deal Brexit could limit this arbitrage, creating excess supply in Europe. According to UK government and oil trading sources, the flow of British crude to China would not face increased tariffs under a no-deal Brexit. China has in recent months been purchasing more than South Korea, the other major Asian buyer of UK oil. "Leaving without a deal wouldn't impact the tariffs we face from China," a UK government source said, since Britain already trades with China under WTO rules. This would go some way to leaving the arbitrage in Asia open for Forties, the most popular British crude grade among Asian buyers. With the way forward still unclear, the UK's Department for International Trade said the government recommended planning for all Brexit outcomes, including no deal. "Our priority is to avoid disruption to our global trading relationships as we leave the European Union and we are seeking continuity for existing free trade agreements," the department said in a statement. 'FEWER OPTIONS' A trader with an oil company dealing in Forties said China would remain a viable outlet under a no-deal Brexit. "Yes, I think it would," he said. "But I suppose looking at the overall picture, you would have fewer options for your barrels." Flows to South Korea may decline, he said, since the UK would drop out of a free-trade agreement (FTA) the EU has with that country. With the FTA, South Korea became a big buyer of Forties, a trade that has helped support the grade's value. Story continues Such shipments also affect global prices as Forties is part of the Brent benchmark used for oil deals. As a result, trading plays hinging on sending UK crude via tanker to the East, or appearing to do so, have become a popular feature of the market. Oil companies that trade Forties are concerned its value could drop if South Korea imposes a customs tariff that matches pre-FTA levels should the UK leave the EU with no deal or without a separate trade agreement with Seoul. "We worried about the impact it would have on Forties if the obvious arbitrage was not there any more," a second North Sea trading source said. "This would lower the value as there will be too much crude in the North Sea that needs to find a home." Still, China has increasingly been providing that home, buying between 4 million and 6 million barrels of Forties a month since October, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. Flows of Forties to Asia's biggest buyers: https://tmsnrt.rs/2TVvHeF The economics of the trade hinge on a number of factors, such as freight rates and the competitiveness of a Brent-linked crude such as Forties against a more local crude grade based on the Dubai benchmark. "Clearly the UK has found a ready market for this type of crude in China," Kpler, which researches oil trade patterns, said in a report. "The flow of Forties into China is particularly interesting given the unusually long distance and shipment time." (Editing by Dale Hudson) As the Watergate scandal unfolded, Republican allies of President Richard Nixon raised questions about the partisan leanings of investigators and sought to undermine some of their conclusions. One thing they didnt do: Investigate the investigators. But as Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election progressed over the past two years, GOP lawmakers sought to defend President Donald Trump in part by digging into the investigation itself, something historians say is unprecedented in American politics. As documented in the New York Times this week, the presidents allies in Congress have opened investigations into the FBIs handling of investigations into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, received private texts from the Justice Department between two FBI officials involved in the Russia case, gone after sensitive Justice Department documents about the start of the investigation and trusted informants, and threatened to hold the deputy attorney general in contempt of Congress for refusing to provide certain documents. Historians say this marks a new era of hyperpartisanship that will likely erode trust in traditionally independent law enforcement agencies. What Republicans have done recently is to take the whole thing to a totally new level, in that they have not just said that the Congress is being pushed by partisan incentives, but theyve really gone hard after the law enforcement institutions, says Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. This is all evidence of partisanship on steroids in terms of how you defend a president who is being investigated, adds Zelizer. Its not just theyre even saying this on television, theyve been investigating. Theyve been trying to use oversight as an arm of the presidents own agenda. Since Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in January, Republican lawmakers have found these investigations curtailed. But unconfirmed reports that Mueller may be finishing up his work soon have renewed questions about how Congress will respond if Trump is found to have been involved in some wrongdoing. Story continues The rhetoric has been remarkably similar to the Watergate era. Nixons allies in Congress levied some of the same criticism against Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox that Republicans use today about Mueller, explains Ken Hughes, an expert on Watergate at the University of Virginias Miller Center. Pennsylvania Sen. Hugh Scott, the Republican Senate leader at the time, referred to Coxs team as a hostile adversary staff and said they should be questioned about their loyalty. In a 1973 Senate Judiciary hearing, Republican South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond asked Cox (who had been fired before the hearing), Is it true that 11 members of your staff worked for Kennedy and Johnson? referring to the former Democratic Presidents. Im wondering how the special prosecutors office could conduct an objective investigation. A 1973 New York Times article about the hearing said it fell into partisan bickering as two Republicans tried to portray Mr. Cox and his staff as indiscreet Democrats out to get the President. Its hard not to hear echoes of Scotts comments Thurmonds questions in todays climate. House Republicans have accused Mueller of bias: for example, Its just outrageous to see this biased Mueller probe continue, GOP Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz has said. Trump himself has made repeated assertions that Muellers investigation is rigged and a witch hunt and that his team is composed of 13 angry Democrats. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The defense also has an echo: Cox noted at the time that about half of the top men in his department had served under Republican attorneys general; while Mueller himself is a registered Republican. Many Republicans stuck by Nixon until irrefutable evidence emerged of his guilt: a taped conversation in which Nixon told his chief of staff to ask the acting director of the FBI to halt the investigation into the Watergate break-in. For a very long time, when there was a whole lot of evidence of wrongdoing going up to the presidential level, a majority of Republicans stuck with President Nixon for partisan reasons, says Hughes, who spoke with TIME as part of a presidential history partnership. But historians note that congressional Republicans under Nixon didnt use their oversight powers to try to interfere with the Watergate investigation as some House Republicans are doing today with Mueller, in part because they werent able to: Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress during Watergate. Nixon did not have congressional attack dogs, says Timothy Naftali, history professor at New York University and co-author of the 2018 book Impeachment: An American History. He had defenders, who were quite vocal in their defense of him, but they did not engage in smear tactics in the kind of aggressive crusade that [GOP California Rep.] Devin Nunes and Gaetz and [GOP Ohio Rep. Jim] Jordan and [GOP North Carolina Rep. Mark] Meadows apparently have engaged in. The assertive use of oversight to go after investigators has fed the distrust of Muellers work along partisan lines. A Washington Post/Schar School poll from February 2019 found a majority of respondents 56% said they think Mueller is more credible than Trump. But the partisan split is stark: 86 percent of Democrats polled said they trusted Mueller, while 74% of Republicans said they would believe Trump. Its highly unlikely Muellers final report will include the same type of smoking gun that Nixons tapes provided in the Watergate probe. Which means faith in the integrity Muellers work will, in many ways, be the ultimate deciding factor in whether Trump is impeached. What this has done is really poisoned the way in which many Republicans think about the investigation, and it will make it harder when a report comes out, if it is damning, to build political support for doing anything about it, says Zelizer. Its not as if these attacks are going to stop. Theyre going to accelerate the closer we get to the report. Listen to this story: Relatives of six American oil company employees detained by the Venezuelan authorities have made a powerful appeal for their release, demanding they not be overlooked as tension mounts in the country. The six men five US citizens and one permanent resident, and all employees of Citgo, the US subsidiary of Venezuelas state-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) were detained in November 2017 after being called to Caracas from Houston for a meeting. They were arrested and charged with corruption over an alleged $4bn agreement to refinance company bonds. They deny the accusations. President Nicolas Maduro went on television to denounce them as traitors, saying: Theyre properly behind bars, and they should go to the worst prison in Venezuela. Asdrubal Chavez, a cousin of the late president, was appointed companys new president. For 16 months, the relatives of the Venezuelan Americans, who have become known as the Citgo 6, were advised to remain silent. Now, after 500 days in captivity and the mens initial hearing having been postponed on 13 occasions, they are speaking out. Were appealing to anyone who can help them or who cares about human rights, to release them, said Carlos Anez, son of Jorge Toledo, the companys vice president of marketing. Speaking from Texas, he told The Independent: Thats why weve even appealed to the jailer who has the keys to the jail please let them go. Mr Anez, who in recent weeks has been able to speak to his father after a phone was installed in the jail where the men are being held, said all had lost weight during their captivity, his father as much as 60lbs. At one point they were being fed only 600 calories a day. This week, a contemporary photograph emerged of another of the men, Tomeu Vadell, revealing the dramatic loss in body mass he has suffered. (AP) Mr Anez said recently, the mens relatives had been able to bring them food: If it was not for the food that my fathers brother has been able to bring, I am sure he would be dead. Story continues He said the men Mr Toledo, Mr Vadell, Jose Pereira, brothers Jose Luis and Alirio Zambrano, and Edoardo Orsoni were being held with 59 other prisoners in a cell designed for 20. To stand up and walk, or do push-ups, the men were forced to take turns, as there was insufficient room for them all. Some in the US media have used the plight of the six inmates as a reason to demand the ousting of Mr Maduro, who was sworn in for a second term last month after an election in May 2018, that was boycotted by most of the opposition. Fox Business Network interviewed some of the relatives before speaking to Juan Guaido, the opposition leader who declared himself president last month and was quickly recognised by the US, UK and Canada. Mr Guaido, who this week plans to transfer shipments of US aid across the Colombian border, said he would make freeing the men a priority. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. On Friday, Mr Guaido arrived with Colombian President Ivan Duque at a concert attended by up to 200,000 people on the Colombia-Venezuela border, that is seeking to raise $100m for humanitarian supplies. Some have criticised the organiers - among them Richard Brason - for what they say is a politicisation of aid. Also on Friday, Venezuelan soldiers opened fire on indigenous people near the border with Brazil, killing two, after community members stopped a military convoy. Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world and a number of observers believe this is crucial to understanding the stand-off between Mr Maduro and the US-backed coalition seeking to replace him. The view has been reinforced by claims in a new book, The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump, by former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe. Mr McCabe claims the president in 2017 asked him why the US was not at war with Venezuela, allegedly saying: Thats the country we should be going to war with. They have all that oil and theyre right on our back door. Venezuela has for years relied on oil exports to support its economy, something that permitted Mr Maduros predecessor, Hugo Chavez, to invest heavily in social programmes, when prices were high. A failure to broaden the economy, combined with alleged corruption in the nations oil business and a crash in prices, have added to Venezuelas economic woes. So too, have US sanctions. In January, Washington expanded sanctions to include PDVSA, which for years was a major exporter to the US. The sanctions also included Citgo. US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said revenues earned by the companies would be held in escrow until Mr Guaido had been granted control of the government. Shortly after the sanctions were imposed, the Wall Street Journal said Venezuelas oil exports had fallen sharply as it struggled to find buyers. The Trump administrations recent moves on Venezuela have so many historical echoes its a veritable deja vu layer cake, Jon Rainwater, executive director of Peace Action, a Washington DC-based NGO, wrote recently. The appointment of Elliot Abrams as US Special Envoy to Venezuela last week was the icing on the cake. Abrams is an unrepentant interventionist. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who is among those seeking the Democratic nomination for 2020, is urging the US to keep out of Venezuela. She tweeted: The US must stay out of Venezuela and let the people determine their own future. US meddling in Latin America has been disastrous for the people of the countries where we intervene. The Venezuelan foreign ministry failed to respond to inquiries. The Associated Press said the countrys attorney general last week filed criminal charges against the new PDVSA and Citgo boards, appointed by Mr Guaido. A US state department spokesperson said: Due to privacy considerations, we are generally unable to comment about individual cases, but we continue to work closely with international partners to ensure the safety and security of US citizens in Venezuela. Mr Anez, the son of Mr Toledo, does not believe the six hostages or their families are being used as leverage by supporters of Mr Guaido. He said he wanted his father to come home so he could play with his grandchildren. The relatives of the other men have echoed the plea for their release. I dont think were being used, he said. If there was the chance for us to have spoken out earlier, we would have. We have no idea why theyre being held. This was an important human interest story 15 months ago if we have been able to tell it. Manila (AFP) - The Philippines on Friday handed over the reins of a new Muslim-led territory to rebel leaders who waged a decades-long fight for autonomy, but are now tasked with securing peace and prosperity. President Rodrigo Duterte personally swore in Murad Ebrahim, head of the Catholic-majority nation's largest Muslim group, as interim chief minister at a symbolic Manila ceremony. It comes after voters decisively backed in January the founding of the so-called Bangsamoro region in the south, the culmination of a peace deal to end a separatist insurgency that had killed some 150,000 people since the 1970s. Duterte and Murad, leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), have both said they hope the pact will help head off the rise of Islamist extremism in the country's Muslim-populated southern region of Mindanao. "The road to peace may be long and rough, but I am glad that we've finally reached its end point," Duterte said in a speech after also swearing the other members of a Bangsamoro transition government, a majority of them picked by the MILF. "Most of all we would like to see an end to the violence that has wracked Mindanao and have cost so many lives for nothing," the president added. Murad's MILF signed a peace treaty with the Philippine government in 2014, and the legislature of the mainly Catholic Asian nation last year passed a law creating the self-rule area, which voters later ratified. Murad and his transition body will form a cabinet as well as pass laws until the temporary arrangement ends with the election of a regional parliament in May 2022. During Murad's term some of his more than 10,000 armed fighters are expected to gradually disarm under the terms set by the peace treaty. The rebellion began in the early 1970s as a bid to set up a separate Muslim state in the Mindanao region. The rebels later scaled down their objective to autonomy. Despite the MILF peace deal, violence persisted as more radical Islamic groups set up shop in what remains the poorest segment of the country. Story continues In May 2017, hundreds of foreign and local pro-IS gunmen seized Marawi, the country's largest Muslim city. The Philippine military wrested back the ruined city after a five-month battle that claimed more than a thousand lives. An earlier peace treaty between Manila and a rival Muslim rebel faction had created a self-rule area in 1996, but it was hampered by funding and corruption, while the MILF fought on. The new entity is better-funded and slightly larger. The national government retains police powers. President Bhandari authenticates National Medical Education Bill President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Friday authenticated the National Medical Education Bill. With the authentication, the Bill has changed into the law. Watch the full episode 16 of Yahoo UKs show The Royal Box, here. Speculation of a rift between Kate, William, Harry and Meghan began to emerge shortly after the announcement that the Duke and Duchess are moving to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. There have been reports of tensions between the royal brothers and a feud between the sister-in-laws, with sources saying that the Duchess of Cambridge was left in tears following a bridesmaids dress fitting for Princess Charlotte. Every time the foursome step out together in public, last time was on Christmas Day, there has also been analysis of their body language. All of the various stories have left the world wondering whether theres any truth about the rumoured rift? Prince Harry was always going to branch out on his own [Photo: Getty] Royal correspondent Omid Scobie tells Yahoo UKs The Royal Box that theres always been the expectation Harry would go off and do his own thing and the move to Windsor isnt a surprise. He says: Its very easy or maybe I should say lazy, to allow this to play into that narrative of oh, theyre at each others throats. Ive had aides at Kensington Palace say to me that long before Meghan even came on the scene, they always knew that when he got married and wasnt sort of the spare wheel, that he would go off and do his own thing, with his partner and they would very much live under their own household with their own staff. PR expert Nick Ede adds: I think its just a way of the newspapers trying to sell as much as possible, get those column inches but really this is expected of a royal couple. The division of the couples shared household is set to take place ahead of the Harry and Meghans first child in April or May, according to The Sunday Times. Their office will remain at Kensington Palace and press officers will be split between the couples, with extra staff possibly assisting from Buckingham Palace. The split will reflect the Cambridges and the Sussexes different responsibilities and areas of interest. Story continues Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for non-stop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyleUK. Read more from Yahoo Style UK: Harry and William to split royal household within weeks Why has the coverage of Meghan and Kates fashion choices been so different? Meghan and Harry could choose American school over Eton for their child As the United States prepares a full drawdown of forces in Syria, former defense and intelligence officials are concerned with the regions stability and a repeat of what happened when ISIS emerged after the United States left Iraq in 2011. President Trump vowed a change in policy in his 2019 State of the Union Speech. As he specifically promised a reduction of troop presence and focus on counterterrorism, he stated: Great nations do not fight endless wars. Its a long-standing campaign talking point for him, but I think the real problem was the fact that it was not done through any sort of process, said Joseph Collins, former deputy assistant secretary of Defense for stability operations. Trump predicted all ISIS-held territory in Syria would be regained by the second week of February, but many U.S. military and intelligence officials still consider the extremist group a threat. ISIS as a terrorist group, and as an ideology is very much alive, according to Brian Katz, a former Defense Department official. Theyre just not physically holding and defending the area anymore. Theyre in the rural areas in Iraq and Syria, Katz said. Theyve probably started re-infiltrating some of the areas that were cleared by the counter-ISIS forces, rebuilding those clandestine networks to be able to launch attacks if there is the more significant drawdown of U.S. troops if there is a collapse of our local partner forces again. You have to continually pursue these groups until theres almost nothing left. And we did it one time before, said Collins. We did the best job that anyone has ever done in history and it still came back to bite us. Looking back at al-Qaeda extremists who became ISIS fighters after Obamas withdrawal, Collins said the United States should have learned its lesson. Al-Qaeda in Iraq was the most thoroughly destroyed terrorist group in history, he said. When U.S. forces and our special operators were done, there were only a few hundred of these stragglers who were left. Story continues President Trumps disregard for protocol to discuss policy with officials before making a public comment via press conference or tweets has left issues unresolved such as adjudicating foreign fighters and leaving local allies without support, Collins said. This is where the international community has to work together, including the U.S., because there are a lot of foreign terrorist fighters out of Iraq, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Alhakim said at a recent event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. We dont know what is the next step. On Saturday, Trump tweeted about the issue, calling on European allies to put 800 captured ISIS fighters on trial. The Caliphate is ready to fall. The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them, he wrote. The U.S. does not want to watch as these ISIS fighters permeate Europe, which is where they are expected to go. We do so much, and spend so much - Time for others to step up and do the job that they are so capable of doing. We are pulling back after 100% Caliphate victory! Without a policy decision from leaders, the future status of these fighters is unknown. You cant make foreign fighters stateless it encourages that individual not being connected to law-abiding societies whether its integration or any sort of accountability and heightens the risk of them pursuing extremist ideologies, said Melissa Dalton, a former assistant of the secretary of Defense for policy. Alhakim said U.S. policy should include working with partners to eliminate ISIS control east of the Euphrates River. But Collins criticized the United States unilateral actions which he said have occurred since the George W. Bush administration, but has been raised to an art form in the past two years. The United States consistently disregards the interests of our allies who are fighting with us and in fact dying with us, Collins said. Weve had a massive dose of unilateralism and we do not treat our regional allies or even our NATO allies with the respect they deserve. Currently, U.S. soldiers are fighting with Syrian Democratic forces, Kurdish fighters and Iraqi security forces, which are also made up of Iraq Shia militia, backed by Iran. In a recent interview on CBS Face the Nation, Trump said the presence of American troops in Iraq was to keep an eye on Iran. Katz said it might be an element of it, but it makes it more complicated for the Iraqi politicians trying to rebuild their country. The more difficult Western partners make it for these [Iraqi] politicians to support a U.S. presence, the higher the risk of an ISIS resurgence and potentially conflict with Iran, Katz said. The last thing the people of Iraq want to be drug into is a conflict between the U.S. and Iran played out in Iraq. As for the fighters, Dalton said leaving the area may make it easier for Turkey to infringe upon the rights of Kurdish entities. People whove been fighting with us against ISIS, against Assad, and against the Russians and Iranians, are now trying to figure out how are they going to survive? Thats one of the issues that has to be worked out in these inner agency meetings that never took place, Collins said. Katz said most military analysts believe keeping a small presence of 1,000 or 2,000 troops to train local forces and provide air support, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance is a good investment and can keep steady pressure on ISIS which prevents them from adapting and re-emerging. Officials agree that a pull out without regard for the regions future will influence how the United States is viewed on the world stage. U.S. withdrawal may also give way to Russian and Iranian influence, as well as Turkish influence in the east, which Dalton said may restrict future humanitarian aid access in Syria. "If the U.S. is not honoring its commitments to partners and allies, then the going gets tough down the road. What reason do they have to honor those commitments with us? she asked. Its a very rocky and troubling road that we are walking ourselves down." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: President Trump still at odds with former US military, intel officials over Syria United Nations (United States) (AFP) - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed peace efforts in Yemen and the crisis in Venezuela with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York on Thursday, a UN spokesman said. The 35-minute meeting at UN headquarters was requested by Pompeo. Pompeo and the UN chief "discussed the situation in Yemen, in particular the implementation of the Stockholm Agreement and the importance of the parties to begin phase 1 of the redeployment from Hodeida," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. "They also discussed the situation in Venezuela and the region", he added, without providing details. Yemen's government and Huthi rebels have agreed on the first phase of a redeployment of forces from the Red Sea port of Hodeida, in line with a ceasefire deal reached in Sweden in December. The port is the entry point for the bulk of humanitarian aid and supplies to Yemen, where millions are on the brink of famine. UN envoy Martin Griffiths told the Security Council on Tuesday that he expected the pullback of forces to begin in the coming days, but by Thursday there had been no movement on the ground. On Venezuela, the UN chief has called for serious political negotiations to end a standoff between leader Juan Guaido, who has declared himself interim president, and President Nicolas Maduro. The United States is leading a push to recognize Guaido, backed by about 50 countries including Britain, France, Germany and several Latin American nations such as Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. Fears are growing of a violent confrontation over Guaido's bid to bring US humanitarian aid into the country from Colombia, in defiance of the government which accuses Washington of using aid for regime change. The United Nations has said that aid should not be politicized. Suspect Andreas V, pictured with his foster daughter, who he is alleged to have raped (CEN) German police have admitted that almost all of the evidence in a massive paedophile case has gone missing. At least 31 children as young as four were allegedly raped more than 1,000 times by main suspect Andreas V., 56, and his campsite neighbour Mario S., 33. The men are alleged to have raped the minors at their temporary homes at the rundown Eichwald caravan park in Luegde, a town in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The case has shocked Germany, and the news of the loss of a suitcase containing 155 critical pieces of evidence which had not yet been reviewed has prompted further outrage. The suitcase reportedly contained 155 CDs and DVDs from Andreas V.s trailer, which had gone missing from the police station in the Lippe district. Only three of the 155 data carriers with a total of 0.7 terabyte of data on it had so far been reviewed. Mario S. is also under investigation (CEN) Interior Minister of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul, said that also in the analysis it came to serious technical errors as cops forgot to make copies of all the data carriers which is a normal procedure if such evidence is received. To investigate the loss, Minister Reul has ordered a special unit of four officers to look into the missing evidence. He said: All this leaves me stunned. Its a disaster. Its a failure of the police. Such mistakes must never happen. To the victims and their families I can only say that I am so sorry. I again apologise for it. The disappearance of the data was only noticed on 30 January and the discs were last seen on 20 December. Minister Reul said that the room in which the evidence was stored was not as secure as it should have been. He added that he does not exclude anything when asked if the evidence might have been stolen on purpose or if it has simply been lost. The campground in Luedge, Germany, where the abuse is alleged to have happened (CEN) According to police sources, the number of young victims identified in the case now stands at 31 27 girls and four boys aged between four and 13 years old and the number of suspected rapes runs to well over 1,000. Story continues The rapes were allegedly filmed by the perpetrators and broadcast over the darknet. According to the public prosecutors office, Mario S. is seen abusing children in some of the horrific videos he created with Andreas V. Andreas V. is suspected of not only raping his foster daughter, but also using her as bait to lure other children to his rundown holiday home. MORE: Irate pensioner accuses neighbours of invading his privacy with back garden trampoline MORE: Scary looking fish with human-like teeth found in Argentinian river Just like the 56-year-old suspect, Mario S. was jobless and still lived at home with his parents. According to reports, an investigation into the suspected child abuse committed by Andreas V. goes back as far as 2008. He and Mario S. allegedly sent footage to a third man, aged 48, who was arrested on suspicion of ordering the abuse. The 48-year-old man from the town of Stade in the state of Lower Saxony allegedly watched the men rape a young girl on the darknet twice. The men are alleged to have raped the minors at their temporary homes at the rundown Eichwald caravan park in Luegde (CEN) The missing evidence is not the first massive police blunder in the case as prosecutors are also investigating whether the police should have known about the mass rapes before. The first warnings about the mass child abuse were passed on to the authorities in 2016. Father-of-two Jens Ruzsitska reported Andreas V. to both the cops and youth welfare office after he allegedly saw him grope children at a birthday party in the town of Bad Pyrmont, but no action was taken. The youth welfare office of Hamelin in Lower Saxony also learned about the alleged sexual abuse when workers at the local job centre called for an investigation into Andreas V. He reportedly appeared with his foster daughter because he needed money and a worker found it suspicious that the girl said that she could no longer stand the smell of men. According to local media, in a joint meeting with job-centre workers Andreas V. even confessed that his foster daughter turned him on but that she did not want anything to do with his overtures anymore. All three suspects are currently being held in investigative custody while investigations are ongoing. Paris (AFP) - French rural life came to the capital Paris on Friday when cows, sheep and other livestock were paraded through a Paris neighbourhood to mark the start of an annual agricultural fair. Farmers paraded around 50 animals, some wearing colourful traditional headgear and floral decorations, through the Buttes-Chaumont park in northeast Paris before the opening of the International Agriculture Show. Parkgoers stood and watched as herds of sheep trotted along pathways besides the park's lake while farmers led brown and white mottled cows on ropes. Some animals got an accompanying accordian tune. Four cheese producers were also on hand to give the hundred or so assembled city slickers a taste of their fare. "In Paris, we don't often see cows. My three girls are really happy to see them up close," Cecile Lassale, a 38-year-old teacher, who brought her children, told AFP. President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to visit the agricultural fair over the weekend. The show, held from February 23 to March 3 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles has as its theme "Men, Women and Their Expertise." Paris suburbs already see some farmlife. Each month, shepherds from an urban farming project in Aubervilliers, just north of Paris, release a herd from an enclosure in a park for a wander in the streets. The sheep pace across zebra crossings, past cafes and petrol stations, stopping to graze at the base of graffitied public apartment blocks. ISLAMABAD (AP) Pakistan's prime minister on Thursday authorized the armed forces to "respond decisively and comprehensively to any aggression or misadventure" by neighboring India, as tensions soared between the nuclear-armed rivals. India has vowed a "jaw-breaking response" to a suicide bombing in the disputed Kashmir region last week that killed 40 Indian soldiers. It was the worst attack on Indian forces since the start of the Kashmir insurgency in 1989. Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the order in a government statement released after a meeting of his National Security Committee. It said Pakistan was "not involved in any way, means or form" in the attack, which it said was "conceived, planned and executed indigenously." In the statement, Pakistan reiterated its offer to help investigate the attack and to take action against anyone found to be using Pakistani soil for attacks on India. It also offered to hold a "dialogue" with India on all issues, including terrorism. India has long accused Pakistan of harboring and aiding Islamic militants who target its forces in Kashmir. The Himalayan territory is split between Pakistani and Indian zones of control, but both countries claim it in its entirety, and they have fought two wars over it. An insurgency erupted in Kashmir in 1989, demanding independence or union with Pakistan. Pakistan denies supporting militants, and has blamed the violence in Kashmir on what it views as India's military occupation of the territory. Following last week's attack, India halted trade and a key bus service with the Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir. A train service still operates between the two countries. In recent days, at the Lahore station, Pakistani families have bid tearful farewells to relatives returning to their homes across the border, fearing that India could cut off the service and leave them stranded. Pakistan's military warned India on Friday against "misadventure", saying it was capable of responding to any threats as tensions simmer between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. "We hope you will not mess up with us," military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told a press briefing in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, the second such message Pakistan has sent to New Delhi in as many days. Tensions have risen in the days following a suicide attack in Kashmir that killed 41 Indian paramilitaries and was claimed by Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), based in Pakistan. There have been calls in India for retaliation, but Pakistan -- which denies aiding the militants -- has threatened to respond in kind. "We don't want to go into war with India but if India initiates any aggression, they will never be able to surprise us," Ghafoor said. "Let me make it clear that we will defend every inch of our country till the last breath and last bullet". The powerful military's reaction came a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan authorised the country's armed forces to "respond decisively and comprehensively" to any Indian threat. The militant group JeM is one of several anti-Indian outfits fighting in Kashmir. Officially outlawed in Pakistan, India nevertheless accuses Pakistan as using the groups as proxies. On Friday, Pakistan's interior ministry announced that authorities had seized control of a complex believed to be the JeM headquarters. "Punjab provincial government has taken over control of a campus comprising a seminary and a mosque in Bahawalpur, reportedly the headquarters of JeM," an interior ministry spokesman said in a statement. "The action was taken in line with the decision of the National Security Committee", which met on Thursday, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan. The Bahawalpur seminary campus, located in central Pakistan, has a faculty of 70 teachers and 600 students, the statement added. India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir since the end of British rule in the sub-continent in 1947. Maputo (AFP) - A Mozambican worker was killed and six others were wounded when two road convoys operated by US gas giant Anadarko came under attack in northern Mozambique, an area grappling with jihadist violence, the company said Friday. The convoys were targeted Thursday on a highway linking Mocimboa da Praia to Afungi Bay in Palma, the nerve centre of Mozambique's nascent gas industry. They are the first such attacks by militants targeting gas operators in the area. Anadarko said there were "two related attacks" that occurred around 5 pm (1500 GMT) some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from an LNG project construction site at Afungi Bay. "The first involved a convoy where six contract personnel sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were either treated or are receiving treatment, and we have accounted for all personnel," it said. "Tragically, the second attack, which involved the firm contracted to construct an airstrip for the project, resulted in one fatality," it said in a updated statement. A journalist in Mocimboa da Praia town told AFP that the worker, identified by the company as Gabriel Couto, was beheaded. Armed men blocked the road and attacked the convoy with firearms, company sources told AFP, with local media suggesting that 15 attackers were involved. Anadarko is among international corporations investing billions of dollars to exploit major gas reserves discovered off Mozambique's northeastern coast. Anadarko last month advertised in the local media for the supply of armoured vehicles for use in its northern Mozambique operations. - Threat to gas operations' - In the latest statement, Anadarko said the construction site would remain on lockdown. "We also remain in close contact with government authorities to ensure appropriate measures are in place to protect our workforce," it said. "We are still working to gather information and continue to actively monitor the situation". Story continues Anadarko early last year temporarily evacuated workers from the area and halted operations after the US embassy in Maputo issued an alert warning of imminent attacks. Hardline Islamists have launched several deadly attacks in the Muslim-majority, oil and gas-rich Cabo Delgado province in the past year, stoking unrest just as Maputo pushes ahead with exploration efforts. The Islamist fighters -- reportedly seeking to impose Sharia law in the Muslim-majority province -- have since October 2017 terrorised remote communities in the gas-rich region, killing about 200 people, including beheadings, and forcing thousands from their homes. The Islamists belong to a group originally known as Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama -- Arabic for "followers of the prophet" -- but commonly referred to by locals and officials as "Al-Shabaab", although it has no known link to the notorious Somali jihadist group of the same name. Nick Branson, an analyst at the London-based consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, said the latest attack "marks a shift in tactics, as attacks have historically focused on coastal government positions and civilians, and have largely been carried out with machetes." "Militants now possess the capacity to threaten LNG operations on the mainland," he said. str-sn/ri Police seize hash and kief worth Rs 10 million; arrest two men A police team raided a house in Daandakharka village of Kailash Rural Municipality-1, Makwanpur, and seized hashish and marijuana dustalso called kief, with an estimated worth of Rs 10 million on Wednesday. Another New York City building will be stripped of its Trump signage after a vote by condo residents. The condominium board of 120 Riverside Boulevard on Manhattans Upper West Side announced the move Thursday, The Washington Post reported, with just over half of condo owners voting in favor of tearing down the Trump Place sign above the front door. The Trump name has been removed from at least four other nearby buildings since the 2016 presidential campaign, according to The New York Times. In October, residents of one decided to remove the Trump Place exterior lettering in a rejection of the president by the city in which he launched his career as a high-profile real estate developer. Neither the president nor his real estate company own any of the properties. Though Trump planned to develop the neighborhood in the 1970s, he never followed through and sold his interest to other developers, according to the Times. His company still manages some of the buildings that had been given the Trump Place names. In addition to ditching the Trump signs, the buildings have trashed Trump-embossed lobby mats and Trump-branded attire for concierges and doormen. One last building in the neighborhood still bears a Trump Place sign, at 220 Riverside Boulevard. That buildings board rejected a name change in 2016, citing the potential for litigation and the cost of removing the sign, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) A North Macedonia court called on parliament Thursday to strip the immunity from prosecution of a conservative party lawmaker and former parliament speaker, over accusations he was involved in organizing the storming of parliament in 2017. Trajko Veljanovski is accused of being among five people suspected of organizing the violence in parliament during a dispute over the election of a new parliament speaker. More than 100 people were injured, including lawmakers and journalists. Prosecutors filed charges late Wednesday against the five, including Veljanovski and former prime minister Nikola Gruevski, for posing a "terrorist threat to constitutional order and security." The court ordered two of the five, both former ministers, held in pre-trial custody for 30 days after questioning them until after midnight Wednesday. Veljanovski cited his parliamentary immunity and was released. Another two, including Gruevski, are abroad. Gruevski is currently in Hungary, where he fled and sought asylum after being convicted and sentenced to two years in jail in a separate corruption case. A caretaker tends to the headstones of 14 North Koreans killed fighting in the Vietnam War, carefully sweeping around the plaques honouring Pyongyang's little-known contribution to Hanoi's anti-American crusade. The bodies of the 12 fighter pilots and two technicians were buried here before they were repatriated in 2002 but the rarely-visited graveyard, bordered by rice paddy fields, remains a symbol of an era when Hanoi relied on Pyongyang for help. Today Vietnam is one of Asia's fastest growing economies and counts the US and South Korea among its closest allies -- two countries technically still at war with North Korea. Hanoi also maintains ties with Pyongyang and will next week host the second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. There is no word on whether Kim plans to visit the small, tidy memorial that caretaker and former soldier Duong Van Dau has looked after since 2000. "They are martyrs who died for our country, so I have the responsibility to protect them," Dau told AFP, standing before the headstones in northern Bac Giang province. He sometimes visits the site to light incense or clean the headstones, all of which face northeast toward the fighters' homeland. - 'Vengeance!' - Pyongyang sent about 80 fighter pilots to support North Vietnam during the war between 1966 and 1969, when American bombers were pounding the north as part of the Rolling Thunder campaign. The North Koreans never came face-to-face with any of the estimated 300,000 South Koreans -- including several dozen taekwondo specialists -- fighting alongside the Americans in the south. But they dispatched psychological warfare personnel and propaganda experts, some of whom targeted South Koreans with anti-American leaflets. "South Korean soldiers in Vietnam! Seek hundred, thousand vengeances against the American imperialist aggressors!" read one. Though the North Koreans are believed to have shot down several American planes, their overall contribution to the conflict was marginal and they gained a reputation for being tough but not especially effective. Story continues "They fought very bravely in the aerial battles, (but) they were generally too slow and too mechanical in their reactions when engaged which is why so many of them were shot down by the Americans," said Vietnamese pilot Vu Ngoc Dinh, cited in Istvan Toperczer's book "MiG-21 Aces of the Vietnam War". Though Vietnam today quietly honours Pyongyang's wartime contribution, leader Kim Il Sung's reasons for joining the fight in the aftermath of the Korean war were not totally selfless. "By sending North Korean pilots and other elements to Vietnam, he was helping Vietnam stay in the fight and to keep the American forces tied down," Jiyul Kim, assistant history professor at Oberlin College, told AFP. - Crumbling ties - As the war started winding down, relations began to sour. Pyongyang initially resented North Vietnam's willingness to negotiate with the US, and the allies continued to grow apart as Vietnam gradually embraced the West. Relations hit a low in 1992 after Hanoi established diplomatic ties with Seoul, followed by a quarrel in 1996 over an unpaid rice shipment from Hanoi to North Korea at the height of its famine. It took decades for either side to public acknowledge North Korea's wartime contribution. For Vietnam, ignoring this little-known chapter offered a more courageous narrative. "It's much more glorious to have beaten the Americans alone," Balazs Szalontai, an expert on North Korean studies and Cold War history, told AFP. It was only around 2000 that news of North Korea's help in the war emerged and later that year a senior North Korean official visited the memorial during a trip to Vietnam. The bodies were brought back two years later and remain in a war cemetery in North Korea along with others who fought in the Vietnam War. In the years since diplomatic ties have gradually grown closer -- though trade trickled under UN sanctions -- a once-isolated Vietnam now stands as a potential economic model for Pyongyang. Some Vietnam veterans hope the memorial will keep the memory of North Korea wartime involvement alive. "When we are gone, the young ones won't know anything about what the North Koreans did for us," said 90-year-old Tran Van Nguyen, who lives near the site. A new vote has been ordered in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District after the republican in the race admitted his lead over his democratic opponent was tainted by ballot-tampering conducted by operatives working for is campaign. The new vote was approved unanimously by the state's board of elections on Thursday after several days of evidentiary hearings in which witnesses said that operatives hired by the campaign of Mark Harris conducted illegal door-to-door ballot harvesting in violation of state law. Mr Harris, who had previously pushed back on the notion that his victory came as a result of any voter fraud, agreed on Thursday that his 905-vote lead over Democrat Dan McCready may have been impacted by that tampering. He urged the board to approve a new election, which has not been given a date. "Through the testimony I listened to over the past three days, I believe a new election should be called, Mr Harris told the board on Thursday. Its become clear to me that the publics confidence in the 9th District seat general election has been undermined to an extent that a new election is warranted." His democratic opponent cheered the board's decision on Twitter. Today was a great step forward for democracy in North Carolina, Mr McCready wrote. He continued, calling for justice for voters from the moment the first voice was silenced by election fraud. The boards decision could mean that the seat which is the last to be decided in the state from the 2018 midterm elections could be left open for months. The attorney for the election board is preparing to review laws for new primaries and a general election, and will then submit a plan to the board for final approval. There were about 280,000 votes cast in November in the district, which includes several counties and the city of Charlotte. The state has refused to certify the original results, which put Mr Harris ahead by 905 votes, noting that a political operative working for Mr Harris, Leslie McCrae Dowless, may have tampered with mail-in ballots. Story continues Mr Harris has claimed he was not aware of the ballot harvesting at the time. No criminal charges have been filed so far in the case. The Associated Press contributed to this report By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) - There will be no decisive breakthrough on a Brexit deal when Britain's prime minister meets other EU leaders at a summit with their Arab peers in Egypt at the weekend, an EU official said on Friday. "There will be no deal in the desert," the official said when asked about the chances of a Brexit breakthrough during the EU summit with the League of Arab States in Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday and Monday. However, the source said European Council President Donald Tusk would hold a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May on the sidelines of the summit on Sunday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte are among more than 20 leaders from the European Union expected to go to Egypt. London hopes May will have a chance there to lobby her fellow EU leaders again for concessions that would unlock Brexit ratification in Britain's divided parliament. "She will have a period of engagement again on Sunday and Monday with European leaders ... work is continuing at pace to make the kind of progress that we need," May's spokeswoman said. EU diplomats say there has been some movement towards a possible deal with London but stressed that much work remained to be done and were not expecting any imminent breakthrough. However, sterling weakened on Friday after the EU official ruled out a weekend deal. (Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan, Editing by Gareth Jones and Susan Fenton) Police headquarters starts fingerprint collection service Nepal Police has set up a unit at its headquarters in Naxal, Kathmandu, to offer fingerprint collection service required for immigration and visa processing in some countries. By Felix Onuah and Ahmed Kingimi ABUJA/MAIDUGURI (Reuters) - President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday urged Nigerians "to go out and vote", promising there would be adequate security for Saturday's postponed election that pits him in a tight race with businessman Atiku Abubakar. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced a week's delay to voting in the early hours of last Saturday, just as some of Nigeria's 72.8 million eligible voters were preparing to go to polling stations. In a televised morning address on the eve of the vote, Buhari asked Nigerians to "cast aside doubt and have faith that INEC will rise to the occasion" on Saturday. "Do not be afraid of rumors of violence and unrest. Our security agencies have worked diligently to ensure that adequate security measures are in place," he said. Buhari's rival Atiku, a former vice president who is representing the main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP), made a similar appeal to voters through his Twitter feed on Thursday night. "This Saturday, a vote for PDP is a vote to get Nigeria working again. Come out, vote and #DefendYourVote," Atiku said in a tweet accompanied by a video of his rallies. Buhari, a former military ruler who was later elected president in 2015, faces a close contest against Atiku to lead a country that has Africa's largest economy and is its top oil producer, but is plagued by corruption and insecurity. The Boko Haram militant insurgent group and its offshoot, Islamic State in West Africa Province, have carried out deadly sporadic raids in the northeast's Borno state. Boko Haram has warned people not to vote. Witnesses and security officials told Reuters an attack in Borno on a governor's convoy on route to an election rally on Feb. 12 was deadlier than the government had said. More than 1,000 soldiers from neighboring Chad, belonging to a multinational joint force comprised of troops from the region, crossed the border into Nigeria on Friday to help with the fight against Islamists, according to two Chadian military sources. Police patrol vehicles were seen moving around Borno's capital, Maiduguri, on Friday. Electoral commission vehicles were also seen ferrying election material under heavy police guard. "I think everybody has to be concerned about the security ... it is something that worries people," James Jatto, a pastor in Maiduguri said. Ali Gwarfa, an internally displaced person in Bakassi camp in Maiduguri, said he was preparing to cast his vote in a nearby center despite the insecurity. "We must go and vote for the candidates of our choice," Gwarfa said. Acting Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu said police would ensure security at the polls. In President Buhari's hometown of Daura in northern Nigeria, an election official, Saeed Ahmed, said electoral materials were being transferred to polling stations. "I am very optimistic that tomorrow's election will be credible, free and fair," he said. ELECTION DAY In Lagos, Cheta Nwanze, head of research at SBM Intel, a Lagos based intelligence firm, said the postponement of the election would favor the opposition. "I think it is important to say that, it cast the APC ruling party in bad light and it builds popular anger towards them," Nwanze said, referring to Buhari's All Progressives Congress (APC) party. However, Bukola Saraki, director general of Atiku's campaign, told Reuters the delay "disadvantages us". Members of Buhari's APC party and those of Atiku's PDP have accused each other of being behind the delay and colluding with the electoral commission, but neither party has publicly provided evidence to back up their allegations. The electoral commission's chairman Mahmood Yakubu has insisted the vote will go ahead on Saturday. He blamed logistical reasons for the postponement, and said there had been no external pressure. "Tomorrow is election day," Yakubu told a briefing. (Additional reporting by Madjiasra Nako in N'Djamena; writing by James Macharia; editing by Alexis Akwagyiram, Toby Chopra and Chris Reese) Abuja (AFP) - Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday sought to calm fears about election security, promising voters they would be able to cast their ballots in safety. "Do not be afraid of rumours of violence and unrest. Our security agencies have worked diligently to ensure that adequate security measures are in place," he said. "You will be able to vote in an atmosphere of openness and peace, devoid of fear from threat or intimidation," he added in a televised address. Buhari, 76, is seeking a second term of office on Saturday, but is facing a strong challenge from the main opposition candidate, former vice-president Atiku Abubakar. Previous elections have been hit by violence since the country returned to civilian rule in 1999 after decades of military government. But tensions have increased since last Saturday, when the electoral commission postponed the vote just hours before polling citing logistical difficulties. Buhari's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have accused the other of conspiring with the commission to rig the result. Abubakar, 72, said Buhari was paying "lip service" to democracy after he revealed he had ordered security services to be "ruthless" with vote-riggers and ballot snatchers. His opponent said the order -- which won the backing of the army -- was a "threat" and a "recipe for crisis", while others said he was encouraging violence. Just over 84 million people have been registered to vote on Saturday. Parliamentary elections will be held at the same time. Governorship and state assembly polls follow on March 9. Abubakar said he is hoping for a repeat of 2015, when the opposition voted out the president for the first time in Nigeria's history. By Abraham Achirga and Paul Carsten YOLA, Nigeria/ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian teacher Benjamin Shagu flew 500 km (310 miles) from the east of the country to the capital, Abuja, to vote in the presidential election - only for the vote to be delayed for a week, just five hours before polls had been due to open. "I have left my students for a week. I can't leave them for another week," said the English teacher - who traveled from the eastern city of Yola - weighing up the expense and disruption in returning to the city in which he registered to vote. Many of the country's 72.8 million eligible voters, having spent considerable sums of money on travel, face the same dilemma. The delay to the election, now scheduled for Saturday, could depress turnout, according to politicians and civil society groups. That in turn would reduce the mandate of the eventual winner to rule Africa's most populous country and its biggest economy. The two main candidates - President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar - are also both over 70 years old and have failed to generate significant excitement from a relatively youthful population. "It disadvantages us because we need the turnout. Our base is the youth population, and they're the ones who can just easily get turned off from the whole process," Bukola Saraki, director general of Atiku's campaign, told Reuters in an interview. "The momentum was on our side," he said. Idayat Hassan, director of the Abuja-based think tank Centre for Democracy and Development, also said the delay would likely benefit Buhari. His supporters had been galvanized in the last two elections with a high turnout in his core base in the northwest, she said, the region with the highest number of registered voters. The main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) typically attracts more support in the southeast, a region where turnout has historically been low, she said. Yusuf Tuggar, a campaign team member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, said his party would be hit harder because many of its northern supporters live in the south and could not afford to travel home. "It hurts us more because we have more supporters," he said. VOTER TURNOUT DECLINE Turnout in presidential elections has declined steadily since 2003 from nearly 70 percent to just 44 percent in 2015. That is largely because of growing disenchantment with a political class seen as corrupt and out of touch with a population that includes a high proportion of people living in extreme poverty. Hassan said that, irrespective of the outcome, lower voter numbers would be dangerous for the winner. "Sooner or later many people will question the legitimacy of elected representatives, especially when they have not participated in the process," said Hassan. Such concerns have led to the announcement of measures aimed at boosting turnout. The interior ministry said Friday would be a public holiday, to give people time to travel to the polls, while fuel suppliers cut the price of petrol and a trade union that operates bus routes nationwide agreed to provide discounts for trips to voting points. The hope was that people would overcome the difficulties involved in making a second trek to the polls. "I need to travel to perform my citizenship of Nigeria," said student Francisca Esidoy as she boarded a bus in the northern city of Kano, where she lives, to make the 970 kilometer (600 miles) journey to her southeastern home state of Abia. But others could not be enticed. Brauna Afraimu, 41, a civil servant based in Yola, said he was too disillusioned to make the 440 kilometer journey to nearby Bauchi state. "All these things will not motivate me to go and vote. I've already spent a lot of my resources and time last week," he said. (Additional reporting by Aaron Ross and Alexis Akwagyiram in Abuja, Percy Dabang in Yola, Kazeem Sanni in Kano; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by James Macharia and Hugh Lawson) SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Wednesday that Central American nations have agreed to do more to stop migrant caravans and fight transnational crime. Nielsen spoke in El Salvador's capital during a meeting with her Central American counterparts to discuss a regional security plan to fight illegal human trafficking, organized crime and gangs, and expand intelligence sharing and fortify border security. She said the region is facing a humanitarian and security crisis, adding that "I want to thank my colleagues for their determination to increase cooperation with respect to caravans." She called on security ministers from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras "to show a bold leadership to stop the formation of new caravans." In recent months thousands of Central Americans have moved in caravans toward the U.S. border. Those in the caravans repeatedly say they are fleeing violence and poverty and hope to apply for refugee status in the United States. "The caravans are a new phenomenon," Nielsen said. "We are working together to understand their purpose, their plans, and make sure that those who are vulnerable contained within them are protected." That was an apparent reference to migrants bringing children along on the caravans, in part because U.S. authorities have to quickly release them. "We all agree that enough is enough. We cannot allow children to continue to be exploited," Nielsen said. Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Russia on Wednesday for talks with President Vladimir Putin that had been scheduled for this week, the Israeli government said. It gave no further details in its Thursday evening statement, but Netanyahu's office said earlier this month that the two men planned to discuss Iranian military activity in Syria. The meeting was originally set for Thursday but was postponed the previous day with the Kremlin telling Russian state news agency Ria Novosti it was for domestic Israeli political reasons. Israeli media said Netanyahu was working with allied right-wing parties to hammer out strategy for an April 9 general election ahead of a Thursday night deadline for the submission of electoral lists. The rescheduled meeting will be the first extensive face-to-face exchange between the two men since a deadly friendly fire incident in September that saw a Russian plane being downed by Syrian air defences during an Israeli raid, which angered the Kremlin. Netanyahu and Putin, who have spoken by telephone several times since the incident, met in Paris in November on the sidelines of commemorations for the centenary of the end of World War I. Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets, and has set up a "de-confliction" hotline with Russia to avoid accidental clashes. Netanyahu has pledged to stop Israel's main enemy Iran from entrenching militarily in its northeastern neighbour. Both Russia and Iran are allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and have helped his forces to win back much of the country from jihadists and other rebels. President Trump says theres a good chance the United States strikes a trade deal with China, and he and President Xi could meet sometime next month. I would say its probably more likely that a deal does happen, but that doesnt mean its going to happen, said Trump. After two days of high-level negotiations, President Trump met with Chinas top negotiator, Liu He, in the oval office on Friday afternoon. The administration announced the Chinese delegation will stay in Washington through the weekend to continue negotiations. We have one time shot at making a great deal for both countries, said Trump. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin suggested President Trump could meet with President Xi sometime in March, if negotiations go well over the next few days. President Trump also told reporters if there is enough progress, he could extend the March 1 deadline, when tariffs are set to rise from 10% to 25%. I dont think it would have to be a long term extension, said President Trump. This week the two countries have been working on multiple memorandums of understanding, addressing issues including intellectual property, technology transfer, currency and agriculture. Mnuchin told reporters the two countries have come to an agreement on currency issues. China has also agreed to buy more U.S. agricultural products. President Trump told reporters it will be the biggest farm deal ever made. Robert Lighthizer, U.S. trade representative, second right, speaks as Wilbur Ross, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, from left, Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury secretary, and Liu He, China's vice premier and director of the central leading group of the Chinese Communist Party, listen during a trade meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Craig Allen, President of the US-China Business Council told Yahoo Finance negotiators need to focus on issues like intellectual property, state-owned enterprises and cyber security. We think that obviously the trade deficit is an important issue. But really, the more important issue is the structural impediments within the Chinese economy that systemically disadvantage foreign competitors. And I would rush to add -- not only foreign competitors, but private sector Chinese competitors, said Allen. United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said while progress has been made on structural issues, very big hurdles remain. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said hes encouraged by this weeks negotiations, but its a little early for champagne. Story continues In the oval office, President Trump reiterated that he and President Xi will be the ones to hammer out the final details of a deal. William Reinsch, a former trade official and current Senior Adviser at Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Yahoo Finance that gives Chinese negotiators incentive to hold back some of their concessions until the two leaders meet. I suspect their main goal is defensive, you know, get through this by giving up as little as possible, said Reinsch. Negotiators arent tasked with finishing an agreement, theyre tasked with getting as close as they can. Lighthizer said negotiators will continue work in Washington all day Sunday and Saturday. - Jessica Smith is a reporter for Yahoo Finance based in Washington, D.C. Follow her on Twitter at @JessicaASmith8. Read more: President Trump on auto tariffs: 'Well do the tariffs' if no trade deal with EU Lawmakers work to scale back the presidents trade authority as auto tariffs loom Congress readies for marijuana banking hearing OMAHA, Neb. (AP) A Nebraska sheriff's deputy charged with sexually assaulting a woman more than a decade ago now is linked to at least five other potential victims, and the investigation began with a polygraph test for a state patrol job he was seeking. Nicholas Bridgmon, a Seward County sheriff's deputy, is charged in Johnson County with forcible sexual assault, which allegedly occurred Dec. 1, 2006. Bridgmon has been placed on administrative leave, and his attorney didn't return a message Thursday from The Associated Press seeking comment. Authorities have said the other alleged assaults listed in court records occurred in several unspecified counties. A court affidavit in support of the charge says an investigation began when he was applying for a job with the Nebraska State Patrol. A pre-employment lie detector test in November showed some deception on his part. A patrol investigator says in the affidavit that Bridgmon later acknowledged that when he was 19, he'd had sex with two girls who may have been under the legal age of consent. He also said he'd had sex with women who'd slept heavily or passed out after drinking alcohol. Bridgmon's boss, Sheriff Michael Vance, said Thursday that Bridgmon was given a polygraph test before his hiring in November 2015. He doesn't know what questions the two polygraph operators asked or what questions may have tripped up Bridgmon on the state patrol exam. A lie test isn't fail-proof, Vance said, but it can be useful in making hiring decisions. "It helps, especially with people you don't know," said Vance, who became sheriff after his election in November. He also said there have been no allegations of criminal conduct against Bridgmon since his employment by Seward County. State patrol spokesman Cody Thomas said he couldn't share what questions the patrol polygraph operator asked. The court affidavit includes a woman's recounting of what she said was her rape by Bridgmon when he was 19 and she was 17 in or around July 2007. She said he groped her in his car as they drove away from her parents' home and then raped her at a remote location outside the Johnson County community of Cook. The village sits about 51 miles (82 kilometers) south of Omaha. By Joey Roulette CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA gave its final go-ahead on Friday to billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX company to conduct its first unmanned test flight of a newly designed crew capsule to the International Space Station on March 2. The approval cleared a key hurdle for SpaceX in its quest to help NASA revive America's human spaceflight program, stalled since space shuttle missions came to an end in 2011. NASA has awarded SpaceX $2.6 billion, and aerospace rival Boeing Co $4.2 billion to build separate rocket and capsule launch systems to carry U.S. astronauts to and from the space station, an orbital research laboratory that flies 250 miles (402 km) above Earth. "Following a full day of briefings and discussion, NASA and SpaceX are proceeding with plans to conduct the first uncrewed test flight of the Crew Dragon on a mission to the International Space Station," NASA said in a statement announcing its decision. (Reporting by Joey Roulette in Cape Canaveral, Florida; Writing and additional reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Bill Tarrant and Tom Brown) Ngapali (Myanmar) (AFP) - Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi touted Rakhine state's "untapped" economic potential to investors Friday, but glossed over violence that has scorched the area -- most recently claiming the life of an 18-year-old civilian. Rakhine, a vast stretch of arable land covering Myanmar's western flank, with off-shore oil and gas deposits and a long coastline, is also one of the country's poorest states. It has been scored by ethnic and religious conflict, especially in its restive northern region closest to Bangladesh. More than 740,000 Rohingya Muslims fled across the border after a bloody army crackdown in August 2017. The army is now also fighting rebels from the Rakhine ethnic minority, who are Buddhist. But in opening remarks to foreign companies at a Rakhine investment forum Suu Kyi gave an upbeat characterisation of the economic boon awaiting investors. Much of the state's potential "still remains untapped", she said at the forum in Rakhine's Ngapali beach, which is far south of the conflict area. She trailed the promise of tourism, manufacturing and specifically the oil and gas sector as "one of the shining assets of Rakhine State". Participants from India, Japan, Korea, Thailand and China were in attendance -- the latter is building a massive port in the south of Rakhine and pipelines running through the strategically important state. Suu Kyi blamed the international community for focusing "narrowly on negative aspects related to problems" in the northern part of the state rather than the potential to uplift Rakhine through development. Rakhine, she said, is brimming with opportunities and "warm and friendly people, all eager to be part of the development adventure". - Stalled economic progress - While Myanmar's former junta stunted the Southeast Asian nation's economy for decades, the advent of a civilian government under Suu Kyi in 2016 raised hopes of a turnaround in fortunes. Story continues But slow reforms, a weakening currency, and conflict have stalled economic progress. Suu Kyi's image as an upholder of human rights has also been shattered by the Rohingya crisis, which the UN has called ethnic cleansing. The treatment of the Rohingya has spooked western investors and Myanmar has looked to its Asian neighbours to fill the gap. China, Singapore and Thailand lead foreign investment in Myanmar as of January, according to government statistics. Suu Kyi's positive comments were undercut by fresh fighting in Rakhine's north between the military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic Rakhine force. Villagers held a funeral for an 18-year-old Rakhine woman on Friday after she was killed in crossfire two days earlier as soldiers descended on their district in Rathedaung township. "She was cooking near the house of the village head," a villager from Min Phoo village told AFP, requesting anonymity for safety reasons. "Our villagers did nothing wrong." Rakhine state police could not be immediately reached for comment. People in remote Rolpa village rejoice arrival of motor vehicles The people of Homa-Hangbang, a remote village in Rolpa district, burst into celebration when a small convoy of motor vehicles reached their village for the very first time on a recent afternoon. The Daily Beast Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Photos via GettyThe annual publication of the royal accounts in the second half of June is, traditionally, an opportunity for British republicans to bash the profligacy and expense of the British royal family. The Windsors and their monarchist cheerleaders retaliate with a well-honed argument that the royals only cost the British people a trifling sum per person (the 2021 figure is 77 pence, just over a dollar) and therefore represent excellent value for m MARLBORO, N.J. Route 9 in central New Jersey was closed in both directions after two tanker trucks crashed Friday morning, causing a massive fuel spill, evacuations and major delays for motorists in the area, authorities said. A total of 6,000 gallons of fuel 3,500 gallons of diesel fuel from one tanker and 2,500 gallons of gasoline from the other spilled onto Route 9 near its intersection with Route 520 in Marlboro, according to the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office. The highway was expected to remain shut down through the evening rush hour, according to the sheriff's office. Authorities urged motorists to avoid the area and plan an alternate route. Aerial photos from the scene showed pools of fuel had spread across much of the intersection. The crash and spill caused major traffic delays, and nearby shops, offices and a nursery school were evacuated, Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik told the Asbury Park Press. But he said crews had the situation "under control." The driver of the leaking truck was taken to the hospital for minor injuries, Marlboro Police Capt. Fred Reck said. The county's hazmat team, as well as local and county police departments, fire departments and emergency management officials were on site, Hornik said. He said he didn't know what company or companies own the tankers. The New Jersey Department of Transportation was also on site assessing the situation, spokeswoman Mairin Bellack said. Hornik said the NJDOT will also determine traffic routes for motorists during the evening commute. About half the stores in Marlboro Plaza, which includes Kohl's and TJ Maxx, were evacuated, Hornik said. A Press reporter at the scene said Marlboro Commons, which houses Whole Foods, and the Lowe's shopping center were evacuated. Hornik said The Goddard School, a nursery school, was evacuated and the children taken to the township's recreation center. An Exxon gas station, a chiropractor's office, Starbucks and several other businesses were also evacuated. Story continues Fuel could be smelled from at least a quarter-mile away. A tanker truck belonging to the Vineland-based Samuel Coraluzzo Co. & Torrissi Transport was near the site of the crash ready to suck the fuel out of the damaged tanker on Friday afternoon. The sheriff's office said the remaining fuel would have to be removed from both tankers before they could be towed from the scene. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Follow Kala Kachmar on Twitter: @NewsQuip This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Major highway closed after tanker crash spills 6,000 gallons of fuel in New Jersey PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Maine's highest court has upheld the murder conviction of a man who was sentenced for the 1980 death of a 16-year-old in a case that stymied investigators for decades. Philip Scott Fournier was convicted and sentenced last year to 45 years for the killing of Joyce McLain in East Millinocket. Lawyers asked Maine's supreme court to toss the verdict. They argued that Fournier's trial was plagued with mistakes, such as the exclusion of evidence of an alternative suspect and exclusion of relevant testimony. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court published an opinion on Thursday that it is affirming the conviction of murder. The opinion states the court "did not abuse its discretion" in the way it handled evidence and testimony in the case. Fournier was indicted in 2016. Venezuelan troops on Friday killed two indigenous villagers attempting to block their convoy from reaching the VenezuelaBrazil border, where, the villagers believed, the troops planned to prevent humanitarian aid from entering the country. The troop convoy entered the indigenous village of Kumarakapay and fired on a group of residents attempting to block their path, killing one woman, Zoraida Rodriguez, and one man, Roland Garcia, and injuring many others, community leaders told the New York Post. Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro has closed the countrys border with Brazil and has threatened to do the same to the Colombian border in order to prevent desperately needed stockpiles of food and medical supplies from entering the country. Maduro has cast the humanitarian aid donated by the U.S. and other nations as a political ploy meant to impugn his credibility, and has even claimed the aid is intended to serve as a pretext for foreign invasion. Opposition leader Juan Guaido, the head of the Venezuelan National Assembly, who is recently recognized by the U.S. and some 30 other nations as the countrys rightful head of state, condemned Maduro and the troops that remain loyal to him in a Friday tweet. The result of this crime: 12 injured and one dead, Guaido wrote. You must decide which side you are on in this definitive hour. To all the military: between today and tomorrow, you will define how you want to be remembered. Guaido, in his words of warning, referenced the caravan of volunteers who have vowed to escort vehicles carrying humanitarian aid across the border from Colombia on Saturday. Senator Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), who as a lawmaker representing a large Latin American constituency has helped lead U.S. diplomatic efforts in the region, predicted Wednesday that Venezuelan troops would refuse to violently suppress the caravan if ordered to do so Saturday. Saturdays a day when were going to find a lot about the Maduro regime, Rubio told Bloomberg in a telephone interview. I have reason to believe that rank-and-file military are not going to violently suppress aid workers. Story continues Theres already significant resistance by rank-and-file troops, causing military leaders to doubt whether the people under their command are going to do what theyre asking them to do, Rubio added. More from National Review Earlier this month, a much-discussed New York Times op-ed by Katha Pollitt captured a rising progressive fixation. Its a concept that has dominated the already-excruciating carnival of big-government ideas in the runup to 2020: Day Care for All. Get ready to have your minds blown, Americans: Universal affordable high-quality child care spearheaded by our completely competent, friendly, not-at-all-corrupt federal-government professionals, of course would end sexist structures of work-related oppression and change society for the better. Democrats are looking for big, unifying themes, and this bold idea should surely rise to the top. In case youre wondering how a sprawling new government-run bureaucracy dedicated to warehousing children from the age of zero onward will change society for the better, especially when many of our nations best public schools are feverishly plunking kindergarteners in front of brain-melting, attention-sapping, taxpayer-funded iPads every day, dont worry. As usual, progressives have all the answers. Sadly, many of those answers will inevitably be proven embarrassingly wrong once day care for all is fully and intractably implemented across the nation, but hey, thats showbiz. Universal government-funded day care will definitely fuel the economy, we are solemnly informed by people who know little to nothing about the economy. Moreover, under this plan, Americans particularly women will work more and more, instead of taking care of their own children, which is great! Why is this so great, you might ask? Dont ask! But hey, if people work more, we might rake in some more money from taxes, which can then be funneled into additional expansive government programs that will be used to increasingly butt into everyones business for years and years to come. You might think Im kidding, but that really is the arguments gist. As it turns out, Pollitt is better known for stridently championing an entirely different child-related policy, one she also calls a positive social good benefiting society as a whole. Im speaking, of course, about abortion on demand the disposal of inconvenient babies, increasingly trumpeted in progressive circles as an unshakeable right all the way up until birth. Story continues With this in mind, perhaps you can forgive me for questioning whether this craze for government-funded day care has anything to do with the well-being of children at all. In any case, the leading Democratic presidential hopefuls a wild-eyed, motley bunch I would not trust to babysit my cat, let alone my kid have gone all in on socialized child care. Bernie Sanders, the crotchety socialist who has raised an astounding amount of money since announcing his presidential run, was an early adopter of the universal day-care plan. Not to be outdone, Elizabeth Warren recently declared that forcing other people to pay for your child care is a fundamental right. Her dramatic Universal Child Care and Early Learning scheme, recently published online, would supposedly be funded through a hilariously named Ultra-Millionaire Tax, which sounds like the name of a villain in a comic book in which the characters are different types of taxes. Somewhere out there, its safe to assume that Kirsten Gillibrand is also droning on and on about state-run day care, but shes probably getting ignored. Sad! Life is full of mystery: How on earth, for instance, can ostensibly sane people look at someone like loopy human foghorn/enthusiastic former Soviet tourist Bernie Sanders and think the following sentence to themselves: Hey! I want that guy more involved in my childs upbringing! The nanny state is a pejorative term, people, not a policy prescription! When you look a bit closer at the language used by the most fervent government-day-care boosters, however, the puzzle begins to unfold. I think we are beginning to get past this idea that the very best thing for kids is to be taken care of privately, Stephanie Coontz, a professor at Evergreen State College, told NPRs On Point this week. She went on to add that children are a vital national resource. Fascinating! Children are a public good, Caitlyn Collins, the author of the new book Making Motherhood Work: How Women Manage Careers and Caregiving, insisted on the same show. They are our future taxpayers, our future workers, and raising them well is in everyones best interest. Well. That doesnt sound vaguely dystopian at all. I almost feel like I shouldnt have to explain why this is weird, but then again, Bernie Sanders just raised almost $6 million in 24 hours, so here we go: Children are not cogs in some statist wheel. They are not, first and foremost, potential taxpayers. They are unique souls created in the image of God with free will and a need for good nurturing and care and, if theyre lucky, a government that stays in its proper lane. I generally dont take sides in the mommy wars, at least when it comes to the pros and cons of the working world. But incentives matter, and the great progressive universal child-care push of 2019 aims to incentivize one way of parenting all parties working full time, which many parents dont even want to do while forcing other people to pay for it. Why the sudden urge to slap together a panicked, blanket approach to a wide and complex issue? What about letting people keep more of their own money so they can make their own decisions instead? Dont be silly. That would make too much sense for todays Democrats. More from National Review BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) The attorney for a man who attacked U.S. Sen. Rand Paul in a dispute over lawn maintenance has appealed a jury's decision to award the lawmaker $580,000 in damages. The Daily News reports attorney Matt Baker argued in a motion filed last week for a new trial that the financial penalties levied against Rene Boucher at the civil trial were excessive given Paul's injuries and Boucher's cooperation with authorities. Paul had testified during the three-day trial that he feared for his life as he struggled to breathe after Boucher slammed into him in their upscale Bowling Green, Kentucky, neighborhood in late 2017. An apologetic Boucher acknowledged he wasn't thinking rationally and called it "two minutes of my life I wish I could take back." A hearing has been set March 20 to consider the motion. ___ Information from: Daily News, http://www.bgdailynews.com Patients to suffer as doctors announce nationwide protest Doctors serving in state-run health facilities across the country have decided to boycott care except for emergency cases on Friday, in a tactic to pressure the government into correcting a provision of the employee adjustment bill that keeps them under the jurisdiction of the local level. BEIRUT (AP) The Latest on developments in Syria (all times local): 6:30 p.m. Two officials say they are trying to verify reports that Fabien Clain, a Frenchman who is one of Europe's most-wanted members of Islamic State group, has died in an airstrike in Syria. A French diplomatic official and an official with U.S.-backed Syrian forces say verifications are underway amid a standoff over the final sliver of land held by IS in southeastern Syria, close to the Iraqi border. Clain is considered a key figure in the 2015 attacks in Paris, and it was his voice that claimed responsibility in the name of Islamic State for the deadly onslaught in his home country. Neither official would be named, given the ongoing verifications in the village of Baghouz. A U.S. military spokesman said the coalition could not confirm the reports. By Lori Hinnant and Sarah El Deeb. ___ 6:10 p.m. A commander with a U.S.-backed Syrian force says back-to-back suicide car bombings in a market in eastern Syria have killed at least 14 people. Adnan Afrin says the two blasts went off Thursday evening in the village of Shahil, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the al-Omar Oil Field base in the Deir el-Zour province. He says two suicide bombers stopped their cars and detonated the vehicles in the market. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a car bomb that was detonated remotely as a convoy that includes workers and technicians who work at the oil field was passing. The Britain-based war monitor said 20 were killed and others wounded. The explosions came Thursday as the Kurdish-led forces backed by the U.S. are besieging IS militants in the last speck of territory they control in eastern Syria. ___ 10:50 a.m. An Iraqi security official says the U.S.-backed Syrian forces fighting the Islamic State group in Syria have handed over more than 150 Iraqi members of the group to Iraq. The official says the IS militants were handed over to the Iraqi side overnight, and that they were now in a "safe place" and being investigated. Story continues The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. The handover comes as the U.S.-backed Syrian forces are involved in a standoff over the final IS-held sliver of land in southeastern Syria, close to the Iraqi border amid the extremists' imminent territorial defeat. Earlier this month, Iraqi Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi said Iraq will take back all Iraqi IS members, as well as thousands of their family members. WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on the Alabama woman who left home to join the Islamic State group in Syria and now wants to return to the U.S. with her child (all times local): 8:55 p.m. The lawyer for an Alabama woman denied return to the U.S. after joining the Islamic State group in Syria says he has evidence she's an American citizen. U.S. officials contend that Hoda Muthana isn't a citizen and has no legal basis to travel to the U.S. President Donald Trump says he decided to deny her return and that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agrees with that decision. Pompeo says Muthana isn't a citizen and doesn't have a valid passport. Her lawyer, Hassan Shibly, released a copy of her birth certificate and a letter from a U.S. official indicating her father was no longer a diplomat when she was born in 1994. Shibly says Muthana had a valid U.S. passport before she joined the militant group in 2014. ___ 4:30 p.m. President Donald Trump is taking credit for the State Department's announcement Wednesday that an Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State group in Syria will not be allowed to re-enter the U.S. Trump tweets: "I have instructed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and he fully agrees, not to allow Hoda Muthana back into the Country!" Pompeo announced on Wednesday that Muthana won't be allowed to enter the country with her toddler son because she is not an American citizen, a claim that was challenged by her lawyer. Muthana is now in a refugee camp in Syria along with others who fled the Islamic State, and says she made a mistake in joining the group. Pompeo said she has no "legal basis" to claim American citizenship. But her lawyer says the administration's position is based on a "complicated" interpretation of immigration law. ___ 1:50 p.m. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says an Alabama woman who left home to join the Islamic State group in Syria is not a U.S. citizen and will not be allowed to return to the United States. Story continues Pompeo says Hoda Muthana does not have a U.S. passport or any legal basis to enter the country. He said on Wednesday in a statement that she "will not be admitted to the United States." The 24-year old who joined the Islamic State after becoming radicalized says she regrets aligning herself with the terrorist organization and wants to return to the United States with her 18-month-old son. SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) The Latest on cold-case arrests in the separate killings of a boy and girl in California (all times local): 5 p.m. Authorities say a man charged with killing an 11-year-old Inglewood boy in 1990 didn't act alone. At a Wednesday news conference, the police chief of the Los Angeles suburb and the brother of victim William Tillett asked anyone who might have information on the killing to come forward. The boy disappeared while walking home from school. He was later found suffocated. Authorities have charged 50-year-old Edward Thomas with kidnapping and killing the boy but believe he had help. Chief Mark Fronterotta didn't discuss details of how Thomas was linked to the slaying but said it involved old evidence and "advanced technology." The announcement came on the same day that authorities announced the arrest of a Colorado man for the 1973 murder of an 11-year-old girl from Newport Beach. ___ 10:46 p.m. Authorities have arrested a man on suspicion of killing a Southern California girl more than 45 years ago. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said at a press conference Wednesday that 72-year-old James Neal was arrested in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the death of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe in Newport Beach. Linda disappeared on July 6, 1973. She was last seen walking home from summer school, and her body was found the next day. The district attorney says the arrest involved use of DNA found on the victim, genealogical DNA and detective work that led to acquiring DNA from the suspect during surveillance. Authorities say Neal lived in Southern California in the 1970s. The victim's parents have died, but her two sisters have been told about the arrest. Logo of jester cap with thought bubble. Image source: The Motley Fool. Keysight Technologies Inc (NYSE: KEYS) Q1 2019 Earnings Conference Call Feb. 21, 2019, 4:30 p.m. ET Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks: Operator Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Keysight Technologies Fiscal First Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Kinsey and I will be your lead operator today. After the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) Please note that this call is being recorded today, Thursday, February 21, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time. I would now like to hand the conference over to Jason Kary, Vice President, Treasurer and Investor Relations. Please go ahead, Mr. Kary. Jason Kary -- Vice President, Treasurer & Investor Relations Thank you and welcome everyone to Keysight's first quarter earnings conference call for fiscal year 2019. Joining me are Ron Nersesian, Keysight President and CEO; and Neil Dougherty, Keysight Senior Vice President and CFO. Joining us in the Q&A session will be Mark Wallace, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales; and Satish Dhanasekaran, President of the Communications Solutions Group. You can find the press release and information to supplement today's discussion on our website at investor.keysight.com. While there, please click on the link for quarterly reports under the financial information tab. There you will find an investor presentation along with Keysight's segment results. Following this conference call, we will post a copy of the prepared remarks to the website. As a reminder and as we previously announced, we have changed our reporting segments due to an organizational change to align our Services business with our customers and end markets. We are now reporting our operating results based on three segments: The Communications Solutions Group, the Electronics Industrial Solutions Group and the Ixia Solutions Group. Prior period results for these segments back to 2016, can also be found on our website. Story continues Today's comments by Ron and Neil will refer to non-GAAP financial measures. We will also make references to core growth, which excludes the impact of currency movements as well as revenue from acquisitions or divestitures completed within the last 12 months. You will find the most directly comparable GAAP financial metrics and reconciliations on our website. We will make forward-looking statements about the financial performance of the company on today's call. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and are only valid as of today. The company assumes no obligation to update them. Please review the company's recent SEC filings for a more complete picture of our risks and other factors. Note that management is scheduled to present at the Susquehanna Technology Conference in New York on March 12. We hope to see many of you there. And now I'd like to turn the call over to Ron. Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director Thank you, Jason, and thank you all for joining us. Keysight delivered an outstanding first quarter with both revenue and earnings exceeding the high end of our guidance and very strong free cash flow. Our continued focus on strategic execution and commitment to operational excellence are delivering strong results for Keysight. Today I'll focus my formal comments on three key headlines for the quarter. First: It was a great start to the year and Keysight continue to deliver exceptional results. Revenue was well above our guidance and grew 18% or 20% on a core basis to surpass $1 billion for the third consecutive quarter. We grew earnings high double-digits and delivered $0.93 in EPS, which also exceeded our guidance. And we generated a record $209 million in free cash flow, an increase of 42% year-over-year. Second: Customers continue to make strong R&D investments in next-generation technologies and we continue to achieve broad-based momentum across multiple end markets with our solutions. Keysight is at the forefront of several emerging technology trends. With our broad and differentiated portfolio of solutions, software and services, we're capturing a significant portion of the demand we see in the marketplace. And third, looking forward we believe we are well-positioned to continue to build on our success and expand our leadership. Given our strategic positioning in the key areas of the market, strong start to the year and outlook for Q2 we are confident in our revenue growth and earnings profile for the year. Now let's take a deeper look into our performance for the first quarter. We achieved $0.93 per share in earnings, which was $0.14 above the midpoint and $0.11 above the high end of our guidance. We delivered 81% earnings growth for the quarter versus a low compare in the previous year. We also delivered record first quarter orders and strong order growth. Orders grew 5% in total and 7% on a core basis to exceed $1 billion. Revenue grew 18% or 20% on a core basis and was also above $1 billion, which is a record for our first quarter revenue. This represents our third consecutive quarter of delivering over $1 billion in both orders and revenue. Creating value for our customers by providing first-to-market solutions and insights that help them achieve innovation is the cornerstone of our strategy and our Keysight leadership model. Our targeted investments in the key areas of the market undergoing multi-year transformations are delivering results. We are generating broad-based growth across multiple dimensions of the business and software is increasingly becoming a larger part of our portfolio. Revenue for our software solutions grew substantially higher than our overall growth rate in the first quarter to reach a new record. This growth was driven by demand for our 5G solutions, high-frequency measurement application software and digital and photonics application software. In the automotive and energy market, we continue to make great strides. Customer demand remained high in Q1, and we delivered our ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit order growth. Auto manufacturers and suppliers have continued to invest in critical new capabilities and are increasingly turning to Keysight as their strategic innovation partner. As a result, we continue to grow our engagements within top customers and add new Tier 1 accounts. In the quarter, we announced the collaboration with BMW Group to support its Battery Cell Competence Centre in Munich. Keysight will equip their laboratories with battery test systems and provide services for effective laboratory workflow management and operation. In order to help our automotive customers accelerate innovation, we are committed to serving them in close proximity of their design hubs. In January, we opened a new automotive center in Nagoya, Japan. Keysight now has opened four automotive centers aligned with each of the major global automotive customer ecosystems: Detroit, Michigan in the United States; Boblingen, Germany in Europe; and Nagoya, Japan and Shanghai, China in Asia. In 5G, we achieved another record quarter of 5G orders and delivered strong double-digit growth in Q1. Network operators, NEMs, device makers and chipset companies are all investing for the early ramp of commercial 5G networks. Our broad portfolio of 5G solutions and engagement with leading market makers continues to strengthen our position in this fast-growing market. Our pace of innovation and engagements has accelerated and we continue to see major operator ecosystems embrace the Keysight platform. This quarter we received endorsements from SK Telecom, China Telecom, China Mobile and SoftBank. Next week at Mobile World Congress we will showcase our end-to-end 5G solutions and contributions. At the event, over a dozen leading innovators across the communications ecosystem will use Keysight solutions to demonstrate their 5G readiness. This highlights the greater role we are playing in R&D and enabling customer innovation. We're also excited to collaborate with Xilinx, AT&T and others to accelerate Open RAN 5G network deployment through a rapid prototyping approach and Open FPGA architecture. Together at Mobile World Congress we will demonstrate and test the industry's first open radio access network 5G millimeter wave radio unit. Additionally, earlier today we announced our new scalable 5G user equipment Emulation Solution. It delivers end-to-end testing of 5G networks to ensure they can meet service level agreements for key 5G use cases such as lower latency and high reliability. This solution expands the range of our 5G offerings into a previously unserved area for Keysight, which is a direct result of our acquisition of Ixia. Beyond 5G our Communications Group also delivered strong growth in network and data center solutions. This growth was driven by R&D investment in next-generation electrical and optical tests for speeds of 400-gig and higher, with new key product wins throughout the network and data center ecosystem. Our success with 400G at the physical layer creates valuable opportunities for our 400-gigabit Ethernet solutions at the protocol layers with Ixia where customers R&D investments follow over time. Keysight solutions cover the entire customer workflow in both the physical and upper layers of the network. Looking ahead, we believe we are well positioned to continue to build on our success. Next-generation R&D investment has remained strong and we are still in the early stages of these emerging technologies. Our focus on bringing solutions to market that help customers accelerate innovation is driving multiple avenues of growth. We have a differentiated portfolio of solutions across a diversified and broad set of end markets. For example, as we mentioned in the past two quarters we are seeing some expected headwinds in China as a result of global trade tensions which we expect to continue in 2019. Despite this dynamic our breadth of offering and diverse set of end markets has enabled us to offset this impact and deliver record orders in China during the quarter, with growth in multiple segments of that market. That said we continue to closely monitor the macro environment in China, as well as other areas of our business. Before closing, I will highlight a few of the awards we have recently received in acknowledgment of our corporate social responsibility or CSR efforts, which is one of the core values in our Keysight leadership model. First, Keysight was ranked among Barron's 100 Most Sustainable Companies for the second year in a row. Additionally, we were named to Fortune's 100 Best Workplaces for Diversity in 2018. CSR has always been a part of Keysight's DNA and we are honored to be recognized for this long-standing commitment to help sustainable a better planet, strengthen communities and create an inclusive work environment that fosters respect for individuals their ideas and their contributions. In summary, we delivered an outstanding first quarter and the year is off to a great start for Keysight. In addition to driving strong revenue growth, we have maintained our focus on financial discipline and operational excellence to deliver earnings growth and strong cash flow while investing in key areas of the business. With our robust innovation engine, we have built a broad portfolio of solutions that span multiple segments and software is becoming a larger part of our differentiation in business. We will continue to focus our investments in these key areas to drive innovation, create even more value for our customers and outgrow the market. Now, I will turn it over to Neil to discuss our financial performance and the outlook in more detail. Neil Dougherty -- Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President Thank you, Ron, and hello, everyone. Before I get started, I will note that all comparisons are on a year-over-year basis unless specifically noted otherwise. Additionally, when viewing our first quarter year-over-year operational compares, please keep in mind that last year's first quarter results were negatively impacted by the closure of our Santa Rosa facility due to the 2017 wildfires. As Ron mentioned, we're delivered another strong quarter as we continue to execute on the demand we see in core areas of our business, while maintaining focus on our operational excellence. For the first quarter of 2019, we delivered non-GAAP revenue of $1.009 billion, which was well above our guidance of $965 million to $985 million and grew 20% on a core basis versus the soft compare. Our better-than-expected results were driven by continued strong demand in execution. Orders exceeded revenue once again this quarter. We delivered $1.016 billion in orders in Q1. Orders were up 5% in total and 7% on a core basis, which excludes the impact of currency movement and two small divestitures completed within the last year. Looking at our operational results for Q1, we reported gross margin of 62% and operating expenses of $420 million resulting in operating margin of 20%. We also achieved net income of $176 million and delivered $0.93 in earnings per share, which was above our guidance of $0.76 to $0.82 per share. Our weighted average share count for the quarter was 190 million shares. Moving to the performance of our segments. As Jason mentioned, we made a change to our reporting segments and now results from services, which was previously reported in our Services Solutions Group are reported in the segment in which the services are delivered. That said, I will highlight that in Q1 orders for services grew double-digits. Our Communications Solutions Group generated total revenue of $623 million, up 25%, while delivering record gross margin of 61.1% and operating margin of 22%. In Q1, Commercial Communications delivered double-digit order growth and revenue of $400 million driven by increased 5G R&D demand across the wireless ecosystem and growth in data center related next-generation 400-gigabit ethernet and higher digital tests. Aerospace defense and government grew 3% and generated revenue of $223 million. Aerospace defense and government growth was driven by continued demand in space and satellite applications in the U.S. while spending in some international regions slowed. Our Electronic Industrial Solutions Group or EISG generated first quarter revenue of $257 million, up 13% driven by strength in automotive and emerging IoT applications, while the semiconductor market moderated as expected. EISG reported gross margin of 58.9% and operating margin of 21%. Our Ixia Solutions Group or ISG reported Q1 revenue of $129 million, which was slightly above last year's revenue of $127 million, driven by network visibility solutions while test revenues remained in line with last year. ISG reported gross margin of 71.3% and 9% operating margin. We were encouraged to see the improved sequential execution in ISG and the vast majority of the contract manufacturing transition issues that we highlighted last quarter are now resolved. Moving to the balance sheet and cash flow. We ended our first quarter with $1.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents and reported record cash flow from operations of $240 million and free cash flow of $209 million or 21% of revenue. Under our existing share repurchase authorization, during the quarter we acquired approximately 686,000 shares on the open market at an average price of $58.28 for a total consideration of $40 million. Now turning to our outlook and guidance. We expect second quarter 2019 revenue to be in the range of $1.60 billion to $1.80 billion. For the first half of 2019, the midpoint of our guidance reflects 12% revenue growth or 14% on a core basis. We expect Q2 earnings per share to be in the range of $0.93 to $0.99 based on a weighted diluted share count of approximately 191 million shares. The midpoint of this guidance reflects approximately 41% earnings growth for the first half of 2019. For 2019 modeling purposes, recall that the quarterly revenue seasonality in 2018 was atypical due to the impact of the October 2017 Northern California wildfires. Historically sequential revenue growth from Q1 to Q2 has averaged mid-single digits and our Q2 guidance reflects the upper end of this range. Additionally, we normally see a small sequential decline from Q2 to Q3 with Q4 being our strongest quarter of the year. I will also note that in Q1 the ASU 2017-07 pension accounting change went into effect. Under this new standard, our previous credit functionalized within operating income is now reported in other income. For 2019, the impact of this change is projected to shift the credit of approximately $10 million per quarter from above the operating margin line to below it. A retrospective of our historical results reflecting the new standard can be found on our website. With that, I will now turn it back to Jason for the Q&A. Jason Kary -- Vice President, Treasurer & Investor Relations Thank you, Neil. And Kinsey will you please give instructions for the Q&A? Questions and Answers: Operator (Operator Instructions) And the first question comes from the line of John Pitzer from Credit Suisse. Your line is open. John Pitzer -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst Yes, good afternoon guys. Thanks for letting me ask a question. Ron may be the first question is for you just on the 5G market and how it's evolved over time. I think one of the investor concerns out there is that you're levered early to deployment of prototype 5G or perhaps not as levered as you get to broader deployment of 5G. I wonder if you can help us understand how you think the markets going to evolve for 5G for you? And as you answer the question, can you talk a little bit about your share from 4G to 5G and kind of what you've done to augment your SIM from 4G to 5G? Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director Sure. Thank you very much, John. Well a couple of comments. The first thing is that we are -- we have invested up and down the overall workflow for 5G. So we have solutions that exist in our EDA software early on when people are developing their designs, solutions for validation and verification, not only of the hardware, but now we have it for the software that is done in R&D. We do have solutions too for manufacturing although that is not the main focus and then at the end of the life cycle once things go into operations that's where Ixia plays in. So with our Ixia acquisition that bolsters up our overall solutions for the workflow along with the Anite solutions that we have earlier in R&D. There is no doubt that our share is much higher than it was in 4G. In 4G, we did not have the funds to invest as heavily as we needed to in order to win in the protocol space clearly as you look at the network a space as well as in many other subareas. In 5G, we made this decision back in 2013 before we even went public. As soon as we announced the split, we decided to go all in for 5G. So you will see that and see dramatic share gains between 5G versus where we are in 4G. I will let Satish also add a couple more comments with regards to the overall 5G workflow. Satish Dhanasekaran -- President Well thank you Ron. Just maybe a few points. A strong 5G quarter for us extending our lead on the double-digit triple-digit growth that we are experiencing to 13th conservative quarter. And when I look at the distribution of orders very pleased that we're seeing success across the ecosystem chipset companies, device companies, network equipment manufacturers, operators and for the first time test labs even that are starting to invest in early 5G. And then when you look at the global spread, all regions participated in this reflecting the strength of our solution portfolio. There is no doubt the early R&D investments some of them in the prototyping phase played itself out up to know, but if I reflect on this industry and look at the state of what's coming next, it's the scaling and it's still early days, but it's scaling for commercialization that's going to play out. And operators interest to speaking as they vie establish network leadership and that's what's playing out and Ron referenced a few key design wins we had with lead operators in all regions in his narrative. But I would just want to end by saying, it's still early days for the technology. We see that at scale the technology becomes relevant for consumers to buy at 2022 timeframe, plenty of innovation yet to come both from a standards point of view and from productization point of view. And from our plans just this year, we have a number of solutions that we will be launching. We just announced, as a matter of fact, the solution, working closely with our Ixia Solutions Group just today. So a number of solutions that we'll launch this year and we're also planning for more as the industry scales. Thank you. John Pitzer -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst That's helpful guys. And then maybe a follow-up, Neil. Neil you highlighted that you guys are rightfully investing to leverage kind of your IP to drive higher growth. I'm just kind of curious as to where you think you are in the investment cycle for the company? And how we should think about kind of operating margin targets over a multiyear period? Neil Dougherty -- Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President Yes. So we continue to see a very high level of demand for continued innovation investment across multiple platforms within Keysight. As we've talked about, we've talked about driving a 400 basis point improvement on our operating margins from 2017 levels. So we got to get us into the 22%, 23% operating margin range by 2021 and so we remain focused on that. You'll see -- as we look to achieve that we are really not looking to get leverage on the R&D line because of exactly what I have talked about the demand that we are seeing for customers for continued development work from Keysight. But you'll continue to see gross margin improvement from us, as well as leveraging our general and administrative functions to drive increased profitability over that horizon. Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director Yes, I'll just add that we continue to pick up new customers. We announced four more customers for instance today, four large customers, and we continue to go ahead and see our business deliver double-digit growth. Operator Your next question comes from the line of Toshiya Hari from Goldman Sachs. Your line is open. Toshiya Hari -- Goldman Sachs Group -- Analyst Great. Thanks very much for taking the question and congrats on the strong results. Can you guys talk a little bit about 4G? What you're seeing from a customer activity perspective? How strong or weak that business has been over the past couple of quarters? And how should we think about sustainability in that business relative to 5G? Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director Yes. Satish feel free to fill in. Satish Dhanasekaran -- President Yes, will do, Ron. As we have talked before with 5G, there's the non-selling version, which requires a lot of the 4G capabilities, so there's still compute innovation in 4G, but there's no doubt that the 4G -- and if you expand that question a little bit further legacy communications will continue to be down as 5G starts to scale. And in particular, it's all about the way you characterize platforms too because increasingly, as we roll new products and capabilities out, they will have some aspect of legacy comps built into them but they tend to be lumped in under our 4G orders. But, overall, you will see between all our communications, technology evolution focus is resulting in double-digit growth for the quarter and we continue to see the funnel pretty strong for our business across the globe. Toshiya Hari -- Goldman Sachs Group -- Analyst Great. And then I had a quick follow-up. Ron you flagged the risk around China over the past couple of quarters. Very impressed to hear that you guys had record bookings in the quarter, so, I guess, the question is how are you achieving record bookings given the weak macro backdrop as well as sort of the difficult political landscape? Thank you. Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director Sure. We're seeing exceptionally strong orders from China right now because we have a broad base of solutions. We have solutions that we're selling for 5G for auto, for 400 gigabit for A&D below certain performance level. And that has given us very, I would say, strong double-digit orders as well as strong double-digit revenue growth for the quarter. There was some pull-ins but then again there were also some pushouts. And even if you were to factor out the pushouts we still had double-digit growth in China. So, we are winning and the end users and the companies really want our products. So, we hope the trade situation gets a little better, but it's not an excuse for us at all as we've seen outstanding order and revenue growth in China. Toshiya Hari -- Goldman Sachs Group -- Analyst Thank you. Operator And your next question comes from the line of Jim Suva from Citi. Your line is open. Jim Suva -- Citigroup -- Analyst Thank you very much. Most of the Q&A in the conference call was focused on your core business which is definitely very impressive and doing well. Shifting over to areas that could potentially be of improvement I kind of see that Ixia sales grew by 1% year-over-year. Should they ever mirror or kind of fluctuate with orders like an attach rate that's closer to your revenue growth year-over-year or does that not work that way? How should we think about Ixia and what you're doing there? Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director Sure. The Ixia solutions for 5G are laid around downstream. So, a product, for instance, first gets designed and they buy -- or customers buy our Electronic Design Automation software. Then they use our products to go ahead and to develop solutions at the physical layer. Once that's done, you can start protesting all the protocol layers whether it's for the handsets or the user equipment or whether you're talking about for base stations or for the networks in the cloud. So that follows what you typically see in the beginning. So, as Satish mentioned, we're at the beginning of this 5G wave and we will see Ixia accelerate because you can't go ahead and test the protocol until you've actually built out physical devices and then you start putting software layers on top of it. So, we will continue to see the Ixia business accelerate in prominence in our business and we're very excited with it, for instance, our new solution that we just came out with. Jim Suva -- Citigroup -- Analyst And then a quick follow-up -- back to -- follow-on flow-through for Ixia benefit, is that a 2019 positive or is it more further out to 2020 and beyond? I was just trying to figure out the inflection point of when that business is -- it seems like at some point it's really going to shift into a much higher gear than it is right now? Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director Yes. Well, I'll let Neil get a chance to talk a little bit about that. As you know we've been integrating Ixia and we found areas where we could work together to improve our solutions and our processes for longer term growth and longer term gross margin. We actually had as you saw the record revenue even though it was only up slightly from where we were in the past, but it was the highest level since the acquisition. Neil, I don't know if you want to add a couple of comments with regards to modeling on Ixia? Neil Dougherty -- Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President Yes. Jim maybe just a couple of comments. I think the specific quarter or a period of time when these businesses will transition from physical to protocol layers it's difficult to call. That being said we're encouraged by the 400-gigabit growth, we've seen in classic Keysight in Satish's Communications business over the past several quarters and we think that bodes well for future growth in Ixia on the protocol layers. I guess, if I was just going to summarize that we think relative to where we were in 2018 and where we are today? There's upside from Ixia both in terms of increased growth and increased profitability that will be net additive to Keysight going forward. Jim Suva -- Citigroup -- Analyst Thank you so much for the details and clarifications. Its greatly appreciated. Neil Dougherty -- Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President Thanks Jim. Operator And your next question comes from the line of Vijay Bhagavath from Deutsche Bank. Your line is open. Vijay Bhagavath -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst Yes, Neil I must (Technical Difficulty)... Jason Kary -- Vice President, Treasurer & Investor Relations Vijay there is a problem with your phone. We can't-it's very garbled we can't understand. It's unclear. We have no idea what you're saying. Vijay Bhagavath -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst Okay. Jason Kary -- Vice President, Treasurer & Investor Relations Why don't we put -- operator if we can put Vijay back into the queue and let's move to the next caller and we'll come back to Vijay at the end. Operator (Operator Instructions) Your next question comes from the line of Adam Thalhimer from Thompson Davis. Your line is open. Adam Thalhimer -- Thompson, Davis & Company -- Analyst Hey good afternoon guys. Great quarter. You mentioned the semiconductors dropped off kind of in line with expectations. So can you remind us, what are your expectations for kind of how long this tough patch last? I think you said maybe late 2019 you'll start to see recovery? Neil Dougherty -- Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President Yes. Ron I'll take this. Just to keep it simple we've essentially model a softness in semi through FY 2019 and we don't have detailed models going beyond that, but at least through the remainder of this fiscal year for us we're expecting semi to be relatively soft. Adam Thalhimer -- Thompson, Davis & Company -- Analyst All right. And then I also wanted to ask about cash deployment and kind of the buyback. I mean you've been doing $40 million a quarter pretty consistently here. You got a great price on the stock that you bought in Q1. What are your thoughts on cash deployment going forward? Neil Dougherty -- Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President No. We don't expect any immediate change to our cash deployment efforts. As we stated when we announced the share buyback program the initial intent would be to remain anti-dilutive and we expect to continue along that track. Obviously we saw a pretty significant increase in cash flow generation this quarter. We do want to maintain some excess cash on the balance sheet so that we can maintain the flexibility needed to invest in the business. And as that cash balance grows, we'll continue to look at appropriate ways to deploy it. But we continue to have active M&A funnels continue to buyback shares and we'll continue -- no immediate changes to our cash deployment plans. Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director Yes. And just with regards our free cash flow conversion four years ago, we were in the mid-60% range we stated at our last Analyst Day, we would get it to the 80% to 90% range at this time. This quarter was exceptionally strong at 119% on our conversion. That's obviously above average, but we're very, very pleased with our ability to start taking that to the bottom line. Operator Our next question comes from the line of Richard Eastman from Baird. Your line is open. Richard Eastman -- Robert W. Baird & Co. -- Analyst Yes. Good afternoon. Thanks for the questions. First of all, just wanted to ask, Ron, could you kind of speak -- double back to the aerospace defense business and the growth rate there? I think we had -- generally speaking, we had a fairly easy comp there. Was the government shutdown an issue there at all? Or is the -- has the backlog build on the aerospace and defense side meaningfully? Or maybe just kind of speak to that? Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director Yeah. I'm going to let Mark Wallace make a couple of comments. But as you saw, we saw a 3% revenue growth in aerospace defense. So we think there's a lot of upside, but money did get clogged. The only area where we saw that it was relatively weak was Russia. But Russia in particular is less than 2% of our total business, but it did pull down once we start looking at just our aerospace defense business. But overall, we saw the U.S. and we saw China being pretty decent. But Mark would you like to add a couple of more comments on aerospace defense, please? Mark Wallace -- Senior Vice President, Global Sales Yeah, Ron. Rick and Ron covered it pretty well. We did see strength in the U.S. and China despite the RPL companies that were named last year. So we're continuing to grow. This is year four or five of the China plan, so we expect to see some growth in investment and we're capturing quite a bit of that. The other thing is, the government shutdown tended to delay some of the process. So we built a nice funnel as we go into Q2. And then seasonally, as you get into the second half of the year, especially as you get closer to the end of the U.S. government fiscal year, we expect to see some of those opportunities strengthen. Neil Dougherty -- Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President Let me add to that if I could. So we grew 3% -- the revenue line grew 3% in total, but one of the two divestitures we completed within the last 12 months was specific to aerospace defense. So just for that, we don't typically talk about core growth at the segment level, but aerospace defense grew 7% on a core basis on the revenue line. So it was immaterial in total, but quite material to aerospace defense. And then as Mark said, we saw pretty good order strength in both China and the U.S. offset by weakness in Europe as -- from Russia which is what Ron talked about. Richard Eastman -- Robert W. Baird & Co. -- Analyst I see. Okay. If you think about the 7% core number without the divestitures did the -- was the book-to-bill there greater than one in A&D in the quarter? Neil Dougherty -- Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President We don't talk about... Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director Yeah. Right around 1 at that level, yeah. Neil Dougherty -- Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President I forgot the level. We don't typically share. Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director 6% order growth -- 6% order growth for A&D and the book-to-bill was very, very close to 1. We think money -- as starts to flow, it will change. Richard Eastman -- Robert W. Baird & Co. -- Analyst Okay. And then just a question around the 5G marketplace and how Keysight addresses it. What's the strategy, Ron, around the manufacturing test site for 5G? Historically, we've had a very good market share in base station test on the manufacturing side. Hence, the test -- we kind of a pull back there, I believe, earlier in the 2000s, mid-2000s. But I'm curious, what would be the approach this year around 5G, I'm going to say devices test versus base station test on the manufacturing side? Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director Sure. Well, first of all, the first step is component test. And the components are tested when you get to the final, let's say, handset or device that you're trying to test, the components have been rung out. There is very minimal test that is done at the overall device. And that's why we moved away from that. We are very strong in component test, we're the number one player in the products that are used. We have over 50% share in the network analysis business, which does all that component test and that's a very good business for us. The second is in base station test, and we continue to be strong in base station test and we have new solutions and we have, I would just say partnerships that are very good there. The other thing is when you talk about all this and you start moving to 5G, it's not just about getting the signal to the cell tower. You need to go ahead and overhaul the overall network to handle massive amounts of data from 5G as well as IoT in general. And that could be moved to 400-gig. And as we see that, we have a lot of products and solutions that are very, very strong in that area. On the end of device, let's say a phone or an iPad, there isn't much money there. So we are opportunistic, but we capture a lot of revenue and profit in components in base stations and in the network area. Richard Eastman -- Robert W. Baird & Co. -- Analyst Okay. And if I might just one last one sneak one in. Neil around Ixia, 9% op margin in the quarter here, is this a baseline level of operating profit margin at $129 million of revenue? Or is there some self-help margin expansion yet to come against just call it $130 million run rate -- quarterly run rate? Neil Dougherty -- Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President Yeah. So I think we're, obviously, not satisfied with the 9% operating margin. We'll continue to drive that first into the mid-teens, and ultimately we expect to get operating margins in this business I can go ahead and start with the two as the first digit. I think the primary driver of that profit improvement will come from revenue growth given the high gross margins in this business. That's not to say there aren't other opportunities for us to do things but the primary driver that we're looking for is through the top line. Richard Eastman -- Robert W. Baird & Co. -- Analyst Okay, very good. All right. Thank you again. Neil Dougherty -- Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President Thanks, Rich. Operator Your next question comes from the line of Vijay Bhagavath from Deutsche Bank. Your line is open. Vijay Bhagavath -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst Yeah. Hey, congratulations. Hope you guys can hear me now? Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director We can. Neil Dougherty -- Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President Yeah, Vijay, we can. Vijay Bhagavath -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst Yeah. I'm here in Minnesota, so out of the office. So quickly I mean Ron, Neil my question is on -- there are two questions actually. The first is around any geographical color you can give on the 5G strength, this question does get asked quite a bit from clients. Is this primarily a U.S. order book, or are you also seeing like orders coming from like Japan and Korea who have this nation-state intensity in 5G? And then a quick follow-on for Neil. Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director Sure, I'm going to let Satish answer that, but clearly we saw 5G strength in the Americas. We also saw it in China. We announced and talk about a deal that we had in Japan on the earlier part of the call. But Satish, why don't you give a little bit more color on our 5G profile? Satish Dhanasekaran -- President Well, thank you, Ron. I think as I mentioned before, Vijay, it's very clear that we're contributing broadly across the ecosystem of customers and across the globe. No doubt the countries that Ron referenced are building their local capabilities and many of our customers in those regions Korea, Japan, China and the Americas are dominating but definitely we continue to see broad participation for orders across the globe. In fact if you will attend Mobile World Congress, we look forward to hosting a number of investors, I know Jason Kary and Clay have put a schedule together and you will see on display a pretty broad diversity of customers who are actually applying Keysight technology to really showcase their pioneering innovation and 5G readiness. I hope you get a chance to see it live. Vijay Bhagavath -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst Yes, I'll be there as well. A quick follow-on for Neil. Any color or puts and takes you can give on order trends? I know there was some wildfire impact and all but just clarify to us in terms of quarter-on-quarter year-on-year kind of the order momentum in the business ideally normalized for the wildfire's impact? Thanks. Neil Dougherty -- Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President Yes, we were very pleased with the performance that we delivered in Q1. We talked about it being a record for our first quarter. As we look forward to Q2, we have a very strong funnel of opportunities entering the second quarter. So, I think that bodes well. If you think about it from a seasonality perspective, we do typically see our strongest order quarters being in Q2 and Q4. And that's partially linked the way we pay our salesforce. We essentially have two quarter periods one for the first half one for the second half. So, it tends to be a big push at the end of each of those which then leads to a little bit lower orders and correspondingly revenue in Q1 and Q3. So, that's how we typically think about the business but we have a great funnel of opportunities. We see broad adoption of our solutions across a number of ecosystems. Most notably the ones we've been talking about 5G, automotive, aerospace, defense; really had a great quarter for our software solutions here in Q1. So we're seeing continued increased penetration of software and that increasing as a mix of our overall order and revenue base. Vijay Bhagavath -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst Congratulations. Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director Yes. It's worthwhile to note that if you combine Q1 and Q2 as we mentioned last year, it normalizes out the fire impact where we had less shipments in Q1 and more in Q2. So as Neil had mentioned we have a very strong funnel going into the quarter. And if you combine Q1 and Q2 our guidance at the midpoint is 14% core revenue growth for the half and 41% earnings growth for the half without effectively neutralizing out fire seasonality. Vijay Bhagavath -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst That's very helpful insights Ron. Thank you. Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director Thank you. Operator Thank you. That concludes our question-and-answer session for today. I would like to turn the conference back to Jason Kary for any closing comments. Jason Kary -- Vice President, Treasurer & Investor Relations Well, thank you Kinsey and thank you everyone for joining us today. We look forward to seeing you at Mobile World Congress and some of the upcoming conferences and other events that we have and hope you have a great day. Thank you. Operator This concludes our conference call. You may now disconnect. Duration: 47 minutes Call participants: Jason Kary -- Vice President, Treasurer & Investor Relations Ronald Nersesian -- Chief Executive Officer, President & Director Neil Dougherty -- Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President John Pitzer -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst Satish Dhanasekaran -- President Toshiya Hari -- Goldman Sachs Group -- Analyst Jim Suva -- Citigroup -- Analyst Vijay Bhagavath -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst Adam Thalhimer -- Thompson, Davis & Company -- Analyst Richard Eastman -- Robert W. Baird & Co. -- Analyst Mark Wallace -- Senior Vice President, Global Sales More KEYS analysis Transcript powered by AlphaStreet This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. More From The Motley Fool Motley Fool Transcribers has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. By John Ndiso and Baz Ratner NAIROBI (Reuters) - Supporters and opponents of gay rights said on Friday they accepted a decision by Kenya's High Court to delay for another three months a ruling on whether to strike down a colonial-era law banning gay sex. The ruling, potentially a landmark decision for gay rights in Africa, was due to be issued on Friday, but the court said it needed until May 24 to reach a decision. Judge Chacha Mwita told a packed court in the capital, Nairobi, that the extra time was necessary because of the voluminous paperwork submitted in the case. "The judges on the bench also sit in other courts ... we need more time," Mwita said. "My file alone put together is above my height standing, so we are still working..." Same-sex relationships are illegal in more than 70 countries, almost half of them in Africa, where homosexuality is broadly taboo and persecution is rife. In Kenya, where same-sex relationships can lead to a 14-year jail sentence, campaigners for lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender (LGBT) rights have become increasingly vocal in recent years. Kenya arrested 534 people for same-sex relationships between 2013 and 2017, the government said. Kenya's high court began hearings on the law last year. "The adjournment is not something that should worry Kenyans, they are doing their job and we hope they'll do it well," Charles Kanjama, a lawyer for the Kenya Christian Professionals Forum, which is against the petition to strike down the law, told Reuters. Campaigners say the colonial-era law violates Kenya's progressive 2010 constitution, which guarantees equality, dignity and privacy for all citizens. They also submitted arguments based on India's rejection of a similar law in August. "Maybe they need time to consult ... let them have their time to research on homosexuality and human rights and let them come make their decision," gay rights activist Phelix Kasanda, also known as Mama G, told Reuters. (Reporting by Baz Ratner and John Ndiso; Editing by George Obulutsa and Peter Graff) FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) The Kentucky state Senate has passed a bill to make possessing a "child sex doll" illegal. The Courier Journal reports Senate Bill 102 would prohibit owning anatomically correct dolls or robots that resemble minors and are meant for sexual purposes. Republican Sen. Whitney Westerfield says he introduced the bill that passed Wednesday at the request of Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney Rob Sanders. Sanders was unable to prosecute a man who ordered sex dolls resembling an infant and a 6- to 8-year-old girl last year. A judge dropped the charge, saying there was no actual child involved. Court records say police tracked a package from China to the home of a 41-year-old man, where they then served a warrant and found the dolls. The bill now goes to the House. ___ Information from: Courier Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice may announce as early as next week that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has given the attorney general his report on the federal Russia investigation, CNN said on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. After the expected announcement, U.S. Attorney General William Barr will review Mueller's findings and submit his own summary to Congress, CNN reported. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the CNN report. Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, also declined to comment. Democrats have been concerned that Barr, who has discretion over what is ultimately made public, will choose to limit disclosure, although the new attorney general has said he would seek to make public as much of Mueller's findings as he can. Trump, responding to the CNN report on Wednesday, noted that decision would be up to Barr. "That'll be totally up to the new attorney general," Trump told reporters at the White House as he prepared to meet Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. Mueller is investigating alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion by U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign, as well as possible obstruction of justice by the Republican president. Trump has denied any collusion and repeatedly slammed the Russia probe as a "witch hunt." Moscow has also denied any meddling. So far, 34 individuals and three companies have pleaded guilty, been indicted or otherwise swept up in the inquiry, including several former Trump advisers. The report will not mark the end of legal scrutiny on Trump. Newly empowered Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have said they plan to use Mueller's court filings to build a picture of wrongdoing by Trump advisers that can provide the basis for hearings. The Mueller probe has also spawned several investigations that are being handled by other offices and will carry on even after Mueller's work is done. Under special counsel regulations, Mueller must submit a confidential report to the attorney general explaining his prosecutorial decisions at the conclusion of his work. The attorney general, in turn, is required to inform the judiciary committees of Congress about Mueller's report in the form of "brief notifications, with an outline of the actions and the reasons for them." How much ultimately becomes public is unclear. Barr, who was confirmed by the Senate last week, said during his confirmation hearings that he would make public as many of Mueller's findings as he can but stopped short of promising to release the entire report. (Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld, Nathan Layne, Sarah N. Lynch and David Alexander; Writing by Tim Ahmann and Susan Heavey; Editing by James Dalgleish and Tom Brown) Empire actor Jussie Smollett leaves Cook County jail (Credit: Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) Jussie Smollett has said he feels betrayed by the justice system after being released on $100,000 bail and having to surrender his passport following his arrest yesterday. The Empire actor was arrested and charged with filing a false police statement in Chicago, relating to an alleged assault at the end of January. Smollett had claimed that he had been set upon in a homophobic, racially-motivated attack near his apartment in the early hours of January 29. But evidence has since emerged suggesting that he knew his assailants, and had set up the attack, during which he was beaten, had bleach poured over him and left with a noose tied around his neck. The attackers were also wearing Make America Great Again hats. At a hearing yesterday, texts between the actor and brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo were reportedly read out in court which alluded to various details of how the assault would take place. Details of a $3,500 cheque written to the brothers by Smollett were also revealed. If found guilty, the actor could face three years in jail for the felony. The judge presiding over the hearing called the incident utterly outrageous and despicable, should he be found guilty. A statement from Smolletts defence reads: Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system. The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election. Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing. His next hearing will be on March 14. Read more Trolls are posting fake Captain Marvel reviews Felicity Jones wants Black Cat return Armie Hammer says hes not the next Batman Minister Magar blames Italian contractor for delay in Melamchi Water Project Minister for Water Supply Bina Magar has said the completion of Melamchi Water Supply Project was delayed due to the sheer negligence of the Italian contractor CooperativaMuratori e Cementisti di Ravenna. WASHINGTON A federal judge on Thursday ordered Roger Stone, the flamboyant political consultant charged with obstruction and lying to Congress, to stop talking about his case after he posted a picture of the judge on Instagram as part of a fundraising appeal. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had previously allowed Stone, an author who discusses politics on television, radio and the internet, to continue speaking so long as he didn't do so around the courthouse. She had ordered lawyers and witnesses not to discuss the case. Jackson's stricter restrictions came after Stone posted a picture of the judge Monday next to what appeared to be a guns crosshairs. Jackson said Stone made his living through messages, so that she didnt believe the picture was chosen at random. She said the image could have stoked an angry crowd to violence. Mr. Stone couldnt even keep his story straight on the stand, Jackson said. Thank you, but the apology rings quite hollow." She added: "There's nothing ambiguous about crosshairs." Jackson said her rules are designed to prevent the case from degenerating into a circus. The publicity cant possibly subside if the defendant is out there fanning the flames, Jackson said as Stone leaned his head on his right fist. I have serious doubts about whether youve learned any lesson at all. Stone formally apologized for the "improper" post in a court filing Monday and repeatedly did so again Thursday while testifying under oath. "I believe I abused the order," Stone said. "Im kicking myself over my own stupidity, but not more than my wife is kicking me." Stone, an off-and-on adviser to President Donald Trump, is charged by special counsel Robert Muellers team with obstruction and lying to Congress for statements about his contacts with Wikileaks, which released damaging emails about Democrat Hillary Clinton before the 2016 election. Stone was released on personal recognizance after he was arrested at his Florida home last month. Story continues Stone has pleaded not guilty and said any misstatements were mistaken recollections rather than intentional lying. He has insisted he is innocent and attacked prosecutors on both social media and through television interviews. In setting the hearing, Jackson also warned she could revoke Stones release before trial. She didn't do that, but warned that she might if he violates her gag order. At one point, Jackson asked whether Stone knew how to search with Google. How hard was it to come up with a photograph that didnt have crosshairs in the corner?" Jackson asked. Stone said the image was chosen by one of five volunteers he couldn't specify because nobody would acknowledge giving it to him, but that he selected the picture from a couple of choices and posted it. Stone said he later studied the image and determined that it featured a Celtic occult sign rather than a gun's crosshairs. "It was an error, your honor," Stone said. "Nobody will own up to it," he said of his volunteers. One of the prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Kravis, asked for restrictions on Stone's speaking outside court. Stone's lawyer, Bruce Rogow, opposed greater restrictions. Stone testified that his consulting has dried up, leaving it difficult for him to put food on the table and pay the rent. Rogow said the posting was the only mistake Stone had made under pretrial release, and that he posed no threat of fleeing the charges or danger to the community. "Really what hes asking for is a second chance," Rogow said. "It was completely inappropriate. Its indefensible." Rogow had suggested that if Jackson did restrict Stone's speech, the restrictions should apply to talking about the charges, the prosecutors and the judge. It was outrageous to see that picture, to see that text," Rogow said. The government should not be criticized by Mr. Stone." The Instagram post featured text pleading for contributions to his legal defense fund and noted that Jackson had been appointed by former President Barack Obama. Stone said the post had been a random picture taken from the internet and wasn't meant to threaten or disrespect the judge. Please inform the court that the photograph and comment today was improper and should not have been posted, Stone wrote in a note filed with the court Monday. I had no intention of disrespecting the court and humbly apologize to the court for the transgression. The U.S. Marshals Service, which protects federal judges, was aware of Stone's post, spokesman Drew Wade said on Tuesday. He declined to comment on whether the service had provided additional security to Jackson. More: Trump adviser Roger Stone pleads not guilty in Russia inquiry as he takes on a new role as defendant More: Judge says Roger Stone can keep talking about his criminal case, but not on the courthouse steps More: Roger Stone denies using Instagram post to threaten federal judge presiding over his case This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Judge to Roger Stone: Stop talking about federal case alleging obstruction and lying to Congress Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and receive a $20 prize! Today well evaluate ITD Cementation India Limited (NSE:ITDCEM) to determine whether it could have potential as an investment idea. Specifically, were going to calculate its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), in the hopes of getting some insight into the business. First up, well look at what ROCE is and how we calculate it. Second, well look at its ROCE compared to similar companies. Finally, well look at how its current liabilities affect its ROCE. What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)? ROCE is a measure of a companys yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Generally speaking a higher ROCE is better. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussin has suggested that a high ROCE can indicate that one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar. How Do You Calculate Return On Capital Employed? The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) (Total Assets Current Liabilities) Or for ITD Cementation India: 0.25 = 2.5b (26b 16b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.) So, ITD Cementation India has an ROCE of 25%. View our latest analysis for ITD Cementation India Does ITD Cementation India Have A Good ROCE? ROCE is commonly used for comparing the performance of similar businesses. ITD Cementation Indias ROCE appears to be substantially greater than the 13% average in the Construction industry. I think thats good to see, since it implies the company is better than other companies at making the most of its capital. Independently of how ITD Cementation India compares to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms appears decent, and the company may be worthy of closer investigation. Story continues NSEI:ITDCEM Past Revenue and Net Income, February 22nd 2019 It is important to remember that ROCE shows past performance, and is not necessarily predictive. ROCE can be misleading for companies in cyclical industries, with returns looking impressive during the boom times, but very weak during the busts. ROCE is, after all, simply a snap shot of a single year. What happens in the future is pretty important for investors, so we have prepared a free report on analyst forecasts for ITD Cementation India. What Are Current Liabilities, And How Do They Affect ITD Cementation Indias ROCE? Short term (or current) liabilities, are things like supplier invoices, overdrafts, or tax bills that need to be paid within 12 months. Due to the way the ROCE equation works, having large bills due in the near term can make it look as though a company has less capital employed, and thus a higher ROCE than usual. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets. ITD Cementation India has total assets of 26b and current liabilities of 16b. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 61% of its total assets. ITD Cementation Indias current liabilities are fairly high, which increases its ROCE significantly. What We Can Learn From ITD Cementation Indias ROCE This ROCE is pretty good, but remember that it would look less impressive with fewer current liabilities. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E below 20. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli police rounded up 60 "suspects" in Jerusalem overnight and promised more arrests Friday, after what a spokesman said were calls for unrest at the city's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound. Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP the detainees were "Arabs", a term that could refer to Palestinians or to Arab citizens of Israel. Israeli public radio said that all were residents of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, occupied by the Jewish state in the 1967 Six Day war. Rosenfeld said the crackdown followed "calls for public disturbances" at Muslim Friday prayers. "As part of the police preparations based on intelligence, police arrested 60 suspects involved in incitement to violence," he said. "Police will continue to make arrests." An official statement said police numbers in and around the Al Aqsa compound -- in east Jerusalem's walled Old City -- had been beefed up. The site is the third-holiest in Islam and a focus of Palestinian aspirations for statehood. It is also the location of Judaism's most holy spot and a frequent scene of conflict between the two sides. Muslim worshippers' access to Al Aqsa and the adjoining Dome of the Rock is controlled by Israeli security forces. Any Israeli move seen by Palestinians as seeking to increase Israel's presence there is liable to ignite Muslim anger. There have been scuffles there for the past few days after Israeli authorities padlocked a door, known as the Golden Gate or Gate of Mercy in Arabic, to disused offices. The offices were closed by an Israeli court order in 2003, police say, but video posted on social media showed Muslim officials praying there last week in defiance of the court ban. Police said they arrested five people on Monday and 19 on Tuesday over the scuffles. Kigali (AFP) - Israel opened its first embassy in Rwanda on Friday, offering support to the East Africa nation from health to education and agriculture, as well as communication technology including cyber-security. "This country shares a lot of similarities with state of Israel and offers a lot of ground for mutual cooperation," new Israeli ambassador Ron Adam said after meeting with Rwanda's President Paul Kagame. The two countries, both with histories largely defined by genocide, already have close ties, including being embroiled in a controversial 2018 deal that sought to deport African refugees and asylum seekers from Israel. Israel said it could possibly send refugees to Rwanda, a proposal widely condemned by rights groups. Kigali always strongly denied any such deal. Rwanda, a largely Christian nation, has said it is keen to encourage tourists to the country, especially to see its famous mountain gorillas. Rwandair, the national airline, has said it will begin direct flights to Israel in 2019. Israel already has strong ties across East Africa, especially in Uganda and Kenya, but is expanding its diplomatic presence on the continent. In January, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the majority-Muslim nation of Chad to restore diplomatic ties after a decades-long break. The question of whether two women who joined ISIS in Syria and Iraqone British and another American-bornshould be allowed to return to their respective countries has provoked fierce debate on how Western governments should treat citizens who left to join the caliphate. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he has told the State Department to ban the return of Hoda Muthana, a 24-year-old U.S.born woman who left Alabama for Syria in 2014 and is now detained in a Kurdish camp. I have instructed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and he fully agrees, not to allow Hoda Muthana back into the Country! Trump wrote on Twitter. Britains Home Secretary Sajid Javid, meanwhile, has moved to revoke the citizenship of teenager Shamima Begum, who left London to marry an ISIS fighter in Syria four years ago and has begged to be allowed to return with her newborn son. The resistance to Muthana and Begums repatriations comes only days after Trump on Twitter asked Britain, France, Germany and other European leaders to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that U.S.-backed forces had detained in Syria. The alternative, he warned, is that we will be forced to release them adding that the U.S. does not want to see the militants permeate Europe. Heres what to know about the debate over governments responsibilities towards returning fighters, their wives and children. How many returning ISIS fighters are there? An estimated 6,000 Western European nationals joined ISIS in Syria and Iraqroughly a third of whom have already returned home, according to a 2018 Kings College, London report. Far fewer Americans attempted to join ISIS and other extremist groups in Syria and Iraqsome 300 according to a study by George Washington Universitys Program on Extremism. Why has this become an issue now? Because of the almost complete collapse of ISIS physical caliphate. Once spanning an area the size of Britain, the U.S.-backed Syrian Defense Forces (SDF) say ISIS-controlled territory has shrunk to part of one small town near the Iraqi border. Despite U.S. intelligence officials warnings that the jihadist group still poses a serious threat and has returned to its guerrilla warfare roots, the U.S. is pulling its troops from Syria. The SDF says it has detained over 800 fighters of nearly 50 nationalities, but does not have the capacity to put them on trial. Story continues Why are people focussing on Hoda Muthana and Shamima Begum? Journalists came across the two women, along with Canadian Kimberly Gwen Polman, in a Kurdish refugee camp in mid-February. Begum was the subject of national media attention when she fled London at the age of 15, along with two classmates from her east London school. When a reporter showed her a hard copy of the letter stating her citizenship was being revoked, she questioned whether the move to block her was just because I was on the news four years ago. The 19-year-old had appeared to show little remorse in interviews with U.K. media, though she denied actively joining in ISIS activities: I never did anything dangerous. I never made propaganda. I never encouraged people to come to Syria. Muthana has a high profile in the U.S., having called for the killing of Americans and glorifying ISIS on social media from inside the caliphate. She says she has renounced extremism and in and interview with the New York Times expressed deep remorse for her actions. How have other European leaders reacted to Trumps demand? Most countries have refused to commit to repatriating their citizens. Frances justice minister Nicole Belloubet has said has said she would take back militants on a case by case basis rather than en masse, while her counterpart in the foreign ministry has in the past called French fighters enemies of the nation who should face justice abroad. Germany has pledged to put returning fighters on trial, while acknowledging that repatriation would be extremely difficult. Why should any of these countries take back people who joined their enemies? Analysts have pointed out that its illegal to leave a citizen stateless under international law. It was thought that Begum had Bangladeshi citizenship through her mother, the BBC reports, but Bangladeshs minister of foreign affairs has denied that and said there is no question the South Asian nation would admit her. Britain says Begums son, born Feb. 16, will remain a citizen. Muthanas legal status is also unclear. Although she was born in the United States, she is not a citizen Pompeo said Wednesday, she does not have any legal basis, no valid U.S. passport, no right to a passport, nor any visa to travel to the United States. But an attorney representing Muthanas family told the Associated Press the Administrations stance is based on an incorrect designation of her fathers diplomatic status and she formerly held a U.S. passport. Yet beyond questions over the legality of leaving citizens stateless, experts suggest revoking Begums citizenship could be counter-productive from a security perspective. Groups like Islamic State have been incredibly successful at planting the seed in peoples minds that Western governments and Western societies do not care about their Muslim citizens, says Katherine Brown, a senior lecturer in Islamic Studies at Britains University of Birmingham. Appearing to contravene human rights and the rule of law adds fuel to this idea that Muslims are treated differently in the West than anybody else, she adds. Back in Syria, the SDF warns the camps of ISIS detainees represent a time bomb. So far, leaders around the world are failing to agree on how to defuse it. The father of a woman who traveled from her home in Alabama to marry an Islamic State fighter filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump's administration as part of an effort to get her and his 18-month-old grandson returned to the United States. Lawyers acting for Ahmed Ali Muthana, a former diplomat at the United Nations for Yemen who is a naturalized U.S. citizen and lives in Alabama, argue in the lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington D.C., late Thursday that remarks by Trump and other senior White House officials claiming that Hoda Muthana, 24, is no longer a U.S. citizen thus barring her and her son from re-entering the USA are unconstitutional. Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr are named as defendants in the case. Trump said Wednesday that he had instructed Pompeo to deny Muthana re-entry. Pompeo said she was not a U.S. citizen and has no "legal basis" to be brought back to American soil from the Kurdish-run refugee camp in northern Syria where she is being held with her young son, named in the suit as John Doe Muthana. More: Trump: ISIS wife Hoda Muthana won't be allowed to return to United States Muthana joined the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, in 2014 after telling her parents she was going to Atlanta as part of a field trip connected with her business studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Instead, she withdrew from college and used her tuition reimbursement to purchase a plane ticket to Turkey, according to court documents. Hassan Shibly, an attorney for Hoda Muthana, speaks on the phone from his office in Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 20, 2019. From Turkey, she traveled to Syria, where she married twice, both times to ISIS fighters who later died in combat. Muthana fled to the al-Hawl refugee camp in December last year amid the collapse of the ISIS caliphate in Syria and Iraq. Hassan Shibly, a Florida-based legal representative for her family, told USA TODAY in an interview this week that Muthana now wants to return to the USA to take responsibility for her actions, and for the sake of her son. She accepts that she would likely be charged with providing material support to terrorism and need to serve time in jail. Story continues While in Syria, she used her social media accounts to call for the death of Americans. "Go on drive-bys and spill all of their blood, or rent a big truck and drive all over them. Veterans, Patriot, Memorial etc Day parades..go on drive bys + spill all of their blood or rent a big truck n drive all over them. Kill them," Muthana wrote in a now-suspended Twitter account, according to a 2015 profile of her by BuzzFeed News. She has expressed remorse for what she did and claimed that she was "brainwashed" into going to Syria and partly motivated by youthful "arrogance." If permitted to return, Muthana has vowed to help de-radicalize other Americans. She said she expected "no problems" in returning to the U.S. despite Trump's pledge. "I know in fact that I was a citizen," Muthana told NBC News on Friday from the refugee camp in Syria where she's being held. "I prefer America to anywhere else," she said, adding that if she returns, "Of course, I will be given jail time." However, the Trump administration has determined, apparently unilaterally without taking any action in courts or formally moving to revoke Muthana's citizenship, according to her father's lawsuit, that New Jersey-born Muthana never qualified for U.S. citizenship because at the time of her birth her father was a diplomat. A person born in the U.S. to a foreign diplomat is not subject to U.S. law and is also not automatically a U.S. citizen at birth, according to the Immigration and Nationality Act. But Ahmed Ali Muthana's lawyers for the suit, the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America, a Texas-based group, argue that Trump, Pompeo and Barr are misinformed and that Muthana was in fact born after her father left diplomatic service. Shibly, the family's Florida-based legal representative, shared with USA TODAY an official U.N. document apparently substantiating this claim. The plaintiffs also argue that the U.S. immigration authorities previously accepted this document from the UN as the basis from which to issue Muthana a U.S. passport in 2005 and then renew it in 2014. The plaintiffs argue further, citing the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside" that only the courts can decide whether a diplomat and/or family members are immune from this jurisdiction, not a "unilateral determination by the government." In other words, Muthana can't just immediately lose her citizenship and be prevented from returning to the U.S. because Trump, Pompeo, Barr and others in the current administration say she should. There needs to be a legal process. This undated image provided by attorney Hassan Shibly shows Hoda Muthana, an Alabama woman who left home to join the Islamic State after becoming radicalized online. Muthana realized she was wrong and now wants to return to the United States, Shibly, a lawyer for her family said Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019. The plaintiffs say a letter addressed to Muthana at her parents' home in Alabama in 2016, under President Barack Obama, when she was in Syria, informed her that her passport was being revoked, but that this letter, too, was based on an inaccurate understanding of the date on which her father's diplomatic position was terminated. The lawyers also claim that if the U.S. government does not immediately help facilitate Muthana's return, her chance of ever returning faces "irreparable harm" because of the stated intention by Trump to withdraw U.S. military forces from Syria. The Syrian Kurds, who are fighting alongside U.S. troops, are running the camp where Muthana and an estimated 1,500 other foreign women and children are being held. Muthana's case mirrors that of Shamima Begum, a 19-year-old British woman who is detained in the same camp in Syria. Begum married an ISIS fighter when she was just 15 and now wants to return to Britain to raise her young son, born last week. The British government is trying to strip her of her citizenship in a move that her lawyer and family say would effectively render her stateless. "It is problematic to revoke the citizenship of these young, disillusioned and now stateless people as it leaves them under the mercy of the Syrian regime or in the care of international organizations managing refugee camps," Reema Hibrawi, an expert on the Middle East at the Atlantic Council think tank, wrote in a blog post this week. "If they have nowhere else to go or anyone to turn to, it is very likely they could rejoin ISIS in Syria or extremist groups elsewhere." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ISIS bride Hoda Muthana's family files lawsuit against Trump The father of Hoda Muthana, the Alabama woman who traveled to Syria to join ISIS in 2014, has filed suit against a number of Trump administration officials over their refusal to allow her to return to the U.S. Attorneys for the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America filed suit Friday in federal court in Washington, D.C. against President Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Attorney General William Barr, challenging the officials determination that Muthana is not a U.S. citizen and, as such, should not be allowed to re-enter the U.S. The question of Muthanas citizenship centers on whether her father was serving as a Yemeni diplomat when she was born in New Jersey in 1994. Her attorneys claim her father was discharged from his diplomatic post nearly two months before she was born, and that she is thus entitled to birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment. Muthana has an 18-month-old son fathered by one of the three ISIS fighters she was married to during her time in the caliphate. She was taken recently to a refugee camp in northern Syria by Kurdish fighters, where she has pleaded in a series of interviews to be allowed to return home. The suit filed Friday argues that Muthanas father is entitled to send his daughter money to ensure the survival of his daughter and grandson, and enable them safe passage home, without subjecting himself to criminal liability. Muthanas family claims she is aware she will be prosecuted upon returning home and is willing to accept her punishment. In Ms. Muthanas words, she recognizes that she has ruined her own life, but she does not want to ruin the life of her young child, Muthanas attorneys told AL.com in a statement. Citizenship is a core right under the Constitution, and once recognized should not be able to be unilaterally revoked by tweetno matter how egregious the intervening conduct may be. More from National Review LONDON (AP) -- The Irish government published legislation Friday designed to ease the damage if Britain leaves the European Union next month without a Brexit divorce deal but said it hoped the law would never be needed. The Irish government plans to fast-track the bill through Ireland's parliament before the U.K.'s scheduled departure from the bloc on March 29. As a major trading partner of Britain, and the only EU country that shares a land border with the U.K., Ireland faces a huge economic hit if a "no-deal" Brexit introduces tariffs, customs checks and other barriers between Britain and the EU. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney said the bill would try to "offset the worst effects of a disorderly Brexit." It seeks to support Irish businesses and ensure that citizens can still get health care and pension payments in the U.K. But Coveney said a no-deal Brexit would be "lose, lose, lose for the U.K., for the EU and for Ireland." "I hope we never have to use the provisions set out in this piece of legislation. I hope we never have to commence this bill," he said. "Simply put, as a result of a lot of hard work my only desire is see this legislation sit on the shelf." British Prime Minister Theresa May and the EU struck a Brexit deal late last year laying out the terms of an orderly departure and establishing a long transition period so businesses can trade under existing rules while future trade relations are worked out. But Britain's Parliament rejected the deal last month and sent May back to the EU seeking changes. EU leaders insist that the legally Brexit binding withdrawal agreement, which took a year and a half to negotiate, can't be reopened. Still, the two sides are still holding talks, which the U.K. has called "constructive." May is due to meet European Council President Donald Tusk at an EU-Arab summit in Egypt on Sunday, although there is little prospect of a breakthrough. With Brexit just five weeks away, May is stuck between an intransigent EU and a resistant U.K. Parliament. Three lawmakers from her own Conservative Party quit the party this week over the government's handling of Brexit. Story continues May faces facing another showdown in Parliament next week with British lawmakers eager to wrest control of the Brexit process from the government and halt the slide to a chaotic "no-deal" exit. May must tell Parliament on Tuesday whether she is ready to re-submit her Brexit deal for approval. If not, legislators will get a chance Wednesday to try to change the government's course. ___ Follow AP's full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) Bangladesh police said Friday that they were seeking up to a dozen suspects in connection with a fire in the oldest part of the capital and could charge them with negligence over the blaze that killed at least 67 people. The case involves between 10 and 12 people wanted on suspicion of "causing death through negligence" in the Wednesday night fire in Dhaka's Chawkbazar district, said Ibrahim Khan, a deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police. He declined to give details. "Upon investigation we will be able to disclose everything," he told reporters. Relatives of a 19-year-old killed in the blaze have filed a separate case with police accusing the owners of a building where chemical products were stored and that caught fire of "death by negligence, sabotage and damage of goods," Abdul Halim, a police investigator in Chawkbazar, told The Associated Press. He said no arrests had been made. Workers were removing charred vehicles, twisted bits of metal and other debris from Chawkbazar on Friday, while others hosed down the road to clean ashes as investigators inspected the burned buildings to determine what caused the blaze. The area in what is known as Old Dhaka is crammed with apartments, shops and warehouses and firefighters struggled to reach the fire because of the neighborhood's narrow alleyways. Officials and activists have suggested the storage of flammable materials as well as overcrowding played a part in the blaze. "Cans of deodorant and lighter refilling fuel were stored in the buildings. These are flammable chemicals that helped spread the fire quickly," Lt. Col. S.M. Julfiqar Rahman, a director of the Fire Service and Civil Defense, told reporters. Meanwhile, authorities were collecting DNA samples from family members searching for missing relatives. Of the 67 victims, 21 remained unidentified, according to Rumana Akter, an officer in the Dhaka police's criminal investigations unit. Story continues Forensic doctors and lab technicians at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital took blood and cheek swabs in a crowded room outside the hospital morgue to be compared to teeth, hair and other samples taken from the dead. Mohammed Razu Ahmed, 19, gave a blood sample hoping it would help find his father, Jafar Ahmed, a plastic supplier who went to Chawkbazar to pick up raw materials. Several family members including Ahmed examined 30 bodies but none of them was him. "We have been calling on his phone since Wednesday night," Ahmed said. "They told us they will let us know." A team of civil engineers, members of Dhaka's fire department and government officials were expected to suggest ways to prevent similar tragedies. After a fire in a neighboring district at a building storing flammable chemicals killed 123 people in 2010, authorities promised to bring the buildings into compliance with zoning regulations and close warehouses. Dhaka-based environmental activist Abu Naser Khan said calls to address dangerous overcrowding and chemical storage after the 2010 fire fell on deaf ears. "The landlords in Old Dhaka are influential financially and politically," Khan said. "The people who have chemical and plastic businesses have strong associations that work as a pressure group." When authorities attempted to evict hundreds of illegal tenants in Old Dhaka last May, business owners protested, foiling the drive, Khan said. Ramesh Kumar Paudel is the Chitwan correspondent for Kantipur Publications. An ambulance carrying people injured during the border clashes - REUTERS A high stakes bid by the Venezuelan opposition to transport aid into the country turned deadly on Friday as government forces opened fire on a group of indigenous volunteers, killing at least one woman and injuring 12. Members of the indigenous community in the southern town of Kumarakapay, bordering Brazil, on Friday night took the commander of the Venezuelan national guard prisoner in retaliation. Jose Miguel Montoya Rodriguez was being detained by members of the Pemon tribe, following the death of Zoraida Rodriguez in the clashes. The violence cast an ominous shadow over the massive aid delivery planned for Saturday, with hundreds of tonnes of medical supplies destined to be brought across the border from Brazil and Colombia. Juan Guaido, the self-declared interim president who has marshalled the hugely symbolic aid delivery, condemned the killing of Rodriguez, and promised to bring the perpetrators to justice. On Friday night, following a fundraising concert on the border organised by Sir Richard Branson, thousands of volunteers were preparing to bring the aid into Venezuela, in spite of the threats from President Nicolas Maduro that he would not allow it to pass. Organisers of the show, held on the Tienditas bridge, worked through the night to clear the bridge ahead of the aid caravan. Mr Maduro promised a rival concert on the other side of the bridge, and was reportedly offering $7 million to artists to perform, but by Friday night there was no sign of the show and musician after musician issued statements confirming they had been approached to perform, but turned it down. A caravan of trucks fanned out across Venezuela this week, destined for the border with the intention of loading the aid for distribution at the border points. Four processions will be met on the Venezuelan side by four people appointed by Mr Guaido, whose identity he has kept secret for their own safety. Mr Guaido himself set out from Caracas on Thursday in a procession of lorries towards the border, ready to collect the aid. Story continues Gaby Arellano, a 33-year-old opposition MP leading one of the convoys of aid was on Friday defiant about the risks of violence as she prepared to cross the border from the Colombian town of Cucuta. You know what really frightens me? she told The Telegraph,. The fact that my children will continue to suffer. Thats far more terrifying a thought than anything that could happen on the bridge. Russia, which along with Cuba and China continues to provide a crutch to Mr Maduros teetering regime, accused the United States on Friday of using the aid deliveries as a ploy to carry out military action against Mr Maduro's government. Maria Zakharova, spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry, said Mr Guaido's plans to try to bring the aid across the border are aimed at provoking clashes to provide "a convenient pretext for conducting military action". Cucuta has four bridges crossing into Venezuela, and the volunteers, told to dress in white, will set out at 9am (2pm GMT) not smugglers in the night, said Jose Manuel Olivares, a 33-year-old doctor-turned-politician, who will on Saturday lead one of the columns. We will do it by the light of day, with full transparency, because we have nothing to hide. Freddy Superlano, a deputy for the Chavez family state of Barinas, added: Weve thought it all through, with the aid. Its much more than politics. Its the survival of the nation. Mr Guaido insisted that the aid must be allowed to pass, and issued another plea to the soldiers to allow its safe passage. You must decide on which side you stand, at this decisive hour, he tweeted on Friday night. To the soldiers, between tonight and tomorrow you must decide how you want to be remembered. We know you stand with the people. Tomorrow you must show it. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and receive a $20 prize! Indian Overseas Banks (NSE:IOB): Indian Overseas Bank provides various banking products and services. The 80b market-cap companys loss lessens since it announced a -63.0b bottom-line in the full financial year, compared to the latest trailing-twelve-month loss of -53.6b, as it approaches breakeven. As path to profitability is the topic on IOBs investors mind, Ive decided to gauge market sentiment. In this article, I will touch on the expectations for IOBs growth and when analysts expect the company to become profitable. Check out our latest analysis for Indian Overseas Bank According to the industry analysts covering IOB, breakeven is near. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2020, before generating positive profits of 7.0b in 2021. Therefore, IOB is expected to breakeven roughly 2 years from now. What rate will IOB have to grow year-on-year in order to breakeven on this date? Using a line of best fit, I calculated an average annual growth rate of 110%, which is extremely buoyant. Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected. NSEI:IOB Past and Future Earnings, February 22nd 2019 Given this is a high-level overview, I wont go into details of IOBs upcoming projects, however, take into account that generally a high forecast growth rate is not unusual for a company that is currently undergoing an investment period. One thing Id like to point out is that IOB has managed its capital judiciously, with debt making up 35% of equity. This means that IOB has predominantly funded its operations from equity capital,and its low debt obligation reduces the risk around investing in the loss-making company. Next Steps: There are too many aspects of IOB to cover in one brief article, but the key fundamentals for the company can all be found in one place IOBs company page on Simply Wall St. Ive also compiled a list of important factors you should look at: Historical Track Record: What has IOBs performance been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of our analysis for more clarity. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business take a look at who sits on Indian Overseas Banks board and the CEOs back ground. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. A fisherman in the UK. Photo: Andrew Milligan/PA Archive/PA Images Anglers across the UK have been handed nearly 8,000 ($10,400) in small fines for illegal fishing, in a series of cases brought before the magistrates on Monday. The governments Environment Agency (EA), brought cases against 11 men, who were all found guilty of offences including fishing without a licence. The biggest was given to 29-year-old Christopher Downing from Willenhall, who in addition to fishing without a licence failed to state his name and address when required to do so by a fisheries bailiff. Downing will pay a 880 fine, plus costs and victim surcharge of 193. READ MORE: EU to ban use of electricity in fishing Adrian Statham, 27, and Jamie Falconer, 37, in addition to fishing without a licence, were fined for leaving an unattended rod and line with bait or hook in the water at Middle Pool, Telford, on 18 August 2018. They were fined 660 and 440, respectively, and ordered to pay additional costs of 171 and 157. Four people were each fined 440 with additional costs of 171 for fishing without a licence at Beden Hall Fishery, Eccleshall on 22 July 2018, and three people were each fined 440 with additional costs of 161 for doing so at Cudmore Fisheries, Whitmore, on the same day. Kenny Wilkes, 32, was also fined 440 and ordered to pay costs and victim surcharge totalling 171.47, for fishing without a licence on the Tame Valley Canal in Wednesbury, on 20 July 2018. READ MORE: Chinese trawlers travel farthest and fish the most This follows a number of previous charges against anglers, with a Lincoln fisherman being fined 25,000 over an illegal whelk catch in December, and two men being fined hundreds of pounds each for illegal angling at County Durham pond in January. A spokesperson from the Environment Agency said: An annual fishing licence costs just 30, yet a small number of anglers continue to flout the law and risk prosecution for fishing without a licence and breaching byelaws in place to protect fish stocks. Its important anglers have a licence before fishing. The money from licences is invested into Englands fisheries and rivers, improving the sport of angling. Anglers should also ensure they are familiar with our byelaws, which are available on the Environment Agency web pages. An iceberg roughly twice the size of New York City is poised to break off from Antarcticas Brunt Ice Shelf, where scientists have been living and working nearly constantly since 1956, threatening the ice shelfs stability. The problem resides with a massive crack working its way north as fast as 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) per year. When this crack reaches the eastward-growing Halloween crack that appeared in Oct. 2016, the iceberg will break off, or calve, from the ice shelf. TU Delft satellite remote sensing expert Stef Lhermitte, who has been observing the progression of the crack known as chasm 1, told Earther there are roughly 2.5 miles to go before the iceberg calves. Its difficult to estimate exactly when this will happen, however, as this distance could be covered in a year or mere days. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. According to NASAs Earth Observatory, the potential 1700 square kilometer (660 square miles) iceberg isnt very large by historical standards, but it would be the largest piece to break from the Brunt Ice Shelf since observations began in 1915. The loss of ice particularly poses a threat to the British Antarctic Surveys Halley Station, which conducts atmospheric and geological research. The researchers used to work year-round, but the station has been forced to close twice in recent years due to unpredictable changes in the ice. The Halley station has been rebuilt and relocated several times since its founding in the 1950s, as construction methods and geographical circumstances change. The most recent version, Halley VIa, rests upstream and to the east of the northward-growing crack in the ice shelf. Vienna (AFP) - Iran has been adhering to a deal with world powers limiting its nuclear programme, the UN atomic watchdog said Friday, as diplomatic wrangling continues over the future of the accord. The latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Iran was still complying with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with global powers under which Tehran drastically scaled back its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. The IAEA's latest report showed that over the past three-month period, Iran's stock of heavy water had risen from 122.8 to 124.8 metric tonnes and that it held 163.8kg of enriched uranium, up from 149.4kg in November. Both levels are within the limits foreseen by the JCPOA. Last week, European nations rejected a call from US Vice President Mike Pence to follow the US lead in withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear deal. Israel has welcomed the US withdrawal from the deal, claiming that Iran is harbouring a secret atomic warehouse. Without naming specific countries, in January IAEA chief Yukiya Amano rejected pressure on the agency, saying: "If our credibility is thrown into question, and, in particular, if attempts are made to micro-manage or put pressure on the Agency in nuclear verification, that is counter-productive and extremely harmful." In May, US President Donald Trump dramatically withdrew from the JCPOA. This was followed by sweeping new American sanctions on Iran in November. Trump's own intelligence chiefs have contradicted him over the question of Iran's adherence to the deal. Last month Central Intelligence Agency Director Gina Haspel told a Senate hearing that Iran was "technically" in compliance with the JCPOA. The European Union -- along with the European signatories to the deal, collectively known as the E3 -- have been scrambling to find ways to keep the deal alive, last month setting up a special payments vehicle to bypass US sanctions. However, while Iran initially welcomed the creation of the vehicle -- called INSTEX -- as a "first step", last week Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the mechanism "falls short of the commitments by the E3 to save the nuclear deal". Juba (AFP) - Tens of thousands face starvation in South Sudan, aid agencies warned Friday, as fighting continues despite a peace deal signed six months ago meant to end civil war. Nearly seven million people or two-thirds of the country face extreme hunger, the government and UN agencies said. "The food security situation continues to deteriorate," said Isaiah Chol Aruai, chairman of the National Bureau of Statistics, as he released the latest round of mind-boggling food assessments. Nearly a fifth more people now need food aid to survive than when a man-made famine was declared in 2017, and the risk of another famine is a "real risk", the UN said. Aruai, speaking to reporters in Juba alongside the heads of the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), pleaded for more aid to avert further catastrophe. "The projections are alarming," said FAO boss Pierre Vauthier. "Food security continues to worsen." When famine was declared in 2017, 4.9 million people or 40 percent of the country needed food aid. Now over 6.1 million people, or just over half the population, are assessed to be in "acute food insecurity". Without action, those figures will worsen to over 6.8 million people, or some two-thirds of the country. UN-backed assessments rank hunger levels according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system, which ranks hunger levels from one to five. Level five is classified as "catastrophe," and when stretched to 20 percent of the population, becomes famine. Today, some 30,000 are judged to be in level five in the eastern Jonglei and central Lakes regions. Those starvation numbers will rise to 50,000 without aid. "Most in need of assistance are malnourished women and children," WFP boss Simon Cammelbeeck said. The war began in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup. A brutal conflict flared up, often fought along tribal lines and characterised by massacres of civilians, rape and looting. Nearly 400,000 people died and millions were forced to flee their homes or to the brink of starvation. Fighting continues. Algiers (AFP) - Clashes broke out in the Algerian capital Friday between security forces and demonstrators opposed to a bid by ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to run for a fifth term, AFP correspondents said. Police in riot gear fired tear gas and set up a security cordon to block access to the presidential palace by demonstrators who responded with stone-throwing. Hundreds of demonstrators had gathered despite a ban on protests in the capital, for a march which also took them to the Mediterranean city's landmark Grand Post Office. The clashes broke out when some protesters headed for the palace, four kilometres (2.5 miles) away and a number of arrests were made. "No fifth mandate," chanted the mostly young demonstrators, many waving Algerian flags, as they started to march through central Algiers. "Ouyahia, get out!" the crowd also cried, referring to Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, a Bouteflika loyalist heading the government for a third term. Some demonstrators in Algiers scaled the outside of a building and tore down a poster bearing the portrait of the 81-year-old president. An official ban on demonstrations in Algiers was imposed in 2001. But in February 2018, thousands of trainee doctors tried to hold a protest at the same venue. They were rapidly encircled and their path blocked by police. Activists used social media to call for Friday rallies against Bouteflika across the country after the weekly Muslim prayers, also filling the main square in Annaba, 400 kilometres (250 miles) east of Algiers with demonstrators, the TSA news website said. Other gatherings were reported in several other cities, including in Oran, Algeria's second largest. French-language daily El Watan, on its website, said crowds also gathered in Ourgla where it said "thousands of demonstrators chanted "the people want the fall of the regime", the slogan of the Arab Spring revolts of 2011. - 'Routine medical tests' - Story continues Bouteflika, who uses a wheelchair and has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013, announced on February 10 that he will run for another term in April presidential polls. He spoke of an "unwavering desire to serve" despite his health constraints and pledged to set up an "inclusive national conference" to address political and economic reforms. His office has announced that Bouteflika will travel to Switzerland on Sunday for "routine medical checks" ahead of the April 18 election. He has had a long battle with illness and frequently flown to France for treatment. Bouteflika is Algeria's longest-serving president and a veteran of its independence struggle, who has clung to power for two decades despite long years of ill health. Even before his stroke, a year before the last presidential polls, Bouteflika had repeatedly shown himself to be a wily political survivor. He came to power in 1999 with the support of an army battling Islamist guerrillas. He ran unopposed for the presidency in polls later the same year and has been re-elected since 2004 with an official tally each time of more than 80 percent of the vote. "Boutef", as many Algerians have nicknamed him, was instrumental in fostering peace after a decade-long civil war in the 1990s. Known for wearing a three-piece suit even in the north African nation's stifling heat, he gained respect from many for his role in ending the war, which official figures say killed nearly 200,000 people. But he has also faced criticism from rights groups and opponents who accuse him of being authoritarian. After his stroke, Bouteflika consolidated power in a country where the shadowy intelligence service has long been viewed as a "state within a state". When the Arab Spring erupted in January 2011, Bouteflika rode out the storm by lifting a 19-year state of emergency and using oil revenues to grant pay rises. In early 2016, he dissolved the all-powerful DRS intelligence agency after dismissing its leader General Mohamed Mediene, known as "Toufik", who had clung to the post for a quarter of a century. Happy couple is taking keys from their new house from broker and smiling. (Getty) Its been less than two years since one of the most meteoric rises for Canadian real estate in recorded history. It was a time of crazy bidding wars as prices hit all-time highs. People that sold at the peak made out like bandits. Now were learning realtors did pretty well too thanks to new data from Statistics Canada. Despite the introduction of the Fair Housing plan in Ontario and two national mortgage rate hikes, operating revenue for the real estate agents and brokers industry was $15 billion in 2017 a 8.5 per cent bump from the previous year. Firms in Ontario and British Columbia brought in 78 per cent of that revenue. Ontario accounted for 10.3 per cent of the increase and B.C accounted for 7 per cent. Realtors got an even bigger pay raise in 2016 with a 15.4 per cent increase. (Canadian Real Estate Association) Expenses grew by 9 per cent to $10.6 billion in 2017. At 38.4 per cent the biggest cost was subcontract expenses, which include commission expenses paid to other brokers. Salaries, wages, commissions, and benefits accounted for 14.4 per cent. As a result, operating profit margin fell over so slightly from 29.3 per cent in 2016 to 2017. Specifical salaries were not part of the Statistics Canada report. According to the job search site Indeed, the current average salary for a realtor at RE/MAX is $111,557 a year. Home prices and especially sales fell in most of the countries hottest markets in 2018. Data from the next report in 2020 will provide insight into how hard the slowdown hit realtors in their wallets. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. House Democrats on Friday introduced a measure that would block President Trumps decision to declare a national emergency to fund his long-promised border wall. The measure, sponsored by Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas and cosponsored by 222 others, is a response to last weeks national-emergency declaration, which was intended to free up $8 billion of federal money for the construction of the concrete border wall the president promised during his campaign. Trump made the move after Congress refused to appropriate the $5.7 billion he requested for the wall, granting him only $1.375 billion for barriers on the border. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in a letter to House Democrats, encouraged them to vote for the resolution and said the House will move swiftly to pass it. President Trumps emergency declaration proclamation undermines the separation of powers and Congresss power of the purse, a power exclusively reserved by the text of the Constitution to the first branch of government, the Legislative branch, a branch co-equal to the Executive, Pelosi wrote. In the Republican-majority Senate, the resolution would need some GOP support to pass. Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, Lamar Alexander, Marco Rubio, Mitt Romney, Mike Lee, Jerry Moran, and Rand Paul have expressed concern at Trumps declaration, which raises the possibility that Castros measure might pass. But if it did, the two-thirds majorities needed to override Trumps veto in the House and Senate would likely be hard to come by. More from National Review WASHINGTON The House plans to vote Tuesday on a resolution to try to block President Donald Trump's declaration of an emergency along the southern border, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday. "The president of the United States is declaring a national emergency to honor an applause line in a rally," Pelosi said on a conference call with reporters Friday morning. "Not only is he disrespecting the legislative branch and the Constitution of the United States, he is dishonoring the office in which he serves," said the California Democrat, who spoke from the border city of Laredo, Texas. Trump announced the declaration last week as a means of freeing up billions to pay for his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border after Congress failed to give him the money he demanded. Democrats have called the declaration an overreach of Trump's power and have vowed to fight it. Their resolution, if it passed both chambers of Congress, would terminate the emergency declaration. But even if Congress approves it, the president could veto it. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump vowed to veto the resolution 100 percent. And I dont think it survives a veto, the president predicted. Pelosi said the resolution would come up in the House Rules Committee Monday night and then likely be brought to the floor on Tuesday. House Democrats introduced the resolution Friday. As of Friday morning it had more than 225 co-sponsors, according to lead sponsor Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas. The bill had one GOP co-sponsor, Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan. "This is a historic power grab and it will require historic unity by members of Congress Republican and Democrat, liberal and conservative to counteract the presidents parasitic movement," Castro said. He and Pelosi said they were trying to recruit Republicans to sign onto the bill. The bill is expected to pass the Democratic-controlled House, but its future is uncertain in the Republican-held Senate. However, unlike most legislation, the resolution is rooted in a provision from the National Emergencies Act that would require it to be voted upon within 18 calendar days after it is introduced and then be sent to the Senate. Story continues Normally, if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell doesn't want to bring legislation from the House to the floor he can block it from getting a vote. But once this bill passes the House which is it expected to do the Senate will have to take it up within 18 days of receiving it. Many Republicans have said they were uncomfortable with the president declaring a national emergency to get funding for a wall along the southern border, but it's unclear whether they would vote for such an effort. A copy of the one-page resolution was sent out by Pelosi late Wednesday to all members of the House, where she urged them to join in backing the move. "All Members take an oath of office to support and defend the Constitution," Pelosi said in her letter. "The Presidents decision to go outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process violates the Constitution and must be terminated. We have a solemn responsibility to uphold the Constitution, and defend our system of checks and balances against the Presidents assault." "This is not about politics, it's not about partisanship. It's about patriotism. That's why I wrote a letter about this resolution, Mr. Castro's resolution, to all members 'Dear colleague' not 'Dear Democratic colleague,'" Pelosi said Friday. Trump made the emergency declaration after Congress allocated $1.375 billion for a barrier along the southern border, far short of the $5.7 billion Trump had demanded. The fight over wall funding led to a 35-day government shutdown the longest on record. White House officials have said the emergency declaration and other budget maneuvers would free up an additional $6.6 billion, which would build at least 234 miles of border wall. Along with Congress moving to void the order, the move has also drawn a number of legal challenges in court. Sixteen states already filed a lawsuit over Trump's emergency declaration, arguing it exceeds the power of the president and unconstitutionally redirects federal money that Congress had set aside for other purposes. In addition to the resolution, Pelosi Friday did not rule out committee chairmen filing lawsuits over the wall. More: 16 states sue Trump over national emergency declaration, border wall More: National emergencies are common; declaring one for a border wall is not This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democrats plan House vote Tuesday on measure to stop Trump's declaration of emergency at the border Japan pledges Rs 8 million grant for coffee processing The Japan government on Friday agreed to provide a grant support of Rs 7.7 million (US $68,185) for the construction of a coffee processing center in Kavrepalanchok district. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) The Republican in the last undecided U.S. congressional election ignored repeated warnings from his son against hiring a shady political operator now accused of illegally collecting voter's ballots in a rural North Carolina county and casting the GOP campaign into limbo, the younger man testified Wednesday. Contradicting congressional candidate Mark Harris' public statements that he never suspected his campaign deployed an operative in rural Bladen County who collected ballots by the bundle and turned them in when he wanted, John Harris testified at a special state elections board hearing that he'd warned his father about Leslie McCrae Dowless' operation repeatedly since mid-2016. John Harris said his warnings were overridden because local Republicans recommended Dowless to Mark Harris, who was gearing up for a primary rematch against incumbent U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger. His parents met with Dowless in April 2017, when the operative insisted his method for maximizing mail-in vote results was legal and grounded in local relationships. "I think they were lied to and they believed the person who lied to them," John Harris said of his parents. "I will also say, they were weighing what I had provided in terms of analysis against other people that they respected who endorsed Mr. Dowless' behavior. Do I agree with their ultimate assessment? No. I thought what he was doing was illegal. And I was right." North Carolina's elections director said Monday that Dowless conducted an illegal and well-funded ballot-harvesting operation while working for Mark Harris during the 2018 election cycle. Dowless' workers in Bladen County testified at the special state elections board hearing that they were directed to forge signatures, collect blank or incomplete ballots voters handed over, and even fill in votes for local candidates who hadn't earned them. Some Bladen County residents also raised their suspicions in sworn affidavits that Dowless also may have discarded the ballots of Democrat Dan McCready's supporters. He trailed Harris by 905 votes out of about 280,000 cast in November's election, but the race wasn't certified after allegations against Dowless surfaced. The hearing has produced no testimony showing ballots were discarded. Story continues Dowless declined to testify this week after the elections board refused to grant him immunity from prosecution based on what he might say. Dowless has felony convictions for insurance fraud and perjury, but Harris and his chief campaign consultant said those charges were missed in a brief background check. John Harris said he did not have a significant role in his father's campaign and assumed campaign staffers and consultants had a duty to keep an eye on Dowless' performance. Mark Harris previously told The Associated Press he sought out and hired Dowless because he delivered votes, including for a Republican rival in the 2016 GOP primary. Harris said he discussed with an attorney after that primary whether to challenge Dowless' incredible results for a GOP rival with mail-in ballots in Bladen County. Dowless' methods in the 2016 general election were referred to federal prosecutors, who took no action. Since October, John Harris has worked in the civil division of the same U.S. Justice Department office in Raleigh. He said he was testifying voluntarily in his capacity as a private citizen and not as a Justice Department employee. Mark Harris appeared to tear up during his son's testimony. John Harris testified that he initially warned his parents about Dowless after reviewing voting data immediately after his father's 2016 primary loss. Mark Harris had lost a Republican primary that June in which GOP rival Todd Johnson, who used Dowless in that campaign, scored 98 percent of the mail-in ballots cast in Bladen County. In November 2016, John Harris forwarded a Republican fundraising email amid a vote-counting fight in the close North Carolina governor's race. The email claimed that a Democratic Party voting fraud scheme in Bladen County had been uncovered, based on a complaint by Dowless of misdeeds by a local black empowerment organization. Mark Harris reacted to the email with a reply to his son: "Amen! But interestingly enough, the guy who made the claim, Dowess (sic), is the same guy that Johnson paid to run the "absentee ballot program" for him! Guess he didn't like the Dems cutting into his business!" Mark Harris is expected to testify Thursday. The elections board is expected to either declare him the winner in the 9th congressional district or order a new election after the multi-day hearing. ___ Follow Emery P. Dalesio on Twitter at http://twitter.com/emerydalesio . His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/emery%20dalesio . google nest microphone privacy Google copped to making a mistake Thursday by not disclosing a microphone component present in its Nest Guard devices, an enhancement to the Nest Secure suite. No Reports of Actual Consumers Bothered By Googles Secret Nest Microphone Googles surprise microphone alarmed consumer privacy advocates, but no word yet from any major news sources reporting that actual Nest Guard users were unhappy about Google waiting to disclose the microphone until it had developed the software applications for it. Instead, the media row over Googles surprise microphone centers on the complaints of Washington-based political activists who say they speak for the consumer, but which consumers signed off on that? Read the full story on CCN.com. Google announced Thursday that it is ending forced arbitration for its workforce. The change means employees will no longer have to take their disputes with Google to an arbitrator theyll have the option of suing the company individually or together as a group. Workers whove signed arbitration agreements cant take their claims to a public court. Instead, they take them to an arbitrator, usually through an arbitration service thats paid by the employer. Companies like forced arbitration because it helps avoid large, costly lawsuits that lead to big payouts for workers. It also helps keep allegations of wrongdoing out of the public eye, since everything is litigated behind closed doors before the arbitrator. Googles turnaround on arbitration follows months of employee criticism of the practice; 20,000 employees took part in a November walkout that drew international attention. Workers listed forced arbitration as a key grievance, saying it hid workplace abuses and left them with little leverage against a powerful employer. Googles turnaround on arbitration follows months of employee criticism of the practice. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS) According to Google, no new employees will be presented with an arbitration clause to sign as a condition of getting a job. All current employees who signed one in the past will be allowed to pursue claims in court instead. The new policy goes into effect March 21, though it wont apply to Googles contractors or workers employed through vendors. The change marks a big win for Googles direct employees, who arent unionized but are nonetheless acting like a union. By eliminating the arbitration policy through public pressure, they have given themselves even more collective power through the ability to band together and sue in court over issues like wage theft or discrimination. Though some of Googles competitors in Silicon Valley may follow suit, its unlikely many other U.S. employers will do so. The use of forced arbitration has grown steadily over the last few decades, to the point where an estimated 55 percent of U.S. workers roughly 60 million are subject to such clauses, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The share of workers employed under forced arbitration has roughly doubled since the early 2000s, giving fewer workers access to the courts for civil rights, family leave, and wage and hour claims. Story continues Among those employers with forced arbitration, roughly a third also require workers to sign class- and collective-action waivers, meaning they cant join group lawsuits against the company. The result is that many valid claims are never brought to begin with, since they are too small on their own. The trends in arbitration are unlikely to reverse anytime soon, thanks in large part to a monumental Supreme Court decision last year. In the case known as Epic Systems v. Lewis, several workers had sued their employers over the use of class-action waivers in forced arbitration agreements, arguing that it ran afoul of the bedrock U.S. law enshrining collective bargaining rights. The courts conservative majority disagreed, issuing a 5-4 ruling in the employers favor a decision Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg savaged in her dissent as egregiously wrong. The ruling essentially gave employers the green light to require workers to sign away their rights to sue collectively in court. Its still too early to say how much the ruling encouraged employers to institute arbitration clauses. But its likely that many were sitting on the sidelines waiting for a signal from the court on the clauses legality before requiring workers to sign them. For Google, the Supreme Court ruling meant ditching its arbitration agreements was entirely optional, and only necessary after thousands of its employees filled the streets. Other employers, even ones with big names, are unlikely to feel so much pressure to walk back their arbitration policies. Take the burrito chain Chipotle. That company began inserting an arbitration clause into its hiring packets while it was facing a growing wage theft lawsuit from current and former employees. Once the Supreme Court decision came down, Chipotle used it to successfully boot nearly 3,000 workers from the collective-action lawsuit. The judge in the case said the ruling left him with no other choice. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. ABOARD THE ICEBREAKER POLARIS (Finland) (AFP) - The steel behemoth pushes ahead, crunching the ice as it navigates the northernmost tip of the Baltic, considered one of the most polluted seas in the world. But unlike other icebreakers spewing diesel, this state-of-the-art ship boasts cleaner fuel. In the freezing darkness of a February morning, the immense Polaris, which at 10,000 tonnes weighs more than the Eiffel Tower, ploughs effortlessly through the half-metre (20-inch) thick ice. "I used to fly planes but I don't miss it at all. In here it's like driving a spaceship!" says second officer Valtteri Salokannel on the ship's bridge, surrounded by satellite images of the ice and rows of coloured lights. The bridge shakes gently but the thick windows cut out the noise of the howling winds on deck and metallic clanging of ice against the reinforced steel hull. The 128 million-euro ($145-million) vessel is tasked with keeping shipping lanes open for up to six months of the year, allowing a constant stream of cargo ships carrying steel, paper products and chemicals in and out of the ports serving northern Finland and neighbouring Sweden. The ship's captain, Pasi Jarvelin, boasts that Polaris is the most eco-friendly icebreaker in the world. "We don't release anything into the sea, such as shower water, grey water -- we take that back to land. And the propellers use biodegradable grease," he tells AFP. But most importantly, it is the world's first icebreaker to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG), a lower-carbon alternative to the diesel fuel which powers most large ships. "LNG is the cleanest known fuel that we can use," Jarvelin said. - Cleaner credentials - Polaris' eco-friendlier credentials will be of increasing importance during the ship's 50-year lifespan, as the region's pristine white ice hides waters that have been singled out by the European Commission and WWF, among other international bodies, as in urgent need of action to reduce high levels of pollution. Story continues Very little outside water flows into or out of the Baltic Sea, almost completely enclosed by nine countries including Russia, Germany and most Nordic states. This means chemicals from agriculture and other industry remain trapped in the water in increasingly strong concentrations, according to bodies such as the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM). In addition, says the European Environment Agency, temperatures in the Baltic have risen over five times faster than the global average over the past 25 years. - Significant first - Until now, Polaris has been running on low-sulphur diesel oil, or filling up with natural gas brought in by lorry. But this month, for the first time, the 110-metre ship filled up with gas from the newly built Manga LNG terminal, a storage facility perched at the end of a barren, snow-swept harbour in Tornio, northern Finland. The Manga terminal opened 15 months ago to supply natural gas to a local steel plant and other nearby industry. Refuelling the vessel, known as bunkering, took eight hours on its first run, as engineers busily monitored computer screens and sometimes adjusted the snow-covered valves, filling the ship's two vast, 400-cubic-metre (14,000-cubic-feet) fuel tanks a little at a time to ensure the correct pressure and distribution. "It was a significant day," Jarvelin told AFP after the ship had set off to sea again. "Now we'll always have a supply of LNG up here in our home, Tornio." Although liquefied natural gas is a fossil fuel and therefore generally considered non-renewable, it is widely seen as more environmentally friendly than coal or oil because it burns more efficiently and emits less carbon. Running on LNG is also expected to prove cheaper than diesel over the ship's lifetime. "Polaris is the only icebreaker in the world that runs on LNG," maritime technology professor Pentti Kujala, of Aalto University, Finland, told AFP. "The big variation of power you need for icebreaking can sometimes cause challenges for LNG engines, so it's less common than diesel," he said. In exceptionally tough conditions, Polaris can switch its engines to diesel. Built in 2016 by Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, it is also equipped with pumps, filters and inflatable booms in the event of an oil spill in icy conditions, which is considerably harder to clean up than in open water. Much of the oil spill risk comes from the southern Baltic, known as the Gulf of Finland, having some of the heaviest marine traffic in Europe, with levels set to rise dramatically over the coming decades. - Ice and snow-how - Finland is the only nation in the world where all of its ports can -- and regularly do -- freeze in winter, meaning icebreakers are indispensable to keeping trade flowing. The Nordic country's expertise means Finnish companies have built two thirds of the world's 150 major icebreakers. Unlike most other icebreakers though, the Polaris has a sauna on board -- this is a Finnish ship, after all -- to help keep the around 16 crew members warm during their 20-day stretch at sea. And with temperatures outdoors nearing minus 20 degrees C (minus four degrees F), the boat's inside spaces are well insulated. "Actually officers don't need to go outside much," admits Salokannel. "But I do venture out there sometimes, just for fun, to sniff the air and see what's going on." By Susan Taylor TORONTO (Reuters) - General Motors Co Chief Executive Mary Barra will not come before Canadian legislators to answer questions about the automaker's future in the country, but lower-ranking executives will appear, a lawmaker said on Thursday. GM said in November it would close its Oshawa, Ontario, assembly plant by year-end, part of a broad restructuring affecting four other plants in the United States, as it cuts costs and invests in electric and self-driving vehicles. Last month, the Canadian Parliament's Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology approved Vice Chairman Brian Masse's request for Barra to "explain GM's future and continued commitment to the Canadian automotive and manufacturing industry." Barra's "complex schedule wouldn't allow her to be there in a reasonable period of time," said GM spokesman David Paterson. He added that two "subject matter experts" - GM Canada President Travis Hester and Vice President of North American Manufacturing Gerald Johnson - would likely appear before the committee in March. Masse, a member of the opposition New Democrats, said it was frustrating that Barra would not attend because she is the "principal strategist" behind GM's restructuring and could explain why Oshawa did not merit investment. "We need to understand the future jobs and commitment of General Motors because we need to better understand how we fit in their global operations," Masse said. Canada's auto union, which represents 2,600 assembly line workers in Oshawa and 1,800 workers at plants supplying the operation, has waged a high-profile campaign aimed at convincing GM to keep the plant open until September 2020, when the current collective agreement ends. GM Canada has said repeatedly it will not change its business decision. An Ontario Labour Relations Board hearing on Thursday reviewed an application by GM to halt "unlawful strike activity." A decision was expected shortly. (Reporting by Susan Taylor; Editing by Peter Cooney) Gildan Activewear, Inc. GIL posted fourth-quarter 2018 results, wherein adjusted earnings missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while the top line surpassed the same. Further, both top and bottom lines increased year over year for the third straight quarter. Results gained on solid growth in fashion basics, double-digit growth in international and global lifestyle brands, and robust e-commerce sales. Apart from these, reduced SG&A costs and operational efficiencies have also aided performance. Gildan Activewear, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Gildan Activewear, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Gildan Activewear, Inc. Quote Q4 Summary The company reported adjusted earnings of 43 cents a share, up 39% from the year-ago quarter.This can be attributed to increased adjusted operating income and lower share count, partly negated by higher income tax. However, the bottom line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 44 cents. Moving on, Gildan Activewear generated net sales of $742.7 million, up 13.6% from the year-ago quarter. Net sales in this segment surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $710 million. The top line was fueled by strong growth in activewear category, partly negated by soft performances in hosiery and underwear categories. This Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company witnessed gross margin contraction of 80 basis points (bps) to 26.3% in the quarter under review, mainly due to elevated expenses of raw materials and other inputs, higher costs related to activewear growth, and supply-chain headwinds. Adjusted operating margin expanded 230 bps to 13.5% in the quarter. Moreover, selling, general & administrative (SG&A) expenses as a percentage of net sales decreased 300 bps to 12.9% in the reported quarter. Revenues in Detail Sales in the companys activewear category improved 22.3% to $569.3 million, driven by rise in unit sales volumes, improved product-mix due to higher fleece shipments and increased net selling prices. Story continues Meanwhile, its hosiery and underwear category saw sales decline of 7.9% to $173.4 million, owing to lower sales of Gildan sock in mass and less mass retailer renewal of Gildan underwear, partly negated by shipments under a new private label underwear program. Delving deeper, the company posted region wise sales for the reported quarter. Sales in the United States, Canada and International areas grew 13.5%, 5.5% and 19.3% year over year to $641.8 million, $34.8 million and $66.1 million, respectively. Balance Sheet and Cash Flow As of Dec 30, 2018, Gildan Activewear had approximately $46.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, long-term debt of $669 million and total stockholders equity of $1.9 billion. Also, the company generated cash from operations of $274.1 million in the reported quarter. The company incurred capital expenditure of $26.2 million. Additionally, Gildan Activewear bought back 664,289 common shares worth $19.6 million in the reported quarter. Gildan Activewears board has also announced 20% dividend hike to 13.4 cents per share payable on Apr 1, 2019, to shareholders of record as on Mar 7, 2019. This marks the companys seventh successive dividend hike. Business Development During the reported quarter, the company closed its AKH textile facility in Honduras, which was previously acquired as part of the Anvil acquisition in 2012. Production of fashion basics, including socks, at this facility was transferred to its new Rio Nance 6 textile facility. Rio Nance 6 textile facility offers state of the art provisions, with better equipment for more efficient production. Outlook For first-quarter 2019, the company expects adjusted earnings to be 24-26 cents per share, a substantial decrease from 34 cents reported in the year-ago quarter. Bottom-line view also stands below the current Zacks Consensus Estimate of 38 cents. The year-on-year earnings decline may be attributable to rise in raw material and other input costs along with sales decline of mid to high-single digit. Delving deeper into the top-line view, hosiery and underwear categories are likely to remain dull. Further, the company anticipates the afore-mentioned product categories to recover in the second quarter. Management also provided guidance for 2019, wherein the bottom line is anticipated to grow 10% to $2.00-$2.10 per share, which is below the current Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.11. This projection doesnt include $20 million costs related to restructuring plans and acquisitions. Additionally, management hinted that the bottom line in the first half of 2019 is likely to be lower than that in the year-ago period. Moreover, the company projects sales growth in 2019, backed by solid sales volume in core areas including fashion basics, international markets and global lifestyle brands. Apart from these, underwear category is expected to perform well in 2019. Higher selling prices and better product mix are also anticipated to favour sales and offset high raw-material expenses. However, management assumes soft performance in socks and antiwear basics to affect sales. Also, currency headwind is expected to prevail in 2019. Adjusted EBITDA for 2019 is expected to be $630 million or more. Further, the company sees free cash flow of approximately $350-$400 million. Price Performance Shares of this company have gained 16.2% in the past six months, against the industrys decline of 3.6%. Interested in the Textile Space? Check These Columbia Sportswear Company COLM has long-term earnings growth rate of 10.9% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Crocs CROX has long-term earnings growth rate of 15% and a Zacks Rank #1. Under Armour UAA has long-term earnings growth rate of 22.7% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Wall Streets Next Amazon Zacks EVP Kevin Matras believes this familiar stock has only just begun its climb to become one of the greatest investments of all time. Its a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in pure genius. Click for details >> 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 Gildan Activewear, Inc. (GIL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Columbia Sportswear Company (COLM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Crocs, Inc. (CROX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Under Armour, Inc. (UAA) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Berlin (AFP) - Export power Germany has long had a troubled relationship with selling arms abroad, a legacy of its dark history that is now spelling deep discord with its European allies. Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has recently sparred with both France and Britain over the issue, while trouble is also brewing within her uneasy left-right coalition government. Especially Berlin's decision to freeze weapons sales to Saudi Arabia over the killing last October of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as well as the Yemen war, has upset Paris and London because it puts joint defence projects on ice. British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt voiced "deep concern" that Berlin's stance damaged Europe's defence industry and its "ability to meet its NATO commitments", in a letter to his German counterpart Heiko Maas reported on by Spiegel Online. The picture becomes more complex given recent bold future visions to pool European military strengths, partially in response to US President Donald Trump's "America First" approach and his verbal attacks on NATO allies. As during the refugee crisis, a moralistic political debate within Germany -- a country at pains to draw the right lessons from its Nazi and Holocaust past -- is now straining the patience of its allies. Polls have shown that some two thirds of German citizens reject weapons exports. The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), Merkel's junior coalition partners, in particular have a strong pacifist legacy and a tendency to condemn corporate profits earned from selling "killing machinery". "In Germany public scepticism towards arms exports is almost unanimous," said Michael Broening of think-tank the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. "Given its history of belligerence, Germany's public has long viewed arms exports with a mix of moral outrage and helplessness. "For many Social Democrats the current debate about arms exports seems like a golden opportunity to prove their progressive credentials and sharpen their ideological profile." Story continues - 'Pure demagoguery' - Despite all the agonising, Germany is among the world's top arms exporters, a club that is led by the United States and also includes Russia, China, France and Britain. The government regularly meets to review sales under the war weapons control law. One company that has run afoul of the strict rules was gunmaker Heckler & Koch, which was fined 3.7 million euros ($4.2 million) by a German court on Thursday. Two of its former employees were also given suspended jail terms for illegally exporting thousands of assault rifles to violence-torn Mexican states in breach of the export licence. Human rights activists had charged that the G36 automatic rifles were used in abuses including the 2014 disappearance -- and suspected massacre -- of 43 Mexican students. Last October, when the killing of Khashoggi sparked widespread revulsion, Berlin reacted by suspending arms sales to Riyadh. Germany urged other countries to do likewise, but French President Emmanuel Macron dismissed the call in unusually sharp language. "What is the link between arms sales and Mr Khashoggi?" he said, calling it "pure demagoguery to call for a halt". - 'Reduce our influence' - The Saudi issue flared again this week, this time between Germany and Britain, a NATO nuclear power that despite Brexit is set to remain a crucial security partner for the bloc. Spiegel reported that Hunt had urged Germany to exempt major European defence projects like Eurofighter or Tornado jets, which contain German parts, from its Saudi weapons embargo. In Berlin on Wednesday, Hunt expressed concern that "changing our commercial relationship with Saudi Arabia... would reduce our influence" in efforts such as helping end the Yemen war. Maas, an SPD politician, reiterated that the ban remained and said any future decision -- a review is due by March 9 -- would be "dependent on developments in the Yemen conflict". About 10,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the Yemen war since March 2015, but rights groups say the death toll is much higher. The wider arms export debate impacts large future projects, among them ambitious Franco-German plans to jointly develop the so-called Future Combat Air System of fighter jets and drones by 2040. Merkel, in a speech last week, signalled a more relaxed stance. "We have, because of our history, very good reasons to have very strict arms export guidelines," she said. But Merkel also stressed that, "without a common culture of defence exports in Europe, the development of joint weapons systems will be endangered." Naypyidaw (Myanmar) (AFP) - A French tourist facing up to three years in prison for flying a drone near Myanmar's parliament was remanded in custody Friday after a first court appearance. Frenchman Arthur Desclaux, 27, was detained February 7 in Naypyitaw and faces charges under an export-import law. Myanmar has tight restrictions on drone usage in the country -- especially at religious and government sites. Desclaux will return to court in five days for his next hearing. "Today we regret that he is still in prison, we were hoping for a quick solution," French embassy consul Frederic Inza said. "It is hoped that the next hearing on the 27th will settle his situation and have him released." Three journalists and their driver spent two months in jail in 2017 after being nabbed with a drone outside the sprawling parliament complex. Journalists Lau Hon Meng from Singapore and Mok Choy Lin from Malaysia were making a documentary for Turkish state broadcaster TRT when they were detained in October 2017 along with Myanmar reporter Aung Naing Soe and driver Hla Tin. Expecting to receive a fine, they confessed to flying the drone over parliament but were instead sentenced to two months in prison under Myanmar's aircraft act. Bamako (AFP) - French armed forces have killed a top jihadist leader in an air and ground ambush in Mali, the government said on Friday, ending a years-long hunt for a man accused of masterminding the kidnapping of Westerners in the Sahel region. Djamel Okacha, an Algerian commander in Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), was killed on Thursday after French commandos, helicopters and a drone hit a column of vehicles he was travelling in north of Timbuktu, French officials said. Okacha, a jihadist veteran known also as Yahya Abou El Hamame, was "the mastermind and financer of several attacks," the defence ministry said. US officials had accused him of kidnapping a number of Westerners in North and West Africa. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe arrived late Friday in the capital, Bamako, along with Defence Minister Florence Parly, on a visit to show "support" for Mali, where some 4,500 French troops have been deployed since 2014 to retake the north of the country after it fell to jihadist fighters. Earlier Parly had described the killing of the jihadist commander as a "spectacular action", saying it followed a manhunt which lasted several years. His death "deals a very hard blow to terrorist groups in the Sahel," she said. "When commandos approached, (jihadist) pickups opened fire, prompting the helicopters to return fire," a spokesman for the French military command said. A total of 11 "terrorists", including El Hamame, were killed, he said. El Hamame is suspected of involvement in the 2009 assassination of a US citizen, Christopher Leggett, in Mauritania, along with an attack the same year against the French embassy in Nouakchott. - Jihadist history - El Hamame reportedly served as AQIM's "governor" in Timbuktu when the city was held by Islamist militants from April 2012 to January 2013. The jihadist commander was believed to be second in command of the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), also known as Nusrat al-Islam, led by Iyad Ag Ghali. Story continues The group was formed by the merger of Ansar Dine, the Macina Liberation Front, Al-Mourabitoun and El Hamame's Sahel branch of AQIM. El Hamame, aged about 40, took charge of Al-Qaeda's operations in southern Algeria and northern Mali in 2013 when he replaced Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, who was himself killed in fighting French-led forces in northern Mali. El Hamame rose in the ranks of the group despite not having gone to Afghanistan as other key militants such as Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the one-eyed Islamist leader who masterminded an assault on an Algerian gas plant that left 37 foreign hostages dead in January 2013. Born in the north Algerian town of Reghaia, El Hamame spent 18 months in prison in Algeria in the 1990s when the country was mired in Islamist violence. In addition to French troops in Mali, around 15,000 peacekeepers have been deployed in the country as part of the United Nations stabilisation mission known as MINUSMA. This followed the signing of a peace accord in 2015 between the Bamako government and armed groups. - 'Sustained cessation of hostilities' - The US-based Carter Center, an independent observer to the implementation of the accord, released its third report on Friday noting "the sustained cessation of hostilities between the signatories" but stressed that "the core commitments of the agreement remain unfulfilled." The actions needed include "creating the new, decentralized political system, including devolving significant powers to the regions and putting in place the reconstituted armed forces through the equitable integration of the ex-combatants," said the report from the center founded by former US president Jimmy Carter But jihadist groups have continued operating in Mali and neighbouring countries. Supported by France, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger have formed the so-called G5 Sahel group to fight the jihadists. Italian firm forwards demands for resuming Melamchi work While the government appears to be leaving no stone unturned to bring back the Italian contractor of the Melamchi project, the Rome-based builder has forwarded a list of demands the government has to fulfil if it wants them to resume the work. Washington (AFP) - Former Enron chief executive Jeffrey Skilling has been released from prison after serving 12 years for his role in the fraud scheme which sent the US energy giant into bankruptcy. Skilling, 65, had been most recently incarcerated at a reentry facility in Houston, Texas, according to the US Bureau of Prisons website. The Houston Chronicle reported that Skilling had been released on Thursday after completing 12 years of what was initially a 24-year sentence. It was eventually reduced on appeal. A Harvard-educated whiz kid, Skilling once stood on the top rungs of America's corporate ladder and graced the pages of glossy business magazines. The native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and father of three was snapped up by Enron in the early 1990s following a stint as a consultant with McKinsey and Co. He worked his way up through the ranks and held the Enron CEO title for just six months before quitting in August 2001 for "personal reasons," just four months before the Houston-based energy trader collapsed. Thousands of people lost their jobs and life savings when Enron went under, in what was then the largest corporate bankruptcy in US history with more than 40 billion dollars in outstanding debt. Skilling was convicted in May 2006 of 19 counts of conspiracy, fraud and insider trading and ordered to forfeit about 45 million dollars in assets, including his home. One of Skilling's children, a 20-year-old son, died in 2011. Enron founder Kenneth Lay was also convicted of fraud but died before he could be sentenced and his conviction was thrown out because his death prevented him from appealing the verdict. SHEFFIELD, England (AP) U.S. and Royal Air Force planes roared over the English city of Sheffield on Friday to honor 10 American airmen who sacrificed their lives to save British children playing in a park beneath their crippled bomber during World War II. The fly-past brought tears to the eyes of 82-year-old Tony Foulds, for he was one of those children at that park. The spectacle over Sheffield's Endcliffe Park was the culmination of decades of lobbying by Foulds, who wanted an aerial display befitting the young fliers who died that day. As thousands of spectators watched from the park below and the BBC broadcast live on its morning news program, the climax came when four U.S. fighters passed overhead, with one veering skyward in the missing man formation to honor the fallen. "That was worth waiting 66 years for," Foulds said as he dabbed his eyes with a wadded tissue and recalled the dream he'd had since he was 17. The crowd burst into a cheer of "Hip, hip hooray!" for Foulds, who has tended a nearby memorial for the airmen for decades, wracked with guilt because he believed he was responsible for the deaths of Lt. John G. Kriegshauser and the crew of the B-17G Flying Fortress nicknamed "Mi Amigo." Kriegshauser, a 23-year-old pilot from St. Louis, Missouri, was on his 15th mission on Feb. 22, 1944, when Mi Amigo was hit by enemy fire during a daylight raid on the Aalborg airfield in occupied Denmark, a key fighter base that protected Germany from Allied bombers. The crew nursed the damaged plane back across the North Sea, trying to reach their base in Chelveston, England. But the weather was poor, and when the plane broke through the clouds it was over Sheffield, 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest. Tony was almost 8 years old that day and had joined a group of children for a schoolyard brawl in Endcliffe Park, an oasis of green surrounded on three sides by terraced houses and dense woodland on the other. Story continues After five years of war, including German attacks on Sheffield's steel and armaments plants, the boys were accustomed to hearing planes. But the sound of this aircraft wasn't right. The plane circled over the stretch of green and one of the airmen waved his arms at the kids. They waved back, thinking he was being friendly. Years later, Tony realized he was trying to get them to clear the field. "No one will ever tell me any different: I killed these lads," Foulds told The Associated Press. "And that will always stay with me." In January, BBC presenter Dan Walker chanced upon Foulds tending the memorial, as he does some 260 days a year, and took up his call for an aerial tribute. Walker started a Twitter campaign under the hashtag #gettonyaflypast. On Friday, another group of hashtags were trending on Twitter: #TonyGotAFlypast, #RememberTheTen, and #sheffieldflypast. "Tony has pretty much single-handedly spent the best part of seven decades ensuring the memorial in the park is kept up to standard, and ensured that the memory of the Mi Amigo and those brave crewmen is kept alive," said Lee Peace, a reporter at The Star newspaper in Sheffield. "Once people heard about the story, it just took off." Also in the crowd Friday were several family members of the crewmen. Kriegshauser's nephew Jim and a relative of 2nd Lt. Melchor Hernandez, the crew's bombardier, sat beside Foulds and both stretched out a comforting hand as he repeated his remonstrations of guilt. Hernandez's relative, Megan Leo, said he was the eldest of six children, a first-generation American whose parents came from Mexico. She said the story of his sacrifice had always been told in her family. "I think for this story to now be capturing so many hearts, it just reminds me of how many other stories we don't know, of all the men who died back then and in the years after fighting for our countries and for peace," she told the BBC, as she thanked Foulds. "We've always remembered them, but to know that 6,000 miles away from my home there's a man who's dedicated his life to remembering them means so much. It's the most amazing thing." As the jets roared into view, Foulds waved his arms over his head like a windshield wiper, hoping the pilots would see him. Painted on the sides of the planes were the names of the crew, young men from every corner of America. In addition to Kriegshauser and Hernandez, there were 2nd Lt. Lyle Curtis of Idaho Falls, co-pilot; 2nd Lt. John W. Humphrey of Wyoming, Illinois, navigator; Staff Sgt. Robert Mayfield of Raymond, Illinois, radio operator; Sgt. Vito Ambrosio of Brooklyn, waist gunner; Staff Sgt. Harry Estabrooks of Mound Valley, Kansas, flight engineer and top turret gunner; Sgt. George M. Williams of Faxon, Oklahoma, waist gunner; Sgt. Charles Tuttle of Raceland, Kentucky, ball turret gunner; and Sgt. Maurice Robbins of Manor, Texas, rear gunner. Even as his dream came true, Foulds refused to take credit for the flypast, turning at one point to the crowd to say, "Thank you very much for coming, it's lovely see you." The people roared. But he kept reminding everyone just as he has always done that the event was not to honor him. "It's for them," he said. And then, when the jets cleared the horizon, he left the cameras and went back to the memorial, anxious to be with the lads. By Wendell Roelf PATERNOSTER, South Africa (Reuters) - In a small fishing village on South Africas rugged west coast, restaurateur Kobus van der Merwe is struggling to process his meteoric rise to gastronomic stardom. He recently got back from Paris, where four days ago his 20-cover Wolfgat was named Restaurant of the Year at the inaugural World Restaurant Awards, also winning the remote location prize. "In our category, which was for the off-map destination... there are restaurants that we literally hero-worship and we were like, this is insane," the food-journalist-turned-chef told Reuters TV on Friday in his first interview with foreign media since returning home. Others on that shortlist included Japanese wild dining sensation Tokuyamazushi. Of both prizes, he added: "We never dreamed of making the shortlist, let alone winning." Situated in Paternoster, about 160 km (100 miles) northwest of Cape Town, Wolfgat's speciality is seafood. Van der Merwe's seven-course tasting menu pays homage to the region's long-gone indigenous inhabitants, and his signature dishes are flavored and supplemented with ingredients foraged locally, such as seaweed and succulent plants. They include Rooibos tea-smoked yellowtail with dune spinach and buttermilk rusk, and freshly baked bread served with bokkom (salted dry fish) butter and infused herbs. Guests at the 130-year-old whitewashed restaurant, nestled above Wolfgat cave within hearing distance of crashing waves, pay 850 rand ($60), or 1400 rand including drinks. Van der Merwe, who took the plunge into full-time cooking before completing his culinary studies, said he had no wish to expand or replicate Wolfgat in an urban setting. "We certainly don't aspire to be in the city because the west coast is our muse and I can't see Wolfgat existing anywhere else," he said. His clientele is split evenly between foreign tourists visiting the village and well-heeled South Africans. But those who make the two-hour drive from Cape Town had better be sure of their reservations before they set out - because he's fully booked for the next three months. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; writing by John Stonestreet) Cairo (AFP) - European and Arab leaders are to hold their first summit Sunday, in what the top EU diplomat sees as a chance to boost cooperation across a troubled Mediterranean region. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will host the two-day summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss topics like security, trade, development and migration. Wars and conflicts in places such as Syria and Libya are on the agenda at a summit guarded by the security forces who are fighting a bloody jihadist insurgency a short distance to the north. But analysts voiced doubts over how much progress can be made, with Europe split over migration and Arab countries still grappling with the fallout from Arab Spring revolutions. European leaders first mentioned the summit in Austria in September amid efforts to agree ways to curb the illegal migration that has sharply divided the 28-nation bloc. But checking migration is just part of Europe's broader strategy to forge a new alliance with its southern neighbours. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini insists that the gathering in Egypt of more than 40 heads of state and government is about much more than migration. "We will have frank, open discussions, not only on migration, definitely not," Mogherini told journalists in Brussels on Monday. "We will have first of all discussions on our economic cooperation, on our common region," said the former Italian foreign minister who will travel to the desert resort. "That is a troubled region but also full of opportunities." An Arab League official, Khaled al-Habbas, told AFP that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would also be on the agenda in Sharm el-Sheikh. Attending will be Donald Tusk, president of the European Council of EU member countries, and Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm. A senior EU official told journalists in Brussels that 24 European heads of state and government have confirmed their attendance. Story continues These include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. - Presidents, royalty - Not attending are French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, along with the leaders of Lithuania and Latvia, EU sources added. Apart from Sisi, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri will attend from the 22-member Arab League, based in Cairo. The Tunisian and Iraqi presidents are also expected, while the Saudi press said King Salman would also travel to Sharm el-Sheikh. A UN official warned that Europe's failure to bridge divisions on migration "risks blocking all the other discussions" at the summit. "How do you discuss an issue if you can't even mention it!" the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. He said EU countries like Hungary refuse to mention migration because they oppose asylum seekers and migrants, particularly from Muslim countries. The EU has struck aid-for-cooperation agreements with Turkey and Libya's UN-backed government in Tripoli, which has sharply cut the flow of migrants since a 2015 peak. But the official said broader cooperation with the Arab League, which includes Libya, is limited without the EU being able to speak in one voice. Marc Pierini, a former EU ambassador to Tunisia and Libya, said the summit will struggle "to establish a dialogue between two sides who are confronted with their own challenges". The meeting comes as "the Arab countries are still feeling the effects of the revolutions started in 2011", Pierini told AFP. "Arab League unity is in trouble," said Pierini, now an analyst with the Carnegie Europe think tank. An EU source said there will "be no deal in the desert" when asked if EU leaders would huddle together to explore ways to break the logjam over Britain's looming exit from the bloc on March 29. "This is a summit between the EU and the Arab states," the source told journalists on condition of anonymity. Brussels has stood united against May's requests to reopen the November divorce agreement in order to help it pass the British parliament. However, the issue is likely to come up when Tusk holds a one-to-one meeting with May in Sharm el-Sheikh. An EU source said the first EU-Arab summit is all the more important as the United States disengages from the region while Russia and China make inroads, "not necessarily in our interests". Mogherini said Monday: "It has always looked strange to me that the European Union had summits with Latin America, with Africa, with Asia, and not with the Arab world that is our first neighbour." Ouagadougou (AFP) - More than 150,000 children are not going to school in Burkina Faso because of the threat of jihadist violence, the education minster has said, warning of a "deteriorating" situation in the West African nation. More than 1,100 schools have been forced to close or temporarily shutdown due to assaults and threats by radical Islamists, Stanislas Ouaro said on Thursday. "This year the situation is deteriorating," he said. "There are schools closed for a few weeks, a few months and others since the beginning of the (school) year." The school year began in October 2018 but some 5,000 teachers are unable to work, he said. More than 300 people have been killed in Burkina Faso -- part of the troubled vast Sahel region -- in four years of jihadist attacks, according to an AFP count. School closures have spread from the country's conflict-ridden north to the east, the minister said. He said 1,135 schools were closed, with 154,233 students prevented from attending classes. "Forty-six percent of them are girls," Ouaro told state television. Last week the United Nations and the government highlighted the number of school closures in Burkina Faso and said more than a million people were in "critical need" of humanitarian aid. They launched a plan to raise $100 million to provide food, water, housing and healthcare. About 130,000 children are threatened by severe malnutrition, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Some 83,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to the continuing violence, OCHA said. International efforts to create a transnational anti-jihadist military operation, named the G5 Sahel force, have so far failed to make much impact. Rome (AFP) - The UN food agency on Friday warned about the threat to the future of the world's food production from a lack of biodiversity in the environment. In a report, the first of its kind by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), it said there was "mounting evidence that the biodiversity that underpins our food systems, at all levels, is declining around the world." That is putting food production and the environment "under severe threat," the FAO warned. "Once lost, plant, animal and micro-organisms species that are critical to our food systems, cannot be recovered." Biodiversity enables agriculture systems to be more resilient to shocks such as disease and pest outbreaks, as well as coping with climate change. The report cited as examples the dramatic fall in food production from infestations such as the potato blight in Ireland in the 1840s and the losses of the tropical taro plant in Samoa in the 1990s. The FAO says the drivers for biodiversity loss include changes in land and water use and management, pollution and overharvesting. Geographically, Latin America and the Caribbean, rich in biodiversity, also report the largest number of threatened wild food species, such as crustaceans, fish and insects. The Rome-based agency says countries are adopting biodiversity-friendly practices from sustainable forest management to an ecosystem approach to fisheries and organic agriculture -- but more needs to be done. Governments and the international community need to step up efforts to stop the loss of biodiversity. Protecting the world's food supply is critical as an estimated 821 million people already suffer from chronic hunger, and by 2050 the plant's population is expected to rise from 7.7. billion to close to 10 billion, according to UN data. Amish Raj Mulmi is a columnist for the Post, and the author of All Roads Lead North: Nepals Turn to China. London (AFP) - The family of a London teenager who joined the Islamic State group in Syria said Friday it would challenge the British government's decision to revoke her citizenship. Shamima Begum travelled to Syria in 2015 aged just 15 but has now fled the crumbling "caliphate" and says she wants to come home, after giving birth in a refugee camp last weekend. A letter to interior minister Sajid Javid written by Begum's sister Renu on behalf of her family also called on the government to help bring her newborn son to Britain. The fate of the 19-year-old has triggered fierce debate in Britain, with the government telling her family this week that it was revoking her citizenship. "We hope you understand our position in this respect and why we must, therefore, assist Shamima in challenging your decision to take away the one thing that is her only hope at rehabilitation, her British citizenship," the family's letter said. Renu Begum's letter also asked Javid to help "in bringing my nephew home to us". It said Shamima Begum's status would now be a matter for British courts to decide. - 'Shocked' by decision - International law prevents a government from rendering a person stateless, but Britain reportedly believes that Begum also has Bangladeshi citizenship due to her parents, although she was born in Britain. The Bangladeshi government said there was "no question" of her being allowed to enter, and there is legal argument about whether simply having Bangaldeshi parents bestows citizenship. Begum's baby was born before she was told of the decision to revoke her citizenship, and is therefore British and has a right to return. The teenager said she was "shocked" by Britain's decision, saying "if you take that away from me, I don't have anything. I don't think they are allowed to do that." She has mentioned the possibility of applying for citizenship in the Netherlands because her husband, an IS fighter believed to be held by Kurdish forces in Syria, is a Dutch national. Story continues - 'Set fire to nation's emotions' - Public sentiment hardened against Begum after she showed little remorse in initial interviews from the refugee camp. Her family said on Friday they were "shocked and appalled" at the "vile comments" she made in the media. "I have watched Shamima on our televisions open her mouth and set fire to our nation's emotions," said her sister's letter. "These are not representative of British values, and my family entirely reject the comments she has made, but... we as her family cannot simply abandon her." The family argued that it made "every fathomable effort" to prevent her from joining IS, which it called a "murderous and misogynistic cult". Begum and two school friends fled her east London home to join the terror network four years ago. With IS crumbling, many European countries are now having to confront whether to bring back its citizens who travelled to join the group and prosecute them at home, or bar them from entry over security concerns. Some 400 people who joined IS in the early stages of the Syria conflict have since returned to Britain and around 40 of them have been prosecuted. There are believed to be around 10 British women who travelled to support IS who are now refugees in Syria. Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Tuesday that Begum should be allowed to return. "Taking somebody's citizenship away is not the right thing to do. I think she should be brought back." Javid told lawmakers Wednesday that revoking citizenship was "a powerful tool" not used lightly. "But when someone turns their back on (our) fundamental values and supports terror they don't have an automatic right to return to the UK," he said. He has previously said that more than 100 individuals had already been deprived of their British citizenship. Javid hinted that Begum's newborn son -- her third child, after her previous son and daughter died in recent months -- could be treated differently. "Children should not suffer, so if a parent does lose their British citizenship it does not affect the rights of their child," he said. Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Hackett said he recognizes that his unorthodox management style has disrupted the automaker's culture and fostered a degree of uncertainty about the company's future. But he believes it's necessary and says it will deliver results. Hackett is facing mounting pressure from analysts who say he hasn't articulated a clear turnaround plan. I think the process of CEO arrival and impact always is really difficult in the beginning, particularly if youre bringing new ideas and youre in the midst of some sort of transformation," Hackett, who took over as CEO in May 2017, told the USA TODAY Network's Detroit Free Press in an interview. "I yield to people who tell me, Jim, this is unnerving. But, he added, Im happy that Im pushing people." Hackett described himself as "a conductor in an orchestra, getting everyone to play their independent music in a coordinated way." Hackett, 63, said he was brought in to say, "Do we have the score right?" Workers are awaiting key details of a recently announced $11 billion restructuring plan. Amid this uncertainty, Bob Shanks, chief financial officer since 2012, is retiring, as the Free Press reported Feb. 14. Hackett became CEO of Ford after a career leading Grand Rapids, Michigan-based office furniture giant Steelcase. Since then, he has consistently confused auto industry analysts and insiders. Some concepts presented by Hackett can make the head hurt, Shanks told The Wall Street Journal in August, adding that he was eager to understand and all in. Shanks remains CFO as a search is conducted for his successor. Top executives affirmed internal tension. "Jim is challenging everybody," Joe Hinrichs, president of global operations, told the Free Press. "We have disruption taking place." No question, Hackett's style is unique, said Jim Baumbick, vice president of the new enterprise product line management team, who has been with the company 25 years in vehicle development, engineering and design. Story continues Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Hackett talks with reporter from Detroit Free Press in his office at the Henry Ford II World Center in Dearborn on Wednesday, February 20, 2019. Jim has certainly been focusing on stretching our thinking, Baumbick said. He sometimes plays the role of provocateur. Julie Lodge-Jarrett, chief talent officer at Ford since October 2017, has worked with three CEOs during her 21 years with the company. And she says the time is right to have Hackett at the helm. Different isnt always embraced as good," she told the Free Press. "Different can be wrong. Different can be scary. Jim and his background and his style are different than his predecessor. Jim Farley Ford President, Global Markets and Ford Motor Company President and CEO Jim Hackett speak during an unveiling of the all new 2020 Ford Explorer during a Ford event at Ford Field in Detroit on Wednesday, January 9, 2019. Ford needs something different and needs it fast. The company in 2018 lost money everywhere in the world except North America. Losses included $1 billion in the region that includes China, the worlds largest auto market. Talks with Volkswagen once thought to have the potential to save billions have produced only a narrow agreement. Hackett said that the company's operations in China, Europe and South America are all being reworked to be profitable. More is coming out," he said. News about international restructuring will be unveiled soon, Hackett said. Ford did announce on Feb. 19 that it would close a factory in Brazil and eliminate its heavy commercial truck business along with an estimated 2,700 jobs. And, he emphasized, VW talks are far from finished. Were still working on some things and Im very optimistic about this alliance. The biggest thing I can report to you is the teams are working really well together," he said. Ford Motor Co. President and CEO, Jim Hackett, left, meets with Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen AG, Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Ford executive chairman Bill Ford, 61, has expressed support for Hackett, telling the Free Press in June 2018, "Jim loves what hes doing. I love having him here. Weve known each other a long, long time. Theres a great familiarity. Jim has a big brain." How long will Hackett stay in the job? You serve at the pleasure of the board and the Ford family," Hackett said. "Bill and I never put a specific target on it. The encouragement I get from him is unbounded. So, I feel the invitation to be here as long as I need to be. More stability at the top is something Im trying to help with. Outside the company, concern remains high that instability at the top is at the root of Ford's troubles. I dont think anybody knows whats going on, even in Ford. Seriously, said John McElroy, longtime industry observer and host of "Autoline After Hours." "Everybody expected that, by this point, there would be clear plans with hard metrics with real numbers behind them. Instead, theres this very amorphous nondescript talk about smart cities and mobility. The financial community cant figure out how this is going to pay off for Ford in any way. After the company's latest annual earnings report, Hackett sent a memo to employees that said it was time to bury the year in a deep grave, grieve over what might have been and become super focused on meeting, and, in fact, exceeding this year's plan. The plan calls for doubling profits in 2019. Hackett went on to write in the two-page memo that the company results were mediocre. The CEO said he becomes mad for a short time but the anger passes quickly. I ask myself first not 'what was wrong with the people I work with' but rather 'what was wrong with the approach?' he said in the two-page, single-spaced memo. He urged people to unleash their collective talents and make things happen. When asked about his memos, Hackett said he took great pride in writing directly to company employees. No one writes it but me, he said. It is to let them know how much they mean to me and how intimately Im thinking about what theyre going through. His first boss from 35 years ago, at the company he went on to run, recently texted Hackett, Dont let the negative press get you down. And that reinforced his instincts, he said. Follow Detroit Free Press reporter Phoebe Wall Howard on Twitter @phoebesaid This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Facing skepticism, Ford CEO Jim Hackett defends his leadership style: 'I'm pushing people' Bucharest (AFP) - Europe could target American coal, cars and chemicals and firms like Caterpillar and Xerox if Washington imposes a threatened tariff on autos, a trade talks source told AFP Friday. European officials are drawing up a list representing 20 billion euros ($22.7 billion) in retaliatory tariffs and are now getting into the detail of products produced by the likes of Ford, General Motors and Tesla. A source in Bucharest, where EU trade ministers met Friday, said the final list could still evolve but targets products manufactured in the United States rather than those made elsewhere by US brands. Europe would prefer to sign a wide-ranging trade deal with US President Donald Trump's administration, but stands ready to retaliate if he makes good on his threat to target EU car exports. The hunt for a trade deal was part of a July truce between Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in which the US pledged to back off the auto duties and avert a trade war. Debate over the contours of such a deal almost immediately underlined deep transatlantic divisions, however, with the US insisting that farming be included -- an idea rejected by the EU. But even Europe is divided over pursuing the deal. Germany is eager to placate Trump in order to avoid the auto tariffs that would punish the country's cherished exports, a prospect Chancellor Angela Merkel labels "frightening". France however is dragging its feet, fearing that entering trade negotiations with Trump could fire up domestic opposition just months ahead of European elections, set for May 22 to 26. Paris is especially wary after the failure of talks on TTIP, a far more ambitious transatlantic trade plan, which stalled amid fears a deal with Washington would undermine EU food and health standards. The commission, which handles trade negotiations for the EU's 28 member states, has proposed a mandate for a "limited" trade accord that ministers in Bucharest considered. Story continues "We could do this quite quickly if member states agree," said EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom ahead of the talks in Bucharest. With the deal, "we would have something that we could start building trust from (with the US), because we need to build that trust," she said. A frustrated Trump threatened Wednesday to impose tariffs on European auto imports if the deal did not happen. Trump's renewed threat came after the US Commerce Department delivered a report that sources said found European car imports constitute a national security threat to the United States. The report could set the stage for the White House to impose the tariffs within 90 days. By Philip Blenkinsop BUCHAREST (Reuters) - France expressed reservations on Friday about proposed trade negotiations with the United States, diplomats said, while other EU countries supported talks with Washington that could ward off punitive U.S. tariffs on European cars. The European Commission has asked the EU's 28 countries to approve two negotiating mandates so that formal talks can begin, with many aware that U.S. President Donald Trump may hit EU car imports with duties if they wait too long. Diplomats say Germany, whose exports of cars and parts to the United States are worth more than half the EU total, wants to press ahead. But France, with very few U.S. car exports, is reluctant to move before the European Parliament election in May, convinced that dealing with Trump is not a vote winner. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said it made sense to wait for a vote in the European Parliament on the issue in March, but then move quickly -- a matter of weeks, not months. "There were a few countries that needed to still have a little discussion internally, but while we are waiting for the European Parliament to vote, I think there are still two weeks to do that," she said. French junior minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne earlier said that Friday's meeting in Bucharest of national ministers responsible for trade was merely the first political discussion, with more perhaps to come. EU diplomats said France wanted to postpone a decision until after the European Parliament election in May, but was starting to understand that this would test Trump's patience too far. They added that French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel would seek to resolve the impasse before or during an EU summit on March 21-22. EU EYES CARS, U.S. WANTS FARM PRODUCTS German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said he was not aiming to "rush something through". His Austrian counterpart Margarete Schramboeck was more forthright. Story continues "I expect from all the countries to give a mandate to the Commission... and not hold back because my car industry, maybe in France or one other country, is not as affected as much as in another country," she said. The United States and Europe ended a stand-off of several months last July, when Trump agreed to hold off on car tariffs while the two sides looked to improve trade ties. They committed, among other things, to work toward removing tariffs on "non-auto industrial goods". The EU is looking now to start negotiations on tariff reductions, possibly including cars, as well as a separate set of talks on making it easier for companies to clear their products for sale on both sides of the Atlantic. Industrial good tariffs are already low, at around 4 percent. However, the Commission has said that removing them would boost EU exports to the United States by 8 percent and U.S. exports to the European Union by 9 percent by 2033. The United States has a wide-ranging wish list, including comprehensive agricultural market access. EU unwillingness to include farm products could set it on a collision course with Washington. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; additional reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels; Editing by Toby Chopra) Oubari (Libya) (AFP) - In the southern Libyan city of Oubari, shops are shuttered and tension is palpable, as residents fear an imminent incursion by forces loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar. We "dread the repercussions of military operations that are unfolding on the edge of town", said 22-year-old hospital administrator Ali Senoussi, speaking on behalf of his Tubu community. Many residents in Oubari -- some 900 kilometres (560 miles) south of Tripoli -- are Tubu. The ethnic group fears vengeance by Arab communities that have joined an offensive by Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), which is on the outskirts of the city. Long marginalised, Tubus live in the Tibesti region, which straddles Libya, Chad and Niger, an area long at the mercy of roaming rebel groups, traffickers and jihadists. "We are residents of this region. Our support and love for it is immense", said 22-year-old Senoussi, clothed in a traditional head robe to screen desert sun and wind. "We cannot accept being involved in wars with Arab tribes that fight alongside Haftar", he insisted, sipping tea in the courtyard of a hospital where he works as an administrator. The LNA says it is seeking to purge "terrorist and criminal groups", and some accuse the Tubus of supporting Chadian rebels. But Senoussi dismisses the offensive as "a threat to the social peace of the whole region". Tubu lawmakers even allege that ethnic cleansing is under way. - Ethnic quarrels - The community was among the first to join the 2011 uprising that ousted and killed Moamer Kadhafi. But the former dictator's downfall by no means improved Tubus' standing in Libya. Despite being home to some of the country's biggest oilfields, the region is regularly hit by shortages of all kinds -- petrol, electricity, gas cylinders and even bread. Prices have rocketed on the black market. Senoussi said the lack of fuel had forced him to leave his car at home and walk to work. Story continues "Most public sector workers prefer to walk" to avoid long queues that have become a fixture of daily life at gas stations, he said. The intensified chaos of recent years means that the southern border areas are more than ever a haven for jihadists, traffickers and rebels. These groups exploit a security vacuum that is exacerbated by an ongoing power struggle between a UN-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli and a rival administration loyal to Haftar in northeastern Libya. Tribal and ethnic quarrels between the Tubus, Tuaregs and Arab groups over trafficking have added fuel to the fire. "We are Muslims, but we have a culture and language that we share with our cousins from Chad, Niger and Sudan," explained Ali Yahyia, a Tubu expert on his community. But this does not undermine "our support for the Libyan homeland", he insisted. - 'Doctors fear for lives' - The LNA launched its ongoing military campaign in mid-January and on Wednesday night entered Murzuk, another southern Libyan city home to many Tubus. Renowned for a fortress that dates back more than seven centuries, much of the historic settlement now resembles a ghost town. Murzuk's windswept streets are littered with garbage. Like Oubari, shops are closed and people are scared to circulate. Even bakers -- hit by a lack of flour -- cannot raise their blinds. "The city faces numerous problems at the service level, particularly at the hospital where we have only one doctor", deplored municipal councillor Ibrahim Omar. "With the military operations that are ongoing, the doctors refuse to come, fearing for their lives", he said. If the situation persists, "food stocks will in the end be exhausted". It was the moment Tony Foulds has been waiting for for 75 years. The emotional pensioner saw his lifelong dream fulfilled in the form of a special flypast to pay tribute to 10 airmen who lost their lives in the Second World War. The 82-year-old was just a boy when he saw the B-17 Flying Fortress, nicknamed Mi Amigo, crash at Endcliffe Park, Sheffield, on February 22, 1944. The pensioner, who believes the pilot deliberately steered away from him and his friends, dedicated his life to looking after a memorial to the men at the park, tending it six days a week and getting his son to fill in whenever he was away. Tony Foulds dedicated his life to looking after the memorial to the 10 airmen (Picture: PA) Typhoons were part of the flypast over Endcliffe Park in Sheffield in tribute to ten US airmen killed 75 years ago (Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire) After a chance meeting with BBC Breakfast presented Dan Walker as he walked his dog, a social media campaign began to hold a special flypast to remember the men on the 75th anniversary of the crash. The dream came true on Friday as thousands of people gathered in the part with Mr Foulds to watch the impressive flypast, which included F-15E Strike Eagles from the US Air Force and a Typhoon from the RAF. MORE: Shamima Begums family ask Sajid Javid for help to bring IS brides newborn baby back to the UK MORE: Retailers warn of 40% tariffs and food shortages in event of no-deal Brexit The pensioner, who broke down in tears after the names of the dead men were read out at the memorial, said of the airmen: If it hadnt been for them, I wouldnt be here with my family. Its more than bravery, what they did. They saved me, and I mean saved me. Tony Foulds, 82, was just a boy when he saw the B-17 Flying Fortress, nicknamed Mi Amigo, crash at Endcliffe Park, Sheffield, on February 22, 1944 (Picture: PA) Mr Foulds thanked the crowd for coming and joked that he would like to receive 10 from all of them. In the days before the flypast, he was also able to meet the families of the airmen that lost their lives as the plane returned from a bombing raid 75 years ago, describing them as lovely, lovely people. The phrases #TonyGotAFlypast and #RememberTheTen were top trends on Twitter in the aftermath of the event, which was backed by Mr Walker. The flypast became possible after a social media campaign (Picture: PA) Speaking from Tanzania as he prepares to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief, the BBC presenter told Mr Foulds: The last six weeks have been remarkable from my point of view. Story continues From you and I meeting on a dog walk in the park in the first week of January to me asking how you were thats how it all started you telling me this unbelievable story and saying youd love a flypast for the 75th anniversary, and here we are now. I know you jokingly asked everybody for a tenner who are there at the park today, but its not about the money, its never been about you. Tony, its always been about those 10 men who you think saved your life 75 years ago. Mr Foulds responded: Well I know they saved my life, I didnt just think it. If it hadnt have been for them, I wouldnt be here with my family. Mr Foulds has tended the memorial six days a week for decades (Picture: PA) This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Taking to Twitter after the flypast, Dan Walker said: I knew Sheffield wouldnt let us down. Wow! This is the most incredible thing I have ever been involved in. He later added: The next step is getting Tony an honour from the Queen. Please retweet & like this and Ill use this in the submission. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK Oxygen Wyoming is known for its wide open spaces -- and its a place where a murder mysteries could also stretch on for decades. In 1976, Alice Prunty, a 37-year-old woman whod married three times and had five children, came to Fremont County, Wyoming for a fresh start. She found one with her neighbor, Gerald Uden, a man who also had been divorced three times who was taken by Alice's self-sufficiency. Five months after meeting, they married, according to Oxygen series Killer Couples." They bought a f Donald Trump (PA) Donald Trump has been mocked on social media for demanding 6G technology for the US even though 5G doesnt exist yet. The US president tweeted yesterday: I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind. There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on something that is so obviously the future. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. He added: I want the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies. We must always be the leader in everything we do, especially when it comes to the very exciting world of technology! Wireless 5G essentially offers speed without the expensive infrastructure of 4G, and could replace the need for cables in some industries. In order to access a 5G network, consumers must first purchase a 5G-enabled device. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. William Webb, a fellow at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, told Newsweek that Americans should be able to access areas of 5G coverage in cities from around 2022. Experts agree that 6G is unlikely to become a reality for at least 10 years, however. Ex-Gurkhas seek expeditious talks from Nepal, UK governments to address their demands Agitated ex-Gurkhas who have been demanding pay, pension and other facilities on par with other members of the British Army have submitted separate letters to the prime ministers of Nepal and the United Kingdom, urging them to expedite talks to address their grievances and demands as suggested by a joint technical team. LINDEN, Ala. The editor of a small-town Alabama newspaper who this week called for the extrajudicial killings of "socialist communists" after his history of racist and anti-Semitic editorials came to light declined to back down, apologize or even acknowledge that his call for violence advocated for the lynching of his fellow Americans. "I don't care what they say," said Goodloe Sutton, the editor of the Democrat-Reporter newspaper in Linden. "They have a right to say whatever they want. They're not important to me." Sutton, who is also the publisher and owner of the newspaper in Marengo County, published an editorial last week calling for "the Ku Klux Klan to night ride again" to clean up Washington, D.C., from "Democrats in the Republican Party and Democrats (who) are plotting to raise taxes in Alabama." When asked to elaborate what he meant by "cleaning up D.C.," the 80-year-old Sutton suggested lynching, saying "we'll get the hemp ropes out, loop them over a tall limb and hang all of them." More: Alabama newspaper editor calls for the Ku Klux Klan to 'clean out D.C.' Though locals say Sutton's offensive editorials were a known quantity in Marengo County for years, the public's reaction to his Feb. 14 editorial and subsequent comments to the Advertiser were swift and widespread. Once a lauded newspaperman, nationally acclaimed in the 1990s for his and his wife's work in bringing down a corrupt local sheriff, his peers in journalism stripped him of past commendations after his comments were published. State leaders resolutely condemned his comments and editorials, and local residents decried the way Sutton was representing the area to the rest of the world. The newspaper box outside the Linden newsroom on Thursday was filled with copies of a new Democrat-Reporter edition. On the front page, Sutton chose to run laudatory letters to the editor, purportedly from a former Marine, a tax preparer and a self-professed Klansman. Story continues Goodloe Sutton, publisher of the Democrat-Reporter newspaper, used the front page of his paper to publish positive responses to his controversial editorial in the paper, shown at the newspaper office in Linden, Ala., on Thursday February 21, 2019. "As a klansman myself, believe me when I say, the klan is not dead around you," Bradley Richardson of Mississippi wrote. Richardson has not yet returned an email requesting comment. Asked if he just wanted to rile people up with his writings, Sutton said he wanted people to "think critically in the future." But he said he didn't run any critical letters he received: "They were from Democrats, I guess, because they used a lot of vulgar expletives." Despite saying he isn't interested in the critical feedback he has received since Monday, Sutton did appear to care on Thursday, calling for the Advertiser to issue a correction regarding his call for lynchings by the KKK. "When I was trying to relate to you the other day about hanging not lynching but hanging executions, I was going to draw a contrast between that and the French Revolution," Sutton said, referring to the "cleaner" method of the guillotine. But the editor continued to call for the KKK to ride into Washington to conduct what he referred to as executions "You use the word lynching; I don't." The office of the newspaper The Democrat-Reporter in Linden, Ala., shown on Tuesday February 19, 2019. The editor questioned the reporter's age and education before pulling out a Webster's Dictionary, flipping through the pages until he came to the word he was looking for: "To murder an accused person by mob action and without lawful trial as by hanging." Sutton refused to acknowledge that murders committed by the white supremacist hate group would constitute lynchings. Sutton ranged from teasing to bombastic in the 45-minutes interview, though he appeared at a loss for words once, when an Advertiser reporter told him his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi, had pulled him from its Hall of Fame. "Mr. Suttons subsequent rebuttals and attempts at clarification only reaffirm the misguided and dangerous nature of his comments," the school said in a statement Tuesday. "The School of Communication strongly condemns Mr. Suttons remarks as they are antithetical to all that we value as scholars of journalism, the media, and human communication." But Sutton later said he wasn't worried about a legacy or the widespread condemnation of his comments. "I'm quitting," Sutton said, alluding to possibly selling the newspaper. Goodloe Sutton, publisher of the Democrat-Reporter newspaper, discusses media coverage of his controversial editorial at the newspaper office in Linden, Ala., on Thursday February 21, 2019. On Twitter, Joshua Benton, the director of Nieman Journalism Lab, posted an archived advertisement that Sutton posted in late 2018 in an attempt to sell the paper. In the sales pitch, Sutton said the paper pulled in over $350,000 in legal ads. Benton posited that those ads may serve as a major funding source for the paper, which, if correct, would bring in $6,700 in government-mandated funding per weekly issue. But Tonda Rush, general counsel for the National Newspaper Association, said she would be surprised if a paper of the Democrat-Reporters size brought in that amount of money on all public notices which also include items from banks, attorneys and other privately-funded sources. That would amaze me. Thats a lot of public notice revenue, she said. That would be a large segment of revenue. It may be a definition issue. Without access to the papers internal numbers, however, Rush said she could only hazard a guess about the $350,000. "You can tell everybody you ran me out of the newspaper business," Sutton quipped to the Advertiser on Thursday. Sutton's inflammatory editorials far predate the 2018 for sale's advertisement. An investigation by the Anti-Defamation League this week found multiple instances of racist and anti-Semitic language going back more than five years. Goodloe Sutton, publisher of the Democrat-Reporter newspaper, uses a dictionary to look up the words lynch and mob as he discusses the media coverage of his controversial editorial at the newspaper office in Linden, Ala., on Thursday February 21, 2019. A review by the Alabama Political Reporter found headlines like "Homosexuals take black spotlight" and an editorial which stated "Slavery was a good lesson for Jews." In 2015, the paper ran a headline titled: Selma black thugs murder Demopolite Saturday night. The paper also regularly republishes what appear to be old editorials from the 1930s and 1940s, which include multiple instances of racist slurs. Justin Coleman, a 38-year-old who calls the Linden and Demopolis area home, said the Democrat-Reporter has "called for violence against minorities for years." "It has gone unchecked for decades," said Coleman, who is African-American. Coleman said people in the community have "become numb" to the weekly newspaper. But he's frustrated by the idea that outsiders might have of Marengo County, which was about 51 percent black and 46 percent white, according to 2018 U.S. Census numbers. Linden is located about 100 miles due west of Montgomery near the Mississippi border, deep in the rural Alabama Black Belt. Contributing: Brian Edwards This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: I dont care what they say: Editor who called for KKK to 'ride again' wont back down 0 Produced by Mark Seman & Anthony Kane WASHINGTON House Democrats are planning to ask for a confidential copy of President Trumps tax returns from the IRS, but obtaining them wont be simple or fast, Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., said during an interview on Yahoo News Skullduggery podcast. Beyer said Democrats will need a good legal rationale to request Trumps financial documents, adding that he believes the questions surrounding Trumps ties to Russia are sufficient reason to ask for the documents. Beyer is a member of the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means, which has the power to obtain a copy of President Trumps tax returns thanks to an obscure law thats almost a century old. Trumps tax returns have been something of a holy grail for Democrats who have consistently requested the release of the documents, particularly given the questions surrounding foreign business dealings at Trumps sprawling real estate company. Beyer predicted that his committee will ultimately be able to get their hands on Trumps elusive financial documents. But he explained that there are several obstacles to the process. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photo: Cliff Owen/AP) This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. According to Beyer, the law allows entities in Congress to request the tax return of any American citizen. He said the Joint Taxation Committee theoretically could ask for the returns, but would be unlikely to do so due to Republican control of the Senate. This leaves the Ways and Means Committee, which is led by Democrats since they won control of the House last year. While Beyer said the Democrats on the committee have begun the process, he said it would be slow going. Our chairman, Richie Neal of Springfield, Mass., is going about this in a deliberate, thoughtful way. As he says, this is a really big, important, historic thing. He doesnt want to not do it right. He wants to make sure that hes crossing all the ts and dotting all the is, Beyer said. Beyer said Neal had described some details about the process to his committee colleagues. Story continues As I understand it, at least as hes explained it to us, the first step with his request is that the Internal Revenue Service will share it with him as the chairman confidentially, Beyer said of Neal. He will then review it and decide what can be shared with the full committee, and then ultimately, what can be shared with the American people. Trump became the first president in decades to break with longstanding tradition and not release his returns when he won the 2016 election. Democrats have consistently questioned what information might be in the documents, particularly given the questions surrounding foreign business dealings at Trumps sprawling real estate company. Trump, who once promised to release the information, has cited a routine audit as why he has declined to do so. While he stressed that he isnt writing legal briefs on the issue, Beyer said he saw clear grounds for the request. There are so many suggestions that the presidents behavior with Russia, among others, must be inextricably linked to his financial fortune. Why else would he give Putin a pass on damn near everything from Crimea to believing his intelligence rather than our own? he said. Download or subscribe on iTunes: Skullduggery from Yahoo News Beyer also predicted that Trumps attorneys and allies would fight the release of the presidents returns. There is also anticipation that the White House is going to fight back right away, that once that request goes to them therell be requests for injunctions, Beyer said. Based on that opposition, Beyer predicted that Trumps returns will remain hidden through the 2020 election. I think we need to do the best we can to get them, but it has been suggested more than once that it could be tied up in courts for two years, he said. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Paris (AFP) - Brexit talks now require a "decision" rather than going into "extra time", the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said Friday as the clock runs down on March 29 when Britain is set to leave the block, with or without an exit deal. "We don't need extra time, what we need now is a decision and for everyone to take responsibility," Barnier told Europe 1 radio. He did not exclude granting Britain more negotiating time -- beyond March 29 -- for concluding an agreement on the Brexit divorce terms, but said it was now up to "the British to take their responsibilities and assume the consequences of decisions they took democratically," he said. The British government said Thursday that ongoing Brexit talks are focusing on securing new guarantees to reassure eurosceptic British lawmakers, rather than on demanding that a divorce deal already concluded with the EU be re-opened. EU leaders insist the withdrawal agreement, which they struck with Britain last year, cannot be re-opened to appease British MPs who rejected it in parliament. Brussels however appears open to adopting a more ambitious political declaration that would set a roadmap for negotiating close EU-UK trade ties during a transition period after March 29. Kris Osborn Security, The F-35 redefines how you go to war with a platform." You're Dead: The F-35 Is Crushing Enemy Fighter Jets in Air War Simulations As enemy fighters closed in on a US Air Force 4th Generation fighter aircraft, blinding the jet with electronic warfare attacks, an experienced pilot faced unseen life-threatening attackers closing in -- during an air-combat Red Flag exercise closely replicating actual warfare scenarios. Yet, in a life-saving flash, the endangered 4th pilot was told to turn around by an F-35 operating in the vicinity who radioed an instant warning. The 5th-Gen, multi-role stealth fighter then used its long-range sensors and weapons to kill the enemy aircraft, according to an Air Force news report. Air Force Col. Joshua Wood, 388th Operations Group Commander was part of the exercise. Ive never seen anything like it before. My wingman was a brand new F-35A pilot, seven or eight flights out of training. He gets on the radio and tells an experienced, 3,000 hour pilot in a fourth-generation aircraft. Hey bud, you need to turn around. Youre about to die, Theres a threat off your nose, Wood explained in the service report. The Red Flag exercise, and annual live combat-like training event, drew from an unprecedented amount of advanced threat scenarios, representing "near-peer" threats. Red Flag aggressors, according to the Air Force report, included advanced integrated air-defense systems, an adversary Air Force, cyber-warfare and information operations. Red Flag pilots also flew in GPS-denied environments where communications were jammed or rendered inoperable by enemy EW attacks, according to the Air Force report. Taking place at Nellis AFB in Nevada, the exercise included 3,000 personnel from 39 units, including the US Navy, US Air Force, Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force. Story continues The F-35 redefines how you go to war with a platform. it fuses data at a very core level, providing pilots with information to be lethal in the battlespace, Edward Stevie Smith, F-35 domestic business development director, Lockheed Martin, told Warrior Maven in an interview. Developers explain that the F-35 is, by design, intended to draw upon its stealth configuration to Suppress Enemy Air Defenses while monitoring air-to-air and air-to-ground threats. An engineer familiar with F-35 technology explained it this way - There is a FLIR (Forward-Looking Infrared) built into the airplane. The DAS (Distributed Aperture System with 360-degree cameras) and the EOTS (Electro-Optical Targeting System to track and attack long range targets) can see things in midwave IR at pretty significant ranges, tracking them from a long way. Describing Red Flag weapons engagements, Lockheed F-35 pilot Billie Flynn said F-35s could fire Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles without being seen by adversaries - operating at the margins of detectability. "We could launch and leave," Flynn explained. At last years exercise, the Air Force and Navy explored a range of similar threats, including efforts to refine F-22 dogfighting skills. The F-22 at last years exercise, from the 27th Fighter Squadron, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, performed air interdiction, combat search and rescue, close air support, dynamic targeting and defensive counter-air operations in mock combat scenarios. Confronting simulated Red force ground and air threats, F-22s attacked targets such as mock airfields, vehicle convoys, tanks, parked aircraft, bunkered defensive positions and missile sites. Although modern weapons such as long-range air-to-air missiles, and the lack of near-peer warfare in recent years, means dogfighting itself is less likely these days. As the service prepares for future contingencies against technologically advanced adversaries, maintaining a need to dogfight is of great significance. For instance, the emerging Chinese J-10 and Russian 5th Gen PAK-50 clearly underscore the importance of this. Advanced dogfighting ability can greatly expedite completion of the Air Forces long-discussed OODA-loop phenomenon, wherein pilots seek to quickly complete a decision-making cycle - Observation, Orientation, Decision, Action faster than an enemy fighter. The concept, dating back decades to former Air Force pilot and theorist John Boyd, has long informed fighter-pilot training and combat preparation. If pilots can complete the OODA loop more quickly than an enemy during an air-to-air combat engagement, described as getting inside an enemys decision-making process, they can destroy an enemy and prevail. Faster processing of information, empowering better pilot decisions, it naturally stands to reason, makes a big difference when it comes to the OODA loop. Connectivity with air and ground combat assets, drawing upon emerging data-link technology, has been a key part of the exercise as the Air Force strengthens efforts to work with other services on cross-domain fires operations. The OODA Loop is of equal importance to the F-35 which, while engineered to dogfight as well, is built to draw upon its long-range sensors to complete the process - before ever seen by an enemy. The Air Force plans to actualize key aspects of this with, for instance, LINK 16 upgrades to the F-22 that enable it to improve data-sharing with the F-35 and 4th-generation aircraft in real-time in combat. First operational in 2005, the F-22 is a multi-role fighter designed with stealth technology to evade enemy radar detection and speeds able to reach Mach 2 with what is called "super-cruise" capability. Supercruise is the ability to cruise at supersonic airspeeds such as 1.5 Mach without needing afterburner, a capability attributed to the engine thrust and aerodynamic configuration of the F-22. The F-22 is built with two Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 turbofan engines with afterburners, Air Force statements said. The aircraft has a 44-foot wingspan and a maximum take-off weight of more than 83,000 pounds. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army - Acquisition, Logistics& Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has a Masters in Comparative Literature from Columbia University. This first appeared in Warrior Maven here. Image: Creative Commons. Read full article Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and receive a $20 prize! Today well look at Davide Campari-Milano S.p.A. (BIT:CPR) and reflect on its potential as an investment. Specifically, well consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), since that will give us an insight into how efficiently the business can generate profits from the capital it requires. First of all, well work out how to calculate ROCE. Next, well compare it to others in its industry. Then well determine how its current liabilities are affecting its ROCE. Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it? ROCE is a measure of a companys yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. All else being equal, a better business will have a higher ROCE. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussin has suggested that a high ROCE can indicate that one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar. How Do You Calculate Return On Capital Employed? Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) (Total Assets Current Liabilities) Or for Davide Campari-Milano: 0.11 = 422m (4.5b 434m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2018.) So, Davide Campari-Milano has an ROCE of 11%. Check out our latest analysis for Davide Campari-Milano Does Davide Campari-Milano Have A Good ROCE? One way to assess ROCE is to compare similar companies. Davide Campari-Milanos ROCE appears to be substantially greater than the 9.2% average in the Beverage industry. We consider this a positive sign, because it suggests it uses capital more efficiently than similar companies. Separate from Davide Campari-Milanos performance relative to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms looks satisfactory, and it may be worth researching in more depth. Story continues BIT:CPR Past Revenue and Net Income, February 22nd 2019 When considering this metric, keep in mind that it is backwards looking, and not necessarily predictive. ROCE can be misleading for companies in cyclical industries, with returns looking impressive during the boom times, but very weak during the busts. ROCE is only a point-in-time measure. Future performance is what matters, and you can see analyst predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company. Do Davide Campari-Milanos Current Liabilities Skew Its ROCE? Current liabilities are short term bills and invoices that need to be paid in 12 months or less. Due to the way ROCE is calculated, a high level of current liabilities makes a company look as though it has less capital employed, and thus can (sometimes unfairly) boost the ROCE. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets. Davide Campari-Milano has total assets of 4.5b and current liabilities of 434m. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 9.7% of its total assets. Low current liabilities have only a minimal impact on Davide Campari-Milanos ROCE, making its decent returns more credible. What We Can Learn From Davide Campari-Milanos ROCE This is good to see, and while better prospects may exist, Davide Campari-Milano seems worth researching further. Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Davide Campari-Milano. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly. If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. Willemstad, Curacao (Netherlands Antilles) (AFP) - Curacao authorities Friday blocked Venezuelan opposition supporters from loading aid donations onto a ship to sail to their country, the vessel's captain said, with the island's government citing security concerns. The Venezuelans have flown containers to Curacao from private donors in the United States -- part of a broader aid effort by Venezuela's self-declared leader Juan Guaido to put pressure on President Nicolas Maduro. The organizers tried on Friday to load the aid onto the Seven Seas supply ship, moored in the port of the Caribbean island 40 miles (65 kilometers) from Venezuela's coast. "The authorities here blocked the entrance of the containers with the humanitarian aid for Venezuela," Seven Seas captain Carlos Quintavalle told AFP at the port. Curacao has become one of the focal points of a volatile standoff between Guaido and Maduro. The socialist president has branded the aid drive a sham and accused the United States of plotting to invade his country. Guaido has vowed to bring in aid via Brazil, Colombia and Curacao, in defiance of Maduro and the military that backs him. Rights campaigners said Venezuelan soldiers shot dead two indigenous people and wounded 15 other who tried to stop them sealing an unofficial crossing on the Brazilian border on Friday. - Venezuelan volunteers defiant - Meanwhile, the use of Curacao as a sea transit point raised fears of a maritime confrontation if an aid boat approaches Venezuelan waters. Curacao government communications officer Corinne Leysner told AFP the island's parliament had agreed to act as a hub for aid "but that goods cannot leave for Venezuela until there is a safe environment to receive them." She said the government could not permit the boat to leave with the shipment for security reasons as Maduro's government has ordered the closure of Venezuela's sea and air frontiers with Curacao. Story continues "It is a safety issue. Of course we want to help the people of Venezuela but we are not going to be choosing fights," Leysner said. The Curacao government said earlier in a statement that "the shipments from Curacao will only take place when the authorities in Venezuela agree." Hundreds of Venezuelan volunteers based in Curacao rallied later Friday at the cathedral in the island's capital Willemstad. Lined up in pews, they swore an oath to God and the Virgin Mary to press ahead with efforts to load the ship. "We have faith that the frontier is still open," said one of the Venezuelan volunteers, Glen Essen. "The ex-government of Venezuela no longer exists. With the way Guaido and his new government are handling things - that is how this is going to be achieved." CubeSmart (CUBE) came out with quarterly funds from operations (FFO) of $0.42 per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. This compares to FFO of $0.41 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. A quarter ago, it was expected that this self-storage company would post FFO of $0.41 per share when it actually produced FFO of $0.43, delivering a surprise of 4.88%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus FFO estimates just once. CubeSmart, which belongs to the Zacks REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry, posted revenues of $134.74 million for the quarter ended December 2018, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13.05%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $143.48 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future FFO expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. CubeSmart shares have added about 6.2% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 11.1%. What's Next for CubeSmart? While CubeSmart has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's FFO outlook. Not only does this include current consensus FFO expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for CubeSmart was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Story continues It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus FFO estimate is $0.40 on $157.17 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $1.68 on $643.97 million in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, REIT and Equity Trust - Other is currently in the bottom 42% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. 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 CubeSmart (CUBE) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Havana (AFP) - Cuba was gearing up Friday to vote on a new constitution for the first time in decades, a poll seen as a possible referendum on the role of socialism itself in the one-party state. More than eight million Cubans are registered to vote on Sunday on the first new charter since 1976. Unlike in previous votes, when regime critics tended to boycott or spoil ballots, this time opponents of the Communist Party -- which has ruled since 1959 - are calling on people to vote no. While the new charter recognizes a limited role for the free market and private investment, it maintains the central role of socialism and communism as the only way to "allow human beings to achieve their full dignity." The vote comes at a time when US President Donald Trump has stepped up attacks on socialism, calling it "a sad and discredited ideology." The Cuban government, which controls the media, has launched a huge campaign to push the 'yes' vote. It only needs a simple majority to pass, and has sought to portray a 'no' vote as unpatriotic. But opponents of the regime have launched a campaign under the hashtag #YoVotoNo (#IVoteNo) on the limited social media networks available on the island, mostly sharing it on SMS text messaging. The 1976 Constitution won 97.7 percent backing, but the campaign to push back this time could result in a significantly smaller approval rating, some analysts said, even if there is almost no chance of it being rejected. "All this propaganda has created the image of strong pressure on people to vote yes, and that if you vote no there's something wrong with you," said Carlos Alzugaray, an academic. "From what I can tell, if you add together the no votes, the ballot papers left blank or invalidated and the abstentions, we are somewhere between 20 and 30 percent of the total electoral roll," he said. "That would mean only around 60 percent voted 'yes.' And the valid votes would be between 70 and 80 percent, and not at 97 percent," he added. "The country has changed." In a story Feb. 19 about a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency over a proposed copper-nickel mine in Minnesota, The Associated Press erroneously reported the name of the group filing the lawsuit. It is Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, not Protecting Employees Who Protect Our Environment. A corrected version of the story is below: Environmental group seeks EPA documents on Minnesota mine A Minnesota environmental group is suing the Environmental Protection Agency to force it to release concerns that EPA specialists have expressed about a copper-nickel mine in the northeast of the state By IVAN MORENO Associated Press A Minnesota environmental group filed a federal lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency Tuesday, seeking to force it to make public the concerns its specialists have expressed about a copper-nickel mine in the northeast of the state. Environmentalists worry PolyMet Mining's planned $1 billion mine, which would occupy 19,000 acres in the St. Louis River basin, will create a permanent pollution source from the river into Lake Superior. More than 900 acres of wetlands would also be destroyed, the lawsuit from WaterLegacy alleges. WaterLegacy attorney Paula Maccabee has said documents she obtained through an open records request showed regional EPA staffers said last fall they had "substantial questions" about the project, before the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued final water and air permits for the mine in December. Maccabee said the EPA never filed formal comments about the project, even though they had expressed a desire to do so. Environmentalists say they have been unable to obtain the EPA's finalized comments that weren't submitted, despite a Freedom of Information Act request. The lawsuit pushed for the release of those documents. The EPA said in an emailed statement that it does not comment on pending litigation. Maccabee said the permits issued "would not limit toxic pollutants that would then be discharged into the headwaters of the Lake Superior basin." Story continues The Maryland-based group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, also known as PEER, filed Tuesday's lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., on behalf of WaterLegacy, which wants to use the EPA's unpublished objections in its litigation challenging the permits for the project, known as the NorthMet mine. "EPA apparently wants to ensure there is no paper trail evidencing the very real concerns of career professional staff," said Kevin Bell, an attorney for PEER. Environmentalists say that since President Donald Trump's election, EPA officials have been forbidden from submitting written comments to state regulators about approving air and water permits. The EPA staffers now read their comments over the phone, according to notes taken during calls by employees at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The EPA is concerned about excess mercury discharge and inadequate monitoring, among other things, according to the MPCA notes, the lawsuit states. Last month, the matter captured the attention of Minnesota U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, who issued a statement saying she found it "remarkable" that the EPA did not formally weigh in before the MPCA issued the water and air permits. McCollum, who chairs an appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the EPA, said last month she would ask the EPA to publicly release any PolyMet-related comments. Construction on the project could start as early as this spring. However, the water and air permits that were granted are being appealed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Bhrikuti Rai is an investigative reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering technology, environment and human rights. Before joining The Kathmandu Post in 2019, she was a reporter at Nepali Times and South Asia Check. She loves all things audio, and is co-creator of the Boju Bajai podcast. Top row from left: Riya Rajkumar, Ola Barho, Hala Barho and Ahmad Barho. Bottom row from left: Rola Barho, Abdullah Barho, Rana Barho and Mohammad Barho. These eight children died in two separate incidents in Ontario and Nova Scotia on Feb. 14 and 19 respectively. (Yahoo Canada News) Eight young lives were cut short in separate traumatic incidents in Canada this week, the stories reported in sometimes painful detail. First there was Riya Rajkumar, the little girl whose Amber Alert was cancelled after police found her body at her fathers home in Brampton, Ont. Riyas mother, with whom the 11-year-old lived in Mississauga, Ont., contacted police when Riyas father failed to return her home at the end of a visit on Feb. 14, her birthday. By the time police tracked down Roopesh Rajkumar and forced their way into his home, it was too late for Riya. Roopesh Rajkumar later died from a self-inflicted gunshot. Before he died, police charged Rajkumar with first degree murder in Riyas death. Then, on Feb. 19, Ahmad, Rola, Mohamad, Ola, Hala, Rana, and Abdullah Barho all children between the ages of 14 years and three months old died in a house fire at their home in Halifax, N.S. The children came to Canada as Syrian refugees with their parents in 2017. Their father, Ebraheim Barho, sustained life-threatening injuries trying to save them as their mother, Kawthar Barho, ran for help. Often, when a tragedy like a violent crime or a deadly fire occurs, the people closest to the epicentre of that tragedy have access to supports like grief and trauma counseling. But distressing events can also affect the people who follow them in the news and become personally invested, says grief and trauma expert Karen Letofsky, especially when reports employ repetition and shocking imagery. That can have an impact with respect to inducing an emotional reaction, Letofsky said, adding that the impact might not be obvious in every person. Its going to be on a continuum from somebody thats severely affected to somebody thats momentarily distressed. Sometimes its forcibly having to restrain yourself and give yourself a time-out. Letofsky said someone who is impacted by a traumatic news story, or who is over-consuming traumatic news stories, might show behavioural changes such as increased irritability and anger. Story continues And the risk of being negatively affected by the news may be higher in people with past traumas, who are more vulnerable to emotional triggers. If you have been traumatized before, if you are in an emotionally vulnerable place in your own life, I think the triggers and what it takes to have an emotional impact on you might be less intense, Letofsky said, than if you are in a place in your life where you are not as vulnerable. It can numb you and deaden you, so that you dont have an appropriate emotional reaction. Alternatively, she warned some people may become desensitized by overexposure to stories about violence, trauma and tragedy, which is not a healthy response. If youre constantly hearing these stories and theyre reported in a matter-of-fact wayIt can numb you and deaden you, so that you dont have an appropriate emotional reaction, Letofsky said. So thats the flip side. How to self-assess and cope People occasionally approach Letofsky, a longtime grief counselor, with concerns about their emotional involvement with stories, with ruminating on them and dreaming about them. She tells those people sometimes what you need to do is walk away. That means moderating access to the news by reading and revisiting a story once or twice, then taking a break. You really, really need to do it, Letofsky said. Sometimes its forcibly having to restrain yourself and give yourself a time-out. Aside from limiting exposure to traumatic stories, Letofsky said the keys to staying healthy are general self-awareness and self-care. That means paying attention to mood changes and maintaining healthy habits and relationships. So finding some balance, getting a little physical exercise and focusing on some of the good things in your life, she said. Letofsky recommended reaching out to friends and family for support, but warned that if symptoms are severe enough, sufferers should consider seeking professional help. If it goes on too long and its impacting your sleep and your appetite and your ability to interact with others or go to work, she said, then you really need to seek some help. Supporting children For people who are not actively looking for them, the signs of trauma can go undetected, particularly in children, who may be hesitant or unequipped to discuss their feelings with adults. Fortunately, there are symptoms of grief and trauma that parents can look for. Its really important for adults not to project their fear onto their kids. If your kids are having nightmares and showing a lot of anxiety and fear, that may be a sign that they have been impacted, Letofsky said. The way parents interact with their children during times of anxiety and uncertainty can ease or exacerbate their symptoms. Letofsky said parents should be careful not to project their fears onto their children and should make sure conversations about news and current events are age-appropriate. Its really important for adultsnot to use their kids as a source of support by talking about [their own fears], she said. And to always include resources for the kids and reassurance for their security, that things are stable, that they will be there for them with an invitation for them to come speak. Finally, Letofsky said, both adults and children need to understand that negative reactions to traumatic events are natural, and that they need to be gentle on themselves and others. Its really important not to blame yourself or think youre weak, she said. Its not that were doing a bad job, we just need to learn to how to manageand I think resilience comes from self-awareness, self-care, and the ability to find what works for you. Washington (AFP) - Consumer groups voiced dismay Friday after a US Senate panel considering privacy legislation scheduled a largely industry-packed witness list for an upcoming hearing. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, a Republican, announced the witness list for Wednesday's hearing on "policy principles for a federal data privacy framework in the United States." The list "is stuffed with well-paid 'inside the Beltway' lobbyists from the data gathering industry," said Jeffrey Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy, a privacy rights group. "Senator Wicker's lineup raises questions about whether he can be trusted to develop legislation that will empower the public and rein in what is now a 'wild west' data collection industry." The witnesses on the list include executives from the Internet Association, Retail Industry Leaders Association, BSA/The Software Alliance and the Interactive Advertising Bureau. It also includes a representative from the 21st Century Privacy Coalition, which is funded by cable and telecom firms. Amie Stepanovich of the digital rights group Access Now also expressed concern, writing on Twitter: "Five witnesses. Every last one of them represents corporate interests." "This is the second hearing the United States Senate has held on consumer privacy where literally all of the companies that want your personal information are the only ones invited to talk to Senators about your privacy rights," tweeted Ernesto Falcon of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The Politico news website, which first reported the witness list, said Wicker would speak at a fundraiser hosted by industry groups the day ahead of the hearing. The Mississippi senator said in a statement on the committee website that he wants "a federal privacy standard to protect consumers without stifling innovation, investment, or competition." A separate hearing on privacy legislation has been scheduled for Tuesday by a House panel that has yet to release its witness list. Story continues Chester said he expected to see "more balanced representation" on the House side, "including from civil rights groups." Lawmakers have pledged draft new privacy rules aimed at reining in data abuses following a series of scandals and breaches involving Facebook and other internet platforms. Most tech companies are pledging to accept new regulations to set a uniform standard in the United States following a sweeping set of rules that went into effect in the European Union in 2018. But a fierce debate is expected over the details of any new law. CNNs Chris Cuomo warned Thursday that a storm is coming with the reportedly imminent release of special counsel Robert Muellers report into possible collusion between Russia and President Trumps 2016 campaign. This is going to be an especially chaotic time, said the host of Cuomo Prime Time. This president will be under pressure in all likelihood like hes never been before. Not because hes going to be removed in cuffs but because, almost certainly, hes not going to like things in the report. WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administration is exploring the idea of forming a special committee to look at climate change and security risks, with the effort being coordinated by a 79-year-old physicist who rejects mainstream climate science. A "discussion paper" obtained by The Associated Press asks federal officials from an array of government agencies to weigh in on a proposed executive order that President Donald Trump would sign establishing the "Presidential Committee on Climate Security." A memo to those federal officials asks them to direct any questions to William Happer, a member of Trump's National Security Council and a well-known critic of mainstream climate science findings. "Happer would be a fringe figure even for climate skeptics," said retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. David Titley, now a professor of meteorology at Pennsylvania State University. Several climate scientists agreed with Titley, including Georgia Tech's Kim Cobb, who said Happer's "false, unscientific notions about climate change represent a danger to the American people." Harvard science historian Naomi Oreskes, who wrote the book "Merchants of Doubt" on climate denial, pointed to instances when Happer has claimed that carbon dioxide, the main heat-trapping gas from the burning of coal, oil and gas, is good for humans and that carbon emissions have been demonized like "the poor Jews under Hitler." Happer's bio at Princeton University, where he previously taught, describes him as a pioneer in the field of optically polarized atoms. It notes that he served in the administration of President George H.W. Bush as the director of energy research at the Department of Energy, where he oversaw a basic research budget of roughly $3 billion. The National Security Council advises the president on security and foreign policy issues. According to the discussion paper, the council would fund and oversee the committee. Among the committee's responsibilities would be to "address existing United States Government reports on climate for scientific accuracy and advise on the national security implications of climate change." Story continues The committee would be composed of 12 members, according to a draft of the executive order. Members would include experts in national security and climate science. The panel would advise the president on how climate "might change in the future under natural and human influences." A spokesman for the National Security Council declined to comment. The Washington Post first reported on the proposed executive order establishing the climate security committee. Trump once tweeted that climate change was a "Chinese hoax." More recently, he used a cold snap that hit much of the nation last month to again cast doubts. "People can't last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming (sic)? Please come back fast, we need you!" he tweeted. Both the Pentagon and the president's intelligence team have mentioned climate change as a national security threat, and a 2018 National Climate Assessment detailed drastic effects of global warming. Over about a dozen years, government scientists, military leaders and intelligence experts have repeatedly highlighted climate change as a major national security risk, said Titley, who founded one such study team in the Navy. Titley said these studies have come to the same conclusions under three presidents, including two Republicans. He said there are "a surprising number of documents from the Pentagon and intelligence community after January 2017 (when Trump took office) that talk about climate and security risk." "For the Pentagon, it's about readiness," Titley said. "For the intelligence community, it's about risks. We see the risks are accelerating." Climate change can "push a marginally stable area into chaos," Titley said, mentioning Syria, which suffered a record drought at the same time as a civil war that triggered a migration of a million people. Francesco "Frank" Femia, chief executive of a think tank that reviews systemic risk to national and international security, expressed concern that the proposed panel was meant to poke holes in future government reports and studies. "I would welcome a serious study commissioned by the White House on the security implications on climate change that include climate scientists and national security experts, but this is not that," said Femia, the CEO of The Council on Strategic Risks. A place like the National Academy of Sciences was set up just for that type of study, said Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at Berkeley Earth, which monitors global temperatures. "The ice doesn't care what this administration thinks," Titley said. "It's just going to keep melting and obeying the laws of physics, whatever Will Happer wants." By Marie-Louise Gumuchian MILAN (Reuters) - Fendi said farewell to Karl Lagerfeld on Thursday, presenting the last line the veteran fashion designer created for the Italian luxury label before his death. With a replica of his "Love KL" signature displayed behind them, models strutted down the catwalk in a neutral palette of beige, brown, terracotta and dark gray outfits with dabs of green, orange and yellow popping out in the Autumn/Winter 2019 line. Lagerfeld, who died on Tuesday aged 85 and was best known for his work at French house Chanel, joined Fendi in 1965 and had collaborated with the Rome-based brand since, forming a creative duo with the founding family's scion Silvia Venturini Fendi. "The bond between Karl Lagerfeld and Fendi is fashion's longest love story, one that will continue to touch our lives for years to come," she said in show notes. "...When we called just a few days before the show, his only thoughts were on the richness and beauty of the collection. It's a true testament to his character." For Lagerfeld's last line for the brand, there were double-breasted jackets and coats, shiny patent leather outerwear and slim fitted coats, some with furry trimmings. Shirts, some in fine leather, had pointy collars and see-through sleeves and were worn with pleated trousers and asymmetric transparent skirts. Satin and organza tops as well as bodysuits were monogramed, some with a high collar. Lattice work was seen on tops as well pencil skirts. Some shirts and dresses also had pointy pagoda shoulders. Models' hair was sleek and wavy at the front, and some wore theirs in a pony tail like Lagerfeld, who was instantly recognizable for his white hair and large sunglasses. Accessories consisted of furry hats, and the label's signature Baguette handbag came in embossed pillow patent with a large strap. Models also wore monogramed tights. Pointy leather boots came in an array of bright colors. Story continues Model sisters Gigi and Bella Hadid closed the show, at the end of which a visibly emotional Venturini Fendi came out for the customary audience greeting. A short video of Lagerfeld, asked to describe and draw his first day at Fendi more than 50 years ago was then projected. "It's very overwhelming today," blogger Carola Pojer said as she headed into the show. "...But I am very excited to see his last collection." (Reporting By Marie-Louise Gumuchian; additional reporting by Cristiano Corvino; editing by John Stonestreet) Chinese consumers went hog wild to celebrate the Year of the Pigand Italy is not complaining. To kick off the Lunar New Year, Chinese consumers spent record amounts on travel, dining, and luxury shopping, according to Vogue Business. The data, which were culled from Planet, a payment processing platform, revealed that a whopping 6.3 million Chinese citizens traveled during the holiday, which took place earlier this month. Chinese millennials, in particular, hightailed it to Europe, visiting countries like Italy and Spain. And while tourist spending in Europe as a whole was actually down this year, there was a notable exception for the country thats synonymous with fashion, pasta, and fine wine. Related stories The New Face of the Average Whiskey Drinker: Young, Pierced, and Female You Won't Believe the Bonkers Engraving on This Chinese Zodiac Watch A New Monopoly Game Is Trolling Millennials--and They Are So Not Here for It In fact, during Spring Festival (the week of February 4 through 10, with the Lunar New Year taking place on the 5th), Chinese consumers spent a whopping $148 billion on shopping and dining in Italy, an 8.5 percent increase year-over-year. Meanwhile, when it came to travel to the mediterranean country, they spent $76 billion, which accounted for an 8.2 percent uptick. Thats $224 billion spent in one week, if case youre counting. Aside from Italys perennial appeal, travel to the country was likely bolstered by a few factors, including political unrest in neighboring countries like France, and, believe it or not, the power of Guccidespite its recent missteps. Because of the brands increasing popularity, younger Chinese consumers may view Italy as a destination with more relevance and pop culture cachet. The brand saw sales of 8 billion [about $9.1 billion] in 2018, with 36 percent of revenue coming from the Asia-Pacific region, Vogue Business reported. Kering CEO Francois-Henri Pinault attributed much of this growth to Chinese consumers. Unsurprisingly, millennials are driving much of this spending, proving that all the hand-wringing over how to reach the much-maligned, social-media savvy demographic is not misplaced. According to the findings from Vogue Business, millennials represented 40 percent of shoppers during this holiday period. Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. BEIJING (Reuters) - China would welcome a visit by Britain's finance minister Philip Hammond, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday, a day after Hammond said talk of deploying a British warship in the Pacific had complicated bilateral relations. As Britain prepares to exit the European Union at the end of next month, its biggest foreign and trade policy shift in more than 40 years, it is seeking to strengthen diplomatic and trade relationships with countries around the world. Earlier this month, defense minister Gavin Williamson said Britain would use military force to support its interests after Brexit and outlined plans to deploy a new aircraft carrier to the Pacific, where London has been seeking to demonstrate its influence in relation to China. British media reported that China had canceled trade talks with Hammond because it was upset about Williamson's speech. "China sets great store on Sino-Britain ties, and hopes Britain can earnestly respect China's core interests and concerns, and make efforts for promoting the healthy and stable development of relations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing. "As for the issue of Chancellor Hammond visiting China, we have said that we welcome him to visit," Geng added, without elaborating. Hammond, asked on BBC radio on Thursday if the relationship had been damaged by Williamson's comments, said: "It is a complex relationship and it hasn't been made simpler by Chinese concerns about royal navy deployments in the South China Sea." He also said he was disappointed that Beijing had reacted in the way they had to Williamson's comments. A British Ministry of Defense official said Williamson's speech had been cleared in advance by both Hammond's department and Prime Minister Theresa May's office. A spokeswoman for Britain's finance ministry, asked about Friday's comments by Beijing, said Britain remained committed to a "golden era" of bilateral relations. "We would welcome the opportunity to make progress on this agenda," she said. British exports to and imports from China hit a record high in 2017. China was Britain's sixth largest export market that year with sales worth 22.3 billion pounds ($29.15 billion), and its fourth largest source of imports, worth 45.2 billion pounds, according to the House of Commons Library. Britain has long courted China for a post-Brexit trade deal, though any formal talks, which would typically take many years to conclude, could not begin until it officially leaves the EU. China and Britain agreed last year to look at the possibility of reaching a "top notch" post-Brexit free trade deal that would mark an important political victory for the Conservative government. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing with additional reporting by William Schomberg in London; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Mark Heinrich) BEIJING (Reuters) - Humanitarian aid should not be forced into Venezuela, lest it cause violence, China's Foreign Ministry said on Friday, warning that Beijing opposed military intervention in the country. Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro threatened to close the border with Colombia on Thursday as opposition leader Juan Guaido and some 80 lawmakers ran a gauntlet of roadblocks trying to get to the frontier to receive humanitarian aid. Guaido, who is recognized by dozens of countries as Venezuela's legitimate head of state, was poised for a showdown with Maduro's government on Saturday, when the opposition will attempt to bring in food and medicine being stockpiled in neighboring countries. Maduro denies there is a humanitarian crisis and said on Thursday he was considering closing Venezuela's key border with Colombia and would close the country's other main border with Brazil, effectively shutting off any legal land access. Speaking at a daily news conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that the Venezuelan government had "remained calm and exercised restraint", effectively preventing large-scale clashes. "If so-called aid material is forced into Venezuela, and then if it causes violence and clashes, it will have serious consequences. This is not something anyone wants to see," Geng said. "China opposes military intervention in Venezuela, and opposes any actions causing tensions or even unrest," he said. Maduro retains the backing of both Russia and China. Beijing has lent more than $50 billion to Venezuela through oil-for-loan agreements over the past decade, securing energy supplies for its fast-growing economy. A change of government in Venezuela would favor Russia and China, who are the country's two main foreign creditors, Guaido told Reuters in an interview last month. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; editing by Darren Schuettler) Depositors asked to file compensation claims The Problematic Cooperatives Asset Management Committee on Thursday asked the depositors of 10 cooperatives declared troubled by the government to file compensation claims. The seven-member panel formed last year has been authorised to settle the liabilities of the cooperatives by liquidating their assets. A senior pilot with almost 20 years of flight experience has been filmed sleeping in the cockpit of his 747 mid-flight. The embarrassing video of the China Airlines employee snoozing comes just days after pilots with the airlines ended an unprecedented seven-day strike over issues such as pilot fatigue and long working hours. Taiwans flagship carrier, which has its headquarters in Taoyuan International Airport, has responded to the incident saying the clip was filmed before the most recent strikes took place. The video, believed to have been filmed by the co-pilot, shows the highly experienced chief officer with his eyes closed and his head down as he sits in the main seat of the cockpit. The was filmed by a colleague (Asia wire) While he is yet to be named, he is reportedly the airlines most senior Boeing 747 pilot, with near 20 years of experience flying to mainly Tokyo, Okinawa, Seoul and Hong Kong. The chief pilot is also an instructor in charge of simulations at the China Airlines Flight Training Centre. Facing accusations including ignoring flight safety procedures, the pilot is said to have received adequate punishment, a statement by China Airlines said. The airline added that the video was filmed prior to the February strikes which affected roughly 20,000 passengers booked on about 100 flights. The pilot works for China Airlines (PA) China Airlines has also suggested the co-pilot who filmed and released the video may also be punished for choosing to record the clip instead of wake his senior officer up. Pilot fatigue has become a real issue in recent years. It has been estimated that up to seven per cent of civil aviation accidents can be linked to tired pilots. Fatigue can impact on a pilots cognitive abilities as well as affect their decision-making. An Air India Express crash, which left 210 people dead, was attributed to fatigue. A subsequent air accident investigation picked up the sound of snoring on the cockpit voice recorder, apparently for the the first time ever. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China has agreed to buy up to $1.2 trillion in goods from the United States as part of the current negotiations to end the trade war between the countries, CNBC reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the situation. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could meet in late March in Florida, CNBC also reported. CNBC said though that the two sides remain far apart on a key issue for the United States: the forced transfer of intellectual property. Negotiators have been meeting in Washington this week, with President Donald Trump scheduled to talk with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Friday afternoon, in the hopes of coming closer to a trade deal before March 1, when U.S. tariffs on a variety of goods are set to rise to 25 percent from 10 percent. Two members of the Chinese delegation, who did not give their names, told Reuters they did not know if talks would be extended beyond Friday. They are scheduled to leave for Beijing on Saturday, according to a member of staff at their hotel. Reuters reported exclusively on Wednesday that the two sides are starting to sketch out an agreement on structural issues, drafting language for six memorandums of understanding on proposed Chinese reforms. (Reporting by Lisa Lambert and Timothy Ahmann in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish and Chizu Nomiyama) What happened? The 16-year-old who abducted, raped and murdered Alesha MacPhail has been named as Aaron Campbell. His identity could not be reported initially due to his age, but a judge allowed his name to be published today. Campbell snatched the six-year-old from her bedroom and took her to the grounds of a disused hotel where he raped and killed her on the Isle of Bute last July. He was convicted yesterday after a two-week trial, during which he denied having anything to do with the crime and tried to blame Aleshas fathers girlfriend. Why has his identity been revealed now? In the UK it is illegal to reveal the identity of anyone involved in a court case if they are under 18, including the accused. However judges can decide to overturn the ban if they think doing so is in the public interest. Judge Lord Matthews decided to allow the media to identify Campbell due to the seriousness of his crimes. He said: I cant think of a case in recent times that has attracted such revulsion. The accused lawyer argued for his identity to be kept secret, saying there was a price on his head and that identifying him could endanger his life. Campbell is facing a life sentence for the horrific murder of Alesha. As he was convicted yesterday Lord Matthews told Campbell he had committed some of the wickedest, most evil crimes this court has ever heard. The teenager took Alesha from the bed where she was sleeping and inflicted horrific injuries on her before dumping her body in woodland. During the trial pathologist John Williams told the court Alesha had 117 separate injuries, including catastrophic injuries to her genitals, some of which were inflicted while she was still alive. Campbells mother told the Scottish Daily Mail her son was not depressed, but would get down now and again, like other boys his age. She said: He had passed some exams he was especially good at maths and planned to go to university. He wasnt a violent boy. He was very normal. Story continues Read more about this story Mother of Alesha MacPhails killer led police to his door (The Guardian) Alesha MacPhails killer named as Aaron Campbell after judge lifts banning order (Sky News) Teen accused of murdering Alesha MacPhail hid behind preposterous story (HuffPost) A woman has turned to the internet to ask if its fair that her boyfriend, who works as a painter and decorator, is charging her 60 a day to paint her bedroom. When youre in a relationship there needs to be a little bit of give and take, a cooked meal here, a lift home from a night out there. But when it comes to bigger favours, is it fair to charge your other half? Read the full story and have your say on the divisive topic below: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. UKs worst train company for punctuality revealed The UKs worst train company for punctuality has been revealed, according to new figures. More than one in ten (12.1%) of Hull Trains services was cancelled or severely delayed in the 12 months to January 2019, said the Office of Rail and Road. That compared to top performer Chiltern, who saw just 1.9% of services cancelled or severely delayed in the same period. Across the UK more than one in 25 trains were cancelled or severely delayed the equivalent of 4.6% of all services run by franchised operators during the year, which included the period where timetable changes caused chaos on Thameslink and Northern services. (Yahoo News UK) Shamima Begums family ask Sajid Javid to help bring Isis brides baby to the UK Shamima Begums sister has pleaded with Sajid Javid to allow the Isis brides newborn son to come to Britain. Ms Begums family also said they will challenge the Home Secretarys move to revoke her British citizenship. Renu Begum, writing on behalf of her family, said they were shocked and appalled by the vile comments the 19-year-old has made to the media, but they have a duty to help her. Ms Begum fled London four years ago at the age of 15 to join Islamic States self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria, but has now said she wants to return to the UK with her son prompting Mr Javid to start the process to revoke the teenagers British citizenship. Her family said they have had no contact with her and had only learned she had given birth to a boy through media reports. (Evening Standard) Horsetail Fall at Yosemite National Park lit up in a fiery display earlier this week, during a natural phenomenon which only takes place once a year. For about 10 days each year in February, the waterfall lights up as a firefall when the setting sun hits it at just the right angle. 3 minutes This is how late Yoshitaka Sakurada was to a parliamentary meeting on Thursday, forcing the Japanese Olympics minister to make a public apology. Opposition politicians delayed a meeting of the budget committee for five hours in protest. The gaffe-prone minister was most recently in the news after he apologised for saying he was disappointed at the leukaemia diagnosis of a star Japanese swimmer as it would dampen enthusiasm for the 2020 Tokyo Games. Read the full story here (Yahoo News UK) Ottawa (AFP) - Canada's energy regulator renewed its support on Friday for a controversial oil pipeline to the Pacific, saying the risks to endangered whales from increased tanker traffic were "justified." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government ordered a review of the Trans Mountain Project taking into account its impact on killer whales after the Federal Court of Appeal blocked it over concerns for the marine mammals. The National Energy Board (NEB) said the project would have "significant adverse environmental effects" on the whales and an oil spill could have equally horrendous impacts on the marine environment. But it concluded "that they can be justified in the circumstances, in light of the considerable benefits of the project and measures to mitigate the effects." The federal government has 90 days to decide whether to give final approval for the project, but has signaled it may delay until after a general election in October. The expansion of the 715-mile (1,150-kilometer) pipeline was to move 890,000 barrels of oil a day from landlocked Alberta province to the Pacific coast, replacing a smaller crumbling conduit built in 1953. The Trudeau administration approved the project in 2016 after an initial environmental review, saying it was in the "national interest" to ease Canada's reliance on the US market and get a better price for its crude oil. But it has faced opposition from environmentalists and indigenous tribes worried that increased shipping from a marine terminal in Vancouver would impede the recovery of local killer whale populations. Ottawa bought the project for Can$4.5 billion (US$3.5 billion) in August, effectively nationalizing it in a bid to bring a swift end to legal challenges and protests at construction sites. But on the same day, the Federal Court of Appeal ordered ministers to take a second look at the project, taking greater care to consult with indigenous tribes and consider marine traffic impacts. Opponents of the pipeline said Friday the NEB recommendations do not satisfy their concerns, and vowed to continue their fight against it. SAO PAULO (AP) The government of Sao Paulo says that the state's governor has committed himself to helping Ford Motor Co. find a buyer for its truck and small car plant. The Brazilian plant is expected to close down later this year as part of the automaker's global reorganization plan. The state government office said on its website that Sao Paulo Gov. Joao Doria attended a meeting with company executives. "The preservation of 1,600 assembly line jobs" was the objective, the office quoted Doria as saying. Ford announced earlier this year its plan to shut down its plant in the Sao Paulo industrial suburb of Sao Bernardo do Campo. F-4000 and F-350 trucks and the Fiesta small car are made at the facility. The head of Googles (GOOGL) new recruitment tool said Brexit didnt influence the tech giants decision to launch the product in the UK and the UK is an attractive market, obviously, for everybody. With all these kinds of problems, we take a long-term view, Dmitri Krakovsky, vice president of Hire by Google, told Yahoo Finance UK. Theres peaks and troughs, economies change, but the fundamental need remains the same. The UK is a big market, its an attractive market, obviously, for everybody. Theres enough demand in the UK and we believe it will stay that way. The UK is no doubt a very, very attractive market for us. Hire by Google launched in the UK and Canada last week. The tool, which was first launched in 2017, has recruitment-specific integrations for Google apps like Calendar, Gmail, Google Docs, and Sheets. Krakovsky said the product allows recruiters to do their work in the tools they know and love like Gmail and Calendar and whatnot but also create a company-wide more systematic process through which candidates could be evaluated. Ultimately our goal here is to give recruiters time back. Nobody wants to sit around copying things from tab to tab to tab. Recruiters ultimately want to talk to candidates. Speaking on the telephone from Googles California headquarters, Krakovsky described recruitment as a Google-sized problem. Dmitri Krakovsky, VP of Hire at Google. Photo: Google Four billion people or so are employed in the world, there are over 100 million employers, he said. At any moment of time, theres 10s of millions of jobs. Its just a gigantic space. We looked at how we could help employers, how we could help job seekers, how we could help the system. He declined to give details on how successful the product has been since launch or how many people are working on it. Hire by Google uses artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to automate a lot of the tasks involved in recruiting, such as scheduling interviews. The issue of AI replicating the bias of its programmers has become a hot topic recently. Amazon ran into trouble with an AI-powered recruiting tool that discriminated against women. Kravosky said Hire by Google didnt take decisions on candidates and therefore couldnt discriminate. Story continues Other products may automatically say, youre not good. Our product doesnt do that, Kravosky said. We surface people to the recruiter so they can engage with them in a human to human way so theyre not affected by algorithmic biases. Recruitment is already well served by tech tools such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn. Krakovsky played down talk of Hire by Google being a competitor to these products. A lot of the systems are walled off in very specific ways, he said. There are recruiting systems but unfortunately they dont deal with what you do for most of the day, which is email and scheduling, talking on the phone, collaborating with others within the company. Our thought was that these informal processes and formal processes need to come together and thats where the value of connecting the rest of G Suite products like Gmail into the recruiting provides something different. Oscar Williams-Grut covers banking, fintech, and finance for Yahoo Finance UK. Follow him on Twitter at @OscarWGrut. Read more: Partners at top law firm Norton Rose Fulbright share 106m profit pot Goldman exec: UK needs access to EU tech talent post-Brexit Crisis-era Barclays chairman gives evidence in Qatar court case Pressure mounts on Barclays as key investor exits ahead of results New EU rules are squeezing entry-level jobs in banking Have you been paying attention to shares of The Boeing (BA)? Shares have been on the move with the stock up 16.6% over the past month. The stock hit a new 52-week high of $422.41 in the previous session. The Boeing has gained 29.5% since the start of the year compared to the 21.9% move for the Zacks Aerospace sector and the 22.2% return for the Zacks Aerospace - Defense industry. What's Driving the Outperformance? The stock has a great record of positive earnings surprises, as it hasn't missed our earnings consensus estimate in any of the last four quarters. In its last earnings report on January 30, 2019, Boeing reported EPS of $5.48 versus consensus estimate of $4.52 while it beat the consensus revenue estimate by 6.34%. For the current fiscal year, Boeing is expected to post earnings of $20.13 per share on $111.16 billion in revenues. This represents a 25.73% change in EPS on a 9.92% change in revenues. For the next fiscal year, the company is expected to earn $23.12 per share on $117.62 billion in revenues. This represents a year-over-year change of 14.86% and 5.81%, respectively. Valuation Metrics Boeing may be at a 52-week high right now, but what might the future hold for the stock? A key aspect of this question is taking a look at valuation metrics in order to determine if the company has run ahead of itself. On this front, we can look at the Zacks Style Scores, as they provide investors with an additional way to sort through stocks (beyond looking at the Zacks Rank of a security). These styles are represented by grades running from A to F in the categories of Value, Growth, and Momentum, while there is a combined VGM Score as well. The idea behind the style scores is to help investors pick the most appropriate Zacks Rank stocks based on their individual investment style. Boeing has a Value Score of D. The stock's Growth and Momentum Scores are B and B, respectively, giving the company a VGM Score of B. In terms of its value breakdown, the stock currently trades at 20.8X current fiscal year EPS estimates. On a trailing cash flow basis, the stock currently trades at 20.6X versus its peer group's average of 12.6X. Additionally, the stock has a PEG ratio of 1.52. This isn't enough to put the company in the top echelon of all stocks we cover from a value perspective. Story continues Zacks Rank We also need to look at the Zacks Rank for the stock, as this supersedes any trend on the style score front. Fortunately, Boeing currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) thanks to rising earnings estimates. Since we recommend that investors select stocks carrying Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and Style Scores of A or B, it looks as if Boeing meets the list of requirements. Thus, it seems as though Boeing shares could still be poised for more gains ahead. 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 The Boeing Company (BA) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research For one High Point exhibitor, a soon-to-launch design collaboration is poised to add global influenceand a bit of buzzto the program of this biannual trade show. At the spring market, A.R.T. Furniture, a division of Markor, will debut a collection by Bobby Berk featuring some 70 products for the living room, bedroom, dining room, and outdoors. The partnership marks the first time A.R.T. is working with an outside designer. You may recognize Berk for his impressively speedy home makeovers on the heartwarming Netflix show Queer Eye. A.R.T., too, is a fan. We recognized very early that Bobby Berk has a sense of style and personal touch with people through his show, says Doug Rozenboom, A.R.T.'s senior vice president of merchandising and marketing. Berks skyrocketing celebrity doesnt hurt, either. Since Queer Eye is shown in almost 200 countries, the brand exposure and outreach are immense, he says. That international appeal is particularly desirable for the Ontario, Californiabased brand, which in addition to its domestic presence has over 150 branded retail locations throughout China. We definitely see the opportunity to expand not only in the U.S. but also in the burgeoning China home decor market, Rozenboom says. Though A.R.T.s selection includes traditional styles, Berks collection skews modern. I wanted to create something that was infused with elements of Art Deco and midcentury modern while keeping things inviting and comfortable, he says. An interior designer with an L.A. practice, Berk created items that speak to his own sourcing needs. From minimalist modern to rustic traditional, I wanted to develop something that would work with whatever style Im designing in and for a wide range of clients. Warm materials like black walnut veneers and brass-plated metals pair with tactile upholsteries in velvet and vegan leather, while eye-catching detailssuch as the woven cane panels seen on the Bauer cabinet and Moller chairadd an on-trend touch. The sizing of the pieces deliberately falls on the smaller side. The designs focus on a more human product scale that is greatly needed in the marketplace, Rozenboom says. It allows for more items to fit in room settings without being overwhelming, which helps new buyers make decisions quickly and more efficiently. The collection will be available to the trade in April following its debut at Markors new building at 122A N. Hamilton Street, High Point, North Carolina. bitcoin blacklist us treasury In a discussion about the US Treasury Department Office of Foreign Asset Controls addition of cryptocurrency addresses to the no pay list, Bitcoin speaker and celebrity Andreas Antonopoulos called the move completely useless and fundamentally fascist. US Treasury Blackballs Bitcoin, Petro Addresses US treasury bitcoin blacklist The US Treasury has blacklisted a variety of crypto addresses. | Source: Shutterstock Not just Iranian Bitcoin addresses have been added to OFACs list, but several other blockchains as well, including the Petro. OFACs database is not searchable by address, which led the Lets Talk Bitcoin host to suggest that it should somehow be fed into crypto nodes so that wallets can automatically warn users. Antonopoulos pointed out that a typical Bitcoin user can generate infinite addresses and use them. Blocking one address just leads to the creation of another. Specifically, the author of Mastering Bitcoin said: Read the full story on CCN.com. SAN DIEGO (AP) Construction has begun on the fifth border wall project of Donald Trump's presidency, replacing up to 14 miles (22 kilometers) of barrier in San Diego, authorities said Tuesday. The first panels are in place to replace a steel-mesh fence with 30-foot- (9-meter-) high steel bollards, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. SLSCO Ltd. of Galveston, Texas, was awarded a $101 million contract in December, with options for an additional $30 million. The bollards replace a second layer of barrier that worked like a fortress when it was built about a decade ago but is now often breached with powerful battery-operated saws sold in home improvement stores. Work on replacing a first layer of San Diego barrier is nearly complete, also 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) long and made of steel bollards up to 30-feet (9-meters) high. The old fence, built in the early 1990s, was made of corrugated steel matting used by the military as temporary runways. The state of California and major environmental groups sued, unsuccessfully, over wall projects in the state, saying the administration overreached when it waived environmental reviews to speed construction. Last week, a federal appeals court upheld a judge's decision siding with the president. The latest groundbreaking came three days after Trump declared a national emergency to build his proposed border wall with Mexico. The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday filed the fourth legal challenge to the emergency declaration. Trump inherited barriers covering about one-third of the border. His administration has awarded $1 billion in contracts to cover 97 miles (155 kilometers), the vast majority of it to replace existing barriers. Work on his first extension is scheduled to begin later this month 14 miles in Texas' Rio Grande Valley. Complaint filed to probe properties of tainted anti-graft official and his associates Investigation into Raj Narayan Pathak, who resigned as a commissioner of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority after he was embroiled in a bribery scandal, could reel out more names, as a complaint against at least eight sitting and former government employees has been filed at the anti-graft agency for working in collusion with the tainted official. Montreal (AFP) - Canadian miner Barrick Gold said Friday it is weighing a mammoth bid for American rival Newmont to reclaim its dominance in the gold sector. In a statement, the company said it had "reviewed the opportunity to merge with Newmont Mining Corporation" but added that "no decision" had been made yet. Newmont has not commented on the proposed transaction. If it goes ahead, the US$19 billion hostile takeover would top the previous record deal, set only last month after years of waning investor interest due to lackluster bullion prices. The industry has been consolidating as gold mines around the world get depleted, driving up costs and encouraging companies to come together in mergers and alliances. In January, Colorado-based Newmont announced a US$10 billion stock deal for another Canadian mining company, Vancouver-based Goldcorp, in a move to leapfrog Barrick as top gold miner. That acquisition -- which is expected to close in the second quarter -- came only three months after Barrick agreed to buy Britain's Randgold Resources in a US$5.4 billion deal. But unlike past waves of mergers and acquisitions in the sector that saw big premiums being offered that turned out to be disastrous and burdened buyers with huge debts, Barrick lowered the bar in the Randgold deal. - Gold crown - Barrick and Newmont had flirted with the idea of merging five years ago, but talks fell apart over who would lead the combined firm and where to locate its headquarters -- Toronto or Denver. Barrick's renewed interest in its rival shows it does not want to cede its gold crown. But observers said its offer of a one-for-one share exchange at no premium may have to be sweetened to entice Newmont shareholders. It could also complicate Newmont's purchase of Goldcorp or even scuttle the deal, which would put Barrick on the hook for a huge break fee payable to Goldcorp. Under the terms, Barrick would reportedly keep the bulk of Newmont's assets including mines in Nevada and Africa, while its Autralian assets would be sold to Newcrest Mining or another buyer, according to unnamed sources cited by the Globe and Mail newspaper. Story continues Newcrest, which is largely focused on the Pacific Rim, had itself walked away from talks to merge with Goldcorp last year. But it is said to be looking for new buying opportunities. The Barrick-Newmont tie-up -- which had long eluded Barrick's late founder and chairman Peter Munk -- would produce more than 10 million ounces of gold a year, according to an estimate by BMO Capital Markets. The two companies have adjoining assets in Nevada and Newmont already has a stake in Barrick's Turquoise Ridge Mine in the US state. Their combined market capitalization, meanwhile, would top US$40 billion. In early afternoon trading Friday, Barrick stock fell slightly to US$13.16 in New York, while Newmont shares rose more than three percent to US$36.52. Vienna (AFP) - An Austrian farmer has been ordered to pay 490,000 euros ($555,000) in compensation to the widower of a woman who was trampled to death by a herd of his cows in 2014. A court in Innsbruck issued its ruling on Thursday in a civil lawsuit brought by the woman's husband and son, public broadcaster ORF reported. The farmer is to appeal, it added. The incident took place on July 28, 2014, when the 45-year-old German holidaymaker was hiking with her dog in the Pinnistal valley of the Austrian Alps in Tyrol. The cows suddenly surrounded her and trampled her. Despite attempts to resuscitate the woman, she died of her injuries at the scene. Her husband and son had accused the farmer of negligence, while the farmer insisted that he had put up warning signs on the pasture. The court ruled that the signs were not enough and that the grazing land should have been fenced off. The ruling angered Tyrol's farmers who sees it as a threat to their livelihood in the mountainous region which is a popular tourist attraction. The Tyrolean Chamber of Agriculture slammed the decision as being "out of touch with reality". "The ruling is generating a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty among farmers, who are faced with the question of whether they should allow their cows to graze, or whether they should close off the pastures completely," said the chamber's president Josef Hechenberger. Regional politicians were also critical. "However tragic the case may be, the court's decision is not comprehensible," complained Tyrol's regional governor Guenther Platter. The farmers' association and the local chamber of commerce similarly warned of "fatal consequences" for the sector. SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian man who drove a car into dozens of pedestrians on a busy shopping street in central Melbourne in 2017, killing six, has been jailed for life with a minimum non-parole period of 46 years, the Victorian state Supreme Court said on Friday. James Gargasoulas, 29, was handed a life sentence for each of the murders, whose victims included a baby and a 10-year-old girl. "This was one of the worst examples of mass murder in Australian history," Justice Mark Weinberg told Gargasoulas at the sentencing hearing in Melbourne. "The horror of what you did has profoundly affected the lives of many of those who were present that day in Bourke Street, and who either witnessed your actions, or their aftermath." At the time, police said the incident was not terror related and the driver had a criminal history that included domestic violence charges. He had also been experiencing drug-induced delusions. The incident was one of Australia's worst mass killings since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre on the southern island state of Tasmania, in which 35 people were gunned down. (Reporting by Paulina Duran in SYDNEY; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) By Melanie Burton MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia needs to capture as much of the 'booming' coal market as possible, a government minister said on Thursday, a day after major producer Glencore said it would curtail further coal output expansions to limit climate change. Glencore, which produces around one-fifth of Australia's coal, said that it would limit its total coal capacity to current levels of around 145 million tonnes to support a global transition into a low carbon economy and limit increasing the risks from climate change. The call occurred as Reuters reported on Thursday that the Chinese port of Dalian has placed an indefinite ban on Australian coal shipments, which sent the Australian currency lower. Coal is expected to displace iron ore as Australia's biggest commodity export earner this financial year, with exports of coking and thermal coal expected to top $67 billion, according to Department of Industry figures. Commodities account for more than half of Australia's export revenue. "What I would like to see is that Australian mining companies and Australian jobs capture as much of the world coal market as possible," Resources Minister Matt Canavan told media. "And that market is booming," he said. Australian thermal coal prices for export from the Newcastle terminal have dropped by about one-quarter since the middle of 2018 to just under $90 a tonne and are holding above their record low of about $80 in 2016. Canavan said that Glencore's move to cap production was self-serving. "Call me cynical, but I think the announcement overnight appears to be much more to do with the self-interest of Glencore then the planetary interest of trying to save the climate," he said. Canavan's comments run counter to growing concern among Australians about coal's contribution to global warming and also to a trend by large Western banks and investment houses to reduce their exposure to fossil fuels. On Feb. 8, an judge in New South Wales ruled against the development of the Rocky Hill coal mine, partly on environmental grounds tied to emissions and climate change. Story continues Canavan is a member of the ruling Liberal-National coalition government, which faces a national election by May and polls show the group is trailing the opposition Labor party. Australia is the world's largest exporter of metallurgical coal, used in steel making, accounting for around 17 percent of global supply. It is the world's second-largest exporter of thermal coal, after Indonesia, accounting for 20 percent of the seaborne market. A Glencore spokesman noted that "Glencore is a significant coal producer in Australia and a major contributor to the economy, local and regional communities." "Glencore will continue to produce coal and has no intention to divest its global coal portfolio. We will also continue to invest in projects that add value to our business and align with the announced coal production cap." (Reporting by Melanie Burton; editing by Christian Schmollinger) Sydney (AFP) - China and Australia on Friday denied reports Australian coal was being blocked from entering the Asian country, with Canberra seeking to quell fears that worsening diplomatic tensions are damaging the nations' crucial trading relationship. Industry experts have noted recently that China appeared to be delaying customs clearances for Australian coking coal used in steel-making, but a report late Thursday that ports in the northern city of Dalian had banned the shipments sent the Aussie dollar plunging. China is Australia's biggest trading partner and coal is the resource-rich country's most valuable export. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said reports of a ban in Dalian were "false". "Chinese ports are receiving coal import declarations from all countries including Australia," Geng said at a regular briefing. The spokesman said Chinese customs have stepped up efforts to analyse and monitor the quality and safety of imported coal in recent years because the product sometimes fails to meet environmental standards. "The purpose is to better safeguard Chinese importers' rights and interests and better protect the environment," Geng said. Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said there was "no basis to believe that there is a ban" on Australian imports. "We believe and understand that these are simple import quotas, consistent with what China has applied before and continues to apply and apply equally to all countries," Birmingham told reporters. "This is not the first occasion where Australian coal exports to China have slowed in terms of the pace at which they are processed or assessed and let into the country... It is unlikely and unhelpful to try to conflate other unrelated issues." He added that officials were seeking reassurances from Beijing that Australia was not the only country being targeted. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said earlier that regulatory rather than political issues were at play and stressed there was "no evidence" any hold-up of imports was related to other issues between the two nations. Story continues There has been speculation about whether the delays have been about addressing domestic pressures, or retribution over Canberra's decision to ban Chinese communications giant Huawei's 5G equipment over security risks. Canberra and Beijing have sparred diplomatically in recent months over the 5G ban, China's growing drive to increase its influence in the Pacific and the expulsion of a Chinese billionaire who donated to local political parties. - 'Knee-jerk headlines' - Australian central bank governor Philip Lowe said Friday it would be "concerning" if the diplomatic spats were spilling into the trading arena, but added that it would be prudent to "wait and see" what the motivations were behind the Chinese actions. Lowe, echoing analysts, said it was also important to note that the current amount of coal reportedly blocked by Dalian was small. Coal shipped from Australia to Dalian accounts for about 10 percent of Australia's exports of the commodity to China, and only two percent of overall exports. Westpac senior currency strategist Sean Callow told AFP that while the Australian dollar dropped one percent to 70.90 US cents following the initial reports Thursday, the market was calmer early Friday. "Those knee-jerk headlines of 'Australia's number-one export destination has a ban on Australia's number-one export' were enough to knock the Aussie lower," Callow said. WASHINGTON Fox News host Tucker Carlson used a portion of his show on Wednesday to address a now-viral video showing him cursing at a guest and calling him a moron during a segment that never aired. While admitting the profanity-laced comments were "rude," Carlson said they were "accurate" and added: "It was genuinely heartfelt. I meant it with total sincerity." The video was published by NowThis News Wednesday afternoon and within eight hours had been viewed more than 3.5 million times on Twitter. It appears to have been secretly recorded by Dutch historian Rutger Bregman or someone who was present for his interview with Carlson earlier this month. Bregman was invited on the network after he appeared on a panel during the worldwide economic conference in Davos and said to the crowd of elites that the rich should pay more in taxes. After talking about tax policy, Carlson and Bregman's conversation took a sharp turn and things got heated. Bregman argued that most people believe that the rich should be taxed more and the only reason that issue wasn't highlighted more on Fox News was because the network, and its anchors, were "bought by the billionaire class." Bregman accused Carlson of taking "their dirty money" and called him a "millionaire funded by billionaires." He said Fox News and Carlson's show was "part of the problem." This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Carlson replied with profanities. "Why don't you go f--- yourself, you tiny brain," Carlson said. "I hope this gets picked up because you're a moron. I tried to give you a hearing, but you were too f---ing annoying." During Carlson show on Wednesday, he said admitted the profanity-laced replies to Bregman weren't in good taste. "I did what I try hard never to do on this show and I was rude," Carlson said. "I called him a moron and then I modified that word with a vulgar Anglo-Saxon term that is also intelligible in Dutch." Story continues He continued: "In my defense, I would say that that was entirely accurate but you're not allowed to use that word on television," adding that was why the segment did not air. "It was genuinely heartfelt," Carlson said. "I meant it with total sincerity." He said he lashed, in part, because the accusations that his show and Fox News were guided blindly by billionaires. "Whatever my faults or those of this channel, nobody in management has ever told us what positions to take on the air," Carlson said. "Never. Not one time. We have total freedom here and we're grateful for that." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'It was genuinely heartfelt': Tucker Carlson curses at guest during tax discussion Longtime Donald Trump ally was spared prison for posting an Instagram picture lambasting Judge Amy Berman Jackson Roger Stone, the former campaign adviser for Donald Trump, leaves federal court Thursday. Photograph: Jose Luis Magana/AP His swagger gone and his humiliation complete, political operative Roger Stone took the witness stand on Thursday to deliver an abject apology for attacking the judge in his case on social media only to be told it rings quite hollow and warned he could have incited violence by his supporters. The longtime confidant of Donald Trump was spared prison for posting an Instagram picture lambasting Judge Amy Berman Jackson but he was slapped with an expanded gagging order that prevents him speaking publicly about his ongoing criminal case. The courtroom rebuke was a humbling moment for the self-proclaimed dirty trickster, notorious for his love of cigars, shades and tailor-made suits, and whose public appearances usually consist of bravado and Richard Nixon-style victory salutes. On Instagram he had posted a picture of Jackson next to an image that appeared to show the crosshairs of a gun, with a caption that described her as an Obama-appointed judge who dismissed the Benghazi charges against Hillary Clinton. Stone, 66, was found to have abused a previous gag order imposed following charges against him in the justice departments investigation into Russian election interference. Wearing a grey suit with handkerchief in the top left pocket and a blue tie, Stone walked steadily to the witness stand in the packed courtroom at the United States district court for the District of Columbia in Washington. I believe I abused the order, for which I am heartfully sorry, he said. I am kicking myself for my own stupidity, but not more than my wife is kicking me. Stone suggested the rash act was an outgrowth of extreme stress, saying he was struggling to pay rent and, while he was seasoned in political combat, this was the first time in his life he had faced criminal charges. I now have television commentators talking about the likelihood I will be raped in prison, he said, in an apparent play for sympathy that fell on deaf ears. Story continues Unmoved, Judge Jackson demanded: How hard was it to come up with a photo that didnt have the crosshairs in the corner? Stone claimed the image had been sent to him by one of his volunteers and he posted it on Instagram without thinking. I didnt even notice it until it was brought to my attention by a reporter. He did not believe the symbol shows crosshairs, he insisted. Its a Celtic occult symbol, he said. Pressed for details, he said: Im not into the occult. Despite his dramatic fall, Stone remained a forceful presence, breathing heavily into the microphone and sometimes speaking over the judge to get his point across. Let me finish my question! she snapped at one point. Jackson grilled him over a series of media interviews in which he appeared to defend the post and criticize her and the special counsel, Robert Mueller. He sought to explain: I felt the media was falsely saying that I was posing a danger, which was not my intention. This was not a crosshairs, in my opinion, and I did not wish to be blamed for something that was not my intention. Government prosecutor Jonathan Kravis pressed Stone on the names of his volunteers and which of them had sent the image to him. The defendant could not come up with a satisfactory answer, saying he could not remember their identities. After Stone had returned to a seat with his legal team, Jackson delivered a withering decision. Mr Stone could not even keep his story straight on the stand, she said. His Instagram post had a sinister message that could incite supporters to turn violent, she continued, observing that the defendant is an expert in communications. Roger Stone fully understands the power of words and the power of symbols and theres nothing ambiguous about crosshairs. While he had taken the post down, she added, In the media theres no such thing as a take back. Jackson summed up: Thank you, but the apology rings quite hollow So no, Mr Stone, Im not giving you another chance. She imposed a full gagging order that prevents Stone making any statements about the case, including press releases, press conferences and social media posts, although he can still solicit donations to his personal defence fund. Any violation, she warned, could result in his bond being revoked and detention. Stone has pleaded not guilty to lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering related to discussions he had during the 2016 election about WikiLeaks. Since his arrest in January, he has been free on a $250,000 bond with court permission to travel to certain American cities. With Thursdays decision, he is denied the limelight he has built a career craving. The French president has pledged to crack down on anti-Semitism - REUTERS France is to recognise anti-Zionism, the denial of the state of Israel, as a form of anti-Semitism in response to a surge in acts against Jews not seen since the Second World War. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, also promised new legislation in May to fight hate speech on the Internet, which could see platforms such as Facebook and Twitter fined for every minute they fail to take down racist or violent content. Speaking at the annual meeting of Frances largest Jewish organization, CRIF, Mr Macron said that France and other countries in Europe had recently witnessed "a resurgence of anti-Semitism that is probably unprecedented since World War II. We have denounced it a lot, adopted plans, passed laws sometimes. But we havent been able to act efficiently, he said. While stopping short of calling for new legislation, the President said the working definition of anti-Semitism drawn up by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance would help guide police forces, magistrates and teachers in their daily work. That definition stipulates that anti-Semitism can take the form of "denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour. "Anti-Zionism is one of the modern forms of anti-Semitism, said Mr Macron. "Behind the negation of Israel's existence, what is hiding is the hatred of Jews. Such guidelines in no way infringed on peoples right to criticise to the Israeli government and its policies, he said. Mr Macron also said that his party would introduce a bill in parliament in May to force social media to withdraw hate speech posted online and use all available means to identify the authors "as quickly as possible. Digital minister Mounir Mahjoubi said: There will be an obligation for results: if the content is not taken down then there will be a fine, and a large fine, Mr Mahjoubi told France Info radio. Each minute that content remains online, it increases the harm to society. Twenty-four hours is far too long. Story continues Anti-Semitic acts surged by 74 per cent last year in France, according to government figures Credit: Getty Images Europe France has been pressuring Internet companies to better regulate their content ever since a series of terror attacks starting in 2015. The recent yellow vest protests have largely been orchestrated online. Many postings have included links to anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant and anti-vaccine messages, as well as a string of conspiracy theories. Mr Macrons speech came a day after thousands attended rallies across France to denounce a rise in anti-Semitic acts and in a week in which almost 100 gravestones spray-painted with swastikas were discovered in a Jewish village cemetery in eastern France. The number of anti-Semitic incidents rose last year by 74 per cent from 311 in 2017 to 541, the government announced last week. Nayak Paudel is a crime reporter for The Kathmandu Post. Since joining the Post in 2018, he has also written on health issues. American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) came out with quarterly funds from operations (FFO) of $0.28 per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. This compares to FFO of $0.26 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. A quarter ago, it was expected that this real estate company would post FFO of $0.27 per share when it actually produced FFO of $0.27, delivering no surprise. Over the last four quarters, the company has not been able to surpass consensus FFO estimates. American Homes 4 Rent, which belongs to the Zacks REIT and Equity Trust - Residential industry, posted revenues of $270.32 million for the quarter ended December 2018, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.68%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $242.80 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future FFO expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. American Homes 4 Rent shares have added about 14.3% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 11.1%. What's Next for American Homes 4 Rent? While American Homes 4 Rent has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's FFO outlook. Not only does this include current consensus FFO expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of estimate revisions. Story continues Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for American Homes 4 Rent was unfavorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to underperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus FFO estimate is $0.28 on $279.28 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $1.17 on $1.14 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, REIT and Equity Trust - Residential is currently in the bottom 17% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. 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 American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Amazon AMZN is leaving no stone unturned to bolster presence further in the global e-commerce market on the back of its strategic moves and deepening focus on developing nations. Reportedly, the company is looking for ways to strengthen its Chinese business unit in order to make the most of the worlds second largest economy. In fact, Amazon is discussing terms about merging its China business with Kaola, a Chinese e-commerce firm owned by NetEase NTES. Notably, Kaola sells apparel, household appliances and other products which are imported from overseas manufacturers. China Holds Promise Amazons strategic initiatives will aid it in capitalizing on Chinas growth prospects. Notably, the online retail market of the country is witnessing a boom on account of increasing penetration of internet and mobile use. Further, positive trends in the Chinese economy like mobile-first consumer behavior, rising social commerce adoption and growing digital payments are likely to continue bolstering the e-commerce sales in the near term as well as in the long haul. Per a report from Forrester, the countrys online retail market is anticipated to reach $1.8 trillion by 2022. Further, sales in this market is expected to witness a CAGR of 8.5% between 2018 and 2022. Further, an eMarketers report shows that China is anticipated to contribute 56% of the global online retail sales in 2019 which is expected to cross 63% by 2022. We believe, with the latest merger plan, Amazon will be able to rapidly penetrate this potential market. This will aid in driving the companys top line and profit generation in the future. Amazon.com, Inc. Revenue (TTM) Go to Landing Page Amazon.com, Inc. Revenue (TTM) | Amazon.com, Inc. Quote Competition to Intensify Amazon continues to be the dominant player in the global e-commerce space on the back of its robust retail strategies and distribution strength. However, its market hold is limited in China owing to the presence of Alibaba BABA and JD.Com JD. Both the Chinese e-commerce companies are strong players in the countrys online retail market. However, Amazon by merging with Kaola, which is considered to be the biggest Chinese shopping site, might be able compete better. If the merger initiative is successful, Amazons exposure in Chinas online retail space is likely to expand which in turn will strengthen its market position. This along with the companys robust e-commerce platform and its expanding product collections and availability might intensify the market competition. Currently, Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Wall Streets Next Amazon Zacks EVP Kevin Matras believes this familiar stock has only just begun its climb to become one of the greatest investments of all time. Its a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in pure genius. Click for details >> 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 JD.com, Inc. (JD) : Free Stock Analysis Report Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report NetEase, Inc. (NTES) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump said on Friday Amazon's abandonment of plans for a headquarters in New York marked a "big loss" for the US financial capital. The Long Island City neighborhood was one of two locations the online retail giant selected last year after a long search for a second base, or "HQ2." Amazon had promised the sprawling complex in the borough of Queens would create 25,000 jobs in exchange for nearly $3 billion in state and city incentives. But it withdrew the plans last week, blaming opposition from community leaders angry at the huge subsidies being offered to one of the world's most successful companies. "I think it's a big loss," New York real estate mogul Trump said. "I think if you look at the deal, the deal was not a great deal from the standpoint of they could have made a better deal than that, a much better deal, but still it's a loss to New York City." It marked a rare concession from the president, who has been a highly vocal critic of Amazon and its CEO Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post. Trump has repeatedly accused the Post of lobbying for the company -- and claims the US Postal Service loses "billions of dollars" delivering Amazon packages. RIMINI, Mont. (AP) Every day many millions of gallons of water loaded with arsenic, lead and other toxic metals flow from some of the most contaminated mining sites in the U.S. and into surrounding streams and ponds without being treated, The Associated Press has found. That torrent is poisoning aquatic life and tainting water supplies in Montana, California, Colorado, Oklahoma and at least five other states. The pollution is a legacy of how the mining industry was allowed to operate in the U.S. for more than a century. Companies that built mines for silver, lead, gold and other "hardrock" minerals could move on once they were no longer profitable, leaving behind tainted water that still leaks out of the mines or is cleaned up at taxpayer expense. Using data from public records requests and independent researchers, the AP examined 43 mining sites under federal oversight, some containing dozens or even hundreds of individual mines. The records show that at average flows, more than 50 million gallons (189 million liters) of contaminated wastewater streams daily from the sites. In many cases, it runs untreated into nearby groundwater, rivers and ponds a roughly 20-million-gallon (76-million-liter) daily dose of pollution that could fill more than 2,000 tanker trucks. The remainder of the waste is captured or treated in a costly effort that will need to carry on indefinitely, for perhaps thousands of years, often with little hope for reimbursement. The volumes vastly exceed the release from Colorado's Gold King Mine disaster in 2015, when a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cleanup crew inadvertently triggered the release of 3 million gallons (11.4 million liters) of mustard-colored mine sludge, fouling rivers in three states. At many mines, the pollution has continued decades after their enlistment in the federal Superfund cleanup program for the nation's most hazardous sites, which faces sharp cuts under President Donald Trump. Story continues Federal officials have raised fears that at least six of the sites examined by AP could have blowouts like the one at Gold King. Some sites feature massive piles or impoundments of mine waste known as tailings. A tailings dam collapse in Brazil last month killed at least 169 people and left 140 missing. A similar 2014 accident in British Columbia swept millions of cubic yards of contaminated mud into a nearby lake, resulting in one of Canada's worst environmental disasters. But even short of a calamitous accident, many mines pose the chronic problem of relentless pollution. AP also found mining sites where untreated water harms the environment or threatens drinking water supplies in North and South Carolina, Vermont, Missouri and Oregon. TAINTED WELLS In mountains outside the Montana capital of Helena, about 30 households can't drink their tap water because groundwater was polluted by about 150 abandoned gold, lead and copper mines that operated from the 1870s until 1953. The community of Rimini was added to the Superfund list in 1999. Contaminated soil in residents' yards was replaced, and the EPA has provided bottled water for a decade. But polluted water still pours from the mines and into Upper Tenmile Creek. "The fact that bottled water is provided is great," said 30-year Rimini resident Catherine Maynard, a natural resources analyst for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "Where it falls short is it's not piped into our home. Water that's piped into our home is still contaminated water. Washing dishes and bathing that metal-laden water is still running through our pipes." Estimates of the number of such abandoned mine sites range from 161,000 in 12 western states to as many as 500,000 nationwide. At least 33,000 have degraded the environment, according to the Government Accountability Office, and thousands more are discovered every year. Officials have yet to complete work including basic risk analyses on about 80 percent of abandoned mining sites on federal lands. Most are controlled by the Bureau of Land Management, which under Trump is seeking to consolidate mine cleanups with another program and cut their combined 2019 spending from $35 million to $13 million. PERPETUAL POLLUTION Problems at some sites are intractable. Among them: In eastern Oklahoma's Tar Creek mining district, waterways are devoid of life and elevated lead levels persist in the blood of children despite a two-decade effort to clean up lead and zinc mines. More than $300 million has been committed since 1983, but only a small fraction of the impacted land has been reclaimed and contaminated water continues to flow. At northern California's Iron Mountain Mine, cleanup teams battle to contain highly acidic water that percolates through a former copper and zinc mine and drains into a Sacramento River tributary. The mine discharged six tons of toxic sludge daily before an EPA cleanup. Authorities now spend $5 million a year to remove poisonous sludge that had caused massive fish kills, and they expect to keep at it forever. In Colorado's San Juan Mountains, site of the Gold King blowout, some 400 abandoned or inactive mine sites contribute an estimated 15 million gallons (57 million liters) of acid mine drainage per day. AP also found mining sites where untreated water harms the environment or threatens drinking water supplies in North and South Carolina, Vermont, Missouri and Oregon. This landscape of polluted sites occurred under mining industry rules largely unchanged since the 1872 Mining Act. State and federal laws in recent decades have held companies more accountable than in the past, but critics say huge loopholes all but ensure that some of today's mines will foul waterways or require perpetual cleanups. To avoid a catastrophe like Gold King, EPA officials now require advance approval for work on many mining sites. But they acknowledge they're only dealing with a small portion of the problem. "We have been trying to play a very careful game of prioritization," said Dana Stalcup, deputy director of the Superfund program. "We know the Superfund program is not the answer to the hundreds of thousands of mines out there, but the mines we are working on we want to do them the best we can." The 43 sites examined by AP are mining locations for which officials and researchers have reliable estimates of polluted water releases. Officials said flow rates at the sites vary. Average flows were unavailable for nine sites that only had high and low estimates of how much polluted water flowed out. For those sites, the AP used the lower estimates for its analysis. QUESTIONS OVER WHO SHOULD PAY To date, the EPA has spent an estimated $4 billion on mining cleanups. Under Trump, the agency has identified a small number of Superfund sites for heightened attention after cleanup efforts stalled or dragged on for years. They include five mining sites examined by AP. Former EPA assistant administrator Mathy Stanislaus said more money is needed to address mining pollution on a systematic basis, rather than jumping from one emergency response to another. "The piecemeal approach is just not working," said Stanislaus, who oversaw the Superfund program for almost eight years ending in 2017. Democrats have sought unsuccessfully to create a special cleanup fund for old hardrock mine sites, with fees paid by the mining industry. Such a fund has been in place for coal mines since 1977, with more than $11 billion in fees collected and hundreds of sites reclaimed. The mining industry has resisted doing the same for hardrock mines, and Republicans in Congress have blocked the Democratic proposals. Montana Mining Association director Tammy Johnson acknowledged abandoned mines have left a legacy of pollution, but added that companies still in operation should not be forced to pay for those problems. "Back in the day there really wasn't a lot known about acid mine drainage," she said. "I just don't think that today's companies bear the responsibility." In 2017, the EPA proposed requiring companies still operating mines to post cleanup bonds or offer other financial assurances so taxpayers don't end up footing cleanup bills. The Trump administration halted the rule , but environmental groups are scheduled to appear in federal court next month in a lawsuit that seeks to revive it. "When something gets on a Superfund site, that doesn't mean it instantly and magically gets cleaned up," said Earthjustice attorney Amanda Goodin. "Having money immediately available from a responsible party would be a game changer." ___ Follow Matthew Brown at https://twitter.com/matthewbrownap Walmart (NYSE: WMT) just closed the books on a fiscal year that included several impressive operating wins. In particular, the world's biggest retailer notched its best growth rate at home in almost a decade thanks to market-share wins in areas like groceries and a booming e-commerce business. However, in a conference call with investors, the management team's comments implied that Walmart is closer to the beginning of its transformation than it is to the end. "We fully expect the pace of change to accelerate in the next five years versus the last five years," CEO Doug McMillon told analysts. Below are a few of the biggest upcoming challenges the company wants investors to know about. Integrating the sales channels Following this past year's 40% spike, Walmart's e-commerce business has now doubled in just two years. Major improvements in 2019 included adding thousands of additional products to its inventory and cutting shipping times. Grocery pickup and delivery was a major priority, too, as pickup availability spread to 2,100 stores and delivery offerings reached 800. A man shops for groceries. Image source: Getty Images. Walmart intends to only accelerate investments here. It aims to cross 3,100 pickup locations by the end of the new fiscal year while doubling the grocery delivery points. This initiative will contribute to the company's planned $11 billion of capital spending in fiscal 2020, but executives say the investments are essential to long-term growth. "We see the future as a frictionless experience across stores and e-commerce, but we have more work to do as customers raise their expectations, competition persists, and the omnichannel retail story continues to evolve," McMillon said. Making e-commerce profitable Walmart's earnings results weren't especially robust, with consolidated gross and operating profit margins both declining for the year. In the core U.S. business, the chain's 2.3% operating income boost trailed the 4.1% growth in sales. Story continues Executives didn't mince words on the subject, saying "we need to make more progress to improve profitability." Part of that improvement will come as the sales base expands over a more fixed cost profile. But Walmart buyers are also working with "a great sense of urgency" to increase sales in more-profitable product niches like home goods and apparel, CFO Brett Biggs explained. In any case, "we expect our losses in e-commerce to increase [in fiscal 2020]," Biggs said, "reflecting investments in infrastructure, people, [and] online grocery." Stocking up inventory Walmart credits much of its growth rebound to the company's ability to raise the bar on product quality lately. Better fresh and perishable food has driven market-share gains against rivals like Kroger, for example, and the chain is also winning with its massive private-brand program. Executives aim to press their advantage here in the year ahead with help from partnerships with brands like Lord & Taylor and Advance Auto Parts. These successes should translate directly into improvements in the shopping experience, leading to higher shopper satisfaction. "Having a great store or site," McMillon said, "starts with having great merchandise." The good news is that, while economic tailwinds provided a big assist, Walmart showed this year that it can generate solid returns even as it transitions into the world of multichannel retailing. Investors have to balance that success against the fact that the chain's challenges could get even harder in fiscal 2020 and beyond. Summarizing their results, executives said they were pleased with what they accomplished last year, "but not satisfied." The fact that the stock has trailed the market by a wide margin over the past decade suggests investors are on the same page. More From The Motley Fool Demitrios Kalogeropoulos has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This Rare Disease Day, thousands across the globe will gather to raise awareness for over 7,000 rare diseases. According to Global Genes, one of the leading rare disease non-profits supporting patients and families, approximately one in 10 lives with a rare condition, but only 5 percent of those with rare conditions have any available treatment and/or cure. Most awareness for the 350 million people affected by rare disease is targeted at drug development and racing to find cures. On the other end, its important to recognize what living with rare looks like on a day-to-day basis. Many have their schedules filled with doctors appointments, needing to take time off to see a slew of endless specialists oftentimes requiring lengthy drives or plane rides. Some deal with flare-ups and constant levels of pain. Yes, people affected by rare disease are indeed warriors who fight to get what they need, but at the crux of it all, they are extremely human, trying to fulfill their hopes and dreams, and maintain their quality of life. Related: 6 'Universal' Experiences Parents of Rare Zebras Go Through The stresses of living with or caring for someone with a rare condition can undoubtedly become difficult to manage, which is why The Mighty and Global Genes asked our communities, Whats one small but significant thing you do as a patient or caregiver that helps make life with rare disease easier? Heres what they told us: Celebrate the small milestones and victories. I was one proud mama when my daughter started using a straw or when she finally put her feet down when she was 2. Every little improvement is celebrated. Tracie CG. We search for doctors who encourage quality of life. We had a whole team of physicians at a major California teaching hospital literally give up because they didnt know what to do. They left my daughter in bed on palliative care. Now we have a new team and new life. Robin C. Dont compare, or at least try your hardest not to. Kristen B. Self-care in general, and nurturing myself the best I can. My disease can be irritated by stress. Trying to relax and carve out me time every day, as well as relying on my faith to help lessen my stress levels helps. Crystal R. Take it one day at a time and celebrate every little inch-stone. As endless as it might seem, believe that a few good days will eventually follow the bad ones! Divya R. Always live in the moment and cherish every little milestone no matter how small it is. Melissa S. You cant be perfect. Sometimes the things that arent good for your health, improve quality of life. For example, I love my morning coffee even if it can cause problems. Life needs to be worth living. Alex B. I order my meds and treatment seven to 10 days in advance. Many times my specialty drugs that give me quality of life take more time to come on time because of pre-authorization and insurance challenges throughout each new year. Rebekah P. Forgiving myself when Im unable to do things I used to be able to do easily. Maddi L. I have a book with all my conditions and the doctors who follow me for each condition. The book has their contact information along with the key facts and key concerns. This has made ER trips run much smoother. Susan D. I let myself be a little lazy. Since I get really bad fatigue and injure easily, I make a point to only tackle things that I know I can handle. I dont deny any help that Im offered, and I make sure to take it easy and rest whenever I can. Id rather be a little bit lazy and have a good day than overwork myself and have several bad days as a result. Rachel C. Having that one person whos constantly there for you and will drop everything is so important someone who may not understand, but believes you. Heather B. Make sure you carve out some time for yourself. Caregiver burnout is a very real and exhausting thing. You cant care for anyone else in a healthy manner unless you are also making time to care for yourself. Ashley C. Be there to fully listen to your loved one that you care for. Rebecca E. Listening to music makes me feel better, even if I feel so tired from the pain. Music makes me happy makes me feel alive. Sofia M. I keep notes saved in my phone. Then, its always with me. I can quickly e-mail it or text important information to a friend or provider. Emily F. I like to educate and encourage questions about our rare disease. @SwabtoSave I try to not get angry that I have to sometimes spend a couple weeks resting on the couch. Its extremely difficult, but its easier to get through if I dont beat myself up about it. Stephanie N. I try raising the profile by raising awareness both in person and online through my blog. Also, I attend seminars where Im invited to speak and educate junior doctors and medical students on the pros and cons of my care and what they can do to improve our experience and quality of life. Robyn A. I joined support groups. Having other people to talk and vent who actually understand what youre going through makes it a lot easier to deal with. Bonnie P. I meditate daily, spending 15 minutes deep breathing and checking in with my body which sets my day up as best as can be. This helps my attitude, which helps my ability to cope with pain. Jennifer R. I recommend having at least one friend who has the same rare disease as you. So on those days, thats tougher than others, theres at least someone else you know who understands you and actually gets it. Kristyn B. Come up with a basic summary of what you have to tell everyone about your rare condition since no one (likely) knows what youre talking about. If they want more details, by all means, explain. But lots of people want a summary to help carry the conversation over and has the basic facts. Brandi W. On Fridays at 9 a.m., 10-year-old Lilly Platt doesnt head to school like other kids in her class. Instead, she takes placards and a keep-cup filled with hot chocolate, and stands outside the town hall in Zeist, just east of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Her signs read School Strikes for Climate. For the last six months, Lilly has been on a peaceful protest for the planet. By missing school, Im making a point about climate change, because whats the point of learning if our future is being taken away? Lilly asks. Lilly echoes the rallying cry of the youth climate movement Fridays for Future, sparked by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who last year ditched school to protest outside parliament in Stockholm. Gretas message was simple: She called for politicians to take action on climate change, and said she would strike from school her main hold of power as a student below voting age until the Swedish elections in September. When Lilly saw videos of Gretas activism online, she knew what she needed to do. She was talking about the Paris agreement and the next generation. I thought, I just have to do this, Lilly says. Lilly Platt making a placard reading "school strike for climate" at the Hague in the Netherlands. She ditches school every Friday to protest global inaction on climate change. (Photo: Eleanor Platt) Lilly has to do this because she believes her generations future is at risk. A landmark United Nations report last year warned we have less than 12 years to cut emissions by half and keep the planets warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels to avoid the worst effects of climate change. By 2030, Lilly will be just 22. I would like to see a world that still has the Amazon, that doesnt have species going extinct every five seconds, she says. I want to see a world that has clean oceans, and that doesnt have plastic pollution anywhere, and people live in harmony with nature; not people [who] only see money. The Netherlands is one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters in the European Union, and in October, a Dutch appeals court ordered the government to cut emissions faster than planned by at least 25 percent by 2020 (compared with 1990 levels). Now, Lilly wants to hold politicians to account. Story continues Im protesting so the politicians will start to listen, and all governments will align to Paris agreement and keep the planet from warming more than 1.5 degrees, she says. School is the only thing children have. If the children strike on the weekend, it doesnt make a difference. Lilly Platt (left) at the Hague in the Netherlands, with Greta Thunberg (right), the 16-year-old Swedish climate change campaigner. (Photo: Eleanor Platt) Originally from London, Lillys family moved to the Netherlands in 2014. She decided she wanted to try to save the planet three years ago, at age 7, after counting 91 pieces of plastic waste while she was out walking with her grandfather. My grandpa told me everything that falls on the ground eventually comes to the ocean. Then I decided I have to do something about this, I have to pick it up. She started a litter-picking campaign, sharing photos and videos on social media through Lillys Plastic Pickup. Shes since been invited to international environment conferences, and is now a youth ambassador for the Plastic Pollution Coalition, an anti-plastic alliance based in California, and HOW Global, a global development NGO. Ive never stopped picking up plastic, she says. Last year we worked out it was 25,000 pieces. It may seem a lot for one 10-year-old to take on, but shes not so different from other children. Lilly has an encyclopedic knowledge of dinosaurs, a love of drawing and Studio Ghibli. And its her wide-eyed, youthful energy that gives her this passion and ability to see things in black and white. She picks up plastic trash from the ground. She avoids single-use plastics. She sits outside her town hall holding placards. Because, if she doesnt do it, who will? Lilly on school strike with her supporters. (Photo: Mel Boas) Lilly has been striking since Sept. 21. With official permission, she strikes for an hour on Fridays, before heading back to school. Shes always accompanied by her mom, Eleanor Platt, a former teacher. Over time, shes had storytellers, journalists, activists and even the town mayor sit with her in the civic center. The mayor said he wanted to show appreciation of what shed been doing for the climate, says Eleanor Platt. He said Lilly was really a teacher, and they are the pupils. Throughout her campaign, Lilly has watched the youth climate movement spread across the world. Tens of thousands of teenagers and children have taken to the streets in Australia, Belgium and the U.K. to voice frustration about the older generations inaction on climate change. Similarly, in the U.S., more and more young people are rising up to demand action. Kids from almost 30 states have signed up for a climate strike in the U.S. next month, while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) pushes for her Green New Deal, a sweeping climate plan for the U.S. to decarbonize in just a decade. Its amazing that people are going this far to protect the environment and nature, Lilly says. But as her voice gets louder, she is exposed to more criticism. Lilly has attracted the attention of trolls and climate deniers through social media. They claim shes been forced to do this by her mother, and denounce her protest as truancy. Eleanor Platt supports Lilly, but says she is not driving her agenda. Lilly continues to do well at school, and after all, misses just one hour a week. The online abuse has been overwhelming at times. Eleanor Platt says she has had to log Lilly out of social media accounts (her mum supervises the accounts and they use social media together), as the 10-year-old has received hateful messages and comments comparing the climate protestors with child soldiers who have been indoctrinated. As a parent you can support your child, but you really have to [police] this whole thing properly, to make sure they are safe, her mom adds. Sometimes people write to me and say, you really need to let her be a child. Lilly interrupts her mom: But this is what I want to do! I dont want to look back on a few years and think, Why didnt I do anything? I dont want to be the person to just sit back and watch the world become warmer and warmer. Lillys thick-rimmed glasses drop down her nose when she jumps up with excitement. Let the children be what they want to be, and not what you want them to be, she says. Let them have this green heart and help the environment, instead of you trying to control them to go back to not caring for the climate. Also, I do not want to play with dolls or Lego. This is what I want to do. Lilly will continue her Friday strike until the global climate protests on March 15, an international day of strikes led by students. More than 40 countries have already signed up, from Germany to Uganda, and at least 30 U.S. states. Children can make a change, Lilly says. Its not only grown-ups who can save the planet. For more content and to be part of the This New World community, follow our Facebook page. HuffPosts This New World series is funded by Partners for a New Economy and the Kendeda Fund. All content is editorially independent, with no influence or input from the foundations. If you have an idea or tip for the editorial series, send an email to thisnewworld@huffpost.com Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump's partial reversal on his Syria withdrawal plan is aimed at getting as many as 1,000 European troops to step into the fray, an influential US senator said Friday. The White House quietly announced late Thursday that 200 American "peace-keeping" soldiers would remain in Syria indefinitely, marking a significant climb down from Trump's plan to have the more than 2,000 troops there now to all leave by April 30. Senator Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican, has spent recent weeks publicly calling for Trump to adjust the withdrawal plan. Speaking to Fox News, he said the 200 residual US forces would catalyze a bigger presence by European allies. "This 200 will attract probably 1,000 Europeans," Graham claimed. "Thousands of Europeans were killed by (IS) fighters coming from Syria into Europe. Now, the burden falls on Europe. Eighty percent of the operation should be European, maybe 20 percent us." Graham's claim of IS fighters killing "thousands" of Europeans is an exaggeration. According to various tracking groups, far fewer than 1,000 people have been killed in attacks by Islamists of all origins in Europe since 2014. But such rhetoric feeds into one of Trump's favorite topics -- his perception that European and NATO allies aren't contributing enough to global security. Graham said he had been speaking to Trump "continuously" about the withdrawal and persuaded him that a buffer zone needs to be created to protect US-backed Kurdish fighters from a possible attack by Turkey. "You don't want to end one war and start another," Graham said he told Trump. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan last week went to Europe and attempted to convince allies to maintain a troop presence in Syria after the US pulls out. But he struggled to persuade other countries why they should risk their forces with America gone. Graham reportedly told Shanahan that it was a "dumb" idea to tell allies the US planned to fully withdraw by April 30. Shanahan was due to meet with Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar at the Pentagon later Friday. SIU literary works nominated for the 50th NAACP Awards by Hannah Erickson CARBONDALE, Ill. Two authors will represent Southern Illinois University Carbondale at the upcoming 50th NAACP Image Awards in Hollywood. Both Allison Joseph and Cyrus Cassells received nominations in the Outstanding Literary Work Poetry division. As one of the most distinguished multicultural awards ceremonies in the nation, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Image Awards highlights talented authors and entertainers of color. The annual ceremony is set for March 30, airing live on TV One from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Josephs poetry relays her experience as a black woman Joseph, director of creative writing in the English department, received the nomination for her most recent book, Confessions of a Barefaced Woman. The semi-autobiographical work of poetry looks at the current reality of being a black woman in todays society. The book has already received multiple national awards and is now available in Target stores. For Joseph, receiving the nomination is a big honor, especially considering the history and legacy of the NAACP. The organization has always fought for justice and equality, and in its magazine, The Crisis, always included literary work by African Americans, Joseph said. Receiving this nomination makes me a small part of a legacy that includes such luminaries as Langston Hughes, W.E. DuBois and Maya Angelou. Joseph plans to attend both the televised and non-televised banquet in Hollywood, which features a variety of authors, actors, musicians and politicians. This years nominees are especially exciting, Joseph explained, with Black Panther and If Beale Street Could Talk receiving attention. Cassells book looks at grief and love Additionally, Cyrus Cassells recent book published by the SIU Press, The Gospel according to Wild Indigo, received nomination in the same category. Jon Tribble, managing editor of Crab Orchard Review and series editor of the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry, also published the work of poetry. Author of several other award-winning titles and nominee for a Pulitzer Prize, Cassells currently teaches at Texas State University in San Marcos. As his sixth poetry volume, this work focuses on the duality of grief and love and invites the reader to make connections between the past and the present. My nomination and the nomination of Cyrus Cassells' book makes people know that SIU is a place for poetry, creative activity, and beauty, Joseph said. Students in our MFA Program got to help Jon in his work on Cyrus's book, so it's a double win for the campus. Renowned ceremony will highlight the 2019 Entertainer of the Year Before recognizing the nominees in the eight unique categories, the NAACP will announce The 2019 Entertainer of the Year. The five nominees for this award are: Beyonce, Chadwick Boseman, Ryan Coogler, Regina King and LeBron James. A variety of notable celebrities attends the renowned event each year, with stars such as Oprah Winfrey, Denzel Washington, John Legend, Kevin Hart, Will Smith, Halle Berry, Mandy Moore, Viola Davis and many others making appearances. Voting for the Entertainer of the Year is open until March 4 on the NAACP Image Awards website. Jihadist News Articles Analysis Multimedia Social Network Jihad Western Jihadist Digest Free Articles Financial Jihad Full Translation Groups Afghan Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) Ahrar al-Sham Islamic Movement Al-Nusra Front Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) Ansar al-Islam Ansar al-Sunnah in Jerusalem Ansar Beit al-Maqdis Ansar Dine Ansar Jerusalem Hezbollah Islamic Jihad Union Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Islamic State Islamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS) Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) Jabha East Africa Jabhat Fateh al-Sham Jaish al-Fath Lashkar-e Toiba Pakistani Taliban (Tehreek-e Taliban) Shabaab al-Mujahideen (The Young Mujahideen Movement) Taifetul Mansura The Levantine Front Turkestan Islamic Party Leaders Abu Musab Abd al-Wadud Abu Yahya al-Libi Adam Gadahn Anwar al-Awlaki Ayman al-Zawahiri Hakimullah Mehsud Mullah Omar Mustafa Abu al-Yazid Usama bin Laden Abu Baseer al-Wuhayshi Countries Afghanistan Algeria Australia Austria Bangladesh Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Burma Burundi Canada Chechnya China Denmark Egypt Eritrea Ethiopia Europe Finland France Germany India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Italy Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mali Mauritania Morocco Niger Nigeria Norway Pakistan Palestinian Territories Russia Saudi Arabia Somalia Spain Sweden Syria Tunisia Turkey Uganda United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uzbekistan Yemen Burkina Faso Philippines Ireland Blackbuck population declines due to leopard, hyena predation Blackbucks (Antilope cervicapra) inside the Khairapur-based Blackbuck Conservation Area in Gulariya-2, Bardiya are at risk after more than 50 of them died in attacks by leopards and hyenas in the past year. South Africa: Reserve Bank seeks public comment on key banks in SA The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has invited the public to comment on the discussion paper on the proposed methodology to determine systemically important banks in the country. The discussion paper, titled A methodology to determine which banks are systemically important within the South African context, was published by the SARB on Friday. The discussion paper is aimed at soliciting comments on the methodology proposed for determining systemically important banks in South Africa, the central bank said in a statement. The primary objective of the SARB is to protect the value of the currency in the interest of balanced and sustainable economic growth in South Africa. The SARBs mandate and function of protecting and enhancing financial stability in the country is affirmed in the Financial Sector Regulation Act 9 of 2017 (FSR Act). In support of the SARBs financial stability mandate, section 29 of the FSR Act provides the Governor of the SARB with the powers to designate an institution as a systemically important financial institution (SIFI), and affords the SARB additional powers with regard to SIFIs to assist it in fulfilling its mandate. The discussion paper, the central bank said, focuses on the proposed methodology to determine which banks are SIFIs within the South African context. The methodology takes into account international guidance and best practice as well as the unique characteristics of the South African financial system, the SARB said. Comments on the paper are invited to ensure that the methodology will accurately reflect the systemic importance of banks and serve as a sound basis for the Governor to designate those banks as SIFIs. A summary of the comments received may be published, unless respondents explicitly request otherwise. Contact details and deadline for comments Comments on this discussion paper should be addressed to: Head: Financial Stability Department South African Reserve Bank P O Box 427 Pretoria 0001 Tel: +27 12 313 3601. Email: FST-RPD@resbank.co.za The public is urged to state their affiliation or if they are responding in a private capacity. The closing date for comments is Friday, 29 March 2019. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2019-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] The Artsakh Defense Ministry dismissed Azerbaijani reports, according to which, supposedly, an Armenian drone was downed at Aghdam town. Azerbaijani defense ministrys information is untrue, and the Defense Army has not lost any drones, the statement says. It added that the respective photos published in Azerbaijani media are apparently old footage. In its statement, the Artsakh MOD added that it is noteworthy that this disinformation by Baku has accidentally coincided with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs visit to the region. A French mountaineer died after he was trapped under snow in the mountains nearby the hotel in Armenias Aghveran. His body was transported to the city by the Defense Ministry helicopter and the other four mountaineers were taken to the hotel. The friends of this mountaineer had quickly pulled this person out of the pile of snow, but the French national had lost consciousness, and therefore rescuers were needed. The helicopter from the Ministry of Defense of Armenia has arrived to search for the French citizen who got lost at a mountain. Lynne M. Tracy was officially sworn in this week to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia. Ambassador Tracy is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and will represent the President of the United States in Armenia. We cant wait to welcome her in Yerevan soon! the message posted by U.S. embassy says. Despite disagreements with respect to the appointment of the Secretary General, there is no operative management deficiency at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. There is no frustration either at the Kremlin or among the CSTO members [(including Armenia)], Peskov said. And there is no management vacuum at the CSTO. There are some disagreements among the CSTO members, [and] which are currently being settled, Dmitry Peskov added; this process continues. Armenian and Georgian Defense Ministers Davit Tonoyan and Levan Izoria have signed, the 2019 cooperation program between their ministries. Tonoyan noted that they had discussed bilateral relations as well as defense cooperation within international organizations. The Armenian minister stressed that the two parties mutually respect and believe in the idea of a peaceful and safe Caucasus. Levan Izoria welcomed the Armenian servicemens participation in the military exercises being conducted in Georgia along the lines of NATO programs. A French mountaineer died after he was trapped under snow in the mountains nearby the hotel in Armenian Aghveran. His body was transported to the city by the Defense Ministry helicopter and the other four mountaineers were taken to Aghveran Resort hotel. As reported earlier, on Friday at 11:05am, the 911 emergency hotline received a report that five mountaineerswho are French citizenshad climbed a mountain nearby a hotel in Aghveran. One of them, however, had become trapped under snow, the friends of this mountaineer had quickly pulled this person out of the pile of snow, but the French national had lost consciousness, and therefore rescuers were needed. A helicopter from the Ministry of Defense of Armenia has arrived to search for the French citizen who got lost at a mountain. The rescuers crossed the noted section on foot for more than seven kilometers, the area was very difficult to pass, the snow there was 2.5 to 3 meters high, but found these mountaineers who had gotten lost. Big Brother looms The government is working to introduce legislation to regulate public discourse YEREVAN. The Minister of Economic Development and Investments of Armenia, Tigran Khachatryan, met with the World Bank (WB) mission on development policy operation and technological potential fulfillment. The minister presented the key points in the economic section of the Armenian governments program, and noted that increasing economic productivity and competitiveness in Armenia is impossible without substantial investments, the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. The WB representatives, in turn, noted that the bank was preparing an analysis on information and communication technologies, and that it stands with the Armenian government in implementing its program. Also, the WB group asked the minister about the measures toward the improvement of investment climate in Armenia, and discussed with him the law initiatives as well as business climate reforms in the country. In addition, the interlocutors conferred on the development of small and medium-sized entrepreneurship as well as diversification of Armenias economy. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the absurd suspended sentence of five and a half years in prison that Azerbaijani opposition journalist Mustafa Hajibeyli received yesterday in connection with his coverage of last Julys assassination attempt on the mayor of the western city of Ganja. His conviction must be quashed on appeal, RSF said. Convicting Hajibeyli on charges of calling for the governments overthrow, abuse of authority and forgery, the court ruled that he will not have to serve the jail term if he commits no further crime for the next two years, during which he will be under judicial control and banned from travelling abroad. Hajibeyli said he will appeal. The editor of the Bastainfo.com news website, Hajibeyli was convicted over articles that took a critical look at the Ganja mayors behaviour prior to the July attempt on his life, and criticized the authorities for failing to intervene to prevent the ensuing violence. Because of these articles, Bastainfo.com was immediately blockedwithout a court order, although other media outlets had previously published them. During Hajibeylis trial, the experts and witnesses produced by the prosecution failed to identify what passages in the articles constituted a call for the governments overthrow. Independent jurists insist that they contained no such call. Anar Mammadov, the editor of Criminalaz.om, a website that has also been blocked, is meanwhile facing up to 12 years in prison on similar charges in a trial that is to resume on 12 March. This absurd conviction is just another ploy to intimidate the few critical media remaining in Azerbaijan, said Johann Bihr, the head of RSFs Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk. We urge the international community to impose targeted sanctions on those responsible for this crackdown and to condition all financial support for Baku on respect for press freedom and human rights. Azerbaijan is ranked 163rd out of 180 countries in RSFs 2018 World Press Freedom Index. The leading critical media outlets have been silenced or have had to relocate abroad, the main independent websites are blocked, at least ten journalists are currently in prison, and the activities of NGOs that support the media have been criminalized. YEREVAN.- Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan has chaired a meeting on Friday 22 with Cabinet members regarding the Work Armenia campaign. Avinyan told the ministers that one of the main challenges in Armenia today is the high unemployment rate, which is possible to overcome only through an employment policy based on fact analysis and development and implementation of an action plan with clear targets, the Deputy PMs office said in a read-out of the meeting. According to Avinyan, encouraging employment is the cornerstone of the governments action plan. At the same time, the causes of unemployment have been greatly discussed recently, but nevertheless a comprehensive study with figures is still lacking. The Deputy PM said that since employment policy requires coordinated actions, that will rule out repetition and inefficiency, therefore Avinyan suggested to merge employment encouragement steps within the framework of the Work Armenia campaign. An inter-agency group is planned to be created to coordinate the work, and the campaign will be kicked off in May. The campaign is set to become a roof for short-term and long-term reforms, preparing citizens for future work. A gift of tongues Nepal has more than 123 languages, and it is up to us to preserve this diversity YEREVAN. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Japan has implemented many projects, Japans Ambassador to Armenia Jun Yamada said in an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am. He noted that the projects are mostly implemented through ODA (official development assistance), which includes loans, grant aid, and technical assistance. As of FY 2016, Japan provided 436.76 million USD in total through these schemes. One such example is the Yerevan Combined Co-Generation Power Plant which was financed by Japans loan. As you know, this power plant is now a very essential part of national economy, greatly contributing to the energy security of Armenia. Also, we support the development of local production and promote such local brands for Armenian small and medium sized companies. This has been two conducted through technical assistance (the Project for Development of Local Production and Promotion of Local Brands Phase 2, or so called OVOP - One Village One Product), implemented by JICA, he said. The Ambassador recalled that important pillar of cooperation between the countries is disaster prevention. Both countries have periodically suffered from natural disasters and the Japanese side has very close cooperation with the Ministry of Emergency Situation of Armenia. We provided 28 fire-engines for Yerevan City in 2008, and another 39 fire fire-engines will be provided to Lori, Shirak and Syunik regions this year. Another project to improve Crisis Communication and Public Awareness will be implemented this year. On December 7th last year I visited Spitak to participate the commemorative ceremony dedicated to the victims of 1988 Spitak earthquake. We are so deeply touched and grateful for the warm support from Armenian people during the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 The Spitak branch staff of MES, who visited Japan for JICAs training in the past, took initiative and built a beautiful Khachkar dedicated to the victims in Japan, side by side with the monument in the memory of victims of Spitak earthquake, Jun Yamada said. The presence of fake news greatly distorts democratic processes, spreads hatred. Ani Samsonyan, a member of the Bright Armenia Faction at the National Assembly, stated the aforementioned during her remarks on the margins of the 18th Winter Meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE PA), in the Austrian capital city of Vienna, at the session of the Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions. In her address, the Armenian MP reflected on the fight against disinformation and the latters perils. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that, along with the improvement of information technology and web-based capabilities, the circulation of misleading usernames and fake news by their owners have become a serious issue for societies and states, she noted. This is a global challenge, on the one hand, to obtain, search and share information, and on the other hand to realize the right to freedom of expression and speech. It should be noted that the presence of fake news greatly distorts democratic processes, disorients society, spreads hatred, intolerance and misleads mass media. Journalists often fall into the trap of fake news looking for operative, inquisitive and scandalous news and therefore sometimes lose the confidence of their audience. Due to the lack of basic media-literacy skills people are not used to checking the authenticity of information by comparing it to other sources, paying attention to dates and becoming a means of spreading the news. The problem is increasing in crisis and emergency situations when people are looking for information in panic, the risk for disorientation and wrong decision-making become more actual. The Internet gives an opportunity to creators and distributors of fake news to avoid responsibility and to act without strict technical obstacles and any legal consequences. This has become a public and state security issue and a globally discussed subject among international organizations. I must state that it results into the development of a dangerous tendency. Many tend to believe that we need consistent struggle against disinformation, and the state should take appropriate measures in this direction. This discourse is also available in Armenia nowadays. After the recent political developments, the Armenian society, which protects the values declared by the revolution see a danger of distorting objective events, making false alarms and diminishing efforts to establish democracy in Armenia. This is especially related to the media both as a news user and newsmaker. At the same time, it is important to realize that the proposed fight against fake news can become a tool in the hands of the government to impose restrictions on the mass media and promote the establishment of censorship. This will allow officials to find legal means to interfere in the work of media and/or outlets, hide essential information for the public and unwanted information to the government and hack the media mission as a fourth power. The careless struggle against fake news can threaten the civil society to express its opinion freely, to criticize and express its position. This may lead to a situation where any entity can be prosecuted and charged for supervising the work of the government. At the level of public discussion, there are attempts to find national legal mechanisms and procedures to defend against misinformation, but at the same time, we realize that it may lead to censorship. The media is free in Armenia and we exert our effort to avoid dangerous precedents. The mission of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian questions and the OSCE Observation Mission is also important. I am sure, we will find the best solutions without any haste together. I am also glad to inform you that the newly elected National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights and Public Affairs has been re-opened in Armenia and it is ruled by the two oppositional powers in President and Vice President levels. This means we have the full authority to oversee the work of the Government and raise issues related democracy and human rights without any constraints. US senator Bernie Sanders, who announced his intention to run for president in 2020 elections, refused to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela. Asked to comment if he considers self-declared interim president Juan Guaido to be the legitimate leader of Venezuela, he said: "No. I think there are serious questions about the recent elections." "There are many people who feel it was a fraudulent election, and the US has got to work with the international community to make sure that there is a free and fair election there," Sanders said in an interview to Univision. 3 men injured in police firing while rallying for Nirmala Pant suffer as state stops medical fund The persons who sustained bullet injuries last August, when security personnel opened fire during a Justice for Nirmala protest in Mahendranagar, have complained that they have been deprived of proper medical treatment by the government. US President Trump on Thursday said in a pair of tweets that he wants the US to beat other nations to rolling out next-generation wireless technology, known as 5G. "I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind. There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on something that is so obviously the future. I want the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies. We must always be the leader in everything we do, especially when it comes to the very exciting world of technology!" Trump tweeted. Tunisian PM: $ 6 billion government projects halted Over 5,000 prisoners amnestied in Iran CEC of Armenia completes recount of votes Five US-backed SDF fighters killed in Syria Ilham Aliyev says there is no territorial unit of Nagorno-Karabakh Canadian FM announces new mission to support democracy in Armenia Austrian MFA on Yerevan-Baku reconciliation: Our goal is to establish trust 15 of 23 patients being treated at Gyumri Infectious Diseases Hospital are discharged Armenia villagers who closed off road end their protest action Helicopter carrying Colombia president attacked Criminal case opened into foreign reporter being threatened by Azeri soldiers with weapon on Armenia border US lawmakers urge Biden to reverse Trump's pro-Israel policies Tokayev to Pashinyan: Kazakh-Armenian relations will continue to strengthen Karabakh army ex-spokesman: Azerbaijan doing everything towards final destruction of our statehood 18 killed in shootout between Mexico drug cartels Khatibzadeh: Not Iran but US has left JCPOA and has not fulfilled its obligations Artsakh Security Council chief convenes working consultation EurAsEC Institute director: I am 99% convinced there will be Turkish military base in Azerbaijan China threatens to cut off coronavirus vaccines to Ukraine Villagers block Yerevan-Armavir motorway Macron: Tensions with Turkey eased Head of Union of Communities of Armenia: Calls by authorities to fire community leaders are illegal IAEA demands answer from Iran regarding monitoring Pedestrian woman, 55, dies on the spot after being hit by car in Armenias Shirak Province Blinken: Current pace of Iran nuclear program could complicate talks on JCPOA 93 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Analyst: Armenia, Azerbaijan authorities views on Artsakh issue coincide US to continue providing assistance to Afghanistan army after withdrawal of American troops George Floyd murder case: Ex-cop sentenced to 22 years in prison Newspaper: Authorities want to make radical changes in Armenia diplomatic corps Newspaper: Armenia acting PM considering forming political council comprising extra-parliamentary forces? Armenia ombudsman: Azerbaijan soldiers threaten to kill international reporter near Gegharkunik Province village Panasonic sells its stake in Tesla Why has the Armenian dram sharply valued against the dollar? Indian strain of COVID-19 detected in Abkhazia Garibashvili: Mediation for return of Armenian POWs is victory of Georgia's policy 'I Have Honor' bloc on consultations for applying to Armenia Constitutional Court regarding electoral violations Armenia President hosts Diaspora Armenian actress Nora Armani Armenia Administrative Court abolishes Central Electoral Commission's warning against Nikol Pashinyan Armenia President receives Austrian, Lithuanian and Romanian FMs who are on visit to the region Armenian acting PM discusses Armenia-European Union agenda with FMs of EU countries Grassy area at park near Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan is burning Armenia acting MOD pays visits to arms industry companies Karabakh emergency situations service: Searches for remains of servicemen continue in Varanda (Fizuli) region Ilham Aliyev has no intention to continue negotiations over Artsakh issue Prince Harry receives millions from Prince Charles after final break Armenian doctor says Armen Charchyan is in bed with oxygen mask, blood pressure is fluctuating Armenia Administrative Court grants Armenian political party leader's claim Barcelona Metro removes Azerbaijani posters Magnitude 4.0 earthquake hits Turkey Robert Kocharyan holds meeting with heads of 'Armenia' bloc's supportive communities Digest: Armenia soldier goes missing for month; Macron, Putin congratulate Pashinyan on election win Armenia acting deputy PM: There was widespread increase in pensions in 2020 539 Armenian doctors hold protest in front of Armenia Prosecutor General's Office in support of Armen Charchyan Armenia economic activity index up by 10.9% in May compared to same period last year Ursula von der Leyen says it is necessary to be ready for decline in relations with Russia Ameriabanks Mashtots Branch Opened its Doors and Has a Special Offer on Privileged Terms for New Clients Ombudsman attends UN online discussion, condemns Artsakh isolation by international community US President Joe Biden declares emergency in State of Florida after building collapse One dollar drops below AMD 500 in Armenia Group leaves inscription on George Floyd's statue in New York Iran MFA says Canada not qualified to present reports on crash of Ukrainian airliner Armenia MP applies to government with proposal regarding servicemen Tert.am: Azerbaijanis complete engineering work, install serious equipment in Armenias Syunik Province village 14 Armenian POWs may face 14-20 years in prison or life imprisonment in Baku Armenian NGO president on results of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Austrian Prime Minister condemns Turkey for human rights violations Armenia ruling party MP drops mandate after receiving it a week ago Armenia President receives acting high-tech industry minister Lockdown announced in Sydney US Congressman Schiff: We must not allow Azerbaijan to violate human rights with impunity Armenia conscript not yet found more than one month after going missing Leaders of 27 EU states instructed Borrell to prepare options for sanctions against Russia New program in Artsakh: Other countries citizens also can be appointed to police positions UK ambassador to OSCE congratulates Armenian people on snap elections NGO director: Armenia authorities have actually transferred countrys security to Azerbaijan Belarusian MFA intends to response to European sanctions NGO chief: Armenia authorities contribute to Azerbaijanis return to Artsakh 5 political forces at Karabakh parliament: Polarizations are observed which are accompanied by labeling Biden confirms plans to send billions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine to other countries For many people, their first memory of Chianti wine is a bottle in a straw basket that you would put a candle in as soon as you finished drinking the wine. While the baskets have long since disappeared, many people think of Chianti as a grape, not as a region. And Chianti Classico is thought of as a classic style of Chianti. This leads to a lot of misunderstanding about the region. Chianti Classico is in fact the oldest and most genuine area in the Chianti region in central Tuscany. Chianti Classico has had its own Consorzio since 1924 and became an established subzone of the Chianti DOC in 1967. In 1984, Chianti Classico was promoted from DOC to DOCG status and in 1996, the region became a separate DOCG from Chianti. It is a rather large area that stretches between Florence and Siena and includes 14 municipalities. Chianti Classico wines consist of a minimum of 80 percent Sangiovese and the remainder can be from native grapes Canaiolo or Colorino or from international grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. On money and commerce, the creation of a national bank system and then the Federal Reserve, changed the dynamic in broad terms. More recently, Trump has entered into freewheeling executive imposition of trade tariffs by relying on a 1962 piece of congressional legislation, the Trade Expansion Act, which permits the executive branch to evaluate the impact of imports on national security and to respond with tariffs. On the fourth point, in the 1976 National Emergencies Act, Congress gave the president broad authority to declare an emergency. Although every president since has mainly used that authority to impose sanctions in domains pertaining to foreign policy, Trump has assigned the execution of his declaration to the secretary of defense, effectively making this a military action. President George W. Bush is the only prior president to have used the authority for military action, which he did in the wake of Sept. 11 - a moment of urgency that required decision-making at a speed greater than that achievable through congressional deliberations. The health of our political system now comes down entirely to the popular election of the president and to congressional oversight of the executive in the form of advice and consent on appointments, supermajority veto overrides and impeachment processes. No wonder discussion of appointments and impeachment dominates our political conversation. Amgen filed the first of the lawsuits, against California Correctional Health Care Services, in Los Angeles County in early December. On Feb. 1, the judge in that case sided with Amgen, ruling CCHCS could not release the drug pricing information before the increases took effect. Ipsen filed at the end of December in San Francisco, naming both CCHCS and CalPERS as defendants. The parties in the Ipsen suit agreed to abide by the judges decision in the Los Angeles County case. GlaxoSmithKline filed suit in Sacramento County, naming CCHCS and CalPERS as defendants. Filings in that case do not indicate whether the parties will follow the Los Angeles judges decision. CalPERS legal staff informed the board Thursday in a monthly update that it could face legal fees in the Ipsen and GlaxoSmithKline cases. CalPERS, the largest public employer purchaser of health benefits in California covering about 1.5 million people, did not immediately respond to an email requesting more information. CCHCS declined comment. Reuters obtained price increase information for drugmakers Novartis and Bayer, including them in a Dec. 19 story on drug pricing. The pharmaceutical industry is still arguing Californias 2017 law, which resulted from Senate Bill 17, is unconstitutional. A district court judge dismissed the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of Americas challenge to the law last year, and the organization filed an amended complaint in September. Copied to system clipboard He urged lawmakers to push a charter transparency bill over the finish line. The governor was very clear that he wanted to get something done on transparency and he wanted it done quickly, Leyva said. We are getting it done quickly and its because we have a deal. The California Charter Schools Association took a neutral position on the bill. Carlos Marquez, the organizations vice president for government affairs, described the bill as a balanced approach that preserves charter schools flexibility while still requiring that they operate transparently. Many charter schools are already following the transparency measures in the bill, he said, adding that he hopes it removes the cudgel opponents use to characterize people who run charters as looking to line their pockets. Hopefully settling this area of law will put those falsehoods to bed, he told lawmakers at a committee hearing earlier this week. Charter Schools Development Center opposes the bill and has raised concern that the requirements could be overly burdensome for charter schools. California teachers participating in recent strikes have criticized charter schools as draining money from traditional public schools. In Los Angeles, the school district agreed to the unions demand to consider a cap on charters as part of its agreement to end a strike there last month. Teachers striking this week in Oakland are demanding more charter school accountability in addition to higher teacher salaries. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Julianne (Julie) passed away in Chico, CA, on February 12, 2019, at the age of 84. She was born in Napa on September 26, 1934, to Julius and Albena (Schiavi) Jaeger. Julie grew up on a ranch in Yountville where family and friends would often gather and was proud of her Italian and Alsatian heritage. Julie attended the one-room Yount Grammar School in Yountville, until she graduated to schools in Napa. This was a big change for her: there was more than one classroom, more students, and she couldnt get there on a horse! Julie went on to earn an Associate of Arts degree from Napa JC before attending San Jose State. Julie married Eugene (Gene) McFarren, Jr., on March 4, 1954, in Yountville. Gene and Julie eventually settled in Chico in 1963, where they raised their family. Darlean Frances Alaimo, age 77, a resident of Napa for over 50 years, went to heaven on February 18, 2019. She was born on January 30, 1942 in Oakland, California. As a young girl, Darlean spent time in Southern California where she had small parts in the iconic motion pictures Miracle on 34th Street and The Sea of Grass with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Her family moved to Napa in the late 1950s where she built a beautiful family and remained throughout her life. She was a graduate of Napa High School in 1959 and worked for the Napa Valley Unified School District for over 20 years. Whether she was your Mom, Grandma or Darlean, she was the epitome of selfless; her relationships and being there for her family was truly the light of her existence (along with her beloved dog Lily). She enjoyed trips in the motor home with her long-time partner Ray. Prior to health conditions, Darlean loved to Visit as she would call it, work in her yard, garage saleing, and everything and anything involving family. There was never an activity her grandkids were in that Grandma was not front and center, offering her loving support. Darlean came into this world and remained, a genuine soul, truly being present, always asking thoughtful questions, and had the innate ability to love regardless. He said Mauritius is a very smart play thats intelligently written. Theres a lot of nuances in whats going on, a lot of things happening beneath the surface, Foushee said, And I think its going to be riveting. Devitts involvement with community theater started about five years ago, when she played Amanda in 4,000 Miles. She said, It was really, really fun, I got to play this party girl. And Ive done a number of productions with Shari and Upstage Napa Valley since. Berryman has been a part of community theater since 2012 and this is her fifth production in that time. Of Mauritius, she said, Its a great cast, with very strong actors and actresses. Im definitely the weak link, she added, laughing. Frey said hes been involved in community theater for about 15 years, up and down the Napa Valley, and has worked with a lot of fine actors and directors, including Renault. He said people should come to the show for a number of reasons: Because the cast is great, theres a lot going on, with lots of ups and downs and because the audience will never know what is going to happen. Although it is a mystery, Frey said there is comedy and laughter, but also some moments where people are going to be shocked to see where this goes, where it heads. Frey said theres a little bit of mild violence in the play, adding, Some of these characters, you dont want to mess around with. But, its all in good fun and I think people are going to have a good time with this show. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. NAPA VALLEY COMMUNITY CHURCH We welcome you to join us in worship at 10 a.m. every Sunday. Pastor Dave Buurma presents Gods Word to us each week after the Music/Worship time. The children are dismissed at this time for Sunday School and Childrens Worship. After the service, we have refreshments and fellowship, and then we start a Question & Answer time (in lieu of adult Sunday School), for those who are able to stay and attend. Nursery is provided throughout. Www.napavalleychurch.org . Napa Valley Community Church is a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church. NAPA VALLEY LUTHERAN NAPA VALLEY UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS On Feb. 24, the 9:30 a.m. service will be lead by Rev. Christian Schmidt: The hottest debate in 19th-century Universalism: what happens to you after you die? Universalists split into two camps, the Ultra-Universalists and the Restorationists, who disagreed about how salvation worked. This split a fledgling denomination, split churches, and even split families. Come learn more, including why this matters today. The 11 a.m. service will be Safer Traditional service with Rev. Christian Schmidt and Sunday Service Assistant, Cindy Guentert. In our world today, what does it mean to be "safe"? Our congregation aims to be a safe place for all of us. We'll talk about what that means, how we do it, and why it matters. Infant care, child care, and religious education provided. 1625 Salvador Ave., Napa; www.nvuu.org; 707-226-9220. NAPAfrica, the non-profit Internet Exchange Point (IXP) funded by Teraco, has continued to see year-on-year growth in terms of peers. Internet exchanges are services hosted inside data centres which allow networks to interconnect. These exchanges facilitate the connection of users to content, businesses, and other people around the world and the amount of content peered at NAPAfrica significantly lowers the cost of data transport. The exchange is independent and service-agnostic, removing any potential conflict of interest and making it ideal for connecting to international content. MyBroadband spoke to Teraco about the Internet exchanges continued growth and the investment from international clients in Africas Internet community. Continued investment Teraco head of interconnection and peering Michele McCann said keeping Internet traffic within the continent is great news for South Africans. We are seeing a community drive start to emerge where the strategy is focused on keeping as much African Internet traffic in Africa, as opposed to routing to Europe and back, McCann said. This is great news for our community and therefore NAPAfrica will continue to invest in projects we call For the good of the Internet, which are focused around improving Internet quality for Africa, projects, and donations. Thus far, these include various organisations such as MyBroadbands Speed Test services, PCH, RIPE NCC RIS Project, Verisign, DNS Services, and more, she added. This increased investment in Africa from international companies will allow for greater access to content and new opportunities for local Internet users. Content investment into Africa will definitely continue as Internet access becomes more accessible for African users, McCann said. African content is also becoming a reality and working together with the large international companies will drive new and exciting content to NAPAfrica and its community. NAPAfrica growth McCann said South African has also seen a dramatic increase in its peering landscape over the last 10 years. As NAPAfrica, we have seen the exchange grow to its current 370 members servicing not only South Africa, but 15 other African countries, McCann said. A number of factors have driven this growth including deregulation of the South African telco market, launch of neutral colocation facilities, extensive investment in sub-sea cable systems, extensive career choice, and availability. Before this increased growth in peering, South Africans relied on sourcing content from Europe, adding large costs and high latencies which caused applications to suffer. The amount of traffic passing through the NAPAfrica exchange is peaking at just below 640Gbps on a daily basis, with the vast majority coming from the Johannesburg exchange. Looking forward, McCann said that 2019 will be the year South Africa finally sees hyperscale cloud investment. This is key for NAPAfrica, as not only do we focus on supporting the carrier and content community, but we are now embarking on a new peering era where enterprises are now joining the peering community too, she said. Now read: GoDaddy launching in South Africa The mobile industrys biggest show is shaping up to be a proxy for a U.S.-China battle over the future of Huawei Technologies Co., putting telecom executives in an awkward position. Huawei and the U.S. government are bolstering their presence at MWC Barcelona, formerly called Mobile World Congress, setting the scene for a showdown next week as both sides try to win over politicians and company leaders. Telecom executives will come together at a Sunday meeting of global industry group GSMA to discuss ways out of the stalemate thats expected to disrupt deal-making in Barcelona and could delay 5G in Europe. Mobile World Congress has always been about commercial deals and things like 5G use cases, and now executives are dragged into this political food fight, said Paul Triolo, a technology analyst at Eurasia Group. Its putting a damper on the conference things wont move forward as quickly until its clear how Europe will handle the Huawei issue. European CEOs are pushing back against U.S. demands to ban Huawei because the region is so dependent on the companys technology, Triolo said. Carriers still dont know if theyll be allowed to use its gear when building next-generation wireless networks, as governments from the U.K. to Germany weigh restricting the supplier, which has been accused of enabling Chinese espionage. Huawei rejects the allegations. The company will focus on showcasing its technology and continue conversations with government officials, said Joe Kelly, a spokesman for Huawei. We have been actively talking to all countries about who we are, what we do and what we dont do, Kelly told reporters Thursday in Vienna. Some 100,000 industry aficionados will roam the LED-lit conference halls to check out the latest gadgets from smartphones and tablets to artificial intelligence and robots. Foldable Phones Samsung Electronics Co. and Huawei are among handset makers expected to show off foldable phones. The South Korean technology giant is also bringing its first 5G smartphone, the Galaxy S10 5G. Vodafone Group Plc has installed a 5G network in the center of Barcelona for attendees to test. Drones will be a major talking point after the devices caused chaos at airports, including a one-day closure of Londons Gatwick in December. MWC Barcelona has dedicated part of its NextTech Hall to drone and robotics companies. The latest generation of augmented reality headsets and smart appliances, cars and wearables under the internet of things umbrella will round out the gadgets on display. M&A Chatter Behind the scenes, MWC Barcelona becomes a place for dealmakers to retreat to back rooms or hotel suites to hunt for ways to gain a bigger slice of the market. Politicians in Germany and France are stepping up their campaign for laxer antitrust rules, which could enable larger deals in the industry. The towers that carriers use to relay wireless signals around networks are becoming a popular target for bidders and eyes are on Vodafone, which is carving out the assets and may do deals. Potentially pricey 5G buildouts are spurring dealmaking. Telecom Italia SpA and Vodafone will explore building networks jointly in Italy to share the costs and accelerate construction. Then theres the ongoing question of French consolidation. Regulation Deutsche Telekom AGs Tim Hoettges, Vodafones Nick Read and Orange SAs Stephane Richard are expected to demand friendlier regulation to better compete with big U.S. and Chinese tech companies. Most of the continents biggest carriers are tackling share declines and mounting competition. Germanys planned auction of 5G mobile frequencies is under attack from operators, who slam requirements that they cover 98 percent of homes, every highway and all federal roads in the country with 100 megabit-per-second coverage as unreasonable. Now read: Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos steps down EOH Holdings Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Stephen Van Coller is in a race against the clock to restructure the sprawling South African IT business before shareholders and lenders run out of patience. Van Coller, a former executive at Barclays Africa Group Ltd. and MTN Group Ltd., was brought in to turn around the troubled business and improve its corporate reputation after allegations of corruption linked to government contracts. He plans to break Johannesburg-based EOH into different parts to release greater value from a portfolio of more than 270 companies, while appointing PwC as an internal auditor and launching a whistle blower app. EOH is like a vegetable soup, where its not clear if its 10 percent carrots or 90 percent carrots, the CEO said in an interview in Johannesburg. Were working toward fixing this, and part of that will be to split it into different units with separate boards to get the capital structure right. Van Coller has his work cut out. EOH shares went into free fall last week when Microsoft Corp. cut ties with the company which, according to TechCentral website, came after receiving allegations from a whistle blower about a contract with the ministry of defense. The stock has plunged 45 percent this year, making it the worst performer on South Africas benchmark index. EOH plans to separate the public-sector services business from the private-sector arm, and focus it on shorter-term contracts. The software side could be split into about six to eight separate companies, Van Coller said, adding that disposals or listings will then be considered. Should any lender become impatient during the process, the sale of a business could be fast-tracked, according to the CEO. Lebashe Financial Services, a shareholder that last year injected 1 billion rand ($71 million) into EOH for an equity stake, is willing to support Van Collers strategy, Lebashe Chief Investment Officer Warren Wheatley said in an emailed response to questions. We have a subscription agreement that gives us the right to acquire another 250 million rand in shares, he said. We will buy additional shares from the market if the market continues to undervalue the business. Lebashe was behind chairman and founder Asher Bohbots decision to stand down this week, Wheatley added. We did call for a refresh of the board. Now read: Trump challenges US companies to speed up 5G development Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos is stepping down from his position to take up a new role, the company has announced. The board of Cell C would like to announce that Jose Dos Santos will step down as Cell Cs Chief Executive Officer effective 1 March 2019, said the company. Dos Santos will take up a role as a consultant offering strategic advice to the chairman of the Cell C board. In this role, he will be involved in the delivery of Cell Cs strategic intent, which includes the reshaping of Cell Cs debt to ensure the companys continued sustainability. We would like to thank Jose for his tireless work over the past six years, of which five of those have been at the helm of this company. Cell C Chairman Kuben Pillay said an interim CEO will be announced shortly, until such time as a permanent appointment is announced. Cell C has a very experienced leadership team that will continue to execute on the companys business plan, said Pillay. Now read: Watch out for Procall debit order fraud MUSCATINE The evening at the Merrill Hotel for the presentation of the Legends award posthumously to Roy and Lucille Carver Thursday was an event that said a lot of good things about Muscatine. It gave the community college a chance to remind people of its importance while also saluting some of Muscatines past. Sure, many of the folks there were in far better financial shape than yours truly (I would hope so). By being there, they were raising money for scholarships to keep the kids of Muscatine marching forward. Besides, to the late Roy Carver Sr., who along with his late wife, were the honorees, everyone is important. What is something not everyone knows about his dad? I asked Roy Carver Jr., shortly before the presentation. He immediately told me this gem. He thought every person knew something really special, and you should respect them, Roy Jr. said, noting his dad kept a Rolodex containing peoples names and their area of expertise. And if somebody wanted to know about that topic, he would call them up. Ray Jr. also saluted his dad fondly. The enormous cost of prosecuting a death penalty case, starting at the county trial level where, over the years, some county attorneys have chosen to pursue life sentences rather than death because of the expense to their community. Appeals continue for decades with taxpayers funding both prosecution and defense costs. Taxpayers bear the costs of lifetime incarceration, but they have already paid to keep Montana's two death row inmates locked up for more than 30 years each pending execution. The Montana Office of Public Defender presently has two death penalty cases, one of which had costs of $530,000 in fiscal 2018, and $351,933 in the first six months of fiscal 2019, according to the fiscal note for HB350 prepared by the state budget office. Those legal expenses dwarf the $40,000 a year it costs to keep an inmate in Montana State Prison. Family and friends of victims are reminded of the crimes again and again as appeals wind through the court systems. Some may wish to see the convict executed, but others are opposed. State prosecutors have reduced overall criminal charges against a man essentially accused of a carjacking in Butte in part because of his mental health issues. Jordan James Buhl, 24, pleaded no contest to felony criminal endangerment Thursday and guilty to unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor. Prosecutors initially charged him with robbery, felony theft, and criminal endangerment. Criminal endangerment carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence while the misdemeanor charge is punishable by up to six months in jail. According to prosecutors, Buhl flagged down a teenage driver on Jupiter Street on Jan. 2, 2018, and told her he needed to get out of town and take her car. The defendant told (the victim) he would shoot her if she did not get out of the vehicle then threw her out of her vehicle, shut the door, and nearly ran over her, the initial charging document stated. The woman said she didnt see a weapon but wasnt looking for one. Police later located the car outside a house in Butte and found Buhl hiding in a bedroom. A judge told a Butte man Thursday that reflecting on his crimes in jail wasnt enough punishment for his criminal endangerment conviction, which stemmed from driving around with a 16-year-old girl hanging off the roof rack. Prosecutors had initially recommended that Ethan Christopher Boroni, 20, get a three-year deferred sentence, in part because he had no prior criminal record. He was accused of arguing with the girl in the parking lot of the Safeway on Front Street on Feb. 25 last year. He jumped into a car and tried to drive away with her on the back holding onto the roof rack. Onlookers were able to stop the car and get the teen girl off safely, prosecutors say. But they noted Thursday that since Boroni pleaded guilty to criminal endangerment in that case, he was arrested twice for drunken driving and was charged for allegedly slashing his fathers hand with a knife. Those cases are still pending. Because of that, prosecutors wanted District Judge Kurt Krueger to impose a five-year sentence, suspend three, and ask the Montana Department of Corrections to place Boroni in a drug treatment program during the two years in custody. "He has a chemical dependency problem that needs to be addressed," said Mike Clauge, lead prosecutor in the case. Over the past two days, Butte police have received eight stolen vehicle calls, according to their daily incident report. One call was about a vehicle stolen near Montana Tech then located later. Another was a truck taken from the Silver Bow Boulevard area but also recovered. A third was about a stolen 2002 Chevy Cavalier, which still hasnt been located. When asked if this number of stolen vehicle calls was normal, Undersheriff George Skuletich said it was a little more than usual but common for this time of year. Skuletich explained that many stolen vehicles reported to Butte police in the winter months are related to a driver warming up their car, leaving the keys in the ignition and the vehicle unoccupied. A lot of times a suspect will see a vehicle running, jump in, and take it to an area they want to go, Skuletich said. A lot of the time Butte police are able to recover these stolen vehicles, but sometimes they are not, Skuletich said. His advice for Butte area drivers that need to warm up their vehicles before heading somewhere is to use two sets of keys if possible so drivers can lock their cars while they're running or to invest in electronic starters, though Skuletich realizes that can get expensive. Thats the best advice I can give, but its something thats hard to prevent, Skuletich said. Its just something that occurs every year here. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. According to the cease and desist letter, during on-site visits to the facility in 2018, state health department personnel observed a number of conditions "likely contributing" to employees' elevated arsenic levels. They included no showering or operational hand-washing facilities; no changing room where employees could change out of dirty work clothes; no policies requiring workers to keep contaminated clothing at the site; and a "lack of appropriate respirator usage." The state health department also noted in its letter that the employee break room did not have air filtration or positive air control. The room also did not appear to be cleaned on a regular basis to keep dust and metals from contaminating workers. This is not the first time the plant has been in violation of worker safety. Nor is it the first time U.S. Minerals as a company has been in violation. Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors visited the Anaconda plant in October 2015 and found 16 violations of worker safety. OSHA fined U.S. Minerals $106,800 in 2016 because of the violations. DILLON Recognizing that people want to express themselves and have fun doing so, workshops with names like Sip and Paint or Painting with a Twist are springing up everywhere. Dillon is no exception. Colleen Howe Cheney will host the second Sip and Paint event at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, at Tendoy Fine Art, 120 N. Montana St. in the ArtSpace room. Cheney is a professional artist with works exhibited throughout the West. She loves to teach and has an ongoing class in oil painting on Wednesday mornings at ArtSpace. She is also a veteran teacher of this kind of event where artists gather in the evening with a beverage of choice and do an art project. While the result may not be masterpiece art, the benefits are answering a need for activities that bring people together for fun and creative expression. Registration for the Sip and Paint event can be done by calling Cheney at 406-925-9434 or the Tendoy Fine Art gallery at 406-660-3007. The cost is $27. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives will continue its Brown Bag Lunch series at noon Wednesday, Feb. 27, with a presentation and book signing by Brian James Leech. Leech is the author of The City That Ate Itself: Butte, Montana and Its Expanding Berkeley Pit, an extensively researched account of the history of Butte and its dramatic relationship with the Berkeley Pit. Leech provides a social and environmental history using oral history interviews and archival finds to explore the lived experience of open-pit copper mining in Butte. As open-pit mining nibbled away at ethnic communities, neighbors faced new industrial hazards, widespread relocation, and disrupted social ties. Although the Berkeley Pit gave consumers easier access to copper, its impact on workers and community members was met with celebration, protest, negotiation, and resignation. Leech, an associate history professor at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, also serves as coordinator of its First-Year Inquiry Program. He is currently secretary of the U.S. Mining History Association. His award-winning research has been published in Montana: The Magazine of Western History and The Mining History Journal. Guests are encouraged to bring a sack lunch. Coffee and water will be provided. Details: 406-782-3280. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Review Policy Because this blog is aimed at librarians and patrons of school libraries, I use E ARCs provided by Netgalley and Edelweiss, and physical ARCs if provided by major publishers. All books reviewed should be available in hard cover from vendors like Follett. I do not earn any money from this blog, and any books I receive are donated to my school library or other libraries in my district. All opinions are my own and do not reflect anyone else's. A new Missoula community group that is working together on issues and opportunities related to local rivers will host a public open house celebration Thursday, Feb. 21, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Conflux Brewing Company, 200 E. Main St. The group, called Three Rivers Collaborative, includes local businesses, non-profits, and city, county and state agencies that came together over the past year to create a common place to discuss the Clark Fork and lower portions of the Blackfoot and Bitterroot Rivers in the greater-Missoula Valley. The Collaborative formed to create that common space and now wants to engage more people and groups in discussing river conservation, public access and recreation in the Missoula area. The open house begins with a short presentation from group members and Mayor John Engen, Missoula County Commissioner Josh Slotnick and Director of the Montana Governors Office of Outdoor Recreation, Rachel VandeVoort, at 6 p.m., followed by light appetizers and a chance to visit with hosts and attendees. Participants will have an opportunity to learn about river use trends in the Missoula area, current river projects, and how to participate in future meetings and discussions. For more information, email threeriverscollaborative@gmail.com or at FWP, contact Randy Arnold at 406-542-5504 or rarnold@mt.gov. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CambridgeKat Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law at the University of Cambridge. Every year in spring, when daffodils are in full bloom and the lovely town of Cambridge looks even lovelier (a dream indeed!), IP aficionados gather to attend the conference organized by theat the University of Cambridge. conference theme is particularly intriguing, in that it focuses on the relevance of knowledge and intention in IP law, ie something that has possibly changed in recent times more than what most some people might have expected or wanted. This year'sis particularly intriguing, in that it focuses on the relevance of knowledge and intention in IP law, ie something that has possibly changed in recent times more than whatsome people might have expected or wanted. Chaired by Sir Richard Arnold, the conference will discuss the following: Intellectual property law had, for much of the 20th century, been thought of as a body of strict liability torts: a defendant infringes, irrespective of whether they knew about the claimants intellectual property right or intended to infringe it. As long as the act is not involuntary, there is infringement. Knowledge and intention might be relevant in evidentiary terms, or as a component of a defence, with respect to remedies, of to establish accessory liability, but rarely, if ever, in relation to substantive infringement by the primary actor. Yet, in recent years, questions of knowledge and intention have taken an increasingly prominent place in matters of IP infringement, particularly as a response to new technologies and environments. Some of the questions that will be addressed during the day include whether: - a farmer should be regarded as infringing patent rights over genetically-modified plants, where seed spread on to the farmers land which they then bred (perhaps even without being aware of its presence); - a manufactur er of a generic drug is liable for infringement where it sells the drug knowing it will be prescribed for a therapeutic use covered by a er of a generic drug is liable for infringement where it sells the drug knowing it will be prescribed for a therapeutic use covered by a Swiss-form claim ; - a search engine that automatically creates hyperlinks to infringing material communicates that material to a new public when the search engine provider cannot be said to know the link is to such material; -a maker of wine infringes anothers trade mark where users hide part of the mark applied to the goods by the alleged infringer so as to give the impression they are drinking the claimants wine? If zebra mussels are allowed to gain a foothold in Montana waters, it could cost Montanans hundreds of millions of dollars per year. It might seem dramatic, but its true certain invasive species of mussels could do a massive amount of damage to Montana lakes, rivers and water supply. And if we dont do anything about it, itll be Montanans footing the bill. The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation released a new report outlining the enormous economic damage to Montanas economy if invasive mussels were allowed to proliferate in Montana waters. The annual cost to Montanas economy could be as high as $234 million per year if invasive mussels are allowed to damage our water ecosystems and its Montanans wallets that are hit the hardest. The agricultural industry, hydropower facilities, drinking water suppliers, property values and the outdoor recreation industry would take big financial hits, such as an estimated loss to lake shore property values of $497.4 million. Invasive mussels are referred to as ecosystem engineers because they completely change lake and river ecosystems function and structure. They were first detected in the Tiber Reservoir in 2016, and since then, Montana has had to work double-time to protect our state from invasive mussel encroachment. As far as real estate deals go, illegally gating a public road in Montana is about as cheap as it gets. Under the current law, violators risk a fine of only $10 per day to close off public access for their own personal benefit. Yet that paltry fine is never even levied because it would cost the county more to enforce it than the amount of the fine. As a result, bad actors can close off access to public roads with little to no repercussions. That is a sweetheart deal for those seeking to create exclusionary havens of prime hunting and fishing opportunity by shutting off public access to public land. Unfortunately, there are some landowners across Montana who are willing do just that, and in doing so they threaten to undermine the rule of law and they put the countys resources and personnel in jeopardy by ignoring a judges declaration regarding their illegally closed county roads. Under Moore's plan, the amount of debt the state could take on would be capped at 0.6 percent of the market value of all property in the state, which would be about $1 billion, Moore said. The state's debt payments would be capped at about 1.5 percent of the prior year's general fund revenue. That would be about $37 million this session. Maintenance would have to be paid for before any new buildings could be built. The major repair budget would be set at 0.6 percent of the current replacement value of state buildings, and projects would be capped at $2.5 million. The bill would also set up what is being called a working reserve fund. The reserve fund could be tapped in tight financial times if the states ending fund balance and a rainy-day fund created in the 2017 session were both drawn down. The idea is for it to be working, building infrastructure within Montana, keeping buildings operating and maintained. But then if theres a bad year where you trigger (mandatory budget cuts), that money immediately stops getting spent on infrastructure and becomes your working rainy-day fund, said Rep. Nancy Ballance, a Republican from Hamilton who is co-chair of the House Appropriations committee. Rep. Jim Keane, a Democrat from Butte who has carried several infrastructure bills in the past and this year, supported the bill, saying it's the only way to get Republicans to support bonding. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Employees of the state of Montana and its university system stand just a signature away from hourly wage increases in each of the next two years. House Bill 175 carried by Rep. Julie Dooling, R-Helena, passed the Montana House of Representatives for the second time Thursday in a 68-31 vote. With approval from Gov. Steve Bullock, the bill would raise the pay of state and university employees by 50 cents per hour on the first calendar days of 2020 and 2021. The bill also provides benefit increases for public employees, such as higher meal allowances for traveling employees, at an annual cost of just over $700,000. Allowances are currently $5 for breakfast, $6 for lunch and $12 for dinner. HB 175 would increase each by $2.50, the first increase since 1993, Dooling told the House Appropriations Committee Jan. 22. HB 175 first passed the House 91-7 on Jan. 28. The bill then cleared the Senate 47-0 on Saturday after a slight amendment from Sen. Bob Keenan, R-Bigfork. She said there will be 18 spaces for parking, something the Red Bird lacks, and customers will be able to take food on the run or sit at tables inside. It will definitely be geared to people on the run, she said. Well cater to fly fishermen in the summertime. Youll be able to get lunches to go and contractors can get thermoses full of soup. Ill always have a soup you can put in a coffee cup. Youll be able to get a shrimp bisque in a coffee cup. She said she and her husband have a lot of fond memories from owning the Red Bird for nearly two decades. Jim Tracy actually started out as a sous chef there in 1996. Weve been very fortunate in our 17 years to work with some great people, she said. Its a little bittersweet. We had someone that had worked with us who was starting the process of taking over, but they ended up having to leave unexpectedly. We were starting a new project so we just said, Lets keep moving forward. Its tough letting the place go but its falling into good hands. The Florence building was recently bought by a historic preservation expert and engineer named Thomas Taylor of Texas. Tracy said the Red Bird has a long-term lease so the restaurants lease price remained the same after the sale. At least one new business is already in the works for the still-under-construction portion of Russell Street near the Clark Fork River. Blackfoot River Outfitters has purchased the building at 235 North Russell and plans to demolish it and build a new 8,000-square-foot fishing, adventure and retail store with lease spots for professional services and a coffee shop. The building, which currently has a "WOW Cleaning" sign next to it, is located just down the street from Bayern Brewing. In the past it has housed everything from a cleaning supply store to a used car lot. On Thursday, the Missoula Redevelopment Agency approved a request from the owners, John Herzer and Terri Raugland, for permission to move ahead with deconstruction work prior to submitting a formal application for Tax Increment Financing assistance. When their design and financing is complete, they intend to submit a Tax Increment Financing Program application for removal of the existing building, clearing the site of asphalt, concrete slabs, etc. for development as parking for the retail stores, explained MRA assistant director Chris Behan. Thousands of teachers in Oakland, California, went on strike this morningthe latest in a series of increasingly militant work stoppages by educators across the country. In January, teachers in Los Angeles, California, won a historic strike, securing smaller class sizes, a nurse in every school, a reduction in standardized testing, a 6 percent pay raise for teachers and a plan for the School Board to vote to call on the state to cap charter school growth. The teachers union in Denver, Colorado, won its first strike in 25 years last week, while educators in West Virginia walked out earlier this week, halting proposed legislation that would have allowed tax dollars to pay for private-school tuition. Today, the 3,000-member Oakland Education Association (OEA) is on strike after 95 percent of its members voted on February 4 to authorize the work stoppage. The union says it has picket lines up at all 86 educational campuses in Oakland. The Oakland teachers strike is as much about defending public education as it is about teacher pay. United under the slogan, Fighting for the schools our students deserve, the union is calling for smaller class sizes, more support services for students (nurses, counselors and librarians), and an end to neighborhood school closures. Currently, 24 Oakland public schools are slated for closure, the majority of them in poor and working-class communities of color. The school closures are directly related to the rise in charter schools. According to a report by In the Public Interest, charter schools in Oakland are currently costing the district $57 million dollars per year. The union is also calling for a living wage for teachers who are increasingly being priced out of Oakland. According to a recent op ed by the unions president, Keith Brown, a starting teacher would have to spend 60 percent of their salary to afford a one-bedroom apartment in Oakland. Unsurprisingly, the district is losing 500 teachers per year, leaving a 24 percent vacancy rate in teaching positions in the district. The strike has received strong support from families and students in the school district. Parents, congregations and community organizations have been organizing Strike Schools that provide a safe space for children to go during the daywithout crossing a picket line. This expands the options for parents who cannot afford to stay home from work to watch their children. One congregation in Oakland, Taylor Memorial United Methodist Church, had pledged to take in up to 250 students per day, feeding them free lunch and snacks. Pastor Anthony Jenkins called on other places of worship to do likewise. Meanwhile, Bread for Ed campaign, co-sponsored by the OEA, has already raised $46,000 in funds to feed low-income students during the strike who normally receive subsidized meals at school. Student support for the strike is also high, as students have organized various walk-outs and marches in Oakland this month to support the teachers demands. Here are some of the faces and voices of teachers, parents, and students from todays picket lines. But there is an absolute gap in this plan that the Poverello Center is concerned about. The lack of transportation will be an issue. She added that most people know by 5 p.m. if theyre going to stay at the Poverello Center, which will give them more time to make arrangements to get to the Salvation Army. The Poverello also will temporarily change its policy as a dry shelter. Thompson said people who come to the Poverello in an altered state, whether from drugs, alcohol or other influences, will be taken in as long as they behave themselves. Our focus will be purely a behavioral basis; as long as they can manage the communal setting, theyll be allowed in the building, Thompson said. If they have any issues here because of their behavior, they wont be allowed to stay. So weve shifted to focus on behavior. Thompson doesnt expect the change will impact the number of people staying overnight at the Pov. Since the opening of the Salvation Armys overnight warming shelter, Thompson said her facility hasnt reached its 175-bed capacity. Wed push em out the next day and then theyd come back in, Howard said. Youd lose a guy here, lose a guy there. Every day. They made everything seem so meaningless. Guys would be going berserk and losing it, and it was the sense of losing. Losing friends. It seemed so senseless. He saw and participated in things that seem horrific now. He was spotting for a pair of snipers above a village, who had their rifles trained on five people who were "like ducks right over there on the hillside." A girl was at the end of the column, "talking to either her husband or her boyfriend," Howard said. He watched as the younger of the two snipers gleefully took her out. Im looking through these binoculars, and I just saw her go up. He shot her right between the shoulder blades, Howard said. The two riflemen then dispatched the four enemy soldiers she was with. As the young sniper scooted around to get a better shot, all of a sudden its like somebody threw up a handful of talcum powder, Howard recalled. Hed set off a z10 mine, but the only thing that went was the fuse. It didnt get down to the blasting cap to set off the TNT. We started out acoustic, playing clubs. The folk clubs were a little homophobic then, and we were loud. We were rowdy then, though we are tame now. Wed play 'All Along The Watchtower' plugged into the PA and not the microphone. I was young and in college studying religion and working on an English degree and fixed on getting my substitute teachers license for income. It was either theology school or teaching in my future. I had an apartment for $350 a month and low expenses. Music was fun and we had ambitions. Short-term, it was to get into clubs, and then to other clubs, and to reach people, and then there were radio stations to crack. Something fed the tenacity and the need to be relentless to get a gig, and you could get radio play back then, and it all worked if you werent a jerk about it. Credit: University of Manitoba Anti-fat stigmatization is a common problem in Canada's health-care system, but one that is preventable, says Dr. Patty Thille, assistant professor of physical therapy in the College of Rehabilitation Sciences. "There are strong stereotypes around bodies that are thin or bodies that have visible fat," Thille says. "And we know from qualitative studies that people experience poor treatment in health-care settings in relation to the fatness-related stereotypes." Thille, who grew up in Rosthern, Sask., has a physical therapy degree from the University of Saskatchewan, a master's degree in women's studies from a tri-university program in Halifax and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Calgary. She recently joined the U of M in a position that allows her to dedicate 75 per cent of her time to researching the intersections of primary care and rehabilitation. She was drawn to research on weight stigmatization through her clinical experience, as well as from being a patient. While practising as a physical therapist in Saskatoon from 1998 to 2002, she regularly witnessed weight-based stereotyping. One incident involved an insurance company that tried to dismiss a 450-lb. man's chronic pain as being due to his weight, rather than his car accident. "If you insure people, you insure all people, and people come in all sorts of sizes, shapes and pre-existing histories," Thille says. The professor sees her research as part of a larger movement that can lead to a change in clinical culture, where professionals look past preconceived ideas about body type. "A very common thing clinicians say is: 'If you just lost weight, you would be healthier,'" she says, noting that in some cases, major health problems can be overlooked because of this mindset. She points to the high-profile obituary of Ellen Maud Bennett, a British Columbia woman who died earlier this year from cancer that went undiagnosed because doctors repeatedly told her she simply needed to lose weight. In her obituary, Bennett advocated for "women of size" to not accept these harmful non-diagnoses. "She was feeling very ill for years, and it was only when she was at the palliative point that somebody finally diagnosed her with cancer, and she died days later," Thille says. "Her story is not an anomaly." Health-care professionals, Thille says, need to stop giving simplistic messages about weight, complete the same assessment as they would of others with thinner bodies, and shift toward an understanding that everyone is not built the same, for a variety of reasons. "One of the ways things change is by showing that it can be done differently, and then you can figure out how to help people change their own practices," Thille says. In a study published this year in the journal Health Communication, Thille analyzed audio recordings of about 30 adult patients' appointments at primary care clinics. Comparing what was said about blood pressure and weight, she found that doctors often mentioned a variety of factors that can affect blood pressure, but rarely did the same for weight. When their weight was brought up, patients spoke in ways that tried to manage or deflect anti-fat stigma, regardless of their body size. "We'll make progress if clinicians and researchers recognize that patients' defensiveness or sensitivity is a predictable response to a perceived stereotype threat. This is a learned response related to constant negative judgments about fat bodies," Thille says. "It's not a show of weakness or avoidance." Thille's work has always had a strong grounding in patient experiences and concerns, as captured by other researchers. One of her next steps is to create a public engagement strategy for her own research. "Working directly with the public to design research helps ground our work in community concerns," she says. "And with involvement of the public, many exciting knowledge translation possibilities open up." First author Mazene Hochane and his colleagues have localized the various cell types within the fetal kidney. The different colors show different cell types. Credit: Leiden University Kidney failure is a serious issue because kidneys cannot regenerate themselves after injury. A possible solution consists of artificially growing healthy kidney tissue. To achieve that, scientists first need to understand kidney development during the earliest stages, in the fetus. Leiden researchers have now discovered that the cells that filter the blood are the only ones that are still maturing during the fetal phase. Publication ahead of print in PLOS biology on February 21st. Our kidneys fulfill a crucial function in our body: they remove harmful substances from our blood while maintaining the optimal level of salt and water. Unfortunately, kidneys cannot regenerate themselves after injury. Kidney failure, which can be spurred by diabetes or high blood pressure, is therefore a serious problem. A new direction of regenerative medicine now aims to grow healthy kidney tissue in a dish for transplantation into patients. To achieve such ambitious goals, scientists need to understand how kidneys develop in the earliest stages. Leiden biophysicist Stefan Semrau, embryologist Susana M. Chuva de Sousa Lopes (LUMC) and their groups have now joined forces to study fetal kidneys from 9 to 18 weeks of age. They identified 22 different cell types and discovered that the cells that filter the blood are the only ones that mature throughout the kidney's development. Podocytes Comparing the data from five different developmental ages, the team made a surprising observation. One cell type clearly adjusted its molecular composition, while the other cell types remained unchanged. These so-called podocytesresponsible for blood filtrationwork as a physical barrier for proteins to prevent them from leaking into the urine. Damaged podocytes are therefore involved in several forms of kidney disease. Single-cell atlas The study is part of a global quest to map the identity of each cell in the human body, in particular during fetal development. Such a single-cell atlas will be useful for understanding the precise functioning of organs and the origins of diseases. The Leiden collaboration built a database comprising almost 18,000 cells. Scientists from around the world will soon be able to access this database and search for the gene or cell type of their interest in fetal kidneys. Explore further Reproducing pediatric kidney disease from human iPS cells More information: Mazene Hochane et al. Single-cell transcriptomics reveals gene expression dynamics of human fetal kidney development, PLOS Biology (2019). Journal information: PLoS Biology Mazene Hochane et al. Single-cell transcriptomics reveals gene expression dynamics of human fetal kidney development,(2019). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000152 Armed with crowbars and wearing protective gear, three women assembled at a Jakarta stress clinic survey the cluster of bottles they're about to smash to pieces. "I feel relieved. It's like something I have been holding inside is finally released when I smashed those bottles," Genta Kalbu Tanjung, a 20-year-old university student, told AFP as blaring rock music pulsated in the background. Tanjung and her two friends paid 125,000 rupiah ($8.85) each to unleash their pent-up rage at the Temper Clinic, which also lets clients bust up old televisions and printers for a slightly higher price. Inside a bare smash room, one wall is covered with a written reminder: "Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." Aliya Dewayanti Senoajie wanted to use the students' half-hour session to channel her frustrations as a school holiday quickly comes to an end. "The break is overit was too short and I'm not ready to go back to school," Senoajie said, declaring her bust-it-up session a success. "It was really fun. My adrenaline was pumping." The clinic opened last summer in a posh Jakarta neighbourhood after co-owner Masagus Yusuf Albar returned from an overseas holiday where he saw similar businesses sprouting up. The first dedicated space for such destruction therapy opened in Japan in 2008, with a view to helping stressed salarymen relieve their pent up frustrations. It has spread in popularity and temper clinics, also known as rage rooms, can be found in most key US and European cities. The trend has taken off in Asia in the past two years with similar ventures opening in China, Singapore, and Hong Kong. But the service might not immediately make sense for a place like Indonesiaits citizens regularly rank high among the world's least-stressed people. That wasn't lost on Albar, who conceded that life in places like Bali or jungle-clad Sumatra was pretty relaxed. But not so in Jakarta, a city of 10 million plus with hours-long traffic jams that can drive the most patient mad and where school and work are becoming increasingly competitive. A 2017 survey done by dry cleaning firm Zipjet found Jakarta was one of the world's most stressful cities based on criteria including traffic, air and noise pollution and unemployment. "Try to go anywhere on Friday night and it's very annoying. My friend once got caught in the traffic and she ended up crying. That's how bad it was," Albar told AFP. "Customers find this cathartic," he said. But smashing things up to let off steam is not necessarily risk free, warned Jakarta-based psychologist Liza Marielly Djaprie. She suggested that regularly using such rooms could simply condition the body to need an aggressive release whenever tensions rise. Djaprie explained: "I don't usually encourage patients to destroy things just so it won't become a habit. We need to learn about our angerand anger management." 2019 AFP Credit: CC0 Public Domain A trio of health policy analysts from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California has published a Policy Forum piece in the journal Science calling for more stringent rules for the introduction of AI medical applications. In their paper, Ravi Parikh, Ziad Obermeyer and Amol Navathe outline five standards they believe should be instituted as part of allowing AI medical applications to be used for medical purposes. The authors note that the use of AI-based tools to diagnose medical conditions or to provide predictions for outcomes based on different treatment approaches is still very new. It has only been in the past few years that AI-based algorithms and tools that use them have been developed. Because of that, rules for their use have not been well established. In their paper, the researchers suggest five standards that should be implemented to safeguard patients who are part of medical treatment that involves the use of AI applications or devices. The first involves establishing endpoints that are meaningfulbenefits should be clearly identifiable and thus subject to validation by the FDA in the same way that drugs and other devices have been for many years. The second standard involves establishing benchmarks that are appropriate to the area in which they are applied, allowing their usefulness and quality to be properly evaluated. The third standard involves ensuring that variable input specifications are clear so that they can be used by more than one institution when testing a new application or device. The fourth standard involves possible interventions associated with findings by AI systems and whether they are appropriate and successful. And finally, the fifth standard would be the implementation of regular rigorous auditsa standard that has been used when introducing new drugs for many years. Auditing AI applications takes on added importance when considering that the data that underlie their predictive abilities would change over time. The authors also note that due to the newness of AI applications and devices that use them, it is not clear how well current regulations are working. Because of that, they suggest the medical community take a "promise and protection" attitude towards such technology to ensure that the new technology truly does promote better health care for patients. Explore further Law professor suggests a way to validate and integrate deep learning medical systems More information: Ravi B. Parikh et al. Regulation of predictive analytics in medicine, Science (2019). Journal information: Science Ravi B. Parikh et al. Regulation of predictive analytics in medicine,(2019). DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw0029 2019 Science X Network Project presented by Angelo Berchieri Junior, professor at FCAV-UNESP, at FAPESP Week London identifies genes that allow bacteria to survive in the digestive tract of poultry and thus infect humans. Credit: Andre Juliao A group of researchers from the School of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, at the State University of Sao Paulo (FCAV-UNESP) in Jaboticabal, are investigating genes that are important for the survival of the bacterial species Salmonella in the intestinal tract of poultry. The goal is to prevent foodborne infections in humans. There are more than 2,600 known serotypes of salmonella. Some are responsible for cases of infection in animals and humans. The presence of certain serotypes in Brazilian poultry products has caused the European Community to block containers exported by Brazil. European law is quite restrictive when it comes to the presence of these bacteria. "Salmonella easily colonizes the digestive tract of poultry and may or may not cause disease. Even when they do not affect the chickens themselves, they are able to infect humans who eat the chicken," said Angelo Berchieri Junior, a professor at FCAV-UNESP during a session at FAPESP Week London held February 11-12, 2019. Berchieri is responsible for a Sao Paulo Research Foundation project that will test the effects of deleting ttrA and pduA genes from three serotypes of salmonella: Salmonella Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium and S. Heidelberg. "We selected these three serotypes because they are frequently found in poultry and may cause foodborne infections in humans," said Berchieri. The researcher explained that of the three, S. Heidelberg is the least common among humans. However, it was found in the Brazilian poultry shipments that were not accepted in Europe. "The serotype is widespread in Brazil and could compromise Brazilian exports," he said. Brazilian law specifically restricts serotypes Enteritidis and Typhimurium. However, depending on the country of import, other serotypes of Salmonella in exported poultry products may also come under restrictions. Also taking part in the project is post-doc Mauro de Mesquita Souza Saraiva and biologist Gabriele Tostes Gricio, recipient of a technical training scholarship. To determine which genes cause the bacteria to become resistant to the immune system of poultry, the researchers infected one group of chicks with a wild type bacterium [without genetic modification] and the other group with salmonella whose ttrA or pduA genes had been deleted. Then they compared the two groups for the presence of bacteria in feces, the cecum [a pouch that forms the first part of the large intestine], the liver and the spleen. By identifying the genes that allow the bacteria to survive, the researcher is able to generate mutant forms that may be used as a vaccine. When the immune system comes in contact with a variety that does not kill the animal, but survives in the organism for a period of time, that animal establishes an immunological memory. In the event the animal is later exposed to a harmful version of the bacteria its defenses will be ready to attack it. "Understanding and combating the serotypes that may infect poultry is therefore critical for the health of consumers and Brazil's trade balance," said Berchieri. Writing in the journal Cell, a research team from Cologne and Kiel describes the mechanism of immune cross-reactivity. The immune system's reaction to Candida albicans in the intestine seems to amplify pathogenic immune processes in the lungs. In consequence, immune-compromised individuals may be at higher risk of health deterioration. The composition of the microbiomethe countless bacteria, fungi and viruses that colonize our body surface, skin, intestines or lungsmakes a decisive contribution to human health or disease. However, biological mechanisms that cause inflammations in the microbiome are still largely unknown. Together with a group of researchers from the University of Kiel and the University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Professer Dr. Oliver Cornely (head of the Center of Excellence for Invasive Fungal Diseases at Cologne University Hospital) has deciphered a mechanism by which specific intestinal microbiota amplify inflammatory reactions in the lungs. The results of the study, published in Cell, could accelerate the development of new therapies for common diseases. "The fungus Candida albicans, which colonizes the intestines, skin and mucous membranes, is actually harmless," Cornely said. "However, our study has shown that Candida albicans affects the balance of our immune system." Candida albicans stimulates the immune system to produce specific defence cells, so-called Th17 cells. However, some of these Th17 cells then attack other fungi, such as Aspergillus fumigatus. This phenomenon is called cross-reactivity. The research showed that immune-compromised individuals have an increased level of cross-reactive Th17 cells in their lung tissue. This concentration is associated with a deterioration of these patients' health. The protective Th17 reaction in the intestine seems to amplify pathogenic immune processes in the lungs. "With this observation, we were able to show for the first time how a single member of the microbiome, Candida albicans, influences the specific immune response to a large group of other microbes. Immune cross-reactivity is probably a common mechanism by which the microbiome manipulates the immune systemwith both protective and harmful effects," Cornely remarked. Deciphering such specific effects of individual microbes will in future contribute to the development of targeted therapies. Explore further Candida-specific helper T cells are preferential and early targets of HIV More information: Petra Bacher et al, Human Anti-fungal Th17 Immunity and Pathology Rely on Cross-Reactivity against Candida albicans, Cell (2019). Journal information: Cell Petra Bacher et al, Human Anti-fungal Th17 Immunity and Pathology Rely on Cross-Reactivity against Candida albicans,(2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.01.041 Regions of the brain associated with stress and posttraumatic stress disorder. Credit: National Institutes of Health New research from King's College London suggests one in 13 young people in the UK have had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) before reaching age 18. The first UK-based study of its kind, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, found 31% of young people had a traumatic experience during childhood, and those who were exposed to trauma were twice as likely as their peers to have a range of mental health disorders. Relatively little is known about the extent of trauma and its effects on mental health in young people. The researchers looked at participants in the E-Risk Study, funded by the Medical Research Council, which includes 2,232 children born in England and Wales in 1994-1995. Trauma exposure and PTSD were assessed at age 18 by structured interviews. One in four young people exposed to trauma met the criteria for PTSD. People with PTSD suffer from a range of symptoms including: re-living traumatic events through distressing memories or nightmares; avoidance of anything reminding them of their trauma; feelings of guilt, isolation or detachment; and irritability, impulsivity or difficulty concentrating. Concerningly, only a minority of young people who had developed PTSD received help from health professionalsone in three talked to their GP about their mental health in the last year, and one in five saw a mental health professional. Therefore, only a small proportion of young people with PTSD in the study could have received effective treatments. A substantial proportion of young people with PTSD do not recover without treatment and symptoms can last many years. Senior researcher Professor Andrea Danese from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) says: "Our findings should serve as a wake-up callchildhood trauma is a public health concern yet trauma-related disorders often go unnoticed. Young people with PTSD are falling through the gaps in care and there is a pressing need for better access to mental health services. Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) need to make more resources available to address the needs of traumatised young people." In his clinical role Professor Danese is a Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist at the National & Specialist CAMHS Trauma, Anxiety, and Depression Clinic at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Young people in the study who developed PTSD had high rates of a range of other mental health disordersthree in four had another mental health condition at age 18. They were also at high risk of harm to themselveshalf had self-harmed and one in five attempted suicide since age 12. One in four were also not in education, employment, or training (NEET) at age 18, and half experienced social isolation or loneliness. Lead researcher Dr. Stephanie Lewis, MRC Clinical Research Training Fellow at the IoPPN, says: "Young people who have been exposed to trauma often have complex problems, which become increasingly difficult to assess and treat. Providing effective treatments early on could prevent mental health problems continuing into adulthood. We encourage parents and carers to seek support from health professionals if their children are exposed to trauma and are suffering from distressing psychological symptoms." Young people in the study were exposed to a wide range of traumas, from directly experiencing assault, injury or sexual violation to 'network trauma' - a traumatic event affecting someone the young person knew, which they learned about but did not directly witness. The risk of developing PTSD was greatest after a direct interpersonal assault or threat, with sexual assault being particularly high risk74% of young people experiencing sexual assault developed PTSD. Dr. Rachael Panizzo, who leads on mental health at the Medical Research Councilpart funders of the studysays: "Better identification of young people at risk of developing PTSD is needed as intervening early to treat mental health conditions can help minimise the wide range of negative impacts on young people's lives. This study highlights a gap in treatment for young people with PTSD and takes steps to improve our understanding of which individuals might be most susceptible." More information: 'The epidemiology of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder in a representative cohort of young people in England and Wales' by Lewis et al, The Lancet Psychiatry, DOI: 10.1016/PIIS2215-0366(19)30031-8 , www.thelancet.com/journals/lan (19)30031-8/fulltext 'The epidemiology of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder in a representative cohort of young people in England and Wales' by Lewis et al, Dr. Jeremiah Schuur, chair of emergency medicine at Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School, co-led research which found physician-affiliated political action committees provided more financial support to candidates who opposed increased background checks, contrary to many societies' recommendations for evidence-based policies to reduce firearm injuries. Credit: Jeremiah Schuur Political action committees (PACs) affiliated with physician organizations contribute more money to political candidates who oppose evidence-based policies to reduce firearm-related injuries than to those who support such policies, a new study found. This pattern of giving is inconsistent with advocacy efforts by many individual physicians and organizations in support of the policies, the researchers said. "Doctors canand shouldlead efforts to prevent firearm violence," said study co-author Dr. Jeremiah Schuur, chair of emergency medicine at Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School. "Yet we found that the PACs affiliated with the doctors who provide frontline care for victims of gun violence contribute to candidates who are blocking evidence-based firearm safety policies. If the organized political giving of these organizations doesn't match their stated public health goals, they undermine the moral authority and scientific credibility they draw upon when advocating for policy change." Indirectly, such contributions hinder the health and safety of patients, Schuur added. The findings were published on Feb. 22, in the journal JAMA Network Open. Physician professional organizations and individual doctors have recently called attention to firearm-related injuries in multiple forums, from #ThisIsOurLane tweets to policy recommendations published in 2015 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, an academic journaldeemed a Call to Action. To conduct the study, Schuur and his two co-authors analyzed campaign contributions from the 25 largest physician organization-affiliated PACs in the U.S. to determine whether their support for political candidates aligned with their established positions on firearm safety regulations. The authors reviewed the candidates' voting records on a U.S. Senate amendment (SA 4750) or co-sponsorship of a U.S. House of Representatives resolution (HR 1217), two legislative efforts that sought to expand background checks for firearm purchases. The analysis found that the majority of physician-affiliated PACs provided more money to Congressional candidates who, during the 2016 election cycle, opposed increased background checkswhich the study said are an evidence-based policy shown to reduce rates of suicide, homicide and accidental firearm injury. That financial support is contrary to many of the societies' policy recommendations, said Schuur, who is also the physician-in-chief for emergency medicine at Rhode Island Hospital. They researchers also evaluated candidates' National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) letter-grade ratings. The NRA-PVF is a PAC that ranks political candidates based on their support for the NRA's mission, including opposition to expanding background checks and imposing limits on assault weapons. Most candidates receive either an "A" or "F" rating. "We were surprised to find that there was a pattern across the largest PACs affiliated with physician professional organizationsthey gave more money and to a greater number of Congressional candidates who voted against background checks and were rated A by the NRA," said Hannah Decker, a medical student at Emory University's School of Medicine and study co-author. "This pattern held true even for physician groups that publicly endorsed evidence-based policies to reduce firearm injury." The study found that 20 of 25 physician-affiliated PACs, including the American Medical Association, American College of Emergency Physicians and American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, contributed more money to U.S. Senate incumbents who voted against SA 4750 than to those who voted for it. Additionally, 24 PACs contributed more to House incumbents who did not co-sponsor HR 1217. In total, the 25 PACs contributed an additional $500,000 to Senate candidates who voted against SA 4750 and an additional $2.8 million to House candidates who did not co-sponsor HR 1217. Twenty-one PACs contributed more money to candidates rated A by the NRA, and 24 contributed to a greater proportion of A-rated candidates by the NRA than candidates not rated A. Physician-affiliated PACs gave nearly $1.5 million more to A-rated candidates by the NRA than to those with other ratings. Among the nine PACs whose affiliated organizations endorsed the policy recommendations laid out in the 2015 call to action, eight supported a greater proportion of NRA A-rated candidates. All 16 PACs affiliated with organizations that have not publicly endorsed the call to action supported a greater proportion of NRA A-rated candidates. "The #ThisIsOurLane movement has highlighted that many physicians are willing to publicly speak out on Twitter and in the press against the NRA and in favor of evidence-based policies to reduce firearm violence," Schuur said. "We aren't suggesting that these groups actively sought to support candidates that are against evidence-based firearms policies. Rather, our study shows that these physician PACs haven't made candidates' stance on firearms policy an issue they consider. "The question going forward is if physicians can change their organizations' PACs contribution criteria, so NRA A-rated candidates no longer get the majority of physicians' political dollars," he added. Explore further Professional associations call for policies to reduce firearm injuries, deaths in US Young J. Kim, MD, PhD, left, Michael Korrer, PhD, and colleagues are studying a potential new cancer immunotherapy option. Credit: Anne Rayner An international team involving Vanderbilt researchers has discovered that a new "checkpoint" protein on immune system cells is active in tumors, and that blocking itin combination with other treatmentsis a successful therapeutic approach in mouse models of cancer. The findings were reported in the journal Cell. Checkpoint proteins are regulators of the immune response; they put on the "brakes" to protect normal tissues. Checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapies take these brakes off, unleashing the immune system's cancer-killing power. They have been remarkably effective against a number of cancers. Currently available checkpoint inhibitors target one of two immune system checkpoint pathways, but many more checkpoint proteins exist, said Michael Korrer, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow working with Young J. Kim, MD, Ph.D., Barry and Amy Baker Professor of Laryngeal, Head and Neck Research at Vanderbilt. Korrer and Kim were exploring the molecular landscape of immune system cells in human head and neck cancers removed during surgery. They were particularly interested in natural killer (NK) cells, innate immune cells that detect and kill cells infected by viruses and cancer cells. "We were characterizing natural killer cells in head and neck tumor samples, looking for cell surface proteins that might explain why the NK cells aren't working as well as they should be," Korrer said. The researchers used the Vanderbilt Flow Cytometry Shared Resource to sort and characterize immune cells based on surface proteins. They found that a protein called NKG2A was the only inhibitory receptor with increased expression on NK cells in the head and neck tumors. But NKG2A is also expressed by NK cells circulating in the blood, and it only had slightly higher expression in the tumors, Korrer said. When they looked at proteins on cytotoxic (CD8-expressing) T cells, however, Korrer noticed a jump in NKG2A. "We weren't expecting that, since NKG2A is normally associated with NK cells," he said. "But it was clearly being expressed by CD8 T cells in the head and neck tumor samples and not in the blood. That caught our attention." Cytotoxic T cells also kill virus-infected and cancer cells, but they must first be activated by recognizing a specific antigen. In further studies, Korrer confirmed that the tumor cells expressed the protein that interacts with NKG2A, called HLA-E, and that NKG2A inhibited cytotoxic T cell activity in the tumors. Expression of NKG2A in the head and neck tumors was associated with worse clinical outcome. Korrer and Kim then connected with Thorbald van Hall, Ph.D., and his colleagues at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, who had extensively studied HLA-E, and with Innate Pharma, a company in Marseille, France that has developed an anti-NKG2A antibody therapy called monalizumab. Using mouse tumor models, the researchers found that blocking NKG2A with monalizumab alone had minimal therapeutic effect. However, combining monalizumab with a cancer vaccine designed to stimulate an anti-tumor immune response reduced tumor growth and increased progression-free survival time. "It appears that NKG2A-targeted treatments have to be combined with something causing inflammation in the tumor, such as a cancer vaccine," Korrer said. The researchers demonstrated that the vaccine stimulated the expression of HLA-E in the tumor, suggesting that tumors engage the NKG2A pathway as a mechanism for adaptive resistance to vaccine therapyand that blocking the pathway may improve responses to cancer vaccines. In a separate study, researchers at Innate Pharma reported interim results from a Phase II clinical trial of monalizumab combined with cetuximab, an antibody against the EGF receptor, in patients with previously treated head and neck cancer. They found that 30 percent of the patients had a reduced tumor burden in response to the combined treatment. "Right now, NKG2A looks like it might be the third most successful immunotherapy checkpoint, which is really exciting," Korrer said. Korrer and Kim are using cellular and animal models to further explore the mechanism of action for combined cetuximab and monalizumab, the immune system cells that are active, and how cancer vaccines promote HLA-E expression in tumor cells. Explore further New findings may help oncologists determine effectiveness of checkpoint inhibitors More information: Nadine van Montfoort et al. NKG2A Blockade Potentiates CD8 T Cell Immunity Induced by Cancer Vaccines, Cell (2018). Journal information: Cell Nadine van Montfoort et al. NKG2A Blockade Potentiates CD8 T Cell Immunity Induced by Cancer Vaccines,(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.10.028 For five years, Jefferson University Hospital surgeons have been traveling to Haiti to rebuild the jaws of patients whose faces are disfigured by benign, yet massive tumors. These are delicate operations, made all the more challenging because the doctors cannot see what they are dealing with until they arrive in a sparsely equipped operating room in Port-au-Prince and meet their patients. This year they tried a new tactic: making models of the patients' jaws in advance, with 3-D printers in Philadelphia. The idea was to use the plastic models as a guide, allowing the physicians to bend titanium surgical plates in the exact shape of each patient's jawbonea task normally done during surgery. Shaping the plates in advance would save up to an hour in the operating room, reducing time under anesthesia, the risk of infection, and other complications, and it also would help the surgeons achieve a more faithful reconstruction of each patient's original anatomy. The concept is unusual even in the United States. Jefferson physicians have been making jaw models for this type of surgery only for the past year and a half, using a suite of printers housed in a former bank vault in Philadelphia. For patients in poverty-stricken Haiti, still recovering from the 2010 earthquake, the high-tech advance was like something from another world. "It was life-changing," said Patrick Jean-Gilles, chief resident of the ear, nose and throat/head and neck surgery department at Haiti State University Hospital. Jean-Gilles sent discs containing three patients' CT scans to Jefferson in early January, and Robert S. Pugliese, director of Jefferson's Health Design Lab, got to work. Assisted by medical students, he converted the scans into computer files that could be interpreted by the lab's printers. Then he kept watch for days as the printer nozzles glided back and forth, depositing layer after layer of plastic in the shape of the patients' jaws and other facial bones. Though invented decades ago, 3-D printers have only recently begun to transform medicine in various ways, as the cost of the boxy machines has declined. Some physicians use printed models of body parts as a visual aid, planning the best approach for surgery when a patient's anatomy is especially complex. Others use printers to fashion actual devices to be implanted in a patient. Those typically are made from plastic and other inert materials, though increasingly, researchers are experimenting with devices that can "print" cartilage and other living tissue. A printed model of a jawbone lies somewhere in between. It can help in visualizing the best strategy for a surgery, and it also serves as a template for bending the titanium plate that is screwed into what remains of a jaw eroded by a tumor. Dominick Gadaleta, Jefferson's chief resident for ear, nose, and throat/head and neck surgery, demonstrated the process last month, shaping a narrow strip of metal with a device that looked like a heavy-duty pair of pliers. He matched the metal's curvature precisely to the contours of a jawbone model made from one of the Haitian patient's scans. "It's a much better anatomical fit" than what can be achieved in the operating room, Gadaleta said. Jefferson surgeons have used this technique on two dozen U.S. patients so far, and they say it is especially useful for patients in Haiti, some of whose tumors are so large that the bone beneath has been destroyed. In the case of a 26-year-old Haitian woman whose right jaw was completely gone, physicians planned to bend the metal in a mirror image of her left jaw, said Joseph M. Curry, a Jefferson head and neck surgeon who is a co-leader of the Haiti project. The various benign tumors of the jaw are no more common in Haiti than in the U.S., but here they typically are removed while still small. In Haiti, where such surgeries were not readily available until recently, some patients' tumors have grown to half the size of their faces. They need both a delicate tumor removal and also a complex reconstructive procedure that is not yet performed by Haitian physicians. The growths are generally not painful, but patients can suffer from stigma, isolation, and difficulty eating and finding a job, Curry said. Curry flew to Miami the night of Jan. 15, then caught an early morning flight to Haiti the next day, the first of four days he would spend in the operating room at St. Luke's Hospital in Port-au-Prince. He was one of a team of 20, including Jefferson surgeon David Cognetti, two surgeons from the University of Miami, and nurses, residents, and students from both institutions. Two of the group were there on a different mission: discussing a potential "telehealth" program through which Haitian physicians could consult their U.S. counterparts. Eight patients underwent tumor removal and facial reconstruction surgery. The surgeons had 3-D-printed models in only two of the cases, as the necessary CT scans cost more than $300out of reach for many people in the impoverished country, Jean-Gilles said. A third 3-D-printed model had been made for a ninth patient, but the physicians were concerned she might have cancer, and elected to postpone the surgery pending the results of a biopsy. The surgeons occupied two operating rooms at St. Luke's, tackling one case per day in each room. Some of the clinicians were tasked with cutting away the tumors while others handled the reconstruction. Jean-Gilles took part as well. On each patient's jawbone, the surgeons screwed in a sterilized metal plate. In the two cases with the printed models, the plates had been custom-bent in advance. Then the surgeons cut pieces from each patient's fibula, the smaller of the two lower-leg bones, and attached those to the metal plates. (People can still walk with most of that bone removed.) With painstaking care, they attached the blood vessels in the implanted bones to veins and arteries in the patients' necks. In the two cases where models were printed in advance, the time saved during surgery meant less time for the pieces of leg bone to go without oxygen, in addition to the other advantages. Each case took all day. The team worked with limited resources. Unlike in the U.S., the patients did not undergo scans of their legs to ascertain the health of blood vessels before the surgeons removed the fibula. Because the patients were fairly young, the team decided it could omit that step, Curry said. Also unlike in the U.S., the patients recovered with non-opioid pain medications. Opioids can suppress the respiratory system, and the Haitian hospital had limited technology to monitor the patients' breathing rate. But the non-opioid alternative, though safer, provided less pain relief. "They do remarkably well," Curry said. "They're not comfortable, but they're OK." While all eight surgeries were successful, the surgeons achieved a better fit for the two patients whose jaw models had been printed in advance, Curry said. "It's giving them basically their old jawline back," he said. A week later, Jean-Gilles said all eight were recovering well. "They are all so satisfied," the Haitian surgeon said. And with the knowledge gained from working alongside the Jefferson and Miami surgeons, Jean-Gilles plans eventually to undertake the complex reconstructive surgeries himself. But at Jefferson, lab director Pugliese said that because the printers have already saved so much time in the operating room, they already have paid for themselves. Explore further Custom 3D-printed models help plastic surgeons plan and perform rhinoplasty 2019 Philly.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Cryoelectron microscopy reconstruction of Chikungunya virus. From EMDB entry 5577. Credit: Wikipedia A monoclonal antibody against the chikungunya virus developed by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is the first monoclonal antibody encoded by messenger RNA to enter a clinical trial. Moderna Inc., a biotechnology firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that is focused on developing mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics, announced the clinical trial earlier this month. The specific antibody against the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus, which causes fever, rash, and sometimes debilitating joint pain, initially was identified in the blood of a previously infected person who developed potent immunity against the virus. Researchers in the laboratory of James Crowe Jr., MD, who directs the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, isolated the messenger or mRNA that encodes the antibody protein. The Moderna team developed the mRNA sequence for the antibody and encapsulated it in their proprietary lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology, which has been delivered in a Phase I safety trial in human subjects. The goal is for cells that take up the encapsulated RNA to then produce the anti-chikungunya antibody. "This is a first test in man of any mRNA-delivered antibody for an infection," said Crowe, the Ann Scott Carell Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. "Our mission is to create a fundamentally new class of medicines with mRNA therapeutics that can help patients with a wide range of conditions," Moderna President Stephen Hoge, MD, wrote in a blog post on his company's website. "This announcement is an important part of that path forward." The program is supported by a grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense to develop new methods for preventing the global spread of viruses like chikungunya and Zika. Currently there is no effective treatment for chikungunya virus infection and no licensed vaccine to prevent it. Enabling the body to produce antibodies against chikungunya through RNA infusions is a natural and powerful way to combat the virus, Crowe said, "because human beings make the most amazing antibodies." Explore further Discovery could neutralize West Nile virus Workers remove asbestos-containing roofing material. Asbestos is used in many industries because of its strength and physical properties. Credit: Andre Quinou/Shutterstock.com It is tempting to dismiss asbestos as a problem of the past. The height of its consumption was in the 1970s, and asbestos litigation began over a half century ago. Many of its leading manufacturers and mining companies are long gone. Yet asbestos litigation is back in the news. A trial court ordered Johnson & Johnson in July, 2018, to pay US$4.69 billion for failing to warn customers that its baby powder contained asbestos, which naturally occurs in talc. The company now faces thousands of these suits, and its stock took a nosedive in December 2018 on a report that it knew its talc was contaminated. The company plans to appeal and continue to fight these cases, but, even if it eventually wins, their emergence raises the question: Why does asbestos litigation persist? I have studied asbestos for decades and written books about its dangers and public policy around it. The issues surrounding asbestos or the material itself will not go away. Stronger than steel, and potentially lethal One reason for the persistence of the problem is that tons of asbestos remain in our communities, a legacy from when asbestos was prized for its remarkable commercial properties. It is a fiber made of rock that is stronger than steel, yet flexible enough to be woven into cloth. It is waterproof, corrosion proof and fireproof, as well as abundant and easy to mine. Manufacturers found ways to add asbestos to everything from hair driers to battleships, roof shingles to children's modeling clay, car parts to missile silos. Asbestos is still used legally in the U. S. for some purposes, despite efforts to ban it completely, like many other countries, including those in the European Union, Australia and dozens more. Scientists now know that exposure to asbestos' fibers can be lethal, causing a number of fatal diseases including mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer of the lining of organs, and asbestosis, a progressive scarring of the lungs. Asbestos exposure can also cause pleural plaques, fibrous thickenings of the membrane around the lung. This condition is asymptomatic and may not develop into serious diseases. But those who have been exposed face years of uncertainty because many of the worst asbestos-related diseases can take decades to appear. And, yesterday's asbestos can be today's health hazard. Because it is a mineral, asbestos does not evaporate, and its dangers do not diminish over time. If anything, some asbestos products can become more dangerous as they become brittle and likely to release fibers into the environment. Asbestos fibers can also be released when disturbed, a fact tragically illustrated by the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks when the collapse of the World Trade Center towers released a cloud of dust containing asbestos. Finally, asbestos is part of the landscape of some communities, and epidemiologists have found higher rates of asbestos-related cancers in areas that are known to have deposits of asbestos-containing rock. Roofing material that shows small asbestos fibers. When these indestructible fibers enter the lung, they can cause serious disease. Credit: tunatura/Shutterstock.com Accordingly, even if the U.S. followed the lead of other countries and prohibited its use, health risks from asbestos would continue. Consistent with this assessment, the World Health Organization reported that asbestos-related deaths have persisted worldwide, including in countries that banned it in the early 1990s. Lawsuits, a result of politics? A final reason for continued litigation is political. Asbestos is a global problem, but the American response has been distinct. Whereas other countries have addressed asbestos injuries through centralized benefit programs that pool costs and risks, the U.S. has relied much more heavily on litigation. Consider the Netherlands. During the 1970s and 1980s, Dutch workers suffered five to 10 times the incidence of asbestos-related diseases compared to American workers. Dutch law allows workers to sue their employers for workplace injuries, yet there were only 10 asbestos-related lawsuits in the Netherlands in the 1990s. During the same period, one in three of all civil cases filed in the Eastern District of Texas were asbestos-related. Dutch workers did not file lawsuits because they did not need to. They enjoyed much more comprehensive health and unemployment benefits, which were deducted from any recovery in the courts. American workers also did not sue at first. Instead, they sought relief from state workers' compensation programs. But these programs were designed to compensate workers for traumatic injuries, like broken arms and legs, and not slowly manifesting occupational diseases, like mesothelioma and asbestosis. As a result, these programs offered very limited relief. With no relief, lawyers moved in Entrepreneurial lawyers stepped into the breach. Aided by favorable rulings and the discovery of decades of corporate efforts to conceal the risks of their products, asbestos litigation took hold and ramped up. By the early 2000s, an estimated 730,000 claims had been filed targeting over 8,400 companies in 75 of 83 categories of economic activity within the U.S. economy. Building on their early successes, lawyers created an extensive infrastructure to support these claims, giving rise to a cottage industry complete with extensive marketing campaigns and sophisticated strategies for finding new claims. The final price tag has been estimated at over $325 billion in today's dollars. Initially, this litigation illustrated the heroic side of the American legal system: its flexibility, innovativeness and ability to take on powerful interests. Over time, however, serious concerns emerged from lawyers, policy experts and judges about its costs and fairness. Numerous studies demonstrated that administrative costs of asbestos litigation gobble up over half of all compensation paid. These costs might be tolerable if asbestos litigation has delivered consistent and timely compensation to victims, but payments have been erratic and slow. Meanwhile, claims now are often herded into massive settlements or bankruptcy compensation trusts, where compensation varies and claimants are offered little, if any, individual due process. Even worse, asbestos litigation has reportedly become plagued by questionable practices and accusations of fraudulent practices that displace consideration of those suffering the most and unfairly burden the courts and businesses. Given these problems, judges, interest groups and members of both political parties have repeatedly begged Congress to create a national asbestos injury compensation fund along the lines of other economically advanced democracies. These efforts have all failed at the federal level for a variety of complex political reasons, which have thwarted compromises over who pays, how much and to whom. As a result, the erratic beat of asbestos litigation will continue, as the problem of asbestos will not go away on its own. People without adequate health insurance and social benefits will continue to suffer, and lawyers will continue to find ways to bring claims. Just ask Johnson & Johnson. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. If you should collapse of a sudden cardiac arrest at the mall food court, your lifesaver could be shopping nearby and completely unaware that someone is in urgent need of help. Recently, Ramsey County Emergency Communications staffers stood alongside fire chiefs and emergency room doctors to unveil a free smartphone app they believe can make a lifesaving connection to a CPR-trained bystander in time to save potentially dozens of people in the metro area each year. The PulsePoint app alerts nearby CPR-trained bystanders when 911 dispatch receives a call of cardiac arrest in a public location. "When seconds count, we need everyone's help to save a life. That's what PulsePoint is all about," said Roseville Assistant Fire Chief David Brosnahan. The app also identifies the location of the nearest automated external defibrillator (AED), a portable medical device that delivers an electric shock to the heart. Anyone can download the app and identify themselves as CPR-trained. Their phone will beep or buzz, much like an Amber Alert does, when someone's heart stops and a call for help is made. Ramsey County, which is spending $75,000 on the app for a five-year licensing agreement, gets about 400 cardiac arrest calls a year. About 60 of them occur in a public place. "Each year we have examples in our community where bystander CPR and AED placement have directly saved people's lives," said Maplewood EMS Chief Mike Mondor. "Just last year in community buildings, we had three people that had their lives saved by bystanders." Ramsey County joins more than 3,000 jurisdictions across the nationincluding Los Angeles, Seattle and Milwaukeethat are using PulsePoint. There are about 1.3 million PulsePoint app users nationally. More than 326,000 Americans have cardiac arrests outside of a hospital each year, according to the American Heart Association. Only about 10 percent of people who collapse from sudden cardiac arrest outside a hospital survive. In Minnesota, St. Louis Park, Winona and Moorhead are using the app. Roseville firefighter Dave Doucet said he's responded to cardiac arrest calls at malls and stores packed with people, only to find the victim on the floor unaided. Even a bystander starting chest compressions in the first critical minutes can greatly increase the victim's chances of survival, he said. "It keeps the blood flowing to the vital organs and the brain," Doucet said. Since Rapid City, S.D., started using PulsePoint in late 2017, 12 of 16 victims of cardiac arrests in public places received bystander CPR, said Jim Bussell, spokesman for the Rapid City Fire Department. About half of the 16 survived, he said. PulsePoint was started by San Ramon, Calif., Fire Chief Richard Price. He was eating lunch at a deli when he heard sirens. Someone next door had suffered cardiac arrest. "I was just feet away from the cardiac arrest victim, but completely unaware of their peril," said Price in a Ted Talk. "This was a startling event for me. ... I was surprised I could be so unaware of something so serious happening so close by." Explore further Fewer cardiac arrest victims get bystander CPR in Latino neighborhoods 2019 Star Tribune (Minneapolis) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The 63-year-old has been been trying to buy an apartment ever since she was evicted from the home she rented for 32 years when it was bought by Chinese investors two years ago. I want some security in case the same thing happens again, says Ms Hynes, originally from Ireland. She earns a modest salary as an English teacher, while her Greek husbands monthly pension was cut from 1,500 (1,315; $1,690) to 500 during the countrys economic crisis, which began in 2010. When we were evicted there were still apartments selling nearby for 100,000. Now I cant find anything under 250,000. These are Chinese and Russian prices. Not Greek. Greeces financial crisis a decade ago shrank the countrys economy by more than 25% in the following years, but there are finally signs of improvement. The property market, once completely dead, is on the rise house prices in Athens rose 3.7% last year The boom appears to be driven by a controversial golden visa scheme, in which non-EU citizens receive residency and free movement in the EUs Schengen zone, in exchange for investing in property. The worry is that foreign investors are benefiting while ordinary Greeks miss out. Many EU countries including the UK, Portugal and Spain, have golden visa schemes, but Greece has the lowest threshold. Investors receive five-year residency after purchasing 250,000 of property, making the country a new hotspot for foreign buyers. He is the Prime Minister of Ethiopia: In that time, he has overseen the swiftest political liberalisation in Ethiopias more than 2,000-year history. He has made peace with Eritrea; freed 60,000 political prisoners, including every journalist previously detained; unbanned opposition groups once deemed terrorist organisations; and appointed women to half his cabinet. He has pledged free elections in 2020 and made a prominent opposition activist head of the electoral commission. In a country where government spies were ubiquitous, people feel free to express opinions that a year ago would have had them clapped in jail. Here is more from David Pilling and Lionel Barber at the FT. Dont forget that until the ascent of Abiy Ahmed, the internet was basically shut down for most of the country. Opinion: There is a disturbing notion being promulgated in some corners of the far right, which is today ascendant in Idaho. The idea is that freedom of speech means freedom from criticism. U.S. vs. China: In the 21st century we are going to compete with China greatly. It is going to be economically, it is going to be militarily, it is going to be culturally. I am convinced the 21st century is going to go back to what we were doing in the 18th, 17th and 16th centuries. And this is to have the competition of great powers. Micron vs. China: Micron Technology is the unfortunate recipient of some of Chinas activities, Risch said, referring to Chinas theft of U.S. technology secrets. I have had a lot of conversations with the Chinese about this. My most spirited one recently was with the Chinese ambassador and to listen to him defend the undefendable is stunning, because what they are doing is just flat wrong. We are going to stick with Micron, and we are going to see this thing through. We really have to. This case needs to become the line in the sand, so it does not become the norm for how the Chinese are going to try and get a leg up on us in the 21st century. BOISE As small, rural schools in the Magic Valley and across the state struggle to recruit and retain certified teachers, a south-central Idaho lawmaker hopes to alleviate the educator shortage by offering a student loan forgiveness program to teachers in certain districts. A bill from Rep. Sally Toone, a Democrat from Gooding, would provide about $12,000 in loan assistance to teachers working in rural or economically disadvantaged schools over a four-year period. The goal of the bill, introduced Thursday, is not just to attract teachers to these schools, but to keep them around. We have to have tools in our toolbox, Toone told the Times-News. It wont fit everybody. But its an opportunity to try to keep teachers here. While programs such as Teach for America have helped place teachers in some of Idahos struggling schools, such programs typically attract temporary, non-certified teachers, Toone said. Her bill, which is co-sponsored by Rep. Muffy Davis, D-Ketchum, and Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise, would offer assistance only to teachers who have already received their certification. I want to focus on people that have education as their end goal, Toone said. For my granddaughter whos in the second grade, I want a certified teacher for her. BOISE (AP) Legislation to allow 13 historic Idaho theaters to sell alcoholic beverages during movies has passed the House. The 60-7 vote on Thursday sends to the Senate the legislation that applies to theaters built before 1950 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Idaho theaters with the appropriate license can already sell alcoholic beverages during movies but must meet specific requirements in Idaho law involving where the physical sales occur in the theater. But buildings on the National Register of Historic Places arent allowed to make major physical alterations, meaning the 13 historic theaters cant comply with requirements to sell alcohol during movies. Backers of the bill say it will help the historic theaters remain financially viable. The impacted theaters could include the Schubert Theater in Gooding, the Wilson Theater in Rupert and the Burley Theater in Burley. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BOISE Idaho will keep springing ahead and falling back, for the time being, the states House of Representatives decided Friday. A bill from a District 23 lawmaker to eliminate daylight saving time died on a 15-54-1 vote, with two south-central Idaho representatives voting in favor of the bill and eight voting against. Rep. Christy Zito, R-Hammett, and Rep. Laurie Lickley, R-Jerome, voted to pass Zitos bill to exempt Idaho from daylight saving time. Lickley told the Times-News after the vote that she supported the bill because of the number of calls and emails she fielded from constituents on the matter. The number of people that have reached out to me about daylight savings has been unbelievable, Lickley said. And I thought, You know, its a reasonable request. Im going to support it. Rep. Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, Rep. Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls, Rep. Muffy Davis, D-Ketchum, Rep. Linda Wright Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, Rep. Clark Kauffman, R-Filer, Rep. Sally Toone, D-Gooding, and Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley, voted against the bill. Davis and other critics argued on the floor that eliminating daylight saving time could inconvenience cyclists, hikers, and other recreationists who like to spend their evenings outside. TWIN FALLS Never has the word juniper been so exciting. For Pepper Kelm, a fourth-grader at Morningside Elementary, it was the word that helped her win the school spelling bee. Im so glad that it was juniper, Pepper said. That word is easy. She considers herself lucky to win; she didnt take her competition lightly. She was awestruck by her fellow classmates who put up a good fight, but her skills are not to be sniffed at. Now, the real challenge begins with the regional spelling bee. Suddenly, the words are much more challenging. Words like tsunami, langosta and hoomalimali are just a taste of whats to come. Pepper is just one of 54 students from 28 south-central Idaho schools who will compete in Mondays fifth annual Times-News Regional Spelling Bee. Students from first grade through eighth grade will compete. Each participating school, depending on its size, will send its top two or three spellers to regionals. The winner of the Times-News Regional Spelling Bee will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, to be held May 27 through May 30 in National Harbor, Md. TWIN FALLS A Twin Falls man has been charged with unlawful hunting after Idaho Fish and Game investigated a report of someone shooting at ducks in a Twin Falls subdivision. Fish and Game issued Kevin Sterling Hanks a citation and ordered him to appear in court March 19, according to court records. He faces misdemeanor charges of hunting without a license; unlawful taking of game animals, birds or furbearers; a Fish and Game rules violation; and trespassing on private property. The case was filed Thursday in Twin Falls County Magistrate Court. We have probable cause to believe he was trying to take waterfowl, Regional Conservation Officer Josh Royse said. According to a statement the department posted on its Facebook page, homeowners in a Twin Falls subdivision heard a gunshot at 9:55 a.m. Jan. 14. Police initially investigated the incident. We took over the investigation due to the wildlife related crimes, Royse said. Witnesses described a man who they said walked between houses and fired a shotgun toward ducks on a pond. The shooting was in the area around Brookfield Court, where there is a natural stream that runs through a neighborhood. CALDWELL Two bounty hunters who held a person at gunpoint despite there being no outstanding warrant on the victim have been sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation and had to agree not to pursue bail bonding or bail recovery anymore. District Judge Christopher Nye sentenced Kevin Ratigan, 26, and David Manery, 29, last week after they pleaded guilty Feb. 13 to misdemeanor unlawful assembly. The charges were amended down from felony unlawful exercise of the functions of a police officer, pursuant to a plea agreement. The men were charged in June after Caldwell police officers saw Ratigan and Manery in an unmarked, decommissioned police car pull over a vehicle near the Maverik gas station on Marble Front Road and North Illinois Avenue. The vehicle had rear emergency lights that were flashing. Police reported that the victim thought the bounty hunters were police because of their dress and tactical gear. Ratigan and Manery said they were stopping someone who fled from them, according to previous reports. Police said the two men had no probable cause to go after the victim. Canyon County spokesman Joe Decker said the men agreed to turn in their bonding licenses with the Department of Insurance. In this week's political podcast, Milfred and Hands assess the finalists for mayor, and play clips from their primary night victory speeches. Satya Rhodes-Conway survived a crowded field of candidates by drawing the sharpest contrast with Madison's "mayor for life." Incumbent Paul Soglin is still the favorite. But Rhodes-Conway could benefit from outrage over a conservative Supreme Court candidate. "Center Stage with Milfred and Hands" click the play button above to listen is the State Journal's weekly podcast from the sensible center of Wisconsin politics, featuring editorial page editor Scott Milfred and political cartoonist Phil Hands, half of the Wisconsin State Journal editorial board. Follow or subscribe to "Center Stage" on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher or Google Play. A few weeks back, I was gossiping with a former senior aide to Joe Biden whos in regular contact with the former vice president. He said he genuinely didnt know if Biden was going to run for president again in 2020, but the confidant did say this: No one enjoys watching the will he or wont he speculation game more than Biden himself. And who can blame him? Its got to be pretty flattering to watch the country collectively hold its breath as you entertain exploratory meetings with dignitaries, political leaders and high-end donors. But enoughs enough. Its time for Biden to make the call: in or out? His clock is ticking especially loudly at the moment for a few important reasons. One? Donors. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced hes raised a staggering $6 million from 225,000 donors in just 24 hours since announcing his presidential run. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-CA, raised $1.5 million in her first 24 hours. And at the beginning of the month, Elizabeth Warren launched her presidential exploratory committee, and raised $299,000 online from over 8,000 donations. The real estate related issues that served as the basis for our endorsement have been overshadowed by other, non-real estate related issues issues with which we do not want to be associated and that directly conflict with the principles of our organization and the values of our members, Theo said. Hagedorn spokesman Stephan Thompson brushed off the development Thursday, characterizing it as another smear by Hagedorns liberal opponent, Wisconsin Appeals Court Chief Judge Lisa Neubauer. Madison isnt going to decide who sits on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the voters are, Thompson said. Lisa Neubauer and her liberal allies will do anything to take over the court, including attacks on people of faith. Despite Neubauers smears, Judge Hagedorn will continue to spread his message of defending the rule of law, upholding the constitution, and protecting the public. Hagedorn on social media Thursday characterized the reports targeting his LGBT views as a shameful assault on his faith. The Constitution provides no religious test for public office, he wrote on Twitter. Attacks on people of faith have no place in public life. Ill protect the religious freedom of all people. A scam to have victims pay for prayers is going around the Madison and south-central Wisconsin area, and officials at SSM Health are concerned people might think they have something to do with it. The health system, which includes St. Marys hospitals in Madison and Janesville, said the scam involves people getting robocalls. People who have received calls indicate a robocaller identifies as someone from St. Mary Prayer Center Ministry and offers prayers for payment, said SSM Health spokesman Jim Korth. Some of the calls have gone to community members, while others are directed to St. Marys Hospital-Madison patients. St. Marys Hospital has chaplains available for patients who want support and prayer, but its a direct connection between the chaplain and patient. They communicate in person, do not call community members, and would never seek money in return for prayer, Korth said. Anyone getting a robocall about paying for praying from the St. Mary Prayer Center Ministry should hang up and report the call to the Consumer Protection Bureau. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Sauk County Drug Task Force found more than 500 grams (about 1.6 pounds) of marijuana in a Baraboo home Wednesday morning, resulting in charges for two men and one woman. In the narcotics search at 419 1st St., Baraboo, authorities confiscated 539 grams of marijuana with a street value of roughly $5,400, according to priceofweed.com and four oxycodone pills. Oxycodone is an opioid prescribed to relieve pain. The suspects, all three from Baraboo, were all charged with possession of paraphernalia. Jordan D. Parchem, 34, was charged with possession with intent and bail jumping. Joshua J. Jaczynski, 34, and Marisa L. Cook, 31, were charged with possession of THC. Cook also faces a charge of possession of a Schedule II narcotic. According to the Baraboo Police Department, several adults at the house cooperated with officers during the drug search. The task force includes members of the Baraboo, Reedsburg, Lake Delton, Sauk Prairie and Plain/Spring Green police departments, the Wisconsin State Patrol and the Sauk County Sheriffs Department. Follow Susan Endres on Twitter @EndresSusan or call her at 745-3506. Morrow, who worked with five others in a small lab at Richelieu Foods, was qualified to be a pharmacist and his supervisor questioned why he came to work at the frozen pizza plant. Ben was essentially making pennies compared to what he would be making as a pharmacist, Morrows supervisor said, according to the Beaver Dam Police Department incident report. I never understood why Ben wanted to work at Richelieu when he had such an impressive resume, he told police. Morrows supervisor told police he believed it was odd that Morrow left a decent paying job at PPD, a company that conducts medical testing, to make less money at Richelieu Foods. Morrow had worked on the afternoon shift at Richelieu since the summer of 2017. Morrows supervisor said he hired Morrow because Morrow had a chemistry degree, although that was not required for the job. Morrows supervisor said he was a good employee and always was on time. He also could be friendly and dressed well, but could be a bit sloppy with the details of his work. Ben would constantly forget to date and time-stamp documents he was required to fill out for purposes of effectively performing his job duties as a quality control employee, the supervisor said. After nine months of campaigning and hundreds of thousands of dollars in political spending , primary season in Madison is over . But before pivoting our attention to the general election in April, the Madsplainers podcast is taking a beat to break down what happened on Tuesday night's election. In this episode of the Cap Times' city government and current affairs podcast, Erik, Abby and Lisa were joined by Cap Times news editor Jason Joyce in the studio to go over the results of the mayoral, school board and City Council races. The four talk about the election parties they attended on Tuesday, ward-by-ward voting numbers, and what we should expect in the mayoral showdown between Mayor Paul Soglin and Satya Rhodes-Conway. I remember a time when previous governors would have laughed all the way to the bank with a deal this good. Also, if you are wondering why people above the FPL should be eligible, it is because the FPL is very low 133 percent being only $16,612 annually for an individual and $34,248 for a family of four. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates that 76,000 more people (a little more than the population of the city of Waukesha) would be eligible for Medicaid health care under full expansion. Even though Wisconsin has missed the opportunity for the huge increases in federal funds and huge savings in state funds, there is still a big upside to expanding Medicaid in the 2019-2021 budget. Again, the Fiscal Bureau indicates that full expansion in the next state budget would add $793 million in federal funds and mean a savings of nearly $280 million in state tax dollars. The state savings could then be used for other priorities such as transportation, education, or health care. New York police supervisors received eight hours of such training. Wray said it was imperative to demonstrate why it mattered. Critics say that if everybodys got implicit biases, its just the way were wired and therefore theres not much to be done about it. Wray said he tries to counter that argument. We have a mantra, and we go over it again and again, and it is that having biases is unsafe, and thats what the officers always clue in on. Its unsafe, unjust and simply not good policing, Wray said. Were not telling them not to make split-second decisions; we know that they will, Wray said. The training is about when you have time for reflection, and you ask yourself: But for this person being a young Latino male would I be doing this? As with so many things that make sense and appear pragmatic that have been harmed by the election of Donald Trump, so too has any national focus on racial awareness training in policing. Within days, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute board reversed its decision and asked Angela Davis to accept the award. Last Friday night, "Angela Solidarity Shabbats" were held in dozens of cities, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace. Jesse Schaffer hosted the celebration in Birmingham. "My Judaism is directly rooted in social justice," he told us at the Shabbat. "For me, Angela Davis is a direct expression of those values, and she has always understood that our historic struggles are linked, whether it's Palestinians, it's black folks in the South, Jewish folks really, any struggle for justice that they're all linked and that we're stronger together." On Saturday night, more than 3,000 people poured into Birmingham's Boutwell Auditorium for an evening organized by the Birmingham Committee for Truth and Reconciliation. At the event, Davis reflected on how meaningful the Shabbats were to her: "'Angela, sister, you are welcome in this Shabbat' comes from a slogan that was used on many posters all over the country when I was underground fleeing the FBI. People put up these posters on their doors: 'Angela, sister, you are welcome in this house.'" Political Environment blogger James Rowen is glad that Wisconsin's mainstream is beyond Supreme Court justice candidate Brian Hagedorn's bigotry. He congratulates the Wisconsin Realtors Association for withdrawing its endorsement of Hagedorn after the news that he founded a school that excludes gays and the revelation of his anti-gay views in writings while working for former Gov. Scott Walker. The latest questions to haunt Hagedorn involve his giving paid speeches to organizations identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups who want to criminalize sodomy and sterilize transgender people. One Wisconsin Now insists that this all disqualifies him from holding a court seat. The Beloit Daily News comments that we're just a few weeks into the new legislative session and already we've reached gridlock. The paper comments on the proposed middle-class tax cuts that both sides say they want, but differ over how to pay for it. Don't bet on any compromises, the paper predicts. Rep. David Bowen, D-Milwaukee, said he was disappointed Democrats weren't invited help draft the legislation or participate in the announcements. "Once again, Republicans have chosen to act unilaterally on a critical issue that should not be partisan rather than work with Democrats to truly solve the problems affecting the citizens of Wisconsin and Milwaukee," Bowen said in a statement. An Evers spokeswoman did not immediately say whether he had discussed the legislation with Republicans. Republicans holding a news conference in Madison said they had not asked Democratic lawmakers for input. "Not everybody can be at the table when you're drafting legislation," said Rep. Jon Plumer, R-Lodi. "My personal thought was they're probably a little busy putting the budget together. I would love to have some bipartisan support from the Democrats. We don't think this is a partisan issue." Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less. Up until Tuesday night, when the results from Madison's mayoral primary election were official, even the most ardent supporters of Satya Rhodes-Conway were unsure if she would advance to the general election. Rhodes-Conways campaign did not run ads on TV like some of her opponents, including Mayor Paul Soglin, Raj Shukla and Mo Cheeks. She came in fourth among those candidates in fundraising, others spent more money and her campaign relied on canvassing and face-to-face interactions. Supporter Rebecca Kemble, who also represents District 18 on the Madison City Council, admitted Tuesday night at Rhodes-Conways poll-watching party that she was very nervous" all day. I thought it was a crap shoot, anyones to lose. I wasnt even sure that Soglin was going to make it through. We were at the bottom of the list in terms of fundraising, Kemble said. I did have a sense that out in the community, Team Satya was doing the most work in terms of canvassing, talking to people, lit drops. After the ballots were counted, Rhodes-Conway managed to finish less than one percentage point 323 votes behind Soglin and joined him in advancing to the April 2 general election. Soglin ended up with 28.6 percent of the vote to Rhodes-Conway's 27.7 percent. Ald. Mo Cheeks finished in third place with just over 23 percent of the vote and environmental advocate Raj Shukla came in fourth with over 18 percent. Comedian Nick Hart received 386 votes, or 1 percent. Toriana Pettaway, the citys racial equity coordinator, received 267 votes as a write-in candidate. Soglins narrow margin of victory, coupled with the significant vote totals for Cheeks and Shukla, provided reason for optimism among Rhodes-Conway's supporters and indicated the city's iconic incumbent has a challenging reelection campaign in front of him. Soglin, who has served as mayor for 22 non-consecutive years, embodied confidence at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. He reminded members of the media that more voters turn out for general elections, possibly opening a bigger pool of supporters. Soglin also said much of the dialogue surrounding the primary election was negative toward him as the incumbent and that the dynamic is going to change. The issues are going to become broader and issues that really get to what I think is my strength: the ability to manage and to deal with really tough challenges with competing values., Soglin said. The candidates have made collectively great commitments without giving really honest answers about how youre going to pay for it. There are no more freebies here. There are no more feel-good positions. Rhodes-Conway, the managing director of the Mayors Innovation Project at UW-Madisons Center on Wisconsin Strategy, was knocking on doors through the day of the primary election. She said multiple Cheeks and Shukla supporters said she was their second-choice. When I got into this race, I didnt know what the mayor was doing and I didnt know who else was running, Rhodes-Conway said. I got in because I believe I can lead this city in the direction it needs to go and that we can make Madison a place where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Im looking forward to a good, clean campaign. I respect Mayor Soglin, I hope he respects me and may the best woman win. Who voted for whom? Voter turnout, measured by the Madison City Clerks office as a percentage of registered voters, was on par with the 2011 spring primary. That election, which occurred as protesters occupied the state Capitol to speak out against former Gov. Scott Walker's signature Act 10 legislation, featured a state Supreme Court primary as well as a competitive Dane County executive race. In Tuesday's election, the Madison City Clerks office recorded an overall turnout of 21.6 percent of registered voters 38,753 people. In 2011, 22 percent of registered voters turned out to the polls. Four years ago, 12 percent turned out for a primary featuring Soglin and challengers Scott Resnick, Bridget Maniaci, Richard Brown and Christopher Daly. In the general election that year, 32,347 more people voted in the April 2015 general election compared to the February primary of the same year. Dane County Democratic Party Chair Michael Basford managed Resnick's 2015 campaign. He said voters who participate in the general election after sitting out the primary would have to break rather substantially for Soglin to win. When an incumbent clears less than 50 percent in a primary, that is cause for concern. Not able to clear 29 percent is cause for very grave concern, Basford said. At this point, one would be hard pressed not to consider (Rhodes-Conway) to be the frontrunner. To be successful citywide, Basford said Rhodes-Conway needs to broaden her profile in the community and make the case that Madison wants a change in leadership. However, Soglins record and experience cannot be downplayed, especially since 11 City Council seats could have new occupants after the election. (Soglins experience) speaks for itself, Basford said. He has led the city through changes in the past of city government as the council has changed. Soglin performed well in wards outside of the isthmus. In Ward 107, on the far west side, Soglins earned 181 votes, outpacing all other candidates combined. In Ward 89 on the west side, Soglin received 309 votes compared to Rhodes-Conways 170 the second highest vote total. In Ward 79, located in Cheeks aldermanic district, Soglin gained 307 votes 62 votes short of Cheeks 369. Rhodes-Conway won by significant margins of 100 votes or more on the near east and near west sides of the city. In Ward 45 on the near east side, Rhodes-Conway secured 319 votes compared to Soglins 104. She also excelled downtown, gaining 149 votes in Ward 46 compared to Soglins 26 votes. Soglin best ward was 38, located on the north side near Cherokee Marsh, where he secured 335 votes. Rhodes-Conways best was 41, at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, where she gained 433 votes. Ward 65 on the near west side, home to Edgewood High School, saw a significant increase in voter turnout from 2015 1,138, up from 544. The ward also draws voters from part of City Council District 13, which saw a competitive primary. Rhodes-Conway won the ward with 338 votes. Stu Levitan, a local historian, pointed out that the wards Rhodes-Conway was successful in are compact and efficient locations to canvass. Considering the primary results, Levitan said Soglin has his "work cut out for him," noting that Rhodes-Conway can "certainly go toe-to-toe with (Soglin) on policy issues." Levitan has long supported Soglin. In this race, he financially supported both candidates and said he felt welcome at both election night watch parties. "We have one candidate who has an exceptional record as mayor and one candidate who has an exceptional record as an alderperson and a policy expert who could also be an exceptional mayor," Levitan said. Levitan said upcoming candidate forums will be critical to determine policy differences between the candidates and that the state Supreme Court race on the general election ballot could affect turnout in April. Levitan hypothesized that Soglin's record of civil rights involvement and activism could persuade second- and third-generation African American and Latino households to support the mayor in the general election. "You get older generations who know what a significant thing he did in terms of opening the doors of power to non-whites and women when he became mayor in 1973, and has continued to support inclusion and diversity and equality," Levitan said. Every vote is on the table Beginning almost immediately after Tuesday's primary, Soglin and Rhodes-Conway went to work to win over voters whose first choice was Cheeks, Shukla, Hart or Pettaway. Were going to really focus on the issues that are of concern to voters who voted for any candidate, and that includes Satya, Soglin said. On Tuesday night, Rhodes-Conway said she will continue to run a campaign that is focused on Madison's affordable housing crisis, our transportation problems, the deep and shameful racial disparities that this city experiences, and the climate change that is coming for us. Were going to keep talking about those and were going to keep talking about the solutions that we all know are possible, Rhodes-Conway said. These challenges are not unique and they are not unsolvable. When she served on the City Council from 2007 to 2013, Rhodes-Conway represented parts of the citys east and north sides, from East High School to Warner Park. Her tenure also included six years on the citys Finance Committee. Rhodes-Conway participated in contentious deliberations over the use of public funds for reconstruction of the Edgewater Hotel, which she opposed from the start of the project. She also served on the team that negotiated a deal to erase Overture Centers $28.6 million bank debt. Prior to changing his mind about running for mayor, Soglin called Rhodes-Conway an eminently qualified candidate. Demonstrating his characteristic dry humor, Soglin attributed the comment to how lovable he is. Since then, Soglin has disagreed with Rhodes-Conway on housing policy. At a Jan. 9 forum, Rhodes-Conway suggested expanding on Occupy Madison's tiny houses initiative as a creative solution to address housing in Madison. Soglin argued that families with children can't live in tiny houses and pointed to his own record of combining low-income affordable housing tax credits and tax incremental financing to build affordable housing. Lets get real, Soglin said. If were going to talk about housing solutions, weve got to talk about how we are going to deal with the location issue, weve got to have the housing close to transit lines, close to schools, close to shopping, and then on top of that, financing. Michael Jacob, a volunteer with Rhodes-Conways campaign, said every vote is on the table. Every one of those voters and, frankly, most of (Soglins), are voters we want to go get and were going to work to go get them, Jacob said. Some will be easier than others, but everyone is a target for Satya. She wants to be mayor of the entire city. Kemble said Rhodes-Conway can win if she can get her message out to the whole community. She also pointed out that Rhodes-Conway is the only woman on the ballot, but has not made that an issue. If elected, Rhodes-Conway would be Madison's second woman and first openly gay mayor. Kemble applauded Rhodes-Conways sharp knowledge of the issues, listening and responding to people, and developing policy ideas that match issues important to the community. For me as a council member, I personally have worked really well with Soglin, but Soglin and the council as a whole have not worked well together and I think theres a lot of baggage and history there, Kemble said. (Rhodes-Conway) understands the collective nature of the council and will be able to work with that. Soglin said he inherited a diverse city with very competing interests when he returned to office in 2011 and faced challenges on the City Council when it came to spending. He said he has a record of making tough choices against that backdrop. Ultimately, Soglin said he was elected to be a competent, responsible leader who carries out the values and goals of the Madison community. Though he may have offended people throughout his terms, he said his allegiance continues to lie with constituents. I always choose for the people I serve. Theyre the ones to whom Im obligated, Soglin said. Thats been the story of the last eight years and will continue to be the story if I serve another four years. Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less. But in 1930s Germany, Elisabeth's mental health issues are considered a burden on society, and capable of infecting the population if she reproduced. Elisabeth is dragged away to a sanatorium, where she is sterilized against her will and later murdered. All by doctors, who have perverted the Hippocratic Oath to justify murder in the name of keeping Nazi Germany healthy. The doctor who signs her death warrant is Professor Seeband (Sebastian Koch, who played the dashing playwright in Others). An arrogant and vain man, he wields his privilege in Nazi society like a scalpel. After the war, when Kurt is a college art student (played by Tom Schilling), he falls for a fellow student named Ellie (Paula Beer). He doesnt know that Ellies father is Seeband, who has managed to keep his war crimes a secret. But we know, and that hidden knowledge gives Never Look Away the suspenseful aura of a thriller. Meanwhile, the Communists have replaced the Nazis, and Kurt dutifully goes to work painting murals and signs for the glory of the Communist people. Eventually he and Ellie defect to the West, where he hooks up with the revolutionary artists of post-war Dusseldorf. Their rejection of traditional art is, in its own loopy way, as rigid as the Nazi and Communist ways of judging art that Kurt has seen before. Then a helicopter that picked up his distress signal crashes in a storm. Theres one survivor, a badly injured woman (Maria Thelma Smaradottir). As Overgard tenderly cares for her, dressing her wounds and spooning soup into her mouth, the equation changes for him. He might be able to survive for a while alone in the middle of a tundra. But she wont. The second half of the film follows Overgards journey to take the woman to a seasonal station several days away. Like All is Lost, Arctic is fascinated with the mechanics of survival. How do you stay warm in the middle of a blizzard? How do you get a sledful of supplies up a steep hill? What do you do if a polar bear pokes his head into your cave? Watching Overgard handle obstacle after obstacle is thrilling. Mikkelsen, a compulsively watchable actor, conveys Overgards resourcefulness and determination, but also how the pitiless elements and his own fears wear away at him over time. We also get glimpses into how lonely hes become, how the presence of another human being reawakens his need for human contact. Theres a moving moment where hes maneuvering the unconscious woman into his plane, and just holds her for a second, quietly falling apart. U.S. and Chinese negotiators are working on multiple memorandums of understanding that would form the basis of a final trade deal, according to a person briefed on the talks. The MoUs would cover areas including agriculture, non-tariff barriers, services, technology transfer and intellectual property, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. The enforcement mechanism remains unclear, but would likely be a threat that tariffs would be reimposed if conditions arent met, the person said. No breakthrough is expected during this weeks talks in Washington on major structural issues, the person said, but there is an effort underway to potentially extend a March 1 deadline for U.S. tariffs to rise on Chinese goods. Liu He, Chinas chief negotiator, is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump today according to a separate person familiar with the situation. The U.S. is also asking China to keep the value of the yuan stable to neutralize any effort by Beijing to devalue its currency to counter U.S. tariffs, according to other people familiar with the ongoing talks. The Chinese government spokesman said on Wednesday that the nation wouldnt use the yuan as a tool to deal with trade dispute. Jenny Leonard, Bloomberg Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. says it will no longer sell or service genetic sequencers in Chinas mostly Muslim region of Xinjiang following criticism that they were used for surveillance that enabled human rights abuses, The Wall Street Journal reported. The company in Waltham, Massachusetts, cited its values, ethics code and policies, according to the Journal. The company said it recognized the importance of considering how products are used or may be used by our customers. Thermo Fisher faced criticism from human rights groups and American lawmakers for supplying the equipment used to identify individuals in Xinjiang. The region is under intense security measures as part of what the government says is an effort to stop extremism and separatist movements. Thermo Fisher didnt immediately respond to a request for comment left on the company website. As many as 1 million Uighurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities are detained in political education camps in Xinjiang, according to U.S. officials and UN experts. The government says those camps are vocational training centers designed to rid the region of extremism. The United States and other governments have criticized the crackdown. In May, a U.S. congressional commission on China wrote a letter asking the Commerce Department to prevent American technology from being misused by Chinese police. AP Covering some 29,000sqkm and with a population of just under three million, the Republic of Albania is one of the only three countries/regions in Europe wherein Muslims constitute a majority, alongside Bosnia-Herzegovina and its brother Kosovo. The name Albania came from Latin sources, but the exact origin remains debatable, whereas in Albanian, the country is called Shqiperi or Shqiperia. Albanian is both a language as well as an independent branch of the Indo-European languages, hence most of its vocabulary is not cognate with that of its Germanic, Romance or Slavic counterparts. Endowed with a quintessentially Mediterranean climate, modern-day Albania has been growing vines and making wines since some 6,000 years ago. Alongside Greece, Albania is arguably one of the two oldest wine-producing countries in Europe. This is perhaps not so surprising, considering: i) European civilisation was born in the eastern Mediterranean; ii) southern Europe was and still is renowned for its kaleidoscopic portfolio of vitis vinifera; and iii) Albania is strategically situated at where the Adriatic and Ionian Seas meet. Part of Illyria and known as Epirus during Classical Antiquity, modern-day Albania was annexed by the Roman Republic in 167 BC, becoming one of the first Roman conquests in the Balkans. Famed for its luxuriously sweet wine during Classical Antiquity, Gaius Plinius Secundus being a big fan, wines from the region remained popular and sought-after under Roman and subsequent Byzantine rule. With hindsight, this could be seen as the first golden age of Albanian wine. Gradually conquered and annexed in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, Albania would remain part of the Ottoman Empire for nearly five centuries, until the eve of the WWI. As a result, viticulture and winemaking were badly hit, but neither banned outright nor entirely extinguished. To be fair, the House of Osman was rather latitudinal or tolerant, implementing different rules and regimes on different populations of various confessions. Having said that, as many Albanians converted from Catholicism to Islam under Ottoman rule, the demand for wine plunged. To be continued one day Available at HWK Trading Co. Ltd. Macau; Contact: Mr. Francisco B. Figueira; W: www.goodfoodmacau.com; E: hwk.macau@gmail.com; T: +853 2876 7682 Kokomani Vineyard Shesh i Bardhe 2017 A single-varietal Shesh i Bardhe from Central Albania, west of capital Tirana, along the Adriatic coast. Limpid citrine with flickering lemon chiffon reflex, the reserved nose reveals lime peel, loquat, cut grass and crushed shells. Buttressed by piercing acidity and clear minerality, the linear palate unveils lemon pith, whitecurrant, bouquet garni and rock salt. Medium-bodied at 13%, the potent entry evolves into a complex mid-palate, leading to a lingering finish. Kantina Nurellari Pulsi Beratit 2017 An inimitable blend of Pules and Shesh i Bardhe from the ancient city of Berat, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Pastel citrine with shimmering silver reflex, the delicate nose offers cloudberry, Asian pear, frangipane and wet stone. Supported by buoyant acidity and steely minerality, the spicy palate delivers pomelo peel, peach pit, sweet ginger and rock salt. Medium-full bodied at 13%, the articulate entry continues through a piquant mid-palate, leading to a cleansing finish. Poised and unhurried, this is history and tradition in a bottle. Kantina Nurellari Lavardar 2017 A single-varietal Debine e Bardhe from Mount Tomorr, some 40km SE of Berat as the crow flies. Translucent citrine with glowing sunshine reflex, the invigorating nose presents kaffir lime, green mango, citronella and crushed rock. Anchored by generous acidity and clean minerality, the delineated palate supplies calamansi, green apple, verbena and rock salt. Medium-full bodied at 13%, the tangy entry persists through a laser-focused mid-palate, leading to a stimulating finish. At a blind tasting, one could well mistake this gem for a fine Chenin Blanc from the Loire. 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 The deputy speaker of Germanys parliament has rebuked members of a far-right party for suggesting that women arent fit to be lawmakers. Green party lawmaker Britta Hasselmann had noted during a speech on gender equality in politics that women make up only a small share of Alternative for Germanys parliamentarians, to which an unidentified member of the party reportedly replied: Natural selection. Deputy speaker Claudia Roth called on the party to respect parliamentary protocol. Separately, German public broadcaster ARD reported yesterday that the far-right party submitted an incorrect list of donors who it claimed had given money to co-leader Alice Weidel ahead of 2017 national elections. ARD reported that several of the people named on the list Alternative for Germany submitted to parliament denied giving money to Weidel. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in China yesterday on the latest stop of a sweep through Asia that seeks to boost relations with the kingdoms neighbors amid frictions with the West. Prince Mohammeds visit follows trips to India and Pakistan, which send millions of laborers to Saudi Arabia and are seeking closer economic ties. He is to meet Chinese officials, including President and ruling Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, on Friday, highlighting Saudi Arabias importance as one of Chinas top oil suppliers and a market for its exports, including military drones. The visit underscores Chinas attempts to balance its relationships in the Middle East, a major component of its Belt and Road initiative to link its markets to those in Asia, Africa and Europe through rail and road networks and infrastructure such as power stations and factories. Prince Mohammeds visit to Beijing follows one earlier this week by a high-powered delegation from Saudi Arabias chief strategic rival, Iran. At a meeting Wednesday, Xi told Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani that Chinas resolve to develop a comprehensive strategic partnership with Iran will remain unchanged, regardless of the evolving international situation, according to Chinas official Xinhua News Agency. China has also pursued robust ties with Israel. The crown princes trip comes five months after he came under intense pressure in the U.S. and elsewhere following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Some reports allege Khashoggi was killed on orders of the royal family. In the U.S. Congress, criticism over the kingdoms handling of the war in Yemen has also been building for months. China is facing growing international criticism over its treatment of its Muslim minority groups as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on religion and minority languages. Thus far, Turkey has been the only majority Muslim country to criticize Beijing, with its Foreign Ministry this month calling treatment of minority Uighurs a great cause of shame for humanity and saying it is no longer a secret that China has arbitrarily detained more than a million Uighurs in concentration camps. Saudi Arabias Al Saud royal family has long cast itself as the defender of Muslims across the world. Its king describes himself as the protector of Islams two holiest mosques at Medina and Mecca. Observant Muslims pray five times a day in the direction of the cube-shaped Kaaba at the mosque at Mecca. Saudi Arabias silence on the Uighur issue is partly explained as a show of appreciation for Chinas non-interference policy in other states domestic affairs, which contrasts with Western states linkage of foreign and economic relations and human rights, said Jonathan Fulton, a political scientist at Abu Dhabis Zayed University. It also reflects Chinas success in framing its policies toward Muslim minorities as a struggle against political Islam, Fulton said. Many Arab countries are also concerned with Islamist political groups and see these as ideological threats to their governments, he said. Commenting Wednesday on the crown princes visit, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said recent years have seen a positive momentum in our cooperation with fruitful outcomes in various areas such as infrastructure and space satellites. We hope that through this visit we will enhance our relations enhance mutual trust, deepen cooperation [] and inject momentum into our bilateral relations, Geng said. Prince Mohammed is to visit South Korea after Beijing. In New Delhi, he offered intelligence sharing and other cooperation with India in fighting extremism and terrorism, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi tackles rising tensions with Pakistan following a suicide bombing last week on Indian paramilitary soldiers in disputed Kashmir. Christopher Bodeen, Beijing, AP BEST PICTURE The Nominees: Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Favourite, Green Book, Roma, A Star Is Born, Vice The guild wins, which usually point the way, have been all over the map making this a hard one to call. The momentum is with Roma thanks, in part, to an all-out blitz of a campaign from Netflix (which has eyes for an Oscar the way Jackson Maine wants another look at Ally) and because of, well, its a fairly astonishing movie. But Black Panther and the response it provoked epitomized the cultural height of movies, something some doubted was still possible. Wakanda for February 24. BEST ACTRESS The Nominees: Yalitza Aparicio, Roma; Glenn Close, The Wife; Olivia Colman, The Favourite; Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born; Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me? The conventional wisdom is that Glenn Close is overdue for an Oscar. Thankfully, shes really wonderful in The Wife, as the dutifully supportive spouse of a newly-minted Nobel-winning writer. A career Oscar isnt a bad sentiment and definitely not a pity Oscar. But love definitely has no limits when it comes to my own appreciation of Olivia Colmans performance as Queen Anne in The Favourite, which could get passed over because Colman hasnt been a fixture on the schmooze circuit (she was busy shooting The Crown! which is a totally reasonable excuse). BEST ACTOR The Nominees: Christian Bale, Vice; Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born; Willem Dafoe, At Eternitys Gate; Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody; Viggo Mortensen, Green Book That Rami Malek somehow became the consensus choice here still kind of baffles me, especially when theres Bradley Cooper giving the performance of a lifetime as sad, sweet, awful and tragic Jackson Maine. He felt realer than the sanitized Freddie Mercury of Bohemian Rhapsody, thats for sure. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS The Nominees: Amy Adams, Vice; Marina de Tavira, Roma; Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk; Emma Stone, The Favourite; Rachel Weisz, The Favourite Sometimes will and should match up, and it definitely does for Regina Kings heart-wrenching turn as Sharon Rivers, protective and supportive mother and almost grandmother who will do whatever it takes to keep her daughters family intact. She is the foundation and beating heart of If Beale Street Could Talk. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR The Nominees: Mahershala Ali, Green Book; Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman; Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born; Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?; Sam Rockwell, Vice BAHR: An unheralded avenue for a successful Oscar campaign, if you can pull it off, is starring concurrently in HBOs True Detective. Just as Matthew McConaughey did a few years ago before winning for Dallas Buyers Club, Mahershala Ali is proving every Sunday how good he is. A win for Ali, two years after he took home the same Oscar for Moonlight (a, uh, different movie than Green Book) would be something to applaud. But so would an Oscar for Richard E. Grant, a brilliant character actor who has enjoyed the Oscar spotlight more than anyone. DIRECTOR The Nominees: Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman; Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War; Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite; Alfonso Cuaron, Roma; Adam McKay, Vice Cuaron did an astonishing job writing, directing and shooting Roma, which feels like an epic although its in fact a very small and contained story. But it is Lees BlacKkKlansman that is the big, cinematic achievement to be celebrated in the directing category. Lee has made it more than the sum of its parts, more than just a great movie: Its a rollicking, unforgettable indictment of the deplorable foundation of the film industry and the country. ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY The Nominees: The Favourite, Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara; First Reformed, Paul Schrader; Green Book, Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly; Roma, Alfonso Cuaron; Vice, Adam McKay The Writers Guild of America provided no help here, since the winning original screenplay (Bo Burnhams Eighth Grade) wasnt even nominated. This is really a tough one that could, reasonably, go any way. While I think Paul Schrader has a shot, Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara are the perfect consensus pick for The Favourite. I just hope they bring Horatio, the fastest duck in the city, with them to accept. ADAPTED SCREENPLAY The Nominees: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Joel Coen , Ethan Coen; BlacKkKlansman, Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee; Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty; If Beale Street Could Talk, Barry Jenkins; A Star Is Born, Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters A win here would assure Lee of his first (and long-overdue) non-honorary Oscar. Joel and Ethan Coen have won twice before for their scripts but that doesnt mean they arent still the best in the business, as they showed once again with their six-part anthology of fate in a wanton Wild West. DOCUMENTARY The Nominees: Free Solo, Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi; Hale County This Morning, This Evening, RaMell Ross; Minding the Gap, Bing Liu; Of Fathers and Sons, Talal Derki; RBG, Betsy West, Julie Cohen This is probably a toss-up between Free Solo and RBG, the latter of which had the fortune of seeing its iconic subject make a dramatic return to the Supreme Court bench just as Oscar voting was winding down. But dont forget about Hale County, RaMell Rosss cinematic poem of rural African-American life in Alabama. Its luminous images keep glowing long after the movie has finished. FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM The Nominees: Capernaum (Lebanon); Cold War (Poland); Never Look Away (Germany); Roma (Mexico); Shoplifters (Japan) Roma deserves the many accolades it has received. But its lock-step awards-season sweep has obscured a tremendously good bunch of foreign language nominees, several of which including Cold War, Shoplifters and the overlooked Burning I favor. Hirokazu Kore-edas Shoplifters, which won Cannes Palme dOr, is made with such delicacy that you never see its profundity coming. You might never think of family the same way again which is, ironically, part of the message of Roma, too. ANIMATED FEATURE The Nominees: Incredibles 2, Isle of Dogs, Mirai, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Verse will and should win because, frankly, its unlike anything weve ever seen in this animation category before. There are a lot of good and even great films in here, but theyre all familiar in some way except for Spider-Verse. MDT/AP U.S.-BACKED Syrian forces fighting the Islamic State group in Syria handed over more than 150 Iraqi members of the group to Iraq, the first batch of several to come, an Iraqi security official said yesterday. The official said the IS militants were handed over to the Iraqi side late Wednesday, and that they were now in a safe place and being investigated. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the Kurdish-led Syrian fighters, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, are holding more than 20,000 Iraqis suspected of IS membership in prisons in northern Syria. The handover comes as the U.S.-backed Syrian force is involved in a standoff over the final IS-held sliver of land in southeastern Syria, close to the Iraqi border. Dozens of people, many of them women and children, were evacuated Wednesday from the groups tiny tent camp on the banks of the Euphrates River, signaling an imminent end to the territorial rule of the militants self-declared caliphate that once stretched across a third of both Syria and Iraq. More evacuations of civilians were expected yesterday. Some 300 IS militants, along with hundreds of civilians believed to be mostly their families, have been under siege for more than a week in the tent camp in the village of Baghouz in eastern Syria. It was not immediately clear whether the 150 Iraqis repatriated late Wednesday were among those recently evacuated from Baghouz or militants who had been captured earlier. The SDF is holding more than 1,000 foreign fighters in prisons that it runs in northern Syria, many of them Iraqis and Europeans. The SDF, and more recently President Donald Trump, have called on countries to take back their nationals but few want them back. Earlier this month, Iraqi Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi said Iraq will take back all Iraqi IS militants in Syria, as well as thousands of their family members Tuesday nights handover marks the biggest repatriation of militants so far. The Baghouz enclaves recapture by U.S.-backed Syrian fighters would spell the territorial defeat of IS and allow Trump to begin withdrawing American troops from northern Syria, as he has pledged to do, opening a new chapter in Syrias eight-year civil war. Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Baghdad, AP Hong Kongs de facto central bank is bidding farewell to its chief after a decade, starting the search for a successor at a time when the city faces an outlook made uncertain by the slowing Chinese economy and the trade war with the U.S. Norman Chan, who has been the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority since 2009, will retire on Oct. 1 at the end of his second five-year term. The HKMAs main task is defending the citys currency peg to the U.S. dollar, meaning the former British colonys monetary policy is imported from Washington even as its status as a center for trading in Chinas currency, the yuan, grows. Chan took office as Hong Kong was being buffeted by the global financial crisis, and leaves it amid increasing vulnerability due to record property prices and the protectionist threat to the open trade that the city thrives on. Norman has been leading the HKMA since 2009 and has worked tirelessly over the years to strengthen the citys monetary and banking systems and promote Hong Kongs position as an international financial center in Asia, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in a statement. He will chair a selection panel to identify the next chief executive, the government said. Chan, 64, is one of the worlds best-paid central bankers, despite his institutions limited role in setting policy. He earned HKD10.8 million (USD1.4 million) in 2017, including HKD2.6 million in performance-linked variable pay and HKD1 million in benefits such as life insurance. His total remuneration was more than four times that of Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kurodas, about 40 percent above Bank of England Governor Mark Carneys and more than seven times that of the Federal Reserve chairman. The HKMA chief has acted as a determined advocate of the Hong Kong dollar peg, once referencing his memories of long queues and empty shelves in supermarkets due to currency instability. In 1983, the local currency slid sharply against the greenback as China and the U.K. negotiated Hong Kongs return to mainland rule. MDT/Bloomberg Chief Executive Chui Sai On has pledged to boost the local science and technology industry as the citys latest contribution to the Greater Bay Area initiative. Chui, who was speaking yesterday at a seminar in Hong Kong where the outline plan for the Greater Bay Initiative was introduced, said he plans to encourage local education institutions to strengthen research on science and technology, as well as promote inter-Bay research collaboration. In his speech, Chui said the promulgation by the Central Government of the outline development plan had provided clear directions and content regarding how to lead joint development for the project. The CE also described the one country, two systems principle as an advantage for the city-cluster initiative, differentiating it from other coastal bay-based urban areas in other parts of the world. During the seminar, Macaus CE reviewed some of the previous undertakings of the MSAR to accommodate the development of the Greater Bay Area. Meanwhile, the citys economic and financial authorities have also been hard at work. Secretary for Economy and Finance Leong Vai Tac said that approximately 300 of the tasks mentioned in the Central Governments outline development plan for the Bay Area were relevant to Macau. Approximately 70 of those 300 tasks related to matters that fall under the supervision of Macaus economic and financial authorities. Chui and Leong were part of the 50-member government delegation that attended the seminar on the outline development plan for the Bay Area yesterday. The government last month held the first meeting of a new working committee tasked with studying how to press ahead with preparations for the Greater Bay Area. LV A devastating fire raced through densely packed buildings in a centuries-old shopping district in Bangladeshs capital, killing at least 81 people, officials and witnesses said yesterday. The fire in Dhakas Chawkbazar area was mostly under control after more than 10 hours of frantic firefighting efforts. Some of the about 50 people injured were critically burned. The district dating to the Mughal era 400 years ago is crammed with buildings separated by narrow alleys, with residences commonly above shops, restaurants or warehouses on the ground floors. Denizens of the Muslim-majority nation throng to Chawkbazar each year for traditional goods to celebrate iftar, when the daily fast is broken during Ramadan. I was talking to a customer, suddenly he shouted at me: Fire! Fire! said Javed Hossain, a survivor who came to assess the damage to his grocery store. I said Oh, Allah, in a fraction of a second the fire caught my shop. Outside the gutted store, the road was strewn with charred vehicles, pieces of still-burning metal and plastics and hundreds of cans of body deodorant. The blaze started late Wednesday night in one building but quickly spread to others, fire department director general Brig. Gen. Ali Ahmed said. Many of the victims were trapped inside the buildings, said Mahfuz Riben, a control room official of the Fire Service and Civil Defense in Dhaka. Our teams are working there but many of the recovered bodies are beyond recognition. Our people are using body bags to send them to the hospital morgue, this is a very difficult situation, he told The Associated Press. Another control room official, Russel Shikder, said 81 bodies had been recovered. Just after midnight as the fire blazed, Bangladeshs prime minister and president laid wreaths at a monument less than a mile away to commemorate protesters who died in a 1952 demonstration for the right to speak Bengali, the local language. Fire officials said the road closures worsened traffic, slowing down some of the fire trucks rushing to the site. Most buildings in Chawkbazar are used both for residential and commercial purposes despite warnings of the potential for high fatalities from fires after one had killed at least 123 people in 2010. Authorities had promised to bring the buildings under regulations and remove chemical warehouses from the residential buildings. A government eviction drive in Chawkbazar and other areas of Old Dhaka was met with protests last May right before Eid, the beginning of Ramadan, by business owners and residents. Dr. Md. Manjur Morshed, an assistant professor of urban planning at Khulna University of Engineering and Technology in Khulna, 173 miles southwest of Dhaka, said government regulations are routinely flouted in Chawkbazar. This is a historic area with a distinct culture, he said. They are not really abiding by the governments rules. Such tragedies are shockingly common in Bangladesh, where fires, floods, ferry sinkings and other disasters regularly claim dozens of lives or more. Witnesses told local TV stations that many gas cylinders stored in the buildings continued to explode one after another. They said the fire also set off explosions in fuel tanks of some of the vehicles that got stuck in traffic in front of the destroyed buildings. Some reports suggested many of the dead were pedestrians, shoppers or diners who died quickly as several gas cylinders exploded, and the fire engulfed the nearby buildings very quickly. Julhas Alam, Dhaka, AP Survivors of clergy sex abuse on Wednesday demanded transparency, zero tolerance for abuse and accountability for religious superiors who cover up for rapists, setting a confrontational tone on the eve of Pope Francis high-stakes abuse prevention summit. The victims also demanded to meet with Francis himself, but had to settle instead for a two-hour round-table with members of the organizing committee for the four-day summit, which started yesterday. The gathering of church leaders from around the globe is taking place amid intense scrutiny of the Catholic Churchs record after new allegations of abuse and cover-up last year sparked a credibility crisis for the hierarchy. Phil Saviano, an American who played a crucial role in exposing clergy abuse in the United States decades ago, said he told the summit organizers to release the names of abusive priests around the world along with their case files. Do it to launch a new era of transparency, Saviano said he told the committee. Do it to break the code of silence. Do it out of respect for the victims of these men, and do it to help prevent these creeps from abusing any more children. More than 30 years after the scandal first erupted in Ireland and Australia and 20 years after it hit the U.S., bishops and superiors in many parts of Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia either deny clergy sex abuse exists in their regions or downplay the problem. Francis, the first Latin American pope, has made many of the same mistakes. As archbishop in Buenos Aires, he went out of his way to defend a famous street priest who was later convicted of abuse. He also took a handful of measures early on in his papacy that undermined progress the Vatican had made in taking a hard line against rapists. He finally did an about-face after botching a well-known sex abuse cover-up case in Chile last year. Realizing he had erred, he has vowed to chart a new course and is bringing the rest of the church leadership along with him. Some 190 leaders of bishops conferences, religious orders and Vatican offices are gathering for four days of lectures and workshops on preventing sex abuse in their churches, tending to victims and investigating the crimes when they occur. I think that the time for words is long, long past, said Archbishop Mark Benedict Coleridge, of Brisbane, Australia, who will deliver the homily at the summits final Mass on Sunday. We are dealing with a global emergency, and I dont think the language is too strong, he said. A global emergency that requires a global response. The Vatican isnt expecting any miracles, and the pope himself has called for expectations to be deflated. But organizers say the meeting marks a turning point in the way the Catholic Church has dealt with the problem, with Francis own acknowledgment of his mistakes in handling the Chile abuse case a key point of departure. Nicole Winfield, Vatican City, AP Prosecutors said the Glock was used in the Neelon homicide and the Smith & Wesson was used in the Johnson killing. Gary Johnson, Garion Johnsons father, said he believed justice was served, but the guilty verdict didnt make him feel better. Thats not going to bring (my son) back, but I do think (Short) got what he deserved, Johnson said. They say when the trials over, you have closure, I dont feel like that. I dont feel like Im relieved from this pain. Another man, Preston Pope, already has been convicted and sentenced to life in both killings. A third man, Shadow Harlan, 18, is awaiting trial on a murder charge and a gun charge in connection with Neelons death. Shorts trial lasted a month. Jurors were presented with more than 1,000 pieces of evidence and heard from roughly 75 witnesses. Jensen, who prosecuted the case with Sean Lavery, said he was disappointed with the split verdict but respected the jurys decision. He acknowledged that they had a tough battle with Douglas County Public Defender Tom Riley and his team. (Espy, James P) Robley Dunglison, A.D. Bache, James Espy, and others. "Report of the Committee on Meteorology to the Board of Managers of the Franklin Institute, embodying the facts collated by the Meteorologist relative to the storm of the 1 6th, 17th, and 18th March, 1838." (The report is signed by Espy at the last line.) Illustrated with a folding map, also by the pioneering Espy:Map Embodying the Information Received by the Committee on Meteorology of the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania in Relation to the Storm of March, 16th, 17th, & 18th, 1838, Illustrating the Report of the Meteorologist., and is a folding 23x27cm, and which was lithographed (by steam) by Duval in Philadelphia. In: Journal of the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Vol 22 (new series) vol 26 overall, July-December 1838, with text illustrations, and a folding map. 442pp. Half-calf, with raised bands. Ex-library, with some scuffing on the spine; and the remnants of a paper spine call number label; also a few stamps on the title page. That said, still in Very Good condition. The map is in excellent condition, without any tears, and printed on a good, thin paper. $950 [That piece at the bottom left corner is not missing--it is just folded back.] This is the first weather map printed in the U.S. (The first weather map(s) to be printed by the U.S. government occurred with the same author, in 1850, in ESPY, James Pollard. (1785-1860) Letter of the Secretary of the Navy Transmitting the Report [containing] Second Report on Meteorology to the Secretary of the Navy (which is actually the) Third Report on Meteorology with Directions for Mariners, etc. Navy Department, Washington DC, March 13, 1850). This is the first U.S. weather map. In his accompanying report, Espy states that the committee received back 50 responses from the 250 circulars it sent out to different parts of the United States and Canada regarding this notable storm. The map represents the assembled data, with reporting stations numbered from 1 to 50, roughly in order from south to north and from west to east as the storm was tracked. The three large circles show the eastern progress of the storm over the three days. Readings of barometric pressure, arrows for wind direction and relative strength, and descriptive words for precipitation/sky (rain/sleet/hail/snow, clear/fair/cloudy/heavy) are provided in the cells of small tables (three or four rows by two or three columns) printed next to each station number. Morning and evening results, if given, appear in adjacent cells of a row, and each row represents a different day (March 16, 17, 18, and sometimes 19). Like a time-delay photograph, the map nicely traces the regional movement of the storm, but graphic methods (shading, color, use of symbols) have not been developed yet to replace Espys data tablesFROM Harvards Mapping History site. There are many other papers in the volume in different fields and of varying lengths and depthsit is the Espy though that is the heavyweight here, and supports the entire value of the volume. Californias political leaders, Democrats all, are touting a new state budget that expands spending on services for the states poor while building reserves. Thats true, as far as it goes. However, there are some very big caveats in the $213 billion 2019-20 budget, the first by Gov. Gavin Newsom. U.S. Airmen assigned to the 442nd Fighter Wing from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, secure and prepare A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft after arriving aboard Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Feb. 11. The unit will be participating in various training exercises across the Hawaiian islands, working alongside U.S. Marine Corps units. Davey Steele took his first head coaching job when he still was attending classes at the University of Idaho, and coaching has been a major aspect of his life since. During the time he was at the paper mill, he served as a professional lobbyist for the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers (AWPPW) from 19791992. Shortly before his retirement he was co-founder of Carroll Industries, a machine shop serving the forest products industry of Oregon. Later in 1992, he founded Samard Maintenance Consulting (SMC), rebuilding and repairing test equipment for the pulp and paper industry, which continued through 2017. Dusty was also a safety coordinator/consultant for Professional Mechanical Inc. Arlen (Dusty) volunteered in many ways, including: Tangent Fire Department as a volunteer firefighter and training officer for 17 years. During this time he trained at the National Fire Academy where he was given the title that so adequately fit him throughout his life of Mr. Congeniality, and serving on the Board of Directors for the fire department for four years. Arlen (Dusty) was awarded firefighter of the year in 1976 and served on the Willamette Council of Camp Fire Board of Directors, volunteering in various positions including property management chairperson. As such, he was responsible for managing Camp Kilowan (a 500-acre parcel of land, and another 1000-acre owned by Willamette Industries), recruiting volunteers and soliciting funds for several projects to improve Kilowan over a 28-year period. He was appointed by Governor Victor Atiyeh to the Workers Compensation Labor-Management Advisory Council, serving as a committee member and later as chairperson; was co-founder of the Workers/Compensation Labor Management Study Group, serving as chair for four years, with seven years of total involvement; he was chairperson of AWPPW Oregon Council as well as the local AWPPW #3 Political Action Committee. He was spokesperson for the advisory committee on Workers Compensation issues for several members of the Pulp and Paper Industry including, James River Regional Manager, Willamette Industries Vice President, Georgia Pacific Regional Manager Workers Compensation, Weyerhaeuser Company Corporate Manager; and he worked with Judge Bob McAllister, Washington State Court of Appeals on several occasions surrounding his involvement in the above areas. Dusty also served as a Western Kraft Employee Federal Credit Union (WKEFCU) Supervisory Committee member in the 1990s for several years. Adrian Galash and Ralph Musni, performing a selection from Concerto for Two Clarinets by Franz Krommer. Bettine Rehr-Zimmerman, performing selections from "Carmen Fantasy" for violin and orchestra by Pablo de Sarasate. Eric Russell, performing selections from Gordon Jacob's Concerto for Horn. Oboists Robert Koll, Stephanie Brannan and Janie Anderson, with horn players Eric Russell and Luke Schroeder, will perform the first movement of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 1. Carlson will surrender his baton for that selection to Rolly Toribio, an OSU music education student. Carlson said most of the selections in the first half will be a movement from a larger piece. The exception is "Rhapsody in Blue," which stubbornly resisted any attempts at trimming. Carlson added that performing with the orchestra requires each of the students to "ratchet up their game," but was confident that each performer would do just that. "I just think this is terrific," he said. The concert's second half is taken up with the Stravinsky masterpiece, which caused a scandal upon its premiere and still has plenty of power to shock audiences. Wow, I sure do love cats! I suppose I didnt know how much until my social media service informed me I had liked eight pictures of cats this week. Maybe I should get a cat or stay off of social media. If you listened closely, you may have noticed that I did not use an article in my first two sentences about cats, but I did in my third. There, I used the article a. On our program today, I will tell you why and share some simple rules for when not to use articles. As you may know, English articles refer to the words a an and the. Even some English learners with years of training have trouble with these little words and for good reason! The rules differ from language to language, making it tricky to know when to use them. But, dont worry! The good news is that some kinds of nouns do not require articles in speech or writing. This idea is often called the zero article. The term zero article itself is not very important. It is just a way of saying no article is used. There are many kinds of nouns that are not preceded by articles in English. Other nouns get no article only in some kinds of statements, such as generalizations. Plural and noncount nouns in generalizations To begin, we do not use articles before plural nouns and noncount nouns when making generalizations. A generalization is a broad statement or an idea that can be applied to a whole group of people or things. As you may know, a plural noun is the form of a word that relates to more than one person or thing, like apples, dogs, telephones and children. Lets listen to an example of a generalization with plural nouns: Dogs are much more playful than cats . This is a very broad statement applied to two groups of animals, so we do not use articles. We do however use articles with plural nouns in specific statements. Here is an example for comparison: The dogs at the doggy park are very playful. The speaker is talking of specific dogs the ones at the doggy park. So the article the is used before the plural noun dogs. Now, lets move on to noncount nouns. You may remember from an earlier program that a noncount noun is a noun that we usually do not count. So it does not appear in plural form. Noncount nouns include materials (like gold), substances (like water and fire), abstract things (like music and justice) and some other things. Generalizations with noncount nouns are not preceded by articles. Lets hear an example: I like listening to music while I exercise. The person is not speaking of specific music. They are saying they enjoy the general act of listening to music as they exercise. For comparison, heres a specific statement: The music at the show last night was too loud. The person is speaking of specific music the music at the show last night. So the article the appears before the noncount noun music. Proper nouns The zero article also applies to other kinds of nouns. For instance, we normally do not put an article in front of a proper noun a word or group of words that name a specific person, place or thing. Proper nouns are easy to identify because they begin with capital letters, like the month of August, 7th Street, Mexico City, Alice, English and Voice of America. Have a listen: Alice teaches English at Voice of America . Note that none of the proper nouns has an article before it. Articles however must remain in place if they are part of the full name of something, like the newspaper The New York Times, musical group A Tribe Called Quest and country The Netherlands. Heres an example: My favorite musical group in high school was A Tribe Called Quest . Transport phrases Now, on to transport phrases. No article is used with some phrases that relate to transportation, such as: by car, by train, by bus, by air and on foot." Take this example: The group traveled from Tangier to Casablanca by train . Time phrases In addition, we do not use articles with some time words and phrases, such as at night, at midnight, tomorrow, today and yesterday. Articles also are not used for general time phrases beginning with the word last, such as last night, last week, and last year, as in this example: Last week , I took a painting class for the first time. Common institutions Next, no article is used for some phrases that relate to well-known institutions or places, such as at home, at work, at school, in class, in college and in jail." Take this example: Sorry, I cant talk right now. Im at work . Ill call you later. However, in American English, there are a few exceptions, such as at the hospital. And, lastly, we do not use articles in relation to the general role of most common places, as with the word class in this sentence: When does class begin in DC public schools? And now, back to my cat obsession. Ill tell you later if I decide to get a cat or just stop liking so many pictures online. Im Alice Bryant. Alice Bryant wrote this story for Everyday Grammar. George Grow was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Practice Now, you try it! Practice using the zero article (no article). Choose any three or more sentences to write. Write one generalization using a plural noun. It could be about kinds of: animals, cars, mobile phones, computers, jobs, people or something else. Be sure that the noun subject is plural. (Ex: Children love ice cream.) Write one generalization using any noncount noun. Some noncount nouns include: materials and substances (such as wood, gold, water and fire); foods (such as milk, rice, sugar and meat); abstract ideas (such as happiness, advice, time and information); subjects (such as biology, history and economics); and activities (such as dancing, swimming and studying). 3. Write a statement or question using one to three proper nouns. 4. Use one of the following phrases in a statement or question: by car, by train, by bus, by air or on foot. 5. Use one of the following phrases in a statement or question: at night, at midnight, tomorrow, today, yesterday, last night last week last month or last year. 6. Use one of the following phrases in a statement or question: at home, at work, at school, in class, in college or in school. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story article n. a word that is used with a noun to show whether or not the noun refers to a specific person or thing refer to v. to have a direct connection or relationship to something specific adj. precise or exact abstract adj. relating to general ideas or qualities rather than specific people, objects, or actions phrase n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence institution n. an established organization obsession n. a state in which someone thinks about someone or something constantly or frequently A kind of tortoise not seen in more than 110 years has been found in the Galapagos Islands. A female from a species known as the Fernandina giant tortoise was discovered last weekend on the island of Fernandina. The Galapagos is a group of 20 islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean, about 1,000 kilometers off the coast of Ecuador. The islands belong to Ecuador and the tortoise discovery was announced by the countrys ministry of environment. It said that the creature was identified by researchers from the Galapagos National Park and the Galapagos Conservancy, a group based in the United States. Wildlife experts had thought the Fernandina giant tortoise no longer existed. The researchers said they believe the adult female tortoise is more than 100 years old. The animal was taken to a breeding center for giant tortoises on the Galapagos island of Santa Cruz. The International Union for Conservation of Nature says the only other living member of the species was found in 1906. Since then, researchers have found some evidence of Fernandina giant tortoise activity. There was an unconfirmed sighting in 2009. But the latest find was the first new confirmed sighting of the species. Investigators believe there may be more members of the species on Fernandina Island because of animal droppings and tracks they found. Danny Rueda is the director of Galapagos National Park. He says the discovery provides new hope for possible successful breeding. "This encourages us to strengthen our search plans to find other turtles, which will allow us to start a breeding program in captivity to recover this species," he said in a statement. Fernandina is the third-largest island in the Galapagos. A volcano there is one of the most active in the world. The International Union for Conservation of Nature said it feared the species was likely lost to repeated volcanic lava flows that nearly cover the island. Ecuadors Environment Minister, Marcelo Mata Guerrero, said the government fully supports additional research and development efforts aimed at saving the species. Im Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the Associated Press and online sources. George Grow 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 species n. a group of plants or animals that share similar qualities breed v. to reproduce tracks n. markings left on the ground by a person, animal or vehicle encourage v. tell or advise to do something lava n. melted or liquid rock from a volcano A Dutch researcher says technology is being used to closely follow the movements of more than 2.5 million people in western China. Internet security researcher Victor Gevers recently released information about an operation in Chinas far western Xinjiang area. Xinjiang is home to an ethnic minority population that is mostly Muslim. He said he discovered a database of information collected by a Chinese company on people in the area. Gevers is the co-founder of GDI Foundation, a Netherlands-based not-for-profit that finds and informs organizations of online security issues. The information included personal details like names, birthdates, places of employment and passport pictures. It also recorded real-time details such as the current position of individuals and places they had recently visited, Gevers said. The database operation appears to have recorded peoples movements with facial recognition technology. The researcher said the information on peoples movements included about 6.7 million individual records during a 24-hour period. During January, the system followed more than 386 million objects. Numerous cameras were used to identify where people went. Gevers said the company, called SenseNets, produces different artificial intelligence-based security systems. In addition to the collected information he found, he also discovered the company had left the database unprotected for months. This system was open to the entire world, and anyone had full access to the data, Gevers told the Associated Press. On Twitter, Gevers gave a breakdown on the ethnicity groups represented in the database. It showed that 55 percent of the individuals were identified as Han Chinese, the countrys ethnic majority. Twenty-eight percent were Uyghur, while 8 percent were Kazakh - both of which are Muslim ethnic minority groups. Xinjiang is a huge, resource-rich area in Chinas far west. It shares a border with eight countries, including Pakistan, Russia and Afghanistan. In recent years, China has put in place severe security measures in Xinjiang. Police checkpoints are widespread and spy cameras watch over large areas. Officials have set up detention centers that China has described as re-education camps. Experts say more than 1 million people from Muslim minority groups are detained in camps across Xinjiang. Chinas government says the camps are aimed at preventing Islamic extremism and separatism. Rights groups, the United States and other countries have condemned the camps as forms of arbitrary detentions. Government security and surveillance methods are used in other parts of China as well. But the measures seem far heavier in Xinjiang than in most other areas. Experts and human rights activists have noted Xinjiang may be a testing ground for methods that could be used in other parts of the country in the future. The company that kept the database, SenseNets, was founded in the Chinas southern city of Shenzhen in 2015, the Associated Press reported. It is majority-owned by Beijing-based NetPosa, a technology company specializing in video surveillance. The SenseNets website says the company has partnerships with police forces in Jiangsu and Sichuan provinces, as well as in Shanghai. Officials from SenseNets did not respond to AP requests for comment on operation of the database. Victor Gevers told the AP that after he released details of his discovery, he learned the system might be used as a surveillance tool against Xinjiangs Muslim minority groups. This, he said, made him very angry. I could have destroyed that database with one command, Gevers said. But I choose not to play judge and executioner because it is not my place to do so. Im Bryan Lynn. The Associated Press reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted it for VOA Learning English, with additional information from online sources. Hai Do 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 database n. information stored in a computer in an organized structure so that it can be searched in different ways artificial intelligence n. ability of a machine to use and analyze data in an attempt to reproduce human behavior access n. the ability to use or see something arbitrary adj. not based on a system or rules and often seen as unfair surveillance n. the activity of watching someone carefully, especially by the police or army Friday, February 22, 2019 The Arizona Republic reports that the father of an American woman who traveled from her home in Alabama to marry an Islamic State fighter filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in an effort to get her and his 18-month-old grandson returned to the United States. Lawyers acting for Ahmed Ali Muthana, a former diplomat at the United Nations for Yemen who is a naturalized U.S. citizen and lives in Alabama, claim that remarks by President Trump and senior White House officials claiming that Hoda Muthana is no longer a U.S. citizen thus barring her and her son from re-entering the USA are unconstitutional. Earlier this week, the President said that he had instructed the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to deny Muthana re-entry. Pompeo said she was not a U.S. citizen and has no "legal basis" to be brought back to U.S. from the refugee camp in Syria where she is being held with her young son. Here is the complaint. KJ https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2019/02/family-files-lawsuit-against-trump-administration-seeking-to-return-isis-bride-to-us.html Friday, February 22, 2019 Aljazeera reports on a lawsuit filed yesterday accusing U.S. immigration agencies of using excessive force, violence and racially profiling workers during a raid at a meatpacking plant last year. The National Immigration Law Center, Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and the law firm of Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison filed the lawsuit on behalf of seven named workers who were arrested with about 100 others at a meatpacking plant in Eastern Tennessee on April 5, 2018 by Immigration & Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents. The complaint alleges that, heavily armed, the officers formed a perimeter around the Bean Station plant and blocked every exit, the lawsuit said. During the raid, one of the largest in the United States in the last decade, federal agents flooded the building and shouted at workers to freeze, according to the filings. Helicopters could be heard hovering above the plant while more agents waited outside with "large machine guns pointed at exits." The first paragraph of the complaint paints a frightening picture: "In April 2018, officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Operations (HSI), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), and the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) descended on the Southeastern Provision meatpacking plant (Plant) in Bean Station, Tennessee, a small town in the far eastern corner of the state. Heavily armed, the officers formed a perimeter around the plant and blocked every exit. They used official vehicles to seal off the one public road to the Plant. Law enforcement helicopters flew above the Plant, securing and surveilling the premises. In the Plants parking lot, several vans and large bags of plastic zip tie handcuffs waited to be used. Moments later, dozens of armed officers in bullet-proof vests rushed into the Plant. They quickly fanned out, many with their firearms drawn, and screamed at the workers inside to stop moving. The workers, terrified and confused, feared the commotion was a terrorist attack, a mass shooting, or a fire." (footnotes omitted). The complaint alleges violations of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments and the civil rights laws. KJ https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2019/02/aljazeera-reports-on-a-new-lawsuit-filed-on-thursday-has-accused-the-us-immigration-agencies-including-immigration-and-cu.html During and after the Super Bowl, the cameras kept panning on one patrician-looking man. That had been Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and the force which kept them in that location. Now, attention is being showered on Kraft, for a very different reason. In Florida, a sting had been going on trying to ensnare players in prostitution and human trafficking. Caught in that has been, you got it, Kraft. As the media reports, he was arrested in Jupiter, FL for alleged solicitation of prostitutes. Through his spokesperson he denies that allegations. After such high spirits following the Patriots' win in the Super Bowl, this is a possible dark reversal of good fortune. Iconic has been the post-game video of Kraft and Tom Brady hugging. Extreme euphoria. Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. State Dept Raises Travel Warning Over Haiti Unrest Demonstrators are filling the streets of downtown Port au Prince in Haiti as anger and frustration over government mismanagement and corruption boils over. Protestors are now demanding the resignation of Haitian President Jovenel Moise over the disappearance of nearly $2 billion for a program earmarked for the poor. The Venezuelan PetroCaribe Discount Oil program provided cheap petroleum products and generous credit terms to Central American and Caribbean nations, throwing them an economic life-line when oil was selling for $100 per barrel. ADVERTISEMENT But instead of paying for hospitals, schools, roads, and other social projects, the money was mostly diverted into other projects, according to a January report from Haitis Superior Court of Auditors. As demonstrators chanted: Kot kob PetroCaribe a? Wheres the PetroCaribe money?, the President and Prime Minister Jean Henry Ceant, in an address to the nation, promised to conduct a full investigation into the missing funds. The straw that broke the camels back, according to Kim Ives, writing for Haiti Liberte, was the apparent betrayal of President Moise against the Venezuelans after their display of solidarity. On Jan. 10, 2019, in a vote at the Organization of American States (OAS), Haiti voted in favor of a Washington-sponsored motion to say that Nicolas Maduro was illegitimate, despite winning an election in May 2018 with over two-thirds of the vote. Todays revolution shows all signs of being as profound and unstoppable as that of 33 years ago against playboy dictator Jean-Claude Baby Doc Duvalier, Ives wrote. Duvalier escaped from Haiti on Feb. 7, 1986 to exile in France on a U.S. Air Force cargo plane. It was the beginning of five years of popular tumult. The spreading unrest, now in its second week, is beginning to take a humanitarian toll as protesters clash with police, stone ambulances and erect roadblocks shutting off major highways and roads. Canada has advised citizens to avoid all travel to Haiti and the U.S. State Department raised the travel warning to a level 4, telling U.S. citizens: Do not travel to Haiti due to crime and civil unrest. The Department of State also ordered the departure of all non-emergency U.S. personnel and their family members. We are living in misery and hunger, Harold Lazard, 43, a chemistry professor, said in a media interview. The population wants the president to go, so there can be change, there can be another system, one where we have hospitals that function, healthcare, education, security. With this system we have here the poor are dying of hunger with only dirt to eat. ADVERTISEMENT Its not the opposition who closed the country but the population, he said. Its the population that has decided it no longer wants to live in hunger, in misery. Ives added: Ironically, it was Venezuelan solidarity which may have postponed for a decade the political hurricane now engulfing Haiti. Long Beach State University Helping Lifeguards Prevent Shark Attacks Lifeguards and other first responders serving California communities ranging from the Central Coast to the Mexican border gathered Friday at Long Beach State University to learn about new developments helping their efforts to keep beachgoers safe from sharks. Long Beach State marine biologist Chris Lowe, director of the campus Shark Lab , hosted the responders who met for the 2019 Southern California Shark Workshop. Experts led discussions on such topics as providing first aid to shark bite victims, beach safety education, and using technology to monitor shark activity and reduce the probability of shark incidents. The population of white sharks living near California has rebounded in recent years, and the ocean waters near Southern California are nursery habitat for the animals. That means beachgoers and lifeguards need to prepare for possible shark encounters. ADVERTISEMENT This increases the likelihood of interactions, Lowe said. It doesnt have to be a negative interaction. Lowe and other Shark Lab researchers have employed such devices as acoustic buoys and aerial drones to track white sharks near the California coastline. The lab has recently acquired an unmanned submersible drone that expands its capability to monitor the underwater environment and record video of sharks and other marine life. The submersible is named in recognition of Assemblyman Patrick ODonnell, an alumnus and Shark Lab supporter. State government appropriated $3.75 million in the current state budget to help lab researchers study white shark activity and contribute to public safety efforts. The Southern California Shark Workshop is the result of the hard work and strong partnerships of the CSU Long Beach Shark Lab and lifeguards up and down Californias southern coast, ODonnell said. I thank Dr. Lowe for organizing this workshop to ensure that our first responders have the information they need to protect beachgoers. Although shark bites are rare events off California, shark encounters have increased in recent years, and the population of white sharks swimming near the states coastline has rebounded. Lifeguards anticipate the animals are here to stay. In 2014, white shark sightings increased significantly within California waterways. Current data indicates the white shark population may continue to utilize coastal waterways for nursery habitat and feeding on a more frequent basis, according to Brian Ketterer, southern field division chief for California State Parks, and Encinitas Marine Safety Capt. Larry Giles. ADVERTISEMENT The Shark Labs planned educational outreach includes distributing a shark safety comic book to school children, presenting safety information at beachside Shark Shacks and the labs annual on-campus event Sharks @ the Beach, scheduled for July. Programming for this years Sharks @ the Beach will include lessons designed to help people who fish from Californias piers avoid catching or attracting sharks. Getty Villa Theater Lab Series Presents New Workshop Performances By UCLA Dance Professor and Choreographer Lionel Popkin and Polish Opera and Theater Director Grzegorz Jarzyna The Oedipus/Antigone Project Friday, March 8, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 9, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. & 3:00 p.m. ADVERTISEMENT Sunday, March 10, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. Trojan War Friday, May 17, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. ADVERTISEMENT The Theater Lab Series at the Getty Villa begins in March with a multimedia performance by UCLA dance professor and choreographer Lionel Popkin, which is inspired by the gap between Sophocles best-known plays, Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus. The series continues in May 2019 with a performance by Polish opera and theater director Grzegorz Jarzyna that interprets the myth of the Trojan War within the context of the contemporary world. The Villa Theater Lab Series features work-in-progress versions of new translations and adaptations of Greek and Roman plays as well as contemporary works inspired by ancient literature. The Oedipus/Antigone Project Choreographer Lionel Popkins new evening-length premiere, The Oedipus/Antigone Project, takes its impetus from the gap between two of Sophocles best-known plays, Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus: the journey that Oedipus and Antigone take from Thebes to Colonus as they struggle to protect each other within a civic code that confounds them. Popkins choreo-play evokes an elliptical narrative within the space Sophocles leaves open between the two plays, interweaving images of topographical maps, complex shadow play, personal and performative immigrant stories, and resilient dancing in order to question contemporary notions of displacement, exile and homeland. Popkins style blends unexpected humor and resonant physicality to craft worlds that, according to The Washington Post, have a flair for originality that periodically has you realizing that you are smiling to yourself in the dark, and approaches dance-making in a way that The New York Times calls as farcical as it is dead serious. His multimedia performance works have been called a zenith of corporeal possibilities by the Los Angeles Times and by turns comical, creepy, and uncanny by The New Yorker. Trojan War Renowned Polish opera and theater director Grzegorz Jarzyna, artistic director of TR Warszawa, interprets the myth of the Trojan Warthe first war to defend European valuesin the context of contemporary military conflicts, the return of nationalism, and the mechanism of fear. Trojan War explores archetypal stories to see if the roots of the current problems associated with European identity can be found in its ancient cultural genotype. The performance transfers the mythical story of the Trojan War into the reality of todays wars and ethnic conflicts. TR Warszawa, the producer of the performance, is home to artistic experiments of all kinds, thanks to the collaboration of an acclaimed team of actors, composers, and designers invited by Grzegorz Jarzyna. Since 1998, when Jarzyna became the artistic director of the theatre, TR Warszawa became one of the most important theaters in Poland and one of the best-known Polish theaters around the world. American audiences might remember the cutting-edge presentation of its 2008: Macbeth, which boldly reinvented the classic text of Shakespeare for the 21st century at St. Anne Warehouse in New York. Among the Jarzynas latest productions are Grzegorz Jarzynas Martyrs based on text by Marius von Mayenburg, Ivona, Princess of Burgundia, coproduced with Theatre of Nations in Moscow, G.E.N, a story about an alternative community, or Two Swords, based on the classical legend Forging the Swords by Lu Xun. All performances take place in the Villa Auditorium. Tickets are $7 and available now for The Oedipus/Antigone Project at getty.edu or by calling 310-440-7300. Tickets for Trojan War will be available on March 19, 2019. WHAT: ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT PHOTO + BROADCAST OPPORTUNITIES: There is no need to travel farther than Third & Fairfax to enjoy a true New Orleans-style Mardi Gras celebration! Returning for its 30th year, The Original Farmers Market s Annual Mardi Gras Celebration breaks out the beads with a three-day event that offers down-home fun for everyone. Open to the public, and one of the only family-friendly Mardi Gras celebrations in town, the festivities take place on Saturday, March 2nd, Sunday, March 3rd and come to an end on Fat Tuesday, March 5th. Against a festive backdrop of purple, green and gold decor, enjoy New Orleans classics King Cake, beignets, delicious, made-from-scratch Cajun gumbo and jambalaya from The Gumbo Pot and a musical line-up that will bring the celebration to life, with performances by Market-favorite Eddie Baytos and The Nervis Brothers, and more. The Dog Bakery will also host its Annual Mutti Gras Pet Parade on the Market Plaza from 12 to 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 2nd with prizes awarded to the best dressed furry King and Queen of Mutti Gras. Laissez les bons temps rouler (Let the good times roll)! A full schedule of activities and performances follows. 5th Annual Mutti Gras Pet Parade, hosted by The Dog Bakery, will feature our furry four-legged friends (and occasionally a cat or rabbit) dressed in creative costumes parading across the Plaza. The audience will determine the lucky winners of King and Queen of Mutti Gras, who will take home prizes from The Dog Bakery The Gumbo Pot will be serving up its delicious, made-from-scratch Cajun gumbo, jambalaya, specialty beignets and King Cake Much like beads are tossed from the balconies of Bourbon Street in New Orleans, the Market will feature bead-throwing from the Gate 1 interior balcony at the top of each hour Live musical performances by Cajun and Zydeco favorites Eddie Baytos and The Nervis Brothers, Mudbug Brass Band, Bonnie Musique Zydeco, Floyd and the Fly Boys, High Life Cajun Band, Grammy-nominated Lisa Haley and the Zydekats and more will bring the Mardi Gras celebrations to life The entire Market will be decked out in purple, green and gold decor African WWII Vets Seek Formal Apology and Compensation from UK The UK government is coming under pressure to compensate and apologize to the last surviving African veterans who fought alongside White British soldiers in the second World War. More than half a million Black African soldiers who fought in the British army were paid up to three times less than their white counterparts, a newly unearthed document has revealed, prompting calls for an investigation and the government to compensate surviving veterans. The document, buried in Britains national archives, reveals how the government systematically discriminated against African soldiers, paying White personnel even those living in African colonies and serving alongside African soldiers in British colonial units far more than their Black counterparts. ADVERTISEMENT Three parliamentarians are demanding that the administration of Theresa May acknowledge the unfair treatment, launch an investigation, issue a formal apology and pay veterans compensation. Details of the discriminatory practices were highlighted in a documentary for Al-Jazeera Englishs People and Power series. The documentary also highlights how, although enlistment was supposed to be voluntary, testimony from surviving veterans and their widows undermines this official line. One veteran, 93-year-old Gershon Fundi whom Britain sent to Ethiopia and Somaliland as a signalman said: They were treating us as slaves. We were there not because we wanted to be there. But we were forced to go there. If you run, even if you go home, chiefs would arrest you and then youre going to be brought back. But how can you complain? To whom are you going to complain? We have no voice, we have no voice at all, he told a Guardian reporter. Their testimony is supported by the research of leading historians of the era. Pressure was put on chiefs to provide their quota and they forced men to enlist, says David Killingray, emeritus professor of modern history at Goldsmiths University, who described the experience of individuals caught up by this system as appalling. Not only were African soldiers in Britains forces barred from becoming commissioned officers and from disciplining lower-ranking White soldiers, they were also subjected to corporal punishment, which the British army had officially outlawed for decades. ADVERTISEMENT They beat us, said Eusebio Mbiuki, a 100-year-old veteran who served in Britains Burma campaign against the Japanese. They beat us a lot. Our bodies became so swollen from the beatings. They would beat us and slap us until you accepted everything you were being told. And you couldnt answer back. Who would you speak to? They were your commanders. As the Vatican meets today to discuss sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church, many of the faithful here in Lancaster look for answers at home. The Diocese of Harrisburg is made up of 15 counties and 89 parishes, with more than 230,000 Catholics. Lancaster alone has 17 Catholic parishes, made up of vibrant communities from Latino to Vietnamese and located everywhere from city neighborhoods to rural farmlands. The scandal that has ripped apart the global church has clearly been felt here in Lancaster. Several church officials who served in our county were listed on the Pennsylvania grand jury report for their alleged abuse. Bishop Ronald Gainer has taken unprecedented measures to try to answer the questions and deal with the disappointment that most Catholics here feel as a result of the scandal. In his publication We Pledge, a report to the Catholic people, Gainer acknowledged the failure of diocesan leaders to protect children and young adults from sexual abuse. And he pledged to help survivors, meet the financial obligations of the church and provide a swift response to abuse reports. In addition, Gainer has been holding listening sessions across the diocese in order to hear concerns and attempt to provide answers. Recently, Gainer came to Lancaster along with retired Pennsylvania State Police Capt. Janet McNeal, who has been hired as the dioceses safe environment coordinator, to meet and discuss the diocesan response and what steps the church is taking. As a lifelong Catholic, I was very impressed with Gainers effort to reach out to the community. He sat through almost two hours of heartfelt and, in some cases, grueling commentary by those who are truly saddened and angry about the church. The emotions of both survivors and the faithful were clearly evident and, as a result, important questions that many of us hoped to hear were not asked, out of respect for the speakers, as well as the long hours of the evening. My concerns include the following: The diocese has set up a survivor compensation program that is scheduled to be in effect until this June. While I assume the time limitation is to try to bring closure as quickly as possible, I also assume it is to limit cost exposure. It is important for the Catholics within the diocese to understand the financial aspects of this program, from timing to the total projected cost. Gainer has stated the goal is to do all we can to provide compensation to survivors without asking our parishioners to contribute. We all need to understand the financial risks. The bishop is clear in his claim that the Diocese of Harrisburg wants what is best for the victims/survivors, yet he is opposed to state legislative actions that would expand the civil statute of limitations. While Gainer supports reforming the civil statute of limitation for future cases, he explained his opposition to proposed legislation as needing to protect funding for the missions of the church. During this conversation, the language seemed to me to be somewhat insincere. It seems to me that the diocese should just face the reality publicly and state it is trying to avoid potential bankruptcy. As one commentator stated, Jesus gave up everything. Why is the church so afraid to do the same? I appreciate Gainer stating that homosexuality is not the cause of the sexual abuse crisis within the church (and research supports him on this). There has been a common theme espoused by both church leadership and lay people that the church abuse problems have been linked to gay priests. In fact, Gainers explanation of celibacy (the renunciation of the right to marry), in my opinion, left open the door for the training of priests despite their sexual orientation. I believe the bishop should also address how diocesan leadership might lead the discussion to widen the aperture for others (married men, women) to seek holy orders. In an effort at maximum transparency, the diocese states that any priest with a credible allegation of abuse is permanently removed from ministry. Where the safety of children is concerned, this is a wise approach. Alleged abusers should get due process, however. Had cases been referred in the past to civil authorities, as the bishop assures us they are now, alleged offenders may have gotten speedy trials to press their claims of innocence. As Americans as well as Catholics, we believe in justice for all. The Roman Catholic Church here in Lancaster continues to be a vibrant and diverse community committed to its mission of being a present and active church made up of people proclaiming the goodness of God. As we move through this crisis of abuse, lets make sure we ask the difficult questions and chart a future that ensures such risks are mitigated. Now is the time for change. Lets hope the diocese, and the Vatican, embrace the opportunity. David E. Wood is a Manheim Township resident who has written for LNP Opinion on military matters. He is a member of St. Anne Catholic Church. Perhaps the greatest prophets not to come from the Middle East are Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Nicky Headon and, for good measure throw in the original drummer, Terry Chimes. Collectively, these guys were known as The Clash. Often referred to as the only band that mattered, they were an English punk rock band and were active from the mid-1970s through the 1980s. Many of their songs were apocalyptic, political and all around incredible. There is nothing on the radio today that sounds like The Clash, and its unlikely there will be again. Their most popular song was Rock the Casbah, but their best song was either Straight to Hell or London Calling. Straight to Hell is about societal decay, the abandonment of mixed-race children and drug addiction. London Calling, recorded in 1979, alludes to several ways the world could come to an end (including climate change); some of those methods are ushered in by zombies of death. As I listen to these songs for the thousandth time and contemplate todays decay of the Republican Party its abandonment of the Constitutions separation of powers, its mistreatment of immigrant children, its brain-dead response to climate change I cant help but wonder who todays zombies of death might be? Who might be the soulless, brainless, automatons stumbling and dragging us toward a self-induced dystopia? Images of U.S. Senate Republicans flash through my mind. The vast majority of Senate Republicans obediently and mindlessly have followed their dear leader, President Donald J. Trump. Theres not an idea too absurd that Senate Republicans wont get behind. Rack up a huge deficit they get behind Trump. Violate Article 1 of the Constitution they get behind him. Separate infants and toddlers from their mothers at the southern border they get behind him. Declare a national emergency over a manufactured crisis at that border they get behind him. Deny 40 years of climate science they get behind him. As if declaring an unconstitutional national emergency for his broken campaign promise wasnt absurd enough (remember, Mexico was supposed to pay for the wall), much of the money Trump is planning to use will come from the military. Senate Republicans are behind that absurd idea, too. Never mind that the conservative Heritage Foundation has published several papers over the last few months arguing for more money and more thoughtful spending for the U.S. military. In fact, in an October 2018 report, the foundation concluded, The Active Component of the U.S. military is two-thirds the size it should be, operates equipment that is older than should be the case, and is burdened by readiness levels that are problematic. The foundations index assesses the capabilities of the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force as marginal, and that of the Marine Corps as weak. So what do most of the Senate Republicans do? They obediently and mindlessly go along with the president in taking money from military readiness to pay for Trumps broken campaign promise. According to the Military Times, the following military projects are some of those that would be affected: a new vehicle maintenance shop at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, drydock repairs at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, F-35 hangar improvements at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, ongoing hospital construction at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, and new family housing builds in South Korea, Italy and Wisconsin. The Heritage Foundation, and many other institutions on the left, right and center, have expressed concern about U.S. military readiness, logistics and morale. We have the most professional and dedicated force in the world, and its members now are suffering under the political leadership of zombies. This is why one of the most respected generals of the 21st century resigned as Trumps secretary of defense. James Mattis couldnt be complicit in the zombies destruction of the United States. Ask yourself two questions. First, how long has it been since you listened to The Clash? If the answer is never or a long time ago, dont wait another day. Second, other than Trump and his zombies, in whose interest is it to violate our Constitution and direct money away from the U.S. military for Trumps ego project on the southern border? If youre stuck, think about who was most agitated by NATO expansion in the 1990s and 2000s. The answer, of course, is Russian President Vladimir Putin, who last week threatened the United States with an asymmetric response should the U.S. deploy intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe. In his annual state of the nation address Wednesday, Putin warned that Russians would create new weapons and aim them at American targets, particularly decision-making centers in the United States. In London Calling, The Clash warned of the nuclear age. Its dangers intensified last week, but the zombies of death still allow their leader to be guided by Putin rather than by the American professionals who have dedicated their lives to protecting this nations freedom. Bryan T. Stinchfield, Ph.D., is a former Army officer who served in the U.S. intelligence community. He is an associate professor in the business, organizations and society department at Franklin & Marshall College. A man injured after being shot by a state trooper Tuesday was released from a hospital and sent to Lancaster County Prison. Jeromey Chad Barnes, 37, will be held at the prison without bail because he is a danger to himself and to the general public, District Judge Raymond Sheller ruled at a preliminary arraignment done by video Tuesday evening. Barnes was shot once after allegedly fleeing from Pennsylvania State Police troopers attempting to serve him with an arrest warrant. Troopers found Barnes, wanted on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges from a Jan. 17 incident, in a vehicle on South Belmont Road in Paradise Township, police said. Barnes tried to flee with the vehicle and traveled toward troopers, police said. Troopers fired toward Barnes, and one bullet struck him. Barnes was charged with more than a dozen offenses including nine counts of felony aggravated assault. A preliminary hearing with Sheller is scheduled for March 5. The husband and wife who died in a tragic Valentines Day fire were known for their love for each other. Jose and Lydia Montes were always happy and showed love to everyone, according to their three daughters. Fire struck the couples home on Poplar Street in Lancaster early Feb. 14. Officials are still investigating the cause and have said a neighbor called 911 around 4 a.m. after hearing smoke alarm bells. Emergency crews found the Monteses unconscious and tried to revive them. The couple, both 59, died in a hospital. Daughters Jessenia Montes, Yashira Ashby and Jennifer Montes said in a written message to LNP that their parents relationship was loving and special. Unconditional love for their family The doors to the Monteses home in Lancaster citys Cabbage Hill neighborhood were open to all, their daughters said. Games of dominos, music, dancing and good food were the norm there. Jose was outgoing with a sense of humor. You can say he was the life of the party, his daughters said. Lydia was loving with a big heart, they said, and always cooking. Jose Montes was born in Puerto Rico. Lydia Montes was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, where they met in 1980. Lydia Montes was a dental assistant, and Jose Montes came to her office with a bad toothache. (It was) love at first sight, their daughters said. The couple married Nov. 27, 1982. More than 36 years later, their family has grown to include five grandchildren. The most important part of Jose and Lydia was their unconditional love for their family, their daughters said. Thankful for support Jessenia Montes, Yashira Ashby and Jennifer Montes said they wanted to thank community members, friends and family for their prayers, support and donations. A viewing and funeral service for their parents was held Thursday. Their nephew, Anthony Montes, is a member of the citys fire department. We are here for him and his family, grieving and giving the support they might need, fire Chief Scott Little said Thursday. Little said a large number of fire department members went to the viewing. On-duty fire crews took turns so all could attend. The Monteses daughters said they wanted to give a special thanks to the fire department for their love and support. You all are a shining light during this difficult time, they said. Local businesses and employees are paying too much for health care and want a simpler, more transparent system. That was the overwhelming message business leaders shared Thursday in a rare forum with leaders of all four of Lancaster Countys major health systems. The three-hour meeting attended by close to a hundred people was organized by the nonprofit Central Penn Business Group on Health, an independent Lancaster Chamber affiliate. Here are four main takeaways from the discussion. Key concerns are cost, complexity and transparency Employers were asked to discuss their health care challenges in small groups, then summarize them to the health system leaders. Responses from the dozen groups were nearly unanimous: Health care costs too much for them and their employees, administering and using the plans is too complicated, and theyre looking for more transparency and more control. The organizations latest survey found that for 2018, individual premiums for job-based health insurance average $6,732 in this region, of which employees pay $1,284. For family plans, premiums average $19,512, of which employees pay $6,228. Competition doesnt necessarily lower health care costs An attendee asked if increased competition in the local health care market lowers cost and increases quality. The health system leaders responded that research generally shows competition in health care can increase quality but doesnt necessarily lower costs. Jan Bergen, president and CEO of Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, said mergers and acquisitions also often raise costs instead of lowering them but that joining Penn Medicine didnt alter our cost structure in any way. Alan Brechbill, executive vice president and COO of Penn State Health, said it argued a couple of years ago that affiliating with what used to be PinnacleHealth could lower costs in the region, but the Federal Trade Commission didnt allow that deal. Brooks Turkel, president of UPMC Pinnacle Lancaster division, said in closing its Lancaster city hospital at the end of the month, UPMC Pinnacle is also giving up an open heart surgery program here, avoiding the duplication of a very expensive service. Fascinating that PA's former 16th congressional district -- now known as PA's 11th congressional district -- is on this list. #healthcare #LancasterCounty https://t.co/gPtWhHHxZ2 Heather Stauffer (@HStaufferLNP) March 7, 2019 And conversely, here are the 10 congressional districts where competition *increased* the most from 10-17:WA06MI07PA04MD01TX34TX01AZ08NJ02CO05PA16 John Graves (@johngraves9) March 6, 2019 Keeping people out of hospitals Asked about what theyre doing to address high costs, the health system leaders repeatedly noted efforts to keep patients out of hospitals and emergency rooms when less-expensive care is appropriate, and to prevent and manage chronic diseases. Youre swimming upstream if you dont have your employees connected with a primary care practice, Bergen said. Turkel said UPMCs approach centers on its health plan and providers working together. Carrie Willetts, senior vice president of WellSpan Health and president of WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital, said the system recently held focus groups with several dozen Central Pennsylvania employers. She also mentioned a virtual prenatal care program that the system estimates replaced hundreds of in-person obstetrician visits. Brechbill noted that his system has been partnering with insurer Highmark for more than a year and working hard to expand offerings beyond its academic medical center in Hershey. I think youre going to see more of us in the future, he said. Look at joint replacements Attendees also heard from Joe Martin, executive director of the independent state agency Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council. He said in the past seven years, hospitals in the area have tackled tough problems and seen significant decreases to in-hospital deaths for six conditions, and on readmissions for seven conditions. Martin noted that the cost of hip and knee replacements here is similar to other places in the state but even after accounting for gender differences and the large number of seniors here the rate of hip and knee replacements for local residents is higher than the rest of the state. Its something that should be looked at in this area, he said. You can power our reporters and help keep us independent with a donation today during our June Member drive. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva says reforms designed to reduce violence by deputies in the jails are a failed "social experiment." He claims attacks on guards are up, and his deputies feel the new rules keep them from fully defending themselves. Villanueva has argued his deputies need a freer hand to use force. That alarms watchdogs, who say the sheriff is using faulty statistics and who argue that the reforms have greatly improved the situation in the lockups. They worry he might try to undo policies implemented four years ago after the U.S. Justice Department, the ACLU and a blue ribbon commission found a pattern of deputy brutality within a culture of impunity. The reforms included a ban on steel-toed boots and metal flashlights that some deputies used to inflict pain. Use of force policies were re-written, deputies were re-trained, and every use of force - even if it's grabbing an inmate's arm - must be documented. Supervising sergeants were added to each floor of the jails. To keep everyone honest, the department was forced to install hundreds of cameras. Officials placed boxes with complaint forms on each floor along with iPads for those who preferred to highlight a problem that way. So what is happening in the jails? We decided to take a closer look. "DEPUTIES ARE ... WAY DIFFERENT" The worst of the beatings occurred in Twin Towers and the dilapidated Men's Central Jail next door. Both sit near Union Station, adjacent to Chinatown. On a tour of the more than 50-year-old Men's Central, the captain in charge points out how the cells sit in long rows and it's impossible to see what's happening in a cell unless you're standing directly in front of it. "It's outdated and dangerous," Capt. Jason Wolak said. Most jails are designed as pods where deputies can see almost everything. We're on the second floor, known as the 2,000 floor. This was home to the "2,000 Boys," a clique of deputies known to mete out particularly harsh beatings for as little as a disrespectful look from an inmate. We walk down a row of 25 cells. I stop to talk to one inmate who asks to remain anonymous. He said he's been in and out of jail a lot and Men's Central is a lot less violent now. "Deputies here are being way different, man," he said. I ask how deputies used to treat inmates. "Whoa, let them tell you!" he said, laughing nervously. "I mean, I don't want to say nothing." There are plenty of complaints on the row - about things like showers not working, and not enough recreational time - but not about guards getting violent. Still, many inmates are careful about how they talk about their guards. There's no question serious force by deputies has dropped significantly in recent years, although the reliable data only dates to 2017, said Richard Drooyan, the federal monitor who oversees the reforms. Nevertheless, Villanueva uses data going back to 2013. He claims inmate attacks on deputies jumped more than 200 percent over a five-year period ending in 2018, and that inmate-on-inmate attacks rose about 30 percent during the same period. Drooyan and the county's inspector general say Villanueva's statistics are unreliable. They say the reporting of data -- and the systems to record that data -- have changed significantly in recent years, making the sheriff's comparisons apples to oranges. Villanueva has stood his ground, insisting that his statistics are reliable. The sheriff also claimed in recent weeks that senior officials had given deputies written orders not to use force to defend themselves or to report attacks known as gassings, when inmates fling urine or feces at deputies. Drooyan in turn requested copies of the directives. On Thursday, he told LAist in an email that "the Sheriff's Department informed me that there had been a 'miscommunication amongst staff' and those directives do not exist." "WE NEED TO TAKE BACK OUR JAILS" But the sheriff's message resonates with at least some deputies in the jails. One veteran sergeant in Men's Central endorses Villanueva's position. The sergeant, who's worked the jails for five years and asked not to be named for fear of retaliation from her superiors, expresses nostalgia for the days when guards had a freer hand. "We used to handle business differently back then," she said. "There were less restrictions on our part." The reforms make deputies hesitate in dangerous situations, she said. "You can protect yourself but it's frowned upon sometimes." Inmates have too much power now, said the sergeant. Deputies can deny them privileges when they violate rules, but that's about it, she said. So when Villanueva says the reforms went too far, she agrees "100 percent. We need to take back our jails." The sergeant adds she's noticed morale among jail deputies has been higher in the wake of the sheriff's comments. "I think the point she's trying to make is, they don't want the deputies to make a mistake and be second guessed," Capt. Wolak said. "I think that's where the disconnect is." "THIS IS A DANGEROUS PLACE" Asked about the dispute over Villanueva's statistics, Wolak is careful not to contradict his sheriff. "I'm just not familiar with all the data," he said. "I just know this is a dangerous place. And it's always been a dangerous place." One of the longstanding challenges in the jails is that the guards are young, said Esther Lim, who just finished an eight-year stint as the ACLU's court-appointed jail monitor. The department assigns all new deputies to the jails for their first couple of years. "You look at them and you go, 'Oh wow, completely inexperienced, sometimes with very little education,'" said Lim, who's now monitor of New York city's prisons. "They may not have a lot of social skills." And those guards are working in a lockup that now seeks to utilize social skills rather than brute force to maintain order. The county plans to replace the aging Men's Central Jail with a mental health hospital. The county and sheriff have also agreed to improve care for inmates with mental illnesses. Villanueva has been vague about what exactly he wants to change in the jails -- at one point he suggested bringing back metal flashlights. While watchdogs have expressed concern that the sheriff might try to unwind some of the reforms, Villanueva said in a statement this month that he will fully comply with them. Villanueva had two other messages in his statement. He wants deputies to act within the law. But he also wants them to know they have the right to defend themselves. Welcome to my world where the hyphen between the words Italian and American is the bridge between espresso and Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, red wine and pit barbecue, the Amalfi Coast and Hilton Head Island, and with life in Georgia. There are lots of stories about my Italian n I am also an amateur tour guide. The Summer of 2015 I organized a Girls' Trip to Italy for 23 women to Rome and the Amalfi Coast. We had so much fun that we did it again in 2019 with 31 women, this time to Tuscany and northern Italy. Oh, and I wrote a book -- An Ocean, an Airplane, and Two Countries Full of Kisses. Check it out below ... onna. A Mauston man faces drug charges after police say he maintained a drug trafficking place. Joshua Gardner, 36, is charged with possession with intent to deliver cocaine, maintaining a drug trafficking place, possession of methamphetamine, possession of THC, neglecting a childconsequence is bodily harm and possession of drug paraphernalia. He faces up to 10 years imprisonment for the first charge. According to the criminal complaint: A Mauston Detective obtained a search warrant signed by a judge for residential drug search Jan. 24. The search warrant was executed on an Elm Street residence in Mauston. Evidence located inside the residence included crack cocaine, baggies of a leafy green substance suspected to be marijuana, methamphetamine, a crack pipe, a black scale with white residue, cash and several electronic devices. The Detective noted an overwhelming odor of burnt and raw marijuana in the residence. The Detective met with an adult male sitting in the back of a patrol vehicle. He stated he came to Mauston to work on some music. The male, identified as Feazell Jones, admitted to smoking marijuana but did not indicate knowing why police were at the residence. The court complaint, citing public statements by GOP legislators explaining their rationale for the laws, says they were enacted for the obvious purpose and effect of undoing the clear intent of the majority of voters. The acts thus violate basic principles of representative government inherent in our republican form of government, the complaint contends. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, one of several GOP legislative leaders named as defendants in the lawsuits, said hes not concerned by them and believes courts ultimately will uphold the laws. Speaking at an event hosted by the website WisPolitics, Vos said the laws were part of an effort to rebalance the powers as the way they were intended. A separate statement from Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said Evers and Kauls actions in the challenge brought by unions solidifies the need for GOP lawmakers to hire attorneys to represent them in the case. It also reveals their intent to collude with their liberal allies to work around the Legislature to advance their agenda, Vos and Fitzgerald said. 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. The Washington director of the liberal activist group MoveOn has become the first declared candidate to be the next chairperson of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Ben Wikler announced his candidacy on Twitter late Thursday. He seeks to succeed Martha Laning, who recently announced she isnt seeking a third term as party chairwoman. The next party chairperson will lead into the critical 2020 presidential cycle, in which Wisconsin will be ground zero for the national fight for the presidency. Wikler is a Madison native who recently moved back after living in the Washington, D.C., area. A series of Twitter posts announcing his candidacy notes his past campaign work for Tammy Baldwin, Ed Garvey and Russ Feingold, and his frequent trips back to Wisconsin in recent years to protest Act 10 and do door-to-door canvassing during the 2016 campaign. Wiklers Twitter thread said he is running not simply to defeat the GOP. Were running to build the kind of party we believe in. It also said he wants to empower and build the 72 county party units and empower local volunteers with cutting-edge technology, training and support. A Kenosha County farmer is offering a $500 reward to find out who shot his 1-year-old Husky/Golden Retriever mix outside his Wheatland farm, WTMJ in Milwaukee reported. My hand was full of blood once I checked her out," Mike Fenske told the station. "A lot of winter hair on these dogs this time of year it was hard to say just exactly what happened. I thought she got caught tied up with a coyote overnight. A trip to a local vet determined that the shot caused lung damage and the dog couldnt be saved and had to be put down, WTMJ said. The people that did this really need to come forward and just put an end to this right now," Fenske told the station. The Kenosha County Sheriffs Office and the Department of Natural Resources are investigating. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 4 Baldwin was joined by 608 Brewing Co. co-owner and head brewer Phil Humphrey, who said the legislation will help small, locally owned craft brewing companies stay afloat during slow business seasons. Im all for it, Humphrey said. Were constantly taking all of our revenue after bills are paid and putting it back into the business to improve equipment. The 608 Brewing Co. opened in August and does most its business through the tap room connected to the brewing facility. Humphrey said he hopes the company will expand but wants to do so in a measured way. The more ... beer we put out, the more taxes we have to pay, so it will start to add up over time as we increase production, he said. The 2019 bill, introduced by Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., enjoys support on both sides of the aisle, both chambers of Congress and the entire craft beverage industry, according to a statement released by U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, who introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives earlier this month. Here in Wisconsin, our craft brewers produce over 1 million barrels of beer a year. Not only are our breweries a source of pride and a large part of our states culture, but they also support our local economies and create jobs, Kind said. Dear Amy: How should I handle a friend who is bipolar? She is fine until she goes off her medication, then she becomes nasty and hateful, and I am not sure how to forgive her for what she has said about me. Put-upon Friend Put-upon Friend: Bipolar disorder is a serious illness that can respond well to treatment. The mood and behavior swings that people with bipolar disorder experience can strain relationships. Your friend is responsible for maintaining her health and taking her medication to control her illness, and your responsibility is to be understanding of her health issues and inform her when she is behaving in a way that harms your friendship. When your friend goes off her meds and abuses you, you should remind her of how her behavior affects you. Discuss this with her when she is stable. Ask her to pay closer attention to her treatment and offer to help. Your friends illness may explain her behavior, but her burden is to acknowledge and apologize. The National Institute of Mental Health offers a comprehensive description of this illness. Check nimh.nih.gov. (Sept., 2009) The sixth annual UW-La Crosse College of Liberal Studies Creative Imperatives Festival, titled Freedom Unbound: The Power of the Arts, will showcase expressions of freedom in all of its meanings and manifestations. The three-day event, March 3-5, will include exhibits, performances, workshops, and presentations that demonstrate how the visual and performing arts can be used to showcase marginalized populations, champion causes and generate ideas. The festival, which will feature guest artists Sarah Bellamy, Swanson AlSaraf and Brendan Kinsella, will showcase how art forms communicate these ideas in unique ways. Bellamy, a 2015 Bush Fellow, is artistic director for Penumbra Theatre Company in St. Paul, Minn. She has taught at Macalester College, the University of Minnesota, and served as visiting professor of Theatre and Culture at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Bellamy will give a talk starting at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 3, in Toland Theatre in UW-Ls Center for the Arts. Great River Writes is planning a series of three writing workshops at the La Crosse Public Librarys Main branch featuring two authors, Jen Rubin and Nikolas Butler. Rubin, author of We Are Staying: Eighty Years in the Life of a Family, a Store, and a Neighborhood and co-host of The Moth StorySlam in Madison, will lead the first workshop, which will focus on memoir writing, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2. Rubin will discuss her process of writing a family memoir that centered around the small business her family owned for 80 years. She also will talk about how to balance three generations, deal with thorny family issues, and how to include enough history and sociology to inform the story but not so much that the central story is overwhelmed. This will be an interactive workshop with a mixture of presentation, storytelling, Q&A and small group work. An Eau Claire native, Butler has won literary honors both in the United States and in France, is the author of an internationally best-selling novel, Shotgun Lovesongs, The Hearts of Men and Beneath the Bonfire. - Catriona Gray finally broke her silence on rumored breakup with Clint Bondad - She confirmed that they already ended their 6-year relationship - The beauty queen also said that her focus now is her Miss Universe journey PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray finally admitted that she is single now following several breakup rumors involving boyfriend Clint Bondad. KAMI learned that there were reports claiming that the sweet couple already ended their relationship because of the responsibilities of the Pinay beauty queen as a Miss Universe. A lot of netizens also speculated the breakup of Catriona and Clint because of their answers in separate television interviews before. A day after her homecoming parade in Manila, the Bicolana model has already put an end to the rumors and she confirmed that she and Clint already called their affair quits. She made the revelation through an online segment of ABS-CBN called Kapamilya Confessions where she was asked about how she manages her love life now that she has bigger responsibilities. Without hesitations, Catriona disclosed that she has no love life as of the moment but she said that people need to balance everything especially if it involves personal life. PAY ATTENTION: Using free basics app to access internet for free? Now you can read KAMI news there too. Use the search option to find us. Read KAMI news while saving your data! She also expressed that her focus now is her advocacy and to be able to represent the Philippines in her journey as a Miss Universe. "Well it's all about balance, whatever works for your personal life. But for me, wala akong love life ngayon," "So, I'm really focused on my Miss Universe journey, on being the best global representative that I can be, and also being a representative for the Philippines through and through," Catriona did not mention any official reason behind her breakup with Clint. Here is the video: In a previous article by , Catriona dazzled during her homecoming parade on February 21 as shown in the photos uploaded on social media. Catriona Gray is a Filipino-Australian beauty queen and commercial actress who brought home the fourth Miss Universe crown for the Philippines. Her advocacy focuses on marginalized children and how to provide quality education to them despite their situations. POPULAR: Read more news about Catriona Gray! Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! We were exclusively invited to the event dedicated to Alone/Together starring Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil. And of course we had some tricky and trivia questions to the guests. on HumanMeter! Source: Kami.com.ph - A post went viral claiming that Davao City is better than Manila, the capital city of the Philippines - The post was published by a Facebook page supporting Hugpong ng Pagbabago - However, Agence France-Presse has debunked the claim PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed A social media post claiming that Davao City is more developed than the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines, went viral online. However, KAMI learned that the photos used to compare both cities were misleading. According to a report by ABS-CBN News, the Facebook post that was published by a page supporting Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpios regional party, Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), has been shared thousands of times on the Internet. It stated in the caption that Davao is richer than Manila. Sa mga mayayabang na tagaManila kahet saan talo pa ren kayo sa Davao City. Mas mayaman patin ang Davao City kesa sa Manila, the caption read. A French news agency named Agence France-Presse (AFP) has conducted a reverse image search only to find out that the post was misleading. PAY ATTENTION: Using free basics app to access internet for free? Now you can read KAMI news there too. Use the search option to find us. Read KAMI news while saving your data! The photo used in the viral post to represent Manila was actually taken on February 22, 2008, in Mumbai, India. Photo from AFP Source: Facebook Meanwhile, the photo that was supposed to show Davao was originally from the article of Hoppler, a real estate site. The photo was taken from the business district of Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Photo from AFP Source: Facebook In a previous report by KAMI, a Facebook page supporting former Philippine National Police (PNP) Ronald Bato dela Rosa posted photos claiming how clean Davao City is. However, it has been reported that the photos used were misleading as well. Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! Our HumanMeter team attended a special screening of Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil's new movie "Alone /Together"! There, we were able to conduct a super edition of tricky questions. The people's responses were super hilarious as well on KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel! Source: Kami.com.ph - Senator Bam Aquino was asked about the involvement of former President Noynoy Aquino regarding Dengvaxia controversies - He admitted that his cousin was responsible for allowing Dengvaxia vaccine in the country - The senator also believes that the issues about Dengvaxia and measles outbreak have been politicized PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Senator Bam Aquino IV believes that his cousin, former President Noynoy Aquino, was responsible for the controversies linked to Dengvaxia. KAMI learned that the senator also shared that the issues about Dengvaxia and measles outbreak have been politicized. Yes, he is responsible for Dengvaxia because he made the decision to bring it in, the senator said during his interview with news anchor Karen Davila in ABS-CBN News Channels Headstart. Now, whether Dengvaxia did lead to those deaths or not is really the question na palagay ko napulitika na talaga," he added. PAY ATTENTION: Using free basics app to access internet for free? Now you can read KAMI news there too. Use the search option to find us. Read KAMI news while saving your data! The younger Aquino insisted that there have been fake news going around about Dengvaxia causing deaths to Filipinos even though it has not been proven yet. He also said that the blame-game about the Dengvaxia mess and measles outbreak should stop and the government should focus on the children. I think this point, ang pinakamahalaga, stop the blame-game, stop the politicking, mag-focus tayo sa mga bata, Aquino said. KAMI reported earlier that Public Attorneys Office chief Persida Acosta was being blamed for the measles outbreak that caused at least 100 deaths in the Philippines. The Department of Health said that the outbreak can attribute to the low vaccine coverage due to the Dengvaxia scare allegedly started by Acosta. Davila asked Aquino if he also believes that Acosta must be blamed for the deaths of the children caused by measles. She contributed to it, lahat nung nag-ke-claim na may namatay dahil sa Dengvaxia. Again, DOH and a lot of the professors and the doctors who have come out have said thats not proven, Aquino stated. Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! Our HumanMeter team attended a special screening of Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil's new movie "Alone /Together"! There, we were able to conduct a super edition of tricky questions. The people's responses were super hilarious as well on KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel! Source: Kami.com.ph - Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray has shared her opinion about the issue of changing the countrys name to Maharlika - At first, the beauty queen was not aware of the issue - When she finally shared her thoughts, her answer drew laughs from the people PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray has been enjoying her stay here in the Philippines. KAMI learned that during her homecoming, the beauty queen was asked about her thoughts with regard to President Rodrigo Dutertes consideration of changing the countrys name. A video uploaded by Mj Marfori on Youtube showed the interview of Gray about the issue. At first, Gray admitted that she was not aware of this. If its not broke, why fix it? Gray quipped. The beauty queens answer drew laughs from the people. In a previous report by KAMI, President Duterte said that he agrees with former President Ferdinand Marcos when the late president thought of changing the countrys name to Maharlika. The Philippines was discovered by Magellan using the money of King Philip Okay na iyan. Balang araw palitan natin. Actually tama si Marcos gusto niyang palitan - Maharlika, President Duterte said. KAMI also reported before that the Miss Universe 2018 was also asked about her opinion with regard to lowering the age of criminal responsibility. Gray said that she would rather focus on the reasons why children commit crimes. The Palace reacted on the statement of Gray and said that the beauty queen is misinformed about the issue and should be educated about it. Born on January 6, 1994, Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray is the fourth Filipina to bring home the Miss Universe crown. She is currently in the Philippines for her official homecoming and she has been busy with her TV appearances and parade. POPULAR: Read more news about Catriona Gray! Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! Our HumanMeter team attended a special screening of Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil's new movie "Alone /Together"! There, we were able to conduct a super edition of tricky questions. The people's responses were super hilarious as well on KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel! Source: Kami.com.ph Thank you for sharing the story of Maria Hernandez and her son, Fidel Onofre Hernandez, who lacked paid leave when Maria needed to heal and Fidel wanted to care for her even though they work for the richest employer in the U.S. Amazon's statement describes leave for parents of new children. Like most companies, they don't offer paid family leave. And like most companies, Amazon contracts out janitorial work and does not require that contractors offer paid medical leave. The company statement says people can use vacation and holiday time while out on leave. Let's be clear: taking care of an ill parent is hardly a vacation. We're proud to have Maria and Fidel as members of 9to5 Wisconsin chapter working to win paid leave for everyone. Diana Garza Valencia, Racine Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 RACINE Local constituents wanting to get a message to U.S. Congressman Bryan Steil now have a place to go. Steil opened his Racine constituent offices on Thursday at the Racine County Courthouse, Room 101. The courthouse houses several different offices including the county executive and district attorney. I look for people to come and provide their suggestions on policy and give their take as to how were doing in Washington, Steil said. This is part of the process of how to be the ears, how to listen to people and hear their takes on policy and be as successful as I can be. The constituents office of former-House Speaker Paul Ryan was located on Sixth Street near Monument Square and was often the target of protesters. I wanted to be as accessible as I could and be a good steward of taxpayer money, Steil said. Its a significant savings from having a storefront location in Racine. Now anyone attempting to protest or send a message to Steil will have to go through the security at the courthouse. Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave said having the office in the courthouse will help increase the collaboration between the two offices. RACINE Because of a paperwork error, the Wisconsin Elections Commission has decided to remove Racine alderman candidate Eric Mohrs name from the April municipal election ballot. Seventh District Alderman Maurice Horton and his challenger, Mohr, both applied to fill the term of Alderman Ray DeHahns after DeHahns death last September; Horton was chosen by the City Council in November. Then, both sought to run for the seat in their own right in the spring election. Commission weighs in According to the official Election Commission ruling: Horton submitted a complaint to the city on Jan. 7, shortly after the filing deadline for the spring election, because Mohr had not filled in the date of election in the header at the top of his nomination papers. Instead, Mohr had written Spring Election. Mohr responded on Jan. 10 that all signers were informed of my intent to run for alderman in the upcoming April 2019 election, and that he, personally stated this to each of the signers, on the date and time that their signatures were gathered. Tara Coolidge, then the assistant city clerk and who has since been promoted to city clerk, determined the nomination papers were valid and that Mohr would be listed on the April ballot. Racines City Council met at City Hall on Wednesday night, one night later than usual because of the primary election. Below are the highlights of the council decisions: Part-time wage hike Despite some objections, the City Council approved a wage increase for part-time employees. Mayor Cory Mason put forward the proposal and said that he hopes the city will set an example with higher pay for part-time workers. Ive long believed that people who are working shouldnt be poor. If we really believe in the dignity of work, we shouldnt pay poverty wages, he said at the Finance and Personnel Committee meeting last week. The approved plan increases the minimum wage for part-time employees by approximately $3 to $10.10 an hour and provided increases at all pay grades. Alderman Sandy Weidner from the 6th District said that if the mayor wanted to raise wages those discussions should happen during the budgeting process. Secondly, since the pay increases were supported by Bill Folstrom, the citys superintendent of solid waste and street maintenance, and Parks Director Tom Molbeck, Weidner argued the council should look at raising wages for those departments. That will kill you as an organization if youre not willing to let go of the past and work to hold on to the future, Mitchell said. The thing thats hurting so many companies today is theyre holding on to something and theyre afraid to let it go because its gotten them to where they are and they know that its been responsible for their success. And they feel that if they let that go, then their warnings are going to be gone and theyre not going to have any means of stability. Mitchell added that companies need to develop an ecosystem as a way to work with other companies with different expertise as a way to move the company forward. Speaking to Evers, media Gov. Tony Evers was present at the conference and spoke after Mitchell, focusing mostly on his proposed budget that is coming out next week. But he did not talk about Foxconn. After Evers was done speaking he met with Mitchell in private for about 30 minutes. After that conversation Evers went to a different event and Mitchell addressed the news media that was present. One reporter attempted to ask Mitchell a question that included Evers criticisms of the project while he was campaigning and Mitchell abruptly walked way. BURLINGTON A 23-year-old Burlington man has been charged after he allegedly fled a traffic stop and was found hiding in a trash bin Wednesday evening. David L. Harris, of the 200 block of East Market Street, was charged Thursday with a repeat offense of THC possession and attempting to flee/elude an officer as an operator of a vehicle, both of which are felonies, in addition to misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia and misdemeanor resisting/obstructing an officer. A Burlington Police officer reported that he tried to pull over a vehicle at approximately 7:30 p.m. Wednesday because its owner had a suspended license. Upon trying to initiate a traffic stop, the officer reported that the driver of the vehicle did not pull over and did not slow down at a stop sign at the intersection of Mary Street and Wainwright Avenue. The officer said that he turned off his emergency lights, but continued to follow the vehicle, which eventually parked in an alley between South Pine and Alice streets. A passenger then exited the vehicle and reportedly told the officer that the driver of the vehicle was Harris, who had since driven away, according to a criminal complaint. The vehicle was not owned by Harris, according to police. RACINE A Racine Police Department sergeant accused of drunken driving, striking an occupied vehicle and injuring a woman in the process, pleaded not guilty in court Thursday. Sgt. Samuel Stulo, 42, is charged with felony hit-and-run involving injury and two misdemeanor counts of causing injury/operating while under the influence. He was also cited for forfeiture offenses for inattentive driving, refusing to take a sobriety test and failing to notify police of an accident. Racine County Court Commissioner Alice Rudebusch ordered that Stulo be bound over to stand trial on the charges. Stulo remains on administrative leave while the charges make their way through the court system. Stulo's next appearance is a status conference on April 5 at the Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 3 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. RACINE A man has been charged after allegedly firing a single shot into the ground in front of his home on the 1300 block of Marquette Street on Tuesday. Keith Eugene Banks, 57, has been charged with three felonies for second-degree recklessly endangering safety, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession with intent to deliver 1 to 5 grams of cocaine and one misdemeanor for intentionally pointing a firearm at another person. A woman told police that Banks kicked her out of the residence, but she returned to retrieve her drivers license and a check that was set to arrive in the mail, according to a criminal complaint. When she arrived, Banks allegedly came to the front porch, pointed the handgun at his ex-roommates vehicle, then pointed the gun at the ground and fired a single round. Police said that they found a single casing on the porch. RACINE COUNTY Fifty-nine cans down, 306 to go. Charlie Roy, a business owner and Racine native now living in Burlington, is fighting hunger one nonperishable product at a time. The 56-year-old has committed to donating one canned good for every day of the year in 2019. I was sitting at home (in December) thinking about New Years resolutions and thinking How can I give back to the community I grew up in? he said. At the beginning of each month, he brings a stack of canned goods to St. Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church, 4605 Erie St., Caledonia. In January, it was 31 cans. In February, it will be 28. For March, itll be another 31 cans. He said that donations at St. Mesrob are then collected by Northside Food Pantry, 3825 Erie St. Ive been challenging people to do this too, people who I dont even know, he said. Im spreading the word. Thats all Im trying to do. The responses hes heard from friends and from strangers have been positive. Lincoln police identified their suspect in the vandalism of Rep. Jeff Fortenberry's campaign signs in November, but they didn't ticket her unt DETROIT Ford Motor Co. has launched an investigation into whether it overstated gas mileage and understated emissions from a wide range of vehicles. The company says that in September, a group of employees reported possible problems with a mathematical model used to calculate pollution and mileage, prompting the company to hire an outside firm to run tests. Testing will start with the 2019 Ford Ranger small pickup truck, and if problems are found, the company will start looking at models dating to 2017. Ford says it has no evidence yet that mileage or pollution numbers are wrong, but the investigation has just started. The company says it's too early to tell how many and which models might be involved. Depending on what is found, Ford could be required to restate the mileage on EPA-approved window stickers as well as reimburse owners for the mileage difference. The company could also face penalties from the government agencies. "At Ford, we believe that trust in our brand is earned by acting with integrity and transparency," Kim Pittel, the company's vice president for environment and safety engineering, said Thursday. "We have a process for looking at how we perform and behave in our broad and complex company." Most cases end up being low risk, Sundermeier said. But threat assessment looks at incidents from a different perspective than school administrators often do not from the perspective of what rule was violated, but by whats causing the behavior and the risk involved. If you look at that and reasonably think theres a chance this kid is thinking about violence or could be violent, lets get to them now rather than before its much more mature and farther down the road," he said. Both Headrick and Sundermeier help schools develop safety plans. Plans can involve prohibiting students from bringing backpacks to school or turning out their pockets when they arrive. But they also involve plans to help those students when they struggle, to realize when they need help or need to calm down. It's also about establishing relationships with students, helping them feel connected, Sundermeier said. Things can happen in a students life that can change the situation, which is why the team continues to monitor cases. Theres a million facts that could influence one case, he said. With all those its now what can we do. We still need to find whats the best we can do and most we can do to make it safer. "There doesn't have to be a homicide," she said. "It's very normal to (finger) print most scenes." On Nov. 12, the department's fingerprint analysts completed their examination of prints taken from the stickers, and the next day they were run against a national fingerprint database, Sands said. The prints were a match to Wonch Hill, according to police. In May 2018, Wonch Hill, a research assistant professor of sociology and a political activist, was fined $500 in Virginia for vandalizing the home of a National Rifle Association lobbyist. About two weeks after police in Lincoln identified a match on the prints, an LPD detective spoke with a city attorney about the three cases and conferred on whether this met the legal definition of vandalism, Sands said. The city prosecutor agreed it did and that the City Attorney's Office would pursue the case if a ticket was issued, she added. On Nov. 29, the detective tried calling Fortenberry, but he was busy and didn't call back, Sands said. Several more contacts were attempted without success. Fortenberry ultimately called back on Feb. 15 and said he wanted to press charges. Fischer also told police that she wanted to proceed. A federal grand jury in Nebraska has indicted a Wyoming man it says threatened to kill President Donald Trump earlier this month, according to court documents. Timothy Cessor was indicted Thursday on one count of making threats against the president, a federal crime punishable by up to 5 years in prison. In an affidavit to charge Cessor, a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service said he learned of the case after a worker at the Cheyenne (Wyoming) Regional Medical Center reported a patient on psychiatric hold had made threats to kill Trump on Feb. 4. The patient, identified as Cessor, had been detained at the hospital as an emergency out of concerns he might harm himself or others, the affidavit said. Investigators learned from interviews that Cessor had been driving from Cheyenne to Washingtonm, D.C., on Interstate 80 and was in Nebraska when he stopped to call his parents, the special agent said. He told them he had a gun and was going to kill Trump, the agent said. His parents persuaded him to drive back to Cheyenne, and he did. Once Cessor arrived, his father secured the gun, and Cessor was taken to the hospital, according to the affidavit. Friday, February 22, 2019 Friday Clips: Our Windy New Mexico, Plus: Crying Wolf Over State Pension Plans Sometimes New Mexico's winds are too much of a good thing--even for ardent supporters of renewable energy. This high wind episode happened earlier this week in Quay County on the state's Eastside, toppling a giant wind turbine that now looks other-worldly. The good news: wind energy is becoming much cheaper to produce, making it more competitive to produce and to replace fossil fuels. FAKE NEWS? Is it a real crisis or "fake news' when it comes to the hue and cry over the condition of the state's giant (MLG) ordered the creation of a Public Employees Retirement Association Solvency Task Force. The executive order. . . directed members to immediately begin identifying reasonable and measured changes to contributions and benefits that will both prevent the need for more significant changes in the future and address the liabilities associated with the states pension plans. . . Recommendations to preserve PERAs defined benefit system will be made to the governor no later than Aug. 30, 2019. These will subsequently be presented during the legislative session in 2020 PERA currently has $15.4 billion in cash. There is no "crisis." Wall Street investment banks, however, want PERA and other similar funds around the nation to have all their current and future pension liabilities funded at 100 percent--a near impossibility and ridiculous on its face. But if they were to reach that 100 percent, that would be billions of dollars more for them to manage, and over the years millions more in lucrative fees for managing those assets. Currently PERA has over 71 percent of the cash needed to fund all current obligations and all of those in the future. That theoretically leaves an unfunded liability of $6 billion. There is no immediate or intermediate term threat to retirees pension. None. Zero. That's why the Governor has rejected advice that she cancel the annual 2 percent cost of living increase for today's retirees. (It has already been cut once and her task force plan By the way, those funds are much more likely to improve PERA's performance because No fake news there. That's a fact, Jack. This is the home of New Mexico politics. Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. ( c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019 Sometimes New Mexico's winds are too much of a good thing--even for ardent supporters of renewable energy. This high wind episode happened earlier this week in Quay County on the state's Eastside, toppling a giant wind turbine that now looks other-worldly.The good news: wind energy is becoming much cheaper to produce, making it more competitive to produce and to replace fossil fuels.Is it a real crisis or "fake news' when it comes to the hue and cry over the condition of the state's giant Public Employee Retirement Association fund (PERA). We vote for the latter and it appears MLG agrees. She kicked the can down the road amid panic from some bean counters that some retired state employees perhaps in the year 2060 or beyond are going to take a hit to their pension checks.PERA currently has $15.4 billion in cash. There is no "crisis." Wall Street investment banks, however, want PERA and other similar funds around the nation to have all their current and future pension liabilities funded at 100 percent--a near impossibility and ridiculous on its face. But if they were to reach that 100 percent, that would be billions of dollars more for them to manage, and over the years millions more in lucrative fees for managing those assets.Currently PERA has over 71 percent of the cash needed to fund all current obligations and all of those in the future. That theoretically leaves an unfunded liability of $6 billion. There is no immediate or intermediate term threat to retirees pension. None. Zero. That's why the Governor has rejected advice that she cancel the annual 2 percent cost of living increase for today's retirees. (It has already been cut once and her task force plan effectively kills the bill at the Legislature seeking a COLA cut). The Governor is calling for "reasoned and measured" changes to decrease the amount of the unfunded liability. That's because she realizes there is no threat whatsoever to retiree checks during the four or eight years she serves nor in the term(s) of her successor. But the bean counters would have you believe a threat is imminent and would frighten the legislature into diverting new found surplus dollars into the funds in the name of people who have not even started working or may not even have been born yet. If those leading the fright parade really want to do something useful to improve the health of PERA they could start with investing more of PERA's billions in passive stock index funds--such as those that replicate the S&P 500 index. Such low cost investments would alone save millions in PERA management fees in the years ahead.By the way, those funds are much more likely to improve PERA's performance because studies show that over the long-term over 90 percent of the time the passive index funds beat the performance of "actively managed" funds from which Wall Street makes those handsome commission fees.No fake news there. That's a fact, Jack.This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) CHARLESTON -- A man who received a prison term last year for a rural Coles County accident was convicted of failing to report for his sentence. At the end of a one-day trial, a jury found Tony W. Ricketts guilty of a charge accusing him of not reporting to jail as ordered on July 25. Ricketts, 64, whose most recent address on record is in the state of Kansas, was sentenced to four years in prison on June 25, when he pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol. He admitted to the charge that accused him of being intoxicated when he caused the accident in a construction zone on Illinois Route 16 east of Charleston on July 13, 2013. At the time of his guilty plea, Ricketts was allowed to remain free on bond until July 25 so he could attend to personal matters. He was ordered to report to the county jail on that date to await transport to prison. He was arrested in Kansas on Aug. 3, according to trial evidence. During the trial, Ricketts testified that he had medical issues that kept him from reporting to jail when he was ordered. He also claimed that someone told him a news report indicated his prison sentence for the DUI was five years and he decided not to report because he thought the sentence was longer than he understood. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} A transcript of the hearing at which Ricketts pleaded guilty and received the four-year sentence was read during the prosecution's evidence at the trial. After the jury reached its guilty verdict, Circuit Judge James Glenn scheduled Ricketts' sentencing hearing for April 17. A prison sentence of two to 10 years is possible for the conviction and whatever sentence he receives will be added to his prison term for the DUI conviction. The 2013 accident occurred at the Route 16 bridge between Charleston and Ashmore that was under construction at the time. According to police accounts, Ricketts' pickup truck hit a car that was stopped at a signal that limited traffic to one lane on the bridge during the construction. Ricketts' truck caught fire, but he was able to release cattle he was hauling in the trailer, according to the police accounts. Two Paris residents who were in the car that his truck hit needed medical attention after the accident. Until September 2017, authorities apparently had no indication of Ricketts' whereabouts after he was released from a Springfield hospital, where he was treated for the injuries he received in the accident. Ricketts appeared at the trial in Illinois Department of Corrections custody. Assistant State's Attorney Tom Bucher is the case's prosecutor and Public Defender Anthony Ortega represents Ricketts. Contact Dave Fopay at (217) 238-6858. Follow him on Twitter: @FopayDave Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CHARLESTON -- It is not only those in the small business and manufacturing sectors that are nervous about adjusting to the minimum wage increases on the horizon in Illinois: Eastern Illinois University and Lake Land College officials are unsure about what this might mean for these institutions moving forward. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill Tuesday that will raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, and the move has placed an air of uncertainty over these institutions. For Eastern, this will mean a $2 million increase in the expenses, said Paul McCann, vice president for Business Affairs at EIU. And officials including McCann are still trying to figure out where that money is coming from. The $2 million add expense looming for EIU also does not take salary compression into account, McCann said. Salary compression is when the difference in pay regardless of experience, skills, level or seniority is slight. McCann said those with salaries above but close to that $15 threshold will also expect their pay to adjust accordingly. Looking long term, Bryan Gleckler, vice president of business services for Lake Land College, said Lake Land also will need to ensure that the new labor contracts it negotiates are adjusted to ensure that newly hired employees make more than the eventual state minimum wage of $15 per hour. At Lake Land, it is estimated that the minimum wage increase will raise the college's annual expenses by $30,000 during the next fiscal year, assuming the college maintains the same number of part-time staff positions, Gleckler said. Lake Land typically employees approximately 110 part-time workers at a given time, Gleckler said. A total of 42 of these positions are designated for student workers, he said. These students work in the textbook store, the print shop, groundskeeping, and various offices on campus. Eastern has remained conservative in its recovery from the pitfalls made by the previous state budget impasse. Even still, McCann indicated the budget is still tight. "We are not just sitting on money to cover all these costs," McCann said. Personnel make up a large majority of the costs of the university, and roughly 35 percent of that pool are minimum wage workers, often student workers in the residence halls, dining, halls, and Booth Library, who have mixed feelings on the incoming increase themselves. Emily Carson, a student worker at the Panther Pantry on campus, is expecting to graduate soon and to not be working in a minimum wage job at the time wages will be going up, but she is still nervous about what this might mean for the future. Carson is particularly concerned if this will lead to businesses' prices rising to make up for the additional personnel costs. "I feel like it has been talked about for so long, and now that it is actually happening... It was something that I honestly did not think would happen," Carson said. She believes a lot of people did not think about the impact this would have in the long run. Jervonte Daniels, an off-campus student working in Booth Library, sees the increase as "a blessing" for those with a job. He said it is rough, especially as a student, attempting to live making $8.25 an hour. However, he believes the increase will not make it easier for those looking to get a job. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} "I feel like businesses will be like, 'Well, since the minimum wage went up, we have to pay you guys more and hire less,'" he said. That might be a reality for the university, according to McCann, speaking specifically of the work-study program paid out from the federal government. Either fewer students work through this program or they are paid less. McCann said employing fewer people is not in the cards at this time, but "at some point, we've got to come up with the money to cover the increase in costs." Gleckler said the new state law also will affect businesses and agricultural organizations that employ Lake Land students as interns at minimum wage. "It might limit internship opportunities for students, and that is a big concern for Lake Land," Gleckler said. He noted the new minimum wage will be established gradually, which will be more financially palatable for Lake Land. Still, he said the college will need to re-evaluate how it uses part-time positions in the coming years. "We are going to have to figure out the most efficient way to deliver those necessary work functions," Gleckler said. For example, Gleckler said $15 per hour for a part-time worker at peak times in the textbook store obviously will be much more costly than the current $8.25. Despite the incremental changes, the Eastern vice president stressed the impact will be immediate on Jan. 1, 2020. "As soon as it moves from an $8.25 to $9.25, I have got to find money to cover the cost of the increase," McCann said. "It is either going to come from student fee increases, student tuition increases or from the state. McCann said raising the tuition to a rate that would sustain this increase would make it even more challenging to be competitive with out-of-state institutions. In recent years, state borders have become more of a blurred line for out-of-state university recruiters. And without support from the state or other sources, it is estimated the tuition would need to increase 18 percent in the next few years to make up for the $15 an hour requirement, McCann said. In J.B. Pritzger's budget speech Wednesday, he did outline a plan to increase higher education spending by 5 percent; however, critics on the other side of the aisle are questioning where the money will come from to pay for that. Salaries: Top paid staff at Eastern Illinois University Contact Jarad Jarmon at (217) 238-6839. Follow him on Twitter: @JJarmonReporter Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 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. Rev. Froeschle spoke about his mission trip to Africa as part of the Marion Medical Mission group helping to dig wells that provide clean drinking water to millions of residents. With local residents assisting, the group was able to put in 1,200 new wells in two weeks. This results in promoting better health as a result of community residents not needing to drink water from rivers, streams or open pits used by animals. He recommends anyone with a desire to venture forward, doing things that help the environment or community health, to take a mission trip. The cost of putting in a clean water well is $400. Anyone wanting to donate to the effort can go to the Marion website https://mmmwater.org or email info@mmmwater.org. Introduction In just 50 years, almost a million Jews, whose communities stretch back up to 3,000 years, have been 'ethnically cleansed' from 10 Arab countries. These refugees outnumber the Palestinian refugees two to one, but their narrative has all but been ignored. Unlike Palestinian refugees, they fled not war, but systematic persecution. Seen in this light, Israel, where some 50 percent of the Jewish population descend from these refugees and are now full citizens, is the legitimate expression of the self-determination of an oppressed indigenous, Middle Eastern people. This website is dedicated to preserving the memory of the near-extinct Jewish communities, which can never return to what and where they once were - even if they wanted to. It will attempt to pass on the stories of the Jewish refugees and their current struggle for recognition and restitution. Awareness of the injustice done to these Jews can only advance the cause of peace and reconciliation. (Iran: once an ally of Israel, the Islamic Republic of Iran is now an implacable enemy and numbers of Iranian Jews have fallen drastically from 80,000 to 20,000 since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Their plight - and that of all other communities threatened by Islamism - does therefore fall within the scope of this blog.) The conference, entitled Iran Perspectives 2019, was attended many French members of Parliament, as well as the leader of the Iranian Resistance, Maryam Rajavi. One major cause for concern among French MPs is the human rights situation in Iran, where over 3,600 people have been have been executed since the supposedly moderate Hassan Rouhani became President in 2013. MP Andre Chassaigne said: The human rights situation in Iran is catastrophic. He then pointed to the Iranian Regime crackdown on the ongoing demonstrations across Iran and called on the French government to condemn these human rights violations, something that MP Sonia Krimi agreed with, pointing out that France championed the rights of women as well as the individual freedoms of people as a whole. MP Sylvie Auconie also addressed the lack of womens rights under the totalitarian Iranian Regime and said that this was an international problem, which meant that the Parliamentary Committee and France should get more involved. MP Herve Saulignace praised the people of Iran for their nationwide protests over the past year that have struck fear into the hearts of the mullahs. He said: Frances strength will be in standing with the people of Iran in their quest for freedom. Rajavi also noted the importance of standing with the Iranian people, highlighting that regime change, which is the true wish of Iranians, is within reach. All it will take is the right pressure from the international community, alongside the Iranian Resistance units that are already directing the protests in Iran. This international pressure is not only crucial for the safety of the people of Iran, but also for Europe. After all, the Iranian Regime has been behind at least two terror plots and several assassination attempts on European soil in the last year, which is why both Rajavi and Saulignace agreed for the need for a firmer EU policy on Iran. Rajavi said: The policy of appeasement of the mullahs must be terminated. Tying hopes to investments in and commercial deals with Iran is an illusion Turning a blind eye to the Iranian Resistance is not only to the detriment of the people of Iran, but also to the detriment of the Middle East and the world who are in this way deprived of the key to the Iranian problem. Rajavi explained that regime change in Iran by and for the people would only hep foster peace and stability in the Middle East, as the Resistance operates a parliament-in-exile to stabilise the country through the transitional period. The gathering was also attended by former Algerian Prime Minister Sid Ahmed Ghozali, Tahar Boumedra, the former chief of the human rights office of the UN mission to Iraq, and former Colombian Presidential Candidate Ingrid Betancourt. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini took power and immediately cracked down on dissent, disqualifying some opposition candidates in elections, rigging the elections to prevent other candidates from taking power, banning certain political parties, and then imprisoning and killing dissidents en-masse. Yet, a policy of appeasement by the West has kept the mullahs in power for 40 years and only now is the tide beginning to turn. Many Westerners applauded the Iranian people for bringing down the Shah in 1979 after years of his vicious rule, so they should certainly start praising the Iranian peoples uprising now for their attempts to bring down the mullahs after four decades of their vicious rule. However, few do. The Regime arrested at least 7,000 dissidents during a crackdown on protests last year, according to Amnesty International, which is just the latest in a long line of abuses against the Iranian people, but few in the West mention it, even the European Union, which prides itself on human rights. Mariam Memarsadeghi said: Iranians who yearn for democracy and an open, prosperous society at peace with the world are met with overwhelming indifference from the Wests media and political leaders, not to mention its universities, unions, civic groups, churches, and celebritiesthe very people and institutions that historically have lent their empathy, solidarity, and concrete assistance to the cause of freedom across the world. Thankfully, one Westerner has been paying attention and he just so happens to be the most powerful man on earth. Donald Trump recently tweeted: 40 years of corruption. 40 years of repression. 40 years of terror. The regime in Iran has produced only #40YearsofFailure. His administration has spent much of the past two years calling attention to the plight of the Iranian people, including the protests that began at the end of 2017. He has reimposed sanctions on Iran and called for other countries to do the same, even using Vice President Mike Pence and his various ambassadors across the world to appeal to the better nature of US allies and encourage them to put people before profit. The EU, despite being the location of several Iranian terror attacks or assassinations attempts targeted at dissidents in 2018, is still set on preserving the nuclear deal with their special financial mechanism, which will allow companies to trade with Iran and evade US sanctions. Although, the US says that this will not evade their sanctions, while many experts have pointed out that this only allows Iran to buy non-sanctioned goods anyway. In 2019, we should stand with the Iranian people, not the Regime. The NCRIs German Office wrote: The article is a politically motivated hit piece against the PMOI. It tramples on all claims of fact checking and objectivity Der Spiegel has again failed to conduct proper fact checking and guard its objectivity in a much more serious way, endangering the lives of thousands of PMOI members who are already marked for death by a vicious regime. Der Spiegel never submitted many of these false claims to the Iranian Resistance for comment; they have not even undergone a simple online review, which cannot be coincidental. This is also not the first time. Over the period May 2018 to February 2019, the NCRIs German Office has written to Der Spiegel numerous times to refute allegations the paper made against the Iranian Resistance (all of which published here) and have never had a reply or seen a retraction published by the paper. It is worth noting that during this time, the Iranian Regime staged a terror attack against an Iranian Resistance rally in France, attended by over 100,000 people, and two assassinations. Thankfully, European authorities stopped all the attacks before someone could get hurt. Also during this time, at least six Iranian diplomats have been expelled or arrested by EU countries for terrorism and the EU has issued sanctions against the Regime. Germany alone has banned an Iranian airliner, linked with the Revolutionary Guards, from flying through its airspace for fear of terrorist attacks and condemned Iran for putting spies in the German military. Due to domestic protests and international pressures, the Iranian Regime is on the verge of collapse, but these fawning articles could persuade those not well versed that the Regime is the victim of terrorism by the Resistance, rather than the other way around, which could help keep the mullahs in power to the detriment of the people. This, of course, is the point. It is no coincidence that this article was postponed from November to coincide with the Warsaw conference on peace in the Middle East, which focused on Irans belligerence and was supported by the Resistance. The apparent spark for this trend was a nationwide series of protests that began on December 28, 2017 and involved provocative anti-government slogans like death to the dictator. But some might argue that the trend dates one day earlier, as December 27 marked the beginning of the Girls of Revolution Street protest movement, in which women removed their legally mandated headscarves publicly and held them in the air while standing on elevated structures. Although more narrowly focused than general protests against the theocratic system, its economic mismanagement, and its repression of dissent, the initial Revolution Street demonstration sparked a number of copycat protests and related actions against the countrys forced veiling laws. These, too, have carried on to the present day, and they appear to have generated significant backlash from Iranian authorities, who had already showed a commitment to reasserting the nations hardline Islamist identity, even before this latest push by the womens rights movement. New signs of both trends the protest and the backlash emerged last Friday when Iranian citizens clashed with agents of the morality police force known as Gasht-e Ershad. Iran Human Rights Monitor reported upon the incident two days later, noting that the authorities attempted to arrest two women whom they accused of being improperly veiled. The details of the supposed offense are unknown, but there is a great deal of subjectivity in terms of what constitutes mal-veiling. As the womens rights movement has developed, women have become increasingly willing to wear their hijabs loose, revealing much of their hair. This is generally unacceptable to hardline authorities, but because it is common practice, ordinary women may be surprised to find themselves targeted for harassment or arrest. Whether or not this was the case in Fridays incident, the IHRM report indicates that the actions of the morality police drew the attention of passersby who defended the women and precipitated a new clash between authorities and average citizens. Iranian state media reportedly confirmed that the clash took place and that the morality police resorted to firing warning shots into the air to disperse the crowd. However, this may not have been the end of popular support for the women, as past incidences of harassment by morality police have been recorded by passersby and have gone viral on Iranian social media, precipitating an even broader backlash. Many opportunities for such backlash continue to emerge, with the morality police having already arrested at least 29 women during the month of February. IHRM pointed to one previous case, from last April, in which four women were attacked and beaten for refusing the order to step into a van supposedly belonging to the morality police. The resulting public outrage prompted responses from the Minister of the Interior and other regime officials who suggested that the government would investigate the incident and punish the agents involved. There has been no indication that authorities followed through on this promise, and indeed, the persistent unrest across the Islamic Republic points to a contrary trend of punishing those who bring attention to the wrongdoing of the regime and its supporters. This phenomenon has received particular attention from independent Iranian media and from international human rights advocates in the midst of labor protests at the Haft Tapeh sugarcane factory. In the midst of a protest last November, the activists Sepideh Gholian and Esmail Bakhshi were arrested and subjected to beatings and torture with the aim of compelling them to record false confessions. Their statements were aired on state media to discredit the protest movement, but after the detainees were arrested they began to speak publicly about their experiences, leading to their re-arrest in January. They remain in detention even now, and organizations like Amnesty International have warned that they are at severe risk of further torture. But this is not the only pressure that these or other activists face in retaliation for the crime of criticizing regime authorities. Earlier in February, IranWire explained that relatives and supporters of Gholian and Bakhshi had staged protests of their own after being denied any information about the detainees location or conditions. As a result, authorities issued a warrant for the arrest of Bakhshis mother, who subsequently suffered a breakdown and was transferred to hospital instead of being imprisoned. Authorities frequently use threats against prisoners families as a means of psychological torture while also using threats against the prisoners themselves as a means of convincing family members to avoid public statements about the situation. Criticism of the regimes tactics can result in the virtual disappearance of one or more parties, or it can lead to further escalation of physical or mental torture. This feature of the regimes crackdown on dissent is evident in the ongoing trial of eight conservationists who have been held in Evin Prison since January of last year. On Tuesday, the Center for Human Rights in Iran reported that one of those eight co-defendants, Niloufar Bayani, was absent from three out of five court sessions, prompting questions from supporters about the current circumstances of her detention. While there is no official explanation for her failure to appear, it seems to be connected to her previous objections to the prosecutions use of confessions that were elicited under torture and later retracted. According to the latest reports, these forced confessions appear to be the only evidence cited by the prosecution to support the allegation that the defendants conservation work was a cover for espionage on behalf of foreign entities. Despite subjecting the defendants in this case to a year of interrogation, none of them were informed of the specific charges against them until the first day of their trial, according to CHRI. Nevertheless, Bayani was taken from prison on at least one occasion and photographed in staged scenes that authorities had designed to substantiate their pre-fabricated narrative. The same treatment was visited on Maryam Mombeini, the widow of a ninth conservationist, Kavous Seyed-Emami, who was found dead in his cell under suspicious circumstances soon after the mass arrest of his colleagues. Since the beginning of the trial, authorities have sought to add weight to the fabricated evidence by enforcing silence from the defendants and their would-be advocates. At least three people have been pressured to avoid speaking publicly about the case, and the conservationists have not be allowed to address the court in service of their own defense. It is apparently because she violated this order to highlight the use of fabricated evidence that Bayani has been held incommunicado in lieu of returning to court. The authorities various repressive tactics belie any intention to follow up on promises of reform that have been made in the wake of public outcry and protest. Such promises are indicative of an impulse among some officials to pay lip service to human rights issues while taking no recognizable action in support of those issues. Following his election in 2013 and his reelection in 2017, President Hassan Rouhani made various promises of diminished censorship and a more open Iranian society, but the Islamic Republic remains a place where individuals can face multi-year sentences for the utterance of a single phrase. This is the situation currently being faced, for instance, by Medhi Farahi Shandiz, who was profiled by Iran Human Rights Monitor on Saturday following his transfer to solitary confinement. The article points out that the previous Monday, Shandiz participated in a protest inside Karaj Central Prison that coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution and sought to bring attention to the regimes history of torture and executions. His prior activism landed him in prison when he shouted the phrase death to Khamenei in 2010. During subsequent beatings at the hands of prison authorities, he shouted the phrase again, resulting in two new cases being opened against him, which led to a combined sentence of nine years in prison for insulting the supreme leader. Having conversation with many CXOs, industry leaders and futurists in past few months makes me to unlimit my imagination and perspective on future. My thought process is that Enterprises and Service Providers need to collaborate to address the following problem statements of CXOs who are on digital transformation path:1. How the IT of digital enterprise should be managed to solve complex business problems?2.What can make life easier for CXOs for quick and intelligent decision making?3. How can we have proactive visibility in to the digital enterprise?4. How Time to market can be further shortened?5. How existing investments can be reutilized on path to digital to make more compelling business case with no-locking to technology, vendors? Next 2 -3 years will see tectonic shift the way digital enterprise can be delivered to manage business demand in swifter and cost effective manner by 1. By creating out of box integrations enabling AI and RPA led processes to create leaner and Intelligent IT 2. Analytics based, policy driven IT operate model by accessing intuitive reports and cognitive information 3. Incorporating AR technologies to create unparalleled user experience To address the changing need of digital enterprise Innovative approach will be brought to enterprise 1. nextGen Hybrid IT management platform incorporating robotics engine, 2. Predictive automated ITOM with AI chat bots capabilities minimizing human intervention to solve complex problems , 3. Application workload placement and optimization engine along with DevOps capabilities by showcasing Cost modeling across cloud service providers CXOs will move towards realizing the true benefits of digital enterprise by 1. Identifying the future tech stack that is relevant to their business model Bi-model IT 2. Investment on re-skilling the workforce on the future stack/models 3. Moving to System of engagement from system of records In new world, business and IT need to work together and lay down business case driven roadmap. Engage with right digital transformation partner to on board on the true digital journey so that IT/ CIOs/CDOs can support the business to achieve the business goals and IT can become enabler rather than be only cost centre. trade fair) next year, linking artisans and craftsmen of Maharashtra with the designers in Thailand and promoting SME collaboration in food packaging technologies.Considering that SMEs in Thailand account for 99.7% of all enterprises and generate 88% of employment, the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion(OSMEP)has been brought under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister of Thailand. There is no disparity of income and tremendous opportunity for employment created by the sector, she remarked.Dr. Kosumas further informed, This is the 3rd time I am visiting Mumbai in the last five years. There is tremendous potential to enhance partnership between Thailand and Maharashtra. The OSMEP has set up a dedicated desk to promote SME collaboration with Italy and Japan. We can set up similar dedicated desk for Maharashtra as well.Dr. Kosumas invited SMEs from Maharashtra to participate in the forthcoming trade events in Thailand such as Propak Asia (June 12-15, 2019), Food Pack Asia 2019.Dr. Kosumas also highlighted the success of Thailands export-promotion programme OTOP (One Tambon One Product)and expressed willingness to share this experience with India. Thailand ranks 11th in the world in attracting tourists and the country is also a leading exporter of lifestyle design products.India - Thailand relationship is driven by tourism and entertainment industries. Indian movies and televisions shows such as Mahabharata are popular among Thai households, she added.Speaking on this occasion,said, Maharashtra is not only the financial and commercial hub of India, it is also one of the largest markets in the country. My mission is to promote bilateral partnership in three areas: commerce, innovation and culture. This round table discussion is an important step to take forward our partnership. In future, we must hold a series of such round table discussions for the benefit of our SMEs.Earlier in his welcome remarks,said, Indias bilateral trade with Thailand is USD 10.8 billion and we have the potential to double this volume in the next three years. Maharashtra and Thailand have great potential for partnership. Maharashtra is a leading producer of mangoes, Chicku, grapes, banana and other food crops. However, 40% of food crops perish before reaching market. Therefore, we need more food processing units and cold storages near farm gate. This is the right opportunity to develop partnership with Thailand in food processing sector as Indian government aims to double the income of farmers by 2022.The round table discussion was attended by government officials of Maharashtra and business delegates of food processing and packaging industries in Thailand and India. US: 70-year-old Indian-origin man admits to multi-million dollar immigration fraud 22 Feb 2019: US: 70-year-old Indian-origin man admits to multi-million dollar immigration fraud A 70-year-old man of Indian-origin, Hardev Panesar, living in the US, has admitted to running a multi-million dollar immigration scam that is said to have duped over a 100 people. According to the US Department of Justice (DoJ), Panesar pled guilty to his crimes in the San Diego Federal Court on Thursday, and agreed to pay back $2.5mn to the victims. Here's more. Panesar: Panesar would charge exorbitant sums from his victims Born in Kenya, and fluent in five languages, Panesar had, for years, pretended to be a US government official in a bid to trick immigrants. Over a five-year period, Panesar told dozens of immigrants that he was an official of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and promised to get their families legal immigration status in exchange for sums ranging between $20,000 and $40,000. Arrest: He had been arrested in June 2017 Yet, that's not all. Apart from his fraudulent activities, Panesar would often threaten clients with violence when they asked for their money back. In one case, he event threatened to behead someone. After a year-long investigation by the FBI, Panesar was arrested in June 2017, but was granted bail on a $100,000 bond. Then, things took a turn. Escape: In June last year, Panesar had escaped to Mexico In January last year, Panesar's attorney appealed that he be allowed to leave his home detention between 6am and 10pm. Owing to Panesar having performed well on his bail bond, the court granted him permission. Months later, in June 2018, Panesar tampered with his GPS anklet, and fled to Mexico, just before his trial was about to begin. Other details: However, he was deported, and faces 20 years in prison However, Panesar's escape was short-lived, and Mexican authorities caught him within a month and deported him back to the US in August. Out of options, Panesar has now cut short the trial process, and has pleaded guilty. While the court is slated to sentence him in May, one of his associates has been handed a nearly four-year prison term. Panesar faces a maximum prison term of 20 years. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met on Friday, 22 February, with China's President Xi Jinping and bagged a USD 10 billion oil deal, pressing on with his diplomatic charm offensive in Asia following a global outcry over the Khashoggi killing. Mohammed arrived in Beijing on Thursday, 21 February, following visits to Pakistan and India, showing the world that his country still has allies after the grisly murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He met with Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng earlier on Friday. "Is the crown prince's tour symbolic of Saudi Arabia's pivot to the East? Yes," Najah al-Otaibi, a senior analyst at the pro-Saudi think-tank Arabia Foundation, told AFP. "Riyadh wants to strengthen alliances in Asia -- especially now with the continuing fallout with the United States over Khashoggi's murder and other issues and attempts by the EU to put Riyadh on a black list over money laundering allegations," she said. Khashoggi, a fierce critic of the prince, was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October, a murder that tarnished the image of the kingdom and of the crown prince in particular. Riyadh initially denied the murder, then gave several conflicting accounts of Khashoggi's death, and now claims he was killed in an unauthorised operation that did not involve Mohammed. The murder sparked global indignation, with US lawmakers pushing for the United States to distance itself from the crown prince, but the White House has maintained close relations with Riyadh, a major Middle East ally. Separately, the European Commission wants to add Saudi Arabia to a money-laundering blacklist of governments that do too little to thwart the financing of terrorism and organised crime. But China is looking to strengthen its economic ties with the kingdom, as Beijing pursues its ambitious Belt and Road trade infrastructure initiative, while Riyadh rolls out "Saudi Vision 2030" -- the crown prince's major programme to diversify the national economy away from oil. Story continues During their meeting, Han suggested that the two countries deepen partnerships in energy, infrastructure construction, finance, and high-tech. Riyadh's national oil giant Saudi Aramco said it had signed an agreement to form a Saudi-Chinese joint venture -- worth more than USD 10 billion -- to develop a refining and petrochemical complex in northeastern Liaoning province. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority also announced the signing of 35 non-binding memorandums of understanding, including deals related to energy, mining, transportation and e-commerce. China is Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner. "As the kingdom diversifies its non-oil economy, it needs a variety of other investors with technical expertise, including the Chinese," Otaibi said. National security is also a potential area of cooperation between the Gulf state and China. The two countries should boost partnerships in counterterrorism and law enforcement, and exchange experience on combating extremism, Han said in his meeting with Mohammed, according to Xinhua's report. The Saudis said it "firmly supported" Beijing's efforts to keep the country secure, and opposed "interference by external forces in China's internal affairs", said Xinhua, paraphrasing remarks from the crown prince. Mohammed's remarks came as Riyadh has remained silent over China's treatment of Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities in the far-west region of Xinjiang. Up to one million Uighurs and other minorities are being held in internment camps in Xinjiang as part of a draconian anti-terror and anti-separatist campaign, according to estimates cited by a UN panel. (This has been published in arrangement with PTI) . Read more on World by The Quint.RSS & BJPs Nehru-Netaji Cosplay: Irony Dies a Thousand DeathsLatest News: Singer R Kelly Charged with 10 Counts of Sexual Abuse . Read more on World by The Quint. "What I have said is reality. Can you deny it? Lynching was done for polarisation. You can catch 3 kg beef, kill innocents, but not 350 kg RDX. Isnt Modi informed by security agencies," PTI quoted Yusuf as saying. (Express archive) Delhi Congress working president Haroon Yusuf has said that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi could trace 3 kg beef, he failed to find 350 kg RDX. Yusufs comment was in reference to the Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives after a car laden with explosives rammed into their convoy on February 14. It is suspected around 30 kg RDX was packed into a jerrycan, shards of which were picked up by the investigators on the spot. "@narendramodi Ji can trace 3 kg of beef but cannot trace 350 kg of RDX #ModiFailsNationalSecurity(sic)," Yusuf wrote on Twitter. Senior BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad termed Yusufs statement "scandalous and irresponsible". While Delhi BJP vice-president Rajiv Babbar claimed Yusufs assertion exposed Congresss "double face". "They cannot even wait for a few days and have started defaming security agencies. This exposes their double face. They claim solidarity with the government in all-party meeting and soon start seeking political gains through their shameful comments," Babbar alleged. Inveighing against Yusufs remarks, Delhi BJP Minority Morcha president Mohammad Haroon termed his statement as "very objectionable". "The Pulwama attack shocked the nation and in the meantime, Yusuf has issued a very objectionable statement against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and tried to give it a communal colour," Haroon alleged. He further said that Yusufs comment was an attempt to "pide" the country on "communal lines". However, Yusuf defended his statement and said, "What I have said is reality. Can you deny it? Lynching was done for polarisation. You can catch 3 kg beef, kill innocents, but not 350 kg RDX. Isnt Modi informed by security agencies," PTI quoted Yusuf as saying. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, chief of the Islamic charity organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa, speaks to supporters during a gathering in Rawalpindi Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (C) speaks to supporters during a gathering in Rawalpindi, Pakistan December 29, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood/Files ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan has re-instated a ban on two charities linked to Hafiz Saeed, the founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group that has carried out attacks in India, the interior ministry said on Friday. The ban comes as Pakistan faces international pressure to act against militant groups, amid escalating tension with nuclear-armed neighbour India, following a suicide bomb attack in Kashmir. The attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group. The two banned charities are linked to LeT founder Saeed. Pakistan's National Security Committee, made up of top military and civilian officials, decided late on Thursday to ban the charities linked to Saeed, who has long been on a U.N. international terrorism blacklist. The United States and India have blamed the LeT for numerous deadly militant attacks, including a four-day siege by gunmen in Mumbai in 2008 that killed 166 people. The United States has offered $10 million for information leading to Saeed's arrest and conviction. "It was decided during the meeting to accelerate action against proscribed organisations," Pakistan's interior ministry said in a statement. Saeed, who denies being the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks and says he has no links to militant violence, has maintained that the two charities - the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) - are vital for helping the poor and have no militant ties. JuD spokesman Yahya Mujahid said the two groups would turn to the courts to overturn the latest ban. Saeed has been placed under house arrest several times over the past decade but he has always been released after a few months and has mostly been living freely in Pakistan, to the anger of both India and the United States. Pakistan has long banned the LeT but for many years allowed its charity wings to operate an extensive network including 300 seminaries and schools, hospitals, a publishing house and ambulance services. Story continues The United States has repeatedly complained about Pakistan's failure to shut down the charities it deems "terrorist fronts" for LeT. Pakistan last year banned the two charities but the order was temporary and it lapsed. India has ratcheted up pressure on Pakistan since the Feb. 14 attack in Kashmir. India accused Pakistan of having a hand in the attack. Pakistan denies that. Pakistan has also been placed on an international watchlist for failing to curb terrorist financing. (Reporting by Drazen Jorgic and Asif Shahzad; Editing by Robert Birsel) A dam on the Kishanganga river, a tributary of Jhelum. (Express File Photo: Neeraj Priyadarshi) Pakistan has said it has "neither concern nor objection" to Indias decision to pert water from three eastern rivers of the Indus Basin to Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. Its Minister of Water Resources Khawaja Shumail was quoted as saying by Dawn that the country has nothing to do with the water, which, otherwise, finally flows to Pakistan. "We have neither concern nor objection if India perts water of eastern rivers and supplies it to its people or uses it for other purposes, as the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) allows it do so," Shumail told Dawn. "Actually India wants to construct Shahpurkandi dam at the Ravi basin. This project is abandoned since 1995. Now they (India) want to construct this in a bid to use its own share of water that goes unutilised and finally flows to Pakistan. So if they want to use this whether through storing it through construction of this dam or any other way for their people, they can do as we have nothing to do with it," he said. Indias Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari Thursday said the government will "stop" waters of the Ravi, Sutlej and Beas from flowing to Pakistan by perting it to Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. According to the 1960 Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, the waters of these rivers are assigned entirely for use by India. However, he warned that Pakistan will object if waters from the western rivers are used or perted. "We will definitely express our concerns and raise objections strongly if they use or pert waters of western rivers (Chenab, Indus, Jhelum) on which our right to use prevails," he added, reported Dawn. Tension between the two countries has escalated since the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 which killed 40 CRPF personnel. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad has claimed responsibility for the attack. Post the attack, India has undertaken a slew of diplomatic and economic measures to isolate Pakistan on global platforms. India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley attends a news conference sharing details about the recapitalisation of public sector banks in New Delhi Finance Minister Arun Jaitley attends a news conference sharing details about the recapitalisation of public sector banks in New Delhi, January 24, 2018. REUTERS/Saumya Khandelwal By Alasdair Pal and James Mackenzie NEW DELHI/RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) - India will use "all instruments at its command" to respond to Pakistan over its alleged role in a deadly bombing in Kashmir, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday, hours after Islamabad warned it would respond with "full force" if attacked. Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours have escalated since a suicide car bomb in the disputed region of Kashmir killed 40 Indian security personnel. Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attack. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who faces a general election by May, has said he has given a free hand to security forces to avenge the killings in Kashmir. "India will exercise all instruments at its command, whether it is diplomatic or otherwise," Jaitley said in New Delhi. India has all options. You need not exhaust all options on day one. This is not a one-week battle. Its to be undertaken in various forms." Referring to Islamabad's alleged support for Islamist militant groups, he added, I think Pakistan is riding a tiger on this issue, and a tiger never spares its own rider." Pakistan said on Friday it had seized Jaish's headquarters in a southern district of Punjab province bordering India. Jaish, a jihadist group that seeks the independence of all of Kashmir from India, has offices and infrastructure in Pakistan where its leader, Maulana Masood Azhar, is based. Authorities had taken over Jaish's headquarters in Bahawalpur and appointed an administrator to look after its affairs, a government statement said. It said the headquarters and an attached seminary has 600 students and 70 teachers. India's top military commander in Kashmir has alleged that Pakistan's main Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency was involved in the attack. "We have no intention to initiate war, but we will respond with full force to (a) full spectrum threat that would surprise you," Pakistani army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told reporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Story continues "Don't mess with Pakistan." OFFER OF DIALOGUE Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan urged India on Wednesday to share any actionable evidence about the bombing, offering full cooperation in investigating it. He also offered talks with India on all issues, including terrorism, which India has always sought as a prerequisite to any dialogue between the south Asian arch-rivals. India and Pakistan have fought two wars since independence in 1947 over divided Kashmir, all of whose territory is claimed by both countries. "Kashmir is a regional issue," Ghafoor said. "Let us talk about it. Let us resolve it." On Friday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said it has written to the games governing body urging the cricket community to sever ties with any nation from which terrorism emanates. The neighbours, who have not hosted a cricket series between them since 2013 due to political tensions, are set to clash in one of the most anticipated matches of the May 30-July 14 World Cup in England and Wales. India accuses Pakistani Islamist militant groups of infiltrating its part of mountainous Kashmir to fuel an insurgency and help local separatist movements. The United States and India allege that the Pakistani army nurtures the militants to use them as foreign policy tools to expand Islamabad's sway in India and Afghanistan. The army denies this. One such group is Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which India blamed for a wave of attacks in Mumbai in 2008 which killed 166 people, saying its founder, Hafiz Saeed, was the mastermind. The United States has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his conviction over the Mumbai attacks. Pakistan has put him under house arrest several times and banned his groups, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF). But Saeed remains free, able to roam around Pakistan, make public speeches and deliver sermons. (Reporting by Alasdair Pal and James Mackenzie; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal and Asif Shahzad; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Three BJP MLAs were marshalled out of the Delhi Assembly on the first day of the Budget session on Friday, 22 February, for interrupting Lt Governor Anil Baijal's address with their protests over the AAP government's "delay" in sanctioning prosecution in the JNU sedition case. Speaker Ram Niwas Goel tried to reason with the legislators, saying the LG's address is not a part of proceedings of the House, but they did not relent. The three MLAs Leader of the House Vijender Gupta, O P Sharma and Jagdish Pradhan went to the well of the House after which Goel ordered them to be marshalled out. Gupta charged the government with "delaying" the sanction for prosecution of accused in JNU sedition case. Also Read: JNU Sedition: Delhi Polices Charge Sheet Not Accepted by Court In January, Delhi Police filed a chargesheet against former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar and others in the sedition case registered in 2016. Former Students Charged for Shouting Anti-National Slogans Former JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were also charged with allegedly shouting anti-India slogans during an event on the university campus on 9 February, 2016 to commemorate the hanging of Parliament-attack mastermind Afzal Guru. Delhi Police has sought permission from the city government for prosecution in the case. This is still pending. Also Read: JNU Sedition Charge Sheet: All 14 Student Witnesses Linked to ABVP . Read more on India by The Quint.RSS & BJPs Nehru-Netaji Cosplay: Irony Dies a Thousand DeathsLatest News: Lookout Notice Issued Against Chanda Kochhar . Read more on India by The Quint. IceViking strongly condemns physical attacks and harassment directed towards them. They are also often victims of the Islamic idea. This is true when it comes to the cruel and tragic treatment of Muslim women and children when it is in accord with the Koran, the example of Mohammed and Islamic law, Sharia, which may be applied regardless of where a Muslim male may find himself in the world, whether in a Muslim or non-Muslim country. However, in no way, shape or form should one judge all Muslim men because of what is in Islamic scripture and what constitutes the Islamic law, Sharia. "Race", ethnicity or basically anything that you are "merely" born with should never be a basis for bigotry and discrimination. Apostates from Islam have been executed for 1400 years in accord with the Koran and the words and actions of the Islamic prophet Mohammed and Islamic law, Sharia. They should be lovingly helped. Furthermore, approximately as many as 11,000,000 Muslims may have been killed by other Muslims since 1948. To quote the website The Religion of Peace (TROP), edited by Glen Roberts: While it may be safe to say that a true Muslim would not intentionally kill another true Muslim ( 4:92-93 ), the Quran places no such value on the life of a Muslim who is not true. Consider verse 9:73 : Strive hard against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be harsh against them, their abode is Hell. The Arabic for strive hard uses the same root as Jihad - and the context in this sura is holy war (see v. 86 and 91). Thus, there are two distinct classes of people that a true Muslim is to target with harshness: disbelievers and hypocrites. A disbeliever obviously refers to a non-Muslim, so a "hypocrite" must be a Muslim of some sort. In fact, hypocrites are those who say they believe, but do not act as they should. In other words, they are "Muslims", but not true Muslims. They will go to hell just as unbelievers do, and so, according to the verse, their lives matter for naught. The same sura says that a hypocrite can be recognized not just by lack of piety (reluctance to follow Sharia), but by fear of death ( 9:56 ), reluctance to fight ( 9:44-45 ) and even friendliness toward non-believers ( 9:67 ). A true Muslim would thus be a pious person who relishes martyrdom, is eager to fight, and shuns non-believers. Even the Quranic passage that warns against killing "believers" ( 4:88-94 ) is more complicated than it first appears. It never says that a true Muslim is incapable of killing another Muslim, just that it should not be done. In fact, it makes exceptions for the unintentional killing of "believers" in war and mandates the killing of "hypocrites." Verse 17:33 says, "Do not kill anyone which Allah has forbidden, except for a just cause" . The greatest cause of all is that Islam be superior ( 9:33 ), which is exactly what Islamic terrorists say is their goal. Thus believing Muslims are allowed to be collateral damage in the war on unbelievers. There is sadly a phenomena that I`ve noticed in Sweden and elsewhere of people using true facts about Islamic doctrine and history as a cover for all sorts of irrational targeting of Muslims, ranging from xenophobia and racism to verbal abuse and physical attacks. This is strongly condemned by this website and does not in any way serve serious criticism of orthodox Islam and other important work. It`s also important that one tries to express oneself in a civilized way. Words matter. In this bloggers humble opinion the root cause of the problem is the ancient doctrine of orthodox Islam. In simple terms a non-Muslim is a Kafir. " The Koran defines the kafir and kafir is not a neutral word. A kafir is not merely someone who does not agree with Islam, but a kafir is evil, disgusting, the lowest form of life." An exact quote, as stated in the writings of Dr. Bill Warner in the article "Kafir" at http://www.politicalislam.com/kafir . In the perfect Koran (Allah`s direct and literal word as revealed to Mohammed through the angel Jibril), Muslims are told 89 times to emulate Mohammed in all ways (see Koran 33:21 for instance). Mohammed`s example, the Sunna, is found in the Hadith (stories of what Mohammed said and did) and the Sira (biographies of Mohammed). Islamic law, Sharia , is directly derived from these unchanging scriptures. It is based on the Koran`s numerous commands to obey Allah and obey the Messenger, that is Mohammed (see Koran 4:59 for instance). Islam is Sharia. Sharia is Islam. It is a capital crime for Muslims to deny Sharia in any way. A Muslim is someone who submits to Islam and submitting to Islam means obeying the Sharia of Allah. Sharia law includes pronouncements for both Muslims and non-Muslims (Kafirs). Islam is a "complete way of life", a "complete code of life", a "complete system of life". Islam is not just a religion but also a comprehensive ideology. Islam is a supremacist ideology. Islam is a totalitarian and imperialistic ideology akin to Communism and Nazism. Islam is a civilization. Islamic law, Sharia, is a manual for a civilization. Islamic law, Sharia, governs every aspect of life. It has a say about every conceivable human act . Non-Muslims are morally and legally inferior in Islam. Women are morally and legally inferior in Islam. The History of Jihad: From Muhammad to ISIS by Robert Spencer is the first one-volume history of jihad in the English language and a great book on the topic. Allah guarantees Paradise to those who "kill and are killed" for him (Koran 9:111). A hadith depicts a Muslim asking Muhammad: "Instruct me as to such a deed as equals Jihad (in reward)." Muhammad replied, "I do not find such a deed." (Bukhari 4.52.44) Muhammad himself said: I have been commanded to fight against people so long as they do not declare that there is no god but Allah, and he who professed it was guaranteed the protection of his property and life on my behalf except for the right affairs rest with Allah. (Sahih Muslim 30) Freedom of speech, human rights, democracy, science and human lives are all at stake in the fight against the Islamic Jihad. Climate change and negligent forest management are causing higher-intensity, faster-moving fires that can generate enough energy to evolve into erratic firestorms, known as pyroCbs, in the face of which first responders can do little. Traditionally we could predict the fire behaviour and the direction of the fire but under those conditions and those moments its not possible, said Marc Castellnou, president of the Spanish independent wildfire prevention group Pau Costa Foundation. As a wildland fire analyst with the Catalan fire services, Castellnou reconstructs wildfires using simulations, satellite, on-the-ground and other data. This wildfire shows a different behaviour than those of the past, he says. 'It eats everything. While these fires are rare, when one strikes it can generate 100,000 kilowatts of energy per metre. In firefighting terms, this is 10 times what a firefighter can handle, but even at 4,000 kilowatts, firefighters cannot go near the flames and require aerial support. The old way of fighting fires by sending firefighters thats gone, Castellnou said. New normal There have been signs of trouble since the 1990s, according to Castellnou. This change has been cooking for a long time, but the first time we realised something wrong was happening were the years 2009 and 2012, he said, referring to the Black Saturday bushfires in the Australian state of Victoria that killed 173 people and wildfires in Spain, Portugal, Chile and California, US. Many in the fire community initially thought these were just abnormal events, he says. But then wildfires in Chile and Portugal in 2017 indicated that those werent simply extreme years. That was the new normal arriving. 2018 has confirmed that, he said, referring to the deadly wildfires in Greece and in California. 'The old way of fighting fires by sending firefighters thats gone.' Marc Castellnou, Pau Costa Foundation, Spain On October 15, 2017, Castellnou was in central Portugal to conduct analysis then support the local services as the wildfires became firestorms. 'What I saw was the pace of the fires ... You think: Well that cannot be real. When you go there (and see the damage) you understand that that is the reality, he said. Castellnou, who spoke about the future of fighting wildfires at the EUs security research event in December 2018, first joined the Catalan fire and rescue services as a seasonal firefighter when he was a teenager. In the past, he says, a fire that destroyed 25,000 hectares a day was considered extreme. According to his figures, the October fires in Portugal consumed 220,000 hectares of forest, an area 22 times the size of Lisbon and killed more than 40 people. Castellnou says that at their peak, wildfires burned at a rate of 10,000 hectares per hour over seven hours. This is something that blew my mind and I cannot use technology to simulate that because models cant predict it, he said. The challenge is now predicting how they will behave, he says. Were still not there. Were struggling. Flammable Wildfire experts say that climate change, causing a long-term rise in temperature and less rainfall, is creating unprecedented flammable conditions that are making forests burn with more intensity. Wildfires now occur in the wintertime and affect regions in latitudes beyond the fire season-prone countries of Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal and France. Castellnou says that wildfires are expected to affect highly populated areas like central Europe. Last summer, it was the first time in history we were having wildfires in (nearly) every single country in Europe, he said. Its not that climate change will create these new scenarios. No, no. The new scenario is already here, and it has come a lot faster than expected. According to experts, urbanisation and poor forest management for reducing fuel the grasses and shrubs that fires feed on are also to blame. David Caballero, who also spoke at the security research event, assesses the wildfire risks in populated areas, focusing on the wildland-urban interface, where infrastructure and urban development intermingle with forests and other wildlands. He is contributing to a project called Clarity that is working to join up different IT systems to protect cities and infrastructures from the effects of climate change. He says were seeing more fast-growing, high-energy fires affecting populated areas. We have to be prepared. Whenever we have forest in Europe, we eventually will have forest fires, he said. He travelled to the seaside village of Mati, Greece, in the immediate aftermath of Europes deadliest wildfires last year which killed 99 people in the region of Attica. Speaking to firefighters and survivors, he learnt that many people did not expect the fires to cross the highway that runs parallel to the coast. In the past the fires had halted at this point, but this time they leapt across, burning through Mati. There was an enormous amount of fuel due to the lack of management for 40 years, he said. The fires tore through the village and reached the coast in just 20 minutes. Caballero says that all along the Mediterranean coast, unregulated construction with little regard for safety and evacuation routes and lax vegetation management mean that more places are at risk. He says local and regional authorities can no longer afford to be negligent. We are living surrounded by fuel, he said. Culture of risk Pau Costa Foundation, established to speed up the sharing of information and know-how between fire services and society, works on a number of prevention campaigns. For a project called Heimdall, set up to contribute to an EU-wide information system about fires and other emergencies, the foundation is ensuring that the general public has a voice in shaping it. One of the foundations aims is to change the social perception of wildfires. A tendency to fight every fire, small or large, has let landscapes thrive artificially, Castellnou says. Not all fire is bad, he said. By clearing old trees, fires can make way for the growth of new forests that are adapted to climate change. Smaller fires, through activities such as prescribed burning, also have a role to play in creating scars in the land which break up a bigger fires path. A mosaic of landscape of different ages and low-intensity fires is the best protection against the big fires, he said. Oriol Vilalta, director of the foundation and a volunteer firefighter, says with wildfires killing more people in Europe, causing more than 200 deaths in the past three years, its time we learnt how to coexist with them. We need to create a culture of risk. The Japanese know very well what to do in case of an earthquake, but we dont know what to do in Europe with fires, Vilalta said. In the past, the tendency was to evacuate people, but the general public must become part of the solution through self-protection, he says. (Thats) what to do and what not to do, where to stay and where not to stay in case of a fire. Gallery: Fire flocks Image Credit - The Pau Costa Foundation The research projects in this article are funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media. I am person who is uncompromisingly black and unapologetically gay. Deal with it. I am person who is uncompromisingly black and unapologetically gay. Deal with it. Alvin McEwen Published by Reuters By Gabriela Baczynska, Philip Blenkinsop and Sabine Siebold BRUSSELS (Reuters) Respect LGBT rights or leave the European Union, ... Dear Readers, Stonewall Gazette is being placed on an indefinite hiatus due to my health. I have stage four peritoneal cancer. Life's journey can be a roug... Media Matters: Tucker Carlson: Critical race theory will lead to the genocide of white Americans. Michael Luciano @ Mediaite: Tucker Carlson Trashes Chai... The Trump Cult is preparing to greet Dear Leader this evening at his first rally since he was evicted from the White House by a significant majority of the... Broadway World reports: Pride is here and so is a new spin on a classic thats taking the gay anthem to the next level. Watch below to check out an amazi... WILLOWBROOK The levels of ethylene oxide detected by air monitors near Sterigenics in Willowbook in January were the highest readings since the federal government began testing, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA released new data Thursday suggesting that the concentrations of ethylene oxide gas, a known carcinogen used as a sterilizing agent for medical equipment, were more than 20 percent higher than alarmingly high levels discovered in December. The new measurements were taken between Jan 2. and Jan. 17 at several sites near Sterigenics' sterilization plant. Since November, the average level of ethylene oxide over 23 days that the EPA monitored for the colorless gas was 2.3 micrograms per cubic meter of air at Willowbrook's Village Hall and 3.6 at a nearby EPA warehouse. The highest daily average concentration was found Jan. 15 at the EPA warehouse where ethylene oxide levels were found to be 14.3 micrograms per cubic meter of air. By comparison, regular exposure to 2.1 micrograms of ethylene oxide per cubic meter of air could trigger more than six cases of cancer for every 1,000 people exposed, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, an arm of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal regulators generally target polluters when local cancer risks are greater than 100 in 1 million. Breathing ethylene oxide can increase long-term risk of breast cancer, leukemia and lymphomas at extremely low levels. "We see the highest concentrations occur at the two closest insights, at the Village Hall and EPA warehouse site," said Mike Koerber, associate director for policy at the U.S. EPA's Air Quality Planning and Standards. "So we continue to believe that the facility is responsible for a considerable amount of ethylene oxide in this area." Prior to the release of the new test results, the highest level recorded in the complex of commercial and government buildings near Sterigenics was 11.7 micrograms per cubic meter on Dec. 6. The elevated readings were especially perturbing to residents and public officials considering that Sterigenics installed a pollution-control system last summer to lower ethylene oxide emissions. On Thursday, the EPA said it could not speak to the effectiveness of that equipment. It also failed to offer an explanation as to why emissions at the facility continue to climb. The village of Willowbrook has hired an independent testing agency to perform sampling for ethylene oxide at several locations, including Village Hall and the Police Department. Those results, which were much higher than the EPA figures, included airborne concentrations of 320 micrograms per cubic meter outside the police station, according to court documents filed Wednesday. On Thursday, the EPA said it had been in touch with the laboratory carrying out the village's inquiry and had been sharing information, but officials did not directly address the discrepancies between their numbers. The new measurements come almost a week after Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered the Illinois EPA to ban Sterigenics from using ethylene oxide at its Willowbrook plant, citing the high levels of the cancer-causing cause. Sterigenics filed an emergency motion in federal court to lift the ban, but a judge sided Wednesday with the attorney general's office, which argued, in part, that the public health risk outweighed any downside to Sterigenics' customers. U.S. Rep. Dan Lipiniski said the new measurements affirm the decision to halt operations. "The Willowbrook ethylene oxide data released by the U.S. EPA today shows a disturbing trend that validates the state's decision to suspend operations at Sterigenics," Lipinski said Thursday in a statement. "With each new data release, measured EtO levels have increased. When combined with the independent data collected by the village of Willowbrook, these numbers paint a picture of a facility whose emissions are out of control. Unless and until significant changes are made to how the facility controls its emissions, it must not be allowed to reopen. I will continue to pressure the U.S. EPA to join the state in putting the health and safety of the public first." Officials with Sterigenics declined to comment. The Chicago Tribune first reported that federal and state officials began taking a closer look at Sterigenics in late 2017 after determining that the cancer risks in one census tract near the facility are more than nine times higher than the national average. By the time the U.S. EPA quietly posted its findings online in August, another federal agency had estimated the effects could be significantly more dire, prompting demands from local, state and federal lawmakers for an in-depth investigation. About 19,000 people in southeast DuPage County live within a mile of the Willowbrook facility. Four schools and a day care center are in the area, including Hinsdale South High School in Darien and Gower Middle School in Burr Ridge. Willowbrook resident Sri Rao lives less than 2 miles from Sterigenics and around the corner from Gower West Elementary School, where his 8-year-old son attends class. Since learning about the elevated cancer risk, his family has stayed in hotels or even taken four-hour drives to stay with family in suburban Detroit, including over this past holiday weekend. Rao, an organizer with the grass-roots group Stop Sterigenics, made a recent trip with neighbors to testify in Springfield, where lawmakers introduced four new bills addressing ethylene oxide. "This has become my second job, and I'm not alone," Rao said. "The whole Stop Sterigenics group, we're sacrificing time with family and our jobs to do this." One bill would require a facility to notify property owners and local government when a leak occurs. Another calls for "regular and frequent" inspections and testing to ensure there are no unintended emissions of ethylene oxide. A third prompts the Illinois EPA to re-evaluate permits for any facility emitting ethylene oxide. To see the elevated concentrations in Willowbrook continue, Rao said, is disheartening for homeowners. "It's still a raw sore eating at us every day," he said. "Who's going to buy our homes? Where will we go?" Residents in Lake County are even more concerned. Two other companies -- Vantage Specialty Chemicals in Gurnee and Medline Industries in Waukegan -- continue to release the same toxic gas into neighborhoods where nearly 42,000 people live. Yet the Trump administration has brushed aside petitions from members of the Illinois congressional delegation to monitor air quality near the Lake County sites, even though federal scientists estimate that, as in Willowbrook, surrounding areas face some of the highest long-term cancer risks in the U.S. from toxic air pollution. U.S. Reps. Brad Schneider and Lauren Underwood and U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth released another statement Thursday demanding testing around the two facilities in Lake County. Sterigenics is closed, but the EPA plans to continue monitoring for ethylene oxide until the end of February, after which it will release data from 16 additional dates of testing. Those will be factored into a risk assessment that will be released in the spring. Although this operations freeze could further clarify how much Sterigenics contributes to the staggering levels of ethylene oxide, some residents worry that emissions could continue from the medical supplies that already have been sterilized. According to the EPA, ethylene oxide has an estimated half-life in air ranging from 69 to 149 days, meaning it takes much longer for the gas to fully dissipate. "It could be months to go before we get clean air," Rao said. "They're testing now and next week, if they still see high readings, Sterigenics is going to say, 'Hey, it's not our fault. We're shut down.' But it takes time." U.S. EPA officials said the agency will hold a public meeting in Willowbrook on its findings in May. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CHICAGO (AP) Medical marijuana growers in Illinois have formed a political action committee and are spending money in an attempt to limit the market if recreational use of the drug is legalized in the state. Medical cannabis businesses have contributed more than $100,000 to the newly formed Illinois Relief Fund, The Chicago Tribune reported. The lobby is seeking to ban new cultivation licenses for a year or more once recreational use of the drug is legalized. Licensed medical cannabis growers say they should be automatically awarded recreational licenses. State regulators have approved licenses for 16 growers, which supply marijuana to the state's 55 medical dispensaries. One of the main groups seeking the license limit is the Medical Cannabis Alliance of Illinois, which represents numerous cultivation centers and dispensaries. Growers that are currently licensed should be allowed to show they can handle the expected boom in demand if recreational cannabis is legalized, said Pam Althoff, a former state senator who is the alliance's executive director. "My organization believes they have the current capacity to meet the demand," she said. "Until we see substantive data that indicates differently, we support no new cultivation licenses." Critics say limiting licenses only benefits a small number of growers and hurts retailers and the public. "If you continue to have a limited number of (growers') licenses, it'll be more expensive, and you'll get more people continuing to buy on the black market," said Dan Linn, executive director of the pro-marijuana legalization group Illinois NORML. "There's a natural demand for more license holders." Some growers don't oppose new licenses. Mark de Souza, CEO of Revolution Enterprises, said he welcomes an increase in competition as long as current regulatory testing standards are upheld. "The most important aspect is that the market does not grow faster than regulatory bodies can service," de Souza said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SPRINGFIELD Illinois Republicans suffered big losses in the 2018 elections, giving up seven House seats and handing a 74-44 supermajority to Democrats. Now its up to state Rep. Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, to try and turn things around, and she has no illusions about how big of a task that will be. Huge. A huge task, she said in an interview Thursday. McCombies colleagues this week unanimously elected her to chair the House Republican Organization, the political arm of the caucus that works, and raises money, to elect Republicans to the House. The goal is to provide political services to the 44 members we have and to grow our members so we can, one, bring balance to Illinois, and, two, hopefully to gain additional seats to gain the majority and put Leader (Jim) Durkin in the speakers seat, McCombie said. McCombie attributed her partys losses in 2018 to a number of factors, including money and the fact that the Democratic candidate for governor, J.B. Pritzker, had a sophisticated operation. But she also said there were national trends working against Illinois Republicans, including President Donald Trumps unpopularity in the state. The message right now on the federal side certainly, I think, hurt Republicans in the suburbs, she said. McCombie is the first woman to hold the chairmanship, and that could be important in 2020 because thats the voting population where the GOP has been losing support, particularly in suburban areas, both in Illinois and nationally. But McCombie said she doesnt necessarily think its her job to recruit female voters back to the party. I dont think I was chosen to bring women into the fold because women dont tell women what to do, she said. But I think its certainly necessary to have more women in leadership positions so they can have more open conversations. Because thats one thing that women do better. They will sit down at the table and have a conversation. McCombie said it will take hard work to reverse the GOPs fortunes in the state, but she said shes optimistic about the partys chances. We need to rely on work, and we need to rely on our message, she said. If this is about policy, were going to win every time. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The ink on a new report on Illinois gun laws was barely dry when news broke of a mass shooting in Aurora by a felon who should not have been carrying a handgun. The report, prompted by Chicago's recent mass fatal shooting at Mercy Hospital, identifies how Illinois remains vulnerable when it comes to ensuring that people who are barred from having weapons don't get them. The report's authors from Johns Hopkins University and the public policy experts at the Joyce Foundation, which commissioned it, then watched as the Aurora shooting unfolded, providing a tragic, real-time blueprint. "It was right on the heels of the Mercy Hospital shooting, where we also had a shooter who was in compliance with Illinois law until he opened fire in a hospital," Nina Vinik, director of Joyce's gun violence prevention and justice reform program, said of the decision to seek the report. "Fast forward to Aurora, we have a shooter who went through our legal process and obtained a FOID card. It really struck me that for all we hear about Illinois having very strong gun laws, in fact they could and should be stronger." The 11-page analysis points to Illinois' failure to require fingerprinting for gun permits and its lacking enforcement in seizing weapons from people whose permits have been revoked -- two issues that have been identified as possible explanations for how Aurora shooter Gary Martin bought and kept a gun, despite a felony conviction on his record. "I always read these stories and the news coverage of a tragic event like this. It's always a little bit overwhelming," said report co-author Cassandra Crifasi. "But when I was reading reports (on Aurora), I was sort of stunned. I was so stunned that so many of the things we were discussing in the report were relevant. There were gaps in the system and this person was able to obtain a firearm he shouldn't have had." Martin's 1995 conviction in Mississippi did not appear on two background checks that were done in 2014 when he obtained his Illinois firearm owner's identification card and then bought a handgun. His criminal history only caught up with him, that same year, when he applied to the Illinois State Police for a concealed carry license and was voluntarily fingerprinted to expedite the process. Once his criminal history was found, his firearm license was revoked and notification sent to Martin and Aurora police. He should have surrendered the card and firearms, or transferred them to a legal owner, within 48 hours. Court records in Mississippi also show the Illinois State Police followed up by seeking Martin's record. But Illinois laws do not require law enforcement to seize weapons from revoked cardholders, and Martin kept the gun for five years before using it to kill five co-workers at the Henry Pratt Co. warehouse in west suburban Aurora. He wounded several responding Aurora police officers and was killed in the shootout. The Johns Hopkins report, written by its Center for Gun Policy and Research, was commissioned by the Joyce Foundation in November, days after a man shot dead his ex-fiancee, another hospital employee and a Chicago police officer before dying in a shootout with police. The center is an academic institute in the university's school of public health that studies how policy can reduce gun violence. The report concludes that while Illinois has relatively strong laws, there remains several ways it could improve them to try to prevent guns from winding up in the hands of people who commit violence. Of the nine states that currently require a permit to buy guns, Illinois is among two states that don't mandate an in-person application and three that don't require fingerprinting. In addition, Illinois allows applicants to apply by mail and, barring an infraction caught by law enforcement, to keep their firearm ID cards for 10 years. The study authors recommend in-person applications, fingerprinting and shortening the duration of a gun permit to five years. "Illinois, arguably, has the weakest of all purchase licensing laws," the report stated. The report argues that the gaps Martin appears to have slipped through could be closed by mandating fingerprinting for those who want to obtain a gun permit and by instructing law enforcement in Illinois to more aggressively dispossess barred gun owners of their weapons. Crifasi said there is "public safety benefit" to getting guns out of the hands of people who are barred from having them, but the report stops short of mandating dispossession because of existing strains on law enforcement. "There is more weight behind the revocation if there is some legislative action, but we also recognize that at times there are constrained resources and sometimes law enforcement has to prioritize," she said. Crifasi also said fingerprinting is a better option because criminal records are sometimes incomplete or miss details of a criminal history that might be key. The report also points out that studies have shown that stronger licensing laws have impact, citing Missouri, which eliminated all of its licensing requirements and saw a sharp increase in how quickly guns went from a legal retail sale to being recovered at crime scenes. Vinik, of the Joyce Foundation, said she hopes the report adds to the momentum she feels Illinois already has around tightening its gun laws. "Illinois passed some good laws last year," she said, referring to a gun licensing bill that was signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker last month. "I am hearing in Springfield that there is an appetite to try and address this." Gun owners and gun rights lobbyists have fought against past efforts to require law enforcement to seize guns from those who have lost their permits. They are have argued that penalties for failing to relinquish a weapon are already in place. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 All five Aurora police officers who were injured by gunfire in Friday's mass shooting have been released from area hospitals. Four of the officers were released by Sunday, and Aurora police announced the fifth officer was released Thursday. "We are all hoping for a swift and full recovery for all, as we now turn our hearts toward those still grieving for the loss of their loved ones," Aurora police said in a statement. Five people were killed after a worker at Henry Pratt Co. opened fire after he was fired from his job, police said. The five victims killed were all employees of the plant and the man identified as the gunman later died in a shootout with officers. The final officer remaining in the hospital was 39 years old and suffered a gunshot wound to his lower body. The names of the injured officers have not been released. Four other officers who were injured by gunfire -- a 24-year-old with shrapnel wounds to the upper body, a 52-year-old officer shot in his upper body and two officers shot in the lower body, one 52 years old and one 53 -- were all released from the hospital. A sixth officer suffered a minor injury while responding to the shooting. That injury wasn't directly tied to gunfire. Police were dispatched to the warehouse at 1:24 p.m. Friday, and officers arrived four minutes later. Officers almost immediately encountered Gary Martin, a 45-year-old with a history of violence, who was shooting with a gun he wasn't legally entitled to carry. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DECATUR A class-action lawsuit filed Thursday accuses Akorn Inc. of misleading investors about the severity of manufacturing issues at its Decatur facility. The lawsuit cites problems in the manufacturing plant at 1222 W. Grand Ave., which the company spent $25 million to expand in a project completed last year. The generic drug maker also operates a packaging facility on Wyckles Road in Decatur, and it has more than 300 employees in the city. Akorn makes products that include topical creams, ointments and gels, oral liquids, ear and eye solutions and respiratory drugs. The federal lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Illinois, said investors lost money because the Lake Forest-based company did not disclose problems found by the FDA during an inspection in April and May 2018. Akorn acknowledged Jan. 9 that it had received a warning letter from the FDA detailing what the agency described as "violations of current good manufacturing practice regulations for finished pharmaceuticals." The letter said an inspector found contaminants on sterile gloves, employees were not following procedures to prevent drugs from being contaminated and Akorn could not ensure stability of one drug, acetylcysteine, because it had not been tested for impurities since 2016. The company recalled that medicine in June. The company's shares fell 11.6 percent after it announced that it had received the FDA warning letter, according to the lawsuit. As a result, the lawsuit said, shareholders suffered "significant losses and damages." Plaintiffs are asking that Akorn pay damages, interest and attorneys' fees. Akorn did not respond to a phone message and email seeking comment Thursday afternoon. Last month, it issued a statement pledging to work with the FDA to resolve all issues highlighted in the warning letter. The company has full confidence in the quality of the products manufactured at the Decatur facility and expects to continue production at the plant, it said. The plaintiffs are being represented by Pomerantz LLP and The Rosen Law Firm. Phillip Kim, an attorney with Rosen, said it does not comment on pending litigation. The lawsuit said it is being brought on behalf of people and entities who bought Akorn stock between Aug. 1, 2018, and Jan. 8, the day before the FDA warning was made public. The 25-page complaint includes a detailed description of the problems that the FDA said it found in the Decatur plant. The agency initially notified the company of the issues in a document called a Form 483, a type of report that investigators use to document conditions they believe could compromise a products quality. Akorn told investors in November that it had received a Form 483 from the FDA in May and that it had submitted a robust response in June. We have made substantial progress ... and we are on track to complete the majority of the remaining action items by the end of 2018, it said. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} But in the letter dated Jan. 4, the FDA told Akorn that its responses were inadequate. It said the company needed to redesign parts of its operation to prevent contamination and determine the scope of poor sanitation practices observed at the facility, including which employees were involved. Your quality system does not adequately ensure the accuracy and integrity of data to support the safety, effectiveness, and quality of the drugs you manufacture, the FDA wrote. The agency told Akorn to provide an investigation into the extent of inaccuracies in its data and reporting, a risk assessment of the potential effects of the observed failures on the quality of your drugs, and a management strategy that includes details of its corrective action plan. The lawsuit comes after the drugmaker lost another legal battle with the German healthcare company Fresenius Kabi. In 2017, the companies had planned to merge in a $4.3 billion deal, but Fresenius backed out after questions about Akorn's data integrity and compliance with the FDA. This is not the first time that an FDA inspection has noted issues at Akorn in Decatur. The agency also reported issues after inspections in 2016 and 2017. The 2017 report said the inspector saw particles coming off a conveyor belt on which sterile drug products were made, among other issues. Jaylyn Cook contributed to this story. READ THE DOCUMENTS Contact Allison Petty at (217) 421-6986. Follow her on Twitter: @allison0512 Love 0 Funny 6 Wow 1 Sad 2 Angry 1 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. DECATUR Two residents of Spring Creek Towers were hospitalized Thursday after the Decatur Fire Department responded to a fire on the apartment building's third floor. Fire Chief Jeff Abbott said firefighters were initially called to the scene, 2727 N. Monroe, at about 4:42 p.m. He said crews made their way inside the six-story apartment building, which houses seniors and people with disabilities, and spotted the fire within a third floor apartment. "They were able to contain the fire to the one apartment," Abbott said. "The problem we had is that there's probably 100 people that live here, and the smoke was spread throughout the building." Abbott said the building was evacuated while firefighters worked to clear it of smoke and checked rooms for carbon monoxide. He said the woman who lives in the apartment where the fire started needed to be rescued by firefighters, and was taken to a local hospital to be treated for burns. Abbott said she was in "serious" condition when she left the scene, but could not provide an update on her status later in the evening. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Abbott said another resident was taken to a local hospital after suffering a medical emergency at the scene. He could not say if her emergency was related to the fire. No other injuries were reported Thursday. Abbott said a preliminary cause of the fire was that the burned woman was smoking while using oxygen, which accelerates flames. A fire investigator was also at the scene Thursday night. As crews worked to clear the building of smoke, a Decatur Public Transit bus was parked outside to allow residents to warm up and blankets were provided. Residents were allowed back inside about 6:20 p.m. Abbott said a damage estimate was not available Thursday evening. While the fire itself did not cause too much damage to the apartment's interior, he said, water from the building's sprinkler system seeped through multiple floors. "They've got a cleaning contractor on the way," Abbott said. "So hopefully the first, second and third floor will get that water cleaned up really quick." At least seven fire trucks responded to the scene Thursday, along with the Decatur Ambulance Service and Decatur police. A representative for the Spring Creek Towers management company declined to comment. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 3 Sad 4 Angry 1 Scott Perry Local News Editor Deputy night editor for Lee Enterprises Central Illinois. Follow Scott Perry Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today DECATUR Dr. Stephen Huss has spent much of his life in and around the Decatur Club, so it was a bit of a surprise when he recently came across a strategically placed rock at the corner of Prairie Avenue and Church Street. I was just going into the Decatur Club, and I parked near that rock and thought 'I bet I've seen this a thousand times,' but it never really grabbed me like it did this particular day, the retired orthopedic surgeon said. And I looked at it and thought, 'This is really interesting.' The rock has been there since 1932, marking the spot of a tree honoring the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth. Today is the 287th anniversary. Attached to the rock is a plaque that reads: George Washington Bicentennial Tree 1732 1932 Planted by Junior Association of Commerce From time to time, I will find a monument in Decatur and I photograph it and research it, Huss said, and this situation was no different. Huss went to work learning the history behind the rock and trying to determine if the elm tree situated behind it is the same one referenced by the marker. According to the Herald & Review's archives, a tree was planted at the site on April 17, 1931, in commemoration of Arbor Day. A ceremony was led by the Junior Association of Commerce (the predecessor to the local Junior Chamber of Commerce, commonly refereed to as the Jaycees), which formed in 1931. One of the primary objectives of the group was a clean-up, paint-up and tree planting campaign. To that end, the group created a nursery in Faries Park, growing trees that would be transplanted throughout the city, especially along main thoroughfares. In April 1932, the association's tree committee voted to buy a stone marker to be placed at the base of the tree the group planted near the Decatur Club as part of the George Washington Bicentennial Celebration. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} The effort to plant 10 million trees across the country in Washington's honor was spearheaded by American Tree Association, in cooperation with the George Washington Bicentennial Commission. Ten million tributes, enduring and straight growing, which will be as evergreen as is the memory of George Washington in the hearts of 130,000,000 people, recording the fact that he is ever the 'first in the hearts of his countrymen,' wrote Charles Lathrop Pack, president of the American Tree Association at the time. These are not to be monoliths of marble, not statues of static stone, or dun-colored copper and bronze, nor a eulogium written upon perishable parchment; but growing things, alive with a life emblematical of that living nation which the First President guided into being. Herald & Review archives make mention of numerous trees being planted across the area as part of the celebration. For Huss, he wondered if the tree growing there today is the same tree planted in 1931, taking into account how Dutch elm disease decimated the American elm population in the early 20th century. His research determined it probably is. This tree is an American elm and could be 90 years old, but could have been replanted 65 years ago if elm disease killed the original, Huss wrote in a 2018 Facebook post. But if that happened, why would one ever plant a second elm. I suspect this is the original tree. A rare survivor. Examining a Herald & Review picture from 1932, Randy Callison, Decatur city forestry and property supervisor agreed, saying it very likely is the original tree. By the picture from the 1930s and the picture today, it is very likely it is the same tree, he said. If that is the case, Callison said its location probably played a role in its survival. Because of their beauty and drought tolerance, elm trees were very popular and were usually planted close to one other to enhance streetscapes. Callison said their proximity to one another made them easy pickings for the elm bark beetles that spread the disease. Callison suspects the lack of other elm trees around it may have prevented it from being attacked. As for its size, Huss and Callison both mentioned its tough, urban surroundings which likely stunted its growth. Even when it was planted, there was only a small area of exposed ground amid the concrete. For an elm, it is probably about the third of the size it normally would be if it had a lot more area to uptake nutrients and water, said Callison, who has observed the tree during his nearly 30-year tenure with the city. Because of the limitations, that's probably as big as it will ever be. Contact Scott Perry at (217) 421-7976. Follow him on Twitter: @scottperry66 Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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. DECATUR A Decatur man is accused of sexually assaulting a child younger than 13 after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security contacted the Macon County Sheriff's Office and he was arrested Thursday. Gary L. Boyle, 34, faces a preliminary charge of predatory criminal sexual assault, a Class X felony, which is subject to review by the Macon County State's Attorney's Office. In a sworn affidavit, sheriff's detectives said his computer IP address was used to exchange child pornography images and movies of a girl to whom he is related. The affidavit said Boyle was using a messaging app called Kik, and six images and three videos were shared by Boyle among seven users in a group message. Homeland Security received a notification from its Ottawa, Canada, Attache Office on Tuesday regarding the Kik conversation. Homeland Security was able to identify the user was accessing an IP address located in Boyle's Decatur home, the affidavit said. Homeland Security then contacted the sheriff's office. While in custody, Boyle admitted to live-streaming the videos and visiting child pornography group chats where he shares and receives child pornography, the affidavit said. Boyle is being held on $1 million bond in the Macon County Jail, and has a March 1 court date scheduled. 2019 mug shots from the Herald & Review Contact Kennedy Nolen at (217) 421-6985. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DECATUR Kelly J. Hunter was found not guilty by a jury Thursday of a charge he sexually assaulted a woman in Decatur while children younger than 10 watched. After a trial that began Wednesday in Macon County Circuit Court, the jury took 2 hours Thursday morning to find the 47-year-old who lives in Moweaqua not guilty of aggravated criminal sexual assault involving bodily harm. But the jury did return guilty verdicts on one count of domestic battery and another count of domestic battery involving bodily harm. Judge Phoebe Bowers scheduled a sentencing hearing for April 4. and over the objections of public defender Scott Rueter, revoked Hunters bond, placing him in the custody of the Macon County Jail. The case, dating to Aug. 7 and concerning events that happened at a house on Decatur's near-northside, was prosecuted by Assistant States Attorney Kate Kurtz. She said the woman told police she had been shoved and punched by Hunter after he returned from work in a bad mood. Kurtz said the alleged sexual assault had been aimed at degrading the woman in the most offensive way. But Rueter told jurors they must weigh what theyre told carefully and just because an act is described does not mean it happened. He also highlighted a lack of DNA evidence to back up the sexual assault claim and pointed out that the womans only physical injury was a slight redness on her skin that was gone by the time she was examined by a doctor. What I ask is that you listen to all the evidence, Rueter had told the jury in his opening statement. Listen to it all to determine the credibility of the witnesses and the credibility of the story they are telling you. 2019 mug shots from the Herald & Review Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Tom Ryggs recent IR praise for the Washington Posts truthful reporting is misplaced. Post articles are biased in favor of U.S. military intervention as displayed by a recent Washington Post editorial by R. J. Samuelson who advocates for continued U.S. military build-up. Why was no rebuttal printed? The Post also appears to be biased in favor of Israeli repression of Palestinian rights. The bias is displayed when the Post fails to mention daily Israeli assaults on Palestinians. Putting a few news sources like the Washington Post, which leave out important stories, in charge of news and opinions to which we all are subjected, does not add up to free press. Brown said he believed the definition of a closed and open road should be made by legislators rather than the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission, and that many of the gated roads are in the high country that sees lower use by other recreationists. He also noted that while the areas in question are public land, pet owners also need to take responsibility for their pets when venturing out in wolf habitat and where trapping is taking place. Blackman, testifying for the Montana Trappers Association, agreed with the bill and felt it was nothing more than a clarification. KC York with Trap Free Montana Public Lands disagreed, holding up a wolf trap and saying Traps hold our public lands hostage, and adding that a great deal of work went into establishing setbacks. Art Compton with the Sierra Club felt that roads closed year-round should be the last place to lift setbacks, as recreationists such as skiers and snowshoers seek those areas out to get away from motorized users. Brown closed on the bill by noting that many miles of ungated roads would still fall under the setback regulations and reiterated responsibility. (Were) asking some responsibility from trappers in many cases and I think we need to ask some responsibility from pet owners, he said. The committee did not take immediate action on the bills. Reporter Tom Kuglin can be reached at 447-4076 @IR_TomKuglin Love 11 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 19 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. We hear a lot about the role of Colstrip in the states economy, which is significant, Brown said. But we should also consider the role of affordable electric rates in the states economy. Lower rates help attract people and economic activity to the state. If NorthWesterns rates include the full cost of Colstrip, the impact could be astronomical. David Hoffman, the NorthWestern Energy lobbyist who frequently identifies himself as representing the utilitys customers and not his actual employer, said he wasnt free to discuss exactly how much of Colstrip his employer was interested in buying. He wouldnt say if NorthWestern planned to buy more shares of Unit 4, in which it already owns a stake, or if it was shopping for shares of Unit 3, also. Dramstad said she believes it's important that her students understand the important contributions of Native Americans to their culture. "Food is a part of everyone's culture," she said. "When you travel somewhere else, you always eat their food to experience it." As part of the project, Mariah Gladstone, a Cherokee and Blackfeet educator, will collaborate with Rossiter students for a full week. They will focus on food culture and sustainability. Additionally, the project will highlight Native culture through art and music. The grant was sponsored by Sodexo, a food services company excited to help educate through food. Urban attracted the attention of Shodair Children's Hospital with her grant application for RAINS. The "Relating Academics In Nature and Society" project will see AP science classes read popular science books. They will then complete hands-on activities and participate in field trips designed to reinforce concepts within the books. Keith Meyer, foundation director at Shodair, said this grant application was a great match to the genetics program at the hospital. Many area high school students, just like the ones in this class, wind up doing internships at Shodair, Meyer said. Years ago, I was working in the U.S.,when I read a column about a woman who had sued her obstetrician, feeling robbed of her motherhood, because the Obstetrician had performed a C-Section on her which she felt was unnecessary.A few years ago, when I was working in Australia, the debate about normal delivery vs. C-section was raging hot. A woman in Sydney was very upset that people NOT involved in the delivery process (like law makers, politicians) are discussing this when one has to do a poll and know the pulse of the people. Because in her case, she had a normal delivery of a baby weighing 3.92 Kgs, who was severely asphyxiated and also she had perineal tear which caused her lot of morbidity in the form of incontinence and various other problems. If anyone had told her about the risks of the normal delivery she would have opted for C-section.Nearly 14 years ago, Australia went through lot of debate and many Obstetricians were ostracised for performing C-section for no fault of theirs. Hence, they started issuing a review article to all their prospective parents which was explaining about the benefits of a normal delivery including risks and also benefits of C-section including risks which was a very balanced article and they started sharing this with the explanation that they should discuss this with all the stake holders including their midwife and come to a final decision and give consent in writing after that so that the number of women accusing them will hopefully come down. This puts the onus on the prospective parents.On a lighter note, I as a Neonatologist, always ask the parents whether their child was born by normal delivery or C-section and one of the young boys who heard his mom say C-section rather quickly jumped and said, no I am in B-section and not C-section!Recently, we saw the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a person in Supreme Court of India and the Supreme court correctly dismissed the PILThere has been lot of debate about C-section and womans rights in several countries whether a woman has a right to opt for C-section or not? There has been no consensus on this as several ethical people think this has a babys right too? Let us look at what are the reasons behind Obstetricians doing C-section and what has changed? In the past, we had many women delivering babies by breech presentation by normal delivery but lately the risk of birth asphyxia leading to brain damage is higher in babies born by breech presentation (where the bum comes out first and head of the baby is delivered last). In view of this, most obstetricians nowadays deliver babies who are breech by C-section. Gestational Diabetes Mellitus(GDM) is a life style disease to a great extent which was very uncommon in the past, but nowadays we have almost 25-30 percent pregnant women being diabetic during pregnancy hence called gestational diabetes and many women with GDM though deliver normally, many deliver by C-section either because their babies have grown much bigger than their pelvis can accommodate or for some other complication. " Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a life style disease to a great extent which was very uncommon in the past, but nowadays we have almost 25 to 30 percent pregnant women being diabetic during pregnancy" In-Vitro Fertilisation(IVF)is commonly called test tube baby. Babies conceived by IVF were not there 40 years ago. But now the number of babies conceived by IVF is increasing by the day and many parents having gone through difficult time of conceiving babies through IVF opt for C-section and many Obstetricians deliver these babies by IVF to avoid the unnecessary risk associated with normal delivery though medically this is not an indication for C-section. In the olden days, we used to have Eclampsia wards in many hospitals. Even now many medical colleges and government hospitals still have Eclampsia wards, where women who have convulsion during labour/delivery process are cared for. Nowadays, with increasing nursing and medical care eclampsia is prevented, which has lead to renewed attention on Pre-Eclampsia a condition which could potentially lead to Eclampsia which is a dangerous condition with deleterious effects both on the baby and the mother. Many women are delivered by C-section during Pre-eclampsia to avoid Eclampsia. Last but not the least, Muhurtham section some women want to deliver at a set date and time this is not peculiar when it comes to India. This is a global problem growing number of women in executive positions or even working women dont want the uncertainity they want to deliver at a right time and plan their diary. There is discussion about the rights of women in choosing the way they want to deliver Vs what is best for them who can decide this? I am not going to narrate the whole number of reasons why C-sections are increasing? Fair to say that I have given some glimpses into the history as to why C-sections are increasing? It is unfair to blame the hospitals or the doctors for the increasing number of C-sections. Suffice to say that the decision to deliver the babies in a particular way should be taken in conjunction with the prospective parents after having discussed all the possibilities and ensure safe motherhood and baby. India still has quite a significant maternal and neonatal mortality and places where C-sections are lower do they have low mortality and morbidity? Places with high C-section do they have high mortality and morbidity are the questions to be asked. We should have a country wide audit by using well established March of Dimes criteria for C-sections (appendix A) to see and compare various places along with morbidity and mortality data before we jump in and start shouting at doctors and hospitals. We need to account for every mothers and babys death along with morbidity data before Supreme court or Politicians can be asked to answer any question or make any policy. Are we there yet? Lastly, one has to take into account the rights of the women and the unborn baby too, considering all these, we are in the same position as rest of the world in this debate. The final word is yet to be spoken on this. Dennis Beaver Practices law in Bakersfield and welcomes comments and questions from readers, which may be faxed to (661) 323-7993, or e-mailed to Lagombeaver1@Gmail.com. Also, visit dennisbeaver.com. 1. Fill in your name or an alias. Do not leave blank or use the name 'guest' or 'anonymous'. 2. No Nivul Peh. Profanity will be deleted. Grand Old Partisan honors James Mason, born to a slave in Arkansas this day of 1841. His plantation owner father recognized him as a son and paid for his education at Oberlin College in Ohio. He returned home after the Civil War. This day of 1867, the Postmaster General, a former Republican Governor of Wisconsin, named him postmaster at Sunnyside. Mason was delegate to the 1868 constitutional convention. That year, the "intelligent, courteous and educated" Republican won the first of two state senate terms. He also served as county sheriff. He declined nomination from President Ulysses Grant to be ambassador to Liberia. Here is a Video Version of this article on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gltdEu6jP2c Michael Zak is author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party, a history of GOP civil rights achievement. Each day, Michael Zak's grandoldpartisan YouTube channel and Grand Old Partisan blog celebrate more than sixteen decades of Republican heritage. And, see Speech Raves for audience feedback from his presentations in thirty-one states so far. He also wrote the 2005 Republican Freedom Calendar. Clarence Thomas cited Back to Basics for the Republican Party in a Supreme Court decision. Buy the book at Amazon See www.youtube.com/q?v=IzxKCiXc5Qc for a brief video of a Texas Republican praising Back to Basics for the Republican Party. "This is the most amazing book about politics that I have ever read. The Overview should be required reading for anyone with even a minor interest in government. The remainder is an enthralling history lesson that I will never forget. For years, we have all been misled about the true nature of the GOP. This is the real deal! Read it and be proud!" "Michael Zak wrote the definitive history of the GOP." "Back to Basics for the Republican Party is the most significant contribution to the Republican Party in the last twenty years apart from Ronald Reagan." "Back to Basics for the Republican Party is more important to our party now than ever before." and "one of the best books I ever read" A border is coming to the British Isles just where, though, is not yet certain. This weekend, the leader of the Irish Republics nationalist Sinn Fein party called for Northern Ireland to begin preparing for a border poll and a united Ireland. Sinn Fein has been making such calls ever since the Brexit referendum, but only recently have they gained some credibility. The United Kingdoms imminent departure from the European Union is poised to disrupt the trade and regulatory harmonization that has made the illusion of a united Ireland and thus the Good Friday Agreement possible. If the U.K. leaves the EUs customs union and single market as promised, or leaves the EU without a withdrawal agreement, a border somewhere between the U.K. and the EU is inevitable. The decision of where to place that border will reshape the British Isles and their relationship to the Continent. The Backstop The Irish Republic and the EU have been adamant that there cannot be a border in Ireland, arguing that it would undermine the Good Friday Agreement. (That agreement brought a near-total cessation of the civil war between republicans, who seek a united Ireland, and unionists, who wish to remain part of the United Kingdom.) So they proposed the so-called Irish backstop . The backstop would effectively keep Northern Ireland in the EUs single market, while both Northern Ireland and Britain would remain in a customs union with the EU unless and until they reach an agreement that removes the need for the backstop. (The EUs preference was for the backstop to apply only to Northern Ireland, but the British government insisted on this U.K.-wide format.) Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party has fiercely opposed the backstop and any other solution that would treat Northern Ireland differently from Britain. The DUPs objection would matter less were it not for the fact that British Prime Minister Theresa Mays government depends on the partys support for a functional majority. Unionists and others in Britain see the backstop as nothing short of an Irish and EU plot to seize a piece of the United Kingdom as the price of Brexit. Northern Ireland wouldnt be under the control of the Irish Republic, but it would be forced to apply the EUs customs and regulations without a voice in shaping them. Ireland and the EU argue, however, that the backstop is about preserving the status quo and avoiding the need for a border between the two territories that could incite violence. The EU is not especially thrilled to be in this position the backstop is the biggest obstacle to securing an orderly Brexit, though not the only one but it has been loath to pressure Dublin to abandon its stance. For Brussels, the only outcome worse than a no-deal Brexit would be abandoning a small member state on an issue that state views as existential just to reach a deal with London. Brussels fears this would send a signal to other small EU member and prospective states with potential territorial disputes (particularly Baltic and Balkan countries and Cyprus) that Brussels cannot be relied upon to defend them. As for Ireland, on the surface, its dogmatic insistence on the backstop looks like a contradiction: If what Dublin fears most is a border, and failure to reach a deal ends in a border, why not yield? Agreeing to a five- or 10-year limit would at least kick the can down the road. But there is a difference between a border that arises as a result of failed talks talks that Ireland and the EU are confident would have to be picked up sooner than later and a border that arises with Irelands acquiescence. If Dublin admitted in principle that it could accept a border with Northern Ireland, it fears that such a border would emerge and would be permanent, crushing the centuries-old dream of a united Ireland. A border resulting from a disorderly Brexit, on the other hand, is seen as temporary; implementing the backstop would likely be the EUs first condition to start talks on an EU-U.K. trade agreement. Its a position that works in principle but is explosive in practice. In a January survey by the Irish group Red C Research, 70 percent of respondents in the Irish Republic opposed a hard border. The government in Dublin has struggled mightily to explain what it would do in the event that there is no withdrawal agreement. After months of insisting there were no plans for a border, the Irish deputy prime minister said vaguely in mid-January that a border could be at sea. This presumably meant in the Irish Sea, not between the British Isles and the Continent. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar referenced the latter idea during a private meeting with opposition party leaders, saying that all goods from the U.K. and Ireland could be checked at Continental ports an outcome he said must be avoided at all costs. At the World Economic Forums meeting in Davos at the end of the month, however, Varadkar took his hardest line yet, saying a no-deal Brexit would result in customs posts, other physical infrastructure and possibly a police presence or army presence to back it up. In trying not to inflame tensions at home, the Irish government is alienating the EU. To this point, Dublin has held outsize influence in Brexit negotiations because it had EU backing, but it risks being crushed between the U.K. and the EU if it refuses to control the EUs external borders in a no-deal Brexit. The EU has two overarching objectives that would be put at risk in a disorderly Brexit: protecting the interests of a member state over a non-member state and protecting the single market. If the Irish Republic fails to defend the single market, the EU would be forced to choose between its objectives and it would choose the single market. This would effectively mean that the Irish Republic would be expelled from the EU trade area and forced into a bloc with the United Kingdom. Ironically, escaping this bloc would be all but impossible without reaching a resolution with the U.K. or unilaterally installing border checks it would essentially be Irelands Brexit. For a nation that has historically looked to Europe for allies in resisting English domination, being trapped in such a bloc with the U.K. would be a significant strategic failure. The Poll Irelands last option might just be a border poll. Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, the secretary of state of Northern Ireland is to call a referendum on union when it appears likely that a majority would support a united Ireland. (The agreement allows polls to be held every seven years until it passes.) The imprecision of this language was never a serious concern, because a majority always seemed a generation away. Belfast-based pollster LucidTalk said polls have historically shown support for remaining in the U.K. in the low-to-mid 50s when undecideds are removed. Williamsport, PA, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cliff Rieders believes that big medicine in Pennsylvania gets a free ride. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in 2003, issued a rule that hospitals and doctors can be sued only in the county where the alleged neglect and malpractice occurred. Pennsylvania has 67 counties, some of which are very rural and others of which are quite urban or suburban. As one of the leading advocates in the state for medical malpractice victims, Rieders said that justice is frequently decided in Pennsylvania based upon the locale and not the truth. Every other business in the Commonwealth can be sued not only where neglect or breach of contract occurred, but also where it purposely avails itself of the right to do business, Rieders said. In other words, if a business makes money by operating in a particular county, it is subject to being sued there. That is the law throughout the United States on both the federal and state levels. This is mandated by due process, which says that when somebody chooses a particular state or county in which to do business, they subject themselves to the rule of law in that location. The medical industry attempts to justify handcuffing injured patients by permitting them to sue only where the neglect happened, because the big medical institutions, which are often affiliated with insurance companies, want to be able to do business everywhere while restricting lawsuits to counties where they will be most favorably treated, Rieders said. The medical defense industry accuses injured patients and their lawyers of forum shopping, though Rieders said there is no such thing. People cannot sue wherever they want, but only where the negligence occurred or where the institution is found doing business on a regular basis, he said. One can have a case moved based upon inconvenience, but the burden is on the party wanting to move the case to prove it should be moved. Doctors and hospitals complain that medical malpractice rates were high in 2003. Rieders said that, at that time, the insurance industry was ripping off doctors and hospitals by charging a lot of money. Some of those insurance companies were corrupt and either went bankrupt or their officials were charged with crimes. Now, many doctors and hospitals self-insure, making insurance more affordable. Rieders also said that Pennsylvanias record of physician discipline is terrible. Usually, doctors are disciplined in this Commonwealth only when there is a criminal conviction. Bad doctors continue to practice medicine, he said. Proponents of keeping the existing law as it is claim that doctors will leave the state and hospitals will shutter their doors if existing rules change, a claim that Rieders says is false. Pennsylvania has had a steady growth of both doctors and extenders since records were first kept in 1972, Rieders said. There are between approximately 42,000 and 44,000 doctors and extenders in Pennsylvania, even though there has been a sharp drop in the population. This means that the ratio of doctors to patients has actually improved dramatically for patients. There are more doctors per patient than ever before in the history of this Commonwealth. Doctors and hospitals want to be in Pennsylvania, Rieders said. Literature from the medical industry shows that preventable medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Rieders said that we tolerate more from the medical industry than we do from others. The number of deaths due to medical errors can be compared to two 747s crashing each month with a loss of all lives aboard. Who would tolerate such a thing? asked Rieders. Yet, we tolerate that in the medical industry all the time. Ten percent of the patients who go in hospitals will wind up with hospital-acquired infections. It is extremely difficult to sue for infections because the hospitals and doctors claim that infections are just in the air, and there is nothing they can do about that. Those claims are false, and properly run hospitals can dramatically reduce infections. If the rate of infections were lowered in this country, the cost of healthcare would be dramatically less. The Patient Safety Authority, which is composed mainly of doctors and hospitals, receives over 300,000 reports of incidents and serious events every year. This represents underreporting. Serious events in 2017 demonstrate incidents of 21,999 per month, and serious events are 657 per month. Yet, in a year the number of filed legal cases is approximately 1,400. Rieders said that the reason hospitals do not like to report serious events is that, under the law, serious events must also be reported to the Department of Health and to the patients. They do not want patients to know the truth, Rieders said. Secretive peer review is a problem. Hospitals may, at times, look into why bad things happen in the hospitals but all of that is kept secret under the law. That law must be changed. The cost of insurance for doctors and the claims payout for medical malpractice cases is remarkably low. The payouts for medical malpractice cases in this entire country, according to the medical authorities, is less than one percent of the total national healthcare bill. Simply stated, the real problem is that not enough patients actually recover for preventable medical errors, Rieders said. All hospitals should be subject to a report card. Patients should be able to know infection rates and success rates for procedures in every single hospital in the United States. There should be open peer review. Patients should be able to get their medical records without outrageous costs and bureaucracy. Most importantly, patients should be compensated for preventable medical errors. Clifford A. Rieders is a Pennsylvania personal injury attorney and partner at Rieders, Travis, Humphrey, Waters & Dohrmann. He has authored many books about various areas of legal practice in Pennsylvania. Attachment Bagsvrd, Denmark, 22 February 2019 - The Annual General Meeting of Novo Nordisk A/S will be held on: Thursday 21 March 2019 at 2.00 pm (CET) at Bella Center, Center Boulevard 5, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark. The notice for the Annual General Meeting is attached. BOARD OF DIRECTORS - PROPOSED CHANGES IN COMPOSITION All current board members elected by the Annual General Meeting in 2018 are up for election. The Board of Directors proposes re-election of all current board members elected by the Annual General Meeting: Helge Lund (chairman) Jeppe Christiansen (vice chairman), Brian Daniels, Andreas Fibig, Sylvie Gregoire, Liz Hewitt, Kasim Kutay and Martin Mackay. The Board of Directors proposes election of Laurence Debroux at the Annual General Meeting. Laurence Debroux is Group Chief Financial Officer and member of the Executive Board of Heineken N.V., the Netherlands. The Board of Directors recommends election of Laurence Debroux primarily because of her significant experience with financial and accounting practices, extensive global experience within the pharmaceutical industry and experience from executive positions in major international companies. Further information Media: Katrine Sperling +45 4442 6718 krsp@novonordisk.com Ken Inchausti (US) +1 609 240 9429 kiau@novonordisk.com Investors: Peter Hugreffe Ankersen +45 3075 9085 phak@novonordisk.com Anders Mikkelsen +45 3079 4461 armk@novonordisk.com Valdemar Borum Svarrer +45 3079 0301 jvls@novonordisk.com Ann Sndermlle Rendbk +45 3075 2253 arnd@novonordisk.com Kristoffer Due Berg +1 609 235 2989 krdb@novonordisk.com Company announcement No 12 / 2019 NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Danske Bank A/S (Danske or the Company) (OTC MKTS: DNKEY). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980. The investigation concerns whether Danske and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here to join a class action] On September 5, 2017, Reuters reported that Danske had hired the former head of Denmarks intelligence agency to help it in its effort to counter money-laundering claims. Then, on September 21, 2017, the Company issued a press release revealing that it had expand[ed] its ongoing investigation into the situation at its Estonian branch. Two months later, on December 21, 2017, Reuters reported that Danske had been fined 12.5 million Danish crowns ($2 million) by Denmarks Financial Supervisory Authority (the DFSA) for violating anti-money laundering rules in relation to the monitoring of transactions to and from correspondent banks, and that Danske was examining whether its Lithuanian and Latvian branches had been involved in money laundering, expanding an investigation beyond its Estonian operations. On May 3, 2018, Reuters reported the DFSA issued a report stating it had identified serious weaknesses in Danskes governance and that the Company was exposed to significantly higher compliance and reputational risks than previously assessed. On July 18, 2018, Danske stated that it wished to pay back approximately $230 million earned in connection with its alleged role in an international money laundering scheme involving illicit funds from Russia, Azerbaijan, and Moldova, calculated based on profit from Danskes Estonian office. On this news, Danskes American depositary receipt price fell $1.43, or 9.42%, to close at $13.81 on July 18, 2018. On September 14, 2018, The Wall Street Journal disclosed that a whistleblower had approached the SEC at least two years earlier, and, as a result, U.S. law enforcement agencies had begun investigating the scandal. On October 23, 2018, the full extent of the Companys misconduct was revealed when The Wall Street Journal published an article disclosing that in 2013 the whistleblower had alerted Danskes senior executives and that Danske sought to silence the whistleblower for years. Upon the full revelation of the Companys misconduct and the extent to which it relied upon the illegal profits, the price of the Companys American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) had plummeted approximately 54%, from a high of $20.90 on February 16, 2018, to a low of $9.50 on October 23, 2018. 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. CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP rswilloughby@pomlaw.com 888-476-6529 ext. 9980 Black Hawk Pits: There is around 11 inches of ice near the boat ramp. Bluegill - Fair: Use waxworms fished near the bottom. Brushy Creek Lake: Anglers are fishing mostly near the north boat ramp, in the northeast arm of the lake, and near the southeast boat ramp near the big island. Ice conditions are improving. Bluegill - Fair: Try waxworms fished on a small jig in the northeast arm of the lake. Black Crappie Fair: Use a minnow and spoon in about 20-30 feet of water near submerged structure. Try also waxworms and spikes on a small jig. Yellow Perch - Slow: Anglers are picking up a few yellow perch while fishing for crappie. Storm Lake (including Little Storm Lake): Most areas of the lake have 16-18 inches of ice. Avoid ice along pressure seams and near the big island. There is 6-8 inches of snow on the ice in most areas. Walleye - Fair: Use minnows and jigging spoons in the dredge cuts on the east side of the lake in about 10-14 feet of water. Low light conditions are best. White Bass - Fair: Anglers are picking up some white bass in the east end of the lake and deeper dredged areas while fishing for walleye. Let me see if I understand this correctly. The left calls it amoral or "immoral" for us to build a wall on our southern border designed to protect our country from illegal immigrants. Yet recently a bill was passed into law in New York that legalizes abortion up to and including when a woman is in labor. Other Democrat-run States including Delaware, Massachusetts, and New Mexico are proposing the same, and, worse yet, Virginia is taking it a step further, as their Democrat governor wants to legalize infanticide, allowing the murder of an infant after he or she has been born. None of the leaders on the left have condemned these bills. Obviously, this is not considered amoral or immoral. What is going on with the Democrat party? When will the moderates retake their party? Pat Ropella, Mason City Love 1 Funny 7 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 6 WATERLOO A sex offender who allegedly shirked his registration responsibilities has been arrested for allegedly forcing oral sex with an 82-year-old woman. Waterloo police arrested Manuel Montrell Causey, 30, of Waterloo, on Wednesday for first-degree burglary and second-degree sexual abuse. He was also arrested for outstanding warrants for sex offender registry violations. Court records indicate authorities had been looking for Causey, who has a prior sexual assault conviction from Illinois, since October when he allegedly failed to show up for a court date for firearm charge. On Feb. 11, police sought sex offender registry violation warrants because Causey had allegedly moved without giving notice and neglected to show up for quarterly appointments. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Then on Wednesday, Causey showed up at the elderly womans house and asked to shovel snow. He allegedly forced his way inside, took her to the bedroom and demanded either oral or anal sex, telling her that he was known to get violent, according to court records. After the sex, he took the womans jewelry and left, records state. The woman called police, and officers used a tracking K9 before they found Causey in a nearby basement with a ring and earrings, records state. Causey told investigators the sex was consensual and the jewelry was a gift. This is about controlling women, not any ideal about saving babies, said Sheila Knoploh-Odole of Des Moines. This is just another bullshit rally to keep women on the defensive. Like the speakers at the Prayer for Life Rally, Knoploh-Odole invoked God. I think God gave us the intelligence and the skills to be able to perform abortions safely so we can control our population before climate change causes crop failure, famine, civil unrest and war, she said. If we dont start addressing that stuff now, abortions wont matter, Knoploh-Odole said. That means more women and children are going to die. Although there have been highs and lows in the battle to end abortion, Rep. Sandy Salmon, R-Janesville, called the court decision a temporary setback because 11 other states are considering heartbeat laws. If one of those doesnt knock out Roe, another one will, she said, referring to the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Were going to keep on coming, Salmon said. Were going to keep on pushing and were not going to give up because God has told us its time. We have to protect lives. On the day the race was joined by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the self-described Democratic socialist who turbocharged the 2016 Democratic primary before losing to Hillary Clinton, Delaney doubled down on his pragmatic pitch. "Increasingly, I do think the race is being framed between people who actually have real solutions and a track record of actually building coalitions to get things done and people who are proposing things that are either unrealistic or really do ring of socialism in our country. And I dont think thats what the voters are looking for," Delaney said. Delaney has been campaigning across Iowa since 2017. He has already visited all 99 counties and has been advertising on television. And a new round of Delaney ads is going up this week, according to a website that tracks campaign ad spending. "I want to do big things. A lot of the goals Im working toward are similar to what the other candidates are," Delaney said. "But I actually have real plans for how to make them happen and build the kinds of coalitions you need to build." Hogg also expressed concern that the proposal places too much burden on county attorneys and said he wanted to learn more about the potential for errors in the electronic verification system. Under the bill, all employers must use the federal e-verify system to confirm any hire is living in the U.S. legally. According to a 2013 report from the Bipartisan Policy Center, a national think tank, one report suggested e-verifys error rate was just 4.1 percent --- 3.3 percent of which were unauthorized workers incorrectly authorized and .7 percent of which were authorized workers who were wrongly rejected. But the report also found that e-verify caught only just more than half of the workers it should have rejected, an issue that the report attributed to document fraud. Dave Stitz, the owner of a Des Moines construction company, said he has used e-verify for a dozen years. He is required to use e-verify when working on federal government contracts, but Stitz said he uses it for all hires regardless of the job. He said the system is easy to use and typically reliable. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its outlook for the coming year on Friday morning, showing a drastic swing for U.S. farmers away from planting soybeans towards corn. Many Midwestern farmers make an annual decision between the two crops, gauging weather, soil conditions, and profitability to help determine their mix of acreage. This year, farmers may plant 4 million fewer acres of soybeans, while adding nearly 3 million acres of corn. The primary reason for the switch has been the ongoing trade dispute with China, which caused that nation to nearly cease buying U.S. soybeans during the last year, compared to normal years where China buys one third of U.S. beans. Even if this years corn crop is bigger, the USDA is projecting that corn demand will rise faster. In its newest estimates, the USDA expects stockpiles of corn, wheat, and soybeans all to be smaller next year, which could help prices to rebound. As of midday Friday, March corn was worth $3.76 per bushel, while soybeans and Kansas City wheat traded for $9.13 and $4.60, respectively. Meat diverges Cattle prices continued higher this week, reaching a one-year high, even as hogs dropped to a six-month low. At the outset of BlacKkKlansman, we read a zany variation of a standard Hollywood introduction: Dis Joint Is Based Upon Some Fo Real, Fo Real (Excrement). Translation: This movie is based on fact. And yet A crucial scene shows a Ku Klux Klan sympathizer who never existed carrying a bomb that never existed to blow up a Colorado College activist who never existed. During this flurry of activity, two white Colorado Springs police officers manhandle an African-American who happens to be a detective. This manhandling you guessed it never happened. The movie is set in Colorado Springs, but the scene was filmed in leafy Ossining, N.Y. Seems dis joint, up for Best Picture in Sundays Oscars, is loosely based on fact. Im a literalist who sits in movie theaters two or three times a month. I enjoyed BlacKkKlansman but want my fiction to be fiction and my fact to be fact. No blending allowed. But hard truth is not Hollywoods thing. Argo, First Man and Bohemian Rhapsody, among many others, strayed too. This week, I shared my cinematic concerns with Ron Stallworth. This was the right idea. Hes an expert on the true BlacKkKlansman story. BlacKkKlansman is based theres that word again on Stallworths 1979 adventures as Colorado Springs first African-American detective. Stallworth became a member of the KKK he owns the card to prove it and infiltrated this evil band of white supremacists. Its Hollywood, Stallworth politely responded after hearing my concerns. Get over it. Imagine a director making a movie of your life. Imagine sitting in a theater and watching a performer imitate you. Yes, I know. Hard to imagine. Stallworth lived this rare experience. I had no problems, he said by phone. I knew they would take liberties. Hollywood always does. Keep in mind. It said it was based on a true story. It doesnt say the story is actually 100 percent accurate. Stallworth could not, after signing away rights, demand changes in the script, but he requested the movie not to make the police look like buffoons. Stallworth didnt want to watch police with their sirens going as their cruiser speeds 10 miles away from a crime scene with no traffic in sight. Director/co-screenwriter Spike Lee, Stallworth said, avoided those scenes. The collaboration thrived. In an early version of the script, Stallworth read a scene that depicted him in bed with his fictional love interest. I can tell you, they had a very mild love scene in the original script, he said. I couldnt get over the fact that this is me, and it was kind of yucky for me to be portrayed like that in front of a national audience. He asked that the love scene be removed. So in a revised but not final version of the script, Stallworth was given a dog instead of a girlfriend to ease the burden of doing battle with the KKK. Even I knew that a dog wasnt going to work, Stallworth said, laughing. I told them to put the romantic interest back in there. Thats what they did, and you saw how it came out. In the final version, Stallworth embarks on a romance with a CC student. They never are shown in bed together. I talked with Stallworth about the bomb scene, the one that never happened in Colorado Springs reality. Stallworth comfortably watched the scene that made me uncomfortable. The scene is true in spirit, he said, even if its not true in fact. In terms of the bombing at the end, the local Klan people had been talking to me on the phone about wanting to bomb two gay bars, Stallworth said. The scene may seem gratuitous, but its based on conversations that I had with them about actually carrying out a bombing in Colorado Springs. He refers to the police manhandling his character as a thumping. It definitely didnt happen to me, he said. But, again, he asks viewers, including me, to consider a higher truth. That scene is very much a play on all the incidents going on today with rogue officers violating the rights of African-American citizens, Stallworth said. It was a way to connect current events with the racial obscenities of the past. In terms of what the Klan used to do and rogue cops used to do with black people way back in the day. Yeah, that scene has a purpose to it. It has a meaning to it. I have no problems with those things. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Showers early, then cloudy overnight. Low 51F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Showers early, then cloudy overnight. Low 51F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. A line of constituents at private voting booths on Election Day at Library 21c cast their votes for statewide, countywide, district and other offices, as well as various amendments and propositions. Photo by Dougal Brownlie Hikers take in Hanging Lake after making a steep 1.2-mile trek in August 2016 in Glenwood Canyon, east of Glenwood Springs . After years of being loved to death, Hanging Lake will limit visitors, require reservations and charge a fee starting May 1, the U.S. Forest Service said Friday in a news release. Residents living downstream of Peterson Air Force Base were among eight communities selected for a national study examining the levels of toxic chemicals in their blood from contaminants in millions of Americans drinking water. Security, Widefield and Fountain residents were chosen to participate in the long-awaited, $10 million study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the agencies announced Thursday. Liz Rosenbaum, who leads the Fountain Valley Clean Water Coalition, said she was very happy and ecstatic that southern El Paso County was included. The hope is that they are willing to work with the community and to let them know the community is here to support them, Rosenbaum said. And we are looking forward to some answers. The study will examine exposure levels of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances otherwise known as PFAS and it will serve as a foundation for future studies evaluating the impact of PFAS exposure on human health, the agencies news release said. It aims to include about 400 people from southern El Paso County all of whom will receive copies of their blood tests once completed. Study organizers also plan to host a community meeting to present the overall results. The assessments are expected to start this year and continue into 2020, the agencies said. A process for enrolling participants is still being finalized. The move marks the second such study in southern El Paso County, where the chemicals have contaminated the Widefield aquifer. The man-made chemicals, also called perfluorinated compounds, were used for decades in a firefighting foam at Peterson Air Force Base, as well as in a host of nonstick household cooking items. In December, the Colorado School of Public Health and Colorado School of Mines released the findings of a study that showed participants had extremely high levels of the toxic chemicals in their bodies compared with other Americans. The $275,000 study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that one type of chemical, known as PFOS, appeared about twice as high among the 220 study participants in Security, Widefield and Fountain as the general U.S. population. Another chemical, known as PFOA, was found at levels 40 percent to 70 percent higher than other Americans. Both chemicals were included in a lifetime health advisory issued by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2016, which sparked the crisis and led water districts to spend millions of dollars treating water in the area. They are the only two types of PFAS chemicals the EPA is considering regulating a process that could take several years to finalize. The chemicals have been linked to several health ailments, including cancer, liver disease and high cholesterol. Still, a third type of chemical not included in the health advisory, known as PFHxS, appeared about 10 times higher among the studys participants than the general U.S. population, the study found. Thats important, researchers said, because the chemical is often strongly associated with a toxic firefighting foam used for decades at Peterson Air Force Base and hundreds of other military installations around the world. Its also harder to remove from drinking water and stays in the body longer than its larger molecular cousins. A recent report by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry suggested its health impacts include liver damage and a decreased ability to respond to vaccines. At least a dozen varieties of PFAS compounds including those three will be included in the study, the agency said. Still, concerns emerged shortly after Thursdays announcement that the new study would not break new ground. The latest study appearing to have a similar focus as the earlier study chemical blood levels, not those chemicals health effects is dispiriting, said Susan Gordon, who lived in Security for years as manager of the Venetucci Farm. Theres a pretty significant body of research out there that tells us pretty clearly that this stuff has some pretty damaging effects to our health, Gordon said. Its a positive thing, but again, I think what we need is more action that would protect people going forward. Its going to just tell us more of what we already know. Still, Rosenbaum expressed hope the latest study would expand the areas understanding of the contamination, by testing far more people, as well as groups left out of the earlier study, such as children. Drinking water supplied by districts in Security, Widefield and Fountain no longer include six of the most well-known types of chemicals at detectable levels, district managers say. The public concern that followed the health advisories led the water districts to shut off wells connected to the aquifer and build water treatment systems, or pipe in water from elsewhere, at a cost of millions of dollars. The Air Force also pitched in millions of dollars to help provide clean water, though the military has said it cannot reimburse the districts for the full amount that they spent. The newly announced federal study builds off two pilot assessments conducted in Bucks and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania, as well as Westhampton, N.Y., the agencies said. More communities might be selected to participate. The project also includes a study around Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire, which will examine the relationship between exposure to the chemicals and health effects experienced by residents there. Other locations picked for the study include communities surrounding Eielson and Fairchild Air Force bases; Shepherd Field, Barnes, Stewart and New Castle Air National Guard bases; and Reese Technology Center in Texas. Monuments mayor and a Mesa County commissioner have fired a shot across the bow of a bill that could change the way Colorado casts its electoral votes for president. Mayor Don Wilson and Commissioner Rose Pugliese on Thursday said they want voters to prevent the measure from taking effect in a statewide ballot referendum in 2020. Colorados House of Representatives approved the bill on a third and final vote Thursday, passing it to Gov. Jared Polis, who has said he will sign the measure. The Senate approved the bill last month. Wilson and Pugliese said they intend to petition the question onto the 2020 ballot. If they gather enough signatures and the law has been enacted, the measure would be suspended and its implementation would hinge on a vote in the statewide election. The bill would join Colorado with 11 other states and the District of Columbia in a pact that pledges each states electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote. As written, the pact wouldnt go into effect until enough states join to tally the 270 electoral votes needed for a candidate to win the presidency. Even proponents of the measure have said its unlikely that would happen before the 2020 election. When the national popular vote bill was introduced, people were literally stopping me on the street, asking how they can get involved, Pugliese told The Gazette. They dont want California and New York to be deciding where our Electoral College votes go. Her comments echoed those of many other opponents. If the bill is enacted, its possible for all of Colorados nine votes in the Electoral College to be given to a candidate for whom the majority of Coloradan voters did not support. But proponents say thats all part of the national popular vote. Even if that were the case, each vote cast in Colorado would still be counted equally among the rest of the countrys votes. The more she traveled around the state, the more Pugliese said she encountered people who felt the same way. So she connected with Wilson who could not be reached for comment Thursday and filed the referendum. Suspending the bills implementation isnt as important as putting the issue up to a vote of the people, Pugliese said. She acknowledged that the measure likely wouldnt come into effect in time for the 2020 election. Rep. Emily Sirota, D-Denver, one of the bills co-sponsors, also acknowledged that the suspension would have little effect, if any. But she does oppose the referendum, she said. Sen. Mike Foote, D-Lafayette, who proposed the bill, said he hadnt yet heard of the filing and, therefore, declined comment. The bills third co-sponsor, Rep. Jeni Arndt, D-Fort Collins, wasnt immediately available for comment. Alongside the bills sponsors, the measure has received strong support from the Democratic caucus although six Democratic representatives voted against it Thursday and pushback from Republicans. But Sirota, Foote and Arndt have maintained that in the other states where the measure was passed, about a third of the supporting legislators were Republicans. Its not meant to be a partisan issue, they say, though many in the GOP do see the measure as a direct attack on President Donald Trumps 2016 election, in which he did not win the national popular vote. To that end, Rep. Lori Saine, R-Dacono, on Wednesday night proposed an amendment that would have renamed the measure the WE REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HATE DONALD TRUMP ACT OF 2019. That amendment was soundly defeated. Additional amendments have been proposed throughout the legislative process that would have also referred the measure to a vote of Coloradans, but Democrats shot down those measures. Pugliese, however, said its not about political parties. Coloradans need to understand whats being proposed, and only then will the majority of them oppose the change, she said. I dont see it as a partisan issue, its a people of Colorado issue, Pugliese said. Its just an issue that needs to be brought forward for the people to decide. First the bill must be signed into law by Polis; then the Secretary of States Office must certify the petition language, Pugliese said. Then, Pugliese and Wilson must collect nearly 125,000 signatures to earn a spot on the 2020 ballot. Those signatures would be due to the Secretary of States Office within 90 days of the General Assemblys adjournment, said office representative Serena Woods. Secretary of State Jena Griswold has spoken in favor of the bill. Regarding the referendum, she would follow and execute the law as required, Woods said. Although the number of signatures is substantial, Pugliese said shes not nervous about the task. The outpouring of support Ive received in just a couple of hours makes me very confident that well get the number of signatures needed to put this on the ballot, she said. And then the informational campaign begins to convince Coloradans to shoot the issue down, Pugliese said. The campaign might not be so difficult, said Robert Hardaway, a law professor at the University of Denver who has written several books on the Electoral College and opposes the measure. Id like to see it happen, Hardaway said of the referendum. It would bring the whole issue to a wide array of voters. Whether theyre Democrats or Republicans, they should be appalled by this bill. In addition, the referendum itself would send a message, Hardaway said. While Colorado is one of seven states expected to pass the pact this year, additional states might not be so easy to jump on board. It could raise a red flag for the (national popular vote) lobbyists and the millionaires that are pushing this that, Hey, you can sneak in the back door of the Legislature and get this thing passed on a party-line vote, but once it becomes apparent to the people of an entire state whats going on, theres going to be some resistance, Hardaway said. Its unclear when Polis might sign the bill into law, but it wont be this week because he is in Washington, D.C., said his press secretary, Laurie Cipriano. Editor's note: This story has been updated to show the correct representative who proposed an amendment to the bill. With Democrats in the majority in the state House and Senate, supporters of a red flag bill believe Colorado will join more than a dozen states this year in allowing the seizure of guns from people deemed to pose a threat to themselves or others. The Extreme Risk Protection Orders this years red flag bills official title had its first hearing Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee, which was still hearing testimony at press time. The bill is expected to pass the Democratic-controlled committee, although it was likely to be amended to address some concerns raised by opponents, according to the sponsors, House Majority Leader Alec Garnett of Denver and Democratic Rep. Tom Sullivan of Centennial. The bill eventually would be renamed for Douglas County Deputy Zack Parrish, III, who was killed in an ambush on New Years Eve 2017 by a veteran known to suffer from PTSD. Thursday would have been Parrishs 31st birthday. Under House Bill 1177, a family member, household member or law enforcement, can petition the court for a temporary extreme risk protection order if they can show that a person poses a significant risk to themselves or others by having a firearm. A second hearing would be held within 14 days at which time law enforcement officials or the family would be required to show by clear and convincing evidence that the person is still a danger. The weapons could be held for up to 364 days while that person seeks treatment. Once the temporary order is issued, the person must surrender all weapons to law enforcement or a federally licensed firearms dealer. To get those weapons back, the person must prove they are no longer a danger, using a beyond a reasonable doubt standard. In a letter sent to the committee urging it to pass the bill, Colorado Attorney General, Phil Weiser, a Democrat, said it would save lives. According to one study that evaluated ERPOs in other states, researchers estimated that one life was saved for every 10 to 20 ERPOs issued by the court, Weiser wrote. For this reason above all others, I strongly support HB19-1177. While Weiser said the bill is constitutional and does not violate the Second Amendment, opponents argued the opposite. Opponents say the legislation infringes on Second Amendment rights and could deter people from seeking care for mental health issues. Republican lawmakers raised concerns that people would file frivolous petitions, although several district attorneys pointed out that would be perjury for which they could be prosecuted. Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock, whose department included Parrish, told the committee the bill makes it easier for police agencies to intervene to help those in crisis. Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said the measure will make communities and officers safer. Pelles son is also a deputy in Douglas County and was shot in the same incident as Parrish. He has since recovered. Witnesses who own guns also testified in favor of the bill. Mary Parker, who works with abused children, told the committee that while she appreciates efforts by Republicans to protect her gun rights, some of the bills opponents value their guns more than they value life. There were plenty on hand to testify against the red flag bill in the hearing that stretched well into Thursday night. They included Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams, who said lawmakers should focus on mental health care instead of trying to overreach by seizing guns. Reams said he spoke on behalf of the sheriffs in El Paso, Larimer, Mesa and Teller counties. Witnesses on both sides of the argument, however, pointed out that the bill does not address the underlying issue of Colorados lack of access to mental health treatment. One witness, whose son has attempted suicide several times, including with a gun, pointed out that the states two mental hospitals reserve their few available beds for people who are there under criminal charges. This bill will help keep our loved ones alive, waiting for the day when you figure out how to address the lack of mental health treatment, she said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Deputies are looking for a man who allegedly assaulted a dancer at an El Paso County strip club, then fired several shots at employees early Friday. Matthew Anthony Fanelli, 30, shot at the manager and two bouncers at Deja vu Showgirls after he was asked to leave just after midnight, the Sheriffs Office said in a news release. No one was injured, though bullets hit the front of the building at 2145 B St. He fled in a gold Lexus sedan with New Mexico plates AHRJ63. Fanelli is believed to be driving to New York or hiding in a Colorado Springs hotel, the Sheriffs Office said. He is suspected of three counts of attempted first-degree murder and illegal discharge of a firearm and also has a warrant in New Mexico. The dancer who was allegedly assaulted, Cynthia Sena, 19, ran out of the club naked and left in a silver Nissan with New Mexico plates. Deputies also are hoping to locate her. Deputies also are searching for Michael Andrew Fanelli, 20, described by the Sheriffs Office as a suspected accomplice in the incident. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Matthew Fanelli, Michael Fanelli or Cynthia Sena or other information regarding this case is advised to not approach them and to call the Sheriffs Office at 390-5555. Twitter: @lizmforster Phone: 636-0193 The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado has dropped a lawsuit against Teller Countys sheriff, narrowing its legal battle over how undocumented immigrants are jailed in the Pikes Peak region in hopes of establishing a statewide precedent. Three weeks after the Feb. 1 dismissal of its case against Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell, the civil liberties group said it will concentrate on broadening a victory it won in December against El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder. In December, El Paso County District Judge Eric Bentley sided with the ACLU in ruling that Colorado sheriffs have no authority under state law to jail undocumented immigrants solely at the request of federal immigration authorities. Bentleys decision could apply statewide if it survives an appeal by El Paso County. I think Judge Bentleys ruling is correct. Its persuasive. And I expect that the Court of Appeals will affirm that ruling, said ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Mark Silverstein, who characterized the dismissal of the Teller County lawsuit as a tactical retreat from a case with clear hurdles and checkered prospects for success. The moves come as immigration enforcement continues to inflame passions in the U.S., exemplified by a record-breaking, 35-day partial government shutdown over President Donald Trumps demand for $5.7 billion to fund a border wall. After Trump reopened the government, but still didnt obtain full funding for the wall from Congress, the president declared a national emergency that would enable him to use military funding for the wall. Several states and advocacy groups have filed lawsuits claiming the declaration is unconstitutional. The ACLU lawsuits in El Paso and Teller counties questioned local sheriffs authority to honor so-called detention requests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Those documents essentially ask sheriffs to hold suspected undocumented immigrants for up to 48 hours beyond when they are otherwise eligible for release, giving ICE agents a chance to arrest them while they are still in custody. However, the detainers lack a judges signature, making them insufficient under state law to hold people in jail, Bentley ruled. The issue of whether detainers pass legal muster received different appraisal from Teller County District Judge Lin Billings Vela, who denied the ACLUs request for a preliminary injunction in a decision that suggested she was poised to decide in Teller Countys favor. After her ruling, the ACLU had hoped to change the judges mind, but you could never know, Silverstein said of the decision to abandon the lawsuit. In another potential obstacle, the ACLUs plaintiff in the Teller County case, Leonardo Canseco Salinas, was released from custody last year, potentially leading the judge to conclude that the groups challenge is moot. By contrast, the ACLU won class-action status in El Paso County by demonstrating that the issue of ICE detainers was likely to affect many others besides the two people who filed the initial complaint. Both have since been released from the El Paso County jail. At any given time, there were maybe five dozen people at the (El Paso County) jail because of a detainer, Silverstein said. Numbers in Teller County were negligible, leaving the ACLU short of meeting the bar to qualify for class action, Silverstein added. Despite the sheriffs intimation that the county is crawling with so-called illegals, endangering the public, I think there are only five or six people that were the subject of ICE detainers in a year or so, Silverstein said. Teller County sheriffs Cmdr. Greg Couch provided a recording of a news conference this week at which Mikesell touted a new arrangement to assist ICE under a federal cooperation agreement known as a 287(g) program. The federal program would allow three Teller County deputies to determine inmates immigration status using ICE resources, potentially easing the path to holding them for ICE under the agencys detainers. Mikesells move further complicated the Teller County lawsuit because the program was not in place at the time of Cansecos arrest, allowing Teller County to argue that the legal landscape has since changed. While Bentleys ruling bars the El Paso County sheriff from honoring ICE detention requests, it does not apply to Mikesell, who continues to honor the ICE detainers. If the Court of Appeals affirms Bentleys ruling, however, his ruling could bar sheriffs in the state from honoring ICE detainers. Even if the courts decision is appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court, it is likely to be treated as law until the states high court weighs in. An Indian citizen on death row in Pakistan for alleged spying committed "terrorist" acts on New Delhi's orders, lawyers representing Islamabad told the UN's top court on the second day of a hearing over the fate of the man. Pakistani Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan told judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on February 19 that former naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav ran a network "to carry out despicable terrorism and suicide bombing, targeted killing, kidnapping for ransom, and targeted operations to create unrest and instability in the country." Another lawyer representing Pakistan, Khawar Qureshi, urged the court in The Hague to dismiss India's case to save Jadhav from execution, accusing New Delhi of "political theater." On the first day of the hearing on February 18, Deepak Mittal, joint secretary at India's External Affairs Ministry, told the ICJ that the proceedings against Jadhav were based on a "farcical case" and "malicious propaganda." A lawyer representing India, Harish Salve, said that Jadhav's trial "hopelessly failed to satisfy even the minimum standards of due process." Pakistani authorities say Jadhav, now 48, was arrested in March 2016 in the southwestern province of Balochistan, which has been plagued by sectarian violence, Islamist militant attacks, and a separatist insurgency that has led to thousands of casualties since 2004. A military court in Pakistan sentenced the man to death in April 2017 on charges of espionage. In May 2017, New Delhi won an injunction from the ICJ to stay Jadhav's execution. The ICJ hearing comes amid growing tensions between India and Pakistan after dozens of Indian paramilitary troops and army soldiers were recently killed in the disputed Kashmir region. The UN court's decision is expected to come months after this week's hearings. Pakistan says it will put the man on trial on terrorism charges if the court orders his convictions overturned. With reporting by AFP and AP When I was growing up, my dad would tell me about his childhood and time spent in the military. Glenn Real served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Im not sure why he served in two different branches of the military, but one story I remember took place when he was getting ready to enlist during World War II. Dad said he was in a line where young men were being asked which military branch they wanted to enter. My dad said because he liked to swim, he opted for the navy. The man behind him in line picked the army. Dad said he ended up on the island of Tinian after the U.S. Marines had taken it from the enemy. He supervised a group of men who built Quonset-type housing for pilots. What happened to the man who was behind my dad in the line? Dad said that man ended up on the beaches of Normandy, France and died. My dad didnt tell me too many stories about his time in the military, but he knew how it worked. He knew how to take and give orders. He understood the chain of command. Snow along the Nebraska and South Dakota border will move south toward Interstate 80 by Sunday morning. Snow will continue across the area into Sunday night and early Monday morning. Area residents will get a chance to learn a little bit about famous Nebraska outlaws from the Old West during an event at Keene Memorial Library on March 4. The library, in partnership with Humanities Nebraska, is hosting Sisters from the Outlaw Trail: History through Poetry and Music from 7-8 p.m that night. The program features sisters Marci Broyhill and Teresa Kay Orr who will provide an interesting look at experiences they had growing up along the Outlaw Trail Scenic Byway along Highway 12 through poetry and music. We grew up on the Cedar-Dixon county line very near to the Outlaw Trail, Broyhill said. Along with harkening back to their experience growing up in northeast Nebraska, Broyhill and Orrs performance at Keene will focus on Nebraska history in particular some of the most infamous outlaws who inhabited the state in the late 1800s. Many people dont know that we in Nebraska have a couple of infamous outlaws throughout our history, and our presentation will focus on a couple including Doc Middleton and Kid Wade, Broyhill said. The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) will hold a public information open house regarding proposed improvements of U.S. Highway 75 (US-75) in Washington County. The meeting will be held from 5-7 p.m. March 7 at the Jackson-Peck Post 274 American Legion Hall, 705 Main St., in Herman. The proposed project would resurface approximately 9.84 miles of US-75, starting about 0.31 miles south of the northern corporate limits of Blair, at mile marker (MM) 116.35, and extending north to MM 126.19, about 0.29 miles north of the northern corporate limits of Herman. The planned construction would consist of pavement widening in Blair, concrete repairs, asphalt patching, milling and resurfacing the roadway and shoulders with asphalt, replacement of culverts, and ADA improvements. The proposed project would also include replacement of two bridges and repair of one bridge. Construction could begin as early as fall of 2020 and be completed by winter of 2021. The proposed project would be constructed under traffic with lane closures controlled with approved temporary traffic control. Bridge construction and repair will require temporary street closures and local traffic access may be affected. Additional project information will be provided at the public meeting. Personnel from NDOT will be present to answer questions and receive comments. Information regarding the proposed project will be made available on the NDOT website at: www.dot.nebraska.gov/projects/future-projects/ by clicking on the Blair-Herman link. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Hanoi: Kim Jong Ale? Rock It, Man? Or how about a glass of Peace Negroniations? Bars in Vietnam's capital are cashing in on the second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next week with special concoctions to mark the high-stakes diplomacy. "This beer was inspired by the pure streams of Mount Paektu between North Korea and China," Nguyen Thi Huong Anh, manager of Hanoi's Standing Bar, said of the 'Kim Jong Ale,' brewed especially for the summit. A sign in a bar promotes a cocktail named "Peace Negroniations" to commemorate the US-DPRK summit at Tannin Wine Bar in Hanoi, Vietnam February 20, 2019. REUTERS/Kham The mountain is the highest on the Korean peninsula at about 2,750 metres and the official birthplace of the late North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il. "It's a volcano so the beer has a hot and spicy flavour with a soft and fresh aftertaste," Anh said. A bartender makes a cocktail named "Peace Negroniations" to commemorate the US-DPRK summit at Tannin Wine Bar in Hanoi, Vietnam February 20, 2019. REUTERS/Kham Trump and Kim will meet on February 27-28, following up on their historic first summit in Singapore in June, when they pledged to work towards the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. Enterprising businesses hope to cash in on the occasion. One Hanoi barber is offering free haircuts to anyone wanting to copy Trump and Kim's distinctive locks. But as in Singapore, where bars mixed up all kinds of concoctions to mark the event, it's Hanoi's bars and pubs where folks are getting creative this time too. A bartender makes a cocktail to commemorate a US-DPRK summit in Hanoi, Vietnam February 20, 2019. REUTERS/Mai Nguyen Perhaps not surprisingly, Korea's favourite soju spirit has emerged as the ingredient of choice in Hanoi. The Tannin Wine Bar In Hanoi's old quarter is offering the 'Peace Negroniations,' a summit-inspired take on the classic Negroni cocktail, made with pink-grapefruit flavoured soju, vermouth, and a drop of Angostura bitters, manager Antoine Ursat says. "I hope all the delegations come here and have a cocktail," Ursat said. "It'll facilitate the negotiations after one or two drinks it's more easy to talk." The bitters reminded him of Trump, he said. The nearby Unicorn Pub is offering a special summit drink named 'Rock It, Man,' which includes soju, bourbon and Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, along with pineapple juice, vanilla, and grenadine. "The Fireball is as strong as Trump. It's sweet but it's also very fiery," said the pub's co-owner, Trinh Xuan Dieu. "When you drink it, it tastes really hot at first but it ends with sweetness." And the name of the concoction? Before they broke the ice at their Singapore summit, Trump mocked Kim and his efforts to build nuclear missiles by calling him "Rocket Man." This week, several major advertisers suspended their YouTube campaigns after a report that pedophiles have latched onto videos of young children. YouTube has faced many similar problems over the years, and it's caught in a game of whack-a-mole to fix them. At some point, YouTube will face a scandal that actually alienates users, as happened with Facebook in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. This week, several major advertisers suspended their YouTube campaigns after a report that pedophiles have latched onto videos of young children, marking time stamps that show where children appear and objectifying them in YouTube's comments section. YouTube responded in its usual way, by criticizing the actions as "abhorrent" and sending a memo to advertisers outlining changes it's making to prevent this kind of activity in the future. The thing is, YouTube which is owned by Google GOOGL and is estimated to generate more than $10 billion a year in ad revenue has had this class of problem for years, and whatever it's doing, it's not enough. About five years ago, my wife and I were startled to find our three-year-old son watching a seemingly innocent "Thomas the Tank Engine" video that was dubbed over with disgusting language. Whoops! (Fortunately, my son wasn't scarred, and has since learned to swear with great creativity and vigor by listening to me work around the house.) We got away easy. In 2017, advertisers pulled their ads after seeing them appear next to videos promoting terrorist content. An exec said at the time, "We've got a comprehensive review under way we have for some time looking at how can we improve here and we are accelerating that review." Last month, BuzzFeed reported YouTube was hosting images of graphic bestiality alongside kids' videos. The company had already pledged to do a better job of catching and removing these videos back in April 2018 . This time it reiterated that: "We're working quickly to do more than ever to tackle abuse on our platform, and that includes developing better tools for detecting inappropriate and misleading metadata and thumbnails so we can take fast action against them." Story continues This week, after the pedophile comments scandal, BuzzFeed reported that the company had remove two cartoons from the YouTube Kids app that were spliced in with a man explaining how to conduct self-harm. In response, YouTube said it "work[s] hard to ensure YouTube is not used to encourage dangerous behavior and we have strict policies that prohibit videos which promote self-harm." You get the idea. To be fair, YouTube has taken concrete steps to fix some problems. A couple of years ago, major news events were targets for scammers to post misleading videos about them, like videos claiming shootings such as the one in Parkland, Florida, were staged by crisis actors. In January, the company said it would stop recommending such videos , effectively burying them. It also favors "authoritative" sources in search results around major news events, like mainstream media organizations. And YouTube is not alone in struggling to fight inappropriate content that users upload to its platform. Pinterest took steps last year to block misinformation about vaccines, but it was fairly easy for CNBC to find some search terms that the company had missed. Facebook FB and Twitter TWTR have been raked over the coals repeatedly for allowing their platforms to be used to spread everything from suicide videos to misinformation meant to sway elections or spur genocidal behavior . The problem isn't really about YouTube, Facebook or any single company. The problem is the entire business model around user-generated content, and the whack-a-mole game of trying to stay one step ahead of people who abuse it. Companies like Google and Facebook upended the traditional media business by giving regular people a friction-free way to upload and share whatever they wanted. As users uploaded masses of words and links and hours of video, these platform companies amassed huge audiences, then sold ads against them. When people can share whatever they want, these platforms turn into a mirror image of the human psyche including the ugly parts. These companies have human screeners who try to keep on top of the grossest material and take it down before it spreads too far. But it's not practical and may be physically impossible to hire enough screeners to catch every violation, or to screen every piece of content before it's posted instead of after. They are investing in computer algorithms and artificial intelligence as well, and these programs do work there's almost no porn or nudity on YouTube or Facebook, for instance but they're not 100 percent effective, especially for altered videos or political content. TV, newspapers and other traditional media can get sued and fined by the government if they publish this material. But tech platforms that rely on user-generated content are protected by the 1996 Communications Decency Act , which says platform providers cannot be held liable for material users post on them. It made sense at the time the internet was young, and forcing start-ups to monitor their comments sections (remember comments sections?) would have exploded their expenses and stopped growth before it started. Even now, when some of these companies are worth hundreds of billions of dollars, holding them liable for user-generated content would blow up these companies' business models. They'd disappear, reduce services or have to charge fees for them. Voters might not be happy if Facebook went out of business or they suddenly had to start paying $20 a month to use YouTube. Similarly, advertiser boycotts tend to be short-lived advertisers go where they get the best return on their investment, and as long as billions of people keep watching YouTube videos, they'll keep advertising on the platform. So the only way things will change is if users get turned off so badly that they tune out. We started to see some hints of this with Facebook after the Cambridge Analytica scandal last year. While Facebook had been caught violating users' privacy dozens of times, the mere hint that a political consultancy might have used Facebook data to help elect Trump (although this is far from proven) set people off. Congress conducted hearings. Further privacy scandals got attention they never used to. People noisily deleted their accounts. Growth has largely stalled in the U.S., and younger users are abandoning the platform , although this might be more because of changing fashions and faddishness than any reaction to the scandals facing it. (Anyway, kids are still flocking to Facebook-owned Instagram.) YouTube has so far skated free of any similar scandals. But people are paying closer attention than ever before, and it's only a matter of time before the big scandal that actually starts driving users away. In the meantime, if you post videos of your kids to YouTube, set them to private . WATCH: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter remove accounts linked to Russia, Iran that created discord More From CNBC (Photo courtesy of NewSouth Books) A few years ago, a lawyer representing a black plaintiff in a discrimination case asked U.S. District Judge William Alsup to recuse himself. Alsup's roots growing up white in Jim Crow Mississippi, the attorney reasoned, made him incapable of giving his client a fair shake. After some reflection, Alsup denied the lawyer's motion. In a brief ruling, Alsup wrote that his youth in Mississippi opened, rather than closed his eyes to the cruelty of racism. In "Won Over: Reflections of a Federal Judge on His Journey from Jim Crow Mississippi," a newly published memoirfrom NewSouth Books, Alsup expands on just how his eyes were opened and how his views evolved during the course of the civil rights movement. Alsup recently sat down with Ross Todd, San Francisco bureau chief of The Recorder and Law.com, to discuss the book and his reasons for writing it. The following is an abridged transcript of the conversation, which will air on an upcoming episode of the Legal Speak podcast. It has been edited for length and clarity. Why did you write this book and why did you focus so much of it on your youth in Mississippi? The title is Won Over as in "won over to the right side of history." I realized people have asked me over the years how I grew up in Mississippi in the most segregated place in America with halfway decent ideas on the race issue. A few years back, I started realizing there arent that many of us left who can remember that era. Fifteen years from now there probably wont be any. I am one of the only people in all of San Francisco today who actually sat in a church and saw Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. exhort the people who were going to be in a march. And so, I am a witness to history. I am a very minor participant in that history, but I was definitely a witness to it and the witnesses are going to be gone soon. So while I still have my mental faculties in good shape I thought I would write this story. Its about 1945 to 1967. Its not my entire life. Its just about that arc of my views and how they changed and what influenced them. You do include some moments from you modern life, including a recent case from 2011 where there was a motion to recuse brought on behalf of an African-American plaintiff in a discrimination case. They were asking you to recuse based on the fact that you grew up in Mississippi, arguing that you couldnt help but have discriminatory views. You wrote in the decision denying that motion to recuse that growing up in Mississippi opened, not closed, your eyes to the cruelty of racism. How so? Most recently in the case I had ruled against the African American plaintiff and the lawyer was upset with that and he made a motion for me to recuse myself and the theory was that I was ingrained with residual racism. Now that hurt my feelings greatly, but I took it seriously and I thought about it because I think there is a problem of residual racism and unintended bias and implicit bias in our system. The conclusion that I came to after thinking about my life down there was exactly what you said: The experience had opened and not closed my eyes to the cruelty of racism. What the book does is to trace that history of racism and the reasons why I think it did open rather than close my eyes. My mom and dad were from Texas and they accepted, if not believed in, race segregation as virtually every white person in Mississippi did at that time. So, I grew up in that environment. You make the distinction in the book between your parents, who you describe as segregationist, and white supremacists. How do you draw that distinction and why was it an important one for you to make? I want to start by saying that history has condemned both groupsand rightly soand Im not here to in any way defend either group. At the time, if you lived through that era, you would have noted the difference. The basic difference was that people like my mom and dad believed in separate but equal. That was what the Supreme Court had once said was correct and what they believed. The white supremacists didnt even believe in the equal part. The white supremacists were the Klan types who were willing to kill and didnt believe in equality. But my mom and dad did believe in equality, even though they also believed in separation. They also believed, by the way, that all races should be welcome at any house of God, that there should be no such thing as a white church or a black church. Their rationale, they told me once, was when you die everyone goes to heaven and both races are going to be together in heaven and the church is the same thing, just on earth, so you should be welcome at any house of God. So, it was a somewhat complex thing. But just to be clear, my mom and dad were decent hardworking people who believed in fairness, who believed in decency, but they had accepted a long tradition in our country and it was wrong. Theres no doubt that we look back at it now and we know that its wrong. But at the time it was a widely held view in Mississippi as well as other parts of the country. And that is to be distinguished from those people who did not even believe in the equality part, the white supremacists. In June 1963, you and some of your friends from high school penned a letter to the largest newspaper in the state declaring We are for civil rights for the negroes. You were for school integration. But that letter also captures other attitudes that were less progressive: You were against the lunch-counter demonstrations. You didnt like some of the violence that resulted from those demonstrations. You thought that business owners should be able to choose who they serve. What is your reaction to reading that now? And why did you include it in full? If youre going to write something like this, you should try to be honest. The whole point of the story is to show the arc of how my views changed and what the reasons were for the change. That letter was written kind of halfway through the arc. Looking back on it, Im proud of parts of that and some of it Im not proud of. The part of it I am proud of is where we say very forcefully We are for civil rights for negroes. This is before the Civil Rights Act was even introduced by President Kennedy to Congress. We said in strong terms we condemn white supremacy, analogizing it to the Nazis. And very strongly we said everyone should have the right to vote, blacks and whites included. This was a democracy for goodness sakes. Thats what it means to be in a democracy. So all of those things Im very proud of. Just remember the time: This was before Title VII was even written. This was before the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This was ahead of its time in a way. It was true at the time that my own view thenI changed it laterbut my own view then was just like everyone ought to have the right to vote whomever wanted to in this country, if you own a store you ought to serve whoever you want. Its a free country. Thats what I thought at the time. I changed my mind on that very strongly in 1966, but in 63, when I wrote that letter, thats what I thought. That part of the letter Im not so keen on. But when writing a memoir like this you cant candy-coat what happened. I wanted the reader to see the progress or the trajectory and what the key influences were that might affect somebody. And I think Im emblematic of a lot of people. This story wouldnt be worth telling if it was just me. I think this represents how a part of white Mississippi, a part of white America got won over to the right side of history. What do you hope to leave readers with? I think its important for us with so much division in this country to think about this story and the story of people like me who grew up in that system and yet were able to grow up and change their mind and ask, How did that happen? One thing that was a major influence was that while my mom and dad believed in segregation, they also believed in fairness and decency and they really taught that to us. There became a contradiction. When you get older and you look out at the rest of the state and you recognize how unfair the system is, the fairness and decency that your own mom and dad taught you comes into play and presents a conflict. In some people that conflict is going to end up winning you over to the right side of history and some people it wont. I recognize that. But nevertheless that basic fairness and decency is a deep character trait of the American people and I think in the long run thats going to win out. We saw that in modern times with gay rights. If you went back to 2008, even President Obama was not in favor of equal rights for gays. Gay marriage versus civil unions: That was only several years ago. That was in a way a separate but equal system all over again. But because most people in this country are fair and decent, when they had the opportunity to think about it they yielded to fairness and decency and came over to right side of history. I think thats an important lesson and my story is a little story, but it is emblematic of that process. Tobacco giants Altria Group Inc (NYSE: MO) and Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) are raising prices on all of their cigarette brands, and investors should take this as a positive, according to Wells Fargo. The Analyst Wells Fargo's Bonnie Herzog maintains an Outperform rating on Altria's stock with an unchanged $65 price target. The Thesis Wells Fargo's industry contacts stated that both Altria and Philip Morris not only increased prices on all brands, but did so earlier than expected, Herzog said in a Wednesday note. The analyst broke down the price hikes as follows: An 11-cents-per-pack increase, or 2-3-percent increase at retail, on Marlboro, L&M, Chesterfield and B&H Menthol Green. A 16-cents-per-pack bump on Parliament and Virginia Slims. A 31-cents-per-pack increase on everything else. The price increases will become effective with shipments on or after Feb. 24, one month earlier than Altria's typical bi-annual price increase, Herzog said. This demonstrates both Altria and Philip Morris' "significant" pricing power despite secular declines in volume tied to the popularity of e-cigarettes and the potential for the FDA to demand that tobacco companies lower their nicotine levels within a few years, the analyst said. Pricing power is also a "critical driver" of revenue and earnings growth and could generate upside to estimates, although Altria may decide instead to invest the incremental revenue in marketing to gain share, the analyst wrote, she said. Other tobacco companies are likely to follow suit and announce their own price increases in the days ahead, in Wells Fargo's view. Price Action Altria shares were down 0.44 percent at $50.31 shortly before the close Thursday, while Philip Morris shares were up 0.32 percent at $85.26. Related Links: How Long Before The FDA Could Ban Menthol Cigarettes? Altria's Juul Stake Will 'More Than Offset' Cigarette Declines, Wells Fargo Says Latest Ratings for MO Jan 2019 Morgan Stanley Downgrades Equal-Weight Underweight Jan 2019 Cowen & Co. Downgrades Outperform Market Perform Dec 2018 Citigroup Downgrades Neutral Sell View More Analyst Ratings for MO View the Latest Analyst Ratings Story continues See more from Benzinga 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Candace McLaren of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr. Washington Wrap is a weekly look at industry news and Big Law moves shaping the legal business in Washington, D.C. Send news tips and lateral moves to Ryan Lovelace at rlovelace@alm.com. The era of President Donald Trump has helped pave a path for nontraditional laterals into the Washington world of Big Law. But nontraditional does not mean unprepared. Candace McLaren joined Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr as partner in D.C. this week with no prior experience working at a law firm. Thats because McLaren has spent her career of public service working in government and public universities. She is joining Saul Ewings litigation and higher education practices after decades at the New York County District Attorneys Office, the New York City Department of Education, New York University and most recently at the U.S. Department of Education. Her practice at Saul Ewingwhich is coming off a year of revenue and profit growthwill involve Title IX compliance, issues involving the Clery Act, and a host of related federal and state laws. I was really always one who wanted to be in the mix and to get my hands dirty, so law firms really initially at least werent something that I was looking at, McLaren said. When I started looking into Saul and hearing about its reputation and the work that it does, I realized that these people are actually getting their hands dirty, they are actually in the trenches alongside their clients. Given her breadth of experience in public institutions, she said she considered job opportunities in higher education and other legal jobs, but knew Saul Ewing was a good fit for her during her first meeting with them. Ultimately, McLaren said, she went through 13 interviews with the firm before coming on board. She pointed to meetings with William Nussbaum, a D.C.-based partner handling complex litigation for educational institutions, and James Keller, a Philadelphia-based co-chair of the firms higher education and K-12 schools practices, as helping to seal the deal. McLaren joined the U.S. Department of Education in August in 2016, motivated by her interest in investigative compliance and a desire to be closer to her family in the Maryland area, she said. Her career plans changed when Trump won an unexpected election. I was hired and began in August 2016, and woke up November 2016 and the landscape had changed. It had changed, McLaren said. I dont think its any secret that government entities across the United States have had to suffer with budget cuts and hiring freezes and things of that nature that make it difficult to backfill vacancies and to do this type of work. Now in private practice, McLaren plans to assist the thousands of schools working to comply with Title IX and the Clery Act that have responsibility for millions of studentsand that need proactive help to get things right. Story continues Law Firm Moves, News & Notes Speaking of unusual career trajectories, Dane Butswinkas is back at Williams & Connolly full-time, two months after becoming Teslas general counsel. Butswinkas was chairman of Williams & Connollys executive committee before stepping aside for the new role at Tesla. Joseph Petrosinelli became Williams & Connollys chairman when Butswinkas exited that position, and he's remaining in that role. Covington & Burling posted 2018 revenues exceeding $1 billion as part of what firm chair Timothy Hester said were the best financial results our firm has ever had. Alongside gross revenues at Covington climbing more than 18 percent, profits per equity partner rose 12.1 percent, or up $191,000. Squire Patton Boggs scored a pair of sought-after ex-congressmen this week: U.S. Reps. Joe Crowley, D-New York, and Bill Shuster, R-Pennsylvania. The duo is headed to Squires global public policy practice. Crowley served in Democratic leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives until losing to a primary challenger, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Shuster retired at the end of 2018. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius said this week it was adding Chai Feldblum, former member of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during President Barack Obamas administration. Feldblum and her former chief of staff, Sharon Masling, will lead investigations and cultural assessments for corporate clients. The pair most recently worked together at Georgetown University Law Center. DLA Piper said this week former federal cybcercrime prosecutor Edward McAndrew was joining the firm as partner in its intellectual property and technology practice. McAndrew was most recently co-chair of Ballard Spahrs privacy and data security group before moving to DLA Piper. Read More Covington Surpasses $1 Billion in Revenue, Capping a Decade of Rapid Growth Saul Ewing Opens Minneapolis Office, Continuing Midwest Expansion The daily life of inmates at Rikers Island are mostly obscure to the public. But a new book is shedding some light on one part of this sprawling jail system: the difficulties physicians face when trying to provide healthcare to inmates. In his book,Life and Death in Rikers Island, Dr. Homer Venters writes about what he saw during his tenure as the head of the city's Correctional Health Services. Dr. Venters was in charge of health care facilities at Rikers from 2008 to 2017, and he believes that some of the deaths that occurred in city jails during this time were the result of conditions inmates are subjected to in jail. Although the city says its closing Rikers, there were still around 9,000 inmates being held at the facility as of 2017. We recently spoke with Dr. Venters about his book and the unhealthy state of NYCs jail system. One of the first points you make in your book is about truth and transparency. You write that correctional health providers "work in settings that are designed and operated to keep the truth hidden." How so? Well, I think the doctors, nurses, social workers who care for patients that are incarcerated do so behind closed walls. They do so in this city on a penal colony. It's an island, it's away from the city and so the bridge to Rikers Island might as well be 100 miles long because so much of what happens to our patients and the care we provide is hidden from the outside world. Your book lays out some of the institutional practices that made it difficult for you to care for inmates in Rikers. For example, improperly recording injuries and illnesses. What other examples of systemic issues come to mind? I think that the health staff face a really crushing and corrosive force called dual loyalty which is that we think that our loyalty is to our patients, we're going to take care of the people in front of us, but the security services and the way jails work, puts a lot of pressure on our ability to do so. So one of the practices that's ongoing today is having health staff clear people for punishment and solitary confinement. It's unethical but it happens in almost every jail in the country and it really degrades our ability to care for patients and they ability to trust us. What's the relationship between the health care providers and the correction officers? In the best scenarios and some of the new mental health units, we work as a team, not only to promote their custodial and security concerns but also care for patients. In the worst situations such as when we don't respond to abuse or neglect or in solitary confinement clearance, we're actually working at cross purposes. You also write about how inmates were unwilling to report abuse within the jail because of their fear of retaliation from guards. How did that realization come about for you? For me when I saw patients, I would see patients that reported injuries, that the mechanism that they reported was inconsistent with the type of injuries. So somebody who said they slipped and fell on the toilet that had a jaw fracture. And when I would talk to them and evaluate their injuries, it became clear to me that we had a real problem with patients who have been told already, before they sought care, that if they told the truth they would either face further violence or other forms of retaliation. In her review of your book, Jennifer Gonnerman of The New Yorker says 112 people died in New York City jails between 2010 and 2016. What can you tell us about the causes of those deaths? How many could have been prevented? One of the things that every jail should report is not just how many people die but how many of those deaths are attributable to the jail itself. Some years it might have been 20 percent or 10 percent of the deaths were preventable or attributable to the jail but some years it was much higher and so every jail, all 3,000 jails around the country, should be reporting these statistics and also accountable for what went wrong. And do you think this is just something in New York City or is this nationwide? These are problems nationwide. We have most of the incarcerations, 12 million a year in this country, happening in county jails. And many of the deaths that occur in these places are both hidden and preventable. The city is in the process of closing Rikers and constructing new borough-based jails that will take on smaller prisoner populations. Do you think this approach will help decrease health risks for prisoners? Yes, it's very important. Certainly keeping people out of jail is the surest way to save them from the health risks of jail but closing Rikers is absolutely essential also to addressing some of these issues with brutality, dual loyalty and really the inability to provide evidence based care, ethical care in a crumbling jail system that is far away on a penal colony. For more, listen to Richard Hake's interview with Dr. Venters on WNYC: Andy Mai is a temporary assistant producer for WNYC. You can follow him on Twitter here. Twitter Facebook In this special edition of MashTalk, Mashable sits down with Ray Soto, Director of Emerging Technology for USA Today, at CES 2019. Soto discusses his team's latest projects that bring an entirely new perspective and interactive experience to contemporary hot button topics - like Trump's border wall. Furthermore, Soto sheds light on how he believes this style of storytelling will change the media industry going forward. Read more... More about News, Video, Politics, Ces, and Mashable Video Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido departed for the Colombian border with roughly 80 lawmakers Thursday, seeking to retrieve humanitarian aid that President Nicolas Maduro has refused. Maduro argues there is no humanitarian crisisdespite his countrys economic downfall over recent yearsand has threatened to close Venezuelas borders with Columbia and Brazil, both of whom have offered food and medicine, Reuters reports. According to the BBC, Maduro plans to close the Brazilian border Thursday night. Still, Guaido aims to reach the Colombian border by Saturday. The move is likely to result in a showdown with the Venezuelan military, who still remains loyal to Maduro despite Guaidos offers of amnesty for defectors. Guaido, the president of Venezuelas National Assembly, declared himself the interim leader last month following demonstrations across Venezuela. Several countriesincluding the United Stateshave recognized Guaidos leadership, stating Maduro was elected in sham elections, but the president has refused to step down. Guaido and other lawmakers departed on buses Thursday morning, beginning the 800-km (500-mile) journey to the Colombian border. They reportedly left among cheers from Venezuelan opposition supporters waving flags but were soon stopped at a roadblock after just 60 miles, where lawmakers scuffled with soldiers in riot gear. We have a commitment and that is to reach the border. We will try to get as far as we can, one lawmaker, Mariela Magallanes, told Reuters. Humanitarian aid is not the whim of a few lawmakers, it is a necessity. Some of the buses, including Guaidos, were able to pass through. (Bloomberg) -- Twitter Inc. co-founder Evan Williams will step down from the companys board at the end of February. Its been an incredible 13 years, and Im proud of what Twitter has accomplished during my time with the company, Williams, 46, now chief executive office of web publisher Medium Corp., said Friday in a company filing. Williams, Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone started the San Francisco-based social media company in 2006 that is known for its original 140-character limit on messages. He served in various roles, including chief executive officer, chief product officer and chairman before giving up day-to-day responsibilities in late 2010. He started Medium in 2012. Twitter went public in 2013. Williams, in a tweet, thanked Dorsey and Stone for starting this crazy company with me -- and continuing to make it better and better. The company has suffered from comparisons with Facebook Inc., and at about 321 million monthly average users, has far fewer users than the social-media giant. Dorsey, who had left the company, returned as chief executive officer in 2015. To regain the backing of investors, he has focused on turning Twitter into a destination for live conversation and events. Dorsey has also prioritized improving the quality of conversation on the service and making it easier to use. Donald Trumps presidency has heightened Twitters global relevance, as users turn to the platform to read his thoughts and missives. Trumps use of the service has spurred more criticism of the company, with some saying the president has been allowed to make abusive and disparaging remarks -- without penalty -- that violate the platforms terms of service. Twitter also has been plagued by hate speech, harassment, fake accounts and the spread of false news. The service, along with Facebook and Googles YouTube, was manipulated by Russian operatives who disseminated misinformation during the 2016 presidential election. Williams has apologized previously for Twitters potential role in helping Trump get elected, adding that the election results underscored his concern that social-media platforms are helping to dumb the entire world down. Story continues (Updates with comments from Williams in the last paragraph.) To contact the reporter on this story: Selina Wang in San Francisco at swang533@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Andrew Pollack, Rob Golum For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. The R, a local train that runs from Forest Hills, Queens, to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn is notoriously unreliable (and sometimes has bedbugs). I used to take the R to my first job, and it was so fickle that I came to nickname it the "Really?" train. Good, right? Feel free to use it! Some local and state officials think the solution to the R's many troubles is to break the line up into two parts. Last week, Representative Max Rose, along with State Senator Andrew Gounardes, State Assemblywoman Mathylde Frontus and City Councilman Justin Brannan signed a letter and sent it to New York City Transit president Andy Byford, urging him to split the R line into two parts. In it, they write that the train frequently causes "inexcusable delays, poor service, and sudden schedule shifts," and that a proposed break would help ease the issues. The move is more of a Band-Aid than a permanent fix, one that the MTA's implemented it before. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the underground Montague Tube, which joins Brooklyn and Manhattan, needed serious work after flooding. So the MTA split the R train in August 2013, running it from Forest Hills to Whitehall Street in Queens and Manhattan, respectively, then Court Street to Bay Ridge-95th Street in Brooklyn until September 2014. In the letter, officials write that the previous split helped keep "the Southern Brooklyn line from traffic delays occurring earlier along the line," and that "Bay Ridge commuters were no longer being delayed due to a sick passenger up in Queens." They cite the MTA's Fast Forward Plan, which aims to implement major signal upgrades on several train lines over the next ten years. While the R line is set to receive these upgrades, the MTA will only implement them in Queens and Manhattan. The split idea has some downsides. It would be inconvenient for straphangers from Brooklyn trying to commute into the city and beyondparticularly residents of Bay Ridge, whose only subway option to get into Manhattan is the R train. It would likely cause congestion on other trains, as it did when it was split in the past. "The best ways to fix issues with 4th Ave local service would involve either running more R trains (difficult due to interlining) or run some J/Z trains through the Montague St. Tunnel (difficult due to something MTA contractors screwed up)," writes MTA chronicler Second Avenue Sagas. "That's where lawmaker efforts should be." The MTA did not categorically dismiss the idea, but it's not currently part of the Authority's plans for improving the R line. We appreciate legislators taking an active interest in improving our system and advocating for transit users in their districts and beyond," MTA spokesman Shams Tarek said in an email statement to Gothamist. "We agree that R service needs to improve, and it is something were very focused onthere is extensive structural rehabilitation work happening on the R line in Brooklyn right now, and were aggressively pursuing initiatives to improve operating procedures such as safely increasing speed limits. Regardless, we know more needs to be done. It Really does. (Adds details, quotes, context) By Tatiana Voronova, Polina Nikolskaya and Katya Golubkova MOSCOW, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Russia's biggest bank Sberbank is in talks to buy Russian media company Rambler Group from businessman Alexander Mamut, several sources close to the matter said. Sberbank and Rambler said they were not in talks on an acquisition when asked to comment by Reuters. They said they were in talks about Rambler seeking to refinance with Sberbank debt owed to Trust, another Russian bank. Rambler Group is a smaller rival to Russia's biggest search engine Yandex, in which Sberbank holds a so-called golden share, which gives Sberbank special veto power. "Sberbank's management is discussing a potential purchase of Rambler. The talks are about the entire holding," a source close to Sberbank said. Part of Sberbank's management team opposes the acquisition, doubting the benefits of deal particularly from Rambler's media business and cinema chain, the source said. But Sberbank chief executive German Gref and Lev Khasis, Gref's first deputy, seem to be supporting the potential deal, the source also said. Rambler Group, which also owns a media-services portal and a news aggregator with the same name, news sites Lenta.ru and Gazeta.ru, has been up for sale for some time, industry sources said. None of the sources disclosed any potential price for the deal as discussions were still at early stage. In 2017, Vedomosti newspaper had reported that Mamut had bought 50 percent of Rambler Group from businessman Vladimir Potanin for $295 million, becoming its sole owner. Mamut then added a chain of cinemas to the group. He also bought online cinema, Okko, from Russian firm Era Capital, which received a minority stake in Rambler in exchange, Kommersant daily reported in 2018. Mamut did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for a comment. (Reporting by Tatiana Voronova, Polina Nikolskaya, Katya Golubkova and Polina Devitt; editing by Christian Lowe and Jane Merriman) (Bloomberg) -- Prosecutors in the treason trial of a top former Russian cybersecurity officer who was allegedly compromised by U.S. intelligence are seeking a 20-year prison term. While few details have emerged about the secret case at Moscow district military court, there have been tantalizing threads potentially linking the central figures to espionage, election hacking and the breach of hundreds of millions of Yahoo! Inc email accounts. Prosecutors are asking for the maximum sentence when the court delivers its verdict on Feb. 26, according to two people familiar with the case, who asked not be identified because theyre not authorized to discuss it. The accused are Sergei Mikhailov, who worked in the Federal Security Services information-security division, and Ruslan Stoyanov, whos a manager at Kaspersky Lab cybersecurity company. The court confirmed the hearing is scheduled for Feb. 26. Two other men charged during the investigation, businessman Georgiy Fomchenkov and Dmitry Dokuchaev, a member of Mikhailovs staff, have pleaded guilty to U.S. ties and will be sentenced later, the people said. Dokuchaev is also accused by U.S. officials of involvement in hacking a half-billion Yahoo email accounts. Having Contacts The men were all arrested in late 2016, shortly after Donald Trump became U.S. president-elect. The Kremlin later dismissed suggestions of links between the case and alleged Russian interference in the U.S. elections, which it denies. Mikhailov, Dokuchaev and Stoyanov were charged with treason for allegedly having contacts with U.S. intelligence, according to Ivan Pavlov, a defense lawyer in the case, who said in 2017 that officials had provided few details and what we know is only the tip of the iceberg. Stoyanov, a former Interior Ministry cybersecurity officer, worked closely with Mikhailovs department at the FSB as part of an anti-DDoS project that Kaspersky Lab developed for clients in Russia, according to a person familiar with the company. Story continues The case against this employee does not involve Kaspersky Lab and predates his employment at the company, spokeswoman Olga Rodicheva said Thursday by email. We do not possess details of the investigation, she said. Stoyanov accused Russian authorities in a 2017 letter of cooperating with cybercriminals and warned of a new wave of crimes inside the country if they didnt stop. Data Disc Mikhailov and the others were indirectly interacting with the FBI, Kommersant reported Wednesday, citing court documents. They shared classified files with a cybersecurity expert, Kimberly Zenz, whom the FSB accused of having ties to the FBI, according to the newspaper. Stoyanov flew to Canada in 2011 at Mikhailovs request to hand a data disc to Zenz, Kommersant reported. Mikhailov insists hes innnocent and reports linking him to a data disc are complete rubbish, his lawyer Ruslan Golenkov said by phone Thursday. Im not a government agent and never have been, Zenz said Thursday in a Facebook message, adding that theres no evidence some sort of compact disc was handed over because it never happened. While shes known Stoyanov for more than 10 years as an internationally respected cybercrime investigator who loves his country, shes never had contact with the other accused, Zenz said. Unfortunately, the court doesnt know this because it rejected my request to testify, she said. The situation is very sad. To contact the reporter on this story: Stepan Kravchenko in Moscow at skravchenko@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Gregory L. White at gwhite64@bloomberg.net, Tony Halpin For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. SAO PAULO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - CVS Health Corp has contacted banks to explore the sale of its Drogaria Onofre chain in Brazil, a newspaper reported on Thursday, which could result in the U.S.-based pharmacy chain's exit from Latin America's largest country. The firm is willing to sell the Onofre chain for less money that it paid for it, due to the drugstore's shrinking market share in recent years, newspaper Estado de S.Paulo wrote, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. CVS had purchased Drogaria Onofre in 2013 for 700 million reais ($187 million). In 2012, according to Brazilian pharmacy association Abrafarma, the chain was the eighth largest in Brazil, but has since fallen out of the top 20. Onofre currently has 51 stores, Estado said. Market leader Raia Drogasil SA has around 1,800 stores. CVS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company told Estado it did not comment on market rumors. The report did not name which banks CVS had contacted about the potential sale. ($1 = 3.74 reais) (Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Bernadette Baum) Some of the pro-Amazon protesters who rallied against the company's decision to cancel its move to Long Island City last week were secretly paid to be there, possibly by a landlord miffed over his inability to raise rents, according to a report published Friday by Patch. Two participants in the rally told the outlet that they'd responded to a Craigslist ad promising to pay $30/hour if they held signs decrying Amazon's departure outside the company's retail location on 34th Street. The rally was organized by Sammy Musovic, a landlord who owns several Queens buildings, as well as Manhattan restaurants Sojourn, Vero and Selena Rosa Mexicana. (Musovic is also something of a media hound: His bid to buy Carnegie Deli for $5 million was widely covered, as was his claim that he was selling the country's most expensive margarita for charity; he was recently quoted in CNBC about his decision not to move to Florida, and has appeared on Fox News alongside his son to praise President Trump's impact on small businesses.) At the protest, Musovic said that he'd spent $1 million renovating his Long Island City buildings in anticipation of the company's arrival. He previously told Bloomberg that he'd added new kitchens, flooring and other amenities to the apartments, with the expectation that he'd be able to hike rents by at least 25 percent. Several developers also said they'd bet big on the neighborhood, and many were devastated by Amazon's announcement last Thursday. Musovic denied any involvement in the astroturfing campaign. A video obtained by Patch shows an unidentified man handing out cash to multiple protesters. Asked about that video, Musovic reportedly repeated his denial then hung up. (Gothamist's calls to the landlord were not returned.) A PR representative associated with the rally, whose number was listed on the Craigslist post, also said he had no knowledge of protesters being paid. But text messages obtained by Patch show the same phone number responding to someone who'd inquired about the Craigslist ad, urging him to come to the rally. Maritza Silva-Farrell, executive director of the labor and community group ALIGN, which helped lead the anti-Amazon movement, said she was unsurprised by reports of the mercenary protesters. "It shows that all of this talk of support for Amazon was largely a made-up story," she told Gothamist. "We were the ones who spoke up [against Amazon]." Meanwhile, Governor Andrew Cuomo said earlier today that Amazon's backing out of the deal was the "greatest tragedy that I have seen since I have been in government." His office later backpedaled, claiming he was referring to government failures, not human tragedies. Asked where the ongoing crises at NYCHA and the MTA, as well as the abuses in the state prison system and rampant corruption in Albany would rank on Cuomo's list of government failures, a spokesperson further clarified that the governor actually meant to say Amazon's departure was the greatest economic development opportunity ever lost. FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack pumps oil in a field near Calgary FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack pumps oil in a field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada, July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Todd Korol/File Photo By Laila Kearney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices sank below recent 2019 highs as U.S. government data on Thursday showed a sharp build in crude stocks and record production, while concerns about slowing global economic growth weighed on the market. Supply cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, including Russia, and oil sanctions on Venezuela and Iran helped to limit losses. Progress in U.S.-China talks to resolve a trade dispute that has dampened global economic growth also supported prices. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures fell 20 cents to settle at $56.96 a barrel after touching a 2019 high of $57.55 the previous day. Brent crude futures fell 1 cent to settle at $67.07 after hitting a 2019 peak on Wednesday at $67.38. U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose for a fifth straight week to the highest in more than a year, as production hit a record high and seasonal maintenance kept refining rates low last week, the Energy Information Administration said. U.S. crude stocks rose 3.7 million barrels in the week to Feb. 15, to 454.5 million barrels, the highest since October 2017, even as crude exports surged 1.2 million barrels per day to a record 3.6 million bpd. Crude inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery site for U.S. crude futures, accounted for 3.4 million barrels of the rise. "The overall headline number on inventories were higher than expected, and most of that build though was coming from Cushing, Oklahoma," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. "In fact, if it weren't for Cushing, Oklahoma, it would be a modest build in line with expectation." Production in the United States, which last year became the world's top crude producer, rose to record high at 12 million bpd. Still, tightening supply globally helped keep losses at bay. Oil prices have been driven up this year after OPEC and producer allies, known as OPEC+, agreed to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to prevent a supply overhang from growing. Nigeria said on Wednesday it was prepared to reduce its oil output after supplies from the OPEC member rose in January. Story continues U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and Iran have hit crude exports while unrest has curbed Libyan output, further tightening supply. Washington and Beijing have started to outline commitments in principle on the stickiest points in their trade tariff dispute, sources familiar with the negotiations told Reuters. [nL1N20G07W] Analysts said that ongoing signs of a global economic slowdown were also preventing prices from surging beyond highs reached earlier this week. (Additional reporting by Stephanie Kelly, Noah Browning in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Richard Chang) FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack pumps oil in a field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada, July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Todd Korol/File Photo By Laila Kearney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell below 2019 highs on Thursday after U.S. government data showed a fifth weekly build in crude inventories and record production, while concerns about slowing global economic growth weighed. Losses were capped by OPEC-led supply cuts and U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and Iran. Advancements in Washington-Beijing trade deal discussions also supported prices. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures fell 13 cents to $57.03 a barrel by 11:43 a.m. EST (1643 GMT) after touching a 2019 high of $57.55 the previous day. Brent crude futures fell 1 cent to $57.07 after touching a 2019 peak on Wednesday at $67.38. U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose for a fifth straight week to the highest in more than a year, as production hit a record high and seasonal maintenance kept refining rates low last week, the Energy Information Administration said. [EIA/S] U.S. crude stocks rose 3.7 million barrels in the week to Feb. 15, to 454.5 million barrels, the highest since October 2017, even as crude exports surged 1.2 million barrels per day to a record 3.6 million bpd. "All in all the report is bearish, in particular the strong increases in crude oil stocks," said Cartsen Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. Production in the United States, which last year became the world's top crude producer, rose to record high at 12 million bpd, which could also dampen sentiment, Fritsch said. Still, tightening supply globally helped keep losses at bay. Oil prices have been driven up this year after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and producer allies such as Russia, known as OPEC+, agreed to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to prevent a supply overhang from growing. OPEC member Nigeria signaled on Wednesday that it would limit output after its production climbed in January. "Willingness of the OPEC+ group to adhere with the output cut agreement will remain supportive of oil prices in the run-up to their scheduled April meeting," said Abhishek Kumar, senior energy analyst at Interfax Energy in London. Story continues "Sharply declining oil output from Iran and Venezuela will further prompt bullish sentiment in the market." U.S. sanctions have hit Iranian and Venezuelan crude exports while unrest has curbed Libyan output. Talks between the United States and China to resolve a trade dispute which has dented global growth may be progressing, helping to lift crude prices. The two sides have started to outline commitments in principle on key points of contention, sources familiar with the negotiations told Reuters. However, analysts said that a global economic slowdown - signs of which emerged late last year - was preventing prices from surging beyond highs reached this week. (Additional reporting by Noah Browning in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said economic sanctions would not be lifted until the threat of nuclear warfare from North Korea is at least significantly reduced, seemingly leaving open the possibility of sanctions relief prior to complete denuclearization. The American people should know we have the toughest economic sanctions that have ever been placed on North Korea and we wont release that pressure until such time as were confident weve substantially reduced that risk, Pompeo said Thursday, speaking on NBCs Today show. Pompeo reaffirmed the United States end goal of the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, noting progress has been made in that North Korea has not tested missiles in more than a year. Still, the countrys nuclear threat remains. President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore last June for their first summit. Trump is scheduled to meet with Kim for a second summit in Vietnam on February 27. Pompeo was hesitant to give specifics on negotiations, but there have reportedly been discussions around using the summit to declare an official end to the Korean War. Fighting ceased with an armistice in July 1953, but a peace treaty has yet to be drawn up, meaning the war is technically ongoing. When asked if there could be any concessions on the goal of a complete and verifiable denuclearization of North Korea, Pompeo said ,No, thats what we need to get for the American people. To keep the American people safe, he continued, we have to reduce the threat from a nuclear-armed North Korea and then, in turn, we can work on peace and security on the peninsula and a brighter future for the North Korean people. Susan Vivian Mangold, Juvenile Law Center All youth need families and supportive networks to thrive and make a successful transition to adulthood. Philadelphia must act now to guarantee that all youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems have connections to family and communityincluding when they exit care. Adolescence is a critical developmental period, and funneling in and out of residential treatment facilities, secure detention centers or other institutional placements can stymie the creation of relationships and other experiences youth need to grow into healthy adults. Far too often youth in these settings fall victim to maltreatment and abuse, as well as harmful practices such as strip searches or solitary confinement. In February 2018, Congress passed the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA). Among other things, FFPSA limits federal funding for child welfare placements housing more than than six residents to no more than two weeks, subject to some specific exceptions. The two-week funding limit is designed to force state and county agencies, such as our state and local Departments of Human Services, to limit use of congregate care in favor of family placements. Reform is desperately needed in our commonwealth: According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation Report, Fostering Youth Transitions, 47 percent of Pennsylvanias children ages 14 to 21 in foster care are placed in group homes and institutional settings. The fact that just over half of these foster youth are placed with families is shocking and a call to action. Youth advocates at Juvenile Law Center are taking up this call. Juvenile Law Center has two youth advocacy programs that amplify the voices of youth with experience with the justice and child welfare systems to advocate for themselves and for system reform. Juveniles for Justice advocates are youth who have experienced the justice system; Youth Fostering Change involves youth who have lived in foster care. Each year, the groups conduct research and then develop a reform project that will focus the groups advocacy efforts. Last year, Juveniles for Justice addressed conditions of confinement and published Broken Bridges: How Juvenile Placements Cut Off Youth from Communities and Successful Futures , a report featuring youth stories of incarceration and their recommendations for reform. Removal from family and community ranked high among their concerns. Youth advocate Anahi (only first names were used) wrote: "When I was first going to placement, I didnt actually know when I was being placed. I did not know where or how long I would be there, either. I wasnt allowed home passes when I was there for about three months. I lost contact with my adoptive parents while I was in placement and couldnt return home with them. I also stopped talking to my friends and other people in my life because I couldnt keep in touch when I was there." Broken Bridges first recommendation aims to overcome this feeling of isolation: Keep Youth in their communities. The youth advocates specifically call upon stakeholders to provide community-based resources to youth and families to help keep kids out of the system. Regarding placement that encourages family and community ties, they recommend: In the rare instances when placement is deemed necessary, place youth in facilities within their communities or close to their homes. This includes: Story continues Ensuring that all placements are safe and supportive, and Training staff on up-to-date trauma-informed practices. Broken Bridges also details the youths educational challenges while in placement, including inadequateif anyeducational programming and the inability to transfer the credits they received while in placement to their schools when they exited placement. This year, both Juveniles for Justice and Youth Fostering Change are focusing their reform projects on educational credit transfer and other school re-entry issues that youth confront upon exiting foster care or the juvenile justice system. Too often, lack of credit transfer means these youth must repeat a class or even a full grade, putting them at an educational disadvantage instead of enhancing their chances of success. To address the need of foster youth for permanency plans that emphasize the need for family and supportive adults, Youth Fostering Change will release its permanency toolkit in the next month. This toolkit will provide resources to both youth and supportive adults working to ensure successful transitions to adulthood, including tips for actively participating in permanency planning meetings and hearings and for ensuring a permanency plan that identifies family, mentors and other adults to ensure a safe and successful transition from care. Check our website, jlc.org, for the upcoming release of this useful resource. The placement of child welfare and justice-involved youth in institutions and other remote settings are also under increasing scrutiny. On Feb. 6, District Attorney Larry Krasner announced a package of juvenile justice reforms, which plainly favor diversion of youth entirely from the juvenile justice system and, where placement is necessary within the purposes of the Juvenile Act, urge the use of placement as a last-resort option. At the press conference announcing the new policies, Juveniles for Justice youth advocates Lilly and Bree detailed physical abuse, strip searches, lack of education and other harmful conditions of confinement that they experienced in juvenile justice placements, and which are all documented in Broken Bridges. The system meant to help them instead caused further harm. They called for an end to institutional placements as well as reliance on placements far from home. Marsha Levick, Juvenile Law Center chief legal officer, also spoke and echoed their call to keep kids in their communities. A few months ago, as part of their reform project that culminated in Broken Bridges, youth advocates from Juvenile Law Centers Juveniles for Justice program also testified before Philadelphia City Council about the abusive conditions of confinement they experienced in the juvenile justice system. Their testimony, as well as that of other witnesses, prompted Councilmember Helen Gym to form the Youth Residential Placement Task Force to address abusive conditions at facilities and move children out of congregate care. Task Force membership includes representatives from Juvenile Law Center along with colleagues from Education Law Center, Community Legal Services, Support Center for Child Advocates and the Defender Association. Philadelphia Department of Human Services, the District Attorneys Office, Community Behavioral Health and the School District of Philadelphia are also members. DHS commissioner Cynthia Figueroa has similarly called for change, publicly supporting our youth advocates at the city council hearing and committing to lead a citywide effort to keep youth in their communities and families. The task force will finalize its report in June of this year, and it is critical to keep the pressure on our local agencies and courts to reform the system so that children are only placed outside their families when there is no other safe alternative; are supportednot harmedin placement; and transition out of care or placement with connections to supportive families and other adults. A broader coalition of youth, families and advocates outside the task force are also working to ensure that the task force hears from affected communities. If you or a child you know would like your concerns and voices to be heard, plan to attend the upcoming public meeting at Community Behavioral Health, 801 Market St., on Feb. 26 at 5:30 p.m. A second public comment session will be held on May 7 at 5:30 p.m. We must create continuous paths to success for our youth, not broken bridges. Together, we can ensure that all of Philadelphias children receive the family and community support they need to grow into successful neighbors and citizens. Susan Vivian Mangoldis chief executive officer at Juvenile Law Center. Juvenile Law Center advocates for rights, dignity, equity and opportunity for youth in the child welfare and justice systems. Founded in 1975 in Philadelphia, Juvenile Law Center is the first nonprofit, public interest law firm for children in the country. Through litigation, appellate advocacy and submission of amicus briefs, policy reform, public education, training, consulting and strategic communications, Juvenile Law Center fights for children who come into contact with the child welfare and justice systems in Philadelphia and across the country. Whether President Donald Trump slaps new tariffs on China or extends his March 2 deadline, as expected, is the most important on a long list of major events for markets in the week ahead. According to news reports, special counsel Robert Mueller could release his report to the attorney general on the Trump campaign and Russia. Major geopolitical events are dominating the headlines, including Trump's visit to Vietnam to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and another vote in the U.K. parliament on Brexit. The markets will also be laser focused on two-days of testimony from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell who appears before Congress to discuss the economy and policy. The coming week could be one of the most pivotal for the White House and the markets, depending on how President Donald Trump chooses to proceed with China trade tariffs and what is in a possible report from special counsel Robert Mueller on the president's campaign. U.S.-China trade talks apparently have been making progress, and in a positive sign, sources say a possible meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is being discussed for late March . Strategists expect some eventual deal to be reached, but first and foremost, the March 2 deadline on new tariffs looms at the end of the week. For now, it looks like the deadline could be extended. Mueller is expected to provide a report to Attorney General William Barr on what he found out about the Trump campaign and Russia in the next several days, according to news reports. Barr could then pass the report, or a summary of it, to Congress. The week is packed with major events that could be market moving, including two days of economic testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell . He appears before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, and then a House committee Wednesday for the semiannual testimony. Trump also heads to Vietnam for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday and Thursday, and U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May faces another Brexit vote in parliament. Story continues The markets are also closely watching U.S. economic data after a string of misses on manufacturing and consumer data rattled stocks in the past couple of weeks. The lack of government data during the 35-day government shutdown has made it more difficult than usual to get a handle on the economy, and some economists now see fourth-quarter and first-quarter growth running at just 2 percent or below. Fourth-quarter GDP, delayed because of the shutdown, is finally released on Thursday. Earnings, Mueller report Though earnings season is winding down, quite a few earnings releases are expected, including from retailers Home Depot HD , Macy's M and Nordstrom JWN . "To me, the biggest story next week for markets is China. Do they announce an agreement or do they at least extend the deadline? That's the one that has the most immediate market impact. The markets are pricing in good news on China next week," said Tom Block, Washington policy strategist at Fundstrat. The Mueller report could be released to Congress next week, according to news reports. Whether the Trump campaign was involved with Russia or not matters much less than whether the president himself was involved. "This is of course great for American political drama but as for the $4.3 trillion foreign exchange market or what does this mean for the value of corporate America, it's not a big deal unless there's a smoking gun, and people think Trump is going to get impeached," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex. "Why this is important is it might paralyze other policy. The only way it is a really big factor is if it's used as fodder to pursue further investigations that paralyze the administration like Watergate did." Chandler said while the events in the coming week could add to tension, they could all remain unresolved. "We want some closure. Next week is not going to bring some closure. We're going to get extensions," said Chandler. The uncertainty around China trade has been impacting the economic data, and business leaders have called on the White House to end the tariffs on China. The farm belt has been hurt as China retaliated against U.S. products. Cowen analysts said the talks are nearing a "term sheet" between Chinese and U.S. trade negotiators. The memorandums are expected to touch on a half-dozen key areas, including forced technology transfers and cybertheft; intellectual property rights; opening up of Chinese financial services to U.S. companies; currency; agriculture, and nontariff barriers to trade. Those barriers include industrial subsidies, licensing procedures and other regulations. The talks are also expected to focus on a list of 10 goods and commodities that China will buy to help narrow the trade balance. That could include an additional $30 billion per year of U.S. farm products including soybeans, corn, and wheat, the Cowen analysts said. Fundstrat's Block said the president understands the political impact of continuing tariffs or raising them to 25 percent by March 2, as he has threatened. Trade deadline, North Korea, Brexit Trump recently said the deadline could be extended. "The road to 270 electoral votes for Trump goes through the farm states of the Midwest. There's no road map for Trump to get 270 electoral votes if he doesn't carry all those Midwestern farm states," Block said. "China is very big for lots of reasons. Trump's people have to figure out, at a minimum, how to extend the truce. The biggest threat to those states is continued trade war with China focused on agricultural products exported from the U.S." Besides China and trade and the Mueller report, Trump plans to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam in the week ahead, and Trump has said it is not to be his last meeting with Kim. The U.S. and North Korea are expected to seek a common understanding of what is expected in denuclearization, and Trump is expected to push Kim to give up his nuclear ambitions. Block said it's unclear what will come of those talks. "Trump overstates what he does, but the world is a little safer with us talking with North Korea rather than saber rattling with North Korea. That seems to be Trump's approach. Regardless of what his thought process is, the net result is better than not doing it," said Block. Investors are also looking to Europe where the U.K. Parliament votes on a no-deal Brexit, which critics say would disrupt trade and commerce . Prime Minister Theresa May continues to push for Britain's exit from the European Union on March 29. On Wednesday, there will be a vote on an amendment that would give the House of Commons the power to block a no-exit deal if May has not secured the approval by Parliament for a revised Brexit deal by the middle of March. "They're trying to force her to give up the no deal exit. The EU is expecting a request for a 60-day extension," said Chandler. Economic data As for U.S. data, reports on personal income and spending are coming on Friday and fourth-quarter GDP on Thursday. December's disappointing durable goods data showed slower business spending, so analysts are watching closely to see whether there was any improvement in consumer spending. "The U.S. growth slowdown is seen intensifying in the first quarter too. We forecast U.S. GDP growth at a modest 1.5% annual rate in Q1. Slowing global manufacturing activity, tighter financial conditions, sluggish business equipment spending, and lackluster federal government spending (due in part to the government shutdown in January) are all contributing to the weakest quarter for U.S. growth in two years," wrote Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West. Anderson expects fourth-quarter growth at 2.2 percent. He also said if uncertainties in the U.S. around China trade talks and the Brexit negotiations go away, there is a good chance U.S. economic growth will bounce back in the second quarter. "I should note this is our base case forecast, as none of the parties involved in the negotiations want to see the worst case outcomes realized. If for some reason either of the negotiations go seriously off-track, however, the 2019 U.S. and global economic outlook will become considerably bleaker," he wrote. What to watch Monday Earnings: Tenneco, TEN Shake Shack, Potbelly, Range Resources, Terex, Allison Transmission, Tenet Healthcare THC , Mosaic, Etsy 10 a.m. Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan and Vice Chair Richard Clarida, session with community 5 p.m. Kaplan and Clarida Q&A Tuesday Earnings : Home Depot, Eaton Vance, Discovery DISCA , Bank of Montreal, Mylan MYL , Nabors Industries, Auto Zone, AZO Weight Watchers, WTW Planet Fitnexx, Axon, Macy's, Sempra Energy, EOG Resources, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Planet Fitness, Whiting Petroleum, Cracker Barrel CBRL , JM Smucker 8:30 a.m. Philadelphia Fed non manufacturing 9 a.m. S&P Case-Shiller home prices 9:30 a.m. FHFA home prices 10 a.m. New home sales 10 a.m. Consumer confidence 10:00 a.m. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before Senate Committee Wednesday Earnings: TJX Cos, TJX Lowe's, Bayer, Chesapeake Energy, CHK Wingstop, Cushman and Wakefield, Hostess Brands, Best Buy, Royal Ahold, Rowan Cos RDC , Booking holdings BKNG , Apache, Campbell Soup CPB , Royal Ahold, HP, L Brands LB , Petrobras. Square, Box, 10 a.m. Pending home sales 10 a.m. Powell testifies before House committee Thursday Earnings: JC Penney JCP , A-B InBev, Ambev, SeaWorld, Nielsen, NRG Energy NRG , PG&E, Toronto-Dominion, Canadian Imperial Bank, AMC Networks AMC , JD.com, Party City, Keurig Dr. Pepper KDP , Gap, Nordstrom, Workday, VMWare, VMW Pure Storage, Autodesk, Dell 8:30 a.m. Jobless claims 8:30 a.m. Q4 GDP 8:30 a.m. Advanced economic indicators 8:50 a.m. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic 9:45 a.m. Chicago PMI 12:15 p.m. Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker 1 p.m. Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan Friday Earnings: Foot Locker, FL WPP Group, Tribune Media TRCO 8:30 a.m. Personal income 8:30 a.m. Core PCE 10 a.m. ISM manufacturing 10 a.m. Consumer sentiment 10 a.m. Construction spending 1:15 p.m. Atlanta Fed's Bostic More From CNBC HOLLYWOOD, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2019 / Water solutions, CBD business, concealed carry, Colombian cannabis, reloadable Visa card, climate change kills rats; this week on MoneyTV with Donald Baillargeon. MoneyTV is the internationally syndicated television program all about money and what makes it happen, (http://www.moneytv.net), featuring informative interviews with company CEOs and executives, providing insights into their operations and outlooks for their futures. MoneyTV is seen in over 200 million TV households in more than 75 countries. Free information packages from the featured companies can be requested by sending an email to info@moneytv.net. The television program can also be viewed online immediately at www.moneytv.net. Featured companies on this week's program include: Singlepoint, Inc. (SING) CEO Greg Lambrecht updated information about their financing deals. OriginClear, Inc. (OCLN) CEO Riggs Eckelberry and OriginClear Technologies President JL Kindler spoke of Kindler's recent sales trip to India. Premier Biomedical,Inc. (BIEI) CEO William Hartman updated recent company activity and discussed pending deals. Digipath, Inc. (DIGP) CEO Todd Denkin updated information about their dealings in Colombia. American Rebel Holdings, Inc. (AREB) CEO Andy Ross reported from the NBS Show in Ft. Worth, TX. Surge Holdings, Inc. (SURG) CEO Brian Cox announced 40,000 retail locations with an average monthly revenue of $1,000 each. A complete menu of TV listings is available at the MoneyTV web site, http://www.moneytv.net. MoneyTV Executive Producer and Anchor Donald Baillargeon is also the host of MoneyRap Radio, http://www.moneyrap.com and the television program Crowdfund Television, http://www.crowdfundtelevision.com. MoneyTV with Donald Baillargeon television program, Copyright MMXIX, all rights reserved. MoneyTV does not provide an analysis of companies' financial positions and is not soliciting to purchase or sell securities of the companies, nor are we offering a recommendation of featured companies or their stocks. Information discussed herein has been provided by the companies and should be verified independently with the companies and a securities analyst. MoneyTV provides companies a 3 to 4 month corporate profile with multiple appearances for a cash fee of $11,995.00 to $17,250.00, does not accept company stock as payment for services, does not hold any positions, options or warrants in featured companies. The information herein is not an endorsement by Donald Baillargeon, the producer, publisher or parent company of MoneyTV. Story continues Contact: Donald Baillargeon info@moneytv.net 949 388 5267 SOURCE: MoneyTV, Surge Holdings, Inc., American Rebel Holdings, Inc., Digipath, Inc., Premier Biomedical,Inc., OriginClear, Inc., Singlepoint, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/536384/MoneyTV-with-Donald-Baillargeon-222 PORTLAND, Ore. and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MolecularMD Corporation, a molecular diagnostic specialty laboratory that enables the development and commercialisation of precision medicines in oncology, announced today that it has been acquired by ICON plc (ICLR). MolecularMDs extensive scientific and clinical biomarker experience expands ICONs capabilities in molecular diagnostic testing and also adds expanded testing platforms, including next-generation sequencing and immunohistochemistry, to ICONs laboratory service offering. MolecularMDs specialty central laboratory offering and associated client base extends ICONs reach into the support of precision medicine programs across all phases of drug diagnostic co-development. Founded in Dublin, Ireland in 1990, ICON is a global provider of drug development solutions and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. In support of its global clinical development programs, ICON operates a global network of fully accredited laboratory facilities, including Central Laboratories in Dublin, Ireland, Farmingdale NY, Singapore and Tianjin, China. ICON also has a Bioanalytical Laboratory in Whitesboro, NY. The acquisition by ICON provides MolecularMDs client base access to a comprehensive range of services offered globally to support drug development programs. For over a decade, MolecularMD has built capabilities and experience in drug-diagnostic co-development and is highly respected within the industry and with regulatory agencies. We remain committed to providing agile clinical trial assay development across technology platforms and extending all the way through regulatory approval and commercialisation of companion diagnostics, commented Dan Snyder, President, MolecularMD. The integration with ICONs full spectrum of drug development services across all therapeutic areas and global reach will be recognised as very high value to our pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients. Story continues Dr. Steve Cutler, Chief Executive Officer, ICON plc, said: We are committed to expanding the testing we offer into specialised areas so that we can help customers to maximize the value of laboratory data to accelerate timelines and reduce development costs. MolecularMD enhances our laboratory offering in molecular diagnostic testing, a key area in oncology research, and brings to ICON expanded testing platforms and diagnostic services. MolecularMD is a recognised leader in the analytical development and clinical validation of molecular diagnostic assays and we are delighted to welcome their team of experts to ICON. About MolecularMD MolecularMD Corporation is a diagnostics company that enables the development and commercialisation of precision medicines in oncology. Its tests are designed to allow appropriate selection, monitoring and management of patients treated with molecularly-targeted and immuno-oncology cancer therapies. MolecularMD integrates gold standard and innovative platform technologies with custom clinical assay design and validation to accelerate all phases of clinical development, including FDA approval and commercialisation of in vitro companion diagnostic tests for novel anti-cancer agents. MolecularMD is the exclusive manufacturer of the MRDx BCR-ABL Test. For more information please visit www.molecularmd.com and www.mrdxtest.com. About ICON plc ICON plc is a global provider of outsourced drug development and commercialisation solutions and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and government and public health organisations. The company specialises in the strategic development, management and analysis of programs that support clinical development - from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies. With headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, ICON currently, operates from 89 locations in 37 countries and has approximately 13,670 employees. Further information is available at www.iconplc.com Media Inquiries: Lucinda Sandon-Allum Weber Shandwick LSandon-Allum@webershandwick.com T +44 (0)20 7067 0548 * Qatar's MPHC hits four-month high * UAE's International Holding jumps on acquisition deal * Nine of 10 Saudi banks slide * Saudi's Amiantit plunges on restructure * Telecom Egypt drops on profit forecast miss By Ateeq Shariff Feb 21 (Reuters) - Qatar's stock market rose sharply on Thursday as its blue-chip shares gained after a spate of selling, while Egypt's index was driven lower partly by its top lender. The Qatari index rose 1.1 percent, with 15 out of 20 stocks advancing. Heavyweights Qatar National Bank and Industries Qatar gained 2 percent and 1.9 percent respectively. Qatar was the best performing Gulf market in 2018 after a limit on foreign ownership of stocks was raised. It continued last year's performance into January but began a downward trend in February. The index is still 5.5 percent lower this month, but the latest rise suggests it has become attractive again to investors on cheaper evaluations. Its listed companies are due to split their shares from one to 10 to satisfy a regulatory requirement, which will make the stocks even more affordable to buy, especially for smaller investors. Mesaieed Petrochemical surged 7.1 percent to reach its highest since October 2018. The company had reported a 27 percent rise in annual profit and a hike in its dividend to 0.8 riyals ($0.2198) per share from 0.7 riyals. Egypt's blue-chip index fell 0.4 percent as profit-hunting pulled Commercial International Bank down 1.4 percent. The index has gained 16.3 percent so far this year, led by COMI, which has risen nearly 25 percent. A heavyweight stock, Egypt's biggest lender has been a pull-and-push factor for the index, which fell in three sessions of February, all led by the bank which has had four days of losses this month. Telecom Egypt dropped 4.5 percent after its full-year profit fell below expectations. It reported a net profit attributable to shareholders of 3.48 billion Egyptian pounds ($198.97 million), against forecasts for 3.66 billion pounds. Story continues The Abu Dhabi index increased 0.7 percent with the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank rising 1.1 percent. International Holding Co jumped 5.1 percent after it signed a deal to acquire PAL Cooling Holding. IHC earlier said it will issue 1.31 billion ordinary shares in return at 1.41 dirham per share. Saudi Arabia's index dropped 0.2 percent, with National Commercial Bank sliding 1.1 percent. Saudi Arabian Amiantit Co slid 9.8 percent after its board recommended a decrease in capital to 640.6 million riyals ($170.82 million) from 1.16 billion riyals as part of its plan to restructure some financially troubled group companies. The company said in a subsequent announcement that it had closed Ameron Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia Concrete Products Company. Dubai's index traded roughly flat, but real estate firms continued their gains with Emaar Properties rising 1.3 percent. SAUDI ARABIA The index fell 0.2 pct to 8,547 points DUBAI The index was up 0.1 pct at 2,634 points ABU DHABI The index rose 0.7 pct to 5,098 points Qatar The index increased 1.1 pct to 10,192 points EGYPT The index fell 0.4 pct to 15,147 points KUWAIT The index gained 0.4 pct to 5,502 points BAHRAIN The index was flat at 1,405 points OMAN The index was also flat at 4,056 points ($1 = 3.6728 UAE dirham) ($1 = 17.4900 Egyptian pounds) ($1 = 3.6405 Qatar riyals) ($1 = 3.7502 riyals) (Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Jan Harvey) Nearly two years after announcing a series of reforms to stop drivers from using city-issued parking placards to park illegally with impunity, Mayor Bill de Blasio once again announced a series of reforms aimed at stopping placard abuse. "It has been an intensive effort, because getting this right isn't easy," de Blasio said at a press conference in Chinatown on Thursday. "If it was so easy, they would've done it in the Koch administration, or the Dinkins administration, or the Giuliani administration, or the Bloomberg administrationbut, finally, in this administration, due to the hard work of so many of my colleagues, I think we found what will be a long-term solution to the problem of placard abuse." Under the de Blasio administration, the number of parking placards the city issued skyrocketed thanks to union contracts and the growth of the city's workforce. There are now around 125,500 of them, not counting those issued by the state and the federal government. The DOT issued 50,000, the NYPD issued 44,000 and the DOE issued 31,500, according to City Hall. The placards are supposed to allow city employees to park illegally in some circumstances in their official capacity as municipal workers. None of the mayor's new reforms aim to reduce the number of placards, or determine how many city employees actually need them to do their jobs. Instead, the mayor said that the city-issued laminated placards that are on the streets today would be replaced with difficult-to-remove, barcoded stickers on windshields by the end of 2019. By 2021, the plan is to create "an integrated parking management system will eventually link parking meters, hand held enforcement devices and license plates," according to a release from City Hall, which would eliminate the need for placards and stickers altogether. Additionally, the city will create a "three strikes" policy that will permanently revoke a placard from a city employee the third time they are caught using it illegally. The policy is not retroactive, so previous tickets won't count as strikes, according to the mayor's office. (The penalty for this offense is $50, but the mayor said he would lobby Albany to raise it to $250.) Ten DOT traffic agents will also be assigned to "hot spots" in Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn to crack down on placard abuse. If this sounds familiar, back in 2017, de Blasio touted the addition of 100 new NYPD traffic agents, and designated 16 officers who would target "hot spots" of illegal parking. While the mayor praised the City Council for "working on legislation that's going to play a crucial role" in reducing placard abuse, it is unclear if he actually supports the bills, which go much further than his own reforms. The mayor's office says they are still reviewing the legislation, and haven't taken a position yet. De Blasio dismissed concerns that city employees would continue to look the other way for their colleagues, and pointed to the 54,608 tickets written for placard abuse in 2018a 93 percent increase from 2016. "Yeah, there is a history we have to overcome, there is no question, but I think this kind of action is going to send a message," de Blasio said. Parked illegally in the No Standing Anytime zone & sidewalk on Canal Street yesterday while @BilldeBlasio was having a big to-do, telling the press @NYPDnews really is trying to address #placardcorruption. pic.twitter.com/3bq3KxRxPh placard corruption (@placardabuse) February 22, 2019 Of course, a "three-strikes" policy is not afforded to immigrant delivery cyclists who use e-bikes to do their jobs, but the mayor insisted that we should be more patient with these city employees who abuse their privileges. "I think its an acknowledgment of human reality, that sometimes people make mistakes, sometimes people do something unknowingly, sometimes there are exigent circumstances," de Blasio said. In fact, the mayor said it was "crazy" that some NYPD and FDNY employees have to park on the sidewalk, and that the city should pay to build or lease more parking spaces. "What we can say with assurance is there are some police precincts, some fire houses where there is ample parking and there are a lot where there is not, and thats crazy. We have to come up with a system that actually accommodates these employees, and again, if it takes leasing a parking lot or leasing spaces in a garage or whatever the heck it is, were going to find a way," de Blasio said. Danny Pearlstein, a spokesperson for the Riders Alliance, told Gothamist that the placards "pose a challenge for the city's two million bus riders." "They encourage placard-holders to use their cars, increasing overall traffic congestion. In certain cases, they also lead drivers to block bus lanes, delaying large numbers of people for the sake of individual convenience." Pearstein said it was "encouraging" to see the mayor talking about the issue, but "it remains to be seen whether tackling abuse can both succeed on its own terms and also stem the traffic and parking issues that placards create from the get go." Ultimately, the mayor framed the issue from the perspective of someone who is driving their car, despite the fact that 55 percent of New Yorkers don't own a car, and those that do tend to be wealthier than those who don't. The mayor didn't make one mention of blocked bus lanes or bike lanes or crosswalks. "I've done dozens and dozens of town hall meetings and parking comes up essentially in every single one of them," de Blasio said. "And when I used to drive my own car around and tried to park at my home in Brooklyn each night, I spent many a night where - 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes circling, looking for a space. So, I understand what every-day New Yorkers feel about this issue and how frustrating it is." NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The following statement is being issued by Levi & Korsinsky, LLP: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP announces that investigations have commenced on behalf of shareholders of the following publicly-traded companies. Kinderhook Bank Corp. (NUBK) Merger Announcement: January 22, 2019 Transaction Details: Under the terms of the transaction, Kinderhook shareholders will receive $62 per share in a merger with Community Bank System, Inc. (CBU). To learn more about the NUBK investigation and your rights, go to: https://www.zlk.com/mna/kinderhook-bank-corp . Ultimate Software (ULTI) Merger Announcement: February 4, 2019 Transaction Details: Under the terms of the transaction, Hellman & Friedman will purchase Ultimate for $331.50 per share. To learn more about the ULTI investigation and your rights, go to: https://www.zlk.com/mna/ultimate-software . Ellie Mae, Inc. (ELLI) Merger Announcement: February 12, 2019 Transaction Details: Under the terms of the transaction, Thoma Bravo, LLC will purchase Ellie Mae for $99 per share. To learn more about the VSM investigation and your rights, go to: https://www.zlk.com/mna/ellie-mae-inc . Levi & Korsinsky is a national firm with offices in New York, Connecticut, California, 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 lawsuits and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved shareholders. For more information, please feel free to contact any of the attorneys listed below. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. CONTACT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP Joseph E. Levi, Esq. jlevi@levikorsinsky.com 55 Broadway, 10th Floor New York, NY 10006 Tel: (212) 363-7500 Toll Free: (877) 363-5972 Fax: (212) 363-7171 www.zlk.com Clifford Sloan of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Clifford Sloan of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Courtesy photo A group of Texas attorneys teamed with one of the biggest names at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in a fight to block the execution of Bobby Moore, a 59-year-old man whose death-penalty case hinges on whether he is intellectually disabled and therefore cannot be executed. Lawyers from Norton Rose Fulbright provided pro bono representation, assisting Skadden litigation partner Cliff Sloan in clinching a major victory for Moore Tuesday before the U.S. Supreme Court. On the case are Norton Rose Houston partners Anne Rodgers and Warren Huang, who teamed with associate Nicole Lynn and Dallas counterpart Philip Tarpley for the case that has captured national attention. Rodgers has been with the firm's Houston office since 1990, handling a national and international practice focused on complex and novel commercial matters. Her practice includes class actions, derivative suits, securities fraud, business torts and contracts. Huang handles appeals at federal at state levels, while Lynn, a former Wall Street analyst, specializes in representing financial institutions. Tarpley is a member of Norton Rose's commercial litigation, antitrust and competition group, where he handles commercial disputes and arbitrations. The team celebrated the high court's decision. "We greatly appreciate the important ruling from the Supreme Court, and we are very pleased that justice will be done for Bobby Moore," said Sloan, counsel of record for Moore. The high court, which in 2002 barred execution of mentally disabled people, this week issued a 6-3 per curiam decision siding with Moore for the second time, and disagreeing with the standards the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals used to determine intellectual disability. Moore has spent about 39 years on death row for shooting elderly store clerk James McCarble during an armed robbery in Houston in 1980. But court records show a litany of social and mental difficulties, including an inability to perform basic math or understand time or the days of the week. His attorneys in Moore v. Texas have long argued that Moore has adaptive deficits and limited intellectual functioning, urging the state to spare his life. Moore has had some powerful allies along the way. In 2018, the American Bar Association filed an amicus brief arguing that the Texas appellate court had ignored the U.S. Supreme Court mandate. It urged the high court to reverse the state appellate panel. And then late last year a new twist: Prosecutors sided with Moore, as the Harris County District Attorneys Office, under District Attorney Kim Ogg, conceded he suffered a mental disability. Before the latest ruling, the Texas Attorney Generals Office stepped in to pursue the death sentence. PARIS, Feb 22 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron will host Germany's Angela Merkel in France on Feb. 27 for a working meeting to discuss Brexit, U.S. relations as well as the two countries defence partnership, Macron's office said on Friday. The talks between the European Union's two most powerful leaders will come about a month before Britain's scheduled departure from the bloc and a month after Paris and Berlin signed a new treaty to reinvigorate the EU's main axis. (Reporting by Michel Rose; editing by John Irish) It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Lam Research (LRCX). Shares have added about 10.9% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500. Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Lam Research due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts. Lam Research Q2 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates Lam Research Corporation reported second-quarter fiscal 2019 non-GAAP earnings of $3.87 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 20 cents. The figure increased 15.2% sequentially but was down 10.8% year over year. Adjusted revenues increased 8.2% sequentially but decreased 2.2% year over year to $2.52 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.5 billion. The sequential growth is attributed to robust performance of both etch and deposition technologies, which in turn resulted in the expansion of its serviceable addressable market. Management stated that memory segments will likely weaken during this year as customers continue to reign in both NAND and DRAM spending. However, it expects non-memory segments to grow in 2019, driven by continued rise in 3D architectures, along with technology innovation for transistor, interconnect and advanced packaging applications. Top Line in Detail In the quarter, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China accounted for 27%, 25%, 17% and 14% of the companys total revenues. Southeast Asias contribution was 7%, while both the United States and Europe contributed 5% each. It experienced rising demand for DRAM application and NAND Flash, which led to increasing adoption of dielectric etch technology. Moreover, Lam Research benefited from its transition to new data-enabled economy, in which DRAM and NAND continue to gain from density growth. Operating Details Story continues Non-GAAP gross margin came in at 46.3%, which contracted 10 basis points (bps) on a year-over-year basis. Non-GAAP operating expenses were $440 million, reflecting a decrease of 2.4% sequentially. As a percentage of sales, research and development expenses increased, while selling, general and administrative expenditure marked a decline. Adjusted operating margin was 28.8%, expanding 180 bps sequentially. The increase was due to solid execution and operating leverage. Balance Sheet & Cash Flow At the end of the fiscal second quarter, cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments decreased to $3.6 billion from $3.9 billion in the fiscal first quarter. Cash flow from operating activities was $642 million, down from $720.3 billion in the fiscal first quarter. Capital expenditures were $106 million, up from $56 million in the fiscal first quarter. During the quarter, Lam Research paid dividends of $168 million. Guidance For third-quarter fiscal 2019, Lam Research projects revenues to be $2.4 billion (+/- $150 million). Gross margin is predicted at around 44.5% (+/-1%) and operating margin is expected to be 25% (+/-1%). Non-GAAP earnings are projected at $3.40 (+/- 20 cents) per share on a share count of nearly 159 million. How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then? In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates. VGM Scores Currently, Lam Research has an average Growth Score of C, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. However, the stock was allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top quintile for this investment strategy. Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in. Outlook Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Lam Research has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months. 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 Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research A leading New York civil rights law firm filed a lawsuit today in federal court in Brooklyn against the warden of the Metropolitan Detention Center, seeking a class action that would represent the more than 1,000 people housed in the federal jails West Building during the week it went without power or adequate heat in January and February of this year. Todays complaint was filed on behalf of two men locked up at MDC during the crisis. David Scott, a 60-year-old Queens man, was awaiting his trial at MDC when the power went out, and he spent a week with only underwear, a T-shirt, socks, and a short-sleeve cotton jumpsuit to wear as vents blew cold air into his unlit cell, according to the complaint. The lawsuit alleges that Scott repeatedly sought medical attention for numbness in his hand, a fungal infection on his skin, and an abscess, but was ignored, even days after the judge presiding in his case specifically ordered jail staff to treat his conditions. The other plaintiff, Jeremy Cerda, a 25-year-old Queens man, spent the week of the blackout on the jails intake unit, where he had recently arrived after failing to find employment, one of the conditions of his bond. Cerda suffers from depression and anxiety, according to the complaint, and after five days in a dark and unheated cell, with only brown and stinking water to drink and his toilet frequently not functioning, he began to think about hurting himself. Warden [Herman] Quay left more than a thousand men isolated in dark and freezing conditions for nearly a week, with limited access to medical care and hot food and water, without attorney or family visitation, and cut off from access to the CorrLinks telephone and email systems, the lawsuit alleges. Quays failings were legion. Not only did Quay fail to take steps to improve conditions in the jail, according to the lawsuit, he and his team repeatedly lied about them. In so doing, the lawsuit claims, Quay violated the Fifth and Eighth Amendment rights of the men detained at the jail. The suit is brought by Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady, which has a long history of litigation surrounding conditions in the city jails on Rikers Island. A class action suit brought by the firm, along with the Legal Aid Society, Ropes and Dunn, and ultimately the U.S. Department of Justice, led to a 2015 consent decree mandating sweeping reforms at Rikers. Wardens must provide the people in their jails with a minimal civilized measure of lifes necessitiesadequate safety, food, warmth, exercise, hygiene, and medical care," the lawsuit states. These are some of the most basic conditions of confinement the Constitution requires. These standards define a civilized society. While jails need not be comfortable, they must provide decent, humane conditions for the people who live there. The Bureau of Prisons, which runs the Metropolitan Detention Center, declined to comment on the suit. Big crowd outside MDC right now, as inmates bang on windows above pic.twitter.com/BHCxMtqHuZ Jake Offenhartz (@jangelooff) February 2, 2019 Todays lawsuit joins another one filed three weeks ago by the Federal Defenders of New York in the Eastern District over the jails refusal during the crisis to allow people to speak to their lawyers. The Federal Defenders are asking for a court-appointed special master to oversee the jails treatment of people in its custody. Conditions at the jail have also been the subject of numerous other court hearings in recent weeks, including one in which Judge Analise Torres personally toured the facility with a court reporter, documenting the inhumane conditions she found there. Under public pressure and at the urging of legislators, the Department of Justices Office of the Inspector General has also begun an investigation into how Quay and other jail officials handled the power outage, but given the long history of the Inspector General issuing sternly-worded reports about conditions at MDC with little apparent improvement, many suspect that the best hope for real change lies with the courts. You can read the full complaint below. MDC Class Action Lawsuit by on Scribd SpaceIL, a private Israeli startup, has partnered with Elon Musks SpaceX to launch a new lunar lander, potentially becoming the first privately funded mission to reach the moon. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstines told FOX Business Stuart Varney that NASA may benefit from the mission. We actually can put science experiments aboard the space craft. We can use our deep space network to communicate back home and get all kinds of data and information. but were going to be able to do it for a fraction of the cost, he said on Thursday. The NASA administrator also stated that such space missions can become more common in the future. We are building a coalition of nations to return to the moon sustainably,Bridenstines said, adding on, This time when we go, were going to stay. The modern day space race has also seen China land a rover on the far side of the moon. On January 3, 2019, the China National Space Administration stated that they successfully landed the Chang'e 4 craft on the dark side of the moon. There is a lot of interest internationally on the moon, Bridenstine said. Theres a lot of resources on the moon. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP Space ILs lunar spacecraft Beresheet is set to launch at 3:45 a.m. Israeli time, making Israel the fourth country to land on the surface of the moon and the first to launch a commercial lunar lander. Related Articles Israel is headed for the moon. Its first spaceship designed for a moon landing is set to take off later this evening from Florida. The move marks the first privately-funded lunar mission. The explorer was built by an Israeli nonprofit space venture called SpaceIL using money given almost exclusively by private donors. Takeoff is expected to happen at 8:45 p.m. ET Thursday at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The robotic explorer will be unmanned and will be sent on top of a Falcon 9 rocket made by Elon Musks Space X. Space X had 21 successful Falcon 9 launches in 2018. The final launch of 2018 had the rocket carry a new GPS III satellites for the U.S airfare into space, marking the companys first national security mission. If successful, the explorer, called Beresheet, should arrive on the moon in April after a two-month journey through space. Currently, the United States, former Soviet Union, and China have been the only ones to successfully land on the moons surface. Last year, SpaceIL was one of five finalists that failed to claim any part of the Google Lunar X Prize, a $30 million 21st century space race to send the first private mission to the Moon. SpaceIL does not plan to continue after this mission. - By Alberto Abaterusso Iamgold Corp. (IAG) disclosed fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2018 on Wednesday after the closing bell. The Canadian mid-tier gold producer closed the final trimester missing consensus on non-GAAP and GAAP earnings, with a non-GAAP loss of 3 cents per share and GAAP loss of 7 cents per share. Forecasters were looking for non-GAAP and GAAP loss of 1 cent. Revenue was $274.3 million in the final quarter of 2018, a 5.8% decline year-over-year, but the miner managed to beat consensus on revenue by $1.84 million. Iamgold Corp. also reported figures for the entire year of 2018. Due to higher energy, maintenance and contractor costs, it recorded a 10.5% year-over-year decline in gross profit to $136.9 million. Higher royalties and a stronger euro-to-U.S. dollar conversion also hit the gross profit. Revenues were nonetheless 1.5% higher at $1.11 billion on slightly higher gold sales volume of 872,000 ounces and average realized gold price of $1,270 per ounce. In 2018 Iamgold Corp. produced 882,000 ounces of attributable gold, flat from the previous year, at a 5% higher all-in sustain cost of $1,270 per ounce of metal. The AISC increased because in 2018 the company laid the foundation for a stronger future production profile through the sustainment of higher exploration and evaluation costs. In fact, while remaining focused on reaching production and cost targets, the mining company sustained higher expenses for enhancing reserves and making the Cote Gold project in Ontario and the Boto Gold project in Mali feasible for production. The main result of higher spending was that proven and probable reserves of gold increased 23% to 17.9 million ounces in 2018 from 13.78 million ounces in 2017. As a result, the gold margin declined 5.7% to $477 per ounce of gold, while helped by higher sales volume, the adjusted net profit was stable at $29.8 million or 6 cents per share in 2018. Instead, the GAAP net income switched to a loss of $28.2 million or a loss of 6 cents per share in 2018 due to charges of $524.1 million for impairments at the Cote Gold Project and the Rosebel mine in Suriname. Story continues As of Dec. 31, the balance sheet of Iamgold Corp. was characterized by: $734.1 million in cash and short-term investments and $398.5 million in long-term debt. The equity was worth about $2.79 billion, translating to a debt-equity ratio of 14.3% versus an industry median of 34%. Iamgold Corp. has assets of the Essakane mine in Burkina Faso, the Rosebel mine in Suriname, the Westwood mine in Canada and from its Sadiola joint venture in Mali. For full-year 2019, it guided for total attributable gold production of 810,000 to 870,000 ounces at an all-in sustain cost of $1,030 to $1,080 per ounce of gold sold. The stock traded around $3.73 per share on Wednesday for a market capitalization of roughly $1.74 billion. After 30% depreciation for the year through Feb. 20, the share price is far below the 200-day simple moving average line but still slightly above the 100- and 50-day SMA lines. The share price at close Wednesday is 35.6% above the 52-week low of $2.75 and 69.7% off the 52-week high of $6.33. The 14-day Relative Strength Indicator is 59.51, which suggests the stock is neither overbought nor oversold. Wall Street has issued an overweight recommendation rating on Iamgold Corp., meaning that the stock is thought to outperform in 2019. The forecasters have also issued a target price of $5.36 per share, reflecting 52.3% upside from Wednesday's closing share price. Disclosure: I have no positions in any security mentioned. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. (Bloomberg) -- The mobile industrys biggest show is shaping up to be a proxy for a U.S.-China battle over the future of Huawei Technologies Co., putting telecom executives in an awkward position. Huawei and the U.S. government are bolstering their presence at MWC Barcelona, formerly called Mobile World Congress, setting the scene for a showdown next week as both sides try to win over politicians and company leaders. Telecom executives will come together at a Sunday meeting of global industry group GSMA to discuss ways out of the stalemate thats expected to disrupt deal-making in Barcelona and could delay 5G in Europe. Mobile World Congress has always been about commercial deals and things like 5G use cases, and now executives are dragged into this political food fight, said Paul Triolo, a technology analyst at Eurasia Group. Its putting a damper on the conference -- things wont move forward as quickly until its clear how Europe will handle the Huawei issue. European CEOs are pushing back against U.S. demands to ban Huawei because the region is so dependent on the companys technology, Triolo said. Carriers still dont know if theyll be allowed to use its gear when building next-generation wireless networks, as governments from the U.K. to Germany weigh restricting the supplier, which has been accused of enabling Chinese espionage. Huawei rejects the allegations. The company will focus on showcasing its technology and continue conversations with government officials, said Joe Kelly, a spokesman for Huawei. We have been actively talking to all countries about who we are, what we do and what we dont do, Kelly told reporters Thursday in Vienna. Some 100,000 industry aficionados will roam the LED-lit conference halls to check out the latest gadgets -- from smartphones and tablets to artificial intelligence and robots. Foldable Phones Samsung Electronics Co. and Huawei are among handset makers expected to show off foldable phones. The South Korean technology giant is also bringing its first 5G smartphone, the Galaxy S10 5G. Vodafone Group Plc has installed a 5G network in the center of Barcelona for attendees to test. Story continues Drones will be a major talking point after the devices caused chaos at airports, including a one-day closure of Londons Gatwick in December. MWC Barcelona has dedicated part of its NextTech Hall to drone and robotics companies. The latest generation of augmented reality headsets and smart appliances, cars and wearables under the internet of things umbrella will round out the gadgets on display. M&A Chatter Behind the scenes, MWC Barcelona becomes a place for dealmakers to retreat to back rooms or hotel suites to hunt for ways to gain a bigger slice of the market. Politicians in Germany and France are stepping up their campaign for laxer antitrust rules, which could enable larger deals in the industry. The towers that carriers use to relay wireless signals around networks are becoming a popular target for bidders and eyes are on Vodafone, which is carving out the assets and may do deals. Potentially pricey 5G buildouts are spurring dealmaking. Telecom Italia SpA and Vodafone will explore building networks jointly in Italy to share the costs and accelerate construction. Then theres the ongoing question of French consolidation. Regulation Deutsche Telekom AGs Tim Hoettges, Vodafones Nick Read and Orange SAs Stephane Richard are expected to demand friendlier regulation -- to better compete with big U.S. and Chinese tech companies. Most of the continents biggest carriers are tackling share declines and mounting competition. Germanys planned auction of 5G mobile frequencies is under attack from operators, who slam requirements that they cover 98 percent of homes, every highway and all federal roads in the country with 100 megabit-per-second coverage as unreasonable. --With assistance from Nate Lanxon, Rodrigo Orihuela, Angelina Rascouet and Boris Groendahl. To contact the reporter on this story: Stefan Nicola in Berlin at snicola2@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rebecca Penty at rpenty@bloomberg.net, Amy Thomson, Kim Robert McLaughlin For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. Welcome back to Higher Law, our weekly briefing on all things cannabis. I'm Cheryl Miller, reporting for Law.com from Sacramento, where the governor says he wants to pull National Guard troops from the southern border to fight illicit marijuana grows in the state. Well, that and because he thinks the president's border emergency declaration is "political theater." This week, WilmerHale dips its toes into the marijuana banking conundrum. Also, the fate of a million-dollar hemp shipment stuck in Idaho moves to the Ninth Circuit. Scroll down to see Who Got the Work. Thanks as always for reading. Please keep the feedback, story ideas and tips coming. Drop me a lineat cmiller@alm.com or you can call me at 916-448-2935. Follow me on Twitter at @capitalaccounts. WilmerHale Talks Pot ... Banking As Congress grapples with how, or even whether, to ensure marijuana-related businesses have access to banking, eight attorneys from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Haleand Dorr weighed in on the issue with a client alert that was reprinted this week in New York University School of Law's Compliance & Enforcement blog. The authors, including Denver partner John Walsh, the U.S. attorney in Colorado from 2010 to 2016, note the ongoing risks for banks and credit unions that choose to serve cannabis businesses, including potential violations of drug and money laundering laws. "Financial institutions should be aware of and develop policies and procedures to mitigate these risks," the Wilmer advisory says. "Because different jurisdictions take different approaches to criminalizing activities involving marijuana-related businesses, financial institutions should centralize risk-management decision making around marijuana-related issues with a knowledgeable group of legal, compliance and risk management personnel." The piece talks about hemp's inclusion in the 2018 Farm Bill, the confusion surrounding CBD and how Canadian and European laws play into the mix. There's probably nothing groundbreaking in the report for folks who have been struggling with cannabis banking issues for years. But it is interesting to see a firm with the heft of WilmerHale offering guidance on a marijuana-related topic. It's not the first time. A November client alert from London-based WilmerHale counsel David Rundle discussed proceeds from legal Canadian cannabis operations in light of the United Kingdom's money laundering laws. WilmerHale doesn't have a marijuana practice, but its attorneys know plenty about banking, securities and regulatory compliance. And their clients are surely aware of the current and future potential of licensed cannabis markets. "The myriadand conflictingstate, federal and international laws governing the burgeoning marijuana industry have created a complicated legal landscape for financial institutions," the alert says. Joining Walsh as authors on the guidance are partners Sharon Cohen Levin, Paul Architzel, Franca Harris Gutierrez and Matthew Martens; counsel Michelle Nicole Diamond; and associates Emma Bennett and Zachary Goldman. Architzel is chair of the firm's futures and derivatives group, and Cohen is an authority on anti-money laundering. Gutierrez is vice-chair of WilmerHale's financial institutions practice group. >> Rob Nichols, president of the American Bankers Association, wrote an op-ed in The Hill this week, calling on Congress to "reconcile that divide" between states and the federal government on marijuana legalization "so financial institutions have the certainty they need to serve businesses that are legal in their states." You can read more here. Story continues A Fight Over Hemp Held Hostage The fate of a truck-trailer full of what it's owners say is industrial hemp is now before the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Bush of the U.S. District Court in Idaho this week refused Big Sky Scientific's request for an order forcing the Idaho State Police to release the 6,700 pounds of cargo that officers seized outside of Boise on Jan. 24. State police said the Colorado-bound shipment was marijuana. In a 28-page ruling, Bush wrote that while the 2018 Farm Bill made hemp a legal agricultural commodity, Big Sky Scientific's shipment "could not have been grown under either a federal or state plan implemented under the 2018 Farm Bill because neither the federal government nor the state of Oregon (where the hemp is alleged to have been grown, harvested, and shipped from) has yet enacted such a plan." Bush continued: "Unless produced in compliance with such a plan, the cargo at issue in this casewhatever name is given to itis not 'hemp' as defined in the 2018 Farm Bill, which is entitled to interstate commerce protections for purposes of transportation across state lines. Therefore, the Court concludes that Plaintiff is not likely to prevail upon the merits of its case and, under applicable law, the Court cannot issue a preliminary injunction to grant the relief Plaintiff seeks at this time." On Wednesday, Stoel Rives partner Elijah Watkins, filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. "It sets up a really interesting question for the Ninth Circuit," Watkins told me. "We think we've got a commerce clause case that's on all fours and the district court doesn't really address that directly." Watkins said three Big Sky Scientific-sanctioned lab reports show the THC level in the transported crop is under 0.3 percent, making it non-psychoactive hemp. Bush in a footnote to the ruling noted that tests ordered by both parties show the crop meets the definition of hemp. But attorneys for the Idaho State Police contend that the cargo is contraband because products and plants containing any amount of THC are marijuana under state law. Watkins said the cargo's potential CBD value is worth more than $1 million. Big Sky Scientific has asked the Ninth Circuit for an expedited briefing schedule. Who Got the Work Sandeep Singh , a former litigator for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service's Office of Chief Counsel, has joined Rogoway Law Group to help expand the San Francisco cannabis firm's taxation practice. Singh was previously a tax attorney with Moskowitz LLP . Nicole Elliott, director of San Francisco's Office of Cannabis since 2017, was named senior advisor on cannabis issues in California Gov. Gavin Newsom's Office of Business and Economic Development. Elliott served as director of the Office of Legislative and Government Affairs for the late Mayor Lee from 2014 to 2017. In the Weeds... >> Weed in the workplace: "With New York seemingly poised to enact legislation legalizing recreational marijuana, New York employers will face a host of new compliance issues," DLA Piper partner Evan Parness and of counsel Garrett Kennedy write. Drug-testing, drug policies, reasonable accommodationsthere's a lot on the table. "Employers would be well-served to begin surveying their policies, procedures and training that will need to be adapted to comply with any such new law." New York Law Journal >> Meanwhile, add Maryland to the list of states pondering recreational use laws. Lawmakers have created a work group to study the issue. The group will make recommendations by the end of this year. The issue could go to voters in a 2020 referendum. The Baltimore Sun >> And it looks like there's a marijuana deal in New Jersey. Maybe. Gov. Phil Murphy appears to have reached a deal in principle with legislative leaders over recreational-use taxes and regulation. How solid that deal is seems to depend on who's doing the talking. A tax of $42 an ounce is reportedly on the table as is a five-member regulatory commission. NJ.com >> Is CBD a cure-all or quackery? With marijuana still prohibited at the federal level, there hasn't been much research on the potential benefits of cannabidiol. But that hasn't stopped its marketing for all manner of aches and pains. And sales are booming. Regulators are taking notice, aided by provisions in the recent farm bill that gave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration some oversight over hemp-derived CBD. Bloomberg >> Los Angeles should be California's largest legal cannabis market. But delays in a complex permitting process have left hundreds of applicants waiting for a license even though recreational sales became legal in the state more than a year ago. That's left would-be retailers paying rent on empty storefronts, unsure when they'll be able to stock shelves and welcome customers. Los Angeles Times >> The Florida legal fight over medical marijuana dispensary caps will continue. Attorneys for the Florida Department of Health filed notice that they'll appeal a Feb. 1 ruling by Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers that struck down a state-imposed limit on the number of dispensaries operating in the state. Gievers, siding with retailer Trulieve, said the caps violate the 2016 constitutional amendment legalizing medical cannabis. Daily Business Review The Calendar: Mark It Feb. 23 - The Kansas Hemp Symposium takes place at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson. Scheduled speakers include Peter Andreone, counsel to Hoban Law Group and founder of Andreone Law. Feb. 26 -CannaGather New Jersey hosts "Education is the Key: Major in Cannabis." at the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton. Scheduled speakers are Bridget Hill-Zayat, an attorney with Hoban Law Group and Chloe Villano, president of Clover Leaf University. Feb. 26 - Kahner Global presents the 2nd annual Cannabis Private Investment Forum in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The slate of speakers include John Vardaman, general counsel at Hypur, and Greenspoon Marder partner Sander Zagzebski. Federal housing officials announced on Friday the appointment of a private investigator and former Manhattan prosecutor for the role of overseeing the New York City Housing Authority. The appointment of Bart Schwartz, who was first reported as a candidate for the job last month, follows an agreement the city made last month with federal housing officials. One of the stipulations was that the federal government would install its own watchdog to oversee NYCHA, which federal prosecutors said had undergone years of mismanagement that exposed its residents to lead paint as well as other health hazards. The press release said that Schwartz will "observe NYCHA's key operations, especially as they relate to lead safety, heat, pest control, and elevators" and submit quarterly reports to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, whose office had led the investigation into NYCHA. "I look forward to working to achieve living conditions for NYCHA residents that are decent, safe, and sanitary," Schwartz said in the statement. "The Agreement serves as a blueprint that sets out my duties and responsibilities for achieving those goals." Im thrilled w/the official selection of #BartSchwartz as the @NYCHA monitor. Ive already met w/him twice, including this week where he & I began to develop a plan for systematic work order failures, the immediate need for more maintenance workers, permanent boilers & compactors pic.twitter.com/ggWk9PvVGQ Lynne Patton (HUD) (@LynnePattonHUD) February 22, 2019 During the 1980s, Schwartz worked for former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in New Yorks Southern District, when Giuliani headed the criminal prosecutions division. More recently, in 2016, he was tasked by Governor Cuomo to perform an internal review of a Buffalo economic incentive program after U.S. Attorney Preet Bhararas office targeted the administrations construction contracts for undisclosed conflicts of interest. Among those who were ultimately convicted were Joseph Percoco, Cuomo's former top aide and campaign manager, and Alain Kaloyeros, the former president of the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute. In a report to the state, Schwartz found a "sloppy process" and "systemic problems," according to a spokeswoman for the state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. His reports clearly demonstrate why we need to tighten oversight over economic development spending and fix the weaknesses in the procurement process." Schwartz earned more than $1 million for the contract with the state. The newly appointed NYCHA watchdog also has a curious connection to Lenora Fulani, a controversial political activist who most recently has been involved in the opposition against NYCHAs privatization efforts. Schwartz chairs a childrens theater group founded by Fulani, according to The City. Fulani is among a group of organizers who are fighting the privatization of NYCHA, which involves handing of the day-to-day management of the 175,000 apartments to private companies as well as partnerships with private developers for infill projects on NYCHA properties. Both measures are intended to help NYCHA raise much needed money for capital repairs. Reached by phone on Thursday, Schwartz declined to comment on the reports. Fulani did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "This isnt just a fight for people being attacked," Fulani told Gothamst during a small protest at City Hall earlier this month. "Its about what kind of city we want and how we want to live our lives." In the press release, HUD said it was continuing to provide NYCHA with $1.5 billion this year or $28.8 million a week. Some have criticized the city's deal with HUD for failing to secure more federal funding for NYCHA repairs. Schwartz is currently the chairman of Guidepost Solutions, a firm that works on security, investigation and compliance issues. His bio on the companys website begins with the following detail, Described by The New York Times as the person 'often sought out inthorny situations'..." * Loans: LBO financing stretches boundaries in cash-rich Japanese market By Wakako Sato TOKYO, Feb 22 (LPC) - Cash-rich private equity firms and Japanese banks flush with liquidity are pushing the boundaries of leveraged finance in Asia, with an unusually high leverage multiple expected on the leveraged buyout of Godiva Chocolatiers businesses in parts of the region. South Korean private equity firm MBK Partners won the bid for four of Godiva's 100-plus markets: Japan, South Korea, Australia and the future rights to develop New Zealand. It is said to be paying an acquisition price between US$1bn and US$1.5bn. Japan's three megabanks and mezzanine investors are preparing to provide debt financing of up to 100bn (US$903m), representing an unusually high debt-to-Ebitda multiple of up to 10 times. There are tons of small-cap deals in the market, but limited number of mid to large-cap transactions, so everyone flocks to such deals, said a leveraged finance banker in Tokyo. The strong interest from lenders to support the LBO is not surprising. MBK pipped four other PE firms, including Baring Private Equity Asia, CVC Capital Partners and Marunouchi Capital for the assets, which carry strong brand value and generate stable cashflows. From a lender's point of view, as long as the existing business is steady, you can expect the loan to be repaid despite high leverage multiples, said another leveraged finance banker in Tokyo. Godivas Japanese business is said to contribute around 90% of the revenues across the four markets MBK is buying. Revenues at Godiva Japan almost tripled since 2010 to 39.8bn in 2017, according to the company. Godiva Japan's Ebitda is slightly less than 10bn, according to market participants. Japan is the world's sixth-biggest chocolate market, according to Euromonitor International, with estimated 2018 retail sales of US$5.2bn. HIGH LEVERAGE PRECEDENT It is not the first time MBK has employed such a high leverage multiple in an Asian LBO. Back in 2007, before the global financial crisis, it raised 45.5bn in debt, representing a nearly 12 times Ebitda multiple, for its 71bn purchase of accounting software firm Yayoi. Story continues The same year MBK wrapped up a NT$31.5bn (then US$947m) three-tranche LBO loan backing its purchase of a controlling stake in Taiwanese cable television operator China Network Systems. The leverage on the borrowing was covenanted at around 8.75 times. Several other LBO loans from Taiwans cable TV sector followed in later years with leverage multiples of over seven times, proving to be the norm in a hugely liquid domestic banking market, where lenders were hungry for yield. In most other parts of Asia, LBO loans have typically carried leverage multiples of around five to six times given the conservatism among lenders in a bank-dominated market. In some instances, mezzanine funds and institutional investors have provided additional leverage of between 0.25 times and 1.00 times. In Japan, the most recent high-water mark for LBO loans was the 2017 buyout of cheese-tart shop Bake in 2017, when homegrown private equity fund Polaris Capital Group raised debt with an eight times leverage multiple, according to one banker. In the last couple of years, leveraged finance has produced strong numbers in Japan, although the record US$13.3bn in 2018 was largely due to one jumbo financing a 825bn loan backing Bain Capitals buyout of Toshiba Corp's chip unit in Japan, according to LPC data. It was sold to only four banks even though it was the biggest LBO financing from Asia. Less than a year later, another jumbo borrowing from Japan is poised to beat that record. KKR-owned Japanese auto parts maker Calsonic Kansei is raising about 1trn to acquire the high-tech car parts unit of Italys Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and refinance existing debt. The loan is expected to carry a leverage multiple of over five times the combined Ebitda of Calsonic Kansei and the target Magneti Marelli. ( Reporting By Wakako Sato; editing by Prakash Chakravarti and David Holland) The GBPUSD pair yesterday closed on a dovish note, but a look at the intra-day hourly chart shows there hasnt been much change in price action. Contradicting headlines saw the pair climb towards 1.31 but failed to breach the same resulting in erasure of all gains made early in the day post which the pair traded in consolidative action well near previous session lows. While UK officials comment that trade talks between the EU & UK are heading positive direction, news that lawmakers continue to leave Tory party points to another story. Similarly, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker told the press that he is not optimistic on the possibility of UK existing EU with a trade deal. This further weighed on British Pound as Brexit headlines are turning from uncertain conditions to possible no-deal exit scenario. Dollar Gained on Sino-U.S. Trade Talk Optimism Further US Dollar continued to gain strength in the broad market despite mixed macro data outcome last night in the U.S.A. as news that Chinese Vice Premier Liu-He visited Washington for high-level trade talks with US President Donald Trump boosted optimism surrounding Sino-U.S. trade talks. This optimism influenced US long term government bond yields to rise by nearly 1% overnight providing US Greenback with fundamental support. As Dollar gained strength while British Pound lacked positive support the pair saw all its gains made yesterday erased during American market hours. However, investors remain cautious and held back from placing major bets as they await Parliament session scheduled to occur near the end of the month for getting an idea of how the UK is going to proceed moving forward and lawmakers stance on further Brexit activities. This has resulted in pair moving rangebound below mid-1.30 handle ahead of London market hours today. As of writing this article, GBPUSD pair is trading at 1.3039 down by 0.07% on the day. Moving forward, investors await US macro data and headlines pertaining to Sino-U.S. trade talks for meaningful trading opportunities as trading session come to close for the week. On the release front, the UK lacks any major macro data updates while the US market will see a speech from Fed Member Clarida. When looking from a technical perspective, the pair lacks a clear directional bias and needs to decline below 1.3000 on the downside for USD to gain dominance over price action while GBP needs to breach past 1.3050 & 1.3100 handles for GBP to gain upper hand. Given current market conditions, the price action is likely to remain rangebound for rest of the day well near 1.3050 handle as both sides lack decisive factor to make a breakout. Story continues Please let us know what you think in the comments below This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: The tensions and bad blood between Apple and Qualcomm have just been driven a notch higher. According to Reuters, Qualcomm now wants trade regulators in the U.S. to ban the sale of some iPhones in the country. Specifically, Qualcomm wants those iPhones equipped with modems made by its rival Intel taken off shelves. With the move, Qualcomm is seeking to overturn an International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling delivered last year in September. Then, the ITC concluded that some of Qualcomms patents had been violated by Apple. Read the full story on CCN.com. Ryan Petersen.jpg When venture capital funds put up $1 billion to back a company, they obviously take a long-term view of the market. Hundreds of years in fact, says Ryan Petersen, chief executive of Flexport. The San Francisco-based company joined unicorn status in the venture capital world by raising that amount in a funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund, the $100-billion portfolio of SoftBank Group. SoftBank's vision for companies to have a 300-year lifespan mirrors the long-term trajectory of global trade. Although 4 percent annual growth might not sound attractive to a VC fund, "on average the world just continues to grow trade," Petersen said. "There can be bad years of course, but long-term, the world just wants to trade and connect with each other," Petersen said. With the $1 billion in additional funding, Flexport aims to facilitate that trade by leveraging technology to assist shippers navigate modern supply chains. The Amazon-effect means cargo owners and shippers have to distribute smaller caches of inventory more rapidly across a wider network of warehouses and distribution centers. This new distribution network entails a higher degree of technology and automation because "it just breaks if you try to manage it in email and phone-based systems," Petersen said. In addition to managing warehousing, transportation and customs processes, Flexport's front-end software offers an easier way to manage and route freight that's more akin to a retail shipping experience. "You don't go to FedEx and tell them to send this package via their Memphis facility and then go through Kentucky," Petersen said. "You just tell them the time you want it to get there and to offer pricing options based on that." Don't miss it. Register today . Don't miss it. Register today. Flexport's web-based dashboards offer customers "the visibility and control to manage all that freight," Petersen said. The dashboard offers customers a wide array of freight analytics and touchpoints to choose from. But in the end, Petersen said customers only want simplicity and not more complexity Story continues In addition to automating workflows and providing tracking of shipments, Petersen said increasing automation in the supply chain means a more proactive relationship with shippers. "When new tariffs are introduced, within five minutes we know every single customer that has those customs codes," Petersen said. "We can tell them what the effects of tariffs will be, what they can expect from the tariffs and then have customer account representatives reach out to them." A simpler shipping process helped drive gross transportation revenue to $500 million last year, double 2017's level. The company is still recording operating losses as it builds out its physical footprint and adds more employees. Among the company's leased assets are cross-docking space at the seaport in Shenzhen, China and near Hong Kong's airport. It also has a cross-dock facility in Los Angeles connecting the airport and seaport and plans to open another facility in Chicago. Flexport also runs its own-chartered airplane running between Asia, Los Angeles and Chicago. Petersen said the company plans to build out that network to other locations in Asia, the U.S. as well as Europe. The threat of tariffs and other ongoing trade hostilities means shippers are looking to a wider array of countries in order to source products. "There's a shift of manufacturing capacity from China to other parts of Asia and the Indian subcontinent," Petersen said. "Expect to see us invest in those regions to build what we've built in China." Learn more today Learn more today Want more content like this? Click here to Subscribe Permalink See more from Benzinga 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Inclusion in TSX Venture50 for second consecutive year TORONTO, ONTARIO / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2019 / Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. (AIM:ECO, TSX-V: EOG), the oil and gas exploration company with licenses in highly prospective regions in Guyana and Namibia, is delighted to announce that it has been ranked second in the Energy Sector on the 2019 TSX Venture 50, up from fifth in 2018. This marks the second consecutive year Eco has been included in the TSX Venture 50, an annual ranking of the top-performing companies on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V") over the last year. For further information, please visit http://www.tmx.com/venture50. The TSX Venture 50 comprises the top ten companies listed on the TSX-V in each of the five major industry sectors ranked by return on investment, market capitalisation growth and trading volume. The sectors are mining, energy & energy services, clean technology & life sciences, diversified industries and technology. All data was as of December 31, 2018. Gil Holzman, President and CEO of EcoAtlantic Commented: "It is a privilege to have been ranked as one of the top 50 performing stocks on the TSX-V for the second year running, as demonstrated by our inclusion in the TSX Venture 50 for 2019,ranked second out of the ten best performing energy companies. In recognition of the award, representatives from the Eco team will be at the TSX today toring the bell, opening trade on the exchange. "We are delighted that we have been able to deliver such a performance for our shareholders. It reflects the achievements we made in 2018, including Total's farm into our Orinduik Blockoffshore Guyana and our advancement towards drilling at least two wells on theOrinduik Block in Q2 2019. "Our prospects have been further bolstered by 12 discoveries on ExxonMobil's adjacent Stabroek Block, most importantly their Hammerhead discovery, that opened up a whole new Tertiaryplay on the Stabroek and Orinduik Blocks. Eco's first well to be drilled with our partners Tullow and Total using the Stena Forth drillship on theJethro-Lobe prospect will target this same Tertiary play. Story continues "We look forward to updating themarket with announcements as they arise, especially the selection of the secondtarget and the spudding of our first of two wells on the block." For more information, please visit www.ecooilandgas.com orcontact the following: Eco Atlantic Oil and Gas +1 (416) 250 1955 Gil Holzman, CEO Colin Kinley, COO Alan Friedman, VP Strand Hanson Limited (Financial & Nominated Adviser) +44 (0) 20 7409 3494 James Harris Rory Murphy James Bellman Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Broker) Callum Stewart Nicholas Rhodes Ashton Clanfield +44 (0)20 7710 7600 Berenberg (Joint Broker) +44 (0) 20 3207 7800 Matthew Armitt Detlir Elezi Pareto Securities Limited (Joint Broker) +44 (0) 20 7786 4370 Sren Clausen +44 (0) 20 7786 4382 Davide Finelli Matilda Makitalo +44 (0) 20 7786 4398 +44 (0) 20 7786 4375 Blytheweigh (PR) +44 (0) 20 7138 3204 Tim Blythe Julia Tilley Jane Lenton The informationcontained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constituteinside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No.596/2014. Notes to editors Eco Atlantic is a TSX-V and AIM listed Oil & Gas exploration and production Company with interests in Guyana and Namibia where significant oil discoveries have been made. The Group aims to deliver material value for its stakeholders through oil exploration, appraisal and development activities in stable emerging markets, in partnership with major oil companies, including Tullow, Total and Azinam. In Guyana, Eco Guyana holds a 15% working interest alongside Total (25%) and Tullow Oil (60%) in the 1,800 km2Orinduik Block in the shallow water of the prospective Suriname-Guyana basin. The Orinduik Block is adjacent and updip to the deep-water Liza Field and Snoek, Payara, Pacora, Turbot, Longtail and Hammerhead discoveries, recently made by ExxonMobil and Hess on their Stabroek Block. The partners' discovery, Pluma-1, increases the estimate of recoverable resources for the Stabroek Block to more than 5 billion barrels of oil equivalent, the latest discoveries at Tilapia-1 and Haimara-1 will add to the estimate. In Namibia, the Company holds interests in four offshore petroleum licences totalling approximately 25,000km2with over 2.3 billion barrels of prospective P50 resources in the Walvis and Luderitz Basins. These four licences, Cooper, Guy, Sharon and Tamar are being developed alongside partners Azinam and NAMCOR. Eco has been granted a drilling permit on its Cooper Block (Operator). This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com. SOURCE: Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/536402/Eco-Atlantic-Oil-and-Gas-Ltd-announces-Inclusion-in-TSX-Venture-50 (Adds statement from UNHCR, China's foreign ministry) By Anne Marie Roantree HONG KONG, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Two sisters from Saudi Arabia were intercepted at Hong Kong airport by the kingdom's diplomats en route to Australia, their lawyer said, the year's second high-profile case of Saudi women trying to flee what they call repression at home. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is visiting Beijing on a tour of Asia just a month after a Saudi woman made global headlines by barricading herself in a Bangkok airport hotel to avoid being sent home to her family. "These brave, young, intelligent women have been living in fear, in hiding and in legal limbo in Hong Kong, not knowing what their future holds," their lawyer, Michael Vidler, said in a statement on Thursday. They hoped to find a third country "place of safety" as soon as possible, he added. The pair, who have renounced their Muslim faith, arrived in the Chinese territory in September 2018 after fleeing a family holiday in Sri Lanka and had booked a connecting flight to Australia, Vidler said. But the sisters, aged 18 and 20, whose identity Vidler did not reveal, were intercepted by officials during their stopover in the Asian financial hub, before they managed to escape and enter the city as visitors, he said. The women, who have been in hiding in the former British colony for the last five months, told the lawyer their connecting flight to Australia was cancelled and the officials tried to put them on a flight to the Saudi capital of Riyadh. Vidler said the sisters learnt that the officials who intercepted them were Saudi Arabia's consul general and vice consul general in Hong Kong, but did not explain how they came by the information. The Saudi consulate in Hong Kong did not respond to a request from Reuters for comment on Friday. "We fled our home to ensure our safety," the women said in the statement. "We hope that we can be given asylum in a country which recognises women's rights and treats them as equals. We dream of being in a safe place where we can be normal young women, free from violence and oppression." Story continues Since September, the sisters have changed location 13 times, fearing for their safety, Vidler said. In November, the Hong Kong Immigration Department told them their Saudi passports had been invalidated and they could only stay in the city until February 28. UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, said in an email to Reuters it does not decide refugee status in Hong Kong and cannot comment on individual cases. Police in Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, said only that they had received a report from "two expatriate women" and were investigating, but did not elaborate. The Hong Kong Immigration Department said it would not comment on individual cases. In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he had no understanding of the situation. The incident, and the January case of the barricaded 18-year-old, since granted asylum in Canada, spotlights Saudi Arabia's strict social rules that require women to secure travel permission from a male "guardian", which rights groups say can leave them trapped as prisoners of abusive families. Riyadh is facing unusually intense scrutiny from its Western allies over the killing of a journalist at its Istanbul consulate in October and over the humanitarian consequences of its war in Yemen. (Reporting by Anne Marie Roantree, Farah Master and Donny Kwok Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Alexandra Foreseth, whose father is being unlawfully detained in Venezuela by embattled President Nicolas Maduro's regime, joined FOX Business Trish Regan exclusively on Thursday as her father's life hangs in the balance. She shared a voicemail from her father, Alirio Zambrano, after his hearing was delayed for the thirteenth time. The voicemail suggests that the men fear for their safety. They want to do a cleanup operation in the basement of the hotel. So you need to let the right people know that the rumor is that there is going to be a cleanup operation if things go south here in the basement. Zambrano is one of six Citgo employees being detained by the Maduro regime since November of 2017. Five of them are American citizens and one is a permanent U.S. resident. The families have continuously said that the Venezuelan government is keeping their loved ones in inhumane conditions. When asked what her father meant when he said "cleanup operation," Foreseth said, she thinks that it could mean the worst. "He's been hurt already. He has been tortured. I can't even imagine what he could possibly mean and I don't want to think about it, she said on Trish Regan Primetime. The U.S. has recognized National Assembly leader Juan Guaido as the interim President of Venezuela and Guaido plans to bring the humanitarian aid into Venezuela on Saturday. Maduro has ordered the borders with Colombia and Brazil closed which could lead to violent clashes this weekend. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP When asked what she had a message for the Trump administration, Foreseth said, she hopes to get some assurances from the people in power that her father and the others held captives safety can be protected as the conflict in Venezuela reaches a boiling point. "To president Trump, to Guaido, to everybody. Can you assure us they will be okay this weekend? Can you alleviate this fear? The whole world is waiting to see what happens on Saturday and they have six of our family members, she said. My dad is down there and has no idea what's going to happen to him. Related Articles The Hells Angels have been happily ensconced in their clubhouse on East 3rd Street in the East Village since around the time Abbey Road was released and the Mets were world champions. But after almost 50 years there, that is all about to change, because the group has apparently sold the clubhouse and are moving out come springtime. EV Grieve reported today that public documents note a Memorandum of Contracta form that precedes a salefrom December 21st between Church of the Angels, Inc. and a corporation listed as 77 East 3rd Street LLC. That doc was signed by Bartley J. Dowling, president of the NYC Hells Angels chapter, and the purchaser, Nathan Blatter of Whitestone Realty Group. We reached out to the Hells Angels for comment, and also stopped by the clubhouse todayno one answered the door when we knocked. Although the Hells Angels have been associated with the space since the late '60s, they purchased the six-floor building, which includes their clubhouse and member residences, in 1977 (reportedly for just $1,900). The street has been called "the safest block in New York" because of their continued presence there, although there have been legal battles over the space as recently as 2013. Curbed wrote: In 1983, then-president Sandy Alexander changed the building's deed to name himself and his family as rent-free tenants, and stipulate that his heirs "shall receive half of the proceeds" from the sale of the building. Then he went to jail for selling cocaine, got kicked out of the club in the '90s, and died in 2007. Now the Hells Angels are preemptively suing his second wife and daughter from another marriage to prevent them from trying to take over the building They add that according to public records, the deed was transferred from one of Alexanders heirs to the Angels in 2018, paving the way for a sale. Despite their overall positive relationship with the neighborhood, their time there hasn't been without its bumps in the road, particularly around the issue of their precious bench: they put up a tourist-repelling beam there in 2011 to keep people from sitting on it. They got some pushback for that, and ended up removing it. Things reached a crisis in 2016 when someone actually stole their beloved bench! As you can see up above, they ended up buying and installing a new wooden bench there. Check out some old-timey footage of the Hells Angels on East 3rd Street in the video below: Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2019) - Valeo Pharma Inc. (CSE:VPH) is one of the latest new listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange. Founded in 2003, Valeo Pharma has a long history of successfully commercializing pharmaceutical products in Canada. For more information, please view the InvestmentPitch Media "video" which provides additional information on the company. If this link is not enabled, please visit www.InvestmentPitch.com and enter "Valeo" in the search box. Cannot view this video? Visit: http://www.investmentpitch.com/video/0_issh70m7/Valeo-Pharma-Inc-CSEVPH-New-Listing The company's strategy is to acquire, primarily through in-licensing or similar arrangements, but also through targeted acquisitions, a diversified portfolio of branded pharmaceutical products for commercialization in Canada. With its current focus on the acquisition and distribution of pharmaceuticals that address unmet medical needs in Neurology, such as Parkinson's disease and movement disorders, Multiple Sclerosis, and Schizophrenia; Woman's Health, such as assisted fertility; and Hospital products such as pain management, including narcotics, anti-infectives, among others, the company has an impressive portfolio and product pipeline. Steve Saviuk, President and CEO, stated: "This is an exciting time for Valeo Pharma's shareholders, employees and pharmaceutical partners. Following the sale of our dermatology portfolio in 2014 our team has worked extensively on developing the company's new therapeutic areas of focus. The approval by Health Canada of Onstryv for the treatment of Parkinson's disease is a significant milestone for our company. Valeo Pharma is now preparing for Onstryv's commercial launch in the second quarter of calendar 2019. We are also making preparations for the launch of our first prescription product in women's health and three other products in our growing hospital specialty portfolio, including our first product entry into the U.S. Our product pipeline continues to expand reflecting our experienced and diverse regulatory and commercial capabilities. With our upcoming product launches and revenue growth, Valeo Pharma is well positioned for a successful debut on the CSE as a publicly traded specialty pharma company." Story continues For more information, please visit the company's website www.valeopharma.com, contact Steve Saviuk, President and CEO, at 514-693-8830, or by email at saviuk@valeopharma.com. About InvestmentPitch Media InvestmentPitch Media leverages the power of video, which together with its extensive distribution, positions a company's story ahead of the 1,000's of companies seeking awareness and funding from the financial community. The company specializes in producing short videos based on significant news releases, research reports and other content of interest to investors. CONTACT: InvestmentPitch Media Barry Morgan, CFO bmorgan@investmentpitch.com Corporate Logo To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/42991 SAO PAULO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau SA plans to invest 300 million reais ($79.6 million) through 2021 to implement a mining process known as dry stacking in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, an executive said on an earnings call Thursday. Following the January burst of a mining dam owned by iron ore miner Vale SA in the same state, several companies are adopting measures to decrease their reliance on similar structures. Dry stacking allows companies to dispose of mining waste without relying on dams. ($1 = 3.77 reais) (Reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr.; Writing by Gram Slattery Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket launches Indonesias Nusantara Satu telecommunications satellite as well as the Israeli Beresheet lunar lander and an Air Force research satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (SpaceX via YouTube) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sent the Israeli-made Beresheet lunar lander on the first leg of its journey to the moon tonight, as a ride-along payload accompanying Indonesias Nusantara Satu telecommunications satellite and a U.S. Air Force experimental satellite. The mission marks a milestone for SpaceIL, which funded and built Beresheet (Hebrew for In the Beginning), and also for Seattle-based Spaceflight, which handled the pre-launch logistics for SpaceIL. If the lander successfully touches down on the lunar surface after its circuitous two-month trip, that will make Israel-based SpaceIL the first privately funded venture to put a payload on the moon. It will also make Israel the fourth nation with a spacecraft on the lunar surface after Russia, the United States and China. Tonights launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida also represents Spaceflights first effort to get payloads to geosynchronous transfer orbit and beyond. The Seattle launch services company has negotiated the launch of more than 200 satellites, but previous missions had gone no higher than low Earth orbit. This is an important mission for Spaceflight as we expand and evolve our customer offerings, Spaceflight CEO Curt Blake said in a pre-launch news release. The launches we pursue continue to get more sophisticated and demonstrate that our expertise goes beyond identifying and scheduling launches. The launch went off without a hitch at 8:45 p.m. ET (5:45 p.m. PT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9s second stage and its payloads separated from the first-stage booster as planned and proceeded toward geosynchronous transfer orbit, or GTO. Meanwhile, the first stage maneuvered itself to a landing on an oceangoing drone ship known as Of Course I Still Love You, positioned hundreds of miles off the Florida coast. SpaceX said the conditions ranked among the roughest ever encountered during a landing attempt. Highest re-entry heating to date, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet. Story continues This marked the third landing for the same booster, which was previously used last year to launch a set of Iridium NEXT satellites and Argentinas SAOCOM 1A satellite. Hundreds of SpaceX employees followed the webcast from the companys headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., cheering each success along the way. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was part of a different crowd watching the webcast at Israel Aerospace Industries. The Times of Israel quoted Netanyahu as saying SpaceILs lunar initiative is a big step for Israel, and a big step for Israels technology. SpaceILs 1,322-pound Beresheet spacecraft was the first to be dropped off in high orbit, at an altitude of 37,000 miles. Over the weeks ahead, the dishwasher-sized lander will fire its own rocket engine to extend its orbit and enter the moons gravitational sphere of influence. In April, Beresheet will touch down in a relatively flat area of the lunar surface, in Mare Serenitatis, to conduct its science mission. Its carrying a high-resolution video camera system, a magnetometer to map the moons magnetic field and a CD-sized time capsule that contains digitized files of childrens drawings, photographs and information about Israeli culture. SpaceIL is a nonprofit organization that was set up to pursue the now-expired Google Lunar X Prize. Its working on the Beresheet mission in collaboration with state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, but the nearly $100 million in funding for the mission has come from Israeli billionaire Morris Kahn, Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson and other philanthropists. The other two payloads will settle into stable geosynchronous Earth orbit, or GEO, 22,000 miles above our planet. Nusantara Satu, also known as PSN-6, was built by Maxar Technologies SSL subsidiary for Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, a leading Asian provider of satellite-based telecommunication services. Indonesias first high-throughput satellite is expected to boost voice, data and video links throughout the Indonesian archipelago and PSNs Asia-Pacific service area. The third payload is the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratorys S5 experimental satellite. Built by Blue Canyon Technologies, S5 will carry out a one-year mission aimed at demonstrating small-satellite capabilities in GEO for the U.S. military. More from GeekWire: With a citywide special election just days away, the New York City Board of Elections is suing the city to prevent language translators hired by the de Blasio administration from entering poll sites to assist voters. Under federal law, the Board is required to provide translation services for voters in Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Bengali. But de Blasio administration officials say that doesnt go far enough. The city hired additional translators for Russian, Haitian Creole, Yiddish and Polish speakers at 48 poll sites in Brooklyn and Queens, but the Board argues these additional translators must remain more than 100 feet away from poll site entrances because these individuals were not trained or vetted by the agency. What the Board of Elections is saying is, No, the translators have to stay outside in the cold and the only way they can help people is if they are not allowed inside the doors of the polling place, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said during his weekly appearance on The Brian Lehrer Show on Friday. That is the ultimate Catch-22, that means the Board is not allowing real translation services, he added. This is the latest skirmish in the ongoing battle between the Board and City Hall over language access at the polls. For last Novembers election, the City Council and Mayors office worked together to fund translators at 101 poll sites citywide. At that time, the translators were required to stay more than 100 feet outside the poll sites. Both then and now, the city contracted with Langalo Translations, a city-certified minority or women-owned business, to provide the additional services. Earlier this week, the Board warned the city that it would file for a temporary restraining order preventing any translators not certified by the Board from entering the poll sites. The Board is expected to make good on that threat Friday afternoon filing in State Supreme Court. The Boards ten commissioners are appointed by the party leaders in each borough, one Democrat and one Republican from each borough. In an added twist, since the Board is usually represented by the City Law Department when it goes to court, the Board needed to hire outside counsel to represent it. Voting should be easy for all New Yorkersno matter what language you speak. It is our position that providing interpreter services within polling sites for voters requesting such assistance is lawful. If sued, we are prepared to defend the provision of these services, said Kimberly Joyce, a Law Department spokesperson. The Board of Elections spokeswoman Valerie Vasquez-Diaz declined to provide additional comment. She directed inquiries to their outside counsel Lawrence Mandelker of Eiseman Levine Lehrhaupt & Kakoyiannis, P.C. Mandelker said the city cannot force the Board to station just anyone inside a poll site. He also raised concerns about the training and vetting process the city used to hire the additional translators. We dont know how they were recruited. Were they given to you by activist communities that support one type of candidate? he said. If a voter approaches a poll site, needs language assistance and sees one of the citys translators 100 feet outside the poll site, by law the person is allowed to bring that translator inside to help, Mandelker stressed. If we allow these people to be stationed [inside the poll site], what about the next group, who speaks other languages? Mandelker added, describing the situation as a slippery slope. He said the Board was seeking a court hearing on Monday. This is a rogue agency, said Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, which has repeatedly sued the City Board of Elections on behalf of voters to improve the agencys operations. Its difficult for me to imagine a bigger waste of public resources and time than for the New York City Board of Elections to sue New York City to try and prevent the city from helping voters on Election Day, Lerner told WNYC/Gothamist on Friday. She plans to visit various poll sites on Tuesday to check in on issues encountered by voters. Mark Treyger, a City Councilman from Brooklyn who represents the neighborhoods of Bensonhurst, Coney Island, Gravesend, and Sea Gate introduced legislation last year which would add translation services for New Yorkers who speak Arabic, Russian, Haitian Creole, Urdu, French, and Polish. As a native Russian-speaker himself, Treyger argued that the Board is disenfranchising voters who dont speak English as their first language. This is a blatant effort to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, Treyger said. Theres no way to frame it other than that. Brigid Bergin is the City Hall and politics reporter for WNYC. You can follow her on Twitter at @brigidbergin. ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands, Feb. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aura Minerals Inc. (ORA.TO) announces the appointment of Kleber Cardoso as VP Finance and the departure of Ryan Goodman as VP Legal Affairs. Mr. Cardoso is an Economist from Unicamp in Brazil and has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, with majors in Finance, Strategy and International Business. Prior to agreeing to join Aura, Mr. Cardoso was the CFO of Santista, a large denim manufacturer with operations in Brazil and Argentina. Prior to Santista, Mr. Cardoso worked for Mover Participacoes, one of the largest conglomerates in Brazil, and was involved in M&A projects. Mr. Cardoso has also worked in the management consulting industry for A.T. Kearney and Accenture in a variety of industries and projects. Mr. Cardoso is expected to join the Company on March 18, 2019. Rodrigo Barbosa, President and CEO, stated, We are extremely pleased to be able to attract a person of Klebers experience. Klebers financial expertise combined with his strategic and analytical thinking will greatly assist Aura in its continued growth. Kleber is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese which will benefit him well in navigating all financial and additional matters in the countries where we operate. Mr. Barbosa continued, From the Board of Directors, management and operational personnel wed like to thank Ryan for his years of service to Aura. Ryan was instrumental in a number of complicated transactions and wore many hats within the Company. I have enjoyed working with Ryan on a professional and personal level and we wish him and his family all the best on their return to Canada. About Aura 360 Mining Aura is focused on mining in complete terms thinking holistically about how our business impacts and benefits every one of our stakeholders: our company, our shareholders, our employees, and the countries and communities we serve. We call this 360 Mining. Aura is a mid-tier gold and copper production company focused on the development and operation of gold and base metal projects in the Americas. The Company's producing assets include the San Andres gold mine in Honduras, the Ernesto/Pau-a-Pique gold mine in Brazil and the Aranzazu copper-gold-silver mine in Mexico. The Company continues to explore options at Sao Francisco. In addition, the Company has two additional gold projects in Brazil, Almas and Matupa, and one gold project in Colombia, Tolda Fria. Story continues For further information on Aura, please visit Auras web site at www.auraminerals.com or contact: Rodrigo Barbosa President & CEO 305-239-9332 Email: info@auraminerals.com Website: www.auraminerals.com Forward-Looking Information This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements", as defined in applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements") which include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including, without limitation, expectation with respect to Mr. Cardoso joining the Company. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to predict or control could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Specific reference is made to the most recent Annual Information Form on file with certain Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities for a discussion of some of the factors underlying forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements herein are qualified by this cautionary statement. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. If the Company does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. A somewhat curious report out of Germany claims that Apple hasnt abandoned work on developing its own branded car. Even more bizarre, though, is a tidbit that Apples long-rumored electric car may not be a car at all, but rather an electric van. Originally posted in the German-language Manager Magazin, the report claims that Apple has been busy working on van prototypes as it continues to expend R&D resources investigating a wide array of auto-related components, from battery technology to advanced electric motors. Apples engineers have designed specimens with black and silver paint, designed in the typical industrial design of the iPhone group, the report adds. Apple also researches on its own batteries, electric motors, special seats and interior components. While many Apple rumors should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism, this particular rumor is especially hard to believe. Recall, the report comes just a few weeks after word emerged that Apple cut upwards of 200 employees from Project Titan, the companys automotive research initiative. Whats more, more credible sources over the past few months have relayed that Apples focus in the automotive realm has shifted away from releasing a branded car and is now solely focused on developing self-driving technology. Indeed, Apple CEO Tim Cook said as much during a 2017 interview. Were focusing on autonomous systems, Cook said during an interview with Bloomberg. Its a core technology that we view as very important. Its probably one of the most difficult A.I. projects actually to work on. In the interim, reputed analyst Ming-Chi Kuo remains confident that an Apple branded car may still be in the works and may hit the streets as early as 2025. Should Kuo prove to be right, and thats a huge if, its hard to imagine Apple being so dumb as to actually enter the hyper-competitive auto industry with an electric van of all things. Story continues Lastly, and on a related note, Apple yesterday released a remarkably short white paper detailing its ongoing efforts in the field of self-driving car technologies. BGR Top Deals: Trending Right Now: See the original version of this article on BGR.com By Laurence Frost and Jean-Michel Belot PARIS (Reuters) - Air France-KLM pledged new efficiency gains to offset higher fuel costs this year, as the Franco-Dutch airline group deepens cooperation between its two main carriers. Presenting 2018 earnings for the group he joined in September, Chief Executive Ben Smith promised better-coordinated networks and fleets, after overcoming KLM resistance to closer integration with Air France in a new boardroom deal. "These first achievements pave the way for our ambition to regain a leading position in Europe and worldwide," Smith said. After opening lower, Air France-KLM shares rose 4.1 percent to 10.80 euros at 1125 GMT. Underlining Smith's challenge, fourth-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 20 pct to 776 million euros ($880 million) as the fuel bill mounted, despite a 4.1 percent revenue gain to 6.54 billion. Unit revenue fell 0.6 pct in the last three months of 2018 and will decline further in the current quarter, the group said. Air France-KLM has trailed rivals Lufthansa and British Airways on profitability, held back by restrictive French union deals and strikes that last year wiped 335 million euros off earnings and forced out its previous CEO. But Smith, an Air Canada veteran, has restored labour peace by granting wage hikes in return for increased flexibility with which he now hopes to make better and more profitable use of the group's aircraft and networks. On the eve of the results presentation, Air France-KLM struck a new pay deal with its French pilots and resolved a standoff with KLM and the Dutch division's popular leader Pieter Elbers, over Smith's integration plans. Wariness on the Dutch side is partly explained by the relative underperformance of Air France, whose 2018 operating margin was 1.7 percent, or 4 percent excluding the impact of strikes - compared with 9.8 percent for KLM. Almost 15 years after the Air France-KLM merger, decisions on networks, fleets and commercial strategy will now be taken by the group rather than the individual carriers, under the plans unveiled on Tuesday - which also see Elbers and Air France counterpart Anne Rigail become deputy group CEOs. Story continues The financials were broadly in line with expectations of 786 million euros of EBITDA on 6.52 billion in revenue, based on the median of seven analyst estimates in a poll by Infront Data. "While a new CEO with an impressive track record has been appointed and short-term pay deals agreed with the French unions, we await details of his new strategy," Liberum analysts said in a note. The fuel bill rose by 451 million euros in 2018 and will climb another 650 million this year as hedges expire, Chief Financial Officer Frederic Gagey told reporters on a call. Overall unit costs, up 0.6 percent last year before currency and fuel-price impacts, were "well under control", Gagey said, adding that while a later Easter holiday will likely lead to lower unit revenue in the first quarter, summer bookings are already "better positioned". The group said 2019 costs are expected to come in somewhere between flat and a 1 percent decline, on the same basis. Passenger traffic rose 3.4 pct to 24.46 million in the last quarter, the group said, while crossing the 100 million threshold for the full year. The low-cost Transavia arm was a bright spot, posting a 9 percent 2018 operating margin for its French operations as it expand services by 9-11 percent in 2019, with a more modest 2-3 percent growth at group level - to include eight new Air France destinations from mid-year. The new labour deals should provide a financial lift in 2019, the CFO said, avoiding the strikes and disruption that led to a spike in Air France's customer compensation bill last year. The rollout of new digital sales platforms will also generate savings, along with improvements to long-haul network planning and the gradual replacement of less fuel-efficient four-engined Airbus A340 and Boeing 747 planes. The newly-announced management changes may boost efforts to increase synergies in areas such as purchasing - which lacked a single group-wide chief procurement officer until last year. Smith's centralisation push builds on years of painstaking integration that had already assigned some 18,000 staff to group-wide services and managers, said Gagey, who joined Air France in 1997. "It's not as if we just realised we should begin to look for synergies," he said. ($1 = 0.8818 euros) (Reporting by Laurence Frost and Jean-Michel Belot; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Alexander Smith) At 95, Charlie Munger is best known for his steady role as the right-hand man of investing legend Warren Buffett . As the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway BRK.A , Munger is worth $1.7 billion, according to Forbes . In addition to the his role alongside Buffett, Munger is chairman of the publisher the Daily Journal Corp. and is on the board of the big-box retailer Costco COST . Munger has had, by almost any standard, a wildly successful life and a long one, at that. He's nearly a centenarian. Last week, at The Daily Journal annual meeting in Los Angeles, California, Munger was asked to reflect on that journey. "There were a lot of questions today people trying to figure out what the secret to life is, to a long and happy life," CNBC's Becky Quick said to Munger when they talked at the end of February. The secret is "easy, because it's so simple," Munger told Quick. Munger went on to rattle off a list of his best advice, each lesson succinctly delivered in bite-size form. "You don't have a lot of envy. "You don't have a lot of resentment. "You don't overspend your income. "You stay cheerful in spite of your troubles. "You deal with reliable people. "And you do what you're supposed to do. "And all these simple rules work so well to make your life better. And they're so trite." His prescription is logical, he says. "Staying cheerful" is "a wise thing to do," Munger told Quick, adding that in order to do so, you have to let go of negative feelings. "And can you be cheerful when you're absolutely mired in deep hatred and resentment? Of course you can't. So why would you take it on?" Munger said. Munger grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, as did his investing partner (Buffett's birthplace explains his nickname, the "Oracle of Omaha"), and worked in Buffett's grandfather's grocery store, as did Buffett himself. "Nevertheless, it was 1959 before I met Charlie, long after he had left Omaha to make Los Angeles his home. I was then 28 and he was 35. The Omaha doctor who introduced us predicted that we would hit it off and we did," Buffett wrote of his long-time partner in his 2014 annual letter to shareholders . Story continues Prior to joining Berkshire Hathaway, Munger first worked as a lawyer "with his time billed at $15 per hour," Buffett notes in the shareholder letter and also as an architect. Buffett gives Munger credit for much of the success of Berkshire Hathaway. "Consequently, Berkshire has been built to Charlie's blueprint. My role has been that of general contractor, with the CEOs of Berkshire's subsidiaries doing the real work as sub-contractors," Buffett says. See also: Warren Buffett's right-hand man Charlie Munger: Amazon is 'an utter phenomenon of nature' Warren Buffett's partner Charlie Munger: Avoid these 5 things that 'guarantee' a life of misery Billionaire Charlie Munger says living by this rule is key to his success Like this story? Subscribe to CNBC Make It on YouTube! More From CNBC By Rod Nickel WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Canada's National Energy Board (NEB) regulator recommended on Friday that Ottawa approve expansion of the government-owned Trans Mountain oil pipeline, but made new, nonbinding recommendations to mitigate harm to Pacific Ocean killer whales. The pipeline is in the national interest as it will create jobs and allow Canadian oil to reach more markets, the NEB said in a report. But expanding it is likely to significantly harm the killer whale population off the coast of British Columbia and increase greenhouse gas emissions from ships, the board said in its report. A "worst-case" spill, while unlikely, would also be damaging, it said. The NEB made 16 new recommendations, ranging from offsetting increased underwater noise to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships. The recommendations constitute nonbinding advice to the government. Ottawa in September directed the board to conduct a new review of its application to nearly triple the capacity of Trans Mountain, which the government bought for C$4.5 billion ($3.43 billion) last year from Kinder Morgan Canada to ensure it gets built. The move came after Canada's Federal Court of Appeal overturned the Liberal government's 2016 approval to expand the pipeline, which runs from Alberta to the British Columbia coast. The court ruled that the NEB failed to consider marine impacts and that the government did not adequately consult indigenous groups. The NEB's ruling is a political win, albeit with mixed implications, for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, ahead of a fall election. He faces both anger from Western Canadians over the oil industry's struggles and pressure from environmentally minded voters who do not want pipelines built. Canada's oil production has expanded faster than pipeline capacity, causing a glut last year that depressed prices. The NEB's reaffirmation that the project is of national interest was essential, said Tim McMillan, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Pending government legislation will make regulatory approval of future pipelines more difficult, making it more important that the ones already in the queue get built, he said. Given recurring delays, companies that drill wells remain doubtful Trans Mountain will be expanded, said Mark Scholz, chief executive of the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors, calling Canada the "black hole of approvals." The NEB's 689-page report now goes to Trudeau and his Cabinet, which by law has 90 days to respond. Consultation with indigenous groups is well under way and the government is in a "strong position" to decide within that time frame, but has made no decision, Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi said in an interview. Sohi said the NEB's recommendations "broadly align" with his government's values, but that it needs more time to study them. The Southern Resident killer whale population is already endangered, and even the pipeline's "relatively minor" impacts would cause additional harm, including from potential strikes by ships, the board's chief environment officer, Robert Steedman, said. The board's decision is unsurprising, given that the NEB limited its review to 12 nautical miles of the whales' habitat, and refused to consider the impact on salmon-spawning areas, said Eugene Kung, lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law. "The fix was in from the start," he said. "This project amounts to a death sentence for the South Resident orcas." The NEB failed to produce evidence that the pipeline's expansion will benefit the economy, said Elizabeth May, leader of Canada's Green Party. The board also imposed 156 binding conditions, including issues of emergency preparedness and consultation with indigenous communities. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Diane Craft) Mr. Ciruli is the Director of the Crossley Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Denvers Josef Korbel School of International Studies. He is an adjunct professor teaching public opinion and foreign policy. The Crossley Center conducts research and presents live and virtual programs on foreign policy, politics, public policy and public opinion. Mr. Ciruli holds a law degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and a bachelors degree cum laude in political science from UCLA. He is a member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), and is the past-president of the Pacific Chapter of AAPOR (PAPOR). Mr. Ciruli is a board member of the Social Science Foundation of the University of Denver Josef Korbel School of International Studies and past-president of the Georgetown Law Alumni Board and the Denver Athletic Club. Conservative media folks like to talk a lot about "Trump Derangement Syndrome," which as Psychology Today explained, is the notion that "the everyday activities of President Trump trigger some people into distorted opinions, extreme emotions and hysterical behaviors." (They note that it is not an official diagnosis or mental condition, so thanks for that.) Within conservative media, there is a parallel phenomenon occurring: AOC Derangement Syndrome, in which Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's mastery of social media, natural charisma, and political progressivism inspires impotent rage from right wing media figures. Such is the situation for the shadowy conservative group Job Creators Network: earlier this week, they erected a billboard in Times Square sarcastically thanking AOC for tanking the Amazon deal she had nothing to do with. AOC was unfazed by the attack, and as is her wont, tweeted back at the group for their "wack" billboard: "Billionaires paying to put up anti-progressive propaganda in Times Square is like the obscenely rich version of the scene where Michael Scott points to the Bubba Gump and saying 'This is it, this is the heart of civilization, right here.' " she tweeted. Check out the sign in Times Sq.! Thanks to @JobCreatorsUSA! pic.twitter.com/iIN0DTo8r2 Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) February 20, 2019 Normally in this situation, a group like this might cut their losses and move on to influencing elections, or gerrymandering, or advocating for billionaire rightsbut because AOC was involved, they clearly felt a pressing need to respond. But not with a tweet or a press release or any sort of normal means of communication in the 21st century, but rather by paying to put up TWO more billboards in Times Square at the intersection of 7th Avenue and 42nd Street. As you can see up above, the first one states, "Hey AOC, Saw your wack tweet," which is unbelievably dumb since AOC will never actually see it in person as it will only be up for a week and she lives in D.C., and also who the fuck goes to Times Square unless they absolutely have to, and even if they do, what kind of New Yorker is walking around with their head tilted toward the sky in order to better absorb all those sweet giant Coca-Cola messages? But I digress: the second billboard underneath claims that while the billboards only cost $4K each (which, honestly, is somewhat hard to believe), AOC allegedly cost the city over $4 billion in annual wages. "She can call us out all she wants about how we spend our money, but its clear that most people care more about how she spends theirs," said Alfredo Ortiz, JCN President and CEO, in a statement. Setting aside the fact that AOC had no oversight role whatsoever on the Amazon deal, as she doesn't even represent the district in Long Island City where Amazon was landing, it's important to note that this narrative that any single politician or progressive activism stopped the richest man on earth from doing business in NYC is patently false. Much of the criticism directed at the proposed Queens campus wasn't anti-business, it was directed at the terms of a deal that was seen by some as overly generous to a trillion-dollar company, and had been negotiated behind closed doors with zero community input. When certain local officialsthe most influential among them was State Senator Michael Gianarispushed back on the terms of the deal, Jeff Bezos just cancelled everything. It also didn't help Amazon's case that the company's reps told the New York City Council the company would not commit to labor neutrality, eliciting a "shame on you" response from Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer, whose district did include the proposed Amazon campus. AOC hasn't tweeted in response to the latest billboards, but she did sent out a tweet to clarify about who is backing the Job Creators Network. The Mercers founded the related group, the Job Creators Alliance, which Media Matters claims is actually the same group with a slight name change, though others have connected the Jobs Creator Network with notorious corporate lobbyist Richard Berman, also known as "Dr. Evil." Heads up - Im deleting a tweet about astroturfing bc I want to make sure details are solid. Dark $ is hard to track, & the practice of astroturfing to manipulate public opinion is notorious. Want to make sure any comments about it are thorough. Quote tweet will be RTd Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 22, 2019 Who's behind the dark money group bashing @AOC in Times Square? Notorious astroturf firm Berman & Co got $2.5M from the org in 2017. Cavalry LLC, founded by Mitch McConnell's former chief of staff, was paid $419K https://t.co/S4WYiElETS Andrew Perez (@andrewperezdc) February 21, 2019 At least Democrats have moved on from Amazon onto other pressing matters...oh wait... UMN Medical School expert is part of the writing committee that drafted the 2019 guidelines for the management of patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib) MINNEAPOLIS, MN- February 22, 2019 - Nearly 3 million Americans are living with atrial fibrillation (AFib), which is described as quivering or irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). With increasing lifespan and increasing prevalence of risk factors such as obesity, experts believe the number of people living with AFib will increase at an exponential rate in the next decade. This has important public implications since AFib is associated with a higher risk of stroke, heart failure, cognitive decline and dementia, and death. Lin Yee Chen, MD, MS, Associate Professor with Tenure, Cardiovascular Division, in the Department of Medicine with the University of Minnesota Medical School was part of a Writing Committee tasked with updating the 2014 guidelines for patients with AFib. The 2019 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association/Heart Rhythm Society Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Atrial Fibrillation were just published in Circulation, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and Heart Rhythm as the standard for the management of Afib in the U.S. "These guidelines are written for all physicians in all specialties," said Chen. "It doesn't matter whether the clinician is an orthopedic surgeon, gynecologist, oncologist or brain surgeon, everyone is bound to encounter AFib in their patients because it is so prevalent." One section of the new guidelines speaks to guiding practitioners across the whole spectrum of medicine, focusing on the use of new blood thinners or anticoagulants in people with AFib. The new guidelines help determine how and when to use these new agents, including in a situation that involves surgery. Another portion of the document addresses the management of AFib in different scenarios, such as patients who have developed heart attacks. "AFib patients are put on blood thinners to prevent stroke. When we need to perform procedures like a coronary angioplasty to open up any blockage in the heart arteries during a heart attack in AFib patients, we will also have to prescribe other agents called antiplatelets which when used in combination with blood thinners can elevate significantly the risk of bleeding, which is a real dilemma." said Chen. "Current research is now in favor of double therapy- one antiplatelet agent and one anticoagulant, as opposed to two antiplatelets and an anticoagulant." A final section addresses the importance of weight-loss and weight management in improving the outcomes in people with AFib. In recent years, there is increasing evidence to suggest that lifestyle modification such as weight loss and physical activity can reduce the frequency and the burden of AFib. This has been incorporated into the new guidelines. "The University of Minnesota could potentially make some significant contributions in the field of lifestyle modification and AFib," explained Chen. "Currently, I am the Principal Investigator of an Academic Health Center Faculty Research and Development grant which funds a randomized controlled trial aimed at evaluating different exercise protocols in reducing the burden of AFib. "Being represented on the Writing Committee is a great honor for the University of Minnesota Medical School, because ultimately, the point of our research is to influence and impact the way we practice medicine," said Chen. "I think this is testimony to the outstanding research we perform for AFib at the University of Minnesota which is recognized by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology." ### About the University of Minnesota Medical School The University of Minnesota Medical School is at the forefront of learning and discovery, transforming medical care and educating the next generation of physicians. Our graduates and faculty produce high-impact biomedical research and advance the practice of medicine. Visit med.umn.edu to learn how the University of Minnesota is innovating all aspects of medicine. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Scientists from 52 countries will be providing hands-on help in Puerto Rico to restore marine and coastal resources damaged during hurricane Maria in 2017 in connection with the annual meeting of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography February 23 to March 2, 2019. "The Puerto Rico and Minnesota Sea Grant programs are working together with Puerto Rico-based members of the ASLO meeting committee to offer educational activities and volunteer opportunities that focus on environmental and ecosystem restoration," said Puerto Rico Sea Grant Director and ASLO committee member Ruperto Chaparro Serrano. "Our intention is to use ASLO's annual scientific meeting as a means to give strong material and intellectual assistance in coastal recovery to Puerto Rico." Scientists and meeting participants will help local organizations in their post-hurricane efforts by recovering coral reef fragments and reattaching them, collecting water samples and aquatic insects to assess water quality, cleaning up coral reefs and mangrove keys, painting houses and planting bananas, beans and cassava at a local farm. "I live in Puerto Rico and had the opportunity to work in the initial response after hurricane Maria and witnessed the devastation and needs that our people have," said Aurea E. Rodriguez-Santiago, a member of the ASLO planning committee. "I am very proud of the set of community outreach activities and deeply appreciate the response that these activities have had from ASLO members to help our communities and our students." ASLO's Puerto Rico outreach activities are listed below. The meeting will address areas of key importance to Puerto Rico including societal and environmental recovery and development, renewable energy, environmental sustainability, clean water, and rebuilding and maintaining coastal and reef ecosystems. "The 33 nationwide Sea Grant programs bring reliable science to stakeholders whether they are businesses, industries, policymakers, nongovernmental organizations, communities, governments, students, educators, or individuals," said Minnesota Sea Grant Director and ASLO meeting co-chair John A. Downing. "If the science needed does not exist yet, our granting programs seek scientists who can do the research and our extension educators bring that science back to stakeholders." The public is encouraged to come to the "What can aquatic scientists do for you?" event Wednesday evening where they are invited to discuss how to close the communication gap between scientists and nonscientists. Translators will be available to help facilitate discussion among the audience and the panelists. "We hope that the scientists at the meeting will build research collaborations among scientists in Puerto Rico, the mainland United States and globally," said Chaparro. "While the meeting in San Juan will benefit Puerto Rico in the short term, organizers hope conference outcomes will positively impact the island in the long term." Puerto Rico Sea Grant is hosting an informational booth (#E-31) in Hall B of the Puerto Rico Convention Center from February 26 to 28. An education fair on Wednesday will have booths of educational activities, demonstrations and resources for local middle and high students and teachers. These educators and students will work with scientists at the meeting to identify new ways of delivering science curricula. There will be a high-school student poster session on February 27. ASLO student members residing in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands can register for free. "What we learn from the scientists presenting at ASLO 2019 and from the island communities will help us help Puerto Rico. The lessons we take home will also inform how we prepare, adapt and respond in our own freshwater or saltwater coastal communities that are in peril," said Downing. ### COMMUNITY OUTREACH ACTIVITIES: Volunteering with P.E.C.E.S. Participants will be painting houses and other tasks as a part of a recovery project organized by P.E.C.E.S. (El Programa de Educacion Comunal de Entrega y Servicio), an NGO that fosters social, economic, and educational development of individuals and communities in social disadvantage. Monitoring Dive at a Coral Reef Ecosystem at Escambron Beach and Condado Lagoon. Monitoring Dive at a Coral Reef Ecosystem at Escambron Beach and Condado Lagoon. One diver will work with Manuel Nieves, a graduate student at the Department of Marine Science (DMS) - University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez (UPRM). Coral Reef Fragments Recovery Dive and Restoration Project. Participants will take part in dives to recover coral reef fragments at the Escambron and Condado lagoon. This activity is part of an ongoing restoration project under the direction of Samuel Suleiman, president of Sociedad Ambiente Marino, Inc. (SAM)/Marine Environment Society. Water Quality Monitoring in Different Zones. Participants will be involved in water quality monitoring activities under the direction of Samuel Suleiman, Sociedad Ambiente Marino, Inc. (SAM)/Marine Environment Society. Monitoring sites include locations close to the Puerto Rico Convention Center. Coral Reefs and Mangrove Keys Cleanup at La Parguera. Organized by graduate students from the Department of Marine Science (DMS) - University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez (UPRM). The purpose of this activity is to acquire data for a long-term Marine Debris project at various sites within the La Parguera mangrove ecosystem. La Parguera is a village in the municipality of Lajas. Guakia Colectivo Agroecologico. Participants will be involved in planting and farming vegetables and fruits seedlings in an eco-agricultural farm in the municipality of Dorado. Their mission is to produce food, technology and learning experiences accessible to the Puerto Rican community throughout collective work and agroecological farming. https:/ / www. facebook. com/ guakiapr/ Educational Workshop About the Role and Importance of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates in Freshwater Quality (Quebrada Sonadora River at El Yunque National Forest) Participants will hear a presentation about macroinvertebrates and why they are good bioindicators of water quality. Following the discussion, they will get into the water to collect macroinvertebrates with nets and will identify the microhabitats that they inhabit. Educational Workshop About the Role and Importance of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates in Freshwater Quality (Quebrada Sonadora River at El Yunque National Forest). Participants will hear a presentation about macroinvertebrates and why they are good bioindicators of water quality. Following the discussion, they will get into the water to collect macroinvertebrates with nets and will identify the microhabitats that they inhabit. The previous and this activity are Sponsored by Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research, University of Puerto Rico, Natural Science Faculty, Department of Environmental Science (LTER - UPR). http://luq. lter. network/ Restoration, Management and Conservation Project of the Las Cucharillas Marsh. The activity will consist of an environmental and social justice talk, an interpretative tour of the Las Cucharillas reserve and a mangrove transplant activity. This activity is hosted by El Corredor del Yaguazo, Inc. with the support of http://www. caraspr. org/ en/ education/ . CONTACT: Ruperto Chaparro Serrano, MS, Director Puerto Rico Sea Grant. 787-832-3585, 787-832-4040 x5260, ruperto.chaparro@upr.edu. John A. Downing, PhD, Director Minnesota Sea Grant, downing@d.umn.edu Aurea E. Rodriguez-Santiago, PhD, Founder and Director, Taller Ecologico de Puerto Rico, 787-637-5952, auryo@gmail.com Cynthia Maldonado Arroyo, Communications Coordinator, Puerto Rico Sea Grant. 787-834-4726, comunicacionespsg@uprm.edu. Marie Thoms, Communications and Public Relations, Minnesota Sea Grant. 218-726-8710, m: 907-460-1841, methoms@d.umn.edu. Amiskwia was originally described by the famous palaeontologist Charles Doolittle Walcott (1850-1927) in 1911 who compared it to the modern arrow worms (chaetognaths) - a group of ocean-dwelling worms that are fierce predators, equipped with an array of spines on their head for grasping small prey. Such organisms are found world-wide at sites like the famous Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rockies, where their soft bodies are preserved intact. The strange anatomies exhibited by these animals led the American palaeontologist Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) to speculate that these organisms represented extinct body plans that are no longer seen today and that if we were to wind back the clocks to the Cambrian, more than 500-million-years-ago, and re-run the tape of life, then perhaps the animals alive today would look very different. More than 50 years after Doolittle Walcott came up with his theory about Amiskwia, scientists investigated its affinities and rejected his interpretation as they could not find evidence of the canonical grasping spines. Instead, they suggested it could be a ribbon worm, or its own distinct lineage only distantly related to anything that resembles it today. When Dr Jakob Vinther from the University of Bristol's Schools of Earth Sciences and Biological Sciences and Luke Parry, now at Yale University, studied specimens of Amiskwia, kept at the Smithsonian Institution they found something that had been missed before. Dr Vinther said: "I coated the specimen with ammonium chloride smoke to make the relief of the fossil stand out and then I could see that in the head was a pair of robust elements." Interpreting these structures as a set of jaws, their resemblance led him to think of a group of animals, called gnathiferans, which include rotifers, gnathostomulids and micrognathozoans. These animals are microscopic worms, with a distinctive internal jaw apparatus. The scientists realised that Amiskwia suddenly had a jaw of a gnathiferan, but a body of an arrow worm. Dr Vinther said: "The bizarre combination of anatomy seemed altogether alien back in 2012. "Some people have proposed that there could be a relationship between arrow worms and gnathiferans based on their shared possession of a jaw apparatus, both made of a substance called chitin. "However, there was little other evidence to suggest a relationship, such as evidence from phylogenetic analyses of DNA." Luke Parry added: "It altogether seemed like heresy to propose that gnathiferans and arrow worms may be related back then so we held off publishing our intriguing results out of fear of criticism from our peers. "However, new DNA studies have since emerged that found arrow worms to be more and more closely affiliated to the Gnathifera in the Tree of Life. "In particular, some researchers found that arrow worms share a duplication of the important Hox genes with a gnathiferan, the rotifers. We suddenly felt no more in a deadlock situation." Now the authors have published their findings in the journal Current Biology. The study follows a new phylogenetic study, which finds robust support for arrow worms forming an evolutionary group with gnathiferans. Luke Parry said: "We were excited to see that these researchers found a relationship between arrow worms and rotifers. "Our phylogenetic analysis, based on anatomical features, strongly suggest a relationship between these two groups of animals as well." The researchers find that Amiskwia is a stem lineage to arrow worms that possess the jaw apparatus seen in gnathiferan worms. This jaw evolved into the fearsome grasping spines in living arrow worms, which now is an important link in the marine food chain. Small crustacean larvae have evolved long protective spines to protect themselves from being swallowed by arrow worms. ### In a study of mice and human brain tumors researchers at the University of the Michigan, Ann Arbor, searched for new treatments by exploring the reasons why some patients with gliomas live remarkably longer than others. The results suggested that certain patients' tumor cells are less aggressive and much better at repairing DNA than others but are difficult to kill with radiation. The researchers then showed that combining radiation therapy with cancer drugs designed to block DNA repair may be an effective treatment strategy. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health. The researchers focused on low-grade gliomas that carry a disease-causing mutation in a gene called isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1), which encodes a protein known to help cells produce energy. This mutation is found in about 50 percent of cases of primary low-grade gliomas, a common and lethal form of brain tumor. Glioma patients whose tumors have mutations in IDH1 are typically younger and live longer than those whose tumors have the normal gene. These tumors also often have mutations in genes called TP53 (a tumor suppressor gene) and ATRX (a DNA-protein complex remodeling gene). "Every year thousands of people are diagnosed with brain cancer and have little hope for long-term survival," said Maria G. Castro, Ph.D., professor of neurosurgery at Michigan Medicine and a senior author of the paper published in Science Translational Medicine. "Our team's mission is to find life-saving treatments for these patients. The results from this study could be a blueprint for extending, if not saving, the lives of many patients." The researchers recreated the patients' tumors by genetically engineering mice to grow brain cancer cells that have the disease-causing mutations in IDH1 along with mutations in TP53 and ATRX. Like the patients, these mice lived longer than control mice whose tumors were programmed to have normal IDH1 while still harboring the mutations in TP53 and ATRX. When the research team examined the tumors, they found that the IDH1 mutation made the glioma cells less aggressive. The cells divided at a lower rate than the controls and were much less likely to trigger tumor growth when implanted into mouse brains. They also discovered that the IDH1 mutation, in the presence of mutations in TP53 and ATRX, made the tumors resistant to ionizing radiation, a treatment that kills cells often by damaging DNA. For instance, radiation exposure extended the lives of mice that were implanted with control tumors but had no effect on mice implanted with IDH1 mutant cells. Further experiments provided a possible explanation for this resistance. The results suggested the disease-causing mutation changed the activity of IDH1 which, in turn, triggered a cascade of chemical reactions that modified the cancer cells' genes in a way that increased the manufacture of proteins known to repair damaged DNA. "Our results demonstrate that the metabolic changes caused by the IDH1 mutation reprograms brain cancer cells," said Dr. Castro. These results led the researchers to formulate and test a new combination therapy. They found that they could extend the lives of mice with mutant IDH1 tumors by exposing them to radiation while also injecting them with anti-cancer drugs designed to block DNA repair. In contrast, treating these mice with either radiation or one of the drugs alone had no effect. Several of the findings seen in mice were also seen in human gliomas grown in petri dishes. "These findings have the potential to impact many younger glioma patients with low grade tumors by either 'curing' them or extending their lives," said Jane Fountain, Ph.D., program director, NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. "The preclinical model Dr Castro's team developed will be extremely valuable to cancer researchers. It closely mirrors the human disease." ### Dr. Castro's team has started planning a Phase 1 clinical trial which will test the safety and efficacy of the combination therapy strategy outlined in this study. Article: Nunez, F.J..; "IDH-R132H acts as a tumor suppressor in glioma via epigenetic upregulation of the DNA damage response", February 13, 2019, Science Translational Medicine; DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aaq1427 This study was supported by grants from the NIH (NS094804, NS105556, NS076991, NS096756, NS099427, NS103500, NS106887, EB022563, CA224160, CA009676, CA151022, DK097153). For more information: http://www. ninds. nih. gov/ Disorders/ All-Disorders/ Brain-and-Spinal-Tumors-Information-Page http://www. cancer. gov/ types/ brain http://www. ninds. nih. gov http://www. cancer. gov/ http://www. nibib. nih. gov/ http://www. niddk. nih. gov/ NINDS is the nation's leading funder of research on the brain and nervous system. The mission of NINDS is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease. About the National Cancer Institute (NCI): NCI leads the National Cancer Program and NIH's efforts to dramatically reduce the prevalence of cancer and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families, through research into prevention and cancer biology, the development of new interventions, and the training and mentoring of new researchers. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI website at cancer.gov or call NCI's Contact Center, the Cancer Information Service, at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237). About the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering: NIBIB's mission is to improve health by leading the development and accelerating the application of biomedical technologies. The Institute is committed to integrating the physical and engineering sciences with the life sciences to advance basic research and medical care. NIBIB supports emerging technology research and development within its internal laboratories and through grants, collaborations, and training. More information is available at the NIBIB website: http://www. nibib. nih. gov . About the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK): The NIDDK, part of the NIH, conducts and supports basic and clinical research and research training on some of the most common, severe, and disabling conditions affecting Americans. The Institute's research interests include diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, nutrition, and obesity; and kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases. For more information, visit http://www. niddk. nih. gov . Researchers tracked Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus in Cambodia after its discovery in 2015. The potentially devastating virus threatens 3.5 million hectares, highlighting the need for disease-resistant varieties and rapid epidemic management Southeast Asia is the source of 95 percent of global cassava exports, and the detection in 2015 in Cambodia of the potentially harvest-devastating Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus (SLCMV) raised alarm. By 2016, the disease - which cannot always be detected visually - had spread, showing its potential to become a major threat to the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farming families. The virus's spread over a single growing season was documented by researchers at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and colleagues. Published February 22 in PLOS ONE by Minato et al., the study is the first systematic baseline evaluation of SLCMV in Southeast Asia, and provides information that can help decision-makers and development agencies to control the disease. "However, the window is likely very short, and decisive collective action is required," the study warns. Millions of smallholders grow the cash crop on more than 3.5 million hectares in Southeast Asia, generating over US$4 billion of export revenue. Quarantine measures, restrictions on the movement of cut stems - which are sold across the region to plant new fields in a loosely regulated informal market - and eradication measures might still offer a means to control the disease. But SLCMV is also spread by a species of whitefly (Bemisia tabaci), and infected plants do not always show symptoms. In the study, 14 percent of infected plants did not have typical visual symptoms. Molecular techniques were used to detect positive infections, paired with photographs of each individually sampled plant to look for visual disease symptoms. "Documenting the outbreak and spread at an early stage is critical for understanding the dynamics of the epidemic - and pre-empting or responding effectively to future ones," said Erik Delaquis, a co-author at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture based in Vientiane, Lao PDR. The study builds on a recently published study by Delaquis et al., describing the regional exchange routes for cassava stems that can help researchers predict key points for disease arrival and spread. "Together, the two studies provide the first published picture of the incidence of SLCMV one year after its discovery in Southeast Asia, and describe for the first time the network of planting material exchange likely to further spread the virus," Delaquis said. "Our 2016 study provides an essential benchmark for timeline comparison," said Nami Minato, a CIAT researcher and the lead author on the latest study. Resistance needed Researchers collected some 6,500 samples from 420 fields in Vietnam and Cambodia during the 2016 sampling period, and discovered 49 SLCMV-infected plants across two provinces in Eastern Cambodia. While this represented only a 2 percent infection rate, since that time the disease was reported in Vietnam and Thailand, suggesting that SLCMV has taken hold in Southeast Asia. The potential impact of a widespread SLCMV outbreak is currently unknown, partly because the variety of cassava grown in Southeast Asia differs from those grown elsewhere. But related types of cassava mosaic diseases in cassava varieties in Africa and India have shown the potential to wipe out the plant's hearty root, which is a major staple food in the developing world and generally sold for industrial starch in Southeast Asia. As a new disease in the region, many producers are not yet familiar with its symptoms. And currently, no mobile diagnostic tools are available to farmers (though tools are currently being developed). Both issues may facilitate its spread and limit the impact of control measures. Long-term development of resistant varieties of cassava will likely be needed to control SLCMV, necessitating considerable investment in breeding programs over many years, said the researchers. Improved planting material use and distribution practices were also identified to help control the spread of SLCMV and other cassava pests and diseases over long distances. ### Funders and partners This research was undertaken as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB). The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) provided funding for this work through a short research activity grant (SRA). The research team is especially grateful to collaborators and young researchers who helped to provide surveillance for the disease from Plant Protection Research Institute (PPRI) and Plant Protection Department (PPD) in Vietnam; General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA) and Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (PDAFF) in Cambodia; and Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS). With average precipitation of 35 inches per four-month season over an area encompassing most of the Indian subcontinent, the South Asia summer monsoon is intense, only partly understood, and notoriously difficult to predict. Until now, according to findings by Nir Y. Krakauer, a City College of New York civil engineer. Because of the monsoon's enormous impact on these sectors, his research is of importance to a range of activities, including agriculture, industry, fishing and hydropower. A frequent visitor to the region, stretching from Nepal to Sri Lanka, Krakauer has devised a methodology that allows forecasts potentially up to a year in advance. Currently, most predictions are made about two months in advance of the South Asia monsoon season that runs from June to September, but it is not known how far ahead skillful forecasts might be possible. "People usually use one or two predictors for forecasts," said the Grove School of Engineering associate professor who is also affiliated with the CCNY-based NOAA-CREST. "Many of these predictors are one or another pattern of sea surface temperatures. My question was how do you find which patterns are important for forecasting the monsoon - the amount of rain and where it will be?" Unlike other forecasters who use only the sea surface temperature readings from neighboring waters, Krakauer looked at the predictive potential of all the common patterns in the sea surface temperature map. He developed prediction methods using global sea surface temperature and monsoon precipitation data from between 1901 to 1996, and tested the performance of his prediction methods on data from 1997-2017. "What I found is that two methods seem to do a good job of forecasting the monsoon. I looked at the sea surface temperatures at the beginning of the monsoon, and going back as far as four years before." His finding was that, generally, the closer to the beginning of the monsoon season, the more accurate forecasts that are based on sea surface temperature can be. But predictions with some accuracy can be made as far as a year in advance. Getting a better sense of how much water will be available is particularly important given that the rainfall is getting more intense in South Asia while the total amount remains constant, meaning that more rain is falling in a shorter period. This could be problematic for farmers in the region. Entitled "Year-ahead predictability of South Asian Summer Monsoon Precipitation," Krakauer's research appears in the journal Environmental Research Letters. His work in South Asia has been partly supported by USAID, most recently as part of the US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies on Water program. ### The present generation relates to the axiom that Digital is the new normal. Gone are the days when the job boards or print media advertisements were only means to attract talent into an organization. Today, the dynamics of attracting talent revolves around how savvy the organization is on employer branding and the effective social media management. However, the paradox of easy information access and enhanced social connect have made attracting and retaining talent more challenging now. According to a survey by The Guardian, salience of employer brand constitutes more than 20 percent of the candidate decision. Branding and social media therefore become critical in reflecting what an organization wants to communicate to its presentand future employees.Social media and employer review websites such as Glassdoor, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn are playing an influential role in shaping-up candidates decision on joining the organization. Just as Amazons product ratings by consumers are perceived more believable than organization generated media content, the rating or content of the social media in regard to organization which directly or indirectly portrays the culture and values of the same to the outside world are considered more truthful representation of employer brand.With increasing representation of millennials in the workforce, the psychological needs and motivations differ between the generations. Hiring managers have been reported as saying were not interviewing (millennials), theyre interviewing us. The millennial behaviors of maintaining unique identities, believe in having a life beyond work and having a work ethos which is best described as want it all and want it now present challenges to the attracting and retaining this cohort. Recently an interaction with one such candidate,who already had few offers for similar roles in other organizations, reinforced the importance of employer branding. He stated,I would like myself to be associated with an organization, which has a social presence, acceptable social rating and reviews. Also the organization should help me in providing a platform to develop my personal brand as well. " Simple things like on-time interviews, communicating feedback, acknowledgement of resumes received, care taken during onboarding process and so on are all build up to providing a great candidate experience and helping to craft an effective employer brand " The selection of a potential candidate is a two way process now with the organization evaluating the candidate in terms of skill, resume, education and social media footprint. Simultaneously and more importantly, Candidates too equally evaluate an organization in terms of the potential perceived fit with their psychological needs through research in social media and peer referencing before even attending an interview. With this trend, the recruitment teams today are required to step-up and additionally take-up the responsibility to engage with internal employees and encourage them to become social advocates and brand ambassadors, regularly write reviews regarding their experiences with current organization in different social media platforms. One cannot be away from embracing the new age recruitment methodologies and technologies. There are tools which are driven by artificial intelligence, using machine language programming for predicative analysis and personalized engagement. Routine, repetitive tasks are now being taken-over by computers skilled in sifting through large volumes of resumes in fractions of seconds. This is reducing the need to large number of sourcing recruiters and bringing-in overall efficiency in the recruitment systems. Additionally, it helps in enhancing the candidates experience as a whole. A synchronous cloud-based video interviewing platforms as well, which helps to build a pipeline for future talent, ensure a better candidate experience. These factors knowingly or unknowingly help to influence the organizational brand. Personal experience indicates that most often, its the experience that we, as an organization provide to the candidate during the entire recruitment process that influences the candidates decision to a great extent. The experience during the recruitment process reflects the brand and the culture of the organization. Recruitment marketing plays a differential role in promoting the employer brand. The recruitment team acts as a gatekeeper for the organization to the outside world. A lot of responsibility depends on what is being communicated in the different channels. Need to ensure that the strategies and channels used for the recruitment marketing is in line with the EVP and the employer branding guidelines. Otherwise, there is always a fear of inconsistent messaging going out, that might create distrust in the eyes of the candidate. Lastly, it is important to reiterate that a good recruitment and on-boarding experience is provided to candidates. It is the million moments of truth which influence how candidates perceive organizations. Simple things like on-time interviews, communicating feedback(even negative feedback), acknowledgement of resumes received, care taken during on-boarding process and so on are all build up to providing a great candidate experience and helping to craft an effective employer brand. As per the trend, the recruitment will be dependent on the social media and the employer branding at present and in years to come. The overall impact of utilizing branding and social media for recruitment will result in(1)Right talent in a reduced timeline;(2)Reducing cost per hire;(3) Retaining employees and project as brand ambassadors;and(4)Enhanced productivity through happy employees. The post-Amazon blame game continues. The latest player was James Patchett, president and CEO of the citys Economic Development Corporation, who told the audience at Thursdays Crains New York Business breakfast that he was proud of the way his agency had handled the botched deal. Its actually a validation of all of the things that weve been saying and all believing for a long time, he contended, by which he meant one thing: That Western Queens has the potential as a commercial hub as we all thought it did. Sure. Things are totally rosy in Long Island City if we all just agree to ignore that nutty three-month dream about tens of thousands of jobs, along with the continuing ramifications of their loss. But that is what Patchett would like us to do. It feels very raw for a lot of us right now, he admitted about the companys decision to abandon its outsized plans for New York. But well get past this. Patchett then took a passel of stats from the upside of the citys tech economy and dropped them on the gathering. Such as: the city has more than 9,000 start-ups, 120 business incubators, and venture capital galore. Google is building a one-billion-dollar campus just south of the Village, he noted. And it will expand its New York City workforce by seven thousand. All true. But then Erik Engquist, Crains New York Businesss managing editor and one of the events moderators, adjusted Patchetts happy outlook. Instead of a coronation, you had a coronary, Engquist said of the metaphorical Valentines-Day-massacre set off by Amazons announcement that there would be no rose for the city. Now you are the coroner and this is the autopsy. Patchett quickly proceeded to blame others for the failure, beginning with Amazon. They didn't perform particularly well at their public hearings, he carped about a pair of political showdowns that featured aggressive grillings by Council Speaker Corey Johnson, and cries of shame from Queens Councilman Jimmy Van Bremer over Amazons union-busting. They never hired a single New Yorker to work for them to talk to New Yorkers. And they never really connected with people in the city. The press came in for the second half of Patchetts roast. The economic chief claimed that news outlets poisoned the dialogue with misleading reports about the nature of the $3 billion subsidy package offered by the city and state to Amazon. The way they were represented, he said of the subsidies, was sort of accepting the opponents' argument as though it was literally a cash transfer. Engquist then asked Patchett to simply and clearly explain the true nature of the subsidies. Patchett began, Uh, yes. Um, It's, it's, it'soh, you mean about the, the incentives? Things went downhill from there. Patchett tried gamely to distinguish cash grants from tax breaks but soon tangled himself in a thicket of clause-clotted culs-de-sac and half-cooked concepts. Yeah, they were all. So. Two components Thats how a typical thrust beganand this from the man whose job was to help sell the deals economic component to the public. To be sure, some Amazon opponentsCongresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez among themmisleadingly characterized the subsidies as akin to a three-billion-dollar pile of cash that could simply be redirected to other needs. We could invest those three billion dollars in our district ourselves, if we wanted to, she told a TV reporter in the halls of Congress, and drew criticism for it afterward. However, countless press reports explained how the bulk of the subsidies worked: they were tax breaks offered to the company in exchange for geographically diversifying New Yorks economy by creating jobs outside Manhattanjobs that would then bring tax revenue. There would also have been a cash grant of five hundred million dollars from the state, which would have gone toward building Amazon's campus. That money can now be steered to other projectsor, more likely, to plug the state's upcoming budget gap. Patchett did toss out a scrap of news about whats next for Long Island City. He said city land that had been slated for the tech giants corporate towers will instead become a mix of homes and businesses. That, after all, had been the original plan before New York decided to drop it and go a-courtin for the company. The new-old project will consist of a thousand residential unitstwo hundred and fifty of which will be affordable. The neighborhood will also gain 100,000 square feet of light manufacturing and industrial space, ground floor retail, a cultural center, a 600-seat middle school, and a one-acre park. For more, listen to reporter Jim O'Grady's story on WNYC: Jim OGrady is a reporter for WNYC and a contributor to Gothamist. is a reporter for WNYC and a contributor to Gothamist. You can follow him on Twitter at @jimog. BOCA RATON, Fla., Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Saxena White P.A. has filed a securities fraud class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Case No. 1:19-cv-01323) against Conagra Brands, Inc. (Conagra) (NYSE: CAG) on behalf of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Conagras common stock between June 27, 2018 and December 19, 2018, inclusive (the Class Period), and/or purchased shares of Conagras common stock pursuant and/or traceable to Conagras secondary public offering commenced on or about October 9, 2018 (SPO). If you purchased Conagra common stock during the Class Period and/or in connection with the SPO and wish to apply to be lead plaintiff, a motion on your behalf must be filed with the Court by no later than April 23, 2019. You may contact Lester Hooker ( lhooker@saxenawhite.com ) at Saxena White P.A. to discuss your rights regarding the appointment of lead plaintiff or your interest in the class action. Please note that you may also retain counsel of your choice and need not take any action at this time to be a class member. Conagra manufactures and markets packaged foods for retail consumers, restaurants and institutions. Conagra has a portfolio of well-known food brands including Reddi-wip, Hunts, Healthy Choice, Slim Jim and Orville Redenbachers. The Complaint asserts claims for violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933 and alleges that throughout the Class Period, including in the registration statement and prospectus issued in connection with the SPO, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about Conagras business, operations, prospects and financial health. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose material information concerning Conagras acquisition of Pinnacle Foods, Inc. (Pinnacle), including that: (i) Conagra inadequately performed proper due diligence in connection with the acquisition of Pinnacle; (ii) the performance of Pinnacles three leading brands was not deteriorating due to intensified competition, but to self-inflicted subpar innovation and executional missteps; (iii) Pinnacles business was performing so poorly that it had resorted to pushing promotional deals to retailers in an effort to boost sales; and (iv) as a result of the foregoing, Defendants public statements were materially false and/or misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis when made. You may obtain a copy of the Complaint and join the class action at www.saxenawhite.com . Saxena White P.A., with offices in Florida, New York, and Massachusetts, concentrates its practice on prosecuting securities fraud and complex class actions on behalf of institutions and individuals. Currently serving as lead counsel in numerous securities fraud class actions nationwide, the firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of injured investors and is active in major litigation pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States. Hamilton, Bermuda, February 22, 2019 - Seadrill Limited (the "Company") has commenced a consent solicitation (the "Consent Solicitation") process to amend certain terms of the indenture and the escrow agreement related to its outstanding 12.0% Senior Secured Notes due 2025 (the "Notes"). Contingent on the successful completion of the Consent Solicitation, the Company plans to launch a c.$340 million tender offer at a price of 107 plus accrued and unpaid interest shortly thereafter. The main proposed amendments: Permit the use of asset sale proceeds remaining after a mandatory asset sale repurchase offer for open market purchases of the Notes. Permit c.$340 million (the "Tender Cap") currently held as security for the Notes to fund a tender offer for the Notes at a price of 107 plus accrued and unpaid interest. The amount is comprised of c.$292 million of restricted cash and c.$48 million in unrestricted cash on the balance sheet. Revise the restriction in the subordinated capital redemption provision that requires a certain principal amount of Notes to be outstanding following a redemption of the Notes using permissible proceeds. Subject to amendments to the documents relating to our secured credit facilities, permit the use of unrestricted cash not provided as security for the Notes to redeem the Notes pursuant to the subordinated capital redemption provision under certain circumstances. Seeking amendments to our secured credit facilities is not currently contemplated. Eliminate the requirement for obtaining a public rating on the Notes. The Consent Solicitation will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 8, 2019, unless extended or earlier terminated by the Company (the "Expiration Time"). Subject to the terms and conditions of the Consent Solicitation, only holders of Notes as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on February 21, 2019 (the "Record Time") who validly deliver (and do not validly revoke) their consents prior to the Expiration Time will receive a consent fee equal to $2.50 per $1,000.00 in principal amount of Notes in respect of which a consent is validly delivered and not validly revoked. Consents may not be revoked after the time we enter into the proposed amendments. The required majority of Note holders representing greater than 50% of the principal amount outstanding have agreed to consent to the proposed amendments. These majority Note holders have also agreed to tender all of their Notes, ensuring full take up of the Tender Cap. The tender offer price will be $1,070 per $1,000 of aggregate principal amount of Notes tendered, plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon. All holders who participate in the tender offer will be subject to proration of their Notes actually accepted for purchase, because such purchase will be subject to the Tender Cap. The completion of the Tender Offer will be subject to certain conditions. Under certain circumstances we may be required to delay or not proceed with the Tender Offer. The complete terms and conditions of the Consent Solicitation are set forth in a Consent Solicitation Statement dated today (the "Consent Solicitation Statement") that is being sent to holders of the Notes. The completion of the Consent Solicitation is contingent upon the satisfaction of certain conditions, including the minimum consent condition, as described in the Consent Solicitation Statement. The Consent Solicitation Statement can be found at www.seadrill.com. The Company's website is not otherwise incorporated into this press release. D.F. King & Co., Inc. will act as the information and tabulation agent for the Consent Solicitation. Requests for the Consent Solicitation Statement may be directed to D.F. King & Co., Inc. at (212) 269-5550 (for bankers and brokers) or (866) 796-7184 (for all others). This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security. No offer, solicitation, or sale will be made in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful. The Consent Solicitation is only being made pursuant to the terms of the Consent Solicitation Statement. No recommendation is being made as to whether holders of Notes should consent to the proposed amendments. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release includes forward looking statements. Such statements are generally not historical in nature, and specifically include statements about the Company's plans, strategies, business prospects, changes and trends in its business and the markets in which it operates. These statements are made based upon management's current plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events impacting the Company and therefore involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risks described from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its 2018 Annual Report on Form 20-F (File No. 001-34667) and its Registration Statement on Form F-1 (Registration No. 333-224459). The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of these factors. Further, the Company cannot assess the impact of each such factor on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward looking statement. This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his visit to South Korea was awarded the 2018 Seoul peace prize. the South Korean presenter enlisted the Prime Minister's achievements that led to this honour. "PM Modi has contributed to the economic contribution to the country and the world. He has been critical in promoting regional and global peace. " also read Seoul peace prize 2018 awarded to PM Narendra Modi over 1300 nominations PM Modi said after accepting the award "The Seoul Peace Prize does not belong to me, it is dedicated to the people of India and our countrys culture of peace and harmony. It's for the success India has achieved in the last 5 years, powered by the skills of 1.3 billion people,". He further added that "The success that India has achieved in the last 5 years is due to aspirations, inspiration and efforts of the people of India. On their behalf, I accept the Award and express my gratitude." also read Kamal Haasan political action wanted to shift the mindset of the people from dynasty politics Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said "PM Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held constructive talks on enhancing cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security, energy, space, Start-ups and people-to-people exchanges,". The Seoul Peace Prize was established in 1990 to commemorate the success of the 24th Olympic Games held in Seoul, an event in which 160 nations from across the world took part, creating harmony and friendship and a worldwide atmosphere of peace and reconciliation. The Seoul Peace Prize was established to crystallize the Korean people's yearning for peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the rest of the world. Seoul: On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded the 2018 Seoul peace prize on his visit to South Korea. PM Modi was selected after candidates proposed over 1300 nominators from around the world. Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan was the recipient of the honour in 1999. In the official address, the South Korean presenter enlisted the Prime Minister's achievements that led to this honour. "PM Modi has contributed to the economic contribution to the country and the world. He has been critical in promoting regional and global peace. " also read The Supreme Court direct centre to take immediate action in cases of assault on Kashmiris The recipients include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus, former United Nation Secretary-General South Korean Ban Ki-moon, among others. PM Modi said after accepting the award "The Seoul Peace Prize does not belong to me, it is dedicated to the people of India and our countrys culture of peace and harmony. It's for the success India has achieved in the last 5 years, powered by the skills of 1.3 billion people,". Further added that "The success that India has achieved in the last 5 years is due to aspirations, inspiration and efforts of the people of India. On their behalf, I accept the Award and express my gratitude." Earlier in the day, PM Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held bilateral talks on cooperation in areas including trade, investment, defence and security. Modi's two-day visit to South Korea has been organised to strengthen India's strategic ties with the country. The PM also met South Korean First lady Kim Jung-sook. also read Article 370 should not be "touched": Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said "PM Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held constructive talks on enhancing cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security, energy, space, Start-ups and people-to-people exchanges,". The Seoul Peace Prize was established in 1990 to commemorate the success of the 24th Olympic Games held in Seoul, an event in which 160 nations from across the world took part, creating harmony and friendship and a worldwide atmosphere of peace and reconciliation. The Seoul Peace Prize was established to crystallize the Korean people's yearning for peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the rest of the world. New Delhi: Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, former Pakistani National Security Advisor Mahmud Ali Durrani has said that he can neither confirm nor deny the presence of terror organisations in Pakistan.In an interview, Durrani, who was Pakistans NSA during the Mumbai attacks in 2008, said that the Pakistani establishment, however, had worked relentlessly to eliminate the terror outfits. I cannot confirm or deny the presence of terror organisations in Pakistan, but to say that everything is clear would be a bit presumptuous. I can, however, say that the military, establishment and other law enforcement agencies have worked over the years in cracking down on such elements with considerable success, he said, adding that the current state of relationship between both countries was bad. Durrani was reported to have said, in 2017, that the Mumbai attacks had been carried out by a terror group based in Pakistan but that the government or the ISI had no role in it. He was also critical of Indias assertion that Pakistan had failed to act despite being provided with evidence after the 2016 Pathankot attack. The former Pakistan NSA said Making Pathankot an excuse and not providing evidence is counterproductive. I still say, get a third party. If there is so much mistrust among each other, get a third party. Ask them to mediate and sit between us or investigate if there is a linkage. I am convinced this will happen someday, but I hope we dont go to war before that,. also read A textile mill in Gujrat's Surat paying tribute to the martyrs in a special way Looking back at the Mumbai attacks, Durrani said the first set of evidence was provided in Marathi. Durrani added Again, I go back to the Mumbai attacks. Although India said it provided evidence, but you talk to the Pakistani investigators, they say no, we didnt get full evidence. The first set of evidence we got was in Marathi or in some local language, which we didnt understand. Pakistan says India has done nothing about the Samjhauta blast investigation. And both have valid points,. While he was hopeful that the two countries would not resort to war, he was critical of the Indian media. He further added I wont put it to the extent of going to war, but there is so much hype being created by media in India and your leadership has upped the ante so much that for them to step back and go into a peaceful mood looks difficult,.Pakistan, on the other hand, he added, had been measured in its response. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said his country will retaliate if India launches military strikes in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. Accusing India of playing judge and jury, Khan said New Delhi had blamed the attack on Islamabad without any proof. also read 'Main Tujhe Dekh Loonga' saying is not a crime: High Court After the Pulwama attacks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Pakistan will have to pay a price for the attack and warned that security forces have been given full freedom to retaliate. Human papillomavirus (HPV) screening and vaccination must be taken up on a war footing in countries like India to prevent 15 million cervical cancer deaths among women by 2050, a Lancet research said. Causing the second-highest number of deaths among Indian women among cancer variants, cervical cancer, in a majority of cases, is caused by HPV, a group of more than 150 viruses. The efforts might even result in cervical cancer being eliminated as a public health hazard in India by 2070-79, according to the study, published in The Lancet Oncology journal. Combining high uptake of the HPV vaccine and cervical screening could eliminate cervical cancer as a public health hazard in 149 out of 181 countries by 2100 and up to 13 million cases of cervical cancer by 2050. If the high coverage of HPV vaccination and cervical screening cannot be achieved globally, over 44 million women could be diagnosed with cervical cancer in the next 50 years with two-thirds of these cases and an additional estimated 15 million deaths, would occur in countries with low and medium levels of development. "More than two thirds of cases prevented would be in countries with low and medium levels of human development like India, Nigeria, and Malawi, where there has so far been limited access to HPV vaccination or cervical screening," said lead author Professor Karen Canfell from the Cancer Council New South Wales in Australia. However, large disparities exist in cervical screening and HPV vaccination coverage among countries. "Awareness about cervical cancer is extremely poor among common people; that makes containing the disease a challenge," Anjila Aneja, director at Fortis La Femme, New Delhi, told IANS. "While societal barriers prevent women from seeking medical help in advance, women are forced to come out at a later stage when the disease has reached an advanced stage," she said. However, Canfell says that despite the enormity of the problem, their findings suggest that "global elimination is within reach with tools that are already available, provided that both high coverage of HPV vaccination and cervical screening can be achieved. Cervical cancer is the fourth-most common cancer among women, with an estimated 5,70,000 new cases diagnosed worldwide in 2018, of which around 85 per cent occur in less developed nations. Screening and broad-spectrum HPV vaccines could potentially prevent up to 84-90 per cent of cervical cancers, the study said. "Diagnostic tests such as the pap smear are effective in identifying cancerous tendencies. "However, these tests are available with a limited number of providers and largely within the cities. This makes screening sporadic and leaves out women who live in rural areas," Aneja added. Lahore: Bowing down to intense international pressure to rein in militant groups operating from its soil, the Pakistan government on Friday took over the administrative control of the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the terror outfit which claimed responsibility for the deadly Pulwama suicide attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir. The move came a day after the powerful UN Security Council comprising 15 nations, including Pakistan's key ally China, named Jaish in a statement condemning in the "strongest terms" the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack perpetrated by Pakistan-based JeM in Pulwama and stressed on the need to hold organisers and financiers of such "reprehensible acts" accountable and bring them to justice. The Punjab government has taken over the control of the JeM headquarters in Bahawalpur, about 400 km from Lahore, Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told PTI. "The government of Punjab has taken over the control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, allegedly the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammad, and appointed an administrator to manage its affairs," the minister said. The campus has a faculty of 70 teachers and currently 600 students were studying in it, a statement issued by the Interior Ministry said, adding that the Punjab police is providing security and protection to the campus. The crackdown on Jaish "has been taken in line with the decision of the National Security Committee meeting held on Thursday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan", it said. Pakistan on Thursday also banned the 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamat-ud-Dawa and its charity wing Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation. Earlier, the two outfits were kept on the watchlist of the interior ministry. The JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the LeT which is responsible for carrying out the Mumbai attack that killed 166 people. It has been declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014. Meanwhile, Paris-headquartered international terror financing watchdog FATF on Friday also condemned the Pulwama terror attack and decided to continue the 'Gray' listing of Pakistan for its failure to stop funding of terrorist groups such as JeM, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamat-ud-Dawa. In a statement, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said, "Pakistan has revised its TF (terror financing) risk assessment. However, it does not demonstrate a proper understanding of the TF risks posed by Da'esh (ISIS), AL-Qaida, JuD (Jamat-ud-Dawa), FIF (Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation), LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba), JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammad), HQN (Haqqani Network) and persons affiliated with the Taliban." The FATF continuing Pakistan with the 'Gray' listing means downgrading of the country by multilateral lenders like IMF, World Bank, ADB, EU and also a reduction in risk rating by Moody's, S&P and Fitch. The Hague: Pakistan on Thursday asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to 'dismiss or declare inadmissible' India's claim for relief to Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is on a death row in the country. Jadhav, 48, a retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of 'espionage and terrorism' after a closed trial in April 2017. His sentencing evoked a sharp reaction in India. India on Wednesday questioned the functioning of Pakistan's notorious military courts and urged the top UN court to annul Jadhav's death sentence, which is based on an 'extracted confession'. Making the final submission in the ICJ on the last day of the hearing, Pakistan's counsel Khawar Qureshi said, "India's claim for relief must be dismissed or declared inadmissible." "India's claim for relief (in the Jadhav case) remains as far fetched now as it was then (May 8, 2017)," he told the judges in his concluding remarks. Closing the arguments, Pakistan's attorney general Anwar Mansoor Khan said, "India seeks relief which they cannot claim from this court." Asserting that the military court in Pakistan works according to the Constitution, he asked the ICJ to 'dismiss India's request' in the case. Khan also assured the court that the process of judicial review in Pakistan was robust and Jadhav can avail it if he chooses. "Jadhav has been charged with terrorism for which an FIR has been registered with the police that is a civilian agency. The military courts have sufficient proof of espionage and the said military court on the available evidence and the judicial confession proceeded to convict him despite he being given the option of going for a judicial review, he has refused to do so," Khan told the court. He said India claims consular access, "surely (it) was not allowed for good reason in terms of the agreement of 2008, specially for the reason that commander Jadhav being involved in espionage." Khan also raked up the Kashmir issue and said Pakistan was awaiting India's response on Samjhauta train blast case and has sought evidence on his country's role in the Pulwama terror attack. After his submission, ICJ top judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf adjourned the hearing and said a date for the judgment would be announced later. On Wednesday, Harish Salve, who was representing India in the case, said that the time has come for the ICJ to make Article 36 a potent weapon for protecting human rights. On Pakistan's military courts, he said the International Commission of Jurists and European Parliament have criticised their functioning and added that anything diluting provisions of Vienna Convention must fail. India moved the ICJ in May 2017 for the 'egregious violation' of the provisions of the Vienna Convention by Pakistan by repeatedly denying New Delhi consular access to Jadhav. The four-day hearing in the Jadhav case opened Monday amidst heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following one of the worst terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. Read more: Latest India news Seoul: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred the Seoul Peace Prize here on Friday. He dedicated the Prize to the people of India and donated its amount to the Namami Gange Fund. Expressing his gratitude after receiving the Prize, Modi said, "I believe that this award belongs not to me but to the people of India. It belongs to the success India has achieved in the less than five years powered by the strengths and skills of 1.3 billion Indians and on their behalf, I humbly accept the award and express my gratitude." He said the award was a recognition of the philosophy that gave the world the message of "Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam (the world is a family)". "It is for the culture that has given the message of peace even on the battle field. In the Mahabharata, Lord Krishna preached the Bhagwad Gita during the battle," he said. The Prime Minister said, "The Seoul Peace Prize is for the land which prays may there be peace everywhere in the sky, in the space, all over planet, in nature. May there be eternal peace. "This award is for the people who have always put societal good above individual ambitions. And I am honoured that it is being conferred on me this year, when we celebrate the 150 birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi." Donating the award money to the Namami Gange fund, Modi said, "I would like to contribute the monetary award of $200,000 ie Rs 1 crore 30 lakh to the Namami Gange fund for our efforts to clean river Ganga, which is not just the economic lifeline of millions of people but is also held sacred by us." New Delhi: A CBI plea against the acquittal of Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the SNC-Lavalin case will be heard by the Supreme Court in the first week of April. The court will also consider the appeals of three former state government employees who were found guilty by the Kerala High Court in the high-profile corruption case. The high court had acquitted Pinarayi, former energy secretary K Mohanachandran and former joint secretary A Francis in the case. R Sivadas, Kasturiranga Iyer and K G Rajasekharan, who were with the Kerala State Electricity Board at the time of the commissioning of the controversial projects, were found guilty. The case has its origin in a claim that the state exchequer suffered a loss of Rs 374 crore because of a contract with Canada's SNC-Lavalin company for revamping Pallivasal, Chenkulam and Panniyar hydel projects. The CBI's case against the CPM leader was thrown out by the high court but the investigating agency alleges that the court had not gone into the conspiracy angle in the case. The CBI maintains that the case against the three acquitted was prima facie strong. The evidence of the conspiracy could only be established in a trial, the agency told the Supreme Court. Early last year, the Supreme Court had issued notice to Pinarayi and other accused who had been let off, seeking a reply from them. Additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, then said this was a case that required an interference by the top court and that the notices must go to all the accused. The court accepted the CBI's plea and issued the notices. Kasaragod: A day after the visit of Kerala Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan to the houses of two slain Youth Congress workers at Periya in Kasaragod district kicked up a row, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also expressed his wish to meet the bereaved families during his trip to the district on Friday but backed off at the eleventh hour following the advice of police and local CPM leaders. Kerala is shocked by the two political murders and the Congress had claimed that its workers Sharathlal (Joshi) and Kripesh were hacked to death by CPM goons. Several CPM workers, including local committee member (now expelled) A Peethambaran, were arrested for the murders. E Chandrasekharan is the CPI's minister in the cabinet. CPI is the second largest group after CPM in the ruing Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala. Pinarayi, who is in Kasaragod district on Friday for various programmes, had earlier expressed his wish to visit the houses of Sharathlal and Kripesh. The chief minister was planning to visit the houses soon after the foundation laying ceremony of the CPM office in Kasaragod and he had informed the CPM district leaders about this. The CPM district leadership contacted the Congress district leaders and they replied that they were not sure about how the workers, relatives and friends of the slain youngsters would react when the chief minister visits the houses. The police also said they were sceptical about the security issues and the possible protest by Congress and Youth Congress workers at Kallyott, a stronghold of Congress where the houses are situated. Though E Chandrasekharan, who is also a native of the area and a CPI minister, visited the houses and consoled the families, Congress leaders were not sure how would the relatives react to the 'CPM' leader's visit. Pinarayi's visit would not be like Chandrasekharan's (visit). Chandrasekharan is a native and he belongs to the CPI. But Pinarayi is not like Chandrasekharan. Even the families would not like to see him. He is not like other chief ministers. His party is the main culprit in the murders. Our leadership has expressed dissent over the chief minister's visit as a measure not to provoke the party workers and the victims' friends in the area. He did not visit the houses of other victims of political violence on previous occasions. So why is he interested in visiting these houses now. Pinarayi did not even visit the families of political violence victims in his own constituency Dharmadom, said Balakrishnan Periya, a senior Congress leader. The Congress workers are also enraged after police registered cases against 115 of them in the same village for resorting to violence after the twin murders. Balakrishnan himself is booked in four cases. Former panchayat president CK Aravindan is also facing charges in three cases. Youth Congress men Sharathlal (L) and Kripesh were hacked to death allegedly by CPM men on Sunday. Soon after the murder, the police have registered cases against almost all non-CPM men in the village. A total of 115 of us are facing charges in 23 cases like arson, destruction of public property etc. In my family alone, five of us, including my brothers, are facing charges. In such a condition, we cannot assure that the workers would accept a visit by the chief minister now, he added. State police chief Loknath Behera on Thursday had ordered that the Crime Branch would probe the case. The family of the slain men and the Congress had called for a CBI investigation but that was not allowed. All the seven accused in the first list of suspects were arrested by the cops. Main accused and CPM local committee member A Peethambaran (now expelled) was arrested on Tuesday and Saji George was arrested on Wednesday. Other five Suresh, Gijin, Anil, Sreerag and Ashwin were arrested on Thursday. Peethambaran and Saji were produced before Hosdurg first class magistrate and remanded in police custody. All the accused are CPM workers. Read more: Latest Kerala news TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stroud Resources Ltd. (TSXV-SDR) (Stroud) announces the appointment of Dr. Scott Jobin-Bevans, Ph.D., PMP, P.Geo., a director of the Company since July 2014, as its Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Jobin-Bevans has almost 30 years experience in the mineral exploration industry and more than 17 years of direct experience with public and private companies as an officer, director and technical advisor and has been involved with taking several private companies public. He is a registered geoscientist with the association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (APGO), and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Geology, Lakehead University and a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Scott has an extensive industry and government network and served as President (2010-2012) and a Director (2002-2010) of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). The Board of Directors of Stroud is pleased to have a seasoned mining executive join the management team. The Company is initiating further development of its Santo Domingo Silver Project in Mexico. I am very encouraged by the results to date from Santo Domingo and look forward to working with the board and management in moving this asset forward, stated Dr. Jobin-Bevans. We appreciate the work Mirsad Jakubovic has done over the past 5 years to guide Stroud and I look forward to working with Mirsad in his capacity as CFO. The Santo Domingo Silver Project is located in Jalisco, Mexico, along the Western silver-gold belt of the Sierra Madre Mountains. The sites proximity to Guadalajara provides excellent access to roads and facilities, with power and water supply on-site. The property is 100% owned by Stroud. About Stroud Resources Ltd. Stroud Resources is a TSX-V listed company focused on the exploration and development of its Santo Domingo epithermal silver-gold project in central Mexico. For more information please visit www.stroudsilver.com Mirsad Jakubovic CFO and Director Tel: 416-888-8731 Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Kasaragod: Five days after the gruesome murders of two Youth Congress workers allegedly by CPM men at Periya in Kerala's Kasaragod district, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday slammed the heinous crime and stated that this was a thoughtless act by some persons. The CM's statement comes at a time when the ruling CPM is under attack over the murders. The party had expelled local committee member and prime suspect in the case A Peethambaran after he was arrested in the case. "Murder is a heinous act. I hang my head in shame before the people. The CPM does not support anything wrong. Such acts are an insult on the LDF government, which has been doing an excellent job," the CM said at the foundation-laying ceremony of the CPM district committee office at Kasaragod. He also said that the police had been given strict instructions to take strong action against the culprits. Congress had alleged that its workers Sharathlal and Kripesh were hacked to death by CPM goons. Reacting to the accusations against his party, Pinarayi said: "There are people waiting for a chance to pounce on the CPM. The culprits of the Youth Congress murders have given them a chance to attack the party. However, the CPM is not an establishment that will be destroyed by such acts. "Several incidents happened in the backdrop of the gruesome murder. Youth Congress leaders literally were on a rampage after the double murders. However, there seems to be no backlash against this, he added. Congress had alleged that its workers Sharathlal (L) and Kripesh were hacked to death by CPM goons. Black flags greet CM The Youth Congress workers waved black flags at the CM on way to the CPM office at Kasaragod Friday. The police removed the protesters. Earlier, Pinarayi had expressed his wish to meet the bereaved families during his trip to the district on Friday but backed off at the eleventh hour following the advice of police and local CPM leaders. The CPM district leadership contacted the Congress district leaders and they replied that they were not sure about how the workers, relatives and friends of the slain youngsters would react when the chief minister visits the houses. The police also said they were sceptical about the security issues and the possible protest by Congress and Youth Congress workers at Kallyott, a stronghold of Congress where the houses are situated. However, Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan, a CPI leader, had visited the houses of the slain Youth Congress workers at Periya in Kasaragod on Thursday that irked CPM leaders. Read more: Latest Kerala news Periya: K K Rema, wife of slain RMP leader T P Chandrasekharan, has sought for an inquiry against top CPM leaders for the murder of Youth Congress activists here in Kerala's Kasaragod district. CPM district committee member V P P Musthafa had made open threats against Congress workers at Kallyot at a public function on January 7. Rema, who is a leader of the RMP (Revolutionary Marxist Party) pointed out that Musthafas speech indicated a larger conspiracy involving the CPM leaders. Rema had also visited the houses of the murdered Kripesh and Sarathlal on Thursday. Congress had alleged that its young workers were hacked to death by CPM workers. Police playing along? Rema also likened Musthafas threat speech to that of those made prior to her husband's murder in 2012. The police report on Periya double murder also sounds erringly similar to CPMs internal inquiry into TPs death. The party had led a parallel investigation and found Kunnumakkara local committee member KC Ramachandran had a personal grudge. The police have a similar story in Kripesh and Sharathlals murders local committee member A Peethambarans personal vendetta against the victims. The court verdict in TP case had exposed CPMs inquiry charade. However, both the police account and party version in the Periya case are the same. Even when new evidence point to political angle in the double murder, the police are eager to stick to the personal enmity angle. In TP case, CPM internal inquiry report came out only after the court verdict. Ramachandrans expulsion came only after the court order. But in Periya case, Peethambaran was first expelled from party and arrest came later as a party-planned ploy. Chandrasekharan was brutally hacked to death on May 4, 2012. A special court in February, 2014, sentenced 11 people, including three CPM workers, to life imprisonment in connection with the case. One of the murder convicts Kodi Suni was arrested last week for the abduction of a Wayanad youth while on parole. Read more: Latest Kerala news Kasaragod: The police have managed to establish the sequence of events just before and after the Periya double murder after analysing the statements of the arrested suspects. Only one among the eight suspects is still absconding. The arrested are: Peethambaran, his friend Saji George, Suresh, Gijin, Anil, Sreerag and Ashwin. The gang of CPM activists had hacked to death Youth Congress workers Kripesh and Sharathlal on Sunday. * Prime accused Peethambaran had planned the vendetta attack together with his friend Saji after the former sustained injuries in an attack allegedly by Congress activists. * Sharathlals movements were being monitored since he was the target. The gang received the message on February 17 that he had left an event venue. * The gang waited in a rubber plantation near Kalliyat school. Vehicles to flee scene after murder were on standby. * The gang pounced on Kripesh and Sharathlals bike as it approached. Sharathlal identified the gang members and tried to speed off. A kick to the bike made it tip over towards KM Suresh, another arrested accused in the case. Suresh swung a sword and injured Kripesh. * A fatally wounded Kripesh ran from the scene in pain. The gang then turned to Sharathlal. The handle of the sword came off and injured Sureshs right palm as he kept swinging it. They hacked Sarathlal many times and left. Most weapons were discarded in a dry well. But one of them kept his new weapon. He discarded it later at another location. The police are yet to retrieve it. * The assailants got on to three different vehicles and left for different locations. Sajis vehicle carried three, while other two vehicles carried two each. Prime accused in Periya murder case, Peethambaran * They reached Velutholi, a party stronghold, first and then another, where they received legal advice on statements to be given to police. * The police have seized Sajis vehicle which was found abandoned. (Saji, absolving himself of murder, had told media he merely drove the vehicle. A suspect in five other cases, Saji has been involved in political ruckus earlier too. The tile businessman is a long-time friend of Peethambaran) Efforts to arrest Saji were scuttled by party members. He surrendered on February 19, a day after his friend and prime accused in the case A Peethambaran was taken in by the cops. One of the vehicles used by the accused. * The bike found at the crime scene belongs to someone from Echiladukka, Kannur. Another jeep is also under police scanner. The probe into the Periya twin murder case was handed over to the Crime Branch from the local police on Thursday. Though the family of the slain Youth Congress workers as well as the Congress party had requested for an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the change in the investigation agency was unlikely. Read more: Latest Kerala news Kanhangad: A police report implicates a friend of the prime accused in the Periya double murders in Kerala's Kasaragod district for direct involvement in the crime. Saji George is directly involved in the Periya double murders and held a grudge against the victims, a police report submitted in court says. Saji, absolving himself of murder, had told media he merely drove the vehicle. His vehicle is in police custody. Saji was arrested on Wednesday a day after his friend and prime accused in the case A Peethambaran was taken in by the cops. The former was remanded in six-day custody by the Kanhangad First Class Magistrate after the police sought him for procedures as part of scientific analysis. A suspect in five other cases, Saji has been involved in political ruckus earlier too. The tile businessman is a long-time friend of Peethambaran. Peethambaran and Saji were produced before Hosdurg first class magistrate and remanded in police custody. Another five people Suresh, Girijan, Anil, Sreerag and Aswin -- were arrested on Thursday. Prime accused in Periya murder case Peethambaran. No drugs The suspects are not regular drugs users even though Peethambaran claimed he was on a high during the murder, the police said. Even his relatives say he does not use drugs. However, some of the seven suspects had had drinks on that night. Is Peethambaran fit? Peethambarans relatives had claimed he was incapable of murder because a steel rod has been inserted in his arm after an earlier accident. The police have not been able to verify this, nor has the hospital in Mangaluru where he was treated. But he goes about as if there is problem with the arm. Bike from Kannur The bike found at the crime scene belongs to someone from Echiladukka, Kannur. Another jeep is also under police scanner. The probe into the Periya twin murder case has been handed over to the Crime Branch from the local police. Though the family of the slain Youth Congress workers Sharathlal and Kripesh - as well as the Congress party had requested for an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the change in the investigation agency was unlikely. Read more: Latest Kerala news Kasaragod: Kerala Minister E Chandrasekharan's visit to the houses of Periya murder victims Kripesh and Sharathlal has kicked up a row. He was accompanied by CPI district secretary Govindan Pallikappil on his visit to the village in Kerala's Kasaragod district on Thursday. Chandrasekharan is a CPI legislator representing the Kanhangad constituency in the Kerala state legislative assembly. He holds the Revenue portfolio in the Pinarayi Vijayan government and heads the CPI legislative party. This should not have happened. I came as a government representative. Initiative for peace talks will be taken. The families' demand for a CBI probe is reasonable," Chandrasekharan said. Youth Congress workers Kripesh and Sharathlal were brutally hacked to death on Sunday allegedly by CPM activists in Periya village in Kerala's northernmost district. Thumbs down LDF convener A Vijayaraghavan said the ministers visit to the houses of murdered youth does not send the right message. He was responding to media reports on the visit. But he later went on to clarify his statement criticising the minister. He can visit as a minister from the district, not as LDF representative, Vijayaraghavan said. Kodiyeri backs minister CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, however, did not disapprove of the visit. His visit as a representative of the government was not wrong. It was not a party members visit, he said. Meanwhile, CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran said "E Chandrasekharan visited the victims' house as a representative of the people, not the party. There is nothing more there." The Crime Branch Thursday took over the investigation into the killing of two Youth Congress workers, as the total number of arrests in the case climbed to seven with five more people being arrested. KM Suresh, G Gijin, A Ashwin, R Sreerag and K Anil Kumar were arrested in connection with the Periya double murders on Thursday. The arrest of K M Suresh, K Anil Kumar, M Ashwin, Sreerag and G Gijin was recorded Thursday. Prime accused and local CPM leader (now expelled) A Peethambaran, and Saji George were arrested in the past two days. Meanwhile, the parents of the slain activists demanded a CBI probe into the incident and reiterated the allegation that the killings were executed with the support and knowledge of the CPM. Youth Congress men Kripesh (L) and Sharathlal were brutally hacked to death allegedly by CPM workers in Periya, Kasaragod. The parents said they had no confidence in the police investigation. Read more: Latest Kerala news Kochi: The Kerala High Court has hardened its stand on the issue of impromptu hartals in the state, ordering the police to slap criminal charges on Youth Congress state president Dean Kuriakose in all cases related to the shutdown forced by the Congress feeder organisation on Monday. He will be an accused in all 189 cases registered in connection with the hartal. Similarly, Sabarimala Karma Samiti leaders, including former top cop T P Senkumar, will find themselves slapped with criminal charges in 990 cases related to the hartals the right-wing outfits had called to protest women's entry into the Sabarimala temple. Senkumar is the vice chairperson of the Samiti. The court approved the government's request to hold the leaders liable for the violence unleashed throughout the state on January 3. The government has also argued for recovering the financial loss from the political leaders who called for the hartal. The High Court suo motu filed a case on the latest hartal called by the Youth Congress to protest the murder of two of its workers Sharathlal and Kripesh - in Kasaragod earlier this week. The court had asked Kuriakose and two other leaders of the organisation to file an affidavit on calling for a shutdown without prior noticed as earlier directed by the court. Kuriakose said that he would cooperate with the court proceedings. Widespread violence was unleashed throughout the state on January 3. The state government told the court that the shutdown and related violence had caused the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation a loss of Rs 1.10 lakh. The police have filed cases against as many as 4,430 persons in 189 cases. Youth Congress had called the hartal on February 18 to protest the murder of two of its workers Sharathlal (R) and Kripesh - in Kasaragod. The government said that the public transporter suffered a loss of more than Rs 3 crore in the hartals called for by the Sabarimala Karma Samiti. Public property worth Rs 38.52 lakh has been destroyed. As many as 141 people were hurt in the violence, apart from 150 policemen and 11 officers. The government wants to recoup the losses from the leaders including Senkumar and Sabarimala Karma Samithi leader K S Radhakrishnan. America had long ago acknowledged the impact Dr Jacob Eapen had on its society. Now, his alma mater, Trivandrum Medical College, too has. On February 16, Dr Jacob Eapen was awarded the Trivandrum Medical College Distinguished Alumnus Award. I was informed of the award after I had returned to California after a vacation 10 days ago, Dr Jacob Eapen said, casually seated in the sunny sit-out of his ancestral house at Kuravankonam in Thiruvananthapuram. But this is a special honour so I did not mind the extra flying hours, Dr Eapen said, two days after he received the award from Governor P Sathasivam. Here is a man who had received honours that were bestowed on American presidents and great athletes. In 1999-2000, when the prestigious Stanford University marked the 40th anniversary of its shift to Palo Alto from San Francisco, it celebrated '40 Careers in Medicine'. Dr Eapen was one of them, and the only foreigner in the 40. Dr Eapen has a unique career graph. After passing out of the Trivandrum Medical College, he did his post-graduation in paediatrics at Christian Medical College, Ludhiana in Punjab. There was not much access to post-graduate training in Trivandrum those days, Dr Eapen said. Dr Jacob Eapen with Mother Teresa Dr Eapen's Buddha moment From there he flew straight to Africa, first working in Tanzania's Aga Khan Hospital as consultant paediatrician, and then in Nigeria. It is the children dying of malnutrition he saw in these African nations that told him that public health was his calling. I found that preventive medicine was the best way to tackle health issues, Dr Eapen said. In poor African countries, with poor access to healthcare, vaccine-preventable illnesses were high. There would be 200-250 patients waiting to see him a day at his clinic in poor African countries. I still recall moments when I could spot a child seated on the hip of her mother standing long back, say 50th or 60th in the queue, and thinking that the child will not survive an hour, he said. His work in Africa made the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees appoint Dr Eapen as health advisor in Philippines in 1990. During this period, he was in charge of 40,000-odd Indo-Chinese refugees at the Philippines Refugee Processing Center, Battan. Shashi Tharoor was his contemporary in the UN. When he left Philippines he was paid a glowing tribute by Herman T Laurel, the administrator at the Refugee Processing Center. No other medical advisor before him has figured as positively in Health Services group affairs, nor shown as much commitment to its mission, for which he has earned our respect and high esteem, he wrote. Hillary Clinton and Dr Jacob Eapen Berkeley and Stanford This was long after Dr Eapen earned a master's degree in public health from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1984. Later, he also served in its advisory board. When Berkeley later invited him as an advisor, he was the first Asian to be given the honour. After Berkeley, Dr Eapen went to Stanford University as resident for higher studies on paediatric public health. It was this residency that qualified him for the '40 Careers in Medicine' honour. I was the only doctor among the 40 who had studied in Stanford only as a resident. Others had done their graduation too at Stanford, Dr Eapen said. Currently Dr Eapen serves as the medical director for Alameda Health System (AHS), one of the largest public health system in California. 'Washington on Wheels', a mobile health clinic stationed at Tri-City area schools and churches in the San Francisco Bay area that offers vaccination and basic medical care, is one of the successful outreach programmes run by the Alameda Health System. He also helped set up the first school-based clinic at James Logan High School in Union City, a programme that was adopted by other Californian high schools. Dr Jacob Eapen Honour reserved for legends Such public health activism had won him the Ellis Island Medal of Honour in 2007, a honour won earlier by American presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George Bush, and Jimmy Carter, civil rights activist Rosa Parks, pop icons like Frank Sinatra, legendary sportsmen like Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe, and the American-Romanian writer Ellie Wiesel. The medal is given to outstanding individuals who have dedicated themselves to community service. The world has advanced tremendously technologically but advanced very little in terms of compassion, is how Dr Eapen explains his philosophy. His celebrated health activism has led him to hold an elected position in the board of directors of Washington Hospital Healthcare System, Freemont, California. Over 600 doctors work under this system. Dr Eapen's unique record Last November, he was elected for the fifth consecutive time to the board. Dr Eapen had secured 35,000-odd votes, good enough to win a seat in the Senate. Even the Indian-born Bobby Jindal (former Louisiana governor) had won only three public elections. Last February, Washington Hospital Healthcare System received the Americas 100 Best Hospitals Award from Healthgrades, placing it among the top two per cent of hospitals in the United States for clinical excellence. America's health issues Though it is definitely not Africa, Alameda county too has severe disparities in health indices. African Americans, for instance, have infant mortality rates that are two to three times higher than average. Like in Kerala, immunisation too is an issue. There is a lobby working overtime against immunisation in America, he said, and added: Only 73 per cent of Alameda County children were up to date on their immunisation by age 2, well below the the objective of at least 90 per cent. According to him, the high spending in healthcare is not proportionate to the quality in healthcare. The US spends 20 per cent of its income on healthcare compared to 11 per cent in Canada and Switzerland. Yet the US ranks 25 or less in the quality of healthcare. Also, the US has a life expectancy that is very close to Kerala even though I am told Kerala spends less than one per cent of its GSDP on health, Dr Eapen said. Insure against skyrocketing medical bills He agrees that healthcare costs are on the up in the state. One of the reason for escalating cost per patient is the adoption of newer technologies and its excessive usage, he said. According to him, the only panacea to neutralise rising healthcare costs was universal insurance coverage. Insurance coverage can bring in accountability. Now there is a situation where a patient is made to do an MRI scan even for a running nose. This will not happen if insurance companies take over the payment. They will question the hospital on such equipment choices. They will also compare costs and bring the price down, he said. Dr Eapen also sounds a note of caution. There is no quick fix to the rising cost in health care and if we don't take pre-emptive measures like controlling the cost of pharmaceuticals and administrative costs, the country's healthcare system can go bankrupt. After the unprecedented terrorist attack in Pulwama, the mood in India is of anger and frustration. We are angry with Pakistan, with Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and with the bomber, who was apparently a Kashmiri. We should also be angry that we are unable to end the cycle of violence. We should be angry that we are unable to find a diplomatic or military solution to Pakistani intransigence. We should be angry with our politicians, who use the J&K for their political purposes and not as a strategic challenge and believe that we can absorb the losses and carry on regardless. Our anger should have no limits. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke for the entire nation when he condemned the terrorist attack in Pulwama: "The terrorists...they have made a big mistake. You will have to pay a very heavy price...I assure everyone that the forces behind the attack...we will bring them to justice......The forces behind this act of terrorism and those responsible for it will definitely be punished." Modi has announced that he has given the armed forces a free hand to take any action at any time at any place of their choice. We also pledged to isolate Pakistan in the international community through diplomatic means. Limits But there are limits for our power and influence. That will be demonstrated once again in the next few days. We can do another strategic strike and inflict some damage on the terrorist camps and Pakistan army across the Line of Control (LoC). We can even bomb some of the Pakistani posts on the border and destroy their men and equipment. But a large scale war has to be ruled out because of the change in the strategic context on account of the nuclear capability of the two countries. Crossing the LoC is fraught with the danger of nuclear blackmail by Pakistan. No nuclear warheads may ever be launched, but Pakistan will threaten to use nuclear weapons on the ground that since the Indian army is more powerful and lethal, they need to multiply their force by resorting to nuclear arms. The moment that happens, the international community will flock to New Delhi and Islamabad to find a compromise. The fear of a nuclear conflagration will lead to various pressures being exercised to bring about a compromise. We cannot resist these pressures beyond a point and no punishment will be meted out to Pakistan. The lack of any economic leverage with Pakistan was demonstrated by our withdrawal of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status accorded to Pakistan, which will not make any dent on Pakistans economy or trade. Pakistan had declined to accord the same status to India on the ground that it would be inappropriate to give MFN status to a country, which is the least favoured in the eyes of Pakistan. We have the power, but we do not have the freedom to exercise it the way we did in 1965 or 1971. The efforts the then US President Bill Clinton exerted on July 4, 1999, to get Pakistan to withdraw from Kargil were precisely for fear of the two countries moving to a nuclear war. We shall face a version of that against us if we were to cross the LoC and attack Pakistan. The answer Where power cannot be exercised by declaring a conventional war, diplomacy becomes the answer. Our own diplomacy in Pakistan should convince them that they have to pay a heavy price if they persist with terrorism. The other option is to seek to isolate Pakistan as a terrorist state, by sharing the intelligence about the attack and Pakistans role in it. The major countries, particularly the permanent members of the United Nation (UN) Security Council and our neighbours have already been briefed with a view to get them to condemn Pakistan and join in a protest, if not to take punitive action for masterminding the attack. Many countries have condemned terrorism in general terms, without specifying the direct responsibility of Pakistan in the dastardly act. This is fairly easy to do because there are formulations in many consensus resolutions of the UN, which have been endorsed by Pakistan itself, which often claims to be a victim of terrorism. But to expect any country to condemn Pakistan by name and threaten any kind of punitive action against it will be unrealistic. The positions that countries take on bilateral disputes tend to be based on certain principles, without taking sides and without considering merits. The US, for instance, strongly condemned the terror attack and called on all countries to deny safe haven and support for terrorists. The US State Department said that it was "resolutely committed" to working with the Indian government to combat terrorism in all its forms. The statement went on to say: "The US condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist attack today (February 14) on an Indian Central Reserve Police Force convoy in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The UN designated, Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility for this heinous act. We call on all countries to uphold their responsibilities pursuant to UN Security Council resolutions to deny safe haven and support for terrorists. There is nothing in this statement or other US comments to suggest that Pakistan is guilty of instigating terrorism. Such statements cannot lead to any political or economic action against Pakistan. In fact, when Pakistan is accused only of giving safe haven to terrorists and supporting them, they are being let off the hook. If the present attack leads to a reconsideration of the US decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, it will be a positive outcome. After all, terrorism that is supposed to have ended is alive and kicking and the US should realise that if it is not rooted out, their mission in Afghanistan will remain incomplete and terrorism will remain threat to the US themselves. The Chinese statement was even less specific about Pakistan."China has noted the reports of suicide terrorist attack. We are deeply shocked by this attack. We express deep condolences and sympathy to the injured and bereaved families, it said. When asked about China's stand on listing Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN Security Council, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson told the media: "As for the issue of listing, I could tell you that the 1267 Committee of Security Council has a clear stipulation on the listing and procedure of the terrorist organisations. As to the listing of an individual, we have always upheld an earnest, responsible and professional manner," he said, adding, "JeM has been included in the UN Security Council terrorism sanctions list. China will continue to handle the relevant sanctions issue in a constructive and responsible manner." This is what China has been saying while repeatedly blocking efforts by India and other UN Security Council members to list Masood Azhar as a UN designated terrorist. Even when countries like France, Russia and others say that they stand by India in its fight against terrorism, they may not have Pakistan in mind. Terrorism, in their mind, is not cross border terrorism, but global terrorism like IS and others, who pose a threat to them. Russia specifically stated at an Afghanistan related conference in India not long ago that cross border terrorism was not a serious threat to international peace and security. The visit of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday had raised hopes that India would get the support of Saudi Arabia for their fight against Pak terrorism. The Crown Prince had visited Pakistan earlier and promised heavy investments in Pakistan and promised to be Pakistans Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He signed several agreements with India, but neither PM Modi nor Prince Mohammed uttered the P word. There were only some pious words about cooperation in the combat against terrorism. In other words, the limits to the use of our military power and wielding of our global influence, place us in a dilemma which will remain even in the face of the most gruesome terrorist attack. The biggest challenge for India today is to stop the cycle of violence emanating from Pakistan. Where and how we will break the cycle will be the determining factor in our struggle against terror. The nation should stand united with the government in whatever action it would take to deal with this menace. Young Midhun Raj from Alappuzha aimed at finding a place in the Guinness Book of World Records by hanging upside down, literally. He attempted it by solving the Rubiks cube puzzle in this position. He tried to solve the puzzle 51 times in 26.1 minutes to break the current record of 26 times held by a Tamil Nadu native. Midhun arranged a 30-minute event at a hotel in the town under the instructions of the Guinness authorities for the record. However, as he was furiously solving the cube, it suddenly slipped from his hand at the last moment. The lapse at the end was unfortunate, but the encouragement and praise Midhun received from spectators for his effort boosted the youngsters spirits. A BA English first year student, Midhun is the son of A R Rajeev and Bobby. Rajeev is a graphic designer in Thailand. The youngster had spent the last three years practicing 30 minutes a day for attempting the Guinness record. He collected information for the purpose from the Internet. Bengaluru native K Pruthyush, the observer of the Guinness Book of World Records, created an image of a Kathakali performer at the venue, which attracted much attention. Other witnesses of Midhuns effort were C Daniel, representative of World Cube Association and B Arun, a gazetted officer. The Guinness authorities will now examine the videos and photos of Midhuns attempt and announce the results after three months. New Delhi: Fashion designers such as Rohit Bal, Rajesh Pratap Singh and Rina Dhaka along with Bollywood actors Arjun Rampal and Aditi Rao Hydari celebrated the centennial of Khadi and presented the fabric as a style statement on the runway here on Thursday. Ficci Ladies Organisation (FLO) along with All India Women's Education Fund Association (AIWEFA) organised an event called 'Khadi Goes Global' at The National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum here. The event honoured Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary and 100 years of Khadi. Kashmir born designer Rohit Bal showcased a pastel collection, which included sarees and lehengas made from Khadi. Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal, who looked dapper in a black sherwani with an embroidered shawl, walked the runway as his showstopper. Bal described Khadi as the 'fabric of the soul.' "It's the national fabric of our country. It stands for freedom, independence and self discovery. It's the fabric of now, before and the future," Bal told IANS. Next on the runway was Rina Dhaka, who not only showcased a collection made out of Khadi, but also paid a tribute to the martyrs of the Pulwama attack, which took place on February 14. Combo image of Aditi Rao Hydari (L) and Arjun Rampal at the show Her white and beige collection had 'Jai Jawaan' written on them. An emotional Dhaka said: "The message is my way of expressing the current scene... For me it is very important. In my way I am also trying to tell with this story my message to have gratitude for our soldiers." Asked about Khadi and its popularity, the designer told IANS: "Khadi is the fabric of a journey. It is a warp and weft of life...no one else has the Khadi story, only we have it." Rajesh Pratap Singh was up next. He presented a wide array of dhotis, pants, shirts and sherwanis in plain white. Bollywood actress Aditi Rao Hydari concluded the show as she sauntered the runway in a white and gold lehenga for the label Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla. FLO President Pinky Reddy talked to IANS about the importance of Khadi, which is also called the fabric of freedom. "Our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has done a lot for Khadi and I feel we have to encourage what was started by Gandhiji. Khadi has become an international name and we should not forget it," Reddy said. The 'Khadi Goes Global' event also saw a dance performance titled 'An Ode To Mahatma' by Geeta Chandran and Sandhya Raman. It also honoured promoters and producers of Khadi such as Bal, Pratap Singh, Chaman Siju and Rta Kapoor Chishti, among others. MADISON HEIGHTS, MICHIGAN, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- InfuSystem Holdings, Inc. (NYSE American: INFU) (InfuSystem or the Company), a leading national provider of infusion pumps and related services for the healthcare industry in the United States and Canada, today announced that on December 7, 2018, it entered into a Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement (the Stipulation of Settlement) in the shareholder derivative action captioned Thomas v. Steen, Case No. BC656147, pending in the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles (the Court). The Stipulation of Settlement calls for the Company to adopt certain corporate governance changes. On February 4, 2019, the Court entered an order (the Preliminary Approval Order) providing for preliminary approval of the Settlement and the Notice to Current InfuSystem Stockholders (Notice). A final settlement hearing is scheduled for April 19, 2019 at 8:30 AM at the Court. Pursuant to the Preliminary Approval Order, the Notice is attached to the end of this press release. The Notice and Stipulation of Settlement are available on the Companys website on the investor relations page at https://ir.infusystem.com/ . Timothy Brown THE BROWN LAW FIRM, P.C. 240 Townsend Square Oyster Bay, New York 11771 Telephone: (516) 922-5427 Facsimile: (516) 344-6204 Email: tbrown@thebrownlawfirm.net Robert C. Moest, Of Counsel, SBN 62166 THE BROWN LAW FIRM, P.C. 2530 Wilshire Boulevard, Second Floor Santa Monica, California 90403 Telephone: (310) 915-6628 Facsimile: (310) 915-9897 Email: rmoest@aol.com Counsel for Plaintiff SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES SCOTT THOMAS, Derivatively and on Behalf of INFUSYSTEM HOLDINGS, INC., Plaintiff, vs. ERIC K. STEEN, JONATHAN P. FOSTER, CHRISTOPHER DOWNS, GREGG LEHMAN, DAVID DREYER, RYAN MORRIS, SCOTT A. SHUDA, JOSEPH WHITTERS, and WAYNE YETTER, Defendants, and INFUSYSTEM HOLDINGS, INC., Nominal Defendant. Case No.: BC656147 Judge: Hon. Holly J. Fujie Department 56 Date Action Filed: April 3, 2017 EXHIBIT B NOTICE TO CURRENT INFUSYSTEM STOCKHOLDERS NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF DERIVATIVE ACTION TO: ALL OWNERS OF INFUSYSTEM HOLDINGS, INC. (INFUSYSTEM OR THE COMPANY) COMMON STOCK (TICKER SYMBOL: INFU) AS OF DECEMBER 7, 2018, WHO CONTINUE TO OWN SUCH SHARES (CURRENT INFUSYSTEM STOCKHOLDERS). PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY AND IN ITS ENTIRETY. THIS NOTICE RELATES TO A PROPOSED SETTLEMENT AND DISMISSAL OF STOCKHOLDER DERIVATIVE LITIGATION AND CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR RIGHTS. IF THE COURT APPROVES THE SETTLEMENT AND DISMISSAL OF THE DERIVATIVE ACTION, STOCKHOLDERS OF INFUSYSTEM WILL BE FOREVER BARRED FROM CONTESTING THE APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT AND FROM PURSUING RELEASED CLAIMS. THIS ACTION IS NOT A CLASS ACTION. THUS, THERE IS NO COMMON FUND UPON WHICH YOU CAN MAKE A CLAIM FOR A MONETARY PAYMENT. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that this action is being settled on the terms in a Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement, dated December 7, 2018 (the Stipulation). The purpose of this Notice is to inform you of: the existence of this derivative action, the proposed settlement between the Plaintiff and Defendants reached in this Derivative Action (the Settlement), the hearing to be held by the Court to consider the fairness, reasonableness, and adequacy of the Settlement, Plaintiffs Counsels application for fees and expenses, and Plaintiffs Service Award. This Notice describes what steps you may take in relation to the Settlement. This Notice is not an expression of any opinion by the Court about the truth or merits of Plaintiffs claims or Defendants defenses. This Notice is solely to advise you of the proposed Settlement of the Derivative Action and of your rights in connection with the proposed Settlement. Summary On December 7, 2018, InfuSystem, in its capacity as a nominal defendant, and certain current and former directors and officers of the Company (the Individual Defendants) entered into the Stipulation in the above-captioned action filed derivatively on behalf of InfuSystem, in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles (the Court) against the Individual Defendants (the Derivative Action). The Settlement, as documented in the Stipulation, subject to the approval of the Court, is intended by the Parties1 to fully, finally, and forever compromise, resolve, discharge, and settle the Released Claims and to result in the dismissal of the Derivative Action with prejudice, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Stipulation. The proposed Settlement requires the Company to adopt certain additional corporate governance measures and procedures, as outlined in Exhibit A to the Stipulation, and provides that Defendants or their insurer shall pay a Fee and Expense Award to Plaintiffs Counsel of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000.00) and a Service Award to Plaintiff of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) to be paid from the Fee and Expense Award. This Notice is a summary only and does not describe all of the details of the Stipulation. For full details of the matters discussed in this summary, please see the full Stipulation posted on the Companys website, [ir.infusystem.com/derivative-settlement ] , contact Plaintiffs Counsel at the address listed below, or inspect the full Stipulation filed with the Clerk of the Court. What is the Lawsuit About? The Derivative Action is brought derivatively on behalf of InfuSystem and alleges that the Individual Defendants breached their fiduciary duties by failing to maintain internal controls at InfuSystem and making and/or causing InfuSystem to make false and misleading statements of material fact to the investing public. Why is there a Settlement? The Court has not decided in favor of the Defendants or the Plaintiff. Instead, both sides agreed to the Settlement to avoid the distraction, costs, and risks of further litigation, and because the Settlement provides substantial benefits to, and is in the best interests of, InfuSystem and its stockholders. The Individual Defendants deny each and every allegation of wrongdoing or liability arising out of or relating in any way to the events, conduct, statements, acts, or omissions alleged in the Derivative Action. The Individual Defendants further assert that, at all times, they acted in good faith, and in a manner they reasonably believed to be and that was in the best interests of InfuSystem and InfuSystems stockholders. The Individual Defendants assert that they have meritorious defenses to the claims in the Derivative Action. Nonetheless, the Individual Defendants have entered into the Stipulation, without admitting or conceding any fault, liability, wrongdoing, or damage whatsoever, in order to avoid the risks inherent in any lawsuit and the burden and expense of further litigation. The Settlement Hearing and Your Right to Object to the Settlement On February 4, 2019, the Court entered an order preliminarily approving the Stipulation and the Settlement contemplated therein (the Preliminary Approval Order) and providing for the Notice of the Settlement to be issued to Current InfuSystem Stockholders. The Preliminary Approval Order further provides that the Court will hold a hearing (the Settlement Hearing) on April 19, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. before the Honorable Holly J. Fujie in Department 56 of the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles, Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, California 90012, to among other things: (i) determine whether the proposed Settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate and in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders; (ii) consider any objections to the Settlement submitted in accordance with the Notice; (iii) determine whether a Judgment substantially in the form attached as Exhibit D to the Stipulation should be entered dismissing all claims in the Derivative Action with prejudice, and releasing the Released Claims against the Released Persons; (iv) consider the agreed-to Fee and Expense Award to Plaintiffs Counsel of attorneys fees and the reimbursement of expenses; (v) consider the Service Award to Plaintiff, which shall be funded from the Fee and Expense Award; and (vi) consider any other matters that may properly be brought before the Court in connection with the Settlement. Any Current InfuSystem Stockholder who wishes to object to the fairness, reasonableness, or adequacy of the Settlement as set forth in the Stipulation, or to the proposed award of attorneys fees and expenses, may file a written objection with the Court. An objector must at least fourteen (14) calendar days prior to the Settlement Hearing: (1) file with the Clerk of the Court and serve upon the below listed counsel a written objection to the Settlement setting forth (a) the nature of the objection; (b) proof of ownership of InfuSystem common stock as of December 7, 2018 and through the date of the Settlement Hearing, including the number of shares of InfuSystem common stock held and the date of purchase; (c) any and all documentation or evidence in support of such objection; and (d) the identities of any cases, by name, court, and docket number, in which the stockholder or his, her, or its attorney has objected to a settlement in the last three years; and (2) if a Current InfuSystem Stockholder intends to appear and requests to be heard at the Settlement Hearing, he, she, or it must, in addition to the requirements of (1) above, file with the Clerk of the Court and serve on the below counsel (a) a written notice of his, her, or its intention to appear at the Settlement Hearing; (b) a statement that indicates the basis for such appearance; (c) the identities of any witnesses he, she, or it intends to call at the Settlement Hearing and a statement as to the subjects of their testimony; and (d) any and all evidence that would be presented at the Settlement Hearing. Any objector who does not timely file and serve a notice of intention to appear in accordance with this paragraph shall not be permitted to appear at the Settlement Hearing, except for good cause shown. IF YOU MAKE A WRITTEN OBJECTION, IT MUST BE ON FILE WITH THE CLERK OF THE COURT NO LATER THAN APRIL 5, 2019. The Clerks address is: Clerk of the Court Superior Court of California Department 56 111 North Hill Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 YOU ALSO MUST DELIVER COPIES OF THE MATERIALS TO PLAINTIFFS COUNSEL AND DEFENDANTS COUNSEL SO THEY ARE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN APRIL 5, 2019. Counsels addresses are: Counsel for Plaintiff: Timothy Brown THE BROWN LAW FIRM, P.C. 240 Townsend Square Oyster Bay, NY 11771 Counsel for Nominal Defendant InfuSystem: Robert E. Boone BRYAN CAVE LLP 120 Broadway, Suite 300 Santa Monica, CA 90401 An objector may file an objection on his, her or its own or through an attorney hired at his, her, or its own expense. If an objector hires an attorney to represent him, her, or it for the purposes of making such objection pursuant to this paragraph, the attorney must effect service of a notice of appearance on the counsel listed above and file such notice with the Court no later than fourteen (14) calendar days before the Settlement Hearing. Any InfuSystem stockholder who does not timely file and serve a written objection complying with the above terms shall be deemed to have waived, and shall be foreclosed from raising, any objection to the Settlement, and any untimely objection shall be barred. Any objector who files and serves a timely, written objection in accordance with the instructions above, may appear at the Settlement Hearing either in person or through counsel retained at the objectors expense. Objectors need not attend the Settlement Hearing, however, in order to have their objections considered by the Court. If you are a Current InfuSystem Stockholder and do not take steps to appear in this action and object to the proposed Settlement, you will be bound by the Judgment of the Court and will forever be barred from raising an objection to such settlement in this or any other action or proceeding, and from pursuing any of the Released Claims. If you held InfuSystem common stock as of December 7, 2018 and continue to hold such stock, you may have certain rights in connection with the proposed Settlement. You may obtain further information by contacting counsel for Plaintiff at: Timothy Brown, The Brown Law Firm, P.C., 240 Townsend Square, Oyster Bay, NY 11771, Telephone: (516) 922-5427, Email: tbrown@thebrownlawfirm.net. Please Do Not Call the Court or Defendants with Questions About the Settlement. About InfuSystem Holdings, Inc. InfuSystem Holdings, Inc. is a leading provider of infusion pumps and related services to hospitals, oncology practices and other alternate site healthcare providers. Headquartered in Madison Heights, Michigan, the Company delivers local, field-based customer support and also operates Centers of Excellence in Michigan, Kansas, California, Massachusetts, and Ontario, Canada. The Companys stock is traded on the NYSE American under the symbol INFU. Forward-Looking Statements Statements made in this press release that are not historical facts are considered to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). The words "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "plan," "expect," "strategy," "future," "likely," variations of such words, and other similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. However, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements include statements relating to future actions, business plans, objectives and prospects, future operating or financial performance. In connection with the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Company is identifying certain factors that could cause actual results to differ, perhaps materially, from those indicated by these forward-looking statements. Those factors, risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, potential changes in overall healthcare reimbursement, including CMS competitive bidding, sequestration, concentration of customers, increased focus on early detection of cancer, competitive treatments, dependency on Medicare Supplier Number, availability of chemotherapy drugs, global financial conditions, changes and enforcement of state and federal laws, natural forces, competition, dependency on suppliers, risks in acquisitions & joint ventures, U.S. Healthcare Reform, relationships with healthcare professionals and organizations, technological changes related to infusion therapy, dependency on websites and intellectual property, the ability of the Company to successfully integrate acquired businesses, dependency on key personnel, dependency on banking relations and covenants, and other risks associated with our common stock, as well as any litigation to which the Company may be involved in from time to time; and other risk factors as discussed in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and in other filings made by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Our annual report on Form 10-K is available on the SEC's EDGAR website at www.sec.gov, and a copy may also be obtained by contacting the Company. All forward-looking statements made in this press release speak only as of the date hereof. We do not intend, and do not undertake any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances after the date of such statements, except as required by law. Additional information about InfuSystem Holdings, Inc. is available at www.infusystem.com . ______ 1 All capitalized terms used in this notice, unless otherwise defined herein, are defined as set forth in the Stipulation. CONTACT: Joe Dorame, Joe Diaz & Robert Blum Lytham Partners, LLC 602-889-9700 Palakkad (Ker): Slamming the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala over the Sabarimala issue, BJP chief Amit Shah Friday said the state government has been "cheating" crores of Ayyappa devotees and denying them justice. This would only result in "unsettling the foundation of the communist party in the state," Shah said addressing party workers here. Over 2,000 devotees were put behind bars and cases were registered against 30,000 people during the Sabarimala protests, the BJP president said as he attacked the left government. "The LDF government has been cheating crores of Sabarimala devotees in the country. I would like to remind you that this will result in unsettling the foundation of the communist party," he said. Kerala had been rocked by protests after the state government decided to implement the Supreme Court's September 28 verdict allowing women of all age groups to offer prayers at the hill shrine. "The LDF government has been stating that they were bound by the Supreme Court verdict. However, the top court has also said that no loudspeakers can be used in mosques. From how many mosques have you removed the loudspeakers. Have you implemented that Supreme Court verdict?" Shah asked. "The atheist communists have tried to deny justice to the believers," Shah said. While Sangh Parivar organisations had toiled hard to protect the Sabarimala traditions and faith of the devotees, the BJP leader alleged that the LDF government had deputed 1,500 Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) activists, CPI(M)'s youth wing, to Sabarimala in the garb of police personnel. The government tried to destroy the temple rituals, he alleged. "We warn the Pinarayi Vijayan government that unless you stop persecution of Ayyappa devotees, your party will face the same fate of that in West Bengal and Tripura," Shah said. He also asked the BJP, NSS, BDJS (Bharat Dharma Jana Sena) and other similar outfits to fight shoulder to shoulder to oust the "atheist" government. Attacks Grand Alliance Shah attacked the proposed "mahagathbandhan" (grand alliance) of opposition parties and said it was not good for the country. Addressing a party rally, Shah said the alliance was just a "front to grab power" and did not have any ideology or leader. "This 2019 election will be an important poll for the party. Because the party will return to power and there will be MPs from Kerala to take part in the central government," he said. Attacking the ruling left party in the state and the Congress, the BJP president said "the Communist party has become extinct in the world. That's the situation of the Congress party in the country. NDA is planning big win in the state," Shah said. He asked the people of Kerala to give an opportunity for the Narendra Modi-led government to make the state the best in the country. People of the state have been alternatively electing the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and Congress-headed UDF, Shah said. "Give a chance to Narendra Modi. We will make Kerala the number 1 state in the country. When LDF comes to power, there is violence and during UDF rule there is corruption and both fronts help protect each other's corruption. But if the BJP-led NDA comes to power all the corrupt will be put behind bars," he said. Should caste leaders like Vellappally Natesan and Sukumaran Nair be taken seriously at the time of elections? Or, like in the case of imposing concrete lions in front of large houses, should their presence be merely acknowledged and then ignored? Seeing how political parties are desperate to woo them, it looks like they hold the magic wand. But election results demonstrate that they have as much bite as the concrete lions. Vellappally, by publicly calling for the defeat of certain candidates, has been the more adventurous of the two. Most of the candidates he had badly wanted to lose, be it Congress's V M Sudheeran or K C Venugopal or CPM's V S Achuthanandan or G Sudhakaran, had won with majorities that should have put Natesan in his place. But he is now the president of Pinarayi Vijayan's Renaissance Committee. Vellappally Natesan with VS Achuthanandan. Equidistance or 'here and there' Sukumaran Nair, the more grim-faced and measured of the two, swears by equidistance. This in reality means that he has his feet on both the boats, said Dr Shaji Varkey, Kerala University's associate professor of political science. It is not 'neither here nor there' but 'here and there'. This is convenient because once the elections are over he can claim credit for the victory of either front, he added. Vellappally with Oommen Chandy. Acquired wisdom says that Nair votes generally gravitate towards the UDF. This has more to do with history than the preference of the NSS leadership. The upper caste Nair community, which considers itself a victim of the land and education reforms initiated by the Left, had traditionally shown allegiance to the UDF. With the rise of the BJP at the Centre, nearly half the Nairs who were inclined to the Congress turned their affections to the BJP. A mighty snub? But the Nair community is not a cohesive unit like the minorities, and therefore can be unpredictable in its choices. During the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, when Sukumaran Nair had made a subtle shift to the right by admonishing both the UDF and LDF for playing vote bank politics, the Nair votes declined for both the UDF and the BJP. The LDF had gained. This was one of the findings of the study conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. It very nearly looked like Nairs wanted Sukumaran Nair snubbed for thinking for them. Narendra Modi with Vellappally Natesan. This was proof that certain individuals within the NSS, most prominently R Balakrishna Pillai, can swing decisive Nair votes in the anti-clockwise direction, said political scientist Sajad Ibrahim K M who did the CSDS study. The shift of Nair votes was seen predominantly in the Kollam and Mavelikkara belt where Balakrishna Pillai has considerable clout over the NSS network. Leaders without a vote bank Such a reverse anti-leadership voting pattern was expressed by the Eezhava community, too. The CSDS study had found that Bharathiya Dharma Jana Sabha (BDJS), the political wing of SNDP, had no major impact in the 2014 Lok Sabha and 2016 Assembly elections. The LDF managed to hold on to over 50 per cent of the Ezhava votes. R Balakrishna Pillai with G Sukumaran Nair. Yet again, this demonstrates that community leaders do not have a say in the voting preferences of community members. Even the earlier political avatar of the SNDP, Social Republican Party, and also the NSS's political version, National Democratic Party, were wound up almost as soon as they were floated. It is no one's case that individuals do not have caste spirit running through them. They do. But in Kerala, it is generally suppressed in favour of larger secular issues at the time of elections, Shaji Varkey said. The political leanings of teachers in the innumerable colleges run by both the NSS and the SNDP also tell the same story. Majority of teachers in both the NSS and SNDP colleges are represented by All Kerala Private College Teachers' Association (AKPCTA), which is affiliated to the CPM. Big zero in Malabar The NSS and SNDP do not have a pan-Kerala presence either. In Malabar, they have no influence whatsoever, said political scientist K T Rammohan. If they could not take root in the north, it was because the region was swept up in various peasant struggles and also the freedom movement. These struggles brushed aside caste and religious boundaries, he said. Ayyappa devotees gathered at the Ayyappa Bhakta Sangamam in Thiruvananthapuram. The north was part of the Madras Presidency, and was under the British rule. Kochi and Travancore regions, on the other hand, were princely states where political consolidation was on communal lines. It was basically an attempt by Nairs to hold on to their traditional rights that looked under threat from socialist and democratic forces, and by the Ezhavas, Christians and Muslims to claim what was being denied to them, said J Prabhash, political scientist. Vellappally paradox It is Vellappally's lack of political influence that is more surprising. Nairs have never been mobilised on a large scale, except for a brief fleeting period during the Liberation Struggle, but Ezhavas have been. The Ezhava community had been traditionally deprived, unlike the Nairs. Ayyappa devotees stage namajapa protest at Sabarimala temple. Before Independence, for instance, only those who paid the land tax or who had earned a degree could cast his vote. This meant that virtually the whole of the Ezhava community were deprived of voting rights in Travancore and Kochi region. They were not given jobs either. This had led to political consolidation on communal lines, K T Rammohan said. Though initially the leadership was with tall Ezhava figures like Dr P Palpu, who founded the SNDP, the fight was taken over and sustained by the Communists. The SNDP gradually lost its political relevance. This renaissance strain in the Ezhava DNA must have been passed down. This could by why there is a marked preference among the Ezhavas for the Left even now. Nair's gain, Vellappally's loss The limited political sway of both Sukumaran Nair and Vellappally Natesan could also be because they have not played a leadership role outside their organisations. They are essentially seen as in-house lions. After the Sabarimala verdict, Sukumaran Nair is showing signs of breaking free of organisational confines. He was credited with the stupendous success of the 'namajapa' protests that reverberated across the state. All of a sudden, Nair was haloed. The 10 per cent reservation for the forward caste poor, a demand he had been consistently making, has given the halo an added glow. Interestingly, Vellappally's aura has been dimmed by Narendra Modi's quota gamble. He was the policy's fiercest critic, and this had endeared him mightily to the Ezhavas. But when the policy came into force, he could not offer even a murmur of protest. His son, BDJS chairman Tushar Vellappally, did not want to offend the BJP. Like all ageing fathers, he has been rendered helpless. His Nair counterpart is anything but helpless. At the moment, after the 'namajapa' and reservation gains, it looks like Sukumaran Nair has transcended the NSS. A 'haloed' Nair has shown a not-so-subtle affinity towards the Sangh Parivar, manifested very clearly in his open support to the 'Ayyappa Jyothi' organised by the Hindu Aikya Vedi. How his community would respond will be the story of Kerala's 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Chennai: An ugly spat involving two young actors has been reported from Kollywood. Actress Adhiti Menon alleged that actor Abi Saravanan was threatening her by forging a fake marriage certificate. The actress has already filed a police complaint against him, but he has charged her of stealing valuables from his house in his plaint. A native of Idukki district in Kerala, Adhitis real name is Athira Santhosh. The duo had acted together in the Tamil movie 'Pattadhari' which was released in 2016. The couple reportedly fell in love with each other on the sets of the movie. However, Adhiti says that they parted ways around a year ago following differences. She alleged that Abi was trying to defame her on social media by forging fake marriage certificate which states that she had married him. Adhiti claimed that Abi had stolen her personal information by hacking into her e mail and other social media accounts including Twitter, to forge the marriage certificate and other documents. The actress also blamed Abi for denying her many offers in the movies. Meanwhile, Abi too has filed a complaint at the Valasaravakkam police station alleging that Adhiti, who promised to marry him, had lived with him and stole many valuables including gold and cash. Adhiti said that she ended her relationship with Abi after she found out that the actor was having affairs with multiple women. She claimed that Abi had filed the police complaint against her as a revenge for ending the relationship. Wedding video surfaces online Abi has reiterated his claim that he had indeed married the actress. He said that they got married at Madurai. He even released a marriage certificate and a few pictures in which both of them are seen together. The pictures were released at a press meet convened by the actor. Now, a private video of the duo has surfaced online, in which Abi and Adhiti are seen marrying each other. The video, which appears to have shot at a hotel room, is doing the rounds on internet. However, Adhiti stays firm on her claim that she hasnt married Abi and alleged that the actor has garnered fake evidences against her. A few days ago Abi was reported missing from his home. The actors parents had then alleged that Adhiti was behind their sons disappearance. Adhiti decided to file a police complaint following this incident. He falsely claims that I had married and deceived him and then tried to abduct him. It is true that we were in a relationship. However, we parted ways following differences and had even talked about it. I have no idea why he is hurting me like this. He has forged a fake marriage certificate to prove that we were married. I have filed a complaint against it as well, Adhiti told media persons. Adhiti made her acting debut through 'Pattadhari', while 'Attakathi', released in 2012, was Abis debut movie. The actress is currently acting in Tamil movies 'Kalavani Mappilai', 'Enna Sattam Inda Neram' and 'Kumki 2'. Thiruvananthapuram: They do have a long acquaintance and when Kerala Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran meets Damodharan Nair at the Attukal Temple here, the minister gives the latter a huge hug. Later, both step into a nearby eatery and do some small talk over a cup of tea. Damodharan Nair, known as 'Damuvettan' for many, had been illuminating the Attukal Temple with decorative lamps for the past 51 years during the festival days. This year also he is at the helm of affairs when it comes to lighting up the popular temple. Festivals mean creating magic with lights, and these beautiful images will stick in our minds for a long time. My earliest memories relating to festivals were created by Damuvettan, notes Kadakampally Surendran. The septuagenarian, who runs a firm by the name of Mohan Sounds, monitors the work with zeal across the vast temple premises with his two sons in tow with all help. To a minister's question on the good old days, Damodharan Nair replies, Everything is possible with the blessings of the deity. We are doing this work for generations, and earlier my elder brother used to do the illumination work during the Attukal pongala festival. Though the practice of announcing the name of the person who is instrumental in providing sound and light effects to a temple or church festival is no longer in vogue, the devotees thronging the Atukkal temple during the festive season are very much aware that the man behind the spellbinding fancy lighting is Damuvettan. Damodharan Nair is very particular to keep a close tab on the innovations in the lighting industry, the minister says. Before leaving, Kadakampally instructs the temple authorities to felicitate Damodharan Nair in a function to be presided over by actor Mammootty. The minister also requests Damodharan Nair to take care of his health. After the minister leaves, Damodharan Nair is once again in the thick of action. Perinthalmanna: A major fire broke out at a hospital at Perinthalmanna in Malappuram district on Friday, prompting the authorities to evacuate the patients and staff from the building. No causalities have been reported so far. The fire was triggered by an explosion at a generator room of the Moulana Hospital. Four Fire And Rescue units have reached the spot and attempts to douse the blaze are on. The United States will leave a total of about 400 US troops in Syria, split between a safe zone being negotiated for northeastern Syria and the US military base at Tanf, near the border with Iraq and Jordan, a senior administration official said on Friday, Trend reports citing Reuters. The 200 U.S. troops in northeastern Syria will be part of what is expected to be a total commitment of about 800-1,500 troops from European allies to set up and observe the safe zone, the official told reporters. Senior US Defence Department officials will be hosting their Turkish counterparts this week for talks over the conflict in Syria, the White House said in a press release, Trend reported citing Sputnik. "[US] Acting Secretary of Defense [Patrick] Shanahan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General [Joseph] Dunford will be hosting their Turkish counterparts in Washington this week for further talks," the release said on Thursday. US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a phone call on Thursday discussed establishing a safe zone in Syria. "President Trump spoke with President Erdogan of Turkey today," the the White House's press release said. "On Syria, the two Presidents agreed to continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone." In January, Erdogan said Trump had proposed in a phone conversation creating an 18-mile (30-kilometre) buffer zone in Syria. According to Erdogan, the future security zone will be controlled by the Turkish military. The United States will leave a small peacekeeping group of 200 American troops in Syria for a period of time after a U.S. pullout, the White House said on Thursday, Trend reported citing Reuters. President Donald Trump in December ordered a withdrawal of the 2,000 American troops in Syria on the defeat of the last remnants of the Islamic State militancy there. A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a brief statement. The decision was announced after Trump spoke by phone to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. A White House statement said that the two leaders agreed, regarding Syria, to continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Turkey will always remember the victims of the Khojaly tragedy and will do everything to ensure that this bloody tragedy is not forgotten, said Samil Ayrim, member of the Turkish parliament and head of the Turkey-Azerbaijan Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, Trend reports referring to the Turkish media. According to the MP, Azerbaijan is the closest friend and brother for Turkey, since both countries share common roots. "Turkey will always honor the memory of the victims of the bloody Khojaly tragedy," said Ayrim. During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: The memory of the victims of the Khojaly tragedy will be commemorated in Turkeys Ankara city, leader of the Turkish opposition Great Unity Party Mustafa Destici said. Turkey has not forgotten and will not forget the victims of the Khojaly genocide, Destici added, Trend reports referring to the Turkish media. "Turkey, as before, will always be close to Azerbaijan and will render support," he said. During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. ---- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu We're sorry, you encountered a page that doesn't exist. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: As part of the fight against the FETO terrorist movement, 295 retired servicemen were detained in Istanbul, Trend reports via Turkish media. Over the past seven months, 1,076 servicemen have been dismissed from the Turkish armed forces within the fight against the FETO. Reportedly, 624 servicemen dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces, served in the army ground forces, 107 servicemen - in the navy and 345 servicemen - in the air force. Fethullah Gulen and his supporters are accused of the July 16, 2016 military coup attempt in Turkey. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump discussed Syria troop withdrawal in a phone call late Thursday, Trend reported citing Daily Sabah. During the call, the presidents discussed the latest developments in Syria, reiterating joint commitment to fighting terror and agreeing to support a political resolution to the conflict. Erdogan and Trump also emphasized their commitment to boosting economic relations between the two countries. Moscow is closely following and analyzing the evolution of Washingtons stance on the potential withdrawal of US troops from Syria and believes that the situation is unclear for the time being, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday, commenting on reports saying that the US may leave a peacekeeping force of 200 troops in Syria, Trend reports referring to TASS. "We do not understand at the moment what it is all about," the Kremlin spokesman said. According to Peskov, Washington first said something different, but later new statements could be heard. "Sometimes we hear different statements from different agencies [in Washington - TASS], so we are watching with great interest and attention the evolution of the United States stance on the issue and analyzing all these statements," Peskov stressed. On Friday, Reuters reported, citing a statement by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, that the United States would leave "a small peacekeeping group" of 200 American troops "for a period after a US pullout." On December 19, 2018, US President Donald Trump ordered a withdrawal of US troops from Syria. He noted that the United States had succeeded in its mission to defeat the Islamic State (IS, terror group, outlawed in Russia) and that it was time to bring American troops home. About 2,000 US troops are currently deployed to Syria. US officials earlier said the pullout could take from 60 to 100 days. At least 41 Indian tea plantation workers have died from drinking toxic bootleg liquor after receiving their weekly wages, and 20 are critically ill in hospital, a government minister said on Friday, Trend reports reference to Reuters. The deaths come less than two weeks after more than 100 people died after drinking tainted alcohol in northern India. At least seven women were among the dead at the plantation in the northeastern state of Assam, 310 km from the states financial capital, Guwahati. So far 41 people have died after consuming spurious liquor, Assam Power Minister Tapan Gogoi told Reuters by telephone. Cyprus believes that issues in relations between the European Union and Russia should be resolved through dialogue, Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Friday, Trend reports referring to TASS. "We should discuss relations between Russia and the European Union to see what can be done, how we can resolve various issues through dialogue," he said. According to the Cypriot top diplomat, issues the Mediterranean region has been facing will also be touched upon at the meeting. "We will certainly talk about the Cyprus issue because huge efforts are being made to resume dialogue from where it stalled. The goal, which is non-negotiable, is to resolve the Cyprus issue based on the United Nations Security Council resolution," Christodoulides emphasized. Cyprus remains divided into two parts since 1974. Turkey acts as guarantor for Northern Cyprus, while the islands southern part remains under the control of the Republic of Cyprus. UN-sponsored inter-communal talks have been going on for years. The most recent round of talks took place in Switzerland in the summer of 2017. Japanese asteroid explorer Hayabusa2 landed on the surface of asteroid Ryugu for collecting samples and bringing them back to Earth, a live broadcast conducted by Japanese space agency JAXA showed on Friday, Trend reported citing Sputnik. The asteroid is currently around 300 million kilometres (186 million miles) away from Earth. Scientists say that the samples, which the Japanese probe will try to collect, may shed light on how the Solar System was created and how life appeared on Earth. Hayabusa2 was launched in December 2014, and is expected to stay on the asteroid for a period of 18 months before its scheduled return to Earth in 2020. The Hayabusa2 mission has cost the agency roughly $260 million, according to AFP. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the spacecraft after a long period of extensive planning, it also recreated an asteroid and bullet that it has to shoot into the rock to collect samples on Earth for relevant experiments. The Palestinian finance minister on Thursday announced salary cuts for civil servants, days after Israel said it would withhold tens of millions of dollars in tax transfers to the Palestinian Authority, Trend reports referring to The Times of Israel. Israels security cabinet on Sunday approved the freezing of $138 million over the PAs payments to Palestinians jailed by Israel for terrorism and violence, and to the families of dead terrorists. Israel, which collects taxes on behalf of the PA, says the payments encourage further violence. The PA claims they are a form of welfare to families who have lost their main breadwinner. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday he would not accept any funds from Israel unless it provides the full tax sums it owes the PA. The PA, which is already running a deficit, will pay the salaries of civil servants in time, but they will be reduced, said PA finance minister Shukri Bishara after a meeting with EU representatives in Ramallah. The cuts will not apply to salaries paid to pensioners and families of martyrs, wounded or prisoners, he added, adding that wages below NIS 2,000 ($550) would also not be affected. Many Palestinians view prisoners and those killed while carrying out terror attacks as heroes in their conflict with Israel. Palestinian leaders often venerate them as martyrs. Under a 1994 agreement, Israel collects around $190 million each month in customs duties levied on goods destined for Palestinian markets that transit through Israeli ports. The money it then transfers to the PA is the authoritys most important source of revenue. The Palestinians want EU countries to pressure the Israeli government to rescind its decision, said Mahmoud al-Aloul, deputy of Abbass Fatah party. Palestinian leaders will take steps to boycott Israeli goods, he said, adding they had already prepared a list of Israeli products that have local (Palestinian) equivalents. A group of Conservative lawmakers said on Friday they had warned Prime Minister Theresa May that they are ready to try to force a delay to Britains exit from the European Union to prevent a disorderly no deal Brexit, Trend reports referring to Reuters. With just five weeks until Britain is due to leave on March 29, May has failed to win the backing of parliament for her Brexit deal and is seeking concessions from Brussels on plans to avoid a return of border controls on the island of Ireland. Both Mays Conservatives and the main opposition Labour Party are formally committed to withdrawing Britain from the European Union in line with the results of a 2016 referendum. But both parties are internally split over how or even whether to do so, and no majority has so far emerged in parliament for any comprehensive Brexit strategy. May has promised that if she does not bring a revised deal back by Feb. 27, parliament will have an opportunity to vote on the next steps. Some lawmakers are expected to use that to try to wrest control of the process from the government. They could ultimately force the government to seek an extension to the Brexit negotiation period. Some of our group just feel that they have been forced into no other option but to vote for some kind of delay or pause simply because they dont want to see no deal, said Conservative lawmaker Simon Hart, who heads the Brexit Delivery Group made up of both pro-EU and pro-Brexit Conservatives. It is essential that (May) and others around her know precisely what the mood in the party is and where peoples frustrations lie, he told Sky News. Hart said he and a colleague had written to Mays chief whip, or top enforcer in parliament, warning him that they believed some Conservative lawmakers were resolute on voting against any agreement, as they prefer a no deal exit. If they think that by voting down the deal ... they are going to end up with no deal they could be really disappointed. Actually what they are going to end up with is forcing their colleagues into taking a decision which could delay and ultimately kill Brexit, he said. Czech President Milos Zeman does not see any reasons for potentially hosting US missiles on the republics territory, he told Barrandov TV on Thursday evening, Trend reports referring to TASS. "I absolutely dont see any reasons for this," Zeman said when asked about his reaction if the United States asked the Czech Republic to allow deploying US missile systems there. Earlier, the Polish authorities said they could back the idea of hosting US missiles. The Czech president also voiced concerns over the worsening international situation. According to him, this is related to Washingtons trade wars with China and the European Union. The International Atomic Energy Agency in its 14th report, reiterated Iran compliance with its commitments under the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Trend reports citing IRNA. Irans Permanent Ambassador to International Organizations in Vienna, Austria, Kazem Gharibabadi said the IAEA new report is once again a strong reason on Irans commitment. He added that like in the 13th report, in the 14th one, the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano reiterated the fact that the IAEA has continued monitoring and verification of Iran commitments based on the JCPOA articles since the implementation of the deal. Despite the efforts made by ill-wishers and enemies of Iran to distract attention of the IAEA and the international community, Iran and the IAEA are enjoying constructive cooperation, he noted. Accordingly, Gharibabadi stressed the importance of the IAEA impartiality in its mission. He also seriously slammed putting pressure on the IAEA by some international bodies for political aims. Highlighting Irans commitments, he said as repeatedly mentioned complete implementation of commitments by all parties is regarded as a base for keeping JCPOA. He called on the remaining parties to guarantee Iran interests from the JCPOA by taking suitable practical measure, if they want to keep Iran deal. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Champion Bear Resources Ltd. (TSXV: CBA-V) ("Champion Bear" or the "Company") announced today that it intends to complete a private placement for up to 5,000,000 common shares of the Company at a price of $0.20 per share for total gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000, subject to receipt of all applicable regulatory approvals. Champion Bear intends to use the proceeds of the offering to further exploration programs on its wholly-owned Eagle Rock Cu-Au-Pt-Pd Property and Plomp Farm Property, which are both located near Dryden, Ontario and for general corporate purposes. Jessica Borysenko, P.Geo., a qualified person under NI 43-101, Champion Bear's consulting geologist and a director of the Company, will be overseeing the exploration programs. All securities issuable under the private placements will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day from the closing date. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy the securities in any jurisdiction. The securities offered have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons except in certain transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act. About Champion Bear Champion Bear is a mineral exploration company focused exclusively on the historically prospective regions of Ontario. The Company's primary targets are platinum group metals, precious metals, and polymetallic base metals deposits. Champion Bear's aim is to create shareholder value through selective property acquisition followed by focused exploration emphasizing drilling. The Company has assembled a large land position in the Dryden and Sudbury areas, totaling over 16,000 hectares. Additional information about Champion Bear can be found on the Company's website at www.championbear.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. For further information, please contact: Richard D. Kantor, Chairman and President of Champion Bear at phone: (403) 229-9522. 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: This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements that address future plans, activities, events, or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-looking information, including statements regarding the potential development of resources and drilling plans which may or may not occur. Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the market price of the Company's securities, metal prices, exchange rates, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry, changes in national and local government regulation of mining operations, and regulations and other matters. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In an interview with Iraqi media Al-Sumaria, Abolhadi Mohan Al-Saddavi referred to certain oppositions against US unilateral sanctions on Iran and called for exemption of the Iranian companies from sanctions, Trend reports referring to IRNA. Some Iranian companies that are currently active in services and civil fields in Dhi Qar Province have faced some problems caused by US sanctions, he said. It will harm lives of over 600,000 people in Dhi Qar province, he added. Al-Saddavi went on to say that Iran is implementing the first plan of waste water network in Nasiriyah. Iran is also supplying 1,350 MW electricity for Iraq and the volume of gas exports for three gas plants in Iraq is 18 mcm per day. US President Trump announced on May 8, 2018 the withdrawal from the JCPOA, which was condemned by other parties to the 2015 agreement and their emphasis to stay in the landmark international deal. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Feb. 22 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan Parakhat Durdyev presented his credentials to President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China, Trend reports referring to the Turkmen government. The Chinese president noted that the ambassadors diplomatic mission will be given full support in order to fully utilize the accumulated potential for cooperation. Chinese companies are represented on the Turkmen market in the oil, gas and telecommunications sectors, transport, agriculture, textile, chemical and food industries, healthcare and construction. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 By Rashid Shirinov Trend: Kazakhstan has imposed a three-month ban on the import of gasoline by rail from Russia under the order of the Energy Minister of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev, Trend reports via Kazakh media. Earlier, during an extended meeting of the Senate Committee on Economic Policy, Deputy Energy Minister of Kazakhstan Bolat Akchulakov said that after the completion of the modernization of Kazakhstan's refineries, gasoline production increased significantly. "Our policy is that first we create strategic reserves. Today we try to reach the level of at least 300,000 tons of RON-92 gasoline. Since we cannot export anywhere, we overproduce gasoline: there are more than 350,000 tons in tanks," the deputy minister said. It should be noted that gasoline output in Kazakhstan in January 2019 amounted to 378,900 tons, which is 30.9 percent more than in the same month of 2018. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @ShirinovRashid Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 Trend: The US realizes the important role of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), both in terms of economic benefits for the states of the Caspian region and for diversifying Europes energy supply, said US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Diplomacy Sandra Oudkirk, who is on a visit to Baku, Trend reports with reference to the US Embassy in Azerbaijan Feb. 22. Oudkirk visited Baku to participate in the fifth ministerial meeting of the SGC Advisory Council, as well as to hold meetings with high-ranking officials of Azerbaijan. Oudkirk said that the meeting held is an excellent opportunity to highlight the progress in the implementation of the SGC project which is nearing completion. She shared her expectations regarding the first supply of gas to Italy and Greece in 2020 through the SGC pipeline system. Oudkirk met with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, SOCAR Vice President Elshad Nasirov, Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov, as well as with representatives of countries that took part in the construction of the SGC. Baku, Azerbaijan, February 22 By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend: Uzbek President held a meeting in Tashkent on reforms in the oil, gas and chemical industries, Trend reports with reference to the press service of head of state. "The Ministries of Energy and Finance have been instructed to determine the conditions for financing foreign loans of $2.3 billion under the project Organization of the Production of Synthetic Liquid Fuel (GTL) Based on Purified Methane of the Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex, and attract a $300 million loan from Gazprombank for the project Expansion of production capacity of the Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex," the presidential press service noted. It was stated at the meeting that a number of projects, including the production of liquefied gas at the Mubarek gas processing plant and at enterprises Shurtanneftgaz and Gazlineftgaz, mining of oil and gas and the purchase of exploration equipment will be financed by Eurobonds issued by Uzbekistan. "A total of 26 projects in the oil and gas industry totaling $27.8 billion were included in the Investment Program for the current year. The president noted the need for daily monitoring of these projects and ensuring their timely and high-quality implementation," the presidential press service underlined. The head of state also pointed to the unsatisfactory level of work to attract foreign direct investment in regions with difficult conditions for geological exploration. Moreover, the necessity to develop proposals for improving the Uzbekneftegaz system, revise tariffs based on market principles and transfer step by step oil depots and regional gas supply services, in particular, the Fergana Refinery, in trust of investors based on public-private partnership was stressed as well. The meeting also analyzed the state in the chemical industry. The head of state stressed that the leadership of Uzkimyosanoat, based on current issues, should not be limited to mineral fertilizers but should turn the industry into a multi-profile system. Promising areas for the production of high value-added products and expanding their product range should be determined alongside with the Ministry of Economy and Industry. The task was also set to reach agreements with foreign partners on the Kokand superphosphate plant, the Kungrad soda plant, to find investors for the construction of ammonia and urea production plant in the city of Yangiyer. The need to develop the industry on the basis of forms of private property was noted in order to accelerate the modernization of chemical industry and improve product quality. In total, it is planned to implement 33 projects totaling $8 billion, including 4 projects this year for the development of chemical industry and diversification of its production. --- Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.22 Trend: Sandra Oudkirk, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Diplomacy, was in Baku on February 20 to participate in the Fifth Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) Advisory Council, and for meetings with top Azerbaijani government officials, Trend reports with reference to the US embassy in Baku. DAS Oudkirk called the meeting a welcome occasion to recognize progress on completing the SGC, and said she anticipates first gas from this important project will flow into Italy and Greece by 2020. Oudkirk recalled that when the SGC was first proposed, the United States recognized it could bring greater economic integration to the Caspian region while also playing a critical part in Europes efforts to diversify its energy supplies. While in Baku, DAS Oudkirk met with President Ilham Aliyev, SOCAR Vice President Elshad Nassirov, and Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov, as well as representatives from other countries involved in the construction and utilization of the SGC and TAP projects. Baku, Azerbaijan, February 22 By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend: The State Plant Quarantine Inspectorate under Uzbek Cabinet of Ministers has stated that there are no restrictions for pomegranate exporters, Trend reports via State Plant Quarantine Inspectorate. Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture has previously announced the introduction of temporary quarantine phytosanitary measures in the form of a ban on the import of Uzbek grenades. When inspecting goods from Uzbekistan on October 22 and 31 (684 kg and 615 kg), two cases of delivery of a pomegranate infected with a Comstock mealybug were detected. The Inspectorate states that in accordance with the practice of international phytosanitary control, when pests are detected in plants or plant products, a notification is sent to the quarantine service of the exporting state. Currently, negotiations are underway about the reason why Kazakhstans quarantine service announced the discovery of the Comstock mealybug in pomegranates after almost 120 days and the introduction of a temporary ban on imports, the statement said. We declare that now there are no obstacles for exporters to export pomegranate to Russia and other countries through Kazakhstan, the inspectorate said. Uzbekistan exports pomegranate mainly to the Russian market and Kazakhstan and, in most cases, re-exports Uzbek fruits to Russia. --- Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri Baku, Azerbaijan, February 22 By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend: Uzbekistan and Russia's Tatarstan are preparing document on a new cooperation agreement, Trend reports via Uzbek media. The first cooperation agreement was signed in 1993 but President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and First Deputy Prime Minister, Uzbek Minister of Transport Achilbai Ramatov decided to prepare a new document during negotiations. "Rustam Minnikhanov noted the cooperation on the Tatneft line - the supply of tire products, diesel fuel, jet fuel, engine oils, the creation of an automobile test site and KamAZ service center in Tashkent region among the important joint projects where work is underway, press service of Tatarstan President stated. Tatarstan is also interested in expanding cooperation in the field of mechanical engineering, supplies of helicopters, petrochemical products and agricultural equipment to Uzbekistan. The parties noted at the meeting that thanks to the active work in 2017, the volume of trade turnover increased by 80 percent and reached almost $ 100 million. Last year, trade grew by another 57 percent, to $ 146 million. "This is a good growth rate. However, we should not stop at what has been achieved. It is important to exchange delegations and study each others opportunities. It is necessary to work on increasing the volume and range of mutual deliveries of goods and services," Rustam Minnikhanov said. There is an inter-university cooperation being carried out between Tatarstan and Uzbekistan. Thus, a representative office of Kazan Federal University was opened at the National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek. At the same time, more than 3,000 Uzbeks are students of universities in Tatarstan. Minnikhanov stressed that Tatarstan would be happy to increase the number of students from Uzbekistan. We have good prospects for further expansion of cooperation, he stressed. On October 2018, Rustam Minnikhanov and the head of the Tashkent region Gulomjon Ibrahimov signed a plan for the implementation of cooperation agreement that was concluded in May, according to which, KamAZ service center, automobile site and poultry farming will be created in Uzbekistan. --- Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 By Rashid Shirinov Trend: Trade turnover between Kazakhstan and India amounted to $1.2 billion in 2018, which is 26.5 percent more than in 2017, Trend reports via EnergyProm.kz. In particular, exports from Kazakhstan to India increased by 30.1 percent to $954.1 million. The main exported goods were oil ($741.6 million, 19.8 percent up year-on-year), chemical radioactive elements and their compounds ($90.3 million, 15.3 percent up) and silver powder ($67.6 million). Imports from India, in turn, increased by 14.2 percent to $242.8 million. The main imported goods were medicines ($66.6 million, 13 percent up), flavored tea ($32.6 million, 21.2 percent down) and phones ($11.1 million, a 63.4-time growth). In the last 5 years, the direct Indian investments in the economy of Kazakhstan amounted to almost $100 million. The main areas of Indian investment are energy, finance and pharmaceuticals. Currently, there are about 560 legal entities and branches with Indian capital in Kazakhstan, including such companies as SB PNB, Siva Swathi Textiles, Sava Health Care, etc. (375.95 KZT = 1 USD on Feb. 22) --- Follow the author on Twitter: @ShirinovRashid Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 By Sara Israfilbayova Trend: The national statistical system is being improved in Azerbaijan with the support of the EU, Tahir Budagov, chairman of the State Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan, told journalists during the presentation of the project titled "Support to the State Statistical Committee in Modernisation of the National Statistics System in line with European standards" in Baku, Trend reports. He noted that work on bringing some fields of statistics of Azerbaijan closer to the international standards has already been completed, as part of two twinning projects. We appealed to the UN Economic Commission for Europe for the evaluation of these projects, he said. According to Budagov, an audit of the statistical system was conducted from September 2016 to February 2017 in Azerbaijan. He added that international experts prepared a report, in which they highly appreciated the country's statistical system. "We also decided to evaluate the production processes and signed a contract with the Switzerlands SGS company, which provides independent expertise services and Azerbaijan became the first among the CIS countries to receive the ISO 9001: 2015 standard," said Budagov. Speaking about the "Support to the State Statistical Committee in Modernisation of the National Statistics System in line with European standards" project, he noted that 31 expert missions are planned to take part in it, along with holding 5 seminars and 5 trainings. In turn, Vilija Lapeniene, Director General of the Lithuanian Department of Statistics, told reporters that Azerbaijan and Lithuania have had a long cooperation in the field of statistics, and expressed hope for the continuation of this cooperation. "Our main task is to share experience in this area with Azerbaijan and help achieve international standards," she said. Lapeniene noted that Azerbaijan is surely moving in this direction. Considering that standards change every year, we should continue our cooperation, she said. According to Lapeniene, two missions of Azerbaijani specialists in the field of statistics are expected to visit Lithuania in the near future. RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Brinks Company (NYSE:BCO), the global leader in total cash management, route-based secure logistics and payment solutions, will participate in the J.P. Morgan Global High Yield & Leveraged Finance Conference in Miami, Florida on February 25 and 26, 2019. Ron Domanico, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will be available to meet with investors on both days. Portfolio managers and analysts who wish to request a meeting should either contact their J.P. Morgan representative, email 1x1@jpmorgan.com or email investor.relations@brinkscompany.com. The formal presentation, which will not be webcast, is scheduled for 4:00 PM ET on February 25. The slide presentation will be available in the Investor Relations section of Brinks.com. About The Brinks Company The Brinks Company (NYSE:BCO) is the global leader in total cash management, route-based secure logistics and payment solutions including cash-in-transit, ATM services, cash management services (including vault outsourcing, money processing and intelligent safe services), and international transportation of valuables. Our customers include financial institutions, retailers, government agencies, mints, jewelers and other commercial operations. Our global network of operations in 41 countries serves customers in more than 100 countries. For more information, please visit our website at www.Brinks.com or call 804-289-9709. Contact: Investor Relations 804.289.9709 Tehran, Iran, Feb.22 Trend: Azerbaijan Ambassador to Iran Bunyad Huseynov has announced that the direct flights Tehran-Baku and Tabriz-Baku are already being used by tourists, and the flight from Rasht and Ramsar to Baku will be launched in the coming weeks. "The volume of trade between Iran and Azerbaijan is increasing, and during the last year, trade between the two countries grew by more than 40 percent, Huseynov said during a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Industry, Trade and Mining of Iran on the sidelines of an exhibition in Iran, Trend reports citing ILNA. Meanwhile, companies from both countries can also provide opportunities for trade exchanges through introducing their capabilities at exhibitions, said Huseynov. Referring to the establishment of the railway between Iran and Azerbaijan he said that by launching this railway, both sides should see an increase of trade volume, which is the common goal. We are currently undergoing economic reforms and have developed new policies, one of which is the expansion of agricultural cooperation with Iran, the ambassador said. I hope that we will see the holding of a special exhibition of Iran in Azerbaijan, he said. In the tourist industry, we have direct flights from Tehran to Baku and Tabriz - Baku and we hope that Rasht-Baku and Ramsar-Baku flights will be launched within the next few weeks. Tehran, Iran, Feb.22 Trend: Iran is in the process of resolving the delay in the implementation of the Shalamcheh-Basra railway project, while also seeking to link to other international connections. The director general of economic evaluation office at the Ministry of Road and Urban Development of Iran Mohsen Sadeghi discussed the improvement of railway connection between Iran and neighboring countries in an interview with Trend. "Iran has signed many contracts with international organizations that include neighbors and other countries," he said. "For example Iran is part of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) and Asian Highway (AH) where all the countries from Asia and Pacific have identified their railways and their role in transit," said Sadeghi. He went on to say that while the railway's primary function is for domestic use, the international cargo transit is also very important, and would bring revenues to Iran. "In this regard, Iran has signed agreements with ESCAP project and these projects are being launched, and the annual report will be send to the UNESCAP," he said. Sadeghi said that Iran held discussions with the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) regarding new roads and railways, for Iran's connection to Europe. Referring to Iran's connection to Europe via a railway, he said that the Islamic Republic is connected to Europe via the Kapikoy/Razi border but Turkey does not have a railway for crossing the Van Lake. Thus, Azerbaijan was chosen, and the Rasht-Anzali-Astara railway was launched. "The railway will link to Astara in Azerbaijan and if the project would operate, it will connect to the International NorthSouth Transport Corridor where Iran can transport cargo from southern port of Shahid Rajaee to Astara and Azerbaijan and then to Europe," he added. "The other issue is the KermanshahKhosravi railway that would be influential in passenger transportation to Iraq and for cargo transfer Iran is focusing on ShalamcheBasra railway. There are no problems on Iran's side, but there are on Iraqi side, and they're being solved. Sadeghi also spoke about the Khaf (Iran)-Herat (Afghanistan) project, he said Iran has completed its side, and work should continue on Afghanistan's side. "Iran is responsible regarding its railway connections, and those unfinished projects are the priority. The potential of neighboring countries should also be used. Building infrastructure is not enough, also negotiations with chambers of commerce would help the transit," said the official. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 Trend: Azerbaijans success achieved as a result of the implementation of socio-economic policy can serve as an example for other countries, the World Bank (WB) Regional Director for the South Caucasus Mercy Tembon said at a meeting with Azerbaijans Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev, Trend reports Feb. 22 with reference to the Economy Ministry. She said that the WB supports the ongoing economic reforms in Azerbaijan. In turn, Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev noted that Azerbaijan attaches great importance to cooperation with the WB, and also highly appreciates the technical and financial assistance that the bank provides for the diversification of the economy and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The minister noted that in general, the WB and Azerbaijan have jointly implemented up to 50 projects, and the work on seven of them is still ongoing. Azerbaijan and the WB successfully cooperate in agriculture, water supply, justice, social, medical and other fields, he added. The minister also informed the guest about the work to develop the economy, including the non-oil sector, about strengthening the private sector, encouraging investments and other measures. The minister reminded that in the last Doing Business report, Azerbaijan improved its position by 32 notches and took the 25th place, and also entered the list of 10 reformer countries. The parties also discussed the possibility of expanding cooperation. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 Trend: The issue of high prices for lamb meat in Azerbaijan has been clarified, the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee told Trend. Earlier, false information was distributed in social networks, and a hint was made that the lamb meat imported into the country in 2018 was registered upon the figures required by customs bodies, rather than upon the prices indicated in the invoice. Some 350 kilograms of lamb meat imported to Azerbaijan in 2018 at a price of $17.7 per kilogram were registered upon the documents submitted by the importers and there are no risk factors in the documents submitted to the customs bodies. "Meanwhile, 350 kg of lamb meat coat $6,180 and it is ridiculous to think that the customs bodies made manipulations upon this price. As for the high price of meat, it is specially ordered by some restaurants in the country and is sold at a high price in the world market," said the committee. The customs statistics on import and export operations is drawn up absolutely transparently in accordance with the legislation. Baku, Azerbaijan, February 22 By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend: Uzbekistan was declared the winner in the nomination Top emerging destination according to the Wanderlust World Guide Awards, Trend reports via Uzbek media. London hosted the award ceremony in the field of tourism Wanderlust World Guide Awards according to the popular British magazine Wanderlust that specializes in covering events in the tourism industry. The winners were selected by interviewing readers of the magazine in such nominations as "The most popular country to visit", "Top emerging destination", "and The most popular city for tourists, Best airline and Best Tour Operator". This year Namibia, Japan, New Zealand, Iran, Laos, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Spain became the winners of the competition in various nominations. During the vote, Uzbekistan was able to get ahead of Iran, thanks to the rich cultural and historical heritage of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, as well as the measures taken to develop the tourism market," Uzbek State Tourism Committee noted. The magazine stressed that nowadays, Uzbekistan can claim to be among the most visited countries, in 2020 due to the decision to abolish visas for up to 30 days for citizens of 45 countries, including the UK. Wanderlust was founded in 1993 by Paul Morrison and Lyn Hughes and is one of the leading British travel magazines. --- Follow author on Twitter: @vakilovfaxri Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 Trend: The policemen of Azerbaijans Jalilabad district and the representatives of the Azerbaijani State Border Service have detained previously convicted resident of Jalilabad district G. Yagubov for smuggling drugs from Iran into Azerbaijan, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Interior Ministry on Feb. 22. The detainee hid the drugs brought from Iran on the territory of the land plot of his relative living in Kovuzbulag village. During the search operations, four kilograms of heroin and two kilograms of opium were found. The investigation is underway. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 By Samir Ali Trend: The construction of a bridge across the Samur River on the Baku-Russian State Border highway will be completed this year, Saleh Mammadov, Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan Highway State Agency, told journalists, Trend reports. "The second stage of the reconstruction of this road is being completed; that is, a complete overhaul and commissioning of a 30 km section from the village of Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev to the village of Gilazi. In addition, the construction of a 325 m long and 17.5 m wide bridge over the Samur River will be completed, and the 39-km section of the new four-lane road from the bridge in the direction of Baku," said Mammadov. Details added (first version posted on 13:02) Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 Trend: First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has met with a delegation led by the UK Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Azerbaijan Baroness Emma Nicholson. First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva noted that this is her third meeting with the UK Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Azerbaijan Baroness Emma Nicholson, and underlined Baroness Nicholsons contribution to further development of the Azerbaijan-UK bilateral relations. They discussed the issues relating to cooperation between Azerbaijan and the UK in the field of healthcare, ecology, and culture. The First Vice-President highlighted the reforms, as well as the state programs carried out in the country on ecology, expressing her readiness to support the initiatives regarding the improvement of the healthcare system. Baroness Emma Nicholson appealed to the Heydar Aliyev Foundation on transcription of the Iraqi ethnic minorities songs to sheet music. President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva expressed the Foundations readiness to fulfill the appeal. Baroness Emma Nicholson then presented a keepsake to First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 Trend: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei Darussalam. On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my sincerest congratulations to you and through you to all your people on the occasion of the national day of your country, Ilham Aliyev said in his letter. I believe that relations between Azerbaijan and Brunei Darussalam will continue to develop in an atmosphere of friendship and cooperation to the benefit of our peoples. On this joyful day, I wish you the best of health and happiness, and the friendly people of Brunei lasting peace and prosperity. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 By Matanat Nasibova Trend: Recently, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on additional measures to raise the level of state care for the Azerbaijani veterans of the Afghan war. According to the order, in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the end of the war in Afghanistan, in order to increase the level of state care for the Azerbaijani veterans of the Afghan war, and strengthen the material and technical base of the Afghanistan Veterans of Azerbaijan Public Association, as well as to address current matters in improving the activities of the Public Association and ensure the implementation of the set measures, one million manats are to be allocated from the Contingency Fund of the President of Azerbaijan to the Afghanistan Veterans of Azerbaijan Public Association. On the same day, the Azerbaijani head of state met with Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Colonel Ruslan Aushev, who is a member of the Committee for the Affairs of Soldiers Internationalists under the CIS Council of Heads of Government and the Supreme Council of the Battle Brotherhood International Organization of Veterans. In an exclusive interview with Trend, Chairman of the Coordination Council of the Committee for Work with Peacekeepers at the CIS Council of Heads of State, the former President of Ingushetia Ruslan Aushev shared his impressions of the meeting with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, his visit to Baku and other matters. Impressed by meeting with Azerbaijani president I am very impressed with the meeting held with the Azerbaijani head of state, and I am grateful to President Ilham Aliyev for making an important decision aimed at further providing social protection for Azerbaijanis who fought in Afghanistan, as well as strengthening the material and technical base of the Afghanistan Veterans of Azerbaijan Public Association. I have known Ilham Aliyev for a long time; he, just like his father, is a reputable leader who loves his people. He is a young and energetic leader capable of swiftly solving important issues. One of highest awards In 2014, Ilham Aliyev awarded me with the Dostlug (Friendship) Order; for me it remains as one of the highest awards. As a military man, I was pleasantly surprised by the parade of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan. Since I have a good understanding of military equipment, I have to say that everything I saw at this event was impressive. Delighted by Baku The last time I was in Baku five years ago, I was struck by the changes that have taken place over the years. Baku is changing for the better at a fast pace not in an arithmetic progression, I would say, but a geometric one. Great changes have taken place in the capital over the years, many important events sports, cultural have been held, something not many countries can undertake. Azerbaijan has done it. Everything that is taking place in Baku is amazing. I try to keep track of all the events that are happening in Azerbaijan, because it is interesting for me. Even when I am abroad, I definitely watch Azerbaijani channels on cable TV. I have noticed that the Azerbaijani president every time visits facilities of social or cultural significance, be it in Azerbaijans Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Ganja city, or somewhere in another part of the country. 30 years later This time we came to Baku to our Azerbaijani comrades, to veterans of the Afghanistan war, with whom we served together in the same battalion. All these 30 years we communicate with each other and keep in touch. Of course, the meeting with friends in Baku was pleasant and long-awaited, and I thank for this opportunity, first of all, the president of Azerbaijan. A friendly meeting in a beautiful and cozy city what else is needed to decently celebrate the 30th anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan in a circle of comrades? Remembering Heydar Aliyev When I was the president of Ingushetia, I often visited Baku. I was at the inauguration of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev. I came here as part of the Caucasian dialogue. We had very good relations. I remember that during the Chechen war, Azerbaijan provided serious humanitarian assistance to refugees from the Chechen Republic during the events of 1994. We often came to Baku; it was a period when it was necessary to solve the most difficult issues that were faced by both the leaders of the North Caucasus and the head of the Azerbaijani state. In the Caucasus, the support of Azerbaijan has been always felt. We wont allow hostility The recent incident in the Neolit cafe in Moscow shows that someone is interested in creating tensions between Azerbaijanis and Chechens. We wont allow this. Reputable people Chechens, Ingushs, Azerbaijanis (businessmen, political figures) gathered with the participation of Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu; they discussed the situation and made conclusions. We wont allow anyone give a political coloring to a domestic incident and sow enmity between the two fraternal peoples. If someone was going to get benefits from this issue, they didnt succeed, and they will always fail. LAS VEGAS, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canaccord Genuity, the largest independent investment dealer in Canada, has initiated research coverage of CLS Holdings USA Inc. (OTCQB:CLSH). The initiation report is 38 pages in length and goes into great detail about the $1.1B market opportunity, the competitive positioning of the company, the business overview, valuation, and senior management. The report was created by Bobby Burleson, Analyst, and Jonathan DeCourcey, Associate. About Canaccord Genuity Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. is a global, full-service investment banking and financial services company that specializes in wealth management and brokerage in the capital markets. It is the largest independent investment dealer in Canada. The firm focuses on growth companies, with operations in 10 countries worldwide and the ability to list companies on 10 stock exchanges. Canaccord Genuity, the international capital markets division, is based in Canada, with offices in the US, the UK, France, Germany, Ireland, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Australia and Barbados. In 2018, Canaccord raised $34.5bn for global growth companies and issued 455 financings worldwide. Canaccord is a public company, traded on the TSX:CF and LSE:CF. About CLS Holdings USA, Inc. CLS Holdings USA, Inc. (CLSH) is a diversified cannabis company that acts as an integrated cannabis producer and retailer through its Oasis Cannabis subsidiaries in Nevada, and plans to expand to other states. CLS stands for "Cannabis Life Sciences," in recognition of the Company's patented proprietary method of extracting various cannabinoids from the marijuana plant and converting them into products with a higher level of quality and consistency. The Company's business model includes licensing operations, processing operations, processing facilities, sale of products, brand creation and consulting services. http://www.clsholdingsinc.com Twitter: @CLSHusa About Oasis Cannabis Oasis Cannabis has operated a cannabis dispensary in the Las Vegas market since dispensaries first opened in Nevada in 2015 and has been recognized as one of the top marijuana retailers in the state. Its location within walking distance to the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas in combination with its delivery service to residents allows it to efficiently serve both locals and tourists in the Las Vegas area. In February 2019, it was named Best Dispensary for Pot Pros by Desert Companion Magazine. In August 2017, the company commenced wholesale offerings of cannabis in Nevada with the launch of its City Trees brand of cannabis concentrates and cannabis-infused products. http://oasiscannabis.com About City Trees Founded in 2017, City Trees is a Nevada based cannabis cultivation, production and distribution company. Offering a wide variety of products with consistent results, City Trees is one the fastest growing wholesale companies in the industry. Its products are now available at 33 dispensaries. https://citytrees.com Forward Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, the forward-looking statements). These statements relate to anticipated future events, future results of operations or future financial performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "intends," "expects," "plans," "goals," "projects," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are only predictions, are uncertain and involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, levels of activity or performance to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity or performance expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity or performance and we cannot guaranty that the proposed transactions described in this press release will occur. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should be considered together with any written or oral forward-looking statements that we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to reflect actual results, later events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. See CLS Holdings USA filings with the SEC and on its SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com for additional details. Contact Information Corporate: Chairman and CEO Jeff Binder jeff@clsholdingsinc.com 888-438-9132 Investors: Adelaide Capital Markets Jackie Kelly Jackie@adelaidecapital.ca 416-301-2949 Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 Trend: The Azerbaijani State Committee on Work with Diaspora urged the Azerbaijanis to take part in the Pan-European rally on Karabakh in Brussels on Feb. 23, Trend reports referring to the Committee on Feb. 22. "The Azerbaijani people have always shown unity in national issues, the committee said. Compatriots living abroad have always been active in conveying truth about Azerbaijan to the world. On the eve of the 27th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide initiated by the Azerbaijani diaspora organizations, operating in different countries, the Pan-European rally on Karabakh will be held in Brussels Europes political center on February 23. The Azerbaijani State Committee on Work with Diaspora appealed to take an active part in the rally. "This is our moral duty to the victims of the Khojaly genocide and martyrs," the Committee added. During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown. 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. There is only one way for Armenia to develop to not to use word Nagorno-Karabakh at all, says Azerbaijani president Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 Trend: Energy sector will continue to be the leading sector of the Azerbaijani economy and will continue to be one of the most important elements of regional cooperation, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said. President Aliyev made the remarks at 5th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) Advisory Council at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku. Our joint efforts would not have been possible without close support from the international financial institutions, the president said. I would like to mention that I am glad that today among our guests we have representatives of leading international financial institutions, World Bank, IBRD, Asian Development Bank, European Investment Bank. And I would like to use this opportunity to express my gratitude for your financial contribution and your trust in us, trust in this project, he added. So, mentioning this list of participants, already I think enough to imagine what kind of a huge initiative and project we are implementing. The Southern Gas Corridor is really a project of common interests, project of mutual importance, President Aliyev said. And it is part of Azerbaijans energy strategy which was launched back in 1994, when Azerbaijan signed an agreement with the Consortium of international oil companies on development of the huge oil field Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli. So that was the beginning of our close cooperation with international energy companies. That was a time when Azerbaijan opened its resources for international cooperation, he said. For the first time, international investments came to the Caspian Sea, and 1994 was actually the turning point in the development of Azerbaijan, because at that time Azerbaijan was a newly independent country. Independence was less than three years, and economic situation in the country was very difficult. So, opening country for investments allowed us to attract multi-billion investments to create tens of thousands of jobs to present Azerbaijan as a country with the good investment climate and then to use benefits of oil and gas development the revenues to diversify economy to build modern infrastructure and now to concentrate mainly on non-energy sector, he said. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 Trend: Step by step Azerbaijan was coming towards the main energy project which is the Southern Gas Corridor and implementation of this project is a reality today, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) Advisory Council at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku. If we look at the chronology of our energy development, we see that step by step we were coming towards the main goal, to diversify our energy supplies and to build modern energy transportation infrastructure, he added. Therefore, of course commissioning of the pipeline connecting Caspian Sea and the Black Sea in the end of 1990s, Baku-Supsa was important element of energy supply and diversification, President Aliyev said. Then came Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan that was a historical event. In 2006, this huge energy project was inaugurated that allowed companies to invest more, to extract more, and allowed us to export as much as we can. And today Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan also is transporting oil from other countries. So, Azerbaijan is already an important transitor for oil supplies, and therefore, of course, the role of Azerbaijan in the region is growing, he said. In 2007, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline was inaugurated, and for the first time Azerbaijan became gas exporter to international markets, the president said. Before that, we were actually importing natural gas. So as I said, step by step we were coming towards the main energy projects which is the Southern Gas Corridor and implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor today is a reality. And I remember in 2012, Azerbaijan and Turkey signed an agreement on TANAP, which actually was a starting point for the Southern Gas Corridor. A year later, in 2013, the companies made an investment decision to develop Shah Deniz-2, second phase of Shah Deniz, and in 2013, Trans-Adriatic pipeline also was selected as the continuation of TANAP, he said. So, all this demonstrates that we were working very closely with our partners, and really team work made it possible to talk about success. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 Trend: Rector of Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) Elmar Gasimov met with fourth-year Process Automation Engineering (PAE) undergraduates going to study abroad during a spring term this year. Khajali Bayramov and Parvina Guliyeva will continue their education at University of West Attica in Greece, while Ismet Aghayev and Elvin GasanIi go to study at Angel Kanchev University of Ruse in Bulgaria. Their trip is arranged within Erasmus+, the European Union student exchange program. The meeting was attended by the students family members, undergraduates and teachers of the PAE department, and the BHOS key administration staff members. Elmar Gasimov extended his congratulations to the departing students and expressed confidence that they would honorably represent Azerbaijan and their Alma Mater abroad. He said that after BHOS joined the Erasmus+ program more than ten brightest undergraduates had an opportunity to study at the University of West Attica for one term. For the first time, our students go not only to Greece, but also to Bulgaria, told the rector. He informed that the University of Ruse provides methodological support to education programs of the PAE department. Dean of Engineering Faculty Zafar Gurbanov, Acting Head of the PAE Department, Associate Professor Nailya Allakhverdiyeva and BHOS Program Manager Nargiz Tariverdiyeva also spoke at the event. They wished the undergraduates every success in learning their profession. In their words, the participation in the Erasmus+ Student Mobility Program serves as a good example for the students who want to receive best-quality education. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: The OSCE does not pay due attention to the problems of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, deputy chairperson of the Azerbaijani parliament, head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the OSCE PA, Bahar Muradova said. Muradova made the remarks at the OSCE PA winter session in Vienna. "It is completely incomprehensible that this important aspect of post-conflict rehabilitation is not taken into account in OSCEs activity, she added. In terms of existing commitments related to IDPs and refugees, the OSCE and its corresponding executive structures must allocate enough funds for the activities aimed at solving the problems of this vulnerable group," Muradova said. She stressed that in accordance with the OSCE corresponding documents and decisions, the organization is a key tool for resolving, as well as early warning and early actions for conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation. Regarding the participation of the illegal regime, created in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, in negotiations to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Muradova said that in accordance with the decision made at the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in 1999 (during that time Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE)), Armenia and Azerbaijan were defined as parties to the conflict, while the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan as the interested parties. "After Armenia withdraws troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, both communities will be able to take part in discussions on an equal basis," she added. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.22 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: Theres some hope for positive dynamic in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, Trend reports citing Charles Lonsdale, Deputy Director for Policy Support Service at OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre. He made the remarks during the winter session of the OSCE Parlamentary Assembly in Vienna on Feb.22. We follow the developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict dealt by the Minsk Group with great interest, more recently, with some hope for positive dynamic following the regular meetings of foreign ministers and informal meetings between President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan, said Lonsdale. Noting the commitments of the parties to concrete measures to prepare their populations for peace, he expressed readiness to support if the parties are interested. But we are not directly involved in the work of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have 26 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Feb. 22, Trend reports. 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, Feb. 22 By Samir Ali - Trend: Starting from June this year, new railcars for Azerbaijans Baku Metro CJSC will be delivered every month, the companys chief engineer Alikhan Osmanov told Trend Feb. 22. Osmanov reminded that two new modern trains were acquired and commissioned last year. Three new trains were commissioned earlier, he said. The operational period of 30 railcars ends this year. The chief engineer stressed that a relevant agreement was signed, according to which 30 new railcars will be purchased. Starting from June, one train consisting of five railcars will be delivered to Baku every month, he said. The new railcars will fully meet modern standards. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22 By Sara Israfilbayova - Trend: The projects being implemented under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev allow Azerbaijan to hold a leading place in the region in the field of transport, transit and logistics, Azerbaijani Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev told Trend Feb. 22. He said that these projects, including the construction of the Baku International Sea Trade Port and the Baku Shipyard, meet the highest standards. The work implemented in the country is the result of the economic policy by President Ilham Aliyev, Mustafayev said. One of the main directions of this policy is the transformation of Azerbaijan into a transport hub through the use of the countrys geographical position. As is known, the North-South and East-West routes pass through Azerbaijan. A lot of work is being done to turn Azerbaijan into a transport hub. In particular, railways and highways are being built and reconstructed. The Baku International Sea Trade Port was commissioned last year. In 2013, the Baku Shipyard was put into operation. On Feb. 21, Baku hosted the ceremony of launching the first oil tanker produced in Azerbaijan. Commenting on this event, Mustafayev noted that this tanker is one of four vessels built on the basis of an agreement between Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company CJSC and Baku Shipyard LLC. In general, the agreement provides for the construction of two vessels of the Ro-Pax type and two tankers, he said. One of these tankers was launched today, he noted. Its construction entered the last stage. Ninety percent of all work has already been completed and, as expected, the tanker will be fully ready in June this year. At the same time, one of the Ro-Pax-type vessels will be commissioned this year, while the second Ro-Pax-type vessel with another tanker will be commissioned next year. Mustafayev also reminded that a new agreement was signed on Feb. 21 - two new tankers will be built with the support of the government. They will be commissioned in 2021, he said. Thus, the fleet of Azerbaijan will expand, and this will make it possible to preserve the advantage gained so far. The merchant fleet of Azerbaijan is the biggest in the Caspian Sea in terms of the number of merchant ships and the construction of these tankers will allow us to maintain our positions. The minister stressed that the main goal of the work being done is to transfer cargoes that are transported from East to West and from North to South, as well as in the opposite direction, to Azerbaijan. We are consistently moving towards this, he added. The construction of a new tanker is a significant event. It is the first tanker built in Azerbaijan. Every year, five million tons of oil are transported through Azerbaijans territory from Turkmenistan, Russia, Kazakhstan and enter the Mediterranean Sea via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Therefore, the construction of tankers is important for maintaining Azerbaijans positions in this area. Mustafayev also touched the countrys non-oil industry. He said that this is one of the most successfully developing areas of the country. The development of the non-oil sector is a priority direction of the economy, he noted. In this regard, the non-oil industry plays a leading role. Last year, the non-oil industry grew by 8.5 percent. This is a very high figure. In January this year, the growth rate of non-oil production increased the growth exceeded 18 percent. This was achieved thanks to the plants and factories put into operation. The role of industrial parks is also important here. The important contribution of the Baku Shipyard to this matter is also worth mentioning. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Madison Pacific Properties Inc. (the Company), reports the voting results of the Annual General Meeting of its shareholders held February 21, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The following five nominees were re-elected as directors of the Company by the following votes: Nominee Votes For Percent Votes Withheld Percent Marvin Haasen 5,220,858 90.16% 569,830 9.84% Sam Grippo 5,220,358 90.15% 570,330 9.85% Michael W. Delesalle 5,228,986 90.30% 561,702 9.70% Peter J. Bonner 5,228,486 90.29% 562,202 9.71% Mark E. Elliott 5,228,486 90.29% 562,202 9.71% In addition, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP was re-appointed as the auditor for the Company and the Madison Share Option Plan (the Plan) was adopted and approved, reserving thereunder for the grant of options, Class B Voting Common Shares equal to 2% of the aggregate outstanding Class B Voting Common Shares and Class C Non-Voting Shares. About the Company: Madison Pacific Properties Inc. is a Vancouver-based real estate company with approximately $518 million in investment properties, comprising 1.74 million rentable sq. ft. of industrial and commercial space, of which, over 97.8% of the available space is leased. One year ago, the quiet, upper-class Tehran neighborhood of Golestan Haftom became a war zone. In late January 2018, bloody clashes broke out between dervishes of the Gonabadi Sufi order, a beleaguered religious minority in Iran, and the security forces of the Islamic Republic. When the carnage ended three weeks later, an untold number of dervishes were dead, as were three members of the police and Baseej (Basij) (paramilitary regime supporters). 156 dervishes are now serving long prison terms. Some were given lashes. Their families say they were sentenced in minutes-long trials that more closely resembled a medieval inquisition than a judicial process. Others who avoided arrest have been banned from leaving the country, participating in political activities, and speaking to the media. Nevertheless, for the first time since the tragic events, dervishes who were present at Golestan Haftom are speaking out from behind bars. In an audio documentary produced by Radio Fardas Mahtab Vahidi-Rad, several dervishes told their version of events and described harsh prison conditions. It all began in late January last year, when plainclothesmen and police began erecting a security checkpoint on the street home to the spiritual leader of the Gonabadi dervishes. When word of the checkpoint spread, hundreds of dervishes from across Iran gathered outside the residence of their leader, the 92-year-old Noor Ali Tabandeh, demanding the barrier be removed. Rumors began to spread of Tabandehs imminent arrest. Tensions grew and violent clashes between security forces and dervishes ensued. Images circulated on social media showing dervishes, including women and children, badly bloodied and injured. As the largest of Irans Sufi orders, Gonabadi Dervishes, numbering between two and five million, are viewed as a threat to the Islamic Republics ruling establishment because their interpretation of Islam differs from the officially sanctioned version. At the height of the violence, Tabandeh called on his followers to exercise self-restraint, stay calm, and keep away from his residence. In a March 6 video Tabandeh assured his followers that he was well, but under house arrest. Official news agency IRNA reported February 20, 2018 that police had branded the demonstrators as hooligans and rebels and characterized the polices response as effective and intelligent, saying they had effectively nipped in the bud calls for further protests. We could have hit the residence with a rocket-propelled grenade and leveled it to the ground, but we acted with intelligence and authority, Tehran Police Chief and Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hasan Rahimi proudly told state-run TV. He went on to declare that his forces had cleaned up the street of thugs and rioters. Saeid Doorandish, Ahmad Irankhah, Saeed Soltanpour, and Reza Yavari Motlaq, currently held in custody, are the four dervishes who spoke to Radio Farda at great personal risk via audio messages sent through intermediaries. A female dervish, Elham Ahmadi, who recently described Qarchak women's prison south of Tehran as "torture chamber, also spoke about the days of clashes and later her imprisonment. "Long before attempts to erect a checkpoint in Golestan Haftom, the security forces and intelligence agents stormed a hospital in Tehran and detained four dervishes without a warrant. Furthermore, days before the clashes, (dervishes) Hameed Labbaf and Ne'mat Reyahi were also detained, said Doorandish, who is currently serving a seven-year sentence at Tehrans GTP Prison. Soltanpour, who has been sentenced to 74 lashes and is serving a seven year sentence, insists that dervishes merely gathered to defend their spiritual leader. "In a healthy society where the law is respected, one expects responsible reactions from the authorities. One could not expect irresponsible silence, brutal and medieval, even prehistoric beatings of the dervishes," Irankhah said, adding, "My son, Mohammad Parsa, was with me in front of Dr, Tabandeh's residence. The security forces supported by Basijees and plainclothesmen even showed no mercy to my fifteen-year-old son. He was brutally beaten by batons and sticks." Motlaq was sentenced to 74 lashes and is serving a nine-year term for action against national security. "Two hours into the dervishes peaceful protest sit-in," Motlaq remembers, "all of a sudden, the forces of the 'Special Guards Unit' stormed the assembly and fired into the panicked crowd injuring many of them, including children. Dervishes were surrounded in Golestan Haftom, and the security forces barraged them with tear gas, while Basijees showered them with insults. Furthermore, Basijees and other members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps climbed to the rooftops of the neighboring buildings and threw stones and concrete blocks at the Sufis and their families. Motlaq says security forces used water cannons, tear gas, and blank bullets. The Chief Police Commander of the Islamic Republic, IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Ashtari, accused dervishes of beating his forces, and dismissed their protest assembly as "great sedition and riot. Moreover, Ashtari maintained that one of the dervishes is responsible for running a bus over his forces, killing three. Mohammad Reza Salas was officially charged for murder and was sentenced to death on March 15. The 51-year-old Salas insisted he had evidence that at the time when the incident happened he was already in jail and could not have been at the wheel of the bus. Salas' attorney, Zainab Taheri also stressed on her client's innocence and London based Amnesty International said, The execution of Salas amounts to killing justice. The beating of dervishes continued even on the buses taking them to the police stations or detention centers," Irankhah remembers, adding, "I will never forget that even at the police station we were showered with insults and beaten. We were slapped, kicked, scorned, and humiliated in an inhumane way, Doorandish said. According to Irankhah, some of the dervishes were so badly beaten that they were taken to hospitals. Dervishes also report horrible prison conditions. They complain they are denied medical attention, clean drinking water, and sufficient food, and say the facilities are unhygienic. "We are witnessing a human catastrophe here, said Doorandish.There are only five restrooms for 500 inmates. The prisoners only have access to medicine and physicians when they are at the verge of death. Qarchak Prison is currently where the female dervishes are held. Ms. Ahmadi describes Qarchak as a "torture chamber. The prison's clinic, Ms. Ahmadi says, has no night shift physician. Whoever goes there is given a tablet and bottle of syrup, that's all. Even if you are forced to visit the clinic several times, Ahmadi says, The doctor and nurse bombard you with insults. [the condition is so terrible that] this morning, an inmate had a heart attack and died. The lady was rejected by the clinic, and later in the morning, her dead body was found and taken away." Ahmadi also alleges inmates at Qarchak are subjected to forced labor. If we ask to go outside for fresh air or to have a phone call with our loved ones, the guards force us to first root weeds out of the ground in the courtyard with our bear hands, she said. The mistreatment of dervishes in Iranian prisons has repeatedly been condemned by the U.S. government as well as by international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, and Human Rights Watch. Amnesty International (AI) has listed Iran among the fifty countries using "bullying techniques and repressive regulations" to prevent non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from doing their work. The February 21 report, titled Laws Designed to Silence: The Global Crackdown on Civil Society Organizations , accuses Tehran of suppressing NGOs by designing laws and regulations to criminalize and otherwise hinder their activity. "Governments across the world are increasingly attacking non-governmental organizations (NGOs) by creating laws that subject them and their staff to surveillance, nightmarish bureaucratic hurdles, and the ever-present threat of imprisonment, the report read. In the case of Iran, the report says authorities exploit provisions in the Islamic Penal Code to criminalize the activities of NGOs. "This has resulted not only in stopping independent human rights organizations from being able to register and operate, but also in the criminalization of even informal networks or campaigns, such as Step by Step to Stop the Death Penalty (also known by its Persian acronym, LEGAM). Consequently, individuals like prominent lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and human rights defender Narges Mohammadi have been convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms in connection with their involvement with LEGAM and other similar loose networks and campaigns, the report read. According to AI, the Islamic Republic often cites laws like those against "assembly and colluding to commit crimes against national security (Article 610), "forming a group composed of more than two people with the purpose of disrupting national security (Article 498), and "membership of a group with the purpose of disrupting national security (Article 499), to criminalize the activities of human rights defenders and civil society organizations. AI says these laws "contravene the principle of legality as they are overly broad and vague, allowing the authorities to apply them arbitrarily." Furthermore, the rights watchdog insists that the number of verdicts issued against human rights activists has significantly increased since widespread protests rocked the country in response to the controversial re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009. This report comes on the heels of an equally damning announcement from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) that no fewer than 860 journalists were prosecuted, arrested, imprisoned and in some cases executed in Iran between 1979, when the Islamic Republic was established, and 2009. RSF says the figure comes from a file leaked by whistleblowers within the Islamic Republics ruling establishment. "Confidential until now, the file is a register of all the arrests, imprisonments and executions carried out by the Iranian authorities in the Tehran area over four decades" RSF announced at its February 7 conference, in Paris. In addition to persecuted journalists, the file contains 1.7 million records of judicial procedures concerning people from all categories of Iranian society men, women and minors, members of religious and ethnic minorities, persons accused of non-political crimes and prisoners of conscience, including regime opponents. XII International Dairy Congress will be held in Kyiv On March 5-6, the main event of the milk production market will take place at the International Exhibition Center (IEC). The XII International Dairy Congress is the place, that every spring brings together more than 1,500 dairy business participants to discuss key industry issues. Among the invited this year there are: - Industry experts: Andriy Dykun, the chairman of the Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC); Mikhail Sokolov, deputy chairman of the UAC; Hanna Lavreniuk, vice-president of the Association of milk producers (AMP); Andriy Yarmak, Investmant Officer for Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and others; - - representatives of the Government: Olga Trofimtseva, acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine; Volodymyr Topchiy, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine; Olena Alshanova, Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry Development, Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine; Volodymyr Lapa, chairman of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, etc.; - representatives of the embassies of Austria, the Netherlands, France, Canada, USA, Israel and other countries.; - representatives of international organizations: USAID, IFC, FAO, EBRD, etc.; - People's deputies: Ivan Miroshnichenko, Sergei Labasiuk, Tetyana Ostrikova, Olexander Bakumenko, Oleh Kulinich, Serhiy Leshchenko, Valeriy Davydenko, Nina Yuzhanina and others; - owners and managers of the country's leading farms; - media representatives. The main issues that will be discussed during the congress are: Land market and animal husbandry. State support of animal husbandry in Ukraine. What is needed for the sustainable development of the dairy industry? The way to export through cooperation. The transition to European standards of safety and quality of milk milk ghetto or among world leaders? Results of the national dairy industry and key areas of development for 2019. World Milk Market and Ukrainian perspective: supply-demand balance, prices and cost, forecasts. Not by milk alone: where to find additional reserves for dairy farm profitability? Technologies of milk production and management of modern dairy farm. This year, in addition to the usual exchange of experience, the Veterinary Conference "Veterinary provision of dairy farming" will take place at the Congress. Congress organizers: Association of milk producers (AMP), Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC) and Dykun Company. The psychologists have studied the most common mistakes of people who do their best to become successful and financially independent. What are they doing wrong? In our world, rich people outnumber the poor ones. Its a well-known fact. Some try to fix their distressful situation others adapt to the cruel reality. The AIF portal has published an article, in which a physiologist Maksim Sumarokov talks about measures we should take to stop scrimping on everything. NOTHING WILL CHANGE IF YOU WAKE UP A MILLIONAIRE ONE DAY We all heard the stories about people who struggled all their life, but the next day they won a jackpot and became millionaires. They think that everything is going to change now. But they are wrong! Some things will be different, but these are nothing but relative changes. Indeed, some money can solve some serious problems but they wont change your mentality and your view of life. Its not hard to guess that if the mentality is the same the wealth fortune wont last long. When such people wake up rich, a great deal of money slips away, and thus they fail to succeed. In most cases, such stories end sadly: A man comes back to his initial financial state in no time. There are plenty of examples. In these days on the Internet more often than not, we come across stories about people who won a substantial sum of money in a popular online casino like here. But are you sure they are still rich? We dont think so. Experience shows that the gain from online casinos is a temporary solution for financial problems. Usually, after some time these old hand millionaires come back to such places. Probably, because there is no money left from their previous visit. Its all about their mentality. CHANGE YOUR MENTALITY If you dont change your mentality your poor situation wont change either. As of today, only 1% of the whole population of the world may be considered rich, informs KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA. Even if we go back to USSR and share all money of the world equally the poor will remain poor and the rich will remain rich. Why is that? Its all about mentality initially targeted at a certain result. Lets have a history flashback. As you remember, in 1927 Florentine Cadastre was drawn up that gave an idea of income inequality in Florence. According to this document at that time 2% of Florentine families owned over half of all property. Today the situation is hardly any different: For example, in the USA, China and Russia the same 2% of population own over half of the national treasure. What conclusion can we make? Its all quite simple: Wealth and success do not depend on nationality, faith and education. Only correct perception of the world can help you become rich and successful. Winning mindset is very important in this case. Such people wont be content with what they have and work only for money. They will be looking for ways to increase their income. DRAW UP YOUR FINANCIAL PLAN The sad truth is that very few people have a financial plan for a certain period and even if they do it was probably made by third parties: Government, employer or a company. And since this plan was made by someone else, it means that its definitely not aimed at the realisation of your goals. In this case, your personal interests and wishes are at the bottom of the list and sometimes they are not considered at all. You take a back seat in this show and work to achieve someones goals, making money for anyone, but yourself. Make your own plan! You can keep working for hire but make sure that a part of your income is working for you. REMEMBER, EVERYONE CAN SUCCEED I cant afford this, Im not like them, I cant do it... There are many excuses for your lack of action. Its true that its not easy to get a grip on yourself and find a good opportunity but its possible. Usually, people with a good mentality and spirit are the first to react. They dont see only what they want to see, but what their mind is capable to comprehend. Take a broader view of your problems and the world in general. Analyse your mistakes and do your best to fix them. STAY CURIOUS Dont spare money and time on your personal development! The unknown tends to fade away and never become famous. 90% will take this fact for granted. While the other 10% will try to understand this. These people will succeed by overcoming difficulties and risks just to satisfy their curiosity. There are thousands of possibilities around us. The only problem is that we cant see them and unlock their potential. There are tons of examples when someone misses an opportunity and says with a sorrowful sigh Heh! If I only knew it then ... But when an opportunity is spotted on time, it becomes a story of success. It is all around the newspapers, television and the internet. Millions of people wish they could do it too. But as Leonardo da Vinci said: There are those who see, those who see when they are shown and those who do not see. Only you can decide which one to be. FIND YOUR MOTIVATION Motivation is everything! This is truly the driving force to achieve your goals. The chances to get what you want without motivation are rather poor. It doesnt matter what your purpose is. Someone wants to start his business, other wants buying an apartment and someone dreams of travelling the world. Everyone has their own goals. But none of this will happen if you dont find your motivation. People often stop halfway because their enthusiasm stops burning. In other words, they have poor motivation. First of all, you should understand that nothing comes at once. The journey to your goal may take you a couple of years. The time spent on achieving your goal usually depends on the goal itself. Dont give up and dont settle for less against all odds! On Wednesday, February 27, at 12.30, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a press conference titled "Illegal actions of security forces in the east of Ukraine" based on the results of the hotline service to identify cases of illegal activity of Ukrainian security officials in Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the nine months of 2018. Participants include: Executive Director of the Vostok-SOS (East SOS) Charity Foundation Oleksandra Dvoretska, Monitoring Campaign Coordinator of the Association of Ukrainian Monitors of Human Rights Observance in Law Enforcement Serhiy Pernikoz; Acting Chairman of the Board of the Human Rights Center "Postup" Yevhen Vasylyev (8/5a Reitarska Street). Press accreditation and registration at the event by press cards. Additional information by phone: +38 066 996 8633, or email: postup.rights@gmail.com (Yevhen Vasylyev). On Thursday, February 28, at 13.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a press conference titled "Is it Acceptable to Work for the Enemy? Is Ukraine's Advocacy and Advocacy of 'DPR/LPR' the Same?" Participants include lawyer, partner of the Legal Alliance Law Firm Illia Kostin; lawyer, partner of the Legal Alliance Law Firm, participant in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO), one of the founders of the charity fund to help Ukraine's defenders and their families "Kolo" Oleksiy Bezhevets; lawyer, head of the law office "Tytykalo and Partners," Honored Lawyer of Ukraine Roman Tytykalo; doctor, convicted by the "military tribunal of the DPR" for helping the Ukrainian army, Olha Politova; electrician, a resident of Donetsk, convicted by the "DPR court" for 17 years of imprisonment for spying for "a foreign hostile state" Valentyna Buchok (8/5a Reitarska Street). Registration requires press accreditation by phone: (050) 445 3418 (Yulia Petrushenko). On Wednesday, February 27, at 11.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a press conference of the Hope for Life nongovernmental association of persons with disability entitled "'Healthcare Reform in Hemodialysis was Needed Yesterday" about the concrete facts of causing harm to health of patients due to corrupt practices of officials in the healthcare sphere. Participants in the press conference are Deputy Health Minister Olha Stefanishyna, Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee for Healthcare, MP Kostiantyn Yarynich, Deputy Chairman of the Hope for Life nongovernmental association Serhiy Makarenko, independent expect for public procurement Andriy Khodakovsky (8/5a Reitarska Street). Registration requires press accreditation. For more information, please call: +38 050 974 78 41, +38 097 671 01 84 (Serhiy Makarenko). An indictment against Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Volodymyr Omelyan, who is charged with illegal enrichment and declaring inaccurate information, has been submitted to Kyiv's Solomiansky District Court for consideration, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has reported. According to the press service of the NABU, the investigators found out that in 2015, when serving as deputy minister of infrastructure of Ukraine, the official acquired assets whose legality of receipt was not supported by evidence and the cost of which far exceeds his legal income. "The matter concerns a new BMW X5 vehicle (2015 year of production) and cash in the amount of $90,000 and EUR25,000. The total value of such assets at that time was UAH 4.23 million," the report states. In addition, NABU investigators established the fact that the minister of infrastructure included false information in the declaration. Thus, in the electronic declaration for 2015, the value of owned or used assets that were not declared by the official, as well as expenses was at least UAH 3.034 million, and in 2016 over UAH 8.024 million. The fifth International Forum "Occupied Crimea: Five Years of Resistance," which is to begin in Kyiv on February 26-27, will continue its work in March in Brussels, Belgium, and Washington, D.C, the United States, Ukraine's First Deputy Minister of Information Policy Emine Dzhaparova has said. "The events of this forum will continue on March 5 at the European Parliament in Brussels and in Washington, D.C., (the United States)," Dzhaparova said at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday. The event in Washington, D.C., will be held on March 19, according to preliminary agreements, she said. "We expect high representation. Currently, U.S. Secretary of State [Mike] Pompeo's participation in this event is being worked out," she said. She earlier announced that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker would take part in the International Forum "Occupied Crimea: Five Years of Resistance" in Kyiv on February 26-27. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sabina Gold & Silver Corp (SBB.T), (Sabina or the Company) is pleased to announce budget plans and activities for 2019. Sabina is advancing its high grade, permitted project towards a production decision with measured initiatives within the Companys financial resources. The 2019 budget enables the Company to continue its two-pronged approach: completing project development activities that continue to reduce execution risk as well as continuing high value exploration. The 2019 budget totals approximately $41 million in expenditures, including certain discretionary expenditures of $6-8 million for earthworks programs at Goose. The discretionary spending will be assessed during the year and depending on prevailing market sentiment could be deferred resulting in a larger cash balance at the end of 2019. The 2019 budget delivers: Additional de-risking of mine construction by completion of: Winter-ice-road construction and haulage of materials to Goose site from the port facility at Bathurst Inlet. Detailed selection of process plant equipment and the major vendors suppliers. Development of an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the process plant, including fixed pricing and performance guarantee. The EPC contract provides greater certainty of costs and schedule than the method of delivery proposed in the feasibility study. Goose site construction, including earthworks to prepare the process plant site, pads and access roads Detailed engineering to support initial mine development, bulk earthworks, process plant and tailings storage facility construction and completion of issued-for-construction drawings Procurement of the process plant major equipment certified drawings and ~1.0 million litres of fuel for 2019 and some initial 2020 activities A sea-lift of construction equipment to be delivered to the Port facility in the summer of 2019 An exploration program of ~8,000 metres commencing in the spring, focused on Nuvuyak, Hook and other targets primarily at Goose Advancement of remaining minor licenses and authorizations. 2019 will be another significant year for the Company as our work programs continue to advance Back River towards a production decision and focus on high value exploration targets at the Goose property, said Bruce McLeod, President & CEO. Through our project development activities, we continue to demonstrate the constructability and improve the logistics and infrastructure of the Project while delivering better confidence in capital costs through the delivery of an EPC contract. Additionally, we will continue to focus on drill targets at the Goose property that present opportunities for extended mine life and/or improved Project economics. This work continues to unlock a much larger picture in terms of resource and district potential and the potential of Back River to be a multi-generational mining district. With regard to project financing, the Company has advanced negotiations for a debt package for the Project and believes that the debt component could be completed on favourable terms. Equity is not currently available on acceptable terms as it would result in unacceptable dilution of the value of the Project to our shareholders. Without equity funding in place, the Company will continue to move forward within our existing financial resources and first gold production will be delayed to Q4 2022. Ultimately, we believe that the de-risking and other activities planned for 2019 will reduce execution risk which will result in a better financing package for the Project. Exploration Drilling During 2019, Sabina will continue to conduct multi-stage exploration and target initiatives at Back River that will consist of drilling of approximately 8,000 metres, geologic mapping and rock sampling across a number of target areas, till and soil sampling and geophysics surveys. The drilling strategy will continue to focus at the Goose project in the key areas of resource growth and optimization in high grade zones, and advancement of new target concepts. The top priority for drilling will be to continue to grow the Nuvuyak discovery, definition of a prospective zone of shallower level high grade Hook zone mineralization, and further targeting in the high-grade portions of the Llama extension and north Vault area. With additional confirmatory drilling the three high grade discoveries made since the 2015 feasibility represent opportunities to extend the mine life and/or improve the already robust economics of the Back River project. Goose camp is expected to open in mid-March 2019 with drilling beginning in April. If warranted, additional drilling would be planned in the summer months to follow up on results from the spring program. Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. is well-financed and is an emerging precious metals company with district scale, advanced, high grade gold assets in one of the worlds newest, politically stable mining jurisdictions: Nunavut, Canada. Sabina released a Feasibility Study on its 100% owned Back River Gold Project which presents a project that has been designed on a fit-for purpose basis, with the potential to produce ~200,000 ounces a year for ~11 years with a rapid payback of 2.9 years (see Technical Report for the Initial Project Feasibility Study on the Back River Gold Property, Nunavut, Canada dated October 28, 2015). The Project received its final Project Certificate on December 19, 2017. The Project received its Type A Water License on November 14, 2018 and is now in receipt of all major authorizations for construction and operations. In addition to Back River, Sabina also owns a significant silver royalty on Glencores Hackett River Project. The silver royalty on Hackett Rivers silver production is comprised of 22.5% of the first 190 million ounces produced and 12.5% of all silver produced thereafter. The Company had approximately $50 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as at December 31, 2018. For further information please contact: Nicole Hoeller, Vice-President, Communications: 1 888 648-4218 nhoeller@sabinagoldsilver.com Forward Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (the forward-looking statements), including our belief as to the extent, results and timing of and various studies relating to engineering studies, infrastructure improvement activities, exploration results and permitting and licensing outcomes. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the future circumstances, outcomes or results anticipated in or implied by such forward-looking statements will occur or that plans, intentions or expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based will occur. While we have based these forward-looking statements on our expectations about future events as at the date that such statements were prepared, the statements are not a guarantee that such future events will occur and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which could cause events or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and assumptions include, among others, the effects of general economic conditions, commodity prices, changing foreign exchange rates and actions by government and regulatory authorities and misjudgments in the course of preparing forward-looking statements. In addition, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Known risk factors include risks associated with exploration and project development; the need for additional financing; the calculation of mineral resources and reserves; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in metal prices; title matters; government regulation; obtaining and renewing necessary licenses and permits; environmental liability and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the potential for conflicts of interest among certain of our officers or directors; the absence of dividends; currency fluctuations; labour disputes; competition; dilution; the volatility of the our common share price and volume; future sales of shares by existing shareholders; and other risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the Back River Project and general risks associated with the mineral exploration and development industry described in our Annual Information Form, financial statements and MD&A for the fiscal period ended December 31, 2016 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available at www.sedar.com. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We are under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws. This news release has been authorized by the undersigned on behalf of Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. Aver Lex lawyers for Viktor Yanukovych have filed an appeal against the ruling by Kyiv's Obolonsky district court in the high treason case, sentencing the ex-president of Ukraine to 13 years in prison. The appeal was lodged with Kyiv's court of appeals through the Obolonsky court on February 22, the press service of the lawyers' association told Interfax-Ukraine. "From a legal point of view, the Obolonsky district court's verdict is absolutely illegal and unreasonable, because it is based on a falsified case. The courts one-sided position in assessing evidence, numerous serious violations of criminal law provisions all this is covered on over 190 pages of our appeal," lawyer Vitaly Serdyuk said. What is more, he said, the appeal previously filed by lawyer of the Center for Free Secondary Legal Aid Yuriy Riabovol is illegitimate. "Viktor Yanukovych has officially expressed his position repeatedly that he does not need the services of any public lawyer, especially when his [the lawyer's] actions are coordinated with the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine," Serdyuk said. An application has already been filed against Riabovol for committing a crime under Article 400-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (representation in court without authority), Serdyuk said. What is more, complaints were lodged with the Higher Qualification and Disciplinary Bar Commission of Ukraine for deprivation him of the right to work as a lawyer. The U.S. Embassy to Ukraine states that corruption remains a pressing issue that prevents Ukrainians from achieving some progress in politics and the economy. "Five years ago today [on February 22], EuroMaidan protesters succeeded in expelling a corrupt government. Yet, corruption remains a pressing problem holding the Ukrainian people back from achieving the economic and political progress they deserve," it said on Facebook on Friday. The Embassy noted that the Ukrainian government must follow through on "the reforms that the people of Ukraine have demanded." In the early hours of February 22, 2014, the then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych went to Kharkiv, then through Crimea to Russia. On the same day, the Verkhovna Rada supported the resolution on self-dismissal of Yanukovych from the post of Ukrainian President and set an extraordinary presidential election for May 25, 2014. Russia-led militants mount seven attacks on Ukrainian army positions injuring three Ukrainian soldiers in Donbas over past day Russia's hybrid military forces mounted seven attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas in the past 24 hours, with three Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action, the press service of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) has reported. "On February 21, the Russian occupation forces violated the cease-fire regime seven times. At the same time, the weapons banned by the Minsk agreements were used four times ... As a result of the shelling, three servicemen of the JFO were injured," the JFO staff said on Facebook on Friday morning. Militants used weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements. In the action zone of the operational-tactical grouping Vostok (East), Russian occupation forces opened fire from 120mm and 82mm mortars, an anti-tank missile system, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms, attacking the defenders of the villages of Vodiane, Pisky, Pavlopil, and Krymske. "Since Friday midnight, Russian-led forces have attacked Ukrainian positions once, using 82mm mortars, tripod-mounted man-portable antitank guns, and heavy machine guns near the village of Katerynivka," the staff said. According to Ukrainian intelligence reports, three invaders were killed and another four were wounded. DTEK Energy Holding has announced the start of transformation of its corporate university into an innovative educational business platform, Academy DTEK, and on February 21 presented a training platform in UNIT.City, where it occupied two floors of a new six-storey campus, the total rental area of which is 12,000 square meters. "Academy DTEK is becoming an innovative educational business platform open to business representatives, the public sector, the public, and international partners," Oleksandr Kucherenko, the Director for Sustainable Development at DTEK, said at a press conference during the presentation. He clarified that the corporate university was created nine years ago, and in 2014 began entering foreign markets. According to him, it currently works with 17 government organizations, including the National Bank, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry, Ukrposhta, for which 72 training events were held last year. Kucherenko noted that in the new quality Academy DTEK will introduce in Ukraine international HR practices together with its partners: the business schools and organizations INSEAD, IE Business School, Thunderbird, HRCI, Kyiv-Mohyla Business School. The State Property Fund (SPF) has signed a memorandum with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) on cooperation and the exchange of information, Acting Fund Head Vitaliy Trubarov has said. "The SPF has signed a memorandum of cooperation and information exchange with NABU. In accordance with the memorandum, we will promptly exchange information from databases and registries," Trubarov wrote on Facebook on Thursday. He also clarified that the SPF, in particular, will transmit data to NABU on the facts of violations identified during inspections of state enterprises. "The law on privatization clearly prohibits the participation of Russian capital and close associates in the privatization of both small and large objects. Information from NABU and their operational assistance will contribute to the transparency of privatization processes, completeness of inspecting potential investors," Trubarov said. The transfer ban handed out to Chelsea today means it's more crucial than ever that Eden Hazard does everything he can from his end to make his and Real Madrid's dreams of a summer deal a reality. Of course, Chelsea are now armed with the perfect explanation for their fans if they want to hold on to Hazard until his contract expires in 2020, at the expense of the 28-year-old then being able to go wherever he wants (we already know where that is, clearly) on a free transfer. Given that they can't register new signings in the summer window, they will have an excuse that nobody could argue with. Hazard must tell Chelsea: I'm off Full screen Hazard warms up for Chelsea's Europa League clash with Malmo. PETER CZIBORRA (Action Images via Reuters) However, Hazard could also put it to the Premier League club's owner, Roman Abramovich, that his potential departure has already been covered by the signing of Christian Pulisic - who is to arrive from Borussia Dortmund next season - and that it's absurd to try and keep a player whose head and heart is elsewhere. At the end of term, he should say loud and clear that he's given everything he can to Chelsea, and that he's off to Spain. Just as Madrid let Cristiano Ronaldo go for a knockdown fee as thanks for all he had done in his nine years at the club, so the Blues should acknowledge that Hazard has been key to everything that the Stamford Bridge faithful have had to shout about in recent years. Hazard's Madrid move can wait no longer He cannot, and must not, wait any longer. He must join Madrid this summer. For a reasonable price, mind you. If Chelsea try to use their ban to seek an exorbitant fee, the European champions should not be drawn into throwing around silly money. At this stage in the tale, falling prey to opportunistic extortion would be folly. Nikol Pashinyan receives Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I (video) Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met with Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I on February 22. Nikol Pashinyan said: Your Holiness, Catholicos of All Armenians, Your Holiness, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, I am glad to see and meet you. Of course, we have met in the past and I recall my visit to Antelias with warmth on the occasion of the jubilee year of your activities. My meetings with the Catholicos of All Armenians are regular. Some of those meetings are covered by the media, some are not and I greatly highlight this interaction. Frankly speaking, I even think that the dialogue has not kicked off yet, because this is a period when we are very cautious towards issues and this is natural. But I think during this period we have succeeded in one thing we managed to create a sincere and open atmosphere. This particular dialogue is of key importance for the future of our country, for the future of our people, because I think that we have a very important mission to discuss our nation-wide agenda and establish a nation-wide agenda. We know one thing for sure we, our people, our church and our religious class have a shared acknowledgment that we will not be defeated and have to overcome all the challenges facing our state, people the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Artsakh and the Diaspora. I am confident that such interactions, our relations with the Church and discussions are of decisive and key importance. I am very glad for this opportunity and I am thankful for the visit. Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II said, Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, Today we have the pleasant opportunity to visit you together with the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I. We are thankful for this opportunity. As you may know, its already a few day Catholicos Aram I is in Armenia, at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and during these days we together referred to the issues concerning our Church, different issues and problems facing our Church, as well as we discussed issues referring our national life. Of course, we informed Catholicos Aram I that by your decision a working group has been established to examine issues concerning the Church and the State, and to find reasonable solutions for them. We also referred to the mission of our Church in our national and spiritual life, highlighting our role for the spiritual and national consolidation of our people, as well as for the progress of our country. We emphasized the importance of stability in our country and that the atmosphere of love prevails in our country. And the Armenian Church, like during our entire history, has always stood with the state whenever we had our independent statehood, and made a contribution to the safe and secure existence of our country. We have had numerous opportunities to emphasize that the Armenian Apostolic Church will continue the same work with the same vigor and enthusiasm, so as to enable our people to overcome all the difficulties with joint efforts, all the problems facing today our country and the world-spread Armenian people. Naturally, this goes for the issue of the recognition of Artsakhs independence, recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the stable, safe progress of our country.We once again want to thank you for todays meeting and convey our best wishes to you and the success of your efforts. Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I said in his speech, Dear Mr. Prime Minister, This is our 2meeting and this time I welcome your mission more officially, as the Prime Minister, because the efforts of anybody aimed at the progress of the statehood cannot be assessed as just work, but is mission by its nature and that mission should be carried out with the acknowledgment of the mission. And I am confident that you are set to this mission with that acknowledgment, with responsible people and young cadres surrounding you with the same mission. Therefore, I wish you all the best and full success and as I have always said, I will repeat again that your success is the success of our motherland and the success of the motherland is the success of our entire nation, because the Republic of Armenia has some responsibilities beyond its borders towards the Diaspora. Therefore, I see your mission in a more comprehensive way. My expectation is that the expectations and needs of the people are met. You set to this mission with that commitment and emphasize din all your public speeches that you come from the people, that the people is the power and its the expectations of the people that must inspire you and the Government. Of course, its necessary to be realistic and its not the right thing to bring emotions into life immediately. My final expectation is that the expectations and needs of the people are met. And my expectation in this process is also that you emphasize the benefit of pluralism. Having different opinions makes someone rich, with the condition that they will meet somewhere, interact with one another around our national values and ideals. Its necessary to avoid polarizations. If there are polarizations, they should be bridged over the same values. And for this I greatly highlight the role of the Church. I am glad you highlighted the role of the Church in your speech. The Catholicos of All Armenians also said that the Church-State relations, or I would say partnership, is a must for nation building. Naturally, there are different opinions and approaches. As I already said, these differences should become useful, because we are all in the same ring and on the same path. Therefore, Mr. Prime Minister, I once again wish you success in your mission. God protect you and our dear homeland. With eye of A1+ or when there are no banned topics (video) 17 years ago, on April 2, A1+ was taken off air. In 2002, A1 + was a young, yet up-to-date TV channel which was the first channel that covered the crime of October 27, Poghos Poghosyan's murder because of saying "Privet Rob," and so on. A1+ starts a new series. Let's recall the significant events that took place since 1991 till today, the majority of which was recorded only by the A1+'s camera,and was first voiced by A1+. This time we present the 1991-2002 events. That is, the Artsakh war, the election of Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the resignation, September 25, 1996, October 27, murder of Boghos Poghosyan, the National Commission on Television and Radio of Armenia (NCTR) historical session. That is until April 2, 2002. when A1+ was taken off air. By the way, Robert Kocharyan says to A1+ journalist on the way to Tashkent on the morning of April 2, before the NCTR session: "Once I told your colleagues that if there were no A1+, I would create A1+ Company. Falls Church, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Community Associations Institute (CAI), the leading international authority in community association education, governance, and management is proud to announce its 40,000 membership milestone. CAI's total membership of 40,389 includes volunteer homeowner leaders who serve on their association boards in homeowners associations (HOAs), condominium communities, and cooperatives, as well as community management professionals and business partners serving these communities. The membership increase is a significant gain following the Oct. 1, 2017 announcement of CAI's new membership dues restructuring plan for its Homeowner Leader membership type, which offers community associations the opportunity to sign up to 15 board members for only $250. Prior to Oct. 1, CAI membership totaled 34,555. Since the Oct. 1 implementation, CAIs overall membership has experienced a 14 percent increase and a 34 percent increase for homeowner leaders. We understand the best community associations have the best boardsthey're educated, knowledgeable, and prepared to lead their communities," said Thomas M. Skiba, CAE, CAI's chief executive officer. In the past, community associations would typically only support a CAI membership for the top three board positionspresident, vice president, and treasurer. Under the new plan, communities can now sign up their entire board to join CAI at the lowest cost. Today, were proud to share that more community associations are choosing to be a part of the CAI family and trust our organization as the leading provider with the best tools and resources they need to be successful." Since CAI was established in 1973 with only 200 members, education and training, networking opportunities, and access to exclusive catalogues and publications have been key benefits of membership. By 1983, the organization was comprised of more than 5,000 members and by 2010, CAI reached its 30,000 member milestone. Today, CAI has 64 chapters worldwide, including Canada, the Middle East, and South Africa, and relationships with housing leaders in Spain, Australia, and the United Kingdom. While education, training, and networking continue to be priority, CAI is also the leader in community association industry research and data and advocacy support for community association residents across the globe. According to the 2017 CAI Member Needs Assessment Survey, 89 percent say they're likely to recommend CAI to their peers. Across all member types, the most important reasons for joining CAI include professional designations and certifications, connection to local CAI chapters, networking, and education. Since its inception, CAI has played a pivotal role in shaping the community association housing model, by educating and training industry professionals and advocating on behalf of the stakeholders who live and work in these thriving communities, said Crystal Wallace, CAE, CAI's vice president of membership and chapter relations. Forty years later, our mission remainsuniting communities worldwide by continuing to understand the influence of today's community association leaders, community managers, and business partners. Our work sets the tone for associations, reflective in a community culture that Americans and the world identify as preferred places to call home. 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 22 ventilators to Armenia PACE to observe the early parliamentary elections in Armenia With Ucom's level up tariff plans subscribers have unlimited access to Tiktok, Spotify and Coursera PACE rapporteur welcomes Azerbaijans release of Armenian captives and Armenias handing over of mine-maps to Azerbaijan Armenia/Azerbaijan: Statement by High Representative Josep Borrell on the latest developments Pashinyan to publicly apology to Khachatryans During EURO 2020 Ucom subscribers to take part in the uMeter voting and draw USA to continue to press for the return of Armenian prisoners of war and detainees: Philip Reeker Google Ad Post-war Prospects for Nagorno-Karabakh: Crisis Groups new report Ucom-1 team was recognised the winner of the 2021 futsal tournament of the Galaxy Group of Companies: The award ceremony took place COVID 19: 11 deaths Statement of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia regarding the criminal prosecution against the Armenian prisoners of war by Azerbaijan The Coronavirus-Related Situation in Armenia UCOM introduced new level up packages of voice service President Michel has discussions with President Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Acting Prime Minister Pashinyan of Armenia COVID19:108 new cases Ucom launches "Hello, summer" offer and presents "U!hoo" kids magazine 182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group What our Homeland, Armenia and Artsakh will be like depends on us. President Armen Sarkissians message on the Republic Day Ucom Digital lab students keep on getting high-quality technical education 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 Google Ad 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 22 ventilators to Armenia PACE to observe the early parliamentary elections in Armenia With Ucom's level up tariff plans subscribers have unlimited access to Tiktok, Spotify and Coursera PACE rapporteur welcomes Azerbaijans release of Armenian captives and Armenias handing over of mine-maps to Azerbaijan Armenia/Azerbaijan: Statement by High Representative Josep Borrell on the latest developments Pashinyan to publicly apology to Khachatryans During EURO 2020 Ucom subscribers to take part in the uMeter voting and draw USA to continue to press for the return of Armenian prisoners of war and detainees: Philip Reeker Google Ad Post-war Prospects for Nagorno-Karabakh: Crisis Groups new report Ucom-1 team was recognised the winner of the 2021 futsal tournament of the Galaxy Group of Companies: The award ceremony took place COVID 19: 11 deaths Statement of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia regarding the criminal prosecution against the Armenian prisoners of war by Azerbaijan The Coronavirus-Related Situation in Armenia UCOM introduced new level up packages of voice service President Michel has discussions with President Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Acting Prime Minister Pashinyan of Armenia COVID19:108 new cases Ucom launches "Hello, summer" offer and presents "U!hoo" kids magazine 182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group What our Homeland, Armenia and Artsakh will be like depends on us. President Armen Sarkissians message on the Republic Day Ucom Digital lab students keep on getting high-quality technical education PLANO, Texas, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE:ITGR) today announced that Joseph Dziedzic, president and chief executive officer, Jason Garland, executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Tony Borowicz, senior vice president strategy, corporate development & investor relations will participate in a short presentation followed by a fireside chat at the 2019 Barclays Global Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at approximately 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in Miami, FL. A live webcast of this event will be available on Integers investor relations website at http://investor.integer.net . The webcast replay will be available approximately one hour after the live webcast ends and will be accessible for approximately 90 days following the conference. About Integer Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE:ITGR) is one of the largest medical device outsource (MDO) manufacturers in the world serving the cardiac, neuromodulation, vascular, portable medical, advanced surgical and orthopedics markets. The company provides innovative, high-quality medical technologies that enhance the lives of patients worldwide. In addition, it develops batteries for high-end niche applications in energy, military, and environmental markets. The companys brands include Greatbatch Medical, Lake Region Medical, and Electrochem. Additional information is available at www.integer.net. Investor Relations: Tony Borowicz tony.borowicz@integer.net 716.759.5809 Media Relations: Kelly Butler kelly.butler@integer.net 214.618.4216 Many times you might have found the multiple casinos available in the online market but when you are going to... Our prisons are packed, corrections costs are skyrocketing, and at the rate were going, Nevada will have more than 15,000 people behind bars in 10 years. To keep up with that growth, well have to build new prisons and expand existing ones at a staggering cost to taxpayers of $770 million. The situation is clear: maintaining the status quo in our criminal justice system is no longer an option. Its time for a smarter approach to public safety in Nevada. Governor Sisolak was exactly right when he said during last months state of the state address that we can be tough on crime and reduce recidivism. This session, the Legislature will have the opportunity to consider a package of policy recommendations that can do just that by expanding alternatives to long periods of incarceration for low-level, nonviolent offenders and focusing costly prison resources on the most serious and violent offenders. Together, these recommendations would avert 89 percent of the projected prison growth over the next decade and save $640 million that we can reinvest in proven strategies to reduce crime and protect public safety. It is very possible that the best evidence is yet to come, he said. There may be, for example, evidence of collusion or conspiracy that is clear and convincing, but not proof beyond a reasonable doubt. One takeaway from all that is that Schiff, who likely knows as much about Trump-Russia evidence as anyone in the House, has no idea what Mueller has. That puts Schiff in the same place as everyone else on Capitol Hill. I am in the dark, one plugged-in lawmaker said when asked where Mueller might be headed. Zero visibility about what is next. All Congress really knows about Mueller is the cases he has brought the charges of lying to the FBI or to Congress, the charges, in the case of Paul Manafort, of tax evasion and other financial crimes, and the charges against Russians. There are also the cases he has not brought. He hasnt alleged collusion. He hasnt outlined any scheme between Trump and Russia, even though he has thoroughly investigated some of the figures Manafort, Rick Gates, Michael Flynn most likely to have been part of such a scheme, had it existed. So Mueller remains a black hole. Maybe he really is finishing up his investigation. Maybe hes not. House Democrats, on the other hand, are far more transparent. Theyre going after Trump full-tilt from now on, regardless of what Mueller does. Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 She radioed that shots had been fired at 11:05 p.m., the Sheriffs Office said. Within minutes, social media was abuzz with locals listening to the police scanner. The Sheriffs Office held a news conference Wednesday afternoon for Bay Area media that provided new information about Sundays fatal encounter on a rural south Napa County road. The names of the deputy and the dead motorist were released for the first time. Hernandez Morales, 43, is a Napa resident and former farmworker. He had a criminal history in the county and had several aliases that had to be investigated before the Sheriffs Office could release his name, Undersheriff Jon Crawford said. A PowerPoint presentation showed five of Hernandez Morales Napa County jail mugshots taken between 2010 and 2016. He had been arrested for crimes such as having a concealed, loaded weapon, driving under the influence and assaulting a peace officer. The Sheriffs Office said it takes loss of life seriously, but Crawford said the department was proud of the composure and poise Jarecki showed while fighting for her life. She is doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances and could be gone anywhere from two to four weeks on paid administrative leave, Crawford said. ELKO Nevada Division of Forestry is aerial seeding private land along the east side of Elko following a major wildfire last summer. The Silver State Fire burned more than 3,700 acres near homes along Last Chance Road. NDF Helitack is seeding 210 acres with Siberian wheatgrass and forage kochia in order to create greenstrips, reduce the chance of mudslides, and prevent cheatgrass infestation. NDF and NDOW purchased $25,000 worth of seed for the project, according to resource management officer Gary Reese of NDF. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} NDF normally uses ground seeding methods to repair dozer lines created during firefighting. Reese said that was not possible this year because of snow cover that has persisted since Thanksgiving. This is the agencys first aerial seeding operation, he said. Last month, NDOW aerial seeded land damaged by the Range Two Fire and Owl Creek Fire in the Ruby Mountains. This weeks project will help protect dozens of homes and businesses such as Silver State Rock. The grass and shrub seed being used will sprout and survive better than native plants, Reese said. They also stay green longer and will slow the advance of a fire, allowing firefighters to tackle a blaze better before it spreads. The seeding began Thursday and was expected to be completed by the end of the week. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 "Total's participation in this offshore wind bid is in line with our strategy to develop low-carbon electricity business in Europe. Our recognized offshore oil and gas know-how combined with rsted market-leading expertise across the offshore wind energy value chain, as well as that of Elicio, an experienced developer qualified from the beginning of the bid, provide a solid foundation for success of a safe and competitive project," commented Philippe Sauquet, President Gas, Renewables and Power at Total. Martin Neubert, Chief Executive Officer of rsted Offshore, said: "Offshore wind can contribute significantly to France's renewable energy targets. As the world-leading offshore wind developer, we bring an unparalleled track-record in developing, constructing and operating offshore wind farms to the consortium, and the combined competencies of rsted, Total and Elicio are ideal to help France unleash its significant potential for developing clean power from offshore wind." Emile Dumont, President of Elicio France, said: "Wind energy has significant growth potential in France and is at the heart of Elicio's strategy to contribute towards a cleaner and cost-effective energy powered world. Further to Elicio's successful preselection for the French round 3 competitive dialogue and by joining our unique expertise and experience, we are committed, with our partners Total and rsted, to making this tender a milestone in the French offshore wind sector. " Read the full press release. Prysmian Group, world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, has been awarded a new contracts worth around 50 million by Gtd Teleductos S.A., a Chilean telecom operator, to develop a turnkey repeaterless submarine cable system connecting Arica to Puerto Montt in Chile. The contracts have been secured through the Group's submarine telecom division NSW, which became part of Prysmian Group following the acquisition of General Cable. "This contract represents a significant milestone for Prysmian Group as it is the first submarine telecom interconnection project obtained after the acquisition of General Cable. It marks Prysmian's return to this business," stated Hakan Ozmen, EVP Project BU, Prysmian Group. "This project is a further proof of the excellent quality of our cables. It not only confirms that Prysmian Group is a preferred partner of choice for submarine projects, but also that it is committed to supporting the development of innovative network infrastructures worldwide" concluded Ozmen. The project involves the design, supply and installation of more than 3,550 km of repeaterless fibre optic submarine cables. Prysmian will supply 11 cable segments of a length ranging from 135 km to more than 400 km. The cables will be produced at Prysmian's state-of-the-art production facility in Nordenham, Germany, which became part of the Group as a result of the recent acquisition of General Cable. Delivery of cables is planned by December 2019. The project envisages a repeaterless festoon system that will provide telecommunication connectivity to the whole country, in addition to linking Chile to Central and North America. This strategic cable system will greatly improve the national telecom and broadband infrastructure, while also connecting many underserved Chilean regions to a state-of-the-art, high-speed broadband fibre network. "We are honoured to work with the Chilean Grupo Gtd for the third time. This new project confirms once again the trust Grupo Gtd places in Prysmian to deliver high-quality submarine projects. Thanks to its cutting-edge submarine cable products and highly experienced team, Prysmian can provide the most efficient and cost-effective turnkey solutions to its global customers," stated Ashutosh Bhargava, Submarine Telecom BU Director, Prysmian Group. Prysmian Group Prysmian Group is world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry. With almost 140 years of experience, sales exceeding 11 billion (pro-forma as of 31.12.2017), about 30,000 employees in over 50 countries and 112 plants, the Group is strongly positioned in high-tech markets and offers the widest possible range of products, services, technologies and know-how. It operates in the businesses of underground and submarine cables and systems for power transmission and distribution, of special cables for applications in many different industries and of medium and low voltage cables for the construction and infrastructure sectors. For the telecommunications industry, the Group manufactures cables and accessories for voice, video and data transmission, offering a comprehensive range of optical fibres, optical and copper cables and connectivity systems. Prysmian is a public company, listed on the Italian Stock Exchange in the FTSE MIB index. Media Relations Lorenzo Caruso Corporate and Business Communications Ph. 0039 02 6449.1 lorenzo.caruso@prysmiangroup.com Investor Relations Cristina Bifulco Director Investor Relations Director Ph. 0039 02 6449.1 mariacristina.bifulco@prysmiangroup.com Today (2/21), the solar industry commended the South Carolina House of Representatives for unanimously passing a landmark energy bill, The Energy Freedom Act, on a bipartisan vote, and urged the Senate to quickly follow suit. The Energy Freedom Act would modernize the state's energy market, enabling all energy sources to compete on fair terms, and provide customers more choice over their energy. This will help South Carolina consumers lower what are currently some of the highest home energy bills in the U.S., expand solar deployment, and protect and grow the state's solar workforce by creating thousands of new jobs. "The South Carolina House has shown tremendous leadership in passing this much-needed legislation to lower consumers' electric bills and create new local jobs," said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). "Now, it's up to the Senate to quickly follow suit before the state's burgeoning solar market gets stalled because of unnecessary red tape." In South Carolina, rooftop solar caps are expected to be hit across the state in mid-March and utility-scale solar projects continue to have issues getting connected to the grid. This compromise legislation was developed with significant input from local solar companies, utilities, nonprofits and business stakeholders from all parts of the state. "We are running out of time. The arbitrary cap on solar energy in South Carolina is rapidly approaching and could severely damage the state's free market energy economy," said Matt Moore, Chairman of the Palmetto Conservative Solar Coalition and former Chair of the South Carolina Republican Party. "This legislation passed the House with near unanimous support and we need the momentum to continue building in the Senate. Thousands of solar jobs and individual energy freedom are at stake." "The South Carolina Solar Business Alliance (SCSBA) is pleased that this compromise legislation has cleared its first hurdles and is on its way to the Senate," said Steffanie Dohn, SCSBA's Director of Legislative Affairs. "This legislation is a product of weeks of give and take by utilities, the solar industry, legislators and multiple clean energy advocates. In the spirit of compromise, all stakeholders were able to put South Carolinians first by giving them the freedom to choose how they get their energy, lower costs and open up economic opportunities for businesses and residents throughout the state." If approved, this legislation (House Bill 3659 and Senate Bill 332) would: Require the Public Service Commission to initiate a new proceeding to review and approve rates and terms provided to large-scale solar facilities, streamlining the process and ensuring contract terms are reasonable for such projects; Allow large energy consumers, such as industrial manufacturers, to negotiate directly with a renewable energy supplier to more easily realize savings from solar; Eliminate the net metering caps and extend the existing residential solar rates for two years until the Public Service Commission determines a successor program; Provide for more transparency and competition in long-term utility generation planning; and Establish a neighborhood community solar program designed to expand solar access to low-income customers. South Carolina currently has 2,983 solar jobs, according to a new report released last week by The Solar Foundation. It is the 18th biggest solar state in the nation with 616 megawatts of solar capacity installed. This bill is critical to continuing that growth so South Carolinians can have more well-paying job opportunities across the state. More detail about the bill is available at https://www.seia.org/sites/default/files/SC-LCICompromise-Overview.pdf Argentina becomes the 72nd country to sign the ISA Framework Agreement. Argentina today (2/18) becomes the 72nd country to sign the Framework Agreement on the Establishment of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). Minister of Foreign Affairs, Argentina, H.E. Mr. Jorge Faurie, handed over the signed Framework Agreement of the ISA to H.E. Mr. Upendra Tripathy, Director General, ISA in the presence of Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, H.E. Mr Narendra Modi and Hon'ble President of Argentina, H.E. Mr. Mauricio Macri in Hyderabad House, New Delhi. The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is a treaty-based international organization. The Parties to the Framework Agreement on the Establishment of the International Solar Alliance have established the ISA to mobilize more than USD 1,000 billion into solar power by 2030 and accelerate the development and deployment of over 1,000GW of solar generation capacity in Member countries to meet energy demands and to bring prosperity, energy security and sustainable development through solar. As of 18th February 2019, 50 countries have deposited the instruments of ratification to the Government of Republic of India, the depository of the Framework Agreement. Of these, seven are from Latin America and the Caribbean. The ISA welcomes Argentina's signature of the Framework Agreement, and looks forward to working with Argentina to collectively address key common challenges to the scaling up of solar energy in order to fulfill the objectives of the Paris Agreement and usher in universal energy access by 2025. The ISA was launched at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris on 30 November, 2015 by H.E. Mr. Narendra Modi, the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India and H.E. Mr. Francois Hollande, former Hon'ble President of France, in the presence of Mr. Ban Ki Moon, former Secretary General of the United Nations. The ISA was officially established on 6 December 2017, on the entry into force of the Framework Agreement. The founding conference was subsequently held on 11 March 2018, co-chaired by His Excellency, the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, and His Excellency, the Hon'ble President of France, Mr. Emmanuel Macron. The First Assembly of the ISA was held on 3 October 2018, inaugurated by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, H.E Mr. Narendra Modi and the UN Secretary General, H.E. Mr. Antonio Guterres. Read the full press release. Washington, DC, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- "We continue to believe there is a middle ground solution that supports the goals of the Administration, state of California, as well as automakers. This middle ground would ensure innovation and investment in the U.S. auto industry, provide year-over-year efficiency improvements and account for the needs of American consumers. Global Automakers is disappointed and concerned that the failure of federal and state regulators to reach an agreement on a national program will not benefit either our economic nor environmental objectives. ### The Association of Global Automakers is a trade association based in Washington, D.C. that represents the U.S. operations of international motor vehicle manufacturers, original equipment suppliers, and other automotive-related companies and trade associations. The three DG projects in Rhode Island, totaling approximately 13 MW, are part of the states' Renewable Energy Growth (REG) Program. Rhode Island's REG Program supports the development of 560 MW of new renewable energy projects in the state between 2015 and 2020 and enables customers to sell their generation output under long-term tariffs at a fixed price. Similarly, New York state is making solar energy more accessible to homes, businesses and communities through its NY-Sun Program. Both projects purchased in New York, totaling 14 MW, are community solar projects. Community solar offers local, clean energy that can often offset a greater portion of a home, or communities', or business' electric bill with predictable rates and terms without having to install solar on their building. "These projects are part of the growing DG revolution in the United States, where solar projects interconnect into smaller voltage lines and feed directly into the local electrical system. Standard Solar is proud to be working with Freepoint Solar to build out this portfolio of DG solar projects resulting in local power for local use," said Harry Benson, Director of Business Development for Standard Solar. "Freepoint Solar and its development partner SunEast Development LLC have done an excellent job developing these sites, and now it's our job is to get these projects over the finish line constructing, owning and operating them." The five ground-mount projects will generate revenue through taxes and local economic development for the states and local governments, and produce nearly 115 gigawatt-hours of electricity. That's enough to power more than 3,600 homes and the equivalent of removing 26,694 metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually. About Standard Solar Standard Solar, Inc. is a leading solar energy company specializing in the development and financing of solar electric systems nationwide. Dedicated to making Distributed Generation (DG) solar more accessible to businesses, institutions, governments and utilities, the company is forging the path for clean, renewable energy development through turnkey solutions. With more than 100 megawatts installed, financed and maintained, Standard Solar is one of the most trusted and respected solar companies in the US. Owned by Energir, a leading energy provider with more than $5.8 billion US in assets, Standard Solar operates nationally and is headquartered in Rockville, Md. For more information, please visit www.standardsolar.com. About Freepoint Freepoint Solar LLC is one of the leading solar developers in the Eastern U.S., with over 550 MWs of projects in ISO-NE, NYISO, and PJM. Freepoint Solar is a wholly owned member of the Freepoint Commodities group of companies. Founded in 2011, Freepoint Commodities LLC is based in Stamford, CT with over 425 employees worldwide. Freepoint is a merchant of physical commodities and a financer of upper and mid-stream commodity-producing assets. Freepoint also provides physical supply services and related structured solutions for counterparties. About SunEast Development LLC Founded in 2012, SunEast Development LLC is a privately-held clean energy development and management services company with offices in West Chester, PA and Old Saybrook, CT. SunEast develops solar projects in partnerships with recognized leaders in the energy industry, and has managed the development of over 850 MWs of solar projects in ten states, including utility-scale projects currently in operation in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Please visit www.suneastdevelopment.com for more information. Customers of Arizona Public Service (APS) will soon power their homes and businesses with solar after sunset thanks to three major clean-energy initiatives. APS will add battery storage to its existing fleet of solar power plants, build new solar plants with storage, and use storage to deliver cleaner energy to customers at times of peak energy usage. As a result, APS customers will be able to use solar energy even after the sun goes down. Family dinners, prime-time television and bedtime reading lights will all be powered by a cleaner energy mix. "Arizona is already a national leader in solar energy. The challenge is, no one has figured out how to stop the sun from setting at night," said APS Chairman and CEO Don Brandt . "As storage technology improves and declines in cost, we will increasingly be able to store the power of the sun cost-effectively to deliver when our customers need it." "Large-scale battery storage is a critical step on the path to reliable and affordable clean-energy solutions," said Pat Graham, State Director, The Nature Conservancy in Arizona. "Clean energy and clean air are important to the health of our communities and the lands and water upon which all life depends." APS already provides customers with an energy mix that is 50 percent clean and getting cleaner. The initiatives announced today (2/21) will add 850 megawatts of battery storage and at least 100 megawatts of new solar generation by 2025, for a total of 950 megawatts of new clean-energy technology. This represents a major down payment on Arizona's continued progress toward an energy future that is clean, reliable and affordable. "The Energy Storage Association congratulates APS for cementing its leadership among utilities by integrating energy storage into its system operations and realizing savings for consumers," said Kelly Speakes-Backman, CEO of ESA . "We especially applaud APS for partnering with third parties in this effort, sending a strong signal for businesses to invest in energy storage in Arizona. We look forward to that day when energy storage is the central tool for maintaining a reliable and resilient, efficient, sustainable and affordable grid." Adding Storage to Existing Solar Plants. APS owns and operates large-scale solar plants throughout the state that will be upgraded with 200 megawatts of battery storage systems. A team led by APS owns and operates large-scale solar plants throughout the state that will be upgraded with 200 megawatts of battery storage systems. A team led by Invenergy will install six of the new battery systems at solar plants in Maricopa County and Yuma to be in place by 2020. The remaining two upgrades will be completed by 2021. Building New Solar Storage Plants. APS plans to build an additional 500 megawatts of solar storage and stand-alone battery storage by 2025. The first project will be a 100-megawatt solar-storage plant. APS expects to issue a request for proposals this summer. APS is already partnering with Tempe-based APS plans to build an additional 500 megawatts of solar storage and stand-alone battery storage by 2025. The first project will be a 100-megawatt solar-storage plant. APS expects to issue a request for proposals this summer. APS is already partnering with Tempe-based First Solar to build a first-of-its-kind solar-plus-storage project that will be one of the largest in the country when completed in 2021. Delivering More Clean Energy When Needed. When solar production declines late in the afternoon and energy usage is still high, electricity companies need a reliable, flexible source of power to serve their customers. Traditionally, that source has been exclusively natural gas. Today's announcement signals a new direction: APS will use 150 megawatts of solar-fueled battery storage to meet part of the demand when energy usage peaks. The battery storage will come from two projects: a 100-megawatt battery provided by AES , and a 50-megawatt battery by Invenergy. Additional natural gas will come from a contract with Calpine for 463 megawatts of energy; however, instead of a traditional 20-year contract, the purchase agreement with Calpine is seven years, allowing APS the flexibility to take advantage of cleaner technologies in the future as they mature. This is part of a long-term clean-energy transition in which renewable and storage technologies will play an increasingly important role. Today's announcement continues APS's record of leadership in solar storage technology. Solana Generating Station in Gila Bend was the largest thermal solar-storage plant in the world when it began operation in 2013 and has been providing 100 percent of its generation output to APS customers since. For more information on APS's solar storage and other clean-energy advances, visit For more information on APS's solar storage and other clean-energy advances, visit azenergyfuture.com Many companies are hesitant to embrace new business methods and technologies that could improve and expand their business. The new ISU Digital Manufacturing Lab powered by Alliant Energy will provide Iowa manufacturers a place to experiment with new approaches in a risk-free setting. A grant from Alliant Energy will fund the efforts conducted by Iowa State University's Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS). CIRAS will open the new lab this summer in the ISU Research Park. Alliant Energy will use the space to provide advice and counsel to businesses, while also collaborating with ISU faculty and students on research opportunities and internships. "Affordability and success go hand-in-hand," says Terry Kouba, president of Alliant Energy's Iowa energy company. "When our industrial and commercial customers are more successful, it gives us greater flexibility to control costs for all of our customers." "The next new idea or machine could hold the key to success that a growing company needs," says Joel Schmidt, vice president of business development for Alliant Energy. "This lab provides the perfect opportunity to refine a new approach before it is introduced into the workplace." "This is what CIRAS does," says Mike O'Donnell, director of the CIRAS Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program. "We are going to be an unbiased source to help manufacturers identify the right technology for them at the right time." Alliant Energy's grant is the largest private gift to CIRAS in the center's 55-year history. A sizeable contribution from the Iowa Economic Development Authority will help with purchasing equipment and covering remodeling expenses. Ukraine's PGO: Almost US$55.5 mln confiscated from Yanukovych's allies sent to Treasury The Prosecutor General said the money would be spent on Ukraine's army. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter The fight about the pipeline was supposed to give Germany cause to rethink its foreign policy. Instead, Berlin is supporting a project that will hurt its credibility, the publication says. Now that Germany has agreed with France and other member states on new EU regulations for the controversial Nord Stream 2 project, the German government is wrong if it believes that they have satisfied critics. Berlin has, from the beginning, underestimated the damage this project would do to its image. Its support for Nord Stream 2 demonstrates how the German government puts the national interest ahead of European and international strategic questions, thereby hurting its credibility in the long-term, according to Berlin Policy Journal. Amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and with the help of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the discussion about Germany and the EUs energy independence from Russia has continued to intensify since 2014. The German government claimed for years that this was a purely commercial endeavor. But then in April 2018, at a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Chancellor Angela Merkel recognized for the first time that the political factors surrounding Nord Stream 2 also had to be taken into account. The objectives and repercussions of Nord Stream 2 go beyond Germany and run counter to German and EU interests, the publication notes. Nord Stream 2, just as Turk Stream, is meant to make the Ukrainian transit-pipeline system superfluous, thereby punishing Kyiv for its pro-EU stance. At the same time, the pipeline allows Russia creating dependencies with EU businesses and politicians at the local and national levels. Read alsoPompeo: Nord Stream 2 Russia's "political weapon" Big infrastructure projects implemented jointly with European companies stabilize Putin's system, based on loyalty through corruption, because the Russian firms involved in construction are owned by people close to the Russian president. The economic cost, then, no longer matters. The consequences for Ukraine are the loss of transit fees worth EUR 3 billion a year and, even more importantly, the loss of a bargaining chip against possible Russian aggression. That can have an effect on the security-policy stability of the Sea of Asov and the Black Sea. If Nord Stream 2 is built by the end of the year, the Kremlin could take it as a signal to conquer the land bridge between Crimea and the Russian mainland and further expand its military activities at Ukraines southern ports. Read alsoEU amendments on Nord Stream 2 may lead to Russia's more aggressive behavior Ukraine's MFA While German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas seeks to be more considerate of central and eastern European neighbors in the framework of his new European Ostpolitik, the support for Nord Stream 2 is a glaring contradiction. If the German government wants to bring peace to the conflict in Donbas and stabilize and support reforms in Ukraine in the long-term, it is doing exactly the opposite with this policy. If the cohesion of the EU is a strategic goal of Berlin, then it shouldnt weaken the EUs Energy Union. Here is a shortage of foresight and strategic depth in a country that has been discussed as the leading power in Europe and promotes multilateralism as Angela Merkel did at the Munich Security Conference recently. There is no more comfort zone Europe. The longer German elites deny international realities and fail to seriously work towards a strategic realignment of their policies on Russia, China, and the U.S., the more irrelevant Germany and the EU will become in the strategic power competition of the multipolar world order. Russia is a strategic adversary that is trying to weaken the EU from within as well as in its neighborhood. The EU is no longer a development model for the Russian elite; from a Russian perspective it seems incapable of action. Why make concessions to a weak opponent if those concessions help secure the opponents financial survival? Now the task of the German foreign policy elite is to fill the strategic vacuum. The fight over Nord Stream 2 was supposed to be an opportunity to fundamentally rethink things and get out of this dead-end. Only a realigned European Union with a Germany that is capable of action will be able to meet todays global challenges, the publication says. Ukrzaliznytsia ex-official detained in Boryspil airport for embezzlement of over US$3.3 mln The detainee and seven other persons are defendants in criminal proceedings for the procurement of track switching equipment at hiked prices. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Western nations fear upcoming presidential elections could be influenced by disinformation. Ukraine and EU are set to conduct several joint exercises to develop an appropriate response to future Russian cyberattacks connected with upcoming elections in the country. According to a press statement released by the Ukrainian government, ensuring the cyber security of the upcoming presidential elections is a crucial issue for the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (NSDC). The NSDC is the organization responsible for national security and defence in the country and is directly controlled by the Ukrainian president, ITPRO reported. With the support of the EU, joint exercises will take place, during which different scenarios of cyber interference will be modelled and models of response to cyber threats will be developed. "The available information indicates that Russia intends to use the entire arsenal, including cybernetic means, to influence the democratic will of the Ukrainian people," said Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov. Read alsoKremlins plan to sow chaos in Ukraine The exercises are set to take place in the near future, but no set date was given. However, the Ukrainian presidential elections are set to take place at the end of March. The elections present Russian with an opportunity to establish a regime more favourable to Russian interests. Turchynov said that in a previous meeting of Ukraine's National Coordination Centre for Cybersecurity, the Central Election Commission (CEC) concluded a memorandum of cooperation with cybersecurity organizations, "within which election commissions will be provided with comprehensive technical and methodological assistance." Ukraine will also coordinate work between the NSDC, CEC, and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine (SSSCIP). Read alsoUkraine's Foreign Intel Service: Russia to spend US$350 mln for meddling in Ukraine elections "Twenty-four-hour alert of the SBU and the SSSCIP forces and facilities will be launched to identify, prevent and suppress any unauthorised actions with the CEC information resources," said Turchynov. As UNIAN reported earlier, Head of Ukraine's cyber-police Serhii Demediuk said Russian hackers were redoubling their efforts in the run-up to presidential elections in Ukraine. He said Russian-controlled digital saboteurs were stepping up attacks on the Central Elections Commission and its employees, trying to penetrate electronic systems in order to manipulate information about the March 31 election. The presidential election will be a test of Ukraine's capacity for order. Russia has consistently portrayed Ukraine under President Petro Poroshenko as corrupt and poorly run, and undermining the election's credibility could serve Russia's propaganda interests. Ukraine aspires to join the European Union and NATO, and an orderly and credible election could show that it is approaching the democratic standards that those organizations consider key. BENSALEM, Pa., Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Law Offices of Howard G. Smith reminds investors of the March 4, 2019 deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in the class action filed on behalf of investors that purchased Perrigo Company plc (Perrigo or the Company) (NYSE: PRGO ) securities between November 8, 2018 and December 21, 2018, inclusive (the Class Period). Perrigo investors have until March 4, 2019 to file a lead plaintiff motion. Investors suffering losses on their Perrigo investments are encouraged to contact the Law Offices of Howard G. Smith to discuss their legal rights in this class action at 888-638-4847 or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com . On December 21, 2018, Perrigo disclosed that it had received an audit finding letter from the Irish tax authorities stating that IP sales transactions including the sale of Tysabri, were not part of the trade of Elan Pharma and therefore should have been treated as chargeable gains subject to an effective 33% tax rate, rather than the 12.5% tax rate applicable to trading income. While the Company had disclosed on November 8, 2018 to investors that it had received the audit finding letter, it did not disclose further material details from the aforementioned letter. On this news, Perrigos share price fell $15.33 per share, or more than 29%, to close at $37.03 per share on December 21, 2018, thereby injuring investors. The complaint filed in this class action alleges that during the Class Period, the Company misled investors by failing to disclosed material information contained in the Irish tax authorities letter. If you purchased shares of Perrigo during the Class Period you may move the Court no later than March 4, 2019 to ask the Court to appoint you as lead plaintiff if you meet certain legal requirements. To be a member of the Class you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the Class. If you wish to learn more about this action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com , or visit our website at http://www.howardsmithlaw.com . This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. Ukraine, Israel diplomats meet to resolve airport row Ukrainian and Israeli diplomats agreed to deepen cooperation between competent authorities to ensure the interests of citizens during their visits. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Trump, Kim portraits portray aspiration for peace: Vietnamese artist In an exposed brick-wall cafe in Hanoi, Binh is busy with his brush and messy palette, adjusting details on around ten colorful paintings placed around him. Binh, 37, is a freelance painter. He has been working on a series of portraits of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a project he began as soon as it was announced that their second summit would be held in Hanoi. "I hope to invite the two leaders here and gift them my paintings," Binh said with a smile. Binh, who started working nearly two weeks ago, expects to complete around 60 paintings by the summit on February 27-28. He said he was excited when he heard about the summit. "I want to mark a historical moment, as I am here to witness this summit as it happens," Binh said. "For this, the paintings would have historical value." Binh has done nearly 50 paintings of U.S president Donald Trump, and later 45 others of other presidents. Photo by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc The paintings, which use striking colors in a pop art style, convey the signature look of the two political leaders. In most pictures, the leaders faces beam with happy smiles. "I decide to give the paintings a positive vibe to express hopes for the best outcomes from the summit," Binh said. The artist has added heart shapes, images of animals and natural scenery to the pictures. Influenced by influencers Binh has long nurtured an interest in portraying world influencers. Born in a rural village in the central province of Quang Binh, Binh used to sculpt statues of political leaders and folk heroes since childhood, using clay. To date, he has done nearly 50 paintings of U.S president Donald Trump, and later 45 others of other presidents. "I admire the influencers for their unique views ...," Binh said. Binh has been particularly interested in the latest U.S president. He painted 30 portraits of Donald Trump from 2015 to 2017, some of which were displayed on the pavements outside the White House. "I like Donald Trump for his humor and the reckless part inside him," Binh explained, proudly showing a photo of his 2-meter painting of Trump in his phone. Besides the intention of gifting the paintings to Trump and Kim, Binh plans to exhibit them during the summit days. "If they refuse my gift, I would just place them here in this cafe," said Binh, casting a quick glance at the long tubular house that hosts the cafe. On the walls and beams of the house, other large sized paints paintings are hung. A picture of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un. Photo by VnExpress/Bao Ngoc Two years ago, he finished 20 paintings of Trump as a freelance project he did with a friend named Hung. Since Binh did not get his visa on time, Hung took the frames along for displaying the paintings outside the White House. They went through a lot of hardship and spent a lot of money for it. They wanted to present the paintings to congratulate Trump on his birthday in June 2017. But they only managed to place the pictures there for a day, after Hung got permission from security staff. "It is definitely good if many people get to know my paintings, but I would work without any attention. An artist can only attract an audience with his paintings." Binh said he has no intention of selling the paintings, but was willing to auction them for charity. "I started out my project on my own and I will not sell them." Bao Ngoc Trump, Kim lookalikes turn heads on Hanoi streets The Trump-Kim impersonator duo, Howard X and Russel White, meet in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress Australian-Hongkongese Howard X and Canadian Russel White attracted the attention they expected as they took a walk in Hanoi Friday. They walked from the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel to the Hanoi Opera House for their summit and were mobbed by both passersby, local and international reporters. Vietnam is beautiful and safe, they remarked, adding they would stay in the capital city until February 28, when the summit ends. The duo announced plans to go to town on two of famed Vietnamese specialties, the pho rice noodle soup and nem cuon, Vietnamese spring rolls. Howard said these are his favorite dishes. They also plan to visit museums in the city to learn more about Vietnamese history, the said. As befits leaders of their stature, the duo were accompanied by four bodyguards, and a private car was on hand to take them around Hanoi. The Trump-Kim impersonator duo is accompanied by bodyguards. Photo by VnExpress "I have only seen [the duo] on photos before. I think the one impersonating the North Korean leader is taller and more handsome in real life though," said Heewon, a South Korean tourist who was walking near the Sword Lake. Howard X, 30, told VnExpress earlier he was staying in an unnamed hotel in the heart of the capital after flying in from Hong Kong. A music producer by trade, Howard X has also been making a living as an impersonator of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un since 2012, mostly invited to inaugurate supermarkets and malls, and to join birthday parties. Howard also went to Singapore ahead of the first summit last June, and his appearance was captured by international media outlets at the time. He and another Donald Trump impersonator, Chicago-based music teacher Dennis Alan, posed for selfies on the streets of Singapore. Whoever wanted a selfie with them had to pay $11 and download an app that they were advertising. Details of the app have not been reported. Russel White, the Donald Trump impersonator in Hanoi this time, has chosen not to reveal more details of his identity. Howard has also discovered lookalikes of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte. He said he was looking for impersonators of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro next. His excuse for being a professional impersonator is this: "I was born with this face, Ive got to live with it." Trump, Kim lookalikes turn heads on Hanoi streets Ban sao Trump - Kim o nha hat lon Anh Ngoc, Pham Huyen Trump and Kim to have one-on-one meeting at Vietnam summit North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump during their first meeting in Singapore in June 2018. Photo by AFP/Saul Loeb The two leaders, who met for the first time in Singapore last June, are due to hold talks in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi on February 27-28, a U.S. official said Thursday. Trump is seeking to persuade the North Korean leader to abandon his nuclear arsenal. A U.S. official said next week's meeting would be "similar in format to what we saw last June in Singapore... there will be an opportunity for the two leaders to see one another one-on-one" before holding meetings with their respective teams. Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special envoy to Pyongyang, is already in Hanoi holding talks with his North Korean counterpart Kim Hyok Chol. U.S. officials have declined to speculate on what elements might be included in a joint statement at the end of the meeting. On Wednesday, Trump again praised his relationship with the North Korean leader but said he would have to make a "meaningful" gesture on the nuclear front if he wants to see sanctions lifted. AFP Hanoi shop discovers Trump-Kim T-shirt is a bestseller For the last three days, since Truong Thanh Duc came up with the idea, his small shop on Hang Bong Street, Hoan Kiem District, has been operating at full capacity. He plans to make 500 shirts a day while the frenzy surrounding the second summit lasts. The handmade printed T-shirts, which have the leaders in silhouette, cost less than $5. He chose the best photographs of the two leaders, ones that clearly showed their characteristic features, printed them on nylon and proceeded to screen mesh them. Duc says: "I have had the idea of printing world leaders pictures on T-shirts for many years. A few years ago, I made a couple for trial. However, after knowing the Trump-Kim summit will be held in Hanoi, I made more T-shirts to sell to tourists and locals as a souvenir." The worker places a frame on the shirt. He uses two basic colors, black and red, and sweeps them across the frame to print. After printing, the shirts are dried in a cool room for around 12 hours. Due to high demand, they are being dried quickly using a hair drier. Under the portrait, the word "Peace" is written in English. In addition to the Trump-Kim T-shirts, Duc also makes others using images of Hanoi. Duc has sold around 200 shirts, earning VND20 million a day ($860) or three times his normal income. He uses part of the money to buy baguettes and clean water and place them outside his door for the poor and needy. He is thinking about providing 200 baguettes and 30 water bottles every day. Ngoc Thanh Foreign reporters flock to Hanoi ahead of Trump-Kim summit International reporters are stationed outside the National Government Guesthouse Residence in Hanoi February 21, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa Crews from top South Korean and Japanese media outlets like NHK, KBS, News1, and Yonhap have been thronging outside the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel and the National Government Guesthouse Residence in Hanoi since Monday morning. "We want to record all sideline events by the North Korean delegations for our readers," a South Korean reporter said. The correspondents made a big crowd as they saw the North Korean special envoy Kim Hyok-chol, who brought a delegation to Hanoi Wednesday, walking into the guesthouse at around 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Another high-ranking Hanoi official was seen entering the Metropole at around noon Thursday. Some 2,600 foreign reporters have registered to cover the summit, Vietnam's foreign ministry said. The greatest numbers of applications were from the U.S., South Korean and Japanese media outlets. The National Government Guesthouse Residence, also known as the Tonkin Palace, is at Ngo Quyen and Le Thach street corner in the downtown Hoan Kiem District. It is a historical venue and frequently hosts state events. The Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel, opposite the guesthouse, is one of the capitals oldest five-star hotels. It has got a facelift ahead of the summit, and more than 10 armed police officers were spotted Thursday patrolling the place. Hanoi has finalized security plans for 10 major hotels where the two delegations will stay. But they are yet to decide which ones they will use, a source told VnExpress. Nevertheless, all the hotels have done themselves up and city officials have got trees in surrounding roads trimmed, signs painted and cameras installed for beautification and security purposes. They will mobilize the entire police force to patrol key locations, including hotels, airports, roads, and train stations. The second Trump-Kim summit will be held in Hanoi on February 27 and 28. The first was held in Singapore last June, but negotiations failed to achieve much owing to disagreements over the concept of denuclearization. Both sides are hoping to make progress this time. Pham Du, Gia Chinh At the heart of Vietnams capital stands a structure that survived both the French colonial and American wars. The Hanoi Flag Tower (also known as the Ky Dai) relic is in the complex of the Vietnam Military History Museum on Dien Bien Phu Street, Ba Dinh District. Situated in the southern part of the Thang Long Citadel, it was built in 1805 and completed in 1812 during the reign of King Gia Long of the Nguyen Dynasty. At its foot is a line of cannons installed by the Nguyen Dynasty in the 19th century, which were discovered around Thang Long Citadel in 2003. The tower is over 33 meters tall and comprises a basement and a place for lookouts on top. Under the Nguyen Dynasty, during the Lunar New Year festival, the golden flag of the emperor would often fly at the top of the tower. It was also the place where the king examined and approved the recruitment of soldiers and their training. It has survived the French and American wars unscathed, and is the most spectacular site at the Thang Long Citadel. Stairs leading up from the first level of the Hanoi Flag Tower to the second. The structure is made of several types of bricks and stones from different eras. According to researchers, the first and second levels are built mainly with mallet bricks, which were typically used during the Le Dynasty (1428-1788). The third level is built of hard burnt bricks, while the body uses half-baked bricks. Doorways lead visitors around the second level of the tower. There are four doors in the cardinal directions. Each has a name except the northern one: the eastern door is Nghinh Huc (early morning sunshine), the western one is Hoi Quang (reflected sunlight) and the southern is Huong Minh (toward the light). The stairs from the third level lead to the body of the tower. They have iron handrails. Foreign visitors climb to the second level of the tower. Stephan Hauer, a German tourist, said: "I just arrived in Vietnam a day ago and the Flag Tower is the first site I am visiting. On the way from the airport to the hotel, I was impressed when I saw this old structure standing out on the skyline. I have not seen such works before. In Germany, they often fly flags on the roofs of buildings or watchtowers in castles." The Flag Tower seen from the third level. It is octagonal and soars 18 m into the air, gradually tapering to the top. Visitors enter the column through the north face where the Chinese letters "Ky Dai" are etched above. The tower has lights inside and 39 small flower-shaped windows and six fan-shaped windows. There are 54 spiral steps leading to the top but visitors are not allowed to go up. They can only climb as far as the third level. Like many other tourist destinations in Hanoi, the tower has been defaced by vandals with graffiti and carvings. Words can be seen in many languages including English and Korean, and the vandalism appears more and more as more visitors come to the site. A rosette carving on the side of the tower. On May 7, 1964, the 10th anniversary of the historic Dien Bien Phu victory over the French colonialists, Hanoi changed the name of the street where the tower stands from Cot Co (Flag Tower) to Dien Bien Phu. The Dien Bien Phu battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that influenced negotiations that were underway in Geneva among several nations over the future of Indochina. The historical structure attracts many tourists and photo buffs. The balcony area in particular is crowded during national holidays. At the foot of the Flag Tower is an outdoor display area of the Vietnam Military History Museum. A little further to the left is the Thang Long Citadel, a 13-century-old world cultural heritage. Admission to the Flag Tower is free. But visitors have to pay an entrance fee at the museum gate at 28A Dien Bien Phu. The museum is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 8 am - 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. Tickets cost VND20,000 ($0.86). Visitors have to buy an additional ticket for VND30,000 ($1.3) for taking pictures. Vietnamese veteran Duong Van Dau places flowers on the headstones of North Korean pilots at the memorial site for North Korean pilots who fought and died during Vietnam War, in Bac Giang Province. Photo by VnExpress/Vo Hai On a hill in northern Vietnam, 14 headstones mark a lifelong friendship between Vietnam and North Korea. One February morning, veteran Duong Van Dau walked to a memorial on a hill in a forest in Tan Dinh Commune, Lang Giang District of Bac Giang Province, 70 km (43 miles) northeast of Hanoi. Standing in front of a stele that reads "Where 14 North Korean soldiers were laid to rest," Dau offered incense, folded his hands and bowed his head in prayer. Behind the steel stands 14 headstones, each one carved with personal information including full name, year of birth and death. The tombs face northeast, towards their homeland. The headstones today commemorate the 12 North Korean soldiers and two officers who had come to support the North Vietnamese air force during the war against the U.S. more than 50 years ago. The oldest of them was nearly 40 and the youngest was just 19. In the early 1960s during the American War, the Soviet Union supported the North Vietnam air force with different types of advanced aircraft. This helped the resistance forces shoot down more than a few U.S. aircraft that rained bombs on the country. As South Korea deployed more than 300,000 troops to South Vietnam from 1964 to 1973, second only to the U.S. military force, North Vietnam was helped by North Korea. North Korea sent 100 pilots to Vietnam to learn about flying techniques and fighting, said major-general Phan Khac Hy, former political commissar of the North Vietnamese Air Force Command. "After the course, some suggested the Vietnam's air force let them fight alongside Vietnamese soldiers," and the visiting North Korea pilots mostly fought in the skies over provinces near Hanoi, Dau said. In September 1965, when fighting against the U.S. at the Kep Air Base, an airfield of the Vietnam People's Air Force near Kep Town in Bac Giang, a 19-year-old pilot was killed. In 1967, 12 more North Korean soldiers died. The 14th pilot was shot down early in 1968. Incomplete statistics show that between 1966 and1969, the North Vietnam air force shot down 222 American planes, 26 of them by North Korean pilots. Given the war situation then, the North Korean army decided to bury its fallen soldiers in Vietnam. It was the North Korean Embassy in Vietnam that chose the hill in Lang Giang District for the cemetery. Dau has volunteered to take care of the cemetery for almost two decades. In 2002, North Korea exhumed and took the mortal remains of their martyrs back home. Bac Giang Province then turned the cemetery into a memorial. Dau said that before the remains were exhumed, delegations from the North Korean Embassy would visit the cemetery and offer incense, but the frequency of such visits have dropped since. Dau, who lives just 300 meters away, walks from his home to the memorial several times each month. On days when his leg hurts too much because of a war injury, his wife would do the task instead. That February morning, at the foot of each headstone was a yellow daisy. Dau said he put the flowers there during Tet, the Lunar New Year holiday. Apart from Tet, he places flowers at the tombs on December 22, Vietnam People's Army Day, also known as National Defense Day, "because those soldiers fought and died for Vietnam." "I'm a soldier, I'm a war invalid, so I see them as my comrades." His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa will chair a three-day spring festival at the Great Stupa Mandala Tay Thien in Vinh Phuc Province. A large crowd of devout Buddhists including nuns and monks gathered at the Noi Bai International Airport Wednesday morning to welcome Gyalwang Drukpa (C), head of the Drukpa Lineage of Vajrayana Buddhism, and his entourage. They will lead prayers at the Great Stupa Mandala Tay Thien in the northern province of Vinh Phuc, northwest of Hanoi, from February 22-24. Buddhists nuns hold Khata, a traditional ceremonial scarf in Tibetan Buddhism symbolizing purity and compassion, while waiting for the arrival of Gyalwang Drupka at the airport. Vajrayana is one of the main Buddhist traditions that developed in India and spread to Tibet and East Asia. A devotee who stood for hours to greet his His Holiness. Gyalwang Drukpa steps out of the car that took him from the airport to a hotel. He will be in Vietnam until March 13, visiting many places in different regions, from north to south. Gyalwang Drukpa and his Sangha are welcomed at the hotel. The Gyalwang Drukpas first visit to Vietnam was in 2007. Since then, he has returned to Vietnam many times. Last year, he visited the Great Stupa Mandala Tay Thien to attend the unveiling of the mandala of Bodhisattva Guanyin. Hundreds of households live in dangerously dilapidated apartments on the verge of collapse in District 4. More than 300 families live in constant risk of injury and even death from cracked walls, falling lime and bricks, as well as other dangers. Of late, residents of the Vinh Hoi apartment building in District 4 have been very excited over an approval from the municipal administration for district authorities to relocate them to safer housing. This building has deteriorated so badly that some pillars have to be held together precariously by cable tied around them. The apartment block, which opened in 1968, is classified by the municipal Department of Construction as grade D, meaning it can collapse at any time and relocation needs to be done urgently. "The ceiling has been peeling off for about half a month. We are very lucky that the children in the building were in school (when chunks fell) and no one was hurt. You can just walk in this building and there is no saying when and where a piece of ceiling will fall on you," said Duong Duc An, 49, who lives on the second floor of Block A. In the buildings corridors, there are hundreds of cracks. Leaking ceilings and damp, open electrical boxes are another health risk. The corridor on the second floor that connects blocks B and C is fragile and has several gaps of 5-10 cm wide. Residents live in constant fear that these concrete slabs will collapse and hurt people living below. The cracked balcony wall. "Once my son went to the common corridor and sat on his chair for a smoke. Just as he came back to the house, a whole slab dropped from the ceiling on his chair, and our hearts stopped for a moment," said Qua, who has lived for more than 20 years in Block A. Rudimentary electricity and water connections hang haphazardly between buildings. About a kilometer away, the Truc Giang apartment building is in the same condition. This four-storey apartment has stood more than 50 years. Today, many of its features have failed, there is no security, and the sewage system is constantly clogged. "The iron staircase is an old emergency exit, here for a long time. People temporarily fortify them with wooden boards and plywood to catch the occasional afternoon breeze here," said Vuong Van Vang, a 30-year-resident, sitting on a plastic chair on the emergency staircase. The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has just approved a plan for District 4 authorities to use 367 apartments in Vinh Loc B apartment building in Binh Chanh District to temporarily house more than 600 households in the Truc Giang and Vinh Hoi apartment buildings. In case people do not agree with the plan, the district will pay the people to find temporary housing on their own. According to the municipal Department of Construction, there are 474 old condominiums built before 1975, of which 15 are grade-D apartments. While residents of all these apartment complexes have to be relocated urgently, the evacuation process is happening with the two complexes mentioned above. LONDON, Ontario, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- "Since taking office the Doug Ford government has blazed a path of destruction. There is far too much at stake for communities right across Ontario to let Doug Ford damage and dismantle the best of what Ontario represents," says the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL). Labour and community allies are at the forefront of the growing resistance and fightback against this government. On Tuesday, February 26, the Ontario Federation of Labour and the London and District Labour Council are hosting a Regional Activation Meeting in London for all labour and community activists and leaders across the area, including St. Thomas, and Oxford County. We know that this government is no friend to workers, and Ontarians are already feeling the pinch of government cuts that hurt the provinces most vulnerable, said OFL President Chris Buckley. I encourage every Ontarian to join with us and mobilize to stop this governments reckless agenda, an agenda that only benefits friends of the government. The people of Ontario are the majority, and will mobilize to stop cuts, privatization, and the mistreatment of workers. We have fought and won before, said OFL Secretary-Treasurer Patty Coates. We are organizing to stop Fords irresponsible actions, and to take back Ontario. When: Tuesday, February 26, 2019 at 5:30pm - 8:30pm Where: OPSEU Regional Offices,1092 Dearness Drive, London, ON N6E 1N9 Speakers include: Patty Coates, Secretary-Treasurer, Ontario Federation of Labour Patti Dalton, President, London and District Labour Council The London regional activation meeting will: Lay out what is at stake for Ontario in the coming months and years. Introduce the Power of Many campaign plan, designed to mobilize and activate union members and community allies. Launch province-wide rapid response networks to coordinate local fightback efforts. Build and set plans of resistance, including escalating actions with the support of concerned citizens and community allies. The OFL represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. For information, visit www.OFL.ca and follow @OFLabour on Facebook and Twitter . For further information contact: Rob Halpin Executive Director, Ontario Federation of Labour rhalpin@ofl.ca l 416-707-9014 Some of Vietnams most beloved post-war poets are reading their poems in Vietnamese on American radio along with English translations. "Lanterns Hanging on the Wind" has been broadcast since February 11 on several stations, including Radio Free Charlotte and SUNY Potsdam radio (New York). The 18 poems are mostly about an individuals love for their homeland, loved ones and the Vietnamese language. There are also poems about the pain of loss due to war and agony about human conditions and social maladies. The show is co-produced by Melodically Challenged, a weekly radio show by Georgia State University, and Vietnamese poet and novelist Nguyen Phan Que Mai. The series is also available on the website Public Radio Exchange. The English translation of the works are read by poet Jennifer Fossenbell, a prolific writer about Vietnam, with works like In Hanoi, Again. Mai talks to VnExpress from Indonesia about the challenges involved in translating poems. She and Jennifer Fossenbell translated 10 of the 18 poems in the show and said the most difficult was probably Luu Quang Vu's "Vietnamese" because it has many semantic layers, a complex sentence structure, unique poetic ideas, and eccentric word use. The remaining translations were done by other professionals. Melodically Challenged director Katherine Kincer said: "I believe American and international listeners who listen to the program will be surprised by the beauty of Vietnamese poetry and music." Poet Paul Christiansen, one of the first listeners of the program commented: "Enjoying poems read in Vietnamese before listening to the translation is essential to understand the rhythm and the rich structure of the language. The translation through Jennifer Fossenbell's inspiring voice helps me to connect deeply with poets and Vietnamese." The North-South Expressway is scheduled to be finished in 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Vo Thanh Almost 4,000 households will be relocated to make way for the North-South Expressway and funds will be allocated before the second quarter. Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said at a meeting Thursday that over 4,800 hectares (18.53 square miles) of land in 13 provinces would be acquired for the road. The cost is estimated at VND12.4 trillion ($533.8 million). Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said since the expressway is an important socio-economic project it needs to be completed early and should be of outstanding quality. "The Ministry of Transport must make public the project progress and hand over funds to the provinces before the second quarter so that the land acquisition could be completed soon." Minister The has said 11 components of the expressway will get top priority this year, and his ministry aims to complete acquisition of lands next year. Three of the components will be publicly funded and the rest under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. Work on two of the three public-funded sections is likely to begin in the second quarter of this year. Bidding for the private-funded works would begin next October, he said. The 11 sections are expected to cost VND118 trillion ($5.06 billion), with VND55 trillion ($2.36 billion) to be provided by the government. Together, they will comprise 654 kilometers out of the 2,000-kilometer expressway from Nam Dinh near Hanoi to Vinh Long Province to the southwest of Ho Chi Minh City. The expressway is scheduled to be finished in 2025. Going into 2018, there were 14 Republicans in California's delegation to Congress, including 4 in Orange County alone. When the new Congress was sworn in, there were no longer any Republicans representing Orange County and the Republicans in the statewide delegation had been halved. Gone were Jeff Denham, David Valadao, Steve Knight, Ed Royce, Mimi Walters, Dana Rohrabacher and Darrell Issa, all of whom had been targeted by Ted Lieu, then DCCC vice chair for the West Coast. Worse yet, the small margins by which many of the others had managed to hold on, indicate that California will very likely lose more Republican congressmen next year. Duncan Hunter, Devin Nunes, Tom McClintock and Doug LaMalfa are all dangerously vulnerable. Is it fair to blame these losses on Trump, which is exactly what most congressional Republicans and their allies do-- at least in public? "He's like an anchor around our necks," one GOP campaign staffer told me in confidence this morning. "If we stand up to him, we're in danger of losing the base. If we go along with some of his preposterous bullshit, independent voters associate us with him-- and they really hate him... Here in California, there's a growing perception that he is targeting the state for retribution and that's going very badly for us." On Thursday,published an essay by Michael Grunwald, Trump's War On California . This is what the state's shrinking pool of Republican elected officials have to live with-- starting with his constant bashing of the state. That he targets Democrats like Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Maxine Waters, the governor etc. with immature nicknames, hurts the party brand among independent voters-- and remember, in California, the GOP has fewer registered voters than people who have registered as independents. Trump and his cronies, points out Grunwald, "have begun framing 2020 as a last stand against the hippie-lefty Californication of America. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk has warned that 'Democrats want California to be the blueprint for America,' while Dan Patrick, the Republican lieutenant governor of Texas, has suggested that Trumps reelection slogan should be: 'Im not going to let the Democrats turn America into California.'" California has earned its reputation as the politically correct capital of Blue America, a heavily urban majority-minority coastal state where its legal to smoke pot but illegal for retailers to provide plastic bags or cops to ask suspects their immigration status. Taxes are high, the first year of community college is free and drivers licenses have a third option for residents who dont identify as male or female. But while California has plenty of problems, from worsening wildfires to overpriced housing to that troubled bullet-train project that became the latest target of presidential mockery, theres one serious hitch in the GOP plan to make California a symbol of Democratic dysfunction and socialistic stagnation: Its basically thriving. California is doing awesome, says Congressman Ted Lieu, an immigrant from Taiwan who co-chairs the policy and communications committee for the House Democratic Caucus. Its a beautiful, welcoming, environmentally friendly place that proves government can work. Who wants to run against that? California is now the worlds fifth-largest economy, up from eighth a decade ago. If its a socialist hellhole, its a socialist hellhole that somehow nurtured Apple, Google, Facebook, Tesla, Uber, Netflix, Oracle and Intel, not to mention old-economy stalwarts like Chevron, Disney, Wells Fargo and the Hollywood film industry. California firms still attract more venture capital than the rest of the country combined, while its farms produce more fruits, nuts and wine than the rest of the country combined. During the Great Recession, when the state was mired in a budget crisis so brutal its bond rating approached junk and it gave IOUs to government workers, mainstream media outlets were proclaiming the death of the California dream. But after a decade of steady growth that has consistently outpaced the nations, plus a significant tax hike on the wealthy, California is in much sounder fiscal shape; while federal deficits are soaring again, the state has erased its red ink and even stashed $13 billion in a rainy day fund. Of course, every state is in better economic shape than it was during the Great Recession, but California has enjoyed its renaissance while pursuing policies Republicans associate with economic ruin. It has an $11-an-hour minimum wage, scheduled to rise to $15 by 2023. Its unusually aggressive implementation of Obamacare since 2013 has reduced its uninsured rate from 17 percent to just 7 percent. Its ambitious clean energy and climate policies in many ways inspired the Green New Deal; the state is committed to generating 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and 100 percent by 2045, and its stringent fuel-efficiency standards help explain why its home to half the nations electric vehicles. In general, California is flourishing while pursuing the exact opposite of the policies Trump is pursuing in Washington. And it has sued the Trump administration dozens of times, not only taking the lead on the new 16-state lawsuit against the presidents emergency wall declaration, but fighting for loan forgiveness for students defrauded by for-profit schools, net neutrality and Obamacares guarantees of free birth control, while fighting to stop the ban on travel from several Muslim countries, the ban on transgender service members, and a slew of environmental rollbacks. For example, Trump is trying to dismantle Californias strict fuel-efficiency rules, which have become de facto national rules since other blue states have adopted them and every automaker has complied with them, and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is now battling the administration in court to protect them. If people want to call what California is doing socialism, fine, but it isnt having a negative impact on the economy, says political scientist Chris Hoene, executive director of the California Center for Budget and Policy. By just about every measure of productivity, were at the upper end of the spectrum. That hasnt stopped Republicans from making California their go-to nightmare scenario. In 2018, Senator Ted Cruz warned that liberals wanted Texas to be just like California, right down to the tofu and silicone and dyed hair. Democratic candidates for governor were accused of trying to turn Nevada and Florida into California, and Colorado into RadiCalifornia. In the Georgia governors race, Republican Brian Kemps stump-speech mantra about Democrat Stacey Abrams was that she was trying to import radical California values. The Republican National Committees nickname for Harris in its news releases is California Kamala, and it rarely mentions her without mentioning her San Francisco values. California is so gigantic that its hard to pinpoint what its values really are. There are huge differences between its cities, exurbs, and rural areas, between crunchy Northern California and glam Southern California, between upscale coastal California and downscale inland California. But its undeniably a socially and politically progressive state, with laws banning pet stores from selling dogs that werent rescued, restaurants from giving their customers plastic straws unless asked, and employers from asking job applicants about their current salaries. Even the traditionally Republican suburbs of Orange County voted Democratic in 2018. And while economic conservatives consider its high-tax, pro-regulation policies anti-business, researchers have not found evidence that those policies drive businesses to other states or squelch innovation in California, although they do seem to encourage some retirees to move elsewhere. The president tweets on a platform created in California. Its somewhat odd to portray the state that created health clubs, blue jeans, Pandora and Hulu as Venezuela in the making. In fact, the secret sauce of the California dream seems to have something to do with attracting entrepreneurs who want to change the world as well as their bank accounts. Christine Moseley, the CEO of a San Francisco business-to-business startup called Full Harvest, was an executive for a global logistics conglomerate and then an organic juice chain before moving to the Bay Area to start an eco-friendly company of her own. She ended up developing a kind of Airbnb for ugly produce, a platform that connects farmers who have fruits and vegetables they cant sell to grocery stores with juice companies and other buyers who dont care what the food looks like as long as its fresh. America wastes about 40 percent of its food, contributing to global hunger as well as global warming; in three years, Full Harvest has sold 10 million pounds of produce that would have gone to waste. California was the perfect place to do this, Moseley says. Its the tech and innovation capital of the world, but its also the place for people who care about food and the environment, and the place for people who want to solve big problems. A lot of those dreamers come to California from abroad; more than 10 million of the states 40 million residents are immigrants, and a quarter of those immigrants are undocumented. There is a Revolution going on in California, Trump tweeted during the legal battle over sanctuary cities last April, and he didnt mean it as a compliment. In his Oval Office address about his border wall last month, the president pointedly cited two murders committed by undocumented immigrants in California, and earlier this week he complained on Twitter this week that California is leading the fight against his declaration of a national emergency. But illegal border crossings into California are at their lowest level since 1971, and the state government doesnt view its undocumented residents as a threat. Theyre eligible for drivers licenses, subsidized health care for their kids, and in-state tuition rates, while police officers are prohibited from working with ICE to try to deport them. University of California Chancellor Janet Napolitano, who ran the Department of Homeland Security under President Barack Obama, created legal services centers throughout the system to help undocumented students. California recognizes their basic humanity, says Kevin Johnson, dean of the University of California-Davis law school. And if you look at the labor market, immigrants are a big reason why California has such a dynamic economy. Traditionally, another reason has been government investment; for example, the strength of its public universities helped attract the aerospace industry, build the technology mecca of Silicon Valley, and turn the San Diego area into the national capital of precision medicine. But government also helped finance the ill-fated solar manufacturer Solyndra, as well as the beleaguered San Francisco-to-Los Angeles bullet train that Governor Newsom tapped the brakes on last week. Newsom is also scaling back a similarly massive water project designed to alleviate droughts and protect the Sacramento River delta. Sometimes Republicans cite misleading statistics to make California look bad-- yes, it has the most debt and the most families on welfare, because it has the most people-- but sometimes, Californias dreams have exceeded its governments ability to execute them. ...[T]he idea of California as a leftist hellhole is likely to persist. California is going to hell in a handbasket, Fox News personality Tomi Lahren declared during a recent segment on the border. A conservative Town Hall columnist, in a 2018 essay titled To Hell With California, urged the state to secede from the U.S., although he said he didnt want to nuke it. (Well OK, I dont.) Theres already a Twitter meme proposing a new Harris campaign slogan: Make America California. California does feel like a potential harbinger of a more multicultural, more progressive American future, which may be one reason Trump is so openly hostile to it, even threatening to withhold aid from its wildfire victims. A lot of Newsoms plans for California are to counter whats happening in Washington; he wants to reinstate Obamacares individual health insurance mandate in California, extend health subsidies to undocumented adults in California, and pursue even more ambitious climate goals. Meanwhile, the Democratic candidates to take on Trump are pushing platforms that would take a lot of California policy to the national stage. The story of California is the story of America-- immigration, innovation, investing in what works, Lieu said. Plus weve got amazing beaches, and Disneyland! How cool is that? Yesterday, Ron Brownstein, writing for, had his corporate, anti-Bernie slant on full display. He wrote that Bernie's "entry into the 2020 race amounts to a big stone in a lake: It will generate ripples that touch every other candidate. But his own path to the nomination remains rocky unless he can attract a broader coalition than he did in 2016. Whether or not Sanders claims the nomination himself, his bid could have a big impact on which candidate eventually does. Sanders will hurt contenders whose support overlaps with his, reducing the pool of voters available for those who are targeting the same groups most drawn to him, particularly young people, the most liberal activists, and independents who participate in Democratic primaries. That dynamic would most obviously affect Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, but could also potentially weaken former Texas Representative Beto ORourke, whos mulling a bid. Yet it could simultaneously benefit the candidates with the least demographic and ideological convergence, a list that ranges from African American Senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker to such relative centrists as Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and former Vice President Joe Biden, if he joins the field." In other words, Sanders hasnt won the war of ideas in the party nearly as much as hes suggested. In fact, hes virtually certain to face tougher scrutiny over his agenda than he did in 2016, when Clinton made the misguided strategic choice not to criticize his proposals as undesirable or unaffordable, but only as unlikely to pass Congress. Sanders probably wont receive such deference again. Its unquestionable that more Democrats are supporting those ideas than when Sanders aired them in 2016. But all of the policies remain contested: Klobuchar, for one, has already rejected both single-payer and free tuition. Other potential candidates targeting more moderate voters, such as Biden and several former governors eyeing the race, would be virtually certain to follow. (Its also worth noting that the Democratic-controlled House is unlikely to pass legislation on either matter.) Even some of the candidates who have echoed Sanderss overall goals are likely to challenge some of his specific proposals as unaffordable or excessive, as Booker has done by rejecting Sanderss call to virtually eliminate private health insurance. Sanders this week quickly demonstrated his greatest asset as a candidate: a passionate grassroots following that includes a massive base of small-dollar online donors. On Wednesday, he reported that, in the first 24 hours after his announcement, he raised nearly $6 million online, far more than any of his rivals did after entering the race. Hes in a stronger position than in 2016, too, in the internal party debate: As Sanders noted in his announcement-day interview with CBS, more of the Democratic Partys leaders, including several of his 2020 competitors, have moved toward positions he took in the last presidential campaign, supporting a single-payer health-care system and free four-year public college. All of those ideas and many more are now part of the political mainstream, Sanders crowed during the interview. But for all of his influence, Sanders still faces huge obstacles in his second bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Key among them is a history of resistance in 2016 from core groups in the party, including African Americans and voters who identify as partisan Democrats. That's right, the corporate whores and careerists don't support Sanders. People do-- lots of them. The idea of someone like Amy Klobuchar or Status Quo Joe supporting Bernie's progressive positions is absurd. Browmnstein's whole perspective in his piece is absurd and can be summed up in one sentence: people who represent the status quo don't back revolutionaries. As I've said, people like Klobuchar and Biden wouldn't have supported the American War For Independence, free public education, the emancipation of the slaves, the minimum wage, Social Security... or anything else that was hard to pass and that upset the establishment. John Nichols, inmakes a far more salient point than Brownstein's corporatist carping: Two years into the presidency of Donald Trump, the nation is ready for radical change . Nichols begins by addressing people like Brownstein: "When Bernie Sanders launched his bid for the presidency in 2015, he was dismissed by political and media elites as an outsider with radical ideas that would prevent him from being taken seriously by Democratic primary and caucus voters. Now, as Sanders mounts his second bid for the presidency, the same political and media aristocrats speculate about whether Sanders will have a hard time distinguishing himself in a field of candidates who echo his stances on issues ranging from Medicare for All to wage hikes to tuition-free college and implementing a Green New Deal." Brownstein's biggest distortion is exactly what Nichols corrects: "Sanders won the ideas primary four years ago... As media and political elites misunderstood what made Sanders stand out in 2016, they are now misunderstanding what will make him stand out in 2020." Sanderss identification as a democratic socialist was not a liability in 2016. It was a strength. It made him an intellectually dynamic and exciting contender who addressed Americas anxieties and its hopesnot merely because with the solutions he proposed but in the way he put the pieces together by comfortably talking about doing battle with oligarchy and plutocracy and the billionaire class. At a time when Americans were sick and tired of the political competition between right-wing dogma and centrist double talk, Sanders spoke a language that made sense. He focused on fundamental questions and provided fundamental answers: People who are ailing need affordable health care, and a single-payer national health-care program will get the care they need; people working 40 hours a week shouldnt be living in poverty, and a $15-an-hour minimum wage will make ends meet; young people shouldnt have to take on overwhelming debt in order to get an education, and free tuition will change the calculus. Ending austerity and addressing inequality costs money, and taxing the rich will help to balance the books. ...The moment will be just as ripe in 2020. The challenges that needed to be addressed four years ago remain unaddressed today, and in many cases have been made more daunting by the Robin-Hood-in-reverse approach of Trump and his billionaire-aligned Republican allies in Congress. Because of Trumps racism and crude attacks on immigrants and refugees and womens rights, there will be an even greater need to focus on an equity agenda that Sanders was sometimes criticized in 2016 for not emphasizing enough. In 2020, that agenda was central to an announcement of candidacy that declared: Im running for president because, now more than ever, we need leadership that brings us together-- not divides us up. Women and men, black, white, Latino, Native American, Asian American, gay and straight, young and old, native born and immigrant. Now is the time for us to stand together. In that same complete the revolution announcement on Tuesday, Sanders promised that Together we can create a nation that leads the world in the struggle for peace and for economic, racial, social and environmental justice. And together we can defeat Donald Trump and repair the damage he has done to our country. Unlike most of the other candidates, who are evolving toward where Sanders is already at, the independent senator from Vermont simply has to be his own authentic self-- the guy who started working with the Young Peoples Socialist League and civil-rights groups as a student at the University of Chicago and who joined the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom that Randolph and another democratic socialist, Bayard Rustin, organized in 1963. The point here is not to suggest that the Democratic Party is about to go socialist, or that if Sanders is nominated and elected that America will suddenly be a socialist country. The point is that, after 30 years of globalization, 20 years of digital revolution, and 10 years of automation, with climate change posing an existential threat and with inequality surging in a new age of monopoly, the United States is at a critical juncture. The reactionary policies of the Trump administration will not meet the demands of this moment, but neither will the centrist New Democrat or Third Way approaches that have too frequently constrained Democratic administrations in the past four decades. This is a potential New Deal moment, a potential Great Society moment. Bigger ideas, bolder approaches, better answers are needed if this country is going to respond in a meaningful way to climate change, to economic and racial injustice, to the dislocation caused by the collapse of the old economy, and to the monopolization of the new economy by a handful of tech giants. Just as there was in the 1930s, and in the 1960s, there is now an opening for the Democratic Party to fill a void in our politics and policy-making. But to fill that void, the party must be willing to embrace at least some ideas that have been labeled as socialist-- and to maintain the embrace even when a Herbert Hoover or a Barry Goldwater or a Donald Trump attacks. Social Security was described as a socialist program, but FDR fought for and implemented it. Medicare was attacked as a socialist program, but LBJ fought for and implemented it. Major strides on behalf of racial justice, gender equity, disability rights, and environmental protection, to implement fair taxation and to provide a safety net, were often decried by the right as socialist initiatives-- as backers of a Green New Deal are now learning-- but, as these policies have been advanced, society has come to the point even centrists and some conservatives recognize their value. It is not necessary to claim that democratic socialism has all the answers-- certainly Sanders does not do so-- but it is necessary to recognize that there are old socialist proposals that have always made sense and new socialist proposals that make sense in a moment of economic, environmental, and social disruption. Sanders, to a far greater extent than the other 2020 contenders, is prepared to do this. Hes not doctrinaire or romantically idealistic. Hes practical and serious-minded. Hes a former mayor, who ran his states largest city ably. Hes been in the US House and the US Senate for almost three decades, compiling a record of getting things right when most Republicans and many Democrats got them wrong. He is a serious thinker and analyst of ideas, who is familiar with social democracy, as it has been practiced and as it now is being practiced in Scandinavian countries-- to such an extent that he once organized town meetings in Vermont with Denmarks ambassador to the United States. And he is prepared to talk about how social-democratic programs have worked well for countries such as Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Canada. Its not a hard sell. Polling suggests the people are ready. Social-democratic responses to contemporary challenges-- like providing health care as a right, not a privilege; like taxing the rich to fund job creation and green infrastructure-- are popular, especially with young voters and with the historically dispossessed voters who must be mobilized to win in 2020. If Sanders runs as a more-ambitious version of who he was in 2016-- with comprehensive proposals for meeting the ancient need of equity in a new machine age of globalization, digital revolution, automation-- he will stand out from the field of Democratic contenders. ...What makes Bernie Sanders stand out is an ability to move the discussion forward by educating voters rather than trying to frighten or divide them. At the heart of that education is an understanding that is hardwired into the American experience. Let me define for you, simply and straightforwardly, what democratic socialism means to me. It builds on what Franklin Delano Roosevelt said when he fought for guaranteed economic rights for all Americans. And it builds on what Martin Luther King, Jr. said in 1968, when he stated that, this country has socialism for the rich and rugged individualism for the poor, says Sanders. He went on: Report all errors to DonSurber@GMail.com Oh, and if you see me driving my red 2010 Mustang GT convertible, please wave. Hi, I am a retired newspaperman. I wrote 3 books on Trump and the media . I live in Poca, WV, with my wife of 43 years, Lou Ann. I grew up in Cleveland. Three kids. Grandfather. Recently a friend and fellow philosopher made a comment that all Republicans are very bad because of the Republicans who had voted to stop the Jan. 6 Commission. NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. (WuXi or the Company) (NYSE: WX) and certain of its officers and directors. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Southern District of New York, and indexed under 19-cv-01654, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities, other than Defendants and their affiliates, who sold WuXi securities between September 1, 2015 and December 10, 2015, both dates inclusive (the Class Period), or purchased securities during the Class Period and held such shares through December 10, 2015, seeking to recover 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, against the Company and certain of its top officials. If you are a shareholder who sold WuXi securities during the Class Period or purchased WuXi securities during the Class Period and held such shares through December 10, 2015, you have until April 23, 2019, 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] WuXi purports to be an integrated R&D services platform along the entire value chain of drug discovery and development, with one of the broadest integrated service and technology platforms in the life-science industry, from discovery to preclinical development to clinical development. Originally incorporated in China, on March 16, 2007, the Company reincorporated in the Cayman Islands in advance of its initial public offering (IPO) of its American Depositary Shares (ADS), each representing eight ordinary shares, on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), in August 2007. Upon its reincorporation in the Cayman Islands, the Company became a holding company for its numerous pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device research and development services companies operating in the United States and China. Among the Companys subsidiaries were WuXi AppTec, WuXi Biologics, and WuXi NextCODE. Through WuXi AppTec, the Company provided comprehensive and FDA, OECD, CFDA, and GLP-compliant bioanalysis services to support preclinical and clinical development for small molecule drugs, biologics, vaccines and pharmacodynamic biomarkers. WuXi Biologics was the Companys biologics services provider that offered comprehensive, integrated and highly customizable services through our teams of scientists, proprietary technology platform and know-how, state-of-the-art laboratories, and cGMP-compliant manufacturing facilities to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. WuXi NextCODE is a leading genomic analysis and bioinformatics company with operations in the United States and Iceland, which the Company acquired on January 9, 2015, $65 million. On April 30, 2015, the Company announced that the day prior it had received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter to acquire all outstanding shares of the Company for $46.00 in cash per ADS. The take-private offer was made by a group of investors led by Wuxis founder, chairman, and chief executive officer (CEO), Li and Ally Bridge Group Capital Partners (Ally), a global healthcare-focused investment group, founded and led by Mr. Frank Yu. On August 14, 2015, the Company announced that it had entered into a definitive Agreement and Plan of Merger (the Merger Agreement) with New WuXi Life Science Limited (Parent) and WuXi Merger Limited (Merger Sub), a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent, for approximately $3.62 billion, equal to $46 per ADS (the Merger). The Companys extraordinary general meeting of shareholders where WuXi shareholders were asked to approve the acquisition was scheduled for November 25, 2015. In support of the forthcoming shareholder vote, the Defendants issued numerous false and misleading statements, designed to undervalue the Company by omitting Defendants intentions to spin-off and publicly list shares of its various subsidiaries in the Peoples Republic of China. Not long after WuXi was delisted from the NYSE on December 10, 2015, Defendants put their plan into action and started to spin-off off and/or publicly listed the securities of its subsidiaries, including WuXi Biologics, WuXi NextCODE, and WuXi AppTec, resulting in astronomical gains for Defendants within the short period since consummation of the Merger. On June 6, 2017, it was announced that Defendants had completed an IPO of its former subsidiary, WuXi Biologics, raising over $510 million, at a valuation of over $3 billion. In June 2018 it was reported in Asian financial media that Defendants (defined below) sold a 4.08% equity stake in WuXi Biologics for $505 million, equating to a total equity value of over $12.3 billion for the company. In September 2017, WuXi NextCODE raised $240 million in its series B financing round, valuing the company at $1.2 billion. One year later, on November 27, 2018 WuXi NextCODE announced that it closed its series C financing round, raising an additional $200 million. Lastly, On May 8, 2018, WuXi AppTec completed its A-share initial public offering and listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, after receiving fast-track approval by Chinas securities regulator. The offering raised $354 million, at a $3.5 billion valuation. After seeing its stock price on the Shanghai Stock Exchange more than triple since its IPO, in July 2018, WuXi AppTec filed a prospectus in Hong Kong to become dual listed. On December 12, 2018, WuXi AppTec announced that it had raised $1.01 billion in its Hong Kong debut listing. WuXi AppTecs Honk Kong IPO valued WuXis former subsidiary at $10.2 billion, approximately three times the value Defendants paid for the entire Company barely two years prior. 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 CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP rswilloughby@pomlaw.com 888-476-6529 ext. 9980 French jihadist Fabien Clain, who voiced a recording that claimed the 2015 Paris attacks for the Islamic State group, has been reported killed in Syria. Security sources told French media an air strike on Wednesday killed Clain in Baghuz, the last pocket held by IS. The US-led coalition fighting IS said it was trying to verify the reports. Clain became known as the French voice of IS after the 2015 attacks that left 130 people dead. What is known about Wednesday's air strike? It was carried out overnight by the US-led coalition, security sources told French media. They said that Clain's brother and fellow jihadist, Jean-Michel, were seriously wounded in the strike. French Defence Minister Florence Parly later tweeted (in French), that it was "possible" that Fabien Clain was killed. Fabien Clain is believed to have gone to Syria in 2015. Nearly 2,000 French citizens have fought for IS in Syria and Iraq since 2014, the French government believes. How close is the capture of Baghuz? About 300 IS fighters are thought to be holed up in and around the village on the border with Iraq. In recent days, civilians have been evacuated from the village. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance has said it is waiting for their removal before launching an offensive against militants "entrenched inside". Those removed are being screened then taken to camps, the SDF say. The fall of Baghuz is significant - but experts have warned the group's ideological pull endures. At its height, five years ago, IS controlled 88,000 sq km (34,000 sq miles) of territory stretching from western Syria to eastern Iraq. Top French jihadist believed killed in Syria Fabien Clain spoke in IS recording claiming responsibility for 2015 Paris attacks; sources say he was killed in terror groups last stronghold PARIS, France A top French Islamic State jihadist who became notorious after voicing an audio recording claiming responsibility for the November 2015 attacks in Paris has been killed in an overnight airstrike, security sources told AFP. Fabien Clain, who is believed to have gone to Syria in March 2015, was killed in the terror groups last Syrian redoubt of Baghouz, the sources said on condition of anonymity. Clain is a seasoned jihadist, who was found guilty of helping send extremists to fight US forces in Iraq in 2009 before leaving himself to live in Islamic States self-proclaimed caliphate six years later. In his video after the Paris attacks, Clain can be heard announcing that eight brothers wearing explosive belts and carrying assault rifles had conducted a blessed attack on Crusader France. The chilling propaganda recording warned that the Paris 2015 jihadist rampage was just the beginning of the storm. The IS gunmen slaughtered 129 people in coordinated attacks at restaurants and bars around Paris, the Bataclan concert hall and the national stadium in an atrocity that stunned the world. His brother Jean-Michel, also a jihadist, was wounded in the same raid that killed Fabien in Baghouz, where the last IS fighters are holding out against US-backed Syrian forces, the sources said. There was no immediate confirmation of the report from the French defense or foreign ministries. Fabien, also known as Brother Omar, or Abu Adam Al-Faransi, converted to Islam in the 1990s and is thought to be in his early 40s. He was originally from the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, but later moved to mainland France. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2009 for organizing a network responsible for sending recruits to fight US soldiers in Iraq. At the time, he and brother Jean-Michel were active in a radical Islamist network, known as the Artigat cell, in the Toulouse area of southwest France. Photo: Baghdad (AsiaNews/Agencies) Mosul, Iraq, February 2016. The Islamic State (IS) group has reportedly beheaded a 15-year-old boy for listening to Western pop music and shot dead two others for missing Friday prayers, as part of a wider crackdown in the group's stronghold of Mosul in northern Iraq. According to local sources, reported by Kurdish media, the teenager named Ayham Hussein was caught during a patrol by Isis fighters, listening to Western music from his CD player in his father's grocery store, in the west of the city. Brought before a Sharia court, the boy was sentenced to death by beheading, which took place in a public square. His body was handed to his parents last Tuesday for burial. Separately, two young men were arrested last week for failing to attend Friday prayers at the main mosque in Mosul. Both were shot dead outside the same mosque on Sunday. The execution took place after a member of the Sharia Court read a statement vowing anyone who misses the prayers at the mosque to face the same punishment." In late January, a 14-year-old was reportedly beheaded on similar charges. A witness said the boys parents were "forced to witness the beheading of their own son. Reports from Mosul also indicate that four women victims of rape were stoned to death for adultery. (Read more). They are believed to have been radicalized by a Frenchman of Syrian origin, Olivier Corel, dubbed the white imam. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com. Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde The Ku Klux Klan rallying in support of a black mans execution in Texas. The North Carolina death row warden wheeling a gurney into the execution chamber. Weeping family members at the moment of a loved ones execution. These are just a few of the images captured in Scott Langleys chilling death penalty documentary photography project, which is the most comprehensive collection of original death penalty photographs available from one source. The documentary includes execution vigils, inside an execution chamber, the hours leading up to an execution, portraits of exonerated death row prisoners, celebrities opposed to the death penalty, marches, demonstrations and candid emotional and prayerful moments in the context of the death penalty in the United States. The project started in 1999 and continues today, providing images to publications, educational institutions and national organizations in the work to educate about capital punishment. About the project Executions in the United States are not public events. In fact, video or photo cameras have never been allowed in the death houses at the time of executions. Coupled with the fact that many of the states hold executions at nighttime or early morning hours, very few people see or experience what transpires on an execution night in this country - either inside or outside the prison. The Death Penalty Photography Documentary Project began in 1999 as a college class assignment in Texas - artistically capturing what was available to those of us "on the outside." Since then, the project has expanded to include in-depth coverage of North Carolina, Georgia, the federal death penalty and much more. The work-in-progress consists of thousands of images making it the largest, most varied known collection of photos about the death penalty in the United States modern era. The project highlights Scott Langley's efforts as an independent photojournalist and a human rights activist - bringing together the unique combination of art, journalism and education into one powerful project. The photos are used regularly by organizations, schools and in books and videos about the death penalty. The photos also have been exhibited around the world in recent years, having been shown in Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington DC, New York, Texas, Illinois, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, New Mexico, North Dakota, Malaysia, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and the UK. About the photographer Scott Langley is a free-lance photojournalist based in New York. His documentary work has been widespread throughout the world in recent years appearing in newspapers, magazines, books, encyclopedias, theater productions, calendars, films, on television and t-shirts. In addition to work as a photographer, Scott has been an active grassroots organizer against the death penalty since 1999. A native Texan, he later went to North Carolina in 2004 where he and his wife co-founded the Raleigh Catholic Worker Hospitality House where families of death row prisoners may find free shelter, food and support. Since 2004, Scott has served as an Amnesty International USA State Death Penalty Coordinator, first for North Carolina and Massachusetts, and now New York State. He also recently served on the board of Journey of Hope... From Violence to Healing, an organization of murder victim family members who oppose the death penalty. Scott travels within and outside the U.S. to speak about capital punishment, his work against executions, his work with death row families, and about his photography documentary project. Scott Langley Published on Mar 17, 2008 RALEIGH - Captured on film, the warden of North Carolina's Central Prison (Marvin Polk) narrates the preparation and final hours before an execution in Raleigh, where the state execution facilities are located. Warden Polk takes members of the press through the prison, detailing hour-by-hour the preparation, and carrying out, of a 2:00 am execution. Footage includes the deathwatch area, the table where the last meal is taken, the final holding cell, the IV preparation room, the witness room, and footage of Warden Polk and Captain Marshall Hudson wheeling the gurney into the execution chamber. The short film includes candid discussion by the warden about the role of doctors in lethal injections as well as his own feelings on overseeing the executions. Before each North Carolina execution (Fridays at 2:00 am, when scheduled), Central Prison offers a media tour on the preceding Monday morning to explain the execution protocol and answer questions from the press. The film was shot during a media tour in November 2005, between the executions of Steven McHone (11/11/05) and Elias Syriani (11/18/05) by Scott Langley, a Boston-based photojournalist who has been documenting the death penalty for nearly ten years. A free DVD quality version is available for educators and activists for educational use. Contact to order - info at Source: Scott LangleyPublished on Mar 17, 2008RALEIGH - Captured on film, the warden of North Carolina's Central Prison (Marvin Polk) narrates the preparation and final hours before an execution in Raleigh, where the state execution facilities are located.Warden Polk takes members of the press through the prison, detailing hour-by-hour the preparation, and carrying out, of a 2:00 am execution. Footage includes the deathwatch area, the table where the last meal is taken, the final holding cell, the IV preparation room, the witness room, and footage of Warden Polk and Captain Marshall Hudson wheeling the gurney into the execution chamber.The short film includes candid discussion by the warden about the role of doctors in lethal injections as well as his own feelings on overseeing the executions.Before each North Carolina execution (Fridays at 2:00 am, when scheduled), Central Prison offers a media tour on the preceding Monday morning to explain the execution protocol and answer questions from the press.The film was shot during a media tour in November 2005, between the executions of Steven McHone (11/11/05) and Elias Syriani (11/18/05) by Scott Langley, a Boston-based photojournalist who has been documenting the death penalty for nearly ten years.A free DVD quality version is available for educators and activists for educational use. Contact to order - info at deatpenaltyphoto.org deathpenaltyphoto.org , February 2019 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde OPEN LETTER BY KUMI NAIDOO ON THE DEATH PENALTY Your Excellency I am writing to plead for the lives of prisoners who may soon be put to death if executions resume in Sri Lanka. More than four decades ago, your country stopped the implementation of this ultimate, cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, becoming one of the few South Asian countries to do so. The death penalty is now only applied by a shrinking minority of countries around the world. In December 2018, Sri Lanka was among the 121 states that voted in favour of a resolution on the Moratorium on the use of the death penalty at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly. Only 35 states voted against the resolution. Implementing the death penalty for drug-related offences is unlawful. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sri Lanka is a state party, restricts the use of the death penalty in countries that have not yet abolished it to the most serious crimes, or intentional killing. Executions are never the solution. As criminologists have extensively demonstrated, including in studies for the United Nations, the death penalty has no unique deterrent effect. If we look around the world, there are many examples that bear this out. Consider the contrast between Hong Kong and Singapore, 2 similar-sized cities. Hong Kong stopped executing people more than half a century ago, while Singapore continues to implement the death penalty. The murder rate in the 2 cities has stayed remarkably similar over the decades. Even in countries that retain the death penalty, there is a growing recognition that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent for drug-related crimes. The Islamic Republic of Iran has long been one of the worlds most prolific executioners. It has put to death thousands of people after convicting them of drug trafficking in grossly unfair trials. But drug trafficking and distribution remains rife, according to the Iranian government. The truth is, the execution of drug smugglers has had no deterrent effect, as Mohammad Baqer Olfat, Irans deputy head of judiciary for social affairs, conceded in 2016. Iran has now relaxed its drug laws and commuted hundreds of death sentences for people convicted of drug-related offences. In October 2018, the Malaysian Government announced that it would be abolishing the death penalty a country that also relied on executions to combat drug use. Mr. President, you have favourably cited the example of the Philippines, but it abolished the death penalty in 1987. Under President Rodrigo Duterte, what the country has seen instead is a horrific wave of extrajudicial executions of suspected drug offenders over the past three years. As Amnesty International has documented, far from ridding the streets of crime, this murderous campaign has claimed the lives of more than 4,000 people including dozens of children in what may amount to crimes against humanity. The killings, which overwhelmingly targeted people living in impoverished neighbourhoods, are currently the subject of a preliminary examination by the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court. Putting your own people to death is an irreversible act. There is no coming back from a flawed judicial process. The punishment is absolute. The mistakes are irredeemable. When it comes to the death penalty, a coerced confession, the bias of a judge, the failure to collect evidence, or an inadequate legal defence can lead to someone innocent paying the ultimate price. When it comes to extrajudicial executions, there is not even a pretence of due process. Lastly, but most importantly, the death penalty is immoral. For those of us who believe that human life must hold the highest value, taking it away is the lowliest act. We understand this clearly when a person commits murder, but we choose to forget it when the state puts someone to death, inflicting the same pain and loss. Executions, Mr. President, are not a show of strength but an admission of weakness. They represent the failure to create a society where the protection of the right to life triumphs over the temptations of vengeance. Amnesty International urges you to: - Immediately halt plans to execute 18 people, and review all cases of people under sentence of death with a view to commuting their sentences to terms of imprisonment; - Establish an official moratorium on executions, with a view to abolishing the death penalty, in line with seven resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly since 2007, including most recently resolution 73/175 which Sri Lanka supported; We hope that you will consider these recommendations. Yours sincerely Kumi Naidoo Secretary General Amnesty International | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde Amnesty International, February 21, 2019 One night I had a dream, and in that dream my grandpa drove up to my front porch and handed me a gun and a piece of paper. He told me he wanted to be with his wife, and the piece of paper had a date and time on it the next day. Sally said that she ran to her mother, but because her grandfather lived two-and-a-half hours away they couldnt just run and check on him. Sally said that she had an aunt who lived about 20 minutes away (from him) and stated that she would check on him after work. When my aunt went to check on him she told him about my dream, said Sally. And with tears streaming down his cheeks, my grandpa pointed to a rifle sitting by the back door. My grandpa is still alive and well today, and I know its only because of the power of prayer, explained Sally. Linda said she remembers being in old Elvins during the flood of 1995 that occurred in Park Hills when the Flat River spilled out of its banks. She lived in a house on Camilla Street. Linda and her husband, who were already up in years at the time, recalls being awakened to the sound of rushing water. The water was up to the bottom of our front step and the house was surrounded," said Linda. So I just got on my knees and prayed that God would save us. U.S. Rep. Jason Smith visited Central High School on Thursday. Smith was at the school to present Central senior Madison Manion with a letter of appointment to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The Air Force Academy is a prestigious university and a military service academy ranked as the third best public liberal arts college in 2017. Smith said Manion was the first of all the considered candidates to be appointed to the academy. When asked why she decided to apply to the famously selective Air Force Academy, Manion said, Ive been thinking about applying since my brother, Luke, started his application to West Point in 2015. He has always been a big inspiration for me, so I think it was natural that I took a similar path as him. Aside from high school classes and ROTC, Manion is involved in many other playing fields. She is active in softball and with pommies. She has been a member of the Student Council, and is currently the Student Council co-president. She is also a member of the National Honor Society, and, on top of everything else, she is taking classes at Mineral Area College. By the time she graduates in the spring, she will have a little more than 30 college credits on top of her high school diploma. Bobby Radford is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3628, or at bradford@dailyjournalonline.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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. Dr. Nikki Ruess will not be taking over as North Countys superintendent in July as previously planned. Ruess has decided that she would like to remain at the Festus school. Over the course of the past few months, as everything sort of started to unfold, it just became clear to me that I wanted to remain at Festus," the administrator said in a prepared statement to local media. Ruess went before the Festus School Board and rescinded her resignation for the assistant superintendent position at that district. She then asked North Countys school board to accept her resignation as the districts new superintendent and terminate her contract for the new position. She had been hired to replace Dr. Yancy Poorman, who is retiring at the end of this school year. Poorman still plans to retire. "The board made a motion that we contract with the Missouri Association of Rural Education (MARE) to do a formal search," Poorman said. "MARE will reopen the position for all candidates, including any new and previous candidates." Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Another development in the district is the departure of Assistant Superintendent Chadd Starkey. You have just 18 minutes to react if Russian state-sponsored hackers breach your computer network.This 'breakout time' encompasses the entire process of gaining access to a single computer before moving laterally through the entire network of an organisation.Once hackers have access to the network they can steal, encrypt or delete sensitive data, hijack core computing functions or monitor computer activity without knowledge.Data comes from cyber security company CrowdStrike's 2019 Global Threat Report, which explored the speed of attacks from major state-sponsored hacking groups and criminal actors based on data from 30,000 intrusion attempts.The report is timely given Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed earlier this week that a 'sophisticated state actor' was responsible for an attempted hack on Australia's parliament and political parties just months from the election. However, he refused to point the blame a particular country for the cyber-attack.CrowdStrike's report found Russian state-sponsored hackers, known colloquially as bears, take an average of just 18 minutes and 49 seconds to move laterally through a computer network substantially faster than other countries.'It is quite remarkable to see that Russia-based threat actors are almost eight times as fast as their speediest competitor North Korea-based adversaries, who themselves are almost twice as fast as intrusion groups from China,' the report reads.North Korea's state-sponsored hackers recorded a breakout time of two hours and 20 minutes, while Chinese actors took four hours and 26 seconds. Iran hackers were the fourth fastest with five hours and nine minutes. Comparatively, cyber-criminal gangs required nine hours and 42 minutes to breakout.The report said even though several nation-states claimed they would curb clandestine cyber activities in 2018, data revealed the opposite.'Behind the scenes, they doubled down on their cyber espionage operations combining those efforts with further forays into destructive attacks and financially motivated fraud,' the report said.CrowdStrike also highlighted state-sponsored attacks aimed at telecommunications.'Several suspected China-based actor groups were linked to telecom targeting with some incidents demonstrating a specific interest in using telecom access or lures to enable operations against government sector targets,' the report read.The report added that 60 per cent of all cyber-attacks involved some form of malware - software specifically designed to disrupt, damage or gain unauthorized access to a computer with cybercrime gangs now adopting the strategy of 'big game hunting' to attack large companies.Cyber security expert Matthew Warren told nine.com.au the attacks on Australia's parliament and political parties were just the tip of the iceberg.'This is becoming the new normal with the level of cyber-attacks constantly increasing,' he said.'The motivations of state-sponsored hackers is very different. Some countries will want to perform hacks for financial gain, while others could be politically focused (like Russian hackers successfully infiltrating the Clinton campaign in 2016).'Deputy Head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's International Cyber Policy Centre Danielle Cave believes China was likely behind the hack of Australia's parliament and political parties, with the end-goal of stealing sensitive information.'If you think about the other state actors that would have the cyber capabilities to pull breaches like this, like Russia, North Korea, Iran; those states are less interested in what's happening in Australia,' she told nine.com.au.'China is very, very interested.'We don't know what was potentially taken, and we also don't know how that could be used.'Those networks have been a goldmine in very useful intelligence.' Jordan Henderson insists Liverpool are relishing the thrills and spills of their title race against Manchester City.The captain and his team-mates take on fierce rivals Manchester Unitedthis Sunday knowing that any slip up will open the door for Pep Guardiola's side.But Henderson holds no fear despite the fact that a title challenge has been rarefied air for the Reds in recent years.The 28-year-old told the Mirror: 'There are no free swings when you play for Liverpool and nor should there be.'No-one here wants to be the underdog or the outsider - all of our team want expectation always because it means you're performing at the highest level.'One place that discussion has not happened is at Melwood. There's no need to prioritise so we don't.'We have to have the attitude in each and every game that the priority is to win. It's that simple. If you give yourself an excuse you'll end up with nothing. We look for and make no excuses. Ever.'Liverpool trail City on goal difference but still have a game in hand over the Premier League champions.With 12 games to go, the pressure is only set to intensify on Henderson and his side will be desperate to break the run of 19 years without winning England's top flight. A newly discovered dinosaur species is that of a tyrannosaurus rex(T. rex) relative that's quite diminutive compared to its famous cousin. The 'harbinger of doom' stood at just about 3 or 4 feet tall.'Harbinger Of Doom'Before the T. rex ruled what is now North America, its relatives evidently weren't as royal. Scientists discovered the fossilized remains of a T. rex relativethat's rather gangly, tiny, and adapted to hunt in the shadows of larger carnivores at the top of the food chain. Named Moros intrepidus, meaning 'harbinger of doom,' the tyrannosaur stood at about 3 to 4 feet tall, weighed about 170 pounds, and had skinny foot bones. That said, the creature was an excellent predator as well.'Moros was lightweight and exceptionally fast. These adaptations, together with advanced sensory capabilities, are the mark of a formidable predator. It could easily have run down prey, while avoiding confrontation with the top predators of the day,' saidLindsay Zanno, lead author of the paper describing the species.T. Rex AncestorApart from being an interesting tyrannosaur find because of its size, the discovery of the Moros also sheds light into how the tyrannosaurs became the top predators in North America. While it is still a mystery how the tyrannosaurs got so big, it's possible that the tyrannosaurs filled in the role of the apex predators when the allosaurs began to fade. This could mean that the predators went from medium-sized to massive in just a span of 15 million years.Furthermore, researchers also found that the closest relative of the Moros were from Asia, suggesting that just like the triceratops, they might have crossed a land bridge from Asia to North America.The Moros is the oldest Cretaceous tyrannosaur to be discovered in the region at 96 million years old. It is also one of the smallest dinosaur of its kind.The research is publishedin Communications Biology Australian Energy Market Operator boss Audrey Zibelman says Australians need to understand that they can have a renewables-based grid that is cost effective, zero carbon, and reliable and secure. All at the same time.Zibelman, speaking at a symposium at the University of NSW this week, along with chief scientist Alan Finkel and UNSW solar researcher Martin Green, said distributed energy resources would play a critical role in a low-carbon grid.However, the biggest challenge was actually making the transition of a very complex system, and that needed a detailed plan, and a clear policy, as well as changes to market rules and the way the grid was managed.'We are looking at how to manage the system to be more resilient as well as cost effective and carbon neutral, or zero carbon (they) are not necessarily antithetical,' Zibelman said.'Nor is having renewable resources and having a reliable and secure system antithetical. In fact, you can have it all.'What we you need to do is to start moving towards a system that is truly integrated, and use the intelligence in the system. And we see this merger between new energy products and digital intelligence so we can manage a much more efficient system.'What we are recognising now in Australia is that the real issue is how do we get to scale, and how do we get to scale quickly? And this is going to need a new tool set to manage a very different power system.'Zibelman's confidence in the future power systems and integrating 'new technologies' such as wind, solar, batteries, other forms of storage, demand management and distributed energy, echo those of Angelina Galiteva, the vice chair of California's equivalent to AEMO, the Independent System Operator.In an interview with RenewEconomy's Energy Insiders podcast earlier this week,Galiteva outlined how the world's fifth-biggest economy, aims to transition away from nuclear, coal and gas and reach 100 per cent renewables by 2045.Initially, like in Australia, we had the utilities and traditional energy players being very skeptical of renewables. When the first 10 per cent target was introduced, the utilities said oh, no, we are going to have gird disruptions, it will cause all kinds of problems. Well, it didn't.The next 30 per cent target, introduced by Republican governor Arnold Schwarzeneger, attracted warnings of Armageddon, but the grid operator found that if anything, renewables made the grid more reliable. Once a 50 per cent goal (effectively 70%) was introduced by Governor Jerry Brown we can have reliable.Once everyone realised that, it became a no-brainer, Galiteva says. We might as well go to 100 per cent. The technology is there, the political will is there . and we have a vision for the future.She adds that the transition is not so much a technology challenge, but a regulatory challenge, a view supported by Zibelman, now managing a grid where even a 50 per cent share of renewables appears to the limit for mainstream politicians, and too far for some.Zibelman's comments also echo those of a group of academics and researchers who made a similar call for a plan and policy clarity after a symposium in ANU,where they agreed that a shift to 100 per cent renewables was an essential part of a transition to a low-carbon economy.At the same time, conservative politicians, media and commentators have intensified their scare campaignagainst renewables and emissions reduction targets, warning of blackouts, economic destruction, lost jobs, lower wages, and calling for support for new coal investment and an end to renewable energy schemes.Green, who predicts that the cost of solar will fall below $US10/MWh by the early 2020s, says Australia should not be scared of the transition to renewables, because it will be a big beneficiary.For a start, it opens up the possibilities of green hydrogen exports a vision pursued vigorously by Finkel and others.Green also noted that the increased value of mineral exports used for the construction of solar farms steel, aluminium and copper would easily make up for any loss in thermal coal export values.Back to Australia's grid, Zibelman emphasised the need for careful planning, something AEMO has been trying to encourage through its Integrated System Plan (ISP).'We have to have a planned transition. It is not going to happen overnight, or because we want it to happen, we have to think it through.'Zibelman says the ISP was looking at what might happen over the next 30 years, and how current ageing capacity (mostly coal) could be replaced in the least-cost way.As the recent report from AEMO and the CSIROpointed out, the least-cost resources are a combination of renewables, pumped hydro, some battery storage and some gas.This also involved a shift from slow-moving machinery to fast-moving machinery, and Australia needed to make sure it was paying for resources needed to deal with inertia and frequency.Currently, there is little in the way of market recognition and revenue options for distributed energy and batteries.'We are going from managing around 300 power plants, to millions of bits of different resources, Zibelman said.Those pieces can be put together, but Zibelman indicated a frustration at endless pilot projects and wanted to see scale.'This is not a question of replacing one thing and doing a pilot or a demonstration. It is now time to get to scale quickly,' she said.'The ability to get into the market is really complicated. We need to think about policies that allow quick entry and avoid the valley of death of so much innovation.'How to make it easier rather than harder is going to be very important.'Finally, Zibelman was asked about the challenges of the electoral cycle and, by implication, the extraordinary nature of the debate around energy in Australia.'The problem is real. The reality is that the electorate in general will never be supportive of politicians who say they can't solve your problem now, but they can in 10 years, so stick with me and I'll sort it out.'We need to have direction. We need to have our eye on prize of where we want to end up and be clear about short-term actions.'If it doesn't happen, the future will never mature because people will go back to what they think they know is the answer.'Sounds to us that Australia needs the same sort of political vision and certainty that has underpinned the transitions in California and Hawaii.Giles ParkinsonGiles Parkinson is founder and editor of Renew Economy, and is also the founder of One Step Off The Gridand founder/editor of The Driven. Giles has been a journalist for 35 years and is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review. Vast Resources plc / Ticker: VAST / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining 22 February 2019 Vast Resources plc (Vast or the Company) Letter to shareholders Notice of General Meeting Vast Resources plc, the AIM listed mining company with operating mines in Romania and Zimbabwe, announces that a Chairmans letter including a Notice of General Meeting of the Company will be posted to shareholders today, 22 February 2019. The General Meeting will be held at 2:30pm on 11 March 2019 at The Business Centre, Institute of Directors, 116 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5ED. A copy of the Chairmans letter and Notice of the General Meeting will be available on the Companys website at www.vastresourcesplc.com . Purpose of the Chairmans Letter The purpose of the Chairmans Letter is to seek, through the passing of resolutions at the General Meeting, approval to grant the Directors authority to issue new equity share capital up to specified limits and to disapply statutory pre-emption rights. These resolutions are in substitution for the authorities granted to the Directors under Resolutions 3 and 4 passed at the General Meeting of the Company on 31 January 2019. The Chairmans Letter to shareholders explains the reasons for the proposals and explains that there have been significant developments for the Company, some of which had not been anticipated, which took place before the Companys General Meeting of 31 January 2019 had taken place but which may have affected the authorities requested at the 31 January meeting had they been known at the time that the Notice of that meeting was sent out. The developments include: The totally unexpected non-receipt of US$5.5 million Tranche B from Mercuria communicated on 18 January 2019 resulting in a substantial fall in the Companys share price. As a consequence of the substantial fall in the Companys share price there was accordingly a reduction in the cash value of the authorities granted. A further consequence was that the Company was obliged to negotiate new terms with Sub-Sahara Goldia Investments (SSGI) in relation to the US$3.4 million owing to SSGI. Discussions are still ongoing. Bergen Global Opportunity Fund, LP (Bergen) had advanced the first of two tranches of funding under the Convertible Security Deed between the Company and Bergen, announced on 20 December 2019 (the Investment Agreement). The advance of the second tranche was paused as announced on 12 February 2019. The Companys obligations in relation to the first tranche were satisfied through a combination of conversion and a cash repayment of US$675,000 on 18 February 2019. Subsequently, by mutual consent of the parties, the Investment Agreement was terminated, and the Company was released from any obligation to maintain authorities for there to be unissued shares available for conversion of Bergens convertible instrument, as the second tranche of the Bergen facility will no longer take place, and the first tranche has been converted or repaid in full. Ongoing positive discussions on replacement off take finance and/or concerning a cornerstone investor who has interest in financing the entire company including the Zimbabwe diamond opportunity. and Importantly confirmation by Government of Zimbabwe of the right to mine at the Heritage Concession as confirmed on 14 February 2019 upon completion of detailed contracts. As demonstrated by the Corporate Presentation announced to the market on 29 January 2019 the Board is of the opinion that the Company holds two growth opportunity pivotal assets in the Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine in Romania and in the now confirmed rights to the Heritage Diamond Concession in Zimbabwe, both of which have the prospect of achieving significant value for the Company. These projects will be the main focus of any new share issues. It is essential that the Company has ahead of the receipt of replacement prepayment offtake finance or an agreement with a cornerstone investor - sufficient capital to exploit these opportunities and reduce its liability to SSGI. The non-payment by Mercuria, the cancellation and repayment of respectively, Bergens, second and first tranche, have reduced what the Company has available at least in the short term and the reduction in the share price has reduced what the Company is able to raise under its existing authorities from shareholders. Accordingly, the Board seeks through the passing of Resolutions at the General Meeting to broaden the existing authorities to issue shares to a nominal value of 1,000,000 which are at present limited to enabling the conversion rights of Bergen under its Convertible Security Deed so that the authorities can be used instead for Baita Plai and general working capital. Accordingly included with this letter is the notice convening the General Meeting for this purpose. Action to be taken Shareholders have been sent a Form of Proxy for use at the General Meeting. Whether or not shareholders intend to be present at the General Meeting they are requested to complete and return the form of Proxy in accordance with the instructions printed thereon. To be valid, completed Forms of Proxy must be received by the Registrar as soon as possible, and in any event not later than 2.30pm on 7 March 2019. Completion of a form of proxy will not preclude shareholders from attending the meeting and voting in person if they so choose. Recommendation The Directors believe that the ability to obtain the necessary finance and therefore the passing of the Resolutions is important to the Company and Shareholders taken as a whole. The Directors unanimously recommend the shareholders to vote in favour of the Resolutions as they intend to do in respect of their own shareholdings amounting to 77,362,431 ordinary shares (approximately 1.11% of the total issued shares). **ENDS** For further information, visit www.vastresourcesplc.com or please contact: Vast Resources plc Andrew Prelea (Chief Executive Officer) www.vastresourcesplc.com +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 Beaumont Cornish - Financial & Nominated Adviser Roland Cornish James Biddle www.beaumontcornish.com +44 (0) 020 7628 3396 Brandon Hill Capital Ltd Joint Broker Jonathan Evans www.brandonhillcapital.com +44 (0) 20 3463 5016 SVS Securities Plc Joint Broker Tom Curran Ben Tadd www.svssecurities.com +44 (0) 20 3700 0100 St Brides Partners Ltd Susie Geliher Juliet Earl www.stbridespartners.co.uk +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 (MAR). Notes Vast Resources plc is an AIM listed mining and resource development company focussed on the rapid advancement of high-quality brownfield projects and recommencing production at previously producing mines in Romania and Zimbabwe. Vast Resources currently owns and operates the Manaila Polymetallic Mine in Romania, which was commissioned in 2015, and is focussed on its expansion through the development of a second open pit operation and new metallurgical complex at the Carlibaba Extension Area. The Companys Romanian portfolio also includes interests in two brownfield development projects; the Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine (80% interest), which has a reported 1,800,000-tonne copper-silver-zinc-lead-gold-tungsten-molybdenum ore body at 6% copper equivalent (Russian Reserves and Resources Reporting System) within the mining licence area; and the Blueberry Project (29.41% interest), a 7.285km brownfield area of prospectivity in the Golden Quadrilateral of Romania located in the immediate vicinity of the now closed Baia de Aries mine. The Company also has interests in a number of projects in Zimbabwe including a controlling 25 per cent. interest in the producing Pickstone-Peerless Gold Mine, a 23.75% economic interest in the Eureka Gold Mine, and an 86.67% interest in a SPV which has a due diligence access agreement and pre-agreed joint venture terms on a diamond concession within the Marange Diamond Fields, widely considered to be one of the richest sources of alluvial diamonds globally. Question: Regarding my posts about the terrible perversion of Torah and halacha that Rav Shmuel Kaminetsky has engineered with his prod... Important!! email - yadmoshe@gmail.com India and Saudi Arabia held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the visit of Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to India. The joint statement issued on the sidelines of the bilateral meet between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman highlights the following: Affirming that extremism and terrorism threaten all nations, India and Saudi Arabia rejected any attempt to link this universal phenomenon to a particular race, religion or culture. Without naming Pakistan the joint statement said that nations should renounce the use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy. Constitution of a comprehensive security dialogue at the level of national security advisor and setting up of a joint working group on counter-terrorism. Saudi Arabia reiterated its commitment to meeting Indias growing needs for crude oil and petroleum products and substitute for any shortages that may arise as a result of disruptions from other sources without naming Iran. Saudi Arabia also increased Indias Haj quota by about 25,000. Indias Haj quota now stands at 2 lakh. Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stated that Saudi Arabia has already invested $44 billion in India since the PMs visit in 2016 and they see an investment opportunity of worth $100 billion in sectors like energy, petrochemicals and manufacturing. Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman condemned the recent terrorist attack on Indian security forces in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir. The government has issued an order approving the entitlement of air travel on Delhi-Srinagar, Srinagar-Delhi, Jammu-Srinagar and Srinagar-Jammu sectors to all the personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) which includes their journey for joining duty, transfer, tour or going on leave. The facility till now was available officers in the rank of Inspectors and above has been now extended to the ranks of constable, a head constable and assistant sub-inspector. This decision will benefit approximately 7.8 lakh paramilitary personnel. Now the jawans and sub-officers can book tickets in regular commercial flights and claim reimbursement from their organisation or force for this travel to and from Kashmir. The decision is an extension to the existing air courier services for CAPFs where an entire aircraft is booked for the force personnel from either Delhi or Jammu to Srinagar and back. For the Jammu and Kashmir sector, an air courier service was already available for CAPFs jawans and this was extended in December 2017 to cover more routes like Delhi-Jammu, Jammu-Srinagar, Srinagar-Jammu and Jammu-Delhi. Why the decision has gained significance? During the February 14 Pulwama attack, 40 personnel of the CRPF were killed when an explosives-laden vehicle was blown off by a JeM terrorist, near the force bus that was plying between Jammu-Srinagar as part of a convoy. Questions were raised on why the troops were not allowed to travel by air so that the risk and threat of travelling on road, in large convoys in the Kashmir Valley, is eliminated. When Jewish religious leaders came upon the man, they passed him by without offering him help. But then a Samaritan, whom the Jews despised, came by and had compassion for the beaten man. He cleaned and bound the mans wounds and took him to an inn where he paid the innkeeper to care for the man. The story now finished, Jesus asked the lawyer whom he thought had loved his neighbor. Of course it was the Samaritan. Jesus admonished the lawyer to go and do likewise and He asks us to do the same as well. The kind of love the Samaritan showed the wounded man was not romantic or even affectionate love; the Samaritan didnt even know the man. But what the Samaritan did was an act of love. He had compassion for the man and acted accordingly. When Jesus asks us to love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matt. 5:44 KJV), He is not asking us to have affectionate love a noun for these people: He is asking us to act with love a verb and compassion toward them. Another way to think about loving in this way is to do what is best for the person. In this sense, it is possible for us to love someone we dont like very much. This love is quite different from romantic love or affectionate love. 50 Years Ago A Shippensburg State College student was killed in a one-car crash on U.S. Route 11. Jane L. Fecker, 20, of Sunbury, was pronounced dead at the scene by a Cumberland County deputy coroner. She was a junior majoring in English. The driver, Wilford T. Huber Jr., 21, of North Philadelphia, was seriously injured and placed in the intensive care unit of Chambersburg Hospital. The car was traveling southwest toward Shippensburg when it ran off the highway, struck an embankment and overturned several times. The borough delegation left with the definite knowledge that bids by two private interests are under consideration by the railroad, The Sentinel reported. The newspaper mentioned that the railroad a few months prior had asked $25,000 for the station on the open market. Gulf oil purchase Ten months later, on Dec. 21, 1939, The Sentinel published an article announcing that the Gulf Oil Corporation had purchased the passenger station from the Pennsylvania Railroad for an undisclosed amount. The story noted that the railroad had turned down the borough offer in the spring with the declaration that higher offers had been received. The story suggested that Carlisle had resolved whatever problems had existed in the Market House. The borough once considered purchasing the passenger station and rearranging the interior to accommodate the borough office and police station, The Sentinel reported. The plan was abandoned because of the cost and unresponsiveness on the part of the public. Instead Gulf Oil made the purchase and immediately drew up plans to demolish the passenger station and replace it with a service station patterned after a design present in the Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. markets. The newspaper quoted as a source R.A. Magnelli, a regional manager with Gulf Oil. Home life intrudes One of my main roles is to remind teachers, administrators and everybody in the building that a kid is more than who they are between 7:49 a.m. and 2:45 p.m., Jones said. There are all these other parts of their lives. Laura Keim is a health teacher at Wilson Middle School in Carlisle with about 15 years of experience in public education. One of the issues we see is a breakdown in the home structure, she said. A lot of kids come to us from mixed families, single-parent families or a bunch of different families living together, Keim added. Their lives tend to be upheaval and chaotic, and yet when they come to us, we want them to sit down, learn and be quiet. But they cant leave it at the door anymore. They bring it in our classroom. Keim and Melissa Klingel are co-advisers of the Builders Club a middle school program of Kiwanis International. This year club activities at Wilson have focused on trying to accentuate the positive in order to counteract the negativity of the many issues pressing on teenagers. Source: iStock/aluxum Japanese companies are making bold overseas moves on the international cryptocurrency scene, with one company expanding into the Southeast Asian market, and another investing in an Israeli startup. BitPoint, a Financial Services Agency-licensed cryptocurrency exchange, says it has struck a partnership with a Bangkok-based blockchain company named BiTherb. Per a press release, the companies say they will launch an exchange in the Thai capital. BitPoint says it has successfully received four trading licenses from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand, the regulatory body that polices the countrys cryptocurrency markets. This would make BitPoint the first overseas exchange to win trading permits since the SEC began regulating Thai exchanges. Readers will recall that the SEC has looked to clamp down on perceived overseas offenders after being handedsweeping new regulatory powers last year. And according to media outlet Nikkei, the new exchange which is slated to open in April will trade in some five currency pairings including Ripple and Bitcoin. BitPoint is owned by Remixpoint, a large business group with interests in the energy management, services and auto trading industries. BitPoint already has a number of exchanges in North Asia, including South Korea and Taiwan. Thailand population: Source: The World Bank _____ Weekly LocalBitcoins, a peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace, volume (in bitcoin) in Thailand: Source: Coin.dance Meanwhile, earlier this week, Recruit the Japanese employment platform that owns companies such as Indeed and Glassdoor has announced that it has made its first significant investment in the cryptocurrency market. The company made an undisclosed investment in Israeli crypto startup Beam, developer of a confidentiality-centric token that makes use of the Mimblewimble protocol. Recruit made its investment through the USD 25 million RSP Blockchain Fund, a subsidy that it established in Singapore in November last year. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Appeals court upholds Cumhuriyet verdict An Istanbul appeals court on February 19 upheld the terrorism-related convictions of staff from the daily Cumhuriyet who were earlier sentenced to five years or less in prison, according to reports. CPJ condemned the decision. The decision means that at least six defendants, including a cartoonist, journalists, a lawyer, an accountant, and a board member, will be taken to prison to serve their sentences. As of February 21, none of the journalists from the appeal hearing had been taken into custody. Fourteen people associated with Cumhuriyet, including journalists and staff members, were convicted on terrorism-related charges in April, CPJ reported at the time. Those sentenced to more than five years in prison are waiting for the Supreme Court of Appeals to hear their case. A Diyarbakr court on February 15 convicted Ozgur Paksoy, a former reporter for the shuttered pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DIHA), of making propaganda for a [terrorist] organization [PKK] and sentenced him to three years, one month and 15 days in prison, the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya News Agency reported. Evidence cited against the journalist included his social media activity, according to the report. Paksoy is free pending appeal, according to reports. Police detain Art Gercek reporter Police detained Derya Okatan, a reporter for the opposition outlet Art Gercek, at her home in the capital, Ankara, in the early hours of February 21, her employer reported. She was released later in the day after questioning, according to the report. Authorities said she was taken into custody over her social media activity. Her employer reported that Okatan was among the journalists who interviewed Derya Demirel, a protester who is at the center of public uproar after camera footage showed a police officer groping her as she was taken into custody earlier this month. Turkeys Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu defended the police and condemned the protester on his Twitter account on February 20, according to reports. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram The Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders today condemned the detention of two independent journalists in Nicaragua, and called on Nicaraguan authorities to immediately release them and drop all charges against them. Miguel Mora and Lucia Pineda Ubau, journalists for the independent cable and digital channel 100% Noticias, have been held in pre-trial detention on charges of inciting violence and hate and promoting terrorism since their arrests during a police raid on their Managua newsroom on December 21, 2018, as the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders have reported. The ongoing detention and baseless charges against Miguel Mora and Lucia Pineda are the clearest sign of the stark deterioration of press freedom conditions within Nicaragua, said CPJ South and Central America Program Coordinator Natalie Southwick. Mora and Pineda have now spent two months behind bars, showing just how far the Nicaraguan government is willing to go to silence critical reporting. Nicaraguan authorities should immediately let them return home to their families and stop the transparent attempts to criminalize journalism. Read the full statement here. Mantis which is successfully deployed in a wide range of law enforcement and vehicle recognition scenarios, including for agencies such as Los Angeles Police Department, assists in detection and classification of vehicle characteristics to solve a variety of customer needs from many segments. SAN DIEGO, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Neology is pleased to announce that it has acquired the Mantis Software platform. Mantis is a versatile, all-in-one, and high-performance Vehicle Recognition solution for law enforcement, open road tolling, parking management, low emission, access control and other traffic mobility activities. Currently, Mantis is used by a range of Mobility system providers and end-users to provide Artificial Intelligence based Vehicle Classification, using a range of camera systems, including Neology's widely anticipated IRIS Fixed Camera and Golden Eagle mobile platforms that are used in a range of Tolling and Mobility applications. Mantis has proven itself in the evolving Machine Vision market with several customers, new and existing, using the technology for over several years, said Joe Mullis, the Global General Manager of Neology. We are very excited about the reach and use this technology brings to the transportation market. Our clients are striving to enrich their data and enhance the accuracy of the vehicle data which is collected Mantis Artificial Intelligence platform enables this and when coupled with our own technology, such as our Deep Learning OCR or class leading lane controller systems, provides a compelling value proposition. Our clients are able to rapidly reduce the effort, and cost, to identify vehicles in a non-evasive manner, reducing cost of ownership compared to traditional vehicle classification technologies. The Mantis, powered by Neology" platform is the latest member of the portfolio and is already coupled with Neology's own software solutions, including Deep Learning Recognition technology for License Plate recognition, providing a turn-key solution for modern mobility and tolling challenges. The use of the technology is wide-reaching beyond the original Law Enforcement market-place as customers become aware of the capabilities of the technology. We are already in detailed discussions with customers across the Mobility spectrum ranging from Tolling to Parking Enforcement with many applications in between, said Joe. Mantis is available now from Neology directly as well as from certified channel partners and integrators. For more information visit: http://neology.net or http://www.pipstechnology.com/ About Neology: Neology is a leading provider of integrated end-to-end solutions for the tolling, electronic vehicle registration (EVR) and public safety markets. The company is a pioneer and leader in the development of passive RFID technology owning some of the earliest and most significant intellectual property (IP) in the industry. For more information, visit www.neology.net Forward-Looking Statements: All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on assumptions, planning, and forecasts at the time of publication of this press release. Forward-looking statements always involve uncertainties. Business and economic risks and developments, the conduct of competitors, political decisions, and other factors may cause the actual results to be materially different from the assumptions, planning, and forecasts at the time of publication of this press release. Therefore, Neology does not assume any responsibility relating to forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Furthermore, Neology does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Media Contact: Mark McFarlin Vice President International Sales Phone: 858-391-0260 x1126 mmcfarlin@neology.net www.neology.net A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/982eb008-2349-47b8-821c-b4494559beb2 FRIDAY, Feb. 22, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. opioid overdose deaths have quadrupled in the last two decades, and the highest rates are now seen in eight Eastern states, a new study shows. Those states are: Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire and Ohio. The researchers also found that the death rate from opioids has increased the fastest in the District of Columbia, more than tripling every year since 2013, and that opioid death rates in Florida and Pennsylvania were doubling every two years. "Although opioid-related mortality has been stereotyped as a rural, low-income phenomenon concentrated among Appalachian or Midwestern states, it has spread rapidly, particularly among the Eastern states," the researchers wrote. The analysis of data from the U.S. Census and the National Center for Health Statistics suggests that the opioid overdose epidemic has evolved as three waves. The first wave, from the 1990s until about 2010, was associated with prescription opioid painkillers (such as OxyContin). The second wave, from 2010 until recently, was associated with a large increase in heroin-related deaths. The third and current wave, which began around 2013, involves a rapid increase in deaths associated with synthetic opioids, such as tramadol (Ultram) and fentanyl. It's likely that synthetic opioids have also contaminated the production process of illegal drugs, such as cocaine and methamphetamines, and is no longer limited to heroin, said study author Mathew Kiang, a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University. "People aren't aware their drugs are laced and more potent than they expected, putting them at higher risk of overdose," Kiang explained in a university news release. The researchers also found that opioid overdose deaths are occurring in a wider range of people, and there have been significant increases in opioid overdose deaths among black Americans. The 26 percent increase in opioid overdose deaths among blacks between 2016 and 2017 is the largest increase among any racial group, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new study was published online Feb. 22 in JAMA Network Open. "The identification and characterization of opioid 'hot spots' -- in terms of both high mortality rates and increasing trends in mortality -- may allow for better-targeted policies that address the current state of the epidemic and the needs of the population," Kiang and his colleagues reported. The study authors noted that states are trying to tackle the opioid crisis through policies such as restricting the supply of prescription opioid painkillers and expanding treatment and access to the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone (Narcan). "Treating opioid use disorder should be our top priority to curb the problem," Kiang said. "Similarly, we have the ability to counteract the effects of an overdose. These lifesaving drugs should be easily accessible and widely available." More information The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse has more about the opioid overdose crisis. 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. Nebraska has received a $150,000 grant to pilot a registry designed to help get a patient having an acute psychiatric emergency into an inpatient mental health treatment center sooner. The grant will create a centralized database showing in real-time where area inpatient beds are available, Health and Human Services spokeswoman Julie Naughton said in a news release Thursday. Nebraska was one of 23 states and the only one in the Midwest to receive the grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, the release said. The pilot project would be in Region 6, which includes Douglas, Cass, Dodge, Sarpy and Washington counties. That region has a mix of public and private hospitals that provide behavioral health care, a news release said. "Our goal is to provide critically important, safe and intensive care in the least restrictive setting for individuals with serious mental illnesses as quickly as we can, so they can begin the process of recovery, said Sheri Dawson, who directs the state's Division of Behavioral Health. Morfeld said he would amend his bill to provide a seat at the table for the department in an effort to partner with HHS and make other changes that might be needed to "make sure (a task force) would not delay implementation." Sens. Kate Bolz of Lincoln and Tony Vargas of Omaha, members of the Legislature's Appropriations Committee, questioned Van Patton why his agency's budget request did not include additional funding that may be needed to implement the new program after listening to his concerns that the process is "stretching our already limited resources and staff." "Why didn't you say you need more people?" Vargas asked. "The concern I have is trying to get this up and operational," Speaker Jim Scheer of Norfolk said. Scheer repeatedly questioned Van Patton as to whether the new program would differ from the currently administered Medicaid program. "Access may be structured differently; it may be tiered," Van Patton said. While Gov. Pete Ricketts has included funding in his fiscal 2019-21 budget recommendation for implementation of the new program, Friday's exchange came in the wake of reports about legislative efforts in Utah and Idaho to limit or slow-walk access to voter-approved expansion of Medicaid services. PVA to Conduct Technical Rep Training Published: 22 February 2019 by Chelsey Drysdale by Chelsey Drysdale Cohoes, NY February 2019 PVA, a global expert in dispensing, coating and custom automation, today announced that it will hold a training event for its manufacturers representatives March 19-21, 2019 at its Helmond, Netherlands office. The technical rep training will be held to ensure that all PVA representatives are up-to-date on the companys latest offerings, and will cover several topics: Pathmaster 4.4 new features (3D profiling, calibration, work piece reference set up) Vision (how to set up and use fiducials and inspection) Process (hands on) o JDX o Film coat o Conformal Coating (spray/needle) o VPX UV Oven (set up and troubleshooting) Troubleshooting methods Experts from PVA will be on hand to answer questions about the companys coating and dispensing systems, as well as other application solutions in the PVA line-up. For more information, please contact PVA at info@pva.net or (518) 371-2684. Since the spring plan, Ozsvath said four of the 10 faculty members in the geography and geoscience departments have left and another two will be leaving within about a year, leaving too few faculty to keep a full program running. By announcing this a year ago, they essentially achieved the goal without laying anybody off because people have just left, he said, adding that he did not believe that was the administrations intent. The departures arent isolated to the affected departments, such as Ozsvaths. Faculty in safe departments have also left. Fourteen faculty members have retired or resigned since officials announced the Point Forward plan in mid-November, four of which belonged to an affected department, according to a letter Patterson sent Wednesday to Common Council leadership. Thursdays announcement comes about two weeks after 156 of the universitys roughly 300 faculty members attended an all-faculty meeting to approve a statement expressing dissatisfaction with administrative leadership. After seven years of working for her mother at Brown Barn Botanicals, Alyssa Van Doorn has struck out on her own path. The Holcombe woman has started a new company, 7 Day Glow, which offers a line of skin care products that will try to cut down on what you need to take care of your face. In a dorky way I just love facial oils, Van Doorn said. Finally, people are getting more interested in oils and I can finally do a line of them like Ive always wanted to do. Van Doorn was the skin care formulator for Holcombe-based Brown Barn Botanicals, owned by her mother, Christine Untiedt. Shell continue to serve as a consultant for Brown Barn and Untiedt will consult for her daughters company but this is a chance for Van Doorn to forge her own entrepreneurial path. The three-product system her company is offering includes a bottle of cleansing, exfoliating and anti-aging moisturizer oils to be used in conjunction with one another to achieve peak performance on the users face. Van Doorn said this product line is more efficient than other popular skin care lines such as Proactiv, because it utilizes fewer products to achieve a comparable result by allowing the user to combine the products for varied uses. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} EAU CLAIRE Thousands of nursing students throughout Wisconsin will be able to save hundreds of dollars on textbooks and develop skills through the use of virtual reality as a result of a grant awarded to Chippewa Valley Technical College. The U.S. Department of Education awarded the $2.5 million grant to CVTC as the lead institution on an open textbook pilot project in which all 16 Wisconsin technical colleges will take part. CVTC partnered with Gateway, Northeast and Madison Area technical colleges in developing the proposal, with all playing major roles. Over the four-year grant period, faculty from the four partnering technical colleges will create and review open educational resources, including open textbooks, for WTCS nursing programs across the state. The grant will help alleviate rising textbook costs, which can be a barrier to student success. The materials developed will eliminate the need for students to purchase textbooks for certain courses. An estimated 6,100 students will benefit from reduced textbook costs in hundreds of nursing course sections statewide, with an average cost savings of almost $700 per student. On average, WTCS students spend over $1,300 on textbooks throughout a two-year associate degree program. Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh. blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. . ..Abu Yehuda..22 February '19..Recent hints about what might be in Donald Trumps deal of deals indicate that it includes Israel annexing parts of Judea and Samaria containing major settlement blocks, in return for land swaps in which a Palestinian entity would receive land that is presently within the Green Line.I am not sure where the idea first surfaced, but it was included in the Clinton Parameters , the offer made at the 2000 Camp David summit, which was rejected by the PLO Lets consider the history.Prior to 1948, all of the land from the river to the sea was a single entity, the British Mandate for Palestine, established in 1922 and intended to constitute or contain a national home for the Jewish people. In 1947, Britain had had enough rioting and terrorism from both Jews and Arabs in the territory of the Mandate, and wanted to be done with its obligation. Over the years, they had lost interest in the Jewish national home, and felt that their interests would best be served by Arab control of the area. But others supported the establishment of a Jewish state, for various reasons.There was the worldwide Zionist movement, and of course the Yishuv, the Jewish settlement in Eretz Yisrael itself, which had already put into place the structure of a shadow state. There were Christian Zionists, who believed that the establishment of such a state would be a fulfilment of Biblical prophecy. There were elements in the US who thought that the Jews deserved recompense after the Holocaust. There were those who saw a Jewish state as a convenient destination for millions of Jewish refugees that nobody wanted. And there was Stalin, who saw in the socialist leanings of the leadership of the Yishuv a possible ally in a very strategic neighborhood.So the UN proposed a compromise and recommended a partition of the area of the Mandate into a Jewish and an Arab state. The Jewish Agency, happy to get any kind of state no matter how attenuated, accepted it, although both Begin and Ben-Gurion were apprehensive, correctly expecting war. The Arabs both those who lived in the Mandate and the Arab nations rejected it. Why should the Jews get anything at all? The nonbinding recommendation (UNGA 181) of the General Assembly was never implemented. Its important to understand that it was only a recommendation, with no legal force. Both Jews who say the UN gave us a state and Mahmoud Abbas, who in 2016 called for the implementation of the partition on its original lines, are wrong.In May 1948, the State of Israel was proclaimed without specifying borders (although an agent of the provisional government wrote to US President Truman that the state was declared within the frontiers approved by the General Assembly in [Resolution 181], its not clear if this had any legal significance). It has been persuasively argued by Eugene Kontorovich that Israel inherited the borders of the Mandate , since there was no other entity that could have a claim on it.Immediately after the declaration, several Arab states invaded the new state of Israel, making statements that they intended to destroy the state and massacre its Jewish inhabitants . The war ended with a cease-fire, not a peace agreement. In 1949, agreements were signed between Israel and Jordan and Israel and Egypt, which specified lines of disengagement where the armies were at the time of cessation of hostilities. The line between Jordanian and Israeli forces in the east was called the Green Line because Moshe Dayan drew a line on a map with a green pencil during negotiations with the Jordanians.Neither side, particularly the Arabs, wanted to make borders out of the armistice lines, and there is language in the armistice agreements that specifically states that the lines have no political significance . The agreement with Jordan states,During the fighting and after its end, Jordan occupied the territory of Judea and Samaria to the east of the Green Line, committing numerous war crimes massacres of prisoners and civilians; ethnic cleansing; unnecessary destruction of civilian property, especially including religious sites; sniping civilians, and more. A year later, in 1950, Jordan officially annexed the territory, calling it (for the first time) The West Bank.The annexation violated the UN charter , and was considered illegal by most of the world. It was only recognized by the UK which had helped the Jordanians in the 1948 war and which still hoped to replace the Jewish state with an Arab one Iraq, which was an ally of Jordan in that war, and possibly Pakistan.Jordan, which had opposed the partition resolution in 1947, did not try to create an Arab state in Judea and Samaria in 1949. Its objective was to add to its territory.Nineteen years later, in 1967, King Hussein of Jordan ignored Israeli warnings, listened to the fake news coming out of Egypt and joined the war yet another Arab war to destroy Israel. As a result, Israel gained control of Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem, ending the Jordanian occupation, and arguably finally obtaining the borders it should have had with the declaration of independence in 1948. Later, treaties with Egypt and Jordan established recognized borders between Israel and those countries.But the Green Line and the name West Bank, artifacts of the nineteen-year illegal Jordanian occupation never went away. Despite the clear declaration by all parties that the Green Line was not a border, the PLO by wishing it so has decided that it is one, between Israel and the non-country of Palestine. The Israeli presence between the Green Line and the Jordan river is considered by the European Union and others, following the lead of the PLO, to be a military occupation, and Israeli Jews living there are called based on an egregiously wrong interpretation of the Fourth Geneva Convention illegal settlers.How this happened is a long story, but a simplified explanation is that a lie can become accepted as true when it is repeated enough times by enough people. And thats what happened here, starting with the KGBs creation of the Palestinian people in the 1960s, through the extended blackmail of Europe by Palestinian terrorism, bolstered by Western leftist guilt, and sealed by resurgent European and Islamic Jew-hatred.The idea of swaps ought to be unacceptable to Israel, because it presupposes Arab ownership of all of Judea and Samaria. Why should Israel be required to compensate the Palestinians for taking its own land?The next time someone tells you that the West Bank is Arab land, ask them how nineteen years of illegal Jordanian occupation made it so. English French MONTREAL, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bombardier announced today that it will invest a total of approximately $22 million CAD over a three-year period into two major aerospace research projects: Aero21 and the third phase of the SAGE project. Both projects will bring together large aerospace companies, SMEs, as well as local universities and research centres. Through this strong alliance between industry, government and researcher partners, we are proud to not only push the limits of technology and build greener, more efficient aircraft, but to also increase the competitiveness of the Quebec aerospace industry, said Francois Caza, Chief Technology Officer, Bombardier Inc. Aero21 aims to facilitate the implementation of 21st century technologies in the Quebec aerospace sector and is expected to generate $65 million CAD of investments over three years. 24 companies will be providing 75% of the funds for Aero21, including $18.75 million CAD from Bombardier, and the Government of Quebec will be investing the remaining 25%. Bombardiers participation will focus on expanding the use of computerized models to test various aircraft systems and components from the design phase through certification, in an effort to bring new aerospace products to market at a faster pace and reduce development costs. SAGE (Smart Affordable Green Efficient) was first launched in 2010 and is dedicated to developing smarter, more efficient and effective technologies, while reducing the environmental footprint of the aerospace industry. Four subprojects were selected for the third phase of SAGE, including one called AILE (Aile intelligente et legere pour lenvironnement), which was proposed by Bombardier along with four other industry partners. The focus of this subproject is to develop multifunctional wings for business and commercial aircraft that will optimize aerodynamics and weight to reduce cost and fuel consumption. Bombardier plans to invest $3.6 million CAD in AILE, which will be matched by the Government of Quebec. With these investments, Bombardier reaffirms its leadership in the development of innovative aerospace technologies. The company was recognized as Canadas top R&D investor by Research Infosource for investing approximately $12 billion CAD over the past six years. About Bombardier With over 68,000 employees across four business segments, Bombardier is a global leader in the transportation industry, creating innovative and game-changing planes and trains. Our products and services provide world-class transportation experiences that set new standards in passenger comfort, energy efficiency, reliability and safety. Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Bombardier has production and engineering sites in 28 countries across the segments of Transportation, Business Aircraft, Commercial Aircraft and Aerostructures and Engineering Services. Bombardier shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD). In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, Bombardier posted revenues of $16.2 billion US. The company is recognized on the 2019 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World Index. News and information are available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier . Bombardier is a trademark of Bombardier Inc. For Information By Mathieu Rosemain and Gwenaelle Barzic PARIS (Reuters) - Orange, France's number one telecoms operator, struck a cautious tone for 2019 due to a protracted price war in its home country and few chances of a merger between its rivals that could improve market conditions. The tough competitive landscape prompted Chief Executive Stephane Richard to say he did not have enough visibility on operations to guarantee a dividend above a floor price of 70 euro cents per share in 2020, depressing shares in the company. "We don't say that we will not grow the dividend," Richard said on a call with analysts. "We say that today we want to have a better visibility on what we can achieve on 2019 ... to make the final decision." Orange shares were down 1.6 percent at 0931 GMT. The group said it expected core operating profit to grow at a slower pace in 2019 than 2018, despite good performances in its home country and second-biggest market Spain. That guidance may further fuel scepticism shown by investors over the past few months about Europe's telecoms sector, which has underperformed compared with major benchmark indexes. "Today's competitive environment has intensified and shows no sign of waning, so it inevitably has an impact on our capacity to generate growth," Chief Financial Officer Ramon Fernandez said on a call with reporters, referring to France. Orange and domestic rivals Iliad, Bouygues Telecom and Altice Europe's SFR are in a race to win customers for their fixed and mobile businesses, while also having to spend billions of euros on upgrading their networks. HEAVY DISCOUNTS Iliad triggered the price war in 2012 when it offered its low-cost mobile services, with direct consequences on its competitors' margins. But heavy discounts are now also seen in the broadband business. The prospect of further spending to buy radio frequencies for the deployment of the fifth-generation of mobile technology is also weighing on telecoms stocks. Several attempts to cut the number of French telecom operators from four to three, with an expected positive impact on prices, have failed, and Fernandez is not expecting such a deal to happen any time soon. "It would be a big surprise if it happened right now," he said. Bouygues's CEO echoed that sentiment on Thursday in a news conference following publication of group results. "We're not having any talks with anyone," Martin Bouygues told reporters, referring to his telecom business. However Orange posted a higher-than-expected quarterly operating profit, mainly driven by increased revenues in France and Spain and cost cuts. Adjusted core earnings (EBITDA) rose by 1.4 percent on a comparable basis to 3.33 billion euros ($3.8 billion), above market expectations for growth of 0.6 percent. Richard said he would present a new strategic plan dubbed Vision 2025 later this year. (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Gwenaelle Barzic; Additional reporting by Gilles Guillaume; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and David Holmes) About 10 years ago, Dr. David Addleman helped the provincial government develop recommendations to transform mental health services for young people in New Brunswick. Today, Addleman says, it takes all his skills not to "weep or scream" when he hears people talk about helping young people in New Brunswick deal with mental health problems. Despite the efforts of some people, there's still a lack of support for those trying to get better, he said. He said he thanked God when he heard a youth mental health centre now under construction in Campbellton was put on hold earlier this month. The decision came after the provincial ombud delivered a critical analysis of the Restigouche psychiatric hospital in Campbellton and recommended cancelling the youth centre. "I was relieved for years when I saw a hole in the ground there, and then I was discouraged when I saw construction starting, and I'm glad that there's been some sober second thought being applied about that," Addleman said. "Certainly, there are needs for a way of evaluating and treating children and young people who are very difficult to manage in the community." Addleman and other doctors worked on a document 10 years ago, called "Out of the Shadows at Last: Transforming Mental Health, Mental Illness, and Addiction Services in Canada," to coax the provinces to take a look at their own systems. In response, Michael McKee, at the time a provincial court judge, was asked to come up with recommendations to transform mental health services in New Brunswick. Addleman said "some things" have been done since McKee's report, which included calls for more emphasis on early intervention, income support, and keeping people out of the legal system. "I certainly would not say that it's just gathering dust not doing anything," Addleman said of the report in an interview with Information Morning Fredericton. "I think some really big efforts were made by very dedicated people at all levels, government and outside government." Story continues Institutions not a solution But Addleman said he was up late Wednesday night wondering why the system isn't working. "I think it may be simply a matter of quantity. That although the task is identified, the plan is identified, there's not enough people to do it." More psychiatrists won't necessarily fix the problem, Addleman said. He said the biggest problem is finding a supportive place for those suffering. "There's no doubt that putting people in institutions is not a solution to the problem." Suggests politics an issue Addleman said the best solution is training people to understand those who are suffering, with an ultimate goal of recovery. He said it's possible for New Brunswick to set up a system that provides community care and allows young people to recover. "What gets in the way? Why does it not happen? That's the questions I've been asking myself," he said. "And I think it's when it gets translated to the political sphere, when somebody has to make a decision on what's the priority going to be, how much money are we going to spend on this. That's where I think there's a breakdown." The murder of over 40 CRPF personnel by a suicide bomber allegedly from the Jaish-e-Mohammad on 14th February has shaken the nation If the terrorist attack in Pulwama a week ago was soul-shattering, the shameless use of the same by certain (predictable) sections to paint themselves as victims and murkily politicise the issue has been equally dispiriting. The bulk of India has come forward and showed commendable solidarity with the victims families and the Indian army. Marches expressing condolences to those perished in the heinous attack, candle-light vigils, posters of sympathy and empathy - all from the common public across the country point to a mood of cohesion and being one with the nation at this moment of crisis. Of course, there is also helpless anger among the people, and those extremely emotional have resorted to words and terms that should not be used in public platforms. Right wing trolls on social media platforms have been downright nasty and provocative. The verbal attacks on Kashmiris living elsewhere in the country are wrong and need to be nipped in the bud. There have been reports, too, of physical attacks on Kashmiris in other States. But when the media got down to investigate, almost all of them turned out to be false alarms. But that has not stopped the bleeding-heart liberals from making a hue and cry on social media platforms, as if all of Kashmiris are under siege now. In fact some them have made this non-issue as being bigger than the original tragedy. Seriously, we checked and analysed many of reported events emanating from various parts of the country. Most cases were simply instances of someone saying there was a threat of attack, or hearsay. But it has been played up significantly on social media. We are not belittling peoples fear, but when things are blown out of proportion, they need to be called out. Unfounded rumours and motivated claims are what they have turned out to be. Also, most of these reports are, illuminatingly, emerging from places like JNU, Jamia, AMU. They are political tinder boxes even in normal times. Now, they are rife with all kinds of extreme emotions. Without beating around the bush, these places of education do harbour forces that are inimical to the nation. But their actions have long been condoned by the Lutyens media and the liberals under the ground that democracy has place for all kinds of dissent. Story continues Indeed, a healthy democracy does allow a free run for all shades of opinions. And this government has been guilty of using heavy-handed methods when faced with criticism. But it is equally a fact that the so-called dissenting sections have been using their democratic rights to undermine the very idea of democracy. JNU student leader Shehla Rashid has been booked for promoting enmity for her tweet. Take for instance Shehla Rashid, one of the leaders of this motley. She put out a tweet about Kashmiri girls trapped in a Dehradun hostel. The Uttarakhand police swung into action quickly, and it was a clear instance of fear-mongering. A case has been filed against her, which of course will come in handy for her supporters to play victim that the governmental system is harassing them. As you can see, there is a clear pattern to this. Raise false alarm, get found out, but play victim when faced with action or criticism. That these people who call themselves liberals are resorting to this in the backdrop of major calamity is the biggest tragedy of all. Powered by Trivone Content Services Pvt Ltd The Bangladesh community in Windsor hosted a flag raising Thursday for International Mother Language Day. It's the 19th year IMLD has been recognized, first organized by Bangladesh and approved by the United Nations in 1999. "Every two weeks, one language from the planet is getting lost," said Saiful Bhuiyan, president of the Bangladesh Association in Windsor. "When a language gets lost it takes away the culture and heritage from that culture." According to the United Nations, 40 per cent of the global population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand. Bhuiyan said it's important to make sure all languages survive to keep the diversity of the planet. "I feel proud to raise the Bangladesh flag," said Bhuiyan. "I ask everybody from the community to keep the language alive." Jason Viau/CBC The Bangledesh community has been fundraising to build a monument on the riverfront in Windsor to promote language and culture. Bhuiyan said the plan is for the monument to go up this summer across from Caesars Windsor once approval comes from the City. "All language should survive." International Mother Language Day is officially on Feb. 23. This year, the Greater Windsor Essex Chinese Association will co-host the day of celebration with the Bangladesh community. The B.C. Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) has unveiled a vision for how legal heroin sales could take place in the province, as health officials continue to grapple with an unrelenting overdose crisis that kills roughly four people per day. The idea is to create a heroin buyers club, or compassion club to sell regulated, pure heroin to people addicted to opioids. Its architects which include addictions experts, physicians, as well as drug users drew inspiration from the cannabis compassion clubs in the 1990s, which provided access to medicinal marijuana, and the AIDS buyers clubs that helped people obtain medications that weren't yet approved during the height of the AIDS epidemic. There is already limited access to a regulated supply of injectable opioids in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside roughly 150 patients participate in the prescription program at the Crosstown Clinic, and a 50-person program to distribute Dilaudid tablets to crush up and inject is operating at an overdose prevention site. In both cases, patients are given free opioids. The BCCSU is proposing that a co-operative group be established to buy bulk, medical grade heroin from Switzerland to sell to doctor-assessed club members. "We can really improve public health and safety by regulating the heroin supply and offering treatment and supports alongside that regulated market," said Dr. Evan Wood, the BCCSU's executive director. "You could have, initially, hundreds of people brought into a program like this," said Wood. "Certainly it's a type of model that if proven safe and effective is scalable to other hard-hit neighbourhoods." Rafferty Baker/CBC For Dean Wilson, who has spent the better part of the last 50 years as a heroin user, the idea is overdue. Wilson is one of the people with lived experience with drugs who has contributed to the plan. "I was very lucky in the beginning of this epidemic ... but since [the beginning of] 2018, I guarantee you, I've lost 50 friends," said Wilson. "People are being poisoned to death." Story continues According to Wilson, underground heroin buyers clubs have already popped up in the Downtown Eastside. Someone who finds a supply of uncontaminated heroin pools resources with 12 or 15 other users to buy a large quantity. But Wilson said the informal clubs aren't sustainable, because they can't ensure the safe supply would last, and ultimately, the proceeds are all going to organized crime. "You know we pay up to $200 a gram for heroin down here? That same gram sold in Switzerland, legally, is $3.80," he said, adding that the difference all goes to criminals. Rafferty Baker/CBC For Wood, getting organized crime out of the system is a big part of the motivation behind the buyers club model. He thinks it could have a dramatic impact on public health, all while "waging economic war on organized crime." The heroin buyers club will need federal support to get off the ground importing and distributing heroin will require an exemption to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, but exemptions are available for research purposes as well as for urgent public health reasons. Wood said, for now, the BCCSU is just getting the conversation started, but he hopes to see the vision become a reality over the next six months. Is there more to this story? Email rafferty.baker@cbc.ca Follow Rafferty Baker on Twitter: @raffertybaker Heartbroken Nova Scotians looking to show support for a Halifax-area family whose seven children died Tuesday in a house fire are being invited to send words of encouragement to the survivors through a card-writing campaign. Local greeting-card maker Halifax Paper Hearts is offering free cards to send notes to the parents, Kawthar and Ebraheim Barho. It's just one of a number of initiatives started in memory of the Barho children, who ranged in age from three months to 14 years old. Several shops in the Halifax area are expected to distribute the cards on Saturday, including Fiddleheads in Bedford. Ummah Masjid/Facebook "What I ultimately wanted to give these parents was love," Nancy Rector, owner of the kids shop, said Thursday in a Facebook post. "I want to surround them with a huge warm blanket of pure love to comfort them as they try to heal. The best way I can think of doing this is to send them a personal note of support," said Rector. "Maybe one person doesn't sound like much. but if a hundred people do it, they could see that even though they're far from their original home/family, they also have a family here." The Barhos came to Nova Scotia in 2017 as Syrian refugees, settling in Elmsdale before moving to the Halifax neighbourhood of Spryfield. The family was planning to move back to Elmsdale in the coming weeks. Ebraheim remained in a medically induced coma in hospital Thursday. Kawthar, who was not physically injured in the fire, has asked for her mother and brother, who are in Lebanon, to be allowed to immigrate to Canada to be with her in Halifax. The card from Paper Hearts depicts seven teddy bears representing each of the Barho children. People have been placing teddy bears on their porches as a show of support for the family. Facebook As of Friday, thousands of people had also donated nearly more than $500,000 as part of an online fundraiser organized by the Imam Council of Halifax and Hants East Assisting Refugees Team, which sponsored the family. Story continues It's the second largest Canadian GoFundMe campaign in recent years, said the crowdfunding platform. A fundraiser following the Humboldt Broncos tragedy in Saskatchewan last year raised more than $15 million. Donations are also being accepted for the Barhos at CUA banking branches. As well, a number of local businesses have pledged to donate profits to the family. The municipality of East Hants, where the Barho family originally settled upon their arrival to Canada, has planned a vigil Friday at 7 p.m. local time at the Riverview United Church in Elmsdale. Robert Short/CBC The church's minister, Rev. Catherine MacDonald, said the vigil will include a speech from an imam and the group that sponsored the family as refugees, as well as a community choral performance of This Little Light of Mine and Let There be Peace on Earth. MacDonald said people in Elmsdale are feeling shock, grief and helplessness. "There's a lot of 'if onlys' if only they had moved back [to Elmsdale], if only they had never left, those kinds of reactions. It just seems so heartbreaking that they came from a country fraught with war to a relatively safe country of ours and then have died so tragically." MacDonald said she hopes the vigil will remind grieving residents that they are not alone. "When one hurts, so many more of us hurt, too, and so as we can share collective sorrow we can share collective resiliency," she said. MORE TOP STORIES DJ Koh, Samsung President and CEO of IT and Mobile Communications, holds up the new Galaxy Fold smartphone during an event on Wednesday in San Francisco. Source: AP Photo/Eric Risberg Will foldable displays in smartphones take off or fall flat? It was hard to tell from Samsungs announcement on Wednesday of the Galaxy Fold, the first smartphone with a foldable display. The device, which goes on sale April 26 for a staggering $1,980 more than many computers unfolds its 4.6-inch screen to reveal a 7.3-inch tablet with its Infinity Flex Display. Also, on-board: a 64-bit processor with eight cores, 512 gigabytes of built-in storage, and 12 gigabytes of RAM. Thats a lot of power beneath the hood, but analysts Yahoo Finance spoke to were mixed on whether the Galaxy Fold and foldable displays in general will find widespread adoption. The pricing makes no sense: It's not mass market, explains Charlene Li, a principal analyst at the San Francisco-based Altimeter Group and author of Open Leadership. This is the first of a kind, and the people who are going to buy this are the ones who really want to be seen, opening and closing this. They want to be early adopters. Forrester vice president and principal analyst Thomas Husson also expressed doubt. While definitely a new design leveraging a real breakthrough in display technology, I am still skeptical: What is the real consumer benefit? wondered Husson. This is mostly about the modularity of the screen to adapt to your contextual needs whether you want to multitask on a tablet or use a smartphone. A work-in-progress Samsung on Wednesday touted the Galaxy Folds multitasking chops for juggling three open apps at once, as well as a feature called App Continuity, the ability to start interacting with an app on the smaller front screen and continue using it on the larger screen inside. Yet even Samsung acknowledged the device was essentially a work-in-progress, and it expected to be surprised with how the Galaxy Fold is used by consumers day to day. Drew Blackard, product marketing manager, talks about the new Samsung Galaxy S10 5G smartphone during an event Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) That doesnt set the stage well for foldable displays in general, which some smartphone manufacturers are banking on to boost flattening sales. Motorola, for instance, is expected to launch a new version of the Razr phone for $1,500 later this year with a foldable display of its own. Huawei and Xiaomi, meanwhile, are also reportedly developing similar devices. Story continues Untapped use cases aside, however, it would certainly help if the devices became cheaper. Lower prices are generally more likely the longer technologies foldable displays, in this case are manufactured and available. It might get more traction if it moves down market significantly, conceded Tuong Nguyen, principal analyst at Gartner. But as a pretty lazy consumer, I feel some of those use cases might not hold up on a regular basis. Husson has a more bullish take. Since the first iPhone debuted in 2007 with a 3.5-inch screen, consumers in general have gravitated towards larger and larger displays, with the average new Android or iPhone featuring screens well over 5 inches. So whos to say foldable screens wont fit into that ongoing consumer trend? I think it will take some time for these foldable screens to reinvent the smartphone category and deliver differentiated experiences, predicts Husson. However, in the longer run, it is likely foldable screens will accelerate the convergence between smartphones, tablets and laptops, progressively unleashing a new form factor. Unfortunately, what that so-called new form factor might look like, if it arrives at all, is is anyones guess at this point. More from JP: Surrey, B.C., Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Connecting Canadians with the benefits of conservation is central to the Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) National Art Portfolio. Among our greatest challenges in wetland conservation is transforming how people relate to the natural world, says Karla Guyn, CEO of Ducks Unlimited Canada. Artists have a unique ability to evoke peoples feelings about the importance of our land, water and wildlife. They are strong proponents of conservation and their artwork is a powerful tool for building appreciation and support for wetland conservation in Canada. The 2019 National Art Portfolio is a collection of memorable moments that highlight the importance of Canadas natural environment to our Canadian lifestyles. Each year DUC receives hundreds of submissions, says Guyn. We select pieces that we feel can inspire Canadians to reflect on their own experiences in nature and to embrace wetland conservation within their lives. Two outstanding artists from British Columbia are featured in this years collection, each of them winning the programs top awards for their submissions. Terry Isaac is a 30-year veteran in conservation art. His pieces Spirits of the Sky and Veiled in Mist were both selected for inclusion in this years collection, with Isaac receiving the distinction of 2019 National Art Portfolio Artist of the Year for the latter. Capturing the mystery and intrigue of the grizzly in a moments breath, Isaac lifts a veil of fear and brings viewers into a gentle and playful world punctuated by a survival instinct. Okanagan Valley-based conservation artist Peter Steuart is distinguished as 2019 DUC Waterfowl Stamp and Print Artist for Passing the Time, a piece that sparks optimism for the survival of wildlife in the face of human development. One of my favorite haunts to seek out waterfowl is a small but thriving marsh created a century ago by an ill-conceived irrigation project, he says of his inspiration for the piece. In my painting, the marsh's quiet beauty draws attention to the fact that human caused change is not inevitably for the worst. DUC has been partnering with artists on the National Art Portfolio since 1986. The annually-released collection is up for auction with proceeds funding DUCs conservation work. Canadians can bid on pieces in the collection now at ducks.ca/2019NAP. - 30 - Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) delivers wetland conservation that benefits every Canadian. We keep the water in your lakes and rivers clean. We protect your community from the effects of flood and drought. We save wildlife and special natural places. We use science to find solutions to the most important environmental issues of the day and we collaborate with people who are helping create a healthier world. The wetlands we save arent just for ducks; theyre for all of us. Visit Ducks.ca. Lamborghinis New Hybrid Supercar Sells Out Before Its Release Trending News: $2.5M Lamborghini Hybrid Supercar Sells Out Absurdly Fast Lamborghini is expected to launch its highly anticipated hybrid supercar in September, but if you want one, well, it seems youre out of luck. Even with a hefty price tag of $2.5 million, the eco-friendly hypercar has pre-sold all 63 units in development. The LB48H Terzo Millennios design was constructed in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology back in 2017. Beneath its futuristic Batman-esque physique, the Italian speedster will have dual motors an electric eco-friendly motor in the front and Lambos powerful 6.5-liter V12 for the rear wheels, reports Australias Motoring. Lambos Chief Commercial Officer, Federico Foschini, told the publication that despite not making more than 63 units (an ode to 1963, the year the carmaker launched) the LB48H is really a huge product for Lamborghini. RELATED: Buckle Up and Discover the Best Gifts for Your Favorite Car Lover Forschini added that when t the LB48H is finally unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show, it will have a much catchier name. As many carmakers grapple with new rules to cut emissions, Lambo is expected to follow suit. When the new Aventador line eventually drops, Foschini says itll follow the LB48Hs lead with going hybrid. We know that the electrification trend is coming, he told Motoring. So the idea is that we combine the V12 with a hybrid. Hybridization will be tuned for performance, not merely for range. It is not a car that will run for 70 or 100km full electric. At the end of the day, what we want is power and we want to have performance out of the hybridization. Aston Martin Meanwhile, Aston Martin isnt allowing the Italian car manufacturer to have all the fun. The British company is expected to launch its own limited-edition hypercar, the Project 003 (pictured above), by 2021. The suped-up ride is expected to cost even more than Lambos hypercar at $3.2 million a pop, according to Digital Trends. There arent many details out yet surrounding the upcoming release, but if its anything like the other cars in the Aston Martin racing series, its bound to be worth the wait. You might want to start saving now. You Might Also Dig: - T. S. Eliot Thoughts After Lambeth "The World is trying the experiment of attempting to form a civilized but non-Christian mentality. The experiment will fail; but we must be very patient in awaiting its collapse; meanwhile redeeming the time: so that the Faith may be preserved alive through the dark ages before us; to renew and rebuild civilization, and save the World from suicide." Opinion / Columnist When the EU Foreign Ministers decided NOT to impose new and tougher sanctions on the Mnangagwa regime for failing to hold free, fair and credible elections last July and for using excessive violence to cow the nation into submission; it was a very foolish decision and a betrayal of the long suffering Zimbabweans fighting for democratic change. However, the decision was manna from heaven for the Zanu PF regime and its apologists."The alleged heavy handedness of the security services in response to the disturbances of 1 August 2018 and 14 January 2019 have been cited by those who maintain that there is no difference between the old and new dispensations," pitched in Chipozho Saruchera, in Bulawayo 24."Proponents of this narrative have, however, deliberately ignored that what came first were carefully planned acts of violence, by Western sponsored opposition MDC and pseudo civic society organisations meant to destabilize the country. They know that adding this bit would somehow dilute the vilification of the country's security agents and apportion blame to the actual orchestrators of the violence."No Saruchera the blatant vote rigging of the 30 July 2018 elections happened first, the heavy handed security services respond on 1 st August 2018 was to silence those protesting yet another rigged elections. The violent reaction by the security services on 14 January 2019 was sparked by the nearly 200% increase in fuel prices and the shortages of fuel, foreign currency, etc. The country's worsening economic situation is itself a byproduct of the rigged elections and the over reaction by the regime was to once again silence the protesters.Even you, Saruchera, with all your skills for twisting and distorting facts cannot change the sequence of events of 30 July 2018 elections so they happen after those of 1st August 2o18 and much less those of 14 January 2019.Of course, the State Security services were "heavy handed" because there was no justification for the "Shoot to kill!" order on the two occasions. None!Zanu PF has used brute force to establish and retain the de facto one-party dictatorship in operation ever since Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. The party's modus operandi is to blow any lawlessness situation that is there way out of all proportion then use the exaggerated threat as cover for its own overt lawless operation to ruthlessly crash the regime's opponents and critics.In the 1980s Zanu PF used the existence of a few hundred, at most, dissidents as cover to launch Gukurahundi in which over 20 000 defenceless civilians were murdered. The party wanted to crash PF Zapu, its main political opponent at the time. In the end the regime forced PF Zapu to sign the unity accord to form the de facto one-party state.Zanu PF has used the same dirty tactic, of blowing a minor security incident out of all proportion to justify it use of excessive force to silence its critics and impose its dictatorial rule, again and again in the last 38 years and is using it now. "Kurova imbwa wakavinga mupinhi!" (Art of punishing the dog/ opponent with a concealed weapon!) as one would say in Shona.Mnangagwa has gone to great lengths to sell the post November 2017 coup Zanu PF as a transformed and democratic party, "new dispensation". To backup his claim, he has promised to end corruption and to hold free, fair and credible elections. Sadly he has failed keep any of his promises. He never ever intended to keep any of the promises and hence never implement even one token democratic reform, for example.Mnangagwa employed the same vote buying and vote rigging schemes he, as Mugabe's principle enforcer, had employed to keep Zanu PF and Mugabe is power. And, except for Mugabe and one or two others booted out of the dictatorship in the coup, he kept the same thugs to implement the schemes.A hyena will roll in elephant dung to disguise its own scent for the purposes of hunting, there is no question that it is still a hyena. Zanu PF under Mnangagwa was still the same corrupt, incompetent and murderous dictatorship; calling itself a "new dispensation" is nothing more than a hyena rolling in elephant dung."The recent decision by the European Union (EU) Council not to extend sanctions on members of the Zimbabwean Government as proposed by EU parliament and Britain speaks volumes with regards to President Mnangagwa's sincerity to better the lives of locals. The EU must have looked at President Mnangagwa's track record since assuming office and gave him benefit of doubt against the opposition and pseudo CSOs' unverified claims," concluded the inveterate apologist and liar, Saruchera.The EU Foreign Ministers did not have to go far to find Mnangagwa's track record, the EU Zimbabwe Election Observer Mission report said it all."Major shortcomings in the pre-election environment impacted on the free expression of the will of electors, state resources were misused in favour of the incumbent and coverage by state media was heavily biased in favour of the ruling party," said the EU Mission's final report."Further, the electoral commission lacked full independence and appeared to not always act in an impartial manner. The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability. Finally, the restrictions on political freedoms, the excessive use of force by security forces and abuses of human rights in the post-election period undermined the corresponding positive aspects during the pre-election campaign. As such, many aspects of the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards."We can be pretty certain that the EU Foreign Ministers were never, not for one second, fooled by Mnangagwa's elephant dung scent; they know and have known all a long time that he is a corrupt, incompetent and murderous thug.The real reason EU Foreign Ministers lifted the sanctions on the Zanu PF thugs is because EU members like Belgium want to join other nations like China, Russia, Israel, India, etc. in the wholesale looting of Zimbabwe's diamonds and other resources. Besides the EU sanctions have been in place for nearly 20 years now and yet Zanu PF is still in power regardless of the many wasted opportunities to remove the regime.EU Ministers have lifted sanctions because they were impressed by Mnangagwa's "sincerity and democratic track-record!" Every EU racists must have loved that proof blacks are incapable of self-government!The challenge before us is to force Zanu PF to step down so we can finally implement the democratic reforms and hold free, fair and credible elections; our only ticket out of this hell-on-earth the regime landed us in. This is our fight, not the EU or anyone else's fight, and we must not be fooled into believing an elephant dung smelling hyena is harmless! News / National by newzimbabwe FRAUD accused Shuvai Gumbochuma, sister to former First Lady Grace Mugabe, may find herself escaping trial after prosecutors on Friday hinted they could withdraw her charges.She faces three counts of fraud after she allegedly used her connections to then Local Government Minister Saviour Kasukuwere to illegally acquire a vast piece of State land which she later resold at an inflated price.Kasukuwere also faces criminal abuse of office charges related to the case.Gumbochuma's alleged offence occurred during former President Robert Mugabe's rule.Representing the state, Shepherd Makonde on Friday said Gumbochuma's docket has been sent back to the Prosecutor General (PG) who is perusing it for "further management".The prosecutor said this after he was cornered to explain why the state kept asking the court to postpone the case.Harare regional magistrate, Vongai Muchuchuti demanded to know the current status of the case and Makonde told her that, "There is an opinion pending from the PG on whether to proceed or drop charges against her."He did not give any reasons why but sources close to the matter said the state could have opted to drop Gumbochuma's charges so she could use her as state witness against Kasukuwere.It is alleged that in 2014, Gumbochuma successfully applied for state land worth more than $400 000 to develop into stands for low-cost housing in Harare. Instead of developing the land, she allegedly sold it to another land developer for more than $2 million."Gumbochuma profiteered from State land thereby distorting the market value of the land from a mere $424 426 to an inflated value of $2 060 000 without making any developments," said prosecutors."She made a profit of $1 636 574 without doing anything."Gumbochuma is facing two other charges of receiving land for development two years ago using the name of an unregistered company. News / National by Staff reporter Parliament has ignored the opposition MDC party's plea for guarantees that protect their MPs who are in hiding for fear of persecution over recent violent protests triggered by government's decision to increase fuel prices.Last month, labour and civil rights organisations called for the stay-away when President Emmerson Mnangagwa raised fuel prices by nearly 150 percent.The protests turned violent when government reacted by unleashing armed soldiers and police on civilians throughout the country.Following the protests, several opposition MPs and labour officials were arrested, while others went into hiding to escape the government clampdown, with lawyers and human rights groups saying at least 12 people were killed and 78 others treated for bullet wounds during the protests.Three MDC Alliance MPs now face expulsion from Parliament for absconding the august House without approval from the Speaker.The three Charlton Hwende (Kuwadzana East), Godfrey Sithole (Chitungwiza North), and Joanah Mamombe (Harare West) are left with about seven parliamentary sitting days for them to show face in the National Assembly or lose their seats.While National Assembly Speaker Jacob Mudenda said he had dealt with the matter after the MDC leader in Parliament Thabitha Khumalo wrote to him, the party's chief whip Propser Mutseyami said the issue was still outstanding."Nothing substantial was done by the speaker regarding the guarantees that we requested because he only wrote a letter of confirmation for MPs who were on parliamentary business on the day leaving out the three's case," Mutseyami said.Responding to enquiries on how he had responded to the MDC's plea, Mudenda refused to give details curtly saying "I have since dealt with that one".Mutseyami however, said the MDC was going to continue to engage Mudenda on the issue in a bid to retain their seats."We want Parliament to guarantee that the MPs will not be harassed when they come so we are not going to rest because he is the principal of the august House"The three legislators went into hiding during the January riots after security agents went after them, accusing them of having masterminded the disturbances.In a February 4 letter to the country's security forces, clerk of Parliament Kennedy Chokuda confirmed that five legislators , Happymore Chidziva (Highfield West) Goodrich Chimbaira (Zengeza East) and James Chidhakwa (Tafara/Mabvuku), Job Sikhala (Zengeza West) and Costa Machingauta (Budiriro) who were also on police wanted list were on parliamentary business when the protests occurred.The MPs were in Kadoma for an induction workshop held by the parliamentary portfolio committee on Defence, Home Affairs and security services from January 13 to 16."Kindly note that the 13th and 16th January were travelling days and the workshop itself was held on the 14th and 15th " Chokuda said before he attached the attendance register to prove his point.MPs arrested and released on bail include Amos Chibaya (Mkoba), Settlement Chikwinya (Mbizo), Winnie Kankuni (Sunningdale), Lloyd Mukapiko (Redcliff), Rusty Markham (Harare North) and Livingston Chiminya (Chiwundura). Changing colonial names is a highly controversial debate in the country, and one man took to social media to propose the biggest change of all - South Africa. The man believes that having kept the name, South Africa, has allowed white settlers to arrogantly maintained control of the country. PAY ATTENTION: Click See First under the Following tab to see Briefly.co.za News on your News Feed! Advocating that South Africa be returned to its previous identity as Azania, the man called on Minister Nathi Mthethwa to hear out his argument. He says that after 25 years of liberation, South Africas administrative government building is still named the Union Buildings and asserts that this is an insult to the indigenous people of the country. PAY ATTENTION: Save mobile data with FreeBasics: Briefly is now available on the app He claims the horses in the statues have changed but their riders remain the same, Briefly.co.za found. One Twitter user, Stephanie Marqui, agreed that the name South Africa, gives those who still benefit from the historic inequalities, a sense of entitlement. READ ALSO: EFF supporter praises MEC Jack Bloom for firm grasp of health issues Another user, Bongani, wanted to know what his proposed name, Azania, means to the country. The name, Azania, was used to refer to Southern Africa extending as far up as Kenya. Populations in Africa were nomadic and regions often shifted and changed as different tribes did. Enjoyed reading our story? Download BRIEFLY's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major South African news! Source: Briefly.co.za (credit to Stephen King for the quote) I have always had the illusion it was more important or as important to be a good man as to be a great... Read more What's worse than the salad and the comb thing? Klobuchars office reportedly required staff to stay on after taking family leave for a newborn. We've posted before here at Boing Boing about the many legendary reports of abusive behavior by U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar. Well, now there are more such reports. One of the anecdotes in a new story by Matt Flegenheimer and Sydney Ember at the New York Times is pretty shocking. Let's just call it the plastic hair comb and airplane salad incident. It begins with the United States presidential candidate being tired and hangry in an airport. Excerpt: An aide, joining her on a trip to South Carolina in 2008, had procured a salad for his boss while hauling their bags through an airport terminal. But once onboard, he delivered the grim news: He had fumbled the plastic eating utensils before reaching the gate, and the crew did not have any forks on such a short flight. What happened next was typical: Ms. Klobuchar berated her aide instantly for the slip-up. What happened after that was not: She pulled a comb from her bag and began eating the salad with it, according to four people familiar with the episode. Then she handed the comb to her staff member with a directive: Clean it. The moment an abridged version of which Ms. Klobuchar recounted herself in a speech to fellow Democrats at the time encapsulates the underside of life on the Minnesota senator's team, detailed in interviews with more than two dozen former staff members and internal emails reviewed by The New York Times. As Ms. Klobuchar joins the 2020 presidential race, many of these former aides say she was not just demanding but often dehumanizing not merely a tough boss in a capital full of them but the steward of a work environment colored by volatility, highhandedness and distrust. Oh boy. But read it to the end, it gets worse. The parental leave thing has been reversed since the article was published, says Klobuchar's team. How Amy Klobuchar Treats Her Staff [NYT] PREVIOUSLY: Amy Klobuchar legendarily abusive to staff I know we're all focusing on the comb/salad anecdote, but this in the NYT story on how Amy Klobuchar handled parental leave for her staff https://t.co/eM88W5hND2 pic.twitter.com/VgtSeDWPWE Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) February 22, 2019 Not saying it was appropriate conduct, but the @amyklobuchar fork story has now received more coverage in less than a day than Donald Trump's mob ties received during the entire 2016 campaign. David Corn (@DavidCornDC) February 22, 2019 The real trick, fwiw, is eating soup with a brush. Matt Berman (@Mr_Berman) February 22, 2019 I need a firmer description of the comb. southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) February 22, 2019 VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Torino Power Solutions Inc. (CSE: TPS) (the Company or Torino) reports that it has shipped one of its Power Line Monitoring (PLM) sensor systems to a BC Hydro substation located in the northeastern Peace River region of British Columbia. In January, the Company reported receiving a purchase order from BC Hydro for the installation of its PLM system. The unit is expected to be used for a 138kV transmission line and to be installed at the end of March. BC Hydro is a Crown corporation and Canadas fifth largest electric utility serving over 4 million customers in the province of British Columbia. Torino's patented microwave cavity sensor technology delivers real-time temperature measurements of overhead powerlines that allow for increased transmission capacity, improved grid resiliency, lower energy costs and bottleneck elimination. Torino sensors can be deployed quickly and begin transmitting real-time data to the utility almost immediately. Torino is focused on servicing utilities that are seeking new innovative sensor technology to improve grid performance and reduce cost for their customers. Please visit www.torinopower.com for more information. We seek Safe Harbor. On behalf of the Board of Directors Rav Mlait CEO and Director Torino Power Solutions Inc. For further information, contact at info@torinopower.com The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information that involves various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company, such as final development of a commercial product(s), successful trial or pilot of company technologies, no assurance that commercial sales of any kind actually materialize; no assurance the Company will have sufficient funds to complete product development. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and the Companys plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information, including: (i) adverse market conditions; (ii) risks regarding protection of proprietary technology; (iii) the ability of the Company to complete financings; (v) the ability of the Company to develop and market its future product; and (vi) risks regarding government regulation, managing and maintaining growth, the effect of adverse publicity, litigation, competition and other factors which may be identified from time to time in the Company's public announcements and filings. There is no assurance that the DTCR/PLM business will provide any benefit to the Company, and no assurance that any proposed new products will be built or proceed. There is no assurance that existing patent pending technologies licensed by the Company will receive patent status by regulatory authorities. The Company is not currently selling commercial DTCR/PLM systems. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements. In an epic blog post, writer and law expert @emptywheel (Marcy Wheeler) dissects Thursday's hearing in court for Trump ratfucker and reckless Instagrammer Roger Stone. Judge Amy Berman Jackson called Stone and his lawyers to her court and demanded that they explain why Stone shouldn't be gagged or jailed on the spot. Roger Stone ended up testifying, and it was a moment for the ages. Judge Jackson ("ABJ" as she's now nicknamed online) imposed a gag on Stone at the end of Thursday's hearing, in response to his Instagram post of an image of her with crosshairs above her head. In her post, Marcy breaks down the genius behind each step ABJ took to slice and dice Roger Stone's lies, and reveal his schtick for what it is: toxic speech that has real-world consequences for other human beings. This @emptywheel on Roger Stone in ABJ's legal crosshairs is PURE GOLD. Don't @ me go READ IT. https://t.co/H9eAOTvv67 pic.twitter.com/85VUeHYIIH Xeni Jardin (@xeni) February 22, 2019 Here's a snip from the post: Here's why, I think, this was allowed to happen. For Stone's entire life, the press has coddled Stone, treating him as a nifty character whose toxic speech doesn't damage society. ABJ was having none of that, and used both Rogow's position as an officer of the court and Stone's insane willingness to take the stand to get them to acknowledge that his speech is toxic, that it does pose a threat to society. Stone presumably wasn't prepared for that because no one has called him on his toxic speech before. If Stone's lucky, the now much harder to challenge gag will be the only detrimental outcome from yesterday's hearing and he'll avoid perjury charges. Marcy suggests that it's likely Stone will violate (or may have already violated!) the terms of Thursday's gag order. Just go read the whole thing, and spare yourself the loud cable news commentators. This piece has all you need. HOW AMY BERMAN JACKSON GOT ROGER STONE TO STEP IN IT AND THEN STEP IN IT AGAIN [https://www.emptywheel.net] A reporter for Pennsylvania's Orange Street News rode her bike near the Arizona-Mexico border on an assignment when a marshal in the town of Patagonia threatened to arrest her. He wanted her to stop what she was doing. The reporter, Hilde Lysiak, is only 12 years old. According to her story in the Orange Street News, when she gave him her name and phone number and told him she was working for a news organization, he said, "I don't want to hear about any of that freedom of the press stuff. I'm going to have you arrested and thrown in juvey." A bit later, she approached him to ask what he meant about sending her to juvey. "What exactly am I doing that's illegal?" He tells her if she puts his face on the Internet it's against the law in Arizona. He then talks in circles, not ever giving a valid reason of how she was breaking the law. Via USA Today: He went on to tell her that he was worried about her safety and had told her not to follow the marshals because they were going into an area where people have seen mountain lions. From Patterson's perspective, Hilde had ignored a lawful order, the video shows. Hilde wasn't satisfied. "Yeah, how is that illegal?" Hilde asked. "I understand that you're concerned about the safety, but what exactly am I doing?" Patterson insisted she disobeyed and also lied about where she was going. He told her she originally said she was going to her friend's house when he first stopped her, and instead she followed him, the video shows. "You can lie to your mother, you can lie to your father, you can lie to your priest, but you can't lie to a law-enforcement officer," Patterson told her. The officer then says he'll be contacting her parents before he took off in his truck. The town of Patagonia claims on their website that the marshal is being disciplined, but doesn't give any details on what that looks like. Meanwhile, Lysiak, the youngest member of the Society of Professional Journalists, tweeted that she's glad the town is taking action, but doesn't want people harassing the marshal online. "My focus is on protecting our First Amendment Rights." This is one amazing kid and I look forward to seeing where she's at 10 years from now. I am hoping this is medical and not government surveillance. NBC: The World Health Organization says that an epidemic of measles in Madagascar has caused more than 900 deaths. According to WHO figures, there have been more than 68,000 cases of the disease, in which 553 deaths were confirmed and 373 suspected from measles since the outbreak began in September. Madagascar has launched a nationwide campaign to try to bring the outbreak under control, through mass vaccination campaigns and surveillance. The waves of protests and walkouts that swept Google last year had many grievances and concerns, from the company's Pentagon contract to supply AI for drones to the secret creation of a censored search tool for the Chinese market, but one central flashpoint was the revelation that the company had paid Android exec $90 million to quietly leave the company after a string of disturbing sexual harassment and abuse incidents came to light. The Rubin incident was compounded by the company's practice of forcing its employees to accept binding arbitration contracts as a condition of employment (binding arbitration clauses mean that you surrender your right to seek justice in court, including as part of a class-action suit, and instead agree to have your disagreements heard by a corporate "aribitrator" paid for by the company you're upset with, who generally unsurprisingly sides with that company). The binding arbitration contracts meant that women who had suffered systematic discrimination and abuse at Google could not sue the company, especially not collectively through class action suits, which are often the only economically feasible way for groups of people to get redress from giant, powerful corporations under binding arbitration, women who'd been abused at Google couldn't even sue to be released from their confidentiality clauses so that they could publicly discuss their experiences. Last month, a group of activist googlers launched the #endforcedarbitration campaign, which actively made the connection between #metoo and forced arbitration. Though the activists' long-term goal was the elimination of forced arbitration clauses in all employment contracts, their first target was Google's employment contracts, and they scored a hit on that first attempt: Google has retroactively waived all existing binding arbitration clauses in employee contracts, expanding on the company's November 2018 decision to remove arbitration from new hires' contracts. This means that googlers who experienced discrimination, harassment, abuse and other wrongdoing before November will be able to go to court, too. Google, like all tech companies, has access to almost limitless capital and has been able to evade most regulation and taxation, but all the money and regulation in the world can't solve its biggest bottleneck: the massive shortage of tech workers, which gives Google's workforce enormous political power (this is why Google secretly lobbied the Trump administration to make it illegal for Googlers to organize themselves over email). Tech workers are waking up to their power and responsibility, with big things on the horizon. Google said Thursday that it will no longer bar employees from suing the company over discrimination or wrongful termination, or from joining together in class-action suits. The change will end Google's policy of forcing employees to litigate such disputes in arbitration, where hearings are typically closed and the arbitrators are paid for by the company. Critics say arbitration allows sexual harassers to prey on multiple victims because of the secrecy. In November, Google waived mandatory arbitration for sexual harassment and assault claims. Thursday's move is a significant expansion of that policy. Among other things, it will allow current Google employees to move past claims from arbitration to court. Still, recent policy improvements at Google and other tech companies arrived too late for some female employees. Google Ends Forced Arbitration After Employee Protest [Nitasha Tiku/Wired] Page not found. Sorry, the page you specified does not exist. Either you misspelled a page name, or you need to update your bookmarks. <( Back ) t is inherently unjust to point to any one wild market, any single greedy industry captain and conclude that the entire system essentially immoral, wrong and sinful. This is what is called, idiomatically speaking, throwing the baby out with bath water. [] In a recent move that garnered little public attention amidst the tense media coverage enveloping this weeks Vatican summit on clerical sexual abuse and the protection of minors, Pope Francis restored priestly faculties to a Nicaraguan Jesuit and poet, Ernesto Cardenal, a liberation theologian and former militant Marxist. A February 18 brief statement about Cardenals rehabilitation was released by the Apostolic Nunciature in Nicauaragua and reported by the Vaticanista press. It read: The Holy Father has graciously granted the absolution of all canonical censures imposed on Rev. Father Ernesto Cardenal, accepting the request he had recently made to him through the Pontifical Representative in Nicaragua, to be readmitted to the exercise of the priestly ministry. At a frail 94 years of age and while ailing from a kidney infection, news of his lifted suspension broke via a tweet from a Nicaraguan auxiliary bishop who admitted asking for Cardenals priestly blessing from his Managua hospital. Cardenals canonical punishment was ordered 35 years ago by John Paul II not because of any sexual impropriety the cause of so much scandal today and the laicization of Catholic clergy in the highest ranks, like the recently defrocked former Washington Archdiocese cardinal Theodore McCarrick. Hardly so. Cardenals scandal was that he, as a Catholic priest, held political office, which is strictly forbidden by the Roman Catholic code of canon law. After repeated warnings from the Vatican and his own orders superiors, the impenitent Cardenal refused to step down as Minister of Culture, perhaps the most powerful center of popular influence in Daniel Ortegas newly installed revolutionary Marxist regime. As EWTNs Catholic News Agency reports: Cardenal, a poet and Marxist liberation theology activist, actively collaborated with the Sandinista National Liberation Front revolution that ended the dictatorship of then-president Anastasio Somoza. He was appointed Minister of Culture the same day the Sandinistas were victorious on July 19, 1979, an office that he held until 1987. He was suspended a divinis by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1984 for violating canon law by assuming a public office that involves the exercise of civil power. In 1983, there was a famous photo taken at the Managua airport runway in which Cardenal was seen kneeling before John Paul II, in the traditional baciamano position, where Catholic priests kiss the popes hand upon being received in an audience. The Cold War-era Polish pope certainly no friend of communism and much less so of any Marxist activist priest was shown pulling back his hand and then pointing to scold the young Jesuit idealist: Usted tiene que arreglar sus asuntos con la Iglesia! (You must fix your affairs with the Church!). Cardenal was subsequently severely sanctioned along with his priest brother Fernando Cardenal, Ortegas Minister of Education, and Miguel DEscoto, a Maryknoll missionary who was later elected U.N. General Assembly president in 2008. Cardenal eventually withdrew completely from active politics. However, he has always retained his legacy for anti-capitalist sentiments through his poetry, which continues to win international awards and acclaim from socialist advocates. In his famous poem Prayer for Marilyn Monroe, he lamented the actresss tragic death, blaming her plight on the corruption and objectification of women in a capitalist film industry: Lord receive this young woman known around the world as Marilyn Monroewho now comes before You without any makeup, without her Press Agent, without photographers and without autograph hounds. . [Her] temple isnt the studios of 20th Century-Fox. The templeof marble and goldis the temple of her body in which the Son of Man stands whip in hand driving out the studio bosses of 20th Century-Fox who made Your house of prayer a den of thieves. . She only acted according to the script we gave her the story of our own lives. And it was an absurd script. Forgive her, Lord, and forgive us for our 20th Century for this Colossal Super-Production on which we all have worked. Cardenal definitely was right, even prophetically so, about the deep corruption of film producers and the sexual exploitation of women that currently plagues Weinsteinian Hollywood. No doubt, there are hoards of sexually corrupt producers, actors and directors willing to masquerade as industry do-gooders, just as there is widespread sin and temptation in the clerical life or any naturally good profession, corporation and human enterprise. Human sin is, therefore, omnipresent. It is rampant in any socialist paradise in which Marxist state-owned activities collude with political leaders and clients while extending the same suffering and human depravity to the lower classes. Even more so, when such atheist leftist regimes reject Gods existence and His natural moral order altogether. Just visit Caracas, Havana, Pyongyang or even Managua and begin pointing fingers. It is inherently unjust to point to any one wild market, any single greedy industry captain and conclude that the entire system essentially immoral, wrong and sinful. This is what is called, idiomatically speaking, throwing the baby out with bath water. As a rehabilitated priest, Father Cardenal may now freely administer the sacraments and, thus, hear his last earthly confessions. Surely he will be reminded of the individual iniquity that will forever exist in any civil order, capitalist and communist, and which can only be redeemed by divine grace and by exercising our responsible God-centered, virtue-orientated freedom while actively pursuing the common good of mankind. If you found this article interesting, you might want to check out the upcoming Acton Lecture on May 30, featuring James M. Patterson, Ph.D. Patterson will be speaking on Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, anti-communism, and Catholic patriotism. Click the button below to learn more and register. Photo credit: Pinterest public archive https://www.pinterest.it/pin/492792384197316916/?autologin=true What just happened? On Wednesday the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Timbs v. Indiana that the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution applies to state governments and that some state civil asset forfeitures violate the Clause. The implication, as legal scholar Ilya Somin explains, is that the ruling could help curb abusive asset forfeitures, which enable law enforcement agencies to seize property that they suspect might have been used in a crimeincluding in many cases where the owner has never been convicted of anything, or even charged. What is the Excessive Fines Clause and why does it apply to civil forfeitures? While the Eighth Amendment is most famously know as the amendment on Cruel and Unusual Punishment, it includes a clause prohibiting excessive fines: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. In the 1993 case Austin v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that a civil forfeiture penalty was included within the excessive fines provision because the forfeiture was a punishment for an offense and did not only serve a remedial purpose. What is civil asset forfeiture? Civil asset forfeiture (hereafter CAF) is a controversial legal tool that allows law enforcement officials to seize property they claim has been involved in specific criminal activity. Typically, civil law involves disputes between private citizens while criminal law involves disputes between private citizens and the state (i.e., the people represent the interest of victims). CAF is a hybrid of the two, a dispute between the state and a private citizens property. Because CAF proceedings charge the property itself with involvement in a crime, the property owner must prove the property was not involved in criminal activity. Such property can include land, vehicles, cash, personal possessions, etc. As the Department of Justice notes, it is because civil forfeiture actions are brought against the property directly that federal civil forfeiture cases have what appear to be very peculiar names, such as United States v. Ninety Three (93) Firearms, 330 F.3d 414 (6th Cir. 2003), United States v. One 1992 Ford Mustang GT, 73 F. Supp. 2d 1131 (C.D. Cal. 1999), or United States v. $557,933.89, More or Less, in U.S. Funds, 287 F.3d 66 (2d Cir. 2002). How can property commit a crime? It cant, as even the Justice Department admits: At one time, it was said that civil forfeiture was based on the legal fiction that the property itself was guilty of the offense. That is no longer true. Although the property is named as the defendant in the civil forfeiture case, it is not because the property did anything wrong. Things do not commit crimes. People commit crimes using or obtaining things that consequently become forfeitable to the state. The in rem structure of civil forfeiture is simply procedural convenience. It is a way for the government to identify the thing that is subject to forfeiture and the grounds therefor, and to give everyone with an interest in the property the opportunity to come into court at one time and contest the forfeiture action. Is civil asset forfeiture state or federal law? Both. Only seven states and D.C. block law enforcement access to forfeiture proceeds. But because of a recent change by the Justice Department, all local law enforcement agencies have access to CAF through participation in equitable sharing (see below) with the federal government. What is equitable sharing? Equitable sharing allows state and local law enforcement to team with the federal government to forfeit property under federal law instead of state law. Participating agencies allow the federal government to keep some of the proceeds from the sell of the seized property, though they may receive up to 80 percent for themselves. In 2015, President Obama ended the Equitable Sharing Program, but it was reinstated this month by the Trump administration. In fiscal year 2018, the states received $400,708,573 in cash and sale proceeds from the federal equitable sharing program. How long has civil asset forfeiture been used? Although some form of civil forfeiture has existed since the founding of the United States, the modern form dates back to the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. This federal law authorized federal officials to implement a national asset forfeiture program. What is the purpose of the federal civil asset forfeiture program? According to the Department of Justice, the Justice Asset Forfeiture Program is an initiative that removes the tools of crime from criminal organizations, deprives wrongdoers of the proceeds of their crimes, recovers property that may be used to compensate victims, and deters crime. The most important objective of the Program is law enforcement. Equitable sharing further enhances this law enforcement objective by fostering cooperation among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. How is property federally forfeited? At the federal level, forfeiture can be administrative, judicial, criminal, and civil. Administrative forfeiture is the process by which federal seizing agencies may declare property forfeited to the U.S. government without judicial involvement. Seizures must be based on probable cause. Among DOJ civil forfeitures from 1997 to 2013, 88 percent took place administratively. Judicial forfeiture, both civil and criminal, is the process by which property is declared forfeited to the United States by a court. Criminal forfeiture is an action brought as part of the criminal prosecution of a defendant that includes the forfeiture of property used or derived from the crime. If the defendant is convicted, the judge or the jury may find that the property is forfeitable. Civil forfeiture is a proceeding brought against the property rather than against the person who committed the offense. Civil forfeiture does not require either criminal charges against the owner of the property or a criminal conviction. To obtain a federal forfeiture, the Government must prove the forfeiture and the connection between the property and the crime by a preponderance of the evidence. What is the burden of proof for seizing property? In federal law and 35 states, the burden of proof is placed on the owners of the property to prove they had nothing to do with the alleged crime. As the Institute for Justice explains, In essence, most civil forfeiture laws presume that people are connected to any criminal activity involving their property and force them to prove otherwise to recover it. This is precisely the opposite of what happens in criminal trials, where the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty by the government. It also often involves a practical impossibility, as it requires people to prove a negativethat they did not know about or consent to the illegal use of their property. What if property is taken from an innocent person? A person must prove they are innocent of the crime to get back their seized property. According to the Justice Department: To protect the interests of truly innocent property owners who were unaware that their property was being used for an illegal purpose, or who took all reasonable steps under the circumstances to stop it, Congress has enacted a uniform innocent owner defense. See 18 U.S.C. 983(d). Under that statute, a person contesting the forfeiture must establish ownership interests and innocence by a preponderance of the evidence. If a claimant is successful in proving their innocence in a civil forfeiture case, Congress has mandated they are entitled to have the government pay all attorneys fees and other litigation expenses. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has denounced an increasingly prevalent working relationship as evil. However, a new report shows the condition he abjured as immoral has been exacerbated by another economic practice that he favors and advocates that is, by the archbishops standards, his fiscal advice inadvertently increases evil. Archbishop Welby made headlines last October for a speech in which he excoriated Amazon for not paying a real living wage and calling zero-hour contracts an ancient evil. As it turned out, Church of England parishes offered zero-hour contracts and jobs that paid less than the living wage, both directly and indirectly through their significant investments in Amazon. Nonetheless, Abp. Welby has had a long history of advocacy on behalf of both issues. On the eve of the 2015 general election, he and his fellow bishops issued a 52-page pastoral letter (titled Who is my Neighbour?) noting that the Church of England has backed the concept of the Living Wage, because it represents the basic principle that people are not commodities and that their lives cannot adapt infinitely in response to market pressures. Last September, Welby joined calls for officials to crack down on business owners who fail to pay the living wage. As early as 2013, Welby said a living wage is something we should be shouting about. (Jesus prioritized a different message when raising our voice.) This is to say, he has been nothing if not consistent. However, the laws of economics are equally steadfast. When employers must raise wages, they control costs by offering fewer hours to workers (or hiring fewer workers). The result is the rise of zero-hour contracts, the ancient evil Abp. Welby has sought to exorcise from the UKs body politic. Economists at London School of Economicss Centre for Economic Performance found a causal link between the two policies. Ryan Bourne, a scholar at the Cato Institute, writes that the paper found: Firms reacted to the minimum wage rise for over-25s by replacing some fixed hours jobs with ZHCs. According to their calculations, a domiciliary worker doing care in individuals homes and earning the minimum wage saw, on average, a 7.5 [percent] increase in their wage rate, but a 4.3 [percent] increase in the probability of being on a ZHC. Yet this effect was not limited to social care. Their analysis combining all low-paid sectors gave a similar conclusion. The two trends, Abp. Welbys desire to raise minimum wages and his desire to guarantee hours, are at odds with one another: Minimum wage rises appear to come with big trade-offs on worker job security, even when firms dont react by directly cutting employment or hiring levels. This suggests the number of ZHC workers would be much lower today had the minimum wage not been increased significantly since 2010. Zero-hour contracts, which are more prevalent in the UK, would be familiar to anyone who has ever freelanced: The employer makes no guarantee of a minimum number of hours, work, or pay, and the jobs have no benefits. However, most ZHCs offer flexibility and give the worker the right to work on his or her own schedule. (Some, though far from all, ZHCs require a worker to be available on call, and shifts can be canceled with little notice.) Its certainly true that the number of workers on zero-hour contracts has increased significantly, from 585,000 in 2013 to 844,000 last December, according to the most recent figures released by the UKs Office of National Statistics. What is not clear is that this is evil. Workers on zero-hour contracts were nearly twice as likely to be satisfied with their job as those on a regular contract, according to the first major study of zero-hour contracts by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in 2013. A follow-up study in 2015 found the satisfaction gap had narrowed as the economy improved, but workers on ZHCs were still happier than those on fixed-hour contracts. Moreover, the ONS found that nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of workers on ZHCs do not want to work any additional hours. This makes sense, as nearly one-third are young workers, and one-in-five is in school. ZHCs offer an invaluable way for them to begin a life of work while juggling college (and, lets be candid, social) demands. Zero-hour contracts could increase family cohesion and advance womens rights. Multiple surveys have found that most new mothers would prefer to stay at home or work part time, rather than work at a full-time job. Flexible jobs with limited hours, rather than taxpayer-funded universal child care schemes, would meet the expressed wishes of mothers. After comparing the perception of ZHCs with the experience of those who live on them, a CIPD spokesman said, The use of zero-hours contracts in the UK economy has been underestimated, oversimplified and, in some cases, unfairly demonized. In some cases, literally demonized. (Photo credit: Labour Youth. This photo has been cropped. CC BY 2.0.) This week, roughly 19,000 West Virginia teachers went on strike, closing down every public school in the state in a united resistance against educational choice. Now, after only two days, the strike is over, with the legislation in question dead on arrival in the state House. It marks a defeat against student opportunity and a victory for union-induced conformity and the dismal status quo of public education in West Virginiaa state that consistently sits at the bottom of nation-wide education rankings. In addition to raising teacher pay by five percent, the proposed law, Senate Bill 451, would have allowed for the establishment of charter schools and state-sponsored education savings accountsfeatures that neither the teachers union nor Republican Gov. Jim Justice would abide. For crying out loud, Justice said. We have to concentrate on our public schools. Yet, as Senate President Mitch Carmichael noted, such a move isnt about dismantling or ignoring standard public schools, the teachers of which would have gotten a pay raise through the bill. Its about creating more educational opportunity and dynamism across the state, which would serve to benefit public schools in the long-term, should they rise to the challenge. There is a vital need to reform West Virginias education system, and I do not believe that any true transformation comes through a pay raise alone, Carmichael said. Our families deserve competition, choice, and flexibility. Theres a moral argument to this, of coursethat regardless of outcomes, families ought to have a say in how their taxpayer money is used in their childs education. Theres a moral cost when government constrains human freedom and inhibits the development of distinct and diverse moral communities. Its about far more than budgetary concerns. But theres a practical argument, as wellthat expanding school choice brings a wide range of educational and economic benefits, both to students and public institutions. According to data from a growing number of studies, its an argument that has robust empirical support. At a recent Acton event, J.C. Huizenga, founder of National Heritage Academies and a member of the Acton Institute Board of Directors, summarized some of this evidence, highlighting the educational and fiscal results of public vs. charter schools. Huizenga points to a study by researchers at the University of Michigans Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, which found that children who attended one of his National Heritage Academy charter schools performed better in math and reading than those in public schools. Further, citing a recent study from the Mackinac Center, Doing More with Less: The Charter School Advantage in Michigan, Huizenga notes the return on investment to taxpayers from educational diversitya return that could then be funneled and re-invested back into educational institutions and resources, if taxpayers so desired. Charter schools are funded at a discount of $2,782, Huizenga explains. Based on that number, and the fact that we educate somewhere around 37,000 students in Michigan alonethat number is over $100 million in savings, just in the current year. West Virginias teachers union is ultimately concerned about the security of public schools from the perspective of government funding. There really is no other argument being made. Yet new opportunities and fresh challenges would serve to strengthen student options, embolden communities and, indeed, be sure to boost educational resources overall. In announcing the walkout, West Virginia union leader Fred Albert proudly declared, We are taking action! relishing in his unions resistance to educational opportunity and blind self-protectionism. Now that the strike is over and the status quo of educational mediocrity and conformity has been duly secured, who will rise and take action for the students, families, and taxpayers? Image: Wokandapix (Pixabay License) Having visited Nicaragua just prior to and immediately following the elections which initially ousted the Sandinistas from power in 1990, I was struck by the news this week from Rome. Evidently sometime in the last few weeks, when exactly remains unclear, Pope Francis lifted the canonical penalties imposed by Pope St. John Paul II on Father Ernesto Cardenal in 1984. Father Cardenal was a colorful character who had been suspended from his ministry for holding the cabinet position of Minister of Culture in the Marxist Sandinista government of Nicaragua from 1979 until the ministry was closed in 1987 in the face of Nicaraguas economic collapse. Father Cardenal was one of many priests who, in my estimation and evidently that of St. John Paul, undermined their vocation under the influence of Marxism and liberation theology to serve the brutal and destructive Sandinista regime, The Code of Canon Law prohibits priests from holding partisan political offices. After repeated attempts by the Vatican and their religious orders to convince them to resign their positions in the Sandinista government, Maryknoll Father Miguel DEscoto, Father Cardenal and his brother, Jesuit Father Fernando Cardenal, the Sandinista education minister, were suspended. A fourth priest, Father Edgar Parrales, who was ambassador to the Organization of American States, requested laicization. Father Cardenals brother, Father Fernando Cardenal, S.J. was readmitted to the Jesuits in 1997 after renouncing his membership in the Sandinistas. More recently Pope Francis lifted the suspension of Father Miguel D Escoto in 2014 after having been petitioned to do so however, as late as 2017 Father Ernesto Cardenal remained unrepentant, In a January 2017 interview, Cardenal said that his suspension was still in place and he was not interested in their lifting it. Evidently, from statements reported by the Catholic News Agency, he recently had a change of heart, The Holy Father has graciously granted the absolution of all canonical censures imposed on Rev. Father Ernesto Cardenal, accepting the request he had recently made to him through the Pontifical Representative in Nicaragua, to be readmitted to the exercise of the priestly ministry, said a Feb. 18 statement from the Apostolic Nunciature of Nicaragua. The statement, signed by Archbishop Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, the apostolic nuncio to Nicaragua, said that Cardenal has been under suspension of the exercise of the priestly ministry for 35 years due to his political party involvement. The religious accepted his canonical penalty imposed on him and has always observed it without carrying out any pastoral activity. In addition, he had abandoned all political commitment for many years. I pray that Father Cardenal, having been reconciled to the Church, has rejected the theological and political ideology that caused so many to suffer in Nicaragua under Sandinista rule. Daniel Ortega, under whom Father Cardenal served as Minister of Culture, again rules Nicaragua with disastrous consequences for its people. A strong and clear denunciation of the misery caused by the Sandinista regime on the part of Pope Francis would assure the beleaguered people of Nicaragua that his act of mercy in forgiving Father Cardenal ought not be misconstrued as an endorsement of his ruinous political legacy. If you found this article interesting, you might want to check out the upcoming Acton Lecture on May 30, featuring James M. Patterson, Ph.D. Patterson will be speaking on Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, anti-communism, and Catholic patriotism. Click the button below to learn more and register. Bermuda February 22, 2019 The investor call Wednesday February 20, was well attended. About 300 shareholders/investors. This is a high turnout; 43 % of shareholders/investors joined from USA, 36% in total from Norway and from the UK and the balance from other countries. NAT has about 100,000 shareholders. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts. The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "will," "may," "should," "expect," "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the tanker market, as a result of changes in OPEC's petroleum production levels and worldwide oil consumption and storage, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the prospectus and related prospectus supplement, our Annual Report on Form 20-F, and our reports on Form 6-K. Americans didnt start the second world war. Many felt this conflict was not our concern. The Japanese attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor shocked America. Americans were afraid Japan and Germany could reach the American continent. The U.S. entered the war in self-defense, not to advance American imperialism. Since World War II, Americans became selfish. We have lived by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have fulfilled the danger of this by making our personal pride and greed the standard of our behavior toward the world -- to the incalculable disadvantage of the world and every living thing in it. We have been wrong. We must change our lives, so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption that what is good for the world will be good for us. We must learn to cooperate in its processes and to yield to its limits. (2) In addition, with the bill being killed, Roers Jones said she had a message from the organizers of last year's initiated ballot measure calling for the legalization of recreational marijuana in North Dakota that said because of the House's vote, they were going to start another effort for legalization on the 2020 ballot. One of the leaders of that 2018 ballot measure, David Owen, of Grand Forks, verified that decision on Thursday. "We were kind of iffy on having another ballot initiative," he said. "But now we are 100 percent in. We just don't think people should go to prison or jail" for possessing marijuana. Not only was Roers Jones frustrated with the last-minute move by Pollert, but she also felt like her effort was being opposed throughout the session and that she wasn't allowed to let the process work. "I think there were forces against me," she said. In addition to the "clincher" move, she also said that when her bill was heard in committee, she was only given a half hour hearing, while many others can last hours. That was only 15 minutes for the pros and 15 minutes for cons on the bill, which despite that move, was passed by the House Judiciary Committee on a 9-4 vote. A Bismarck woman has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the assault of a Mandan bus driver in October. Megan Rosario Hernandez pleaded guilty last month to misdemeanor counts of harassment and disorderly conduct. Mandan police responded to an altercation at a bus stop on the 2100 block of Old Red Trail N.W. the morning of Oct. 10. Harlow's bus driver, Steve Bertsch, told police he had been assaulted by a 12-year-old boy. Video and audio recording showed Rosario Hernandez had walked onto the bus after the boy had kicked the driver in the chest several times, and she reportedly yelled at the driver, according to court documents. The 12-year-old continued to assault Bertsch, and, at one point, Rosario Hernandez pushed the driver. Bertsch was not hospitalized, but had a cut on his chin and blood on his lips and tongue, police said. Last week, South Central District Judge Bruce Romanick handed down a one-year deferred imposition of sentence, as well as a year of unsupervised probation. With the deferred imposition of sentence, if Rosario Hernandez successfully completes probation, the charges will be dismissed. Regardless of the allegations in the complaint, the company is clearly still trying to bully Greenpeace through the legal system despite a federal court recently throwing out Energy Transfers entire $900 million case against Greenpeace, said Deepa Padmanabha, deputy general counsel for Greenpeace. We are confident that this latest attempt to silence peaceful advocacy will receive the same fate as the last meritless attack. Other defendants named in the lawsuit include the Red Warrior Society, also known as the Red Warrior Camp, which the complaint alleges engaged in the most violent protest activities in the fall of 2016. The complaint also names two leaders of the Red Warrior Camp and a Greenpeace organizer as defendants. The complaint cites incidents that occurred during six months of pipeline protests that occurred in Morton County in 2016 and 2017. The 1,172-mile pipeline from the Bakken to Patoka, Ill., has been operational since June 2017. Energy Transfer Partners filed a racketeering lawsuit in U.S. District Court in August 2017 against many of the same defendants with similar accusations. U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson dismissed the case against Greenpeace on Feb. 14, finding no evidence of a coordinated criminal enterprise. (Reach Amy Dalrymple at 701-250-8267 or Amy.Dalrymple@bismarcktribune.com) Love 1 Funny 3 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 8 Clair Johnson Howard, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Montana, declined Friday to comment or provide details beyond the information contained in the statement. A BIA spokeswoman did not immediately return a request for comment Friday. The BIA previously declined to name the officer involved or release any details of the incident, referring media inquiries to the FBI, which would not confirm the investigation's existence. Multiple witnesses to the shooting, including Stewarts mother, told The Gazette the day after the shooting that while Stewart had been holding a knife at the time, he was standing on his porch, a significant distance from the officer. His mother, LaVerne Williamson Big Hair, said at the time her son had been drinking during the evening, and she had been the one to call police after he began acting belligerent. She said she hoped they would take him to jail where he could sleep it off. I just wanted (the police) to take him to jail. I didnt say to come over and kill him, Big Hair said. Other neighborhood residents who witnessed the shooting described an encounter in which Stewart was standing on his porch, 10 to 20 feet from the officer, who ordered him to drop the knife multiple times. Anderson said that although he has read through the PAARP board rules, he is not yet familiar with program policies and procedures. Generally speaking, I think when Ive read through the websites for the PAARP members, youve got licensed therapists, youve got all these people that are working to try to help kids Im just assuming that you guys are trying to do a good job with the kids that youve got out there and we need to try to do our job to support you guys to do that. Anderson said he would work with programs to make sure they adhere to basic health and safety standards. In moving to DPHHS, Anderson said some complaints could be made public, adding that DPHHS has more resources to conduct investigations into complaints than the Labor Department. However, Anderson said there could also be exceptions for programs, such as how onsite inspections are conducted. The current PAARP rules require seven-day notice for those, Anderson said. We would honor those although our standard procedure is unannounced that we have within the department now. The board also agreed to support three other bills pertaining to private residential programs. HB 222 would eliminate the religious exemption that allows programs affiliated with a religious organization to avoid oversight of any kind. HB 282 would criminalize sexual relationships between program staff and vulnerable youth, even if those youths are older than the age of consent of 16. And HB 105 would amend how the board considers reciprocity licenses. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A group of Billings police officers is appealing a district court ruling dismissing their claims that the city for years underpaid them in retirement pay and other benefits. Ernie Watters, the lead plaintiff in a class action suit against the city of Billings, has filed a notice of appeal with the Montana Supreme Court, after a lower court dismissed his claims in December. Its the second time the case has come before the Montana Supreme Court during a decade of litigation. The officers claim the city miscalculated longevity pay and retirement benefits in three, three-year contracts from 2000 to 2009, resulting in underpayment. The suit was filed in 2009 by roughly two dozen officers. Since then, the plaintiff list has grown to roughly 150 active and retired 150 officers. The 12-year-old accused of intentionally setting a house fire in September that hospitalized six people has been charged with five counts of attempted deliberate homicide. The boy was charged in Yellowstone County District Court as required by law for the offenses alleged. After a hearing, the case was moved to youth court. The boy could face penalties including juvenile prison, treatment or probation. Those injured in the fire were treated for burns and smoke inhalation, according to a press release the Billings Police Department sent shortly after the incident. One victim was flown to the Salt Lake City Children's Hospital for care. Laura Watson, a prosecutor with the Yellowstone County Attorneys Office who is handling the case, declined to comment on the case or its transfer to youth court. The Billings Gazette generally does not name juveniles charged with crimes. Exceptions exist, including for cases in which the juvenile has been identified by law enforcement or when the juvenile is being tried as an adult. Love 2 Funny 1 Wow 2 Sad 15 Angry 24 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Western Heritage Center was recently awarded a $700 grant from Humanities Montana. According to a press release from Humanities Montana, the grant is in support of WHCs exhibit Art & Adaptation: Transforming Art Among the Apsaalooke. The exhibit explores artistic changes and their inspirations through the eyes of Apsaalooke artists. It includes loans from Chief Plenty Coups State Park such as Buster Bell Rocks paintings from the 1930s, Kevin Red Star works, photography and historical objects. The exhibit narrative includes dozens of interviews of Apsaalooke (Crow) artists and historians recorded by the American Indian Tribal Histories Project. On September 3, 1783, representatives from the American states, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay, and a representative of King George III signed the Treaty of Paris to officially end the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain. The first Article of that Treaty acknowledged:In the Declaration of Independence, the document that preceded the Treaty, the document whichthat the States were separating themselves from the political bonds with Great Britain (seceding from the British Empire) and declaring themselves independent, our Founders articulated the government theory that justified their act of secession and their independence. It was premised on the doctrine of INDIVIDUAL SOVEREIGNTY. This doctrine was articled by these words:In other words, the individual was born to be free and meant to live free. He has rights so foundational, so fundamental, so integral to his humanity, that they can never ever be taken away from him, or violated or burdened by government. In fact, as the Declaration says, governments are instituted for the primary purpose of securing the rights of the individual (while also establishing a peaceful ordered society for individuals to so enjoy their freedom). The people would always be greater than government. Governments would always be subordinate to the will of the people. The rights of the individual would always be the priority in the American States. Governments would always be considered "temporary," to exist at the will of the people and only to the extent that it protects their rights, keeps them safe, and extends their happiness. Government would never have any right or power to pursue or secure its own permanent existence. (Too bad Abraham Lincoln didn't understand this founding principle; over 650.,000 lives could have been spared)The first constitution of the "united States," establishing the first union, was the Articles of Confederation. Article II of that document declared thatThis provision would be the historical precursor to our Tenth Amendment.The Tenth Amendment essentially states the very same thing; it just doesn't include the phraseBut that fact is certainly implied. Government powers reside with a sovereign state or entity.This union, as we all know, was dissolved when each state convened a state convention to consider the ratification of the US Constitution of 1787 and therefore to formIn other words, each state, as the Declaration described for the course of action with respect to Great Britain, "dissolved the political bonds" holding it together with other states. Several states had issues with the new Constitution, skeptical of the new government so formed and the powers it was delegated, and so their ratifications were "conditioned" on several things: on amendments, on a Bill of Rights, and even on the fidelity of the government (its ability to remain limited). Four states that stand out in particular are New York, Virginia, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. The first to ratify conditionally was Massachusetts. The state wanted a Bill of Rights to be included (it reserved the right to consider its ratification null and void should one not have been added). The first three states, however, took their conditioned stance more forcefully; they included "Resumption Clauses" in their ratification documents. That is, they reserved the right, as SOVEREIGN states, to resume all the powers they had delegated in the Constitution.Virginia included this provision in its ratification:New York included this provision:And Rhode Island included this provision:Why did these states reserve the right to resume the (limited) government powers that were delegated by the Constitution to the new common government? Because they were SOVEREIGNS with inherent rights to rule.So what does this word "Sovereign" mean? What is "Sovereignty"? Many people don't exactly know what the these terms mean and their significance.Sovereignty is inextricably linked to the supreme right to govern and the supreme power to govern.Government in the United States requires the understanding of three terms: Self-government, sovereignty, and social compact.Sovereignty is the power to rule; to make laws and to govern; a sovereign is a country, government, or entity that has supreme power or authority. The individual is a sovereign. It is a self-evident truth that individuals are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among them are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.ormeansJust as individuals, as sovereigns, have certain inalienable rights, other sovereigns (such as countries, governments, entities) have rights that can never be divested or taken away. That is what New York, Virginia, and Rhode Island articulated and re-asserted in their Resumption Clauses.Individual Sovereignty is the inherent and independent right to do all that is necessary to govern oneself. In the United States, the People are sovereign. In fact, only the individual is truly sovereign, because only the people, and not government, have inherent rights to life, liberty, and property, along with the right to protect and preserve it.Governments govern people, and without people, there would be no need for government. In other words, the sovereign individual precedes government. Government has to get its powers (its authority to make law and to enforce laws) from somewhere and it's the people who assign it those powers. They delegate the rights they themselves originally were vested with to govern themselves and their property to the government; dominion (jurisdiction) and power originate from the individual.In the United States, we enjoy self-government, or at least, we used to. Increasingly government has taken it upon itself (at the federal, state, and local level) to tell us what we can and can't do. When our country was founded, the people were trusted with self-government; they were, for the most part, moral and upstanding people who valued family and decency. They worked, provided for themselves, raised their families right, and therefore required minimal laws to constrain their conduct. But we all know what happened to the fabric of society and the character of too many people in our country; and so, more and more laws were required.But let's get back to government and the government philosophy on which our country was founded. Government power originates from the people, for the people - "of the people, by the people, and for the people." The Declaration of Independence tells us this. Government arises out of social compact. John Locke tells us this, and being that our Declaration was written with Locke's philosophy in mind, our Declaration also tells us this. The federal government was established by the social compact known as the US Constitution. The federal government is its "creation" - an agent to serve the states. State governments are established by the compacts that are the state governments.John Locke's philosophy of government is based on nature and natural law (Natural Law is referenced in the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence). Each person is an individual, of course. God created each of us with rights in our personhood; he didn't create us with "collective rights." Those would beLong ago, human beings migrated around, to find land to farm, to provide food for themselves, to herd their animals, to provide shelter, to be near a ready food source, etc. They existed, pretty much, as individuals. But then as they populated, more and more individuals came to occupy the same area. And that was OK because man is a social creature.Because man is a social creature, he forms together into communities. And in order that communities run smoothly and common services be provided to protect everyone's rights and property, governments are instituted. And so, individuals delegate some of their sovereign power of self-defense and self-preservation to a government. That is why the bulk of government is always supposed to be closest to the individual, where it is most responsible and most accountable. Our rights and liberties are most protected when people have the frequent opportunity to see their elected officials and look them in the eye, and when those officials see a personal story behind acts of legislation, etc.This is exactly what our Declaration of Independence tells us about our individual sovereignty. In the first paragraph, we are told that our sovereignty is based on Natural Law and God's Law - "to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them." The only rightful power our government has is the power that the People - by the consent of the governed and according to the precise language and intent of our Constitution - have temporarily delegated to it. In that grant of power, in a system based on the Sovereignty of the Individual, there is always a mechanism to take that power back. That is why the Declaration explicitly states that the People have the right to "alter or abolish" their government (when it becomes destructive of its aims). In fact, that right is so important and so fundamental, it is listed with the other inherent rights that individuals possess. In other words, what the Declaration is saying is that the People of the "united States" have the right to reclaim the sovereign power that they temporarily delegated to that government to govern and protect their liberties.Again, this is because our system was premised on the Sovereignty of the Individual.When government exceeds its powers, it takes powers away from other sovereigns that hold those powers - which are the States and the People (recognized or re-stated in the Tenth and Ninth Amendments, respectively). Abuse of power is necessarily a usurpation of the rights of others. When government exceeds its powers, we are told that our only right is at the ballot box. This would indicate that the people are no longer recognized as sovereigns. When government exceeds its powers, states have been told they must comply or they are coerced into complying. This would indicate that states are no longer viewed as sovereigns. But nothing has changed constitutionally to warrant this change in outlook or in government philosophy. The Declaration tells us, and sovereignty dictates, that individuals always have the right to resume their inherent rights and powers to govern. This, in plain terms, means that individuals always have the inherent right to secede (or abolish their bonds with government, including abolishing government completely) or to refuse to comply with an illegitimate, immoral, or arbitrary law (as Rosa Parks did). Similarly, states have the inherent right to resume their powers to govern within their borders and over their jurisdiction. That resumption can take several forms, including secession (permanent, perhaps even violent), or nullification (peaceful; exercising the right not to recognize or enforce actions of the federal government that are in abuse of its powers).Nullification and Secession are two rightful and reserved remedies reserved to the parties under compact theory.If individuals or states no longer have a mechanism to take it back, then they are no longer sovereigns. If the government tells We the People that we don't have the right, or the power, to "alter or abolish" our government for abuse or tyranny, then we have already lost our freedom and our system of government is no longer based on the sovereignty of the individual. If the States are told that they no longer have a recognized right of secession, then they are nothing more than geographical boundaries in one consolidated land, under the dominion and subjugation of the federal government. English French OTTAWA, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) President Debi Daviau will hold a press conference Monday on Parliament Hill to mark the third anniversary of the Phoenix pay system. President Daviau will speak on the PIPSC Week of Action and the series of demands that will go a long way to remedy the ongoing pay problems. Members will be available to speak to the personal consequences of the Phoenix failure. Date: Monday, February 25, 2019 Time: 10:30 AM Place: 135-B Press Conference Room, West Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa Speakers: Debi Daviau, President, PIPSC President, PIPSC Stephane Aubry, Vice-President, PIPSC Teleconference: Media representatives wishing to participate via a teleconference may dial 1-866-797-9099 (toll-free) or 613-787-5142 (local). The Conference ID: 8705669 #. Phoenix Week of Action event Photo-op (cameras only): Date: Monday, February 25, 2019 Time: 7:30 AM 8:45 AM Place: Place du Portage STO stop at 200 Portage, as well as various entry ways President Debi Daviau, Vice-Presidents Stephane Aubry and Steve Hindle will be available for photo opportunity. On site contact person: Shelley Melanson, 613-668-3334. When Congress wrote the 1972 amendments to the Education Act, it meant to prevent colleges and universities that received federal money from discriminating against students based on sex. Title IX states that schools lose eligibility for federal money if they discriminate against either men or women.Over the years, federal courts have expanded and contorted the meaning of Title IX. By late 2018, it means, according to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, that a college or university violates Title IX unless it goes so far as to shut down an off-campus social media platform that it does not control because some people (who might or might not be students) are using it to communicate nasty messages about a feminist group.In short, Title IX now requires schools to mount a frontal assault on the First Amendment if some students complain that they're subject to "discrimination" because people are saying things they dislike.The case in question is Feminist Majority Foundation v. University of Mary Washington (UMW). It began in 2014 when UMW's student senate voted in favor of allowing male-only fraternities. Members of Feminists United (FU) at the school argued against that decision in a subsequent campus meeting and continued to do so on Yik Yak, a now-defunct social media app. Yik Yak allowed its users to post anonymous messages ("yaks") within a limited geographical range and some of them expressed strong, offensive, criticism of FU.Matters escalated a few days later when members of the UMW men's rugby team were captured on video in a chant that glorified violence against women. That video was given to the UMW administration. Members of FU sought and obtained a meeting with the school's president, Richard Hurley. They wanted to know what the university would do in response to the video; Hurley told them that some unspecified action would be taken.Feminists United president Paige McKinsey was not mollified by Hurley's bland assurances, so she published an opinion piece in the student newspaper in which she discussed the rugby team's chant, the harassing Yaks, and concluded that UMW wasThat led to still more verbal and cyber-attacks on FU members.McKinsey then informed Leah Cox, UMW's Title IX coordinator, that she wanted action taken against the rugby team, but Cox said that she did not know of any action that the school could take. On March 11, 2015, president Hurley held an open forum to discuss the tensions on campus, stating that he took student safety concerns seriously (FU members had complained that they felt unsafe on campus) and that several of the rugby players had been sanctioned for their conduct.Hurley's actions did nothing to cool the climate, however. Feminists United, therefore, filed a complaint with the federal Office for Civil Rights and a lawsuit against UMW. The arguments advanced in the suit were that UMW had violated the law by showing indifference to the hostile, discriminatory campus environment and that president Hurley was personally responsible for publicly defending the school against allegations of discrimination. That defense, the complaint argued, was tantamount to retaliation against the students.The federal district court that heard the case dismissed all aspects of the suit in 2017. It held that UMW had not been indifferent to the claimed discrimination and harassment because it had no control over anonymous postings on Yik Yak. It also held that Hurley was not liable for "retaliation" merely because he did not do everything FU had demanded and issued a public defense of the university.But the plaintiffs were not willing to accept that their novel views on the scope of Title IX had been rejected. They appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that their case should be reinstated. Last December, they got their wish (at least in part) when that court ruled that their claims against UMW could proceed. The Fourth Circuit agreed, however, that the complaint against Hurley as an individual was properly dismissed. (The decision is available here .)The essence of the Fourth Circuit's decision was its view that UMW could have exercised "substantial control" over the harassers (which it assumed were mostly UMW students even though that couldn't be proved) and the context in which the harassment occurred. The majority held that because the university could have blocked campus access to Yik Yak and could have taken additional steps (such as holding a mandatory student assembly and/or requiring anti-sexual harassment training for students), it had apparently been indifferent to the harassment of FU members. Therefore, the case should not have been dismissed.In dissent, Judge G. Steven Agee argued that the majority opinion was not consistent with the Supreme Court's leading Title IX harassment case, Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education and had disturbing First Amendment implications. He wrote that the plaintiffs'Judge Agee has identified a key problem with the approach many Title IX zealots take, namely that stopping harassing speech they dislike is so important that free speech must be sacrificed.Upon rehearing, the district court should address a crucial issue that has up until now been ignored-whether the harassing posts on Yik Yak were protected by the First Amendment.Even though many of the Yaks were vulgar, they did not rise to the level of "true threats" which the Supreme Court has held do not have First Amendment protection. Rather, they were expressions of opposition to FU's political advocacy on campus, which are covered by the First Amendment. As the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education states in its amicus brief,Furthermore, the presence of hostile Yaks did not prevent the plaintiffs from getting the benefits of an education at UMW since all they would have had to do to put an end to the problem, the brief continues, was toInstead, they chose to use Title IX as a sword against speech they wanted to silence.Judge Agee's dissent sums up the trouble with this ruling:The University of Mary Washington case will probably end up in the Supreme Court a few years from now and the justices will have to decide if they want to allow Title IX to keep surging over the First Amendment on college campuses. Serving as President of the United States is a thankless job that comes with its own kind of stress and anxiety and frustration. It is fitting that we officially honor all of our presidents in February on Presidents Day. Its no surprise to us animal lovers that most presidents have enjoyed the company of a family pet or two during their time in the White House. The animals help to relieve some of the tension in the hectic lives that come with the job. Their dogs love them unconditionally, their cats dont offer political advice, and their goldfish never leak secrets to the press. Some of our most serious, stoic presidents have been known to become different individuals when they were around their furry friends. Did you know that Abraham Lincoln loved cats and had a special soft spot in his heart for stray cats? According to the Presidential Pet Museum website, Lincoln was known to bring stray cats home on occasion. Mrs. Lincoln even referred to cats as her husbands hobby. After he was elected president, Lincoln made the decision to leave his beloved dog, Fido, back home with family friends in Springfield, Illinois. But he wasnt without a pet for long. Secretary of State William Seward gave the president two kittens that Lincoln named Tabby and Dixie. "We realize the state has its own budget shortfalls, and it's always tough because other organizations are always asking for money," Tiemann said. "We also realize you're not required to pay this, but we're coming to you for help." The multimillion judgment is triple what Gage County usually collects in property taxes and because the county is limited in how it can generate revenue, the onus is put primarily on the 1,300 farmers who own 75 percent of the taxable land there. Art Nietfeld, a farmer in southern Gage County near the Kansas border, said he will pay an estimated $10,000 more in property taxes each year until the Beatrice 6 judgment is paid off. "And I sure didn't have anything to do with it," he added. Other testifiers supporting Dorn's bill echoed Nietfeld's sentiment. Lyle Koenig, a Beatrice attorney who defended Taylor in 1989, told the committee the county's investigation into the six relied upon using the death penalty which he pointed out is a state law to secure their false confessions, while the prosecutor, Dick Smith, was granted prosecutorial immunity by the state, leaving the financial liability to fall on the taxpayers of a single county. The Alliance for Bakery Students and Trainees (ABST) has revealed the winners of its burger bun innovation challenge. The challenge tasked entrants with creating two brand new burger bun recipes one for a chicken burger and one for beef. First place was awarded to Ronnie Galway from University College Birmingham, who created a chopped croissant dough Pickle, Tomato & Cheese beef burger bun and Tikka with Nigella Seed stamped bun for a chicken burger. Second place went to Christine Cook from the Dublin Institute of Technology, whose innovations included a Whisky-inspired beef burger bun and a Piri-piri option for chicken. Abby Lee from Sheffield College came in third place. She created a Hungarian goulash-inspired Tomato, Garlic, Onion, Paprika and Caraway beef burger bun and cheese concept Garlic & Parmesan chicken burger bun. Highly recommended was Liz Brynes from Limerick Youth Service, who entered a beef burger bun flavoured with mustard and cloves and with a honey and Worcestershire sauce glaze, and a Kiev-inspired bun for a chicken burger. Guest judges Stephanie Evans and Emma Thomas from competition sponsor Guenther Bakeries UK said they were very impressed with the range and quality of the innovation. The cup, medals and certificates will be presented to the winners by Guenther Bakeries at the ABST Conference Gala Dinner on 8 June at Alton Towers Conference Centre. Trump has now condemned, ridiculed or dismissed the integrity of probes into Russias meddling by U.S. intelligence and national law enforcement agencies about 1,200 times. No wonder millions of people have lost faith in their institutions. Just as importantly, Trump has tried to subvert investigations of him and his business, such as the payoffs to women with whom he allegedly had sex. If this were 1974, and Congress had statesmen and women who cared more about country than party, Trump would be undergoing impeachment proceedings. Trump has made Richard Nixon look like an amateur subverter of the rule of law. Trump has profited from the presidency by millions of dollars. Trump has impeded investigations and fired officials for doing their jobs. To the self-absorbed Trump, everything is about him. And he intends to be reelected. Millions of people are waiting for special counsel Robert Muellers report on Russian conspiracies, which probably wont tell us much more than we already know. If and when the report leaks, Trumps absurdly loyal base wont care what it says anyway. Few of Donald Trumps pronouncements inspired such fear and loathing among journalists as his famous campaign pledge to open up our libel laws to make it easier for aggrieved public figures such as himself to win defamation suits against the press. Of course, as I have pointed out, there really arent any federal libel laws for Trump to open up. Federal courts do hear libel cases, but they are tried under state law. The only influence a president can have on libel law, I wrote, is through his appointment of federal judges, especially Supreme Court justices, whose interpretations of the 1st Amendment can affect the prospects of libel plaintiffs. This just in: On Tuesday morning a Supreme Court justice suggested that the court reconsider the mother of all liberal libel decisions, New York Times vs. Sullivan (1964), which makes it extraordinarily hard for public officials to win a libel lawsuit. (Later decisions extended the rule to cover non-governmental public figures.) But heres the twist: The justice wasnt one of Trumps two appointees. It was Justice Clarence Thomas, a George H.W. Bush nominee, and hes probably alone on the court in wanting to revisit the Sullivan case. (As Adam Liptak notes here, Trumps nominees, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, seem to be in the mainstream on libel law.) These commemorations kick off a yearlong celebration with events at Grand Canyon and throughout Arizona. All centennial activities are a joint effort between Grand Canyon National Park and Grand Canyon Conservancy to engage with the next generation of park stewards. For a full list of centennial events please visit, https://go.nps.gov/2019_events. Teddy Roosevelt: The Man in the Arena Award winning actor Derek Evans has traveled across the country to classrooms, museums, theaters, and even visited the White House Visitor Center to educate the public on the 26th president of the United States of America, Theodore Roosevelt. Totaling over 500 performances, Evans living history presentations have been the staple of his career since 1995. Evans allows the audience to travel back in time and meet the Bull Moose himself. Teddy Roosevelt is known for his power, responsibility, and honesty. Many said he taught the people what it meant to be truly American. BIELEFELD, GermanyDiscussions in Europe and the U.S. between Satisfyer and Womanizer for a cross-license patent have broken down, officials from German brand Satisfyer said. Representatives were reportedly discussing an agreement which would allow each company to use each others license freely. In the end, the main point of issue was in regards to the five years or longer term, said Jasmin Wagner, press spokeswoman for Satisfyer. It was not immediately clear if reps from the companies would try to resume talks in the future. BIELEFELD, GermanyGerman consumer organization and foundation Stiftung Warentest has published the results of its first-ever Stiftung Warentest of sex toys in its test magazine. Founded in 1964 by the German federal parliament in order to help consumers by providing impartial and objective information based on the results of comparative investigations of goods and services, Stiftung Warentest released its results for sex toys in the February issue. The study examined the pollutant load of sex toys, and found more expensive sex toys do not necessarily translate to fewer pollutants. The pollutants the magazine tested for include plasticizers, nickel and phenol. Stiftung Warentest has tested sex toys for the first time: We sent a total of 18 vibrators, love balls and cock rings to the lab and examined them for harmful substances, the magazine wrote. Among them are the Womanizer, the Satisfyer and a pair vibrator by We-Vibe. We found clean, but also five heavily polluted sextoys, among them by no means cheap goods (prices: 6.80 to 165 euros). Four times there was the grade Very good, five times was the verdict: Poor. Among toys placing high in the test was the Satisfyer Pro 2 Next Generation. The test result makes the Satisfyer team proud and truly satisfied, said Nadine Schwalbe, senior brand and sales manager. Sex toys obviously have a lot of contact with mucous membranes. This makes it all the more important to us that our Satisfyer is clean, and that the pleasure of our customers does not suffer from any harmful substances. The customer is for us the first priority, and with our Satisfyer Pro 2 Next Generation one gets clean, pollution-free fun at a fair price. For more information on the Stiftung Warentest sex toys tests, visit test.de. PHOENIX, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GlobalTranz Enterprises, Inc., a leading technology and third-party logistics solutions company providing award-winning Transportation Management System (TMS) products to shippers, logistics service providers and carriers, announced today that Chief Technology Officer Greg Carter and Senior Vice President, Sales & Managed Solutions Ross Spanier have been recognized as Supply & Demand Chain Executives 2019 Pros to Know. The Pros to Know Awards acknowledge individuals within the supply chain industry who are leading initiatives to help prepare their companies or customers supply chains for the significant challenges of todays business climate. Greg and Ross are both exemplary leaders that model what GlobalTranz stands for, a company that is working to deliver the future of freight through innovative technology and logistics solutions, said CEO Renee Krug. The Supply & Demand Chain Executive Pros to Know list is an important distinction and were thrilled to have not one, but two GlobalTranz executives honored for their outstanding work helping our clients achieve their strategic goals through innovative technology and solutions. Both Carter and Spanier have demonstrated strong leadership in the supply chain industry, standing out among more than 500 total applicants. With more than 25 years of product development, technology leadership and process management experience, Carter works to continuously develop innovative solutions and efficient processes for GlobalTranzs customers and employees. Spanier has over 16 years of experience in sales and operational roles within the logistics and supply chain industry. At GlobalTranz, Spanier is responsible for leading and building upon best-in-class service operations and fostering key customer relationships. Every year we receive more submissions from outstanding supply chain leaders. Its evidence of the growth in the supply chain profession as well as the importance of the profession within companies. Supply & Demand Chain Executive congratulates the 2019 Supply & Demand Chain Executive Pros to Know recipients. Our Pros to Know listing showcases the leaders and innovators shaping the profession and making a substantial impact on their companies, said John Yuva, editor for Supply & Demand Chain Executive. About GlobalTranz GlobalTranz is a technology company providing award-winning cloud-based multi-modal Transportation Management System (TMS) products to shippers, carriers, 3PLs and brokers. GlobalTranz is leading the logistics software and services market in innovative technology that optimizes the efficiency of freight movement and matches shipper demand and carrier capacity in real-time. Leveraging its extensive independent agent network, GlobalTranz has emerged as a fast-growing market leader with a customer base of over 1 million product users and 25,000 shippers. In 2018, Transport Topics named GlobalTranz a Top 10 largest freight brokerage firm in the U.S. About Supply & Demand Chain Executive Supply & Demand Chain Executive is the executive's user manual for successful supply and demand chain transformation, utilizing hard-hitting analysis, viewpoints and unbiased case studies to steer executives and supply management professionals through the complicated, yet critical, world of supply and demand chain enablement to gain competitive advantage. Visit us on the web at www.SDCExec.com . MEDIA CONTACT: Nick Fryer 224-515-7383 communications@globaltranz.com Strip clubs all over the country have been engaging in the habit of taking pictures of professional models, Playboy Playmates, reality TV stars and others, and using them to advertise their own, local establishments. Now, those clubs are paying a price, according to a report by the legal site Law360, as many of those women are firing back with lawsuits over the unauthorized use of their images. In a wave of litigation that has been growing since as early as 2015, models like former Baywatch star Carmen Electra and Real Housewives of Miami alum Joanna Krupa are suing clubs over photos used in the businesses posts on social media, Law360 wrote (link behind paywall). Theyre filing the suits in droves, with some models bringing more than 50 lawsuits against clubs over the last three years. In November, a group of 14 models filed a suit against a club in Columbus, Ohio, according to the Cincinatti Enquirer, and that was the 13th such suit brought last year in Ohio alone. Similar suits were also ongoing in Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Colorado, according to the Enquirer investigation. Because they target small and often controversial businesses with claims that are expensive to defend against, there is significant pressure on the clubs to settle, Law360 reported. And indeed, according to the report, that is exactly what many clubs do, resulting in significant payouts to the models whose images were used without permission. While right of publicity laws vary somewhat from state to state, in general, the laws allow individuals to control the use if their own likeness for commercial purposes, according to the International Trademark Association. Using a persons photo or clear likeness in promotional or advertising materials for a business is widely prohibited without that person's permission. Electra (pictured above), the former Baywatch cast member who has also appeared in Playboy, appears to be a frequently used figure in unauthorized advertising, and as a result, she has been perhaps the most prolific plaintiff in the lawsuits against local strip clubs over use of her photo, filing 29 such suits, 21 last year alone. And according to legal experts, the clubs dont have much of a case, making settlement their best and most economical option. Theres very legitimate claims here, trademark lawyer Josh Gerben told Law360. Theres probably not a lot to dispute. On the other hand, Gerben noted, if a case went to court, the model would need to show in most states that the unauthorized use harmed her in some way, or was intended to deceive consumers into believing that she endorsed the club that used her image. If the use isnt overly egregious, the damages are going to be relatively small, Gerben said. Youre not talking million-dollar cases here. Photo By Manfred Werner / Wikimedia Commons Humpty Trumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Trumpty did not fall. All of Trumptys cronies and all of his pals stumbled below him oblivious to icebergs, earthquakes, floods, fires, tropical storms, death and destruction. Trumpty did not fall. People began to hold rallies, march in the streets, write to Congress, publish articles, and complain to each other. All admirable efforts but Trumpty did not fall. What would it take for Trumpty to fall? Try something! Please log in to keep reading. Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. It appeared that no one had been seriously injured, but a Saturday evening crash in Auburn was violent enough to force one vehicle to roll ont Cronin admitted that from about July to November he and others had conversations about making meth and traveled around the county to purchase ingredients. Cronin indicated he would purchase Sudafed when requested, knowing it would be used to make meth. When pleading guilty to possessing manufacturing materials to make meth, Cronin said he possessed the medication to give to the others. Cronin is due back for sentencing May 30. Another defendant in the case, Thomas M. Hutton, 27, a son of previously arraigned defendant Heather Hutton, was also arraigned in court Thursday with an interpreter translating the proceedings to and from sign language. Hutton was arraigned on the same nine charges as Cronin. Hutton and his brother, Jonas, 22, both of 8 Throop Ave., Auburn, were both arrested around 5:45 p.m. Jan. 28 and similarly charged in connection to the same 54 Orchard St. incident. Leone said Thomas was initially arraigned in city court, but was being re-arraigned because a family member interpreted for him at that time. Thomas is due back in court April 11, the same date other codefendants are scheduled to appear. Staff writer Megan Ehrhart can be reached at (315) 282-2244 or megan.ehrhart@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter @MeganEhrhart. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 3 Angry 0 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. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Fair Haven, Sodus Point and other lake communities were affected by flooding in 2017. The flooding was bad enough that the state sought a major disaster declaration. President Donald Trump approved the disaster declaration in November 2017. Fair Haven Mayor Jim Basile said in a phone interview Friday that the water level now is what he saw in June last year. "We haven't had the snowmelt, the rain and everything that's gotta happen yet," he said. In 2017, some state and local officials blamed the flooding on Plan 2014, a water management strategy adopted by the International Joint Commission. Helming, R-Canandaigua, has been a critic of the plan because she believes it contributed to the flooding two years ago. She urged the commission to "take immediate action to stabilize lake levels." "We are requesting that resources be made available so that the state of New York and local communities can plan for the future," she said. "It is important that every level of government coordinate to prevent a situation like our region experienced in 2017." At least one of the region's federal representatives is aware of the flooding concerns. A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. John Katko said he is monitoring the situation and willing to assist. Online producer Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 It's being called a once-in-a-generation opportunity. The aging Interstate 81 viaduct in Syracuse needs to be replaced. There is consensus that the project will transform the region and boost the economy. But that's where the agreement ends. There has been an ongoing debate about which of the three alternatives the state should choose to replace the outdated viaduct. Here are the three options the state Department of Transportation is considering to replace the elevated highway in Syracuse: COMMUNITY GRID The grid, at a projected cost of $1.3 billion, is the least expensive of the three options. The I-81 viaduct would be demolished and Almond Street would become a surface street a "boulevard" with bike lanes and pedestrian walkways. One of the biggest changes with the grid proposal is the route through the city would no longer be an interstate. Interstate 481, a north-south highway that bypasses the city, would be designated as I-81. Traffic heading north or south that now passes through the city would use the new I-81. There are elements of the community grid in the tunnel alternative under consideration by the state Department of Transportation, mainly because a tunnel would require street-level improvements. But several attendees dismissed the proposal because they don't believe the tunnel is feasible. For many residents, they view this as an opportunity to have a voice in a project that could transform the region and right a wrong from the mid-20th century when I-81 was extended through the heart of the city. Essie Dorsey, of Syracuse, recalled the neighborhood that existed before the viaduct was built. The community of people who lived and worked together, she said. When the I-81 viaduct was constructed, it split the communities and displaced residents. Dorsey took exception to the number of residents from outside the city who have voiced their opinion on the project. "If we say we need a grid, that's what the people in the city need," she said. "We need to bring back this community we once had." Residents and stakeholders are awaiting the release of the state Department of Transportation's draft environmental impact statement, which is expected early this year. Once the document is released, a public comment period and hearing are planned. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Colonial Coal International Corp. (TSX-V: CAD) (the Company or Colonial Coal). David Austin, Colonial Coals President and CEO, is pleased to announce that the Company has achieved the ranking of 7th in the Mining Sector on the 2019 Venture 50 (the Venture 50) of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Venture 50 are the top ten companies listed on TSXV Venture Exchange in each of five major industry sectors mining, energy & energy services, clean technology & life sciences, diversified industries and technology based on a ranking formula with equal weighting given to market cap growth, trading volume amount and share price appreciation. All data was as of December 31, 2018. Mr. Austin stated: We are extremely proud of Colonial Coals achievements during the past year and that the TSX Venture Exchange has now recognized the same by inclusion of the company in its Venture 50. We are very thankful of the incredible efforts put forward by the companys management, employees and contractors in having made this happen, and we are very excited by what the future holds for our company and its shareholders. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. About Colonial Coal International Corp. Colonial Coal is a publicly traded coal corporation in British Columbia that focuses primarily on coking coal projects. The northeast Coal Block of British Columbia, within which our Corporations projects are located, hosts a number of proven deposits and has been the subject of M&A activities by Anglo-American and others. Additional information can be found on the Company's website www.ccoal.ca or by viewing the Company's filings at www.sedar.com. Forward-Looking Information Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address a company's expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following risks: risks associated with marketing and sale of securities; the need for additional financing; reliance on key personnel; the potential for conflicts of interest among certain officers or directors with certain other projects; and the volatility of common share price and volume. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS NEWS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS NEWS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE SECURITIES LEGISLATION. For further information please contact: Colonial Coal International Corp. Shane Austin 604.568.4962 saustin@ccoal.ca www.ccoal.ca The UN Security Council on Thursday appealed to Haitians to hold peaceful protests after meeting behind closed doors to discuss the violence that has killed at least seven people. In a unanimous statement, the council expressed concern and "urged all citizens to express themselves peacefully", said Equatorial Guinea's Ambassador Antonio Ndong Mba, who holds the council presidency this month. Haiti has been rocked by more than ten days of anti-government protests that prompted the United States to advise its citizens against traveling to the Caribbean island-nation. The United States, France and Germany requested the meeting to discuss the flareup in Haiti, where the United Nations has a small police peacekeeping force of about 1,000. The Security Council shut down a bigger peacekeeping mission known as MINUSTAH in 2017 after deciding that the country was on a path toward stability. Anti-government protests in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince have turned violent, with at least seven people killed Voters in Moldova head to the polls on Sunday for a parliamentary election reflecting the tiny ex-Soviet republic's longstanding division between pro-Russians and pro-Europeans. Wedged between Ukraine and Romania, Moldova has struggled to find its place since gaining independence with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. While many in the country of 3.5 million want to maintain close ties with Moscow, others seek to follow the example of Romania -- with which Moldova shares a language and long history -- and look west to the European Union. Sunday's vote is shaping up as a three-way race between the pro-Russian Socialist party of President Igor Dodon, the ruling Democratic party and a pro-European alliance. It will be held under a new electoral system that divides the 101-seat parliament into seats elected by party lists and by individual constituencies. Dodon's pro-Moscow party is leading in the polls, advocating for Moldova to join Russia's Eurasian Economic Union over the EU. The alliance of pro-European parties, which favours joining the EU and NATO, comes second. In third place is the centre-left Democratic Party led by powerful oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc, which holds a majority in the current parliament and leads the government. It has pursued a balanced approach between Moscow and Brussels. - 'All liars and thieves' - Campaign posters in Russian and Romanian hang in a flea market in the capital Chisinau, where volunteers from all parties were handing out leaflets to passersby this week. At a stand of the pro-EU ACUM alliance of parties, campaigner Ruslan Verbitchi told AFP that Moldova has two major problems: "Endemic corruption and the violation of human rights." Voters, however, showed little enthusiasm for the polls. With corruption widespread and the country among the poorest in Europe, few have much trust in Moldova's politicians. "They are all liars and thieves," said Tatiana, a 60-year-old former factory worker, complaining of a pension of less than 50 euros per month. "How can you live on that?" Macar Naghirnaec, a 23-year-old NGO worker, said it has hardly surprising that voters had little faith. "Moldova's democracy is getting worse. People who were convicted by a court will get to parliament," said Naghirnaec. Many cited the example of businessman Ilan Shor, who was convicted in a billion-dollar fraud case dubbed Moldova's "crime of the century" and is likely to make it into parliament. Shor remains free pending an appeal, but critics say the fact that he is allowed to stand despite his conviction is a damning indictment of Moldova's political system. Adding to the tense climate in the last days of the campaign, Russian authorities on Friday accused the ruling party leader Plahotniuc of running a vast money laundering scheme between 2013 and 2014. His party denounced this as Moscow's "interference" in the vote. - Fears of instability - Analysts fear a new period of instability for the country after the vote, with no party likely to gain the majority needed to form a government. "With political apathy and distrust of politicians, there is a risk of weak participation," said Igor Botan, the director of the ADEPT think tank. Moldova signed an association agreement with the EU in 2014, but last year Brussels reduced its financial aid to the country citing a "deterioration of the rule of law". Russia has meanwhile rallied Dodon, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin. "Of course, Russia is not indifferent to the formation of the Moldovan parliament," Putin said after a meeting with Dodon in Moscow last month. As well as seeking to keep Moldova in its sphere of influence, Moscow has long backed separatists in the country's Russian-speaking breakaway region of Transnistria. Russian Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev has warned that the West could be seeking to stoke divisions in Moldova, pointing to the pro-EU revolution in Ukraine that ousted a Moscow-backed leader. The West, he said, could "push Moldovan society towards division and conflict.... We have already seen this in Ukraine in 2014." The election is shaping up as a three-way race between the pro-Russian Socialist party of President Igor Dodon, the ruling Democratic party and a pro-European alliance Supporters of parliamentary candidate Ilan Shor, a businessman who was convicted in a fraud case dubbed 'the crime of the century' Four Australians with almost no seafaring experience were jailed on Friday for hatching a "foredoomed" plot to sail a boat to the southern Philippines and overthrow the local government. The four men -- and two other Australians who have yet to be sentenced -- were arrested in 2016 by police after buying a seven-metre (23-foot) boat and moving it overland 2,840 kilometres (1,765 miles) from the southern city of Melbourne to the northeastern tip of Australia. Despite having almost zero sailing experience, the "Tinnie Terrorists", as the Australian media have dubbed them, planned to reach the southern Philippines and join up with Muslim separatists. "The whole venture was poorly planned and, I fear, foredoomed to failure," Justice Michael Croucher wrote in his judgement. "Given the ill-suited vessel they had and their lack of serious boating experience, it is hard to imagine that they would have made it very far past the breakers off far north of Queensland." Paul James Dacre, Antonino Granata and Kadir Kaya were sentenced to four years' imprisonment in the Supreme Court of Victoria, while Murat Kaya was sentenced to three years and eight months behind bars. The two other men, Shayden Thorne and notorious Australian Islamic preacher Musa Cerantonio, have pleaded guilty to the charges but have yet to be sentenced. In handing down his sentence in Melbourne, Justice Michael Croucher said the four men would not have been involved in the plot if not for the "charismatic and persuasive Mr Cerantonio". Canberra has been increasingly concerned by homegrown extremism and citizens fighting with jihadist organisations abroad such as Islamic State. The country introduced sweeping counter-terrorism laws in 2014 that include blocking alleged jihadists from going overseas. Australian Muslim convert Musa Cerantonio, described as the ringleader of the plot, was previously arrested in the Philippines charged with inciting jihad Ali Ahmad Alizai has no choice but to obey when the Taliban come knocking on his door demanding food, shelter or a slice of his hard-earned harvest to fund their insurgency. "The Taliban run a dictatorship here. They have their own laws. We have some security, but no freedom," the farmer told AFP by telephone from a militant-controlled district of Afghanistan's southern Helmand province. Alizai is one of millions living under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, where the group controls more territory than at any time since being toppled in 2001 by US-led forces. As momentum for peace talks builds, with a fresh round of negotiations between the Taliban and Washington set to begin in Doha on Monday, testimonies from Afghans like him paint a picture of what life might be like should the militants return to power if the US exits its longest war. In some ways Taliban governance appears to have evolved, with the insurgents open to some small compromises as Afghans refuse to part with their hard-won freedoms. But zeal for the harsh brand of Islamic justice that defined their former regime is unwavering, and remains pivotal to enforcing obedience today in countryside under its influence. Abdul Bari, who abandoned his home in an insurgent fiefdom in Uruzgan province three months ago, spoke darkly of life under the white flag of the Taliban. "They would stage public executions from time to time," the 66-year-old told AFP in Kandahar, where he fled with his family. "Their fighters would decide the fate of people." - 'People are terrified' - Taliban courts preside over justice in huge swathes of the country -- even areas ostensibly under government control, said Ashley Jackson, a research associate with the Overseas Development Institute. Verdicts under their own strict interpretation of Sharia law are swift, and punishments severe, from limbs amputated for theft to condemned prisoners hung by roadsides as a warning. "People are terrified of them," said Sayed Omar, who escaped Taliban brutality in Uruzgan. "They have not changed, they are the same as they were during their rule." Mohammad Qasem, a shopkeeper who spoke to AFP by phone from another Taliban bastion in Kandahar, said the militants had banned smartphones and confined women to the home -- effectively reversing the clock to 1996, when they stormed to power. But they were "a bit easier" on men having shorter beards -- a floggable offence under their former regime. The Taliban have told AFP they want to establish "an Islamic system" as opposed to the democracy built since 2001, but that they have modified their stance on some issues including dropping a ban on the education of women and girls. AFP was unable to speak to any women currently living under Taliban rule. Human Rights Watch senior researcher Heather Barr said in some areas the militants now allow girls to attend primary school, "if it was segregated by gender, the teachers were female, and the Taliban controlled the curriculum". However, it was "ridiculous and harmful" to suggest that proved the Taliban had softened their stance on women, she said. "Limiting girls to primary education is an extreme form of misogyny ... Too many men are in a rush to argue that a Taliban deal will be fine for women. Women know better -- but is anyone listening to them?" Qasem said the restrictions were unpopular. Times have changed since the Taliban were deposed, he added. "This time, if they don't change, it might create a backlash," he told AFP. There are some signs the insurgents are listening. Phone use is permitted during the day and televisions watched without fear of punishment, a far cry from the violent Taliban purges against technology in the past. "What they say is don't listen to music, listen to sermons and religious programs. But there is no smashing of TV sets anymore," Thomas Ruttig, from the Afghanistan Analysts Network, told AFP. - Carrot and stick - The Taliban are also keen to show they can govern a modern nation. In territory where control is split with the government, the militants ensure teachers and clinic staff show up for work and prod electricity providers to fix power outages. Jackson said this Taliban "shadow government" exists partly to embarrass corrupt local politicians, but also to exert soft power and demonstrate competence. "It's both carrot and stick. I think they realise they have to provide... some tangible benefit," Jackson said. Mullah Rauf, a former Taliban commander, said the insurgents had evolved. "They can't have a hardline government anymore. Nowhere in the world do such governments exist," he told AFP by telephone from Panjwaee, a Taliban district in Kandahar. As America pushes for a peace deal, many Afghans want to know the Taliban's intentions once foreign troops leave. The militants say they do not want to rule by force, but share power with other parties. Taliban justice is one area "where compromise will be the hardest", Jackson said. Ruttig said the militants had not abandoned their ideology, but know "they cannot rule against the population", and therefore might be open to some compromise. "But whether that's good enough for most Afghans -- who now have tasted completely different freedoms than what they had under the Taliban -- that will be up to the Afghan population," Ruttig said. Many have fled life under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, where the insurgents control more territory than at any time since 2001 Human rights experts say it is "ridiculous and harmful" to suggest the Taliban will soften their stance on women Researchers say the militants now allow girls to attend primary school if segregated by gender and the Taliban controls the curriculum Many Afghans want to know the Taliban's intentions once foreign troops leave US-backed fighters trucked out civilians from the last speck of the Islamic State group's dying "caliphate" in Syria on Friday, eager to press on with the battle to crush the jihadists. More than four years after IS overran large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq, and declared a "caliphate", they have lost all of it but a tiny patch in the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border. More than 40 trucks carrying men, women and children left the enclave on Friday, AFP correspondents at a position of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces outside the village reported. Most were women and children, their clothes caked in dust, but the passengers also included men with their faces wrapped in chequered scarves. Women clung to the railings of the trucks, while the hair of younger girls blew in the wind, as they left the enclave in the second such large-scale evacuation in three days. On the back of one of the trucks, three men covered their faces with their hands, apparently not to be caught on camera. Asked what the situation was like inside IS's last scrap of territory, a young man replied: "Not good". On the roof of one of the trucks, an old man with a thick white beard wearing a red and white checkered scarf on his head yelled down: "There is an ill man with us." SDF spokesman Adnan Afrin said more than 2,000 people were estimated to still be inside the pocket, and more trucks were expected to bring them out. - 'War or surrender' - Once the evacuations have ended, the jihadists will have to decide whether to continue defending the less than half a square kilometre (a fifth of a square mile) they still hold, he said. "They will be faced with a choice: war or surrender," Afrin said. Earlier on Friday, SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali said he hoped civilian evacuations could be completed by Saturday. The Kurdish-led SDF evacuated 3,000 people on Wednesday -- mostly women and children -- but trucks left near empty on Thursday. Bali said that screenings had determined most of those evacuated on Wednesday were foreigners. "The majority are Iraqi and from countries of the former Soviet Union, but there are also Europeans," he said. David Eubank, the leader of the Free Burma Rangers aid group, said they included "many French women", as well as others from Australia, Austria, Germany and Russia, and one woman from Britain. Human Rights Watch urged the SDF and the US-led coalition supporting it to make protecting civilians a priority. "Witnesses described harrowing conditions in the last months, with lack of food and aid forcing them to eat grass and weeds to survive," it said. Around 44,000 people -- mostly civilians -- have streamed out of IS's shrinking patch territory since early December, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Once the SDF have weeded out potential jihadists from each batch of new arrivals, civilians are trucked further north to Kurdish-run camps for the displaced. They arrive "extremely hungry and dehydrated" and many of them require urgent medical care, the International Rescue Committee said. The IRC said 69 people, mostly children, had died on the way to the Al-Hol camp or shortly after arriving in the past few weeks. "Two thirds of the deaths are of babies under one year old," it said, including one who died Friday during the six-hour drive. - US 'peacekeepers' - The battle for Baghouz is now the only live front in Syria's war, which has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since 2011. Any SDF victory would accelerate a planned withdrawal of American troops from Syria announced in December by US President Donald Trump. Syria's Kurds have expressed fear that a full pullout would leave them exposed to a long threatened attack by neighbouring Turkey. But the White House said Thursday the US military will keep "a small peacekeeping group of about 200" in Syria after the withdrawal. The Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria welcomed the move. It is "very important to maintain stability and protect our region from the Turkish threats, and ensure that terrorism will not be back," foreign affairs official Abdulkarim Omar said. IS once imposed its brutal ideology on an area roughly the size of the United Kingdom, attracting thousands from abroad. But some of those foreigners have been killed, while the SDF holds hundreds more. The Kurds have repeatedly urged their governments to take them back, largely without success. Syria's Kurds have requested their repatriation, but foreign governments have been reluctant. On Thursday, the father of Hoda Muthana, 24, sued to bring her home after the Trump administration declared she was not a US citizen. Shamima Begum, 19, faced being left stateless after Britain revoked her citizenship, and Bangladesh, where her parents are from, said it not want her. Beyond Baghouz, IS retains a presence in the vast Syrian desert, and continues to claim deadly attacks in SDF-held territory. Many children have been among the thousands evacuated from the last speck of the Islamic State group's dying "caliphate" in Syria and Kurdish-led forces are hoping to complete evacuations before launching a long-awaited assault Map of the offensive against the last pocket of IS territory in Syria Those evacuated have also included suspected Islamic State group fighters who are weeded out for detention during screening by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces The women and children who have escaped the last IS redoubt have been "very hungry and dirty", aid workers say The evacuation route from the last shred of the Islamic State group's dying "caliphate" runs along a dirt road through the fields to territory held by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces "Kong. Visit the mosque," suggests a battered road sign outside a dusty little town in northern Ivory Coast which is getting a makeover thanks to its best-known son. Unusually for a town of its diminutive size, Kong has two historic mosques, both in the clay desert fashion known as the Sudanese style, with a brand-new high school, tarred highways, and a multitude of construction sites. Work in progress ranges from a general hospital, public housing projects and a market place, to a new bridge. A beneficiary of state funds, Kong lies in the heartland of the clan of President Alassane Ouattara, who follows in the footsteps of many African leaders in looking to his origins. An isolated settlement of 7,000 inhabitants during a 1998 census, Kong was promoted into a prefecture -- a regional administrative centre -- in 2012, months after Ouattara came to power in Abidjan following a bloody post-electoral showdown with his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo. The change led to the establishment of offices for state administrative services and thus the arrival of civil servants. The latest census in 2014 put the population at 29,000 inhabitants and municipal employees say Kong is growing still. - Razed and abandoned - Getting there used to mean bumpy tracks, but the town will soon be linked by asphalt roads to the rest of the country. The preferential treatment has not gone unnoticed. "Is Kong a priority compared with larger towns lacking in infrastructure?" asks an opposition member of parliament, Patrice Kouassi. "I have nothing against development in the north, but it's a question of priorities. We have towns of similar size or towns with 50,000 inhabitants, and they don't have the infrastructure of Kong." Kong is looking to recover its past glory. The town was once the capital of a flourishing empire founded in the 18th century by Sekou Ouattara, a trader and warrior, ancestor to Alassane Ouattara. "A natural outlet for the riches of the Sahara and the region between the Bandama and Comoe rivers," the town maintained close ties with Timbuktu and Djenne, said Georges Niamkey Kodjo, author of "Le Royaume de Kong" ("The Kingdom of Kong"). The empire stretched over hundreds of square kilometres (square miles) from the north of Ivory Coast to the south of Mali and the west of Burkina Faso. Though nothing remains of it but a section of wall, Kong was once home to an Islamic university, while the two mosques attest to its religious status. A terrible fate befell the city towards the end of the 19th century. Kong's elders rejected an alliance with Samory Toure, a warrior-preacher who took up Islam, battling animists and French colonial forces to establish an empire of his own. Toure's army massacred the citizens of Kong for failing to cooperate and burned their grand mosque to the ground, implementing the scorched-earth tactics that marked his last years before being captured by the French in 1898. - Prophecy - The warrior ruler died in exile in Gabon two years later, the mosque in Kong was eventually rebuilt to exactly the same design, but the spread of French colonial power into Ivory Coast ignored a town of no use as a railhead. Kong was forgotten by the country's rulers in the south. By the time Alassane Ouattara's political rival, Laurent Gbagbo, became head of state in 2000 and remained doggedly clinging to power over a divided nation a decade later, Kong had been completely abandoned by the national authorities. "There was a prophecy that said that another Ouattara would come and restore the glory of Kong. That is happening with Alassane," said Fakari Ouattara, village chief, a cousin of the head of state and a descendant of trader and king Sekou Ouattara. The chief would gladly see Ouattara in power for a third term "if that is his choice", but such a prospect is deeply controversial in Ivory Coast, all the more because Gbagbo's refusal to accept defeat at the polls in 2010 led to clashes that claimed 3,000 lives. The portrait of another Ouattara hangs over the reception at the one decent hotel. Birahima Tene Ouattara is known as "Photocopy" because he looks so much like his brother, the president. He is minister of presidential affairs and has a hand in intelligence and security matters. As president of the regional council, he also looks after Kong's interests. Kong could become a crossroads for business, trade, and even a tourist centre, not just on account of the mosques but also its proximity to the Comoe National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The biosphere reserve is hard to reach, but efforts are afoot to boost access and appeal. "People think that because this is Ouattara's town, you have only to bend over to pick up money. This is false. We've placed bets, but they haven't yet paid off," said Lassina Diomande, owner of Kong's poshest bar, La Detente. Some residents complain that rents and food prices are being pushed up by the higher incomes of the civil servants in town. "That's perhaps true," said Fakari Ouattara, who was elected mayor by 100 percent of voters within city limits. "But the increase in business is going to benefit everyone." Paradoxically, the town's main benefactor rarely sets foot there. Nobody remembers a presidential visit in the past two years. But Ouattara is still revered in his ancestral town as the "King of Kong". Devotees at one of Kong's two mosques, historic treasures built in the Sudanese style suited to the hot and arid climes of the Sahel Even the road sign suggests that the isolated northern town sorely needs a pick-me-up Behind a stretch of Kong's recently tarred roads, social housing stretches out of sight in the onetime imperial capital A view of the interior of the old mosque in Kong, where prayers have just been said. The edifice was a jewel in the 18th-century crown of a kingdom that traded with Timbuktu Once dogged by foes who questioned his Ivorian nationality and disqualified him from standing in a presidential poll in 2000, Ouattara has become an uncontested ruler and scion of a West African empire Family business with an ox-drawn cart may go hand in hand with bustling modern trade if development plans work out well Dozens of orcas and beluga whales captured for sale to oceanariums have brought Russia's murky trade into the spotlight, but efforts to free them have been blocked by government infighting. Russia is the only country where orcas, or killer whales, and belugas can be caught in the ocean for the purpose of "education". The legal loophole has been used to export them to satisfy demand in China's growing network of ocean theme parks. Photos of a total of 11 orcas and 87 belugas crammed into small enclosures at a secure facility in the Far Eastern town of Nakhodka sparked a global outcry, and the Kremlin on Friday stepped in, saying the fate of "suffering" animals must be resolved. "There have never been that many animals caught in one season and kept in one facility before anywhere in the world," said Dmitry Lisitsyn, head of the Sakhalin Environmental Watch group, who has emerged as a point person in the campaign to release the whales captured last summer back into the wild. Russian investigators launched two probes into poaching and animal cruelty, while Russia's environmental watchdog said it has refused to issue permits to export the whales. But the investigations and any potential court case could drag on for months. The Russian government is split between the environment ministry that says the animals must be released, and the fisheries agency that defends their capture as part of a legitimate industry. President Vladimir Putin has ordered his ministers to "decide on the fate of the whales" by March 1, a decree said Friday. "The animals are suffering" and may die, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, adding that they "are being kept in conditions that are inadequate for such young animals of these species." - 200 orcas left - The captured killer whales belong to the rarer seal-eating population of the species, which does not interbreed or interact with fish-eating orcas. The environment ministry has tried to list the seal-eating type as endangered, ministry representative Olga Krever said. "This population has only 200 adult animals" in Russian waters, she said. But the agriculture ministry, which controls the fisheries agency and oversees non-protected sea species, views orcas as competitors for Russia's fish stocks and doesn't believe they are under threat, Krever said, calling the dispute a "big problem." Marine mammal researchers say there are good chances of a successful release, but the fisheries agency told AFP that it "carries high risks of their mass death". "Neither orcas nor belugas are endangered," and are simply a resource that can be used according to existing legislation, agency representative Sergei Golovinov said. - 'Stars of the shows' - Both the United States and Canada stopped catching wild orcas in the 1970s due to negative publicity, so China relies on Russian exports. There are 74 operational ocean theme parks in mainland China featuring whales and dolphins, according to the China Cetacean Alliance, which monitors the industry. More are under construction. "Orcas are like the cherry on the cake" for new Chinese venues, said Greenpeace Russia campaigner Oganes Targulyan at a recent protest against whale capture. "They are the stars of the shows." All 17 killer whales that Russia has exported since 2013 -- which officials value at up to $6 million each -- have gone to China, according to CITES wildlife trade figures. Though the animals in Nakhodka are unlikely to get green-lighted for export, their fate is unclear. The urgency of the situation is clear however: one killer whale went missing from the Nakhodka facility this week, Sakhalin Watch said Thursday, suspecting it may be dead. In the West, there is widespread opposition to keeping the highly intelligent marine mammals in parks like the US chain Sea World, but in Russia public opinion is not so certain. Companies that caught the animals are not giving up. At the weekend, they launched a new Instagram account, praising the Nakhodka facility and defending the oceanarium industry. - 'Lobbyist muscle' - On Saturday, dozens of pro-industry supporters disrupted a rally to free the whales. They showed up with signs reading "Each orca is 10 jobs" for the crews hired to catch them, and only left when police arrived on the scene. "We see that the capturing companies are putting up a fight," Lisitsyn said. "They are using their lobbyist muscle." Researchers meanwhile are already starting to organise to prepare for a potential release of the animals. "There has never been so many animals released in the past," said Dmitry Glazov, a beluga whale researcher at the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution in Moscow. He said a project of that scale would certainly require international expertise and funding. The whales, which have been fed dead fish, would need to go through an adaptation period to make sure they can rely on their natural food sources. "For science, releasing this many animals would be invaluable," he said. "But there needs to be a decision first." Captured marine mammals seen from above in enclosures at a holding facility in Srednyaya Bay in the Far Eastern town of Nakhodka Nearly 100 killer and beluga whales were captured last summer for sale to oceanariums, especially the Chinese market Greenpeace activists and supporters rally in Moscow, demanding the release of the orcas and beluga whales back into the wild Dmitry Lisitsyn (R), head of Sakhalin Environmental Watch, says companies involved in capturing whales 'are using their lobbyist muscle' Rio de Janeiro's favelas are known for high crime. But in one of the city's poor neighborhoods, rights groups say residents face a new threat: police snipers. According to an investigation by human rights organizations, at least five people were shot dead between October and January from a police tower in the northern Manguinhos favela. That has set off alarm bells, as experts fear rising police brutality, fueled by President Jair Bolsonaro's "zero tolerance" on crime -- rhetoric that is echoed by Rio governor Wilson Witzel. Carlos Lontra, 27, was shot dead in a Manguinhos plaza on January 25. Four days later, 37-year-old Romulo da Silva was shot dead as he rode his motorcycle in the same place. Another 22-year-old was shot on January 29 in similar circumstances, but he survived. "Residents said the victims posed no threat to anybody when they were shot," Maria Laura Canineu, director of Human Rights Watch in Brazil, told AFP. "That makes these accusations extremely serious because they represent, if proved, totally illegal and excessive actions by the police," she added. Shootings are commonplace in Rio's favelas, where stray bullets have claimed many lives. But witnesses in Manguinhos say the recent deaths were different: this was isolated gunfire, with bullets that came from a tower at a police station 250 meters away. "There was no police operation or exchange of gunfire (when the deaths occurred)," Pedro Strozenberg, ombudsman of Rio's public defender's officer, told AFP. - Summary executions? - The reports add to another case that shocked Rio on February 8: a police operation in a favela in the touristy Santa Teresa neighborhood left 13 dead, sparking accusations of summary executions. During campaigning for last year's election, Witzel promised to deploy snipers to combat armed civilians -- even if they posed no immediate risk to officers. And for Strozenberg, what has happened in Manguinhos "is a materialization of declarations that seemed abstract during the election campaign." "It is worrying, because the hypothesis is that the shots came from a Rio de Janeiro police unit and randomly hit residents passing through the area," he added. On the other hand, Canineu thinks it is too early to make the link between Witzel's statements and Manguinhos -- branded by authorities a "red zone" overwhelmed by drug trafficking. But, she added, "logically, Witzel's positions in favor of hardline security policies create an environment more disposed to excessive policing." - Self-defense - Official figures say over 1,500 people were killed during police interventions in Rio last year. "We know that many of these murders result from confrontations, but our historical work in Rio de Janeiro state indicates that many others are executions, that is to say, serious human rights violations committed by police," said Canineu. Now, Justice Minister Sergio Moro is pushing for legislation that would allow police who intervene "during an armed conflict" or where "risk of imminent armed conflict" exists to claim self-defense. But for human rights advocates, that gives police free reign to execute suspects -- in a country that already is one of the most violent in the world, with 63,000 murders per year. According to an investigation by human rights groups, at least five people were shot dead between October 2018 and January 2019 from a police tower in the northern Manguinhos favela -- pictured here in January 2018 A woman with the word "Innocent" written on her front takes part in a demonstration by residents of Rio de Janeiro's Jacarezinho and Manguinhos favelas demanding peace, in August 2017 The Companys Board Taps a Specialist in Audit and Regulatory Compliance to Chair Its Audit Committee RENO, Nev., Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pershing Resources Company, Inc., (OTC PINK: PSGR) is pleased to announce that Ms. Maria E. Stan, CPA has joined the Companys Board of Directors, effective immediately. Ms. Stan has a twenty year track record of working effectively to build, manage and motivate across industries. She is experienced in financial strategy and controllership, public and private corporate accounting and finance, SEC reporting, and Big Four public accounting. Ms. Stan is a licensed Certified Public Accountant having started her career in the audit practice of Ernst & Young. She then moved on to become a senior audit manager at KPMG. During her tenure at KPMG, Ms. Stan assisted in strategic decision-making processes, guiding strategic planning and regulatory compliance for companies such as; Sirius XM Radio, Omnicom Group, and Burger King Holdings. She then moved from her time as a Big Four auditor to serve as Controller of the Kaplan Testing Division of Graham Holdings Company. More recently she has served as the Chief Financial Officer for Imacuclean, a privately held hospitality services conglomerate headquartered in New York. Ms. Stan is currently a Director at Eventus Advisory Group which provides CFO and Controllership services to public and private corporate clients in various industries. Ms. Stan joined the Pershing Resources Advisory Board in October of 2018. She will now serve as an independent director and Chairperson of the Companys Audit Committee. Pershing Resources CEO Steve Plumb commented, "We are very pleased to welcome Maria Stan to our Board. Maria brings a strong corporate accounting background and deep understanding of regulatory a compliance issues, as well as, practical experience and fresh insight to our corporate planning. Having Maria join our board is a significant strategic step in our corporate development and, we look forward to working more closely with her as we plot the Companys course for the future. Board member profiles can be viewed at: https://www.pershingpm.com/about/board-of-directors . To receive updates on Pershing Resources, sign up for email news alerts at: http://ir.pershingpm.com/ . Forward Looking Statements The information contained in this press release as well as the information on the Company's website is provided solely for the reader's general knowledge. Such information is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all matters pertaining to the Company. Certain statements included herein and on the Company's website, constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current knowledge, assumptions, judgment and expectations regarding future performance or events. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such statements are reasonable, these forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of, assumptions made by, and information currently available to the Company's management. When used in this press release and on the Company's website, the words "estimate," "project," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance and/or achievements of the Company or of the gold mining industry in general to be materially different from future results, performance and/or achievements expressed or implied by those forward looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include uncertainties related to fluctuations in gold, silver and other commodity prices, uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and the geology of the Company's properties, uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs, the need for cooperation of government agencies in the development of the Company's mineral projects, the need to obtain additional financing to develop the Company's mineral projects, the possibility of delay in development programs or in construction projects, and uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones for the Company's mineral projects. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. The Company has no obligation, and expressly disclaims any obligation, to update, revise or correct any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. About Pershing Resources Pershing Resources is a precious and base metals exploration and mining company with several projects in North America. The Company is based in Reno, Nevada and owns an operations facility near Kingman, Arizona. It is currently focused on the development of its 100% owned New Enterprise and Mohave-Standard properties, collectively referred to as the New Enterprise project. The New Enterprise Project is located between the Mineral Park Porphyry Cu-Mo mine (approximately 20 miles to the northwest) and the Baghdad Cu-Mo mine (approximately 45 miles to the southeast). The Company's other assets are comprised of mining properties in various stages of development located in the Western United States. Details on the Company's projects can be found at http://www.pershingpm.com/ . Source: Pershing Resources Company, Inc. Kenya's High Court will decide Friday whether to scrap colonial-era laws which criminalise homosexuality, in a ruling that could reverberate around Africa. Convictions under the decades-old laws are rare, but gay activists say the legislation -- which carries long jail terms for sexual acts deemed "against the order of nature" -- is unconstitutional and fuels homophobic persecution. A three-judge bench will deliver the ruling following petitions filed by rights organisations in 2016, and which are being contested by a Christian organisation. Kenya's anti-gay legislation is reflected in more than half of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa where laws, often vague, punish same-sex contact or relationships. Activists believe the court has a chance to blaze a trail on a continent where homophobia is virulent in many communities. "These crimes are considered felonies... very, very violent dangerous crimes to society," said Eric Gitari, the co-founder of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Council (NGLHRC), one of the petitioners. A section of Kenya's penal code states that anyone who has "carnal knowledge... against the order of nature" can be imprisoned for 14 years. Another provides for a five-year jail term for "indecent practices between males". "The law specifies 'in public or private' which essentially allows police to enter our bedrooms to investigate these crimes," said Gitari. - 'Unconstitutional' - Imani Kimiri of the NGLHRC's legal team, told AFP her office dealt with 15 prosecutions under the laws in 2018, but cannot recall the last conviction -- slamming the process as "just a frustrating endeavour". The petitioners argue that under Kenya's 2010 constitution every person is said to be equal before the law -- a protection directly contradicted by the disputed sections of the penal code. Those who are blackmailed, evicted, fired, expelled from school, or assaulted over their sexual orientation, are unable to access justice because it means "confessing to a crime", said Gitari. He pointed to court decisions last year as cause for optimism. In March, the High Court banned forced anal testing of men suspected of being gay. And in September, a court ruled that "Rafiki" (friend), a film about a lesbian love affair which was the first Kenyan movie to be shown at the Cannes film festival, could be screened domestically for seven days after its initial banning. The court's decision Friday could have repercussions for the rest of Africa, where several countries are facing challenges to similar legislation. Mozambique struck down anti-gay laws in 2015, and Angola decriminalised homosexuality in January. Botswana is expected to hear a case against its laws in March. - 'The West made a mistake' - Charles Kanjama, the lawyer for an association of Catholics, Protestants and Evangelicals fighting the decriminalisation, claimed the vast majority of Kenyans oppose "gay behaviour". "We believe very strongly that gay behaviour is a moral perversion, a sexual perversion. We believe it is behaviour which is harmful to the individual, to the family," he told AFP. "For Western minds, the question is why should you bother, if what I do doesn't harm you. For us, we understand we are inter-connected people." He said the "bedroom is not an inviolable sanctum" and compared homosexuality to crimes such as bestiality, child rape, and incest. Even if the laws are scrapped, the West and humankind as a whole will eventually "realise they made a mistake" in embracing homosexuality, said Kanjama, comparing this to slavery or Hitler's ideas of "racial superiority". "It is not a question of whether with time our culture will change, it may, but it is a question of what is right." Kanjama said that no matter the outcome Friday: "I am confident that whichever side loses is likely to file an appeal." Homophobia is entrenched in many parts of Africa. In 2014, anti-gay campaigners rallied in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after the country's Constitutional Court annulled a law toughening penalties for same-sex relations Freedom: Fiona Thabatha (left) and Shakira Leota, finalists in the Miss Gay RSA competition at the Durban Pride Festival, South Africa Twenty-eight sub-Saharan countries have anti-homosexuality laws, according to Human Rights Watch Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Thursday refused to apologise for allegations he made that Poles are anti-Semitic and many of them collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. Senior Polish officials on Tuesday demanded Israel apologise for the comments in a row that led Warsaw to pull out of a Jerusalem summit. Katz on Sunday said "Poles suckle anti-Semitism with their mothers' milk" and "there were many Poles who collaborated with the Nazis". On Thursday the Israeli foreign minister was in no mood for apologies. "I regret none of what I said. My parents knew the Holocaust, as the son of Holocaust survivors I have to tell the truth," he told the private television channel 13. "Many Polish people collaborated with the Nazis in the Holocaust. Before and during the Second World War there was anti-Semitism in Poland," he insisted. On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sought to save face after a summit with four central European nations was cancelled over the dispute with Poland, instead holding meetings with the remaining three leaders. The dispute dented Netanyahu's attempts to forge deeper links with all four countries as part of his strategy to build alliances with governments that strongly back Israel within the European Union. Netanyahu frequently lashes out at what he calls the EU's "hypocritical and hostile attitude", referring to the bloc's criticism of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. The holding of a summit of the Visegrad group -- Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic -- in Jerusalem had been seen as a coup for Netanyahu's efforts. The United States has backed Poland in the diplomatic dispute. "Between close allies, like Poland and Israel, there is no room for such offensive comments" US ambassador to Warsaw Georgette Mosbacher tweeted in Polish on her official page on Tuesday. Poland was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany during WWII and six million of its inhabitants died during the conflict, including three million Jews. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has refused to apologise over comments he made accusing Poles of being anti-Semitic Teju Bai walked for a month to join a rally in India's capital by thousands of sexual assault survivors who came together in public for the first time to demand justice. Bai's daughter-in-law was raped last year. The young woman has been shamed and remains a target for abuse while her attacker remains free, she said. Sexual assault has become a tinderbox social issue in India after the horrific rape and killing of a student on a New Delhi bus in 2012 that made global headlines. Changes were promised, but for many, the shaming and blaming of victims remains relentless. Bai said she, her son, and his wife -- the victim -- had to leave their village in the central state of Madhya Pradesh after the young woman was accused of "enticing men" while her husband was away. "The villagers ostracised us and called my daughter-in-law names," said Bai who was joined by her son and his wife at Friday's Dignity March alongside 5,000 other people. The husband, Kanwar Lal, said the attacker barged into their house one night, repeatedly raped his wife and warned her to not tell anyone. "She trusts and loves me and I have promised to fight for her," he told AFP. "The fault lies with the rapist and not with the survivor." Lal's words are at odds with prevailing attitudes in India, despite outrage over the bus attack which sparked weeks of protests and eventually a change in the law to introduce the death penalty for rape. Politicians and religious leaders had at first blamed the student for the crime. Even one of the perpetrators of the 2012 attack blamed his victim, saying women who went out late at the night attracted men. "A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy," he said, as he and other defendants fought a last court battle to escape capital punishment. 'End the stigma' - Mahinder Singh travelled for a month with demonstrators, who covered some 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles) around India to highlight the cause before arriving in Delhi. "I have come to support this attempt to end the stigma surrounding rape victims," said Singh, from Madhya Pradesh state, whose sister was attacked in 2017. "My sister is innocent but she's been punished by society for being a rape survivor." It took a year for police to catch the attacker and the man was acquitted at trial last year for lack of proof. Singh alleged that police had "accepted bribes" from the defendant and since the end of the trial his family had faced death threats. In rural India's largely patriarchal system, powerful men often use sexual violence to control or oppress poorer classes or India's marginalised lower-castes. Unelected but powerful caste or village councils often adjudicate rape cases, "punishing" perpetrators with small fines or simple verbal reprimands. Nearly 1.4 million crimes against women were reported in the past five years. Of the 325,000 reported in 2016, 36,500 were rape cases. Experts say that official figures are just the tip of the iceberg as many survivors prefer not to come forward. Many are shunned by their families and friends if they do, leaving them to fend for themselves. "Survivors face shame in the community, from their family, from their relatives. Perpetrators get lots of support," said Asif Shaikh, an organiser of the march. The organisers have set up a national network of victims to press their campaign for change. Bhanwari Devi, a 60-year-old from a small village in Rajasthan state, said her decades-old struggle had echoes in the #MeToo campaign that has tainted Hollywood and big business figures around the world. Devi was gang-raped by five men from a powerful upper-caste community after she stopped a child marriage in the village. The rape made national headlines after she made her story public. But her attackers are still free. "We don't have to remain silent. We have to raise our voice and not be scared," Devi said. Sexual assault has become a tinderbox social issue in India Powerful men in India often use sexual violence to control or oppress poorer classes or India's marginalised lower-castes Of the 325,000 crimes against women reported in India in 2016, 36,500 were rape cases Many rape survivors are shunned by their families and friends if they come forward, leaving them to fend for themselves President Donald Trump insisted Friday he was not pulling an about-face on his Syria withdrawal plans, after it was announced hundreds of US troops would remain in the war-torn country. The White House quietly dropped the news late Thursday that around 200 American "peace-keeping" soldiers would remain in northern Syria indefinitely, amid fierce criticism of Trump's decision to withdraw America's more than 2,000 troops there by April 30. "I am not reversing course," Trump said at the White House, noting that 200 soldiers was only a "very small, tiny fraction" of the overall presence. Senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham heralded the move, claiming the residual forces would somehow catalyze a bigger presence by European allies who had balked at the idea of committing troops to Syria minus an American ground presence. "This 200 will attract probably 1,000 Europeans," Graham said in an interview with Fox News. Trump, an avid Fox viewer, said he watched Graham and supported leaving "a small force with others. Whether it's NATO troops or whoever it might be, so that (IS) doesn't start up again." Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Sean Robertson said the US troops would be part of a "multinational observing and monitoring force" that would be made up "primarily" of NATO allies in a northeast Syria "safe zone." Robertson added the US would also maintain its presence at Al-Tanaf, a desert garrison in southern Syria where some 200 US soldiers are presently based. Trump declared victory over IS in December despite thousands of fighters remaining and a continued effort to clear jihadists from a final scrap of territory. The decision prompted his defense secretary Jim Mattis to quit. Critics have decried a number of possible outcomes from a US precipitous withdrawal, including a Turkish attack on US-backed Kurdish forces and a resurgence of IS. Apart from the US, currently only France and Britain have a handful troops on the ground in Syria helping train local forces in the US-led effort against IS. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan visited Europe last week and attempted to convince allies to furnish a troop presence in Syria after the US pulls out. But he struggled to persuade other countries why they should risk their forces with America gone. Graham claimed "thousands of Europeans" had been killed by IS fighters coming from Syria into Europe. "Now, the burden falls on Europe. Eighty percent of the operation should be European, maybe 20 percent us," he said. According to various tracking groups, far fewer than 1,000 people have been killed in attacks by Islamists of all origins in Europe since 2014. But Graham's rhetoric feeds into one of Trump's favorite topics -- the notion that European and NATO allies aren't contributing enough to global security. - Anti-IS campaign 'unchanged' - Shanahan, who spoke briefly to Pentagon reporters as he met with Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, insisted the mission to defeat IS remained unchanged. "The transition that we are working towards is stabilization, and to enhance the security capability of local security forces," Shanahan said. General Joe Dunford, who is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, added he was confident allies would step into the fray. "There is no change in the basic campaign. The resourcing is being adjusted because the threat has been changed," Dunford said. Graham meanwhile said he had been speaking to Trump "continuously" about the withdrawal and persuaded him that a buffer zone needs to be created to protect US-backed Kurdish fighters from a possible attack by Turkey. "You don't want to end one war and start another," Graham said he told Trump. Akar, the Turkish minister, said Ankara did not have a problem with the Kurds in Syria, only with the armed US-backed Kurdish fighters there. "We are fighting against terrorist organizations," Akar said. US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House US Senator Lindsey Graham holds a media conference at the US embassy in Pakistan Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan (2nd R) welcomes Turkish Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar (2nd L) to the Pentagon Export power Germany has long had a troubled relationship with selling arms abroad, a legacy of its dark history that is now spelling deep discord with its European allies. Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has recently sparred with both France and Britain over the issue, while trouble is also brewing within her uneasy left-right coalition government. Especially Berlin's decision to freeze weapons sales to Saudi Arabia over the killing last October of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as well as the Yemen war, has upset Paris and London because it puts joint defence projects on ice. British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt voiced "deep concern" that Berlin's stance damaged Europe's defence industry and its "ability to meet its NATO commitments", in a letter to his German counterpart Heiko Maas reported on by Spiegel Online. The picture becomes more complex given recent bold future visions to pool European military strengths, partially in response to US President Donald Trump's "America First" approach and his verbal attacks on NATO allies. As during the refugee crisis, a moralistic political debate within Germany -- a country at pains to draw the right lessons from its Nazi and Holocaust past -- is now straining the patience of its allies. Polls have shown that some two thirds of German citizens reject weapons exports. The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), Merkel's junior coalition partners, in particular have a strong pacifist legacy and a tendency to condemn corporate profits earned from selling "killing machinery". "In Germany public scepticism towards arms exports is almost unanimous," said Michael Broening of think-tank the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. "Given its history of belligerence, Germany's public has long viewed arms exports with a mix of moral outrage and helplessness. "For many Social Democrats the current debate about arms exports seems like a golden opportunity to prove their progressive credentials and sharpen their ideological profile." - 'Pure demagoguery' - Despite all the agonising, Germany is among the world's top arms exporters, a club that is led by the United States and also includes Russia, China, France and Britain. The government regularly meets to review sales under the war weapons control law. One company that has run afoul of the strict rules was gunmaker Heckler & Koch, which was fined 3.7 million euros ($4.2 million) by a German court on Thursday. Two of its former employees were also given suspended jail terms for illegally exporting thousands of assault rifles to violence-torn Mexican states in breach of the export licence. Human rights activists had charged that the G36 automatic rifles were used in abuses including the 2014 disappearance -- and suspected massacre -- of 43 Mexican students. Last October, when the killing of Khashoggi sparked widespread revulsion, Berlin reacted by suspending arms sales to Riyadh. Germany urged other countries to do likewise, but French President Emmanuel Macron dismissed the call in unusually sharp language. "What is the link between arms sales and Mr Khashoggi?" he said, calling it "pure demagoguery to call for a halt". - 'Reduce our influence' - The Saudi issue flared again this week, this time between Germany and Britain, a NATO nuclear power that despite Brexit is set to remain a crucial security partner for the bloc. Spiegel reported that Hunt had urged Germany to exempt major European defence projects like Eurofighter or Tornado jets, which contain German parts, from its Saudi weapons embargo. In Berlin on Wednesday, Hunt expressed concern that "changing our commercial relationship with Saudi Arabia... would reduce our influence" in efforts such as helping end the Yemen war. Maas, an SPD politician, reiterated that the ban remained and said any future decision -- a review is due by March 9 -- would be "dependent on developments in the Yemen conflict". About 10,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the Yemen war since March 2015, but rights groups say the death toll is much higher. The wider arms export debate impacts large future projects, among them ambitious Franco-German plans to jointly develop the so-called Future Combat Air System of fighter jets and drones by 2040. Merkel, in a speech last week, signalled a more relaxed stance. "We have, because of our history, very good reasons to have very strict arms export guidelines," she said. But Merkel also stressed that, "without a common culture of defence exports in Europe, the development of joint weapons systems will be endangered." German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has sparred with both France and Britain over its decision to freeze weapons sales to Saudi Arabia British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has voiced "deep concern" that Berlin's stance damaged Europe's defence industry and its "ability to meet its NATO commitments", in a letter to his German counterpart Heiko Maas Berlin's decision to freeze weapons sales to Saudi Arabia over the killing last October of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as well as the Yemen war, has upset Paris and London because it puts joint defence projects on ice The devastating conflict in Yemen has left 10,000 people dead since March 2015 Mass funerals were held Friday for victims of a devastating fire in Dhaka -- fuelled by illegally stored chemicals -- that killed nearly 70 people, as investigators revealed that an even bigger disaster was narrowly avoided. Hundreds of chemical drums were found in the basement of one of five blocks engulfed by the inferno in the Bangladesh capital's historic Chawkbazar district. "A huge bomb" would have gone off had the fire spread to the basement, according to Mehedi Hasan Ansary, a professor at an elite engineering university who is a member of an official probe committee. "The impact would have been devastating," he told AFP. City authorities said 46 bodies from a disaster that saw victims burned alive by fireballs in the street have been identified and handed over to families for burial. Many were from Noakhali district in southwest Bangladesh, where funerals were quickly organised in line with Muslim tradition. Special prayers were also said at Friday prayers in mosques across the country. Police forensic experts were brought in to carry out DNA tests on at least 21 other bodies burned beyond recognition. The discovery of the huge consignment of drums raised new fears about the extent of the deadly danger in storerooms across the labyrinthine Chawkbazar district. "We were just lucky," said national fire chief Ali Ahmed. "The whole neighbourhood would have been engulfed if the fire had reached the chemicals in the basement. It would have been like a bomb and the building would have collapsed," Ahmed told AFP. - Hidden danger - The fire is believed to have been started late Wednesday by a gas cylinder explosion which quickly spread to at least five buildings. Victims were burned alive by exploding canisters that sent fireballs into the streets, smothering people in flames as they walked, rode in rickshaws or ate in local restaurants. Dozens were injured, including nine listed in critical condition. The disaster was a repeat of a June 2010 fire in the nearby neighbourhood of Nimtoli in which 123 people were killed. Again a blaze ripped through residential buildings that doubled as chemical warehouses. While a criminal inquiry has been launched, authorities faced difficult questions over why action promised after the Nimtoli disaster was not carried out. Dhaka Mayor Sayeed Khokon vowed to launch a new crackdown and move chemical warehouses from residential buildings to an industrial area outside the capital. "We will sit with law enforcement agencies, do our homework and then launch the drive," he told AFP, promising to start the crackdown by next month. A building would be sealed off if one of 29 types of highly inflammable chemicals were found, he added. Ansary, however, said city authorities faced a near-impossible task as a 2015 survey found that most of the residential buildings in old Dhaka were being used as warehouses. "We conducted the survey in 1,300 buildings in one ward and found that 70 percent are used as godowns (storage warehouses). Of these, 80 percent are chemical warehouses," he said. Residents said chemical storage is a lucrative business in Old Dhaka where building owners allegedly bribe authorities to turn a blind eye to the stores. "We have sent letters of warning many times. But nothing happened. If these buildings continued to be used as chemical warehouses, there will be repeat of this tragedy," said Zulfiker Rahman, a fire department director. Rahman also said the five buildings devastated this time did not have basic fire safety protection. "They did not have fire extinguishers, the exit and entry passages of the buildings are very narrow," he said. The fire prompted angry reactions in newspapers. The Daily Star highlighted how action to move the chemicals had been promised after the "Nimtoli fiasco". "As we have just found out, nothing much has happened and hundreds of families have lost their loved ones because the Nimtoli fire has disappeared from collective memory." Relatives carry coffins of victims of the deadly fire which tore through apartment blocks in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka on Thursday Relatives of victims mourn after a fire tore through apartment blocks in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, killing dozens of people French armed forces have killed a top jihadist leader in an air and ground ambush in Mali, the government said on Friday, ending a years-long hunt for a man accused of masterminding the kidnapping of Westerners in the Sahel region. Djamel Okacha, an Algerian commander in Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), was killed on Thursday after French commandos, helicopters and a drone hit a column of vehicles he was travelling in north of Timbuktu, French officials said. Okacha, a jihadist veteran known also as Yahya Abou El Hamame, was "the mastermind and financer of several attacks," the defence ministry said. US officials had accused him of kidnapping a number of Westerners in North and West Africa. Defence Minister Florence Parly described his killing as a "spectacular action", saying it followed a manhunt which lasted several years. His death "deals a very hard blow to terrorist groups in the Sahel," Parly said. "When commandos approached, (jihadist) pickups opened fire, prompting the helicopters to return fire," a spokesman for the French military command said. A total of 11 "terrorists", including El Hamame, were killed, he said. News of the operation broke on the day Parly, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian were to visit Mali, where some 4,500 French troops have been deployed since 2014 to retake the north of the country after it fell to jihadist fighters. El Hamame is suspected of involvement in the 2009 assassination of a US citizen, Christopher Leggett, in Mauritania, along with an attack the same year against the French embassy in Nouachkott. - Jihadist history - El Hamame reportedly served as AQIM's "governor" in Timbuktu when the city was held by Islamist militants from April 2012 to January 2013. The jihadist commander was believed to be second in command of the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), also known as Nusrat al-Islam, led by Iyad Ag Ghali. The group was formed by the merger of Ansar Dine, the Macina Liberation Front, Al-Mourabitoun and El Hamame's Sahel branch of AQIM. El Hamame, aged about 40, took charge of Al-Qaeda's operations in southern Algeria and northern Mali in 2013 when he replaced Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, who was himself killed in fighting French-led forces in northern Mali. El Hamame rose in the ranks of the group despite not having gone to Afghanistan as other key militants such as Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the one-eyed Islamist leader who masterminded an assault on an Algerian gas plant that left 37 foreign hostages dead in January 2013. Born in the north Algerian town of Reghaia, El Hamame spent 18 months in prison in Algeria in the 1990s when the country was mired in Islamist violence. In addition to French troops in Mali, around 15,000 peacekeepers have been deployed in the country as part of the United Nations stabilisation mission known as MINUSMA. This followed the signing of a peace accord in 2015 between the Bamako government and armed groups. But jihadist groups have continued operating in Mali and neighbouring countries. Supported by France, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger have formed the so-called G5 Sahel group to fight the jihadists. Around 4,500 French troops have been deployed in Mali since 2014 to retake the north of the country after it fell to jihadist fighters Fashion legend Karl Lagerfeld was cremated in France Friday, fulfilling his last wishes following his death this week at the age of 85, the magazine Closer said. The German designer who had quipped "I'd rather die" than be buried was cremated in Nanterre, west of Paris, in the presence of Virginie Viard, who succeeds him as creative director at Chanel, Princess Caroline of Monaco and Bernard Arnault, head of the luxury group LVMH, Closer said on its internet site. A spokeswoman for the Lagerfeld fashion house had told AFP only that "his wishes will be respected". Lagerfeld's ashes are to join some from Jacques de Basher, his great love who died of AIDS in 1989. Lagerfeld had told de Bascher's biographer Marie Ottavi that some of his ashes were being stored "somewhere secret. One day they will be added to mine." Lagerfeld had said he didn't want a lavish funeral ceremony The UN food agency on Friday warned about the threat to the future of the world's food production from a lack of biodiversity in the environment. In a report, the first of its kind by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), it said there was "mounting evidence that the biodiversity that underpins our food systems, at all levels, is declining around the world." That is putting food production and the environment "under severe threat," the FAO warned. "Once lost, plant, animal and micro-organisms species that are critical to our food systems, cannot be recovered." Biodiversity enables agriculture systems to be more resilient to shocks such as disease and pest outbreaks, as well as coping with climate change. The report cited as examples the dramatic fall in food production from infestations such as the potato blight in Ireland in the 1840s and the losses of the tropical taro plant in Samoa in the 1990s. The FAO says the drivers for biodiversity loss include changes in land and water use and management, pollution and overharvesting. Geographically, Latin America and the Caribbean, rich in biodiversity, also report the largest number of threatened wild food species, such as crustaceans, fish and insects. The Rome-based agency says countries are adopting biodiversity-friendly practices from sustainable forest management to an ecosystem approach to fisheries and organic agriculture -- but more needs to be done. Governments and the international community need to step up efforts to stop the loss of biodiversity. Protecting the world's food supply is critical as an estimated 821 million people already suffer from chronic hunger, and by 2050 the plant's population is expected to rise from 7.7. billion to close to 10 billion, according to UN data. A new report said there is "mounting evidence that the biodiversity that underpins our food systems, at all levels, is declining" globally The report cited as examples the dramatic fall in food production from infestations such as the potato blight in Ireland in the 1840s and the losses of the tropical taro plant in Samoa in the 1990s MONTREAL, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- "Tamino" or the "Company" -OTC Markets: TINO- February 22, 2019, the Company has prepared a Geologic Report on its El Volcan Property and has updated its One Pager uploaded on our website. To download our newly updated One Pager you must visit our Website in www.taminominerals.ca within the following link: http://bit.ly/2tGyxc9 In essence the company explains the importance of having nearby producing gold mines and the importance of our latest achievements. This One Pager Circular also does emphasize on the fact that we have an Exploration Budget. The company will make further announcements on its other project as progress is made. TAMINO MINERALS, INC. is exploring for high-grade gold deposits within a prolific gold producing geologic state, Sonora. On behalf of the Board, Pedro Villagran-Garcia, President & CEO For further information, please contact the Company at 1-971-285-4570 or by email at info@taminominerals.ca Forward Looking Statements Certain information contained in this press release, including any information as to our strategy, plans or future financial or operating performance and other statements that express management's expectations or estimates of future performance, 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. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "will," "anticipate," "contemplate," "target," "plan," "continue," "budget," "may," "intend," "estimate," "project" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, without limitation those set forth as "Risk Factors" in our filings with the SEC which can be found at www.sec.gov. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. The US military will keep around 200 troops in Syria after President Donald Trump's pullout from the war-torn country, the White House said Thursday. "A small peace-keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. The announcement comes amid fierce criticism of Trump's decision to withdraw America's 2,000 or so troops from Syria by April 30, with members of his own Republican Party blasting the move. In December, Trump declared victory over the Islamic State group in Syria, even though thousands of jihadists remain and fighting continues around their last holdout. Critics have decried a number of possible outcomes from a precipitous withdrawal, including a Turkish attack on US-backed Kurdish forces and a resurgence of IS. Sanders did not provide additional details, but the troops' "peace-keeping" designation could pave the way for European allies to commit forces for such a mission. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan visited Europe last week where he attempted to convince allies to maintain a troop presence in Syria after the US pulls out. But he struggled to persuade other countries why they should risk their forces with America gone. Trump earlier Thursday spoke with Turkish President Recep Erdogan, and the two men discussed Syria, according to a White House summary. "The two presidents agreed to continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone" in Syria, the readout said. At the height of its rule, IS imposed its brutal ideology on a territory roughly the size of the United Kingdom, attracting thousands of supporters from abroad. But the jihadists have since lost almost all their territory save for a tiny sliver of around half a square kilometer (a fifth of a square mile) in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are working towards evacuating civilians remaining in the holdout, so they can polish off the dying IS "caliphate" whether through an assault or a surrender deal. Syria's Kurds have long demanded the repatriation of foreigners accused of belonging to IS in their custody, but their home countries have been reluctant. US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was barring a US-born former IS propagandist from returning home from Syria, where the conflict has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since 2011. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that the diplomatic status of the father of Alabama woman Hoda Muthana means she is not a US citizen. It came after a lawyer for the family of a teenager who fled London to join the jihadists when she was 15 said Britain was revoking her citizenship. A line of US military vehicles drive through a checkpoint of the Internal Security Forces in Manbij as they head to their base on the outskirts of the northern Syrian city on December 30, 2018 Feb 20 (Reuters) - A teenager who was stripped of her British citizenship after leaving London to join the Islamic State (IS) group is not a Bangladeshi citizen and there was "no question" of her being allowed to enter the country, the foreign ministry in Dhaka said on Wednesday. It added it was "deeply concerned that she has been erroneously identified as a holder of dual citizenship shared with Bangladesh alongside her birthplace, the United Kingdom." Shamima Begum, 19, left to join IS when she was 15 but now wants to return. Her British citizenship was revoked on security grounds. "She is a British citizen by birth and has never applied for dual nationality with Bangladesh," the Bangledeshi foreign ministry said in a statement. (Reporting by Ruma Paul, writing by Elisabeth O'Leary; editing by Stephen Addison) (Bloomberg) -- Huawei Technologies Co. would deny any Chinese government request to open up back doors in foreign telecommunications networks because they arent legally obliged to do so, the companys chairman says. Liang Hua, speaking to reporters in Toronto on Thursday, said the company had received an independent legal opinion about its obligations under Chinese law and said there is nothing forcing companies to create what he called back doors in networks. He said theyd never received any such request, but would refuse it if they did. We will not execute the request because it wouldnt be lawful, he said through a translator, stressing that he leads an independent business organization aimed at serving its customers. We have kept a good track record on cyber-security. His comments, and an announcement of increased spending in Canada, come as the country and several of its peers weigh whether to restrict or ban Huawei from 5G networks. The companys chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, meanwhile, is under house arrest in Vancouver and faces potential extradition from Canada to the U.S. Challenges and Difficulties Chinese national security laws require that any organization shall cooperate with national intelligence work -- raising fears that the government could lean on Huawei to compromise a telecommunications network in another country. Asked about the law, Liang acknowledged it, but said it does not specifically require Huawei to open up back door routes to monitor communications. He did not specifically address what other pressures the company could face. Liang also downplayed some of the geopolitical tensions, saying that difficulties are normal in business and that theyll continue to invest in Canada regardless of the 5G decision. However, he said he believes Meng is innocent and that Canada will keep politics out of its decision. At the end of the day, we hope decisions on 5G can be made based on technology and not on other factors, he said. At any time, at any point, it is normal for us, for a company to be faced with challenges and difficulties. Story continues The U.S., New Zealand and Australia have all restricted or banned Huawei from 5G networks, though New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said this week thered been no final decision -- comments the companys chair cited to the Canadian journalists. The U.K. said this week no decision has been made, but that the country will not compromise on the improvements we need to see from Huawei. Germany has ruled out a full Huawei ban. Fair and Just Despite the tensions, the chairman predicted revenue growth for the company -- to $125.4 billion in 2019, up from $108.5 billion last year. Revenue in Canada totaled $420 million last year, including $270 million from telecom companies like BCE Inc. and Telus Corp., and $150 million from consumer products. He said the company is just an equipment vendor to those Canadian telecoms, and doesnt own networks or Canadian customer data. He said he wants all providers to be treated equally in a fair and just manner. Cyber-security and privacy protection are challenges for the entire industry and not just one company, he said. The company wont abandon Canada if it bans 5G, Liang said. There are still customers that will choose us. In that case, we will continue to provide good service to customers, he said. The U.S. unveiled allegations against Huawei, two affiliates and Meng over alleged bank and wire fraud related to business in Iran, along with allegations that the company stole trade secrets from T-Mobile US Inc. Liang said the dispute with T-Mobile had been resolved in civil proceedings and that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty. Meng is due in court next month, though her extradition fight could last for years. I cannot say the U.S. charges against Ms. Meng are not politically driven, Liang said. I believe she is innocent and I hope the Canadian justice system will bring justice back to her. Liang cited comments made by former Canadian ambassador to China, John McCallum, who said Meng had a good case to avoid extradition. Trudeau demanded McCallums resignation days later. (Updates with New Zealand comments, background on security law from fifth paragraph.) To contact the reporter on this story: Josh Wingrove in Ottawa at jwingrove4@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net, Steven Frank For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. Following a visit there, the Catholic Bishops of PNG have said the mental health of most refugees has deteriorated severely and many are suicidal. These refugees came to Manus after perilous boat trips that have taken many lives and 600 of them have been left to languish on the island for the past six years, Mr Pruaitch said. The Paladin contract was awarded in 2017, a year after the PNG supreme court declared it was unconstitutional and illegal for refugees to be held in a PNG detention centre and after the virtual prison was shut down. Mr Pruaitch said details of the billion kina security contract awarded to the Paladin Group highlight the callous way offshore refugees are being treated. PORT MORESBY Opposition leader Patrick Pruaitch has called on the Australian government to quickly resolve the problem of refugees stranded in Papua New Guinea and Nauru for the past six years. Patrick Pruaitch - Australias role in this refugee crisis is deplorable from almost any angle one could take" Mr Pruaitch said the PNG government acted in good faith to allow the Australian government to set up the detention centre as a temporary solution and as a deterrent to other refugees that might attempt to travel to Australia by boat. The Australian government has shown scant regard for the local and national problems created in PNG by the ongoing refugee crisis. By its actions it has also shown scant regard for the plight of these refugees, a stance that has been condemned by the United Nations, he said. Australia may regard these comments as harsh, but this is the only way Papua New Guineans can interpret Australias decision to reject out of hand a New Zealand offer to resettle many of the Manus refugees in New Zealand. Successive Australian governments seem terrified at the prospect of refugees arriving in their country by boat. Mr Pruaitch said that, from the facts made available, the most generous interpretation that can be given to the lack of due process in awarding the Manus security contract to Paladin is that the Australian government is willing to allow Paladin to undertake covert operations in PNG. The only reason Australian authorities awarded this security contract to Paladin was because it understood Paladin would take over the PNG-based Black Swan security firm and through this, and other means, influence key political leaders within PNGs ruling party. Australias role in this refugee crisis is deplorable from almost any angle one could take, beginning with use of its financial muscle and strong-arm tactics to encourage or force developing nations such as PNG and Nauru to accept the establishment of the detention centres, Mr Pruaitch said. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met with Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I on February 22. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia, PM Pashinyan said, Your Holiness, Catholicos of All Armenians, Your Holiness, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, I am glad to see and meet you. Of course, we have met in the past and I recall my visit to Antelias with warmth on the occasion of the jubilee year of your activities. My meetings with the Catholicos of All Armenians are regular. Some of those meetings are covered by the media, some are not and I greatly highlight this interaction. Frankly speaking, I even think that the dialogue has not kicked off yet, because this is a period when we are very cautious towards issues and this is natural. But I think during this period we have succeeded in one thing we managed to create a sincere and open atmosphere. This particular dialogue is of key importance for the future of our country, for the future of our people, because I think that we have a very important mission to discuss our nation-wide agenda and establish a nation-wide agenda. We know one thing for sure we, our people, our church and our religious class have a shared acknowledgment that we will not be defeated and have to overcome all the challenges facing our state, people the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Artsakh and the Diaspora. I am confident that such interactions, our relations with the Church and discussions are of decisive and key importance. I am very glad for this opportunity and I am thankful for the visit. Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II said, Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, Today we have the pleasant opportunity to visit you together with the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I. We are thankful for this opportunity. As you may know, its already a few day Catholicos Aram I is in Armenia, at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and during these days we together referred to the issues concerning our Church, different issues and problems facing our Church, as well as we discussed issues referring our national life. Of course, we informed Catholicos Aram I that by your decision a working group has been established to examine issues concerning the Church and the State, and to find reasonable solutions for them. We also referred to the mission of our Church in our national and spiritual life, highlighting our role for the spiritual and national consolidation of our people, as well as for the progress of our country. We emphasized the importance of stability in our country and that the atmosphere of love prevails in our country. And the Armenian Church, like during our entire history, has always stood with the state whenever we had our independent statehood, and made a contribution to the safe and secure existence of our country. We have had numerous opportunities to emphasize that the Armenian Apostolic Church will continue the same work with the same vigor and enthusiasm, so as to enable our people to overcome all the difficulties with joint efforts, all the problems facing today our country and the world-spread Armenian people. Naturally, this goes for the issue of the recognition of Artsakhs independence, recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the stable, safe progress of our country. We once again want to thank you for todays meeting and convey our best wishes to you and the success of your efforts. Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I said in his speech, Dear Mr. Prime Minister, This is our 2nd meeting and this time I welcome your mission more officially, as the Prime Minister, because the efforts of anybody aimed at the progress of the statehood cannot be assessed as just work, but is mission by its nature and that mission should be carried out with the acknowledgment of the mission. And I am confident that you are set to this mission with that acknowledgment, with responsible people and young cadres surrounding you with the same mission. Therefore, I wish you all the best and full success and as I have always said, I will repeat again that your success is the success of our motherland and the success of the motherland is the success of our entire nation, because the Republic of Armenia has some responsibilities beyond its borders towards the Diaspora. Therefore, I see your mission in a more comprehensive way. My expectation is that the expectations and needs of the people are met. You set to this mission with that commitment and emphasize din all your public speeches that you come from the people, that the people is the power and its the expectations of the people that must inspire you and the Government. Of course, its necessary to be realistic and its not the right thing to bring emotions into life immediately. My final expectation is that the expectations and needs of the people are met. And my expectation in this process is also that you emphasize the benefit of pluralism. Having different opinions makes someone rich, with the condition that they will meet somewhere, interact with one another around our national values and ideals. Its necessary to avoid polarizations. If there are polarizations, they should be bridged over the same values. And for this I greatly highlight the role of the Church. I am glad you highlighted the role of the Church in your speech. The Catholicos of All Armenians also said that the Church-State relations, or I would say partnership, is a must for nation building. Naturally, there are different opinions and approaches. As I already said, these differences should become useful, because we are all in the same ring and on the same path. Therefore, Mr. Prime Minister, I once again wish you success in your mission. God protect you and our dear homeland. Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador of Armenia to the Holy See Karen Nazaryan met with His Eminence Gianfranco Cardinal Ravasi, President of the Pontificial Council of Culture and the members of the Council on February 21. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, during the meeting the Armenian Ambassador highlighted the continuous expansion of Armenia-Holy See cultural agenda, given the fact that both states act as protectors of world heritage and universal values. The sides agreed to implement new joint educational and cultural projects and initiatives using the ancient deep and friendly relations aimed at further fostering the awareness and spread of cultural and spiritual values. Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The session of the Military-Industrial Committee of Armenia was held in the government led by Prime Minister Nikol Pahsinyan, the PMs Office told Armenpress. The PM opened the session and noted: The development of the military industrial complex is declared by the government as a priority, and we need to make serious changes and record results here. For this purpose, of course, it is necessary to make both structural changes and find opportunities in order to greatly increase the financing of the sector. In fact, we need to do the following for the development of the military-industrial complex: we must have a clearly working mechanism of our scientific potential, private investments and public administration system, and this issue should be under our spotlight in the near future. Of course, we view the creation of the ministry of high technologies industry in Armenia in this context which is an important, but not sufficient condition so that we can reach major changes in the field. Here the issue of cooperation with our scientific potential and also the analytical work of the defense ministry, the General Staff for the needs of our Armed Forces, even if the resources, be they a lot or less, of course, its important if they are a lot, but in case of being a lot, the targets should be determined right, we should decide right what kind of developments, research, production, ammunition and equipment we need, and the development, production and upgrading of what part of hem we can implement in Armenia. Overall, of course, today we have some capacities in Armenia, but the volume of these capacities and the real production cannot seem satisfactory and enough. In general, I think that while discussing the problems in this field, as well as in the remaining fields, we need to discuss not the difficulties, how difficult it is to solve this or that issue, but we need to form our goals, and all our actions should derive from the priority to reach these goals. The geopolitical, military-political atmosphere existing today in our region doesnt enable us to live with the logic of getting alone, because with this logic we just consume the resources we have. We need to think of developing our resources and here we need to be ferocious first of all towards ourselves. Yes, we must make very serious, even non-popular, voluntary solutions in order to be convinced that there is no idle in our state system which receives state funding by doing nothing. Eliminating them with extreme cruelty is our key task, no matter which sector it relates to, especially in the fields of military industry and technologies. Here we should really be able to propose technological solutions. By saying a technological solution I imagine the following: the important is not the tank, but the problem we want to solve through the tank. Therefore, not the tank, but the problem and its solution are important. Our thinking must be to find a way that will solve that problem no matter what is its name, tank or something else. Therefore, our logic in the fields of military industry, science and technology should work in the following way: we need to understand our problems, our solutions and refuse from the traditional perceptions over these solutions and tools in order to ensure certain technological progress and change, the Prime Minister said. Head of the State Military-Industrial Committee Avetik Qerobyan said the delegation of the military-industrial complex this year participated in the IDEX International Defense Exhibition and Conference in the United Arab Emirates for the first time in a separate pavilion. He said the Armenian pavilion created a great interest, and Armenias products were under spotlight also thanks to the brilliant performance of the Guards of Honor, the Military Orchestra of the defense ministry and the Yerevan Drums musical group. Avetik Qerobyan informed that the investors of the Middle East are greatly interested in the Armenian military production which is a good base for attracting investments and expanding the export markets of the Armenian scientific-technological production. Thereafter, the session participants discussed the programs and future actions aimed at developing the military-industrial complex. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Ruben Rubinyan, chairman of the Armenian parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs, on February 22 received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands to Armenia Johannes Douma, the Parliament told Armenpress. During the meeting the officials highlighted the development of the parliamentary relations between the two countries and in this regard the role of the foreign affairs committee as a link coordinating the parliamentary diplomacy. Talking about Armenias foreign policy priorities, Ruben Rubinyan said Armenia builds its relations with the partner states based on the principle of reciprocity. The officials also discussed the ratification process of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Ruben Rubinyan expressed hope that the Agreement will be ratified as soon as possible. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. A French citizen who was injured in a mountain-climbing incident in Armenia has died, the ministry of emergency situations said. Because of the rough terrain the scene of the incident was inaccessible for equipment and rescuers had to climb their way up. At 15:40, the victim was pronounced dead by first responders while being airlifted from the area. The other 4 mountaineers are in normal condition and did not require medical treatment. Other details werent immediately clear. The incident happened when the 5 French citizens were climbing a mountain near the Aghveran resort in Kotayk province. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canoe EIT Income Fund (the Fund) (TSX: EIT.UN) (TSX: EIT.PR.A) (TSX: EIT.PR.B) is pleased to announce it has completed the overnight offering of 6,500,000 Units of the Fund (the Units). Total proceeds of the offering were approximately $73.5 million, including the proceeds from the exercise, in full, of the previously announced over-allotment option granted to the agents by the Fund. The Units will trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the existing symbol of EIT.UN. The Units were offered at a price of $11.30 per Unit to yield 10.6%. The offering was co-led by National Bank Financial Inc., CIBC Capital Markets, Scotiabank and RBC Capital Markets and also included TD Securities Inc., BMO Capital Markets, Industrial Alliance Securities Inc., Raymond James Ltd., GMP Securities L.P., Haywood Securities Inc., Canaccord Genuity Corp., Echelon Wealth Partners Inc., Desjardins Securities Inc., Mackie Research Capital Corporation and Manulife Securities Incorporated. The net proceeds of the offering will be used by the Fund in accordance with its investment objectives and investment strategies, subject to the investment restrictions of the Fund. The Funds regular monthly distribution of $0.10 per unit for unitholders of EIT.UN units remains unchanged. The Fund has maintained the $0.10 per unit monthly distribution since August 2009, through varying market conditions. The Funds annual voluntary redemption feature for unitholders of EIT.UN units remains unchanged. You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sell units of the Fund on the Toronto Stock Exchange. If the units are purchased or sold on the Toronto Stock Exchange, investors may pay more than the current net asset value when buying Units of the Fund and may receive less than the current net asset value when selling them. There are ongoing fees and expenses associated with owning units of an investment fund. An investment fund must prepare disclosure documents that contain key information about the fund. You can find more detailed information about the fund in these documents. Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. The Units have not been, nor will be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. persons absent registration or applicable exemption from the registration requirement of such Act and applicable state securities laws. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. About the Fund The Fund is one of Canada's largest, diversified closed-end investment funds and is listed on the TSX under the symbol EIT.UN. The Fund is actively managed and invests in a diversified portfolio of income-generating and capital growth-oriented securities listed primarily on the TSX. The Fund is designed to maximize distributions and net asset value for the benefit of its unitholders. The Fund is managed by Robert Taylor, Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager of Canoe Financial LP. About Canoe Financial LP Canoe Financial LP (Canoe) is one of Canadas fastest growing independent mutual fund companies managing $4.5 billion in assets across a diversified range of award-winning mutual funds and private energy equity products. Founded in 2008, Canoe is an employee-owned investment management firm focused on building financial wealth for Canadians. Canoe has offices in Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Montreal. For further information, please contact: Investor Relations Canoe Financial LP 18774342796 www.canoefinancial.com info@canoefinancial.com Forward Looking Statement: Certain statements included in this news release constitute forward looking statements which reflect Canoe Financial LPs current expectations regarding future results or events. Words such as may, will, should, could, anticipate, believe, expect, intend, plan, potential, continue and similar expressions have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. In addition, any statement regarding future performance, strategies, prospects, action or plans is also a forward-looking statement. Market predictions and forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, events, activity and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Forward looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties and a number of factors could cause actual results to materially differ from expectations discussed in the forward looking statements including, but not limited to, changes in general economic and market conditions and other risk factors. Although the forward-looking statements are based on what Canoe Financial LP believes to be reasonable assumptions, we cannot assure that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the current date and we assume no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. The Fund makes monthly distributions of an amount comprised in whole or in part of return of capital (ROC) of the net asset value per unit. A ROC reduces the amount of your original investment and may result in the return to you of the entire amount of your original investment. ROC that is not reinvested will reduce the net asset value of the Fund, which could reduce the Funds ability to generate future income. You should not draw any conclusions about the Funds investment performance from the amount of this distribution. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investment funds. Please read the information filed about the Fund on www.sedar.com before investing. The indicated rates of return are the historical and annual compounded total returns including changes in unit value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution, or optional charges or income taxes payable by any security holder that would have reduced returns. Investment funds are not guaranteed and past performance may not be repeated. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The OSCE sees hope for a positive dynamic in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process, Deputy Director for Policy Support Service at OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre Charles Lonsdale, who has also served as UK Ambassador to Armenia from 2008 to 2012, said during the 18th winter meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Vienna, reports Armenpress. We follow the developments in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict dealt by the OSCE Minsk Group with great interest, and more recently with some hope for positive dynamic following the regular meetings of foreign ministers and informal meetings between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, he said. Highlighting the commitment of the parties to prepare their populations for peace, he expressed readiness to support if the parties are interested. But we are not directly involved in the work of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Charles Lonsdale said. Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had a brief meeting in Dushanbe on September 28, 2018, during which they reached an agreement to reduce tension and prevent incidents in the border. An operative connection has been established between the sides since the meeting of the two leaders. Thereafter, they held another informal meeting in St. Petersburg in December on the sidelines of the informal meeting of the heads of CIS states. Pashinyan and Aliyev also met on January 22, 2019 in Davos on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Minister of territorial administration and development Suren Papikyan received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Switzerland to Armenia Stefano Lazzarotto, the ministry told Armenpress. At the meeting minister Papikyan said he is happy to host the Ambassador of a friendly country the relations with which are at a very important point, adding that strengthening, deepening the Armenian-Swiss ties and finding new cooperation directions are part of Armenias government agenda. As a result of the successful cooperation with the ministry of territorial administration and development, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation together with partner companies has carried out major investments in territorial reforms and capacity development of local self-government system in Armenia since 2014, the minister said and attached importance to the necessity to find new and multilayer directions for the future partnership. In his turn the Swiss Ambassador thanked for the reception and noted that Switzerland is interested in assisting the works on raising accountability, efficiency in Armenias communities, providing more available services to the citizens. The Ambassador stated that the investment environment formed as a result of the velvet revolution sends positive signals to the potential Swiss investors. The minister reaffirmed the governments commitment to deepen the transparency of local self-government bodies and local democracy and expressed hope that they can rely on the developed experience of the European countries in this process. Minister Papikyan said the Armenian authorities are interested in the broader and active engagement of the Swiss capital in different branches of the economy. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The annual report of the European Parliaments Foreign Affairs Committee on Turkey condemns the multiple human rights violations and restriction of freedom of speech which have taken place under Erdogans leadership. Harut Shirinyan - Public Relations and Communications Officer at the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD), told ARMENPRESS that this report can inevitably raise the level of political tension between the EP and Turkey. -Mr. Shirinyan, on February 20 the European Parliaments Foreign Affairs Committee adopted its annual report on Turkey. What points will you outline from the report? -Overall, the report strongly criticizes and condemns the numerous human rights violations, restriction of freedom of speech, political persecutions and arrests, as well as the pressures on ethnic, religious and sexual minorities which have taken place under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans leadership. The report, in particular, condemns the persecutions against opposition figures, human rights advocates and journalists outside Turkey. In addition, the European Parliament doesnt see any well-grounded reason for constantly extending the state of emergency in Turkey after the 2016 failed military coup attempt. -Taking into considering these developments, the European Parliament decided to reaffirm its decision of the last year, in order words to urge the European Commission to stop Turkeys accession talks to the EU. What developments can this lead to? -This decision will inevitably raise the level of political tension between the two sides. The solution is possible only when the Turkish government makes real reforms in the aforementioned fields. I would like to state that this report on Turkey, as well as all those reports staring from 2015, directly refer to the resolution on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the European Parliament in April, 2015. This report is very vital for the EAFJD because by this the EP with its report on Turkey every year reaffirms the recognition of the Genocide in reality and again, indirectly sends a signal to Turkey, as well as all EU member states to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide. -It seems the report also touches upon the issue of the preservation of cultural heritage of national minorities in Turkey. What message does it contain? -Its worth stating that by this report the European Parliament calls on Turkey to respect its legal agreements by preserving the cultural heritage of the national minorities. The talk is about the preservation of historical structures and property of Greeks, Assyrians and Armenians. The report also says that Turkey must prepare the concrete list of all damaged and destroyed properties that belong to these communities. -There is also a reference to the Armenia-Turkey relations in the report, and it seems, an equality sign is again put here. What would you say about this? -Regarding the Armenia-Turkey relations, the report points the two states, which cannot be understood, and encourages to be consistent in the normalization process of the bilateral relations. And it also mentions the future economic benefits for the two countries in case of opening the borders. But here I want to note that it would be more logical and right if this section of the EP report was addressed only to Turkey, by outlining the latters responsibility for todays situation and urging it to adopt more serious attitude, express readiness to start talks in the relations with Armenia over an agreement without any precondition, and in particular, to refuse from presenting any precondition on the Karabakh conflict. In any case Turkey is aware that joining the EU is unrealistic and impossible if it has not normalized the relations with all states of the region, especially when some of the EU territories are still under Turkish rule unfortunately. Interview by Anna Gziryan Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. A French national has been injured in Armenia in what appeared to be a mountain climbing incident in the countrys Kotayk province. Emergency authorities said in a news release that they got a 911 call at 11:05, February 22 that five mountaineers, all French nationals, have climbed a mountain near a hotel at the Aghveran resort, and that one of the mountaineers has appeared under a snow layer in circumstances that are yet to be revealed. It is unclear if the cause of the incident was an avalanche. According to a statement by the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the 4 other climbers pulled the victim out of the snow, but the latter was unconscious. Authorities said rescuers and first responders have been dispatched to the scene. The health condition of the victim was not immediately clear. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The parliamentary committee on human rights and social affairs has summoned Minister of Justice Artak Zeynalyan for a briefing on February 22. Zeynalyan presented figures regarding prisoners currently housed at correctional facilities in Armenia. Back in May [2018], the government had put a task before me to solve the overpopulation problem at correction facilities, and this problem was solved already before declaring clemency, he said, referring to the government-granted pardon in early November 2018. We can house up to 5300 prisoners at correctional facilities. Today, there are 2266 convicts and detainees at correctional facilities, 963 of whom are detainees, and 1303 are convicted prisoners. 10 convicts are currently on hunger strike, he said. He emphasized that the pardons purpose was not related to mitigating the prison overpopulation issue. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The traffic department of the German infrastructure ministry told Armenias ministry of transport, communication and information technologies that on February 22, as of 10:00, the Stepantsminda-Lars highway is open for all types of vehicles, the ministry told Armenpress. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of emergency situations informs that on February 22, as of 09:00, some roads are closed and difficult to pass in Armenia. Vardenyats Pass is closed for trailer trucks and is difficult to pass for passenger vehicles, reports Armenpress. Sotk-Karvachar highway is difficult to pass. Drivers are urged to use snow tires. The Georgian authorities inform that the Stepantsminda-Lars highway is open for all types of vehicles. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh is denying reports on Azerbaijan downing one of its UAVs in the Aghdam section, labeling it disinformation. The February 21 statement of the Azerbaijani defense ministry claiming to have downed an Armenian unmanned aerial vehicle in the Aghdam section is false. The Defense Army has not had any UAV loss. Regarding the photos published in Azerbaijani media, these are obviously old pictures. It is also noteworthy that Bakus disinformation somehow coincided with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs regional visit, the Artsakh Ministry of Defense said in a statement. The ministry added that as always, the Armed Forces of Artsakh have all means to safely and efficiently employ all types of UAVs under its disposal. We assure, in the event of necessity we will use [the UAVs] rather purposefully in the future, just like we have used them until now. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan Goodbye, Fred, Hello, Wilma A cheeky new name notes Fred Lelcaj's departure. by Sabine Bickford From the February, 2019 issue Trendy downtown eatery Fred's has cheekily changed its name to Wilma's. The change, says SavCo partner Nathan D'Andrea, was spurred on by a number of events. Last year, founder Fred Lelcaj picked up his hip health-and-veggie-driven South U restaurant and moved it to Washington and Division, where his sister Sava Lelcaj Farah had recently closed her Babo market. With the move, the formerly independent Fred's also joined SavCo, Farrah's hospitality company. Now, the namesake is gone. "Fred's no longer here," an employee explained when we called and asked for him. D'Andrea, who started the original Fred's with Lelcaj in 2016, says "It's not 100 percent that Fred's gone" for good, but for now he's "working on some other projects" outside Ann Arbor. Meanwhile, a restaurant chain out of Texas with the same name had sent Fred's a few cease-and-desist letters. "We wanted to use the opportunity to rebrand," says D'Andrea. They held a contest, and Wilma's won. (Wilma was Fred Flintstone's wife in the 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoon.) SavCo has added more pink and purple accents and a "Tex-Mex theme," D'Andrea says. But "we're still the same great people serving up fresh, whole foods." Wilma's, 403 E. Washington. 669-3552. Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. wilmasannarbor.com --- This article has been edited since it was published in the Feburary 2019 Ann Arbor Observer. The spelling of Sava Lelcaj Farah's last name has been corrected. [Originally published in February, 2019.] Nutri Hierro is the name given to this "anti-anemia biscuit" by its developer, Julio Garay, a 25-year-old agro-industrial engineer for the Southern Andean region of Ayacucho, where nearly half of the children under three suffer irreversible long-term physical damage to their cognitive development due to anemia "My dream is to contribute in decreasing anemia levels in Ayacucho and other regions," Garay told EFE during an interview at a small facility producing these biscuits capable of eliminating infant anemia within one month. That was the conclusion following diverse tests undergone in seven Ayacucho municipalities, both in urban and rural regions, where anemia affects the children Anemia is a decrease in the total amount of red blood cells that reduces blood's ability to carry oxygen. Symptoms may include tiredness, weakness, shortness of breath or limited capacity to exercise. Its causes include iron deficiency, lack of vitamin B12 and even inherited blood disorders. The biscuit is the result of Garay's doctoral thesis presented at Peru's National University of San Cristobal de Huamanga, where he was able to study thanks to a State grant available to young low-income Peruvians. "I expected some results within three months but hemoglobin levels among the children improved in only one month," Garay said. One of the trials took place in the hamlet of Patibamba, where anemic children who ate four biscuits a day increased their hemoglobin to an acceptable level or higher. "I was really amazed," said Diego Flores, the doctor in charge of the medical mission in Patibamba who carried out the medical tests on the children. "Although hemoglobin must be normalized within four weeks by means of conventional treatment, these biscuits raised the children's hemoglobin to unexpected levels," Flores said. The doctor did warn that, in order for the treatment to remain fully effective, it must be maintained for at least six months. "This could change the future of a complete country. Overcoming anemia , especially among the under-3 age group is very important to a country like Peru because we are a populous nation and without anemia, we will become more prosperous," Flores added. Maria Quispe, the mother of a two-year-old girl with anemia , told EFE the biscuits were "fantastic" and "provided them (the children) with a boost of energy." These encouraging results are directly related to the biscuit formula created by Garay. The biscuits contain cow blood, a cheap ingredient with a high iron content and proteins that is often discarded in abattoirs. The blood that is transformed into a puree totals 50 percent of each biscuit, while 30 percent is quinoa, 10 percent is wheat flour and 10 percent is cacao that Garay's parents grow themselves in the Quimpitiriky community, which is used to mask the taste of blood. Aje Group, one of Peru's largest business holdings, Garay hopes to spread his anti-anemia biscuits across Ayacucho and the neighboring province of Huancavelica, where At his small production plant, made possible by a loan and support from theGroup, one of Peru's largest business holdings, Garay hopes to spread his anti-anemia biscuits across Ayacucho and the neighboring province of Huancavelica, where infant anemia remains heavily entrenched. Anemia is the world's most common blood disorder, affecting about a third of the global population, while iron-deficiency anemia affects nearly 1 billion people. "The best of this whole experience is that I can contribute to improving people's health" Garay concluded. ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via OTC PR WIRE -- Elev8 Brands, Inc. (OTCQB: VATE) a holding company (the "Company") focused on commercial development of hemp and cannabinoid infused beverages that specializes in Coffee and Tea as well as an array of CBD topicals and tinctures, now has product in over sixty (60) locations nationwide. Elev8s Hemp Coffees and Teas continue to hold their distinguished Amazon Choice award as sales continue to grow online, as well as brick and mortar. The Company is currently working with Luckys Market, selling Elev8 Hemp products in thirteen Florida stores. Luckys Market states they plan to carry Elev8 Hemp products in every Florida store including several set to open in 2019. CEO of The Company, Mr. Ryan Medico, exclaims, The continued growth with our current products is paving the way for the exciting release of our CBD infused beverages. In addition, Elev8 Brands has partnered with Chex Finer Foods, Inc. (CFFI), a third generation, family owned specialty and natural foods distributor located in Mansfield, Massachusetts. The partnership coincides with the Companys passion for customer service, high-quality products and growth. With over 50 years of excellence, CFFI has a record of accolades with quality and service in mind. Chex Finer Foods was listed and recognized by INC. 5000 as a member of the fastest growing private companies in 2011 and 2013. In 2012, CFFI was elected into the Food Industry Hall of Fame. Medico concluded, The partnership with Chex Finer Foods is a huge step forward as Elev8 Brands continues to grow. I believe the expansion of distribution that CFFI offers will help promote familiarity of Elev8 Hemp Coffees and Teas to more consumers. To learn more about Chex Finer Foods, Inc. visit chexfoods.com About Elev8 Brands, Inc.: Elev8 Brands, Inc. specializes in the development and marketing of products for the fitness and wellness markets. The company is founded based on creating high-quality, sustainable, products for health-conscious consumers. About Elev8 Hemp LLC: Elev8 Hemp LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Elev8 Brands, Inc. which focuses on the development and marketing of hemp and CBD beverages with a specialty in coffees and teas. About 02 Breathe LLC: 02 Breathe is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Elev8 Brands, Inc. which focuses on their oxygen bar while bringing in an array of CBD products. O2 Breathe carries CBD tinctures, CBD vape, CBD lotions and massage products. 02 Breathe is currently looking to offer CBD at their oxygen bar. About Zoe CBD LLC: Zoe CBD is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Elev8 Brands, Inc. which focuses on the development and marketing of CBD-based products such as CBD Tinctures, CBD E-Juice, CBD Lotion and CBD Salve. Please visit, http://www.zoecbd.com for more information www.facebook.com/elev8hemp www.instagram.com/elev8hemp www.twitter.com/elev8hemp www.02breathe.com Safe Harbor Statement: The information posted in this release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by use of the words "may," "will," "should," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "continue," "estimate," "project," "intend," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general economic and business conditions, effects of continued geopolitical unrest and regional conflicts, competition, changes in technology and methods of marketing, delays in completing various engineering and manufacturing programs, changes in customer order patterns, changes in product mix, continued success in technological advances and delivering technological innovations, shortages in components, production delays due to performance quality issues with outsourced components, and various other factors beyond the Company's control. www.elev8hemp.com (407) 377-6693 ir@elev8hemp.com According to the legislative resolution authorizing the trip, the Head of State will be overseas from February 24 to March 3, 2019. It should be noted this will be the first time the top official visits the European continent as the Inca country's President. "This visit to two countries that are particularly close to Peru, with which we maintain privileged relations, will enable us to reinforce our presence with two Ibero-American partners and with numerous common interests," the portfolio expressed. Portugal President Vizcarra will visit Portugal on February 25-26 . There, he will hold meetings with his Portuguese counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Prime Minister Antonio Costa, as well as other high-ranking authorities. Acumen Research and Consulting, a global provider of market research studies, in a recently published report titled Gas Turbine Market (By Capacity: 200 MW, >200 MW; By Technology: Open Cycle, Combined Cycle; By Application: Power Generation, Industrial, Aviation) - Global Industry Analysis, Market Size, Opportunities and Forecast, 2018 - 2026 LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global gas turbine market size is anticipated to around USD 31.2 billion by 2026, this market is anticipated to grow with 5.0% CAGR during the forecast time period. The market is required to be driven by increasing pressure from worldwide organizations to diminish carbon impression, alongside low shale gas costs. Free Download Sample Report Pages For Better understanding@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/request-sample/1164 Motivating forces given by local governments to gas-based power generation organizations to battle expanding carbon impressions are probably going to drive showcase development. Gas turbines saw a particular increment in 2015, indicating an adjustment in arrangements by power generators to gain by low gas costs. The absolute biggest gas turbine shipments are assessed to make a beeline for Latin America, U.S., and Europe. In any case, Asia Pacific will probably show the quickest development rate within a coming years. Post 2016, steam turbine orders are grabbing also, impersonating the pattern in gas turbines, attributable to rising CHP establishments over the globe. Combined cycle power generation is the most proficient type of innovation to produce power. This innovation portion additionally represents the biggest offer in the gas turbine market. Gas power production in Asia Pacific is still at a beginning stage, yet with forceful advancement programs embraced by the territorial governments to enhance gas foundation, the district is slated to observe fast development. India is additionally expanding its attention on the utilization of cleaner resources. In January 2017, Siemens and Marubeni reported plans to construct a 1,200 MW combined cycle power plant in Thailand. In 2015, the organization sold around 18 models of SGT-800 modern gas turbines to Thailand. Six of these turbines had a limit of 53 MW each, while the limit of the staying twelve units was 50.5 MW each. The units were planned to be introduced in nine joined cycle cogeneration control plants with a complete introduced electrical limit of 1100 MW. View Detail Information With Complete TOC@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/gas-turbine-market The global gas turbine market is segmented into capacity, technology, application, and region. On the basis of capacity, the global gas turbine market is segmented into 200 MW and >200 MW. On the basis of technology, the global gas turbine market is segmented into Open Cycle and Combined Cycle. On the basis of application, the global gas turbine market is segmented into Power Generation, Industrial, and Aviation. On the basis of region the global Gas turbine market is bifurcated into Europe, Latin America, North America, Middle East & Africa, and Asia Pacific. North America and Europe represent the biggest offer of power stations being decommissioned. This is due to a mainstream of the power plants are in the second period of their life cycle. In Europe, air contamination hardware of various plants that have not been updated were to be shut by 2015. Maturing limits and authoritative activities made a potential substitution showcase. MEA is anticipated to emerge as the second biggest market in terms of orders and capacity additions. This region was esteemed at more than USD 5,000 million out of 2017. Expanding request can be credited to rising inclination toward gas-fired combined cycle plants in the territorial oil and gas industry. Browse All official Market Research Reports Press Releases@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/press-releases Explore Our Market Blog@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/blogs Central and South America is additionally a rewarding business sector for clean energy. Since 1990, Brazil has been effectively reassuring cogeneration, which has brought about more than 1,200 MW of on location or on-site gas-terminated volume. Brazil, Peru, Chile, and Uruguay are the most conspicuous markets in the area. Growths in clean energy projects in the emerging regions are making solid development potential for gas and steam turbines. Alongside rising interest for electric power through clean energy sources, numerous nations in this area have promised to diminish GHG emissions. These variables are required to decidedly affect the market. The key players catering to the global Gas turbine market are Zorya-Mashproekt, General Electric, Harbin Electric International Company, Siemens AG, NPO Saturn, Wartsila, Cryostar, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Capstone Turbine, BHEL, Man Diesel & Turbo, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Vericor Power Systems, Ansaldo Energia, Opra Turbines, and Solar Turbines. Significant strategic initiatives undertaken by global businesses include partnerships, new product launch, and acquisitions. INQUIRY BEFORE BUYING@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/inquiry-before-buying/1164 The report is readily available and can be dispatched immediately after payment confirmation. Buy this premium research report https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/buy-now/0/1164 Would like to place an order or any question, please feel free to contact at sales@acumenresearchandconsulting.com | +1 407 915 4157 For Latest Update Follow Us: https://twitter.com/AcumenRC https://www.facebook.com/acumenresearchandconsulting https://www.linkedin.com/company/acumen-research-and-consulting/ TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian Orebodies Inc. (the Company) (TSXV:CORE) is pleased to announce that it has commenced a drill program to explore the extension and potential additional high-grade gold-bearing veins in the Smoke Lake Gold System (SLGS) on the Black Raven property. This drill campaign is expected to total approximately 1,000 metres, with a majority of the holes to be drilled off ice pads located on Smoke Lake. The ice pads, which the Company has been building for the last month, will provide optimal locations for drilling various azimuths to define and follow up on the results received from the fall 2018 round of drilling which intercepted 133.2 g/t Au over 2.0 metres, which included 443.0 g/t Au over 0.6 metres (see press release dated December 11, 2018). We believe we have potential for a significant mineralized gold system in the Smoke Lake area composed of multiple high-grade gold-bearing structures, said Gordon McKinnon, President and CEO of Canadian Orebodies. We are taking advantage of this unseasonably cold winter to optimize certain drilling angles using ice pads, which will significantly expedite our understanding of the SLGS, and hopefully expand the known high-grade gold zones and allow us to discover new ones. Smoke Lake Gold System From the integration of the historic and the 2018 drilling results, the SLGS is interpreted as an interconnected network of mineralized structures in which gold mineralization is associated with mm-wide to cm-wide quartz stringers and veins with haloes of disseminated sulfides. Additional drilling is however necessary to confirm the interpreted geometry of the SLGS. Narrow higher-grade lenses enveloped in broad lower grade mineralized structures compose the SLGS. The SLGS has been so far been intersected by drilling over a strike length of >400 metres and to a vertical depth of >130 metres. The vein system remains open in both directions along strike and to depth. Surface mapping of gold mineralization in the area also suggests that additional mineralized structures are likely present in the hanging wall and footwall of the of the SLGS. The SLGS was targeted based on the previous work of Freewest Resources Canada Ltd. in 2003 and diamond drilling by Entourage Metals Ltd. in 2011-12. Both exploration programs encountered multiple zones of mineralization in the area and the best diamond drilling intersections were obtained in the Super G vein, which returned assay results of 44.5 g/t Au (uncut) over a drilled width of 2.4 metres (BR-11-041) and 19.2 g/t Au over 2.0 metres (BR-11-011). From the 2018 drilling, the high-grade intersection in BR-2018-002 suggests an up-plunge continuity of the zone of high-grade mineralization between BR-11-01 and BR-11-04, whereas BR-2018-003 shows that the zone of mineralization remains open down-plunge. Technical Information This press release has been prepared under the supervision of Mr. Quentin Yarie (P.Geo.), who is a consultant to the Company and a qualified person (as such term is defined in National Instrument 43-101). Mr. Yarie has verified the technical data disclosed in this press release. Canadian Orebodies has implemented a quality-control program to comply with best practices in the collection and analysis of rock samples. Samples are transported in security-sealed bags to Activation Laboratories Ltd. in Thunder Bay, ON for preparation and assay. 1 Readers are cautioned that these assay results are historical in nature and have not been verified by a qualified person on behalf of the Company. About Canadian Orebodies Inc. Canadian Orebodies is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company with a portfolio of properties in Ontario and Nunavut. Canadian Orebodies is focused on generating shareholder value through the advancement of its two Hemlo area projects: Wire Lake and the North Limb. For more information please contact: Gordon McKinnon, President & CEO Canadian Orebodies Inc. (416) 644-1747 http://www.canadianorebodies.com Forward-Looking Statements Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, exploration results, potential mineralization, statements relating to mineral resources, and the Companys plans with respect to the exploration and development of its properties. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of Canadian Orebodies, including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, volatility of commodity prices, risks associated with the uncertainty of exploration results and estimates, currency fluctuations, dependency upon regulatory approvals, the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing and exploration risk. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Barrie, Ontario, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Connecting Canadians with the benefits of conservation is central to the Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) National Art Portfolio. Among our greatest challenges in wetland conservation is transforming how people relate to the natural world, says Karla Guyn, CEO of Ducks Unlimited Canada. Artists have a unique ability to evoke peoples feelings about the importance of our land, water and wildlife. They are strong proponents of conservation and their artwork is a powerful tool for building appreciation and support for wetland conservation in Canada. The 2019 National Art Portfolio is a collection of memorable moments that highlight the importance of Canadas natural environment to our Canadian lifestyles. Each year DUC receives hundreds of submissions, says Guyn. We select pieces that we feel can inspire Canadians to reflect on their own experiences in nature and to embrace wetland conservation within their lives. The artwork of four outstanding artists from Ontario are featured in this years collection. Olaf Schneider is a renown muralist and painter from the Toronto area. He earns a place in this years collection with his piece entitled Breathless, a scene rich in memories to any Canadian who lives for summers at the lake. Schneiders work illustrates a lazy moment before sunrise with deck chairs set out from the night before, mosquitoes dancing on the water, loons calling in the distance and aromas of cedar and pine on dew-soaked air. These are the gifts we love to share with each other, he says of the familiar scene. Conrad Mieschke is a professional artist who works from his home studio in Ontario. After losing his wife to a motor vehicle accident, Mieschke recommitted his artwork to celebrating life and finding peace in the natural world. He earns a spot in this years portfolio with Peaceful Silence, an invitation to share in a favorite Canadian moment following a fresh snowfall. Winter is my favorite season of the year, says Mieschke. Nothing can be more enjoyable for me than gliding on my skis though the countryside on a crisp and sunny winter day in complete silence. Brent Trach is a professional artist who receives his inspiration from the iconic landscapes of Temagami, Georgian Bay and Algonquin Park, Ontario. He attributes his self-taught skill to the endless inspiration he gets from living in this beautiful region of Canada where camping, canoe trips and fishing are a way of life. Generations of Canadians will recognize Old Friends, a piece that beautifully captures a Canadian sentimentality rooted in fishing traditions. These are the lures and fishing equipment passed down from my grandparents and parents, says Trach of the subjects in his work, a tribute to the classics. Over the years, some of these treasures have worn out, broken or gone missing, usually clinging to a stump at the bottom of the lake. Daniel St-Amant starts his artwork in the streets and finishes in the studio. Laying prepared canvass on roadways, St-Amant then uses the distinct markings left by passing vehicles as a backdrop for his animal portraits. The over-use of resources is changing people, animals and habitats everywhere, says St-Amant. This unique process challenges us to reflect on the impacts of industrialism and urbanization, like our use of climate-affecting technologies and resulting carbon footprint. Amid those urban imprints is where youll find Rutt and Tuke, his winning depiction of a pair of moose, their next steps bleeding into tire tracks. Born and raised in Quebec, St-Amant now resides with his family in Toronto. DUC has been partnering with artists on the National Art Portfolio since 1986. The annually-released collection is up for auction with proceeds funding DUCs conservation work. Canadians can bid on pieces in the collection now at ducks.ca/2019NAP. - 30 - Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) delivers wetland conservation that benefits every Canadian. We keep the water in your lakes and rivers clean. We protect your community from the effects of flood and drought. We save wildlife and special natural places. We use science to find solutions to the most important environmental issues of the day and we collaborate with people who are helping create a healthier world. The wetlands we save arent just for ducks; theyre for all of us. Visit Ducks.ca. ATHENS, Greece, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX), (the Company), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, today announced that the Companys Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the Meeting) was duly held on February 20, 2019, in Limassol, Cyprus, pursuant to a Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders dated January 10, 2019. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. acted as inspector of the Meeting. At the Meeting, each of the following proposals, which are set forth in more detail in the Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders and the Companys Proxy Statement sent to shareholders on or around January 10, 2019, was approved and adopted: The election of William (Bill) Lawes, Konstantinos Psaltis and Kyriacos Riris as Class II Directors of the Company, to serve until the Companys 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders; and The appointment of Ernst & Young (Hellas) Certified Auditors Accountants S.A. as the Companys independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019. About the Company Diana Shipping Inc. is a global provider of shipping transportation services through its ownership of dry bulk vessels. The Companys vessels are employed primarily on medium to long-term time charters and transport a range of dry bulk cargoes, including such commodities as iron ore, coal, grain and other materials along worldwide shipping routes. Dublin, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Feed Additives Market by Type (Amino Acids, Phosphates, Vitamins, Acidifiers, Carotenoids, Enzymes, Mycotoxin Detoxifiers, Flavors & Sweeteners, Minerals, Antioxidants), Livestock, Form, Source, and Region - Global Forecast to 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The feed additives market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.1% from 2018, to reach USD 44,281.3 million by 2023, in terms of value. Feed additives are added to livestock feed as they improve the feed quality, prevent diseases, and improve feed utilization, thereby improving livestock performance and health. They also increase the yield and quality of food obtained from the livestock. Growth in the consumption of livestock-based products, growth in feed production, standardization of meat products owing to disease outbreaks, and implementation of innovative animal husbandry practices to improve meat quality have led to the increased consumption of feed additives. The growth of this market is attributed to the growing focus on livestock and their welfare, which, in turn, is driven by the global increase in demand for meat and poultry products, rise in global feed production with improved technologies, and increasing standardization of meat products due to contamination from bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter jejuni, Yersinia enterocolitica, Clostridium perfringens, and Staphylococcus aureus. The growth of the market is restricted due to stringent regulations in regions such as Europe and price volatility of different feed additives. In this report, the feed additives market has been studied on the basis of type, livestock, form, source, and region. Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Premium Insights 4.1 Attractive Opportunities in the Feed Additives Market 4.2 Feed Additives Market: Major Regional Submarkets 4.3 Asia Pacific: Feed Additives Market, By Key Type & Country 4.4 Feed Additives Market, By Livestock & Region 4.5 Feed Additives Market, By Type & Region 4.6 Feed Additives Market, By Source 5 Market Overview 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Market Dynamics 5.2.1 Drivers 5.2.1.1 Increase in Demand and Consumption of Livestock-Based Products 5.2.1.2 Growth in Feed Production 5.2.1.3 Rise in Awareness About Feed Quality 5.2.1.4 Standardization of Meat Products Owing to Disease Outbreaks 5.2.1.5 Implementation of Innovative Animal Husbandry Practices to Improve Meat Quality 5.2.2 Restraints 5.2.2.1 Ban on Antibiotics in Different Nations 5.2.2.2 Volatile Raw Material Prices for Natural Feed Additives 5.2.2.3 Stringent Regulatory Framework 5.2.3 Opportunities 5.2.3.1 Shifting Toward Natural Growth Promoters 5.2.3.2 Increase in Demand for Nutritional Supplements for Monogastric Animals 5.2.4 Challenges 5.2.4.1 Quality Control of Genetic Feed Additive Products Manufactured By Asian Companies 5.2.4.2 Sustainability of Feed and Livestock Chain 5.3 Value Chain: Feed Additives Market 5.4 Raw Material Analysis 5.4.1 Total Production of Feed Ingredients and their Usage in Feed 5.4.2 Price Analysis of Feed Raw Materials 6 Regulatory Framework 6.1 Regulations 6.1.1 Feed Additives Regulatory Approval From the European Union 6.1.2 Time Duration for A Feed Additive in the Register 6.1.3 Registration of Feed Additives 6.1.4 Packaging of Feed Additives 6.1.5 Labeling of Feed Additives 6.1.6 Manufacture and Sale of Feed Additives 6.1.7 Import of Feed Additives 6.1.8 Re-Evaluation of Feed Additives 6.2 Regulatory Framework, Country-Wise 6.2.1 Brazil 6.2.2 China 6.2.3 The European Union 6.2.4 Japan 6.2.5 South Africa 7 Feed Additives Market, By Type 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Amino Acids 7.3 Phosphates 7.4 Vitamins 7.5 Acidifiers 7.6 Carotenoids 7.7 Enzymes 7.8 Mycotoxin Detoxifiers 7.9 Flavors & Sweeteners 7.10 Antibiotics 7.11 Minerals 7.12 Antioxidants 7.13 Non-Protein Nitrogen 7.14 Preservatives 7.15 Phytogenics 7.16 Probiotics 8 Feed Additives Market, By Livestock 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Ruminants 8.3 Poultry 8.4 Swine 8.5 Aquatic Animal 8.6 Others 9 Feed Additives Market, By Form 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Dry 9.3 Liquid 10 Feed Additives Market, By Source 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Synthetic 10.3 Natural 11 Feed Additives Market, By Region 12 Competitive Landscape 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Competitive Leadership Mapping 12.2.1 Visionary Leaders 12.2.2 Dynamic Differentiators 12.2.3 Innovators 12.2.4 Emerging Companies 12.3 Competitive Leadership Mapping (Start-Up/Smse) 12.3.1 Progressive Companies 12.3.2 Starting Blocks 12.3.3 Responsive Companies 12.3.4 Dynamic Companies 12.4 Market Share Analysis 12.5 Competitive Scenario 12.5.1 Expansions & Investments 12.5.2 Acquisitions 12.5.3 New Product Launches 12.5.4 Agreements, Collaborations, Joint Ventures, and Partnerships 13 Company Profiles 13.1 Cargill 13.2 ADM 13.3 Dowdupont 13.4 Evonik 13.5 BASF 13.6 DSM 13.7 Solvay 13.8 Ajinomoto 13.9 Novozymes 13.10 Chr. Hansen 13.11 Invivo 13.12 Nutreco 13.13 Kemin 13.14 Adisseo 13.15 Alltech For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/rg9p6l/global_feed?w=12 Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. English Lithuanian Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius AB (hereinafter the Company), identification code 304151376, registered office placed at Aguonu str. 24, Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania. The total number of registered ordinary shares issued by company is 894 630 333; ISIN code LT0000130023. The Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius AB, held on 22 February, 2019, adopted the following resolutions: 1. Regarding the terms and conditions of the activities of the independent member of the Supervisory Board. 1.1. To define an hourly pay (before taxes) in the amount of 54.43 EUR (fifty four euros and forty three cents) for an independent member of the Supervisory Board of Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius AB for the actual activity as an independent member of the Supervisory Board. 1.2. To establish that the monthly pay for an independent member of the Supervisory Board of Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius AB is limited to a maximum amount of 1,300 EUR (one thousand and three hundred euros) before taxes. 1.3. To authorize the Chief Executive Officer of Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius AB (granting the right to re-authorize) to sign the amendment of Contract regarding the activities of a Member of the Supervisory Board. 2. Regarding the election of the audit company for the audit of financial reports of Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius AB, and the terms of remuneration for the audit services. 2.1.To elect ERNST & YOUNG BALTIC UAB as the audit company for the audits of financial reports of Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius AB, for the period of 20192021. The remuneration for the audit services shall not exceed 246,350.00 EUR (VAT excluded) for the year 20192021. Information about the above resolutions shall be provided on the website of Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius AB at www.eso.lt/en from the date of this notice as well as on the premises of Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius AB (Aguonu str. 24, Vilnius) during working hours (7.3011.30 a.m. and 12.154.30 p.m.; 7.3011.30 a.m. and 12.153.15 p.m. on Fridays). Representative for Public Relations Tomas Kavaliauskas, tel. +370 617 51616, e-mail tomas.kavaliauskas@le.lt VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Legend Power Systems Inc. (TSX.V: LPS) (Legend Power or the Company), a global leader in energy management technology, today announced it will release its Q1 2019 financial results for the three months ended December 31, 2018, on Thursday, February 28, 2019 at 1:00PM PT (4:00PM ET). The Company has also scheduled a conference call to provide a business update and discuss its Q1 2019 financial results for Thursday, February 28, 2019 at 1:30PM PT (4:30PM ET). The call will be hosted by Randy Buchamer, President & Chief Executive Officer and Steve Vanry, Chief Financial Officer. CONFERENCE CALL DETAILS: DATE: Thursday, February 28, 2019 TIME: 1:30PM PT (4:30pm ET) DIAL-IN NUMBER: North America Toll Free Dial-in Number (877) 201-0168 Local and International Dial-in Number (647) 788-4901 CONFERENCE ID: 1984667 REPLAY: Available at: www.legendpower.com About Legend Power Systems Inc. Legend Power Systems Inc. ( www.legendpower.com ) is a global leader in onsite energy management technology. We help buildings overcome grid instability challenges common to utilities around the world. Legends industry-proven SmartGATE enables dynamic power management of an entire building. The proprietary and patented system reduces total energy consumption and power costs, while also maximizing the life of electrical equipment. Legends unique solution is also a key contributor to both corporate sustainability efforts and the meeting of utility energy efficiency targets. For further information, please contact: Steve Vanry, CFO + 1 604 671 9522 svanry@legendpower.com Sean Peasgood, Investor Relations + 1 647 503 1054 sean@sophiccapital.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This Press Release may contain statements which constitute forward-looking information, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities and operating performance of the Company. The words may, would, could, will, intend, plan, anticipate, believe, estimate, expect and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities or performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Companys future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Such risks, uncertainties and factors are described in the periodic filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the Companys quarterly and annual Managements Discussion & Analysis, which may be viewed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results to not be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements other than as may be required by applicable law. TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Norvista Capital Corporation (Norvista) (TSX-V: NVV) is very pleased to announce the sale of its three Manitoba assets to Rockcliff Metals Corporation (Rockcliff) (TSX-V: RCLF). The aggregate purchase price is $13,258,000 and as consideration Norvista and its 80% owned subsidiary, Akuna Minerals Inc. (Akuna), will receive a total of 88,386,667 shares of Rockcliff at a deemed value of $0.15 per share. Concurrent with the asset sale Rockcliff will also complete an equity financing of up to $30,000,000 with a cornerstone investment from London based private equity firm Greenstone Resources II LLP (Greenstone) in the amount of US $15,000,000. Upon completion of the asset sale and the concurrent financing (the Transaction) Norvista and its affiliates will own approximately 30% of the Rockcliff shares outstanding and Greenstone will own approximately 42%. This transformative event will reorganize Rockcliff into a well capitalized, vertically integrated resource company with a portfolio of pre-development and exploration properties as well as access to a concentrate production facility. With a strong shareholder base Rockcliff will now be well positioned to undertake major mineral exploration and mine development programs over the next several years in the prolific Flin Flon Snow Lake base metals mining camp in Manitoba. The Transaction is a reverse take-over for the purposes of the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V). The Board of Directors of each of Norvista and Rockcliff unanimously support the Transaction. As at the date of this announcement 53% of Norvista shareholders and 36.8% of Rockcliff shareholders have provided irrevocable undertakings and consents to vote in support of the Transaction. The Transaction is expected to close in April, 2019. Don Christie, the President and CEO of Norvista, commented, Norvista has spent a considerable amount of time and effort over the last several years assembling its Manitoba asset portfolio and working with a number of groups to find the optimal mix of both operating and financial partners. We are convinced that Rockcliff and Greenstone have the vision and the resources to unlock significant value in our key assets and in Rockcliffs extensive portfolio of more advanced and early stage exploration properties. Investors can now track the increase in the value of these assets through our significant holding of Rockcliff shares. Manitoba is a top-tier global mining jurisdiction and we are very enthusiastic about the prospects of Rockcliff becoming a base metals producer. The Transaction unquestionably provides the right combination of organization, stewardship, financial support and expertise to make this a successful venture. Mark Sawyer, a Senior Partner and a co-founder of Greenstone, commented, Greenstone is delighted to be a cornerstone investor in Rockcliff. We have confidence in the potential of Rockcliff and the ability of management to undertake mineral development in the Province of Manitoba. Our goal is to make Rockcliff a significant base metal development and production company. Ken Lapierre, President and CEO of Rockcliff, commented, This is a transformational moment in Rockcliffs 13 year history. Gaining the confidence of private equity firm Greenstone, as well as purchasing a leased mill complex and the advanced stage Talbot and Tower copper assets from Norvista is a testament to both companies vision of growth and confidence in Rockcliffs ability to succeed in this well-endowed mineral belt. With the support of our new partners and the continued support of our existing shareholders we now have the ability to unlock the full potential of our extensive property portfolio. We look forward to completing this transaction and commencing exploration and development. Transaction Overview The Transaction will transform Rockcliff into a well capitalized base metals focused mine developer and explorer with high-grade deposits, access to a concentrate production facility and a significant land package of highly prospective exploration properties all located in Manitoba. Manitoba is one of the most permitting friendly jurisdictions in Canada. Should the economic viability and technical feasibility of the projects be established the Transaction will allow Rockcliff to execute a Hub and Spoke development strategy from a centralized milling facility and transition into a copper-focused producer with low capital costs to production. Upon completion of the Transaction, the assets comprising the Hub and Spoke strategy are as follows: Talbot Option Agreement: Rockcliff will be assigned the option agreement between Norvista and Hudbay Minerals Inc. and will receive an earn-in option to acquire a minimum 51% ownership interest in the Talbot Property. The Property hosts the Talbot copper deposit, a high-grade 4.2 million tonne National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101) Inferred mineral resource grading 1.61% Cu, 1.4% Zn, 1.77 g/t Au and 27.96 g/t Ag as disclosed in the Rockcliff press release dated January 19, 2018. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Tower Deposit: After acquiring Norvistas interest in the Tower Property Rockcliff will have a 100% ownership interest in the Tower Property, including the Tower deposit, a high-grade 1.08 million tonne NI 43-101 Indicated mineral resource grading 3.73% Cu, 1.05% Zn, 0.55 g/t Au and 17.28 g/t Ag plus a 1.25 million tonne NI 43-101 Inferred mineral resource grading 2.0% Cu, 1.02% Zn, 0.27 g/t Au and 9.78 g/t Ag as disclosed in the Rockcliff press release dated March 30, 2015. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Tower Deposit is located approximately 40 kilometres east of the Talbot Deposit. Bucko Mill Lease: Norvista, as Lessee, will be assigning its rights in the Buckco Mill Lease to Rockcliff. The initial term of the lease is for a period of 7 years and will give Rockcliff full access to the Bucko Lake mill and tailings storage facilities located approximately 115 kilometres north east of the Tower Deposit near Wabowden, Manitoba. Property Holdings: Rockcliff currently holds approximately 4,000 square kilometres of exploration property in the prolific Flin Flon Snow Lake greenstone belt, home to the largest Paleoproterozoic Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide district in the world. This extensive property portfolio specifically includes: Rail Property: Rockcliff currently owns a 100% ownership interest in the Rail Property, hosting the Rail deposit, a high grade 822,000 tonne NI 43-101 Indicated mineral resource grading 3.04% Cu, 0.99% Zn, 0.7 g/t Au and 9.3 g/t Ag as disclosed in the Rockcliff press release dated July 24, 2018. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Historical Deposits: Rockcliff also owns six historical underexplored base metal deposits, all open along strike and at depth with significant growth potential. The Talbot Report is currently filed on the SEDAR profile for Rockcliff and the Tower Report is currently filed on the SEDAR profile for Former Rockcliff (as defined below). The mineral resource estimate relating to the Talbot Property is viewed as current. The mineral resource estimate relating to the Tower Property is not viewed as current and will be updated. Norvista did not prepare its own resource estimate for the Tower Property as required by NI 43-101. Norvista will be relying on the existing technical reports and the updated technical report to support the disclosure of resource estimates it has made as the existing property owner. Norvista has sought shareholder approval for the Transaction by way of written consent, and written consents have been obtained from shareholders holding 53% of the issued and outstanding shares of Norvista. As a result, shareholder approval has been obtained in satisfaction of regulatory requirements. Rockcliff will be calling an Annual and Special Meeting of the shareholders of Rockcliff (the Meeting) for mid April 2019 to seek shareholder approval for the Transaction. Full particulars of the Transaction will be included in the management information circular (the Management Information Circular) mailed to shareholders in respect of the Meeting. Further particulars of the timing of the Meeting will be provided in a subsequent press release. Red Cloud Klondike Strike Inc. has been engaged by the Board of Directors of Rockcliff, pursuant to an engagement letter dated February 8, 2019, to prepare an opinion as to the fairness, from a financial point of view, of the Transaction to the shareholders of Rockcliff (the Fairness Opinion). Further particulars of the Fairness Opinion will be provided in due course. The Fairness Opinion will be disclosed in and included with the Management Information Circular. Asset Acquisition Rockcliff has entered into asset purchase agreements with Norvista and Akuna. Pursuant to the agreement with Norvista, Rockcliff will be assigned the Talbot Option Agreement and the Bucko Mill Lease Agreement for aggregate share consideration valued at $9,943,500. Norvista will receive 66,290,000 Rockcliff common shares at a deemed value of $0.15 per share. Pursuant to the agreement with Akuna, Rockcliff will acquire a 100% interest in certain mining claims located in the Province of Manitoba, known as the Tower Project for share consideration valued at $3,314,500. Akuna will receive 22,096,667 Rockcliff common shares at a deemed value of $0.15 per share. Akuna is 80% owned by Norvista. History of the Tower Property and the Talbot Property Tower Property : Pursuant to an agreement dated February 21, 2008 between Pure Nickel Inc. (Pure Nickel) and Rockcliff Resources Inc. (Former Rockcliff), the predecessor of Rockcliff, Former Rockcliff acquired an option to earn a 70% interest in the Tower Property in consideration for the expenditure of $4 million. Former Rockcliff earned a 50% interest in the Tower Property after spending $2,000,000 on the property and Former Rockcliff and Pure Nickel entered into a joint venture agreement dated March 26, 2012, as amended, with respect to the further exploration and development of the Tower Property. Former Rockcliff had the option to earn a further 20% interest in the Tower Property for the expenditure of a further $2,000,000. In January 2013, Former Rockcliff commissioned and received the Tower Report. In 2014, Former Rockcliff earned its 70% interest in the Tower Property. In June of 2015, Former Rockcliff sold its 70% interest in the Tower Property to Akuna pursuant to the terms of an agreement dated April 10, 2015 (the Tower Purchase Agreement) that required completion of certain milestones for Akuna to earn its further interest in the Tower Property from Former Rockcliff. Akuna acquired a 30% interest in the Tower Property from Pure Nickel pursuant to an agreement dated April 10, 2015 in consideration for a cash payment of $1,000,000 and a further payment of $500,000 in the event that the Tower Property achieves nameplate production. Pursuant to the Tower Purchase Agreement, as amended, Akuna earned a further 14% interest in the Tower property from Rockcliff. Rockcliff is acquiring an aggregate 44% interest in the Tower Property from Akuna to hold a 100% interest in the Tower Property pursuant to the terms of the Transaction. Talbot Property : Pursuant to an agreement dated April 14, 2014 between Former Rockcliff and a predecessor of Hudbay Minerals Inc. (the Talbot Agreement), Former Rockcliff acquired the option to earn a 51% working interest in the Talbot Property by expending an aggregate of $6,120,000 over six years. Rockcliff had incurred expenditures sufficient to satisfy the first four years of expenditures under the Talbot Agreement plus all but approximately $205,000 of the 5th years expenditure by the spring of 2018. The expenditures required for the sixth year are $2,270,000 and must be completed by April 14, 2020. Pursuant to an agreement dated May 3, 2018 between Rockcliff and Norvista (the Talbot Purchase Agreement), Rockcliff assigned the rights and obligations under the Talbot Agreement to Norvista in consideration for the payment of $200,000 in cash, the commitment to spend $205,000 on the Talbot Property prior to April 14, 2019 and with certain other consideration to be paid in respect of the commencement of construction of the Tower Project. Norvista is assigning all of its rights and obligations in the Talbot Agreement back to Rockcliff and Rockcliff is releasing Norvista from its remaining obligations under the Talbot Purchase Agreement pursuant to the Transaction. Rockcliff Board of Directors The Board of Directors of Rockcliff will initially consist of five members, being Don Christie on behalf of Norvista, Mark Sawyer on behalf of Greenstone, Ken Lapierre on behalf of Rockcliff and two other independent non-executive directors to be announced prior to the closing of the Transaction. There will also be further announcements regarding senior officers of Rockcliff to be appointed upon completion of the Transaction. Rockcliff Flow Through Financing, Greenstone Investment & Additional Financing In connection with the Transaction and as part of the reorganization effort, Greenstone will fund US$15,000,000 of a total equity financing package for Rockcliff of up to $30,000,000 comprised of the following tranches: Flow-through Financing . Rockcliff will undertake a flow-through equity financing of approximately $19,862,600 (the FT Financing ) consisting of approximately 82,760,833 common shares of Rockcliff that qualify as flow-through shares (the FT Shares ) for purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the Tax Act ) priced at $0.24 per FT Share. The FT Shares are part of a donation arrangement structured by PearTree Securities Inc. Greenstone will acquire the 82,760,833 shares indirectly through the donation arrangement at $0.15 per share for a total cost of approximately $12,414,126 (the Greenstone Commitment ), with the flow-through investors retaining the tax benefits of the flow-through share structure. . Rockcliff will undertake a flow-through equity financing of approximately (the ) consisting of approximately 82,760,833 common shares of Rockcliff that qualify as flow-through shares (the ) for purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the ) priced at $0.24 per FT Share. The FT Shares are part of a donation arrangement structured by PearTree Securities Inc. Greenstone will acquire the 82,760,833 shares indirectly through the donation arrangement at $0.15 per share for a total cost of approximately $12,414,126 (the ), with the flow-through investors retaining the tax benefits of the flow-through share structure. Greenstone Investment . Greenstone will complete a hard dollar equity financing of approximately $7,472,875 consisting of approximately 49,819,167 common shares of Rockcliff priced at $0.15 per share (the Greenstone Subscription). Additional Financing . Concurrently with the Greenstone Subscription and the Greenstone Commitment, Rockcliff intends to complete an additional best efforts financing of up to $2,601,500 (the Additional Financing) from existing shareholders of Rockcliff (see heading Existing Shareholder Offering below) and third party accredited investors. The Additional Financing will comprise a $1,601,500 hard dollar financing consisting of Rockcliff common shares (Rockcliff Shares) priced at $0.15 per share and a $1,000,000 flow-through financing consisting of common shares of Rockcliff that qualify as flow-through shares for purposes of the Tax Act (the Additional FT Shares) priced at $0.20 per Additional FT Share. Red Cloud Klondike Strike Inc. will act as a finder in respect of the Additional Financing. The Greenstone Subscription and the Additional Financing will proceed by way of an offering of subscription receipts of Rockcliff (each, a Subscription Receipt) issued at a price of $0.15 per regular Subscription Receipt and at a price of $0.20 per flow-through Subscription Receipt. Release of the funds to be held in escrow pursuant to the Subscription Receipts financings will be conditional upon receipt of Rockcliff shareholder approval to the Transaction, the closing of the Asset Acquisition (referred to below) and regulatory approval to list the shares issued pursuant to the Transactions (the Conditions). Upon satisfaction of the Conditions, each Subscription Receipt will, for no additional consideration, be automatically exercised into one Rockcliff Share. Rockcliff shall use the proceeds of the FT Financing, the Greenstone Subscription and the Additional Financing to: Complete infill drilling and a pre-feasibility study to potentially advance the Talbot project to a construction decision; Complete infill drilling and a pre-feasibility study to potentially advance the Tower project to a construction decision; Complete 95,000 metres of exploration drilling across the Talbot, Tower, Rail, Bur, Freebeth, Lon, Morgan, Pen, Tramping and Copperman properties and targets identified across the SLS#1 to SLS#5 properties; and General working capital in accordance with a work program and budget agreed upon between Rockcliff, Norvista and Greenstone. Proceeds from the sale of the FT Shares and the Additional FT Shares will be used by Rockcliff over the period ending December 31, 2020 for exploration activities that will qualify as Canadian Exploration Expenses (within the meaning of the Tax Act). Pursuant to an investor rights agreement between Rockcliff and Greenstone dated February 20, 2019, into which the parties have entered in connection with the Greenstone Commitment and the Greenstone Subscription, Greenstone shall be granted certain investor rights, including: (i) for as long as Greenstone holds at least 10% of issued and outstanding Rockcliff Shares, the right to participate in future offerings of securities of Rockcliff (each an Offering) so as to maintain Greenstones pre-Offering ownership percentage in Rockcliff; (ii) the right to nominate a representative to Rockcliffs project steering committee in respect of Rockcliff mineral exploration properties; (iii) for as long as Greenstone holds at least 10% of issued and outstanding Rockcliff Shares, the right to nominate one member of the board of directors of Rockcliff; and (iv) a right to nominate customers in respect of off-take arrangements for production from Rockcliffs properties. Transaction Approval These transactions including the release of funds pursuant to the Subscription Receipts are conditional on the completion of the Transaction and the receipt of requisite shareholder and stock exchange approvals, including the approval by shareholders of Rockcliff of the change of control of Rockcliff resulting from the completion of the Transaction, and the approval of the shareholders of Norvista of the asset sales. Securities issued pursuant to the FT Financing, the Greenstone Subscription and the Additional Financing will be subject to a statutory four month and one day hold period from the closing of the Subscription Receipts financings. Securities issued pursuant to the FT Financing and the Asset Acquisition will be subject to a statutory four month and one day hold period from the Closing of the Transaction. The Asset Acquisition Shares and the shares acquired by Greenstone pursuant to the Greenstone Commitment and the Greenstone Subscription shall be subject to escrow in accordance with the terms of National Policy 46-201 - Escrow for Initial Public Offerings, to be released on the basis that Rockcliff is deemed to be an emerging issuer as defined therein. The Transaction which qualifies as a reverse-take-over of Rockcliff under the policies of the TSX-V, will be subject to TSX-V approval. Rockcliff is arms length to Greenstone. Rockcliff and Norvista are "non-arm's length parties" as Bruce Durham and Donald Christie serve on the respective boards of directors of both Rockcliff and Norvista. Rockcliff will require shareholder approval of the Transaction pursuant to the policies of the TSX-V, as Greenstone and Norvista will both become control persons of Rockcliff on closing. Rockcliff will apply to the TSX-V for a waiver from the requirement to engage a sponsor with respect to the Transaction; however, there is no assurance that a waiver will be granted. Rockcliff intends to include any additional information regarding sponsorship in a subsequent press release. The Transaction is also subject to satisfaction of certain other closing conditions customary in transactions of this nature. Full details of the Transaction will be included in the management information circular of Rockcliff to be mailed to its shareholders and posted on www.sedar.com . It is anticipated that the meeting of Rockcliff shareholders and the closing will take place by the end of April 2019. Bruce Durham, P.Geo., Chief Operating Officer and a director of Norvista, is a Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Durahm is responsible for the scientific and technical data presented herein and has reviewed, prepared and approved this press release. About Norvista Norvista is a resource-based merchant bank with an investment portfolio of four core investments located in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Norvistas investee companies have projects located in excellent mining jurisdictions and are involved in both base and precious metals exploration and development. Norvista holds significant equity ownership positions in its investee companies and is actively involved in the management of these companies through a combination of senior officer positions and/or board representation. The investee company projects represent a balance between later stage exploration and pre-production projects and are self-financing. Norvista maintains and increases its ownership positions in its core holdings through participation in issuer financings as well as share acquisitions in the open market. About Rockcliff Rockcliff is a Canadian resource exploration company focused on base metals, gold and royalties in the Snow Lake area of Manitoba, Canada. Rockcliff is the largest junior landholder in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake greenstone belt which is home to the largest Paleoproterozoic VMS district (copper, gold, zinc, silver) in the world and also contains gold mines and deposits. Its extensive portfolio of properties totals over 4,000 square kilometres. It includes 9 of the highest-grade undeveloped VMS deposits and 5 lode-gold properties including the historic Rex-Laguna gold mine, Manitobas first and highest-grade gold mine. About Greenstone Greenstone is a private equity fund specializing in the mining and metals sector with approximately US$430 million in committed long-term capital. With more than 100 years collective experience, predominantly fulfilling senior roles within mining companies, financial institutions and principal investing, Greenstone understands the sector, its value drivers and inherent risks. As such Greenstone is able to make long term investments which better aligns itself to management decision making. Early Warning Reports Assuming the completion of the Asset Acquisition, Norvista, Akuna and Norvista Capital 1 Limited Partnership which previously jointly beneficially controlled 4,761,904 Rockcliff Shares, or approximately 1.5% of the issued and outstanding Rockcliff Shares, will have acquired 88,386,667 Rockcliff Shares or approximately 28.0% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Rockcliff for an aggregate value of $13,258,000. Assuming the completion of the Greenstone Subscription and the Greenstone Commitment, Greenstone, which previously owned no Rockcliff Shares, will have acquired 132,580,000 Rockcliff Shares or approximately 42.0% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Rockcliff for the aggregate value of $US15 million. Each of Norvista, Akuna and Greenstone will be acquiring the securities of Rockcliff as part of the Transaction and for investment purposes, the completion of which is subject to, among other things approval of the shareholders of Rockcliff. Depending on market and other conditions, each of Norvista, Akuna and Greenstone may from time to time in the future increase or decrease their respective ownership, control or direction over the Rockcliff securities as circumstances warrant. For the purposes of this notice, the Head Office of each of Norvista and Akuna is 141 Adelaide St. West, Suite 1660, Toronto, Ontario M5H 3L5; and the Head Office of Greenstone is East Wing, Trafalgar Court Les Banques, St Peter Port, Guernsey. In satisfaction of the requirements of the National Instrument 62-104 - Take-Over Bids And Issuer Bids and National Instrument 62-103 - The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues, Early Warning Reports in respect of acquisition of Rockcliff Shares by Norvista and Akuna and by Greenstone will be filed under Rockcliffs SEDAR Profile at www.sedar.com . TSX-V Approvals Completion of the transactions described herein is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, TSX-V acceptance and shareholder approval for both Rockcliff and Norvista. Where applicable, the transactions described herein cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the transactions described herein will be completed as proposed or at all. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the transactions described herein, any information released or received with respect to the transactions described herein may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of Rockcliff should be considered highly speculative. The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. For further information, please contact: Norvista Capital Corporation Don Christie Off: (416) 504-4171 dchristie@norvistacapital.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as believes, anticipates, expects, is expected, scheduled, estimates, pending, intends, plans, forecasts, targets, or hopes, or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, will, should might, will be taken, or occur and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the closing of the Transaction, anticipated exploration and development of Rockcliffs Manitoba properties, satisfaction of closing conditions for the Transaction and Additional Financing approval of the TSX-V, approval by the shareholders of Rockcliff and the potential for exploration. This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results of Rockcliff to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward-looking. Although Rockcliff believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Rockcliff does not undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with 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 news release. Newport Beach, Calif., Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DPW Holdings, Inc. (NYSE American: DPW) a diversified holding company (DPW, or the Company) announced the registration for its first investor conference (the Investor Meeting) to be held in New York City will be closing at midnight, Sunday, February 24, 2019. The Investor Meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. E.T. on February 25, 2019, following the Chairmans welcome address and breakfast. As previously announced on January 31 and February 11, 2019, the presentations will introduce DPW to those who are new to the Company, its subsidiaries and investees while updating those more familiar with the Company on the latest financial results and operational performance, activities, plans and outlook. This inaugural Investor Meeting is open to stockholders, research analysts, investment bankers, press and any other parties interested in participating in the simultaneous live online webcast and conference call/audio option. Registration is mandatory and must be completed by midnight, Sunday, February 24, 2019, using this link to register: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_48LdaI69Su2boQYOgnqh3w To attend in-person at the Investor Meeting, any parties interested must use this link to request a registration form. Attendance to the Investor Meeting is limited and remains at the sole discretion of the Company. An archive of the webcast will be available on the Companys website for one year upon the appropriate filings having been made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Companies scheduled to present at the Investor Meeting include: DPW Holdings, Inc. From DPW Financial Group, Inc.: Digital Power Lending LLC I AM, LLC 456 Lux Hotel NYC, LLC Digital Farms, Inc. From DPW Technologies Group, Inc.: Coolisys Technologies, Inc. (Enertec, Gresham Power and Microphase Corporation) Power Plus Electronics (Digital Power Corp. and Power-Plus Technical Distributors, LLC) From Investees: Sandstone Diagnostics Avalanche International Corp (d/b/a MTIX International) Invited Presenter: Alzamend Neuro, Inc. DPWs CEO and Chairman, Milton Todd Ault, III, said, We have considered holding annual Investor Meetings for some time and have concluded that doing so will enable us to present a more holistic picture of the Company, including its subsidiaries and investees, independent of quarterly and annual results of operations. We look forward to holding annual presentations of this kind to more fully educate stockholders, investors and others about the function, prospects and value proposition of each entity within the Company. For more information, DPW recommends that stockholders, investors and any other interested parties read the Companys public filings and press releases available under the Investor Relations section at http://www.DPWHoldings.com or available at www.sec.gov . About DPW Holdings, Inc. DPW Holdings, Inc. is a diversified holding company pursuing growth by acquiring undervalued businesses and disruptive technologies with a global impact. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries and strategic investments, the Company provides mission-critical products that support a diverse range of industries, including defense/aerospace, industrial, telecommunications, medical, crypto-mining, and textiles. In addition, the Company owns a select portfolio of commercial hospitality properties and extends credit to select entrepreneurial businesses through a licensed lending subsidiary. DPWs headquarters are located at 201 Shipyard Way, Suite E, Newport Beach, CA 92663; www.DPWHoldings.com . Forward-Looking Statements Rockville, MD, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The computer aided dispatch market is expected to close in on revenues worth over US$ 1,500 Mn in 2019, according to a recent research of Fact.MR. Growth of the computer aided dispatch market remains influenced by innovations and advancements in technology aiding in widening the scope of application of CAD systems. The report opines that although on-premise computer aided dispatch systems will continue to hold a significant share of the market, demand for cloud-based CAD systems will increase in the near future. The competition in the logistics and e-commerce sectors is intensifying, as companies shift their focus toward streamlining their dispatch solutions and call centers, to expand their customer base. Setting up cloud-based CAD systems is relatively straightforward and deprives the requirement of additional hardware, which in turn provides companies with an economic alternative. Additionally, leading cloud service-providers are continuously fortifying their security to create an enhanced infrastructure for supporting the systems. Request For Sample Report- https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=3060 Companies and public safety institutions are finding cloud-based computer aided dispatch systems increasingly useful owing to the systems ability to allow seamless information exchange between departments. The study estimates the cloud-based CAD systems to register a Y-o-Y growth of 11.3% in 2019. Growing Investments by Public Safety Institutions to Underpin Growth As modern computer aided dispatch systems enable public safety and law enforcement institutions to gain real-time information on contemporary incidences, state administrations and public safety institutions are investments into upgrading their existing call management systems. For instance, Calgarys government recently collaborated with Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure to upgrade its 911 response systems. On similar lines, the Scotts Bluff County in Nebraska, USA also deployed computer aided dispatch systems across different public safety verticals to shorten response times and serve citizens better. Sophisticated computer aided dispatch systems, integrated with artificial intelligence and navigation technologies, recommend efficient routes, monitor resources, and streamline the complete dispatching process, which in turn aids in curtailing the response times. The study opines widespread adoption of computer aided dispatch systems in governmental organizations to bolster market growth, with revenues estimated at nearly US$ 600 Mn in 2018. Browse Full Report on Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Market with TOC- https://www.factmr.com/report/3060/computer-aided-dispatch-cad-market Computer aided dispatch services are finding robust demand in law enforcement agencies, as enhanced sophisticated computer aided dispatch systems continue to benefit these in managing calls on the basis of their priority to keep radio channels free for higher priority incidences. Features such as silent dispatching which allows law enforcement agencies to respond quickly are further adding to the growing popularity of the computer aided dispatch systems. Innovations in the field are upholding the demand with new systems, such as Garda, being developed to overcome the shortcomings of the existing systems. Garda has been designed to allow central monitoring of incidences and calls, which will enable public safety organizations to dispatch the nearest responders circumventing the current problems that divisional response units face. Have Any Query? Ask Our Industry Experts- https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=AE&rep_id=3060 CAD Systems Integrated with AVL Gain Ground Computer aided dispatch systems are finding increasing usage in the transportation industry. Taxi and cab services are innovating constantly to tailor the system to their requirements. Moreover, computer aided dispatch systems coupled with automatic vehicle location (AVL) is being leveraged by multiple local authorities to revamp the existing public mass transit systems to serve citizens better. AVL reports the location of the vehicle, and CAD systems help municipal corporations keep a track of the fleet and dispatch buses on time. Additionally, these systems help in scheduling public transport system efficiently while providing drivers precise rerouting instructions in case of incidences. Rochesters Regional Transit Service (RTS) decided to upgrade its CAD and AVL systems along similar lines in 2018 to make public transportation more efficient and attractive for riders. This report also tracks the computer aided dispatch market for the period 2018-2028. The computer aided dispatch market is projected to grow at 10.9% CAGR through 2028. To Buy Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Market Report, Check- https://www.factmr.com/checkout/3060/S About Fact.MR Fact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports. Contact Us TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OMERS Infrastructure is proud to announce it has acquired a 22.4% interest in IndInfravit Trust (IndInfravit), for a total consideration of INR 8.7 billion (C$160 million). IndInfravit holds a portfolio of five operational toll road concessions which were initially constructed and operated by L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Limited (L&T IDPL), a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T). The five roads operate in some of the Republic of Indias most economically vibrant states and support the countrys growing economy. IndInfravit is a platform well placed to play a key role in the future through additional investments in the road infrastructure in India. IndInfravit is a well-managed, world-class core infrastructure asset. This investment provides an attractive entry point into India, one of the most dynamic markets globally, alongside well-trusted partners, said Bruce Crane, Managing Director, who leads the efforts for OMERS Infrastructure in Asia and moved to Singapore last year. We look forward to working constructively with the other unitholders, management and all local stakeholders to grow this platform in the coming years, he added. IndInfravit is listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) as well as BSE Limited (BSE), and the other unitholders include Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Allianz Capital Partners (ACP), L&T IDPL and other institutional investors. The investment in IndInfravit marks not only our first infrastructure investment in India, but also demonstrates our commitment to investing in the Asia Pacific region following our office opening in Singapore in 2018, said Ralph Berg, Executive Vice President and Global Head of OMERS Infrastructure. Our investment in IndInfravit aligns with our strategy to diversify our portfolio and generate value for OMERS plan members. At the same time, we will participate in the expansion of the Indian economy by investing into crucial infrastructure. Todays announcement also represents an opportunity to deepen our relationships with ACP, CPPIB and L&T, he added. L&T IDPL sponsored the IndInfravit Trust and is also acting as its Project Manager and its subsidiary is acting as the Investment Manager for IndInfravit. L&T is one of the largest multi-national firms and a leading construction company in India, with strong focus on the infrastructure sector. Ambit Private Limited acted as financial adviser to OMERS Infrastructure. About OMERS Infrastructure OMERS Infrastructure invests globally in infrastructure assets on behalf of OMERS, the defined benefit pension plan for municipal employees in the Province of Ontario, Canada. Investments are aimed at steady returns to help deliver secure and sustainable pensions to OMERS members. OMERS Infrastructures diversified portfolio of large-scale infrastructure assets exhibits stability and strong cash flows, in sectors including energy, transportation and government-regulated services. OMERS has employees in Toronto and other major cities across North America, the U.K., Europe, Asia and Australia. OMERS is one of Canada's largest defined benefit pension funds, with net assets of more than C$95 billion. Visit www.omersinfrastructure.com for more information. CONTACT INFORMATION: OMERS: Neil Hrab Manager, External Communications and Media Relations nhrab@omers.com 416-369-2418 English Swedish The Nomination Committee of Bilia AB submits the following proposals to be presented at the Annual General Meeting of shareholders to be held on April 8, 2019, regarding number of members of the Board and election of members of the Board. The Nomination Committee proposes ten members of the Board with no deputy members. The Nomination Committee proposes the following persons for re-election as members of the Board of Directors: Gunnar Blomkvist, Anna Engebretsen, Jack Forsgren, Mats Holgerson, Ingrid Jonasson Blank, Nicklas Paulson, Jan Pettersson, Mats Qviberg and Jon Risfelt. Eva Eriksson is proposed as new member of the Board. Laila Freivalds has declined re-election. Eva Eriksson is born 1959, Master of Science in Engineering, and is a member of the Board in Fabege AB and OBOS, Norway. She has previously been the CEO of Norgani Hotels ASA, been a member of the group management in JM AB and has had several leading positions in various property companies. The Nomination Committee proposes Mats Qviberg to be re-elected as chairman of the Board. The members of the Nomination Committee are Tim Floderus (Oresund, chairman), Mats Qviberg (the Qviberg family), Lisen Oliw (Anna Engebretson and family) and Asa Nisell (Swedbank Robur Fonder). Information about all persons proposed to be re-elected as members of the Board is available on Bilia ABs website. The Nomination Committees complete proposal will be announced in the notice of the Annual General Meeting. The Nomination Committee in Bilia AB (publ) For further information: Tim Floderus, chairman of the Nomination Committee, phone +46 (0)8 402 33 23 Facts about the Bilia Group Bilia is one of Europes largest car chains with a leading position within service and sales of cars and transport vehicles. Bilia has 134 facilities in Sweden, Norway, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium. Bilia sells cars of the brand Volvo, BMW, Toyota, Renault, Lexus, MINI, Dacia and transport vehicles of the brand Renault, Toyota and Dacia. Bilia has today a fully expanded business with sales of new cars, e-commerce, spare parts and store sales, service and repair workshops, tyres and car glass and financing, insurance, car washes, fuel stations and auto salvage under the same roof, which gives a unique offer. Bilia reported a turnover of SEK 28.4 bn in 2018 and had 4,785 employees. Attachment Dublin, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "World Telecom Services & Players - Trends & Analyses - Markets at December 2018 & Forecasts to 2022" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global telecom services market's trajectory in 2017 and 2018 confirmed, and even amplified, the change in direction that began in 2016 on both sides of the Atlantic. In the United States, mobile revenue has been on a downwards slide for three years, after hitting a record high in 2015, and dragging the entire telecom services market down with it. And despite a still solid momentum, fixed broadband revenue has not been enough to offset these losses. In Europe, on the other hand, the mobile services market is slowly getting back on track, and even though growth in the fixed segment has been softer than in North America, the market as a whole is on an upwards swing. Meanwhile, the growth revival in Latin America continues, after the major setback in 2016, while Asia-Pacific is widening its lead, thanks to emerging superpowers like India, and especially China, and its market value now outweighs North America's by close to 20%. Lastly, the Africa-Middle East region continues to be a real source of future growth, at least in terms of volume. This study provides an overview of the market and includes two deliverables: A datase t dedicated to service revenues and usage with data and forecasts up to 2022 for 26 countries, five regions & aggregate world figures. t dedicated to service revenues and usage with data and forecasts up to 2022 for 26 countries, five regions & aggregate world figures. A report (ppt format) providing readers with the current status and 5-year forecasts of the telecom services market, along with analyses of global trends and growth dynamics by technology and by markets. It also provides a profile of the world's top telcos. Key Topics Covered: 1. Key Trends: Growth will accelerate slowly 2. Markets & Trends by segment 2.1. Share of mobile revenue is increasing regularly 2.2. Growth in fixed data revenue just manages to compensate the losses in fixed telephony 2.3. Mobile services revenue grow despite ARPU decrease 2.4. The slight increase in revenue is due to a volume effect compensating the negative price effect 3. Markets & Trends by region 3.1. Revenues and growth 3.2 Europe - Towards recovery 3.3 North America - Decline in mobile revenue will be gentler than announced 3.4 Asia-Pacific - Leadership on the global mobile market both in volume and in revenue 3.5 Latin America - A very dynamic (fixed) broadband market 3.6 Middle East & Africa (MEA) - Mobile first 4. Top Telcos in World 4.1. The World leaders 4.2 EBITDA margins 4.3 CAPEX For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/w8v4qd/world_telecom?w=12 Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. English Swedish Press release Stockholm 22 February 2019 The notice of SEB's Annual General Meeting 2019 was announced in a press release on 19 February 2019. The Nomination Committee for SEB has proposed new elections to the Board of the Finnish Member of Parliament and Minister forTransport and Communications Anne Berner. Anne Berner does not candidate to the Finnish Parliament in the election to be held in April 2019 and leaves the Finnish Government by 31 May, at the latest. To manage a possible overlap in time as regards responsibility in different roles the Nomination Committee has changed the proposal as follows: The Nomination Committee proposes the election of Anne Berner as a Director of the Board for the period from 1 June 2019. Consequently, the Nomination Committee has also changed the proposal as regards the number of Directors of the Board and proposes 10 Directors for the period up to and including 31 May 2019 and 11 Directors from 1 June 2019. The Nomination Committee's complete proposal for decisions is available on the Bank's website www.sebgroup.com and at the Bank's Head office, Kungstradgardsgatan 8 in Stockholm. The Annual General Meeting of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken will be held on 26 March 2019 The board of Iceland Seafood International (ISI) has decided to merge Icelandic Iberica and Iceland Seafood Spain into one company. The objective is to create one strong organization in the Southern European market, a vitally important market for cod products from Iceland. Mr. Hjorleifur Asgeirsson will leave his position as Managing Director of Icelandic Iberica and Mr. Magnus B. Jonsson, currently the Managing Director of Iceland Seafood in Spain, will lead the new combined company. These companies form the largest part of ISI group of companies. In 2018, Icelandic Iberica became part of the ISI group through the acquisition of Solo Seafood. The companies have offices in Malaga, Barcelona and Vigo in addition to multiple smaller sales offices around Spain and Italy. Both companies have strong brand and product recognition in the market, highly qualified people with valuable know-how and experience and a loyal customer base that will benefit from a stronger company. The companies also run production sites in Malaga, Barcelona and Argentina. The combined turnover is about 180 millions Icelandic Iberica was established in 1996 and is today one of the largest entity on the market for light salted cod products from Iceland in Southern Europe, the world largest market for frozen cod products from Iceland. Iceland Seafood in Spain was founded in 1988 and has a long standing heritage in marketing salted cod products from Iceland since 1932. The work of merging the two companies, has started and will be disclosed and carried out in coming months with the objective to strengthen access for producers and give better service to thousands of loyal customers in Southern Europe. Mr. Hjorleifur Asgeirsson, who established Icelandic Iberica in 1996 on behalf of Icelandic group has decided to retire from his position as a Managing Director of Icelandic Iberica. Mr. Asgeirsson along with his team pioneered the market for light salted cod products from Iceland in Southern Europe, that today is the single largest market in the world for frozen cod products from Iceland. Creating a market with a new product is never easy or straightforward. Mr. Asgeirsson and his team have in the last quarter of a century successfully created a highly valuable Icelandic cod market. This reflects a superior execution power and understanding of both the market and the potential of the product. The light salted cod market has still significant growth opportunities going forward. Mr. Asgeirsson has built a valuable company. Hell continue to support Iceland Seafood group in the transition phase. Mr. Magnus B. Jonsson, the Managing Director of Iceland Seafood Spain will be Managing Director for the new combined entity. Mr. Jonsson has served as Managing Director for Iceland Seafood SL for 13 years and previously worked for Icelandic Iberica for almost 10 years. Mr. Jonsson has transformed the business of Iceland Seafood Spain during his tenure in the firm and with the combined team will continue to promote highly valued products, both from Icelandic waters and overseas. Bjarni Armannsson CEO of ISI: This change is a logical step in our development in Southern Europe. Id like to take this opportunity to Congratulate Mr. Magnus Jonsson, who I know will do exceptionally well with his team to develop the new entity in Spain. I very much look forward to support that process and see the company continue to grow. I would also like to express my gratitude to Mr. Hjorleifur Asgeirsson, Managing Director of Icelandic Iberica. He has truly been a builder of new market and managed to build in a lifetime a very strong and successful company. He will truly be missed from the daily operations as well as management as he has been pivotal to the development of Icelandic Iberica. Hjorleifur Asgeirsson Managing Director of Icelandic Iberica: These past 23 years have been very demanding but at the same time exciting and giving. I am proud of the company we have built and very grateful to the fantastic team that has worked on this task together with me. I know the company is at a crossroad and I felt this would be a good time to step aside. I wish the company and its valuable employees all the best in this new venture. Magnus B. Jonsson, Managing Director for Iceland Seafood Spain: It is a great honor being offered to lead the S-European business of ISI Group. I started as a Commercial Director in Icelandic Iberica in 1996 and worked there until I got the opportunity to run the business of Iceland Seafood in Spain in 2006. At that time the business had recently been formed with the merger of Armengol, Union Islandia and Iceland Seafood. The company was a market leader in salted fish, and under the name of Iceland Seafood started to increase sales in frozen products. These last 13 years have been intensive and interesting, and I want to thank the team of Iceland Seafood for its great work and achievements during these years. I look forward to taking on this new challenge where the objective will clearly be to serve our clients as best we can with the extremely competitive team of people we have on board of these two companies. With a great customer base and a strong combined team the task ahead will be easier. Financial Calendar Iceland Seafood International will publish the companys annual results for 2018 after closing of markets on March 20th 2019. On March 21st at 8.30am, management will present and discuss the results with market participants and investors. Management will also address outlook and financial effects of changes and development within the group. Further information: Bjarni Armannsson: bjarni.armannsson@icelandseafood.com Since New Mexico legalized medical cannabis back in 2007, the Earth has circled the Sun a dozen times. Amid those revolutions, the sociocultural acceptance of using cannabis and derived cannabinoidsthink THC, CBD and CBNas legitimate medication has gained significant ground here in The Land of Enchantment. And, with the 2018 US Farm Bills passage, the licensed cultivation of hemp in New Mexico is now ostensibly legal. Since New Mexico legalized medical cannabis back in 2007, the Earth has circled the Sun a dozen times. Amid those revolutions, the sociocultural acceptance of using cannabis and derived cannabinoidsthink THC, CBD and CBNas legitimate medication has gained significant ground here in The Land of Enchantment. And, with the 2018 US Farm Bills passage, the licensed cultivation of hemp in New Mexico is now ostensibly legal. Weekly Alibi invites patients, traditional and alternative medical professionals, industry movers and shakers, community leaders, activists and skeptics to our inaugural New Mexico Cannabis Expo from 11am to 5pm on Saturday, March 23, at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center (201 West Marcy Street). Admission$10 for the general public and $5 for medical cannabis cardholdersis payable at the door via cash or credit. To learn more and scope a list of vendors, visit alibi. com/ nmcannabisexpo 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!) If the Hungarian Parliament believes that in such a way, pressuring us, they can achieve a positive result, unfortunately, they will achieve quite the opposite effect The loud claims of the representatives of Hungary concerning Ukraine's 'semi-fascist' education law do not bolster readiness of the MPs to approve the legislative changes on implementing the language article in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, the Vice-Prime-Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, said this, as Ukrinform reports. We are ready to negotiate. We took the responsibility to implement the decision of the Venezuelan Commission on continuing the term of implementing the Article 7 of the education law and we are working with MPs on that the Verkhovna Rada approved those changes, which the government represented, or the new small bill. Then I think the manipulation with arguments about non-readiness of Ukraine to negotiate would be leveled. However, those loud claims are far from encouraging our MPs to implement new changes. If the Hungarian Parliament believes that in such a way, pressuring us, they can achieve a positive result, unfortunately, they will achieve quite the opposite effect, - Klympush-Tsintsadze said. The Vice-Prime-President pointed out that this problem in the relationships between the countries is not the new one, and Hungary, unfortunately, took an unconstructive position to some extent the position of intimidation and preventing implementing the NATO-Ukraine Commission on the high level. At the same time, the NATO members try to find out the way that the negotiation between Ukraine and NATO could take place anyway. In this context, Klympush-Tsintsadze recollected that Stepan Poltorak, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, participated in the informal brunch with all the other ministers of defense of NATO-members during the meeting of ministers in Brussels a week ago. Other ways to negotiate with NATO-members and with Georgia were found out. Thats why this intimidation by the Hungarian authorities luckily is failing, - the Vice-Prime-Minister stressed. As we reported earlier, Hungary once again blamed the Ukrainian law on education, considering it a 'violation of the rights of national minorities'. The head of Orban's administration added that Hungary expected Ukraine to submit changes to that law. When the Ukrainian Parliament passed the Law on Education in autumn 2017, the Hungarian government heavily protested, as the law stipulates that after the primary school, the children will be only taught in the Ukrainian language - without the opportunity to be taught in the language of any national minority. Budapest considered the law an assault on the rights of the national minorities in Ukraine. However, the Venice Commission supported Ukraine in this regard, finding that the law allowed no violations in this area. The European Union is supposed to announce how many people should be added to the sanction list next week The President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite claimed that Vilnius would suggest imposing the additional sanctions on Russia, if the Russian Federation continues the aggression in Ukraine and in the Kerch Strait, as Delfi reports. According to the President, if Russia continues the aggression in Ukraine, Lithuania will suggest new sanctions. If the events continue to turn bad and Russia does not stop the aggression, we will without any doubts suggest new sanctions, - the Head of Lithuania said. Grybauskaite also outlined that next week the European Union is supposed to announce how many people should be added to the sanction list after the aggression in the Kerch Strait. I already know the names, but to comment on this information is too early, - the President said. On the question, whether there are enough names in the blacklist, she said the aim of the sanction list is not the quantity. The aim of the sanctions is the claim that the EU sees what is happening and will not put up with this, - Grybauskaite added. Svyatogor is a famous dog hunter, in other words, the killer of homeless dogs, who claimed openly many times that he hunted dogs Two unknowns attacked Svyatogor Olexiy, the lawyer that is suspected in hunting and killings dogs. The internet publication, where he works, reports this. The incident occurred after the hearing of Svyatogors case at the Shevchenkivski District court in Kyiv in the evening on February, 21. The unknowns firstly hit him over the head with the heavy object, after which the victim fell and they continued to punch his body and limbs. In particular, they used a hard blunt object similar to brass-knuckles or something like that, with the help of which the culprits managed to cut the skin on his face and at the back of his head, - the report said. The victim was provided with the first medical aid immediately. The doctors diagnosed a pushed fracture of the left frontal bone. Now he is in hospital. At the same time, the National police of Ukraine also reacted to this dramatic event. The Shevchenkivskyi police department received a report from the doctors that a man was attacked on Shchusieva Street in Kyiv. The ambulance doctors hospitalized the victim, - the report said. Law enforcement questioned the Svyatogor and the witness. According to them, there were two attackers and they wore dark clothes. The police launched an investigation under paragraph 1 of article 121 (Intentional grievous bodily harm) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. For committing such a crime the culprits can get up to eight years imprisonment. The police are working on finding out the wrongdoers. Dublin, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "KOL Perspectives: BTK Inhibitors in RA" drug pipelines has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This KOL Insight briefing focuses on KOLs views of BTK Inhibitors in RA. Questions topics Awareness and potential of BTK inhibitors in RA Perceptions of BMS-986142's Phase IItrial design Impact of poseltinib discontinuation on existing perception of BTK inhibitors in RA Key Highlights Of the named BTK inhibitors, KOLs demonstrated the greatest awareness of BMS-986142, despite its lack of Phase II data KOLs were divided over BMS-986142's ability to achieve ACR70 by Week 12 in a refractory patient population For the majority of KOLs, poseltinib's discontinuation had little to no impact on their existing perception of BTK inhibitors in RA. Scope The insight briefing is based on Sociable Pharma's analysis of primary research with our RA key opinion leaders (KOLs). In total, we conducted interviews with 10 KOLs - 5 Europe-based & 5 N. America-based Interviews performed during Q2 2018 KOL data is analyzed to produce - Charts summarizing KOL opinions Chart call-outs of key information & details KOL quotes Summary of KOL reporting trends Insight from Sociable Pharma's analysts Reasons to Buy Combines Qualitative & semi-quantitative insight from key opinion leaders on BTK Inhibitors in RA Includes insight & recommendations from our disease-specific healthcare analysts Utilizes independent expert viewpoints to validate the impact of new clinical data & emerging trends on management of RA Provides cost-effective support for your advisory boards, with topics acting as a catalyst for further expert discussion. Key Topics Covered: Executive Summary Background Research Panel Composition Results & Implications Appendix Companies Mentioned BMS Lilly Roche Merck AbbVie For more information about this drug pipelines report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/d28mgn/_btk_inhibitors?w=12 Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. The flights Kyiv-Madrid to be performed four times per week from Boryspil airport The Irish low-cost company Ryanair will open a new flight from Kyiv to Madrid in October 2019 as the company reported. The flights Kyiv-Madrid will be performed four times per week. The detailed schedule of the flights will be published soon. The flights will be performed from Boryspil airport. The price of the tickets starts at 19,99 euro. Earlier Ryanair stated that it plans to open five new flights from Ukraine in 2019: to Athens (Greece), Dublin (Ireland), Manchester (Great Britain), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Pafos (Cyprus). The flights will take place twice a week. Earlier, we reported that Serbian national airline Air Serbia would start implementing direct regular flights in seven new directions, including Kyiv. Ukraine's city of Kharkiv and London are now linked via the direct international connection between the airports, according to the decision of Wizz Air. Besides, Wizz Air company opened the direct flight from Kyiv to Vienna. The amount of 54 million 267 thousand dollars was transferred to the bank account of the State Treasury of Ukraine Ex-president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych Open source 54 million 267 thousand dollars, which previously belonged to ex-president Viktor Yanukovych, were transferred to the State budget. Larysa Sarhan, the press-secretary of the Prosecutor Generals Ofice of Ukraine, reported this on Facebook. Today, February 22, the amount of 54 million 267 thousand dollars was transferred to the bank account of the State Treasury of Ukraine, - Sarhan wrote. Larysa Sarhan also pointed out that the Yuriy Lutsenko reported a week ago that with the help of the International Cooperation Department of the Prosecutor Generals Office of Ukraine, there had been opened the way to implement the court verdict on confiscation of the criminal organization of Yanukovychs times at the amount of 54 million 267 thousand dollars, which will be transferred to the bank accounts of the State Treasury of Ukraine to support the Ukrainian military very soon. As we reported earlier, the Court of Appeal of the Cherkasy region transferred almost $55 million to the state budget within the framework of the special confiscation process. According to the Prosecutor General, they will spend this money on new missiles, anti-tank guided missile launchers, armored vehicles, fire control systems. The third president of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko told about possible types of protests that could take place in the Russian Federation, as Radio Svoboda reports. According to him, the Russian people can protest due to many reasons, although never due to political ones. I think that the Russian peace project is rather an ambitious one. Russians do not like independence and freedom. So the political Maidan can never occur in Russia. vodka demonstration, bread demonstration, and pension demonstration or another primitive protest can happen, but the Revolution of Dignity can never happen in Russia. A common Russian citizen just likes tsar, so he or she is ready to suffer from everything else, - the third ex-president believes. Yushchenko also spoke about the actions that the Russian authorities undertake in order to maintain the loyal attitude among the society to them. For example, Crimean Bridge, Crimean annexation or occupation of Donbas. In order to maintain the right attitude to those events, they have to create a story about Crimean Bridge. This story will please their people for several months as if Russia returned something that belonged to them. Or the same is with Crimean annexation or Donbas occupation. Open source The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) sent the indictment against Infrastructure Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Omelyan to Solomensky Court of Kyiv as the NABU reported. Omelyan is accused of the illicit enrichment and declaration of false information. As the investigation established, in 2015, when Omelyan was Deputy Infrastructure Minister, he purchased assets, which legitimacy are not proved by the proof and their cost significantly surpass his legal incomes. The issue is about S.U.V. BMW X5 2015 and cash, $90,000 and 25,000 euro. The total cost of the assets made $156,544. Moreover, the NABU detectives established the facts that Omelyan put false data to the declaration of people authorized for carrying out the functions of the state and local self-government. Thus, in a declaration dated 2015, the cost of the undeclared expenses made at least $112,283 and in 2016, over $296,954. Supposedly, the official deliberately did not mention S.U.V. BMW X5 2015, however, he is its owner, in the declaration. The expenses for the rent of the house, where the minister and his family lived, were also undeclared. In a year, the minister did not declare that he constantly used other country house and land plot in 2016. In his turn, Omelyan criticized the activity of the NABU on Facebook and called it ineffective and stated that he is persecuted for holding reforms. I still wonder the reality of the Ukrainian policy. Such unscrupulous and a low game is held exactly against me, Ulyana Suprun, people who initiate and hold reforms. The Road Fund works, the roads are built, people can travel by planes cheaper than ever. More and more foreign companies open Ukraine and create new working places. The largest contract in the history of Ukraine for $1 billion on the production of locomotives without any corruption funds was signed. The truckload in the ports growths, despite the blockade of Azov. And all this is done by me and my team, he wrote. The minister added that the funds spent by the NABU for Omelyan case surpasses his funds considered being illicit enrichment. As we reported Ukraines Anti-Corruption Bureau informed Infrastructure Minister Omelyan of suspected illicit enrichment. NABU representatives stated that from January 1, 2000 to April, 26, 2018 Omelyan received $77,500 of official income. At least $123,214 were at his expenses within the period from 2008 till April 26, 2015. Later, NABU detectives claimed that the crimes of Omelyan are not grave so they will demand to choose the restrictive measure for the minister in the form of bail in the sum of almost $179,000. On September 19, Solomianskyi District Court of Kyiv arrested the property of Volodymyr Omelyan. 112 Ukraine TV channel's lawyer Vasyl Smetana made a statement regarding the recent claims of the National Council for TV and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine. The country's leading authority in this area charged the medium with breaking the law; according to the Council, some statements by TV channel's hosts and the invited speakers breach the norms that forbid the instigation of national, racial or religious enmity and hatred, promoting the aggressor state or its separate actions and spreading the biased information. 'Assessing today's event in terms of law, I'd say it is merely a consecutive activity of the authority, aimed at setting censorship and banning certain thoughts on air of 112 Ukraine TV channel. It's a second check of such kind already that the channel has been undergoing for this particular reason', Smetana said. 'The regulation authority sends us a clear signal. We see setting the censorship and the ban of certain thoughts. They want to introduce one single position, only one line, which is allowed on the air, whereas there should not be a different thought', he said. 112 Ukraine is an informational and analytical TV channel which broadcasts 18.5 hours per day on air and uses modern technologies to be the first channel to provide the unbiased information on important and interesting events going on in Ukraine and in the world. This is mentioned in the respective statement by Artem Marchevskyi, the Chief Producer, and Yehor Benkendorf, Director General of 112 Ukraine. According to Lukashenko, the difficulties in the relations between countries are already solved Belarus and Russian will always be together no matter how much they argue and fight as Belta reported citing Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. It is our main ally. We will always be together no matter how much we argue or fight, Lukashenko said. He reminded that there was a period of difficulties in the relations of the countries; for example, in the sphere of military education. Thus, the Belarusian military men, who got the education in Russia, were equaled to the foreign specialist. But, according to him, these issues were solved soon. Earlier, Lukashenko stated that he would not call Russia a fraternal state anymore but only a partner. Besides, the Belarusian president expressed the opinion that Moscow wants to incorporate Belarus into the composition of Russia on the pretext of deep integration. Moreover, President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko has requested the government to work out the issue of the alternatives of the oil supply through Baltic countries instead of Russia. Ukraine's MFA head: Russian propaganda began to slowly launch this misinformation immediately after the peaceful collapse of the Soviet Union when the war was nowhere near Open source Five years ago, Russia started its occupation of Crimea. For the first time in the post-war history of Europe, Moscow seized part of the territory of another sovereign state, thus destabilizing the European and global security. Five years ago, the world has almost unanimously condemned annexation of Crimea and since then, it has not changed its position, although the Kremlin was sure that Crimea would have been soon forgiven, as it was the case with Georgia in 2008. All conscious politicians, analysts, and lawyers agree that Moscow has grossly violated international law; no one has doubts that from the legal point of view Crimea belongs to Ukraine. And, of course, this is very good. Unfortunately, many people still believe that President Vladimir Putin's act could be understood, because, as they have heard somewhere, "Crimea has always been Russian." It is hard to find a more absurd and less reasonable myth, but strangely enough, it laid deep roots around the world and did penetrate the international consciousness. The reason, obviously, lies in the fact that Russian propaganda began to slowly launch this misinformation immediately after the peaceful collapse of the Soviet Union when the war was nowhere near. But when the war came, the "unofficial" international opinion had been already processed. Here I would like to present easily provable historical facts that refute this myth about Russian Crimea. So, what the facts look like. Crimean Tatars are indigenous people to Crimea who had their own state Crimean Khanate. Moreover, it was a strong and highly cultured Muslim state. As for the Russians, they simply never existed on the peninsula, except for the prisoners of war. At the beginning of the 18th century, due to the reforms of Peter the Great, Tsardom of Russia transformed into a Russian empire, gaining strength and conquering neighboring European countries. It took Estonia and Latvia in 1721, Lithuania and part of Poland, including Warsaw in 1795, Finland in 1809. Today these countries are sovereign states, members of the United Nations, the European Union and NATO (except for Finland). And it is unlikely that someone will have the heart to say they "have always been Russian." The Crimean Khanate found itself in the list of Moscow-conquered states in 1783, which is, from a historical point of view, relatively recently. Thus, talking about some sort of primordial belonging of the Crimea to Russia is pure absurdity. It is simply one of the countries, one of the peoples, which the Russian Empire in those days enslaved. The only difference between Crimea and the other states mentioned above is that after the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, the Tatars failed to defend their own independence. Crimea, like Ukraine, was captured by the Bolsheviks and remained part of all the same Russian empire, but now under the name of the Soviet Union. However, in the Soviet Union Crimea was "lucky" even less than Ukraine. Ukraine became a "union republic" with formal features of state sovereignty, while Crimea in 1921 got only the status of autonomy, moreover in the Russian, and not in the Ukrainian union republic. Such Kremlins decision contradicted reasonable reality, because the Crimean Peninsula is geographically a part of Ukraine, while Russia has no territorial connection. The administrative affiliation to Russia with territorial adjacency to Ukraine greatly complicated the economic development of the peninsula, with all the supplies to Crimea being almost entirely carried out from Ukraine. Geographical and geo-economic realities forced Moscow later rectify the situation. In 1954, the Kremlin initiated the transfer of Crimea from Russia to the Ukrainian republic. The Kremlin could not at that time imagine that Ukraine would once become independent. So for the Soviet leadership of Crimea, like all of Ukraine, still remained Russian. I would like to make a separate emphasis: The transfer of Crimea was carried out in full compliance with the laws and procedures of the Soviet Union. Russian myth that Crimea was a gift to Ukraine by silly Khrushchev is a blatant fiction. In 1954, Khrushchev did not yet have enough power for such a self-initiative. Well, we came to an understanding of what actually means a call "Crimea has always been Russian." It turns out that this is not even about half a century in the captivity of the Russian Empire (1783-1917), because then such claims would apply to the rest of the former colonies and now independent states. The Russian Crimea can only be referred to the Soviet Crimea of 192154, which is only 33 years of recent history! It looks like since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian leaders have been maddened by the thought that if not 1954, Crimea would have remained with Russia. At the same time, they have not been embarrassed by the fact that if not 1921, Crimea would remain part of Ukraine, and if not in 1783, Crimea would have always been an independent state with 0% of the Russian population. And in 2014, an imperial insurrection took over the Kremlin went on to frankly bandit seizure of the Crimea, giving up on international law, historical logic, and justice. As an anecdote, I will give another Russian myth about Crimea, which in 2014 was launched personally by the Russian President. He stated that "for Russia, Crimea has a sacred significance and that it is where a spiritual source of formation of the Russian nation and state lies", as it was in Crimea that Knyaz Volodymyr accepted Christianity, and then baptized Rus. Knyaz Volodymyr was indeed baptized in 988 in Crimea (at least as the Chronicle says) and in the same year, he baptized his state. But he was a Kyivan, not a Moscow, Knyaz, and he baptized Kyivan Rus, not Russia. As for Moscow, Russia and the Russian ethnic group itself, at that time they simply did not exist. In the forests on the site of Moscow dominated the Finno-Ugric tribes, which only after a few centuries were assimilated by the Slavs and became the nucleus of the modern Russian nation. So again, absurd! Nevertheless, even such an extraordinary historical fake is being launched into the international information space today. There is, obviously, as always, an assumption that no one will look into Wikipedia. However, the myth of the "Russian Crimea" was built, unfortunately, not only on propaganda and absurd distortion of history. In May 1944 Moscow carried out a large-scale criminal operation aimed at completely clearing Crimea from indigenous people and replacing them with ethnic Russians. The Stalinist regime blamed the Crimean Tatar people in collaboration with the Nazis who occupied the Crimea in 1941-44, and in just two days sent all 191 thousand Crimean Tatars, including infants, to remote Asiatic regions of the USSR. The fact that this was a pure ethnic cleansing, and accusation of betrayal was only an excuse, was evidenced by the fact that families of 9,000 Red Army Tatars, who at that time fought on the front with the Nazis, and then the fighters themselves, were also sent in exile. In addition, after the Tatars, other ethnic groups were exiled - Greeks, Bulgarians, and Armenians, who had lived on the peninsula for centuries and were not accused of betrayal. On the peninsula remained only Slavs, that is, local Russians and Ukrainians. After that, mass resettlement of people from the Russian mainland to Crimea began. They settled in 80,000 homes that were empty after an exile of the indigenous people. It is the descendants of these Russian colonists that form today the basis of the part of the Crimean population, who support the Russian annexation of the Crimea and whose will the Kremlin so much likes to refer to. Moscow persevered to prevent the Crimean Tatars from returning to their homeland. Their mass repatriation began only with independent Ukraine. Ukraine itself assumed all the expenses and care for settling the whole people. By 2013 266,000 Tatars returned to their homeland, which made up 13,7 % of the population of the peninsula. Russian occupation of 2014 became a real national catastrophe for Crimean Tatars. They escaped from the Gulag, but the Gulag again came to them on their native land. Therefore, practically all Crimean Tatar people are in opposition to Russian invaders and remain loyal to Ukraine. It is precisely because of this that the Crimean Tatars became today the main victims of persecution and repression by the invaders. Up to 25 thousand Tatars were forced to leave Crimea again and emigrate to mainland Ukraine. The Kremlin has banned the Mejlis, Crimean Tatar national parliament, Tatar media, education, culture, and religion have been harassed, dozens of patriots are thrown into jail. In December 2018, when entering the Crimea, occupiers arrested a Tatar public figure Eden Bekirov who wanted to visit his 78-year-old mother. Bekirov is a physically disabled person, suffers severe diabetes, had one leg amputated, and 4 shunts on the heart after last year's heart attack. Detention without necessary medication and medical care is essentially a death sentence for him. Nevertheless, Russian "justice" keeps him under arrest. And they accuse him that he allegedly had someone to hand over a bag of 15 kilograms of explosives, although his health did not allow him to lift even 2 kilos. The absurdity of accusations and the insolent pursuit of legal tyranny speak for the fact that the Russian repressive machine is trying to intimidate and demoralize the Crimean Tatars. I will note that victims of repressions are not only Crimean Tatars. The whole world already knows the name of an illegally imprisoned film director, an ethnic Russian and a true patriot of Ukraine Oleg Sentsov, who openly protested against the annexation of Crimea. Volodymyr Balukh, an ethnic Ukrainian, became a symbol of courage, thrown behind bars for raising the Ukrainian flag over his home in occupied Crimea. As we can see, honest and courageous people of Crimea, regardless of nationality, protest against the brutal seizure of their land by Russian invaders. Violations of human and national rights on the peninsula by Moscow have been repeatedly convicted by the United Nations and other international organizations. But I am convinced that the international community should triple efforts for the immediate release of political prisoners. As we can see, the current crime against the Crimean Tatar people is a direct extension of the crime of 1944, that entered the world history under the name of "deportation"; this definition is used today by all scholars, politicians, and journalists. However, this in itself terrible term is, in fact, a political euphemism which gives the wrong softened picture of the reality. Facts indicate that only during the first 4 years in exile 46,2 % of the Crimean Tatars died because of extremely difficult living conditions. And this is not just deportation, it's a real genocide. Due to the substitution of the notions, Crimean Tatar genocide, the same way as the Ukrainian Holodomor, perished from the historical memory of humanity, which, we must admit, is another dark victory of Soviet-Russian propaganda. Consequently, the myth "Crimea has always been Russian" is also needed in Moscow in order to preserve the results of the Crimean Tatars genocide and the settlement of Russian colonists. This is also one of the main goals of current annexation of Crimea. Thus, de-occupation of Crimea and its return to the sovereignty of Ukraine, apart from political and legal aspects, has also a powerful moral imperative. The international community has no right to allow at least one genocide to "pay off" so that those who carried it out could not achieve their goal even after many decades. Read the original text at Aktualne.cz. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or 112.International and its owners. The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine and the World Bank Group are negotiating on granting new loan guarantees to Ukraine. Satu Kahkonen, the World Bank Country Director for Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine, said this, as Intrfax-Ukraine reports. According to the report, those guarantees will allow the government to reduce the borrowing cost on the international markets. In such a way, the government will be able to take loans under a lower percentage. At the moment, Ukraine uses the loan guarantees at the amount of $750 million. New guarantees will allow the government to borrow around one billion under a lower percentage. In particular, the second credit tranche under the guarantees of the World Bank is supposed to be $630 million. As we reported earlier, The National Bank of Ukraine expects for the positive decision of the Board of Directors of the International Monetary Fund(IMF) on the continuation of the cooperation with Ukraine and supply of the first tranche within new stand-by program until December 25. The credit program for Ukraine in the amount of $17.01 billion was approved by the IMF at the end of April 2014, and the first tranche of Stand-By Arrangement loan in the amount of $ 3.19 billion was granted in early May. Open source The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine allowed Finance Ministry to borrow money at foreign markets by getting credit in euro, the sum of which does not surpass equivalent of $630 million as the government reported. The external state borrowing will take place by obtaining credit for the total sum in euro, which does not surpass equivalent of $630 million. The commitments on the credit in euro, which does not surpass equivalent of $375 million are provided by the guarantee of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development in accordance with the credit agreement between Ukraine, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch and TMF Global Service (UK) Limited, the message said. The Finance Ministry will borrow money of 5,9 % per annum, the commission for the organization of the credit will make 0,8%. The credit is provided in the form of two tranches: tranche A is planned to attract for four years and tranche B for ten years. As we reported, Ukraine expects two tranches from the IMF in 2019 under the stand-by program opened in December last year. Previously, in October 2018, Ukraine and the IMF agreed to implement the stand-by program; Ukraine received the first loan in December 2018. Self-proclaimed Donbas leaders Pasechnik and Pushilin appealed to the European states in their statements, first of all to Chancellor of Germany and President of France Emmanuel Macron Open source The representatives of Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin and Luhansk Peoples Republic (LPR) Leonid Pasechnik agreed on the direct negotiations with Kyiv on the plan proposed by Head of Political Council of Party Opposition platform For life Viktor Medvedchuk, facilitated by the European partners on settlement of Donbas Conflict. Pasechnik and Pushilin appealed to the European states in their statements, first of all to Chancellor of Germany and President of France Emmanuel Macron, who are the guarantors of the Minks Agreements, to support their intentions and persuade Kyiv to hold direct negotiations on Medvedchuks plan. Donbas consistently stands for the continuation of the negotiations in Minsk; we strongly support the initiative of the Ukrainian opposition politicians, which aims for the intensification of the negotiations. We express the readiness for the direct dialogue with Kyiv. Consequently, we express the readiness to achieve peace in Ukraine and Donbas, Pushilin stated. As we reported earlier, Viktor Medvedchuk, the politician and the head of 'Ukrainsky Vybir' (Ukrainian Choice) political party faces prosecution in Ukraine. Ukraines Prosecutor General's Office opened the case against him in state treason and encroachment on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. The basis for the criminal proceeding is an application of the Ukrainian MP from the Peoples Front political party. The criminal case opened against the politician for his proposals on settlement of the military conflict in Donbas by granting the region with autonomy and capturing that in the Constitution of Ukraine. Medvedchuk voiced the proposals at the All-Ukrainian Congress of the party on January 29. Members of the European Parliament condemned the criminal proceeding against Viktor Medvedchuk, the representative of the "Opposition Platform - For Life" political party. Barcelona, Spain., Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Finlands Cloudstreet, the US-patented Network Slicing Company, and Norways Domos, a leader in Machine Learning technologies for the smart home, are pleased to announce that they have teamed up to create the industrys first end-to-end, intelligent application and context-aware network slicing solution for home networks. The solution will be on display February 25-28 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in Hall 5, stand 5C41. A perfect example of MWCs aspirational theme, Intelligent Connectivity, the solution closes the loop on delivering a 5G experience to fixed wireless home networks. The combined technologies solve two key, last-mile problems that have plagued mobile-enabled home networks: 1) How to build application-awareness into the network without compromising performance and compliance (i.e. DPI), and 2) How to manage and orchestrate QoS-assured slices triggered from User Equipment (UE) across serving nodes and base stations and out onto the Internet. This unique combination of Dynamic RAN QoS Management & Orchestration, provided by the Cloudstreet Dynamic Profile Controller (DPC), with Domos home CPE installed non-DPI app-sniffing, machine learning algorithm solves these problems, delivering real-time context-optimized QoE-guaranteed connectivity. This is not about Network Slicing, 5G, capacity, latency or throughput. No consumers will ever know or care about those things, said Cloudstreet Founder and CEO Mika Skarp. This is about delivering digital experiences that are markedly better than they were before, and consistently, reliably so. Were thrilled to be working with Domos, a company whos CPE-centered machine learning technology so perfectly complements our own. Our focus has always been machine learning technology that secures Quality-of-Experience within the home, said Domos Co-Founder and CTO Olav Nedrelid Teaming up with Cloudstreet, we can finally secure these diverse services across mobile and fixed wireless networks for an array of services including Online Gaming, OTT streaming and Video Calls with dynamic Quality-of-Experience from End-to-End. Digital experiences in the home are notoriously unreliable. With our combined ttechnologies, we can, for the first time offer SLA-assured, machine-informed connectivity over in-home Wi-Fi networks he said. Together, Cloudstreet and Domos are delivering on the promise of intelligent connectivity and the expectation of 5G networks well in advance of their large-scale arrival. The companies look forward to the opportunity to present the combined solution to interested carriers at MWC19, Hall 5 Stand 5C41 and throughout the year at their convenience. About Cloudstreet Finland-based Cloudstreet is a US-patented Network Slicing innovator dedicated to revolutionizing the mobile experience, empowering user choice and driving new MNO revenues. Providing a platform for Intelligent, Application-Aware Connectivity and Dynamic (Reactive and Predictive QoS), Cloudstreet allows carriers to offer on-demand, SLA-assured slices via its telecom-grade APIs and award-winning Dynamic Profile Controller engine. Tailoring Quality-of-Experience to user demand and context, Cloudstreet today delivers a fleet of mission-critical use cases from Fixed Wireless to Broadcasting to Public Safety. Awarded the ECs Horizon 2020 grant, TMForums Catalyst Award and Best Connectivity Solution (WCA16), Cloudstreets in-market solutions are deployable in todays 4G and emerging 5G networks. Visit us at www.cloudstreet.co. About Domos Norway-based Domos provide patent-pending machine learning algorithms that assure optimal Quality-of-Experience for all digital services consumed in the home. Domos solution leverage existing CPEs to provide actionable insight that optimises and stabilise in-home Wi-Fi, all through automation and machine learning algorithms. This reduces direct cost in customer care, churn and marketing spend but also create exciting new revenue opportunities that have the potential of transforming the carriers business potential. For more information, contact us at sales@domos.no or visit our website at www.domos.no. Attachment Ukraine-Russia conflict Open source On February, 22, the Russian militants violated the ceasefire regime 10 times. The Joint Forces Operation (JFO) HQ reported this on Facebook. No casualties among the Joint Forces operation. The subdivisions, which were attacked by the enemy opened fire in response, but our fighters used the weaponry, which was not banned by the Minsk agreement. The situation in the territories of the Joint Forces operation is under control of Ukrainian military, - the report said. The Russian militants attacked our positions twice with 120 mm easel anti-tank grenade launchers near Vodiane village, and twice 120 mm mortar, wire-guided anti-tank missile system, and automatic grenade launchers near Lebedynske settlement. The enemy attacked with manual easel anti-tank and rocket grenade launchers and small arms near Avdiivka town, with 82 mm mortar, easel anti-tank grenade launchers and heavy machine guns near Luhanske village. One Russian sniper opened fire near Marinka settlement. The enemy also attacked twice the position of the Ukrainian Forces with 120 mm mortar, easel anti-tank grenade launchers near Novozvanivka village, and with 82 mm mortar, easel anti-tank grenade launchers and heavy machine guns near Katerinivka settlement. On February 21, Russian occupants attacked Ukrainian positions in Donbas seven times. That included the use of Minsk-banned weapons, specifically 82 and 120 mm mortars. The Joint Operation Forces HQ reported this on Friday morning. The enemy fired mines on Ukrainian outposts in Pisky and Vodyane, Donetsk region. Mine explosions also thundered in Krymske and Katerynivka, Luhansk region. Three Ukrainian warriors were wounded in combat. The terrorists also took casualties; the Ukrainian intelligence reported that three enemy fighters were killed and four more were wounded in action. Since the beginning of the day, the enemy fired on Ukrainian positions, using 82 mm mortars, stationary grenade launchers and heavy machineguns in the area of Katerynivka. Earlier, Iryna Gerashchenko, the representative of Ukraine in Minsk trilateral contact group posted that Ukraine is not going to lead any direct negotiations with the self-styled 'republics' in Donbas or facilitate the legitimization of Kremlin's puppet regimes. 'All these so-called 'authoritative bodies of the republics are illegitimate and non-recognized, even in the Russian Federation. This is why the statements of their so-called 'representatives', whatever their names are, are just the nonsense of the Kremlin. We will discuss the liberation of Donbas with the Kremlin, enjoying the mediation of our international partners - not with the Kremlin's puppets', Gerashchenko wrote. The AS Tallink Grupp (the Company) Supervisory Board has appointed Mrs Piret Murk-Dubout as a Member of the Management Board and has recalled from the Management Board Mr Andres Hunt following his resignation. The mandate of Mr Andres Hunt ends on 26 February 2019. Piret Murk-Dubout has significant international experience in sales and marketing and corporate management. She joins Tallink Grupp from Tallinn Airport where she has held the position of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Board since 2016. Prior to joining Tallinn Airport, Mrs Murk-Dubout worked in several senior positions with Telia Company group companies. She was Senior Vice President at Telia Sonera Estonia Ltd between 2014 and 2016. Before that, she was based in Stockholm, as Vice President, Head of Group Brands and Corporate Marketing at Telia Sonera AB between 2013 and 2014, were she was responsible for branding and corporate marketing strategy across 18 countries. Between 2010 and 2013, she was Vice President, Head of Commercial Development at the same company, responsible for Baltic and Nordic countries. Between 2007 and 2011 Mrs Murk-Dubout worked as Head of Strategy at Eesti Telekom Ltd, between 2008 and 2010 she was also Chairman of Serenada Investment OU. Between 2004 and 2011 she held the position of Member of the Board, Marketing Director at leading Estonian mobile operator EMT Ltd, and before that, from 1999 to 2004 she was the Communications Director at the leading internet and phone services operator Elion Ettevotted Ltd. Mrs Murk-Dubout previously held international roles in Communications and Television - as the Head of External and Internal Communications at the Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs, as a Senior Project Manager at renowned PR company Hill & Knowlton in Estonia and Finland, as the business news editor and presenter at RTV Estonia, as the CNN world news correspondent at CNN International in the United States, and as the social and political news editor at Estonian National Broadcasting (ERR). Mrs Murk-Dubout holds an Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) qualification from the Estonian Business School, a Diploma in Jurisprudence from the University of Tartu and a Masters degree in Media & Communications from the University of Tartu. The mandate of Mrs Murk-Dubout begins on 15 April 2019 and lasts for a period of three years. Mrs Murk-Dubout does not hold any shares of AS Tallink Grupp. From 15 April, the Management Board of Tallink Grupp will operate with five members under the leadership of Mr Paavo Nogene and will include Mr Lembit Kitter, Mrs Kadri Land, Mr Harri Hanschmidt and Mrs Piret Murk-Dubout. Veiko Haavapuu Financial Director The Scottish Salmon Company will release its Q4 Operational Update on 1 March 2019. The Company hereby invites you to a presentation on 12 March 2019 in Oslo, where CEO Craig Anderson and CFO Fiona Larkin will present the Q4 and full year 2018 results: Date: Tuesday 12 March 2019 Time: 09.00 - 10.00 Venue: Hotel Continental, Stortingsgata 24/26, 0117 Oslo, Norway Webcast: The presentation will also be available by audiocast. Please use the link to register: https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/p3kwbvb6 Telephone Conference: Please dial in 5-10 minutes prior to the start time using the confirmation code: 8284053 Dial in details: UK/International +44 (0) 2071 928000 UK toll-free 08003767922 Norway local 23960264 Norway toll-free 80051874 An additional presentation will also be held in Stockholm the following day: Date: Wednesday 13 March 2019 Time: 12.00-13.00 Venue: Pareto Securities AB, Berzelii Park 9, 103 91 Stockholm, Sweden Please register for the presentation in Stockholm: http://www.scottishsalmon.je/investor-presentation/ Venus de la Apulum, statueta din bronz care poate fi admirata din orice unghi Venus de la Apulum, statueta din bronz care poate fi admirata din orice unghi Venus de la Apulum, statueta din bronz care poate fi admirata din orice unghi O statueta din bronz a zeitei frumusetii si a dragostei este expusa la Muzeul National al [citeste mai departe] Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-23 06:12:24|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- In a fresh displacement, some 2,500 people, mainly women and children, fled fighting in Hajin and Baghouz, both Islamic State holdouts, to an already overcrowded camp in northeastern Syria, a UN spokesman said on Friday. Fleeing besieged sites in Deir Ezzour governorate, the evacuees arrived in Al-Hol camp in Hassakeh governorate late Thursday, bringing the total number of internally displaced people in the camp to over 43,000, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "The conditions in the camp are extremely dire as the camp has surpassed by far its accommodation capacity," the spokesman said. "Thousands more may arrive at the camp in the coming hours and days." The UN refugee agency known as UNHCR, which runs the Al-Hol camp, has expressed its deep concern by reports of mounting civilian casualties -- including many women and children -- and large-scale civilian displacement amid renewed fighting in the Hajin enclave. UNHCR said in January that for the previous six months, clashes and air strikes in southeast part of Deir Ezzour had forced about 25,000 people to flee. It said those fleeing reported increasingly desperate conditions they left behind, with diminishing services and extremely high prices for basic foods. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-23 06:02:21|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BUJUMBURA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China has remained Burundi's friend even in the latter's hard times, Burundian civil society groups said Friday, a week after the handover of the China-aided Burundian state house. China has been on Burundi's side at political and diplomatic aspects, Jean Marie Nduwimana, chairman of Integral Platform for Civil Society of Burundi, told Xinhua in an interview in Bujumbura, the commercial capital of Burundi. China supports Burundi on the international arena against "unfair resolutions" on the central African country, he said. "All that shows that Burundi has true friends who want to help us and who help us reach sovereignty," he added. Chinese Ambassador to Burundi Li Changlin and Burundian Foreign Affairs Minister Ezechiel Nibigira on Feb. 14 signed a handover document on the China-aided Burundian state house. The complex, with a total construction area of over 9,900 square meters, consists of the president's office building, rooms for guards and equipment, and watchtowers. "We highly appreciate the donation of the state house which is a prestigious and big infrastructure. It reflects a good image of national sovereignty," said Hamza Venant Burikukiye, chairman of Coalition of Associations of People Infected and Affected by HIV/AIDS. This infrastructure "concretizes" the sovereignty of Burundi, said Burikukiye. All Burundian citizens should rejoice for excellent Sino-Burundian friendship, he added. They also commended China for supporting Burundian people's livelihood, in sectors of health, education, energy and infrastructure. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-23 04:42:04|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close RIYADH, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia announced on Friday the arrival of all teams participating in the joint Peninsula Shield military exercise, Saudi Press Agency reported. The exercise will start on Saturday, covering military scenarios to enhance the fighting capabilities of the forces and benefit the most from the joint work concept, said Abdullah bin Saeed Al Qahtani, commander in the exercise in a statement. The exercise aims to reinforce ties, exchange of military exercises and unification of strategic military plans. It will conclude on March 14. The exercise is one of the largest military exercises in the region in terms of troop numbers, participating countries, diversity of expertise and quality of weapons. Ocean, New Jersey, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- It goes without saying that if you own a motor vehicle, then you ought to have an auto plan. 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Liberty Auto customer service is legendary within the industry thanks to its high quality. From consultation to sale and maintenance, Liberty Auto ensures that each customer gets what they paid for and more. How You Can Benefit from Liberty Automotive Protection Currently, Liberty Auto location is Ocean, NJ. Still, Liberty Auto offers nationwide coverage to customers. As such, you can benefit from their extensive suite of offerings from anywhere in the United States. Best of all, getting started is easy. Here's how it works. All it takes to get started with Liberty Automotive Protection is a conversation. Reaching out to the Liberty Auto team via a simple phone call or email using the official contact information found on their website is all you really need. From there, a friendly and knowledgeable member of the Liberty Auto team will be happy to assist you. Your Liberty Auto representative will walk you through the available options and provide you with a quotation for a service package or Liberty Auto plan that suits your needs. There is nothing to lose and so much to gain by contacting Liberty. Contact them today to get the assistance you need before you are in need of the extended warranty. You'll be glad you did. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-23 04:16:58|Editor: ZX Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. State Department said Friday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Japanese counterpart discussed the next-step engagement with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over phone. Pompeo and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on Thursday reaffirmed their shared commitment to the final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK, the State Department said in a statement. The two also committed to strengthening trilateral cooperation with the Republic of Korea on a unified approach toward the DPRK, according to the statement. The phone call between the two allies' top diplomats came one day after President Donald Trump's call with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The White House said Wednesday that the two leaders committed to coordinating closely in advance of the U.S.-DPRK upcoming Hanoi summit. Trump announced on Feb. 8 that his second meeting with DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un would take place in Hanoi of Vietnam on Feb. 27-28. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (C) reacts surrounded by supporters at the end of a meeting in Kiev on January 29, 2019. (AFP PHOTO) KIEV, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- A total of 70.8 percent of Ukrainians plan to vote in the forthcoming presidential election, a public opinion poll showed on Friday. According to the survey conducted by the center for social and marketing research SOCIS, 9.2 percent of respondents were sure they would not vote in the election, while 20 percent of those surveyed were undecided. The nationwide survey was carried out from Feb. 8 to 18 among 2,000 adults. Its margin error was plus or minus 2.1 percentage points. The presidential election in Ukraine is scheduled for March 31, with the participation of 44 candidates. In the previous presidential election on May 25, 2014, the voter turnout was 59.5 percent. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-23 03:36:50|Editor: ZX Video Player Close United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the opening of the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) 2019 Global Engagement Summit at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 22, 2019. Antonio Guterres on Friday called for stronger political will in tackling some of the challenges that are becoming "more global" and "more integrated." (Xinhua/Li Muzi) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for stronger political will in tackling some of the challenges that are becoming "more global" and "more integrated." To ensure success in the fight against some of the serious challenges like climate change, Guterres indicated that political will is important in addition to conducting reforms to make the UN more effective. "From climate change to migration to terrorism to the downsides of globalization, our challenges are more and more global, and more and more integrated," the UN chief said at the opening of the UNA-USA 2019 Global Engagement Summit held at the UN headquarters in New York. The summit was sponsored by the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA), which is a movement of Americans who believe that the interests and values of human being can best be advanced by standing with the planet's only truly universal institution: The United Nations. Noting that the threats become "more global," but human being's response becomes "more fragmented," Guterres said the world is facing enormous difficulties and problems. Attributing the main reason behind the weak response to "a trust deficit out there in the world," he said that as inequality grows, people in all regions are questioning the effectiveness of international cooperation and organizations like the UN. "The biggest challenge for governments and for institutions like ours is to be able to show that we care -- that we care especially for those people that feel like they are being left behind with the technological progress and globalization in the Rust Belts of this world -- to show that we are able to mobilize solutions that respond to people's fears and anxieties with answers, with concrete answers for the problems we view," the secretary-general said. "But political will is still lagging behind," he noted. "We need to demonstrate that the UN is standing up for people left behind and is connected to their needs, aspirations and everyday problems," said the UN chief. After elaborating on the achievements that the UN has made over the past few months or so, Guterres noted that "to deliver more, we need to have a UN that is nimbler, more effective, more cost effective and is more able to overcome the bureaucratic problems and impediments that always exist in international organizations." Highlighting climate change as a top priority for the world, he told the participants that there is good news that technological evolution contributes more to the green economy. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-23 00:36:07|Editor: ZX Video Player Close YAOUNDE, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon Association of English-speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ) said Friday the president of the Northwest regional chapter of the association Ambe Macmillian Awa, who was kidnapped Thursday by "unknown gunmen," has been released. "He was released today Feb. 22 by 11 am. He is doing well and in good health. He was not tortured by his captors," Fongoh Primus Ayeh, secretary general of CAMASEJ Northwest, told Xinhua. He said, Awa was interrogated by government forces after his release. "We still don't know who kidnapped him and why. Journalism is not a crime," he said. Awa, who is also secretary general of the Northwest chapter of Cameroon Journalists' Trade Union, is the first high profile journalist to be kidnapped since an armed conflict started in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon in November 2017. Kidnappings have become widespread in the two troubled Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest since the start of this year. Over the weekend, some 170 students and their teacher were kidnapped in the Northwest. They were released later following negotiations. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-23 00:16:01|Editor: WX Video Player Close Villagers stand in front of the bodies of victims who died of drinking illicit liquor in Golaghat district, Assam, India, Feb. 22, 2019. The death toll due to consumption of illicit liquor in India's northeastern state of Assam Friday has risen to 41, local government officials said. Over 60 others are in hospitals undergoing treatment. (Xinhua/Stringer) NEW DELHI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The death toll due to consumption of illicit liquor in India's northeastern state of Assam Friday has risen to 41, local government officials said. Over 60 others are in hospitals undergoing treatment. The hooch was consumed by people on Thursday evening at Halmira tea estate in Golaghat district, about 275 km east of Dispur, the capital city of Assam. According to officials, 23 deaths have taken place at Golaghat hospital, while 18 deaths were reported at adjacent Jorhat Medical College hospital. "In Golaghat hospital the death toll has risen to 23, while many others are still admitted here," a senior police officer Partha Pratim Saikia said. "Many others are still being hospitalised." Medical superintendent at Jorhat Medical College hospital Saurabh Borkotoki told Xinhua 18 deaths have taken place in the hospital. "Sixty five people were admitted in the hospital and out of them 18 have died so far," Borkotoki told Xinhua over telephone from Jorhat district. "The remaining 47 are undergoing treatment." Health officials say the cause of deaths, according to preliminary investigation, seems to be consumption of "spurious country made liquor". Police have registered a case and collected samples of the liquor. Meanwhile, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal has formed an inquiry commission to investigate the incident, reports said. Earlier this month, around 100 people died in a hooch tragedy in northern Indian states of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Following the deaths, authorities suspended several officials and have started a crackdown on illicit liquor manufacturing units and sales points. In December 2011, hooch tragedy killed 172 people in South 24-Parganas district of West Bengal. Spurious alcohol deaths are often reported in India, where people often drink cheap country made bootleg liquor. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 23:50:55|Editor: ZX Video Player Close LAGOS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's Center for Crisis Communications (CCC) on Friday raised alarm on the potential flash points in the country as the country goes to the polls Saturday for the presidential and national assembly elections. In its mid-February collation and dissemination of data on crisis and crisis situation across the country, the center said it has identified flash points in the six geopolitical zones of the country. Scribe of the Center Yusuf Anas said the potential flash points were identified after reviewing recent incidents and violent activities in some of the states. "We strongly recommend that adequate security arrangements should be made to ensure that the elections are not disrupted in some of the states we have identified," he added. The CCC identifies as flash points states of Kano, Kaduna, Kwara, Kogi, Adamawa and Taraba in the north, and Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Anambra and Imo in the south. "We appeal to politicians, community leaders to advise their subjects against involvement in any activity capable of inciting violence that could have negative effects on the electoral processes," he added. The center collects, collates, processes, harmonizes and disseminates information on any crisis or potential crisis situation in the country. The country's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that about 84 million Nigerians have registered to vote in the general elections, representing about 42 percent of the country's population. Just hours before the opening of polls scheduled on Feb. 16, INEC announced a one-week delay in polling, citing logistical issues. The decision triggered widespread anger among Nigerians and the two main political parties blamed each other for the delay. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 23:45:53|Editor: ZX Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistani military on Friday rejected India's allegations over a recent attack in the India-controlled Kashmir and also called for peace as the country doesn't want to have a war with its neighbor. The comments by the military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor, chief of the army's Inter-Services Public Relations, came amid the tension between Pakistan and India after a suicide attack which killed 40 Indian paramilitary troopers in the India-controled Kashmir. Jaish-e-Muhammad group, which is outlawed in Pakistan, claimed the attack. India blamed Pakistan of links with the attack but Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan rejected the allegations and offered help in investigation of the Feb. 14 attack. "We do not want to follow the path of war. We expect you (India) will consider the call for peace by the government of Pakistan and will not become a hurdle in the way of peace and development in the region," the Pakistani military spokesman told a news conference. "The people in the region have the right to live in peace and in an environment which is based on peace, stability and co-existence," Ghafoor said. The army spokesman rejected the Indian allegations of Pakistan's involvement in the attack, saying India levelled allegations against Pakistan shortly after the attack without any investigations. "Pakistan has already clarified that it has nothing to do with the Pulwama attack as the attacker, explosive devices, and planning were indigenous," he said, adding the prime minister has already offered India to provide concrete evidence." He also expressed the hope that India will respond to this offer in a positive way. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 23:45:52|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close WINDHOEK, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's Ministry of Agriculture Agricuture Water and Forestry said that farmers in the north-east Zambezi region have reported Fall Army Worm (FAW) outbreak in an urgent press statement Friday. The ministry undertook an assessment missions in the affected areas on the 18th and 19th of this month which confirmed that about 100 hectares of farmland are adversely affected by the worms, the ministry said. FAW is a pervasive agricultural pest native to South and Central America that ruthlessly worked its way across the African continent, after arriving in West Africa in 2016 and making its way to South of the Sahara and into Namibia during 2016/2017 cropping season. "The FAW has spread quickly due to its short reproductive cycle and ability to travel long distance quickly during its adult stage," the press statement read. In Namibia FAW poses a significant threat to small holder crop farmers, mainly maize farms, and has become a threat to food security. In 2016/17 cropping season approximately 50 000 hectares of maize and millets were estimated to have been damaged by the pest which adversely affected some 27,000 household. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 23:40:50|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close MOSCOW, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Russian officials cast doubts on Friday over U.S. plans of withdrawing its military from Syria. Earlier in the day, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the United States would leave about 200 of its 2,000 servicemen in Syria as a "small peacekeeping group." The Kremlin said it was analyzing the statement, as it did not understand what the White House actually meant. "Sometimes we hear different statements from different departments, so we monitor with great interest and careful attention how the U.S. position evolves on this issue," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "One should not believe in these statements, no matter who they come from, because on the next day they may be refuted by other political forces," echoed Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. She said at a news briefing that Moscow believed that the U.S. authorities had "no inner certainty" about their strategy in the region. So far Washington has not presented a well-shaped concept with clear timing, quantitative indicators, goals and tasks of its planned actions in Syria, Zakharova added. Russia from the beginning had a very clear position on the U.S. intention to withdraw its troops from Syria, stating that if implemented, this would be a step in the positive direction, she said. This could defuse the situation in Syria and would help strengthen its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Zakharova added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 23:35:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close KIGALI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Friday assured foreign diplomats accredited to Rwanda that the country offers a favorable business investment environment, asking them to attract investments from their respective countries to Rwanda. Rwanda nurtured a more conducive environment for business in 2018, and it wants to attract more "investment, innovation and joint ventures," said Kagame at an annual diplomats luncheon in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda. Rwanda has been on several occasions ranked high globally by the World Bank Doing Business Report for its conducive business environment, he told over 100 head of foreign missions to Rwanda. The president also said Rwanda is committed to contributing more to the African Union priorities and engaging meaningfully in the region as Chair of the East African Community for 2019. "Rwanda will again continue to do the best we can, so that East Africa continues with the progress we have already seen," he added. The central African country recorded investments worth about 2 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, compared to 1.675 million dollars in 2017, according to Rwanda Development Board. Rwanda ranked 29th out of 190 countries in ease of doing business and the 2nd easiest place to do business in Africa in the World Bank Group's 2019 Doing Business report. TORONTO, Feb. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aleafia Health Inc. (TSXV: ALEF, OTC: ALEAF, FRA: ARAH) (Aleafia Health or the Company), is providing an update regarding a press release (the Press Release) issued by an unrelated third party. A Press Release issued by Aura Health Inc. (Aura) entitled With a Strategic Investment by Aleafia Health, Aura Health Announces Increase to Previously Announced Brokered Subscription Receipt Financing to $7.26 Million came to the attention of the Company. Although the Company was solicited to participate in Auras private placement, Aleafia Health is not negotiating a subscription agreement, nor has the Company had the opportunity to perform due diligence or submit the participation to the TSX Venture Exchange for acceptance. At this time Aleafia Health is not participating in the private placement. For Investor & Media Relations, please contact: Nicholas Bergamini, VP, Public Affairs 416-860-5665 IR@AleafiaInc.com About Aleafia Health: Aleafia Heath, a vertically integrated, national cannabis company, operates major medical clinic, cannabis cultivation and R&D divisions. A federally licensed producer and vendor of cannabis, the company has a planned and fully-funded annual production capacity of 98,000 kg of dried cannabis flower. The Company operates medical cannabis clinics staffed by physicians and nurse practitioners, with over 50,000 patients. The company is highly differentiated, maintaining the largest medical cannabis dataset in the world, which it used to develop unique, proprietary cannabis products and treatment methods. Aleafia Health is committed to creating sustainable shareholder value and has been named the top performing company of the year by the TSX Venture Exchange. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION This press release contains forward-looking statements and information that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect the Company's current expectations. When used in this press release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. The forward-looking statements and information in this press release includes information relating to the implementation of Aleafia Health's business plan. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company with respect to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following risks: risks associated with the implementation of Aleafia Health's business plan and matters relating thereto, risks associated with the cannabis industry, competition, regulatory change, the need for additional financing, reliance on key personnel, the potential for conflicts of interest among certain officers or directors, and the volatility of the Company's common share price and volume. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 23:30:43|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's crown prince, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 22, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday met with Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's crown prince, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi asked Mohammed to convey his cordial greetings to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. "China regards Saudi Arabia as a good friend and partner and is ready to work jointly with Saudi Arabia to build on past achievements to open up a new horizon for bilateral friendship and strategic relationship," said Xi, noting that with the guidance of high-level leaders at both sides, the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries have formed a new pattern in recent years, in which the relationship is being advanced in an all-around way, at multiple levels and in a wide variety of fields. China and Saudi Arabia should continue to extend mutual support on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns and promote political mutual trust, he said. China firmly supports Saudi Arabia's efforts on promoting economic diversification and social reforms and safeguarding its national sovereignty, security and stability, stated Xi, saying that China opposes any moves to interfere in Saudi Arabia's internal affairs. The Chinese president called on the two sides to reinforce synergy of development strategies and cement the integration of each other's interests. "The two countries should speed up the signing of an implementation plan on connecting the Belt and Road Initiative with the Saudi Vision 2030," Xi said, also expecting further progress on pragmatic cooperation in areas such as energy, infrastructure, trade, investment and high value-added industries. The two countries should jointly press ahead with the construction of China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) free trade zone. Xi said China supports peace appeals of the people in the Middle East, supports efforts of the countries in the region on reform and transformation and appreciates Saudi Arabia's active efforts to maintain regional peace, stability and development. China is ready to work with Saudi Arabia to jointly explore a governance path in the Middle East featuring the moves of "promoting peace through development" and to work toward a solid foundation for peace and stability in the region through jointly building the Belt and Road and strengthening regional development cooperation, said Xi. The two sides should jointly encourage and support all parties to resolve hot issues by political channels through dialogue and consultation, he said. "The two sides should promote counter-terrorism cooperation in the Middle East, strengthen international de-extremism cooperation and prevent the spread and infiltration of extremism," Xi said. Mohammed conveyed cordial greetings and best wishes for Xi from Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Saudi Arabia and China have a long history of friendly exchanges, enjoy an amicable relationship and a rapid development in economic and trade cooperation at present and there is no divergence between the two sides, Mohammed said. "Saudi Arabia is full of confidence in the bright future of China's development under the leadership of President Xi," He said, "We see China as an important strategic partner and appreciate China's support for the domestic reforms and development of Saudi Arabia." Noting that the Arabian Peninsula is a part of the ancient Silk Road, Mohammed said Saudi Arabia supports the Belt and Road Initiative and hopes to align it with the Saudi Vision 2030 to deepen bilateral practical cooperation in various fields. "Saudi Arabia firmly adheres to the one-China policy. We respect and support China's rights to take counter-terrorism and de-extremism measures to safeguard national security. We stand ready to strengthen cooperation with China," he said. Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to China's positive role in global and regional affairs and wishes to further strengthen communication and coordination with China, Mohammed added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 23:30:41|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close WINDHOEK, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's disease burden is gradually transitioning from communicable to non-communicable diseases (NCD) and this trend is reflected in the shares of health expenditure, according to an official. The findings reveal that there is limited support by donors for reproductive health and NCDs, Namibia's Minister of Health and Social Services Kalumbi Shangula said at a launch of the results of 2015/16 and 2016/17 Health Accounts for Namibia, on Friday. "This calls for more government funding. I am aware of the recently launched Strategic Plan on NCD, and I can only urge all of us to do our part to implement it," he added. Shangula said while it is important for Namibia to secure additional financing for health to achieve its goals and sustain its health response, it is equally important to ensure that the resources are managed efficiently and effectively. "Improvements in efficiency and effectiveness can be achieved by reducing wastage of resources, eliminating bottlenecks and streamlining service delivery processes," he added. According to Shangula the results of this exercise provides the government with a basis of making informed decisions about resource allocations in the future. Meanwhile he said the health ministry needs to evaluate available options along with the options of additional financing sources to pave the path for improved sustainable healthcare in the country. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 23:10:35|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The investigation into alleged misconduct in the trials of two civil cases heard by the Supreme People's Court (SPC) was completed, said a statement from an investigation team Friday. The investigation started on Jan. 8 after video footage spread online in which Wang Linqing, an SPC assistant judge, exposed alleged misconduct in the trials of two civil cases, including the mysterious disappearance of files in one of the cases. Investigations found that Wang stole the files due to a "personal grudge" he held against the SPC and his superior, according to the statement from the investigation team made up of officials from the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security. According to Wang's statement, he tried to sabotage the trial by stealing the case files because his superior decided to remove him from the panel of judges on the case, the investigators said. The SPC's ruling on the case, which underwent a second trial at the SPC and involved contract disputes between two mining companies in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, was valid, the statement said. Wang was suspected of illegally obtaining and intentionally leaking state secrets, and his case has been handed over to the police, the statement said. The investigation team also looked into another economic dispute case, a trial which Wang claimed to have involved irregularities. The probe found that despite some defects regarding the identification and calculation of the sum of profits involved in the case, the substance of the ruling by the SPC, as the case's appellate court, was right. The team found that Yan Changlin, a former senior supervisory official with the SPC's supervision bureau, was suspected of accepting requests from one party involved in the case and attempting to meddle in the case, which was handled by Wang at the time. Wang said he had refused to rule in favor of Yan's acquaintance, and the SPC supervision bureau had later taken actions against him "in revenge" for his refusal to cooperate. The team noted that Yan was suspected of serious violations of Party disciplinary rules and laws and has been investigated by the anti-graft agency, but the "revenge" claim of Wang was not true. During more than a month of investigation, investigators held more than 210 interviews with people involved, reviewed over 100 files and documents, carefully examined video and digital evidence and processed information from the public, the statement said. The investigation team suggested that the SPC should correct the problems exposed, including delayed trials, loose internal management and poor management of confidential documents. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 22:55:30|Editor: ZX Video Player Close People shout slogans during a protest against the decision of incumbent President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to seek a fifth term in Algiers, Algeria, on Feb. 22, 2019. Tens of thousands of Algerians on Friday took to the streets to protest the decision of incumbent President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to seek a fifth term. On Feb. 10, Bouteflika announced that he would run for the presidential elections due on April 18, while opponent parties urged him to leave the position to allow a new generation to lead the country. (Xinhua) ALGIERS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Tens of thousands of Algerians on Friday took to the streets to protest the decision of incumbent President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to seek a fifth term. In the capital Algiers, thousands of protesters of different ages marched through the main streets, chanting anti-regime slogans, while riot police, backed by helicopters, were canalizing the march to avoid violence. Similar marches were held in other major provinces of the North African nation, where protesters called for change and expressed their rejection to the decision of ailing Bouteflika to seek a fifth term in office, local media reported. So far, no violent altercations or incidents have been reported. This march was called last month by political activists via social media platforms including Facebook. On Feb. 10, Bouteflika announced that he would run for the presidential elections due on April 18, while opponent parties urged him to leave the position to allow a new generation to lead the country. Bouteflika will leave for Geneva on Sunday for medical examinations, a presidential statement said Thursday. Bouteflika, 81, was hit by a stroke in 2013, a year before he was re-elected for a fourth term until 2019. File Photo: Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un (L) meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore, on June 12, 2018. (Xinhua/Ministry of Communication and Information of Singapore) WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will seek a shared understanding of the denuclearization at the upcoming Hanoi summit, a U.S. senior official said Thursday. At a background briefing on Thursday, the senior official from the U.S. State Department said that the two sides would work toward a shared understanding of what denuclearization means at the upcoming summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un. The official said that it was possible for the DPRK to denuclearize, while pointing out that it was yet unknown if Pyongyang has decided to do so. "I think we actually need to move very quickly in this process and need to move in very big bites," the official said, referring to the DPRK denuclearization process. "I hope we can make real progress that Chairman Kim will begin to fulfill the commitment he made in June in Singapore of last year to denuclearize his own country," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview on the same day. Trump said Tuesday that he would like to see the "ultimate denuclearization" of the DPRK, but noted that he was "in no particular rush" given that the sanctions remain in effect and Pyongyang has refrained from nuclear and missile testing. The official said that the U.S. side would keep engaging with their DPRK counterparts until the start of the summit. Stephen Biegun, U.S. special representative for DPRK affairs, has arrived in Hanoi in preparation for the summit. An official from the National Security Council (NSC) told the briefing that the removal of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea had not been a subject of discussion. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, vestigal of the 1950-53 Korean War which ended with an armistice. According to the NSC official, the Hanoi summit would consist of a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Kim and expanded talks with their respective delegations. The two leaders are expected to issue a joint statement after the meeting. Trump told the press Wednesday that his trip to Vietnam next week would be "very successful," anticipating his two-day meeting with Kim would "accomplish a lot." Trump announced on Feb. 8 that his second meeting with Kim would take place in Hanoi on Feb. 27-28. His first meeting with Kim in Singapore in June resulted in improved U.S.-DPRK relations. However, differences on such key issues as a road map for denuclearization, the lifting of sanctions and whether to issue a war-ending declaration still hinder negotiations. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 22:15:12|Editor: mym Video Player Close JUBA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Nearly seven million people in South Sudan are food insecure, with 30,000 on the brink of famine, UN agencies and the government warned on Friday. A report released in Juba by the South Sudan Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program (WFP) revealed that the number of food insecure people grew from 6.1 million in 2018 to 6.8 million as of January 2019. The report warned that out of the nearly 7 million food insecure people, 30,000 people are staring at famine in Jonglei and Lakes states, in the eastern and central parts of the world's youngest republic. "The projections are alarming and food security continues to worsen. Together with the people of South Sudan, we need to act urgently to reverse this trend. Our priority is to support families to maintain and increase their production and help agro-pastoral communities preserve their livelihoods," said Pierre Vauthier, Acting FAO Representative in South Sudan. Despite signing of a new peace deal in September last year, the report found that food insecurity continues to be driven by the cumulative effects of conflict, insufficient food production and displacement of people. Should the overall situation in the country deteriorate and no humanitarian assistance is scaled up, there is a real risk of famine in those areas which are already very food insecure, the report said. According to the UN, South Sudan's conflict which broke out in late 2013 has displaced at least 4 million people, including more than 1.87 million who are internally displaced while the rest of refugees have settled in neighboring countries. More than five years of conflict in the east African nation continue to disrupt food production, deplete livestock and constrain people's access to alternative food sources, the UN said. Poor people have been particularly vulnerable to high food prices and the limited availability of food in markets, it added. "As access to those in need improves due to the peace process, we have been making significant progress in treating severe malnutrition in children, with a recovery rate above 80 percent," said Andrea Suley, Acting UNICEF Representative in South Sudan. The report called for urgent humanitarian assistance to hard-hit areas to stop the affected population from sliding into famine. "In order to prevent some of the populations falling into catastrophe... and to save their lives, urgent, sufficient and sustained multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance and unhindered humanitarian access is required," said Isaiah Chol, Chairman of the Bureau of Statistics. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 21:55:06|Editor: ZX Video Player Close The European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom reacts during an informal meeting of the European Union (EU) trade ministers in Bucharest, Romania, Feb. 22, 2019. The EU will end trade negotiations with the United States if the latter imposes tariffs on car imports, Cecilia Malmstrom said on Friday. (Xinhua/Cristian Cristel) BUCHAREST, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) will end trade negotiations with the United States if the latter imposes tariffs on car imports, European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Friday. The European official made the remarks to media before Friday afternoon's informal meeting of the trade ministers of the EU member states, which will discuss issues related to the mandate for trade negotiations with the United States. "We are in a very delicate situation," said Malmstrom, stressing that the negotiations will cease if the U.S. imposes tariffs on car imports, "this is clearly stated in our mandate." "Currently, the U.S. is busy with trade negotiations with China, so we have not been able to talk," said the European official, adding that according to the White House communique, "while we negotiate, we should not impose any tariffs against each other." EU trade ministers gathered on Thursday and Friday in Bucharest in an informal meeting to discuss the modernization process of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and EU-U.S. trade relations. Declaring that no decision will be taken at the informal meeting in Bucharest, the EU commissioner said that the decision would be taken "in a few weeks". "I hope the ministers will feel ready soon enough to make a decision. We have not yet confirmed a date, but we have to start negotiating," said Malmstrom. Regarding the new agreement with the U.S., Malmstrom said that the proposal of the Commission is public, but that there will be some additions. "It is very clear that it should cover industrial goods, and it will not include agricultural products as decided at the White House," she said, stressing that "it is a limited agreement that we hope to be able to complete quickly." Ministerial informal meetings are a common practice of each Presidency of the EU Council to provide the appropriate framework for a common reflection and exchange of views on issues of interest at European and international level. Romania is the current EU Council Presidency. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 21:50:04|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Two militants were killed on Friday in a daylong fierce gunfight with troops in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said. The gunfight erupted at village Warpora, Sopore of Baramulla district, about 51 km west of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "Two militants were killed today in a gunfight with government forces in Warpora here," a senior police official posted in Sopore told Xinhua. "The identity of slain militants is being ascertained." The police official said the village was cordoned off following specific intelligence information suggesting presence of militants. The authorities have suspended mobile internet service in the district. According to officials, Indian army or police have not suffered any damage in the stand-off. On Monday, four troopers including an officer, three militants, a policeman and a civilian were killed in a similar gunfight in the region. A guerilla war is going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in the region since 1989. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 20:59:45|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Dancers perform during the "Festival of Spring" gala held in Christchurch, New Zealand, Feb. 22, 2019. A grand Spring Festival gala was staged in Christchurch Friday night for overseas Chinese and locals to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. (Xinhua/Li Qiaoqiao) CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- One art troupe from China made its debut of Spring Festival gala in New Zealand's second largest city of Christchurch on Friday with high quality performances. About 1,500 people enjoyed the two-hour show in the Isaac Royal Theatre, build in 1908 and the only operational Edwardian style Theatre remaining in New Zealand. The evening brought together the traditional Peking Opera, classic songs, festive songs and dances, as well as stunning magical and acrobatic performances, which perfectly presented the charm of Chinese culture and art to the audience. During the performance, applause and cheers came one after another. Eric Livingstone, the former president of the New Zealand China Friendship Society, told Xinhua the performance is wonderful, particularly the acrobatics, Mongolian singing, and the Peking Opera. It is great to watch the wonderful performance here in Christchurch. "The performance is an opportunity not only to celebrate the Spring Festival in the Chinese new year, but also to reflect the strong and deep relationship between New Zealand and China," said Dr. Megan Woods, minister of Reconstruction of the Christchurch Region of New Zealand. "The relationship is important not only to the national economy, but for our local economy as well, especially for our city which would recover from the earthquakes of 2011." "Today is a day of sorrow for our city, where 185 lives were lost and changed on this day eight years ago, but it's also an opportunity to reminisce the loved ones and reminisce everything we've been through and look to hope," she added. After the performance, Chinese entrepreneur Qiu Mingchun, who has lived in New Zealand for more than 30 years, was reluctant to leave. He said the gala tonight was very exciting. "Today is also the eighth anniversary of the 2011 earthquake. The 185 victims included 23 Chinese students. The earthquake brought huge property losses and psychological trauma to the local people. This wonderful performance gives us a good psychological comfort and spiritual support, which can help us to get out of the shadow of disaster and speed up reconstruction and recovery," Qiu said. A 6.3-magnitude quake struck the city on Feb. 22, 2011, with a depth of only four km. Then-Prime Minister John Key described the disaster as "New Zealand's darkest day." The performing troupe, part of the annual Spring Festival gala tour for overseas Chinese, was organized by China's Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council and the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese. The second performance will be held in New Zealand's Dunedin on Sunday. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 19:39:26|Editor: mym Video Player Close PHNOM PENH, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- About 31,136 Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand were sent home through the Poipet International Border Checkpoint in 2018, according to a national police report on Friday. Posted on its website, the report said those Cambodian nationals, including 10,591 women and 4,147 children, were expelled from Thailand to Cambodia because of their illegal status. The deportations last year posted a 57 percent drop compared with the year before, it said, adding that some 73,275 Cambodian migrant workers were sent home from Thailand in 2017. According to the Cambodian Ministry of Labor, approximately 1.06 million Cambodians have been working in Thailand and sending home around 1 billion U.S. dollars a year. London, United Kingdom, Feb. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Kazakhstan Ministry of Health and SNOMED International jointly announce the addition of Kazakhstan as the organizations thirty-eighth Member. With a developing e-health program across the countrys hospital, Kazakhstan joins SNOMED International to bring structure and consistency in the sharing of health information for patient care, clinical decision support and research purposes. Enabling the consistency of health information through structured data will allow doctors to correctly interpret information, increasing the quality of health care delivery. SNOMED CT is the worlds most comprehensive and precise health terminology. Founded in 2007 by nine charter nations, SNOMED International is a not-for-profit, member-owned and driven international organization. CEO of the organization, Don Sweete, comments, as the newest Asia Pacific Member to SNOMED International, I applaud Kazakhstans desire to take on adoption and use of SNOMED CT as a core element to build a platform for accurate clinical information exchange and data analysis. In recent years, Kazakhstan has been dynamically entering the eHealth era. Codification is an essential part of this journey as health information should be captured, monitored, analyzed and disseminated among health professionals, health policy makers, and the public. As of January 2019, SNOMED CT becomes part of Kazakhstans infrastructure to ensure the exchange of accurate, relevant and timely information across all the information systems to support direct care, self-care and secondary uses of health information. The introduction of SNOMED CT will first of all become an important part of maintaining electronic health passports, a tool for reliable provision and automatic processing of clinically important information. The use of standardized clinical content will allow physicians to clearly formulate and interpret the data reflected in electronic health passports. Olzhas Abishev, Vice-Minister of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan states that SNOMED membership is an important step for the Republic of Kazakhstan to support interoperability solutions in the frame of moving towards achieving SDGs and supporting the newly adopted Astana Declaration. We cannot move forward without standardized data exchange. In general, the use of SNOMED clinical terminology will ensure early detection of emerging health problems in a patient, monitor the health status of the population, respond to changes in medical practice, reduce data duplication and avoid errors, ensure control over the provision of medical care with the ability to analyze medical records treatment together with other participants, using information about a specific patient, which is stored in a clearly structured format. Kazakhstan becomes the 8th Member within the Asia Pacific region to join SNOMED International, setting the expectation for increased interoperability as well as the promise of leveraging learnings amongst its regional and international counterparts. Kazakhstans entry into this organization is a breakthrough step for the national health care system. To learn more about SNOMED International and SNOMED CT, visit www.snomed.org. About SNOMED International: SNOMED International is a not-for-profit organization that owns and develops SNOMED CT, the world's most comprehensive healthcare terminology product. We play an essential role in improving the health of humankind by determining standards for a codified language that represents groups of clinical terms. This enables healthcare information to be exchanged globally for the benefit of patients and other stakeholders. We are committed to the rigorous evolution of our products and services, to deliver continuous innovation for the global healthcare community. SNOMED International is the trading name of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation. Visit the SNOMED International website to learn more. About the Kazakhstan Ministry of Health The Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the central executive body of the Republic of Kazakhstan, providing leadership in the field of healthcare. Visit the official website http://dsm.gov.kz/ to learn more Attachment Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 19:24:20|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday called on relevant parties to conduct an objective and fair investigation into an attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir to find out the truth. The United Nations Security Council Thursday adopted a press statement on the attack, which says Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) has claimed responsibility for the incident. However, the JeM side has reportedly denied any involvement in the attack. When asked if the press statement means the UN Security Council has evidence to hold the JeM responsible, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a news briefing that although the statement mentions a particular organization, it doesn't mean a judgment on the incident. China noticed that the Pakistani government had expressed its willingness to cooperate with India in the investigation and resolve their disputes through dialogue, he said. China hopes India and Pakistan will continue to exercise restraint and have dialogue to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability, he said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 19:14:15|Editor: mym Video Player Close MANILA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines rejected the Abu Sayyaf group's demand for ransom for the release of two Indonesian and a Malaysian hostages abducted in December last year when they were fishing in southern Philippines, the spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte said on Friday. "We are doing our best to secure the release of (the Malaysian and Indonesian) hostages from the evil hands of the Abu Sayyaf group, but we stand firm on our no ransom policy," presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement. "To give in to the demands of terrorists and other lawless groups would embolden them to engage in more abductions that would allow them to conduct extremist and other criminal activities as they could buy more arms and weapons," he added. Panelo said the militants "continue to be on the run as a result of the order of (Duterte) to the military to crush them." Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 19:14:14|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Zhou Weiqi, who's in charge of a cooperative in central China's Henan Province, used to hope for a bountiful harvest on his farm. But this year, he cares more about the crop quality. Located in Xunxian County in Henan, one of the leading grain producing areas in China, Zhou's cooperative grows over 3,000 mu (200 hectares) of wheat. To increase wheat quality, the cooperative has worked with the Institute of Science and Technology of Henan, planting a new wheat variety on the farm. "As a major grain producing county in Henan, agricultural structure adjustment has been carried out over the past few years. Xunxian has been making efforts to realize a transition from a phase of rapid growth to a combination of quantity and quality," said Hu Zhenfang, an agronomist with the agricultural bureau of Xunxian County. Hu said Xunxian is the epitome of the country's high-yield-to-high-quality transition. "We are now focusing on both output and quality, as well as going green and food safety. It is actually an upgrade of the agricultural structure." China pledges to optimize its agricultural structure, according to the "No. 1 central document," released by central authorities Tuesday. In the process of agricultural structure adjustment, the country moves to further improve grain quality, increase soybean planting, support the dairy industry as well as strengthen food safety, the document said. It also noted that China will strive to ensure an effective supply of major agricultural products. Grain planting area, arable land area, as well as high-standard farmland by 2020 were made public. "The document has clearly signaled that food production is one of China's top priorities," Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Changfu said. HIGH QUALITY BRINGS BENEFITS In Henan, the provincial agriculture department said pilot projects of high-quality wheat promotion had been conducted in eight counties, with the area of high-quality wheat farmland increasing to 8.4 million mu (560,000 hectares) in 2018. High-quality produce is now in high demand because of the rising middle-class consumers. Although the price of high-quality wheat is five to six times more than the ordinary one, wheat produced in the eight counties has already sold out. Growing high-quality wheat is also a way to increase farmers' incomes. "There's a good market in high-quality products, and I've never been worried about finding buyers. I earn 300,000 yuan (44,600 U.S. dollars) to 400,000 yuan more every year since I started planting high-quality wheat," said Xia Sande, a large local producer. INDUSTRY VITALIZATION The "No.1 central document" also stressed the development of a farm produce processing industry, encouraging the formation of processing industry clusters in main grain producing areas. Zhengyang County in Henan, a major peanut supplier, has been seeking ways to improve the peanut industry. Peanuts are major oil crops in China. Instead of simply planting peanuts, the county has developed an industrial chain including peanut oil production, roasted peanuts, peanut protein, peanut milk and peanut shell refractory slabs, said Li Helin, president of a local cooperative. The county now has 23 peanut processing enterprises, providing more than 30,000 job opportunities. It has also established cooperation with well-known large businesses due to its reputation of the well-developed peanut industry. In north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, an important milk producing area, efforts including fostering standardized and scale farming, have been made to revitalize the dairy industry. To achieve the goal, the region will build up more high-standard pastures by 2020, said Liu Yueping, director of the agriculture and animal husbandry bureau in the city of Hohhot, the region's capital. Liu said high-level pasture management institutes are also expected to be introduced in the city so that milk quality and management can catch up with the advanced international level. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 19:14:13|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities have filed over 2,800 cases since a nationwide campaign kicked off in January to regulate the healthcare market, Beijing News reported. The cases involved a total value of 2.9 billion yuan (about 433 million U.S. dollars), inducing 159 million yuan worth of fines and confiscations, according to the report on Thursday. As of Feb. 15, authorities have received more than 9,300 complaints and helped consumers prevent about 33.6 million yuan of losses. Nearly 440 websites, apps and WeChat subscription accounts were rectified and 1,850 shut down. A health service center in Hunan Province, central China, was fined 80,000 yuan for selling healthcare products that contain excessive heavy metals. The products were made by Quanjian Nature Medicine Technology Co. In January, police arrested the founder of Quanjian amid allegations of fraudulent practice following the death of a seven-year-old girl who had used the company's products for her cancer treatment. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 18:49:05|Editor: mym Video Player Close DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- At least 19 people were killed on Thursday night in Tanzania's southern highlands region of Songwe after their minibus collided head-on with a lorry that was heading to Dar es Salaam from a border town of Tunduma, according to police reports. Henry Kagwa, the Songwe Regional Hospital Medical Officer, said Friday 17 of the victims died on the spot and two others were pronounced dead at the hospital. He said the grisly accident occurred at around 9 p.m. on Thursday at Senjele Hill in Mbozi district, just a few kilometers on the border between Songwe and Mbeya districts. Kagwa said the dead were 15 females and four males. Eyewitnesses said the lorry appeared to have failed its brakes before it hit another lorry in the opposite direction that was heading to Songwe district, and it finally collided with the minibus traveling to Tunduma. The witnesses said the lorry was ferrying maize. Songwe Regional Commissioner Nicodemus Mwangela was among people who arrived at the scene of accident to rescue the victims. President John Magufuli sent a condolence message to the Songwe Regional Commissioner following the deaths of the 19 people. The president ordered relevant authorities in Songwe region to launch an investigation to establish the cause of the accident and take relevant measures, said a statement released by the Directorate of Presidential Communication at State House in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 18:34:01|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close by Julia Pierrepont III LOS ANGELES, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- A gala evening was held Wednesday at a hotel in downtown Los Angeles, bringing together U.S.-China business leaders to exchange viewpoints and celebrate the achievements they have made. The mixed Chinese and American capacity crowd gathered at the Biltmore Hotel while a fresh round of high-level economic and trade talks are going on in Washington between China and the United States. The festive and informative event was hosted by the China General Chamber of Commerce-Los Angeles (CGCC-Los Angeles), a platform designed to promote communication and collaboration between U.S. and Chinese businesses. Recognized as the largest and most influential non-profit organization representing Chinese enterprises in the United States, 1,500 CGCC member companies have cumulatively invested over 120 billion U.S. dollars and indirectly employed over 1 million people throughout the United States. CGCC-Los Angeles Chairman Zhang Xuming told Xinhua that the robust trade and business relationships between the United States and Chinese businesses go both ways. "The United States is an important market for Chinese investment and has also played a significant role in Chinese enterprises' global expansion strategy," he said. He also pointed out that U.S.-based Chinese businesses and investments help create job opportunities for U.S. citizens and contribute handsomely to local economy. Zhang Ping, Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles, took the podium to speak about the China-U.S. relations. "Despite various ups and downs ... the relationship has achieved historic progress," he said. Regarding the recent rounds of bilateral talks on economic and trade frictions, he said, "positive progress has been achieved with principle consensus reached on major issues." Sharing his optimism about the prospect of the talks, he said, "Our economies are so closely interconnected and trade war produces no winners." The only way out for both sides is through constructive dialogue and consultation, he added. The next keynote speaker, David Firestein, head of George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations and executive director of the China Public Policy Center in the University of Texas at Austin, drew shouts of excitement when he addressed the guests in impeccable Mandarin. As a highly-regarded expert on China and a powerful advocate for strong U.S.-China relations, Firestein concurred with Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles on the importance of a good U.S.-China relationship. "Over long term, U.S. and China need each other. There is not a realistic way to decouple our two countries' economic interests," he said. "It's a difficult time, but even so, look at data: with the exception of Chinese investment into the United States, which has dropped, the other data is comparable to before, if not higher. We're trading more now than in previous years," he said on a positive note. Later in an interview, Firestein told Xinhua that the United States would benefit more from a more surgical approach to trade issues than "the use of tariffs to ostensibly punish China without recognizing that you are punishing American businesses and American consumers to the same degree or far greater when using such a blunt instrument." "It effectively generates a tax increase on the American people," he explained, "which is why 95 percent of the U.S. business community opposed the tariffs." "The 'Opening Up' reform process in China has generated a huge amount of prosperity for China and the world," he said. "American companies are extraordinarily interested in the China market. It's an economic powerhouse that no company, big, medium or small in any country that seeks prosperity can ignore. They want to sell their goods and services in China, the same way China sells its goods and services in the United States and in many markets around the world," he said. He concluded with the assessment that the U.S.-China relationship is "too big to fail." As the Los Angeles chapter of the CGCC-USA, CGCC-Los Angeles brings together hundreds of Chinese enterprises and partners investing and conducting business in the region. Based on CGCC annual survey, California is the number one destination for Chinese foreign direct investment in the United States. Chinese companies have made 21 billion dollars of investment since 2000, directly hiring over 16,000 local employees. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 17:58:49|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close WINDHOEK, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's prisons are currently home to 286 foreign nationals, statistics provided by the correctional services on Friday shows. Zambian nationals top the list of offenders incarcerated with a total number of 120 of which 119 are male and one is female. Most offenses committed by Zambians are immigration offenses (41) followed by rape (19) and offences under the nature conservation ordinance that is amounting to 12 offences. Angolan nationals are second on the list with a total number of 91 offenders. Offenses included immigration offenses and drug-related offenses. Other foreign nationals have come from countries including Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Tanzania, among others. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 17:38:41|Editor: ZX Video Player Close Staff members with the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) monitor the launch of Israel's spacecraft Beresheet at the IAI control room in Israel's central town of Yahud on Feb. 22, 2019. Israel's first spacecraft designed to land on the moon was successfully launched from the U.S. Kennedy Space Center early on Friday morning, Israeli officials said. The dishwasher-size lander, dubbed Beresheet, or Genesis in Hebrew, was launched at 8:45 p.m. local time on Thursday (0145 GMT Friday) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. (Xinhua/Tomer Neuberg-JINI) JERUSALEM, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Israel's first spacecraft designed to land on the moon was successfully launched from the U.S. Kennedy Space Center early on Friday morning, Israeli officials said. The dishwasher-size lander, dubbed Beresheet, or Genesis in Hebrew, was launched at 8:45 p.m. local time on Thursday (0145 GMT Friday) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who followed the liftoff at the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) control room in Israel's central town of Yahud, described the launch as "a huge step for Israeli technology." At the dining room of the IAI, hundreds of workers and their children broke into applause and cries of joy at the moment of the liftoff. Israel seeks to become the fourth country in the world, after Russia, the United States and China, to land a spacecraft on the moon. If succeeded, Beresheet would be the first privately-funded spacecraft to make the moon landing. The 585-kg and 1.5-meter-high spacecraft will eject a robotic vehicle that will tour the surface of moon. Its journey to the moon will take almost two months, with landing expected on April 11, according to the Israeli Science and Technology Ministry. After landing, Beresheet will start carrying out scientific experiments on the lunar surface, including measuring and mapping the moon's magnetic field, the ministry said. It was built by SpaceIL, an Israeli non-profit space venture and the state-owned defense contractor IAI, with a budget of 100 million U.S. dollars raised almost entirely by SpaceIL. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 17:18:36|Editor: mym Video Player Close Defensive products are displayed at an exhibition area of the International Defense Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, Feb. 21, 2019. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) awarded 104 defense contracts worth 20 billion dirhams (5.45 billion U.S. dollars) during the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2019) ending on Thursday. (Xinhua/Mohamad Badreddine) DUBAI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) awarded 104 defense contracts worth 20 billion dirhams (5.45 billion U.S. dollars) during the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2019) ending on Thursday. UAE companies received 35 percent of the deals while the rest went to foreign firms. These companies are required to provide fire arms, training and logistic supplies for the UAE armed forces, state-run WAM news agency reported late on Thursday. The biggest contract, worth 5.7 billion dirhams, was awarded to the U.S. company Raytheon, which will provide rocket launchers for the Patriot missile system of the UAE Air Force. About 124,000 people visited this year's defense gala held in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, while 70 percent of the IDEX 2021 stands and pavilions have already been booked, organizers said. The five-day defense exhibition, the largest of its kind in the Middle East, attracted 1,310 local and international companies in defense, security, transport, communications and other fields. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 17:03:33|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close HANGZHOU, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China has awarded a license to Royal Dutch Shell to trade oil products in China's domestic wholesale market. It is the country's first such license for a wholly-owned foreign company. China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday granted the license to Shell (Zhejiang) Petroleum Trading Co., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shell China, allowing the company's Zhejiang branch to carry out sales and purchases of oil products for its customers in the Chinese market. In recent years, China has gradually loosened its restrictions on business operations of wholly-owned foreign oil companies in the country. Analysts say the latest license will increase the competitiveness of the wholesale market in China. The move is also a sign that China is continuously expanding opening-up and market access to foreign companies and investment. The U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Inc. broke ground on its Shanghai factory on Jan. 7, becoming the first to benefit from a new policy allowing foreign carmakers to set up wholly-owned subsidiaries in China. Calling China's development speed and efficiency "impressive," Tesla's CEO Elon Musk pledged efforts to "build the Shanghai plant into one of the most advanced plants in the world." In June last year, China unveiled a shortened negative list for foreign investment, cutting the number of items down to 48 from 63, which has widened market access for foreign investment in primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. MILWAUKEE, Wis., Feb. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mercury Marine, the world leader in marine propulsion and technology, was named Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year on Thursday night in the Mega category. This marks the third time the Fond du Lac based company which is the largest division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), has won this prestigious award. Mercury Marine, which also was named Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year in 2006 and 2014, is celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2019. Manufacturer of the Year awards are presented annually by the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) to Wisconsin-based companies that produce world-class products and create employment opportunities for the communities in which they are located. We are honored to win the Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Award for the third time, said John Pfeifer, Mercury Marine president. We have invested more than $1B in expansion and R&D over the past 10 years and in 2018, we had the largest product launch in the history of our company. Although Mercury has unveiled many new innovations and has amassed many successes through the years, 2018 stands out as a particularly remarkable year of achievements that will help to shape the future of both Mercury Marine and the entire boating industry and it is gratifying to be recognized for this honor by the WMC. Some of the many highlights from Mercurys record year in 2018 are: Accomplishing the largest major new-product rollout company history, including the introduction of 19 new V-6 & V-8 outboard engines and 26 new engines in total (on average, Mercury has released one major new product every six weeks for the past six years) setting the pace for marine innovation; Breaking ground for, and completing construction of, a 20,000-square-foot research facility, and making major upgrades to other facilities; Installing and implementing new, automated and highly efficient manufacturing equipment; Adopting new manufacturing processes and nimbly adapting them for higher output when product demand exceeded expectations; Acquiring Wisconsin-based Power Products, a major manufacturer of parts and accessories, to integrate with Mercurys product portfolio and to enhance consumers overall boating experiences; Expanding our workforce by 12 percent to support increased production in response to unprecedented product demand; Setting new records for charitable giving and volunteer service in the communities where Mercury operates. Mercury surpassed $3B in sales in 2018 for the first time in company history and will continue to celebrate its 80th anniversary throughout the year with its employees and customers. This award is for the more than 6,000 employees at Mercury Marine around the world and the tens of thousands who have been a part of our growth over the past 80 years, said Pfeifer. Their tireless work and passion for the company has allowed us to continue to set the pace for innovation for the entire marine industry. Mercury Marine was founded 80 years ago in 1939 by engineer Carl Kiekhaefer in Cedarburg, expanding to Fond du Lac in 1946. Acquired by Brunswick Corporation in 1961, Mercury continues to support the largest global distribution network with service points in 140 countries and has now surpassed 6,000 employees globally. Mercurys impact on Wisconsin has been well documented. A recent study done in 2017 by the Fond du Lac Economic Development Corporation, now known as Envision Fond du Lac, shows that Mercury has an annual impact of more than $4B on the Fond du Lac economy . In addition, Mercury invested more than $250MM in annual wages and benefits in 2017, and more than 80% of contracted work at the facility is awarded to Wisconsin based companies. In 2018, Mercury was awarded its 8th consecutive Green Masters designation in the state of Wisconsin and has won multiple awards for sustainability and innovation around the world. Wisconsin is our home and we are proud of our impact in the community, but we are also grateful for what the community has done for Mercury, said Pfeifer. We will continue to be good stewards to every community in which we live and work and will proudly share this award with all of our employees that helped build Mercury Marine from its early beginnings to the present. About Mercury Marine: Headquartered in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Mercury Marine is a world leading manufacturer of marine propulsion systems. A $3 billion division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), Mercury designs, manufactures and distributes engines, services and parts for recreational, commercial and government marine applications, empowering boaters with products that are easy to use, extremely reliable and backed by the most dedicated customer support in the world with 10,000 service points globally. Mercurys industry-leading brand portfolio includes Mercury outboard engines; Mercury MerCruiser sterndrive and inboard packages; Mercury global parts and accessories including propellers, and SmartCraft electronics; Power Products Integrated Solutions; MotorGuide trolling motors; Attwood, Garelick and Whale marine parts; Land N Sea, BLA, Paynes Marine, Kellogg Marine and Lankhorst Taselaar marine parts distribution; and Mercury and Quicksilver parts and oils. More information is available at mercurymarine.com. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 16:18:19|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Two suspected terrorists were nabbed by the police in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday night, announced a top cop in state capital Lucknow on Friday. The two suspected terrorists have been identified as Shahnawaz and Aqib Ahmad Malik, both residents of India-controlled Kashmir, according to Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police O.P. Singh. An important fact gathered about Shahnawz is that he is a grenade-making expert, added Singh. The duo was nabbed from a seminary in Deoband in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur district, where they were allegedly living without admission, and had contacted local youths in a bid to recruit them for terror-related activities. "Two pistols and some live cartridges, jihadi chats, and some incriminating videos and photographs were recovered from their possession. We are interrogating them for further investigations so as to know since when they had been living there, who funded them and what were their ultimate targets," added the top cop. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 15:48:11|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- At least 14 people including eight women were killed and 13 others taken ill after consuming spurious liquor in India's northeastern state of Assam, police said Friday. The hooch was consumed by people on Thursday evening at Halmira tea estate in Golaghat district, about 275 km east of Dispur, the capital city of Assam. "Last night, 27 people were admitted at a local hospital here after consuming country made liquor. Out of them so far 14 people have died and remaining 13 others are under medical supervision," a senior police official, Partha Pratim Saikia, told Xinhua over telephone from Golaghat. "Apparently it seems the drink was spurious and contaminated." According to Saikia, the police have registered a case and collected samples of the liquor. The deceased include a house owner, from whose house the illicit alcohol was bought by the workers. Earlier this month, around 100 people died in a hooch tragedy in northern Indian states of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Following the deaths, authorities suspended several officials and have started a crackdown on illicit liquor manufacturing units and sales points. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 15:28:06|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close TOKYO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Local authorities said Friday that four people were injured and almost 900 were left stranded for hours following a 5.8-magnitude earthquake rocking Hokkaido, Japan on Thursday night. The temblor that struck at 9:22 p.m. local time on Thursday and registered lower 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7 in Hokkaido, injured two men and two women. Local authorities said they suffered minor injuries after falling during the quake. In the hardest-hit town of Atsuma, 100 households were left without water as a result of the quake, which occurred at a depth of around 33 kilometers and authorities said that some mudslides occurred, although no major damage was reported. On the JR Chitose Line, according to its operator, around 680 people were stranded in train carriages for hours, with some train services still disrupted as of Friday morning. Pending safety checks, Hokkaido Railway Co. canceled 58 train services on Friday, although officials said most services in the region should resume in the afternoon. At Hokkaido's New Chitose Airport, around 170 people were forced to stay overnight, as the mercury plunged well below zero outside. Those stranded had to sleep under blankets handed out by staff at the airport. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said that Thursday's quake was an aftershock resulting from a 6.7-magnitude quake that struck the area last September killing 41 people. The weather agency warned of the possibility of more seismic activity in the area and warned of loose ground possibly leading to mudslides. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 13:37:44|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close CANBERRA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Victims of banking misconduct will be eligible for up to 2 million Australian dollars (1.42 million U.S. dollars) in compensation under a plan revealed by the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP). The ALP on Friday released its response to the landmark Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, including a "groundbreaking victim compensation package." Under the plan, the compensation cap for credit-related disputed for small business would be doubled from 1 million Australian dollars (710,000 U.S. dollars) while for consumers it would be quadrupled from 500,000 Australian dollars (355,000 U.S. dollars). The scheme would be retroactive, allowing the Australian Financial Complaints Authority hear unresolved claims dating back to 2008 and, for the first time, claims for non-financial loss would be elevated to the same importance as those involving financial loss. Clare O'Neil, the ALP's financial services spokesperson, said that unlike the government's 30 million Australian dollars (21.3 million U.S. dollars) compensation scheme, Labor's plan would be funded by the financial services sector. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 13:37:43|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in held summit talks in Seoul Friday with visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expand bilateral economic cooperation, according to the presidential Blue House of South Korea. Modi made a two-day state visit to Seoul from Thursday, holding a one-on-one summit with Moon and an expanded meeting, which involved their respective senior aides and ministers, earlier in the day. During the talks, the leaders agreed to strengthen their partnership and expand cooperation in various areas including the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The two countries will make concerted efforts for research and development (R&D) in artificial intelligence, robotics, information and communications technology (ICT), electric vehicle and healthcare sectors. For the future-oriented cooperation, the two sides will expand their cooperation into the space industry, such as a joint lunar exploration, and the defense industry. Moon and Modi agreed to cooperate to reach the target of 50 billion U.S. dollars in bilateral trade by 2030. The Indian prime minister expressed his unwavering support for the Korean Peninsula's complete denuclearization and the settlement of lasting peace. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 13:32:41|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistani government decided to reinstate a ban on two organizations already been placed in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions committee's consolidated list, after a suicide attack in the India-controlled Kashmir, an official statement said. The announcement issued late Thursday was made after a meeting of the National Security Committee attended by the country's top civil and military leaders. A statement from the Ministry of Information said that the National Security Committee meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan in chair decided that "Jamat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation be notified as proscribed organizations." The Jamaat-ud-Dawa and its charity arm the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation both are blamed to have links with proscribed militant organization Lashkar-e-Taiba which has its activities in the Indian-controlled Kashmir. The Pakistani government had banned the two organizations in January 2018 by prohibiting individuals and companies from making donations to the two groups. But later on, the ban was quashed by the country's Lahore High Court followed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan permitting them to continue their charity work. The National Security Committee meeting was called amid rising tension between Pakistan and India following the Feb. 14 suicide attack in the Indian-controlled Kashmir, which killed over 40 policemen. According to the statement, the prime minister directed the security institutions to accelerate action against the proscribed organizations to "ensure that militancy and extremism are routed from the society and the state never becomes hostage to extremists." "We recognize that terrorism and extremism are the top issues in the region and the whole region including Pakistan have suffered," said the participants of the meeting, adding "Pakistan alone has endured over 70,000 casualties in the process (war on terror) besides the heavy loss to national exchequer." Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 11:47:22|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Port of Shanghai will cooperate with the Port of Ningbo on the comprehensive development of the northern part of southeast China's Xiao Yangshan port area, the China Daily reported Friday. Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) and Zhejiang Seaport Investment & Operation Group, the operators of the two ports, have reached a cooperation agreement on the development scheme. The move is expected to boost the efficiency of cargo transit on the Yangtze River and lower costs, according to the newspaper. Up to 70 percent of Shanghai port's throughput comes from the Yangtze River Delta region, and nearly half of the goods in Yangshan require additional transportation by water. The cooperation agreement came against the backdrop of the integration of the Yangtze River Delta region and the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Zhou Dequan, a researcher with the Shanghai International Shipping Institute, said the development of the northern Xiao Yangshan will benefit such integration in multiple levels. The innovative collaboration between the two sides will create opportunities for further collaboration across in the region, Zhou added. The Port of Shanghai is the world's largest port by TEU (twenty-feet equivalent unit) volume, while the Port of Ningbo is the world's largest port by cargo turnover. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 11:42:20|Editor: ZX Video Player Close SYDNEY, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The man responsible for "one of the worst examples of mass murder in Australian history" has been given six life sentences by the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday but will be eligible for parole in 46 years. James Gargasoulas killed six people and injured 27 others when he deliberately drove his car down a busy footpath in Melbourne in January 2017. In sentencing Gargasoulas, Justice Mark Weinberg described the crime a "callous and cowardly act" and rejected notions that drug use made him unaware of his actions -- although the defendant's mental health issues were taken into account when determining his eligibility for parole. "You made no attempt to avoid people, or to slow down. You simply ploughed through them, quite deliberately," Weinberg said. "It was entirely fortuitous that you did not kill or injure many more." Following the incident, Gargasoulas was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and has a criminal history stretching back to 2008 including acts of violence. At the time of the offence he was living out of his car. Among his victims were office workers returning from lunch with colleagues and a three-month-old baby whose pram became lodged in the windshield of the vehicle. Gargasoulas showed little remorse for his crimes, although at the end of a plea hearing last month he did read from a letter in which he apologized to victims' families. He will be eligible for parole in 2065. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 10:42:09|Editor: mmm Video Player Close People pass by a church damaged by earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand on Feb. 22, 2019. A ceremony was held on Friday in New Zealand's second largest city of Christchurch to mark the 8th anniversary of a devastating quake that claimed 185 lives spanning more than 20 nationalities, including 23 Chinese students. A 6.3-magnitude quake struck the city on Feb. 22, 2011, with a depth of only 4 km. Then-Prime Minister John Key described the disaster as "New Zealand's darkest day." (Xinhua/Guo Lei) CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- A ceremony was held on Friday in New Zealand's second largest city of Christchurch to mark the 8th anniversary of a devastating quake that claimed 185 lives spanning more than 20 nationalities, including 23 Chinese students. A 6.3-magnitude quake struck the city on Feb. 22, 2011, with a depth of only 4 km. Then-Prime Minister John Key described the disaster as "New Zealand's darkest day." Hundreds of people with solemn faces threw flowers in the Avon River in Christchurch's central city where many buildings had crumbled in a flash during the quakes. People hugged each other, people who lost their loved ones in the quakes were sobbing. At the ceremony, the names of the quake victims were read out by people of different nationalities. A Chinese woman read out the names of the Chinese students killed by the quake. International rescue teams arrived within 48 hours after the Feb. 22 quake. The Chinese government dispatched a 10-person search and rescue team which arrived 36 hours after the quake. The earthquake and aftershocks caused substantial destruction to Christchurch in 2011. Statistics showed more than 1,200 commercial buildings were destroyed, and around 90 percent of residential houses were damaged to varying degrees. It is estimated that the total cost for Christchurch's reconstruction will exceed 40 billion NZ dollars (27 billion U.S. dollars), which equals approximately 10 percent of New Zealand's gross domestic product (GDP). Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel, in black, said at Friday's ceremony, "let us look to our future, always remembering our past." Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 10:42:08|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close CARACAS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday praised the morality and disposition of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB) in the face of the current psychological war waged by the United States. When meeting with commanders of different components of the FANB in person and with leaders of the main regions and military zones through a video conference, Maduro said that "at this moment, the psychological war is dedicated to dividing and demoralizing Venezuelan military personnel." The U.S. government has been plotting a set of provocations, but it "underestimated the capacity, preparation, moral firmness, professionalism and Bolivarian character of the Venezuelan military," Maduro warned. "They intended to provoke a national upheaval and did not achieve it... the country is at peace and will continue to be at peace, thanks to the public awareness of the vast majority of Venezuelans," he said, affirming the first stages of the U.S. interference plan had failed. He said the current U.S. provocation takes the form of "fake humanitarian aid." As for the political and social activities that will be held on both sides of the border between Colombia and Venezuela, Maduro said he has "taken measures so that everything will be peaceful." On Friday, billionaire Richard Branson announced an aid concert in Colombia to benefit Venezuelans in Cucuta, a Colombian city bordering Venezuela. It is scheduled for Feb. 23 in the context of other demonstrations organized by the Venezuelan opposition in the country. The power struggle between Venezuela's ruling socialist party and opposition groups deepened last month after Juan Guaido, who is also the head of the National Assembly, proclaimed himself "interim president." Immediately recognized by the White House and its allies, Guaido announced that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and the Venezuelan opposition have set Saturday as the date to bring shipments of aid, stored in Cucuta, into Venezuela. The border crossing has turned into a potential flashpoint as the Venezuelan opposition, with the support of Washington, steps up pressure on Maduro's government to renounce power. Denying the existence of a humanitarian crisis, Maduro called the aid operation a U.S.-orchestrated show designed to lead to an eventual invasion into the oil-rich country, and promoted a rival concert on the Venezuelan side of the border scheduled for Friday and Saturday. WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Ilan Ramon Project for Innovation, Entrepreneurism & Space is proud to congratulate the SpaceIL team on the blast off of the first private spacecraft to the Moon. The Beresheet, Hebrew for beginning or genesis, was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the NASA launch facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida. When the spacecraft lands approximately sixty days from today, Israel will be the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon. Yonatan Winetraub, a young engineer, envisioned an Israeli team entering the Google Lunar XPrize (GLXP) Competition, and landing an Israeli spacecraft on the moon while he was attending the International Space University Space Studies Program held at the NASA Ames Center in Mountain View, California in 2009. Fellow engineers Yariv Bash and Kfir Damari shared this vision and the three co-founded SpaceIL, an Israeli non-profit, in 2011 to compete for the XPrize but also to create an "Apollo Effect and to inspire the next generation in Israel and around the world to think differently about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The project, funded primarily by private donors including Morris Kahn and Sheldon Adelson, is carrying scientific payloads including the Lunar Magnetometer (LMAG) to study the magnetic phenomenon whose secrets are kept in the moon crystal rocks. The lander will also be carrying a time capsule including digital files with dictionaries in 27 languages and encyclopedias, an indication of knowledge accumulated by all humanity as well as a Bible, the Israeli flag, a Holocaust survivors memories, childrens drawings of space, and other items from art, science, literature and technology. Yonatan attended the International Space University as an Ilan Ramon Project for Innovation, Entrepreneurism & Space Scholar. The Scholarship Project was established to honor the memory of the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, who died while courageously exploring the final frontier of space.The purpose is to attract talented young Israeli students with backgrounds in technology, science, medicine and other space activities to allow them to continue their pursuit of knowledge with the worlds leading space professionals at the prestigious International Space University. Yonatan is currently a PhD Candidate, Biophysics at Stanford and was one of three Ilan Ramon Scholars who was also selected by Forbes magazine as top 30 under 30 in Israel. Yonatan Winetraub said, Todays launch is the culmination of a decade of effort that globally nearly everyone argued was an impossible mission. I am blown away by the widespread support of thousands of people that help turn this dream into a reality. This inspiration was largely made possible by the Ilan Ramon Project for Innovation, Entrepreneurism and Space at the International Space University and for that I am eternally grateful. Co-founder of the Scholarship Project, Michael Potter remarked, Ilan Ramon inspired an entire nation, and it is only fitting that his scholarship has sparked not only such an historic achievement for Israel, but has energized the next generation to use their talents to reach the stars. Only a few weeks ago Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced that it has teamed with leading German space company OHB System to assist the European Space Agency (ESA) missions to reach the moon. Under the teaming agreement, signed during the Ilan Ramon International Space Conference in Tel Aviv, IAI will provide a lunar lander based on the Beresheet spacecraft, which is scheduled to land on the moon fifty years after the 1st Apollo landing. About The Ilan Ramon Scholarship Project for Innovation, Entrepreneurism & Space The Scholarship Project provides scholarship funding for talented Israeli post-graduate students to attend the Summer Space Studies Program at the International Space University (ISU). Over 55 Ilan Ramon Scholarships have been awarded over the past decade, allowing these scholars to join the global space community and ecosystem. Members of the Board of Advisors include Astronauts Dr. Garrett Reisman, of USC, and Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman, a professor at both MIT and International Space University. https://www.ilanramonscholarship.com and https://www.facebook.com/IlanRamonProject/ About the International Space University The International Space University, founded in 1987 in Massachusetts, US and now headquartered in Strasbourg, France, is the worlds premier international space education institution. It is supported by major space agencies and aerospace organizations from around the world. ISU programs are delivered by over 100 ISU faculty members in concert with invited industry and agency experts from institutions around the world. Since its founding 30 years ago, more than 4,600 students from over 100 countries graduated from ISU. www.isunet.edu About SpaceIL SpaceIL, a non-profit organization, is committed to continue in its mission to land on the Moon by the first quarter of 2019 and to the advancement of science and technology education in Israel. SpaceIL vision is to create an "Apollo Effect to inspire the next generation in Israel and around the world to think differently about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). http://www.spaceil.com/mission/ Contact: https://www.ilanramonscholarship.com/contact Michael Potter info@ilanramonscholarship.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6e52ac07-aab6-4e52-8571-c3657d3ee05a. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 10:27:02|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close BUCHAREST, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo on Thursday called for strengthening international economic system to confront significant challenges. The current tensions among trade partners are a huge test for the WTO, Azevedo said here at an ongoing two-day meeting of trade ministers of the European Union (EU) member states. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday and Friday under Romania's presidency of the EU Council. Noting that 2018 was the busiest year in the last two decades in terms of economic disputes, Azevedo said "we have to enhance the international economic architecture." "We have to do everything possible to alleviate tensions in the economy," Azevedo said, adding "we firstly need to de-escalate the situation, then we solve the economic disputes." Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 09:56:48|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close SAO PAULO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in Brazil's southern Sao Paulo state said Thursday they are looking for a buyer for a Ford automotive plant that is about to close. "There is no immediate concern about Ford's employees losing their jobs. They will keep working normally, and in the meantime, the government will help Ford find a buyer for the plant so that the workers can remain where they are, with a new company taking over the facilities," Governor Joao Doria said. Doria spoke with reporters after meeting with Lyle Watters, president of Ford's South America operations. Ford announced Wednesday that the plant in Sao Bernardo do Campo would be closing, though not immediately, as the company scales back operations in the region. Ford will stop selling trucks in Brazil, and cut back its operations and labor force in South America by 20 percent. About 3,000 people work at the Sao Bernardo do Campo plant, but the move is expected to lead to the loss of as many as 20,000 jobs, because of the region's reliance on the vehicle manufacturing sector. According to Doria, Ford's three other plants in Sao Paulo state will remain in operation. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 08:46:35|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close TOKYO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks opened lower Friday tracking U.S. shares retreating overnight after weak economic data sparked concern over the health of the U.S. economy. As of 9:15 a.m., the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 88.08 points, or 0.41 percent, from Thursday to 21,376.15. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 7.62 points, or 0.47 percent, at 1,605.88. Marine transportation, wholesale trade, and nonferrous metal-linked comprised those that declined the most in the opening minutes after the morning bell. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 07:41:26|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- American scientists have produced a DNA-like molecular system that can store and transmit information, and serve as an alternative genetic system for life that may aid search for alien life. The study published on Thursday in the journal Science described a new informational molecular system that is like DNA, but different in one key area: The new molecule has eight informational ingredients instead of four. Scientists led by Steven Benner at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution created the synthetic DNA with the four nucleotides present in Earth life which are adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. Also, it has four others that mimic the structures of the informational ingredients in regular DNA, resulting in a double-helix structure, according to the study funded by NASA. The researchers dubbed their creation "hachimoji," meaning "eight-letter" in Japanese. The finding suggested that scientists looking for life beyond Earth might need to rethink what they are looking for. "Life detection is an increasingly important goal of NASA's planetary science missions, and this new work will help us to develop effective instruments and experiments that will expand the scope of what we look for," said Lori Glaze, acting director of NASA's Planetary Science Division. "Incorporating a broader understanding of what is possible in our instrument design and mission concepts will result in a more inclusive and, therefore, more effective search for life beyond Earth," said Mary Voytek, senior scientist for Astrobiology at NASA Headquarters. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 07:32:21|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close Soldiers take part in an international military exercise codenamed "Winter 2019" in Kars, Turkey. Turkey is holding large-scale international military exercises in extreme weather conditions in its Eastern Kars Province. Representatives of 15 countries are taking part in the drills which are expected to end on Friday. (Xinhua) Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 07:11:21|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The government of Cameroon, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are seeking to raise 299 million U.S. dollars to support 2.3 million Cameroonians in need this year, a UN spokesman said on Thursday. "Humanitarian needs in Cameroon have risen by a third this year owing to an upsurge in insecurity and violence, leaving one in six people -- mostly women and children -- requiring assistance," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Dujarric said, "This year, around 4.3 million people need urgent assistance" while the appeal is aimed "to assist 2.3 million people in need." Last year, 298 million dollars was sought, targeting 1.3 million people, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a press release from Yaounde, Cameroon. The west-central African country has been hit by clashes between Anglophone and Francophone communities. "The 2019 humanitarian response plan focuses on providing immediate assistance to save lives, bolstering the protection of affected civilians, identifying risks and vulnerabilities to support the resilience of communities to shocks," OCHA said. "The crises arising from armed violence add to existing chronic vulnerabilities, including inadequate basic services, epidemics, food insecurity and malnutrition as well as the impact of climate change," it said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 06:51:19|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- South Africa encourages all stakeholders, including the United Nations Security Council, to fully support the peace and national reconciliation agenda in efforts of restoring durable peace, security and development to the Central African Republic (CAR), a South African envoy to the United Nations said Thursday. Speaking at a United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in CAR, Jerry Matjila, permanent representative of South Africa to the United Nations, said that peace and stability in the entire central African region is critical "if we are to achieve the Africa we want as outlined in the Agenda 2063." The relatively calm and peaceful elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, coupled with the determination of the CAR leadership during the negotiation of the peace agreement, is no doubt a very positive and welcome development, Matjila said. "Our role as the Council and that of the relevant regional organisations is to support the two countries in their path towards stability and long lasting peace," he said. South Africa wishes to underscore the importance of implementing disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and repatriation and security sector reform, he said. South Africa supports the concerted efforts by the international community through the African Union, UN and regional and international partners to continue engaging in post-conflict reconstruction and development efforts in the country, particularly in support of establishing critical state and institutional capacity in support of governance, judicial and security sector reform, Matjila said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 06:51:17|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko have met on the conflict in eastern Ukraine, a UN spokesperson said Thursday. During their meeting on Wednesday, the two leaders discussed "the latest developments concerning the conflict in eastern Ukraine and in the areas of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov," Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson, said in a statement. Guterres reiterated the UN's strong support for the ongoing efforts of international actors to find a peaceful settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and underlined the UN's commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Also on Wednesday, at a UN General Assembly meeting, Ukraine and Russia clashed over border issues following remarks by Poroshenko that a full-scale war along the Russian border with Ukraine is "not an unrealistic prospect." "There is no so-called 'crisis in Ukraine' nor 'internal conflict in Ukraine,' but an ongoing military occupation and armed aggression by Russia against Ukraine," said Poroshenko. According to Poroshenko, by February 2019 Russia has deployed up to 32.5 thousand military personnel in Crimea, and in Donbas, Russian armed formations have 496 tanks. The number of the Russian armed forces along the Russian-Ukrainian border is over 87,000 personnel. Russia denounced Ukraine's claim. Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said that Poroshenko has failed to keep his promise of ending the conflict in Donbas, and he has become "the president of war, which continues to this day." The Russian envoy also said that there are no regular Russian forces in the eastern part of Ukraine. In 2014, Russia incorporated Crimea, previously part of Ukraine, following a referendum in the peninsula, which was recognized by Moscow but rejected by Kiev and Western powers. Relations between two countries have worsened since the referendum. While Ukraine said the peninsula was illegally annexed by Russia, Ukraine, the United States and some European countries accused Russia of arming and encouraging insurgents in eastern Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly denied the charges. In later deteriorating developments, Russian forces seized three Ukrainian naval ships as well as 24 sailors on board attempting to sail through the Kerch Strait from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov in November 2018. Moscow accused them of illegally crossing the Russian border, which Kiev denied and urged Moscow to release the captured sailors. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 06:46:16|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close LONDON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Leading retail bodies in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland issued a warning on Thursday that the price of fresh food and drink could increase dramatically in the event of a No-Deal Brexit. With just over 30 days until UK is set to leave the European Union, the British Retail Consortium (BRC), Northern Ireland Retail Consortium (NIRC) and Retail Ireland, voiced their concerns to the government in a letter, stating that a No-Deal outcome could lead to delays at major borders and shortages of food products. In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, William Bain, Europe and International Policy Advisor at the BRC, said that the consequences of a No-Deal Brexit could be catastrophic. "The first thing is going to be the big delays around the Dover straits - so that's at ports like Dover, Euro Tunnel and Calais. That will be because of checks on items coming from the UK - so these are predominantly food items that would have to take place on entry to the EU. So that means that the flow of goods through those three ports could be dramatically cut," Bain said. As some government estimates state that there could be a fall of between 30-87 percent in the flow of trucks through the three main ports, Bain believes that this will bring large queues on either side of the border - affecting the supply of stores. "We're going to see shelves not as full around the clock - as they have been. We have 'just-in-time' supply chains for food, but also for many non-food products which will be seriously affected by having this reduction in flow through these vital ports feeding goods into the UK." "So, we're likely to see not as much choice of product, we're likely to see gaps in the shelves, and with the tariffs and extra delays, we're likely to see increases in the costs of food and home products as well." The concern shown by the major retailers in the food and drink industry are also being echoed by local store owners across the UK. Joga Singh, who owns a food and drink corner shop on Baker Street, London told Xinhua that he was deeply concerned about how the tariffs would affect the price of his products. Not only is the manner in which Brexit is being negotiated concerning retailers, but also the timing of the exit. "The reason why No-Deal is so bad for the spring of this year is that this is the time of the year when the UK imports huge amounts of things like lettuce, tomatoes, soft fruits - above 70 percent in all of those categories, and we import them from the European Union," Bain said. "In many areas, it's these EU supply chains that have helped people have better health, that have sustained shopping habits over the last three to four decades, that you just can't replicate by getting them from other parts of the world." Major retailers are now looking at preparations for a No-Deal Brexit, which many are concerned is wasting time and money that could be better spent on resources, improved products and staff development. In the past week, a potential merge between two of the UK's largest supermarkets, Sainsbury's and Asda, was effectively ruled out from the national competition regulator, The Competition and Markets Authority. However, the majority of major retailers in the food and drink industry have been speaking with one voice regarding a No-Deal scenario. "If you impose extra tariffs on the import of goods from the EU, and we have lots of extra regulatory barriers between the EU and UK, then consumers are going to be looking at a big increase in the cost of produce," Bain said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 05:36:02|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close ALGIERS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will leave for Geneva on Sunday for medical examinations, according to a presidential statement on Thursday. "President Bouteflika will leave on Feb. 24 for Geneva for a short time to have routine medical checkups," said the statement. The 81-year-old president, who is seeking the fifth term in office in the forthcoming elections in April, has had several stays in hospital because of persistent health woes over more than a decade. Bouteflika, who has been in power since 1999, was hit by a stroke in 2013, which affected his mobility and speech and has since made his appearances on a wheelchair. EDMONTON, Alberta, Feb. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Alberta Federation of Labour applauds Premier Rachel Notleys Made-in-Alberta energy strategy and the resulting Nauticol methanol plant just south of Grande Prairie. This is exactly the kind of diversification Albertas economy needs and we are very pleased this plant is moving forward, said Gil McGowan, President of the Alberta Federation of Labour. 3,000 direct and indirect jobs, including 1,000 direct construction jobs and over 200 direct permanent jobs will be great for Alberta workers. McGowan acted as co-chair of the provincial governments Energy Diversification Advisory Committee (EDAC) which worked with industry, labour and community stakeholders to develop a blueprint for diversification in the oil and gas sector, focusing on spurring development in areas like upgrading, refining and petrochemicals. The Grande Prairie methanol project is exactly the kind of project that the EDAC blueprint called for, said McGowan. What the EDAC report showed was that value-added development in the downstream of the oil and gas sector can be our next oil sands, in terms of investment and job creation. The Notley government has embraced the blueprint and is making the decades-old dream of doing more to add value to our own resources a reality. Their Made-In-Alberta strategy is a win-win-win scenario for industry, government and working Albertans. For industry it provides new opportunities for investment and profit. For government it provides new opportunities for revenue. And for workers it provides much needed jobs. This is exactly what our government should be doing as the upstream of the oil and gas sector continues to struggle with low prices, stagnant demand and on-going challenges with market access. Media Contact: Ramona Franson, Director of Communications rfranson@afl.org Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 05:15:58|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close MAPUTO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Mozambique and China have signed an agreement under which China pledged to provide 5,700 tons of rice to support Mozambican people affected by the natural disasters throughout the southeastern African country. The agreement, disclosed Thursday by the Mozambican government in a statement, was signed last week by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Jose Pacheco and Chinese Ambassador to Mozambique Su Jian. "Through the legal instrument, the government of China will provide 5,700 tons of rice to strengthen the food security program and provide assistance to victims of natural disasters in the country," read the statement. The statement also said that the donation is under the framework of the partnership established between the two countries and one of the results of Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi's visit to China, in the context of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. In the years 2016 and 2017, China made available 17,000 tons of rice to support Mozambique, according to the statement. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 05:10:57|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- British Ambassador to Libya Frank Becker on Thursday stressed his country's support for economic development and rebuilding of Libya. The ambassador made his remarks during a meeting with Libya's UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj in the capital Tripoli, according to a statement issued by the prime minister's information office. They discussed the latest political developments in Libya and agreed to move toward solving the current political crisis in Libya. "The meeting discussed security and economic cooperation between the two friendly countries. The ambassador stressed willingness of Britain to contribute effectively in the reconstruction and economic development (of Libya)," the statement said. Following the 2011 uprising that topped former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime, Libya has been suffering escalating violence, political division and economic instability. The North African nation is struggling to make a democratic transition amid political division with two governments in the east and the west, both competing for legitimacy. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 05:05:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close CAIRO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said on Thursday that Egypt has a rich natural heritage as natural reserves occupy 15 percent of its total land area. Fouad made the remarks during a meeting with students of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport in Alexandria. "Egypt is home to diverse ecosystems and its natural reserves are very much varied," the minister was quoted by official MENA news agency as saying. She also underlined the importance of developing the infrastructure and potentials of these reserves. The political leadership attaches great importance to developing natural tourism as well as promoting public awareness toward environmental protection, Fouad pointed out. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 04:50:52|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close BAGHDAD, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said on Thursday that the European Union offered 50 million euros (56 million U.S. dollars) to support stabilization and reconstruction of Mosul in Iraq. A joint EU and UN delegation, including Christos Stylianides, the European commissioner for humanitarian aid, and Alexander De Croo, the Belgian deputy prime minister and minister of finance, as well as Marta Ruedas, deputy special envoy of UN Secretary-General, announced the financial aid during a visit to stabilization and development projects in Mosul, capital of Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, the statement said. The EU will provide 30 million euros to the 2019 humanitarian response plan for Iraq, while another 20 million euros will be offered in development funding that would contribute to the reconstruction of the country's cultural heritage, as well as the creation of jobs and opportunities for the vulnerable youth, the statement said. "IS group has been defeated on the battleground but we must continue to fight against their poisonous ideology," Stylianides said. "We must address the root causes of this conflict and respond to the basic needs of all affected Iraqis. Otherwise, we may risk winning the battle on the ground but fail in the peace, with new cycles of violence," he added. "The European Union will continue to support all aspects of the crisis in Iraq, supporting Iraqi authorities, and showing tangible solidarity with the Iraqi people for as long as it takes," the EU commissioner concluded. The consequences of conflict with the IS militants continue to affect Iraq after months of fierce battles to dislodge them from their strongholds in the north and west of the country. "With liberated areas in need of rehabilitation of houses, infrastructure and services, 1.8 million Iraqis remain displaced while an estimated 6.6 million will continue to need some kind of humanitarian assistance in 2019, with over half of those in Nineveh Province alone," the statement said. "It is estimated that 5.5 million people need health support and 2.6 million children need access to education. Education is integrated into broader assistance, to cover children's physical and mental health, psychosocial support and protection aid," the statement added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 04:15:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday appealed for international assistance to non-self-governing territories in their pursuit for decolonization. At a UN committee on decolonization, Guterres said that globally there remain 17 non-self-governing territories and that each of them "deserves attention." He further said that "to achieve decolonization, the voices of the people of the territories should be heard" and that "the cooperation of all concerned, including the administering powers, is likewise vital." He underscored the need for the people of these territories to understand the options regarding the political status and the right to choose their future. The UN chief's remarks were made to the opening of the 2019 session of the Special Committee on Decolonization. "Decolonization helped to transform the United Nations membership, propelling the Organization's growth from 51 original members to 193 today," he noted, adding decolonization is "one of the most significant chapters" of the world body and the story is still being written. The committee annually reviews the list of territories to which the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples is applicable and makes recommendations as to its implementation. It also heard statements from representatives of non-self-governing territories, dispatches visiting missions, and organizes seminars on the political, social and economic situation in the territories. The 17 remaining non-self-governing territories include Western Sahara, Anguilla, Bermuda and 14 others, according to data of the United Nations. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 03:30:25|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's new ambassador to China Teshome Toga Chanaka has vowed to work with more vigor towards the realization of agreements inched by the two countries, according to a statement on Thursday. Toga, a veteran politician serving the East African country in various high-profile ministerial portfolios, officially assumed his new role on Wednesday, according to the statement issued by the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday. The long-serving politician, who was Ethiopia's Minister of Public Enterprises prior to his latest appointment, vowed to work towards the realization of priority areas of mutual interest, including the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). "Ethiopia is more committed than ever to fully apply and accomplish the agreements it has made with China mainly through the Ethiopia-China comprehensive strategic partnership platform, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and the Belt and Road Initiative," the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted Toga as saying. Toga also served as Speaker of the House of Peoples' Representatives, the lower house of the Ethiopian parliament, for five years from 2005 to 2010. The newly appointed ambassador further acknowledged China's "unreserved" cooperation and support to Ethiopia's poverty eradication and economic transformation endeavors, the statement said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 03:15:22|Editor: ZX Video Player Close The logo of Swedbank is seen on its Latvian branch building in Riga, Latvia, Feb. 22, 2019. Earlier this week, the Swedbank group had been shaken by money laundering scandal following the report by Swedish television (SVT) that suspicious transactions of at least 40 billion Swedish krona (4.3 billion U.S. dollars) by 50 clients had been carried out between Swedbank and Danske Bank in the Baltic countries during 2007 and 2015. (Xinhua/Edijs Palens) VILNIUS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Lithuania said on Thursday it would examine the situation of Swedbank in Lithuania amid money laundering scandal that struck Swedish Swedbank group. "We will thoroughly examine the situation in Lithuania's Swedbank to verify that no suspicious transactions were ever conducted at the bank," Vytautas Valvonis, director of the Supervision Service of the Bank of Lithuania, was quoted as saying in a statement. Swedbank in Lithuania, controlled by the Swedbank group, is the largest bank in Lithuania by assets. Earlier this week, the Swedbank group had been shaken by money laundering scandal following the report by Swedish television (SVT) that suspicious transactions of at least 40 billion Swedish krona (4.3 billion U.S. dollars) by 50 clients had been carried out between Swedbank and Danske Bank in the Baltic countries during 2007 and 2015. "The Bank of Lithuania has a zero-tolerance approach to money laundering and is committed to upholding the highest standards in the fight against such illicit activities," said Valvonis. In response to the scandal, Lithuanian Finance Minister Vilius Sapoka insisted Lithuania was less exposed to money laundering risks than neighboring Latvia and Estonia. On Thursday, the Bank of Lithuania also pledged to provide assistance to the Swedish and Estonian financial supervisory authorities in the investigation of alleged money laundering linked to the Swedbank group. "We will investigate facts, share information and, if necessary, take collective supervisory actions," promised Valvonis. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 03:15:22|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close JUBA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government on Thursday donated about 9,660 tonnes of rice to South Sudan to assist civilians at risk of starvation in the world's youngest nation, which is in the process of reconstruction after nearly five years of civil strife. Manasseh Lomole, chairperson of Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, said the first batch of Chinese rice has already arrived in the capital Juba and the remainder will be delivered later. The food donation will be channelled to returnees, internally displaced people and survivors of floods and drought. Lomole appreciated the Chinese support to South Sudan as the country is grappling with recurrent drought. "To the people of China, and on behalf of the people of South Sudan, I want to say thank you," said Lomole. He called on the Chinese government to move beyond food aid and support the development of South Sudan. "We want you to help us in developing our agriculture sector so that we can be able to feed ourselves in the near future," he added. He Xiangdong, the Chinese ambassador to South Sudan, said the donation was part of China's efforts to boost stability in South Sudan. "This is a gift from the people of China to our brothers and sisters here in South Sudan. We are very confident that in the future, not very long from now, the people of South Sudan will be able to stand on their own feet," said He. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 02:25:11|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close Benny Gantz (L) and Yair Lapid react as they deliver a joint statement in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Feb. 21, 2019. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main challengers announced on Thursday that an alliance has been formed for the upcoming elections, the first plausible alternative to Netanyahu's long-time rule. Benny Gantz, 59, Israel's former Chief of the General Staff, and Yair Lapid, chair of centrist party Yesh Atid, announced they would present a joint list for the April 9 elections. (Xinhua/JINI/Gideon Markowicz) JERUSALEM, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main challengers announced on Thursday that an alliance has been formed for the upcoming elections, the first plausible alternative to Netanyahu's long-time rule. Benny Gantz, 59, Israel's former Chief of the General Staff, and Yair Lapid, chair of centrist party Yesh Atid, announced they would present a joint list for the April 9 elections. In a joint statement, the two said their list "will constitute the new Israeli ruling party, in a move "motivated by national responsibility." "The new ruling party will bring forth a cadre of security and social leaders to ensure Israel's security and to reconnect its people and heal the divide within Israeli society," they noted. The two also agreed on a rotation leadership if they win the elections, with Gantz serving first as prime minister and then replaced by Lapid. The top four places in the list include two other former heads of Israel's army: Gabi Ashkenazi and Moshe Yaalon, the latter of whom also served as Netanyahu's defense minister between 2013 and 2016. The new alliance is called "Blue and White," in a reference to Israel's national colors. Their campaigns highlight Netanyahu, who could become Israel's longest-serving prime minister should he wins the elections, as "corrupted" by power and greed. Netanyahu, his wife Sara, and some of his closest associates have been entangled in several criminal corruption investigations, as the police said there was enough evidence to indict him but the final decision would be made by the General Attorney Avichai Mandelblit. Mandelblit is expected to announce his decision before Israelis got to the polls in April, a move that is likely to influence the votes. Over the past days, Netanyahu has urged other right-wing parties to unite to maximize their chance of winning. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 02:00:06|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close ZAGREB, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- A court in Croatia confirmed on Thursday that Smiljana Srnec was the defendant for killing her sister and keeping her body in a freezer for 18 years. The spokesperson of the Varazdin court said on Thursday that the defendant is suspected of killing the victim with a hard object that caused several fractures in the head, leading to her death. On Wednesday, a Croatian court ordered one month's detention for the woman. The body of her younger sister Jasmina Dominic, a girl that went missing in 2000, was found on Saturday in a freezer of the family house where the 45-year-old Srnec lived with her husband and three children. The house is located in the village of Palovec in northern Croatia. Dominic was reported missing in 2005 but she was last seen in 2000 when she was 23 years old. Police said they were misled by the family members during a prior investigation, who claimed that the girl moved abroad and that they were in contact with her. Local media reported that the suspect had confessed the murder in an unofficial talk with police, but her lawyer rejected that. Local daily Jutarnji List reported on Thursday that prosecutors were extending the investigation of the crime that had shocked Croatia and would soon interrogate the closest family of the victim and the main suspect. The most intriguing question is whether their mother would testify or refuse to do so. The spokesperson of the Varazdin court said on Wednesday that the court ordered her detention due to the fear that she might influence the witnesses and repeat a crime. Dominic was buried on Wednesday in the village Palovec. TORONTO, Feb. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Peeks Social Ltd. (TSXV: PEEK; OTCQB: PKSLF) (the Company) announced that further to its press releases dated July 25, 2018, it has closed a number of tranches pursuant to its Funding Agreement dated July 18, 2018, with GEM Investments America LLC and GEM Global Yield Fund LLC SCS (collectively, GEM). The Company issued an aggregate of 5,457,000 common shares at an average price of $0.075 per common share for gross proceeds of $410,022. The proceeds were used for general working capital and corporate purposes. Pursuant to the Funding Agreement the Company has agreed to issue 4,000,000 common share purchase warrants to GEM within 18 months of execution of the Funding Agreement. Each warrant will have a term of three years and is exercisable to purchase one additional common share of the Company at a price equal to the greater of i) $0.583 per common share or ii) the market price of the Companys common shares at the time of issuance. The exercise price of the warrants is subject to repricing on the first anniversary of issuance if the market price of the common shares of the Company is less than 90% of the then-current exercise price, in which case the price will be adjusted to 105% of the market price of the Companys common shares on such anniversary. The repricing must be done in accordance with the rules and policies of the TSXV. If the Company does not issue the warrants within 18 months of the initial execution of the Funding Agreement, the Company is required to pay GEM 8% of the original face value of any unissued warrants. The Company also announced that it has agreed to settle an aggregate of $253,984.83 of debt owed to two arms length parties in consideration for the issuance of 3,628,354 common shares at a price of $0.07 per share, pending TSX Venture Exchange approval. The debt is in relation to trade payables. Once issued, the shares will be subject to a four month hold period. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this Release. For further information, please contact: Peeks Social Ltd. Mark Itwaru David Vinokurov Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Director Investor Relations 416-639-5339 416-716-9281 mark@peeks.com davidv@peeks.com Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 01:49:59|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close PARIS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- French jihadist Fabien Clain has been killed during an air strike by the international coalition on a holdout of Islamic State (IS) group in Syria, state-run radio France Info reported on Thursday. Known as the "official voice" of the French IS group, Clain was killed on Wednesday following an air strike which targeted the cell's last pocket of resistance in Baghouz near the Iraqi border. His brother, Jean-Michel, was seriously wounded, the report added. The Clain brothers were identified as the voices that claimed the terrorist group's fatal attacks of Nov. 13, 2015 in Paris, where a series of suicide bombings and shootings, orchestrated from Syria, killed 130 people. It was the country's deadliest terrorist attack. In 2018, French investigative magistrates issued an arrest warrant against the Clain brothers over their involvement in the attack. Fabien Clain, who went by the alias "Brother Omar", converted to Islam in the 1990s. He became active in radical Islamist networks with his 38-year-old brother in the 2000s. He was convicted in 2009 of recruiting jihadists and sentenced to five years in prison, after which he left France for Syria with his family. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-21 23:04:07|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close DAMASCUS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- A car bomb went off Thursday in a town controlled by the Kurdish fighters in eastern Syria, killing and wounding tens of people, Kurdish activists said. The car bomb exploded in the town of Shehel in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour province, according to the War Media of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Meanwhile, the Qatari-based Al Jazeera TV said 15 people were killed in the blast. This comes as the last Islamic State (IS) militants and their families were planned to evacuate their last area in the eastern Euphrates River region in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said the 260 IS militants are still located in the farmland of the town of Bagouz as tens of civilians are set to leave the area in accordance with an undeclared deal between the SDF and IS. The SDF has been backed by the U.S.-led coalition in their push to drive out IS from eastern Syria close to the Iraqi border. Many of the IS militants who are still positioned in that part of the country are foreign nationals. The evacuation of IS militants and their families from eastern Syria has been dragging on recently amid no exact information about their destination. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-21 22:23:53|Editor: mmm Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- China highly appreciates Russian President Vladimir Putin's positive remarks on China-Russia ties as he delivered a state of the nation address, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Thursday. In the annual address, Putin described the relations of Russia and China as important "stable forces" of the international community. Geng said the rapid development of China-Russia relations under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state gained not only fruitful achievement at the bilateral level but also injected positive energy in maintaining global strategic stability. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the two countries' establishment of diplomatic ties. Geng said that the two countries should take the opportunity to continuously deepen strategic coordination, push for further development of bilateral ties and better benefit the two peoples and safeguard the security and the stability of the world. Lebanese Tourism Minister Avedis Guidanian receives exclusive interview from Xinhua in his office in Beirut, capital of Lebanon, on Feburary 20, 2019. (Xinhua photo) by Dana Halawi BEIRUT, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Tourism Minister Avedis Guidanian said that the priority for Lebanon in the short term is to promote the country's tourism in the Chinese market. "We aim at promoting Lebanon's tourism in two Chinese cities for the time being since the country is too big," Guidanian told Xinhua in an exclusive interview. Guidanian said that Lebanon has a variety of attractions which a big pool of Chinese tourists will be interested in. "Lebanon is characterized by its four seasons and by having activities that are compatible with all these seasons," he said. Guidanian said that the Lebanese tourism ministry, in coordination with the Chinese embassy in Lebanon, has already cooperated with China's National Tourism Administration in arranging full tourism programs for tour operators in China to invite them to Lebanon. The minister added that Lebanese travel agencies have also invited tour operators in China to come to Lebanon. "The latest group of tour operators from China came three months ago and they were impressed with Lebanon and its touristic attractions," the minister said. Guidanian said that the tourism ministry is planning on promoting Lebanon in China through social media. "We can promote Lebanon through social media on websites owned by tour operators who can send videos about our country to their clients," he said. "This would bring great results because clients tend to ask for the opinion of tour organizers when they want to go on vacations," he added. Guidanian said that the ministry is also aiming at promoting Lebanon by inviting Chinese TV Channels to come to, write and take photos about Lebanon. He added that the tourism ministry will also take part in exhibitions taking place in China in a bid to be aware of what Chinese tourists are mostly interested in when they come to Lebanon. "Our infrastructure and atmosphere must be ready for the Chinese tourists," he said. One of the most important steps to be taken by the ministry in the coming few days, according to Guidanian, is its plan to meet with airline companies from nearby countries to arrange combined tourism programs with Cyprus, Dubai, Jordan and Egypt. "This way the Chinese tourist can come to the Middle East and experience two destinations at the same time since he is traveling a long distance," the minister said. Guidanian said that opening up Lebanon's tourism to the Chinese market is not an easy task. While it is easy for Chinese tourists to have access to the Lebanese visa, Lebanon faces many challenges in promoting its tourism sector to the Chinese. "What we need in Lebanon are Lebanese tour guides who know very well how to speak Chinese," he said. Guidanian noted that opening up to a new market is not an easy task. "We need two to three years in preparations to receive a new market," he said. THOMAS COUNTY, Ga. A search is underway in Thomas County for a baby bear that escaped from a local wildlife rescue. Lorraine Conklin, who owns the Nepanthic Society, says that the baby bear was brought to the facility Wednesday from North Georgia. The bear was safely secured in a fenced area at the wildlife rescue but Thursday morning, the bear went missing with no sign of an escape being made. Conklin says the rescue has been open for 39 years and has never had an animal escape. She says she has no idea how the bear escaped, since there's no sign of digging or open fencing. The Thomasville Police Department deployed a K-9 unit to search a wide area of the woods Thursday morning. Conklin says the K-9 searched for the bear for about an hour. Police say they were unsuccessful in their search. For now, Conklin says that they will lay out food in hopes that the baby bear will return. She says the bear is no older than two and a half months old and weighs between 10 - 15 pounds. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) The family of an FSU student, killed in a shooting rampage, is turning their heartbreak into something positive for the community. WTXL ABC 27's Stephen Jiwanmall has more on a new research foundation that will keep Maura Binkley's memory alive. "I can hear Maura's voice, and that is a voice for change," said Jeff Binkley, Father of Maura Binkley. Jeff won't get to see his daughter graduate from college. She was killed last November in a shooting at Hot Yoga Tallahassee. Maura's family said she lived her life loving and looking out for others. "That was Maura's approach. That's ours, and we're going to do everything we can to continue that approach every day, every week, every month, every year," said Jeff. Even though Maura wasn't a student at the FSU College of Social Work, the dean said he wanted to do something to honor her memory. "Maura's death has become an international story," said Dr. James Clark, Dean of FSU College of Social Work. FSU and the Binkleys created the Maura's Voice Research Fund to dig deeper into gun violence and other issues. "Florida State University's role is going to be very important to bring fresh ideas and innovations into this area of research," said Dr. Clark. The school will work with its own scholars and with those across the country to develop the most effective ways to handle real-world issues. So far, an initial fundraiser has already met its goal with just about a month left. Maura's father says there's more to come. "That voice still needs to be heard. We're going to do everything we can to make sure that's the case," said Jeff. Maura's Voice will officially launch in Tallahassee on March 4. That would've been Maura's 22nd birthday. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Authorities say a decorated Florida police detective killed himself just before he was to be arrested on charges that he possessed child pornography. The Florida Times-Union reports that Jacksonville sheriff's Detective Vernon Richardson killed himself Tuesday, shortly after detectives obtained a warrant for his arrest. The neighboring St. Johns County Sheriff's Office began an investigation in December after receiving a tip he had child porn on his computer. Detectives found an image of two adolescent boys having sex. He was questioned Feb. 1 and denied looking at child porn. Investigators say his computer was seized and two photos of naked children were found. Richardson was the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's local officer of the year in 2012 for his work finding missing children. ___ Information from: The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union, http://www.jacksonville.com CAIRO, Ga. (WTXL) A 67-year-old man has been arrested in connection to a fatal stabbing on New Year's Day. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation along with the Cairo Police Department has arrested Alex Smith III, 67, in connection to the murder of 62-year-old Donald Vandergriff. The GBI says they were called to investigate a homicide in the 400 block of 6th Street Southwest on Jan. 1. When Cairo officers arrived on scene, Vandergriff was found dead inside the home from apparent stab wounds. During the course of the investigation, evidence was obtained that pointed to Smith as the suspect in Vandergriff's murder. Smith was arrested and booked without incident into the Grady County Jail. He has been charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony. The investigation is still active and ongoing at this time. If you have information regarding this case, contact the Thomasville GBI Office at 229-225-4090. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (News Service of Florida) Florida legislators are ready to vote on measures that would allow patients to smoke medical marijuana, ahead of a mid-March deadline set by Governor Ron DeSantis. The House and Senate moved closer to a consensus measure, after the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday stripped a provision from the bill that would have limited medical marijuana dispensaries to only selling pre-rolled cannabis cigarettes with filters. Two sticking points that remain between the chambers' plans are whether dispensaries should be limited to selling pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes and whether smoking cannabis should be limited to adults. "At each committee stop, I believe the two chambers have moved closer. I think by the time we put the bills on the floor, we will have them aligned," said State Representative Ray Rodrigues. Under the proposal adopted by the House committee Thursday, patients could only buy pre-rolled, filterless marijuana cigarettes from dispensaries. The Senate plan would allow patients to purchase any kind of whole-flower marijuana products from dispensaries and let patients buy equipment from other retail outlets, such as smoke shops. Woman dies after sustaining serious injuries in a crash in Bronington This article is old - Published: Friday, Feb 22nd, 2019 A woman involved in a collision involving a car and a horse in the county borough earlier this week has died. The collision in the Bronington area, which involved a BMW X3, a Daihatsu Sirion and a horse, happened at about 7.31pm on Tuesday 19th February, on the A495 at Bronington near Whitchurch. The woman, who was a passenger of the X3 was taken to hospital in Stoke, but sadly she died during the early hours of this morning. North Wales Police are now renewing its appeal for information following the incident. Sergeant Leigh Evans of the Roads Policing Unit said: We send our condolences to the womans family and friends at this incredibly difficult time. The investigation is still ongoing and we are grateful to those witnesses who have contacted us so far. We continue to appeal for information and are keen on speaking to anybody who may have been travelling along the A495 and who may have dash cam footage to contact us. Anybody with information that could assist the investigation is asked to contact officers at the Roads Policing Unit on 101 or via the live web chat quoting reference number X023583 Plans to improve Ceiriog Valley mobile coverage welcome by residents and politicians This article is old - Published: Friday, Feb 22nd, 2019 Plans to improve mobile phone coverage in the Ceiriog Valley have been welcomed by local residents and politicians. It comes as a result of a petition signed by over 1,000 people and repeated representations from Ken Skates MP and Susan Elan Jones MP to mobile operators and the UK Government over the years in a bid to boost reception in the area. The increased pressure to improve coverage in the area came after a local man suffered a serious fall and rescuers had to travel in a bid to get signal to make the 999 call. Mr Skates met with local councillor Trevor Bates and resident Mike Rutt, who organised the petition, in November, with the AM saying: It is essential that residents and visitors to the Ceiriog Valley have mobile reception. I applaud the way Mike has gathered such a strong petition to urge UK Government to ensure there is better mobile connectivity. An email sent to Cllr Bates by BT last week said: In order to deliver the coverage needed for the emergency services, EE is deploying hundreds of additional sites across rural Wales, England and Scotland. The coverage provided by these sites will also be available to our commercial customers. In addition to these sites, the Home Office is also building nearly 300 further masts, many in Wales, to provide Extended Area Services (EAS) coverage. It is currently planned that the Llanarmon Dyffrn Ceiriog area will be served by an EAS site. EE will put its equipment on these sites and will deliver commercial coverage as well as a blue lights service, subject to the site providing the necessary capacity to provide a good quality experience to our customers. Mr Skates said: I have made numerous representations to the UK Government on this issue on behalf of my constituents in the Ceiriog Valley, which like many parts of Clwyd South continues to suffer from weak, intermittent and, in some cases, completely non-existent mobile phone coverage. I am extremely keen to ensure these plans materialise and have written to the Home Office to ask for more detail and timescales. People have waited far too long already and we need a firm commitment that action will be taken. Ms Jones said: In addition to the problems poor mobile coverage causes on a daily basis for residents and visitors to the area, as well as local businesses, my constituents feel the issue could have far more serious consequences should there be another incident like there was recently when a local man suffered a serious fall, breaking several ribs. Rescuers had to drive some distance before a mobile signal was available to phone 999 and residents rallied to get two-way radio sets to relay the patients condition to the emergency services while he passed in and out of consciousness. The incident happened around a mile from Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog and police had to run to the Hand Hotel in the village to call the Air Ambulance. Fortunately, the gentleman is now recovering. The incident spurred Mr Rutt and Cllr Bates into action and they subsequently collected a petition of 1,039 names urging the UK Government to act. Ambitious new programme to transform cancer services in North Wales This article is old - Published: Friday, Feb 22nd, 2019 An ambitious new programme to transform cancer services in North Wales has been launched. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has partnered with Macmillan Cancer Support to set up Transforming Cancer Services Together, which aims to redesign the way services are delivered to provide better care and support to patients. The recent Wales Cancer Patient Experience Survey found that while most people diagnosed with cancer in North Wales have a positive experience of care, there are also areas for improvement. The number of people living with cancer in Wales is set to rise from 130,000 to 250,000 by 2030 and it is hoped the new approach will help change the way cancer care and support is delivered across the region. Transforming Cancer Services Together has been set up to identify and deliver these improvements and is looking specifically at breast, lung, colorectal and urological cancers in its first phase. At yesterdays launch at The OpTIC Centre in St Asaph, Adrian Thomas, the Health Boards Executive Director of Therapies and Health Sciences, said the programme is about understanding what works best and providing the best possible care and support to patients and their families. The redesign of services will be shaped by the ideas of health professionals and people affected by cancer, some of whom were at yesterdays event to talk about their experience. Vivienne Martin, 56, of Abergele, Conwy, was treated for breast cancer in 2012, and again last year after it returned. The Assistant Principal at Coleg Cambria says there could be better communication with patients. For me it was about the co-ordination of care, she said. I felt I wasnt receiving enough information and it meant I had telephone around to find out what was going on. Had I not asked questions or clarified, things may not have run so smoothly. Bruce Weston, 74, of Cilcain, Flintshire, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in April 2017 but waited six weeks for a hospital appointment following a referral by his GP. The retired teacher said: It was a cause of great stress and anxiety, especially when youre reading in the news about the importance of an early diagnosis. Eventually I set up a private consultation with a gastroenterologist who then arranged my colonoscopy, back on the NHS, for 13 days later. Once I was on the pathway, all of my subsequent tests and treatment ran like clockwork, but had I not been forthright and used my initiative, who knows how long I might have waited for a diagnosis. There are a large number of redesign programmes underway by Macmillan and its partners but this is the first in Wales to look at a patients entire journey, from referral by a GP, to treatment in hospital, to living with and beyond cancer. Richard Pugh, Head of Services (Wales) for Macmillan Cancer Support, said: Macmillan Cancer Support is pleased to be working in partnership with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to fund this innovative 900,000 programme thanks to the publics generosity. Transforming Cancer Services Together aims to improve cancer care for people living with the most common cancers in North Wales and the programme is part of the 6 million Macmillans invested in cancer services in the area since 2010. The programme will run for the next two to three years and is being led by Macmillan Programme Manager Yvonne Lush, who is also a former breast cancer nurse specialist. Yvonne said: People affected by cancer are at the heart of the Transforming Cancer Services Together programme, which is why we want them to help inform our work. We want to understand what is good, bad or needs improving about a patients journey. There are lots of ways to get involved, by attending meetings, to taking part in surveys, from being a member of a group discussion or talking to us one-to-one about your experience. By sharing your story, you can help us to make a big difference. For more information on the Transforming Cancer Services Together programme and to get involved, you can visit the health boards website. AM calls for more to be done to address the housing needs of veterans This article is old - Published: Friday, Feb 22nd, 2019 A North Wales Assembly Member has called for the Welsh Government to do more to address the housing needs of Veterans in Wales, Speaking in Darrens Millar AMs Short Debate Are we meeting the housing needs of our veterans? in the Chamber this week, Mark Isherwood said housing is key to veterans and their families and emphasised the need for better integration by the Welsh Government of housing, health and care services for ex-services personnel. Mr Isherwood also referenced the innovative housing development in Wrexham for former armed forces personnel which was completed in March 2018. Based on Croesnewydd Road, Ty Ryan saw ex-service personnel given the opportunity to get involved with the building work and gain valuable trade skills and qualifications. He said: The UK Defence Secretary announced that service leavers and their families will now be able to access military accommodation for up to a year after leaving, giving them more time to look for permanent accommodation as they transition back to civilian life, because housing is key to veterans and their families. First Choice Housing Association, which led the way on this in Wales, delivered the ambitious self-build project for veterans in Wrexham, the third residence in North Wales to be managed by Alabares Wales Home for Veterans, taking the Charitys provision across Wales for veterans adjusting to the civilian world to 57 (bed spaces). However, the Welsh Governments Housing Referrals Pathway for veterans does not address the concerns of how Housing Officers themselves, who provide the necessary support, are able to manage the complex cases of re-homed veterans. Better integration of housing, health and care services is therefore needed from the Welsh Government, and they must explain why theres been a large reduction in the number of veterans households accepted by Local Authorities as being in priority housing need since the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 was introduced. Deputy Minister for Local Government & Housing, Hannah Blythyn said the number of veterans presenting themselves as homeless was as few as three per year but many veterans may not disclose their military background, which is why a veterans ID card might help. The minister continued: The Welsh Government has made its view very clear that its important service personnel who have been seriously injured or disabled in action, and who have an urgent need for social housing, should be given high priority within local authority allocation schemes in recognition of their service. I understand that all local authorities have additional preferences for veterans, and preventing homelessness for everyone is a priority for this Government. 500,000 will be provided to extend armed forces liaison officer posts within local authorities for a further two years. The Welsh Government was also considering changes to priority need in social housing allocations though the Deputy Minister stressed the importance of fully understanding the unintentional consequences of making changes. Keep up to date with what is going on in the Senedd via SeneddHome.com The Palace Museum is lit up on Monday evening for a rehearsal of rare nighttime public tours on Tuesday and Wednesday for visitors who were able to snag the free tickets. [China Daily / Jiang Dong] When night falls, do things at Beijing's Palace Museum come alive like in the museum depicted in Hollywood's Night at the Museum movies? That may be the hope of lucky guests who snagged tickets for rare nighttime visits by the public to parts of the former Forbidden City for this week's Lantern Festival. Public enthusiasm was intense on Sunday afternoon when the museum unexpectedly announced an extremely rare two nights of visits from 6:30 to 8:00 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday to parts of the outer walls at no cost to ticket holders. With one exception for a special exhibit in 2015, the Forbidden City had never opened its gates to the public at night since becoming a museum in 1925. When Tuesday's reservations were opened on the museum's official website around 3:30 pm on Sunday, all tickets were booked within 10 minutes. When booking for Wednesday opened at midnight, the system crashed for more than an hour due to overwhelming demand. The free tickets were quickly snapped up when it reopened. The night visitors will climb up to the Meridian Gate on the south side and walk through the southern and eastern sections of walls, which will be lighted by red lanterns. Hanging such lanterns is traditional during the festival, which falls on Tuesday, the 15th day of the first month in the lunar calendar. Some areas near the walls will be illuminated to offer guests a better night view. A digital projection will re-create a scene from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) landscape painting A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains, on some of the palace's roofs. The painting is part of a key collection of the museum. All visitors will leave the palace through the Gate of Divine Prowess in the north. While the museum administration declined to say how many tickets were offered for the night visits, some netizens who were able to make reservations said nearly 3,000 tickets were left at the time the system resumed taking reservations for Wednesday after it crashed. Aside from those who booked through the system, representatives also were invited from sanitation workers, express couriers, soldiers, police officers, firefighters and other groups of workers in appreciation for their year-round service to the public. The enthusiasm for the special visits was clear: On a secondhand goods trading website run by taobao.com, a "free" entry ticket was being resold for about 1,000 yuan ($148). Despite the exception, the curfew remains at the Forbidden City. No one except necessary staff, including a night patrol and a fire squadron, is allowed inside after sunset. The vast majority of the museum's staff have no idea what their workplace looks like after dark. However, for this special event, the employees will be allowed to attend this week's night visits. The exception to the curfew, in 2015, happened when one of China's best known ancient works of art, the Northern Song masterpiece Along the River During the Qingming Festival was displayed during an exhibition in the Hall of Martial Valor. The overwhelming number of visitors caused the museum to allow late entry to the hall, even extending past midnight. (Source: China Daily) President Xi Jinping on Wednesday encouraged more and better stories to be told about the friendship between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He made the remark in a congratulatory message sent to the opening ceremony of the China-ASEAN Year of Media Exchanges event held in Beijing. Xi said media can play an even greater role in the development of China-ASEAN relations as a bridge in promoting communication, cooperation and people-to-people contacts. "It is my hope that media from the two sides do more to become friendship facilitators of practical cooperation and guardians of harmonious coexistence," he said in the message. China and ASEAN countries jointly announced in November that 2019 is the China-ASEAN year of media exchanges during the 21st China-ASEAN Leaders' Meeting in Singapore. Xi said its launch represents an important move toward deepening the strategic partnership between China and ASEAN. In recent years, the two sides have stepped up strategic communication, worked together to build the Belt and Road, and made further advances in people-to-people exchanges. They have also properly handled differences and safeguarded regional stability, he said, adding that China-ASEAN relations have entered a new phase of all-around development. For 10 consecutive years, China has been the largest trading partner of ASEAN. In 2018, two-way trade volume between China and ASEAN countries reached $587.87 billion and about 50 million people traveled between China and ASEAN countries, according to the Foreign Ministry. AKP Mochtan, ASEAN deputy secretary-general for community and corporate affairs, said promoting people-to-people exchanges is an important part of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030, adopted last year as the two sides celebrated the 15th anniversary of their strategic partnership. "Media have a very strong role in facilitating understanding between ASEAN and China, thus contributing to a closer relationship," Mochtan said. "The relationship should continue and will also be strengthened. I look forward to more activities in the coming years," he added, noting that he expected more coproductions between ASEAN and China such as for movies and documentaries. (Source: China Daily) Photo taken on June 6, 2017 shows the construction site of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in the Lingdingyang waters, South China. [Xinhua] Senior officials from the Chinese mainland and two special administrative regions pledged concerted and unremitting efforts to bring about the country's massive plan to turn the Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao area into an economic powerhouse. "Under the conditions of 'one country, two systems', three customs territories and three currencies, without any precedent internationally," the high-profile Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is a groundbreaking initiative that calls for combined efforts, pioneering work and a can-do attitude, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said at a high-level symposium promoting the development plan outline for the Greater Bay Area held in Hong Kong on Thursday. Hong Kong, a city with the best of both worlds, will spare no effort and do everything possible to throw its weight behind the colossal project, Lam promised. The financial hub is betting big on its role in the changes, from its yearslong position as "connector" to the more proactive "participant, facilitator and promoter", she said. Ma Xingrui, governor of Guangdong province, vowed to marshal the province's resources to press ahead with the blueprint from "a higher-level view and bigger picture". The Bay Area encompasses Hong Kong, Macao and nine cities in Guangdong province, including Guangzhou and Shenzhen. As the initiative looks to promote coordinated economic development in the Greater Bay Area by capitalizing on the complementary advantages of the three places, Macao will sharpen its edge as a world-class tourism and recreational center, as well as facilitator of economic and trade exchanges between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, said Chui Sai-on, chief executive of the Macao SAR. Years in the making, the much-awaited blueprint for the Greater Bay Area was unveiled on Monday evening. The region, reminiscent of the country's economic miracle in earlier years, is poised to replicate the glowing success story of three leading bay areas New York, San Francisco and Tokyo. The unique nature of the Greater Bay Area makes it a pilot program never seen before, said Guo Lanfeng, director general of the Department of Regional Economy of the National Development and Reform Commission. Huge differences with other leading bay areas may pose a challenge, but may also give the Greater Bay Area an unbeatable edge over its more-established rivals, Guo said. "The plan to create a globally competitive cluster of metropolises in the Pearl River Delta will become a catalyst for the nation's undertakings in reform and opening-up," said Lin Nianxiu, deputy chairman of the office of the leading group for the development of the Greater Bay Area. "The region, as an important growth engine, will also lead the pack in the country's pursuit of high-quality development. "After years of robust growth, the Bay Area has fallen somewhat into development bottlenecks. The initiative spells fresh new opportunities ahead for cities involved to make a breakthrough." Lam said she thinks the initiative comes as a well-timed boost to Hong Kong, whose traditional advantages show signs of weakening as the worldwide economic slowdown and the rhetoric and mentality of protectionism cast a shadow over global markets. The Bay Area, known for its strength in innovation and technology, fits well with Hong Kong's quest for new growth impetus, and it reinforces the theme of higher-level intraregional and cross-border collaboration, she said. "But it also cannot go without the participation of local enterprises, professional sectors and ordinary people, especially young generations," she said. Overseas promotion efforts also matter, she said. In June, Lam led a delegation, together with the governments of Guangdong and Macao, to pitch the initiative in Paris. She said the governments of the three areas are planning another overseas trip this year to jointly promote the Bay Area. (Source: China Daily) Shelby Hubbard of Dyersburg, missing since last Friday. PHOTO:WMC, courtesy Police Searching for Missing Dyersburg Woman By West Kentucky Star Staff According to WMC, the search for 24-year-old Shelby Hubbard began Friday morning following a call to Police by her mother. She said Hubbard was missing, but her purse and keys were still at home. Hubbard's mother told Police that her daughter had been recently stressed as the result of personal issues. Police believe that Hubbard left her home on her own, but details of her disappearance are not known at this time. Shelby Hubbard is described as 5'4", 140 pounds, with brown eyes and black braided hair. She was last seen reportedly wearing black pants and a black shirt. Anyone with information about Shelby Hubbard is asked to contact the Dyersburg Police Department. DYERSBURG - Police are searching for a Dyersburg woman, missing for nearly a week. In this Jan. 18, 2019 image made from video provided by the Survival Media Agency, a teenager wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat, center left, stands in front of an elderly Native American singing and playing a drum in Washington. Videos of the incident initially sparked controversy and condemnation of the teens from Kentucky, but further review of videos show a third group of religious radicals was also in the area, and the Native Americans and students from Covington Catholic High School may have misinterpreted each other's motives. The teen wearing the cap was later identified as Nick Sandmann. (Survival Media Agency via AP) PHOTO:Survival Media Agency via AP Kentucky Teen Sues Over Stories By The Associated Press CINCINNATI - The Kentucky teen at the heart of an encounter last month with a Native American activist at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington is suing The Washington Post for $250 million, alleging the newspaper falsely labeled him a racist. His attorneys are threatening numerous other news organizations, including The Associated Press. In papers filed Tuesday in federal court in Kentucky, Nicholas Sandmann and his parents alleged that the Post had engaged in "targeting and bullying" and modern "McCarthyism." "The Post ignored basic journalist standards because it wanted to advance its well-known and easily documented, biased agenda against President Donald J. Trump ... by impugning individuals perceived to be supporters," according to the complaint. In a statement Wednesday, the Post said it was "reviewing a copy of the lawsuit" and planned "to mount a vigorous defense." Sandmann's attorneys also are threatening legal action against The Associated Press and other news organizations. In a letter to the AP, dated Feb. 15, Atlanta-based attorney L. Lin Wood called on the news cooperative to "retract and correct" what his letter asserts are "defamatory statements." Sandmann also provided his version of the events. The Associated Press took great care to ensure its stories were measured and fair, reporting the facts of what transpired and adding details as they emerged, said spokeswoman Lauren Easton, adding that AP stands by its stories. The actions of Sandmann and his Covington Catholic High School classmates have been intensely debated since video and photographs emerged of them wearing "Make America Great Again" hats and facing off against Omaha Nation elder Nathan Phillips. Both Sandmann and Nathan Phillips say they were trying to defuse tensions that were rising among three groups on a day Washington hosted both the anti-abortion March for Life, attended by the Covington students, and the Indigenous Peoples March. But video of Sandmann and Phillips standing very close to each other , with Sandmann staring and at times smiling at Phillips as he sang and played a drum, gave some who watched it a different impression. Interpretations changed over the days following the incident as witnesses released more cellphone video footage. Phillips had approached Sandmann, but well before that, both his group and Sandmann's were confronted by a third group that appeared to be affiliated with the Black Hebrew Israelite movement. Videos show members of the religious group yelling disparaging and profane insults at the students, some of whom shouted back. Video also shows the Native Americans being insulted by the small religious group. Sandmann's legal team has released its own video , "Nick Sandmann: The Truth in 15 Minutes." It shows scenes from the confrontation, clips from news coverage and interviews, and examples of harsh Tweets and comments aimed at Sandmann and his high school. Phillips did not immediately return efforts to reach him for comment. First Amendment lawyers contacted by the AP were hesitant to comment without reading the full legal complaint. Floyd Abrams, who worked on the landmark Pentagon Papers case of 1971, wrote in an email that "the press does get a good deal of leeway in voicing opinions about matters they have seen and are commenting on." One legal question might be whether Sandmann would be treated in court as a public or private figure. Abrams observed that "sometimes individuals involved in newsworthy events are treated as involuntary limited purpose public figures," meaning they would have to meet a higher legal standard than would a private citizen. President Donald Trump cheered the lawsuit, tweeting Wednesday that "Covington student suing WAPO. Go get them Nick. Fake News!" Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas this week suggested revisiting a cornerstone of modern press freedom, the 1964 New York Times Co. v. Sullivan case, which established knowing or reckless disregard of falsity as a pre-requisite for libel actions by public officials, a standard later extended to libel actions by public figures as well. Man Hurt in Crash at Mayfield Intersection By West Kentucky Star Staff MAYFIELD - A man went to the hospital Wednesday evening after a crash in Mayfield.The Mayfield Police Department says officers responded at around 4:30 p.m. to a crash at the intersection of West Broadway and North 8th Street. According to the report, 30-year-old Catherine Dowdy was driving south on North 8th Street when she ran a red light and hit another vehicle driven by 61-year-old Kenneth Crooks as he traveled through the intersection. Crooks' vehicle then spun around, colliding with a light support.Crooks was taken to Jackson Purchase Medical Center where he was treated for minor injuries and released. Council on Postsecondary Ed President Stops at MSU By MSU Public Relations MURRAY - Murray State University welcomed Dr. Aaron Thompson, president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, to campus Feb. 19 and 20 as part of his ongoing statewide listening tour. Thompson met with University leadership, faculty, staff, students and community members over two days, starting with a general listening session Feb. 19 at Wrather Auditorium, followed by a student-centered session held Feb. 20 in the Curris Center. The CPE president said his listening tour, which began earlier this month at his eastern Kentucky hometown of Manchester in Clay County, is designed to engage campus communities on how best to move the commonwealth's universities forward while demonstrating the value of higher education. "We have all the evidence and research that say with a postsecondary credential, you're going to do a whole lot better in life," Thompson said. "Not just economically, but also civically, health-wise, in every kind of category you can name. Higher education is a solution. My job is to find out how we can make this solution a better solution." Thompson outlined areas in which the CPE could work with universities, including higher enrollment, retention and graduation totals, addressing disparities with minority and low-income students, working to accommodate nontraditional students and bringing in more out-of-state students. He said while every institution in Kentucky has challenges to face, Murray State possesses several strengths it could double down on. "I'll tell you, Murray State has a great academic system here," Thompson said. "We're going to be working on that, because students come here for academic programs and for quality of education. You've got some of the best academic-focused programs there are, you've got alumni that love this place and you've got faculty and staff that are unreal." Murray State University Interim President Dr. Bob Jackson praised Thompson for his work as head of the CPE. "I've known Aaron for several years and I appreciate him very much," Jackson said. "This is the right time in the commonwealth for Aaron to be leading the CPE. First and foremost, he's a Kentuckian. He knows Kentucky east to west. He understands the benefits of education. He's a first-generation college student and he understands the challenges facing the Commonwealth of Kentucky, but also the opportunities." Murray State students Jeremiah Bagley and Cheydan Crump said they enjoyed meeting with Thompson and hearing his vision for Kentucky higher education. "Murray's a smaller school, but it's great to see him come out and talk with us," said Bagley, a senior from Hickman, Kentucky who will earn his occupational safety and health degree a full semester early thanks to his participation in dual-credit programs while attending Fulton County High School. "I also had the chance to speak with Dr. Jackson about my upcoming internship at Charah Solutions in Louisville." "Dr. Thompson is a very good speaker," said Crump, a freshman nursing major from Hopkinsville, Kentucky. "I like how he addressed the issues. It means a lot. He knows we're doing very well, but we could be doing even better." Corps of Engineers Fighting Floods on Area Rivers By West Kentucky Star Staff SMITHLAND; HICKMAN; CAIRO - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been helping with the flood fight in our area.On Thursday, a three-person team from the Louisville District came to Smithland to construct a temporary flood wall on Front Street, which is along the Ohio River. The two-foot-tall sandbag wall was built using an automated sandbag machine, which can fill up to 500 sandbags per hour.Meanwhile, workers from the Memphis District are in Cairo, working with local officials to install and operate a high-capacity pump at Cottonwood Slough between Urbandale and Mound City. The 16-inch pump and piping are removing interior water from the protected side of the levee and into the Ohio River.Memphis crews have also been working to help control seepage at a levee on the Mississippi River between Hickman, Kentucky and Dyersburg, Tennessee. The seepage was causing sand boils, which can weaken the soil and potentially cause a breech in the levee.Also on Thursday, the Corps of Engineers announced that all traffic on the Ohio River at Smithland Dam had been stopped due to high water levels. Child Killed in I-69 Crash Near Mayfield By West Kentucky Star Staff GRAVES COUNTY - A child was killed and another was injured Friday morning in a crash on Interstate 69 near Mayfield.The Graves County Sheriff's Department says deputies responded at 6:31 a.m. to a single-vehicle crash near the 25 mile marker, where they arrived to find a vehicle facing the wrong way in the northbound lanes. The investigation reportedly revealed 30-year-old Savannah Doom of Wingo was driving south when she lost control in a curve due to the wet roadway. Her vehicle then entered the median, hit a guardrail and the center concrete divider then overturned.Deputies said an 11-year-old child who was riding in the back seat was later pronounced dead at Jackson Purchase Medical Center. A 7-year-old child who was also riding in the back was flown to St. Vincent Hospital in Evansville, Indiana for treatment of serious injuries, and was listed in stable condition. Doom was not injured.Everyone in the vehicle were reportedly wearing seat belts. I-69 was closed for more than two hours while the investigation was completed and the scene was cleared. Demolition of 318 Broadway Building Begins By West Kentucky Star Staff A structural engineer, hired by the City, deemed the building a hazard which requires its immediate demolition. Recent rain and wind have accelerated the deterioration of the structure. For safety reasons, one lane of Broadway and the sidewalk will be closed between 3rd and 4th Streets for the duration of the project, which is expected to last at least a month. There will be periods of time that both lanes of Broadway between 3rd and 4th Streets will have to be closed. To begin the process, the buildings front and back will be stabilized so that the interior walls then can be detached from the adjacent buildings safely, and without harming the neighboring structures. The City purchased the building in Oct. 2018 for less than $400 as part of a foreclosure process with the intent to raze the deteriorated building and advocate for future redevelopment. City Manager Jim Arndt says, Our goal in purchasing this dilapidated structure last year is to protect the neighboring buildings and the public who use the sidewalk and Broadway. Removing a building from historic downtown is never something that we want to do. This week, a few bricks fell from the facade which was a sign for the City to expedite the demolition process to protect our historic downtown. Paducah Main Street Director Katie Axt says, The City of Paducah has a robust toolbox of programs for property owners to utilize for the preservation and redevelopment of historic buildings." Axt adds, The Kresge is an unfortunate example of the specific risks to our historic assets and what happens when a private property owner does not maintain their property." The building has not been occupied for over 20 years. PADUCAH - The City of Paducah has secured contractor Danny Cope & Sons Excavating, LLC to begin the emergency demolition of the building located at 318 Broadway, formerly known as the Kresge Building. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit 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. Hemingway Days Today marks the start of the 30th annual Hemingway Days, a week-long festival in Key West celebrating Ernest Hemingwaywriter, hunter and all-around American icon. Of course, if you can't make it down to Florida for the marlin fishing tournament or look-alike contest, you can celebrate what would've been Hemingway's 110th birthday tomorrow with his signature daiquiri, which happens to be an ideal summer cocktail. "Hemingway is probably one of the most iconic drinkers of all time," says spirits writer Matthew Robold, who runs RumDood.com. "His rather prodigious drinking included spirits of all kinds, as his tastes changed based on where he lived." It was in Cuba, at the El Floridita Bar in Havana, that he discovered the thirst-quenching joy of a good daiquiri. Not the strawberry smoothie kind, but a simple, tart yet refreshing drink. No wonder he's rumored to have put down as many as ten on a good day. A very good day, indeed. I write to thank U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman for his terrific work against the torturous practice of soring Tennessee Walking Horses, a plague that has marred the breed, and the equine world for more than 60 years. As a former eight-time World Champion rider and past president of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders & Exhibitors Association, I know first-hand how rampant this abuse is. Wittman has stepped up and done the right thing on this issue, and I applaud him. You really get an inside look at the integrity of this man and the sacrifices he was willing to make, Vinson said. Once you start digging into peoples lives, you start finding things that are maybe not so great. I was expecting to find things and I have to say, this was a man of deep integrity, a man of great principle. We should be getting some tenants over there soon. Weve been having some people contacting us about that, but it hasnt been finalized yet, Chaudhry said. We are hoping that by the beginning or middle of March, that building should be ready to be leased. At the pandemics peak, the CHKD health system was seeing 40-50 new positive COVID-19 tests among children per day. That has dropped to fewer than 10 daily for the last six weeks. UW Medical Education Program Updates State Leaders Wyoming leaders received updates on the expansion of the University of Wyomings WWAMI Medical Education Program and met members of the new class of medical students this week. Among those attending a luncheon at the Cheyenne Depot were faculty and staff from the program; state legislators; physicians and educators from both UW family medicine residency programs; graduates of the program; and students in the new WWAMI 2018-19 class. Through WWAMI -- which stands for Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho -- Wyoming students attend UW for the first year of medical school before earning their degrees from the University of Washington School of Medicine. Starting this fall, the medical students will spend the first semester of their second year at the University of Wyoming. Wyomings WWAMI students must return to the state to practice medicine for three years after completing residency, or they must repay the state the amount of money expended on their behalf. Timothy Robinson, director of the WWAMI Medical Education Program in Wyoming, noted that the program has grown from the inaugural class of 10 students in 1997 to 40 medical students in fall 2019 -- 20 first-year and 20 second-year students -- on the University of Wyoming campus. Nearly $1.5 million in state-funded facility upgrades have occurred over the last two years, including a state-of-the-art human cadaver lab, two active-learning classrooms and a new dedicated study space for WWAMI students. In addition to overwhelming support from health care providers in both Laramie and Cheyenne, Ivinson Memorial Hospital has provided classroom space for WWAMI students at no cost. Seven in every 10 Wyoming WWAMI students will return to practice in our state, Robinson said. Just last week, a WWAMI graduate finishing pediatric residency contacted me about finding a job in Wyoming and, within a couple of hours, there were four providers requesting interviews with this physician. Dr. Larry Kirven, assistant clinical dean with Wyoming WWAMI, acknowledged how unique the WWAMI program in Wyoming is, noting the breadth of medical education opportunities afforded to students, while maintaining rural primary care roots for students. He pointed out the experiences of two students, working with preceptors in different parts of Wyoming, who later were recognized for presentations at the prestigious Western Student and Resident Medical Research Forum in Carmel, Calif. I cant think of many educational programs that offer students such a range of opportunities, from learning in rural Wyoming, to innovative research at one of the top research institutions in the U.S., Kirven said. U.S. Sen. John Barrasso also spoke to the students. Along with offering some humorous anecdotes about being a physician in a rural state like Wyoming, Barrasso, a physician himself, said, Our students are the best and brightest in Wyoming. We want you here. We want you to return here to practice. Later in the day, the WWAMI students, along with administrators and staff members, visited the Legislature, where students were introduced to members of the House and Senate. During their visit, the students also met with Gov. Mark Gordon. Gordon asked questions, open to a group response, about medical issues unique to Wyoming. One of our big challenges is reaching patients in rural places, he said. How can we improve in clinics around the state? First-year student Jesse Hinshaw discussed the promising area of telemedicine, which can allow greater medical specialty access to rural residents of Wyoming. Telemedicine uses technology to enable a physician and patient to meet through a televised connection. Hinshaw noted his experiences working with telemedicine in locations around Wyoming. The governor concluded by thanking the students for visiting and saying, I hope youll be in Wyoming for a long time. Students in the 2018-19 WWAMI class, listed by hometown, are: Big Piney -- Caleb Brackett. Casper -- Marcus Couldridge and Conner Morton. Cheyenne -- Trey Thompson, Aleksandra Zarzycka and Jacob Zumo. Cody -- Amanda Golden, Sean McCue and Ryan Winchell. Encampment -- Jesse Hinshaw. Gillette -- Adam Blaine. Jackson -- Alexis Anderson and Elliott Trott. Laramie -- Allana Hall, Reno Maldonado and Renae Wollman. Rock Springs -- Rida Fatima and Daulton Grube. Sheridan -- Reed Ritterbusch. Sinclair -- Logan Taylor. Explore an interactive map at www.uwyo.edu/wwami/interactivemap/index.html to view where WWAMI graduates are practicing around the state. The 2021 USA Cycling Professional Road National Championships came to Knoxville on Father's Day weekend. This is the fourth year for Knoxville to host the U.S. Pro Road and Individual Time Trial Championships and the third year to host the U.S. Pro Criterium Championships. South Africa: Local companies urged to tap into Gulf agro-processing sector South Africas Consul General to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), David Magabe, has urged local companies to tap into the Middle Easts agro-processing sector. The UAE and the Middle East in general have always been a good market for South Africa in terms of export opportunities. The UAE is looking at increasing its volume of imports from countries that they are trading with, and South Africa is well-positioned to supply agricultural products covering the entire agro-processing value chain, said Magabe on Thursday. This as South African companies, led by the Department of Trade and Industry (dti), were showing off their wares at the Gulfood Exhibition, which got underway on Monday in Dubai. Speaking at South Africas exhibition stand at the fair, Magabe said vegetables and agro-processing products are the third most imported products from South Africa and constitute a 12.17% share of UAEs total imports. Magabe reiterated that South Africa has the capacity to produce enough in order to supply the UAE market. I urge South African entrepreneurs and emerging farmers to make use of these opportunities and engage government on the support they offer, particularly to new companies that are keen on exporting into these markets, said Magabe. Gulfood is hailed as the leading food and beverage exhibition in the Gulf region, bringing together exporters, importers, distributors, retailers, wholesalers, food producers and restaurateurs from more than 100 countries. The exhibition draws about 5 000 exhibitors and more than 100 000 visitors from 120 countries annually. Magabe said platforms like Gulfood give South African businesses an opportunity to network and look for exports opportunities beyond the Gulf countries. South Africas exports to the UAE grew from R11.7 billion in 2013 to R23.5 billion in 2017. The trade fair concluded on Thursday. - SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2019-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Register for a FREE account to keep reading! Register now for a FREE account to keep reading. No cost and no credit card required! Access up to 5 articles per month when you register, or get unlimited access to all of our content online starting at $1.99 now! Already registered? Click the log in link below Oregon, WI (53575) Today Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov held talks with President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, who arrived in Ashgabat on an official visit. In the course of the one-on-one meeting followed by the talks with participation of the two delegations, the heads of state discussed the key areas of the Turkmen-Afghan cooperation, focusing on such aspects as fuel energy, electrical power engineering, transport and communications, trade, culture and education. In particular, the leaders of the two states exchanged views on the pace of construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, power transmission lines and fiber-optic communications along Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan and other issues. The sides noted the progress in developing trade and economic relations. In fact, trade turnover between the two countries totaled some 684 million US dollars in 2018, which is much higher compared to 2017. The sides also discussed issues of mutual interest relating to security and stability in the region. In this regard, the Turkmen leader stressed that Turkmenistan, as a neutral state and closest neighbor, is ready to support Afghanistan in establishing direct talks between the Afghan government and all parties interested in the settlement of the situation in the country by peaceful, political means. Following the talks, the sides signed bilateral documents designed to promote the development of the Turkmen-Afghan partnership. To the applause of the signing ceremony participants, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani signed the Treaty on Strategic Cooperation between Turkmenistan and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Joint Statement. The heads of state witnessed the signing of agreements on air service, on the place of the international railway crossing at the Turkmen-Afghan state border, on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs affairs. The sides also signed memorandums of understanding on development of cooperation in the oil and gas sector, on increasing the supplies of Turkmen electricity to the Afghan province of Herat, on construction of the Akina-Andkhoy railway, on cooperation between the Magtymguly Institute of Language and Literature and National Manuscripts of the Magtymguly Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan and the National Archive of Afghanistan. The side approved the regulations on railway communication between the stations of Etabat and Turgundi at the Turkmen-Afghani state border. Then, the leaders of the two countries made statements for the mass media. After that, the President of Turkmenistan hosted an official dinner in honor of the distinguished guest. In the afternoon, the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan visited the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, where he addressed the institute faculty and students. Having completed his official visit to Turkmenistan, the Afghan leader proceeded to the Ashgabat International Airport and left for his home country. TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2021 FLASHBACK FRIDAY: Ex-Goldman Trader Readies New Bitcoin Exchange The exchange evolution is in swing these days. First, the market had exchanges set up for goods and services. Then under a Buttonwood Tree the world got its first organized stock exchange. Then came bond exchanges, commodities exchanges and more recently myriad cryptocurrency exchanges. But back in 2015, the creation and/or formation of a Bitcoin exchange from a former Goldman Sachs trader made headlines. LedgerX, the brainchild of Paul Chou, LedgerX is the first federally regulated exchange and clearing house to list and clear fully-collateralized, physically-settled bitcoin swaps and options for the institutional market. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates virtual currency derivatives, oversees LedgerX's registration as a swap execution facility (SEF) and derivatives clearing organization (DCO). The LedgerX management team now comprises Goldman Sachs, MIT and CFTC alumni, who bring financial expertise, technical talent and regulatory experience to the firm. Ananda Radhakrishnan, former Director of the CFTCs Division of Clearing and Risk and current Vice President of the Center for Bank Derivatives Policy at American Bankers Association, and Carl Mahler, Partner at Gelber Group, currently sit on the LedgerX Board of Directors. Mark Wetjen, Managing Director at Depository Trust & Clearing Corp (DTCC) and former Commissioner of the CFTC, currently sits on the board of directors of Ledger Holdings Inc., the parent company of LedgerX. On May 22, 2017, Ledger Holdings Inc. announced the closing of $11.4 Million in Series B financing led by Miami International Holdings Inc. and Huiyin Blockchain Venture Investments. Early investors include Google Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Quite a feat to be sure. The exchange has branched out va its LedgerX PIT (Professional Trading Interface) which enables placing orders on the Web Trading Interface through the price/time central limit order book or our bilateral negotiated trading system, or connect through the API. Traders can now trade Digital Options, buy and sell Bitcoin and chat directly with LedgerX participants and negotiate on price and size. More recently, the exchange unveiled the LedgerX Halving Contract the first fundamentally new derivatives contract unique to Bitcoin. According to the firm, LedgerX is the first and only US-regulated derivatives platform to settle a variety of Bitcoin derivatives for its clients but so far theyve done is more of a permutation on existing financial ideas than an evolution. Swaps, options, and futures are all well-known quantities in the traditional financial world. Enter the the LedgerX Halving Contract (LXHC) - a binary option that settles to something unique to Bitcoin when the next halving will happen. This contract will allow you to get a fixed payoff if the next halving block (#630,000) happens before a certain date and time. If the block is discovered after, the contract expires at zero. The result is an extremely clean binary payoff that is verifiable by all participants a great demonstration of the value of a public blockchain. Binary options have traditionally been associated with gambling events. Most financial issues are near continuous stock prices, oil prices, weather temperatures, etc. behave as such. Binary outcomes tend to be whether someone wins an election or not, or whether a team wins the Super Bowl or not. Even financial binary contracts are often shunned by Wall Street desks traders managing their gamma have difficulties with the risk-reversal situations that binary options present. But Bitcoin is unique in that there is a fundamental economic risk that is binary. To give an analogy, imagine you are an oil producer such as Exxon Mobile and know that one day in 2020, the number of barrels of oil you extract will go down by half, forever. But youre not certain which date that will be. This would materially impact planning for investment and operations. Bitcoin miners face this exact risk approximately every 4 years for the block reward that they earn. The date the actual block will occur will also intrigue speculators and liquidity providers, as its a function of hardware advances, electricity costs, and market dynamics. There will be plenty of interesting opportunities to analyze and profit from, and we will be listing several different contracts around the currently projected date. For those who know binary options, this range will also allow us to derive another value but this is an announcement in and of itself that well go into detail a few weeks from now. LedgerX has now posted details and circulated contract specifications to market participants here. After a year of successfully listing traditional derivatives contracts on Bitcoin, were proud to add something unique to this asset class to our stable of offerings. Not bad for a just a few years. And just wait until institutions begin to enter the market en masse. The following article originally appeared in the February 2015 edition of Traders Magazine Ex-Goldman Trader Readies New Bitcoin Exchange By John DAntona Jr. A new federally regulated exchange designed to trade virtual currency is one step closer to becoming a reality. Paul Chou, a former Goldman Sachs trader is readying LedgerX, a fully regulated Bitcoin derivatives exchange and clearing house. While at Goldman, he was responsible for developing, trading and risk managing algorithmic equity trading strategies for U.S. and Japanese markets. Also, he developed a set of cross-asset strategies and devised a method to unify and optimize the trade flow across hundreds of trading algorithms. Prior to Goldman, Chou delivered trading and spread-risk tracking tools on projects for Citadel Investment Group and Morgan Stanley. See Also: Top 2014 Trends: Bitcoin Comes of Age - Awkwardly Chou, chief executive officer of LedgerX, is designing the exchange and currently has filed registration papers, bringing the bourse one step closer to reality. LedgerX's registration, filed with the CFTC, is open for public comment until Friday, January 30th. On December 15th, the CTFC requested comments on the LedgerX submission. If approved by the CFTC, LedgerX would be the first federally regulated Bitcoin options platform and clearing house to list and clear fully-collateralized, physically-settled Bitcoin options for the institutional market. LedgerX has also applied for registration with the CFTC as a swap execution facility and as a derivatives clearing organization on September 29, 2014. See Also: Is the Buyside Ready for Bitcoin? LedgerX is backed by several high profile investors such as Google Ventures and LightSpeed Ventures. Also, Jim Newsome, former chairman of the CFTC and former chief executive of NYMEX, and Tom Lewis, former CEO of both Ameritrade and Green Exchange, currently sit on the LedgerX board of directors. Chou told Traders that he is currently working with legal, tax, audit, surveillance and technology companies. Simultaneously, to build a Bitcoin derivatives market, he is bringing together corporations seeking to hedge their Bitcoin exposure and financial institutions searching for trading and investing opportunities in Bitcoin. According to Chou, more than 80,000 entities accept Bitcoin, including brand names such as Dell, Expedia and PayPal. For more information on related topics, visit the following channels: Saudi Arabia has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA), a Saudi Press Agency report said. The MoU was signed by Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Engineer Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih during his recent visit to India as part of the delegation of the state visit of Crown Prince His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz. Other MoUs on setting up of industrial and commercial projects in fertilizers, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies sectors were also singed with the Indian side. Al-Falih signed an MoU with the Indian Ministry of Finance on Saudi Arabia's investment in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL) of India. Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) signed two MoUs to supply five million tons of phosphate fertilizers to the Indian market with IPL Company and KRIBHCO worth $2 billion for five years, the report said. Bahrains value of non-oil exports increased by 9 per cent as it reached BD2.286 billion ($6.06 billion) during 2018 versus BD2.093 billion ($5.55 billion) for the previous year. The top 10 countries accounted for 66 per cent of the exported national origin value and 34 per cent for other countries, said the Foreign Trade Report of 2018 by the Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA), which encompasses balance of trade, imports, exports (national origin) and re-exports. Saudi Arabia topped countries importing from Bahrain with BD535 million ($1.41 billion), UAE came second with BD258 million ($684.3 million), and Oman ranked third with BD233 million ($618 million). Agglomerated iron ores and concentrates emerged as the top products exported in 2018 with BD372 million ($986.6 million); aluminium wires were positioned second with a value of BD280 million ($742.6 million); and unwrought aluminium alloys came in third place with BD190 million ($503.9 million). Bahrains value of imports increased by 13 per cent as it reached BD5.593 billion ($14.83 billion) during 2018 versus BD4.942 billion ($13.11 billion) for the previous year, said a report. The top 10 countries account for 65 per cent of the imports value and 35 per cent for other countries, According to the report, China was ranked as the top country that exports to Bahrain with BD706 million ($1.872 billion), UAE came second with BD492 million ($1.30 billion), whereas the US ranked third with BD451 million ($1.19 billion). Aluminium oxide emerged as the top product imported to Bahrain with BD341 million ($904.5 million), while the non-agglomerated iron ores and concentrates was the second with BD278 million ($737.35 million). Four-wheel drive cars ranked third with BD202 million ($535.77 million) during 2018. Meanwhile, the value of re-exports decreased by 2 per cent as it reached BD515 million ($1.36 billion) during 2018 versus BD525 million ($1.39 billion) for the previous year. The top 10 countries account for 88 per cent of the re-exported value and 12 per cent for other countries. Saudi Arabia was ranked as the first country to re-export from Bahrain with BD183 million ($485.3 million), China ranked second with BD80 million ($212.1 billion), and UAE came third with BD72 million ($190.9 million). Four-wheel drive cars emerged as the top products re-exported from Bahrain with BD89 million ($236.05 million), cigarettes containing tobacco came as second products with BD36 million ($95.48 million), and private cars came third with BD13 million ($34.4 million). The trade balance, difference between exports and imports, the value of the deficit of the trade balance reached BD2.793 billion ($7.40 billion) during 2018 versus BD2.324 billion ($6.16 billion) for the previous year with an increase of 20 per cent, it stated. TradeArabia News Service Honeywell, a global technology company, has signed an agreement with Egypts Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) to deploy its state-of-the-art public safety and security infrastructure at the country's new administrative capital. The new capital, one of the worlds largest smart city projects, is coming up at a location 45 km east of Cairo. To be built in three phases, the new capital will expand to cover more than 700 sq km when fully completed. Honeywell said, as per the deal, it will deploy city-wide security and surveillance systems in the first phase of development, in collaboration with its partner MTI, to integrate security systems across the capital into a single point of control, known as an Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC). "Honeywell is at the forefront of deploying smart city infrastructure, driving the industry forward with innovative connected technologies that improve the safety, security, and energy efficiency of urban areas around the world, stated Khaled Hashem, the president for Egypt and Libya at Honeywell, after signing the deal with General Mohamed Abd Allatief, the general manager of ACUD. We believe that a smart city is a safe city, and are proud to be collaborating with ACUD and MTI on this vital critical infrastructure project, which will ultimately lead to a smarter, safer, and more prosperous Egypt," he stated in the presence of Deputy Head of Information Systems Department (ISD) General Hesham Shendy and US Chief of Mission and Charge d'Affaires Thomas H Goldberger. "ACUD is leading Egypts most ambitious development project to date, and is firmly committed to leveraging innovation and cutting-edge technology to deliver a smart city based on the principles of safety, security, productivity and sustainability," stated General Ahmed Zaki Abdeen, the chairman. The new administrative capital will redefine smart living and enable a competitive and diversified economy in line with the national development objectives outlined by Egypt Vision 2030. This significant agreement with Honeywell and MTI takes us one step closer to making this vision a reality, noted Abdeen. The ICCC will integrate advanced Internet of Things (IoT) software and hardware solutions onto one common platform for a holistic city view that provides unified public safety services, coordinating security response units, city police and medical dispatch. The control centre will also connect video feeds from more than 6,000 IP cameras over a futureproof wireless network, and run sophisticated video analytics to monitor crowds and traffic congestion, detect incidents of theft, observe suspicious people or objects, and trigger automated alarms in emergency situations. The agreement reinforces Honeywells commitment to developing smart cities in Egypt, and enabling effective skills and knowledge transfer in line with the goals of Egypt Vision 2030. The companys diverse hardware and software solutions promote greater safety, security and energy efficiency for cities and buildings, and drive operational efficiencies by leveraging data analytics and cloud technologies. Operating from Cairo, Honeywell works with some of Egypts key government and private sector entities in the fields of smart cities, building automation, oil and gas, refining and petrochemicals, defence, aviation, infrastructure development, logistics, security and fire safety. The company has been present in Egypt for more than 50 years, and is committed to providing the best talent and technologies to support development across Egypts major industries.-TradeArabia News Service Positive 'financial disruption' must be embraced through imagination, innovation, integration and inclusion, said an financial industry expert at the third Middle East & Africa FinTech Forum being held in Manama, Bahrain. Addressing a gathering of banking executives and financial regulators at the event, Sael Al Waary, Chairman of Arab Financial Services (AFS) and Deputy Group CEO of Bank ABC, said the pace of change in financial services was increasing rapidly and called on them to be prepared for the future. He was speaking as part of the 3rd Middle East and Africa FinTech Forum, which was held in Bahrain on Thursday under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain and attended by a number of central bank governors from a number of Arab countries. Al Waary started his speech by relating the story of the Ideal X, which was the worlds first cargo ship. This was, he said, an apt metaphor for the potential of FinTech to change the lives of people around the world. Containerised shipping, he noted, had completely disrupted global trade when it first appeared. FinTech had the potential to do the same for financial services, and he suggested this would be a positive change as long as a few conditions are met. "Positive disruption would involve changing peoples habits for the better, reinventing how people use services, giving customers control of their banking experience, lowering costs for customers, and increasing access amongst a wider portion of the population," he stated. Al Waary pointed out that the potential impact of financial technology (FinTech) could be summarised in four key areas: innovation, integration, inclusion, and imagination. Speaking of imagination, he pointed to smart city ideas, which use technology to improve daily life in often-invisible ways. It is possible, he suggested, that in the future banking would be similarly powered by invisible technology; both a constant part of peoples lives and something that is largely unseen. On innovation, Al Waary noted the significance of current debates relating to artificial intelligence and its future effect on labour markets in financial services. Referencing Hanson Robotics creation Sophia, a robot powered by AI that had introduced him to the stage, he spoke of the need to harness the power of AI for the future. Referencing the concept of integration, he spoke of the potential for open banking to dramatically change how customers engage with their finances. Al Waary called on banks to open up their software infrastructure to open banking, and praised regulators who have supported open banking. On inclusion, he highlighted the progress that has been made in recent years to extend the benefits of formal financial services to the many millions of people around the world who dont have access to banking. Looking back to 2018, Al Waary noted that several of these areas had seen significant developments. New regulations in Europe and elsewhere had spurred a huge growth in the number of software interfaces (APIs) for open banking, he stated. Citing research, he claimed that the number of APIs had expanded by a factor of ten over the last 12 months. As an example of best practice, he cited the Central Bank of Bahrain, which has introduced significant regulatory changes in the last year that mandate adoption of open banking by the Kingdoms financial institutions. "Banks are building new partnerships with FinTech developers, and this is enabling faster, frictionless engagement between customers and financial institutions," he noted. Al Waary pointed out that these developments would be of particular significance in the Mena region, where SMEs generate a huge amount of growth but are traditionally underserved by banks. Annual cashless payment volumes are also growing, he stated, and were expected to rise from just over $535 billion in 2017 to over $5 trillion by 2025. The huge growth in e-wallets and other mobile payments products were driving most of this increase, he added. According to him, the total investments in FinTech during the first six months of 2018 were over $57 billion, dwarfing totals from previous years. He predicted that the interest in FinTech from banks and investors would only continue to grow during 2019 and beyond. Looking ahead to 2019, Al Waary made a number of predictions. Noting that much of the discourse related to the impact of FinTech had historically focused on retail banking, he predicted major growth in FinTech applications in the corporate banking space. The increasing cost of legacy systems and greater demands from corporate customers would likely ensure that banks prioritise greater technological advancement in the near future, he suggested. He also outlined the philosophy of the Bank ABC management, which prioritises digitisation and cloud infrastructure as a means of future-proofing the bank and its various brands. He said having forms of secure digital ID, such as biometrics on mobile devices, could dramatically increase access to financial services by eliminating the need for people to use government-issued ID or other forms of identification. In addition, Al Waary predicted that traditional banks would continue to lose market share to challenger banks and mobile wallet products, pointing to the newcomers more innovative approach to customer experience as the main driving factor. Citing the example of banks that use AI to review contracts, and in so doing save thousands of hours of work, Al Waary predicted that AI would take an ever more prominent role in how banks service their customers and also in how they operate internally. Todays innovation is tomorrows tradition, he added.-TradeArabia News Service What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 570-724-2287 or email slapoint@tiogapublishing.com. Bill Boyd is a member of the Susquehannock Trail Club. He can be reached at billboydsts@gmail.com. MBABANE He will be remembered for his boldness, vast knowledge on legal issues and captivating voice. President of the Law Society of Swaziland (LSS) and prominent lawyer Mandla Mkhwanazi, popularly known as Majey, is no more. He will also be remembered for once taking court process or documents and serving them at one of the palaces, after Inkhosikati LaMahlangu joined the royal family. Mkhwanazi, who has been a lawyer for 20 years, died at the age of 47. He was operating a law firm under the style name, Mkhwanazi Attorneys. His death comes hardly a month after he made a moving speech during the official opening of the High Court 2019 Legal year. In his speech as president of the LSS, Mkhwanazi made a litany of allegations in the manner in which justice was administered in the Kingdom of Eswatini. One of the disquieting claims that were made by Mkhwanazi was that justice in the country was for sale and in a later interview said they had plenty of evidence to that effect. This was after the LSS was called by Chief Justice (CJ) Bheki Maphalala, to produce the evidence the LSS was referring to. To show that he was also a peace-loving man who held no grudges, at the time of his death, with the executive of the LSS, they had met with the CJ to iron out their differences. During their meeting with the CJ, they also agreed on a way forward on how best they could work together for the betterment of the countrys justice system. High profile cases During his lifetime he handled a number of high- profile cases which included disputes between the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) and government. He also represented lawyer Thulani Maseko when he was arrested with The Nation Magazine Editor Bheki Makhubu, for alleged contempt of court which had been initiated by the former Chief Justice, Michael Ramodibedi. In this matter, the Crown later conceded that the duo was wrongfully arrested. He also represented former SWAYOCO Secretary General Maxwell Dlamini, in the matter where he had been charged under the Suppression of Terrorism Act. The prominent lawyer represented one of the suspects, Sebenzile Thango, in the E50 million Capacity Building fraud case. Mkhwanazi was the lawyer who appeared on behalf of Sikhumbuzo Makhanya, the man who stole about E2.9 million at Royal Villas, belonging the then Vice President of Equitorial Guinea, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue. Mkhwanazi, who was regarded by many lawyers as an expert on labour issues, succumbed to tuberculosis (TB), which he had been battling with for sometime. He died in the early hours of yesterday, at around 4am, according to his family. At the time of his demise, he had been admitted to the Mbabane Government Hospital since last Friday. According to his elder sister Ncamisile, the well- known human rights lawyer, in September last year, was admitted to the Medisun Clinic in Ezulwini for the same illness but was later discharged after showing signs of recovery. She disclosed that Mkhwanazi leaves behind his wife Nokuthula, who is a teacher at St Marks High School, and six children. The youngest child is seven years old. MBABANE Governments broken promise to UNESWA students might see about 20 of them dropping out in their first year. UNESWA is an acronym for University of Eswatini. About 20 UNESWA first year students were reportedly told by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security that government would no longer be sponsoring them after just one semester of learning. The reason given to the students was that there was a human error when the ministry included their names on the list of those to be funded by government. This list was pinned on UNESWA billboards and given to the institution for purposes of indicating which students would be funded by government. This then enables the students to register and be eligible to attend lectures and also buy books on credit at the bookshop then settle their debts after they get their allowances. Boycotted Unlike in previous incidents where students boycotted classes and marched to the ministry in song to deliver petitions about their grievances, the affected students staged a sit-in along the ministrys corridors. This was until they were engaged by Principal Secretary Thulani Mkhaliphi and other officials. The affected students are first years from the Luyengo and Mbabane Campuses. It was established that they were removed from the list of sponsored students because the ministry discovered that they did not qualify for government sponsorship. Sources said the ministry informed the students that their credit points were below those set as the cut-off by the ministry. They said they were informed that their names were included on the list due to a human error and therefore could not benefit from the government scholarship. They were reportedly informed that government would no longer be funding them but would engage the university about last semesters expenses. A student who commented on condition of anonymity said registration deadline was next week and he did not know where he would get enough money to ensure that he completed his first year. The student said it was a pity that they were only told that they were on the list because of a human error and that no one could benefit from that. He said they were in the dark about what their future held. He was concerned that the ministry only spoke of engaging the university about compensating it for last semesters expenses but nothing was said about damages towards them. I have been at the university this whole time knowing that I am fully funded by government, the student said. The student stated that he probably could have been working in textile firms had he known that government would not sponsor him. He said his family could not afford to pay his tuition and wondered how he would break the news to them now. Shame He was also concerned about the shame they might be subjected to in the event they had to drop out and return to their communities. He said people who were not happy about them going to university would have a field day making fun of them for dropping out in their first year. Another student wanted to know how the ministry would hold accountable the officers who were responsible for the mess. He said this showed incompetence on the part of the officials and further questioned the duties of the Scholarship Board. He questioned how they could have missed that they did not qualify for the scholarship in the first place as they indicated their points when they applied for funding. UNESWA Student Representative Council (SRC) President Sakhile Ndzimandze confirmed that the students were on the government list but their names were later pulled out. Ndzimandze said all the affected students registered with the university with the expectation that they would be fully-funded by government. He said it was surprising that the students were later informed when they were about to sign their agreement forms that they were not covered by government. There was no communication until the students were supposed to register for the second semester, Ndzimandze said. He said this was why the students then marched to the ministry to enquire why they were no longer part of those funded by government. He said the PS was brave enough to inform them that an error had occurred. He wondered why the ministry never communicated this to them as they only learnt about it after they were proactive and marched to the ministry to enquire. LOBAMBA Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini has been advised to reshuffle principal secretaries. This was the view of several Members of Parliament (MPs) during the debate and passing of the Supplementary Budget yesterday. Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo informed the PM, who was in the House of Assembly, that it was not advisable for PSs to remain too long in one ministry. He said this was particularly so because a majority of the Cabinet ministers were new. This was after it had been revealed that a majority of the PSs who were controlling officers had a tendency of using money or reallocating it without the approval of Parliament. MP Khumalo urged the PM to speak to the relevant authorities for the reshuffle of the controlling officers who became too comfortable at one ministry. Motshane MP Robert Magongo also said the PSs must go and that a reshuffle was important. He informed the PM that all Cabinet ministers were fairly new and they were expected to perform well. controlling He submitted that the controlling officers had a tendency of saying ministers were only in office for five years and they would then vacate the offices leaving them behind to carry on as they pleased. MP Magongo said he did not want to mention the names of the PSs he was talking about, but that he was willing to give their names to the PM in private. Appointed MP Chief Kusa said it was critical for the principal secretaries to have performance based contracts so that the budget overruns would not be experienced. passed The Supplementary Budget of E76 million was passed, but it was made clear that the funds were not extra money from the government purse, but money that had not been used by other ministries such as the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Empowerment Fund. Moving the motion to pass the Bill was chairperson of the Finance Committee, Thandi Nxumalo, who said the total financing required for the proposed supplementary budget would come from savings kept aside in anticipation of the salary review appeals and a grant from Taiwan which was received during the course of the year and not yet appropriated. She said the fiscal deficit would remain at 8.2 per cent of GDP as financing for the items came from funds that had already been appropriated. MP Nxumalo was supported by her deputy, Ndzingeni MP Lutfo Dlamini, who said it should be noted that the money had already been utilised. He said, however, hard questions were put to the minister Neal Rijkenberg who assured the Finance committee that controlling officers would not be allowed to just spend as they pleased. He said there would be a way to punish the controlling officers who spent government funds without prior approval by Parliament. Manzini North MP Macford Sibandze said he wished there was a way in which these control measures could be implemented instead of making promises that action would be taken as this now sounded like a broken record. Dvokodvweni MP Mduduzi Magagula said the line ministries which were using money that had not been allocated by Parliament were as good as committing theft. If you use what you arent given, kweba, he said. reserved Meanwhile, Madlangempisi MP Sibusiso Nxumalo wondered why money reserved for salary review appeals was being used for the supplementary budget as the civil servants were still up in arms over the cost-of-living adjustment, although he was told that the money was for SBIS appeals. MANZINI Students at the Manzini Industrial Training Centre (MITC) have reported the institutions owners to the police for keeping the school closed. They have also sought audience with the acting Governor of Ludzidzini Lusendvo Fakudze, to request that he takes them to the Queen Mother. The students went to the training centre yesterday and found that the institution was still not ready for lessons. They then convened a meeting outside the gates and decided to approach the Anti-Corruption Commission. The students main concern was that they had paid to complete their courses, yet the institution was still closed. Their concerns arose from a letter written by the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Training, Dr Sibongile Mtshali, when she officially lifted the suspension of classes at the institution. In the letter, the PS also revealed that the Swaziland Skills Centres, which owns the MITC, had written a letter to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, saying the institution would be forced to go for liquidation if government withholds its subvention. The students said the school owners should not have discussed issues of possible liquidation before talking to the students on their future. The students said at the ACC, they were advised to go to the police station, which was more relevant in dealing with such issues. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, confirmed that three students arrived at the Manzini Police Station, but only a report was made because no criminal elements were observed from their submissions. The institutions authorities though, reported an offence of malicious injury to property, she said. The Chairperson of the Board of Directors for Swaziland Skills Centres, Brian Magongo, said the students were free to report the issue to structures they saw fit. The MITC remained closed yesterday as water and electricity had been disconnected. The Principal, France Mavuso said there was also no training material, which necessitated that lessons stall. Mavuso said students arrived on Wednesday, but after understanding that classes would not resume, they left. He said the administration had queried the electricity bill of over E40 000 since classes were long suspended last year. Meanwhile, contrary to reports carried in yesterdays publication that Mavuso had made statements relating to a meeting between the skills centre and government, it has come to the fore that the statements were actually made by Brian Magongo, one of the Board of directors. Magongo said the institution was ready to let government take over the operations of the school, if only it would pay the liabilities of the directors. Sir, If I remember well, there was a transport issue which was being deliberated in Parliament a year or a couple of years back. Looking at what people were saying in the streets about this particular transport proposal, it might have not sat well with public transport operators. Maybe thats why the issue was left alone. In the business world theres the public and private sectors, and what we know as parastatals. When our current transport system is being referred to as public transport, it somehow creates a false pictuare to some who are critical about things, because they are in fact privately owned! I may not be privy to the full information on who was going to operate the now quiet bus proposal but in a way, there was some economic sense to it. Disapproval Its failure or disapproval does seem unfair to some if not most persons. Considering the high unemployment rate and how unhappy most government employees are about their salaries, it is only fair for our government to intervene here. In my Economics class I learned that there are things referred to as price floors and price ceilings which governments have to be part of. In short, all governments of the world come to play when theres a burning need to balance up scales on income versus expenditure of necessities affecting most of its citizens. Usually, we hear of our governments intervention when it comes to issues of rising fuel prices. We are pleading with Parliament and the private sector to criticality look at our current transport system vis-a-vis what little money people have at their disposal. It does not make economic sense. Balance There is no balance between what people earn and what people are forced to spend, on a monthly basis, particularly on transport alone. In a nutshell, I am pleading with our current government to please look at a way to help the poor, needy and unemployed emaSwati when it comes to moving from point A to B or C. There should be a strategy in place so these people dont make their situations worse one way or another. Loan sharks thrive in desperate situations and people are forced into debt before they are employed. By the time one secures a job, they are already waist deep into debt. Even when employed, the issue of transport is still a major factor for someone renting a one room flat and does not earn much. In neighboring South Africa there are Metro trains, which are very cheap, transporting people together with privately-owned buses and kombis. In the Kingdom of Eswatini, we cant afford to implement similar modes of travel but we could look at transport which would help job seekers, people wanting to access health facilities, the orphaned and vulnerable getting to and from school. And government could look at the appropriate mode of pay for such persons. We are working towards attaining First World status angitsi? Building more schools and health centres to reduce travelling and its costs could be doable but so is considering a subsidised mode of transport, charging less than what independent transport operators charge. Because the way things currently stand, no matter how demanding or urgent ones situation could be, if they dont have enough money it means they are stuck, with whatever plan. That in turn contributes immensely to the unnecessary deaths, violence, debts, school drop-outs, teenage pregnancies, housebreaking activities and dagga trade, among others. If, Im dreaming, someone please wake me up! Mabuyembabane ngentima. MBABANE The journey to the Standard Bank Choral Competition is becoming lighter for choirs. Macmillan Education Swaziland has injected a sum of E40 000 to Eswatini National Choral Music Association (ENCMA), which will be utilised for this years Standard Bank Choral Competition. The competition is slated for March 31 at Kwaluseni Emporium, starting from 9am until late. Present during the presentation yesterday morning at the Macmillan Education Swaziland offices in Matsapha was ENCMA Chairperson Sihle Gumbi, Macmillan Education Swaziland Managing Director Busisiwe Simelane and other officials. It is worth noting that Standard Bank has been partners in the choral music association for over 23 years. Two weeks ago, Standard Bank injected E150 000 to the same competition as the title sponsor, totalling to E190 000 sponsorship that ENCMA has received for the Standard Bank Choral Competition so far. thanked ENCMA Chairperson Gumbi thanked Macmillan for its commitment in the promotion of choral music in the country. We would like to thank Macmillan for showing such nobility to the choral music industry together with Standard Bank. These two entities have shown commitment to seeing the sustained growth of music and the choral music industry has been built on, in this country, he said. Macmillan Education Swaziland Managing Director Simelane said the sponsorship was motivated by the fact that their entity was celebrating 40 years and it was their way of inviting choirs to celebrate with them. Macmillan promotes creativity in arts and choral is part of that and to show them that we appreciate them we saw it fit that we give them the stated amount for the upcoming competitions, said Simelane. It is worth noting that this will be Macmillan Swazilands first time sponsoring ENCMA; however they have been sponsoring other choral initiatives like Ntjilontjilo. Simelanes support for the arts in the country landed her as the Board Chairperson of the Eswatini National Council of Arts and Culture. Eswatini National Council of Arts and Culture (ENCAC) CEO Stanley Dlamini thanked Macmillan Education Swaziland for always supporting the arts in the country. The company has previously supported sibhaca and ingadla competitions and we are grateful that they have extended their noble deeds to choral, said Dlamini. Tickets to the Standard Bank Choral Competition have been released and are available in Mbabane, Matsapha and Manzini Standard Bank branches. They retail at E100 and will be bought through ATMs as well. On Saturday, there will be a workshop for choral music conductors in preparation for the competition. MBABANE Government, in collaboration with businesses, has been called to be at the forefront of determining the new set of job skills needed in the current environment to avoid unnecessary job losses. Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini said the fourth industrial revolution needed leaders who could promptly identify the trends that may disrupt their business models and processes. He said there was a need for leaders who would work in haste to exploit opportunities provided by emerging technologies to increase productivity and growth while not falling victim to lack of strategic planning in a highly paced environment of ever-changing technology. This applies not only to business leaders but to government as well. The fourth industrial revolution brings changes to national economies and social services such as health, education and training, said Dlamini during the Fourth Industrial Revolution Leadership Seminar convened yesterday at the Royal Swazi Spa. The premier pointed out that the seminar came at a time when government was re-strategising and re-engineering its processes to help streamline the economy of Eswatini and place resources where they would offer maximum impact in changing the lives of Emaswati. He mentioned that they would soon launch a new strategic roadmap that provides the necessary guidelines to achieve higher economic growth and stability. The PM explained pillars that would drive their strategy for the next five years include Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), agri processing, manufacturing, mining and tourism. He clarified that the aim would be to provide a fertile environment for business start-ups, growth and sustainability, to increase our revenue base to avoid concentration risk, and to curb unnecessary expenditure by ensuring that resources are directed only to those areas with the potential to positively impact the economy. The PM disclosed that Cabinet had mandated the Ministry of ICT to strengthen the National System of Innovation in the kingdom. He said this includes the development and review of science, technology and innovation policies and strategies to help create a conducive environment for research and development and fully operationalise the Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP). Dlamini, a former Chief Executive Officer of MTN Eswatini, said this was a time when most businesses were revolving to be entirely technology-driven and where data is king, allowing executives and managers to make smarter and faster choices than ever before. It is a time when business models are fast changing from simply selling products and services to creating relationships with customers by personalising these products and services to suit individual consumers, a time when on-time service is no longer an option but a requirement to stay in business, Dlamini observed. innovation However, he said such technological innovation and creativity brought with it some ethical and moral concerns. Dlamini said it also brought anxiety about the future and security of jobs as several studies have indicated that millions of careers would be redundant by the year 2030 because of the advancing technology brought by, among others, artificial intelligence, robotics, drones and automation. EZULWINI Siemens has intentions to help Eswatini achieve its energy sustainability. Mark Van Antwerp, Head of Sales, Power Generation, Siemens Southern and Eastern Africa pointed out that an important factor in the sustainable development and growth for Eswatinis future was increasing the supply of electricity for domestic, industrial and commercial use throughout the country. He said at Siemens, they provide solutions for power generation, transmission and distribution. Our collaboration with Eswatinis Government can help the country achieve a sustainable energy future, to enhance the countrys socio economic development, said Antwerp. Siemens said in the age of renewable energy, long-term planning was crucial for the transformation of the Kingdom of Eswatinis energy systems and its access to sustainable energy growth. According to the countrys energy Master Plan 2034, a major challenge facing the countrys energy system is a lack of security in energy supply. A few goals based on this plan include, providing energy for all, reducing load-shedding and power cuts and ensuring reliable as well as affordable energy among others. Yesterday, integrated technology company Siemens, hosted an interactive discussion focused on the role that Siemens can play in Eswatinis energy transition. In attendance was acting Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, Prince Simelane, who was among other delegates and industry players. Prince Simelane strongly emphasised on the counrtys intentions to ensure energy sustainability. He said government was committed to embracing and investing into projects that could ensure energy sufficiency. power In Eswatini, electricity gets distributed by Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC), whose Managing Director (MD) is Meshack Kunene. The company was formed in 1963 to provide electricity to EmaSwati by sourcing or generating power using the least cost sources of energy. The company currently operates in a liberalised market through the Electricity Act of 2007 and the Energy Regulatory Act of 2007. EEC imports 80 per cent of the electricity demand from southern Africa countries through Bilateral Agreements, also from the Day Ahead Market (DAM) in Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). Locally, the company buys five per cent from one local Independent Power Producer (Ubombo Sugar Limited) and generates the other 15 per cent from its internal power stations. It should also be mentioned that Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 170 years. The company is active around the globe, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalisation. One of the largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is a leading supplier of efficient power generation and power transmission solutions, and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. With its publicly listed subsidiary Siemens Healthineers AG, the company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. At the end of September 2018, the company had around 379 000 employees worldwide. Morehead, KY (40351) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 88F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear skies with a few passing clouds. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Note: Special one-year subscription at a reduced price for first-time subscribers or for subscriptions that have been expired for at least one year those living in Jackson County and the Cherokee Indian Reservation (28719) addresses qualify. Offer good through Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. We accept Visa, Mastercard and Discover; we do not accept AMEX. Education senior Tyler Rosette assists a caller June 3, 2014 regarding how the Career Development Center provides services to UTA students. Searching for a job can be difficult, but students can take advantage of resources on campus such as the Lockheed Career Development Center to help. By Alanis Gonzalez gonzalez@grinnell.edu This week, the Institute of Global Engagement hosted a group of visiting academics and administrators from around the globe that are participating in the institutions first Global Symposium. The theme of the symposium is collaboration, focusing on Grinnells relationship with global partners and higher education on a global scale. Multiple talks will be held throughout the week, with guest speakers and Grinnell College Faculty discussing various topics. This includes the liberal arts education on a global scale, creating international student friendly campuses, and to tag with the theme, the navigation of academic global collaboration. The Symposium and the institution itself are recent additions to the College. While speaking with Jonathan Larson, Associate Director of Off-Campus study, he commented that, Our thinking with this first conference type event that relatively new Institute of Global Engagement is going to sponsor was to bring together representatives of several different institutions abroad where weve had a relationship or starting to develop one or even exploring one and to have those partners help us in a multi-day conversation about how to develop and strengthen partnerships with institutions in different parts of the world. Although select events have been reserved for faculty, most are open for students to attend. Larson commented that he felt, that there was an important conversation that we needed to encourage involving faculty and staff but to the extent that students have been a part of the governance and have provided their own feedback and input on different activities at Grinnell, it seemed particularly important to get some students present to offer some ideas. Larson said that the event aimed to attract people with different hats by inviting collaborations among faculty, students and administration, and not only academics in order to combine multiple perspectives on the globalization of higher education. IGE hosted nine administrators and academics that included: Vanita Shastri representing Ashoka University in Delhi, India, Shikha Jhingan representing Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, India, Hun-Wah Lam and Lieke Schreel representing Leiden University College in The Hague, Netherlands, Melissa Hu representing Nanjing University in China, Ceri Bevan and Colleen Cotter representing Queen Mary University of London in The United Kingdom, and Laurie Bereau and Lesley Lelourec representing the University of Rennes 2 in France. Aside from giving talks, the visitors were introduced to Grinnell through campus tours, lunch with students, a formal welcome dinner followed by a performance from the Grinnell Chamber Orchestra along with other events and activities throughout the week. A lunch held on Wednesday afternoon in JRC 101 provided a more informal setting for students to engage with the visitors. With students and faculty from various countries and backgrounds around a single table, conversations quickly sprouted. Attendees were able to speak to the higher education systems in various continents and regions. Not only was the varying structure of higher education discussed, but within just an hour the versatility of the liberal arts education and how it is being reframed throughout the world came to light. Elainia Gupta 22, who attended the lunch, said, The lunch was a great opportunity for schools in different countries to discuss and share ideas on what we can learn from each other. The kick-off event included a keynote address given by Cheryl Matherly visiting from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with responses from Shastri and Lelourec. Matherly addressed how globalization supports the liberal arts education and how it is being implemented in various institutions. At the end of her address, Matherly gave suggestions for how to properly globalize an institution, saying, globalization has to be woven throughout everything a college does. The symposium also brought to the surface important questions that they hope administrators, faculty, and students alike should be asking themselves: Are we engaging in intentional, interdisciplinary, global conversations, in and out of the classroom? How can we learn from our global partnerships not only academically but culturally? Is our campus truly welcoming to various cultural backgrounds? These questions are key to ensuring that the diversity represented in the flags hanging above in the grill are a genuine representation of not only Grinnells student body, but its values as an institution. By Ingrid Meulemans meuleman@grinnell.edu Starting July 1, 2019, Anne Harris, current vice president of academic affairs (VPAA) at DePauw University, will begin serving as Grinnell Colleges VPAA. Harris has dedicated her time at DePauw to furthering diversity and inclusion both on campus and in the community of Greencastle, Ind. Outside of her administration responsibilities at DePauw, Harris specializes in Medieval art history and taught at DePauw prior to becoming DePauws vice president of academic affairs. During her time at DePauw, Harris led a faculty development plan centered on inclusive teaching and support for diversity, while also co-organized annual faculty workshops on race, dialogue and community-building. She developed new co-curricular centers for students, focused on media, entrepreneurship and community engagement. Professor Harris is also deeply committed to enhancing student learning and the inquiry-led curriculum that Grinnell promotes. She works closely with students and is an excellent listener too. I am very confident that she will excel at Grinnell, said current Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Mike Latham. Latham was involved with Harriss hire, and will work with Harris until he departs the College for his new position as President of Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii next academic year. Harris described her future responsibilities at Grinnell College as being focused on supporting and aiding in student success. I think of it as waking up every morning thinking through what students learn and how they learn. What that means, in practice, is thinking about the whole student, the whole faculty member, and the whole staff member as each individual contributes to discovery and inquiry and can be supported in their development to do so, Harris said. It means thinking about the curriculum and research as they advance knowledge and experience and being a good steward of the educational resources of the institution. Of all her accomplishments at DePauw University, Harris cited her work in diversity and academic inclusiveness as some of her proudest achievements. Something she especially liked about her position was, being able to think concretely (through grants, workshops, curricular change, pedagogical innovation) about how a college community is in a perpetual state of becoming, of striving for greater diversity, more belonging, and more valuing of multiple perspectives. On a day to day basis, though, Harris takes inspiration from two meaningful quotes. They are, she said, John Deweys statement in 1916 that Democracy must be reborn with each generation, and education is its midwife, and Dolores Huertas statement in 2016 that Education is the new civil rights movement. Harris is also excited to be part of Grinnell College, which she describes as a living and learning community that fosters individual discovery and inquiry, in addition to the greater community of Grinnell, Iowa. During her time at DePauw, Harris was dedicated to building and strengthening the relationship between the college and the community. This is something she plans on continuing in her new position. Harris is excited become a member of the College and continue to promote the administrations commitment to social justice. Harris said that, most of all, she is excited by the vibrant excellence of the College and its constituents, overall, and says she is looking forward to having the opportunity to be a part of an institution that, in its commitment to social justice, will ask hard questions of itself and of the society it can shape. By Eva Hill hilleva@grinnell.edu Just before 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16, the audience section of Sebring-Lewis Hall filled with a murmur of anticipation of the musicians arriving through the stage doors to perform a program of baroque music. The most immediately noticeable feature of the stage was an elegant black harpsichord with gold trim. Also on stage were two music stands, one at standing height and one, less extended, facing a chair upon which was leaning a viola da gamba (a 15th-century instrument that resembles a cello with broader sides and no endpin). The auditoriums cherry-wood back wall and mint-green walls created an oddly timeless feeling, as if it were unclear whether the audience was in the present, the Baroque era or far in the future. Performing that night was a trio of musicians accomplished in Baroque, Renaissance, and operatic styles. Mezzo-soprano Suzanne Lommler, a vocal professor at Grinnell and Simpson Colleges, has performed in lead roles at Haymarket Opera in Chicago and Opera Kelowna in British Columbia. Jory Vinikour, harpsichordist, is an internationally recognized two-time Grammy nominee. Craig Trompeter, cellist and violist da gamba, is the artistic director of the Haymarket Opera Company, and has performed with the Chicago Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Smithonian Chamber Music Society. Professor Jennifer Brown, music, was responsible for bringing these performers to Grinnell. She said that it has been a longtime dream of hers to bring the three musicians together to perform at the College: [Lommler] had worked with [Vinikour and Trompeter] for many years, and they were great friends, but I also had known each of them independently, and I thought, well, wouldnt it be great to have a concert that featured all three of them? The trio began the evening with two pieces by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell, Sweeter than Roses (1696) and An Evening Hymn on a Ground (1688), followed by a performance of Girolamo Frescobaldis all-instrumental Canzona in A (1628). Then came Barbara Strozzis 1651 LEraclito amoroso, after which Lommler stepped out for the next two instrumental pieces: Martin Marais Le Labyrinthe (1717) and Bernardo Storaces Ciaconna (1664). Vinikour provided a brief introduction to the Storace piece, explaining that almost nothing is known about the composter; all but one book of his work being lost in earthquakes in Italy during the 18th and 20th centuries. On bringing baroque music to Grinnell, Brown said, I think its important to bring any kind of music that is done by top-notch professionals in their field, but particularly for me, as I teach this material here, it is very directly related to what Im doing in the classroom, in my music history courses, and in Collegium [the Collegium Musicum, an early music performance ensemble] and especially in my baroque improvisation seminar they were able to assist directly with that with a workshop they gave. To finish out the first act, Lommler returned to the stage to perform Benedetto Ferraris 1641 piece Amanti, io vi so dire. Throughout the act, each musicians skill shone through: Vinikours ability was especially highlighted by the complex Ciaconna, while the mellow smoothness of Trompeters viola da gamba demonstrated his artistry at shaping the line of the music and Lommlers rich vibrato revealed the emotional side of the music. Trompeters viola da gamba demonstrated his artistry at shaping the line of the music and Lommlers rich vibrato revealed the emotional side of the music. After intermission, Trompeter switched from the viola da gamba to the baroque cello. Vinikour played George Friedrich Handels six-movement Suite in G Minor (1720). Lommler and Trompeter then joined Vinikour for a performance of the tragic cantata La Lucrezia (1709), also by Handel. Lommlers voice and expressions took center stage to make it an enthralling finale. After a standing ovation, all three returned to the stage for a performance of Habanera from the 1875 Georges Bizet opera Carmen. This article has been editing to reflect that only Jory Vinikour was the sole musician that played George Friedrich Handels six-movement Suite in G Minor (1720). By Abraham Teuber teuberab@grinnell.edu This semester at Grinnell, political science and theatre and dance major Jacob Leder 20 is directing an innovative production of Sam Shepards True West. Premiered in 1980, True West explores themes of masculinity and brotherhood in one of the esteemed American playwrights more realist plays. The show depicts the chaos that occurs upon the reunion of two formerly estranged brothers, Austin and Lee. However, in Leders production, Austin and Lee are sisters, played by Audrey Boyle 21 and Nicole Rosengurt 20. True West is sponsored by the Grinnell Area Arts Councils Open Space program, an opportunity that allows students to apply to direct a show of their choosing in the Loft Theatre in the Grinnell Arts Center. Leder knew going into the project that he was interested in changing the genders of the main characters. While he praised the play, he also said that its major themes are rampant in other theatrical works of the 20th century. We can take themes that I think are so much richer than the tensions of brotherhood, and then explore those through casting women and exploring new dynamics and also just bringing out [themes] that maybe [go] by the wayside in traditional versions of this play, said Leder. Award winning actor, director and writer Ethan Hawke, who currently plays Lee on Broadway, proposed the idea of directing the show with the main characters as women to Sam Shepard before the late playwrights death. Shepard immediately disagreed with the idea. Leders production of True West is possibly the first genderflipped version of the play. Hes an incredible playwright, but I think as you take old texts that have been mired in the patriarchy, you can subvert them and do new things and thats really exciting, Leder said. Leder, Boyle and Rosengurt all commented on how the change in casting definitively transforms the tone of the show and dynamics of the characters. Rehearsals only started the week of Feb. 17, but the modifications to the show have already provided some unique challenges. Weve realized that we need to be very vigilant about making sure these characters are women and were playing them as women, because we didnt make the choice to be women playing men. In the first rehearsal, we kept referring to them with he [pronouns] and I [said] we need to make a decision to refer to them as she/her. Even when were not talking about me and Nicole, we need to talk about them as women. said Boyle. Rosengurt praised the new message and representation the show offers when Austin and Lee are played as women. We dont see a lot of bad women characters, women who are just not likable, or violent, or do crazy dumb things, or arent nice to each other and arent victims. [Austin and Lee] are not likable characters. To give women the agency to be unlikable and awful and do nasty things without [the audience thinking,] Oh, shes acting like a man is a nice bit of power to have and a nice exploration of the different roles that women can take, Rosengurt said. While the gender dynamics certainly transform the show, Boyle and Rosengurt emphasized the excitement of the core of the shows plot. Theres so many moments that are just surreal. Some of those are in the script, and some of them were leaning into. Get ready for the wacky, wild West. Boyle said. Other students involved in the production are actors Conner Stanfield 21 and Harry Gale 20, as well as technical designers Carlos Ventura 20 and Ananya Munish 20. Performances run the weekend of April 19 at the Loft Theatre. Tickets will be available the week of performances at the Bucksbaum Center for the Arts. By Anneliese Stattelman stattelma@grinnell.edu Kaya Prasad 19 has been exploring the world through movement since she was 2 years old. Since then, she has combined her passions of community building, theology and anthropology into her dancing career. The Grinnell fourth-year is currently working on her Mentored Advanced Project, a 30-minute dance performance entitled Negotiating Boundaries: Identity and Exile. Prasads combination of community engagement and dance began in high school where she performed with an ensemble who did community service events like benefits for the childrens hospital or nursing homes. Her already impressive repertoire of ballet, jazz, tap and modern dance techniques was expanded upon when she came to Grinnell. She joined the salsa club, was part of the inaugural membership of the contra club and took up swing dancing. I always felt like dance was really important to me not just for the art form but also as a place to be with people and a way to build relationships with people, and to make friends. Some of my deepest and most lasting friendships have come through dance I love being able to dance with people and get to know them through dance, said Prasad. When she was a first-year, Prasad performed in Taylor Watts MAP, A Choreographic Exploration of Le Commerce Triangulaire [the Triangular Trade]. [The MAP] was an anthropology and choreography map with some French history involved in it too. I thought it was so cool that Taylor Watts was doing a project that combined dance and something really academic. Those had always been my two separate worlds, said Prasad. After taking a semester off of dancing to travel to Kunming, China for study abroad, Prasad enrolled in a linguistics short course at Grinnell that involved dancing as well as a choreography class. The two classes had a profound effect on Prasads relationship with dance. She said that having the space and time to work with people who think like Celeste [Miller, associate professor of theater and dance] about dance as something that can be used as a medium of creating knowledge and not just something that you do with your body to look cool or look pretty awoke in her heart this realization that I am a dancer and thats a good thing. Prasad decided to rework her plan for her last year at Grinnell and incorporated dance into her independent major. She decided that for her senior thesis she would do a choreography MAP. The MAP is integrating all of the components of my independent major and so it draws on anthropology, religious studies, and dance. There are a lot of layers to it. Prasad spends about 16 hours a week in the dance studio: eight hours of Dance Ensemble and eight hours of rehearsals for her MAP. To create movement for her MAP, Prasad has selected some texts from the Hebrew bible and Christian scriptures that speak to the theme of exile and identity on national, religious, spiritual level. Her MAP explores the purpose exile serves in bringing us from the brokenness that were living and closer to the wholeness that were made for. To explain these themes, Prasad conducted interviews with family members about immigration and living in a multicultural family. She interviewed her grandfather, who immigrated from India, about living in a culture that makes him feel like he doesnt really fit. She also interviewed her dad and two aunts about growing up halfway between two cultures. Im looking at how those stories have intersections with the universal story that emerges from the biblical narrative. Im writing text that will be spoken as part of the performance along with the dancing. Prasad has completed sections of her performance, and the work she has already created is powerful and intriguing. Her dance movements emphasize the spoken dialogue, giving life and imagery to a text that is provoking on its own. Prasad is also collaborating with musicians who are composing music based on the same biblical texts she is using to make movement, as well as other dancers. In the future Prasad plans to go on to the professional world of dance and apply what she has learned from her anthropology and theology classes to keep studying people, individuals and communities. Dance is not just an art form for experiencing yourself, she said. Its also an art form for connecting with people through ideas and through movement. Posted Thursday, February 21, 2019 7:15 am An Ariel man was arrested yesterday for allegedly shooting at a neighbors home and making threats to shoot the people inside, according to the Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office. Around 1 p.m. Feb. 20, 911 received a call about a man, identified as William Black, 59, of Ariel, shooting in a reckless manner at a home on Frasier Road. The caller, who lives in that home, could hear something hitting the building as well as Black shouting for the occupants to come out so he could blow them away. Cowlitz County Sheriffs deputies made contact with Black on arrival to the scene, though he refused to comply with law enforcement and barricaded himself inside his home, according to the sheriffs office. Deputies obtained a search warrant for Blacks home and called for assistance from the Lower Columbia SWAT Team. Black remained barricaded while SWAT deployed chemical agents, after which the suspect exited and was taken into custody. The sheriffs office reported that several firearms were found in Blacks home as well as shotgun shell casings near the neighbors residence. Black was booked into Cowlitz County Jail on two counts of reckless endangerment and two of deadly threats. Alongside Lower Columbia SWAT, officers from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife had been training in the Cougar area and also helped in response. Elizabethtown, KY (42701) Today Sunny, along with a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Mostly clear skies. Low near 70F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. With the development of new technologies in the area of AI, many companies are jumping into the field with both eyes wide open. It is very possible that artificial intelligent androids will work alongside their human companions in the future. They will not only work in the same office or building but also independently in their own home. Artificial intelligence has opened up many doors in the past and looks to continue that pace in the future. There are several reasons as to why companies such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Cisco, IBM and others are all jumping into the pool Torshavn, the capital of the Faroes // Andrew Milligan/PA April, Gudrid Hoejgaard, head of the local tourist board, said about 100,000 people visit the islands every year. Ms. Hoejgaard said tourism is not all about numbers, adding that our aim is to preserve and protect the islands.Some 100 visitors will be able to join the Faroese Maintenance Crew in exchange for free room and board in latewhen they will work with locals to keep their green islands unspoiled. The windy islands, inhabited by about 50,000 people and 80,000 sheep, draw visitors to their dramatic scenery, with waterfalls and abundant birdlife. You can find your client key on your subscription renewal statement or call us at the Mountain Mail at 719-539-6691. Salida, CO (81201) Today Showers early, then cloudy overnight. Low 48F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Showers early, then cloudy overnight. Low 48F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. Welcome back pirates! As you make your return to campus The East Carolinian has created a forum that centers around topics within the community where readers can express their experiences and concerns. With the new guidelines set in place by East Carolina University do you feel as these precautions will keep you safe? Survey President Joe Biden had a three-hour talk with Russian Premier Vladimir Putin in Geneva on June 16, said he laid down some red lines Russia had darned well not cross and that it was his hope this guy he once called a killer does not want another Cold War. Unlimited website access 24/7 Unlimited e-Edition access 24/7 The best local, regional and national news in sports, politics, business and more! With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. Sanjay Johnson, who was charged with nondisclosure of his HIV status to a former sexual partner, was given a surprise sentence of five years probation and a $750 fine finalized in Little Rock, Arkansas on Feb. 19. Johnson was initially facing a felony conviction with the possibility of 10 to 12 years in prison and a requirement that he register as a sex offender upon his release. We last reported on Johnson's story in September 2018. "Honestly, I'm grateful, but I still have a burden with probation and its restrictions and financial obligations," said Johnson about the sentence. Johnson's defense lawyer, Cheryl K. Maples, said that the case largely rested on the fact that Johnson was documented as having an undetectable viral load and could not have transmitted the virus to the accuser. The prosecutor finally was convinced in the second hearing. "He finally heard me," Maples said, speaking about Grayson Hinojosa, deputy prosecutor with Pulaski County, Arkansas. "He finally got that Sanjay could not have exposed this young man to HIV because he was undetectable." The statute that was employed in Johnson's earlier no-contest plea is rarely used, according to Maples. It allows for people without any other criminal records to settle their case with a guilty or no-contest plea, accept at least one year's probation and no more than a $3,500 fine. They will continue to have no further criminal record. Interestingly, the law carves out a provision that bans defendants who have been charged with "exposing another person to the human immunodeficiency virus." But with Johnson being virally suppressed, the exposure clause was moot. Maples sees an opportunity to help others like Johnson. She is preparing a case for the United States District Court in Western Arkansas to challenge the HIV criminalization law that initially ensnared him. "I believe the law [that criminalizes people with HIV] is unconstitutional," she said. Change is spreading nationally, slowly but surely, due to heavy advocacy work by community advocates, state groups, and national organizations including the Center for HIV Law and Policy, Lambda Legal, Prevention Access Campaign, and SERO Project. While Arkansas still has specific laws criminalizing people living with HIV for nondisclosure, there are several states that have reformed their laws in the past few years, most recently California, Colorado, and North Carolina. As for Johnson, he says that although he is happy about the final ruling, the case has taken a toll. "I'm still looking for a better stable job," he said. "I was terminated from my job at the hospital [where I was employed] for over three years. My work performance went down since I've been going through this ordeal, and it affected me mentally and led to my dismissal. I didn't work for three months, but was applying and having interviews, and started working on Jan. 7." As for the future, Johnson said that despite the hardships, this experience has encouraged him to want to help others in similar scenarios. "I would like be in a position where I could work while getting paid advocating and educating on HIV and criminalization, and maybe write a book about my experiences," he said. "I still will continue to advance in my woodcarving and photography and other creative passions. I just want to be a genuine example to those who are like me that you can overcome adversity." New History of Turkish Genocide of Christians Sounds Dark Warning for the Future Israeli historian Benny Morris doesn't do things by half. The footnotes of his new book on the 30-year genocide of Christians by their Turkish rulers, cowritten with his colleague Dror Zeevi, take up more than a fifth of the 640-page work. "It was nine years, a long haul," he admitted to me this week, with an audible sigh over the phone. And he talks about the involvement of Ataturk in the later stages of the genocide of around 2.5 million Christians of the Ottoman empire; how "religions do drive people to excessive violence" -- he has in mind the Turks, Isis, the Crusades -- and even condemns the Arabs for their inability to criticise themselves. The mere title of the Morris-Zeevi book, The Thirty-Year Genocide: Turkey's Destruction of Its Christian Minorities 1894-1924, is going to have the Turks enraged, from Erdogan down. The Armenians and other Christians will dispute his apparent claim that he has only just discovered that their slaughter lasted for 30 years -- others have talked of the Armenian genocide of 1915 bookended by the late 19th-century massacres in Turkey and the post-1915 killing of surviving Armenians and Greeks, Assyrians and others. And the Arab world will challenge his view that the holocaust (my word) of Christians was more motivated by Islam than Turkish nationalism. Having written about the genocide of the Armenians for 35 years, I have doubts that the actual call for "jihad" in the Turkish Ottoman empire unleashed at the start of the First World War was as ferocious as Morris makes it out to be. Muftis were indeed told they were in a holy war against Christians -- but not against German Christians, Austro-Hungarian Christians, neutral Christians or allies of the Central Powers (Bulgaria, for example). Many Muslim worshippers, sitting on the carpets of mosque floors, must have shaken their heads in puzzlement at these caveats. Well, one way was to notice the German officers training the Ottoman army, the German diplomats and businessmen who witnessed the genocide of the Armenians with their own eyes, and wrote home about it. Hitler asked his generals who now remembered the Armenians just before invading Poland in 1939. But again and again, I was brought up short by the sheer, terrible, shocking accounts of violence in Morris's and Zeevi's work. "Strident religiosity" moved through the Muslim lands, write the authors. The date: 1895. The place: Severek. The witness: Armenian survivor Abraham Hartunian. "The first attack was on our pastor [Mardiros Bozyakalian]. The blow of an axe decapitated him. His blood, spurting in all directions, spattered the walls and ceiling with red. Then I was in the midst of the butchers. One of them drew his dagger ... Three blows fell on my head. My blood began to flow like a fountain ... The attackers [were] sure that I was dead ... Then they slaughtered the other men in the room, took the prettier women with them for rape ..." Now it is July 1915. The place: Merzifon. The witness: missionary JK Marsden. "They were in groups of four with their arms tied behind them and their deportation began with perhaps 100 ... in a batch ... they were taken about 12 miles across the plains, stripped of their clothing and, in front of a ditch previously prepared, were compelled to kneel down while a group of villagers with knives and axes quickly disposed of them. For a week, this was repeated until 1,230 of the leading Armenian men had been disposed of." In January 1920, YMCA secretary CFH Crathern was in Marash. The wife of an Armenian pastor had reached his hospital. "She was bleeding ... from three bullet and three dagger or knife wounds while a child of 18 months had been taken from her breast and slain with a knife, and an older girl killed with an axe. To add to the sorrow of it, this woman was pregnant and had a miscarriage as soon as she reached the hospital." The woman died the following day. I have repeated above only a few of the less bloody episodes from the 30 years. I will spare readers the chopped off fingers, the thousands of raped girls, the priests beheaded or burned on crucifixes. In the final annihilation of the Armenians, an American missionary spoke of "minds obsessed with Muslim fanaticism seven times heated". Turks, he wrote, had "become drunk with blood and rapine, and plunder and power, and he will be a different man from what he was before the atrocities". Benny Morris thinks it was more to do with a mixture of modern nationalism and the decline of "Islamic polity". I discussed all this with him. Is it possible for a people to be so inured to cruelty that they changed, that their acts of sadism could alter their humanity? Religions drive people to excessive violence, he said again, and then repeated this as "excessive sadism". Morris agreed that the Romans were cruel, but they were pagans. "In terms of religion, the Romans were amateurs. Abrahamic religions drive people to excess." Jews had avoided this. Palestinians will disagree. There is certainly a frightening geographical scope to the killings. Many thousands of horrors were perpetrated in Mosul, Raqqa, Manbij and Deir ez-Zor, names grimly familiar from the Isis torments of 2014 onwards. Why, one keeps asking, didn't the Christians leave after 1924? But of course, they had been urged to return to settle in Cilicia and in Mesopotamia and Syria by the French and British -- who left; and thus the Christian descendants waited for the next generational bloodletting. The Turks were not the only killers, and Kurds also killed the Christians for the Turks, as Ukrainians killed the Jews for the Nazi Germans. At one point in Morris's text, a group of Circassians plait a rope 25 yards long from the hair of young women they have killed, and send it as a present to their commander. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk gets pretty well trashed in this volume. "There are accounts of him saying in 1922 that, 'Our aim is to get rid of the Christians' -- he said this in a number of conversations," Morris contends. "He gave orders, and men in his later government were responsible." But if this 30-year history of blood was fuelled by "Muslim fanaticism", there are "good Turks" in the book. In the first massacres, government officials arrested Essad Bey, an "honest, impartial and tolerant" judge who tried to help the Christians. There is a heroic Turkish doctor who throws out his sick Turkish soldiers from a hospital and replaces them with Armenian refugees. Missionary Tacy Atkinson hoped to meet the doctor one day "in the Kingdom of Heaven". There are others. It's true that the Greek Christians have fewer historians than the Armenians. Tens of thousands of Greeks were transported to Greece in return for an equal number of Muslims -- official agreements kept the massacres a trifle smaller -- but Morris and Zeevi give too little attention to the awe in which the Nazis held Ataturk's people. Ataturk himself cared little for Islam: he smoked and womanised, and was a nationalist before he was a Muslim. The Nazis admired his "Turkified" non-minority republic. When he died, the front page of Volkischer Beobachter was fringed in black. The authors briefly compare the Jewish Holocaust and the Armenian genocide -- I prefer the terms Jewish Holocaust and Armenian Holocaust -- and there are some already published parallels. Armenians might be spared if they would convert to Islam or marry Muslim men. Jews could not save their lives by converting. The Turkish massacres were more sadistic. I rather think the German-inspired slaughter could be just as bad in the Second World War: witness the head-chopping at the Jasenovac camp on the Croatian-Bosnian border. Persecution of the Jews under the Nazis lasted at most 12 years, but persecution of Christians in Ottoman territories 30 years. German civilians played little role in the Jewish Holocaust. Turkish civilians played a far greater role. If 2.5 million Christians is the correct figure for those murdered in the 30 years -- Morris warned me that it cannot be accurately tallied, and I'm sure he's right -- at least six million Jews were killed in the 1939-1945 period, and so it took the Nazis five times as few years to slaughter more than twice as many human beings. The Turks simply didn't have the industrial tools to kill more Christians more quickly, because these mechanics were unavailable at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. But working on this basis, how many people will be killed in the future -- and how quickly -- with new technology? Astronaut photography benefiting the planet Paris (ESA) Feb 18, 2019 When astronauts take photographs of our planet while orbiting 400 km above our heads, they are doing much more than just taking pretty pictures. They are looking after the health of our planet and, ultimately, us too. Techniques used by astrophotographers looking at the stars and space exploration come together to measure the environmental impact of artificial lights at night. The only night images of Earth in colour that are freely available to the public are pictures taken by the astronaut ... read more * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! Tehachapi, CA (93561) Today Mostly clear. Low around 65F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mostly clear. Low around 65F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Thank you for Reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and Purchase a Subscription to continue reading. Two Venezuelan tankers stuck in Portugal to lose crews Seafarers on board two PDVSA controlled tankers are to be dismissed, due to unpaid debts accumulated by subsidiary PDV Marina. The vessels are the Suezmax Rio Arauca, which has been anchored in the River Tagus, off Lisbon for almost two years and the Aframax Parnaso, which is at the Setenave shiprepair yard in Setubal. In a message to Reuters, the vessels manager, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) confirmed that both crews will be removed. Lisbons maritime court ruled to take possession of the Parnaso last August. PDV Marina owes BSM at least $15 mill, according to a source at the company and a document seen by Reuters. BSM said the Rio Arauca arrived in Lisbon in May, 2017 but has been inactive and unable to dock since then. She was seen in the Tagus by Tanker Operators Editor during a trip to Lisbon on 26th December, 2017. BSM, as the manager for Rio Arauca, has operated a crew rotation, maintaining sufficient manning levels on board to ensure the vessels safety and security while at anchor in the Tagus for the past 21 months, BSM told Reuters, adding that the vessel was securely at anchor. Legal responsibility for the vessel now sits with the arresting parties, BSM confirmed. Lisbons Port Authority (APL) told the newswire that Rio Arauca had arrived with a cargo of crude for Portuguese oil company Galp Energia, but later local Portuguese company Navex declined to continue to be the tankers agent. As a result, the tanker was then subject to successive arrest orders, APL said. APL filed a petition against PDV Marina in April, 2018 over accumulating monthly charges of 200,000. APL said PDV Marina owed the port authority 1.7 mill as of the end of last year. In August, 2018 another arrest order was issued by bunker fuel broker, Amoil. BSM explained that Amoil had secured a maritime lien on the vessel claiming an unpaid debt by PDV Marina. Rio Arauca arrived in Lisbon with 26 crew members but Portugals Immigration and Border Service (SEF) said only 16 people remained on board. Shipbuilding fundamentally changing This year has already been busy in terms of tanker ordering activity with VLCCs and MRs once again appearing to be in vogue. So far this year (mid-February), at least 12 VLCCs and 11 MRs were ordered. Both types also received the most interest in 2018, with 42 and 49 units ordered, respectively. Now, the question is - was the start of 2019 just a blip or a sign of things to come? Gibson Shipbrokers asked in a report. Many factors will play a role in an investment decision - from fleet renewal programmes and regulatory developments, to speculative investments based on anticipated future demand. Other influences, such as prices and yard slot availability, will also play a role. Precisely determining shipbuilding capacity can be a tricky game, with different vessel types occupying slots for different periods of time, depending on their complexity. However, some conclusions can be drawn from what we know, and what we think might logically take place, Gibson said. Looking at historical activity, overall, ordering across all shipping sectors declined last year and remained low compared to the busier ordering periods seen in 2013-2015 and prior to that, the 2006-2008 boom. This implies that there is plenty of shipbuilding capacity to take care of higher ordering activity this year. Yet there are factors to consider, Gibson said. First, the shipbuilding industry has not been in good health in recent years. Many yards that were active during the last shipbuilding boom remain idle, while offshoot yards, such as Hanjin Subic Bay have struggled, having recently filed for rehabilitation following loan defaults. At the same time, consolidation is increasing, with Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) taking control of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME). Second, whilst investment in 2018 was well below record levels, contracting of complex LNGCs and containerships roughly doubled year-on-year, suggesting that newbuilding slots at premium yards could be a little scarcer over the next few years. This may be particularly true if, as widely reported in the press, a large LNGC order (for up to 60 vessels) is placed by Qatar. The timing of this deal may be unclear, but with the final investment decision now taken on the joint Exxon/Qatar Petroleum Golden Pass LNG project and Qatari aspirations to increase domestic capacity, the requirement is certainly there.? Higher consolidation should reduce 'overcapacity' in the South Korean shipbuilding sector, which, coupled with higher demand from other sectors (eg LNG), could support higher prices, potentially impacting on the volumes of newbuilds contracted. However, much depends on what happens in the Chinese shipyards and whether this sector also sees further consolidation. Nevertheless, prices have already increased over the past 12 months, with a newbuild VLCC (non-scrubber, South Korea) having risen around $10 mill over the past 12 months. Regulations may also make the decision trickier, owing to uncertainty over which fuel choice/compliance method represents the future. Some owners may wait to see how the next few years evolve before committing to newbuilding designs. Regardless of how these factors play out, replacement tonnage will be needed, and ordering activity will eventually surge. When this takes place, however, is key to the shape and timing of the next market upcycle, Gibson concluded. Scrubber debate rumbles on The Clean Shipping Alliance 2020 (CSA 2020) has expressed strong concerns about a proposal submitted by the European Commission (EC), to try to get the IMO to change its Exhaust Gas Cleaning System (EGCS/scrubber) guidelines. The proposal, which the EC submitted to IMO on the 8th February deadline, calls for evaluation and harmonisation of scrubber discharges across all ports, worldwide and is intended for consideration by IMOs MEPC 74, which meets in May, in London. This proposal is an attempt by the European Commission to push forward restrictions on scrubbers, which are accepted globally by the IMO, EU and others as acceptable means of improving air emissions quality in controlled areas, said CSA 2020 executive director, Ian Adams. Within two weeks of a draft surfacing, the Commission had taken the proposal to a one-day working party review and then submitted it to IMO, he claimed. Clearly this was planned to avoid the open discussion and deliberation that a proposal with such far-reaching impact requires. In the absence of credible evidence to justify such a major departure from the existing rules, the proposal is instead based mostly on speculation. CSA 2020 members, who represent over 30 leading commercial and passenger shipping companies have been investing for years to prepare their ships in time to meet emissions abatement targets in accordance with existing IMO and EU rules, which endorse the use of open and closed-loop scrubbers in all waters,said Adams. To see the Commission take this step within months of the entry-into-force of the Global ECA is beyond disappointing. Noting the broader issues facing the industry, Adams added: The EC initiative is needlessly creating baseless concerns at a time when there are already very real issues in the maritime industry regarding the future availability, suitability and cost of fuels and the effects on global trade and shipping that this will have. There could also be safety implications should ships be required to change fuels in high traffic areas close to ports. I am sure Brussels is very aware that existing scientific data shows significant air emissions improvement from scrubbers, with no likely impact on the ocean environment, but it appears the submission to IMO was prepared with speed rather than accuracy, he stressed. In a letter to its membership seen by CSA 2020, a European national shipowners association, said: The EC submission does not identify any scientific evidence of potential risks but is lost in assumptions and speculation about possible contaminant levels and claimed risk potentials. In its proposal, the EC refers to the interim result of a study to be completed in May, 2019 by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) for the investigation of scrubber wash water from closed loop and open loop systems. But as the preliminary conclusions of the BSH study do not appear to align with the ECs proposal, it is far from clear whether it will contain any suggestion of new restrictions on scrubber wash water. This week, CSA 2020 also presented results of a three-year study of the composition and quality of exhaust gas cleaning system (EGCS) washwater, based on samples taken from cruise ships. The Carnival-led study collected 281 washwater samples from 53 EGCS-equipped cruise ships, claimed to be the largest washwater data set in the marine industry, which were then assessed against 54 different test parameters by ISO accredited independent laboratories. The resulting laboratory analysis reports were then evaluated by class society DNV GLs Maritime Advisory Services and the data compared against various water quality standards, after first confirming that the samples analysed were consistently well within the allowable IMO criteria and regulatory limits. Then the results were compared to selected national and international water quality standards and land-based wastewater discharge limits. According to CSA 2020, the EGCS results compared favourably with all of these standards. Comparing scrubber wash water to various other major water standards is useful to provide perspective and to illustrate EGCS wash water quality in a way that is easy to understand. These comparisons also provide relatable criteria for a number of specific EGCS parameters of interest, such as PAH concentrations, which also have limits within these standards, Mike Kaczmarek, Carnivals Senior Vice President for Marine Technology, explained. Although these are all recognised standards that are designed to regulate other waters, they do provide confirmation of the quality of water that operators of this technology are returning to the sea, and they provide strong support to the IMOs decision to approve these systems as acceptable means of compliance throughout the worlds regional and 2020 global emission control areas (ECAs), he added. We want to emphasise that this major study was intended to provide an objective assessment of the quality of scrubber washwater through a rigorous comparison to other world water quality standards, and it now represents the largest, most credible and verifiable data set available,CSA 2020s Adams said. And importantly, the results reaffirm that exhaust gas cleaning systems are effective and safe for the ocean environment. Northwest European oil demand to remain stagnant Once a major driver of global oil and tanker demand, Europe has gradually become less significant. However, as Poten & Partners highlighted in a recent Tanker Opinion, Northwest Europe is still very relevant to the tanker sector. Back in 1970, the combined oil demand of European Union members represented 27.9% of global oil demand. This market share has been gradually declining since. In contrast, last year, the EU only represented 13.3% of global oil demand. Absolute EU oil demand peaked in 1979 at 15.6 mill barrels per day. Oil demand plunged in the 1980s after the global economic recession, which was triggered by a rapid increase in oil prices after the second oil crisis. Oil demand fell to 12.6 mill barrels per day in 1983, before gradually recovering to 15.1 mill in 2006. The financial crisis of 2008 triggered another drop in oil demand, which fell back to 1983 levels. It has improved since, but we dont expect EU oil demand to recover to the levels of 10 years ago, Poten said. Most of the EU countries have mature economies that have become significantly less energy intensive over the years. Global energy intensity (defined as total energy consumption per unit of GDP) has been declining since the 1990s. The EU now has the worlds lowest energy intensity. Continued focus on energy efficiency and renewables, combined with a limited population growth means that oil is unlikely to make a significant come back in Europe. In terms of tanker demand, however, Europe remains relevant. European refiners still churn out 12 mill barrels of products and most of the crude oil that feeds these facilities has to be imported. While oil demand and refinery runs have gradually declined over the last 10 years, so has regional oil production. North Sea oil output peaked in 2000 at just over 6.4 mill barrels per day. Last year, it had declined to about 3 mill. In the past, Northwest Europe (the UK/Continent area) imported significant volumes of crude oil from the Middle East on VLCCs. However, over the years, the use of VLCCs has reduced. Out of a total of 327 average monthly VLCC voyages in 2018, less than 10 were destined for Northwest Europe. Suezmaxes are used more frequently. In 2018, a little over 20% of all global Suezmax voyages were destined for Northwest Europe. Almost all these voyages came from the Atlantic Basin. Out of the 90 average monthly Suezmax voyages in 2018, 36 originated in the North Sea, 24 in West Africa and 16 in the Mediterranean. Most of the remaining voyages came from the Americas. Aframaxes continue to play a dominant role in European imports, moving crude from the North Sea, the Baltic, as well as the Mediterranean and the US. In 2018, an average of 163 Aframaxes called in Northwest Europe and 119 (74%) of these voyages originated in the UK-Cont/Baltic region. Another 23 Aframax voyages per month came from the Mediterranean and 20 from the Americas. Since the ban on exports was lifted in December, 2015, the US has become a significant supplier of crude oil to Europe, initially using mainly Aframaxes and Suezmaxes. However, recently, US exporters have started to use VLCCs to move cargoes into Europe. As US Gulf port and terminal infrastructure continues to improve, we expect that more VLCCs will be used to move US tight oil to refiners in Europe, in particular after IMO 2020 becomes effective, Poten said. In short, Europe will continue to support tanker demand for smaller and medium sized vessels and, since it has the infrastructure to accommodate them, economics could favour using more VLCCs for transatlantic voyages. Markets - VLCCs see firming rates Brisk activity in the US Gulf for March loading dates has firmed rates for the other major VLCC routes. Ships have ballasted on spec from the East towards the Americas looking for increased TCEs, which again has started to thin the lengthy tonnage-list for MEG and West Africa, Fearnleys reported. Rates have firmed, but it could be argued that the latest sharp decrease in MEG and West Africa rates was a bit overdone. Therefore, there was a better balance of tonnage supply for the respective areas and rates found support at present levels. Sporadic action allowed Suezmax tonnage lists to build and further erosion of rates across the board occurred during the past week. It was a slow decline rather than a collapse, which allowed earnings to remain close to $20,000 per day in the Atlantic. There was some notable fixing out of the US Gulf and this is one area that has shown some life. The WTI/Brent spread has been wide enough to allow imports into the UK/Cont/Med, which is an attractive voyage for a select few. Some owners have preferred to leave ships spot, seemingly satisfied to wait for the right voyage to give the best TCE returns, rather than fixing less attractive options at lower rate levels. Fearnleys predicted Further pain ahead for the foreseeable future but the Atlantic basin tonnage lists will need watching if US Gulf exports continue. As expected, Aframax rates in the Baltic and North Sea increased this week. Quite a few vessels had left the area leaving charterers with fewer options to fix. This gave owners the opportunity to push for higher rates than last done. At the time of writing (Wednesday), the firm sentiment was expected to continue, especially out of strategic ice restricted export areas. A steady flow of cargoes coming into the Mediterranean market were seen during the last few days. However, the increased activity has yet to be translated into firming rates, as there is still an oversupply of tonnage. The past week, TD19 has fallen to WS85 levels. On the bright side, an upturn in alternative markets, such as Northwest Europe and USG/Caribs was seen, Fearnleys concluded. Meanwhile, TEN has confirmed a contract reported recently for the building of two Suezmaxes, which, upon their delivery, will enter into minimum five, maximum 12-year, contracts to an oil major. The TCE revenues from these two fixtures, over the duration of the respective contacts, is expected at a minimum $110 mill and could reach $300 mill should their employment be extended to the maximum period. Elsewhere, brokers reported that Navig8 had fixed the 2018-built Suezmax RS Aurora for 12 months at $20,000 per day, plus options, while the Aframax CS Zephyr was believed fixed to DSC Marine for sixto eight months at $19,000 per day. Phillips66 was also thought to have taken the 2008-built MR Centenial Misumi for 12 months at $13,250 per day. In the S&P sector, Cape Shipping of Greece was said to have bought the 2009-built MR Ocean Express for $16 mill. Other Greek interests were said to have purchased the 2004-built Panamax Genmar Compatriot for $6.8 mill. dAmico International Shipping (DIS) has announced that DM Shipping (DMS), a joint venture with the Mitsubishi Group, in which dAmico Tankers holds a 51% stake, signed a memorandum of agreement for the sale of the 2009-built MR High Strength for $16.4 mill. The Vessel will continue its current time-charter out contract with dAmico Tankers until October, 2019. In the newbuilding sector, Maran Tankers was believed to have ordered a Suezmax at Daehan, while Valles reportedly booked an LR2 at Sumitomo. According to a TASS report, Russias Zvezda Shipyard plans to build its first Aframax in 2021. According to CEO Sergey Tseluiko; "The launch of the first tanker is scheduled to 2019. This will be an ice class support vessel. The first Aframax will be constructed in 2021," he told TASS. Zvezda currently has 37 vessels on order, including 12 Aframaxes. Interorient sentenced for US oil discharge offence Interorient Marine Services has been convicted and sentenced in the US Western District of Louisiana, for maintaining false and incomplete records. This related to the discharge of oil from the 2009-built MR Ridgebury Alexandra Z, confirmed by Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the US Environment and Natural Resources Division and US Attorney David Joseph for the Western District of Louisiana. Interorient Marine Services had admitted that oil cargo residues and oily bilge water were illegally dumped from the MR directly into the sea without being properly processed through required pollution prevention equipment. The company also admitted that false entries were made in the vessels oil record book to conceal the illegal dumping. Specifically, senior ships officers employed by Interorient discharged oily waste into the ocean by flushing the vessels pollution prevention equipment sensor with fresh water. This move tricked the system into detecting a much lower effluent oil content than what was actually being discharged. The officers then falsified the vessels oil record book, recording that 87,705 gallons of oily wastewater had been discharged properly through the pollution prevention equipment, when in fact they knew that this pollution prevention equipment had been tampered with. By illegally dumping oily waste into the ocean, Interorient intentionally violated federal law that protects valuable marine resources and wildlife, said Assistant Attorney General Clark. This conviction shows that corporations and individuals that willfully flout our nations environmental laws will be held accountable by criminal prosecution. My office is charged with enforcing federal and international laws designed to protect our oceans from pollutants carried by commercial vessels, US Attorney Joseph added. Tankers are required to offload their waste oil at disposal facilities at ports and not into the Gulf of Mexico. This case should serve as a deterrent to other individuals and companies that ignore our laws, pollute our waters, and damage our environment. The (US) Coast Guard takes its responsibilities to protect the marine environment seriously, said US Coast Guard Commander Daniel Cost, CO of Marine Safety Unit Lake Charles. When potential criminal violations of our nation's pollution laws are identified, we work closely with the Department of Justice to ensure any illegal activities are prosecuted to the fullest extent of law. Interorient pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, for failing to accurately maintain the Ridgebury Alexandra Zs oil record book. Under the terms of a plea agreement, the company will pay a total fine of $2 mill and serve a four-year probation term, during which all vessels operated by the company and calling on US ports will be required to implement a robust Environmental Compliance Plan. The vessels Master, Vjaceslavs Birzakovs, was charged in a six-count indictment by a Grand Jury in the Western District of Louisiana on 29th November, 2018, for his involvement in this case. The indictment alleged that Birzakovs directed circumvention of the vessels pollution prevention equipment, falsified records, obstructed justice, made false statements, and conspired with other crew members to falsify the vessels oil record book and to obstruct the USCGs enforcement of the law in conjunction with the illegal discharges from the tanker. The charges and allegations contained in Birzakovs indictment are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty, the US Department of Justice said. This case was investigated by the US Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Lake Charles, and the USCG Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Stephen Da Ponte of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice, and Assistant US Attorney Daniel McCoy of the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana. Alaskan Tanker opts for Ecochlor BWMS Alaskan Tanker Company (ATC) is to retrofit Ecochlors ballast water management system (BWMS) on board the fleet. This includes three near VLCCs and an option for one additional vessel. Each of these vessels are US flag tankers with Zone 1 and Zone 0 hazardous areas. Ecochlor patented BWMS is approved for installation in both US Flag and international vessels in hazardous areas rated Zone 1 or Zone 0 through a US Coast Guard Type Approval certification. The installations will start in the Autumn of this year and run through 2021 and will be undertaken by Sembawang Shipyard, Singapore. Steve Candito, Ecochlor CEO, said, Alaskan Tankers has a reputation of shipping oil with the utmost concern for personnel safety and environmental protection. They have a culture of responsibility, accountability at all levels and we are proud to have been selected by a vessel owner with such high standards. I look forward to our ongoing relationship - providing BWMS and after sales service with the excellence in performance that they demand. The vessels primarily transport crude oil from Alaska to US West Coast refineries, particularly in California and Washington states. These US Pacific Northwest areas have the highest environmental standards and are specifically designated in the new VIDA legislation that was signed late in 2017 for more stringent requirements. We have been diligently evaluating BWMS to find one that will suit our needs - specifically a system that not only unfailingly meets the US Federal and State environmental compliance standards, but one that is easy to operate and will keep our crew safe. Crew safety and environmental protection are of paramount concern to ATC and we expect the same from our operational partners. Further, ATC recognises its responsibility to the citizens of the US West Coast States, including Alaska. Thus, our ships must not only meet and exceed environmental standards, they must do so reliably to ensure that there is no interruption of critical oil supplies. Ecochlor understands these requirements and has agreed to work with us to ensure we meet these high standards, commented Anil Mather, ATC CEO. What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 712-243-2624 or email circ@ant-news.com. A former mayor of Malaga who is known for her outspoken character and who went on to be a high-profile minister and MP on the national-political stage is to step down. Celia Villalobos (69) has been an MP for Malaga province for 30 years and was city mayor from 1995 to 2000 before being called to Madrid as minister for Health. She was also deputy speaker in Congreso. British airline Easyjet has announced a new route between Malaga and Porto (Portugal) for this summer season. From 1 April flights will operate four times a week, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. With this new addition Easyjet flies to 17 destinations around Europe from Malaga airport. A nine-year-old British girl died on Monday in Malaga's children's hospital after apparently suffering a severe reaction after tasting an ice cream the previous Saturday. Sources said that the girl was allergic to milk and nuts which caused a possible anaphylactic shock although the exact cause is still under investigation. The girl reportedly suffered the attack last Saturday when she tried the ice cream and started to feel ill. She had arrived in Spain for a half-term holiday with her parents and two siblings that morning. Sources told SUR that after leaving their luggage at their accommodation, they went to a nearby shopping centre in Fuengirola. It appears that while they were there the girl tasted an ice cream which triggered the severe reaction. She started to feel ill and the family returned to their hotel. There, they went down to the restaurant area for dinner, but the girls condition worsened, said the sources, and they left without eating. It was then that the youngster apparently suffered a cardiac arrest and received first aid treatment from hotel staff, until the arrival of the emergency services, who received the call just after 9pm. Once stabilised, the girl was taken by ambulance to the Costa del Sol hospital, near Marbella, where she was admitted in a serious condition. As she continued to get worse she was moved to the childrens hospital in Malaga. By that time her condition was critical. The health authorities confirmed that she died on Monday evening. On Tuesday an autopsy was carried out and a judicial investigation has been started, although indications are that it was the extreme allergic reaction that caused the death. Full toxicology tests will be carried out at laboratories in Seville. The Club La Costa World complex, where the family are staying, has passed on condolences and thanked the emergency services for their fast and professional response, as well as the hotel staff for their continued support for the family at this difficult time. "It was nice knowing that I was standing where he would have stood." The excitement and enthusiasm in Colin Old's voice is notable as he recalls last week when he, alongside up to 500 people at some stages, took part in a hike to commemorate La Desbanda - the Malaga-Almeria road massacre at the hands of Nationalist troops which took place on 8 February 1937. The 'he' in question is Norman Bethune, a Canadian medic who saved countless lives during the Spanish Civil War with his "revolutionary" methods, including bringing blood to the frontline and performing transfusions in the field. For Colin, being able to follow in Bethune's footsteps was "the icing on the cake", having devoted much of his time since retiring in 2010 to preserving and promoting his compatriot's legacy. "I'm doing it out of personal interest," he says, "I get no financial backing from anyone else. I used to work for Parks Canada at the birthplace of Norman Bethune in Gravenhurst, Ontario. I just found his story fascinating. There's no family connection, nothing. This is one of my hobbies now." Legacy Though Norman Bethune's legacy is a bone of contention in his native Canada because of his "radical leftist views" at that time, things couldn't be more different on the other side of the globe in China where he is a "national hero". "He is maybe the most famous Canadian ever because he is still taught in Chinese schools to millions of children." However, Colin believes that Bethune's service with the Communist Eighth Route Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War may never have happened if it wasn't for his "Spanish experience". "Norman was always someone who was at the right place at the right time. In fact, he was always in the place where the ball was heading." Spain preceded China, he says. "Norman first came to Motril in the 1930s but then returned years later given his sensitivity to political causes. He saw the Spanish Civil War as 'the' fight against fascism at that time and wanted to make a contribution." It was in Spain that he started to implement his "revolutionary" medical techniques, such as was the case with transfusions, but also in treating tuberculosis. "He suffered from tuberculosis himself and he invented something called the pneumothorax in which you inserted a needle into the lung which would make it collapse and allow it to recover. It was a major advance." Bethune also invented a number of medical tools which are still being used in the field today: "He adapted a shoemaker's tool used for cutting leather to cut the ribs. He was pretty well ahead." A Bethune map As well as taking part in various round table and other commemorative events during the last few weeks, Colin has been compiling a map of monuments and other spots of interest concerning Norman Bethune which, though not yet complete, he is already sharing with people to spread awareness: "It was nice to go to places where I was almost certain that Norman had been as well as places that commemorate him. There's an Avenida near the [Malaga] university named after him, Almayate has a Red Cross training centre and there's a statue in Caleta de Velez... And in Almeria until 3 March there is a brilliant photo exhibition called 'Norman Bethune. El crimen de la carretera Malaga-Almeria'." This exhibition contains the only photos, 26 in total, of La Desbanda in existence. These photos, credited to Bethune's colleague Hazen Size (though "it's possible Bethune's finger was on the button", concedes Colin) have ensured that our understanding of what happened is much greater than it might have been. However, few of the spots where the photos were taken exist anymore. "Too much has changed; they would be almost unrecognisable but the old winding road still exists." Still in living memory While the events of 82 years ago are still in living memory for a lot of people, Colin believes that a "fear" of opening up old wounds is still preventing a lot of people from sharing their experiences. Because of this, and despite it being one of the darkest chapters in Spanish history in which between three and five thousand people died, La Desbanda "is hardly known at all outside Spain", especially when compared to the atrocities at Guernica. However, things are improving on that front, with events such as those last week. "I didn't do all of the hike," he says. "I'm quite fit but I did half a stage then caught up with them later and did another one. One woman was limping halfway through, but she did the whole 240 kilometres in ten days. It's certainly less political and more inclusive now." Colin, a geographer by training, has just returned to Canada after two weeks in the south of Spain to continue working on his map. "It's great that more and more people are getting involved and a lot is being done to ensure that Norman's legacy and La Desbanda are not forgotten." Changes to the SunCommercial's back end processing means the e-edition is getting a facelift. The biggest change is the e-edition, by default, is now presented in Text view. Work on the Bonewitz/Dellinger drainage system could begin before the year is out after members of the county's drainage board designated it as being next on their priority list. It's been almost four years since property owners within the watershed first asked the board for help in turning the combined ditches into a regulated drain with a maintenance fund established to keep them in proper working order. And with the board's vote on Wednesday evening, the first step was taken to make that happen. But it was a close-run thing. While the board has been considering the project for some time, and had on a couple of occasions assured landowners they'd be next up once the Mill Creek project was completed and the money became available, another project arose to challenge it. The West Fork of the White River in Knox County has crest at or above 20 feet more than 50 times in the last 40 years, and when the river reaches that stage the flooding also causes Patrick Ditch to overflow. As those flood waters reach U.S. 50 just east of Wheatland, they try to push their way through a culvert system beneath the highway. But the system can't handle the increased flow; as the water builds up on the north side it forms a whirlpool, eroding the banks of the ditch. And when the water does finally push through to the other side, the whirlpool effect is even greater, wearing away not just the ditch bank but a levee that protects some 300 acres of Ray McCormick's farm ground. Last spring McCormick came to the drainage board seeking help with correcting the problem which just about everyone not employed by the Indiana Department of Transportation says was caused by the way INDOT built the highway 40 years ago. McCormick has brought in, among others, former county surveyor and one-time Vincennes city engineer Duffy Stradtner to evaluate the problem, and Stradtner, in turn, ask David Derrick, a Mississippi-based fluvial geomorphologist (i.e., an expert on rivers) to have a look at the situation. Derrick has come up with a plan to alleviate the problem on the south side of the highway. It calls for making some improvements on the west bank of the ditch, but the focus would be on the east bank, when Derrick's idea is to push back the levee 60-70 feet along the length of McCormick's field, almost a half a mile to the south. What he's proposing to do would give that water rushing out from underneath the highway a chance to spread out instead of having that whirlpool effect, said county surveyor Dick Vermillion at the drainage board meeting on Wednesday. Vermillion added the project would allow the flood waters to better drain southward through Patrick Ditch; now the water is boiling on downstream to a tank-car culvert that can't handle the flow, causing extensive flooding of more farm ground not all of it owned by McCormick. Ray is going to do this himself, Vermillion told the board. He wants to get it done this summer. The board's involvement would be limited to approving McCormick's plan. While Patrick Ditch, a 5-mile long drain that manages an estimated 3,000-4,000 acre watershed in the southeastern part of the county, is classified as a regulated drain under the drainage board's jurisdiction, no assessment has ever been done and therefore no money is being collected to pay for regular maintenance work. Landowners brought their concerns about Patrick Ditch to the board in December of 2015, asking for help; last summer the board agreed to add the ditch to its long-range plan, with the intent of eventually cleaning it out all the way downstream to its confluence with the White River. The project would be considered only after work on Bonewitz/Dellinger was completed and the money became available. But given McCormick's plans for the work he intended to do, Vermillion swapped the projects, moving Patrick ahead of Bonewitz/Dellinger in the 2019 long-range plan he presented to the board this week. It's up to you guys, Vermillion said to the board members. If you want me to swap them back, I can do that. County commissioner Tim Ellerman, a member of the board by virtue of his office, said either project was likely to be expensive Bonewitz/Dellinger because of its length (around 12 miles, stretching from Indiana 61 near the South Knox schools to south of Main Street Road, an area taking in parts of Harrison, Johnson and Palmyra townships), Patrick Ditch because of all the work involved There was a hesitant discussion of again asking the county council for additional money to perhaps do both projects. Eventually, both projects will need to be taken on, so why not try to knock them both out at once? We made that point before but didn't get anywhere with them, board chairman Jim Sexton said. The county originally set up a fund with $250,000 to undertake the ditch projects. Work is initially paid for out of that fund, with money collected through a fee subsequently assessed to all property owners within the affected watershed used to replenish the fund. As the projects the board undertakes grow more expensive, the longer it's taking for the fund to be replenished to a level where the next project can begin. There's usually a year or two delay. If the board was to have only one project to do, member Terry Vieck said it should be Bonewitz/Dellinger. They asked first, he said. We told them they'd be next and I don't think we should push them back. Matthew Malone agreed, adding the Bonewitz/Dellinger watershed was the larger of the two, draining more than 16,000 acres. I know Patrick Ditch is in bad shape, but I don't like the idea of our telling one group they'd be next only to pull the rug out from under them and tell them now we're doing another one, he said. Sexton asked whether not taking on Patrick Ditch would cause McCormick to delay his plans. No, Vermillion said. He's going to move ahead no matter what we decide to do, he said. And what he does will help a lot in mitigating some of the problems downstream. I say we stick to what we agreed to last year and keep Bonewitz/Dellinger next, Vieck said. They came to us first, are willing to work with us, and have been waiting for us to get to them. Vieck's motion was approved on a 4-0 vote. Board member Vaughn Huey was not present at the meeting. City engineer John Sprague stepped up to the podium at City Hall to address members of the Redevelopment Commission Thursday morning, his muddy work boots a stark contrast to his clean pants and shirt. To say an ongoing project to improve Main Street is muddy would be something of an understatement, he told RDC members. You'd know that if you could see my boots, he said, acknowledging the wood partition separating him from board members. But despite recent heavy rains February was a bit wet if you hadn't noticed, Sprague teased the board the first of a three-phase project to improve and widen Main Street from 22nd Street to the county line is moving along well and should be done before youngsters head back to the classroom for the start of the next school year. The installation of storm sewers, he said, is nearly done, and soon crews will move in to widen the bridge over Mantle Ditch. Also this week and next, Sprague said light pole foundations and conduit are being installed. After that, work is likely to slow down until better, warmer weather arrives. Crews then, he said, will begin a sub-grade stabilization and, later, new pavement. But we're still on track for (substantial completion) in August, he said. The RDC last year sold $5 million in bonds to fund the Main Street Phase I project, which extends from 22nd Street out to just past Jamestown Apartments. Work includes the addition of a left-hand turn lane onto Kimmell Road and improved storm-water drainage between Mantle Ditch and the U.S. 41 overpass, an area that is prone to flooding. It also calls for two, 12-foot driving lanes with additional sidewalks, bike lanes and lighting. And the street will become three lanes from the U.S. 41 overpass out to Jamestown Apartments. Phase II of the overall project would then pick up at Jamestown Apartments and head out to Sievers Road; city officials received a federal grant to help pay for 80 percent of it. That money will be released in summer of 2021. Phase III would take the project all the way out to George Rogers Clark Middle School at Richard Bauer Drive, although RDC members haven't yet discussed a design or how to pay for it. In other business, Sprague told RDC members that work on a second public parking lot at Sixth and Main Streets, while experiencing delays due to recent wet weather, is finally wrapping up. He expects it to be open soon. The RDC's original contract with Bicknell's Kerns Excavating was for substantial completion by the end of January, but Sprague said there would be no damage penalties issued to the company as the ever-changing winter weather made it impossible for them to finish on time. During the recent polar vortex, Sprague shut construction down for more than a week, he said, for the safety of those working. And while the new light poles aren't up yet and the perimeter canopy not quite complete, most of the striping has been done after a 7-day cure time for the new concrete. The canopy, specifically, Sprague said is being done by Vincennes Welding and was not part of Kerns' contract anyway. Also left to be done, he said, is some additional pavement markings, including two spots set aside for electric car charging stations and some handicapped spots as well. But the lot is likely to be open by the end of next week, he said. The $375,000 lot was meant to mirror one across Sixth Street with the same historic depot-inspired covered walkway. The RDC last year spent $300,000 on that lot, both of them meant to primarily relieve downtown parking congestion brought about by the opening of Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom. The first lot has about 30 spaces; this new one is expected to have upwards of 50. The local non-profit INVin purchased the lot last year, received a federal grant to help get it cleaned up then gave it to the city in the hope that officials would move forward with construction of the lot. PERU A local ministry is taking steps to repair the former American Legion building in downtown Peru to use as a new headquarters and thrift store after the veterans origination donated the property to the ministry. Perus St. Vincent de Paul Society took ownership last year of the building located in part of the Downtown Peru National Register Historic District. The society currently runs a thrift store from a small store front, with all profits going to local residents in need. And that store is quickly running out of space as it fills up with clothing, furniture and all the other donated items they sell, according to Sara Welke, a volunteer at the store and the president of the nonprofits board of directors. Right now, were very, very cramped, she said. We just dont have enough room. So when Welke learned the American Legion Local 14 was looking for a nonprofit to donate its building to, she jumped at the chance. Pat Roberts, a member of the legion and a local attorney, said the veterans group decided to give away its facility after years of declining membership, which led to the building sitting mostly empty. For a while, they leased it to a woman to use as a business. When she left, the group tried to give it to the city, which declined the offer. So they started advertising the building as a free piece of property for any nonprofit which wanted to use it. There had been several other organizations that had made a spirited talk about taking the building, but no one ever came through, Roberts said. Then, St. Vincent de Paul came along. Welke said the nonprofit had been looking for a new space for a couple of years. Ever since Perus Salvation Army thrift store closed in 2016, donations and sales at their store have exploded. How much we have grown here is phenomenal from where we started out, Welke said. In the last five years, weve grown over 100 percent over what we were 10 years ago. And we are continuing to grow and grow. With the new, 10,000-squre-foot building, the outreach has the chance to grow even more, but theres just one catch. The former American Legion facility is in dire need of some repairs. Welke said estimates show it will cost around $150,000 to fix the roof, bring the plumbing and wiring up to code and install a new boiler system. Thats money the ministry doesnt have on hand. So St. Vincent de Paul is pushing forward with raising the money through donations and grants. Welke said theyve already received a commitment from the Northern Indiana Community Foundation for $15,000 divvied out over the next five years. The ministry is also working with the nonprofit group Rediscover Downtown Peru, which promotes the citys downtown district. Another grant could be awarded through the federal government since the building is located in the Downtown Peru National Register Historic District. Indiana Landmarks, a nonprofit historic preservation organization, said the building is definitely deserving of the upgrade, and is helping St. Vincent de Paul raise the money. Today, the stately landmark is a virtual architectural time capsule, the organization said on its website. Welke said they hope to secure enough funding this year and move into the building sometime within the next two years. And once they do, the skys the limit on how much they can grow their local outreach. I am so grateful that we are now the custodians of this fine old building, she told Indiana Landmarks. "This is what a community helping each other is all about. But those plans never came to fruition. The Hygeia Hotel burned down in 1917, and Munyon died the next year. Harry Kelsey, later the developer of Lake Park, bought the island from the Munyon estate for $65,000 in promissory notes, and was then sued by the estate in 1926 for nonpayment. The island was foreclosed on and returned to Munyons estate, and was sold again in 1932, after which it was used to dump sand dredged from the Intracoastal, eventually more than doubling the size of the 15-acre island. The vendor would be charged with finding Canadian suppliers that would export prescription drugs identified on the list. Those authorized to import the drugs would include the Department of Corrections; wholesalers and pharmacists under contract with the Department of Healths central pharmacy; and pharmacists or wholesalers under contract with developmental disabilities facilities. On Tuesday night, Cinquino had shared her own public Facebook post that was also beginning to go viral, with more than 20,000 shares, before it was deleted or made private Wednesday afternoon. In the post, Cinquino said when she got Hurley on the phone, she could hear Hurley crying and begging the driver to let her out. Cinquino and Hurley later connected and became friends, with Hurley calling Cinquino her "angel." The Senate wants to call the program the Family Empowerment Scholarship, and DeSantis wants to name it the Equal Opportunity Scholarship. The Senate would require that students previously attend traditional public schools to be eligible. DeSantis would not. The governor also wants to raise the income eligibility requirements to allow participation by families making up to 265 percent of the federal poverty level, while the Senate wants it at 260 percent. Images released the next day appeared to show someone lurking near the zoos west side and officials said there was evidence of forced entry in the habitat where Kali was kept. In court in 2015, he said he killed his wife because she talked about interfering in their sons poker tour business, and he said that would have alienated the son from them. A jury convicted Robert Oulton of second-degree murder. Tikkitress Johnson was stabbed to death at her job as the manager of a Taco Bell in Oakland Park. Investigators believe Karari Ritchie and his brother posed as job applicants before they robbed her and stabbed her to death. The trial is underway. I cant believe whats happening in this town, he told the Sun Sentinel. Were not Weston. We never wanted to be Weston. This is the last frontier in Broward County where you can ride horses and have a pig if you want. Those were the promises we made when we became a town. There were two faculty members in the administration office at the time. When one went to leave, the boy a recent transfer student pulled what appeared to be a handgun from his backpack, according to Police Chief Rick Maglione, who went to the school Friday afternoon. You have to be a certain kind of person willing to go up against the city and the county all the time, she said. Arnold was OK, take me to jail. He was willing to, if he was going to go out there and break the law. Every time they passed a law prohibiting him from feeding hed feed anyway. Former Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Tim Smith, who lives in the citys Middle River Terrace community, said he doesnt think there would be much support for the idea in the cities. While some people might not mind using a piece of their property for a rental, more would be opposed to having the same thing in a neighbors yard, he said. For years the water management district has long been criticized for excessive deference to the sugar industry, which operates an arc of farms on the southern shore of Lake Okeechobee, at the top of what remains of the Everglades. In the latest action, the board drew severe criticism in November for agreeing on short public notice to extend a lease for sugar farming on land slated for use as a reservoir to protect the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee. The water management district also had been criticized for failing to do enough to prevent the summer plagues of thick green algae that fouled beaches and waterways on both coasts. We are trying to promote and get the word out on how to do a safe BBL and also gather some research and data on how to make the operation even safer, said Salzauer, whose practice is in Bay Harbor Islands in northeast Miami-Dade. He said he typically performs more than 300 of the butt enhancement surgeries each year. I have done thousands and no one has ever died, he said. In April 1938, the regime issued the Decree for the Reporting of Jewish-Owned Property, requiring all Jews in both Germany and Austria to register any assets valued at more than 5,000 Reichsmarks ($2,000 in U.S. currency of the era). That November, Kristallnacht, also known as the Night of Broken Glass, left behind death and destruction, as Jewish homes and businesses were looted and destroyed. Last year, Jacko, her daughter Dr. Julie Jacko and Isabel Chica, Miami Lighthouse's director of children's programs, visited Israel in efforts to develop the organization's intentional partnerships there. Among the facilities they visited was Eliya, where Virginia Jacko and Chica were engaged with the professional staff due to the recent opening of Miami Lighthouse's pre-kindergarten school. They observed children at various classrooms and enjoyed a demonstration from a young boy on how he uses a tablet. They also learned that both Eliya and Miami Lighthouse use the same screening tool, The Oregon Trail for Visually Impaired Children, as a way to identify student goals and monitor students progress. A mutual concept of being sister schools was immediately launched. The Carbonell-nominated Rita Joe is Jacobs opposite as Ruth: stoic, practical, deeply worried about the man she loves. As Beneatha, the dynamic Ozuna makes an electric New City Players debut, conveying the cockiness of the young poised to take a bite out of life as they shrug off their elders conventional wisdom. Jacques is adorable as the coddled Travis, but he needs to work on enunciation and applying the brakes to his speedy line delivery. The Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, revered as well as hotly debated on the international festival circuit, has never been a filmmaker in step with the rhythms of contemporary life or cinema. Anywhere. Devoted to the spirit of seriocomic inquiry found in Anton Chekhov, among other writers, his movies have carved out a niche for themselves outside many of the usual recognition status symbols. None of his films have ever been nominated for the foreign-language Academy Award. A U.S. distributor Cinema Guild, this time acquires a Ceylan title fully aware of its extreme unlikeliness to make anybody any money. The technology in the building is state of the art, Stella said. And we try to make the experience fun, so when a child is being scoped, which can be scary, we have the ability to reduce pain, theres really no pain involved, but they can numb it, but then also make the experience fun. They can actually watch the procedure on TV. Theres a big LCD TV in the room and the patient and the parent can actually watch and learn and the physician can talk them through it. Farmers are hungry for a new cash crop, said David Hasenauer, president of the Tallahassee-based Hemp Industries Association of Florida. We have an incredible climate here in the Sunshine State. We need that intensity to grow these plants and we have it year around. Florida stands to uniquely benefit [from hemp]. 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. St. Louisan Tova Braitbergs father and grandfather tried to shield her from some of the painful parts of their lives. She never heard her grandfather, Gregor Braitberg, talk about how performing music helped him survive the Holocaust. She thinks it was probably very painful for him and not something appropriate to talk to a young child about. Her father, Mischa, a violinist, also tried to protect Tova from the tremendous strain that comes with trying to succeed as a professional musician. He discouraged her from pursuing music when she was a young girl, she said. ADVERTISEMENT But despite those efforts, on Sunday Tova performed on her grandfathers violin, alongside her father, during a telling of Gregors story at the Holocaust Museum & Learning Center. The goal of the program, Mischa said, was to commemorate Gregors story and offer a contrast to the terrible things that occurred during the Holocaust. They also aimed to show that not all the Germans were bad, he said. The country was misled by Hitler and by National Socialism but not all people were subject to this. There were some who resisted, some who tried to help, said Mischa, who also became a professional musician. Gregor Braitberg, who was born in 1915 in Piotrkov, Poland, played the violin during his adolescence. When the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, he and his family tried to flee to Warsaw, but amidst attacks from German airplanes, they learned that the city had already fallen. So they returned to Piotrkov, explained Dan Reich, the museums curator and director of education, during Sundays event. While at a train station with hundreds of Jewish refugees, German soldiers appeared and started to attack people with sticks and rifle butts. One German officer approached Gregor and his brother Leon. Noticing my violin case, he stopped and asked what was in the case, Gregor wrote in his memoir, A Wartime Odyssey. When I told him it was my violin, he ordered me to play for him. I played a Mozart concerto. While playing, I observed his face change, becoming more human. Tears appeared in his eyes and ran down his cheeks. Gregor continued to perform music during the war as he scurried around the Soviet Union and Kazakhstan. He arrived in Stalingrad in March 1943 and was able to trade music for food and shelter, Reich said. Gregor became concertmaster of the opera and drama theater. While there, he also met Szyfra, his future wife, and they gave birth to Mischa. Mischa thinks his father and his violin were able to survive the war because music is a language that is understood by everyone alike. I think it softens the hearts of people who are perhaps in a murderous rage. In 1959, the family left Poland where they had returned after the war for the United States and eventually landed in St. Louis. Mischa married Natasha Rubinstein, a professional cellist. Growing up, Tova heard her parents perform in concert halls in New York. Over the summer, they would return to St. Louis and stay at Gregors home. He died in 2009. Im sure hearing my grandfather practice the violin which he did every morning for two hours influenced me, but I also grew up in concert halls and backstage in New York City, said Tova, 34, who lives in Olivette. Now concertmaster with the Muny Orchestra here, Tova said she did not pursue music out of rebellion but rather because of her exposure to music through her family. (Her mother, who was the principal cellist with the Muny and Webster University Symphony Orchestra, died in 2010.) Tova also eventually learned her grandfathers story by reading his memoir. I think that he and my grandmother were able to escape is a miracle I think its a miracle that Im even here today, she said. As is Gregors violin, which is also the title of the exhibit at the Holocaust Museum. On Sunday, some 200 people gathered outside the exhibit at the Kaplan Feldman Complex of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis to hear Tova and Mischa and Gregors story. The duo performed pieces from Mozart and Bach and a melody from the Roma, who were also killed in large numbers by the Nazis. They also played the Hatikvah and America the Beautiful. Tova said her grandfathers instrument is a French violin from the 1850s. It has an even, smooth tone, with a nice sweet sound. Its not a harsh sounding violin, she said. Szyfra, 99, also attended the performance Sunday. Her son and granddaughter will hold a second performance at the Holocaust Museum at 2 p.m. on March 17, two days before her 100th birthday. She and Gregor once helped Lester Goldman translate Yiddish letters that his aunt had saved. He also listened to Gregor perform at his home. He attended the concert and described it as a beautifully put on production. I think it reaches the soul a little bit more directly than a lecture would, said Goldman, a member of Congregation Bnai Amoona. When you have the music and you see the people from Gregors story it adds a dimension. MADISON [emdash] Patricia A. Scheibelhoffer (Novak) passed peacefully from this life into God's arms on Thursday, June 24, 2021. She was a graduate of Rock Creek High School and worked for many years in banking. She was preceded in death by her parents, Adam and Ann Novak and her husband Tho Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) won the Ports Authority of the Year 2019 Award by the Global Ports Forum (GPF) for the second consecutive year at the GPF awards ceremony 2019 followed by the conference forum held at the Hyatt Regency Dubai Deira, in the United Arab Emirates on 20thFebruary 2019. Mr.Upul Jayatissa Director (Logistics, Marketing & Business Development) and Mr.Nalin Aponso Chief Manager (Communication and Public Relations) received the award on behalf of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) from Mr. Mohammed Sharaf, Assistant Foreign Minister for Economics and Trade of UAE & former Group CEO, Dubai Ports World who attended the Guest of Honour at the event. Mr.Upul Jayatissa Director (Logistics, Marketing & Business Development) and Mr.Nalin Aponso - Chief Manager (Communication and Public Relations) of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) receives the Ports Authority of the Year 2019 Award on behalf of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) from H. E. Mr. Mohammed Sharaf, Assistant Foreign Minister for Economics and Trade of UAE & former Group CEO, Dubai Ports World at the GPF awards ceremony 2019 in Dubai, UAE The Global Port Forum Awards 2019 aims to recognize the most valuable contribution made by organizations and professionals in different areas of Ports and Terminals Industry and acknowledge their roles and achievements in different categories. These Awards are awarded based on the nominations received and also in recognition of the important contributions and achievements made by organizations and professionals across the industry of ports and maritime in the last year. The prestigious panel of judges, comprising of Global Ports Customers and Senior Port Experts from the Global Ports Council had duly shortlisted and selected Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) as the most deserving winner for the category of The GPF Award for The GPF Award for Port Authority of The Year 2019. In a special message Hon. Minister of Ports, Shipping and Southern Development Sagala Ratnayaka congratulated and conveyed warn regards and wishes for Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) on the achievement. From the cosmopolitan global port city of Singapore, the entrepreneurial decision was taken in 2008 to found and launch the Global Ports Forum (GPF). The awards ceremony is organized annually by the GPF, in continuation of the commitment of improving global ports and furthering the interests of ports globally through collaborations among members of the port eco system. The Global Port Forum Awards 2019 aimed to recognize the most valuable contribution made by organizations and professionals in different areas of Ports and Terminals Industry and acknowledge their roles and achievements in different categories. The awards are awarded based on the nominations received by the Global Ports Forum (GPF) and also in recognition of the important contributions and achievements made by organizations and professionals across the industry during the previous year. The Port of Colombo is ranked as worlds No.01 container growth port among the top 30 container ports for the year of 2018. In container handling, Port of Colombo has recorded a 13.5% growth for the 2018 over the same period last year reaching 22nd from the position of 23rd amongst global container ports, according to Alphaliner Monthly. It is also a significant achievement as it is the first time in history the Port of Colombo reaches the top of a global maritime ranking. With this growth, Port of Colombo has leapt ahead many other Asian Ports, Major European Ports and Dubai as well. The Drewry Port Connectivity Index ranked the Port of Colombo at the 13th best Connectivity Port in the world in 2017. According to the rankings the Port of Colombo also became the top best connectivity port in South Asia. The relationship between the Management and SLPA trade unions, collaborative support by all parties and stake holders engaged in the port operations process has effectively contributed for the increase of productivity at Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA). Creating history, the Port of Colombo for the first time has recorded 7 million container operations in the last year with joint marketing strategies by the three terminals, the JCT, SAGT and CICT. The three terminal operators at the Port of Colombo; the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) under SLPA, the South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) and the Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) early last year, reached into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to operate collectively to promote the Port of Colombo. Under the new collective agreement, it was expected to minimize the waiting time of all container vessels outside the port waters by allowing operations of vessels at the immediately available terminal. Further, through this agreement, terminals are also able to promote the Port of Colombo collectively and collaboratively in the arena of international maritime business. The Port of Colombo marked the operation of its first TEU in the year of 1973. Accordingly, the constructions of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) controlled Jaya Container Terminals stage I was completed in 1985. The completion of the stage II of the JCT in 1987, stages III and IV in 1995 and 1996 respectively marked the increase of operation volumes of the Port of Colombo. Commencement of the South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) at the Port of Colombo took place in 1999. And the Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) was built in 2012. Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) was awarded the Ports Authority of the Year Award first in 2018 by the Global Ports Forum (GPF). SLPA at present, has prepared a Three Year Development Plan to expedite the port sector development process in the country to further increase container volumes. These developments are aimed at making Sri Lanka the Maritime Centre in Asia. Ports, Shipping and Southern Development Minister Sagala Ratnayaka yesterday assured that all maritime development plans will be accelerated, while outlining some of the key projects in progress. I assure that no plans of the ports and shipping sector will be delayed. I will take the right decisions and move forward. It is imperative that we move ahead with the development of the port of Colombo, otherwise we will lose out on business and we dont want that to happen. We have already delayed too much, so I dont want to be stuck in that situation any longer, he told journalists, meeting the press for the first time after assuming duties at the Ministry. He believes that the SLPA master plan supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) would lay a robust foundation for the ports and maritime sectors development until 2050. We had a lengthy meeting with the ADB officials on Wednesday regarding the SLPA master plan, and its proposals for all the ports in the country. It is a comprehensive program that will serve as a roadmap for the sectors growth. These studies have been conducted technically by specialists who have worked on it and proposed to us a few models that could be implemented till 2050. We are still having discussions with the ADB, and soon we will review and execute plans accordingly, the Minister said. Underscoring some of the key developments in progress, Ratnayaka emphasised that they were also in the process of deciding the course of action on the much-talked-about East Container Terminal (ECT) in the port of Colombo. I have requested the Ministry Secretary and the SLPA to present their observations on the matter. They will have to evaluate if it is financially viable for the SLPA to invest in the ECT project alone, or if it should require a partnership with an external party. Based on their recommendation, I will discuss the matter with the President, Prime Minister and the Cabinet, he added. He also said that they were conducting a technical evaluation to further expand CICT without distracting the developments of the West Container Terminal of the Colombo port, where they hope to set up an LNG plant. We will build all these terminals based on the demand we have as well as on the capital involved to develop them, he pointed out. When asked about Indias involvement on Sri Lankas port industry, the Minister said the level of their involvement is still being discussed. The Indian Government has shown keen interest in Sri Lankas shipping industry and in assisting us. They (Indian Government) dont want to go into any major stake anywhere, but they want to be involved. What that involvement has to now be finalised. The two Prime Ministers have discussed at a very high level, but we have to finalise those. I am still not aware of any final agreement, Ratnayaka stressed. In terms of Kankesanthurai port development project, which is being developed with a $44 million credit line from India, the Minister said it will be developed into three piers where two will be for commercial purposes and the other for Sri Lanka Navy. He said the Ministry intends to fast-track the Kankesanthurai port development project and appoint consultants by July. In addition, Ratnayaka also highlighted that ports of Trincomalee and Galle will be developed to have night navigation before the end of this year. New infrastructure and radar systems will soon be set up to make night navigation possible at Trincomalee harbour, with the financial assistance of one billion yen from Japan, which will be completed by the first half of this year. The SLPA will invest its own funding to install night navigation at the Galle harbour by August, he said. Ratnayaka said he was yet to study and review the Hambantota port development activities, which involves a joint venture agreement with China. The Minister also launched a maritime news website initiated by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) (news.slpa.lk) to disseminate up-to-date information on the ports and shipping sector, in a move to strengthen Sri Lankas image in the global maritime sector. by Dr SLM Rifai The primary objective of this short article is to examine and evaluate the social impacts and legal consequences of Shamima Begums case. It has been reported that Home Office has already sent a letter to the family of Shamima saying that it has decided to revoke British citizenship of Shamima. According to INDEPENDENT newspaper The Government has deprived Shamima Begum of her British citizenship, allegedly making her stateless and violating international law (19/2/19). Yet, her new born baby has been given every right to settle in the UK. However, the secretary for justice has said that Shamima Begum has right to return to UK, but she should face the court of law in this country. This contrasting view has created some legal debates in the UK about this issue. It is reported that the Home Secretary Sajid Javid has got some excessive power to remove the citizenship of any one who is regarded as a threat to the national security of the United Kingdom. He can do this protect the public interest or public good. Such an action can be taken by Home Secretary if he feels that such a person could get a nationality of any other country. In this case, Bangladesh government has categorically said Shamima Begun has got no connection to Bangladesh. So, they have declined to accept her back into Bangladesh. With this action of Home Secretary, Shamima Begum will become stateless person soon. Yet, she will be able to join her Husband. Her husband is a Dutch citizen who has been detained for his alleged connection with ISIS. Yet, once he is released Shamima Begun could join her husband to settle in Holland. If this happens removing her of British citizenship will be meaningless. Because she could come back to Britain under Dutch passport. Then this hasty action of Home secretary will be null and void. Why did Home Secretary take such as a hasty action? It is reported that he wants to please public. He is responding to the public outcry on this case. Yet, contrary to his decision to remove Shamima Begun of her British citizenship there are so many British people including Justice secretary who feels that Shamima Begun should be allowed to return to Britain. They argue that she must be produced in court of law for investigation in accordance with British law. They feel that she must pay the price for her mistakes. They feel that she should be rehabilitated like many other convicted Muslim extremists who have returned from Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. Yes, she has made some terrible mistakes. She had made some childish decisions. She was a 15 years old girl when she went to Syria with her friends. All of them are teenage girls. They were 15 years old girl when they went to Syria. It appears that some groups might have inspired, influenced and forced them to go to Syria. There are so many circumstantial factors around these girls travel to Syria. Who brain washed them with radical ideas? Which group did this? Did they get their parents approval to travel? Why did not immigration officials stop them leaving the country at the Airport? Why did not British police stop them from traveling out? What about school authority? What about local authority and social service? Why did not they alert the authorities as soon as these girls were missing? When Shamima Begun travelled out of the UK she was just 15 years old. So, she was not legally responsible at this age. Moreover, she claims that she did not fight in Syria and she claims that she has been a house wife for the last 4 years? Did she engage in any terrorism activities? It is reported that she did not express any regret over what ISIS do? It can be said that her life was under threat from ISIS in Syria. She might have said she did not have any remorse over what ISIS did for fear of her life. It does not make sense to say that she wants to come back to UK and yet, she does not regret what ISIS do? It appears she might have told all this to the media to appease ISIS under duress. Otherwise, she might have been killed by them. People under ISIS do not have freedom to express freely as they want to express. I think politicians wants to make some political drama out of this case and yet, I firmly believe that British legal system is one of the best legal systems in the world. No politician could interfere in the legal system of British judiciary. Thanks God, people in Britain have been protecting the integrity of judiciary for many centuries in this country. Justice is unconditional to all in this country. Immigration judges will investigate this case objectively and if they think that her British citizenship has been unfairly removed, immigration judges will reverse the decision of Home Secretary on this case. I personally feel this decision to remove her British citizenship is not fair decision. This is little bit a harsh decision and it appears somewhat a prejudicial decision. Suppose if this girl is a British convert. What would be the action of Home Secretary, Will he remove citizenship of Indigenous British girl? Will he make her stateless? I think this case is a wakeup call to all Muslim families in this country. It is a wake-up call for all to monitor how children are taught in religious schools and mosques. This case is a wake-up call to all Muslim community leaders in this country. It is a wake-up call to all Muslim groups to understand British contexts when they speak about Islamic teaching. Today, to speak for Islam and for Muslim community in this British context, Muslim clerics must know not only Islamic texts, but also, they must know how to apply Islamic teaching in these modern social contexts in this country. They must know modern social realities of European contexts to relate Islamic teaching in this new social environment. Unfortunately, today Muslim clerics do not understand modern social challenges of this digital world. Many Muslim clerics find it hard to relate Islamic teaching to modern conditions we live in today in this European continent. This case tells us that Muslim community suffers from some intellectual crisis. Muslim youths are misguided with so many radical ideologies. Shamima Begum is a victim of this Muslim radicalism. Im sorry for her and for family. She has become victim of this Muslim radicalism. The entire Muslim religious leadership in this country must take some responsibility for this virus of Muslim radicalism. Weakened NATO Europe's Immense Security Challenges in the Age of Trump The trans-Atlantic alliance has been significantly weakened, forcing Europe to build up its own security structures without inflicting even more damage on NATO. Is such a thing even possible? Welcome to followthemedia.com The article or material you have chosen... Michael Hedges February 22, 2019 - Impunity, sadly, is a term press freedom advocates and investigative reporters wrestle with daily. Violence against reporters - or threats thereof - is pervasive. Looking into criminal activity is always a dicey job. Add official obstruction, belying corruption, it is dangerous and deadly. Bad guys often get away with it. Thousands Mourn Slain Reporter - And Warn PoliticiansMichael Hedges February 22, 2019 - Follow on Twitter Impunity, sadly, is a term press freedom advocates and investigative reporters wrestle with daily. Violence against reporters - or threats thereof - is pervasive. Looking into criminal activity is always a dicey job. Add official obstruction, belying corruption, it is dangerous and deadly. Bad guys often get away with it. ...is available for restricted access. You may access this specific article or material for 4 If you are an ftm Member, please go to the home page HERE and log in ftm Members can access all site material at no additional charge. You can JOIN ftm here The ftm newsletter available at no charge to all with registration To register click here. The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2018 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement As hundreds of US troops stay in Syria, Trump insists no U-turn Washington, Feb 22 (AFP) Feb 22, 2019 President Donald Trump insisted Friday he was not pulling an about-face on his Syria withdrawal plans, after it was announced hundreds of US troops would remain in the war-torn country. The White House quietly dropped the news late Thursday that around 200 American "peace-keeping" soldiers would remain in Syria indefinitely, amid fierce criticism of Trump's decision to withdraw America's more than 2,000 troops there by April 30. "I am not reversing course," Trump said at the White House, noting that 200 soldiers was only a "very small, tiny fraction" of the overall presence. Senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham heralded the move, claiming the residual forces would somehow catalyze a bigger presence by European allies who had balked at the idea of committing troops to Syria minus an American ground presence. "This 200 will attract probably 1,000 Europeans," Graham said in an interview with Fox News. Trump, an avid Fox viewer, said he watched Graham and supported leaving "a small force with others. Whether it's NATO troops or whoever it might be, so that (IS) doesn't start up again." Trump declared victory over IS in December despite thousands of fighters remaining and a continued effort to clear jihadists from a final scrap of territory. The decision prompted his defense secretary Jim Mattis to quit. Critics have decried a number of possible outcomes from a US precipitous withdrawal, including a Turkish attack on US-backed Kurdish forces and a resurgence of IS. Apart from the US, currently only France and Britain have a handful troops on the ground in Syria helping train local forces in the US-led effort against IS. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan visited Europe last week and attempted to convince allies to furnish a troop presence in Syria after the US pulls out. But he struggled to persuade other countries why they should risk their forces with America gone. Graham claimed "thousands of Europeans" had been killed by IS fighters coming from Syria into Europe. "Now, the burden falls on Europe. Eighty percent of the operation should be European, maybe 20 percent us," he said. According to various tracking groups, far fewer than 1,000 people have been killed in attacks by Islamists of all origins in Europe since 2014. But Graham's rhetoric feeds into one of Trump's favorite topics -- his perception that European and NATO allies aren't contributing enough to global security. - Anti-IS campaign 'unchanged' - Shanahan, who spoke briefly to Pentagon reporters as he met with Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, insisted the mission to defeat IS remained unchanged. "The transition that we are working towards is stabilization, and to enhance the security capability of local security forces," Shanahan said. General Joe Dunford, who is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, added he was confident allies would step into the fray. "There is no change in the basic campaign. The resourcing is being adjusted because the threat has been changed," Dunford said. Graham meanwhile said he had been speaking to Trump "continuously" about the withdrawal and persuaded him that a buffer zone needs to be created to protect US-backed Kurdish fighters from a possible attack by Turkey. "You don't want to end one war and start another," Graham said he told Trump. Akar, the Turkish minister, said Ankara did not have a problem with the Kurds in Syria, only with the armed US-backed Kurdish fighters there. "We are fighting against terrorist organizations," Akar said. France says kills top Al-Qaeda commander in Sahel Paris, Feb 22 (AFP) Feb 22, 2019 French armed forces have killed a top jihadist leader in an air and ground ambush in Mali, the government said on Friday, ending a years-long hunt for a man accused of masterminding the kidnapping of Westerners in the Sahel region. Djamel Okacha, an Algerian commander in Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), was killed on Thursday after French commandos, helicopters and a drone hit a column of vehicles he was travelling in north of Timbuktu, French officials said. Okacha, a jihadist veteran known also as Yahya Abou El Hamame, was "the mastermind and financer of several attacks," the defence ministry said. US officials had accused him of kidnapping a number of Westerners in North and West Africa. French Defence Minister Florence Parly described his killing as a "spectacular action", saying it followed a manhunt which lasted several years. His death "deals a very hard blow to terrorist groups in the Sahel," Parly said. "When commandos approached, (jihadist) pickups opened fire, prompting the helicopters to return fire," a spokesman for the French military command said. A total of 11 "terrorists", including El Hamame, were killed, he said. News of the operation broke on the day Parly, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian were to visit Mali, where some 4,500 French troops have been deployed since 2014 to retake the north of the country after it fell to jihadist fighters. El Hamame is suspected of involvement in the 2009 assassination of a US citizen, Christopher Leggett, in Mauritania, along with an attack the same year against the French embassy in Nouakchott. - Jihadist history - El Hamame reportedly served as AQIM's "governor" in Timbuktu when the city was held by Islamist militants from April 2012 to January 2013. The jihadist commander was believed to be second in command of the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), also known as Nusrat al-Islam, led by Iyad Ag Ghali. The group was formed by the merger of Ansar Dine, the Macina Liberation Front, Al-Mourabitoun and El Hamame's Sahel branch of AQIM. El Hamame, aged about 40, took charge of Al-Qaeda's operations in southern Algeria and northern Mali in 2013 when he replaced Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, who was himself killed in fighting French-led forces in northern Mali. El Hamame rose in the ranks of the group despite not having gone to Afghanistan as other key militants such as Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the one-eyed Islamist leader who masterminded an assault on an Algerian gas plant that left 37 foreign hostages dead in January 2013. Born in the north Algerian town of Reghaia, El Hamame spent 18 months in prison in Algeria in the 1990s when the country was mired in Islamist violence. In addition to French troops in Mali, around 15,000 peacekeepers have been deployed in the country as part of the United Nations stabilisation mission known as MINUSMA. This followed the signing of a peace accord in 2015 between the Bamako government and armed groups. The US-based Carter Center, an independent observer to the implementation of the accord, released its third report on Friday noting "the sustained cessation of hostilities between the signatories" but stressed that "the core commitments of the agreement remain unfulfilled." The actions needed include "creating the new, decentralized political system, including devolving significant powers to the regions and putting in place the reconstituted armed forces through the equitable integration of the ex-combatants," said the report from the center founded by former US president Jimmy Carter But jihadist groups have continued operating in Mali and neighbouring countries. Supported by France, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger have formed the so-called G5 Sahel group to fight the jihadists. '1,000 European' troops should deploy in Syria: US senator Washington, Feb 22 (AFP) Feb 22, 2019 President Donald Trump's partial reversal on his Syria withdrawal plan is aimed at getting as many as 1,000 European troops to step into the fray, an influential US senator said Friday. The White House quietly announced late Thursday that 200 American "peace-keeping" soldiers would remain in Syria indefinitely, marking a significant climb down from Trump's plan to have the more than 2,000 troops there now to all leave by April 30. Senator Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican, has spent recent weeks publicly calling for Trump to adjust the withdrawal plan. Speaking to Fox News, he said the 200 residual US forces would catalyze a bigger presence by European allies. "This 200 will attract probably 1,000 Europeans," Graham claimed. "Thousands of Europeans were killed by (IS) fighters coming from Syria into Europe. Now, the burden falls on Europe. Eighty percent of the operation should be European, maybe 20 percent us." Graham's claim of IS fighters killing "thousands" of Europeans is an exaggeration. According to various tracking groups, far fewer than 1,000 people have been killed in attacks by Islamists of all origins in Europe since 2014. But such rhetoric feeds into one of Trump's favorite topics -- his perception that European and NATO allies aren't contributing enough to global security. Graham said he had been speaking to Trump "continuously" about the withdrawal and persuaded him that a buffer zone needs to be created to protect US-backed Kurdish fighters from a possible attack by Turkey. "You don't want to end one war and start another," Graham said he told Trump. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan last week went to Europe and attempted to convince allies to maintain a troop presence in Syria after the US pulls out. But he struggled to persuade other countries why they should risk their forces with America gone. Graham reportedly told Shanahan that it was a "dumb" idea to tell allies the US planned to fully withdraw by April 30. Shanahan was due to meet with Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar at the Pentagon later Friday. Pakistan military warns India against 'misadventure' Islamabad, Feb 22 (AFP) Feb 22, 2019 Pakistan's military warned India on Friday against "misadventure", saying it was capable of responding to any threats as tensions simmer between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. "We hope you will not mess up with us," military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told a press briefing in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, the second such message Pakistan has sent to New Delhi in as many days. Tensions have risen in the days following a suicide attack in Kashmir that killed 41 Indian paramilitaries and was claimed by Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), based in Pakistan. There have been calls in India for retaliation, but Pakistan -- which denies aiding the militants -- has threatened to respond in kind. "We don't want to go into war with India but if India initiates any aggression, they will never be able to surprise us," Ghafoor said. "Let me make it clear that we will defend every inch of our country till the last breath and last bullet". The powerful military's reaction came a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan authorised the country's armed forces to "respond decisively and comprehensively" to any Indian threat. The militant group JeM is one of several anti-Indian outfits fighting in Kashmir. Officially outlawed in Pakistan, India nevertheless accuses Pakistan as using the groups as proxies. On Friday, Pakistan's interior ministry announced that authorities had seized control of a complex believed to be the JeM headquarters. "Punjab provincial government has taken over control of a campus comprising a seminary and a mosque in Bahawalpur, reportedly the headquarters of JeM," an interior ministry spokesman said in a statement. "The action was taken in line with the decision of the National Security Committee", which met on Thursday, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan. The Bahawalpur seminary campus, located in central Pakistan, has a faculty of 70 teachers and 600 students, the statement added. India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir since the end of British rule in the sub-continent in 1947. Swiss court fines ex-sergeant for fighting IS in Syria Geneva, Feb 22 (AFP) Feb 22, 2019 A former Swiss sergeant was given a slap on the wrist Friday for joining a militia in Syria that was fighting to protect Christians from the Islamic State group. Johan Cosar, a 37-year-old Swiss national with roots in the Syriac Christian community in Syria, faced a military tribunal over his conduct. Cosar was found not guilty of recruiting Swiss citizens into the militia, the ATS news agency reported. But the tribunal did find him liable for personally serving in a foreign militia from 2013 to 2015 "without the permission of the Federal Council," which is the executive branch of the Swiss government. He was given a three-month suspended sentence and ordered to pay a fine of 500 Swiss francs ($500, 440 euros). If Cosar violates the terms of the suspended sentence, he could be ordered to pay a daily fine based on his income, net worth and expenses, as part of complex system introduced in the Alpine nation in 2007. Cosar, whose mother is Turkish and father is a dual Turkish-Syrian national, completed his compulsory military service in Switzerland after finishing university. He told the tribunal that he travelled to Syria shortly after the conflict broke out there in 2011 to assess the impact on the Christian community in the north of the country, ATS reported. He said that at first his actions in Syria were largely humanitarian, but as he perceived that Christians faced a growing threat from jihadists, he helped set up the Syriac Military Council, a militia group. He admits to recruiting Syrians to the militia. "For Christians, it was a way for us to protect ourselves against the advancing IS," he told the court, according to ATS. "We had to defend ourselves or we would die." gca/bs/wai Turkey seeks arrest of 300 army officers: prosecutors Istanbul, Feb 22 (AFP) Feb 22, 2019 Turkey on Friday issued arrest warrants for almost 300 active military officers for alleged links to a failed 2016 coup aimed at unseating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prosecutors said. A total of 295 officers including two colonels are targeted in the warrants, the Istanbul prosecutor's office said. They are accused of having links to to US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen who Ankara blames for orchestrating the failed putsch. Tens of thousands of people have been arrested over suspected links to Gulen, a former Erdogan ally turned foe who has denied the allegations against him. The latest arrest order issued in 59 cities including Istanbul comes on the heels of police raids this week seeking to detain over 300 people including military personnel suspected of ties to coup plotters. Turkish authorities carry out raids almost daily against people suspected of supporting Gulen. Despite criticism from rights advocates over the magnitude of the crackdown, Ankara insists the raids are essential to remove Gulen's alleged influence in state bodies. North Korea's forgotten fighters in Vietnam Bac Giang, Vietnam, Feb 22 (AFP) Feb 22, 2019 A caretaker tends to the headstones of 14 North Koreans killed fighting in the Vietnam War, carefully sweeping around the plaques honouring Pyongyang's little-known contribution to Hanoi's anti-American crusade. The bodies of the 12 fighter pilots and two technicians were buried here before they were repatriated in 2002 but the rarely-visited graveyard, bordered by rice paddy fields, remains a symbol of an era when Hanoi relied on Pyongyang for help. Today Vietnam is one of Asia's fastest growing economies and counts the US and South Korea among its closest allies -- two countries technically still at war with North Korea. Hanoi also maintains ties with Pyongyang and will next week host the second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. There is no word on whether Kim plans to visit the small, tidy memorial that caretaker and former soldier Duong Van Dau has looked after since 2000. "They are martyrs who died for our country, so I have the responsibility to protect them," Dau told AFP, standing before the headstones in northern Bac Giang province. He sometimes visits the site to light incense or clean the headstones, all of which face northeast toward the fighters' homeland. - 'Vengeance!' - Pyongyang sent about 80 fighter pilots to support North Vietnam during the war between 1966 and 1969, when American bombers were pounding the north as part of the Rolling Thunder campaign. The North Koreans never came face-to-face with any of the estimated 300,000 South Koreans -- including several dozen taekwondo specialists -- fighting alongside the Americans in the south. But they dispatched psychological warfare personnel and propaganda experts, some of whom targeted South Koreans with anti-American leaflets. "South Korean soldiers in Vietnam! Seek hundred, thousand vengeances against the American imperialist aggressors!" read one. Though the North Koreans are believed to have shot down several American planes, their overall contribution to the conflict was marginal and they gained a reputation for being tough but not especially effective. "They fought very bravely in the aerial battles, (but) they were generally too slow and too mechanical in their reactions when engaged which is why so many of them were shot down by the Americans," said Vietnamese pilot Vu Ngoc Dinh, cited in Istvan Toperczer's book "MiG-21 Aces of the Vietnam War". Though Vietnam today quietly honours Pyongyang's wartime contribution, leader Kim Il Sung's reasons for joining the fight in the aftermath of the Korean war were not totally selfless. "By sending North Korean pilots and other elements to Vietnam, he was helping Vietnam stay in the fight and to keep the American forces tied down," Jiyul Kim, assistant history professor at Oberlin College, told AFP. - Crumbling ties - As the war started winding down, relations began to sour. Pyongyang initially resented North Vietnam's willingness to negotiate with the US, and the allies continued to grow apart as Vietnam gradually embraced the West. Relations hit a low in 1992 after Hanoi established diplomatic ties with Seoul, followed by a quarrel in 1996 over an unpaid rice shipment from Hanoi to North Korea at the height of its famine. It took decades for either side to public acknowledge North Korea's wartime contribution. For Vietnam, ignoring this little-known chapter offered a more courageous narrative. "It's much more glorious to have beaten the Americans alone," Balazs Szalontai, an expert on North Korean studies and Cold War history, told AFP. It was only around 2000 that news of North Korea's help in the war emerged and later that year a senior North Korean official visited the memorial during a trip to Vietnam. The bodies were brought back two years later and remain in a war cemetery in North Korea along with others who fought in the Vietnam War. In the years since diplomatic ties have gradually grown closer -- though trade trickled under UN sanctions -- a once-isolated Vietnam now stands as a potential economic model for Pyongyang. Some Vietnam veterans hope the memorial will keep the memory of North Korea wartime involvement alive. "When we are gone, the young ones won't know anything about what the North Koreans did for us," said 90-year-old Tran Van Nguyen, who lives near the site. Around 200 US troops to remain in Syria after pullout: W.House Washington, Feb 22 (AFP) Feb 22, 2019 The US military will keep around 200 troops in Syria after President Donald Trump's pullout from the war-torn country, the White House said Thursday. "A small peace-keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. The announcement comes amid fierce criticism of Trump's decision to withdraw America's 2,000 or so troops from Syria by April 30, with members of his own Republican Party blasting the move. In December, Trump declared victory over the Islamic State group in Syria, even though thousands of jihadists remain and fighting continues around their last holdout. Critics have decried a number of possible outcomes from a precipitous withdrawal, including a Turkish attack on US-backed Kurdish forces and a resurgence of IS. Sanders did not provide additional details, but the troops' "peace-keeping" designation could pave the way for European allies to commit forces for such a mission. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan visited Europe last week where he attempted to convince allies to maintain a troop presence in Syria after the US pulls out. But he struggled to persuade other countries why they should risk their forces with America gone. Trump earlier Thursday spoke with Turkish President Recep Erdogan, and the two men discussed Syria, according to a White House summary. "The two presidents agreed to continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone" in Syria, the readout said. At the height of its rule, IS imposed its brutal ideology on a territory roughly the size of the United Kingdom, attracting thousands of supporters from abroad. But the jihadists have since lost almost all their territory save for a tiny sliver of around half a square kilometer (a fifth of a square mile) in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are working towards evacuating civilians remaining in the holdout, so they can polish off the dying IS "caliphate" whether through an assault or a surrender deal. Syria's Kurds have long demanded the repatriation of foreigners accused of belonging to IS in their custody, but their home countries have been reluctant. US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was barring a US-born former IS propagandist from returning home from Syria, where the conflict has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since 2011. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that the diplomatic status of the father of Alabama woman Hoda Muthana means she is not a US citizen. It came after a lawyer for the family of a teenager who fled London to join the jihadists when she was 15 said Britain was revoking her citizenship. Brazil VP says US military intervention in Venezuela 'wouldn't make sense' Brasilia, Feb 21 (AFP) Feb 21, 2019 Brazil Vice President Hamilton Mourao on Thursday dismissed US threats of military intervention in Venezuela as "premature" and said it "wouldn't make sense." "I think they're more in the realm of rhetoric than action," Mourao said, referring to the threats, in an interview with AFP. "The Venezuela question needs to be resolved by Venezuelans." Mourao's comments came after Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro announced earlier that the border with Brazil would be shut "completely and absolutely" until further notice from 8:00 pm. But Mourao said that "doesn't signify an act of aggression." "This reaction is simply a way to prevent the humanitarian aid process," he said, adding that Venezuela "has the right to whatever it wants on its side of the border." President Jair Bolsonaro's spokesman Otavio Rego Barros also dismissed the possibility of Maduro's decision causing "frictions" between the neighbors. Maduro's move came two days before a deadline set by opposition leader Juan Guaido for humanitarian aid stockpiled in Colombia, Brazil and the island of Curacao to be brought into Venezuela. The self-proclaimed acting president, recognized as such by 50 countries, set out in a convoy of vehicles from Caracas towards the border with Colombia on Thursday to personally take charge of the aid entry. A bridge border crossing between the two countries remains blocked by the military, though, with Maduro vowing not to let it in. The embattled socialist leader also said on Thursday he was considering "a total closure of the border with Colombia." The issue of aid has taken center stage in the power-struggle between Maduro and Guaido, the president of the opposition controlled National Assembly legislature. Guaido has branded Maduro a usurper over his controversial reelection last May in polls boycotted by the opposition, many of whose leaders were unable to stand due to being imprisoned, barred or in exile. The 35-year-old Guido wants to force out Maduro, 56, so he can set up a transitional government ahead of new elections. Yvette Gaytan(NEW YORK) -- The winding Rio Grande river is the natural dividing line between the U.S. and Mexico in southern Texas. Yvette Gaytans family has owned land on the border's edge for generations. Her kids fish along the river banks in Starr County. The Trump administration has asked to use Gaytans land to build sections of the wall approved in the newly passed budget. Im not looking to sell. Im not looking to move, she told ABC News. My father helped build this house with his own two hands. Not far from her home, President Donald Trumps long-promised southern border wall continues to be a work in progress. Crews have now started preparing to build the first new miles. Further east, old barriers have been replaced with new ones. Trump declared a national emergency last week to divert money from the Department of Defense. His battle with Congress, which resulted in the longest government shutdown in American history, left him with fewer funds to build the wall in places like Starr County. The nonprofit group Public Citizen, which represents Gaytan and other residents in the area and filed its lawsuit last week, argues that using the national emergency as a way to fund the wall is entirely unconstitutional. Were at the very beginning of whats probably going to be a long, drawn-out process, said Public Citizen lawyer Michael Kirkpatrick. In order to stop the construction, Kirkpatrick will have to wait for the Trump administration to figure out how it will fund the planned sections of the wall. But he says it's clear that any wall would hurt all of his clients. The Trump administration has plans to build as many as 12 miles of new border wall in Starr County. Its a massive steel fence design, 20 to 30 feet high. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is involved in a variety of legal disputes over these projects. In the meantime, Gaytan has been forced to confront the possibility of leaving the home passed down from her late parents. She understands the need for more border security and shes not opposed to it. Put more people on the ground, put boots to the ground, she said. But from her land overlooking Mexico, she doesnt see a national emergency, and leaving her familys legacy behind would be a devastating outcome, she says, adding, "Im not going to go down without a fight. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Swedish teenager brings climate action campaign to France Paris, Feb 22 (AFP) Feb 22, 2019 Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg brought her class-boycott campaign to Paris on Friday, hoping to encourage more French students to hit the streets with demands for bold efforts to combat global warming. The Friday protests that the 16-year-old Swede launched in August have gained little traction so far in France, where the landmark COP21 international accord on cutting emissions was signed in 2015. After urging the EU in Brussels to move more aggressively on greenhouse gas cuts on Thursday, Thunberg then travelled to Paris where she met up with young activists from France, Belgium and Germany for a march which was also joined by French actress Juliette Binoche. "I never thought it would get so big and I think it's amazing," she said of her campaign, speaking to journalists ahead of the march. "We, children, we should not have to do this, adults should be taking responsibility." A crowd of around 1,000 people took part in the protest in central Paris, one of dozens planned in cities across Europe as part of her "Fridays For Future" movement. But outside Paris, only two other class-cutting marches have been organised -- one in Beauvais just north of Paris and one in the southwestern city of Dax. Last Friday, only around 200 students protested outside the environment ministry in Paris. - 'It takes time to mobilise' - "I don't know why young people mobilise massively in some countries and not others," Thunberg said in an interview with Le Parisien which was published on Friday. "France, the country of COP21, needs to do what it says it will," she added. Under the 2015 Paris deal to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), the 28-nation EU has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030, compared to 1990. Still, France's climate efforts have come increasingly under the spotlight since August when high-profile green activist Nicolas Hulot resigned abruptly as environment minister saying the government was not making enough progress. "There have been other social movements which were very active" in France, said 22-year-old Romaric Thurel, one of the coordinators of Youth For Climate France. "France is a big country and it takes time to mobilise, but we feel a shift." - 'Any concrete promise' - Thunberg's determined campaign to hold adults accountable for looming climate change consequences has gained global resonance since she began skipping class for weekly Friday protests in Stockholm six months ago. She made global headlines in December with a strong-willed speech at a UN climate meeting in Poland, and last month took her message to the top corporate echelons at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In the last six months, tens of thousands of high school students -- in Sydney, Brussels, Berlin, The Hague, London and other cities -- have followed her lead. On Thursday, she joined around 7,500 Belgian student activists who staged a march in Brussels, their seventh such protest. "I think it is very good that the young protest in the streets of Europe to defend the environment," European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday, urging adults to join them. But despite the enthusiastic reception, Thunberg said she had received little indication on Thursday that EU leaders were ready to heed her call for faster action. "I didn't hear any concrete promise by political leaders and officials; they only say that they are going to try their best," she said. cbo-js/fc/txw/pma/hmw Teenage activist brings climate action campaign to France Paris, Feb 22 (AFP) Feb 22, 2019 Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg brought her class-boycott campaign to Paris on Friday, hoping to encourage French students to hit the streets with demands for more ambitious efforts to combat global warming. The Friday protests that the 16-year-old Swede launched in August have gained little traction so far in France, where the landmark COP21 international accord on cutting emissions was signed in 2015. After calling on the EU in Brussels on Thursday to move more aggressively on greenhouse gas cuts, the young Swede will hold a press conference in Paris at 1100 GMT. She will then participate in a march in central Paris, one of dozens planned in cities across Europe as part of her Fridays For Future movement. But outside Paris, only two other class-cutting marches have been called, at Beauvais just north of Paris, and in the southwestern city of Dax. Last Friday, only around 200 students protested outside the environment ministry in Paris. "I don't know why young people mobilise massively in some countries and not others," Thunberg said in an interview published Friday by the Parisien daily. "France, the country of COP21, needs to do what it says it will," she added. Under the 2015 Paris deal to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), the 28-nation EU has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030, compared to 1990. But Thunberg told an EU conference Thursday that the goal was woefully inadequate, saying an 80 percent reduction was necessary to meet the 2030 goal. "If you think we should be in school instead, we suggest that you take our place in the streets, striking from your work," she said. - 'Any concrete promise' - Thunberg's determined campaign to hold adults accountable for looming climate change consequences has gained global resonance since she began skipping class for weekly Friday protests in Stockholm six months ago. She made global headlines in December with her strong-willed speech at a UN climate meeting in Poland, and last month took her message to the top corporate echelons at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In the last six months, tens of thousands of high school students -- in Sydney, Brussels, Berlin, The Hague, London and other cities -- have followed her lead. On Thursday she joined around 7,500 Belgian student activists who staged a march in Brussels, their seventh such protest. "I think it is very good that the young protest in the streets of Europe to defend the environment," European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said at the conference Thursday, urging adults to join them. But despite her enthusiastic reception, Thunberg said Thursday that she had received little indication that EU leaders were ready to heed her call for faster action. "I didn't hear any concrete promise by political leaders and officials; they only say that they are going to try their best," she said. cbo-js/fc/txw Medford, NJ (08055) Today Partly cloudy skies. High around 90F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Mostly clear skies. Low 71F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Sen. John Jasinski, R-Faribault, is the state senator for District 24, which includes most of Steele County, as well as portions of Dodge, Rice and Waseca counties. Reach him at sen.john.jasinski@senate.mn or 651-296-0284. The Rice Soil and Water Conservation District's annual tree sale is underway, with a new website for online orders. Orders are taken from December through April on a first-come, first-served basis. (Photo courtesy of Rice SWCD) You are the owner of this article. Homestead, FL (33030) Today Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then mainly cloudy late. High 88F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies early. Scattered thunderstorms developing late. Low 77F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. The response came after Union minister Nitin Gadkari said in New Delhi that India has decided to stop the flow of its share of water to Pakistan from rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty after the ghastly Pulwama terror attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed. New Delhi : Pakistan is not concerned over Indias plan to stop the flow of its share of water to Pakistan from the Ravi, Sutlej and Beas rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty, a top official said. Talking to Dawn on Thursday, secretary of Pakistans ministry of water resources Khawaja Shumail said: We have neither concern nor objection if India diverts water of eastern rivers and supplies it to its people or uses it for other purposes, as the IWT allows it to do so. He said Pakistan did not see Gadkaris statement as worrisome in context with the IWT. Actually India wants to construct Shahpurkandi dam at the Ravi basin. This project is abandoned since 1995. Now they (India) want to construct this in a bid to use its own share of water that goes unutilised and finally flows to Pakistan. So if they want to use this whether through storing it, through construction of this dam or any other way for their people, they can do as we have nothing to do with it. But we will definitely express our concerns and raise objections strongly if they use or divert waters of western rivers (Chenab, Indus, Jhelum) on which our right to use prevails, Shumail said. According to Pakistans commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Mehr Ali Shah, as the IWT has already given a right to India in 1960 to use the water of eastern rivers, it is now up to it to do so or not. Whether they diverted and used their unutilised share of eastern rivers waters in 1960, we had no problem. They want to do it now, we have no problem. And if they dont want to use this, we have no issue, Shah said. He said the planned Shahpurkandi dam was actually the stage-2 of the Ranjit Sagar dam. Though this project will also generate power, it will be used for irrigation purposes, he said. While commenting about the proposed visit of Indian experts (Indias commissioner for Indus waters) to Kotri Barrage (in Sindh province) keeping in view the tension between the two countries after the Pulwama attack, Shah said: Lets see what happens in this regard. But we hope for the best. A three-member delegation of Pakistani experts headed by Shah completed its general tour of inspection (from Jan 28 to Feb 1) to various hydropower projects 1,000MW Pakal Dul, 48MW Lower Kalnai, 850MW Ratlay and 900MW Baglihar dam at Chenab Basin in India. Besides, India, a couple of days before the Pulwama attack, also shared the design data of its three planned run-of-the-river hydropower schemes with Pakistan under the IWT. These included Balti Kalan, Kalaroos and Tamasha hydropower projects which are planned to be constructed at Balti Kalan Nullah and Kalaroos Nullah at the Jhelum basin and Tamasha, a sub-tributary of the Indus river, respectively. The reiteration to stop the flow of Indus water to Pakistan comes amid mounting Indo-Pak tension over the Pulwama terror strike that has triggered demands for action against the neighbouring country. India has already decided to revoke the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan and mounted a diplomatic offensive to isolate it in the international community. There were demands to stop flow of Indias share of Indus water to Pakistan after the Uri terror attack in 2016. Under the Indus Water Treaty signed in 1960, the waters of the western rivers -- the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab -- was given to Pakistan and those of the eastern rivers -- the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej -- to India. It is the last Friday of February and there are a lot of releases in multiple languages. In a few short weeks, the board of governors of Pennsylvanias State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) will vote on a plan to consolidate si SHEPHERDSTOWN Late one Saturday night in Dec. 2018, burglars disabled Town Run Tap House and Community Pubs internet connection, stole Town Runs security system, broke into its safe and ATM machine and made a clean get-away with all of the cash in the building. While the crime is still under police investigation, Town Run Tap Houses owners have kept hard at work for the last two months, trying to make up for the substantial loss. Thankfully, the Shepherdstown community immediately rallied behind owners and husband-and-wife team Todd Cotgreave and Jessie Shanholltz, to help them financially get back on their feet. Locals came in the first day after it happened to give us money. That speaks to me, about what kind of community were part of, Cotgreave said on Saturday night, during a community-wide fundraiser for the business at its location. According to Cotgreave, he agreed to host a Cincinnati Chili Dinner and Fundraiser, after community members repeatedly approached him, asking for him to host a fundraising event they could support. The dinner, which featured a silent auction and live music by Musselman High School jazz band Exit 5, was highlighted with the Shepherdstown-famous Cincinnati Chili of former Cincinnati resident, Mark Baracka. Ive done my chili at parties and stuff, but this is big exposure here, Baracka said about the event, for which he made 100 servings of Cincinnati Chili. The servings sold out within an hour of the two-and-a-half hour event. Just helping Todd and Jessie out is important to me we love the Town Run. So after all that happened, we needed to help, Baracka said. It looks like its turning out great. For Lillian Potter-Saum, of Shepherdstown, the event was an opportunity for her to support her community. Our community supports our community, thats what we do. The town had my back, and I have its back, Potter-Saum said, mentioning she had already enjoyed a plate full of Cincinnati Chili, and was ready to win some silent auction items, which were donated by local businesses, including Four Seasons Books, Wild Rose Soap Company and ThirtySeasons LLC. According to ThirtySeasons LLC owner Will Wooton, donating silent auction items, such as an electric cultivator and electric chainsaw, was an easy way for him and co-owner Mike Winters to financially help Cotgreave. Someones going to go over there and get some great deals on tools, Wooton said. Todds a buddy of mine, and that fundraisers a way to help him recoup funds. As Shepherdstown resident and local teacher Donna Joy placed bids on a few silent auction items, she explained why she views Town Run Tap House and Community Pub as an important fixture in the community. We dont have anything else thats for the community like this business, Joy said. I bid on everything, pretty much, just to get other people to bid in the silent auction. I hope they can get a big chunk of the money back that was stolen, through this event. SHEPHERDSTOWN The Corporation of Shepherdstowns Town Council held its monthly meeting on Feb. 12, discussing changes it will be preparing for this spring. During the meeting, representatives from Shepherdstown Shares also voiced their appreciation for the community backing up their initiative to help federal employees who went without pay during the four-week government shutdown. The shutdown has had quite an impact on our visitor numbers, said Shepherdstown Visitor Center Director Marianne Davis, who led the Shepherdstown Shares initiative with Shepherdstown resident Kerri Godfrey. Ive heard from at least one hotel that they are getting cancellations for spring and summer reservations, because people had to use their vacation savings to get them through the shutdown. Despite the problems the shutdown has caused Shepherdstown, Davis said Shepherdstown Shares was able to help 140 people in the Shepherdstown community. A total $6,000 and 6,000 pounds of food were donated by the community to Shepherdstown Shares, within one week of its founding. Along with helping community members in need, the Town Council discussed funding Shepherd Universitys Alternative Spring Break, in which Shepherd students help other West Virginia communities in need during their spring break. I came here to Shepherd to attend school, and I found out about this trip to the south of the state, said sophomore biology major Caroline Ferrell, who went on last years trip. According to Ferrell, who is from Harrison County, before participating in Alternative Spring Break, she was one of many young people who plan on leaving West Virginia after graduation. There are a lot of young people who plan on leaving West Virginia, but after attending last years Alternative Spring Break in Kermit, West Virginia and helping out there, I changed my mind, Ferrell said. It was the most incredible thing Ive witnessed the people there werent depressed by the opioid epidemic, they were optimistic about the future. This Alternative Spring Break made me proud of my state. It was one of the best experiences of my life, Ferrell said. I thank you all for helping us do that for the last two years. After hearing Ferrells remarks, the Town Council agreed to once again provide $500 for this years Alternative Spring Break. Another annual Shepherdstown event the Town Council discussed, was the Shepherdstown Farmers Market. According to SFM President Natalie Friend, the market will be held this year, from March 31-Dec. 22, behind the Shepherdstown Public Library. Were looking forward to another great year, and are currently finalizing our list of vendors. As you know, Uvilla Orchard is no longer, since Paul and Eileen have retired, so we have two spaces to fill, Friend said about Uvilla Orchard owners Paul and Eileen Elliott, who ran Uvilla Orchards for about 35 years. Frank Welch, Shepherdstowns director of Public Works, spoke about Public Works 2018 Hazard Mitigation Plan Resolution, which focused on three active projects within the town, including tree planting in open spaces, homeowner education on flood planes and the need for Shepherdstowns water plant to have an emergency generator. The Town Council approved a $1,000 donation to Elmwood Cemeterys renovation of its Superintendents House, and a $2,500 donation to the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission. SHEPHERDSTOWN Im very glad to be here I know some of you folks, and some of you know me, said local composer Steve Warner with a smile. Warner is well known in the Eastern Panhandle for his original music, but, according to him, his road to his current musical career was a long one. During Shepherdstown Area Independent Livings Feb. 15 Brown Bag Luncheon at Trinity Episcopal Church, Warner discussed his musical journey. Sometimes we have presenters who tell about civic subjects, like politics or history, but this will be a light-hearted presentation, said emcee Cathy Lewis about the Brown Bag Luncheon. Steve Warner is well known in the Shepherdstown community. He is the founder of the First Friday Coffeehouse, just outside of Shepherdstown. Steve plays many instruments, but today hes going to stick to playing the guitar. As he prepared to perform each piece in his set of half-a-dozen original songs, Warner explained each piece, discussing the importance of each song in his life. I have a passion for song writing, and am going to give you an idea of how I got there, with my song writing, Warner said, mentioning he is teaching a song writing class as part of Shepherd Universitys Lifelong Learning program. I started as a kid. I used to go around the house singing and learning songs from the radio. It probably started with Elvis. My grandmother, after a while, started hiring me to sing for visitors, Warner said, mentioning he realized music could be a potential career path after this, because his grandmother paid him a quarter for every time he sang for her. In high school, Warner bought a Martin guitar, a purchase which encouraged him to learn how to play it to accompany his singing. I figured Id better learn it, since it was such a big investment, Warner said, mentioning he then formed a duo in college, called Buffalo Tongue. Its funny, because some of those songs we played then in my college days and post-college days, I still play, like The Eagle and Mr. Bojangles.' Those songs, according to Warner, developed his musical preference for Americana music, such as the music of Johnny Cash and James Taylor. Warner said he doesnt see much Americana music created today, which is one reason he tends to perform his own original music or popular songs from the past. Warner then performed a song from one of his two available CDs, Renaissance Man, as an example of this music. Ive probably written about 400 to 500 songs, which is a lot. Only about 40 of them are good, maybe 50. The more you write, the better you get, Warner said, mentioning he has recorded several CDs, but does not plan to record any more. According to Warner, his career turned away from music for 35 years, when he set up a marketing and advertising business in Martinsburg. But when the recession hit in 2008, he had to close his business doors, and has since focused on perfecting his craft. I can look back at songs Ive written years ago, but Ive always thought my best song is the one I havent written yet, Warner said. To learn more about the First Friday Coffeehouse, visit www.facebook.com/First-Friday-Coffeehouse-403869326350259/. SHEPHERDSTOWN Shepherd University opened Reynolds Hall to Eve Enslers award-winning play, The Vagina Monologues this past weekend, to raise awareness and funds for local womens empowerment and rights organizations. The Vagina Monologues production is no stranger to the auditoriums of Shepherd University. For the 2019 production of the award-winner, directors Annie Lewin and Gabrielle Tokach organized a well-received production and continued the conversation about violence against women and its survivors. After the third production, the cast and crew hosted a screening of Enslers TED talk and discussion about sex, gender and how this effects members of transgender, non-binary and gender expansive communities at the Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church, presented by Hagerstown Hopes, Eastern Panhandle Pride, Shepherd University and the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. The production was a part of a yearly movement called V-Day, a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls. This movement is spread across campuses and communities around the world, informing as many as possible on the harsh realities of these instances of violence. According to Annie Lewin, Shepherd Universitys Title IX coordinator and co-director of the production, the V-Day commemoration makes a difference in the Eastern Panhandle. It is a way for us to raise money [for the beneficiaries], but it also gives us the opportunity to have this conversation about the experiences of women and the different types of violence that women experience, Lewin said. To empower the women, perform it, and empower the community and the audience all at the same time. Its a global movement that creates an atmosphere to be talking about this violence and empowerment and sex in all these different ways. Ninety percent of the funds generated from the production have been donated to the Eastern Panhandle Empowerment Center, while the other 10 percent was donated to the V-Day Frontline Resistors Fund. Located in Martinsburg, EPEC provides emergency support services for victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking and human trafficking in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, according to its website. The organization is free and confidential, built on the vision that every person has the right be safe, empowered and free from violence or the fear of violence. The V-Day Frontline Resistors Fund is the fund directly supporting the efforts and service of the V-Day global movement, currently celebrating its 20th year. Originating from the moment Ensler produced her award-winning play, the organization is cited as calling the production as more than just a theatrical experience; it is an artistic uprising, a radical act, an act of resistance. New Zealands largest bank, ANZ Bank, currently must hold just over half the amount of capital that Kiwibank must hold to back every $100 of mortgage lending, giving the Australian-owned bank a huge cost advantage over its smaller government-owned rival. ANZ Bank and the other three major banks, which are all Australian-owned, have used their own internal models for calculating how much risk-weighted capital they need since 2008 but smaller banks, including Kiwibank, have been forced to use the same standardised model. ANZs model requires the least amount of capital, followed by National Australia Bank-owned Bank of New Zealand, Commonwealth Bank of Australia-owned ASB Bank. Westpac requires the most. In dollar terms, ANZ needs just below $3 per $100 of mortgages while Westpac needs about $4.20 per $100 and Kiwibank needs about $5.70 per $100. The other smaller banks currently have about $5 of capital backing every $100 of mortgages. The Reserve Bank revealed this information as part of putting its case for why banks should have to hold considerably more capital than currently. In December, it proposed lifting the minimum tier 1 capital ratio from 8.5 percent of risk-weighted assets to 16 percent for the four major banks and to 15 percent for the smaller banks with a phase-in period of five years. The Reserve Bank estimates that the big four banks will need to raise about $20 billion of new capital and that they could do that by retaining 70 percent of their earnings over the five-year phase-in period. It estimates the smaller banks would collectively need $900 million. Those amounts dont include any additional capital banks might feel they would need. Currently, the average level of tier 1 capital is about 12 percent of risk-weighted assets, well above the mandated 8.5 percent minimum. Deputy governor Geoff Bascand suggests that banks may feel they dont need as much extra capital once the regulated minimum has been raised. It is also proposing only to allow equity to count as tier 1 capital, which means the banks will have to refinance their hybrid instruments, usually forms of debt that can be converted to equity if a bank gets into trouble and which currently count as tier 1 capital. As well, the Reserve Bank is proposing to limit the capital advantage the major banks gain from using internal models. Rather than gaining the full benefit their internal models indicate, they will have to provide at least 90 percent of the capital required using the standardised model that the smaller banks have to use. The central banks proposals landed like a bombshell because although all the banks and banking analysts had expected that capital requirements would increase, the magnitude of what the Reserve Bank is proposing was a big shock. For example, the big four banks Australian parents are currently required to have 6 percent tier 1 capital and 1.5 percentage points of that can be hybrid securities. Total capital, including tier 2 capital and a capital conservation buffer, must be at least 11.5 percent. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, which uses the catch-phrase that Australias banks are and should remain unquestionably strong, is also looking at increasing its bank capital requirements. However, the release on APRAs website dated Nov. 8 shows its proposing to leave its Tier 1 capital minimum at 6 percent, although systemically important banks, all of own the big four New Zealand banks, should hold up to 19.5 percent of total capital. APRAs view is that banks can use any form of capital and APRA anticipates the bulk of additional capital raised will be in the form of tier 2 capital. The proposed changes are expected to marginally increase each major banks cost of funding incrementally over four years by up to five basis points, based on current pricing. This is not expected to have an immediate or material effect on lending rates, APRA says. By contrast, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expecting its proposals may mean bank lending margins rise by 20-to-40 basis points and it has rejected other analyses that have calculated significantly higher impacts. UBS, for example, says the increase could be 80-to-135 basis points, which would mean a 4 percent mortgage now could end up costing 5.25 percent. Bascand insists that the requirements the Reserve Bank is proposing are not outliers, but it does appear the central bank has been surprised by the reaction to its proposals to date. The new minimums will take New Zealand to the high end of international norms, but its not extreme, he says, although the Fitch rating agency did describe them as "radical". The Reserve Bank is citing Basel Committee estimates that will put New Zealand in the third quartile. It also cites Standard & Poors risk adjusted calculations showing that New Zealands current capital requirements are well below average compared with other countries and that the new requirements will put them below those of Finland, Norway and the Czech Republic. (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: 25th June 2021 Morning Report Westpac Banking Corporation (NZX: WBC) Confirms It Is Retaining Westpac New Zealand Ltd 24th June 2021 Morning Report 23rd June 2021 Morning Report 22nd June 2021 Morning Report 21st June 2021 Morning Report Infratil Limited (NZX: IFT) TPW Announces Conditional Sale of Its Retail Business Trustpower Limited (NZX: TPW) Announces Conditional Sale of Its Retail Business Mercury NZ Limited (NZX: MCY) Agrees to Acquire Trustpower's Retail Business Precinct Properties New Zealand Limited (NZX: PCT) $250m Equity Raise to Fund Wellington Acquisitions The New Zealand dollar fell, dragged down by the Australian dollar, amid concerns about what a ban on Australian coal imports through China's northern ports in Dalian might mean. Both currencies steadied after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is visiting New Zealand, said the Chinese move doesnt point to a souring of ties between Australia and China. The kiwi was trading at 67.74 US cents at 5 pm, from 68.02 at 7.45am. The trade-weighted index was at 73.44 from 73.76. The local currency is now 0.89 US cents lower than its 68.63 cent finish in New York last Friday. The risk of fruit fly discoveries in Auckland hurting horticulture and concerns about the state of the Australian economy are factors in the decline. Reuters reported that five harbours overseen by Dalian customs, Dalian, Bayuquan, Panjin, Dandong and Beiliang, would no longer allow Australian coal to be cleared. Its a bit hard to know whether its meaningful or not. Apparently, they do this all the time at various ports, says Rankin Treasury Advisory principle Derek Rankin. People should be careful about leaping to conclusions about this," Morrison told journalists in Auckland. "This is not the first time that, on occasion, local ports make decisions about these matters. There is no evidence before me or us that would suggest it has the connotations that it has anything to do with anything more broadly than that. Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe chimed in by saying the amount of coal involved was relatively small and not enough to derail the Australian economy. As with New Zealand, China is Australias largest trading partner and coal is its largest export there. Plenty of conclusions are being drawn, including that China is making Australia the scapegoat for its trade dispute with the United States. The problem with that theory is the growing optimism that China and the US are on the way to resolving their differences. Another theory is that China is retaliating for Australia last year banning telecommunications company Huawei from supplying equipment to the country's 5G broadband network. For the moment at least, New Zealand has a similar ban against Huawei from partnering with local company Spark. Recently there was similar speculation of retaliation when fishing company Sanford reported running into trouble exporting into China. At a joint press conference today, both Morrison and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern downplayed suggestions their involvement in the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance is affecting trade relations. They emphasised the importance of both countries' relationship with China. The New Zealand dollar is trading at 95.48 Australian cents from 96.10, at 51.96 British pence from 52.19, at 59.74 euro cents from 60.04, at 75.02 yen from 75.35 and at 4.5573 Chinese yuan from 4.5719. The two-year swap rate is at 1.8507 percent from 1.8750 yesterday; the 10-year swap rate is at 2.4500 percent from 2.8750. (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: 25th June 2021 Morning Report Westpac Banking Corporation (NZX: WBC) Confirms It Is Retaining Westpac New Zealand Ltd 24th June 2021 Morning Report 23rd June 2021 Morning Report 22nd June 2021 Morning Report 21st June 2021 Morning Report Infratil Limited (NZX: IFT) TPW Announces Conditional Sale of Its Retail Business Trustpower Limited (NZX: TPW) Announces Conditional Sale of Its Retail Business Mercury NZ Limited (NZX: MCY) Agrees to Acquire Trustpower's Retail Business Precinct Properties New Zealand Limited (NZX: PCT) $250m Equity Raise to Fund Wellington Acquisitions Press Release February 22, 2019 Senate probe into the operations of underperforming distribution utilities pushed Senator Win Gatchalian wants to dig deeper into the operations of underperforming distribution utilities (DUs) in the country amid persistent complaints of rolling brownouts in several areas in the country. Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, recently filed Senate Resolution No. 1022, which directs the conduct of an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the operations of underperforming DUs in the country and the remedies to hold them accountable. For the lawmaker, it is high time for Congress to assess whether or not non-performing DUs should continue operating using their franchise by looking at their respective performances. "Various hearings of the Senate Committee on Energy has brought to light the issues surrounding DUs, such as non-compliance with the system loss caps, System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI), financial liabilities, in the case of electric cooperatives; and failure to electrify areas within their respective franchises - thereby resulting in the prejudice of consumers," Gatchalian said in the resolution. "Given the foregoing shortcomings of DUs, there has been no policy or procedure for DOE (Department of Energy) or ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) to determine underperforming DUs, whose franchise will be recommended for revocation," he added. Gatchalian said he received numerous complaints regarding the underperformance of several DUs across the country. Palawan, for example, had experienced an average of 126 power interruptions in 2017, which, according to the lawmaker, was beyond the NEA standard of 25 interruptions per consumer per year. Citing data from the DOE, Gatchalian also pointed out that 72.6 percent or 449,410 out of 618,600 households in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) remain without power as of December 31, 2017, making it the top "unelectrified" region in the country. The DOE and ECs locked horns last month after the former submitted a letter to Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recommending the cancellation of the legislative franchises of at least 17 ECs. In its December 2018 report, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) revealed at least 10 of the underperforming ECs are in Luzon while seven others are in Mindanao. However, the energy department backpedaled on January 30 after it received reports from these electric cooperatives that they had already addressed the issues against them. Gatchalian said that while he fully supports holding distribution utilities accountable in their services to consumers by reviewing their technical and financial performance, he stressed the need to have a clear policy and procedure on the recommendation for revocation before actually submitting the recommendation to Congress. "The situation above highlights the necessity for a clear policy and procedure on how DUs can be held accountable for their duties and responsibilities under the EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001), through the recommendation of DOE or ERC for the revocation of their franchise, all towards the promotion and protection of consumers' interest," Gatchalian said. Press Release February 22, 2019 ANGARA ON EXPANDED MATERNITY LEAVE: PROOF PH IS CHAMPION OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS Reelectionist Senator Sonny Angara said the Philippines has proven once again that it is one of the best countries for women, particularly mothers, with the enactment of the bill providing for a 105-day maternity leave to female workers both in government and private sectors. "We are proud to be one with many countries around the world in recognizing the importance of mothers and in upholding the rights of every woman," Angara said after President Duterte signed into law the expanded maternity leave bill, which he co-authored and co-sponsored in the Senate. Angara said the new law, which increases the maternity leave period to 105 days from 60 to all female workers in the government service and the private sector, was in recognition of the important role of women, especially mothers, in nation-building. "Because all women, especially mothers, are important to the nation, this measure is but a simple sign of our gratitude for the sacrifices and hardships they've endured in nurturing each of us," Angara pointed out. The senator also hailed the enactment of the expanded maternity leave measure as a "historical win for women, particularly mothers--and hence of the country as a whole." Angara strongly believes that paid maternity leave could be a critical factor in women's empowerment by enabling mothers to support themselves while raising their children. He said the expanded maternity leave law empowers not just mothers, but also their children. "Here we have proof, through the actions of both houses of Congress, that our society greatly values every woman's right to safeguard not just her health, but also the health of her children," Angara explained. "For with a longer maternity leave period, we give our mothers adequate time and opportunity to ensure the proper nutrition, nourishment and nurturing of their children--especially when they themselves are going through the process of recuperation," he added. Angara said the new law would complement the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act which, among others, protects the rights of working mothers to breastfeed. "We've mentioned before how a longer maternity leave increases the chances for a mother to breastfeed her children--an activity which many studies have proven to have long-term benefits not just for the child or the mother, but for the society-at-large as well," Angara said. "This is but only one instance of where lengthening maternity leave benefits actually helps in safeguarding the nation's future." In 2017, the Philippines placed 10th in the ranking of the Global Gender Gap report, making it as the most gender equal country in Asia. The report, released by the World Economic Forum (WEF), ranked 144 countries based on 4 categories: labor force participation, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. In 2011, the Philippines was named as the best place in Asia for women based on a report released by Newsweek magazine. The country ranked 17th overall in the magazine's "The Best and Worst Places for Women," which analyzed 165 countries on five areas that affect women's lives: treatment under the law, political power, workforce participation, access to education and access to healthcare. The Philippines garnered an overall score of 86.3 out of 100, and is the only Asian country to be included in the Top 20. The inauguration ceremony on Thursday in Dalian was attended by Tan Cheng Xu, Mayor of Dalian, Xu Li Rong, chairman of China Cosco Shipping, and Yang Shi Cheng, chairman of Cosco Shipping Investment (Dalian) attended the inaugural ceremony in Dalian. Mayor Tan Cheng Xu said the establishment of Cosco Shipping Investment (Dalian) is an important cooperation between Dalian and China Cosco Shipping. Cosco Shipping Investment (Dalian) is a major move of the groups reform and restructuring and it will optimizse the groups layout in north China region, said Xu Li Rong. As a direct-owned subsidiary of China Cosco Shipping, Cosco Shipping Investment (Dalian) will be a platform for the group to invest in and develop northeast China, and explore new business sector and new technology. The predecessor of Cosco Shipping Investment (Dalian) is Cosco Dalian, which was established in 1978. Cosco Dalian owned a fleet of over 40 oil tankers and LPG ships, was the oil tanker operation arm of Cosco. The company had been reformed by Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation in 2016 and changed the company name to Cosco Shipping TankerDalian). All of its fleet had been handed over to Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation. Cosco Shipping Investment (Dalian) currently owns and operates seven entities involved in the businesses of hotel, physical supply, liquid gas transportation, ship management, ferry and electronic engineering, plus a society organization of China Institute of Navigation (Liaoning) Branch. The company plans integrate and optimise its resources and support Dalian in its development as a Northeast Asia shipping hub. A living individual of a bee species feared to be extinct has been found in the Indonesian islands known as the North Moluccas. The Wallaces giant bee (Megachile pluto) belongs to Megachilidae, a family of mostly solitary bees. This species is the largest bee on Earth. Females may reach a length of 1.5 inches (3.8 cm), with a wingspan of 2.5 inches (6.35 cm), but males only grow to about 0.9 inches (2.3 cm) long. Females are also remarkable for their enormous, stag beetle-like mandibles. Wallaces giant bees nest communally, apparently always within the inhabited nests of the tree-dwelling termite Microcerotermes amboinensis. Females harvest tree resin to build compartments inside the termite nest, which protects the galleries. The species was originally discovered in 1859 by the British explorer and naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, a co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection. During his stay on the Bacan Island of the Moluccas, Wallace observed and collected a giant female bee. He described it as a large black wasp-like insect, with immense jaws like a stag-beetle. The specimen was scientifically described a year later by the British entomologist Frederick Smith as a new species of wild bee. The Wallaces giant bee was believed extinct until it was rediscovered in 1981 by the American researcher Adam Catton Messer. He observed several males and females of the giant bee and confirmed that it was a narrow endemic species found only on three islands of the North Moluccas: Bacan, Halmahera and Tidore. After 1981, the Wallaces giant bee was not observed in the wild for almost four decades. In January 2019, a live female was found and filmed by a team of American, Canadian and Australian biologists who set out to search for the species in the North Moluccas. As we walked into the dense forests for the first time, rich with the scent of clove and nutmeg hanging densely in the air, I had a hard time believing that I was actually following in Wallaces footsteps, in an area that at times seemed little changed from his travels not much more than 150 years in the past, said team member Clay Bolt, a photographer specializing in documenting North American bees. We were excited to see a few different Megachile species, and several large bees or wasps flying past well out of reach in the canopy. We also observed many other unusual species, including Polyrhachis ants, jumping spiders with extended mandibles, and gorgeous jewel beetles. Each day, we stared at termite mounds for 20 minutes at a time, then moved on to the next mound. It was invigorating but tiring work, he said. On the last day of searching, we found a bee nest. The structure was just too perfect and similar to what we expected to find. I climbed up next and my headlamp glinted on the most remarkable thing Id ever laid my eyes on. I simply couldnt believe it: we had rediscovered the Wallaces giant bee. Sellbyville, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- Wastewater recovery systems market profoundly thriving on the cusp of shifting green energy trends, has indeed registered itself as one of the integral verticals of the energy landscape. Wastewater management is being given increased prevalence to address the water scarcity issue worldwide, in response to which this business sphere is gaining considerable momentum. This view is backed by a non-profit organization, the Water Environment Federation (WEF), which considers that the wastewater treatment plants are not waste disposal facilities, but rather water resource recovery facilities that recovers nutrients and produce clean water. WEF further deems such facilities to have the potential to lower the dependence on fossil fuels and reduce water scarcity through the production & use of renewable energy. Speaking along similar lines, analysts deem that changing consumption patterns, urbanization, and rapid industrialization have led to rising concerns over water scarcity and inadequate water resources. A report by UNESCO bears testament to the aforesaid statement by affirming that more than two-third of the global population currently resides in the regions where they experience water shortages for at least one month a year. Wastewater reuse in this regard has been recognized as an encouraging solution to cope with the problem of water scarcity around the globe a strong driver fueling wastewater recovery systems industry growth. Having recognized the same, wastewater recovery systems industry players have been majorly investing in facility expansion & collaboration strategies to expand their global reach. Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/1474 MGX Minerals Inc., for instance, has recently detailed its progression report regarding its first deployment of lithium recovery and wastewater treatment system in Alberta, Canada. The company plans to execute the move with PurLucid Treatment Solutions Inc., in which the former owns a 51% stake. Sources reveal that the second scheduled deployment will be a joint consortium between the government, MGX and PurLucid Treatment Solutions Inc. and will include installation of three treatment systems - evaporator blowdown wastewater (EBD) system, high temperature system, and a larger-scale version of EBD. Industry analysts deem that the move will significantly help in treating regional water for suitable reuse, while saving majority of water loss in industrial projects. U.S. wastewater recovery systems market to emerge as one of the top-notch growth avenues Stringent governmental norms and comprehensive legislative framework across the region to curb carbon emission and waste handling have encouraged wide scale adoption of wastewater recovery systems. Say for example, the EPA Clean Water Act that prohibits the discharge of pollutants & polluted water into the regional waterbodies without the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit. Several other regulatory bodies have been taking measures toward waste handling and have also issued Effluent Guidelines for the licensing & approval of wastewater discharge. This in consequence, has impelled sizable wastewater treatment infrastructures installation in the region, in turn stimulating U.S. wastewater recovery systems industry size, projected to register a CAGR of 7% over 2017-2024. The regional industry is further expected to gain momentum with increasing funding toward wastewater treatment facilities. Reports moreover reveal that the region is also witnessing participation of renowned organizations including the like of the Water Environment Research Foundation that is intending to bring wastewater treatment technologies to commercial fruition. As per reliable reports, as of 2008, US approximately held 19,739 wastewater pipe systems and 14,780 wastewater treatment facilities a factor further validating the strong stance of the U.S. wastewater recovery systems industry in the global landscape. Make an inquiry before buying @ https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/1474 Given the expanse of this business sphere spanning numerous geographies, analysts deem the global wastewater recovery systems market to tread along a lucrative growth path in the ensuing years. The process further playing a central role in the renewable energy future that can derive clean water, valuable chemicals from sewage, it no longer remains a supposition that the global market will establish itself as one of the most remunerative fraternities in the coming years. The worldwide wastewater recovery systems market share is forecast to surpass USD 50 billion by 2024. Key industry players of Wastewater Recovery Systems Market include - SUEZ - Veolia - Pall Corporation - Evoqua Water Technologies - Calgon Carbon Corporation - Koch Membrane Systems - Kontek Process Water Management Lincoln, NE -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- As the top-rated collision center serving Lincoln, NE, and the surrounding areas, The Kustom Shop provides expert repair services, vehicle customization options, and much more. Now, the company is offering information for their clients to help dispel common myths about auto collisions. For example, insurance companies will typically recommend a collision center for repairs after an accident, and many individuals believe that unless they go to these recommended repair shops, the insurance company won't pay. However, this is false. Vehicle owners have the legal right to take their car anywhere for repairs. Additionally, a common misconception regarding auto accidents is that the insurance company will pay for all the repairs needed to fix the damage incurred. However, each insurance policy has limitations on what they will pay for collision repair. If the fault lies with the other driver, then it's up to their particular insurance plan to determine how much they will pay towards repairs. Another auto collision myth is that an individual must accept the insurance company's estimate for repairs. In fact, many times these estimates do not accurately reflect the cost of repairing a vehicle after it's been involved in an accident. In these cases, an estimate does not need to be accepted and can be challenged by presenting other estimates from repair centers that report a higher cost to fix the car. In regards to the condition of the car, many people believe that an accident will substantially reduce the car's value. However, this isn't necessarily true. While the incident will appear on a vehicle's accident report, the auto repair professionals at The Kustom Shop will apply their years of expertise and knowledge to get the vehicle looking good as new, and they can assist the owner to get the maximum value for the vehicle when it is sold. For more information on their superior auto collision repair or any of their other services, call The Kustom Shop today at 402-477-4002 or visit https://thekustomshop.com/ today. About The Kustom Shop With their expert and professional collision repair, auto body services, painting, and even customization for Jeeps and trucks, The Kustom Shop makes vehicles look as good as new, or even better. Located in Lincoln, Nebraska, the company features a knowledgeable and friendly staff and offers convenient options for their clients, like after-hours key drop-off and a courtesy shuffle. For more information on The Kustom Shop, please visit https://thekustomshop.com/. Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/21/2019 -- It is predicted that the global Teleradiology Market will have a good run in the future because of the development of sundry wireless technologies that can transfer images continuously and quickly. All the institutions in the world that deal with afterhours imaging services across the globe that have varying time zones yet offer day time reporting are predicted to boost the global teleradiology market to a great extent. Due to high transmission rates along with fast improvements in digital image processing methods, sundry wireless technology can provide immense benefits to this market globally. Another factor that is predicted to bolster the growth of the teleradiology market worldwide is the high rise in the healthcare expenditure. Some hurdles in the global teleradiology market are the high expenditures related to technology, less image data security, as well as lack of skilled technicians and radiologists. However, teleradiology market is predicted to be back on track because of the promotion in digital infrastructure. Global teleradiology market had accounted for a total of US$1.7 bn in the year 2016, but it is predicted that towards the end of 2023 world teleradiology market will bring in around US$3.6 bn throughout the assessment period, thereby growing at a CAGR of 11.3%. It is predicted that computed tomography scan technology will account for a total of US$1.23 bn at the end of the assessment period, thereby registering a high CAGR in this market. Computed tomography is also known as CT scan which is powerful imaging technology with the help of which complex bodily structures can be seen. In the global teleradiology market, ultrasound imaging is expected to be second in terms of revenue generators by mortality because of less exposure to radiation, as well as increased awareness among patients. Ultrasound imaging is also very important for tracking foetal development as well as in identifying any abnormalities safety and securely. Request to View Sample of Report - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1132 On the basis of geography, Asia Pacific is predicted to have one of the highest CAGR's by registering 12.1% in this market globally between 2015 and 2023. The reason behind the highest CAGR of Asia-Pacific is ascribed to the advancement in technological development in Japan that are equal to the innovations of emerging economies like the United States and United Kingdom. The favourable steps taken by the government, favourable health care policies, as well as quick technological improvements are attributed for the high demand in the Asia Pacific teleradiology market. Other important nations for the global teleradiology market are India, China, Australia, and New Zealand. However, on the basis of revenue, North America is predicted to be much ahead as it is predicted to hold the largest share globally. It is expected that North America will continue to be at the top for the teleradiology market. Request to View Brochure of Report - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1132 Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/21/2019 -- Fact.MR study on Taxifolin market reveals that the global market revenue is estimated to grow at a CAGR of over 5% between 2019 and 2027. In 2017, the global taxifolin market stood at US$1.4 Bn, where Europe was the largest market. Though the taxifolin market share of APEJ has been growing at a faster pace than other regions owing to the growth in consumption of nutraceuticals and food products containing taxifolin. Wide application areas of Taxifolin increases its demand Taxifolin also known as dihydroquercetin is used in several applications including food and beverages, healthcare, cosmetics, and agriculture. Several studies and research papers prove taxifolin as a potent ingredient for several application areas. Taxifolin is used as an additive for food products as it stabilizes shelf life of the products by 12-36 months. Taxifolin being a natural antioxidant with antibacterial, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties, its applications has been further expanding. Request For Sample @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=2801 Even the smallest amount of taxifolin is able to prevent oxidative stress and shields the body from free radicals. The demand of taxifolin in food products is projected to grow at the fastest pace during the forecast period. The application areas of taxifolin in food and beverages industry include dairy products, meat processing, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and confectionary. Taxifolin demand have also been increasing at a significant pace in the field of medicine. Taxifolin has been observed to be a potent inhibitor of ovarian cancer cell growth. Taxifolin derivatives also have anti-proliferative effects on breast cancer cells as well as murine skin fibroblasts. The antioxidative activity of taxifolin is more than that of other common antioxidants such as tocopherols and carotenoids. Besides, taxifolin is also resistant to the impact of oxidation and light. These factors have been augmenting the taxifolin demand in the field of healthcare and cosmetics. The other application areas of taxifolin includes cosmetics, cosmetics and agriculture. As a health supplement, the use of taxifolin based supplements has been observed to surge among the sportspeople. Especially during eth competition period, when the athletes need to perform beyond their regular limits, taxifolin is very useful as it boosts the cardiovascular system to bear the exercise load. In agriculture, taxifolin is used to boost plant growth. Several other health benefits associated with taxifolin includes protection of capillary and liver. The demand for cosmetics has been growing globally due to the up-liftment in consumers' lifestyles. Request For Customization @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=RC&rep_id=2801 Taxifolin of purity level of ?95% set to register faster growth Taxifolin are available in several purity levels, which can be categorized into less than 95% and greater than or equal to 95%. Taxifoiln with less than 95% purity is expected to contribute larger share over the one having ?95%. Though, taxifolin with ?95% purity level is projected to register the faster growth during the forecast period. The growing demand of taxifolin in dairy products and confectionary, where purity levels of 96% is required, is the key reason for the growth of taxifolin with ?95% purity level. Europe stands as the largest taxifolin market Europe, especially Russia have been the largest producer of taxifolin, which is due to availability of conifers including Siberian larch, which is the key raw material for the manufacturing of taxifolin. Russia has one of the largest naturally available volumes of Siberian larch, with an estimated 60 Bn cubic meters. Dahurian larches is another raw material for taxifolin. The global demand of Taxifolin is many time more than its present supply, which has kept the prices significantly elevated. The Taxifolin prices also vary largely among the regions due to several factors including the availability of raw materials, processing companies and regional demand level. Though, the demand supply gasp has been narrowing down with the involvement of more number of companies into this business. New entrants have been specifically been observed to enter in the Chinese market, due to availability of raw material, cheaper labor and high demand. The Taxifolin market in China is also projected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. There have been several application among which the Taxifolin demand has been observed to surge significantly in China, including cosmetics. Besides, the surge in investment by public and private sectors in China is encouraging the discovery of drugs with less toxic effect, thus translating into the growth of taxifolin market. Quercetin exists a potent substitute for taxifolin, thus it restraints the market growth to certain extent. Low degree of competition in taxifolin market The degree of competition is low in the taxifolin market, with the presence of fair number of players. Due to high demand and lower supply, all of the taxifolin volume that is produced is consumed, therefore each of the competitors have their defined set of customers. The taxifolin providing companies have also been increasing the number of their customers with the increase in production volume. The taxifolin market is moderately capital intensive, where raw material procurement stands as one of the key operating costs. Report Analysis @ https://www.factmr.com/report/2801/taxifolin-market Research and development is another important area of investment in the taxifolin market. Certification is essential for the processing and usage of taxifolin, which makes it tough to enter the taxifolin market. Taxifolin with Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) certification has high importance in the U.S. The procurement process of taxifolin also involves certain patented technologies that some of the companies have gained. The processors of taxifolin also focus on reducing the lead time for manufacturing with the involvement of latest technologies. The key players in the global taxifolin market includes JW Health Products, Kingherbs Ltd, Kalenika Group, Cayman Chemical, Ametis JSC, Abcam plc, and Adooq Bioscience. There are several other taxifolin providers that include, Linjiang Jianwei Biotech Co. Ltd., and Hangzhou J&H Chemical Co., Ltd. Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- Transparency Market Research (TMR) has published a new report titled, "Surgical Tables and Lights Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 20182026". According to the report, the global surgical tables and lights market was valued at more than US$ 1,300.0 Mn in 2017 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of more than 3.0% from 2018 to 2026. Developing health care infrastructure in emerging countries and introduction of technologically advanced surgical tables and lights by market players are likely to boost demand for surgical tables and lights during the forecast period. Rapid development of health care infrastructure and increase in per capita health care expenditure present significant opportunities in the market in countries such as Australia, India, and New Zealand. This in turn is likely to boost the surgical tables and lights market in Asia Pacific from 2018 to 2026. Request for Sample Copy of Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=46236 High Cost of Surgical Tables and Lights to Restrain Market Specialty surgical tables incur high acquisition as well as maintenance costs for health care settings. Constant evolution in the surgical tables and lights segment, with introduction of new features and designs has led to high prices of these products. This acts as a major restraint of the global market. The price of a general surgery table ranges from US$ 3,000 to US$ 7,000 in the U.S., while that of a specialty table ranges between US$ 9,000 and US$ 30,000. LED surgical lights based on various illumination techniques are estimated to cost from US$ 8,000 to US$ 25,000 in the U.S. Gynecology Examination Tables to Lose Market Share The report offers detailed segmentation of the global surgical tables and lights market based on product type and application. In terms of product type, the surgical tables segment is projected to account for a large share of the global market during the forecast period. Demand for surgical tables and lights in operating rooms is propelled by increase in number of ambulatory surgery centers in the U.S. and other developed countries, and emergence of new hospital projects in Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa. Moreover, increase in number of new and advanced surgery tables introduced in the global market and comparatively higher prices of these equipment have led to dominant share of the segment in 2017. The gynecology examination tables segment is anticipated to lose market share during the forecast period and account for less than 18.0% by 2026. Request Report Brochure @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=46236 Public Hospitals to be Leading Segment In terms of application, the public hospitals segment is projected to account for a dominant share of the global surgical tables and lights market during the forecast period. The segment is likely to expand at a higher CAGR from 2018 to 2026, owing to well-developed hospital infrastructure in the U.S., Canada, and countries in Europe that is largely governed by the public sector. According to the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the public sector accounts for 85% of the total GDP spending on health care by developed countries in Europe and North America. However, increase in number of private players entering the market in emerging countries and rise in number of public-private partnerships are projected to drive the private hospitals segment of the global market from 2018 to 2026. North America Market to Expand at Rapid Pace In terms of revenue, North America held a major share of the global surgical tables and lights market in 2017. This is due to increase in number of hospital-based and free-standing ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and rise in installation of integrated and hybrid operating rooms by existing hospitals in the region. Entry of new players in the hospitals segment along with rise in investments by public & private sectors is encouraging the development of new hospitals in countries such as Australia & New Zealand and India. These factors are expected to drive demand for new unit shipments of surgical tables and lights in Asia Pacific. Moreover, rise in per capita health care spending and better access to health care service are factors likely to propel the surgical tables and lights market in Asia Pacific from 2018 to 2026. Stryker, Hill-Rom Services, Inc., and STERIS plc to Dominate Market The report also provides profiles of leading players operating in the global surgical tables and lights market. These include Stryker, Hill-Rom Services, Inc., STERIS plc, Getinge AB, Mizuho OSI, Merivaara Corp., JW Bioscience, Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co., Ltd., Dr. Mach GmbH & Co. KG, and NUVO. Expansion of product portfolio by developing new products or acquisitions is a key strategy adopted by several players. For instance, in 2018, Dr. Mach GmbH & Co. KG announced the launch of its new LED 150 surgical lights, which offers superior colour rendering, a multi-lens system, along with other features. Other key players are also adopting such strategies. Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/21/2019 -- Steam trap monitor system is designed to improve the steam system performance and provides the non-intrusive and easy installation with perfect wireless monitoring functions. It is essential to keep the record of steam trap's performance for Steam users because blocked or leaking traps waste water and energy whereas a healthy steam trap inhabitants allow condensate to be removed and recycled from the steam system. Wireless steam trap monitor operates based on wireless sensor networks which include Routers, Sensors, and Coordinators. This makes a cluster tree network of devices where coordinator or router works as a parent and sensor works as a child and measure the steam conductivity and temperature. Steam trap monitor is helpful in online computation energy saving or loss due to leakage of steam traps and provides complete trap health analysis and status generated by the steam trap system. It is widely used in automotive and manufacturing industries, owing to a high demand for automation in these industries. Global steam trap monitor market: Dynamics The key driving factor of global steam trap monitor market is the rapid growth of automotive industry, owing to a high demand of steam trap monitor systems. Due to strong demand for packaged food and beverages in food and beverages industries is also a major driving factor of global steam trap monitor market. Furthermore, global steam trap monitor market is majorly driven by the increase in high internet penetration and high technological advancement, attributed to the high adoption of smart devices based on the internet of things in various industries. Another factor which helps to grow global steam trap monitor market is rapidly increasing chemical as well as the pharmaceutical industry due to high usage of steam trap monitor systems. Request Sample Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3814 The microeconomic factors which drive the global steam trap monitor market are the rapid rate of industrialization and emerging economy such as Brazil, China, and India. The key restraining factor of global steam trap monitor market is higher maintenance cost and govt. Safety regulations related to global steam trap monitor market. Continuously rising in energy cost will increase the steam cost produced by site utility operations which will restrict to grow steam trap monitor market globally. Various large market players such as Forbes Marshal and Spirax Sarco released wireless steam trap monitor system which is the key trend which helps global steam trap monitor market to grow at a rapid pace over the forecasted period Global steam trap monitor market: Segmentation Global steam trap monitor market can be segmented by end-use industry types, technology types, material type, trap types and region types. Global steam trap monitor market can be segmented by end-use industry types as follow: Pharmaceutical Chemical Food & Beverages Automotive Downstream Hydrocarbons Defense Water & Wastewater Power generation Oil & gas Pulp & paper Global steam trap monitor market can be segmented by technology types as follow: Wired Wireless Global steam trap monitor market can be segmented by trap types as follow: Mechanical Traps (inverted bucket & Float and Thermostatic) Thermodynamic Traps Venturi or Orifice Traps Thermostatic Traps Global steam trap monitor market can be segmented by material types as follow: Steel Iron Others Global steam trap monitor market: Regional Outlook Based on the geographies, global steam trap monitor market is segmented into seven regions Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Western Europe, North America, Japan and Middle East & Africa. Among region mentioned above, North America accounts high market share in steam trap monitor market across the globe followed by Western Europe. Western Europe and Middle East & Africa is estimated to grow with a rapid rate in global steam trap monitor market due to its high usage in manufacturing industries in these regions. Due to low manufacturing cost in Asia-Pacific countries such as China and India is estimated to witness a rapid growth in steam trap monitor market across the globe. Request to View TOC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3814 Few prominent market players of global steam trap monitor market as follow: Forbes Marshall Emerson Electric Co. Spirax-Sarco Engineering Plc. ThermaXX Jackets, LLC. Mosto Technologies, Inc. Armstrong International Inc. Flowserve Corporation GESTRA AG CIRCOR International, Inc Sellbyville, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- Solar Water Heater Market growth is driven by growing demand for environment friendly, cost effective and reliable systems for water heating purposes across commercial, industrial, and residential sector. Ability to reduce electricity bill by 50% to 80% will encourage the product penetration over the forecast timeline. Rising concern to maintain fossil fuel sustainability along with stringent government norms to reduce carbon emissions will stimulate the solar water heater market growth. Introduction of several targets to reduce carbon emissions and encourage the development of renewable energy will further complement the industry growth. In 2016, the government of UK sets target to reduce carbon emissions up to 57% by 2030 from 1990 levels. Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2219 China solar water heater market size is predicted to exceed 45GWth by 2024. Introduction of green building regulations and standards to curb greenhouse gas emissions will positively impact the business landscape. Technological innovation in evacuated tube collector design to reduce the cost and improve efficiency of solar thermal system will further boost the product demand. Thermosyphon solar water heater market is predicted to witness strong growth owing to its wide application across commercial and residential buildings. Cost effectiveness, ease of installation and simple design are some of the primary benefits which will boost the product penetration. Favorable measures to encourage the deployment of solar energy along with strict government regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will propel the U.S. solar water heater market share. Under the Obama administration, the country set target to reduce GHG emissions up to 28% by 2025 from 2005 level. Positive outlook towards housing sector will further complement the business growth. Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2219 Italy in 2016, accounted for over 5% of the Europe solar water heater market share. Introduction of building code with an aim to reduce the overall emissions will further boost the product demand. In March 2011, the government of Italy introduced law number 28 according to which all new building and buildings that are under construction have been required to fulfil up to 50% of hot water demand with renewable energies since June 2012. Revamp of social housing program for lower income families will drive the Brazil solar water heater market. In August 2016, the United Nation relaunched the Minha Casa, Minha Vida, a social housing program for lower income group which mandated installation of SWH in new buildings. Browse Complete Report Summary @ https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/solar-water-heater-market Increasing investment toward renewable energy development will augment the Jordan solar water heater market. In 2016, the EU invested USD 170.56 million to support the development of green energy including Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency II program in Jordan under the 2014-2017 bilateral strategy. Industry giants across solar water heater market include Wagner, Bosch, Alternate Energy Technologies, V Guard Industries, Himin Solar Energy, SunTank, Viessmann, EMMVEE, Rinnai, Chromagen, Linuo Ritter, A.O. Smith, Rheem, Racold and Bradford White. About Global Market Insights: Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology. Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/21/2019 -- Rolling stocks market witnessed sales of nearly 250 thousand units in 2018 and is expected to grow at a steady CAGR of 2.9% in 2019. Overall growth of the rolling stocks market can be attributed to, Industry titans acquiring big-ticket projects of rolling stocks Promotion of railway transport as a sustainable transportation mode Growing focus on increasing the average life of rolling stocks by predictive maintenance and remote monitoring in the services landscape Optimistic outlook of autonomous trains and ongoing development of compatible rolling stocks The ongoing focus of governments to promote the railway as a sustainable mode of transportation has resulted in a growing number of tenders of new rolling stocks being procured by manufacturers. Further, with the construction of new railway roads to increase connectivity and promotion of autonomous railway, new trains are being introduced across the world's developing economies. Developments in designs of rolling stocks compatible to autonomous train are also underway. Request For Sample @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=2798 "Rolling stock landscape has witnessed a steady advancement with the introduction of technological advances in manufacturing as well as repair and maintenance space. While predictive maintenance significantly improved service space, ongoing efforts to develop rolling stocks for autonomous trains is likely to maintain a profitable growth trajectory in the coming years and generation of revenues worth over US$ 59 billion in 2019," says a senior analyst at Fact.MR. Freight Wagons Held Half the Sales in 2018, Passenger Rolling Stocks Growing Rapidly Fact.MR study finds that among different types of rolling stocks, freight wagons accounted for nearly half the rolling stocks sold in 2018. Freight wagons form an important connection between railway transportation and different logistics services. As railway freight transport is being embraced by national governments, efforts are underway to improve the efficiency of freight wagons. The global rail market is witnessing larger tender procurements by manufacturers to supply new and efficient fright wagons. For instance, Russia's RM Rail signed an agreement with Iran's MSA Company for construction of 1000 freight wagons in June 2018. Indian Railways also set out a tender for 22,000 freight wagons in June 2018. Ukrainian Railways passed a US$ 260 million tender for purchase of gondola wagons, freight wagons and self-discharging cars in January 2018. Request For Customization @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=RC&rep_id=2798 The study reveals that sales of passenger rolling stocks are increasing at a rapid rate and expected to grow at 4.3% in 2019 over 2018. Passenger rolling stock designs have evolved significantly in a bid to accommodate evolving consumer demand for comfort and safety. In addition, introduction of new trains in the wake of promoting railway transport in emerging economies has led to a number of tenders of passenger rolling stocks. Over 5 in 10 Rolling Stocks Found Utilization in Freight Application Based on application, rolling stock utilization in freight application remains higher as compared to passenger application. Fact.MR shows that over 5 in 10 rolling stocks were used in freight application in 2018. As freight application of rolling stocks significantly contributes to the enhancement of economic performance and meet logistic demands, the future status quo of freight application is expected to remain steady in the coming years. Fact.MR study finds that APEJ continues to spearhead the global rolling stock sales and registered over 36% of the global demand in 2018 and the status-quo is expected to continue in 2018 at the growth rate of 3.3%. Emerging economies in the region are actively engaged in the development of railway infrastructure, thereby presenting lucrative opportunities for manufacturers in the coming years. Report Analysis @ https://www.factmr.com/report/2798/rolling-stocks-market Owing to favorable price points of raw materials and lower manufacturing costs, in terms of revenue generation in APEJ follows Europe. Europe is actively engaged in promoting railway decarbonization and projected to sell over 75 thousand units of rolling stocks in 2019. The Fact.MR report tracks the rolling stocks market for the period 2019-2027. According to the report, the rolling stocks market is projected to grow at 3.3% CAGR through 2027. New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- Fluoroscopy, also known as motion X-ray, produces mobile images of the body's parts and organs. In fluoroscopy procedures, X-rays are passed through the body and received by an image intensifier. Image intensifier converts the X-rays into a visible and moving image on a monitor. Fluoroscopy procedures are used to diagnose diseases and guide physicians during treatment practices. Some fluoroscopy procedures performed as out-patient practices. For instance, upper gastrointestinal series are used to examine the esophagus, small intestine and stomach. Other procedures are performed as hospital procedures or sometimes as inpatient procedures. For instance, cardiac catheterization is used to examine the heart and the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle. In addition, fluoroscopy permits the radiologist to visualize the organ system of the patient for the diagnosis of diseases. Radiologist studied patient's organ systems with the aid of contrast agents. Contrast agents are very necessary for fluoroscopy procedures due to soft tissue require enhancing for the visualization of tissues. Fluoroscopy instrument is divided into two main types: remote-controlled systems and patient-side control system. Remote-controlled fluoroscopy systems are designed with the X-ray tubes over the table and remote operation. However, patient-side controlled fluoroscopy systems are designed with table-side controls for examinations where it is required to remain at any side of the patient. This is specifically designed for pediatric patients. Request to Sample Report @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3672 In terms of geographic, North America dominates the global ray fluoroscopy instrument market. This is due to improved healthcare infrastructure in North America. The U.S. represents the largest market for ray fluoroscopy instrument followed by Canada in North America. Germany, France and the U.K. holds major share of ray fluoroscopy instrument market in Europe. However, Asia is expected to show high growth rates in the next five years in global ray fluoroscopy instrument market. This is due to many companies constructing their manufacturing plants in the region. In addition, increasing number of conferences and exhibitions by manufacturing companies to promote ray fluoroscopy instruments is also contributing in the growth of ray fluoroscopy instruments market in the region. Japan, China and India are expected to be the fastest growing ray fluoroscopy instruments markets in Asia. In recent time, increasing prevalence of diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases and gastrointestinal diseases is key diver of the global ray fluoroscopy instruments market. Improving healthcare infrastructure and innovative applications of fluoroscopy instruments have also fueled the growth of global ray fluoroscopy instruments market. In addition, increasing healthcare spending in developed and developing parts of the world and technological advancement in the fluoroscopy procedures are also supporting in growth of the market. For instance, introduction of small volume and light weight portable ray fluoroscopy instruments offers easier and convenient services to end users. Request Report TOC @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/3672 However, high cost of instruments is key restraint of global ray fluoroscopy instrument market. In addition, lack of skill labor to operate expensive instruments and stringent regulatory standards also hampers the growth of global ray fluoroscopy instrument market. Increasing mergers and collaborations between key players is key trend of the global ray fluoroscopy instrument market. Some of the major companies operating in the global ray fluoroscopy instrument market are Siemens Healthcare, GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare and Shanghai Bojin Medical Instrument Co., Ltd. New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- The latest report Power Factor Corrector (PFC) Market discusses everything a business owner needs to know about the Power Factor Corrector (PFC) market for the forecast period, 2019 to 2026. The document offers an insight into what the target customer's needs and wants. Industry experts have extracted data from various sources on size, share, growth rate, production volume, production capacity, import and export status, distribution channels and more and have analysed it thoroughly. By properly assessing the competitors and their offerings the study aims at empowering business owners to step ahead. Request for Sample Copy of Power Factor Corrector (PFC) Market Report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/sample-enquiry-form/30912 Scope of the Report: The research methodologies used for evaluating the Power Factor Corrector (PFC) market are inventive and also provides enough evidence on the demand and supply status, production capability, import and export, supply chain management and investment feasibility. The investigative approach applied for the extensive analysis of the sale, gross margin and profit generated by the industry are presented through resources including tables, charts, and graphic images. Importantly, these resources can be easily integrated or used for preparing business or corporate presentations. Major Players in Power Factor Corrector (PFC) market are: Power Integrators, Analog Devices Inc., ROHM Semiconductor, Infineon, Texas Instruments, NXP, Toshiba, ON Semiconductor, Taiwan Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics, Monolithic Power Systems(MPS), Shindengen, Semtech, Diodes Incorporated, Fairchild Semiconductor, Intersil, Skyworks Market segment by Region/Country including: - North America - Europe - China - Japan - Middle East & Africa - India - South America - Others Estimating the potential size of the Power Factor Corrector (PFC) industry: Industry experts conducting the study further estimate the potential of the Power Factor Corrector (PFC) industry. Such information is important for firms looking to launch an innovative service or product on the market. Industry experts have measured the total volume of the given market. Researchers have calculated the industry in terms of sales by the competitors and end-user customers. Data on the entire size of the Power Factor Corrector (PFC) market for a particular product or a service for the forecast period, 2019 to 2026 covered in the report makes it valuable. This information reveals the upper limit of the Power Factor Corrector (PFC) industry for a specific product or service. Buy Power Factor Corrector (PFC) Market Research Report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/checkout-form/30912 Attracting the target audience: First, the comprehensive report finds out why customers need a certain product or service. The study focuses on what problems a certain product and service can solve. Apart from target demographics industry experts weigh up on the factors including audience type, as well as others vital attributes about the target customer segment. The research provides answers to the following key questions: - What is the estimated growth rate of the Power Factor Corrector (PFC) market for the forecast period 2019 - 2026? What will be the market share and size of the industry during the estimated period? - What are prime factors expected to drive the Power Factor Corrector (PFC) industry for the estimated period? - What are the major market leaders and what has been their winning strategy for success so far? - What are the significant trends shaping the growth prospects of the Power Factor Corrector (PFC) market? - What are the key challenges expected to restrict the progress of the industry for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026? - What the opportunities product owners can bank on to generate high profits? There are 13 Chapters to deeply display the global Power Factor Corrector (PFC) market. - 1 Power Factor Corrector (PFC) Market Overview - 2 Global Power Factor Corrector (PFC) Market Competition by Manufacturers - 3 Global Power Factor Corrector (PFC) Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2019) - 4 Global Power Factor Corrector (PFC) Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2019) - 5 Global Power Factor Corrector (PFC) Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type - 6 Global Power Factor Corrector (PFC) Market Analysis by Application - Continue Read More @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/power-factor-correctorpfc-market Key Points from TOC 8 Competitive Landscape 8.1 Competitive Profile 8.2 Power Integrators 8.2.1 Company Profiles 8.2.2 Power Factor Corrector(Pfc) Product Introduction 8.2.3 Power Integrators Production, Value ($), Price, Gross Margin 2014-2019 8.2.4 Power Integrators Market Share of Power Factor Corrector(Pfc) Segmented by Region in 2018 8.3 Analog Devices Inc. 8.3.1 Company Profiles 8.3.2 Power Factor Corrector(Pfc) Product Introduction 8.3.3 Analog Devices Inc. Production, Value ($), Price, Gross Margin 2014-2019 8.3.4 Analog Devices Inc. Market Share of Power Factor Corrector(Pfc) Segmented by Region in 2018 8.4 ROHM Semiconductor 8.4.1 Company Profiles 8.4.2 Power Factor Corrector(Pfc) Product Introduction 8.4.3 ROHM Semiconductor Production, Value ($), Price, Gross Margin 2014-2019 8.4.4 ROHM Semiconductor Market Share of Power Factor Corrector(Pfc) Segmented by Region in 2018 Continue About MarketExpertz Planning to invest in market intelligence products or offerings on the web? Then marketexpertz has just the thing for you - reports from over 500 prominent publishers and updates on our collection daily to empower companies and individuals catch-up with the vital insights on industries operating across different geography, trends, share, size and growth rate. There's more to what we offer to our customers. With marketexpertz you have the choice to tap into the specialized services without any additional charges. Contact Us: John Watson Head of Business Development Market Expertz | Web: www.marketexpertz.com Direct Line: +1-800-819-3052 E-mail: sales@marketexpertz.com News: https://www.marketexpertz.com/market-news Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- An Internal Revenue Service agent was charged on Thursday in connection with the leaking of overseas financial transactions tied to President Donald Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen, according to the Department of Justice. John Fry, an analyst in the San Francisco office of the IRS, was charged with unlawful disclosure of suspicious activity reports, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of California. Banks are required to file suspicious activity reports for any suspicious financial transactions. The criminal complaint, which was filed under seal on Feb. 4, was released by the Department of Justice Thursday. The criminal complaint alleged that Fry logged onto his work computer and searched Cohen's name in a specific government database, found many of Cohen's financial records and then ultimately went back a second time and did a second search for Cohen. After accessing the documents, Fry allegedly called Michael Avenatti, the attorney who represents actress Stormy Daniels, "for more than 6 minutes," according to the complaint. Avenatti then allegedly "used his public Twitter account to circulate a dossier releasing confidential banking information related to Cohen and his company, Essential Consultants," the complaint stated. In addition to Avenatti, the information was allegedly shared with reporters from the Washington Post and New Yorker magazine, according to the DOJ. The complaint indicated that Cohen's financial records showed "possible fraudulent and illegal financial transactions by Michael Cohen." In November, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a Moscow real estate project that Trump and his company pursued at the same time he was securing the Republican nomination in 2016. Cohen is set to report to prison in May. Fry appeared in court Thursday and was released on $50,000 bond. He did not enter a plea. His next hearing is scheduled for March 13. It's unclear whether he's retained an attorney. Fry, who faces up to five years in prison if convicted, is not the first Treasury employee to be charged in connection with allegedly leaking "highly sensitive information" about suspects in the high-profile investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards, a senior adviser at the Treasury Department, allegedly "betrayed her position of trust by leaking confidential banking reports on the Russian Embassy and suspects charged in special counsel Robert Muller's Russian collusion probe, the government said in a statement. She pleaded not guilty in January. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- A new market assessment report on the Potential Transformers market provides a comprehensive overview of the Potential Transformers industry for the forecast period 2019 - 2026. The analytical study is proposed to provide immense clarity on the market size, share and growth rate across different regions. The profound knowledge and extensive examination of the trends from the yesteryear and future aims at offering the stakeholders, product owners, and marketing personnel a competitive edge over others operating in the Potential Transformers market for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026. Scope Of Report: Based on the types, the Potential Transformers market has been further classified based on geography, application and consumption capability. On the basis of the product application, the industry is bifurcated taking into consideration those in demand and are an outcome of technology advancement. Region-wise, the performance of the industry along with the prominent vendors operating in the geography also illuminates stakeholders, business owners, and field marketing, executives. The different facets of the business based on parameters including new launches, acquisition and mergers and new entrants are discussed extensively during the study. Request for free sample report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/sample-enquiry-form/30891 The major players covered in this report are KONCAR, Pfiffner, Toshiba, GE Grid Solutions, XD Group, Schneider Electric, Siemens, SNC Manufacturing, Arteche, Emek, Dalian Beifang, ABB To offer more clarity on the current business environment researchers probe into the import and export status, supply chain management, demand and supply, consumption capability and manufacturing capacity. When assessing the size of the industry special consideration is given to the value and volume of the products and services offered on a year on year basis. Knowing the trends influencing the industry performance Stakeholders, marketing executives and business owners planning to refer a market research report can use this study to design their offerings and understand how competitors attract their potential customers and manage their supply and distribution channels. When tracking the trends researchers have made a conscious effort to analyze and interpret the consumer behavior Besides the research helps product owners to understand the changes in culture, target market as well as brands so they can draw the attention of the potential customers more effectively. Understanding the market size The size of the Potential Transformers market is viewed in terms of the Share of Market, Total Available Market as well as Served Available Market. Not only does the study present the combined revenue for a particular market but also the market size for a specific geographic region. Analysis of percentage or the size of the Total Available Market based on the type of product, technology, regional constraints and others form an important part of the Potential Transformers report. Purchase Full report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/checkout-form/30891 Geographically, this report studies the top producers and consumers in these key regions: - North America - Europe - China - Japan - Southeast Asia - India We can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions: North America, United States, Canada, Mexico, Asia-Pacific, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Europe, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, Russia, Rest of Europe, Central & South America, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, Middle East & Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Rest of Middle East & Africa Ask for discount on this report for better value @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/discount-enquiry-form/30891 In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of automotive genuine leather are as follows: Historical data : 2014-2017 Base Year: 2018 Estimated Year: 2019 Forecast Year 2019 to 2026 The study objectives of this report are: 1. To analyze and study the global Potential Transformers capacity, production, value, consumption, status and forecast (2019-2026); 2. Focuses on the key Potential Transformers manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future. 3. Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, analysis. 4. To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region. 5. To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks. 6. To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth. 7. To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments. 8. To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the market. 9. To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market. 10. To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies. Key elements from table of content: 8 Competitive Landscape 8.1 Competitive Profile 8.2 KONCAR 8.2.1 Company Profiles 8.2.2 Potential Transformers Product Introduction 8.2.3 KONCAR Production, Value ($), Price, Gross Margin 2014-2019 8.2.4 KONCAR Market Share of Potential Transformers Segmented by Region in 2018 8.3 Pfiffner 8.3.1 Company Profiles 8.3.2 Potential Transformers Product Introduction 8.3.3 Pfiffner Production, Value ($), Price, Gross Margin 2014-2019 8.3.4 Pfiffner Market Share of Potential Transformers Segmented by Region in 2018 Continue. Browse complete report description @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/potential-transformers-market About MarketExpertz Planning to invest in market intelligence products or offerings on the web? Then marketexpertz has just the thing for you - reports from over 500 prominent publishers and updates on our collection daily to empower companies and individuals catch-up with the vital insights on industries operating across different geography, trends, share, size and growth rate. There's more to what we offer to our customers. With marketexpertz you have the choice to tap into the specialized services without any additional charges. Contact Us: John Watson Head of Business Development Market Expertz | Web: www.marketexpertz.com Direct Line: +1-800-819-3052 E-mail: sales@marketexpertz.com News: www.marketexpertz.com/market-news Sellbyville, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/21/2019 -- Asia Pacific Pocket Door Market is anticipated to witness growth over 5% up to 2024. Countries such as China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia are expected to witness significant growth in population which will bolster the increase in average size of housing. This will indirectly impact the product sales in the residential sector and outpace its applications in the non-residential segment. Pocket Door Market size is estimated to surpass USD 10 billion by 2024. Rapid growth in construction & renovation of the residential & commercial buildings is the key factor fueling pocket door market size. Increasing demand from infrastructure and real estate projects will drive the product demand. In 2017, according to National Association of Home Builders, the U.S. remodeling and home building investment accounts for 3% share of GDP. Sample copy of this Report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2752 Increase in public, as well as private infrastructure expenditure is anticipated to propel the industry growth. Rising modular and stylish lifestyle owing to rising disposable income will provide strong business outlook for the manufactures, thus supporting industry expansion. In addition, shift in consumer preference towards premium quality products with aesthetic in their homes likely to fuel product sales. Technological advancement and innovations for conserving energy in buildings will positively enhance the industry growth. Stringent government norms to enhance the utilization of energy efficient products for reducing carbon emissions in Canada and UK fueling product sales. Increasing demand for automated entrances in the commercial and industrial sector will further propel the industry growth in coming years. Make an Inquiry for purchasing this Report @ https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2752 Single pocket door market is projected to witness CAGR over 5.5% in terms of revenue up to 2024, owing to its ease of installation, sound & thermal insulation, and modular appeal. A variety of materials such as glass, aluminum, steel, etc. can be used for the product development depending upon the purpose for which it is being installed. This level of diversity of features and its ease of operations likely to propel product adoption rate. Wood accounted for more than 45% of the industry share in 2017. Apart from the aesthetic appeal, wooden material tends to have a long life especially when good quality timber is used. Also, wood is not prone to rust, it does not crack or chip and is highly customizable to fit any opening size. These factors make wood an ideal option for product development in the long run thereby increasing the segment growth over the projected timeframe. European pocket door accounted for over 20% of the global revenue share in 2017. Increasing urbanization rate and rising demand for aesthetic customization will further boost industry growth in this region. Rising income level coupled with affordable housing schemes launched by the government will augment regional demand over the projected timeframe. Browse Report Summery @ https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/pocket-door-market Some of the key industry players in the market include Ferrero Legno, JAP, Allgood, Scrigno, Eclisse UK S.R.L, JB Kind, and Ghizzi & Benatti. Other notable players include Portman, LPD, Raydoor, Selo, Fleetwood, Slidesystems, Linvisible, Bertolotto Porte, Casali, FOA Porte etc. Manufacturers are anticipated to adopt mergers & acquisition strategy to gain competitive advantage. The company players practice integrations across various levels of the value chain to increase their presence in the industry. The manufacturing companies are entering strategic alliances with multinational home decor brands to further increase their profitability. New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- A new market assessment report on the Metal Glaze Potentiometer market provides a comprehensive overview of the Metal Glaze Potentiometer industry for the forecast period 2019 - 2026. The analytical study is proposed to provide immense clarity on the market size, share and growth rate across different regions. The profound knowledge and extensive examination of the trends from the yesteryear and future aims at offering the stakeholders, product owners, and marketing personnel a competitive edge over others operating in the Metal Glaze Potentiometer market for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026. Scope Of Report: Based on the types, the Metal Glaze Potentiometer market has been further classified based on geography, application and consumption capability. On the basis of the product application, the industry is bifurcated taking into consideration those in demand and are an outcome of technology advancement. Region-wise, the performance of the industry along with the prominent vendors operating in the geography also illuminates stakeholders, business owners, and field marketing, executives. The different facets of the business based on parameters including new launches, acquisition and mergers and new entrants are discussed extensively during the study. Request for free sample report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/sample-enquiry-form/30894 The major players covered in this report are BAOSHI, Panasonic, BOURNS, TOCOS, NOBLE, COPAL, ALPS, BItechnologies To offer more clarity on the current business environment researchers probe into the import and export status, supply chain management, demand and supply, consumption capability and manufacturing capacity. When assessing the size of the industry special consideration is given to the value and volume of the products and services offered on a year on year basis. Knowing the trends influencing the industry performance Stakeholders, marketing executives and business owners planning to refer a market research report can use this study to design their offerings and understand how competitors attract their potential customers and manage their supply and distribution channels. When tracking the trends researchers have made a conscious effort to analyze and interpret the consumer behavior Besides the research helps product owners to understand the changes in culture, target market as well as brands so they can draw the attention of the potential customers more effectively. Understanding the market size The size of the Metal Glaze Potentiometer market is viewed in terms of the Share of Market, Total Available Market as well as Served Available Market. Not only does the study present the combined revenue for a particular market but also the market size for a specific geographic region. Analysis of percentage or the size of the Total Available Market based on the type of product, technology, regional constraints and others form an important part of the Metal Glaze Potentiometer report. Purchase Full report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/checkout-form/30894 Geographically, this report studies the top producers and consumers in these key regions: - North America - Europe - China - Japan - Southeast Asia - India We can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions: North America, United States, Canada, Mexico, Asia-Pacific, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Europe, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, Russia, Rest of Europe, Central & South America, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, Middle East & Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Rest of Middle East & Africa Ask for discount on this report for better value @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/discount-enquiry-form/30894 In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of automotive genuine leather are as follows: Historical data : 2014-2017 Base Year: 2018 Estimated Year: 2019 Forecast Year 2019 to 2026 The study objectives of this report are: 1. To analyze and study the global Metal Glaze Potentiometer capacity, production, value, consumption, status and forecast (2019-2026); 2. Focuses on the key Metal Glaze Potentiometer manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future. 3. Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, analysis. 4. To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region. 5. To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks. 6. To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth. 7. To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments. 8. To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the market. 9. To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market. 10. To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies. Key elements from table of content: 8 Competitive Landscape 8.1 Competitive Profile 8.2 BAOSHI 8.2.1 Company Profiles 8.2.2 Metal Glaze Potentiometer Product Introduction 8.2.3 BAOSHI Production, Value ($), Price, Gross Margin 2014-2019 8.2.4 BAOSHI Market Share of Metal Glaze Potentiometer Segmented by Region in 2018 8.3 Panasonic 8.3.1 Company Profiles 8.3.2 Metal Glaze Potentiometer Product Introduction 8.3.3 Panasonic Production, Value ($), Price, Gross Margin 2014-2019 8.3.4 Panasonic Market Share of Metal Glaze Potentiometer Segmented by Region in 2018 Continue. Browse complete report description @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/metal-glaze-potentiometer-market About MarketExpertz Planning to invest in market intelligence products or offerings on the web? Then marketexpertz has just the thing for you - reports from over 500 prominent publishers and updates on our collection daily to empower companies and individuals catch-up with the vital insights on industries operating across different geography, trends, share, size and growth rate. There's more to what we offer to our customers. With marketexpertz you have the choice to tap into the specialized services without any additional charges. Contact Us: John Watson Head of Business Development Market Expertz | Web: www.marketexpertz.com Direct Line: +1-800-819-3052 E-mail: sales@marketexpertz.com News: www.marketexpertz.com/market-news Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/21/2019 -- According to a recent Fact.MR study, over 1,900 units of marine shaft power meter are likely to be sold in 2019. Growth of the marine shaft power meter market can be attributed to various factors including Growing seaborne trade that relies heavily on cargo carriers Development of technically advanced and cost-effective solution and increasing demand for new marine shaft power meter to optimize fuel saving Imposition of new regulations on the shipping industry to reduce greenhouse gas emission The study opines that cargo carriers hold relatively larger share of the marine shaft power meter market, than passenger vessels. More than 50% volume sales of the marine shaft power meter were held by cargo carriers in 2018. This can be attributed to efforts of ship owners in Germany, China, and Canada, toward strengthening their hold in the container space, in line with the upward trend of container-based shipping services in sea-borne trade.. Request For Sample @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=1504 Seaborne trade will continue to expand worldwide on the back of competitive freight cost, as carriers increasingly invest in large container vessels for realizing the supply and demand balance. Freight carriers are also making significant investments in green technologies, to comply with new regulations, and meet logistics demands of companies that seek sustainable transport solution. The Fact.MR study estimates robust sales of the marine shaft power meter in cargo ships and tankers, along with steady demand from passenger vessels, including high-speed crafts, fishing vessels, and cruise liners. Adoption of marine shaft power meters in passenger vessels is underpinned by the requirement of optimum fuel consumption, and investigating engine performance, and shaft power measurement solutions.. APEJ to Retain its Hegemony in Marine Shaft Power Meter Market APEJ is expected to hold pole position in the marine shaft power meter market in 2019, with volume sales envisaged to surpass 1,000 units. Revenues from the marine shaft power meter market in Japan are expected to be relatively lower than APEJ. These regions with their flourishing shipping industry and increasing marine trade offer potential growth opportunities for marine shaft power meter manufacturers. Request For Customization @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=RC&rep_id=1504 Developing countries in APEJ such as China and South Korea are highly lucrative markets for marine shaft power meter collectively accounting for over four-fifth volume share, finds Fact.MR study. Ongoing recovery of shipbuilding activities is a key factor driving demand for marine shaft power meter in these APEJ countries. "Technological advances in the shipping industry including autonomous ships and blockchain application, hold considerable promise for the supply side of shipping. Combining on-board system and digital platforms is also on a rise in vessels and cargo. The volume of world trade by sea has started to gradually increase in recent years, with growing demand for goods and raw materials by emerging economies," reveals Fact.MR study. The study further states, "Complementing efforts by the shipping industry to address greenhouse gas emission, International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set an emission reduction target. These targets have been introduced in form of mandatory energy-efficiency requirements. This is resulting in the growing demand for marine shaft power meter system by the shipping companies to improve efficiency and reduce fuel consumption. Meanwhile, recently released MRV regulation in Europe has made it mandatory to shipping companies to get their emission report verified and receive Document of Compliance (DOC) to prevent any penalty." Report Analysis @ https://www.factmr.com/report/1504/marine-shaft-power-meter-market In a bid to meet the demand for significant sustainability and optimize fuel consumption, the shipping industry's reliance on technically advanced marine shaft power meter has substantially increased in recent years. Fact.MR expects that sales of marine shaft power meter through OEM will register significant growth, with sales projected to exceed 1,800 units in 2019. The Fact.MR report offers key insights on the marine shaft power meter market for the period 2018-2028. According to the report, marine shaft power meter market is expected to register 3.0% CAGR in terms of volume between 2018 and 2028. San Francisco, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- Global Iron Castings Market: Snapshot The global iron castings market is anticipated to see a sudden rise in its demand during the forecast period 2017-2025. Various advantages such as good strength to weight ratio, impressive machinability, better damping capacity, quick transition from design to end product, having flexibility in design which optimizes its appearance for sales appeal, ability to redesign and combine more than two components obtained from other materials into a single casting. The major factor that is pushing the global iron castings market is the rise in the automotive industry across the world due to meet the demand of incessant rising population. Rise in disposable income and rapid urbanization have helped the automotive industry to grow. Cast iron are mostly used in manufacturing engine parts, suspension, crankshaft, gears and bushings, and steering. Engines which are known to deliver higher horsepower is known to bring the change in tractor and heavy commercial vehicle segment. This is anticipated to favor the use of components such as cylinder head and cylinder block which would rise the consumption of cast iron. The global iron casting market is known to have a numerous manufacturers. The vendors in the market are range from manufacturing of low volumes of specialty products to reputed and well organized companies that produces large volumes. Recently, Betz industries, a global player in the iron castings market is known to having brought a site of 51.5 acre, near its headquarters which is on Bristol Avenue, New York. The manufacturer plans to manufacture a 41280 square foot industrial building which is likely to costs US$3.5 mn. This building is likely to be used for two dimensional machining of the gray and ductile iron castings. Request Sample Copy of the Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=3530 Global Iron Castings Market: Overview Iron casting s is carried out in in a foundry, where the molten iron is put into a cast or a vessel in order to make a required shape out of it. Cast materials are in general cold setting materials or metals for example concrete, plaster, epoxy, ceramic, clay, or iron. In this the molten fluid is put to obtain a desired shapes and sizes. Iron castings are utilized in the making of several intermediate products that are used in several end-use sectors. As a result, the performance of iron castings market is highly relied upon key downstream markets. The global iron castings market is segmented into three key segments on the basis of product namely ductile iron castings, gray iron castings, and malleable iron castings. Among these gray iron is the most commonly used metal. It is used in various molding techniques owing to its versatile properties, such as low production cost, and easier to cast. The ductile iron has got high tensile strength as compared to others. It is blended with magnesium to provide better stiffness, impact resistance, and tensile strength. Moreover, malleable cast iron is similar to ductile cast iron, expect its production time is lengthier. This cast iron is usually replaced with ductile cast iron owing to its high production cost. Global Iron Castings Market: Trends and Opportunities Most of the metals for example copper, steel, iron, aluminum can be molded and reshaped in cast. Nevertheless, steel, ductile iron, gray iron, and malleable iron are the major ferrous metals used for the process. Alloys of iron are used widely for casting in high quality and performance application sector for example heavy equipments, automobiles, defenses equipments, and industrial machines. The iron castings market is growing steadily owing to a significant growth in mining and construction industries, particularly in Eastern Europe and South East Asia. Rise in demand for iron castings in electrical and automobile sectors is likely to boost the growth in the global market. Moreover, demand for iron in the construction sector is anticipated to increase notably in the upcoming years in future owing to uptake in infrastructure-building activities. Request TOC of the Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=3530 Replacing the iron castings with aluminum-based alloys casting in various applications for example automotive body and aircraft body is expected to fulfil the growing demand for iron castings to a large extent. In addition, iron casting needs high amount of energy. This one of the hindering factor for the market growth. Advancement in technology to make the manufacturing process easier and upgrade of light weight iron casting pipes and plates is represented to serve as a ground of potential opportunities in the market development. Global Iron Castings Market: Regional Outlook Geographically, Europe and Asia Pacific are the main regional markets for iron castings market. China makes the biggest of the markets for iron casting owing to the robust and rapid paced industrialization in the nation. As a result of this, there has been a significant growth in construction sector in China. Hence, Asia Pacific region is likely to experience a substantial growth in the global iron castings market in the forthcoming years. Improvement in purchase of automobiles and construction activities in Asia Pacific region is prognosticated to fuel the iron castings market in within the forecast period. Other than this, aerospace and defense sector in North America region are the key segments where iron castings are used widely. Global Iron Castings Market: Competitive Landscape There are plenty of key players operating in iron castings market such as Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), ThyssenKrupp AG, ArcelorMittal S.A., Tata Group, SSAB AB, The voestalpine Group, Hebei Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd., POSCO, and Shanghai Baosteel Group Corporation. Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/iron-castings-market About TMR Research TMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in today's 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. Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- Ice Cream Machine Market explores effective study on varied sections of Industry like opportunities, size, growth, technology, demand and trend of high leading players. It also provides market key statistics on the status of manufacturers, a valuable source of guidance, direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry. This market research report looks into and analyzes the Global Ice Cream Machine Market and illustrates a comprehensive evaluation of its evolution and its specifications. Another aspect that was considered is the cost analysis of the main products dominant in the Global Market considering the profit margin of the manufacturers. Get Free PDF Sample Pages Of Ice Cream Machine Market Report: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/sample-report/11429-global-ice-cream-machine-market Major Key Players in This Report Include, TAYLOR [United States], Tetra Pak [Switzerland], Gram Equipment [Denmark], Electro Freeze [United States], CARPIGIANI [Italy], Tekno-Ice [Italy], Big Drum Engineering GmbH [Germany], Technogel [Italy], Stoelting [United States], Nissei [Japan], Spaceman [China], Ice Group [Ireland], Bravo [Italy], DONPER [China] This research is categorized differently considering the various aspects of this market. It also evaluates the current situation and the future of the market by using the forecast horizon. The forecast is analyzed based on the volume and revenue of this market. The tools used for analyzing the Global Ice Cream Machine Market research report include SWOT analysis. The regional analysis of Global Ice Cream Machine Market is considered for the key regions such as Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America and Rest of the World. North America is the leading region across the world. Whereas, owing to rising no. of research activities in countries such as China, India, and Japan, Asia Pacific region is also expected to exhibit higher growth rate the forecast period 2019-2025. The Global Ice Cream Machine Market in terms of investment potential in various segments of the market and illustrate the feasibility of explaining the feasibility of a new project to be successful in the near future. The core segmentation of the global market is based on product types, SMEs and large corporations. The report also collects data for each major player in the market based on current company profiles, gross margins, sales prices, sales revenue, sales volume, photos, product specifications and up-to-date contact information. For Early Buyers | Get Up to 20% Discount on This Premium Report: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/request-discount/11429-global-ice-cream-machine-market The study covers a detailed analysis segmented by key business segments i.e. by type (Soft Ice Cream Machine and Hard Ice Cream Machine) and major geographies. Research Analyst at AMA predicts that Italian and Chinese Manufacturers will contribute to the maximum growth of Global Ice Cream Machine market throughout the predicted period. Table of Content 1. Market Overview 1.1. Introduction 1.2. Scope/Objective of the Study 1.2.1. Research Objective 2. Executive Summary 2.1. Introduction 3. Market Dynamics 3.1. Introduction 3.2. Market Drivers 3.2.1. Growing Demand for Ice-cream in Parties and Events 3.2.2. Rising Cafe-culture Fueled by Increasing Disposable Income 3.3. Market Challenges 3.3.1. Dominance of Local Manufacturers 3.3.2. Intricacy Involved in Repair and Maintenance 3.4. Market Trends 3.4.1. Demand for Lightweight Ice Cream Machine Manufacturing 3.4.2. Growing Demand for Portable Ice Cream Machine 4. Market Factor Analysis 4.1. Porters Five Forces 4.2. Supply/Value Chain 4.3. PESTEL analysis 4.4. Market Entropy 4.5. Patent/Trademark Analysis 5. Global Ice Cream Machine, by Type, End-Users and Region (value, volume and price ) (2013-2018) Get More Information: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/enquiry-before-buy/11429-global-ice-cream-machine-market Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/21/2019 -- Fact.MR conveys vital insights on the hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber market in its report, entitled "Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene Rubber Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2018-2027". In terms of revenue share, the global hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber market is projected to enlarge at the growth CAGR of 7.6% over the forecast period (2018-2027), owing to abundant factors, about which FMR offers precise insights and forecast in our report. The global market for hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber can be segmented by product type, by application, by end use industry and by region. Preference for Synthetic Rubber likely to boost the Market Growth Rubber is a staple commodity in industrial supply chains but the price is extremely volatile and is currently at record lows. Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia account for almost 70% of natural rubber and they have cut their exports as a result of plummeting prices. Thus, there is a shift towards synthetic rubbers such as hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber, especially in emerging economies. As the world's population is growing rapidly, urbanization is the need of the hour. A large middle class demands real estate and self-mobility as both are usually viewed as a status symbol. Synthetic rubbers find widespread application in high-performance products directly contributing to the growth of the hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber market. Request For Sample @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=2534 The automotive industry is growing at a healthy clip and this is forecasted to continue in the medium term. Global auto sales have been largely driven by countries such as China, India, Indonesia, and Mexico. The automotive industry is the largest customer of the hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber market. Products such as O-rings, seals, synchronous timing belts, suspension parts, mountings, hoses, fan belts all necessitate frequent replacement benefiting the global hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber market. Synthetic rubber such as hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber is deployed in a wide variety of end-uses. Hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber is used in industries ranging from the automotive, pharmaceutical, construction, and chemical industry. The tire producing industry consumes the bulk of the global production of hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber. Along with automotive tires, hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber is useful in the manufacturing of industrial rubber, automotive components, footwear, and adhesives. Due to its low heat buildup hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber is used by major tire manufacturers and is heavily promoted by them as a superior alternative to natural rubber. In the construction industry, hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber is used in windows, pipes, flooring, sound insulation, and roofing. Request For Customization @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=RC&rep_id=2534 In the past few years, the governments of rubber producing countries such as Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India have been providing economic assistance to farmers engaged in the cultivation of rubber. Furthermore, the government is supporting rubber manufacturing units with favorable policies including tax breaks, subsidies, custom duty waivers, etc. For e.g. Excessive monsoonal rainfall in India almost five years ago reduced the rubber production of that year. The Indian govt. helped rubber manufacturing firms and growers various offers such as planting, trade fairs, buyer-seller meets, and exhibitions. In the report, FMR suggests that the price volatility of natural rubber and the demand-supply mismatch makes key stakeholders look at an alternative such as hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber. Moreover, the automotive industry is the largest end-user of hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. The aforementioned factors are anticipated to drive the growth of the global hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber market during the forecast period. Regional Overview APEJ upholds its dominance for the production and demand for the hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber market by 2027. The global market of hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber is growing due to the subsequent growth in regional demand from North America and the APEJ market. The increase in the local demand from the automotive industry and regional presence of key manufacturers is expected to contribute to the growth of the global market. In 2016, the National Energy Administration began canceling licenses for the construction of new coal-powered fuel stations, and this was followed up by a countrywide program of environmental inspections. A number of hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber plants had to close down in October 2017 as they were using coal-furnaces. Although electrically-powered plants are replacing them, the China hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber market should see challenging times in the short term. Prices are poised to rise in the other Asian behemoth India as well as South Korean suppliers have raised their exports to the subcontinent following the latter's decision to impose anti-dumping duties on European and Thai hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber suppliers. Germany is an automotive hub, and the country hosts the headquarters of renowned automobile manufacturers such as Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, and Volkswagen. Hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber is the most popular rubber used to manufacture automotive components because of its numerous attributes. The demand for hydrogenated nitrile butadiene is anticipated to grow in Europe, particularly in Germany. Report Analysis @ https://www.factmr.com/report/2534/hydrogenated-nitrile-butadiene-rubber-market Key Players The manufacturers operating in the global hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber market include Rahco Rubber, Inc., JSR Corporation, Kumho Petrochemical Co., Ltd., Zeon Corporation, Sibur Holding, ARLANXEO, Versalis S.p.A., OMNOVA Solutions Inc., Lianda Corporation, Synthos S.A., and others located across the globe. The prominent market players in hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber market are concentrating on the extension of their production abilities and vertical integration for business development. Moreover, the players are investing to expand the distribution network and empower the business relationship. The marketing strategy by manufacturers is expected to contribute for the growth of hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber market in the forecast period, 2018-2027. Northbrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/21/2019 -- According to the new market research report on "High Density Interconnect Market by Product (46 Layers HDI, 810 Layers HDI, and 10+ Layers HDI), End User (Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Telecommunications, Medical), Application, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2023", published by MarketsandMarkets, the HDI market is expected to grow from USD 9.5 billion in 2018 to USD 16.9 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 12.3% from 2018 to 2023. A few key factors driving the growth of this market are increasing adoption of advanced electronics and safety measures in the automotive vertical and growing demand for smart consumer electronics and wearable devices. Ask for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=179767298 10+ Layers HDI to hold the largest share of the HDI market during the forecast period 10+ layers HDI would likely continue accounting for the largest share of the HDI market during the forecast period. This growth can be attributed to 10+ Layers HDIs being used in a wide range of devices, such as high-reliability automotive products, high-density mobile devices, and IoT modules. 10+ layers HDI offer benefits such as small size, lightweight construction, and enhanced flexibility. HDI market for the medical end-user segment to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period The HDI market for the medical end-user segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The range of HDI PCB applications in the medical industry is vast and ever-growing. HDI PCBs can be found in pacemakers, defibrillators and heart monitors, medical imaging systems, MRIs, CT scans, and ultrasonic equipment among others. HDI PCBs are also used in medical devices like body temperature monitors, blood glucose monitors, and electrical muscle stimulation equipment. Browse in-depth TOC on "High Density Interconnect Market" 68 Tables 39 Figures 130 Pages APAC to hold the largest share of the HDI market during the forecast period APAC would likely account for the major share of the global HDI market during the forecast period. This growth can be attributed to the increasing application of HDI in consumer electronics, automotive, and healthcare verticals in countries such as China, India, and South Korea. It is also due to the extension of telecommunications networks in China, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, India, and other developing countries in APAC. Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=179767298 Unimicron (Taiwan), Compeq Co. (Taiwan), TTM Technologies (US), Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik (Austria), Zhen Ding Tech. (Taiwan), IBIDEN (Japan), MEIKO ELECTRONICS Co. (Japan), FUJITSU INTERCONNECT TECHNOLOGIES (Japan), Tripod Technology Corp. (Taiwan), Unitech (Taiwan), SAMSUNG ELECTRO-MECHANICS (South Korea), Daeduck GDS Co (South Korea), DAP Corp. (South Korea), Korea Circuit (South Korea), CMK (Japan), NCAB Group (Sweden), SIERRA CIRCUITS (US), and Multek (Hong Kong) are among the major players in the HDI market. 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 7500 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, "Knowledge Store" 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. Shelly Singh MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-641 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/21/2019 -- Derived from anthranilic acid, Isatoic Acid Anhydride is a white solid organic compound produced by the reaction of anthranilic acid and phosgene. Isatoic acid anhydride finds application in flavors & fragrances, chemical & pharmaceutical intermediates, and as a bird repellant. Other niche applications of isatoic acid anhydride includes agrochemicals, dyes & pigments, plastics and rubbers, and soaps & detergents. Isatoic acid anhydride is also used as a petroleum additive in fuels & lubricants, as protein and carbohydrates substrate modifier for use in wool, paper and textiles industry. Isatoic Acid Anhydride Market: Market Dynamics The key growth driving factor for the global Isatoic Acid Anhydride market is its use in pharmaceuticals and dyes & pigments. The global pharmaceutical industry is on a rise owing to consumer lifestyles, increasing spending power and disposable income of consumers. This drives the demand for a number of pharmaceutical ingredients of which Isatoic acid anhydride is a part. Furthermore, the application of Isatoic acid anhydride in agrochemicals, especially pesticides and herbicides is key for demand growth of isatoic acid anhydride. The global population is on a rise, averaging a growth of around 1% per annum. With the growing population, the need for high yield crop technologies is very crucial. Better crop yields require the use of efficient pesticides and herbicides, drying the demand growth for isatoic acid anhydride market. The global industrial sector is experiencing an upward movement since its downfall during the global economic recession in 2008-2009. Rising outputs have led to the industry growths in line with that of the global GDP, further driving the demand growth for Isatoic Acid Anhydride, which is used as a chemical intermediates and chain stoppers in polymer and rubber manufacturing. Click here to subscribe Sample @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=3002 Isatoic Acid Anhydride Market: Segmentation The global Isatoic Acid Anhydride market is segmented on the basis of end-use industry and region. Based on the application, the global Isatoic Acid Anhydride market is segmented as: Additive Chemical intermediate Pharmaceutical intermediate Modifier Blowing agent Others Based on the end use, the global Isatoic Acid Anhydride market is segmented as: Flavors Fragrance Chemicals & Agrochemicals Pharmaceuticals Fuel & lubricants Polymers Laboratory & scientific use Others Chemical intermediate and pharmaceutical end-use applications of isatoic acid anhydride account for a share of around 30% - 40% in the global Isatoic Acid Anhydride market. Agrochemicals will remain one of the emerging hotspots for Isatoic Acid Anhydride in the long-term forecast. Based on region, the global Isatoic Acid Anhydride market is segmented as: North America Latin America Europe East Asia South Asia Oceania MEA Isatoic Acid Anhydride Market: Regional Outlook The global Isatoic Acid Anhydride market is segmented into seven regions including North America, Latin America, Europe, East Asia, South Asia, Oceania and MEA. Among the above-mentioned regions, Asia is estimated to account for more than 30% of global Isatoic Acid Anhydride consumption with key producers having their Isatoic Acid Anhydride manufacturing facilities in the regions. East Asia on the back of China, is anticipated to witness a high growth in the global Isatoic Acid Anhydride market during the long-term forecast. Presence of emerging economies in South Asia, makes the region register growth rates closer to that of East Asia. India is one of the key emerging markets for Isatoic Acid Anhydride in the region, and a number of domestic market players are expanding their Isatoic acid anhydride manufacturing capabilities. Moreover, North America, followed by Europe, is projected to showcase moderate growth in the global Isatoic Acid Anhydride market with Japan following a trend similar to these regions. Middle East & Africa and Latin America accounts for a mere single digit market share in terms of Isatoic Acid Anhydride demand. Request/View TOC@ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=T&rep_id=3002 Isatoic Acid Anhydride Market: Prominent market stakeholders Key market stakeholders in the global Isatoic Acid Anhydride market are BASF SE, Swastik Col Chem Pvt. Ltd, Ambernath Organics Pvt. Ltd., Anshul Specualty Molecules Private Ltd., Alfa Aesar, etc. The Isatoic Acid Anhydride market consists of well-diversified global and regional players with the global vendors are ruling the market. The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the Isatoic Acid Anhydride market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The Isatoic Acid Anhydride market report provides analysis and information, according to market segments such as geographies, application and industry. The Isatoic Acid Anhydride Market Report Covers Exhaustive Analysis On: Market Segments Market Dynamics Market Size & Demand Current Trends/Issues/Challenges Competition & Companies involved Technology Value Chain The Isatoic Acid Anhydride Market Regional Analysis Includes: North America (U.S., Canada) Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru) Western Europe (Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain, BENELUX, Nordic, Eastern Europe) CIS & Russia Asia-Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, South Korea) Japan Middle East & Africa (GCC Countries, South Africa) The Isatoic Acid Anhydride report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The Isatoic Acid Anhydride report provides an in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macroeconomic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The Isatoic Acid Anhydride report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies. The Isatoic Acid Anhydride Market Report Highlights: A Detailed overview of the parent market Changing market dynamics in the industry In-depth market segmentation Historical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and value Recent industry trends and developments Competitive landscape Strategies of key players and products offered Potential and niche segments, geographical regions exhibiting promising growth A neutral perspective on market performance Must-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprint Grow Your Business From Expert Advice: https://www.factmr.com/report/3002/isatoic-acid-anhydride-market About Fact.MR Fact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports. Contact Us Rohit Bhisey Fact.MR 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 United States Email: sales@factmr.com Web: https://www.factmr.com/ Blog: https://factmrblog.com/ Read Industry News at - http://theguardiantribune.com Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- PEGylated Proteins Market report analyses the entire production and supply chain of the Market and provides information as per different phases. Whereas, on the basis of sales, data related to sales volume, sales price, cost, sales income, and profit margin etc. of PEGylated Proteins Market used in different fields, sold in different regions and by different companies is provided in this report. In this report, the PEGylated Proteins Market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2025. Request Sample of PEGylated Proteins Market research report at - https://www.absolutereports.com/enquiry/request-sample/13808089 Major Key Players Are Analysed in the PEGylated Proteins Market Report such as: ENZON Pharmaceuticals Merck Sharp & Dohme Roche Pfizer Amgen UCB Crealta (Savient) This PEGylated Proteins Market report also takes into account the past price of 2012-2016 and future price of 2019-2025 as per the supply-demand relation along with perspectives and PEGylated Proteins Market forecasts. Additionally, the PEGylated Proteins Market report also discusses the data on deals (distributors) and buyers, providing a holistic insight into the supply chain and sales details of PEGylated Proteins Market. PEGylated Proteins Market by Applications: Cancer Treatment Hepatitis Chronic Kidney Disease Leukemia SCID Rheumatoid Arthritis & Crohn's Disease Others PEGylated Proteins Market by Types: Colony Stimulating Factors Interferons Erythropoietin (EPO) Recombinant Factor Viii Monoclonal Antibodies Others Have any Query Regarding the PEGylated Proteins Market Report? Contact us at: https://www.absolutereports.com/enquiry/pre-order-enquiry/13808089 Market Segment by Regions, this PEGylated Proteins Market report splits Global into several key Regions, with sales (consumption), revenue, market share and growth rate of PEGylated Proteins Market from 2019 to 2025 (forecast), like: North America, United States, Canada, Mexico, Asia-Pacific, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Europe, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Russia, Rest of Europe, Central & South America, Brazil, Rest of South America, Middle East & Africa, GCC Countries, Turkey, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of Middle East & Africa The Report Provides Insights on Major PEGylated Proteins Industry Points such as: To analyse and study the global PEGylated Proteins Market capacity, production, value, consumption, status (2013-2019) and forecast (2019-2025); Focuses on the key PEGylated Proteins manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future. Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyse the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis. To describe and forecast the market by type, application and region. To analyse the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks. To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth. To analyse the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments. To strategically analyse each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the market To Describes competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyse their growth strategies of PEGylated Proteins Market Price of Report (single User Licence): $ 3350 Purchase the PEGylated Proteins Market Report at- https://www.absolutereports.com/purchase/13808089 About Absolute Reports Absolute Reports is an upscale platform to help key personnel in the business world in strategizing and taking visionary decisions based on facts and figures derived from in-depth market research. We are one of the top report resellers in the market, dedicated to bringing you an ingenious concoction of data parameters. Contact Info: Name: Ajay More Email: sales@absolutereports.com Organization: Absolute Reports Phone: +1 424-253-0807/ +44 20 3239 8187 Request for Customization of PEGylated Proteins Market Report at: https://www.absolutereports.com/enquiry/request-customization/13808089 Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/21/2019 -- Knitted fabrics sales will increase from approximately 49 thousand tons to reach nearly 52 thousand tons during the period 2018-2019, according to a recent study of Fact.MR. The incremental growth of the knitted fabrics market is influenced by a variety of factors, such as positive growth prospects of the textile industry and increasing popularity of knitwear among the millennial population. The Fact.MR study remains bullish on the impressive growth prospects of the knitted fabrics market, as the adoption of next-gen knitting technologies has led to enhanced business efficiency and productivity for manufacturers. Leading players in the knitted fabrics market are focusing on enhancing sustainability and quality of their products to increase their footprint in this highly competitive marketplace. Request For Sample @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=2865 "Knitted fabrics are witnessing burgeoning demand as high-quality knitwear apparels are becoming a status symbol among the young fashion enthusiasts across the world. Manufacturers in the knitted fabrics market are adopting high-tech manufacturing procedures introduce innovative designs and types of knitted fabrics at competitive prices. The information presented in the study can help readers with a new vision on the potential rise in knitted fabrics demand and growth prospects of the regional market for knitted fabrics," says Fact.MR. China's Supremacy in the Textile Industry Fosters Knitted Fabrics Market Growth in APEJ Region According to the Fact.MR study, the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan (APEJ) held a hefty ~70% volume share in the knitted fabrics market in 2018. The study predicts that the knitted fabrics sales in the APEJ region will reach nearly 35,000 tons by the end of 2019, which will continue to support growth of the APEJ knitted fabrics market. China leads growth of the knitted fabrics market in the APEJ region with a whopping 61% share in the global sales of knitted fabrics, according to the Fact.MR study. China is one of the top clothing exporters in the world, as it accounts for over one-third of the EU's apparel and textile imports. Domestic manufacturers in the China's knitted fabrics market are rapidly transforming their manufacturing strategies with digitalization and automation to bolster their sales of high-quality knitting fabrics worldwide. Request For Customization @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=RC&rep_id=2865 However, the Fact.MR study finds that China's trade conflicts with the U.S. is among many other factors that are making a negative impact on its dominance in the APEJ knitted fabrics market. China's allegedly rampant theft of U.S. textile intellectual property is likely to invite retaliatory tariffs on China's apparels and textiles, which may lead to compromising its share in the knitted fabrics market. Recently, tax exemption on woven cotton fabric and knitted fabric imported from India are likely to be declared under the free trade agreement between the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India. This can lead to making India a leading supplier of raw materials and machines to the textile industry in Vietnam, and strengthening its position in the knitted fabrics market. In addition, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan rank in the top five countries to export clothing in the European Union, according to the European Statistical Office (Eurostat). Developing countries in Asia-Pacific other than China are foraying into the knitted fabrics market with the rapidly escalating knitwear industry in India and Bangladesh. Furthermore, favorable regulatory frameworks, increasing competition, and low labor costs are improving the export profitability for knitted fabric businesses in India and Bangladesh. Report Analysis @ https://www.factmr.com/report/2865/knitted-fabrics-market Weft-Knitted Fabrics Account for 64% of Global Sales as End-users Aim to Reduce Knitwear Production Cost The Fact.MR study predicts that the demand for weft-knitted fabrics will remain higher vis-a-vis wrap-knitted fabrics, owing to the low cost and versatility of weft-knitted fabrics. Weft-knitted fabrics need only single yarn feed, which ultimately helps end-user in the textile industry to cut down the raw material input requirements and the processing steps involved in the production of knitwear apparels. As most end-users are seeking ways to curtail economic, social, and environmental costs of their manufacturing processes, the demand for weft-knitted fabrics has remained consistently high over the period of past few years. The Fact.MR study provides comprehensive details about growth prospects and developments in the knitted fabrics market during the period 2018-2027. The knitted fabrics market will envisage a healthy 5.3% volume CAGR through 2017, according to the study. Sellbyville, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/21/2019 -- Growing need for hot water and space heating solutions across cold climatic regions along with shifting trend toward adoption of energy efficient heating units will drive the global market growth. Government efforts toward promotion of energy efficient systems in high carbon footprint buildings will further augment the product deployment. The European Union adopted the Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD), targeting a zero-greenhouse gas release from building infrastructures by 2050. Global Commercial Boiler Market is set to surpass USD 15 Billion by 2024, as reported in the latest study by Global Market Insights, Inc. Standing as one of the top-notch energy transition verticals, commercial boiler market is poised to amass substantial gains, with a global installation target of 300,000 units by 2024. Boiler efficiency has been touted as one of the foremost factors determining the overall efficiency of a central heating system. According to the U.S. DOE, commercial infrastructure consumes more than 7 trillion joules of site energy annually. The boiler efficiency also has a major impact on the carbon emissions and cost reduction, owing to which the demand for commercial boilers has observed a sharp uptick globally. Get a Sample Copy of this Report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2809 Gas fired commercial boiler market is predicted to expand over 3% by 2024. Low carbon emissions, relatively lower operational cost and low maintenance requirement will accelerate the product adoption. Growing investments toward development and extension of gas infrastructure will further drive the business growth. In 2016, as per the European Commission, the EU has invested over USD 200 million toward the development of Balticconnector, a natural-gas pipeline connecting Estonia and Finland. The U.S. market is predicted to surpass an annual installation of 80,000 units by 2024. Resurgent economic growth coupled with rapidly increasing population will drive the industry growth in coming years. As per the World Bank, the U.S. has witnessed a GDP growth of 34.5% between 2009 and 2017, and a population surge of 6.1% within the same period. In context of energy efficiency, the ongoing renovation activities of inefficient building infrastructure is providing a substantial impetus to the commercial boiler industry trends. The fraternity has been witnessing a slew of product developments and technological proliferations to develop advanced, efficient, and sustainable equipment. In this regard, condensing boilers have registered a massive demand across the commercial sector, primarily driven by their emission reduction capabilities. Growing need for hot water and space heating solutions across cold climatic regions along with shifting trend toward adoption of energy efficient heating units will drive the global market growth. Government efforts toward promotion of energy efficient systems in high carbon footprint buildings will further augment the product deployment. The European Union adopted the Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD), targeting a zero-greenhouse gas release from building infrastructures by 2050. Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2809 It is imperative to mention that amidst the stringent regulatory backdrop, gas-fired commercial boiler industry has witnessed a massive penetration globally. Besides meeting the emission standards, these boilers also have lower maintenance and operational costs which is further fueling its deployment across the commercial sectors. In terms of commercialization, this segment is forecast to record a CAGR of 3% over the coming six years. Notable industry participants across the global market - Viessmann - Vaillant Group - Weil-McLain - Cleaver-Brooks - Ferroli S.p.A. - Navien, Inc. - BDR Thermea Group - MIURA AMERICA CO., LTD. - A. O. Smith Corporation Tokyo, Japan -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/21/2019 -- This report on Bancassurance Technology delivers detailed analysis on the main challenges and growth prospects in the market. This research study is anticipated to help the new and existing key players in the market that will help in making current business decisions as well as to sustain in the severe competition of the global Bancassurance Technology market. The report also discusses on the main product portfolios, geographical segments, main applications, and the competitive landscape of the global Bancassurance Technology market that are stated in the study. Bancassurance refers to a distribution channel for insurance products. It is a means for insurance companies to sell their products through banks, which allows the former to cater to a wide customer base. The bancassurance model is very common in many countries across Europe, including France, Spain, and Portugal. There are also several new entrants in the market, intensifying the competition, and encouraging insurance companies to innovate and customize products based on client requirement. Get Sample Copy of this report: https://www.reportconsultant.com/request_sample.php?id=137 Top Key Vendors: Agile Financial Technologies, BSB, E&Y, HP, BM, Oracle With the advent of technology boom worldwide, banks and insurance firms across Europe have increasingly become dependent on computers, Internet and other technology mediums to run their business and drive revenue growth. The technology trend in the banking and insurance sectors will only intensify in the future, leading to a rise in popularity of bancassurance in Europe. According to the report, payment systems show significant changes in the past two decades. The emergence of several IT technologies with regard to payment systems has made the transaction process became much easier for banks and insurance companies. The aspects that are anticipated to affect the growth of the market, may it be in an undesired or desired way, have been cleared out in the best possible manner. Considering the produce and worth of the Bancassurance Technology market, detailed studies have been done during the forecast period which is mentioned. Each year in the forecast period is examined for better precise data with respect to every aspect affecting the market. Electronic payment systems are widely used among banks. In addition, integration is expected to evolve in the payment system. The evolution of payment systems is predicted to further grow during the forecast period. Many banks and insurance companies are likely to invest a significant amount in adoption of advanced technologies to enhance their functionality of payment systems. Ask For Discount: https://www.reportconsultant.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=137 Market segment by Application, the market can be split into Banks Insurance Firms Finally, the research directs its focus towards the possible strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that can affect the growth of the global Bancassurance Technology market. The feasibility of new projects is also measured in the report by the analysts. Reasons for Buying this Report This report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics It provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growth It provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to grow It helps in understanding the key product segments and their future It provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitors It helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segments It provides distinctive graphics and exemplified SWOT analysis of major market segments For More Information: https://www.reportconsultant.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=137 Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- This report focuses on the global Energy Security status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. The study objectives are to present the Energy Security development in United States, Europe and China. Energy security is one of the most important and widely used terminologies used these days especially in the developed and the developing nations. We can define energy security as the ability of the nation or a country to secure the power plants and energy resources from physical attacks and cyber intrusions for undisrupted and sustained supply of energy, to the country and its people. Securing the energy and power resources has become very important and most of the countries are taking firm measures to protect their power plants and energy resources. This need for securing the power plants has increased because of the growing terror and criminal attacks and growing sophisticated cyber attacks on the power plants and energy resources. These power plants play an important role in any of the countries development and are considered to be the backbone of the nation and any attack on these power plants can paralyze the countries development. Along with these outside attacks, there are always threats of insider attacks and lack of a comprehensive solution for securing the power plants. Many countries have made strict regulations and compliances for energy security. There are international bodies for regulating and standardizing the compliances as well. These issues of increased attacks, strict government regulations and government rules have given rise to the overall energy security market. There are companies which provide sophisticated physical security solutions which includes unmanned aerial vehicles and highly sophisticated intrusion detection and prevention system. Many companies also provide network security and cyber security solutions for preventing the complicated cyber attacks, thus securing the overall power plants from these attacks and keep the operations uninterrupted. In 2017, the global Energy Security market size was xx million US$ and it is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of 10.9% during 2018-2025. Get PDF Report Template @ https://www.qyresearch.com/sample-form/form/701488/global-energy-security-market The key players covered in this study ABB Aegis Defense Services Limited BAE Systems Cassidian Elbit Systems Limited Ericsson Flir Systems, Inc. Honeywell International Inc. Intergraph Corporation Lockheed Martin Corporation Northrop Grumman Corporation Qinetiq Group Raytheon Safran Siemens AG Thales Group Market segment by Type, the product can be split into Physical Network Security Market segment by Application, split into Nuclear Thermal And Hydro Oil And Gas And Renewable Energy Get Complete Report in your Inbox within 24 hours @ https://www.qyresearch.com/settlement/pre/1d353c74155d4597921b499203df55c5,0,1,Global%20Energy%20Security%20Market%20Size,%20Status%20and%20Forecast%202018-2025 Benefits of Purchasing QY Research Report Analyst Support: Get you query resolved from our expert analysts before and after purchasing the report Customer's Satisfaction: Our expert team will assist with all your research needs and customize the report Inimitable Expertise: Analysts will provide deep insights about the reports Assured Quality: We focus on the quality and accuracy of the report About QYResearch QYResearch always pursuits high product quality with the belief that quality is the soul of business. Through years of effort and supports from huge number of customer supports, QYResearch consulting group has accumulated creative design methods on many high-quality markets investigation and research team with rich experience. Today, QYResearch has become the brand of quality assurance in consulting industry. Brandon, MB -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- Switching to a different version of QuickBooks is sometimes inevitable, especially when companies do business in multiple countries, and have divisions in more than one country. Another likelihood is a bookkeeper using a certain version of QuickBooks for the main file. "The only issue that businesses operating in different countries face is QuickBooks Conversions, specifically converting QuickBooks Canada to US Edition, or the US Edition to Canada or UK, mainly because the company has more than likely have files set up in a version of QuickBooks that is incompatible with the software in another division," John Rocha, Technical Services Manager said. "Because specialized software like QuickBooks is available in different editions for different regions such as Canada, there are features that are specific to that region, for example, currency and taxes, that are unique to that version of the software," Rocha added. An example of this Rocha cited was the fact that the Canadian and UK versions of QuickBooks are configured to use VAT, however, this feature is configured as sales tax for the US version. "These unique features make it impossible for the US version of QuickBooks to read a file from the Canadian version, and this can cause frustration and undue delays in the accounting process." E-Tech, a leading QuickBooks data repair and conversion service, simplifies the ordeal by offering a solution that modifies the nationality of QuickBooks to bring both versions into sync. According to Rocha, the process is quick and easy which usually constitutes an initial evaluation in order to assess both versions of QuickBooks, creating an account to upload a QuickBooks file, and lastly, upon completion of the required, an upload link to submit the file is sent. What gets transferred and what does not QuickBooks does not allow payroll transactions to be transferred from one file to another, hence payroll checks will be transferred as regular checks with full line item details Usernames are not transferred from the secondary files to the primary file. Users will need to be recreated after the merge. Budget data cannot be transferred. About E-Tech Founded in 2001, E-Tech is the leading file repair, data recovery, and data conversion services provider in the United States and Canada. The company works to stay up to date on the latest technology news, reviews, and more for their customers. For media inquiries regarding E-Tech, individuals are encouraged to contact Media Relations Director, Melanie Ann via email at Melanie@e-tech.ca. To learn more about the company, visit: www.e-tech.ca Media Contact E-Tech 136 11 th St Brandon, MB R7A 4J4 Melanie@e-tech.ca www.e-tech.ca Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/21/2019 -- HTF MI recently Announced Global Display for Avionics Applications study with 100+ market data Tables and Figures spread through Pages and easy to understand detailed TOC on "Display for Avionics Applications. Global Display for Avionics Applications research allows you to get different methods for maximizing your profit. The research study provides estimates for Global Display for Avionics Applications Forecast till 2025*. Some of the Leading key Company's Covered for this Research are BAE Systems, Elbit Systems, Esterline Technologies, Honeywell Aerospace, Rockwell Collins, Saab & Thales. Click to get Global Display for Avionics Applications Market Research Sample PDF Copy Here @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1283998-global-display-for-avionics-applications-sales-market Displays play an important role in the avionics system by providing information on weather conditions, navigation, altitude, and flight details related to temperature, fuel availability, and air pressure. Initially analog devices performed these functions, but manufacturers have shifted to digital display systems, which are also known as glass cockpits. While each analog device could perform only one function, few displays can provide multiple information. In addition, digital display system makes the cockpit lighter compared to analog cockpit. The recent growth of the civil and military aviation segments, especially in terms of aircraft production, will bolster the prospects for growth in the display market for avionic applications during the forecast period. Also, factors such as the growing demand for automation will also aid in the growth of this market as it helps to reduce the workload of the pilot and also ensures the availability of critical flight information. Since automation enhances flight operational safety and efficiency, its rising demand among the end users in the aviation sector will result in the steady growth of this market during the predicted period. The global display market for avionics applications is extremely competitive as the manufacturers compete on the basis of cost, product quality, reliability, and aftermarket service. To survive in this market, the manufacturers have to develop cost-effective and high-quality cockpit display systems that are equipped with the latest technology. The global Display for Avionics Applications market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and will reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025. Global Display for Avionics Applications Research for a Leading company is an intelligent process of gathering and analyzing the numerical data related to services and products. This Research Give idea to aims at your targeted customer's understanding, needs and wants. Also, reveals how effectively a company can meet their requirements. The market research collects data about the customers, marketing strategy, competitors. The Display for Avionics Applications Manufacturing industry is becoming increasingly dynamic and innovative, with more number of private players entering the industry. Important Features that are under offering & key highlights of the report: 1) Who are the Leading Key Company in Global Display for Avionics Applications market space? Following are list of players that are currently profiled in the report "BAE Systems, Elbit Systems, Esterline Technologies, Honeywell Aerospace, Rockwell Collins, Saab & Thales" ** List of companies mentioned may vary in the final report subject to Name Change / Merger etc. 2) What will the market size be in 2025 and what will the growth rate be? In 2019, the Global Display for Avionics Applications market size was xx million USD and it is expected to reach USD xx million by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of xx% during 2019-2025. 3) What are the Market Applications & Types: The study is segmented by following Product Type: , Heads-up display (HUD) & In-flight display Major applications/end-users industry are: Military aviation & Civil aviation **The market is valued based on weighted average selling price (WASP) and includes any applicable taxes on manufacturers. All currency conversions used in the creation of this report have been calculated using constant annual average 2018 currency rates. To comprehend Global Display for Avionics Applications market dynamics in the world mainly, the worldwide Display for Avionics Applications market is analyzed across major regions. HTF MI also provides customized specific regional and country-level reports for the following areas. - North America: United States, Canada, and Mexico. - South & Central America: Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. - Middle East & Africa: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, Egypt and South Africa. - Europe: UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Russia. - Asia-Pacific: India, China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, and Australia. Enquire for customization in Report @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/1283998-global-display-for-avionics-applications-sales-market Competitive Analysis: The key players are highly focusing innovation in production technologies to improve efficiency and shelf life. The best long-term growth opportunities for this sector can be captured by ensuring ongoing process improvements and financial flexibility to invest in the optimal strategies. Company profile section of players such as BAE Systems, Elbit Systems, Esterline Technologies, Honeywell Aerospace, Rockwell Collins, Saab & Thales includes its basic information like legal name, website, headquarters, its market position, historical background and top 5 closest competitors by Market capitalization / revenue along with contact information. Each player/ manufacturer revenue figures, growth rate and gross profit margin is provided in easy to understand tabular format for past 5 years and a separate section on recent development like mergers, acquisition or any new product/service launch etc. Research Parameter/ Research Methodology Primary Research: The primary sources involves the industry experts from the Global Display for Avionics Applications industry including the management organizations, processing organizations, analytics service providers of the industry's value chain. All primary sources were interviewed to gather and authenticate qualitative & quantitative information and determine the future prospects. In the extensive primary research process undertaken for this study, the primary sources industry experts such as CEOs, vice presidents, marketing director, technology & innovation directors, founders and related key executives from various key companies and organizations in the Global Display for Avionics Applications in the industry have been interviewed to obtain and verify both qualitative and quantitative aspects of this research study. Secondary Research: In the Secondary research crucial information about the industries value chain, total pool of key players, and application areas. It also assisted in market segmentation according to industry trends to the bottom-most level, geographical markets and key developments from both market and technology oriented perspectives. Buy Full Copy Global Display for Avionics Applications Report 2018 @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1283998-global-display-for-avionics-applications-sales-market In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Global Display for Avionics Applications are as follows: History Year: 2013-2018 Base Year: 2018 Estimated Year: 2019 Forecast Year 2019 to 2025 Key Stakeholders in Global Display for Avionics Applications Market: Global Display for Avionics Applications Manufacturers Global Display for Avionics Applications Distributors/Traders/Wholesalers Global Display for Avionics Applications Subcomponent Manufacturers Industry Association Downstream Vendors **Actual Numbers & In-Depth Analysis, Business opportunities, Market Size Estimation Available in Full Report. Buy this research @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=1283998 Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia. About HTF Market Report HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the "Accurate Forecast" in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their "Goals & Objectives". Salt Lake City, UT -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- When one is attempting to select the perfect fireplace designs in Summit County, there is no better choice than the luxury line of fireplaces created by DaVinci, which are available at Utah's premier fireplace installation service Croft Fireplace. Whether homeowners are into modern or classical fireplace designs, The DaVinci Collection is the embodiment of in-home elegance. Much like the flawlessly-crafted and incredibly customizable design of a DaVinci fireplace, when one decides to buy a fireplace in Weber County, the team of fireplace and masonry extraordinaires at Croft Fireplace aim to satisfy every design that their customers can dream up. Croft Fireplace's highly-skilled service professionals commit themselves to the highest standards in terms of fireplace installation and renovation services for their customers. Not only will they ensure each job is completed on time, but they also guarantee the safety and functionality of every fireplace they're tasked with installing. No matter where in the home one desires to have a fireplace installed, the experts at Croft Fireplace will produce perfect results for their customers. Due to the superior versatility and cutting-edge nature of DaVinci Fireplaces, the possibilities are endless for fireplace enthusiasts wanting to turn up the heat in their homes. Utah residents who are interested in installing a high-quality fireplace with a team of professionals at the top of the industry should call Croft Fireplace at 801-295-4141 for their Bountiful location or reach them at 801-820-0919 for services in Salt Lake City. Additionally, more information can be found by visiting Croft Fireplace online at http://croftfireplace.com/. About Croft Fireplace Center With 15 years experience and locations in Salt Lake City and Bountiful, Utah, Croft Fireplace Center provides expert installation of wood, gas, and electric fireplaces and stoves for homes and businesses. Croft Fireplace Center's team pride themselves on their craftsmanship, working with their clients from the beginning of the model selection process all the way through design and implementation. To learn more, visit their website at https://www.croftfireplace.com/. Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- Future Market Insights in its recent report - "Conveyor Maintenance Market: Australia Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 20162026", offers key insights into the future of the conveyor maintenance market in Australia for the next decade. The research indicates the conveyor maintenance market in Australia to reach a valuation of US$ 757.0 Mn by 2026, witnessing a 3.1% CAGR through 2026. Key Driver Insights Bulk conveyors are the lifelines of mining industry. With mining giants facing tight production deadlines and shoestring maintenance budgets, downtime due to malfunctioning of conveyor systems has become a key area of concern. While Australia is a longstanding mining leader, Future Market Insights indicates the maximum concentration of the region's conveyor maintenance market in the mining sector. Mineral Production Hike: The overall increase in the production and processing capacity of Australia's mining industry will amplify operating and maintenance budgets. Rising mineral production capacity is foreseen to remain the strongest factor pushing the demand for conveyor maintenance services. A Sample Of This Report Is Available Upon Request @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-au-2485 New Mining Projects: With the mining industry welcoming a host of new coal, iron ore, and gold projects, the market for conveyor maintenance is estimated to elevate gradually over the next decade. However, volatility in mining will continue to create pricing pressure, restraining the Australia conveyor maintenance market growth to a certain extent. Conveyor Modernisation Trend: Miners are increasingly preferring modernisation of conveyors that eventually extend their life span, providing impetus to the component fixing/replacement segment. Mining Evolution: Major mining players are increasingly engaging in plant expansion and investments. This, coupled with the steady evolution in mining operations, will create profitable opportunities for conveyor maintenance service providers. Advancements in mining are likely to boost service providers' abilities to deliver services and components confined to evolving mining operations. Segmentation Insights By service type, the component fixing/replacement segment will continue its dominance, accounting for over 78% value share in 2026. The maintenance services segment will reportedly lose 230 BPS over 2016-2026, as one-time maintenance trend will continue to limit long-term maintenance contracts By conveyor type, rubber segment will retain the leading position with over 95% market value share by 2026 end. While the plastic and others segment will be sustained by the adoption of enhanced materials such as polyurethane, the metal segment will continue to hold a negligible market value share due to application in the automotive and food manufacturing sector Among conveyor components, rollers and conveyor belts will dominate over cleaners and other components over the forecast period. Roller and idler segment is forecast to lead, followed by conveyor belt segment Read Comprehensive Overview with Methodology of Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-au-2485 Mining will remain the largest end-use segment with over three-fourth revenue share by 2026 end Key Player Insights Future Market Insights has profiled the leading players operating in the Australia conveyor maintenance market. These include Rema Tip Top Australia, Flexible Steel Lancing Company (FLEXCO), Habasit Australia Pty Ltd., Fenner Dunlop Australia Pty Ltd., Forbo Siegling Pty Ltd., ContiTech Australia Pty. Ltd., Reliable Conveyor Belt Pty. Limited, Kinder Australia Pty Ltd, Nepean Engineering & Innovation Pty Ltd., Minprovise Pty Ltd., Endless Belt Service Pty Ltd, and Mato GmbH & Co. KG. The market is currently witnessing a consolidation trend. New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- The latest market research report titled Constant Current Led Driver market offers a detailed evaluation of the market situation within a specific geographic region. This Constant Current Led Driver Market study contains vital data on market shifts owing to social, economic, cultural and technological changes worldwide. Explaining market opportunities remains the key focus of the study. Industry experts analysing the business environment also take a closer look at the organizational alignment as well as the capital structure. Request for Sample Copy of Constant Current Led Driver Market Report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/sample-enquiry-form/30904 Scope of the Report: The research methodologies used for evaluating the Constant Current Led Driver market are inventive and also provides enough evidence on the demand and supply status, production capability, import and export, supply chain management and investment feasibility. The investigative approach applied for the extensive analysis of the sale, gross margin and profit generated by the industry are presented through resources including tables, charts, and graphic images. Importantly, these resources can be easily integrated or used for preparing business or corporate presentations. Major Players in Constant Current Led Driver market are: GENERAL ELECTRIC, MACROBLOCK, INC., ON SEMICONDUCTOR, KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V., ATMEL CORPORATION, TEXAS INSTRUMENTS, INC., CREE, INC., AC ELECTRONICS, MAXIM INTEGRATED, INC., OSRAM GMBH, ROHM SEMICONDUCTORS, HARVARD ENGINEERING Most widely used downstream fields of Constant Current Led Driver market covered in this report are: - INDUSTRIAL LIGHTING - RESIDENTIAL LIGHTING - OUTDOOR & TRAFFIC LIGHTING Major Regions play vital role in Constant Current Led Driver market are: - North America - Europe - China - Japan - Middle East & Africa - India - South America - Others Buy Constant Current Led Driver Market Report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/checkout-form/30904 The market intelligence study for the Constant Current Led Driver market further provides an inside-out overview of necessary aspects associated with the product classification, important definitions, major orders and other industry-centric parameters. An underlying part of the study also maps the important factors associated with the recent events such as mergers and acquisition, collaboration and new product launches. Understanding the market size: The size of the Constant Current Led Driver market is viewed in terms of the Share of Market, Total Available Market as well as Served Available Market. Not only does the study present the combined revenue for a particular market but also the market size for a specific geographic region. Analysis of percentage or the size of the Total Available Market based on the type of product, technology, regional constraints and others form an important part of the Constant Current Led Driver report. Market share: The report discovers market's total sale that is generated by a particular firms over a time period. Industry experts calculate share by taking into account the product sales over a period and then dividing it by the overall sales of the Constant Current Led Driver industry over a defined period. Subject matter experts further use this metric to offer a general idea of the share and size of a firm and its immediate rivals. By providing an in-depth knowledge of the position a company as well as an entrepreneur holds in the Constant Current Led Driver market Attracting the target audience: First, the comprehensive report finds out why customers need a certain product or service. The study focuses on what problems a certain product and service can solve. Apart from target demographics industry experts weigh up on the factors including audience type, as well as others vital attributes about the target customer segment. The research provides answers to the following key questions: - What is the estimated size of the Constant Current Led Driver market for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026? What will be the growth rate of the industry during the estimated period? - What are the prominent driving forces likely to impact the progress of the industry across different regions? - Who are the major market players occupying a strong foothold in the Constant Current Led Driver market? What are the winning strategies adopted by them to stay ahead in the competition? - What are the potential opportunities for the Constant Current Led Driver market for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026? Read More @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/constant-current-led-driver-market About MarketExpertz Planning to invest in market intelligence products or offerings on the web? Then marketexpertz has just the thing for you - reports from over 500 prominent publishers and updates on our collection daily to empower companies and individuals catch-up with the vital insights on industries operating across different geography, trends, share, size and growth rate. There's more to what we offer to our customers. With marketexpertz you have the choice to tap into the specialized services without any additional charges. Contact Us: John Watson Head of Business Development Market Expertz | Web: www.marketexpertz.com Direct Line: +1-800-819-3052 E-mail: sales@marketexpertz.com News: https://www.marketexpertz.com/market-news Washington City, WA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- COEGASunwear today announced that it will be participating in the International Trade Council's Trade Mission to Singapore from March 25 to March 28, 2019. COEGASunwear is based in the UAE and provides UV50+ protective Sunwear for the whole family. COEGA Sunwear is a leading swimwear brand across the Middle East and is available in 75 leading retailers, 8 waterparks and 13 E-commerce platforms. "The Trade Mission to Singapore presents an invaluable opportunity for COEGA Sunwear to expand to Asia," said Maureen Hall,Founder and Head of Design. "Our product focuses on the customer seeking high coverage fashionable swimwear and is ideal for this market. Over the years, we have developed a great product,however it's working with the right channel partner that is critical for success. This is why I am personally coming to Singapore." Included in the trade mission will be a series of networking events, seminars and presentations about business opportunities in Singapore, on-site visits and business-to-business meetings arranged by the International Trade Council. Companies wishing to schedule a meeting with COEGA Sunwear during the visit may contact the Trade Council's office in Singapore or email sing-mission@tradecouncil.org. For more information about COEGA Sunwear please visit www.coegawear.com About the International Trade Council The International Trade Council is a 64-year-old peak body Chamber of Commerce representing government export agencies, chambers of commerce and industry associations and businesses from 176 countries. The Council works with businesses to introduce them to new markets, understand the competitive landscape, find new customers, understand potential technical barriers to trade and meet the challenges of expanding in new and/or competitive environments. Council members include 19 national chambers of commerce, 59 state chambers of commerce, 73 government export agencies and 314 local business associations and chambers and approximately 28,800 direct corporate members. About COEGASunwear COEGA Sunwear is a high quality, mid-priced brand. COEGA Sunwear provides UV protection but also serves a niche market by offering higher coverage items for those customers who choose to wear more modest swimwear. All swimwear is produced with high quality UV 50+ fabric imported from Europe. COEGA Sunwear has over 14 years' experience and its range covers Babies, Kids, Youth, Ladies and Men.Existing retail partnersinclude large retailers with stores in all major centers in the Middle East, famous hotels, waterparks and online platforms. Press Contact: Ron Nolasco International Trade Council Tel: +1 202 869 0988 E: ron.nolasco@tradecouncil.org Website: http://www.tradecouncil.org Sarasota, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- Zion Market Research has published a new report titled "Chronic Disease Management Market by Disease Type (Arthritis, Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, and Others), by Delivery Mode (Cloud-Based and On-Premises), by Service (Educational Services, Implementation Service, Consulting Service, and Others), and by End-User (Providers, Payers, and Others): Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, and Forecast, 20182024". According to the report, the global chronic disease management market was valued at approximately USD 3.92 billion in 2018 and is expected to generate around USD 10.3 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of around 17.5% between 2019 and 2024. Chronic disease management comprises a defined set of interventions mainly aimed at providing high-quality healthcare and a better quality of life to patients. Chronic disease management services include a variety of services, such as multidisciplinary care, guidelines for the self-management of the chronic disease condition, and guidance for healthy behavioral change, to increase awareness about various diseases. Chronic care management is used for dealing with a wide variety of diseases, such as depression, cardiovascular disorders, obesity, neurological disorders, etc. Request Free Sample Report @ http://bit.ly/2E34Kiv The growing invasion of chronic diseases along with the increasing awareness about the consequences of life-threatening diseases is estimated to drive the global chronic disease management market growth in the future. Chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disorder, cancer, and neurological disorder, are creating the demand for solutions that can deliver the services to improve patient health at a relatively lower and affordable cost. About 17.5 million people died from cardiovascular disorders in 2015, i.e., 31% of all the global deaths. Additionally, the global burden of chronic disease is increasing, owing to the increasing geriatric population globally. The adoption of digital technologies and trending IT healthcare services are further anticipated to fuel the chronic disease management market growth globally in the future. However, the non-compliance and lack of adherence among the patients may hamper the global chronic disease service market expansion in the years ahead. The global chronic disease management market is segmented based on disease type, delivery mode, service, and end-user. By disease type, the chronic disease management market is divided into arthritis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. Cardiovascular diseases held the largest market share in 2017. Download Free PDF Report Brochure @ http://bit.ly/2E03oVL By delivery mode, the chronic disease management market is categorized into cloud-based and on-premises. The cloud-based segment is likely to register the highest CAGR owing to its flexibility, affordability, and scalability. By service, the chronic disease management market is segmented into educational services, implementation service, consulting service, and others. The implementation services are estimated to hold the largest market share in the future, owing to the growing focus on offering cost-effective and efficient solutions. The end-user segment of the chronic disease management market includes providers, payers, and others. Providers are further segmented into ambulatory care centers, hospitals, physician groups, and integrated delivery networks, diagnostic and imaging centers, home healthcare agencies, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities, and others. The payers segment is further divided into public payers and private payers. By region, North America is anticipated to dominate the chronic disease management market globally over the forecast time period. This can be attributed to the favorable government policies supporting the introduction of new and advanced services, substantial developments witnessed in the healthcare infrastructure, and funds for research granted by the government and ruling authorities. Asia Pacific region is anticipated to demonstrate the fastest growth rate over the forecast timeframe, owing to the region's thriving healthcare industry due to a large population base, especially in India, China, and Japan. Inquire more about this report @ http://bit.ly/2E0RhHQ Some key players of the global chronic disease management market are TriZetto Corporation, Infosys Limited, Pegasystems Inc., Siemens Healthcare Private Limited, MINES & Associates, Inc., Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc., HealthSmart Holdings, Inc., Wellcentive, Inc., EXL Healthcare, Phytel Inc., Harmony Information Systems, Inc., and ScienceSoft USA Corporation. This report segments the global chronic disease management market into: Global Chronic Disease Management Market: By Disease Type Arthritis Cardiovascular Disease Cancer Diabetes Others Global Chronic Disease Management Market: By Delivery Mode Cloud-Based On-Premises Global Chronic Disease Management Market: By Service Educational Implementation Service Implementation Service Consulting Service Others Global Chronic Disease Management Market: By End-User Providers Ambulatory Care Centers Hospitals, Physician Groups, and Integrated Delivery Networks Diagnostic and Imaging Centers Home Healthcare Agencies, Nursing Homes, and Assisted Living Facilities Others Payers Public Payers Private Payers Others Global Chronic Disease Management Market: By Region North America The U.S. Europe UK France Germany Asia Pacific China Japan India Latin America Brazil The Middle East and Africa Enquire Here Get customization & check discount for report @ http://bit.ly/2E03wod About Zion Market Research Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting-edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, the company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the client's needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us. Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- Amylin analogs are used to treat diabetes. Physiological amylin and amylin analogs have similar properties. Amylin analogs are administered subcutaneously before meals. These are synthetic stable compounds. The beta cells of pancreas secret amylin along with insulin. Amylin is a 37 amino acid polypeptide neuroendocrine hormone that acts as an agent which provides the feeling of being full or fully satisfied by suppressing the intake of food, delays gastric emptying, regulates blood pressure with an effect on renin-angiotensin system, and inhibits glucagon secretion. In addition to the metabolic effects, human amylin may modulate innate inflammation, and autoimmunity via regulatory T cells to impact on both human type 2 and type 1 diabetes. View Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/amylin-analogs-market.html Diabetes is characterized by decreased secretion of insulin as well as amylin. Postprandial glucose control is assisted by amylin to insulin. In diabetes patients, the glucose or sugar is not converted to energy. This is due to insufficient production of insulin. Insulin helps in transfer of glucose from blood to the cells. Amylin helps regulate glucose appearance. Amylin analogs overcome the tendency of human amylin to aggregate, form insoluble particles, and adhere to surfaces. These help is reduction of body weight. Increase in prevalence of diabetes in both the developing as well as developed countries drives the global amylin analogs market. According to WHO, in 2016, there were 422 million people suffering with diabetes across the world. Rise in prevalence of diabetes is due to increase per capita income that leads to sedentary lifestyle, which is one of the primary causes of diabetes. Moreover, rise in prevalence of obesity is projected to drive the global amylin analogs market during the forecast period. Increase in inclination toward physical inactivity boosts demand for amylin analogs. Rise in global geriatric population propels the amylin analogs market, as this population is more prone to diabetes. Advancements in amylin analogs boosts the growth of the global market. The global amylin analogs market can be segmented based on disease type, end-user, and region. In terms of disease type, the market can be categorized into type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is estimated to dominate the market in 2016, owing to increased geriatric population across the world. Request a Brochure of the Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=39497 Based on end-user, the global amylin analogs market can be classified into online pharmacies, retail pharmacies, and hospital pharmacies. The hospital pharmacies segment held the largest market share in 2016, owing to increased availability of amylin analog drugs in hospital pharmacies. The online pharmacies segment is anticipated to witness significant growth during the forecast period due to increase in adoption of ecommerce among the population. Geographically, the global amylin analogs market can be segmented into Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and Middle East & Africa. North America held the largest market share in 2016 due to advancements in amylin analog drugs in the region. Europe is expected to account for the second largest market share in 2016, due to high disposable income, high research and development in health care, and compulsory medical insurance in countries such as Germany and France. The market in Asia Pacific is anticipated to be driven by increase in government initiatives in health care, especially in China and India. The global amylin analogs market in Middle East & Africa is projected to experience strong growth during the forecast period due to increased disposable income especially in countries in the Middle East that leads to sedentary lifestyle which is responsible for diseases such as diabetes. The market in Latin America is anticipated to be driven by rise in government initiatives in health care. Request TOC @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=39497 Key players operating in the global amylin analogs market are Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca. About Transparency Market Research 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 business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge. Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMR's syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement. Contact Us Transparency Market Research 90 State Street, Suite 700 Albany, NY 12207 Tel: +1-518-618-1030 USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453 Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Website: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning for San Diego Countys inland valleys and foothills. The warning will be in effect from 10 p.m. Thursday to 9 a.m. on Friday. Forecasters says that overnight temperatures are expected to drop into the 20s and 30s in many areas. The temperature had already fallen to 30 degrees Thursday afternoon in Julian, which at least eight inches of snow has fallen. San Diego International Airport will have a low of 43. The weather service says daytime high temperatures in San Diego will remain below average until early next week. Temperatures will climb to the upper 60s by late in the week, and rain isnt expected for at least a week. Tijuana isnt the only border pollution site Re A real border emergency (Feb. 15): Thank you Steve Breen for the cartoon depicting the sewage and chemical flows from Tijuana. You might not be aware that there is a tragedy of equal significance occurring in Imperial Valley. A small, constantly flowing river from Mexico into the U.S., the New River, has contributed more to the destruction of the environment than anything that has happened in Imperial Beach. It collects sewage and chemicals from Mexico and agricultural drainage from hundreds of farm fields in Imperial Valley that contain fertilizers and pesticides and then flows 24/7 directly into the Salton Sea. It is the major contributor to the destruction of the sea that is now practically dead where it used to be a recreational paradise. No significant effort has been made to correct this in the last 50 years. This is truly a national emergency where a few billion dollars of public funds could be well spent, rather than on a wall. Advertisement Bob Byrum El Centro Letters and commentary policy The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. You can email letters@sduniontribune.com or leave a comment below. Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook. Re Newsom, Feinstein and Harris: Please help with Tijuana River pollution crisis (Feb. 15): I agree an all-of-the-above approach is needed to address sewage and pollution flowing into California. However, the U-T incorrectly asserted Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Kamala Harris and I havent been active on this problem. For years, Ive worked with the local border patrol union to address health concerns, including calling for additional funds to clean up sewage to protect agents. As the editorial notes, the recent government funding bill included $15 million to address water and sewage issues along the border. As an Appropriations Committee member, I advocated for those funds and got them added to the Senate version. I then worked with Representatives Juan Vargas, Scott Peters and Susan Davis to include the higher Senate amount in the final bill, rather than the $10 million from the House version. I also secured language in the bill requiring the Trump administration to work with the Mexican government to address transboundary sewage flows. Advertisement Attention to this issue has been bipartisan. Senator John Cornyn of Texas and I introduced legislation to reauthorize the North American Development Bank, which funds sewage treatment infrastructure improvements on both sides of the border. And last week I met with Commissioner Jayne Harkins, the new head of the International Boundary and Water Commission, and Martha Barcena, the new Mexican ambassador, to press for stronger actions to fix the problem. We still have plenty of work to do, but this issue is and will continue to be one of my priorities. Feinstein is a U.S. senator representing California. Letters and commentary policy The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. You can email letters@sduniontribune.com or leave a comment below. Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook. The U.S. Department of Transportations decision to cancel a $929 million federal appropriation for Californias hugely troubled bullet-train project and its interest in getting a refund in $2.5 billion in federal funds that the state has already spent can be seen in two ways. The first is that it is the latest escalation in the feud between the state government and President Donald Trump. That is how Gov. Gavin Newsom characterized the Trump administrations actions in a statement issued mere minutes after the Department of Transportation (DOT) issued its press release on Tuesday as naked political retribution by a reckless president who hates the Golden State. But the second way to look at the decision is to consider it on its merits. The DOTs letter arguing that the project has failed to live up to promises the state made to the federal government in seeking federal funding in 2009 is beyond dispute and the federal agency barely even needs to do any research to make this case. All it has to do is cite analyses from the states Legislative Analysts Office and the State Auditors Office and the excellent reporting of the Los Angeles Times Ralph Vartabedian. Specifically, the letter alleged the state had failed to meet promises it would make reasonable progress toward completion of the project. As Vartabedian has reported, its 13 years behind schedule. Advertisement The letter also alleged that California is not using its $3 billion-plus in federal funds in a way that the state said it would. Thats plainly true. In 2008, seeking to win voter approval of a ballot measure providing $9.95 billion in bond seed money for the then-$34 billion project, backers promised it would create a statewide bullet train network getting people from Los Angeles to San Francisco in fewer than three hours. In 2009, seeking federal funding from the economic stimulus bill passed by Congress, state officials repeated these promises. But in 2012, after the projects cost had exploded to $98 billion, Gov. Jerry Brown and the state High-Speed Rail Authority approved a blended plan that relied on low-speed commuter trains to complete trips in densely populated urban areas south of San Francisco and north of Los Angeles, lowering the price tag to $64 billion. That is not a state high-speed rail network. This month, Newsom further retreated from the states original promises when he said that the state didnt have nearly enough money to complete even a truncated $77 billion north-south high-speed route and would use its remaining billions to finish a 119-mile link between Merced and Bakersfield. The letter also alleged the state would not meet the 2022 deadline for completing that link. State Auditor Elaine Howle is all but in agreement. In a scathing November audit about how the rail authoritys awful management had led to billions of dollars in cost overruns, Howle wrote that the authority could miss the new deadline unless Central Valley construction progresses twice as fast as it has to date. Completing it certainly seems like a long shot given how little progress the authority has made in acquiring land needed to finish construction. The upshot? While what the federal government wants to do may be without precedent and its actions may be driven not by opposition to government waste but a desire to embarrass state leaders there is reason to welcome this development. It may stop the state from throwing good money after bad for an expensive rail line in a lightly populated, remote area that already has passenger rail service. Better to have a karmic cost for the rail authoritys and former Gov. Jerry Browns decade of deceit and mismanagement than a bigger cost to taxpayers. Twitter: @sdutIdeas Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion Romolo Colantone, Jose Irizarry and Efrain Alvarez are licensed New York City handgun owners. They have the right to carry their locked and unloaded pistols and ammunition from their homes, to and from the seven shooting ranges in New York City (NYC). They do not have the right to do so outside the city. Nor can Colantone carry his pistol to his second home beyond city limits. San Diego and cities all across New York, California and other states do not prohibit such transfers. These facts triggered an existential shootout in the twilight zone between concealed and open carry. Travel carry beyond city limits in ones truck or automobile is perfectly legal in most, if not all, cities outside of NYC. But for city officials, weapons transfer outside of ones home conjures the woebegone trappings of the Wild West. Prior to 2001, NYC issued a comparatively broad target license. It permitted weapons carries to ranges outside the city. But the NYPD encountered widespread abuses. A responsive ordinance thus initiated a premises license, limited to the owners home address excepting handgun transfers to NYCs authorized shooting ranges. The three NYC residents and the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association (NYSR&PA) sued NYC, aiming to shoot down the citys restrictive handgun carry law. The alleged wrongs included violations of the Second Amendment, Commerce Clause, and right to travel. Advertisement The federal trial judge denied plaintiffs requests for a declaration that NYCs restrictions were unconstitutional. The intermediate appellate court unanimously affirmed. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court opted to review this case. Its decision will be a spring 2020 media bombshell. It is now a depth bomb, poised to explode onto the surface of a nation plagued by gun violence. The Supreme Courts 2008 Heller decision affirmatively answered the question whether Washington, D.C. individuals possessed a constitutional right to handguns in the home for self-defense. But as Justice Antonin Scalia cautioned: Nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms. The courts 2010 McDonald decision extended Hellers in-home authorization not only to Chicago, but to all U.S. cities and states. Lower state and federal courts have routinely upheld challenged gun restrictions. Prior to the recent Supreme Court decision to hear the NYC case, the court refused to review all proffered Second Amendment cases. That resistance spawned claims that the court was missing in action regarding gun rights. Last year, for example, Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch forcefully dissented from the courts refusals to hear related cases in the decade since the Heller-McDonald pronouncements. They characterized the Second Amendment as a disfavored right and this courts constitutional orphan. The Supreme Court has historically avoided three foibles: unnecessarily deciding cases on constitutional grounds; issuing unnecessarily broad decisions yielding unintended consequences; and going off half-cocked, without the benefit of nationwide input from other courts drawing down on such monumental issues. This epic gun fight at the NYSR&PA Corral features swaggering combatants. On the day the Supreme Court decided to take this case, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio proclaimed: We ... are working to make this the safest big city in America. We need the laws that we have that protect against guns being on our streets and we will fight to protect ourselves. Multiple states have submitted amicus briefs in support of their respective gun control laws. Between now and the Supreme Courts larger-than-life NYSR&PA decision, there will be many more senseless incidents, triggering senseless loss of life, in communities wounded by senseless individuals. In spring 2020, the Supreme Court will undoubtedly reconsider the Thomas-Gorsuch Second Amendment as second-tier constitutional right admonition. Heller and McDonald were both 5-4 decisions. Two conservative justices have since joined the court. The now solidly conservative majority could limit its ruling to cross-county gun transfers. But the court could also invalidate countless gun control restrictions given the individuals nascent constitutional rights, now lurking somewhere within the Heller-McDonald framework. When the smoke clears, this judicial firefight could shred the essential fabric of todays state and local gun laws. At a minimum, this 2020 Second Amendment blockbuster should provide a workable test for measuring the validity of the nations patchwork of gun control laws. That amendments Heller and McDonald pillars specifically chose not do so. Yet other constitutional rights, e.g., free speech, freedom of religion, and abortion, have an elaborate template for measuring the validity of attacks on their respective cores. So the courts 2020 marching orders will hopefully strike a viable balance between protecting individual rights and protecting individuals from each other. Advertisement Slomanson is professor emeritus, Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Don Winslow: Think of it this way. Mexico has a U.S. drug problem. A man stands on the fence along the U.S. Mexico border in Playas de Tijuana in this November 2018 photo. Nelvin C. Cepeda/San Diego Union-Tribune This is part three in a three-part series of op-eds by Julian-based author Don Winslow. The Union-Tribune is using the publication of his new book, The Border, to start a yearlong discussion about immigration and the border. Have something to say? Send 150-word letters to the editor to letters@sduniontribune.com. Send op-eds of 700-750 words to border@sduniontribune.com. We will consider publishing your words, too. When Americans think about the border, we naturally consider it from north to south, looking down figuratively as well as literally on Mexico. Its how the map is printed. But what if we flipped it? What if we looked at the border from south to north? It would tell a very different story. President Donald Trump talks about an invasion from the south. Flip it. Look up from the southern side of the proposed border wall at what comes in from the north. Author Don Winslow on U.S.-Mexico ties A neighboring country is sending $40 billion to $60 billion a year to fund armed terrorists inside your borders (while estimates vary, a Mexican minister for public safety sets the figure at $64.3 billion). These terrorist organizations have killed thousands of your citizens, assassinated politicians and political candidates and murdered journalists. They have ambushed and killed policemen and soldiers and their families. They have rocket launchers to attack police stations and army posts, even shoot down military helicopters. They have used their riches to co-opt government on the local, state and federal levels, bribing police, mayors, governors and high-ranking federal officials. They have corrupted the economy, buying into legitimate businesses like real estate, energy, communications and the stock market. Sinaloa state police agents stand guard during a security operation in the city of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico on Feb. 15, 2019. RASHIDE FRIAS/AFP/Getty Images Without their billions, your economy might actually collapse. This isnt some apocalyptic film treatment. Its happened for years, its happening right now, and it doesnt even make headlines. The country is Mexico, the terrorists are the drug cartels, and the invasion is coming from the United States. While we in the U.S. have the nerve to scream about drugs and violence coming from Mexico we have to build a wall to stop it! its our drug users who fund massive violence on the other side of the border. Its not Mexico thats invading the U.S., its the U.S. thats invading Mexico and, of course, not for the first time. Lets not kid ourselves. If Mexico did to us what were doing to them, the tanks would roll. The same is true for Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The migrant caravans the invasion! are people largely fleeing violence and corruption that are fueled and funded by the insatiable American hunger for drugs as the cartels use these countries as transit routes for South American cocaine. Trump makes bogeymen of gangs such as MS-13 and they are horribly violent, which is why the migrants are fleeing them but MS-13 didnt begin in Central America. It started in the racial violence of the California prison system, spread to the streets of Los Angeles, and then to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Now theyre coming home. Central American migrants walk along the road leaving Cuidad Hidalgo in the direction of Tapachula early Friday morning. Nelvin C. Cepeda We point fingers at corruption in Mexico, smirking, for instance, at recent testimony from the El Chapo Guzman trial about hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes that the Sinaloa Cartel paid to the highest levels of the Mexican government. Okay, but where do we think those millions came from? That money truckloads of it crossed the border from north to south in payment for the drugs that we bought. Who bribes Mexican politicians, police and military to let those drugs go through? We do. Were the criminals. In this Jan. 8, 2016 file photo, a handcuffed Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is made to face the press as he is escorted to a helicopter by Mexican soldiers and marines at a federal hangar in Mexico City. AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File The Mexican cartels could grow opium on every acre of available land, could ship cocaine until there were snowdrifts on every street corner in America, and it wouldnt make a bit of difference if we didnt buy the stuff. Do you know whats never, ever, happened? Never in the history of the drug trade do we have single example of a Mexican trafficker crossing the border into the United States, putting a gun to someones head, and making him use a drug. But the law-abiding, peaceful citizens of Mexico and Central America by which I mean, of course, almost all the people there are forced to endure murders, extortions, kidnappings, rapes and slave labor from the criminals that we pay. And arm. The magnitude of illicit arms sales to Mexico is unclear and controversial, but there is no doubt that gun shops and straw purchasers in the United States provide the Mexican drug cartels with vast arsenals. A 2013 study by the University of San Diegos Trans Border Institute reported that 2.2 percent of all gun sales in the United States went to Mexico, an estimated 252,000 weapons a year. Can you imagine the uproar that would exist here if Mexico sent a quarter of a million guns a year into the United States? So flip the border map. Your powerful, wealthy neighbor is sending money and guns that destabilize your countries and terrorize your people. What do you do? Nine donors, including at least two who had already reached political contribution limits, gave $30,800 in the last quarter of 2018 to help pay for Rep. Duncan Hunters legal defense, a new financial report shows. The Republican Congressman representing Alpine and his wife and former campaign manager, Margaret, faced criminal investigations into their alleged use of political money for personal purposes. The two were indicted in August and have pleaded not guilty to all 60 charges. The special fund for Hunters legal expenses is administered by a trustee and is separate from his political campaign treasury, which has already paid at least $682,100 to lawyers since June 2016. The quarterly financial report for Hunters legal expense fund was released to the San Diego Union-Tribune by the Washington, D.C.,-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). The report, which covers fundraising and spending from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, shows $30,800 in itemized contributions and no spending. Advertisement The legal fund was established in March. In total it has received at least $60,800 and spent at least $27,062, the reports show. The fund has not reported any expenditures since June. A spokesman for Hunters congressional office did not respond to questions and requests for comment starting Tuesday afternoon. Hunters campaign has been under scrutiny since April 2016 for a series of expenses questioned by the Federal Election Commission and reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune. In response, Hunter reimbursed his campaign for more than $60,000 in mistaken, personal or undocumented expenditures including video games, oral surgery, private school tuition, a garage door, a family trip to Italy and airfare for a pet rabbit. Personal use of campaign money -- defined as use of political money to cover expenses that would exist regardless of a candidates campaign or official duties -- is illegal, to guard against undue influence by donors whose bottom line can be affected by decisions in Congress. Legal expenses arising from campaign or official activity are not considered personal use under federal law, and spending money from campaign coffers and legal expense funds to pay for such legal costs is permissible. The funds create a way for donors who have already met campaign contribution limits to give up to $5,000 more to help lawmakers out of legal trouble - a favor lawmakers are likely to remember if the donor comes calling for help someday, said Jordan Libowitz, a spokesman for CREW. But unlike campaign finance reports, information about the legal funds is not readily available online and more easily avoids public scrutiny. Advertisement For some very rich donors, legal defense funds give a second bite at the apple, after they have already given a candidate the maximum donation allowable by law, Libowitz said. Because you have to show up in person to Congress to request a physical copy of each filing, most people do not know who is giving to support a scandal-plagued lawmaker. As of June 30, Hunters legal expense fund had been bankrolled primarily by people and subsidiaries connected to large companies that work on multi-million-dollar contracts for the federal government, disclosure reports show. Donors connected to the family-owned shipbuilding company Edison Chouest Offshore - who have been among Hunters top campaign supporters for years - contributed almost half of the funds total revenue in 2018, according to fund and Federal Election Commission records. In the last quarter of the year, the fund received contributions of $5,000 from five donors, including Linden Blue, vice chairman of the military contractor General Atomics; Tyler A. Lowrey, a member of the board of directors for Litel Instruments, a technology company founded by Hunters uncle, Robert O. Hunter, Jr., who chairs its board of directors; and Gene W. Ray, co-founder and former chief executive officer of the multibillion-dollar defense contractor Titan Corporation. Advertisement Lowrey and another donor, real estate developer Forrest W. Brehm, contributed $5,000 to the fund after they had already given the maximum $2,700 to Hunters campaign for the 2018 general election, according to FEC records. Ray was Titans CEO when the company agreed in 2005 to pay $28.5 million to settle criminal and civil charges stemming from allegations that it bribed the president of the West African nation of Benin in an attempt to get business, according to news coverage at the time. Ray now serves as managing director of GMT Ventures, a consulting company for technology and defense companies in the early stages of development. He also serves in advisory roles for numerous companies. Ray and Blue did not respond to the Union-Tribunes requests for comment. Lowrey and Brehm declined to comment. Advertisement Another donor, Quang X. Pham, a Jacksonville Beach, Fla., businessman and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, told the Union-Tribune that he contributed $1,000 to Hunters legal expense fund because, years ago, Hunter supported him in Phams unsuccessful, underdog race for a Congressional seat in Orange County, California, at a time when the Republican party was backing another candidate. I dont know if hell be convicted or not, but I know that when I needed someone to support me at an event, he stepped up, Pham said. If Hunter is convicted, it will be a different story, Pham said, but for now, I support him without any judgment because it feels right to do it just like it felt right to him to support me nine years ago. Hunters criminal trial is scheduled for September. Advertisement morgan.cook@sduniontribune.com Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) was defiant in an interview with Iowa public television this week, insisting he wont apologize for the racist remarks and actions that cost him all of his committee assignments and endangered his reelection. I have nothing to apologize for, King told a roundtable of reporters on Iowa Public Television in a Thursday taping. Although King disavowed white nationalism, he also argued the term had been weaponized by the left to mean racism, but he did not provide his own definition of the term. King repeated his frequent defense of the phrase Western civilization. King has often voiced the far-right theory that immigration and diversity will lead to a collapse of Western civilization. Advocacy groups dedicated to rooting out hate speech say Western civilization used in that context is a euphemism for whites. Advertisement King also blamed the recent tumult on a conspiracy among the New York Times, the Washington Post and former National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Steve Stivers. Weve seen what the news media has done. President Trump has labeled the New York Times a dishonest entity. I think thats been well held up, not only the New York Times but a number of other places, King said. So if I look back through this, it all starts with a formerly credible organization that launches this and then we have this phenomenon that America is not ready for, this cyberbullying that unleashes a firestorm, King continued. King has faced severe scrutiny since the 4th District Republican was quoted in the New York Times in January as having said, White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization how did that language become offensive? That followed an October story in the Washington Post that King met with a far-right party with ties to Nazis on a trip to Austria and granted an interview to a party news outlet in which he bemoaned cultural and racial diversity. The story is false, but that built something that then Steve Stivers capitalized on just a week before the election, King said Thursday. Both papers have defended their reporting. King also sought to normalize his denigration of immigrants by spotlighting the similarities between his stance on the issue of immigration and that of President Trump. Advertisement Donald Trump will be on the ballot. He and I are four-square on the same agenda here. Im the guy that actually created the immigration policy that helped launch him into the presidency, and I support him on the wall and every other piece of his agenda, King said. The Toronto mayor has been described as white nationalist, well so has the president, King said, referring to his endorsement of Faith Goldy. King also confirmed Thursday he would run for reelection despite the fact the embattled incumbent would face three primary challengers. In past cycles, King has easily secured reelection. But his 18-point lead over Democrat J.D. Scholten weeks before the election narrowed to a 3-point margin of victory amid new reports of racist statements and sympathies with white supremacists. The House will vote Tuesday on a resolution to overturn President Trumps national emergency declaration aimed at providing money to build a wall along the southern border, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said Friday. Trump responded with a vow to veto the resolution, if it reaches his desk. Trump issued the emergency declaration a week ago, after Congress passed legislation that included $1.375 billion for border barriers, but no money for a wall and far less than the $5.7 billion he had requested. Trump says the wall is necessary to address illegal immigration. Critics note that unauthorized border crossings have fallen in recent years and accuse Trump of manufacturing a crisis after Congress refused to give him taxpayer funds to fulfill a major campaign promise. Originally, he promised Mexico would pay for the wall. Advertisement The resolution, filed Friday, is sponsored by the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), and has at least 226 co-sponsors, including Republican Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan. It is almost certain to pass the Democratic-controlled House, but prospects in the GOP-led Senate are unclear. The National Emergencies Act requires both chambers to consider the resolution in a timely manner. Assuming it passes the House, the Senate would have 18 days to vote. That will require Senate Republicans to take a position on Trumps unprecedented use of executive authority to declare a national emergency to pay for a domestic project that Congress has explicitly declined to fund. It would take just four Republicans voting with all Democrats to pass the resolution. At least that many GOP lawmakers have expressed concerns with the emergency declaration route the president has chosen, but so far only Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has said shell back the resolution. Democrats, and some Republicans, have argued that Trumps order violates the separation of powers outlined in the Constitution, which grants Congress the power to decide how the government spends taxpayer dollars. The presidents act is lawless and does violence to our Constitution, and therefore, to our democracy, Pelosi said Friday on a call with reporters. Not only is he disrespecting the legislative branch and the Constitution of the United States, he is dishonoring the office in which he serves. Castro said hes encouraging Republicans to join the effort, warning that if the Congress rolls over on this, then the president is likely to do it again. Advertisement If Trump issues what would be the first veto of his presidency, it could be difficult for Congress to override him with the required two-thirds of the vote. Democrats will likely also throw their weight behind lawsuits trying to halt the wall construction, and could try to legislatively block Trump from accessing funds for certain projects. Pelosi wouldnt commit to other efforts Friday. The administration began making its case for the funding on Capitol Hill on Friday, with the Defense Department staff meeting with House and Senate Appropriations Committee staff to discuss next moves. Defense officials sought to reassure lawmakers that they will try to minimize the effects on pet projects in lawmakers home districts, and that shifting funds would not hurt troop readiness, according to a Pentagon official who briefed reporters Friday on the condition that he not be identified. Advertisement Were looking for minimal impact, the official said, adding that money to build or renovate military housing would not be touched. Mick Mulvaney, Trumps acting chief of staff, told reporters last week that the declaration would free an additional $6.6 billion for barrier construction. That amount includes more than $2 billion in unspent Pentagon counter-drug program funds and $600 million from a Treasury Department asset forfeiture account. The administration may also move $3.6 billion from military construction projects that Congress has approved funds for, but has not yet spent. No details have been provided about where exactly the administration plans to pull funds from, and members on both sides of the aisle are leery about how it might affect projects in their districts. According to Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee, among the hundreds of eligible projects Trump could pull funds from are electrical upgrades at Camp Pendleton, replacing Pier 8 in San Diego and multiple training facilities at Coronado. Advertisement Even with the emergency declaration, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan must still comply with a separate legal requirement to show that shifting funds from military projects would improve the effectiveness of troops along the border, according to the Pentagon official. The law leaves that determination entirely up to Shanahan. He will make a very deliberate decision, per the law, but the law doesnt establish criteria, said the official. The Pentagon has asked for, but not yet received, a list of projects along the border that the Department of Homeland Security wants to fund from the Pentagon budget, the official said. Once it has the list, officials will determine if the projects actually would help to curtail drug smuggling and illegal border crossing, a process that could take weeks. Months will likely pass before any construction begins, the official said. The latest from Washington Advertisement More stories from Sarah D. Wire When youve lived in The Jewel long enough, you come to know things that tourists and snowbirds miss. (For instance, La Jolla probably isnt Spanish for the jewel, but was translated from the Spanish from Kumeyaay Native-American for land of holes.) Below are 10 of our other favorite examples. (If you can think of any we missed, enter them in the comments below this article!) 1. Someone was eaten by a shark here You wont see this one in the tourism pamphlets, but on June 14, 1959, a 33-year-old engineer named Robert Pamperin departed this earth in one of the most gruesome ways imaginable. According to sworn court testimony by his diving buddy, Gerald Lehrer, Pamperin screamed Help me! while diving for abalone off La Jolla Cove. He then rose upright and unnaturally high out of the water, the entire lower half of his body enveloped by the mouth of a 20-foot shark in an expanding pool of crimson water. Lehrers story could never be physically corroborated because no body was found or even parts just Pamperins swim fin and inner tube, giving rise to conspiracy theories that, um, hold little water. 2. Bells Pavilion Advertisement Bells Pavilion was designed and built by architect Dale Naegle in 1968, in a highly secluded oceanfront spot south of Blacks Beach, for Sam Bell of Bells Potato Chips. (COURTESY LA JOLLA HISTORICAL SOCIETY) Most tourists have no idea something this Jetsons cool exists in actual life -- much less on a bluff just south of Blacks Beach. The rare few who do know erroneously call it the Mushroom House. One of the most spectacular structures in all of Southern California, Bells Pavilion was designed and built by architect Dale Naegle in 1968 as a guest house for Sam Bell of Bells Potato Chips (which used to be a thing). And its as strong as it is stunning. Bell apparently wanted a structure that could withstand waves, rock slides and earthquakes. A private tramway transports guests 300 feet almost straight down the bluff from a main house at 9044 La Jolla Shores Lane. (The original house was reportedly demolished in the 1990s.) 3. Secret public lot This parking lot just south of La Jolla Elementary is not what it appears to be. (COREY LEVITAN) The parking lot most people assume is dedicated to the La Jolla Seville condominiums next door an impression reinforced by the occasional Seville resident is actually a public lot maintained by the City of San Diego. Anyone can park there, for any amount of time up to 72 hours. The two signs reading NO PARKING: Unauthorized vehicles will be towed away at owners expense refer only to two specific off-limit areas within the lot, not the entire lot. 4. Raymond Chandler lived, worked and died here Raymond Chandler, at one time the highest-paid screenwriter on the Paramount lot, lived and worked in this Bird Rock house. (COREY LEVITAN) Advertisement Although his literary canon keeps Los Angeles mythologized to this day, its actually La Jolla where best-selling novelist Raymond Chandler lived from 1946 until his death in 1959. And he didnt retire here. Instead, La Jolla was where he wrote The Long Goodbye, The Little Sister and his final completed Philip Marlowe novel, 1958s Playback, which thinly fictionalized La Jolla as Esmeralda and set scenes at both La Valencia and the Marine Room. Chandler spent most of his final years in a ranch house with his ailing wife, Cissy, at 6005 Casmino de la Costa. (The Bird Rock house was remodeled beyond recognition about 10 years ago, after a failed attempt to get it historically designated.) After Cissy died, just before Christmas 1954, Raymond drank regularly at LaVs Whaling Bar (which closed in 2013), but also enjoyed driving into The Village every afternoon to go food-shopping, check the mail and chat with familiar faces. He died of pneumonia at Scripps Clinic on March 26, 1959. 5. Modern La Jollans live atop ancient La Jollans This marker sits on the Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus atop the first ancient archeological site found in La Jolla. (COREY LEVITAN) Dig this: Some of the oldest known archaeological sites in the Western Hemisphere are in La Jolla. It seems the soft soils that make La Jollas bluffs unstable also keep artifacts and remains well-preserved some under as much as 10 feet of it. Advertisement The first site was discovered underneath the Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus in 1962. Then, in 1976, two sets of nearly 10,000-year-old skeletal remains (from a man in his 20s and a woman in her late 30s) were unearthed near the UC San Diego chancellors home. In 2016, the remains were returned to the La Posta, one of the Kumeyaay bands of Native Americans who occupied this area. 6. Tom Wolfe was played and got it mostly wrong, according to La Jollans who were there Author Tom Wolfe introduced La Jolla to the East Coast intelligentsia, but La Jollans claim his reporting was largely inaccurate. (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE) In 1965, Tom Wolfe spent somewhere between a few days and a month at Windansea Beach (depending on who you believe) investigating a dangerous underground society called the Pump House Gang (which served as the title for a 1966 New York Magazine article and a 1968 book of his collected stories). Nearly all published accounts from La Jollans who were there claim that the late author approached some surfers in the parking lot, who belonged to the Mac Meda Destruction Company social club, but got run off. So he was forced to hang with some younger kids who claimed La Jolla Water System Pump House 21 as turf because no one else wanted it. Advertisement These kids talked big. They told Wolfe what they thought he wanted to hear tales of drugs, debauchery and surfing derring-do and he ran with it with minimal fact-checking. 7. Bunker hills The Old Blockhouse is the biggest, but not the only, World War II bunker left standing on Mt. Soledad. (COREY LEVITAN) Following the attack on Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7, 1941), cement-fortified bunkers were built high enough into the hills of La Jolla to look out for and attack Japanese ships, subs and airplanes. Many still exist, though most are hard to find. Since these things were built to withstand shelling, it was nearly impossible to demolish them once peace was declared. So many of todays houses were simply constructed on top of them. Other bunkers such as one at the end of Avenida Manana were obscured by landscaping meant to discourage visitors/vandals. Advertisement Fortunately, the easiest one to find was the biggest and highest of the bunkers. Nicknamed Old Blockhouse by long-ago residents, the currently abandoned building at 7110 Via Capri was used by the Signal Corp. as its primary San Diego lookout, and also functioned as a hub for radio transmissions and land lines to military bases all over the Pacific. Scripps Institution of Oceanography owns the building, but hasnt used it since 2012. 7. San Diegos most scenic trail This view awaits you on the trail through the La Jolla Heights Open Space Preserve. (LIGHT FILE) A narrow trail cuts through 42 untouched and very public acres on the top of Mt. Soledad, providing the most jaw-flooring views in Southern California. Managed by the Citys Parks and Recreation Department, the La Jolla Heights Open Space Preserve wends through low-lying brush 800 feet above La Jolla. The trail begins by the bridge by Al Bahr Drive park where it meets Soledad Avenue and winds uphill 1.5 miles to Encelia Drive. And theres not a private property sign in sight. 9. The railroads all around us Advertisement The La Jolla Methodist Church building at 6063 La Jolla Blvd. was actually constructed as the San Carlos Station for La Jollas old streetcar line. (COURTESY LA JOLLA HISTORICAL SOCIETY) When Pacific Beach was founded in 1887, a railroad was built to connect it to downtown San Diego. An extension to La Jolla followed on May 15, 1894. That line went belly up in 1918 and its tracks were removed and sold for scrap metal to Japan. But remnants of a second La Jolla railroad, the San Diego Electric Railway (SDER), are everywhere. Operated from 1924 to 1940, the West Coasts first electric streetcar system has tracks buried beneath tar, asphalt and mud along La Jollas streets and the bike path. In addition, the frontage of Bird Rocks main San Carlos Station now forms the La Jolla Methodist Church at 6063 La Jolla Blvd. 10. Secret underwater memorial A San Diego Freedivers member cleans algae and sediment off of one of the markers left for fallen water sports enthusiasts at Tombstones. (COURTESY VOLKER HOEHNE) A couple hundred yards off Boomer Beach, under about 35 feet of water, lies a collection of about 40 stones with names etched onto them. Although the area is nicknamed Tombstones, no bodies are buried here only markers for free-divers and other popular ocean legends who have passed on from accidents and other causes. (The first markers honored the deceased members of the Bottom Scratchers, an exclusive diving club founded in 1933 by Old Town residents Glenn Orr, Jack Prodanovich and Ben Stone.) Since it is illegal to add heavy rocks to the ocean bottom without a permit, the existence of Tombstones is a locals-only secret. 11. Secret underwater graveyard Advertisement The wreckage of the USS F-1 submarine, shown in a photo provided to the Light by the U.S. Navy, has sat untouched off the coast of Bird Rock for more than a century. (COURTESY U.S. NAVY) Actually, most La Jollans dont even know about this one, since the Navy didnt declassify the information until 50 years after the tragedy Somewhere between 6 and 15 miles off the coast of Bird Rock, the remains of 19 lost souls remain onboard the wreckage of the USS F-1. The submarine sank on Dec. 17, 1917 after colliding with its sister ship, the USS F-3 during exercise maneuvers. The two subs, along with the USS F-2, were making a surface run from San Pedro to San Diego. Point Loma was just ahead when they all decided at the same time to change course to clear a fog bank. Each had signaled their intent by radio, but none had received the others messages. Advertisement Only five F-1 sailors escaped. Because of the depth of water and the lack of submarine rescue equipment, no attempt was made to locate the sub at the time. And the Navy, which located the site in the 70s, considers it a sacred grave and does not want it disturbed. Can you think of any secrets we missed? Enter them in the comments section below! A fugitive suspected of shooting a man during an apparent carjacking attempt in Los Angeles County last year was arrested Wednesday at the San Ysidro port of entry after he was captured by Mexican authorities south of the border, officials said. Rigoberto Perez, 35, was wanted by police in Pomona, on the far eastern edge of Los Angeles County, on suspicion of attempted murder and attempted robbery, officials said. Pomona police last year said Perez was suspected of shooting 22-year-old Daylon Walker outside an Arco gas station on Rio Rancho Avenue in Pomona. Three people accused of being Perezs accomplices were arrested a few days after the shooting, but Perez remained at large. He apparently fled to Mexico, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. Advertisement On Wednesday morning, Mexican authorities escorted the U.S. citizen to the PedWest crossing in San Ysidro and turned him over to Customs and Border Protection officers. Those officers ran Perezs name through a law enforcement database and learned about two warrants for Perez out of Pomona, including a $3 million warrant on suspicion of charges in the gas station shooting. Detectives from the Pomona Police Department retrieved Perez, a resident of the nearby city of Azusa, and he was booked into a Los Angeles jail Wednesday afternoon. Pomona police released this flyer last year a few days after an apparent carjacking attempt at a gas station in the city. (Courtesy of Pomona Police Department.) According to Pomona police, Perez was one of four occupants in a black Nissan Sentra that pulled into a gas station parking lot on shortly after midnight on May 31, 2018. A woman got out of the Nissan along with a man police believe was Perez. The pair approached the victims vehicle and the gunman fired several shots at him in what appeared to be an attempted robbery (and) carjacking, Pomona police said at the time. The gunman and his female companion then jumped back in the Nissan sedan, which sped away, while the victims car rolled and crashed into a pillar near gas pumps, according to police and videos from the scene. About a week later, police announced the arrests of three people accused of being in the Nissan, but Perez, the alleged shooter, remained at large until Wednesday, when he was detained at the border. City News Service contributed to this report. Advertisement Twitter: @Alex_Riggins (619) 293-1710 Advertisement alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com Robbery detectives on Thursday arrested a man suspected of holding up four San Diego businesses at gunpoint in a 10-day span last month, police said. The 27-year-old man is suspected of robbing employees at two Metro PCS stores on Jan. 22 and Jan. 23, and at a Shell gas station and Jack in the Box about two hours apart on Jan. 31. After looking at surveillance footage from all four armed heists, it became very obvious to detectives that the same man was responsible for each incident, San Diego police robbery Lt. Martha Sainz said. It was unclear exactly how investigators put a name to the face of the robber in the surveillance footage, but detectives spotted a man they believed to be visible in that video walking near Market and 41st streets in Mount Hope around 2:45 p.m. Thursday. They arrested him without incident, according to Sainz. Advertisement This guy was armed in all four robberies, so we took a violent suspect off the streets, and nobody got hurt, Sainz said in a phone interview Thursday evening. The suspect was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of four counts of robbery, according to jail records. He was being held in lieu of $200,000 bail. The first holdup happened the evening of Jan. 22, when a man robbed employees at the Metro PCS store on Ocean View Boulevard near 31st Street in Logan Heights. Wielding a black handgun, he forced a clerk to the ground and made off with cellphones and cash. Around the same time the next night, a gunman walked into the Metro PCS store on University Avenue near 35th Street in City Heights and demanded cash from the register, police said. He made off with an undisclosed amount of money. Before dawn on Jan. 31, a gunman held up a clerk at the Shell station on F and 25th Streets in the Golden Hill area, pointing the weapon at the clerk and making off with cash from the register. About two hours later and four miles east in the Webster neighborhood, a gunman held up the Jack in the Box on Euclid Avenue just north of state Route 94. Sainz told the Union-Tribune later that same day that robbery detectives believed the robberies at the gas station and fast food restaurant were carried out by the same man. Advertisement On Feb. 5, San Diego County Crime Stoppers publicized a surveillance video and photos showing the suspect from the Shell robbery. At some point, when detectives pulled all the video, we were able to see it was the same guy, Sainz said Thursday. The lieutenant said the suspect arrested Thursday was on probation, but she did not know the exact details of his criminal history. Advertisement Twitter: @Alex_Riggins (619) 293-1710 Advertisement alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com Two explosions and fire downed a utility line and prompted police to evacuate some East Village apartment tenants Friday morning. No injuries were immediately reported at what police described was a transient camp at 28th Street between Island Avenue and Market Street. One blast was reported about 6:45 a.m. near businesses and one or two apartment buildings. San Diego police got there first and reported a power line directly above the flames, then a second explosion. Advertisement An officer evacuated residents from two apartments and directed tenants at another building to shelter in place, as a precaution. Firefighters asked for San Diego Gas & Electric Co. crews to come and shut off power to downed line, but later discovered that it was a phone line, not electrical. Those who had been evacuated were allowed to return home and to businesses by about 7:15 a.m. The Fire-Rescue Department got a report that a shed was on fire, but a spokesman did not say what it was that burned or caused the explosions. pauline.repard@sduniontribune.com Advertisement Twitter: @pdrepard A deputy resigned last year from the county Sheriffs Department to avoid being fired after he was accused of kissing and groping a homeless woman who reported being assaulted in Spring Valley, public records revealed. The incident and the reports associated with it were released under Senate Bill 1421, a law that made some previously confidential police records available to the public, including instances of sexual misconduct, dishonesty while reporting or investigating a crime and officer-involved shootings. Eight police unions representing officers from San Diego to Oceanside filed a lawsuit last month seeking to halt the release of the newly public records, but several agencies have already turned over files. The Sheriffs Department is not part of that lawsuit. Advertisement According to department records, a homeless woman, whose name was not revealed, alleged that former Deputy Juan Andrade kissed her multiple times and touched her breasts and genitals shortly after she reported being a victim of assault on March 11, 2017. The woman called 911 after a homeless man reportedly dumped water on her and spit on her at an encampment near Jamacha Boulevard and Spring Glen Lane. Three deputies arrived, including Andrade. After arresting the suspect on an unrelated felony warrant, Andrade reportedly escorted the woman away from the other deputies and told her he would kiss her if other people werent around. A few hours later, she posted to her Facebook page: Met a police officer who wanted to take me into the bushes. Andrade then got her number and allegedly called her several times. During the phone conversations, the woman claimed Andrade shared personal information about himself and his marriage. Andrade denied saying anything inappropriate. About four hours after the initial assault investigation, Andrade reportedly returned to the encampment, picked up the woman and brought her to a sheriffs storefront in Casa De Oro to get her some clothing. The two told investigators conflicting stories about what happened next. Advertisement The woman said Andrade approached her, began to kiss her and touched her breasts and genitals, but Andrade said the woman hugged and kissed him and that he had to push her away, police records state. The deputy then left to go an emergency fire. Andrade should have been the first to arrive because he was closest, but arrived almost a minute after another deputy. Andrade returned to the storefront about 20 minutes later, saw the woman was still there and offered her some leftover food. Again, they provided conflicting stories when talking to investigators. The deputy said they both into the storefront where Andrade microwaved the leftover food. Soon after, he said, the woman kissed him again, and he pushed her away. Advertisement I couldnt believe she tried to do that twice, he said in an interview with investigators. I was kind of like, the second time for me was worse than the first time. ...I felt like she had taken something away from me without permission and she made me feel like it was my fault. He said he didnt tell his supervisors or coworkers because he was embarrassed. The woman said it was Andrade who initiated more kissing and touching, according to sheriffs records. She told investigators that although she never felt forced to touch Andrade or fearful of him, she was uncomfortable. I kind of feel like maybe he took advantage of the situation a little bit, she said during an interview with investigators. He knew, like, everyone else was going to this call. So he kinda knew that he had some time to get away with it. Advertisement Later, she posted to her Facebook page that Andrade had tricked her with promises of food and clothing and then forced her to touch his genitals and fondled her against her will, according to the records. Andrade said he was just trying to help the woman. The department determined Andrade violated five department policies including unbecoming conduct and recommended he be terminated. Deputy Andrades actions have eroded department credibility, the trust of department members, public confidence, and he has opened the Department to liability for his actions, Lt. Michael Blevins said when recommended his firing. Advertisement The deputy was later given the option to resign, which went into effect in May. Advertisement Twitter: @LAWinkley (619) 293-1546 lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com Officials have identified a 39-year-old woman who was hit by a car and killed while crossing a street in Chula Vista last Friday as Copitsy Torres, a San Diego resident. The county Medical Examiners Office said Torres was walking on Main Street near Hilltop Drive around 6:25 p.m. when she was struck by a vehicle. The driver stopped and called 911 and paramedics responded. Torres died Saturday in a hospital. Serato Santia wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to help pay for funeral expenses that Torres was a beloved daughter, sister, niece, mother and friend. She also was an organ donor. Copitsy gave the ultimate gift of humanity by giving the gift of life to others, she wrote. Advertisement Twitter: @karenkucher (619) 293-1350 karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com The San Diego Planning Commission unanimously approved a proposal Thursday that would allow high-rise housing projects near new trolley stations along Morena Boulevard while revamping the street grid between Interstate 5 and the University of San Diego. The goal of the proposal, which the City Council is expected to consider this spring, is to help solve the citys lack of housing with population-dense projects along the new trolley line, scheduled to begin operating in 2021. Many nearby residents oppose raising the limits on building heights. The plan would lift the height limit from 45 feet to 65 feet near the existing Linda Vista/Morena trolley station and up to 100 feet near the new Tecolote station. Advertisement Residents say such dense housing would damage the character of the area, worsen traffic congestion and block views of Mission Bay for houses in Overlook Heights and Bay Park. They also contend the plan overestimates how many residents will use the trolley instead of vehicles, and the plan fails to require that a significant portion of the new housing be restricted for people with low incomes. Planning Commissioners said they understand those concerns, but its crucial to add dense housing along new trolley lines so residents have the option of using mass transit to commute instead of automobiles. We are not unsympathetic, Commissioner James Whalen said during Thursdays public hearing. Weve heard many times from the local community their concerns about densification. But Whalen said he believes the taller structures can be built without damaging the area aesthetic. Community character isnt supposed to be a tool to stifle change, its a design reference to allow change to be directed in a way thats consistent with the community, he said. The plan covers a 280-acre area that follows the path of the new trolley line in Clairemont and Linda Vista, then extends east to include the existing Linda Vista/Morena trolley station on the green line. The two new trolley stations included in the plan will be located where Morena Boulevard crosses Clairemont Drive and where Morena Boulevard crosses Tecolote. Advertisement The plan aims to transform a mostly blighted, auto-oriented industrial area into a dense trolley-oriented village. It would revamp the somewhat chaotic street grid there by aligning public streets or private drives with Vega, Dorcas and Buenos Avenues at West Morena Boulevard. david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick San Diego and the Marine Corps signed a formal agreement Thursday to cooperate on advanced technologies including drones, smart streetlights and renewable energy. The agreement, called a memorandum of understanding, requires the city and the Marines to exchange technical ideas, review the status of ongoing projects and identify new areas of collaboration. They will also form joint working groups to develop action plans focused on security, mobility and public works. Were building on the long tradition of collaboration between the U.S. military and the city and taking that partnership to the next level for the betterment of the San Diego region, Mayor Kevin Faulconer said during a news conference at City Hall. We will share our experiences, share our discoveries and share how advanced technology can benefit the people we serve. Advertisement Marine Maj. Gen. Vincent A. Coglianese said during the news conference that he expects the partnership to help solve problems. The U.S. Department of Transportation selected San Diego last year to participate in a pilot program on drones, officially called unmanned aircraft systems. As part of Thursdays agreement, the Marine Corps will partner with the city on that program, which will test a variety of advanced drone missions over the next several years. Coglianese said drones can help the Marines with surveillance and communications, but also said they want to make sure drones flying near their bases are friendly and dont accidentally collide with Marine aircraft. We need to cooperate together so we dont have that kind of accident at one of our installations, he said. The city and the Marines will also partner on San Diegos smart streetlight program, which began in 2017, when the city installed 3,200 technologically advanced streetlights that reduce energy costs and help optimize parking and traffic, enhance public safety and track air quality. The Marines will also help with the citys Get it Done! smartphone app, which allows people to quickly send reports to city staff of potholes, graffiti and other nuisances along with their exact location. The app uses satellite data embedded within photos to automatically update the address and location of the reported problems. Advertisement david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick The National Enquirer has been one of President Trumps most controversial allies, delivering scathing coverage of his opponents to supermarket checkout lines and funneling $150,000 to one of his alleged mistresses to buy her silence. So it will probably come as a surprise to many California state employees and taxpayers to learn they were helping fund those efforts. For the record: This article mentions that the CalPERS investment was first reported by the news organization Maplight, but should have said that the same article was simultaneously published by Fast Company and Capital & Main. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Californias massive public pension fund, CalPERS, was one of the biggest investors in the debt-laden owner of the National Enquirer, according to public records reviewed by the Los Angeles Times. Through an investment managed by a New Jersey hedge fund, Californias public pension fund appears to have owned as much as one-third of American Media Inc., the National Enquirers parent company, in 2016. It is not clear whether CalPERS continues to hold a major stake in the tabloid publisher. Advertisement Fewer than a third of California voters cast their ballots for Trump, who remains deeply unpopular in the state. Informed of the investment, Jeremy Bulow, a professor of economics at Stanford University, laughed in disbelief. Im sure lots of CalPERS [plan holders] will be happy to know they were paying hush money to help get Trump elected, he said. Thats going to make them feel real good about their pension fund managers! The news organization Maplight reported last year that California was one of three states whose pension funds had invested in the privately held publisher, although it did not detail how much of the company the state fund controlled. Californias pension fund, the largest in the nation, runs on contributions from taxpayer-funded state agencies and their employees. It has long drawn scrutiny over whether its mandate of seeking strong returns meshes with liberal Californians expectations of ethical investment. Some of its investments drawing recent scrutiny have included oil pipelines, retailers that sell semiautomatic rifles, Russian sovereign debt and coal-producing companies. Joe Nation, a pension expert and public policy professor at Stanford, said he was surprised to learn about the investment in American Media Inc.: Its a little bit strange that a pension system that is so concerned about socially responsible investing would invest in AMI, directly or indirectly. Megan White, a spokeswoman for the pension fund, said in an email that CalPERS does not align itself with American Medias business actions. She added: Our investment or ownership does not represent an endorsement of a particular company or product. Advertisement She declined to answer questions about the pension funds current stake. The publisher, whose holdings also include Mens Journal, Soap Opera Digest and several other magazines, has not been required to publicly disclose its investors since 2016, and it did not respond to requests for comment. American Media Inc. has faced a barrage of bad headlines recently over its management practices. The company cooperated with the federal prosecutors in New York and reached a no-prosecution agreement over its hush-money scheme to help Trump, which resulted in a conviction for his personal attorney, Michael Cohen. But federal prosecutors have since started examining whether American Media Inc. violated its promise in the agreement not to break the law after Amazon mogul Jeff Bezos published a blog post earlier this month alleging that representatives of the tabloid publisher threatened to blackmail him with intimate photos with a mistress. The company has denied wrongdoing. Advertisement Its problems also extend to its balance sheet, where the publisher reportedly carries more than $1 billion in debt. And its continual need for cash is exactly how CalPERS came to be invested in the National Enquirers parent company in the first place. Starting in 2009, CalPERS invested $607.7 million with Chatham Asset Management hedge funds Chatham Eureka Fund, which is a fund of one a type of investment created and managed for a single institutional investor rather than for a pooled group of investors. In a recent disclosure, Chatham Asset Management said that its Eureka Fund technically has two investors. One is the hedge fund itself, which holds a 1% stake, suggesting that the other 99% is held by CalPERS. Chatham Asset Management snapped up a majority stake in American Media Inc. in 2014, when the publisher was struggling to emerge from a 2010 bankruptcy and needed a financial lifeline. Advertisement In its most recent public filings, from July 2016, American Media Inc. reported that four Chatham-controlled funds together owned 78% of the company. The largest single owner, by far, was the Eureka Fund, with a 34% overall stake suggesting that CalPERS in essence owned one-third of the tabloid publisher. The Chatham hedge fund has said it is not involved in the day-to-day management of American Media, Inc., though it reportedly holds two seats on the companys board. And when the companys chief executive, David Pecker, attended a dinner with Trump at the White House in 2017, he was accompanied by the head of Chatham Asset Management, Anthony Melchiorre. White, the CalPERS spokeswoman, said that as a large institutional investor, the pension fund has a broad array of investments, including stakes in more than more than 10,000 public companies. Our primary mission is to invest on behalf of our 1.9 million members in order to deliver the benefits they were promised after a career in public service, she wrote. Advertisement The pension fund has been winding down its investments in hedge funds since 2014 as part of a plan to cut costs and simplify the states investments. As a result, CalPERS is ending our relationship with the [Chatham] hedge fund, which represents 0.0006th of the more than $350-billion pension fund, White said. CalPERS most recently available public disclosures, from 2018, indicate that the pension fund has closed out a majority of its investment in the Chatham Eureka Fund, with its remaining stake valued at a little more than $200 million. White told The Times to direct further questions to the hedge fund that manages CalPERS investment, Chatham Asset Management, which did not respond to requests for comment. Advertisement Bulow said that CalPERS had seen an unimpressive 2.3% rate of annual return out of its original investment in the Chatham Eureka Fund in 2009 far less than if the money had simply sat in an index fund that reflected the aggressive rebound of the stock market since the 2008 financial crisis. It seems like the decision to exit from that sort of investment is a good one, Bulow said. A state pension in New Jersey has also invested in American Media Inc., through investments with Chathams other funds, drawing some complaints from union representatives on the pensions board of trustees. After examining New Jerseys stake, officials decided it actually would harm the fund were we to divest, said Tom Bruno, a trustee who represents New Jersey public employees on the pensions board. Advertisement He added: If it gets to the point where it gives us a black eye ... well have to take the hit and get out. matt.pearce@latimes.com Matt Pearce is a national reporter for The Times. Follow him on Twitter at @mattdpearce. More national headlines . , , , . ... Cardinals attending Pope Francis summit on preventing clergy sex abuse called Friday for a new culture of accountability in the Catholic Church to punish bishops and religious superiors when they fail to protect their flocks from predator priests. On the second day of Francis extraordinary gathering of Catholic leaders, the debate shifted to how church leaders must acknowledge that decades of their own cover-ups, secrecy and fear of scandal had only worsened the sex abuse crisis. We must repent, and do so together, collegially, because along the way we have failed, said Mumbai Cardinal Oswald Gracias. We need to seek pardon. Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich told the 190 bishops and religious superiors that new legal procedures were needed to both report and investigate Catholic superiors when they are accused of misconduct themselves or of negligence in handling other abuse cases. Advertisement He said lay experts must be involved at every step of the process, since rank-and-file Catholics often know far better than priests what trauma the clergy sex abuse and its cover-up has caused. It is the witness of the laity, especially mothers and fathers with great love for the church, who have pointed out movingly and forcefully how gravely incompatible the commission, cover-up and toleration of clergy sexual abuse is with the very meaning and essence of the church, Cupich said. Mothers and fathers have called us to account, for they simply cannot comprehend how we as bishops and religious superiors have often been blinded to the scope and damage of sexual abuse of minors, he said. Francis summoned the bishops for the four-day tutorial on preventing sex abuse and protecting children after the scandal erupted again last year in Chile and the U.S. While the Vatican for two decades has tried to crack down on the abusers themselves, it has largely given a pass to the bishops and superiors who moved the predators around from parish to parish. Cupich called for transparent new structures to report allegations against superiors, investigate them and establish clear procedures to remove them from office if they are guilty of grave negligence in handling abuse cases. He proposed that metropolitan bishops who are responsible for other bishops in their area should conduct the investigations into suspected abuse with the help of lay experts, then forward the results to the Vatican. Cupich acknowledged his proposal differed from that prepared by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at large last year. Those procedures, which called for a code of conduct for bishops and a third-party confidential reporting system, ran into legal snags at the Vatican, which blocked U.S. bishops from voting on them in November. At the time of the blocked vote, Cupich proposed his metropolitan model, which he articulated further Friday from the privileged position as an organizer of Francis summit. Advertisement Cupich told reporters that his proposal differed from the U.S. conference in that it was anchored in existing U.S. church structures for accountability and would therefore be obligatory for all bishops. The U.S. conference proposal would have been voluntary. In addition, he said involving the regional metropolitan in the procedure would allow for pastoral follow-up to care for the victims. More than 30 years after the scandal first erupted in Ireland and Australia, and 20 years after it hit the U.S., bishops and Catholic officials in many parts of Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia still either deny that clergy sex abuse exists in their regions or play down the problem. Francis, the first Latin American pope, called the summit after he himself botched a well-known sex abuse cover-up case in Chile last year. Advertisement Gracias, the Indian cardinal, opened the session by saying bishops must work together to address the problem because it was erroneous to say its a just a problem for the USA or Europe or Australia. This, brothers and sisters, is just not true. I dare say there are cases all over the world, also in Asia, also in Africa, Gracias said. But Gracias prime-time speaking slot drew some criticism, since the Indian church isnt known for being proactive in combating clergy sex abuse. Gracias himself has been publicly criticized for his record. Why was Gracias allowed to speak at the papal summit? He is a poster boy for the lack of accountability of church leaders, especially in developing countries, said Anne Barrett Doyle of the online group BishopAccountability, which tracks the abuse scandal. Advertisement But it appeared the Vatican may have chosen as speakers precisely those cardinals whose own national churches have not confronted the scandal openly. On the summits opening day, for example, the keynote speaker was Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle. Based on public reporting and criminal prosecutions, BishopAccountability says it appears that no priests sexually abuse children in the Philippines, a scenario Barrett Doyle calls patently unrealistic. Tagle has said that cultural taboos in the Philippines often prevent victims from coming forward. Victims have turned out in droves on the sidelines of the summit to demand greater accountability from the church, saying it has for decades put its own interests over those of who were harmed. They have this systematic process of covering up, moving along, transferring and not reporting, said Tim Lennon, president of the U.S.-based survivor group SNAP. Advertisement German survivor Matthias Katsch said victims are beyond angry. We are really fighting for truth and justice for the survivors, he said. Irish Archbishop Eamon Martin said the summit had given many pause for thought. We are beginning to realize that perhaps there is something about the way we did things as Church, about the way we are as Church, that this issue really throws up for us. It really makes us ask questions about who are we? Martin said. In February 1926, the grand opening opening of the La Jolla Shores subdivision drew a crowd of thousands. The star of the show one of La Jolla Shores early investors was an 11-year-old boy named Jackie Coogan. Coogan was already famous as the child star of Charlie Chaplins film classic, The Kid. The nation was enjoying an unprecedented prosperity in 1926. Stunt openings and celebrity endorsements of housing developments were a feature of the real estate boom. In January, Talmage Park was opened by the Talmadge sisters the actresses Constance, Norma and Natalie and Natalies husband Buster Keaton. From the Evening Tribune, Monday, February 22, 1926: RECORD CROWD AT LA JOLLA SHORES That local subdivisions promise to necessitate an increase in the personnel of the motor traffic department is indicated by the demands made upon the squad yesterday, when thousands of automobile parked at La Jolla Shores. Five traffic officers were required to direct the parking of the motorists, while the procession of automobiles between downtown San Diego and the new subdivision headed for or returning from the tract necessitated the presence of a corps of traffic officers on the highway. Estimates place yesterdays attendance at La Jolla Shores at 10,000 persons, while competent authorities declare it the largest subdivision attendance in local history. Advertisement The best news of all to those who declare that San Diego possesses a brisk realty market is the announcement by David C. Hutchons, that at 3 p.m. yesterday one-quarter of the 500 lots in La Jolla Shores were sold, sales totaling more than a quarter of a million dollars. Hugh Evans of the Evans-Lee corporation, associated with the James J. Donahue company in the sale of the property, believes that by tonight one-third of the tract will be sold, and he hopes to reach the 50 percent mark by the end of the week. Jackie Is Present The most appealing touch in the free program staged yesterday afternoon was, of course, the personal appearance of Jackie Coogan, who set the crowd commenting on his still diminutive stature, and led an army of boys from the speakers platform to the aquatic events like a modern Pied Piper. Jackie added to his double role of actor and realtor by cranking the movies of the crowd, filmed for local and out-of-town showings. Scarcely less thrilling than the boy star were the aerial gymnastics of Erick Nelson, who by some odd turn of chance arrived over Soledad mountain simultaneously with the raising of the American flag over the tract, the event marking the dedication of the new residential beach to La Jolla. Just as Judge Kean concluded his dedicatory speech and as the bugles sounded the raising of Old Glory, Nelsons great Douglas biplane shot into the first of its gravity-defying contortions, the noted round-the-world aviator presenting the crowd in a half-hour exhibition with every aerial stunt known to flying aces. Advertisement for La Jolla Shores, Feb. 14, 1926. (The San Diego Union) (The San Diego Union) Historical photos and articles from The San Diego Union-Tribune archives are compiled by merrie.monteagudo@sduniontribune.com. Search the U-T historic archives at NewsLibrary.com/sites/sdub. About 1,000 people working to help the homeless nationwide are in San Diego this week to share ideas and learn from top officials in the field. Its come to our attention lately that the president can declare a national emergency, National Alliance to End Homelessness President and CEO Nan Roman said at the opening of the groups conference Thursday morning. One can certainly say that having 179,000 people who are unsheltered is a national emergency. Roman was referring to the latest available figures from a nationwide count that found 554,000 homeless people sheltered and unsheltered in 2018. The remark drew laughs and cheers from conference attendants packed into a ballroom at the Sheraton Hotel, site of the two-day conference that continues Friday, when U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson is scheduled to speak. Advertisement The alliance is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that analyzes policies and provides data and research to policy-makers and elected officials. It holds an annual conference in Washington, D.C. that attracts about 2,000 people and a west coast conference in various locations that attracts about 1,000. The west coast conference usually focuses on homeless youth and families. This year, the focus has shifted to homeless adult individuals, a population that is just as vulnerable and deserves attention, Roman said. Thursdays session in San Diego included a presentation from filmmaker Emilio Estevez, who discussed his upcoming homeless-themed movie, The Public, which he directed, produced and starred in. In the film, Estevez plays a librarian who agrees to allow homeless people who are out in the cold to stay in the library. The film also features Alec Baldwin, Christian Slater, Michael Kenneth Williams of The Wire and Taylor Schilling of Orange is the New Black. The actor said his appearance was a first stop in a 25-city tour to promote and screen the film in libraries and homeless advocacy groups before its official release in April. I thought it was important to humanize the face of the homeless, Estevez said. Theres a saying that familiarity breeds contempt. I think familiarity breeds empathy. San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer spoke at the conference Thursday morning and said homelessness is a top concern in the city. Theres no single issue I spend more time on, Faulconer said, reiterating comments he made last month in his State of the City address. Advertisement Were not waiting for a universal consensus, which doesnt exist, he said about being pro-active in addressing homelessness. Faulconer acknowledged that he had a learning curve on the issue. Too often elected officials, including myself, have waited for that universal consensus, he said. Attendees applauded when he said San Diego was following a housing-first approach, meaning homeless people are given housing without conditions as a first step in overcoming their long-term issues with homelessness. Advertisement That approach hasnt been implemented easily in San Diego, however, as low-vacancy rates and high rents have presented an obstacle to moving people into homes. Faulconer said the city is taking steps to get people off the streets in other ways, including safe-parking lots for people who live in cars and large bridge shelter tents that house almost 700 people. This is not a Democrat or Republican issue, said Faulconer, a Republican. This is a right-thing-to-do issue. In an interview after her morning talk, Roman said partisanship has not appeared to be an issue at HUD since the administration changed. The homeless office at HUD is really a great office, she said. They really focus on whats working best and I think theyre doing a good job. Advertisement She also said she believes Carson cares about homeless people. When he came, I dont think it was something he knew a lot about, but I think he knows quite a lot about it now and hes been very supportive of the work thats going on, she said. I think personally, hes a very caring person who wants to help people. Roman also said advances have been made across the country in shelters that have lowered barriers and lifted rules to help get more people off the street. Specifically, shelter operators are realizing they should not bar people because of the three Ps pets, partners and possessions. 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 Advertisement gary.warth@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @GaryWarthUT 760-529-4939 A jury on Thursday convicted a man of murder in the 2011 shooting deaths of a father and son as they stood at a Golden Hill bus stop. It was the third jury to hear the case against Marlon Johnson, 41, after two juries last year deadlocked on most of the charges against him. Darryl Hunter, 49, and his son, Keith Butler, 30, died after being shot at the corner of 30th and C streets on Jan. 9, 2011. One round passed through Butler and struck a passing motorist. Butler ran to his girlfriends nearby apartment, told her to call 911 and collapsed. He and Hunter died later at a hospital. Advertisement Johnson was identified early on as a suspect but he wasnt arrested until 2016, when San Diego police said they had new DNA and cellphone evidence against him. Johnson was arrested in Arkansas and brought back to San Diego. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, firearms allegations and shooting into a vehicle that happened to pass through the intersection. His first trial ended in a mistrial in July, with jurors deadlocked 8 to 4 in favor of conviction. A second trial, in November, ended with jurors acquitting Johnson of first-degree murder in Hunters death and deadlocking on all other counts. Deputy District Attorney Valerie Summers re-filed charges for a third trial, alleging second-degree murder on Hunter, first-degree murder on Butler and shooting into the car. Jurors in the third trial began deliberating Tuesday. Thursday afternoon they told San Diego Superior Court Runston Maino that they had voted unanimously to find Johnson guilty of second-degree murder of Hunter and of shooting into the car. They couldnt reach a verdict as to Butlers killing. The prosecutor immediately dismissed the first-degree murder charge and the jurors were sent back to deliberate on the lesser charge of second-degree murder. It took them about five minutes to reach a guilty verdict. Advertisement Deputy Pubic Defender Kevin Haughton objected to the prosecutors maneuver to dismiss the more serious charge rather than let the jury deadlock stand. The judge noted the defense attorney would likely have grounds for appeal. In trial, Summers presented evidence that Johnsons DNA was on cigarette butts found near where his girlfriends white Monte Carlo had been parked right before the shooting. It was seen speeding away after the gunfire. She said cellphone tower records showed his phone was in the area that night. Haughton argued that no one identified Johnson as the shooter and that he left the scene quickly, just as several other people did, to get away from the gunfire. Advertisement pauline.repard@sduniontribune.com Advertisement Twitter: @pdrepard A San Diego federal judge overseeing the landmark family separation litigation appears poised to open up the class-action lawsuit to potentially thousands more migrants who were previously separated from their children a ruling that the government said would represent a seismic shift in the case. The bulk of the action so far has revolved around the massive effort to reunify some 2,800 children who were in the care of the federal government over the summer. But the goalpost has moved substantially with the recent revelation in a report by the Office of the Inspector General that thousands of children may have been separated during an influx that began in 2017, beginning with a pilot program in El Paso, Texas. The total number, the report concluded, was unknown. The American Civil Liberties Union, which has been representing the migrant families, has asked U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw to expand the pool of class members to include all families separated at the border under the Trump administrations policy, not just ones in federal custody on or before June 26, when the judge issued a preliminary injunction ordering reunifications. Advertisement Using Sabraws own description of the governments family separation practice, ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt argued that parents whose children were released from federally run shelters before June 26 were subject to the same brutal, offensive policy as the other class members. They and their children experienced the same agonizing trauma of separation, Gelernt wrote in a motion. Their substantive due process rights to family integrity were identically violated. And they all have the same right to be reunified as other parents. During a hearing Thursday, Sabraw appeared inclined to grant the motion. What is the essence of the lawsuit? The unlawful separation practice instituted by this administration, Sabraw said. The June 26 date is completely arbitrary when viewed in that light. He said the reunification efforts initially focused on children in the care of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, or ORR, because thats the information we had. Theres just a lot going on in this case that people in this courtroom did not know about, Sabraw added. But granting the motion to expand the class wouldnt be the same as ordering more reunifications. First and foremost, Sabraw said, the government would have to identify exactly how many families were separated. There needs to be an accounting of what happened, to whom, Sabraw said. How many are involved, where are they? Advertisement Any potential remedies which could include reunifications would be secondary. Lawyers for the U.S. Department of Justice vehemently opposed expanding the class and indicated such an order might be met with an appeal an adversarial step in a case marked by cooperation. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Scott Stewart argued that the government has always been operating under the understanding that the class was limited to children in custody as of June 26. He said the class description itself says a minor child who is or will be separated and placed into government custody or care not was. He added that the ACLU has yet to specifically identify any parent who fits this expanded class, and that there are other more appropriate avenues any of those parents should take if they wish to reunite with their children. Advertisement Its not part of this case, Stewart said. The burden will be very significant if this is the path we go down, he added. To demonstrate the massive undertaking that would be involved in merely identifying an expanded pool of separated children, the government proposed a hypothetical time-frame from July 1, 2017, to June 25, 2018, the day before Sabraws order. That would encompass a potential group of 47,083 children in ORR care, according to Jallyn Sualog, deputy director of Childrens Programs for ORR who has been leading the recent reunification efforts. Most of those children likely crossed the border as unaccompanied minors, but some came to the shelter after being separated from a parent or guardian. Advertisement Because separations werent consistently noted on all files by ORR or the U.S. Department of Homeland Security at that time a problem that led to the debacle at the center of the case each childs case management file would have to be examined by hand, 10 to 20 documents per child, for signs of separation. That analysis would likely take four to eight hours per child, or up to 376,664 hours, Sualog estimated. With 100 analysts working eight hours a day, the task would take as long as one year and three months. Such a monumental task, she said, would substantially imperil ORRs ability to perform its core functions without some significant funding and manpower increases. Gelernt suggested that Homeland Security likely has records that would help in the accounting process, preventing the burden from being placed solely on Health and Human Services, which oversees ORR. Advertisement Many of the children who were separated and discharged from government care prior to the June 26 order are likely with their families now, authorities said. In fiscal 2017, 93 percent of children in ORR care whether they were separated from a parent or traveled across the border as an unaccompanied minor were released to a sponsor. Of those, 49 percent were released to parents, 41 percent to a close relative such as aunt, grandparent or sibling, and 10 percent to distant relatives or family friends. The number of discharges was a bit lower in fiscal 2018, at 86 percent. Of those, 42 percent went to parents. Children placed with sponsors before June 26 were done so under the stringent guidelines of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which includes safety assessments and background checks of sponsors, as well as home inspections. Advertisement Sabraw acknowledged that ordering massive parental reunifications of an expanded class may not be the best remedy at this point, especially if children are now in stable living situations with relatives in the U.S. But Gelernt said an effort should be made to find this new group of parents and at least ask: Are you alright? Do you know where your kid is? He added later, We have to undertake that burden. The motion comes as nearly all previously identified children have been either reunited with their parents 2,155 or placed with sponsors or turned 18 580. Five children with more complicated circumstances are still proceeding toward a resolution, and 44 others whose parents declined to reunite still need to be placed with sponsors. Advertisement Eighteen children were not allowed to be reunited because their parents either had a criminal background or were found to be otherwise unfit or a danger. kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @kristinadavis Police arrested a juvenile who they say stabbed a student at a Bay Area high school Friday morning, authorities said. Union City police reported they were investigating the attack on a student while at school. Officers were searching for a suspect near James Logan High School, where the stabbing occurred shortly after 11 a.m., and asked the public to avoid the area. The school north of Fremont was put on lockdown as police investigated. Police said the lockdown was lifted after a suspect was arrested and students would be released at their regular time. Union City police did not say what led to the stabbing. Advertisement alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com Twitter: @r_valejandra Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax: He did not act alone event was staged at the highest levels of the deep state, say sources The Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax was planned at the highest levels of the (Obama) deep state and was intended to foment a race war across America, say multiple sources across the independent media. The official explanation that Smollett masterminded (if you can call it that) the hate crime hoax because he wanted a pay raise for his work as an actor on Empire just doesnt hold water. He is reportedly being paid $65K per episode, bringing in more than $1.1 million per year. Yet we are supposed to believe he would risk his entire career (and significant earnings) to try to push for an increase in his pay? It doesnt add up, and several independent media investigators are already starting to dig deeper into the Smollett fiasco. Dave Hodges of The Commonsense Show, for example, writes that a Confidential Informant (CI) says a deep state federal agent was actively involved in plotting the hate crime hoax. Via Dave Hodges: I am in receipt of a federal agency source who claims that they have knowledge that the staged attack upon Smollette had the participation of a federal agent, but not necessarily the federal agency to which he/she belonged The obvious purpose of this fake attack was to promote heated racial division and to bring into drama the participation of LGBT political interests because Smollette is admittedly gay. This also has the fingerprints of George Soros because this is just the kind of thing he does repeatedly to promote civil discord by manufacturing racial incidents and promoting them to incite racial division that culminates in violent public protests. Hodges explains that the attorney of the Nigerian brothers deserves a closer look, as her actual name appears to be clouded under a bizarre history of various aliases and different last names. Powerful words from Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. "This morning, I come to you as a black man who spent his entire life living in the city of Chicago Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career." pic.twitter.com/CEMWx5udY1 Shelby Holliday (@shelbyholliday) February 21, 2019 It goes all the way up to Obama, reports Jones Similarly, Alex Jones from InfoWars announced live on the air this morning that a high-level government source informed him that this attack was crafted and pushed by the Obama deep state. Indeed, the whole thing smacks of precisely the kind of community organizing that Obama is well known to coordinate and promote. Remember: Everything the Left does is rooted in fakery and fraud. Even the Russia collusion narrative is a complete hoax. Hands up dont shoot was a hoax. The train rape claims against Kavanaugh were a hoax. Many observers say the Charlottesville vehicle attack was instigated or staged, too. Barack Obama and Eric Holder tried to pull off a massive gun crime hoax with Operation Fast and Furious, and there are elements of nearly every mass shooting that raise huge questions about the authenticity of the reports surrounding those events (such as the fact that Broward County sheriffs deputies were ordered to stand down outside the school and did nothing while the shooting took place). From gun control to toppling Trump, every goal of the radical Left is consistently pushed with the help of faked elements or false flag events. As Alex Jones explained today, This is an Obama operation, referring to the Smollett false flag, for which Smollett has now been charged with a felony. Smollett even faked the hate letter he mailed to himself, according to Chicago police. The Jussie Smollett story is nowhere near over it has only just begun Never forget that the fake news left-wing media said anyone who didnt believe Smolletts original claims was a conspiracy theorist. This is how they attempt to shut down any questioning of the false flag hate crime hoax. As a matter of fact, those who questioned Smolletts hoax were the real journalists, while those promoting the hoax were the fakers. The real questioning has only begun. Many more questions need to be asked on this, such as: Why was Jussie Smollett allowed to turn himself in with no cameras rolling, while Roger Stone was raided at gunpoint with dozens of heavily armed agents while CNN rolled its cameras after being tipped off? Why are some members of the top brass of the Chicago PD being so polite and almost apologetic to Smollett? Didnt he just waste thousands of hours of police time in Chicago? Didnt he almost push a nationwide race war? Why is Fox still defending Smollett? Are people in the Empire production crew involved in helping Smollett help stage the hoax to boost the success of the flailing Empire show, which has plummeted in ratings? Where is the apology from CNN, MSNBC, The Atlantic and other radical left-wing media propagandists who pushed this hoax in the first place? So far there are zero apologies and zero retractions. Why is that? And why does Google News continue to promote the very same news sources that repeatedly hoax America with lie after lie? (And why does the NewsGuard browser plug-in give its highest rankings for the news sources that publish the most outrageous lies?) Where is the federal conspiracy charge against Smollett for involving two other people in his hate crime hoax? Where is the charge for using the United States mail to send a threatening letter? Those are federal crimes are there no charges for that? (Possibly those charges are still coming, we will have to wait and see.) Where is the arrest of CNNs Don Lemon for his role in this nationwide conspiracy? Don Lemon is not a journalist; he is a hack left-wing activist and co-conspirator who helped push this hate crime hoax with the intended purpose of damaging the reputation of Trump supporters and keeping the hate alive in America. In fact, there were a dozen key journalists who led the propaganda push for the Smollett hate crime hoax. Their names, according to Breitbart News, are: Eugene Scott (Washington Post) Don Lemon (CNN) Yamiche Alcindor (PBS) Joyce Vance (MSNBC) Jamil Smith (Rolling Stone) April Ryan (CNN) Jamele Hill (The Atlantic) Zerlina Maxwell (MSNBC) Joy Reid (MSNBC) Karen Attiah (Washington Post) Amy Siskind (Huffington Post) Brooke Baldwin (CNN) Where are the investigations into these political activists for promoting a dangerous conspiracy that almost pushed America into a bloody race war? Remember, every one of these media hacks conducted zero fact checking and ran with the Smollett claims, touting them as established facts when they were, in fact, fabricated lies. Yet there isnt a single one of these propagandists who has been fired, or criminally investigated for their role in this dangerous conspiracy to deceive America and foment a race war. Why is the left-wing media allowed to continue pushing utterly fabricated hoaxes at the expense of America? Its time to expand the criminal investigation beyond Jussie Smollett and look at who really planned it and who catapulted it into public consciousness in a highly irresponsible, dangerous manner. Could this photo be a clue about who was really involved? Stay informed. Read HOAX.news. Cindy Borgeson was eating a cheeseburger at In-N-Out when she got a call from Newport Beach police that she thought would never come. It had been more than four decades since her 11-year-old sister, Linda Ann OKeefe, was sexually assaulted and strangled. The killer had vanished after dumping the girls body among the cattails in the citys scenic Back Bay. Borgeson, who was 18 when Linda was killed, was resigned that detectives might never find the man responsible. Her Christian faith gave her the strength to forgive the faceless perpetrator and move forward, she said. The phone call jolted her back, to that painful time when her sisters body was found in 1973. The detective on the other end asked if she was sitting down. They had arrested a suspect James Alan Neal, 72 just before sunrise in Colorado Springs, Colo. Advertisement Borgeson had been in touch regularly with investigators over the last several months after authorities launched a renewed effort to solve the cold case, but the news was still unexpected. An undated photo shows Linda Ann OKeefe, right, sitting with her family at sister Cindy Borgesons graduation. (Cindy Borgeson) I really in my wildest dreams never thought this would be the outcome, she said. The break in the case came from technology that would have baffled most in the 1970s, an era better known for Watergate and the Vietnam War than cutting-edge investigative tools. Back then, DNA testing wasnt available. Instead, investigators tested bodily fluids and blood left at crime scenes for proteins that helped provide clues or narrow a list of suspects. However, that was far from an exact science, which made DNA testing so crucial when it arrived on the scene, said David Kaye, a lawyer and Pennsylvania State University professor who teaches the law of evidence and applications of forensic science. Newport Beach detectives in 2018 contacted Parabon NanoLabs, a Virginia-based medical lab, which used DNA from the crime scene to calculate a possible suspects facial composite, gender, ancestry, freckles and skin tone, eye and hair color. But detectives still couldnt put a name with the computer sketch. They had checked the DNA against databases of convicted felons over the years but continued to come up empty-handed. Advertisement That changed in January when investigators tapped FamilyTreeDNA.com, a genealogical database that the public uses to search for relatives and ancestors. Private companies that provide ancestry searches from DNA samples submitted by paying participants usually also guarantee privacy for their users. However, customers are alerted to potential matches and can then use the service to connect with possible relatives. Anybody who uploads DNA thinking, Maybe Ill discover a long-lost relative, is running the risk that the DNA will be used in a police investigation, Kaye said. You also run the risk of finding out that one of your known relatives is a killer. As genealogical websites grow in popularity, so does their use as an investigative tool for law enforcement. Advertisement Genealogical DNA made a major debut as a crime-solving tool last year after authorities announced they had used it to arrest Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., the suspected Golden State Killer, so named for a string of attacks that included more than 50 rapes and at least 13 slayings throughout California from 1974 to 1986. Lindas death haunted Newport Beach residents, who were afraid to let their children play outside or walk to school alone in their typically safe community. For those of us who were there in 1973, weve never forgotten it, Councilman Brad Avery said. This happened at a time that was simpler. Were more hardened today because times have changed. An undated photo shows Linda Ann OKeefe. (Cindy Borgeson) Advertisement Linda vanished July 6, 1973, on her way home from summer school at what was then Lincoln Intermediate now Lincoln Elementary in Corona del Mar. She had called her mother for a ride home that afternoon but was told to walk instead a detail that Borgeson said consumed her mother with guilt until she died in 2005. The day Linda went missing, her mother became worried when the girl didnt arrive home. She started making calls, first to friends and neighbors, and later that evening to police. Borgeson helped search, but she was less concerned. She figured her middle sister was being disobedient and would be in trouble when she finally arrived home. She never imagined Linda might not return. During their search, police uncovered a few clues that something nefarious may have happened, but nothing conclusive was found. A girl and her mother who saw Linda walking the day she disappeared told detectives that she had stopped near Marguerite Avenue and Inlet Drive, where a turquoise van was parked along the curb with its door ajar. The driver was described as a man in his mid-20s or early 30s with curly hair. Advertisement It was the last time Linda was seen alive by family or friends. A woman who lived on the bluff above where Lindas body was found a day later told detectives she had heard a female scream, Stop, youre hurting me, shortly after 11 p.m. the day Linda disappeared. An autopsy determined the girl had probably been killed around midnight. Investigators collected and preserved semen left on Lindas body. As detectives hunted for her killer, Lindas family tried to move forward. Borgeson eventually let go of her anger, but she said her parents never fully recovered from the pain of losing a child. She would have been 57 this year. I wonder sometimes what kind of life she would have lived. Would she be married? Have a family? Probably, Borgeson said. I dont dwell on that because that wasnt her outcome. This week, Borgeson has found a quiet joy sharing memories of Linda with reporters who knock on the door of her home in Arizona. Her sister, whom she knew as the frog whisperer because of her aptitude for catching the amphibians during family trips to Mammoth, was an old soul, she said. Advertisement She just had this spirituality to her thats hard to put into words, Borgeson said. I know in my heart that Linda was in heaven celebrating with our parents when they arrested him. hannah.fry@latimes.com Twitter: @Hannahnfry Fifteen finalists have been chosen in a cross-border film competition sponsored by The San Diego Union-Tribune and Media Arts Center San Diegos 2019 San Diego Latino Film Festival. The Union-Tribune and Media Arts Center San Diego a few months ago partnered to launch the Migrant Voices Today (Voces de los Migrantes) film challenge, inviting international media artists and journalists to enter the competition. With the current humanitarian crisis unfolding along the San Diego-Baja California border, we received 293 entries from around the world, said Ethan van Thillo, founder and executive director of Media Arts Center San Diego, under whose auspices the San Diego Latino Film Festival is presented. From these entries, Van Thillo added, the jury selected 15 honest, thought-provoking works that give voice to the migrants who have arrived at the border; the realities of their everyday lives; and the struggle of being caught in the crosshairs of a binational debate. Advertisement The 15 finalists will be screened at AMC Fashion Valley 18 at 7 p.m. March 19, when two winners will be announced. The Emerging Artist winner will receive $1,000, and the Professional Media Maker will receive $5,000. The finalists are (with descriptions provided by Media Arts Center San Diego): Tomorrow, We Carry On (Manana, Seguimos) Director: Marlene Morris For Dulce Garcia, The Dreamer, and the San Diego Border Dreamers organization she leads, the stakes are higher than the fate of 800,000 DACA recipients. Dulce risks the life she leads in the United States to sue the president for rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Voices of the Caravan Director: Hector Guerrero The nearly 9,000 Central American migrants who comprise the caravan from Honduras to the United States talk about the reasons why they migrate during the march through Mexico. Dariella, One Over Thousands Director: Francesca Tosarelli Dariella and her son Kevin, together with Fabiola, Xinia, Mirna and their children, arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, after a march of thousands of kilometers that began in Honduras. Escaping organized crime that controls the country and directly affected them through extortion and murder of relatives, theyre now exasperated and exhausted, waiting to legally apply for asylum to enter the United States. Dariella and her friends then decide to illegally cross the border wall. Advertisement And Here They Are Directors: Vivian Gomez and Simon Christopher A slice of a much bigger story that these filmmakers hope to be able to tell. They invite you (the audience) to participate in this conversation. Their goal is to allow the audience to respond to the questions they hear and or ask questions of their own. They will then show the response to that specific person in the hopes for both sides to get some type of answer or learn something new. About a Wall Director: Hermes Mangialardo Two children want to play together, but a wall has built up creating an obstacle and a frontier. Advertisement Platicas Director: Kayla Mulholland Three boys discuss their migration journey and speculate about what will happen next for them and their families. This conversation gets at the heart of the migration crisis, the root causes, and the uncertainty these families now face. Running Away from Transphobia Director: Paula Daibert and Andalusia Knoll, AJ+ Espanol 15 days after they killed my partner, they forced me to leave the country: Loly, Lady and Alexia are seeking asylum in the U.S. They are fleeing violence and poverty in El Salvador and Honduras, and another kind of threat to their lives: transphobia. Advertisement The Border Wall Doesnt Stop The American Dream Director: Julie Holtzhuizer A video-documentary about the impact on families who have been separated by the wall. Music Without Borders Director: Varda Bar-Kar After reading in the New York Times about a Mexican folk music festival called Fandango Fronterizo on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, Arturo OFarrill, founder and conductor of New York Citys Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, travels with his 40-piece orchestra to Tijuana to groove with the Son Jarocho musicians of Veracruz, transforming a symbol of division into a unifying space of peace and harmony. Advertisement Go and Back Director: Yolanda Morales and Jorge Nieto Two events are recorded as the migrant caravan is underway. First, the atmosphere and feelings of the caravan members living in Tijuana and desiring to reach the United States; and next, the suspense in which the returnees have returned. Borders Director: Zoe Lienard From airlines, borders have the sharpness of geographical maps. At the edge of boats, they are stretched and filled with a thickness, in which to get lost. Advertisement La Trifulca II. 5 Billion Dollar Director: Arturo Pulido Garcia The citizens of Tijuana show their dissatisfaction for what they call an invasion of Honduran migrants who have escaped violence and poverty in their own country and are now stuck waiting for attempts to enter into the United States. Musica Migratoria como aves con su canto (Migrant Music like birds and their songs) Director: Reynaldo Escoto Gonzalez Mira Yolanda Contreras made the 4,419-kilometer journey carrying her speaker and microphone from Ocotepeque, Honduras, to Tijuana, Mexico. Every time the caravan was cold, hungry, sad or desperate, she put on music and songs because music is as important as water, shelter and food in the migration process. Advertisement A Beautiful Tragedy Director: Moises Lopez A tragedy has been normalized in the community: A mothers love is irreplaceable. My Migration Director: Aileen Candelario Based on a fathers true story, this stop-motion animated short film acts as a visual metaphor for human migration and attempts to explore the reasons behind this natural, universal movement; and the many struggles encountered throughout such transitions. Advertisement The entries were judged by a jury that included Laura Castaneda (San Diego State University), Luis Cruz (Los Angeles Times), Adriana Trujillo (Cine Tonola Tijuana/filmmaker), Cuauhtemoc Ruelas (film critic) and Norma Iglesias Prieto (San Diego University). Migrant Voices Today is funded by The San Diego Union-Tribune, California Endowment, International Community Foundation and Hispanics In Philanthropy. Migrant Voices Today When: 7 p.m. March 19 Where: AMC Fashion Valley 18, 7037 Friars Road, San Diego. Advertisement Tickets: $12 general admission; $10 seniors, students and military; $9 Media Arts Center San Diego members. Online: 2019.sdlatinofilm.com Advertisement Twitter: @outdoorlivingsd michael.rocha@sduniontribune.com Chula Vista has a pension problem. Rising pension costs for public employees are creating a structural deficit in the citys budget meaning Chula Vista spends more money than it receives. If left unchecked, that growing deficit could impact the citys ability to provide basic services in the future. San Diego Countys second-largest city isnt the only municipality in California with a pension problem. The states pension system is underfunded, meaning it doesnt have enough money to pay benefits owed to retirees and current employees. Because of how the system is structured, cities throughout the state are being asked to fund the system by paying more. The San Diego Union-Tribune sat down with Chula Vistas finance director, David Bilby, to find out where the problem comes from, what impact it has on Chula Vista, and what the city is doing about it. Advertisement HOW DID WE GET HERE? The California Employees Retirement System, commonly known as CalPERS, is funded by a combination of tax dollars from member agencies, employee contributions, and investment returns. The way it works is thousands of government entities like cities and water districts send hundreds of millions of dollars to CalPERS. The system takes that money and invests it. In order to be fully funded, CalPERS needs to earn a certain return on that investment. When the state doesnt meet its investment goals, cities are asked to make up the shortfall. The pension systems unfunded liability grew during the two most recent economic downturns the 2001 dot-com crash and the 2007 housing crisis. Since then, the gap between how much money the fund has and how much it needs to pay out benefits has grown, even though the economy has largely bounced back from the Great Recession. To help bridge the gap, CalPERS took several measures to make the system more sustainable in the future. But those changes placed a lot of financial stress on cities like Chula Vista. For example, CalPERS lowered its investment return goals from 7.5 percent to 7 percent. It may seem like a small change, but that means Chula Vista will likely have to pay $200 million more toward the unfunded liability over 20 years. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR CHULA VISTA? Chula Vista doesnt have to pay it all at one, but the amount increases every year for the next five years. For example, the city owes CalPERS $21 million this year and $24 million next year. Advertisement The 2018-19 budget set aside 15.8 percent of the general fund to pay for the benefits of 820 retirees and beneficiaries. The single factor that is making the structural deficit grow is pension costs, Bilby said. The city doesnt have a funding source to pay for all of this. But it is taking several steps to prevent cutting any public services. The current plan is to cut costs wherever possible and have public employees pay their fair share of pension costs. The city is already taking several steps to bring costs down. They include relying more on interns, volunteers and hourly and seasonal workers, and increasing fees the public pays for services such as renting a gazebo. Advertisement Yes, the pension situation now means renting a gazebo for a family reunion is more expensive. Additionally, the city is investing in technology to make government more efficient. For example, switching to a paperless accounting system may save Chula Vista hundreds of thousands a year. Another part of the plan is to get public employees to pay more of their pension costs. Historically, Chula Vista has picked up most of the tab. But over the last couple of years, the city has asked workers to contribute more during union negotiations. Advertisement Miscellaneous employees meaning city workers who are not firefighters or sworn police officers are at or near the 50 percent mark. Police and firefighters are not there yet. Currently, Chula Vista contributes more than double what police and firefighters hired before 2013 put in toward pension costs. The finance director hopes the city can close the gap during labor negotiations next year. Were trying to create a sustainable and stabilized pension system and if we ignore the cost side and just say the city can pick up the tab, then the city would have to resort to cuts to service, Bilby said. There is just no way you can balance the ledger if people arent contributing more or if we cut services. WHAT HAS CHULA VISTA ALREADY DONE? Advertisement Pension reform to lower the costs of future benefits. During the booming economy of the 1990s, Chula Vista joined other California cities in enhancing employee benefits. Chula Vistas benefits were among the more generous in the state. They promised public employees who worked 30 years and retired at 60 a pension of 90 percent of their single-highest year salary until they die. The city realized that was unsustainable in 2011 and introduced another benefit tier for new hires. Advertisement Employees hired after the reform were promised a pension of 60 percent of their highest salary, assuming they work 30 years and retire at 60. Then, in 2013, then-Gov. Jerry Brown introduced another pension tier that had public workers earn that same 60 percent of salary pension benefit that Chula Vista introduced in 2011, but with the caveat that workers dont earn the benefit until they retire at 62 instead of 60. While the reforms will help in the long-term, Chula Vista is still on the hook for the promises it made in the 1990s. Every retiree and a majority of current employees receive the most generous package. That means it will take decades for the new pension packages to have a significant impact on the citys finances. It will be 20 years before you see this cosmic shift in a significant reduction in current costs because then the tier ones will mostly be gone, Bilby said. HOW DO RECENT TAX MEASURE FACTOR IN? Advertisement Chula Vista voters approved three different sales tax measures since 2016. The first two, Measure P and Measure A, were to pay for increases to services. The latest one, Measure Q, is a special tax on marijuana businesses and revenues have not been allocated to specific purposes. Measure P revenues do not pay for pension costs. That measure was passed to complete infrastructure projects that had previously been neglected. It is a direct result to staff cuts made after the 2008 recession. Most of the work is being done by contractors, not employees who get benefits; therefore, it does not add to the citys pension liabilities. Measure A revenues will be used to cover pension costs of police officers and firefighters hired with money from the tax measure. However, the amount of Measure A revenues being spent on pensions is proportionate to the number of employees hired with Measure A money. Measure Q, a sales tax measure on the citys new marijuana industry, is a different story. Advertisement The city was careful not to promise those tax revenues for specific purposes. The finance directors hope is that some of those revenues will be spent on pension costs. Its not a silver bullet, but its certainly going to be a revenue stream someday that we can hopefully dedicate to pension costs and ensuring we have service levels in public safety, Bilby said. Contact Gustavo Solis via Email or Twitter PHOTO: The North Coast Corvette Club in Carlsbad raised $51,000 at its seventh annual all-Corvette car show, which featured 240 corvettes. The car show alone raised $14,000 and in addition, the club received a $7,000 donation from the Go Daddy Foundation of Bob and Renee Parsons and $30,000 donated by the Easterday Family Foundation. The funds will be distributed between the Semper Fi Fund based at Camp Pendleton supporting injured service members and their families and Cal Diego Paralyzed Veterans benefiting service members with spinal cord injuries. From left: Retired Marine Gunnery Sgt. Anthony Rios; Sandy Hendren, Semper Fi event manager; Gary Pebley, club president; Ruth Kurisu, master of ceremonies; Peter Ballantyne, executive director of Cal Diego; JD Duncan, car show chairman; and seated, Buddy Wachtstetter and his dog Lexus. The club is sponsored by Weseloh Chevrolet/Kia in Carlsbad. Visit northcoastvettes.org. North County community events, news. CARLSBAD Free low-vision consultations Advertisement The Carlsbad Senior Center hosts the Braille Institute of San Diego for free low-vision consultations for adults 50 and older from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday at 799 Pine Ave. Community members who have low vision and eye glasses that are not fully effective can get a free appointment with a low-vision rehabilitation specialist to determine the correct magnification device to maximize remaining vision. Reserve at (760) 602-4650. Housing presentation for seniors at center The Carlsbad Senior Center will host a free Successful Aging in Place talk on Housing Solutions for the Future from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday for adults 50 and older at 799 Pine Ave. The discussion will include multigenerational housing and ways to optimize current property for aging in place with safety, comfort and additional income. Call (760) 602-4650. ESCONDIDO Walk for Animals fundraiser Saturday The San Diego Humane Society holds its Walk for Animals fundraiser at 9 a.m. Saturday at Kit Carson Park, 3333 Bear Valley Parkway. The event includes a pancake breakfast, 2-mile walk, dog activities and vendor booths. Registration is at 7 a.m.; blessing of the animals is at 8:30 a.m. and the walk begins at 9 a.m. followed by the dog activities and vendor village from 10:15 to 11 a.m. Visit sdhumane.org. Cellist, pianist perform Sunday at arts center Cellist Thomas Mesa and pianist Ilya Yakushev perform at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido in the Center Theater. Mesa won the 2016 Sphinx Competition $50,000 First Prize and recently performed as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. Yakushev has performed at major venues on three continents and won many awards. Tickets are $35-$55; After-show meet and greet is $100. Visit artcenter.org. Advertisement Military officers group to meet Thursday The Hidden Valley Chapter of Military Officers Association of America invites all military officers, active duty and retired, to attend its chapter meeting and luncheon at 11:30 am. Thursday at Marie Callenders Restaurant & Bakery, 515 W. 13th Ave. The cost will be the price of menu selection. Reservations are required by 6 p.m. Monday at moaareservations@gmail.com. Library offers discount passes for museums The Escondido Public Library in partnership with the San Diego Museum Council is offering half-price admission passes to more than 40 San Diego museums during San Diego Museum Month in February. Passes are good for up to four people and will work at all participating museums. Pick up passes from one of the librarys service desks through Thursday (while supplies last). Passes are valid for February only. Call (760) 839-5456. Advertisement California condor recovery topic of talk The California Center for the Arts, Escondido and EcoLife Conservation present a lecture on the California Condor Recovery Program at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the center, 340 N. Escondido Blvd. Bill Toone, executive director and founder of EcoLife Conservation, speaks about one of North Americas most endangered birds, the California condor. Visit artcenter.org. RANCHO SANTA FE Yoga class with wine tasting set for Sunday Advertisement The Uncork & Unwind series hosted by the Spa at The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe in partnership with Joyworks Network continues from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at The Inn, 5951 Linea Del Cielo. The 80-minute yoga class with wine tasting benefits a different charity each month. Tickets are $40, with $5 of each ticket benefiting Breast Cancer Angels. Visit spauncorkunwind.eventbrite.com. SAN MARCOS Kiwanis pancake breakfast Saturday The Kiwanis Club of Lake San Marcos will hold its 53rd annual Pancake Breakfast and Silent Auction with more than 100 auction items from 7 to 11 a.m. Saturday in Healy Hall at St. Marks Roman Catholic Church, 1147 Discovery St. Funds raised go to support scholarships that will be presented to area high school students later in the spring. Tickets are $7 in advance at (925) 348-3834 or $8 at the door. Visit lsmkiwanis.org. Advertisement Hairitage play set for Sunday at Palomar The North County African American Womens Association presents the play Hairitage at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Howard Brubeck Theater, Palomar College, 1140 W. Mission Road, in celebration of Black History Month. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. and there will be a stylists presentation at 2 p.m. Cost is $40; $30 for open seating. Purchase tickets at ncaawa.org. Community forum on park improvements A community forum on Trails and Walnut Grove Equestrian Park improvements is from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday in Mary Connors Hall at Walnut Grove Heritage Park, 1952 Sycamore Drive. The meeting is hosted by the Twin Oaks Valley Equestrian Association and Horse Heritage Conservancy. Visit keepitequestrian.org. Advertisement Deadline nearing for citys photo contest The deadline for the citys annual Best of San Marcos online photo contest is this weekend. Amateur and professional photographers can submit images that capture the best that San Marcos has to offer natural beauty, recreational activities, points of interest and people enjoying the community. Photos will be accepted online through Sunday. Visit san-marcos.net/photocontest. VISTA Washday at the Adobe exhibit on display Advertisement The Washday at the Adobe exhibit runs through Saturday at Rancho Buena Vista Adobe Gallery, 640 Alta Vista Drive. The exhibit features laundry implements from long ago and was put up by the Gallery Friends of the Rancho with the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Hours are 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Email ranchoadobe@ci.vista.ca.us or caldesigns@roadrunner.com. For a lot of family caregivers, asking for help can be a challenge. Maybe you dont want to bother people or youre embarrassed that you cant handle everything yourself. Or you are so deep in the weeds, you dont know even what you need. Maybe it just seems easier to do something rather than explaining what you need. Or maybe lets admit it youre a bit of a control freak who thinks no one can get it done as well as you can. Reality check: Caregiving is a herculean responsibility that no one should take on by themselves. Advertisement The first step: Create a support network. Martha Ranon, director of government and community affairs for the Southern Caregiver Resource Center, suggests creating a network of support to help with the varied responsibilities that come with caregiving. Members of a support network can include siblings, friends, co-workers, neighbors and fellow church parishioners. How to ask? Ranon suggests these strategies: After making a list of potential helpers, write down at least five things you need help with grocery shopping, laundry, making doctors appointments, transportation, taking a break, cooking, picking up prescriptions, etc. Then attach a name to each of the tasks and ask for their help. If someone cant or wont perform a task, ask that person what they can help with. help with. If someone says, Let me know if I can do anything for you, let them know something specific they can do. If someone asks how youre doing, dont respond with Im fine if youre not. Say you need help. People arent going to take over caregiving for you, Ranon said, so break down what they can do, smaller things they can help you with. Get creative. If a sibling lives across the country, there are things they can do remotely, like refilling prescriptions online, making appointments, paying bills, or shopping online for everything from groceries to personal care products. If theres a friend or neighbor who is also caring for someone, take turns watching both care recipients for a few hours. That way, youll each have some free time. AARP also recommends these tips for getting help: Explain your predicament. Author and clinical psychologist Harriet Lerner suggests opening the conversation with something like, I am feeling so tired and depleted from taking care of mom that Im worried if something doesnt change, I will be crawling in that bed with her. Author and clinical psychologist Harriet Lerner suggests opening the conversation with something like, I am feeling so tired and depleted from taking care of mom that Im worried if something doesnt change, I will be crawling in that bed with her. Plan for an ongoing conversation. It might take several heart-to-hearts to come up with a game plan. And you can revisit the conversation if the help becomes infrequent or the caregiving needs become greater. It might take several heart-to-hearts to come up with a game plan. And you can revisit the conversation if the help becomes infrequent or the caregiving needs become greater. Remember that this is not easy. It can be painful for a young relative (or anyone) to see a loved one with serious health problems. Let them know you understand how they feel and that it hurts you, too. It can be painful for a young relative (or anyone) to see a loved one with serious health problems. Let them know you understand how they feel and that it hurts you, too. If direct requests dont work, just drop it. Author and consultant Carol Bradley Bursack, who writes the Minding Our Elders column, says, Dont waste your time and energy by being bitter. Let it be and move forward. Read more: Dont know what to say when someone asks you how they can help? The Family Caregiver Alliance does. See their tip sheet Saying Yes to Offers of Help. michele.parente@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @sdeditgirl For fintech software firm Kyriba, its on-again, off-again relationship with San Diego is back on. Founded in 2003, the company was based in the region but relocated its headquarters to New York a few years ago. Now it has officially moved back to San Diego, where it has more than 120 employees up from 80 in the middle of last year. I live in San Diego, said Jean-Luc Robert, chairman and chief executive of Kyriba. New York is becoming very expensive. San Diego is a place where it is easy for us to attract talent. So we made the decision while keeping the smaller office in New York. Advertisement Kyriba makes cloud-based financial management software that helps large companies manage their cash in far-flung global bank accounts. It expects to move into a new, 50,000-square-foot corporate office in June that will more than double its current footprint in San Diego. In addition to San Diego and New York, Kyriba also has offices in Paris, London, Tokyo, Dubai and seven other locations. The privately held software-as-a-service firm hit $110 million in revenue last year, up 40 percent from 2017, said Robert. The company aims to reach $400 million to $500 million in revenue by 2023. Kyriba established a new software category around liquidity management, said Robert. We allow the chief financial officer and treasurer not only to know their cash but to optimize their cash, protect their cash and move their cash, he said. Last year, Kyriba entered a partnership with investment management giant BlackRock that allows its customers to move cash to BlackRock money market funds when necessary. It also works with WorldFirst, which has expertise in foreign exchange and international payments. Advertisement Kyriba has raised roughly $100 million in venture capital over the years, said Robert. Its product suite includes supply chain finance, payments, cash management, working capital management, compliance and bank connectivity. It recently added business intelligence and lease accounting to the line-up. The companys 2,000 clients are mostly big companies. It added 229 new customers last year for its subscription software, including Eastman Chemical, Hitachi High Tech, Palo Alto Networks and Peloton. Last month, Kyriba acquired a Phoenix-area firm FiREapps, which makes analytics and other tools to manage foreign exchange fluctuations. Robert declined to disclose the purchase price for FiREapps, which has about 130 customers and 40 employees. It is a perfect fit, and it makes us very strong on the (compliance) side at a time when volatility is going to increase with the trade war between the U.S. and China, with Brexit, said Robert. Advertisement Reaching $100 million in revenue is considered a trigger for software firms to launch an initial public stock offering. But Kyriba has no immediate plans to go public, said Robert. We want to keep up the growth, he said. We have no problem accessing capital. We have 650 people in the organization. Were going to add 200 to 300 this year, and San Diego will be one of the primary hiring spots. Advertisement Business mike.freeman@sduniontribune.com; Twitter:@TechDiego 760-529-4973 An organization that helps San Diegans get jobs has moved out of City Heights to save money on rent. San Diego Workforce Partnership said by moving to Kearny Mesa this week it will save $320,000 a year in rent and can put the extra money into career services. The 45-year-old organization operates job-seeking programs, publishes data on the labor market and has many employment-related functions. Peter Callstrom, CEO of the organization, said only administration staff is moving to Kearny Mesa, not career centers that are spread out around the county. So, its not like job seekers in central San Diego will have to make a longer trip. In essence, it lowers our overhead cost. By bringing that down, we have more dollars going into services, he said. Advertisement Callstrom said the rent at its City Heights location kept going up and they were seemingly stuck there because of a 30-year-lease. Workforce Partnership was discussing leaving with the landlord when the building ended up being sold to the San Diego Unified School District in July, so Callstrom said it works out well that the building will be used for education. Over the next 15 years, the partnership could save around $5 million if it stays in similar rent terms in Kearny Mesa. For now, it has only signed a three-year lease at the new building for its 78 employees. Callstrom said a key to success for the nonprofit is remaining flexible in its location, especially considering it serves the entire county. The Workforce Partnerships new space at 9246 Lightwave Ave. is around 19,000-square-feet, where its City Heights space was about 23,000-square-feet. More than just career services, the nonproft advises educational organizations on jobs of the future, works with businesses to figure out staffing needs and funds work-readiness youth programs. It recently debuted a student loan program through UC San Diego extension designed to be paid back only if the individual earns more than $45,000 annually. 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 Police yesterday captured prison escapee Aniseko Vailei following a tip-off from the public, after a shop at Vailoa was robbed early Thursday morning and $60,000 cash stolen. Samoa Police Service released a statement last night, saying a total of $10,000 cash was also recovered during the criminals recapture and they are now following leads to locate his partner in crime, Pati Chong Nee. A video of the robbery at One-and-One shop, which was taken from the shops CCTV, was uploaded on social media on Thursday. It immediately went viral and led to suggestions by the public, that it was another robbery by the prison escapees. The shop owners suffered minor injuries, when they fought off the two men who covered their faces when they held up the business. According to CCTV footage, a woman ran into the house and failed to close the door, when she was set upon by two unidentified men and assaulted. While she laid next to the door, a man of Asian origin was seen walking out, and ran back inside the house with the two men running after him. The second video footage showed a man of Asian origin dragged from the stairway by one of the invaders. The victim was seen fending off a machete from the second attacker and suffered from cuts to his hands. It is not known if the cash that was stolen by the criminals is the business daily takings. However, the Police Commissioner cautioned shop owners to bank their proceeds. We also want to urge the store owners to bank their daily earnings it shouldnt be stored within the home or store premises. The Police are doing everything they can to bring these culprits to face their crime and in the meantime, we continue to seek public assistance. If you have any information, please reach out to the police, he added. Vailoa village mayor, Nu'u Fagalilo Fagaialii, told this newspaper that they have made queries with their community on the identity of the thieves. So far what we know, the muggers who attacked the Chinese owners of One-and-One store are not from Vailoa, he said, and added that unless the culprits are from Vailoa, the village council will not be able to do anything. Fagaialii said drivers from a nearby taxi stand ran after the two thieves but were not able to catch them. A first time visitor has high expectations for his visit to Samoa. Australian Iain Bain but currently residing in Washington, D.C. in the United States for work is in Samoa for a two-week break. Im here with my wife, shes here for work, and Im tagging along to do a bit of relaxing, he told Samoa Observer. Doing a bit of work remotely but enjoying it here, you know its better to do it by the pool than back in the office at home, he added. The 30-year-old tourist hopes to soak up as much warm weather as possible before returning to the U.S.A. I live in the US in Washington DC and its snowing and very cold back there right now so its nice to get a bit of a break from that. Get some warm weather, bit of relaxing and I get to wear some shorts and t-shirt again, and do some scuba diving, looking forward to get a bit of swimming and getting into the water, he said with a smile. The transition from the cold to the warm has been okay, bit of humidity and everything just seemed a lot more relaxed here which I am looking forward to do a lot more of, he added. He said upon arrival he has been consuming a lot of seafood, saying his favourite is the coconut fish, a snapper maybe, sea bugs and prawns are pretty good too. The only other Polynesian Pacific Island nation he has visited is the Cook Islands and he says there are so many similarities between Samoa and the Cook Islands. Iain also told of his plans to hire a car in the weekend to visit the To Sua Ocean Trench and Lalomanu Beach. The Central Bank of Samoa is warning against promoting and presenting cryptocurrency in Samoa without proper license from the Bank. This is in accordance with the recently passed amendments to the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2007, a statement from the Bank said. Any promoter of virtual currency who contravenes this Act is subject to an imprisonment term or penalty fine, or both an imprisonment term and a fine. The bank is also reminding the public that cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, Onecoin, ethereum, EOS, Lite Coin etc. are not currencies issued or regulated by the bank. They do not have any legal tender status to be accepted as a currency in Samoa. Investment in such digital currencies is considered very risky and speculative in nature, said the statement. People who invest in any of the cryptocurrencies do so at their own risk. There is no guarantee that cryptocurrencies will be accepted as a medium of exchange, or will hold their value. The Central Bank does not currently endorse unregulated cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, Onecoin or any cryptocurrency that has been promoted in Samoa. Therefore, the Central bank does not encourage anyone to invest in any of them. Any person who wishes to promote cryptocurrency or digital currency is considered under the Money Laundering Prevention Amendment Act 2018 as a Financial Institution, said the statement. This means it must have a valid business licence issued in Samoa and is required to follow the Central Banks reporting requirements for Financial Institutions. The Central Bank has however acknowledged the potential use of blockchain and financial technology (FinTech), and is researching it as a platform for promoting financial inclusion in Samoa. A man has been sentenced to nine months imprisonment for stealing four bottles of wine value $550 tala and threatening to kill the victim. The accused, Matulio Mateo of Vaoala and Laulii was sentenced by Chief Justice, His Honourable Patu Tiavaasue Falefatu Sapolu 17 January 2019. Mateo was charged with one count of burglary, one charge of theft, one charge of threat to kill, one charge of using insulting words and one charged of being armed with a dangerous weapon. He pleaded guilty to all the charges. According to summary of facts on the 19 November 2018 the accused went to the house where the victim, who is a foreigner, was staying at Tiapapata as tenant, and stole four bottles of wine of a total value of $550. When the victim returned home in the afternoon, she noticed that her bottles of wine were missing. She then heard the accused making noise outside the fence of her home. When she walked to the accused who was holding a bush knife, he threatened to kill her and said insulting words. The victim then rushed back to her house and contacted her landlord for help. When the landlord arrived with two of his workers, they approached the accused who was walking away. Later when the landlords workers called out to the accused to return, the accused uttered insulting words and continued walking. The police were contacted and when they arrived they apprehended the accused and took him to the police station for questioning. Mateo is 26-years-old and works on his familys plantation at Vaoala. A family testimonial could not be obtained by the probation service, as the accused was not able to provide the contact details of any family member. The accused has previous convictions for burglary and theft from December 2015, for which he was convicted and sentenced to 12-months supervision and 100 hours of community service. He was also ordered to attend the Toemanatu rehabilitation programme and the alcohol and drugs programmes, with the condition that he must stay away from Vaoala and Vailima during the duration of his sentence. The accused complied with his sentence. When the new offence was committed, the accused had moved back to Vaoala where he works on his familys plantation. In his ruling, Justice Patu said it is unfortunate that foreigners working or doing business in Samoa are often the victims of burglary and theft offenses. This calls for a deterrent sentence. Having regard to the aggravating features of the offending, I will take a starting point for sentence of 9 months. I will add on 3 months for previous convictions. That increases the starting point to 12 months. Three months are deducted for the early guilty plea. That leaves 9 months. The accused is convicted and sentenced to 9-months imprisonment on each of the burglary and theft charges. He is also convicted and sentenced to 6-months imprisonment on the charge of threat to kill, one month imprisonment on the charge of using insulting words, and 4 months imprisonment on the charge of being armed with a dangerous weapon. Any time the accused has already spent in custody is to be deducted from that sentence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said here that the time has come for the global community to "come together" and "go beyond words" to act against terrorism, as he expressed his gratitude for South Korea's support in the wake of the Pulwama attack. Addressing the media on the second day of his two-day visit after his talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Modi said: "I express my gratitude to President Moon for his condolences on Pulwama attack last week and his support against terror." He said the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India's Home Ministry and South Korea's National Police Agency will further forward the counter-terrorism agenda. "Time has come for the global community to come together and go beyond words to act against terrorism," he said. At least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were killed in the worst-ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy hit the state in 1989. A Jaish-e-Mohammad operative on February 14 rammed an explosive laden SUV into a CRPF bus on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Pulwama. Modi said both New Delhi and Seoul are committed to strengthen their mutual and global cooperation to combat terrorism. He said the defence sector is an important part of the country's growing partnership with South Korea. "And induction of K-9 Vajra artillery gun in Indian Army ia an example of this friendship. "To increase cooperation with South Korea in the defence sector, we have agreed to make a roadmap for defence technology and co-production," he said. He also welcomed the partnership of South Korean companies in the defence industrial corridors being built. The bilateral relations between the two nations have reached new heights, he said, adding that the special strategic partnership that New Delhi-Seoul shares is "very significant" even for the world. Modi is on two-day visit to South Korea. Later in the day, he will be accorded with the Seoul Peace Prize. Uttar Pradesh DGP O.P. Singh Two terrorist suspects from Jammu and Kashmir have been arrested from Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh, Director General of Police O.P. Singh said on Friday. Talking to reporters, he said the two were caught by the Anti-Terror Squad of the Uttar Pradesh police on the basis of intelligence inputs. Singh said that the two owed allegiance to the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit and while one, Shahnawaz, hailed from Kulgam, the other, Aquib, was from Pulwama district. Two weapons and some cartridges were recovered from the two. Gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir A gunfight erupted on Friday between the security forces and militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore town, police said. Upon receiving a tip-off about the militants, the security forces started a search operation in Warpora village. "As the cordon around the hiding militants was tightened, they fired at the security forces triggering the ongoing encounter," the police said. Authorities have suspended mobile Internet services in Sopore and adjoining areas. Restrictions have been imposed in the town to maintain law and order. By SA Commercial Prop News Addressing the colloquium, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said land is a key asset to drive development, the reform of which must address socio-economic issues. The ten-member expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform has its hands full with a looming deadline to submit a policy perspective to the Presidency that will drive land reform in the country. With a deadline of 15 March 2019 on the horizon, the panel held its second colloquium on land reform to present, debate and suggest ideas on how to deliver an effective, productive and just reform policy. The work of the panel is partly informed by a resolution of Parliament to consider expropriation of land without compensation. The colloquium saw industry players converge at Saint George Hotel in Centurion to thrash out challenges and possible solutions to land reform. Addressing the colloquium, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said land is a key asset to drive development, the reform of which must address socio-economic issues. Land is the centrepiece in the development strategy towards the South Africa we want. Land is the most important asset because that is where all activities take place. It is not just important for agriculture but anyone who has a business must have land. If you have a residence you must have land, said Dlamini-Zuma. In addition to development, the Minister expressed that land reform must address gender inequality. Gender equality and improved food security will require equality and access to ownership of land, said Dlamini-Zuma. In a 2017 report, the World Economic Forum (WEF) estimated that land and property can form up to 75% of a nations wealth and yet women, who make up three quarters of the worlds population, cannot prove they own the land on which they live or work. This, according to the WEF, is despite the fact that more than 400 million women farm and produce the majority of the worlds food supply. Sharing some of the work done by her commission, Chief Land Claims Commissioner Nomfundo Gobodo-Ntloko pointed the advisory panel to challenges to heed in their policy perspective. You often find that when you are faced with land claims, you have a layer of rights and you need to take account of all of those rights and you need to identify the correct beneficiary, said Gobodo-Ntloko. Entering into plenary sessions, delegates raised several issues that need to find expression in the much anticipated policy perspective. Among the issues raised is determining the rightful owners of land, economic use of the land once in the hands of claimants and claimants opting for cash over land. The University of the Western Cape's Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) chairperson, Professor Ben Cousins, said land reform must address inequality and environmental change amongst others. The colloquium will enter day two of its discussions on Saturday that will see delegates discuss land administration and the financing of land reform By SA Commercial Prop News Global Lift & Escalator Expo (GLE Expo) is an ideal platform for the elevator, escalator, components and accessories manufacturers to showcase their products and technologies. The Elevator and Escalator (E&E) industry is abuzz with the news of the Global Lift & Escalator Expo (GLE Expo) entering the African market. GLE Expo is an ideal platform for the elevator, escalator, components and accessories manufacturers to showcase their products and technologies. The event will take place on 27-29 August 2019 at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg. This opportunity has come in at the right time as the fast-growing economies, rapid urbanization and expanding population of Africa has caught the eye of numerous property investors and corporate occupiers, resulting in huge investments in the infrastructure market of the continent. The infrastructure market of Africa is expected to reach $24.3 billion by 2020. In almost all African markets, demand for high-quality retail, housing, office and industrial space continues to outstrip supply as international & local occupiers respond to new economic opportunities. African leaders have made infrastructure growth a pillar of the development strategy of the continent. Realising this opportunity has encouraged Virgo to bring the internationally renowned expo to the African market. GLE Expo will be an exclusive platform for global players to enter Africa market, identify business partners, engage with prospective buyers, widen knowledge, network with regional players and expand businesses to this continent. For buyers this will be an ideal opportunity to interact with global elevator industry players and witness latest products from around the world. GLE Expo Africa 2019 has already set the ball rolling and industry leaders like Schindler, SAEC- South African Elevator Company, IFE, Blain Hydraulics, Esquire Engineers India, Iraundi Spain, Projitech, Solutions for Elevating (S4E) etc. along with a large pavilion participation from China have already confirmed their participation. Many other players are in the process of signing up. The South African Government departments like the Department of Labour, Department of Tourism and other industry bodies have confirmed their support for this first of its kind expo to be held in the country. Commenting about the expo, Ms. Anitha Raghunath, Director, Virgo Communications and Exhibition Pvt. Ltd said Virgos vision is to create ideal platform for the global E&E industry players to explore potential market around the world. Thus, after successful shows in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the expo has been introduced in the African market. Virgo Communications has been in the exhibition industry for over 14 years and have organized 13 editions of E&E exhibitions and technical forums globally apart from other b2b exhibition on Power Transmission, Grinding Technology & Surface Finishing etc. For more information, visit: www.gleexpo.com Buzz! The event in Guwahati features headlining sets from Polyphia and Zygnema among others We all know that the Northeast is the center of rock and metal in the country (and has been for years, to be fair). Many titans of the genres have played at events in the region, and the massive crowds such gigs are famous for never fail to turn up. This weekends Fireball music festival is another event in the books. The festival features prog-rock band Polyphia, for whom Guwahati will be the last stop on a five-city India tour that has seen them visit Pune for Vh1 Supersonic, Bangalore and Silchar so far (Delhi tonight and Guwahati are the two remaining stops). The bands latest album New Levels New Devils is yet another feat in their discography, combining the proggy sounds of past releases with some math-rock and hip-hop influences; its a record that has enough technical wizardry for the pundits but is also fresh and a hell of a lot of fun to listen to. The event also has sets from Indian metal legends Zygnema, Voodoo Child, Tyrrhenian and Silver Tears. Its going to get heavy. For more details check out their Facebook Event page For booking tickets click here Check out music video of Zygnema below: Espanola, NM (87532) Today Thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Low 57F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Low 57F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Share Tweet Pin 0 shares Note all articles are independently researched and written by myself. However, if you buy via one of the links it may be an affiliate and I may earn a small commission. Yes, a Bowie kids book. Which goes by the name of David Bowie Little People, Big Dreams and is available to order now. I thought I had featured this series before, but a scan through the archive says not. Well, Ive not done a full search (there are thousands of finds), but none are jumping out at me. With that in mind, let me introduce it to you. The Little People, Big Dreams range is an ongoing series of books that have featured everyone from Marie Curie through to Coco Chanel and Ella Fitzgerald along with many many more. All female though, at least until recently. The range has now opened up to some male icons as well, with the next batch of releases featuring Stephen Hawking and Muhammad Ali as well as the man here, David Bowie. The books past and present follow a similar path, exploring in words and eye-catching imagery the lives of outstanding people and their ultimate achievements. But the important thing is that they all began life as a child with a dream. The books are available as board books with simple sentences for younger children or as hardback books (like this one), which are more expanded stories for early readers. Bowies story (presumably) skips some of his more controversial moments, as you would expect of a child-friendly book. In fact, this is a summary of what you get As a child, young David had a head full of songs and ideas. He was inspired by the pop and mod scenes in Britain to pick up the saxophone. After earning his stripes in some of the coolest bands in London, David splashed onto the solo scene. His songwriting talent and musical skill made him one of rock and rolls all-time greatest artists. This moving book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the musicians life. Perfect for a kids read and possibly of appeal to Bowie collectors too. Nice idea for a gift as well. The book is available to pre-order now ahead of the 2nd May release date, the price a discounted 7.19. Find out more about the book at Amazon Via Junior Hipster Secaucus, NJ -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/22/2019 --Hudson Regional Hospital, in partnership with Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli and the town of Secaucus have improved First Responder-patient communications by creating a File Of Life emergency medical information card program for Secaucus citizens. Registration in the national File of Life program involves filling out a foldable card with pertinent medical information. The card is placed in a red magnetic file that first-responders are trained to look for on the refrigerator or in the freezer, that assists them in providing care to patients even if they are not able to communicate at the time of the emergency. File of Life has been providing its life-saving information cards for more than two decades and is in 18 million homes nationwide. Hudson Regional Hospital's healthcare professionals will be available to assist residents in filling out their own free File of Life cards and provide free health screenings to anyone who registers at a series of Community Registration Events. The program will officially begin after it is announced at the Secaucus Mayor and Council Caucus meeting on Tues., Feb. 26th at 4:30 PM at 1203 Paterson Plank Road. "It's a simple way for citizens to ensure they are getting the best possible care in a medical emergency, and a great step towards building a healthier Secaucus," said Mayor Michael Gonnelli. "Medical emergencies can happen to anyone at any time, and a patients' confusion, panic or inability to provide information on current medical issues can interfere with their care," said Kristin Hyman, Chief of EMS for Hudson Regional Hospital. "The File for Life card can speak for them and can tell public safety dispatchers, police officers, firefighters and paramedics what steps to take to save their lives. Registration events will be held throughout the year at large residential complexes, public gathering places, and local businesses with the goal to have all Secaucus residents enrolled by the end of 2019. The hospital's Community Outreach Team representatives will come to to the homes of any Secaucus residents who are unable to attend these events due to mobility or health issues. Hudson Regional Hospital is the first hospital in Hudson County to offer the File for Life emergency medical card program. It intends to work with municipal and county officials to have all Secaucus residents registered by the end of 2019. A full list of Community Registration Events can be found at www.hudsonregionalhospital.com/about-us/events. For- and non-profit organizations interested in hosting an on-site Community Registration Event, or those requesting a free File for Life information packet can call or text 201-687-1107 or e-mail EMS@hudsonregionalhospital.com. Hudson Regional Hospital is located at the former Meadowlands Hospital facility at 55 Meadowlands Parkway in Secaucus. For more information about Hudson Regional Hospital, visit www.hudsonregionalhospital.com or call (201) 392-3100. About Hudson Regional Hospital Hudson Regional Hospital acquired its facility from Meadowlands Hospital in January 2018, with the mission to build a healthier community by providing exceptional care for all Hudson County residents through a significant investment in new technology including the da Vinci Robotic System, and access to more physician groups including some of the best physicians in the NYC-metro area. Hudson Regional Hospital's ER team provides around-the-clock comprehensive emergency care services that include short wait times, EMS/Ambulance On-Site 24/7, a fully-equipped EMS Lounge, 24/7 Access to Specialty Physicians and a multi-lingual staff. About File For Life Since 1995, almost 5,000 communities across the United States have implemented a File of Life program. File of Life is in 18 million homes nationwide with 900,000 being distributed last year alone. Within 21 years, the non-profit has gained the support of national and state civic organizations such as the American Red Cross, the National Council on Aging (N.C.O.A.) and AARP. The File of Life products have appeared prolifically in local press as well as major media outlets including NBC Nightly News. There are many testimonials available on their website, with stories of lives saved during a stroke, severe allergic reaction, diabetic emergency, and more. Seven doctors and nurses have been acquitted of negligence over the deaths of four infants from contaminated injections. The issue was whether the contamination was the fault of medical staff at Ewha Womans University Medical Center in Mok-dong, Seoul. The Seoul Southern District Court on Thursday found the four doctors and three nurses not guilty for lack of evidence proving a direct relationship between their negligence and the death of the newborns. On Dec. 16, 2017, four newborn babies in the pediatric intensive care unit died from sepsis within 80 minutes of each other. The police investigation discovered that the nutritional lipid solution they were injected with had been infected with citrobacter freundii bacteria. They found that nurses put the solution into the syringes without putting sterilized gloves on, and left the solution, which should be stored in refrigerator, at room temperature for over five hours. Articles Sorry, there are no recent results for popular articles. Images Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images. Russian lawyers support amendments to law on legal practice and advocacy RAPSI 13:49 22/02/2019 MOSCOW, February 22 (RAPSI) The Federal Chamber of Lawyers of Russia supports a bill aimed to amend the law on legal practice and advocacy in Russia according to Gennady Sharov, the acting President of the association. The Chamber has a strong stand with regard to the bill, in particular concerning the proposal to introduce success fees, on the condition the recommendations the Chambers Council made last September are taken into account, Sharov said. As the acting President pointed out, the Chamber seeks its Commission on Ethics to be authorized to review disciplinary cases initiated by the Chambers head instead of the suggested provision to transfer such disciplinary cases against lawyers to a regional chamber, of which such a lawyer is not a member. The Committee on State Building and Legislation of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, is to discuss the issues related to the development of the law on legal practice and advocacy next Monday. "I am a woman who has been humiliated by [An and Kim], while my pride as a wife was once again trampled upon during the trial," Min wrote in an emotional Facebook post on Thursday. An's wife Min Joo-won claims his former secretary's claim of rape is false and added that the two were merely "having an affair," and the former secretary, Kim Ji-eun, accuses Min of defamation. The scandal surrounding the rape conviction of ex-South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung has turned into a slanging match between supporters of both sides. She seems to be taking aim at a final appeal before the Supreme Court, after an appeals court sentenced An to three-and-a-half years behind bars. She also published text messages exchanged by her husband and his former secretary when An was still governor. "When I first saw the text message, I could not believe my eyes," she wrote. "The two were clearly in a relationship." In one message sent to other staff of the governor's office on Sept. 15, 2017, Kim wrote, "I don't think there is anyone other than the governor who can console me." And on Oct. 21, she wrote, "I would be willing to give everything to the governor." The messages were sent, shortly after the business trip to Switzerland where Kim claimed An raped her. But "Me Too" activists who support Kim accused Min of victim shaming. Suh Jung-wook at law firm Minjoo, said "It looks like Min is attempting to sway public opinion by using some text messages to gain the upper hand in the final trial." Yoon-Kim Ji-young at Konkuk University said, "Min is also a victim, but she's venting her frustrations not at her husband, but at Kim." Min claims that at one stage during a business trip she woke up to find Kim standing over their marital bed. An was jailed on a technical charge of coercing sex by force of authority since he and Kim had sex multiple times during business trips and rape would have been impossible to prove. Russian court to examine fraud case against manager of travel company ITAR-TASS 16:52 22/02/2019 MOSCOW, February 22 (RAPSI) A court in the Russian town of Angarsk is to review a case launched against a manager of the Natalie Tours company charged with fraud amounting to 2 million rubles ($30,500 at the current exchange rate), RAPSI has been told by the Prosecutor Generals Office press-service. The prosecution has approved and submitted to the court a criminal case against the manager, who stands charged with 13 counts of serious fraud committed in abuse of office. Investigators believe that the manager stole the money customers paid for their travel packages as she did not send booking applications and transfer the respective sums as payments for tourist services. The defendant, the press-service says, has pleaded guilty and paid the full amount of damages to the affected customers. Last year, an inspection carried by the Moscow prosecutors office resulted in the fraud case being launched against employees of the troubled Natalie Tours company. At that time, prosecutors found that Natalie Tours and Panorama Tour received over one million rubles (about $15,200) as payment for provision of tourist products and services that were not actually carried out. The criminal case was classified as fraud committed by an organized criminal group or on an especially large scale. In July of 2018, Natalie Tours reported cancellation of all tours and suspension of sales because of financial problems. Later, the company started paying compensations to clients for canceled tours. Natalie Tours, a tour operator on the Russian foreign tourist market, was founded in April 1992. In 2014, the companys amount of business was estimated at $850 million. Experts say alleged spy Paul Whelan is competent to stand trial lawyer Sergey Vedyashkin, Moskva news agency 11:57 22/02/2019 MOSCOW, February 22 (RAPSI) An expert evaluation of the mental condition of Paul Whelan charged with espionage had shown that he was competent to stand trial, Vladimir Zherebenkov, Whelans lawyer, told RAPSI on Friday. According to the lawyer, the investigation has been extended to May 28. The court is to examine the petition filed by investigators seeking to extend Whelans detention up to the same date this Friday. Whelan is a citizen of the U.S., Canada, Ireland and Great Britain. He is the chief safety officer of BorgWarner, an American worldwide automotive industry components and parts supplier. The foreigner was arrested in late 2018 during a spying mission, according to the Federal Security Service. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison. The Foreign Ministry of Russia reported earlier that papers classified as state secret were seized from Whelan during his arrest on December 28. If you are not redirected automatically, please follow this link Cirque Zuma Zuma, a troupe of acrobats, tumblers, singers, dancers and more, who made their U.S. TV debut on Americas Got Talent, will bring their high-energy show to Colden Auditorium on Sunday. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Korea's exports continued to decline last month due to falling semiconductor prices and the U.S.-China trade dispute. According to the Korea Customs Service on Thursday, exports in the first 20 days of February reached US$23.3 billion, down 11.7 percent compared to the same period of 2018. The main cause was a 27.1 percent plunge in money terms in shipments of semiconductors, which account for a fifth of Korea's total exports. Semiconductor prices have been falling since December of 2018. Exports of petrochemical products also fell 24.5 percent due to plunging global oil prices. By country, shipments to the U.S. rose 11.3 percent, but exports to China fell 13.6 percent. This appears to have been due to the U.S.-China trade dispute and China's slowing economic growth. Also, exports to the EU fell 18.2 percent, to Vietnam 6.2 percent and to Japan 12.5 percent. Imports also fell by 17.3 percent to $24.3 billion, but that still resulted in a $963 million trade deficit, and if the trend continues, this month could end the constant trade surplus Korea has enjoyed since February 2012. Korea's trade surplus has been plunging from $9.6 billion in September last year to $4.1 billion in December and $1.2 billion last month. "It is essential as a scientist that you evolve your opinion and your recommendations based on the data as it evolves. ... And that's the reason why I say people who then criticize me about that are actually criticizing science. That's the way science works. You work with the data you have at the time." Dr. Anthony Fauci The Italian government on Wednesday confirmed that the teenage daughter of acting North Korean Ambassador to Italy Jo Song-gil, who disappeared with his family last November, has been taken back to North Korea. Italian political leaders said it was clearly an abduction and the North should be held to account. In a statement, Italy's Foreign Ministry quoted the North Korean government as claiming in a note on Dec. 5 last year that Jo and his wife had left the embassy on Nov. 10, and that their 17-year-old daughter, "having expressed the wish to return to her country to stay with her grandparents, had returned there on [Nov. 14]... accompanied by some of the female staff of the embassy." In a Facebook comment, Italy's Deputy Foreign Minister Manlio di Stefano said if she was abducted on Italian soil it would be "a case of unprecedented seriousness" and "those responsible for this will pay." He added Italy should have protected her and she may be being tortured by one of the worst regimes in the world. There were a pair of Saxony Lutheran baseball players whos numbers were off the charts this season. Both of them received one of the states highest awards.Crusader seniors Eli Brown and Even though the St. Vincent girls soccer program moved up to Class 3 this last spring, the individual success has continued. Mary Schwartz earned a spot on the Missouri Soccer Coaches Association Perryville High School girls soccer team had one of its best seasons in program history, so it only makes sense that the team should receive state recognition. Three players were named to the Roth ready to take charge of Perryville football The excitement for Brent Roth is off the charts as he acclimates himself to his new position. Roth will enter into his dream job next fall when he takes over as the new head coach of Indians basketball continues improvement If a person were to ask St. Vincent boys basketball coach Bruce Valleroy how exactly his teams summer has been going, he couldnt have asked for a better start. St. Vincent participated Adams grateful to play soccer at Illinois College Saxony Lutheran senior Paul Adams has been playing soccer for quite a while, for much of his entire life. He developed a passion for the sport and will continue to grow and hopefully prosper at the Click Here For Our Local Sports Page We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Faced with the threat of logging in the Carmi area, conservationists are now seeking their own forestry licence to protect it. NDC does not 'own, sponsor' militias; some members do Asiedu Nketia The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has denied having militia groups in the party. Rather, the party says some of the partys members are behind the formation of some militia groups which have sympathies for the NDC. In a statement, signed and issued by the General Secretary, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia in reaction to President Akufo-Addo's proposal for the NPP and NDC to meet and take a decision on disbanding such groups, the NDC said The NDC blamed the party militia phenomenon on President Nana Akufo-Addo and stated: We wish to underscore the point that it was rather the New Patriotic Party (NPP) whilst in opposition and led by Candidate Akufo-Addo the current President of Ghana, which made an open declaration that it did not have confidence in the security services. Pursuant to this declaration, the NPP championed the formation of political vigilante groups across the ten (10) regions of Ghana. At all times, the leadership of the NPP have acknowledged these groups as part of their party structure, and have even gone to great lengths of bringing mercenaries from South Africa and Serbia to offer special training in weapon handling, combat, terror operations and the manufacture of security uniforms for these groups. Ghanaians may recall that the then NDC government had to arrest and repatriate three (3) of these mercenaries in March 2016. These events are still very fresh in the minds of Ghanaians. Below is a copy of the NDCs statement: For Immediate Release 22nd February 2019 PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDO MUST STOP THE EMPTY RHETORIC ON POLITICAL HOOLIGANISM AND ACT DECISIVELY NOW The National Democratic Congress has taken note of the call by President Akufo-Addo on the leadership of the NDC and the NPP to meet and discuss ways to voluntarily disband the activities of political party vigilante groups. We find it gratifying that at long last, President Akufo-Addo has openly acknowledged that the existence and activities of private and political militia groups pose serious threats to the security of this country. While we admit the fact that some individual members of the NDC are behind the formation and operation of private vigilante groups, the NDC as a corporate entity does not own, sponsor or subscribe to any political vigilante group. Indeed, the NDC does not believe in political violence and has always relied on the Ghana Police Service for security, both in government and out of government. We wish to underscore the point that it was rather the New Patriotic Party (NPP) whilst in opposition and led by Candidate Akufo-Addo the current President of Ghana, which made an open declaration that it did not have confidence in the security services. Pursuant to this declaration, the NPP championed the formation of political vigilante groups across the ten (10) regions of Ghana. At all times, the leadership of the NPP have acknowledged these groups as part of their party structure, and have even gone to great lengths of bringing mercenaries from South Africa and Serbia to offer special training in weapon handling, combat, terror operations and the manufacture of security uniforms for these groups. Ghanaians may recall that the then NDC government had to arrest and repatriate three (3) of these mercenaries in March 2016. These events are still very fresh in the minds of Ghanaians. Not long after the NPP assumed the reins of government in 2017, it would be recalled how these violent groups created and nurtured by the NPP in opposition, began to unleash a series of virulent and lethal attacks on innocent citizens and institutions of the state. We recall how DSP Nanka Bruce, a Senior Police officer, was brutally assaulted at the Flagstaff House, the seat of government. Similarly, attacks on the Regional Security Liaison Officer and an assault on a court of competent jurisdiction, both in Kumasi, attacks on the Tamale Teaching Hospital and a police station in Karaga, and unprovoked attacks on Contractors working on the UNDP Flats, are but a few of the uncountable attacks undertaken by these groups whilst state security agencies looked on helplessly. These marauding groups could be found in almost all the regions in Ghana, bearing names such as Invisible Forces, Delta Forces, Kandahar Boys, Bolgatanga Bull Dogs, Volta Crocodiles, among others. Following this worrying trend, calls were rife on the government to disband its vigilante groups including calls from prominent Ghanaian personalities like the Asantehene, Otumfour Osei Tutu II. However, instead of disbanding these violent groups, the National Security Minister rather assured their members of getting recruited into the National Security. A public appearance by some of these political thugs in Tema in 2017, where they further reechoed their demand to be recruited into state security agencies, seems to have driven the integration of these party thugs into mainstream state security (National Security). Thus, the Akufo-Addo government has institutionalised political hooliganism and violence by incorporating thugs with criminal backgrounds belonging to NPP militia groups into the National Security setup of Ghana. Indeed, this fact was corroborated by the Minister of National Security, Hon. Kan Dapaah when he appeared before the Short Commission a few days ago. The state-sponsored terrorism unleashed by NPP thugs on innocent civilians under the guise of National Security at the just ended Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election reinforces this fact. What is equally sad is that, at a time when there is hue and cry about the growing culture of political thuggery and hooliganism in the country, the Akufo-Addo government is secretly embarking on a new project of recruiting and training NPP thugs for the purposes of the 2020 General Elections. A recent investigation by Joy FM uncovered official correspondence from the Upper West Regional Security Liaison Officer to various NPP Constituency Chairmen to aid in the recruitment of able-bodied NPP thugs to be trained at the expense of the taxpayer. These revelations, coupled with the sad events of Ayawaso West Wuogon, clearly betray the lack of candour in the President's call. The NDC wishes to place on record that it was these countless acts of gross impunity, and the corresponding state inertia, which encouraged individual members of the party to constitute security groups in defence of their lives. Even though the NDC has not recognized these groups as part of its structure, the party has not insisted on their immediate disbandment. This is due to the unwillingness of President Akufo-Addo and the ruling NPP to disband their state-sponsored militia groups and the inertia of the Ghana Police Service to clamp down on the nefarious activities of these groups against NDC members. Notwithstanding the above position, the NDC is willing and ready to direct its members to desist from constituting security groups on the following conditions: 1. That the Akufo-Addo government takes immediate steps to disband and disarm the illegal Armed Force being maintained by the National Security Council, which is chaired by no less a person than the President of the Republic of Ghana. The government must take deliberate steps to purge all security agencies of these NPP thugs and hoodlums. 2. That the Akufo-Addo government immediately abandon its nefarious plans, and rather instruct all its agents in the Regions to halt the State-sanctioned recruitment of political party thugs for the purpose of the 2020 general election. 3. That in addition, the government and the NPP publicly denounce and disband, not just in word but also in deed, all their vigilante groups and political militias. We wish to add that government must take steps to bring to justice all the criminal elements, captured on a plethora of videos and pictures meting out disgusting atrocities to innocent civilians during the recent Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election. Additionally, we wish to reiterate our call on the Ashanti Regional Police Command to quickly apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators of the NDC Ashanti Regional Office shooting incident which happened a few days ago. We maintain that the said incident is purely criminal and must be treated as such. It is the view of the NDC that beyond his usual smoke and mirrors rhetorics, the President and his party, the NPP, must show a genuine and unwavering political will to undertake the above. Even though we welcome the Presidents call on us to meet with the NPP to discuss this matter, we do not believe that the phenomenon of political vigilantes, or better still militias, will be solved by dabbling in flowery verbiage. We believe firmly that the existing laws of this country are adequate in dealing with the menace of political hooliganism. What is needed is a genuine political will backed by corresponding actions. President Akufo-Addo must, therefore, stop the empty rhetoric and act now. Signed. COMRADE JOHNSON ASIEDU NKETIA GENERAL SECRETARY, NDC 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 NDC Holland Chapter in The Netherlands has endorsed former President, John Mahama as the most qualified person to lead the NDC into election 2020. The endorsement of the over seas branch of the party comes shortly before the flagbearership election of the NDC, slated for Saturday, February 23, 2019 at various centres across the country. A statement from the branch said, we, the Executives of the NDC Holland Chapter in The Netherlands, have unanimously pledged our unflinching support for flagbearer candidate Ex-President John Dramani Mahama. According to the group, their position was informed by research and a belief that the former President is the right person to lead the party at this time in history. The statement said the chapters support is notwithstanding the sterling qualities of the other candidates in the race. Notwithstanding the potentials and the strong calibers other six candidates have demonstrated in their bid to lead the great umbrella family, our executives have voted unanimously to support Mr. Mahamas bid. Our observations and scientific hypothesis have shown that the best and the most marketable candidate to stop Nana Akufo-Addo-led government to inflict more hardships on Ghanaians is Mr. John Mahama, the statement said. The NDC goes into Saturdays elections with the highest number of candidates since its formation. Seven persons have been crisscrossing the country selling their message and vision to delegates and hoping to find favour with them. They are, former President John Mahama, Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, Former Trades and Industry Minister, Ekow Spio-Garbrah, Former National Health Insurance Authority Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah, Former Vice Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra, Joshua Alabi and businessmen Goosie Tanoh and Nurudeen Iddrisu. But despite the standing of the above names in the party, the executives of the NDC Holland Chapter said, as far as we are concerned Mr. Mahama remains the best-known and most accomplished potential NDC candidate in the nation and the one capable of wrestling power from the inept, kleptocracy (sic), nepotistic, and super-incompetent NPP government. On how they arrived at the decision to endorse Mr Mahama, the group said it considered many factors including an analysis of the candidate's steadiness and responsiveness to political crashes, and we observed that Mr. John Mahama is stable, somber and sagacious. In terms of political experiences, Mr. John Mahama happened to stand tall among other candidates. He has served as Deputy Minister and Minister, MP for 12 years, a Vice-President and a President of the Nation, a record unmatched in the annals of Ghanaian politics. He has an impeccable record for economic development and his vision for infrastructure-driven development is a match to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Mr. Mahama has been hit by two suits challenging his eligibility to contest the partys election given his status as a former president of the Republic, though he served only one of the Constitutionally allowed two terms. The courts are yet to sit on the cases. But the Mahama Campaign has sought to discount those claims urging party supporters to disregard the suits and come out in their numbers to vote for Mr Mahama. Commenting on the legal challenge to Mr Mahamas candidature, the statement signed on behalf of the Chapter by its Chairman, Fred Morgan and Communications Officer, Lewis Kwame Obuobi Addo said Article 66 (1) and (2) of the 1992 Constitution does not bar Mr. Mahama from running a second term as some evil elements [are] peddling around. If Ex-President John Mahama was eligible to contest for 7th December 2016 election, what prohibits him now from not contesting this time? Indeed, Article 60 (6) and (7) of the Constitution exonerates him from any legal challenges. This is the first time Mr. Mahama is facing competition in his quest to lead the NDC as flagbearer. He became President through a constitutional transfer of power following the demise in office of former President Professor John Mills in 2012. He was then Vice President. The NDC which was four months to elections endorsed him at a party congress. Mr Mahama as President, again stood unopposed at the partys congress ahead of election 2016. The NDC operates an expanded electoral college system made up of delegates numbering over three hundred thousand drawn from all levels of the party including its foreign branches. Below is the full text of the statement from the NDC Holland Chapter in The Netherlands: NDC HOLLAND CHAPTER SUPPORTS MR. JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMAS BID We, the Executives of the NDC Holland Chapter in The Netherlands, have unanimously pledged our unflinching support for flagbearer candidate Ex-President John Dramani Mahama. Notwithstanding the potentials and the strong calibers other six candidates have demonstrated in their bid to lead the great umbrella family, our executives have voted unanimously to support Mr. Mahamas bid. Our observations and scientific hypothesis have shown that the best and the most marketable candidate to stop Nana Akufo-Addo-led government to inflict more hardships on Ghanaians is Mr. John Mahama. And as far as we are concerned Mr. Mahama remains the best-known and most accomplished potential NDC candidate in the nation. We would also like to state categorically that Article 66 (1) and (2) of the 1992 Constitution does not bar Mr. Mahama from running a second term as some evil elements peddling around. If Ex-President John Mahama was eligible to contest for 7th December 2016 election, what prohibits him now from not contesting this time? Indeed Article 60 (6) and (7) of the Constitution exonerates him from any legal challenges. On this note, we unequivocally support his comeback to wrestling power from the inept, kleptocracy, nepotistic, and super-incompetent NPP government. The Executives took into consideration so many factors to arrive at its conclusion. First, we looked at the candidate's steadiness and responsiveness to political crashes, and we observed that Mr. John Mahama is stable, somber and sagacious. In terms of political experiences, Mr. John Mahama happened to stand tall among other candidates. He has served as Deputy Minister and Minister, MP for 12 years, a Vice-President and a President of the Nation, a record unmatched in the annals of Ghanaian politics. He has an impeccable record for economic development and his vision for infrastructure-driven development is a match to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. It would be recalled that when Mr. John Mahama was busy putting up massive infrastructures across the country, the NPP went about telling Ghanaians that infrastructures did not put monies in peoples pockets. But today President Nana Akufo-Addo is selling our resources to China for the same infrastructures he condemned. While Mr. John Mahama championing Progressively Free SHS Policy, and by so doing started building numerous E-Block schools to increase the intake of SHS students, Nana Akufo-Addo confused voters with his unplanned free SHS. Today, Ghana stands isolated as the only country using double-track system. Sad enough, free SHS has rather become more expensive and a burden for parents. Prior to 2016 general election NPP boasted of having the crop of experts and patriots to transform the economy within two years, and after promising to protect the national pulse, President Akufo-Addo did the opposite by creating 110 ministers, appointed almost 1000 staff at the Presidency. They said to have arrested the Cedi and given the key to the IGP, but today the Cedi is on free-range, and businesses are collapsing, importers are crying, people are crying, and financial institutions are crashing. The so-called economic gurus are now hiding in their doldrums. All these and more vindicate Mr. John Mahama. After closely monitored the massive crowd that Mr. John Mahamas campaign tours attract, and after following what is trending on social media, we came to a final conclusion that the best candidate for NDC is Ex-President John Mahama. It is vividly clear that Nana Akufo-Addo and his cohorts hatched a scheme to lie to voters to come to power. And we believe most voters have regretted wasting their votes on President Akufo-Addo/Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia government. Therefore Mr. John Mahama versus Nana Akufo-Addo rematch would be the riveting political story in Ghanaian history. However, our more concern is the choice of the Vice-Presidential candidate. Vice presidential selection can be something of an open-ended mess, creating as many problems for a candidate as it can help with an election. The vice-presidential selection is intended to be an electoral plus, adding balance to the ticket and hopefully greater voter appeal. In view of this we would also appeal to Ex-President John Mahama to nominate a vice-presidential candidate which will bring a regional balance, should he emerge as the flagbearer. Finally, we encourage our national delegates to support Ex-President John Mahamas bid to put to rest unnecessarily challenges which bring wrangles in parties. We believe Ghanaians want to be rescued from economic hardship, unemployment, massive corruption, and super-incompetent family and friends style of governance. We wish to encourage our Party Elders, National Executives, and Executives in Diasporas to come together as a united family to support a candidate who would lead the NDC to a resounding victory in 2020. God Bless Ghana! God Bless NDC! y Zu, y Za -------Signed--------- Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A Korean man who was hospitalized after falling off a cliff in the Grand Canyon in the U.S. last December is on his way back to Korea on Friday thanks to donations from his college. The cost for his transfer alone is around W25 million, on top of over W1 billion in hospital bills (US$1=W1,126). Professors and staff from Donga University in Busan made the donation for his transfer, and flagship carrier Korean Air put eight seats together to lay him out during the flight. His return to Korea had been delayed due to the prohibitive medical costs. Park flew to Canada in late 2017 to attend a language school and spent a year there. He decided to tour the U.S. on his way back home and made reservations through a local tour agency to visit the Grand Canyon in December last year, where he fell from a cliff. He was in coma for about 40 days. Former President John Dramani Mahama has expressed disappointment in his successor, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for describing the violence during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election as an isolated incident. He said if the president had borne the brunt of the violence, he would not have described the events as such. The former president was commenting on the incident in an interview on Accra-based Radio Gold. Despite the widely condemned violence, President Akufo-Addo had congratulated the winner, Lydia Seyram Alhassan, in a statement. The three-time leader of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) had described events during the by-elections as isolated. The violence during the January 31 by-election led to gunshots fired, particularly around the residence of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate. Gunshots were fired at the residence of Delali Kwasi Brempong, whose party withdrew from the by-elections A scuffle at the La Bawaleshie Presbyterian Polling Station involving uniformed men said to be National Security Council operatives has received nationwide condemnation. The masked men are believed to be trained militia of the NPP. They attacked all manner of persons including Member of Parliament of Ningo Prampram Constituency Sam Nartey George. It looked like Afghanistan, Mr Mahama said in the interview on Friday. You cant believe this is Ghana. The former president had already met with the diplomatic community to apprise them of how events unfolded at Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency. He said the issues have to be dealt with immediately. This comes a day after President Akufo-Addo called on leadership of both the NPP and the NDC to meet to voluntarily disband all militias within their folds. Akufo-Addo wants NPP, NDC to disband vigilante groups or else He said the security agencies will be on stand-by for an outcome of the meeting. The president at the delivery of his State of the Nation address on Thursday said he will initiate a legislation on the matter if the parties are not able to come out with a feasible resolution. Source: 3news.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 President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in delivering his 3rd State of the Nation Address [SONA] on the floor of parliament on Thursday, 21st February, 2019 has verified that the struggles of our fore-fathers will never be left to go down the drain under his watch. He further recalled that the efforts of our forefathers which have brought us this far will never be left to blemish as far as he remains the leader of the land. . . Our forbearers paid too high a price, with their blood and toil, to bequeath to us this beautiful nation; the lives of our citizens are too precious to waste, he told Parliament. President Akufo-Addo urged citizens to keep the second stanza of our national anthem as our emotional motto in order to keep the fight of our forefathers forever glowing. So, let us come together shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand and let us all be guided by the inspirational words of (the second stanza of) our national anthem: Hail to thy name, O Ghana, To thee we make our solemn vow: Steadfast to build together A nation strong in Unity; With our gifts of mind and strength of arm, Whether night or day, in the midst of storm, In every need, whatever the call may be, To serve thee, Ghana, now and for evermore. The President again admitted that the country is faced with challenges but in all its challenges it is not worse off. Mr. Speaker, we have our challenges, but our nation is in good health . . . May God bless us all, and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong, he said. Source: Elizabeth Semiheva Bedi/Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The mortal remains of Abdul Wasihu, 35, a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Taskforce, who was shot and killed by a member of another vigilante group of the party called The Hawks on Monday, will be buried today barring any last-minute hitches. The autopsy was reportedly performed on his body and authorities at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), who were ready to release the body to the bereaved family for burial, were stopped at the eleventh-hour yesterday by the Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC) due to security reasons. DAILY GUIDE has gathered that REGSEC reportedly ordered that Wasihus body should be released to the bereaved family on Wednesday morning for burial in accordance with Islamic traditions at the Tafo Cemetery in Kumasi. Mortuary Invasion In the ensuing heat, scores of youth from Zongo communities in Kumasi besieged the KATH morgue on Tuesday morning and demanded the immediate release of Wasihus body for burial. According to the Zongo youth, Wasihu, a Muslim, should be buried immediately in accordance with Islamic traditions. Police/Military Intervention The strong demand of Wasihus body for burial compelled REGSEC to deploy armed military and police team to ensure law and order at KATH. Tears Flow People who gathered at the family house of the late Wasihu at Sawaba Junction, which is located in the Asokore Mampong Municipality, on Tuesday morning, wept uncontrollably. Later a sister to the late Wasihu, who was identified as Maame Ladi, said Wasihu was eating in the house around 10am on Monday when he was called on phone to travel to the NDC Office. She said a few hours later, she heard reports that Wasihu had been shot dead and the body deposited at the morgue. Maame Ladi was of the opinion that Wasius death was sanctioned by Allah and therefore nobody should try to avenge Wasihus death, saying let my brother rest in peace. She said the entire family is staunchly behind the NDC, noting that Wasihu was not active in politics so they were surprised about his death. Mothers Death Reports in Kumasi indicated that Wasihus mother was a dyed-in-the-wool NDC member, who died few months ago during an NDC function. Wasihus mother, reportedly, shouted in ecstasy to welcome former President John Mahama and in the process, she collapsed and died at the Central Mosque in Kumasi few months ago. Mr. Mahama was in Kumasi to campaign ahead of the upcoming NDC presidential polls. Fatal Shooting Abdul Wasihu was a member of the NDC Taskforce, a vigilante group of the largest opposition political party in the country in Kumasi. He was shot dead while his other colleague, Abdul Rahman aka West, also sustained gunshot wounds after they were attacked by members of the Hawks, another NDC vigilante group. The bloody incident happened when Asiedu Nketiah, Ofosu Ampofo, and other NDC gurus were resolving problems in the NDC in the Ashanti Region at the partys office on Monday. The NDC gurus who were afraid reportedly had to flee through windows to save their lives. 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 Reverend Doctor Joseph K.K. Baisie, Assemblies of God, Greater Accra East Regional Superintendent, has pleaded with all churches in the country to watch the level of noise they make during service. Rev. Dr. Baisie, speaking at the first Regional Council Meeting, stated that, I make a solemn plea to all churches to take a critical look at noise making. He noted that modern trends and changes in societal preferences had put a demand on changing the way churches dealt with noise pollution in their localities. He suggested that churches must work at reducing the noise they make drastically while considering sound-proofing their auditoriums if their resources would allow. The reverend minister also urged government and district assemblies and traditional leaders to allocate places in communities for churches and religious buildings to avoid conflict with residents. He advised residents not to take the law into their hands by attacking churches in their localities for perceived noise making and disturbances in their vicinities. Two churches at Haatso in the Greater Accra Region were recently ordered by an Accra High Court to pay damages of GH40,000.00 to two residents of the area for excessive noise making and for being a nuisance to the community. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is said to have found that the noise level by the churches ranged between a minimum of 76 decible and maximum of 86 decible which was way above the permissible daytime noise level of 55 decible for residential areas. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has presented 140 vehicles, comprising 50 Ankai buses, 40 Toyota Landcruiser Hardbody Vehicles and 50 Toyota Hilux Pickups, to the Ghana Armed Forces, in fulfillment of an October 2018 pledge he made to the military. President Akufo-Addo also indicated that an additional 48 vehicles, representing the second tranche of staff and operational vehicles to the Armed Forces, will be presented soon. The President made this known on Friday, 22nd February, 2019, at an event at Burma Camp, headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces. He noted that presentation forms part of my governments efforts to re-equip and retool the Armed Forces with the needed logistics to enable you discharge your duties more efficiently and more effectively. President Akufo-Addo also commissioned the newly constructed Command Officers Mess, a project started by the previous administration, and completed and fully furnished under the current leadership of the Ministry and Military High Command. As Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, the President told the officers, men and women of the Armed Forces that our vision of ensuring equitable distribution of development, progress and prosperity to all parts of the country can only be made possible in an atmosphere of peace and security. We are determined to continue in this vein, and meet the needs of the Armed Forces. C-in-C durbar Addressing a durbar of some 1,000 officers, men and women at a durbar held at Burma Hall, President Akufo-Addo noted that his Government has stayed true to its commitment to the Ghana Armed Forces. One of my first acts as President was to increase the United Nations Peacekeeping Troops contribution allowances from $30 to $35 per soldier per day. We also cleared the outstanding arrears of $13 million for all peacekeeping personnel, and ensured that the contingents in the Gambia were paid all their allowances in full, he said. Additionally, he told the gathering that Government has settled the 11.1% of arrears due to the civilian employees, with effect from January 2018, and have ensured a 10% upward salary review for all personnel. The completion of the 3rd Phase of the 37 Military Hospital, President Akufo-Addo said, is receiving due attention, and we are also focused on completing and commissioning the 500-bed Military Hospital in the Ashanti Region, and beginning the third phase of this project soon. On infrastructure, the President work is on-going on the barracks regeneration projects. The four blocks of 16 flats each, for which I cut the sod during my last visit here, are between 60 to 75% complete. He continued, As I indicated yesterday, in my message to Parliament on the state of the nation, we will provide the Army with 30 Otokar Armored Personnel Carriers (APC), and 6 fast patrol boats for the Navy. With respect to the Air Force, two of the M.I 17 helicopters have been sent for overhauling. One has returned, and the other will be in the jurisdiction shortly. Funds have been released to extend the flying hours for the third helicopter. Similarly, when we took office, all three of the CASA C295 transport aircrafts had broken down. We have fixed one of them, and the remaining two have been sent out of the country for overhauling. One is due back in the country in April, and the other in October. President Akufo-Addo indicated further L.I 1332, which is seeking to change the length of service of the men and women of the other ranks of the Ghana Armed Forces from 25 to 30 years and the associated career progression plan, has been reviewed, laid and passed by Parliament, and will be implemented this year as planned. The effect of this policy is that troops can continue to serve for a maximum of 30 years, as opposed to the previous set duration of 25 years. However, one is permitted to apply to leave at any time, through the laid down procedure, he added. Before concluding, the President implored the Armed Forces to maintain their neutrality and professionalism guaranteed under the Constitution. Governments have term limits, and in a multi-party democracy, parties win and lose power. It is good for the health of the nation that this is so, and this is why the Armed Forces should not tie its well-being or otherwise to the fortunes of the ruling party of the day, he said. The President also called on the media to be circumspect in their reportage on the military, and desist from attributing political motives to matters that are purely professional. 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 The mine operations at the Namdini concession in the Upper East Region is under serious threat following gun violence and terror activities in Atulbabisi in Bolga and also the border communities in Burkina Faso. All these gun-related and terror activities happened in communities close to the mine concession. This threat and fear come after last week gun violence in Atulbabisi a community in Bolgatanga close to the mine concession. Two police officers who were on peacekeeping duties at Atulbabisi in the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East Region were shot by unidentified gunmen on Monday, February 11, 2019. The police officers were on duty near the palace of one of the chiefs in the Bolgatanga Traditional Area on Monday night when the incident happened. Also, there were serious bombings in some communities in Burkina Faso, thats close to the border towns in Ghana. French news outlet NEWS24 reported on Friday, February 15, 2019, about a bomb hidden in a corpse dressed in military uniform exploded and killed an army doctor and wounded two police officers in northern Burkina Faso, a security official said on Thursday. Soldiers and police were sent to inspect the male body after it was discovered abandoned on a road close to the border town of Djibo. Burkina Faso, in the heart of Africas vast Sahel region, is struggling with a bloody Islamist insurgency as well as bouts of social unrest. Last week saw three attacks, one of which killed five members of the security forces on the same day the president hosted a regional summit on the fight against terrorism. Many industry players in the mining sector see the activities of this armed groups in the communities near the Namdini concession in the Upper East Region and the border towns in Burkina Faso as a serious threat to the successful operations of the mine. Namdini is located within the Birimian terrane of Northeastern Ghana which is billion years old. Uncomfortable Volta Basin sediments obscure the great majority of Birimian terrane in eastern and central 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. The major rainy season has not yet begun, although parts of the country have recently been experiencing rains. We are not yet in the rainy season. We are only at a point of transitioning from the dry season into the rainy season. Mr. Michael Padi, Senior Meteorologist at the Ghana Meteorological Agency, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview, that the dry harmattan season was tapering off to make way for the major rainy season. He said the Southern part of the country was expected to experience its first and major rainy season between the middle and ending of March and Northern Ghana, around May. Mr. Padi said the Southern part of the country, thus, would occasionally see isolated thunder storms and rains, especially the high ground and forest areas. He said Accra for example experienced cases of isolated rainfall, with some areas having torrential rains, while others had just a few showers. Mr. Padi said Northern Ghana would continue to be dry and slightly hazy with some occasional showers, but the dryness will pertain. He explained that during the pre-rainy season period, rainfall in the Northern part of the country would typically occur around the western parts of the area. Touching on farming activities, Mr. Padi said farmers could plant drought resistant plants now, and wait till the actual rainy season to plant crops that required a lot more water such as maize. The senior meteorologist said the extreme atmospheric heat currently pertaining in the country, was just a natural result of the present movement of the sun towards the equator. By the latter part of March, we will be along the equator. The heat will, thus, progress into April. Mr. Padi said the heat in the atmosphere would thus peak in April, when the sun would be directly above us. He said occasional rainfall during the period would, however, cause periods of relief by reducing the heat from time to time. Mr. Padi said with the dry season just ending, the ground was generally hard, which caused water to easily pile up instead of sinking. He said this easily caused flooding, and made it very necessary for drains and gutters to be de-silted, to allow the free flow of water and in effect, prevent flooding. The senior meteorologist also hinted that the pre-rainy season showers could easily be accompanied by very strong winds, as was the case about a fortnight ago in Kumasi. He urged the public to either strengthen or destroy weak structures, and avoid situations of such structures collapsing and causing either death or injury. Mr. Padi also advised that people should not seek shelter under trees when it got cloudy, because some of them could easily be uprooted by the strong winds. Southern Ghana has two rainy seasons, which are the major and minor rainy seasons, whilst Northern Ghana has a single and major rainy season. Both regions however experience the harmattan or dry season. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The statement that came out was not what Menzgold customers were expecting from government. We were expecting a solution in tackling this issue rather than giving adviseswe are never happy about the statement brought up by the president. This issue has affected a lot of customersweve recorded so many deaths and others are on their sick beds. The above are remarks from some aggrieved customers of defunct gold dealership firm, Menzgold, expressing disappointment in President Akufo-Addo over comments he passed in relation to the company when the latter read his third State of the Nation Address (SoNA) in Parliament on Thursday. It appears the disgruntled customers were looking forward to "a solution in tackling this issue and not words of counsel. The President on Thursday called on Ghanaians to pick lessons from the Menzgold saga. This is a tragic phenomenon that appears to have occurred in plain sight, and affected a lot of people, in spite of warnings from official institutions,...as the authorities try to unravel the intricacies of what happened, I admonish all Ghanaians to learn the necessary lessons for the future, even as State institutions work to bring a resolution to the matter, and those who are seen to have indulged in criminal activities, are brought to justice, he said. But Timothy Binob, Spokesperson for the Coalition of Aggrieved Customers, believes thepresident could have done better. He said government institutions are to be blamed for their current predicament; hence, the need for government to help them in retrieving their monies. According to him, we were expecting President to tell us a specific date we will be collecting our monies because it was through government intervention that has brought, we the customers into this situation. The mess was created by the institution of government which did not do their work welland that is making customers suffer today. Government has a duty to protect our investment; to make sure that every financial institution is properly licensed before it comes into being. Did Menzgold come from a vacuum? They were licensed and this company was in the system for five yearswhat were they (authorities) doing when they could have stopped them long time since they had no license to operate. Until we get our monies from government, he (Akufo-Addo) is not receiving any applause from us. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Thus, as long as they personally are not being investigated for abuse, bishops "have the right to refuse to answer questions from the judiciary," Zanardi told a news conference in the Chamber of Deputies, Parliament's lower house. Francesco Zanardi, who heads an Italian survivors' advocacy group, said Italy must revise its 1929 Lateran Treaty with the Holy See. He noted that under that agreement, bishops can refuse to respond to magistrates investigating their alleged roles in hiding pedophile crimes by priests. A U.S. state legislator joined an Italian lawmaker and American and Italian victims of pedophile clergy at the Italian Parliament on Thursday to put a spotlight on what they described as significant gaps in how the Italian justice system handles the problem. U.S. and Italian advocates for victims of pedophile priests are pressing for Italy to overhaul legislation that allows bishops to dodge accountability for predator clergy in the predominantly Roman Catholic country where the church wields considerable political influence. The same treaty, he noted, also requires magistrates to inform church hierarchy they have started investigations of priests, effectively giving bishops more time to possibly discourage witnesses or victims from coming forward. Italian law doesn't require bishops to denounce cases of abuse by clergy, Zanardi said. "There is a legislative vacuum," he said. The Catholic church holds a privileged place in Italian society and wields significant influence in politics. Parishes in small towns and big cities alike run after-school and weekend recreation programs for youngsters, since public schools don't offer them. That gives priests easy access to minors. A U.S. advocate for accountability for pedophile priests noted that the American Catholic church was forced to "be more transparent" after victims came forward as adults when several states opened windows on statutes of limitations. That nudged U.S. bishops to adopt a "zero tolerance" policy toward abusive priests. But the Italian church still allows itself to beguided by canon law, which "gives the priest a second chance"and "leaves it to the bishop's discretion" on whether a priest should be punished or removed from children, said Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org. Earlier this month, Italy was taken to task by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for its failure to properly police the Catholic church . The committee called for an independent inquiry into what it said was the abnormally low number of investigations and prosecutions of child sex abuse committed by priests. With priests considered respected figures in Italian society, the words of Pennsylvania state Rep. Mark Rozzi sounded unusually blunt when he told how he was raped by a priest when he was 13, and howevery time he showers, he still shudders at that memory. As he has campaigned in his home state, Rozzi urged Italian lawmakers to open up windows of opportunity in statutes of limitations so adults can denounce abuse suffered as children. Rozzi drew on his own experience when he wondered aloud whether a 13-year-old would know what is meant by a statute of limitations. Zanardi said only one pedophile priest is now in prison, out of 144 convictions in the last 10 years. Italian judges tend to let convicted clergy serve sentences under house arrest, he said. Unlike in the United States, "in Italy, the scandals haven't done anything," Zanardi said. He and Rozzi embraced in a symbolic joining of forces to change that. The overall performance of the Greater Accra Region (GAR) dropped from its previous ranking as a highly performing region, to a moderately accomplishing one. A Regional Assessment Report for the Greater Accra Region (GAR) using the Ghana Health Services (GHS) Holistic Assessment Tool, rated the region within the second highest quintile, with the objective score indicating a moderately performance and assigned the colour light green. Dr Charity Sarpong, the Regional Director of Health Services, said the GAR was in 2017 rated as the overall best and assigned the colour deep green indicating a high performance, but it was sad that it lost its status due to a number of challenges. She urged all health staff not to be discouraged, but to be motivated by the summery of key regional strengths that were identified and highlighted in the Report, and rather go back and work harder to attain the desired objectives. She thanked the Western Regional Team for comprehensive and holistic assessment of the health of the GAR. Dr Atsu Dodor, a Deputy Director for Clinical Care, who was also the Lead Assessor of the Western Regional Team, gave highlights of the Report and a summary of weaknesses that needed to be addressed. He mentioned some of the weakness identified as the concentration of health facilities and staff in Accra Metropolis, socio-cultural and religious beliefs and practices that affected adherence to prescribed medicines at Ante-Natal Clinics and also skilled delivery. Other weaknesses such as the absence of a Policy on screening for Hypertension and Diabetes, late referrals and case management at facilities, as well as challenges with Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Quasi-Government and some private facilities not reporting into District Health Information Management System, (DHIMS), contributed to the regression in the record outcomes. Dr Dodor said there were also issues with cause of death certification and data entry, also the lack of vehicles for monitoring, framework contract-affecting tracer medicine availability, as well as the non-release and inability to access of the Government of Ghana budget. He however, gave key summary of the Regions strengths as the formation of partnerships with institutions such as the One Ghana Cedi Project, Ghana Post, and the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital among others, Collection of Family Planning data from private facilities and pharmacies, and the institution of home visits and community pregnancy schools. Dr Dodor also cited the institution of the maternal death auditing and the Hospital Peer Review exercise as a great initiative, as well as the high health facility density in the Region as an added advantage to ensuring Universal Health Coverage and consequently the Sustainable Development Goals. Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service thanked all the staff of the Service for their hard work and dedication, and urged them to accept the challenges as learning points to get to the top. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The clients of Menzgold Ghana Limited have been handed a lifeline in their quest to recoup their deposits from the troubled gold dealership firm. The Minister of Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta during an interaction with officers of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) at the Burma Camp in Accra on Friday, February 22, assured the officers that the assets of Menzgold CEO, Nana Appiah Mensah will be liquidated to repay the deposits of the clients of the troubled company. He said the government was in the process of liquidating properties and assets of Nana Appiah Mensah to repay the clients of the firm who are due over GH200 million. "I think we have come up with the realisation that maybe over 200 million... is outstanding... He [Nana Appiah Mensah] has been apprehended in Dubai and I am sure a committee will be put together to see how to liquidate and whatever it is that can be found can be given to those who gave money," Mr Ofori-Atta said. "But, government is not going to be spending for issues of this nature where we are very clear that it is not licensed and you know the risks that you have taken". Why gov't won't pay Menzgold customers The Finance Minister's explanation on Friday was in response to an appeal by some soldiers who had invested in Menzgold and had used the opportunity of an interaction with President Akufo-Addo at the Burma Camp to call on government for help. President Akufo-Addo who was with the Finance Minister rather asked him to respond to the soldiers' appeal. Background In December 2018, 53 soldiers dragged Menzgold to the High Court for failing to pay back their total investment of GH2.5 million. The plaintiffs from the Ghana Navy, the Ghana Air Force and the Ghana Army are praying the High Court to order a refund of their money. According to the plaintiffs, all efforts to retrieve the money had been unsuccessful. Per the writ of summons, they want the court to order a refund of their money, ranging between GH18,000 and GH244,000. The amounts quoted on the filed court documents represented the plaintiffs principal. The plaintiffs argued that even if the defendant claims that it cannot pay their interest, they are entitled to their principals. Nana Appiah Mensah alias NAM 1 is currently standing trial in Dubai, where he is facing a misdemeanour charge over a US$23 million deal, gone bad. Source: graphic.com.gh Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ghana needs not less than US$ 2 billion to enable it fully complete the agriculture and industrialization value chain. This would help the country to develop its raw material base, added value to its products and to remain competitive on the export market. ADI is very optimistic that this support to the agro and industry sector would help to stem the speed depreciation of the countrys fiat currency, the cedi. The countrys industry is about 80 percent agriculture base from small to medium enterprises which could be scaled up just like the farmer inputs so we can add value to modern emerging non-traditional commodities such as cashew, dry mangoes, dry pineapples, avocado, coconut, sweet potato among others and also the expansion of the coca processing industry, then we can see the whole agriculture and industrialization value chain full completed, disclosed by the Alliance for Development and Industrialization, (ADI), a policy think tank. ADI believes an expanded and reliable production of agricultural produce will form a very important base for the industrialization drive, create modern jobs, expand the exports base, and reduce the amount of foreign exchange spend on food imports. The ADI is calling on the Ministry of finance and the bank of Ghana as matter of urgency to issue a US$2 billion bounds to support this initiative for both short and long term commodities. This bounds could be preferably be sourced from both the local and international markets. Ghana spends over US$2 billion every year importing food. For example, the country imports over a billion dollars of rice, US$320 million of sugar, and US$374 million of poultry. Most of these could be produced here; creating jobs and saving foreign exchange. According to the ADI, the US$2 billion investment into the agriculture sector would improve the income levels of rural people since there is an industrial and international demand for their non-traditional commodities such sweet potato, avocado, tiger nuts among others. We are also asking the International Donor Agencies to support farmers that are into coconut farming, sweet potato, vegetables etc as it would save the economy as demand from Europe is on the rise. There is the need to establish special ports receiving in both the European and the UK markets for them to be ready to receive the commodities for redistribution, the statement said. In Ghana, about 34 percent of the countrys workforce is in agriculture. Therefore, if we can raise productivity and incomes in agriculture, we can positively impact the lives of millions of Ghanaians the statement said. Following a year of implementation of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJs) Programme, the agricultural sector witnessed a growth rate of 8.4 percent in 2017. This was after almost a decade of erratic sector performance with an average growth rate of 3.4 percent. For 2019, the Agriculture Sector is expected to grow by 7.3 percent. Government implemented an expanded version of the PFJ in 2018 with more ambitious targets. Compared with a target of 500,000 farmers, a total of 577,000 farmers were supplied with subsidized fertilizers and seeds for the 2018 cropping season. Source: The Ghanaian Observer 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 Iran's General Soleimani warns Pakistan against Saudi attempts to destroy it 02/22/19 Source: Press TV Iran's Major General Qassem Soleimani has cautioned Pakistan against the true intentions behind Saudi Arabia's pumping of billions of dollars into its troubled economy, saying the Riyadh regime is after breaking the Asian state apart by pitting it against its neighbors. Major General Qassem Soleimani, The commander Islamic Revolution Guards Corps's Quds Force The commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) once again vowed on Thursday that Tehran will avenge the blood of those who lost their lives in last week's bloody attack carried out by Pakistan-based terrorists in southeastern Iran. It worries Iran that the Pakistani nation and government allow Saudi money to end up in the hands of these Takfiri terrorists, said the senior general, adding, "Saudi-sponsored terrorists on Pakistani soil are causing trouble for all of the country's neighbors, and Pakistan must fully realize this matter." "We tell the people of Pakistan that they should not permit Saudi Arabia to destroy their country with its money," said Major General Soleimani, adding that the Asian country must not turn into a place for activities that disturb regional states such as Iran, India and Afghanistan. Last week, a bomber -- identified by the IRGC as Pakistani national Hafiz Mohammad Ali -- slammed his explosives-laden vehicle into a bus carrying off-duty members of the elite Iranian force in Sistan and Baluchestan Province bordering Pakistan, killing 27 of them. The Pakistan-based Jaish ul-Adl Takfiri terrorist group -- which has ties to al-Qaeda and the Al Saud regime -- claimed responsibility. In the wake of the fatal terror attack, the IRGC warned Saudi Arabia and its vassal state, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), of retaliatory measures for backing the terrorists on behalf of the US and the Israeli regime. It also urged Pakistan to change its policy towards Jaish ul-Adl. Soleimani further said Iran does not want mere condolences, but concrete action from neighboring Pakistan, asking, "Can't you, as a nuclear-armed state, deal with a hundreds-strong terrorist group in the region?" "Iran is a safe neighbor for Pakistan and we will not threaten this country, but we will exact revenge against the Takfiri mercenaries, who have the blood of our youths on their hands" no matter where in the world they are," Soleimani said. The assault preceded a controversial visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to cash-strapped Pakistan, where he received a lavish welcome. During bin Salman's stay, Riyadh and Islamabad inked several agreements in diverse sectors worth as much as $20bn for Pakistan, which is in desperate need of cash amid its central bank's severe lack of foreign reserves. The Saudi royal's visit also coincided with a fresh wave of tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. The tensions broke out last week when 44 Indian troops lost their lives in a bomb attack in New Delhi-controlled Kashmir claimed by Pakistan-based militants. New Delhi accuses Islamabad of being behind the assault. In Afghanistan, Pakistan also stands accused of supporting the militants operating against the Kabul government. Abuse of 11-Year-Old Child Bride in Iran Sees Some Lawmakers Calling for Reforms 02/22/19 Source: Center for Human Rights in Iran *Editor's Note: This story includes disturbing details. News of an 11-year-old girl in the Iranian city of Ilam being repeatedly raped after being illegally married off to a man four times her age has renewed protests by some members of Parliament against the law that allows child marriage. The child, referred to by the pseudo name of "Raha" by media outlets, was placed in the care of the State Welfare Organization (SWO) following the intervention of a provincial prosecutor because the marriage had taken place without the approval of a local court as required by civil law. But thousands of other child brides remain at grave risk in Iran, where there is no minimum marriageable age. For girls under the age of 13 and boys under the age of 15, families and husbands must obtain legal approval for the marriage. In December 2018, the parliamentary Committee for Judicial and Legal Affairs rejected a bill to ban marriage for girls under the age of 13, prompting widespread condemnation from civil rights advocates. According to UNICEF, 17 percent of girls in Iran are married before the age of 18 and three percent are married before the age of 15. This number only accounts for registered marriages. In July 2016, Mohammad Kazemi, a member of Parliament's Judicial and Legal Affairs Committee, referenced the "unofficial marriages" that go unregistered in Iran "especially in the border regions and deprived parts of the country." "Uprooting the child marriage phenomenon requires a multi-dimensional effort in cultural, social and educational fields," a lawyer who focused on rights issues when they were based in Iran told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). "But the most immediate step has to be the government putting an end to the law that in effect permits physical and psychological violence against young girls," added the source who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Imam Ali Society (IAS), an Iran-based non-governmental charity that provides support to vulnerable women and children throughout the country, was the first to report the news about Raha being married off to a man who is "almost 50 years old." "Raha was saved from becoming a slave under a law that does not prevent and punish child marriages," tweeted the organization on February 11, 2019 referring to the fact that Raha would not have been removed from the home if her family had obtained the necessary legal approvals. "Figures show that just in 1395 [the Iranian year ending in March 2017], 1,289 marriages were registered of girls under the age of 14 to men over the age of 30," said another tweet. "In 112 of those cases, the marriages were under circumstances similar to Raha's, meaning the men were over the age of 40, and in six cases the men were over the age of 60!" "Raha was lucky that her compatriots were able to hear her story. But what about the other children who are being traded far from public view?" asked IAS. IAS group member Zahra Kahram said Raha's case was accidentally discovered during the implementation of a project aimed at providing medical and psychological checkups to women in a rural part of Ilam Province's Helilan region. "The man has seven children from his first wife," said Kahram. "Raha has not reached puberty and yet he has been having intercourse with her every night. She has suffered much physical and mental harm and cries constantly." "When the IAS looked into the marriage, we noticed that Raha had been forced to marry the man six months earlier in exchange for only 15 million tomans [approximately $3,147 USD] paid to her family because of financial need." Later inquiries revealed that the marriage had taken place without fulfilling requirements stipulated in Article 1041 of the Civil Code including getting the father's consent or the court's approval for girls getting married before the age 13. Article 50 of Iran's Family Protection Law stipulates punishment of six months imprisonment for men who get married without the necessary legal approvals and six months jail time for the child's father or legal guardian. It also states that if it is proven that sexual relations caused a girl's death or "permanent physical disability or illness," the man would have to pay blood money and receive a fifth- or fourth-degree prison sentence. According to Islamic law, Diyah, known as "blood money" in English, is paid as financial compensation to the victim or heirs of a victim in cases of murder, bodily harm, or property damage In response to inquiries by the IAS and the SWO, Raha was placed in state care and moved to an SWO safe house. Warrants were also issued for the arrest of her father and the man she was married to. The latter was reportedly arrested on February 11. Growing Condemnation of Child Marriages Word of Raha's case led to renewed condemnation of the unlimited marriageable age in Iran. Labor and Social Welfare Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari and a number of lawmakers condemned the case and criticized child marriages despite the taboo in Iran of openly criticizing politically sensitive state policies. The day after Raha's case was reported, Ayatollah Asadollah Bayat Zanjani, a Shia theologian, also issued a fatwa stating that child marriage violates the principles of Islam. "Getting married to children is an unjust act and because it's unjust it is not legitimate," he said. There are several ayatollahs in Iran who can issue fatwas and Shia Muslims can choose which of these ayatollahs to follow as their point of reference for religious matters. That means a Shia Muslim could ignore Zanjani's fatwa if a different ayatollah has declared the opposite. Zahra Saie, a member of the Parliamentary Committee for Social Affairs, also condemned child marriage after hearing about Raha's case. "The studies we have carried out show that those who marry early have a higher divorce rate and naturally as a result suffer more," said Saie, a member of Parliament's Youth Faction. "Physiologically, the girls are more frail at that age." She added: "In order to properly raise their children, today's mothers have to be educated and informed. Men and women have to be in a particular physical and mental condition in order for a successful family to take shape. Young girls and boys who get married don't have a full understanding of life. Islamic theology does not restrict marriage at a certain age but if we want successful families we have to see what is the right age for marriage." Reacting to the prosecutor's decision to remove Raha from the man's home, attorney Ali Mojtahedzade tweeted: "When a public defender, despite legal shortcomings, steps in to deal with a child marriage in Ilam, it is an indication that society has become more sensitive and concerned about these issues regardless of the powerful opponents." Journalist and political activist Reza Bahrami asked: "Those who are against banning child marriage, do they have anything to say about the tragic case of an 11-year-old child marrying a 50-year-old man in Ilam?" Journalist Hedie Kimiaee commented: "The prosecutor in Ilam has said that families who violate Article 50 of the Family Protection Law will be prosecuted. So that means we do have a law but we are not enforcing it. What is being done for other Rahas who are quietly victimized?" Legal Efforts to Ban Marriages to Girls Under the Age of 13 Although the Parliamentary Committee for Legal and Judicial Affairs rejected a proposal to confront child marriages, there is still a possibility that it will be debated on the legislative floor. "The Women's Faction has asked the parliamentary leadership to include this proposal in the legislative process for further review so that we can look into various points of view and get the best results," said lawmaker Zahra Saie. Masoumeh Ebtekar, Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, also announced that her office is drafting a bill to eliminate Article 1041's provision allowing the marriage of girls under the age of 13 and boys under the age of 15. artwork by Laleh Ziaei, Iranian daily Ghanoon Imran Khan Resumes Pakistan's Old Habits 02/22/19 By Shireen T. Hunter (source: LobeLog) Two terrorist attacks occurred almost simultaneously, on February 12 and February 14, in Indian-administered Kashmir and in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan province. The target of both attacks were military and paramilitary personnel. Jaish Muhammad claimed responsibility for the first, Jaish ul-Adl for the second. These incidents coincided with the visit to Pakistan of Saudi Arabia's crown prince , Mohammad bin Salman (MbS), thus raising the question of whether the attack in Iran was designed to please the visiting prince. The attack in India, however, defies this logic, since MbS visited New Delhi on February 19. Yet, given the fact that MbS has said that he will try to reduce India-Pakistan tensions, there might even be a Saudi angle to the Kashmir attack. Perhaps Saudi Arabia wants to discourage India from cooperating with Iran, especially since preventing the development of the Chabahar port adds another link to Iran's chain of economic strangulation. During his visit, MbS promised to invest $ 100 billion in India. Such a substantial investment could seriously cool New Delhi's enthusiasm for cooperation with Tehran. Pakistan has denied any involvement in either of the attacks and has challenged both Tehran and New Delhi to offer concrete evidence of its involvement. This, however, is a strange demand, since terrorists rarely leave traces that could link them to their sponsors. However, Iran has captured two Pakistani citizens involved in the operation. The suicide bomber apparently was a Pakistani named Hafiz Muhammad Ali. Since Iran faces a number of current problems including severe sanctions and other pressures, it will not be able to retaliate against Pakistan. For more than two decades, terrorists based on the Pakistani side of the Pakistan-Iran border have been going into Iran and committing bombings and other atrocities before withdrawing into their hideaways in Pakistan. Iran's repeated pleas to Pakistan to do more to control its border with Iran have gone unheeded. Pakistan is very skilled in sweet-talking Iran with never-fulfilled promises of better monitoring the common border and punishing perpetrators of terror acts. It has sent delegations ostensibly to look into the matter, knowing full well that Iran would not dare pursue the terrorists into Pakistani territory. Such an action not only would trigger a harsh response from the Pakistani military, which is not exactly fond of Iran, but could also be used as a casus belli by Iran's other enemies, including Saudi Arabia and even the United States, to attack it. The latest incident, however, must have been particularly bitter for Iran because it had set such store on new Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his promises of improving relations with Tehran. However, Tehran has only itself to blame for this disappointment, for it has ignored Pakistan's realities and the changes the country has undergone in the last half century as well as its financial dependence on Saudi Arabia. It was clear from the beginning that Imran Khan's ability to refocus and rebalance Pakistan's foreign policy was limited. The military determines the broad outlines of Islamabad's foreign policy, and no prime minister can defy the military brass. The so-called opening to Iran, meanwhile, was a bargaining tool to scare Riyadh into increasing its financial and other support. Given that Saudi Arabia has already deposited $3 billion in Pakistan's accounts and has promised an investment package reportedly worth $20 billion, the gambit seems to have paid off. India, however, is another story. Islamabad cannot count on New Dehli's passivity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised retaliation over the killing of 44 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir. Pakistan has become sufficiently alarmed to ask the UN secretary general to intervene and prevent the escalation of tensions. If India retaliates against Pakistan, other states, especially America, are unlikely to come to Pakistan's aid. The United States needs India to balance China. Even China, despite its close relations with Pakistan, would not want to become involved in the dispute. Facing extremism in its Muslim-inhabited regions, Beijing must worry about the influence of Pakistan-based Sunni extremist groups and will recalibrate its ties to Islamabad accordingly. Moreover, China is interested in Iran and does not seek its destabilization. In the long run, Pakistan cannot take Iran's passivity for granted either. Thus far, Tehran has not followed a national and realist foreign policy and has counted too much on Islamic bonds in regulating its relations with its neighbors, including Pakistan. But a more pragmatic approach to foreign relations could see closer Iran-India ties, which potentially could limit Pakistan's ability to act on its eastern front. More importantly, a national and pragmatic foreign policy could end Iran's current isolation and thus force Pakistan to think twice before committing terrorist acts on the territory of a so-called friendly nation. But as long as Iran's current conditions and behavior persist, Pakistan and others will continue to take advantage of it at every turn. About the Author: Shireen T. Hunter is a Research Professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. She is the author of God On Our Side: Religion, Foreign Policy and International Affairs (Rowman & Littlefield, December 2016). Her latest book is Arab-iranian Relations: Dynamics of Conflict and Accommodation (Rowman & Littlefield, forthcoming May 2019). News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. Donald Trump Called Miley Cyrus to Say How Much He 'Loved' Her Twerking at the VMAs (Cue Barfing) By Mike Redmond | Celebrity | February 22, 2019 | Like every week since the presidential election shattered reality over a century ago, its been a non-stop barrage of crazy sh*t: A murderous Coast Guard officer, a fake hate crime, Bernie dragging us all back to primary hell, and a very special poop mystery. Understandably, things are going to get lost in the mix, like a reminder from Miley Cyrus that our president is a perverted, day-glo bullfrog who enjoys a comely young lass grinding where the mushroom dong doth live. For example: I said young, right? Because that is definitely a factor. Via Huffington Post: Now, somebody who a lot of people dont give credit to but in actuality is really beautiful is Paris Hilton, he said. Ive known Paris Hilton from the time shes 12, her parents are friends of mine, and the first time I saw her she walked into the room and I said, Who the hell is that? So with that information making it impossible to shut your eyes ever again, it makes all kind of sense that Donald Trump is exactly the kind of egotistical wang who watched Miley Cyrus twerk all over the 2013 MTV VMAs and thought to himself, I bet if I call her, that stuff could happen to me even though itd be way better if it was Ivanka. So, so much better Vanity Fair reports: Her 2013 MTV VMA performance is now the stuff of pop-culturaleven presidentiallore. The day after, while Cyrus was staying at Trump Tower in New York, Cyrus woke up to a call from Donald himself, who wanted to congratulate her on her extremely twerk-heavy performance. I loved it, he said. And now hes our president, Cyrus says, sighing. You know, I said I would move away if he became president. We all said a bunch of shit we didnt mean. Because we really thought: Maybe people will listen. Maybe people actually realize how detrimental this will be to our fucking country if this happens. Obviously they didnt. But for me to move awaywhat the fuck is that going to change? As someone who is so proud of being an activist, am I going to feel proud of myself just running away from, and leaving everyone else here to live under, a completely racist, sexist, hateful asshole? You cant leave everyone else to fend for themselves. Now, youre probably wondering how an adulterous, alleged sexual abuser who calls up young celebrities and says, Hey, love your butt stuff, could possibly win 80 percent of the evangelical vote, they literally believe hes the modern equivalent of a Persian king from The Bible who God chose to rule during a time of chaos. Yup. From Vox: The comparison comes up frequently in the evangelical world. Many evangelical speakers and media outlets compare Trump to Cyrus, a historical Persian king who, in the sixth century BCE, conquered Babylon and ended the Babylonian captivity, a period during which Israelites had been forcibly resettled in exile. This allowed Jews to return to the area now known as Israel and build a temple in Jerusalem. Cyrus is referenced most prominently in the Old Testament book of Isaiah, in which he appears as a figure of deliverance. Were all gonna die. Bob Kraft, Billionaire Owner of the New England Patriots, Busted for Soliciting Prostitutes | Motorcyclicst Helps Woman Catch Her Runaway Horse Mike is a Staff Contributor living in Pennsyltucky. You can follow him on Twitter. Header Image Source: YouTube/MTV Pompeo said he is "very hopeful" Kim "will fulfill the promises that he made in Singapore last year" at the first U.S.-North Korea summit for Pyongyang's "complete denuclearization." His comments came a week ahead of President Donald Trump's second summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi. "The American people should know we have the toughest economic sanctions that have ever been placed on North Korea, and we won't release that pressure until such time as we're confident we've substantially reduced that risk," the top U.S. diplomat told NBC's Today show. The U.S. does not intend to ease its economic sanctions against North Korea until it is confident Pyongyang has "substantially reduced" the threat it poses as a nuclear-armed country, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday. The pact after the Singapore summit, however, did not spell out how and when North Korea would disarm, and U.S. intelligence reports suggest Kim has not moved to destroy his nuclear arsenal. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told a congressional panel last month that North Korea "has halted its provocative behavior" by refraining from missile tests and nuclear tests for more than a year. "As well, Kim Jong-un continues to demonstrate openness to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Coats said. Despite the end to testing, Coats said, "We currently assess that North Korea will seek to retain its [weapons of mass destruction] capabilities, and is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities." "Our assessment is bolstered by our observations of some activity that is inconsistent with full denuclearization," he added. Coats said the North Korean leader and the rest of the country's rulers "view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival." The recent assessment is at sharp odds with Trump's boast after returning to Washington after the June Singapore summit: "Just landed -- a long trip, but everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office. There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea." Pompeo said denuclearization is "what we have to get for the American people. We have to reduce the threat of a nuclear-armed North Korea. And then in turn, we can work on peace and security on the peninsula and a brighter future for the North Korean people." Pompeo said he hopes Trump and Kim will take a "truly historic step forward" at their meeting in the Vietnamese capital. Do you appreciate the work we do as the only independent media outlet dedicated to serving OU students, faculty, staff and alumni on campus and around the world for more than 100 years? Then consider helping fund our endeavors. Around the world, communities are grappling with what journalism is worth and how to fund the civic good that robust news organizations can generate. We believe The OU Daily and Crimson Quarterly magazine provide real value to this community both now by covering OU, and tomorrow by helping launch the careers of media professionals. If youre able, please SUPPORT US TODAY FOR AS LITTLE AS $1. You can make a one-time donation or a recurring pledge. Oswego, NY (13126) Today Considerable cloudiness. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 88F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. Low 73F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Guests are invited to observe the mine-sweeping and EOD results. (Photo by Yin Bo) By Wang Yunlong and Yin Bo LEBANON, Feb. 22, (ChinaMil) -- The Chinese and Cambodian peacekeeping forces to Lebanon conducted the first safe and efficient mine sweeping and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) discussion at the camp of Chinese peacekeeping troops in Lebanon and the minefield near the UN demarcated Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon on February 19 in 2019. Commander of the Chinese peacekeeping troops to Lebanon had a formal discussion with his Cambodian counterpart Colonel Luk Saray regarding safe and efficient mine-sweeping experience, and carried out in-depth exchanges on issues that both parties are concerned about, such as the construction of peacekeeping forces, humanitarian relief, and emergency defense practices. The two sides also held intensive discussions on issues such as maneuver security, handling of complex situations, as well as the equipment configuration in the construction of an EOD group following the adjustment stipulated in the new memorandum of understanding (MOU) in the process of mine sweeping. "The Chinese and Cambodian mine-sweeping detachments are the only two professional forces with both mine clearance and EOD certifications in the mission area, so it is of great significance for the two sides to strengthen cooperation and exchanges to improve their abilities to accomplish relevant missions" said Colonel Saray. As of today, the 17th Chinese peacekeeping multifunctional engineer detachment to Lebanon has accumulatively cleared 6,078 square meters of minefields, found and destructed 1,213 land mines and one piece of unexploded ordnance (UXO). They have also completed the maintenance for 15 channels and conducted 23 times of task surveys for boundary markers known as the "Bucket of Peace" near the Blue Line. It is reported that the Chinese minesweepers have set many records for obtaining the mine clearance and EOD qualification certifications and operating on the minefield in the shortest time as well as clearing the first land mine as quick as possible since their deployment on May 22, 2018. You begin your kayak trip at Silver Spring State Park in Ocala, where the outfitter rents clear-bottom kayaks as well as other kayaks and canoes. You can see the best of the river in two hours of out-and-back paddling. (Its not hard to paddle upstream.) But, unless it is an off season weekday (as it was for us in early December), the outfitter will pick you up five miles downstream and livery you back to the state park. If livery service is available, I recommend the downstream trip. During a recent Star Wars Guided Tour at Hollywood Studios, tour guides Tabitha Venkersammy and Lynn Lorenz shared this and other information about the movie franchise and the attractions it inspired. This is a way to basically package all of those wonderful things about our Star Wars offerings that many of our guests come to experience and put those all together and bring along a knowledgeable tour guide that literally takes you along the journey, he said. They can walk you through not just what you would see on a regular basis but also kind of give you the inside scoop into whats going on and some fun facts and trivia that you may not know. The question always comes up as to why theres a need to acknowledge black history. The achievements and inventions created by African Americans werent created simply to profit minorities but to enrich the lives of all Americans and people all over the world. Thanks to the Freedmans Aid Society volunteers and others like them, who had the vision to understand that when you lend a hand to someone in need, regardless of beliefs, color, or economic background, its an investment in a future that benefits us all. Not that long ago -- in my parents lives, in fact -- actors in minstrel shows wore blackface to mimic and mock African Americans. These performances were based in contempt and gave people an opportunity to act out their prejudices. Fast forward to today, and Florida Secretary of State Michael Ertel resigned last month after it came to light that he dressed up as a Hurricane Katrina victim for Halloween and darkened his skin with makeup. Then came the recent stories of the multiple statewide officials in Virginia who did the same in the 1980s. And now, again here in Florida, Rep. Anthony Sabatini of Lake County is facing resignation calls for donning blackface as a costume in school. Decades later, when I was lucky enough to write a feature in the same paper, I realized what a huge influence Jean Yothers had been on me how she had broadened my horizons during years when little girls looked at their lives ahead and asked one another, Do you want to be a mommy or a teacher? Those seemed to be the options. The numbers should demonstrate that "establishment" Democrats should welcome Bernie supporters, which they often try to ignore or shame into voting for obvious Wall Street-funded candidates. His approval rating is 75 percent among Democrats and 85 percent of his base will not vote for anyone else. Bernie Sanders runs as a Democrat in the primary elections because the two-party system in this country makes it impossible to get into state and national debates, and get on election ballots without party affiliation, which is not fair to the candidates or the majority of voters. The largest block of voters in this country now identify as independents! Now, 17 years in, I am highly disappointed how this program has been funded. Before VPK, my classroom was full of 4-year-olds whose parents saw the value in a full-time program. Now that the state has decided that 540 instructional hours is all these students need, this is all most want to pay for. This averages out to 3 hours a day, much less than is needed to prepare a child for their testing upon entering kindergarten after two months off, in their first 30 days of school. Among the speakers is Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell, who will be in Room 414-B. His topic will be The 21st Century Newsroom: Covering politics in Florida the Good, the Bad and the Crazy! On the whole, we think Holly Bobrowski is the best pick of the three. She would bring some discipline to meetings that all three candidates agree are too long and too disorganized. Long meetings might seem like a small thing but just try sitting through one when you're waiting for something on the agenda. It's maddening. Bobrowski has a firm grasp of parliamentary procedure and how it can expedite meetings while giving everyone the chance to speak. David Turpin, 57, also was charged with perjury and one count of a lewd act on a child under the age of 14. Those charges and the others not covered by the deal are expected to be dismissed at a sentencing hearing set for April 19. At each committee stop, I believe the two chambers have moved closer. I think by the time we put the bills on the floor, we will have them aligned, bill sponsor Rep. Ray Rodrigues, an Estero Republican who has shepherded the Houses marijuana-related legislation in recent years, told reporters after Thursdays meeting. What the people of Venezuela have endured and continue enduring at the hands of an oppressive and tyrannical regime is heart-wrenching, Flores said. Granting Venezuelans temporary protected status will shield them from deportation during a time when their homeland is in utmost turmoil. I didnt know what was going on. But I got banged up pretty bad. When the dust settled, everyone was telling me about how the guy was making all these homophobic slurs about our group, because hey, listen, we travel in cliques. We queer people, we stick together, Smith said. I dont remember if the guy was drunk or what his deal was, but he started lashing out. It was like a full-fledged gay-bashing. I think when you honor the principles that make our country unique, our country is better for it, DeSantis said. That was one of the reasons I thought it was appropriate to pardon the Groveland Four because that clearly was an example where our values were not honored. Then, as if on cue and it wasnt the Beep jerked to a sudden stop to avoid bumping into a TV reporter who stood in its programmed path to demonstrate how the multi-sensor technology allows the vehicle to interact with its environment. "What really bothers me is that [Whelan's] right to defense is being restricted," Zherebenkov said. Although a lawyer has the right to meet a client without limits on the number or duration of visits under Russian law, he said, "we have not been given opportunity to meet sufficiently." He said this was ostensibly because of "a shortage" of meeting space where Whelan is being held, a problem he views as "artificial." The defense attorney even offered to have Whelan stay at his Moscow apartment under house arrest but was turned down, he said. When the officer identified himself to the youths and ordered them to stop, they turned on him and hit him multiple times, including a punch to the back of the head, before fleeing, police said. Women appeared to be living at the site, according to a police report. There were two rooms with beds, sheets and pillows, as well as dressers with personal items and a refrigerator full of food. A website identified in the police report as a place where men post reviews of massage parlors listed 18 reviews for Orchids of Asia. The site identifies the ethnicity of the masseuse as Asian and said the establishment charges $49 for a half-hour, $75 for an hour and $125 for 90 minutes. My understanding, from my years of experience, is that the role of the provost, that he or she was ultimately responsible for the E&G allocation of the university, she said, adding that the provost was making all the final decisions and recommendations to the president, and then they would both sign off on that document as their authorization but not Merck, the CFO. Feb. 13: Polled by the Sentinel, 10 of UCFs 13 trustees say they support Whittaker serving out his four-year contract. His leadership has been, and will continue to be, essential to UCF, Garvy says in a statement. Whittaker says he appreciates the backing, adding in an email, UCF has a bright future, and I am in it for the long haul. Meanwhile, state Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, causes a stir during a House Higher Education Appropriations subcommittee when he floats the idea of a five- and 10-year potential shutdown of UCF over the scandal. He later says his comments were not meant to be taken literally but that he sought to make a point with UCF officials he didn't think were taking the controversy seriously enough. I regret that during my tenure there have been allegations that have hurt the department and the City of Orlando, Williams said in a letter submitted Thursday afternoon. While I categorically deny the allegations against me, I believe the focus of the Orlando Fire Department should be on serving and protecting the residents of Orlando and not on my leadership or my position. We believe this is a dangerous product... Francis said. There are probably thousands and thousands of people who are being impacted or have been impacted by the use of this product all over the United States and we believe this is something that becomes an issue for the public. As the political rhetoric continues to divide us, I firmly believe it's us in this room, were the ones that are going to come up with innovative, disruptive changes that our nation and the world desperately needs, said Carmona, who sits on the advisory board for the Impact Forum. I said, Man, why are there so many horn players here? And they were like, Well, the only other place we have to practice is in our cars, Moore said. My favorite time to be in the shop is at 10 oclock on Thursday night. The whole coffee shop is smiling. You feel it. The threat of rising seas to coastal cities in Hampton Roads is coming into sharper focus, with helpful assists from studies, summits and working groups. But rural residents living along the waterlogged rim of the Chesapeake Bay, watching as marshes migrate inland and swallow chunks of their property or nearby access roads, have yet to make it onto most radars. So much of the focus is on urbanized areas, said Lewis Lawrence, executive director of the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission. What is the city of Norfolk going to do? What is the city of Virginia Beach going to do? You never read about adaptation needs in rural coastal communities. We dont matter. We are not on peoples radar. But everybody is important. Add in other challenges to rural life in the Chesapeake access to health care, broadband and jobs, flood insurance premiums through the roof, sagging real estate values and often onerous environmental regulations and what you get are property owners who decide to pack up and migrate, themselves. I call it a coastal cancer. And it is slowly just chewing up literally and figuratively the value of our communities. Lewis Lawrence, executive director of Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission I call it a coastal cancer, said Lawrence. And it is slowly just chewing up literally and figuratively the value of our communities. These changes are happening at a slow pace, said environmental anthropologist Elizabeth Van Dolah at the University of Maryland, College Park. But theyre sneaking up on people in such a way that theyre realizing, Oh, my gosh, all of the sudden Ive lost half of my property because of this. And theyre kind of at a loss as to what to do about it. Van Dolah and her colleague, Christy Miller Hesed, have studied how residents of rural coastal communities wrestle not only with the water, but with bureaucracies ill-equipped to help them. The pair presented their work at a recent summit on marsh resilience held in Williamsburg. Adjust expectations Rural property loss from marsh migration is a growing challenge locally as sea level rise continues to accelerate along the mid-Atlantic coast. Researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science recently mapped out how roads and buildings in Gloucester County will fare by 2050 and 2100 under current rates of rise. They enlisted graduate students at VIMS as well as public policy and law students at the College of William and Mary to do the heavy lifting. The students looked at 18 years of local tide gauge data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and compared those water levels to property and road elevations to map out what flooding looked like in that time period. Jonathon Gruenke / Daily Press A million-dollar home in Gloucester County was donated to the Middle Peninsula Public Access Authority in part because of flooding issues. Rural coastal communities are struggling with sea level rise and marsh encroachment. A million-dollar home in Gloucester County was donated to the Middle Peninsula Public Access Authority in part because of flooding issues. Rural coastal communities are struggling with sea level rise and marsh encroachment. (Jonathon Gruenke / Daily Press) Then they used intermediate sea level rise projections for Virginia 1.5 feet by 2050 and 4.2 feet by 2100 and simply raised the past tide gauge data by those projections. From that, they built maps showing roads that will become increasingly impassable from recurrent flooding. They also looked at flood risk for 24,695 land parcels in the county under current projections of rise and found that, by 2050 and with an increase of 1.5 feet in sea level, 2,275 parcels will be at medium risk of recurrent flooding and 405 at high risk. By 2100, with a projected rise of 4.2 feet, 3,570 parcels will be at medium risk of recurrent flooding, and 1,536 at high risk. These are issues that we know are going to increase, said Carl Hershner, director of the VIMS Center for Coastal Resources Management. But the answers are going to be very expensive and very difficult, and the need for planning and analysis is now. Jonathon Gruenke / Daily Press A million-dollar home in Gloucester County was donated to the Middle Peninsula Public Access Authority in part because of flooding issues. Rural coastal communities are struggling with sea level rise and marsh encroachment. A million-dollar home in Gloucester County was donated to the Middle Peninsula Public Access Authority in part because of flooding issues. Rural coastal communities are struggling with sea level rise and marsh encroachment. (Jonathon Gruenke / Daily Press) But land parcels are only part of the problem. Even when homes or businesses dont flood, some access roads will. And, for up to 200 hours a year, they will become choke points in and out of neighborhoods. What happens to a persons quality of life because of the flooding roads impacts? said Pamela Braff, doctoral student at VIMS. Adaptation doesnt necessarily mean to cut bait and abandon flood-prone roads, they said. There are interim measures where it may just be changing the expectations for how serviceable the road will be, said Hershner. You keep the road in its current position, you maintain it with a good surface, but you dont attempt to raise it. And so everyone knows that the road is going to flood at certain times and not always be passable. And you just sort of, as they say, learn to live with the water. More water than we know what to do with But what happens when waterfront property owners dont want to live with the water anymore? The Middle Peninsula landed on one solution in 2003 almost by accident. That year, in response to a thorny problem regarding public water access, they got the General Assembly to authorize the Middle Peninsula Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority. Jonathon Gruenke / Daily Press A dilapidated pier stretches out into the Severn River in Gloucester County Friday February 22, 2019. Rural coastal communities are struggling with sea level rise and marsh encroachment. A dilapidated pier stretches out into the Severn River in Gloucester County Friday February 22, 2019. Rural coastal communities are struggling with sea level rise and marsh encroachment. (Jonathon Gruenke / Daily Press) At the time, Lawrence said, it was the only governmental entity in the country focused solely as a political subdivision to provide public access to waterfront. One day, a Gloucester County resident called offering to donate a piece of property. It was a novel concept at the time, but it turned out the authority did have the authority to accept the title. In the seven years since, others have called to donate their land in two cases, massive homes and acreage worth more than a $1 million each typically in exchange for charitable or conservation tax credits. It has become a very commonplace exit strategy for people, Lawrence said. All told, nearly $4 million in waterfront property has been donated, he said, ranging from the two million-dollar estates to properties valued at a few thousand dollars. Only three parcels have buildings on them; the rest are undeveloped. Reasons for donating range from challenges with flooding or environmental regulations one man balked at putting in a $40,000 septic system to lack of local jobs and amenities. Every day, said Lawrence, 72 percent of the Middle Peninsulas workforce more than 34,000 workers drives out of the area to get to their jobs in Hampton Roads, Richmond, Fredericksburg or Northern Virginia. And sometimes, he said, some decide to out-migrate altogether. Donated properties get an enthusiastic reception from Lawrence, whose job it is to repurpose them for the public good. Theyre offered up for water recreation, or to reserve for bow hunting or duck hunting excursions. The authority is developing water trails along all its holdings. Entrepreneurs can pitch their own ideas for waterfront restaurants or other businesses. When the Gloucester High School crew team was looking for a home, Lawrence said he offered up one of the estates, now the Captain Sinclairs Recreation Area along the Severn River. The property has an 8,000-square-foot manor house and a 2,000-square-foot brick rancher, boat ramps, piers and a pool. All the way to kids, who ran after us after giving a talk and said, You know what? I want to give my Hanukkah allowance to you all because I want to be part of the mission to go to the moon, said Winetraub, one of SpaceILs cofounders. We realize that the closure of an underperforming store in your community can be challenging, said a statement from company spokesman Joe Caldwell. We do not take these decisions lightly, and only make this tough choice after careful consideration of its impact on our associates and our customers has been made. Cliff Lipson/CBSIf you enjoy a little Oklahoma Swing -- like Reba McEntires 1990 hit with Vince Gill, for example -- youre going to love the latest track from her Stronger Than the Truth album. Its one of the rare songs Reba co-wrote herself, with the help of another famous friend: Ronnie Dunn. They crafted "No U in Oklahoma" based on an idea the tunes third writer, Donna McSpadden, suggested to Reba years ago: Theres no U in Oklahoma, and thats O.K. with me. You can watch the song come to life in the studio in a new behind-the-scenes video on YouTube. "No U in Oklahoma" is available to stream or download now as well. Rebas new record, Stronger Than the Truth, comes out April 5, just two days before she hosts the 54th ACM Awards on CBS. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 716-372-3121 or email nfinnerty@oleantimesherald.com. These new advocates tout their role in criminal justice reform and rail against the inequalities of a broken and racist system. Most advocate for the mass release of defendants charged with violent offenses on the grounds that they have not yet been convicted of any crime. And while they profess deep concern about the disproportionate impact criminal laws have on people of color, they seem to care less about the fate of the mostly poor, young black and brown men and women who are killed, shot and paralyzed, robbed and raped across the city. Corporate tax breaks helping only the rich and famous is a problem thats nearly as old as Americas democracy. Short of Congress coming in and bigfooting the whole thing an elegant, but unlikely solution the best way to beat these bad deals is to shine a light on them, and let people know what theyre losing in the name of economic development. It worked in New York, and it can work elsewhere, too, if cities are forced to say what theyre offering up. Andrew McCabe, the former acting director of the FBI unceremoniously fired last year by Donald Trump, is in the midst of a whirlwind book tour, with TV hosts nationwide eagerly lining up to hear his take on what it was like to be at the center of so much political and legal turmoil. McCabe lays claim to having personally made the blockbuster decision in May 2017 to open a counter-intelligence investigation on Trump, on the grounds that Trump himself the sitting president! could pose a national security threat to the United States. You dont get much more incendiary than that. Adding to the spy-thriller level intrigue, McCabe has also revealed that he and Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, plotted strategies for removing Trump from office, from wearing a wire in the White House to initiating an effort to invoke the 25th Amendment. Its jaw-dropping stuff. Opposition leader Juan Guaido traveled to the border of Colombia, where much of the American-supplied aid is being stored. He also has called on Venezuelan residents to gather on Saturday to help move the supplies across the border, reported The Associated Press. These new rules are dangerous and unnecessary, and will prevent millions of Americans from obtaining the care they need and deserve, James said. New York will not stand by as this Administration puts New Yorkers health at risk for politics, and we will take legal action. For months, Cohen placed Stormy Daniels family and my family at risk through his threats and tactics, Avenatti tweeted last month in response to Cohen pulling out of congressional testimony over alleged threats from Trump. Now he wants to use his family as an excuse as part of a sympathy ploy for his backtracking/backing out? Be clear its always about Michael. Cars parked illegally are supposed to be ticketed whether or not they have a placard. But watchdogs like the Twitter account @placardabuse have documented that placards usually dissuade cops and traffic agents from writing tickets. Sometimes an NYPD vest or memo book is enough to keep tickets off a car in an illegal spot. "I get a lot of encouragement from people. I know it may be hard to believe, after we've talked about placard abuse and the anger and frustration that New Yorkers feel on that issue broadly. But every day I have New Yorkers come up and talk about different things the administration is doing that they like, and plenty of people who urge me on for the future, he said. Cuomo also took aim at his fellow Democrats in Albany specifically state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers). He said Senate Democrats could have saved face had they rescinded the appointment of Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) to an obscure state board that would have had veto power over the project. Patton plans to spend her month-long NYCHA tour staying at apartments around the five boroughs. She said she wants a first-hand look at the problems that have plagued the nations largest public housing system, and wants to hear from residents about how to fix the broken boilers, leaky pipes and moldy walls that have become so bad that a federal monitor was deemed necessary. Manafort is set for sentencing in his Virginia case on March 8, and in his Washington prosecution five days later. He was convicted of eight counts in the earlier case and subsequently pleaded guilty to two more. I would hope that any bishop who is aware of this kind of misbehavior would certainly make that known to the Holy See, and not feel that they in any way should try to cover up or turn a blind eye to this," OMalley said. Meanwhile, tenants have continued to struggle with mold, no heat or hot water, rats and lead paint in their apartments. The agreement lays out a plan to alleviate many of these longstanding issues, but tenant advocates have noted that it remains unclear where all the money will come from to perform the needed repairs. "They are certainly one of the most fearsome (prison gangs). They're aggressive and they're violent," U.S. Attorney Trent Shores said at a press conference in Tulsa. "They are absolutely one of the most threatening and one of the most dangerous (gangs)." Winter weather contributed to roughly half of the cancellations. The other half of the cancellations resulted from maintenance problems, which have been an issue for the airline this week. Skeletal remains were found by construction workers in February 2018, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Police confirmed last week that they belonged to Mary Arcuri, who was 36 when her husband claimed she left their family and was never to be seen again, the paper reported. Aubrianne is keeping her kids home from school because the television told her there would be a school bus accident today, the social worker said in Newaygo County Probate Court records. The matter has been carefully reviewed and we have taken action we believe to be appropriate for the situation, said a statement on the Town of Patagonia website. However, authorities have not disclosed what action was taken. A student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham at the time she left for Syria, Muthana told her parents she was going to Atlanta for a field trip. Instead, she withdrew from school and used her tuition reimbursement to buy a plane ticket to Turkey. From Turkey, she traveled to Syria where she married Suhan Rahaman. Waiting until a large group of persons amass at the border to attempt an illegal crossing is too late for us; it is vital that we are prepared prior to when they arrive at the border crossing, he said in a statement. Hi, Nintendo fans. By now, you may have heard the news. Yep, Im retiring, Fils-Aime wrote. I wanted to reach out directly to you, the Nintendo community, because theres one thing I really wanted to say: thank you. Thank you for your never ending support and your passionate love of Nintendo. Police describe the robber as black, about 40 years old, between 5-foot-9 and 5-foot-11, and weighing about 160 pounds. He has bad acne on the left side of his face. The victims name was not disclosed. Medics rushed him to an area hospital, where he is expected to survive. It was not clear if he was visiting the city or had recently moved here. Police and prosecutors initially charged Ransom and Freeman with murder, under the legal rule that a participant in a violent felony is responsible for any deaths that happen in the commission of the crime. Both were also charged with robbery, and Freeman is accused of working with Ransom in a similar heist. John Ulrich abused his position as the vice president of a labor union and trustee for its health plan by selling his influence to the Unions health care administrator. As part of this alleged scheme, Ulrich betrayed the trust of the Union members who elected him in order to line his pockets with bribe money, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said. Shele Covlin, who was found lifeless in her bathtub on Dec. 31, 2009, in her W. 68th St. home, was buried without an autopsy due to her familys religious beliefs wishes and after officials initially believed she died accidentally. Since he was nice enough to work closely with me in the past and even assisted the President, I would expect him to cross party lines with his donations, too, especially to friends, Caputo said. And since Nomiki Konst is widely known as a pretty good person, it wouldn't surprise me if they were friends. Tyrone Woolaston, 35, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for conspiracy to distribute the cocaine and use of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Beginning in 2013, he took advantage of his job and removed suitcases containing cocaine from international flights. He smuggled the luggage out of the airport and the coke was distributed in the New York area, prosecutors said. GREENCORRECTIONAL FACILITY YOU NOT F---ING GETTING AWAY WITH THIS ONE B-TCH!!" she wrote on Feb. 13. "I remember when I went to visit some one in Green and I couldnt stop crying cause the C.O beat they face up so bad boy had a black eye for months !! And the s--- is ya been doing it FOR YEARS AND BEEN GETTING AWAY WITH IT FOR F---IN YEARS !!!!If you from Ny and ya have love ones incarcerated ya know about Greens and the mistreatments of inmate ! Plaintiff alleges, at most, that the Ballet knew he had engaged in partying and alcohol use, the documents assert. But even if the Ballet knew that Finlay had engaged in these activities, they hardly suggest knowledge of a propensity for the distribution of intimate photographs alleged in the Complaint. Raniere, 57, is accused of a litany of crimes related to the disturbing sex cult, including having sex with a 15-year-old girl and banishing a woman to a bedroom for two years because she refused to sleep with him, according to court documents. When a bishop, priest, or deacon is removed from an assignment following an accusation of abuse, the parish community is notified, and a story is published in Catholic New York, the archdiocesan newspaper, he said. If the allegation is found to be substantiated by our review board, parishioners of the priest or deacons former assignments are also notified, always with a request that people contact their district attorney to report any criminal behavior. Rome, GA (30161) Today Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low around 70F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. With all the controversy the proposed land use and zoning changes have created citywide, the Cape Coral City Council and city staff will discuss the methodologies and techniques used in developing the Land Development Code and Zoning Map on Monday. Were going to look at the areas that are zoned multi-family and if they are in single-family areas, we dont want to increase the density per acre. We want to leave that alone, Mayor Joe Coviello said. At the Feb. 4 city council meeting, residents of the Four Corners neighborhood in the area of Agualinda Boulevard and Beach Parkway flooded council chambers to complain about the possibility of there being as many as 510 multi-family units in that area before the city decided to downgrade the density to medium to low. Council also pulled that area out of the master ordinance to be considered on it own, Coviello said it gave the city something to think about, not just there, but citywide. There are other areas similar to that that also have the 16 acres per unit (RML), and we really dont want to change that, Coviello said. But we have corridors like Pine Island Road, Del Prado, Cape Coral Parkway, Bimini Basin or the Seven Islands that may require more density. We may look at that differently. One of the concerns council will likely have is whether the city can handle higher density, especially on the major bridges and thoroughfares, where getting in and out of town during the morning and afternoon rush is a challenge. Councilmember John Gunter said he is looking at where the city can add commercial, especially those areas that Coviello sees as being medium density housing. I want to see if commercial would be a better fit than multi-family in some of the main thoroughfares. I also want to see the changes from multi-family higher density to lower density, Gunter said. Gunter said two weeks ago that he would like to see the city reach 20 percent commercial as opposed to the 8 percent it is now to give residents an easier tax load. Coviello said the needle has moved little, if at all, in regards to commercial and that with a new economic development director, he can hit the ground running. That said, it probably wont happen until the utility expansion projects are done, since business and industry isnt too keen on areas where there is no infrastructure like sewer and water. Councilmember John Carioscia. understands the need to put higher density multi-family on the main roads, as well as not abutting those higher densities with single-family homes, which wasnt done the last time. What bothers Carioscia was that city staff determined the best use of land, as opposed to impact on single-family residences, and how multi-family would impact schools, roads and the daily trip to work. His question: Is the city here to appease contractors or to serve the residents? We should be more concerned about the impact of all this growth on our roads, schools and first responders. We have one hospital with 200,000 people. Thats ridiculous, Carioscia said. Now, were going to explode with multi-family units? I dont think so. Carioscia said the city plans use to TIF money to bring in more business, and wondered why the city is incentivizing growth when its already happening. Remember when the county eliminated impact fees? You wont get me to incentivize growth because its already there. If you want commercial growth, use the commercial growth numbers and land use, Carioscia said. I have a problem with putting 300 families somewhere where the schools cant handle it. I dont like it. And if people dont like it, thats too bad. The council meeting begins at 4:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has revealed that he survived an alleged assassination attempt on his life on Thursday night aft... The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has revealed that he survived an alleged assassination attempt on his life on Thursday night after soldiers sent by the General Officer Commanding 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Jamil Sarham confronted his security details. Wike also alerted Nigerians that the military is allegedly supplying fake uniforms to militants hired by the APC for the purpose of disrupting the elections and unleashing mayhem. Speaking after a meeting with officials of the British High Commission at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Friday, he said the General Officer Commanding 6 Division of the Nigerian Army has been taking very unprofessional measures to silence PDP members. Wike said that he has informed the British High Commission and other foreign missions of the anti-democratic actions of the security forces, especially the Nigerian Army. On Friday, 15th of January, a day to the 16th of February, the first date for the elections before it was rescheduled, the GOC sent soldiers to cordone off my private residence. Yesterday, I was shocked that when I left Government House to see some political leaders, soldiers were trailing me. Anyone who knows me, knows that I dont have military security details. Along Abacha road where you have Algate Hotel, to my surprise, I heard my security men shouting that the soldiers are behind us. I have said this severally about the GOC of the 6 Division that nobody should kill because he was promised the position of Chief of Army Staff. The governor said that the General Officer Commanding the division can be promoted a Chief of Army Staff without killing anyone, stressing that there is no need to kill innocent people for personal ambition. He said that Rivers State is strategically positioned in Nigeria and should not be destabilised for political goals. Rivers State is so important to this country. The economy of Nigeria cannot survive without Rivers State. By what they are doing, they are scaring investors away, Governor Wike said. He urged the President to talk to the Army to reduce their level of partisanship and illegal activities ahead of the elections. The GOC held a meeting with the soldiers yesterday and said they must do everything they can to ensure that the President wins. That is not good. Allow Nigerians to support whoever they want to support, he said. The Governor said there is no reason for any fight in the state because the APC is not running for the Governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly Elections in Rivers State. He regretted that the Nigeria Army has started arresting PDP in Eleme and other Local Government Areas, claiming that 182 persons have been pencilled down for arrest by the Army. Wike decried the supply of military uniforms to APC militants because it would have negative consequences post-elections. Speaking earlier, the Political Officer of the British High Commission in Nigeria, Louis Edwards said that they were in the state to observe the Elections. She said that the Resident Electoral Commissioner of Rivers State assured her that things would work well. The envoy added that she is looking forward to a peaceful election. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the arrest of one Okon Bassey in possession of 244 permanent voter cards... The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the arrest of one Okon Bassey in possession of 244 permanent voter cards (PVCs) in Akwa Ibom state. The agency said a cash of N310,000 was recovered from the suspect who was arrested in Mbo local government area of the state. In a statement, the agency said the suspect had been handed over to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for further investigation. Despite the challenges being faced by our officers and men in terms of manpower and logistics, they have performed creditably in clearing political thugs and drug addicts hideout within a few days of its sting operation. Only last Sunday, four officers and men of the agency were murdered by suspected drug dealers in Ifon, Ondo State while on a search of drugs being transported from Edo State to the Northern part of the country, the agency said. Operatives of the agency in Akwa Ibom State have arrested one Okon Bassey and recovered from him 244 Permanent Voter Cards belonging to different people and a sum of N310,000. This suspect was arrested at Mbo Local Government Area. These suspects were arrested during the pre-election raid by operatives of the NDLEA in order to reduce acts of violence during the elections. The efforts of our eagle eyed-officers also paid off with the arrest of one Joy Adams, a notorious heroin dealer in Akwa Ibom state for allegedly being in possession of 239gm of heroin. Lawal Adamu, a resident of Ruga Saliu, a community in Kajuru local government area of Kaduna state, says he spent five days burying vic... Lawal Adamu, a resident of Ruga Saliu, a community in Kajuru local government area of Kaduna state, says he spent five days burying victims of the attack in the area. Speaking when NigerianEye alongside some media organisations visited the area, Adamu who is of the Fulani ethnic group, said the attack came as a surprise. He said people of the Adara ethnic group were suspected of being behind the attack, wondering what happened between the two ethnic groups who lived peacefully for decades. Adamu said the community lost 131 people in the incident. I spent five days burying dead bodies before the governors visit, and I can tell you that 131 of my people were killed, he said pointing to a spot where he said 37 people were buried. We are yet to know the whereabouts of seven of our brothers. 37 people were buried here in the presence of security agencies who took the pictures. The spot where Adamu said some of the victims were buried Adamu said he was ready to return to the community to live in peace again. They came to attack us early morning on the day of the attack. We have been living on peace with Adara people over the years. I am now 39 years old and I have been living in this community since my childhood, he said. We cook together and sometimes they do cook for us during celebrations, that has been the tradition. I grew up to meet that. The only thing is we dont marry ourselves. Abba Danmori, a lector at a Catholic church in Idon Gida, also a community in Kajuru, narrated how he escaped when gunmen invaded his residence at Agwan Barde in Kajuru local government area of the state. Danmori said the assailants struck around 11pm last week Sunday. I just heard sounds of gunshots around 11pm. I woke up and asked who they were. I never understood what was happening, he said. I just stayed in my room with my wife to see what God would do. Then I heard noise. The noise signified that they (perpetrators) were Fulani. It seems they were chasing somebody and they had not got that person. We heard them speaking their dialect. Danmori speaking with reporters He said some of the victims were returning from an outing when the gunmen opened fire on them. Some people coming from a party at Ungwar Para, they never knew that something was happening. Those people rushed them with guns. They too ran away. They entered the village, he said. Within my house, five people were killed, including a pregnant woman. They shot at my door. If you go to my house now, youll see how the bullet are penetrating. What helped me was that I locked the door on myself. Thats why they didnt penetrate. Daniel Audu, village head of Agwan Barde, said he had to take refuge in the bush. Already members of the community were aware and they came out. From there, I ran into the bush. I remained in the bush until everything was calm, he said. So, I went to the house where the incident happened. When I got there, I discovered that there are some that were shot and others matcheted. We checked those that were dead and I called the youth to carry those who were injured to hospital. In the process of doing so, some died. The death toll has been a subject of controversy. Nasir el-Rufai, governor of the state, put the casualty figure at 130 but the police could not confirm it. Mohammed Adamu, inspector-general of police, has defended the arrest of Rafiu Ibrahim, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senator represe... Mohammed Adamu, inspector-general of police, has defended the arrest of Rafiu Ibrahim, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senator representing Kwara south. Adamu said the senator, who is seeking reelection, was arrested after being fingered in the violence which occured in the state earlier in the week. The violence which broke out in Ojuku community under Kwara south senatorial district, reportedly involved supporters of the PDP and All Progressives Congress (APC). At least two persons were killed and many injured in the incident which the PDP and the APC have been trading blames over. Speaking at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) briefing in Abuja on Friday, the police IG said Ibrahims position as a senator does not absolve him of his alleged crime. According to him, whether you are a candidate or not, you are expected not to break the law. He said: The group of people that were suspected to have done the killing (in Kwara) were arrested. And one of them is a candidate of one political party. So because he is a candidate in the election, should we allow him go without facing the law? He has been arrested with others for him to defend himself. It is not just because he belongs to a political party; it was because of the murder that took place. The PDP had described the arrest as an act of provocation. Former Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, says he is being targeted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) ahead of the ... Former Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, says he is being targeted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) ahead of the general elections. He stated that the agency was after him and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar over election money. Fayose said this via his Twitter account Thursday night. The tweet reads: Just heard that some officials of @officialEFCC are in Ekiti to invade my residence in Afao Ekiti early morning tomorrow. They are coming to search my house for @atiku election money. @officialEFCC, Im here and waiting. President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will slug it out with Atiku on Saturday. Earlier, the ruling party raised alarm of cash for votes in circulation. The party claimed the PDP had ordered distribution of money across the country. A statement by National Publicity Secretary, Lanre Issa-Onilu, said: We caution Nigerians and all involved in the electoral process not to be influenced by huge money the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is moving around to buy votes and compromise the system. Our future should not be mortgaged to the leaders of PDP who are using our commonwealth they stole over 16 years to seek a return to power. Governor Ibikunle Amosuns aide, Adeniyi Adesanya, has died while the Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, was report... Governor Ibikunle Amosuns aide, Adeniyi Adesanya, has died while the Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, was reportedly injured in a fatal motor accident on Friday evening. It was gathered that the accident occurred at Siun-Kobape along Sagamu-Abeokuta road. Adeoluwa reportedly sustained a severe injury and has been rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Idi -Aba, Abeokuta. A source reliably told said that the SSG has been transferred to the Intensive care unit of the FMC. The remains of Adesanya who was popularly called friend of the governor have been deposited at the hospital morgue. Details later. The court of appeal sitting in Abuja has set aside the judgment of the federal high court, Abuja, which held that the Zamfara state cha... The court of appeal sitting in Abuja has set aside the judgment of the federal high court, Abuja, which held that the Zamfara state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) can not field candidates for the general election. Citing its inability to conduct primaries before the stipulated deadline, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had barred the ruling party from participating in the election in the north-west state. On January 25, a federal high court in Abuja held that INEC was right to have delisted names of candidates APC presented for the elections. The court ruled in favour of the commission, stating that the APC failed to conduct primaries within the required period. But a 3- man panel of the appellate court held that the trial court lacked the jurisdiction to have entertained the suit, that it was an abuse of court process. The panel said the suit at the federal high court was filed out of time. It said while the electoral act provided for 14 days to institute a suit after the cause of action had arisen, the suit was filed 15 days after, making the action illegal. The appellate court ruling comes one week after Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, asked INEC to postpone elections in Zamfara state. In a letter dated February 13, 2019, Malami said he acted based on a petition from a law firm claiming that recent court judgments have annulled the stand of INEC that the APC did not conduct primaries in the state and can therefore not field candidates. He had said since the courts admitted that primaries were held, INEC should shift the elections to allow APC catch up with other parties in preparing for the polls. But the commission had disregarded Malamis letter. At a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, had insisted that APC in Zamfara would not field candidates. Abdulaziz Yari, governor of the state, had threatened that elections will not hold in Zamfara without APC participating in them. The World Anti-Corruption Research Network has asked the attorney-general of the federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, to disallow Atiku A... The World Anti-Corruption Research Network has asked the attorney-general of the federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, to disallow Atiku Abubakar from contesting in Saturdays presidential election. The UK-based group in the petition dated February 20, 2019 said it is worried about Atikus candidacy which poses a security risk to the country. It also wrote a petition to Nancy Patricia Pelosi, speaker of the US house of representatives, asking for an investigation into Atikus recent visit to the US. Atiku, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has had multiple criminal investigations over the last decade, the group said. The major heads of our concern against this candidate are twofold, read the petition, signed by Gbenga Oduntan on behalf of two other group HEDA, led by Olanrewaju Suraj, and The Corner House, headed by Nicholas Hildyard. NOT A FIT AND PROPER PERSON In view of the available open source evidence, he is, in our opinion not fit and proper person and shouldnt therefore, not be allowed to contest and/or enter into the most exalted office of the land in any country, let alone in Nigeria which has been addressing severe transparency challenges, it added. The group listed the alleged bribery and money laundering cases involving the former vice-president. Atiku had been accused of demanding a bribe of $500,000 to facilitate the award of contracts to two American telecommunication firms in Nigeria and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had also searched his residence in the US but no money was found. The investigators had videotaped William Jefferson, who was the congressman representing Louisiana, receiving $100,000 worth of $100 bills which he claimed was meant for Atiku, but the PDPs candidate has consistently denied the allegation. Atiku Abubakars exposure to the United States criminal justice system over the last decade gives the United States government near complete leverage over him, the group said while listing the security implications should he emerge Nigerias president. It is extremely easy to compromise someone who has put himself in this position through blackmail. The threat of releasing damaging revelations and evidence kept on file against him over the years is a clear and present danger. The use of Kompromat on foreign leaders in international relations is alive and well and is in fact topical in relation to the United States history and current national life. The group said Atikus presidency would be vulnerable and be easily exploited by the US. For 13 years, Atiku could not enter the US but he was eventually granted visa in December. His subsequent visit to the US was a boast to his campaign but the group said his visit, allegedly facilitated by US lobbyists, is an indication of collusion between his campaign and foreign elements and this makes his candidacy a risky one on Nigeria. The group called on security agencies, academia, lawyers to engage in an interdisciplinary study of the business and any other connections between Atiku and the US. In addition to the need to avoid allowing an easily compromised person to become President of Nigeria upon whom illegal leverage may be exercised, there is the urgent need to consider the implications for Nigerias image to install a President like Atiku Abubakar in view of the countrys avowed interests to abandon the brand of being a fantastically corrupt state, it said. INVESTIGATE ATIKU THOROUGHLY In the letter to Pelosi, the network said it wanted to express serious concerns about the uncompleted criminal investigations concerning bribery, money laundering and corruption offences brought against Mr Atiku Abubakar, a current Presidential candidate in the upcoming Nigerian Election scheduled for 23rd of February 2019. The petition further asks the United States Congress to investigate thoroughly the recent controversial visit to Washington by Atiku Abubakar and some of his party members on the 17th of January Subsisting criminal investigations over the last decade, had meant that Atiku Abubakar notoriously could not enter the United States. The imperatives for congressional investigation is dictated by the fact that the actions and omissions of certain United States authorities may amount to gross violations of United States domestic laws and standards on The identifiable shortcomings may not only bring the United States to disrepute but may also amount to breaches of important United States commitments under international law and leading anticorruption treaties. Atiku is the major challenger of President Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election holding on Saturday. A few hours to the 2019 general elections, the Delta State Police Command says it has uncovered substances suspected to be improvised ex... A few hours to the 2019 general elections, the Delta State Police Command says it has uncovered substances suspected to be improvised explosive device along the Ughelli/Patani road in Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state. The Commissioner of Police, Adeyinka Adeleke, on Friday, called on residents to remain calm and vote peacefully in Saturdays Presidential and National Assembly elections. Adeleke said the bomb was discovered by men of the Anti Robbery Squad led by its Commander, SP Masoyi Dadi on Thursday night. The command in a statement signed by its Acting Spokesman, Chuks Oresewezie, noted that IED was intercepted in an unregistered white Toyota Hilux Van which refused to stop. The police commissioner, who assuaged the fears of Deltans, stated that there was no cause to be apprehensive over the matter as the command had launched an investigation into it. Thank you for trusting us for your local news coverage. You have reached the maximum number of free articles per month. Subscribe today for unlimited access to News-Press NOW. It's a fast and easy way to support local journalism. Kanagawa Prefectural Police arrested a 56-year-old man after he was found wielding scissors inside a Tokaido Shinkansen train on Wednesday, reports NHK At around 4:30 p.m., an East Japan Railways guard tipped off police about "a man with scissors in an aisle" of the Kodama 660 train prior to its arrival at Odawara Station. The man - later identified as Mikio Kikuchi, a resident of Nagoya's Minami Ward - is believed to have used the scissors to cut a hole in a wall near a seat in the train, which was bound for Tokyo. After the guard asked Kikuchi to hand over the scissors, he obliged. Upon the train's arrival at Odawara Station, police apprehended he when he exited onto the platform. He was later accused of causing property damage. No persons were hurt in the incident, police said. - tokyoreporter.com Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Beijing yesterday as the kingdom aims to seal partnerships on a high-profile Asia tour. The Crown Prince is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on his two-day trip to the Chinese capital following visits to Pakistan and India. The Chinese foreign ministry said Beijings ambitious Belt and Road global trade infrastructure initiative will be on the agenda, as the two countries look to improve their economic ties. Saudi Arabia has a lot of capital that needs to find profitable places to be deployed, Saudi energy and industry minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih told Chinas official Xinhua news agency. China is a great place to invest with a huge market and an improving environment, he said. The two countries will sign agreements and memorandums of understanding in the energy, investment, transport and technology fields, said the Saudi ambassador to China Turki bin Mohammed Al-Madi, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. In Pakistan, the Crown Prince signed a raft of investment deals worth up to $20 billion. On Wednesday, he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose country counts Saudi Arabia as one of its key crude suppliers. Crack down on terrorism After his meeting with Modi, Prince Mohammed said the kingdom saw investment opportunities in various fields to exceed $100 billion. The Crown Prince also vowed to crack down on terrorism with Modi. Earlier yesterday, Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir in Beijing. Hailing the rapid development of cooperation in various fields, Wang said that the ties between China and Saudi Arabia feature mutual respect, mutual understanding and mutual support. Wang also said that both China and Saudi Arabia face the threats of terrorism and extremism, and the two sides should strengthen cooperation to jointly safeguard the security and stability of the two countries and the region. Describing bilateral ties as very stable and solid with rapid development in recent years, Adel al-Jubeir said the Saudi side regards China as a long-term strategic partner and looks forward to closer ties in politics, economy, security and other areas. A court official and his sister were arrested while accepting a bribe of BD50,000 for facilitating a convicts release. Confirming the arrest, Interior Ministry, in a statement, said, A Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments employee and his lawyer sister were arrested red-handed. Anti-corruption and Economic & Electronic Security Director General confirmed that the arrest followed a tipoff received. The department subsequently carried out an investigation which led to the arrest of the duo while accepting an advance, the official said. The case will be referred to the Public Prosecution, after completing legal procedures. According to a source at the ministry, the employee was recently promoted to the post of an acting supervisor at the Civilian Court. An official at the Criminal Court, who reportedly approached the official for assistance, is suspected to have tipped off the Anti-corruption Directorate. The suspect, the source said, was seen entering the officials office and stayed there for a long time before returning. On the next day, the day of the arrest, the suspects car was seen parked in the ministrys parking lots. Other sources in the ministry confirmed that the amount of the bribe is believed to be BD50,000. They also confirmed that the official in the Criminal Court, who the suspect had a long meeting a day prior to the arrest, has been summoned to give his testimony. As for the sister, who works as a lawyer, several lawyers said that she is an unknown name in the field. Lawyers also expressed their surprise about the incident affirming that releasing a detained convict in a fraud case is impossible. Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Ministry didnt comment on the matter until the time this report was written. Central Bank of Bahrain Governor Rasheed Al Maraj yesterday called for developing a practical approach to finding the right balance between enabling innovation and protecting the financial system. Speaking during the third Middle East and Africa FinTech Forum, Al Maraj warned: We cannot sit idle and not provide the leadership and innovative thinking that this industry needs to grow. He was addressing officials from the Central Banks of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, in addition to senior representatives from the banking, finance, telecom and tech industries in the MENA region. Held under the patronage of CBB, the forum focused on financial industrys key issues such as financial inclusion across the Middle East and Africa, open banking, artificial intelligence, and the impact of fast-developing technology on banking and societies. Hosted by Bank ABC and Arab Financial Services (AFS), the Forum moderated by Aaron Heslehurst, host of BBC World News programme Talking Business, started with an address from Sophia, the worlds most famous robot, who spoke of the potential for FinTech and AI to contribute to the development of humanity. Sael Al Waary, Chairman of Arab Financial Services (AFS) and Deputy Group CEO of Bank ABC, told Tribune, FinTech can be summarised in four key areas which are innovation, integration, inclusion, and imagination. Moreover, there are several of these areas had seen significant developments like the way Central Bank of Bahrain, has introduced significant regulatory changes in the last year that mandate adoption of open banking by the Kingdoms financial institutions. Traditional banks would continue to lose market share to challenger banks and mobile wallet products, pointing to the newcomers more innovative approach to customer experience as the main driving factor. AI would take an ever more prominent role in how banks service their customers and also in how they operate internally. Todays innovation is tomorrows tradition, he added. Outside the main conference hall, an exhibition hosted a range of stalls that showcased innovative financial technology products, giving visitors the opportunity to see the latest in wearable payment tech, mobile applications, and other developments. The most exciting part of the exhibition was the public debut of Fatema, who is the regions first ever emotionally intelligent digital employee. Built by New Zealand-based Soul Machines for Bank ABC, Fatema appears as an on-screen employee and uses cutting-edge digital neurology and artificial intelligence to emotionally engage with customers. She is capable of engaging in natural conversation with customers, measuring emotions and expressing emotions of her own in return. Visitors to the exhibition were able to speak with her and ask her questions on specific Bank ABC products and services. In future when she is more widely available online, however, she will be able to respond to a wider range of queries about Bank ABC and its services. Bahrains cosmetic sector, one the vital contributors to Bahrains GDP, is poised to touch a volume of BD 70 million by end 2019. The sector was valued at BD 60 million in 2017. According to Dr Mohammed Al Shaikh, who signed an agreement with the Swiss cosmetics company MAVALA Switzerland, said the sector contributes greatly in providing job opportunities for Bahraini women. The sector, Dr Al Shaikh said, plays a major role in boosting GDP and has all the growth potential to make Bahrain the beauty capital of the Gulf. He, however, pointed out that the competition varies from one product to another. Women in Bahrain are looking for high-quality cosmetics, which are often imported, but there is a preference for reasonable price cosmetics and thats what were working on, he said. The sector is highly competitive in the Kingdom, Dr Al Shaikh said pointing out the tremendous development happening in the Bahraini society. The business-friendly legislation and infrastructural facilities offered here are attracting foreign investments, thanks to the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and the support of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister. Speaking about the activities of MAVALA Switzerland, International sales Manager Sabine Granger told Tribune that the company, which is a cosmetic and body care maker, has agents in 120 countries and is in the market for more than 70 years. We manufacture cosmetics in Geneva, Switzerland and employees around 100 people to make sure that our products are excellent for health, Sabine said. MAVALA Switzerlands range include products for make-up, hands, feet, nails, skin cosmetics. All of our products are extracted from roses and plants in the Swiss Alps. This is a rapidly growing sector. Today, we are in Bahrain and the UAE in the Gulf region, and are optimistic about the Bahraini market, Sabine said adding: We have customers and fame here, and now we are professionally available. Veggius for general trading company is the exclusive distributor for MAVALA Switzerland in Bahrain. The general manager of Veggius for general trading company Dr Taher Salem said he is expecting MAVALA Switzerland products to make a huge leap in the field of body care and cosmetics in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The deal was signed in the presence of CEO Dr Mohamed Khairy. The Embassy of India in Cairo celebrated World Hindi Day on Wednesday with an event at El-Gomhouria Theatre. The event was attended by Indian Ambassador to Egypt Rahul Kulshreshth and a number of public figures, including Ambassador Mohamed Hegazy, former Assistant Foreign Minister and Chairman of the Egyptian-Indian Friendship Association (EIFA), members of the EIFA, Egyptian students and Indian community members. The event featured musical and dance performances, in addition to poetry recitations by Egyptian students. The Indian community members also performed classical and Bollywood dances. As part of the celebrations, the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC) organised competitions divided into 15 categories, in which 150 Egyptian students participated. Winners were awarded with medals and certificates by Ambassador Kulshreshth and Ambassador Hegazy. World Hindi Day is celebrated on 10 January every year, with the aim of promoting the Hindi language. Short link: His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, yesterday pledged full support to all measures that would serve citizens interest and development drive. Addressing government officials as the pivot of development plans, HRH the Premier stressed that it is our duty and the core of our national responsibility to achieve the citizens aspirations in education, housing, healthcare and jobs. This came as His Royal Highness the Prime Minister received yesterday Members of Parliament (MPs) led by First Deputy Speaker Abdulnabi Salman at Riffa Palace. The Premier told MPs that the Executive and the Legislative bodies share the same national goals and objectives to achieve the best interests of all citizens. To address the issues concerning citizens, HRH the Premier told MPs, the government is keen on bolstering the Executive-Legislative cooperation. His Royal Highness stressed that the cooperation between the executive and legislative authorities constitutes the key essential pillar to accelerate the momentum of Bahrains progress in the various fields. The lawmakers expressed their gratitude to the PM for his continuous keenness in supporting governmental-parliamentary cooperation. Coinciding with the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to India, Saudi Arabia yesterday ordered release of 850 Indian prisoners lodged in its jails. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the decision was taken on the request of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Another big deliverable! At the request of the PM, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has ordered the release of 850 Indian prisoners lodged in Saudi jails, he said in a tweet. He said HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman has also announced an increase in the quota for Indian Haj pilgrims to two lakh at the request of Prime Minister Modi. The present quota is about 1.75 lakh. During his visit to Pakistan two days back, HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman had agreed to release over 2,000 Pakistani prisoners in Saudi jails. 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. Columns are welcome on a wide range of issues and should be well-written and well-researched with attribution of sources. Include a full name, email address, daytime telephone number and headshot photograph suitable for publication (email jpg or tiff files at 150 dpi.) You may also schedule a photo to be taken at the News-Miner office. The News-Miner reserves the right to edit submissions or to reject those of poor quality or taste without consulting the writer. Letters to the editor Send letters to the editor by mail (P.O. Box 70710, Fairbanks AK 99707), by fax (907-452-7917) or via email (letters@newsminer.com). Writers are limited to one letter every two weeks (14 days.) All letters must contain no more than 350 words and include a full name (no abbreviation), daytime and evening phone numbers and physical address. (If no phone, then provide a mailing address or email address.) The Daily News-Miner reserves the right to edit or reject letters without consulting the writer. Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community. Submit here The government is debating a new system for export subsidies, with Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli starting discussions on 29 January with the countrys various export councils to find a more effective support mechanism for exporters. According to the current system, the government provides between eight and 12 per cent of the value of the exports to the exporters concerned provided that the products include 40 per cent local components. Around 2,000 exporting companies are qualified to receive export subsidies, usually paid out after the deals are implemented. However, the government has failed to pay its dues to qualified exporters for the last two years, with some putting the value of the arrears at between LE15 and LE21 billion. The delays in payments have had a serious impact on exporters who have not been able to include these funds when calculating the cost and revenues of export deals because there has been no accurate date for receiving them, Mohamed Nassef, secretary-general of the Export Council for Engineering Industries, told Al-Ahram Weekly. Exporters complained that they could lose their shares of foreign markets if they are not able to conclude future plans. Many Egyptian exporters have had difficulty maintaining their shares in international markets in the past few years because of difficult economic conditions. Boosting exports, and thus increasing hard currency revenues, has been one of the main expected benefits of the governments economic reform programme, with the devaluation of the pound in particular making Egypts exports more attractively priced. Madbouli has so far held meetings with the members of four export councils, including engineering industries, and he is scheduled to meet members of the remaining ones this month. The government wants to find out the views of each council regarding the best formula for the export-subsidies system in order to avoid the current problems, Nassef said. During the Engineering Industries Council meeting with the prime minister last week, members had submitted 11 suggestions to create a more effective export-support system, according to Nassef. He explained that there were different kinds of support other than financial incentives that the government could look at. Introducing better shipping facilities is one, he added. Over the last four months, the Federation of Egyptian Industries together with the Egyptian Businessmens Association have suggested exchanging owed export subsidies for other privileges like tax deductions or insurance payments. While Nasser said that these suggestions would be difficult to implement, it might be practical to exchange the dues for the land parcels needed to expand the exporters factories. It would be better for exporters to receive fewer financial incentives and for these to be disbursed on time, rather than large amounts delayed for years, he said. Although the government announced that its new mechanism will be announced by the end of February, Nassef does not expect it before the end of April. Mustafa Al-Nagari, a member of the Agricultural Products Council, said that it is too early to know the features of the new system as the government is discussing it with members of 13 different export councils that have different visions. Al-Nagari said that on 26 February the Egyptian Businessmens Association would hold a meeting with exporters to examine the results of these meetings with the government. Many sectors are qualified to receive export subsidies, including agricultural products, the chemical industries, the spinning and weaving industries, leather products, engineering products, furniture and the construction materials industries. Each sector can benefit from export subsidies according to the value-added of the products concerned, the percentage of local components, and the geographical location of factories, as well as the exports destination, employment incentives, and the use of innovative technologies. According to the current system, requests for receiving the subsidies are submitted to the Egyptian Export Development Fund (ESF) within a year of the products export date. The documents needed include a valid certificate from a government-authorised agency and an industrial and export register. The documents are examined by specialised committees, and if approved export subsidies are released within six months of submission. The government allocates LE2.6 billion annually to the ESF, with the aim of encouraging Egyptian companies to increase their products competitiveness in foreign markets. However, in the 2018/2019 budget, the government allocated an additional LE1.4 billion to the ESF to reach LE4 billion in order to pay long overdue funds. Nassef explained that the government plans to increase the funds allocated for export-subsidies dues in the countrys budget for 2019/2020 in an attempt to end this problem. He added that the government was seeking to raise export volumes to double what they are now within five years to reach $50 billion. If the government supports the exports sector, we can achieve this figure easily, Nassef said. Egyptian non-oil exports increased during 2018 by 16 per cent on a year-on-year basis to record $25 billion compared to $22.4 billion in 2017. Last month, Amr Nassar, the minister of trade and industry, issued decree 12/2019 that reduced the number of export councils from 16 to 13. The decree merged some sectors and changed the heads of other councils. *A version of this article appears in print in the 21 February, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: New support for exports Short link: Spinefarm Records/WPP RecordsLamb of God guitarist Mark Morton has shared a new song called "Save Defiance," which will appear on his upcoming solo album, Anesthetic. The track, which features vocals from Alter Bridge frontman and Slash collaborator Myles Kennedy, is available now for digital download. "Having the opportunity to work with Mark was a really cool experience," Kennedy says in a statement. "I'd been a fan of his work with Lamb of God for a long time so I was honored when he asked if I wanted to sing on his record." "Save Defiance" also features Alice in Chains' Mike Inez on bass and Korn's Ray Luzier on drums. Anesthetic is due out March 1. Other guests on the album include Papa Roach's Jacoby Shaddix, Lamb of God's Randy Blythe and the late Chester Bennington. Morton will embark on a North American tour in support of Anesthetic alongside Light the Torch March 13 in Richmond, Virginia. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. (Newser) Two Massachusetts girls, ages 14 and 15, are being held in the armed robbery of a bank, police say. Bay Coast Bank in Fall River was robbed Wednesday when, police say, the 14-year-old walked into Bay Coast Bank and gave a teller a note demanding cash or she would blow everything up and kill everybody, WBZ reports. The teller gave her an undisclosed amount of cash. Police used security footage from street cameras to trace her once she left the bank and got into a car, whose license plate was caught by the cameras, per the Herald News. The older girl was reportedly driving. Police tracked the plate and arrested the girls at a home in Fall River. (Read more bank robbery stories.) (Newser) Someone tried to set fire to a statue of Maj. Gen. William C. Lee outside his museum in North Carolina, and officials suspect the "jerk punk" had his General Lees confused. Robert E. Lee led Confederate forces in the Civil War, and statues of that general and other monuments to the Confederacy have been targeted for removal or destructiontwice recently elsewhere in North Carolina. But the museum in Dunn honors the Lee who served in World War II, the Charlotte Observer reports, and was a pioneer in air warfare. "This is not a Civil War museum," museum curator Mark Johnson tells WNCN. The Lees were not related. story continues below On its Facebook page, the museum blamed "some jerk punk" for pouring a flammable liquid over the white marble statue of the "Father of the United States Airborne Army" and setting it ablaze Thursday night. Repairs will begin soon, the posting said. Johnson told the Dunn Daily Record that he thinks the vandal or vandals were trying to make a statement about racism. "So just an alert to people who may be thinking about such things," he said. "This is the wrong general." (Read stories about the Confederate statues debate.) (Newser) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced on state TV Thursday night that he was closing the border with Brazil "completely and absolutely." The Washington Post reports a woman was killed Friday morning during an effort to keep a part of it open to allow humanitarian aid through on Saturday. A group tried to block a military convoy that had arrived at a checkpoint set up by indigenous activists by standing in front of the vehicles. story continues below Gran Sabana Mayor Emilio Gonzalez tells the AP the Venezuela National Guard and army fired rubber bullets and tear gas at them, killing 42-year-old Zorayda Rodriguez and injuring 12 more. A witness tells the Post locals kidnapped three soldiers in the aftermath. The Post calls it the "first fatality of a massive opposition operation meant to deliver international relief into this devastated South American country." (Read more Venezuela stories.) (Newser) A third of Africa's elephantsan estimated 130,000are found in Botswana. That's one reason animal activists are alarmed to learn the country is considering lifting its four-year ban on hunting the giant animal, 87 of which were found slaughtered and stripped of their tusks in a "poaching frenzy" last year. President Mokgweetsi Masisi ordered a review of the ban put in place by his predecessor after he was elected in April 2018. Handed out Thursday, the resulting report recommends introducing "regular but limited elephant culling" and the "establishment of elephant meat canning" for pet food, reports the BBC. It also suggests the elephant population should be managed "within its historic range," per Reuters. That is, a smaller one than the elephants currently have. story continues below Experts say the range elephants travel is much larger today due to factors including climate change and human encroachment. But farmers and others living in rural villages near elephant habitats say the animals are taking over, putting crops and people at risk. The BBC notes Masisi, looking ahead to an October election, is in the position of trying to balance the wishes of voters with Botswana's international reputation for conservation among tourists, who provide the country's second largest source of foreign income after diamond mining. "A white paper will follow and it will be shared with the public," the president says. He adds that parliament will have a chance "to intervene before we make a final determination." (Masisi previously took flak for disarming anti-poaching units.) (Newser) No one was hurt Thursday as SWAT team members arrested a Florida mayor accused of practicing medicine without a license, but it's a wonder. "He's lucky he's not dead," Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco tells the Tampa Bay Times of Port Richey Mayor Dale Massad. The mayor is charged with attempted murder after allegedly firing twice at officers who broke down his door before dawn after when nobody answered their knocks. The officers had a search warrant. The Sheriffs Office says 68-year-old Massad admitted to firing toward the front entrance of his home after deputies used a shotgun to destroy the door locks. But Massad, who then surrendered, claims he wasn't shooting at officers. "I shot one of my smoke detectors because I couldn't get up there to get it. It wouldn't go off and it was 3am," he tells KNXV. story continues below Nocco argues officers had every right to return fire, but "did what they thought was appropriate at the time" and withheld. Per the Times, SWAT members suspected Massad was on drugs. The initial charges stated Massad, who lost his medical license in 1992 after a 3-year-old patient's death, continued to order drugs, stitch up wounds, and provide injections from his home, resulting in at least one hospitalization. "It just blows my mind that we could elect a leader that would not only be breaking [the law] but shooting at the police," a neighbor tells KNXV. "I am totally disgusted." (Read more Florida stories.) (Newser) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been pushing back against efforts to send humanitarian aid into his country, an initiative led by opposition leader Juan Guaido. The latest development in that conflict came Thursday night, with Maduro announcing on state TV that he was closing the border with Brazil "completely and absolutely," and that his country's border with Colombia may be next, the BBC reports. The maritime borders with the islands of Curacao, Aruba, and Bonaire have already been shut down, per Al Jazeera. Maduro has dismissed the notion that there's a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, calling the attempts to bring in aid a "provocation" that's nothing more than the beginning stages of a US-led military coup in the oil-rich nation. story continues below Guaido, recognized as the country's legitimate president by the US and dozens of other nations, is leading a convoy to collect food and meds from the US that are currently stored in Colombia, although some are wondering if the effort is more publicity stunt than altruism, Al Jazeera notes. Per CNBC, hundreds of thousands of volunteers are expected to assist Guaido in bringing those supplies in over the weekend, though it's not yet clear how. Meanwhile, Virgin's Richard Branson is hosting a "Venezuela Aid Live" fundraising concert on Friday in the Colombian border town of Cucuta, with the goal of raising $100 million to be used for food and medicine, CNN reports. Branson says the concert was at Guaido's request. Maduro's response: He'll be hosting a competing event on the other side of the border called "Hands Off Venezuela." (Read more Venezuela stories.) (Newser) He spent a dozen years behind bars for his role in the Enron scandal. Now, the energy company's former CEO is once again a free man, per Reuters. The Bureau of Prisons says that Jeffrey Skillingwho'd been convicted in 2006 on charges of securities fraud, insider trading, and conspiracy, among otherswas released from federal custody Thursday, though few details were given, the Houston Chronicle reports. The 65-year-old had been moved in August from a prison camp in Alabama back to Texas, where he was said to have been incarcerated at a Houston residential re-entry site. story continues below Skilling was originally given a 24-year prison sentence, but that was slashed to 14 years in 2013 in an agreement with prosecutors. He was also fined $45 million, which all together was the most severe sentence any Enron exec received. Enron founder Kenneth Lay, who was also convicted on conspiracy and fraud charges, died of heart issues at the age of 64, just weeks after the trial came to a close but prior to sentencing. Per the AP, the 2001 Enron collapse made more than $2 billion in employee pensions vanish, tanked Enron stock, and left upward of 5,000 people without jobs. (Skilling's college-age son was found dead in 2011.) (Newser) A school district in northern Virginia has had to clarify that "slavery is not a game" after students were asked to pose as slaves while completing an obstacle course meant to symbolize the Underground Railroad. The lesson for Black History Month, given to third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students at Madison's Trust Elementary in Brambleton, Va., did not go over well with the local NAACP chapter. Children "don't need to relive slavery. We've done enough. We've paid enough," president Michelle Thomas told the school board at a meeting last week, per NBC News. Retired educator Linda Deans added "having a black male student crawling around on the floor in the dark as he re-enacted a lesson about a runaway slave is an offensive educational strategy." story continues below A Loudoun County Public Schools rep agrees having groups of students pass through plastic hoops while trying not to knock them over "trivializes something that is important," even if it was meant to teach teamwork and communication, per the Washington Post. In a Feb. 12 letter to parents, Madison's Trust Principal David Stewart said the lesson would be presented differently in future "to ensure that all the students have a full understanding of the material, within an appropriate and respectful context." Rock Hill Schools in South Carolina has made a similar vow after a mother complained that her African-American son's class was told to pick cotton and sing a slave song during a field trip for Black History Month in "a mockery of what our people went through," per WJZY. (Read more slavery stories.) (Newser) The father of an Alabama woman who joined ISIS in Syria filed suit against the Trump administration Thursday in an effort to allow her return to the US, reports the AP. Ahmed Ali Muthana argues in the suit filed in federal court in Washington that his 24-year-old daughter, Hoda Muthana, is an American citizen by birth and should be allowed to come back to the US with her toddler son. Hoda Muthana is now in a Syrian refugee camp with the 18-month-old boy after fleeing the remnants of the Islamic State. Her lawyers said in a statement that she expects to be charged with providing material support to terrorism if she is allowed to return to the US. "In Ms. Muthana's words, she recognizes that she has 'ruined' her own life, but she does not want to ruin the life of her young child," the lawyers said. story continues below Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that the young woman is not a citizen and will not be admitted to the country. The family and their lawyers say they were told that the US determined she did not qualify for citizenship because her father was a Yemeni diplomat at the time of her birth. But the family argues that is incorrect. They say that her father ceased to be a diplomat before she was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, and that she had a legitimate passport when she left the US to join the Islamic State in Syria in 2014. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a person born in the US to an accredited foreign diplomatic officer is not subject to US law and is not automatically considered a US citizen at birth. The Obama administration initially determined she was not a citizen and notified her family that it was revoking her passport in January 2016. (Read more ISIS stories.) (Newser) A federal judge in California ruled Thursday that a twin son of a gay married couple has been an American citizen since birth, handing a defeat to the US government, which had only granted the status to his brother. The State Department was wrong to deny citizenship to 2-year-old Ethan Dvash-Banks because US law doesn't require a child to show a biological relationship with their parents if their parents were married at the time of their birth, District Judge John Walter found. A lawsuit filed by the boys' parents, Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks, sought the same rights for Ethan that his brother, Aiden, has as a citizen, per the AP. Each boy was conceived with donor eggs, born in 2016 to a surrogate mother. The feds only granted citizenship to Aiden, who DNA tests showed was the biological son of Andrew, a US citizen. Ethan is the biological son of Elad Dvash-Banks, an Israeli citizen. story continues below The suit was one of two filed last year by an LGBTQ immigrant rights group that said the State Department is discriminating against same-sex binational couples by denying their children citizenship at birth. The State Department had previously pointed to guidance on its website that said there must be a biological connection to a US citizen to become a citizen at birth. "This family was shocked and appalled and angry when they were told their family wasn't legal," says Aaron Morris, executive director of Immigration Equality. "They wanted their twin boys to be treated exactly the same." Morris said the government wrongly applied a policy for children born out of wedlock to married same-sex couples; Walter agreed. "This is justice! ... It's like a giant rock has been removed from our hearts," Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks said in a statement. More here on the backstory of the Dvash-Banks family. (Read more US citizenship stories.) President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Friday endorsed amendments to several articles in the income tax law, Law no. 91 of 2005. In a statement on Friday, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said the amendments aim at granting more power to the health and social care fund for employees at the Egyptian Tax Authority by granting it a legal personality. The finance ministry, represented by the Egyptian Tax Authority, will immediately start to apply these legislative amendments, particularly those of Article 58 related to treasury bills and bonds. Amending Article 58 aims at adopting international tax practices related to treasury securities, the ministry added. Search Keywords: Short link: (Newser) David Henderson stepped forward to help Denver police solve a crimethe 2016 robbery of a marijuana dispensary. The mechanic told police he'd seen two people whose cars he'd worked on with weapons and marijuana after the robbery. That got him shot 10 times after court documents identifying him were accidentally sent to the two suspects, the Denver Post reports. On Thursday, Terance Jamal Black, 26, and his mother, Tina Marie Black, 51, were sentenced to life without parole in the 2016 slaying of Henderson, 48. The clerical error was not isolated: An investigation by the judicial system found 1,500 cases in Colorado in a year in which court documents were sent to the wrong people, said George Brauchler, the district attorney for Arapahoe County. The problem has since been fixed, he said. story continues below Witnesses shouldn't be afraid to help police in the future, Brauchler said, adding that he didn't want Henderson's good deed to be overlooked because of the problem with the court documents. "David Henderson is someone who's to be commended for their guts and courage to come forward and do the right thing," he said. The court system isn't responsible for Henderson's death, Brauchler said, but rather the "murderous conduct" of the two Blacks. But Henderson's younger sister, Karen Henderson Atkins, told the Denver Channel that she does hold the court system and police at least partly responsible. Now, the convictions allow her and her family, she says, to breathe easier. And she says they should send a message: "I want people to know that they can't get away with this." (A Good Samaritan stopped to help, and paid a terrible price.) (Newser) A prosecutor has announced he might seek the death penalty in the case of an 11-year-old girl sexually assaulted and slain more than four decades ago, NBC reports. But Linda O'Keefe was killed in Newport Beach in 1973, in a period when California didn't have the death penaltyso legal experts say execution of her killer isn't possible. "I will make a decision about whether death is appropriate in this case," Todd Spitzer, Orange County's district attorney, said at a news conference. That confused people. "I'm certain that you can't impose a higher penalty for a crime than that which existed at the time of the crime," says one veteran LA criminal defense lawyer. If the murder had occurred five years later, adds a vice chairman with the California Lawyers Association, it would be a different story. As it is, "Spitzer is barred from seeking the death penalty for a crime that was committed at a time when California did not have a valid death penalty," he says. story continues below James Neal, 72, was arrested Tuesday in Colorado Springs, Colo., and is charged with murder with special circumstances. "The detectives dogged this case," Spitzer said. They'd kept a photo of Linda, whose strangled body was found in a ditch a day after she disappeared while walking home from school, on a wall in the police department as a reminder. Last month, they had DNA from the crime scene checked against the database of a genealogical website and got a hit, the Los Angeles Times reports. They then got a DNA sample from Neal, Spitzer said, and the two matched. One of Linda's sisters, Cindy Borgeson, tells the Times she forgave her sister's killer years ago. She found solace this week in telling reporters about Linda. "She would have been 57 this year," Borgeson said. "I wonder sometimes what kind of life she would have lived." (California authorities this week also charged a man in the 1990 killing of an 11-year-old boy.) (Newser) Firebrand congressman Steve King has no plans to give up his job, despite a recent rebuke from his own peers. The GOP representative from Iowa said Thursday that he plans to run for a 10th term next year, reports the Des Moines Register. "I have nothing to apologize for," said King. Earlier this year, King added to his history of controversial statements by telling the New York Times: White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilizationhow did that language become offensive? story continues below King reiterated Thursday that he misspoke, or was perhaps misquoted, and said he does not in any way support white nationalism. Still, the original comments earned a rare rebuke from Republican and Democratic members of Congress alike, along with a punishment: King was stripped of all committee assignments, per Politico. King shrugged off the latter on Thursday: If theres ever going to be a time not to have committee assignments, this time with Nancy Pelosi as the speaker of the House is the time, he said. One potential problem for him down the road: King already faces three primary challengers. (Read more Steve King stories.) (Newser) Two Wall Street Journal reporters spent a lot of time watching Oscars telecasts to figure out why the show always, always runs long. The results are kind of fascinating. One standout stat is that viewers will spend 24 minutes watching people walkthat is, the time spent from when the winning name is called to when the winner begins speaking. By contrast, only about 4 minutes of a typical telecast is spent on the opening of envelopes and the announcement of winners. The seven-category breakdown: Film clips, visual packages: 37.6 minutes Speeches: 29.7 minutes Host speaking: 25.5 minutes Walking: 24.3 minutes Intros, banter: 24.3 minutes Songs: 13.8 minutes Opening envelopes: 4.2 minutes So could this be the year that the telecast comes in at the scheduled three hours? Nope. Lead producer Donna Gigliotti already has publicly conceded it, per the Hollywood Reporter . (Especially after the Academy had to rescind a time-saving proposal because of celebrity backlash.) The Trump administration says it's sent nearly 200 metric tons of humanitarian assistance over the past two weeks to the Colombian-Venezuelan border for distribution inside Venezuela. The US Agency for International Development says Friday that about 191 tons of relief supplies have been delivered to a depot in Cucuta, Colombia since Feb. 4. That includes food for 2,000 people for a month and medical material such as hygiene kits, wheelchairs, crutches, bandages and examination gloves. The aid is part of a $20 million package the administration announced last month after it recognized National Assembly head Juan Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate leader and demanded that President Nicolas Maduro step down. Maduro has ordered the borders with Colombia and Brazil closed as the opposition makes plans to bring the assistance in. Officials in Venezuela say a woman has been killed and a dozen more injured in a clash with security forces on the border with Brazil. Gran Sabana Mayor Emilio Gonzalez identified the woman shot dead Friday as Zoraida Rodriguez, a member of an indigenous community. A day earlier, President Nicolas Maduro ordered the border closed as the opposition made plans to bring in humanitarian aid from Brazil and two other neighboring countries on Saturday. Gonzalez says members of the Pemon ethnic group clashed with the Venezuela National Guard and army, who were moving tanks to the border with Brazil. He says the soldiers fired rubber bullets and tear gas and the injured people were taken for medical treatment. Short link: S&P 500 Has One of Its Best Weeks of 2021 What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 574-583-5121 or email cgrace@thehj.com. French forces have killed a top jihadist leader, Yahya Abou El Hamame, in an operation in Mali, Defence Minister Florence Parly said Friday. The Algerian, a commander in Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), was reputedly responsible for kidnapping a number of Westerners in North and West Africa. A ministry statement issued in Paris said he was "the mastermind and financer of several attacks". El Hamame was killed Thursday when French land and air forces ambushed a column of vehicles he was travelling with north of Timbuktu, Parly said. He reportedly served as AQIM's "governor" in Timbuktu when the city was held by Islamist rebels from April 2012 to January 2013. A number of other "terrorists" were "neutralised", Parly added. El Hamame was believed to be second in command of the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), also known as Nusrat al-Islam, led by Iyad Ag Ghali. The group was formed by the merger of Ansar Dine, the Macina Liberation Front, Al-Mourabitoun and El Hamame's Saharan branch of AQIM. The operation was announced as Parly, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian were due to visit Mali, where some 4,500 French troops have been deployed since 2014 to reconquer the north of the country after it fell to jihadist fighters. Short link: Reporter Tim Mitchell is a reporter at The News-Gazette. His email is tmitchel@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@mitchell6). Champaign, IL (61820) Today Scattered thunderstorms, especially late. Low 71F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms, especially late. Low 71F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Support local journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. By Online Desk PARIS: In yet another set back to Pakistan and its beleaguered Imran Khan-led regime vis-a-vis its flip-flop on terror financing, the anti-money global body Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Friday said it will continue to keep Islamabad in the 'grey list'. This move is also seen as a minor win for India's efforts as post-Pulwama, Indian agencies submitted dossiers to the FATF urging it that Pakistan should not given any relief. The FATF held its plenary sitting from February 17 and the deliberations completed on Friday. In a statement, the FATF said: "Due to the limited progress on action plan item due in January 2019, the FATF urges Pakistan to swiftly complete its action plan, particularly those with the timeliness of May 2019". The international financial watchdog in effect warned Pakistan to stick to the deadlines and not miss them again - as they have this time. READ | China downplays UNSC reference on Jaish, says UNSC statement not a judgement The FATF list matters vis-a-vis terror funding will be reviewed again in June and October later this year. Sources say India is keen to push for inclusion of Pakistan in the FATF 'black list' like Iran and North Korea. The blacklisting of Pakistan could only add to the economic woes for the cash-strapped nation which is faced with balance of payment crisis. Indian government sources say the FATF can 'blacklist' Pakistan if convinced of its role in the Pulwama attack and its complicity in terror funding. Actions from FATF may lead to "downgrading" of Pakistan by global lenders such as IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and European Union. In a desperate move on Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday 'reinstated' ban on Hafeez Saeed-led Jama'at-ud-Da'wah (JuD). The JuD is a front organisation of the Lashkar-e-Toiba terror group which had carried out the 2008 Mumbai terror attack in which 166 people were killed. The Pakistan government has also decided to ban JuD's charity wing Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF). (With inputs from UNI) Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir declared a nationwide state of emergency for one year on Friday and dissolved the central and state governments in an unexpected move, nearly two months after the eruption of widespread protests decrying his leadership over failure to mend economic woes. He also asked the parliament to postpone discussions on constitutional amendments in a public speech which saw him address both "supporters and opponents" in a rare conciliatory approach. The amendments were to see al-Bashir running for another term as nearly daily protests in Sudan, which initially erupted in December over rising food prices and cash shortages, grew against his near 30-year rule. Human rights advocates say around 60 people have been killed since December, while Sudanese authorities set the death toll at 32, including three security personnel. "There is no alternative to dialogue," al-Bashir said in an unfamiliar outlook where he did not ridicule the protests or its organizers' over their use of social media to mobilize the demonstrations. The Sudanese President has previously stood defiant in a previous address in front of a supporters rally, often choosing to mock the protests instead. "What Im providing is a framework for a solution, but not a solution [in itself]," he said, calling for constructive dialogue in the coming days with everyone, including opposition abroad. He said such a dialogue "would avert our state from conflicts", adding that the country "acknowledges the youths' legitimate demands and dreams as they represent the future." "This is a hard and complex stage in our history. We will come out from this stage more powerful and more united and determined to build our aspiring and stable state," he added. Al-Bashir described the demonstrations as ones which were bearing "legitimate demands" until attempts by some to "exploit such demands through agendas to lead the state to an unknown fate." His speech came a few hours after the country's intelligence chief said the strongman will step down as the chairman of the ruling National Congress Party, also announcing that he will not run for president in elections lined up for 2020. Earlier on Friday, security forces fired teargas to disperse hundreds of protesters demonstrating against the government following prayers at a major mosque near the Sudanese capital. There have been no immediate reactions from opposition over the speech, which came contrary to leaks suggesting al-Bashir's authority would be reduced. Short link: By PTI ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army on Friday said the country does not wish for war, but warned India of "surprise" in case it takes any aggressive military measures, amidst heightened tensions between the two sides following the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. Addressing a press conference, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor also said that India blamed Pakistan for the Pulwama attack "without due investigation" and New Delhi has not yet accepted the "reality of partition". "We have a 72-year history. The partition happened in 1947 and Pakistan was liberated. India still hasn't been able to accept that," the Army spokesman said after the terror strike by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. "We are not preparing for war, you (India) are issuing threats we have right to respond to the threats. We are not preparing to initiate but planning to defend and retaliate which is our right," the Army spokesman said. ALSO READ | Pulwama fallout: SC directs Chief secretary, DGPs to take action against assault on Kashmiris He further said: "Should you (India) initiate any reaction first, you would never be able to surprise us we will surprise you." He said when it comes to India, "Pakistan has singleness of conception. We have will and determination. Ghafoor warned that military response this time will be different in case of war." "We are not the army of past, we are a battle-hardened army. We have fought against an unseen enemy and won," he said. The army spokesman said that 'we can respond to full spectrum threat' and warned 'I hope you (India) get (the message) and do not mess with Pakistan'. To a question about nature of preparations, he said, "We are not preparing for war but we are preparing for response and whatever response is needed, we have prepared for it." He alleged that the Pulwama attack shows the "failure" of Indian security forces. "From the Line of Control onwards, Indian security forces have layered defences. So the Pulwama attack shows failure of Indian forces," he said. Asserting that India needs "introspection" on Kashmir, he said, "The Pulwama attack happened miles away from the LoC. The explosives that were used were local, the vehicle used was local and the youth who did it was also local. "We are saying let us talk about the attack, let us talk about militancy and peace. The biggest issue is Kashmir and let us talk about it," he said. "We are two democracies, and democracies do not fight," he said. "I met Indian journalists sometimes ago and shared with them the message of the army chief that 'countries do not prosper, regions prosper' and in the 21st Century, the biggest issue is how to make progress," he said. Ghafoor said that Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday authorised the Army to take all measures to defend the country in case of any attack. He said the Pulwama attack was negative for Pakistan as it came when important events were taking place in Pakistan including visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. "Our reaction shows that the prime minister offered complete cooperation if evidence is shared and he promised to take action. He also offered to talk about the issue of terrorism," Ghafoor said. He said Pakistan was changing and "we came to this point after heavy struggle. We are the only country and army which fought terrorism like we did." He said Pakistan had defeated militants and now action started against extremist groups under the National Action Plan to eliminate militancy and terrorism. He said that media in Pakistan was behaving responsibly while "Indian media is doing war journalism". The already sour relations between India and Pakistan have worsened as New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the Pulwama attack. Both countries have called back their envoys for "consultations." By AFP ISLAMABAD: For eight days in 1999 the world watched in horror as hijackers diverted an Indian Airlines flight to Afghanistan and held the passengers hostage, the drama ending only when Delhi agreed to release three Kashmiri militants. Nearly 20 years later, India is still paying the price for that decision. One of the militants freed was Masood Azhar, who later went on to found Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the militant group which claimed responsibility this month for the deadliest attack in three decades in Indian-held Kashmir. ALSO READ | Pulwama terror attack: Mastermind Rasheed Ghazi entered India two months ago, trained attacker More than 40 Indian paramilitaries were killed in the suicide blast on February 14, kindling a fresh diplomatic crisis between nuclear-armed arch-rivals India and Pakistan. JeM is based in Pakistan, one of several anti-Indian militant groups fighting in Kashmir which are officially banned in the country, but which are alleged to be used by Islamabad as proxies in India. Azhar, also, is believed to be in Pakistan -- but his exact whereabouts remain shrouded in mystery. He was born the son of an elementary school teacher in Punjab province in 1968, according to Amir Rana, a security analyst who has carried out extensive research on Pakistani militant groups. The US Treasury Department website still gives Azhar's home address as a location in the province's Bahawalpur district. Azhar entered Indian-held Kashmir on a Portuguese passport, security officials there told AFP and established contact with numerous militant groups. At the peak of the insurgency in the early 1990s, one retired official told AFP, he had not yet picked up arms. A common figure in the streets of Srinagar, he was known for his fiery speeches, and for mediating between the many groups flocking to the insurgency. "His greatest value for the militant groups was as a motivator and recruiter, but more significantly he displayed a good capacity to reconcile their differences," the official told AFP. ALSO READ | Terrorism, climate change biggest challenges before mankind: PM Modi Azhar was detained by Indian authorities on terrorism charges in 1994. He reportedly bragged to his jailers that they would not be able to keep him in custody. At one point, another security official told AFP, he and other militants dug an escape tunnel. When the moment came, Azhar insisted on going first. "But he got stuck in the narrow tunnel because of his bulky physique and the whole attempt was thwarted," the official said. He remained in prison until the Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu to New Delhi was hijacked on Christmas Eve in 1999 and eventually landed in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, at the time under Taliban rule. One of the hijackers, Ibrahim Athar, was reported to be Azhar's younger brother. 'Lack of evidence' Azhar reportedly met with Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and Taliban founder Mullah Mohammed Omar in Afghanistan after he was freed, said Rana. He formed JeM in 2000, Rana said. Just a year later, JeM was blamed for a brazen attack on the Indian parliament in which militants killed 10 people, and which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war. Azhar was detained and placed under house arrest. But a court in the Punjab provincial capital of Lahore ordered his release in 2002, citing "lack of evidence". ALSO READ | Not opposed to Masood Azhar's banning, anyone involved in terror must be listed by UN: Saudi Foreign Minister As homegrown Pakistani militant groups turned their guns on the state after 9/11, Rana said Azhar was one of the few who kept a low profile. The group struck again in 2016, with Delhi blaming them for an infamous attack on a military base in Indian-held Kashmir that left seven soldiers dead and once more sent tensions spiralling. Azhar was again taken in to "protective custody", but never formally charged. His whereabouts remained a mystery for months, with speculation he was being kept under house arrest in Bahawalpur. Last July he addressed supporters in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-held Kashmir, by telephone from an undisclosed location, claiming he had hundreds of militants ready to fight to the death. The speech prompted Indian authorities to tighten security at airports in anticipation of another hijacking. Azhar, meanwhile, has not been directly heard from since. Chinese wall Azhar's JeM is banned by the United Nations, India, and Pakistan, and listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation. But the man himself has never been declared a terrorist. Delhi and others have tried multiple times to get the UN Security Council to declare Azhar a global terrorist, including in 2016 and 2017. The move has been blocked each time by Pakistan's ally China, however -- despite its own fears of domestic Islamist militancy. Diplomats told AFP this week that, in response to the rising tensions, France, Britain and the United States were considering a new push at the Security Council to place Azhar on the UN terror list -- but once more face opposition by China. By PTI SEOUL: India and South Korea signed seven agreements on Friday to enhance cooperation in key areas, including infrastructure development, media, start-ups and combating trans-border and international crime, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country. ALSO READ | PM Modi receives Seoul Peace Prize for 2018 Modi, who is on a two-day visit to South Korea to strengthen India's strategic ties with the country, was accorded an official reception at the Blue House, the executive office and official residence of the South Korean President Moon Jae-in here. He also met First lady Kim Jung-sook. The memorandum of understandings (MoUs) were signed after the two leaders held "constructive" talks on enhancing bilateral cooperation in a number of areas including trade, investment, defence and security. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that seven documents between India and South Korea were signed/exchanged in the presence of the two leaders on cooperation in media, start-ups and police among others. ALSO READ | PM Modi visits National Cemetery in Seoul, pays homage to fallen soldiers An MoU was signed between Korean National Police Agency and the Ministry of Home Affairs to enhance cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries and combat trans-border and international crimes. Another agreement was signed for releasing a joint stamp, commemorating Princess Suriratna (Queen Hur Hwang-ok), a legendary Princess of Ayodhya, who went to Korea in AD 48 and married King Kim-Suro. A large number of Koreans trace their ancestry to the princess. The two sides also signed an agreement to continue operations of Korea Plus organisation that facilitates investments by Korean companies in India. Korea Plus was operationalised in June 2016, and comprises representatives from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy of South Korea, Korea Trade Investment and Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and Invest India. The two countries will promote collaboration among start-ups and set up a Korea Start-up Centre (KSC) in India to commercialise ideas, technologies and designs of start-up companies. The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) and Prasar Bharti have agreed to facilitate the broadcast of DD India Channel in South Korea and KBS World Channel in India. An agreement was signed on fisheries and aquaculture for strengthening cooperation by encouraging exchanges, organising training workshops and development and utilisation of marine science and technology in the fields of fisheries and aquaculture. Another MoU was signed between the National Highways Authority of India and Korea Expressway Corporation to promote bilateral cooperation in road and transport infrastructure development projects of India and facilitate technical and institutional knowledge exchange in the field of road and transport. Modi is visiting South Korea on the invitation of President Moon. This is his second visit to the Republic of Korea since 2015 and a second summit meeting with the South Korean president. Ramananda Sengupta By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Pakistan on Friday announced that the Punjab government has taken administrative control of a mosque-and-seminary complex in Bahawalpur believed to have been the headquarters of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). The action comes hours after the Financial Action Task Force, a Paris-based intergovernmental body tasked with countering terrorist funding and money laundering, said it notes with grave concern and condemns the violent terrorist attack last week that killed at least 40 Indian security forces in Pulwama in the State of J&K, and refused to take Pakistan off its grey list. ALSO READ | Masood Azhar, militant leader at the heart of the Kashmir crisis It also comes a day after the UN Security Council, despite attempts by China to block it, strongly condemned last weeks heinous terrorist attack on Pulwama for which Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility. A day later, China continued to defend the Jaish, claiming the UNSC statement was only in general terms and does not represent a judgement. While there was no formal Indian reaction, a senior official privately described the latest Pakistani move as yet another sick joke. Even if they arrest (Lashkar-e-Toiba chief) Hafiz Saeed and (JeM chief) Masood Azhar now to show their apparent sincerity in tackling terror, they will probably still be released within weeks, like they have been several times earlier. READ HERE | China downplays UNSC reference on Jaish, says statement 'not a judgement' The crackdown The Punjab govt has taken control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, reportedly the headquarters of JeM led by Masood Azhar, and appointed an administrator to manage its affairs, Pakistans interior ministry said. The campus has 70 faculty and 600 students FATF urges Pak to address strategic deficiencies ON Friday, the FATF, which had placed Pakistan on its grey list in June 2018, said, Pakistan should continue to work on implementing its action plan to address its strategic deficiencies in countering terror financing. Given the limited progress on action plan items due in January 2019, the FATF urges Pakistan to swiftly complete its action plan, particularly those with timelines of May 2019, it said. New Delhi had been pushing to get Pakistan moved up to the FATFs Black list, which would have made it even more difficult for Islamabad to get international funds. A day before the announcement, Pakistans National Security Committee had reinstated a ban on the Jamaatud Dawa and Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation, the social and political outfits of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba headed by Hafiz Saeed, and authorized accelerated action against extremist groups in the country. The Dawn, a Pakistan newspaper, in a report Friday evening quoted a government spokesperson as saying that The Government of Punjab has taken over the control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, reportedly the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammad, and appointed an administrator to manage its affairs. However, A local source in Bahawalpur could not confirm any physical movement or changes in the security set-up around the campus, it added. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday urged ASEAN and the international community to support Indias fight against terrorists and terrorist organisations. By Express News Service KARIMNAGAR: Karimnagar One Town police on Thursday registered a case against Youth Congress State secretary and Secunderabad in-charge Malyala Sujith Kumar for allegedly posting objectionable content about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The case has been registered under IPC Sections 95 A and 505, Cyber Crime and IT Act. Sujith Kumar had reportedly posted derogatory comments on Facebook and Twitter, targeting Modi in connection to the recent terrorist attack in Pulwama, Jammu & Kashmir. He had said that BJP had earlier used the Ayodhya Ram Mandir issue to its political advantage. A few years ago, he had hugged Prime Minister and a few days ago he hugged the Saudi crown prince on his State visit, he said in his post. Sujith Kumar also reportedly commented about the Prime Ministers mother. Some BJP and RSS leaders noticed the posts and tagged the Prime Ministers Office and State Police accounts to them. On receiving instructions, One Town police made inquiries and issues notices to Sujith Kumar under 41 CrPC. Sujith Kumar admitted that he had indeed written the posts, but said that there was nothing objectionable about them. He claimed that he had posted several things on social media, commenting on government policies, for a long time. BJP leaders have harassed me a lot and have re-tweeted me several times, he said. Meanwhile, police have warned people from misusing social media and said that stringent action would be taken against people who post derogatory content. Nirupa Sampath By Express News Service CHENNAI: A 23-year-old teacher was killed by a stalker who slit her throat when she was waiting in front of her school on Friday morning, police said. The shocking incident took place at Kurinjipadi in Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu. The deceased, identified as S Ramya, was working in a private school at Kurinjipadi. Police said Ramya was waiting outside her school for the gates to open on Friday morning when the man, Rajasekar, who was riding pillion on a motorbike, came close to her and slit her throat before fleeing. She died on the spot of severe bleeding. Police said Rajesekar, a native of Oomangalam, had been stalking Ramya for the past few months and pestering her to be in a relationship with him. Angered by her refusal, Rajasekar killed her, they added. Ramya was working as a teacher after completing her graduation from Periyar Arts College in Cuddalore. Speaking to Express, the Cuddalore district Superintendent of Police P Saravanan said, "We have identified the accused and a case has been filed." Police are looking out for Rajasekar. The police officer said there were no earlier complaints lodged by the victim against Rajasekar. By Express News Service VELLORE: Income Tax (IT) department on Thursday swooped down on the premises of two realtors and others related to them in Vellore for alleged tax evasion. The raids were conducted at nine places including Vellore city, Katpadi, KV Kuppam and Jolarpet. Separate teams of I-T sleuths stepped into the residences and office premises of Ramamoorthy Reddy located at Vivekananda Street, Gandhi Nagar in Katpadi and scanned the premises for documents and other materials. The residences of Ramamoorthys brother Mohan was also raided at Bharathi Nagar in Katpadi. The officials swooped down on the premises of Ramamoorthys business partner Jayaprakash at Gopalakrishnan Nagar in Katpadi, besides searching Sai City Centre. Ramamoorthy Reddy and Jayaprakash are involved in real estate business for a long time and they had a dispute over selling a land worth Rs 300 crore located in the heart of the city, the sources said. The duo had brought the dispute to the Madras High Court recently. The sources noted that similar raids were also held in certain premises of an influential person at Jolarpet in the district. Raids were conducted at residences and office premises at nine places in Vellore district, an officer said. He added, the I-T sleuths searched the premises of Highways and PWD contractor Sivakumar as well. He was recently expelled from a leading political party. The searches are linked to the muddy land deal between Ramamoorthy Reddy, Jayaprakash and a dairy firm proprietor. Political intervention is also cited to be involved in the land deal. The raids began at 6.30 am and continued till late in the evening. 31 places across State raided I-T sleuths conducted raids at premises and offices of four prominent real estate developers across the state in 31 places including Vellore. A top I-T official told Express that the four are also involved in money lending businesses but refused to divulge names. He also clarified that there had been no searches on any politician. The searches have been carried out only in the cases of four individuals engaged in real estate and money lending, the official stated. By PTI PALAKKAD: BJP president Amit Shah Friday took potshots and attacked the proposed "Mahagathbandhan" of opposition parties and said if it comes to power, there will be a new prime minister on each day of the week. Addressing party workers, Shah said the 'grand alliance' was not good for the country. The mahagathbandhan was just a "front of the corrupt people to grab power" and does not have any ideology, leader or programme, Shah, who was in Palakkad to review his party's poll preparedness for the Lok Sabha elections, said. Taking potshots at the proposed opposition front, Shah said every day of the week, there would be a new Prime Minister, if they came to power. "I will tell you who will become the Prime Minister if the Opposition comes to power. On Monday, Akhilesh Yadav will be the Prime Minister, on Tuesday it will be Mayawati. Wednesday will be for Chandrababu Naidu and Thursday for Deve Gowda and Mamata Banerjee will the Prime Minister on Friday. On Saturday it will be DMK leader M K Stalin. On Sunday, since it is a holiday, there will no Prime Minister," Shah said. He said the 2019 election was important for the BJP as it would return to power, and expressed hope that there would be MPs from Kerala to be part of the central government. READ HERE | Who is face of 'grand opposition' alliance? Name the leader, Amit Shah asks Rahul Gandhi "This poll is important to the country as well. Rahul Gandhi was eager to form a Mahagathbandhan. This is not good for the country. This mahagathbandhan doesn't have any ideology, leader or programme. This is just a front of the corrupt to grab power," Shah said. Do the people need a "leader or a dealer?" he asked. "The Opposition just has dealers, but BJP has got a leader. Narendra Modi, one who can lead this country," he said. Claiming that the Prime Minister was a workaholic and puts in 18 hours of work each day for the country, Shah said there was no corruption allegation against Modi. "He is the most popular and respected leader of the world. He is working hard to make the country a world leader, Shah said. Shah also attacked the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF in Kerala and the UDF opposition spearheaded by the Congress. "When the LDF comes to power, there is violence and during UDF regime there is corruption and both fronts help cover each others mistakes. But if the BJP-led NDA comes to power all the corrupt will be put behind bars," he said. Attacking the left government, he said the "Communist party has become extinct in the world. That's the situation of the Congress party in the country. NDA is planning big win in the state," Shah said. He also asked the people of Kerala to give an opportunity to the Narendra Modi government to make the state the best in the country. "People of Kerala have been alternatively electing the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and Congress-headed UDF. Give a chance to Narendra Modi. We will make Kerala the number 1 state in the country," he said. Shah also wanted Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to explain what the two previous UPA governments have done for Kerala. "I want to ask Rahul baba what the congress has done for Kerala. The UPA government ruled for ten years. During the UPA regime, Rs 45,392 crore was spent for the state. But the Modi government had allocated over Rs 198,00 crore in five years, despite not having a single MP from Kerala," he said. This is four times more than what the UPA government had done, he said. Besides this amount, various projects worth Rs 59,000 crore had been allotted to the state. Lashing out at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, he said "Pinarayi Vijayan comes to Delhi and asks Prime Minister what we have given to the state. I don't have any obligation to answer Vijayan, but my obligation is towards the people of the state," Shah said. ALSO READ | Pinarayi Vijayan is cool, his stand on Sabarimala is right, says fan Vijay Sethupathi The BJP government has given four times more assistance to the state government, he said and alleged that the left government in Kerala had been creating hindrances on various projects sanctioned by the Centre. "The state government has delayed land acquisition for Kanjikode Railway factory and AIIMS projects," he said. Shah alleged the state government has been delaying these projects out of fear that if these become a reality, it might enhance the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shah also alleged that Vijayan was "playing politics" and stalling the state's development. Hitting out at the ruling CPI(M) on the Sabarimala issue, the BJP chief said the state govenrment has been "cheating" crores of Ayyappa devotees and denying them justice. "This would only result in "unsettling the foundation of the communist party in the state," Shah said. He alleged the LDF government has not yet removed the loudspeakers from mosques despite the Supreme Court verdict. "The LDF government has been stating that they were bound by the Supreme Court verdict (on the Sabarimala issue). However, the top court has also said that no loudspeakers can be used in mosques. From how many mosques have you removed the loudspeakers. Have you implemented that Supreme Court verdict?" Shah asked. "The atheist communists have tried to deny justice to the believers," he said. Toby Antony By Express News Service KOCHI: Unesco will cooperate with the Kerala Government to promote heritage projects as part of the Spice Route project in the state. A delegation from Kerala held a meeting with Unesco officers in New Delhi the other day in which representatives of 10 foreign countries also attended. The delegation from Kerala comprised Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, Tourism Secretary Rani George, Kerala Tourism head P Bala Kiran, Muziris Heritage Project (MHP) MD Nowshad P M, MHP consultant Benny Kuriakose and Kerala History Research Council chairman P K Michael Tharakan. The delegation held a meeting with Eric Falt, Director and Unesco Representative for Bhutan, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka. The meeting was attended by ambassadors and representatives of Netherlands, Portugal, Myanmar, UK, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Indonesia and China. It was a fruitful meeting as the Unesco agreed to cooperate with us in developing and promoting the Spice Route project. Unesco will cooperate with various programmes to be organised as part of the Spice Route project which intend to promote the heritage and culture of the state. It will facilitate knowledge sharing and research activities with other countries which had historical trade links with Kerala, MHP MD P M Nowshad said. As Kerala is promoting heritage tourism, the collaboration of Unesco will benefit the state immensely. The Netherlands has promised to collaborate in the development of Alappuzha heritage project. Researchers from Kerala can associate with experts in the Netherlands. Similarly, assistance will be provided to digitise archives related to heritage projects in the state. We are not looking for any financial aid from Unesco. However, technical assistance by facilitating the involvement of foreign nations in preserving heritage sites and managing the archives of the state will help the project. It will also help in expanding research activities conducted on Kerala heritage to foreign nations, he said. Spice Route international conference in August At the meeting, a decision was taken to organise the international conference in Kerala from August 7 to 9. The conference will be attended by scholars from 29 nations which had historical connection with Kerala. The venue of the project is yet to be finalised. It may take place in Kochi or Alappuzha. During the conference, the delegates will be taken to Muziris and Alappuzha heritage sites, a Tourism Department officer said. It was in 2014 the Unesco signed an MoU with Kerala Tourism Department to launch the Spice Route Project. However, other than organising a culinary event in 2016, the project did not progress much. It was in recent years, the government decided to rediscover the Spice Route Project by partnering with the Unesco. Representing Kerala The delegation from Kerala comprised Ministers Thomas Isaac and Kadakampally Surendran, Tourism Secretary Rani George, Kerala Tourism head P Bala Kiran, Muziris Heritage Project MD Nowshad P M, MHP consultant Benny Kuriakose and Kerala History Research Council chairman P K Michael Tharakan. Ajay Kanth By Express News Service KOCHI: A few years ago, more than 10,000 betel leaf farmers from Tirur were savouring success as tonnes of produce from their fertile land crossed borders to Pakistan every week and brought them fortune in return. But it tastes bitter now after diplomatic relations between the two countries turned sour and that country hiked its import duty on betel leaves from India by more than 140 per cent. The Pulwama attack has poured more cold waters on the farmers comeback hopes. The farm of Bava Moopen, one of the major betel leaves growers in Malappuram all these years, used to supply the lions share of the five-tonne weekly export. It had once touched 20 tonnes but after things took a turn for the worse, Moopen said nearly 50 per cent of them have given up farming. We used to make an average weekly profit of `25,000 from one consignment earlier. But Pakistan has been acting with a vengeance in the past three-to-four years and now the export has completely stopped, said Moopen, president of Tirur Betel Farmers Association. Price of a 100-leaf bundle of leaves has slumped to `30 from `120, he said. Betel leaf farmers seek govt action Tirur Betel Farmers Association president Bava Moopen said: We met officers of the Union Ministry of Commerce and Trade in New Delhi and apprised them of our issues. Only government-level discussions can solve the issue. He added the Pulwama attack has dampened the recovery chances. Suraj Trading International Exports MD Praveen Eranhikkal said they used to export at least a tonne of leaves every week to Pakistan three years ago. Now, we dont have any order from Pakistan. Apart from the skirmishes between the two countries, the exorbitant import duty imposed by Pakistan on betel leaves from India has worsened things. We now export only a small quantity to Lebanon, said Praveen. 10K betel leaf farmers from Tirur were sending leaves to Pakistan Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir will address the nation on Friday evening, shortly after reports of major changes in the upper echelons of the country had emerged. Earlier in the day, Saudi Arabia's Al-Arabiya channel said that Al-Bashir will restructure the government and the ruling party and declare a state of emergency. Al-Bashir has decided to give up his post as the head of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) but will remain Sudan's president, with renewed promises to combat corruption, the head of security and intelligence told Al-Arabiya. He also announced that he will not run in the coming presidential elections, scheduled for 2020. Security forces fired teargas to disperse hundreds of protesters who marched and chanted anti-government slogans following Friday prayers at a major mosque near the Sudanese capital, eyewitnesses said. The demonstration in the city of Omdurman outside Al-Sayed Abd Al-Rahman Al-Mahdi mosque, which has ties to the opposition Umma party, was the latest in what have become near-daily protests in Sudan since 19 December. Security forces have used teargas and live bullets to disperse protesters, and have arrested people including opposition party members, activists and journalists. Short link: By Express News Service BENGALURU: We will win more seats in the Lok Sabha polls from Karnataka than those we won in 2014, the coalition notwithstanding, said BJP national president Amit Shah here on Thursday. At a closed-door meeting with the 104 MLAs, 18 MLCs and 16 MPs of the party, he said the scenario in December may not have been favourable to the BJP. But now it is different, BJP will win absolute majority at the Centre, he said citing the different opinion polls. He said the NDA will win at least 60 more seats than the present, because its allies are expected to fare well in West Bengal, Odisha, the Northeast and Tamil Nadu.In UP, he said, it is a four- cornered fight with the SP-BSP on one side, Congress on the other and Shivpal Yadav the other contender. In West Bengal, the fight is between Congress, TMC and Communists. Amit Shah said the different schemes of the government had benefited 22 crore people. So it is not only assurances this time, but we have delivered on those assurances. The partys main plank for the election is nationalism, he said.In 2014, BJP party membership was just 2.6 crore but now it is 12 crore, he said. By Express News Service TIRUPATI: Taking potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for posing and smiling for a documentary on himself even three and a half hours after the Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel died, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said Modi should be ashamed of his behavior. Addressing a well attended public meeting in Tirupati on Friday evening, Rahul said Modi should also be ashamed of himself for not giving the people of Andhra Pradesh what they deserve and what is their right - the Special Category Status. Stating that the most important thing in leadership and politics is a persons word, he said if one does not have commitment to what they said, then it is worthless. Describing Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh as a commitment of a Prime Minister on behalf of over a billion people in the country and not just anyone, he stressed it should be fulfilled. READ HERE | PM Modi was busy shooting film in Corbett Park, had 'chai, samosa' after Pulwama attack: Congress Congress President @RahulGandhi on a Padyatra to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam during his visit to Andhra Pradesh. pic.twitter.com/RVZZRB4Dgv Congress (@INCIndia) February 22, 2019 I want to make it clear to everyone in Andhra Pradesh and the country that when Congress party comes to power in Delhi, no force in the world can stop it from giving SCS to Andhra Pradesh. It does not matter to me, whether, there is a Congress government in the state or not, but the Prime Ministers commitment to the State will be fulfilled no matter what, he vowed. Portraying Narendra Modi as a liar and an unreliable person, the Congress chief said five years ago, during a meeting in Tirupati, Modi promised SCS for not five years but 10 years. He promised Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of everyone, 2 lakh jobs, right price for farm produce, make in India, clean India, startup India, look left India and every single programme he could think of, Rahul recalled. Congress President Rahul Gandhi at public rally in Tirupati: When the Congress party comes to power in Delhi, no force in this world will be able to stop Congress party from giving special status to #AndhraPradesh. pic.twitter.com/soqdb5uXEH ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2019 Rahul Gandhi in Tirupati (Photo | PTI) Every single one of his statements is a lie. He asked you to make him Chowkidar and not Prime Minister. But today, that very chowkidar has become a chor (thief), he alleged. Mocking the BJPs previous election slogan Achhe Din Ayenge, Rahul Gandhi said good days were for corporates and cited the Rafale scam, which he said, benefited Anil Ambani by Rs 30,000 crore. Describing Congress as a party which is committed to what it promises unlike the present Prime Minister, he reminded the gathering, We said you will be given NREGA, we gave it. We said to you, we will protect the land, Land Acquisition Act was enacted, which is a revolutionary law that protects the interests of the farmer. On the farm loan waiver issue, Rahul Gandhi said, when they were in government they waived Rs 70,000 crore in loan waiver and recalled the BJP MPs criticism against the same. Now, Mr. Modi can forgive Rs 3.5 lakh crore to corporates in the country, but could not forgive loans of a poor farmer, he said, while reminding that though Congress promised to waive farm loans after coming to power in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh in 10 days after coming to power, it did so in just two days. ALSO READ | Why is PM Modi silent on Kashmiri students being targeted in various parts of country: Omar Abdullah Scaling up his criticism of Narendra Modi for his insensitiveness after the Pulwama terror attack, Rahul Gandhi said the people who call themselves nationalists, failed to respond when 40 CRPF jawans were martyred. The Prime Minister of India, who calls himself a nationalist, was sitting in a national park getting a movie made on himself. He posed in front of the camera, smiling, laughing. He didn't feel the pain and suffering of the families of our youngsters, who sacrificed themselves, he said, and questioned why the Prime Minister did not pause to consider stopping the shoot and extend a helping hand to the families of the martyred. The Congress chief concluded his speech with an assurance to accord Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh. Earlier in the day, after arriving at Tirupati in a special flight, he trekked to Tirumala from Alipiri and offered prayers to Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala. By PTI UNITED NATIONS: The powerful UN Security Council has strongly condemned the "heinous and cowardly" Pulwama terror attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed and underlined the need to hold perpetrators of these "reprehensible acts" of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. Forty Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country. "The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir, which left 40 Indian paramilitary forces dead and dozens wounded on February 14, 2019, for which Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility," the UN Security Council said in a statement on the 'Suicide Bombing in Jammu and Kashmir' on Thursday. ALSO READ | Kashmir issue unresolved because of Jawaharlal Nehru: Amit Shah The powerful UN organ, which includes five permanent members China, France, Russia, UK and the US "underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice", it said. The top UN body urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions to cooperate actively with the government of India and all other relevant authorities. The press statement is highly significant as China, a permanent member of the Council, has in the past repeatedly blocked India's bids in the Security Council Sanctions Committee to designate JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. ALSO READ | Pulwama attack fallout: Kashmiri students attacked in Maharashtra "A statement with many firsts takes more time than expected. In complex diplomatic situations, however, it is better to be late than never," India's permanent representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin tweeted on the UNSC statement. On whether China raised any objections to the statement, sources told PTI here that drafting the statement was a "prolonged process" and was issued after "prolonged discussions". The members of the Security Council also expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the Indian people and the government of India, and wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured. "The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security," it said. ALSO READ: India's share of water that flows to Pakistan will be diverted to Yamuna, says Gadkari The Council also reiterated that "any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed". The UNSC reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts,"it said. The condemnation by the UN organ comes a day after Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi met top UN leaders including with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council President Anatolio Ndong Mba of Equatorial Guinea, briefing them about the escalating tensions in the region in the wake of the Pulwama attack. In a major boost to India's efforts to get Azhar on the list of global terrorists, France is expected to soon move a proposal in the Sanctions Committee to ban the head of the UN-proscribed group. The proposal, when moved, will be fourth such bid at the UN in past 10 years. In 2009, India moved by itself a proposal to designate Azhar. This was followed in 2016 when India moved the proposal with the P3 - the US, the UK and France in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of attack on the airbase in Pathankot in January, 2016. In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, China always blocked the proposal from being adopted by the UN. Guterres too had strongly condemned the terror attack and called for those behind the attack to be brought to justice. On Wednesday, he again reiterated his strong condemnation of the terrorist attack, stressing that it is essential that there be accountability under international law and perpetrators of terrorist acts be brought swiftly to justice. "The Secretary-General has been following with great concern the situation in South Asia. He reiterates his strong condemnation of the terrorist attack against Indian security forces in Pulwama," a statement issued by his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric had said. At the same time, the Secretary-General "urgently" appealed to the Governments of both India and Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure the situation does not further deteriorate. "It is the belief of the Secretary-General that all difficult challenges can be resolved peacefully and satisfactorily through meaningful mutual engagement," it said. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet had also strongly condemned the attack and called on authorities to bring those responsible to justice. "The High Commissioner strongly condemns the suicide bomb attack against Indian security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on 14 February and calls on authorities to bring those responsible to justice," Spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Rupert Colville had said in Geneva Tuesday. By PTI NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Friday directed chief secretaries and DGPs of 11 states to take "prompt" and "necessary" action to prevent incidents of threat, social boycott and violence against Kashmiris following the Pulwama terror attack. It also sought responses from the Centre and the states where incidents of threat and violence against Kashmiris have taken place after the February 14 terror attack in which over 40 CRPF personnel were killed. "The chief secretaries, the DGPs and the Delhi Police Commissioner are directed to take prompt and necessary action to prevent all the incidents of threat, assault, social boycott and other coercive acts against Kahsmiris and other minorities in the aftermath of the terrorist attack of February 14," said a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna. ALSO READ | This Harvard alumnus is working to build a crowdfunded university for students in Kashmir to study safely The bench perused the advisories issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to the chief secretaries and DGPs of states from time to time and said that they "shall be reiterated from time to time". The court also directed that the police officers, who were earlier appointed as nodal officers to deal with cow vigilantism and lynching incidents, would now be responsible for dealing with the cases of assaults on Kashmiris as well. The bench asked the MHA to give wide publicity to the details regarding the nodal officers so that Kashmiri people can approach such officials in case of "assault, intimidation, social boycott and threat". Besides the Centre, top officials of Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Delhi have been directed to prevent incidents of "threat, assault and social boycott" of Kashmiris, including students. The court was hearing the plea of Tariq Adeeb, a lawyer, alleging that students from Kashmir Valley are being attacked at different educational institutions across the country after the Pulwama terror attack and authorities concerned should be directed to take action to stop such assaults. At the outset, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for Adeeb, claimed that 10 more incidents of assaults have taken place in various states after filing of the petition and necessary directions be issued urgently to stop them. He said that some fresh incidents against Kasmiris have taken place in Punjab and Maharashtra and urged the court to make these two states also parties to the petition, which was allowed by the court. "The petition was filed in respect of nine states. But since I mentioned it yesterday and until today, 10 additional incidents have come to light, some in two new states of Punjab and Maharashtra,", Gonsalves said. On being asked as to what relief was being sought for, the senior lawyer said tha he wanted a similar order which was passed in mob lynching cases and senior police officers be appointed as nodal officers to deal with such incidents against Kasmiris. Attorney General (AG) KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre said the ministry has issued the requisite advisory to states and Union territories (UTs) on this issue on February 17 and earlier also, such advisories had been issued. "Nodal officers have been appointed in all states and UTs and there names and numbers are available. This list was last updated in 2018. The Centre has already issued advisory to all states and UTs on February 17 but we can't tell the states about their specific actions that can be taken in such cases because law and order is a state subject," he said. Taking note of the submission, the bench referred to its earlier decisions in the cases of cow vigilantism and mob violence by which it had asked the states and union territories to appoint a senior police officer as nodal officer in each district to deal with such cases. The bench has now listed the matter for further hearing on next Wednesday. The PIL has sought a direction to the Centre and other authorities for prosecuting people engaging in hate speech, and to appoint a nodal officer in every state and union territory, including politically-sensitive districts, to prevent acts of violence, discrimination and vigilantism. It had also sought immediate setting up of a nationwide helpline number and a web-site containing contact details of the nodal officers appointed in politically-sensitive districts. "There is a sudden rise in the incidents of crimes against Muslims and Kashmiris after the Pulwama terrorist attack on February 14 in which over 40 soldiers were killed. Immediately after the attack, mobs and vigilante groups engaged in vitriolic hate speech and began attacking, and threatening Muslims and Kashmiris throughout the country," the petition said. "These incidents are a part of organised hate campaign against Muslims and Kashmiri, most cases which are fabricated and the hysteria that now surrounds India has been engineered to gain political mileage "The extremist groups have led vigilante mob attacks across the country to enforce nationalism by leaders of various groups who claim to promote and instigated hate crimes," it added. By PTI GUWAHATI: The Congress and AIUDF Friday staged a walkout in Assam Assembly after their demands of an adjournment motion to discuss special powers granted to Assam Rifles was turned down by the Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami. While the state government expressed willingness to discuss the matter through other means, the Congress, AIUDF and AGP stood united in their demand to debate it only via adjournment motion. Three separate adjournment motion were submitted by the Congress, AIUDF and AGP as they felt that the contentious notification giving special powers to Assam Rifles would "violate human rights and bring in military rule". ALSO READ | Centre decides to keep in remission powers of arrest given to Assam Rifles On Thursday, a Ministry of Home Affairs notification empowered Assam Rifles personnel to arrest anyone and search any place without warrant in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram. "It (special powers) will bring military rule and affect freedom of movement, which is given by the Constitution. It is like introducing undeclared emergency," the Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia said while arguing for the motion. The senior Congress leader asked why the notification was issued when the BJP-led government has been claiming that peace prevails in North East. "There is a report which says that out of 100 cases of Assam Rifles, human rights have been violated in 37. It empowers even the lowest rank officer to arrest a person without warrant. It will lead to a complete violation of human rights," he added. AGP member Pabindra Deka, who moved the resolution on behalf of his party, said that it is a dangerous and shocking notification, which can "devastate" peoples' lives in the region. "It will violate our fundamental rights. It seems the Centre and Narendra Modi want us to take back to Assam Agitation period of murder and loot by forces. Because of unlimited power given to forces, 855 people were martyred then," he added. The Assam agitation of 1979-1985 was a popular movement against illegal immigrants in Assam. The movement was aimed at urging the Centre to identify and expel illegal, (mostly Bangladeshi), immigrants and protect and provide constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to the indigenous Assamese people. Deka alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched to exploit the North East and doubted if the special power was being granted to the paramilitary force to counter the massive protests against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in recent months. "It is against the interest of the people. Assam government has some duties to do in this regard and clear its position," he said. Advocating Deka's motion, AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam said the people still look back at the emergency period with fear and hope that it never comes back. "There are chances that this notification will be misused and applied to curb various human rights movement going on in the region. It can be used to put an end to the protest against Citizenship Bill or eliminate political opponents," he added. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said the state government are ready to discuss the matter if brought under other means instead of an adjournment motion. "After the Kashmir incident, Army and paramilitary forces have been given special powers. All parties, particularly the Congress, have said that they are with the government. A message should go from the House that we all are united against terrorism," he added. The senior BJP leader also said that the North East shares 4,800 km of international boundary and the terror attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in Jammu and Kashmir showed that some forces are working to destabilize the integrity of India. He also defended the police and security forces saying they cannot be made a subject of adjournment motion as they are engaged in maintaining law and order in the society. Countering him, Saikia asked: "This notification does not include Kashmir, but North East only. Also, does it mean that law and order in the region has broken down and so special power has been given to paramilitary?" Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami appreciated the government and the opposition as both sides were ready to discuss the matter in a positive way. "As both sides want, I can allow a discussion. Also, we have two more days of this Budget Session. The primary objective of the adjournment motion is to draw attention of the government, so as to criticize it. But it is a decision taken by the Centre, not state. How can a state minister take responsibility when it is done by the Centre? So, I am disallowing the adjournment motion," he added. Goswami, however, said that was ready to allow a discussion on the topic if it was brought about by any other means as per the rule. On this, the Congress and AIUDF members objected to the Speaker's ruling and left the House in protest. The AGP members, however, were not part of the walk out. By PTI NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Friday sought a response from states where incidents of threat and violence against Kashmiris were reported following the Pulwama terror attack and directed their chief secretaries and DGPs to take "prompt" and necessary action. The chief secretaries and director generals of police (DGPs) of Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand, and the Delhi Police commissioner have been directed by the apex court to prevent incidents of "threat, assault and social boycott" of Kashmiris, including students. READ|Attacks on Kashmiris have blessing of Delhi: Omar Abdullah A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also directed that the police officers, who were earlier appointed as nodal officers to deal with lynching incidents, would now be responsible to deal with cases of assaults on Kashmiris. The bench asked the Union Home Ministry to give wide publicity so that Kashmiri people after facing such incidents can approach the nodal officers. "The chief secretaries, the DGPs and the Delhi Police Commissioner are directed to take prompt and necessary action to prevent the incidents of threat, assault, social boycott etc against Kahsmiris and other minorities," the bench also comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna said. The bench was hearing a plea of Tariq Adeeb seeking a direction to the Centre and the states to prevent incidents of assaults, threats and social boycott of Kashmiris in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves appearing for the petitioner claimed that at the outset, 10 more incidents of assaults have taken place in various states after filing of the petition and necessary directions be issued urgently to stop them. Attorney General (AG) KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre said the ministry had issued the requisite advisory to states and Union territories (UTs) on this issue on February 17. "The Centre has already issued advisory to all states and UTs on February 17 but we can't tell the states about their specific actions that can be taken in such cases because law and order is a state subject," the AG said. Taking note of the submission, the bench referred to its earlier decision by which it had asked the states and union territories to appoint a senior police officer as nodal officer in each district to deal with the cases of mob violence. It said the police officers will deal with the incidents pertaining to Kashmiris and other minorities in these states in the wake of the recent terror strike. The bench has now listed the matter for further hearing on next Wednesday. The plea had sought a direction to the Centre and other authorities for prosecuting people engaging in hate speech, and to appoint a nodal officer in every state and union territory, including politically-sensitive districts, to prevent acts of violence, discrimination and vigilantism. It had also sought immediate setting up of a nationwide helpline number and a website containing contact details of the nodal officers appointed in politically-sensitive districts. "There is a sudden rise in the incidents of crimes against Muslims and Kashmiris after the Pulwama terrorist attack on February 14 in which over 40 soldiers were killed. Immediately after the attack, mobs and vigilante groups engaged in vitriolic hate speech and began attacking, and threatening Muslims and Kashmiris throughout the country, the petition had said. "These incidents are a part of organised hate campaign against Muslims and Kashmiri, most cases which are fabricated and the hysteria that now surrounds India has been engineered to gain political mileage "The extremist groups have led vigilante mob attacks across the country to enforce nationalism by leaders of various groups who claim to promote and instigated hate crimes," the petition had said. By PTI NEW DELHI: The war of words between the Congress and the BJP over the Pulwama terror attack escalated on Friday with Rahul Gandhi calling Narendra Modi "prime time minister" for allegedly continuing with a photo shoot when the nation was grappling with pain, while the BJP slammed the opposition party for "indulging in petty politics". In a tweet with the hashtag 'PhotoShootSarkar', Gandhi said the prime minister continued shooting for a film till even three hours after news of the Pulwama terror strike came in. Citing media reports, the Congress has alleged that Modi was attending a photo shoot for a film at the Corbett National Park on February 14, and he continued to participate in the shoot even after the terror attack which took place at around 3.10 PM. At a press conference, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari cited DD News footage to claim that the prime minister addressed a rally in Uttarakhand at 5:10 pm via phone. He said Modi must tell what he was doing in the initial two hours after the Pulwama terror strike and alleged that he was either "completely oblivious" to the incident or "insensitive". READ HERE | PM Modi was busy shooting film in Corbett Park, had 'chai, samosa' after Pulwama attack: Congress Hitting back at the Congress for its attack, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said some political parties are "not standing with the country" for petty politics when nations across the world have backed India. Patra dismissed as lies the Congress's claim that Prime Narendra Modi was either "completely oblivious" to the terror strike or "insensitive" as he "continued" with his prior engagements after the attack, and asserted that such lies need not be responded to. The Congress president tweeted: "Even after three hours of the news of the 40 jawans being martyred in the Pulwama terror strike, the prime time minister continued with a film shooting. There was an ocean of pain in the country's heart and in the homes of martyrs, and he (Modi) was smiling while at a photo shoot in the waters," Gandhi wrote on the microblogging site and attached four photographs of the prime minister purportedly showing him during the shoot. The BJP dismissed Gandhi's claim that Modi attended a photo-shoot allegedly hours after the Pulwama attack as "fake news", asserting that photographs were taken in the morning. "Rahul Ji, India is tired of your fake news. Stop sharing photos from that morning to shamelessly mislead the nation. Maybe you knew in advance of the attack but people of India got to know in the evening. Try a better stunt next time, where sacrifice of soldiers isn't involved," the BJP tweeted. ALSO READ ] Rahul Gandhi promises to accord Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh, calls PM Modi a liar Tewari, in his remarks, claimed the prime minister not only addressed the rally but continued with the photo-shoot at the Corbett National Park in the hours following the terror strike in which 40 CRPF jawans died after a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the paramilitary force's convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. The Congress had on Thursday cited media reports to allege that Modi continued shooting for a film in the Corbett National Park on February 14 for "self propagation", and stayed put till evening despite the Pulwama terror attack in the afternoon that day. "We want to ask the prime minister what was he doing between 3:10-5:10 pm, when you address a public rally in Uttarakhand through mobile phone," Tewari said. The prime minister addressed the rally and did not speak on Pulwama, he said. "Either the prime minister was completely oblivious, or he was insensitive. Either the prime minister did not know for two hours that a terror attack has taken place or the prime minister knew and was completely nonchalant about it," the Congress leader said. In both the situations, the prime minister needs to answer for those two hours, he said, adding that both the scenarios do not auger well for the country. ALSO READ | Why is PM Modi silent on Kashmiri students being targeted in various parts of country: Omar Abdullah Patra, while lashing out at the opposition's attacks on the government over the Pulwama terror attack, referred to the UN Security Council's strong condemnation of the terror attack and naming of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad by the global body to underscore the Modi government's efforts to isolate Pakistan. "On the one hand all countries are standing with India. Humanity is standing with us, some political parties for their petty politics are not standing with the country," Patra said, attacking the Congress. Tweets of Congress leaders, including Tewari and Shashi Tharoor, have become headlines in Pakistan, he said. Tewari accused the government of trying to "package high-octane jingoism to subterfuge national security failures" and said if the prime minister was "incommunicado" hours after the attack then it was matter of grave concern, especially for a nuclear nation, as it could have serious consequences. "We are a nuclear state and if there is a breakdown in communication between the Prime Minister and his office, it has very portentous implications. That is why, this nation must know from the mouth of the Prime Minister. What were you doing between 03:10 pm and 05:10 pm in the afternoon?" he said. "If you knew that an attack had taken place in Pulwama, why you did not condemn at 05:10 pm in the afternoon, when you addressed a rally over a mobile phone. "And if you did not know for two hours that attack as heinous as Pulwama has taken place then what does it speak about your Government? Can there be greater incompetence?" Tewari said. By PTI MUMBAI: Leaders of the anti-BJP grand alliance in Maharashtra, including NCP chief Sharad Pawar, will Saturday hold their second joint rally at Parli in Beed district ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Besides the NCP president, Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan, People's Republican Party leader Jogendra Kawade and PWP's Jayant Patil will attend the rally at Parli, a town around 500km from here in the Marathwada region. Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil, its leaders Chhagan Bhujbal and Ajit Pawar and others will also take part in the public meeting, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde of the NCP said in a statement. The grand alliance (`maha aghadi'), a Congress-NCP-led bloc of anti-BJP parties in the state, had held their first joint rally on February 20 in Nanded, Chavan's home turf. Saturday's rally will also mark the culmination of the 'Parivartan Yatra' launched by the NCP. The yatra is a public outreach programme the party had launched in January from Raigad to flag "failures" of the BJP- led governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra. Meanwhile, Munde, who hails from Beed, urged people to attend the rally in large number. Hit by the Narendra Modi `wave' in the 2014 general polls, the Congress and the NCP had recorded their respective lowest Lok Sabha tallies in the state. The Congress could bag only two seats, while the NCP managed to clinch victory in four constituencies. The NCP won the Bhandara-Gondia by-election in June last year, taking its tally to five. On the other hand, the BJP and its ally Shiv Sena had emerged victorious in 23 and 18 Parliamentary seats, respectively, in the state, which sends 48 MPs to the Lok Sabha, the second hightest after Uttar Pradesh (80). Israeli gunfire killed a Palestinian teenager at a protest along Gaza-Israel border fence, Gaza officials said Friday, as thousands in contested Jerusalem descended on a section of a flashpoint holy site that has been closed by Israeli court order for over a decade. The Health Ministry said 15-year-old Youssef al-Dayya died at a hospital shortly after he was hit with a gunshot in the chest. The circumstances of his death were not immediately known, but it occurred when thousands of Palestinians participated in protests along several sections of the frontier, with dozens approaching the heavily guarded barrier. The ministry added that 30 protesters were wounded by Israeli live fire in the weekly Gaza march. The protests in Gaza are mostly against the Israeli blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory. Citing security concerns, Israel imposed tight restrictions on movements of people and goods in and out of Gaza after the militant Hamas group wrested control of the territory in 2007. Hamas has arranged weekly demonstrations since last March to protest the blockade and demand the return of Palestinian refugees to land in what is now Israel. Close to 190 Palestinians, mostly unarmed, have been killed by Israeli fire in the protests, and one Israeli soldier was killed by a Palestinian sniper last July. Israel says it defends its frontier against breaches. Critics accuse Israel of employing excessive force against unarmed Palestinians. In Jerusalem, the eastern part of which Palestinians claim as their future capital, protesters chanting ``Allahu Akbar'' streamed into a sealed-off area of al-Aqsa Mosque during prayers Friday. Israeli police said the crowds that gathered dispersed peacefully after prayers. Tension at the shrine has escalated in recent days. Similar protests turned into scuffles with police earlier this week. Anticipating unrest, police arrested 60 Palestinians overnight suspected of ``causing disturbances'' and ``inciting violence.'' Israel blocked off a structure near the mosque, known as the ``Gate of Mercy,'' in 2003 because it was home to a heritage organization allegedly connected with a militant Islamic group. Israeli police accused the Waqf, the Islamic authority that oversees the compound, of attempting to ``change the status quo'' at the sensitive site by convening in the closed area last week. The contested site, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. * This story was edited by Ahram Online. Short link: Neha Bhandarkar By Online Desk The wounds from the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence are still fresh. The celebratory gathering to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon consisted largely of Dalits. Protests by upper-caste groups led to an escalation of tensions, leaving one person dead and close to 30 policemen injured. The incident also resulted in the detention of over 300 people followed by a bandh called by Dalit groups in Maharashtra. Although the battle -- in which a Peshwa force of about 2500 soldiers was defeated by 800 troops of the British East India Company including 500 Dalits -- is deeply imprinted in the consciousness of Dalits, especially from Maharashtra, few outside the state are aware of its significance. Somnath Waghmare, an MPhil student from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), is aiming to change the narrative of Dalit victimization in mainstream films through his documentary on the battle which has made it to the first ever Dalit Film Festival to be held in the US. The festival is being organised by the Ambedkar International Mission. In an exclusive chat with Express, Waghmare tells us why it is important to alter this narrative and how it can be achieved. What prompted you to make a documentary on Bhima Koregaon? I have been aware of the Bhima Koregaon celebration since my childhood and have attended the anniversary for the last seven years. One of the main reasons for the documentary is the ongoing trend of upper caste filmmakers producing movies which always glorify 'savarna' culture. Also, mainstream media, cinema and academia have blatantly ignored the history of Bhima Koregaon. I personally feel that the history of Bhima Koregaon is very important for the anti-caste movement. The other reason is that all documentaries on Dalits till date have been made by dominant caste filmmakers, who have only showcased the narrative of victimization of Dalits. These films are nothing but a misrepresentation of Dalits, with most of them showing debates only from one school of thought, which is usually leftist. I intended to break this narrative. My documentary celebrates the lives of Dalits. How do you feel about your work being showcased on a global platform? I have been trying to send my film to festivals, but finances have always been a constraint. Sending a film or documentary to a festival is a costly affair, and I havent been able to gather that kind of money. But my documentary sharing the screen on a global stage with people I draw inspiration from in premier universities is a feeling I will cherish for a long time to come. I can't make it to the festival because I am occupied with a lot of academic work. But I am glad that the film has been selected. What are the challenges you faced working on this subject, especially under the BJP government? We need to understand that documentaries and cinema are a very expensive medium. I strongly feel that only those who are privileged, especially when it comes to their caste, are able to afford it. I come from a working-class family which has migrated back to a village near Kolhapur. I am one of the first persons not only from my family but also from my village who will be completing a PhD. Lack of resources, proper equipment and funding have been some of the major challenges that I have faced. I used up all my earnings from FTII to invest in this documentary. If you notice carefully, half the film has no sound in it, since using a recorder demands money. I had to get four cameras on rent to finish this project. For post-production, I got the support of some Ambedkarites. My entire documentary was shot on a budget of Rs 1.5 lakh. I was fortunate enough that the film got its due space on the web. The Roundtable India (about whom I was largely unaware) approached me, wrote about the documentary and made sure it was screened on various campuses. Now, it has reached a global platform where it will be screened this week sharing a stage with filmmakers like Pa Ranjith. Because of Roundtable India and its network, the film has thankfully been receiving the appreciation that it deserves in several circles. This is why I decided to make the film public in October 2017. However, it got even more attention after violence struck in the following year. I feel the current government is scared of such issues. The right-wing largely thinks that Dalits who fought the battle of Bhima Koregaon were anti-nationals who teamed up with the British to defeat the Peshwas. This fight was for the dignity of the Dalits, which they celebrate now, and have the right to do. Mainstream filmmakers are not showing this social history. Its crucial to understand the cultural politics and the role which cinema plays in it. How do you think the narrative favouring the dominant castes can be changed in mainstream cinema? It is quite difficult to achieve, honestly. It is only possible if people from various backgrounds come forward and are given the platform to narrate their stories without any blemishes and most importantly from their perspective. It's important that films on social realities are made. As SCs/STs make up a large section of the population, such films will engage the audience. Whether or not it will bring in any kind of cultural revolution is very difficult to say. Networking is very difficult and getting the right opportunities is yet another issue. Do you think films on Dalit issues have evolved with time? This issue is related to the caste system, which denies knowledge to Dalits, minorities and women (including Brahmin women). It only allows Brahmin males to acquire education and even impart knowledge, which is why only those who studied cinema and got the opportunity to acquire professional education were able to make these films. These people are neither Ambedkarites, nor do they know about the revolution brought by the Phules, and they are not even feminists. Also, the films they made focusing on Dalits were from the Gandhian perspective. Be it Bandit Queen or Achut Kanya, these films were narrated from Gandhis Harijan point of view, where the Brahmin male becomes the hero, and the Dalit is victimized. Almost 90% of films are caste stories like in Marathi cinema for example. The outsiders perspective is quite dominant. Even filmmakers who came from the Left gave class the priority, not caste. Our films fail to touch upon the real issues, unlike Iranian cinema and African cinema. There is mere appropriation. Dalits are looked upon as subjects to research upon and make films on. We as filmmakers should get equal opportunities and resources. We know that Dalits need more and more representation in mainstream cinema. What do you suggest to achieve this? If the industry thinks that films which showcase the real issues of caste should be made, then Dalits must be encouraged and given the right platform to work on such subjects. As I have already mentioned, this is a very expensive medium to foray into. You mentioned that victimization of Dalits in films like Bajirao Mastani sends out a wrong message. Could you shed some light on it? The film denies the history of Bhima Koregaon and glorifies a particular empire. This is the style of most Hindi films in the current scenario where films are largely made on dominant castes. Take Manikarnika for example. These films are ignoring the history of other communities. This question should also be posed to the so-called Left filmmakers who focus their works largely on the victimization of Dalits. Almost all films on manual scavenging, for instance, go on to show their struggles, but nobody wants to ever question how they ended up getting these jobs in the first place. All this is a result of the caste system, and filmmakers like Deepa Dhanraj and Anand Patwardhan who have made documentaries on the Dalit movement and HCU student Rohith Vemula ought to question their own privilege. Who are the role models you draw inspiration from? Marathi filmmaker Nagraj Manjule and Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami inspire me. Pa Ranjiths works have also given me several lessons to learn from. Your current projects? I am working on another documentary on Dr Gail Omvedt and Dr Bharat Patankar, who are two prominent anti-caste activist-intellectuals working against exploitative structures of our society. The promo of the documentary, work for which began eight months ago, has been released on YouTube. Almost 60 per cent of the work is over and I am hoping to complete the documentary by August this year as the project is crowdfunded. I am also trying to work on how caste affects urban spaces. Its a work in progress. By PTI HYDERABAD: Veteran Telugu film director Kodi Ramakrishna, who gave several hits to Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna and other leading heroes, died here Friday, film industry sources said. Ramakrishna, 69, died due to ill health, the sources said. The funeral would take place on Saturday. Born at Palakollu in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, Ramakrishna made his debut in 1992 with 'Intlo Ramaiah- Veedhilo Krishnaiah' starring Chiranjeevi. He went on to direct more than 100 films in varied genres in a career spanning about three decades. The ace director delivered several blockbusters with Balakrishna, including 'Mangamma gari Manavadu', 'Muddula Mavayya' and 'Muvva Gopaludu'. Sri KODI RAMAKRISHNA GARU..synonym of Hardwork & Sensations..the Director who introduced me as a Music Director.. Am so saddened by d news of his demise.. U wil always live in our Hearts & Films Dear Uncle.R.I.P Attaching smthing that I had tweeted a few days bak.. pic.twitter.com/KD9otyEAJm DEVI SRI PRASAD (@ThisIsDSP) February 22, 2019 Ramakrishna's film 'Ankusam' with Rajasekhar in the lead was a big hit. The movie was remade in Hindi as 'Pratibandh' which marked Chiranjeevit's debut in Hindi films. He created a niche for himself with extensive use of special effects, revolving around spiritual and supernatural powers and films, including 'Ammoru', 'Devi', 'Deviputrudu' and 'Anji', were hugely popular. Extremely sad to hear about the demise of my fav director Kodi Ramakrishna garu.He gave me my careers biggest hit Arundhati. Such a noble n humble soul.Will miss u always sir. Telugu industry lost a legend today.U will be missed sir! Time spent with u on the sets was precious pic.twitter.com/JDJjtZci7T sonu sood (@SonuSood) February 22, 2019 Ramakrishna's 'Arundhati' in which popular south Indian heroine Anushka Shetty played the lead role had catapulted her to super stardom. Ramakrishna also acted in a few films, mainly appearing in brief roles in his movies. Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, Pawan Kalyan and a number of other Telugu film personalities expressed grief on the death and paid tributes to him, recalling his brilliance as a director. Extremely Saddened about the demise of Kodi Ramakrishna garu..such a great director..!! My deep condolences to his family. Rest In Peace sir Ravi Teja (@RaviTeja_offl) February 22, 2019 "Telugu cinema has lost a legend," popular hero junior NTR said on twitter. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said Ramakrishna's death is a great loss to the Telugu film industry. Avinash Ramachandran By Express News Service In a bustling metropolis like Chennai, which is constantly expanding and evolving, not every section of the society manages to stay ahead of the curve. There are scores of disadvantaged people, who are left behind. However, the real tragedy of development is the plight of those who are not just left behind, but also forgotten. While the protagonists in Chezhiyan's award-winning drama To Let aren't exactly forgotten, their plight, which comes as a result of development and assumed economic growth, is generally brushed aside in the name of collateral damage. Set in 2007, when India was hit by the IT boom, To Let is about Ilango (Santhosh Sreeram), an aspiring filmmaker, who lives with his wife Amutha (Sheela Rajkumar) and four-year-old son Sidharth (Dharun) in a rented home. WATCH TRAILER: Their world receives a jolt when they are asked to vacate the house immediately. This one-liner might sound very similar to Balu Mahendra's Veedu (1987), but that's because the problems in finding a place to rent seem to have remained the same over the years. But unlike in Veedu, where a middle-class family like Sudha's constructing their own house seemed plausible, the 'development' in 2007 has all but crushed the middle-class' dream of owning property in the city. Tackling the overarching theme of globalisation and housing problems, Chezhiyan takes us through a number of smaller issues with the help of his cast, who deliver nuanced performances that belie their inexperience in front of the camera. I don't remember any other filmmaker, in recent times, who so accurately depicted the lives of the middle-class. The writing clearly reminds us that Ilango and Amutha aren't poor. They have the money, and have the resources to get more. But, with growing prices of commodities, rent, school fees etc... it is always not enough. In other words, they are the proper middle-class. Be it in Amutha thanking Ilango for taking her for an outing to the beach, or the immaculate noting down of the monthly budget on a diary, or saving that one good dress for an occasion, Chezhiyan paints a genuine picture of events that are typical of a middle-class household. Every performance is noteworthy, especially the kid, through whose eyes Chezhiyan neatly tucks in a message about the impact of an inconsistent childhood. Sidharth, who regularly interacts with a friend living in the opposite flat, finds her missing after a few days, as that family might have moved to another rented house. It is the summer vacations, and he can't wait to go back to school to meet all his friends, but will it be possible, considering the housing problem faced by his parents? He loves drawing on the walls but soon realises that it is something that cannot be done in a rented house. These asides give To Let some much-required breathing space. Talking about housing problems, the issues that Ilango and Amutha face while looking for houses within their budget reminded me of the Vaadagai Veedu song from Aandavan Kattalai. To Let is an extension of that 4-minute tongue-in-cheek song, but told in a very compelling manner with deliberate pacing. However, since there is no irreverence in To Let, these problems feel like overkill at times, as it almost seems like Chezhiyan had a checklist of sorts and was ticking off each issue with every consecutive scene. But, this feeling is neutralised by the performances of the leads. Be it writhing in the forced humiliation of opening up their doors to prospective future tenants, or expressing the frustration of not having enough money, Santhosh and Sheela's performances are riveting, which in turn, almost masks the lack of well-written secondary characters. For a person, who grew up on a liberal dose of Ilaiyaraaja and AR Rahman, used to the composer instructing me on what emotion to feel in a each scene, Chezhiyan's decision to do away with any kind of music in To Let shouldn't have worked. However, the chirping of the birds, creaking of a rusted fan, religious processions at the most inopportune moments, and the occasional Raja song on the radio proved to be as effective as a regular background score. Credit to Chezhiyan, and sound designer Tapas Nayak, for reminding us that real-world happenings do occur in the absence of a mood-shaping piece by a string quartet. As a film which won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil (2017), and has been to more than a hundred film festivals, winning multiple awards throughout the world, To Let might get written off as one of those 'art films', which might be above the lay person's comprehension. However, Chezhiyan, who shot to fame writing a regular column in a Tamil magazine about World cinema, clearly knows how to present a global film to the Indian audience. And irrespective of the filmmaking style, and the added burden of world recognition, I strongly believe To Let will make a connection with its audience, simply because it tackles a theme that everyone can relate to: Suffering and survival. Film: To Let Director: Chezhiyan Cast: Santhosh Sreeram, Sheela Rajkumar, Dharun Rating: 4 stars (This story originally appeared in Cinema Express) Navein Darshan By Express News Service Films take us on an emotional ride. They make us smile, sob, empathise, and laugh. While some teach us a social lesson, some others make us outrage for a noble cause. Pettikadai is the kind of film which apes the latter formula, but ends up making the audience outrage about the film itself for its regressive ideas. Pettikadai is essentially a doctor's (Chandini Tamilarasan as Dwaraka) battle against the corporate to bring back the petty shops in a village. She cites the health hazards faced by the villagers due to the consumption of the food items sold by the supermarkets and online grocery portals. WATCH TRAILER: While one may expect the director to showcase the actual side-effects faced by the villagers, he takes a detour and bombards us with a plethora of problematic ideologies. Remember Kamal Haasan's theru koothu song Naatukkoru Seithi Solla fromAnbe Sivam? The dance drama sequence communicated the motive of the protagonist, the conflict faced by the people, the mastermind behind it, and finally, even the solution to the problem, while keeping the audience entertained throughout. While Kamal Haasan and Sundar C were able to do all this within a span of eight minutes, debutant director Esakki Karvanan beats around the bush throughout the runtime of Pettikadai trying to make a social film without ever addressing the main issue. The 'corporate system' is mentioned as the evil throughout the film, but there is no proper definition for who or what constitues this nebulous antagonist. Whenever a character gets puzzled by this and asks the right questions like, "What exactly is corporate? Who are we fighting against?" he/she is asked to shut up and told, "Adhellam unaku sonna puriyadhu." We are also not shown what exactly is the evil faced by the villagers, as all of them seem happy ordering products online and chilling. A list of all the problematic elements in this film would be endless. For starters, the story happens in a parallel universe where all men are womanisers, except Samuthirakani (after all, Kani is Kani in any film). An eighty-year-old watches pornography with his grandson and a bunch of his friends, and says, "Perandi kuda padam pakalam, Perandi oda padam partha dhaan thappu." Well, I'll leave it right there. Men in the film generally treat women as objects of desire. While the comedian Rajendran addresses Chandini as Kannazhagi, the villain Thirumurugan calls her Idaiazhagi. A Muslim character is verbally abused in several scenes, followed by namesake apologies. Instead of outraging against his oppressors to safeguard his beliefs, he just gives in and says, "Amman dhaan ellam ava namba oora kaapathuva!" Karvannan doesn't stop there. He claims that scheduled caste people shouldn't be educated as it has made them migrate to the cities, ultimately leading to the loss of natural resources. He also contends that they shouldn't be given basic amenities like roadways. How I wish the censor board was a bit more diligent when certifying films with such objectionable and toxic content. As mentioned earlier, the content of the film could have been made on the lines of a revolutionary theru koothu, but it settles instead for a cringy and icky aadalum paadalum show. Film: Pettikadai Director: Esakki Karvannan Cast: Chandini Tamilarasan, Veera, Varsha Bollamma Rating: 1 star (This story originally appeared in Cinema Express) Parvathi Benu By Express News Service How would it feel to roam around the campus, watch the sunset or read a good book peacefully at the library after the sun sets? All these were alien to the inmates of the Ladies Hostel (LH) at the College of Engineering, Trivandrum. While the 'rules' mandated them to stay indoors after 6.30 pm every day, they'd see their male counterparts staying out late, even beyond 9.30 pm, the original curfew. But today, all this is history. A new ruling by the Higher Education Department of the Government of Kerala, issued on February 21, states that the residents of the LH can stay outside till 9.30 pm, just like the men, as the libraries and labs close only at 9 pm. The ruling is a result of endless strikes and struggles by the students of the college, especially the group, Azadi. We sought to look back at the timeline of the events and how Azadi came into existence. Hence, we decided to ask Anjuradha TR, the college students' union's women's representative and an active member of Azadi. The struggle for the extension of the curfew dates back to 2015. Back then, a group of students held a strike against the college administration. But a joint meeting by the college administration and the Parent Teachers Association dismissed the demand. "The students always wanted to push for a change in the curfew timings," says Anjuradha. "When I contested for the college union elections, this was the only demand that most of the women put forward. So we took it up," she adds. Following this, the union also strengthened the Azadi group and decided to take up the issue. The first step was to file an RTI to find out what the official government order says about the work hours of the library, labs and the hostel curfew. "The response was that the hostel works 24/7. We also found out that the libraries and the labs do not function till 9 pm, as they are mandated to," says Anjuradha. But when the student representatives approached the principal about the same, they were asked to talk to the government officials. But for these activists, that was the biggest turning point in their story. Anjuradha tells us how. "We met Dr T K Anandi, State Gender Advisor, Government of Kerala to discuss the issue. She told us that such an order doesn't exist and the principal has the right to take a decision on the issue. Finally, she told us, 'there is no rule, so why don't you break the unwritten one?' That was what inspired us the most," she says. That night, 10 students stayed out of the hostel post 6.30 pm and entered the building only at 9 pm. The last three to enter the hostel, including Anjuradha were told that they cannot enter without stating a reason for being late. "We were adamant about not stating a reason. We were questioned on the grounds of morality too, but we still didn't give up," she says. The spark spread like fire and the next night, 100 students stayed outside till 9 pm. This carried on to the next day, but the wardens and the principal told the students that they would not be able to enter the hostel without providing a proper explanation. Following this, the students called for a strike on the college premises. No authorities met the protestors till the next morning. The next day, the students were told that their parents will be called for a meeting to discuss the issue. "But we protested. We're all above 18 and can make decisions ourselves," says Anjuradha. While the protest went on, the students were informed by Dr Anandi that Usha Titus IAS, Principal Secretary - Higher Education Department will be meeting the principal. "It was around 9.30 at night, when we got the official notice by the government saying that the curfew has been extended," she tells us. Even though the primary issue is resolved, Anjuradha says that Azadi has a lot more to do. "Ours is the only engineering college that has a relaxed curfew now. We are planning to expand the movement to other colleges in the state too," she says, hoping for a new era of resistance in Kerala. (This article was originally published on EdexLive) By Express News Service KOCHI: The Fire and Rescue Service officers will submit a report before Fire and Rescue Service Director General A Hemachandran and District Collector Mohammed Y Safirulla on the massive fire that broke out at a footwear godown in Kochi within three days. A team comprising Regional Fire Officers of Kottayam and Ernakulam and Ernakulam District Fire Officer is carrying out an inquiry. The Fire and Rescue Service officers along with officers of Town Planning and Pollution Control Board conducted an inspection at the building on Thursday. The preliminary investigation suggested the fire was due to a short circuit. The spark was first spotted where the generator was located. There was no separation between the generator and the first floor, which is a severe security flaw. There was a lack of adequate numbers of doors and ventilation in the building. The aluminium sheets placed on the floors affected the fire fighting activities, said an officer.A decision on demolishing the building will be taken only after conducting a few more inspections. The building was completely gutted. By Express News Service KOCHI: The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) authorities on Thursday scotched rumours of Suresh Gopis appointment as brand ambassador of Kochi Metro. The KMRL moves follows reports which emerged in the wake of the actor-turned-MPs visit to the KMRL office on Thursday morning. Suresh Gopi MP visited KMRL office for inaugurating the Intelligent CPS Data Analytics Platform for a Metro Rail Transport System research programme of KMRL. He assured cooperation with KMRL on its several people-friendly initiatives. There is nothing official about the discussions, KMRL said. Following the reports, some politicians, including VT Balram MLA, criticised KMRL. On what basis did KMRL take a decision to appoint a Sangh Parivar MP as brand ambassador of Keralas prestigious project? We want to know whether this is a unilateral decision by KMRL or done in consultation with the Chief Minister and government, Balram said in the FB post. However, following KMRLs clarification, many websites took down the story. Analytics Platform Earlier, Suresh Gopi inaugurated the joint research programme of KMRL; Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India; Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology and Jyothi Engineering College, Thrissur titled Intelligent CPS Data Analytics Platform for a Metro Rail Transport System. The project aims to design an innovative data analytics platform for KMRL to enable seamless transport within Kochi Metro city. The project also aims to replicate the system for use in other Metro cities with sufficient customisation. This data platform will collect, store and synchronise relevant data from the Metro Rail System, Water Metro, bus and autorickshaw networks. Ensuring privacy and security data analysis will be done on this so-called Big Data using Artificial Intelligence (Machine Learning and Deep Learning) techniques and its derived information, insights and patterns will be available to developers as well as the public through a set of Application Programming Interfaces (API). By Express News Service HYDERABAD: A 33-year-old woman from Ghana in Africa was arrested on Thursday for attempting to sell contraband substance in the city. The accused, Genevive Alando Oketch, was apprehended by the sleuths of Prohibition and Excise department from a hotel in Somajiguda, on a tip-off, while she was here attempting to sell 50 gram of cocaine and 10 ecstasy pills, weighing 10 gram, all worth around Rs 5 lakh. During the inquiry, the officials found that her customers included IT employees and students from Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills, a hunt for whom is ongoing now. Oketch has been based in Goa since October when she arrived in the country on a tourist visa, which is set to expire in March. She had travelled to Hyderabad earlier in November last and sold about 30-gram cocaine, worth around `2.5 lakh, to customers in the city. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The 19-year-old arrested after his Bentley car rammed into an autorickshaw, killing a foreign national and injuring three others, was granted bail by a court on Thursday. Asees Singh Chadha was granted the relief by Additional Sessions Judge Sudesh Kumar on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 2 lakh and two sureties of like amount. A magisterial court had dismissed Chadhas bail plea on Wednesday. The mangled remains of the autorickshaw hit by the Bentley car at the accident site | PTI The accident had resulted in the death of 51-year-old Gulshat Alijanova from Turkmenistan. Three others Raghubir Singh, the auto driver, and Turkmen women Alma Gul Atayeba (33) and Gulia Yyam (55)were critically injured on Monday after the accident. A case was registered against Chadha under sections 279 (rash driving) and 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder, punishable with life imprisonment) of the Indian Penal Code, the police had said. Chadha is a nephew of the late business tycoon Ponty Chadha, who was killed along with his brother in 2012 in an exchange of fire. By Express News Service Delhi University wing of the All India Students' Association (AISA) has rejected the notice from the Proctor's office calling it the "dictatorial attitude of the Delhi University administration". Delhi University students have been told not to occupy university premises for protest and dharnas to help maintain discipline as "these acts cause disruption in academic activities". The students' association completely rejected the advisory issued by the Delhi University's proctor office on putting a complete ban on protests and dharna in the Delhi University campus. "Putting ban on protests and dharnas exposes the dictatorial attitude of the Delhi University administration. It is a direct attempt to criminalise student's dissent and political activities on the university campus. The advisory must be seen as part of the ruling BJP Government's larger attempt to suppress the student's protest in campuses and to gag them in submission when it is destroying academic freedom in campuses and initiating its anti-students policies of seat cut, reservation cut and fund cut," said Kawalpreet Kaur, President, AISA. Delhi University. (File photo | PTI) Citing protests and dharnas as an act of indiscipline is nothing but laughable, said Kawalpreet, as peaceful protests and dharnas are fundamental rights of citizens. "The advisory infringes on free speech, expression and liberty of students," she said. The advisory in this regard was issued by the university's proctor Neetu Sehgal on Saturday, directing students not to occupy premises of departments, library, administrative blocks etc. "These acts cause disruption of academic activities as well as day to day functioning of the respective offices...causing disruption in any manner of the academic functioning of the university amounts to an act of gross indiscipline as per an ordinance of the Delhi University Act 1922," it read. The AISA, in a statement, appealed to students to reject the advisory. "We will be planning a mode of protest soon. Students need to come together to step up and save the right to dissent and protest on campuses," added Kawalpreet. Backed by a US-led International Coalition, the Iraqi security forces have now almost completely dismantled the Islamic State (IS) group that had earlier seized vast tracts of land in Iraq and Syria and declared a Caliphate. US-backed Syrian opposition forces have launched a final battle to capture the last small pocket of land held by IS, effectively bringing an end to the groups territorial ambitions in Syria. The defeat of IS marks an important victory, and as the groups territory has shrunk, its leadership structure collapsed, and the number of its fighters dwindled, the future of the terror group remains anybodys guess. With this comes the question of what to do with the US-led coalition forged to defeat the group and in particular with the thousands of US soldiers in Iraq and Syria after the end of ISs territorial control. Thus far, indecision has reigned in the Iraqi leadership, which is paralysed by inefficiency, political and sectarian divisions and competitive foreign and regional influences. In December, US President Donald Trump announced that he would withdraw the 2,000 US troops from Syria. The abrupt decision provoked widespread fears over a future IS resurgence and was opposed by top aides, including US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who resigned in protest. In Iraq, however, the presence of the US troops remains a hot potato as the issue has been scaled up to grand talk about the countrys sovereignty and independence. The core question for Iraqi policy-makers now is whether Baghdad should ask Washington to withdraw its troops from Iraq with IS nearly defeated on the battlefield. Since the 2003 US-led invasion of the country that toppled former dictator Saddam Hussein and brought Iran-linked Shia groups to power, Iraqis have blamed interference by Washington for exacerbating their countrys woes. Under a 2008 executive agreement with the Baghdad government, US troops were supposed to leave Iraq three years later. The Strategic Framework Agreement (SFA) was intended to shape the legal, economic, cultural and security relations between the two countries. According to the agreement with Iraqs government, Washington would support and strengthen Iraqs democracy and its democratic institutions and enhance Iraqs capability to protect these institutions against all internal and external threats. The agreement also stated that the United States shall not use Iraqi land, sea and air as a launch or transit point for attacks against other countries, nor seek or request permanent bases or a permanent military presence in Iraq. Critics contended that the United States had aimed to outmanoeuvre Iraq with the agreement and keep its influence in the beleaguered country, however. Some even said that Washington had usurped Iraqi sovereignty. Fewer than three years after the US troops withdrew from Iraq, former president Barack Obama ordered hundreds of them back to help Iraq repel the advance of IS terrorists, claiming the US would not be dragged into another bloody war in the country. With the war against IS dragging, the number of troops mushroomed into thousands and their mission gradually crept to near-unrecognisable levels. And as the military campaigns succeeded in recovering territory from IS, vital questions about the future of the US troops in Iraq remained. During his election campaign, Trump promised to end the disastrous war in Iraq, but he never spelled out his plans about keeping the several thousand US troops in the country. Trumps sudden decision to pull US troops out of Syria in December then raised speculation about the presence of US forces in Iraq in view of the varying military and political assessments of the post-IS era. It retriggered debate about the US troop presence and sparked demands for a similar withdrawal from Iraq. The final straw for opponents of the US presence came when Trump announced on 3 February that he wanted the US troops to stay in Iraq to watch Iran. Trumps remarks immediately raised Iraqi fears that the US could draw the war-weary country into conflict with neighbouring Iran. It led Iraqi leaders to voice concerns that the United States was disrespecting Iraqs sovereignty. Some voices, particularly among pro-Iranian Shia militias, even promised to push the Iraqi parliament to ask the US troops to leave. Others went as far as to warn that they would demand the cancellation of the Strategic Framework Agreement with Washington. Leader of one of the strongest Iran-backed Shia militias in Iraq Quiz Al-Khalil warned in an interview with the Associated Press that US troops could be driven out by force if they were to stay in Iraq against the parliaments will. But Trumps comment also exposed the Iraqi political divide as many Sunni and Kurdish leaders expressed the hope that Washington would continue to support the Iraqi government in its efforts to improve security and build state institutions. Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq Nechirvan Barzani has said that US troops should stay in Iraq until the IS threat is fully eliminated. Sunni and Kurdish political leaders have reportedly continued to reach out to the US to argue that the IS threat remains and that the US troops are consequently still needed in Iraq. As a result, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Madhi must now deal with the controversy surrounding the American troops in Iraq, with this becoming a major political game played by different parties. So far, Abdul-Mahdi has made vague statements about the issue as he apparently struggles to shore up his position to serve a full four-year term as the countrys leader amid continuing wrangling over the composition of his government and its policies. He has made it clear that the US forces are in Iraq at the invitation of the Baghdad government and they are not allowed to establish military bases in Iraq. He has also rejected the notion that Iraq can be used as a springboard for any American military action against Iran. Yet, Abdul-Mahdi has been reluctant to set a clear policy on the future of the US troops, demonstrating weak leadership in resolving a dispute which could turn into a national crisis if Iraq is caught in the crossfire between Iran and the United States. But while fears of an escalating Iran-US conflict pose a dilemma for Iraq, IS remains capable of wreaking damage around the country simply by inspiring its adherents to take up guns, bombs or even suicide missions. Media reports have suggested that Abdul-Mahdi has asked Washington to keep some of its troops in Iraq to help secure areas where IS militants are believed to be operating, including the vast desert on the border with Syria. As the groups territory has shrunk, its militants have been innovating by returning to guerrilla warfare through sleeper cells that enjoy safe havens among supportive local populations. Security analysts say that even after the groups territorial defeat and its leadership structure collapsing, IS is regrouping and is likely to remain a powerful terrorist force that could revert to an insurgency. Abdul-Mahdis approach to the future of the US troops in Iraq is also a symptom of a much bigger problem. Held hostage by competing political groups in the country, Abdul-Mahdi lacks authority to present a coherent vision of the future of the American presence in Iraq. Almost four months after assuming office, Abdul-Mahdis position on the issue remains inconsistent. He wants the advantages of having close relations with Iran, while at the same time retaining the freedom to deal with the Americans. This is a political game that will only increase Iraqs uncomfortable dilemma. And nowhere is this conundrum more precarious than in the indecisions about the future of the US troops in Iraq. *A version of this article appears in print in the 21 February, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Iraqs indecision strategy Short link: By Express News Service BENGALURU: The Kashmiri students studying in various colleges in the city say they feel safe and are not facing any threat despite some students being slapped with sedition charges in the wake of the Pulwama attack which claimed the lives of more than 40 CRPF jawans. Sedition charges have been slapped on a few Kashmiri students studying in the city for posting comments on social media platforms expressing solidarity with Pakistan. A second year engineering student from Acharya Institute of Technology told The New Indian Express, I am staying in the city and studying in this college for the last two years and I have never felt unsafe. There are at least 20 students from Jammu & Kashmir here. None of my classmates or college staff have shown any hatred towards me. Talking about the sedition charges, another student from East Point College of Engineering said, If some student is trying to incite hatred by involving themselves with such activities, that does not mean every student from Jammu & Kashmir is living with that ideology. In my college there is no such situation and we are all like brothers and sisters. A majority of the students from Kashmir in the city have got admission under the Prime Ministers Special Scholarship Scheme in which All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) provides admissions to engineering colleges in the state. As per the details available from AICTE, the students who have passed Class 12 from the Jammu & Kashmir board or from CBSE-affiliated schools located there can apply for the scholarship. Meanwhile, college authorities across the city are also doing their part to ensure better safety for these students at their campuses. Prof TD Kemparaju, vice chancellor, Bengaluru North University said, We have informed principals of our affiliated colleges to talk to students and educate them about the same. CBM Bhushan, Director, Acharya Institutions, said, There is no such issue in our campus. All students are in living and studying in harmony. Dr KR Venugopal, vice chancellor, Bangalore University said, We have taken all precautionary measures. There are students from Jammu and Kashmir at University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE). Students were told maintain peace at the campus and not to involve themselves in any such untoward incident which will disturb students and the campus. Bengaluru second home to many Under the Prime Ministers Special Scholarship Scheme, a majority of the students from Jammu and Kashmir choose Karnataka Of the 3,500 plus students studying across the nation, more than 700 are in Karnataka Stay up to date on COVID-19 Get Breaking News Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. +2 Area prison guard claims to have foiled robbery Police continued to search Thursday for a man who attempted to rob the Neshannock Township b A New Castle man who works at SCI-Mercer is one of three Pennsylvania state corrections officers to received a Medal of Valor Award by Corrections USA at the organization's national conference in Las Vegas. Thomas Corcoran foiled an attempted Oct. 24 bank robbery at the Neshannock Township branch of PNC Bank. Corcoran, who has a concealed carry permit, had gone to the bank to make a withdrawal and while he was at the county, he saw a man with mask and a backpack enter the bank. When the man stepped up to the counter and demanded money, Corcoran pulled out his gun and pointed it at the man, who dropped to the floor, begging Corcoran not to shoot because he was unarmed. Eventually, the would-be robber got up and ran. Corcoran, a former Marine, attempted to stop him, but the man was able to escape. Corcoran did not fire his weapon because, as he told The News at the time, "I was not going to shoot an unarmed man. Story continues below video In presenting Corcoran with his medal, Corrections USA noted that Corcoran and the other recipients "stepped into harm's way while off duty to protect their fellow citizens." Also honored were Shaun Skursky of SCI-Phoenix and Sgt. Mark Baserman, a hero who was killed in the line of duty last year at SCI-Somerset. Sgt. Baserman gave his life to protect Pennsylvania from its most violent criminals, said Jason Bloom, president of the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association. We thank CUSA for honoring his memory. He will never be forgotten for his bravery and service to his country and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He is a hero. Officer Corcoran risked his life to stop an armed robbery, while Officer Skursky saved a child from drowning, Bloom went on. These two outstanding officers exemplify the commitment Pennsylvanias brave corrections officers have to their communities and neighbors. We couldnt be more proud of the valor they showed under such dire circumstances. International Catalonia protesters clash with police Catalan police officers remove demonstrators blocking a road leading to Barcelona during a general strike. BARCELONA, Feb 21 (Agencies): | Publish Date: 2/22/2019 12:00:00 AM IST Protesters backing Catalonias secession from Spain clashed with police and blocked major roads and train tracks across the northeastern region on Thursday during a strike called to protest the trial of a dozen separatist leaders. Regional police say they made three arrests when they met resistance trying to clear groups of protesters who had stopped traffic. One protester was arrested for hitting an officer in downtown Barcelona, police said. A second arrest was made on a highway north of Barcelona where protesters threw objects at a line of riot police. A third was made south of Barcelona. Twelve officers also received minor injuries in the clashes, according to police. Protesters threw rocks at police lines and burned tires on some highways. Regional transportation authorities said the disruptions affected main thoroughfares in Barcelona and half a dozen major highways and railway tracks elsewhere in Catalonia. The general strike was organized by small unions of pro-independence workers and students. On paper, they were demanding improved social policies including a 35-hour work week and a higher minimum wage, but the protesters carried pro-secession flags and chanted slogans for the release of the 12 separatists currently on trial in the Madrid-based Supreme Court. The main unions in Catalonia did not back the strike, which appeared to have a limited impact on businesses. In Barcelona, students in favour of secession held a march. The pro-secession grassroots group Assemblea Nacional Catalana ANC) whose protest slogan is self-determination is not a crime was planning a separate march later Thursday. The Spanish government says regions cannot independently secede, according to the Constitution. The trial into the roles played by the 12 separatists in Catalonias failed 2017 secession attempt is in its second week. On Thursday, former Catalan government member Santi Vila, ANCs ex-president Jordi Sanchez and fellow activist Jordi Cuixart were scheduled to testify at the court. The trial is expected to last at least three months. Election results and polls indicate that Catalonias 7.5 million residents are divided down the middle over the secession issue. Eleven candidates are running for the Press Syndicates presidency and 53 journalists are contesting six board seats in next months mid-term elections. The current head of the Press Syndicate, Al-Ahram Chairman Abdel-Mohsen Salama, will not be competing for a second term. Instead, he says, he will focus on his duties as the chair of Al-Ahrams board. I decided not to stand in order to underline the principle of the rotation of power, said Salama. The outgoing syndicate chairman said he looked forward to cooperating with his successor and wished him success in his duties. Salama spoke as he accompanied Diaa Rashwan, among the most prominent of the 11 candidates, as he canvassed Al-Ahram journalists. State Information Service (SIS) head Rashwan won the Press Syndicates top post in 2013, when his main competitor was Salama. In 2015 Rashwan failed to win a second term, losing to Yehia Qallash. In 2017, Salama defeated Qallash, receiving 2,457 votes against Qallashs 1,890. During his tour of Al-Ahram publications on Sunday Rashwan said he was committed to improving the financial conditions of journalists and promised an increase in their monthly technology allowance. The allowance will be increased by 25 per cent starting in July, though I will do my best to increase it earlier if possible, Rashwan said. Rashwan has already asked Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli and Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait to increase the allowance, and a 25 per cent raise has been incorporated in the forthcoming budget. Rashwan also promised to increase pensions, currently set at LE1,450, by at least 20 per cent, and to negotiate with the minister of housing to resume construction of the journalists housing project in 6 October city. The syndicate will not see divisions, be they religious or partisan, under my tenure. I will work to strengthen unity in the syndicate and adopt constructive dialogue on public issues, Rashwan said. Rashwan said he was committed to allowing journalists working for online news services to join the syndicate. Currently membership is limited to those working for print publications. We are not embarking on a new mission. What the syndicate has achieved is the result of the work of former heads and I thank Salama for his tenure, said Rashwan. In a statement issued before the announcement he would not be standing for re-election Salama listed his achievements, including increasing journalists allowances from LE1,380 to LE1,680, and pensions from LE1,150 to LE1,450. The training institute of journalists which is based in the syndicates headquarters was renovated during Salamas tenure, and a protocol has been signed with the Ministry of Military Production to build a hospital for journalists in 6 October city. The Electoral Commission was due to announce a final list of the candidates on Tuesday 19 February. Electoral Commission head Gamal Abdel-Rehim said the syndicate was still waiting for the response of the State Council to its request to assign 23 voting supervisors to oversee the poll and count. Refaat Rashad, managing editor of Al-Akhbar, is the best known of Rashwans 10 adversaries. *A version of this article appears in print in the 21 February, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Press Syndicate poll Short link: We need legal brains with requisite ... The City of Fairborn and COhatch, a social enterprise offering a new kind of shared work, social, and family space built on community, reached an agreement to bring the coworking lifestyle brand to Fairborn, Ohio. Under the terms of the deal, COhatch will take over the citys business incubator Spark including its shared kitchen and coworking spaces that was launched in 2018. The City of Fairborn represents the first licensee under the COhatch Community Investment Program. The Fairborn Development Corporation (FDC) tapped COhatch as a logical extension of its extensive community work to provide access to additional resources and support to help local businesses grow using a collaborative business model and community driven culture which is the centerpiece of COhatchs mission. For its part, COhatch will provide further direction and consultative services to Fairborn as it helps city officials take its shared services property to the next level. As a result, COhatch is already working with the FDC to develop and implement a development plan for an entire block of Main Street. This plan will provide unprecedented opportunity to offer a variety of services and growth opportunities for incubator members, as well as additional dining and shopping for the city. The citizens of Fairborn couldnt be happier or more proud of our ongoing downtown redevelopment, said City Manager Rob Anderson. We know our citizens love to work, meet and live in the communities they care about. With assistance from COhatch, we are leapfrogging our development for the city, so everything will happen more quickly and at a higher intensity with greater results. The Fairborn location caters to small businesses, start-ups and socially-minded entrepreneurs, who are looking for office space as well community members that want access to space to host social events, meet ups and the like, said Patrick Williams, local owner/operator for COhatch. This location currently offers dedicated desks, meeting rooms and coworking space with private offices available this summer. We also offer meeting and event spaces to the public and can accommodate off-site company meetings and the hosting of life events. The Fairborn location fits well with the recently launched community investment initiative that enables local owners to build a COhatch at a new location 30 to 50 miles outside of larger metropolitan areas such as Dayton, Ohio. The City of Fairborn will have access to all COhatch shared resources, branded and operational materials, website and digital tools and its network of professional service providers among other assets. We are very excited to onboard Fairborn, said Matt Davis, founder of COhatch. Fairborn is just one of many inquiries we have received from in-need municipalities that would love to plug into our model for connecting people and communities through our work, meet and live lifestyle concept. In addition, this gives us and the City of Fairborn the opportunity to give back to their community. To help facilitate a smooth transition, all existing agreements with current Spark members will be honored, while providing access and opportunity to pursue additional COhatch-related services including workshops, member benefits and business support for the incubator. Members will also be able to access all COhatch resources and space at any of its locations. They include a standard set of business amenities such as Wi-Fi, desk and fax/mail services. In addition, each COhatch has a unique feature to it like The Madery Makers & Market space in Worthington and a 30-person theater at the Delaware location. COhatch currently has three locations: The Hardware Store and The Library in Worthington, Ohio; and The Newsstand in Delaware along with The Hub at Polaris Fashion Place. Three other locations are under construction and include: The Upper Arlington location The Overlook, Polaris Fashion Place The Pub that will open in early 2019 and The Market in Springfield which is set to open in mid-2019. Broker, Non-QM Products; Lenders and Investors React to VA and FHA Changes In the good news category, we can all knock lumber prices off the list as a hindrance to builders. Prices are down 25% in the last year. Is it easier to be a builder, or home buyer data source, than a lender? Zillow has found that being a mortgage lender isnt a cakewalk in recent months and has replaced CEO Spencer Rascoff (a co-founder who served as CEO for nearly a decade and oversaw the transition for Zillow as the home buying platform moved into mortgage lending and buying and selling homes) with co-founder Rich Barton. In other senior management changes, congrats to Steve Smith, Stearns Lendings new president. Lender Products and Services For banks and credit unions looking for wholesale relationships, Gershman Mortgage offers a Non-Delegated Broker or Correspondent relationship depending on the banks business model. Gershman Mortgage will increase profitability, reduce risk and keep loans compliant by preparing initial disclosures, closing disclosures and all product and state-specific disclosures. Our technology is cutting edge and we will process, underwrite, prepare the closing documents and wire funds to the title company. Clients tell us that Gershman Mortgage is user-friendly and has a full menu of mortgage products including conventional, FHA/VA, USDA, and Jumbo. Gershman Mortgage is located in the states of Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kentucky. To learn more contact Charlie Nager (314-854-9523). American Pacific Mortgage has chosen Loan Vision to help gain visibility into its financials and offer better communication with APMs more than 175 branches. Prateek Khokhar, Chief Financial Officer at American Pacific Mortgage expressed, The visibility Loan Vision has given into our financials, the ability for our branches to have real-time financial data, understand how to get to that, and the ease of getting to that information has been a huge success. All our branches, the whole company is excited that we have this tool; they appreciate it. And that's been our biggest win overall. Read more about these changes here, then contact Carl Wooloff to schedule a live demo. Caliber Home Loans, Inc. CEO Sanjiv Das has written another article to highlight how the current housing market has a major impact on the broader economy. Published last week, the op-ed titled 3 reasons why the housing market isnt as strong as it seems, lists economic indicators that warn of a shift in the nations economy overall. Das says, Housing investments make up as much as 18 percent of the US growth rate, according to the Association of Home Builders. So, what happens in the housing market is quickly felt across our country. Das is a 30-year mortgage industry veteran and was recently named a "Top 25 Industry Leader & Influencer" by The MReport. In 2018 Caliber Home Loans funded over $40 billion. Read the full article by Sanjiv Das here. On Q Financial is dedicated to ensuring all home buyers have a smooth and simple home buying process with its innovative tools and technology including its $1,000 15 Day On Time Closing Guarantee and Simplicity mobile app. Now, for a limited time, On Q is offering a NEW Price Match Guarantee to provide Originators with another tool to bring in more business and to help borrowers feel more confident in their home purchase. On Qs mission is to simplify the mortgage process to make the dream of home ownership a reality for everyone. Learn more about On Qs Price Match Guarantee. Silvergate Bank continues its expansion in the Non-QM market with the addition of Steven Klein, V.P. National Warehouse Lending, Manuel Manny Rodriguez, Correspondent Sales Director (West), and Amy Pabarcus, National Product and Sales Support. Additionally, the Bank has appointed Monique Whitney to Officer, overseeing Correspondent Credit. Silvergate Bank offers both Flow and Bulk Correspondent deliveries, and Warehouse financing facilities up to $100M: SilvergateCorrespondent.com . Clarification ON the TIAA/U.S. Bank deal, I received a note from TIAAs Elizabeth Anderson. TIAA Bank will concentrate on originating home mortgage loans directly through digital capabilities and Correspondent Lending channels. Correspondent Lending will continue to serve as a key origination channel for TIAA Bank. Thank you, Elizabeth. American Banker reports that TIAA Bank plans to close roughly 65 mortgage origination offices across the country. Lenders and Investors React to FHA and VA Changes The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) implemented new rules for cash-out refinance loans with applications dated on or after February 15. For example, a disclosure and net tangible benefit analysis that must be provided to the borrower within three day of application and at closing. FCM is aligning with Ginnie Mae pertaining to loan seasoning requirements on VA Cash Out Loans. Ginnie Mae requires the that all refinance loans meet the following seasoning requirements: A loan is considered seasoned on the later of the date that is: 210 days after the first monthly payment is made to the note date of the new loan, and six monthly payments have been made on the loan prior to the note date of the new loan. The PennyMac Correspondent came out with 19-15: Revision to Announcement 19-14: Updates to VA Cash-Out Transactions. Wells Fargo Funding is updating its closed loan package delivery requirements for VA Loans to include: Initial and final VA Statement and Lender Certification (when a Lender Certification applies) evidencing the Veteran received the information required by VA at application and closing for all VA IRRRLs. Documentation evidencing the loan passed the NTB test and the Veteran received the information required by VA at application and closing for all cash-out refinances. Additionally, Conventional Conforming loans originated using Freddie Macs LPA automated asset and income modeler are now eligible for purchase. For all VA cash-out refinance transactions locked on or after February 15, US Bank Correspondent Lendings UniteUS website will be configured to only allow the most conservative LTV calculation. If your LTV (calculated off the base loan amount) exceeds 96.7%, you will need to contact the Client Support team for assistance in completing the registration/lock. Have the following information available: loan application date, appraised value/NOV, base loan amount and financed VA funding fee. The Mr. Cooper and Pacific Union team issued a reminder regarding Non-Delegated Correspondent Government Loan Transitions. On February 1st, Pacific Union transferred all FHA and VA case numbers and appraisals to existing Mr. Cooper institution IDs. MWF Wholesale published information regarding the recent updates to VA cash out refinance transactions. For Mountain West Financial reservations locked after January 14, the amount of down payment assistance (DPA) available for GSFA Platinum FHA loan transactions with a borrower FICO 640-659 will increase by 0.5%. DPA will be available as 2.5% or 3.5% of the loan amount. The assistance options for FHA borrowers with FICOs 660+ remains unchanged at 3.0% or 4.0%. It also posted information applicable to CalHFA as follows: effective for loans locked on and after February 1, CalHFA is making the following revisions: For all CalHFA loan programs, CalHFA will use the lender's credit qualifying income, calculated per GSE and FHA, for CalHFA's income limits. To validate the income calculation used, CalHFA will need the final AUS and FHA: 92900-LT with Chums# and income calculation breakdown. Conventional 1008 with income calculation breakdown. This change does not affect the income calculation method for CalHFAs Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) program, nor the fact that an MCC cannot be used for qualifying purposes when used in conjunction with a CalHFA first mortgage. See the new CalHFA Loan Submission Checklist for a complete list of items to be uploaded. Additionally, CalHFA will no longer allow non-occupant co-signors on FHA loans. The allowance of non-occupant co-signors on Conventional loans was previously eliminated. Non-occupant co-signors and non-occupant co-borrowers are not allowed on any CalHFA loan. A new Borrower Affidavit and Certification has also been introduced which includes the borrower self-certifying that they are a first-time homebuyer. In December, VA provided two new cash-out refinance categories, Type I and Type II, along with extensive guidelines and requirements for each. The new rule also applies to all refinancing of construction loans (construction-to-permanent), regardless of whether there is a change in the principal amount. All VA loan transactions delivered to AmeriHome must be eligible for VA guaranty. Therefore, VA loan transactions with applications taken after February 15 (as indicated by the application date), must meet the new requirements as set forth by VA. AmeriHome is accepting these changes without overlay. loanDepot Wholesales announcement includes information on VA Cash-Out Refinance LTV Calculation Changes and state expansion for Nebraska. loanDepot posted Government program guideline updates. In October loanDepot updated its VA IRRRL NTB Policy to remove the following: from the Veterans Comparison Statement section: In the case of an increased principal and interest payment due to lower term, or changing from ARM to Fixed rate, it is not necessary to show the recoupment in month; however, all other fields must be completed. (Loan Depots October 26th weekly reminderincludes Jumbo Advantage Program Updates, Equity Access/TCF Reminder, VA IRRRL Appraisal Reminder, EAD Matrix regarding Non-U.S. Citizen Borrowers and Condo PUD Co-Op Fast Facts.) loanDepot Wholesale/Correspondent posted an announcement regarding the VA new policies for cash-out refinance loans. Royal Pacific Funding offers VA loans that allow a FICO down to 550 (exceptions apply), manual underwriting and REFER eligible allowed. (It also has the Home Possible product with up to 97% LTV, no reserves required, and non-occupant borrower allowed.) LoanStream Mortgage has VA loans with scores down to 580 low & high balance, no price adjustments on cash out > 90% with 620 score and manual underwrites are available to 600 score. Dont forget that Sun West Mortgage Company, Inc. accepts lock requests and underwrites Government Loans per the new 2019 National Conforming and High Balance Loan Limits. The updated loan limits are available in the Underwriting Guideline: To access the guideline for wholesale channel, please click here. To access the guideline for correspondent channel, please click here. PRMG began accepting the new loan limits on government products 1/1. PRMG provides a version of the disclosure that can be used in the Resource Center, as a part of the VA Cash Out and IRRRL worksheet document. Additionally, VA further clarified its requirement in Circular 26-19-05 and added the pay history requirement for loans being refinanced within 1 year from the date of closing. PRMG has updated its Product Profiles. Plaza has summarized the notable changes. Plaza offers both the VA Energy Efficient Mortgage and the VA Renovation Loan Program. And Plaza announced a VA Renovation Loan Program that will help veterans buy and upgrade homes; an increasingly popular strategy in todays high-cost, tight inventory housing market available now through its National Correspondent and Wholesale channels. It allows qualified borrowers to purchase a home with no down payment requirement and finance up to $50,000 in improvements all in one loan. The program can also be used for refinancing up to 100 percent of the after-improved value of the home. The VA Renovation Loan Program is typically more affordable than alternative financing. Jeff Leinan, SVP, National Wholesale Production of Plaza Home Mortgage, stated, This innovative program gives these borrowers the flexibility of buying less expensive homes that may need work and financing the purchase and the upgrades in one affordable loan. FAMC Correspondent National Bulletin 2019-04 includes updated VA Guaranteed Refinance requirements. Capital Markets Would a Chinese/U.S. trade deal stimulate our economy, in turn pushing rates higher? Perhaps. The U.S. 10-year closed Thursday yielding investors 2.69% as Treasuries across the curve saw yields increase with the market responding to reports that officials from the U.S. and China are working on six memorandums of understanding that would pave the way to a final trade deal. Today there is no scheduled news, but instead is dominated by a laundry list of Fed speakers including Atlanta Fed President Bostic, New York's Williams, San Francisco's Daly, Fed Vice Chair Clarida, St. Louis' Bullard, Philadelphia's Harker, and Governor Quarles. We begin today with Agency MBS better/higher by .125 and the 10-year yielding 2.66%. Employment and Business Opportunities A premier lending industry vendor is searching for a National Account Executive to sell its full suite of Appraisal Management Solutions and market the exciting new Verisite Plus report. The position can be located anywhere in the U.S. and will be responsible for targeting and soliciting new clients, conducting product presentations, closing, and providing information follow-up of all Appraisal Management products. Our ideal candidate possesses 2+ years of proven success in national mortgage sales of products such as appraisal, Title or PMI. Must be experienced calling on C-Suite executives. Excellent oral and written communications skills are necessary to build on existing industry relationships and cultivate new lead sources. Compensation is a combination of base plus commission, quarterly bonus opportunity, generous PTO package, health and dental, and 401k with company match. Send a resume to Anjelica Nixt and please specify the opportunity. On the M&A front an institutional buyer has expressed interest in acquiring the shell of a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac approved seller servicer that is closing or dissolving due to current market conditions. An ideal target would be one with relatively small delivered volume/ trailing liabilities. Direct inquires, from principals, not brokers, contact Anjelica Nixt for a confidential introduction. Fast growing, national Correspondent Lender (offering delegated best effort and mandatory products that are 100% retained) seeks 2 high-performing and accomplished sales managers to cover territories in the following states: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Northern California and Colorado, Utah, Wyoming. If youre looking for a company that offers leading edge products, technology and support, you need to explore this opportunity. Candidate must live in the sales territory and have existing correspondent relationships. Confidential inquiries should be addressed to Anjelica Nixt for forwarding on to the principals; please specify the opportunity. Egypt has offered its deep condolences to the victims of a fire that broke out in a chemical warehouse in Bangladesh on Thursday, leaving about 70 people dead and scores others injured. The Egyptian foreign ministry extended condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery in a statement on Friday. The ministry added that the Egyptian government and people stand by their Bangladeshi counterparts. The fast-moving fire killed at least 78 people when it swept through a historic district of Bangladesh's capital Dhaka. The blaze broke out in a residential building that had flammable chemicals stored on one floor. Search Keywords: Short link: Today's Headlines Would you like to receive our daily news? Sign up today! Breaking news Sign up for breaking news alerts from morning-times.com!!! Week in Sports Get a weekly local sports round-up from www.morning-times.com every Saturday morning!!! 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. There will be no decisive breakthrough on a Brexit deal when Britains prime minister meets other EU leaders at a summit with their Arab peers in Egypt at the weekend, an EU official said on Friday. There will be no deal in the desert, the official said when asked about the chances of a Brexit breakthrough during the EU summit with the League of Arab States in Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday and Monday. However, the source said European Council President Donald Tusk would hold a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May on the sidelines of the summit on Sunday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte are among more than 20 leaders from the European Union expected to go to Egypt. London hopes May will have a chance there to lobby her fellow EU leaders again for concessions that would unlock Brexit ratification in Britains divided parliament. She will have a period of engagement again on Sunday and Monday with European leaders ... work is continuing at pace to make the kind of progress that we need, Mays spokeswoman said. EU diplomats say there has been some movement towards a possible deal with London but stressed that much work remained to be done and were not expecting any imminent breakthrough. However, sterling weakened on Friday after the EU official ruled out a weekend deal. Short link: ABC/Image Group LARascal Flatts will join Tim McGraw in headlining the three-day Twin Cities Summer Jam Festival, along with rock legends Aerosmith. Rapper Pitbull and eighties rockers REO Speedwagon are on the bill as well for the July 18-20 event, which takes place on the infield of the Canterbury Park racetrack in Shakopee, Minnesota. Tims not just one of the performers, by the way: Hes an investor in the event as well, according to the Minnesotas StarTribune. Tickets go on sale March 1. You can find out more at TCSummerJam.com. Lansdale, PA (19446) Today Mostly cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. High near 90F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. Low 71F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. SUPPORT THIS INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM The article youre about to read is from our reporters doing their important work investigating, researching, and writing their stories. We want to provide informative and inspirational stories that connect you to the people, issues and opportunities within our community. Journalism takes a lot of resources. Today, our business model has been interrupted by the pandemic; the vast majority of our advertisers businesses have been impacted. Thats why the Weekly is now turning to you for financial support. Learn more about our new Insiders program here. Thank you. JOIN NOW Pictured, from left to right at the Zions Bank table, are Mikala Lawley, Amber ODonnal, Sarah Wojcieszak, Morgi Croasmun, Sheree Maughan, Andrea Noyes, Chantell Noyes and Kenna Crump. [Photo by Murice D. Miller / Moab Sun News] The since-completed Hyatt Place Moab hotel on North Main Street is among the newest additions to Moab's overnight lodging industry. [Moab Sun News file photo] As a current print subscriber, you receive 24/7 access to our website and online e-edition at no additional charge. All you have to do is activate your access. To activate digital access, you will need your account number. You can find your account number on any recent subscription notice or bill. British Prime minister Theresa May will hold a meeting with EU Council President Donald Tusk on Sunday on the sidelines of the EU-Arab League summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Reuters reported on Friday. Reuters quoted anonymous senior EU official saying that the upcoming bilateral meeting between Tusk and May would not reach or include a deal on Brexit "because not all the 28 EU leaders who act by consensus on Brexit will attend the event" According to EU Delegate to Egypt Ivan Surkos, 24 presidents and prime ministers out of 28 European Union member states will come to Sharm El-Sheikh this week to attend first ever EU-Arab League Summit scheduled 24-25 February. Short link: The Miami-based artist and watchmaker have created two new designs, which launched in London last month. Alec Monopoly has described his work as embodying positivity, happiness and good energy and his first two TAG Heuer designs came with his signature peppy, bright colours on a black dial. The two new pieces the 41mm quartz Formula 1 on a black rubber strap, and the 43mm Carrera chronograph with a 50 hour power reserve and date window at 3 oclock, set on a steel bracelet have the same vibe, but now come on a white dial for a more graphic, lighter look. I wanted something bright and thought white was an inverted version of the last one, he said. His top-hatted, bandana-faced avatar character, Monopi, also once more graces the dial. Formula 1 and Carrera Heuer 01 Alec Monopoly special editions TAG Heuer As for creating the artwork, TAG Heuer stayed true to Alec Monopolys modus operandi: the artist has his own studio in TAG Heuers manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds, where an oversized watch dial was erected for him to graffiti and spray paint at will. The result was then miniaturised for a watch dial. Despite the familiar medium, it was still a new way of working for the artist. Its not a large canvas but a circle with a lot of things on it the chronograph dials, the date box, he said. It took a lot of thought and design placement is very important. It was a challenge but I love a challenge. Alec Monopoly in front of the London flagship on Oxford Street with his Carrera Heuer 01 on his wrist TAG Heuer TAG Heuers London flagship on Oxford Street hosted the launch, where guests were treated to cocktails, canapes and a live performance of Alec Monopoly at work. But here his canvas was a wall of 50 watch boxes, decorated in the new dial motifs, which Alec Monopoly then further sprayed and applied graffiti. The watch boxes will go to the first 50 buyers of the new timepieces. As for hosting the global launch in London, Rob Diver, managing director TAG Heuer and LVMH Watch & Jewellery, Europe, called London a creative hub and cradle for emerging and experimental art talent. Our flagship boutique is the perfect destination to welcome Alec with his avant-garde spirit for our customers and fans of his street art. Alec Monopoly at work TAG Heuer It certainly will resonate with millennials, who are his biggest fans, said the 33-year-old Alec Monopoly, while famous collectors include the likes of Seth Rogan, Adrien Brody and Robert De Niro. Having sold his first artwork before he was 15 years old, Alec Monopoly knows the value of his name and its power. He unabashedly says that those buying his TAG watches do so basically to own a piece of his art. Formula 1 Alec Monopoly Special Edition TAG Heuer They know it has a certain value to it, he says. And after buying, the piece immediately goes up anyways. But what surprised him, he adds, is how seasoned watch collectors are especially keen. They own watches that are over $100,000, from all the top brands. And then they buy my watch. Calling his work a journey, the artist says he likes to explore the cities hes visiting Notting Hill was on his list for London and indeed he has travelled the world anew thanks to TAG Heuer. There have been events in Mexico, Beijing and Hong Kong, the latter of which was a particular highlight. Alec Monopoly TAG Heuer We had a tram in Hong Kong where I painted the whole thing. It was going around the city and I got to ride it and see everyones face looking at it. It was an amazing moment. Painting the subways was like the coolest thing back in the 1980s, but thats when I was born, so I wasnt around. Today subways are shut down and you cant access them for graffiti. Indeed, Asia has struck a chord. Each time I go to Japan Im super inspired. Everything about Tokyo is related to art even the stop signs have little art characters. Im interested in more collaboration in Asia and have cool, new design ideas. Fans, watch this space. 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. Yet before we can dedicate that money to help those in need, the General Assembly must first act to legalize marijuana. To make informed judgments, not only will citizens have to be educated, but lawmakers will have to reorder their thinking. Putting a question on the ballot and having voters cast votes for or against legalization can serve as a tool to inform. Special counsel Robert Mueller III may soon conclude his investigation and report. Depending on what is in that report and what we find in our own investigations, our nation may face an even greater challenge. While I am alarmed at what we have already seen and found of the president's conduct and that of his campaign, I continue to reserve judgment about what consequences should flow from our eventual findings. I ask you to do the same. Supports of illegal immigration are constantly stating that illegal immigrants commit fewer crimes on a percentage basis then American citizens. First, it is impossible to know if this statement is true as illegal aliens never report crimes committed against them by other illegals due to the fear of being deported. Second, this is a meaningless statistic to the thousands of Americans who were victimized by an illegal immigrant who otherwise would not have been harmed if not for the presence of such criminals in the United States. Since the air mass ahead of this system won`t be very cold, the precipitation will be all rain just about everywhere. However, two areas of concern will be across the far north from the southern Poconos into northern New Jersey. In those areas, temperatures may fall to near freezing for a time, Vallee said, so there could be a period of freezing rain in spots. According to court documents, Allentown police and FBI agents conducted surveillance on a home in the 900 block of Liberty Street last summer and observed Cruz-Pica carrying packages outside to vehicles. In one instance in June, investigators observed Cruz-Pica carry a package to a car that police stopped with Turner-Sierra behind the wheel. A search revealed a cardboard box containing four bricks of cocaine, court documents say. Fridays settlement has no bearing on the way the department screens inmates personal mail. Mail from family and friends must now be sent to a Florida processing facility before it is opened, scanned and copied. The copies are then sent back to the prison where the inmate is housed. The old 15th District didnt make sense, Wild said, because it encompassed too large of an area with varying interests. Combining all of Lehigh and Northampton counties into the 7th District was more practical because the two counties share infrastructure and economies. Saiff Vasarhelyi is 30 years old, he was born and grew up in a city at the heart of the Swiss watchmaking industry (Biel/Bienne), yet has never had any connections with the industry. He was a software engineer until one day he chose his passion over his career. It was a difficult choice, he says, but Im glad I made it. Today I can get up in the morning and do something I love. Rebellion The young artist has now teamed up with Rebellion Timepieces for a project to customise the brands Predator timepieces. Those familiar with the Rebellion ecosystem will not be surprised to learn that the association between the artist and the watch brand came through motor racing specifically at the Rebellion Karting track in Switzerland. This is where I met Calim [Editors note: Calim Bouhadra, COO at Rebellion], explains Vasarhelyi, and given my art and the rebellious spirit of Rebellion we had some cool ideas that we have been able to realise together. Rebellion But what exactly is that art? The simplest explanation is a mixture of painting and graffiti and the medium and supports that Vasarhelyi uses confirm this. He started painting on canvas but his unique style grabbed peoples attention on a visit to Canada last summer. The artist picks up the story: One day I was shopping in Montreal and purely by chance the whole road was closed and the sales were on. I passed by the Reebok store, which had an artist inside painting shoes with graffiti. I was immediately intrigued so I entered the store and introduced myself as an artist and said that I would like to paint my own shoes. They were fine with that and so was the artist who was already there. I went to buy my shoes and started spraying them just outside the store. A crowd quickly gathered and I ended up staying there all afternoon spray painting peoples shoes. Things mushroomed from there, with the likes of Formula 1 World Champion proudly wearing bespoke footwear spray-painted by the modest young Swiss artist. The drivers of the Rebellion Racing team were naturally keen to follow suit. Rebellion With the partnership with Rebellion comes an additional challenge. After downsizing from relatively large canvas to much smaller shoes, the next step was to tackle the even smaller watch. Clearly, aerosols were no good here, so Vasarhelyi switched to an airbrush and fine brushes to customise the watches. The first watch I did was a Re-Volt for Philippe at the go-kart track, he explains. I painted his white strap and everyone loved it. Then I did a few more watches for the drivers but I wanted to take things a step further. So I offered to paint some dials. Rebellion This brings us to the ultra-limited edition of just 10 Predator watches, each of which is unique and each of which has been entirely hand painted by Vasarhelyi. Just take a look at the gallery (click on the button at the top of the article) to see the level of detail and the vibrant colours in each piece. The perfect finishing touch is that the use of luminescent paint is Vasarhelyis signature, meaning that these miniature works of art glow in the dark, too. The lawsuits accuse the administration of trying to use the citizenship question to scare off immigrants from responding to the survey and therefore reduce federal spending. The administration argues the question is legitimate and appropriate because it was used up until 1950 and is used on periodic sample surveys in years between the decennial count. "Our lack of response to the suffering of victims, yes even to the point of rejecting them and covering up the scandal to protect perpetrators and the institution, has injured our people," Tagle said. The result, he said, had left a "deep wound in our relationship with those we are sent to serve." Later, the board will set a date for a new election, probably including primaries, later. McCready has begun preparing for a new election and is expected to run again. It appeared less likely that Harris, who had led in unofficial returns by 905 votes, would do so. The 9th District, stretching along the South Carolina border from Charlotte to eastern North Carolina, is home to the last undecided congressional race from the 2018 cycle. We have been in the ambulance business since the 1960s and this decision was one of the hardest ones we had to make as a company, Cortezzo said. The division has been forced to rely on an ever-shrinking pool of volunteers, he said. He said the refurbishment of the Coplay-Northampton Bridge, now in its second year of a three-year project, is on schedule and within budget. It will be the first in Pennsylvania to use post tension technology and the first, nationwide, to use electronic isolated tendon technology. They met in 2013 at the Cologne spot near where they had battled, and meeting with his wartime foe gave him peace. Smoyer said the war is over and, perhaps, they could be friends. The two gunners shook hands, put their arms around each other and posed for the cameras. If elected, Mortensen said he would focus on the citys cultural void. He was critical of the citys Arts Walk, which he said is too corporate and not associated with art. Mortensen said he also would work to improve the citys First Ward, which he said has been forgotten. Youre opening a can of worms here and I dont think anyone is looking too deep into the implications of it, Cornelius said. Law, by its nature, is reactive. Which is, in this case, the tragedy of it. What is the liability for a school where a teacher wrongly shoots someone? We wont know until a teacher wrongly shoots someone. Michelle Kott was also promoted to captain, the first female captain at Bethlehem police. Kott joined the department in 2004 and is the commander of the departments crisis negotiation team. That woman was just one of four who took the witness stand against Mull at his trial to detail assaults that occurred over an eight-week span. To the jury, each of the women said Mull kept them in terror, beating them, strangling them and, in some cases, selling them to other men. What are some similarities between Blancpain and Panerai? Firstly, both have a strong historical link with diving watches. Blancpain with its Fifty Fathoms and Panerai with its Submersible diving watches. Secondly, both have recently opened their very first brand boutiques in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with hopes of creating a stronger presence in this Southeast Asian market. Malaysia is ranked number 29, slightly ahead of Oman, in the top 30 Swiss watch importing countries. Now, the mention of equanimity here does not refer to the 300-feet superyacht that is associated with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad or 1MDB scandal. Rather, it is more about how both brands seem to be approached the Malaysian watch market rather calmly despite the countrys somewhat choppy sea. In December 2018 for example, Swiss watch exports to Malaysia amounted to CHF6.4 million, representing a 12.7% decline over the corresponding periods CHF7.3 million in 2017, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. Was that a dismal performance? Well, comparing the export numbers in 2018 over the same month in 2016, the Malaysian watch market did pretty well as there was a growth of 28% (CHF6.4 million in December 2018 versus CHF5 million in December 2016). Whats more, Swiss watch exports to Malaysia of CHF93.4 million in 2018 represented growth of 3.9% over the prior year. This performance isnt too bad. Global Swiss watch exports in 2018 registered an overall growth of 6.3% in 2018. In April 2018, Blancpain opened its mono-brand boutique in the Suria KLCC shopping mall that is a part of the world-famous Petronas Twin Towers. This is the first Blancpain boutique in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The boutique is located at the atrium and has a floor space covering 84 square metres or 904 square feet. The year 2018 was good for us [Blancpain] globally and regionally. The markets in my territories showed very positive results and we will continue with our business expansion, disclosed Emmy Tellier, vice president, Blancpain Southeast Asia a few days before the Chinese New Year, at the end of January 2019. Blancpain Earlier in January 2019, on the 12th to be more exact, Panerais first mono-brand boutique was opened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Panerais 1,574 square feet (146 square metres) boutique is the result of a partnership with Swiss Watch Gallery and is located at the Pavilion shopping mall in the Bukit Bintang area. Swiss Watch Gallery, established in 2001, is owned by the Valiram Group, a Malaysian-based retailer of luxury, fashion and lifestyle products. There are eight Swiss Watch Gallery boutiques in addition to more than 30 watch and jewellery shops spread across Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. The Panerai boutique at Pavilion, designed by renowned Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola, features elements representative of the Florentine brand such as walnut wood and brass, floor tiles with delicate veining and wavy grooves seen on its Mafalda chairs. Panerai Giacomo Cinelli, managing director of Panerai Southeast Asia and Oceania says that the first Malaysian boutique further strengthens the brands Southeast Asian presence. The addition in Malaysia brings the total number of Panerai boutiques to 81 worldwide and this includes four that are in Southeast Asia. Schorn said Sullivan punched Grace in the face, then raped her while her mother watched. Sullivan and Sara Packer then hog-tied Grace with zip ties, drugged her with over-the-counter sleep medication, gagged her and left her in a hot attic closet to die. As part of his guilty plea, Sullivan admitted that he strangled Grace when the couple came back to the Richland home the next day and found that she was still alive. When confronted, Reiter told Gilchrist he needed to resign because he did some bad things, according to the criminal complaint. He allegedly confessed to stealing $500,000 to $530,000 from the church over a period of 10 to 12 years to make things better at home. A major challenge of the installation was how to present a large collection of chairs in such a wide variety of style and color, and not have the room look like an Unclaimed Freight warehouse. This was admirably done by placing the chairs on white plinths of varying heights, thereby presenting them as the artworks they are, and not as marked-down specials. Instead of wire, Scout uses a small reflector the size of a grain of rice, which is placed into the breast before the day of surgery, eliminating the need for an additional procedure on the day of surgery. During surgery, doctors use the Scout system to detect the reflector and pinpoint the location of the affected tissue to within 1 millimeter of accuracy. Recent studies have shown that using this technology has led to more successful surgeries and better outcomes. Amazon didn't say whether it would be buying carbon offsets outright, and absent that, the most likely way for it to reach its emissions goals would be to fine-tune its delivery process. The "last mile" of delivery from a warehouse to a customer's home, for example is often one of the largest costs for e-retailers, Velazquez-Martinez said. Amazon already encourages customers to group items together, for example. Les membres du Cabinet ont pris note que le theme pour la Fete de lIndependance est Dan Linite Nou Avanse, le programme pour le 12 mars 2019, des retombees de la visite du chef du gouvernement a Rodrigues, du rapport du Fact Finding Committee sur laffaire de difference de poids lors de la siasie de drogues le 9 Mars 2017 qui avait defraye la chronique. 1. Cabinet has taken note of the proposed programme of activities for National Day Celebrations 2019. The theme for the celebrations would be Dan Linite Nou Avanse. The Official Programme would be held at Champ de Mars on 12 March 2019 as from 18 00 hours and would comprise: (a) the Flag Raising Ceremony; (b) a march-past by the Police Band, Disciplined Forces and Uniformed Organisations; (c) a fly-past as well as helicopter display and Queen Elizabeth College Majorettes; and (d) aDan Linite Nou Avanse show, which would be followed by a popular show by renowned local artists. Cabinet has also taken note that the following arrangements would be made for those travelling by bus to Champ de Mars two hours before, and two hours after the official celebrations: (a) all fare-paying passengers to pay half the normal rate; and (b) children aged less than 13 years to travel free of charge. 2. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent official visit of the Hon Prime Minister to Rodrigues. The primary objective of his visit was to personally take stock of the damages caused by Cyclone Gelena as well as actions being taken to redress the situation. He handed over a cheque of Rs35 million from the Prime Ministers Relief Fund to be used by the Chief Commissioners Relief Fund for reconstruction of damaged houses and infrastructure, cleaning operations and appropriate compensation to planters and fishermen. He also seized the opportunity to have budget consultations with Rodrigues Regional Assembly (RRA) in the context of the preparation of the RRA Estimates 2019-2020 and launched the High Speed Internet via the Mauritius and Rodrigues Submarine (MARS) Cable. He also visited the new arrival Rodrigues Duty Free Shop at Plaine Corail Airport. 3. Cabinet has taken note of the Report of the Fact Finding Committee set up to look into the alleged discrepancy in the weight of Heroin seized and secured by ADSU and the Customs Services chaired by Justice Paul Lam Shang Leen, former Judge of the Supreme Court. The main findings of the Report of the Committee are, inter alia: (a) the provisions of section 58 of the Dangerous Drugs Act 2000 and Part VIII of the Police Standing Orders No. 138 have been scrupulously complied with by the designated Exhibit Officer; (b) the chain of continuity has been scrupulously recorded at the ADSU Exhibit Room with regard to documents produced, as per the Exhibit Register Book; (c) the disparity regarding the reading of the weights obtained by ADSU on 09 March 2017 could be accounted for by use of a handheld scale, the accuracy of which was uncertain albeit that the scale was calibrated; and (d) the Committee is satisfied that having regard to the tight security around the six Exhibits at the time when they were removed from the Freight Terminal to the ADSU Headquarters for sealing and weighing, their removal to the ADSU Exhibit Room for safekeeping, their removal to the FSL and back with tight security, there has been no disappearance of the substance found to be heroin by FSL. The Committee has recommended a series of measures so that in the future no such misunderstanding should crop up especially regarding the handling of drugs by the two Agencies concerned. The Ministry of Defence would follow up with all relevant stakeholders for the timely implementation of the recommendations made in the Report. 4. Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Technology, Communication and Innovation has again won the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Champion 2019 in the following two categories for two mobile apps which have been classified in the top five solutions in the world in their respective categories as hereunder: (a) Category Access to Information and Knowledge Smart Police Application The Smart Police mobile app provides citizens with a quick access to valuable information such as Police directory, latest news and important communiques from the Police Force and supports calls to emergency service providers. (b) Category ICT applications Emergency Alert Applications Emergency Alert app allows users to receive timely information and updates generated by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Centre in case of natural disasters like cyclones and flash floods. In 2018, the Ministry won the WSIS Champion 2018 in the e-Government category for the InfoHighway system. 5. Cabinet has agreed to the drafting of the Combatting of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, in line with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards and other international obligations. 6. Cabinet has agreed to amendments being made to the Fifth Schedule of the Environment Protection Act 2002, to provide for urgent beach rehabilitation works to be carried out without the requirement of an Environment Impact Assessment Licence following adverse weather conditions. Coastal areas which have suffered degradation after adverse weather conditions would be rehabilitated urgently without the requirement of an Environment Impact Assessment Licence. However, such requests for rehabilitation would have to follow a screening and approval process established by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. 7. Cabinet has taken note that Mauritius would host a Meeting of the Early Childhood Education and Development Cluster on 21 and 22 March 2019, in collaboration with the African Union Commission and the African Early Childhood Network. The objectives of the Meeting are to: (a) establish a Technical Committee of the Early Childhood Education and Development (ECED) Cluster with clearly defined Terms of Reference; (b) develop a 2019-2020 Work Plan for the Technical Committee with priorities, activities and expected outcomes; (c) share experiences and updates on ECED in Member States; and (d) renew commitment from partners and members of the ECED Cluster. Some 30 international delegates from the African Union Member States, Regional Economic Communities, civil society organisations, the Academia and other partners working in ECED, would participate in the Meeting. 8. Cabinet has taken note that the 150th Anniversary of the setting up of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements would be commemorated by the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre. The year 2019 has been proclaimed as the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements by the United Nations. The activities that would be organised during the year include: (a) a travelling exhibition on the Periodic Table which would be touring secondary schools; (b) Junior Mobile Science events in primary schools where teachers and students would develop science projects which would be put on display for other students and parents; (c) lectures and science shows by famous scientists as well as the projection of films to create an awareness of the importance of science; (d) seminars and discussion forums targeting teachers, students and the public on the general topic Chemistry, Science and Society; and (e) sky observation programmes around the theme Elements in the Universe. 9. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent mission of the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Energy and Public Utilities and the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Consumer Protection to India where they participated in the 13th International Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Petrotech 2019. Petrotech is a biennial international oil and gas conference and exhibition organised under the aegis of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas of India and provides a platform for stakeholders to meet, deliberate and exchange on the future of the oil and gas sector. The theme for 2019 was Shaping the New Energy World through Innovation & Collaboration. Two Ministerial sessions were held. The Deputy Prime Minister made a statement on the theme Collaborating for a Sustainable and Secure Energy Access for All. The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Consumer Protection made a statement on the theme Energy for All: Affordability, Accessibility and Livelihood. In the margins of the Conference, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Consumer Protection had meetings with Hon Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and with the delegation from the Republic of Sudan. 10. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent mission of the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Local Government and Outer Islands, Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare to Egypt where she participated in the Africa Ministerial Pre-Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Consultative Meeting in the context of the 63rd Session of the CSW scheduled in March 2019. The Ministerial Consultation was organised by the African Union Commission in close collaboration with UN Women, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the United Nations Development Programme. The objectives of the Africa Pre-CSW Ministerial Consultation were to: (a) discuss and agree on a common platform for Africa at the CSW 63 Meeting; (b) provide clear messages linking the provision of social protection systems to that of access to public services and sustainable infrastructure; (c) come up with issues for lobbying prior to and during the CSW 63 Meeting; and (d) learn from Member States on their challenges and achievements with regard to the above-mentioned themes. Following the meeting, an Outcome Document comprising key messages and strategies for a unified African position was adopted, highlighting, among others, strategies for gender responsive social protection measures, public services, infrastructure and basic utilities. 11. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent mission of the Minister of Tourism to Seychelles where he participated in the 10th General Assembly of the Vanilla Islands Organisation. The General Assembly meeting examined and approved, inter alia, the budget, calendar of activities and promotional projects of the Vanilla Islands Organisation. The Minister stressed that the Vanilla Islands Organisation should focus on promoting and marketing the Vanilla Islands as an attractive cruise destination. The importance of enhancing the tourism product to increase spending from tourists and developing a coherent strategy to get cruise passengers out of the vessels and for cruise vessels to stay at least 24 hours at each port when cruising the region, were also emphasised. The Assembly noted that cruise ship passengers visiting the Indian Ocean Region increased steadily from 14,094 in 2014 to reach 49,342 in 2018. The Assembly also approved the conduct of a study on the impact of cruise activities on the Vanilla Islands by the University of Mauritius and LUniversite de la Reunion. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 3 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn A screeshot from The Grand Tour Chinas vast road network has amazed the international audience yet again, after a trailer of the worlds most popular car show, The Grand Tour, became a hit on YouTube. Britain is doomed, said sharp-tongued British host Jeremy Clarkson in an episode of Amazon's original show, The Grand Tour, which on this occasion focused on China's road network. The Amazon original attracts over 120 million viewers from more than 200 countries and regions. A screeshot from The Grand Tour In 1988, China had no motorway at all. Now thirty years later, China has more than any other country in the world, Clarkson said while driving in the video. China has more than 84,000 miles of highway, including a bridge that is 34 miles long, he continued. The program also praised Chinas road network by saying that there is no mountain high enough, and no valley low enough, to stop China from reaching it by road. Im from the future. You should go to China, said one comment on the YouTube video. Amazed by how they (Chinese) did all in 30 years," exclaimed another. Stock Traders Must Be Cautious Part III Welcome back, If youve missed any part of this multi-part research post, please visit www.TheTechnicalTraders.com/FreeResearch/ to review and read our previous posts. This, Part III, of our multi-part research post where we are attempting to rationalize the continued bearish analysis of some other analysts as well as review some key data that may support our interpretation that the global markets are transitioning through a revaluation phase right now headed for a breakout rally eventually will continue with more detailed information. Our premise is that global investors and traders should stay cautiously optimistic at the moment and prepare for some volatility as this revaluation phase continues to play out. Our overall analysis suggests that the US Federal Reserve and global central banks have primes the cylinders of the global economic engine sufficiently and that a spark is all that is needed to see massive new valuation and GDP increases within the next 10~20+ years. Within the previous sections of this article, weve discussed how Globalization has expanded and normalized the global economic activities over the past 50+ years. Weve also discussed how this process of globalization has created a series of crisis events as localized central banks are now dealing with total globalization and the new risks that are associated with this transition. Our position is that the economies of the planet are now more interconnected than ever before and, thus, the concept of a massive collapse event is less likely than ever before. The only way a massive collapse event could take place, in our opinion, would be a global war between super-economies or a total collapse of multiple super-economies because of some catalyst event. Otherwise, we believe the proper thinking is that of a revaluation phase not a collapse event. Lets dig further into the data and continue our research. In the past, weve suggested that capital operates like a living organism, always in search of the healthiest environment to reside within and always attempting to identify and mitigate risk factors where they reside. In other words, global capital is always seeking out the best, safest and most secure (immune from risk) returns possible at all times. The recent globalization process creates a unique environment where capital can transition from one global market to another in an instant. Risks can be identified and mitigated within minutes, hours or days now where, in the past, these risks could have been catastrophic in nature. Within this new instant environment for capital and global markets, new risks persist. Because huge amounts of capital can now move freely across global platforms and economies, volatility is likely to continue at 2x to 5x historical norms. This also means that catastrophic regional economic events will likely result in more severe price rotation and speculation. The end result is that capital is now flowing across the planet more efficiently than ever before and this creates a whole new playing field for investors and traders. Consider the Global Gross Capital Flows below and pay very close attention to the change in how capital moved and was deployed prior to 2008 and on/after 2008. If you read this chart as our research team sees it, we have entered a period (from 2000 onward) where massive amounts of capital have been dumped into the global markets. Much of this capital has been deployed into infrastructure and supporting global banking and credit markets over the past 18+ years. Yet a very large portion of this capital has yet to become fully activated in the global markets and this can clearly be seen by the reduced GDP output on this graph. 2015 Global GDP levels have dramatically changed and are very near pre-2001 levels in scale. As readers of this article, the point we are trying to make is that the guns are primed, loaded, aimed and ready for BUSINESS. The collapse of global GDP, which is clearly evident in the past few graphs weve presented, began to become clearly evident in 2014~2015. An interesting facet of this contraction was that China instituted new Capital Outflow laws to attempt to prevent investment capital from rushing out of local Chinese markets at this same time. The purpose of this was a protectionary move by China attempting to support their local credit markets and internal banking markets. Unlike other global markets, China could not risk having large amounts of capital rush overseas (depleting repayment capabilities and local coffers) while continuing to build and pump up their credit/lending markets. They had not considered the risks that Chinese investors/Entrepreneurs would take large components of their new wealth and aggressively move it outside the Chinese market. Shortly after that, came the 2016 US presidential elections which always present some level of rotation/contraction within the markets. (Source: https://www.jvi.org/special-events/2016/global-drivers-and-effects-of-capital-flows.html) As we move forward with this data and the key question we posed at the very beginning; are the Doomsayers right? Do you believe the markets will collapse in the immediate future or do you believe the global markets are poised and primed for another massive price advance because of the massive influx of capital that has recently been dumped into the markets? Lets try to answer some of these questions by presenting clear data in regard to how the global markets have changed over the past 90+ years. The GDP data below shows how different nations have rallied GDP output over the past 90+ years and how the dynamics of the global markets are taking root. Remember the data weve presented earlier when you review these GDP graphs, below. Remember that from 1970 till now, the US Federal Reserve and global central banks have poured over $40 Trillion US Dollars into the global markets and this capital is working through the banking system and economies in an attempt to solidify growth/return opportunities. (Source:http://www.newgeography.com/content/005050-500-years-gdp-a-tale-two-countries) If we were to total the GDP of the Top 5 economies on the planet for each of these graphs, the numbers would like something like this : __ 1930: $2.87 Trillion Annually __ 1980: $14.16 Trillion Annually __ 2010: $43.84 Trillion Annually __ 2015: $53.82 Trillion Annually As weve seen from the previous data, the creation of capital by the central banks take a bit of time to settle into the global economies to begin producing real GDP advancements. Additionally, we believe the 2009~2014 global credit market crisis was one of the biggest crisis events to re-sync the global markets in decades. This event was similar to the 1929 US stock market crash in combination with the wars of the 1930s and early 1940s rolled all into one. The primary difference between now and then is the fact that global economies are now very inter-connected and what took many decades in the past now takes only a few short years to recover. What should we expect in the future and why are we cautiously optimistic about the next 2~5+ years, keep reading our next segment to find out. Weve covered almost all of the key data points that highlight what has transitioned in the past 40~50+ years. Next, well highlight why we are very optimistic that 2019 and 2020 will be incredible years for skilled traders and investors and well show you what to expect from the US markets going all the way into 2021. Isnt it time you considered joining a group of professional traders, researchers, and friends to help you find and execute greater success in the future? Then visit www.TheTechnicalTraders.com to learn how we can help you find and execute better trades. Take a look at some of our recent winners to see how we help people, just like you, create success. We believe 2019 and 2020 will be incredible years for skilled traders and we are executing at the highest level we can to assist our members. In fact, we are about to launch our newest technology solution to better assist our members in creating future success. Isnt it time you invested in your future success by joining a team of professionals dedicated to giving you an advantage in the markets every day? Chris Vermeulen www.TheTechnicalTraders.com Chris Vermeulen has been involved in the markets since 1997 and is the founder of Technical Traders Ltd. He is an internationally recognized technical analyst, trader, and is the author of the book: 7 Steps to Win With Logic Through years of research, trading and helping individual traders around the world. He learned that many traders have great trading ideas, but they lack one thing, they struggle to execute trades in a systematic way for consistent results. Chris helps educate traders with a three-hour video course that can change your trading results for the better. His mission is to help his clients boost their trading performance while reducing market exposure and portfolio volatility. He is a regular speaker on HoweStreet.com, and the FinancialSurvivorNetwork radio shows. Chris was also featured on the cover of AmalgaTrader Magazine, and contributes articles to several leading financial hubs like MarketOracle.co.uk Disclaimer: Nothing in this report should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. Technical Traders Ltd., its owners and the author of this report are not registered broker-dealers or financial advisors. Before investing in any securities, you should consult with your financial advisor and a registered broker-dealer. Never make an investment based solely on what you read in an online or printed report, including this report, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isnt well known. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report has been paid by Cardiff Energy Corp. In addition, the author owns shares of Cardiff Energy Corp. and would also benefit from volume and price appreciation of its stock. The information provided here within should not be construed as a financial analysis but rather as an advertisement. The authors views and opinions regarding the companies featured in reports are his own views and are based on information that he has researched independently and has received, which the author assumes to be reliable. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content of this report, nor its fitness for any particular purpose. Lastly, the author does not guarantee that any of the companies mentioned in the reports will perform as expected, and any comparisons made to other companies may not be valid or come into effect. Chris Vermeulen Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. Muriel Eugenia Dunckel, age 71, of Mankato passed away on Sunday, June 20, 2021 at St. Mary's Hospital, Rochester. Services will be held at a later date. Mankato Mortuary is assisting the family with arrangements. Muriel is survived by her husband, Nelson Dunckel; children, Dan (Carla) Ewert The board of listed Greenergy Holdings Inc. approved the additional investment of P100 million in Winsun Green Ventures Inc. to finance its foray into solar and liquefied natural gas projects. The company wishes to inform the Exchange and the investing public that its Board of Directors approved the Companys additional investment of up to P100 million in its subsidiary, Winsun Green Ventures Incorporated, to finance the latters green projects involving solar power and liquefied natural gas (LNG), Greenergy said. The company did not disclose further details. An official of the Department of Energy said Winsun had not submitted any LNG project proposal to date. Greenergy decided to explore business opportunities in renewable energy in 2010. The company agreed to the establishment of a $1.3-billion joint venture project with Tianjin Tianbao Investment and Development Corp. of China in 2011.The partnership plans to engage in wind energy projects amounting to $200 million as priority, and other subsequent renewable energy projects such as bio-mass, solar, hydro and geothermal energy. The company has also agreed to acquire 51 percent of Total Waste Management Recovery System Inc., a domestic company engaged in the business of building, operating and managing waste recovery facilities and waste management systems within the Philippines. In 2012, the company established certain subsidiaries to further mark its venture into the field of renewable energy. These are Winsun and the 60 percent-owned Biomass Holdings, Inc. Biomass Holdings is the product of the companys partnership with Cleantech Projektgesellschaft mbH, a German fund managed by the ThomasLloyd Global Asset Management (Switzerland) AG of Zurich. It serves as the joint venture vehicle of the parties in their investment transactions in the biomass power plant of San Carlos BioPower Inc. in Negros Occidental province. Alena Mae S. Flores The rescued spotted seal cubs Photo via CCTV Some 100 spotted seal cubs were poached from Liaodong Bay, northeast Chinas Liaoning province, which is equal to nearly half of the annual birth rate of the local spotted seal population, triggering national concerns over wildlife protection. The poaching case was solved by Dalian police in Liaoning province on Feb. 11. Only 62 of the cubs survived. Three suspects were arrested at the scene, but three others remain at large and local police authorities have set up a special task force to find them and pursue the case. The 62 seal cubs have been sent to local wildlife aid bodies for treatment. As of press time, most are in good shape, but four require special treatment. A health assessment and wild training will be conducted on all the seals before they are released back into the wild. The cute-looking animals have become easy targets for poachers as aquariums gain popularity in more cities, which has increased the demand for spotted seals. Spotted seals are a national second-class protected wild animal in China. They are mainly found in the Chinas Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, and are the only pinnipeds (fin-footed, semiaquatic marine mammals) that can breed in Chinese waters. There are currently 2,000 spotted seals living in Liaodong Bay. Specifically, the spotted seal population in Liaodong Bay has reproduced in isolation with their counterparts worldwide and therefore deserve better protection for genetic studies, experts noted. The 100 poached cubs roughly equal half of the annual birth rate of the local spotted seal population in Liaodong Bay, experts pointed out, warning that it could have a hazardous impact on the local species. According to Chinas Criminal Law, those who illegally hunt or kill national protected animals or purchase, transport, and sell products made from protected animals can receive a punishment of over 10 years imprisonment. Niwot residents will soon be seeing reminders to renew their Niwot Community Association memberships in their mailboxes, email in-boxes and along Niwot Road. The membership drive will kick off the week of Feb. 17, with an email message to current members and posting of the Burma Shave style signs along Niwot Road, NCA President David Limbach told board members at their March 13 meeting. Currently Niwot residents can join the NCA by paying with a check or through PayPal. NCA board members are exploring adding Venmo by PayPal, a mobile payment service linked to a bank account, to the payment mix. NCA annual dues are $30. Membership is open to Niwot residents, and residents living in areas west of Colorado State Highway 119 including Lake Valley and North Rim, along with Gunbarrel Estates and The Homestead subdivisions in Gunbarrel. Those areas are part of the membership area because they have issues of mutual concern with Niwot and most of the areas have Niwot Elementary and Niwot High School as their home schools. The NCA sponsors an annual cleanup day in May and the towns July 4 parade, coordinates informational meetings on community issues, runs candidate forums, brings issues of community concern forward to Boulder County Commissioners and county departments, and coordinates work on area trails and open space with Boulder County. Community Issues Currently the NCA, along with the Niwot Business Association and Boulder County Transportation, is hosting a community survey asking residents to weigh in on possible configurations and locations for a new Niwot bus station along Highway 119 to accommodate future bus rapid transit. The survey will be open until Feb. 28 and a link to it can be found on the NCAs website at http://www.Niwot.org. The NCA also is keeping its membership informed about upcoming meetings about the countys proposed revisions to the land use code for downtown Niwots three-block commercial zone. The Boulder County Planning Commission is set to hold a Feb. 20 public hearing on proposed changes, and Boulder County Commissioners are expected to consider planning commission recommendations at a public hearing March 12. A modified six-month moratorium on processing development applications for the NRCD expires March 20. Trails and Open Space As the ADA compliant bathroom at Left Hand Valley Grange Park on Niwot Road is completed, NCA members are starting to explore whether a bicycle repair station can be installed at the park. We will start that conversation soon with the county, said Craig Rahenkamp, NCA trails and open space chair. In 2013, former U.S. National Park Ranger Robert McIntosh was volunteering with the Mongolian Ecology Center (MEC) near the Russian-Mongolian border when something happened that set a mission in motion to change the world, one motorcycle at a time. McIntosh watched helplessly as the chief Mongolian park ranger hopped on his motorcycle to enforce protection of the parklands, only to have it break down. McIntoshs frustration grew as he learned that breakdowns happened routinely. Mongolian park rangers were riding old Russian and Chinese models, prone to frequent mechanical issues. Since each ranger was responsible for his or her own motorcycle, those breakdowns left rangers constantly unable to protect park lands from poachers of animals, lumber, and plants, as well as arsonists, illegal miners and campers. At that moment, McIntosh made a commitment to get one new motorcycle back to the chief ranger. He told his friend Wesley Thornberry his idea to buy a new cycle in Mongolia, ride it across the country, and deliver it personally to the ranger so that he could safely and successfully perform his job. Thornberry told some other friends when he returned to the States, and the Rally for Rangers Foundation (RfR) was born. Their mission is simple: to protect the worlds special places, one motorcycle at a time. That next year for their first foray, 15 motorcyclists bought 15 new motorcycles and rode them across Mongolia to give them to park rangers there. Tom Medema, another National Parks Service Ranger and co-founder of Rally for Rangers, will be in Boulder on Feb. 26 to help two local motorcyclists, Josh Morin of Niwot and Asher Woolverton of Broomfield raise funds for the foundations next effort, bringing 15 new motorbikes to rangers who are battling poachers while protecting rhinos and Bengal tigers in remote parks in Nepal. The fundraiser, at the Dairy Arts Center at 6:30 p.m., will include refreshments and a showing of a documentary film about RfRs work and adventures. Morin and Woolverton, both experienced adventure riders and committed international volunteers, are charged with each raising approximately $10,000 which pays for a new donated motorcycle, in-country rally expenses, and their travel to Nepal. Additionally, each rider volunteers over two weeks of their time to ride the new bike across the country and personally hand it over to the ranger they have chosen to support. RfR not only donates the new bikes to rangers, they also spend a few days after delivery teaching the rangers to ride the much more powerful bikes, as well as giving them mechanical training. Rangers are responsible for the maintenance on their bikes - there are no motor pools in remote Mongolia or Nepal - as well as their own gas and oil. Training on the new, modern cycles helps each ranger keep their new tool in shape so that they can perform their job to the best of their ability. Rangers have to protect huge tract of land, dealing with everything from poaching to illegal harvesting of lumber, and motorcycles help tremendously with that. People in the U.S. see motorcycles as consumptive, destructive, said Medema.Many dont realize that in other countries they are essential to work, to family, to living. RfR understands the value of working, dependable motorcycles for the rangers, though, and since their first rally in 2014 through the end of this year, they will have donated 105 bikes through theirs and their volunteers efforts. Its an unusual success story for a relatively new non-profit to be able to achieve their stated goals the first year, and RfR has done it every year. Medema attributes their success to several factors. Its the environmental ethic. Social media has created the awareness of the threat of poaching, and the real threat the rangers face every day. We hear something all the time about the plight of elephants and rhinos, but people just dont know how to help, or what to do. Plus, there is the adventure and personal touch of it all, he said. People have asked us, Why dont you just ship the bikes over there? But if I ask a friend to donate money for that, they might give about twenty bucks. If I tell them that we buy the bikes, ride them across the country and then give them personally to the rangers, before helping them learn how to ride and maintain them, then theyll maybe donate $500 or more, because of the personal touch and the adventure of it all, he added. Hopefully, well be able to bring a motorcycle to every ranger in the world someday. If youd like to help Josh Morin and Asher Woolverton reach their goal or otherwise get involved, you can donate or learn more at http://www.rallyforrangers.org, and attend the Rally for Rangers fundraiser on Tuesday, Feb. 26 from 6:30 - 8 p.m. at the Boedecker Theater at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder at 2590 Walnut. The city of Cape Coral is working to finalize the plans for a delegation from China, expected to arrive in Southwest Florida on Monday. A delegation from sister city Baise will spend two days in the Cape, with the hope on the citys part that the visit will spur economic growth and cultural opportunities. We want to expose them to the city and to the business opportunities and the facilities we have, said Mayor Joe Coviello. They want to know how our charter schools operate, the hospital and some of the businesses like Wicked Dolphin and maybe Nor-Tec (Hi- Performance Boats), Coviello said. The original plan was for a three-day visit, but the delegation decided to cut the stay down to two. This means the city will have to squeeze in what the delegation will see in a shorter time window. Coviello said the city was still hammering out the logistics with local businesses and piecing everything together. The delegation will arrive Monday to a welcoming breakfast and reception, where people can meet them and ask questions (with a translator). They will visit Cape Coral Hospital and have lunch there, go to Rumrunners and take a Nor-Tec boat tour to see some of the areas from the water and then dinner, Coviello said. Tuesday will bring the delegation to the Oasis charter schools, the Ecological Laboratories and maybe Wicked Dolphin distillery. Delegates will attend a reception in the afternoon with dinner to follow before heading back on the plane Wednesday morning. Coviello said he would particularly like for the delegation to go home and tell business owners to come to the Cape. Our residential tax base seems to be holding steady and we want to find ways to increase the commercial tax base to take pressure off the residents, Coviello said. The city council last month approved $10,000 toward the delegations visit. But with the visit being two days and only three delegates, Coviello said he doubts the city will spend that amount. Were picking up some of the tab and the businesses are picking up some of it. We approved spending the money, but I dont think were going to spend all of it, Coviello said. The charter schools and hospitals are going to sponsor lunch. One of the dinners is going to be sponsored. Were talking about hotel rooms for four to six people. As for a Cape delegation going to China, Coviello said he will see how this goes before deciding on a return visit. If it happens, it will be sometime in May. Fridays concert wont be the first time artists have turned to music amid simmering tensions at the restive Colombia-Venezuela border. A concert known as Paz Sin Fronteras Peace Without Borders was held in 2008 after a diplomatic flare-up that drew Venezuelan troops to the Colombia border. That event was held on the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, which 33,000 people now use to enter Colombia each day. Similar to the 1985 Live Aid concert, which raised funds to relieve the Ethiopian famine, Branson has set a goal of raising $100 million within 60 days. As Venezuelas political turmoil drags on, allies of Juan Guaido, who is being recognized by more than 50 nations as the countrys rightful president, are hoping the massive concert and push for aid mark a turning point from which a transitional government can be consolidated. But Maduro has shown no signs of backing down, and analysts warn that whatever happens over the next two days may not yield a conclusive victory for either side. Several thousand people were already gathered in a large field three hours before the concert in Colombia was set to begin. As crowds wore white and carried Venezuelan flags, several uniformed officers on horseback and on foot stood guard near the border. British billionaire Richard Branson is sponsoring a Live Aid-style concert featuring dozens of musicians including Latin American rock star Juanes on one side of the border crossing that Colombian officials have renamed the Unity Bridge, while Maduros socialist government is promising a three-day festival called Hands Off Venezuela on the other. The dueling concerts will set the stage for a showdown between Venezuelas beleaguered government and opposition leaders who are pledging to draw masses of people to the countrys western border Saturday to try to usher in aid that Maduro has vowed not to accept into the country. Venezuelas power struggle was set to become a battle of the bands Friday when musicians demanding President Nicolas Maduro allow in humanitarian aid and those supporting his refusal were to sing in rival concerts on both sides of a border bridge where tons of donated food and medicine were stored. A child holds a Venezuelan flag during the Venezuela Aid Live concert on the Colombian side of Tienditas International Bridge on the outskirts of Cucuta, Colombia. Newsletter Must-read stories from the L.A. Times Get all the day's most vital news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. Enter email address Sign Me Up You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. The White House says a small peacekeeping group of about 200 U.S. troops will stay in Syria beyond the planned withdrawal of American forces this spring. The announcement Thursday by Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not specify where the troops would be based, what their responsibilities would be, or how long they would stay, beyond a period of time. A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public, said the 200 would be split down the middle between Syrian Kurdish-controlled areas in the northeast of the country, and the Tanf garrison in southeast Syria. The official said the total might rise slightly. The decision was a partial reversal of President Trumps order, announced in December, that all 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria would leave because their mission to destroy Islamic State had been achieved. Complete withdrawal was expected by the end of April. Advertisement Defense officials, lawmakers and some White House aides have expressed concern that tens of thousands of militant fighters remained scattered throughout Syria and Iraq. France and Britain, which also have troops in Syria, rebuffed a U.S. request to leave forces there to continue operations against militant remnants and to patrol a safe zone along Syrias northeastern border with Turkey unless some U.S. troops remained. Turkey initially proposed the 20-mile safe zone to prevent what it says have been cross-border attacks by fighters of the Peoples Protection Units, the Kurdish forces that dominate the U.S.-allied Syrian ground force. Turkey considers the Kurdish group terrorists, allied with Kurdish militants in that country, and has said it would attack them as soon as the Americans left. It has demanded their removal from the border area. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) praised the move Thursday, and said that the residual U.S. force would ensure that ISIS does not return and that Iran does not fill the vacuum that would have been left if we completely withdrew. It also ensures, he said, that Turkey and the Syrian Kurds will not go into conflict. ISIS is an acronym for Islamic State. Iran is a primary backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who wants to send his military forces, along with Iranian-commanded militias, into the eastern third of Syria now controlled by the U.S.-led coalition and its Syrian Kurdish allies. With this decision, Graham said in a statement, President Trump has decided to follow sound military advice. Graham has been among the loudest voices demanding that some troops be left in Syria. In a confrontation late last week with acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan at the Munich Security Conference, he called the complete withdrawal the dumbest ... thing I have ever heard, and said that a U.S. commitment to patrol the border would provide an incentive to the Europeans to make their own commitments. Senate Republicans break with Trump over plans to pull troops from Syria, Afghanistan Advertisement While reluctant to disagree with Trump, U.S. military officials have repeatedly flagged what they see as the hazards of a hasty pullout, even after Islamic States territorial presence has been eliminated. Britain and France did not immediately respond to the U.S. announcement Thursday. Grahams statement appeared to speak only to the safe zone, but some administration officials, including national security advisor John Bolton, had also pressed for troops to be left at the Tanf garrison, where they are seen as a bulwark against Iranian expansion. The U.S. official said that Trump, Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Shanahan had been in alignment on the plan for several weeks, but had wanted to enter discussions with the Europeans from a position of zero troops remaining, and potentially go up as they sought commitments from the allies. Advertisement Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a telephone call Thursday, agreed to continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone, the White House said. Shanahan and Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to meet with their Turkish counterparts in Washington on Friday. Karen DeYoung and Missy Ryan write for the Washington Post. The Posts Josh Dawsey contributed to this report. When President Trump spoke recently of Islamic State, he described the group as all but defeated, even in the digital realm. For a period of time, they used the internet better than we did. They used the internet brilliantly, but now its not so brilliant, the president said. And now the people on the internet that used to look up to them and say how wonderful and brilliant they are, are not thinking of them as being so brilliant. As Islamic States once-large physical domain shrinks to nothing, its media presence is no longer the mighty propaganda powerhouse that, at its height, flooded social media with nearly 40 statements, videos and other media items a day, according to a 2015 report by the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence, a London think tank. At the same time, Islamic States media arm endures on a smaller scale and has already adapted to the loss. Advertisement The radical ideology it uses to push its fighters and supporters to fight to the death also continues to drive its media operations. That doctrine made media jihad equal to, if not greater than, military jihad, said Adam Raisman, a senior analyst at the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group, a monitor of extremist content online, adding that the group paid media personnel the same wage it gave to fighters on the battlefield. Islamic State did more to court audiences. It was the first to branch out on social media. It named those who promoted its caliphate and ideology on social media as mujahideen, or holy warriors, Raisman said. No other group courted support like that. In an August 2015 publication titled You are a Mujahid, O Media Man, released by Al Himmah Library, an official operation of the group, Islamic State declared that the power of words is sharper (stronger) than atomic bombs. Inciting jihad, said the publication, was equal to waging jihad. So my dear unknown media soldier, know how valuable your role is in attaining victory.... You are a mujahid for the cause of Allah. Just like its strategy in combat, which includes a mix of assaults by its fighters along with terrorist attacks undertaken by sympathizers across the globe, Islamic States media effort has had a mix of soldiers and adherents with no official capacity who are willing to spread its message. Its both highly centralized in its official media arms and also highly decentralized for its grass-roots supporters and unofficial media, said Seamus Hughes, a terrorism researcher at George Washington University, in a phone interview Wednesday. In times of distress, the unofficial media plays a larger role while the official media takes a somewhat limited presence but still attempts to steer the ship. Advertisement As the groups fighters are beaten back, the sheer volume of its media output has markedly declined. Between August 2015 and December 2018, the average number of Islamic State media offerings, which includes statements, songs and videos, fell from roughly 300 a month to less than 100, according to U.S. officials involved in the cyber element of Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led coalitions campaign against Islamic State. Our efforts have been very successful in defeating ISIS media cells. In Syria, weve targeted known ISIS media members, their infrastructure and their capabilities, they said in a statement, referring to the militant group by an acronym. It added that the coalition effort had degraded Islamic States ability to spread its message and recruit future terrorists. Multimedia releases that were once the groups calling card have been particularly hard hit, Raisman said. He listed defunct Islamic State publications including Dabiq and Constantinople, English- and Turkish-language magazines with unique content. Advertisement The last issue of Rumiyah, its flagship magazine, was published in September 2017; only Al Naba, its weekly Arabic newspaper, remains. Multiple video releases every week are gone too. Though Islamic State once enjoyed free rein on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Telegram (the latter remains home to dozens of Islamic State channels), social media giants are now much faster at policing and removing extremist content. With its official arms under siege, Islamic State has turned to its sympathizers, Hughes said. Because they are not on the radar of authorities, sympathizers can create their own distribution networks. And some have the capacity to produce their own content. (One example was a picture of Santa Claus standing by box of dynamite in Times Square. The poster, which stayed in the headlines for weeks in November, was made by a supporter). Advertisement Hughes cites the case of Ashraf Al Safoo, a naturalized Iraqi American who was the target of an FBI investigation and the focus of a subsequent criminal complaint in 2018. Though he was not an Islamic State member, Safoo helped set up the Khattab Media Foundation, a group of 33 supporters who would republish extremist propaganda as well as produce their own in coordination with Islamic State media officials. According to court documents, the foundations members would engage in raids on social media, using banks of freshly created or hacked social media accounts to spread prepackaged groups of tweets. They also took operational security measures, using aliasing software such as Tor and virtual private networks to mask their location, or restricting their Islamic State-related work to prepaid phones that were harder to track. Almost four years ago, Islamic State oversaw a prolific media machine, churning out statements, infographics, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, radio bulletins and songs in anywhere from five to 11 languages. Advertisement Its videos, graphics-laden and slickly edited, garnered a cant-look-away fascination in their depiction of anything from the Utopian scenes of life across the 35 wilayas, or provinces, under the groups control to the gruesome ways it killed its many enemies. It also released childrens educational apps, teaching math and Arabic with stylized animations of militants firing guns or mortars. From the moment Islamic State began to lose ground, its messaging shifted to the idea that it didnt need real estate to exist, said Aymenn Jawad Tamimi, a researcher of Islamic State texts with the Middle East Forum think tank. Congratulations to you, O Pentagon, for this victory for the piles of rock, said Islamic States then-spokesman Abu Muhammad Adnani in March 2015, after the group lost the Kurdish Syrian city of Kobani. Advertisement The group has since even further streamlined its operation, said Tamimi, relying increasingly on branches in Somalia and elsewhere in East Africa. Rather than Islamic State being this central organ in Iraq and Syria with branches all over the world, its a diffuse global jihadist insurgency, Tamimi said. The groups rhetoric has also shifted away from encouraging Muslims to bring their families to the caliphate, a hugely successful campaign; Islamic State territory once ranked as home to the highest number of foreign fighters in the world, according to the International Center, the London think tank. Islamic States message now is you should come, but if you cant because of obstacles, stay home and carry out attacks there, because what you do there has more impact than here, Raisman said. There is also a focus on attacks on defectors and those leaving Islamic State, Hughes said, with targeted assassinations playing a larger role in messaging. Advertisement Its not about distributing candy in Raqqah anymore. Its about a show of strength, Hughes said. Meanwhile, reports have emerged of Islamic State establishing a presence on the dark web as well as less mainstream social media services, expanding its use of ZeroNet, which allows peer-to-peer hosting of sites to circumvent censorship. Some of their operations planning occurs in chats for internet games, said Abu Ali Basri, head of Iraqs Suqoor Intelligence Cell. The result, Raisman said, is that you have to seek them, they can no longer easily seek you. Advertisement Thats not very hard, Hughes said, noting that its often just a matter of searching in a language other than English to find extremist materials. But with the physical caliphate on the verge of being snuffed out, experts believe its unlikely that governments will engage in the intense efforts needed to turn people away from the groups ideology. How can one defeat a terrorist group with the breadth of the Islamic State or Al Qaeda? Raisman said. Whether its in the areas that once made up the caliphate or the media landscape, he said, its the ideology that must be defeated in tandem with the fighters. Investigators on Friday were still trying to determine what sparked an explosive fire in a densely packed historic section of the Bangladeshi capital that killed 67 people and injured as many as 41. Officials offered differing views, suggesting that an errant gas cylinder, a faulty transformer or flammable chemicals could have triggered the blaze that engulfed the warren-like streets of Dhakas Chawkbazar on Wednesday. We are still investigating the matter to find out the source of the fire, said Shamsul Alam, chief inspector for the Department of Explosives. Later, authorities said they were seeking up to a dozen suspects on suspicion of negligence but did not disclose details. Advertisement Many victims are still thought to be missing, and search teams could be seen carrying out the dead in body bags Friday afternoon. Authorities said most of the people who died had no chance of escape. Fire spread with rapid ferocity, trapping people inside buildings as well as pedestrians outside. The neighborhoods narrow streets made it impossible for fire engines to reach the blaze, authorities said. Helicopters had to be called in to douse the flames. The disaster has brought renewed attention to Bangladeshs poor safety record. Buildings in Chawkbazar are commonly used to store industrial ingredients such as chemicals to make toiletries. The district is known to produce knock-off shampoos and deodorants disguised as major brands. Fire officials had initially reported a death toll of 81, but later lowered the number to 67. Chemical warehouses were supposed to have been removed after a 2010 fire in the nearby Nimtoli district claimed 124 lives. That fire was blamed on flammable chemical materials. Khatibur Rahman, a resident of Chawkbazar, said that there was no enforcement of building codes after that fire and that chemical warehousing remained rampant. House owners are greedy, he said. They like to rent their houses to the businessmen for warehouses. They pay high rents for their business. He said inspectors were paid bribes to look the other way in Chawkbazar, a district in whats known as Old Dhaka, which dates back centuries. Advertisement The government should strictly monitor and enforce the law and evict the chemical warehouses, said Rahman, who lives across the street from where the fire broke out in a building called Wahed Mansion. Eyewitnesses said a gas canister inside a car exploded and sparked the blaze outside the building. Vehicles in Bangladesh commonly run on compressed natural gas or liquified petroleum gas fed through gas cylinders installed in the trunk. Bangladeshis have increasingly turned to buying unlicensed cylinders to store gas amid a persistent shortage. Alam, the explosives inspector, said it was too soon to pin the blame on a gas cylinder. He said he had yet to find a car with an exploded cylinder or damage to surrounding cars indicative of a cylinder blowout. If a cylinder had exploded, all the cars [around there] would be broken into pieces, Alam said. Advertisement But Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, head of the Industries Ministry, which oversees the use of chemicals, said the incident had nothing to do with chemicals. You have got a very wrong message, he told reporters. This is a gas cylinder blast. A resident who declined to give his name scoffed at the assessment, saying he was certain a gas cylinder started the fire. This is all nonsense, claiming a chemical warehouse was the main reason for this incident, he said. Advertisement Times staff writer Pierson reported from Singapore and special correspondent Abedin from Dhaka. david.pierson@latimes.com Twitter: @dhpierson When you say youre going to Fiji, you might want to be a little more specific. The South Pacific nation includes about 300 islands (and hundreds of islets) that spread across a million square miles. No matter where you fan out to, if youre flying internationally, youll probably land at Nadi airport on Viti Levu. Here is the lowdown on this weeks fare: Fare: From LAX, $726 round trip, including all taxes and fees, to Nadi on Fiji Airways Advertisement Restrictions: Subject to availability. For travel March 1-Dec. 11. Tickets must be purchased by Feb. 27. Info: Fiji Airways, (800) 227-4446, Source: Airfarewatchdog travel@latimes.com @latimestravel Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots, among the NFLs most influential and successful owners, was charged Friday with two counts of soliciting sex from a prostitute, according to police in Jupiter, Fla. Kraft, 77, was charged with paying for sexual services at Orchids of Asia Day Spa, one of nearly a dozen spas in the area that police say were used for prostitution. The development was part of a larger crackdown on human trafficking and prostitution in the region, and more than two dozen men have been arrested in the investigation, authorities said. The charges against Kraft are misdemeanors. Police said a warrant would be issued for Krafts arrest. The sexual encounters that resulted in charges were captured on surveillance video, authorities said, and took place during two visits to the spa about a month ago. A spokesman for Kraft said the allegations were untrue: We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further. Advertisement Earlier this month, the Patriots posted a 13-3 victory over the Rams in Super Bowl LIII. It was the sixth Super Bowl victory for New England in Krafts 25 years of ownership. He has been considered a rock-solid candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, although not quite the slam-dunk, first-ballot inductee that coach Bill Belichick or quarterback Tom Brady is expected to be. Sign up for our daily sports newsletter Since Kraft bought the team in 1994, the Patriots have had 22 winning seasons out of 25, and have won more division titles (18), conference championships (10), and Super Bowls (six) than any franchise during that span. Authorities arrested the spas owner, Hua Zhang, earlier this week on suspicion of 29 charges. They include deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution and renting space to be used for prostitution. She has pleaded not guilty to all counts. In the probable-cause affidavit for Zhangs arrest, police said they started investigating the business in October and were guided, in part, by several websites noting the spa provided sexual acts in exchange for money. Police said the spa charged $79 for an hourlong session and $59 for a half-hour. It is located in a strip mall between a nail salon and business that offers escape-room games. The affidavit contains graphic details from police video surveillance of sexual encounters between the spas female staffers and 26 male customers during five days in late January. The men are identified only by their hair color and clothing. If there are customers, then these kind of businesses can flourish, Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr said during a televised news conference Friday. Advertisement An investigator from the Florida Department of Health inspected the spa at the request of police, the affidavit said, and believed staffers were living at the business. The investigator noted that the spa included two rooms with beds, a dresser containing clothes and medicine and a refrigerator stocked with food. The probable-cause affidavit for Kraft hadnt been filed in Palm Beach County Court as of Friday afternoon. Along with Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, Kraft is among the NFLs most influential owners. He was instrumental in shaping the latest collective bargaining agreement with the players, the return of the NFL to Los Angeles, and many of the leagues highest-profile initiatives. He has been at the center of controversy before, including when his team was penalized for allegedly deflating footballs before a playoff game, an accusation the Patriots staunchly deny. Kraft, who bought the Patriots for $172 million, has a net worth of $6.6 billion, according to Forbes magazine. He is a resident of Massachusetts but owns property in Palm Beach, Fla. He contributed to President Trumps inaugural campaign and took part in the Patriots championship visit to the White House in 2017. Advertisement Well, its very sad, Trump said about Kraft being charged. I was very surprised to see it. Hes proclaimed his innocence totally. But Im very surprised to see it. In 2011, his wife of 48 years, Myra, died of cancer. The couple had four sons. Kraft eventually began dating Ricki Lander, 39, who had a child in 2017. Although he said he is not the biological father, Kraft reportedly is fully supporting the child. Staff writer Chuck Schilken contributed to this report. Advertisement charles.schilken@latimes.com Twitter: @chewkiii 6 in 10 say politics behind U.S. campaign against Huawei: CNN poll NEW YORK, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Over 60 percent of the respondents believed that the U.S. global campaign against Chinese tech giant Huawei is politically motivated, according to CNN online poll results. The Quest Means Business, a business program at CNN hosted by Richard Quest, said in a tweet on Wednesday that 61 percent of respondents to its latest poll on "what's behind the U.S. campaign against Huawei" chose "Politics" as the reason among four given options. Meanwhile, 24 percent of respondents chose "Security," 13 percent ticked "Business," and the remaining 2 percent chose "Something Else." "It's all about 5G Market share... Hauwei (Huawei) is and has been the leader in network equipment for decades ... They are ready to roll out 5G worldwide ... The US and several others want a piece of that pie ...," Twitter user Kent Anderson commented below the tweet. The United States has tried to persuade its allies out of cooperating with China's Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., especially in the field of 5G technology where the Shenzhen-based multinational is a leading player. Senior U.S. officials have recently kept telling American allies that using Huawei equipments would undermine their national security, and could also affect their partnership with the United States. However, a British cyber-security watchdog decided that any risk posed by Huawei in the country's telecoms projects can be managed, according to a recent report by BBC. Huawei executives have, on various occasions, refuted the U.S.-orchestrated allegations, citing the company's excellent cyber security record and willingness to accept supervision and suggestions of foreign customers and governments. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has rejected the position of the United States on Huawei, stressing that China hopes all countries will abide by the principle of fair competition and jointly safeguard a fair and non-discriminatory market environment. Hoping to jog the memories of longtime residents who might have crossed paths with the suspect in the kidnapping and killing of 11-year-old Linda OKeefe in July 1973, authorities Thursday night released a vintage photo of James Alan Neal to show what he may have looked like at the time of the slaying. The undated photo is thought to have been taken between the late 1970s and early 1980s, Newport Beach police said. Neal, 72, was arrested Tuesday by authorities in Colorado, where he lives and remains in custody. Barring any legal challenges, he awaits extradition to California, according to Newport Beach police. Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy stands next to a picture of James Alan Neal, who was arrested in the cold-case killing of Linda OKeefe in Newport Beach. (Don Leach / Staff Photographer) Neal has been charged with special-circumstances murder, kidnapping and lewd and lascivious acts on a minor under 14 in connection with Lindas death. Authorities say Neal went by the name James Albert Layton Jr. at the time of the killing. Investigators believe he lived in Southern California in the 1970s and changed his name following an incident in Florida. A sketch of a person of interest in Lindas death was circulated at the time of the killing, but it generated no leads. DNA testing wasnt available at the time. Instead, investigators tested bodily fluids and blood left at crime scenes for proteins that helped provide clues or narrow a list of suspects. The science eventually became key to the case. Newport Beach detectives in 2018 contacted Parabon NanoLabs, a Virginia-based medical lab, which used DNA from the crime scene to calculate a possible suspects facial composite, gender, ancestry, freckles and skin tone, and eye and hair color. The lab provided two profiles one showing a man in his mid-20s and another detailing what he might look like today in his late 60s or early 70s. A DNA profile of a possible suspect in the 1973 slaying of 11-year-old Linda OKeefe in Newport Beach shows what the man might have looked like then, left, and what he might look like now. (Newport Beach Police Department) But detectives still couldnt put a name with the computer sketch. They had checked the DNA against databases of convicted felons over the years but continued to come up empty-handed. That changed in January when investigators tapped FamilyTreeDNA.com, a genealogical database that the public can use to search for relatives and ancestors. As a result of genealogical submission, they got an indication that James Alan Neal might be the suspect, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said Wednesday. Once investigators located Neal in Colorado, they began watching him. Authorities said they collected additional DNA evidence from Neal during that time, though it isnt clear how that was done. The DNA from that sample matched the one collected at the 1973 crime scene, officials said. Anyone with information about the case can call the Newport Beach Police Department cold-case tip line at (949) 644-3669. Julia Sclafani is a Daily Pilot staff writer. Hannah Fry writes for the Los Angeles Times. KTLA contributed to this report. The folks behind Old Vine Cafe in Costa Mesa have moved into new digs and are embracing a modified name, Old Vine Kitchen & Bar. Old Vine didnt move far. On Jan. 13, it closed its location of more than 10 years at The Camp and moved to another suite in the same retail center previously occupied by Ecco Pizzeria & Bar. Old Vines new operation began Feb. 4. The award-winning Old Vine, which started in 2007 and is run by chef Mark McDonald, hasnt changed too much. Its breakfast (of which Ive long been a fan) and lunch menus are the same, as are the wine pairings and the twice-annual culinary trips to Italy that McDonald leads. The addition of a full bar and a bar food menu are whats new. At 3,000 square feet, Old Vine Kitchen & Bar is nearly twice the size of the original. It also has an outdoor patio and a new seating area dubbed the Living Room. Also notable is a new divider wall made of twisted steel by artist Mark Gerardi. If you like the artwork of Paul Kole, who has done abstract paintings for Old Vines menus, its been compiled into a book available at the restaurant. Overall, Old Vine is more cozy, stylish and inviting. And the members of the team behind this location say they remain committed to regional cuisine, quality products and genuine connections with customers. We have 12 years of loyal clientele, McDonald said. We didnt want to reface what we did overnight. There is a reason the things we were doing over there at the old location have been so successful. McDonald and co-owner Kate Perry, Old Vines longtime sommelier, say the new bar menu focuses on classic cocktails. Its familiar, McDonald said. Its not overly contrived. Simplicity is kind of what we do. Less is more. One drink sparking excitement is a margarita with three types of tequila (blanco, anejo and reposado) with Giffard curacao liqueur and lime. Happy hour specials run from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to midnight, except on Mondays and Saturdays. Youll get $3 off cocktails and half-off bar bites for the early happy hour, and $5 hefeweizen and $9 cocktails for the late night. And you can always expect a stellar house focaccia and borlotti bean dip. IF YOU GO What: Old Vine Kitchen & Bar Where: The Camp, 2937 Bristol St., Suite A-103, Costa Mesa Hours: Breakfast daily, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; lunch daily, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; dinner Tuesday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Information: (714) 545-1411; oldvinekitchenbar.com John Burroughs High School is presenting Pop Show 40: Change the World, showcasing the award-winning Powerhouse and Sound Sensations advanced choirs, as well as the Decibelles, Sound Waves choirs and Men at Work choirs this weekend. Performances will be at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the auditorium at the school, located at 1920 W. Clark Ave, Burbank. Tickets are available at jbhsvma.com. Presented by Burroughs Vocal Music Assn., the production features a variety of small groups, duos and soloists performing music and choreography they have chosen themselves, as well as a special performance by the schools dance ensemble. In total, Pop Show 40 features more than 200 students, as well as select students from the Burroughs Instrumental Music Assn. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Pop Show, which was launched in the fall of 1978, by Mary Rago, who, at the time, was the vocal music director of Burroughs High. Rago was succeeded as director in 2006 by her former student, Brendan Jennings, who is now assisted by artistic director and former student Jen Oundjian, musical director Dan Scoville and a team of choreographers. Along with Pop Show 40, the choirs will be busy this spring competing in numerous regional competitions, traveling to Boston, Mass. to compete in a national show-choir competition and hosting their own music showcase on April 12 and 13, where more than 60 choirs will compete during the two-day event. The choirs season will finish on May 16 with the presentation of the vocal music associations annual spring concert. Nine donors, including at least two who had already reached political contribution limits, gave $30,800 in the last quarter of 2018 to help pay for Rep. Duncan Hunters legal defense, a new financial report shows. The Republican congressman representing Alpine and his wife and former campaign manager, Margaret, faced criminal investigations into their alleged use of political money for personal purposes. The two were indicted in August and have pleaded not guilty to all 60 charges. The special fund for Hunters legal expenses is administered by a trustee and is separate from his political campaign treasury, which has already paid at least $682,100 to lawyers since June 2016. Lavish meals, pet airfare, Italy trip: Rep. Duncan Hunter and wife accused of misspending $250,000 in campaign funds Advertisement The quarterly financial report for Hunters legal expense fund was released to the San Diego Union-Tribune by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The report, which covers fundraising and spending from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, shows $30,800 in itemized contributions and no spending. The legal fund was established in March. In total, it has received at least $60,800 and spent at least $27,062. The fund has not reported any expenditures since June. A spokesman for Hunters congressional office did not respond to questions and requests for comment starting Tuesday afternoon. Hunters campaign has been under scrutiny since April 2016 for a series of expenses questioned by the Federal Election Commission and reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune. In response, Hunter reimbursed his campaign for more than $60,000 in mistaken, personal or undocumented expenditures including video games, oral surgery, private school tuition, a garage door, a family trip to Italy and airfare for a pet rabbit. Personal use of campaign money defined as use of political money to cover expenses that would exist regardless of a candidates campaign or official duties is illegal, to guard against undue influence by donors whose bottom line can be affected by decisions in Congress. Legal expenses arising from campaign or official activity are not considered personal use under federal law, and spending money from campaign coffers and legal expense funds to pay for such costs is permissible. The funds create a way for donors who have already met campaign contribution limits to give up to $5,000 more to help lawmakers out of legal trouble a favor lawmakers are likely to remember if the donor comes calling for help someday, said Jordan Libowitz, a spokesman for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Advertisement But unlike campaign finance reports, information about the legal funds is not readily available online and more easily avoids public scrutiny. For some very rich donors, legal defense funds give a second bite at the apple, after they have already given a candidate the maximum donation allowable by law, Libowitz said. Because you have to show up in person to Congress to request a physical copy of each filing, most people do not know who is giving to support a scandal-plagued lawmaker. As of June 30, Hunters legal expense fund had been bankrolled primarily by people and subsidiaries connected to large companies that work on multimillion-dollar contracts for the federal government, disclosure reports show. Donors connected to the family-owned shipbuilding company Edison Chouest Offshore who have been among Hunters top campaign supporters for years contributed almost half of the funds total revenue in 2018, according to fund and Federal Election Commission records. Advertisement In the last quarter of the year, the fund received contributions of $5,000 from five donors, including Linden Blue, vice chairman of the military contractor General Atomics; Tyler A. Lowrey, a member of the board of directors for Litel Instruments, a technology company founded by Hunters uncle Robert O. Hunter, Jr., who chairs its board of directors; and Gene W. Ray, co-founder and former chief executive officer of the multibillion-dollar defense contractor Titan Corp. Lowrey and another donor, real estate developer Forrest W. Brehm, contributed $5,000 to the fund after they had already given the maximum $2,700 to Hunters campaign for the 2018 general election, according to FEC records. Ray was Titans CEO when the company agreed in 2005 to pay $28.5 million to settle criminal and civil charges stemming from allegations that it bribed the president of the West African nation of Benin in an attempt to get business, according to news coverage at the time. Ray now serves as managing director of GMT Ventures, a consulting company for technology and defense companies in the early stages of development. He also serves in advisory roles for numerous companies. Advertisement Ray and Blue did not respond to the Union-Tribunes requests for comment. Lowrey and Brehm declined to comment. Another donor, Quang X. Pham, a Jacksonville Beach, Fla., businessman and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, told the Union-Tribune he contributed $1,000 to Hunters legal expense fund because, years ago, Hunter supported him in his unsuccessful, underdog race for a congressional seat in Orange County at a time when the Republican Party was backing another candidate. I dont know if hell be convicted or not, but I know that when I needed someone to support me at an event, he stepped up, Pham said. If Hunter is convicted, it will be a different story, Pham said, but for now, I support him without any judgment because it feels right to do it just like it felt right to him to support me nine years ago. Advertisement Hunters criminal trial is scheduled for September. Morgan Cook writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Theres at least one thing California Republicans can still agree on: To recover from brutal midterm election losses, they need to raise a lot more money. But when delegates vote to elect the partys next chair this weekend, theyll weigh pitches from two front-running candidates with very different views about just how to put Republicans on the offensive again in a blue state thats a reliable cash machine for Democrats. Jessica Patterson, chief executive of California Trailblazers, a group that trains Republican legislative candidates, has said her long-standing rapport with top-dollar donors will help move the party forward. But Travis Allen, the hard-charging former gubernatorial candidate running against her, has decried special-interest billionaires who fund the party and says he wants to instead fill its coffers with an unprecedented grass-roots fundraising effort that would ask thousands of ordinary California Republicans to make small monthly contributions. Advertisement Many who have labored for years to put the state GOP back on track are worried Allens approach is unrealistic and could plunge the organization into further disarray. Over the last decade, California Republicans have been consistently outgunned financially, raising just 60% of the money the California Democratic Party brought in during that same period. Sources: Federal Election Commission, California Civic Data Coalition, Times analysis. Graphics reporting by Ryan Menezes and Maloy Moore (Jon Schleuss / Los Angeles Times) In the 2018 election cycle, soaring energy among Democratic activists and a boost from small donors through online giving platforms such as ActBlue widened the gulf: California Democrats raised a record $62.4 million to Republicans $35.6 million. To close the gap, the new leadership of the California Republican Party must reassure donors that they have a credible path forward. I look at people who contribute as investors, and investors want to get a return on their investment, said departing Chairman Jim Brulte. They dont expect to win every election but investors have to have confidence that A. you know what youre talking about, and B. you will keep your word. State Republicans believe they have an effective strategy to push back against the Democrats one-party rule in California by pointing out the oversteps they are sure will come with a new, emboldened Democratic governor eager to take on an ambitious, expensive policy agenda if only they can get the funds to do it. Brulte, who helped steer the party back from the brink of insolvency, said the next chairs most important task is to establish confidence among donors. When he hands over the reins, hell leave the organization with just enough money in its operating accounts to keep it functioning for a couple of months. Advertisement Cant live with Trump, cant live without him: California Republicans challenging future If we want to win back any of those congressional seats that we just lost, were going to have to have an infrastructure in place, said Erik Weigand, treasurer of the Republican Party of Orange County, who saw a complete wipeout of GOP-held House seats in his historically conservative county. The Democrats are just licking their chops; they smell blood in the water. Weigand is among those skeptical of Allens plan to raise funds by soliciting $10 a month $120 a year from 100,000 Californians. Source: California Republican Party data obtained by The Times (Jon Schleuss / Los Angeles Times) Advertisement Fewer than half that number gave as much to the state Republican Party last year. A third candidate, longtime party activist Steve Frank, wants to revamp the party by focusing on its voter registration efforts, but he has not said how he would fund such a proposal. His ideas include expanding mail solicitations and asking small donors to give more often. But an analysis of internal fundraising data obtained by The Times shows that the party has leaned heavily on its biggest donors and that reversing that trend would be a monumental task. Data show that those giving $10,000 or more have accounted for 76% of the California Republican Partys fundraising since 2013. The small circle of donors who wrote checks for $100,000 or more a few dozen people per election cycle accounted for more than 36% of the money the party took in over the same period. Many of the most influential GOP donors have backed Patterson, as have most of Californias Republican state legislators and six of the partys seven remaining House members. Advertisement Allens appeal to a frustrated but passionate cadre of activists has left donors nervous. Tom Ross, political director for the New Majority, a group of wealthy Orange County donors including apartment developer Michael Hayde and retired Automobile Club CEO Tom McKernan, says those who have endorsed Patterson and wield considerable sway in the party are ready to help Republicans win back congressional and legislative seats. At the same time, were waiting to see the results of the [chairmanship] election, Ross said. Theres a trust level with Jessica that I know if shes elected, on Day One were going to be able to move ahead, he said. If shes not elected, the whole process could slow to make sure that the party is functional and trustworthy. Advertisement Meanwhile, on Wednesday evening Frank and Allen sent out a joint email to supporters each urging them to support the other in an attempt to block Pattersons path to the chairmanship. Frank said he and Allen agree that she would destroy whats left of the party. Steve Frank, left, Travis Allen and Jessica Patterson, candidates for chair of the California Republican Party, attend a meeting of Orange County Republicans in January. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) The fate of the California Republican Party wasnt always so dependent on its leaders personality and relationships with donors. For decades, it functioned as an offshoot of GOP presidential campaigns and to support gubernatorial candidates in midterm elections. State party officials raked in a healthy share of the cash raised by candidates as they tried to win California and used campaign consultants to direct the party. Advertisement In the 2006 reelection campaign for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, for example, the party raised more than $70 million due in large part to his star power, which packed fundraisers and could raise six-figure sums at a single event. But GOP nominees and donors alike grew weary of such arrangements as the political terrain became less friendly for Republicans here. In the 2000 presidential election, then-candidate George W. Bush raised tens of millions of dollars for the state party but lost by double digits to Al Gore in California. Billionaire Meg Whitman spent a record $177 million on her 2010 gubernatorial bid $144 million of it from her own pocket only to lose by 13 percentage points to Democrat Jerry Brown. Party insiders say that loss was deflating, shaping for years to come GOP donors perceptions of California as unwinnable. They began giving instead to national Republican campaigns and political committees, leaving the state party to fend for itself and rebuild its fundraising base. Advertisement In 2012, the state party raised just $21 million less than a third of the high in the Schwarzenegger years. Tom Del Beccaro, chairman of the California GOP from 2011 to 2013, said the party was forced to cut back substantially on its political activities because it lacked funding for basic things such as printing campaign fliers and opening field offices. He blamed dismal fundraising on the rise of national political action committees and 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romneys refusal to hold joint fundraisers with state Republican parties. Others said Del Beccaros strained relationships with legislative leaders and top donors led them to use PACs and other vehicles to help legislative candidates instead. The chairman of the party lost the confidence, cooperation and support of our elected leaders and our large donor pool, and that damaged our fundraising almost to the point of bankruptcy, said Mike Osborn, a Ventura County activist who served as state party treasurer under Del Beccaro and now heads the California Republican Partys County Chairmens Assn. Advertisement It was horrific, said Bob Huff, a former state senator who served as minority leader during Del Beccaros tenure. Because a party that cant raise money is a party that cant win seats. In 2012, Democrats picked up five seats in the state Legislature and flipped control of four congressional districts. By the time Brulte took over the party in 2013, its Sacramento headquarters had been shuttered and the party was mired in debt. To stabilize the partys finances, he hired professional staff and reestablished a joint fundraising program between the party and state legislative leaders that is today the state GOPs main fundraising vehicle. But for nearly a decade, the California Democratic Party has consistently outraised its Republican counterpart by millions of dollars each election cycle. Advertisement Allen, a former state assemblyman, blames party leaders for failing to inspire donors and grass-roots supporters alike. Money alone will not fix the systemic failing of the Republican establishment over the last decade, Allen said. What has been lacking is a Republican Party with a message and a plan that ordinary Californians believe in and are willing to donate to. By Allens math, his grass-roots fundraising plan would bring in an additional $12 million a year for the state party and increase its budget by 70%. He says he would put all of that money toward voter registration. Experienced GOP operatives call the plan unsustainable. In 2018, the California Republican Party saw its highest number of small donors in at least five years, according to The Times analysis of internal fundraising data. Still, fewer than 45,000 individuals gave up to $250 to the state party less than half the annual goal Allen is aiming for. Advertisement Marty Wilson, who managed Carly Fiorinas 2010 campaign for the U.S. Senate and is executive vice president of public affairs for the California Chamber of Commerce, says that generally, a little over 3% of people reached by fundraising appeals actually donate money. Getting $10 a month from 100,000 California Republicans would require emailing, mailing or calling around 3 million people. I just dont know the algorithm to make that work, Patterson said. There certainly needs to be goals and there needs to be milestones. But they have to be feasible. Alienating the partys large donors would also be a grave mistake, Patterson said. She says that if elected, she would maintain her relationships with deep-pocketed donors and grow the partys small donor programs online and by mail. But she also wants to create a system of incentives to engage midlevel donors those giving $1,000 to $10,000 to create a less volatile funding stream. Advertisement Meanwhile, some local parties are bracing for the possibility that the state GOPs ability to fund campaigns may be diminished under a new chair. Fred Whitaker, chairman of the Orange County party, said he and others arent waiting to find out the results of the chairs race. Theyre reaching out to donors now in hopes that money that might have flowed to national groups or campaigns will stay in Orange County instead. I definitely think theres a sea change, Whitaker said, because we know we need to win these seats back, and we have the resources here in Orange County to do it. Times staff writers Ryan Menezes and Maloy Moore contributed to this report. Advertisement christine.maiduc@latimes.com For more on California politics, follow @cmaiduc. President Trump is likely to celebrate if the final report from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III echoes Trumps relentless claims of no collusion with Russia or at least doesnt outline a criminal conspiracy between his 2016 campaign and the Kremlin. No matter what Mueller concludes, the president remains in considerable legal jeopardy. The Russia probe spawned a web of federal, state and congressional inquiries into virtually every aspect of Trumps career the company that bears his name, the campaign that won him the White House, the inauguration that celebrated his improbable victory, and the administration that he currently leads from the Oval Office. UPDATE: Robert Mueller submits report into whether the 2016 Trump campaign had illegal dealings with Russia Advertisement Prosecutors in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Washington and Virginia are all pulling at threads that the FBI started unraveling two years ago. Legal problems, and possibly further indictments of Trumps friends and aides, are likely to shadow the president for the rest of his White House tenure. Once you turn over one stone, there are a host of other matters that come to light, said Bruce Udolf, who worked for the independent counsels office that investigated President Clinton. And you start turning over those stones as well. (Los Angeles Times) In addition to the 34 people charged by Mueller, other crimes have been uncovered in other jurisdictions. The U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, for example, successfully prosecuted Trumps personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, for hush money payments to two women who claimed they had affairs with Trump. He pleaded guilty to two campaign finance violations, among other crimes. Prosecutors from the same office also have issued subpoenas for records from Trumps inauguration, including how the inaugural committee spent a record $107 million. The U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, based in Brooklyn, is reportedly conducting a related probe. So is the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., where a lobbyist, Sam Patten, has already pleaded guilty to helping a Ukrainian oligarch illegally buy tickets to Trumps inauguration. And the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia has charged an Iranian American businessman in illegal lobbying on behalf of Turkey, a case that grew out Muellers prosecution of Trumps former national security advisor, Michael Flynn. Advertisement State officials are also digging into Trump. In December, the New York state attorney general forced the Donald J. Trump Foundation, once billed as the charitable arm of the presidents business empire, to dissolve and give away remaining assets under court supervision. The attorney general, Barbara Underwood, accused the foundation of functioning as little more than a checkbook for Trumps business and political interests, and of a shocking pattern of illegality that included unlawfully coordinating with Trumps 2016 presidential campaign. Her office also has pursued a lawsuit that could bar Trump and three of his adult children from the boards of other New York charities, as well as order them to pay millions of dollars in restitution and penalties. State authorities also could blunt Trumps ability to pardon allies because his power extends only to convictions under federal law. Advertisement TIMELINE: The biggest indictments, guilty pleas and dramas in the Russia investigation The Manhattan district attorneys office is preparing state criminal charges against Paul Manafort, Trumps former campaign chairman, to ensure he goes to prison even if the president pardons him for federal crimes, several media outlets reported Friday. Manafort has been convicted in two federal cases brought by Mueller. In Congress, newly empowered House Democrats are rolling out investigations into Trumps unreleased tax returns, a controversial proposal to transfer nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, the White Houses handling of security clearances for classified information, and more. Once the oversight process kicks in, you never know where its going to end up, said Jim Manley, a former senior Democratic aide on Capitol Hill. With Democrats in control, no one can expect that they know how this is going to play out. Advertisement Trump has slammed the congressional probes as presidential harassment. Democrats are going nuts while looking at every aspect of my life, both financial and personal, even though there is no reason to be doing so, he tweeted. Congressional investigations can fizzle out in partisan finger-pointing. But some uncover real scandals and snowball into direct threats for the White House. Investigations take on a life of their own, and they usually end up much broader than what they originally looked at, said Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian at Princeton University. The independent counsel appointed to investigate Clinton in 1994 started with a suspicious real estate transaction in Arkansas, for example. Four years later the office finished by probing the presidents affair with a White House intern, a scandal that led to Clintons impeachment by the House. Advertisement Watergate, the mother of all scandals, began with a bungled burglary at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972. It ended two years later with President Nixon resigning from office and many of his top aides in handcuffs. Every time we developed one lead, another one came along, said Rufus Edmisten, who served as deputy counsel on the Senate Watergate Committee. Michael Cohen, President Trumps former personal attorney, leaves Capitol Hill on Thursday. Hes scheduled to testify next week. (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) FULL COVERAGE: Robert Mueller finishes his investigation into President Trumps 2016 campaign Advertisement The Russia investigation has also produced unexpected leads, especially from Cohen, Trumps former lawyer. After he pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations for the hush money payments, Cohen told the court in New York that Trump had directed the illegal scheme, the most direct accusation yet that the president was personally involved in a crime. The escalating investigations in New York have alarmed Trumps allies. I think that the Mueller investigation is not the presidents biggest problem, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former U.S. attorney, said recently on MSNBC. Southern District of New Yorks investigation has always been much more dangerous. Advertisement Some prosecutions have pierced the murky world of foreign lobbying, which was loosely scrutinized before Mueller was appointed. Flynn, who was forced to resign as Trumps national security advisor after lying about his contacts with the Russian ambassador, later admitted to working as an unregistered foreign agent for Turkey during the 2016 campaign. Arguably you sold your country out, a judge told him in December. The Flynn investigation spawned another case. Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia recently charged Flynns former business partner Bijan Kian with conspiracy and acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Turkey. He has pleaded not guilty. Advertisement Also under indictment is Kamil Ekim Alptekin, a Turkish businessman who hired Flynns firm and has denied that Ankara played any role in the contract. A different scheme was unearthed while Mueller prosecuted Manafort and Rick Gates, the chairman and deputy chairman of Trumps 2016 campaign, for money laundering, conspiracy and other crimes related to their work as political consultants in Ukraine. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, a prominent law firm that worked with Manafort, agreed in January to forfeit $4.6 million from the project. The Southern District of New York is also scrutinizing some of Manaforts former colleagues, including former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig, longtime Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta and former Minnesota congressman Vin Weber. No charges have been filed. A judge ruled Thursday that federal prosecutors, including the future Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, violated the law when they did not tell victims the government had struck a deal not to prosecute Jeffrey Epstein, a politically connected billionaire accused of molesting dozens of young girls. The ruling was a stinging rebuke for prosecutors and how they behaved in a grim, high-profile case that has drawn increased scrutiny in recent months. A Miami Herald investigation last year highlighted the allegations and Acostas role in cutting a non-prosecution agreement with Epstein, while a Justice Department office said it is exploring whether the federal prosecutors who reached the deal committed professional misconduct. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra was blunt, ruling that prosecutors had acted improperly in reaching the agreement with Epstein which stopped federal action in exchange for him pleading guilty to a state charge without telling the victims. Marra, based in West Palm Beach, Fla., wrote in a 33-page ruling that the actions violated the Crime Victims Rights Act, which entitles victims to know about significant events in their cases. Marra wrote that he was not ruling that the decision not to prosecute was improper, noting he was simply ruling that, under the facts of this case, there was a violation of the victims rights under the CVRA. Advertisement Prosecutors did not give victims a chance to affect prosecutorial decisions and did not accurately tell them about what was happening, Marra wrote. Prosecutors sought to conceal the existence of the deal cut with Epstein and mislead the victims to believe that federal prosecution was still a possibility, he wrote. While the government spent untold hours negotiating the terms and implications of the NPA [non-prosecution agreement] with Epsteins attorneys, scant information was shared with victims, Marra wrote. Instead, the victims were told to be patient while the investigation proceeded. He added: When the government gives information to victims, it cannot be misleading. An attorney for Epstein did not respond to a request for comment about Marras ruling. The Labor Department pointed to the Justice Departments long-standing defense of how prosecutors handled the case. For more than a decade, the actions of the U.S. attorneys office for the Southern District of Florida in this case have been defended by the Department of Justice in litigation across three administrations and several attorneys general, a spokesperson for the Labor Department said Thursday. The offices decisions were approved by departmental leadership and followed departmental procedures. They added that the case remains in active litigation and referred further questions to the Justice Department. The U.S. attorneys office in the Southern District of Florida, which Acosta led between 2005 and 2009, declined to comment on the ruling. Brad Edwards, an attorney representing some of the victims in the case, hailed the judges decision. Its a clear victory, vindicating our clients and verifying exactly what we have been saying for over a decade, he wrote in an email. The government clearly violated the rights of dozens of victims and then sadly fought those same victims for 10 years trying to defend the improper agreement they constructed with Mr. Epstein. We are a step closer to correcting this injustice and with this ruling we have undoubtedly ensured that this type of mistreatment of crime victims never happens again. Advertisement The allegations against Epstein and the fact that he had reached a deal had been publicly known, coming up during Acostas 2017 confirmation hearings to lead the Labor Department. The case surged back into the public eye in November, when the Herald published its investigation, reporting it had identified approximately 80 women who said they had been sexually abused by Epstein between 2001 and 2006. The Herald report also detailed how Epstein had struck a deal that effectively ended an FBI probe. Before the Heralds report, Acostas name had been floated as a possible future attorney general in the Trump administration. After it was published, lawmakers responded with a wave of calls for an investigation into what happened. The Justice Department revealed earlier this month it had opened an investigation into how prosecutors handled the Epstein case, though the probe is likely to be of limited impact. That inquiry will be conducted by the Office of Professional Responsibility, which can result in findings that could lead to employees being fired. Acosta is no longer a part of the Justice Department, and it is unclear if he will still work for the government by the time the probe concludes. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Oversight Subcommittee, said he hoped the Justice Department used the ruling to revisit its agreement with Epstein. Advertisement Jeffrey Epstein is a monster and his victims deserve justice, Sasse said in a statement Thursday. Im relieved that the court agrees that it was wrong to hide this child rapists pathetically soft deal from his victims, in violation of federal law. The fact that its taken this long to get this far is heartbreaking and infuriating. Mark Berman writes for the Washington Post. Sen. Bernie Sanders entered the Democratic presidential race this week and immediately showed off one of his biggest strengths the power of his small-donor base, which allowed him to raise $5.9 million in his campaigns first day. Last time, that fundraising prowess with small donors allowed Sanders to stay in the race all the way to the Democratic convention. This time, his strategists hope the money will help him overwhelm rivals in key states, including California. But Sanders faces big challenges in trying to repeat what he did in 2015 and 2016: Hell have competition for voters on the left, and many who cast ballots for him last time did so more in opposition to Hillary Clinton than in support of him. Theyll have other choices this time around. Sign up for the Essential Politics newsletter Advertisement SANDERS 2.0 Sanders candidacy will test how much movement toward the left has actually taken place among Democratic voters, as Evan Halper wrote. The Vermont senator jumped into the race with the same message he offered four years ago indeed, some of the same proposals he has championed for decades: Medicare for All, free college tuition, and radical change for an economic system he regards as rigged for the rich. Democrats have clearly moved some ways toward his positions. Support for universal health care that goes further than the Affordable Care Act, for example, has now become a party litmus test. But a large ideological space exists between Sanders and the cautious centrism that Clinton embraced in 2016. Several candidates, including Sens. Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, have stepped into that space, offering their own bold economic proposals. At least one of them likely will compete strongly with Sanders for the backing of liberal voters. Others, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is expected to enter the race next month, have staked out positions as progressive pragmatists, saying the party shouldnt hitch itself to proposals such as Medicare for All that they see as impractical or unachievable. States where one or both of them could be strong Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan were key for Sanders last time. But the two biggest challenges for Sanders go beyond that ideological competition. One centers on a subject he often shied away from talking about in 2016 race. Sanders did relatively poorly with minority voters, especially African Americans, in most primaries last time around. In a party thats increasingly non-white, thats not a tenable path. Advertisement Hes promised to work harder at wooing black voters this time, but hell also face much stiffer competition. Moreover, a significant share of Sanders vote in 2016 in places as varied as Staten Island in New York, West Virginia, Indiana and Oklahoma didnt come from voters on the left, but from conservatives and moderates who showed up in Democratic primaries primarily to vote against Clinton. Nate Silver, using data from the massive Cooperative Congressional Election Study, estimated that #NeverHillary vote at about one-quarter of Sanders total in the 2016 primaries. If those voters show up at all this time around, they wont necessarily be casting ballots for Sanders. WARREN UNVEILS A NEW PLAN Advertisement Warren held a rally in Glendale this week a sign that she too intends to compete in California. While there, as Melanie Mason wrote, she previewed an ambitious new childcare plan that she would finance by using some of the proceeds from her proposed new wealth tax on those with fortunes greater than $50 million. The plan would aim to vastly increase the amount of available childcare and make it free to families earning $50,000 a year or less. For all others, the cost would be on a sliding scale set at no more than 7% of their income. The pricetag would come to about $70 billion per year. Thats roughly equivalent to the cost of Sanders free college plan. Its also slightly smaller than the increase Congress and the Trump administration gave to military spending over the last two years. While the Massachusetts senator rallied supporters in Southern California, several of her rivals campaigned in her backyard in New Hampshire. The state, which traditionally holds the nations first primary, was bumper-to-bumper with presidential candidates over the Presidents Day holiday, Janet Hook reported. Advertisement Harris, who made her first visit there, and others all vowed to compete in New Hampshire. Despite those pledges, however, many Democratic activists are betting that most candidates will downplay the state and allow it to become a showdown between Sanders and Warren, the two New Englanders in the race. If so, that could boost the importance of other early contests in Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada. TRUMP REPEATS A NEW THEME The socialists are coming doesnt have quite the same ring as Make America Great Again, but President Trump has been issuing that warning regularly, starting with his State of the Union speech. This week, he hit the theme heavily in a speech in Florida where he warned against socialism and denounced Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro, Tracy Wilkinson reported. Advertisement THEYRE WATCHING YOU Campaigns have new tools for tracking down and trying to influence potential voters, and the opportunities to invade your privacy have vastly increased, as Halper wrote. Many of the new techniques involve whats called geo-fencing, which allows organizers of an event a rally, for example to put an electronic fence around a venue and capture the unique electronic signatures of every phone inside it. Data brokers can sell that information to campaigns, which can then use it to track anyone who attended and beam ads to them. Another technique takes advantage of new smart-television systems which monitor the programs a person watches. That information too can be sold to data brokers. Advertisement ITS MUELLER TIME Well, almost. The two-year investigation led by Robert Mueller seems close to wrapping up, having brought charges against 34 people and won convictions or guilty pleas from some of Trumps top advisors, including his campaign chairman, Paul Manafort. Mueller is widely expected to file a final report with Atty. Gen. William Barr sometime in the next few weeks, as Chris Megerian and Del Wilber wrote. Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein, who has overseen the investigation since he appointed Mueller, has announced his plans to leave the department, and Trump has announced his replacement, Jeffrey Rosen, who previously worked in the same large law firm as Barr and is now Deputy Secretary of Transportation. Advertisement But as Megerian wrote, the end of the Mueller investigation is hardly the end of Trumps legal problems. The president likely faces investigations and possible criminal jeopardy for the rest of his presidency. In the meantime, dont expect to see Muellers report right away and maybe not ever, at least in full form. Two decades ago, Ken Starr, the independent counsel investigating President Clinton, issued a long, detailed and salacious public report. But Starr was operating under very different legal rules than those governing Muellers probe. The rules now call for Mueller to give his report to Barr, who will then decide what to make public and what to turn over to Congress. Expect to see a prolonged, loud public fight over disclosure, with Democrats in the House demanding that Muellers findings be turned over to them and White House lawyers resisting. Advertisement Meanwhile, the prosecutions continue. On Thursday, federal judge Amy Berman Jackson tightened a gag order on Roger Stone, the former political advisor to Trump. He faces charges of lying to investigators and witness tampering. His latest trouble began when he posted an image on Instagram showing the judge with what appeared to be crosshairs of a spotting scope by her head. In court, he apologized. The judge wasnt mollified and said any further violations would result in jail time, Megerian reported. IMMIGRATION BACKLOG SOARS The Trump administration issued a plan in 2017 aimed at dramatically shrinking the backlog of cases in immigration court. But as Molly OToole reported, the effort has failed dramatically, and the caseload has grown 26%. Advertisement THE REST OF THE WEEKS NEWS Trump didnt admit this, but as David Cloud reported, the order he signed this week on his proposed Space Force represents a significant scaling back in response to pressure from Congress. In advance of next weeks planned summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un of North Korea, Wilkinson looked at whats happened since their first summit last spring in Singapore. Progress toward denuclearization has been scant, she reports. North Korea has yet to even provide an inventory of its arsenal, let alone commit to getting rid of it. Advertisement The administration officially confirmed it has ended fuel-economy talks with California, Anna Phillips reported. Sometime later this year, administration officials will formally adopt their plan for scaling back fuel economy rules. That will set the stage for a long court battle. Trump has long argued that libel laws should be eased to a make suits against the press easier to pursue. This week, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas chimed in with his agreement, saying the high court should revisit the landmark 1964 ruling which held that the First Amendment limits state libel laws. Thomas was the only one of the nine justices to take that position, however, as David Savage wrote. Separately, the high court unanimously ruled that the Constitution puts some limits on the power of state and local police to seize property. The ruling was by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, her first since her recent cancer surgery. Advertisement LOGISTICS That wraps up this week. Until next time, keep track of all the developments in national politics and the Trump administration at our Politics page and on Twitter @latimespolitics. Send your comments, suggestions and news tips to politics@latimes.com. If you like this newsletter, tell your friends to sign up. Advertisement David.lauter@latimes.com @davidlauter To the editor: Columnist Doyle McManus observation about the Munich security conference, where German Chancellor Angela Merkel sharply criticized President Trumps America first policy, leaves little hope for this countrys current predicament. Trump is dragging us unwillingly into his personal wall of isolation, and Republicans are doing all they can to ensure that the great majority of Americans who resist are suffocated behind it. The wall is more than symbolic. It represents several generations of Republican stonewalling of change that would and should take us into the 21st century. As Merkel suggested, the extremism Trump represents and that Republicans continue to affirm is leading us down a dark path that Germany took before. Jim Hoover, Huntington Beach Advertisement .. To the editor: Dont forget that the United States, despite its current America first posture, is still being the policeman of the world. Countries like Germany, France, Great Britain and Sweden have extensive business relationships with China. They are subject to the same hacking, intellectual property theft and forced technology transfers as the United States. The difference is that these countries lack the courage to confront China. Our pressure on Beijing to change its practices benefits these countries as well. Andrew Ko, San Marino .. To the editor: McManus column was chilling. My fear, however, is not so much about America alone. I see Trump trying to establish ties with autocrats like Russias Vladimir Putin, North Koreas Kim Jong Un and Saudi Arabias Mohammed bin Salman. His admiration for tyrants along with his power as president make him a destructive force, both here and in the free world. Advertisement I would be less frightened by America alone than by an America in league with these countries. Stephanie McIntyre, Simi Valley Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook To the editor: The article on the work by toxicologist Edward Calabrese (and many others who agree with him) is a start at introducing the scientific debate about the use of the linear no-threshold (LNT) oversimplification for regulatory purposes. I would like to explain why LNT (the idea that exposure to a potentially dangerous substance at any level cannot be considered safe) is absurd in the radiation area. LNT requires that there is no such thing as radiation repair, and that even one radiation exposure can cause a mutation that may lead to cancer. We know thats wrong. More than 150 genes have been discovered that repair radiation damage. The 2015 Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded jointly to Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar for mechanistic studies of DNA repair. The whole medical specialty of radiation oncology is based on the observation that normal tissues repair radiation damage much more efficiently and effectively than cancerous tissues. The fact that the LNT is disputed should not be held against those who dispute it. That is how science progresses. It is only high-quality science that counts. There is no high-quality science supporting LNT for radiation, but there are a large number of people who depend on us being foolish enough to believe in it anyway. Advertisement Carol S. Marcus, M.D., Los Angeles The writer is a professor of radiation oncology and of molecular and medical pharmacology at UCLAs David Geffen School of Medicine. .. To the editor: It is deeply troubling that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may adopt the position advocated by the industry-supported toxicologist Calabrese that EPA regulations should be weakened because low doses of pollution and radiation do no harm, and can even be good for us. The idea that pollution can be beneficial reminds me of an old episode of The Simpsons in which pollution from Mr. Burns plant was so dense that it deflected a comet before it could hit the Earth. That benefit was amusing as cartoon fantasy, but in real life EPA exists to protect public health by keeping our air and water clean and safe. Where there is doubt, the most protective guidelines should apply. The EPA should not retreat from the peer- reviewed standards established and accepted by the majority of scientists. Unlike deflecting an asteroid, weaker pollution standards are not an amusing fantasy. Ann Rushton, Sherman Oaks .. Advertisement To the editor: Your article on the profound affects on Americans health and well-being that Calabreses faulty and misleading work may inflict is chilling. In the late 1970s, I was part of a documentary film team sent by a major network to interview a scientist at a well-respected university near Boston. This scientist was working to prove that people are not addicted to cigarettes because of nicotine. Instead, the claim was, smokers are drawn to gather around the glowing tips of cigarettes in search of the primal hearth. I am not joking about this. The guy had a lab and serious funding (from what entity, I can only guess). This is the lengths to which special interests and their scientists will go to inject uncertainty into the regulatory process. Advertisement Cabell Smith, Pacific Palisades Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook HANOI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Some 2,600 foreign reporters have registered to cover the second summit between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) here scheduled for Feb. 27-28, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung told the press on Thursday. Trung said they have just 20 days to prepare after U.S. President Donald Trump announced Vietnam's capital Hanoi as the meeting venue, while Singapore had nearly two months to prepare for the first U.S.-DPRK summit last year. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently directed ministries and sectors to do their utmost to ensure security and safety for the summit to make it a success, Vietnam News Agency reported. Special attention should be paid to the reception work, the prime minister said, stressing the need to create maximum conditions for international reporters to cover the event. As outrage over family separations at the border erupted last summer, news quietly broke about a different Trump administration policy. The Washington Post reported that senior officials at the Interior Department had dismissed evidence supporting the historic, cultural and economic value of national monuments in a review they conducted of more than two dozen sites. In that original review, submitted to the White House in August 2017, Ryan Zinke, former secretary of the Interior, recommended the administration modify 10 national monuments and shrink at least four Western sites. Zinke had been instructed to conduct the survey by President Trump, in an executive order issued in April 2017. Trump told the department to investigate 27 monuments that had been created over the previous two decades, arguing that, by creating the monuments, his predecessors had overstepped the authority granted to them by the Antiquities Act. Like Trumps pursuit of a border wall, his shrinking of monuments is not merely about enforcing the boundaries of a physical landscape. Advertisement At first glance, the administrations efforts to wall off immigrants and asylum seekers may seem unrelated to its efforts to curtail protections for national monuments. But a coherent ideology underlies both policy goals. Like Trumps pursuit of a border wall, his shrinking of monuments is not merely about enforcing the boundaries of a physical landscape. Its also about controlling the narrative of that landscape about determining who is included and who is excluded. By reducing and eliminating monuments, he is erasing artifacts and people from our national story. In this case, nonwhite people. In his memo to the White House, Zinke recommended shrinking the boundaries of four national monuments: Gold Butte in Nevada, Cascade-Siskiyou in Oregon, and Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah. Reducing the protected acreage, Zinke argued, would restore traditional uses, such as grazing, mining, hunting and timber production. A few months later, Trump announced plans to reduce Grand Staircase-Escalante by 45% and Bears Ears by 85%. The cuts removed from protection ancient cliff dwellings in the Dark Canyon Wilderness Area, rock art etched in sandstone canvases in Moqui Canyon and Grand Gulch, and other lands, ruins and artifacts sacred in Ancestral Pueblo culture. Zinke acknowledged the presence of archaeological and historical resources, but insisted that the regions arid climate had preserved virtually identical objects in other areas. The secretary also portrayed large monuments as security risks, describing them as difficult to police. The Interior department justified the review as an antidote to federal overreach. The Antiquities Act, it argued, granted minimal executive authority and limited the president to safeguarding the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected. This is a distortion. Congress passed the Antiquities Act in 1906 in response to looting of Native American artifacts from archaeological sites in the Southwest. It gave presidents the ability to set aside and protect only land that federal agencies already owned and managed. The subsequent Organic Act of 1916 gave Congress the power to create national parks. With extensive input from the public, the legislature has re-designated many monuments as parks. What constitutes proper care of objects with value, and indeed of our cultural heritage, has evolved considerably since. With Bears Ears, for instance, stakeholders drew generous boundaries in order to prevent future damage to sensitive artifacts scattered across a vast and varied landscape. Advertisement Before the Antiquities Act, national parks and monuments did not always work to preserve such histories. In fact, many of our earliest national parks and monuments were projects of racial erasure and violence. The so-called crown jewel national parks Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier won designation through the expulsion of indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands. In recent decades, the federal government has worked to conserve places that reflect a fuller picture of our national history. The Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Kern County, the Pullman National Monument in Chicago and the Stonewall National Monument in New York City bear witness to the struggles of people of color, women, queer communities and the working class. Bears Ears Monument, in particular, was the result of an unprecedented collaboration between a coalition of Native American tribes and federal agencies. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute Advertisement Tribal nations, environmental advocates and other stakeholders are waging legal challenges to Zinkes review, and those challenges are still working their way through the courts. And earlier this month, more than 100 lawmakers proposed a bill, the Antiquities Act of 2019, to make clear that only Congress can change monument designations, including those made by a president. Nonetheless, the Trump administration has made its intentions clear: a return to 19th century ideologies of settlement and exploitation in which centuries of human activity are dismissed in pursuit of economic gain. In the case of Bears Ears, the administration is also reviving a painful history of broken promises. Trumps recent nomination of a former lobbyist for the oil and agricultural industries, David Bernhardt, to replace Zinke underscores the extent to which resource extraction will remain a priority for the administration. The building of a border wall, too, will disrupt sensitive cultural landscapes and wildlife corridors in border-adjacent sites such as Big Bend National Park and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. By fortifying that southern boundary, Trump is seeking to determine not just who belongs in our past, but also in our future. Advertisement Laura Dominguez is a co-founder of Latinos in Heritage Conservation and a former staff member of the Los Angeles Conservancy and San Francisco Heritage. She is a graduate student in the history department at USC. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook Theres something rotten at the heart of the murder convictions that have kept Kevin Cooper languishing on Californias death row for more than three decades. And an expanded order for DNA testing issued Friday morning by Gov. Gavin Newsom could help move us closer to finding, if not truth, then, at least, clarity. Cooper has maintained his innocence in the gruesome slashing murders of four people, and near murder of a fifth, in Chino Hills in 1983. Without diving into the minutiae of years of legal challenges for those interested, the details are here it seems highly likely that investigators fabricated and planted evidence that implicated Cooper, at the time a walk-away from a minimum security prison. The case against Cooper doesnt pass the smell test, beginning with the argument that he single-handedly was able to inflict dozens of slash and stab wounds on five people, two of whom were adults. Never mind that the survivor initially said three white men did the attacking, or that police failed to properly investigate the crime, including throwing away blood-stained clothes that, if tested, could have implicated another man in the killings. The evidence doesnt pass the smell test. Advertisement Shortly before he left office, Gov. Jerry Brown ordered fresh DNA tests on four pieces of evidence used to tie Cooper to the crime: a tan T-shirt, an orange towel and a hatchet and its sheath. The T-shirt is most significant trace DNA tests unavailable at the time of Coopers trial could determine whether he or someone else was wearing the shirt. And its the same shirt that appears to have been stained with Coopers blood well after the crime. Court records show that the sample includes a preservative that police add to blood samples awaiting tests, which means it likely was splashed on the shirt after Cooper was arrested. But Brown declined to order fresh tests of other pieces of evidence, including a button supposedly from Coopers prison shirt; fingernail scrapings and hairs from the victims hands and the crime scene; and two vials of blood one collected from a hallway in the house and other from Cooper, which may have been tampered with. Newsom has now ordered the additional tests that Brown declined. Thats welcome news. It could turn out that the new testing affirms that the police had the right suspect all along, and that the results will end the long debate. But it seems more likely from the trail of evidence and arguments over the years that the test will, at a minimum, establish that Cooper did not receive a fair trial. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute And they could spotlight another suspect and his accomplices, who were identified in a devastating dissection of the case in a dissenting opinion a decade ago by Judge William A. Fletcher when the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected yet another of Coopers appeals. Reading that dissent is worth your time. Advertisement On one level, the at-best shaky case against Cooper underscores once again why the death penalty needs to be done away with. Even if Cooper is not exonerated by these tests, enough wrongfully convicted people 156 and counting have been released after years on death row to make it beyond a reasonable doubt that the system is too prone to manipulation to rely on for determining who lives or dies. And that doesnt even get at the fundamentally arbitrary nature of a system under which a murder in one county might be a capital offense, but not in the adjoining county, determined by the whims of the prosecutors office. But its clear that the prosecution of Cooper and his treatment by the criminal justice system have been far from fair. Yes, the murders of Doug and Peggy Ryen; their 10-year-old daughter, Jessica; and sleepover guest Christopher Hughes were heinous. They had been stabbed at least 143 times with an ice pick, an ax and a knife, and 8-year-old Joshua Ryen survived having his throat slashed. And Cooper was no angel. Advertisement But thats not cause to skirt the requirements of justice. Im glad Newsom ordered the additional tests, and I hope they are done with deliberate speed. And if they cast reasonable doubt on Coopers guilt, Newsom must lead the state in doing the right thing, and finally free Cooper. Efforts to toughen gun laws in Illinois, Washington and New Mexico and some other states have given rise to a highly questionable local backlash county commissions and sheriffs declaring the laws unconstitutional, and refusing to enforce them. Thats an outrageous step. Police shouldnt be basing enforcement decisions on whether they agree with a law. The local responses are part of the 2nd Amendment sanctuary movement, under which low-level officials refuse to enforce gun laws they dislike. Despite the nod to sanctuary cities, where states or local governments bar using local resources to enforce federal immigration codes, there are significant differences. First, immigration laws are part of the federal civil code and generally not enforced as criminal violations. There are exceptions: Crossing the border without permission is a misdemeanor; repeated illegal entry is a felony. But mere physical presence in the country without permission is not a violation of criminal law. Recognizing that separation of responsibilities, and the chilling effect on local law enforcement when immigrant communities fear police, the immigration sanctuary movement limits the cooperation of local agencies in enforcing federal civil codes. Advertisement Thats not their job. But the gun sanctuary movement bars local police from fulfilling a basic responsibility enforcing state criminal codes in a local usurpation of state authority based on policy disagreements. Some of the gun sanctuary laws are toothless. They make ambiguous references to not enforcing unconstitutional laws without declaring any specific law to be in violation of the 2nd Amendment, which makes those versions more acts of protest than acts of defiance. But in other cases, the laws and sheriffs pronouncements are specific, and bar local enforcement of the state laws. Thats shaky ground. A parallel would be the Los Angeles County sheriff deciding for some reason that state laws against robbery are unconstitutional and orders his deputies not to investigate those crimes. Or to return to the federal immigration codes, if the Department of Homeland Security decided that Congress immigration codes are unconstitutional and so stopped enforcing them (yeah, I know, that would happen, like, never). Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute The problem is that sheriffs and county commissioners arent framing their resistance as a matter of prosecutorial discretion, under which enforcement decisions are based on where it makes the most sense to spend finite resources. If you dont have many street cops and car-pedestrian accidents are rare, a police department would be right to not spend a lot of time and effort writing jaywalking tickets. In the gun sanctuary movement, local officials are assuming for themselves the responsibility to determine which laws are constitutional, and which are not. Thats not their job. And refusing to enforce laws just because they disagree with them on political grounds undermines the legal system itself. Many current and former public employees in California were no doubt rankled by my colleague Matt Pearces revelation that their pension dollars were sustaining President Trumps favorite supermarket tabloid, the National Enquirer, during its hours of greatest need. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Californias massive public pension fund, CalPERS, was one of the biggest investors in the debt-laden owner of the National Enquirer, according to public records reviewed by the Los Angeles Times, Pearce wrote. For the record: This blogpost suggests that the Los Angeles Times revealed the connection between CalPERS pension investments and the National Enquirers parent company. In fact, the investment was first reported in the online site Maplight and was simultaneously published on two other sites: Fast Company and Capital & Main. In fact, he calculated, the California Public Employee Retirement System appeared to own one-third of the tabloids parent company, American Media, through its $608-million investment in a hedge fund run by Chatham Asset Management. Money being fungible, youre free to argue that Chathams investment in American Media in 2014 found its way into the ink supplies used to print any number of Enquirer headlines, including Hillary Clintons Two Secret Strokes and Doomsday if Hillary wins White House! WORLD WAR 3! Advertisement Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute But heres the thing. Job No. 1 for CalPERS is to raise the money needed to pay the retirement benefits that it is being relied upon to pay. And it counts on solid returns every year (a little more than 7%, currently) to help build the fund to the level required the contributions made by workers and employers (i.e., taxpayers) are not enough. Unfortunately, the fund has racked up shortfalls or even losses in too many years, so it seems perpetually to be playing catch-up. Thats why it gets into bed, so to speak, with hedge funds and other investment first that are looking for returns, whether it be from a teetering publishing firm (which would have to offer better terms in exchange for a loan than, say, a healthy broadcaster) or from a defense contractor building planes for Saudi Arabia. (Relax, that one is just theoretical I think.) The real problem with the Chatham investment is the lousy returns, not the politics. The pension fund has earned only 2.3% a year from the Chatham fund since it made the investment in 2009. Had CalPERS put the money into a low-cost index fund that tracked the Dow, it would have made more than five times as much money. Because CalPERS hedge-fund investments have cost more and returned less than hoped, CalPERS management decided in 2014 to gradually pull out of those funds entirely a $4 billion withdrawal, all told. By 2018, Pearce reported, CalPERS stake in the Chatham fund backing American Media was down to about $200 million, on its way to $0. In other words, CalPERS is letting results, not politics, steer its path on this bad bet. Its certainly possible for CalPERS to channel its investments solely into businesses and pursuits that are aligned with the social goals of the state, to the extent those can be defined. But the only sure way for CalPERS to avoid controversy while meeting its obligations would be for it to slash its expected rate of return to a far more modest level, which would allow it to give the performance of each investment a lower priority than the perceived virtue. Doing so would come with a tradeoff that, it seems fair to predict, would be unacceptable to most workers and voters. CalPERS would have to demand considerably higher contributions from employees and taxpayers or cut retirement benefits deeply for all new employees. Given the choice, most Californians would probably put up with CalPERS taking more financial risks like their investment in American Media. The Supreme Court this week struck a blow against one of the most insidious practices of the American criminal justice system: the unfair confiscation of property from people convicted or even merely suspected of committing a crime. So-called civil asset forfeiture has been a cash cow for police departments even as it has disproportionately impoverished poor people and people of color. The court unanimously held that seizures by state governments of property used in the commission of a crime are covered by the 8th Amendments ban on excessive fines for criminal conduct. It is just the latest of many protections in the Bill of Rights that the court has held to be applicable not just to the federal government but to the states as well because they are incorporated by the 14th Amendment. In this weeks case, the court sided with Tyson Timbs, an Indiana man whose $42,000 Land Rover SUV was seized in a civil forfeiture action after he pleaded guilty to selling $225 worth of heroin to undercover police officers. The state had argued that the vehicle was used to transport heroin. Timbs will now be able to argue in state court that the seizure of his vehicle was grossly disproportionate to the offense for which he was convicted. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute Advertisement In her majority opinion Wednesday, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg explained why it was important that the ban on excessive fines applied to the states. She noted that the protection against excessive fines has been a constant shield throughout Anglo-American history: Exorbitant tolls undermine other constitutional liberties. Wednesdays decision, however, is a limited one. It leaves open the question of whether and under what circumstances a forfeiture of assets sought by state officials is sufficiently punitive to trigger the ban on excessive fines. State and federal law enforcement agencies can seize assets even when no criminal charge has been filed against their owner. The legal fiction is that the forfeiture is aimed not at the owner but at the property being used in the commission of a crime. Ideally, this weeks decision will lead to more judicial oversight of civil asset forfeiture. But reform is also possible at the legislative level. In 2016, California enacted a law that required a criminal conviction for the state to benefit from the seizure of property valued at up to $40,000 as the result of a joint state-federal operation. If property is to be seized by the government, it should be from individuals who have been convicted of a crime and even then the punishment must be proportional. The goal must be justice, not a windfall for police coffers. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook On Sept. 13, 1959, a day that we can pretty much guarantee was clear and sunny on the moon, the Soviet Union crash-landed its Luna 2 spacecraft in a region east of what is known to Earthlings as the Mare Serenitatis. A decade later, the U.S. landed the first human beings on the moon in the Mare Tranquillitatis. The Soviets left the wreckage of their unmanned craft where it landed, but the Apollo 11 Lunar Module known as the Eagle after 21.5 hours on the surface of the moon and walks by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin reconnected with Apollo 11 so the astronauts could return home, leaving behind a U.S. flag, a plaque and human boot prints, which remain, incongruously enough, visible in the lunar dust nearly half a century later. Now, theres an effort underway to extend the designations and protections of the United Nations World Heritage sites to these two historic moon locations and other locations in space that represent significant advances in humankinds explorations. As National Public Radio reported Thursday, the nonprofit space historical preservation organization For All Moonkind is trying to find countries to sponsor a U.N. declaration that would create a mechanism for designating and protecting locations significant to space explorations, beginning with the landing sites of the Luna 2 and the Eagle. Under international treaties, no country has a right to make any territorial claims in space. But presumably the U.N., speaking on behalf of the entire planet, could attempt to set some rules for the treatment of these two historic locations and others. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute Advertisement Admittedly, the protection of some detritus and dusty footprints 238,000 miles from U.N. headquarters at Turtle Bay should not be that organizations top priority. On the other hand, whats the harm in trying? In 1969, Apollo 12s lunar lander inadvertently sandblasted the unmanned Surveyor III craft that had landed on the moon two years earlier. And future missions could inadvertently or intentionally damage more significant landing sites. If the Moonkind folks are concerned for the future, the U.N. is the appropriate place for a discussion on how such sites should be weighed for historic significance and then protected. More moon shots are being contemplated. China recently landed an explorer on the dark side of the moon, and it has joined the U.S., Russia and Japan in contemplating future manned missions. As we look to the future of space exploration, theres no harm and perhaps some value in protecting the past. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook Its disappointing but not surprising that the Trump administration has stopped trying to negotiate a deal with California to avert a fight over fuel efficiency standards. For months, officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board have been meeting, ostensibly, to reach a compromise that would preserve a single national set of rules for how many miles per gallon new cars, SUVs and small trucks must achieve on average. But those talks were pretty much a waste of time. The Trump administration apparently is determined to abandon the improvements in fuel efficiency that the Obama administration had ordered automakers to make by 2025, and instead freeze the mileage standards at 2020 levels. That means the dispute will continue in court, probably for years. California and 16 other states have already sued, arguing that the EPA acted arbitrarily to overturn the 2025 standards, violating its own rules and the federal Clean Air Act. California is also prepared to fight any attempt by the Trump administration to take away the states unique authority to set its own vehicle emission mandates. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute Advertisement The Obama administrations mileage rules were a crucial piece of the national effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions. California had agreed to forgo more stringent state standards in favor of national regulations that would have a bigger impact on greenhouse gases. With the Trump reversal, California leaders vowed to pursue tougher standards on their own. If that happens, automakers which signed on to Obamas rules, then pushed President Trump to relax the 2025 targets may face the costly choice of either meeting Californias tougher regulations for all their vehicles or manufacturing different versions of their models for different parts of the country. The Trump administrations rollback is especially frustrating and dangerous because cars and trucks are Americas largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. The United States cannot address climate change in a meaningful way without cleaner cars. The standards were slated to improve the average fuel economy of new cars and trucks by 50% by 2025, to almost 55 miles per gallon. To meet the targets, automakers were expected to develop and sell more hybrid and electric models, gradually cutting smoggy tailpipe pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions in the process. While the Trump administration rolls back ambitious vehicle standards, many of the worlds leading economies are embracing innovative clean-car technology. China, the largest auto market, plans to ban the sale of new vehicles powered by gasoline or diesel in the coming decades. France, Britain, Norway and India have also pledged to phase out fossil fuel vehicles. With the federal government moving backward on vehicle standards, its up to California and other states to keep up the fight for cleaner cars and a healthier planet. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook The Kentucky teen at the heart of an encounter last month with a Native American activist at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington is suing the Washington Post for $250 million, alleging the newspaper falsely labeled him a racist. His attorneys are threatening numerous other news organizations, including the Associated Press. President Trump cheered the lawsuit, tweeting Wednesday that Covington student suing WAPO. Go get them Nick. Fake News! The legal action, and possible future ones, comes at a time of intense scrutiny of Trumps relationship with the news media, which he has repeatedly labeled the enemy of the people. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas this week suggested revisiting a cornerstone of modern press freedom, the 1964 New York Times Co. vs. Sullivan case, which established knowing or reckless disregard of falsity as a prerequisite for libel actions by public officials, a standard later extended to libel actions by public figures as well. In papers filed Tuesday in federal court in Kentucky, Nicholas Sandmann and his parents alleged that the Post had engaged in targeting and bullying and modern McCarthyism. A breakdown of the confrontation between Kentucky teens, a Native American elder and Hebrew Israelites Advertisement The Post ignored basic journalist standards because it wanted to advance its well-known and easily documented, biased agenda against President Donald J. Trump ... by impugning individuals perceived to be supporters, according to the complaint. In a statement Wednesday, the Post said it was reviewing a copy of the lawsuit and planned to mount a vigorous defense. Sandmanns attorneys also are threatening legal action against the Associated Press and other news organizations. In a letter to the AP, dated Feb. 15, Atlanta-based attorney L. Lin Wood called on the news cooperative to retract and correct what his letter asserts are defamatory statements. Sandmann also provided his version of the events. The Associated Press took great care to ensure its stories were measured and fair, reporting the facts of what transpired and adding details as they emerged, said spokeswoman Lauren Easton, adding that AP stands by its stories. The actions of Sandmann and his Covington Catholic High School classmates have been intensely debated since video and photographs emerged of them wearing Make America Great Again hats and facing off against Omaha Nation elder Nathan Phillips. Both Sandmann and Nathan Phillips say they were trying to defuse tensions that were rising among three groups on a day that Washington hosted both the anti-abortion March for Life, attended by the Covington students, and the Indigenous Peoples March. But video of Sandmann and Phillips standing very close to each other, with Sandmann staring and at times smiling at Phillips as he sang and played a drum, gave some who watched it a different impression. Interpretations changed over the days after the incident as witnesses released more cellphone video footage. Phillips had approached Sandmann, but well before that, both his group and Sandmanns were confronted by a third group that appeared to be affiliated with the Black Hebrew Israelite movement. Advertisement Videos show members of the religious group yelling disparaging and profane insults at the students, some of whom shouted back. Video also shows the Native Americans being insulted by the small religious group. Sandmanns legal team has released its own video, Nick Sandmann: The Truth in 15 Minutes. It shows scenes from the confrontation, clips from news coverage and interviews, and examples of harsh tweets and comments aimed at Sandmann and his high school. Phillips did not immediately return efforts to reach him for comment. 1st Amendment lawyers contacted by the AP were hesitant to comment without reading the full legal complaint. Floyd Abrams, who worked on the landmark Pentagon Papers case of 1971, wrote in an email that the press does get a good deal of leeway in voicing opinions about matters they have seen and are commenting on. One legal question might be whether Sandmann would be treated in court as a public or private figure. Abrams observed that sometimes individuals involved in newsworthy events are treated as involuntary limited purpose public figures, meaning they would have to meet a higher legal standard than would a private citizen. The defense team for Joaquin El Chapo Guzman said Friday it would seek a new trial for the notorious drug lord after allegations of misconduct on the part of several jurors who allegedly followed media accounts of the case against the instructions of a federal judge. Defense attorney Eduardo Balarezo said in a court filing he intended to ask U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan to conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine the extent of the misconduct. The U.S. attorneys office in Brooklyn declined to comment. Guzman was convicted last week of murder conspiracy and drug-trafficking charges. He faces life in prison at his June sentencing. Advertisement Meanwhile, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday that he has instructed his government to assist Guzmans family in seeking humanitarian visas to visit the convicted drug trafficker in the United States. During a visit last week to Guzmans hometown of Badiraguato in Sinaloa state, a lawyer passed Lopez Obrador a letter from Guzmans mother. Like any mother asking me for support for her son, Lopez Obrador said. Later in the afternoon, the president published via Twitter Consuelo Loeras letter in which she asks for his help in obtaining humanitarian visas for herself and two of her daughters. Lopez Obrador was in Sinaloa last week to announce a highway construction project. In the letter dated Feb. 14, Loera described herself as suffering and desperate and wrote that she had not seen her son in more than five years. She called his extradition illegal and asked that Guzman be brought back to Mexico. Lopez Obrador said legal questions would have to be dealt with by Mexicos interior ministry, attorney generals office and judiciary. U.S. support for such a request would be extremely unlikely considering Guzman has escaped from two prisons. Advertisement But on the humanitarian front, Lopez Obrador said: I gave instructions that they facilitate [soliciting the visas] and that the sisters be able to go to the United States and to help them according to the laws, regulations that country has, so that they can visit him or have communication. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, such permission, known as humanitarian parole, is reserved for people with a compelling emergency, but anyone can apply. Those who could be considered eligible should have an emergent humanitarian reason or significant public benefit to temporarily entering the U.S. Applications are considered on a case-by-case basis. Guzman was convicted Feb. 12 in federal court in New York on multiple drug trafficking and conspiracy charges and likely faces a life sentence. On Friday, his defense team said it wanted a new trial based on reports of jury misconduct. Advertisement El Chapos two sons were indicted on drug conspiracy charges, the Justice Department said Thursday. Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 34, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez, 28, are charged in a single-count indictment that was unsealed last week in Washington. Prosecutors allege the two brothers conspired to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the U.S. from Mexico and elsewhere in the world from 2008 to 2018. They are both believed to be living in Mexico and remain fugitives. The filing for a new trial for El Chapo came two days after Vice News reported that at least five jurors followed media reports and Twitter feeds during the three-month trial and were aware of potentially prejudicial material that had been excluded from the proceedings. Cogan regularly warned jurors to avoid reading about the case, one of the most highly publicized trials in recent memory. Advertisement Guzmans attorneys said they want Cogan to quiz the jurors about their behavior during the trial. They asked for an additional month to prepare their motion for new trial, which is due next week. One juror anonymously told Vice News that five jurors and two alternates heard about child rape allegations made against Guzman that were covered by the news media but not admitted into evidence at the trial. The juror also alleged that another member of the panel used a smartwatch to look up a news story at one point during the trial. Its clear we have to get them back into court and get some answers about some massive misconduct, Guzman attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told the Associated Press this week. We hope it will lead to Joaquin Guzman getting the fair trial that he deserves. In the eight months since President Trump and Kim Jong Un held a one-day summit in Singapore, North Korea has taken small, strategic steps aimed at demonstrating a willingness to partially denuclearize, but the progress has barely reach an embryonic stage. As the two leaders prepare for their second summit on Thursday in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, diplomats and disarmament experts hope to see concrete results rather than the theatrics and vague promises of the June 12 meeting. Although tensions have eased dramatically, negotiations since Singapore have produced little more than agreement for another summit while North Korea has continued development of its nuclear arsenal and ballistic missiles, according to U.S. intelligence officials and United Nations nuclear experts. Researchers at Stanford Universitys Center for International Security and Cooperation estimated this month that Pyongyang had produced sufficient bomb fuel over the last eight months to add up to seven weapons to a nuclear arsenal believed to contain about 60 bombs. Advertisement The researchers said North Korea had expanded its stockpile of plutonium and highly enriched uranium, including at a previously undisclosed facility at Kangsong one of about 20 sites detected on satellite imagery. While still upbeat, Trump sought this week to lower expectations of a breakthrough in Hanoi, telling reporters he ultimately would like to see North Korea denuclearize, but has no pressing time schedule because the sanctions are on. Were in no rush whatsoever, the president said Tuesday in the Oval Office. Were going to have our meeting. As long as theres no testing, Im in no rush. If theres testing, thats another deal. On Thursday, a senior administration official involved in the planning was also circumspect. I dont know if North Korea has made the choice to denuclearize, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to brief reporters. We think there is a possibility. Moon Chung-in, professor emeritus at Seouls Yonsei University and senior advisor to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, said the U.S. side shouldnt expect dramatic progress in Hanoi but instead seek incremental progress and keep dialogue open. North Korea cant denuclearize in one fell swoop, he said. If the U.S. gives something, there will be reciprocal measures. North Korea has taken several confidence-building steps since Singapore, but they are limited and not permanent, said Thomas Countryman, who was assistant secretary of State for nonproliferation in the Obama administration. Advertisement Everything they have done so far is easily reversible, he said. Perhaps the most important development is what didnt happen. Kims government continued a self-declared moratorium on tests of nuclear devices and long-range missiles. It last tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in July 2017, and last conducted a nuclear test two months later. The Stanford researchers said the testing moratorium had significantly hampered Pyongyangs ability to expand its program. Pyongyang continues to refine its nuclear technology, but U.S. experts say it apparently has not yet built a warhead robust enough to survive the intense heat and vibration of an ICBM as it reenters the atmosphere. Advertisement That leaves a window for diplomacy before the continental United States faces a direct nuclear threat from Pyongyang. The most visible change came in July, a month after Singapore, when North Korea destroyed or dismantled portions of the Sohae launch site, near the border with China, the main facility for its satellite launches. Sohae is believed to have equipment used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and a warehouse where vehicles that transport missiles were assembled. The razing of the facility was hailed as important, but its not clear how much of the infrastructure was actually destroyed. Some experts say North Korea had already begun transferring ballistic missiles to mobile launchers that could be used at other sites in the mountainous country. Advertisement Both the Trump and Kim governments have pointed to demolition at the Punggye-ri underground nuclear test site last May, a month before Singapore, as a sign of progress. North Korean technicians blew up entrances at the site, and later destroyed some of the tunnels where testing was conducted. In October, Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo praised what he said was Kims invitation to international nuclear inspectors to verify that the destruction had rendered Punggye-ri inoperable. To date, no independent inspections have been conducted; U.N. inspectors were kicked out of the country in 2009. There is less here than meets the eye, said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Assn., an advocacy group based in Washington. There are plenty of places there and elsewhere that nuclear test explosions could take place. Diplomats are now focusing on Yongbyon, North Koreas main nuclear complex. It includes a plutonium-producing reactor, light-water reactor and uranium enrichment plant. Advertisement Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for the Koreas, said Kim had offered to dismantle plutonium production and uranium enrichment facilities at Yongbyon if the U.S. also makes concessions. Plutonium and enriched uranium are used as nuclear bomb fuel. Dismantling Yongbyon would be a very big deal. It is the heart of the Norths nuclear program, said Siegfried Hecker, one of the authors of the Stanford study and a nuclear scientist who visited the site multiple times. Other experts note that Yongbyon was on the table during a previous, ultimately unsuccessful round of nuclear negotiations. Yongbyon was something North Korea had already agreed with the U.S. to give up in 2005, Thae Yong-ho, North Koreas former deputy ambassador to Britain and one of the highest officials to defect, told reporters in Seoul. Theyre trying to put a fresh coat of paint on an abandoned car and sell it to the U.S. once again. Advertisement Biegun has met several times in recent weeks with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Hyok Chol, in Pyongyang and Hanoi, to discuss possible step-by-step actions. Kim is keen to win a formal declaration of the end of the Korean War, which was frozen with an armistice in 1953 but not an official treaty. A declaration would be symbolic since a treaty would require Senate ratification and approval of other nations who fought in the war. Admiral Philip S. Davidson, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command that oversees the Korean peninsula, echoed the assessment of the U.S. intelligence community that North Korea is unlikely to fully denuclearize. We think it is unlikely that North Korea will give up all of its nuclear weapons or production capabilities, but seeks to negotiate partial denuclearization in exchange for U.S. and international concessions, Davidson told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Feb. 12. Advertisement Kim also wants the United States to ease sanctions that have squeezed the countrys economy. Some of those sanctions already have begun to unravel since Singapore. Russia and China, North Koreas principal ally and trading partner, last year advocated easing U.N. sanctions, many of which have been in place since North Korea tested its first nuclear device in 2006. Moscow shipped a record 7,000 tons of refined oil to Pyongyang in December, the U.N. reported. U.S. officials said experts had confirmed nearly 150 incidents of illegal ship-to-ship transfers of oil by Russia to North Korea in 2018. Despite the punitive measures, food and fuel prices and exchange rates have held relatively stable in North Korea, according to black market rates tracked by groups in South Korea. Advertisement Wilkinson reported from Washington and Kim from Seoul. For more on international affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on Twitter Soldiers take part in an international military exercise codenamed "Winter 2019" in Kars, Turkey. Turkey is holding large-scale international military exercises in extreme weather conditions in its Eastern Kars Province. Representatives of 15 countries are taking part in the drills which are expected to end on Friday. (Xinhua) 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. Huaweis founder, Ren Zhengfei, has responded in a flurry of interviews by denying that the company would go along with any Chinese government effort to steal data from foreign customers and their communication networks as the Trump administration suggests. Advertisement Excluding China from fifth-generation, or 5G, networks is crucial, U.S. officials argue, because the technology will be much faster than current systems and extend wireless communications into self-driving cars, industrial production and other areas of commerce and everyday life. If countries use Huawei equipment, we wont be able to share information with them, we wont be able to work alongside them, Pompeo said Thursday during an interview with Fox Business Network. U.S. officials deny that their push to block Huawei, based in Shenzhen, China, on national security grounds is related to creating leverage in U.S.-China trade talks, which resumed Thursday in Washington. President Trump said Thursday that he wants the U.S. to beat other countries in installing next-generation wireless networks. However, his remarks on Twitter left unclear whether he was referring to blocking Huawei. I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind, Trump wrote in a tweet. But he added that he wanted the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies. We must always be the leader in everything we do, especially when it comes to the very exciting world of technology. The White House has been discussing an executive order that would formally bar Chinese companies from selling equipment for use in future U.S. telecommunications networks, officials and industry lobbyists say. The order has not been issued, raising questions about whether Trump views it as leverage over Beijing in the trade talks. The United States has moved on multiple fronts against Huawei over the last year. The campaign has included criminal prosecutions and high-level pressure on other governments to ban Huawei systems and equipment, which are widely used in Europe and Africa. Advertisement Australia and New Zealand have barred Huawei from their 5G networks. Canada is considering doing so. All three countries, along with the United States and Britain, are members of the Five Eyes, an alliance for sharing intelligence with one another. What Germany and Britain do is likely to weigh heavily on other European nations also wrestling with U.S. claims that using the companys equipment would make their telecommunications vulnerable to cyberespionage and data breaches by the Chinese government. Although the United States years ago effectively shut out China from Americas networks, Huawei has had a big presence in Europes mobile communications infrastructure and is now the largest telecom equipment manufacturer in the world. Banning Chinese companies in future projects would almost certainly delay their rollout of 5G and increase European telecom operators costs. The German government will not directly ban foreign manufacturers, specifically Chinese manufacturers, said Jan-Peter Kleinhans, an IT security expert at Stiftung Neue Verantwortung, a tech policy think tank in Berlin that has been in contact with German ministries and academics on the matter. Advertisement Germany will come up with stricter security requirements for telecom operators, such as certification for suppliers equipment and manufacturing processes, he said. Kleinhans added that Germany is under the gun to make its regulations clear by next month when it plans a 5G auction. The key element for Germany is not ruining the relationship with its largest trading partner, China, said Jankel Oertel, a transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund, referring to Berlins consideration of how to treat Huawei and ZTE, another technology company at odds with the United States. Oertel criticized the Trump administrations approach, saying, While it expects European partners to fall in line, the U.S. government has failed to explain its concerns to the European audience in sufficient detail. Analysts say Britain is preparing to take a similar approach to Huawei as intelligence officials there have suggested that it could manage the risk from using Chinese equipment. Britains BT Group said in December that it was removing Huawei equipment from the core of its mobile network and would not use it in future networks. Advertisement Britain has arguably the toughest and most rigorous oversight regime in the world for Huawei, Ciaran Martin, head of the National Cyber Security Center, an arm of Britains intelligence services, said in a speech in Brussels on Wednesday. Based on our hard-headed assessment of risk we are putting in place our own plans for helping our operators manage these risks. Only a few companies produce essential 5G equipment, such as small-cell radio units or base stations, Kleinhans said. Rival suppliers include Ericsson and Nokia, both European, and South Koreas Samsung, but no U.S. manufacturer. In December, Canada arrested Huaweis chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, daughter of company founder Ren, at the request of the U.S. Justice Department on charges that she helped Huawei evade sanctions on Iran. U.S. authorities have started extradition proceedings against Meng, who is also deputy chairwoman of the board at Huawei. She has denied any wrongdoing; a hearing is set for March 6. Apparently in retaliation, Chinese authorities seized two Canadians in China, including a former diplomat. Advertisement Vice President Mike Pence, speaking last week at the the Munich Security Conference in Germany, cited Huawei specifically as a threat and urged U.S. military allies to avoid using Chinese telecom equipment firms. We must protect our critical telecom infrastructure, and America is calling on all our security partners to be vigilant and to reject any enterprise that would compromise the integrity of our communications technology or our national security systems, he said. But Alex Younger, chief of Britains foreign intelligence service, told reporters at the Munich event that banning Huawei completely was not an option. I think it is a more complicated issue than in or out, he said, according to Reuters. david.cloud@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @davidcloudLAT The pilot whose plane crashed into a Yorba Linda neighborhood, killing him and four people on the ground, had been warned by an air traffic controller that he was headed into bad weather, investigators said in a report released Thursday. Antonio Pastini, of Gardnerville, Nev., died on Feb. 3 when his Cessna 414A broke apart minutes after taking off from Fullerton Municipal Airport. Four people who had gathered to watch the Super Bowl were killed when their home was struck by wreckage from the plane. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash, and a preliminary report released Thursday does not say what caused it. A full investigation could take as long as 18 months. Advertisement But the report does say Pastini was warned by an air traffic controller during takeoff about deteriorating weather four miles east of the Fullerton airport. Pilots were being allowed to fly in and out of the airport by sight, but rain and other foul weather over Yorba Linda required instrument-guided flight, the report said. It does not say whether Pastini switched to instrument navigation. Pastini had previously been disciplined by the Federal Aviation Administration for flying into dangerous weather and falsely saying he was cleared and able to navigate with instruments, The Times reported. Pastini, named Jordan Isaacson at the time, had his pilots license suspended for 120 days in 1977. His license was suspended by the FAA three years later when a judge found his plane was behind on inspections, carried only an expired temporary registration and was leaking hydraulic fluid from a brake, agency records show. In his final flight, Pastini left Fullerton at 1:39 p.m. on Feb. 3, bound for Minden-Tahoe Airport in Nevada. He climbed 7,800 feet in five and a half minutes before his plane turned quickly to the right, hurtling toward Yorba Linda, the NTSB said. Witnesses said they saw the plane plummet through the clouds and start to break apart. One witness, quoted in the report, said the plane streaked toward the ground, nose-down and at a 60-degree angle, for four to five seconds before trying to pull out of the dive. Pieces of the plane began to shear off, the witness said: first a stabilizer, then the tail, then the left wing. The plane by that point on fire disappeared behind a hill, according to the witness, and the sound of an explosion and large plume of black smoke immediately followed. Advertisement The debris field was 1,000 feet long and 800 feet wide, the NTSB said. Pieces of the airplane ripped through homes like shrapnel. An alternator tore through several walls of one home and came to rest on a bathroom sink. One resident tried with a garden hose to put out head-high flames, leaping from a plane wing that had landed in his driveway. Roy Lee Anderson, 85, and Dahlia Marlies Leber Anderson, 68, were killed when their home was struck by wreckage and set on fire. Stacie Norene Leber and Donald Paul Elliott relatives of the couple who were visiting to watch the Super Bowl were also killed. Two others in the home escaped with serious burns, authorities said. Inside the charred home, the NTSB found pieces of the planes right wing, which contained the fuel tank. The fuselage had tumbled about 300 feet down a hill and came to rest in a backyard. Advertisement Neighbors said the Andersons, while in their later years themselves, were always quick to help an elderly man who lived across the street, fetching his newspapers and inviting him every evening for a glass of wine. Elliots pastor described him as a man of strong faith, whose appreciation for life redoubled several years ago when a truck he was fixing fell and nearly crushed him to death. Our family bond is tight, the victims relatives said in a statement, and each member lost in this tragedy represents more than just one role within our family. We lost parents, grandparents ... spouses, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles. The Vallejo Police Department has released the names of six officers involved in the fatal shooting of an aspiring rapper in a Taco Bell drive-thru, including one who was involved in the shooting death of another man last year. Authorities said the half-dozen officers fired their guns because they feared for their safety after Willie McCoy suddenly moved and reached for a gun that was on his lap. Police had been called to the eatery because employees reported a man was slumped over in the drivers seat of a silver Mercedes-Benz that was in the restaurants drive-thru. The officers were identified as Ryan McMahon, Collin Eaton, Bryan Glick, Jordon Patzer, Anthony Romero-Cano and Mark Thompson, the Vallejo Police Department said this week. McMahon was also involved in the 2018 death of Ronell Foster and is facing a lawsuit by civil rights attorney John Burris in connection with that shooting. Advertisement All six officers named in McCoys death were placed on administrative leave after the Feb. 9 shooting but are expected to return to work within a week, said Vallejo police spokesman Jeff Tai. Burris, who is also representing McCoys family, said the man was shot more than 20 times. The aspiring rapper had just finished a recording session at a studio before grabbing a bite to eat at the fast-food restaurant, cousin David Harrison said. The 20-year-old had fallen asleep in the car, he said. The death has sparked outrage among community members in the Bay Area and renewed scrutiny of the Vallejo Police Department. McCoys family said his death is another example of police brutality against black men. What the community is coming into contact with is some type of squad in the Vallejo Police Department targeting young black men for execution, Harrison said. In the Foster case, Burris alleges that the 32-year-old was riding his bicycle in Vallejo in March 2018 when McMahon and another officer followed him. When he got off his bike and ran away, the officers chased him and struck him on the head with a flashlight before firing a Taser at him, according to the lawsuit. Police say Foster attacked McMahon with his flashlight, but Burris insists that McMahon fatally shot Foster in the back and the back of his head while he was running away. In a news release last week about McCoys shooting, Vallejo police said officers had planned to open the cars door and grab the firearm they had spotted, but the door was locked. Officers said the cars transmission was in drive so patrol vehicles were being moved to keep the car from moving. As they were positioning a cruiser behind McCoys vehicle, he began moving and looked at the uniformed officers, authorities said. Advertisement Officers asked him several times to put his hands up, but he moved his hands downward, police said, prompting the lethal response. The six fired multiple rounds, and McCoy was declared dead at the scene. Burris said he is seeking legal action against the Vallejo Police Department for a handful of cases, including one involving an officer who pulled his gun on a motorcyclist and forcefully detained another man for recording the incident. He said that he plans to file a suit next week against the six officers who fired their guns at McCoy. Ive had my concern about the Vallejo Police Department for a while now, Burris said. It may all be coming to a head now, but weve had a lot of cases through the years. Advertisement McCoys death has also sparked questions about police decisions to fire at unconscious people. In March, Oakland police officers fired at Joshua Pawlik, who had been lying unconscious on the ground between two houses with a handgun nearby, according to another lawsuit filed by Burris against the Police Department. He had been unresponsive for 45 minutes but eventually woke up and moved. The lawsuit says Pawlik did not reach for the gun. At a recent Vallejo City Council meeting, McCoys girlfriend tearfully asked for body camera footage of the shooting to be released. This hurts me so much, the woman said. He wasnt going to harm nobody. My baby was an angel. The police is just killing everybody. A state law passed last year requires departments to release body-work camera and other video and audio recordings of officer shootings and serious use of force within 45 days, unless doing so would interfere with an ongoing investigation. Peter Bibring , police practices director of the ACLUs California branch, issued a statement last week following McCoys death: This is a matter of life and death: California can and must update its deadly use of force laws and provide officers with adequate guidance to successfully resolve situations like the one that resulted in Mr. McCoys death without anyone dying. Advertisement This is something new for us, said Vallejo Police Chief Andrew Bidou, addressing viewers for what he said was the first time, in a video release. Its not lost on me or any member of our department that were discussing a loss of life. Our condolences and prayers go out to the family of the deceased. The Vallejo Police Department said it is working closely with the Solano County district attorneys office on an in-depth investigation of McCoys shooting. alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com Twitter: @r_valejandra A federal judge has decided that a twin son of a binational gay couple, who was denied U.S. citizenship because he does not share a blood relationship with his American father, has been a U.S. citizen since birth. In an 11-page order delivered Thursday, Los Angeles federal Judge John F. Walter concluded that U.S. law does not require a child to show a biological relationship with both of their parents if their parents were married at the time of their birth. The judge requested that the State Department and Ethan Dvash-Banks family together propose a judgment, consistent with his decision, by the end of the month. This is a huge victory for Ethan Dvash-Banks and his family, said Aaron C. Morris, executive director of Immigration Equality and one of the attorneys representing the family. They wanted their twin boys in every way to be treated exactly the same. It really hurt them to have one child get the remarkable privilege of U.S. citizenship at birth and the other to be required to petition as an immigrant. A U.S. State Department official said Friday that the agency is reviewing the ruling with the Department of Justice but did not comment further. Advertisement Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks met in 2008 at a holiday party at Tel Aviv University in Israel, where Andrew was studying abroad and Elad was born and raised. They fell in love and, two years later, were married. They intended to settle in Andrews home state of California, but because same-sex marriages were not allowed at the time, his husband couldnt obtain lawful permanent residency in the U.S. through his marriage. So they settled for a time in Canada. Eventually, they decided to grow their family. Ethan and his twin brother, Aiden, were conceived using an anonymous donors eggs and the sperm of their fathers. The twins, now age 2, were carried and delivered by a surrogate. Aiden shares DNA with Andrew, a Santa Monica native, while Ethan is biologically related to Elad. After the twins were born, four minutes apart, the couple applied to get their sons U.S. passports. They were stunned when an official told them that Andrew Dvash-Banks would have to undergo a DNA test to prove a biological link to each twin. Without that, the official said, neither child would qualify. They arranged a DNA test and submitted the results. Aidens passport came in the mail, while Ethan got a letter saying his citizenship application had been denied. The boy entered the U.S. on a six-month tourist visa, which has since expired, and applied for a green card. Morris said the family, which now lives in Los Angeles, had to cancel travel plans to introduce the children to Elads family in Israel, and has struggled with costs related to securing Ethans citizenship. Advertisement When the family filed the lawsuit in January 2018, LGBTQ immigrant rights advocates said their case exposed the unique immigration challenges facing binational LGBTQ couples, which number about 36,000 in the U.S. In the decision, the judge said the Immigration and Nationality Act sets different requirements for birthright U.S. citizenship for children born abroad to married parents and those born abroad out of wedlock. Children born out of wedlock, he wrote, require a blood relation to the U.S. citizen father. The familys attorney said the State Department applied that rule to the Dvash-Banks family when it denied Ethan citizenship. They felt that the U.S. government wasnt respecting their marriage, which was true, Morris said of the family. By referring to this strange out-of-wedlock provision, they werent giving the couple the same rights as every other married couple. The judges decision left the family relieved. Advertisement This hurt us every day, Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks said in a statement. Now our boys will be treated exactly the same, which is all we ever wanted. The judge did not weigh in on the constitutionality of the State Departments actions. This doesnt dismantle the policy, but its a strong indication that the State Departments policy is wrong and should be revamped, Morris said. If they dont, we will simply have to sue again in other districts in other circuits until they get it right. alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @AleneTchek Roadkill could be on dinner tables across California by 2021 if a Senate bill proposed this week wins approval from lawmakers. SB 395, sponsored by state Sen. Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera), seeks to amend current state law to allow drivers who fatally strike a deer, elk, antelope or wild pig to take the animal home and cook it. The bill, which was introduced Wednesday, also would let people not in vehicles who simply stumble upon a carcass keep it for food. Under existing law, accidentally killing an animal with a vehicle isnt illegal, but salvaging it is not permitted. The result, the bill contends, is that the meat goes to waste. A report published by UC Davis Road Ecology Center last year shows that more than 56,000 animal carcasses were found on local roads and state highways between 2009 and 2017. The bill estimates that more than 20,000 deer are hit by cars on Californias roadways annually. Advertisement This translates into hundreds of thousands of pounds of healthy meat that could be utilized to feed those in need, the bill states. If the law passes, the person who takes the animal would be required to retroactively apply online for a wildlife salvage permit within 24 hours of finding the carcass. With this data, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife would maintain a log of the number of permits issued, the location of impacts, species of wildlife and the estimated amount of meat salvaged each year. The bill does not make all wild animals fair game on the states roadways. The proposed legislation, which could be voted on as early as March 23, emphasizes that the animal has to have been killed accidentally. The wildlife department declined to comment on the proposed legislation as a matter of policy. Archuleta could not immediately be reached for comment Friday. While some expressed disgust over the proposal online, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wrote on its website that roadkill is a more humane food source and a superior option to meat in the supermarket. Eating roadkill is healthier for the consumer than meat laden with antibiotics, hormones, and growth stimulants, as most meat is today, PETA wrote. If the bill passes, California would be in the company of several other states including Florida, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Montana, Illinois and West Virginia that have similar laws on their books. hannah.fry@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @Hannahnfry Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order Friday morning requiring additional testing of evidence in the quadruple-murder case of death row inmate Kevin Cooper. The executive order broadens an order by former Gov. Jerry Brown, who in December requested limited retesting of a tan T-shirt, an orange towel, a hatchet handle and a hatchet sheath after Coopers attorneys said some key items werent properly tested and should be analyzed using more current DNA technology. Newsoms order requires the DNA testing and analysis of untested hairs from the victims hands and the crime scene, a blood vial, a blood drop, fingernail scrapings from the victims and a green button. I take no position regarding Mr. Coopers guilt or innocence at this time, Newsom said in the order. Especially in cases where the government seeks to impose the ultimate punishment of death, I need to be satisfied that all relevant evidence is carefully and fairly examined. Advertisement Newsom said the purpose of testing the additional pieces of evidence was to determine whether DNA from Cooper or anyone else is detectable on the items. Cooper has maintained his innocence throughout the case and has claimed that law enforcement planted evidence and ignored statements by witnesses that pointed to other possible suspects. He has lost more than a dozen appeals. The now 61-year-old Cooper was convicted and sentenced to death in 1985 for the slayings of three family members and an unrelated boy, 11-year-old Christopher Hughes. They were found hacked and slashed to death in a Chino Hills home. The boys father discovered the bloodied bodies when he went to the hilltop home looking for Christopher. Through the window, he discovered the bodies of Doug and Peggy Ryen; their 10-year-old daughter, Jessica; and Christopher. The victims had been stabbed a total of 143 times with an ice pick, an ax and a knife. The Ryens 8-year-old son, Joshua, was slashed across the throat but survived. Two days before the killings, Cooper had escaped from a prison in Chino, where he was serving a sentence for burglary. Police found ample evidence cigarette butts, a button from a prison uniform, a leather hatchet sheath that Cooper had spent two days in a house near the Ryens after his escape. He was arrested about seven weeks after the killings. Convicted murderer Kevin Cooper stands before a San Diego judge in this May 1985 file photo when he was sentenced to death for the 1983 slayings of three Chino Hills family members and an unrelated child. (Dave Siccardi / San Diego Union-Tribune) At his trial, jurors heard Joshua Ryen give a videotaped statement that conflicted with what he had said when he was first interviewed by authorities. Advertisement After Joshua was airlifted to a hospital, he told a sheriffs deputy and a social worker that his attackers were three white men. An hour later, he said they were Latino. Later that month, the boy told a deputy that Cooper, who is black, was not the killer after he saw the mans face on a wanted poster on television. Jurors heard him say that he saw just one man or maybe a shadow in his home. The clues at the Ryens unlocked home were scant: a bloody shoe print on a sheet in the master bedroom and a single drop of blood on a wall in the hallway. At his trial and throughout the appeals process, Coopers attorneys argued that the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department had destroyed or suppressed evidence suggesting the attackers were three white men, including a convicted contract killer. Advertisement Browns December order came after four California law school deans called on him to open an independent investigation, saying that Coopers claim of innocence has never been fully and fairly evaluated. Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) called for the DNA testing in May after a New York Times column called the case against Cooper outrageous. Anti-death-penalty advocates demonstrate in support of convicted killer Kevin Cooper in San Francisco in 2004. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press) alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @r_valejandra A man who opened fire on a Napa County sheriffs deputy standing outside his car window during a traffic stop was in the U.S. illegally and had been deported three times, authorities said. Javier Hernandez-Morales, who was killed Sunday in an exchange of gunfire, had been arrested several times since his last removal to Mexico in 2010, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Since then, federal immigration authorities said, they issued four detainers in Napa and Sonoma counties, but none were honored by the jails. Its unfortunate that our law enforcement partners and the community are subjected to dangerous consequences because of inflexible state laws that protect criminal aliens, ICE spokesman Richard Rocha said in a statement. The incident, Rocha said, could have been prevented had ICE been kept in the loop about Hernandez-Morales releases from jail. This is an impactful, scary example of how public safety is affected by laws or policies limiting local law enforcement agencies ability to cooperate with ICE, he said. Advertisement The Napa County Sheriffs Office released a 48-second video that captured the encounter. It shows a female deputy, identified by the Sheriffs Office as Riley Jarecki, on the passenger side of Hernandez-Morales car shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday asking if she could look around. The man threw up his hands, a gesture that suggested she could proceed. Wait right there, dont move, OK? Jarecki says. She shines her flashlight in the car before walking around to the drivers side. There, she knocks on the window and asks him three times to roll it down. He does. Moments later, Hernandez-Morales pulls out a gun and, in close range, opens fire on the deputy. Jarecki calls for help while running to the other side of the car, where she shot back at him. She was not injured. Hernandez-Morales died at the scene. ICE said he was deported twice in 2007 and once in 2010. Since then, the agency said, Hernandez-Morales had been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, battery on a peace officer, selling liquor to a minor and probation violations. Advertisement ICE said it issued three detainers in Napa County in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and one in Sonoma County in 2016. Hernandez-Morales brushes with the law occurred before Senate Bill 54, the states so-called sanctuary law, took effect in January of last year. The law prohibits state and local police agencies from notifying federal officials in many cases when immigrants potentially subject to deportation are about to be released from custody. Shootings such as the one Sunday night have stirred the debate over illegal immigration and have been cited by President Trump as a reason to build a wall across the U.S.-Mexico border. In December, a man who was in the country illegally and had known gang ties was arrested in the fatal shooting of a police officer during a traffic stop in Stanislaus County. alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @AleneTchek A celebrity claims to be the victim of a crime. His or her story starts to unravel. The celebrity is then investigated by law enforcement and charged with fabricating the whole thing. The media covers the case breathlessly. Los Angeles has seen a story like this before. This week, authorities in Illinois charged Empire actor Jussie Smollett with felony disorderly conduct, alleging that he made a false police report after staging a hate crime against himself in downtown Chicago last month. The twists and turns of the story including claims by Chicago police that Smollett hired two brothers to carry out the attack as a publicity stunt broadly resemble an episode from 1920s Los Angeles. Advertisement Radio evangelist and California celebrity Aimee Semple McPherson whose Angelus Temple still stands in Echo Park was reported missing in May 1926 after going for a swim at Ocean Park Beach in Santa Monica. She reappeared 36 days later in the Mexican border town of Agua Prieta across from Douglas, Ariz., in the Sonoran Desert. She claimed to have been abducted from the beach and drugged by two men and a woman who whisked her to a desert shack and tortured her. One day, she said, she escaped and walked 20 miles in 120-degree heat to Agua Prieta, according to coverage by The Times. McPhersons account immediately drew skepticism from the sheriff of Cochise County in Arizona. He told reporters that her clothing and shoes did not appear to be damaged or even dusty from her journey. Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Asa Keyes and his investigators did not buy the story either. A Los Angeles Times headline from September 18, 1926. (Los Angeles Times) Working off an anonymous tip, Keyes alleged that McPherson and her mother fabricated the abduction to cover up a tryst McPherson was having in Carmel with a married Angelus Temple radio engineer named Kenneth Ormiston. But a woman named Lorraine Wiseman said it was her sister not McPherson who had shacked up with Ormiston, according to a 1969 report that The Times published at the 43rd anniversary of the saga. Wiseman was arrested on bad check charges in the weeks after she came forward, and then her story changed. She then claimed McPherson and her mother had hired her to lie to police. Advertisement Keyes charged McPherson with criminal acts to commit acts injurious to public morals and to prevent and obstruct justice, according to a Times review of a McPherson biography. McPherson defended herself on the radio, calling Keyes a dirty, lecherous libertine. She also said the investigation was religious persecution because several investigators on the case were Catholic. A Los Angeles court ruled in November 1926 that there was enough evidence to find McPherson guilty, but Wiseman changed her story again. Since the preliminary hearing, Mrs. Wiseman has changed her story almost daily, until ... she has become a witness for whose truth and credibility no prosecutor could vouch, Keyes said at the time, according to The Times. Advertisement The charges were dismissed. Later, Keyes was accused of being paid to drop the charges. An investigation cleared the district attorney of that charge but discovered he had been bribed by an oil company in a separate matter, for which he served 18 months in San Quentin prison. McPherson died in Oakland in 1944 of a barbiturate overdose. The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, which she founded, still stands. To this day, her biography on the churchs website maintains the abduction story is true. Aimees public image took a beating but, as always, she continued to work hard to bring the gospel to those who needed to hear it, it reads. Advertisement javier.panzar@latimes.com @jpanzar Less than a week after Los Angeles experienced its first snow day in years, Angelenos will be able to hang up their winter coats and pull out their swimsuits. Thats right, sun-worshipers, beach weather is right around the corner. The idea that temperatures hovering in the low 30s overnight in Los Angeles would make way for sunny skies and highs in the mid-70s by the end of next week surprised even forecasters on Friday. Am I reading this right? Kristen Stewart, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, said pausing as she checked the forecast. OK, wow. Advertisement The mercury will rise gradually over the next several days before reaching about 74 degrees with sunny skies by Thursday, Stewart said. Were not going to be seeing any more storm systems next week, and temperatures will rebound back to normal, she said. I think we deserve it. Next weeks weather forecast is in stark contrast to the dusting of snow that transformed portions of Los Angeles County into a winter wonderland Thursday. Snowflakes fell in Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Calabasas, Northridge and Pasadena, all which sit at elevations between 700 and 1,000 feet. Guess - where in LA is this? The Angeles National Forest? Baldy? Nope. The Sierras? Mount Whitney? The Cascades? Try again. Can you believe it snowed in the #santamonicamountains today! pic.twitter.com/hXaU7lPruS Santa Monica Mtns (@SantaMonicaMtns) February 22, 2019 Even portions of West Hollywood, the Malibu Pier, Leo Carrillo Beach, Point Dume and Zuma Beach received a light dusting. In most areas, the snow melted not long after it hit the ground, but it still made for an enchanting sight for many Angelenos. Many took to social media to express their delight and awe over the rare snowfall. Even Jerry OConnell of Stand By Me piped in. Calabasas, Calif., where the Kardashians live, he said in a video on Twitter, pointing at specks of snow on a car. Its snowing right now. Look at this. Snow. Snow. Not hail. Snow. Advertisement Of course, the unexpected snowstorm caused some travel delays in the Southland, temporarily closing several major roadways into the mountains and the 5 Freeway through the Grapevine. A portion of State Route 74 from San Juan Capistrano to Lake Elsinore remained closed overnight because of icy conditions but reopened mid-morning Friday, according to Caltrans. Snow in lower elevations in Southern California is certainly rare, but its not the first time its happened. The last significant and widespread measurable snow in the Los Angeles and Ventura county valleys was on Feb. 8, 1989, when up to 5 inches of snow fell in portions of the San Fernando Valley westward to Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley. Small amounts of snow also dusted portions of Los Angeles County in 2007, according to newspaper archives. The last time downtown Los Angeles saw any snow was in 1962, when a trace was reported on two consecutive days in January. Measurable snow has fallen in downtown just twice since records began in 1877 first in January 1932 when 2 inches of powder was recorded, and again in January 1949. Advertisement Heres a brief history of that famous L.A. snowstorm from former Times history writer Cecilia Rasmussen: On Jan. 10, 1949, in the middle of the worst housing shortage in Los Angeles history, more than half an inch of snow covered the Civic Center. The San Fernando Valley was pelted with the unfamiliar white stuff for three days, accumulating almost a foot. The Rose Bowl was transformed into a dishpan full of milk, by one account. An Alhambra hardware store put up a sign that said, Snow Plows for Rent Hurry! A snowman appeared in Eagle Rock, wearing a sombrero, and the city of Reno, Nev., sent L.A. a snow shovel. #Timelapse from our office today! Watch the #rainbow re-forming and wait for the snow shower in the distance (snow falling at 2000 FT) at the end! #castorm #cawx #SanDiegoWx pic.twitter.com/TY3MoJTK2Z NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) February 22, 2019 hannah.fry@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @Hannahnfry A man was charged Friday with a hate crime after allegedly leaving intimidating messages at the home of a Jewish family in West L.A., the Los Angeles city attorneys office said. Eric Sanchez, 37, is accused of trying to break into the home and leaving the messages when he couldnt get inside, the city attorneys office said in a news release. He has been charged with seven criminal counts, including committing a hate crime. The news comes during a period of heightened anxiety over anti-Semitic attacks. In late November, a Seattle man was accused of shouting anti-Semitic slurs toward worshipers exiting a synagogue in Hancock Park and then trying to run over two Jewish men. Earlier this month, an armed security guard outside a Jewish high school in the Fairfax neighborhood shot a woman in the leg after seeing her filming the building. Sanchez tried to enter the empty home, which was under construction, last year, prosecutors said. He tested three doors, but wasnt able to get inside, according to the news release. Advertisement Prosecutors allege he stole a staple gun and a level from the construction site before leaving two large missives on the front lawn. The canvas paintings had pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel messages written on them in Arabic and Hebrew, the news release said. Its unclear whether Sanchez knew the owners of the house, authorities said. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for March. 5. Sanchez faces up to three years and three months in prison if convicted as charged. He also is expected to serve a 16-month sentence for an unrelated felony theft conviction, the city attorneys office said. alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com Twitter: @r_valejandra Exhibition of world famous Japanese manga One Piece makes huge splash in China Statues of One Piece characters on display at the Sichuan Museum in Chengdu Photo: Courtesy of the Sichuan Museum Several days before the 2019 Spring Festival, Hello, ONE PIECE! Luffy is Coming! left Shenzhen and arrived in at the Sichuan Museum in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The special exhibition on world famous Japanese manga One Piece quickly became a hit on social media, especially among the large number of the manga's fans in China. World famous IP One Piece, written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, has been serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine since 1997. The manga series follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew of pirates as they search for the ultimate treasure known as "One Piece." After more than two decades, One Piece has been translated into numerous different languages, allowing it to gain fans across the world. As of July 2018, more than 440 million copies of the manga had been sold around the world. After the exhibition ends on May 10, it will head to four other cities throughout China throughout the rest of the year. The exhibition is being supervised by Oda directly, and includes his original hand drafts, restorations of classic manga scenes and other artworks based on the original story of the One Piece manga. Oda also drew a picture of a panda and Luffy especially for the nearly 3,000-square-meter exhibition's stop in Chengdu, which is home to one of the largest panda research bases in China. While ticket prices are not cheap, the 120 yuan ($17.8) price tag hasn't deterred the numerous visitors from heading to the museum. Liu Qikai, an employee with the museum's department of promotion and marketing, told the Global Times, the museum has also established a special area to sell One Piece souvenirs that can only be found at the exhibition. Many of these exclusive items have proven very popular. One expensive figure selling for 2,980 yuan has already sold out. Cultural communication While some Chinese netizens have expressed surprise that the usually serious Sichuan Museum would host a manga exhibition, Liu noted that the museum's location and influence made it the perfect venue. "The Sichuan Museum is the largest comprehensive museum in Southwest China. Compared to the previous stop in Shenzhen, the exhibition area and the number of items on display have been increased," Liu noted. According to Liu, this is not just some commercial exhibition, but an important culture communication event. After complex discussions between the Chinese and Japanese organizers and several modifications to the exhibition plan, they were finally able to bring the exhibition to the Chinese mainland. An exclusive drawing by Eiichiro Oda of One Piece character Luffy (left) with a panda A splash page from the One Piece manga Far-reaching influence Japanese manga has long been an extremely popular medium in China, making it a great platform for cross cultural communication between the two countries. With nearly 10,000 daily visitors, TalkOP is one of the largest discussion websites about One Piece in China. The operators of the website go to great lengths to promote the series. One of these operators, the founder and director of the website, goes by the nickname Yingmu. A fan of the manga for 15 years now, his name was inspired by a character in One Piece. For the current exhibition, in addition to posting information of the website, Yingmu has helped organize many groups tours to Shenzhen and Chengdu. Like the 19 other operators of the website, he devotes his spare time to the working on the website, posting information, translating related materials from Japanese into Chinese and organize fan meets - all free of charge. "I first came across One Piece in 2004. I didn't like manga when I was young, but the hard work, friendship and dreams of Luffy and his friends inspired me lot and made me fall in love with One Piece," he told the Global Times. "One Piece is not only for children to read, it also good for adults. Some people can find faith in themselves and even the strength to move on from the comic." Since the middle of last century, Japanese manga has had a tremendous and far-reaching influence around the world. There have been several generations of outstanding world-class comic artists such as Osamu Tezuka, Akira Toriyama and Oda. Their work has profoundly influenced generations of young people from all over the world. The series exhibition is not only a display of some of Oda's best and most influential works of the past 22 years, it also presents the ideas and techniques used to create a globally-known work that has influenced millions. This influence has also reached Chengdu, where there are now 10,000 people working in the Chinese comic industry and more than 1,000 comic companies. Hilton Hotels(NEW YORK) -- Hilton Hotels will launch a new brand for business travelers geared toward meetings and events, the company said on Friday. The new line will start with three locations: Bonnet Creek in Orlando, Florida, Atlanta, next to the Georgia World Congress Center, and downtown Indianapolis, Ind. "In our 100th year of hospitality, we are more focused than ever on providing exceptional experiences to all of our guests - and that includes evolving those experiences to meet their changing needs," said Christopher J. Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton. The new brand is built around modern design, smart technology and meaningful dining options, David Marr, Hilton's global head of Full Service Brands, told ABC News. The hotels will also prioritize natural light throughout public spaces and guest rooms and wellness options. For example, guests will be able to access over 100 workouts in their rooms, as well as the gym. The hotels will also feature destination bars and restaurants with hopes of drawing local visitors as well as convention guests, Marr said. Hilton also hopes to upgrade the tech options of meeting hotels, after surveying developers and serial convention-goers. "We're not into the flashy tech that changes overnight -- people say they want smart tech that makes my meeting more efficient," Marr said. This includes wireless charging stations, digital whiteboards and a smart guest room. Building on the company's current offering through its Hilton Honors app, attendees will be able to control the lighting, temperature, or access their own Netflix accounts. It's also laying the groundwork for 5G. Check-ins could be through a key card or the Hilton app. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Earthquake early warnings can come as false alarms but its better to be safer than sorry, researchers conclude in a new study. Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey, USC and Caltech worked on a research project, published Thursday, to determine the limits of the accuracy of seismic warnings. They conducted a statistical simulation to determine what strategy would be the best to save lives and protect the economy is it better to get more warnings but also more false alarms? Or is it better not to receive an alert unless its certain there will be shaking, even though that might cause you to miss a warning? People might have their own personal answer. But the scientists decided to take a different tack to address the dilemma: math. In research detailed in the journal Scientific Reports, the scientists simulated tens of millions of hypothetical earthquakes in California. They imagined how forecasts made by an earthquake early warning system would compare with how shaking might actually be felt. Advertisement First, they found there was no way to have an earthquake early warning system that was 100% accurate. Its scientifically impossible. Earthquakes that produce the same amount of overall energy those that have the same magnitude can produce much different shaking. Say a major earthquake will hit in seconds. How do you protect yourself? Shaking may feel different depending on whether the energy is aimed toward or away from you (like how a train horn sounds different depending on whether its speeding toward or away from you). One earthquake could produce intense shaking in a short period of time; another of the same magnitude could do its jiggle slower, resulting in a mellower roll. And the earths movement could feel less intense on solid bedrock but worse on soft soil. Second, the scientists calculated that any particular California location on average had the chance of feeling an earthquake a minimum of light shaking just twice per decade. And here comes their key finding: An early-warning system that gives you an excellent chance of being alerted to those twice-in-a-decade earthquakes will probably deliver four warnings that turn out to be false within that same time period. Its a small price to pay, said research geophysicist Sarah Minson, if youre talking about something where theres a lot of benefit to be had. For instance, a potentially deadly derailment could be avoided by slowing a train before the predicted shaking is set to arrive, said Minson, lead author of the study, on Thursday at the USGS office in Menlo Park, Calif. On the other hand, if your priority is that any warnings you receive are almost certain to precede shaking, youre far more likely to get no warning at all. For some, the choice will be obvious. Advertisement There are costs to inaction before a big earthquake: You fail to drop, cover and hold on and an unstrapped bookcase tips over and flattens you. A dentist is unable to remove the drill from a patients mouth prior to the shaking. A butcher doesnt have the chance to move away from the deli slicer. Power company workers arent warned in time to hang on to a utility pole. In those cases, its an easy call to opt for an early warning even if it means no shaking comes. When shaking is relatively light, seconds of warning still may provide a sense of comfort for some. On St. Patricks Day in 2014, KTLA-TV anchors were stunned when they felt light shaking defined as Level 4 on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale at their Hollywood studio from a magnitude 4.4 temblor that began in Encino, 10 miles away. Advertisement The quake was scary enough that anchors Megan Henderson and Chris Schauble ducked under their desk. Heres what earthquake magnitudes mean The announcement Earthquake! Were having an earthquake! ended up giving KTLA reporter Eric Spillman in downtown Los Angeles a warning that a temblor had begun and shaking was on its way. Spillman said he felt the ground move seconds later; downtown is farther from Encino than Hollywood is. Advertisement (Shaking produced by an earthquake moves at the speed of sound through rock slower than the speed of todays communications systems.) There are situations where it may not be prudent to act on a seismic warning, given the high cost of action during a false alarm. Starting an emergency shutdown at a nuclear power plant when an alarm sounds probably doesnt make economic sense because an emergency shutdown costs more than $250 million, not including other costs such as the resulting decrease in the lifetime of the reactor, the study said. Seismic warnings can be difficult to calculate because earthquakes all start the same tiny. Although many stay small, a few do end up growing to be monsters. Advertisement Consider the hypothetical example of an earthquake that begins moving along the San Andreas fault near Eureka and heads toward San Francisco, about 200 miles south. Four seconds after the shaking begins, the temblor is a magnitude 6 earthquake. If the quake stopped there, San Francisco probably wouldnt feel a thing. But if the quake lasts at least 20 seconds or so, becoming a magnitude 7, San Francisco could feel at least light shaking Level 4 intensity and would have maybe 48 seconds to prepare for it, Minson said. But say someone only wanted to get a warning for very strong shaking Level 7 in San Francisco. That kind of quake would need to last at least 67 seconds, meaning it has produced enough energy that it has become a magnitude 7.7 earthquake. Waiting for that level of certainty and severity before an alert is sent would give San Francisco only eight seconds to prepare. Advertisement This simulation of a hypothetical earthquake that begins on the San Andreas fault near Eureka, Calif., takes about a minute before shaking arrives 200 miles away in San Francisco. An early warning system set to sound the alarm in San Francisco for w Earthquake warning system will come with some false alarms and missed alerts The USGS has been building an earthquake early warning system on the West Coast for years, and the system is most advanced in the urban areas of California, particularly in the L.A. region and San Francisco Bay Area. Following an influx of federal and state funding, officials hope that by 2021 all 1,115 seismic sensor stations intended for California will be online. The city of Los Angeles recently released a public app for iOS and Android devices, ShakeAlertLA, to warn people in L.A. County when at least light shaking is expected. Another app, produced by Santa Monica-based Early Warning Labs, is expected to be made available to 100,000 test users soon. Advertisement Besides Minson, the study was coauthored by Annemarie Baltay, Elizabeth Cochran, Thomas Hanks, Morgan Page, and Sara McBride of the USGS, Kevin Milner of USC, and Men-Andrin Meier of Caltech. BART has tested the ShakeAlert system, designed to trigger trains to stop in the event of an earthquake, in Oakland. ron.lin@latimes.com @ronlin A yearlong investigation by federal drug agents has resulted in criminal charges against several physicians and other healthcare providers accused of writing bogus prescriptions or selling painkillers and other drugs on the black market. Dubbed Operation Hypocritical Oath a play on the Hippocratic oath taken by doctors the investigation targeted dozens of healthcare professionals in California, Nevada and Hawaii, many of whom came under suspicion because records showed they were prescribing an unusual amount of narcotics, said Bill Bodner, deputy special agent in charge for the Drug Enforcement Agency in Los Angeles. In the end, prosecutors filed charges against nine people, including four doctors. More than two dozen people identified by authorities as street- and wholesale-level drug dealers were also arrested, while about 30 medical professionals lost the right to prescribe drugs. During the investigation, agents confiscated 230,000 counterfeit painkiller pills and $3 million in cash and other assets, officials said Thursday. Opiate dependency and addiction does not discriminate it doesnt matter your occupation, your income or your race, Bodner said at a news conference to announce the arrests. We also dont discriminate. It doesnt matter if youre a member of a local street gang selling counterfeit pills on the corner with a pistol in your waistband or a rogue doctor selling prescriptions in your office with a stethoscope around your neck. If youre fueling the opioid addiction cycle, we will hold you accountable. Advertisement Among those arrested was Reza Ray Ehsan, 60, a Bel Air doctor who was taken into custody Thursday morning on charges alleging he unlawfully sold prescription drugs to an agent posing as a patient. Ehsan is accused in court papers of buying hundreds of thousands of pills of maximum-strength hydrocodone, a powerful painkiller, and other drugs, which he then sold to patients who typically paid in cash or with a credit card. Ehsan is also accused of trying to conceal more than $1 million in cash he deposited in recent years into various bank accounts by making deposits that were just below the $10,000 threshold that triggers a review by financial monitors, according to the indictment. Michael Anthony Simental, 47, of Corona was arrested as well. A doctor at Kaiser Permanente in Riverside, Simental came under scrutiny after one of his patients died of a drug overdose in June, authorities said. A check of records kept by the California Medical Board and Kaiser turned up a history of red flags about Simentals prescribing practices and questions about his sobriety while working, according to authorities. And the husband of the overdose victim told DEA agents he and his wife had become addicted to opioids prescribed by Simental. The doctor would prescribe them whatever drugs they wanted, the man said, according to an affidavit filed in federal court. A review of Simentals prescribing history identified 100 patients who had been prescribed drugs in an unlawful manner, authorities found. Simental and Ehsan could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for Kaiser Permanente said that Simental has been on leave since November and that his patients are being treated by other physicians. Bodner said 15 people who died from drug overdoses had been linked to one or more of the people targeted in the operation. None of those arrested have been charged in connection to any of the deaths. Advertisement As we battle the traditional drug trafficking organizations, we cannot lose sight of fact that some in the medical community are stoking the fires and helping to deepen this crisis, said U.S. Atty. Nicola Hanna. That M.D. after your name does not insulate you from prosecution. If you are selling your prescription pad, if you are diverting drugs to the black market, you are a drug dealer and we will treat you as such. Linda OKeefe was 11 years old when she vanished July 6, 1973, on her way home from summer school in Corona del Mar. Her body, still clad in the flowered white dress that her mother had sewn, was found the next day. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled and her body discarded in the brush. Her case remained unsolved for decades, frustrating detectives and leaving her family in anguish. Then, some scientific breakthroughs led to the arrest this week of a suspect, James Alan Neal. Heres how it happened: Advertisement A DNA profile of a possible suspect in the 1973 slaying of 11-year-old Linda Ann OKeefe was released in 2018. (Newport Beach Police Department) How did DNA help in the case? DNA testing wasnt available when Linda was killed. Instead, investigators tested bodily fluids and blood left at crime scenes for proteins that helped provide clues or narrow a list of suspects. The science eventually became key to the case. Newport Beach detectives in 2018 contacted Parabon NanoLabs, a Virginia-based medical lab, which used DNA from the crime scene to calculate a possible suspects facial composite, gender, ancestry, freckles and skin tone, and eye and hair color. But detectives still couldnt put a name with the computer sketch. They had checked the DNA against databases of convicted felons over the years but continued to come up empty-handed. Where did the genealogical database come in? That changed in January when investigators tapped FamilyTreeDNA.com, a genealogical database that the public can use to search for relatives and ancestors. Private companies that provide ancestry searches from DNA samples submitted by paying participants usually also guarantee privacy for their users. However, customers are alerted to potential matches and can then use the service to connect with possible relatives. Anybody who uploads DNA thinking, Maybe Ill discover a long-lost relative, is running the risk that the DNA will be used in a police investigation, said David Kaye, a lawyer and Pennsylvania State University professor who teaches the law of evidence and applications of forensic science. Advertisement You also run the risk of finding out that one of your known relatives is a killer. An undated photo shows a young James Neal. (AP) As genealogical websites grow in popularity, so does their use as an investigative tool for law enforcement. Genealogical DNA made a major debut as a crime-solving tool last year after authorities announced they had used it to arrest Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., the suspected Golden State Killer, so named for a string of attacks that included more than 50 rapes and at least 13 slayings throughout California from 1974 to 1986. Advertisement Through both traditional DNA and genealogical DNA, we have every opportunity in the world to solve so many of these cold cases that we never had hoped in the past of solving and thats a great thing for our community, Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer said this week. How does the case move forward now? Neal, 72, has been charged with special circumstances murder, kidnapping and lewd and lascivious acts on a minor under 14 in connection with Lindas death. He has not entered a plea. Authorities have released a decades-old photo of him to the public, hoping it will generate new witnesses and leads. Officials in Orange County said the photo may depict what Neal looked like around the time Linda was killed. Californias housing crisis collided with its school funding crisis Thursday, as Oakland teachers went on strike for smaller classes, more nurses and counselors in the schools and wages that will allow them to live in the increasingly expensive San Francisco Bay Area. An estimated 3,000 members of the Oakland Education Assn. hit the picket line at all 86 schools in the district, which has about 36,000 students. They mobilized in the early morning darkness bearing signs that attested to their twin troubles: Keep Teachers in Oakland and Fight for the schools students deserve. For the record: An earlier version of this article stated that there are 600 members of the Madera Unified Teachers Assn. The union has 1,070 members. Eighty-five percent of teachers went on strike, according to union president Keith Brown, and large numbers of students stayed away. Only about 90 students showed up at Oakland High School, which normally has an attendance of about 1,500 students. By midafternoon, the school district had not released attendance numbers on the strikes first day. Katlyn Ready, 25, has been teaching English at Oakland High School for the last three years. She makes about $48,000 a year. A one-bedroom apartment in the city goes for $2,567 a month, according to rentjungle.com. She and her fiance share a studio within walking distance of her campus. Half of her monthly take-home pay goes for rent. Advertisement Ive only been here three years, she said, but Ive already seen so many teachers leaving because they cant afford Oakland. Will Corvin, a second-year Oakland High teacher, hit the picket line with Ready on Thursday morning. He makes an annual $47,400 and shares a three-bedroom, one-bathroom house with three other people. We have to get used to being in the bathroom together, he said. Otherwise we are not getting to work on time. Oakland teacher salaries are among the lowest in the Bay Area, where rents and home prices have risen dramatically since the end of the Great Recession. As a result, the Oakland Unified School District has struggled to retain teachers. At the same time, the district plans to close up to 24 schools because of financial difficulties. Janelle T. Scott, an associate professor of education at UC Berkeley, said teachers who want to work in Oakland schools must move farther and farther away from their campuses, which has a negative effect on their quality of life. Some take multiple jobs to afford to teach in the schools they love. Teaching in the Bay Area used to be a profession for which home ownership was attainable, Scott said. Younger teachers dont even see that as a possibility. But Scott, other education experts and union members were quick to point out that salary is just one of many issues facing schools in California today. And Oakland is not the only district where teachers are mobilizing for smaller classes and better salaries and against charter schools, which they say erode the finances of public school systems. United Teachers Los Angeles went on strike for six days in January, raising similar issues.Their labor action, coming after strikes in other parts of the country, has emboldened teachers unions in California and heightened debate on public school funding and the impact of charters. Advertisement In fact, some UTLA members traveled to Oakland to assist on the first day of the strike. Not surprisingly, Oakland teachers and labor leaders used messaging Thursday that echoed that of their Los Angeles counterparts, with a big emphasis on the common good of the walkout. Students, this strike is to improve education for you, Brown said at a news conference Thursday evening. The Madera Unified Teachers Assn. took a straw poll Wednesday of its members. Close to 100% of the nearly 600 who voted indicated that they were willing to strike if necessary. In an effort to attract and retain qualified teachers, they are asking that their health benefits remain untouched and their salaries increase by 4.75%, according to the California Teachers Assn. Oakland Unified School District teachers use bullhorns as they picket outside Oakland Technical High School. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) The Central Unified School District in Fresno is in mediation with its teachers union, which is organizing in case a strike is necessary, said Judee Martinez, president of the Central Unified Teachers Assn. Salary is only part of the impasse. Advertisement Over the past few years, we have tried to bargain for smaller class size, Martinez said. We have overflow schools. We dont have adequate support for our students counselors, nurses, psychologists, speech therapists. John Rogers, a UCLA education professor who directs the schools Institute for Democracy, Education and Access, sees these labor actions, along with others in Denver and West Virginia, as feeding on one anothers energy, with union members seeing an increase in public support as an opportunity to make their voices heard. I think that theres a lot of pent-up public energy, he said. In the last few years, teachers have felt oftentimes under assault by various different messages that questioned their status, questioned their roles. Weve seen a shift in public opinion. Theres a change afoot that we see, he continued. And I think teachers probably recognize that theres an opening for their ideas to be heard. Advertisement In Oakland on Thursday, teachers voices came across loud and clear. With Motown classics blasting in the background and oatmeal raisin cookies on a card table, teachers at Oakland High School mobilized early. By midmorning they were headed toward downtown with hundreds of other teachers, parents, students and other supporters from throughout the district. They rallied at Frank Ogawa Plaza, many in bright #RedForEd shirts. They were joined by a phalanx of nurses, members of other unions and families with kids in tow. The crowd kept moving, pushing down Broadway, shutting down busy intersections and ending up at the office of the Oakland Unified School District. Guards locked down the lobby of the building in which the district has offices. Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell did not respond to an email request for comment. Advertisement The district has offered the teachers a 5% percent raise over three years, less than the 12% the union is seeking. Becky Pringle, vice president of the National Education Assn., attended the Oakland rally. Shed also traveled to West Virginia, where teachers held a two-day strike, their second in two years. Pringle said teachers in California and West Virginia have similar messages because they have similar problems. She said teachers in West Virginia told her they were being forced out of that state by living costs. The message doesnt need to be coordinated, Pringle said. Its the same story being played out everywhere. She said that whenever she meets with teachers they may start out talking about the pay, I mean five minutes, then they start talking about everything else, such as class size and funding special education Advertisement You better believe its going to continue, she said [West Virginia] became a verb. Dont make me go West Virginia on you. Some Oakland churches opened their doors to students so parents would not have to cross picket lines. At Taylor Memorial United Methodist Church west of downtown, Ira Sandefur came to pick up his two boys, Matthew and Luke, 9 and 11. Sandefur said his boys wanted to go to school Thursday morning, but he does not cross picket lines. He says he sympathizes with the teachers: I can see the teachers are like frustrated, because too many kids you cant watch them all. I think the teachers need a raise. Advertisement Oakland schools will remain open during the strike, with students expected to attend classes, according to the districts website. It is unknown how long the strike may last, but teachers will continue their walkout Friday, according to the union. As in Los Angeles, the labor action is disrupting the lives of thousands of parents, but many seem to be supporting the teachers. Octavio Suarez, who has a 10-year-old daughter in Oakland schools, said he sympathized with the teachers position, but it was difficult to have his child out of class. Its bad, he said. Every four years, aspiring presidential nominees leave behind families, jobs and, frequently, their dignity to prove they are worthy of the votes of everyday people. Senators, governors, million- or billionaires, they traipse through cornfields in Iowa, eat barbecue in South Carolina, get sand between their toes at clambakes in New Hampshire, all in the pursuit of showing they are human beings too. If youve been paying attention, youve probably noticed that this peculiar feature of American political life has already begun. Its called retail politicking, and sometimes the tradition literally involves retail locations: drugstores, bookstores, gift stores. Or, in the recent case of Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris, a clothing store on Lady Street in Columbia, S.C. Advertisement There, after some reporters pointed out a loud jacket, the U.S. senator from California tried it on. It was a vintage sequined thing with shoulder pads that screamed Im from the 80s! Ever the Bay Area pol, she joked that its rainbow colors made it perfect for Pride Week. And then, unfortunately, she bought it.The political reporters covering Harris South Carolina visit tweeted videos and photos of her as she preened in front of a mirror wearing the coat. It was a spontaneous campaign-trail moment, unexpected and a little bit playful. It just so happened that the reporters who witnessed the moment were women, and that they happened to be watching a woman a presumed presidential front-runner doing something a lot of women love to do. It was too much for Very Serious Journalist Brit Hume. This is just embarrassing, tweeted the Fox News anchor. So now journalists are going shopping with Harris, helping pick out clothes and then putting out glowing tweets about it. James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal chimed in: This is a CBS reporter noting, without evident disapproval, that a CNN colleague is helping dress a Democratic candidate shes supposed to be covering. David Martosko of the Daily Mail added: If this is what the 2020 campaign is going to be like, President Trumps complaints about the media could have even more staying power with his base than the last time around. Come on now, fellas. This is the kind of clueless sexism that we can expect to see repeated through the 2020 campaign cycle, particularly as there are so many women running. When it came to Humes arrogant tweet, it wasnt just his sexism on display. Advertisement It was also his hypocrisy, and the pernicious double standard that finds virtue in manly pursuits such as hunting and skydiving and triviality in female pursuits such as shopping. In 2015, a bunch of political reporters, including MSNBCs Kasie Hunt and the New York Times Ashley Parker, went trap shooting with then-aspiring presidential candidate Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina. Parker, who is now with the Washington Post, wrote that she was glad for the diversion. After all, in a world in which politicians are increasingly poll-tested and scripted, it was revealing not to mention refreshing and fun to spend a freewheeling morning with a man who hopes to become the next president of the United States. No one accused those reporters of getting too cozy with Graham. Advertisement Brit Hume of Fox News complained that reporters, who were women, wrote about Sen. Kamala Harris fashion outing. His skydiving with a former president whose son was running for reelection, however, was totally within journalistic bounds .... not. (Joshua Roberts / For The Times) Likewise, in 2004, Hume went skydiving with former President George H.W. Bush to celebrate his 80th birthday. Afterward, Hume touted his exclusive interview with Bush. At the time, you will recall, President George W. Bush was running for reelection. Skydiving with Dad was a blatant publicity stunt for Humes network, and almost forgivable. But when the Very Serious Journalist sat down for his interview, he whiffed: Do you think the criticism of your son has been harsher and more unfair than you felt the criticism was of you? Oh Brit, that was just embarrassing. Advertisement :: On the campaign trail, weird symbiotic relationships develop between reporters and the campaigns. Media critics have used these moments to accuse reporters of going native, that is, of protecting or cozying up to a candidate to maintain access. Mostly, this is an unfair criticism. No reporter wants to be thought of as soft or co-opted. But sometimes, you get caught up in the insanity of spending long hours, days and weeks with a small group of people with adversarial interests who are traveling together in a highly charged environment. Advertisement Small details like what a candidate ate for lunch become ridiculously important. (After all, you never know when such data will provoke a major incident, as when then-presidential candidate John Kerry ordered the wrong kind of fromage on his cheesesteak in Philadelphia.) New York Times reporter Amy Chozick devoted a substantial portion of her brutally honest best-seller Chasing Hillary to the warped relationship she developed with Clintons handlers men, mostly who would freeze her out, berate her or tell her no one respected her work if they didnt like one of her stories. Those tensions were never apparent in her coverage. :: Advertisement Between now and November 2020, there will be countless unscripted moments on the campaign trail. Candidates will be out wooing voters, dragging behind them packs of reporters desperate for anything that smacks of unrehearsed humanity. You cannot attack a reporter for telling you what shes observing. Nor can you take one campaign trail anecdote out of context, as Hume did, and pretend that this is the totality of the candidates news coverage. If the candidate tromps through a pumpkin field in southern Wisconsin with his wife and kids on Halloween, thats what you write about. (I did, with then-Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan.) If the candidate roams through the Iowa State Fair eating pork chops on a stick (they all do at some point), you follow. (In 2011, I chased after former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who was deciding whether to run in 2012, and watched her order deep-fried butter on a stick. Everything she ate that day seemed like a calculated rebuke of then-First Lady Michelle Obamas campaign for healthful childhood eating.) Advertisement Trail reporters dont follow candidates around because they expect to have nuanced discussions about policy, although that occasionally happens. They are out with candidates to make sure their readers and viewers know what would-be presidents are saying, or promising. To make sure that if a candidate breaks news, they catch it. To get a response to an important news event. You want to be there when a vice presidential candidate tests a new attack line accusing her running mates opponent of palling around with terrorists. You want to be there when a candidate says hes visited all 57 states, not because it means the candidate is stupid but because its a measure of his fatigue. Advertisement And maybe you want to be there when a serious presidential candidate who happens to be a woman tries on a colorful coat, and uses the moment to slyly acknowledge LGBT rights. Or is that just too trivial compared to trap shooting and skydiving? This is just embarrassing. So now journalists are going shopping with Harris, helping pick out clothes and then putting out glowing tweets about it. https://t.co/RX2IY0B8JL Brit Hume (@brithume) February 16, 2019 robin.abcarian@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @AbcarianLAT U.S. aid is at the center of a possible showdown in Venezuela, and recent satellite images from along the countrys border with Colombia give a sense of how the crisis is playing out. Two bridges at Cucuta, a Colombian city of 800,000 at the Venezuelan border, provide a kind of backdrop: the Tienditas bridge and the Simon Bolivar International Bridge about four miles to the south. (Priya Krishnakumar/Los Angeles Times) Humanitarian aid destined for the people of Venezuela has been arriving in Cucuta for weeks. Its part of an effort by the U.S. to push out Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his socialist government in favor of the self-proclaimed interim leader Juan Guaido. Advertisement Maduro has accused Washington of mounting a coup and labeled the aid a political tool and a prelude to an invasion. He vowed to keep the aid from entering the country, despite chronic shortages of food and medicine that have already led to tens of thousands of Venezuelans fleeing their country. Dating back to at least January 2017, Venezuelan authorities had barricaded the Tienditas bridge with concrete barriers and fencing, according to DigitalGlobe satellite images. However, two shipping containers and a tanker truck apparently arrived recently, appearing in images from Feb. 11. Venezuelan forces open fire on civilians in clash over aid deliveries (February 2019 satellite image from DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company) Meanwhile, Guaido has pledged that the aid would enter the country by Saturday. Opposition leaders have spoken of unspecified contingency plans to ensure that the aid gets through. Last weekend, before assembled television cameras and a welcome committee of U.S. and Colombian officials and opposition-allied Venezuelans, U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo jets began ferrying hundreds of tons of Venezuela-bound food and medicine into the airport in Cucuta. The aid is being stockpiled in warehouses at the entrance to the bridge, which was finished in recent years but never used for regular cross-border traffic. (February 2019 satellite image from DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company) Advertisement The power struggle in Venezuela was set to become a battle of the bands Friday. British billionaire Richard Branson is sponsoring a Live Aid-style concert featuring dozens of musicians on one side of the border crossing that Colombian officials have renamed the Unity Bridge. Maduros socialist government is promising a three-day festival called Hands Off Venezuela on the other. Advertisement Miles south of the blockade, near the Simon Bolivar International Bridge from Venezuela to Cucuta, a vast collection of market stalls and street vendor stands are open for Venezuelans seeking the items they cant find or cant afford in their own country. The merchants sell potatoes, diapers, toilet paper, tires, Venezuelan cigarettes and other items. Some hold up signs offering cash for bits of gold or silver, even womens hair. Many of the vendors and most of the clients are Venezuelan, among the 30,000 who cross into Colombia every day. But many of those crossing the bridge are joining the exodus of millions who have given up on their homeland and immigrated elsewhere in recent years. Advertisement (February 2019 satellite image from DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company) Graphics and production by Priya Krishnakumar, Colleen Shalby and Chris Keller. Reporting contributed by Mexico City bureau chief Patrick J. McDonnell, special correspondents Chris Kraul in Bogota, Colombia, Mery Mogollon in Caracas, Venezuela, and Liliana Nieto del Rio in Cucuta. Anita Chabria covers California state politics and policy for the Los Angeles Times and is based in Sacramento. Before joining The Times, she worked for the Sacramento Bee as a member of its statewide investigative team, and previously covered criminal justice and City Hall. Editors note: Jussie Smollett was arrested Feb. 21 and charged with a felony for allegedly filing a false police report. Long before the Empire stars current debacle, he and his five siblings were profiled by The Times in 1994 for their then-new ABC sitcom On Our Own, which starred six of the Smollett children as a group of siblings trying to stay together after their parents die. This article ran in The Times on Sept. 18, 1994. Its almost 6 on a Thursday night and the Smollett clan is having that age-old family debate: Will it be Tony Romas or Red Lobster? Jurnee, the 7-year-old of the six-kid family, the one with her hair in natural ringlets and the impish smile, has already cast her vote for waffles. Waffles for dinner? her mother, Janet, grimaces. Advertisement Dinner aside, there isnt much on which the Smollett gang disagrees. In this family, sibling rivalry is out, theyll tell you. We love each other. Were really close, says Jazz, Smollett No. 2, to a chorus of yeahs from the others. JoJo, the eldest, agrees. We get along really well. People say its amazing. Weve been brought up to reject conflict. We think its a waste of time to fight and argue, he says. Indeed, this brood isnt into brooding. They have better things to do like star in their own sitcom, ABCs On Our Own, designed specifically for them. On the show, they play a family of kids left to fend for themselves when their parents are killed in a car crash. Well, not for themselves really. Aunt Jelcinda, their older brother (non-Smollett cast member Ralph Harris) in drag, plays guardian when the authorities are around in order to prevent the kids from being put in foster homes. So, in addition to sharing their parents, Janet and Joel, a devotion to Whitney Houston and their good looks, the Smollett kids have a very large dressing room, strewn with toys, on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, where On Our Own is filmed. And in addition to sharing the same initials theres JoJo, 17; Jazz, 14; Jussie, 12; Jurnee, 7; Jake, who is happily just 5 (When Im 6, I have to get shots, he reminds you) and Jacqui, 1, known as the baby they say they enjoy sharing the limelight. To Jurnee, now digging into a toaster waffle before dinner, the best thing about the show: Being with my brothers and sisters. Aahh, cute, the others coo in unison. The shows real fun because we know each other so well and can play comedy off each other, says talkative Jazz, who seems to be the familys designated speaker. Jussie Smollett, top right, is pictured here with his siblings in a promotional photo for their ABC sitcom, On Our Own. (BOB DAMICO / ABC) Advertisement A timeline of how the Jussie Smollett case unfolded Are the Smolletts ready for all the attention that could come their way other kids dressing like them, talking like them, swarming them? Those are the types of problems we want, says Jussie from under a funky hat. They arent worried about turning out like some wayward former child stars. Weve been brought up to be real strong, so nothing can take us down, Jussie explains. Besides, theyve worked hard for this moment. They started their careers when as young TV watchers in New York, they would see other kids on TV and think, Oh, we can do that, Jazz recalls. With some help from Mom, they did. Jazz became a top child model, JoJo and Jussie did small movie roles, and Jurnee did stints on sitcoms, including Full House. Advertisement But manager-mother Janet has taught them theres more to life than acting. Her kids play sports; they read. On the family reading list: Malcolm X and poetry by Langston Hughes. Our mom just bought us a big ol coloring book, Jake contributes to the others laughter. They also sing. A rap act is in the works, Jurnee squeals, warning her family not to reveal too much. JoJos long-term goal is more political: I want to run for president in 2028. So, Smolletts, are you really this perfect? They just shrug and giggle. Advertisement Janet discloses her parenting secret: We raised them all like theyre only children. Jussie says they like having Mom around at work. Mommys a source of comfort on the set. Inspiration. Their father also comes to visit when he can. Little Jake doesnt need much to be inspired. I like everybody laughing when I say my jolly ol lines, he mugs. And what does baby Jacqui think about being on TV? Cmon Jacqui, the kids huddle around, tickling him, egging him on. Jacqui offers a smile. And a nice big drool. The 12-year-old seemed to burst out of the TV screen with grown-up swagger, his abundant Afro tucked under a derby, punctuating his stride with a smooth dance move. Jussie Smolletts bold appearance in the opening credits of the 1994 sitcom On Our Own was Hollywoods introduction to the future star of Foxs hip-hop drama Empire, who now faces felony charges and feverish backlash for reportedly orchestrating a hate crime against himself. ABCs short-lived comedy also offered a first glimpse at the large and talented Smollett family, including Jurnee Smollett-Bell, who would grow up to score starring roles in WGNs Underground and HBOs True Blood. The six Smollett siblings starred in the sitcom, which lasted 20 episodes. Key people involved with that project who have remained close to Smollett since the launch of his career said Smolletts performance in the innocuous On Our Own and his subsequent turns in Empire and other projects gave no hint he would ever be involved in a plot such as hes now accused of, which threatens to torpedo his promising career. Advertisement Jussie was smart, talented and caring, a great person, said Robert L. Boyett of Miller-Boyett Productions, one of the companies behind On Our Own. The prominent production company churned out numerous landmark comedies from the 1970s through the 1990s, including Mork & Mindy, Full House, Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley. During a phone interview Thursday, Boyett said, The Smolletts are a great family. I know them all, and we have all stayed in touch since our show. Boyett said he is stunned by the current firestorm surrounding Smollett, who has been charged by Chicago police with filing a false police report in which he claimed to have been the victim of a racist, homophobic attack. Two brothers told the police they were acquaintances of Smollett and that he hired them for $3,500 to stage the attack as an attention-generating stunt. FULL COVERAGE: Jussie Smollett Jussie Smolletts booking photo provided by the Chicago Police Department on Feb. 21. (Getty Images) FROM THE ARCHIVES: In 1994, Jussie Smollett and his siblings were ready for the limelight in On Our Own I still cant imagine something like this is happening, Boyett said. I feel that we still dont know everything, that theres another shoe that has yet to fall. I dont know if this may have started out as a stunt or prank. He added, But I know Jussie, and I know he doesnt have a malicious bone in his body. Hes always been a sweet and caring guy. I stand by him. I will always be there for him. Advertisement Even though On Our Own, developed as a vehicle for the Smolletts, had a short life, Boyett said he has fond memories of the series, which for part of its run was tied to ABCs family-oriented TGIF slate. In addition to the children, he was fond of their parents Janet, who is African American, and their late father Joel, who was Jewish. In the show, Jussie, Jurnee, JoJo. Jazz, Jake and Jacqui Smollett played the Jericho family, who were living on their own after their parents.were killed in a car crash. As in real life, the characters played by the siblings ranged from 14 months to 20 years old. Starring as the oldest Jericho sibling in charge of the family was comedian Ralph Louis Harris, who was cast more for his acting chops and experience than for his resemblance to the Smollett brood. Still, Harris said the Smolletts treated him as if he were a family member. I remember when I first walked into the room to meet everybody, it was Jussie and Jurnee who immediately got up from the table to greet me, Harris said in a phone interview Thursday. I will never forget that. They showed me a lot of love from day one. ABC and Miller-Boyett took real good care of us. And the family was so happy because this show was allowing them to live out their dream to work together. And they treated us all like royalty. Advertisement Harmony appears to have always been a centerpiece of the Smollett chemistry. During the filming of On Our Own, the siblings shared a large dressing room filled with toys. Jazz, the second oldest, said in an interview at that time, We love each other. Were really close. Added JoJo, the oldest Smollett, Weve been brought up to reject conflict. We think its a waste of time to fight and argue. Jussie was rarely at the center of the story in the show, but he was always caring about what was happening with the other folks on the show, said Boyett. He was always focused on the set. The young star also seemed to have his priorities in perspective, saying his family would not wind up like other troubled child stars. Weve been brought up to be real strong, so nothing can take us down, Jussie said. Bryshere Gray, from left, Jussie Smollett, Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard appear in a scene from Empire."d his place in his dads music empire. It became one of the biggest network shows to star a gay black character. (Chuck Hodes/FOX via AP) (Chuck Hodes / Fox) Advertisement Jussie Smollett will be written off Empire this season Growing up in New York, the siblings had watched other young people on TV and decided they could do just as well. Their mother became their manager. Jazz became a successful child model, JoJo and Jussie did small movie roles, and Jurnee won roles on sitcoms, including Full House. In a 2016 appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Smollett related how network executives initially didnt quite know what to do with the family. The next thing we know, were in a meeting with ABC. I mean, all these old-ass white men. So we went in, and I dont know why, but we went in and sang Shut Em Down by Public Enemy, Smollett said. But yo, they loved it. Apparently they wanted to shut it down too. But then I guess they didnt like it anymore because they canceled us. They shut us down. Advertisement But the cancellation did not damage their connection. In an interview with People magazine, Jussie spoke of the importance of family meals, describing how the family would gather around a large wooden table built from scratch by their mother. That was the vault, Jussie said. The place where you could say what you wanted. Whether you were happy or frustrated, you could lay it out on the family table. Harris said he has remained connected to the family since the end of On Our Own. Asked about Smolletts current troubles, he declared, Im standing by my brother. I will jump in and fight for him. I will protect him. He added, If he needs any help of any kind, I hope he gets it. No matter how this turns out, theres no way for this to end without him coming out with scars. Before Jussie Smollett took the stage at the Troubadour earlier this month, members of his family came out to address rumors about what had happened just four nights before when their brother reported being attacked by two presumed racists, homophobes and Trump supporters. He fought his attackers that night and he continues to fight, his brother Joel Smollett Jr. said, after denouncing gossip circulating about what happened in Chicago. He didnt get into it any further, and police at that point were treating the alleged assault as a possible hate crime. At the Troubadour, Smollett had the room on his side. Many in the audience gave heartfelt testimony about what the stars resilience meant to them, and to the communities that also felt under attack after the incident. Smollett took the stage to deafening cheers and then played an emotional set that, he said, was an early step in his healing. Now Chicago police say the whole thing may have been a byzantine hoax from the start. On Thursday, Smollett posted bond on a felony disorderly conduct charge for allegedly filing a false police report and could face up to three years in prison. Advertisement For all the many reasons to feel dispirited by this whole situation, its also worth remembering the hundreds of fans who came out to the Troubadour in freezing rain to support Smollett. Empire actor Jussie Smollett leaves Cook County jail after posting bond on Thursday in Chicago. (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Getty Images) A timeline of how the Jussie Smollett case unfolded Chicago police allege that Smollett hired two men to stage the attack and spent the following weeks making a sympathetic case in the media. Police also say that hed allegedly sent an earlier threatening letter addressed to himself at the 20th Century Fox studio. This stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary so he concocted a story about being attacked, Police Supt. Eddie T. Johnson said at a news conference after Smolletts arrest. This announcement today recognizes that Empire actor Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career Bogus police reports cause real harm. They do harm to every legitimate victim whos in need of support by police and investigators, as well as citizens of this city. The Times complete and ongoing coverage surrounding the Empire star. Jussie Smollett performs at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. (Scott Dudelson / Getty Images for ABA) Criminal defense lawyer Mark Geragos said Smollett fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing. But the charges capped a dispiriting pivot in a story that will leave no one feeling better about the future of the movements to combat racism and homophobia in a polarized America. Advertisement If the incident occurred as Chicago police allege, Smollett has burned through the goodwill of every one of his fans and allied activists in a bizarre and cynical attempt to win sympathy. Most will insist that this particular incident not demean or distract from the threats that many marginalized Americans face. That violence is still very real. On Wednesday, news broke that an alleged white nationalist Coast Guardsman had amassed a huge arsenal in a plan to kill Democratic lawmakers and journalists. If Smollett did, in fact, concoct this whole thing as a hoax, it does absolutely nothing to lessen the need for vigilance and justice in the face of real hate crimes (and hateful policies and rhetoric). Believing victims, as should be obvious by now, is about righting the scales of a system thats too often failed them not accepting any story at face value or ignoring evidence as it appears. Advertisement This has, of course, already given ammunition to those who claim that many similar incidents are hoaxes as well. The President, as expected, has already weighed in: [W]hat about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!? he tweeted. Press secretary Sarah Sanders said that this was another sad example of people so quick to want to attack and come after this president. We should all probably expect Jussie Smollett to become shorthand for the thinking that assumes marginalized groups tout victimhood for personal gain. Part of the frustration over this whole situation is that, even in a story with this many twists, the script from here seems so prewritten. That Smollett has already turned into a political cypher speaks to how little anyone can learn from this debacle. The one group of people who will take something real away from all this, though, are the Smollett fans who stood in lines hundreds deep outside the Troubadour that night. I talked to a bunch of them who had traveled across the country for that show. Not even out of pure fandom, but out of a need to stand up and defend an artist who, they reasonably thought, had endured something unimaginable. They got on planes, booked hotels and braved terrible weather to show Smollett they cared about what happened to him, a gay black man in country never short of reminders of how little it regards either, even when they are well-paid celebrities. Advertisement They were cheering for his strength and his vulnerability alike. They were there to show Smollett and those like him that they still had value. That their lives mattered. If it happened the way Chicago police allege, Smollett owes a whole lot of apologies for such a baffling and manipulative stunt. It looks as if hell be written off the next season of Empire. Thats a start. But he probably shouldnt get back onstage or onscreen until he either proves his innocence or makes made some profound amends. If he wants to atone, he can start with everyone who came out to see his concert that night. What they showed up for was real, even if its looking as if his account of the incident wasnt. Advertisement For breaking music news, follow @augustbrown on Twitter. SOFIA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The approaching 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Bulgaria would boost bilateral cooperation, a Chinese official said here on Thursday. Yan Jianqun, Chinese charge d'affaires in Sofia, said Bulgaria was the second country in the world to recognize new China in 1949, and the governments of the two countries would jointly organize a series of events to celebrate this anniversary. This good occasion would also provide a great impetus for further bilateral cooperation in areas such as healthcare, culture and tourism, said Yan who was invited to address the annual meeting of the members of Bulgaria National Association for the Belt and Road. Meanwhile, he expressed satisfaction that in 2018 the friendly relations and cooperation in various fields such as economy, finance and culture have achieved "tremendous successes." In particular, Yan recalled that in July 2018, during the visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Bulgaria and his participation in the seventh leaders' meeting of China and 16 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs), the two countries reached a number of important consensuses on cooperation in different areas. Yan underlined that the two countries are now actively communicating on the preparation for the establishment of the Global Partnership Center of CEECs and China in Bulgaria. What is Democracy? is not only the title of the thought-provoking documentary from writer-director Astra Taylor, but the big question posed to most of the films interview subjects, a wide and diverse swath that ranges from academics, theorists and politicos to everyday kids and adults. The definitions of democracy proposed here are as expansive as the respondents themselves: Justice for everybody!, Freedom!, Self-rule! and so on. The chief takeaway: One of the key words in our political language may be more open to interpretation and subjectivity and clear-cut parameters than we ever realized. But that doesnt make the movie any less meaningful or cogent. In fact, it may make it even more valuable, especially in light of these current, deeply divided times in which longstanding norms of institutional democracy are being put through the wringer both domestically and abroad. Taylor (Zizek!, Examined Life) thus asks us to reexamine ancient and more recent history in an effort to understand how we ended up with a world in which, its posited here, the social body is being sawed apart and democracy has been co-opted by corporations and special-interest groups. Hint: It didnt happen overnight. Advertisement Taylor and her cameras travel the globe, focusing largely on the U.S. and Greece, in a kind of philosophical search for truths if not the truth about democracy, which the filmmaker dubs an ideal and a reality, a rousing aspiration and a devastating disappointment. The film, which holds together quite well even if its not that specifically structured, bears out Taylors assessment in captivating and persuasive fashion. Woven throughout the movie, as a running commentary, is Taylors stop in Siena, Italy, for a visit with researcher-activist-educator Silvia Federici, who offers docent-like illumination of the 14thcentury fresco The Allegory of Good and Bad Government. This colorful, heavily symbolic civic mural by Ambrogio Lorenzetti contrasts themes of justice and tyranny in ways that disturbingly resonate today. That modern banking originated in Italy adds a vital dimension to Federicis articulate dissection. Trips to Raleigh, N.C., and Miami net an array of vivid, at times powerful thoughts on such topics as equality, economic disparity, classism and responsibility from such observers as pastor-activist Rev. William J. Barber II (he also founded the Moral Mondays movement), who gives a barn-burner of a rally speech; longtime, now-retired North Carolina General Assembly member Henry M. Mickey Michaux Jr.; a group of emergency room doctors; a hair cutter and ex-con who imparts smart, unique perspective from his time behind bars; a Guatemalan seamstress who tears up over President Trumps attitude toward immigrants; and a group of public school students with fairness on their minds. Elsewhere, were treated to the soaring, scholarly stylings of activist-philosopher (and author of 2004s Democracy Matters) Cornel West; UC Berkeley professor and political theorist Wendy Browns imposing intellectualism; and an exciting lecture by famed social justice advocate Angela Davis, each of whom deliver prismatic takes on the notion of democracy. Taylor, often seen here on camera in interview mode, also devotes a stirring amount of time to her journey to Greece (home to that cradle of democracy Athens), wherein she movingly covers Syrian and other Middle Eastern refugees arriving on the countrys shores (including gripping memories from a young Syrian woman) as well as the effects of the nations recent debt crisis. There are also intriguing chats with former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou; Course to Freedom political party chief Zoe Konstantopoulou; and Efimia Karakantza, an assistant professor of ancient Greek literature. And lets not forget the prescient quotes from seminal Greek philosopher Platos Socratic dialogue The Republic that are provocatively peppered throughout the film. It all adds up to a kaleidoscopic, somewhat random, yet always involving approach to a major concept that, despite the wealth and breadth of Taylors offerings here, feels like just the first step in surveying anew where democracy stands and falls in our present universe. But what a crucial first step it is. ------------- Advertisement What is Democracy? In English, Greek, Arabic and Spanish with English subtitles Not rated Running time: 1 hour, 47 minutes. Playing: Starts Feb. 22, Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills; Feb. 25-26 only, Laemmle Royal, West Los Angeles; Laemmle Town Center 5, Encino; Laemmle Playhouse 7, Pasadena Advertisement ------------ See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour Movie Trailers calendar@latimes.com Advertisement @LATimesMovies Essence on Thursday held its 12th Black Women in Hollywood luncheon an annual ceremony that recognizes four of Hollywoods brightest black actresses on a morning clouded by Jussie Smolletts arrest after allegedly staging his own assault. (Smolletts attorney has maintained his clients innocence, and the actor posted bail before returning to the set of his Fox show Empire late in the day.) Honoree Jenifer Lewis was the only person to remark on the news, and she did so in her trademark dramatic fashion. I was asked on the carpet so many times, What do you think, Ms. Lewis? she began. I said, I have no comment. Today is a day to celebrate. But this is what you will be hearing tomorrow. Before you lie to us, she began to sing. Remember Rosa sat on that bus. Before you tell your tale, remember Mandela sat in that jail. Before you do anything, remember Dr. Martin Luther King. Before you connive and steal, I dare you to google Emmett Till. Advertisement Before another dawn after this mess, she continued soberly. Before another dawn, and I speak to everyone, remember whose shoulders you stand on. Honorees Regina Hall, left, KiKi Layne, Amandla Stenberg and Jenifer Lewis attend the 2019 Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards luncheon at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Feb. 21 in Los Angeles. (Rich Polk / Getty Images for Essence) The luncheon, hosted by Kelly Rowland, was held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. In addition to Lewis, Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall and KiKi Layne were honored. Former Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Elaine Welteroth introduced The Hate U Give star Stenberg, who spoke directly to the room of black women. I want to take today to express gratitude for the legacy of women I come from who have stored the richest learnings in their bodies and passed them down through their blood and their mentorship, she said. I thank you for the gift of your eternal guidance, the sway in your walk that I have learned to mimic and then embody and the divinity that runs through your veins that I am so grateful to inherit. Oscar nominee Regina King introduced her If Beale Street Could Talk costar Layne with tears in her eyes. In so many ways, I feel like KiKi could really be my daughter, she said. The honesty that she brings to her performance is what makes actors so good at their jobs... It means the world to me to be a part of her artistic journey. People ask me all the time how has all of this been, my whole life is changing and its really exciting, Im so very thankful, but its also extremely terrifying, said Layne, choking back tears. This award, in addition to showing me who is already around me, it also reminds me of who has come before and all of the people who have sacrificed so I can be here, days away from my first Academy Awards ceremony representing a James Baldwin adaptation. Advertisement Sanaa Lathan introduced Hall, whom she first met on the set of 1999s The Best Man. She also teared up as she described Hall as a consistent and unconditional friend. Hall, who infused her speech with her signature humor, described her career as consistent, but likened it to a slow-filling bathtub. I never had a quantum leap that was overnight, but theres so much that you learn in the journey, and so Im grateful for that. Dreamgirls stars Sheryl Lee Ralph and Loretta Devine introduced Lewis, playfully mocking her dramatic manner of speaking and riffing off the teleprompter. Advertisement Thirty-five years, said Ralph, gesturing at both Devine and Lewis. If I needed a kidney... She would die, said Devine. They were also joined onstage by Lewis adopted daughter Charmaine. Before mentioning Smollett, Lewis revealed her tough journey to the spotlight, which included growing up in poverty and battling depression, sex addiction and mental illness. My greatest achievement was growing to be this happy, she said. My greatest achievement was growing to care. My greatest achievement is this child. I did something. Advertisement How did little Jenny Lewis touch bliss? Well guess what I did, I looked in the mirror and took responsibility for every choice I had made, was going to make and was making at that second. Stop pointing the finger at others, and that includes this administration. You take care of whats right in front of you and make a difference in this world. Are we clear? This is not a column about Jussie Smollett. I do not know the man except as a star of Empire, cannot confirm what he did or did not do, have no idea why he or anyone involved would or wouldnt do such a thing. Just like, you know, most of America. I know Smollett has been charged with, which is not to say convicted of, making a false police report in which he claimed he was assaulted in ways that seemed to indicate a hate crime. I know that Smollett continues to deny this and that the Chicago police chief appeared sure enough of his case to publicly condemn the actor for smearing the reputation of his town, which is not something I had realized Smollett had done. But why shouldnt the police chief put a personal spin on the story? For weeks, every media platform available to humans in 2019 has experienced a Grand Mal seizure as millions vented their changing but strongly held convictions and others made political hay of it all. From the moment police released details of the report Smollett filed on Jan. 29, in which he claimed that he had been attacked by two men yelling racist and homophobic comments who put a rope around his neck, chemicals on his skin and yelled This is MAGA country, many, many people were deeply upset. About a lot of things. Racism, homophobia, the presidents reluctance to call out white supremacists, and, apparently, the notion that Chicago is a place where a hate crime could occur. Advertisement Which makes sense. The report of the alleged attack was deeply upsetting for all of those reasons. We are living, after all, in a post-Charlottesville America. en reports of white supremacists marching with torches on the campus of the University of Virginia emerged a year and a half ago, it seemed unbelievable. But it was happening and only got worse. In light of such things, the fact that a young black gay man known for his portrayal of same on a hit show saying he had been attacked by men voicing similar sentiments seemed shocking but believable. FULL COVERAGE: Jussie Smollett In Charlottesville, Va., however, the reports were quickly, and tragically, verifiable. The actions Smollett reported to the police were not. A crime report is not fact; it is a report that requires investigation, and police investigations take time. And time is not something we have any patience with any more. Moments after the report was made public, the outrage machine known as social media hit Defcon 1. Having learned nothing from the walked-back accusations made against Covington (Ky.) High students, many folks, including a few prospective presidential candidates, jumped on the MAGA reference and denounced the attack as proof of the culture of hate that the presidents campaign slogan represents. News media quickly reported the reaction and the punditry class raced to catch up. Advertisement Except, of course, there was at the time no proof, of the comment or the attack. And, for the record, there is still no public proof of anything, save our increased willingness to make definitive public proclamations about situations that we literally know nothing about. Willingness may actually be too timid a word social media, and its increasingly intimate relationship with news media, demands that people with a presence on either weigh in immediately on potentially incendiary issues with escalating amounts of fury. Those who dont, risk being condemned as cowardly or somehow complicit. Where is your outrage?? How can you ignore an important story about which few facts are known? For a culture that still devours detective novels and police procedurals at an alarming rate, that has resurrected Sherlock Holmes in a half-dozen modern guises, we are quick to dispose of the guiding principal of the genre: Do not theorize without sufficient data. Advertisement We are doing it even now. Many folks are tripping over themselves to walk back earlier comments, confessing that the story actually seemed a bit fishy to them at the time. Others are using the storys latest twist to decry identity politics and the culture of victimization. As if racism, homophobia and hate crimes were a myth. Hate crimes happen. Charlottesville happened. But wearing a MAGA hat is not a crime, and people do so for a variety of reasons just like people wear Che Guevera T-shirts for a variety of reasons. The Jussie Smollett story is no longer just about him; its about us too. Yes, he used the media in ways that most people cannot most crime victims cant get Don Lemon on the phone or a spot on morning TV. But that is true of many high-profile people, including Roger Stone. There will be plenty of time to judge who is at fault in Smolletts case when the case goes to trial. Meanwhile, we should consider what it means in this moment. The 24-hour news cycle long ago devolved into four hours worth of actual reported news to 20 hours worth of opinion, argument and postulating, often about what is happening on social media. Advertisement Which is, frankly, an apoplectic, apocalyptic landscape of cultural and political lawlessness in which breaking news and illuminating insight is squinched between Russian manipulation, cyber bullying and complaints about whoever is farting too much in line at some random Target. Seriously, if social media were romaine lettuce, it would have been recalled by now. No, not all of it is contaminated by E. coli, but some of it is, so why take the risk? But theres no going back. Outrage isnt new, but being able to voice it publicly and having it taken seriously is. New and scary and exhilarating and important. Important enough that it shouldnt be rushed. Important enough that we should do everything we can to prevent it being manipulated. Whoever committed a crime in the Smollett case should be held accountable for his or their actions. Just like the rest of us. Advertisement mary.mcnamara@latimes.com @marymacTV Come hell or high water, the 2019 Academy Awards will go on this Sunday. This years embattled production has been beset by a series of missteps from announcing and scrapping a popular-film category, naming and losing host Kevin Hart and reversing a widely unwelcome decision to announce some of the winners during commercial breaks. Despite all that, the now somewhat crowd-sourced television special will still proceed to honor achievements in film over the past year. Whether the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences acknowledges its role in the blunders remains to be seen, but weve kept up with all the developments and break some of them down below. Advertisement FULL COVERAGE: Countdown to the 2019 Oscars What time is the show and where can I watch it? The 91st Academy Awards will again be held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC at 5 p.m. Pacific. The show usually runs about three hours but can go over, so set those DVRs past 8 p.m. if you really want to know which film won best picture without getting a news alert or a second news alert correcting a La La Land-like blunder. Oscars-centric programming begins on the network much earlier. On the Red Carpet at the Oscars begins at 1:30 p.m. Pacific, and Oscars Opening Ceremony: Live From the Red Carpet kicks off at 3:30 p.m. The Oscars will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide and will also be streamed live in select markets via abc.com or with the ABC app, but will require credentials for a participating TV provider. "The #Oscars nominees and winners make a statement about film, yes, but also who we are now and who we want to become, and that statement is now what we talk about, ratings be damned." More from @MaryMacTV: https://t.co/ngMzcH4EI8 pic.twitter.com/PRFqdfx1PM LAT Entertainment (@latimesent) February 19, 2019 Who is hosting? Its a thankless job, but nobodys gotta do it. The Academy Awards is going commando for the first time in 30 years, as The Times Lorraine Ali puts it. There will be no big name steering the festivities for home audiences this year, which has many speculating that the show will lean heavily on musical performances which werent immune to controversy either and producers star-studded presenter lineup. Comedian Kevin Hart was announced as host in December, only to swiftly step down from his duties after past homophobic jokes and tweets resurfaced. The film academy reportedly attempted to lure him back, but he refused, and it did not succeed in securing other hosts. Advertisement Any chance a well-known let alone well-liked host could buoy the telecast from last years all-time low ratings were scrapped when ABC confirmed last week that the show would proceed without an emcee. Not even assembling the Avengers or most of them and Captain Marvel could save telecast. Though, if the Grammys are to be followed, theres a chance Michelle Obama could... What we do know is that the show will be produced by Donna Gigliotti and longtime co-producer and director Glenn Weiss, the same guy who directed the telecast for the past three years and proposed to his girlfriend during the Emmys in September. Their production team includes six returning Oscars veterans, namely lighting director Robert Dickinson, who commemorates his 30th Oscars ceremony this year. Whats nominated? The nominees for the 91st Oscars are celebrated at a luncheon held at the Beverly Hilton on Feb. 4. (Film Academy / Getty Images) The film academy achieved a series of historical firsts when the nominees were announced in 24 categories last month. The British period comedy The Favourite and Alfonso Cuarons nostalgic Roma tied for the most nominations with 10 apiece. The latter made history by earning Netflix its first best-picture nomination. Advertisement Meanwhile, the beloved superhero film Black Panther also had a historic day, earning Marvel Studios its first best-picture nomination and became the first comics-based film to earn a nod in that field. Spike Lee scored his first nomination as a director for BlacKkKlansman, Romas Yalitza Aparicio became the first indigenous woman nominated for best actress and The Wife star Glenn Close became the most nominated living actor to never win an Oscar. There were plenty of snubs and surprises too, but heres a breakdown of some of the major categories: Advertisement The Times Glenn Whipp and Jen Yamato break down the 2019 Oscar nominations and analyze what the Motion Picture Academy got right... and what they got wrong. Our predictions Times film critics Kenneth Turan and Justin Chang weighed in with their predictions of what will win this year and what should win in 10 key categories. (Spoiler alert: Black Panther should win best picture, but Roma will likely take the top prize.) Oscars: Watch the key scenes that helped these stars land nominations Who is performing? Producers have locked in a series of live performances to move along the telecast performances that reportedly were off the table mere weeks ago. Advertisement Most of this years Oscar-nominated songs will be sung, and Bette Midler, plus Queen with Adam Lambert, have joined the performance roster. The iconic English rock band, the subject of best-picture contender Bohemian Rhapsody, will open the show with Lambert on the mic. The films star, Rami Malek, is up for an Oscar for his portrayal of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. Midler was revealed as the surprise special guest who will perform The Place Where Lost Things Go, originally sung by Emily Blunt in Disneys Mary Poppins Returns. So, (drum roll) Ladies and Gentlemen, I will be chanteusing (that's singing) on the Oscars on Feb 24...the nominated song from "Mary Poppins"..."The Place Where Lost Things Go" ...so excited!! Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) February 17, 2019 Advertisement Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? We welcome @QueenWillRock and @adamlambert to this year's #Oscars!https://t.co/7uDf42FbjJ The Academy (@TheAcademy) February 18, 2019 Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper will duet on Shallow from A Star Is Born, likely changing up her Mother Monster-inspired outing at the Grammys earlier this month. Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson will sing Ill Fight from RBG, and Gillian Welch and David Rawlings will perform When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Unfortunately, All the Stars, Kendrick Lamar and SZAs Oscar-nominated duet from Black Panther, will not be performed during the telecast despite earlier reports indicating that all five nominated songs would be sung. Its still unclear if and how the omission will be addressed. Advertisement Whos presenting? 2018 Oscar winners Sam Rockwell, left, Frances McDormand, Allison Janney and Gary Oldman will be among this years presenters. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Nominees, past winners, A-listers and up-and-comers will be taking the stage in lieu of a host this year. As usual, the previous years acting winners will be among this years presenters, so expect to see Sam Rockwell, Frances McDormand, Allison Janney and Gary Oldman onstage again. On Wednesday the academy announced that the best-picture nominees will be introduced by Barbra Streisand, Queen Latifah, Serena Williams and Congressman John Lewis, among others. Advertisement The rest of the presenters are below: Awkwafina Jose Andres Javier Bardem Angela Bassett Chadwick Boseman Dana Carvey Emilia Clarke Daniel Craig Laura Dern Chris Evans Tina Fey Elsie Fisher Danai Gurira Bryan Tyree Henry Samuel L. Jackson Stephan James Allison Janney Michael B. Jordan Michael Keaton Keegan-Michael Key Brie Larson KiKi Layne Jennifer Lopez Diego Luna James McAvoy Melissa McCarthy Frances McDormand Helen Mirren Jason Momoa Tom Morello John Mulaney Mike Myers Trevor Noah Gary Oldman Sarah Paulson Tyler Perry Amy Poehler Krysten Ritter Paul Rudd Sam Rockwell Maya Rudolph Amandla Stenberg Charlize Theron Tessa Thompson Pharrell Williams Constance Wu Michelle Yeoh Anything else? There sure is! Weve got plenty of coverage to keep you in the know throughout Oscars night. Visit latimes.com/oscars for the latest. In Anton Chekhovs Three Sisters, Olga, Masha and Irina, richly cultivated siblings languishing in a provincial military town a year after the death of their general father, long for their old life in Moscow. To Moscow, they perennially cry, as though dreaming an impossible dream. Why doesnt someone get a carriage and drop them off at the train station? This question leads to the artistic heart of Chekhov, a writer who was drawn to the gap between the idealized futures we concoct for ourselves and the much shabbier reality that is our lives. Brazilian director, writer and filmmaker Christiane Jatahy explores this discrepancy to ingenious effect in What If They Went to Moscow? The production, which runs through Sunday at REDCAT, is part of a trilogy of multimedia investigations of classics that includes Julia (inspired by August Strindbergs Miss Julie) and The Walking Forest (loosely based on Shakespeares Macbeth). The audience for What If They Went to Moscow? is divided into two groups: one that witnesses the actors perform this 90-minute deconstruction of Chekhovs play in the theater, another that experiences a carefully orchestrated live feed of the performance on screen. Advertisement The groups switch places after a lengthy interval that turns this offering into a four-hour event. The time not wasted in the logistical break is well spent. Moving with bubbling vigor, the production has the ingredient that even the most audaciously postmodern Three Sisters requires: a trio of actresses who can lure you into the labyrinths of their inner selves. (The production uses supertitles when the cast members, who are fairly adept in English, speak in Portuguese.) Isabel Teixeira plays Olga, the eldest daughter who, not having a husband or children of her own, assumes the role of the sisters late mother. Julia Bernat is Irina, the youngest and most plaintively restless, whose 20th birthday has occasioned the festive gathering that turns tumultuously soul-searching. And Stella Rabello portrays unhappily married Maria, a romantic thundercloud of a woman, neurotic yet savagely loving. I first experienced the piece in the theater, where the atmosphere (though meticulously organized) lends an impression of improvisational looseness. The activity onstage is overlapping, dispersing our attention. Orange juice is poured; bottles of vodka, champagne and red wine are opened. Irina strums a moody number on an electric guitar. Cake is cut. Olga, ever catering to her guests onstage and in the audience, serves homemade snacks. Maria, brooding in a corner, threatens to leave early. Dancing breaks out. Theatergoers are invited to join the party. Time passes as though nothing consequential is happening, but in Chekhov this is precisely when existence asserts itself. We may recount our lives as though they are a series of narrative climaxes, but its in the interstices that we mostly live. Waiting for the future to arrive, for promises to be realized (or definitively dashed), for transformation to miraculously materialize. While largely confining the action to the first act of Chekhovs drama, Jatahy plays catch-up in the final movement of her free-form riff. The men in the sisters lives, a reliable source of distress, are portrayed with quiet finesse by company members who move around video equipment and help keep the show technically and musically on track. The plot, however, is less important than the internal processing of the women, whose affectionate bonds with one another allow them to withstand the disappointments that rain down on them. The theater performance regularly underscores the immediacy of whats occurring. The date and time at the start and the end of the piece are announced. Theres mention of contemporary Brazilian politics (and the rise of fascism on the world stage). Characters wonder aloud about the present-tense quality of the past. The elusive nature of change how do we stop talking about it and finally initiate it? is taken up as a collective quandary. None of the temporal philosophizing, however, has the power of the physical presence of the actors, their soulful earthiness, the shadowy light of their inhabited bodies. It is the felt life that Chekhov brings us, the living theatrical record of emotion that says these characters are once again here among us, eating, wishing, loving, crying, enduring. The cinematic version of the piece, presented in REDCATs gallery space, focuses the storytelling by tuning out activity, making us privy to conversations not visible or audible in the theater and homing in through closeups on the tears and furrowed brows of the actors. Details are filled in even as larger connections (among the entire cast and between the company and the spectators) are sacrificed for specificity. Advertisement These are complementary rather than competitive experiences. Whats astonishing is the lack of redundancy in the nearly exact halves, a credit to the fresh vitality of the acting and the rich discipline of Jatahys scripted coordination. Richard Gilman, perhaps the most incisive American critic of Chekhov, argues in Chekhov: An Opening Into Eternity that just as Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot is about how the tramps fill up their time while waiting for the title character who never arrives, Three Sisters is about how the sisters live while not getting to Moscow. Why they dont get to Moscow is, then, a question only to those for whom everything in art, as in life, is utility, satisfaction, recompense, and everything not seized and exploited, all that doesnt work to our ostensible advantage, is defeat. The play, Gilman writes, proposes other values, chief among these an acceptance of mystery in this drama of inconclusiveness. Jatahy recognizes this wisdom while sharing the desperate longing of Chekhovs characters to make a better world than the one that currently exists. The production maintains the metaphysical long view while administering the gentle reproach that Russian writer Maxim Gorky heard in Chekhovs compassionate art: You live badly, my friends. It is shameful to live like that. Advertisement Christiane Jatahy: What If They Went to Moscow? Where: REDCAT, 631 W 2nd St., L.A. When: 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday; ends Sunday Tickets: $20- $30 Information: (213) 237-2800, REDCAT.org Advertisement Running time: 4 hours charles.mcnulty@latimes.com Follow me @charlesmcnulty Naima J. Keith, the California African American Museums deputy director and chief curator, is headed to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as vice president of education and public programs. Its a great time of change for LACMA, and Im really excited to be a part of it, said Keith, who takes her post April 1. Keith joined CAAM in February 2016 and is credited with transforming a then-sleepy museum in L.A.s Exposition Park into a must-visit destination known for popular, spirited art openings. Visitorship has doubled from nearly 55,000 in 2015 to more than 100,000 in 2018. The museums collection went through growth spurts as well under Keith. In 2016, collector and Art + Practice co-founder Eileen Harris Norton donated 10 works by artists including Gary Simmons, Yinka Shonibare, Kianga Ford and Albert Chong. In March, it received a gift of 32 paintings, sculptures and mixed media works from L.A. collector, scholar and artist advocate Gordon W. Bailey. Advertisement And just CAAMs visibility in the city, and press wise, has grown, said Keith, who previously had been a curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem and also worked at the Hammer Museum in L.A. It wasnt nonexistent before, but it wasnt this consistently reviewed. So why leave? I was brought into CAAM, in a lot of ways, to really rethink the exhibition programming and bring new audiences to the museum and work with George to reinvigorate the museum, Keith said, referring to Executive Director George O. Davis. And I do feel like Ive been able to make some in-roads in doing that. LACMA Director Michael Govan released a statement that said Keith brings a wealth of experience in engaging a broad range of audiences from her curatorial and educational projects and initiatives. We value our ongoing collaborations with CAAM, including our partnership in hosting concurrent exhibitions related to Charles White this season. Under Keiths guidance, CAAM organized well-regarded installations and exhibitions including Simmons Fade to Black, still up in its atrium, as well as Shinique Smiths Refuge and Genevieve Gaignards Smell the Roses. The museum also brought in traveling exhibitions. We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-85, is a highlight of Keiths tenure at CAAM, she said. That was a big deal a highly lauded exhibition that was open at the Brooklyn Museum, Keith said. It was an opportunity for CAAM to enter into a national dialogue about artists working at this time, and for us to assert the importance of the West Coast in a lot of these artists careers. Keith has directed CAAMs educational programming, such as lectures and gallery discussions, the last three years. The opportunity to do that at LACMA was especially appealing to her. Advertisement Im from L.A., and the work theyre doing in Magic Johnson Park or Watts Towers or Charles White Elementary School, this is a real moment for them for innovation and creativity and experimentation. And Im excited about being part of the conversation about LACMA in the city, Keith said. CAAM will start the search for a new deputy director as quickly as possible, Davis said. Naima was fantastic, he said. She changed the museum from one catering to people over 50 and not that relevant outside of the African American community and even within some parts of the African American community. He called Keith the face of the creative side of the museum, and said CAAM will continue in her direction more relevant, more cutting edge, more contemporary art. Advertisement Keiths last day at CAAM is March 8. deborah.vankin@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter: @debvankin In the face of moral ambiguity, what does integrity look like? This week, promising shows from the intimate theater scene include a hip-hop-infused drama with a Black Lives Matter story line at the Fountain, a re-imagined classic farce at City Garage, a drama about local racial tensions staged in downtown L.A. and Tuesdays With Morrie in Sierra Madre. All touch on tests of character that define personal identity and remind us that we can do better. Hype Man at the Fountain The essentials: Poised on the brink of stardom, a white rapper, his black hype man and their female mixed-race beat maker find their partnership strained to the limits after a police shooting. Friendship and career ambitions collide with social conscience and personal demons in the West Coast premiere of Idris Goodwins music-infused break beat play. Why this? The Fountain Theatre continues its stellar track record of outreach with this keenly observed immersion in hip-hop culture and the social conditions that animate it. Rap fans may appreciate the plays dialogue and sensibility (playwright Goodwin is also an MC), yet theres insight for all in the creative process and realities of the music business. Details: Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles. 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays; ends April 14. $40-$45. (323) 663-1525, www.fountaintheatre.com Advertisement The Bourgeois Gentleman at City Garage The essentials: Molieres equal-opportunity satire skewers nouveau riche pretension and aristocratic snobbery in this revival of City Garages acclaimed 2008 production. Featuring choreography and music inspired by the original 1670 staging but adapted and re-imagined for the present by director Frederique Michel and designer Charles Duncombe, the piece charts the risque antics and misadventures of a social-climbing fop manipulated by con artists and neer-do-wells. Why this? Though best known for stylish but challenging, sometimes impenetrable avant-garde material, Michel and her City Garage team have also demonstrated an impressive facility with classical farce and the comic ballet style of Moliere in particular. Times reviewer David C. Nichols praised the original production as nominally avant garde, mainly an unguarded hoot. For a centuries-old romp about a clueless vulgarian with delusions of grandeur, this one seems especially on point. Details: A City Garage production at 26th Street Arts Center, Bergamot Building T1, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays; ends April 7. $25 (Sundays are pay what you can). (310) 453-9939, www.citygarage.org City Garages The Bourgeois Gentleman with, from left, Danny Hackin, Angela Beyer, Bo Roberts, Carina Conti and Peerada Meemalayath. (Paul M. Rubenstein) THEATER: Celebration, Ruskin and other picks from last weeks 99-Seat Beat Canyon at LATC The essentials: Set in a newly gentrified Southern California neighborhood before the 2016 election, Jonathan Carens new drama uses the aftermath of a home remodeling accident to expose the socioeconomic fault lines in our melting pot ideals. An affluent white couple expecting their first child, a crusading black public defender and his career-sacrificing wife, and a father-son team of Mexican day laborers all find their values tested and falling short as best intentions give way to mistrust, prejudice and self-interest. Without resorting to heavy-handed rhetoric, Carens play humanizes the hidden tensions underlying policy debates over immigration and equality. Why this? With its insight into local demographics and implicit call for understanding and perspective to transcend fear and bridge differences, Carens script is well suited to this collaborative fusion of innovation and tradition between the up-and-coming Iama Theatre Company collective and the well established Latino Theater Company. Brooklyn-based director Whitney White places the audience around and practically on top of the performers, bringing the action up close and personal. Details: An Iama/Latino Theater co-production at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles. Opens Thursday. Performances 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays, through March 24. $38. (866) 811-4111, www.thelatc.org Advertisement Brandon Scott, left, and Geoffrey Rivas in Canyon. (Robert Mahaffie) Tuesdays With Morrie in Sierra Madre The essentials: Journalist Mitch Albom and playwright Jeffrey Hatchers stage adaptation of Alboms bestselling memoir dramatizes conversations with his former college professor, Morrie Schwartz, shortly before the latters death from Lou Gehrigs disease. An engaging raconteur and mentor, Schwartz faces terminal illness with bravery and humor. Why this? In another cross-pollination between local companies, the production is directed by the MET Theatres longtime artistic director, L. Flint Esquerra. The play stars Group Reps co-artistic director Larry Eisenberg as Morrie and Sierra Madre Playhouse regular Jackson Kendall as his student in life lessons. Details: Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays, through March 31. Dark March 17, additional performance March 18. $40 (March 18 is pay what you can). (626) 355-4318, www.sierramadreplayhouse.org Advertisement Jackson Kendall, left, and Larry Eisenberg in Sierra Madre Playhouses Tuesdays With Morrie. (Gina Long) The 99-Seat Beat appears every Friday. Our reviewers shortlist offerings with an emphasis on smaller venues. Some recommendations are shows weve seen; others are based on the track record of the company, playwright, director or cast. Support our coverage of local artists and the local arts scene by becoming a digital subscriber. See all of our latest arts news and reviews at latimes.com/arts. As social media companies wrestle with how to police dangerous health misinformation on their platforms, Pinterest Inc. has taken an extreme approach: blocking search results related to vaccinations, whether the results are medically accurate or not. Meanwhile, the San Francisco company has filed confidentially for a U.S. initial public offering, according to a person familiar with the matter. The site on which users post and look for pictures of things that interest them could list toward the end of June, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the details werent public and who cautioned that the plan could still change. Pinterest told the Wall Street Journal that it has been suppressing search results on the topic of vaccinations since December and will continue to do so until it finds a reliable solution to protect Pinterest users from harmful and misleading content. Pinterest searches about vaccines had been dominated by results that bucked long-standing scientific research and guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by claiming vaccinations were hazardous. Users of the photo-sharing site can still pin this kind of material to their personal boards, even though it wont surface in searches. Advertisement Its better not to serve those results than to lead people down what is like a recommendation rabbit hole, Ifeoma Ozoma, Pinterests public policy and social impact manager, told the Wall Street Journal this week. The World Health Organization recently named vaccine hesitancy as one of the biggest global health threats of 2019. The designation comes as the United States grapples with a sudden resurgence of measles, a disease that was declared eliminated in 2000 by the CDC due to extensive use of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. More than 100 cases have cropped up since the beginning of the year more cases than the United States saw in all of 2016. Medical professionals and lawmakers have been pressuring companies such as Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.s Google to take action against anti-vaccination content in the name of public safety. But although these companies agree they have a responsibility to protect the public, finding solutions that tread the line between safety and censorship has proved to be a complex challenge. As most companies have taken a more hands-off approach to the problem, citing free speech issues, Pinterests tactic of banning all vaccine-related content from search results stands out as a radical alternative, one that makes it tougher for users to find accurate information about vaccinations even as the company seeks to protect them. Since 2017, Pinterest has barred misinformation about health that might have immediate and detrimental effects on users health and greater public safety. The company monitors which searches bring up largely polluted results that violate its policies and then stops serving results for those searches. Along with anti-vaccination material, Pinterest has blocked misleading content about chronic and terminal illnesses, such as bogus cancer cures. The site also actively looks for content that violates its community guidelines, evaluating it based on advice from institutions like the CDC, WHO and American Academy of Pediatrics. The company said its ban on all vaccination-related material is a temporary measure while it searches for a sustainable way to moderate such posts. We want Pinterest to be an inspiring place for people, and theres nothing inspiring about misinformation, the company said in a statement. Thats why we continue to work on new ways of keeping misleading content off our platform and out of our recommendations engine. Social media platforms have been historically reluctant to crack down on controversial content. Until late last week, Facebook had contended that most anti-vaccination content didnt violate its community guidelines for inciting real-world harm. The social media giant, which has come under fire for how its algorithms can steer users toward misinformation, said removing such content wouldnt help raise awareness about the facts of vaccinations. Accurate counter-speech, Facebook argued, was a more productive safeguard. But the company changed its stance after Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) wrote a letter to Facebook founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg asking how Facebook planned to protect users from misleading material about vaccinations. Schiff sent a similar letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai; Google is also under scrutiny about how its search engine and subsidiary YouTube promote potentially dangerous misinformation. Advertisement Weve taken steps to reduce the distribution of health-related misinformation on Facebook, but we know we have more to do, Facebook said in a statement last week. Were currently working on additional changes that well be announcing soon. Specifically, Facebook is looking into cutting back or removing misleading health content from recommendations, including Groups you should join, according to a Facebook spokesperson. Its also considering demoting such content in search results. Googles YouTube has begun changing algorithms to try to control the spread of misinformation. Last month, YouTube said it would begin removing videos with borderline content that misinform users in harmful ways. Telford writes for the Washington Post. Zaleski writes for Bloomberg. Employees at Microsoft Corp. demanded Friday that the company cancel a contract to supply its augmented-reality headsets to the U.S. Army, warning in a letter that putting HoloLens in the militarys hands could help people kill. Writing to Chief Executive Satya Nadella, more than 50 workers said the devices would be turning warfare into a simulated video game. They also urged Microsoft, which won the $480-million contract in November, to cease developing any and all weapons technologies for the government. As employees and shareholders we do not want to become war profiteers, the letter concluded. To that end, we believe that Microsoft must stop in its activities to empower the U.S. Armys ability to cause harm and violence. Representatives for Microsoft and the U.S. Army did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Microsoft employee who helped draft the letter speaking on the condition of anonymity out of concerns about retribution shared a copy with the Washington Post and verified their identity. Advertisement The internal revolt at Microsoft highlights the heightened activism among employees at tech giants and follows similar uprisings at Amazon.com Inc. and at Alphabet Inc.s Google, where workers have bristled over their companies business relationships with the U.S. military or law enforcement agencies. Google, for example, opted last year against renewing one of its own contracts with the Pentagon a partnership to develop image-recognition tools for drones because employees felt the tech giant shouldnt be in the business of war, they said at the time. Like its peers, Microsoft also has struggled to balance its relationship with the Department of Defense against its employees ethical and policy qualms about working with the U.S. government. Last year, after workers petitioned the company to cancel a cloud-computing and artificial-intelligence contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Microsoft said it would allow employees to change positions within the company if they found their existing roles betrayed their values. But Microsoft President Brad Smith has said the company would not cease working with the Department of Defense, a business relationship that he said dates back decades. As we have discussed these issues with governments, weve appreciated that no military in the world wants to wake up to discover that machines have started a war, Smith wrote in an October blog post. But we cant expect these new developments to be addressed wisely if the people in the tech sector who know the most about technology withdraw from the conversation. Microsofts early marketing positioned the HoloLens as a mixed reality consumer device that architects, artists, video gamers and others could use to transpose computer graphics into real life. The holographic system is being sold to developers and businesses but is not yet available for public use. Microsoft is expected to unveil a new version of its HoloLens headset at a major industry trade show in Barcelona next week. Last year, the headset proved to be the clincher for Microsoft to beat out two dozen other interested companies including military contractors Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co. and tech start-up Magic Leap for the Army contract. The military said it could end up buying more than 100,000 of the systems in the coming years. In August the Defense Department issued a request for an integrated visual augmentation system for training and combat that would give soldiers increased lethality, mobility and situational awareness ... against our current and future adversaries, military purchasing records show. The military said it wanted a heads-up display system that could supercharge soldiers capabilities: giving them heat detection, night vision and the ability to view video and navigation; automatically recognizing and targeting relevant threats; and enabling them to stealthily see where their weapon was aiming, without using a laser that could give their location away. Advertisement The military also wanted the system to quickly identify landmines and improvised explosives and relay back real-time squad lethality metrics and health data, such as soldiers heart rate, breathing rate and whether theyve sustained a concussion. The headset could also be used as part of an advanced simulation system that would train units where they will fight [and] with whom they will fight, contract documents show. American Colonial Revival homes, with their symmetry, stability and lines as old as our nation itself, evoke a sense of history, tradition and homeyness sort of like the comfort food of American architecture. The style spread across the country in the 1920s and 30s, when East Coast-based shelter magazines highlighted the homes on their pages. Also at that time, Colonial Williamsburg was being restored, prompting more interest in the era. The white clapboard Colonial with a white picket fence out front, it became a sort of symbol of American domesticity, said Kenneth Breisch, associate professor of architecture at USC. They became classic family homes for the middle class. Or, expanded and augmented, they were the mansions of Beverly Hills and Bel-Air, fit for Hollywood stars such as Donna Reed, Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman. Bankers used the style for their institutions and their homes alike, to convey propriety and conservatism, Breisch said. Advertisement Peter J. Holliday, author of American Arcadia: California and the Classical Tradition (Oxford University Press, 2016), wrote that the Colonial style evoked the reassuring spirit of the American past. In fact, the genres very existence was a paean to the red, white and blue. The style arose from the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, a worlds fair to celebrate the anniversary of American Independence. It spurred a nostalgia for all things Colonial, including the architecture. Holliday, a professor of art history at Cal State Long Beach, said the genre seems to gain popularity in times of trouble during the Great Depression, or during the Red Scare of the 1950s. People are really trying to show their Americanism, he said. For some its maybe trying to give themselves a sense of roots, a sense of association with something more established. Some examples showed up in Los Angeles prior to World War I, but many more were built in the 1920s and 30s as the real estate boom brought new residents, many wanting homes that looked like the ones they knew back in the East and Midwest, said Elysha Paluszek, associate architectural historian at GPA Consulting and coauthor of the citys Historic Context Statement on American Colonial Revival a comprehensive overview of the style from the Los Angeles Office of Historic Resources. Madeline Warren was five months pregnant with twins in 2000, and looking to move out of a Santa Monica rental, but she and her husband kept getting outbid. Then their agent took them to an American Colonial in Hancock Park, built in 1938. I was actually hoping for a Spanish house, because I like that style, said Warren, an associate professor at Chapman Universitys College of Film and Media Arts. We came to this plain-looking brick-and-wood house. I said, I dont think so. It looks like an East Coast town hall, We walked in the door, and immediately fell in love. She said they appreciated the classical details, including wainscoting, paneled doors and leaded windows overlooking the yard. Advertisement I really liked the scale of this house, Warren said, and it turned out to be ideal for raising a family, with its large rooms and two stories kids asleep upstairs, dinner party downstairs. American Colonial was popular throughout the country, but in Los Angeles it never dominated the landscape the way California Craftsman or Spanish Colonial Revival did, in their turns. Then again, its appeal had a longevity far beyond that of other, more faddish styles, Paluszek said. Her report lists its heyday as lasting from 1895 to 1965, from early structures in South L.A. and West Adams, to Baby-Boomer suburbs in the San Fernando Valley. Back in 1929, the editors of Popular Mechanics praised its enduring appeal, calling Colonial a style as liquid in public approval as a Liberty bond at a bank. And the familiarity of American Colonial homes has been a boon for Hollywood, which simply looked in its backyard for houses that could pretend to be anywhere in the country, as residences for Ferris Bueller in Illinois, Don and Betty Draper in New York, Richie Cunningham in Wisconsin or Beaver Cleaver in some vaguely Midwestern town. Advertisement Warren said she and her husband grew up back East on Long Island and in New Jersey, respectively and in hindsight the Hancock Park house may have played to some deep-seated comfort level. We consider ourselves very lucky to have found it, she said. It just has great warmth to it. Its a great family house. Ive definitely been won over by the style. Style: American Colonial Revival Features: Usually symmetrical and two stories, with a paneled front door flanked by bays of windows, which are multi-paned double-hung or palladian, sometimes with louvered shutters. The roof is pitched, with eaves most often at the sides, sometimes with dormers. The exteriors are mainly brick and/or clapboard. The subgenre Dutch Colonial features a gambrel roof (which looks like half an octagon), while Georgian (named for the English kings, not the state) is fronted by columns, looking at home on a Southern plantation. Advertisement Places to find them: Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Hancock Park, South Los Angeles, West Adams, Windsor Square; San Fernando Valley neighborhoods including Toluca Lake, Sherman Oaks, North Hollywood and Encino; Long Beach and Pasadena. Prominent architects and builders: Gordon Kaufmann, Sumner M. Spaulding, Paul Williams, Roland Coate, Gerard Colcord, Oliver Dennis & Lyman Farwell, Albert Walker & Percy Eisen, John Byers & Edla Muir. hotproperty@latimes.com ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- China has significantly contributed to Africa's ongoing combat against Ebola outbreak as well as to the development of the Africa Center for Disease Prevention and Control (Africa CDC), according to John Nkengasong, Africa CDC Director. Officially launched in January 2017 with its headquarters on the premises of the African Union (AU) headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, Africa CDC has been undertaking various activities, with which it has been able to support at least 9 countries to respond to 12 outbreaks, Nkengasong told Xinhua on Thursday. The Director of Africa CDC was also speaking to a press conference on Thursday at the AU headquarters on the ongoing combat against Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where he said that Africa CDC has deployed 46 health workers and experts of different areas as part of response support. The latest 10th Ebola Virus Outbreak in the DRC is reported to be the second largest outbreak of Ebola, after that of West Africa in 2015. With epidemiological, laboratory, logistics and other forms of support, the Africa CDC has contributed significantly to surveillance and contact tracing, infection prevention and control and risk communication in the country, he has noted. Speaking of China's contribution to Africa's efforts in taming such problems, Nkengasong said that China has deployed experts in neighbouring countries of the DRC, which the director said is important support to detect and stop the spread of the Ebola virus. He also noted that China has been supporting the Africa CDC which has been taking various activities as part of the response efforts to the latest Ebola outbreak in the DRC. "The Chinese government has deployed experts in neighboring countries in Uganda and other countries where it is very important that we are focusing not only in DRC but we are also focusing in the neighboring countries, just in case the virus escapes," he said. With regard to China's support to the development of Africa CDC, the director said that two Chinese experts are working together with African experts at the headquarters of Africa CDC to develop the center. He also recalled that the Chinese government had also pledged assistance to help with the construction of Africa CDC. "It will be a state-of-the-art facility, and we are really hoping by the end of this year, the ground breaking ceremony will be held for the construction of the facility," Nkengasong said. During a meeting last month at the AU headquarters, Africa CDC and China CDC discussed ways of strengthening collaboration between the two institutions. "This is the time for Africa CDC and China CDC to develop the rules of how we work together to establish a strong Africa CDC,"the Director of Africa CDC said on the occasion. Its official: Californias high-speed rail project is an orphan. The final blow came Feb. 12 when Gov. Gavin Newsom in his State of the State speech declared that the bullet train linking the Bay Area and Los Angeles would cost too much and, respectfully, take too long. Newsom observed that the project had suffered from too little oversight and not enough transparency and concluded: Right now, there simply isnt a path to get from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to L.A. I wish there were. We need to see a champion emerge. We need to keep the momentum going. Rebecca Saltzman, BART board of directors Advertisement Wishes wont get the project done. Reality, however, dictates that it get done. Lets agree to the problems mentioned by Newsom, and not only by him. A devastating state audit of the project issued in November provided chapter and verse of the missteps and mismanagement of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Some of these missteps resulted from political pressure to turn the project from an L.A.-to-S.F. rail line to one serving inland communities along the route, and to minimize the disruption caused by routing and construction by using existing infrastructure that is, low-speed rails. Some were due to organizational weaknesses, which permeated the project top-to-bottom. As a signature project of former Gov. Jerry Brown, the project also came under political attack. Republican Neel Kashkari made smashing Gov. Browns crazy train the centerpiece of his campaign to unseat Brown in the 2014 election. (He got trounced, 60%-40%.) The truth is, however, that a high-speed rail connection between the Bay Area and Southern California is a crucial element of Californias future. As I wrote in 2016, while cost estimates (now about $77 billion) and ridership estimates have shifted, the projects rationale hasnt changed: to dramatically remake the states transportation network, relieving pressure on air and road infrastructure that cant possibly accommodate long-term population growth. California doesnt have the money or the political capacity to build out its existing transportation infrastructure to accommodate this pressure. The rail authority has estimated that its project would obviate the need for 3,000 lane-miles of freeway, five airport runways and 90 departure gates costing $100 billion total. Some also contend that, once its built, the rail system will help the economy by reducing vehicular exhaust in favor of cleaner sources of electricity, especially renewables, to power the trains. One doesnt have to accept these figures as gospel to understand that the state will need high-speed rail, or that of all the transit corridors in the United States, this one is a prime candidate. The project hasnt been hampered solely by incompetence at the rail authority. California voters imposed what may have been impossible specifications for the project in 2008, when they authorized nearly $10 billion in state bonds via Proposition 1A. Advertisement The ballot measure mandated that the train carry passengers between Los Angeles and San Francisco in no more than two hours and 40 minutes as much as an hour shorter than many experts thought could be reasonably expected. The idea was to make the route competitive with flying. Its true that a flight between those two destinations spends about 90 minutes in the air and on taxiways, but as passenger demand increases and the air corridor becomes more congested, its a safe bet that planes will be spending more time backed up on the ground and circling in the air. Proposition 1A also barred operating subsidies, and funding for every segment was required to be identified before construction of that segment could begin. This was an enormous mistake, perpetuated by critics who imagined that the project should pay for itself. Massive infrastructure projects almost never pay for themselves, at least not directly, and certainly not at first. As James Moore, a USC engineering professor and longtime critic of Californias high-speed rail project, told my colleagues Laura J. Nelson and Joe Mozingo, only two high-speed rail lines in the world operate at a profit: Paris to Lyon, and Osaka to Tokyo. Advertisement But thats why we place big infrastructure projects in the hands of government: The public sector is designed to spread their costs not only to the direct beneficiaries in this case, passengers but also to the community at large, which will reap indirect but indisputable benefits. These include cleaner air and more efficiency for passengers as well as everyone they serve. As we mentioned in 2016, the main problem with the high-speed rail project might be that the public was misled into thinking it could be built faster and more cheaply than was ever in the cards. Infrastructure projects like this often take decades to come to fruition, with the finished product sometimes unrecognizable to its original promoters. With any such project, you cant be completely sure of what it will cost, Martin Wachs, an expert on transportation and urban planning at UCLA and a member of the peer review committee monitoring the business plans of the high-speed rail project. The technology changes as its being built, the demand pattern changes as its being built. Theres an enormous amount of uncertainty. One clue might be sufficient to tell us how misguided is the notion that the rail project should be scrapped: Its a view supported by President Trump. His administration is threatening to hold back nearly $1 billion in undisbursed funding for the train and demanding the return of another $2.5 billion. Advertisement Trumps position is easily dismissed. First, the demand for repayment comes devoid of any rational underpinning beyond a desire to take a shot at a big blue state typical for a White House that knows nothing about anything and wears its ignorance as a badge of honor. In the words of my colleague Ralph Vartabedian, whose knowledge of this project is encyclopedic, Trumps determination to cancel the project funding involves complex administrative law, which probably will require formal hearings, representation by attorneys and a long decision process within the federal government, as well as potential legal challenges in federal court. A federal administration devoting even a single brain cell to transportation policy would be looking for ways to get this project done, not for a new set of monkey wrenches to throw into the works. Thats not the Trump method. The tragedy of Californias high-speed rail project is that so much time and money have been wasted since 2008. The only visible progress is part of the route between Bakersfield and Merced, which Newsom says he supports completing. Advertisement Because of that, the project is vulnerable to criticism that it cant be finished and will be doomed forever to remain a train to nowhere. It gives us no pleasure to predict that if that becomes true, then by 2040 or so, Californians will be kicking themselves for failing to do more to get it done now. The bullet train looks like a lost cause today because no one wants to take on the indisputable challenges of rectifying the errors of the last 10 years and figuring out how to start from scratch. But theres no escaping the necessity. As Rebecca Saltzman, the vice president of the Bay Area Rapid Transit board of directors, told Nelson and Mozingo, the project today lacks a high-profile, powerful leader. This wont be an easy job even the dedication of the popular and respected Brown didnt keep the critics from swarming. (He wasnt helped by the people he appointed to the authority.) We need to see a champion emerge, Saltzman said. We need to keep the momentum going. She misspoke in one respect. At the moment, the project has no momentum. What the project needs is someone to create momentum by giving this orphan the chance to make something of itself. Advertisement Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com. Return to Michael Hiltziks blog. Youve heard of puppy-love, and the month of February is the perfect time to express those warm, fluttery feelings to your partner. But parrot-love might be the new big thing for the Peninsula and parrots are considerably more fluttery than puppies. Ocean Beach will embrace parrot-love this year as its Mainstreet Association has decided to incorporate the tropical bird into its marketing campaign for 2019. Everybody loves the parrots, said Denny Knox, OBMA executive director. Even if the parrots drive them crazy! Theyre so noisy but everybody does love them. According to SoCal Parrot, a parrot rescue group founded by wildlife rehab specialist Brooke Durham that partners with other rescues throughout Southern California, there are 13 wild parrot species throughout SoCal, with Red-crowned Amazons, Lilac-crowned Amazons, Mitred Conures, Red-masked Conures and Blue-crowned Conures spotted the most often in San Diego County. Theyre bright, colorful and noisy as all-get-out. These beautiful, winged foreigners wake up (and wake everyone in the neighborhood, too) between 5 and 5:30 a.m. They spend their days foraging for food, and end them with more squawking before sunset, falling silent once its dark. SoCal Parrots operations manager Sarah Mansfield said she timed the squawking one morning in Ocean Beach. The parrots made a ruckus for 12 minutes before flying off, she reported, most likely to look for food for the day. Parrots spend about 70 percent of their lives foraging for food, which doesnt leave a ton of time for extra activities (to be fair, humans spend a good portion of their lives focusing on food, too). Since theyre not native, the parrots dont compete with native wildlife for food; instead, they eat the flowers and fruit of ornamental, non-native trees their favorite food is loquat, but they also enjoy figs, pine nuts and eucalyptus flowers. I think someone has a pecan tree that they really love, too, Mansfield added. Parrots are omnivores, eating both meat and vegetation, and according to livescience.com, theyll also eat seeds and insects. Mansfield maintains the parrots must have been brought to the Peninsula, and were either accidentally or intentionally released. Either way, they came to SoCal wild and have remained wild. The Lilac-crowned Amazons are native to the west coast of the Mexican peninsula, while the Red-crowned Amazons live in a small area on the Mexican gulf, south of Texas. Considering the proximity of the Mexican border, its not unlikely that the parrots were originally intended to be sold on the black market, she said. If you live in the Point Loma area, youve probably noticed that the smaller flocks of Conure parrots stay around all year, but the larger Amazon parrots head to East County, mid- to late-summer. Around late-winter, Mansfield said they return to San Diego beach communities to have their babies. That being said, these species of parrot dont migrate; they travel, but not typically out of a 20 to 40 mile radius, further supporting the theory that the parrots did not arrive here without human help. As to their resting place, you wont see these birds kicking back in a typical nest of twigs and leaves theyre cavity-nesters, meaning they look for a nice hole in a tree that a previous home-owner has carved out, and move in to have their chicks. By SoCal Parrots count, there are approximately 800 birds in the local Amazon parrot flock. However, some Peninsula residents are speculating that there are more parrots in town this year. Mansfield insists there hasnt been a significant increase. Technically, its not illegal to capture a parrot and keep it for a pet, but that doesnt make it a good idea. As Mansfield points out, there is a multitude of birds in rescue shelters or on waiting lists to be adopted. Those birds are tame and would make good pets, she said, as opposed to wild parrots accustomed to their daily flights around San Diegos beautiful coastal areas. 7 Fun Parrot Facts 1. Amazon parrots are known to be among the most proficient talking birds and have the intelligence of a 2- to 4-year-old human. (socalparrot.com) 2. Amazon parrots can live from 50 to 70 years. Conures can live up to 30 years. (socalparrot.com) 3. The pirate with a pet parrot tale originates from the early 1700s. On long, miserable voyages, pirates would want an animal companion, and with all the travel to exotic lands, pets like monkeys and parrots were not uncommon. Additionally, colorful talking birds were very expensive, so pirates would steal them. (atlasobscura.com) 4. Whats the difference between parrots and cockatoos? A cockatoo is a type of parrot; there are only 17 species of cockatoos while parrots include more than 370 species collectively. Additionally, parrots are found in the tropics and subtropics of the world, while cockatoos are found only in Australia and surrounding islands. (differencebetween.com) 5. The biggest distinguishing feature of parrots is its feet; parrots are the only birds with two toes pointing forward and two pointing backwards on each foot. All other birds have four toes, with three pointing forward and one pointing backward. (theanswerbank.co.uk). 6. Parrots have approximately 300 taste buds located on the roofs of their mouths, not on the mouth bottom, like a human. (smithsonianmag.com) 7. Psittacofulvins, a bacteria-resistant pigment that only parrots are known to produce, gives their feathers their red, yellow and green coloration and protects the plumage from degradation. (smithsonianmag.com) 1. Purpose The purpose of this Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as Terms and Conditions) is to set forth rights, obligations and responsibilities between the Company and members, and other necessary matters with respect to the use of services of The Korea Times (koreatimes.co.kr) provided by The Korea Times (hereinafter referred to as the Company). 2. Definition of terms 1. The definitions of the terms used in this Terms and Conditions are as follows. Member means a user who agrees to these Terms and Conditions, receives a user ID and password, and uses services provided by the Company. Use contract means all contracts concluded between the Company and members concerning use of services including these Terms and Conditions. Subscription means that a user intending to be a member agrees to these Terms and Conditions, fills out the Companys service application form with necessary information, applies for a service use contract and obtains the Companys approval. Withdrawal means that a member terminates his/her use contract. User ID means a combination of characters and numbers that a member determines for identification of the member and use of services, and that is approved by the Company. Password means a combination of characters and numbers that a member determines and registers to verify the identity of the member distinguished by user ID. Terminal means a computer device such as personal computer, PDA, mobile phone and IPTV. Postings means writings, photos, videos and various files and links etc. that members post while using services. 2. Those not defined in paragraph 1 among the terms used in these Terms and Conditions shall follow relevant laws and each service guidance, and the others shall follow general practices. 3. Posting and revising Terms and Conditions 1. The Company will post these Terms and Conditions on the first page of The Korea Times in order to ensure members notice it easily. 2. The Company may revise these Terms and Conditions within the scope of not violating relevant laws such as the Act on the Regulation of Terms and Conditions and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection Act etc. (hereinafter referred to as the Information and Communications Network Act). 3. In the event that the Company intends to revise these Terms and Conditions, it shall make the revised Terms and Conditions public from 30 days before the application date until the date immediately before the application date, together with the current Terms and Conditions by specifying the application date and reason according to the method in the paragraph 1. However, in case of revising it unfavorably to members, the Company will also notify through electronic means such as email, electronic note and a consent window upon login in addition to the public notice. 4. In the event that a member doesnt agree to the revision of these Terms and Conditions, the Company may terminate the use contract with the member. 5. In the event that a member continues to use services without expressing an intention of rejection 15 days after the revised Terms and Conditions take effect, the member shall be deemed to have agreed to the revised Terms and Conditions. 4. Rules other than Terms and Conditions 1. The Company may have individual terms and conditions or operation rules by service if necessary, and in case that the contents of operation rules contradict these Terms and Conditions, individual terms and conditions or operation rules by service shall prevail. 2. Matters not specified in these Terms and Conditions shall follow relevant laws or commercial practices. 5. Conclusion of use contracts 1. Use contracts are concluded when those intending to be members (hereinafter referred to as membership applicants) agree to the contents of these Terms and Conditions, apply for membership and the Company approves such applications. 2. In principle, the Company shall approve use of services to membership applicants. However, the Company may reject approval or terminate use contracts afterwards in the following applications: Where a membership applicant has lost membership before, according to these Terms and Conditions. However, this shall not apply when obtaining an approval of resubscription from the Company; Where a membership applicant has subscribed by stealing anothers personal information such as name, email address and mobile phone number; Where a membership applicant enters false information or doesnt enter essential items required by the Company; Where it is impossible to approve due to a reason attributable to users or the application was made by violating other regulations; Where an application was made for the purpose of violating relevant laws or obstructing social order or traditional custom; Where a membership applicant intends to use this service for commercial purposes or other unjust purposes. 3. In the event that the Company doesnt approve or reserves membership application according to paragraph 2, it shall inform the membership applicant of this. 4. In the event that a service use application belongs to any of the following, the Company may reserve approval until the reason for restriction of approval is solved. Where the Companys service-related facility has no spare capacity Where the Company has a technological or business issue Where it is impossible to approve use for other reasons 5. In the event that a use applicant is a minor according to relevant laws, the Company may reserve approval as specified in each service guidance. 6. The Company may classify members by service, use time and use count etc. and differentiate use. 6. Obligation to protect personal information and its use 1. The Company shall do its best to protect members personal information in accordance with relevant laws such as the Information and Communications Network Act. With respect to protection and use of personal information, relevant laws and the Companys personal information policy shall be applied. However, the Companys personal information policy shall not be applied to other sites linked to the Companys official site. 2. Members shall manage personal information such as user ID and password thoroughly to ensure that it is not exposed to others, and the Company will not take responsibility for information exposed due to a reason attributable to members. 3. In the event that a member becomes aware that the ID and password have been stolen or used by a third party, the member shall immediately notify the Company of this and follow the Companys instruction. 4. The Company may provide members personal information to a third party within the scope allowed by laws in the following cases. Where the Company receives a request of information provision from investigating authorities or other government organizations according to legal procedures Where it is necessary to protect information such as for checking out illegal acts including members violation of laws or the Terms and Conditions Where required by other laws 5. The Company may use members information for the purpose of providing members with more diverse information services and related benefits. In addition, in case of providing members information to affiliated companies, the Company shall make the affiliated company, purpose and the content of members information to be used etc. public in advance, and shall receive consent from members. 6. The Company may share members information when merging with another company or splitting off. 7. The Company may send cookies to members terminals when providing services. In this case, members may change settings in a way that the terminals browser rejects cookies or warns of receipt of cookies. 8. By filling out members information in the application form of use, agreeing to these Terms and Conditions and applying for use, members are deemed to agree to the Company collecting, using and providing members information. 9. The Company may use all or part of members information for business-related statistical purposes within the scope allowed by relevant laws, the Terms and Conditions and its personal information protection policy. 7. Companys obligations 1. The Company shall not conduct any acts prohibited by relevant laws and these Terms and Conditions or contradicting traditional custom and shall do its best to provide services in a continuous and stable manner. 2. The Company shall establish a security system for the protection of personal information to ensure members can use services safely, and shall announce and comply with its personal information policy. 3. The Company shall have personnel and systems necessary for properly handling users complaints or remedy requests occurring in relation to use of services. 4. The Company shall address members opinions or complaints raised in relation to use of services which are considered reasonable. 8. Members obligations 1. Members shall not conduct any of the following acts. Register false content when applying or changing Steal others information Change the information posted by the Company Send or post other information not determined by the Company (computer programs etc.) Infringe on the Company and a third partys intellectual property rights such as copyright An act of damaging the Company and a third partys reputation or obstructing business An act of disclosing or posting information such as obscene or violent messages, videos and voices on services An act of using services for commercial purpose without the Companys consent Other illegal or unjust acts 2. Members shall comply with relevant laws, these Terms and Conditions and the Companys notifications etc. and shall not conduct any acts obstructing the Companys business. 3. In the event that there is a change in the personal information entered upon the application for use such as address, contact information and email address, and in the use contract, members shall immediately change them, and the Company will not take responsibility for problems arising from not changing them. 4. Members shall not conduct sales activities using services unless agreed explicitly by the Company, and the Company shall not take responsibility for the results of sales activities. In addition, if a member causes damage to the Company by sales activities, the member shall compensate for the damage incurred by the Company, and the Company may restrict use of services to the member and claim damages, compensation etc. through proper procedures. 9. Granting and changing user ID 1. The Company will grant a user ID to members as specified in these Terms and Conditions. 2. In principle, the user ID shall not be changed, but in case of intending to change due to an avoidable reason, a member shall terminate the ID concerned and subscribe again. 3. The User ID may be linked to the member ID of the sites run by the Company or a subsidiary company and an affiliated company under the consent of members. 4. In the event that user the ID belongs to any of the following, it may be changed or suspended at the request of members or the Companys authority. Where a phone number or a resident registration number is registered as user the ID and thus it is likely to lead to a violation of privacy Where the user ID causes disgust to others or violates traditional custom Where user the ID is identical with the names of the Company, the Companys services or service operators etc. or is likely to cause misunderstanding Where other reasonable reasons exist 5. Members shall take responsibility for managing the user ID and password. Members shall take responsibility for damages in service use or a third partys unjust use arising from neglecting them, and the Company shall not take responsibility for them. 6. In the event that a member becomes aware that the user ID and password have been stolen or used by a third party, he/she shall immediately notify the Company and follow the Companys instructions, if any, and the member shall take responsibility for all disadvantages arising from not making such notification or not following the Companys measure. 7. Other matters related to the management and change of members personal information shall follow each service guidance. 10. Use of services 1. In principle, services shall be operated 24 hours a day throughout the year unless there is any special problem with the Company in terms of business or technology. However, in case of unavoidable situations such as a natural disaster and emergency, the Company may suspend services temporarily. 2. The Company may suspend services temporarily for reasons of repair and inspection of information communication equipment such as computers, replacement and disorder, communication cutoff or a considerable reason in operation. In this case, the Company shall announce this to members on the website. However, in case of unavoidable situations such as an urgent system inspection, addition and replacement, a problem with facilities, service user overload, state emergency and blackout, the Company may suspend all or part services temporarily without a prior notice. 3. The Company may suspend all or part services after a prior notice to members where necessary for service operation such as change of services. 11. Management of members postings 1. In the event that members postings contain content violating relevant laws such as the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection etc. and the Copyright Act, the Company may request suspension of posting and removal of the postings concerned in accordance with the proceedings specified by relevant laws. 2. In the event that a member inflicts damage or other problems on him/herself or another person due to his/her postings registered on this service etc., the member shall have full responsibility for them and the Company shall not be liable for them unless the Company was intentional. 3. The Company may take a relevant measure regarding any of the following postings such as temporary suspension of posting, modification, removal, moving or rejection of registration without the prior consent of members. Where a posting brings displeasure and insult to other members or third parties with swearing, slander and personal attack or injures other members or third parties honor Where a posting contains content of infringing on other members or third parties copyright or is related to illegal leakage of information Where a posting infringes on the privacy of other members or third parties or leaks personal information Where a posting disseminates or links content violating public order or traditional custom Where a posting contains content encouraging illegal copying or hacking Where a posting contains advertisements for commercial purpose or content promoting certain sites Where a posting contains content considered linked to crime objectively Where the Company decides that a posting does not conform to the nature of service due to personal judgment, creation of regional sentiment, or religious view Where a posting does not comply with the Companys operating principle of postings or does not confirm to the nature of the board Where a posting is deemed to violate other relevant laws and regulations Where the Company ends service 3. The Company may limit the time of posting for certain services in order to block advertising postings and operate postings stably. However, in this case, the Company shall notify members of the posting time of the service concerned. 4. The Company may determine whether to allow postings registered by members after a pre-review for certain services. 12. Copyrights of postings 1. Copyright of postings registered by members shall belong to the copyright holders concerned. 2. Copyright and other intellectual property rights for postings or works created by the Company belong to the Company and therefore members shall not use works acquired while using services for commercial purposes in a method of copying, sending, publication, transmission, distribution, broadcasting etc. or shall not have a third party use without prior approval of the Company. 3. The Company may use postings registered by members for free within a reasonable scope in compliance with fair practices stipulated in the Copyright Act for the purpose of operation of services, display, transmission, distribution and promotion etc. without approval of members as below. Where the Company copies, modifies, alters, displays, transmits and distributes members postings, and creates compilation works within the scope not impairing original works inside services Where the Company has service affiliation partners provide, display or promote the content of members postings Where the Company has terminals such as cellphone, PDA and IPTV provide, display or promote the content of members postings 4. In the event that the Company intends to use members postings in a method other than the previous paragraph, it shall obtain prior consent from members through a method like phone, fax and email. 5. In the event that an objection is raised against a posting by a third party on the charge of infringing on copyright and other rights or defamation or obscenity etc., the Company may remove the posting concerned temporarily. In this case, the Company may reregister the removed posting upon request after a legal dispute is resolved between the person who raised an objection and the person who registered the posting. 13. Provision of information 1. The Company may provide members with various information considered necessary for members use of services in a method such as a notice, email, SMS and SNS. However, members may decline to receive email anytime, except transaction-related information according to relevant laws and replies to customer inquiries etc. 2. The Company may collect additional personal information for the purpose of improving services and providing membership services etc. according to relevant laws under the consent of members. 14. Posting advertisements 1. As for advertisement posting and promotion activities which are part of the revenue base for the Company to provide services to members, members agree to advertisements being provided when using the services. 2. As for members who agreed to advertisement emails being sent when subscribing to membership, the Company may send and provide email advertisements to members email addresses at Companys discretion. 3. The Company wont take responsibility for any damages and losses arising from members participating, communicating or making transactions in advertisers promotional activities posted on services or through the service. 15. Termination of contracts 1. In the event that a member wants to terminate this use contract, the member shall terminate membership through the menu inside the services provided by the Company. The Company shall immediately process it according to relevant laws. 2. In the event that a member terminates this use contract, all a members all data shall immediately cease to exist according to relevant laws and the Companys personal information policy, except that the Company holds members information. 3. In the event that a member terminates this use contract, all postings registered in his/her account shall be deleted. However, this wont apply to those reposted by scrap and scoop etc. by a third party or postings provided by combining copied postings and others postings. 16. Restriction of use of services 1. In the event that a member violates the obligations under these Terms and Conditions or obstructs the normal operation of services, the Company may restrict use. 2. In the event that a member violates relevant laws such as by stealing a name and payment in breach of the Resident Registration Act, providing illegal programs and obstructing operation in breach of the Copyright Act and illegal communication and hacking, distributing malicious programs and exceeding access authority in breach of the Information and Communications Network Act, the Company may immediately suspend use permanently. 3. As for conditions of limitation and details in this article, the Company shall follow matters determined in its use restriction policy and each services operation policy. 17. Damage compensation 1. In the event that the Company and users cause damage to the other party intentionally or negligently in relation to use of services, the party shall compensate for the damage. 2. However, the Company wont take responsibility for any damage in relation to use of services provided free of charge unless violating the provisions of its personal information policy. 18. Limitation of responsibility 1. In the event that services are impossible to provide due to a natural disaster or any equivalent reason and other due reasons specified in these Terms and Conditions, the Company shall be exempted from responsibility for providing services. 2. The Company wont take responsibility for any obstacles or damages in use of services caused by a reason attributable to members. 3. The Company shall be exempted from responsibility for transactions etc. made between members or between a member and a third party by the medium of services. 4. The Company wont take responsibility for the inaccuracy of any information, software, product etc. contained in services provided and the inaccuracy of information arising from an error in printing. 5. The Company wont take responsibility for the results of members postings because it has no obligation to pre-examine, check or review the contents of postings before registration. 6. The Company wont take responsibility for any damages in relation to services provided to members free of charge. 19. Notification 1. In the event that the Company makes a notification to members, the Company may do so to the email addresses registered by members. 2. In the event that the Company needs to notify to many and unspecified members, the Company may replace individual notification with a posting on the Companys bulletin board for seven or more days. 20. Governing laws and judicial jurisdiction 1. Matters not specified in these Terms and Conditions shall follow relevant laws and commercial practices of the Republic of Korea. 2. In the event that a lawsuit is filed with respect to a dispute over use of services, it shall be governed by the court with jurisdiction over the location of the Companys head office. [Supplementary provision] These Terms and Conditions shall take effect on March 1, 2019. Moon's remarks about inter-Korean projects are premature President Moon Jae-in spoke on the phone with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week about the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Vietnam. With the Feb.27-28 event only days away, it was a timely conversation to share their respective positions going into the summit and renew their commitment to mutual cooperation for security on the Korean Peninsula. But some aspects of their conversation sparked concerns from the Korean people, particularly Moon's remarks that showed his rush toward inter-Korea economic projects. During the phone call, Tuesday, Moon reportedly told Trump he was "determined" to take on the inter-Korean railway and road links and other economic projects as corresponding measures to induce North Korea's denuclearization. He also said this would lessen the burden on the part of the U.S. Moon seems to be urging the U.S. for a special exemption to be able to carry out the joint economic projects with North Korea. There are high expectations for the Hanoi summit next week to produce more concrete results than the first U.S.-North Korea summit in June 2018 in Singapore where the two foes of the 1950-53 Korean War vaguely agreed to work toward North Korea's denuclearization. Trump has continued to face criticisms that his first meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un lacked details on how to achieve denuclearization and that it was only a political show. Trump needs to prove the second time will be different. He said this week that the Hanoi summit will not be their last meeting, reflecting his willingness to continue negotiations with Kim in person. At such a critical juncture in U.S-North Korea denuclearization talks, many people believe this is not the time for South Korea to mention such a strong focus on economic projects with North Korea, which has incessantly called on the U.S. to relieve sanctions. Moon's remarks sparked negative reactions from some South Koreans who are opposed to his active diplomacy with North Korea. Many South Koreans believe the country should not have to pay so much for North Korea's economic development. It will take years for North Korea to take the steps needed for complete denuclearization and Trump has said repeatedly he is in no rush. So it is premature for Moon to jump into economic projects with North Korea. The talks of reopening the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and tourism on Mount Geumgang are ill-timed. South Korea should not make the mistake of giving North Korea too much before it shows a complete commitment to denuclearization. Moon needs to make sure to stay on the same page with the U.S. as the three countries pursue North Korea's denuclearization. By Shlomo Ben-Ami LOS ANGELES President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency at the southern border of the United States where there is no emergency at all in order to access funding to build the wall that he promised his supporters during his 2016 election campaign. It is yet another example of the enduring and dangerous tension between reason and ideology in policymaking. Evidence-based policies, whatever their limitations, always stand a better chance of succeeding than ideologically-driven policies, because they allow for adaptation to changing conditions and new data. Policies born from rigid principles, by contrast, may not be in line with reality at all. History is littered with the disastrous consequences of choosing ideology over reality. Notably, Adolf Hitler did not believe that science could satisfy the German Volk; Germany needed to conquer a vast Lebensraum, which required turning Wagnerian myths of Teutonic supremacy into policies aimed at imperial domination. Joseph Stalin, the head of another ideologically-based regime, prevailed over the Nazis precisely because he departed from absolute imperatives and based his war objectives on cold, rational self-interest. As for the U.S., Trump is hardly the first president to choose faith over reason. Like Trump, President George W. Bush believed that his presidency was part of a divine plan and launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as part of what he himself called a "crusade." Bush's 2002 national security strategy was explicitly guided by America's principles, rather than its interests. Bush's vice president, Dick Cheney, took that to heart: In 2003, he rejected Iran's "grand bargain" proposal which would have ended its nuclear program and subversive foreign policy on the grounds that the U.S. would not "negotiate with evil." The Trump administration and, more broadly, the U.S. Republican Party, is upholding this tradition. No amount of evidence showing that immigrants have been central to America's success will satisfy Trump's nativist base. Circumventing the U.S. Constitution to build an expensive, ecologically disastrous, and wholly unnecessary wall might. Likewise, many Republicans, including Trump, continue to deny the threat posed by climate change, rejecting the near-universal scientific consensus. In the past, Trump has even indulged the growing anti-vaccine movement, having tweeted repeatedly about a potential link between vaccines and autism, despite there being zero evidence of such a connection. And Republicans argue that the U.S., despite being the world's richest country, cannot afford to ensure universal access to affordable health care, which in any case would amount to a socialist assault on personal freedom. U.S. Republicans use similar arguments to oppose making higher education more affordable. Student debt, at $1.5 trillion, is now second only to mortgage debt as America's largest consumer debt category, and yet subsidizing tuition the way mortgages are subsidized is anathema. The same goes for tax policy, with Republicans consistently advocating lower taxes for the highest earners, despite clear evidence that the benefits do not "trickle down" to the rest of the economy. The U.S, is not alone. In the United Kingdom, the entire Brexit drama has been driven by zealots. Clinging to an anachronistic view of Britain as a major global power, the Brexiteers argue that the European Union is holding the U.K. back. New trade arrangements with the Commonwealth which, in their view, is still essentially the British empire and emerging powers like China would, they argue, allow the U.K. to reclaim, independently, its rightful place on the world stage. As ideological zealots are wont to do, the Brexiteers have consistently disregarded the facts. None of them has been able to put forward a coherent or feasible plan for realizing their vision of a full break with the EU. Yet many, such as the Conservative Michael Gove, blithely deride "experts," as if knowledge and experience were not worth bringing to bear on the issue. Arguably, Brexit fanaticism among Conservatives and even the Labour Party's lack of a strong stance on the issue stems partly from the U.K.'s legacy of disengagement from Europe in the 1930s. At that time, many British politicians focused on the threat posed to the U.K, by the Nazis' apparent determination to alter the international balance of power. Today, Europe poses no such threat. Yet the British philosopher John Gray, for example, has portrayed Brexit as the U.K.'s best defense against a re-enactment of Europe's "dark" dictatorial past. A total collapse of the EU is inevitable, many Brexiteers believe. Leaving Europe to be ruled by some type of Russian-Eurasian empire would be worth it, as long as Britannia were again ruling the seas. A similar combination of haughty detachment and anachronistic fantasy is displayed by Catalan secessionists toward Spain. Catalans believe themselves to be far more industrious and inventive than and even racially superior to the supposedly lazy and unproductive Spaniards. Moreover, they argue, Spaniards are more prone to authoritarianism. And in terms of its commitment to stifling Catalonia's creativity and entrepreneurship, Spain's democratic government is little different from Francisco Franco's regime. Catalans pride themselves on their seny ancestral wisdom and level-headedness and the British on their common sense. But Catalan secessionists and Brexiteers have locked themselves and their fellow citizens in an ideological straitjacket. Ideology is a powerful tool for packaging a broad political agenda, swaying public opinion, and assessing alternative goals. But faith-based fixations almost invariably lead to bad policies, especially at a time of rapid economic change and deepening geopolitical uncertainty. As the American psychologist Abraham Maslow famously put it, "it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail." That, as Trump might say with a straight face, is how walls get built. Shlomo Ben-Ami, a former Israeli foreign minister, is vice president of the Toledo International Center for Peace. He is the author of "Scars of War, Wounds of Peace: The Israeli-Arab Tragedy." Copyright belongs to Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org). By Trudy Rubin As a Trump envoy talks with the Taliban about a possible peace deal for Afghanistan, educated Afghan women fear they will be sold out. These women recall the era of Taliban rule when they were confined to their homes, while denied education, health care, and the right to work. Although Taliban negotiators claim their views have changed, they vehemently reject the 2004 Afghan constitution that enshrines women's rights (at least in principle). Fawzia Koofi, a courageous female member of parliament, fears women's rights may get short shrift in the current talks. President Donald Trump has made no secret of his eagerness to quit Afghanistan and wants to pull half the 14,000 U.S. troops there out this year, undercutting U.S. leverage at the table. "It is very worrisome that we may go back to where we were under the Taliban," Koofi told me by WhatsApp from Kabul. "They (the Taliban negotiators) pretend to be very nice," she warns, "but it is just for the show of getting Americans to leave. "We were the victims of war, and now we don't want to be the victims of peace." The U.S. envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad _ an Afghan -American and former U.S. ambassador to Kabul _ hopes to clinch a deal by July. But, although they are meeting with Khalilzad, the Taliban still refuse to negotiate with the elected Afghan government. Nor have they agreed to a cease-fire; their fighters in rural areas still destroy girls' schools. This behavior reminds me of what I saw in Kabul, during a 1999 visit in the days of Taliban rule. I met widows who could not get medical treatment (at the one hospital open to females) because they were forbidden to exit their homes, even shrouded in burkas, unless accompanied by a male relative and they had none. I shadowed 10-year-old girls who attended secret schools because female education was forbidden. While girls' education is still lagging, at least one in three young girls go to school, according to UNICEF compared to none under the Taliban. Many more girls would go in rural areas were it not for continued fighting. "There is a major generational change," says Koofi. "Elders from Badakshan ask to build girls' schools. An educated girl becomes an asset, respected in the community, a teacher, or a health worker, and she brings money to the family." There are few women better qualified than Koofi to warn about the still limited but real progress women have made over the 19 years since the end of Taliban rule and the risks these talks pose. The 19th of her father's 23 children, in the remote Afghan province of Badakhshan, she was put outside to die because she was female. She survived, and was taken to Kabul by her strong-willed, illiterate mother after her father was murdered in the Afghan civil war. She managed to get an education, only to see her liberal-minded husband jailed by the Taliban shortly after their marriage. When I visited her in her home in Kabul in 2011, she had been elected to parliament from Badakhshan (27 percent of all seats in the national legislature are reserved for women). Even then she was fighting for female representation in peace talks. Her 12- and 13-year-old daughters told me they dreamed of becoming, respectively, a political leader and a space engineer. One daughter is now studying at Montclair State University in New Jersey, the other at the American University of Afghanistan, Kabul. Recenlty, Koofi traveled to Moscow with a group of senior Afghan politicians (none from the government) for informal talks with some Taliban leaders. She told them: "If a girl was born 19 years back (after the defeat of the Taliban) she grew up with a new world, and you cannot put her back. You say women have 'Islamic rights,' but you have a different interpretation of what this means." Indeed, the Taliban back in 1999 said women had a right to "Islamic education" but insisted the time wasn't ripe for that to happen. If the current Taliban have changed their views, says Koofi, they need to prove it by opening girls' schools in areas they control. Beyond "rights in Islam," she asks, "what about women's human rights according to international conventions? They must accept this, they can't insist on religious education only." Most importantly, she asks that Khalilzad "make clear the women's issue is not negotiable." The basic provisions on women rights in the Afghan Constitution should be a red line in any talks. She adds: "It is very premature to remove American troops" while talks are ongoing. "If the United States withdraws completely and if there is no (peace) agreement with all Afghan forces, it will be a surrender to the Taliban." All the educated women, brave girl students, nurses, teachers, counselors at women's shelters, and independent female parliamentarians whose achievements U.S. presidents have touted will once more fear for their lives. That will be an ugly stain on any president who lets it happen on his watch. Trudy Rubin ( trubin@phillynews.com ) is a columnist and editorial-board member for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Her commentary was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. By Alex Gratzek Today, the world is suffering from the impacts of the Third Industrial Revolution as it stands on the cusp of the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution. The question of our lifetimes is whether the world stands ready for such a drastic transformation when the ability to digest the impact of the third is proving to be a difficult task. The Third Industrial Revolution saw the incorporation of robots and the automation of assembly lines. The result was a steady decrease in the number of workers needed in these factory jobs. These jobs were well-paying enough to give those working them a middle-class life. However, the percentage of workers engaged in factory work has declined steadily as robots and other labor-saving devices become more prevalent. The Fourth Industrial Revolution stands to propel this replacement of workers at an accelerating pace. In essence, this revolution will see the marriage of human and machine capabilities in the form of artificial intelligence (AI) and an accompanying surge in productivity and a diminishing demand for labor. The Fourth Industrial Revolution will likely see the rise of autonomous forms of transportation for taxis and long-distance trucking along with the replacement of cashiers, clerks and more by robots, computers or AI. Around Seoul, it is not uncommon to find McDonald's restaurants which allow you to place your order at kiosks, entirely bypassing the cashier. How far away can burgers or coffees made to order by robot be? However, the loss of jobs will not be limited to simply those with lower skilled jobs. Lawyers, accountants, financial analysts, insurance underwriters and more will also have their professions threatened by AI. In such a scenario, who stands to benefit the most? Increasingly, capitalism has found all the profits generated by companies or corporations making their way into the pockets of shareholders. In previous decades, it wasn't uncommon for companies to have profit-sharing programs with their workers. This is not the case anymore as rising inequality attests to. Increasingly the rich are become richer because of investments, not through labor. The replacement of people with robots and AI will only encourage this trend of widening inequality as capital holders stand to gain at the expense of labor. The average worker, along with increasing numbers of skilled workers, will find themselves out of work. The question of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is what to do with them? Capitalism has seemingly always promised that the economic pie will eventually get big enough for everyone to have a satisfactory piece of it. However, it always seems that such a time is just around the corner. In 1988, U.S. real GDP amounted to just over $9 trillion. Thirty years later, it had doubled to over $18 trillion. Meanwhile in Korea, 1988 saw its coming out to the world with the Seoul Olympics and soon thereafter reaching the status of a high-income country. Despite the economic growth, large numbers of people are suffering from economic anxieties such as worrying where their next meal comes from. For a true flowering of society and culture, these fears need to be allayed. For a historical perspective, one needs to go back to medieval Europe and the Black Death which ravaged the continent in the 1300s. During that time, 30 percent to 60 percent of Europe's population died. This drastic reduction in Europe's population spelled the death knell of feudalism in Western Europe. Peasants were no longer tied to the land as the shortage of workers allowed for peasants to travel in pursuit of paid wages. The resulting shortage of labor helped to curtail inequality in Europe as labor became more valuable than land itself which was owned by the aristocracy. Today the opposite holds true: the haves stand to gain even more. The lack of labor in late medieval Europe entailed a shrinkage of cultivated land and an increase in the land devoted to livestock. The result was an increase in meat and cheese consumption and standards of living which helped to set Europe on the course to the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. The connection between the two is that in the past, the narrowing of inequality helped the general population allowing for society to move forward. In today's world of unfettered capitalism, the benefits of AI stand to flow to an ever-narrowing elite. Accommodations need to be made for the people who find themselves out of jobs or forced to work reduced hours instead of fending for themselves as best they can. The rumblings of discontent that are being heard around the world presently will dwarf in comparison in the future if no accommodation is made for such an eventuality. The decrease in inequality led to a rise in opportunities in medieval Europe for the general population. These opportunities helped propel Europe toward the creation of the scientific and industrial revolutions. In modern times, the goal should be to ensure that the average person is able to live life free of worrying about food and shelter. The pie is big enough. Instead of individuals' energies being focused on meeting their basic survival, they should instead be redirected to focus on areas that can allow for human creativity to flourish and for society to thrive. Such a scenario of massive job losses to AI is not guaranteed to play out. New industries may arise in response to AI as new industries have arisen in the past as old industries died away. However, preparations should be made for such an eventuality as a lack of preparations could lead to a dystopian future. Alex Gratzek is an American who has lived, studied and worked in South Korea. Contact him at ajgratzek@gmail.com. By Ngovi Kitau The future for Korea and Kenya is very bright. Feb.12 was the greatest and happiest day since Kenya and Korea established diplomatic relations on Feb. 7, 1964. The successful kickoff ceremony for the Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, (Kenya KAIST), which is being developed by a Korean consortium; and the signing of a certificate of commencement, which took place at the Konza Technopolis, is a historic breakthrough and fulfillment of a dream which started 10 years ago. High-level delegations from government, academia and the private sector from both Korea and Kenya, with the Korean KAIST-Samoo-Sunjin consortium taking the lead, were present to witness the dream come true. The Korean side sent seven delegations starting with one from the Korean KAIST led by President Shin Sung-chul, and Dr. Chung Kun-mo, a project advisory board chairman and the nuclear scientist who started the Korean KAIST, benchmarked on U.S .MIT in 1971. Others were from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Nairobi, led by Ambassador Choi Yeong-han; Korea Eximbank; KOTRA; Samoo Architects & Engineers; Sunjin Engineering & Architecture; and Korean expatriates in Nairobi. Kenyan government ministries and agencies were led by professor Collette A. Suda, chief administrative secretary and principal secretary of the state department for university education and research, who was also the chief guest. Others included, the project implementation team; universities; the Kenya architectural sector; the Konza Technopolis development authority led by chairman Dr. Mutiso and CEO Eng. Tanui; and regional congressmen led by Adeline Mwau, the deputy governor of Makueni County. The envisioned Kenya KAIST is a world-class science and technology research university. It is a very crucial institution, whose benefits will accrue, not only to Kenya, but the entire African continent. Notwithstanding the above, let me highlight some very important benefits of KAIST to both Kenya and Korea. One, It will guide us, in our future together, as Kenya embarks, on a knowledge-based economy, and Korea pursues new markets in frontier and emerging markets. Secondly, by conducting pertinent research that will attract FDI to Kenya, led by Korean companies, KAIST will also provide a bulwark against Chinese global initiatives, such as Made in China 2025 and AI 2030. As Kenya enplanes innovation-led growth, leapfrogging on Korea's highly valued experience and advanced technology, KAIST will be a linchpin, in this endeavor, and process; and the upshot will further elevate and strengthen the longstanding friendship and the flourishing partnership between Kenya and South Korea. There is no doubt that Kenya KAIST will transform the Kenyan economy. However its sustainability will depend on funding. Prof. Shin Sung-chul informed me that the Korean KAIST has three revenue streams namely: the Korean government (25 percent), donations (35 percent) and industrial-academic collaboration (40 percent). This "triple-helix" model of technology transfer with three actors university, industry and government all playing indispensable and irreplaceable roles in the national system of innovation, has worked very well worldwide, and will work even better for Kenya KAIST, supported by industrial-academic collaboration from Korean chaebol and SMEs. There are many Korean industries facing domestic challenges which can immediately team up with Kenyan KAIST to open new markets in Africa. One such industry is the auto industry which is lagging behind global rivals. It has even been overtaken by emerging countries like India and Mexico. It registered its third consecutive year of decline, last year, and was the only country to have declined among the top 10 countries. Now is the time for Korea to enter expanding and profitable markets in Africa. In conclusion, this is the time to hold hands together and say "A friend in need is a friend indeed." Let Korean companies team up with the Kenya KAIST to create either autonomous, co-owned, or regional technology holding companies, as well as affiliated companies, for mutual benefit and prosperity. The writer (ngovikitau@yahoo.com) is first Kenyan Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (2009-2014). Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raises the Seoul Peace Prize trophy at Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Friday. Korea Times By Oh Young-jin Which is wrong, the award or its recipient? That is the question I had as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to Seoul to receive the 14th Seoul Peace Prize that has a handsome cash award. My answer is that the award is more wrong than the winner. The reason goes back to when Modi's selection was announced in October. The award committee said that it chose Modi for his contribution to improving the livelihood of 1.35 billion Indians; enhancing humankind's welfare, thereby global peace, and stabilizing Asia-Pacific regions. First, how has he improved the entire Indian population's lot? U.S. President Donald Trump is with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their June summit in Singapore. Yonhap By Oh Young-jin U.S. President Donald Trump talked about being in love with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a rally before the Nov. 6 mid-term elections. It was obviously a slip of the tongue because his follow-up rhetoric showed his love was neither platonic nor erotic but perhaps a third kind one that is only possible by a dictator or between the two. Trump's dictatorial love for Kim and the latter's willingness to follow Trump's lead are not bad for the rest of the world by some modest standards. Next week's Hanoi, Vietnam, summit between the two will surely prove it. The chance is that they may settle on agreeing to disagree to get things moving but with no breakthroughs. The pace and nature of their dialogue looks comparable to the courtship at the tantalizing starting stages of a mating dance in the animal world. That would help maintain the state of no war on the Korean Peninsula and hopefully ultimately lead to a firmer and lasting peace. Not so fast, though! Any courtship is bound to have ups and downs and perhaps one of a dictatorial nature is more likely than others to turn cold for no apparent reason or make irreconcilable enemies of the lovers. Kim is not Trump's first dictatorial lover and Trump's previous relationships have not ended well. MADRID, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Spanish-made cosmetic products are making important inroads into the Chinese market thanks to companies such as Sesderma and are now among the biggest sellers in the Asian giant's ever-growing market. Sesderma, which was founded in 1989 in a small laboratory in Valencia in eastern Spain, has grown to become a reference for Spanish cosmetics on a global scale. The company began to export to China in August 2017 only, and already 12 percent of its sales are realized on the Chinese market. Its revenues totaled 30.8 million euros (34.9 million U.S. dollars) in 2018, 26.9 percent more than in 2017. "China is a society where they value skin care enormously and they begin to look after their skin much earlier than in the west," the company's founder and Director General, Gabriel Serrano, told Xinhua. In Spain "people begin to use skin care products aged around 30. If you do things well, you can maintain those clients through their 40s, 50s, 60s and the rest of their lives. The aim is to build client loyalty among our Chinese customers," he said in an exclusive interview. Serrano explained that online platforms, such as Alibaba, were vital in opening doors for his company in the "demanding" Chinese market. "It doesn't matter how much marketing you do, if you don't have a good product, you can't be successful. Pages such as Alibaba, which have a space where buyers can leave their opinions, have helped us to be more visible and to grow," he said. China's 'Singles Day' on Nov. 11 exemplified Sesderma's growth in the country: it billed 5 million euros on that one day in what Serrano described as "a record when compared to the previous year (2017), when we had sales of 1.2 million euros". "We have helped to consolidate Spain (and Spanish cosmetics) in China ... Now, thanks to us, Spain is sixth in the ranking (of sales) and that means we have made a lot of progress," commented Serrano. Other companies that have been successful in exporting to China include Cantabria Labs, which began commercializing its products in Feb. 2018. The company's Managing Director, Juan Matji, has recently explained in the "El Espanol" online newspaper that "China is currently one of the focus points of our business strategy. It is a key market where the skin care sector is growing." Other Spanish laboratories, such as ISDIN, Natura Bisse, MartiDerm or Puig, have all helped increase Spain's market share in China. By Lee Suh-yoon The top court's Thursday decision to raise the expected legal maximum age for physical work from 60 to 65 is likely to affect many sectors of the rapidly aging society, causing debates on age adjustment for retirement, insurance, elderly benefits and others. On Thursday, in a compensation suit involving the 2015 wrongful death of a four-year-old child surnamed Park at a swimming pool in Incheon, the Supreme Court overturned its 1989 decision that set the maximum legal age for physical work at 60. The court said the boy's lifetime lost income should be calculated on the premise he would have carried out physical work until the age of 65. To support its decision, it cited changes in key socioeconomic factors such as the increased average lifespan. As the age limit is applied when calculating lost income in compensation cases on the premise that the person would have engaged in manual labor, the ruling is likely to affect the age limits for white-collar professions, which have already been varied, such as 65 for doctors and writers and 70 for lawyers or pastors. The insurance industry is affected the most directly, because in car insurance, compensation is calculated with the age set at 60. If the age is pushed up to 65, the compensation amount would increase. Other than compensation cases, the ruling is expected to re-ignite the debate of raising the retirement age. The general retirement age in Korea is 60, at which most Koreans are still healthy and entirely capable of working. Most are forced to find part-time work or open their own business to pay their bills after retirement. According to OECD data between 2011 and 2016, the actual age people stop working in Korea was 72 for men and 72.2 for women, higher than the OECD average of 65.1 and 63.6, respectively. The debate over retirement age will also be linked to pensions. The government is planning to gradually raise the age eligible to receive the national pension due to budget issues amid the aging population. "Starting in 2033, people can only receive their pensions starting at the age of 65. If they must all retire at age 60 like now, there will be a five-year no-income gap for the elderly," Roh Hee-bum, the lawyer who represented Park's parents in the case, told The Korea Times. The ruling will support the government's plan to revise the legal definition of "old age" to 70 from the current 65, also due to the aging society and the financial burden the state and younger generations have to shoulder. Sixty-five is the age when people can receive elderly benefits in welfare, such as free subway rides and free vaccinations. By Yi Whan-woo Widows of two late Americans who served as missionaries in Korea have sent a letter of protest to National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang over some lawmakers' latest attempt to distort the truth about the democratic uprising in Gwangju on May 18, 1980. According to the National Assembly, Friday, Barbara Peterson and Martha Huntley are taking the case very seriously because it goes against what they and their late husbands Arnold Peterson and Charles Betts Huntley witnessed. The two missionaries and their families lived in Gwangju from 1969 to 1985. They were on the scene when Army Major General Chun Doo-hwan's military junta suppressed and massacred hundreds of pro-democracy protesters in the streets. Some far-right politicians still refuse to acknowledge that the massacre took place apparently under Chun's order. They instead argue North Korean agents infiltrated Gwangju and instigated a riot which Chun suppressed. During a public hearing on Feb. 8, two main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) legislators Lee Jong-myeong and Kim Soon-rye brought up the conspiracy theory. Another LKP lawmaker, Kim Jin-tae, was not on the scene but also brought up the issue in his video message. "It was an illicit assault upon our city of 800,000 people by military force under the control of Chun Doo-hwan," the widows said in a letter, adding their husbands took the photographs that were used in Chun's trial. They included an image of a helicopter firing upon people, many of whom were brought to Gwangju Christian Hospital. "Believe us, we know what happened in Gwangju we were eye-witnesses and we recorded what we saw and experienced." Commenting on the three LKP lawmakers' argument, the widows called it "blatantly false" and that democracy must be based upon truth. They asked the three lawmakers to be rebuked, if not removed, "so that people can trust the National Assembly of Korea." Lee Hyun-seung, center, the CEO of Policy Bridge, talks with a group of people in their 20s and 30s willing to run for district representative elections. / Courtesy of Lee Hyun-seung Policy Bridge head make people access easily to politics By Jung Hae-myoung These days it is easy for people to submit online petitions through the Cheong Wa Dae website on various political and social issues. But before the website, there were efforts to connect politics and citizens, and Policy Bridge, created in 2016, was one of them. Lee Hyun-seung is the CEO of Policy Bridge and Polbox, another platform, and has been devising methods to build a bridge between politics and the public. "There was no platform that connected the political arena and citizens," Lee told The Korea Times. "Now there are websites where people can freely raise their political voices and policy ideas online, but portal sites used to be the only places where people could speak." He started the platforms hoping to make political movements practical. Lee first got the idea while working at the National Assembly as a staffer of a lawmaker. "The politicians in the party I was working for were passionate about gathering signatures (from citizens supportive of their policy ideas)," Lee said. "However, there was not much difference even with a million signatures. It seemed ineffective and I felt sorry for the people who gave us their personal information. "So I wanted to make a platform that could really make the changes that people want." Two other staffers, a designer and three to four lawyers gathered as a team. "Startups in the political field are not a safe way to make profits, and even more so in Korea because lobbying is not legal here," Lee said. "However, we met a lot of people who wanted to give opinions but did not know how to." For such people, he makes online campaigns to attract people with similar opinions and helps them put the campaigns into practice through crowdfunding. In one case, he helped set up a law to prohibit zootomy at schools by receiving petitions. "More than 110,000 frogs are killed for anatomy class and the practice is also significantly traumatic for students," Lee said. "We made a request to replace it with a teaching aid model, transferred the request to the National Assembly and (with some lawmakers submitting a bill) it was finally passed." In 2018, he organized a group of people in their 20s and 30s who wanted to run as independent candidates for district councilors at local elections. "Most of them had never been involved in politics," Lee said. "People from different fields, such as academics, bakers and even interpreters came. Regardless of the result, it was very good to see ordinary people running for the district councilor election." The business started with a good cause, but it is not an easy path. Most people are not willing to "pay" to execute rights they already have. "For YouTube, it can attract people with specific political orientations, so it can earn profit very easily," Lee said. "Our platforms focus on providing technology and service regardless of political inclination, so there are some challenges." But he is continuing to bridge the gap between the public and politicians. "Currently we are renewing the websites and developing a system to process information and data stacked up in the National Assembly," Lee said. "We hope such technology can promote sustainable development and give citizens a chance to express their political opinions more efficiently." By Lee Min-hyung U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton President Moon Jae-in, right, shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after their joint press conference at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed Friday to strengthen military ties and defense industry cooperation between the two countries. During their summit in Seoul, the leaders also agreed to complete the two nations' negotiations to upgrade their bilateral free trade pact at an early date, according to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. Modi arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a two-day state visit. His trip reciprocated Moon's state visit to India last year. After a one-on-one meeting and an expanded session involving their aides, the two leaders agreed to bolster bilateral military ties and defense industry cooperation and to better cope with the so-called fourth industrial revolution, Cheong Wa Dae said. Moon and Modi also agreed to speed up negotiations to enhance the countries' free trade agreement, known as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which took effect in January 2010. Seven rounds of talks have been held to push for further market liberalization. The leaders vowed efforts to closely cooperate to achieve their shared goal of raising two-way trade volume to $50 billion by 2030. The two leaders agreed to strengthen military ties and defense industry cooperation between the two countries. Yonhap The two leaders hug after their joint press conference at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap Moon and Modi also agreed to speed up negotiations to enhance the countries' free trade agreement, known as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Yonhap The poster for the exhibition titled "Korea's Independence Movement and Canadians," which will be open at the City Gallery in the basement of Seoul City Hall from Feb. 23 to March 31. / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government By Kim Hyun-bin The Seoul Metropolitan Government will hold an exhibition highlighting five Canadians who helped Koreans' independence activities during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement. The exhibition, "Korea's Independence Movement and Canadians," is being held at the City Gallery in the basement of Seoul City Hall from Feb. 23 to March 31. According to the city government, the exhibition recounts the five Canadians' sacrifices and contributions to Korea's independence and development. The most prominent figure among the five is Frank W. Schofield (1889-1970). After coming to Korea to be a professor at Severance Hospital in 1916, he helped independence activists. Schofield was the only foreigner who had been told of the plan for the March 1 movement and supported it secretly this is why he is called the "34th representative of Korean people," following the 33 cultural and religious leaders who released the Proclamation of Independence on March 1. Schofield wrote articles and photographed the movement, as well as of a massacre of Korean civilians by Japanese soldiers at a village named Jeam-ri in Gyeonggi Province about a month later. The Korean government later recognized his activities, granting a state medal in 1968. He was buried as a "patriot" in Seoul National Cemetery, the first foreigner to be honored this way. The other four are Stanley H. Martin (1890-1941), who gave medical treatments to wounded independence activists in Manchuria in March 1919 and reported the Japanese soldiers' massacre of Koreans in the region in 1920; Frederick A. McKenzie (1869-1931), who as a war correspondent covered independence activities and sponsored the movement after forming a Korea friendship society in the United Kingdom; Robert G. Grierson (1868-1965), who set up hospitals, schools and churches here to help the independence movement; and Archibald H. Barker (?-1927), who founded Myeongsin Girls' School and devoted himself to the education of women, Hangeul and Korean history. The exhibition's opening ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. on Feb. 26. Seoul Mayor Park Won-Soon, Dean Kevin Schofield, a grandson of Schofield, and Michael Danagher, Canada's ambassador to Korea, will attend. The exhibition will feature 50 items including photographs, illustrations, writings and video clips of the five people, including photos taken by Schofield. "The five Canadians were independence fighters who showed the world Koreans' will for independence and led the country's development in medical and education sectors," Mayor Park said. "Regardless of their nationality, we will always remember their sacrifices and spirit." A cyclist wearing a Vietnamese conical hat passes by a signboard about the second U.S.-North Korea summit scheduled for Feb. 27 and 28 in Hanoi, Friday. Yonhap By Yi Whan-woo U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may meet in Hanoi, Vietnam, for just one day on Feb. 28, according to U.S. and South Korean foreign ministry officials, Friday. This is different from Trump's initial announcement earlier this month that his summit with Kim will last for two days from Feb. 27 to 28. Meanwhile, some media reports said China has beefed up security in border areas near North Korea, speculating that Kim may travel to Vietnam via China using his exclusive train, instead of a plane. Some officials said they are concerned that one day will not be sufficient for the two leaders to discuss a roadmap for denuclearization and urged them not to repeat the vague commitments produced in their first summit in Singapore last year. Trump and Kim stayed in Singapore for three days from June 10 to 12, but met only once on June 12. "The second Trump-Kim meeting is likely to take place for just one day on Feb. 28," a Seoul ministry official said on condition of anonymity. By Park Si-soo The state human rights watchdog urges the justice ministry not to lock asylum seekers in a "prison-like" facility while their asylum applications are under examination. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea also called on the ministry to treat asylum seekers "in ways that better respect their human rights" and conduct pre-detention physical and mental health checkups thoroughly. The watchdog made the suggestion after inspecting three immigration processing centers in Hwaseong, Cheongju and Yeosu and interviewing asylum seekers there. Thirty-six foreigners seeking asylum are being detained, including some locked up for more than three years, the commission said. It said the asylum seekers spent most of their time inside a "cell," so many were suffering a chronic sense of loss or helplessness. To tackle this, the commission asked the ministry to give them "freedom" at least in a designated area to talk and interact with others. The watchdog also discovered the centers do not conduct pre-detention tests for infectious diseases, leaving detained foreigners facing a constant health risk. A pedestrian with mask walks past the wall of Seoul City Hall, a signboard on which advises people to wear masks due to fine dust, Friday. The central and local government issued emergency anti-ultrafine dust measures for two straight days with the dust levels high across the country. The National Institute of Environmental Research predicts the fine dust level will stay "bad" during the weekend. / Yonhap A Chinese hotel near the border with North Korea stopped receiving reservations for this weekend, a source said Friday, in a sign that the North's leader Kim Jong-un could travel to Vietnam by train for his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. "The Zhonglian hotel abruptly decided on Thursday afternoon to stop receiving reservations for Saturday and Sunday," a source said. "It is not receiving foreigners starting Friday and began to cancel bookings. This could be related to Chairman Kim's trip." The hotel in the Chinese border city of Dandong is located near the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge that links the two countries. The move came amid speculation over whether the North Korean leader will fly or travel by train all the way to the Southeast Asian nation for the upcoming summit in Hanoi set for Feb. 27-28. Speculation abound as Hanoi summit approaches Trump signals more meetings after Hanoi Inter-Korean joint celebration for independence uprising cancelled The hotel has not received bookings in the past when the North's leader has traveled to China by train. The hotel's decision suggests that Kim's train could cross into China on Saturday evening and arrive in Beijing on Sunday, where he could meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping before heading to Hanoi for talks with Trump. Another possibility is that Kim could fly to Vietnam but still send the special train to the Southeast Asian nation empty so that he can take it to get back home. In that case, he could meet with Xi on the way to Pyongyang. "Even if Kim's special train crosses over Dandong, we can't know for sure that the leader is on board," another source said. WARSAW, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- If Poland bans Chinese tech giant Huawei from 5G development in the country, it could delay the entire network growth, the CEO of T-Mobile Poland said Thursday. "If you exclude a market leader, and Huawei is a market leader in new technology, and knowing that you have almost all operators having Huawei equipment, this will bring some difficulties, this is clear. This could end up in a delay," Andreas Maierhofer, the T-Mobile Poland CEO, was quoted by media as saying during a press conference about the company's annual results. T-Mobile Poland, owned by Deutsche Telekom, launched a commercial 5G network in Warsaw at the end of 2018, using technology from Huawei. Initially tested on selected business partners in the center of the capital, it would be expanded gradually into other cities. The U.S. has been urging Poland and other EU countries to exclude Huawei from 5G development, claiming the company's technology would compromise users' security. Huawei denies claims that its technology could be used for espionage, and until now no evidence has been raised to support the allegations. Huawei said earlier this month that the company has an excellent cyber security record, with its devices being approved by strict reviews by multiple regulators and operators. Officials from Entekhab Industrial and Dongbu Daewoo Electronics celebrate the opening of Daewoo's office in Iran in 2016. Entekhab's homepage By Park Hyong-ki The country's regulator and an Iranian investor are expected to face a long legal battle over a dispute involving a business deal for Daewoo Electronics nine years ago, industry sources say. Iran's Dayyani Group, the owner of Entekhab Industrial, gained approval recently from a Netherlands court to seize assets of Korean companies operating in the Netherlands, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and KEB Hana Bank. Those subject to the seizure attempt include debts the companies owed to the Korean government. It has seemingly filed the lawsuit there to fight back the Financial Services Commission (FSC), which on behalf of the Korean government refused to compensate $80 million to the Iranian investor after the FSC lost to Dayyani in an investor-state lawsuit last year. Dayyani won the investor-state dispute (ISD) in June 2018 after claiming it had been discriminated against and treated unfairly by the Korean government during its bid for Daewoo Electronics in 2010. It then claimed Korea violated an investment treaty with Iran, and it intentionally forfeited its Daewoo bid, even though Dayyani, the preferred bidder, paid $51.5 million as a 10 percent down payment through its Singapore-based subsidiary and signed a contract with Daewoo's main creditor Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO). It had been said that the deal broke down then as Iran was facing economic sanctions amid tensions with the United States. After the deal fell through, Daewoo Electronics was sold to Dongbu Group and renamed as Dongbu Daewoo Electronics. The creditor's argument for canceling its contract with Entekhab as the preferred bidder was the uncertainty over the Iranian company's acquisition financing. The regulator has filed an appeal with the High Court of Justice in England to nullify the ISD ruling. "We will concentrate our energy on the appeal case," an FSC official said. However, industry sources say the Iranian investor may likely extend the fight even after the FSC wins the nullification, given its claims. The FSC's two key arguments for the nullification are KAMCO is not a government agency, and Dayyani's Singapore subsidiary D&A, not Dayyani, tried to make a deal with KAMCO. KAMCO is listed as a quasi-sovereign company whose management falls under the FSC's jurisdiction, according to the government's filing of public enterprises. This means KAMCO operates the same way as Korea Credit Guarantee Fund and Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. Those two are also categorized as quasi-government firms under the FSC's jurisdiction. Dayyani may try to go after KAMCO if the England court rules in favor of the regulator, which would not only further cost both sides, but also set legal precedents for Korea's future investor disputes, sources say. "This legal proceeding may become a precedent for ongoing and future investor-state disputes including the one with Lone Star," an industry source said. The government and Lone Star, a Texas-based private equity, are also facing an investor-state dispute involving the purchase and sale of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB). The ISD ruling for the Lone Star case is expected to come out in the latter half of this year. KEB was sold to Hana Financial Group. Judges and the host of "High School Rapper" pose at a press conference for the show's third season held at CJ ENM Center in western Seoul, Friday. From left are rappers Giriboy, Kid Milli, The Quiett, CODE KUNST, Nucksal, Boi B, Hangzoo, and producer duo Groovyroom. Courtesy of Mnet Kokomo, IN (46901) Today Scattered thunderstorms in the morning becoming more widespread in the afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High near 85F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Variably cloudy with scattered thunderstorms. Low near 70F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. LISBON, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Portugal Cai Run said here on Wednesday that China-Portugal cooperation has broad prospects, especially under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). He said the two countries, marking the 40th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties, have been promoting mutual understanding, respect and trust, as well as enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation. The two sides have carried out pragmatic cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, investment, energy, science and technology, ocean, finance, education, culture and tourism, bringing tangible benefit to the two peoples, said Cai in a joint interview with Chinese media. He said since China proposed in 2013 the BRI, which refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, more than 140 countries and international organizations including Portugal have signed documents on cooperation under the initiative and substantial progress has been made in a large number of key projects. He added that China successfully hosted the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2017 and Portugal was also an important participant. The Sino-Portuguese cooperation under the BRI framework was built on a natural advantage, as Portugal is a maritime country and an important hub connecting the silk road on the land and in the sea, he said. The Chinese ambassador also mentioned that Portugal is an important partner of China and is one of the founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank initiated by China. He added that Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Antonio Costa have stated that Portugal supports the BRI and is willing to expand pragmatic cooperation with China in various fields under the BRI framework. The ambassador said China and Portugal could work together to further integrate the bilateral cooperation with their respective development strategies, so as to better benefit the two peoples. Triplets are rare, but identical triplets are especially unusual. According to Dr. Jessica Highfill, an OBGYN, the odds of identical triplets are roughly 93 in 100,000. MOUNT VERNON -- Mount Vernon Municipal Court Judge John Thatcher found 16 guilty after arraignments and hearings were held at the Mount Vernon Municipal Court this week. Feb. 19 The Feb. 19 session included these 14 cases. Kylie M. Stotts, 25 of Mount Vernon, was found guilty of Operating a Vehicle with a Temporary Instruction Permit without a Licensed Driver. The Court sentenced her to pay a $25 fine. Janet S. Walton, 44 of Newark, was found guilty of Speeding. The Court sentenced her to pay a $25 fine. Mark T. Wolfe, 52 of Mount Vernon, was found guilty of Driving Without a Seatbelt. The Court sentenced him to pay a $30 fine. Megan J. Helfrich, 22 of Howard, was found guilty of Failing To Stop for a School Bus. The Court sentenced her to pay a $50 fine. Amanda N. Shafer, 33 of Mount Vernon, was found guilty of Driving Without a Valid Operators License. The Court sentenced her to pay a $50 fine. Heather R. Trombley, 26 of Mount Vernon, was found guilty of Driving Under Suspension. The Court sentenced her to pay a $250 fine. Brett T. Bonsel, 23 of Marion, was found guilty of Driving Under a 12-point Suspension. The Court sentenced him to serve three days in jail. Jon P. Mickley, 31 of Danville, was found guilty of Menacing. The Court sentenced him to serve 30 days in jail. Jason W. Hogan, 43 of Mount Vernon, was found guilty of two counts of Criminal Trespassing. The Court sentenced him to serve 18 days in jail for each count. Jared D. Farabaugh, 27 of Mount Vernon, was found guilty of Aggravated Menacing and Assault. The Court will sentence him on March 26, 2019. David E. Gulvas, 32 of Columbus, was found guilty of Operating a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol and/or a Drug of Abuse and Failure To Comply with the Signal of a Police Officer. The Court sentenced him to pay a $500 fine, serve 180 days in jail, with 169 days suspended, and placed him on two years of community control with the following condition: attend and complete a 72-hour drivers intervention program and suspended his operators license for one year for the Driving Under the Influence charge. The Court sentenced him to serve 11 days in jail and suspended his license for 180 days for the Failing To Comply charge. Conor C. Pollock, 26 of Mount Vernon, was found guilty of Theft. The Court will sentence him on April 23, 2019. Lee A. Kitzmiller, 42 of Bellville, was found guilty of Operating a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol or a Drug of Abuse. The Court sentenced him to pay a $500 fine, serve 180 days in jail, with 177 days suspended, and placed him on two years of community control with the following condition: attend and complete a 72-hour driver intervention program and suspended his operators license for one year. Anna M. Morris, 36 of Mount Vernon, was found guilty of Driving Under Suspension and Possessing Drug Abuse Instruments. The Court sentenced her to serve 30 days in jail for each charge. Director of Law Rob Broeren represented the State of Ohio and the City of Mount Vernon in the cases. Feb. 20 The Feb. 20 session included these two cases. Hussein M. Hussein, 31 of Columbus, was found guilty of Speeding. The Court sentenced him to pay a $45 fine. Brandy N. Boreman, 37 of Mansfield, was found guilty of Driving Under Suspension and two counts of Failing To Use a Seatbelt. The Court sentenced her to pay a $300 fine for the Driving Under Suspension charge and a $30 fine for each of the Failure To Wear a Seatbelt charge. Director of Law Rob Broeren represented the State of Ohio in the cases. Feb. 21 Jury convicts Sanford of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol Mount Vernon Director of Law Rob Broeren announced on Feb. 21, 2019 a jury in the Mount Vernon Municipal Court convicted Justin L. Sanford, of Sunbury, of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. According to Broeren, the charge arose out of an incident that occurred on Oct. 27, 2018 at 2:04 am when Mr. Sanford drove his vehicle on South Mulberry Street and made a left-hand turn onto West Vine Street without using a signal. Mount Vernon Police Department Patrolman Justin Willis witnessed this traffic infraction and then conducted a traffic stop which led to the determination that Sanford was operating his vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Assistant Director of Law Brittany Whitney tried the case to the jury. She presented testimony from Patrolman Willis and Patrolman Zachary Uhler of the Mount Vernon Police Department and Deputy Sheriff Monica Wheeler of the Office of the Knox County Sheriff. The jury deliberated for approximately an hour and a half before returning the guilty verdict. Judge John C. Thatcher sentenced Mr. Davis to pay a fine of $500 plus court costs, serve 180 days in jail with 174 days suspended, placed him on two years of community control, with special conditions of supervision that he complete a 72-hour driver intervention program within 45 days, he complete a drug and alcohol assessment within 60 days, pay $100 per month on his fines and costs and that his drivers license be suspended for one year. Thatcher also found Mr. Sanford guilty of changing lanes without safety and fined him an additional $25. Sanford was represented by Attorney Daniel J. Sabol a principal in the law firm of SabolMallory. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday met with Jerome Walcott, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade of Barbados. Wang said Barbados has always pursued a friendly policy towards China, and the two countries will sign cooperation documents on jointly building the Belt and Road during Walcott's visit. It will not only inject new meanings to bilateral friendly relations, but also bring new prospects for their mutually beneficial cooperation, Wang said. Walcott said Barbados highly values relations with China, and welcomes and supports the Belt and Road Initiative. He said Barbados expects to strengthen cooperation with China under the framework of the Belt and Road. KJACK Radio is a production of students broadcasting from the Media Innovation Center at Northern Arizona Universitys School of Communication. In November 2015, the station received a license from the FCC and now broadcasts on 107.1 FM with the call sign KLJX-LP. School of Communication Former county commissioner to receive Statehood Day Achievement Award - Chillicothe Gazette CONNECT11 TWEET11 LinkedIn11 COMMENT11 EMAIL11 MORE11 CHILLICOTHE - Former Ross County Commissioner Jim Caldwell will receive the Chillicothe Kiwanis Club Statehood Day Achievement Award. Caldwell served as a commissioner for 40 years before retiring in 2016. His dedication to the community earned him the nomination for the achievement award, which is given to the person who best represents the "Spirit of Ohio." Buy Photo Former Ross County Commissioner Jim Caldwell will receive the Chillicothe Kiwanis Club Statehood Day Achievement Award. (Photo11: Jess Grimm/Gazette) He was selected to be the recipient of this years award because of his extensive service to the community as a commissioner, his service on various boards including president of the Ross County Board of Commissioners, trustee of the University of Rio Grande, original trustee in the establishment of the Chillicothe Education Foundation and the CHS Alumni Association, Board of Standards of the International Foundation for Retirement Education, trustee for the David Meade Massie Trust, founding member of the board of the Economic Development Alliance of Southern Ohio and the Director of the Vinton County National bank, according to the Chillicothe Kiwanis Club. The former commissioner credits his parents as his inspiration to serve. "My dad was a banker and he never got involved in politics, but he always was involved in a lot of community events and things like that," Caldwell told the Gazette in 2016 after announcing his retirement. While serving as commissioner, Caldwell helped with projects like Veterans Parkway, the 207 Connector, completion of the Ross County Jail, the creation of a county building and planning department to increase permit accessibility and the conversion of U.S. 35 into two lanes in each direction throughout the county. Caldwell was inspired to enter politics because of his desire to see the county develop economically. Since his departure from the commissioner's office in 2016, Chillicothe has undergone a massive downtown revitalization and economic development movement. Among his many recognitions, Caldwell was named Chillicothe Jaycees Citizen of the Year in 1974. He and his wife Pam reside in Chillicothe and enjoy spending time with their children and grandchildren. The Chillicothe Kiwanis Club and the Ross County Ministerial Association will present the 53rd Ohio Statehood Prayer Breakfast at the Trinity Methodist Church on March 2. Speakers during the event will include State Representative Emilia Sykes of Ohio House 34th District and the Reverend Ron Anderson for Chillicothe Adventist Church. Tickets can be obtained through a Kiwanis Member or at the Ross-Chillicothe Convention and Visitors Bureau located at 230 N. Plaza Blvd. CONNECT11 TWEET11 LinkedIn11 COMMENT11 EMAIL11 MORE11 Read or Share this story: https://www.chillicothegazette.com/story/news/2019/02/21/former-commissioner-receives-statehood-day-award/2926546002/ Christian County's two high school facilities are aging and dilapidated. Regardless of how the buildings came to be in the condition they are in, and whether the photos circulating on social media over the last few days were legitimate or not, there is no doubt that the fifty-plus year-old school buildings need to be rehabilitated or replaced. The only short-term solution to the issue is enacting a nickel tax to increase the system's bonding capacity. 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. After success in 1959 of the revolution led by Fidel Castro, Cuba became a communist satellite and spearheaded subversion in Latin America. The regime survived the collapse of the Soviet Union, a close ally and sponsor, but faces serious structural economic problems. President Barack Obamas 2016 visit to Cuba was the first by a U.S. chief executive since President Calvin Coolidge in 1928. However, Cuba remains a brutal and repressive dictatorship. Over the years, Venezuela received important aid from the government of Cuba, along with China and Russia. Early in this century, the FARC seemed to be gaining momentum. The evolving conflict resembled the first years of the United States long and costly military involvement in Vietnam. More and more civilian and uniformed American advisers were being sent, along with a steadily growing array of helicopters, arms and ammunition, and other materiel. The administration of President George W. Bush significantly expanded aid which began in the Clinton administration, and also tried to minimize media attention. This effort was eerily reminiscent of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, which endeavored before 1965 to deflect Vietnam from the news even as U.S. involvement increased. DOVER More than 100 people gathered at the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Dover Thursday to honor an Air Force veteran none of them ever met. Not a soul in the packed chapel would have recognized Mark E. Castren had he walked past them on the street. None of the assembled could tell you what he did for a living, or where he lived, or even how long he served in the U.S. Air Force. But the veterans community and additional well-wishers assembled to do what they do best, something theyve done from Valley Forge to Antietam, from the Somme to Guadalcanal, from Inchon to Khe Sanh and Afghanistan and beyond. Those in the room gathered to take care of their own. Castren passed on with no next of kin able to attend his funeral. There should be no service person left alone at the side of their grave, said Ken Skowronski, who serves the 82nd Assembly District, which is located in southeast Milwaukee County and includes Franklin, Greenfield and Greendale. Thats why were all here. Skowronski served in the Wisconsin Air National Guards 128th Air Refueling Wing from 1956 to 1962. SOMERS Freshman Congressman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., opened a Constituent Service Center Thursday in Somers. The office, in the Somers Village/Town Hall, 7511 12th St., is where First Congressional District residents can go for help with federal programming or to offer their opinions on public policy. I made a commitment to be as accessible and available as possible, Steil said, encouraging constituents to share their views on issues. It is super helpful to hear what people are thinking and what their ideas are. Thats helpful for me to be an advocate and try to find solutions to the problems we are facing in Washington. Walk-in hours will be 9 a.m. to noon on Mondays and 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday. Those wishing to meet outside of these hours can make an appointment. Help will be available for those who are seeking benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration and other federal agencies. Somers village president George Stoner said he appreciates Steil opening the service center in Somers, adding it is an appropriate use of the public building and will make it easier for local residents to connect with federal services. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with the foreign minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica Francine Baron in Beijing Thursday. China-Dominica relations have enjoyed sound development on the basis of sticking to the one-China policy, Wang said, adding that both sides should seize the opportunity of jointly participating in the Belt and Road Initiative to open up new space for mutually beneficial cooperation. Dominica adheres to the one-China policy, supports the Belt and Road Initiative and looks forward to coordinating and cooperating with China on various issues such as climate change, Baron said. Defense attorneys for a teenager accused of shooting and killing a Kenosha man will get access to evidence from a police investigation into the victim, who was suspected of child sex trafficking. Judge David Wilk ruled Thursday that the defense will have access to material from that investigation that the judge has already reviewed. He said he received additional DVDs and written materials from the investigation Wednesday, and will decide whether the defense will receive that material as well after he reviews it. Wilk said he believes the material is discoverable, meaning that the defense should have access to it in developing a defense strategy for its client. Whether the material would be admissible in court if the case goes to trial is another matter, Wilk said, and will be argued at a later date. Found in burning home Chrystul Kizer was 17 when she was arrested for the June 5, 2018, shooting death of Randall Volar III. Kizer, of Milwaukee, was alleged to have shot Volar, then set fire to his house at 7732 14th Ave. Volar, 34, had paid for an Uber to bring Kizer to his home. The last person who asked me that is still missing. If you need me, I'll be underwater. It's a dry heat. You call this hot? Bring it on. Vote View Results Subscribe to our podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you get podcasts. University of Kansas architecture professor J. Todd Achelpohls second-year architecture design studio class designed hypothetical plans for the downtown Lawrence Farmers' Market, a project second-year architecture students dont normally get to do. While the design project wasnt meant to decide any concrete design plans for the Lawrence Farmers' Market, it allowed the Board of Directors to explore its options if it decides to create a more permanent infrastructure in the future. The idea was not to identify a solution but to create a conversation, Achelpohl said. +4 Architecture students' project to make Spooner Hall courtyard more accessible The Spooner Hall courtyard is in the process of being renovated by University of Kansas students to make it more accessible for all communities. Last year, the Lawrence Farmers' Market board approached the School of Architecture and Design about potentially drawing up plans for a more permanent structure for the farmers market. The current farmers market is located at 824 New Hampshire St. and is open Saturday mornings from April to November. Each student spent half of the semester drawing a plan for one of four potential sites for the farmers market: its current location, 11th and Massachusetts Streets, 9th and Vermont Streets, and 6th and Massachusetts Streets. Achelpohl said the project fit his second-year design studio class, "Architectural Design I," last semester. The project allowed students to experience a real-world practical situation and client and at the same time were encouraged to think freely because their designs were hypothetical, Achelpohl said. The project also allowed the farmers market board, which might be constrained by funding in the future, to imagine more ideas for its project. I think it was kind of a win-win for everybody, Achelpohl said. The first step in the project had the students listen to a focus group about some of the issues the board identified with its current market. The focus group consisted of board members, local farmers and Lawrence residents. Achelpohl said the boards issues are mostly associated with its current location in a parking lot, which doesnt have any permanent infrastructure. The board identified a lack of shade as an issue, especially during the warmer months. It also said it wanted to have a clear route customers could follow through the farmers market to see each vendor. The students made these some of their chief concerns when drawing up their plans, Achelpohl said. Celine Khashram, a sophomore from St. Louis, Missouri, said she was most concerned with creating a sense of openness in her design while simultaneously giving the vendors shelter from the weather. Khashrams design included canopies to help with the issue of lack of shade. She said another focus of her design was creating a clear route through the market that customers could follow to see all of the vendors, which she learned was an issue during the focus group. They really wanted a sense of permanence, and thats what we were trying to show them, Khashram said. Isaac Taylor, a sophomore from Overland Park, incorporated a giant glass atrium into his design to maintain the promenade of Massachusetts Street at his site at 6th and Massachusetts Streets. Taylor said the project allowed for a good educational experience because they got to work with and design for a hypothetical client in a real-world situation. You never design in a vacuum, Taylor said. Theres always somebody who needs something, and you have to do what they want, not entirely what you want. Achelpohl said he also supplemented the project with certain educational goals for the architecture students. He had them think about parking and whether or not that would be a factor in their designs. The students also designed a food hall at each of the sites, which is similar to a farmers market but is enclosed and better suited for long-term businesses. +3 KU alumnus combines love of travel and architecture to create travel agency Upon being diagnosed with Crohn's disease and leaving his career in architecture, KU alumnus Mark Banker followed his passion for travel and started a travel agency, Vacation Architect, in January. There was the opportunity for the students to live in a real practical situation, but at the same time they were also encouraged to think very freely, Achelpohl said. The students models will be on display today, Feb. 22, at the Carnegie Building, 200 W 9th St., from 5 to 8 p.m. as part of Final Fridays. The event is free and open to the public. China aims to build several metropolitan areas with global influence by 2035, according to the country's top economic planner. Notable progress should be made by 2022 with improvement in infrastructure integration, freer markets, more coordinated industries and more livable environments, according to the guidelines released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Metropolitan areas are regions in city clusters which circle around a big city and are within an hour commute. China plans to build 19 city clusters by 2020. Support will be given to develop sectors like industrial design, cultural and creative products, and financial services to establish an industrial mix with modern services as the main pillar. Developing metropolitan areas will help optimize demographics and economic structures and stimulate effective investment and potential consumption demands, lending steam to economic expansion, the NDRC said. Finally, help has come in the way of ailing Nollywood veteran, Babatunde Omidina, simply known and addressed as Baba Suwe after he was admitted to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba. According to an actor, Odunlade Adekola, His admission was facilitated by the Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN) with the assistance of the Federal Ministry of Health. We wish him a quick recovery National chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus has said that the federal government and the All Progressives Congress, APC have declared war on his members nationally. Secondus said this in a statement signed by him on Friday, only a few hours to the commencement of the presidential and national assembly election, holding across the country. The opposition chairman said the Peace Accord, its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar signed with the APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, has been flagrantly broken by the APC and the federal government. The statement reads further: The peace accord signed by the two front-line Presidential candidates, Buhari of the All Progressives Congress, APC and Atiku of the PDP is virtually dead. All the terms of the agreement for peace has been broken by the ruling APC, who has deployed military and the Police operatives to arrest and detain PDP leaders across the country, statement continued. The party expects the Peace Committee and the international community to note the declaration of war on PDP leaders across the country by over zealous security operatives specially raised for this purpose as they operate in violation of the peace accord. The APC and President Buhari are not disposed for the peace as they have flagrantly violated the terms of the agreement. Mr Secondus also mentioned that his party men in Rivers state, are being harassed and arrested over flimsy excuses. See remaining part of statement below Reports reaching me from Kwara, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Kano, Kaduna and other states show that PDP leaders are being harassed with arrest and detention by security operatives on flimsy reasons. While APC is using Nigerian Army and Police personnel to chase PDP leaders across the country, they continue to give protection to APC leaders as they ferry money and election materials to various locations. Private jets belonging to APC leader in Lagos have been stationed at the airports protected by government operatives as money is being moved from the Central bank of Nigeria, Central Bank to states. The General Abdulsalami Abubakar led peace committee should take copious notice of all the happenings and note that APC and President Buhari are not disposed to any peace accord. Vanguard Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abdulrahman Ahmad, has picked holes in the figures given by Governor Nasir el-Rufai on the number of people killed in the crisis in Adara, Kajuru Local Government Area of the state, saying the governor pre-empted Police investigations. The Sun Barely 48 hours after the Accord Partys (AP) Chairman in Ogun State, Isiaka Amusa, announced the partys endorsement of the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Gboyega Isiaka, a faction of the party, yesterday, distanced itself from the purported adoption of Isiaka. Daily Times A Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit seeking to reopen the case of Senator Attai Aidoko (Kogi East) almost a year after the Supreme Court had sacked him from the National Assembly. Leadership The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has expressed the hope that the February 23, 2019 National Assembly elections may be repeated in the state if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fails Daily Trust Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has described as absurd, the lies, propaganda and accusations against President Muhammadu Buhari. The Nation 48 hours after Governor Nasir El-Rufai put the figure at 130, Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Ahmad Abdulrahman has said that the casualty figures of Kajuru killings is yet to be ascertained. Tribune The Chief Imam of Lagos State, Sheikh Sulaiman Abu-Nolla, has called on Nigerians to stand in unity and participate in the coming elections without perpetrating any form of violence. Nollywood actor turned politician, Desmond Oluwashola Elliot, simply known as Desmond Elliot has sparked reactions from Nigerians after commissioning a public toilet he built for his constituency today, February 21st. The lawmaker who represents Surulere constituency in the Lagos state house of Assembly is said to have constructed the toilet for two hundred thousand Naira only and Nigerians are of the opinion that the project lacks value. Reactions: People like Desmond Elliot is the big part of the reason we doubt these new generational not too young to run politicians. They are mostly younger versions of the old ones. Man is smiling and commissioning toilet. Tufia No one (Pilot by Affidavit) (@ilynem) February 21, 2019 Desmond Elliot jus Commissioned N200k toilet for his constituency..They even laced the toilet with Ribbon. Desmond ur Actn n Pol. Career didn't teach U anythng only to build Toilet!!!! We will throw All APC aspirants in that Toilet. #NeverAgain #RejectPoverty #RejectBuhari pic.twitter.com/3fMuMpW0lw Ink_Hart (@rizzza) February 21, 2019 If you want to be made useless in life join @APCNigeria Desmond Elliot commissions 200k public toilet project he built for his constituency pic.twitter.com/GS6xKZ0jgp Maetrix (@MaetrixOgbu) February 21, 2019 Nigerian actress and producer, Omoni Oboli has appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC not to make any announcement that wont favour Nigerians tonight. This appeal was made by the Nollywood actress in Friday evening apparently in reaction to last Saturdays election postponement just few hours to commencement. INEC had suddenly postponed the presidential and National Assembly elections from February 16th to 23rd, which is tomorrow. The actress wrote: We are all set to vote tomorrow. Today I will sleep early. Dear INEC, pls do not disappoint us. Dont make any announcement that wont favour us this night. God bless you as you conduct a peaceful free and fair election #NigeriaDecides2019 https://twitter.com/Omonioboli/status/1098991811522191366?s=19 Incumbent President and All Progressive Congress(APC) presidential candidate in the February 23rd presidential election, Muhammadu Buhari, addressed the country today, 22nd of February. Buhari, in his address, called on Nigerians to troop out in mass to exhibit their right to vote. He equally asked them to show faith in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)to conduct and also deliver a free and fair election it promised, despite the disappointing postponement of the polls by a week. His full text: Dear Nigerians, Finally, we have reached the eve of the rescheduled first round of this years general elections. Tomorrow, the polls open. Tomorrow, we affirm that Nigeria stands as a democracy and that no worldly hand can deter us from this wise and fitting path we have chosen for ourselves. While democracy is the most beneficial way to select a nations leaders, it is far from the easiest thing to achieve and maintain. It requires a combination of patience, tolerance, compassion, diligence, wisdom and hope. These traits exist in us the Nigerian people. Because of who we are, democracy has the chance to flourish in this land. Thus, I commend all of you for your patience and peaceful conduct so far during this electoral season and especially during this intervening week following the postponement of the February 16 elections. Many were worried and thought the worst might happen. You proved them wrong by showing that you are a great people with an abiding love for peace, democracy and the unity of our country. I believe INEC realises the profound and weighty duty that rests upon it. We must cast aside doubt and have faith that INEC will rise to the occasion. We must believe and encourage INEC to fulfill and honour this responsibility it owes to our country. As your President, I hereby ask all Nigerians with voting cards to participate in defining the future of our nation by exercising your democratic rights tomorrow. I urge you to go out and vote. I say this because elections are the cornerstone of representative governance. And voting constitutes the highest and best expression of the sovereign will of the people to choose the government that best represents them. It is only upon the freely expressed will of the people that government truly dedicated to the welfare, rights and interests of the people can be founded. Do not allow anyone to discourage you from the exercise of your rights as citizens and voters tomorrow. No matter our political leanings, we all believe in Nigeria, in the noble principles for which it stands and in the values we strive for our beloved nation to uphold. All who are able, must vote so that we may better perfect this democracy and continue to build the greater nation we seek. Do not be afraid of rumours of violence and unrest. Our security agencies have worked diligently to ensure that adequate security measures are in place. You will be able to vote in an atmosphere of openness and peace, devoid of fear from threat or intimidation. International and domestic monitors and observers are assured of their safety and freedom of movement needed to perform their important functions. As we thank domestic monitors and observers for their contributions to our democracy, we also thank the international groups for the friendship and concern they have demonstrated to our nation. We appreciate their efforts in encouraging us to further entrench and strengthen our democracy. Tomorrow is an encounter with history in which you, the people, shall affirm your collective belief in our national greatness and in our future. Honour your civic duty as voters by going to the polls tomorrow to vote for the government of your choice, for the government that will lead Nigeria toward its finest destiny. As citizens there is no greater duty than this and no greater honour. Tomorrow, I know you will once again make Nigeria proud of its people. May God bless our democracy and forever bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Codepink Disrupts Venezuelas Illegitimate US Ambassador By Ben Norton February 22, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin walked on stage at the February 21 event and grabbed the mic: These people are a fraud. They dont represent the Venezuelan people. They are representing the US-orchestrated coup, she said. These people here want to take Venezuela to a path of civil war and US intervention, Benjamin continued. BREAKING: @medeabenjamin and @ArielElyseGold just disrupted Carlos Vecchio, illegitimate Venezuelan president Juan Guaidos envoy to the US. The US is facilitating a coup that may very well lead to a civil war. We say: no coup, no civil war, no imperialism! #HandsOffVenezuela pic.twitter.com/P64OvPW8sY CODEPINK (@codepink) February 21, 2019 Vecchio, who was educated in and later defected to the United States, co-founded Venezuelas notorious right-wing Popular Will party with the coup-mongering opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Vecchio, Guaido, and Venezuelas right-wing coup operatives have been working closely with the US government to plan a stunt on the Colombia border on February 23, hyping a fabricated humanitarian crisis to justify US military intervention. This is a very dangerous situation. They want to create a crisis at the border that would be a justification for US intervention, Benjamin explained in her speech. This has nothing to do with a humanitarian situation. Indeed, for a humanitarian situation, the US would lift the economic sanctions that have exacerbated the crisis, she said. CODEPINK national co-director Ariel Gold joined her colleague on stage, holding a sign reading No coup in Venezuela. The issue at the border now is something that is politicizing humanitarian aid, Benjamin explained. That is why the Red Cross, the United Nations, and all the legitimate humanitarian groups have insisted that they will not touch with this aid. Benjamin called for political negotiations mediated by Mexico, Uruguay, and the Vatican. If you indeed care about the people of Venezuela, you will be calling for negotiations, she said. You will not recognize these people who are willing pawns in a Trump-orchestrated coup detat. BREAKING the Venezuelan opposition had a press conference today in Washington DC. What what @ArielElyseGold and I did pic.twitter.com/I8EbKjU6MR Medea Benjamin (@medeabenjamin) February 21, 2019 Ben Norton is a journalist and writer. He is a reporter for The Grayzone, and the producer of the Moderate Rebels podcast, which he co-hosts with Max Blumenthal. His website is BenNorton.com, and he tweets at @BenjaminNorton. This article was originally published by " Grey Zone " - Israel's first moon lander set to lift off from Kennedy Space Center Israel's first spacecraft was set to be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in the United States later on Thursday, Israeli officials said. If succeeded, Beresheet, or Genesis in Hebrew, would be the first privately-funded spacecraft to land on the moon. The 585-kg and 1.5-meter-high spacecraft is designed to land on the moon and eject a robotic vehicle that will tour its surface. According to a statement by Israel's Science and Technology Ministry, Beresheet is scheduled to take off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 8:45 p.m. local time (0145 GMT Friday). Its journey to the moon will take a few weeks, with landing expected on April 11, the statement said. Together with scientists at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science and an international team of experts, Beresheet is due to carry out scientific experiments on the lunar surface, including measuring and mapping the moon's magnetic field, the ministry said. It was built by SpaceIL, an Israeli non-profit space venture, and state-owned defense contractor Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) with a budget of 100 million U.S. dollars raised mostly by SpaceIL. SpaceIL Chairman Morris Kahn, a South African-born Israeli billionaire entrepreneur, told reporters on Monday that he hopes Beresheet will herald the beginning of a new area for Israel in space. "We show our initiative, and we've developed technology, which I think is going to be important. I think we got to take Israel into space," he said. Meanwhile, Israel's Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis said the launch will mark "national and historic events in the history of the state. The event is one of the greatest prides for the country and a national event in every respect." "The fact that Israel will be the fourth country in the world, alongside the United States, Russia and China, to land a spacecraft on the moon is cogent proof that we are an international science and technology power," he noted. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? By Chris Hedges and Scott Ritter Trump's decision to break the Iran deal threatens the world Scott Ritter, a former Marine intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector in Iraq, discusses the implications of the lost deal with On Contact host and journalist, Chris Hedges. ==See Also== Note To ICH Community We ask that you assist us in dissemination of the article published by ICH to your social media accounts and post links to the article from other websites. Thank you for your support. Peace and joy February 21, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - An app operated as part of an Israeli government propaganda campaign issued a mission for social media users to make comments against Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, accusing him of anti-Semitism. This is the latest evidence of an Israeli campaign of psychological warfare against the UKs main opposition party. The Act.IL app on Sunday falsely accused Corbyn of comparing Israel to Nazi Germany in a 2010 meeting which had been resurfaced by The Times last week. The mission was documented in this Tweet by Michael Bueckert, a Canadian researcher who has been monitoring the app since last year. Israels official propaganda app is promoting comments against @jeremycorbyn on @HuffPostUK. Strangely, these comments claim there is NOT a history of anti-semitism in the Labour Party... blaming antisemitism solely on Corbyns anti-Israel statements? #JeremyCorbyn pic.twitter.com/3Uqq5OGRjR Behind Israel's Troll Army (@AntiBDSApp) August 5, 2018 The reality is very different from the apps claims. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter As my colleague Adri Nieuwhof explains, Corbyn hosted a meeting titled Never Again For Anyone with Hajo Meyer, a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp and an anti-Zionist who spoke out strongly for Palestinian rights. Meyer passed away in 2014. The Act.IL app asks users to comment on Facebook in response to a Huffington Post UK story about Corbyns alleged anti-Israel remarks, which it claims are often a way to hide anti-Semitism. The mission directs users to click like on a comment by Facebook user Nancy Saada, and write their own comments echoing her criticisms of Labour. Nancy has posted elsewhere on her Facebook profile a photo of herself in an Israeli army uniform posing on an armored vehicle draped with an Israeli flag. Israeli sabotage As The Electronic Intifada reported earlier this year, the Act.IL app is a product of Israels strategic affairs ministry. That ministry directs Israels covert efforts to sabotage the Palestine solidarity movement around the world. Its top civil servant is a former army intelligence officer and the ministry is staffed by veterans of various spy agencies whose names are classified. The Act.IL mission is another piece of evidence of the Israeli campaign of psychological warfare against Labour. It is part of a long-running influence operation by Israel and its lobby groups to smear Corbyn, a veteran Palestine solidarity activist, and to label the party he leads institutionally anti-Semitic. The operation also aims to push Labour, where there is strong support for Palestinian rights among the grassroots, in a more pro-Israel direction. A covert element of the effort revealed last year by the undercover Al Jazeera documentary The Lobby involved attempts by the Israeli embassy to set up a grassroots pro-Israel organization for Labour youth. The campaign has found support among the declining Labour right, including many of the partys lawmakers, some of them involved with pro-Israel groups. The Jewish Labour Movement, an anti-Palestinian group deeply linked to the Israeli government, has been at the forefront of the effort. The group is run by Ella Rose, a former Israeli embassy officer. Rose has privately admitted that as JLM director, she maintained close links to Shai Masot, the Israeli embassy spy forced to leave the country last year after the Al Jazeera investigation exposed him plotting to take down a senior UK government minister. Masot was also spearheading the effort to manufacture a grassroots pro-Israel organization within the party, a tactic known as astroturfing. JLM demands Adam Langleben, the Jewish Labour Movements campaigns officer, issued his groups latest demands on Corbyn on Monday. These included that Labour adopt unamended the controversial IHRA definition of anti-Semitism which would define it as anti-Semitic to accurately describe the Israeli state as a racist endeavor. The Israel lobby group is also demanding that Labour drop Chris Williamson a leading leftist as a lawmaker. Instead of shutting down these claims as the bad faith attacks that they clearly are, Corbyn has continued a strategy of concession after concession that has only fueled the attacks. He has rolled back his position on important matters of principle, like BDS the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement for Palestinian rights. In a Guardian opinion piece on Friday, Corbyn offered dialogue with community organizations, including the Jewish Labour Movement to discuss their demand that the IHRA document be adopted in full, even as he acknowledged that some of its provisions have been used by those wanting to restrict criticism of Israel that is not anti-Semitic. It is unclear what Corbyn hopes to achieve in dialogue with a group that has close ties to a hostile foreign power committed to manipulating his party from within. Not surprisingly, the JLM immediately dismissed Corbyns opinion piece as another article bemoaning a situation. In his list of demands, the JLMs Langleben admits that any concession Corbyn makes will not be enough. These measures would have been welcomed, and maybe even celebrated, two years ago, he writes of his demands. But now Langleben claims that matters have reached the point of no return. Decisive and significant actions, not words, are the only thing that can bring us back from the brink, Langleben states. He doesnt say who must take this action, or what the action is. This is certainly open to the interpretation that the Jewish Labour Movement expects the party to take the action of ousting its leader. A warning to Labour activists on what to expect to happen next in the Labour anti-Semitism crisis witch hunt. Plus how this sabotage can be defeated. A thread Asa Winstanley (@AsaWinstanley) July 21, 2018 As for that brink, I warned in a widely shared Twitter thread last month that the Labour right and the Israel lobby may be planning a damaging split from the party. Since I made that prediction, there are more signs that this could be coming to pass. The most common response to my prediction on social media was to welcome their departure. But be warned: Mainstream media which have fueled sensational and often baseless smears will falsely portray any combined exit of right-wing lawmakers and anti-Palestinian activists as an exodus of Jews from the Labour Party. And yes, columnists supporting them will probably even use the same hackneyed biblical allusion. Venezuela US Attack Imminent? By Peter Koenig February 21, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Imagine, the President of the self-declared, exceptional and unique Superpower, Donald Trump of the United States of America, has the audacity to threaten the Venezuelan military with their lives, if they keep standing behind the democratically elected President Nicolas Maduro, and defending his Government. An open threat yesterday, 18 February, at a Miami University, in a speech of fire and fury; this time against socialist Venezuela with which he wants to finish, like with all other socialist nations especially those in his backyard. So, Cuba, Nicaragua and Bolivia are next in Trumps crosshairs and / or the crosshairs of his handlers. Dont forget, he is a staged and convenient fool for the Deep State or the Profound Government whatever you want to call this secret clan of the Chosen People that intends to rule the world. I cannot help being amazed at what level of inhumanity we have arrived. Trump calls openly out to assassinate those who stand behind the legitimate President of Venezuela and the rest of the world just looks on, watches and says NOTHING zilch, zero tolerates such atrocity coming from the mouth of a buffoon, aka the strongman of the self-proclaimed one and only superpower of the globe. No, much worse the so-called civilized west, the European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and some second- and third class puppet developing countries from South America, whose people are being starved while the elite admires and dances to the tune of the USA; united in what they call the Group of Lima (created in Lima in August 2017, to safe Venezuela). Members include, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Peru. In the meantime, Mexico, under her new leftwing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, or simply, AMLO, abstains from any decision against Venezuela. To the contrary, Mexico is part of the Montevideo Mechanism that comprises Mexico, Uruguay, Bolivia and the member countries of CARICOM and seeks conflict resolution through dialogue with the opposition, for which the Maduro Government has been ready from the beginning of the conflict, but which has been boycotted by the opposition, as were the 20 May 2018 elections which the non-participating opposition now calls a fraud. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter The Lima Group was initiated, as such unofficial clubs always are, to out-rule the official routes, by Washington. Similarly, Washington created The Friends of Syria all with the objective to bring about Regime Change. In the case of Venezuela, to circumvent the official representation of the Americas the OAS Organization of American States. Why? Because the empire was unable to get the legitimate majority of the OAS members to side with them against Venezuela. So, they organized the Lima Group, a club of the willing, of the utmost corrupted vassals, who believe at the end of the days to receive some crumbs of gracias from their northern master and tyrant or the vassals leaders (sic) hope perhaps for a safe haven, a castle in Miami? I often wonder whether such a dream of eventually, at the end of the day the end of all days perhaps? being saved by the surviving elite of the US of A in an untouched paradise, is also the dream of the European puppets, for example those that pull the EUs strings the Macrons, Merkels and Mays and, of course, the rest of the EU, the puppets of the puppets? What else could make them so miserably betray their people, hundreds of millions of people? Do they have not an iota of morals left? Coming back to Venezuela the Buffoon calls for outright war against the Maduro regime and to salvage the Venezuelan people, he sent US$ 20 million worth of humanitarian aid to Cucuta, border town in Colombia, which, of course, the Bolivarian army does not let enter Venezuela. There is no need for humanitarian aid, let alone for US$ 20 million worth, peanuts, as compared to what Venezuela buys on a daily basis in food and medical supplies. Undeniably, the US warmongers specially Bolton, Pompeo and Pence are preparing for a hot war. Whether they will execute it, remains to be seen. But the Bolivarian military does not idly watch what may happen. They are ready to face any Yankee aggression. The US southern military command, SOUTHCOM, stationed in Florida, is preparing an impressive military build-up. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, with 3,200 military personnel, 90 fighter planes and helicopters is positioned off the Florida coast, accompanied by the cruise missile carrier, USS Leyte Gulf, and the destroyers, USS Bainbridge, USS Gonzalez, USS Mason, and USS Nite. Joining the fleet is also the Spanish marine ship ESPS Mendez Nunez. The Spanish participation in this war game of criminal aggression is outrageous. The Spanish socialist leader, Pedro Sanchez (who certainly does not deserve the attribute of socialist), has also had the audacity requesting Nicolas Maduro to resign and call elections. Who is the (faltering) head of the fallen Spanish empire to meddle in another countrys internal affairs? Maybe because the Spaniards can still not stomach having been defeated by Simon Bolivar, still feel superior and behave racist over the brown Latinos, or maybe because he wants to please the masters in Washington or simply because he needs popular support in his own country, as he is leading a minority, currently non-government and had to call snap elections for 28 April 2019? There are, however, also Russia and China, solid, but rather quiet partners of Venezuelas. Russia has made it clear, though, Dont mess with Venezuela. Russia has two nuclear capable bombers, TU-160, deployed to the Venezuelan Caribbean island of la Orchila, where Moscow will establish, with the agreement of Venezuela, a permanent military base. Both Russia and China have tens of billions worth of investments in Venezuelas hydrocarbon industry. But besides the commercial interests, Russia and China vie for a multipolar world and want to guarantee the independence of Latin America, the sovereignty of the peoples of the Americas. On 26 January 2019, the US dragged the Case Venezuela to the UN Security Council, in an attempt to condemn Venezuela and to trailblaze the path for a military invasion. However, while nine of the 15 UNSC members voted for a special meeting on Venezuela (Belgium, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Kuwait, Peru, Poland, United Kingdom, United States), four voted against (China, Equatorial Guinea, Russian Federation, South Africa), with two abstentions (Cote dIvoire, Indonesia). The Russian Federations delegate countered that the Council has no role to play in a domestic matter that poses no threat to international peace and security. And right he is! This UNSC event prompted a solidarity movement of more than 50 states, including China, Russia, Cuba, DPRK, Syria, Iran, Palestine, Nicaragua, and many more, supporting Venezuelans Foreign Minister Jorge Arreazas statement before the Security Council, declaring the illegality of unilateral coercive economic sanctions, and territorial invasions by the United States. As Carla Stea reports, this new alliance constitutes a formidable force which Western capitalism will antagonize at its own peril. This is a long overdue counterforce to Western domination of the United Nations, a domination based on money, on the large payments enabling the US and other capitalist powers to bribe, threaten and otherwise control the direction of the UN, and distort and destroy the independence, impartiality and integrity which the UN requires in order to maintain its legitimacy, and implement the sustained global peace and justice for which Franklin Delano Roosevelt created it. This new alignment of more than 50 states comprise more than half of the worlds population, to a large extent people who have been exploited, slaughtered and their countries raped and ravaged for hundreds of years by wester capitalist and colonialist powers. This alliance promises to become a solid new face in the otherwise western dominated and bought United Nations. As to Venezuelas fate, Trump has made vague indications of 23 February being the deadline for an assault on Venezuela. We will see whether this remains nothing but an intimidating insinuation, or whether it will be real. The latter case would be a disaster not only for Venezuela, and Latin America, but for the entire world. Will Trumps handlers allow such blunder? In any case, Venezuelas armed forces are disposed to confront the empires nuclear aircraft carrier, missile launchers, countless fighter planes and the up to 5,000 US troops and mercenaries newly stationed in Colombia and ready to cross the border into Venezuela. And, not to forget, there are also Russia and China. Peter Koenig is an economist and geopolitical analyst. After working for over 30 years with the World Bank he penned Implosion, an economic thriller, based on his first-hand experience. Remember the Maine? By Adam Graham February 21, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - February 15 marks the anniversary of the destruction of the USS Maine, a momentous event that precipitated Americas involvement in the Cuban independence movement and what eventually became known as the Spanish American War. Most Americans gloss over this period in their history, it being quite overshadowed by the eventual scale of World War I. But for those who dig in and familiarize themselves with the circumstances and aftermath of the war, a familiar pattern emerges. The Spanish American War very much established a blueprint and example of how to portray a crisis to justify proceeding toward a desired intervention. It also solidified a departure from the long-held American tradition and disposition of non-intervention and avoidance of imperial activity, in stark contrast to its closest global rivals like Spain, England, and France. By increasing our awareness of this pattern, we can better identify and avoid such problems in the future. The Expansionist Zeitgeist The turn of the century in America was a very transformational era for the Union. For years, president Grover Cleveland had done much to limit the size and scope of government, from handling a number of railroad union strikes through injunction to preventing the annexation of Hawaii. But his replacement in William McKinley did not share Clevelands anti-imperial temperament, at least not for long. As well, westward expansion to the Pacific was largely complete and, as Frederick Jackson Turner concluded in 1893, this left Americans for the first time in their history without a frontier. That expansionist culture and desire had long impressed itself on the fabric of American life and now there was nowhere else to expand but beyond its current borders. On top of that, American industry was experiencing a glut in production and, everywhere one looked, there were voices, both within and without Washington, advocating expansion for the sake of the economy. Alfred Thayer Mahan, then director of the Naval War College, published a very influential book in 1890, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, that advocated for a strong navy and the establishment of bases abroad to support that navy in protecting foreign trade. (Never mind that a potential naval expansion would greatly benefit his very institution) Mahan was politically well connected, winning over the support of famed Senator Henry Cabot Lodge and Teddy Roosevelt. The consensus seemed to be firmly established. And it did not hurt that politically connected crony American industry had more than $50 million invested in Cuba. In the words of John Carlisle, the Secretary of the Treasury under Grover Cleveland, the prosperity of our people depends largely on their ability to sell their surplus products in foreign markets at remunerative prices. Given the spirit of the time, it is not difficult to see why Cuba represented an attractive first foray into such foreign adventurism. The largest Caribbean island, in very close proximity to the American coast, with a foreign occupier that was economically on the ropes, barely hanging onto its last remaining colonial vestiges, Cuba was quite the easy target. So, when a charismatic Jose Marti was able to unite a number of Cuban factions for one final stand against their Spanish occupiers in 1895, Washington found itself eager to assert itself. Never Miss Another Story Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter The Trap Is Set It is ironic to note that there is an eerie resemblance between McKinleys public statements and eventual actions and later presidential statements regarding presumed American neutrality, like those of Wilson and Roosevelt: in some ways, he provided the example. Though McKinley had previously stated that We want no wars of conquest; we must avoid the temptation of territorial aggression, his actions seem to contradict him. We have established that the spirit of the 1890s in America seemed committed to some future plan of economic growth in global markets, with that growth quite likely coming in the form of greater US influence outside of its borders and regional sphere of influence. The only seemingly lacking element remaining was a trigger, an opportunity and excuse to assert itself more forcefully. McKinleys placement of the USS Maine in Havana harbor represented exactly that and it is here that we note the emergence of a very common element of the aforementioned pattern of interventionist behavior in the history of US actions, that of initial American presence as a signal or even, put simply, bait. The mere presence of the Maine in this instance represented quite the risky and provocative gesture. And no matter what the intended effect may have been, the implications are no less heinous. In one scenario, McKinley and his executive branch placed hundreds of men and military equipment into an active guerrilla war zone with the possible goal of applying pressure against Spain for concessions. In an even worse scenario, those men were placed in harms way for the implicit goal of inviting violence and attack. Indeed, some mused that, There may be an explosion any day in Cuba which would settle a great many things, and, as we know now, it certainly did. Regardless of what the specific purpose of the Maines presence was, the result remains the same. On the night of February 15, 1898, the USS Maine exploded killing 268 men. Speculation was not in short supply following the explosion and the quick and constant blame placed on Spain surely did much to further the publics descent into war fever. The eventual inquiry conclusion was that the explosion occurred by an underwater mine which, even if correct, should not have been such a surprising possibility given its location. That conclusion has been called into question more recently, with more likely possibilities being that it could have been caused by an internal accident within the ship due to coal or gunpowder combustion. Whatever the cause of the explosion, the incident threw the citizenry into a frenzy and represents perhaps the first of what would be a long line of similar occurrences used as fuel for the fires of war. Consider World War I, in which the Lusitania and other ships found themselves in harms way and used as an excuse for belligerency. Or the Pacific Fleets presence in Pearl Harbor. Or the US Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, Lebanon. Or the Khobar Towers bombing in the mid-90s. Or any number of other similar examples. The overarching lesson is simple: in matters of war, the US has a long tradition of placing those sworn to protect in dangerous, compromising, and unnecessary situations and their deaths are then used as yet further justification for yet further dangerous action. Media Complicity In the aftermath of the USS Maine explosion, the media within the US was quick to finger the blame toward Spain. It may be tempting to conceive of the American press, with its protections against state encroachment, as having ever been a dispassionate arbiter or reporter of the facts. But throughout the years leading up to 1898 and the months following the event, the press was able to establish an authoritative perspective on Cuba that was sure to lead Americans to particular conclusions regarding what was best for Cubans and any possible involvement that the US should have. While it may be difficult to prove in any definitive sense, the coverage surrounding Cuban independence during the 1890s, like many future periods of interventionist fervor, almost seemed to be organized and co-opted by government itself, or, at least, certain influential members within it. There can be, of course, a great deal of synergy and advantage to such a relationship: state actors are very often interested in controlling their image and welcome positive light on their actions and the press has quite an incentive to drum up fear and uncertainty in its coverage so as to encourage sales and readership/viewership. This was certainly the case leading up the Spanish American War. One of the preeminent newspapermen of his day, William Randolph Hearst, took great pains to push public opinion through reporting against Spain and toward Cuba and war. Take, for example, the embarrassing intercepted letter of a Spanish diplomat criticizing then-president William McKinley. In pure, over the top fashion, the headline from Hearsts New York Journal read, Worst Insult to the United States in Its History. And following the Maine incident, with little to no evidence or inquiry into the actual cause of the explosion, the paper proclaimed that the Destruction of the Warship Maine Was the Work of an Enemy, even despite many statements to the contrary, with the Secretary of the Navy stating that it was probably the result of an accident, and Naval Academy experts adding that no torpedo such as is known in modern warfare can of itself cause an explosion as powerful as that which destroyed the Maine. Little thought seems to have been given to just why Spain would dare commit such an aggressive act, it being obviously against their interest of less US involvement. But Hearst believed that Maine is a great thing, and other media outlets and outspoken experts continued to reconsider and support Cuban intervention. Hearst filled page after page with mendacious scoops, fabricated interviews with unnamed government officials, and declarations that the battleship had been destroyed by treachery and split in two by an enemys secret infernal machine, the result being that the Journal doubled in circulation in a months time. Whitelaw Reid of the New York Tribune spoke of the absolute necessity of controlling Cuba for our own defense. This skewing of the truth continued even after the US declared war and became involved in combat in Cuba, with the press routinely downplaying the contributions of the Cubans themselves and glorifying the American efforts and involvement. If the American people were skeptical of this media bias, it certainly was not voiced loudly enough to make it into the history books. And the 20th century and beyond is rife with similar examples of the press and citizenry showing a remarkable tendency to avoid such criticism. Americans were swept into a fervor over the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, seemingly without much thought as to understanding their intentions or whether it was truly an unprovoked action. More recently, the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq saw the media toeing an incredible line, trusting government reports at face value despite contrary evidence. And in Syria, amazingly, little thought seems to have been given to Bashar al-Assads being blamed in a string of alleged chemical attacks, attacks which actually bear a striking resemblance to the USS Maine disaster, given the extreme disincentive for Assad to do any such thing given his position. Media support has long played a factor in swaying public opinion toward war and the Spanish American War is as good an example as any of that phenomenon. Cuba Libre and the Villainy That Opposed It One more ingredient was also present in the run-up to the Spanish American War and has played a very similar role in the rationale for intervention ever since; that of the indigenous population and its independence movement against Spain. Given the deep-rooted American ethos of freedom and independence, the message of Cuban independence could not help but resonate with the American people. That movement had a long history in Cuba, with its first and second attempts proven unsuccessful and the third finally being underway after fifteen years of planning. But these struggles are often too spread out and too complex for most to grasp or react to at the instinctual level required to garner the type of support needed for war. In order to do that, it can be more effective to use a symbol. The US needed a villain. And, given that the King of Spain at the time was a fourteen-year-old boy and the reigning regent an Austrian princess, another target was needed. That target was simple enough to find in General Valeriano Weyler. Kinzer details Hearsts portrayal of Weyler as: Weyler, the brute, the devastator of haciendas, and the outrager of womenpitiless, cold, an exterminator of menthere is nothing to prevent his carnal, animal brain from running riot with itself in inventing tortures and infamies of bloody debauchery. What was missing, to some extent, was the nasty nature of the conflict from both sides. Struggles for independence can often be portrayed in a very black and white, good and evil fashion, without the nuance that they deserve and without weighing the costs of those struggles. As Tom Woods distills regarding the portrayal by the press at the time; although Spanish brutalities were undeniable, yellow journalism had made the details of the conflict in Cuba between the government and the rebels seem simpler than they really were. While Weyler and the Spanish overlords indeed sought to avoid rebellion by often brutal means, such as the relocation of Cubans in rebel-held areas to fortified camps that resulted in the starvation and death of over 100,000 Cubans, rebel forces also incited violence and property damage, destroying farms, livestock, and sugar mills, that produced its own set of problems for the populace. Indeed, the truth of the matter was nowhere near as black and white as the yellow journalists of the time portrayed it. Historian Ralph Raico paints quite the different picture: Like many revolutionaries before and after, they had little real support among the mass of the population. Thus they resorted to terrorist tactics devastating the countryside, dynamiting railroads, and killing those who stood in their way. The Spanish authorities responded with harsh countermeasures. As well, as Bolton Hall, US labor leader at the time, pointed out, the cruelty exhibited in Cuba is no peculiarity of the Spanish race; within the last few weeks instances of cruelty to negroes have occurred in this country which equal, if they do not surpass, anything which has occurred in Cuba. This is made all the more tragic by the fact that, during the initial outbreak of rebellion in 1895, the U.S. actually sided with Spain, advocating Spanish rule with a measure of autonomy to the Cubans. As military historian Walter Millis surmised, seldom can history have recorded a plainer case of military aggression; yet seldom has a war been started in so profound a conviction of its righteousness. And it wouldnt be the last one to be started with this conviction, either. From the World Wars to the Cold War, any number of CIA regime change operations, like those against Mossadegh in Iran or Arbenz in Guatemala, to more modern examples like those of the deposition of Saddam Hussein in the war on terror (yet another example of a dictator outliving the previous usefulness they once possessed); all included a demonization element that, on the surface, seemed clear and convincing but, upon further investigation, quickly proved otherwise. The conclusion is a rather simple one: take no news as gospel truth, always question the popular sentiment, and never believe a politician that stands to gain from the actions they advocate for. The Bottom Line William Graham Sumner said of the Spanish American War, We have beaten Spain in a military conflict, but we are submitting to be conquered by her on the field of ideas and policies. Expansionism and imperialism are nothing but the old philosophies of national prosperity which have brought Spain to where she is now. In her great test and trial at the dawning of the 20th century, the United States failed to uphold her values. As a result, its people have also learned to live in the shadow of these past mistakes and, as evidenced by the continual cycle of US intervention, failed to uphold their values as well. But, with any luck, armed with the knowledge of what to look for, we can begin to break that cycle. Adam Graham is the founder of and primary contributor to www.nokingbutchrist.org . He lives in Virginia with his wife, two children, digital book collection, and comprehensive disdain for the State. This article was originally published by " The Libertarian Institute " - Putin on National Defense: Threats or a Bid to Negotiate on Arms Control? By Gilbert Doctorow February 21, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - As he stated at the outset, Vladimir Putins annual state of the nation address today before a joint session of the nations bicameral legislature was devoted preponderantly to domestic policy. He was expanding on the practical implications for the Russian population of the policy priorities for his current six-year term that he set out in decrees of May 2018. These have in the meantime taken the form of national projects organized around support to families to encourage childbearing and stabilize the national demographics; housing construction and financing; roads, ports and other transport infrastructure development; improved health services; upgrading public education; encouragement to business innovation and export; and the like. This material was delivered with a human touch, drawing on many experiences of contact with people from all walks of life that the President has gathered in specially organized meetings focused on these national projects at various cities around his vast country. He cited in particular his time in Kazan last week talking about housing. For most political observers outside of Russia, myself included, the domestic policy story was marginal to our interests, though we did sit up and pay close attention to his brief remarks on one achievement illustrating the strides the country is making in state of the art applied sciences. This was his description of the breakthrough represented by the design and production of the hypersonic Avangard missile system. He likened it to the launch into orbit of the first Sputnik and he promised spill-over of the science into the civilian economy. Otherwise, we foreigners had to wait until the very end of his speech to hear what brought us to watch this annual ritual in the first place. The raisins in our cake came when the President finally turned to international affairs. And there, after a rather cursory summary of Russias foreign policy priorities, his discourse shifted to defense issues raised by the recently announced American withdrawal from the Intermediate- Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty. Indeed, notwithstanding the mention a few moments before of the key importance of bilateral ties with China and also with India, Putins focus on Washington and the way the whole Russian defense industry is directed to meeting threats from the USA, highlights the centrality of that one country in Russian thinking. Thus, Putin allowed himself to mock Europe as US satellites. Further to the point, he went on to use folksy language that Nikita Khrushchev would surely a have approved to describe the Europeans as so many little piglets oinking their assent to Washingtons allegations of Russian INF violations. The audience in the hall turned to smiles and applauded enthusiastically. Western mainstream media have been quick to note the direct threat by Putin in his speech to respond to any US placement of nuclear armed cruise missiles in Europe by targeting not only the European host countries of such installations but the decision-making centers authorizing their use, meaning Washington. By its new hypersonic weapon systems, Russia would be able to reach targeted American cities within the same 10 12 minutes that the Americans would enjoy by lobbing their slower cruise missiles at Moscow from perches in Poland and Romania. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter This is tough talk over basic issues that suggest not so much a revisiting of the US-Russian Cold War confrontation over European based Pershings versus Soviet medium range SS20s targeting Western Europe in the 1980s, as a revisiting of the issues underlying the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. At that time, US missiles secretly based in Turkey brought a mirror image response from Russia (the Soviet Union) in the form of missiles positioned just off the American coast and having comparable flying times to hit the American heartland. Surely, as I have remarked in recent essays, the highly polished Putin is no Khrushchev, and he is careful to avoid appearing to issue threats. But the toughness is there under the velvet glove in speeches like todays. To allow readers to draw their own conclusions, I offer below my translation of the complete text of the speech relating to the United States. Gilbert Doctorow, 2019 Source of Russian text: http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/59863 Excerpt the final 12 minutes devoted to foreign and defense policy of a speech that ran approximately 90 minutes. The most acute and discussed issue today in Russian-American relations is the unilateral withdrawal of the USA from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Therefore, I am simply compelled to dwell on this in some detail. Yes, to be sure, from the moment of the conclusion of this Treaty in 1987 there have been serious changes in the world. Many countries have developed and continue to develop this form of weapons, whereas Russia and the USA do not. We voluntarily have restricted ourselves in this matter. Such a situation, of course, can raise questions; that is understandable. That is what our American partners should have said, honestly, and without using fabricated accusations against Russia to justify their unilateral withdrawal from the Treaty. It would have been better if, as in 2002, when they left the ABM Treaty, they had been open and honest about it. Whether this is a good or bad thing is another matter. I believe it is bad. But they did so and thats it. Here they should have acted honestly. How are they themselves acting in fact? They are violating everything and then seek justification and designate guilty parties. And still more, they mobilize their satellites: they are very cautious, but still like piglets they oink their assent on this question. At first, they began development and application of medium range missiles, seeking to divert attention by calling them target missiles for their missile defense system. Then they began installing in Europe the MK-41 multipurpose launchers which make it possible to perform combat use of the medium range Tomahawk cruise missiles. I am talking about this and taking your time with it only because we are compelled to respond to the accusations which we hear directed against us. But having done everything that I have just said, the USA openly disregarded and demonstratively ignored the whole set of provisions stipulated by articles 4 and 6 of the INF Treaty. In particular, according to point 1, article 4 of the Treaty, (and I quote) each of the parties liquidates its medium range missiles and launch installations for such missiles so that neither of the parties has such missiles and such launchers. In article 6, point 1, we see (I am reading word for word): after this Treaty comes into force and thereafter neither of the parties will produce any medium range missiles or carry out flight tests of such missiles, nor produce any stages of such missiles or any launch installations of such missiles. End of citation. By launching medium range target-missiles and by installing in Romania and Poland launchers suitable for use with Tomahawk cruise missiles, the USA directly and crudely violated these requirements of the Treaty. Well, they did this already long ago. In Romania these launch installations are already standing, and nothing, or seemingly nothing is happening. Strange, you might say. We see nothing strange. But people should see this and understand. How do we evaluate the situation in this regard. I have already said and want to repeat: Russia does not intend and this is very important, I repeat it especially Russia does not intend to be the first to locate such missiles in Europe. If they really will be produced and placed on the European Continent, and the USA has such plans, in any case we have not heard contrary statements, then this will greatly exacerbate the situation in the sphere of international security; it will create serious threats for Russia. After all, the flying time to Moscow of certain categories of such missiles can amount to 10 12 minutes. This is a very serious threat for us. In this case, we will be compelled, and I want to underline, precisely compelled, to take mirror-image and asymmetrical actions. What does this mean? I will say right now directly and openly what I am talking about so that no one will rebuke us later, and so that everything is clear in advance. Russia will be forced to create and deploy forms of weapons which can be used not only with respect to those territories from which the respective direct threat arises, but also with respect to those territories where are located the centers for taking decisions about using the missile complexes threatening us. What is important in this connection: here there is a lot that is new. By their tactical and technical characteristics, including flight time to the indicated management centers, these weapons will fully match the threats which are being directed against Russia. We know how to do this and we will carry out these plans immediately, as soon as the respective threats to us become real. I do not think that the international situation today is such that it needs additional and irresponsible exacerbation. We do not want this What do I want to add here? Our American colleagues have already tried to achieve absolute military superiority with the help of their global missile defense system. They must put such illusions aside. The response from our side will always be powerful and effective. Work on the promising models and systems of arms about which I spoke in my Address a year ago is continuing at an even pace, without interruptions, according to plan. We have begun serial production of the Avangard complex about which I already spoke today. This year, as was planned, the first regiment of the Strategic Missile Troops will be supplied with it. We are in production and carrying out the cycle of tests on the heavy, intercontinental missile Sarmat which has unprecedented power. The Peresvet laser installations and air force complexes equipped with the hypersonic Kinzhal missiles have confirmed their unique specifications in test and battle duty; the personnel have gained experience operating them. In December of this year all the Peresvety units delivered to the Armed Forces will be put on combat duty. We are continuing work to extend the infrastructure for hosting MiG-31 planes equipped with Kinzhal missiles. The tests are going well on our unlimited range cruise missile powered by the Burevestnk nuclear engine, as well as on the Poseidon, our underwater drone with unlimited range. In this connection, I want to make a very important remark. We didnt talk about this previously, but today I can say this: already in the spring of this year we will put out to sea our first atomic submarine carrying this drone complex. The work is proceeding according to plan. Today, I consider it possible also to officially inform you about still one more promising new unit. Remember that last time I said: there is something additional to talk about, but it is a bit early. Now, calmly we will tell you what we have held in the vaults. It is one more promising innovation, work on which is going successfully, with completion certain to occur within the planned timeline. Namely, I want to speak about the hypersonic Zircon missile, having a speed in flight of around Mach 9 and a range greater than one thousand kilometers, capable of destroying targets both on land and at sea. Its use is foreseen on naval carriers, serial produced surface ships and submarines, including those already produced or under construction and fitted with the high precision Kalibr missile complexes. That is to say, all of this will not incur extra costs for us. In this connection, I want to emphasize that for the defense of the national interests of Russia, we will turn over to the Russian Navy two three years earlier than scheduled seven new multifunctional submarines, and in the near future we will begin construction of five surface ships for global service, while a further 16 ships of this class will be introduced into the fleet by 2027. In closing out the subject of the unilateral withdrawal of the USA from the INF Treaty, I would like to say the following. In the past few years, the USA has been conducting towards Russia a policy which one could hardly call friendly. They ignore the lawful interests of Russia. They are constantly organizing various kinds of anti-Russian campaigns which are absolutely unprovoked, and I emphasize this, from our side. They introduce more and more new sanctions which are illegal from the standpoint of international law. They are dismantling unilaterally practically all the treaties and legal basis of international security that developed over recent decades, and at the same time they just about call Russia the main threat to the USA. I will say directly that this is untrue. Russia wants to have full-bodied, equitable and friendly relations with the USA. Russia is not threatening anyone. All of our actions in the sphere of security bear an exclusively reactive, meaning defensive character. We are not interested in a confrontation and do not want it, least of all with such a global power as the United States of America. But it would appear that our partners are not noticing how and with what speed the world is changing, where it is headed. They continue their destructive and clearly erroneous policy. It hardly corresponds to the interests of the USA itself. But that is not for us to decide. We see that we are dealing with businesslike, very talented people. However, among the ruling class there are many of those who are excessively captivated by the idea of their exceptionalism and their superiority over the rest of the world. It stands to reason that they have the right to think so if they wish. But do they know how to count? Surely they do. Let them calculate the range and speed of our upcoming weapons systems. We only ask one thing: let them first do their calculations, and only after that take decisions which can create serious threats for our country, understandably leading to actions in response from the Russian side to reliably ensure our security. Moreover, I already spoke about this and want to repeat it: we are ready for negotiations on disarmament, but we will no longer knock at a closed door. We will wait until our partners mature, come to understand the need for equitable dialogue on this subject. We will continue to develop our Armed Forces, to raise the intensity and quality of combat preparation, including our taking into account our experience from the anti-terrorist operation in Syria. And this was received by practically all the commanders of the major units of our Ground Troops, our special operations forces and military police, navy crews, army, tactical operations, strategic and military transport aviation. I want to emphasize the following: for steady and long-term development we need peace. All of our work to raise our defense capability has only one objective: it is directed towards ensuring the security of the country and of our citizens, so that no one will not only not think about committing aggression against Russia but will not try to use the methods of forcible pressure against our country. Full version of the speech before the joint houses of the Russian parliament. Gilbert Doctorow is a Brussels-based political analyst. His latest book Does Russia Have a Future? was published in August 2017. Reprinted with permission from his blog . This article was originally published by " Anti War " - Gilbert Doctorow, 2018 The Indiana Senate passed a bias crimes bill Feb. 21 that would allow judges to consider bias generally when imposing a criminal sentence, but Black leaders, along with many Democrats and Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, are unhappy with what the bill came to be. In its original form, Senate Bill 12 would have protected individuals and groups targeted for their race, religion, gender identity and other classifications, but the Senate approved an amendment Feb. 19 that stripped away that language. Indiana is one of five states without a hate crimes law. We cannot support that bill in its current form, said Barbara Bollings-Williams, president of the Indiana chapter of the NAACP. [Its] overly and unconstitutionally vague. Theyre playing games. Bollings-Williams said she hopes the bill doesnt pass in its current form and evoked a bias crimes law in Georgia that the state Supreme Court struck down in 2004 because it was unconstitutionally vague and so broad it could be applied to any possible prejudice. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives, where the fight over protected classes of people will continue. In a statement, Rep. Robin Shackleford, chair of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus, called SB 12 a weak, watered-down effort to appease groups that choose not to believe that such crimes exist. Those of us in the IBLC who serve in the House will not be quiet on bias crimes, the statement continued. We will take every opportunity to pass a bias crimes law that protects all Hoosiers, regardless of a persons race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, or age. House members who want to add language for protected classes back into the bill will have the support of Holcomb, who said in a Feb. 19 statement he will continue to fight for the right ultimate outcome for our state and citizens this year so were not right back here in the same place next year. Holcomb has not indicated if he would sign the bill as it is. If the House amends the bill in any way, it will go to a joint House and Senate committee that will resolve the differences. If the committee settles on acceptable language for the bill, it will go back to both chambers to be voted on again. Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick. Islamabad, Feb 22 (IBNS): Pakistan on Friday condoled the loss of lives in a fire tragedy in Bangladesh capital Dhaka which left 70 people dead. "The Government and People of Pakistan express deep condolences on the recent blaze in a factory which led to the tragic loss of precious lives and injured scores of others. We express deep sympathy with the bereaved families of the victims and wish speedy recovery of those injured in the incident," Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. A case for causing death by negligence has been filed by Bangladeshi officials over the incident. A relative of Arafat Islam Siyam, a 19-year-old who burnt to death, filed the case with the Chawkbazar Police Station on Friday, reported Bangladeshi news portal bdnews24. The case filed under the Penal Code accuses the two sons of Hazi Abdul Wahed, who owned one of the five buildings damaged by the fire, and 10-12 unnamed individuals, said Mohammad Ibrahim Khan, Lalbagh Deputy Commissioner of police, the news portal reported. 37 fire tenders took around 14 hours and even water was sprinkled from above by using helicopters to bring the flames under control. The bodies were sent to the morgue at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). Several bodies were even handed over later to the relatives of the deceased families. Image: Al Mamun Kabir Twitter page Beijing, Feb 22 (Xinhua/UNI) Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Friday met and co-chaired a meeting of a high-level steering committee with Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's crown prince, deputy prime minister and minister of defence. Applauding the rapid development of bilateral relations in recent years, Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China-Saudi Arabia had maintained close communication and coordination since the second meeting of the committee. The China-Saudi Arabia High-level Joint Committee was set up in 2016, and this year marks its third meeting. The steering committee is an all-round, high-level and institutionalized platform between the two governments, which has played an important coordinative role, Han said, adding that institutional building has been improved and abundant achievements yielded as a result of advanced cooperation in various fields since last meeting. The vice premier also made several suggestions on major cooperation fields and priority projects between the two countries. He suggested China and Saudi Arabia deepen political mutual trust, support each other's core interests and enhance communication and coordination in multilateral affairs. China and Saudi Arabia should strengthen the synergy of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Saudi Vision 2030, enhance pragmatic cooperation on energy, infrastructure construction, finance, and high tech, Han said. Han called on the two countries to push forward anti-terrorism, law enforcement and security cooperation, while enhancing experience exchanges on de-radicalization. China welcomes more cultural institutions from Saudi Arabia to participate in the international cultural cooperation mechanism under the Belt and Road Initiative, said Han, calling on the two countries to frequent people-to-people exchanges. Mohammed said Saudi Arabia attached great importance to the comprehensive strategic partnership with China, unswervingly adhered to the one-China policy, firmly supported China's efforts to safeguard its sovereignty, security and stability, and opposed external forces interfering in China's domestic affairs. He said Saudi Arabia was ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation in multilateral affairs with China, so as to better maintain common interests. Saudi Arabia is willing to work with China to enhance synergy of development strategies, deepen cooperation in jointly developing the Belt and Road, and bring benefits to both countries and peoples, Mohammed said. After the meeting, Han and Mohammed witnessed the signing of a series of cooperative agreements covering politics, shipping, capacity, energy and finance. Ramanathapuram, Feb 22 (UNI/IBNS) : Another five Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested by Sri Lankan Navy on Friday for allegedly fishing in the island nations's waters. Official sources said that the fishermen from Mandapam were fishing near Neduntheevu, when they were arrested. Sri Lankan Navy took the arrested fishermen to Talaimannar Navy camp, the sources said. It may recalled that five fishermen from Jagadapattinam in Pudukottai district were arrested by Sri Lankan Navy on Thursday when they were fishing Neduntheevu. The Sri Lankan Navy also arrested nine fishermen on Wednesday with alleged charge of fishing in Sri Lanka's territorial waters. All the nine fishermen from Manadapam in Ramanathapuram district, the sources said. Photo taken on June 6, 2017 shows the construction site of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in the Lingdingyang waters, south China. (Xinhua/Liang Xu) BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities have unveiled the outline development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, aiming to build it into a role model of high-quality development, an international first-class bay area and a world-class city cluster. The bay area consists of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and nine cities in Guangdong Province, with a combined population of about 70 million at the end of 2017 and a gross domestic product of about 10 trillion yuan (1.48 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2017. The plan, released on Monday, covers the period from now to 2022 in the immediate term and extends to 2035 in the long term. Promoting the development of the Greater Bay Area is a major decision made by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core. With his broad vision and profound wisdom, President Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has planned the bay area's development. The following is a timeline of some key moments of Xi's involvement in pushing forward the project. -- In December 2012, Xi visited Guangdong in his first inspection trip outside Beijing after the 18th CPC National Congress. He expressed the hope for Guangdong to partner with Hong Kong and Macao to create a more competitive world-class city cluster. -- On July 1, 2017, Xi witnessed the signing of a framework agreement between the National Development and Reform Commission and the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao on deepening Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao cooperation. -- In October 2017, development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was mentioned in the report Xi delivered at the 19th CPC National Congress. -- On Dec. 18, 2017, at the Central Economic Work Conference, Xi stressed well-conceived planning in the development of the Greater Bay Area and the need to set up coordination mechanisms at an early date. -- In May 2018, Xi presided over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee during which the outline development plan of the Greater Bay Area was reviewed. Xi repeatedly stressed, instructed and provided guidance to the bay area's planning, demanding higher standards of the top-level design. More specific instructions had also been made. These include letting market play a decisive role in allocating resources, and exploring ways to promote two-way investment, trade facilitation and create new modes of cooperation. -- In October 2018, Xi inspected Guangdong again, calling on Guangdong to regard developing the Greater Bay Area as a key opportunity and major task in the reform and opening-up and make earnest efforts to push it forward. -- On Oct. 23, 2018, Xi announced the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, a supergiant sea-crossing traffic project that links Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. This supergiant sea-crossing project has become a model of Greater Bay Area connectivity. -- In November 2018, meeting with a delegation from Hong Kong and Macao in Beijing, Xi expressed the hope for Hong Kong and Macao to take the lead in attracting capital, technology and talent to contribute to national high-quality economic development and the new round of high-level opening-up. For Hong Kong and Macao, Xi said, the implementation of national strategies such as the Greater Bay Area development presents significant new opportunities. Government ministries and agencies have responded with new policies and initiatives to advance the bay area's development. Private businesses and the general public are also enthusiastic. A great idea has been turned into a good plan and is becoming a reality. tupungato/iStock(NEW YORK) -- Hilton Hotels will launch a new brand for business travelers geared toward meetings and events, the company said on Friday. The new line will start with three locations: Bonnet Creek in Orlando, Florida, Atlanta, next to the Georgia World Congress Center, and downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. "In our 100th year of hospitality, we are more focused than ever on providing exceptional experiences to all of our guests - and that includes evolving those experiences to meet their changing needs," said Christopher J. Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton. The new brand is built around modern design, smart technology and meaningful dining options, David Marr, Hilton's global head of Full Service Brands, told ABC News. The hotels will also prioritize natural light throughout public spaces and guest rooms and wellness options. For example, guests will be able to access over 100 workouts in their rooms, as well as the gym. The hotels will also feature destination bars and restaurants with hopes of drawing local visitors as well as convention guests, Marr said. Hilton also hopes to upgrade the tech options of meeting hotels, after surveying developers and serial convention-goers. "We're not into the flashy tech that changes overnight -- people say they want smart tech that makes my meeting more efficient," Marr said. This includes wireless charging stations, digital whiteboards and a smart guest room. Building on the company's current offering through its Hilton Honors app, attendees will be able to control the lighting, temperature, or access their own Netflix accounts. It's also laying the groundwork for 5G. Check-ins could be through a key card or the Hilton app. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. New Delhi/United Nations, Feb 22 (UNI) India on Friday welcomed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) statement on Pulwama terror attack and said that Pakistan has come "under international pressure to act against terrorists and terror groups" operating in that country. "UNSC strongly condemns cowardly suicide bombing in Pulwama by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM)," MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted. "Pakistan comes under international pressure to act against terrorists and terror groups operating from areas under its control & to take action against those responsible for Pulwama attack," he said. In a statement, the UNSC said that - "The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice". The UNSC underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. Other key highlights of UNSC statement on #Pulwama. #TimetoAct pic.twitter.com/4auIIfp6N6 Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) February 22, 2019 They urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, "to cooperate actively with the Government of India and all other relevant authorities in this regard", - a statement seen as an indirect jibe at Pakistan. The statement from the powerful global body including China has condemned in the "strongest terms the heinous and cowardly suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in over 40 Indian paramilitary forces dead and dozens wounded on February 14, 2019, for which Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility." Meanwhile it is learnt that India's strategic partner France, which initiated the move, will also move a resolution seeking ban on Masood Azhar-run JeM. "The members of the Security Council reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed. They reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law....," the statement said. Image: Raveesh Kumar Twitter page Seoul, Feb 22 (IBNS): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held 'constructive' talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in during his ongoing tour to the country. In a joint press statement, Modi said: "South Korea is an important partner in India's economic transformation." As per MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, the two leaders spoke on enhancing cooperation in trade & investment, defence and security, energy, space, Start-Ups and people-to-people exchanges. Kumar tweeted: "Taking stock and preparing roadmap for future PM @narendramodi & Korean President @moonriver365 held constructive talks on enhancing cooperation in trade & investment, defence & security, energy, space, Start-Ups and people-to-people exchanges." Addressing the media after the productive talks with President @moonriver365. Watch. https://t.co/qIU0dNdHVB Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 22, 2019 Modi is currently visiting South Korea. Image: Raveesh Kumar Twitter page Obituary Submission Guidelines Obituary submissions should be made by funeral homes at memoriams.com. Flag emblems are included for free, upon request, for all veteran obituaries. Up to two photos can be included with paid obituaries only for a per-photo fee. Death announcements are also available at memoriams.com. 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Job responsibilities include putting inserts into the newspaper. Must have a positive attitude and be a team player. Applicants must be able to: lift up to 20-lbs; stand for long periods of time; be available to work Sunday thru Friday, late evening to early morning hours; pass drug screen. This content is from: Corporate The recent case has brought the question of materiality in acquisition agreements to light again, but its not the game-changer many think it is, writes Goodwin Procters David Bernstein What is the proposed retention rule? Japans Financial Services Agency (FSA) has proposed more stringent capital requirements for Japanese banks that buy securitisation products such as collateralised loan obligations (CLOs) and asset-backed securities (ABS). The proposal applies increased regulatory capital risk weighting unless the originator holds an exposure of less than five percent of the total underlying assets. Naoya Ariyoshi, partner at Nishimura & Asahi, said that in most deals with a Japanese originator, it will typically hold more than five percent. For products like CLOs, which tend to be established in the US or elsewhere and sold to Japanese banks, the originators often hold less and sometimes none. Whats the anticipated impact? As well as Japanese banks, the rule will affect originators and arrangers elsewhere in the world, especially in the US, which is a major securitisation issuer. Under the proposed rule, it is practically impossible for an originator to hold less than five percent of an underlying asset exposure. Although its not typical for an originator to hold less than five percent in todays market, we have actually seen some mortgage-backed securities without any risk retention at all, said Toshifumi Ueda, partner at Mori Hamada & Matsumoto. The new rule would make these transactions practically impossible. A senior official of a Japanese bank said that the FSAs plans to carve out securitised products that originate in jurisdictions where risk retention is already required, such as CLOs, residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) and other ABS that originate in the US, EU and China. We are opposing the FSAs idea, he said. This is clearly discrimination against Japanese domestic RMBS. He added: Unlike the EU, where bank capital requirements need to be passed by law, the FSAs commissioner has the power to issue notices without any legislative procedures. This is complete nonsense. How does the proposal compare to other jurisdictions approach? Risk retention rules for securitised products are in place in the US and EU. However, in February, the US court ruled that open CLOs are not subject to risk retention rules. The US Loan Syndications and Trading Association brought the case against the Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Reserve. How are banks preparing for the proposed rule? Japanese banks that invest in securitisation will need systems capable of capturing extensive risk-related information. In a case where a bank invests in securitisation products that do not satisfy certain risk retention requirements, the heavier risk weight under the capital requirements regulation would be adopted for these products, said Ariyoshi. That is, unless the bank determines that the securitised assets were not inappropriately formed on the basis of the relevant circumstances, such as the originators involvement in the securitised assets and the nature of them, he added. What areas still lack clarity? There are still plenty of areas of ambiguity. For example, it is not clear under what circumstances a bank can determine that the securitised assets were formed appropriately. In addition, the treatment of securitisation products established in foreign countries remains unclear. Under the FSAs current proposal, even if a bank does not directly satisfy the risk retention requirement, it can avoid the stringent risk weights if it determines that the selection of underlying assets is appropriate. In this regard, the bank may consider such circumstances as the originators involvement in, and quality of, the underlying assets, said Ueda. If the bank is duly satisfied, it is not required to apply the risk weight to its exposure. However, it is not clear under what situation the bank may actually rely on this exception. Elliot Ganz, general counsel at the Loan Syndications and Trading Associaion (LSTA) in the US, said that the association has been engaged with the FSA, and is optimistic that the regulator will consider CLOs in the US appropriately formed. The primary focus for the FSA is to ensure the investor is comfortable with the deal and that the underwriting process is robust, said Ganz. He added that the existing documentation is likely sufficient to give investors comfort that underlying assets were written in an appropriate way. However, further clarification will be needed from the regulator. What are the next steps? In their consultation response, the Japanese Banking Association and Securitisation Forum of Japan said that the current proposal should be withdrawn. The FSA has yet to present a response to these and other comments. Comprehensive FAQs are expected by March 2019, and typically the rule would be implemented soon after. See also China needs legal certainty for securitisation to grow For more primers, click here 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQs. Share this article Drug data: How a new health directive could get a grip on Wenatchee Valley overdose numbers (Photo: CGTN) China's railway network is a fast-paced wonder that helps make exploring this huge country much easier. As Chinese New Year, which marks the largest human migration on the Earth, draws to an end, the growing high-speed rail network carries a significant transport burden with almost 60 percent of the population using it over a four-week period. But it's not just locals who can take advantage of the quick journeys the railway network offers, both domestic and foreign tourists can use the trains to visit more of China a lot faster. With the world's most extensive high-speed rail network, many journeys in China are quicker by train than by air. Grab your tickets China's high-speed trains are generally divided into two types: G trains, which run at 186 mph (300km/h) and upwards, and D trains, which run at 155-186 mph (250-300km/h). All tickets can be booked online or bought directly at the train station with only a valid ID or passport. During the daytime, trains offer first and second-class seats and some include a business class section. Second-class seats are the cheapest but are still spacious and comfortable compared to equivalent seats on airplanes. Prices vary: A one-way second-class ticket from Shanghai to Beijing costs 553 yuan or 82 U.S. dollars on average for an almost 1,400km journey, while the Beijing to Kunming service currently the world's longest high-speed rail route costs around 170 U.S. dollars in second class. Recommended routes As the network expands, so do the options for travelers to explore this country. Hangzhou-to-Mount Huangshan Hangzhou-to-Mount Huangshan rail map When the latest route launched last December, the high-speed railway connected Hangzhou, one of the trendy tourist cities in China's eastern Zhejiang Province, to the UNESCO site of Huangshan in Anhui Province, also in eastern China. This Z-shaped line stretches some 265km, features 10 stations and reduced travel time to a mere one and a half hours from the previous three-plus hours, making it a more efficient choice for both commuters and tourists. Starting in beautiful Hangzhou, home of West Lake and tech giant Alibaba, this train snakes its way westward, stopping at scenic Qiandao Lake, en route to its final stop in Anhui. Hainan inland circle rail Hainan island circle rail map Not all high-speed rail journeys cross regions. This line in particular is useful for day trips within Hainan, the tropical island province in south China. When it opened in 2015, the line became the first and only circular high-speed rail in the world. It begins in the province's capital of Haikou and takes five hours to reach the resort city of Sanya, at the island's southern-most tip, before looping north up the other side. Some of the line runs parallel with the island's coastline, giving passengers wonderful views of the South China Sea. But if you want to escape the hustle and bustle of the eastern coast, you can go find peace in the beautiful green mountains and forests of Ledong, visit the unique boathouses in Dongfang or observe the fishermen in Baimajing. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close February 22, 2019 | By The Fellowship | Israelis You Should Know Martin Buber Lived: February 8, 1878 June 13, 1965 Why you should know him: Known best for his essay I and Thou, Buber also worked at translating the Hebrew Bible into German and was nominated many times for a Nobel Prize. Born to an Orthodox Jewish family in Vienna, Austria, Martin Buber was raised by his grandfather, a scholar of religious Jewish literature. Speaking both Yiddish and German growing up, Buber later studied German in college in Vienna, as well as philosophy, art, and philology. At the age of 20, Buber joined the burgeoning Zionist movement, and a year later met his wife, Paula Winkler. Although a professor in Frankfurt before World War II, Buber resigned after Hitler came to power. He then founded the Central Office for Jewish Adult Education, an extremely important group after the Nazis banned Jews from being educated. However, in 1938, Buber left Nazi Germany and made aliyah (immigrated to the Holy Land), where he settled in Jerusalem and became a professor at Hebrew University. Throughout his career, Buber was a strong Zionist, both before and after his move to Israel. He also advocated for education and peace in the Holy Land. During World War I, he helped found the Jewish National Committee, in order to help the Jews of Eastern Europe, and after Israel gained her independence in 1948, he advocated the Jewish states participation in the larger international scene. Perhaps Bubers most famous work is his philosophical essay, I and Thou, which reflects on the relationship between a human and our God. The Tyler Street Lab @ 730 is a 4-month pop-up that creates a community space out of an underutilized storefront. The city's Office of Cultural Development, in collaboration with the Transformative Development Initiative (TDI), is putting out two calls for art: a storefront configuration challenge and a community art installation challenge. There will be a stipend of up to $850 to the award-winning designs - one from each challenge. Please submit all materials to tylerstreetlabpitt@gmail.com by Monday, Feb. 25 at 5 p.m.! Un hombre de 35 anos fue hospitalizado en estado grave este sabado despues de ser atacado por un tiburon mientras nadaba cerca de una playa al norte de California, informaron las autoridades. Sign up today! Get our newsletters delivered right to your inbox. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Zhao Yu [photo: Chinanews.com] Local procuratorate announced on Thursday it has decided not to prosecute a man who was detained for intentional assault injury after stopping an attempted rape of his female neighbor. Zhao Yu, 21, was accused of causing severe injury to others out of negligence, according to The Beijing News citing local police and was handed over to Jinan district procuratorate in Fuzhou, East Chinas Fujian Province. Considering all the evidence of the incident and that Zhao was trying to stop an illegal infringement, the district procuratorate made the decision to encourage righteous acts and promote social morals, read the announcement by Fuzhou Public Security on Thursday. Zhao's case should be handled as a civil case and should be spared from criminal liability due to his motive to rescue his neighbor, surnamed Zou, Xu Xin, a professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology's School of Law, told the Global Times Wednesday. Zhao, a migrant worker in Fuzhou, said he heard cries from downstairs on December 26 night and went to check, but only to find a man, surnamed Li, who was trying to rape a woman, surnamed Zou, Beijing-based Legal Daily reported on Wednesday. Trying to rescue Zou, Zhao kicked Li on the stomach, which damaged Li's internal organs and caused a secondary disability. Zhao was detained by local police on January 29 for intentional assault and was released on bail on February 10 after the local procuratorate rejected his arrest. Zou, the woman, said Li knocked her out with a chair and attempted to remove her clothes, according to local Fuzhou television station. However, Li told the media that he was just standing by the door when Zhao kicked him for unknown reasons. Li was playing mahjong when reached by reporters. The incident has made a splash on Chinese social media. Many expressed support for Zhao, and complained about unfair situations where "the good people in jail while the rape suspect gets to play mahjong." Zhao is not the only one who attempted to help others but ended up in legal disputes. Difficulty in defining Good Samaritan acts or similar behavior is at the core of such cases, experts said. 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. Minnesotas job growth in the solar industry looks bright; especially with solar installations, per the 2018 National Solar Jobs Census Report. The 80-page report analyzes employment and other statistics within the US solar industry. Published by The Solar Foundation, the report provides wide-ranging survey results from solar industry employers. Our state is experiencing rapid growth in residential, commercial, and community solar panel/power installations (nearly 4,000 as of 2018). Minnesota has approximately 160 solar companies (and growing), which include manufacturers, developers, designers, and installers. In the US alone, more than $1.5 billion was invested in solar during 2018. Minnesota, as pointed out in the report, has strict solar licensing requirements, which may slow solar installations; however, these precautions ensure safety. Our state considers solar installations electrical work, and thus, requires an installer to be at least a journey-level (completed an apprenticeship program or an experienced worker), or a licensed master-level electrician to complete the electrical phases within a photovoltaic (PV) installation. New solar installation electrical sites in Minnesota require at least one licensed electrician for every two unlicensed electricians. The report states that a large installation in Minnesota could require 20 licensed electricians if the solar PV installation employs 40 workers. The most challenging position to fill is an electrician, according to 43 percent of Minnesota solar companies surveyed, which may be a result of our states licensing requirements. Solar companies in Minnesota occasionally hire electricians from other states, because sometimes there are not enough local electricians available to meet solar installations/maintenance demands. The report found that, on average, 10 percent of the electrical work for solar installations in Minnesota was performed by non-resident electricians. As the solar industry continues to grow, we will need more licensed electricians, and community and technical college courses teaching solar PV installation under state and industry accreditation. Seven states have solar-specific license requirements, six states accept the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) certification, and 10 states have no licensing requirements to perform solar installation work. While not always needed, solar-specific licensing, including NABCEP, can be advantageous, as the training explicitly addresses the relevant skill sets required to carry out solar installations. Solar companies surveyed in 2018 said they required solar installation experience for 60 percent of all new employees; an increase from 55 percent needed in 2017. In 2018, California lawmakers passed a rooftop solar mandate for new homes, which is estimated to produce a 14 percent increase in total US solar sales over the next four years. Solar employment for 2018 totaled 242,343, and is categorized in the following sectors: Installation/project development: 155,157. Wholesale trade/distribution: 29,243. Operations/maintenance: 11,164. Manufacturing: 33,726. Related sectors: 13,053. Last year, there were 4,602 employed in Minnesota solar-related jobs. In 2017, there were 4,256. Besides the installation of solar panels to harness the suns energy, batteries to store solar energy are crucial in providing electricity to consumers and businesses who switch to it when the power goes off. The report stated that 3,900 jobs are directly related to battery storage. Employment has increased in solar industry software companies, such as Aurora Solar, which provides residential and commercial solar design and software sales programs for solar installation companies. Aurora Solar, based in San Francisco, CA, has doubled its workforce over the past year. The National Solar Jobs Census Report includes data gathered between September and October 2018, including information from approximately 59,300 phone calls, and more than 49,000 emails. The solar industry outlook for this year is positive. Based on the reports survey results, solar jobs are expected to increase by 7 percent in 2019, bringing the total employment jobs to around 259,400. Nationwide, the Solar Energy Industries Association reports 1,904,000 solar systems have been installed. They are producing 60 gigawatts of electrical power. Minnesotas energy profile from the US Energy Information Administration can be found at https://bit.ly/2X8akJ4. The Minnesota Department of Commerce solar webpage is https://mn.gov/commerce/industries/energy/solar. The 2018 National Solar Jobs Census Report and other information is available at https://www.thesolarfoundation.org/national. While writing this column, I looked out the window and noted the blue sky and an abundance of energy-producing sunshine. Be sure to visit my weblog at https://bitscolumn.blogspot.com. The newspaper revealed yesterday that voter support for the populist, right-wing opposition party climbed to 11.4 per cent between January and February, representing an up-tick of 1.7 percentage points from the previous poll. THE FINNS PARTY has continued its resurgence with the parliamentary elections edging closer, indicates a poll published on Thursday by Helsingin Sanomat . Popular support for the ruling, three-party coalition government has contrastively slumped to its lowest level 34.3 per cent since the government took office in the first half of 2015. The Centre Party and National Coalition both recorded a drop of 0.9 percentage points in support between January and February, the first dropping to 14.7 per cent and the latter to 18.6 per cent. The Centre consequently has only a slender, 1.1 percentage point-lead over the Green League, which is polling at 13.6 per cent after registering an increase of 0.7 percentage points in popular support. The Social Democratic Party remains the most well supported party in the country with an approval rating of 20.8 per cent. The Left Alliance, meanwhile, continued its slide, dropping from 9.4 to 8.7 per cent. The Swedish Peoples Party and Christian Democratic Party stood still at 4.3 per cent and 4.0 per cent respectively, while the Blue Reform saw its popularity dwindle by 0.1 percentage points. The third and smallest ruling party is projected to win only one per cent of votes cast in the parliamentary elections. A total of 2,688 people were interviewed for the poll between 14 January and 14 February by Kantar TNS. The respondents were asked to tell which party would receive their vote if the parliamentary elections were held today. The parliamentary elections will be held on Sunday, 14 April 2019. Aleksi Teivainen HT Source: Uusi Suomi 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. Photo: Xinhua China's top film authority on Wednesday praised domestic sci-fi film The Wandering Earth for promoting the concept of a community of shared future for mankind and providing a Chinese approach to dealing with potential catastrophes different from the West. Wang Xiaohui, executive deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and director of the Film Bureau of National Radio and Television Administration, said at a seminar in Beijing that the film not only shows the collectivism, patriotism and family love rooted in traditional Chinese culture, but also manifests the Chinese people's non-utilitarian, cosmopolitan and cooperative spirit, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Adapted from the short story written by Hugo Award winner Liu Cixin, the film topped the holiday film market. Released on February 5, the film raked in almost 4.1 billion yuan ($610 million) as of press time. Wang noted that The Wandering Earth interprets China's traditional and modern values, promotes the concept of a community of shared future for mankind and provides a Chinese approach, distinct from the West, in dealing with potential catastrophes. He pointed out that the film's success can be attributed to the values it established and the moral high ground it seized upon. Other experts said the film started a new voyage for the Chinese sci-fi filmmaking. It filled the gap of domestic sci-fi films, furthering the development of China's film industry, and made great strides in exploring domestic film genres, innovating and upgrading China's films. Liu, the author, said that in the film, human beings were represented as a whole, not conflicts among different people or races, which reflects the concept of a community of shared future for mankind. Hu Zhifeng, director of the School of Art and Communication at Beijing Normal University, said the film did not just simply adapt the "standard answer" - individualistic heroism - from Hollywood sci-fi films. It proposed a "China approach" of the United Earth Government. 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. Each year, Southern Gospel fans, artists and industry personnel gather at the National Quartet Convention to celebrate the long and colorful history of Southern Gospel music. The series of concerts and events is captured each year on NQC LIVE, a DVD/CD package featuring the week's highlights. After almost 20 years of working together, Crossroads and NQC have partnered again for the release of NQC LIVE Vol. 18, which will now serve as a benefit album for the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall Of Fame. The album is available now everywhere Christian music is streamed or sold. Proceeds from purchasing this album go to support the hall, operated by SGMA, and its mission of recognizing distinguished individuals in the field and permanently enshrining them with a plaque bearing their picture and list of accomplishments. The museum located just inside the Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, welcomes more than one million visitors annually to read and observe displays and memorabilia from a century of gospel music. Southern Gospel music is built on the talent and dedication of many individuals who helped create a unique sound of harmonious melodies and uplifting words. Originally,Southern Gospel music was sung only by quartets, utilizing a style known as four-part harmony from books where musical notes were identified by their shape. Many singing schools sprung up around the country teaching this "shape note" method, later training more serious students for performance careers. James D. Vaughan of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, is credited with establishing the first Southern Gospel music quartet in 1910. Then, quartets were hired by music publishing companies to travel, entertaining, teaching and selling song books. By the1930s and early 40s, most quartets were independent and Southern Gospel music became as we know it today. NQC LIVE Vol. 18 features recordings from some of today's top Southern Gospelgroups, such as Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, The Mark Trammell Quartet, The Whisnants, The Kingsmen, The McKameys, 2nd Half Quartet, Jeff & Sheri Easter, Down East Boys, The Erwins, Triumphant Quartet, The Ball Brothers, 11th Hour, Kingdom Heirs, Three Bridges, Gold City, The Guardians, The Talleys, The Perrys, The Jordan Family Band, The Wisecarvers and Endless Highway. "This transition of NQC LIVE to a benefit piece of product for the Hall of Fame took a lot of cooperation between companies and artists alike," says Greg Bentley, Director of Artist Relations for Crossroads Music. "We all came together with one focus to provide a first-class product for the fans while at the same time letting them be a part of supporting and sustaining our Gospel music history through the SGMAwith each purchase." Listen to NQC LIVE Vol. 18 HERE. Tags : NQC LIVE Vol. 18 NATIONAL QUARTET CONvention Ernie Haase & Signature Sound The Mark Trammell Quartet the kingsmen the whisnants Southern Gospel the erwins Sport Federer coy over Olympics; Ostapenko claims Eastbourne title, Kerber delighted with Bad reasons London: Roger Federer is still not sure whether he will compete at the Tokyo Olympics, saying on Saturday that he and his team plan to reassess the s... Alexa, I want a burger. Photo: Martin Prescott/Getty Images/iStockphoto Every day we move closer to a Jetsons-like future in which our food is prepared and delivered to us by robots. The latest proof of that? Americas first-ever artificially intelligent drive-through. Today, the Washington Post has a fascinating story on Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard, a fast-food restaurant in Denver, Colorado, which recently implemented AI technology in its drive-through during the breakfast rush. Customers who drive up early in the morning are being greeted by a soothing female voice that was invented by Denver-based start-up Valyant AI. While Valyant AI CEO Rob Carpenter claims that this AI technology has been welcomed by its human co-workers for covering what is possibly the most stressful job in a fast-food restaurant, the technology has its critics. These companies are saying, We dont care about you and we dont care if youre getting better service, Erikka Knuti of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union told the Post, referring to businesses that use such technology. Theyll say its more efficient, but I dont know any situation where somebody said, Im really glad that there wasnt somebody there at customer service or checkout when I needed help. Eat like the experts. Sign up for the Grub Street newsletter. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. Max Verstappen smiled as he said he had a "good time" serving his so-called FIA community service over the winter break. The audacious Red Bull driver received the penalty for violently confronting Esteban Ocon after the Brazilian grand prix. His first day of punishment occurred at the Formula E race in Morocco, where he had to observe the stewards. "It was not that bad," the Dutchman is quoted by De Telegraaf newspaper. "I had a nice day in Marrakesh," he added. "I sat with the stewards all day long. "Vitantonio Liuzzi was also there, so we talked a bit about karting and the past. I entertained myself as well. "If you have to go, you might as well make the best of it," said Verstappen, 21. He then moved on to Geneva, for a big meeting of FIA stewards. "All the stewards from around the world were there, and I even saw Jens Marquardt and Andy Priaulx, which was good to meet them. There's nothing wrong with that," said Verstappen. When asked what he learned from the community service, Verstappen smiled: "I just had a good time. "I also saw Formula E in real life. I heard how the stewards think about things, where usually I see them for ten minutes. This time it was ten hours." As for his new Red Bull-Honda, Verstappen said the team is yet to show its full performance but revealed that the car is "not bad". "We do not have much to say right now. We just have to make sure the car is fast," he added. And when asked about the new front wings designed to make overtaking easier in 2019, Verstappen answered: "Actually, it is just 15 million euros flushed down the drain." "They thought we would lose a lot of downforce, but that's not the case at all. You can already see the laptimes here," he said in Barcelona. "We are already very fast." (GMM) (TNS) High-speed police car chases can be loads of fun in action movies or Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, but the real-life versions often turn tragic.That's why an East Bay police force outfitted half of its fleet of cruisers with a technology that allows officers to track suspects' vehicles without tailing them at 100 mph.Over the last year and a half, the San Pablo Police Department has installed the StarChase vehicle-tagging GPS system in 10 of its 20 vehicles."It's a risk-reducing tool for our agency," said San Pablo Police Lt. Mike Gancasz. "It helps reduce the number of high-speed pursuits that are inherently dangerous to officers, passengers in the car, citizens, pedestrians, bystanders."A 2015 USA Today analysis found that more than 5,000 bystanders and passengers were killed and tens of thousands injured in police chases between 1979 and 2013. Most bystanders were killed in their own cars by a fleeing driver.The backbone of the StarChase technology is an air cannon similar to the one that Lou Seal uses to shoot t-shirts into the crowd at Giants games. But instead of launching cotton tees, the car-mounted gun fires a glue-capped GPS capsule about the size of a mini-Coke can.In the event that an officer encounters a suspect vehicle, he activates the system, which pressurizes the gun, heats up the glue and opens a door hidden in his patrol car's grille. When an aiming laser dot appears on target, the officer fires by pushing a button on a separate panel.The GPS dart hits the vehicle and sticks, allowing the tag to begin broadcasting the vehicle's position to a dispatch center as the officer breaks off the chase.The range of the air cannon is about 20 to 30 feet to be effective. Gancasz said about 90 percent of the shots taken by San Pablo officers hit their mark and stick."The officer doesn't necessarily have to wait for the speeds to be 100 miles an hour to do something like this," Gancasz said. "The sooner they can get out of the pursuit and slow the vehicle down and increase safety for the public, they do. It's not a system that is used at 150 miles per hour, that doesn't happen."Gancasz says StarChase has resulted in numerous arrests and recoveries of tagged cars, some by San Pablo PD and others by surrounding jurisdictions who have been told, "Hey, this car should be in your area."One recent example:"We had officers that deployed a GPS tag on a car in our city and that car fled out of our city and onto the highway," Gancasz said. "The California Highway Patrol got involved, but our dispatcher was able to track this car in real time as it fled across the Carquinez Bridge."And it fled into Vallejo and eventually the suspects fled the car and were apprehended, and the car was recovered."The GPS data provided by StarChase can be used in court to show not only the route a vehicle took but exactly how fast it was traveling during the trip.So far, Gancasz said, no suspect has attempted to detach a projectile from a tagged car.Initial installation is not cheap it costs about $5,000 to outfit one car but the annual subscription fee is minimal, Gancasz said. He said the product is used widely on the East Coast, but adoption in the West has been slower.The North Sacramento California Highway Patrol is currently testing StarChase as part of a pilot program. The CHP in San Francisco reported they are not using the product. (TNS) House bills with bipartisan support would direct regulators to examine new ways to oversee digital assets and protect them from manipulation, as some lawmakers strive to make financial technologies more mainstream.One bill would direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, consulting with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other agencies, to report to committees including Senate Banking and House Financial Services on how cryptocurrencies are regulated in the U.S. and other countries and detail the benefits of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.That bill and a second were introduced by Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla. Reps. Ted Budd, R-N.C. and Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, are cosponsors of the two measures.Sotos regulation bill would seek to clarify which virtual currencies qualify as commodities and provide an optional regulatory structure for virtual currency spot markets that includes federal licensing, market supervision and other protections.Virtual currency, according to the bills, is defined as a digital representation of value that doesnt have legal tender status and functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account or a store of value.If the bills become law, the approach would be similar to what European Union regulators are considering. Two leading financial regulatory authorities in Europe recommended that the bloc study whether to create a separate bespoke regime for cryptoassets that are not currently subject to regulation. Reports by the European Securities Markets Authority and the European Banking Authority do not tout the potential benefits of fintech, instead concentrating on the potential pitfalls.In the U.S., a group known as the Virtual Commodity Association has been working to establish an industry-sponsored regulator tasked with governing digital assets. If the idea moves forward, it would function in a similar manner to stock markets, where conduct is partly policed by the industry itself.Yusuf Hussain, head of risk at cryptocurrency firm Gemini Trust Co. LLC, welcomed the legislation, saying the company supports efforts to foster research and education that moves the crypto industry forward.Our goal is to convene industry players and work with key policymakers such as the research teams proposed by Congressman Sotos two bills to establish best practices, including surveillance and information sharing, across the industry, Hussain said of the Virtual Commodity Association, of which Gemini is a member.The second bill would require the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to study how digital assets are being manipulated and which currencies are more susceptible to manipulation. It calls for an analysis on the extent of the CFTCs ability to conduct surveillance of these markets and the enforcement actions against those who are involved in manipulation.Virtual currencies and the underlying blockchain technology has a profound potential to be a driver of economic growth, Soto said in a statement. Thats why we must ensure that the United States is at the forefront of protecting consumers and the financial well-being of virtual currency investors, while also promoting an environment of innovation to maximize the potential of these technological advances. (TNS) The multi-year net neutrality battle may be complicating efforts to regulate internet data privacy while hurting consumers.The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report last week highlighting how the FCCs constant reclassification of Internet service providers (ISPs) complicates the privacy debate by ping-ponging Internet privacy responsibilities between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).The report calls for a federal privacy law, citing tech companies like Facebook and its misuse of consumer data, and recommends Congress establish civil penalties for bad behavior. It defines Internet data privacy as data affected by the collection and use of consumers personal information such as their Internet browsing histories, purchases, locations, and travel routes.When the Obama administrations FCC enacted net neutrality rules in 2015, classifying ISPs as telecommunications services instead of information services, the FCC assumed responsibility for all privacy concerns regarding ISPs, including companies like AT&T, Comcast, Frontier, Verizon and others. When the Trump administrations FCC reversed its net neutrality policy in 2017, the FTC assumed responsibility for privacy concerns regarding ISPs.The problem is as the GAO report notes the FCC and FTC address privacy concerns differently, which results in more industry confusion about how to handle consumer data.Because there is no comprehensive data privacy law, the two agencies rely on complaints to enforce general standards. For example, the FTCs role is to stop unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce, under section 5 of the 1914 FTC Act (amended in 1938). The leaves it up to other agencies, Congress, consumers or industry players to submit complaints about how a tech company deceptively handles or misuses consumer data.The FCC, on the other hand, can only address violations of the 1934 Communications Act, and there are different standards for information services and telecommunications services.The GAO report notes that when the Obama administrations FCC enacted net neutrality rules in 2015, the agency released its own privacy regulations for ISPs, which were then repealed by Congress under the Congressional Review Act. The Trump administrations FCC then repealed net neutrality in 2017, so ISPs never complied with the FCCs privacy rules.Multiple think tanks and tech companies sued the FCC over its net neutrality reversal, and if they win those lawsuits, privacy regulation and enforcement may be split between the FCC and FTC again.Multiple congressional hearings, input from experts and industry players , as well as the GAO report supported the conclusion that privacy regulation shouldnt be divided between agencies, and that the U.S. needs a federal privacy standard enforced by the FTC and applied to all companies.That could hinge on the net neutrality fight, which puts the onus on Congress to legislate the issues and end the debate over net neutrality and privacy.Recent developments regarding Internet privacy suggest that this is an appropriate time for Congress to consider comprehensive internet privacy legislation, the GAO concluded. Although the FTC has been addressing Internet privacy through its unfair and deceptive practices authority, among other statutes, and other agencies have been addressing this issue using industry-specific statutes, there is no comprehensive federal privacy statute with specific standards.Whatever the final law looks like, the GAO stressed the importance of balancing consumer and industry interests so as not to stifle innovation or the ability of tech companies to provide services.Debate over [a federal] statute could provide a vehicle for consideration of the Fair Information Practice Principles, which are intended to balance privacy concerns with the need for using consumers data, the GAO said. Such a law could also empower a specific agency or agencies to provide oversight through means such as APA section 553 rulemaking, civil penalties for first time violations of a statute, and other enforcement tools. The National Weather Service in Buffalo, N.Y., began predicting extreme cold more than a week before a deadly blizzard smacked Erie County, N.Y., January 29.Forecasts like that havent always been accurate but this one was, thanks to the evolving, high-resolution forecast models and some expertise on the part of Weather Service personnel. It resulted in lives saved, although there were at least three fatalities linked to the blizzard conditions.Over the last decade or so newer technology has improved the resolution of forecast models to the extent that the Weather Service was able to predict when and where the storm would hit and how bad it would be. A decade ago that may not have been possible and the forecast consisting of old-fashioned techniques like direction of wind would have been hit and miss.But the Weather Service predicted this storm would barrel right into the city of Buffalo with high winds and deadly cold, and it was right.The blizzard was lake-effect snow and strong winds, said Jon Hitchcock, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Buffalo. Several counties downward from Lake Erie, including more than a million people in the Buffalo metro area, were affected. We had winds gusting over 40 miles per hour and near zero visibility for the better part of a day when the blizzard occurred.The forecast allowed officials to close schools and get people off the roadways. Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz said theres no doubt the forecast saved lives.Absolutely, said Hitchcock. Especially given how many things closed in terms of schools, businesses, just keeping people off the roads and at home. It certainly saved lives because the visibility was so low all day.The high-resolution models were a big part of it. Whereas previously, Weather Service staff would know a storm was coming but not how bad it would be or exactly where it was headed, the new model now gives them a much clearer picture.The newer model breaks up the atmosphere into small grids or blocks. Fifteen years ago, the blocks were about 20 miles across, but the high resolution has cut that to about 2 miles across, providing a more vivid look. Because of that higher resolution, the model can resolve things like thunderstorms, lake-effect snow, Hitchcock said.In the old days, those course-resolution models couldnt even forecast lake-effect snow so all we had to go on was the old-fashioned techniques like the wind is blowing from the southwest and everything looks favorable so there probably will be a band, Hitchcock said.But the knowledge of Weather Service staff about how the new models work made a huge difference as well. Its not perfect, there are some errors, Hitchcock said. Typically, theyre usually too far to the south.The models showed the blizzard hitting just south of Buffalo. Armed with the knowledge that the models tend to lean toward the south, staff projected the storm would hit Buffalo straight on. Its not a huge difference, about 10 miles, Hitchcock said. But a difference of about a million people getting hit and a million people not getting hit.Hitchcock said the future is bright for even better forecasting. Just being able to pinpoint these smaller-scale features that have a high impact on weather is going to lead to more accurate forecasts in terms of location and timing of things like lake-effect snow bands, blizzards, thunderstorms and, in turn, those more accurate forecasts will allow emergency managers to make better decisions on what to do before, during and after a storm. (TNS) Unused Kansas-owned computer equipment worth $10 million that had been stored in the basement of the Docking State Office Building has found a new home at Kansas State University.The technology, left over from a failed Kansas Department of Administration project that made the news in 2017 when the KDA refused to disclose information about the equipment , will be used by K-State for research and to assist with technology issues created after the university's 2018 Hale Library fire, a news release said."The computer hardware provides the university with needed backup IT support and the computational and storage capabilities needed for research," said Gary Pratt, chief information officer.The equipment, delivered recently to K-State, will be used with Beocat, the university's high-performance computing cluster, and with the KanShare cyberinfrastructure initiative."I'm pleased that we were able to work together to address a challenge facing Kansas State University," Gov. Laura Kelly said in a statement. "The unused state IT equipment will now provide support and additional resources to our schools and higher education institutions thanks to this partnership."Sen. Carolyn McGinn, the Sedgwick Republican who chairs the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said the project with K-State was preferred to the equipment continuing to sit in the basement of a Topeka office building.She said the state should have made a fresh attempt to sell the computer products on the open market, but she learned a couple of weeks ago about the arrangement with Kansas State."By the time I found out about it," McGinn said, "the deal was already done."At least two representatives for companies that deal in IT assets contacted the state in December to inquire about buying the equipment. Both said there would be a market for the equipment if it were made available for purchase, and both said they were told the state wasn't interested in selling.Cole Rhodes, of Northbay Networks, said the state's haul involved servers and hard drives that would support a cloud network."Companies that have big websites or banks or just pretty much every tech company out there, they have these data centers where they store their companies' information," Rhodes said.He looks for entities that are going out of business or upgrading their technology. That equipment is especially valuable, he said, to companies that have a small IT budget and don't need the latest or best equipment. Some are working with 20-year-old technology, he said.Zach Broome, of Procurri Americas, said he was sure he could find a use for the state's equipment. He wasn't sure what the value would be."That is the million-dollar literally question," Broome said. "We were not able to get a list of the assets to determine how much value is really there."KanShare is open to all Kansas public and private academic institutions, including the K-12 level, and also is used by the state's federal, state and local government agencies. It allows access to cyberinfrastructure for research and education.Researchers at Kansas Board of Regents institutions use Beocat to share large data with collaborators around the world, a K-State release said. Beocat is housed in the computer science department in the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering."Along with providing the technology to significantly strengthen our high-performance computing environment, the addition of this equipment also will help our students become more competitive in the areas of cybersecurity, bioinformatics and deep learning," said Dan Andresen, who oversees Beocat.Andresen is a professor of computer science and director of the Institute for Computational Research in Engineering and Science.Lee Allen, the state's chief information technology officer, said he was pleased the equipment could be used for educational and cybersecurity programs.The equipment was originally purchased under former Gov. Sam Brownback as part of an Executive Branch Technology Modernization project. The state spent about $17 million before realizing the projected cost of $33 million had ballooned to $50 million, the state's chief IT officer said in 2016 meetings.The state instead outsourced the project, and the $10 million in computer equipment sat in the basement of the Docking building for years. The state unsuccessfully tried to sell the equipment and was criticized by some legislators for not being more open about the failed project.Capital-Journal staff writer Morgan Chilson contributed to this report. Honolulu Launches a New Performance Dashboard New York City Planning Creates Digital Platform for Lengthy Zoning Resolution Major Jurisdictions Prepare Events for Open Data Day Registration Now Open for San Antonios CivTechSA Program Job Openings in Gov Tech A new study found that in 2017, 14.1 million people were afflicted by digital distress.This, of course, raises a key question: what exactly is digital distress? The answer is closely tied to more commonly known concepts like digital inclusion and digital equity. Roberto Gallardo, assistant director for the Purdue Center for Regional Development, recently co-authored a piece about this topic with the centers communications coordinator, Cheyanne Geideman. Essentially, digital distress is the condition of being left behind by rapid modernization.Digital equity is the larger philosophical concept while digital inclusion is to work to ensure that citizens do not suffer from digital distress. Gallardo and Geideman this week go into much greater detail about digital distress with a two-part post on Medium . The posts explain what the concept is, who it is most likely to affect based on factors such as geography, and more.The second post takes a deeper and more nuanced look at socioeconomic factors that many digitally distressed areas have in common, drawing heavily from the 2013-2017 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) to get a read on digital distress for the more than 72,400 Census tracts in the country.In total, roughly 4.87 million American households are located in digitally distressed areas, which as noted above adds up to 14.1 million people, or approximately 4.4 percent of the nations population.In recent years, digital inclusion work has increasingly been taken on by local government agencies, who work as facilitators for nonprofits and community groups on the front lines of ensuring that communities have equitable access to high-speed Internet, technology and the skills they need to harness them.Hawaii's capital city has launched a new performance dashboard, fittingly dubbed Honolulu Dashboard .The city announced the new platform this week with a press release , describing it as a quick and easy way to review progress on key city services and issues. Honolulu has been beta testing a version of the dashboard since December, which the city noted has given its staff the opportunity to solicit and learn from user input.In a statement, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell noted the dashboard is part of his administration's long-standing commitment to transparency, and that it would also help local government with community engagement. The dashboard was created as part of the citys collaboration with What Works Cities, a Bloomberg Philanthropies program aimed at helping municipal government across the country better use data and evidence-driven decision-making to solve pressing challenges.The ultimate goal, of course, is to improve the lives of residents. Last year, Honolulu became one of 100 cities to receive technical assistance from the programs experts and partners. The city also worked with the Center for Government Excellence (GovEx) at Johns Hopkins University, a What Works Cities partner.Initial efforts centered around dashboards capable of reporting key performance indicators related to homelessness and housing. This work was later expanded to also measure and include roadway and parks improvements. Now, a total of 13 dashboards have been published, all but one of which includes benchmarks to measure the citys progress against its stated goals.The dashboard was developed in-house by the Honolulu Department of Information Technology. The citys press release also announced plans to add more to the dashboard, driven primarily by community interest and the availability of accurate data.Earlier this month, New York Citys planning department announced a new digital zoning resolution platform, an environmentally friendly replacement for information that was previously available through a 1,570-page physical copy.In a press release last week, the city noted that the mammoth physical copy would no longer be printed, thereby saving the city money and the world from unnecessarily drawing on its finite supply of paper. Having the gigantic resolution info available digitally will also make it more accessible to folks who werent able to or interested in reading a fantasy novel-worth of governmental information. One suspects that would include the vast majority of people.Making the resolution even more accessible is the format in which it will be published. The city is not just posting a PDF of the pages. Instead, the zoning resolution will now be available in an interactive digital format. The new online platform is slated to be mobile-friendly and also feature a streamlined path to information with a modern interface, allowing users to conduct keyword searches for specific information. They will also be able to print or download the digital edition, adjust text size, use links to access cross-referenced sections, subscribe for updates on new land use actions and more.The New York City Zoning Resolution was first adopted back in 1961, and has been instrumental in the way the nations largest city handles matters of land use and development. As the city noted in its press release, the resolution is a legal instrument that regulates and establishes limits on the use of land and building size, shape, height, and setback.With just longer than a week to go until Open Data Day, some of the largest cities in the country are preparing localized events to celebrate.Open Data Day, for the uninitiated, is an annual celebration of the discipline and practice that takes place all over the world. This is the ninth year its been actively organized, and it in large part entails local events where organizations show what can be done with open data work in various communities. This week saw announcements for Open Data Day activities in Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco three of the biggest and most innovative technology communities in the country. Open Data Day LA is set for Saturday, March 2, and it is being organized by Hack for LA and LA Counts. At the Los Angeles event, attendees will have the chance to join a hands-on workshop led by MaptimeLA, which works on map-making with public data and free tools. Interested parties can find more info here On that same day in New York City, data-interested folks have a chance to attend NYC School of Data , billed by organizers as a community conference that demystifies the policies and practices around civic data, technology and service design. The event is aimed at kicking off the citys annual open data week, which features more than 24 other sessions organized by the civic tech community in that city. Conversations at the NYC School of Data event will be around topics such as digital literacy and privacy, smart cities and more.Finally, Code for San Francisco is hosting its annual Open Data Day event on Sunday, March 3. That event will feature working sessions with bus data provided by the local Open Transit group. More information can be found here Registration is now open for San Antonios CivTechSA program, which is similar to the international Startup in Residence program in that it involves bridging the gap between the public sector and startups by facilitating a 16-week working relationship on a project aimed at solving a governmental challenge.Now in its second year, CivTechSA is preparing to welcome a new class of startups to tackle local challenges in the Alamo City. There are seven local challenges this year, a list of which can be found here . Interested parties can also find all the info they need to sign up on that page.It is a good time to be looking for a job in gov tech, insofar as there are currently a pretty diverse group of departments looking to make new hires. Heres a brief list of job openings found online this week: Blockchain voting company Votem is on life support after laying off most of its staff Feb. 15.Headquartered in Cleveland, which has sought to become an epicenter of blockchain innovation through various projects and partnerships , Votem launched in 2015 with the stated goal of having 1 billion people worldwide vote with its mobile platform by 2025. The company counted the United Nations and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as clients, touting the 1,880,525 votes cast for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fames fan vote in 2017 as the largest-ever use of online voting with blockchain at the time.Votem acquired Everyone Counts, a California-based online voting company, in October 2018.According to a report this week from alt-weekly newspaper, Votem employees did not receive their most recent paychecks and were told on Feb. 15 that everyone was fired, effective immediately. In subsequent reports, bothand Cleveland.com cited an emailed statement from Votem CEO Pete Martin claiming the layoffs were part of a restructuring and recapitalization effort to ensure long-term viability, and an unspecified number of employees were still serving customers.Martin reiterated some of this in a brief email toon Friday.Contrary to popular opinion and rumors, the facts are that we did not go out of business, we are still operating, we do have employees and we are supporting all of our current active customers, he wrote. We are working tirelessly on our restructuring and we hope to announce more news very soon.Aside from handling the actual voting process, the company also offers other tools for elections officials such as voter registration software. Votem was also involved in a contract to update Los Angeles County's voting equipment Bernie Moreno, an investor in Votem and former car mogul whos spearheading the effort to turn Cleveland into a hub for blockchain, toldthat 52 people were laid off and Votem was unlikely to recover. He thought the acquisition of Everyone Counts was the companys downfall.It was probably too big of an acquisition in terms of cash burn. They got ahead of their skis, and like a lot of tech startups that make that mistake, they ran out of cash, Moreno said. Votem was burning cash, but at a sustainable rate. The company in California was burning a lot more cash at an unsustainable rate, which is why the primary equity company had it sold, and when you combine the two together, it was not something Votem could sustain.How many employees remain on staff is unclear. Moreno was under the impression they were all laid off, and he was resigned to the loss of his own stake in the company, which was less than 5 percent.Petes working on getting some funding to finish some of the projects that were really close to being done, he said. I hope he pulls a rabbit out of a hat, and if he does, fantastic.That said, Moreno was 100 percent confident that someone will eventually crack a blockchain solution for mobile voting. He compared the traditional voting process getting in a car, driving to a polling station, waiting in line and filling out a piece of paper to what Blockbuster Video used to be for home media, and he praised Votems business model as sound.The idea that you can get a ballot to your mobile device and know that its secure, immutable, and that you can track your vote to make sure it was recorded properly, and at the same time save the government millions and millions of dollars, is a very compelling business proposition. It will happen, Moreno said. Everybody needs to be reminded that AltaVista, AskJeeves, Go.com all went out of business, but that doesnt mean the model of a search engine was a bad one. Google is worth almost a trillion dollars.A prominent investor in Votem is Medici Ventures, the venture arm of Overstock.com. Medici also backed another blockchain voting company , Voatz, a year ago. Shots rang out Thursday morning but no one was injured as state agents arrested the mayor of Port Richey at his home on a charge of practicing medicine without a license.Following a four-month investigation, agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested Dale Glen Massad, 68, at about 4:30 a.m. at 8221 Hayward Lane in Port Richey, according to a news release from FDLE.In a separate release, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said the sheriff's SWAT team was helping FDLE serve a search warrant at the same address when shots were fired at a sheriff's entry team. Authorities did not return fire, the Sheriff's Office said.No one was injured, the Sheriff's Office said, and their target was taken into custody without further incident.The Sheriff's Office did not name the individual, but FDLE identified him as Massad.Agents from FDLE had received information from the Port Richey Police Department that Massad, who lost his medical license in 1992, was still practicing medicine.Agents launched an investigation and learned Massad had patients come to his home for a variety of treatments. He had performed medical procedures at his residence including one that required additional hospital treatment for a patient, FDLE said.Authorities Thursday morning blocked public access to the area around Massad's two-story, 3,200-square-foot waterfront home at the end of Hayward Lane.Linda and Brian Van Es, both 57, woke up to the sound of gunshots outside their home on Bluepoint Drive, across a canal from Massad's."Four quick, 'Pow, pow, pow, pow,'" Linda Van Es said.The couple didn't know what was going on, so they hunkered away from their windows. But then, Linda Van Es said, she heard deputies on a loudspeaker commanding someone to drop a gun and come out of a house."It's unfortunate, but it's not surprising," she said, "because of his history."The mayor served as a Port Richey city councilman three times, from 2000-08, and he has had run-ins with the law before.In August, he and his live-in girlfriend, Caj Annette Joseph were arrested on charges they battered one another during an argument at their home, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said.In July 2017, police arrested Joseph at Massad's home, accusing her of punching him and hitting him with a vehicle door.Also in 2017, Massad was cited by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, accused of harvesting snook out of season.Police arrested Joseph on a charge of misdemeanor battery in May 2016 after she and another woman, Jodie Cunningham, were accused of getting into an altercation at Massad's home.In 2009, Massad reported to police that a friend had stolen a gun from his pickup in his garage. The friend later used the gun to commit suicide, news reports said.Port Richey Councilwoman Jennie Sorrell declined to comment on Thursday's arrest, but she said the city's attorney was reviewing its options. She assumes the vice mayor, Terrence Rowe, will step in for Massad, she said. Black Gender Disparities Map < 50% 100% > 150% Over 2x more (typically prisons or military) Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Akron, OH Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Albuquerque, NM Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Amarillo, TX Anchorage, AK Ann Arbor, MI Appleton, WI Asheville, NC Athens-Clarke County, GA Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Austin-Round Rock, TX Bakersfield, CA Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Barnstable Town, MA Baton Rouge, LA Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX Bellingham, WA Binghamton, NY Birmingham-Hoover, AL Boise City, ID Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Boulder, CO Bremerton-Silverdale, WA Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT Brownsville-Harlingen, TX Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY Burlington-South Burlington, VT Canton-Massillon, OH Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL Cedar Rapids, IA Champaign-Urbana, IL Charleston, WV Charleston-North Charleston, SC Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Charlottesville, VA Chattanooga, TN-GA Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Chico, CA Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Clarksville, TN-KY Cleveland-Elyria, OH College Station-Bryan, TX Colorado Springs, CO Columbia, SC Columbus, GA-AL Columbus, OH Corpus Christi, TX Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Dayton, OH Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Duluth, MN-WI Durham-Chapel Hill, NC El Paso, TX Elkhart-Goshen, IN Erie, PA Eugene, OR Evansville, IN-KY Fargo, ND-MN Fayetteville, NC Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO Flint, MI Florence, SC Fort Collins, CO Fort Smith, AR-OK Fort Wayne, IN Fresno, CA Gainesville, FL Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI Greeley, CO Green Bay, WI Greensboro-High Point, NC Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC Houma-Thibodaux, LA Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Huntsville, AL Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN Jackson, MS Jacksonville, FL Johnson City, TN Kalamazoo-Portage, MI Kansas City, MO-KS Kennewick-Richland, WA Killeen-Temple, TX Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA Knoxville, TN Lafayette, LA Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN Lake Charles, LA Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL Lancaster, PA Lansing-East Lansing, MI Laredo, TX Las Cruces, NM Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV Lexington-Fayette, KY Lincoln, NE Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR Longview, TX Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Lubbock, TX Lynchburg, VA Macon-Bibb County, GA Madison, WI Manchester-Nashua, NH McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Medford, OR Memphis, TN-MS-AR Merced, CA Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Mobile, AL Modesto, CA Montgomery, AL Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN New Haven-Milford, CT New Orleans-Metairie, LA New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL Norwich-New London, CT Ocala, FL Ogden-Clearfield, UT Oklahoma City, OK Olympia-Tumwater, WA Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL Peoria, IL Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ Pittsburgh, PA Port St. Lucie, FL Portland-South Portland, ME Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Prescott, AZ Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Provo-Orem, UT Raleigh, NC Reading, PA Reno, NV Richmond, VA Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Roanoke, VA Rochester, MN Rochester, NY Rockford, IL Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA Salem, OR Salinas, CA Salisbury, MD-DE Salt Lake City, UT San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX San Diego-Carlsbad, CA San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA Santa Rosa, CA Savannah, GA Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, PA Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Shreveport-Bossier City, LA Sioux Falls, SD South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI Spartanburg, SC Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA Springfield, IL Springfield, MA Springfield, MO St. Louis, MO-IL Stockton-Lodi, CA Syracuse, NY Tallahassee, FL Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Toledo, OH Topeka, KS Trenton, NJ Tucson, AZ Tulsa, OK Tuscaloosa, AL Tyler, TX Urban Honolulu, HI Utica-Rome, NY Vallejo-Fairfield, CA Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Visalia-Porterville, CA Waco, TX Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Wichita, KS Wilmington, NC Winston-Salem, NC Worcester, MA-CT Yakima, WA York-Hanover, PA Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Yuma, AZ Something is demographically amiss in parts of eastern DeKalb County, just outside of Atlanta. In several predominantly African-American neighborhoods , there are only about three black men for every five black women under age 65. That sort of gender imbalance reflects a number of factors, primarily mass incarceration and high mortality, and its present in hundreds of communities across the country. Nationally, the Census Bureau counts 88 black male adults for every 100 black women, while the ratio for whites is a more equal 97 men for every 100 women.reviewed the latest population estimates for all black adults ages 18 to 64 in Census tracts where they totaled at least 2,000. In those neighborhoods, there were only a median of 81 black men for every 100 black women. The imbalance was greatest in 380 neighborhoods, where there were fewer than two adult black men for every three adult black women under age 65. In contrast to the numbers for adults, Census estimates show that nationally, there are marginally more African-American boys than girls under age 18.Communities where large numbers of black men appear to have vanished arent confined to a few regions, and are found in states throughout the country. And disparities arent present just in isolated enclaves, but in many cases span entire small cities. Among these are Calumet City, Ill., and Douglasville, Ga., two suburban jurisdictions with sizable black populations, where there are about two-thirds as many black men as women.The single biggest driver behind the absence of many black men is mass incarceration. A few academics have held up ratios of black men to women as a proxy for incarceration. Despite recent declines in prison populations, disparities remain massive. African-American males are imprisoned in state and federal facilities at six times the rate of white men, and about 25 times that of black women, according to figures from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.Black men, underrepresented in the overwhelming majority of neighborhoods, are instead heavily concentrated in relatively few places, and those tend to be home to prisons. We identified 79 such Census tracts with more than twice as many black men as women.Black men are further subject to high mortality. Homicides drive up rates, along with higher risks of dying from diabetes, kidney disease and sepsis than other men. In all, the latest average life expectancy at birth for black men, 71.5 years as measured by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, trails the expectancy for white men by nearly five years and for black women by more than six years.But mortality and incarceration rates alone dont explain why so many black men seem to be missing in communities. Alford Young, a sociology professor at the University of Michigan, notes that they frequently lack permanent addresses. Women, particularly those with children, are likely to obtain support services, and thus to get counted, while black men are not and may become homeless. Young also says a subset prefers to be mobile and undocumented, mostly stemming from fears of law enforcement. Its really a challenge with official counts to make sense of where black men are, he says.The ramifications of all this are far-reaching. Partners and families of the missing men face a host of negative social and economic consequences, such as a shortage of income and assets. Huge numbers of women have ties to incarcerated family members: One in every 2.5 black women has a family member in prison, more than three times the number for white women, according to a Scholars Strategy Network report . For children, research suggests growing up with an incarcerated parent increases the likelihood of learning disabilities, behavioral problems and other challenges.But the consequences of all this extend beyond families. The absence of adult males means fewer constructive relationships for local children and fewer resources for communities in general. Its not simply large numbers of men not being present around their children or their partners, Young says, but what it means in a community context to be invisible. View larger map .) Kappa Alpha The governor of Tennessee has apologized for participating in "Old South" parties while he was in a fraternity at Auburn University, reports say.Gov. Bill Lee said in a statement that he regrets joining in the parties while he was a member of the school's Kappa Alpha chapter, according to The Tennessean. Lee attended Auburn from 1977 until 1981, when the Kappa Alpha organization "was known for its embrace of Confederate imagery, including displaying Confederate battle flags and members wearing Confederate army uniforms to its annual Old South formal," the newspaper reported.Lee said in a statement obtained by The Tennessean, "I never intentionally acted in an insensitive way, but with the benefit of hindsight, I can see that participating in that was insensitive and I've come to regret it."Lee never lived in the fraternity's house.In the 1980 Lee yearbook photo, Lee is wearing a Confederate soldier uniform and is standing with a woman in an antebellum dress. Lee's office said it did not immediately know the identity of the woman.Another unidentified woman and man are also in the photo wearing the same kind of outfits.Two other photos with different people in Confederate clothing are on the page, which has the caption, "The South shall rise again, right Bill! When the band plays 'Dixie', a tear comes to our eyes. I'd do anything Lee, but she comes first."The Kappa Alpha Order's website describes Robert E. Lee, the Confederate army commander, as the groups "spiritual founder." The website says Lee was "a descendant of patriots who aided in the founding of the United States" and said after the Civil War Lee "emerged as one of the most important and nationally appreciated figures in healing the divisions of that conflict."The site states: "Lee was not a member of Kappa Alpha Order, but his religious convictions, exemplary ideals, values, strong leadership, courtesy, respect for others and gentlemanly conduct greatly influenced the students at Washington College. His requirement for all students was, 'We have but one rule--that every student must be a gentleman.' It is in this spirit that Lee is noted as the Order's Spiritual Founder."UA takes steps to avoid culturally insensitive parties, but some continueThe University of Alabama, and in particular its fraternities and sororities, have a long history of confronting racist and culturally insensitive behavior on campus -- often in a public way.Gov. Kay Ivey attended Auburn a decade earlier than Lee. Her sorority's 1967 yearbook photo shows five members with black masks portraying "minstrels" in a rush skit, but Ivey said she is not in the photograph. Its caption reads, "Alpha Gam Minstrels welcome rushees aboard their showboat."The photo is on the same page as a description of the sorority and the accomplishments of its members. The page notes that Ivey was vice president of the student body.Ivey, a Republican, said she did not recall the skit."When I was shown that picture, it had to be a rush skit or something at the sorority at some point in time, but no, I didn't remember it," she said. "I certainly wasn't a part of it."Ivey said "there is no place" for blackface and that she had never worn it. When asked if she had ever made a remark perceived as racially insensitive, she replied that she hoped not. In a growing number of states, patients who get opioids for serious pain may leave their doctors offices with a second prescription for naloxone, a drug that can save their lives if they overdose on the powerful painkillers.New state laws and regulations in California, Virginia, Arizona, Ohio, Washington, Vermont and Rhode Island require physicians to co-prescribe or at least offer naloxone prescriptions when prescribing opioids to patients considered at high risk of overdosing. Patients can be considered at high risk if they need a large opioid dosage, take certain other drugs or have sleep apnea or a history of addiction.Such co-prescribing mandates are emerging as the latest tactic in a war against an epidemic of prescription and illegal opioids that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives over the past two decades.The Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to recommend naloxone co-prescribing nationally (an FDA subcommittee recently voted in favor), and other federal health officials already recommend it for certain patients. And the companies that make the drug are supportive of the moves. Its not hard to see why: An FDA analysis estimated that more than 48 million additional naloxone doses would be needed if the agency officially recommended co-prescribing nationally.Most states have limited the volume of opioids doctors can prescribe at one time and dramatically expanded access to naloxone. In California, for example, pharmacists can provide naloxone directly to consumers who are taking illegal or prescription opioids or know someone who is.In the states with co-prescribing rules, patients arent required to fill their naloxone prescriptions, and those with cancer or who are in nursing homes or hospice typically are exempted.Kristy Shepard of Haymarket, Va., was surprised to find a naloxone prescription waiting for her recently when she went to the pharmacy to pick up her opioid meds. Her first instinct was not to fill it. She did so only after the nurse in her doctors office pressured her to. The doctor had never talked to her about Virginias new co-prescribing law, she said.Its so silly. I didnt feel like I needed it. Unless I plan to hurt myself, Im not likely to overdose, said Shepard, 41, a registered nurse and hospital administrator who can no longer work and has applied for disability benefits.But it may not be as difficult as some people think to overdose on prescription painkillers.You can take pain meds responsibly, and you can be at risk for an accidental overdose even when youre doing everything right, said Dr. Nathan Schlicher, an emergency medicine physician in Washington state and a member of the state hospital associations opioid task force.Two million Americans have an addiction to prescription painkillers, according to the FDA. And nearly 218,000 people in the U.S. died from overdosing on them from 1999 to 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During that same period, prescription opioid deaths rose fivefold, the CDC data show.In California, doctors wrote nearly 22 million opioid prescriptions in 2017 and 1,169 people died that year from overdosing on prescription opioids. Common prescription opioids include Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet, morphine, codeine and fentanyl.To counter this trend, states are scrambling for any policy lever they can find, said Kitty Purington, senior program director at the National Academy for State Health Policy.Even before the state mandates, pain specialists considered it good practice to prescribe naloxone along with opioid painkillers for some patients, particularly those with a history of substance abuse.Doctor lobbying groups typically resist government rules regarding their practice, but medical associations in some states supported or at least remained neutral on naloxone co-prescribing mandates.The companies that make the drug have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars collectively lobbying for their interests at the state level.Kaleo, which makes the naloxone auto-injector Evzio, spent $77,200 in 2017-18 lobbying California lawmakers on bills expanding access to naloxone, including the states co-prescribing law, which requires doctors to offer prescriptions for naloxone to high-risk patients who get opioids.In December, Kaleo introduced a lower-cost generic version of the injector after a Senate investigation found the company had raised the price of its branded version 600 percent from 2014 to 2017, to $4,100 for two injectors.Adapt Pharma, which makes the naloxone nasal spray Narcan, spent $48,000 to lobby California lawmakers on the co-prescribing legislation.One advantage of the co-prescribing rules is that they foster important doctor-patient conversations about the risks of opioids, said Dr. Farshad Ahadian, medical director at the UC San Diego Health Center for Pain Medicine.Most providers probably feel that its better for physicians to self-regulate rather than practice medicine from the seat of the legislature, Ahadian said. The truth is theres been a lot of harm from opioids, a lot of addiction. Its undeniable that we have to yield to that and to recognize that public safety is critical.But some doctors not to mention patients have reservations about the new requirements. Some physicians say it will be nearly impossible for states to enforce the mandates. Others worry that prescribing naloxone to patients who live alone is useless, because it typically must be administered by another person ideally one who has been trained to do it.Patients fear that naloxone prescriptions could unfairly stigmatize them as drug addicts and cause life insurers to deny them coverage.Shepard, the disabled Virginia nurse and a mother of four, said she worries that her naloxone prescription could affect her chances of getting additional life insurance a pressing question, she said, as her lupus worsens over time.And a Boston-area nurse who worked at an addiction treatment program was turned down by two life insurers simply because she carried naloxone for her patients.The decision to prescribe naloxone is something that should be between a doctor and a patient, because every situation is unique, said Katie OLeary, a 31-year-old movie production company office manager who lives in Los Angeles and was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome about five years ago.So many patients already jump through so many hoops to get their meds, OLeary said. And if you live alone and dont have family or friends to take care of you, the naloxone might not be something that could actually help.Opioid addiction and overdoses are a complex problem, and naloxone is just one part of the solution, said Dr. Ben Bobrow, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.In the past, pain was the fifth vital sign; we thought we were doing a bad job if we were undertreating pain, Bobrow said. Inadvertently, we were harming people. We ended up getting all these people hooked. Now its our job to help them find other [ways] of treating their pain. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, in his first major legislative act as Wisconsin's chief executive, vetoed a Republican bill that would have tapped state surplus funds to cut taxes for the middle class, calling it fiscally unsound and lacking bipartisan support.Republican lawmakers, in turn, called Evers divisive for insisting on something to which they say they'll never agree: capping a state tax credit for large manufacturers. Evers wants to cap the credit at $300,000 to offset part of revenue lost through his tax cut.Evers issued a statement late Wednesday announcing his veto, which he had signaled was coming. A veto message from Evers said the GOP bill "would be unsupported going forward as it relies simply on draining" state reserve funds.The message said Evers objects to the bill being enacted apart from the process by which lawmakers typically make big tax-and-spending decisions: the state budget. Evers plans to announce his state budget proposal next week, and he has said it will include his plan for a middle-class tax cut.Evers also wrote that he is "troubled and disappointed" that the GOP bill was introduced and passed "without bipartisan support and cooperation." It passed the Legislature last week on party-line votes."The people of the state of Wisconsin expect and deserve for their leaders to work together, and I plan to do my part to ensure that happens," Evers wrote.Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, responded to Evers' veto with a statement saying "middle-class Wisconsinites deserve a tax break -- it's unfortunate that Gov. Evers is telling them to wait their turn instead of lowering their taxes."Fitzgerald also maintained he "will not support raising taxes on our state's job creators." Farmers, who also can claim the tax credit, would not be affected by Evers' proposal.Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said in a statement that Evers "is starting to show his true colors.""Only a Madison liberal would believe the only way to cut taxes is to raise taxes on others," said Vos, R-Rochester.The GOP bill would have increased the standard deduction on the state individual income tax effective in 2020, providing an average income tax cut of $170 to about 2 million largely middle-class tax filers.GOP proponents called it an effort to return excess state revenues back to the pockets of taxpayers without shifting the tax burden onto manufacturers -- a move they say risks dampening the economic growth Wisconsin has seen in recent years."Why would we mess with success? Wisconsin is headed in the right direction and Gov. Evers seems determined to reverse that," said Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, co-chairman of the Legislature's budget-writing committee, in a statement.The GOP plan would have reduced state tax revenues by about $490 million in the second and final year of the next state budget cycle.Evers' middle-class tax cut plan would provide the average taxpayer a cut of $225. It would reduce state revenue by about $892 million over the next budget cycle. Democrats have only said how they would pay for about half of it, through capping the manufacturing credit. Barring any weather delays or closures, West Virginia's students will be returning to school today after a two-day statewide teachers strike ended when the West Virginia House decided not to reconsider the state Senate's omnibus education bill.School systems in Mercer, McDowell and Monroe Counties were closed along with other schools across the state after teachers unions announced Monday evening that a strike was underway. In Mercer County, teachers demonstrated Tuesday along Stafford Drive in Princeton and again Wednesday at Mercer Street near the Princeton Post Office. Teachers started their strike to protest Senate Bill 451, which included provisions for charter schools and education savings accounts. The legislation was tabled Tuesday, but local teachers worry that it could be revived.Mercer County Education Association President Nicole McCormick stood in the cold and rain with her fellow teachers near the Princeton Post Office. She said teachers were afraid that charter schools and education savings accounts could be reintroduced in the Legislature. This is why picketing continued Wednesday.McCormick confirmed Wednesday night after the AFT-West Virginia and the American Federation of Teachers held a press conference in Charleston that schools would reopen today unless there were closings due to inclement weather."State leadership asked everyone to go back," McCormick said. "We're hoping that's it, that there will be no more destructive legislation introduced."Teachers hope legislators will pass bills for smaller class sizes, more mental health professionals and librarians in schools, and protection for the arts. Educators also hope the Legislature will address problems with PEIA insurance and not take funding from "the working class and the poor" to do so, she said during Wednesday's demonstration.Across the street, teachers holding up signs said the public had been very supportive of their efforts."I feel the support has been fine today, especially considering the weather," third grade teacher Angela Neal of Mercer School said."A lot of honks, a lot of waves," fifth grade teacher Melanie Meachum of Straley Elementary added. "One lady even climbed out of her car."The strike left working parents of younger students looking for child care options while it continued. In Bluefield, the city Parks and Recreation Department offered an alternative. Children were playing Wednesday at the Bluefield Auditorium along Stadium Drive."We have a regular after school program," Youth Development Director Shannon Lowe said. "When Mercer County is out of school, we offer an all-day camp. We feed the kids breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack."Different organizations including the Bluefield Police Department, Community Connections and Child Protect provide different activities for the children, Lowe said."So during the strike we want to get the word out to parents that we're open 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.," she stated. "We're a licensed day care facility for ages 5 to 13. Our normal daily fee is $30, but we also accept Mountain Heart. If you don't qualify for that, we have a sliding scale and we'll work with parents. We just don't want anybody not to come because of price."The Parks and Recreation Department has partnered in the past with agencies wanting to offer services to the children, Lowe said.As of Wednesday, the program was hosting 10 extra children, Lowe stated. The after school program normally has about 30 kids every day. Parents can register their children on-site in the morning. The program is open when schools are closed for snow days and holidays, and there is the after school program and a summer camp."We're open year round," Lowe said. "We're always here." Oakland school teachers, nurses, counselors and their supporters rose early Thursday to protest in the first day of a strike for higher pay, smaller class sizes and more support for students.As the sun came up, dozens of people stood in the chilly morning air, waiting to join the picket line outside of the Oakland Unified School District's offices in downtown Oakland. Thousands were expected to rally over the course of the day.Meanwhile, schools, libraries and rec centers in Oakland were prepping to open their doors to thousands of displaced students.Erica Garber, an Oakland parent, joined the picket line Thursday morning at Manzanita Community School with her 5-year-old son, a student in transitional kindergarten at the school, and her father, a former teacher. Garber said she agreed with teachers' demands for more support and higher wages, both of which have been scaled back at her son's school."As a parent, I want to teach my son to be an active participant in our society," Garber said. "The cutbacks at my son's school have been dramatic. There's no school nurse, and they're talking about cutting the librarian."Manzanita, a dual-language elementary school of about 400 students, had only a handful of children trickle inside past the picket line of dozens of teachers and families.Standing in front of the school, Oakland Educational Association President Keith Brown addressed the crowd, along with California Teachers Association President Eric Heinz and Manzanita teacher Estefania Ramos. All three addressed the district's budget issues and teachers' poor working conditions, drawing boisterous responses.Brown called out, "When we strike," and the crowd shouted back, "We win!"Rich Bonzo, who works as a substitute teacher and had been assigned to cover classes at Castlemont High School this week, instead joined the walkout Thursday."I'm seeing it through to the end," he said, adding that he wouldn't take on any more work during the strike.Members of local truck drivers' and firefighters' unions joined the teachers outside the district offices Thursday morning to show support.The Oakland Education Association, whose teachers have been working on a contract that expired two years ago, rejected the school district's latest proposal, which included a 7 percent increase in wages over three years.Teachers have demanded a 12 percent raise, along with the hiring of more counselors and nurses, as well as promises to keep schools open in the district. Oakland Unified officials have said the district is already financially stretched due to dwindling enrollment.Thursday's action is the first strike in Oakland since 2010, when teachers went on a one-day strike.Greg Kalkanis, who has been teaching Spanish at McClymonds High School in West Oakland since the start of the school year as a substitute teacher, said he joined Thursday's strike because his school hasn't been able to fill the position.The problem: He doesn't speak Spanish."They're learning from someone not qualified to teach Spanish," Kalkanis said. "These kids are being deprived of an education. We're unable to hire a teacher, because we don't pay well enough.The bargaining teams for Oakland Unified and the teachers union will meet again Friday morning to try and resolve the dispute before instruction for the district's 37,000 students is disrupted any further.If an agreement is reached, the union's 3,000 members would have to approve the deal before the strike can end. The school board would ultimately sign off on a new contract.The strike follows similar actions across the country over the past year, as half a dozen teachers unions have demanded better working conditions."My hat goes off to the teachers in West Virginia, Denver, and my cousin and her colleagues in Los Angeles," Bonzo said. "It's much bigger than Oakland and California." As more people get vaccinated and states begin to roll back some of the restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic schools, agencies and workplaces are working on a plan on how to safely return to normal. Copyright 2019 Rich Manieri, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Rich Manieri is a Philadelphia-born journalist and author. He is currently a professor of journalism at Asbury University in Kentucky. His book, We Burn on Friday: A Memoir of My Father and Me is available at amazon.com. You can reach him at manieri2@gmail.com. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. The facility, though, also saw a jump in the number of kids being housed there as other sites, like the shelter at the San Diego Convention Center, prepare to close. How can Cleveland get its entrepreneurial scene on par with places like Austin, Boulder, Chicago, and Silicon Valley? By encouraging startup founders to break bread together, naturally. And thats exactly the point of StartInCLE, a growing collective of entrepreneurial types that meets monthly for informal group dinners and other events. The first dinner was held at Tremont's Prosperity Social Club in August 2017, and the group has been going strong ever since. In fact, last September, StartinCLE was named "Startup Catalyst of the Year" by VentureOhio. The whole reason we started this thing was to get [startup] founders to know and support each other like Ive seen in other great [entrepreneurial] ecosystems, says StartInCLE co-founder Ed Buchholz. One of the ecosystems to which Buchholz is referring is Boulder, Colorado, where he spent 100 days as part of the Techstars accelerator cohort in 2014. During that time, Buchholz says he attended dinners virtually every evening alongside other startup founders, engineers, and tech gurusan experience he says hes seen replicated in other cities, but not Cleveland. After I came back from Boulder, I was struck by how weak, or undeveloped, our community was in comparison, shares Buchholz. I started to dig into why that was the casebecause we have tons of great startups in Northeast Ohio and tons of really smart people who are founders or supporting these companies, but we didnt really have a community. Founder Fest panel (Sauber-Buchholz and Buchholz on far right, seated)Buchholz joined forces with his wife, Anna Sauber-Buchholz, Vlipsys Rakesh Guha, and Leadfeeders Jenn Morton to host the first StartInCLE dinner in August 2017 at Prosperity Social Club. The dinner attracted 17 people, which was about double what we expected, according to Buchholz. The biggest surprise was that many of them didnt know each other, which was disconcerting, says Buchholz. Thats the lifeblood of any good community, so we thought we might be onto something. And weve done dinners every month since. Buchholz says the dinners now sell out every month (with a cap of around 30 people to encourage more meaningful connection), and theyve spread the love geographically with dinners in Akron, Canton, and around Greater Cleveland. The dinners have also attracted sponsors ranging from SkipList to Venture for America to LaunchHouse. On average, we try to keep the meal cost under $20/person, says Buchholz. People are welcome to donate whatever they like to cover their dinner; our goal is to be inclusive. StartInCLE entrepreneursTo that end, StartInCLE has attracted everyone from students to fledgling entrepreneurs to seasoned startup veterans, and thats just how Buchholz likes it. He estimates that roughly 60 percent of the companies whove participated in StartInCLE programming are software-based; other heavily represented industries are food, medicine, e-commerce, and augmented/virtual reality. And despite the moniker, Buchholz sees StartInCLE as a resource for all of Northeast Ohio. Our goal is to serve founders out to Youngstown and Hudson and Wooster, says Buchholz, who currently works in Akron as the managing director of Bounce Innovation Hub's product accelerator. I really view Northeast Ohio as one community, and thats an extremely important part of my personal goals. It will be key to the success of our region for those areas to think cohesively, whether the cities or governments do or not. With the aim of serving more entrepreneurs, StartInCLE also offers additional programming along with the group dinners. Since its launch, StartInCLE has held 22 eventsfrom cofounder speed dating (designed to help founders meet their business match) to community office hours (where notables like JumpStarts Ray Leach and Embrace Pet Insurance cofounder Laura Bennett offer free mentoring over coffee). Laura Bennett and others share insights on a Founder Fest panelWere hoping to spark collisions and connections, says Buchholz. In October, StartInCLE hosted its first annual Founder Fest for 70 local founders at Jumpstart and the Midtown Tech Hive (where Sauber-Buchholz works as manager). The event featured panels, networking opportunities, and group discussions about the challenges of doing business in Northeast Ohio. This year, Buchholz hopes to attract closer to 200-250 people and make [Founder Fest] akin to something like Startup Scaleup with the sole focus of being by founders, for founders. All of our programming is around founders helping each other. Other current initiatives include Cleveland Built and the Disloyalty Card. The former is an online seal of pride for locally-made products (built in conjunction with Destination Cleveland), while the latter is a punch card rewards program designed to encourage exploration of Clevelands various coworking spots. One of our goals is to cut down on the tribalism that exists [in Clevelands entrepreneurial scene], says Buchholz. People dont like to drive or get out of their comfort zones, so this is our effort to get people to mix things up between different coworking spaces. With their work at Bounce and Midtown Tech Hive, that's a mission Buchholz and his wife are certainly invested in. (Sauber-Buchholz also used to work at Startmart.) But Buchholz says StartInCLE is truly a labor of lovethey've done it all with no outside funding, and the organization is 100 percent volunteer. "We exist simply to help founders," says Buchholz. "We feel that the key to improving our regional economy is to have more successful startups; we need to empower and protect the ones we have, while trying to attract others. The best way to do that is to make sure the founders of those companies have better lives." With February drawing to a close and Cleveland weather set to warm up for a few days, theres no excuse not to get out and enjoy the many outdoor Cuyahoga Arts and Culture (CAC) activitiesfrom a Slovenian-inspired Mardi Gras to a one-of-a-kind music and art festival to close encounters with birds and owls. Check out these family-friendly events sure to seal the deal for an unforgettable winter weekend, Cleveland-style. A decade of Brite Winter No matter whether the sun is shining or the snow is flying, this weekend will mark the 10th year of Brite Winter in the Flats. The event's planners are expecting up to 20,000 people to descend on the West Bank of the Flats on Saturday, February 23, from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. and enjoy music on five indoor and outdoor stages. Three immersive art experiences, 12 fire pits, eight food trucks and 10 beer tents will round out the festivities. Were still trying to maintain that music and art that makes Brite Winter great, says executive director Brian Horsburgh. Theres something fun for the whole family." This years theme is #Brite10: Onward!, meant to recognize the first 10 years and look forward to the next decade. Three immersive art tents will be set up following "By Land," "By Air" (modeled after an airplane hangar), and "By Sea" motifs. Horsburgh is particularly excited about the By Land tent, which will be placed atop the sand volleyball court and feature a desert theme, trains, and 15-foot-tall camel statues. Theres really trippy stuff that catches the eye, teases Horsburgh. With 40 bands scheduled to playmore than 30 from the Cleveland areatheres bound to be music for everyone as well. We got some core Cleveland bands, some returns, and many new acts, says Horsburgh. And were excited to host them all. National bands hail from California, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, and New York, with notable acts including headliner Los Angeles-based indie pop band Smallpools and Cleveland native R&B and hip hop artist Ezri. Were always focused on getting the best lineup that represents Cleveland, says Horsburgh. Brite Winter has come a long way in the last decade. During the first year, in 2009, three bands played on one stage with no roof to 500 people, recalls Horsburgh, and there was one fire pit and one food stand. Obviously, the sheer scope and scale of everything has changed, he says. Weve worked really hard since year one. Brite Winter is able to keep improving each year thanks to a CAC 2019 $26,400 Project Support grant. Admission to Brite Winter is free (with VIP tickets available). Donations are also accepted at the gate. Brite Winter Pancakes are for the birds Start the weekend off right this Saturday, February 23, with a full pancake breakfast and an informative hike at the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes. Every year, the Nature Center teams up with the Rotary Club of Shaker Heights to host Pancake Breakfast with the Birdsone of the many programs the center puts on with its 2019 CAC $73,262 general operating support grant. Pancake Breakfast with the Birds at Nature Center at Shaker Lakes The morning begins at 8 a.m. with an ongoing all-you-can-eat pancake breakfastcomplete with regular, gluten-free, blueberry, and chocolate chip optionsalong with sausage, applesauce, juice and coffee, plus "real Northeast Ohio maple syrup, adds Nature Center president and CEO Kay Carlson. Then we have different opportunities to learn about birds and their habitats. Guests will learn about birds through guided hikes in the Nature Center, with an adult hike at 8 a.m. and family hikes at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. There will also be craft projects starting at 8:30 a.m., and The Rotary Club will conduct a raffle before the festivities wrap up at 12 p.m. Its a great way to get breakfast and to get out and enjoy a hike, Carlson says of the day. If pancakes, hikes, and crafts arent enough to get you going, the Nature Center has also partnered with Frisky Ferrets, Fuzzies, and Feathered Friends Rescue and Sanctuary, who will bring therapy birdssuch as doves and pigeonsfor feature demonstrations at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. They are all rescue birds who have all been injured or are unable to fly, explains Carlson. The Nature Center is located at 2600 South Park Blvd. in Shaker Heights. Tickets cost $9 for adults, $5 for children ages 4-10, and children under four years old are free. Tickets can be purchased in advance, or reservations can be made by calling the Nature Center at (216) 321-5935. Cleveland Kurentovanje Chase away winter with the Kurent Since 2013, Clevelands Slovenian community has been following the traditions of Kurentovanjea 50-year Slovenian Mardi Gras festival centered around the Kurent, a mythical creature believed to chase away winter and usher in spring with its supernatural powers. Were ready to scare away winter, break out of our cocoons, and meet new people, says Nicole Kusold-Matheou, a member of the organizing committee. Were looking to embrace that whole Mardi Gras season. Held in the historical Slovenian immigrant neighborhood of St. Clair-Superior, Kurentovanje continues to attract more people each year. With this years festival extended over six daysfrom Monday, February 25, to Saturday, March 2organizers expect turnout to be in the thousands. This is our seventh year, says Kusold-Matheou. We started with just one day and weve been steadily building up to this. Kurentovanje lasts multiple weeks in Slovenia, depending on the moons cycle, so one solid week seems like a good milestone to hit. The Slovenian Winter Festival is put on with help from a CAC $5,000 project support grant for the Slovenian Museum and Archives. Kurentovanje kicks off on Monday at the Slovenian National Home with a multi-course dinner prepared by three Slovenian chefs (who are flying to Cleveland from Slovenia for the event) and local chef David Kocab of Black Pig. Were really excited to have this trans-Atlantic team of chefs preparing a dinner designed to be representative of the region these chefs are coming from, says Kusold-Matheou. On Tuesday, The Slovenian Museum and Archives will open a free interactive exhibit and lecture featuring Slovenias best known poet, France Preseren. This poet is pretty much of a rock star in Sloveniaa cross between Beethoven and the Rolling Stones, says Kusold-Matheou, who adds that some previously undiscovered manuscripts were unearthed in Cleveland a couple of years ago. Wednesdays craft night in the Hamilton Collaborative is sold out, but on Thursday, Slovenian Consul General Andrej Rode will talk about how to obtain Slovenian dual citizenship at the Slovenian National Home at 7 p.m. On Friday, the Kurent Jump at the Hermit Club at Hoffbrauhaus Cleveland will kick off the weekend events as a dozen Kurentsin what is believed to be the largest collection of Kurent costumes in North America jump around the fire to chase away winter. A 5K dash, parade, and lively festival will conclude the festivities on Saturday. To learn more about what's in store, click here. Owl Prowl at Lake Erie Science and Nature Center Prowl for Owls The staff at the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center (LENSC) wants families in Northeast Ohio to give a hoot about the regions various breeds of owls. Its popular annual Owl Prowl will be held tomorrow, Friday, February 22, from 7 to 9 p.m. Every year, Owl Prowl sells out, says LENSC marketing director Morgan Paskert. You get to see all of our resident owls. LENSC's resident owls include barred, great horned, and Eastern screech varietiesall native to North America. Staff and LENSC students will be holding the owls for guests to get an up-close and personal experience with the creatures. In the planetarium, specific shows will be tailored to owl watching, while LENSC birding expert Tim Jasinski will lead owl-spotting hikes through the Cleveland Metroparks Huntington Reservation. Tim will do some [owl] calls, promises Paskert. There are two famous barred owls there who breed almost every year, so sometimes we see the babies. Hikers and other guests are invited to warm up by the indoor fire during the event. Tickets for Owl Prowl are $10 per person; children under age two are free. Call (440) 871-2900 or email for tickets or more information. LENSC is located at 28728 Wolf Road, Bay Village. On 22 February 2018, at least 11 Congolese refugees were killed when the police opened fire on protestors in Karongi town and in Kiziba refugee camp, both in Western Rwanda. Further police operations in Kiziba in April and May resulted in clashes between refugees and the police, with at least one refugee dying of his injuries. One year on, rather than investigating the unnecessary and/or excessive use of force by police, the Rwandan authorities have arrested and prosecuted refugees for their involvement in protests that were largely peaceful, as well as for spreading false information with intent to cause a hostile international opinion against the Rwandan Government by sharing information about the events with international media among others. The fact that the protests were unauthorized is not enough to justify the decision to disperse them and certainly does not justify the excessive use of force that was employed. While there appears to have been isolated incidents of violence from the protestors, this was not inevitable and might have been avoided with the deployment of effective lawful policing techniques. These incidents and the subsequent prosecution of refugees involved demonstrate the Government of Rwandas lack of tolerance towards those who express dissent in the country, through whatever means. This briefing is based on 28 interviews, analysis of video footage and photographs, and a review of official statements and media coverage. Amnesty International shared its detailed findings with the Rwandan government, the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on 1 February 2019 but had not received a response by time of publication. VIOLENT RESPONSE TO PROTESTS On 20 February 2018, hundreds of Congolese refugees walked out of Kiziba refugee camp in protest at cuts in assistance and other proposed changes. Up to three refugees were seriously injured when soldiers from the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) opened fire in an apparent attempt to disperse the crowd on its way to the UNHCR field office in Karongi, around 15 km away from the camp. Between 20-22 February, the Rwanda National Police (RNP), UNHCR and government officials repeatedly asked the refugees that had converged outside the field office to return to the camp. Police encircled the crowd and on the third day of the protest, there was a swift escalation. According to witnesses, around 15 minutes after a final warning was issued, teargas was fired into the crowd. A red flare was fired while teargas still in the air, and was promptly followed by the police opening fire into the crowd using, resulting in the deaths of at least eight and injuries to at least 20 refugees. The next day, the RNP reported that violent demonstrators armed with stones, sticks and metal projectiles assaulted and wounded seven police officers. Police were forced to use teargas to disperse the rioters, protect and rescue officials, and secure the nearby communities. The statement does not refer to or explain why the police shot into the crowd. While some of the protestors may have been throwing stones, the RNP officers were equipped with protective riot gear, and do not appear to have been under any immediate threat to their lives. The use of live ammunition in these circumstances would therefore have been unlawful and unnecessary. In any case, shooting randomly into a crowd of people cannot be justified even as a response to an immediate threat of RWANDA: INVESTIGATE KILLINGS OF REFUGEES death or serious injury. Following the killings, UNHCR said that this tragedy should have been avoided and the disproportionate use force against refugees is not acceptable. Lire la suite http://data.over-blog-kiwi. com/1/18/92/70/20190221/ob_ e448a1_rwanda-investigate- refugee-killings-fe.pdf This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices. . 7 , 67 . , . 139, 120 . 174, . 19 ... Hong Kong: CE visits Cyberport Chief Executive Carrie Lam today visited Cyberport and the Smart-Space 8 co-working space. Mrs Lam first visited Cyberport in Southern District where she was briefed on its latest developments including its thriving innovation and technology ecosystem, assistance provided for startups, measures to advance the development of the I&T industry and promotion work overseas. The Chief Executive, accompanied by Secretary for Innovation & Technology Nicholas Yang, visited Smart Space Fintech, which features facilities including an information lab, FinTech Service corners and training rooms. They then proceeded to an area on smart living to learn more about the startups in Cyberport and their products. Later, Mrs Lam and Mr Yang went to Smart-Space 8, a co-working space operated by Cyberport in Tsuen Wan. Smart-Space 8 was jointly set up by HKR International and Cyberport under the Space Sharing Scheme for Youth in July last year. It is Cyberports first co-working space located outside its Pok Fu Lam campus to provide support services to young entrepreneurs. During the visit, Mrs Lam chatted with young startup entrepreneurs to learn more about their business visions, stories and user experience in the co-working space. Mrs Lam said: "I&T is a priority policy area of the current-term Government which has devoted significant resources to strengthening Hong Kong's I&T ecosystem and stimulating research and development activities. I am pleased that Cyberport, with the additional resources from the Government, has provided more comprehensive support for startups to assist young entrepreneurs to realise their dreams. In the exchange session with the young entrepreneurs just now, I was impressed by their limitless creativity, determination to set up their own businesses and aspirations for career development, boosting my confidence in the future of Hong Kong. Hong Kongs startup ecosystem has been gaining momentum in recent years. There were 2,625 startups operating in major public and private co-working spaces and incubators in 2018, up 18% from 2,229 in 2017. Together, these startups employed 9,548 people, a 51% rise from the figure in 2017. The Central Government promulgated the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area a few days ago, Mrs Lam said, adding this key development strategy of the country will bring immense opportunities to Hong Kong. She said one of the focuses of the plan is the establishment of an international I&T hub in the bay area. Hong Kong will proactively strengthen its own I&T capabilities and leverage the support policies in the outline development plan to set up an international I&T hub in the Greater Bay Area, identifying new areas of growth for Hong Kong and opening up more development opportunities for young people." This story has been published on: 2019-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. South Africa: National Assembly to dissolve The National Assembly has adopted a resolution to dissolve the Fifth Parliament, whose five-year term ends on 10 May. This is in line with section 50 of the Constitution, which deals specifically with the dissolution of National Assembly before the expiry of its term. By law, elections cannot be held during the term of office of the current Parliament. The dissolution of the House before the expiry of its term, which is 10 May 2019, was made necessary because the date of the election has been set for 8 May. This is two days before the term of the current National Assembly ends, Parliament said in a statement. With the National Assembly having resolved to dissolve itself, President Cyril Ramaphosa will now dissolve the National Assembly in terms of his powers provided for in the Constitution. The decision to dissolve the House will also allow President Ramaphosa to proclaim the date of the elections, which is 8 May, as announced during the State of the Nation Address. The House remains competent to function from the time it is dissolved until the day before the first day of polling for the next National Assembly. The House also agreed to suspend Rules 333(2) and 351(2), which would have resulted in Bills and other business lapsing when the House is dissolved. Members of the National Council of Provinces, on the other hand, will rise on 28 March. However, they will remain in office until after the scheduled elections, until the day of the first sitting of the Provincial Legislatures. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2019-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Pamantul nehotarat: viata dupa incalzire De David Wallace-Wells Tim Duggan. 310 pp. 27 dolari --- Iata o propunere modesta. Oamenii de stiinta climatici ar trebui sa taca despre incalzirea globala. Gatekeepers pentru ceea ce stim si ne gandim la schimbarile climatice ar trebui sa ia o juramant de tacere si sa lase alti oameni sa ia un cuvant in echipa. Deoarece, important, desi stiinta este, trebuie sa nu mai definimm problema Marea Problema a secolului XXI in termeni stiintifici. Daca se schimba schimbarile climatice, deoarece aceasta carte argumenteaza cu succes, un schimbator de joc pentru toata lumea, peste tot, tot timpul, atunci sa reflectam ca in discurs. Avem stiinta. Sa aducem filosofii si dramaturgii, avocatii si preotii, economistii si comedians. Raspunsul societatii depinde de ea. David Wallace-Wells ofera un punct de plecare bun. Cartea sa, "Pamantul nehotarat: viata dupa incalzire", ne sperie cu povesti dintr-o lume viitoare schimbata la clima care depaseste stiinta climatica. Nu de cand Bill Mckibben "Sfarsitul naturii" acum 30 de ani, ni sa spus ce schimbarile climatice vor insemna in termeni atat de vii. "Este mai rau, mult mai rau decat crezi," Wallace-Wells incepe cartea. Nu in ultimul rand pentru ca, in cei 30 de ani, ne-am dublat emisiile cumulative de dioxid de carbon din arderea combustibililor fosili. El prezice o lume in care schimbarile climatice sunt pervazive, omniprezente si dramatice. "Calea pe care o facem ca o planeta ar trebui sa ingroze pe oricine traind pe ea", scrie el. Nimic nu va fi acelasi. Oriunde traim, vom fi inundati, inghititi de incendii, afectate de boli noi, sufocate de aerul toxic, lipsita de apa sau saraci ca un climat in haos duce la o economie in topire. "Atacurile nu vor fi discrete", avertizeaza el. "Ei vor produce un fel de violenta in cascada, cascade si avalanse de devastare ... in moduri care se bazeaza unul pe celalalt si submineaza capacitatea noastra de a raspunde". Vor fi razboaie climatice. Natura insasi va arata ca un dusman, mai degraba decat un prieten. Naysayers ai schimbarilor climatice ar fi mai degraba sa auda aceste povesti. Ele sunt foarte bune la inchiderea climatului intr-o camera de ecou de incertitudine stiintifica falsa. Ceea ce se tem este vocile ca Wallace-Wells "care ar putea lovi o coarda publica puternica. De aceea, caderea trecuta, au incercat sa impiedice "copiii climatici" - studentii americani care acuza guvernul cu incalcarea dreptului lor uman de a trai intr-un climat sigur - de la a avea o zi in instanta. Testul legal este inca nerezolvat. In prima jumatate a cartii sale, Wallace-Wells, un redactor la revista New York, dar nu, el insista, un ecologist, face un loc de munca valoros de a da ghidului unei persoane cu scenariile infricosatoare si adevarurile inevitabile ale schimbarilor climatice. Moare oceanele, coborile de uscare, incendiile, plagii de boala, razboaiele climatice si cresterea valorilor isi iau capitolele. Surcingul sau este bun si face cavalerele potrivite. Toata stiinta este provizorie, avertizeaza el. "Ceea ce de fapt se afla inainte, se poate dovedi chiar grimmer, desi inversul, desigur, este si posibil", scrie el. Esenta problemei este clar. Odata in atmosfera, dioxidul de carbon din combustibilii nostri fosili arsi ramane acolo, transformand in mod constant termostatul planetar. Schimbarile climatice nu are un comutator on-off. Nu se va opri la doua grade sau patru grade sau sase grade sau intr-adevar oriunde, pana cand oprim emisiile plictisitoare. Singurele intrebari sunt cat de curand si la ce nivel. Acest adevar simplu este alarmant, dar si o provocare pentru actiune. Cu toate acestea, caldarea planetei devine, "Wallace-Wells scrie:" Va fi intotdeauna cazul ca deceniul care urmeaza ar putea contine mai multa suferinta sau mai putin ", in functie de alegerile noastre. De asemenea, modifica dinamica optimismului fata de pesimismul asupra viitorului, ceva ce se ocupa de Wallace-Wells cu bine. In mijlocul unei naraturi aparent cu Doom, el se deplaseaza deoparte: "Lucrul este ca eu (incep italia) am (sfarsitul Italului) optimist", spune el. "Stiu ca vor veni ororile ... dar acele orori nu sunt inca scripted". Nu trebuie sa ne predam, pentru ca nu este inevitabil. Tehnologia este cea mai buna lovitura de a opri incalzirea planetei. Vestea buna este ca "solutiile sunt evidente si disponibile", scrie el. Post-McKibben, am scazut costul turbinelor eoliene, panouri solare si autoturisme electrice, astfel incat compromisurile aparent inevitabile intre energia scazuta de carbon si cresterea economica dispar. Apreciem acum ca reformularea industriilor noastre bazate pe emisii cu emisii reduse de carbon este buna pentru crestere. Ce ingrijorari Wallace-Wells este ceea ce se intampla in capul nostru. De ce reactionam la solutii evidente si disponibile atat de incet? De ce parim adesea orb la catastrofele climatice care se intampla in jurul nostru? Am fost deja martori la un impact enorm al unui grad de incalzire pe care l-am cauzat pana acum, dar alegem abia sa observam. Inca mai numim in mod obisnuit experientele ascutite ale dezastrelor naturale ale schimbarilor climatice. Wallace-Well sustine ca schimbarile climatice se aflau in spatele razboiului civil din Siria care a trimis a SPace Il's Moon Lander va ceda Luna in orbita descendenta treptata pentru a facilita o aterizare moale. Primul si nominal oportunitatea de aterizare se va intampla pe 11 aprilie. The Arch Mission Foundations goal is to archive all human knowledge permanently in space. The Foundation provided this opportunity to Austins Mayor. Also included in the Billion Year Archive are: A full copy of the English language Wikipedia 25,000 books and other resources, including collections from Project Gutenberg and the Internet Archive The Long Now Foundation Rosetta and PanLex datasets, which provide a linguistic key to 5000 languages with 1.5 billion cross-language translations. As part of their program, the Arch Mission invited a limited number of celebrities, influencers, and dignitaries to make a contribution to the Lunar Library. Mayor Adlers letter includes a copy of the original, authentic, and never-before-published Kerbey Queso recipe from Kerbey Lane Cafe. We choose to send queso to the Moon - and maybe someday chips as well, not because these things are easy, but because they are hard, said Mayor Adler. The challenge to eat queso in zero gravity is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, among other key challenges, like next time remembering the chips. We are so happy to take the recipe for our best selling item of all time to the moon, said Kerbey Lane Cafe CEO Mason Ayer. I suppose getting the ingredients together out there in space is a whole nother story. But as central artifacts of civilization go, I cant think of a more important, sustaining foodstuff. No archive, time capsule, library or vault is complete without queso. One day we hope the whole galaxy will benefit. Turns out, the moon isnt really made of cheese. So we sent some. Adler also included a photo of Albert Leslie Cochran with the letter, together with an economic incentive package, in hopes of welcoming extraterrestrial visitors and future citizens. If it helps your decision to visit, please know that extraterrestrial beings have already been to Austin, become cultural icons, and even run for Mayor and they are forever welcome here. To wit, I am proudly enclosing a photo of Albert Leslie Cochran, the letter states. Adler declined to provide details about the image, commenting, Im not going to say exactly what the picture shows, but Leslie mooned Austin enough times. It was about time Austin mooned the moon. Mayor Adlers letter to extraterrestrials ends on a more serious note, echoing President Carter's message placed on the Voyager in 1977. It is my hope that on the future day that you read this, we will have solved the many things on this earth for which we are less proud. Presently, the world has not sufficiently responded to the dire threat of climate change and environmental injustice. And our society has let people become downtrodden, failing to recognize that each human being, regardless of the immutable characteristics of their birth or their station in life, is alive with the same fire that lights the stars at night. Austin today is working to make this a better universe by tackling homelessness and inequity, and through our support for the environment, restorative justice in our community, and the lasting beauty of our arts. Perhaps a future time capsule will send happy news of our solutions to the vexing problems that threaten what is great in our city and our world. We in Austin do not just hope for a better and more just tomorrow, but are taking the difficult steps in the present, so we will survive our time and we may live into yours. May this message represent our continuing hope and determination, and our good will in a vast and awesome universe. View the letter in full here. About Arch Mission Foundation The Arch Mission Foundation is a non-profit organization that maintains a backup of planet Earth, designed to continuously preserve and disseminate humanitys most important knowledge across time and space. The Arch Mission Foundation is preserving the knowledge and biology of our planet in a solar system wide project called The Billion Year Archive. Arch Libraries are the most durable records of human civilization ever built. Using new technologies, they preserve more knowledge for more time, than anything ever created. Arch Libraries are being designed in a variety of form factors to persist for long-durations on Earth, as well as in other locations across our solar system and beyond. The Arch Mission Foundation was co-founded by Nova Spivack and Nick Slavin. Other key early team members include Mathew Hoerl, Robert C. Jacobson, and Michael Paul. More information about team members and industry advisors can be found at http://www.archmission.org/crew. For more information visit: http://www.archmission.org About Mayor Steve Adler Steve Adler is Austins 52nd Mayor and Mayor of All The Queso. His top priorities include mobility, affordability and equity for all Austinites. Adler has been elected a Vice President of the National Council of Democratic Mayors, a Trustee of the United States Conference of Mayors, and Chair of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) policy board. Mayor Adler has received broad recognition for innovative ideas and leadership. Foreign Policy named him a Global reThinker and Living Cities included Mayor Adler on the list of 25 Disruptive Leaders (along with Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg and author Ta-Nehihi Coates) to mark that organizations 25th anniversary. The Austin Chronicle readership has named Mayor Adler as Best City Official each year since 2016, and Chronicle critics named Adler Best Drag Mother for his turn as Mother Ginger in Ballet Austins The Nutcracker and Most Devoted Pen Pal for his Wonder Woman letter. Austin Monthly has also named Mayor Adler Best Politician for fearlessly speaking up for Austinites [and] proving that a little snark goes a long way to support the morale of a community. For more information visit: http://www.mayoradler.com About Kerbey Lane Cafe On May 5th, 1980, Kerbey Lane Cafe began operating out of a small house on Kerbey Lane in north- central Austin. Famous for its fluffy pancakes and delicious queso, Kerbey Lane Cafe is dedicated to serving house-made food that is local, fresh and affordable, while providing a welcoming and memorable experience to all who come through its doors. These simple principles helped grow Kerbey Lane Cafe from a single location operating out of a humble house into a beloved Austin institution with eight locations throughout the Austin area. For more information, visit http://www.kerbeylanecafe.com. WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In a research breakthrough funded by NASA, scientists have synthesized a molecular system that, like DNA, can store and transmit information. This unprecedented feat suggests there could be an alternative to DNA-based life, as we know it on Earth a genetic system for life that may be possible on other worlds. This new molecular system, which is not a new life form, suggests scientists looking for life beyond Earth may need to rethink what they are looking for. The research appears in Thursday's edition of Science Magazine. DNA is a complex molecule that stores and transmits genetic information, is passed from parent to offspring in all living organisms on Earth, and its components include four key ingredients called nucleotides all standard for life as we know it. But, what about life on other worlds? "Life detection is an increasingly important goal of NASA's planetary science missions, and this new work will help us to develop effective instruments and experiments that will expand the scope of what we look for," said Lori Glaze, acting director of NASA's Planetary Science Division. One way to imagine the kinds of foreign structures found on other worlds is to try to create something foreign on Earth. A team of researchers, led by Steven Benner at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Alachua, Florida, successfully achieved the fabrication of a new informational molecular system that is like DNA, except in one key area: The new molecule has eight informational ingredients instead of four. The synthetic DNA includes the four nucleotides present in Earth life adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine but also four others that mimic the structures of the informational ingredients in regular DNA. The result is a double-helix structure that can store and transfer information. Benner's team, which collaborated with laboratories at the University of Texas in Austin, Indiana University Medical School in Indianapolis, and DNA Software in Ann Arbor, Michigan, dubbed their creation "hachimoji" DNA (from the Japanese "hachi," meaning "eight," and "moji," meaning "letter"). Hachimoji DNA meets all the structural requirements that allow our DNA to store, transmit and evolve information in living systems. "By carefully analyzing the roles of shape, size and structure in hachimoji DNA, this work expands our understanding of the types of molecules that might store information in extraterrestrial life on alien worlds," said Benner. Scientists have much more to do on the question of what other genetic systems could serve as the foundation for life, and where such exotic organisms could be found. However, this study opens the door to further research on ways life could structure itself in environments that we consider inhospitable, but which might be teeming with forms of life we haven't yet imagined. "Incorporating a broader understanding of what is possible in our instrument design and mission concepts will result in a more inclusive and, therefore, more effective search for life beyond Earth," said Mary Voytek, senior scientist for Astrobiology at NASA Headquarters. One of NASA's goals is to search for life on other planets like Mars, where there was once flowing water and a thick atmosphere, or moons of the outer solar system like Europa and Enceladus, where vast water oceans churn under thick layers of ice. What if life on those worlds doesn't use our DNA? How could we recognize it? This new DNA may be the key to answering these questions and many more. This work also interests those interested in information as part of life. "The discovery that DNA with eight nucleotide letters is suitable for storing and transmitting information is a breakthrough in our knowledge of the range of possibilities necessary for life," said Andrew Serazin, president of Templeton World Charity Foundation in Nassau, The Bahamas, which also supported this work. "This makes a major contribution to the quest supported by Templeton World Charity Foundation to understand the fundamental role that information plays in both physics and biology." This research was supported by NASA's Astrobiology Program through the Exobiology Program. To learn more about NASA's Astrobiology Program, visit https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ SOURCE NASA Related Links http://www.nasa.gov PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-22 11:01:00 Press Information Persistence Market Research CONTACT: Persistence Market Research 305 Broadway 7th Floor, New York City, NY 10007, United States, USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353 Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Web: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com yogesh Seggar Team Lead 8009610353 email http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com # 658 Words CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.comTeam Lead8009610353 Sales of wind turbine rotor blades is expected to be valued at more than US$ 7,000 Mn by 2017 end and is anticipated to register a CAGR of 21.2% and be valued at nearly US$ 33,000 Mn by the end of 2025. Asia Pacific led by China and India will account for a major share of the global wind turbine rotor blade market between 2017 and 2025.Increasing levels of wind power generation aiding the market for wind turbine rotor bladesGeneration of electricity from wind is now firmly established as a mainstream source for power generation. Capacity of wind power has significantly increased across the world, as wind turbines have become more powerful, efficient and affordable for power producers in the last decade. These factors will create a positive impact on the demand for wind turbine rotor blades, as they are an essential component in wind power projects. Wind energy is a relatively large single source (around 50%) of all increase in electricity generation globally. To give an example of the importance and growing clout of wind energy, wind energy accounted for around 40% of Denmarks total power generation, 23% of Portugal and Ireland, and 19% of Uruguay. In South Australia, wind power contributes to around 40% of the total power generation.Request For Report Sample@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/15535 Climatic benefits with zero emissions the main advantages of wind energyIn the Paris Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP21), the long term target adopted by 186 countries that attended this conference is to make the power sector 100% emission free by 2050. This strengthens the position of wind energy as a major portion of renewable power will be supplied by wind energy, along with solar energy. China and the United States are the major producers of renewable energy. As the generation of electricity from wind creates no emissions, wind energy will play a major role in helping the two countries meet their commitments under the COP21 agreement. This will create a big boost in the sales of wind turbine rotor blades in the coming years.Technological competition with solar panels may limit the market for wind turbine rotor bladesTechnological innovation since the last decade has created significant improvements in terms of wind power generation, but this innovation has come at the cost of increasing the length of wind turbine blades. Hence, the limits related to maximum operable length may put on hold new installations, due to problems associated with transportation and on-site installation of large rotor blades. However, on the other hand, solar panels are shrinking in size, due to improvements in their technological efficiency. Being an important source of renewable energy with no moving parts and no noise pollution, solar panels may pose a threat to the wind turbine rotor blade market on a large scale.Offshore wind system installations a growing opportunityGeneration of renewable and clean sources of energy from offshore wind is a relatively new technology and has just taken off in many countries of the world. The rotor blades required for such harsh offshore environments require more technological advancements in terms of design and build. As of now, offshore wind power installations are mainly concentrated across Europe. However, countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, India, Taiwan and the United States have approved many offshore projects, which are under development and are expected to be operational in the near future.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC)@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/15535 Global Wind Turbine Rotor Blade Market Attractiveness Analysis by Blade LengthAmong the blade length segments, the 45-60 meters segment is estimated to be the largest segment, accounting for 65.9% share in terms of revenue in the global wind turbine rotor blade market by 2017 end. This will be followed by the Above 60 meters segment. The 45-60 meters segment is expected to retain its dominance over the forecast period, registering a CAGR of 19.1% in terms of value. The Below 45 meters segment is expected to hold a market value share of 12.1% by 2017 end. Unearthing Microsofts HoloLens feels a little like walking the decks of the Titanic. Four years ago, Microsofts augmented-reality headset ignited the imaginations of consumers and developers alike with its promise of lifelike animated sprites that could perch on real-world objects. Then... it sank. Its almost criminal that Microsofts original HoloLens demos never saw the light of day. Bending down to peer inside a coffee table into the Minecraft underworld was an utterly transformative experience. But at least Microsofts vision of using the HoloLens as a business tool apparently is alive and well. As is the HoloLens. Because Microsoft never sold its device to consumers, PCWorld never formally reviewed it. But we have the original on hand. As Microsoft is expected to bring forth the next generation of HoloLens at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona this weekend, we gave it another run-through, focusing on what made it bestand what could be better. Mark Hachman / IDG In this shot of the Microsoft HoloLens, you can see what Microsoft calls the environment understanding cameras that map the world around you, as well as the front-facing 2MP camera. A consumer failure with corporate potential As a consumer device, the HoloLens is dead. Only one Microsoft Store on the West Coast even has a HoloLens in stock for demonstration purposes. Microsofts remaining HoloLens supplies are sold through Insight, a solutions provider, Microsoft support reps said. On Microsofts site, the Commercial Suite version of the HoloLens costs a cool $5,000. Mark Hachman / IDG The HoloLens shipped in a hard plastic case. But commercial it was not, back in 2015. Removing it from its cloth-covered plastic shell three years later reveals a lovingly engineered piece of consumer hardware. The HoloLens perches fairly comfortably on my head, supported by a removeable nose piece and my ears. Clicking a dial adjusts the tightness of the fit. Theres an optional head strap, too, if you'd prefer taking its 1.28-pound weight on the crown of your head. I wore the HoloLens pretty solidly for about three hours in one stretch. While I was conscious of the weight, I never felt uncomfortable. Mark Hachman / IDG The HoloLens audio is controlled by a pair of buttons on one side; you can control the brightness of the display with the others. The HoloLens includes built-in speakers, which can be adjusted with a pair of buttons on one side. On the other, a similar pair of buttons controls the brightness of the display. An optional headphone jack is available too. Underneath the power button is a row of pinprick-sized holes, which light to indicate the battery level. (The HoloLens drains fast, and our unit provided about three to four hours of charge in fairly constant use.) All that pales in comparison to the focal point of the HoloLens: the display. While virtual-reality devices like the first HTC Vive tethered you to the PC by way of a display and power cord, the augmented-reality HoloLens superimposes the display over the real worldunderstanding where physical surfaces are, and placing objects accordingly. You're free to roam wherever you'd like. Its magical, when it works. Mark Hachman / IDG A dial ratchets the HoloLens tightly around your head. I preferred the weight (1.2) pounds to rest on my nose and the brim, and from there my ears. An optional head strap can take some of the weight, too. By now, the hardware underlying the HoloLens is fairly well understood, at least in broad strokes. In terms of resolution, though, the lack of a PC-powered display means that the HoloLens essentially provides 720p of resolution per eye. Combine that with the relatively limited field of view, and thats where the experience gets complicated. Want a brief look at what it's like to actually use the HoloLens? Here's a video using the HoloLens itself, taken with its built-in mixed-reality camera. The first fix: Field of View (FOV) HoloLens works its magic by suspending holograms, or what appears to be a three-dimensional object, virtually in front of you. Theres not that much difference between the image that a monitor paints on the glass in front of your eyes and the image that the HoloLens paints on each lens in front of you. Mark Hachman / IDG Standing about five feet away, the HoloLens field of view is about the size of this window. (The HoloLens front-facing camera is offset, with a slightly wider angle of view, so it captures more than you see.) The photos youll see here are shot with the HoloLens mixed-reality camera, overlaying holograms onto the real world. The difference is what HoloLens does next. It uses a front-facing camera to scan the room in front of you, interpreting what it sees as a three-dimensional mesh, then attaches the hologram to that mesh itself. Using the HoloLens usually means anchoring various windows (such as Settings, for example) to a nearby surface, then using any three-dimensional open space near you as your HoloLens playspace. The illusion of physically walking around the hologram, as well as being able to anchor it or have it interact with real-world surfaces, fools your eyes into thinking its real. Mark Hachman / IDG The farther back you are, the more you can see. This is about eight feet away, against a different door. That illusion is especially effective if the hologram remains in the field of viewthe rectangle that serves as the HoloLens screen. The FOV covers much of the width of a door at a few feet, or about 50 degrees. Anything outside of it, though, cant be entirely seen, and this instantly reminds you of the limits the HoloLens FOV imposes. Mark Hachman / IDG Back up far enough, and even large holograms like this Tyrannosaurus Rex can fit into your field of view (FOV). Because the HoloLens knows where in virtual space a hologram exists, its possible to have one directly in front of you and another to the side or rear. Its trying to turn and find the second hologram when frustration can kick in. (A setting allows you to trash all holograms loaded into your scene, even the ones you can't see.) But the first-generation HoloLens could never convincingly offer up the illusion of, say, a forest, as the HoloLens lacks the capability to swamp your peripheral vision. The FOV problem isnt just a visual issue. Interacting with holograms and apps typically requires air clicking a hologram or window, in much the same way you'd click a mouse. Triggering the Start menu requires a bloom hand gesture, like a flower opening. In both cases, though, the HoloLens must be able to detect your gesture. (There are two alternativesvoice control and a small Bluetooth clickerbut gestures are the most common way of interacting.) Mark Hachman / IDG Holograms can either be two-dimensional Windows apps, or full-fledged three-dimensional objects. Using a two-handed gesture, you can place these windowed apps along surfaces, where HoloLens will remember them, even if youre facing the other way. (The front-facing camera is only 2MP, so the resolution here is lousy. They look better in real life.) Anyone whos used the HoloLens, then, would rate the field-of-view as the primary area for improvement. If I were designing the next-generation HoloLens, however, Id strike a compromise, offering users the option of dialing down the peripheral detail. In the VR space, this is known as foveated rendering, concentrating the processing power on rendering detail where your eyes are looking. Thats probably a necessity for a new HoloLens, toomore on that in a minute. But I also appreciated the blank space at the edge of my vision, either to glance at my PCs screen, a person, or something else. If Microsoft were to improve the HoloLens, Id leave the option to fade out the periphery, providing a more grounded sense of place to the user. The second fix: Resolution Its no secret that early VR users suffered from vertigo, caused by the latency between what the displays rendered and what the user expected to see. Though theres still some noticeable render lag within the HoloLens, the fact that your vision tracks real-world objects helps prevent any nausea. Mark Hachman / IDG Its a little easier to tell thats actor George Takei when using the HoloLens, and an app called Actiongram. But if Microsoft is striving for realism, more resolution is a must. I still experienced discomfort. Dialing up the brightness of the display is a must. Even then, however, holograms can be low-resolution, and sometimes laggy when interacting with you. After an hour or two, my eyes ached from the strain. A reported processor spec bump must happen to ensure a next-gen HoloLens will be comfortable to use. The resolution isnt merely a visual issue, either. HoloLens maps your environment, applying a very coarse surface mesh over walls, desks, tables, and more. (Objects can be anchored to a surface like a desk, and certain games will actually use these surfaces as part of the experience.) A spartan workspace is easily accommodated. But as your environment moves further away from minimalism, HoloLens struggles to keep up. My basement office, full of monitors and boxes and peripherals and lamps, would probably give organizational guru Marie Kondo the cold sweats. To compensate, HoloLens would occasionally draw a big black surface that would interrupt the scene. A next-gen HoloLens would be well served by increasing the number and density of the three-dimensional mesh of points it uses to creates a virtual space. The third fix: UI Certain elements of the HoloLens UI havent held up over time, including the nose first method of navigating. Too much navigation involves steering a cursor from point to point by slightly moving your head. Its especially painful when you have to enter a Windows or Wi-Fi password: Manually pushing the cursor from letter to letter is a major pain. Mark Hachman / IDG Navigating the Start menu through the bloom gesture is fine. But when you have to navigate, letter by letter, to spell out a passwordugh. (Again, the HoloLens camera is awful, but theres no way to take a photo without it.) Microsofts first-generation HoloLens works around this somewhat through voice recognition, where many simple tasks, such as opening the Settings menu, can be performed by merely saying a word, like settings. But modern VR equipment is beginning to include eye tracking, which can save time navigating from element to element. If Microsoft is developing a next-generation HoloLens, it would be a shame if eye tracking were excluded. The HoloLens voice recognition works well, but even it can be unnecessarily confusing. Some commands can be performed simply by saying the command; others require you to invoke Cortana beforehand, which makes little sense. Still, I found I relied on voice more and more to avoid tediously steering the cursor. Mark Hachman / IDG This little gizmo is the HoloLens "clicker," which you can click to input choices, or "twist" to scroll. The important aspect of the clicker is that you can click without the HoloLens camera seeing your movements, which is far more comfortable than simply air-clicking all of the time. Lifting your hand to constantly air click gets old, too. But scrolling is the worst, requiring you to air-click and drag through the minimal field of view. Microsofts optional clicker basically acknowledged that air navigation failed. But couldnt Microsoft have tried something a bit different, such as clicking by audibly snapping your fingers? The fourth fix: More apps If you think the Windows app store looks empty, you should see the HoloLens aisle. At one point, UWP apps like Twitter were considered to be the future, traversing PC, phone, and HoloLens alike. Mark Hachman / IDG Its just another hologram, but opening the Rome tour on Microsoft Studios own HoloTour via this painting is a great start, especially as it seamlessly works its way into... You can exhaust most of the best HoloLens apps in an afternoon. HoloTour offers genuinely interesting 360-degree recorded video tours of Machu Picchu and Rome, complete with a recorded tour guide. Step back, though, and they arent much different from a HoloLens-specific version of Myst, as you virtually explore hotspot after hotspot. Holo Galaxy isnt much better, with a cursory 3D view of the solar system and other stellar points of interest. Mark Hachman / IDG ...A 360-degree video tour of Rome. Yes, youve probably seen 360-degree video before. But its all nicely presented, with a friendly, informative narrator. RoboRaid, jaw-dropping in its time, creates virtual bugs and drones that literally crawl out from your HoloLens-mapped walls. Youll need to use oral commands, your air-click skills, and the ability to hop nimbly about the room to avoid laser blasts. Its still a lot of fun, but not too different from the shooting gallery games that tend to be bundled with VR gear. Some of the states most exclusive neighborhoods could be effectively exempt from a proposal to allow duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes in single-family zones across the state. House Bill 2001, sponsored by House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, would allow the higher-density plexes and cottage clusters on any single-family lot in cities with 10,000 or more residents. The goal is to increase the supply of rental homes and drive down rents and in the process open desirable neighborhoods, with amenities such as good schools and parks, to more people. But restrictions recorded on property deeds when the neighborhoods were developed even some from a century ago sometimes prohibit the construction of anything other than single-family houses. In the residential areas, they show up with some frequency, said Alan Brickley, a longtime Portland real estate attorney. Its difficult to say how many neighborhoods might be affected. Deed covenants regulating the number of housing units are common in newer large-scale developments, but also in older planned communities platted by a single developer. The restrictions themselves, however, are buried deep in property records. Cities dont generally track them. But theyve left residents of neighborhoods without such restrictions wary that they could bear an outsized share of the density created under the policy, if it passed. It would force the developers into the older areas like where I live, said Bill Aspergren, a co-chair of the South University neighborhood in Eugene. If you go into the newer areas, nobodys going to be able to put a quad in there even if you could find room for it. The covenants are effectively private contracts that could open homeowners who build duplexes on their property to lawsuits from their neighbors. More likely, the higher density homes would never get built. Kotek suggested lawmakers could act to render the covenants unenforceable. Deed restrictions that prohibit more housing choices undermine the intent of House Bill 2001," she said in a statement. "We need to make sure that, going forward, deed restrictions do not further the exclusion that this bill is trying to address. The Oregon Legislature recently acted to nullify deed restrictions already on the books. In 2017, lawmakers barred homeowners associations or developers of planned communities from prohibiting the installation of rooftop solar panels and declared previous restrictions void. That law has never been tested in court, however, and government interference in agreements between private parties can face a high legal bar. Unconstitutional deed restrictions namely those that excluded people from neighborhoods based on their race have been nullified by the courts. The state in 2017 also created a process for removing those unenforceable restrictions from property records. The issue also could affect density plans in cities like Portland, where the citys Residential Infill Plan calls for more multi-unit houses in established neighborhoods. A spokeswoman said the citys Planning Bureau was aware of the potential issue but not clear how widespread it might be. House Bill 2001 already faces opposition from neighborhood groups, many that say it will bring crowding and hurt property values. And cities, including Portland, have said theyre uncomfortable with the aggressive timeline set out in the bill, which gives cities until December 2020 to write code allowing for the new housing types. -- Elliot Njus enjus@oregonian.com; 503-294-5034; @enjus Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Bank of Baroda (BoB) has tied up with Germany's KfW Development Bank to extend funding of USD 113 million to refinance solar projects, under the Solar Partnership II Promotion of Solar PV in India. This proposal constitutes part of the overarching Indo-German Solar Energy Partnership, BoB said in a statement on Friday. Under an inter-governmental MoU in 2015, Germany has committed to providing financing support through KfW Development Bank for solar photo voltaic investments, it said. SOMERVILLE House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, on Friday announced a plan to invest $1 billion over 10 years to help cities and towns adopt climate-friendly technology. If the plan is approved by the Legislature, the money would be bonded, which means it would be borrowed, then paid back over a period of years. This realistic and practical approach will help all of our cities and towns take swift steps to address the effects of climate change, DeLeo said. DeLeo announced the new initiative at Greentown Labs in Somerville, a startup incubator for clean technology companies. DeLeo is calling the program GreenWorks, after a similar program called MassWorks, which funds local infrastructure projects. GreenWorks would involve a similar model, where cities and towns would apply for competitive grants for specific projects related to energy efficiency, clean energy and climate change resiliency. For example, the money could be used to make school buildings more efficient, support solar or energy storage projects, build electric vehicle charging stations, or make improvements to the electricity grid serving hospitals or gas stations. DeLeo said the grants will help communities build projects that they otherwise may not have money for, and they will also help create more jobs in the environmental and energy industries in Massachusetts. He said the money will not be targeted only for coastal communities. It deals with every single city and town, no matter what their needs may be, DeLeo said. There would be money for them to address their needs. Rep. Thomas Golden, D-Lowell, chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, said the proposal is about increasing the opportunities for green jobs, the green community as a whole, and diversifying our energy portfolio to make sure we are lessening the effects of carbon. Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, D-Boston, who chairs the House Committee on Ways and Means, called it a great opportunity to give our local communities from whatever part of the state the tools they need to address these serious issues were facing in front of us over the next generation. Holy smokes! An aurora that resembles a dragon recently loomed in the skies over Iceland, and NASA scientists aren't exactly sure why it showed up when it did. A gargantuan green dragon hisses in the sky over Iceland. Either "Game of Thrones" really upped its production budget for its final season, or the sun belched a barrage of charged particles into our atmosphere again. As much as any of us would like to see a real dragon breathe flames into the winter sky, buzzkill NASA blames solar activity as usual for the writhing, "fire-breathing"- aurora that loomed over Iceland earlier this month. Auroras like this occur when some of the sun's many magnetic field lines twist together and burst, creating sunspots. Charged particles gush out of these spots and soar on the solar wind deep into space. If Earth happens to be in the way of such a stellar energy storm, the particles crash into our planet's own magnetic field and careen through our atmosphere toward the poles. Along the way, those particles interact with molecules of oxygen, nitrogen and other elements in our atmosphere to create the dazzling light show we call the aurora. [Spaced Out! 101 Astronomy Photos That Will Blow Your Mind] While auroras themselves are not an unusual sight, NASA noted that this Icelandic dragon (which also resembles evil queen Maleficent's dragon incarnation from Disney's "Sleeping Beauty") appeared at an unexpected time. "No sunspots have appeared on the Sun so far in February, making the multiple days of picturesque auroral activity this month somewhat surprising," the editors of NASA's astronomy picture of the day blog wrote on Feb. 18. Photographers Jingyi Zhang and Wang Zheng were equally surprised to see the mythical beast appear in the sky over Iceland. According to NASA, Zhang's mother was so excited by the unusual auroral activity that she ran outside with the photographers (and ended up in the foreground of Zhang's picture). And the dragon wasn't the only supernatural creature to appear in the aurora that night. "Interestingly, my partner photographed a phoenix at the same time," Zhang told Live Science in an email. Dragons weren't the only supernatural beings to haunt the skies during the light show; a picture of a phoenix aurora was snapped the same night. (Image credit: Jingyi Zhang & Wang Zheng) Originally published on Live Science. Aurora Photos: Northern Lights Dazzle in Night-Sky Images Rainbow Album: The Many Colors of The Sun Aurora Borealis: What Causes the Northern Lights and Where to See Them HELENA A bill would allow NorthWestern Energy to take control of the Colstrip power plant with scaled-back regulatory oversight, and its moving through the Legislature at lightning speed. Senate Bill 278 would allow a utility to buy more ownership shares in the coal-fired Colstrip plant for a purchase price of no more than $1 per transfer. It would also allow the utility to pass along costs to ratepayers for investment, decommissioning, and cleanup at Colstrip for up to 30 years, even if the plant closes before then. I characterize Senate Bill 278 as a bill of possibilities, said David Hoffman, government affairs director for NorthWestern, during a Thursday hearing in the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee. It mandates and requires nothing. It simply provides a structural framework to allow a longer and more predictable future for the transition of Colstrip. While NorthWestern is not mentioned specifically in SB 278, Hoffman said the utility is the only entity that can avail itself of the provisions in the bill. He declined to discuss how much, if any, of the plant NorthWestern intends to buy. Sen. Tom Richmond, R-Billings, is carrying the bill. He said the Colstrip plant is a valuable asset to Montana, calling coal a more reliable energy source than wind and solar in the state. This is a relatively low-risk proposal that would take an opportunity and capitalize on it, not just for the benefit of Colstrip, but for the whole state, Richmond said. Not everyone agrees that the bill presents minimal risks. I think its important to step back and remember that the reason we regulate public utilities is to protect consumers, said Jason Brown, an attorney with the Montana Office of Consumer Counsel. This bill would turn regulation around and use it to shift risks to captive consumers. The Consumer Counsel office was created by the Montana Constitution to advocate on behalf of ratepayers and to keep monopoly utilities like NorthWestern in check. Ultimate regulatory authority of public utilities falls to the five-member Public Service Commission. SB 278, however, could curb the PSCs authority to evaluate whether NorthWestern can charge ratepayers for incurred costs of any future ownership it acquires in Colstrip. In my reading of it, it basically doesnt allow the commission to do anything as far as the costs at Colstrip are concerned, said Robin Arnold, a policy analyst for the PSC. It would essentially deregulate Colstrip generation, but still have it under a monopoly utility. The PSC did not provide an opinion on SB 278. Arnold said the PSC is waiting for amendments and that commissioners werent sure what shape the bill was going to take. Colstrip is currently co-owned by six companies. Four of those owners are located in Oregon and Washington, which are phasing out energy sourced from coal and will likely have to abandon their interests at Colstrip. NorthWestern Energy has 30 percent ownership of Colstrip Unit 4 and is the only plant owner that provides power in Montana. Falling demand for coal in the U.S. along with neighboring states planned withdrawal from Colstrip have created a heap of uncertainty for the plant. Owners of the adjoining Rosebud coal mine filed for bankruptcy late last year. Two of the plants four units must shut down by 2022 after a legal settlement with environmental groups. Lawmakers have scrambled this session for solutions to keep Colstrip viable, from resolutions that rebuke the state of Washington for blocking an international coal port to promoting state bonding of the power plant. Ann Hedges, with the Montana Environmental Information Center, called SB 278 a blank check to NorthWestern Energy. Our Public Service Commission will no longer have the discretion or authority to review the costs that NorthWestern wants to pass along to customers. It must pass those costs along to customers, thats what [the bill] says, Hedges said. And let me tell you, utilities across the country are pretty good at spending money when they think someone else is going to have to pay for it. Hedges said shes especially concerned about funding environmental cleanup at the site once the mine and coal plant are decommissioned. The Department of Environmental Quality currently pegs remediation of the sites coal ash ponds at between $400 and $700 million. The current joint owners of Colstrip are on the hook for those cleanup costs as it stands, regardless of when the plant closes, but Hedges said pollution can be hard to track. That could mean NorthWestern is ultimately responsible for bigger remedial costs in the future if it takes on more ownership. I dont know how you differentiate the contamination that was caused last year from the contamination thats going to be caused next year, Hedges said. The ash ponds have been leaking for decades. The bills supporters argued that the main costs ratepayers would absorb would be for regular operations of the plant, such as fuel, labor and maintenance. They also said acquiring additional ownership of a plant for $1 means Montana energy consumers would be getting a bargain. It is a totally new concept that you get an $800 million facility for nothing, said committee chair Sen. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip. In no way does this force West Coast owners out of Colstrip. [But] if they wanted to stay here, this discussion would not be happening. While SB 278 will likely generate further debate as it moves through the Legislature, the bill came to committee seemingly out of the dark. It was drafted on Feb. 16, introduced on Feb. 18, and had its first hearing only three days later. I cant understand why we need the bill, why NorthWestern cant negotiate whatever theyre going to negotiate and take it to the PSC, Sen. Sue Malek, D-Missoula, said during the hearing. I must say, its being rushed. No one knows what were talking about and nobody can answer any questions on the possible price consumers are going to have to pay. The Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee voted in favor of the bill 9-4. It now moves to the Senate floor. Nasa-funded scientists have developed a new kind of DNA-like structure that can store and transmit information and could lead to new ways of finding alien life. The breakthrough discovery suggests there might be alternative, unimagined forms of DNA-based life as we know it on Earth. Life on other worlds might be built using different molecular systems of the kind the researchers developed in the lab, Nasa experts have suggested. The new molecular system will allow scientists who are looking for life elsewhere in the universe to re-think what they are actually looking for, researchers said. DNA is a complex molecule that allows the genetic information that makes us who we are to be stored and then transmitted. That information is passed from parent to offspring in every living thing on Earth, and allows life to grow and thrive. It is made up of four different ingredients, which scientists refer to as nucleotide and are common across all life on our planet. But they might vary elsewhere in the universe, the new research suggests. 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 Imagining forms of life that might use different structures and developing ways of detecting them is a central part of Nasa's work. The new project that has not only envisioned but created such a molecule. Life detection is an increasingly important goal of NASAs planetary science missions, and this new work will help us to develop effective instruments and experiments that will expand the scope of what we look for, said Lori Glaze, acting director of NASAs Planetary Science Division. Recommended European Space Agency announces name of brand new Mars rover The new research saw scientists create a new kind of molecule system that functions like DNA, but has an important difference. Instead of the usual four ingredients, it contains eight. It has all of the four that are found in life on Earth: adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. But it has four extra, synthetic ones, that mimic the structures of the ingredients found in regular DNA. The researchers call the new creation "hachimoji DNA hachi means eight in Japanese, and moji means letter. It functions the same as our DNA, meeting the same requirements that allow it to store and transmit information. That has meant that the kinds of molecules that might be storing information in life on alien worlds could be similarly different. It suggests that life could structure itself in different ways than it does on Earth, at the most fundamental level meaning that environments Earth-bound life could never live in might be teeming with unimagined life forms. Incorporating a broader understanding of what is possible in our instrument design and mission concepts will result in a more inclusive and, therefore, more effective search for life beyond Earth, said Mary Voytek, senior scientist for Astrobiology at NASA Headquarters. The Japanese space agency has successfully landed a space probe on an asteroid nearly 200 million miles away, it has said. The spacecraft named Hayabusa 2, after a falcon will now start scrabbling around on the planet looking for clues about the origins of life. Landing the spacecraft was so difficult that engineers had already delayed its earlier attempt in October. It has proven difficult to find a suitable spot on the asteroid, which is named Ryugu and measures just 900 meters across. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said on Friday Hayabusa 2 fired a small projectile into the surface of Ryugu to collect particles scientists hope the spacecraft will bring back to Earth for analysis. "We may have caused some worry due to the delay but we carried out our plan flawlessly over the past four months to bring it to a successful landing," project manager Yuichi Tsuda told a news conference. 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 "It landed in the best circumstances among the scenarios we envisioned," he said. It is the second Japanese spacecraft to land on an asteroid after Hayabusa touched down on a near-Earth asteroid named Itokawa in 2005. It was the first to bring asteroid dust back to Earth, although not as much as hoped. Recommended Japanese space agency to land spacecraft on asteroid Asteroids are believed to have formed at the dawn of the solar system and scientists say Ryugu may contain organic matter that may have contributed to life on Earth. JAXA's plan is for Hayabusa 2 to lift off Ryugu and touch back down up to three times. It blasted off in December 2014 and is scheduled to return to Earth at the end of 2020. Additional reporting by agencies The Earth's atmosphere is far bigger than we had realised, scientists have announced. The outermost part of our atmosphere reaches nearly twice as far as the Moon and is about 50 times as big as our own planet, new research has shown. The Moon flies through Earths atmosphere, says Igor Baliukin of Russias Space Research Institute, lead author of the paper presenting the results. We were not aware of it until we dusted off observations made over two decades ago by the SOHO spacecraft. At the boundary of own atmosphere and outer space, there is a cloud of hydrogen atoms that scientists refer to as the geocorona. One of the instruments on the SOHO spacecraft found the signature of that border, allowing it to detect exactly where it is. That can only be done at certain times, and the new research is the result of fortunate timing that allowed the spacecraft to spot the edge. 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 The new research could allow scientists to better look for other planets like ours, with hydrogen in their atmosphere and where water vapour is often seen closer to the surface. Scientists famously captured stunning images of the geocorona around Earth in pictures that were taken using the first ever telescope places on the Moon, which arrived with Apollo 16 astronauts in 1972. But scientists didn't know that they themselves were still wrapped in the edges of the geocorona. The extra source of hydrogen laying far out from Earth is not enough to allow space exploration, or to support any kind of human life. Down here, it would be referred to as a vacuum. But fortunately those particles do not pose any threat for anyone interacting with them, such as future space travellers that hope to journey to orbit around the Moon. There is also ultraviolet radiation associated to the geocorona, as the hydrogen atoms scatter sunlight in all directions, but the impact on astronauts in lunar orbit would be negligible compared to the main source of radiation -- the Sun, says Jean-Loup Bertaux, co-author and former principal investigator of SWAN, the instrument that made the founding. But it could get in the way of future observations around the Moon, the researchers caution. Space telescopes observing the sky in ultraviolet wavelengths to study the chemical composition of stars and galaxies would need to take this into account, adds Jean-Loup. The public hearing is looming for the proposed 500-megawatt solar facility in the western part of Spotsylvania County. The Board of Supervisors public hearing, for three special-use permits, is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. The hearing will be held at Spotsylvania High School because of the expected large crowd. The countys Planning Commission was forced to hold its meetings on the three special-use permits at the Marshall Center to accommodate the crowds. If the supervisors hearing resembles past meetings on the contentious proposal, it will be a long night, with the applicant, Utah-based Sustainable Power Group, and residents who live near the site dueling to convince the supervisors to side with them. Supervisor Gary Skinner, who told the board earlier this month he cant attend the hearing because of a planned family trip, said there is too much information for him to make a decision anytime soon. Im not ready for a vote, he said in an interview last week. This is the biggest project, I think, Spotsylvania will ever have. Fellow Supervisor David Ross agreed, adding in an email that Skinners absence would preclude the board from voting. But that appears to be a secondary issue. "We never had so much data at our disposal for predictive models and risk analyses, which is making us so much better at understanding and predicting outcomes and risks, said Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok at the closure of the 4th Planetary Security Conference in The Hague, the Netherlands on 20 February. The conference built new momentum to get the hard military community and the green climate community together to de-risk conflicts and prevent new conflicts to break out. Stakeholders from four hotspot regions Mali, Iraq, Lake Chad and the Caribbean - that have been selected by the Planetary Security Initiative (PSI), had come to The Hague and discussed their progress decreasing the tension, in numerous sessions with military, diplomats, scientists and climate experts. Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stef Blok, spoke of the need for early warning systems to be able to intervene in time and prevent conflicts. Early warning, early action Minister Blok stressed the need for early warning and early action. He specially mentioned the development of a new early-warning tool that is currently being tested in Mali. "By using big data and local input, they will be able to predict where a mix of water stress and political, economic and social factors can lead to conflict", said Dutch minister Blok. "Prevention, of course, is always better than cure. But we cant avert every disaster. So we do need to improve preparedness and resilience as well". Blok also mentioned the progress at Lake Chad where a group of experts from inside and outside the region has been drafting a roadmap for action to improve the lives of the people living in this region. The roadmap covers very practical and meaningful issues, such as access to markets, water management and basic services. Former Dutch chief of staff Tom Middendorp, known as the green general, who will chair a new network of senior military leaders on climate and security. Green general A new International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS) was announced at the conference. Tom Middendorp, former Chief of Defence for the Netherlands, will chair this standing network of senior military leaders that will produce an annual World Climate and Security Report. Middendorp told he had become known as the green general, following his interventions to declare climate change a threat to global security. His ideas on the linkage between climate change and security is based on experiences from the war in Afghanistan. He recalled a hard-won battle to take over territory controlled by the Taliban during a stint in Afghanistan. The US-led coalition forces won, only to watch the territory taken back by the Taliban soon thereafter. "It took us a year to figure out what the problem was a fight between groups over water." he said. "We brought water engineers and solved the problem. And the Taliban left." Nada Majdalani of EcoPeace talked about a bold water-energy plan crossing borders between Palestine, Jordan and Israel. She invited the private sector to step in. Role of the private sector One of the sessions focused on the role of the private sector to de-risk water disputes in the Middle East. Nada Majdalani of EcoPeace disclosed a revolutionary water-energy plan that enables Israel to build desalination plants and deliver fresh water to Palestine and Jordan. In return, the plan foresees Jordan to build large solar stations and deliver electricity to Israel. Majdalani invited the private sector to step in. "We are studying five locations to cross the border and we want to proof the concept in a pilot to show the barriers between the countries can be over won." Her organisation made some calculations, showing there is a good business case. Ramy Boujawdeh, deputy general manager of Berytech advocated to moblize the private sector as it bring in the necessary change. Long term water strategies It was noted that despite the fact that water is scares in the Middle East, governments have hardly developed long term water strategies. And if there is a strategy, it is hard for the governments to stick to the goals of these strategies. The private sector is already involved in the Middle East but only in activities without financial risks. According to Ramy Boujawdeh, deputy general manager of Berytech, a Lebanese initiative that provides support and growth to innovative and passionate entrepreneurs, solutions are far from easy as water and crises are tightly connected. "The position of the government is quite weak so donors often work directly with NGOs", Boujawdeh continued. "It is essential to make the connection with the private sector. It is my firm belief that in our region, the private sector must be involved in mobilising change to reduce the risk of an even bigger water crisis". Read an extensive report on the whole conference on the website of PSI. Read also on this website High level representatives sign The Hague Declaration for concerted action on climate security, 13 December 2017 Stockholm World Water Week 2017: Many reasons for conflicts, water shortage is one of them, 30 August 2017 Planetary security conference: Eruption of armed conflicts cannot be linked to water scarcity, 12 December 2016 More information Planetary Security Initiative c/o Clingendael +31 70 324 53 84 www.planetarysecurityinitiative.org Introduction of the Water, Peace and Security Partnership that is designing new tools and services to identify water shortage-related security risks. Some people binge watch Netflix Huluor HBO shows. And some people turn their downtime into cash. James made $2,275 in just 19 minutesall thanks to something called The 15 Minute Workday. The average trade makes 12% in just 5 days (factoring winners and losers) which is out of this world. WEC Energy Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. The company operates through six segments: Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure, and Corporate and Other. It generates and distributes electricity from coal, natural gas, oil, hydroelectric, wind, solar, and biomass sources; provides electric transmission services; offers retail natural gas distribution services; transports natural gas; and generates, distributes, and sells steam. As of December 31, 2020, it operated approximately 36,100 miles of overhead distribution lines and 34,900 miles of underground distribution cables, as well as 450 electric distribution substations and 507,900 line transformers; 50,300 miles of natural gas distribution mains; 1,100 miles of natural gas transmission mains; 2.3 million natural gas lateral services; 500 natural gas distribution and transmission gate stations; and 68.2 billion cubic feet of working gas capacities in underground natural gas storage fields. The company was formerly known as Wisconsin Energy Corporation and changed its name to WEC Energy Group, Inc. in June 2015. WEC Energy Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Read More Sempra Energy operates as an energy-services holding company in the United States and internationally. The company's San Diego Gas & Electric Company segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity; and supplies natural gas. It offers electric services to approximately 3.7 million population and natural gas services to approximately 3.4 million population that covers 4,100 square miles. Its Southern California Gas Company segment owns and operates a natural gas distribution, transmission, and storage system that supplies natural gas to a population of approximately 22 million covering an area of 24,000 square miles. The company's Sempra Texas Utilities segment is involved in the regulated transmission and distribution of electricity serving 3.7 million homes and businesses, and operation of 139,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines. Its transmission system includes 18,127 circuit miles of transmission lines, 336 transmission stations, and 806 distribution substations; distribution system comprises 121,129 miles of overhead and underground lines; and 63 miles of electric transmission lines. Its Sempra Mexico segment develops, owns, operates, or holds interests in natural gas, electric, liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquid petroleum gas (LPG), ethane, and liquid fuels infrastructure; and purchases LNG, and purchases and sells natural gas. This segment operates natural-gas-fired, and wind and solar power generation facilities. Its assets/facilities consist of 1,850 miles of natural gas transmission pipelines, 15 compressor stations, and 139 miles of ethane pipelines; and 2,729 miles of natural gas distribution pipelines. The company's Sempra LNG segment develops and builds natural gas liquefaction export facilities; holds an interest in a facility for the export of LNG; owns and operates natural gas pipelines; and buys, sells, and transports natural gas. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Diego, California. Read More Students in Maoist-hit villages in Jhumra forest area of Bokaro who had lived under constant threat of extremism are now building their academic future using the libraries provided by the 26th Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) fighting the left wing extremism. After making several villages free from Maoist activities in Jhumra forest, the CRPF 26th battalion has come up with library facilities in Upgraded Middle School, Dania of Bermo Sub Division. All students of middle school, Dania are benefited with this library. CRPF 26th battalion commandant Akhilesh Kumar Singh said they have spent around Rs 50,000 for library. Books on school syllabus, competitive examinations, story, novel, moral education, big personalities etc have been provided at Dania middle schoo of library. School rooms were converted into library room while furniture, solar light and other well-furnished atmosphere were provided for students, the commandant said. The library was inaugurated on Thursday at Utkramit middle school,Dania in Jhumra hill. School teachers and students were hopeful for better education with the modern library in the campus. Students of around 150 to 250 in school from over five nearby villages are benefited with each of library, added Singh. Students in villages of Dania, Tilaya, Mohra, Chandwa, were afraid of attending classes earlier due to rampant Maoist violence till around two years back. After restoration of peace in these villages, the CRPF started paying attention on village students academic future. Delhis latest tourist attraction, comprising the replicas of the Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramid of Giza, Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Christ the Redeemer statue of Rio de Janeiro, Romes Colosseum and Statute of Liberty is now opened to the public. Lauding the efforts of the South delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), the Union Home Minister said that the development of this park will provide a boost to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. He said that it is time to move forward towards waste to wealth. The SDMC has not only utilised waste piled up at landfill sites but has contributed substantially in containing air pollution, he said. The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal said that this park is itself a wonder. He appreciated the development of waste to wonder park and underlined the need for putting in place a proper mechanism of maintenance. A senior SDMC official said that the seven replicas are made of 150 tonnes of scraps of automobile parts and other metal waste like fans, rods, iron sheets, nut-bolts, bicycle and bike parts and age-old appliances. The replicas have been fabricated artistically and the park has been commissioned in six months, he said. To avoid the rush of visitors, the civic body has decided to charge Rs 50 for adults and Rs 25 for children (3-12 years) as an entry fee. However, senior citizens and children of corporation-run schools will not be charged any amount. In order to light the park, the SDMC has installed solar trees and rooftop panels that will generate 50 KW powers. The surplus power will be sold to the power distribution companies to earn revenue, the official said. Highlighting the steps taken to manage solid waste, SDMC Commissioner, Dr Puneet Kumar Goel said that the SDMC will achieve 100 per cent target of waste processing in the next year. The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has honoured Praveen Pathak, Chief General Manager (Mkt. Promotion & Export) & Corporate IT HoD, BrahMos Aerospace, with a state order signed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for his invaluable contribution in strengthening defence cooperation between India and Russia UD Choubey, Director General, SCOPE delivered special address at the 10th Empower Solar program and 4th Solar Urja Puraskar 2019 held on Friday. UD Choubey said that non-conventional energy is key to developing economy. Talking about the challenges in solar energy sector, Choubey said that land is the biggest issue particularly in rural areas and awareness should be created by joining hands to promote solar energy sector. DG, SCOPE further added that R&D is another aspect that needs attention to cut imports of solar panels Punjab National Bank MD and CEO Sunil Mehta has been awarded Top Rankers Excellence Award for Entreprenuerial Path-breaker at 20th National Management Summit organised by Top Rankers Management Consultants. The award was given by VSK Sood, President Top Rankers Management Club and Sandeep Marwah, President AAFT Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of Civil Aviation inaugurated and laid the Foundation Stone for the various infrastructure development projects for Eight AAI Airports through Video Link on Friday. These Airports include Trivandrum, Calicut Airport in Kerala; Mangaluru Airport in Karnataka. Madurai Airport in Tamil Nadu; Rupsi Airport in Assam; Jaipur Airport in Rajasthan, Amritsar Airport in Punjab, Imphal Airport in Manipur The outermost part of our planet's atmosphere extends well beyond the lunar orbit - almost twice the distance to the Moon. A recent discovery based on observations by the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, SOHO, shows that the gaseous layer that wraps around Earth reaches up to 630 000 km away, or 50 times the diameter of our planet. "The Moon flies through Earth's atmosphere," says Igor Baliukin of Russia's Space Research Institute, lead author of the paper presenting the results. "We were not aware of it until we dusted off observations made over two decades ago by the SOHO spacecraft." Where our atmosphere merges into outer space, there is a cloud of hydrogen atoms called the geocorona. One of the spacecraft instruments, SWAN, used its sensitive sensors to trace the hydrogen signature and precisely detect how far the very outskirts of the geocorona are. These observations could be done only at certain times of the year, when the Earth and its geocorona came into view for SWAN. For planets with hydrogen in their exospheres, water vapour is often seen closer to their surface. That is the case for Earth, Mars and Venus. "This is especially interesting when looking for planets with potential reservoirs of water beyond our Solar System," explains Jean-Loup Bertaux, co-author and former principal investigator of SWAN. The first telescope on the Moon, placed by Apollo 16 astronauts in 1972, captured an evocative image of the geocorona surrounding Earth and glowing brightly in ultraviolet light. "At that time, the astronauts on the lunar surface did not know that they were actually embedded in the outskirts of the geocorona," says Jean-Loup. Cloud of hydrogen The Sun interacts with hydrogen atoms through a particular wavelength of ultraviolet light called Lyman-alpha, which the atoms can both absorb and emit. Since this type of light is absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, it can only be observed from space. Thanks to its hydrogen absorption cell, the SWAN instrument could selectively measure the Lyman-alpha light from the geocorona and discard hydrogen atoms further out in interplanetary space. The new study revealed that sunlight compresses hydrogen atoms in the geocorona on Earth's dayside, and also produces a region of enhanced density on the night side. The denser dayside region of hydrogen is still rather sparse, with just 70 atoms per cubic centimeter at 60 000 kilometers above Earth's surface, and about 0.2 atoms at the Moon's distance. "On Earth we would call it vacuum, so this extra source of hydrogen is not significant enough to facilitate space exploration," says Igor. The good news is that these particles do not pose any threat for space travelers on future crewed missions orbiting the Moon. "There is also ultraviolet radiation associated to the geocorona, as the hydrogen atoms scatter sunlight in all directions, but the impact on astronauts in lunar orbit would be negligible compared to the main source of radiation - the Sun," says Jean-Loup Bertaux. On the down side, the Earth's geocorona could interfere with future astronomical observations performed in the vicinity of the Moon. "Space telescopes observing the sky in ultraviolet wavelengths to study the chemical composition of stars and galaxies would need to take this into account," adds Jean-Loup. The power of archives Launched in December 1995, the SOHO space observatory has been studying the Sun, from its deep core to the outer corona and the solar wind, for over two decades. The satellite orbits around the first Lagrange point (L1), some 1.5 million kilometres from Earth towards the Sun. This location is a good vantage point to observe the geocorona from outside. SOHO's SWAN instrument imaged Earth and its extended atmosphere on three occasions between 1996 and 1998. Jean-Loup and Igor's research team in Russia decided to retrieve this data set from the archives for further analysis. These unique views of the whole geocorona as seen from SOHO are now shedding new light on Earth's atmosphere. "Data archived many years ago can often be exploited for new science," says Bernhard Fleck, ESA SOHO project scientist. "This discovery highlights the value of data collected over 20 years ago and the exceptional performance of SOHO." Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. Scientists have synthesised a molecular system that, like DNA, can store and transmit information, and may help in the search for alien life. The finding, published in the journal Science, suggests there could be an alternative to DNA-based life, as we know it on Earth -- a genetic system for life that may be possible on other worlds. This new molecular system, which is not a new life form, suggests scientists looking for life beyond Earth may need to rethink what they are looking for, researchers said. DNA is a complex molecule that stores and transmits genetic information, is passed from parent to offspring in all living organisms on Earth, and its components include four key ingredients called nucleotides -- all standard for life as we know it. "Life detection is an increasingly important goal of NASA's planetary science missions, and this new work will help us to develop effective instruments and experiments that will expand the scope of what we look for," Lori Glaze, acting director of NASA's Planetary Science Division said in a statement. One way to imagine the kinds of foreign structures found on other worlds is to try to create something foreign on Earth. Researchers, led by Steven Benner at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in the US, successfully achieved the fabrication of a new informational molecular system that is like DNA, except in one key area. The new molecule has eight informational ingredients instead of four. The synthetic DNA includes the four nucleotides present in Earth life -- adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine -- but also four others that mimic the structures of the informational ingredients in regular DNA. The result is a double-helix structure that can store and transfer information. The team, including researchers from the University of Texas and Indiana University in the US, dubbed their creation "hachimoji" DNA. Hachimoji DNA meets all the structural requirements that allow our DNA to store, transmit and evolve information in living systems. "By carefully analysing the roles of shape, size and structure in hachimoji DNA, this work expands our understanding of the types of molecules that might store information in extraterrestrial life on alien worlds," said Benner. Scientists have much more to do on the question of what other genetic systems could serve as the foundation for life, and where such exotic organisms could be found. However, this study opens the door to further research on ways life could structure itself in environments that we consider inhospitable, but which might be teeming with forms of life we have not yet imagined. "Incorporating a broader understanding of what is possible in our instrument design and mission concepts will result in a more inclusive and, therefore, more effective search for life beyond Earth," said Mary Voytek, senior scientist for Astrobiology at NASA. One of NASA's goals is to search for life on other planets like Mars, where there was once flowing water and a thick atmosphere, or moons of the outer solar system like Europa and Enceladus, where vast water oceans churn under thick layers of ice. "The discovery that DNA with eight nucleotide letters is suitable for storing and transmitting information is a breakthrough in our knowledge of the range of possibilities necessary for life," said Andrew Serazin, president of Templeton World Charity Foundation in The Bahamas. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bank of Baroda (BoB) has tied up with Germany's KfW Development Bank to extend funding of USD 113 million to refinance solar projects, under the Solar Partnership II Promotion of Solar PV in India. This proposal constitutes part of the overarching Indo-German Solar Energy Partnership, BoB said in a statement on Friday. Under an inter-governmental MoU in 2015, Germany has committed to providing financing support through KfW Development Bank for solar photo voltaic investments, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CANBERRA, Australia A decade ago, coal supplied 90% of this national capital regions electricity. By next year, it will be 0%, and renewable energy will be 100%. Why it matters: Its a rare example of a region traditionally dependent upon coal weaning itself off the fuel. The key lesson: big pivots in energy systems are possible with stable government leadership, instead of windshield-wiper policies that voters from Australia to America have been accustomed to in recent years. Weve had the same parties in power, that same leadership over a 10-year period. Weve been able to steadily roll out policies and provide industry certainty. Shane Rattenbury, climate change and sustainability minister, Australian Capital Territory The big picture: Despite its big environmental footprint, coal has traditionally been the worlds cheapest form of electricity. As concerns about air pollution and climate change grow, renewable energy is increasingly competing with coal, buoyed by government policies like the kind this region implemented. In many parts of the world, natural gas is emerging as the top form of power because its plentiful and burns cleaner than coal, but here in Australia that fuel is mostly exported. Details: Australias economy is particularly dependent upon coal. This nation is the worlds largest coal exporter, and nearly 75% of its electricity is coal-fired. The country's capital region, known as the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), is barred by the nation's Constitution from implementing a price on carbon dioxide emissions. Instead, it pursued changes to electricity-market policies to favor wind and solar over coal, such as reverse auctions where companies compete to offer low-cost renewable electricity. Although electricity prices nationally have gone up, prices in this region haven't risen disproportionately, according to government data. The region stands in contrast to Australias federal policy, which has been mostly absent. Politicians have been fighting over the best approach, if any, to address climate change in a country both heavily dependent on fossil fuels and facing the wrath of extreme weather that's tied to a warming world. Yes, but: The capital region faces limitations. The governments electricity wont be independently renewable energy. Most efforts to get 100% renewable energy arent due to the nature of electricity grids and variable wind and solar resources. Instead, it has procured renewable energy mostly wind farms from within its region but also across Australia to equal its power demand. At a little more than 900 square miles, the region is relatively small, making it an easier lift to get enough renewable energy. The intrigue: There has been a gradual emergence of state government support for renewables and that has kept alive any hope for people like me, said Charlie Prell, a sheep farmer whose land 80 miles from Canberra has 11 newly installed wind turbines. Prell gets about $15,000 (in Australian dollars) a year for each of the 11 turbines on his land, which is about 35% of his family's annual income. Across the road is one of Australias oldest wind farms, first commissioned in the late 1990s. The difference in efficiency is staggering. The new turbines, installed last year on Prells land, are far larger than the old ones and produce more than five times the energy than the older ones, Prell says. Whats next: National elections expected in May are sure to influence whether the federal government pursues big climate and renewable-energy policies. As for Prell, hes doubling down on renewable energy. His long-term plans include encouraging companies to build solar farms and hydroelectricity on his land. Go deeper: Australian coal-exports are booming despite climate-change concerns China and Saudi Arabia signed economic cooperation agreements worth $28 billion at a joint investment forum on Friday, Reuters reports. The big picture: 35 agreements were signed at the forum, including four licenses for Chinese companies, the details of which were not given by the Saudi state news agency SPA. The forum, held by Saudi Arabia's investment agency SAGIA, included a visit to Beijing by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Go deeper: How Saudi Arabia and China could partner on solar energy Former Vice President Al Gore came down to the Black Belt on Thursday and for about 28 minutes, he took the folks there to church. The former politician and now environmental activist railed against corporate greed, investor owned utilities, environmental injustice and, of course, climate change during a town hall meeting at the Jackson-Steele Community Center in Hayneville, Ala., drawing frequent applause and several shouts of "Amen!" from a crowd of about 130 local residents and environmental activists from across the state. The animated Gore who rallied the crowd in Hayneville was a far cry from the wooden, stiff caricature of Gore that emerged during his political career, his face gaining color and his brow damp with sweat as he denounced corporate political actions, environmental injustice and voter suppression efforts. "These communities, the people who caused the pollution have learned, have been historically deprived of the same abilities economically and politically to defend themselves against the assault on their community," Gore said. "And so they say 'put it there, we'll likely just be able to get away with it.'" Gore alluded to former Alabama legislator Oliver Robinson, not by name, who pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe to oppose cleanup efforts in a polluted neighborhood, but said many more elected officials found ways to accept money or things of value from corporate interests without violating the letter of the law. "A lot of what goes on to make this environmental injustice possible doesn't violate the law," Gore said. "Even if it is legal, it is a violation of God's law and they should be held to account at the ballot box." He also offered some hope, in a rousing message that had at least one excited attendee yell "Gore for President." You take the solutions that are available in energy and the solutions that are available in politics and you put them together and you get a tremendous change that brings our communities back to life, Gore said. "That sets Washington, D.C. on its ear and sends out the message Alabama is a new state. "There is going to be a call for ecological justice, for racial justice." Gore also criticized Alabama Power for what he called a solar tax, a fixed fee on residential customers who install solar panels on their houses that is markedly higher than other utilities, many of which charge no such fees to their solar customers. Last year in the United States of America as a whole, two thirds of new electricity came from solar or from wind, Gore said, adding that the solar and wind were the majority of new electricity sources in China, India and the European Union. If the entire world is recognizing that the cheapest electricity now is solar, why are we burdened in our country, and particularly in Alabama, with the obligation to keep on burning fossil fuels? Gore asked. Gore also recognized Wilsonville Mayor Lee McCarty seated in the crowd, one of the local leaders who is seeking to persuade Alabama Power to dig out its existing coal ash, which sits in unlined ponds like the one in Wilsonville near the E. C. Gaston electric generating plant in Shelby County. Before Gore spoke, several Alabama residents offered their testimonies about living in polluted neighborhoods, dealing with landfills, sewage system failures, heavy industrial operations and more. Phyllis Gosa spoke of her experiences living in Tallassee near the Stones Throw Landfill, where lawsuits have been filed alleging that leachate from the landfill is polluting the drinking water. Jimmy Smith of Birminghams Collegeville neighborhood spoke about his experiences living within the boundaries of the 35th Avenue Superfund site, brandishing a letter from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency listing the toxins found on his property and photo of his daughters who died of cancer. In between speakers, the Rev. William Barber led the crowd in a chant of defiance: "Somebody's hurting our people, and it's gone on far too long, and we won't be silent any more." Before the town hall, Gore toured a neighborhood in Hayneville in which the municipal sewer system is malfunctioning, with residents complaining of frequent back-ups into their houses and yards. Lowndes County has found an unwanted spotlight to its sewage treatment woes in recent years since researchers discovered genetic evidence of a resurgence of hookworm in the area due to poor sewage treatment systems in the area, often exacerbated by a dense clay soil that, as Gore said "won't perc," or allow water from septic tanks to seep down to the water table below. Those conditions make many septic tank systems ineffective, and some smaller municipal sewer systems have difficulties as well in trying to use treatment lagoons that flood easily and frequently. Many houses have septic tanks that don't work properly or resort to "straight piping" their waste directly into the woods. The houses Gore visited were connected to a municipal sewer in Hayneville, but residents say the system backs up so frequently, the town has to send trucks to pump overflows as often as three times per week. Charlie Mae Holcombe, a 70-year-old great grandmother, said she has had to replace her carpet and other items from her house multiple times because the sewage backed up and overflowed into her house. At the end of Gore's visit, he and Barber took Holcombe's hands and prayed with her for relief from her frequent sewage problems. I thought [conditions in Hayneville] were shocking, and for the people living there, tragic, Gore, who is chair of the Climate Reality Project, said after his speech. My heart goes out to those whove been suffering in these conditions for so long. When asked about solutions, Gore, who lives in Nashville, said the best way forward for Alabama was to accelerate the transition to renewable energy. "We ought to sharply reduce, if not eliminate, the solar tax here in Alabama," Gore said. "It's really a disgrace that this southern state, with abundant sunshine, is deprived of the advantages of the solar revolution being enjoyed by people all over the world simply because the monopoly electricity provider has dominance, total political control over the policy makers and law makers in the state of Alabama. "It's sad." Alabama Power spokesman Michael Sznajderman said later via email that the company does not have a solar tax, as Gore called it. Were not aware of any solar tax being applied here in Alabama; Alabama Power certainly applies no such tax, Sznajderman said. As an electric utility providing retail electric service to customers, we do have rates in place to cover the cost of back-up electric service when provided to customers, such as some solar-system users, who choose to rely on Alabama Power for their back-up service requirements. Gore added that while he hopes Alabama Power changes some of its policies, he believes more fundamental changes to the investor-owned utility model may be necessary. "It's not completely [Alabama Power's] fault because our system of electricity rate regulation in the country needs to be changed," Gore said. "These companies do not make money by selling electricity. People think that's where they make their money. They really don't. They get income from that, but their profits come from expanding infrastructure, building new facilities, and preventing the onrushing competition from solar. We need to call upon them to change, but we, the people of the United States need to change the laws that put in place these perverse incentives. Credit: Ollie Taylor Geomagnetic activity caused by our star recently created a stir in the skies over Iceland, resulting in the seeming electrification of the night, as captured here by photographer Ollie Taylor. Unpredictable and temperamental, our Sun blasts intense radiation and colossal amounts of energetic material in every direction, creating the ever-changing conditions in space known as 'space weather'. The solar wind is a constant stream of electrons, protons and stripped-down atoms emitted by the Sun, while coronal mass ejections are the Sun's periodic outbursts of colossal clouds of solar plasma. These events disturb Earth's protective magnetic field, creating geomagnetic storms at our planet. Solar events can seriously interfere with infrastructure on Earth and in space, and pose a radiation threat to future explorers of the Moon and Mars. It is thought that a solar storm today on the scale of the Carrington event of 1859 would cause billions of euros of damage, by disturbing satellite systems, power grids, radio communications and all social and commercial services depending on these critical elements of our infrastructure. While solar events can't be prevented, advance warning can give operators time to act to protect critical infrastructure. ESA's planned Lagrange mission to monitor the Sun will do just that, by feeding data into the European Space Weather Service Network and enabling accurate and reliable space weather forecasts. For more of Ollie's wonderful photography, visit his website here. Explore further ESA rocks space weather Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund PIF signed a preliminary deal for investments in Chinas renewable energy sector during the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed in China, Reuters reports, citing state news agency SPA. The MOU will enable PIF to support and develop manufacturing, power generation and emerging technologies over the next ten years, the original report said. The news about the renewables investment commitment comes on the heels of another report from the Crown Princes visit in China: the signing of a US$10-billion agreement for the construction of a refinery featuring a petrochemicals complex in oil-hungry China. This deal, in turn, comes after Aramco signed an early commitment to invest US$100 billion in Indias infrastructure and energy industries. "We want Saudi Aramco to be a household name in India," Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said as quoted by S&P Global Platts, adding that India was the number-one priority for the Kingdoms oil giant. The two visits, to China and India, signal Saudi Arabias drive to secure long-term markets for its crude oil but also opportunities to expand its revenue from oil and gas derivatives in line with a strategy to diversify its sources of income and stop being over-reliant on crude oil exports. However, the Kingdom would have to tread carefully around both India and China which both have close ties with its regional arch-rival Iran. While both China and India have clearly indicated their top priority is security and affordability of crude oil deliveries, geopolitical affiliations are also on the agenda and directly related to this security and affordability of deliveries. The latest Chinese deal, however, also suggests Saudi Arabia is not going to overlook any opportunity to grow in Asia, even outside fossil fuels. The Kingdom has several ambitious projects planned at home as well, but with China being the leader in renewable energy investment, it makes for a natural target for solar and wind investments for the Saudis. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Today (2/21), the solar industry commended the South Carolina House of Representatives for unanimously passing a landmark energy bill, The Energy Freedom Act, on a bipartisan vote, and urged the Senate to quickly follow suit. The Energy Freedom Act would modernize the state's energy market, enabling all energy sources to compete on fair terms, and provide customers more choice over their energy. This will help South Carolina consumers lower what are currently some of the highest home energy bills in the U.S., expand solar deployment, and protect and grow the state's solar workforce by creating thousands of new jobs. "The South Carolina House has shown tremendous leadership in passing this much-needed legislation to lower consumers' electric bills and create new local jobs," said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). "Now, it's up to the Senate to quickly follow suit before the state's burgeoning solar market gets stalled because of unnecessary red tape." In South Carolina, rooftop solar caps are expected to be hit across the state in mid-March and utility-scale solar projects continue to have issues getting connected to the grid. This compromise legislation was developed with significant input from local solar companies, utilities, nonprofits and business stakeholders from all parts of the state. "We are running out of time. The arbitrary cap on solar energy in South Carolina is rapidly approaching and could severely damage the state's free market energy economy," said Matt Moore, Chairman of the Palmetto Conservative Solar Coalition and former Chair of the South Carolina Republican Party. "This legislation passed the House with near unanimous support and we need the momentum to continue building in the Senate. Thousands of solar jobs and individual energy freedom are at stake." "The South Carolina Solar Business Alliance (SCSBA) is pleased that this compromise legislation has cleared its first hurdles and is on its way to the Senate," said Steffanie Dohn, SCSBA's Director of Legislative Affairs. "This legislation is a product of weeks of give and take by utilities, the solar industry, legislators and multiple clean energy advocates. In the spirit of compromise, all stakeholders were able to put South Carolinians first by giving them the freedom to choose how they get their energy, lower costs and open up economic opportunities for businesses and residents throughout the state." If approved, this legislation (House Bill 3659 and Senate Bill 332) would: Require the Public Service Commission to initiate a new proceeding to review and approve rates and terms provided to large-scale solar facilities, streamlining the process and ensuring contract terms are reasonable for such projects; Allow large energy consumers, such as industrial manufacturers, to negotiate directly with a renewable energy supplier to more easily realize savings from solar; Eliminate the net metering caps and extend the existing residential solar rates for two years until the Public Service Commission determines a successor program; Provide for more transparency and competition in long-term utility generation planning; and Establish a neighborhood community solar program designed to expand solar access to low-income customers. South Carolina currently has 2,983 solar jobs, according to a new report released last week by The Solar Foundation. It is the 18th biggest solar state in the nation with 616 megawatts of solar capacity installed. This bill is critical to continuing that growth so South Carolinians can have more well-paying job opportunities across the state. More detail about the bill is available at https://www.seia.org/sites/default/files/SC-LCICompromise-Overview.pdf Argentina becomes the 72nd country to sign the ISA Framework Agreement. Argentina today (2/18) becomes the 72nd country to sign the Framework Agreement on the Establishment of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). Minister of Foreign Affairs, Argentina, H.E. Mr. Jorge Faurie, handed over the signed Framework Agreement of the ISA to H.E. Mr. Upendra Tripathy, Director General, ISA in the presence of Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, H.E. Mr Narendra Modi and Hon'ble President of Argentina, H.E. Mr. Mauricio Macri in Hyderabad House, New Delhi. The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is a treaty-based international organization. The Parties to the Framework Agreement on the Establishment of the International Solar Alliance have established the ISA to mobilize more than USD 1,000 billion into solar power by 2030 and accelerate the development and deployment of over 1,000GW of solar generation capacity in Member countries to meet energy demands and to bring prosperity, energy security and sustainable development through solar. As of 18th February 2019, 50 countries have deposited the instruments of ratification to the Government of Republic of India, the depository of the Framework Agreement. Of these, seven are from Latin America and the Caribbean. The ISA welcomes Argentina's signature of the Framework Agreement, and looks forward to working with Argentina to collectively address key common challenges to the scaling up of solar energy in order to fulfill the objectives of the Paris Agreement and usher in universal energy access by 2025. The ISA was launched at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris on 30 November, 2015 by H.E. Mr. Narendra Modi, the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India and H.E. Mr. Francois Hollande, former Hon'ble President of France, in the presence of Mr. Ban Ki Moon, former Secretary General of the United Nations. The ISA was officially established on 6 December 2017, on the entry into force of the Framework Agreement. The founding conference was subsequently held on 11 March 2018, co-chaired by His Excellency, the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, and His Excellency, the Hon'ble President of France, Mr. Emmanuel Macron. The First Assembly of the ISA was held on 3 October 2018, inaugurated by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, H.E Mr. Narendra Modi and the UN Secretary General, H.E. Mr. Antonio Guterres. Read the full press release. The three DG projects in Rhode Island, totaling approximately 13 MW, are part of the states' Renewable Energy Growth (REG) Program. Rhode Island's REG Program supports the development of 560 MW of new renewable energy projects in the state between 2015 and 2020 and enables customers to sell their generation output under long-term tariffs at a fixed price. Similarly, New York state is making solar energy more accessible to homes, businesses and communities through its NY-Sun Program. Both projects purchased in New York, totaling 14 MW, are community solar projects. Community solar offers local, clean energy that can often offset a greater portion of a home, or communities', or business' electric bill with predictable rates and terms without having to install solar on their building. "These projects are part of the growing DG revolution in the United States, where solar projects interconnect into smaller voltage lines and feed directly into the local electrical system. Standard Solar is proud to be working with Freepoint Solar to build out this portfolio of DG solar projects resulting in local power for local use," said Harry Benson, Director of Business Development for Standard Solar. "Freepoint Solar and its development partner SunEast Development LLC have done an excellent job developing these sites, and now it's our job is to get these projects over the finish line constructing, owning and operating them." The five ground-mount projects will generate revenue through taxes and local economic development for the states and local governments, and produce nearly 115 gigawatt-hours of electricity. That's enough to power more than 3,600 homes and the equivalent of removing 26,694 metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually. About Standard Solar Standard Solar, Inc. is a leading solar energy company specializing in the development and financing of solar electric systems nationwide. Dedicated to making Distributed Generation (DG) solar more accessible to businesses, institutions, governments and utilities, the company is forging the path for clean, renewable energy development through turnkey solutions. With more than 100 megawatts installed, financed and maintained, Standard Solar is one of the most trusted and respected solar companies in the US. Owned by Energir, a leading energy provider with more than $5.8 billion US in assets, Standard Solar operates nationally and is headquartered in Rockville, Md. For more information, please visit www.standardsolar.com. About Freepoint Freepoint Solar LLC is one of the leading solar developers in the Eastern U.S., with over 550 MWs of projects in ISO-NE, NYISO, and PJM. Freepoint Solar is a wholly owned member of the Freepoint Commodities group of companies. Founded in 2011, Freepoint Commodities LLC is based in Stamford, CT with over 425 employees worldwide. Freepoint is a merchant of physical commodities and a financer of upper and mid-stream commodity-producing assets. Freepoint also provides physical supply services and related structured solutions for counterparties. About SunEast Development LLC Founded in 2012, SunEast Development LLC is a privately-held clean energy development and management services company with offices in West Chester, PA and Old Saybrook, CT. SunEast develops solar projects in partnerships with recognized leaders in the energy industry, and has managed the development of over 850 MWs of solar projects in ten states, including utility-scale projects currently in operation in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Please visit www.suneastdevelopment.com for more information. Customers of Arizona Public Service (APS) will soon power their homes and businesses with solar after sunset thanks to three major clean-energy initiatives. APS will add battery storage to its existing fleet of solar power plants, build new solar plants with storage, and use storage to deliver cleaner energy to customers at times of peak energy usage. As a result, APS customers will be able to use solar energy even after the sun goes down. Family dinners, prime-time television and bedtime reading lights will all be powered by a cleaner energy mix. "Arizona is already a national leader in solar energy. The challenge is, no one has figured out how to stop the sun from setting at night," said APS Chairman and CEO Don Brandt . "As storage technology improves and declines in cost, we will increasingly be able to store the power of the sun cost-effectively to deliver when our customers need it." "Large-scale battery storage is a critical step on the path to reliable and affordable clean-energy solutions," said Pat Graham, State Director, The Nature Conservancy in Arizona. "Clean energy and clean air are important to the health of our communities and the lands and water upon which all life depends." APS already provides customers with an energy mix that is 50 percent clean and getting cleaner. The initiatives announced today (2/21) will add 850 megawatts of battery storage and at least 100 megawatts of new solar generation by 2025, for a total of 950 megawatts of new clean-energy technology. This represents a major down payment on Arizona's continued progress toward an energy future that is clean, reliable and affordable. "The Energy Storage Association congratulates APS for cementing its leadership among utilities by integrating energy storage into its system operations and realizing savings for consumers," said Kelly Speakes-Backman, CEO of ESA . "We especially applaud APS for partnering with third parties in this effort, sending a strong signal for businesses to invest in energy storage in Arizona. We look forward to that day when energy storage is the central tool for maintaining a reliable and resilient, efficient, sustainable and affordable grid." Adding Storage to Existing Solar Plants. APS owns and operates large-scale solar plants throughout the state that will be upgraded with 200 megawatts of battery storage systems. A team led by APS owns and operates large-scale solar plants throughout the state that will be upgraded with 200 megawatts of battery storage systems. A team led by Invenergy will install six of the new battery systems at solar plants in Maricopa County and Yuma to be in place by 2020. The remaining two upgrades will be completed by 2021. Building New Solar Storage Plants. APS plans to build an additional 500 megawatts of solar storage and stand-alone battery storage by 2025. The first project will be a 100-megawatt solar-storage plant. APS expects to issue a request for proposals this summer. APS is already partnering with Tempe-based APS plans to build an additional 500 megawatts of solar storage and stand-alone battery storage by 2025. The first project will be a 100-megawatt solar-storage plant. APS expects to issue a request for proposals this summer. APS is already partnering with Tempe-based First Solar to build a first-of-its-kind solar-plus-storage project that will be one of the largest in the country when completed in 2021. Delivering More Clean Energy When Needed. When solar production declines late in the afternoon and energy usage is still high, electricity companies need a reliable, flexible source of power to serve their customers. Traditionally, that source has been exclusively natural gas. Today's announcement signals a new direction: APS will use 150 megawatts of solar-fueled battery storage to meet part of the demand when energy usage peaks. The battery storage will come from two projects: a 100-megawatt battery provided by AES , and a 50-megawatt battery by Invenergy. Additional natural gas will come from a contract with Calpine for 463 megawatts of energy; however, instead of a traditional 20-year contract, the purchase agreement with Calpine is seven years, allowing APS the flexibility to take advantage of cleaner technologies in the future as they mature. This is part of a long-term clean-energy transition in which renewable and storage technologies will play an increasingly important role. Today's announcement continues APS's record of leadership in solar storage technology. Solana Generating Station in Gila Bend was the largest thermal solar-storage plant in the world when it began operation in 2013 and has been providing 100 percent of its generation output to APS customers since. For more information on APS's solar storage and other clean-energy advances, visit For more information on APS's solar storage and other clean-energy advances, visit azenergyfuture.com Going into 2018, there were 14 Republicans in California's delegation to Congress, including 4 in Orange County alone. When the new Congress was sworn in, there were no longer any Republicans representing Orange County and the Republicans in the statewide delegation had been halved. Gone were Jeff Denham, David Valadao, Steve Knight, Ed Royce, Mimi Walters, Dana Rohrabacher and Darrell Issa, all of whom had been targeted by Ted Lieu, then DCCC vice chair for the West Coast. Worse yet, the small margins by which many of the others had managed to hold on, indicate that California will very likely lose more Republican congressmen next year. Duncan Hunter, Devin Nunes, Tom McClintock and Doug LaMalfa are all dangerously vulnerable. Is it fair to blame these losses on Trump, which is exactly what most congressional Republicans and their allies do-- at least in public? "He's like an anchor around our necks," one GOP campaign staffer told me in confidence this morning. "If we stand up to him, we're in danger of losing the base. If we go along with some of his preposterous bullshit, independent voters associate us with him-- and they really hate him... Here in California, there's a growing perception that he is targeting the state for retribution and that's going very badly for us." On Thursday,published an essay by Michael Grunwald, Trump's War On California . This is what the state's shrinking pool of Republican elected officials have to live with-- starting with his constant bashing of the state. That he targets Democrats like Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Maxine Waters, the governor etc. with immature nicknames, hurts the party brand among independent voters-- and remember, in California, the GOP has fewer registered voters than people who have registered as independents. Trump and his cronies, points out Grunwald, "have begun framing 2020 as a last stand against the hippie-lefty Californication of America. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk has warned that 'Democrats want California to be the blueprint for America,' while Dan Patrick, the Republican lieutenant governor of Texas, has suggested that Trumps reelection slogan should be: 'Im not going to let the Democrats turn America into California.'" California has earned its reputation as the politically correct capital of Blue America, a heavily urban majority-minority coastal state where its legal to smoke pot but illegal for retailers to provide plastic bags or cops to ask suspects their immigration status. Taxes are high, the first year of community college is free and drivers licenses have a third option for residents who dont identify as male or female. But while California has plenty of problems, from worsening wildfires to overpriced housing to that troubled bullet-train project that became the latest target of presidential mockery, theres one serious hitch in the GOP plan to make California a symbol of Democratic dysfunction and socialistic stagnation: Its basically thriving. California is doing awesome, says Congressman Ted Lieu, an immigrant from Taiwan who co-chairs the policy and communications committee for the House Democratic Caucus. Its a beautiful, welcoming, environmentally friendly place that proves government can work. Who wants to run against that? California is now the worlds fifth-largest economy, up from eighth a decade ago. If its a socialist hellhole, its a socialist hellhole that somehow nurtured Apple, Google, Facebook, Tesla, Uber, Netflix, Oracle and Intel, not to mention old-economy stalwarts like Chevron, Disney, Wells Fargo and the Hollywood film industry. California firms still attract more venture capital than the rest of the country combined, while its farms produce more fruits, nuts and wine than the rest of the country combined. During the Great Recession, when the state was mired in a budget crisis so brutal its bond rating approached junk and it gave IOUs to government workers, mainstream media outlets were proclaiming the death of the California dream. But after a decade of steady growth that has consistently outpaced the nations, plus a significant tax hike on the wealthy, California is in much sounder fiscal shape; while federal deficits are soaring again, the state has erased its red ink and even stashed $13 billion in a rainy day fund. Of course, every state is in better economic shape than it was during the Great Recession, but California has enjoyed its renaissance while pursuing policies Republicans associate with economic ruin. It has an $11-an-hour minimum wage, scheduled to rise to $15 by 2023. Its unusually aggressive implementation of Obamacare since 2013 has reduced its uninsured rate from 17 percent to just 7 percent. Its ambitious clean energy and climate policies in many ways inspired the Green New Deal; the state is committed to generating 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and 100 percent by 2045, and its stringent fuel-efficiency standards help explain why its home to half the nations electric vehicles. In general, California is flourishing while pursuing the exact opposite of the policies Trump is pursuing in Washington. And it has sued the Trump administration dozens of times, not only taking the lead on the new 16-state lawsuit against the presidents emergency wall declaration, but fighting for loan forgiveness for students defrauded by for-profit schools, net neutrality and Obamacares guarantees of free birth control, while fighting to stop the ban on travel from several Muslim countries, the ban on transgender service members, and a slew of environmental rollbacks. For example, Trump is trying to dismantle Californias strict fuel-efficiency rules, which have become de facto national rules since other blue states have adopted them and every automaker has complied with them, and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is now battling the administration in court to protect them. If people want to call what California is doing socialism, fine, but it isnt having a negative impact on the economy, says political scientist Chris Hoene, executive director of the California Center for Budget and Policy. By just about every measure of productivity, were at the upper end of the spectrum. That hasnt stopped Republicans from making California their go-to nightmare scenario. In 2018, Senator Ted Cruz warned that liberals wanted Texas to be just like California, right down to the tofu and silicone and dyed hair. Democratic candidates for governor were accused of trying to turn Nevada and Florida into California, and Colorado into RadiCalifornia. In the Georgia governors race, Republican Brian Kemps stump-speech mantra about Democrat Stacey Abrams was that she was trying to import radical California values. The Republican National Committees nickname for Harris in its news releases is California Kamala, and it rarely mentions her without mentioning her San Francisco values. California is so gigantic that its hard to pinpoint what its values really are. There are huge differences between its cities, exurbs, and rural areas, between crunchy Northern California and glam Southern California, between upscale coastal California and downscale inland California. But its undeniably a socially and politically progressive state, with laws banning pet stores from selling dogs that werent rescued, restaurants from giving their customers plastic straws unless asked, and employers from asking job applicants about their current salaries. Even the traditionally Republican suburbs of Orange County voted Democratic in 2018. And while economic conservatives consider its high-tax, pro-regulation policies anti-business, researchers have not found evidence that those policies drive businesses to other states or squelch innovation in California, although they do seem to encourage some retirees to move elsewhere. The president tweets on a platform created in California. Its somewhat odd to portray the state that created health clubs, blue jeans, Pandora and Hulu as Venezuela in the making. In fact, the secret sauce of the California dream seems to have something to do with attracting entrepreneurs who want to change the world as well as their bank accounts. Christine Moseley, the CEO of a San Francisco business-to-business startup called Full Harvest, was an executive for a global logistics conglomerate and then an organic juice chain before moving to the Bay Area to start an eco-friendly company of her own. She ended up developing a kind of Airbnb for ugly produce, a platform that connects farmers who have fruits and vegetables they cant sell to grocery stores with juice companies and other buyers who dont care what the food looks like as long as its fresh. America wastes about 40 percent of its food, contributing to global hunger as well as global warming; in three years, Full Harvest has sold 10 million pounds of produce that would have gone to waste. California was the perfect place to do this, Moseley says. Its the tech and innovation capital of the world, but its also the place for people who care about food and the environment, and the place for people who want to solve big problems. A lot of those dreamers come to California from abroad; more than 10 million of the states 40 million residents are immigrants, and a quarter of those immigrants are undocumented. There is a Revolution going on in California, Trump tweeted during the legal battle over sanctuary cities last April, and he didnt mean it as a compliment. In his Oval Office address about his border wall last month, the president pointedly cited two murders committed by undocumented immigrants in California, and earlier this week he complained on Twitter this week that California is leading the fight against his declaration of a national emergency. But illegal border crossings into California are at their lowest level since 1971, and the state government doesnt view its undocumented residents as a threat. Theyre eligible for drivers licenses, subsidized health care for their kids, and in-state tuition rates, while police officers are prohibited from working with ICE to try to deport them. University of California Chancellor Janet Napolitano, who ran the Department of Homeland Security under President Barack Obama, created legal services centers throughout the system to help undocumented students. California recognizes their basic humanity, says Kevin Johnson, dean of the University of California-Davis law school. And if you look at the labor market, immigrants are a big reason why California has such a dynamic economy. Traditionally, another reason has been government investment; for example, the strength of its public universities helped attract the aerospace industry, build the technology mecca of Silicon Valley, and turn the San Diego area into the national capital of precision medicine. But government also helped finance the ill-fated solar manufacturer Solyndra, as well as the beleaguered San Francisco-to-Los Angeles bullet train that Governor Newsom tapped the brakes on last week. Newsom is also scaling back a similarly massive water project designed to alleviate droughts and protect the Sacramento River delta. Sometimes Republicans cite misleading statistics to make California look bad-- yes, it has the most debt and the most families on welfare, because it has the most people-- but sometimes, Californias dreams have exceeded its governments ability to execute them. ...[T]he idea of California as a leftist hellhole is likely to persist. California is going to hell in a handbasket, Fox News personality Tomi Lahren declared during a recent segment on the border. A conservative Town Hall columnist, in a 2018 essay titled To Hell With California, urged the state to secede from the U.S., although he said he didnt want to nuke it. (Well OK, I dont.) Theres already a Twitter meme proposing a new Harris campaign slogan: Make America California. California does feel like a potential harbinger of a more multicultural, more progressive American future, which may be one reason Trump is so openly hostile to it, even threatening to withhold aid from its wildfire victims. A lot of Newsoms plans for California are to counter whats happening in Washington; he wants to reinstate Obamacares individual health insurance mandate in California, extend health subsidies to undocumented adults in California, and pursue even more ambitious climate goals. Meanwhile, the Democratic candidates to take on Trump are pushing platforms that would take a lot of California policy to the national stage. The story of California is the story of America-- immigration, innovation, investing in what works, Lieu said. Plus weve got amazing beaches, and Disneyland! How cool is that? Australian Energy Market Operator boss Audrey Zibelman says Australians need to understand that they can have a renewables-based grid that is cost effective, zero carbon, and reliable and secure. All at the same time.Zibelman, speaking at a symposium at the University of NSW this week, along with chief scientist Alan Finkel and UNSW solar researcher Martin Green, said distributed energy resources would play a critical role in a low-carbon grid.However, the biggest challenge was actually making the transition of a very complex system, and that needed a detailed plan, and a clear policy, as well as changes to market rules and the way the grid was managed.'We are looking at how to manage the system to be more resilient as well as cost effective and carbon neutral, or zero carbon (they) are not necessarily antithetical,' Zibelman said.'Nor is having renewable resources and having a reliable and secure system antithetical. In fact, you can have it all.'What we you need to do is to start moving towards a system that is truly integrated, and use the intelligence in the system. And we see this merger between new energy products and digital intelligence so we can manage a much more efficient system.'What we are recognising now in Australia is that the real issue is how do we get to scale, and how do we get to scale quickly? And this is going to need a new tool set to manage a very different power system.'Zibelman's confidence in the future power systems and integrating 'new technologies' such as wind, solar, batteries, other forms of storage, demand management and distributed energy, echo those of Angelina Galiteva, the vice chair of California's equivalent to AEMO, the Independent System Operator.In an interview with RenewEconomy's Energy Insiders podcast earlier this week,Galiteva outlined how the world's fifth-biggest economy, aims to transition away from nuclear, coal and gas and reach 100 per cent renewables by 2045.Initially, like in Australia, we had the utilities and traditional energy players being very skeptical of renewables. When the first 10 per cent target was introduced, the utilities said oh, no, we are going to have gird disruptions, it will cause all kinds of problems. Well, it didn't.The next 30 per cent target, introduced by Republican governor Arnold Schwarzeneger, attracted warnings of Armageddon, but the grid operator found that if anything, renewables made the grid more reliable. Once a 50 per cent goal (effectively 70%) was introduced by Governor Jerry Brown we can have reliable.Once everyone realised that, it became a no-brainer, Galiteva says. We might as well go to 100 per cent. The technology is there, the political will is there . and we have a vision for the future.She adds that the transition is not so much a technology challenge, but a regulatory challenge, a view supported by Zibelman, now managing a grid where even a 50 per cent share of renewables appears to the limit for mainstream politicians, and too far for some.Zibelman's comments also echo those of a group of academics and researchers who made a similar call for a plan and policy clarity after a symposium in ANU,where they agreed that a shift to 100 per cent renewables was an essential part of a transition to a low-carbon economy.At the same time, conservative politicians, media and commentators have intensified their scare campaignagainst renewables and emissions reduction targets, warning of blackouts, economic destruction, lost jobs, lower wages, and calling for support for new coal investment and an end to renewable energy schemes.Green, who predicts that the cost of solar will fall below $US10/MWh by the early 2020s, says Australia should not be scared of the transition to renewables, because it will be a big beneficiary.For a start, it opens up the possibilities of green hydrogen exports a vision pursued vigorously by Finkel and others.Green also noted that the increased value of mineral exports used for the construction of solar farms steel, aluminium and copper would easily make up for any loss in thermal coal export values.Back to Australia's grid, Zibelman emphasised the need for careful planning, something AEMO has been trying to encourage through its Integrated System Plan (ISP).'We have to have a planned transition. It is not going to happen overnight, or because we want it to happen, we have to think it through.'Zibelman says the ISP was looking at what might happen over the next 30 years, and how current ageing capacity (mostly coal) could be replaced in the least-cost way.As the recent report from AEMO and the CSIROpointed out, the least-cost resources are a combination of renewables, pumped hydro, some battery storage and some gas.This also involved a shift from slow-moving machinery to fast-moving machinery, and Australia needed to make sure it was paying for resources needed to deal with inertia and frequency.Currently, there is little in the way of market recognition and revenue options for distributed energy and batteries.'We are going from managing around 300 power plants, to millions of bits of different resources, Zibelman said.Those pieces can be put together, but Zibelman indicated a frustration at endless pilot projects and wanted to see scale.'This is not a question of replacing one thing and doing a pilot or a demonstration. It is now time to get to scale quickly,' she said.'The ability to get into the market is really complicated. We need to think about policies that allow quick entry and avoid the valley of death of so much innovation.'How to make it easier rather than harder is going to be very important.'Finally, Zibelman was asked about the challenges of the electoral cycle and, by implication, the extraordinary nature of the debate around energy in Australia.'The problem is real. The reality is that the electorate in general will never be supportive of politicians who say they can't solve your problem now, but they can in 10 years, so stick with me and I'll sort it out.'We need to have direction. We need to have our eye on prize of where we want to end up and be clear about short-term actions.'If it doesn't happen, the future will never mature because people will go back to what they think they know is the answer.'Sounds to us that Australia needs the same sort of political vision and certainty that has underpinned the transitions in California and Hawaii.Giles ParkinsonGiles Parkinson is founder and editor of Renew Economy, and is also the founder of One Step Off The Gridand founder/editor of The Driven. Giles has been a journalist for 35 years and is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review. Sellbyville, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/22/2019 -- Solar Water Heater Market growth is driven by growing demand for environment friendly, cost effective and reliable systems for water heating purposes across commercial, industrial, and residential sector. Ability to reduce electricity bill by 50% to 80% will encourage the product penetration over the forecast timeline. Rising concern to maintain fossil fuel sustainability along with stringent government norms to reduce carbon emissions will stimulate the solar water heater market growth. Introduction of several targets to reduce carbon emissions and encourage the development of renewable energy will further complement the industry growth. In 2016, the government of UK sets target to reduce carbon emissions up to 57% by 2030 from 1990 levels. Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2219 China solar water heater market size is predicted to exceed 45GWth by 2024. Introduction of green building regulations and standards to curb greenhouse gas emissions will positively impact the business landscape. Technological innovation in evacuated tube collector design to reduce the cost and improve efficiency of solar thermal system will further boost the product demand. Thermosyphon solar water heater market is predicted to witness strong growth owing to its wide application across commercial and residential buildings. Cost effectiveness, ease of installation and simple design are some of the primary benefits which will boost the product penetration. Favorable measures to encourage the deployment of solar energy along with strict government regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will propel the U.S. solar water heater market share. Under the Obama administration, the country set target to reduce GHG emissions up to 28% by 2025 from 2005 level. Positive outlook towards housing sector will further complement the business growth. Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2219 Italy in 2016, accounted for over 5% of the Europe solar water heater market share. Introduction of building code with an aim to reduce the overall emissions will further boost the product demand. In March 2011, the government of Italy introduced law number 28 according to which all new building and buildings that are under construction have been required to fulfil up to 50% of hot water demand with renewable energies since June 2012. Revamp of social housing program for lower income families will drive the Brazil solar water heater market. In August 2016, the United Nation relaunched the Minha Casa, Minha Vida, a social housing program for lower income group which mandated installation of SWH in new buildings. Browse Complete Report Summary @ https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/solar-water-heater-market Increasing investment toward renewable energy development will augment the Jordan solar water heater market. In 2016, the EU invested USD 170.56 million to support the development of green energy including Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency II program in Jordan under the 2014-2017 bilateral strategy. Industry giants across solar water heater market include Wagner, Bosch, Alternate Energy Technologies, V Guard Industries, Himin Solar Energy, SunTank, Viessmann, EMMVEE, Rinnai, Chromagen, Linuo Ritter, A.O. Smith, Rheem, Racold and Bradford White. About Global Market Insights: Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology. The board of listed Greenergy Holdings Inc. approved the additional investment of P100 million in Winsun Green Ventures Inc. to finance its foray into solar and liquefied natural gas projects. The company wishes to inform the Exchange and the investing public that its Board of Directors approved the Companys additional investment of up to P100 million in its subsidiary, Winsun Green Ventures Incorporated, to finance the latters green projects involving solar power and liquefied natural gas (LNG), Greenergy said. The company did not disclose further details. An official of the Department of Energy said Winsun had not submitted any LNG project proposal to date. Greenergy decided to explore business opportunities in renewable energy in 2010. The company agreed to the establishment of a $1.3-billion joint venture project with Tianjin Tianbao Investment and Development Corp. of China in 2011.The partnership plans to engage in wind energy projects amounting to $200 million as priority, and other subsequent renewable energy projects such as bio-mass, solar, hydro and geothermal energy. The company has also agreed to acquire 51 percent of Total Waste Management Recovery System Inc., a domestic company engaged in the business of building, operating and managing waste recovery facilities and waste management systems within the Philippines. In 2012, the company established certain subsidiaries to further mark its venture into the field of renewable energy. These are Winsun and the 60 percent-owned Biomass Holdings, Inc. Biomass Holdings is the product of the companys partnership with Cleantech Projektgesellschaft mbH, a German fund managed by the ThomasLloyd Global Asset Management (Switzerland) AG of Zurich. It serves as the joint venture vehicle of the parties in their investment transactions in the biomass power plant of San Carlos BioPower Inc. in Negros Occidental province. Alena Mae S. Flores Minnesotas job growth in the solar industry looks bright; especially with solar installations, per the 2018 National Solar Jobs Census Report. The 80-page report analyzes employment and other statistics within the US solar industry. Published by The Solar Foundation, the report provides wide-ranging survey results from solar industry employers. Our state is experiencing rapid growth in residential, commercial, and community solar panel/power installations (nearly 4,000 as of 2018). Minnesota has approximately 160 solar companies (and growing), which include manufacturers, developers, designers, and installers. In the US alone, more than $1.5 billion was invested in solar during 2018. Minnesota, as pointed out in the report, has strict solar licensing requirements, which may slow solar installations; however, these precautions ensure safety. Our state considers solar installations electrical work, and thus, requires an installer to be at least a journey-level (completed an apprenticeship program or an experienced worker), or a licensed master-level electrician to complete the electrical phases within a photovoltaic (PV) installation. New solar installation electrical sites in Minnesota require at least one licensed electrician for every two unlicensed electricians. The report states that a large installation in Minnesota could require 20 licensed electricians if the solar PV installation employs 40 workers. The most challenging position to fill is an electrician, according to 43 percent of Minnesota solar companies surveyed, which may be a result of our states licensing requirements. Solar companies in Minnesota occasionally hire electricians from other states, because sometimes there are not enough local electricians available to meet solar installations/maintenance demands. The report found that, on average, 10 percent of the electrical work for solar installations in Minnesota was performed by non-resident electricians. As the solar industry continues to grow, we will need more licensed electricians, and community and technical college courses teaching solar PV installation under state and industry accreditation. Seven states have solar-specific license requirements, six states accept the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) certification, and 10 states have no licensing requirements to perform solar installation work. While not always needed, solar-specific licensing, including NABCEP, can be advantageous, as the training explicitly addresses the relevant skill sets required to carry out solar installations. Solar companies surveyed in 2018 said they required solar installation experience for 60 percent of all new employees; an increase from 55 percent needed in 2017. In 2018, California lawmakers passed a rooftop solar mandate for new homes, which is estimated to produce a 14 percent increase in total US solar sales over the next four years. Solar employment for 2018 totaled 242,343, and is categorized in the following sectors: Installation/project development: 155,157. Wholesale trade/distribution: 29,243. Operations/maintenance: 11,164. Manufacturing: 33,726. Related sectors: 13,053. Last year, there were 4,602 employed in Minnesota solar-related jobs. In 2017, there were 4,256. Besides the installation of solar panels to harness the suns energy, batteries to store solar energy are crucial in providing electricity to consumers and businesses who switch to it when the power goes off. The report stated that 3,900 jobs are directly related to battery storage. Employment has increased in solar industry software companies, such as Aurora Solar, which provides residential and commercial solar design and software sales programs for solar installation companies. Aurora Solar, based in San Francisco, CA, has doubled its workforce over the past year. The National Solar Jobs Census Report includes data gathered between September and October 2018, including information from approximately 59,300 phone calls, and more than 49,000 emails. The solar industry outlook for this year is positive. Based on the reports survey results, solar jobs are expected to increase by 7 percent in 2019, bringing the total employment jobs to around 259,400. Nationwide, the Solar Energy Industries Association reports 1,904,000 solar systems have been installed. They are producing 60 gigawatts of electrical power. Minnesotas energy profile from the US Energy Information Administration can be found at https://bit.ly/2X8akJ4. The Minnesota Department of Commerce solar webpage is https://mn.gov/commerce/industries/energy/solar. The 2018 National Solar Jobs Census Report and other information is available at https://www.thesolarfoundation.org/national. While writing this column, I looked out the window and noted the blue sky and an abundance of energy-producing sunshine. Be sure to visit my weblog at https://bitscolumn.blogspot.com.